My mother could even inspire a bull with love; and will you be more cruel than a fierce bull? Hear, then, for Venus' sake, who is all-powerful with me; so may you never love a scornful fair. So may swift Diana still attend you in the remote forests, and the woods offer you the best game. So may the Satyrs and mountain Gods protect you, and the boar fall, pierced by your quivering spear. So may the kind Nymphs (though you are said to hate the softer sex) allay with grateful streams your burning thirst. Many tears accompany these prayers; think, while you read over the words of your Phædra, that you see also the tears streaming from her eyes.
Victa precor genibusque tuis regalia tendoBracchia! quid deceat, non videt ullus amans.Depudui, profugusque pudor sua signa reliquit.Da veniam fasse duraque corda doma!Quod mihi sit genitor, qui possidet aequora, Minos,Quod veniant proavi fulmina torta manu,Quod sit avus radiis frontem vallatus acutis,Purpureo tepidum qui movet axe diem —Nobilitas sub amore iacet! miserere priorumEt, mihi si non vis parcere, parce meis!
MAY I hope that you will read this? Or, over-awed by your new bride, must you treat it with neglect? Read it over, I entreat you: it is no threatening letter sent you from Mycenæ. I, the Nymph Œnone, famous in the Phrygian woods, complain of injuries received from you, whom I am still fond to call mine, if you permit. What God opposes himself to my wishes? What crime have I committed, that I no longer possess your love? Where we suffer deservedly, we ought to bear it with patience; but unmerited calamities sit heavy upon us. You were yet in low circumstances, when I, a Nymph sprung from a mighty river, was contented to receive you for my husband. Thought now the
Est mihi dotalis tellus Iovis insula, Crete —Serviat Hippolyto regia tota meo!Flecte, ferox, animos! potuit corrumpere taurumMater; eris tauro saevior ipse truci?Per Venerem, parcas, oro, quae plurima mecum est!Sic numquam, quae te spernere possit, ames;Sic tibi secretis agilis dea saltibus adsit,Silvaque perdendas praebeat alta feras;Sic faveant Satyri montanaque numina Panes,Et cadat adversa cuspide fossus aper;Sic tibi dent Nymphae, quamvis odisse puellasDiceris, arentem quae levet unda sitim!
son of Priam, (excuse my freedom,) you were then no more than a slave: nor did I disdain to wed you even in that meanest rank. Oft under the shade of a tree, have we quietly rested amidst the flocks, where the ground, strewn with leaves, afforded a pleasant couch. Oft in our Iowly cottage, secure from hail and freezing winds, have we contentedly reposed on straw or a bed of hay. Who shewed you the forests best stocked with game, or pointed out the rocky caverns where the savage dam concealed her young? A constant companion of your toils, I often spread the knotted net, and cheered your sweeping hounds along the mountain's brow. The beeches still preserve my name carved by your hand; and 'Œnone,' the work of your pruning-knife, is read upon their bark; and, as the trunks increase, the letters still dilate. Grow on, and rise as testimonies of my just claim. There grows a poplar (I remember it) by the river's side, on which is carved the motto of our love. Flourish. thou poplar, fed by the bordering stream, whose furrowed bark bears this inscription: Sooner shall Xanthus hasten back to his source, than Paris be able to live without his Œnone. Xanthus,
Addimus his precibus lacrimas quoque; verba precantisQui legis, et lacrimas finge videre meas![Nympha suo Paridi, quamvis suus esse recuset,][Mittit ab Idaeis verba legenda iugis. ]Perlegis? an coniunx prohibet nova? perlege — non estIsta Mycenaea littera facta manu!Pegasis Oenone, Phrygiis celeberrima silvis,Laesa queror de te, si sinis ipse, meo.Quis deus opposuit nostris sua numina votis?Ne tua permaneam, quod mihi crimen obest?Leniter, ex merito quidquid patiare, ferendum est;Quae venit indigno poena, dolenda venit.Nondum tantus eras, cum te contenta maritoEdita de magno flumine nympha fui.Qui nunc Priamides — absit reverentia vero! —Servus eras; servo nubere nympha tuli!Saepe greges inter requievimus arbore tecti,Mixtaque cum foliis praebuit herba torum;
flow backward; backward flow, ye streams! Paris still lives, though faithless to his Œnone. My misfortunes began from that unhappy day, in which Venus, Juno, and Minerva (most graceful when clad in shining armor) appointed you judge of the prize of beauty. It was then that a black storm overcast my former peace. My heart failed while you repeated the fatal tale, and a cold trembling shot through all my bones. I acquainted the aged matrons and sages with my just fears; and they all agreed that some misfortune was approaching. Trees are cut down, ships are built; and the sea-green waves bear up your well-appointed fleet. When about to depart, you melted into tears; this at least you need not be ashamed to own; the present love is far more guilty than the past. You wept, and witnessed my melting grief; the mingled tears spoke our
Saepe super stramen faenoque iacentibus altoDefensa est humili cana pruina casa.Quis tibi monstrabat saltus venatibus aptos,Et tegeret catulos qua fera rupe suos?Retia saepe comes maculis distincta tetendi;Saepe citos egi per iuga longa canes.Incisae servant a te mea nomina fagi,Et legor Oenone falce notata tua,[Populus est, memini, fluviali consita rivo,][Est in qua nostri littera scripta memor: ]Et quantum trunci, tantum mea nomina crescunt.Crescite et in titulos surgite recta meos!
mutual sadness. You clasped your arms round my neck, more closely than the curling vines embrace the towering elm. How did your companions smile, when you complained of the unfriendly winds! They favored; but love detained you. How often at parting did you repeat the ardent kisses; while your tongue was scarcely able to utter a last farewell!
Popule, vive, precor, quae consita margine ripaeHoc in rugoso cortice carmen habes:Cum Paris Oenone poterit spirare relicta,Ad fontem Xanthi versa recurret aqua.Xanthe, retro propera, versaeque recurrite lymphae!Sustinet Oenonen deseruisse Paris.
