The Works of Virgil (Dryden)/Aeneid/Book VIII
hen Turnus had assembled all his Pow'rs;
His Standard planted on Laurentum's Tow'rs;
When now the sprightly Trumpet, from afar,
Had giv'n the Signal of approaching War,
Had rouz'd the neighing Steeds to scour the Fields, 5
While the fierce Riders clatter'd on their Shields,
Trembling with Rage, the Latian Youth prepare
To join th' Allies, and headlong rush to War.
Fierce Ufens, and Messapus, led the Crowd;
With bold Mezentius, who blasphem'd aloud. 10
These, thro' the Country took their wasteful Course;
The Fields to forage, and to gather Force.
Then Venulus to Diomede they send,
To beg his Aid Ausonia to defend:
Declare the common Danger; and inform 15
The Grecian Leader of the growing Storm:
Æneas landed on the Latian Coast,
With banish'd Gods, and with a baffled Hoast;
Yet now aspir'd to Conquest of the State;
And claim'd a Title from the Gods and Fate. 20
What num'rous Nations in his Quarrel came,
And how they spread his formidable Name:
What he design'd, what Mischiefs might arise,
If Fortune favour'd his first Enterprise,
Was left for him to weigh: whose equal Fears, 25
And common Interest was involv'd in theirs.
While Turnus and th' Allies thus urge the War,
The Trojan floating in a Flood of Care,
Beholds the Tempest which his Foes prepare.
This way and that he turns his anxious Mind; 30
Thinks, and rejects the Counsels he design'd.
Explores himself in vain, in ev'ry part,
And gives no rest to his distracted Heart.
So when the Sun by Day, or Moon by Night,
Strike, on the polish'd Brass their trembling Light, 35
The glitt'ring Species here and there divide;
And cast their dubious Beams from side to side:
Now on the Walls, now on the Pavement play,
And to the Ceiling flash the glaring Day.
Twas Night: And weary Nature lull'd asleep 40
The Birds of Air, and Fishes of the Deep;
And Beasts, and Mortal Men: The Trojan Chief
Was laid on Tyber's Banks, oppress'd with Grief,
And found in silent Slumber late Relief.
Then, thro' the Shadows of the Poplar Wood, 45
Arose the Father of the Roman Flood;
An Azure Robe was o'er his Body spread,
A Wreath of shady Reeds adorn'd his Head:
Thus, manifest to Sight, the God appear'd,
And with these pleasing Words his Sorrow chear'd.
Undoubted Off-spring of Etherial Race, 51
O long expected in this promis'd Place,
Who, thro' the Foes, hast born thy banish'd Gods,
Restor'd them to their Hearths, and old Abodes;
This is thy happy Home! The Clime where Fate 55
Ordains thee to restore the Trojan State.
Fear not, the War shall end in lasting Peace;
And all the Rage of haughty Juno cease.
And that this nightly Vision may not seem
Th' Effect of Fancy, or an idle Dream, 60
A Sow beneath an Oak shall lye along;
All white her self, and white her thirty Young.
When thirty rowling Years have run their Race,
Thy Son, Ascanius, on this empty Space,
Shall build a Royal Town, of lasting Fame; 65
Which from this Omen shall receive the Name.
Time shall approve the Truth: For what remains,
And how with sure Success to crown thy Pains,
With Patience next attend. A banish'd Band,
Driv'n with Evander from th' Arcadian Land, 70
Have planted here; and plac'd on high their Walls;
Their Town the Founder, Palanteum calls:
Deriv'd from Pallas, his great Grandsire's Name:
But the fierce Latians old Possession claim:
With War infesting the new Colony; 75
These make thy Friends, and on their Aid rely.
To thy free Passage I submit my Streams:
Wake Son of Venus from thy pleasing Dreams;
And, when the setting Stars are lost in Day,
To Juno's Pow'r thy just Devotion pay. 80
With Sacrifice the wrathful Queen appease;
Her Pride at length shall fall, her Fury cease;
When thou return'st victorious from the War,
Perform thy Vows to me with grateful Care.
The God am I, whose yellow Water flows 85
Around these Fields, and fatten as it goes:
Tyber my Name: among the rowling Floods,
Renown'd on Earth, esteem'd among the Gods.
This is my certain Seat: In Times to come,
My Waves shall wash the Walls of mighty Rome. 90
He said; and plung'd below, while yet he spoke:
His Dream Æneas and his Sleep forsook.
He rose, and looking up, beheld the Skies
With Purple blushing, and the Day arise.
Then, Water in his hollow Palm he took, 95
From Tyber's Flood; and thus the Pow'rs bespoke.
Laurentian Nymphs, by whom the Streams are fed,
And Father Tyber, in thy sacred Bed
Receive Æneas; and from Danger keep.
Whatever Fount, whatever holy Deep, 100
Conceals thy wat'ry Stores; where e'er thy rise,
And, bubling from below, salute the Skies:
Thou King of horned Floods, whose plenteous Urn
Suffices Fatness to the fruitful Corn,
For this thy kind Compassion of our Woes, 105
Shalt share my Morning Song, and Ev'ning Vows.
But, oh! be present to thy Peoples Aid;
And firm the gracious Promise thou hast made.
Thus having said, two Gallies, from his Stores,
With Care he chuses; Mans, and fits with Oars. 110
Now on the Shore the fatal Swine is found:
Wond'rous to tell; she lay along the Ground:
Her well fed Offspring at her Udders hung;
She white her self, and white her thirty young;
Æneas takes the Mother, and her Brood, 115
And all on Juno's Altar are bestow'd.
The foll'wing Night, and the succeeding Day,
Propitious Tyber smooth'd his wat'ry Way:
He rowl'd his River back; and pois'd he stood;
A gentle Swelling, and a peaceful Flood. 120
The Trojans mount their Ships; they put from Shoar,
Born on the Waves, and scarcely dip an Oar.
Shouts from the Land give Omen to their Course;
And the pitch'd Vessels glide with easie Force.
The Woods and Waters, wonder at the Gleam 125
Of Shields, and painted Ships, that stem the Stream.
One Summer's Night, and one whole Day they pass,
Betwixt the green-wood Shades; and cut the liquid Glass.
The fiery Sun had finish'd half his Race;
Look'd back, and doubted in the middle Space: 130
When they from far beheld the rising Tow'rs,
The Tops of Sheds, and Shepherds lowly Bow'rs:
Thin as they stood, which, then of homely Clay,
Now rise in Marble, from the Roman Sway.
These Cots, (Evander's Kingdom, mean and poor) 135
The Trojan saw, and turn'd his Ships to Shore.
Twas on a solemn Day: Th' Arcadian States,
The King and Prince without the City Gates,
Then paid their Off'rings in a sacred Grove,
To Hercules, the Warrior Son of Jove. 140
Thick Clouds of rowling Smoke involve the Skies;
And Fat of Entrails on his Altar fries.
But when they saw the Ships that stem'd the Flood,
And glitter'd thro' the Covert of the Wood,
They rose with Fear; and left th' unfinished'd Feast: 145
Till dauntless Pallas reassur'd the rest,
To pay the Rites. Himself without delay
A Jav'lin seiz'd, and singly took his Way.
Then gain'd a rising Ground; and call'd from far.
Resolve me, Strangers, whence, and what you are;
Your Buis'ness here; and bring you Peace or War? 151
High on the Stern, Æneas took his Stand,
And held a Branch of Olive in his Hand;
While thus he spoke. The Phrygians Arms you see;
Expell'd from Troy, provok'd in Italy 155
By Latian Foes, with War unjustly made:
At first affianc'd, and at last betray'd.
This Message bear: The Trojans and their Chief
Bring holy Peace; and beg the King's Relief.
Struck with so great a Name, and all on fire, 160
The Youth replies, Whatever you require,
Your Fame exacts: Upon our Shores descend,
A welcome Guest, and what you wish, a Friend.
He said; and downward hasting to the Strand,
Embrac'd the Stranger Prince, and join'd his Hand.
Conducted to the Grove, Æneas broke 166
The silence first, and thus the King bespoke.
Best of the Greeks, to whom, by Fates Command,
I bear these peaceful Branches in my hand;
Undaunted I approach you; though I know 170
Your Birth is Grecian, and your Land my Foe:
From Atreus tho' your ancient Lineage came;
And both the Brother Kings your Kindred claim:
Yet, my self-conscious Worth, your high Renown,
Your Virtue, thro' the Neighb'ring Nations blown,
Our Fathers mingl'd Blood, Apollo's Voice, 176
Have led me hither, less by Need than Choice.
Our Founder Dardanus, as Fame has sung,
And Greeks acknowledge, from Electra sprung:
Electra from the Loins of Atlas came; 180
Atlas whose Head sustains the Starry Frame.
Your Sire is Mercury; whom long before
On cold Cyllene's top fair Maja bore.
Maja the fair, on Fame if we rely,
Was Atlas Daughter, who sustains the Sky. 185
Thus from one common Source our Streams divide:
Ours is the Trojan, yours th' Arcadian side.
Rais'd by these Hopes, I sent no News before:
Nor ask'd you leave, nor did your Faith implore;
But come, without a Pledge, my own Ambassador.
The same Rutulians, who with Arms pursue 191
The Trojan Race, are equal Foes to you.
Our Host expell'd, what farther Force can stay
The Victor Troops from Universal Sway?
Then will they stretch their Pow'r athwart the Land;
And either Sea from side to side command. 196
Receive our offer'd Faith; and give us thine:
Our is a gen'rous, and experienc'd Line:
We want not Hearts, nor Bodies for the War;
In Council cautious, and in Fields we dare. 200
He said; and while he spoke, with piercing Eyes,
Evander view'd the Man with vast surprize.
Pleas'd with his Action, ravish'd with his Face,
Then answer'd briefly, with a Royal grace.
O Valiant Leader of the Trojan Line, 205
In whom the Features of thy Father shine;
How I recall Anchises, how I see
His Motions, Meen, and all my Friend in thee!
Long tho' it be, tis fresh within my Mind,
When Priam, to his Sister's Court design'd 210
A welcome Visit, with a friendly stay;
And, thro' th' Arcadian Kingdom took his way.
Then, past a Boy, the callow Down began
To shade my Chin, and call me first a Man.
I saw the shining Train, with vast delight, 215
And Priam's goodly Person pleas'd my sight:
But great Anchises, far above the rest,
With awful Wonder fir'd my Youthful Breast.
I long'd to join, in Friendship's holy Bands,
Our mutual Hearts, and plight our mutual Hands. 220
I first accosted him: I su'd, I sought,
And, with a loving force, to Pheneus brought.
He gave me, when at length constrain'd to go,
A Lycian Quiver, and a Gnossian Bow:
A Vest embroider'd, glorious to behold, 225
And two rich Bridles, with their Bits of Gold,
Which my Son's Coursers in obedience hold.
The League you ask I offer, as your Right:
And when to Morrow's Sun reveals the Light,
With swift Supplies you shall be sent away: 230
Now celebrate, with us, this solemn Day;
Whose Holy Rites admit no long Delay.
Honour our Annual Feast; and take your Seat
With friendly Welcome, at a homely Treat.
Thus having said, the Bowls (remov'd for Fear) 235
The Youths replac'd; and soon restor'd the Chear.
On sods of Turf he set the Souldiers round;
A Maple Throne, rais'd higher from the Ground,
Receiv'd the Trojan Chief: And o'er the Bed,
A Lion's shaggy Hide for Ornament they spread. 240
The Loaves were serv'd in Canisters; the Wine
In Bowls, the Priest renew'd the Rites Divine:
Broil'd Entrails are their Food; and Beefs continu'd Chine.
