Gawin Douglas - The Æneid of Virgil Translated Into Scottish Verse

Thai, in the meyn tyme, hastit furth thar way
As the rod led thame, quhil ascend ar thai
The hill fer rysand abuf the town on hycht,
Quhar all the Cite forgane thame se thai mycht.
Eneas wondrit the gretnes of Cartage,
Quhilk lait tofor had beyn ane smal cotage;
The fair portis alsso he ferleit fast,
And of the brute of pepill tharat inpast,
The large stretys paithit by and by,
The byssy Tyrryanys lauborand ardently.
Ane part haistis to beild the wallys wight;
And sum to rays the gret castell on hyght,
And welt vp stanys to the wark on hie;
Sum grathis fast the thak and rufe of tre;
And sum about delvys the fowsy deip;
Sum chesis officeris the lawys forto kepe,
With counsalouris and senatouris, wys folkis;
Ȝonder other sum the new havyn holkis;
And heir alsso, ane other end fast by,
Lays the fundament of the theatry;
And otheris eik the huge pillaris grete
Out of the querrellys gan do hew and bete,
Fortill adorn that place in all degre,
In tyme cummyng quhar gret triumphe suldbe.
Lyke to the beys, in feildis floryst new,
Gaderyng thar wark of mony diuers hew,
In soft somyr the brycht son hait schynyng,
Quhen of thar kynd thame list swarmys furth bryng,
Or in camys inclus thar hwny cleyn,
And with sweit liquour stuffis thar cellis scheyn,
Or ressavys the byrdyngis from othir tharowt,
Or fra thar hyve togyddir in a rowt
Expellis the bowbart beist, the faynt drone be:
Thar labour is bissy and fervent forto se,
The hwny smellys of the sweit tyme seid.
O, quod Ene, full happy ar ȝhe in deid,
Quhais large wallis rysys thus on hie!
A quhile he visseit the boundis of this cite,
Ane wonder thyng, coverit with a clowd about;
He entrys syne amyd the thikast rowt,
Amang the men he thrang, and nane hym saw.
Amyd the cite stude ane semly schaw,
With hys maist plesand sobir schaddowis, quhar,
As the Punycianys first vpwarpit war,
Efter the stormys blastis and seys rage,
Thai, delvand, fand the takynar of Cartage,
Ane mekill hors hed that was, I weyn,
As Juno had schaw tofor, of goddis queyn,
That signyfyit the cite excellent in batale,
And plentuus eik al tymys of vittale.
In the ilke place, the Sydonas Dido
Begouth to byg a prowd tempill of Juno,
With dowreis seir and gyftis of ryches,
And eik the goldyn statw of the goddes.
The entre rays with hie stagis of bras,
With bras alsso the cupplys festynyt was;
The brassyn durris jargis on the marbill hirst.
In this tempill, seir novelteis first
Schawin till Eneas mesyt gretly hys feir;
The first assurance of comfort was heir,
And hope of releif eftir aduersite:
For as he went diuers thingis to se,
Rowmyng about the large tempill scheyn,
Forto behald the cummyng of the queyn,
And of the cite the gret prosperite,
The mony warkmen, and thar craftis sle
In dew proportioun, as he woundrit for joy,
He saw per ordour all the sege of Troy,
The famus batellis, wlgat throu the warld or this,
Of kyng Pryam and athir Attrides,
And, baldar than thame baith, the fers Achill.
He styntis, and wepand said Achates tyll;
Quhou now, quhilk place is this, my frend, quod he,
Quhat regioun in erd may fundyn be
Quhar our mysforton is nocht fully proclame?
Allace! behald, se ȝondir king Priam,
Lo, heir his wirschip is haldin in memor;
Thir lamentabyll takynnys passit befor
Our mortal myndis aucht to compassioun steir.
Away with dreid, and tak na langar feir;
Quhat! wenys thou na this fame sall do the gude?
Thus said he, and fed hys mynd, quhar he stude,
With thir plesand fenȝeit ymagery,
Murnand sair, and wepand tendyrly,
The flude of terys halyng our hys face;
For as he lukit on the wark percace,
He saw porturate quhar, in sik a place,
The Grekis fled and Troianys followis the chace
Abowt the wallys of Troy as thai dyd fyght:
At ȝondir part the Troianys tak the flycht,
With creste on hed Achillis in hys chair
Persewand strangly. Not far thens saw he, quhar,
The quhite tentis of kyng Rhesus, evill kepe,
Betraisit war apon the first sleip;
Quhar, with gret slauchter bludy Diomeid
Distroyt all, and till hys tent gan leid
The mylk quhite horssis, fers, swift and gude,
Or evir thai taistit ony Troiane fude,
Or drunkyn had of the flude Exanthus.