A propitious gale swells your sails bellying from the rigid masts; and the sea foams after the repeated strokes of the oars. Hapless, I pursue with my eyes the lessening canvass, and water the sands with my tears. I implore the Nereids for your speedy return; a speedy return indeed to my sorrow. Have then my prayers brought you back only for the sake of another, and have I solicited the Gods in behalf of an injurious harlot? A high rock formed by nature overlooks the boundless sea. This precipice opposes itself to the beating waves. Hence I first espied your swelling sails, and hardly could forbear plunging into the deep. As I waited with impatience for your arrival, I discerned upon the deck a purple garment; this made me tremble, as I well knew that it was not your dress. The ship approached, and, urged by a favorable gale, reached the land; when with a throbbing heart I espied my hated rival, whose head even (why delayed I to leap into the sea?) rested upon your bosom. At this I tore my hair and beat my breast, and, urged by despair, scratched my face with my inhuman nails. Ida's sacred groves resounded with my mournful complaints; and hence I bore them to those caves which were conscious of our former love. So may Helen also complain, and mourn like me a faithless spouse; may she too taste of those sorrows, which on her account I now so severely feel. You are at present charmed with one who forsakes her lawful husband, and follows you over the wide sea. But when, a poor shepherd, you attended your little flock, Œnone alone made you an offer of her bed. I have no eye to your riches, nor am I moved by your stately palace. I have no ambition to be numbered among the daughters of potent Priam. Yet Priam needs not to be ashamed of owning himself the father-in-law of a Nymph; nor needs Hecuba disscmble that I am
Illa dies fatum miserae mihi dixit, ab illaPessima mutati coepit amoris hiemps,Qua Venus et Iuno sumptisque decentior armisVenit in arbitrium nuda Minerva tuum.Attoniti micuere sinus, gelidusque cucurrit,Ut mihi narrasti, dura per ossa tremor.Consului — neque enim modice terrebar — anusqueLongaevosque senes. constitit esse nefas.Caesa abies, sectaeque trabes, et classe parataCaerula ceratas accipit unda rates.Flesti discedens — hoc saltim parce negare!Miscuimus lacrimas maestus uterque suas;Non sic adpositis vincitur vitibus ulmus,Ut tua sunt collo bracchia nexa meo.A! quotiens, cum te vento quererere teneri,Riserunt comites — ille secundus erat!Oscula dimissae quotiens repetita dedisti!Quam vix sustinuit dicere lingua 'vale'!Aura levis rigido pendentia lintea maloSuscitat, et remis eruta canet aqua.Prosequor infelix oculis abeuntia vela,Qua licet, et lacrimis umet harena meis,Utque celer venias, virides Nereidas oro —Scilicet ut venias in mea damna celer!Votis ergo meis alii rediture redisti?Ei mihi, pro dira paelice blanda fui!Adspicit inmensum moles nativa profundum —Mons fuit; aequoreis illa resistit aquis.Hinc ego vela tuae cognovi prima carinae,Et mihi per fluctus impetus ire fuit.Dum moror, in summa fulsit mihi purpura prora —Pertimui; cultus non erat ille tuus.
her daughter. I merit, and wish to become the consort of a powerful prince; nor would a regal sceptre ill become my hands. It is no dishonor to have lain with you upon the new-fallen leaves; I am the more fit to ascend a bed of state. Add that you are safe in my love; no wars threaten you; no revengeful ships plough the waves. Fugitive Helen is demanded back by hostile arms, and sees with pride that a war must be her dowry. Ask of Hector your brother, Polydamas, or Deiphobus, whether she ought to be restored. Consult with sage Antenor, and your aged sire Priam, whom years and long experience have taught wisdom. It is scandalous to prefer a mistress to your native country. You engage in a shameful cause: her husband raises a just war against you. Nor flatter yourself that this Lacedæmonian will long prove constant, she who was so easily enticed to your embraces. As young Atrides complains of his dishonored bed, and mourns the injury done to him by a foreign love; so shall you lament in your turn. Chastity, when once sullied, can never be recovered; one false step ruins it for ever.
Fit propior terrasque cita ratis attigit aura;Femineas vidi corde tremente genas.Non satis id fuerat — quid enim furiosa morabar? —Haerebat gremio turpis amica tuo!Tunc vero rupique sinus et pectora planxi,Et secui madidas ungue rigente genas,Inplevique sacram querulis ululatibus IdenIlluc has lacrimas in mea saxa tuli.Sic Helene doleat defectaque coniuge ploret,Quaeque prior nobis intulit, ipsa ferat!Nunc tibi conveniunt, quae te per aperta sequanturAequora legitimos destituantque viros;At cum pauper eras armentaque pastor agebas,Nulla nisi Oenone pauperis uxor erat.Non ego miror opes, nec me tua regia tangitNec de tot Priami dicar ut una nurus —Non tamen ut Priamus nymphae socer esse recuset,Aut Hecubae fuerim dissimulanda nurus;Dignaque sum fieri rerum matrona potentis;
She now burns for you. Thus she once loved Menelaus. He, too easy of belief, lies now in a forlorn bed. Happy Andromache, the worthy consort of a faithful spouse! My fidelity merited a like return from you. You are lighter than withered leaves driven by the inconstant winds, or than stalks of wheat parched by the continual heat of the sun. Heretofore your sister (now I recollect) forewarned me of all, and, with her hair disheveled, thus prophesied my approaching fate: What is it you hope for, Œnone? Why bury you thus your seed in the sand? Why plough you up the shore with unprofitable steers? The Grecian heifer comes, fatal to you, to Troy, and our ancient house. She comes. Forbid it Heaven; and now, while it may be done, overwhelm the guilty ship. Alas! how is she fraught with Phrygian blood! She said: her servants carried her off full of the God. My
Sunt mihi, quas possint sceptra decere, manus.Nec me, faginea quod tecum fronde iacebam,Despice; purpureo sum magis apta toro.Denique tutus amor meus est; ibi nulla paranturBella, nec ultrices advehit unda rates.Tyndaris infestis fugitiva reposcitur armis;Hac venit in thalamos dote superba tuos.Quae si sit Danais reddenda, vel Hectora fratrem,Vel cum Deiphobo Polydamanta roga;Quid gravis Antenor, Priamus quid suadeat ipse,Consule, quis aetas longa magistra fuit!Turpe rudimentum, patriae praeponere raptam.Causa pudenda tua est; iusta vir arma movet.
hair was erect with fear. Ah, you too truly foretold my wretched fate! This heifer now feeds in my lawns. Though fair to look upon, she is yet a prostitute, whom strangers have easily enticed from her native home. Thus Theseus (if I do not mistake the name), one Theseus, formerly made her a prize. It is likely, no doubt, that she was restored safe and untouched by a youth passionate and fond. If you wonder how I obtained a knowlege of this story, I answer, that I love. You may call it violence, and think to hide her fault by a specious name: it is evident that one who has been carried off so often, must have contrived the rape. But Œnone continues faithful to a perjured spouse; and yet I might have returned the injury in kind. I was pursued by the Satyrs, a lustful crew, and, to escape their violence, concealed myself in the woods. Fauns too, adorned with garlands of pine-leaves, traced me over Ida's swelling
Nec tibi, si sapias, fidam promitte Lacaenam,Quae sit in amplexus tam cito versa tuos.Ut minor Atrides temerati foedera lectiClamat et externo laesus amore dolet,Tu quoque clamabis. nulla reparabilis arteLaesa pudicitia est; deperit illa semel.Ardet amore tui? sic et Menelaon amavit.Nunc iacet in viduo credulus ille toro.Felix Andromache, certo bene nupta marito!Uxor ad exemplum fratris habenda fui;Tu levior foliis, tum cum sine pondere suciMobilibus ventis arida facta volant;Et minus est in te quam summa pondus arista,Quae levis adsiduis solibus usta riget.Hoc tua — nam recolo — quondam germana canebat,Sic mihi diffusis vaticinata comis:'Quid facis, Oenone?
