Aeneid

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And thou, O matron of immortal fame,

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Here dying, to the shore hast left thy name;

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Cajeta still the place is call'd from thee,

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The nurse of great Aeneas' infancy.

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Here rest thy bones in rich Hesperia's plains;

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Thy name ('t is all a ghost can have) remains.

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Now, when the prince her fun'ral rites had paid,

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He plow'd the Tyrrhene seas with sails display'd.

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From land a gentle breeze arose by night,

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Serenely shone the stars, the moon was bright,

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And the sea trembled with her silver light.

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Now near the shelves of Circe's shores they run,

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(Circe the rich, the daughter of the Sun,)

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A dang'rous coast: the goddess wastes her days

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In joyous songs; the rocks resound her lays:

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In spinning, or the loom, she spends the night,

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And cedar brands supply her father's light.

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From hence were heard, rebellowing to the main,

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The roars of lions that refuse the chain,

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The grunts of bristled boars, and groans of bears,

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And herds of howling wolves that stun the sailors' ears.

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These from their caverns, at the close of night,

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Fill the sad isle with horror and affright.

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Darkling they mourn their fate, whom Circe's pow'r,

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(That watch'd the moon and planetary hour,)

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With words and wicked herbs from humankind

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Had alter'd, and in brutal shapes confin'd.

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Which monsters lest the Trojans' pious host

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Should bear, or touch upon th' inchanted coast,

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Propitious Neptune steer'd their course by night

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With rising gales that sped their happy flight.

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Supplied with these, they skim the sounding shore,

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And hear the swelling surges vainly roar.

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Now, when the rosy morn began to rise,

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And wav'd her saffron streamer thro' the skies;

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When Thetis blush'd in purple not her own,

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And from her face the breathing winds were blown,

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A sudden silence sate upon the sea,

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And sweeping oars, with struggling, urge their way.

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The Trojan, from the main, beheld a wood,

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Which thick with shades and a brown horror stood:

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Betwixt the trees the Tiber took his course,

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With whirlpools dimpled; and with downward force,

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That drove the sand along, he took his way,

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And roll'd his yellow billows to the sea.

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About him, and above, and round the wood,

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The birds that haunt the borders of his flood,

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That bath'd within, or basked upon his side,

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To tuneful songs their narrow throats applied.

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The captain gives command; the joyful train

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Glide thro' the gloomy shade, and leave the main.

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Now, Erato, thy poet's mind inspire,

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And fill his soul with thy celestial fire!

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Relate what Latium was; her ancient kings;

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Declare the past and state of things,

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When first the Trojan fleet Ausonia sought,

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And how the rivals lov'd, and how they fought.

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These are my theme, and how the war began,

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And how concluded by the godlike man:

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For I shall sing of battles, blood, and rage,

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Which princes and their people did engage;

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And haughty souls, that, mov'd with mutual hate,

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In fighting fields pursued and found their fate;

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That rous'd the Tyrrhene realm with loud alarms,

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And peaceful Italy involv'd in arms.

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A larger scene of action is display'd;

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And, rising hence, a greater work is weigh'd.

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Latinus, old and mild, had long possess'd

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The Latin scepter, and his people blest:

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His father Faunus; a Laurentian dame

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His mother; fair Marica was her name.

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But Faunus came from Picus: Picus drew

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His birth from Saturn, if records be true.

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Thus King Latinus, in the third degree,

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Had Saturn author of his family.

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But this old peaceful prince, as Heav'n decreed,

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Was blest with no male issue to succeed:

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His sons in blooming youth were snatch'd by fate;

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One only daughter heir'd the royal state.

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Fir'd with her love, and with ambition led,

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The neighb'ring princes court her nuptial bed.

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Among the crowd, but far above the rest,

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Young Turnus to the beauteous maid address'd.

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Turnus, for high descent and graceful mien,

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Was first, and favor'd by the Latian queen;

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With him she strove to join Lavinia's hand,

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But dire portents the purpos'd match withstand.

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Deep in the palace, of long growth, there stood

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A laurel's trunk, a venerable wood;

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Where rites divine were paid; whose holy hair

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Was kept and cut with superstitious care.

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This plant Latinus, when his town he wall'd,

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Then found, and from the tree Laurentum call'd;

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And last, in honor of his new abode,

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He vow'd the laurel to the laurel's god.

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It happen'd once (a boding prodigy!)

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A swarm of bees, that cut the liquid sky,

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(Unknown from whence they took their airy flight,)

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Upon the topmost branch in clouds alight;

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There with their clasping feet together clung,

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And a long cluster from the laurel hung.

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An ancient augur prophesied from hence:

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"Behold on Latian shores a foreign prince!

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From the same parts of heav'n his navy stands,

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To the same parts on earth; his army lands;

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The town he conquers, and the tow'r commands."

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Yet more, when fair Lavinia fed the fire

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Before the gods, and stood beside her sire,

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(Strange to relate!) the flames, involv'd in smoke

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Of incense, from the sacred altar broke,

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Caught her dishevel'd hair and rich attire;

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Her crown and jewels crackled in the fire:

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From thence the fuming trail began to spread

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And lambent glories danc'd about her head.

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This new portent the seer with wonder views,

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Then pausing, thus his prophecy renews:

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"The nymph, who scatters flaming fires around,

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Shall shine with honor, shall herself be crown'd;

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But, caus'd by her irrevocable fate,

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War shall the country waste, and change the state."

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Latinus, frighted with this dire ostent,

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For counsel to his father Faunus went,

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And sought the shades renown'd for prophecy

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Which near Albunea's sulph'rous fountain lie.

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To these the Latian and the Sabine land

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Fly, when distress'd, and thence relief demand.

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The priest on skins of off'rings takes his ease,

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And nightly visions in his slumber sees;

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A swarm of thin aerial shapes appears,

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And, flutt'ring round his temples, deafs his ears:

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These he consults, the future fates to know,

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From pow'rs above, and from the fiends below.

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Here, for the gods' advice, Latinus flies,

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Off'ring a hundred sheep for sacrifice:

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Their woolly fleeces, as the rites requir'd,

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He laid beneath him, and to rest retir'd.

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No sooner were his eyes in slumber bound,

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When, from above, a more than mortal sound

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Invades his ears; and thus the vision spoke:

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"Seek not, my seed, in Latian bands to yoke

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Our fair Lavinia, nor the gods provoke.

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A foreign son upon thy shore descends,

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Whose martial fame from pole to pole extends.

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His race, in arms and arts of peace renown'd,

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Not Latium shall contain, nor Europe bound:

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'T is theirs whate'er the sun surveys around."

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These answers, in the silent night receiv'd,

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The king himself divulg'd, the land believ'd:

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The fame thro' all the neighb'ring nations flew,

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When now the Trojan navy was in view.