And ȝondir, lo! beheld he Troilus
Wantyng his armour, the fey barn fleand,
Fortill recontyr Achilles onganand,
The hors hym harland behynd the void cart
Hyngand wyde oppyn, and hys hed dounwart;
Suppos he held the renȝeis fast, but faill,
Hys nek and harys on the erd gan traill,
The speir ourturnyt in the duste dyd write.
The sammyn tyme, the Troian madynys quhite,
With hair doun skalit, all sorofull gan pas
Onto the tempill of the grevit Pallas
To ask supple, with thame a wympill bair thai,
With handis betand thar breistis by the way:
This fremmyt goddes held hir eyn fixt fast
Apon the grund, nocht a blenk list thame cast.
Abowt the wallis of Troy he saw quhat wys
Achilles harlyt Hectoris body thrys;
The ded corps syne for gold he saw hym sell.
Law from his breist murnand he gave a ȝell,
Seand the void cart, and spulȝe of the knycht,
And the corps of his derrest frend sa dight.
Priam onarmyt streke furth handis dyd he spy
From Achilles hys sonnys body to by.
Hym self alsswa, mydlit, persavit he,
Amang princis of Grece in the melle.
The orient hostis knew he one by one,
And Vlcanus armour on blak Memnon.
The madynnys cum fra Amason saw he soyn,
With crukit scheildis schapyn like the moyn,
Led by thar furyus queyn Pantissylle;
Amyd the thowsandis egyrly feghtis sche,
And quhar hir pap was for the speir cut away,
Of gold tharon was belt a rych tyschay:
Ane worthy weriour suythly thai mycht hir ken,
This wench stowtly recontir durst with men.

Quhill as the manfull Troian Eneas
To se thir nyce figuris thocht wonder was,
And as he musyt, studyand in a stair
Bot on a sycht quharon he blenkit thar,
The queyn Dido, excellent in bewte,
To tempill cumis with a fair menȝe
Of lusty ȝyngkeris walkyng hir about.
Lyke to the goddes Dian with hir rowt,
Endlang the flude of Eurot on the bra,
Or vndir the toppis of hir hill Cynthia,
Ledand ryng dansys, quham followis our alquhar
A thousand nymphis flokkyng heir and thair:
On hir schulder the arrow cace baris sche,
And quhar scho walkis abufe the laif on hie
May weil beseyn; to Latone hir moder this
Gevis reiosyng and secrete hartis blys:
Sikane was Dido, sykane hir blithly bair
Amyd thame all, the warkis and weilfair
Providing for the realm in tyme tocum.
And quhen sche to the tempill dur is cum,
Syne entryng vnder the myd volt, tuke hir sete
Heich in a trone, and cumpaneis grete
On athir half standyng of armyt men,
The domys and law pronuncis sche to thame then:
The feys of thar labouris equaly
Gart distribut; gif dowt fallis tharby,
Be cut or kavill that pled sone partit was.
Bot suddanly persavis Eneas
Quhar with gret haist com rynnyng Antheus,
Sergest he seis, and stalwart Cloanthus,
With diuers otheris of the Troian menȝe,
Quham the blak storm had skatterit on the see,
And at ane other cost drevyn to the land.
He and his fallow awondris this seand.
Achates half estonyst stude in affray;
With feir and joy smyttin baith war thai,
And langit fair to schaik handys; bot thar hart
The onkouth cace amovit in sum part
Forto dissymyll, as na thing seyn thai had,
And, with the dyrk clowd hyd, to spy thai baid
Quhou it stude with thar ferys, or chansyt eft,
Or on quhat cost thar navy thai had left,
Quhat thai desyrit; for, as full weill thai saw,
From thar schippis per ordour thai com on raw,
Besekand grace and peax fast, as thame thocht,
And to the tempill with gret clamour socht.
Fra thai war enterit in the tempill tho,
And licens grantit thame to speke alsso,
The gretast oratour, Ilioneus,
With plesand voce begouth his sermond thus;
O hie princes, quhamto Jupiter has grant
To beld ane new cyte, and to dant
The violens of prowd folk by just law,
We wrachit Troianys, with the wyndis blaw
Throu strange stremys and mony diuers see,
Forbyd ȝon cruell fyre, besekis the,
Suffir not to byrn our schippis in a rage,
Haue reuth apon our petuus auld lynage.
