by Virgil
Held weary things, the fowl of air, the cattle of the wold,
cum pater in ripa gelidique sub aetheris axe
And on the bank beneath the crown of heaven waxen cold,
Aeneas, tristi turbatus pectora bello,
Father Æneas, all his heart with woeful war oppressed,
procubuit seramque dedit per membra quietem. 30
Lay stretched along and gave his limbs the tardy meed of rest:
huic deus ipse loci fluuio Tiberinus amoeno
When lo, between the poplar-leaves the godhead of the place,
populeas inter senior se attollere frondes
E’en Tiber of the lovely stream, arose before his face,
uisus (eum tenuis glauco uelabat amictu
A veil of linen grey and thin the elder’s body clad,
carbasus, et crinis umbrosa tegebat harundo),
And garlanding of shady sedge the tresses of him had;
tum sic adfari et curas his demere dictis: 35
And thus Æneas he bespeaks to take away his woe:
‘O sate gente deum, Troianam ex hostibus urbem
“O Seed of Gods, who bearest us Troy-town from midst the foe,
qui reuehis nobis aeternaque Pergama seruas,
Who savest Pergamus new-born no more to die again,
exspectate solo Laurenti aruisque Latinis,
Long looked-for on Laurentine earth and fields of Latin men;
hic tibi certa domus, certi (ne absiste) penates.
This is your sure abiding-place, your House-Gods’ very stead;
neu belli terrere minis; tumor omnis et irae 40
Turn not, nor fear the battle-threats, for now hath fallen dead
concessere deum.
The swelling storm of godhead’s wrath.
iamque tibi, ne uana putes haec fingere somnum,
And lest thou think I forge for thee an idle dream of sleep,
litoreis ingens inuenta sub ilicibus sus
Amid the holm-oaks of the shore a great sow shalt thou see,
triginta capitum fetus enixa iacebit,
Who e’en now farrowed thirty head of young; there lieth she
alba solo recubans, albi circum ubera nati. 45
All white along, with piglings white around her uddered sides:
[hic locus urbis erit, requies ea certa laborum,]
That earth shall be thy dwelling-place; there rest from toil abides.
ex quo ter denis urbem redeuntibus annis
From thence Ascanius, when the year hath thrice ten times rolled round,
Ascanius clari condet cognominis Albam.
Shall raise a city, calling it by Alba’s name renowned.
haud incerta cano. nunc qua ratione quod instat
No doubtful matters do I sing, — but how to speed thee well,
expedias uictor, paucis (aduerte) docebo. 50
And win thee victor from all this, in few words will I tell:
Arcades his oris, genus a Pallante profectum,
Arcadian people while agone, a folk from Pallas come,
qui regem Euandrum comites, qui signa secuti,
Following Evander for their king, have borne his banners home,
delegere locum et posuere in montibus urbem
And chosen earth, and reared their town amid a mountain place
Pallantis proaui de nomine Pallanteum.
E’en Pallanteum named, from him who first began their race:
hi bellum adsidue ducunt cum gente Latina; 55
This folk against the Latin men for ever wages fight,
hos castris adhibe socios et foedera iunge.
Bid them as fellows to thy camp, and treaty with them plight;
ipse ego te ripis et recto flumine ducam,
But I by bank and flow of flood will straightly lead thee there,
aduersum remis superes subuectus ut amnem.
While thou with beating of the oars the stream dost overbear.
surge age, nate dea, primisque cadentibus astris
Arise, arise, O Goddess-born, when the first star-world sets,
Iunoni fer rite preces, iramque minasque 60
Make prayer to Juno in due wise; o’ercome her wrath and threats
supplicibus supera uotis. mihi uictor honorem
With suppliant vows: victorious grown, thou yet shalt worship me;
persolues. ego sum pleno quem flumine cernis
For I am that abundant flood whom thou today dost see
stringentem ripas et pinguia culta secantem,
Sweeping the bank and cleaving way amid the plenteous earth,
caeruleus Thybris, caelo gratissimus amnis.