But, when the Rage of Hunger was repress'd,
Thus spoke Evander to his Royal Guest. 245
These Rites, these Altars, and this Feast, O King,
From no vain Fears, or Superstition spring:
Or blind Devotion, or from blinder Chances
Or heady Zeal, or brutal Ignorance:
But, sav'd from Danger, with a grateful Sence, 250
The Labours of a God we recompence.
See, from afar, yon Rock that mates the Sky;
About whose Feet such heaps of Rubbish lye:
Such indigested Ruin; bleak and bare,
How desart now it stands, expos'd in Air!
Twas once a Robber's Den; inclos'd around
With living Stone, and deep beneath the Ground.
The Monster Cacus, more than half a Beast,
This Hold, impervious to the Sun, possess'd.
The Pavement ever foul with human Gore; 260
Heads, and their mangled Members, hung the Door.
Vulcan this Plague begot: And, like his Sire,
Black Clouds he belch'd, and flakes of livid Fire.
Time, long expected, eas'd us of our Load:
And brought the needful presence of a God. 265
Th' avenging force of Hercules, from Spain,
Arriv'd in Triumph, from Geryon slain;
Thrice liv'd the Gyant, and thrice liv'd in vain.
His Prize, the lowing Herds, Alcides drove
Near Tyber's Bank, to graze the shady Grove. 270
Allur'd with Hope of Plunder, and intent
By Force to rob, by Fraud to circumvent;
The brutal Cacus, as by Chance they stray'd,
Four Oxen thence, and four fair Kine convey'd.
And, lest the printed Footsteps might be seen, 275
He drag'd 'em backwards to his rocky Den.
The Tracks averse, a lying Notice gave;
And led the Searcher backward from the Cave.
Mean time the Herdsman Heroe shifts his place:
To find fresh Pasture, and untrodden Grass. 280
The Beasts, who miss'd their Mates, fill'd all around
With Bellowings, and the Rocks restor'd the Sound.
One Heifar who had heard her Love complain,
Roar'd from the Cave; and made the Project vain.
Alcides found the Fraud: With Rage he shook, 285
And toss'd about his Head his knotted Oak.
Swift as the Winds, or Scythian Arrows flight,
He clomb, with eager haste, th' Aerial height.
Then first we saw the Monster mend his Pace:
Fear in his Eyes, and Paleness in his Face, 290
Confess'd the Gods approach: Trembling he springs,
As Terror had increas'd his Feet with Wings:
Nor stay'd for Stairs; but down the Depth he threw
His Body; on his Back the Door he drew.
The Door, a Rib of living Rock; with Pains 295
His Father hew'd it out, and bound with Iron Chains.
He broke the heavy Links; the Mountain clos'd;
And Bars and Leavers to his Foe oppos'd.
The Wretch had hardly made his Dungeon fast;
The fierce Avenger came with bounding haste: 300
Survey'd the Mouth of the forbidden hold;
And here and there his raging Eyes he rowl'd.
He gnash'd his Teeth; and thrice he compass'd round
With winged speed the Circuit of the Ground.
Thrice at the Cavern's Mouth he pull'd in vain, 305
And, panting, thrice desisted from his Pain.
A pointed flinty Rock, all bare, and black,
Grew gibbous from behind the Mountains Back:
Owls, Pavens, all ill Omens of the Night, 309
Here built their Nests, and hither wing'd their Flight.
The leaning Head hung threatning o'er the Flood;
And nodded to the left: The Heroe stood
Averse, with planted Feet, and from the right,
Tugg'd at the solid Stone with all his might.
Thus heav'd, the fix'd Foundations of the Rock 315
Gave way: Heav'n eccho'd at the ratling Shock.
Tumbling it choak'd the Flood: On either side
The Banks leap backward; and the Streams divide.
The Sky shrunk upward with unusual Dread:
And trembling Tyber div'd beneath his Bed. 320
The Court of Cacus stands reveal'd to sight;
The Cavern glares with new admitted Light.
So the pent Vapours with a rumbling Sound
Heave from below; and rend the hollow Ground:
A sounding Flaw succeeds: And from on high, 325
The Gods, with Hate beheld the neather Sky:
The Ghosts repine at violated Night;
And curse th' invading Sun; and sicken at the sight.
The graceless Monster caught in open Day,
Inclos'd, and in Despair to fly away; 330
Howls horrible from underneath, and fills
His hollow Palace, with unmanly Yells.
The Heroe stands above; and from afar
Plies him with Darts, and Stones, and distant War.
He, from his Nostrils, and huge Mouth, expires 335
Black Clouds of Smoke, amidst his Father's Fires.
Gath'ring, with each repeated Blast, the Night:
To make uncertain Aim, and erring Sight.
The wrathful God then plunges from above,
And where in thickest Waves the Sparkles drove, 340
There lights; and wades thro' Fumes, and gropes his Way;
Half sing'd, half stifled, till he grasps his Prey.
The Monster, spewing fruitless Flames, he found;
He squeez'd his Throat, he writh'd his Neck around,
And in a Knot his cripled Members bound. 345
Then, from their Sockets, tore his burning Eyes;
Rowl'd on a heap the breathless Robber lyes.
The Doors, unbarr'd, receive the rushing Day;
And thorough Lights disclose the ravish'd Prey.
The Bulls redeem'd, breathe open Air agen; 350
Next, by the Feet, they drag him from his Den.
The wond'ring Neighbourhood, with glad surprise,
Beheld his shagged Breast, his Gyant Size,
His Mouth that flames no more, and his extinguish'd Eyes.
From that auspicious Day, with Rites Divine, 355
We worship at the Hero's Holy Shrine.
Potitius first ordain'd these annual Vows,
As Priests, were added the Pinarian House:
Who rais'd this Altar in the Sacred Shade;
Where Honours, ever due, for ever shall be paid. 360
For these Deserts, and this high Virtue shown,
Ye warlike Youths, your Heads with Garlands crown.
Fill high the Goblets with a sparkling Flood:
And with deep Draughts invoke our common God.
This said, a double Wreath Evander twin'd: 365
And Poplars black and white his Temples bind.
Then Brims his ample Bowl: With like Design
The rest invoke the Gods, with sprinkled Wine.
Mean time the Sun descended from the Skies;
And the bright Evening-Star began to rise. 370
And now the Priests, Potitius at their Head,
In Skins of Beasts involv'd, the long Procession led:
Held high the flaming Tapers in their Hands;
As Custom had prescrib'd their holy Bands:
Then with a second Course the Tables load: 375
And with full Chargers offer to the God.
The Salij sing, and cense his Altars round
With Saban Smoke, their Heads with Poplar bound.
One Choir of old, another of the young;
To dance, and bear the Burthen of the Song. 380
The Lay records the Labours, and the Praise,
And all th' Immortal Acts of Hercules.
First, how the mighty Babe, when swath'd in Bands,
The Serpents strangled, with his Infant Hands.
Then, as in Years, and matchless Force he grew, 385
Th' Oechalian Walls, and Trojan overthrew.
Besides a thousand Hazards they relate,
Procur'd by Juno's, and Euristheus's Hate.
Thy Hands, unconquer'd Heroe, cou'd subdue
The Cloud-born Centaurs, and the Monster Crew. 390
Nor thy resistless Arm the Bull with stood:
Nor He the roaring Terror of the Wood.
The triple Porter of the Stygian Seat,
With lolling Tongue, lay fawning at thy Feet:
And, seiz'd with Fear, forgot his mangled Meat. 395
Th' Infernal Waters trembled at thy Sight;
Thee, God, no face of Danger cou'd Affright;
Not huge Typhœus, nor th' unnumber'd Snake,
Increas'd with hissing Heads, in Lerna's Lake.
Hail Jove's undoubted Son! An added Grace 400
To Heav'n, and the great Author of thy Race.
Receive the grateful Off'rings, which we pay,
And smile propitious on thy solemn Day.
In Numbers, thus, they sung: Above the rest,
The Den, and Death of Cacus crown the Feast. 405
The Woods to hollow Vales convey the Sound;
The Vales to Hills, and Hills the Notes rebound.
The Rites perform'd, the chearful Train retire.
Betwixt young Pallas, and his aged Sire
The Trojan pass'd, the City to survey; 410
And pleasing Talk beguil'd the tedious Way.
The Stranger cast around his curious Eyes;
New Objects viewing still, with new Surprise.
With greedy Joys enquires of various Things;
And Acts and Monuments of Ancient Kings. 415
Then thus the Founder of the Roman Tow'rs:
These Woods were first the Seat of Silvan Pow'rs,
Of Nymphs, and Fauns, and salvage Men, who took
Their Birth from Trunks of Trees, and stubborn Oak.
Nor Laws they knew, nor Manners, nor the Care
Of lab'ring Oxen, or the shining Share: 421
Nor Arts of Gain, nor what they gain'd to spare.
Their Exercise the Chase: the running Flood
Supply'd their Thirst; the Trees supply'd their Food.
Then Saturn came, who fled the Pow'r of Jove, 425
Robb'd of his Realms, and banish'd from above.
The Men, dispers'd on Hills, to Towns he brought;
And Laws ordain'd, and Civil Customs taught:
And Latium call'd the Land where safe he lay,
From his Unduteous Son, and his Usurping Sway. 430
With his mild Empire, Peace and Plenty came:
And hence the Golden Times deriv'd their name.
A more degenerate, and discolour'd Age,
Succeeded this, with Avarice and Rage.
Th' Ausonians, then, and bold Sicanians came; 435
And Saturn's Empire often chang'd the name.
Then Kings, Gygantick Tybris, and the rest,
With Arbitrary Sway the Land oppress'd.
For Tyber's flood was Albula before:
Till, from the Tyrants Fate, his name it bore. 440
I last arriv'd, driv'n from my native home,
By Fortune's Pow'r, and Fate's resistless Doom.
Long toss'd on Seas I sought this happy Land:
Warn'd by my Mother Nymph, and call'd by Heav'ns Command.
Thus, walking on, he spoke: and shew'd the Gate,
Since call'd Carmental by the Roman State; 446
Where stood an Altar, Sacred to the Name
Of old Carmenta, the Prophetick Dame:
Who to her Son foretold th' Ænean Race,
Sublime in Fame, and Rome's Imperial Place. 450
Then shews the Forest, which in after times,
Fierce Romulus, for perpetrated Crimes,
A Sacred Refuge made: with this, the Shrine
Where Pan below the Rock had Rites Divine.
Then tells of Argus death, his murder'd Guest,455
Whose Grave, and Tomb, his Innocence attest.
Thence, to the steep Tarpeian Rock he leads;
Now Roof'd with Gold; then thatch'd with homely Reeds.
A Reverent fear (such Superstition reigns
Among the rude) ev'n then possess'd the Swains. 460
Some God they knew, what God they cou'd not tell,
Did there amidst the sacred horrour dwell.
Th' Arcadians thought him Jove; and said they saw
The mighty Thund'rer with Majestick awe;
Who shook his Shield, and dealt his Bolts around; 465
And scatter'd Tempests on the teeming Ground.
Then saw two heaps of Ruins; once they stood
Two stately Towns, on either side the Flood.
Saturnia's and Janicula's Remains:
And, either place, the Founder's Name retains. 470
Discoursing thus together, they resort
Where poor Evander kept his Country Court.
They view'd the ground of Rome's litigious Hall;
Once Oxen low'd, where now the Lawyers bawl.
Then, stooping, thro' the Narrow Gate they press'd,
When thus the King bespoke his Trojan Guest. 476
Mean as it is, this Palace, and this Door,
Receiv'd Alcides, then a Conquerour.
Dare to be poor: accept our homely Food
Which feasted him; and emulate a God. 480
Then, underneath a lowly Roof, he led
The weary Prince; and laid him on a Bed:
The stuffing Leaves, with Hides of Bears o'erspread.
Now Night had shed her silver Dews around,
And with her sable Wings embrac'd the Ground, 485
When Love's fair Goddess, anxious for her Son,
(New Tumults rising, and new Wars begun)
Couch'd with her Husband, in his Golden Bed,
With these alluring Words invokes his aid.
