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Reader | Aeneid, Book 8

Aeneid

Virgil

Book 8 | Primary edition: John Dryden

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Work

Aeneid

Virgil's national epic follows Aeneas from the fall of Troy to the wars that prepare Rome's imagined future foundation.

Epic poem | Original language: Latin

Augustan Roman epic, late 1st century BCE

You are reading Book 8.

Primary Edition

John Dryden

English | Verse

Late 17th-century English verse translation

Dryden's Aeneid is one of the classic English heroic-couplet renderings, polished and rhetorically controlled.

Used as the default English reader and oracle edition for the Aeneid.

Source family: Legacy English epic core

Project Gutenberg | Public-domain source texts

English baseline corpus assembled from line-level public-domain ebook texts.

Text

John Dryden | English

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When Turnus had assembled all his pow'rs,

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His standard planted on Laurentum's tow'rs;

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When now the sprightly trumpet, from afar,

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Had giv'n the signal of approaching war,

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Had rous'd the neighing steeds to scour the fields,

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While the fierce riders clatter'd on their shields;

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Trembling with rage, the Latian youth prepare

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To join th' allies, and headlong rush to war.

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Fierce Ufens, and Messapus, led the crowd,

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With bold Mezentius, who blasphem'd aloud.

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These thro' the country took their wasteful course,

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The fields to forage, and to gather force.

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Then Venulus to Diomede they send,

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To beg his aid Ausonia to defend,

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Declare the common danger, and inform

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The Grecian leader of the growing storm:

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Aeneas, landed on the Latian coast,

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With banish'd gods, and with a baffled host,

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Yet now aspir'd to conquest of the state,

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And claim'd a title from the gods and fate;

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What num'rous nations in his quarrel came,

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And how they spread his formidable name.

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What he design'd, what mischief might arise,

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If fortune favor'd his first enterprise,

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Was left for him to weigh, whose equal fears,

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And common interest, was involv'd in theirs.

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While Turnus and th' allies thus urge the war,

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The Trojan, floating in a flood of care,

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Beholds the tempest which his foes prepare.

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This way and that he turns his anxious mind;

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Thinks, and rejects the counsels he design'd;

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Explores himself in vain, in ev'ry part,

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And gives no rest to his distracted heart.

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So, when the sun by day, or moon by night,

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Strike on the polish'd brass their trembling light,

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The glitt'ring species here and there divide,

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And cast their dubious beams from side to side;

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Now on the walls, now on the pavement play,

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And to the ceiling flash the glaring day.

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'T was night; and weary nature lull'd asleep

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The birds of air, and fishes of the deep,

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And beasts, and mortal men. The Trojan chief

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Was laid on Tiber's banks, oppress'd with grief,

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And found in silent slumber late relief.

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Then, thro' the shadows of the poplar wood,

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Arose the father of the Roman flood;

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An azure robe was o'er his body spread,

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A wreath of shady reeds adorn'd his head:

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Thus, manifest to sight, the god appear'd,

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And with these pleasing words his sorrow cheer'd:

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"Undoubted offspring of ethereal race,

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O long expected in this promis'd place!

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Who thro' the foes hast borne thy banish'd gods,

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Restor'd them to their hearths, and old abodes;

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This is thy happy home, the clime where fate

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Ordains thee to restore the Trojan state.

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Fear not! The war shall end in lasting peace,

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And all the rage of haughty Juno cease.

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And that this nightly vision may not seem

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Th' effect of fancy, or an idle dream,

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A sow beneath an oak shall lie along,

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All white herself, and white her thirty young.

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When thirty rolling years have run their race,

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Thy son Ascanius, on this empty space,

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Shall build a royal town, of lasting fame,

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Which from this omen shall receive the name.

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Time shall approve the truth. For what remains,

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And how with sure success to crown thy pains,

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With patience next attend. A banish'd band,

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Driv'n with Evander from th' Arcadian land,

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Have planted here, and plac'd on high their walls;

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Their town the founder Pallanteum calls,

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Deriv'd from Pallas, his great-grandsire's name:

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But the fierce Latians old possession claim,

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With war infesting the new colony.

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These make thy friends, and on their aid rely.

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To thy free passage I submit my streams.

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Wake, son of Venus, from thy pleasing dreams;

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And, when the setting stars are lost in day,

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To Juno's pow'r thy just devotion pay;

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With sacrifice the wrathful queen appease:

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Her pride at length shall fall, her fury cease.

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When thou return'st victorious from the war,

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Perform thy vows to me with grateful care.

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The god am I, whose yellow water flows

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Around these fields, and fattens as it goes:

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Tiber my name; among the rolling floods

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Renown'd on earth, esteem'd among the gods.

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This is my certain seat. In times to come,

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My waves shall wash the walls of mighty Rome."

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He said, and plung'd below. While yet he spoke,

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His dream Aeneas and his sleep forsook.

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He rose, and looking up, beheld the skies

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With purple blushing, and the day arise.

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Then water in his hollow palm he took

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From Tiber's flood, and thus the pow'rs bespoke:

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"Laurentian nymphs, by whom the streams are fed,

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And Father Tiber, in thy sacred bed

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Receive Aeneas, and from danger keep.

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Whatever fount, whatever holy deep,

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Conceals thy wat'ry stores; where'er they rise,

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And, bubbling from below, salute the skies;

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Thou, king of horned floods, whose plenteous urn

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Suffices fatness to the fruitful corn,

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For this thy kind compassion of our woes,

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Shalt share my morning song and ev'ning vows.

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But, O be present to thy people's aid,

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And firm the gracious promise thou hast made!"

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Thus having said, two galleys from his stores,

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With care he chooses, mans, and fits with oars.

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Now on the shore the fatal swine is found.

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Wondrous to tell!- She lay along the ground:

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Her well-fed offspring at her udders hung;

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She white herself, and white her thirty young.

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Aeneas takes the mother and her brood,

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And all on Juno's altar are bestow'd.

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The foll'wing night, and the succeeding day,

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Propitious Tiber smooth'd his wat'ry way:

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He roll'd his river back, and pois'd he stood,

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A gentle swelling, and a peaceful flood.

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The Trojans mount their ships; they put from shore,

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Borne on the waves, and scarcely dip an oar.

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Shouts from the land give omen to their course,

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And the pitch'd vessels glide with easy force.

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The woods and waters wonder at the gleam

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Of shields, and painted ships that stem the stream.

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One summer's night and one whole day they pass

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Betwixt the greenwood shades, and cut the liquid glass.

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The fiery sun had finish'd half his race,

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Look'd back, and doubted in the middle space,

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When they from far beheld the rising tow'rs,

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The tops of sheds, and shepherds' lowly bow'rs,

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Thin as they stood, which, then of homely clay,

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Now rise in marble, from the Roman sway.

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These cots (Evander's kingdom, mean and poor)

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The Trojan saw, and turn'd his ships to shore.

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'T was on a solemn day: th' Arcadian states,

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The king and prince, without the city gates,

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Then paid their off'rings in a sacred grove

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To Hercules, the warrior son of Jove.

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Thick clouds of rolling smoke involve the skies,

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And fat of entrails on his altar fries.

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But, when they saw the ships that stemm'd the flood,

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And glitter'd thro' the covert of the wood,

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They rose with fear, and left th' unfinish'd feast,

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Till dauntless Pallas reassur'd the rest

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To pay the rites. Himself without delay

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A jav'lin seiz'd, and singly took his way;

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Then gain'd a rising ground, and call'd from far:

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"Resolve me, strangers, whence, and what you are;

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Your bus'ness here; and bring you peace or war?"

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High on the stern Aeneas his stand,

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And held a branch of olive in his hand,

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While thus he spoke: "The Phrygians' arms you see,

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Expell'd from Troy, provok'd in Italy

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By Latian foes, with war unjustly made;

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At first affianc'd, and at last betray'd.

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This message bear: 'The Trojans and their chief

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Bring holy peace, and beg the king's relief.'

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Struck with so great a name, and all on fire,

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The youth replies: "Whatever you require,

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Your fame exacts. Upon our shores descend.

