Complete Works of Virgil

by Virgil

  Per ordour, all the batalis and the wer

  Quhilk eftir this he had to ber on hand;

  And of the pepill eik in Latyn land,

  And of the cite of the kyng Latyne,

  He him instrukkis; and tharefter syne

  Taucht him quhat wyss he myght sustene or fle

  Evir hard danger or aduersite.

  Thar bene ordanyt for dremys ettis twane,

  Quharof, thai say, of horn forgit is ane,

  At quham the suythfast swevynnys by and by

  Departis all ways, and ischis furth lychtly;

  The tother port is forgit wail perfite

  Of eliphantyne and polist evor quhite,

  Bot tharat goddis infernal lattis owt

  The fals swevynnys to the warld about.

  So as Anchises had, apon this wyss,

  Rehersit, as said is, all thingis at devyss,

  Sibilla and his son togidder at schort

  He leit depart furth at the evor port.

  Eneas spedis the strecht way to the schippis,

  And can vissy agane his falloschippis.

  Fra thyne thai hald, endlang the costis bay,

  Onto the port of Caiet the strecht way.

  Furth of the forschip leyt thai ankyris glyde;

  The navy raid endlang the schoris syde.

  Eneas nurys, Caieta, can decess,

  Quhar it the place kepis hir name, but less.

  O Caieta, thou nurys of Ene,

  Thou hass alsso, that tyme quhen thou can de,

  Ontil our cost or fronteris of Itale

  Gevin the bruyt and fame perpetual,

  Quhil this day the ilke place and sted

  Observis the renovn eftir thy ded,

  Thy tumbe and banys merkit with thy name

  In gret Hesperia witnessyng the same,

  Gyf that be ony glory now to the.

  The reuthfull than and devote prince Ene

  Performyt dewly thy funerall seruys,

  Apon the sepultur, as custum was and gyss,

  Ane hepe of erd and litil mote gart vprayss,

  And with bent saill syne furth his vayage tays;

  Eftir that asswagit was the deip sey,

  Thai leif the cost and sped on thar iourne.

  The pypyng wynd blew in thar tail at nyght,

  Nor the schene moyn hir curss and cleir lyght

  Hass nocht denyit, so that the haw stremys

  Couth schyne and glittir vndre the twynkland glemys.

  The cost endlang the ille Circea

  Thai swepyng fast by, hard on burd the bra,

  Quhar as the ryche Sonnys douchtir, Circe,

  Thai schawis, quhamto repar nane aucht tobe,

  With hir ythand sweit sand and caralyng

  Cawsys allway forto resound and ryng,

  And in hir prowd place of beddis all the nycht

  The weil smelland cedyr byrnys bright;

  With subtil slays and hir hedlys sle,

  Rich lyne wobbis natly wefis sche.

  From this land redly on fer mycht thai her

  The gret rageyng of liones and the beir,

  Quhilk thai dyd mak, refusyng tobe in band

  In silens, all the lait nycht rumesand;

  The byrsit baris and beris in thar styis

  Roryng all wod with quhrynys and wild cryis,

  And gret figuris of wolffis eik infeir,

  owland with ammering grisly forto her;

  Quhilkis all this crwell goddess, hecht Circe,

  By enchantment and forcy herbis sle,

  Had furth of mannys figur and estait

  Into wild bestis schap and form translait.

  Quhilk monstruos transmutatioun for the nanys

  Ne happin mycht onto devoyt Troianys,

  Gyf thai arryvit in thai portis nyss

  Thai cursit costis of this enchantryss,

  At thai ne suld do entir, ne thame fynd,

  Thar salis all with prosper followand wynd

  Neptunus fillit, and maid thame sail swiftly,

  All dangeris and gray schaldis careit by.

  Heir endis the sext buke of Eneados And heir begynnys the proloug of the sevynt buke

  BUKE VII

  [The Proloug of the Sevynt Buke]

  As bryght Phebus, scheyn souerane hevynnys e,

  The opposit held of hys chymmys hie,

  Cleir schynand bemys, and goldyn symmyris hew,

  In laton cullour alteryng haill of new,

  Kythyng no syng of heyt be hys vissage,

  So neir approchit he his wyntir stage;

  Reddy he was to entyr the thrid morn

  In clowdy skyis vndre Capricorn;

  All thocht he be the hart and lamp of hevyn,

  Forfeblit wolx hys lemand gylty levyn,

  Throu the declynyng of hys large round speir.