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Beneath a shady tree, the hero spread

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His table on the turf, with cakes of bread;

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And, with his chiefs, on forest fruits he fed.

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They sate; and, (not without the god's command,)

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Their homely fare dispatch'd, the hungry band

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Invade their trenchers next, and soon devour,

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To mend the scanty meal, their cakes of flour.

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Ascanius this observ'd, and smiling said:

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"See, we devour the plates on which we fed."

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The speech had omen, that the Trojan race

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Should find repose, and this the time and place.

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Aeneas took the word, and thus replies,

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Confessing fate with wonder in his eyes:

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"All hail, O earth! all hail, my household gods!

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Behold the destin'd place of your abodes!

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For thus Anchises prophesied of old,

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And this our fatal place of rest foretold:

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'When, on a foreign shore, instead of meat,

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By famine forc'd, your trenchers you shall eat,

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Then ease your weary Trojans will attend,

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And the long labors of your voyage end.

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Remember on that happy coast to build,

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And with a trench inclose the fruitful field.'

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This was that famine, this the fatal place

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Which ends the wand'ring of our exil'd race.

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Then, on to-morrow's dawn, your care employ,

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To search the land, and where the cities lie,

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And what the men; but give this day to joy.

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Now pour to Jove; and, after Jove is blest,

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Call great Anchises to the genial feast:

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Crown high the goblets with a cheerful draught;

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Enjoy the present hour; adjourn the future thought."

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Thus having said, the hero bound his brows

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With leafy branches, then perform'd his vows;

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Adoring first the genius of the place,

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Then Earth, the mother of the heav'nly race,

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The nymphs, and native godheads yet unknown,

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And Night, and all the stars that gild her sable throne,

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And ancient Cybel, and Idaean Jove,

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And last his sire below, and mother queen above.

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Then heav'n's high monarch thunder'd thrice aloud,

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And thrice he shook aloft a golden cloud.

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Soon thro' the joyful camp a rumor flew,

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The time was come their city to renew.

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Then ev'ry brow with cheerful green is crown'd,

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The feasts are doubled, and the bowls go round.

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When next the rosy morn disclos'd the day,

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The scouts to sev'ral parts divide their way,

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To learn the natives' names, their towns explore,

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The coasts and trendings of the crooked shore:

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Here Tiber flows, and here Numicus stands;

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Here warlike Latins hold the happy lands.

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The pious chief, who sought by peaceful ways

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To found his empire, and his town to raise,

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A hundred youths from all his train selects,

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And to the Latian court their course directs,

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(The spacious palace where their prince resides,)

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And all their heads with wreaths of olive hides.

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They go commission'd to require a peace,

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And carry presents to procure access.

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Thus while they speed their pace, the prince designs

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His new-elected seat, and draws the lines.

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The Trojans round the place a rampire cast,

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And palisades about the trenches plac'd.

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Meantime the train, proceeding on their way,

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From far the town and lofty tow'rs survey;

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At length approach the walls. Without the gate,

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They see the boys and Latian youth debate

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The martial prizes on the dusty plain:

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Some drive the cars, and some the coursers rein;

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Some bend the stubborn bow for victory,

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And some with darts their active sinews try.

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A posting messenger, dispatch'd from hence,

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Of this fair troop advis'd their aged prince,

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That foreign men of mighty stature came;

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Uncouth their habit, and unknown their name.

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The king ordains their entrance, and ascends

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His regal seat, surrounded by his friends.

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The palace built by Picus, vast and proud,

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Supported by a hundred pillars stood,

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And round incompass'd with a rising wood.

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The pile o'erlook'd the town, and drew the sight;

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Surpris'd at once with reverence and delight.

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There kings receiv'd the marks of sov'reign pow'r;

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In state the monarchs march'd; the lictors bore

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Their awful axes and the rods before.

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Here the tribunal stood, the house of pray'r,

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And here the sacred senators repair;

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All at large tables, in long order set,

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A ram their off'ring, and a ram their meat.

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Above the portal, carv'd in cedar wood,

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Plac'd in their ranks, their godlike grandsires stood;

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Old Saturn, with his crooked scythe, on high;

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And Italus, that led the colony;

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And ancient Janus, with his double face,

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And bunch of keys, the porter of the place.

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There good Sabinus, planter of the vines,

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On a short pruning hook his head reclines,

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And studiously surveys his gen'rous wines;

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Then warlike kings, who for their country fought,

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And honorable wounds from battle brought.

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Around the posts hung helmets, darts, and spears,

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And captive chariots, axes, shields, and bars,

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And broken beaks of ships, the trophies of their wars.

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Above the rest, as chief of all the band,

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Was Picus plac'd, a buckler in his hand;

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His other wav'd a long divining wand.

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Girt in his Gabin gown the hero sate,

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Yet could not with his art avoid his fate:

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For Circe long had lov'd the youth in vain,

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Till love, refus'd, converted to disdain:

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Then, mixing pow'rful herbs, with magic art,

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She chang'd his form, who could not change his heart;

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Constrain'd him in a bird, and made him fly,

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With party-color'd plumes, a chatt'ring pie.

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In this high temple, on a chair of state,

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The seat of audience, old Latinus sate;

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Then gave admission to the Trojan train;

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And thus with pleasing accents he began:

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"Tell me, ye Trojans, for that name you own,

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Nor is your course upon our coasts unknown-

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Say what you seek, and whither were you bound:

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Were you by stress of weather cast aground?

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(Such dangers as on seas are often seen,

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And oft befall to miserable men,)

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Or come, your shipping in our ports to lay,

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Spent and disabled in so long a way?

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Say what you want: the Latians you shall find

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Not forc'd to goodness, but by will inclin'd;

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For, since the time of Saturn's holy reign,

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His hospitable customs we retain.

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I call to mind (but time the tale has worn)

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Th' Arunci told, that Dardanus, tho' born

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On Latian plains, yet sought the Phrygian shore,

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And Samothracia, Samos call'd before.

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From Tuscan Coritum he claim'd his birth;

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But after, when exempt from mortal earth,

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From thence ascended to his kindred skies,

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A god, and, as a god, augments their sacrifice,"

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He said. Ilioneus made this reply:

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"O king, of Faunus' royal family!

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Nor wintry winds to Latium forc'd our way,

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Nor did the stars our wand'ring course betray.

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Willing we sought your shores; and, hither bound,

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The port, so long desir'd, at length we found;

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From our sweet homes and ancient realms expell'd;

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Great as the greatest that the sun beheld.

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The god began our line, who rules above;

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And, as our race, our king descends from Jove:

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And hither are we come, by his command,

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To crave admission in your happy land.