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A welcome guest, and, what you wish, a friend."

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He said, and, downward hasting to the strand,

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Embrac'd the stranger prince, and join'd his hand.

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Conducted to the grove, Aeneas broke

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The silence first, and thus the king bespoke:

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"Best of the Greeks, to whom, by fate's command,

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I bear these peaceful branches in my hand,

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Undaunted I approach you, tho' I know

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Your birth is Grecian, and your land my foe;

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From Atreus tho' your ancient lineage came,

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And both the brother kings your kindred claim;

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Yet, my self-conscious worth, your high renown,

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Your virtue, thro' the neighb'ring nations blown,

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Our fathers' mingled blood, Apollo's voice,

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Have led me hither, less by need than choice.

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Our founder Dardanus, as fame has sung,

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And Greeks acknowledge, from Electra sprung:

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Electra from the loins of Atlas came;

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Atlas, whose head sustains the starry frame.

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Your sire is Mercury, whom long before

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On cold Cyllene's top fair Maia bore.

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Maia the fair, on fame if we rely,

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Was Atlas' daughter, who sustains the sky.

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Thus from one common source our streams divide;

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Ours is the Trojan, yours th' Areadian side.

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Rais'd by these hopes, I sent no news before,

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Nor ask'd your leave, nor did your faith implore;

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But come, without a pledge, my own ambassador.

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The same Rutulians, who with arms pursue

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The Trojan race, are equal foes to you.

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Our host expell'd, what farther force can stay

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The victor troops from universal sway?

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Then will they stretch their pow'r athwart the land,

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And either sea from side to side command.

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Receive our offer'd faith, and give us thine;

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Ours is a gen'rous and experienc'd line:

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We want not hearts nor bodies for the war;

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In council cautious, and in fields we dare."

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He said; and while spoke, with piercing eyes

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Evander view'd the man with vast surprise,

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Pleas'd with his action, ravish'd with his face:

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Then answer'd briefly, with a royal grace:

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"O valiant leader of the Trojan line,

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In whom the features of thy father shine,

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How I recall Anchises! how I see

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His motions, mien, and all my friend, in thee!

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Long tho' it be, 't is fresh within my mind,

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When Priam to his sister's court design'd

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A welcome visit, with a friendly stay,

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And thro' th' Arcadian kingdom took his way.

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Then, past a boy, the callow down began

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To shade my chin, and call me first a man.

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I saw the shining train with vast delight,

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And Priam's goodly person pleas'd my sight:

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But great Anchises, far above the rest,

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With awful wonder fir'd my youthful breast.

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I long'd to join in friendship's holy bands

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Our mutual hearts, and plight our mutual hands.

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I first accosted him: I sued, I sought,

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And, with a loving force, to Pheneus brought.

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He gave me, when at length constrain'd to go,

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A Lycian quiver and a Gnossian bow,

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A vest embroider'd, glorious to behold,

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And two rich bridles, with their bits of gold,

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Which my son's coursers in obedience hold.

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The league you ask, I offer, as your right;

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And, when to-morrow's sun reveals the light,

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With swift supplies you shall be sent away.

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Now celebrate with us this solemn day,

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Whose holy rites admit no long delay.

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Honor our annual feast; and take your seat,

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With friendly welcome, at a homely treat."

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Thus having said, the bowls (remov'd for fear)

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The youths replac'd, and soon restor'd the cheer.

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On sods of turf he set the soldiers round:

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A maple throne, rais'd higher from the ground,

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Receiv'd the Trojan chief; and, o'er the bed,

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A lion's shaggy hide for ornament they spread.

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The loaves were serv'd in canisters; the wine

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In bowls; the priest renew'd the rites divine:

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Broil'd entrails are their food, and beef's continued chine.

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But when the rage of hunger was repress'd,

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Thus spoke Evander to his royal guest:

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"These rites, these altars, and this feast, O king,

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From no vain fears or superstition spring,

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Or blind devotion, or from blinder chance,

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Or heady zeal, or brutal ignorance;

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But, sav'd from danger, with a grateful sense,

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The labors of a god we recompense.

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See, from afar, yon rock that mates the sky,

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About whose feet such heaps of rubbish lie;

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Such indigested ruin; bleak and bare,

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How desart now it stands, expos'd in air!

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'T was once a robber's den, inclos'd around

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With living stone, and deep beneath the ground.

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The monster Cacus, more than half a beast,

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This hold, impervious to the sun, possess'd.

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The pavement ever foul with human gore;

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Heads, and their mangled members, hung the door.

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Vulcan this plague begot; and, like his sire,

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Black clouds he belch'd, and flakes of livid fire.

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Time, long expected, eas'd us of our load,

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And brought the needful presence of a god.

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Th' avenging force of Hercules, from Spain,

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Arriv'd in triumph, from Geryon slain:

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Thrice liv'd the giant, and thrice liv'd in vain.

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His prize, the lowing herds, Alcides drove

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Near Tiber's bank, to graze the shady grove.

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Allur'd with hope of plunder, and intent

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By force to rob, by fraud to circumvent,

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The brutal Cacus, as by chance they stray'd,

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Four oxen thence, and four fair kine convey'd;

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And, lest the printed footsteps might be seen,

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He dragg'd 'em backwards to his rocky den.

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The tracks averse a lying notice gave,

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And led the searcher backward from the cave.

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"Meantime the herdsman hero shifts his place,

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To find fresh pasture and untrodden grass.

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The beasts, who miss'd their mates, fill'd all around

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With bellowings, and the rocks restor'd the sound.

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One heifer, who had heard her love complain,

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Roar'd from the cave, and made the project vain.

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Alcides found the fraud; with rage he shook,

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And toss'd about his head his knotted oak.

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Swift as the winds, or Scythian arrows' flight,

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He clomb, with eager haste, th' aerial height.

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Then first we saw the monster mend his pace;

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Fear his eyes, and paleness in his face,

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Confess'd the god's approach. Trembling he springs,

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As terror had increas'd his feet with wings;

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Nor stay'd for stairs; but down the depth he threw

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His body, on his back the door he drew

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(The door, a rib of living rock; with pains

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His father hew'd it out, and bound with iron chains):

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He broke the heavy links, the mountain clos'd,

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And bars and levers to his foe oppos'd.

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The wretch had hardly made his dungeon fast;

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The fierce avenger came with bounding haste;

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Survey'd the mouth of the forbidden hold,

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And here and there his raging eyes he roll'd.

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He gnash'd his teeth; and thrice he compass'd round

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With winged speed the circuit of the ground.

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Thrice at the cavern's mouth he pull'd in vain,

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And, panting, thrice desisted from his pain.

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A pointed flinty rock, all bare and black,

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Grew gibbous from behind the mountain's back;

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Owls, ravens, all ill omens of the night,

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Here built their nests, and hither wing'd their flight.

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The leaning head hung threat'ning o'er the flood,

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And nodded to the left. The hero stood

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Adverse, with planted feet, and, from the right,

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Tugg'd at the solid stone with all his might.

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Thus heav'd, the fix'd foundations of the rock

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Gave way; heav'n echo'd at the rattling shock.

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Tumbling, it chok'd the flood: on either side

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The banks leap backward, and the streams divide;

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The sky shrunk upward with unusual dread,

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And trembling Tiber div'd beneath his bed.

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The court of Cacus stands reveal'd to sight;

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The cavern glares with new-admitted light.

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So the pent vapors, with a rumbling sound,

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Heave from below, and rend the hollow ground;

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A sounding flaw succeeds; and, from on high,

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The gods with hate beheld the nether sky:

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The ghosts repine at violated night,

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And curse th' invading sun, and sicken at the sight.

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The graceless monster, caught in open day,

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Inclos'd, and in despair to fly away,

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Howls horrible from underneath, and fills

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His hollow palace with unmanly yells.

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The hero stands above, and from afar

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Plies him with darts, and stones, and distant war.

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He, from his nostrils huge mouth, expires

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Black clouds of smoke, amidst his father's fires,

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Gath'ring, with each repeated blast, the night,

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To make uncertain aim, and erring sight.

