LIBER III

BOOK III

POSTQUAM res Asiae Priamique evertere gentem immeritam visum Superis, ceciditque superbum Ilium, et omnis humo fumat Neptunia Troia, diversa exsilia et desertas quaerere terras auguriis agimur divom, classemque sub ipsa Antandro et Phrygiae molimur montibus Idae, incerti, quo fata ferant, ubi sistere detur, contrahimusque viros.

After it pleased the heavenly powers to overthrow the power of Asia and Priam's innocent race, and proud Ilium fell, and all Neptune's Troy smokes from the ground, we are driven by divine omens to seek distant places of exile and deserted lands, and we build a fleet under the very shadow of Antandros and the mountains of Phrygian Ida, uncertain whither the fates may lead us, or where it will be granted us to settle, and we gather our men.

Vix prima inceperat aestas, et pater Anchises dare fatis vela iubebat; litora cum patriae lacrimans portusque relinquo et campos, ubi Troia fuit: feror exsul in altum cum sociis natoque Penatibus et magnis dis.

Scarcely had the first summer begun, when my father Anchises commanded us to spread our sails to fate; then, weeping, I leave the shores and harbors of my native land and the plains where Troy once stood: I am borne an exile into the deep with my comrades, my son, the household gods, and the great deities.

Terra procul vastis colitur Mavortia campis, Thraces arant, acri quondam regnata Lycurgo, hospitium antiquum Troiae sociique Penates, dum Fortuna fuit.

Far off there lies a war-god's land of vast plains, inhabited, which the Thracians plow, once ruled by fierce Lycurgus, an ancient ally of Troy with friendly household gods, while Fortune lasted.

Feror huc, et litore curvo moenia prima loco, fatis ingressus iniquis, Aeneadasque meo nomen de nomine fingo.

Hither I am borne, and on the winding shore I found my first walls, having entered under unfavorable fates, and from my own name I fashion the name "Aeneadae."

Sacra Dionaeae matri divisque ferebam auspicibus coeptorum operum, superoque nitentem caelicolum regi mactabam in litore taurum.

I was offering sacrifices to my Dionean mother and the gods who favor the works we have begun, and to the supreme king of the heavenly inhabitants I was sacrificing a gleaming bull on the shore.

Forte fuit iuxta tumulus, quo cornea summo virgulta et densis hastilibus horrida myrtus.

By chance there was a mound nearby, on top of which cornel woods thickets and a myrtle bristling with thick spear-like branches.

Accessi, viridemque ab humo convellere silvam conatus, ramis tegerem ut frondentibus aras, horrendum et dictu video mirabile monstrum.

I approached, and attempting to tear up a green sapling from the ground so that I might cover the altars with leafy boughs, I see a horror, a marvel wondrous to tell.

Nam, quae prima solo ruptis radicibus arbos vellitur, huic atro liquuntur sanguine guttae, et terram tabo maculant.

For from that tree which is first torn up from the soil with broken roots, drops of black blood flow, and they stain the earth with gore. A cold horror shakes my limbs,

Mihi frigidus horror membra quatit, gelidusque coit formidine sanguis.

and my chilled blood freezes with fear. Once more I go on to tear away the tough shoot of a second tree,

Rursus et alterius lentum convellere vimen insequor, et causas penitus temptare latentis: ater et alterius sequitur de cortice sanguis.

and to probe deeply into the hidden causes: black blood follows from the bark of the second one as well.

Multa movens animo nymphas venerabar agrestis Gradivumque patrem, Geticis qui praesidet arvis, rite secundarent visus omenque levarent.

Pondering many things in my heart, I prayed to the rustic nymphs and father Mars, who presides over the Getic fields, that they might duly make the vision favorable and lighten the omen.

Tertia sed postquam maiore hastilia nisu adgredior, genibusque adversae obluctor harenae--- eloquar, an sileam?---gemitus lacrimabilis imo auditur tumulo, et vox reddita fertur ad auris: 'Quid miserum, Aenea, laceras?

But after I attack a third shaft with greater effort, and strain with my knees against the opposing sand--- shall I speak out, or remain silent?---a mournful groan is heard from the bottom of the mound, and a voice is returned and carried to my ears: "Why, Aeneas, do you tear a wretched man?

Iam parce sepulto; parce pias scelerare manus.

Spare me now that I am buried; forbear to defile your righteous hands.

Non me tibi Troia externum tulit, aut cruor hic de stipite manat.

Troy did not bear me to be a stranger to you, nor does this blood flow from a mere tree-trunk.

Heu, fuge crudelis terras, fuge litus avarum: nam Polydorus ego; hic confixum ferrea texit telorum seges et iaculis increvit acutis.'

Alas, flee the cruel lands, flee the greedy shore: for I am Polydorus; here an iron crop of weapons covered me pierced through, and grew over me with sharp javelins."

Tum vero ancipiti mentem formidine pressus obstipui, steteruntque comae et vox faucibus haesit.

Then indeed, my mind overwhelmed by a gripping terror I was struck dumb, my hair stood on end, and my voice choked in my throat.

Hunc Polydorum auri quondam cum pondere magno infelix Priamus furtim mandarat alendum Threicio regi, cum iam diffideret armis Dardaniae, cingique urbem obsidione videret.

Once, with a great weight of gold, this Polydorus unhappy Priam had secretly entrusted to be brought up by the Thracian king, when he already despaired of the arms of Troy, and saw the city hemmed in by siege.

Ille, ut opes fractae Teucrum, et Fortuna recessit, res Agamemnonias victriciaque arma secutus, fas omne abrumpit; Polydorum obtruncat, et auro vi potitur.

The king, when the power of the Trojans was broken and Fortune withdrew, following Agamemnon's cause and victorious arms, broke every sacred tie; he murdered Polydorus, and by force seized the gold.

Quid non mortalia pectora cogis, auri sacra fames?

To what do you not drive mortal hearts, accursed hunger for gold?

Postquam pavor ossa reliquit, delectos populi ad proceres primumque parentem monstra deum refero, et quae sit sententia posco.

After fear left my bones, to the chosen leaders of the people, and first to my father, I report the portents of the gods, and ask what their judgment is.

Omnibus idem animus, scelerata excedere terra, linqui pollutum hospitium, et dare classibus austros.

All had the same mind, to leave the accursed land, to abandon a defiled place of hospitality, and to give the south winds to the fleets.

Ergo instauramus Polydoro funus, et ingens aggeritur tumulo tellus; stant Manibus arae, caeruleis maestae vittis atraque cupresso, et circum Iliades crinem de more solutae; inferimus tepido spumantia cymbia lacte sanguinis et sacri pateras, animamque sepulchro condimus, et magna supremum voce ciemus.

Therefore, we perform funeral rites anew for Polydorus, and a huge mound of earth is heaped up for his tomb; altars stand to the Shades, mournful with dark blue ribbons and black cypress, and around them the Trojan women, their hair loosened according to custom; we offer foaming bowls of warm milk and saucers of sacred blood, and we lay the soul to rest in the tomb and call upon it for the last time with a loud voice.

Inde, ubi prima fides pelago, placataque venti dant maria et lenis crepitans vocat Auster in altum, deducunt socii navis et litora complent: provehimur portu, terraeque urbesque recedunt.

Then, as soon as there is initial trust in the sea, and the winds give calm waters, and the gently whispering South Wind calls us to the deep, My comrades launch the ships and fill the shores: we are carried out from the harbor, and lands and cities recede.