  The frosty regioun ryngis of the er,

  The tyme and sesson bittir, cald and paill,

  Tha schort days that clerkis clepe brumaill,

  Quhen brym blastis of the northyn art

  Ourquhelmyt had Neptunus in his cart,

  And all to schaik the levis of the treis,

  The rageand storm ourweltrand wally seys.

  Ryveris ran reid on spait with watir brovne,

  And burnys hurlys all thar bankis dovne,

  And landbrist rumland rudely with sik beir,

  So lowd ne rumyst wild lyoun or ber;

  Fludis monstreis, sik as meirswyne or quhalis,

  Fro the tempest law in the deip devalis.

  Mars occident, retrograde in his speir,

  Prouocand stryfe, regnyt as lord that er;

  Rany Oryon with his stormy face

  Bewavit oft the schipman by hys race;

  Frawart Saturn, chill of complexioun,

  Throu quhais aspect darth and infectioun

  Beyn causyt oft, and mortal pestilens,

  Went progressyve the greis of his ascens;

  And lusty Hebe, Iunoys douchtir gay,

  Stude spuleit of hir office and array.

  The soyl ysowpit into watir wak,

  The firmament ourcast with rokis blak,

  The grond fadyt, and fawch wolx all the feildis,

  Montane toppis slekit with snaw ourheildis;

  On raggit rolkis of hard harsk quhyn stane

  With frosyn frontis cauld clynty clewis schane.

  Bewte was lost, and barrand schew the landis,

  With frostis hair ourfret the feldis standis.

  Seir bittir bubbis and the schowris snell

  Semyt on the sward a symylitude of hell,

  Reducyng to our mynd, in euery sted,

  Gousty schaddois of eild and grisly ded.

  Thik drumly skuggis dyrknyt so the hevyn,

  Dym skyis oft furth warpit feirfull levyn,

  Flaggis of fire, and mony felloun flaw,

  Scharpe soppys of sleit and of the snypand snaw.

  The dolly dichis war all donk and wait,

  The law valle flodderit all with spait,

  The plane stretis and euery hie way

  Full of floschis, dubbis, myre and clay.

  Laggerit leyis wallowit farnys schew,

  Brovne muris kythit thar wysnyt mossy hew,

  Bank, bra and boddum blanchit wolx and bar.

  For gurl weddir growit bestis hair.

  The wynd maid waif the red wed on the dyke,

  Bedowyn in donkis deip was euery sike.

  Our craggis and the front of rochis seir

  Hang gret ische schouchlis lang as ony speir.

  The grond stud barrant, widderit, dosk or gray,

  Herbis, flowris and gersis wallowyt away.

  Woddis, forrestis, with nakyt bewis blowt,

  Stude stripyt of thar weid in euery howt.

  So bustuusly Boreas his bugill blew,

  The deyr full dern doun in the dalis drew;

  Smale byrdis, flokkand throu thik ronys thrang,

  In chyrmyng and with cheping cha
ngit thar sang,

  Sekand hidlis and hyrnys thame to hyde

  Fra feirfull thuddis of the tempestuus tyde;

  The watir lynnys rowtis, and euery lynd

  Quhislit and brayt of the swouchand wynd.

  Puyr lauboraris and bissy husband men

  Went wait and wery draglit in the fen.

  The silly scheip and thar litil hyrd gromys

  Lurkis vndre le of bankis, woddis and bromys;

  And other dantit grettar bestiall,

  Within thar stabillis sesyt into stall,

  Sik as mulis, horssis, oxin and ky,

  Fed tuskyt barys and fat swyne in sty,

  Sustenyt war by mannys governance

  On hervist and on symmeris purvyance.

  Wyde quhar with forss so Eolus schowtis schill

  In this congelit sesson scharp and chill,

  The callour ayr, penetratyve and puyr,

  Dasyng the blude in euery creatur,

  Maid seik warm stovis and beyn fyris hoyt,

  In dowbill garmont cled and wily coyt,

  With mychty drink and metis confortyve,

  Agane the stern wyntir forto stryve.