summits. Phœbus, the guardian god of Troy, obtained at last, by violence, what others had struggled for in vain. I tore his hair, and left on his face the marks of my rage. Yet I desired no sordid recompence of jewels or gold, nor would meanly prostitute my free charms for hire. He thought me worthy to be intrusted with the healing art, and rewarded me with the same knowlege for which he is himself so famed. My skill reaches to every herb and healing root which the fertile carth produces. But, unhappy that I am! my art avails not to my own cure; nor are herbs sufficient to heal the wounds of love. Even Phœbus, the founder of our art, fed (we are told) the herds of Admetus; nor could he withstand the pointed flames. Not heaven, nor earth with all its bounteous store, can ease my pain; it is from you alone that I expect relief. Paris can relieve; and I have deserved it. Pity a maid who merits and loves you. My alliance will bring upon you no dangerous bloody wars. I am yours, and with you innocently passed my infant years: Heaven grant that what yet remains of life may be also spent with you!
quid harenae semina mandas?Non profecturis litora bubus aras.Graia iuvenca venit, quae te patriamque domumquePerdat! io prohibe! Graia iuvenca venit!Dum licet, obscenam ponto demergite puppim!Heu! quantum Phrygii sanguinis illa vehit!'Vox erat in cursu: famulae rapuere furentem;At mihi flaventes diriguere comae.A, nimium miserae vates mihi vera fuisti —Possidet, en, saltus illa iuvenca meos!Sit facie quamvis insignis, adultera certe est;Deseruit socios hospite capta deos.Illam de patria Theseus — nisi nomine fallor —Nescio quis Theseus abstulit ante sua.A iuvene et cupido credatur reddita virgo?Unde hoc conpererim tam bene, quaeris? amo.Vim licet appelles et culpam nomine veles;Quae totiens rapta est, praebuit ipsa rapi.
You are said to have reached the Thessalian coasts in your returning bark, enriched with the prize of the golden fleece. I congratulate your safety, as far as I am permitted: but I ought to have known this by a letter from yourself. For, though unfavorable winds might have hindered you from landing in my kingdom, had you even desired it, yet a letter might have been sealed and sent: surely Hypsipyle deserved this testimony of your love. Why as fame the first
At manet Oenone fallenti casta marito —Et poteras falli legibus ipse tuis!Me Satyri celeres — silvis ego tecta latebam —Quaesierunt rapido, turba proterva, pedeCornigerumque caput pinu praecinctus acutaFaunus in inmensis, qua tumet Ida, iugis.Me fide conspicuus Troiae munitor amavit,Admisitque meas ad sua dona manus.
messenger of your success? Why did I first hear from report, that the bulls sacred to the stern god of war had submitted to the yoke,—that harvests of armed men sprang from the sowing of the dragon's teeth, and did not want your right hand to cut them off,—that the yellow fleecy spoils, though guarded by a vigilant dragon, were yet a prey to your valiant arm? If I could assure those who believe with diffidence, that all this was confirmed to me by a letter from yourself, how great would be my happiness! Why do I complain that my husband by so long an absence has failed in the respect he owes me? If your heart continues mine, I have still all I ask. You are said to have brought with you a barbarian enchantress, and admitted her to a share of that bed which you had promised to me. Love is credulous and full of fears. I wish it may be found that I have rashly charged my husband with false crimes. A stranger lately arrived here from Thessaly: scarcely had he touched the threshold, when I enquired how my Jason was. He, overcome with shame, stood silent, and fixed his eyes upon the ground. Impatient, I ran up to him;
Quaecumque herba potens ad opem radixque medentiUtilis in toto nascitur orbe, mea est.Me miseram, quod amor non est medicabilis herbis!Deficior prudens artis ab arte mea.Quod nec graminibus tellus fecunda creandisNec deus, auxilium tu mihi ferre potes.Et potes, et merui — dignae miserere puellae!Non ego cum Danais arma cruenta fero —Sed tua sum tecumque fui puerilibus annisEt tua, quod superest temporis, esse precor![Lemnias Hypsipyle, Bacchi genus, Aesone nato][Dicit, et in verbis pars quta mentis erat: ]Litora Thessaliae reduci tetigisse carinaDiceris auratae vellere dives ovis.Gratulor incolumi, quantum sinis; hoc tamen ipsumDebueram scripto certior esse tuo.Nam ne pacta tibi praeter mea regna redires,Cum cuperes, ventos non habuisse potes;
and in wild distraction tearing his coat from his breast, Tell me, I cried, does he still live, or has Fate determined also to end my days? He lives, said he. I forced the intimidated stranger to confirm the statement by an oath, and could scarcely be convinced of your existence even by the testimony of a God. After recovering from my surprise, I began to enquire of your exploits. He tells me how the brazen-footed bulls of Mars turned up the furrowed plain; that the teeth of the dragon were thrown into the earth for seed, and a sudden crop of armed men sprang up; and that these earth-born heroes, cut off by civil broils, had filled up the short span of life allotted to them by Fate. Upon hearing of the serpent overcome. I again asked if Jason still lived; my heart beating alternately with hope and fear. While he proceeds in recounting one thing after another, in the current of his discourse, he at last discovers the wounds made in your heart. Alas! where is now your promised faith? where are now the nuptial ties? and Hymen's torch, fitter to have lighted up my funeral pile? I was not known to you by stealth. Juno was witness to our vows; and Hymen also, having his temples bound with garlands. But neither Juno nor Hymen, but cruel Erinnys, bore in procession the inauspicious torch. What concern had I with the Argonauts?
Quamlibet adverso signatur epistula vento.Hypsipyle missa digna salute fui.Cur mihi fama prior de te quam littera venit:Isse sacros Marti sub iuga panda boves,Seminibus iactis segetes adolesse virorumInque necem dextra non eguisse tua,Pervigilem spolium pecudis servasse draconem,Rapta tamen forti vellera fulva manu?O ego, si possem timide credentibus ista'Ipse mihi scripsit' dicere, quanta forem!Quid queror officium lenti cessasse mariti?Obsequium, maneo si tua, grande tuli!Barbara narratur venisse venefica tecum,In mihi promissi parte recepta tori.Credula res amor est; utinam temeraria dicarCriminibus falsis insimulasse virum!Nuper ab Haemoniis hospes mihi Thessalus orisVenit et, ut tactum vix bene limen erat,'Aesonides,' dixi, 'quid agit meus?' ille pudoreHaesit in opposita lumina fixus humo.Protinus exilui tunicisque a pectore ruptis'Vivit? an,' exclamo, 'me quoque fata vocant?''Vivit,' ait.
what with the ship of Pallas? Why did your pilot Tiphys think of touching at this coast? Here was no ram to entice you by his golden spoils; nor had Æetes his royal palace at Lemnos. I had determined (but my unhappy destiny overruled me) to expel the strangers with a female band. The Lemnian ladies have too glaringly shown themselves an overmatch for men. My life and peace ought to have been defended by so trusty a band.
timidum quod amat; iurare coegi.Vix mihi teste deo credita vita tua est.Utque animus rediit, tua facta requirere coepi.Narrat aenipedes Martis arasse boves,Vipereos dentes in humum pro semine iactos,Et subito natos arma tulisse viros —Terrigenas populos civili Marte peremptosInplesse aetatis fata diurna suae.
I allowed Jason to enter my city, and admitted him into my house and heart. Here two summers and two winters rolled away. It was now the third harvest, when, forced to unfold the spreading sails, with tears in your eyes you uttered these soft and tender words.
Devictus serpens. iterum, si vivat Iason,Quaerimus; alternant spesque timorque vicem.Singula dum narrat, studio cursuque loquendiDetegit ingenio vulnera nostra suo.
