Gawin Douglas - The Æneid of Virgil Translated Into Scottish Verse

The secund day be this sprang fra the est,
Quhen Aurora the wak nycht dyd arest
And chays fra hevyn with hir dym skyis donk:
Than suddanly, furth of the woddis ronk,
We se a strange man, of form onknaw;
A lenar wight, na mayr pynyt, I ne saw,
Nor ȝit sa wrachitly beseyn a wy;
Towart the cost, quhar that we stude in hy,
Hys handis furth he strekis askand supple.
We hym behald, and al hys cors gan se
Maist laithly ful of ordur, and hys berd
Rekand doun the lenth neir of a ȝerd;
Hys tawbart and array sewyt with breris:
Bot he was Greik be all hys othir feris,
And vmquhile was, as eftir weil we kend,
To Troy intil hys faderis armour send.
This ilk man, fra he beheld on far
Troiane habitis, and of our armys wes war,
At the first sicht he styntit and stude aw,
And fra hys pays begouth abak to draw;
Bot sone eftyr cummys rynnyng in a rays
Down to the schoir, wepyng and askand grace:
O ȝe Troianys, be all the planetis, quod he,
Be all the starnys and the goddis hie,
And be the hailsum spreit of hevynnys lycht,
I beseik tak me with ȝou, catyve wycht,
And leid me in quhat land at euer ȝe ples:
That may suffys; that war my hartis eys.
I knaw me ane of the Grekis navy;
In weir to Troy cuntre, I grant, socht I;
For the quhilk deid, gyf that of our trespas
Sa gret the offence and the iniurys was,
Rent me in pecis, and in the fludis swak,
Or drown law vndir the large seys brak.
Gyf that I perych, it is ȝit sum comfort
That I of mennys handis deing at schort.
Quod he; and tharwith, grulyng on hys kneis,
He lappit me fast by baith the theys:
We hym exort to schaw quhat was his name,
Of quhat kynrent and blude cummyn at hame,
And syne to tell quhat forton had hym betyde.
My fader Anchisis na ma wordis wald byde,
Bot furthwith gaue that ȝong man his richt hand,
And assurys hys spreit with that presand:
He at the last this dreid has done away,
And on this wys begouth to carp and say;
Of the realm Itachia I am, but les,
And of the cumpany of fey Vlixes,
And Achemenydes onto name I hait,
Cummyn onto Troy with my fader of lait,
Bot a puyr wageour, clepyt Adamastus;
Wald God ȝit the sam forton remanyt to ws!
My falloschip onwytting forȝet me heir,
Quhen tha thir cruel marchys left for feir,
And in the Ciclopes huge cave tynt me;
A gowsty hald within, laithly to se,
Ful of vennom and mony bludy meys.
Bustuus hie Poliphemus set at deys
Thar remanys, that may the starnys schaik;
Ȝe goddis delyvir this erd from sik wraik!
For he is vgsum and grysly forto se,
Hutyt to speke of, and aucht not nemmyt be.
Thir wrachit mennys flesch, that is hys fude,
And drynkis worsum, and thar lappyrrit blude.
I saw myself quhen, gruflyngis amyd his cave,
Twa bodeys of our sort he tuke and rayf;
Intil hys hyddus hand thame thrymlyt and wrang,
And on the stanys owt thar harnys dang,
Quhil brayn, and eyn, and blude al poplit owt:
I saw that cruel fend eik thar, but dowt,
Thar lymmys ryfe and eyt, as he war woid,
The ȝoustir tharfra chirtand and blak blude,
And the hait flesch vndir his teith flykkerand.
Bot not onwrokyn, forsuyth, this feste he fand;
Nor Vlixes list not lang suffyr this,
Ne this kyng of Itachy hym self nor his
Myghtyn forȝet, into sa gret a plyght.
For sammyn as that horribyll fendlich wight
Had eyt his fyll, and drunk wyne he hym gave,
Sowpit in sleip, his nek furth of the cave
He straucht, fordronkyn, lyggyng in his dreym
Bokkis furth and ȝyskis of ȝowstyr mony streym,
Raw lumpys of flesch and blude blandyt with wyne.