Blue Tiber, sweetest unto heaven of all the streams of worth.
hic mihi magna domus, celsis caput urbibus exit.’ 65
This is my mighty house; my head from lofty cities sweeps.”
Dixit, deinde lacu fluuius se condidit alto
The River spake, and hid himself amid the watery deeps;
ima petens; nox Aenean somnusque reliquit.
But night and slumber therewithal Æneas’ eyes forsook;
surgit et aetherii spectans orientia solis
He rose and toward the dawning-place and lights of heaven ‘gan look,
lumina rite cauis undam de flumine palmis
And duly in his hollow hand he lifted water fair
sustinet ac talis effundit ad aethera uoces: 70
From out the stream, and unto heaven in such wise poured his prayer:
‘Nymphae, Laurentes Nymphae, genus amnibus unde est,
“O Nymphs, Laurentian Nymphs, from whence the race of rivers springs,
tuque, o Thybri tuo genitor cum flumine sancto,
And thou, O father Tiber fair, with holy wanderings,
accipite Aenean et tandem arcete periclis.
Cherish Æneas; thrust from me the bitter following bane,
quo te cumque lacus miserantem incommoda nostra
What pool soe’er may nurse thy spring, O pityer of my pain,
fonte tenent, quocumque solo pulcherrimus exis, 75
From whatso land, O loveliest, thy stream may issue forth.
semper honore meo, semper celebrabere donis
For ever will I give thee gifts, and worship well thy worth,
corniger Hesperidum fluuius regnator aquarum.
Horned river, of all Westland streams the very king and lord;
adsis o tantum et propius tua numina firmes.’
Only be with me; faster bind thy great God-uttered word.”
sic memorat, geminasque legit de classe biremis
Thus having said, two twi-banked keels he chooseth from the fleet,
remigioque aptat, socios simul instruit armis. 80
And mans the oars and dights his folk with gear and weapons meet.
Ecce autem subitum atque oculis mirabile monstrum,
But lo meanwhile a wondrous sign is thrust before his eyes;
candida per siluam cum fetu concolor albo
For on the green-sward of the wood a snow-white sow there lies
procubuit uiridique in litore conspicitur sus;
Down by the strand, her little ones, like-hued, about her pressed;
quam pius Aeneas tibi enim, tibi, maxima Iuno,
Whom god-loving Æneas slays to thee, O mightiest,
mactat sacra ferens et cum grege sistit ad aram. 85
O Juno, at thine altar-fires hallowing both dam and brood.
Thybris ea fluuium, quam longa est, nocte tumentem
Now while the long night wore away, the swelling of his flood
leniit, et tacita refluens ita substitit unda,
Had Tiber soothed, and eddying back in peace the stream was stayed,
mitis ut in morem stagni placidaeque paludis
And in the manner of a mere the water’s face was laid,
sterneret aequor aquis, remo ut luctamen abesset.
Or as a pool, that so the oars unstrained their work may p
ly.
ergo iter inceptum celerant rumore secundo: 90
So now they speed their journey forth amid a happy cry;
labitur uncta uadis abies; mirantur et undae,
The oiled fir slips along the seas, the waves fall wondering then, —
miratur nemus insuetum fulgentia longe
The woods, unused, fall wondering sore to see the shields of men
scuta uirum fluuio pictasque innare carinas.
Shine far up stream; to see the keels bepainted swimming there:
olli remigio noctemque diemque fatigant
But day and night, with beat of oars, the watery way they wear,
et longos superant flexus, uariisque teguntur 95
And conquer reaches long, o’erlaid with many a shifting tree,
arboribus, uiridisque secant placido aequore siluas.
And cleave the forest fair and green along the waveless sea.
sol medium caeli conscenderat igneus orbem
Unto the midmost crown of heaven had climbed the fiery sun,
cum muros arcemque procul ac rara domorum
By then the walls, and far-off burg, and few roofs one by one
tecta uident, quae nunc Romana potentia caelo
They see; the place raised high as heaven by mightiness of Rome,
aequauit, tum res inopes Euandrus habebat. 100
Where in those days Evander had an unrich, scanty home:
ocius aduertunt proras urbique propinquant.