  Repatyrrit weil, and by the chymnay bekyt,

  At evin be tyme dovne a bed I me strekyt,

  Warpit my hed, kest on clathis thrynfald,

  Fortil expell the peralus persand cald;

  I crosyt me, syne bownyt forto sleip,

  Quhar, lemand throu the glass, I dyd tak kepe

  Latonya, the lang irksum nyght,

  Hir subtell blenkis sched and watry lycht,

  Full hie vp quhirlyt in hir regioun,

  Till Phebus ryght in oppositioun,

  Into the Crab hir proper mansioun draw,

  Haldand the hight all thocht the son went law.

  Hornyt Hebowd, quhilk we clepe the nycht owle,

  Within hir cavern hard I schowt and owle,

  Laithly of form, with crukyt camscho beke,

  Vgsum to heir was hir wild elrich screke;

  The wild geiss claking eik by nyghtis tyde

  Atour the cite fleand hard I glyde.

  On slummyr I slaid full sad, and slepit sound

  Quhil the oriont vpwart gan rebound.

  Phebus crownyt byrd, the nyghtis orlager,

  Clapping his weyngis thryss had crawin cleir;

  Approching neir the greking of the day,

  Within my bed I walkynnyt quhar I lay;

  So fast declynys Synthea the moyn,

  And kays keklis on the ruyf aboyn;

  Palamedes byrdis crowpyng in the sky,

  Fleand on randon, schapyn like ane Y,

  And as a trumpat rang thar vocis soun,

  Quhois cryis bene pronosticatioun

  Of wyndy blastis and ventositeis;

  Fast by my chalmyr, in heich wysnyt treis,

  The soir gled quhislis lowd with mony a pew:

  Quhar by the day was dawyn weil I knew,

  Bad beit the fyre and the candill alyght,

  Syne blissyt me, and in my wedis dyght,

  A schot wyndo onschet a litill on char,

  Persauyt the mornyng bla, wan and har,

  With clowdy gum and rak ourquhelmyt the ayr,

  The sule stythly, hasart, rouch and hair,

  Branchis bratlyng, and blaknyt schew the brays

  With hirstis harsk of waggand wyndill strays,

  The dew droppis congelit on stibbill and rynd,

  And scharp hailstanys mortfundeit of kynd

  Hoppand on the thak and on the causay by.

  The schot I closit, and drew inwart in hy,

  Chyvirrand for cald, the sesson was so snell,

  Schupe with hayt flambe to fleym the fresyng fell.

  And, as I bownyt me to the fyre me by,

  Baith vp and down the howss I dyd aspy,

  And seand Virgill on a lettron stand,

  To write onone I hynt a pen in hand,

  Fortil perform the poet grave and sad,

  Quham sa fer furth or than begun I had,

  And wolx ennoyt sum deill in my hart

  Thar restit oncompletit sa gret a part.

  And to my self I said: “In gud effect

  Thou mon draw furth, the ok lyis on thy nek.”

  Within my mynde compasyng thocht I so,

  Na thing is done quhil ocht remanys ado;

  For byssynes, quhilk occurrit on cace,

  Ourvoluyt I this volume, lay a space;

  And, thocht I wery was, me list not tyre,

  Full laith to leif our wark swa in the myre,

  Or it to stynt for bitter storm or rane.

  Heir I assayt to ok our pleuch agane,

  And, as I couth, with afald diligens,

  This nixt buke following of profond sentens

  Has thus begun in the chil wyntir cald,

  Quhen frostis doith ourfret baith firth and fald. &c.

  Explicit tristis prologus

  Quharof the altar says thus:

  Thys proloug smellis new cum furth of hell,

  And, as our buk begouth hys weirfar tell,

  So weill according dewly bene annext

  Thou drery preambill, with a bludy text.

  Of sabyll be thy lettyris illumynate,

  According to thy process and estait.

  Incipit Liber septimus Eneados

  King Latyn of the goddis had command

  To wed hys douchter with man of onkouth land.

  Tho gan the sey of bemys walxin red,

  And heich abuf, dovn from the hevinly sted,

  Within hyr rosy cartis cleirly schane

  Aurora vestit into brovn sanguane.

  Eftir the wyndys lownyt war at will,

  And all the blastis pacefyit and still,

  Out our the calm streym of marbill gray

  With ayris palmys sweip thai furth thar way.

  And suddanly heir from the stabillit see

  A large semly schaw beheld Enee,

  Amyddis quham the flude he gan aspy

  Of Tybir flowand soft and esely,

  With sworland welis, and mekill allow sand,

  Into the sey dyd entyr fast at hand.

