Complete Works of Virgil

by Virgil

tum pater Anchises lacrimis ingressus obortis:

  Then midst the rising of his tears father Anchises spoke:

  ‘o gnate, ingentem luctum ne quaere tuorum;

  “O son, search not the mighty woe and sorrow of thy folk!

  ostendent terris hunc tantum fata nec ultra

  The Fates shall show him to the world, nor longer blossoming

  esse sinent. nimium uobis Romana propago 870

  Shall give. O Gods that dwell on high, belike o’ergreat a thing

  uisa potens, superi, propria haec si dona fuissent.

  The Roman tree should seem to you, should this your gift endure!

  quantos ille uirum magnam Mauortis ad urbem

  How great a wail of mighty men that Field of Fame shall pour

  campus aget gemitus! uel quae, Tiberine, uidebis

  On Mavors’ mighty city walls: what death-rites seest thou there,

  funera, cum tumulum praeterlabere recentem!

  O Tiber, as thou glidest by his new-wrought tomb and fair!

  nec puer Iliaca quisquam de gente Latinos 875

  No child that is of Ilian stock in Latin sires shall raise

  in tantum spe tollet auos, nec Romula quondam

  Such glorious hope; nor shall the land of Romulus e’er praise

  ullo se tantum tellus iactabit alumno.

  So fair and great a nursling child mid all it ever bore.

  heu pietas, heu prisca fides inuictaque bello

  Goodness, and faith of ancient days, and hand unmatched in war,

  dextera! non illi se quisquam impune tulisset

  Alas for all! No man unhurt had raised a weaponed hand

  obuius armato, seu cum pedes iret in hostem 880

  Against him, whether he afoot had met the foeman’s band,

  seu spumantis equi foderet calcaribus armos.

  Or smitten spur amid the flank of eager foaming horse.

  heu, miserande puer, si qua fata aspera rumpas,

  O child of all men’s ruth, if thou the bitter Fates mayst force,

  tu Marcellus eris. manibus date lilia plenis

  Thou art Marcellus. Reach ye hands of lily-blooms fulfilled;

  purpureos spargam flores animamque nepotis

  For I will scatter purple flowers, and heap such offerings spilled

  his saltem accumulem donis, et fungar inani 885

  Unto the spirit of my child, and empty service do.”

  munere.’ sic tota passim regione uagantur

  Thereafter upon every side they strayed that country through,

  aeris in campis latis atque omnia lustrant.

  Amid wide-spreading airy meads, and sight of all things won.

  quae postquam Anchises natum per singula duxit

  But after old Anchises now through all had led his son,

  incenditque animum famae uenientis amore,

  And kindled love within his heart of fame that was to be,

  exim bella uiro memorat quae deinde gerenda, 890

  Then did he tell him of the wars that he himself should see,

  Laurentisque docet populos urbemque Latini,

  And of Laurentian peoples taught, and town of Latin folk;

  et quo quemque modo fugiatque feratque laborem.

  And how from every grief to flee, or how to bear its stroke.

  Sunt geminae Somni portae, quarum altera fertur

  Now twofold are the Gates of Sleep, whereof the one, men say,

  cornea, qua ueris facilis datur exitus umbris,

  Is wrought of horn, and ghosts of sooth thereby win easy way,

  altera candenti perfecta nitens elephanto, 895

  The other clean and smooth is wrought of gleaming ivory,

  sed falsa ad caelum mittunt insomnia Manes.

  But lying dreams the nether Gods send up to heaven thereby.

  his ibi tum natum Anchises unaque Sibyllam

  All said, Anchises on his son and Sibyl-maid doth wait

  prosequitur dictis portaque emittit eburna,

  Unto the last, and sends them up by that same ivory gate.

  ille uiam secat ad nauis sociosque reuisit.

  He wears the way and gains his fleet and fellow-folk once more.

  Tum se ad Caietae recto fert limite portum. 900

  So for Caieta’s haven-mouth by straightest course they bore,

  ancora de prora iacitur; stant litore puppes.

  Till fly the anchors from the bows and sterns swing round ashore.

  ‘Lake Avernus Aeneas and the Cumaean Sibyl’ by J. M. W. Turner, 1814-5

  LIBER VII

  BOOK VII.