We the gret goddys besocht, and kavillys syne
Kastis, quhat suld be euery mannys part;
Syne al atanys abowt and on hym start,
And, with a scharpyt and brynt steyng of tre,
Out dyd we boyr and pyke hys mekil E,
That lurkit alane vndyr hys thrawyn front large,
Als braid as is a Gregioun scheild or targe,
Or lyke onto the lantern of the moyn:
And thus at last haue we ravengit soyn
Blithly the gostis of our feris ded.
Bot ȝhe, onhappy men, fle from this sted,
Fle, fle this cost, and smyte the cabil in twane!
For quhou grysly and how gret I ȝou sayn
Lurkis Polyphemus, ȝymmand his beystis rouch,
And al thar pappis mylkis throuch and throuch,
Ane hundreth otheris, als huge of quantite,
Endlang this ilke costis syde of the se,
Gret Ciclopes inhabitis heir and thar,
And walkis in thir hie montanys our alquhar.
The moyn hes now fyllyt hir hornys thrys
With new lyght sen I haue, on this wys,
My lyfe in woddis led, but syght of men,
In desert hyrnys and seyr wild beistis den,
And far out from my cavern dyd aspy
The grym Ciclopes, and oft thar grysly cry
And eik stamping of thar feyt maid me trymmyl.
My wrachit fude was berreis of the brymmyll,
And stanyt heppis, quhilk I on buskis fand,
With rutis of herbis I holkit furth of land:
And vyssyand al about, I se at last
This navy of ȝowris drawing hyddir fast,
Quhamto I me betaucht and gan avow,
Quhat flote at euer it was; for wayt ȝe quhou
It is enuch that I eschapyt haue
Ȝone cruel pepil; I set not of the lave:
For, rather ȝe or I fal in syk wraik,
Quhat deith ȝe pleis, the lyfe fra me gar taik.

Skars this wes sayd, quhen sone we gat a sycht
Apon ane hyll stalkand this hydduus wight,
Amang hys beystis, the hyrd Poliphemus,
Down to the costis bekend draw towartis ws:
A monstre horribyll, onmesurabill and myschaip,
Wanting hys syght, and gan to stab and graip
With hys burdon, that wes a gret fyr tre,
Fermand his steppis, becaus he mycht not se;
The wollyt scheip him followyng at the bak,
Quharin his plesur and delyte gan he tak.
About hys hals a quhissil hung had he,
Wes all his solace for tynsell of hys E;
And, with his staf fra he the deip flude
Twichit, and cummyn at the seysyde stude,
Of hys E dolp the flowand blude and attir
He wysch away al with the salt wattir,
Grassilland his teith, and rummysand full hie.
He wadis furth throu myddis of the see,
And ȝit the wattir wet not hys lang syde.
We, far from thens affrayt, durst not abyde,
Bot fled onon, and within burd hes brocht
That faithful Greik quhilk ws of succurs socht,
And prevyly we smyte the cabill in twane;
Syne, kempand with aris in al our mane,
Vp weltris watir of the salt sey flude.
He persauyt the sownd, quhar that he stude,
And towart the dyn movis hys pays onon:
Bot quhen he felt at we sa far war gone,
Sa that his handis ws areke ne mycht,
Nor the deip sey Ionium, for all hys hycht,
Ne mycht he waid equale ws to arest,
A fellon bray and huge schowt vp he kest,
Quharthrou the sey and al the fludis schuke;
The land alhail of Itail trymlyt and qwoyk;
And holl cavernys or furnys of Ethna rownd
Rummyst and lowyt, fordynnyt with the sound.
Bot than, furth of the woddis and hillys hie,
Walkynnyt with the cry, a huge pepill we se
Of Ciclopes cum hurland to the port,
And fillyt all the cost sydis at schort.