And, that her pleasing Speech his Mind may move,
Inspires each accent with the Charms of Love. 491
While Cruel Fate conspir'd with Grecian Pow'rs,
To level with the Ground the Trojan Tow'rs;
I ask'd not Aid th' unhappy to restore:
Nor did the Succour of thy Skill implore. 495
Nor urg'd the Labours of my Lord in vain;
A sinking Empire longer to sustain.
Tho' much I ow'd to Priam's House; and more
The Dangers of Æneas did deplore.
But now by Jove's Command, and Fates Decree, 500
His Race is doom'd to reign in Italy;
With humble Suit I beg thy needful Art,
O still propitious Pow'r, that Rules my Heart!
A Mother kneels a suppliant for her Son.
By Thetis and Aurora thou wert won 505
To forge impenetrable Shields, and grace,
With fated Arms, a less illustrious Race.
Behold, what haughty Nations are combin'd
Against the Relicks of the Phrygian Kind;
With Fire and Sword my People to destroy; 510
And conquer Venus twice, in conqu'ring Troy.
She said; and strait her Arms, of snowy hue,
About her unresolving Husband threw.
Her soft Embraces soon infuse Desire:
His Bones and Marrow sudden Warmth inspire; 515
And all the Godhead feels the wonted Fire.
Not half so swift the ratling Thunder flies,
Or forky Lightnings flash along the Skies.
The Goddess, proud of her successful Wiles,
And conscious of her Form, in secret Smiles. 520
Then thus, the Pow'r, obnoxious to her Charms,
Panting, and half dissolving in her Arms:
Why seek you Reasons for a Cause so just;
Or your own Beauties, or my Love distrust?
Long since, had you requir'd my helpful Hand, 525
Th' Artificer and Art you might command,
To labour Arms for Troy: Nor Jove, nor Fate,
Confin'd their Empire to so short a Date.
And, if you now desire new Wars to wage,
My Skill I promise; and my Pains engage. 530
Whatever melting Metals can conspire,
Or breathing Bellows, or the forming Fire,
Is freely yours: Your anxious Fears remove:
And think no Task is difficult to Love.
Trembling he spoke; and eager of her Charms, 535
He snatch'd the willing Goddess to his Arms;
Till in her Lap infus'd, he lay possess'd
Of full Desire, and sunk to pleasing Rest.
Now when the Night her middle race had rode;
And his first Slumber had refresh'd the God; 540
The time when early Housewifes leave the Bed;
When living Embers on the Hearth they spred;
Supply the Lamp, and call the Maids to rise,
With yawning Mouths, and with half open'd Eyes;
They ply the Distaff by the winking Light; 545
And to their daily Labour add the Night.
Thus frugally they earn their Childrens Bread:
And uncorrupted keep the Nuptial Bed.
Not less concern'd, nor at a later Hour,
Rose from his downy Couch the forging Pow'r. 550
Sacred to Vulcan's Name an Isle there lay,
Betwixt Sicilia's Coasts and Lipare;
Rais'd high on smoaking Rocks, and deep below,
In hollow Caves the Fires of Ætna glow.
The Cyclops here their heavy Hammers deal; 555
Loud Strokes, and hissings of tormented Steel
Are heard around: The boyling Waters roar;
And smoaky Flames thro' fuming Tunnels soar.
Hether, the Father of the Fire, by Night,
Through the brown Air precipitates his Flight. 560
On their Eternal Anvils here he found
The Brethren beating, and the Blows go round:
A load of pointless Thunder now there lies
Before their Hands, to ripen for the Skies:
These Darts, for angry Jove, they daily cast: 565
Consum'd on Mortals with prodigious waste.
Three Rays of writhen Rain, of Fire three more,
Of winged Southern Winds, and cloudy Store
As many parts, the dreadful Mixture frame:
And Fears are added, and avenging Flame. 570
Inferior Ministers, for Mars repair
His broken Axeltrees, and blunted War:
And send him forth agen, with furbish'd Arms,
To wake the lazy War, with Trumpets loud Alarms.
The rest refresh the scaly Snakes, that fold 575
The Shield of Pallas; and renew their Gold.
Full on the Crest the Gorgon's Head they place,
With Eyes that rowl in Death, and with distorted Face.
My Sons, said Vulcan, set your Tasks aside,
Your Strength, and Master Skill, must now be try'd.
Arms, for a Heroe forge: Arms that require 581
Your Force, your Speed, and all your forming Fire.
He said: They set their former Work aside:
And their new Toils with eager haste divide.
A Flood of molten Silver, Brass, and Gold, 585
And deadly Steel, in the large Furnace rowl'd;
Of this, their artful Hands a Shield prepare;
Alone sufficient to sustain the War.
Sev'n Orbs within a spacious round they close;
One stirs the Fire, and one the Bellows blows.590
The hissing Steel is in the Smithy drown'd;
The Grot with beaten Anvils groans around.
By turns their Arms advance, in equal time:
By turns their Hands descend, and Hammers chime.
They turn the glowing Mass, with crooked Tongs:
The fiery Work proceeds, with Rustick Songs. 596
While, at the Lemnian God's Command, they urge
Their Labours thus, and ply th' Eolian Forge:
The chearful Morn salutes Evander's Eyes;
And Songs of chirping Birds invite to rise. 600
He leaves his lowly Bed; his Buskins meet
Above his Ankles; Sandals sheath his Feet:
He sets his trusty Sword upon his side;
And o'er his Shoulder throws a Panther's Hide.
Two Menial Dogs before their Master press'd: 605
Thus clad, and guarded thus, he seeks his Kingly Guest.
Mindful of promis'd Aid, he mends his Pace:
But meets Æneas in the middle Space.
Young Pallas did his Father's Steps attend;
And true Achates waited on his Friend. 610
They join their Hands; a secret Seat they chuse;
Th' Arcadian first, their former Talk renews.
Undaunted Prince, I never can believe
The Trojan Empire lost, while you survive.
Command th' Assistance of a faithful Friend: 615
But feeble are the Succours I can send.
Our narrow Kingdom, here the Tyber bounds;
That other side the Latian State surrounds;
Insults our Walls, and wastes our fruitful Grounds.
But mighty Nations I prepare, to join 620
Their Arms with yours, and aid your just Design.
You come, as by your better Genius sent:
And Fortune seems to favour your intent.
Not far from hence there stands a Hilly Town,
Of ancient Building, and of high Renown; 625
Torn from the Tuscans, by the Lydian Race;
Who gave the Name of Care, to the Place
Once Agyllina call'd: It flourish'd long
In Pride of Wealth; and warlike People strong.
Till curs'd Mezentius, in a fatal Hour, 630
Assum'd the Crown, with Arbitrary Pow'r.
What Words can paint those execrable Times;
The Subjects Suff'rings, and the Tyrant's Crimes!
That Blood, those Murthers, O ye Gods replace
On his own Head, and on his impious Race! 635
The Living, and the Dead, at his Command
Were coupled, Face to Face, and Hand to Hand:
Till choak'd with Stench, in loath'd Embraces ty'd,
The ling 'ring Wretches pin'd away, and dy'd.
Thus plung'd in Ills, and meditating more; 640
The People's Patience try'd, no longer bore
The raging Monster: But with Arms beset
His House, and Vengeance and Destruction threat.
They fire his Palace: While the Flame ascends,
They force his Guards; and execute his Friends. 645
He cleaves the Crowd; and favour'd by the Night,
To Turnus's friendly Court directs his flight.
By just Revenge the Tuscans set on Fire,
With Arms, their King to Punishment require:
Their num'rous Troops, now muster'd on the Strand,
My Counsel shall submit to your Command. 651
Their Navy swarms upon the Coasts: They cry
To hoist their Anchors; but the Gods deny.
An ancient Augur, skill'd in future Fate,
With these foreboding Words restrains their Hate. 655
Ye brave in Arms, ye Lydian Blood, the Flow'r
Of Tuscan Youth, and choice of all their Pow'r,
Whom just Revenge against Mezentius arms,
To seek your Tyrant's Death, by lawful Arms:
Know this; no Native of our Land may lead 660
This pow'rful People: Seek a Foreign Head.
Aw'd with these Words, in Camps they still abide;
And wait with longing Looks their promis'd Guide.
Tarchon, the Tuscan Chief, to me has sent
Their Crown, and ev'ry Regal Ornament: 665
The People join their own with his Desire;
And All, my Conduct, as their King, require. A
But the chill Blood that creeps within my Veins,
And Age, and listless Limbs unfit for Pains,
And a Soul conscious of its own Decay, 670
Have forc'd me to refuse Imperial Sway.
My Pallas were more fit to mount the Throne;
And shou'd, but he's a Sabine Mother's Song
And half a Native: But in you combines
A Manly Vigour, and a Foreign Line. 675
Where Fate and smiling Fortune shew the Way,
Pursue the ready Path to Sov'rain Sway.
The Staff of my declining Days, my Son,
Shall make your good or ill Success his own.
In fighting Fields from you shall learn to dare: 680
And serve the hard Apprentiship of War.
Your matchless Courage, and your Conduct view;
And early shall begin t'admire and copy you.
Besides, two hundred Horse he shall command:
Tho' few, a warlike and well chosen Band. 685
These in my Name are listed: And my Son
As many more has added in his own.
Scarce had he said; Achates and his Guest,
With downcast Eyes their silent Grief exprest:
Who short of Succours; and in deep Despair, 690
Shook at the dismal Prospect of the War.
But his bright Mother, from a breaking Cloud,
To chear her Issue, thunder'd thrice aloud.
Thrice, forky Lightning flash'd along the Sky;
And Tyrrhene Trumpets thrice were heard on high.
Then, gazing up, repeated Peals they hear: 696
And, in a Heav'n serene, refulgent Arms appear;
Red'ning the Skies, and glitt'ring all around,
The temper'd Metals clash; and yield a Silver sound.
The rest stood trembling, struck with awe divine, 700
Æneas only conscious to the Sign,
Presag'd th' Event; and joyful view'd, above,
Th' accomplish'd Promise of the Queen of Love.
Then, to th' Arcadian King: This Prodigy
(Dismiss your Fear) belongs alone to me.705
Heav'n calls me to the War: Th' expected Sign
Is giv'n of promis'd Aid, and Arms Divine.
My Goddess-Mother; whose Indulgent Care,
Foresaw the Dangers of the growing War;
This Omen gave; when Bright Vulcanian Arms, 710
Fated from force of Steel by Stygian Charms,
Suspended, shone on high: She then foreshow'd
Approaching Fights, and Fields to float in Blood.
Turnus shall dearly pay for Faith forsworn: 714
And Corps, and Swords, and Shields, on Tyber born,
Shall choak his Flood: Now sound the loud Alarms;
And Latian Troops prepare your perjur'd Arms.
He said; and rising from his homely Throne,
The Solemn Rites of Hercules begun:
And on his Altars wak'd the sleeping Fires: 720
Then chearful to his Household-Gods retires.
There offers chosen Sheep: Th' Arcadian King
And Trojan Youth the same Oblations bring.
Next of his Men, and Ships, he makes review,
Draws out the best, and ablest of the Crew. 725
Down with the falling Stream the Refuse run:
To raise with joyful News his drooping Son.
Steeds are prepar'd to mount the Trojan Band;
Who wait their Leader to the Tyrrhene Land.
A sprightly Courser, fairer than the rest, 730
The King himself presents his Royal Guest.
A Lyon's Hide his Back and Limbs infold:
Precious with studded work, and Paws of Gold.
Fame through the little City spreads aloud
Th'intended March, amid the fearful Crowd:735
The Matrons beat their Breasts; dissolve in Tears;
And double their Devotion in their Fears.