  Tu quoque litoribus nostris, Aeneia nutrix,

  Thou also, O Æneas’ nurse, Caieta, didst avail,

  aeternam moriens famam, Caieta, dedisti;

  E’en dying, unto these our shores to leave a deathless tale:

  et nunc seruat honos sedem tuus, ossaque nomen

  And yet thy glory guards the place, thy bones have won it name

  Hesperia in magna, si qua est ea gloria, signat.

  Within the great Hesperian land, if that be prize of fame.

  At pius exsequiis Aeneas rite solutis, 5

  But good Æneas, when at last all funeral rites were paid

  aggere composito tumuli, postquam alta quierunt

  And the grave heaped, when in a while the ocean’s face was laid,

  aequora, tendit iter uelis portumque relinquit.

  Went on his way with sails aloft, and left the port behind:

  aspirant aurae in noctem nec candida cursus

  The faint winds breathe about the night, the moon shines clear and kind;

  luna negat, splendet tremulo sub lumine pontus.

  Beneath the quivering shining road the wide seas gleaming lie.

  proxima Circaeae raduntur litora terrae, 10

  But next the beach of Circe’s land their swift ships glide anigh,

  diues inaccessos ubi Solis filia lucos

  Where the rich daughter of the Sun with constant song doth rouse

  adsiduo resonat cantu, tectisque superbis

  The groves that none may enter in, or in her glorious house

  urit odoratam nocturna in lumina cedrum

  Burneth the odorous cedar-torch amidst the dead of night,

  arguto tenuis percurrens pectine telas.

  While through the slender warp she speeds the shrilling shuttle light.

  hinc exaudiri gemitus iraeque leonum 15

  And thence they hear the sound of groans, and wrath of lions dread

  uincla recusantum et sera sub nocte rudentum,

  Fretting their chains; and roaring things o’er night-tide fallen dead;

  saetigerique sues atque in praesepibus ursi

  And bristled swine and cagèd bears cried bitter-wild, and sore;

  saeuire ac formae magnorum ululare luporum,

  And from the shapes of monstrous wolves the howling seaward bore.

  quos hominum ex facie dea saeua potentibus herbis

  These from the likeness of mankind had cruel Circe won

  induerat Circe in uultus ac terga ferarum. 20

  By herbs of might, and shape and hide of beasts upon them done.

  quae ne monstra pii paterentur talia Troes

  But lest the godly Trojan folk such wickedness should bear,

  delati in portus neu litora dira subirent,

  Lest borne into the baneful bay they bring their keels o’er near,

  Neptunus uentis impleuit uela secundis,

  Their sails did Father Neptune fill with fair and happy breeze,

  atque fugam dedit et praeter uada feruida uexit.

  And sped their flight and sent them swift across the hurrying seas.

  Iamque rubescebat radiis mare et aethere ab alto 25

  Now reddened all the sea with rays, and from the heavenly plain

  Aurora in roseis fulgebat lutea bigis,

  The golden-hued Aurora shone amidst her rosy wain,

  cum uenti po
suere omnisque repente resedit

  Then fell the winds and every air sank down in utter sleep,

  flatus, et in lento luctantur marmore tonsae.

  And now the shaven oars must strive amid the sluggish deep:

  atque hic Aeneas ingentem ex aequore lucum

  Therewith Æneas sees a wood rise from the water’s face,

  prospicit. hunc inter fluuio Tiberinus amoeno 30

  And there it is the Tiber’s flood amidst a pleasant place,

  uerticibus rapidis et multa flauus harena

  With many a whirling eddy swift and yellowing with sand

  in mare prorumpit. uariae circumque supraque

  Breaks into sea; and diversely above on either hand

  adsuetae ripis uolucres et fluminis alueo

  The fowl that love the river-bank and haunt the river-bed

  aethera mulcebant cantu lucoque uolabant.

  Sweetened the air with plenteous song and through the thicket fled.

  flectere iter sociis terraeque aduertere proras 35

  So there Æneas bids his folk shoreward their bows to lay,

  imperat et laetus fluuio succedit opaco.

  And joyfully he entereth in the stream’s o’ershadowed way.

