Complete Works of Virgil

by Virgil

  Expell’d and exil’d; that the coast was free

  From foreign or domestic enemy.

  “We leave the Delian ports, and put to sea;

  By Naxos, fam’d for vintage, make our way;

  Then green Donysa pass; and sail in sight

  Of Paros’ isle, with marble quarries white.

  We pass the scatter’d isles of Cyclades,

  That, scarce distinguish’d, seem to stud the seas.

  The shouts of sailors double near the shores;

  They stretch their canvas, and they ply their oars.

  ‘All hands aloft! for Crete! for Crete!’ they cry,

  And swiftly thro’ the foamy billows fly.

  Full on the promis’d land at length we bore,

  With joy descending on the Cretan shore.

  With eager haste a rising town I frame,

  Which from the Trojan Pergamus I name:

  The name itself was grateful; I exhort

  To found their houses, and erect a fort.

  Our ships are haul’d upon the yellow strand;

  The youth begin to till the labor’d land;

  And I myself new marriages promote,

  Give laws, and dwellings I divide by lot;

  When rising vapors choke the wholesome air,

  And blasts of noisome winds corrupt the year;

  The trees devouring caterpillars burn;

  Parch’d was the grass, and blighted was the corn:

  Nor ‘scape the beasts; for Sirius, from on high,

  With pestilential heat infects the sky:

  My men- some fall, the rest in fevers fry.

  Again my father bids me seek the shore

  Of sacred Delos, and the god implore,

  To learn what end of woes we might expect,

  And to what clime our weary course direct.

  “‘T was night, when ev’ry creature, void of cares,

  The common gift of balmy slumber shares:

  The statues of my gods (for such they seem’d),

  Those gods whom I from flaming Troy redeem’d,

  Before me stood, majestically bright,

  Full in the beams of Phoebe’s ent’ring light.

  Then thus they spoke, and eas’d my troubled mind:

  ‘What from the Delian god thou go’st to find,

  He tells thee here, and sends us to relate.

  Those pow’rs are we, companions of thy fate,

  Who from the burning town by thee were brought,

  Thy fortune follow’d, and thy safety wrought.

  Thro’ seas and lands as we thy steps attend,

  So shall our care thy glorious race befriend.

  An ample realm for thee thy fates ordain,

  A town that o’er the conquer’d world shall reign.

  Thou, mighty walls for mighty nations build;

  Nor let thy weary mind to labors yield:

  But change thy seat; for not the Delian god,

  Nor we, have giv’n thee Crete for our abode.

  A land there is, Hesperia call’d of old,

  (The soil is fruitful, and the natives bold-

  Th’ Oenotrians held it once,) by later fame

  Now call’d Italia, from the leader’s name.

  lasius there and Dardanus were born;

  From thence we came, and thither must return.

  Rise, and thy sire with these glad tidings greet.

  Search Italy; for Jove denies thee Crete.’

  “Astonish’d at their voices and their sight,

  (Nor were they dreams, but visions of the night;

  I saw, I knew their faces, and descried,

  In perfect view, their hair with fillets tied;)

  I started from my couch; a clammy sweat

  On all my limbs and shiv’ring body sate.

  To heav’n I lift my hands with pious haste,

  And sacred incense in the flames I cast.

  Thus to the gods their perfect honors done,

  More cheerful, to my good old sire I run,

  And tell the pleasing news. In little space

  He found his error of the double race;

  Not, as before he deem’d, deriv’d from Crete;

  No more deluded by the doubtful seat:

  Then said: ‘O son, turmoil’d in Trojan fate!

  Such things as these Cassandra did relate.

  This day revives within my mind what she

  Foretold of Troy renew’d in Italy,

  And Latian lands; but who could then have thought

  That Phrygian gods to Latium should be brought,

  Or who believ’d what mad Cassandra taught?

  Now let us go where Phoebus leads the way.’

  “He said; and we with glad consent obey,

  Forsake the seat, and, leaving few behind,

  We spread our sails before the willing wind.

  Now from the sight of land our galleys move,

  With only seas around and skies above;

  When o’er our heads descends a burst of rain,

  And night with sable clouds involves the main;

  The ruffling winds the foamy billows raise;

  The scatter’d fleet is forc’d to sev’ral ways;

  The face of heav’n is ravish’d from our eyes,

  And in redoubled peals the roaring thunder flies.

  Cast from our course, we wander in the dark.

  No stars to guide, no point of land to mark.

  Ev’n Palinurus no distinction found

  Betwixt the night and day; such darkness reign’d around.

  Three starless nights the doubtful navy strays,

  Without distinction, and three sunless days;

  The fourth renews the light, and, from our shrouds,

  We view a rising land, like distant clouds;

  The mountain-tops confirm the pleasing sight,

  And curling smoke ascending from their height.

  The canvas falls; their oars the sailors ply;

  From the rude strokes the whirling waters fly.

  At length I land upon the Strophades,

  Safe from the danger of the stormy seas.

  Those isles are compass’d by th’ Ionian main,

  The dire abode where the foul Harpies reign,

  Forc’d by the winged warriors to repair

  To their old homes, and leave their costly fare.

