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The Æneid of Virgil Translated Into Scottish Verse. Volumes 1 & 2 cover

The Æneid of Virgil Translated Into Scottish Verse. Volumes 1 & 2

Chapter 155: CAP. II.
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About This Book

The poem follows a legendary refugee who flees a ruined city and undertakes a prolonged sea voyage shaped by capricious gods. It mixes adventurous episodes—a tragic liaison with a foreign queen, encounters with divine messengers, and a guided descent into the underworld that reveals destiny—with a later return that erupts into warfare as he seeks to secure a future for his people. Arranged in twelve books, the work alternates voyage, prophecy, and battle and examines themes of fate, duty, piety, exile, and the tension between personal desire and public obligation.

CAP. II.

Ȝong Pallas corps is till Evander sent,
With all honour accordyny hys tyrment.
Quhen he bewalyt had on this maner,
This wofull corps he bad do lyft on beir,
And with hym send a thousand men in hy
Walyt of euery rowt and cumpany,
Forto convoy and do hym falloschip5
At hys last honour and funeral wirschip,
And tobe present at the lamentyng
Of hys fader, to comfort hys murnyng;
Thocht smal solace was that to hys regrait,
Quhilk was sa huge, bot to hys estait10
Accordit weill that sik thingis suld be,
Quhen all wightis mycht rew on hym to se.
Sum of Eneas ferys bissely
Flakis to plet thame presys by and by,
And of small wikkyris forto beld a beir15
Of sowpill wandis and of bronys seir,
Bund with the syonys or the twystis sle
Of small rammell or stobys of akyn tre.
Thyr beddis beldyt, or funeral lytteris,
Syk tumbys as for ded corps efferis,20
With greyn burgionys and branchys fair and weill
Thai gan ourheld, and stentys euery deill:
Amyd the quhilkis, of blumys apon a byng
Strowyt full hie, thai laid this Pallas ȝyng;
Lyggyn tharon als semly forto se
As is the fresch flowris schynand bewte,
Newly pullyt vp from hys stalkis smaill
With tendyr fyngeris of the damysaill,
Or the soft violet that doys freschly schyne,5
Or than the purpour flour, hayt jacynthyne;
Quham all thocht the erth hys moder with sap
Hym nurys not, nor comfortis on hir lap,
Ȝyt than hys schene cullour and figur glaid
Is not all went, nor hys bewte defaid.10
Eneas syne twa robbys furth gart fold
Of rych purpour and styf burd of gold,
Quhilk vmquhil Dydo, Quheyn of Sydones,
Of sik laubour full byssy tho, I ges,
As at that tyme to ples hym wonder glaid,15
With hir awyn handis to hym wrocht and maid,
Wovyn full weill, and brusyt as rych wedis,
Of costly stuf and subtell goldyn thredis;
And with the tane of thir full dolorusly
Eneas cled the ȝyng Pallas body,20
Tobe hys finall and hys last honour:
Hys lokkis and hys harys the self hour,
Quhilkis war forto be brynt in assys cald,
Into the tother habyt dyd he fald.
Abuf all thys, rewardis mony ane,25
Yconquest in this batall Lawrentane,
In haill hepys with hym hes he send,
And bad thai suld tak gud kepe and attend
To leid the pray per ordour pompusly.
Feill horssys als he gaue thame by and by,30
With wapynnys eik, and other precyus geir,
That he had reft hys fa men in the weir:
The presoneris alsso, quham he had tak,
He send with handis bund behynd thar bak,
Quhilkis, at the obsequies or entyrment,5
To the infernal gostis suldbe sent,
And with thar bludis sched, as was the gys,
The funeral flambe strynkyll in sacrifys.
He bad the capitanys and the dukis all,
In syng of trophe or pomp triumphall,10
Gret perkis bair of treyn saplyng that squair is,
Cled with the armour of thar aduersaris,
To wryte and hyng tharon baith all and sum
The namys of thar ennemys ourcum.
Furth led was the onsilly Acetes,15
Ourset with age, and sorow mycht nocht ces;
Now bludyand hys awyn breist with hys fystis,
Now with hys nalys hys face rentis and brystis,
And oft down fallys spaldit on the erd,
With mony gowl, and a full petuus rerd.20
And furth war led rych cartis for the nanys,
Besprent with blude of the Rutylianys.
And eftir com Aethon, hys werly steid,
Dispulȝeit of hys harnessyng and weid;
Wepand he went for wo, men mycht haue seyn25
With gret terys floddyrrit hys face and eyn.
Ane bair hys helm, ane other bair hys speir;
For the remanys of hys harnes and geir,
Syk as hys rych gyrdill, and cotarmour,
Turnus victor byreft hym in the stour.30
Furth haldis syne the drery cumpany
Of Troianys, and Tyrrheyn dukis thame by;
And wofull Archadis, in syng of dolour, weris
Scheldis reversyt, and doun turnyt thar speris.
And eftir that, per ordour, by and by,5
Thai beyn furth passyt euery cumpany,
Eneas tho can styntyng and abaid,
And with a petuus regrait thus he said:
The horribill batellys of thir sammyn weris
Tyll otheris funerall womentyng and terys10
Callys ws from thens; we may nocht follow the,
Thyne entyrment forto behald and se.
Adew for ay, Pallas, beluffyt best,
Fair weill for evyr intill eternall rest!
Na mair he said, bot went towart new Troy,15
Entrand tharin with terys of ennoy.