So thither swift they turned their prows, and toward the city drew.
Forte die sollemnem illo rex Arcas honorem
That day it chanced the Arcadian King did yearly honour do
Amphitryoniadae magno diuisque ferebat
Unto Amphitryon’s mighty son, and on the God did call
ante urbem in luco. Pallas huic filius una,
In grove before the city-walls: Pallas, his son, withal,
una omnes iuuenum primi pauperque senatus 105
The battle-lords, the senate poor of that unwealthy folk
tura dabant, tepidusque cruor fumabat ad aras.
Cast incense there; with yet warm blood the altars were a-smoke.
ut celsas uidere rates atque inter opacum
But when they saw the tall ships glide amidst the dusky shade
adlabi nemus et tacitos incumbere remis,
Of woody banks, and might of men on oars all silent laid,
terrentur uisu subito cunctique relictis
Scared at the sudden sight they rise, and all the boards forsake:
consurgunt mensis. audax quos rumpere Pallas 110
But Pallas, of the hardy heart, forbids the feast to break,
sacra uetat raptoque uolat telo obuius ipse,
While he, with weapon caught in haste, flies forth to meet the men,
et procul e tumulo: ‘iuuenes, quae causa subegit
And crieth from a mound afar: “Fellows, what drave you then?
ignotas temptare uias? quo tenditis?’ inquit.
And whither wend ye on your ways by road untried before?
‘qui genus? unde domo? pacemne huc fertis an arma?’
What folk and from what home are ye? and is it peace or war?”
tum pater Aeneas puppi sic fatur ab alta 115
Then spake the father Æneas the lofty deck aboard,
paciferaeque manu ramum praetendit oliuae:
As with the peaceful olive-bough he reached his hand abroad;
‘Troiugenas ac tela uides inimica Latinis,
“Troy’s folk ye see and weapons whet against the Latin side,
quos illi bello profugos egere superbo.
Whom they have driven forth by war amid their plenteous pride.
Euandrum petimus. ferte haec et dicite lectos
We seek Evander: go ye forth and tell him this, and say
Dardaniae uenisse duces socia arma rogantis.’ 120
That chosen dukes of Troy are come for plighted troth to pray.”
obstipuit tanto percussus nomine Pallas:
The sound of such a mighty name smote Pallas with amaze:
‘egredere o quicumque es’ ait ‘coramque parentem
“Come forth,” he said, “whoso ye be: before my father’s face
adloquere ac nostris succede penatibus hospes.’
Say what ye would; come to our Gods and in our house be guest.”
excepitque manu dextramque amplexus inhaesit;
So saying he gave his hand to him, and hard his right hand pressed;
progressi subeunt luco fluuiumque relinquunt. 125
Therewith they leave the river-bank, and wend amidst the wood:
Tum regem Aeneas dictis adfatur amicis:
But spake Æneas to the king fair friendly words and good:
‘optime Graiugenum, cui me Fortuna precari
“O best of Greeks, whom fortune wills that I should now beseech,
et uitta comptos uoluit praetendere ramos,
And unto thee the suppliant staff of olive garlands reach,
non equidem extimui Danaum quod ductor et Arcas
I feared thee not for Arcas’ seed or Duke of Danai,
quodque a stirpe fores geminis coniunctus Atridis; 130
Nor for thy being to Atreus’ twins a kinsman born anigh:
sed mea me uirtus et sancta oracula diuum
Rather my heart, and holy words that Gods have given forth,
cognatique patres, tua terris didita fama,
Our fathers’ kin, the world-wide tale that goeth of thy worth,
coniunxere tibi et fatis egere uolentem.
Bind me to thee, and make me fain of what Fate bids befall.
Dardanus, Iliacae primus pater urbis et auctor,
Now Dardanus, first setter-up and sire of Ilian wall,
Electra, ut Grai perhibent, Atlantide cretus, 135
Born of Electra, Atlas’ child, as Greekish stories say,
aduehitur Teucros; Electram maximus Atlas
Came to the Teucrians: Atlas huge Electra gave today,
edidit, aetherios umero qui sustinet orbis.