  Nunc age, qui reges, Erato, quae tempora, rerum

  To aid, Erato! while I tell what kings, what deedful tide,

  quis Latio antiquo fuerit status, aduena classem

  What manner life, in Latin land did anciently abide

  cum primum Ausoniis exercitus appulit oris,

  When first the stranger brought his ships to that Ausonian shore;

  expediam, et primae reuocabo exordia pugnae. 40

  Yea help me while I call aback beginnings of the war.

  tu uatem, tu, diua, mone. dicam horrida bella,

  O Goddess, hearten thou thy seer! dread war my song-speech saith:

  dicam acies actosque animis in funera reges,

  It tells the battle in array, and kings full fain of death,

  Tyrrhenamque manum totamque sub arma coactam

  The Tyrrhene host, all Italy, spurred on the sword to bear:

  Hesperiam. maior rerum mihi nascitur ordo,

  Yea, greater matters are afoot, a mightier deed I stir.

  maius opus moueo. Rex arua Latinus et urbes 45

  The king Latinus, old of days, ruled o’er the fields’ increase,

  iam senior longa placidas in pace regebat.

  And cities of the people there at rest in long-drawn peace:

  hunc Fauno et nympha genitum Laurente Marica

  Of Faunus and Laurentian nymph, Marica, do we learn

  accipimus; Fauno Picus pater, isque parentem

  That he was born: but Faunus came of Picus, who must turn

  te, Saturne, refert, tu sanguinis ultimus auctor.

  To thee, O Saturn, for his sire: ’twas he that blood began.

  filius huic fato diuum prolesque uirilis 50

  Now, as God would, this king had got no son to grow a man,

  nulla fuit, primaque oriens erepta iuuenta est.

  For he who first had dawned on him in earliest youth had waned:

  sola domum et tantas seruabat filia sedes

  A daughter only such a house, so great a world sustained,

  iam matura uiro, iam plenis nubilis annis.

  Now ripe for man, the years fulfilled that made her meet for bed:

  multi illam magno e Latio totaque petebant

  And her much folk of Latin land were fain enow to wed,

  Ausonia; petit ante alios pulcherrimus omnis 55

  And all Ausonia: first of whom, and fairest to be seen,

  Turnus, auis atauisque potens, quem regia coniunx

  Was Turnus, great from fathers great; and him indeed the queen

  adiungi generum miro properabat amore;

  Was fain of for her son-in-law with wondrous love of heart:

  sed uariis portenta deum terroribus obstant.

  But dreadful portents of the Gods the matter thrust apart.

  laurus erat tecti medio in penetralibus altis

  Amidmost of the inner house a laurel-tree upbore

  sacra comam multosque metu seruata per annos, 60

  Its hallowed leaves, that fear of God had kept through years of yore:

  quam pater inuentam, primas cum conderet arces,

  Father Latinus first, they said, had found it there, when he

  ipse ferebatur Phoebo sacrasse Latinus,

  Built there his burg and hallowed it to Phoebus’ deity,

  Laurentisque ab ea nomen posuisse colonis.

  And on Laurentian people thence the name thereof had laid;

  huius apes summum densae (mirabile dictu)

  On whose top now the gathered bees, O wondrous to be said!

  stridore ingenti liquidum trans aethera uectae 65

  Borne on with mighty humming noise amid the flowing air,

  obsedere apicem, et pedibus per mutua nexis

  Had settled down, and foot to foot all interwoven there,

  examen subitum ramo frondente pependit.

  In sudden swarm they hung adown from off the leafy bough.

  continuo uates ‘externum cernimus’ inquit

  But straight the seer cries out: “Ah me! I see him coming now,

  ‘aduentare uirum et partis petere agmen easdem

  The stranger man; I see a host from that same quarter come

  partibus ex isdem et summa dominarier arce.’ 70

  To this same quarter, to be lords amidst our highest home.”

  praeterea, castis adolet dum altaria taedis,

  But further, while the altar-fires she feeds with virgin brands,

  et iuxta genitorem astat Lauinia uirgo,

  The maid Lavinia, and beside her ancient father stands,

  uisa (nefas) longis comprendere crinibus ignem

  Out! how along her length of hair the grasp of fire there came,

  atque omnem ornatum flamma crepitante cremari,

  And all the tiring of her head was caught in crackling flame.

  regalisque accensa comas, accensa coronam 75

  And there her royal tresses blazed, and blazed her glorious crown

  insignem gemmis; tum fumida lumine fuluo

  Gem-wrought, and she one cloud of smoke and yellow fire was grown:

  inuolui ac totis Volcanum spargere tectis.