"Alas! I am torn from you, Hypsipyle; but, if Heaven grant me a safe return, as I depart thine, so will I ever remain thine, Let the pledge of our mutual love, that you now carry about in your teeming womb, be fondly cherished, that it may prove the joy and blessing of its parents." Thus far you spoke, while, the tears trickling down you deceitful checks, grief deprived you of the power to proceed. You were the last to ascend the sacred ship: she flies, and a favorable wind fills the swelling sails. The sea-green waves recede from before the stemming prow; your eyes are fixed upon the shore, while mine follow you through the deep. An adjacent tower opens a prospect on all sides towards the sea. Thither I bend my course, my face and bosom bedewed with tears. I view you through my tears; and my eyes, favoring the eagerness of my mind, carry forward my sight beyond its usual bounds. I address Heaven with chaste prayers and timorous vows,—vows to the performed, now that you are safe. Must I then pay vows for the triumphs of Medea? My heart yields to grief, and my love flames into rage. Shall I carry offerings to the temples, because Jason lives, and lives for another? Are victims to be slain in return for my disappointments? I was indeed always diffident, and dreaded
Heu! ubi pacta fides? ubi conubialia iuraFaxque sub arsuros dignior ire rogos?Non ego sum furto tibi cognita; pronuba IunoAdfuit et sertis tempora vinctus Hymen.At mihi nec Iuno, nec Hymen, sed tristis ErinysPraetulit infaustas sanguinolenta faces.Quid mihi cum Minyis, quid cum Dodonide pinu?Quid tibi cum patria, navita Tiphy, mea?Non erat hic aries villo spectabilis aureo,Nec senis Aeetae regia Lemnos erat.Certa fui primo (sed me mala fata trahebant)Hospita feminea pellere castra manu;Lemniadesque viros, nimium quoque, vincere norunt.Milite tam forti terra tuenda fuit!Urbe virum iuvi, tectoque animoque recepi!Hic tibi bisque aestas bisque cucurrit hiemps.Tertia messis erat, cum tu dare vela coactusInplesti lacrimis talia verba suis:'Abstrahor, Hypsipyle; sed dent modo fata recursus,Vir tuus hinc abeo, vir tibi semper ero.
that your father might choose a daughter-in-law from some city of Greece. I feared the Greeks, but suffer from a barbarian harlot, and am wounded by an unexpected hand. She has not charmed you by her beauty, or won you by her accomplishments. She holds you by her enchantments, and cuts the baneful herbs with a magic sickle. She endeavours to charm the reluctant moon from her orb, and involve the chariot of the sun in darkness. She bridles the waves, stops the winding currents, and removes from their seats the woods and banging rocks. She wanders through the tombs with her hair disheveled, and collects bones from the yet smoking pyres. Her witchcraft affects even the absent; she moulds the images of wax, and gores the wretched liver with torturing needles. Add a multiplicity of other magic artifices, which I am better unacquainted with. Love should be gained by merit and beauty, not by berbs and philtres. How can you receive her into your embraces, or quietly trust yourself in her treacherous arms? As formerly the bulls, so has she forced you also to submit to the yoke, and bound you with the same fetters wherewith she
Quod tamen e nobis gravida celatur in alvo,Vivat, et eiusdem simus uterque parens!'Hactenus, et lacrimis in falsa cadentibus oraCetera te memini non potuisse loqui.Ultimus e sociis sacram conscendis in Argo.Illa volat; ventus concava vela tenet;Caerula propulsae subducitur unda carinae;Terra tibi, nobis adspiciuntur aquae.In latus omne patens turris circumspicit undas;Huc feror, et lacrimis osque sinusque madent.Per lacrimas specto, cupidaeque faventia mentiLongius adsueto lumina nostra vident.Adde preces castas inmixtaque vota timori —Nunc quoque te salvo persoluenda mihi.Vota ego persolvam? votis Medea fruetur!Cor dolet, atque ira mixtus abundat amor.Dona feram templis, vivum quod Iasona perdo?Hostia pro damnis concidat icta meis?Non equidem secura fui semperque verebar,Ne pater Argolica sumeret urbe nurum.
before chained the dragons. Add that she boasts of having contributed to your success, and that of your companions; and the fame of the wife eclipses that of the husband. Those of the Pelian faction ascribe all to sorcery; and the malicious world is too ready to believe them. "It was not Jason, (say they,) but Medea of Colchis, that bore away the rich fleece of the consecrated ram."
Argolidas timui — nocuit mihi barbara paelex!Non expectata vulnus ab hoste tuli.Nec facie meritisque placet, sed carmina novitDiraque cantata pabula falce metit.Illa reluctantem cursu deducere lunamNititur et tenebris abdere solis equos;
If you will be governed by the advice of a mother, she disapproves your choice; nor does your father relish a bride from the frozen zone. Let her seek a husband from the borders of the Tanais, the marshy fens of Scythia, or her native banks of Phasis. Inconstant Jason, More unstable than the vernal breeze; why are your words without their promised weight? You departed my husband, and return wedded to another. But, as I was your wife when we parted, let me be still the
Illa refrenat aquas obliquaque flumina sistit;Illa loco silvas vivaque saxa movet.Per tumulos errat passis discincta capillisCertaque de tepidis colligit ossa rogis.Devovet absentis simulacraque cerea figit,Et miserum tenuis in iecur urget acus —Et quae nescierim melius. male quaeritur herbisMoribus et forma conciliandus amor.
same since your return. If nobility and great names move you, I boast a descent from Thoas, the grandson of Minos. I have Bacchus for my grandfather; whose spouse, adorned with a radiant crown, eclipses the inferior lights by her more refulgent rays. Lemnos is my dowry, a fertile land, that crowns the labor of the cultivator. And I myself am not to be overlooked amidst so many noble gifts. I am also a mother, and bore the load with pleasure for the father's sake: let us both rejoice in this auspicious pledge. I am happy too in the number, and have brought forth twins, a double pledge of Lucina's favor. If you enquire concerning their likeness, you may be known by them: they are indeed strangers to treachery, but, in every thing else, the express image of their father. These had been sent envoys for their mother; but a cruel stepdame prevented the intended journey. I dreaded Medea; Medea is more cruel than even cruelty itself. Medea has hands ready for every kind of wickedness. Would she, who could scatter the dismembered joints of her own brother, scruple to imbue her hands in the blood of these innocent pledges of my love?
Hanc potes amplecti thalamoque relictus in unoInpavidus somno nocte silente frui?Scilicet ut tauros, ita te iuga ferre coegitQuaque feros anguis, te quoque mulcet ope.Adde, quod adscribi factis procerumque tuisqueSese avet, et titulo coniugis uxor obest.Atque aliquis Peliae de partibus acta venenisInputat et populum, qui sibi credat, habet:'Non haec Aesonides, sed Phasias AeetineAurea Phrixeae terga revellit ovis.'Non probat Alcimede mater tua — consule matrem —Non pater, a gelido cui venit axe nurus.Illa sibi a Tanai Scythiaeque paludibus udaeQuaerat et a ripa Phasidos usque virum!Mobilis Aesonide vernaque incertior aura,Cur tua polliciti pondere verba carent?Vir meus hinc ieras: cur non meus inde redisti?Sim reducis coniunx, sicut euntis eram!