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The wrathful god then plunges from above,

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And, where in thickest waves the sparkles drove,

Line 340Permalink

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There lights; and wades thro' fumes, and gropes his way,

Line 341Permalink

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Half sing'd, half stifled, till he grasps his prey.

Line 342Permalink

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The monster, spewing fruitless flames, he found;

Line 343Permalink

Primary

He squeez'd his throat; he writh'd his neck around,

Line 344Permalink

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And in a knot his crippled members bound;

Line 345Permalink

Primary

Then from their sockets tore his burning eyes:

Line 346Permalink

Primary

Roll'd on a heap, the breathless robber lies.

Line 347Permalink

Primary

The doors, unbarr'd, receive the rushing day,

Line 348Permalink

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And thoro' lights disclose the ravish'd prey.

Line 349Permalink

Primary

The bulls, redeem'd, breathe open air again.

Line 350Permalink

Primary

Next, by the feet, they drag him from his den.

Line 351Permalink

Primary

The wond'ring neighborhood, with glad surprise,

Line 352Permalink

Primary

Behold his shagged breast, his giant size,

Line 353Permalink

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His mouth that flames no more, and his extinguish'd eyes.

Line 354Permalink

Primary

From that auspicious day, with rites divine,

Line 355Permalink

Primary

We worship at the hero's holy shrine.

Line 356Permalink

Primary

Potitius first ordain'd these annual vows:

Line 357Permalink

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As priests, were added the Pinarian house,

Line 358Permalink

Primary

Who rais'd this altar in the sacred shade,

Line 359Permalink

Primary

Where honors, ever due, for ever shall be paid.

Line 360Permalink

Primary

For these deserts, and this high virtue shown,

Line 361Permalink

Primary

Ye warlike youths, your heads with garlands crown:

Line 362Permalink

Primary

Fill high the goblets with a sparkling flood,

Line 363Permalink

Primary

And with deep draughts invoke our common god."

Line 364Permalink

Primary

This said, a double wreath Evander twin'd,

Line 365Permalink

Primary

And poplars black and white his temples bind.

Line 366Permalink

Primary

Then brims his ample bowl. With like design

Line 367Permalink

Primary

The rest invoke the gods, with sprinkled wine.

Line 368Permalink

Primary

Meantime the sun descended from the skies,

Line 369Permalink

Primary

And the bright evening star began to rise.

Line 370Permalink

Primary

And now the priests, Potitius at their head,

Line 371Permalink

Primary

In skins of beasts involv'd, the long procession led;

Line 372Permalink

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Held high the flaming tapers in their hands,

Line 373Permalink

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As custom had prescrib'd their holy bands;

Line 374Permalink

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Then with a second course the tables load,

Line 375Permalink

Primary

And with full chargers offer to the god.

Line 376Permalink

Primary

The Salii sing, and cense his altars round

Line 377Permalink

Primary

With Saban smoke, their heads with poplar bound-

Line 378Permalink

Primary

One choir of old, another of the young,

Line 379Permalink

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To dance, and bear the burthen of the song.

Line 380Permalink

Primary

The lay records the labors, and the praise,

Line 381Permalink

Primary

And all th' immortal acts of Hercules:

Line 382Permalink

Primary

First, how the mighty babe, when swath'd in bands,

Line 383Permalink

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The serpents strangled with his infant hands;

Line 384Permalink

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Then, as in years and matchless force he grew,

Line 385Permalink

Primary

Th' Oechalian walls, and Trojan, overthrew.

Line 386Permalink

Primary

Besides, a thousand hazards they relate,

Line 387Permalink

Primary

Procur'd by Juno's and Eurystheus' hate:

Line 388Permalink

Primary

"Thy hands, unconquer'd hero, could subdue

Line 389Permalink

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The cloud-born Centaurs, and the monster crew:

Line 390Permalink

Primary

Nor thy resistless arm the bull withstood,

Line 391Permalink

Primary

Nor he, the roaring terror of the wood.

Line 392Permalink

Primary

The triple porter of the Stygian seat,

Line 393Permalink

Primary

With lolling tongue, lay fawning at thy feet,

Line 394Permalink

Primary

And, seiz'd with fear, forgot his mangled meat.

Line 395Permalink

Primary

Th' infernal waters trembled at thy sight;

Line 396Permalink

Primary

Thee, god, no face of danger could affright;

Line 397Permalink

Primary

Not huge Typhoeus, nor th' unnumber'd snake,

Line 398Permalink

Primary

Increas'd with hissing heads, in Lerna's lake.

Line 399Permalink

Primary

Hail, Jove's undoubted son! an added grace

Line 400Permalink

Primary

To heav'n and the great author of thy race!

Line 401Permalink

Primary

Receive the grateful off'rings which we pay,

Line 402Permalink

Primary

And smile propitious on thy solemn day!"

Line 403Permalink

Primary

In numbers thus they sung; above the rest,

Line 404Permalink

Primary

The den and death of Cacus crown the feast.

Line 405Permalink

Primary

The woods to hollow vales convey the sound,

Line 406Permalink

Primary

The vales to hills, and hills the notes rebound.

Line 407Permalink

Primary

The rites perform'd, the cheerful train retire.

Line 408Permalink

Primary

Betwixt young Pallas and his aged sire,

Line 409Permalink

Primary

The Trojan pass'd, the city to survey,

Line 410Permalink

Primary

And pleasing talk beguil'd the tedious way.

Line 411Permalink

Primary

The stranger cast around his curious eyes,

Line 412Permalink

Primary

New objects viewing still, with new surprise;

Line 413Permalink

Primary

With greedy joy enquires of various things,

Line 414Permalink

Primary

And acts and monuments of ancient kings.

Line 415Permalink

Primary

Then thus the founder of the Roman tow'rs:

Line 416Permalink

Primary

"These woods were first the seat of sylvan pow'rs,

Line 417Permalink

Primary

Of Nymphs and Fauns, and salvage men, who took

Line 418Permalink

Primary

Their birth from trunks of trees and stubborn oak.

Line 419Permalink

Primary

Nor laws they knew, nor manners, nor the care

Line 420Permalink

Primary

Of lab'ring oxen, or the shining share,

Line 421Permalink

Primary

Nor arts of gain, nor what they gain'd to spare.

Line 422Permalink

Primary

Their exercise the chase; the running flood

Line 423Permalink

Primary

Supplied their thirst, the trees supplied their food.

Line 424Permalink

Primary

Then Saturn came, who fled the pow'r of Jove,

Line 425Permalink

Primary

Robb'd of his realms, and banish'd from above.

Line 426Permalink

Primary

The men, dispers'd on hills, to towns he brought,

Line 427Permalink

Primary

And laws ordain'd, and civil customs taught,

Line 428Permalink

Primary

And Latium call'd the land where safe he lay

Line 429Permalink

Primary

From his unduteous son, and his usurping sway.

Line 430Permalink

Primary

With his mild empire, peace and plenty came;

Line 431Permalink

Primary

And hence the golden times deriv'd their name.

Line 432Permalink

Primary

A more degenerate and discolor'd age

Line 433Permalink

Primary

Succeeded this, with avarice and rage.

Line 434Permalink

Primary

Th' Ausonians then, and bold Sicanians came;

Line 435Permalink

Primary

And Saturn's empire often chang'd the name.

Line 436Permalink

Primary

Then kings, gigantic Tybris, and the rest,

Line 437Permalink

Primary

With arbitrary sway the land oppress'd:

Line 438Permalink

Primary

For Tiber's flood was Albula before,

Line 439Permalink

Primary

Till, from the tyrant's fate, his name it bore.

Line 440Permalink

Primary

I last arriv'd, driv'n from my native home

Line 441Permalink

Primary

By fortune's pow'r, and fate's resistless doom.

Line 442Permalink

Primary

Long toss'd on seas, I sought this happy land,

Line 443Permalink

Primary

Warn'd by my mother nymph, and call'd by Heav'n's command."