Sacra mari colitur medio gratissima tellus Nereidum matri et Neptuno Aegaeo, quam pius arquitenens oras et litora circum errantem Mycono e celsa Gyaroque revinxit, immotamque coli dedit et contemnere ventos.

In the middle of the sea lies a sacred land, most pleasing to the mother of the Nereids and to Aegean Neptune, which the dutiful Archer-god, as it wandered around coasts and shores, bound fast from lofty Myconos and Gyaros, and granted that it be inhabited unmoved and despise the winds.

Huc feror; haec fessos tuto placidissima portu accipit: egressi veneramur Apollinis urbem.

Thither I am carried; this most peaceful land receives us, weary as we are, in its safe harbor: having disembarked, we revere the city of Apollo.

Rex Anius, rex idem hominum Phoebique sacerdos vittis et sacra redimitus tempora lauro, occurrit; veterem Anchisen adgnovit amicum.

King Anius, a king of men and at the same time a priest of Phoebus, his temples bound with fillets and sacred laurel, comes to meet us; he recognizes Anchises as an old friend.

Iungimus hospitio dextras, et tecta subimus.

We clasp right hands in hospitality, and enter his dwellings.

Templa dei saxo venerabar structa vetusto: 'Da propriam, Thymbraee, domum; da moenia fessis et genus et mansuram urbem; serva altera Troiae Pergama, reliquias Danaum atque immitis Achilli.

I was revering the temple of the god, built of ancient stone: "Grant us a home of our own, god of Thymbra; grant walls to the weary, and a lineage and an enduring city; preserve this second Pergamum of Troy, the remnants left by the Greeks and cruel Achilles.

Quem sequimur?

Whom do we follow?

Quove ire iubes?

Or where do you command us to go?

Ubi ponere sedes?

Where are we to place our dwellings?

Da, pater, augurium, atque animis inlabere nostris.'

Grant, father, an omen, and glide into our hearts."

Vix ea fatus eram: tremere omnia visa repente, liminaque laurusque dei, totusque moveri mons circum, et mugire adytis cortina reclusis.

Scarcely had I spoken these words: suddenly everything seemed to tremble, both the thresholds and the laurel of the god, and the whole mountain around was moved, and the tripod groaned as the inner sanctuary was thrown open.

Submissi petimus terram, et vox fertur ad auris: 'Dardanidae duri, quae vos a stirpe parentum prima tulit tellus, eadem vos ubere laeto accipiet reduces.

Humbled, we fall to the ground, and a voice is borne to our ears: "Enduring sons of Dardanus, the same land which first bore you from the stock of your ancestors shall receive you back in its fertile bosom. Seek out your ancient mother."

Antiquam exquirite matrem: hic domus Aeneae cunctis dominabitur oris, et nati natorum, et qui nascentur ab illis.'

Seek out your ancient mother: here the house of Aeneas shall rule over all shores, both the children of his children, and those who shall be born from them."

Haec Phoebus; mixtoque ingens exorta tumultu laetitia, et cuncti quae sint ea moenia quaerunt, quo Phoebus vocet errantis iubeatque reverti?

Thus spoke Phoebus; and a great joy arose mingled with tumultuous confusion, and all inquire what those walls may be, whither Phoebus calls the wanderers and commands them to return?

Tum genitor, veterum volvens monumenta virorum, 'Audite, O proceres' ait 'et spes discite vestras: Creta Iovis magni medio iacet insula ponto; mons Idaeus ubi, et gentis cunabula nostrae.

Then my father, revolving the memorials of the men of old, "Hear, O nobles," he said, "and learn your hopes: Crete, the island of great Jove, lies in the middle of the sea; where Mount Ida is, and the cradle of our race.

Centum urbes habitant magnas, uberrima regna; maximus unde pater, si rite audita recordor, Teucrus Rhoeteas primum est advectus in oras, optavitque locum regno.

They inhabit a hundred great cities, most fertile realms; from where our greatest ancestor, Teucer, if I rightly recall what I heard, was first carried to the Rhoetean shores, and chose a site for his kingdom.

Nondum Ilium et arces Pergameae steterant; habitabant vallibus imis. hinc mater cultrix Cybeli Corybantiaque aera Idaeumque nemus; hinc fida silentia sacris, et iuncti currum dominae subiere leones.

Not yet had Ilium and the citadels of Pergamus stood; they used to dwell in the deepest valleys. Hence came the Mother who dwells on Cybelus, and the Corybantian cymbals, and the Idaean grove; hence came the faithful silence of her mysteries, and the yoked lions that submitted to the chariot of the mistress.

Ergo agite, et, divom ducunt qua iussa, sequamur; placemus ventos et Gnosia regna petamus.

Therefore come, and where the commands of the gods lead, let us follow; let us appease the winds and seek the Gnosian realms.

Nec longo distant cursu; modo Iuppiter adsit, tertia lux classem Cretaeis sistet in oris.'

Nor are they distant by a long course; if only Jupiter be with us, the third dawn shall place our fleet on the Cretan shores."

Sic fatus, meritos aris mactavit honores, taurum Neptuno, taurum tibi, pulcher Apollo nigram Hiemi pecudem, Zephyris felicibus albam.

Having thus spoken, he sacrificed the deserved offerings upon the altars, a bull to Neptune, a bull to thee, beautiful Apollo, a black sheep to Winter, a white one to the favorable Zephyrs.

Fama volat pulsum regnis cessisse paternis Idomenea ducem, desertaque litora Cretae hoste vacare domos, sedesque adstare relictas.

A rumor flies that a chieftain has departed, driven from his paternal realms that Idomeneus the leader had fled, and the shores of Crete were deserted, that the homes were free of enemies, and the dwellings stood abandoned.

Linquimus Ortygiae portus, pelagoque volamus, bacchatamque iugis Naxon viridemque Donysam, Olearon, niveamque Paron, sparsasque per aequor Cycladas, et crebris legimus freta consita terris.

We leave the harbor of Ortygia, and fly across the sea, skimming past Naxos with its bacchic revels on the hills, and green Donysa, Olearos, and snowy Paros, and the Cyclades scattered through the sea, and we thread the straits sown thick with lands.

Nauticus exoritur vario certamine clamor; hortantur socii: ''Cretam proavosque petamus!''

A shouting of the sailors arises in varied rivalry; the comrades encourage one another: "Let us head for Crete and our ancestors!"

Prosequitur surgens a puppi ventus euntis et tandem antiquis Curetum adlabimur oris.

A wind rising from the stern follows us as we go, and at last we glide up to the ancient shores of the Curetes.

Ergo avidus muros optatae molior urbis, Pergameamque voco, et laetam cognomine gentem hortor amare focos arcemque attollere tectis.

Therefore, eagerly I build the walls of the chosen city, and call it Pergamia, and exhorting the race, who were glad of the name, to cherish their hearths and raise a citadel over their dwellings.

Iamque fere sicco subductae litore puppes; conubiis arvisque novis operata iuventus; iura domosque dabam: subito cum tabida membris, corrupto caeli tractu, miserandaque venit arboribusque satisque lues et letifer annus.

And now the ships were mostly hauled up on the dry shore; the youth were busy with marriages and their new fields; I was assigning laws and homes, when suddenly, from a corrupted quarter of the sky, there came a wasting plague on our limbs, and a pitiable blight upon the trees and crops—a year of death.

Linquebant dulcis animas, aut aegra trahebant corpora; tum sterilis exurere Sirius agros; arebant herbae, et victum seges aegra negabat.

They left their sweet lives, or dragged their sick bodies; then Sirius parched the barren fields; the grass withered, and the sickly crop denied us sustenance.