  Monsters more fierce offended Heav’n ne’er sent

  From hell’s abyss, for human punishment:

  With virgin faces, but with wombs obscene,

  Foul paunches, and with ordure still unclean;

  With claws for hands, and looks for ever lean.

  “We landed at the port, and soon beheld

  Fat herds of oxen graze the flow’ry field,

  And wanton goats without a keeper stray’d.

  With weapons we the welcome prey invade,

  Then call the gods for partners of our feast,

  And Jove himself, the chief invited guest.

  We spread the tables on the greensward ground;

  We feed with hunger, and the bowls go round;

  When from the mountain-tops, with hideous cry,

  And clatt’ring wings, the hungry Harpies fly;

  They snatch the meat, defiling all they find,

  And, parting, leave a loathsome stench behind.

  Close by a hollow rock, again we sit,

  New dress the dinner, and the beds refit,

  Secure from sight, beneath a pleasing shade,

  Where tufted trees a native arbor made.

  Again the holy fires on altars burn;

  And once again the rav’nous birds return,

  Or from the dark recesses where they lie,

  Or from another quarter of the sky;

  With filthy claws their odious meal repeat,

  And mix their loathsome ordures with their meat.

  I bid my friends for vengeance then prepare,

  And with the hellish nation wage th
e war.

  They, as commanded, for the fight provide,

  And in the grass their glitt’ring weapons hide;

  Then, when along the crooked shore we hear

  Their clatt’ring wings, and saw the foes appear,

  Misenus sounds a charge: we take th’ alarm,

  And our strong hands with swords and bucklers arm.

  In this new kind of combat all employ

  Their utmost force, the monsters to destroy.

  In vain- the fated skin is proof to wounds;

  And from their plumes the shining sword rebounds.

  At length rebuff’d, they leave their mangled prey,

  And their stretch’d pinions to the skies display.

  Yet one remain’d- the messenger of Fate:

  High on a craggy cliff Celaeno sate,

  And thus her dismal errand did relate:

  ‘What! not contented with our oxen slain,

  Dare you with Heav’n an impious war maintain,

  And drive the Harpies from their native reign?

  Heed therefore what I say; and keep in mind

  What Jove decrees, what Phoebus has design’d,

  And I, the Furies’ queen, from both relate-

  You seek th’ Italian shores, foredoom’d by fate:

  Th’ Italian shores are granted you to find,

  And a safe passage to the port assign’d.

  But know, that ere your promis’d walls you build,

  My curses shall severely be fulfill’d.

  Fierce famine is your lot for this misdeed,

  Reduc’d to grind the plates on which you feed.’

  She said, and to the neighb’ring forest flew.

  Our courage fails us, and our fears renew.

  Hopeless to win by war, to pray’rs we fall,

  And on th’ offended Harpies humbly call,

  And whether gods or birds obscene they were,

  Our vows for pardon and for peace prefer.

  But old Anchises, off’ring sacrifice,

  And lifting up to heav’n his hands and eyes,

  Ador’d the greater gods: ‘Avert,’ said he,

  ‘These omens; render vain this prophecy,

  And from th’ impending curse a pious people free!’

  “Thus having said, he bids us put to sea;

  We loose from shore our haulsers, and obey,

  And soon with swelling sails pursue the wat’ry way.

  Amidst our course, Zacynthian woods appear;

  And next by rocky Neritos we steer:

  We fly from Ithaca’s detested shore,

  And curse the land which dire Ulysses bore.

  At length Leucate’s cloudy top appears,

  And the Sun’s temple, which the sailor fears.

  Resolv’d to breathe a while from labor past,

  Our crooked anchors from the prow we cast,

  And joyful to the little city haste.

  Here, safe beyond our hopes, our vows we pay

  To Jove, the guide and patron of our way.

  The customs of our country we pursue,

  And Trojan games on Actian shores renew.

  Our youth their naked limbs besmear with oil,

  And exercise the wrastlers’ noble toil;

  Pleas’d to have sail’d so long before the wind,

  And left so many Grecian towns behind.

  The sun had now fulfill’d his annual course,

  And Boreas on the seas display’d his force:

  I fix’d upon the temple’s lofty door

  The brazen shield which vanquish’d Abas bore;

  The verse beneath my name and action speaks:

  ‘These arms Aeneas took from conqu’ring Greeks.’

  Then I command to weigh; the seamen ply

  Their sweeping oars; the smoking billows fly.

  The sight of high Phaeacia soon we lost,

  And skimm’d along Epirus’ rocky coast.

  “Then to Chaonia’s port our course we bend,

  And, landed, to Buthrotus’ heights ascend.

  Here wondrous things were loudly blaz’d fame:

  How Helenus reviv’d the Trojan name,

  And reign’d in Greece; that Priam’s captive son

  Succeeded Pyrrhus in his bed and throne;

  And fair Andromache, restor’d by fate,

  Once more was happy in a Trojan mate.

  I leave my galleys riding in the port,

  And long to see the new Dardanian court.

  By chance, the mournful queen, before the gate,

  Then solemniz’d her former husband’s fate.