And yet, O deluded man, intoxicated with the philtres of Colchis! this is the woman for whom you are said to have deserted Hypsipyle. She basely associated with the husband of another; we were chastely united by the hymeneal torch. She betrayed her father; I saved mine from destruction. She deserted her native land; I still remain at Lemnos. But what avails it, if her wickedness triumphs over my piety, and she gains the heart of her husband by her very crimes? Far from admiring the cruelty of the Lemnian ladies, I blame it, Jason; although indignation and resentment stirred them up to arms. Tell me, if, driven by inhospitable winds, you and your companion had entered my ports, and I, accompanied by my twin-offspring, had gone out to welcome you, would you not have wished the earth to open and swallow you up? With what face could you have beheld the harmless babes, and me your faithful wife? What punishment could have been inflicted upon you, equal to your perfidy
Si te nobilitas generosaque nomina tangunt —En, ego Minoo nata Thoante feror!Bacchus avus; Bacchi coniunx redimita coronaPraeradiat stellis signa minora suis.Dos tibi Lemnos erit, terra ingeniosa colenti;Me quoque dotalis inter habere potes.Nunc etiam peperi; gratare ambobus, Iason!Dulce mihi gravidae fecerat auctor onus.Felix in numero quoque sum prolemque gemellam,Pignora Lucina bina favente dedi.Si quaeris, cui sint similes, cognosceris illis.Fallere non norunt; cetera patris habent.Legatos quos paene dedi pro matre ferendos;Sed tenuit coeptas saeva noverca vias.Medeam timui: plus est Medea noverca;Medeae faciunt ad scelus omne manus.Spargere quae fratris potuit lacerata per agrosCorpora, pignoribus parceret illa meis?
and ingratitude? You would indeed have been safe and unhurt; not because you deserved it, but in consequence of my softness and good-nature. But I would have satiated my eyes with the blood of that harlot; and you, the slave of her sorceries, should have beheld the tragedy. I would have been Medea to Medea. If you, O just Jupiter, hear from heaven the prayers of injured love, may this base intruder into my chaste bed groan under the same pangs which I now feel, and herself experience that treachery of which she has set the first example; and, as I, a wife and the mother of twins, am left destitute and forlorn, may she also be ravished from her husband and children: may she soon lose and shamefully abandon these ill-gotten trophies; exiled, and wandering a fugitive over all the earth! What sister she was to her brother, what daughter to her parent, such a mother and wife may she prove to her children and husband! When she has traversed the earth and sea, let her attempt the air, till, destitute and hopeless, she end a miserable life by her own hand. These are the prayers of the disappointed and injured daughter of Thoas. May you live an execrable pair, the partners of a devoted bed!
Hanc tamen o demens Colchisque ablate venenis,Diceris Hypsipyles praeposuisse toro.Turpiter illa virum cognovit adultera virgo;Me tibi teque mihi taeda pudica dedit.Prodidit illa patrem; rapui de clade Thoanta.Deseruit Colchos; me mea Lemnos habet.Quid refert, scelerata piam si vincet et ipsoCrimine dotata est emeruitque virum?Lemniadum facinus culpo, non miror, Iason;Quamlibet ignavis iste dat arma dolor.Dic age, si ventis, ut oportuit, actus iniquisIntrasses portus tuque comesque meos,Obviaque exissem fetu comitante gemello —Hiscere nempe tibi terra roganda fuit! —Quo vultu natos, quo me, scelerate, videres?Perfidiae pretio qua nece dignus eras?Ipse quidem per me tutus sospesque fuisses —Non quia tu dignus, sed quia mitis ego.
THUS the silver swan, when death approaches, bemoans her fate among the willows on the banks of Mæander. Nor do I address you, from a hope of being able to move you by my prayers: that, the Gods, averse to my request, forbid. But, having lost merit and fame, my honor and myself, why should I fear to lose a few dying words? You are then resolved to depart, and abandon unhappy Dido; the same winds will bear away your promises and sails. You are, I say, O Æneas, resolved to weigh at once your anchor and your vows, and go in quest of Italy, a land to which you are wholly a stranger. Neither my new-built Carthage and her rising walls have power to detain you; nor the supreme rule, which you are in vain urged to accept. You fly a city already built, and seek one that is yet to be raised; the one realm is still to be conquered, the other is subject to your command. Even if you had disembarked on the wished-for coast, how can the natives be induced to resignit? What people will grant the property of their lands to strangers? You must first be so fortunate as to find another love, another affectionate, constant Dido: you must again bind yourself by vows which you cannot keep. Yet when will you build a city flourishing like Carthage, and from your lofty towers survey the crowds below? But were all events to meet your desires, so that not even a wish remained unanswered, where will you find a wife to love like me? I burn like waxen torches smeared with sulphur, or pious incense cast into the smoking censer. Æneas is ever before my wakeful eyes; the image of Æneas baunts me both by night and day.
Paelicis ipsa meos inplessem sanguine vultus,Quosque veneficiis abstulit illa suis!Medeae Medea forem! quodsi quid ab altoIustus adest votis Iuppiter ille meis,Quod gemit Hypsipyle, lecti quoque subnuba nostriMaereat et leges sentiat ipsa suas;Utque ego destituor coniunx materque duorum,A totidem natis orba sit illa viro!Nec male parta diu teneat peiusque relinquat —Exulet et toto quaerat in orbe fugam!Quam fratri germana fuit miseroque parentiFilia, tam natis, tam sit acerba viro!Cum mare, cum terras consumpserit, aera temptet;Erret inops, exspes, caede cruenta sua!Haec ego, coniugio fraudata Thoantias oro.Vivite, devoto nuptaque virque toro![Accipe, Dardanide, moriturae carmen Elissae;][Quae legis, a nobis ultima verba legis: ]Sic ubi fata vocant, udis abiectus in herbisAd vada Maeandri concinit albus olor.Nec quia te nostra sperem prece posse moveri,Adloquor — adverso movimus ista deo;Sed merita et famam corpusque animumque pudicumCum male perdiderim, perdere verba leve est.Certus es ire tamen miseramque relinquere Dido,Atque idem venti vela fidemque ferent?Certus es, Aenea, cum foedere solvere naves,Quaeque ubi sint nescis, Itala regna sequi?