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How dire a tempest, from Mycenae pour'd,

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Our plains, our temples, and our town devour'd;

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What was the waste of war, what fierce alarms

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Shook Asia's crown with European arms;

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Ev'n such have heard, if any such there be,

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Whose earth is bounded by the frozen sea;

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And such as, born beneath the burning sky

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And sultry sun, betwixt the tropics lie.

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From that dire deluge, thro' the wat'ry waste,

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Such length of years, such various perils past,

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At last escap'd, to Latium we repair,

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To beg what you without your want may spare:

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The common water, and the common air;

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Sheds which ourselves will build, and mean abodes,

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Fit to receive and serve our banish'd gods.

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Nor our admission shall your realm disgrace,

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Nor length of time our gratitude efface.

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Besides, what endless honor you shall gain,

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To save and shelter Troy's unhappy train!

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Now, by my sov'reign, and his fate, I swear,

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Renown'd for faith in peace, for force in war;

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Oft our alliance other lands desir'd,

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And, what we seek of you, of us requir'd.

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Despite not then, that in our hands we bear

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These holy boughs, sue with words of pray'r.

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Fate and the gods, by their supreme command,

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Have doom'd our ships to seek the Latian land.

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To these abodes our fleet Apollo sends;

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Here Dardanus was born, and hither tends;

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Where Tuscan Tiber rolls with rapid force,

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And where Numicus opes his holy source.

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Besides, our prince presents, with his request,

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Some small remains of what his sire possess'd.

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This golden charger, snatch'd from burning Troy,

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Anchises did in sacrifice employ;

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This royal robe and this tiara wore

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Old Priam, and this golden scepter bore

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In full assemblies, and in solemn games;

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These purple vests were weav'd by Dardan dames."

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Thus while he spoke, Latinus roll'd around

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His eyes, and fix'd a while upon the ground.

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Intent he seem'd, and anxious in his breast;

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Not by the scepter mov'd, or kingly vest,

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But pond'ring future things of wondrous weight;

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Succession, empire, and his daughter's fate.

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On these he mus'd within his thoughtful mind,

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And then revolv'd what Faunus had divin'd.

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This was the foreign prince, by fate decreed

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To share his scepter, and Lavinia's bed;

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This was the race that sure portents foreshew

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To sway the world, and land and sea subdue.

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At length he rais'd his cheerful head, and spoke:

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"The pow'rs," said he, "the pow'rs we both invoke,

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To you, and yours, and mine, propitious be,

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And firm our purpose with their augury!

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Have what you ask; your presents I receive;

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Land, where and when you please, with ample leave;

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Partake and use my kingdom as your own;

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All shall be yours, while I command the crown:

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And, if my wish'd alliance please your king,

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Tell him he should not send the peace, but bring.

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Then let him not a friend's embraces fear;

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The peace is made when I behold him here.

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Besides this answer, tell my royal guest,

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I add to his commands my own request:

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One only daughter heirs my crown and state,

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Whom not our oracles, nor Heav'n, nor fate,

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Nor frequent prodigies, permit to join

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With any native of th' Ausonian line.

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A foreign son-in-law shall come from far

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(Such is our doom), a chief renown'd in war,

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Whose race shall bear aloft the Latian name,

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And thro' the conquer'd world diffuse our fame.

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Himself to be the man the fates require,

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I firmly judge, and, what I judge, desire."

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He said, and then on each bestow'd a steed.

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Three hundred horses, in high stables fed,

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Stood ready, shining all, and smoothly dress'd:

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Of these he chose the fairest and the best,

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To mount the Trojan troop. At his command

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The steeds caparison'd with purple stand,

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With golden trappings, glorious to behold,

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And champ betwixt their teeth the foaming gold.

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Then to his absent guest the king decreed

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A pair of coursers born of heav'nly breed,

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Who from their nostrils breath'd ethereal fire;

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Whom Circe stole from her celestial sire,

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By substituting mares produc'd on earth,

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Whose wombs conceiv'd a more than mortal birth.

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These draw the chariot which Latinus sends,

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And the rich present to the prince commends.

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Sublime on stately steeds the Trojans borne,

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To their expecting lord with peace return.

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But jealous Juno, from Pachynus' height,

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As she from Argos took her airy flight,

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Beheld with envious eyes this hateful sight.

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She saw the Trojan and his joyful train

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Descend upon the shore, desert the main,

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Design a town, and, with unhop'd success,

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Th' embassadors return with promis'd peace.

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Then, pierc'd with pain, she shook her haughty head,

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Sigh'd from her inward soul, and thus she said:

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"O hated offspring of my Phrygian foes!

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O fates of Troy, which Juno's fates oppose!

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Could they not fall unpitied on the plain,

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But slain revive, and, taken, scape again?

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When execrable Troy in ashes lay,

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Thro' fires and swords and seas they forc'd their way.

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Then vanquish'd Juno must in vain contend,

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Her rage disarm'd, her empire at an end.

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Breathless and tir'd, is all my fury spent?

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Or does my glutted spleen at length relent?

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As if 't were little from their town to chase,

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I thro' the seas pursued their exil'd race;

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Ingag'd the heav'ns, oppos'd the stormy main;

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But billows roar'd, and tempests rag'd in vain.

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What have my Scyllas and my Syrtes done,

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When these they overpass, and those they shun?

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On Tiber's shores they land, secure of fate,

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Triumphant o'er the storms and Juno's hate.

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Mars could in mutual blood the Centaurs bathe,

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And Jove himself gave way to Cynthia's wrath,

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Who sent the tusky boar to Calydon;

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(What great offense had either people done?)

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But I, the consort of the Thunderer,

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Have wag'd a long and unsuccessful war,

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With various arts and arms in vain have toil'd,

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And by a mortal man at length am foil'd.

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If native pow'r prevail not, shall I doubt

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To seek for needful succor from without?

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If Jove and Heav'n my just desires deny,

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Hell shall the pow'r of Heav'n and Jove supply.

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Grant that the Fates have firm'd, by their decree,

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The Trojan race to reign in Italy;

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At least I can defer the nuptial day,

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And with protracted wars the peace delay:

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With blood the dear alliance shall be bought,

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And both the people near destruction brought;

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So shall the son-in-law and father join,

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With ruin, war, and waste of either line.

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O fatal maid, thy marriage is endow'd

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With Phrygian, Latian, andRutulian blood!

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Bellona leads thee to thy lover's hand;

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Another queen brings forth another brand,

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To burn with foreign fires another land!

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A second Paris, diff'ring but in name,

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Shall fire his country with a second flame."

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Thus having said, she sinks beneath the ground,

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With furious haste, and shoots the Stygian sound,

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To rouse Alecto from th' infernal seat

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Of her dire sisters, and their dark retreat.

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This Fury, fit for her intent, she chose;

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One who delights in wars and human woes.

