Gawin Douglas - The Æneid of Virgil Translated Into Scottish Verse

The nycht followys, and euery wery wight
Throu owt the erth hath caucht, onon rycht,
The sownd plesand sleip thame lykit best;
Woddis and rageand seys war at rest:
As the starnys thar myd cours rollys doun,
All feildis still, but othir noys or sown,
All beistis and byrdis of diuers cullouris seir,
And quhatsumeuer in the braid lochis weir,
Or, amang buskis harsk, leyndis vndir the spray,
Throu nychtis sylence slepit quhar thai lay;
Mesyng thar bissy thocht and curis smart,
All irksum laubour forȝet and owt of hart.
Bot the onrestles fey spreit dyd not so
Of this onhappy Phenyssane Dydo;
For neuer mair may scho sleip a wynk,
Nor nychtis rest in eyn or breist lat synk:
The hevy thochtis multipleis euer on ane:
Strang luf begynnys to rage and rys agane
And fellon stormys of ire gan hir to schaik
Thus fynaly scho owt bradis, allaik!
Rollyng alane seir thyngis in hir thocht:
Ha! quhat do I? quod scho, all is for nocht.
Sall I thus mokkit, and to hething dryve,
My fyrst luffaris agane assay belyve?
Or sal I lawly sum lord Numydane
Pray and beseik of mariage now agane,
Quhom I sa oft lychtlyit to spows or this?
Na, wyll I not: quhat? sal I than, I wys,
Follow the Troiane navy in strange landis.
And reddely obey al thar commandis?
I hope it sal profyte, na litill thyng,
My gret help done thame and suppowellyng;
For amang kynd folkis this is na dreid,
Weil is remembrit the ald thankful deid.
Bot thocht, in cace, to do this war my will,
Quha wald me suffir my purpos to fulfyll,
Or in thar prowd schippis me ressaue?
Thus drevyn to hethyng, and al thi grace bywave,
Tynt woman, allace! baris thou not ȝyt in mynd
The maynsweryng of fals Laomedonis kynd?
And maratour, quhat ettill I for to do?
A Queyn alane to steil away thus, lo!
Accumpanyit bot with mery maryneris?
Or than with all my Tyrianys, as efferis,
And all my power assemblit me about,
On schipburd entyr with al that huge rowt
Quhilk furth of Sydon scarsly draw I mycht,
Sal I thame cach agane our seys lycht?
Byd thame mak saill onon, and a new rays?
Na, rather de, as thou deservyt has,
And with a swerd mak of this duyl ane end.
O systir germane, thou me fyrst taucht and kend,
Allace the quhile! and offerit me to my fo;
Thou with thir harmys ourchargit me alsso,
Quhen I fell fyrst into this rage, quod sche,
Bot so to do my teris constrenyt the.
Was it not lefull, allace! but cumpany,
To me but cryme in chawmyr alane to ly,
Or led my lyfe lyke to thir beistis wild,
And not beyn thus with thocht nor harmys fild?
Allace! onkepit is the trew cunnand
Hecht to Sycheus assys, my first husband.
Syk gret complayntis from hir breist bryst kan.
Bot Eneas, sovir to depart or than,
And al hys neidful thyngis grathit, by and by,
Heich in hys eft schyp sownd slepand kan ly;
Quhamto in visioun the sam god dyd appeir,
In syklyke figur as that he dyd eyr,
Onto Mercuryus lyke, in al fasson,
Baith cullour of vissage, and of vocis sown,
In form of a ȝongker with membris fair,
Plesand of cheir, and ȝallow glytterand hair.
Hym thocht agane he monyst on this wys:
Son of the goddes, quhou is this heir thou lyis?
Quhat? may thou vndir sa gret danger sleip,
And, al forvayit, takis nothir cuyr nor keyp
For to behald quhat perrellys about the standis,
Nor harknys the fair wynd blawys of landis?
Scho quham thou knawys, within hir breist ful hait
Sorowfull vengeans compasis and dissait,
And certanly determyt for to de,
In diuers stowris of ire brandysys sche:
Quhy wilt thou not fle spedely be nycht,
Quhen forto haist thou hes laser and mycht?
Thou salt, onon, behald the seys large
All ombeset with toppyt schyp and barge,
The feirful brandis and blesys of hait fyre,
Reddy to byrn thi schippys, lemand schyre,
And al the cost belyve of flambys scald,
Gyf, quhil to morow, tary in this land thow wald.
Haue done, speid hand, and mak na mair delay,
Variabill and changeand thyngis beyn wemen ay.
And sayand this, into the dyrk nyght
He gan hym hyde, and vanyst out of sycht.
Eneas, of this hasty visioun affrayit,
Gan start on fut, and fast his feris assayit:
A walk onon, get vp my men in hy,
Tyte to ȝour wardis, span aris bissely,
Schaik down the salys sone, and lat ws wend.
From the hie hevyn the god agane is send,
Lo! spurrand ws to haist and fle away,
And byddis smyte the twyne cabyll in tway.
O blissyt wyght! quhat god at evir thou be,
We sal obey thi charge, and follow the,
And thy command fulfyll agane blithly;
Besekyng the assist to ws frendly
Help and support, with prospir influens
The hevyn and starris dres our vayage hens.
And, with that word, hys scherand sword als tyte,
Hynt owt of scheith, the cabil in twa gan smyte.
The sam maner of haist caucht al the lave:
Thai hurl away, ankyrris vphynt and rave;
Left the costis desert on athir sydis;
The stabil sey vndir the schippis slydis;
The stour of fame vpwelt thai egyrly,
And swepis our the haw fludis in hy.

