Gawin Douglas - The Æneid of Virgil Translated Into Scottish Verse

Hornyt Lady, pail Cynthia, not brycht,
Quhilk from thi broder borrowis al thi lycht,
Rewlare of passage and ways mony one,
Maistres of stremys, and glaidar of the nycht,
Schipmen and pilgrymys hallowis thi mycht,
Lemman to Pan, douchtir of Hyperion,
That slepand kyssit the hyrd Endymyon;
Thy strange wentis to write God grant me slycht,
Twiching the thryd buke of Eneadon.

The feirful stremys and costis wondyrfull
Now most I write, althocht my wyt be dull,
Wild aventuris, monstreis and quent effrays;
Of onkowth dangeris this nixt buke hail is full:
Nyce laborynth, quhar Mynotawr the bull
Was kepte, had nevir sa feil cahuttis and ways;
I dreid men clepe thame fablis now on days;
Tharfor wald God I had thar erys to pull
Mysknawis the creid, and threpis otheris forvayis.

Incays thai bark, I compt it nevir a myte;
Quha kan not hald thar peice ar fre to flyte;
Chide quhil thar hedis ryfe, and hals worth hays:
Weyn thai to murdrys me with thar dispyte?
Or is it Virgill quham thame list bakbyte?
His armour wald thai pers? quhar is the place?
He dowtis na dynt of polax, sword, nor mace:
Quhat wenys thou, frend, the craw be worthyn quhite,
Suppos the holkis be all ourgrowyn thi face?

Deym as ȝhe lest that kan not demyng weill;
And, gentill curtas redaris, of gude ȝeill,
I ȝow beseik to gevin aduertens;
This text is full of storys euery deill,
Realmys and landis, quharof I haue na feill
Bot as I follow Virgill in sentens;
Few knawis all thir costis sa far hens;
To pike thame vp perchance ȝour eyn suld reill:
Thus aucht thar nane blame me for smal offens.

By strange channellis, fronteris, and forlandis,
Onkouth costis, and mony wilsum strandis
Now goith our barge, for nowder howk nor craik
May heir bruke sail, for schald bankis and sandis.
From Harpyes fell, and blynd Cyclopes handis,
Be my laid star, virgyne moder, but maik;
Thocht storm of temptatioun my schip oft schaik.
Fra swelth of Sylla, and dyrk Caribdis bandis,
I meyn from hell, salue al go not to wraik.