He indeed is ungrateful, and regardless of all my good offices; and I am a fond fool, not to tear him instantly from my heart. In spite of all his ill-usage, I have not power to hate him. I can only complain of his baseness; and, when my complaints are over, love him more than ever. Pity, O Venus, your daughter-in-law; pierce, O Cupid, the unrelenting heart of your brother, and teach him to fight under your banners. Teach me also, who have already begun the pleasing task, (for I deny it not,) and let him prove an object worthy of my tenderness and concern. I rave; and the enchanting image deludes my eager mind; nor does he retain any portion of the softness of his mother. You are certainly the offspring of rocks and mountains, or the hardened oak that rises out of the hanging cliff. A savage tigress, or the tempestuous ocean, such as it is now when swelled by gathering storms, gave thee birth. But whither can you shape your course, or how stem the force of opposing billows? You prepare to set sail, a stormy sea forbids: let me enjoy the blessing which a rough winter offers. Behold how the blustering east-wind raises the foaming waves. Let me owe that to winter and a stormy sea, which I would rather owe to your love; the winds and waves have more of justice than you. Although thou deservest to perish, cruel and barbarous man, yet I am not of such value, that in
Nec nova Carthago, nec te crescentia tanguntMoenia nec sceptro tradita summa tuo?Facta fugis, facienda petis; quaerenda per orbemAltera, quaesita est altera terra tibi.Ut terram invenias, quis eam tibi tradet habendam?Quis sua non notis arva tenenda dabit?Scilicet alter amor tibi restat et altera Dido;Quamque iterum fallas altera danda fides.Quando erit, ut condas instar Carthaginis urbemEt videas populos altus ab arce tuos?Omnia ut eveniant, nec te tua vota morentur,Unde tibi, quae te sic amet, uxor erit?Uror, ut inducto ceratae sulpure taedae,Ut pia fumosis addita tura focis.Aeneas oculis semper vigilantis inhaeret;Aenean animo noxque quiesque refert.Ille quidem male gratus et ad mea munera surdus,Et quo, si non sim stulta, carere velim;Non tamen Aenean, quamvis male cogitat, odi,Sed queror infidum questaque peius amo.Parce, Venus, nurui, durumque amplectere fratrem,Frater Amor, castris militet ille tuis!
flying from me you should lose your life. It is a costly hatred, and of too great amount, if you despise death while you endeavour to shun me. Soon the winds will cease, a calm succeed, and Triton, drawn by sea-green horses, wheel along the surface of the deep.
Aut ego, quae coepi, (neque enim dedignor) amorem,Materiam curae praebeat ille meae!Fallor, et ista mihi falso iactatur imago;Matris ab ingenio dissidet ille suae.
Oh! how I wish that you may also change with the winds! and surely it will be so, unless you have a heart harder than the knotted oak. What? as if yet unacquainted with the dangers of a raging sea, can you still trust in an element that has so often proved fatal to you? Were you even to weigh anchor, and sail along a level deep, an extensive ocean has still many dangers in store. Waves bear the vengeance of the Gods against the violators of vows; it is here that perfidy is overtaken by severe punishment; especially treachery in love; for Venus, the mother of soft and tender desires, is said to have sprung naked from the waves, that murmur round the island of Cythera. Though lost, I am anxious for your safety, and avoid doing hurt to one who has loaded me with injuries; I am afraid that my enemy shipwrecked may be overwhelmed in the raging sea. For Heaven's sake live; I would rather lose you thus than by the grave. Live, I say, and be rather the cause of my funeral. Suppose you are overtaken by a fierce whirlwind, (forbid, ye Gods, that my words carry in them any omen!) what thought or courage will you then exert? The perjuries of your deceitful tongue, and the thought of wretched Dido killed
Te lapis et montes innataque rupibus altisRobora, te saevae progenuere ferae,Aut mare, quale vides agitari nunc quoque ventis,Qua tamen adversis fluctibus ire paras.Quo fugis? obstat hiemps. hiemis mihi gratia prosit!Adspice, ut eversas concitet Eurus aquas!Quod tibi malueram, sine me debere procellis;Iustior est animo ventus et unda tuo.Non ego sum tanti — quid non censeris inique? —Ut pereas, dum me per freta longa fugis.Exerces pretiosa odia et constantia magno,Si, dum me careas, est tibi vile mori.Iam venti ponent, strataque aequaliter undaCaeruleis Triton per mare curret equis.Tu quoque cum ventis utinam mutabilis esses!Et, nisi duritia robora vincis, eris.Quid, quasi nescires, insana quid aequora possint,Expertae totiens tam male credis aquae?Ut, pelago suadente viam, retinacula solvas,Multa tamen latus tristia pontus habet.
by Phrygian perfidy, will then fly in your face. The mournful image of your forsaken wife will stand before your eyes, disconsolate and bloody, with hair disheveled. You will then own that you have met with your deserved fate, and think each flash of lightning aimed at you. Delay for a time your cruel flight, and tempt not the raging sea: a safe voyage will be the certain reward of your stay. If you are regardless of me, yet think of tender Iulus. It is enough for you to be branded as the cause of my death. What has Ascanius, what have the Gods deserved, that they who have so lately escaped the flames, should be exposed to perish amidst the waves? But neither do you bring your Gods with you; nor, as you falsely boasted, did your shoulders bear these sacred reliques, and a father, through flames and danger. You deceived me in all; nor am I the first credulous fool deluded by that perjured tongue, or the first who have suffered from a rash belief. If we ask after the mother of beautiful Iulus, we find that she fell deserted by a cruel and hard-hearted husband. These things you yourself related, and yet they made no impression: go on to torment me, since I so much deserve it; your punishment will be the less, be-
Nec violasse fidem temptantibus aequora prodest;Perfidiae poenas exigit ille locus,Praecipue cum laesus amor, quia mater AmorumNuda Cytheriacis edita fertur aquis.Perdita ne perdam, timeo, noceamve nocenti,Neu bibat aequoreas naufragus hostis aquas.Vive, precor! sic te melius quam funere perdam.Tu potius leti causa ferere mei.Finge, age, te rapido — nullum sit in omine pondus! —Turbine deprendi; quid tibi mentis erit?Protinus occurrent falsae periuria linguae,Et Phrygia Dido fraude coacta mori;Coniugis ante oculos deceptae stabit imagoTristis et effusis sanguinolenta comis.Quid tanti est ut tum 'merui! concedite!' dicas,Quaeque cadent, in te fulmina missa putes?Da breve saevitiae spatium pelagique tuaeque;Grande morae pretium tuta futura via est.Haec minus ut cures, puero parcatur Iulo!Te satis est titulum mortis habere meae.
cause of my crime. Nor can I doubt that even your own Gods are offended: it is now the seventh winter that you have been tossed by land and sea. When the waves had thrown you on the shore, I welcomed you to my kingdom, and intrusted you with the government, scarcely knowing even your name. I most sincerely wish that I had confined myself to these kind offices alone, and that the fame of your having shared my bed were buried in eternal oblivion! That was the unhappy day of my ruin, when a sudden dark storm drove us into a hanging cave. I heard a strange voice, and fancied that the mountain Nymphs approved: alas! too late I now find, that the Furies presaged my unhappy destiny. Exact, O violated chastity, the vengeance due to injured Sichæus, to whom (wretch that I am!) I hasten full of shame and anxiety.
Quid puer Ascanius, quid di meruere Penates?Ignibus ereptos obruet unda deos?Sed neque fers tecum, nec, quae mihi, perfide, iactas,Presserunt umeros sacra paterque tuos.Omnia mentiris, neque enim tua fallere linguaIncipit a nobis, primaque plector ego.Si quaeras, ubi sit formosi mater Iuli —Occidit a duro sola relicta viro!Haec mihi narraras — sat me monuere! merentemUre; minor culpa poena futura mea est.Nec mihi mens dubia est, quin te tua numina damnent.Per mare, per terras septima iactat hiemps.