Rursus ad oraclum Ortygiae Phoebumque remenso hortatur pater ire mari, veniamque precari: quam fessis finem rebus ferat; unde laborum temptare auxilium iubeat; quo vertere cursus.

My father advises us to cross the sea again to the oracle of Ortygia and Phoebus, and to pray for grace: what end he will bring to our weary troubles; from where he bids us seek aid for our labors; where to turn our course.

Nox erat, et terris animalia somnus habebat: effigies sacrae divom Phrygiique Penates, quos mecum a Troia mediisque ex ignibus urbis extuleram, visi ante oculos adstare iacentis in somnis, multo manifesti lumine, qua se plena per insertas fundebat luna fenestras; tum sic adfari et curas his demere dictis: 'Quod tibi delato Ortygiam dicturus Apollo est, hic canit, et tua nos en ultro ad limina mittit.

It was night, and sleep held the living creatures on the earth: the sacred images of the gods and the Phrygian Penates, whom I had carried out with me from Troy, and from the midst of the flames of the city, seemed to stand before my eyes as I lay asleep, clear in the abundant light, where the full moon was pouring her beams through the inset windows; then they seemed to speak thus and to take away my cares with these words: 'That which Apollo would tell you when you have traveled to Ortygia, he declares here, and, behold, he sends us to your threshold of his own accord.

Nos te, Dardania incensa, tuaque arma secuti, nos tumidum sub te permensi classibus aequor, idem venturos tollemus in astra nepotes, imperiumque urbi dabimus: tu moenia magnis magna para, longumque fugae ne linque laborem.

We followed you and your arms after Troy was burned, we measured the swelling sea in ships under your leadership, we likewise shall raise your future descendants to the stars, and shall give empire to your city: do you prepare great walls for great men, and do not shrink from the long toil of flight.

Mutandae sedes: non haec tibi litora suasit Delius, aut Cretae iussit considere Apollo.

Your home must be changed: the Delian Apollo did not advise these shores for you, nor did he command you to settle in Crete.

Est locus, Hesperiam Grai cognomine dicunt, terra antiqua, potens armis atque ubere glaebae; Oenotri coluere viri; nunc fama minores Italiam dixisse ducis de nomine gentem: hae nobis propriae sedes; hinc Dardanus ortus, Iasiusque pater, genus a quo principe nostrum.

There is a place, the Greeks call it Hesperia by name, an ancient land, powerful in arms and in the fertility of its soil; Oenotrian men cultivated it; now the rumor is that their descendants They say that a race called Italy after the name of their leader: this is our true home; from here Dardanus sprang, and father Iasius, from which leader our race is derived.

Surge age, et haec laetus longaevo dicta parenti haud dubitanda refer: Corythum terrasque requirat Ausonias; Dictaea negat tibi Iuppiter arva.'

Rise, come, and joyfully report these words, not to be doubted, to your aged parent: let him seek Corythus and the Ausonian lands; Jupiter denies the Dictaean fields to you.'

Talibus attonitus visis et voce deorum--- nec sopor illud erat, sed coram adgnoscere voltus velatasque comas praesentiaque ora videbar; tum gelidus toto manabat corpore sudor corripio e stratis corpus, tendoque supinas ad caelum cum voce manus, et munera libo intemerata focis.

Astonished by such visions and the voice of the gods— nor was that mere sleep, but I seemed to recognize their features openly, their veiled hair and their very faces before me; then a cold sweat broke out over my entire body— I snatch my body from the blankets, and lift my upturned hands to heaven with a prayer, and pour unblemished offerings upon the hearths.

Perfecto laetus honore Anchisen facio certum, remque ordine pando.

Rejoicing in the completed honor I make Anchises certain, and unfold the matter in order.

Adgnovit prolem ambiguam geminosque parentes, seque novo veterum deceptum errore locorum.

He recognized the ambiguous lineage and the twin parents, and that he was deceived by a new mistake regarding ancient places.

Tum memorat: 'Nate, Iliacis exercite fatis, sola mihi talis casus Cassandra canebat.

Then he remembers: "O son, tried by the fates of Ilium, Cassandra alone used to foretell such fortunes to me.

Nunc repeto haec generi portendere debita nostro, et saepe Hesperiam, saepe Itala regna vocare.

Now I recall that she predicted these things were owed to our race, and that she often called out for Hesperia, often for the Italian realms.

Sed quis ad Hesperiae venturos litora Teucros crederet, aut quem tum vates Cassandra moveret?

But who would believe that the Teucrians would come to the shores of Hesperia, or whom would the prophetess Cassandra move at that time?

Cedamus Phoebo, et moniti meliora sequamur.'

Let us yield to Phoebus, and, having been advised, let us follow better things."

Sic ait, et cuncti dicto paremus ovantes.

Thus he speaks, and we all obey his command rejoicing.

Hanc quoque deserimus sedem, paucisque relictis vela damus, vastumque cava trabe currimus aequor.

This settlement also we abandon, and, leaving a few behind, we set sail, and skim across the vast sea in our hollow ships.

Postquam altum tenuere rates, nec iam amplius ullae adparent terrae, caelum undique et undique pontus, tum mihi caeruleus supra caput adstitit imber, noctem hiememque ferens, et inhorruit unda tenebris.

After the ships gained the deep, and no lands any longer appear, sky on all sides and on all sides the sea, then a dark rain-cloud stood over my head, bringing night and storm, and the wave grew rough with darkness.

Continuo venti volvunt mare, magnaque surgunt aequora; dispersi iactamur gurgite vasto; involvere diem nimbi, et nox umida caelum abstulit; ingeminant abruptis nubibus ignes.

Straightway the winds roll the sea, and great waves rise up; scattered, we are tossed on the vast abyss; storm-clouds enveloped the day, and damp night took away the sky; fires flash repeatedly from the torn clouds.

Excutimur cursu, et caecis erramus in undis.

We are driven from our course, and wander in blind waves.

Ipse diem noctemque negat discernere caelo, nec meminisse viae media Palinurus in unda.

Palinurus himself says he cannot distinguish day and night in the sky, nor remember his way in the midst of the wave.

Tris adeo incertos caeca caligine soles erramus pelago, totidem sine sidere noctes.

For three whole days, uncertain in blind darkness, we wander the sea, and for as many sleepless nights without a star.

Quarto terra die primum se attollere tandem visa, aperire procul montis, ac volvere fumum.

At last, on the fourth day, land was first seen to rise, to reveal mountains in the distance, and to roll up smoke.

Vela cadunt, remis insurgimus; haud mora nautae adnixi torquent spumas et caerula verrunt.

The sails drop, we rise to the oars; without delay the sailors straining, churn the foam and sweep the azure waters.

Servatum ex undis Strophadum me litora primum accipiunt; Strophades Graio stant nomine dictae, insulae Ionio in magno, quas dira Celaeno Harpyiaeque colunt aliae, Phineia postquam clausa domus, mensasque metu liquere priores.

Saved from the waves, the shores of the Strophades first receive me; called the Strophades by a Greek name, islands in the great Ionian Sea, which dread Celaeno and the other Harpies inhabit, since the house of Phineus was closed to them, and in fear they left their former feasts.

Tristius haud illis monstrum, nec saevior ulla pestis et ira deum Stygiis sese extulit undis.

No monster is more grim than they, nor has any fiercer plague and wrath of the gods raised itself from the Stygian waves.

Virginei volucrum voltus, foedissima ventris proluvies, uncaeque manus, et pallida semper ora fame.