Tha elrych bredyr, with thar lukis thrawyn,
Thocht not avalyt, thar standyng haue we knawyn;
Ane horribil sort, with mony camscho beik,
And hedis semand to the hevyn areik:
Syklyke as quhar that, with thar hie toppis,
The byg akis strekyng in the ayr thar croppys,
Or than thir cipressis berand heich thar bewys,
Growand in the woddis or hie vp on hewis,
In schawys ald, as men may se from far,
Hallowyt to Dyane or ȝit to Jupiter.
The scharp dreid maid ws so to cach haist,
Withdrawand fast, as thocht we had bene chaist,
And for to set our sail quhidder we best mycht,
To follow the wynd, and hald na courssis rycht.
Aganys the counsale of Helenus, our feris
Perswadis to hald furth evyn the way that steris
Mydwart betwix Charibdis and Scylla,
A litil space fra ded by athir of twa:
For, bot we hald that cours, for owtyn fail,
Bakwartis, thai said, on Ciclopes mon we saill.
Bot lo! onon a fair wynd, or we wist,
Rays of the north, blawing evyn as we lyst,
From the strait bay of Pelorus the mont
And sone we swepyt by, at the fyrst bront,
The mouth of flude Pantagyas ful of stanys,
The sownd Megarus, and Tapsum ile atanys.
The namys of thir costis, Achemenydes,
The companȝeon of onhappy Vlixes,
Raknys to ws, as we past ane by ane;
For we return the sammyn went agane
Quhar thar navy had waverit by thar rays.
Within the fyrth of Sycill, forgane the face
Of the flude Plemyrion full of wallis,
Thar lyis ane Iland, quhilk our elderis callis
Orthigia; quhar that the fame is so
That Alpheus, ane of the ryveris two
Of the cite of Elys in Archaid,
Vndir the sey gan thyddir flow and wayd
Throu secrete cundytis, and now eik, as thai say,
Arethusa, at thi mouth or ischay,
It entris rynnyng in the Sycill see.
The gret goddis of that place wirschip we,
At command of my fader; and fra thyne
The fertill grond of Helory passyt syne,
Quhilk flude watyris al the feild about.
Thar on the craggis our navy stude in dowt;
For on blynd stanys and rolkis hyrslit we,
Tumblit of mont Pachynnus in the see:
And far from thens the loch Cameryna,
Quham the fatis forbyddis to do away,
Apperis to ws, and of Geloy the feildis,
Quhar that the gret cite Gela vpbeild is,
Havand the surname fra the flude fast by:
Syne heich Agragas far of we gan aspy,
A hyl and cite with large wallys of fors,
Quhar vmquhile bred war the maist weirlyke hors:
And the alsso, Selynys, I left behynd,
For al thi palm treys, with the followand wynd.
The dangerus schaldis and cost vppykyt we,
With al hys blynd rolkis, of Lylibe.
Thar the port of Drepanon, and the rayd,
Quham to remember my hart may nevir be glaid,
Ressauyt me, quhar that, allace, allace!
I leys my fader, al comfort and solace,
And al supple of our travell and pane;
Thar, thar allaik! sa feill dangeris bygane
And tempestis of the sey. O fader most deir,
Anchises, desolate quhy left thou me heir
Wery and irkyt in a fremmyt land?
O weilaway! for nocht wes all, I fand,
That thou eschapit sa mony perrellis huge.
Helenus the dyvyne, as we with hym gan luge,
Quhen horribill thingis seir he dyd aduert,
Schew not befor to me thir harmys smert,
Nor ȝit the fellon and akwart Celeno.
This wes extreme laubour of pane and wo;
Thys was the end of all hys lang vayage:
And hyddir syne, warpyt with seys rage,
Apon ȝour costis, as I fra thens was dryve,
Sum happy chance and God maid me arryve.
The Prynce Eneas, on this wys, alane
The fatis of goddys and rasys mony ane
Rehersyng schew, and syndry strange wentis;
The queyn and all the Tyrryanys takand tentis.
And at the last he cessyt and said no moir,
Endyng his tayll as ȝe haue hard befor.