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Ev'n Pluto hates his own misshapen race;

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Her sister Furies fly her hideous face;

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So frightful are the forms the monster takes,

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So fierce the hissings of her speckled snakes.

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Her Juno finds, and thus inflames her spite:

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"O virgin daughter of eternal Night,

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Give me this once thy labor, to sustain

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My right, and execute my just disdain.

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Let not the Trojans, with a feign'd pretense

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Of proffer'd peace, delude the Latian prince.

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Expel from Italy that odious name,

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And let not Juno suffer in her fame.

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'T is thine to ruin realms, o'erturn a state,

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Betwixt the dearest friends to raise debate,

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And kindle kindred blood to mutual hate.

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Thy hand o'er towns the fun'ral torch displays,

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And forms a thousand ills ten thousand ways.

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Now shake, out thy fruitful breast, the seeds

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Of envy, discord, and of cruel deeds:

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Confound the peace establish'd, and prepare

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Their souls to hatred, and their hands to war."

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Smear'd as she was with black Gorgonian blood,

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The Fury sprang above the Stygian flood;

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And on her wicker wings, sublime thro' night,

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She to the Latian palace took her flight:

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There sought the queen's apartment, stood before

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The peaceful threshold, and besieg'd the door.

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Restless Amata lay, her swelling breast

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Fir'd with disdain for Turnus dispossess'd,

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And the new nuptials of the Trojan guest.

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From her black bloody locks the Fury shakes

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Her darling plague, the fav'rite of her snakes;

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With her full force she threw the poisonous dart,

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And fix'd it deep within Amata's heart,

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That, thus envenom'd, she might kindle rage,

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And sacrifice to strife her house husband's age.

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Unseen, unfelt, the fiery serpent skims

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Betwixt her linen and her naked limbs;

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His baleful breath inspiring, as he glides,

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Now like a chain around her neck he rides,

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Now like a fillet to her head repairs,

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And with his circling volumes folds her hairs.

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At first the silent venom slid with ease,

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And seiz'd her cooler senses by degrees;

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Then, ere th' infected mass was fir'd too far,

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In plaintive accents she began the war,

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And thus bespoke her husband: "Shall," she said,

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"A wand'ring prince enjoy Lavinia's bed?

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If nature plead not in a parent's heart,

Primary

Pity my tears, and pity her desert.

Primary

I know, my dearest lord, the time will come,

Primary

You in vain, reverse your cruel doom;

Primary

The faithless pirate soon will set to sea,

Primary

And bear the royal virgin far away!

Primary

A guest like him, a Trojan guest before,

Primary

In shew of friendship sought the Spartan shore,

Primary

And ravish'd Helen from her husband bore.

Primary

Think on a king's inviolable word;

Primary

And think on Turnus, her once plighted lord:

Primary

To this false foreigner you give your throne,

Primary

And wrong a friend, a kinsman, and a son.

Primary

Resume your ancient care; and, if the god

Primary

Your sire, and you, resolve on foreign blood,

Primary

Know all are foreign, in a larger sense,

Primary

Not born your subjects, or deriv'd from hence.

Primary

Then, if the line of Turnus you retrace,

Primary

He springs from Inachus of Argive race."

Primary

But when she saw her reasons idly spent,

Primary

And could not move him from his fix'd intent,

Primary

She flew to rage; for now the snake possess'd

Primary

Her vital parts, and poison'd all her breast;

Primary

She raves, she runs with a distracted pace,

Primary

And fills with horrid howls the public place.

Primary

And, as young striplings whip the top for sport,

Primary

On the smooth pavement of an empty court;

Primary

The wooden engine flies and whirls about,

Primary

Admir'd, with clamors, of the beardless rout;

Primary

They lash aloud; each other they provoke,

Primary

And lend their little souls at ev'ry stroke:

Primary

Thus fares the queen; and thus her fury blows

Primary

Amidst the crowd, and kindles as she goes.

Primary

Nor yet content, she strains her malice more,

Primary

And adds new ills to those contriv'd before:

Primary

She flies the town, and, mixing with a throng

Primary

Of madding matrons, bears the bride along,

Primary

Wand'ring thro' woods and wilds, and devious ways,

Primary

And with these arts the Trojan match delays.

Primary

She feign'd the rites of Bacchus; cried aloud,

Primary

And to the buxom god the virgin vow'd.

Primary

"Evoe! O Bacchus!" thus began the song;

Primary

And "Evoe!" answer'd all the female throng.

Primary

"O virgin! worthy thee alone!" she cried;

Primary

"O worthy thee alone!" the crew replied.

Primary

"For thee she feeds her hair, she leads thy dance,

Primary

And with thy winding ivy wreathes her lance."

Primary

Like fury seiz'd the rest; the progress known,

Primary

All seek the mountains, and forsake the town:

Primary

All, clad in skins of beasts, the jav'lin bear,

Primary

Give to the wanton winds their flowing hair,

Primary

And shrieks and shoutings rend the suff'ring air.

Primary

The queen herself, inspir'd with rage divine,

Primary

Shook high above her head a flaming pine;

Primary

Then roll'd her haggard eyes around the throng,

Primary

And sung, in Turnus' name, the nuptial song:

Primary

"Io, ye Latian dames! if any here

Primary

Hold your unhappy queen, Amata, dear;

Primary

If there be here," she said, who dare maintain

Primary

My right, nor think the name of mother vain;

Primary

Unbind your fillets, loose your flowing hair,

Primary

And orgies and nocturnal rites prepare."

Primary

Amata's breast the Fury thus invades,

Primary

And fires with rage, amid the sylvan shades;

Primary

Then, when she found her venom spread so far,

Primary

The royal house embroil'd in civil war,

Primary

Rais'd on her dusky wings, she cleaves the skies,

Primary

And seeks the palace where young Turnus lies.

Primary

His town, as fame reports, was built of old

Primary

By Danae, pregnant with almighty gold,

Primary

Who fled her father's rage, and, with a train

Primary

Of following Argives, thro' the stormy main,

Primary

Driv'n by the southern blasts, was fated here to reign.

Primary

'T was Ardua once; now Ardea's name it bears;

Primary

Once a fair city, now consum'd with years.

Primary

Here, in his lofty palace, Turnus lay,

Primary

Betwixt the confines of the night and day,

Primary

Secure in sleep. The Fury laid aside

Primary

Her looks and limbs, and with new methods tried

Primary

The foulness of th' infernal form to hide.

Primary

Propp'd on a staff, she takes a trembling mien:

Primary

Her face is furrow'd, and her front obscene;

Primary

Deep-dinted wrinkles on her cheek she draws;

Primary

Sunk are her eyes, and toothless are her jaws;

Primary

Her hoary hair with holy fillets bound,

Primary

Her temples with an olive wreath are crown'd.