The War at hand appears with more affright:
And rises ev'ry Moment to the sight.739
Then, old Evander, with a close embrace,
Strain'd his departing Friend; and Tears o'er-flow his Face.
Wou'd Heav'n, said he, my Strength and Youth recall,
Such as I was beneath Preneste's Wall;
Then when I made the foremost Foes retire,
And set whole heaps of conquer'd Shields on Fire. 745
When Herilus in single Fight I slew;
Whom with three lives Feronia did endue:
And thrice I sent him to the Stygian Shore;
Till the last Ebbing Soul return'd no more:
Such, if I stood renew'd, not these Alarms, 750
Nor Death, shou'd rend me from my Pallas Arms:
Nor proud Mezentius, thus unpunish'd, boast
His Rapes and Murthers on the Tuscan Coast.
Ye Gods! and mighty Jove, in pity bring
Relief, and hear a Father, and a King. 755
If Fate and you, reserve these Eyes, to see
My Son return with Peace and Victory;
If the lov'd Boy shall bless his Father's sight;
If we shall meet again with more delight;
Then draw my Life in length, let me sustain,760
In hopes of his Embrace, the worst of Pain.
But if your hard Decrees, which, O! I dread,
Have doom'd to death his undeserving head;
This, O this very Moment, let me die;
While Hopes and Fears in equal ballance lye.765
While yet possest of all his Youthful Charms,
I strain him close within these Aged Arms:
Before that fatal news my Soul shall wound!
He said, and, swooning, sunk upon the ground:
His Servants bore him off; and softly laid770
His languish'd Limbs upon his homely Bed.
The Horsemen march; the Gates are open'd wide;
Æneas at their head, Achates by his side.
Next these the Trojan Leaders rode along:
Last, follows in the Reer, th' Arcadian Throng.775
Young Pallas shone conspicuous o'er the rest;
Guilded his Arms, Embroider'd was his Vest.
So, from the Seas, exerts his radiant head
The Star, by whom the Lights of Heav'n are led:
Shakes from his rosie Locks the perly Dews;780
Dispels the darkness, and the Day renews.
The trembling Wives, the Walls and Turrets crowd;
And follow, with their Eyes, the dusty Cloud:
Which Winds disperse by fits; and shew from far
The blaze of Arms, and Shields, and shining War.785
The Troops, drawn up in beautiful Array,
O'er heathy Plains pursue the ready way.
Repeated peals of showts are heard around:
The Neighing Coursers answer to the sound:
And shake with horny Hoofs the solid ground.790
A greenwood Shade, for long Religion known,
Stands by the Streams that wash the Tuscan Town:
Incompass'd round with gloomy Hills above,
Which add a holy horrour to the Grove.
The first Inhabitants, of Grecian Blood,795
That sacred Forest to Sylvanus vow'd:
The Guardian of their Flocks, and Fields; and pay
Their due Devotions on his annual day.
Not far from hence, along the River's side,
In Tents secure, the Tuscan Troops abide;800
By Tarchon led. Now, from a rising ground,
Æneas cast his wond'ring Eyes around;
And all the Tyrrhene Army had in sight,
Stretch'd on the spacious Plain from left to right,
Thether his warlike Train the Trojan led;805
Refresh'd his Men, and weary'd Horses fed.
Mean time the Mother Goddess, crown'd with Charms,
Breaks thro' the Clouds, and brings the fated Arms.
Within a winding Vale she finds her Son,
On the cool River's Banks, retir'd alone.810
She shews her heav'nly Form, without disguise,
And gives her self to his desiring Eyes.
Behold, she said, perform'd, in ev'ry part,
My promise made; and Vulcan's labour'd Art.
Now seek, secure, the Latian Enemy; 815
And haughty Turnus to the Field defy.
She said: And having first her Son embrac'd;
The radiant Arms beneath an Oak she plac'd.
Proud of the Gift, he rowl'd his greedy sight
Around the Work, and gaz'd with vast delight, 820
He lifts, he turns, he poizes, and admires
The Crested Helm, that vomits radiant Fires:
His hands the fatal Sword, and Corslet hold:
One keen with temper'd Steel, one stiff with Gold.
Both ample, flaming both, and beamy bright: 825
So shines a Cloud, when edg'd with adverse Light.
He shakes the pointed Spear; and longs to try
The plaited Cuishes, on his manly thigh.
But most admires the Shields Mysterious mould,
And Roman Triumphs rising on the Gold. 830
For those, emboss'd, the Heav'nly Smith had wrought,
(Not in the Rolls of future Fate untaught,)
The Wars in Order, and the Race Divine
Of Warriors, issuing from the Julian Line.
The Cave of Mars was dress'd with mossy Greens: 835
There, by the Wolf, were laid the Martial Twins.
Intrepid on her swelling Dugs they hung;
The foster Dam loll'd out her fawning Tongue:
They suck'd secure, while bending back her Head,
She lick'd their tender Limbs; and form'd them as they fed. 840
Not far from thence new Rome appears, with Games
Projected for the Rape of Sabine Dames.
The Pit resounds with Shrieks: A War succeeds,
For breach of Publick Faith, and unexampl'd Deeds.
Here for Revenge the Sabine Troops contend: 845
The Romans there with Arms the Prey defend.
Weary'd with tedious War, at length they cease;
And both the Kings and Kingdoms plight the Peace.
The friendly Chiefs, before Jove's Altar stand;
Both arm'd, with each a Charger in his Hand: 850
A fatted Sow, for Sacrifice is led;
With Imprecations on the perjur'd Head.
Near this, the Traytor Metius, stretch'd between
Four fiery Steeds, is dragg'd along the Green;
By Tullus doom: The Brambles drink his Blood; 855
And his torn Limbs are left, the Vulture's Food.
There, Porsena to Rome proud Tarquin brings;
And wou'd by Force restore the banish'd Kings.
One Tyrant, for his fellow Tyrant fights:
The Roman Youth assert their Native Rights. 860
Before the Town the Tuscan Army lies:
To win by Famine, or by Fraud surprise.
Their King, half threat'ning, half disdaining stood:
While Cocles broke the Bridge; and stem'd the Flood.
The Captive Maids there tempt the raging Tide: 865
Spac'd from their Chains, with Clelia for their Guide.
High on a Rock Heroick Manlius stood;
To guard the Temple, and the Temple's God:
Then Rome was poor; and there you might behold
The Palace, thatch'd with Straw, now roof'd with Gold.
The Silver Goose before the shining Gate 871
There flew; and by her Cackle, sav'd the State.
She told the Gauls approach: Th' approaching Gauls,
Obscure in Night, ascend, and seize the Walls.
The Gold, dessembl'd well their yellow Hair: 875
And Golden Chains on their white Necks they wear.
Gold are their Vests: Long Alpine Spears they wield:
And their left Arm sustains a length of Shield.
Hard, by the leaping Salian Priests advance:
And naked thro' the Streets the mad Luperci dance: 880
In Caps of Wool. The Targets dropt from Heav'n:
Here modest Matrons in soft Litters driv'n,
To pay their Vows in solemn Pomp appear:
And odorous Gums in their chast Hands they bear.
Far hence remov'd, the Stygian Seats are seen: 885
Pains of the damn'd, and punish'd Catiline:
Hung on a Rock the Traytor; and around,
The Furies hissing from the neather Ground.
Apart from these, the happy Souls, he draws,
And Cato's holy Ghost, dispensing Laws. 890
Betwixt the Quarters, flows a Golden Sea:
But foaming Surges, there, in Silver play.
The dancing Dolphins, with their Tails, divide
The glitt'ring Waves; and cut the precious Tide.
Amid the Main, two mighty Fleets engage 895
Their Brazen Beaks; oppos'd with equal Rage.
Actium, surveys the well disputed Prize:
Leucate's wat'ry Plain, with foamy Billows fries.
Young Cæsar, on the Stern, in Armour bright;
Here leads the Romans and their Gods to fight: 900
His beamy Temples shoot their Flames afar;
And o'er his Head is hung the Julian Star.
Agrippa seconds him, with prosp'rous Gales:
And, with propitious Gods, his Foes assails.
A Naval Crown, that binds his Manly Brows, 905
The happy Fortune of the Fight foreshows.
Rang'd on the Line oppos'd, Antonius brings
Barbarian Aids, and Troops of Eastern Kings.
Th' Arabians near, and Bactrians from afar,
Of Tongues discordant, and a mingled War. 910
And, rich in gaudy Robes, amidst the Strife,
His ill Fate follows him; th' Egyptian Wife.
Moving they fight: With Oars, and forky Prows,
The Froth is gather'd; and the Water glows.
It seems, as if the Cyclades again 915
Were rooted up, and justled in the Main:
Or floating Mountains, floating Mountains meet,
Such is the fierce Encounter of the Fleet.
Fire-balls are thrown; and pointed Jav'lins fly:
The Fields of Neptune take a Purple Dye. 920
The Queen her self, amidst the loud Alarms,
With Cymbals toss'd her fainting Soldiers warms.
Fool as she was; who had not yet divin'dud
Her cruel Fate; nor saw the Snakes behind.
Her Country Gods, the Monsters of the Sky, 925
Great Neptune, Pallas, and Love's Queen, defie.
The Dog Anubis barks, but barks in vain;
Nor longer dares oppose th' Ætherial Train.
Mars, in the middle of the shining Shield
Is grav'd, and strides along the liquid Field. 930
The Diræ sowse from Heav'n, with swift Descent:
And Discord, dy'd in Blood, with Garments rent,
Divides the Preace: Her Steps, Bellona treads,
And shakes her Iron Rod above their Heads.
This seen, Apollo, from his Actian height, 935
Pours down his Arrows: At whose winged slight
The trembling Indians, and Egpytians yield:
And soft Sabæans quit the wat'ry Field.
The fatal Mistress hoists her silken Sails;
And, shrinking from the Fight, invokes the Gales. 940
Aghast the looks; and heaves her Breast, for Breath:
Panting, and pale with fear of future Death.
The God had figur'd her, as driv'n along,
By Winds and Waves; and scudding thro' the Throng.
Just opposite, sad Nilus, opens wide 945
His Arms, and ample Bosom, to the Tide.
And spreads his Mantle o'er the winding Coast:
In which he wraps his Queen, and hides the flying Hoast.
The Victor, to the Gods his Thanks express'd:
And Rome triumphant, with his Presence bless'd. 950
Three hundred Temples in the Town he plac'd:
With Spoils and Altars ev'ry Temple grac'd.
Three shining Nights, and three succeeding Days,
The Fields resound with Shouts; the Streets with Praise: 954
The Domes with Songs, the Theatres with Plays.
All Altars flame: Before each Altar lies,
Drench'd in his Gore, the destin'd Sacrifice.
Great Cæsar sits sublime upon his Throne;
Before Apollo's Porch of Parian Stone:
Accepts the Presents vow'd for Victory; 960
And hangs the Monumental Crowns on high.
Vast Crowds of vanquish'd Nations march along:
Various in Arms, in Habit, and in Tongue.
Here, Mulciber assigns the proper Place
For Carians, and th' ungirt Numidian Race; 965
Then ranks the Thracians in the second Row;
With Scythians, expert in the Dart and Bow.
And here the tam'd Euphrates humbly glides;
And there the Rhine submits her swelling Tides. 969
And proud Araxes, whom no Bridge cou'd bind:
The Danes unconquer'd Offspring, march behind;
And Morini, the last of Human Kind.
These Figures, on the Shield divinely wrought,
By Vulcan labour'd, and by Venus brought,
With Joy and Wonder fill the Hero's thought. 975
Unknown the Names, he yet admires the Grace;
And bears aloft the Fame, and Fortune of his Race.
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The Eighth Book of the
ÆNEIS.
The ARGUMENT.