Be this Aurora, leifand the purpour bed
Of hir lord Titan, heth the erd ourspred
With new days licht: and quhen the queyn
The first grekyng of the day hes seyn,
And fra hir hie wyndoys gan espy,
With bent sail furth caryand, the navy;
The costis and the schor al desolate
Behaldis eik, but owthir schip or bate;
Hir fayr quhite breist, thar as scho dyd stand,
Feil tymys smate scho with hir awyn hand,
And, ryvand hir bricht haris petuusly,
Jupiter, quod scho, sal he depart, ha, fy!
And leful tyll a vavengeour stranger
Me and my realm betrump on this maner?
Sal not my menȝe to harnes ryn in hy
Our al the town, and follow bissely?
Speid, tak ȝon schippis, on burd fast to the raid,
Haist sone, and kast on thame fyre blesis braid,
Schute dartis thik, and qwel thame with ȝour glavys.
Quhat said I? or quhar am I? now thou ravys;
Quhat wodnes, fey Dydo, movis thi mynd?
Now art thou hyt with frawart werdis onkynd?
Sa til haue done than had bene mair ganand
Quhen thou hym gave the ceptour of thi land.
Ha! now behald hys gret prowes, quod sche,
Hys reuthful piete, and faith! is not ȝon he,
Quham, as thai say, the goddis of hys land
In hys navy careis our sey and sand?
Is not ȝon he, quhom on his schulderis, thai say,
For reuth his agit fader bair away?
Mycht I not caucht and rent in pecis his cors,
Syne swak the gobbettis in the sey by fors
Of hym and all hys fallowys? weill I mocht:
And eik ȝone sam Ascanyus mycht I nocht
Haue trynschit with a sword, and maid a meys
To his fader tharof to eyt at deys?
Forsuyth, in cace the aventur of bataill
Had beyn doutsum; wald God it war assaill!
Quham sall I dreid, now reddy for to de?
Wald God I mycht, in ȝon navy I se,
The hait fyre brandis set, and euery boyr
Fyll all with flambys red, and forthirmor
Baith fader and son, with hail generacioun,
That I had brynt, distroyit, and bryttynyt doun,
And thame abuf syne ded my self had laid!
O thou brycht son, that, with thi bemys glayd,
All erdly laubour clengis, circuland about;
And thou Juno, mediatrix, but dout,
Of al thir hevy thochtis, and weill thame knawis;
And thou Proserpyne, quhilk, by our gentile lawys,
Art rowpit hie, and ȝellyt lowd by nyght,
In forkyt ways, with mony mudy wight;
And ȝe infernale fureys, that wrekis al wrang;
And ȝe goddis eik, quham now amang
Dido standis reddy to cum in poynt to de;
Ressaue thir wordis quhilkis I sal say, quod sche,
Withdraw fra hyne ȝour gret mychtis, quharby
Schrewis awcht be punyst for thar cryme, and not I;
And thir our prayeris accept, we ȝou beseik.
Gyf it be necessar, and determyt eik,
Ȝon wikkit hed in portis of Itale
To entir and cum, or to thai boundis saill;
And gyf the fatis and Jove wil it be so,
And hes decreit he fynaly thyddir go;
Ȝit, at the lest, thar mot he be assail,
With hardy pepill ay trublyt in bataill;
By fors of armys expellyt hys boundis eik,
Far from Ascanyus help, constrenyt beseik
Ayd and supple; and als that he behald
Feil cayrfull corsys of hys folk ded and cald:
And quhen alsso hym self submyt hes he
Vndir payce and lawis of iniquite,
That he bruke nowthir realm, nor gude lyfe led,
Bot fal fey or his day, and sone be ded,
And ly onerdyt in myddis of the sandis.
Thys I beseik ȝou, hevand vp my handis:
This is my lattir word at I conclude,
Furthȝettand it togidder with my blude.
And forthirmor, O ȝe, my Tyrianys,
Quhilk now in Affrik at Cartage remanys,
Ȝone clan, with thar successioun and kynrayd,
Persew with haitrent perpetual, and invaid:
Onto my assys grant this a gift, quod sche.
Nevir luf nor payce betwix thir pepill be:
Of our levingis sum revengar mot spryng,
With fyre and sword to persew and doun thryng
The lauboreris discend from Dardanus.
Now fra thyne furth, all that succedis til ws,
Quhen euer thai may fynd tyme, with strenth and mycht
Batail to batail mot thai debait in fyght:
Thir costis mot be to tharis contrar ay,
And to thar stremys our seys frawart, I pray,
Thar ofspring eik amang thame self mot debate.
Thus said scho, and with that word, God wate,
Hir faynt spreit in al partis writhis sche,
Sekand the way, alssone as it mycht be,
Forto bereif hir self the irksum lyve.
Tho callys scho to hyr Barcen belyve,
Nurys vmquhile to Sychey hir husband;
For hir awyn nurys in hir native land
Was beryit in to assis broun or than.
Deir nurys, quod scho, fech my sister An;
Byd hir in haist with watir of a flude
Hir body strynkil; the bestis, and the blude,
And clengyng graith scho knawis, with hir bring:
Se on this wys scho cum, forȝet na thyng;
And thou thy self thine halffettis als array
With haly garland. My will is to assay,
And now perform the sacryfyce in hy,
That onto Pluto dewly begun haue I;
To mak end of my dolorus thochtis all,
And byrn ȝon Troiane statw in flamb funeral.
Thus said Dido; and the tother, with that,
Hychit on furth with slaw pays lyke a trat.