Primary

Old Chalybe, who kept the sacred fane

Primary

Of Juno, now she seem'd, and thus began,

Primary

Appearing in a dream, to rouse the careless man:

Primary

"Shall Turnus then such endless toil sustain

Primary

In fighting fields, and conquer towns in vain?

Primary

Win, for a Trojan head to wear the prize,

Primary

Usurp thy crown, enjoy thy victories?

Primary

The bride and scepter which thy blood has bought,

Primary

The king transfers; and foreign heirs are sought.

Primary

Go now, deluded man, and seek again

Primary

New toils, new dangers, on the dusty plain.

Primary

Repel the Tuscan foes; their city seize;

Primary

Protect the Latians in luxurious ease.

Primary

This dream all-pow'rful Juno sends; I bear

Primary

Her mighty mandates, and her words you hear.

Primary

Haste; arm your Ardeans; issue to the plain;

Primary

With fate to friend, assault the Trojan train:

Primary

Their thoughtless chiefs, their painted ships, that lie

Primary

In Tiber's mouth, with fire and sword destroy.

Primary

The Latian king, unless he shall submit,

Primary

Own his old promise, and his new forget-

Primary

Let him, in arms, the pow'r of Turnus prove,

Primary

And learn to fear whom he disdains to love.

Primary

For such is Heav'n's command." The youthful prince

Primary

With scorn replied, and made this bold defense:

Primary

"You tell me, mother, what I knew before:

Primary

The Phrygian fleet is landed on the shore.

Primary

I neither fear nor will provoke the war;

Primary

My fate is Juno's most peculiar care.

Primary

But time has made you dote, and vainly tell

Primary

Of arms imagin'd in your lonely cell.

Primary

Go; be the temple and the gods your care;

Primary

Permit to men the thought of peace and war."

Primary

These haughty words Alecto's rage provoke,

Primary

And frighted Turnus trembled as she spoke.

Primary

Her eyes grow stiffen'd, and with sulphur burn;

Primary

Her hideous looks and hellish form return;

Primary

Her curling snakes with hissings fill the place,

Primary

And open all the furies of her face:

Primary

Then, darting fire from her malignant eyes,

Primary

She cast him backward as he strove to rise,

Primary

And, ling'ring, sought to frame some new replies.

Primary

High on her head she rears two twisted snakes,

Primary

Her chains she rattles, and her whip she shakes;

Primary

And, churning bloody foam, thus loudly speaks:

Primary

"Behold whom time has made to dote, and tell

Primary

Of arms imagin'd in her lonely cell!

Primary

Behold the Fates' infernal minister!

Primary

War, death, destruction, in my hand I bear."

Primary

Thus having said, her smold'ring torch, impress'd

Primary

With her full force, she plung'd into his breast.

Primary

Aghast he wak'd; and, starting from his bed,

Primary

Cold sweat, in clammy drops, his limbs o'erspread.

Primary

"Arms! arms!" he cries: "my sword and shield prepare!"

Primary

He breathes defiance, blood, and mortal war.

Primary

So, when with crackling flames a caldron fries,

Primary

The bubbling waters from the bottom rise:

Primary

Above the brims they force their fiery way;

Primary

Black vapors climb aloft, and cloud the day.

Primary

The peace polluted thus, a chosen band

Primary

He first commissions to the Latian land,

Primary

In threat'ning embassy; then rais'd the rest,

Primary

To meet in arms th' intruding Trojan guest,

Primary

To force the foes from the Lavinian shore,

Primary

And Italy's indanger'd peace restore.

Primary

Himself alone an equal match he boasts,

Primary

To fight the Phrygian and Ausonian hosts.

Primary

The gods invok'd, the Rutuli prepare

Primary

Their arms, and warn each other to the war.

Primary

His beauty these, and those his blooming age,

Primary

The rest his house and his own fame ingage.

Primary

While Turnus urges thus his enterprise,

Primary

The Stygian Fury to the Trojans flies;

Primary

New frauds invents, and takes a steepy stand,

Primary

Which overlooks the vale with wide command;

Primary

Where fair Ascanius and his youthful train,

Primary

With horns and hounds, a hunting match ordain,

Primary

And pitch their toils around the shady plain.

Primary

The Fury fires the pack; they snuff, they vent,

Primary

And feed their hungry nostrils with the scent.

Primary

'Twas of a well-grown stag, whose antlers rise

Primary

High o'er his front; his beams invade the skies.

Primary

From this light cause th' infernal maid prepares

Primary

The country churls to mischief, hate, and wars.

Primary

The stately beast the two Tyrrhidae bred,

Primary

Snatch'd from his dams, and the tame youngling fed.

Primary

Their father Tyrrheus did his fodder bring,

Primary

Tyrrheus, chief ranger to the Latian king:

Primary

Their sister Silvia cherish'd with her care

Primary

The little wanton, and did wreaths prepare

Primary

To hang his budding horns, with ribbons tied

Primary

His tender neck, and comb'd his silken hide,

Primary

And bathed his body. Patient of command

Primary

In time he grew, and, growing us'd to hand,

Primary

He waited at his master's board for food;

Primary

Then sought his salvage kindred in the wood,

Primary

Where grazing all the day, at night he came

Primary

To his known lodgings, and his country dame.

Primary

This household beast, that us'd the woodland grounds,

Primary

Was view'd at first by the young hero's hounds,

Primary

As down the stream he swam, to seek retreat

Primary

In the cool waters, and to quench his heat.

Primary

Ascanius young, and eager of his game,

Primary

Soon bent his bow, uncertain in his aim;

Primary

But the dire fiend the fatal arrow guides,

Primary

Which pierc'd his bowels thro' his panting sides.

Primary

The bleeding creature issues from the floods,

Primary

Possess'd with fear, and seeks his known abodes,

Primary

His old familiar hearth and household gods.

Primary

He falls; he fills the house with heavy groans,

Primary

Implores their pity, and his pain bemoans.

Primary

Young Silvia beats her breast, and cries aloud

Primary

For succor from the clownish neighborhood:

Primary

The churls assemble; for the fiend, who lay

Primary

In the close woody covert, urg'd their way.

Primary

One with a brand yet burning from the flame,

Primary

Arm'd with a knotty club another came:

Primary

Whate'er they catch or find, without their care,

Primary

Their fury makes an instrument of war.

Primary

Tyrrheus, the foster father of the beast,

Primary

Then clench'd a hatchet in his horny fist,

Primary

But held his hand from the descending stroke,

Primary

And left his wedge within the cloven oak,

Primary

To whet their courage and their rage provoke.

Primary

And now the goddess, exercis'd in ill,

Primary

Who watch'd an hour to work her impious will,

Primary

Ascends the roof, and to her crooked horn,

Primary

Such as was then by Latian shepherds borne,

Primary

Adds all her breath: the rocks and woods around,

Primary

And mountains, tremble at th' infernal sound.

