The Æneis of Virgil

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THE tU^i i&LS

BOOK I. Arms, now I sing and of the Man, who fled

From ruined Troy and, fate impelled, was sped

To land Italian at Lavinum's shore.

But, ah ! what woes predestined to endure

By sea and land ; what perils to engage 5

From wrath supreme and Juno's vengeful rage ;

What wars, ere he might found his new abodes,

And fix in Latium his banished gods :

From whom and whence our Alban fathers come,

The Latin race and the high walls of Rome. 10

Muse, relate : say, what ill-fated hour, Goddess incensed, or what offended power Condemned a man renowned for piety, Subject to such calamities to be.

Does Heaven find joy in human misery ? 15

Opposed to Tiber's mouths, across the sea

Was Carthage, rich and warlike colony

Of ancient Tyre. By Juno cherished more

Than her own Argos, than the Samian shore.

There stood her arms and chariot — there did she 20

Destine the seat of sovereignty to be,

Had fate consented ; but to her annoy

The rumour ran, these exiled men of Troy

Should ruin Carthage, and upon the doom

Of vanquished Libya, in times to come

Govern the world. b

2 THE ^NEIS. Book I.

So spoke the Fates. Saturnia feared it, for

Well she remembered the too partial war,

And favoured Greece ; and rankled in her mind

Her griefs and injuries — the prize assigned 30

By Paris, and her form denied its meed —

The hated race, and the rapt Ganymede :

These were the secret causes which prevailed,

Baffling the Trojans wheresoe'er they sailed,

Tossed on the seas and barred the promised land, 35

This remnant 'scaped Achilles' wrathful hand,

Sustained long years of toil and miseries.

Such were of Rome the earlier destinies.

Scarcely the brazen prows were launched on sea, And off Siculia bounding merrily, 40

When Juno, writhing with immortal pain, Self communed :

" Are my efforts vain ?

Does Troy prevail, and win the Italian realm ? Must I desist ? Why should fate overwhelm Me, only me ? Might angry Pallas throw 45

The bolts of Jupiter against her foe, Ajax Oileus — she ocean's empire sweep, And fire the Grecian navy on the deep, Bear off the Greek, and witness him expire, Hurled on a rock, pierced with immortal fire ; 50

And I who walk in majesty above, The Queen of Heaven, sister and wife of Jove, Against a vanquished, wandering people war, And war in vain ? Who will henceforth adore

Book I. THE -3SNEIS. 3

My deity, who deem my power divine, 55

Or offer further incense on my shrine ? "

With strickened heart the goddess urged her car Unto JEolia, realm of mist, afar.

In cavern vast King iEolus close binds The struggling tempests and the jarring winds ; 60

Against his rule vainly the captives rave, And, murmuring, struggle in their mountain cave. Enthroned and sceptered, iEolus compels Their rugged natures and their passion quells ; Which did he not, — the earth, the sea and sky, 65

Tossed through the plains of air and whirled on high, W r ould be confounded : which fear to prevent, In caverns dark the Sire omnipotent Immured them, and imposed a king with sway To force them to submit and to obey. 70

Unto the tyrant spoke the queen of heaven : M JEole, siuce Jove to thee has given Kule o'er the winds that smite the sky and sea, That race detested, hateful unto me, Now on the Tyrrhene sea, with vanquished gods, 75 Are seeking still Hesperian abodes ; Smite, overwhelm them, sink them in a storm. I have two choirs of nymphs of matchless form, Of whom the fairest Deiopeia, she Shall your reward for zealous service be, 80

In wedlock she thy bed and board shall grace, And make thee parent of a beauteous race."

And iEolus replied : " queen, 'tis thine To choose ; command, and to obey be mine.

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4 THE .3ENEIS. Book I.

'Twas thy request, tliy influence with Jove, 85

Enthroned me here ; and at the feasts above Command my subjects as thine own they were." He smote the rock, out rushed the sons of air, Eurus and Notus, stormy Africus,

Upon the ocean press, and emulous 90

In strife, rolled mountain billows to its shores. Arose the shouts of men and crash of oars ; The light of day was wrapt from human eyes, Black night involved the sea and wrapped the skies. Forth flashed the lightnings, and from pole to pole 95 Through the black vault above the thunders roll.

^Eneas rose ; and raising to the spheres

His suppliant hands, with sobs, preferred his prayers.