Line 444Permalink

Primary

Thus, walking on, he spoke, and shew'd the gate,

Line 445Permalink

Primary

Since call'd Carmental by the Roman state;

Line 446Permalink

Primary

Where stood an altar, sacred to the name

Line 447Permalink

Primary

Of old Carmenta, the prophetic dame,

Line 448Permalink

Primary

Who to her son foretold th' Aenean race,

Line 449Permalink

Primary

Sublime in fame, and Rome's imperial place:

Line 450Permalink

Primary

Then shews the forest, which, in after times,

Line 451Permalink

Primary

Fierce Romulus for perpetrated crimes

Line 452Permalink

Primary

A sacred refuge made; with this, the shrine

Line 453Permalink

Primary

Where Pan below the rock had rites divine:

Line 454Permalink

Primary

Then tells of Argus' death, his murder'd guest,

Line 455Permalink

Primary

Whose grave and tomb his innocence attest.

Line 456Permalink

Primary

Thence, to the steep Tarpeian rock he leads;

Line 457Permalink

Primary

Now roof'd with gold, then thatch'd with homely reeds.

Line 458Permalink

Primary

A reverent fear (such superstition reigns

Line 459Permalink

Primary

Among the rude) ev'n then possess'd the swains.

Line 460Permalink

Primary

Some god, they knew- what god, they could not tell-

Line 461Permalink

Primary

Did there amidst the sacred horror dwell.

Line 462Permalink

Primary

Th' Arcadians thought him Jove; and said they saw

Line 463Permalink

Primary

The mighty Thund'rer with majestic awe,

Line 464Permalink

Primary

Who took his shield, and dealt his bolts around,

Line 465Permalink

Primary

And scatter'd tempests on the teeming ground.

Line 466Permalink

Primary

Then saw two heaps of ruins, (once they stood

Line 467Permalink

Primary

Two stately towns, on either side the flood,)

Line 468Permalink

Primary

Saturnia's and Janicula's remains;

Line 469Permalink

Primary

And either place the founder's name retains.

Line 470Permalink

Primary

Discoursing thus together, they resort

Line 471Permalink

Primary

Where poor Evander kept his country court.

Line 472Permalink

Primary

They view'd the ground of Rome's litigious hall;

Line 473Permalink

Primary

(Once oxen low'd, where now the lawyers bawl;)

Line 474Permalink

Primary

Then, stooping, thro' the narrow gate they press'd,

Line 475Permalink

Primary

When thus the king bespoke his Trojan guest:

Line 476Permalink

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"Mean as it is, this palace, and this door,

Line 477Permalink

Primary

Receiv'd Alcides, then a conqueror.

Line 478Permalink

Primary

Dare to be poor; accept our homely food,

Line 479Permalink

Primary

Which feasted him, and emulate a god."

Line 480Permalink

Primary

Then underneath a lowly roof he led

Line 481Permalink

Primary

The weary prince, and laid him on a bed;

Line 482Permalink

Primary

The stuffing leaves, with hides of bears o'erspread.

Line 483Permalink

Primary

Now Night had shed her silver dews around,

Line 484Permalink

Primary

And with her sable wings embrac'd the ground,

Line 485Permalink

Primary

When love's fair goddess, anxious for her son,

Line 486Permalink

Primary

(New tumults rising, and new wars begun,)

Line 487Permalink

Primary

Couch'd with her husband in his golden bed,

Line 488Permalink

Primary

With these alluring words invokes his aid;

Line 489Permalink

Primary

And, that her pleasing speech his mind may move,

Line 490Permalink

Primary

Inspires each accent with the charms of love:

Line 491Permalink

Primary

"While cruel fate conspir'd with Grecian pow'rs,

Line 492Permalink

Primary

To level with the ground the Trojan tow'rs,

Line 493Permalink

Primary

I ask'd not aid th' unhappy to restore,

Line 494Permalink

Primary

Nor did the succor of thy skill implore;

Line 495Permalink

Primary

Nor urg'd the labors of my lord in vain,

Line 496Permalink

Primary

A sinking empire longer to sustain,

Line 497Permalink

Primary

Tho'much I ow'd to Priam's house, and more

Line 498Permalink

Primary

The dangers of Aeneas did deplore.

Line 499Permalink

Primary

But now, by Jove's command, and fate's decree,

Line 500Permalink

Primary

His race is doom'd to reign in Italy:

Line 501Permalink

Primary

With humble suit I beg thy needful art,

Line 502Permalink

Primary

O still propitious pow'r, that rules my heart!

Line 503Permalink

Primary

A mother kneels a suppliant for her son.

Line 504Permalink

Primary

By Thetis and Aurora thou wert won

Line 505Permalink

Primary

To forge impenetrable shields, and grace

Line 506Permalink

Primary

With fated arms a less illustrious race.

Line 507Permalink

Primary

Behold, what haughty nations are combin'd

Line 508Permalink

Primary

Against the relics of the Phrygian kind,

Line 509Permalink

Primary

With fire and sword my people to destroy,

Line 510Permalink

Primary

And conquer Venus twice, in conqu'ring Troy."

Line 511Permalink

Primary

She said; and straight her arms, of snowy hue,

Line 512Permalink

Primary

About her unresolving husband threw.

Line 513Permalink

Primary

Her soft embraces soon infuse desire;

Line 514Permalink

Primary

His bones and marrow sudden warmth inspire;

Line 515Permalink

Primary

And all the godhead feels the wonted fire.

Line 516Permalink

Primary

Not half so swift the rattling thunder flies,

Line 517Permalink

Primary

Or forky lightnings flash along the skies.

Line 518Permalink

Primary

The goddess, proud of her successful wiles,

Line 519Permalink

Primary

And conscious of her form, in secret smiles.

Line 520Permalink

Primary

Then thus the pow'r, obnoxious to her charms,

Line 521Permalink

Primary

Panting, and half dissolving in her arms:

Line 522Permalink

Primary

"Why seek you reasons for a cause so just,

Line 523Permalink

Primary

Or your own beauties or my love distrust?

Line 524Permalink

Primary

Long since, had you requir'd my helpful hand,

Line 525Permalink

Primary

Th' artificer and art you might command,

Line 526Permalink

Primary

To labor arms for Troy: nor Jove, nor fate,

Line 527Permalink

Primary

Confin'd their empire to so short a date.

Line 528Permalink

Primary

And, if you now desire new wars to wage,

Line 529Permalink

Primary

My skill I promise, and my pains engage.

Line 530Permalink

Primary

Whatever melting metals can conspire,

Line 531Permalink

Primary

Or breathing bellows, or the forming fire,

Line 532Permalink

Primary

Is freely yours: your anxious fears remove,

Line 533Permalink

Primary

And think no task is difficult to love."

Line 534Permalink

Primary

Trembling he spoke; and, eager of her charms,

Line 535Permalink

Primary

He snatch'd the willing goddess to his arms;

Line 536Permalink

Primary

Till in her lap infus'd, he lay possess'd

Line 537Permalink

Primary

Of full desire, and sunk to pleasing rest.

Line 538Permalink

Primary

Now when the Night her middle race had rode,

Line 539Permalink

Primary

And his first slumber had refresh'd the god-

Line 540Permalink

Primary

The time when early housewives leave the bed;

Line 541Permalink

Primary

When living embers on the hearth they spread,

Line 542Permalink

Primary

Supply the lamp, and call the maids to rise-

Line 543Permalink

Primary

With yawning mouths, and with half-open'd eyes,

Line 544Permalink

Primary

They ply the distaff by the winking light,

Line 545Permalink

Primary

And to their daily labor add the night:

Line 546Permalink

Primary

Thus frugally they earn their children's bread,

Line 547Permalink

Primary

And uncorrupted keep the nuptial bed-

Line 548Permalink

Primary

Not less concern'd, nor at a later hour,

Line 549Permalink

Primary

Rose from his downy couch the forging pow'r.