Primary

The sacred lake of Trivia from afar,

Primary

The Veline fountains, and sulphureous Nar,

Primary

Shake at the baleful blast, the signal of the war.

Primary

Young mothers wildly stare, with fear possess'd,

Primary

And strain their helpless infants to their breast.

Primary

The clowns, a boist'rous, rude, ungovern'd crew,

Primary

With furious haste to the loud summons flew.

Primary

The pow'rs of Troy, then issuing on the plain,

Primary

With fresh recruits their youthful chief sustain:

Primary

Not theirs a raw and unexperienc'd train,

Primary

But a firm body of embattled men.

Primary

At first, while fortune favor'd neither side,

Primary

The fight with clubs and burning brands was tried;

Primary

But now, both parties reinforc'd, the fields

Primary

Are bright with flaming swords and brazen shields.

Primary

A shining harvest either host displays,

Primary

And shoots against the sun with equal rays.

Primary

Thus, when a black-brow'd gust begins to rise,

Primary

White foam at first on the curl'd ocean fries;

Primary

Then roars the main, the billows mount the skies;

Primary

Till, by the fury of the storm full blown,

Primary

The muddy bottom o'er the clouds is thrown.

Primary

First Almon falls, old Tyrrheus' eldest care,

Primary

Pierc'd with an arrow from the distant war:

Primary

Fix'd in his throat the flying weapon stood,

Primary

And stopp'd his breath, and drank his vital blood

Primary

Huge heaps of slain around the body rise:

Primary

Among the rest, the rich Galesus lies;

Primary

A good old man, while peace he preach'd in vain,

Primary

Amidst the madness of th' unruly train:

Primary

Five herds, five bleating flocks, his pastures fill'd;

Primary

His lands a hundred yoke of oxen till'd.

Primary

Thus, while in equal scales their fortune stood

Primary

The Fury bath'd them in each other's blood;

Primary

Then, having fix'd the fight, exulting flies,

Primary

And bears fulfill'd her promise to the skies.

Primary

To Juno thus she speaks: "Behold! It is done,

Primary

The blood already drawn, the war begun;

Primary

The discord is complete; nor can they cease

Primary

The dire debate, nor you command the peace.

Primary

Now, since the Latian and the Trojan brood

Primary

Have tasted vengeance and the sweets of blood;

Primary

Speak, and my pow'r shall add this office more:

Primary

The neighb'ing nations of th' Ausonian shore

Primary

Shall hear the dreadful rumor, from afar,

Primary

Of arm'd invasion, and embrace the war."

Primary

Then Juno thus: "The grateful work is done,

Primary

The seeds of discord sow'd, the war begun;

Primary

Frauds, fears, and fury have possess'd the state,

Primary

And fix'd the causes of a lasting hate.

Primary

A bloody Hymen shall th' alliance join

Primary

Betwixt the Trojan and Ausonian line:

Primary

But thou with speed to night and hell repair;

Primary

For not the gods, nor angry Jove, will bear

Primary

Thy lawless wand'ring walks in upper air.

Primary

Leave what remains to me." Saturnia said:

Primary

The sullen fiend her sounding wings display'd,

Primary

Unwilling left the light, and sought the nether shade.

Primary

In midst of Italy, well known to fame,

Primary

There lies a lake (Amsanctus is the name)

Primary

Below the lofty mounts: on either side

Primary

Thick forests the forbidden entrance hide.

Primary

Full in the center of the sacred wood

Primary

An arm arises of the Stygian flood,

Primary

Which, breaking from beneath with bellowing sound,

Primary

Whirls the black waves and rattling stones around.

Primary

Here Pluto pants for breath from out his cell,

Primary

And opens wide the grinning jaws of hell.

Primary

To this infernal lake the Fury flies;

Primary

Here hides her hated head, and frees the lab'ring skies.

Primary

Saturnian Juno now, with double care,

Primary

Attends the fatal process of the war.

Primary

The clowns, return'd, from battle bear the slain,

Primary

Implore the gods, and to their king complain.

Primary

The corps of Almon and the rest are shown;

Primary

Shrieks, clamors, murmurs, fill the frighted town.

Primary

Ambitious Turnus in the press appears,

Primary

And, aggravating crimes, augments their fears;

Primary

Proclaims his private injuries aloud,

Primary

A solemn promise made, and disavow'd;

Primary

A foreign son is sought, and a mix'd mungril brood.

Primary

Then they, whose mothers, frantic with their fear,

Primary

In woods and wilds the flags of Bacchus bear,

Primary

And lead his dances with dishevel'd hair,

Primary

Increase the clamor, and the war demand,

Primary

(Such was Amata's interest in the land,)

Primary

Against the public sanctions of the peace,

Primary

Against all omens of their ill success.

Primary

With fates averse, the rout in arms resort,

Primary

To force their monarch, and insult the court.

Primary

But, like a rock unmov'd, a rock that braves

Primary

The raging tempest and the rising waves-

Primary

Propp'd on himself he stands; his solid sides

Primary

Wash off the seaweeds, and the sounding tides-

Primary

So stood the pious prince, unmov'd, and long

Primary

Sustain'd the madness of the noisy throng.

Primary

But, when he found that Juno's pow'r prevail'd,

Primary

And all the methods of cool counsel fail'd,

Primary

He calls the gods to witness their offense,

Primary

Disclaims the war, asserts his innocence.

Primary

"Hurried by fate," he cries, "and borne before

Primary

A furious wind, we have the faithful shore.

Primary

O more than madmen! you yourselves shall bear

Primary

The guilt of blood and sacrilegious war:

Primary

Thou, Turnus, shalt atone it by thy fate,

Primary

And pray to Heav'n for peace, but pray too late.

Primary

For me, my stormy voyage at an end,

Primary

I to the port of death securely tend.

Primary

The fun'ral pomp which to your kings you pay,

Primary

Is all I want, and all you take away."

Primary

He said no more, but, in his walls confin'd,

Primary

Shut out the woes which he too well divin'd

Primary

Nor with the rising storm would vainly strive,

Primary

But left the helm, and let the vessel drive.

Primary

A solemn custom was observ'd of old,

Primary

Which Latium held, and now the Romans hold,

Primary

Their standard when in fighting fields they rear

Primary

Against the fierce Hyrcanians, or declare

Primary

The Scythian, Indian, or Arabian war;

Primary

Or from the boasting Parthians would regain

Primary

Their eagles, lost in Carrhae's bloody plain.

Primary

Two gates of steel (the name of Mars they bear,

Primary

And still are worship'd with religious fear)

Primary

Before his temple stand: the dire abode,

Primary

And the fear'd issues of the furious god,

Primary

Are fenc'd with brazen bolts; without the gates,

Primary

The wary guardian Janus doubly waits.