" happier dust ! thrice and four times blest

Ye who on plains of Troy in honour rest. 100

Tydides, bravest of the Danaan band,

Why sunk not I beneath thy mightier hand,

When huge Sarpedon fell, when Hector slain,

By spear iEacidan, pressed Ilium's plain

In sight of Troy ; when Simois slowly ran, 105

Clogged with the corpses, shields, and helms of man."

Whilst yet he spoke the shrieking Aquilon Drove at the rended sails and bore him on. The oars were crashed, the undefended side Keeled to the blow of the resistless tide, 110

And, mounted high upon the wave, the prow Peered through the chasm to the sands below. Three Notus drove upon the rocky bars, Called Altars bv Italian mariners,

Book I. THE ^NEIS. 5

When o'er the surface their huge reefs uprear ; 115

Three Eurus cast upon the Syrtes, where

They struck on fathomless absorbing sand.

Then sunk Orontes and his Lycian band

Full in their sight — the waves thein overwhelm,

And bore away the helmsman and the helm ; 120

The hulk ungoverned yielded to the blow,

And plunged down headlong ; and amidst the flow

Of troubled waters, armour, planks they see,

And rarely men, unswallowed by the sea,

Midst floating wrecks of Trojan luxury. 125

And next the bark of Ilioneus failed, The winds against Alethes old prevailed, And Abas and Achates strove in vain ; With strength unequal their wracked vessels strain, And riven sides let in the conquering main. 130

Of this turmoil and storm unauthorised

W T as Neptune in his ocean's depths apprised.

The offended power reared his majestic brow,

And marked the rack above and storm below ;

And him, JEneas, o'er the expanse driven ; 135

Full well the god discerned the queen of heaven,

Her hand and enmity. Eurus and Zephyrus

Summoned before him, he addressed them thus :

" Presumptuous sons of a presumptuous race,

How dare ye thus, unauthorised, deface 140

My realm, conflicting and inflicting ill,

Which I . Be still, ye troubled waves, be still !

Presumptuous sons of air ! deem ye that I Will brook this scorn of my authority ?

6 THE JENEIS. Book I.

Hence, to your lord and master, and from me 145

Say thus much : that the empire of the sea

Is mine, not his ; the trident to my hand

Did Fate commit ; his sceptre of command

Extends, Eurus, to your prison-house ;

There let him curb your natures mutinous, 150

And reign o'er caverns, jailer of the winds."

Then Triton and Cymothoe he sends

To free the ships on rocks and sands that lay,

And force the Syrtes to regorge their prey.

Himself assists : from his high car extends 155

The mighty trident, and the conflict ends.

So when sedition lures the rustic hinds, And stirs ignoble passion in their minds, When staves and stones and passion arms supply, It chance a man of known integrity 160

Appear amidst them then, rebuked they stand, And yield to reason and to his command; So as with loosened reins the god progressed, The wild storm lulled, the waters sunk to rest.

The tired iEneadaa then plied their oars, 165

And turned their battered prows for Libya's shores. There is a harbour in whose deep recess The waters silent lie and motionless ; A r,ocky islet bars it from the main, Kound which the waters flow in channels twain, 170

Flanked by twin cliffs reflecting o'er the flood The salvage ombrage of primaeval wood, With, hidden by its rocks, one grotto lone, With bursting fountains and with seats of stone — Haunt of its nymphs ! 175

Book I. THE JENEIS. 7

The shattered fleet met there ; iEneas numbered, they but seven were.

They cast no anchors, threw no cables o'er ; The Trojans leapt impatiently to shore, Hailed with impatient joy the welcome land, ' And basked their stiffened limbs upon the strand. 180 Achates next collected leaves and bark ; The stricken flint yielded its latent spark, And arid nutriment in flame ascends ; Then cereal arms and grain to land he sends, Contaminate with brine, but now their store, 185

And preparation rung along the shore.

iEneas scaled a rock and cast around An anxious gaze upon the blue profouud ; Whilst Antheus, Capys, and the standard high Caicus.of, his memory passed by, — 190

His Phrygian biremes ; but the sea w T as void. He turned his gaze to land : three stags he spied, Followed by a whole herd upon the shore. Achates, by his side, the quiver bore ; ZEneas took the bow, the rapid wound 195

Struck down the antlered leaders to the ground. He then assailed the herd ; and thickets through He followed them until he seven slew — One for each ship — and then rejoined his fleet, And made them happy with the gift of meat 200

And wine : and wine* which old Acestes gave When from Trinacria launching on the wave Dividing, he thus cheered their troubled moods :

" My comrades, tried in great vicissitudes

8 THE ^ENEIS. Book I.

Of good and evil lot, droop not so ! 205

For Jove decrees an end to human woe.

