The fader almychty of the hevyn abuf,
In the meyn tyme, onto Juno his lufe,
Quhilk tho down from a watry ȝallow clowd
Beheld the bargane, therof na thing prowd,
Thus spak and said; O my deir spous, quhat now?
Quhat end salbe of this mater, or quhou?
Quhat restis finaly now atall? lat se.5
Thou wait thi self, and grantis thou wait, Enee
Is destinat onto the hevin to cum,
And for tobe clepit with all and sum
Amang the Goddis a God Indigites,
And by the fatis forto rest in pes,10
Sesit abuf the starry skyis hie.
Quhat purposis or etlys thou now? lat se;
Or into quhat beleif, or quhat entent,
Hyngis thou swa in the cald firmament?
Was it honest a godly dyvyne wight15
With ony mortal strake to wond in fight?
Or ȝit ganand, the swerd lost and adew,
To rendir Turnus, lo, hys brand of new,
And strenth encress to thame at venquist be?
For quhat avalit Juturna, but thy supple?20
Desist heirof, now at last, be the lest,
And condiscend to bow at our request;
Ne suffir not thy hyd sorrow, I pray,
Na langar the consume and waist away,
That I na mar sik wofull thochtis se25
Schyne nor appeir in thy sweit face, quod he:
For now is cum the extreme lattir punct.
Thou mycht, quhil now, haue catchit at disiunct
The silly Troianys baith be sey and land;
And eik thou mycht alsso at thyne awin hand30
A fell ontellabill batal rays or weir,
Deform the howshald, and bryng all on steir
Be mony diuers ways of fury rage,
And all with murnyng mixt thar mariage:
Bot I forbyd ȝou ony mar sic thing.5
Thus spak and carpis Jove, gret hevynnys kyng.
Saturnus dochtir, Juno the Goddes,
Ansuerit on this wys, castand doun hir face:
O Jupiter, deir lord, certis, said sche,
Because this thy gret will was knawyn to me,10
On fors tharfor, and incontrar my mynd,
I left the erd and my frend Turnus kynd.
Ne, war not that, suld thou me se allone
Thus sittand in the ayr al wobegone,
Sustenand thus al maner of myscheif,15
And euery stres, baith lesum and onleif;
Bot at I suld, gyrthit with flambis red,
Stowtly haue standyn in ȝon batale sted,
And suld haue drawyn ȝon Troianys, ane and all,
Into fell mortal bargane inimicall.20
I grant, I dyd persuading owt of dreid
Juturna to pas doun at sik neid
To hir brothir, and for his lyfe eik I
Approvis weill, and als dois ratify,
To vndertak mair than to hir pertenyt;25
Bot I forsuith persuadit neuer, nor menyt,
That scho suld dartis cast, or takillis draw,
Nor with the bow mak debait ony thraw:
I swer tharto be the onplesand well
Of Stix, the flud and cheif fontane of hell,30
Quhais only dreidfull superstitioun heir
The Goddis kepis, that nane dar it forswere.
And now, forsuith, thy will obey sall I,
And giffis owr the caus perpetualy;
And heir I leif sik werys and debait,5
The quhilk, certis, I now detest and hait.
Bot for the land of Latium or Itaill,
And for maieste of thine awin blude, sans faill,
A thing I the beseik, quhilk, weill I wait, is
Na wys include in statutis of the fatis:10
That is to knaw, quhen that, as weill mot be,
With happy wedlok and felicite
Ȝon pepillis twane sall knyt vp peax for ay,
Bynd confiderans baith coniunct in a lay,
That thou ne wald the ald inhabitantis15
Byd change thar Latyn name nor natyve landis,
Ne charge thame nother tobe callyt Troianys,
Nor ȝit be clepit Phrigianys nor Tewcranys;
Ne ȝit the Latyn pepill thar leid to change,
Nor turn thar clething in other habyt strange.20
Lat it remane Latium, as it was air;
And lat the kyngis be namyt euermar
Pryncis and faderis of the stile Albane;
The lynage eik and gret ofspring Romane
Mot discend tharfra potent and mychty,25
Vndir the virtuus titill of Italy.
Troy is doun bet; doun bet lat it remane,
With name and all, and neuer vprys agane.
Than gan to smyle Jupiter the gret kyng,
That is producear of men and euery thing:30
Systir german, quod he, to Jove art thou,
And secund child to Saturn ald; ha, quhou
Sa gret a storm or spait of felloun ire
Vndir thy breist thou rollis hait as fyre?
Bot wirk as I the byd, and do away5
That wreth consauyt but ony caus, I pray.
I geif and grantis the thi desyre, quod he;
Of fre will, venquyst, referris me to the.
Thir ilk pepill clepit Ausonyanys,
On otherwys callit Italianys,10
The auld vsans and leyd of thar cuntre
Sall bruke and joys, and eik thar name salbe
As it is now, and as thar stile remanys:
Alanerly thar personys the Troianys
Sall entyr myddill and remane thame amang:15
The fassonys and the ritis, that nocht ga wrang,
Of sacrifice to thame statute I sall,
And Latyn pepill of a tung mak thame all.