The birds have the faces of virgins, a most foul discharge from their bellies, and hooked hands, and faces always pale with hunger.

Huc ubi delati portus intravimus, ecce laeta boum passim campis armenta videmus, caprigenumque pecus nullo custode per herbas.

When we were carried here and entered the harbor, behold, we see rich herds of cattle everywhere in the plains, and a flock of goats without a guardian along the grass.

Inruimus ferro, et divos ipsumque vocamus in partem praedamque Iovem; tum litore curvo exstruimusque toros, dapibusque epulamur opimis.

We rush upon them with the sword, and call the gods and Jove himself to a share of the spoil; then on the curving shore we build up couches, and feast upon the rich banquet.

At subitae horrifico lapsu de montibus adsunt Harpyiae, et magnis quatiunt clangoribus alas, diripiuntque dapes, contactuque omnia foedant immundo; tum vox taetrum dira inter odorem.

But suddenly, with a horrific swoop from the mountains, the Harpies are upon us, and shake their wings with loud clanging, and tear the feast apart, fouling everything with their touch filthy; then a dreadful voice comes from amidst the foul stench.

Rursum in secessu longo sub rupe cavata, arboribus clausi circum atque horrentibus umbris, instruimus mensas arisque reponimus ignem: rursum ex diverso caeli caecisque latebris turba sonans praedam pedibus circumvolat uncis, polluit ore dapes.

Again, in a deep recess under a hollowed rock, enclosed all around by trees and bristling shadows, we set up our tables and replace the fire on the altars: again, from a different quarter of the sky and from blind hiding places, the noisy flock flies around the prey with hooked claws, and defiles the feast with their mouths.

Sociis tunc, arma capessant, edico, et dira bellum cum gente gerendum.

Then I order my companions to take up arms, and that war must be waged with this dreadful race.

Haud secus ac iussi faciunt, tectosque per herbam disponunt enses et scuta latentia condunt.

They do exactly as commanded, and throughout the grass they arrange their hidden swords and conceal their shields out of sight.

Ergo ubi delapsae sonitum per curva dedere litora, dat signum specula Misenus ab alta aere cavo.

Therefore, when gliding down, they made a sound along the curved shores, Misenus gives the signal from his lofty watchtower with the hollow brass.

Invadunt socii, et nova proelia temptant, obscenas pelagi ferro foedare volucres: sed neque vim plumis ullam nec volnera tergo accipiunt, celerique fuga sub sidera lapsae semesam praedam et vestigia foeda relinquunt.

My companions attack, and try a strange kind of battle, to defile these filthy birds of the sea with iron: but they receive no blow upon their feathers nor wounds on their backs, and gliding up to the stars in swift flight, they leave behind the half-eaten prey and foul traces.

Una in praecelsa consedit rupe Celaeno, infelix vates, rumpitque hanc pectore vocem: 'Bellum etiam pro caede boum stratisque iuvencis, Laomedontiadae, bellumne inferre paratis, et patrio Harpyias insontis pellere regno?

Alone on a lofty cliff perched Celaeno, a prophetess of ill omen, and breaks forth this cry from her breast: "Is it even war, in return for the slaughter of our cattle and slaughtered bullocks, sons of Laomedon, is it war you are preparing to bring upon us, and to drive the innocent Harpies from their ancestral kingdom?

Accipite ergo animis atque haec mea figite dicta, quae Phoebo pater omnipotens, mihi Phoebus Apollo praedixit, vobis Furiarum ego maxuma pando.

Hear then, and fix these words of mine in your minds, which the almighty Father foretold to Phoebus, and Phoebus Apollo foretold to me, I, the eldest of the Furies, reveal to you.

Italiam cursu petitis, ventisque vocatis ibitis Italiam, portusque intrare licebit; sed non ante datam cingetis moenibus urbem, quam vos dira fames nostraeque iniuria caedis ambesas subigat malis absumere mensas.'

You seek Italy in your course, and having invoked the winds You will go to Italy, and you will be allowed to enter its harbors; but you shall not gird your given city with walls before a terrible hunger and the wrong of our slaughter subdues you to consume your gnawed tables with your teeth.'

Dixit, et in silvam pennis ablata refugit.

She spoke, and borne away on her wings, she fled back into the forest.

At sociis subita gelidus formidine sanguis deriguit; cecidere animi, nec iam amplius armis, sed votis precibusque iubent exposcere pacem, sive deae, seu sint dirae obscenaeque volucres.

But the cold blood of my companions froze with sudden fear; their spirits fell, and no longer with arms, but with vows and prayers they demand to sue for peace, whether these be goddesses, or terrifying and obscene birds.

Et pater Anchises passis de litore palmis numina magna vocat, meritosque indicit honores: 'Di, prohibete minas; di, talem avertite casum, et placidi servate pios!'

And father Anchises, with hands outstretched from the shore, calls upon the great gods, and proclaims the fitting sacrifices: 'Gods, avert their threats; gods, turn away such a misfortune, and graciously protect the pious!'

Tum litore funem deripere, excussosque iubet laxare rudentes.

Then from the shore the cable he orders them to tear away, and to shake out and loose the ropes.

Tendunt vela Noti; fugimus spumantibus undis, qua cursum ventusque gubernatorque vocabat.

The South Winds fill the sails; we flee over the foaming waves, wherever the wind and the helmsman called our course.

Iam medio adparet fluctu nemorosa Zacynthos Dulichiumque Sameque et Neritos ardua saxis.

Now wooded Zacynthos appears in the midst of the waves, and Dulichium, and Same, and Neritos towering with cliffs.

Effugimus scopulos Ithacae, Laertia regna, et terram altricem saevi exsecramur Ulixi.

We escape the rocks of Ithaca, the realms of Laertes, and curse the land that nursed fierce Ulysses.

Mox et Leucatae nimbosa cacumina montis et formidatus nautis aperitur Apollo.

Soon, too, the storm-swept peaks of Mount Leucata and Apollo's temple, dreaded by sailors, open to view.

Hunc petimus fessi et parvae succedimus urbi; ancora de prora iacitur, stant litore puppes.

Weary, we steer for this and approach the little town; the anchor is cast from the prow, the sterns rest on the shore.

Ergo insperata tandem tellure potiti, lustramurque Iovi votisque incendimus aras, Actiaque Iliacis celebramus litora ludis.

Therefore, having at last gained this unhoped-for land, We purify ourselves for Jupiter and kindle the altars with vows, and we celebrate the Actian shores with Trojan games.

Exercent patrias oleo labente palaestras nudati socii; iuvat evasisse tot urbes Argolicas, mediosque fugam tenuisse per hostis.

My stripped companions practice their ancestral wrestling matches with slippery oil; it is a joy to have escaped so many Greek cities and to have held our flight through the midst of the enemy.

Interea magnum sol circumvolvitur annum, et glacialis hiemps aquilonibus asperat undas.

Meanwhile the sun rolls through the great year, and icy winter roughens the waves with northern blasts.

Aere cavo clipeum. magni gestamen Abantis, postibus adversis figo, et rem carmine signo: AENEAS HAEC DE DANAIS VICTORIBVS ARMA.

A shield of hollow bronze, the armor borne by great Abas, I fix upon the facing doorposts, and mark the deed with a verse: AENEAS DEDICATES THESE ARMS FROM THE VICTORIOUS GREEKS.

Linquere tum portus iubeo et considere transtris: certatim socii feriunt mare et aequora verrunt.

Then I order them to leave the ports and sit upon the rowing benches; eagerly my companions strike the sea and sweep the waters.

