WeRead Powered by ReaderPub
The Æneid of Virgil Translated Into Scottish Verse. Volumes 1 & 2 cover

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

Chapter 178: CAP. VI.
Open in WeRead

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. VI.

Enee sair wondyt of the feild dyd pas;
In quhais absens Turnus mair cruell was.
Than the reuthfull and pacient Eneas,
Behaldand quhou all wrang the gem dyd pas,20
Hys rycht hand onenarmyt, to stynt thar fed,
Furth strekis, and oncoverit hes hys hed,
And cryis and clepis on his pepill tho;
My frendis deir, quhidder now hurl ȝe so,
Ilkane aganys other? quhou may this be?
Quhat has movit this hasty discord? quod he.
O, stanch ȝour wraith for schame, or all is lorn!5
The payce and concord now is twichit and sworn,
And the articulis and the lawys dyng
Appunctit vp, and promist euery thing:
Of det and ryght I aucht apon this land
Allane Turnus recontyr, hand for hand:10
Suffir me perform my dereyn by and by,
And do away all dreid and villany.
I sall with my hand sone mak ferm and stabill
Our appoyntment, for evir onvariabill;
For this ilke sacrifice violate in this sted15
Sall rendir onon Turnus to me ded.
Amyd sic sawys, as he thir wordis said
Forto asswage thar mynd, but mar abaid
A quhirrand arrow, lo, with fedderit flycht
At swift randon dyd in hys the bayn lycht;20
Oncertane fra quhat hand that it was sent,
Quhat kynd of schote, nor of quhat instrument.
The hie glory of sa notabill a deid
Is hyd, that nane knew quha it dyd but dreid,
Nor wist quha wrocht had to the Rutilianys25
Sa gret wirschip and lovyng for the nanys;
Quhidder it betyd on cace and aventur,
Or of sum God be dispositioun suyr;
Nor nevir person eftir, he nor he,
Dyd hym avant he wondit had Ene.30
Quhen Turnus all the chiftanys trublit saw,
And Eneas sair wondit hym withdraw,
Than, for this hasty hope als hait as fyre,
To mell in feght he caucht ardent desyre:
He askis hors and harnes baith at anys,5
And haltandly in hys cart for the nanys
He skippis vp and musturis wantonly,
Furth sprentand throu the feildis by and by,
And at his will, quharso hym list tobe,
With hys awyn hand the renȝeis rewlis he.10
And dryvand furth thus into his ire
Laid feill corpsis ded, and mony bald syre;
Down strowand eik vnder fut in the plane
Diuers otheris ȝit throwand and half slane:
Owder with his cart the rowtis he drave away,15
Or, as thai tuke the flycht for gret affray,
Castyng speris and dartis scharp hynt he,
And leit thame thik amang his fays fle.
Sik wys as bludy armipotent God Mars,
Besyde hys frosty flude Hebrum in Tras,20
Full hastely bownand to batale feild,
Makis gret bruyt and clatteryng with hys scheild,
Quhen he list movyng weir mast chevalrus;
Furth steris hys stedis, fers and furyus,
Quhilk fleys furth sa swith with mony a stend25
Owtour the planys at large quhar thai wend,
That thai forryn and goys befor alway
Ȝephyrus and Nothus, swyftest wyndis tway:
And, with the dyn of thar feyt and hys cart,
All Trace gronys onto the ferthar part.30
Abowt hym walkis, as hys godly feris,
Dreid with paill face, Debait, and mortale Weris,
The Wraith, and Ire, and eik fraudfull Dissait,
Lyggyng vndir covert at enbuschment or await.
Turnus siclike, als chery, prowd, and lycht,5
Amyd the batale catchys to the fycht
Hys stedys, rekand of swete quhar thai raid.
And sa baldly hys fays dyd invaid,
With sik slauchter, that piete was to se;
And sik deray has maid in the melle,10
That hys swyft stedis hovys, quhar thai went,
Spangit vp the bludy sparkis our the bent,
Quhil blude and brane, in abundans furth sched,
Mydlit with sand vndir hors feit was tred.
For he, or now, hes doun bet Sthenelus,15
And kyllit eik Thamyrys and Polus:
The formast twa he slew machit at hand;
And this Polus, as he far of dyd stand:
On far eik slew he of Imbrasyus
