THE THRETTENE BUKE.
CAP. I.
Rutilian pepill, eftir Turnus deces,
Obeys Eneas, and takis thame to hys pes.
As Turnus, in the lattir bargan lost
Venquyst in feild, ȝald furth the fleand gost,
This marciall prynce, this ryall lord Enee,
As victor full of magnanymyte,
Amyddis baith the rowtis baldly standis;5
That to behald hym apon athir handis
Astonyst and aghast war all hym saw.
And tho the Latyn pepill haill on raw
A fellon murnyng maid and wofull beir,
And gan devoid and hostit owt full cleir10
Deip from thar breistis the hard sorow smart,
With curage lost and doun smyttyn thar hart:
Lyke as the huge forest can bewaill
Hys granys doun bet and his branchis skaill,
Quhen thai beyn catchit and all to schakyn fast15
With the fell thud of the north wyndis blast.
For thai thar lancis fixit in the erd,
And lenys on thar swerdis with a rerd;
Thar scheldis of thar schuldris slang away,
That bargan and that weir fast wary thai,
And gan abhor of Mars the wild luf,5
Quhilk laitly thay desyrit and dyd appruf:
The brydyll now refus thai nocht to dre,
Nor ȝok thar nekkys in captiuite,
And to implor forgifnes of all greiff,
Quyet, and end of harmys and myscheif.10
As quhen that twa gret bullys on the plane
Togiddir rynnys in bittir gret bargane,
Thar lang debait mydland quhar thai stand
With large blude scheddyng on athir hand,
Quhill athir of thame onto the batalis fyne15
Hys awyn bestis and heyrdis doys inclyne:
Bot, gyf the prys of victory betydis
Till ony of thir twa on athir sydis,
Onon the catall, quhilkis favorit langer
The best ourcummyn as thar cheif and heir,20
Now thame subdewis vndir his ward inhy
Quhilk has the ovirhand wonnyn and mastry,
And of fre will, thocht thar myndis be thra,
Assentis him till obey: and evin rycht swa
The Rutilianys, all thocht the gret syte25
Thar breistis had bedowit and to smyte,
With gret effray of slauchter of thar duke,
Ȝit thocht thame levir, and haill to purpos tuke,
To follow and obey, for all thar harmys,
The gentill chiftane and bettir man of armys,30
And thame subdew to the Troian Enee,
And hym beseik of peax and amyte,
Of rest and quyet evirmar from the weir,
For thame, thar landis, moblis, and other geir.
Eneas tho with plesand voce furth braid,5
And, standand abuf Turnus, thus he said:
O Dawnus son, quhou com this hasty rage
Into thy breist with foly and dotage,
That thou mycht nocht suffir the Troianys,
Quhilkis at command of Goddis onto thir planys,10
And by power of hie Jove ar hiddir cary,
Within the bundis of Italy to tary,
And, all invane, thame so expellyng wald
Of thar land of behest and promyst hald?
Lern forto dreid gret Jove, and nocht gaynstand,15
And to fulfyll glaidly the Goddis command;
And for thar greif weill aucht we tobe war:
Sum tyme in ire will grow gret Jupiter,
And oft remembrans of the wikkit wraik
Solistis the Goddis tharof vengeans to take.20
Lo, now of all sik furour and effeir
The lattir meith and term is present heir,
Quhar thou aganyst resoun and equyte,
Aganyst lawte, and brokyn all vnyte
Of consideratioun sworn and bund or now,25
The Troian pepill sair trublit hes thow.
Behald and se the extreme fynale day,
To geif all otheris gud exempill for ay,
That it mot nevir lefull be agane
Tyll ony to contempne gret Jove invane,30
As forto rays with sik dreid and effeir
Sa onworthy motioun of wikkit weir.
Now beis glaid, bruke thyne armour but pled:
Allace, a nobill corps thou lyggis ded,
The gret Turnus! and, as to my demyng,5
Lavynya has the cost na litill thyng:
Nor thou na schame nedys thynk in na part,
That of Eneas hand thou kyllit art.
Now cumys heir Rutilianys, but delay,
The body of ȝour duke turs hyne away;10
I grant ȝou baith the armour and the man:
Hald on, and do tharto all that ȝe can,
As langis onto the honor of bereyng,
Or to bewail the deth of sik a kyng.
Bot the gret pasand gyrdill, and sik geir15
That Pallas, my deir frend, was wont to weir,
To Evander I will send, for tobe
Na litill solace to hym, quhen he sall se
Hys felloun fa is kyllit thus, and knaw,
Full glaid tharof, Turnus is brocht of daw.20
And netheles now, ȝe Italianys,
That otherwys be clepe Ausonyanys,
Ramembir heirof, and lern in tyme cummyng
With bettir aspectis and happy begynnyng
To move and tak on hand debait or weir:25
For, be the blyssit sternys brycht I sweir,
Neuir nane ostis nor ȝit armour glaidly
Aganyst ȝou in batal movit I;
Bot constrenyt by ȝour fury, as is kend,
With all my fors I set me to defend30
The Troian party and our awyn ofspryng,
As, lo, forsuyth this was bot lesum thing.
No mor Eneas said, bot tharwithall
Addressys hym towart hys cite wall,
And throu the feildis socht full joyusly5
To hys new Troian reset and herbry.
Sammyn hym followis all the rowt atanys,
The pissans haill and ȝynkeris of Tewcranys,
And our the planys, glaid and wondir lycht,
Thar swyft stedis, as the fowle at flycht,10
Throw speid of fut assays by and by,
And oft with bittir mouth dyd crying, fy!
And can accus the Latyn pepill all,
Oft fant folkis and sleuthfull dyd thame call;
That with thar rerd and bemyng, quhar thai fair,15
For the deray full heich dynnys the air.