Protinus aerias Phaeacum abscondimus arces, litoraque Epiri legimus portuque subimus Chaonio, et celsam Buthroti accedimus urbem.

Straightway we hide from view the lofty citadels of the Phaeacians, and coast along the shores of Epirus, and enter the Chaonian port, and approach the high city of Buthrotum.

Hic incredibilis rerum fama occupat auris, Priamiden Helenum Graias regnare per urbes, coniugio Aeacidae Pyrrhi sceptrisque potitum, et patrio Andromachen iterum cessisse marito.

Here an incredible rumor of events fills our ears: that Helenus, the son of Priam, was reigning over Greek cities, having gained the wife and the scepter of Pyrrus, the descendant of Aeacus, and that Andromache had passed once more to a husband of her own people.

Obstipui, miroque incensum pectus amore, compellare virum et casus cognoscere tantos.

I was amazed, and my heart was kindled with a wondrous desire to address the man and to learn of such great misfortunes.

Progredior portu, classis et litora linquens, sollemnis cum forte dapes et tristia dona ante urbem in luco falsi Simoentis ad undam libabat cineri Andromache, Manisque vocabat Hectoreum ad tumulum, viridi quem caespite inanem et geminas, causam lacrimis, sacraverat aras.

I advance from the harbor, leaving behind the fleet and the shores, just when by chance Andromache, before the city in a grove by the stream of a false Simois, was offering annual festival dishes and mournful gifts to the ashes and was summoning the spirits to the tomb of Hector, an empty mound of green turf which she had consecrated along with two altars, an incentive for her tears.

Ut me conspexit venientem et Troia circum arma amens vidit, magnis exterrita monstris deriguit visu in medio, calor ossa reliquit; labitur, et longo vix tandem tempore fatur: 'Verane te facies, verus mihi nuntius adfers, nate dea?

As she saw me coming and, all around, the Trojan weapons, frantic and terrified by these great wonders, she froze mid-gaze, heat left her bones; she swoons, and at long last with difficulty speaks: "Do you present yourself to me as a true form, a true messenger, goddess-born?

Vivisne, aut, si lux alma recessit, Hector ubi est?'

Are you alive? Or, if the nourishing light has departed, where is Hector?"

Dixit, lacrimasque effudit et omnem implevit clamore locum.

She spoke, and poured forth tears, and filled the whole place with her crying.

Vix pauca furenti subicio, et raris turbatus vocibus hisco: 'vivo equidem, vitamque extrema per omnia duco; ne dubita, nam vera vides.

To her in her frenzy, I can scarcely manage a few words in reply, and deeply moved, I gasp out in broken speech: "I live indeed, and drag out my life through every extremity; do not doubt, for you see real things.

Heu, quis te casus deiectam coniuge tanto excipit, aut quae digna satis fortuna revisit Hectoris Andromachen?

Alas, what fate has caught you, cast down from such a husband, or what fortune, worthy enough, has visited again Hector's Andromache?

Pyrrhin' conubia servas?'

Are you still bound in marriage to Pyrrhus?"

Deiecit voltum et demissa voce locuta est: 'O felix una ante alias Priameia virgo, hostilem ad tumulum Troiae sub moenibus altis iussa mori, quae sortitus non pertulit ullos, nec victoris eri tetigit captiva cubile!

She cast down her eyes and spoke in a low voice: "O happy beyond all others, maiden daughter of Priam, ordered to die at an enemy's tomb under the high walls of Troy, she who never endured any casting of lots, nor as a captive ever touched the bed of a conquering master!

nos, patria incensa, diversa per aequora vectae, stirpis Achilleae fastus iuvenemque superbum, servitio enixae, tulimus: qui deinde, secutus Ledaeam Hermionen Lacedaemoniosque hymenaeos, me famulo famulamque Heleno transmisit habendam.

We, our homeland burned, carried across distant seas, endured the arrogance of Achilles' offspring and the proud youth, bearing children in slavery; he then, pursuing Leda's Hermione and Spartan marriage ties, passed me over to Helenus, a slave to be possessed by a slave."

Ast illum, ereptae magno inflammatus amore coniugis et scelerum Furiis agitatus, Orestes excipit incautum patriasque obtruncat ad aras.

But Orestes, inflamed by a great love for his stolen bride and driven mad by the Furies of his crimes, catches him off guard and slaughters him at his father's altars.

Morte Neoptolemi regnorum reddita cessit pars Heleno, qui Chaonios cognomine campos Chaoniamque omnem Troiano a Chaone dixit, Pergamaque Iliacamque iugis hanc addidit arcem.

By the death of Neoptolemus a part of the kingdoms passed, having been delivered over, to Helenus, who called the plains Chaonian by name and named the whole country Chaonia after Trojan Chaon, and added a Pergama and this Trojan citadel to the ridges.

Sed tibi qui cursum venti, quae fata dedere?

But for you, what winds, what fates have directed your course?

Aut quisnam ignarum nostris deus adpulit oris?

Or what god has driven you, unaware, to our shores?

Quid puer Ascanius?

What of the boy Ascanius?

superatne et vescitur aura, quem tibi iam Troia--- Ecqua tamen puero est amissae cura parentis?

Does he survive and breathe the air, he whom to you already in Troy--- Yet, does the boy have any regard for his lost mother?

Ecquid in antiquam virtutem animosque virilis et pater Aeneas et avunculus excitat Hector?'

Do both his father Aeneas and his uncle Hector rouse him at all to ancestral valor and manly courage?'

Talia fundebat lacrimans longosque ciebat incassum fletus, cum sese a moenibus heros Priamides multis Helenus comitantibus adfert, adgnoscitque suos, laetusque ad limina ducit, et multum lacrimas verba inter singula fundit.

Pouring forth such words weeping, and arousing long laments in vain, when the hero Helenus, son of Priam, comes from the walls with many attendants, and recognizes his countrymen, and joyfully leads them to his gates, and pours forth many a tear between each word.

Procedo, et parvam Troiam simulataque magnis Pergama, et arentem Xanthi cognomine rivum adgnosco, Scaeaeque amplector limina portae.

I move forward, and recognize a little Troy, and a Pergama made to resemble the great one, and a dried-up stream called by the name of Xanthus, and I embrace the threshold of a Scaean gate.

Nec non et Teucri socia simul urbe fruuntur: illos porticibus rex accipiebat in amplis; aulai medio libabant pocula Bacchi, impositis auro dapibus, paterasque tenebant.

Nor less do the Trojans enjoy the friendly city with me: the king received them in spacious colonnades; in the middle of the courtyard they poured libatons of the cups of Bacchus, the feast was served on gold, and they held the bowls.

Iamque dies alterque dies processit, et aurae vela vocant tumidoque inflatur carbasus austro.

And now day after day passed by, and the breezes call to the sails, and the canvas is puffed by the swelling south wind.

His vatem adgredior dictis ac talia quaeso: 'Troiugena, interpres divom, qui numina Phoebi, qui tripodas, Clarii laurus, qui sidera sentis, et volucrum linguas et praepetis omina pennae, fare age---namque omnem cursum mihi prospera dixit religio, et cuncti suaserunt numine divi Italiam petere et terras temptare repostas: sola novum dictuque nefas Harpyia Celaeno prodigium canit, et tristis denuntiat iras, obscenamque famem---quae prima pericula vito?