  Green altars, rais’d of turf, with gifts she crown’d,

  And sacred priests in order stand around,

  And thrice the name of hapless Hector sound.

  The grove itself resembles Ida’s wood;

  And Simois seem’d the well-dissembled flood.

  But when at nearer distance she beheld

  My shining armor and my Trojan shield,

  Astonish’d at the sight, the vital heat

  Forsakes her limbs; her veins no longer beat:

  She faints, she falls, and scarce recov’ring strength,

  Thus, with a falt’ring tongue, she speaks at length:

  “‘Are you alive, O goddess-born?’ she said,

  ‘Or if a ghost, then where is Hector’s shade?’

  At this, she cast a loud and frightful cry.

  With broken words I made this brief reply:

  ‘All of me that remains appears in sight;

  I live, if living be to loathe the light.

  No phantom; but I drag a wretched life,

  My fate resembling that of Hector’s wife.

  What have you suffer’d since you lost your lord?

  By what strange blessing are you now restor’d?

  Still are you Hector’s? or is Hector fled,

  And his remembrance lost in Pyrrhus’ bed?’

  With eyes dejected, in a lowly tone,

  After a modest pause she thus begun:

  “‘O only happy maid of Priam’s race,

  Whom death deliver’d from the foes’ embrace!

  Commanded on Achilles’ tomb to die,

  Not forc’d, like us, to hard captivity,

  Or in a haughty master’s arms to lie.

  In Grecian ships unhappy we were borne,

  Endur’d the victor’s lust, sustain’d the scorn:

  Thus I submitted to the lawless pride

  Of Pyrrhus, more a handmaid than a bride.

  Cloy’d with possession, he forsook my bed,

  And Helen’s lovely daughter sought to wed;

  Then me to Trojan Helenus resign’d,

  And his two slaves in equal marriage join’d;

  Till young Orestes, pierc’d with deep despair,

  And longing to redeem the promis’d fair,

  Before Apollo’s altar slew the ravisher.

  By Pyrrhus’ death the kingdom we regain’d:

  At least one half with Helenus remain’d.

  Our part, from Chaon, he Chaonia calls,

  And names from Pergamus his rising walls.

  But you, what fates have landed on our coast?

  What gods have sent you, or what storms have toss’d?

  Does young Ascanius life and health enjoy,

  Sav’d from the ruins of unhappy Troy?

  O tell me how his mother’s loss he bears,

  What hopes are promis’d from his blooming years,

  How much of Hector in his face appears?’

  She spoke; and mix’d her speech with mournful cries,

  And fruitless tears came trickling from her eyes.

  “At length her lord descends upon the plain,

  In pomp, attended with a num’rous train;

  Receives his friends, and to the city leads,

  And tears of joy amidst his welcome sheds.

  Proceeding on, another Troy I see,

  Or, in less compass, Troy’s
epitome.

  A riv’let by the name of Xanthus ran,

  And I embrace the Scaean gate again.

  My friends in porticoes were entertain’d,

  And feasts and pleasures thro’ the city reign’d.

  The tables fill’d the spacious hall around,

  And golden bowls with sparkling wine were crown’d.

  Two days we pass’d in mirth, till friendly gales,

  Blown from the supplied our swelling sails.

  Then to the royal seer I thus began:

  ‘O thou, who know’st, beyond the reach of man,

  The laws of heav’n, and what the stars decree;

  Whom Phoebus taught unerring prophecy,

  From his own tripod, and his holy tree;

  Skill’d in the wing’d inhabitants of air,

  What auspices their notes and flights declare:

  O say- for all religious rites portend

  A happy voyage, and a prosp’rous end;

  And ev’ry power and omen of the sky

  Direct my course for destin’d Italy;

  But only dire Celaeno, from the gods,

  A dismal famine fatally forebodes-

  O say what dangers I am first to shun,

  What toils vanquish, and what course to run.’

  “The prophet first with sacrifice adores

  The greater gods; their pardon then implores;

  Unbinds the fillet from his holy head;

  To Phoebus, next, my trembling steps he led,

  Full of religious doubts and awful dread.

  Then, with his god possess’d, before the shrine,

  These words proceeded from his mouth divine:

  ‘O goddess-born, (for Heav’n’s appointed will,

  With greater auspices of good than ill,

  Foreshows thy voyage, and thy course directs;

  Thy fates conspire, and Jove himself protects,)

  Of many things some few I shall explain,

  Teach thee to shun the dangers of the main,

  And how at length the promis’d shore to gain.

  The rest the fates from Helenus conceal,

  And Juno’s angry pow’r forbids to tell.

  First, then, that happy shore, that seems so nigh,

  Will far from your deluded wishes fly;

  Long tracts of seas divide your hopes from Italy:

  For you must cruise along Sicilian shores,

  And stem the currents with your struggling oars;

  Then round th’ Italian coast your navy steer;

  And, after this, to Circe’s island veer;

  And, last, before your new foundations rise,

  Must pass the Stygian lake, and view the nether skies.

  Now mark the signs of future ease and rest,

  And bear them safely treasur’d in thy breast.