by Virgil
abstulit atra dies et funere mersit acerbo;
The black day hurried off, and all in bitter ending hid.
hos iuxta falso damnati crimine mortis. 430
And next were those condemned to die for deed they never did:
nec uero hae sine sorte datae, sine iudice, sedes:
For neither doom nor judge nor house may any lack in death:
quaesitor Minos urnam mouet; ille silentum
The seeker Minos shakes the urn, and ever summoneth
consiliumque uocat uitasque et crimina discit.
The hushed-ones’ court, and learns men’s lives and what against them stands.
proxima deinde tenent maesti loca, qui sibi letum
The next place is of woeful ones, who sackless, with their hands
insontes peperere manu lucemque perosi 435
Compassed their death, and weary-sick of light without avail
proiecere animas. quam uellent aethere in alto
Cast life away; but now how fain to bear the poor man’s bale
nunc et pauperiem et duros perferre labores!
Beneath the heaven, the uttermost of weary toil to bear!
fas obstat, tristisque palus inamabilis undae
But law forbiddeth: the sad wave of that unlovely mere
alligat et nouies Styx interfusa coercet.
Is changeless bond; and ninefold Styx compelleth to abide.
nec procul hinc partem fusi monstrantur in omnem 440
Nor far from thence behold the meads far spread on every side,
Lugentes campi; sic illos nomine dicunt.
The Mourning Meads — in tale have they such very name and sign.
hic quos durus amor crudeli tabe peredit
There those whom hard love ate away with cruel wasting pine
secreti celant calles et myrtea circum
Are hidden in the lonely paths with myrtle-groves about,
silua tegit; curae non ipsa in morte relinquunt.
Nor in the very death itself may wear their trouble out:
his Phaedram Procrinque locis maestamque Eriphylen 445
Phædra he saw, Procris he saw, and Eriphyle sad.
crudelis nati monstrantem uulnera cernit,
Baring that cruel offspring’s wound her loving body had:
Euadnenque et Pasiphaen; his Laodamia
Evadne and Pasiphaë, Laodamia there
it comes et iuuenis quondam, nunc femina, Caeneus
He saw, and Cænis, once a youth and then a maiden fair,
rursus et in ueterem fato reuoluta figuram.
And shifted by the deed of fate to his old shape again.
inter quas Phoenissa recens a uulnere Dido 450
Midst whom Phoenician Dido now, fresh from the iron bane,
errabat silua in magna; quam Troius heros
Went wandering in the mighty wood: and when the Trojan man
ut primum iuxta stetit agnouitque per umbras
First dimly knew her standing by amid the glimmer wan
obscuram, qualem primo qui surgere mense
— E’en as in earliest of the month one sees the moon arise,
aut uidet aut uidisse putat per nubila lunam,
Or seems to see her at the least in cloudy drift of skies —
demisit lacrimas dulcique adfatus amore est: 455
He spake, and let the tears fall down by all love’s sweetness stirred:
‘infelix Dido, uerus mihi nuntius ergo
“Unhappy Dido, was it true, that bitter following word,
uenerat exstinctam ferroque extrema secutam?
That thou wert dead, by sword hadst sought the utter end of all?
funeris heu tibi causa fui? per sidera iuro,
Was it thy very death I wrought? Ah! on the stars I call,
per superos et si qua fides tellure sub ima est,
I call the Gods and whatso faith the nether earth may hold,
inuitus, regina, tuo de litore cessi. 460
To witness that against my will I left thy field and fold!
sed me iussa deum, quae nunc has ire per umbras,
But that same bidding of the Gods, whereby e’en now I wend
per loca senta situ cogunt noctemque profundam,
Through dark, through deserts rusty-rough, through night without an end,
imperiis egere suis; nec credere quiui
Drave me with doom. Nor held my heart in anywise belief
hunc tantum tibi me discessu ferre dolorem.
That my departure from thy land might work thee such a grief.
siste gradum teque aspectu ne subtrahe nostro. 465
O stay thy feet! nor tear thyself from my beholding thus.
quem fugis? extremum fato quod te adloquor hoc est.’