The War being now begun, both the Generals make all possible Preparations. Turnus sends to Diomedes. Æneas goes in Person to beg Succours from Evander and the Tuscans. Evander receives him kindly, furnishes him with Men, and sends his Son Pallas with him. Vulcan, at the Request of Venus, makes Arms for her Son Æneas, and draws on his Shield the most memorable Actions of his Posterity.
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hen Turnus had assembled all his Pow'rs;His Standard planted on Laurentum's Tow'rs;
When now the sprightly Trumpet, from afar,
Had giv'n the Signal of approaching War,
Had rouz'd the neighing Steeds to scour the Fields, 5
While the fierce Riders clatter'd on their Shields,
Trembling with Rage, the Latian Youth prepare
To join th' Allies, and headlong rush to War.
Fierce Ufens, and Messapus, led the Crowd;
With bold Mezentius, who blasphem'd aloud. 10
These, thro' the Country took their wasteful Course;
The Fields to forage, and to gather Force.
Then Venulus to Diomede they send,
To beg his Aid Ausonia to defend:
Declare the common Danger; and inform 15
The Grecian Leader of the growing Storm:
Æneas landed on the Latian Coast,
With banish'd Gods, and with a baffled Hoast;
Yet now aspir'd to Conquest of the State;
And claim'd a Title from the Gods and Fate. 20
What num'rous Nations in his Quarrel came,
And how they spread his formidable Name:
What he design'd, what Mischiefs might arise,
If Fortune favour'd his first Enterprise,
Was left for him to weigh: whose equal Fears, 25
And common Interest was involv'd in theirs.
While Turnus and th' Allies thus urge the War,
The Trojan floating in a Flood of Care,
Beholds the Tempest which his Foes prepare.
This way and that he turns his anxious Mind; 30
Thinks, and rejects the Counsels he design'd.
Explores himself in vain, in ev'ry part,
And gives no rest to his distracted Heart.
So when the Sun by Day, or Moon by Night,
Strike, on the polish'd Brass their trembling Light, 35
The glitt'ring Species here and there divide;
And cast their dubious Beams from side to side:
Now on the Walls, now on the Pavement play,
And to the Ceiling flash the glaring Day.
Twas Night: And weary Nature lull'd asleep 40
The Birds of Air, and Fishes of the Deep;
And Beasts, and Mortal Men: The Trojan Chief
Was laid on Tyber's Banks, oppress'd with Grief,
And found in silent Slumber late Relief.
Then, thro' the Shadows of the Poplar Wood, 45
Arose the Father of the Roman Flood;
An Azure Robe was o'er his Body spread,
A Wreath of shady Reeds adorn'd his Head:
Thus, manifest to Sight, the God appear'd,
And with these pleasing Words his Sorrow chear'd.
Undoubted Off-spring of Etherial Race, 51
O long expected in this promis'd Place,
Who, thro' the Foes, hast born thy banish'd Gods,
Restor'd them to their Hearths, and old Abodes;
This is thy happy Home! The Clime where Fate 55
Ordains thee to restore the Trojan State.
Fear not, the War shall end in lasting Peace;
And all the Rage of haughty Juno cease.
And that this nightly Vision may not seem
Th' Effect of Fancy, or an idle Dream, 60
A Sow beneath an Oak shall lye along;
All white her self, and white her thirty Young.
When thirty rowling Years have run their Race,
Thy Son, Ascanius, on this empty Space,
Shall build a Royal Town, of lasting Fame; 65
Which from this Omen shall receive the Name.
Time shall approve the Truth: For what remains,
And how with sure Success to crown thy Pains,
With Patience next attend. A banish'd Band,
Driv'n with Evander from th' Arcadian Land, 70
Have planted here; and plac'd on high their Walls;
Their Town the Founder, Palanteum calls:
Deriv'd from Pallas, his great Grandsire's Name:
But the fierce Latians old Possession claim:
With War infesting the new Colony; 75
These make thy Friends, and on their Aid rely.
To thy free Passage I submit my Streams:
Wake Son of Venus from thy pleasing Dreams;
And, when the setting Stars are lost in Day,
To Juno's Pow'r thy just Devotion pay. 80
With Sacrifice the wrathful Queen appease;
Her Pride at length shall fall, her Fury cease;
When thou return'st victorious from the War,
Perform thy Vows to me with grateful Care.
The God am I, whose yellow Water flows 85
Around these Fields, and fatten as it goes:
Tyber my Name: among the rowling Floods,
Renown'd on Earth, esteem'd among the Gods.
This is my certain Seat: In Times to come,
My Waves shall wash the Walls of mighty Rome. 90
He said; and plung'd below, while yet he spoke:
His Dream Æneas and his Sleep forsook.
He rose, and looking up, beheld the Skies
With Purple blushing, and the Day arise.
Then, Water in his hollow Palm he took, 95
From Tyber's Flood; and thus the Pow'rs bespoke.
Laurentian Nymphs, by whom the Streams are fed,
And Father Tyber, in thy sacred Bed
Receive Æneas; and from Danger keep.
Whatever Fount, whatever holy Deep, 100
Conceals thy wat'ry Stores; where e'er thy rise,
And, bubling from below, salute the Skies:
Thou King of horned Floods, whose plenteous Urn
Suffices Fatness to the fruitful Corn,
For this thy kind Compassion of our Woes, 105
Shalt share my Morning Song, and Ev'ning Vows.
But, oh! be present to thy Peoples Aid;
And firm the gracious Promise thou hast made.
Thus having said, two Gallies, from his Stores,
With Care he chuses; Mans, and fits with Oars. 110
Now on the Shore the fatal Swine is found:
Wond'rous to tell; she lay along the Ground:
Her well fed Offspring at her Udders hung;
She white her self, and white her thirty young;
Æneas takes the Mother, and her Brood, 115
And all on Juno's Altar are bestow'd.
The foll'wing Night, and the succeeding Day,
Propitious Tyber smooth'd his wat'ry Way:
He rowl'd his River back; and pois'd he stood;
A gentle Swelling, and a peaceful Flood. 120
The Trojans mount their Ships; they put from Shoar,
Born on the Waves, and scarcely dip an Oar.
Shouts from the Land give Omen to their Course;
And the pitch'd Vessels glide with easie Force.
The Woods and Waters, wonder at the Gleam 125
Of Shields, and painted Ships, that stem the Stream.
One Summer's Night, and one whole Day they pass,
Betwixt the green-wood Shades; and cut the liquid Glass.
The fiery Sun had finish'd half his Race;
Look'd back, and doubted in the middle Space: 130
When they from far beheld the rising Tow'rs,
The Tops of Sheds, and Shepherds lowly Bow'rs:
Thin as they stood, which, then of homely Clay,
Now rise in Marble, from the Roman Sway.
These Cots, (Evander's Kingdom, mean and poor) 135
The Trojan saw, and turn'd his Ships to Shore.
Twas on a solemn Day: Th' Arcadian States,
The King and Prince without the City Gates,
Then paid their Off'rings in a sacred Grove,
To Hercules, the Warrior Son of Jove. 140
Thick Clouds of rowling Smoke involve the Skies;
And Fat of Entrails on his Altar fries.
But when they saw the Ships that stem'd the Flood,
And glitter'd thro' the Covert of the Wood,
They rose with Fear; and left th' unfinished'd Feast: 145
Till dauntless Pallas reassur'd the rest,
To pay the Rites. Himself without delay
A Jav'lin seiz'd, and singly took his Way.
Then gain'd a rising Ground; and call'd from far.
Resolve me, Strangers, whence, and what you are;
Your Buis'ness here; and bring you Peace or War? 151
High on the Stern, Æneas took his Stand,
And held a Branch of Olive in his Hand;
While thus he spoke. The Phrygians Arms you see;
Expell'd from Troy, provok'd in Italy 155
By Latian Foes, with War unjustly made:
At first affianc'd, and at last betray'd.
This Message bear: The Trojans and their Chief
Bring holy Peace; and beg the King's Relief.
Struck with so great a Name, and all on fire, 160
The Youth replies, Whatever you require,
Your Fame exacts: Upon our Shores descend,
A welcome Guest, and what you wish, a Friend.
He said; and downward hasting to the Strand,
Embrac'd the Stranger Prince, and join'd his Hand.
Conducted to the Grove, Æneas broke 166
The silence first, and thus the King bespoke.
Best of the Greeks, to whom, by Fates Command,
I bear these peaceful Branches in my hand;
Undaunted I approach you; though I know 170
Your Birth is Grecian, and your Land my Foe:
From Atreus tho' your ancient Lineage came;
And both the Brother Kings your Kindred claim:
Yet, my self-conscious Worth, your high Renown,
Your Virtue, thro' the Neighb'ring Nations blown,
Our Fathers mingl'd Blood, Apollo's Voice, 176
Have led me hither, less by Need than Choice.
Our Founder Dardanus, as Fame has sung,
And Greeks acknowledge, from Electra sprung:
Electra from the Loins of Atlas came; 180
Atlas whose Head sustains the Starry Frame.
Your Sire is Mercury; whom long before
On cold Cyllene's top fair Maja bore.
Maja the fair, on Fame if we rely,
Was Atlas Daughter, who sustains the Sky. 185
Thus from one common Source our Streams divide:
Ours is the Trojan, yours th' Arcadian side.
Rais'd by these Hopes, I sent no News before:
Nor ask'd you leave, nor did your Faith implore;
But come, without a Pledge, my own Ambassador.
The same Rutulians, who with Arms pursue 191
The Trojan Race, are equal Foes to you.
Our Host expell'd, what farther Force can stay
The Victor Troops from Universal Sway?
Then will they stretch their Pow'r athwart the Land;
And either Sea from side to side command. 196
Receive our offer'd Faith; and give us thine:
Our is a gen'rous, and experienc'd Line:
We want not Hearts, nor Bodies for the War;
In Council cautious, and in Fields we dare. 200
He said; and while he spoke, with piercing Eyes,
Evander view'd the Man with vast surprize.
Pleas'd with his Action, ravish'd with his Face,
Then answer'd briefly, with a Royal grace.
O Valiant Leader of the Trojan Line, 205
In whom the Features of thy Father shine;
How I recall Anchises, how I see
His Motions, Meen, and all my Friend in thee!
Long tho' it be, tis fresh within my Mind,
When Priam, to his Sister's Court design'd 210
A welcome Visit, with a friendly stay;
And, thro' th' Arcadian Kingdom took his way.
Then, past a Boy, the callow Down began
To shade my Chin, and call me first a Man.
I saw the shining Train, with vast delight, 215
And Priam's goodly Person pleas'd my sight:
But great Anchises, far above the rest,
With awful Wonder fir'd my Youthful Breast.
I long'd to join, in Friendship's holy Bands,
Our mutual Hearts, and plight our mutual Hands. 220
I first accosted him: I su'd, I sought,
And, with a loving force, to Pheneus brought.
He gave me, when at length constrain'd to go,
A Lycian Quiver, and a Gnossian Bow:
A Vest embroider'd, glorious to behold, 225
And two rich Bridles, with their Bits of Gold,
Which my Son's Coursers in obedience hold.
The League you ask I offer, as your Right:
And when to Morrow's Sun reveals the Light,
With swift Supplies you shall be sent away: 230
Now celebrate, with us, this solemn Day;
Whose Holy Rites admit no long Delay.
Honour our Annual Feast; and take your Seat
With friendly Welcome, at a homely Treat.
Thus having said, the Bowls (remov'd for Fear) 235
The Youths replac'd; and soon restor'd the Chear.
On sods of Turf he set the Souldiers round;
A Maple Throne, rais'd higher from the Ground,
Receiv'd the Trojan Chief: And o'er the Bed,
A Lion's shaggy Hide for Ornament they spread. 240
The Loaves were serv'd in Canisters; the Wine
In Bowls, the Priest renew'd the Rites Divine:
Broil'd Entrails are their Food; and Beefs continu'd Chine.