Eftyr that seyn and thocht expedient
Was by the goddys to dystroy and schent
Of Asya the empyre, and down to bryng,
But offens, Priamus pepil and ofspryng,
And prowd Ilion was brokyn and bet down,
And from the soyl al Troy, Neptunus town,
Ybrynt in smoke of flambis and in reik;
Syndry landis and cuntreis forto seik,
And wend exile in diuers nationys,
Of the goddis by reuelacionys,
We war admonyst feil syth, as is said.
Schippis we graith, and navy reddy maid,
Betwix Anthandros and the mont of Ida,
Oncertane quhidder the fatis wald we suld ga,
Or quhar we suld remane ȝit fynaly;
Our men togidder gadderit we in hy.
And skant begunnyn was the fresch veir,
Quhen that Anchises, myne awyn fader deir,
Bad ws mak sail and follow destany.
Than, weping sayr, my native cost left I,
The havynnys, and the feildis dissolait
Quhar Troys ryall cite stude of lait:
Furth sail I banyst throw the deip see,
With my ȝong son Ascanyus and our menȝe,
And with our frendly goddis, Penates hait,
And eik our gret Goddis of mair estait.
Thar lyis a weirly cuntre weil far thens,
With large feildis lauborit ful of fens;
Of Trace the pepill ar thar inhabityng,
Quhar that vmquhile strang Lycurgus was kyng:
Ane ancyant and ane tendir herbry place
To Troianys, quhil we stude in fortonys grace,
Our pepil togidder confederate and aly.
By schip thiddir, our sey, careit was I,
Quhar, at the bayand costis syde of the see,
Begouth I first set wallis of a cite,
Althocht my foundment was mysfortunat:
The towne I nemmyt efter myne estait,
And fra my name it clepit Eneadas.
Onto my moder, of Dyona douchter was,
Sacrifice I maid, and to the goddis all
Quham for new warkis men happy helparis call;
And to the kyng of hevinly wightis, that tyde,
A quhite bull slew I by the costis syde.
On cace, thar stude a litil mote neir by,
Quhar hepthorn buskis on the top grew hie,
And evin saplynnys of myrthus, the tre funerale.
Thiddir I went, greyn bewis doune to haill,
Hard by the grond myne altare forto dycht
With burgyonys and with branchis al at rycht:
A grysly takyn, feirful to tell, I se.
As from the soyll vprent was the first tre
By the rutys, the blak droppis of blude
Distillit tharfra, that al the erth quhar it stude
Was spottit of the fylth, and stenyt, allaik!
The cald dreid maid all my membris quaik,
And for effeir my blude togidder fresyt.
Ane other smal twyst of a tre I chesit
Forto brek down, the causys to assay
Of this mater, that war onknawyn alway;
And ȝit the blude followit on the sam maneir
Furth of the bark of that other, but weir.
Than in my mynd of mony thingis I musyt,
And to the goddessis of wildyrnes, as is vsyt,
Quhilk Hamadriades hait, I wirschip maid;
Onto Gradyus fader, that ryngnys glaid
Our all the land of Getya and Tars,
Quhilk clepit is the god of armys, Mars;
Besekyng this avisioun worth happy,
And the oracle prosperite suld signyfy.
Bot efter that the thryd syoun of treys,
Apon the sandis syttand on my kneys,
I schupe to haue vprevyn with mair pres,
(Quhidder sal I spek now, or hald my pes?)
Furth of the graif a duylful murnyng law
I hard, and to myne eris come this saw:
Ene, quhy rentis thou a wrechit creatur?
Haue reuth of hym now laid in sepultur,
And forto fyle thi deuote handis spair:
Of Troy I born am, to the na strangar:
This blude droppis nocht from that stok in thi hand.
Fle sone, allace! furth of this cursyt land:
Fle from this avarus kyngis cost in hy;
For lo! thus, Polidorus heir I ly,
Througyrd with dartis, and thyk steil hedis schote,
Apon sik wys ourheildit on this mote;
The scharp lancis growis greyn and spredis owt.
Than wist I not quhat I suld do for dowt,
The feir affrayit my mynd estonyst als,
Vpstart my hayr, the word stak in my hals.
With a gret sold of gold fey Priamus
Secretly vmquhile send this Polidorus,
Quhilk was his son, to Polynestor kyng
Of Trace, to kepe and haue in nurysyng,
Quhen first of Troiane defens begouth he dowt,
And saw the town besegyt all abowt.
Bot this ilk kyng of Trace, seand how Troy
Lossyt his myghtis be forton turnyt from joy,
The party chesis of Agamenon,
Anherdand to the victorius syde onone;
Al faith and frendschip brak he than in hy,
And Polydorus slane hes cruelly,
And thus, be fors, the tresour he doith withhold.
O cursyt hungyr of this wrachit gold!
Quhat wikkytnes or myscheif may be do
At thou constrenys not mortale myndis tharto?
Eftir this effray was fra my banys went,
Of the goddis thir feirfull wordis quent
Onto the noblis and grettast of our men,
And to my fader fyrst, rehers I then,
And, quhat thar purpos was, eik I inquir.
Thai war al of a will and a desyr,
To pas furth of this wareit realm of Trace,
And for to leif that pollut herbry place,
And set our navy to the wynd, but weir.
Tharfor, to Polidorus vp a beyr
We erekkit, and of erd a gret fluyr
Kest in a hepe abuf his sepultur:
Syne, in ramembrance of the sawlis went,
The dolorus altaris fast by war vpstent,
Crownyt with garlandis al of haw sey hewis,
And with the blaiknyt cypres dedly bewis.
The Troiane wemen stude with hayr down schaik,
About the beir weping with mony allake!
And on we kest of warm mylk mony a skul,
And of the blude of sacrifyce cowpis full:
The sawle we bery in sepultur on this wys,
The lattir hailsyng syne lowd schowtit thrys,
Rowpand atanys, adew! quhen al is done,
Ilkane per ordour, the mon we follow sone.