I preserve, in a little chapel of marble, a pious statue of Sichæus, wreathed with flowers and white wool. From this dome, I seemed to be four times called, and my dear husband (as I imagined) in a low hollow voice said, "Dido, come." I will come without delay. I who am thy wife, due to thee alone, will come; but with diffidence, because conscious of the wrong I have done you. Pardon my unhappy error:
Fluctibus eiectum tuta statione recepiVixque bene audito nomine regna dedi.His tamen officiis utinam contenta fuissem,Et mihi concubitus fama sepulta foret!Illa dies nocuit, qua nos declive sub antrumCaeruleus subitis conpulit imber aquis.Audieram vocem; nymphas ululasse putavi —Eumenides fati signa dedere mei!
I was mis-led by one formed to deceive. Let his attractions be the excuse of my folly. His mother a goddess, and the pious load of his aged sire, gave me hopes of a constant and unshaken husband. If I did err, yet my error claims an honorable excuse; suppose him faithful, and I might yield up my heart to him without a blush. The same fate which persecuted me before, continues still to harass me, and mars the quiet of my present hours. My husband fell murdered before the altars; and a bloody brother reaped his wealth, as the reward of that impious deed. I am banished from my own country, and forced to abandon the dear remains of my husband: pursued by my enemies, I take shelter in a foreign land. I was wafted to an unknown coast; and, having thus escaped from the cruelty of my brother and the dangers of the sea, I purchased the lands which I have made over to you. I built a city, and marked out my walls to such
Exige, laese pudor, poenas! violate Sychaei …Ad quas, me miseram, plena pudoris eo.Est mihi marmorea sacratus in aede Sychaeus(Oppositae frondes velleraque alba tegunt).Hinc ego me sensi noto quater ore citari;Ipse sono tenui dixit 'Elissa, veni!'Nulla mora est, venio, venio tibi debita coniunx;Sum tamen admissi tarda pudore mei.Da veniam culpae! decepit idoneus auctor;Invidiam noxae detrahit ille meae.Diva parens seniorque pater, pia sarcina nati,Spem mihi mansuri rite dedere viri.Si fuit errandum, causas habet error honestas;Adde fidem, nulla parte pigendus erit.Durat in extremum vitaeque novissima nostraeProsequitur fati, qui fuit ante, tenor.
an extent, as to raise the envy of the neighbouring states. Wars threaten me, though a helpless woman. I prepare to carry on a war with strangers, and with difficulty fortify my new city, and arm my troops. A thousand rivals make pretensions to my love, who all join in complaining, that they are slighted for the sake of this stranger. Why do you hesitate to deliver me a captive to Getulian Iarbas? I have put it in your power to use me thus basely. I have moreover a brother, whose wicked hands, already stained with the blood of my husband, may be stained also with mine. Leave your Gods, and those sacred reliques which were polluted by thy touch. An impious right-hand ill becomes the worship of the heavenly powers. The Gods disdain a sacrilegious homage: and, to avoid thy worship, would willingly return to perish in the Grecian flames. Perhaps, barbarous man, you abandon me in a state of pregnancy, and when a part of you lies hidden in my womb. The unhappy infant will share the fate of its mother; and you will prove the cause of death to one yet unborn. The brother
Occidit internas coniunx mactatus ad aras,Et sceleris tanti praemia frater habet;Exul agor cineresque viri patriamque relinquo,Et feror in dubias hoste sequente vias.Adplicor his oris fratrique elapsa fretoqueQuod tibi donavi, perfide, litus emo.Urbem constitui lateque patentia fixiMoenia finitimis invidiosa locis.Bella tument; bellis peregrina et femina temptor,Vixque rudis portas urbis et arma paro.Mille procis placui, qui me coiere querentesNescio quem thalamis praeposuisse suis.Quid dubitas vinctam Gaetulo tradere Iarbae?Praebuerim sceleri bracchia nostra tuo.Est etiam frater, cuius manus inpia poscitRespergi nostro, sparsa cruore viri.Pone deos et quae tangendo sacra profanas!
of Iulus will be involved in his parent's unhappy destiny; and one stroke will carry off both at the same time. But a God commands you to be gone. I wish he had forbidden you to touch upon our coasts, and that the streets of Carthage had never been trodden by the natives of Troy. It is doubtless under the same guide, (this Divinity forsooth), that you are now the sport of unfavorable winds, and waste the time in traversing tempestuous seas. Scarcely ought you to expose yourself to so many dangers to recover Troy itself, though in the same flourishing condition as when defended by Hector. At present you are not in quest of Simois, but the banks of the Tyber; where, when you arrive, you will be no more than a precarious guest; and, as it is far off, and eludes your search, it may perhaps remain undiscovered even to your old age. It would be better to accept the dowry of my kingdom, a sure inheritance, and the treasures snatched from covetous Pygmalion. You may more happily transfer your Troy to Carthage, and sway the sacred sceptre with kingly rule.
Non bene caelestis inpia dextra colit.Si tu cultor eras elapsis igne futurus,Paenitet elapsos ignibus esse deos.Forsitan et gravidam Dido, scelerate, relinquas,Parsque tui lateat corpore clausa meo.Accedet fatis matris miserabilis infans,Et nondum nato funeris auctor eris,Cumque parente sua frater morietur Iuli,Poenaque conexos auferet una duos.'Sed iubet ire deus.' vellem, vetuisset adire,Punica nec Teucris pressa fuisset humus!Hoc duce nempe deo ventis agitaris iniquisEt teris in rabido tempora longa freto?Pergama vix tanto tibi erant repetenda labore,Hectore si vivo quanta fuere forent.Non patrium Simoenta petis, sed Thybridis undas —Nempe ut pervenias, quo cupis, hospes eris;Utque latet vitatque tuas abstrusa carinas,Vix tibi continget terra petita seni.
If you are fond of war, if Iulus is impatient to gather laurels in the field; that every thing may be to your wish, he shall find foes to conquer. Here you may taste the blessings of peace, or engage in the toils of war. I adjure you by your parent Goddess, by the arrows of Cupid your brother; by the Gods of Troy, companions of your flight, (so may all that you bring with you from Troy survive the attacks of fortune, and that war prove the period of your calamities; so may Ascanius fill up the measure of his years, and the bones of old Anchises rest in peace,) have pity on me, whose fate is in your hand; whose only crime is to have loved you too well. I am not of Mycenæ, or descended from hostile Achilles; nor did my husband or father ever bear arms against you. If you think we unworthy to be your wife, receive me under the name of your hostess. Dido will submit to any thing, if she may be yours. The seas that beat against the
Hos potius populos in dotem, ambage remissa,Accipe et advectas Pygmalionis opes.Ilion in Tyriam transfer felicius urbemResque loco regis sceptraque sacra tene!Si tibi mens avida est belli, si quaerit Iulus,Unde suo partus Marte triumphus eat,Quem superet, nequid desit, praebebimus hostem;Hic pacis leges, hic locus arma capit.Tu modo, per matrem fraternaque tela, sagittas,Perque fugae comites, Dardana sacra, deos —Sic superent, quoscumque tua de gente reportatMars ferus, et damni sit modus ille tui,Ascaniusque suos feliciter inpleat annos,Et senis Anchisae molliter ossa cubent!