But, when the Rage of Hunger was repress'd,
Thus spoke Evander to his Royal Guest. 245
These Rites, these Altars, and this Feast, O King,
From no vain Fears, or Superstition spring:
Or blind Devotion, or from blinder Chances
Or heady Zeal, or brutal Ignorance:
But, sav'd from Danger, with a grateful Sence, 250
The Labours of a God we recompence.
See, from afar, yon Rock that mates the Sky;
About whose Feet such heaps of Rubbish lye:
Such indigested Ruin; bleak and bare,
How desart now it stands, expos'd in Air!
Twas once a Robber's Den; inclos'd around
With living Stone, and deep beneath the Ground.
The Monster Cacus, more than half a Beast,
This Hold, impervious to the Sun, possess'd.
The Pavement ever foul with human Gore; 260
Heads, and their mangled Members, hung the Door.
Vulcan this Plague begot: And, like his Sire,
Black Clouds he belch'd, and flakes of livid Fire.
Time, long expected, eas'd us of our Load:
And brought the needful presence of a God. 265
Th' avenging force of Hercules, from Spain,
Arriv'd in Triumph, from Geryon slain;
Thrice liv'd the Gyant, and thrice liv'd in vain.
His Prize, the lowing Herds, Alcides drove
Near Tyber's Bank, to graze the shady Grove. 270
Allur'd with Hope of Plunder, and intent
By Force to rob, by Fraud to circumvent;
The brutal Cacus, as by Chance they stray'd,
Four Oxen thence, and four fair Kine convey'd.
And, lest the printed Footsteps might be seen, 275
He drag'd 'em backwards to his rocky Den.
The Tracks averse, a lying Notice gave;
And led the Searcher backward from the Cave.
Mean time the Herdsman Heroe shifts his place:
To find fresh Pasture, and untrodden Grass. 280
The Beasts, who miss'd their Mates, fill'd all around
With Bellowings, and the Rocks restor'd the Sound.
One Heifar who had heard her Love complain,
Roar'd from the Cave; and made the Project vain.
Alcides found the Fraud: With Rage he shook, 285
And toss'd about his Head his knotted Oak.
Swift as the Winds, or Scythian Arrows flight,
He clomb, with eager haste, th' Aerial height.
Then first we saw the Monster mend his Pace:
Fear in his Eyes, and Paleness in his Face, 290
Confess'd the Gods approach: Trembling he springs,
As Terror had increas'd his Feet with Wings:
Nor stay'd for Stairs; but down the Depth he threw
His Body; on his Back the Door he drew.
The Door, a Rib of living Rock; with Pains 295
His Father hew'd it out, and bound with Iron Chains.
He broke the heavy Links; the Mountain clos'd;
And Bars and Leavers to his Foe oppos'd.
The Wretch had hardly made his Dungeon fast;
The fierce Avenger came with bounding haste: 300
Survey'd the Mouth of the forbidden hold;
And here and there his raging Eyes he rowl'd.
He gnash'd his Teeth; and thrice he compass'd round
With winged speed the Circuit of the Ground.
Thrice at the Cavern's Mouth he pull'd in vain, 305
And, panting, thrice desisted from his Pain.
A pointed flinty Rock, all bare, and black,
Grew gibbous from behind the Mountains Back:
Owls, Pavens, all ill Omens of the Night, 309
Here built their Nests, and hither wing'd their Flight.
The leaning Head hung threatning o'er the Flood;
And nodded to the left: The Heroe stood
Averse, with planted Feet, and from the right,
Tugg'd at the solid Stone with all his might.
Thus heav'd, the fix'd Foundations of the Rock 315
Gave way: Heav'n eccho'd at the ratling Shock.
Tumbling it choak'd the Flood: On either side
The Banks leap backward; and the Streams divide.
The Sky shrunk upward with unusual Dread:
And trembling Tyber div'd beneath his Bed. 320
The Court of Cacus stands reveal'd to sight;
The Cavern glares with new admitted Light.
So the pent Vapours with a rumbling Sound
Heave from below; and rend the hollow Ground:
A sounding Flaw succeeds: And from on high, 325
The Gods, with Hate beheld the neather Sky:
The Ghosts repine at violated Night;
And curse th' invading Sun; and sicken at the sight.
The graceless Monster caught in open Day,
Inclos'd, and in Despair to fly away; 330
Howls horrible from underneath, and fills
His hollow Palace, with unmanly Yells.
The Heroe stands above; and from afar
Plies him with Darts, and Stones, and distant War.
He, from his Nostrils, and huge Mouth, expires 335
Black Clouds of Smoke, amidst his Father's Fires.
Gath'ring, with each repeated Blast, the Night:
To make uncertain Aim, and erring Sight.
The wrathful God then plunges from above,
And where in thickest Waves the Sparkles drove, 340
There lights; and wades thro' Fumes, and gropes his Way;
Half sing'd, half stifled, till he grasps his Prey.
The Monster, spewing fruitless Flames, he found;
He squeez'd his Throat, he writh'd his Neck around,
And in a Knot his cripled Members bound. 345
Then, from their Sockets, tore his burning Eyes;
Rowl'd on a heap the breathless Robber lyes.
The Doors, unbarr'd, receive the rushing Day;
And thorough Lights disclose the ravish'd Prey.
The Bulls redeem'd, breathe open Air agen; 350
Next, by the Feet, they drag him from his Den.
The wond'ring Neighbourhood, with glad surprise,
Beheld his shagged Breast, his Gyant Size,
His Mouth that flames no more, and his extinguish'd Eyes.
From that auspicious Day, with Rites Divine, 355
We worship at the Hero's Holy Shrine.
Potitius first ordain'd these annual Vows,
As Priests, were added the Pinarian House:
Who rais'd this Altar in the Sacred Shade;
Where Honours, ever due, for ever shall be paid. 360
For these Deserts, and this high Virtue shown,
Ye warlike Youths, your Heads with Garlands crown.
Fill high the Goblets with a sparkling Flood:
And with deep Draughts invoke our common God.
This said, a double Wreath Evander twin'd: 365
And Poplars black and white his Temples bind.
Then Brims his ample Bowl: With like Design
The rest invoke the Gods, with sprinkled Wine.
Mean time the Sun descended from the Skies;
And the bright Evening-Star began to rise. 370
And now the Priests, Potitius at their Head,
In Skins of Beasts involv'd, the long Procession led:
Held high the flaming Tapers in their Hands;
As Custom had prescrib'd their holy Bands:
Then with a second Course the Tables load: 375
And with full Chargers offer to the God.
The Salij sing, and cense his Altars round
With Saban Smoke, their Heads with Poplar bound.
One Choir of old, another of the young;
To dance, and bear the Burthen of the Song. 380
The Lay records the Labours, and the Praise,
And all th' Immortal Acts of Hercules.
First, how the mighty Babe, when swath'd in Bands,
The Serpents strangled, with his Infant Hands.
Then, as in Years, and matchless Force he grew, 385
Th' Oechalian Walls, and Trojan overthrew.
Besides a thousand Hazards they relate,
Procur'd by Juno's, and Euristheus's Hate.
Thy Hands, unconquer'd Heroe, cou'd subdue
The Cloud-born Centaurs, and the Monster Crew. 390
Nor thy resistless Arm the Bull with stood:
Nor He the roaring Terror of the Wood.
The triple Porter of the Stygian Seat,
With lolling Tongue, lay fawning at thy Feet:
And, seiz'd with Fear, forgot his mangled Meat. 395
Th' Infernal Waters trembled at thy Sight;
Thee, God, no face of Danger cou'd Affright;
Not huge Typhœus, nor th' unnumber'd Snake,
Increas'd with hissing Heads, in Lerna's Lake.
Hail Jove's undoubted Son! An added Grace 400
To Heav'n, and the great Author of thy Race.
Receive the grateful Off'rings, which we pay,
And smile propitious on thy solemn Day.
In Numbers, thus, they sung: Above the rest,
The Den, and Death of Cacus crown the Feast. 405
The Woods to hollow Vales convey the Sound;
The Vales to Hills, and Hills the Notes rebound.
The Rites perform'd, the chearful Train retire.
Betwixt young Pallas, and his aged Sire
The Trojan pass'd, the City to survey; 410
And pleasing Talk beguil'd the tedious Way.
The Stranger cast around his curious Eyes;
New Objects viewing still, with new Surprise.
With greedy Joys enquires of various Things;
And Acts and Monuments of Ancient Kings. 415
Then thus the Founder of the Roman Tow'rs:
These Woods were first the Seat of Silvan Pow'rs,
Of Nymphs, and Fauns, and salvage Men, who took
Their Birth from Trunks of Trees, and stubborn Oak.
Nor Laws they knew, nor Manners, nor the Care
Of lab'ring Oxen, or the shining Share: 421
Nor Arts of Gain, nor what they gain'd to spare.
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Supply'd their Thirst; the Trees supply'd their Food.
Then Saturn came, who fled the Pow'r of Jove, 425
Robb'd of his Realms, and banish'd from above.
The Men, dispers'd on Hills, to Towns he brought;
And Laws ordain'd, and Civil Customs taught:
And Latium call'd the Land where safe he lay,
From his Unduteous Son, and his Usurping Sway. 430
With his mild Empire, Peace and Plenty came:
And hence the Golden Times deriv'd their name.
A more degenerate, and discolour'd Age,
Succeeded this, with Avarice and Rage.
Th' Ausonians, then, and bold Sicanians came; 435
And Saturn's Empire often chang'd the name.
Then Kings, Gygantick Tybris, and the rest,
With Arbitrary Sway the Land oppress'd.
For Tyber's flood was Albula before:
Till, from the Tyrants Fate, his name it bore. 440
I last arriv'd, driv'n from my native home,
By Fortune's Pow'r, and Fate's resistless Doom.
Long toss'd on Seas I sought this happy Land:
Warn'd by my Mother Nymph, and call'd by Heav'ns Command.
Thus, walking on, he spoke: and shew'd the Gate,
Since call'd Carmental by the Roman State; 446
Where stood an Altar, Sacred to the Name
Of old Carmenta, the Prophetick Dame:
Who to her Son foretold th' Ænean Race,
Sublime in Fame, and Rome's Imperial Place. 450
Then shews the Forest, which in after times,
Fierce Romulus, for perpetrated Crimes,
A Sacred Refuge made: with this, the Shrine
Where Pan below the Rock had Rites Divine.
Then tells of Argus death, his murder'd Guest,455
Whose Grave, and Tomb, his Innocence attest.
Thence, to the steep Tarpeian Rock he leads;
Now Roof'd with Gold; then thatch'd with homely Reeds.
A Reverent fear (such Superstition reigns
Among the rude) ev'n then possess'd the Swains. 460
Some God they knew, what God they cou'd not tell,
Did there amidst the sacred horrour dwell.
Th' Arcadians thought him Jove; and said they saw
The mighty Thund'rer with Majestick awe;
Who shook his Shield, and dealt his Bolts around; 465
And scatter'd Tempests on the teeming Ground.
Then saw two heaps of Ruins; once they stood
Two stately Towns, on either side the Flood.
Saturnia's and Janicula's Remains:
And, either place, the Founder's Name retains. 470
Discoursing thus together, they resort
Where poor Evander kept his Country Court.
They view'd the ground of Rome's litigious Hall;
Once Oxen low'd, where now the Lawyers bawl.
Then, stooping, thro' the Narrow Gate they press'd,
When thus the King bespoke his Trojan Guest. 476
Mean as it is, this Palace, and this Door,
Receiv'd Alcides, then a Conquerour.
Dare to be poor: accept our homely Food
Which feasted him; and emulate a God. 480
Then, underneath a lowly Roof, he led
The weary Prince; and laid him on a Bed:
The stuffing Leaves, with Hides of Bears o'erspread.