Kem ember Scylla and resounding caves ;

Remember the Cyclopian rocks and waves.

Arouse your spirits now, cast care away ;

Hereafter, perhaps, the memory of to-day 210

May make us glad.

For Latium we are bound ; And accidents and chances us surround Before we may achieve that promised seat, Where Troy will rise again as high and great As in the days of old. So fate decrees, 215

If we are equal her good gift to seize." ^Eneas said — a simulated smile Hiding the grief that crushed his heart the while.

The Trojans meantime fell upon the prey, Extracting bowels, and fat ribs they flay ; 220

Upon the spits they range the quivering flesh ; The grassy seats their wearied frames refresh, And Bacchus and fat venison make them glad. Hunger appeased, again the talk grows sad : Long they disputed on their comrades' fate ; 225

Some mourned for them as dust, some more elate Still cherished hopes. ./Eneas cherished none ; He thought Orontes of, now lost and gone ; Of Amycus, of Gyas, Lycus bold, And brave Cloanthus. So the hours rolled. 230

Now Jupiter from highest ether cast His gaze paternal o'er the countries vast

Book I. THE ^NEIS. 9

Of peopled earth and her bark-bearing seas ;

Libya him now attracted more than these.

There Venus came ; her heart oppressed with cares, 235

And her bright eyes suffused with gushing tears.

" Thou." she said, " eternal majesty, Ruling the men below and gods on high, What has ^Eneas done ? The Trojans what ? What fault have they committed we know not, 240

That thus oppressed with slaughter they are hurled Away from Italy o'er all the world.

Thy promise was, that future Romans sprung From Teucer's blood should rule man's race among, And hold the world beneath their sovereign sway. 245 What has reversed that promise ? Father, say. That promise recompensed for ruined Troy, When fate conflicted fate to her annoy.

Still from misfortune we have no release, Lord of all, when will these trials cease ? 250

Escaped the Greeks, has not Antenor found A rest and refuge on Illyrian ground ; Liburnian kingdoms founded, where the fount Timavus of, bursts from the caverned mount In sources nine ; the gushing waters sweep, 255

Rolling and foaming to their parent deep. There stands Patavium founded, and he reigns In peace with Trojan laws on foreign plains ; And we, your offspring, heritors of heaven, Victims of private hate and wrath, are driven 260

Wide from the promised shores of Italy.

Is this the guerdon due to piety ?

Is this the sceptre thou hast promised me ? "

10 THE JENEIS. Book I.

The Thunderer smiled ; that brow which clears the sky

Beamed as he kissed his child, and made reply : 265

" Fear not, my Cythereia ; fates remain

Ever unchanged : your own Lavinian reign,

Walls, cities shall arise ; and thy great son,

Magnanimous iEneas, his race run,

Kise to the stars ; the promise is unchanged. 270

Come, let me calm your breast, by doubts deranged,

Albeit divulging fate to give it rest.

By him Italia's wrongs must be redressed ;

Her rugged sons must be subdued by war,

And laws and cities framed superior far. 275

Three circling years, the period we ordain

For the Eutulian conquest and his reign ;

And then the boy Ascanius, surnamed

lulus — Ilus from and Ilion famed —

He shall reign thirty years, and then transfer 280

The seat of empire to Alba, where

For centuries three shall the Hectorean race

Govern and reign.

Then Mars asserts his place ; The Eoyal Ilia, vestal maid, shall bear The Brother twins : and Komulus shall rear — 285

In yellow wolf-hide clad, proud of nurse grim, Mavortial walls of Home : so named from him.

Eternal empire thence do I decree ; No term of time, no limit shall there be To Roman sovereignty. Juno, who troubles so 290

Earth, skies, and seas, inflicting ills and woe, She shall relent, and join her power divine To honour and protect the togaed line.

Book I. THE ^NEIS. 11

The time shall also come, we will it too, Phthia shall bend, and haught Mycenae bow ; 295

And captive Argos own the house of Tros ; And Caesar from that house illustrious And noblest scion sprung, whose realm the main, Whose fame the circling spheres shall not restrain, And Julius from the great lulus named, 300

Him shall you here receive in honour, famed For oriental spoil ; our voice shall seat him here : Then shall the troubled ages cease to fear ; For then on earth shall Faith and Vesta reign, With Eemus and Quirinus : Law again 305

Shall close with iron bolt the doors of War ; Immured within, shall impious Discord jar, With hands enchained bound to her battle car."