  And wrapped therein, the fiery God she scattered through the house:

  id uero horrendum ac uisu mirabile ferri:

  And sure it seemed a dreadful thing, a story marvellous:

  namque fore inlustrem fama fatisque canebant

  For they fell singing she should grow glorious of fame and fate,

  ipsam, sed populo magnum portendere bellum. 80

  But unto all her folk should be the seed of huge debate.

  At rex sollicitus monstris oracula Fauni,

  So troubled by this tokening dread forth fareth now the king

  fatidici genitoris, adit lucosque sub alta

  To Faunus’ fane, his father-seer, to ask him counselling

  consulit Albunea, nemorum quae maxima sacro

  ‘Neath Albunea the high, whose wood, the thicket most of worth,

  fonte sonat saeuamque exhalat opaca mephitim.

  Resoundeth with the holy well and breathes the sulphur forth.

  hinc Italae gentes omnisque Oenotria tellus 85

  From whence the folk of Italy and all Oenotrian land

  in dubiis responsa petunt; huc dona sacerdos

  Seek rede amidst of troublous time. Here, when the priest in hand

  cum tulit et caesarum ouium sub nocte silenti

  Hath borne the gifts, and laid him down amidst the hush of night

  pellibus incubuit stratis somnosque petiuit,

  On the strown fells of slaughtered ewes, and sought him sleep aright,

  multa modis simulacra uidet uolitantia miris

  He seeth wondrous images about him flit and shif
t,

  et uarias audit uoces fruiturque deorum 90

  He hearkeneth many a changing voice, of talk with Gods hath gift,

  conloquio atque imis Acheronta adfatur Auernis.

  And holdeth speech with Acheron, from deep Avernus come.

  hic et tum pater ipse petens responsa Latinus

  There now the sire Latinus went seeking the answers home,

  centum lanigeras mactabat rite bidentis,

  And there an hundred woolly ewes in order due did slay,

  atque harum effultus tergo stratisque iacebat

  And propped upon the fells thereof on bed of fleeces lay,

  uelleribus: subita ex alto uox reddita luco est: 95

  Till from the thickets inner depths the sudden answer came:

  ‘ne pete conubiis natam sociare Latinis,

  “Seek not thy daughter, O my son, to wed to Latin name;

  o mea progenies, thalamis neu crede paratis;

  Unto the bridal set on foot let not thy troth be given:

  externi uenient generi, qui sanguine nostrum

  Thy sons are coming over sea to raise our blood to heaven,

  nomen in astra ferant, quorumque a stirpe nepotes

  And sons of sons’ sons from their stem shall see beneath their feet

  omnia sub pedibus, qua sol utrumque recurrens 100

  All things for them to shift and doom; all things the sun may meet,

  aspicit Oceanum, uertique regique uidebunt.’

  As to and fro he wendeth way ‘twixt either ocean wave.”

  haec responsa patris Fauni monitusque silenti

  Such warnings of the silent night that father Faunus gave,

  nocte datos non ipse suo premit ore Latinus,

  Shut up betwixt his closed lips Latinus held no whit,

  sed circum late uolitans iam Fama per urbes

  But through Ausonia flying fame had borne the noise of it,

  Ausonias tulerat, cum Laomedontia pubes 105

  When that Laomedontian folk at last had moored their ships

  gramineo ripae religauit ab aggere classem.

  Unto the grassy-mounded bank whereby the river slips.

  Aeneas primique duces et pulcher Iulus

  Æneas and Iulus fair, and all their most and best,

  corpora sub ramis deponunt arboris altae,

  Beneath a tall tree’s boughs had laid their bodies down to rest:

  instituuntque dapes et adorea liba per herbam

  They dight the feast; about the grass on barley-cakes they lay

  subiciunt epulis (sic Iuppiter ipse monebat) 110

  What meat they had, — for even so Jove bade them do that day, —

  et Cereale solum pomis agrestibus augent.