African shore are well known to me. At certain seasons they favor and they frown. When the winds invite you to be gone, you shall spread the swelling sails: now the moored ships are surrounded with floating sea-weed. Let it be my care to observe the season proper for sailing; you shall go, when you may with safety; nor (if you should even desire it) would I suffer you to stay. Your companions will be pleased with a little rest; and the shattered fleet, not completely repaired, requires some delay. I also ask a small respite, if I have any merit with you; if you value my love, or the ties by which I am your's; that the waves and my love may assuage; that by time and use I may learn to bear my sorrows with fortitude. If not, I will end my misery with my life; nor shall it be long in your power to use me thus barbarously. O that you could represent me to yourself as writing this letter! I write, and on my lap lies a drawn sword. The tears flow down my checks upon that weapon, which instead of tears will be soon stained with blood. How well are your
—Parce, precor, domui, quae se tibi tradit habendam!Quod crimen dicis praeter amasse meum?Non ego sum Pthias magnisque oriunda Mycenis,Nec steterunt in te virque paterque meus.Si pudet uxoris, non nupta, sed hospita dicar;Dum tua sit, Dido quidlibet esse feret.Nota mihi freta sunt Afrum plangentia litus;Temporibus certis dantque negantque viam.Cum dabit aura viam, praebebis carbasa ventis;Nunc levis eiectam continet alga ratem.Tempus ut observem, manda mihi; certius ibis,Nec te, si cupies, ipsa manere sinam.Et socii requiem poscunt, laniataque classisPostulat exiguas semirefecta moras;Pro meritis et siqua tibi debebimus ultra,Pro spe coniugii tempora parva peto —Dum freta mitescunt et amor, dum tempore et usuFortiter edisco tristia posse pati.
gifts fitted to my destiny! You raise my sepulchre at an easy rate. Nor does this dart now first pierce my breast; it previously felt the wounds of cruel love. And you, my dear sister, the confidante of my guilty flame, shall soon pay the last duty to my unhappy remains. Nor let my monument boast that I was the wife of Sichæus; may the marble bear only this inscription:Æneas afforded the cause and instrument of Dido's death; but she fell by her own hand.
Si minus, est animus nobis effundere vitam;In me crudelis non potes esse diu.Adspicias utinam, quae sit scribentis imago!Scribimus, et gremio Troicus ensis adest,Perque genas lacrimae strictum labuntur in ensem,Qui iam pro lacrimis sanguine tinctus erit.Quam bene conveniunt fato tua munera nostro!
I, UNHAPPY Hermione, address the man, lately my kinsman and spouse; now my kinsman only; for another possesses the name of husband. Pyrrhus, the son of Achilles, impetuous as his sire, forcibly confines me here, contrary to honour and justice. I resisted with all the force which I could exert, that I might not be detained; nor was it in the power of female hands to do more. "What are you doing, grandson of Æacus?" exclaimed I: "think not that I am without an avenger: the maid whom you injure has a master of her own." But he, more deaf than the raging waves, dragged me by the hair into his hated palace, calling for aid upon the name of Orestes. What could I have suffered
Instruis inpensa nostra sepulcra brevi.Nec mea nunc primum feriuntur pectora telo;Ille locus saevi vulnus amoris habet.Anna soror, soror Anna, meae male conscia culpae,Iam dabis in cineres ultima dona meos.Nec consumpta rogis inscribar Elissa Sychaei,Hoc tantum in tumuli marmore carmen erit:Praebuit Aeneas et causam mortis et ensem;Ipsa sua Dido concidit usa manu.[Alloquor Hermione nuper fratremque virumque.][Nunc fratrem;
more in the ruin of Lacedæmon, had a troop of barbarians led captive the Grecian dames? Triumphant Greece did not so harass unfortunate Andromache, when the wealth of Phrygia became the prey of devouring flames. But, Oh! Orestes, if you have any care or thought of me, assert with courage and resolution your undoubted right. Will you take up arms if any one should break in upon your sheepfolds, and yet be slow to free your wife from violence? Imitate the example of your father-in-law, who boldly reclaimed his ravished spouse, and thought the injury offered him in a woman a sufficient cause of war. Had Menelaus remained indolent in his deserted palace, my mother would have still continued the wife of Paris, as once she was. There is no necessity for a fleet, or powerful army; come only yourself. Not but that I deserve to be demanded back in this manner; nor is it any reproach to a husband, to have waged a furious war for the honor of his nuptial bed. Have we not the same grandfather, Atreus the son of Pelops? And, were you not
nomen coniugis alter habet: ]Pyrrhus Achillides, animosus imagine patris,Inclusam contra iusque piumque tenet.Quod potui, renui, ne non invita tenerer;Cetera femineae non valuere manus.'Quid facis, Aeacide? non sum sine vindice,' dixi:'Haec tibi sub domino est, Pyrrhe, puella suo!'Surdior ille freto clamantem nomen OrestaeTraxit inornatis in sua tecta comis.Quid gravius capta Lacedaemone serva tulissem,Si raperet Graias barbara turba nurus?Parcius Andromachen vexavit Achaia victrix,Cum Danaus Phrygias ureret ignis opes.At tu, cura mei si te pia tangit, Oreste,Inice non timidas in tua iura manus!An siquis rapiat stabulis armenta reclusis,Arma feras, rapta coniuge lentus eris?Sit socer exemplo nuptae repetitor ademptae,Cui pia militiae causa puella fuit!
my spouse, you are still my kinsman. Both as your wife and kinswoman, I beg your aid; remember that you are under a double tie to this good office. I was given to you by our ancestor Tyndareus, considerable for his experience and years; and one who, as my grandfather, had the undoubted disposal of me. But my father, not knowing this, had given his promise to Æacides. Surely that of Tyndareus, as first in authority and time, ought to have the preference. When espoused to you, my flame was just and unexceptionable; but if I should be married to Pyrrhus, you will be injured in me. My father Menelaus will easily be brought to approve our love; he himself hath yielded to the winged arrows of the God. He will make such allowance for your love, as he took to himself in his. His attachment to my mother affords an example to excuse ourselves. You are to me, what my father was to Helen; and Pyrrhus acts the part of the Trojan guest of old. Let him boast, without ceasing, of the mighty acts of his father; you also can relate the glorious deeds of yours. The descendant of Tantalus commanded all the Grecian host, even Achilles himself. That Hero headed only a single troop; Agamemnon was general in
Si socer ignavus vidua stertisset in aula,Nupta foret Paridi mater, ut ante fuit.Nec tu mille rates sinuosaque vela pararisNec numeros Danai militis — ipse veni!Sic quoque eram repetenda tamen, nec turpe maritoAspera pro caro bella tulisse toro.Quid, quod avus nobis idem Pelopeius Atreus,Et, si non esses vir mihi, frater eras.Vir, precor, uxori, frater succurre sorori!Instant officio nomina bina tuo.Me tibi Tyndareus, vita gravis auctor et annis,Tradidit; arbitrium neptis habebat avus.At pater Aeacidae promiserat inscius acti;Plus patre, quo prior est ordine, pollet avus.Cum tibi nubebam, nulli mea taeda nocebat;Si iungar Pyrrho, tu mihi laesus eris.Et pater ignoscet nostro Menelaus amori —Succubuit telis praepetis ipse dei.Quem sibi permisit, genero concedet amorem;Proderit exemplo mater amata suo.