The sonnys twa, Glawcus and Iasus,20
Quham this Imbrasyus fosterit had, baith twa.
Into the far cuntre of Lycia,
And thame instrukit had full equaly
In fait of armys, and to hant chevelry;
Owder till assaill befor, or ȝit behynd,25
Or with swift hors for till forryn the wynd.
Ȝond, in ane other part, amyd the feild
The fers Eumedes walkis vnder scheild,
Quhilk was the son and air, as that thai tell,
Of agit Dolon valȝeant in batell:30
The name he bair of hys fore grandschir wight,
Bot the strang handis and stowt curage in fight
Of hys awyn fader, this Dolon, he bair;
Quhilk at Troy vmquhile, as the sege lay thar,
Ane was of sa stowt curage and hie will5
That he durst ask the chariot of Achill
To his reward, for that he sa baldly
The Grekis tentis tuk on hand to aspy:
Bot the son of Tedeus, Diomed,
Ane other fassoun hes hym quyt his meid10
For sa stowt ondyrtakyn, and hym sleuch:
And ȝit for all his renovn, provit eneuch,
Ne durst anys pretend, for all hys dedys,
That he was worthy to weld Achillys stedys.
Bot to our purpos; this forsaid Eumedes15
As Turnus dyd behald ȝond in the pres,
On the plane feld thar as he dyd ryde,
First weill a far way at hym leyt he glyde
A fleand dart; and furth with that, rycht thar,
Gan stynt hys horssis and his quhirland char,20
And ferely dyd lepyng from hys cart,
And sone apon hys aduersar astart,
Quhilk tho was fall to grond, and half deill ded:
Syne with hys fut doun thryst in the ilk sted
Hys fair nek bayn, and owt of hys rycht hand25
Richt austernly has he thrawyn the brand,
Quhilk schynand brycht into hys throte he wet,
And tharto ekyt thir wordys wondyr het:
O thow prowd Troian, lyggand thar at grond,
Now may thou myssour the feld at thou has fund;30
Lo heir the bundis, lo heir Hesperia,
Quhilk thou to seik in weirfar was sa thra:
Thys is the bontay thai sal bair away
That dar with wapynnys or armour me assay!
To hym in feir also has he laid5
With a scharp castyn hed, but mair abaid,
Ane Butys, and eftyr hym ane Chloreus,
Syne Sybar, Dares, and Thersilocus,
And Thymetes, a man of full gret fors,
Castyn from hys staffage, skeich, and hedstrang hors.10
And as the blastis with thar bustuus sovn
From mont Edon in Trace cumis thuddand doun
On the deip sey Egean fast at hand,
Chasand the flud and wallys to athir land;
And quhar the wyndis assalys, the suyth to say,15
The clowdis fleys fast our the hevyn away:
The sammyn wys, quhat way at Turnus went,
The rowtis red hym plane rovm on the bent,
And all the ostis fast abak dyd fle;
For, with sik fors and fard furth dryvys he,20
Hys bissy movand tymbrell euery art
Catchis the wynd and ayr forgane hys cart.
Phegeus, a Troiane, seand Turnus all mad
Sa instantly assaill with strakis sad,
Na langar mycht hym thoill, bot with bald hart25
Hym self kest in the way to meit hys cart;
And he the renys in hys ryght hand hynt,
Syne writhit hes about, or euer he stynt,
The fomy mowthis of the hasty stedis.
And as this douchty man, sa gud at nedis,30
Thus hang and harlyt was in euery art
By the lymouris and hamys of the cart,
That he hys body mycht nocht kepe nor held,
To covyr with hys armour and his scheld,
The speir hym followis with scharp hed and braid,5
And rent hys hawbrik of dowbill plyis maid,
Hurt his body sum deill, nocht fully sond,
Persand the hyde, and maid a litill wond.
He, nocht the les, agane hys fa furth sprent,
With hys braid scheild or target evir vp stent,10
And in hys hand held drawyn the burnyst blaid,
Cryand for help his aduersar till invaid;
Quham tho, allace, gret piete was to se!
The quhirland quheill and spedy swyft extre
Smate doun to grond, and on the erd lay plat:15
And, as he fell, Turnus followis with that,
And evyn betwix the helm can hym arras
And vmast roll or hem of hys curas,
Smait of his hed clenly with hys brand,
And left the corps lyke a stok in the sand.20