The Thunderer ceased, and then sent Maia's son

To walls of Carthage, rising Libya on, « 310

To open wide its hospitable gate

To wandering Troy, lest ignorant of fate

Dido might chase them thence.

The Power obeyed.

Stooping to earth he human fears allayed, And by his will expelled ferocity 315

From Punic hearts, native barbarity !

And in their queen instilled by force divine A generous spirit and a soul benign.

Now from his sleepless couch and vain repose At morning's earliest dawn iEneas rose, 320

Anxious, in adverse fortune, to explore What seemed a wild uncultivated shore.

12 THE ^NEIS. Book I.

The fleet was safe, hidden the vessels lay,

'Neath beetling cliffs within the wooded bay ;

Two spears of trenchant blade within his hand. 325

He called Achates from the slumbering band,

And sallied forth, when, as they trod the glade,

Before his eyes, like to a Spartan maid,

With Spartan arms and huntress mein addressed,

His goddess mother stood : her flowing vest, 330

Bound by the scarf, hung scantly to her knee,

Her tresses unconfined — Harpalyce,

Surpassing Eurus in unbridled speed,

In such a garb urges her Thracian steed. [335

" Ho, friends ! my sisters have they passed this way ? Or heard ye as ye went the boar at bay ? Clad are they in the lynx's spotted hide.'' So Venus ; and to her, her son replied : " Nought of thy sisters have we heard or seen, Maiden — I call thee maiden, but thy mien 340

And voice and aspect are divine ; if so, If Cynthia or a nymph immortal thou, O be propitious, and in pity deign Relieve our doubts : cast hither from the main, Wrecked on this land we wander, ignorant 345

Or of the realm itself or habitant, Do thou instruct us ; and in sacrifice Our grateful offerings unto thee shall rise."

" Attribute not to me," the goddess said, " Honours divine ; wont is a Tyrian maid, 350

With purple buskins girt, to chase the deer.

This is the Punic realm ; the Tyrians here,

Book T. THE 2ENEIS. 13

Sons of Agenor, dwell ; the Libyans round,

Intractable to peace, possess the bound.

Here Dido reigns, who fled fraternal hate ; 355

Her many wrongs — ah ! how shall I narrate.

I'll sum them briefly. Siehaeus was her spouse ;

He won her maiden hand and maiden vows.

Rich in Phoenician fields his peers above,

His wealth was only equalled by his love. 360

Pygmalion, her brother, heirecl the throne, And he a reprobate : second to none Was he in wickedness ; therefore intervened Hatred betwixt them ; and he slew, though screened By the horned altar, in contempt of laws, 365

Her spouse Sichaeus — lust of gold the cause. He hid the deed of murder, and he lied, Deluding with vain hopes his brother's bride ; But in the silent night the wandering shade Unsepulchred appeared to her, and made 370

Disclosure of the deed ; divulged the crime, Polluted altar, told the spot and time, And urged her to escape, to rise and flee, To quit her country, and to cross the sea ; And for the means of flight he then revealed 375

Where gold and silver treasure lay concealed — Uncounted heaps of wealth. And Dido fled, But by so many friends accompanied, Who writhed beneath the tyranny or fear ; They seized the vessels that were anchored near, 380 And loaded them with gold — Pygmalion's gold ! A woman chief devised the action bold.

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14 THE MKffiB. Book I.

Hither they sped and built — you may descry

The citadel of Carthage soaring high,

Byrsa its name — so called from deed of sale, 385

And stretched out bullock's hide.

Told is my tale.

Now, prythee, who are ye ? Why come you here ? And whither lies your way — from whence and where ? "

Deep in his breast he sighed a heavy sigh. " Goddess ! " he said, " should I essay reply, 390

Before the tale calamitous would end Vesper from high Olympus would descend.

We are of ancient Troy, if unto thee The name of Troy be known : wrecked on the sea, Chance cast us here upon this Libyan shore. 395

Pius * ^Eneus I. My vessels bore My gods snatched from the flames and enemy, The fame whereof is known in ether high. W T e seek Italia ; and I spring from Jove. With twenty ships, led by the Queen of Love, 400

My goddess mother, sailed I seas of late ; But few have 'scaped from Eurus and from fate — Needy, unknown, through Libyan deserts, quelled, Banished from Asia, Europe from expelled "

Here Yenus interposed ; she could not bear 405

To list the story with maternal ear, But answered him in haste.

" Whoe'er thou art, I scarcely think celestial hatred part Of woes you suffer, whilst you can prefer Your suit unto our queen and sue to her. 410

Book I. THE JENEIS. 15

Your vessels all are safe, for Aquilon

Has wafted thein to port, ay, every one ;

Your comrades all are safe, my parents taught

Me augury, set not my words at naught :

Cast up your eyes, and see twelve swans above, 415

Which, lately scattered by the bird of Jove,

Now troop and reassemble in the skies,

And seem to meditate the land that lies

Beneath their ken. Hark ! how they chant and sing,

And circle in the blue on strident wing. 420

Well, even so, your vessels and your powers

Now reassemble on these shores of ours.

Pursue your fortune — thither lies your way."

The goddess said and turned, the roseate ray Reflecting from her neck ; ambrosia played 425

Through her bright hair ; and, garments re-arrayed, Her robe descending clustered o'er her feet ; Confessed she walked in majesty complete. But when her son her parting steps pursued, " How oft, how oft in false similitude, 430

Mother, my mother, you delude your son ! wherefore do you my embraces shun, And speak to me in accents not your own ? "

But whilst he thus complained the goddess shrouds Them both in brightness of ethereal clouds. 435

She unto Paphos bent her course, where flows Sabsean incense through the wreaths of rose Her hundred altars round.

They scaled the brow To where the rising city lay below.

10 THE ^JNEIS. BookL

All laboured, all were busied : some inclose 440

The citadel with walls, whilst others chose

Sites for the seats of justice and of state ;

Others the port and harbour excavate ;

Some the proud theatre's foundations place,

And quarried sculptured columns it to grace, 445

The boast and pride of their descendant race.

The hive of bees when springtide is begun So raid the flowery meadows in the sun ; The seniors lead the youth to meads and rill ; Some with the liquid nectar stay and fill 450

The waxen cells ; some ease the fragrant load Of food nectarious ; others chase abroad Of ignominious drones the idle chime, And all the hive is redolent of thyme.

One grove remained within the city bound 455

Of densest shade : 'twas where the Tyrians found The head of battle-steed — predestined sign Of royal Juno there to build her shrine, Promise of wealth and conquest ages through.

Sidonian Dido founded it unto 460

Saturnian Juno, all one solid mass, Portals, and gates, and stairs of shining brass. iEneas entered : all that met his eye Kenewed his hope and spoke security.

For whilst with gaze unwearied he reviewed 465

The fane's magnificence and magnitude, He sees, in all due order there portrayed The siege of Troy. Fame had the facts conveyed Through the whole world : Atrides, Priam, and Wrathful Achilles, whose unfriendly hand 470

Book I. THE J3NEIS. 17

Wrought ill to both : iEneas stood and sighed,

" my Achates — through the world, world, wide

Is there a spot that does not know the tale ?

Lo ! there is Priam. Virtue doth avail

To rouse the meed of praise and generous tear ; 475

Our fame preceding us allays my fear."

And yet he spoke with eyes bedimmed with tears,

For he beheld the ranks of Phrygian spears

Quelling the Greeks ; again on battle car

Crested Achilles, slaughtering them afar. 480

There the white tents of Khesus were portrayed, To the dark night and Dionied betrayed, And intercepted steeds before they stood In Trojan stall, or drank of Xanthus' flood.

And there young Troilus, who dared defy 485

The great Achilles, and was forced to fly ; The noble boy was dragged along the plains, Yet e'en in death he grasped the horses' reins, His comely form depending in the rear, Furrowed the dust with the inverted spear. 490

Again portrayed, the temple and the train Of Trojan matrons to Minerva's fane, Bearing the Pepluin*, to propitiate The unjust power by such solemn state : Her glance oblique, bewrayed divine annoy. 495

And corpse of Hector dragged, around his Troy. And there, Achilles selling it for gold. The hero's passion burst forth uncontrolled ;

* The sail of the ship Panatheniaca at Athens : a mystic robe elsewhere.

18 THE yENEIS. Book I.

Beside the body, arms and chariot stood,

And Priam kneeling, suppliant and good. 500

Then did he recognise himself in fight,

Where foes were thickest ; and in armour dight,

The sable Memnon with Eoan might.

Penthesileia— Amazonian queen — With golden zone and lunar shield was seen, 505

And the bared bosom ; on her battle car She led her dauntless troop of maids to war.