Line 550Permalink

Primary

Sacred to Vulcan's name, an isle there lay,

Line 551Permalink

Primary

Betwixt Sicilia's coasts and Lipare,

Line 552Permalink

Primary

Rais'd high on smoking rocks; and, deep below,

Line 553Permalink

Primary

In hollow caves the fires of Aetna glow.

Line 554Permalink

Primary

The Cyclops here their heavy hammers deal;

Line 555Permalink

Primary

Loud strokes, and hissings of tormented steel,

Line 556Permalink

Primary

Are heard around; the boiling waters roar,

Line 557Permalink

Primary

And smoky flames thro' fuming tunnels soar.

Line 558Permalink

Primary

Hether the Father of the Fire, by night,

Line 559Permalink

Primary

Thro' the brown air precipitates his flight.

Line 560Permalink

Primary

On their eternal anvils here he found

Line 561Permalink

Primary

The brethren beating, and the blows go round.

Line 562Permalink

Primary

A load of pointless thunder now there lies

Line 563Permalink

Primary

Before their hands, to ripen for the skies:

Line 564Permalink

Primary

These darts, for angry Jove, they daily cast;

Line 565Permalink

Primary

Consum'd on mortals with prodigious waste.

Line 566Permalink

Primary

Three rays of writhen rain, of fire three more,

Line 567Permalink

Primary

Of winged southern winds and cloudy store

Line 568Permalink

Primary

As many parts, the dreadful mixture frame;

Line 569Permalink

Primary

And fears are added, and avenging flame.

Line 570Permalink

Primary

Inferior ministers, for Mars, repair

Line 571Permalink

Primary

His broken axletrees and blunted war,

Line 572Permalink

Primary

And send him forth again with furbish'd arms,

Line 573Permalink

Primary

To wake the lazy war with trumpets' loud alarms.

Line 574Permalink

Primary

The rest refresh the scaly snakes that fold

Line 575Permalink

Primary

The shield of Pallas, and renew their gold.

Line 576Permalink

Primary

Full on the crest the Gorgon's head they place,

Line 577Permalink

Primary

With eyes that roll in death, and with distorted face.

Line 578Permalink

Primary

"My sons," said Vulcan, "set your tasks aside;

Line 579Permalink

Primary

Your strength and master-skill must now be tried.

Line 580Permalink

Primary

Arms for a hero forge; arms that require

Line 581Permalink

Primary

Your force, your speed, and all your forming fire."

Line 582Permalink

Primary

He said. They set their former work aside,

Line 583Permalink

Primary

And their new toils with eager haste divide.

Line 584Permalink

Primary

A flood of molten silver, brass, and gold,

Line 585Permalink

Primary

And deadly steel, in the large furnace roll'd;

Line 586Permalink

Primary

Of this, their artful hands a shield prepare,

Line 587Permalink

Primary

Alone sufficient to sustain the war.

Line 588Permalink

Primary

Sev'n orbs within a spacious round they close:

Line 589Permalink

Primary

One stirs the fire, and one the bellows blows.

Line 590Permalink

Primary

The hissing steel is in the smithy drown'd;

Line 591Permalink

Primary

The grot with beaten anvils groans around.

Line 592Permalink

Primary

By turns their arms advance, in equal time;

Line 593Permalink

Primary

By turns their hands descend, and hammers chime.

Line 594Permalink

Primary

They turn the glowing mass with crooked tongs;

Line 595Permalink

Primary

The fiery work proceeds, with rustic songs.

Line 596Permalink

Primary

While, at the Lemnian god's command, they urge

Line 597Permalink

Primary

Their labors thus, and ply th' Aeolian forge,

Line 598Permalink

Primary

The cheerful morn salutes Evander's eyes,

Line 599Permalink

Primary

And songs of chirping birds invite to rise.

Line 600Permalink

Primary

He leaves his lowly bed: his buskins meet

Line 601Permalink

Primary

Above his ankles; sandals sheathe his feet:

Line 602Permalink

Primary

He sets his trusty sword upon his side,

Line 603Permalink

Primary

And o'er his shoulder throws a panther's hide.

Line 604Permalink

Primary

Two menial dogs before their master press'd.

Line 605Permalink

Primary

Thus clad, and guarded thus, he seeks his kingly guest.

Line 606Permalink

Primary

Mindful of promis'd aid, he mends his pace,

Line 607Permalink

Primary

But meets Aeneas in the middle space.

Line 608Permalink

Primary

Young Pallas did his father's steps attend,

Line 609Permalink

Primary

And true Achates waited on his friend.

Line 610Permalink

Primary

They join their hands; a secret seat they choose;

Line 611Permalink

Primary

Th' Arcadian first their former talk renews:

Line 612Permalink

Primary

"Undaunted prince, I never can believe

Line 613Permalink

Primary

The Trojan empire lost, while you survive.

Line 614Permalink

Primary

Command th' assistance of a faithful friend;

Line 615Permalink

Primary

But feeble are the succors I can send.

Line 616Permalink

Primary

Our narrow kingdom here the Tiber bounds;

Line 617Permalink

Primary

That other side the Latian state surrounds,

Line 618Permalink

Primary

Insults our walls, and wastes our fruitful grounds.

Line 619Permalink

Primary

But mighty nations I prepare, to join

Line 620Permalink

Primary

Their arms with yours, and aid your just design.

Line 621Permalink

Primary

You come, as by your better genius sent,

Line 622Permalink

Primary

And fortune seems to favor your intent.

Line 623Permalink

Primary

Not far from hence there stands a hilly town,

Line 624Permalink

Primary

Of ancient building, and of high renown,

Line 625Permalink

Primary

Torn from the Tuscans by the Lydian race,

Line 626Permalink

Primary

Who gave the name of Caere to the place,

Line 627Permalink

Primary

Once Agyllina call'd. It flourish'd long,

Line 628Permalink

Primary

In pride of wealth and warlike people strong,

Line 629Permalink

Primary

Till curs'd Mezentius, in a fatal hour,

Line 630Permalink

Primary

Assum'd the crown, with arbitrary pow'r.

Line 631Permalink

Primary

What words can paint those execrable times,

Line 632Permalink

Primary

The subjects' suff'rings, and the tyrant's crimes!

Line 633Permalink

Primary

That blood, those murthers, O ye gods, replace

Line 634Permalink

Primary

On his own head, and on his impious race!

Line 635Permalink

Primary

The living and the dead at his command

Line 636Permalink

Primary

Were coupled, face to face, and hand to hand,

Line 637Permalink

Primary

Till, chok'd with stench, in loath'd embraces tied,

Line 638Permalink

Primary

The ling'ring wretches pin'd away and died.

Line 639Permalink

Primary

Thus plung'd in ills, and meditating more-

Line 640Permalink

Primary

The people's patience, tir'd, no longer bore

Line 641Permalink

Primary

The raging monster; but with arms beset

Line 642Permalink

Primary

His house, and vengeance and destruction threat.

Line 643Permalink

Primary

They fire his palace: while the flame ascends,

Line 644Permalink

Primary

They force his guards, and execute his friends.

Line 645Permalink

Primary

He cleaves the crowd, and, favor'd by the night,

Line 646Permalink

Primary

To Turnus' friendly court directs his flight.

Line 647Permalink

Primary

By just revenge the Tuscans set on fire,

Line 648Permalink

Primary

With arms, their king to punishment require:

Line 649Permalink

Primary

Their num'rous troops, now muster'd on the strand,

Line 650Permalink

Primary

My counsel shall submit to your command.

Line 651Permalink

Primary

Their navy swarms upon the coasts; they cry

Line 652Permalink

Primary

To hoist their anchors, but the gods deny.

Line 653Permalink

Primary

An ancient augur, skill'd in future fate,

Line 654Permalink

Primary

With these foreboding words restrains their hate:

Line 655Permalink

Primary

'Ye brave in arms, ye Lydian blood, the flow'r

Line 656Permalink

Primary

Of Tuscan youth, and choice of all their pow'r,

Line 657Permalink

Primary

Whom just revenge against Mezentius arms,

Line 658Permalink

Primary

To seek your tyrant's death by lawful arms;

Line 659Permalink

Primary

Know this: no native of our land may lead

Line 660Permalink

Primary

This pow'rful people; seek a foreign head.'