Primary

Then, when the sacred senate votes the wars,

Primary

The Roman consul their decree declares,

Primary

And in his robes the sounding gates unbars.

Primary

The youth in military shouts arise,

Primary

And the loud trumpets break the yielding skies.

Primary

These rites, of old by sov'reign princes us'd,

Primary

Were the king's office; but the king refus'd,

Primary

Deaf to their cries, nor would the gates unbar

Primary

Of sacred peace, or loose th' imprison'd war;

Primary

But hid his head, and, safe from loud alarms,

Primary

Abhorr'd the wicked ministry of arms.

Primary

Then heav'n's imperious queen shot down from high:

Primary

At her approach the brazen hinges fly;

Primary

The gates are forc'd, and ev'ry falling bar;

Primary

And, like a tempest, issues out the war.

Primary

The peaceful cities of th' Ausonian shore,

Primary

Lull'd in their ease, and undisturb'd before,

Primary

Are all on fire; and some, with studious care,

Primary

Their restiff steeds in sandy plains prepare;

Primary

Some their soft limbs in painful marches try,

Primary

And war is all their wish, and arms the gen'ral cry.

Primary

Part scour the rusty shields with seam; and part

Primary

New grind the blunted ax, and point the dart:

Primary

With joy they view the waving ensigns fly,

Primary

And hear the trumpet's clangor pierce the sky.

Primary

Five cities forge their arms: th' Atinian pow'rs,

Primary

Antemnae, Tibur with her lofty tow'rs,

Primary

Ardea the proud, the Crustumerian town:

Primary

All these of old were places of renown.

Primary

Some hammer helmets for the fighting field;

Primary

Some twine young sallows to support the shield;

Primary

The croslet some, and some the cuishes mold,

Primary

With silver plated, and with ductile gold.

Primary

The rustic honors of the scythe and share

Primary

Give place to swords and plumes, the pride of war.

Primary

Old fauchions are new temper'd in the fires;

Primary

The sounding trumpet ev'ry soul inspires.

Primary

The word is giv'n; with eager speed they lace

Primary

The shining headpiece, and the shield embrace.

Primary

The neighing steeds are to the chariot tied;

Primary

The trusty weapon sits on ev'ry side.

Primary

And now the mighty labor is begun

Primary

Ye Muses, open all your Helicon.

Primary

Sing you the chiefs that sway'd th' Ausonian land,

Primary

Their arms, and armies under their command;

Primary

What warriors in our ancient clime were bred;

Primary

What soldiers follow'd, and what heroes led.

Primary

For well you know, and can record alone,

Primary

What fame to future times conveys but darkly down.

Primary

Mezentius first appear'd upon the plain:

Primary

Scorn sate upon his brows, and sour disdain,

Primary

Defying earth and heav'n. Etruria lost,

Primary

He brings to Turnus' aid his baffled host.

Primary

The charming Lausus, full of youthful fire,

Primary

Rode in the rank, and next his sullen sire;

Primary

To Turnus only second in the grace

Primary

Of manly mien, and features of the face.

Primary

A skilful horseman, and a huntsman bred,

Primary

With fates averse a thousand men he led:

Primary

His sire unworthy of so brave a son;

Primary

Himself well worthy of a happier throne.

Primary

Next Aventinus drives his chariot round

Primary

The Latian plains, with palms and laurels crown'd.

Primary

Proud of his steeds, he smokes along the field;

Primary

His father's hydra fills his ample shield:

Primary

A hundred serpents hiss about the brims;

Primary

The son of Hercules he justly seems

Primary

By his broad shoulders and gigantic limbs;

Primary

Of heav'nly part, and part of earthly blood,

Primary

A mortal woman mixing with a god.

Primary

For strong Alcides, after he had slain

Primary

The triple Geryon, drove from conquer'd Spain

Primary

His captive herds; and, thence in triumph led,

Primary

On Tuscan Tiber's flow'ry banks they fed.

Primary

Then on Mount Aventine the son of Jove

Primary

The priestess Rhea found, and forc'd to love.

Primary

For arms, his men long piles and jav'lins bore;

Primary

And poles with pointed steel their foes in battle gore.

Primary

Like Hercules himself his son appears,

Primary

In salvage pomp; a lion's hide he wears;

Primary

About his shoulders hangs the shaggy skin;

Primary

The teeth and gaping jaws severely grin.

Primary

Thus, like the god his father, homely dress'd,

Primary

He strides into the hall, a horrid guest.

Primary

Then two twin brothers from fair Tibur came,

Primary

(Which from their brother Tiburs took the name,)

Primary

Fierce Coras and Catillus, void of fear:

Primary

Arm'd Argive horse they led, and in the front appear.

Primary

Like cloud-born Centaurs, from the mountain's height

Primary

With rapid course descending to the fight;

Primary

They rush along; the rattling woods give way;

Primary

The branches bend before their sweepy sway.

Primary

Nor was Praeneste's founder wanting there,

Primary

Whom fame reports the son of Mulciber:

Primary

Found in the fire, and foster'd in the plains,

Primary

A shepherd and a king at once he reigns,

Primary

And leads to Turnus' aid his country swains.

Primary

His own Praeneste sends a chosen band,

Primary

With those who plow Saturnia's Gabine land;

Primary

Besides the succor which cold Anien yields,

Primary

The rocks of Hernicus, and dewy fields,

Primary

Anagnia fat, and Father Amasene-

Primary

A num'rous rout, but all of naked men:

Primary

Nor arms they wear, nor swords and bucklers wield,

Primary

Nor drive the chariot thro' the dusty field,

Primary

But whirl from leathern slings huge balls of lead,

Primary

And spoils of yellow wolves adorn their head;

Primary

The left foot naked, when they march to fight,

Primary

But in a bull's raw hide they sheathe the right.

Primary

Messapus next, (great Neptune was his sire,)

Primary

Secure of steel, and fated from the fire,

Primary

In pomp appears, and with his ardor warms

Primary

A heartless train, unexercis'd in arms:

Primary

The just Faliscans he to battle brings,

Primary

And those who live where Lake Ciminia springs;

Primary

And where Feronia's grove and temple stands,

Primary

Who till Fescennian or Flavinian lands.

Primary

All these in order march, and marching sing

Primary

The warlike actions of their sea-born king;

Primary

Like a long team of snowy swans on high,

Primary

Which clap their wings, and cleave the liquid sky,

Primary

When, homeward from their wat'ry pastures borne,

Primary

They sing, and Asia's lakes their notes return.

Primary

Not one who heard their music from afar,

Primary

Would think these troops an army train'd to war,

Primary

But flocks of fowl, that, when the tempests roar,

Primary

With their hoarse gabbling seek the silent shore.