Now Night had shed her silver Dews around,
And with her sable Wings embrac'd the Ground, 485
When Love's fair Goddess, anxious for her Son,
(New Tumults rising, and new Wars begun)
Couch'd with her Husband, in his Golden Bed,
With these alluring Words invokes his aid.
And, that her pleasing Speech his Mind may move,
Inspires each accent with the Charms of Love. 491
While Cruel Fate conspir'd with Grecian Pow'rs,
To level with the Ground the Trojan Tow'rs;
I ask'd not Aid th' unhappy to restore:
Nor did the Succour of thy Skill implore. 495
Nor urg'd the Labours of my Lord in vain;
A sinking Empire longer to sustain.
Tho' much I ow'd to Priam's House; and more
The Dangers of Æneas did deplore.
But now by Jove's Command, and Fates Decree, 500
His Race is doom'd to reign in Italy;
With humble Suit I beg thy needful Art,
O still propitious Pow'r, that Rules my Heart!
A Mother kneels a suppliant for her Son.
By Thetis and Aurora thou wert won 505
To forge impenetrable Shields, and grace,
With fated Arms, a less illustrious Race.
Behold, what haughty Nations are combin'd
Against the Relicks of the Phrygian Kind;
With Fire and Sword my People to destroy; 510
And conquer Venus twice, in conqu'ring Troy.
She said; and strait her Arms, of snowy hue,
About her unresolving Husband threw.
Her soft Embraces soon infuse Desire:
His Bones and Marrow sudden Warmth inspire; 515
And all the Godhead feels the wonted Fire.
Not half so swift the ratling Thunder flies,
Or forky Lightnings flash along the Skies.
The Goddess, proud of her successful Wiles,
And conscious of her Form, in secret Smiles. 520
Then thus, the Pow'r, obnoxious to her Charms,
Panting, and half dissolving in her Arms:
Why seek you Reasons for a Cause so just;
Or your own Beauties, or my Love distrust?
Long since, had you requir'd my helpful Hand, 525
Th' Artificer and Art you might command,
To labour Arms for Troy: Nor Jove, nor Fate,
Confin'd their Empire to so short a Date.
And, if you now desire new Wars to wage,
My Skill I promise; and my Pains engage. 530
Whatever melting Metals can conspire,
Or breathing Bellows, or the forming Fire,
Is freely yours: Your anxious Fears remove:
And think no Task is difficult to Love.
Trembling he spoke; and eager of her Charms, 535
He snatch'd the willing Goddess to his Arms;
Till in her Lap infus'd, he lay possess'd
Of full Desire, and sunk to pleasing Rest.
Now when the Night her middle race had rode;
And his first Slumber had refresh'd the God; 540
The time when early Housewifes leave the Bed;
When living Embers on the Hearth they spred;
Supply the Lamp, and call the Maids to rise,
With yawning Mouths, and with half open'd Eyes;
They ply the Distaff by the winking Light; 545
And to their daily Labour add the Night.
Thus frugally they earn their Childrens Bread:
And uncorrupted keep the Nuptial Bed.
Not less concern'd, nor at a later Hour,
Rose from his downy Couch the forging Pow'r. 550
Sacred to Vulcan's Name an Isle there lay,
Betwixt Sicilia's Coasts and Lipare;
Rais'd high on smoaking Rocks, and deep below,
In hollow Caves the Fires of Ætna glow.
The Cyclops here their heavy Hammers deal; 555
Loud Strokes, and hissings of tormented Steel
Are heard around: The boyling Waters roar;
And smoaky Flames thro' fuming Tunnels soar.
Hether, the Father of the Fire, by Night,
Through the brown Air precipitates his Flight. 560
On their Eternal Anvils here he found
The Brethren beating, and the Blows go round:
A load of pointless Thunder now there lies
Before their Hands, to ripen for the Skies:
These Darts, for angry Jove, they daily cast: 565
Consum'd on Mortals with prodigious waste.
Three Rays of writhen Rain, of Fire three more,
Of winged Southern Winds, and cloudy Store
As many parts, the dreadful Mixture frame:
And Fears are added, and avenging Flame. 570
Inferior Ministers, for Mars repair
His broken Axeltrees, and blunted War:
And send him forth agen, with furbish'd Arms,
To wake the lazy War, with Trumpets loud Alarms.
The rest refresh the scaly Snakes, that fold 575
The Shield of Pallas; and renew their Gold.
Full on the Crest the Gorgon's Head they place,
With Eyes that rowl in Death, and with distorted Face.
My Sons, said Vulcan, set your Tasks aside,
Your Strength, and Master Skill, must now be try'd.
Arms, for a Heroe forge: Arms that require 581
Your Force, your Speed, and all your forming Fire.
He said: They set their former Work aside:
And their new Toils with eager haste divide.
A Flood of molten Silver, Brass, and Gold, 585
And deadly Steel, in the large Furnace rowl'd;
Of this, their artful Hands a Shield prepare;
Alone sufficient to sustain the War.
Sev'n Orbs within a spacious round they close;
One stirs the Fire, and one the Bellows blows.590
The hissing Steel is in the Smithy drown'd;
The Grot with beaten Anvils groans around.
By turns their Arms advance, in equal time:
By turns their Hands descend, and Hammers chime.
They turn the glowing Mass, with crooked Tongs:
The fiery Work proceeds, with Rustick Songs. 596
While, at the Lemnian God's Command, they urge
Their Labours thus, and ply th' Eolian Forge:
The chearful Morn salutes Evander's Eyes;
And Songs of chirping Birds invite to rise. 600
He leaves his lowly Bed; his Buskins meet
Above his Ankles; Sandals sheath his Feet:
He sets his trusty Sword upon his side;
And o'er his Shoulder throws a Panther's Hide.
Two Menial Dogs before their Master press'd: 605
Thus clad, and guarded thus, he seeks his Kingly Guest.
Mindful of promis'd Aid, he mends his Pace:
But meets Æneas in the middle Space.
Young Pallas did his Father's Steps attend;
And true Achates waited on his Friend. 610
They join their Hands; a secret Seat they chuse;
Th' Arcadian first, their former Talk renews.
Undaunted Prince, I never can believe
The Trojan Empire lost, while you survive.
Command th' Assistance of a faithful Friend: 615
But feeble are the Succours I can send.
Our narrow Kingdom, here the Tyber bounds;
That other side the Latian State surrounds;
Insults our Walls, and wastes our fruitful Grounds.
But mighty Nations I prepare, to join 620
Their Arms with yours, and aid your just Design.
You come, as by your better Genius sent:
And Fortune seems to favour your intent.
Not far from hence there stands a Hilly Town,
Of ancient Building, and of high Renown; 625
Torn from the Tuscans, by the Lydian Race;
Who gave the Name of Care, to the Place
Once Agyllina call'd: It flourish'd long
In Pride of Wealth; and warlike People strong.
Till curs'd Mezentius, in a fatal Hour, 630
Assum'd the Crown, with Arbitrary Pow'r.
What Words can paint those execrable Times;
The Subjects Suff'rings, and the Tyrant's Crimes!
That Blood, those Murthers, O ye Gods replace
On his own Head, and on his impious Race! 635
The Living, and the Dead, at his Command
Were coupled, Face to Face, and Hand to Hand:
Till choak'd with Stench, in loath'd Embraces ty'd,
The ling 'ring Wretches pin'd away, and dy'd.
Thus plung'd in Ills, and meditating more; 640
The People's Patience try'd, no longer bore
The raging Monster: But with Arms beset
His House, and Vengeance and Destruction threat.
They fire his Palace: While the Flame ascends,
They force his Guards; and execute his Friends. 645
He cleaves the Crowd; and favour'd by the Night,
To Turnus's friendly Court directs his flight.
By just Revenge the Tuscans set on Fire,
With Arms, their King to Punishment require:
Their num'rous Troops, now muster'd on the Strand,
My Counsel shall submit to your Command. 651
Their Navy swarms upon the Coasts: They cry
To hoist their Anchors; but the Gods deny.
An ancient Augur, skill'd in future Fate,
With these foreboding Words restrains their Hate. 655
Ye brave in Arms, ye Lydian Blood, the Flow'r
Of Tuscan Youth, and choice of all their Pow'r,
Whom just Revenge against Mezentius arms,
To seek your Tyrant's Death, by lawful Arms:
Know this; no Native of our Land may lead 660
This pow'rful People: Seek a Foreign Head.
Aw'd with these Words, in Camps they still abide;
And wait with longing Looks their promis'd Guide.
Tarchon, the Tuscan Chief, to me has sent
Their Crown, and ev'ry Regal Ornament: 665
The People join their own with his Desire;
And All, my Conduct, as their King, require. A
But the chill Blood that creeps within my Veins,
And Age, and listless Limbs unfit for Pains,
And a Soul conscious of its own Decay, 670
Have forc'd me to refuse Imperial Sway.
My Pallas were more fit to mount the Throne;
And shou'd, but he's a Sabine Mother's Song
And half a Native: But in you combines
A Manly Vigour, and a Foreign Line. 675
Where Fate and smiling Fortune shew the Way,
Pursue the ready Path to Sov'rain Sway.
The Staff of my declining Days, my Son,
Shall make your good or ill Success his own.
In fighting Fields from you shall learn to dare: 680
And serve the hard Apprentiship of War.
Your matchless Courage, and your Conduct view;
And early shall begin t'admire and copy you.
Besides, two hundred Horse he shall command:
Tho' few, a warlike and well chosen Band. 685
These in my Name are listed: And my Son
As many more has added in his own.
Scarce had he said; Achates and his Guest,
With downcast Eyes their silent Grief exprest:
Who short of Succours; and in deep Despair, 690
Shook at the dismal Prospect of the War.
But his bright Mother, from a breaking Cloud,
To chear her Issue, thunder'd thrice aloud.
Thrice, forky Lightning flash'd along the Sky;
And Tyrrhene Trumpets thrice were heard on high.
Then, gazing up, repeated Peals they hear: 696
And, in a Heav'n serene, refulgent Arms appear;
Red'ning the Skies, and glitt'ring all around,
The temper'd Metals clash; and yield a Silver sound.
The rest stood trembling, struck with awe divine, 700
Æneas only conscious to the Sign,
Presag'd th' Event; and joyful view'd, above,
Th' accomplish'd Promise of the Queen of Love.
Then, to th' Arcadian King: This Prodigy
(Dismiss your Fear) belongs alone to me.705
Heav'n calls me to the War: Th' expected Sign
Is giv'n of promis'd Aid, and Arms Divine.
My Goddess-Mother; whose Indulgent Care,
Foresaw the Dangers of the growing War;
This Omen gave; when Bright Vulcanian Arms, 710
Fated from force of Steel by Stygian Charms,
Suspended, shone on high: She then foreshow'd
Approaching Fights, and Fields to float in Blood.
Turnus shall dearly pay for Faith forsworn: 714
And Corps, and Swords, and Shields, on Tyber born,
Shall choak his Flood: Now sound the loud Alarms;
And Latian Troops prepare your perjur'd Arms.
He said; and rising from his homely Throne,
The Solemn Rites of Hercules begun:
And on his Altars wak'd the sleeping Fires: 720
Then chearful to his Household-Gods retires.
There offers chosen Sheep: Th' Arcadian King
And Trojan Youth the same Oblations bring.
Next of his Men, and Ships, he makes review,
Draws out the best, and ablest of the Crew. 725
Down with the falling Stream the Refuse run:
To raise with joyful News his drooping Son.
Steeds are prepar'd to mount the Trojan Band;
Who wait their Leader to the Tyrrhene Land.
A sprightly Courser, fairer than the rest, 730
The King himself presents his Royal Guest.
A Lyon's Hide his Back and Limbs infold:
Precious with studded work, and Paws of Gold.