With these words I approach the prophet and ask such things: 'Son of Troy, interpreter of the gods, who feel the divine power of Phoebus, who know the tripods, the laurels of Claros, the stars, and the tongues of birds and the omens of the swift wing, come, speak---for favorable prophecy has told me of my whole journey, and all the gods have urged me by their divine will to seek Italy and to try remote lands: only the Harpy Celaeno prophesies a strange portent, shameful to speak of, and foretells grim wrath, and a foul hunger---what dangers do I avoid first?

Quidve sequens tantos possim superare labores?'

Or by following what guide can I overcome such great hardships?'

Hic Helenus, caesis primum de more iuvencis, exorat pacem divom, vittasque resolvit sacrati capitis, meque ad tua limina, Phoebe, ipse manu multo suspensum numine ducit, atque haec deinde canit divino ex ore sacerdos:

Here Helenus, after first slaying bullocks according to custom, implores the peace of the gods, and unbinds the fillets of his holy head, and to your threshold, Phoebus, he leads me by the hand himself, awed by your abundant presence, and then from his divine mouth the priest prophesies these words:

'Nate dea,---nam te maioribus ire per altum auspiciis manifesta fides: sic fata deum rex sortitur, volvitque vices; is vertitur ordo--- pauca tibi e multis, quo tutior hospita lustres aequora et Ausonio possis considere portu, expediam dictis; prohibent nam cetera Parcae scire Helenum farique vetat Saturnia Iuno.

'Goddess-born,---for that you journey through the deep with greater omens is clear truth: thus the king of the gods allots the fates, and rolls the wheel of change; this order turns--- a few things out of many, so that you may more safely traverse friendly seas and be able to settle in the Ausonian harbor, I will unfold in words; for the Fates forbid Helenus to know the rest, and Saturnian Juno forbids him to speak.

Principio Italiam, quam tu iam rere propinquam vicinosque, ignare, paras invadere portus, longa procul longis via dividit invia terris.

First of all, Italy, which you now think is near and you prepare, ignorant one, to invade the neighboring ports, a long, impassable way separates you far from those distant lands.

Ante et Trinacria lentandus remus in unda, et salis Ausonii lustrandum navibus aequor, infernique lacus, Aeaeaeque insula Circae, quam tuta possis urbem componere terra: signa tibi dicam, tu condita mente teneto: cum tibi sollicito secreti ad fluminis undam litoreis ingens inventa sub ilicibus sus triginta capitum fetus enixa iacebit. alba, solo recubans, albi circum ubera nati, is locus urbis erit, requies ea certa laborum.

First, your oar must be bent in the Trinacrian wave, and the expanse of the Ausonian sea must be traversed by your ships, and the underworld lakes, and the island of Aeaean Circe, before you can build a city on safe land: I will tell you the signs, keep them stored in your mind: when, as you are anxious by the water of a secluded river, a massive sow, found beneath the oaks along the shore, shall lie there, having given birth to a litter of thirty heads. white, reclining on the ground, with white young around her teats, that shall be the site of your city, that the sure rest from your labors.

Nec tu mensarum morsus horresce futuros: fata viam invenient, aderitque vocatus Apollo.

And do not dread the future eating of your tables: the fates will find a way, and Apollo will be present when invoked.

'Has autem terras, Italique hanc litoris oram, proxuma quae nostri perfunditur aequoris aestu, effuge; cuncta malis habitantur moenia Grais.

"But these lands, and this coast of the Italian shore, which is washed closest by the tide of our sea, avoid; all its walled cities are inhabited by hostile Greeks.

Hic et Narycii posuerunt moenia Locri, et Sallentinos obsedit milite campos Lyctius Idomeneus; hic illa ducis Meliboei parva Philoctetae subnixa Petelia muro.

Here the Narycian Locrians have built walls, and Lyctian Idomeneus has occupied the Sallentine plains with his soldiery; here is that little Petelia of the Meliboean leader, Philoctetes, supported by its wall.

Quin, ubi transmissae steterint trans aequora classes, et positis aris iam vota in litore solves, purpureo velare comas adopertus amictu, ne qua inter sanctos ignis in honore deorum hostilis facies occurrat et omina turbet.

Furthermore, when your fleets have crossed the seas and come to a halt, and you are now paying your vows at altars raised upon the shore, veil your hair, covered by a purple mantle, lest any hostile face appear amidst the holy fires during the worship of the gods and disturb the omens.

Hunc socii morem sacrorum, hunc ipse teneto: hac casti maneant in religione nepotes.

Let your companions maintain this custom of sacrifices, keep it yourself; let your descendants remain pure in this religious observance.

'Ast ubi digressum Siculae te admoverit orae ventus, et angusti rarescent claustra Pelori, laeva tibi tellus et longo laeva petantur aequora circuitu: dextrum fuge litus et undas.

"But when, departed thence, the wind has brought you near the Sicilian coast the wind, and the barriers of narrow Pelorus begin to open up, let the land on the left and the seas on the left be sought by you in a long circuit; flee the right shore and its waves.

Haec loca vi quondam et vasta convolsa ruina--- tantum aevi longinqua valet mutare vetustas--- dissiluisse ferunt, cum protinus utraque tellus una foret; venit medio vi pontus et undis Hesperium Siculo latus abscidit, arvaque et urbes litore diductas angusto interluit aestu.

These places, once torn away by violence and vast ruin--- so much can the long passage of time change things--- they say leaped apart, whereas before both lands had been one; the sea came violently between them and with its waves cut off the Hesperian side from the Sicilian, and washed between fields and cities separated by a shore, with a narrow tide.

Dextrum Scylla latus, laevum implacata Charybdis obsidet, atque imo barathri ter gurgite vastos sorbet in abruptum fluctus, rursusque sub auras erigit alternos et sidera verberat unda.

Scylla besets the right side, implacable Charybdis the left, and three times from the bottom of her abyss sucks the vast waves into the sheer deep, and again raises them in turn into the air and strikes the stars with her spray.

At Scyllam caecis cohibet spelunca latebris, ora exsertantem et navis in saxa trahentem.

But a cave confines Scylla in its blind hiding places, thrusting out her mouths and dragging ships onto the rocks.

Prima hominis facies et pulchro pectore virgo pube tenus, postrema immani corpore pristis, delphinum caudas utero commissa luporum.

Her upper part is of human form, a virgin with a beautiful breast down to her waist, her lower part is a sea-monster of monstrous size, joined with the tails of dolphins to a belly of wolves.

Praestat Trinacrii metas lustrare Pachyni cessantem, longos et circumflectere cursus, quam semel informem vasto vidisse sub antro Scyllam, et caeruleis canibus resonantia saxa.

It is better to double the cape of Sicilian Pachynus with delay, and to wheel around a long course, than once to have seen misshapen Scylla in her vast cave and the rocks re-echoing with her dark blue hounds.

'Praeterea, si qua est Heleno prudentia, vati si qua fides, animum si veris implet Apollo, unum illud tibi, nate dea, proque omnibus unum praedicam, et repetens iterumque iterumque monebo: Iunonis magnae primum prece numen adora; Iunoni cane vota libens, dominamque potentem supplicibus supera donis: sic denique victor Trinacria finis Italos mittere relicta.

"Furthermore, if Helenus has any foresight, if the prophet has any trustworthiness, if Apollo fills his mind with truths, this one thing, goddess-born, this one thing above all others" I will declare, and repeating it again and again I will warn you: first of all, worship the divine power of great Juno with prayer; willingly chant vows to Juno, and win over the powerful mistress with suppliant gifts: thus at last, as a victor, you will be sent to the Italian borders, leaving Sicily behind.

'Huc ubi delatus Cumaeam accesseris urbem, divinosque lacus, et Averna sonantia silvis, insanam vatem aspicies, quae rupe sub ima fata canit, foliisque notas et nomina mandat.