  The byrdis seir of mony diuerss hewis,

  About the watir, abuf vp in the clewis,

  On bankis weilbyknaw and fludis bay,

  Wyth wryblis sweit and myrthfull sangis gay

  Gan meyss and glaid the hevynnys and the ayr,

  And throu the schaw went fleand our alquhar.

  To turn thar courss he gan his feris command,

  And stevin thar schippis to the sammyn land;

  Ioyfull and blith thai entring in the flude,

  That dern about skuggyt with bewis stude.

  Now, thou my muse, Erato, I the pray,

  Do schaw me this, at I may scharply say

  Quhatkynd process of tyme was, and quhat kyngis

  In ald Latium, and in quhat stait all thingis,

  Quhen first this strange army or falloschip

  In Italy gan arryvyn, euery schip:

  I sall declar all, and reduce fut hait,

  From the begynnyng of the first debayt.

  O thou sweit goddes, O thou haly wight,

  Convoy and tech thy poet to say ryght!

  I sall the horribill batellis schaw and tell,

  The bludy ostis, and the feildis fell;

  Quhou, throw thar curage, douchty kyngis seir

  As ded corpss becum war, and brocht on beir;

  The power hale of all Tuscany,

  And all the gret rowtis of Italy

  Assemblit into armys on the land.

  Per ordour now thar risis apon hand

  Fer largear materis forto treit and write,

  A grettar wark begyn we to endyte.

  Tha boundis, with thar lusty citeis all,

  By lang proces of peax, in stait riall

  The king Latinus held in governyng;

  Or than full agyt was this nobill kyng,

  Quham, as
we haue hard tald ful long agone,

  By Kyng Fawnus engendrit was apon

  The mayd or nymphe of Lawrent, Marica.

  And to this Fawnus fader was alssua

  Picus the kyng, quhilk doith the represent,

  Saturnus, for hys fader and parent:

  Thou was the fyrst gan all thar blude begyn,

  The first fundment and cheif stok of kyn.

  By dispositioun of the goddis dyvyn,

  Son nor manchild nane had Kyng Latyn,

  For alsmekill as his ong son, a page,

  Discessit was within his tendir age.

  The kyngis palice and all that riall hald,

  All hyr allane, a douchtir dyd with hald,

  Now reddy for a man, and cum to age

  In grene heris to compleit mariage.

  Full mony nobillis into Latium

  Axit hir to wyf, throu Itale all and sum:

  Turnus hir axis, cummyn of hie parage,

  Abuf all other maste gudly personage,

  And tharto rich of frendis, and myghty

  Of eldris gret and riall anchestry,

  Quham Kyng Latinus spowss, Queyn Amata,

  With diligens dyd procur, day by day,

  That he adionyt war thar son in law.

  Bot feirfull syngnys by the goddis schaw,

  And syndry terrouris gan tharto ganestand.

  Amyddis of the palyce closs dyd stand,

  With blisfull bewis, a fair grene lawrer,

  Haldyn in dreid and wirschip mony a er,

  Quham this ilk prynce and fader Latinus

  Dyd consecrat and hallow to Phebus,

  For that he fand it growand in the feild

  Quhar he hys ryall palyce first dyd beild:

  The indwellaris of the grond, efter this tre,

  Lawrentes onto name clepit hes he.

  Betyd a wondir takynnyng for to say:

  A gret flight of beys, on a day,

  Careit our the sey heich throu the moist ayr,

  With lowd bemyng gan alycht and repar

  On the hie top of this forsaid lawreir;

  Intill a clud ful thik togidder infeir,

  Thar feyt al sammyn knyt efter thar gyss,

  A swarm, or ony wyst quhou or quhat wyss,

  Hang from a florist branch of this ilk tre.

  Incontinent the spaymen cryis: “We se

  A strange man tocum onto thir partis

  With a gret rowt, and, fra the sammyn artis

  Quharfra on beis cam, sal hidder seik;

  Quhilk, for hys bonte and his thewis meke,

  Sall weild this palice and hie seneory.”

  Abuf this, eik, betyd a mar farly:

  As Kyng Latinus kyndillis, on thar gyss,

  Apon the altaris for the sacrefyis,

  The clene schidis of the dry fyre brandis,

  Quhar that also fast by hir fader standis

  Lavynya the maid, his douchter fair;

  A selcouth thing to se, in hir syde hair