Fame through the little City spreads aloud
Th'intended March, amid the fearful Crowd:735
The Matrons beat their Breasts; dissolve in Tears;
And double their Devotion in their Fears.
The War at hand appears with more affright:
And rises ev'ry Moment to the sight.739
Then, old Evander, with a close embrace,
Strain'd his departing Friend; and Tears o'er-flow his Face.
Wou'd Heav'n, said he, my Strength and Youth recall,
Such as I was beneath Preneste's Wall;
Then when I made the foremost Foes retire,
And set whole heaps of conquer'd Shields on Fire. 745
When Herilus in single Fight I slew;
Whom with three lives Feronia did endue:
And thrice I sent him to the Stygian Shore;
Till the last Ebbing Soul return'd no more:
Such, if I stood renew'd, not these Alarms, 750
Nor Death, shou'd rend me from my Pallas Arms:
Nor proud Mezentius, thus unpunish'd, boast
His Rapes and Murthers on the Tuscan Coast.
Ye Gods! and mighty Jove, in pity bring
Relief, and hear a Father, and a King. 755
If Fate and you, reserve these Eyes, to see
My Son return with Peace and Victory;
If the lov'd Boy shall bless his Father's sight;
If we shall meet again with more delight;
Then draw my Life in length, let me sustain,760
In hopes of his Embrace, the worst of Pain.
But if your hard Decrees, which, O! I dread,
Have doom'd to death his undeserving head;
This, O this very Moment, let me die;
While Hopes and Fears in equal ballance lye.765
While yet possest of all his Youthful Charms,
I strain him close within these Aged Arms:
Before that fatal news my Soul shall wound!
He said, and, swooning, sunk upon the ground:
His Servants bore him off; and softly laid770
His languish'd Limbs upon his homely Bed.
The Horsemen march; the Gates are open'd wide;
Æneas at their head, Achates by his side.
Next these the Trojan Leaders rode along:
Last, follows in the Reer, th' Arcadian Throng.775
Young Pallas shone conspicuous o'er the rest;
Guilded his Arms, Embroider'd was his Vest.
So, from the Seas, exerts his radiant head
The Star, by whom the Lights of Heav'n are led:
Shakes from his rosie Locks the perly Dews;780
Dispels the darkness, and the Day renews.
The trembling Wives, the Walls and Turrets crowd;
And follow, with their Eyes, the dusty Cloud:
Which Winds disperse by fits; and shew from far
The blaze of Arms, and Shields, and shining War.785
The Troops, drawn up in beautiful Array,
O'er heathy Plains pursue the ready way.
Repeated peals of showts are heard around:
The Neighing Coursers answer to the sound:
And shake with horny Hoofs the solid ground.790
A greenwood Shade, for long Religion known,
Stands by the Streams that wash the Tuscan Town:
Incompass'd round with gloomy Hills above,
Which add a holy horrour to the Grove.
The first Inhabitants, of Grecian Blood,795
That sacred Forest to Sylvanus vow'd:
The Guardian of their Flocks, and Fields; and pay
Their due Devotions on his annual day.
Not far from hence, along the River's side,
In Tents secure, the Tuscan Troops abide;800
By Tarchon led. Now, from a rising ground,
Æneas cast his wond'ring Eyes around;
And all the Tyrrhene Army had in sight,
Stretch'd on the spacious Plain from left to right,
Thether his warlike Train the Trojan led;805
Refresh'd his Men, and weary'd Horses fed.
Mean time the Mother Goddess, crown'd with Charms,
Breaks thro' the Clouds, and brings the fated Arms.
Within a winding Vale she finds her Son,
On the cool River's Banks, retir'd alone.810
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And gives her self to his desiring Eyes.
Behold, she said, perform'd, in ev'ry part,
My promise made; and Vulcan's labour'd Art.
Now seek, secure, the Latian Enemy; 815
And haughty Turnus to the Field defy.
She said: And having first her Son embrac'd;
The radiant Arms beneath an Oak she plac'd.
Proud of the Gift, he rowl'd his greedy sight
Around the Work, and gaz'd with vast delight, 820
He lifts, he turns, he poizes, and admires
The Crested Helm, that vomits radiant Fires:
His hands the fatal Sword, and Corslet hold:
One keen with temper'd Steel, one stiff with Gold.
Both ample, flaming both, and beamy bright: 825
So shines a Cloud, when edg'd with adverse Light.
He shakes the pointed Spear; and longs to try
The plaited Cuishes, on his manly thigh.
But most admires the Shields Mysterious mould,
And Roman Triumphs rising on the Gold. 830
For those, emboss'd, the Heav'nly Smith had wrought,
(Not in the Rolls of future Fate untaught,)
The Wars in Order, and the Race Divine
Of Warriors, issuing from the Julian Line.
The Cave of Mars was dress'd with mossy Greens: 835
There, by the Wolf, were laid the Martial Twins.
Intrepid on her swelling Dugs they hung;
The foster Dam loll'd out her fawning Tongue:
They suck'd secure, while bending back her Head,
She lick'd their tender Limbs; and form'd them as they fed. 840
Not far from thence new Rome appears, with Games
Projected for the Rape of Sabine Dames.
The Pit resounds with Shrieks: A War succeeds,
For breach of Publick Faith, and unexampl'd Deeds.
Here for Revenge the Sabine Troops contend: 845
The Romans there with Arms the Prey defend.
Weary'd with tedious War, at length they cease;
And both the Kings and Kingdoms plight the Peace.
The friendly Chiefs, before Jove's Altar stand;
Both arm'd, with each a Charger in his Hand: 850
A fatted Sow, for Sacrifice is led;
With Imprecations on the perjur'd Head.
Near this, the Traytor Metius, stretch'd between
Four fiery Steeds, is dragg'd along the Green;
By Tullus doom: The Brambles drink his Blood; 855
And his torn Limbs are left, the Vulture's Food.
There, Porsena to Rome proud Tarquin brings;
And wou'd by Force restore the banish'd Kings.
One Tyrant, for his fellow Tyrant fights:
The Roman Youth assert their Native Rights. 860
Before the Town the Tuscan Army lies:
To win by Famine, or by Fraud surprise.
Their King, half threat'ning, half disdaining stood:
While Cocles broke the Bridge; and stem'd the Flood.
The Captive Maids there tempt the raging Tide: 865
Spac'd from their Chains, with Clelia for their Guide.
High on a Rock Heroick Manlius stood;
To guard the Temple, and the Temple's God:
Then Rome was poor; and there you might behold
The Palace, thatch'd with Straw, now roof'd with Gold.
The Silver Goose before the shining Gate 871
There flew; and by her Cackle, sav'd the State.
She told the Gauls approach: Th' approaching Gauls,
Obscure in Night, ascend, and seize the Walls.
The Gold, dessembl'd well their yellow Hair: 875
And Golden Chains on their white Necks they wear.
Gold are their Vests: Long Alpine Spears they wield:
And their left Arm sustains a length of Shield.
Hard, by the leaping Salian Priests advance:
And naked thro' the Streets the mad Luperci dance: 880
In Caps of Wool. The Targets dropt from Heav'n:
Here modest Matrons in soft Litters driv'n,
To pay their Vows in solemn Pomp appear:
And odorous Gums in their chast Hands they bear.
Far hence remov'd, the Stygian Seats are seen: 885
Pains of the damn'd, and punish'd Catiline:
Hung on a Rock the Traytor; and around,
The Furies hissing from the neather Ground.
Apart from these, the happy Souls, he draws,
And Cato's holy Ghost, dispensing Laws. 890
Betwixt the Quarters, flows a Golden Sea:
But foaming Surges, there, in Silver play.
The dancing Dolphins, with their Tails, divide
The glitt'ring Waves; and cut the precious Tide.
Amid the Main, two mighty Fleets engage 895
Their Brazen Beaks; oppos'd with equal Rage.
Actium, surveys the well disputed Prize:
Leucate's wat'ry Plain, with foamy Billows fries.
Young Cæsar, on the Stern, in Armour bright;
Here leads the Romans and their Gods to fight: 900
His beamy Temples shoot their Flames afar;
And o'er his Head is hung the Julian Star.
Agrippa seconds him, with prosp'rous Gales:
And, with propitious Gods, his Foes assails.
A Naval Crown, that binds his Manly Brows, 905
The happy Fortune of the Fight foreshows.
Rang'd on the Line oppos'd, Antonius brings
Barbarian Aids, and Troops of Eastern Kings.
Th' Arabians near, and Bactrians from afar,
Of Tongues discordant, and a mingled War. 910
And, rich in gaudy Robes, amidst the Strife,
His ill Fate follows him; th' Egyptian Wife.
Moving they fight: With Oars, and forky Prows,
The Froth is gather'd; and the Water glows.
It seems, as if the Cyclades again 915
Were rooted up, and justled in the Main:
Or floating Mountains, floating Mountains meet,
Such is the fierce Encounter of the Fleet.
Fire-balls are thrown; and pointed Jav'lins fly:
The Fields of Neptune take a Purple Dye. 920
The Queen her self, amidst the loud Alarms,
With Cymbals toss'd her fainting Soldiers warms.
Fool as she was; who had not yet divin'dud
Her cruel Fate; nor saw the Snakes behind.
Her Country Gods, the Monsters of the Sky, 925
Great Neptune, Pallas, and Love's Queen, defie.
The Dog Anubis barks, but barks in vain;
Nor longer dares oppose th' Ætherial Train.
Mars, in the middle of the shining Shield
Is grav'd, and strides along the liquid Field. 930
The Diræ sowse from Heav'n, with swift Descent:
And Discord, dy'd in Blood, with Garments rent,
Divides the Preace: Her Steps, Bellona treads,
And shakes her Iron Rod above their Heads.
This seen, Apollo, from his Actian height, 935
Pours down his Arrows: At whose winged slight
The trembling Indians, and Egpytians yield:
And soft Sabæans quit the wat'ry Field.
The fatal Mistress hoists her silken Sails;
And, shrinking from the Fight, invokes the Gales. 940
Aghast the looks; and heaves her Breast, for Breath:
Panting, and pale with fear of future Death.
The God had figur'd her, as driv'n along,
By Winds and Waves; and scudding thro' the Throng.
Just opposite, sad Nilus, opens wide 945
His Arms, and ample Bosom, to the Tide.
And spreads his Mantle o'er the winding Coast:
In which he wraps his Queen, and hides the flying Hoast.
The Victor, to the Gods his Thanks express'd:
And Rome triumphant, with his Presence bless'd. 950
Three hundred Temples in the Town he plac'd:
With Spoils and Altars ev'ry Temple grac'd.
Three shining Nights, and three succeeding Days,
The Fields resound with Shouts; the Streets with Praise: 954
The Domes with Songs, the Theatres with Plays.
All Altars flame: Before each Altar lies,
Drench'd in his Gore, the destin'd Sacrifice.
Great Cæsar sits sublime upon his Throne;
Before Apollo's Porch of Parian Stone:
Accepts the Presents vow'd for Victory; 960
And hangs the Monumental Crowns on high.
Vast Crowds of vanquish'd Nations march along:
Various in Arms, in Habit, and in Tongue.
Here, Mulciber assigns the proper Place
For Carians, and th' ungirt Numidian Race; 965
Then ranks the Thracians in the second Row;
With Scythians, expert in the Dart and Bow.
And here the tam'd Euphrates humbly glides;
And there the Rhine submits her swelling Tides. 969
And proud Araxes, whom no Bridge cou'd bind:
The Danes unconquer'd Offspring, march behind;
And Morini, the last of Human Kind.
These Figures, on the Shield divinely wrought,
By Vulcan labour'd, and by Venus brought,
With Joy and Wonder fill the Hero's thought. 975
Unknown the Names, he yet admires the Grace;
And bears aloft the Fame, and Fortune of his Race.