'When, having been carried here, you approach the Cumaean city, and the divine lakes, and Avernus sounding with its woods, you will behold an inspired prophetess, who beneath a deep rock sings the fates, and commits signs and symbols to leaves.

Quaecumque in foliis descripsit carmina virgo, digerit in numerum, atque antro seclusa relinquit.

Whatever verses the maiden has written upon the leaves, she arranges in order, and leaves them shut away in the cave.

Illa manent immota locis, neque ab ordine cedunt; verum eadem, verso tenuis cum cardine ventus impulit et teneras turbavit ianua frondes, numquam deinde cavo volitantia prendere saxo, nec revocare situs aut iungere carmina curat: inconsulti abeunt, sedemque odere Sibyllae.

They remain motionless in their places, nor do they move from their order; but when a slender wind, upon the turning of the hinge, has driven them, and the door has disturbed the tender leaves, she never cares thereafter to catch them as they flutter within the hollow rock, nor to restore their positions or join the verses: they depart unadvised, and hate the dwelling of the Sibyl.

Hic tibi ne qua morae fuerint dispendia tanti,--- quamvis increpitent socii, et vi cursus in altum vela vocet, possisque sinus implere secundos,--- quin adeas vatem precibusque oracula poscas ipsa canat, vocemque volens atque ora resolvat.

Here, let no losses of delay be of such great consequence to you,--- although your companions chide you, and the course into the deep urgently calls your sails, and you are able to fill their folds with favorable winds,--- that you should not approach the prophetess and entreat with prayers that the oracles she herself may sing, and willingly open her voice and her lips.

Illa tibi Italiae populos venturaque bella, et quo quemque modo fugiasque ferasque laborem expediet, cursusque dabit venerata secundos.

She will unfold to you the peoples of Italy and the wars to come, and in what way you may escape or endure each hardship, and, having been reverenced, she will grant a favorable course.

Haec sunt, quae nostra liceat te voce moneri.

These are the things about which you may be warned by our voice.

Vade age, et ingentem factis fer ad aethera Troiam.'

Go forth, and by your deeds raise mighty Troy to the heavens.'

Quae postquam vates sic ore effatus amico est, dona dehinc auro gravia sectoque elephanto imperat ad navis ferri, stipatque carinis ingens argentum, Dodonaeosque lebetas, loricam consertam hamis auroque trilicem, et conum insignis galeae cristasque comantis, arma Neoptolemi; sunt et sua dona parenti.

After the prophet had thus spoken with friendly lips, he next commands gifts heavy with gold and carved ivory to be carried to the ships, and stows in the hulls a vast weight of silver and Dodonaean cauldrons, a breastplate woven with hooks and triple-twilled with gold, and the cone of a splendid helmet with flowing plumes, the armor of Neoptolemus; there are also fitting gifts for my father.

Addit equos, additque duces; remigium supplet; socios simul instruit armis.

He adds horses, and he adds guides; he makes up the complement of oarsmen; at the same time he equips our comrades with arms.

Interea classem velis aptare iubebat Anchises, fieret vento mora ne qua ferenti.

Meanwhile Anchises was ordering the fleet to be fitted with sails, so that no delay might be made to a favoring wind.

Quem Phoebi interpres multo compellat honore: 'Coniugio, Anchise, Veneris dignate superbo, cura deum, bis Pergameis erepte ruinis, ecce tibi Ausoniae tellus; hanc arripe velis.

Him the interpreter of Phoebus addresses with high honor: "Anchises, deemed worthy of proud marriage with Venus, care of the gods, twice rescued from the ruins of Troy, lo! before you is the land of Ausonia; seize it with your sails.

Et tamen hanc pelago praeterlabare necesse est; Ausoniae pars illa procul, quam pandit Apollo.

And yet you must needs sail past it on the sea; far away is that part of Ausonia which Apollo reveals.

Vade' ait 'O felix nati pietate.

Go," he says, "O happy in the devotion of your son.

Quid ultra provehor, et fando surgentis demoror austros?'

Why do I say more, and by my speaking delay the rising southern winds?"

Nec minus Andromache digressu maesta supremo fert picturatas auri subtemine vestes et Phrygiam Ascanio chlamydem (nec cedit honore), textilibusque onerat donis, ac talia fatur: 'Accipe et haec, manuum tibi quae monumenta mearum sint, puer, et longum Andromachae testentur amorem, coniugis Hectoreae.

Nor less did Andromache, sorrowful at our final parting, bring garments embroidered with a thread of gold and a Phrygian cloak for Ascanius (nor does she yield in generosity), and loads him with woven gifts, and speaks thus: "Receive these as well, child, to be memorials to you of my hands and to bear witness to the enduring love of Andromache, once the wife of Hector."

Cape dona extrema tuorum, O milli sola mei super Astyanactis imago: sic oculos, sic ille manus, sic ora ferebat; et nunc aequali tecum pubesceret aevo.'

Take these final gifts of your kin, O you who are the sole remaining image to me of my Astyanax: just so did he carry his eyes, so his hands, so his features; and now he would be growing into manhood, of equal age with you."

Hos ego digrediens lacrimis adfabar obortis: 'Vivite felices, quibus est fortuna peracta iam sua; nos alia ex aliis in fata vocamur.

Departing, I spoke to them with welling tears: "Live happily, you whose destiny is already fulfilled and won; we are called from one fate to another.

Vobis parta quies; nullum maris aequor arandum, arva neque Ausoniae semper cedentia retro quaerenda.

For you rest is won; no expanse of sea must be plowed, nor must you seek the lands of Ausonia, which ever recede backward.

Effigiem Xanthi Troiamque videtis quam vestrae fecere manus, melioribus, opto, auspiciis, et quae fuerit minus obvia Graiis.

You see a copy of Xanthus and a Troy which your own hands have built, under better auspices, I pray, and which may prove less exposed to the Greeks.

Si quando Thybrim vicinaque Thybridis arva intraro, gentique meae data moenia cernam, cognatas urbes olim populosque propinquos, Epiro, Hesperia, quibus idem Dardanus auctor atque idem casus, unam faciemus utramque Troiam animis; maneat nostros ea cura nepotes.'

If ever I enter the Tiber and the lands neighboring the Tiber, and behold the city walls granted to my people, we shall one day make our kindred cities and allied peoples, in Epirus and in Hesperia, who have the same founder Dardanus and the same history, we shall make them both one Troy in spirit; let that care abide for our descendants."

Provehimur pelago vicina Ceraunia iuxta, unde iter Italiam cursusque brevissimus undis.

We are carried forward over the sea past the nearby Ceraunian cliffs, whence lies the road to Italy and the shortest course across the waves.

Sol ruit interea et montes umbrantur opaci; sternimur optatae gremio telluris ad undam, sortiti remos, passimque in litore sicco corpora curamus; fessos sopor inrigat artus.

Meanwhile the sun speeds down and the dark mountains are wrapped in shadow; we stretch ourselves out near the water in the bosom of the longed-for land, having assigned the oars by lot, and scattered along the dry beach we refresh our bodies; sleep dews our weary limbs.

Necdum orbem medium Nox horis acta subibat: haud segnis strato surgit Palinurus et omnis explorat ventos, atque auribus aera captat; sidera cuncta notat tacito labentia caelo, Arcturum pluviasque Hyadas geminosque Triones, armatumque auro circumspicit Oriona.