Whom fleest thou? this word is all that Fate shall give to us.”
talibus Aeneas ardentem et torua tuentem
Such were the words Æneas spake to soothe her as she stood
lenibat dictis animum lacrimasque ciebat.
With stern eyes flaming, while his heart swelled with the woeful flood:
illa solo fixos oculos auersa tenebat
But, turned away, her sick eyes still she fixed upon the earth;
nec magis incepto uultum sermone mouetur 470
Nor was her face moved any more by all his sad words’ birth
quam si dura silex aut stet Marpesia cautes.
Than if Marpesian crag or flint had held her image so:
tandem corripuit sese atque inimica refugit
At last she flung herself away, and fled, his utter foe,
in nemus umbriferum, coniunx ubi pristinus illi
Unto the shady wood, where he, her husband of old days,
respondet curis aequatque Sychaeus amorem.
Gives grief for grief, and loving heart beside her loving lays.
nec minus Aeneas casu percussus iniquo 475
Nor less Æneas, smitten sore by her unworthy woes,
prosequitur lacrimis longe et miseratur euntem.
With tears and pity followeth her as far away she goes.
Inde datum molitur iter. iamque arua tenebant
But thence the meted way they wear, and reach the outer field,
ultima, quae bello clari secreta frequentant.
Where dwell apart renownèd men, the mighty under shield:
hic illi occurrit Tydeus, hic inclutus armis
There Tydeus meets him; there he sees the great fight-glorious man,
Parthenopaeus et Adrasti pallentis imago, 480
Parthenopæus; there withal Adrastus’ image wan;
hic multum fleti ad superos belloque caduci
And there the Dardans battle-slain, for whom the wailing went
Dardanidae, quos ille omnis longo ordine cernens
To very heaven: their long array he saw with sad lament:
ingemuit, Glaucumque Medontaque Thersilochumque,
Glaucus and Medon there he saw, Thersilochus, the three
tris Antenoridas Cererique sacrum Polyboeten,
Antenor-sons, and Polyphoete, by Ceres’ mystery
Idaeumque etiam currus, etiam arma tenentem. 485
Made holy, and Idæus still in car with armèd hand:
circumstant animae dextra laeuaque frequentes,
There on the right side and the left the straying spirits stand.
nec uidisse semel satis est; iuuat usque morari
Nor is one sight of him enough; it joyeth them to stay
et conferre gradum et ueniendi discere causas.
And pace beside, asking for why he wendeth such a way.
at Danaum proceres Agamemnoniaeque phalanges
But when the lords of Danaan folk, and Agamemnon’s hosts,
ut uidere uirum fulgentiaque arma per umbras, 490
Behold the man and gleaming arms amid the dusky ghosts,
ingenti trepidare metu; pars uertere terga,
They fall a-quaking full of fear: some turn thei
r back to fly
ceu quondam petiere rates, pars tollere uocem
As erst they ran unto the ships; some raise a quavering cry,
exiguam: inceptus clamor frustratur hiantis.
But never from their gaping vain will swell the shout begun.
Atque hic Priamiden laniatum corpore toto
And now Deïphobus he sees, the glorious Priam’s son;
Deiphobum uidet et lacerum crudeliter ora, 495
But all his body mangled sore, his face all evilly hacked,
ora manusque ambas, populataque tempora raptis
His face and hands; yea, and his head, laid waste, the ear-lobes lacked,
auribus et truncas inhonesto uulnere naris.
And nostrils cropped unto the root by wicked wound and grim.
uix adeo agnouit pauitantem ac dira tegentem
Scarcely he knew the trembling man, who strove to hide from him
supplicia, et notis compellat uocibus ultro:
Those torments dire, but thus at last he spake in voice well known:
‘Deiphobe armipotens, genus alto a sanguine Teucri, 500
“O great in arms, Deïphobus, from Teucer’s blood come down,
quis tam crudelis optauit sumere poenas?
Who had the heart to work on thee such bitter wicked bale?
cui tantum de te licuit? mihi fama suprema
Who had the might to deal thee this? Indeed I heard the tale,
nocte tulit fessum uasta te caede Pelasgum
That, tired with slaying of the Greeks on that last night of all,
procubuisse super confusae stragis aceruum.