The kynd of men discend from thir Troianys,
Mydlit with kyn of the Italianys,20
Thou sall behald in piete and gentilnes
To go abufe baith men and Goddis expres;
Nor neuer clan or other nation by
Lyke thame sall hallow, ne ȝit sanctify
Thy wirschip, eik and honour, as thai sall do.25
Juno anerdit, and gaue consent heirto,
Ful blith and joyus of this grant, perfay,
Fra hir ald wraith hes writhit hir mynd away;
And in the meyn tyme onto the hevyn hir drew,
And left the clovd, and bad Turnus adew.30
Thys beand done, as said is, on sik wys,
This hie fader can with hym self devys
Ane other craft; and providis the way
Quhou that he sall Juturna dryfe away
From helpyng of hir brother intill armys.5
Thar beyn twa vengeabill monstreis full of harmys,
Clepit to surname Dire, wikkit as fyre,
That is to say, the Goddis wraik or ire:
Quhilk myschewos and cruell sisteris twa,
Sammyn with the hellys fury Megera,10
Bair at a birth, for na thing profitabill,
The Nycht thar moder, that barntyme miserabill;
And all elike wymplit and cled thir trakis
With eddris thrawin, and harys full of snakis,
And tharto ekit weyngis swift as wynd.15
Thir wikkit schrewys reddy sal ȝe fynd
Befor the troyn of Jove, and eik also
Within the wanys of cruell kyng Pluto:
Thai scharp the dreid to mortale wrachit wightis,
Quhen euir the kyng of Goddis by his mychtis20
The deth, or the contagius seiknes seir,
Disponys hym to send in the erth heir,
Or quhen that hym list do smyte and affray
Citeis with weirfar, as deservit haue thai.
Jove ane of thir, full swipper to discend,25
Furth of the hevin abuf onon hes send,
And bad hir hald doun baldly to the erd,
Forto resist Juturnais ire and werd.
And scho onon doun flaw, to ples the lard,
And to the grund thuddis with hasty fard:30
Nane other wys than from the stryng doith fle
The swift arrow owt throw the ayr we se,
Or, into bittyr vennom wet, sum flane
Castyn or schot by sum archer Persayn,
By sum Persayn or man of Cydony5
The schaft thrawyn, that quhirris throu the sky,
And, quhar it hyttis, wirkis a wond of pyne,
Oncurabill by the craft of medycyne,
And sa swiftly slydis throu the clowdis gray
That quhar it went nane may persave the way.10
On sik maner the Nyghtis douchtir onflocht
Throw the skyis doun to the erth sone socht:
And eftir that scho saw the Troian ostis,
And Turnus rowtis arrayt on the costis,
Scho hir transformyt in lyknes of a fowle,15
Quhilk we a litil howlet cleip, or owle;
That sum tyme into gravis, or stokkis of tre,
Or on the waist thak, or hows rufis hie,
Sittand by nycht syngis a sorowfull toyn
In the dyrk skowgis, with scrykis inoportoyn:20
This vengeabill wraik, in sik form changit thus,
Evyn in the face and vissage of Turnus
Can fle and flaf, and maid hym forto grow,
Scho soundis so with mony hys and how,
And in hys scheild can with hyr weyngis smyte.25
A new dolfnes dissoluyt hys membris tyte;
For verray dreid and for gret horrour als
Vp stert hys hair, the voce stak in hys hals.
Bot as Juturna soyn on far dyd heir
Of this fury the quhislyng and the beir,30
The swouchyng of hir weyngis and hir flycht,
This woful sister hyr hair rent for that sycht,
With nalys ryvand reuthfully hir face,
And smytand with hir nevis hir breist, allace!
Turnus, my best belovit brother, quod sche,5
Quhat may thy sistir help now, wa is me!
Or quhat now restis to me, wrachit wight?
Thy life prolong quhou may I? Be quhat slycht
May I oppone me to resist or stryve
With sik a monstre? Na, nane wight alyve.10
Now, now, I leif the feild, and goys away.
O ȝe myschewos fowlis, I ȝou pray,
Do me na mair agrys trymland for feir;
The clappyng of ȝour weyngis I knaw and heir,
And eik the dedly sovndis weill on far:15
The provd command of myghty Jupiter,
That gydis al thing by hys maieste,
Dois me not now astart, for I it se.
Is this the ganȝeld that he rendris me
In recompens of my virginite?20
Quharto eternal lyfe hes he me geif?
Quharto suld I on this wys euer leif?
Quharto is me byreft the faculte
Of deth, and grantit immortalite?
For, gif I mortal war, now, now suythly,25
Thir sa gret dolouris mycht I end in hy,
And with my reuthfull brother go withall
Amangis the dym schaddoys infernall.
O deir brother german, without the
Is na thing sweit nor plesand onto me.30
O now quhat grund, land, or erd tewch
Sal swelly me tharin half deip eneuch,
And, thocht I beyn a Goddes, doun me draw,
And send ontil infernal wightis law?
Thus mekil said scho; and tharwith bad adew,5
Hir hed valit with a haw claith or blew,
And, murnand gretly thar as that scho stud,
This Goddes dowkit deip vnder the flud.