Atlas, who on his shoulders rears the round-wrought heavenly house:
uobis Mercurius pater est, quem candida Maia
But Mercury thy father is, whom Maia glorious
Cyllenae gelido conceptum uertice fudit;
Conceived, and shed on earth one day on high Cyllene cold;
at Maiam, auditis si quicquam credimus, Atlas, 140
But Atlas Maia too begot, if we may trow tale told,
idem Atlas generat caeli qui sidera tollit.
That very Atlas who the stars of heavenly house doth raise,
sic genus amborum scindit se sanguine ab uno.
So from one root the race of us wends on its twofold ways.
his fretus non legatos neque prima per artem
Stayed by these things none else I sent, nor guilefully have sought,
temptamenta tui pepigi; me, me ipse meumque
Assaying of thee, but myself unto thyself I brought,
obieci caput et supplex ad limina ueni. 145
And mine own head; and here I stand a suppliant at thy door.
gens eadem, quae te, crudeli Daunia bello
And that same Daunian folk of men drive us with bitter war
insequitur; nos si pellant nihil afore credunt
As fall on thee: if us they chase, what stay but utterly,
quin omnem Hesperiam penitus sua sub iuga mittant,
(So deem they) all the Westland earth beneath their yoke shall lie,
et mare quod supra teneant quodque adluit infra.
With all the upper flood of sea, and nether waters’ wash.
accipe daque fidem. sunt nobis fortia bello 150
Take troth and give it: hearts are we stout in the battle’s clash,
pectora, sunt animi et rebus spectata iuuentus.’
High-counselled souls, men well beheld in deeds that try the man.”
Dixerat Aeneas. ille os oculosque loquentis
He ended: but Evander’s look this long while overran
iamdudum et totum lustrabat lumine corpus.
His face, his speaking eyes, and all his body fair to see;
tum sic pauca refert: ‘ut te, fortissime Teucrum,
Then in few words he answered thus: “How sweet to welcome thee,
accipio agnoscoque libens! ut uerba parentis 155
Best heart of Troy! and how I mind the words, and seem to hear
et uocem Anchisae magni uultumque recordor!
Anchises’ voice, and see the face that mighty man did bear:
nam memini Hesionae uisentem regna sororis
For I remember Priam erst, child of Laomedon,
Laomedontiaden Priamum Salamina petentem
Came to Hesione’s abode, to Salamis passed on,
protinus Arcadiae gelidos inuisere finis.
And thence would wend his ways to seek Arcadia’s chilly place.
tum mihi prima genas uestibat flore iuuentas, 160
The blossom of the spring of life then bloomed upon my face,
mirabarque duces Teucros, mirabar et ipsum
When on the Teucrian lords I looked with joy and wonderment;
Laomedontiaden; sed cunctis altior ibat
On Priam, too: but loftier there than any other went
Anchises. mihi mens iuuenali ardebat amore
Anchises; and his sight in me struck youthful love awake.
compellare uirum et dextrae coniungere dextram;
I yearned to speak unto the man, and hand in hand to take:
accessi et cupidus Phenei sub moenia duxi. 165
So fain I met him, led him in to Phineus’ wallèd place;
ille mihi insignem pharetram Lyciasque sagittas
And he, departing, gave to me a noble arrow-case
discedens chlamydemque auro dedit intertextam,
And Lycian shafts; a cloak thereto, all shot across with gold,
frenaque bina meus quae nunc habet aurea Pallas.
And golden bridles twain, that now Pallas, my son, doth hold.
ergo et quam petitis iuncta est mihi foedere dextra,
Lo, then, the right hand that ye sought is joined in troth to thine;
et lux cum primum terris se crastina reddet, 170
And when tomorrow’s light once more upon the world shall shine,
auxilio laetos dimittam opibusque iuuabo.
Glad, holpen, shall I send you forth and stay you with my store.
interea sacra haec, quando huc uenistis amici,
Meanwhile, since here ye come our friends, with us the Gods adore
annua, quae differre nefas, celebrate fauentes
At this our hallowed yearly feast, which ill it were to stay: