Читать книгу The Æneid of Virgil, Translated into English Verse - Virgil - Страница 5
BOOK ONE
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ARGUMENT
Fate sends Æneas to Latium to found Rome, but Juno's hostility long delays his success (1–45). Descrying him and his Trojans in sight of Italy, she bribes Æolus to raise a storm for their destruction (46–99). The tempest (100–116). The despair of Æneas (117–126). One Trojan ship is already lost, when Neptune learns the plot and lays the storm (127–189). Æneas escapes, lands in Libya, and heartens his men (190–261). Venus appeals to Jupiter, who comforts her with assurance that Æneas shall yet be great in Italy. His son shall found Alba and his son's sons Rome. Juno shall eventually relent, and Rome under Augustus shall be empress of the world (262–351). Mercury is sent to secure from Dido, Queen of Libya, a welcome for Æneas. Æneas and Achates, while reconnoitring, meet Venus in the forest disguised as a nymph. She tells them Dido's story. Æneas in reply bewails his own troubles, but is interrupted with promises of success. Let him but persist, all will be well (352–478). Venus changes before their eyes from nymph to goddess, and vanishes before Æneas can utter his reproaches. Hidden in a magic mist, the pair approach Carthage, which they find still building. They reach the citadel unobserved, and are encouraged on seeing pictures of scenes from the Trojan war (479–576). Dido appears and takes her state. To her enter, as suppliants, Trojan leaders, whom Æneas had imagined dead. Ilioneus, their spokesman, tells the story of the storm and asks help. "If only Æneas were here!" (577–661). Dido speaks him fair and echoes his words, "If Æneas were here!" The mist scatters. Æneas appears; thanks Dido, and greets Ilioneus (662–723). Dido welcomes Æneas to Carthage and prepares a festival in his honour. Æneas sends Achates to summon his son and bring gifts for Dido (724–774). Cupid, persuaded by Venus to personate Ascanius and inspire Dido with love for Æneas, comes with the gifts to Dido's palace, while Ascanius is carried away to Idalia. The night is passed in feasting. After the feast Iopas sings the wonders of the firmament, and Dido, bewitched by Cupid, begs Æneas to tell the whole story of his adventures (775–891).
I . | | Of arms I sing, and of the man, whom Fate First drove from Troy to the Lavinian shore. Full many an evil, through the mindful hate Of cruel Juno, from the gods he bore, Much tost on earth and ocean, yea, and more In war enduring, ere he built a home, And his loved household-deities brought o'er To Latium, whence the Latin people come, | 1 |
| Whence rose the Alban sires, and walls of lofty Rome. | |
II . | | O Muse, assist me and inspire my song, The various causes and the crimes relate, For what affronted majesty, what wrong To injured Godhead, what offence so great Heaven's Queen resenting, with remorseless hate, Could one renowned for piety compel To brave such troubles, and endure the weight Of toils so many and so huge. O tell | 10 |
| How can in heavenly minds such fierce resentment dwell? | |
III . | | There stood a city, fronting far away The mouths of Tiber and Italia's shore, A Tyrian settlement of olden day, Rich in all wealth, and trained to war's rough lore, Carthage the name, by Juno loved before All places, even Samos. Here were shown Her arms, and here her chariot; evermore E'en then this land she cherished as her own, | 19 |
| And here, should Fate permit, had planned a world-wide throne. | |
IV . | | But she had heard, how men of Trojan seed Those Tyrian towers should level, how again From these in time a nation should proceed, Wide-ruling, tyrannous in war, the bane (So Fate was working) of the Libyan reign. This feared she, mindful of the war beside Waged for her Argives on the Trojan plain; Nor even yet had from her memory died | 28 |
| The causes of her wrath, the pangs of wounded pride— | |
V . | | The choice of Paris, and her charms disdained, The hateful race, the lawless honours ta'en By ravished Ganymede—these wrongs remained. So fired with rage, the Trojans' scanty train By fierce Achilles and the Greeks unslain She barred from Latium, and in evil strait For many a year, on many a distant main They wandered, homeless outcasts, tost by Fate; | 37 |
| So huge, so hard the task to found the Roman state. | |
VI . | | Scarce out of sight of Sicily, they set Their sails to sea, and merrily ploughed the main, With brazen beaks, when Juno, harbouring yet Within her breast the ever-rankling pain, Mused thus: "Must I then from the work refrain, Nor keep this Trojan from the Latin throne, Baffled, forsooth, because the Fates constrain? Could Pallas burn the Grecian fleet, and drown | 46 |
| Their crews, for one man's crime, Oileus' frenzied son? | |
VII . | | "She, hurling Jove's winged lightning, stirred the deep And strewed the ships. Him, from his riven breast The flames outgasping, with a whirlwind's sweep She caught and fixed upon a rock's sharp crest. But I, who walk the Queen of Heaven confessed, Jove's sister-spouse, shall I forevermore With one poor tribe keep warring without rest? Who then henceforth shall Juno's power adore? | 55 |
| Who then her fanes frequent, her deity implore?" | |
VIII . | | Such thoughts revolving in her fiery mind, Straightway the Goddess to Æolia passed, The storm-clouds' birthplace, big with blustering wind. Here Æolus within a dungeon vast The sounding tempest and the struggling blast Bends to his sway and bridles them with chains. They, in the rock reverberant held fast, Moan at the doors. Here, throned aloft, he reigns; | 64 |
| His sceptre calms their rage, their violence restrains: | |
IX . | | Else earth and sea and all the firmament The winds together through the void would sweep. But, fearing this, the Sire omnipotent Hath buried them in caverns dark and deep, And o'er them piled huge mountains in a heap, And set withal a monarch, there to reign, By compact taught at his command to keep Strict watch, and tighten or relax the rein. | 73 |
| Him now Saturnia sought, and thus in lowly strain: | |
X . | | "O Æolus, for Jove, of human kind And Gods the sovran Sire, hath given to thee To lull the waves and lift them with the wind, A hateful people, enemies to me, Their ships are steering o'er the Tuscan sea, Bearing their Troy and vanquished gods away To Italy. Go, set the storm-winds free, And sink their ships or scatter them astray, | 82 |
| And strew their corpses forth, to weltering waves a prey. | |
XI . | | "Twice seven nymphs have I, beautiful to see; One, Deiopeia, fairest of the fair, In lasting wedlock will I link to thee, Thy life-long years for such deserts to share, And make thee parent of an offspring fair."— "Speak, Queen," he answered, "to obey is mine. To thee I owe this sceptre and whate'er Of realm is here; thou makest Jove benign, | 91 |
| Thou giv'st to rule the storms and sit at feasts divine." | |
XII . | | So spake the God and with her hest complied, And turned the massive sceptre in his hand And pushed the hollow mountain on its side. Out rushed the winds, like soldiers in a band, In wedged array, and, whirling, scour the land. East, West and squally South-west, with a roar, Swoop down on Ocean, and the surf and sand Mix in dark eddies, and the watery floor | 100 |
| Heave from its depths, and roll huge billows to the shore. | |
XIII . | | Then come the creak of cables and the cries Of seamen. Clouds the darkened heavens have drowned, And snatched the daylight from the Trojans' eyes. Black night broods on the waters; all around From pole to pole the rattling peals resound And frequent flashes light the lurid air. All nature, big with instant ruin, frowned Destruction. Then Æneas' limbs with fear | 109 |
| Were loosened, and he groaned and stretched his hands in prayer: | |
XIV . | | "Thrice, four times blest, who, in their fathers' face Fell by the walls of Ilion far away! O son of Tydeus, bravest of the race, Why could not I have perished, too, that day Beneath thine arm, and breathed this soul away Far on the plains of Troy, where Hector brave Lay, pierced by fierce Æacides, where lay Giant Sarpedon, and swift Simois' wave | 118 |
| Rolls heroes, helms and shields, whelmed in one watery grave?" | |
XV . | | E'en as he cried, the hurricane from the North Struck with a roar against the sail. Up leap The waves to heaven; the shattered oars start forth; Round swings the prow, and lets the waters sweep The broadside. Onward comes a mountain heap Of billows, gaunt, abrupt. These, horsed astride A surge's crest, rock pendent o'er the deep; To those the wave's huge hollow, yawning wide, | 127 |
| Lays bare the ground below; dark swells the sandy tide. | |
XVI . | | Three ships the South-wind catching hurls away On hidden rocks, which (Latins from of yore Have called them "Altars") in mid ocean lay, A huge ridge level with the tide. Three more Fierce Eurus from the deep sea dashed ashore On quicks and shallows, pitiful to view, And round them heaped the sandbanks. One, that bore The brave Orontes and his Lycian crew, | 136 |
| Full in Æneas' sight a toppling wave o'erthrew. | |
XVII . | | Dashed from the tiller, down the pilot rolled. Thrice round the billow whirled her, as she lay, Then whelmed below. Strewn here and there behold Arms, planks, lone swimmers in the surges grey, And treasures snatched from Trojan homes away. Now fail the ships wherein Achates ride And Abas; old Aletes' bark gives way, And brave Ilioneus'. Each loosened side | 145 |
| Through many a gaping seam lets in the baleful tide. | |
XVIII . | | Meanwhile great Neptune, sore amazed, perceived The storm let loose, the turmoil of the sky, And ocean from its lowest depths upheaved. With calm brow lifted o'er the sea, his eye Beholds Troy's navy scattered far and nigh, And by the waves and ruining heaven oppressed The Trojan crews. Nor failed he to espy His sister's wiles and hatred. East and West | 154 |
| He summoned to his throne, and thus his wrath expressed. | |
XIX . | | "What pride of birth possessed you, Earth and air Without my leave to mingle in affray, And raise such hubbub in my realm? Beware— Yet first 'twere best these billows to allay. Far other coin hereafter ye shall pay For crimes like these. Presumptuous winds, begone, And take your king this message, that the sway Of Ocean and the sceptre and the throne | 163 |
| Fate gave to me, not him; the trident is my own. | |
XX . | | "He holds huge rocks; these, Eurus, are for thee, There let him glory in his hall and reign, But keep his winds close prisoners." Thus he, And, ere his speech was ended, smoothed the main, And chased the clouds and brought the sun again. Triton, Cymothoe from the rock's sharp brow Push off the vessels. Neptune plies amain His trident-lever, lays the sandbanks low, | 172 |
| On light wheels shaves the deep, and calms the billowy flow. | |
XXI . | | As when in mighty multitudes bursts out Sedition, and the wrathful rabble rave; Rage finds them arms; stones, firebrands fly about, Then if some statesman reverend and grave, Stand forth conspicuous, and the tumult brave All, hushed, attend; his guiding words restrain Their angry wills; so sank the furious wave, When through the clear sky looking o'er the main, | 181 |
| The sea-king lashed his steeds and slacked the favouring rein. | |
XXII . | | Tired out, the Trojans seek the nearest land And turn to Libya.—In a far retreat There lies a haven; towards the deep doth stand An island, on whose jutting headlands beat The broken billows, shivered into sleet. Two towering crags, twin giants, guard the cove, And threat the skies. The waters at their feet Sleep hushed, and, like a curtain, frowns above, | 190 |
| Mixt with the glancing green, the darkness of the grove. | |
XXIII . | | Beneath a precipice, that fronts the wave, With limpid springs inside, and many a seat Of living marble, lies a sheltered cave, Home of the Sea-Nymphs. In this haven sweet Cable nor biting anchor moors the fleet. Here with seven ships, the remnant of his band, Æneas enters. Glad at length to greet The welcome earth, the Trojans leap to land, | 199 |
| And lay their weary limbs still dripping on the sand. | |
XXIV . | | First from a flint a spark Achates drew, And lit the leaves and dry wood heaped with care And set the fuel flaming, as he blew. Then, tired of toiling, from the ships they bear The sea-spoiled corn, and Ceres' tools prepare, And 'twixt the millstones grind the rescued grain And roast the pounded morsels for their fare: While up the crag Æneas climbs, to gain | 208 |
| Full prospect far and wide, and scan the distant main. | |
XXV . | | If aught of Phrygian biremes he discern Antheus or Capys, tost upon the seas, Or arms of brave Caicus high astern. No sail, but wandering on the shore he sees Three stags, and, grazing up the vale at ease, The whole herd troops behind them in a row. He stops, and from Achates hastes to seize His chance-brought arms, the arrows and the bow, | 217 |
| The branching antlers smites, and lays the leader low. | |
XXVI . | | Next fall the herd; and through the leafy glade In mingled rout he drives the scattered train, Plying his shafts, nor stays his conquering raid Till seven huge bodies on the ground lie slain, The number of his vessels; then again He seeks the crews, and gives a deer to each, Then opes the casks, which good Acestes, fain At parting, filled on the Trinacrian beach, | 226 |
| And shares the wine, and soothes their drooping hearts with speech. | |
XXVII . | | "Comrades! of ills not ignorant; far more Than these ye suffered, and to these as well Will Jove give ending, as he gave before. Ye know mad Scylla, and her monsters' yell, And the dark caverns where the Cyclops dwell. Fear not; take heart; hereafter, it may be These too will yield a pleasant tale to tell. Through shifting hazards, by the Fates' decree, | 235 |
| To Latin shores we steer, our promised land to see. | |
XXVIII . | | "There quiet settlements the Fates display, There Troy her ruined fortunes shall repair. Bear up; reserve you for a happier day." He spake, and heart-sick with a load of care, Suppressed his grief, and feigned a cheerful air. All straightway gird them to the feast. These flay The ribs and thighs, and lay the entrails bare. Those slice the flesh, and split the quivering prey, | 244 |
| And tend the fires and set the cauldrons in array. | |
XXIX . | | So wine and venison, to their hearts' desire, Refreshed their strength. And when the feast was sped, Their missing friends in converse they require, Doubtful to deem them, betwixt hope and dread, Alive or out of hearing with the dead. All mourned, but good Æneas mourned the most, And bitter tears for Amycus he shed, Gyas, Cloanthus, bravest of his host, | 253 |
| Lycus, Orontes bold, all counted with the lost. | |
XXX . | | Now came an end of mourning and of woe, When Jove, surveying from his prospect high Shore, sail-winged sea, and peopled earth below, Stood, musing, on the summit of the sky, And on the Libyan kingdom fixed his eye, To him, such cares revolving in his breast, Her shining eyes suffused with tears, came nigh Fair Venus, for her darling son distrest, | 262 |
| And thus in sorrowing tones the Sire of heaven addressed; | |
XXXI . | | "O Thou, whose nod and awful bolts attest O'er Gods and men thine everlasting reign, Wherein hath my Æneas so transgressed, Wherein his Trojans, thus to mourn their slain, Barred from the world, lest Italy they gain? Surely from them the rolling years should see New sons of ancient Teucer rise again, The Romans, rulers of the land and sea. | 271 |
| So swar'st thou; Father, say, why changed is thy decree? | |
XXXII . | | "That word consoled me, weighing fate with fate, For Troy's sad fall. Now Fortune, as before, Pursues the woe-worn victims of her hate. O when, great Monarch, shall their toil be o'er? Safe could Antenor pass th' Illyrian shore Through Danaan hosts, and realms Liburnian gain, And climb Timavus and her springs explore, Where through nine mouths, with roaring surge, the main | 280 |
| Bursts from the sounding rocks and deluges the plain. | |
XXXIII . | | "Yet there he built Patavium, yea, and named The nation, and the Trojan arms laid down, And now rests happy in the town he framed. But we, thy progeny, to whom alone Thy nod hath promised a celestial throne, Our vessels lost, from Italy are barred, O shame! and ruined for the wrath of one. Thus, thus dost thou thy plighted word regard, | 289 |
| Our sceptred realms restore, our piety reward?" | |
XXXIV . | | Then Jove, soft-smiling with the look that clears The storms, and gently kissing her, replies; "Firm are thy fates, sweet daughter; spare thy fears. Thou yet shalt see Lavinium's walls arise, And bear thy brave Æneas to the skies. My purpose shifts not. Now, to ease thy woes, Since sorrow for his sake hath dimmed thine eyes, More will I tell, and hidden fates disclose. | 298 |
| He in Italia long shall battle with his foes, | |
XXXV . | | "And crush fierce tribes, and milder ways ordain, And cities build and wield the Latin sway, Till the third summer shall have seen him reign, And three long winter-seasons passed away Since fierce Rutulia did his arms obey. Then, too, the boy Ascanius, named of late Iulus—Ilus was he in the day When firm by royalty stood Ilium's state— | 307 |
| Shall rule till thirty years complete the destined date. | |
XXXVI . | | "He from Lavinium shall remove his seat, And gird Long Alba for defence; and there 'Neath Hector's kin three hundred years complete The kingdom shall endure, till Ilia fair, Queen-priestess, twins by Mars' embrace shall bear. Then Romulus the nation's charge shall claim, Wolf-nursed and proud her tawny hide to wear, And build a city of Mavortian fame, | 316 |
| And make the Roman race remembered by his name. | |
XXXVII . | | "To these no period nor appointed date, Nor bounds to their dominion I assign; An endless empire shall the race await. Nay, Juno, too, who now, in mood malign, Earth, sea and sky is harrying, shall incline To better counsels, and unite with me To cherish and uphold the imperial line, The Romans, rulers of the land and sea, | 325 |
| Lords of the flowing gown. So standeth my decree. | |
XXXVIII . | | "In rolling ages there shall come the day When heirs of old Assaracus shall tame Phthia and proud Mycene to obey, And terms of peace to conquered Greeks proclaim. Cæsar, a Trojan—Julius his name, Drawn from the great Iulus—shall arise, And compass earth with conquest, heaven with fame, Him, crowned with vows and many an Eastern prize, | 334 |
| Thou, freed at length from care, shalt welcome to the skies. | |
XXXIX . | | "Then wars shall cease and savage times grow mild, And Remus and Quirinus, brethren twain, With hoary Faith and Vesta undefiled, Shall give the law. With iron bolt and chain Firm-closed the gates of Janus shall remain. Within, the Fiend of Discord, high reclined On horrid arms, unheeded in the fane, Bound with a hundred brazen knots behind, | 343 |
| And grim with gory jaws, his grisly teeth shall grind." | |
XL . | | So saying, the son of Maia down he sent, To open Carthage and the Libyan state, Lest Dido, weetless of the Fates' intent, Should drive the Trojan wanderers from her gate. With feathered oars he cleaves the skies, and straight On Libya's shores alighting, speeds his hest. The Tyrians, yielding to the god, abate Their fierceness. Dido, more than all the rest, | 352 |
| Warms to her Phrygian friends, and wears a kindly breast. | |
XLI . | | But good Æneas, pondering through the night Distracting thoughts and many an anxious care, Resolved, when daybreak brought the gladsome light, To search the coast, and back sure tidings bear, What land was this, what habitants were there, If man or beast, for, far as the eye could rove, A wilderness the region seemed, and bare. His ships he hides within a sheltering cove, | 361 |
| Screened by the caverned rock, and shadowed by the grove, | |
XLII . | | Then wielding in his hand two broad-tipt spears, Alone with brave Achates forth he strayed, When lo, before him in the wood appears His mother, in a virgin's arms arrayed, In form and habit of a Spartan maid, Or like Harpalyce, the pride of Thrace, Who tires swift steeds, and scours the woodland glade, And outstrips rapid Hebrus in the race. | 370 |
| So fair the goddess seemed, apparelled for the chase. | |
XLIII . | | Bare were her knees, and from her shoulders hung The wonted bow, kept handy for the prey Her flowing raiment in a knot she strung, And loosed her tresses with the winds to play. "Ho, Sirs!" she hails them, "saw ye here astray Ought of my sisters, girt in huntress wise With quiver and a spotted lynx-skin gay, Or following on the foaming boar with cries?" | 379 |
| Thus Venus spake, and thus fair Venus' son replies; | |
XLIV . | | "Nought of thy sisters have I heard or seen. What name, O maiden, shall I give to thee, For mortal never had thy voice or mien? O Goddess surely, whether Nymph I see, Or Phoebus' sister; whosoe'er thou be, Be kind, for strangers and in evil case We roam, tost hither by the stormy sea. Say, who the people, what the clime and place, | 388 |
| And many a victim's blood thy hallowed shrine shall grace." | |
XLV . | | "Nay, nay, to no such honour I aspire." Said Venus, "But a simple maid am I, And 'tis the manner of the maids of Tyre To wear, like me, the quiver, and to tie The purple buskin round the ankles high. The realm thou see'st is Punic; Tyrians are The folk, the town Agenor's. Round them lie The Libyan plains, a people rough in war. | 397 |
| Queen Dido rules the land, who came from Tyre afar, | |
XLVI . | | "Flying her brother. Dark the tale of crime, And long, but briefly be the sum supplied. Sychæus was her lord, in happier time The richest of Phoenicians far and wide In land, and worshipped by his hapless bride. Her, in the bloom of maidenhood, her sire Had given him, and with virgin rites allied. But soon her brother filled the throne of Tyre, | 406 |
| Pygmalion, swoln with sin; 'twixt whom a feud took fire. | |
XLVII . | | "He, reckless of a sister's love, and blind With lust of gold, Sychæus unaware Slew by the altar, and with impious mind Long hid the deed, and flattering hopes and fair Devised, to cheat the lover of her care. But, lifting features marvellously pale, The ghost unburied in her dreams laid bare His breast, and showed the altar and the bale | 415 |
| Wrought by the ruthless steel, and solved the crime's dark tale. | |
XLVIII . | | "Then bade her fly the country, and revealed, To aid her flight, an old and unknown weight Of gold and silver, in the ground concealed. Thus roused, her friends she gathers. All await Her summons, who the tyrant fear or hate. Some ships at hand, chance-anchored in the bay, They seize and load them with the costly freight, And far off o'er the deep is borne away | 424 |
| Pygmalion's hoarded pelf. A woman leads the way. | |
XLIX . | | "Hither, where now the walls and fortress high, Of Carthage, and her rising homes are found, They came, and there full cheaply did they buy, Such space—called Byrsa from the deed—of ground As one bull's-hide could compass and surround. But who are ye, pray answer? on what quest Come ye? and whence and whither are ye bound?" Her then Æneas, from his inmost breast | 433 |
| Heaving a deep-drawn sigh, with labouring speech addressed: | |
L . | | "O Goddess, should I from the first unfold, Or could'st thou hear, the annals of our woe, Eve's star were shining, ere the tale were told. From ancient Troy—if thou the name dost know— A chance-met storm hath driven us to and fro, And tost us on the Libyan shores. My name Is good Æneas; from the flames and foe I bear Troy's rescued deities. My fame | 442 |
| Outsoars the stars of heaven; a Jove-born race, we claim | |
LI . | | "A home in fair Italia far away. With twice ten ships I climbed the Phrygian main, My goddess-mother pointing out the way, As Fate commanded. Now scarce seven remain, Wave-worn and shattered by the tempest's strain. Myself, a stranger, friendless and unknown, From Europe driven and Asia, roam in vain The wilds of Libya"—Then his plaintive tone | 451 |