The whilst on these with undisguised delight iEneas fed his fascinated sight,

Dido approached, in all the majesty 510

Of beauty and of regal dignity.

So on Eurotas' banks, or Cynthus' brow, Diana leads the choirs, and views below The clustering ranks of the Oreades.

The goddess moves midst quivered bands of these 515 Alike, but how superior ! by her side Latona's breast maternal throbs with pride. So also Dido walked, pre-eminent Her maidens 'midst, on regal cares intent. Beneath the dome, upon the throne of state ; 520

Circled by arms, with open doors she sate, And righted wrongs, and promulgated laws, Assigned to all their several tasks, or draws The impartial lot.

The whilst a clamour loud Arose without from an approaching crowd ; 525

And Antheus and Sergestes, Cloanthus, And other Trojans dragged along, and thus

Book 1. THE 2ENEIS. 19

They met again their chief ; upon the main

Dispersed and scattered, here they met again.

With fears, with joy, iEneas stood oppressed. 530

Achates, he, with silent hand, repressed,

Ardent to greet them ; but discretion bade

Them to retain awhile their friendly shade,

And so to learn their fortune and their need,

Where the ships were, and what the queen decreed. 535

Suppliant they came, but with a front serene, Great Ilioneus addressed the queen : —

" queen, whom Jupiter permits to found This empire, and control proud nations round, We, helpless Trojans, shipwrecked, now implore 540 To spare from flame our vessels on your shore, And to protect a pious race with aid.

We come not here as robbers, lands to raid, We come not to your shores to drive a prey, And freighted with a booty sail away ; 445

We, we alas ! are fugitive and weak.

Hesperia is the land we exiled seek, So called by Greeks ; Italia named by us And later fame ; ancient and populous By old (Enotrians held, and fertile too ; 550

To that Italia we were bound unto ; But dim Orion rose athwart our course, And Auster overwhelmed us with his force, And so we drove through mist and clouds obscure Menaced by rocks and yeasty waves to shore ; 555

And what a shore ! where barbarous customs reign ; What race of man, where such bad laws obtain !

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20 THE iENEIS. Book I.

Opposed by force, by arms forbade to land,

Denied the refuge of the barren sand, —

For fellow men if ye lack brotherhood, 560

Yet fear the gods — they reward ill and good ;

Vengeance is theirs.

iEneas was our king, Justice and piety inheriting, And none, than he, greater in martial might. If yet he live, if yet he see the light, 565

He will, Queen, requite thine offices.

For yet in realms Siculian o'er these seas, The good Acestes holds his reign benign, Sprung from the Trojan blood and Teucrian line. Then grant us license from your forests vast 570

Our oars to cut and vessels to remast, And speed us on our way ; if fate decree, That Latium and Italia we may see.

But if, best of Teucer's race, if thou Art lost in Libyan waters, and if now 575

The young lulus gone, no hopes remain ; We will retrace our course across the main, And dwell with our own countrymen and laws."

Ilioneus ceased : and murmurs of applause Followed his speech and intervening pause. 580

Then Dido briefly, pensively replied : — " Trojans, be reassured, cast fear aside, It is necessity and not my will, Compels me to protect my realms from ill. Who knows not the iEneadaa and Troy, 585

Her chiefs, her virtues, and her history?

Book L THE ^ENEIS. 21

Not so obtuse the souls we Tyrians bear,

Nor quite disjoined from all, do we dwell here ;

Whether you seek Hesperia and the plains

Saturaian, or where good Acestes reigns, 590

Or Erycinan bounds, aid shall ye have,

And safely hence relaunch upon the wave.

Moor then your ships ; and if it please you well

To join my empire, here to s£ay and dwell,

Trojan and Tyrian indiscriminately 595

Shall be protected equally by me.

And lest your warlike king iEneas errs

Upon my shores, be sure my messengers

Shall seek him to the limits of my reign."

Hardly could good iEneas then restrain 600

His wish to burst his cloud. Achates spoke : " goddess-born, tell me what thoughts evoke These words thy heart within ? All, all is true, All your celestial mother told to you ; But one alone is absent, whom we know €05

Submerged to sleep the Libyan wave below."

Then rose the veil, and in the ether pure iEneas stood ; the semblance that he wore Was as a god's, for o'er him Venus threw, With lavish hand, her gifts of roseate hue ; 610

Joy sparkled in his eye — as ivory Or Parian marble, or the silvery dye Circled with gold ; so did the chief appear, As frankly thus he said : —