Upon a heap of mingled death thou didst to slumber fall:
tunc egomet tumulum Rhoeteo in litore inanem 505
And I myself an empty tomb on that Rhoetean coast
constitui et magna manis ter uoce uocaui.
Set up to thee, and thrice aloud cried blessing on thy ghost:
nomen et arma locum seruant; te, amice, nequiui
Thy name and arms still keep the place; but thee I found not, friend,
conspicere et patria decedens ponere terra.’
To set thee in thy fathers’ earth ere I too needs must wend.”
ad quae Priamides: ‘nihil o tibi, amice, relictum;
To him the child of Priam spake: “Friend, nought thou left’st undone;
omnia Deiphobo soluisti et funeris umbris. 510
All things thou gav’st Deïphobus, and this dead shadowy one:
sed me fata mea et scelus exitiale Lacaenae
My Fates and that Laconian Bane, the Woman wicked-fair,
his mersere malis; illa haec monimenta reliquit.
Have drowned me in this sea of ills: she set these tokens here.
namque ut supremam falsa inter gaudia noctem
How midst a lying happiness we wore the last night by
egerimus, nosti: et nimium meminisse necesse est.
‘Thou know’st: yea; overwell belike thou hold’st that memory
cum fatalis equus saltu super ardua uenit 515
Now when the baneful Horse of Fate high Pergamus leapt o’er,
Pergama et armatum peditem grauis attulit aluo,
With womb come nigh unto the birth of weaponed men of war,
illa chorum simulans euhantis orgia circum
She, feigning hallowed dance, led on a holy-shouting band
ducebat Phrygias; flammam media ipsa tenebat
Of Phrygian maids, and midst of them, the bale-fire in her hand,
ingentem et summa Danaos ex arce uocabat.
Called on the Danaan men to come, high on the castle’s steep:
tum me confectum curis somnoque grauatum 520
But me, outworn with many cares and weighed adown with sleep,
infelix habuit thalamus, pressitque iacentem
The hapless bride-bed held meanwhile, and on me did there press
dulcis et alta quies placidaeque simillima morti.
Deep rest and sweet, most like indeed to death’s own quietness.
egregia interea coniunx arma omnia tectis
Therewith my glorious wife all arms from out the house withdrew,
emouet, et fidum capiti subduxerat ensem:
And stole away from o’er my head the sword whose faith I knew,
intra tecta uocat Menelaum et limina pandit, 525
Called Menelaüs to the house and opened him the door,
scilicet id magnum sperans fore munus amanti,
Thinking, forsooth, great gift to give to him who loved so sore,
et famam exstingui ueterum sic posse malorum.
To quench therewith the tale gone by of how she did amiss.
quid moror? inrumpunt thalamo, comes additus una
Why linger? They break in on me, and he their fellow is,
hortator scelerum Aeolides. di, talia Grais
Ulysses, preacher of all guilt. — O Gods, will ye not pay
instaurate, pio si poenas ore reposco. 530
The Greeks for all? belike with mouth not godless do I pray.
sed te qui uiuum casus, age fare uicissim,
— But tell me, thou, what tidings new have brought thee here alive?
attulerint. pelagine uenis erroribus actus
Is it blind strayings o’er the sea that hither doth thee drive,
an monitu diuum? an quae te fortuna fatigat,
Or bidding of the Gods? Wherein hath Fortune worn thee so,
ut tristis sine sole domos, loca turbida, adires?’
That thou, midst sunless houses sad, confused lands, must go?”
Hac uice sermonum roseis Aurora quadrigis 535
But as they gave and took in talk, Aurora at the last
iam medium aetherio cursu traiecerat axem;
In rosy wain the topmost crown of upper heaven had passed,
et fors omne datum traherent per talia tempus,
And all the fated time perchance in suchwise had they spent;
sed comes admonuit breuiterque adfata Sibylla est:
But warning of few words enow the Sibyl toward him sent:
‘nox ruit, Aenea; nos flendo ducimus horas.