Primary

Then Clausus came, who led a num'rous band

Primary

Of troops embodied from the Sabine land,

Primary

And, in himself alone, an army brought.

Primary

'T was he, the noble Claudian race begot,

Primary

The Claudian race, ordain'd, in times to come,

Primary

To share the greatness of imperial Rome.

Primary

He led the Cures forth, of old renown,

Primary

Mutuscans from their olive-bearing town,

Primary

And all th' Eretian pow'rs; besides a band

Primary

That follow'd from Velinum's dewy land,

Primary

And Amiternian troops, of mighty fame,

Primary

And mountaineers, that from Severus came,

Primary

And from the craggy cliffs of Tetrica,

Primary

And those where yellow Tiber takes his way,

Primary

And where Himella's wanton waters play.

Primary

Casperia sends her arms, with those that lie

Primary

By Fabaris, and fruitful Foruli:

Primary

The warlike aids of Horta next appear,

Primary

And the cold Nursians come to close the rear,

Primary

Mix'd with the natives born of Latine blood,

Primary

Whom Allia washes with her fatal flood.

Primary

Not thicker billows beat the Libyan main,

Primary

When pale Orion sets in wintry rain;

Primary

Nor thicker harvests on rich Hermus rise,

Primary

Or Lycian fields, when Phoebus burns the skies,

Primary

Than stand these troops: their bucklers ring around;

Primary

Their trampling turns the turf, and shakes the solid ground.

Primary

High in his chariot then Halesus came,

Primary

A foe by birth to Troy's unhappy name:

Primary

From Agamemnon born- to Turnus' aid

Primary

A thousand men the youthful hero led,

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Who till the Massic soil, for wine renown'd,

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And fierce Auruncans from their hilly ground,

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And those who live by Sidicinian shores,

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And where with shoaly fords Vulturnus roars,

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Cales' and Osca's old inhabitants,

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And rough Saticulans, inur'd to wants:

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Light demi-lances from afar they throw,

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Fasten'd with leathern thongs, to gall the foe.

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Short crooked swords in closer fight they wear;

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And on their warding arm light bucklers bear.

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Nor Oebalus, shalt thou be left unsung,

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From nymph Semethis and old Telon sprung,

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Who then in Teleboan Capri reign'd;

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But that short isle th' ambitious youth disdain'd,

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And o'er Campania stretch'd his ample sway,

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Where swelling Sarnus seeks the Tyrrhene sea;

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O'er Batulum, and where Abella sees,

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From her high tow'rs, the harvest of her trees.

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And these (as was the Teuton use of old)

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Wield brazen swords, and brazen bucklers hold;

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Sling weighty stones, when from afar they fight;

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Their casques are cork, a covering thick and light.

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Next these in rank, the warlike Ufens went,

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And led the mountain troops that Nursia sent.

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The rude Equicolae his rule obey'd;

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Hunting their sport, and plund'ring was their trade.

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In arms they plow'd, to battle still prepar'd:

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Their soil was barren, and their hearts were hard.

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Umbro the priest the proud Marrubians led,

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By King Archippus sent to Turnus' aid,

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And peaceful olives crown'd his hoary head.

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His wand and holy words, the viper's rage,

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And venom'd wounds of serpents could assuage.

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He, when he pleas'd with powerful juice to steep

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Their temples, shut their eyes in pleasing sleep.

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But vain were Marsian herbs, and magic art,

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To cure the wound giv'n by the Dardan dart:

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Yet his untimely fate th' Angitian woods

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In sighs remurmur'd to the Fucine floods.

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The son of fam'd Hippolytus was there,

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Fam'd as his sire, and, as his mother, fair;

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Whom in Egerian groves Aricia bore,

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And nurs'd his youth along the marshy shore,

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Where great Diana's peaceful altars flame,

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In fruitful fields; and Virbius was his name.

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Hippolytus, as old records have said,

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Was by his stepdam sought to share her bed;

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But, when no female arts his mind could move,

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She turn'd to furious hate her impious love.

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Torn by wild horses on the sandy shore,

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Another's crimes th' unhappy hunter bore,

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Glutting his father's eyes with guiltless gore.

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But chaste Diana, who his death deplor'd,

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With Aesculapian herbs his life restor'd.

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Then Jove, who saw from high, with just disdain,

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The dead inspir'd with vital breath again,

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Struck to the center, with his flaming dart,

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Th' unhappy founder of the godlike art.

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But Trivia kept in secret shades alone

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Her care, Hippolytus, to fate unknown;

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And call'd him Virbius in th' Egerian grove,

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Where then he liv'd obscure, but safe from Jove.

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For this, from Trivia's temple and her wood

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Are coursers driv'n, who shed their master's blood,

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Affrighted by the monsters of the flood.

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His son, the second Virbius, yet retain'd

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His father's art, and warrior steeds he rein'd.

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Amid the troops, and like the leading god,

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High o'er the rest in arms the graceful Turnus rode:

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A triple of plumes his crest adorn'd,

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On which with belching flames Chimaera burn'd:

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The more the kindled combat rises high'r,

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The more with fury burns the blazing fire.

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Fair Io grac'd his shield; but Io now

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With horns exalted stands, and seems to low-

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A noble charge! Her keeper by her side,

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To watch her walks, his hundred eyes applied;

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And on the brims her sire, the wat'ry god,

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Roll'd from a silver urn his crystal flood.

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A cloud of foot succeeds, and fills the fields

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With swords, and pointed spears, and clatt'ring shields;

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Of Argives, and of old Sicanian bands,

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And those who plow the rich Rutulian lands;

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Auruncan youth, and those Sacrana yields,

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And the proud Labicans, with painted shields,

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And those who near Numician streams reside,

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And those whom Tiber's holy forests hide,

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Or Circe's hills from the main land divide;

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Where Ufens glides along the lowly lands,

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Or the black water of Pomptina stands.

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Last, from the Volscians fair Camilla came,

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And led her warlike troops, a warrior dame;

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Unbred to spinning, in the loom unskill'd,

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She chose the nobler Pallas of the field.

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Mix'd with the first, the fierce virago fought,

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Sustain'd the toils of arms, the danger sought,

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Outstripp'd the winds in speed upon the plain,

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Flew o'er the fields, nor hurt the bearded grain:

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She swept the seas, and, as she skimm'd along,

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Her flying feet unbath'd on billows hung.

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Men, boys, and women, stupid with surprise,

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Where'er she passes, fix their wond'ring eyes:

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Longing they look, and, gaping at the sight,

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Devour her o'er and o'er with vast delight;

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Her purple habit sits with such a grace

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On her smooth shoulders, and so suits her face;

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Her head with ringlets of her hair is crown'd,

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And in a golden caul the curls are bound.

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She shakes her myrtle jav'lin; and, behind,

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Her Lycian quiver dances in the wind.