Considir frendly our mater quhou it standis;
We com nocht hiddir with drawyn swerdis in handis,
To spulȝe templis or ryches of Lybia,
Nor by the cost na spreth to dryve away;
Sik violens nane within our myndis is,
Nor sa gret stowtnes to venquyst folk, I wys.
Thar is a place quham the Grekis, thai say,
Onto hys name clepis Hesperia,
Ane nobill land, richt potent in bataill,
And fructuus grond, plentuus in vittaille,
By kyng Onotryus inhabit first, we trow;
Bot in our days laitly, the fame is now,
Eftir thar duke it is namyt Italy.
Thidderwart our cours was laid: quhen suddanly
The flude boldnyt, and stormy Orion
Amang blynd bankis cachit ws onon;
The byttir blastis, contrarius al ways,
Throw wallis huge, salt fame, and wilsum wais,
And throw the perrellus rowkis gan ws dryve;
Hidder at ȝour cost ar few of ws arryve.
Quhat kynd of pepill duellis heir? quod he,
Quhou beyn sik thewis sufferit in this cuntre?
We ar defendit to herbry on the sand,
Prouokyt eik to batale, and, drevyn to land
By fors of storm, the slyke thai ws deny.
Albeit the strenth of men ȝhe set not by,
And mortal weris contempnys and comptis nocht,
Belevis weill ȝit than, and haue in thocht,
The goddis sall remember, trastis me,
Baith of gud dedis and iniquite.
To ws was kyng the worthy Eneas,
Ane justar man in all the warld nane was,
Nor mair reuthfull, nor wisar into weir,
And mair valiant in dedis of armys seir:
Quham gif the fatis alyve conservit haith
To tak this hevinly ayr and draw his braith,
And not with cruell gostis hyd vnder erd,
We neid not dreid, sall nocht mak ws efferd;
Nor thou sall neuer repent the sykkyrly
To schaw ws first frendschip and curtasy.
Into the realm of Sycill als haue we
Frendis and citeis, with armyt men plente,
And of the Troian blude Acestes kyng.
Gyf ws war levit our flote on land to bryng,
That with the wynd and storm is all to schaik,
And grantit eik wod leif to hew, and take
Tymmyr to beit ayrris and other mysteris,
So that our kyng we mycht fynd and our feris,
Blithly we suld hald towart Italy,
And to the cost of Latium seik in hy:
Bot gif our weilfar and beleve cleyn gayn is,
And the, maist souerane fader of ws Troianys,
The Lybian sey withhaldis, gif thou be gone,
Nor of Ascanyus comfort remanys none,
Than suythly, at the leste, the Sycill see
And placis reddy fra quham hidder drevin ar we,
We sall seik, and to the kyng Acestes.
Thus said Ilioneus, and sa can he ces;
Bot than the noys rays amang the Troianys,
Thai murmuryt and complenyt all at anys.
Than schortly Dido spak with vissage doun cast,
Remove all dreid, Troianys, beis nocht agast,
Pluk vp ȝour hartis, and hevy thochtis dovn thring.
Ane hard myschans and novelte of this ryng
Constrenys me sik mastry forto schaw,
And with discurriouris kepe the cost on raw.
Quha knawys nocht the lynnage of Enee?
Or quha myskennys Troy, that ryall cyte?
The gret wirschip of sik men quha wald nocht meyn?
And the huge ardent batalys at thar has beyn?
We Phenycianys nane sa blait breistis hes,
Nor so fremmytly the Son list nocht addres
Hys curs frawart Cartage cyte away.
Quhiddir ȝhe will to gret Hesperia,
The grund of Saturn, quhilk now is Italy,
Or to the cost of Sycill fast tharby,
And at the kyng Acestes lyst ȝou be,
Thidder sall ȝhe suyrly pas with my supple;
I sall support ȝou with all geir may gayn.
And ples ȝhe with me in this realm remane,
The cyte quhilk I byg is ȝouris fre;
Bryng in ȝour schippis hidder from the see;
Betwix a Troiane and ane Tyrriane
Na differens, all sall I rewle as ane;
And, with this sammyn wynd hidder blaw in feir,
Wald God Enee ȝour kyng war present heir!
Endlang the costis and far partis of Lyby
I sall forsuyth exploratouris send to spy
In ony wod gyf that he be vpdryve,
Or ȝit perchance at ony cyte arryve.