Line 661Permalink

Primary

Aw'd with these words, in camps they still abide,

Line 662Permalink

Primary

And wait with longing looks their promis'd guide.

Line 663Permalink

Primary

Tarchon, the Tuscan chief, to me has sent

Line 664Permalink

Primary

Their crown, and ev'ry regal ornament:

Line 665Permalink

Primary

The people join their own with his desire;

Line 666Permalink

Primary

And all my conduct, as their king, require.

Line 667Permalink

Primary

But the chill blood that creeps within my veins,

Line 668Permalink

Primary

And age, and listless limbs unfit for pains,

Line 669Permalink

Primary

And a soul conscious of its own decay,

Line 670Permalink

Primary

Have forc'd me to refuse imperial sway.

Line 671Permalink

Primary

My Pallas were more fit to mount the throne,

Line 672Permalink

Primary

And should, but he's a Sabine mother's son,

Line 673Permalink

Primary

And half a native; but, in you, combine

Line 674Permalink

Primary

A manly vigor, and a foreign line.

Line 675Permalink

Primary

Where Fate and smiling Fortune shew the way,

Line 676Permalink

Primary

Pursue the ready path to sov'reign sway.

Line 677Permalink

Primary

The staff of my declining days, my son,

Line 678Permalink

Primary

Shall make your good or ill success his own;

Line 679Permalink

Primary

In fighting fields from you shall learn to dare,

Line 680Permalink

Primary

And serve the hard apprenticeship of war;

Line 681Permalink

Primary

Your matchless courage and your conduct view,

Line 682Permalink

Primary

And early shall begin t' admire and copy you.

Line 683Permalink

Primary

Besides, two hundred horse he shall command;

Line 684Permalink

Primary

Tho' few, a warlike and well-chosen band.

Line 685Permalink

Primary

These in my name are listed; and my son

Line 686Permalink

Primary

As many more has added in his own."

Line 687Permalink

Primary

Scarce had he said; Achates and his guest,

Line 688Permalink

Primary

With downcast eyes, their silent grief express'd;

Line 689Permalink

Primary

Who, short of succors, and in deep despair,

Line 690Permalink

Primary

Shook at the dismal prospect of the war.

Line 691Permalink

Primary

But his bright mother, from a breaking cloud,

Line 692Permalink

Primary

To cheer her issue, thunder'd thrice aloud;

Line 693Permalink

Primary

Thrice forky lightning flash'd along the sky,

Line 694Permalink

Primary

And Tyrrhene trumpets thrice were heard on high.

Line 695Permalink

Primary

Then, gazing up, repeated peals they hear;

Line 696Permalink

Primary

And, in a heav'n serene, refulgent arms appear:

Line 697Permalink

Primary

Redd'ning the skies, and glitt'ring all around,

Line 698Permalink

Primary

The temper'd metals clash, and yield a silver sound.

Line 699Permalink

Primary

The rest stood trembling, struck with awe divine;

Line 700Permalink

Primary

Aeneas only, conscious to the sign,

Line 701Permalink

Primary

Presag'd th' event, and joyful view'd, above,

Line 702Permalink

Primary

Th' accomplish'd promise of the Queen of Love.

Line 703Permalink

Primary

Then, to th' Arcadian king: "This prodigy

Line 704Permalink

Primary

(Dismiss your fear) belongs alone to me.

Line 705Permalink

Primary

Heav'n calls me to the war: th' expected sign

Line 706Permalink

Primary

Is giv'n of promis'd aid, and arms divine.

Line 707Permalink

Primary

My goddess mother, whose indulgent care

Line 708Permalink

Primary

Foresaw the dangers of the growing war,

Line 709Permalink

Primary

This omen gave, when bright Vulcanian arms,

Line 710Permalink

Primary

Fated from force of steel by Stygian charms,

Line 711Permalink

Primary

Suspended, shone on high: she then foreshow'd

Line 712Permalink

Primary

Approaching fights, and fields to float in blood.

Line 713Permalink

Primary

Turnus shall dearly pay for faith forsworn;

Line 714Permalink

Primary

And corps, and swords, and shields, on Tiber borne,

Line 715Permalink

Primary

Shall choke his flood: now sound the loud alarms;

Line 716Permalink

Primary

And, Latian troops, prepare your perjur'd arms."

Line 717Permalink

Primary

He said, and, rising from his homely throne,

Line 718Permalink

Primary

The solemn rites of Hercules begun,

Line 719Permalink

Primary

And on his altars wak'd the sleeping fires;

Line 720Permalink

Primary

Then cheerful to his household gods retires;

Line 721Permalink

Primary

There offers chosen sheep. Th' Arcadian king

Line 722Permalink

Primary

And Trojan youth the same oblations bring.

Line 723Permalink

Primary

Next, of his men and ships he makes review;

Line 724Permalink

Primary

Draws out the best and ablest of the crew.

Line 725Permalink

Primary

Down with the falling stream the refuse run,

Line 726Permalink

Primary

To raise with joyful news his drooping son.

Line 727Permalink

Primary

Steeds are prepar'd to mount the Trojan band,

Line 728Permalink

Primary

Who wait their leader to the Tyrrhene land.

Line 729Permalink

Primary

A sprightly courser, fairer than the rest,

Line 730Permalink

Primary

The king himself presents his royal guest:

Line 731Permalink

Primary

A lion's hide his back and limbs infold,

Line 732Permalink

Primary

Precious with studded work, and paws of gold.

Line 733Permalink

Primary

Fame thro' the little city spreads aloud

Line 734Permalink

Primary

Th' intended march, amid the fearful crowd:

Line 735Permalink

Primary

The matrons beat their breasts, dissolve in tears,

Line 736Permalink

Primary

And double their devotion in their fears.

Line 737Permalink

Primary

The war at hand appears with more affright,

Line 738Permalink

Primary

And rises ev'ry moment to the sight.

Line 739Permalink

Primary

Then old Evander, with a close embrace,

Line 740Permalink

Primary

Strain'd his departing friend; and tears o'erflow his face.

Line 741Permalink

Primary

"Would Heav'n," said he, "my strength and youth recall,

Line 742Permalink

Primary

Such as I was beneath Praeneste's wall;

Line 743Permalink

Primary

Then when I made the foremost foes retire,

Line 744Permalink

Primary

And set whole heaps of conquer'd shields on fire;

Line 745Permalink

Primary

When Herilus in single fight I slew,

Line 746Permalink

Primary

Whom with three lives Feronia did endue;

Line 747Permalink

Primary

And thrice I sent him to the Stygian shore,

Line 748Permalink

Primary

Till the last ebbing soul return'd no more-

Line 749Permalink

Primary

Such if I stood renew'd, not these alarms,

Line 750Permalink

Primary

Nor death, should rend me from my Pallas' arms;

Line 751Permalink

Primary

Nor proud Mezentius, thus unpunish'd, boast

Line 752Permalink

Primary

His rapes and murthers on the Tuscan coast.

Line 753Permalink

Primary

Ye gods, and mighty Jove, in pity bring

Line 754Permalink

Primary

Relief, and hear a father and a king!

Line 755Permalink

Primary

If fate and you reserve these eyes, to see

Line 756Permalink

Primary

My son return with peace and victory;

Line 757Permalink

Primary

If the lov'd boy shall bless his father's sight;

Line 758Permalink

Primary

If we shall meet again with more delight;

Line 759Permalink

Primary

Then draw my life in length; let me sustain,

Line 760Permalink

Primary

In hopes of his embrace, the worst of pain.

Line 761Permalink

Primary

But if your hard decrees- which, O! I dread-

Line 762Permalink

Primary

Have doom'd to death his undeserving head;

Line 763Permalink

Primary

This, O this very moment, let me die!

Line 764Permalink

Primary

While hopes and fears in equal balance lie;

Line 765Permalink

Primary

While, yet possess'd of all his youthful charms,

Line 766Permalink

Primary

I strain him close within these aged arms;

Line 767Permalink

Primary

Before that fatal news my soul shall wound!"