“Night falls, Æneas, weeping here we wear the hours in vain;
hic locus est, partis ubi se uia findit in ambas: 540
And hard upon us is the place where cleaves the road atwain;
dextera quae Ditis magni sub moenia tendit,
On by the walls of mighty Dis the right-hand highway goes,
hac iter Elysium nobis; at laeua malorum
Our way to that Elysium: the left drags on to woes
exercet poenas et ad impia Tartara mittit.’
Ill-doers’ souls, and bringeth them to godless Tartarus.”
Deiphobus contra: ‘ne saeui, magna sacerdos;
Then spake Deïphobus: “Great seer, be not o’erwroth with us:
discedam, explebo numerum reddarque tenebris. 545
I will depart and fill the tale, and unto dusk turn back:
i decus, i, nostrum; melioribus utere fatis.’
Go forth, our glory, go and gain the better fate I lack!”
tantum effatus, et in uerbo uestigia torsit.
And even with that latest word his feet he tore away.
Respicit Aeneas subito et sub rupe sinistra
But suddenly Æneas turned, and lo, a city lay
moenia lata uidet triplici circumdata muro,
Wide-spread ‘neath crags upon the left, girt with a wall threefold;
quae rapidus flammis ambit torrentibus amnis, 550
And round about in hurrying flood a flaming river rolled,
Tartareus Phlegethon, torquetque sonantia saxa.
E’en Phlegethon of Tartarus, with rattling, stony roar:
porta aduersa ingens solidoque adamante columnae,
In face with adamantine posts was wrought the mighty door,
uis ut nulla uirum, non ipsi exscindere bello
Such as no force of me
n nor might of heaven-abiders high
caelicolae ualeant; stat ferrea turris ad auras,
May cleave with steel; an iron tower thence riseth to the sky:
Tisiphoneque sedens palla succincta cruenta 555
And there is set Tisiphone, with girded blood-stained gown,
uestibulum exsomnis seruat noctesque diesque.
Who, sleepless, holdeth night and day the doorway of the town.
hinc exaudiri gemitus et saeua sonare
Great wail and cruel sound of stripes that city sendeth out,
uerbera, tum stridor ferri tractaeque catenae.
And iron clanking therewithal of fetters dragged about.
constitit Aeneas strepitumque exterritus hausit.
Then fearfully Æneas stayed, and drank the tumult in:
‘quae scelerum facies? o uirgo, effare; quibusue 560
“O tell me, Maiden, what is there? What images of sin?
urgentur poenis? quis tantus plangor ad auras?’
What torments bear they? What the wail yon city casts abroad?”
tum uates sic orsa loqui: ‘dux inclute Teucrum,
Then so began the seer to speak: “O glorious Teucrian lord,
nulli fas casto sceleratum insistere limen;
On wicked threshold of the place no righteous foot may stand:
sed me cum lucis Hecate praefecit Auernis,
But when great Hecate made me Queen of that Avernus land,
ipsa deum poenas docuit perque omnia duxit. 565
She taught me of God’s punishments and led me down the path.
Cnosius haec Rhadamanthus habet durissima regna
— There Gnosian Rhadamanthus now most heavy lordship hath,
castigatque auditque dolos subigitque fateri
And heareth lies, and punisheth, and maketh men confess
quae quis apud superos furto laetatus inani
Their deeds of earth, whereof made glad by foolish wickedness,
distulit in seram commissa piacula mortem.
They thrust the late repentance off till death drew nigh to grip:
continuo sontis ultrix accincta flagello 570
Those guilty drives Tisiphone, armed with avenging whip,
Tisiphone quatit insultans, toruosque sinistra
And mocks their writhings, casting forth her other dreadful hand
intentans anguis uocat agmina saeua sororum.
Filled with the snakes, and crying on her cruel sister’s band.
tum demum horrisono stridentes cardine sacrae
And then at last on awful hinge loud-clanging opens wide
panduntur portae. cernis custodia qualis
The Door of Doom: — and lo, behold what door-ward doth abide
uestibulo sedeat, facies quae limina seruet? 575
Within the porch, what thing it is the city gate doth hold!