Not yet was Night, driven by the hours, entering her mid-course: up rises Palinurus, no sluggard from his couch, and tests all the winds, and catches the air with his ears; he observes all the stars gliding through the silent sky, Arcturus, the rainy Hyades, and the twin Bears, and he looks around at Orion, armed with gold.

Postquam cuncta videt caelo constare sereno, dat clarum e puppi signum; nos castra movemus, temptamusque viam et velorum pandimus alas.

After he sees that everything is settled in a calm sky, he gives a clear signal from the stern; we move our camp, and we attempt the journey and spread the wings of our sails.

Iamque rubescebat stellis Aurora fugatis, cum procul obscuros collis humilemque videmus Italiam.

And now Aurora was growing red, the stars having been put to flight, when far off we see dim hills and low-lying Italy.

''Italiam'' primus conclamat Achates, ''Italiam'' laeto socii clamore salutant.

"Italy!" Achates shouts out first, "Italy!" the companions greet with a joyful shout.

Tum pater Anchises magnum cratera corona induit, implevitque mero, divosque vocavit stans celsa in puppi: 'Di maris et terrae tempestatumque potentes, ferte viam vento facilem et spirate secundi.'

Then father Anchises crowned a large mixing bowl with a wreath, and filled it with unmixed wine, and called upon the gods, standing on the high stern: "Gods of the sea and land and rulers of storms, grant us an easy way by the wind, and breathe favorably upon us."

Crebrescunt optatae aurae portusque patescit iam propior, templumque adparet in arce Minervae.

The longed-for breezes grow stronger, and the harbor opens up now closer, and the temple of Minerva appears on the citadel.

Vela legunt socii et proras ad litora torquent.

The companions furl the sails and turn the prows toward the shores.

Portus ab Euroo fluctu curvatus in arcum, obiectae salsa spumant aspargine cautes; ipse latet; gemino demittunt bracchia muro turriti scopuli, refugitque ab litore templum.

The harbor is curved into a bow by the eastern wave, the opposing cliffs foam with salty spray; the harbor itself is hidden; tower-like rocks let down their arms in a twin wall, and the temple recedes from the shore.

Quattuor hic, primum omen, equos in gramine vidi tondentis campum late, candore nivali.

Here I saw a first omen, four horses on the grass grazing the plain far and wide, of snowy whiteness.

Et pater Anchises: 'Bellum, O terra hospita, portas bello armantur equi, bellum haec armenta minantur.

And father Anchises says: "War, O hospitable land, you bring;" Horses are armed for war, these herds threaten war.

Sed tamen idem olim curru succedere sueti quadrupedes, et frena iugo concordia ferre; spes et pacis' ait.

But yet the same beasts have long been accustomed to come under the chariot four-footed, and to bear the harmonious bit under the yoke; there is also hope for peace,' he says.

Tum numina sancta precamur Palladis armisonae, quae prima accepit ovantis, et capita ante aras Phrygio velamur amictu; praeceptisque Heleni, dederat quae maxima, rite Iunoni Argivae iussos adolemus honores.

Then we pray to the holy divine power of Pallas sounding in arms, who first received us rejoicing, and we veil our heads before the altars with a Phrygian cloak; and according to the precepts of Helenus, which he had given as most important, we duly burn the commanded honors to Argive Juno.

Haud mora, continuo perfectis ordine votis, cornua velatarum obvertimus antemarum, Graiugenumque domos suspectaque linquimus arva.

Without delay, immediately after our vows are performed in order, we turn the ends of our sail-clad yards, and we leave behind the homes of the Greek-born and the suspected fields.

Hinc sinus Herculei (si vera est fama) Tarenti cernitur; attollit se diva Lacinia contra, Caulonisque arces et navifragum Scylaceum.

From here the bay of Tarentum, of Hercules (if rumor is true), is discerned; opposite, the Lacinian goddess raises herself, and the citadels of Caulon and shipwrecking Scylaceum.

Tum procul e fluctu Trinacria cernitur Aetna, et gemitum ingentem pelagi pulsataque saxa audimus longe fractasque ad litora voces, exsultantque vada, atque aestu miscentur harenae.

Then far off from the wave Trinacrian Aetna is discerned, and we hear from afar the mighty groaning of the sea, the buffeted rocks, and the broken sounds upon the shores, and the shallows leap up, and the sands are mingled with the surge.

Et pater Anchises: 'Nimirum haec illa Charybdis: hos Helenus scopulos, haec saxa horrenda canebat.

And father Anchises says: "Surely this is that Charybdis; Helenus sang of these cliffs, these dreadful rocks.

Eripite, O socii, pariterque insurgite remis!'

Rescue yourselves, O comrades, and rise together on the oars!"

Haud minus ac iussi faciunt, primusque rudentem contorsit laevas proram Palinurus ad undas. laevam cuncta cohors remis ventisque petivit.

They do no less than commanded, and first Palinurus turned the groaning prow toward the left waves. The whole fleet sought the left with oars and winds.

Tollimur in caelum curvato gurgite, et idem subducta ad Manis imos desedimus unda.

We are lifted up to heaven on the arched surge, and again as the wave was withdrawn, we sank down to the lowest depths of the Underworld.

Ter scopuli clamorem inter cava saxa dedere: ter spumam elisam et rorantia vidimus astra.

Three times the reefs gave a roar among the hollow rocks; three times we saw the dashed-up spray and the dripping stars.

Interea fessos ventus cum sole reliquit, ignarique viae Cyclopum adlabimur oris.

Meanwhile, the wind left us weary as the sun went down, and ignorant of the way, we drifted to the shores of the Cyclopes.

Portus ab accessu ventorum immotus et ingens ipse; sed horrificis iuxta tonat Aetna ruinis; interdumque atram prorumpit ad aethera nubem, turbine fumantem piceo et candente favilla, attollitque globos flammarum et sidera lambit; interdum scopulos avolsaque viscera montis erigit eructans, liquefactaque saxa sub auras cum gemitu glomerat, fundoque exaestuat imo.

The harbor is sheltered from the approach of winds and is vast in itself; but nearby, Aetna thunders with terrifying ruin; and at times it bursts forth a black cloud to the heavens, smoking with a pitch-black whirlwind and glowing ash, and it lifts up balls of flame and licks the stars; at times it rears up crags and the torn-out entrails of the mountain, belching them forth, and whirls molten rocks into the air with a groan, and boils up from its lowest depth.

Fama est Enceladi semustum fulmine corpus urgueri mole hac, ingentemque insuper Aetnam impositam ruptis flammam exspirare caminis; et fessum quotiens mutet latus, intremere omnem murmure Trinacriam, et caelum subtexere fumo.

The story goes that the body of Enceladus, scorched by lightning, is crushed by this mass, and that mighty Aetna, placed on top of him, breathes out fire from its burst furnaces; and as often as he changes his weary side, all of Trinacria trembles with a roar, and veils the sky in smoke.

Noctem illam tecti silvis immania monstra perferimus, nec quae sonitum det causa videmus.

That night, sheltered by the woods, we endured monstrous horrors, and we did not see what cause produced the sound.

Nam neque erant astrorum ignes, nec lucidus aethra siderea polus, obscuro sed nubila caelo, et lunam in nimbo nox intempesta tenebat.

For there were neither fires of the stars, nor a sky bright with starry radiance, but there were clouds in a dark sky, and the dead of night held the moon hidden in a mist.

Postera iamque dies primo surgebat Eoo, umentemque Aurora polo dimoverat umbram: cum subito e silvis, macie confecta suprema, ignoti nova forma viri miserandaque cultu procedit, supplexque manus ad litora tendit.