Line 768Permalink

Primary

He said, and, swooning, sunk upon the ground.

Line 769Permalink

Primary

His servants bore him off, and softly laid

Line 770Permalink

Primary

His languish'd limbs upon his homely bed.

Line 771Permalink

Primary

The horsemen march; the gates are open'd wide;

Line 772Permalink

Primary

Aeneas at their head, Achates by his side.

Line 773Permalink

Primary

Next these, the Trojan leaders rode along;

Line 774Permalink

Primary

Last follows in the rear th' Arcadian throng.

Line 775Permalink

Primary

Young Pallas shone conspicuous o'er the rest;

Line 776Permalink

Primary

Gilded his arms, embroider'd was his vest.

Line 777Permalink

Primary

So, from the seas, exerts his radiant head

Line 778Permalink

Primary

The star by whom the lights of heav'n are led;

Line 779Permalink

Primary

Shakes from his rosy locks the pearly dews,

Line 780Permalink

Primary

Dispels the darkness, and the day renews.

Line 781Permalink

Primary

The trembling wives the walls and turrets crowd,

Line 782Permalink

Primary

And follow, with their eyes, the dusty cloud,

Line 783Permalink

Primary

Which winds disperse by fits, and shew from far

Line 784Permalink

Primary

The blaze of arms, and shields, and shining war.

Line 785Permalink

Primary

The troops, drawn up in beautiful array,

Line 786Permalink

Primary

O'er heathy plains pursue the ready way.

Line 787Permalink

Primary

Repeated peals of shouts are heard around;

Line 788Permalink

Primary

The neighing coursers answer to the sound,

Line 789Permalink

Primary

And shake with horny hoofs the solid ground.

Line 790Permalink

Primary

A greenwood shade, for long religion known,

Line 791Permalink

Primary

Stands by the streams that wash the Tuscan town,

Line 792Permalink

Primary

Incompass'd round with gloomy hills above,

Line 793Permalink

Primary

Which add a holy horror to the grove.

Line 794Permalink

Primary

The first inhabitants of Grecian blood,

Line 795Permalink

Primary

That sacred forest to Silvanus vow'd,

Line 796Permalink

Primary

The guardian of their flocks and fields; and pay

Line 797Permalink

Primary

Their due devotions on his annual day.

Line 798Permalink

Primary

Not far from hence, along the river's side,

Line 799Permalink

Primary

In tents secure, the Tuscan troops abide,

Line 800Permalink

Primary

By Tarchon led. Now, from a rising ground,

Line 801Permalink

Primary

Aeneas cast his wond'ring eyes around,

Line 802Permalink

Primary

And all the Tyrrhene army had in sight,

Line 803Permalink

Primary

Stretch'd on the spacious plain from left to right.

Line 804Permalink

Primary

Thether his warlike train the Trojan led,

Line 805Permalink

Primary

Refresh'd his men, and wearied horses fed.

Line 806Permalink

Primary

Meantime the mother goddess, crown'd with charms,

Line 807Permalink

Primary

Breaks thro' the clouds, and brings the fated arms.

Line 808Permalink

Primary

Within a winding vale she finds her son,

Line 809Permalink

Primary

On the cool river's banks, retir'd alone.

Line 810Permalink

Primary

She shews her heav'nly form without disguise,

Line 811Permalink

Primary

And gives herself to his desiring eyes.

Line 812Permalink

Primary

"Behold," she said, "perform'd in ev'ry part,

Line 813Permalink

Primary

My promise made, and Vulcan's labor'd art.

Line 814Permalink

Primary

Now seek, secure, the Latian enemy,

Line 815Permalink

Primary

And haughty Turnus to the field defy."

Line 816Permalink

Primary

She said; and, having first her son embrac'd,

Line 817Permalink

Primary

The radiant arms beneath an oak she plac'd,

Line 818Permalink

Primary

Proud of the gift, he roll'd his greedy sight

Line 819Permalink

Primary

Around the work, and gaz'd with vast delight.

Line 820Permalink

Primary

He lifts, he turns, he poises, and admires

Line 821Permalink

Primary

The crested helm, that vomits radiant fires:

Line 822Permalink

Primary

His hands the fatal sword and corslet hold,

Line 823Permalink

Primary

One keen with temper'd steel, one stiff with gold:

Line 824Permalink

Primary

Both ample, flaming both, and beamy bright;

Line 825Permalink

Primary

So shines a cloud, when edg'd with adverse light.

Line 826Permalink

Primary

He shakes the pointed spear, and longs to try

Line 827Permalink

Primary

The plated cuishes on his manly thigh;

Line 828Permalink

Primary

But most admires the shield's mysterious mold,

Line 829Permalink

Primary

And Roman triumphs rising on the gold:

Line 830Permalink

Primary

For these, emboss'd, the heav'nly smith had wrought

Line 831Permalink

Primary

(Not in the rolls of future fate untaught)

Line 832Permalink

Primary

The wars in order, and the race divine

Line 833Permalink

Primary

Of warriors issuing from the Julian line.

Line 834Permalink

Primary

The cave of Mars was dress'd with mossy greens:

Line 835Permalink

Primary

There, by the wolf, were laid the martial twins.

Line 836Permalink

Primary

Intrepid on her swelling dugs they hung;

Line 837Permalink

Primary

The foster dam loll'd out her fawning tongue:

Line 838Permalink

Primary

They suck'd secure, while, bending back her head,

Line 839Permalink

Primary

She lick'd their tender limbs, and form'd them as they fed.

Line 840Permalink

Primary

Not far from thence new Rome appears, with games

Line 841Permalink

Primary

Projected for the rape of Sabine dames.

Line 842Permalink

Primary

The pit resounds with shrieks; a war succeeds,

Line 843Permalink

Primary

For breach of public faith, and unexampled deeds.

Line 844Permalink

Primary

Here for revenge the Sabine troops contend;

Line 845Permalink

Primary

The Romans there with arms the prey defend.

Line 846Permalink

Primary

Wearied with tedious war, at length they cease;

Line 847Permalink

Primary

And both the kings and kingdoms plight the peace.

Line 848Permalink

Primary

The friendly chiefs before Jove's altar stand,

Line 849Permalink

Primary

Both arm'd, with each a charger in his hand:

Line 850Permalink

Primary

A fatted sow for sacrifice is led,

Line 851Permalink

Primary

With imprecations on the perjur'd head.

Line 852Permalink

Primary

Near this, the traitor Metius, stretch'd between

Line 853Permalink

Primary

Four fiery steeds, is dragg'd along the green,

Line 854Permalink

Primary

By Tullus' doom: the brambles drink his blood,

Line 855Permalink

Primary

And his torn limbs are left the vulture's food.

Line 856Permalink

Primary

There, Porsena to Rome proud Tarquin brings,

Line 857Permalink

Primary

And would by force restore the banish'd kings.

Line 858Permalink

Primary

One tyrant for his fellow-tyrant fights;

Line 859Permalink

Primary

The Roman youth assert their native rights.

Line 860Permalink

Primary

Before the town the Tuscan army lies,

Line 861Permalink

Primary

To win by famine, or by fraud surprise.

Line 862Permalink

Primary

Their king, half-threat'ning, half-disdaining stood,

Line 863Permalink

Primary

While Cocles broke the bridge, and stemm'd the flood.

Line 864Permalink

Primary

The captive maids there tempt the raging tide,

Line 865Permalink

Primary

Scap'd from their chains, with Cloelia for their guide.

Line 866Permalink

Primary

High on a rock heroic Manlius stood,

Line 867Permalink

Primary

To guard the temple, and the temple's god.

Line 868Permalink

Primary

Then Rome was poor; and there you might behold

Line 869Permalink

Primary

The palace thatch'd with straw, now roof'd with gold.

Line 870Permalink

Primary

The silver goose before the shining gate

Line 871Permalink

Primary

There flew, and, by her cackle, sav'd the state.