| No more could Venus bear, but interrupts her son; | |
LII . | | "Stranger," she answered, "whosoe'er thou be; Not unbeloved of heavenly powers, I ween, Thou breath'st the vital air, whom Fate's decree Permits a Tyrian city to have seen. But hence, and seek the palace of the queen. Glad news I bear thee, of thy comrades brought, The North-wind shifted and the skies serene; Thy ships have gained the harbour which they sought, | 460 |
| Else vain my parents' lore the augury they taught. | |
LIII . | | "See yon twelve swans, in jubilant array, Whom late Jove's eagle scattered through the sky; Now these alight, now those the pitch survey. As they, returning, sport with joyous cry, And flap their wings and circle in the sky, E'en so thy vessels and each late-lost crew Safe now and scatheless in the harbour lie, Or, crowding canvas, hold the port in view. | 469 |
| But hence, where leads the path, thy forward steps pursue." | |
LIV . | | So saying, she turned, and all refulgent showed Her roseate neck, and heavenly fragrance sweet Was breathed from her ambrosial hair. Down flowed Her loosened raiment, streaming to her feet, And by her walk the Goddess shone complete. "Ah, mother mine!" he chides her, as she flies, "Art thou, then, also cruel? Wherefore cheat Thy son so oft with images and lies? | 478 |
| Why may I not clasp hands, and talk without disguise?" | |
LV . | | Thus he, reproaching. Towards the town they fare In haste. But Venus round them on the way Wrapt a thick mist, a mantle of dark air, That none should see them, none should touch nor stay, Nor, urging idle questions, breed delay. Then back, rejoicing, through the liquid air To Paphos and her home she flies away, Where, steaming with Sabæan incense rare, | 487 |
| An hundred altars breathe with garlands fresh and fair. | |
LVI . | | They by the path their forward steps pursued, And climbed a hill, whose fronting summit frowned Steep o'er the town. Amazed, Æneas viewed Tall structures rise, where whilom huts were found, The streets, the gates, the bustle and the sound. Hotly the Tyrians are at work. These draw The bastions' lines, roll stones and trench the ground; Or build the citadel; those clothe with awe | 496 |
| The Senate; there they choose the judges for the law. | |
LVII . | | These delve the port; the broad foundations there They lay for theatres of ample space, And columns, hewn from marble rocks, prepare, Tall ornaments, the future stage to grace. As bees in early summer swarm apace Through flowery fields, when forth from dale and dell They lead the full-grown offspring of the race, Or with the liquid honey store each cell, | 505 |
| And make the teeming hive with nectarous sweets to swell. | |
LVIII . | | These ease the comers of their loads, those drive The drones afar. The busy work each plies, And sweet with thyme and honey smells the hive. "O happy ye, whose walls already rise!" Exclaimed Æneas, and with envious eyes Looked up where pinnacles and roof-tops showed The new-born city; then in wondrous wise, Clothed in the covering of the friendly cloud, | 514 |
| Passed through the midst unseen, and mingled with the crowd. | |
LIX . | | A grove stood in the city, rich in shade, Where storm-tost Tyrians, past the perilous brine, Dug from the ground, by royal Juno's aid, A war-steed's head, to far-off days a sign That wealth and prowess should adorn the line. Here, by the goddess and her gifts renowned, Sidonian Dido built a stately shrine. All brazen rose the threshold; brass was round | 523 |
| The door-posts; brazen doors on grating hinges sound. | |
LX . | | Here a new sight Æneas' hopes upraised, And fear was softened, and his heart was mann'd. For while, the queen awaiting, round he gazed, And marvelled at the happy town, and scanned The rival labours of each craftsman's hand, Behold, Troy's battles on the walls appear, The war, since noised through many a distant land, There Priam and th' Atridæ twain, and here | 532 |
| Achilles, fierce to both, still ruthless and severe. | |