Page:Aeneid (Conington 1866).djvu/438

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414
THE ÆNEID.

'Sun, and thou Land, attest my prayer,
For whom I have been fain to bear
So many a year of woe;
And Jove, Almighty Sire, and thou,
Saturnia, now at last, O now
No more Æneas' foe;
Thou too, great Mars, who rul'st the fray
By thine imperial nod,
And you, ye Springs and Floods, I pray,
Whate'er the powers that ether sway,
And ocean's every god:
If victory shall to Turnus fall,
The vanquished to Evander's wall
Their instant flight shall take:
Iulus shall the realm resign,
Nor here in Latium seed of mine
Fresh war hereafter wake:
But if, as prayers and hopes foresee,
The queen of battles smile on me,
I will not force Italia's land
To Teucrian rule to bow;
I seek no sceptre for my hand,
No diadem for my brow:
Lot race and race, unquelled and free,
Join hands in deathless amity.
My gods, my rites, I claim to bring:
Let sire Latinus still be king,
In peace and war the same;
The sons of Troy my destined town
Shall build, and fair Lavinia crown
The city with her name.'
He spoke, and nest Latinus prays
With lifted hand and heavenward gaze:
'By land, by sea, by stars I swear,
E'en as Æneas swore;
By queen Latona's princely pair,
And two-faced Janus hoar;