Line 872Permalink

Primary

She told the Gauls' approach; th' approaching Gauls,

Line 873Permalink

Primary

Obscure in night, ascend, and seize the walls.

Line 874Permalink

Primary

The gold dissembled well their yellow hair,

Line 875Permalink

Primary

And golden chains on their white necks they wear.

Line 876Permalink

Primary

Gold are their vests; long Alpine spears they wield,

Line 877Permalink

Primary

And their left arm sustains a length of shield.

Line 878Permalink

Primary

Hard by, the leaping Salian priests advance;

Line 879Permalink

Primary

And naked thro' the streets the mad Luperci dance,

Line 880Permalink

Primary

In caps of wool; the targets dropp'd from heav'n.

Line 881Permalink

Primary

Here modest matrons, in soft litters driv'n,

Line 882Permalink

Primary

To pay their vows in solemn pomp appear,

Line 883Permalink

Primary

And odorous gums in their chaste hands they bear.

Line 884Permalink

Primary

Far hence remov'd, the Stygian seats are seen;

Line 885Permalink

Primary

Pains of the damn'd, and punish'd Catiline

Line 886Permalink

Primary

Hung on a rock- the traitor; and, around,

Line 887Permalink

Primary

The Furies hissing from the nether ground.

Line 888Permalink

Primary

Apart from these, the happy souls he draws,

Line 889Permalink

Primary

And Cato's holy ghost dispensing laws.

Line 890Permalink

Primary

Betwixt the quarters flows a golden sea;

Line 891Permalink

Primary

But foaming surges there in silver play.

Line 892Permalink

Primary

The dancing dolphins with their tails divide

Line 893Permalink

Primary

The glitt'ring waves, and cut the precious tide.

Line 894Permalink

Primary

Amid the main, two mighty fleets engage

Line 895Permalink

Primary

Their brazen beaks, oppos'd with equal rage.

Line 896Permalink

Primary

Actium surveys the well-disputed prize;

Line 897Permalink

Primary

Leucate's wat'ry plain with foamy billows fries.

Line 898Permalink

Primary

Young Caesar, on the stern, in armor bright,

Line 899Permalink

Primary

Here leads the Romans and their gods to fight:

Line 900Permalink

Primary

His beamy temples shoot their flames afar,

Line 901Permalink

Primary

And o'er his head is hung the Julian star.

Line 902Permalink

Primary

Agrippa seconds him, with prosp'rous gales,

Line 903Permalink

Primary

And, with propitious gods, his foes assails:

Line 904Permalink

Primary

A naval crown, that binds his manly brows,

Line 905Permalink

Primary

The happy fortune of the fight foreshows.

Line 906Permalink

Primary

Rang'd on the line oppos'd, Antonius brings

Line 907Permalink

Primary

Barbarian aids, and troops of Eastern kings;

Line 908Permalink

Primary

Th' Arabians near, and Bactrians from afar,

Line 909Permalink

Primary

Of tongues discordant, and a mingled war:

Line 910Permalink

Primary

And, rich in gaudy robes, amidst the strife,

Line 911Permalink

Primary

His ill fate follows him- th' Egyptian wife.

Line 912Permalink

Primary

Moving they fight; with oars and forky prows

Line 913Permalink

Primary

The froth is gather'd, and the water glows.

Line 914Permalink

Primary

It seems, as if the Cyclades again

Line 915Permalink

Primary

Were rooted up, and justled in the main;

Line 916Permalink

Primary

Or floating mountains floating mountains meet;

Line 917Permalink

Primary

Such is the fierce encounter of the fleet.

Line 918Permalink

Primary

Fireballs are thrown, and pointed jav'lins fly;

Line 919Permalink

Primary

The fields of Neptune take a purple dye.

Line 920Permalink

Primary

The queen herself, amidst the loud alarms,

Line 921Permalink

Primary

With cymbals toss'd her fainting soldiers warms-

Line 922Permalink

Primary

Fool as she was! who had not yet divin'd

Line 923Permalink

Primary

Her cruel fate, nor saw the snakes behind.

Line 924Permalink

Primary

Her country gods, the monsters of the sky,

Line 925Permalink

Primary

Great Neptune, Pallas, and Love's Queen defy:

Line 926Permalink

Primary

The dog Anubis barks, but barks in vain,

Line 927Permalink

Primary

Nor longer dares oppose th' ethereal train.

Line 928Permalink

Primary

Mars in the middle of the shining shield

Line 929Permalink

Primary

Is grav'd, and strides along the liquid field.

Line 930Permalink

Primary

The Dirae souse from heav'n with swift descent;

Line 931Permalink

Primary

And Discord, dyed in blood, with garments rent,

Line 932Permalink

Primary

Divides the prease: her steps Bellona treads,

Line 933Permalink

Primary

And shakes her iron rod above their heads.

Line 934Permalink

Primary

This seen, Apollo, from his Actian height,

Line 935Permalink

Primary

Pours down his arrows; at whose winged flight

Line 936Permalink

Primary

The trembling Indians and Egyptians yield,

Line 937Permalink

Primary

And soft Sabaeans quit the wat'ry field.

Line 938Permalink

Primary

The fatal mistress hoists her silken sails,

Line 939Permalink

Primary

And, shrinking from the fight, invokes the gales.

Line 940Permalink

Primary

Aghast she looks, and heaves her breast for breath,

Line 941Permalink

Primary

Panting, and pale with fear of future death.

Line 942Permalink

Primary

The god had figur'd her as driv'n along

Line 943Permalink

Primary

By winds and waves, and scudding thro' the throng.

Line 944Permalink

Primary

Just opposite, sad Nilus opens wide

Line 945Permalink

Primary

His arms and ample bosom to the tide,

Line 946Permalink

Primary

And spreads his mantle o'er the winding coast,

Line 947Permalink

Primary

In which he wraps his queen, and hides the flying host.

Line 948Permalink

Primary

The victor to the gods his thanks express'd,

Line 949Permalink

Primary

And Rome, triumphant, with his presence bless'd.

Line 950Permalink

Primary

Three hundred temples in the town he plac'd;

Line 951Permalink

Primary

With spoils and altars ev'ry temple grac'd.

Line 952Permalink

Primary

Three shining nights, and three succeeding days,

Line 953Permalink

Primary

The fields resound with shouts, the streets with praise,

Line 954Permalink

Primary

The domes with songs, the theaters with plays.

Line 955Permalink

Primary

All altars flame: before each altar lies,

Line 956Permalink

Primary

Drench'd in his gore, the destin'd sacrifice.

Line 957Permalink

Primary

Great Caesar sits sublime upon his throne,

Line 958Permalink

Primary

Before Apollo's porch of Parian stone;

Line 959Permalink

Primary

Accepts the presents vow'd for victory,

Line 960Permalink

Primary

And hangs the monumental crowns on high.

Line 961Permalink

Primary

Vast crowds of vanquish'd nations march along,

Line 962Permalink

Primary

Various in arms, in habit, and in tongue.

Line 963Permalink

Primary

Here, Mulciber assigns the proper place

Line 964Permalink

Primary

For Carians, and th' ungirt Numidian race;

Line 965Permalink

Primary

Then ranks the Thracians in the second row,

Line 966Permalink

Primary

With Scythians, expert in the dart and bow.

Line 967Permalink

Primary

And here the tam'd Euphrates humbly glides,

Line 968Permalink

Primary

And there the Rhine submits her swelling tides,

Line 969Permalink

Primary

And proud Araxes, whom no bridge could bind;

Line 970Permalink

Primary

The Danes' unconquer'd offspring march behind,

Line 971Permalink

Primary

And Morini, the last of humankind.

Line 972Permalink

Primary

These figures, on the shield divinely wrought,

Line 973Permalink

Primary

By Vulcan labor'd, and by Venus brought,

Line 974Permalink

Primary

With joy and wonder fill the hero's thought.

Line 975Permalink

Primary

Unknown the names, he yet admires the grace,

Line 976Permalink

Primary

And bears aloft the fame and fortune of his race.

Line 977Permalink

Primary source: Legacy English epic core | Project Gutenberg.