But woe is me! If gods their help withhold,'t is impious to be brave. That very hourthe fair Cassandra passed us, bound in chains,King Priam's virgin daughter, from the shrineand altars of Minerva; her loose hairhad lost its fillet; her impassioned eyeswere lifted in vain prayer,—her eyes alone!For chains of steel her frail, soft hands confined.Coroebus' eyes this horror not endured,and, sorrow-crazed, he plunged him headlong inthe midmost fray, self-offered to be slain,while in close mass our troop behind him poured.But, at this point, the overwhelming spearsof our own kinsmen rained resistless downfrom a high temple-tower; and carnage wildensued, because of the Greek arms we boreand our false crests. The howling Grecian band,crazed by Cassandra's rescue, charged at usfrom every side; Ajax of savage soul,the sons of Atreus, and that whole wild hordeAchilles from Dolopian deserts drew.'T was like the bursting storm, when gales contend,west wind and South, and jocund wind of mornupon his orient steeds—while forests roar,and foam-flecked Nereus with fierce trident stirsthe dark deep of the sea. All who did hidein shadows of the night, by our assaultsurprised, and driven in tumultuous flight,now start to view. Full well they now can seeour shields and borrowed arms, and clearly noteour speech of alien sound; their multitudeo'erwhelms us utterly. Coroebus firstat mailed Minerva's altar prostrate lay,pierced by Peneleus, blade; then Rhipeus fell;we deemed him of all Trojans the most just,most scrupulously righteous; but the godsgave judgment otherwise. There Dymas died,and Hypanis, by their compatriots slain;nor thee, O Panthus, in that mortal hour,could thy clean hands or Phoebus, priesthood save.O ashes of my country! funeral pyreof all my kin! bear witness that my breastshrank not from any sword the Grecian drew,and that my deeds the night my country dieddeserved a warrior's death, had Fate ordained.But soon our ranks were broken; at my sidestayed Iphitus and Pelias; one with agewas Iong since wearied, and the other borethe burden of Ulysses' crippling wound.Straightway the roar and tumult summoned usto Priam's palace, where a battle ragedas if save this no conflict else were known,and all Troy's dying brave were mustered there.There we beheld the war-god unconfined;The Greek besiegers to the roof-tops fled;or, with shields tortoise-back, the gates assailed.Ladders were on the walls; and round by round,up the huge bulwark as they fight their way,the shielded left-hand thwarts the falling spears,the right to every vantage closely clings.The Trojans hurl whole towers and roof-tops downupon the mounting foe; for well they seethat the last hour is come, and with what armsthe dying must resist. Rich gilded beams,with many a beauteous blazon of old time,go crashing down. Men armed with naked swordsdefend the inner doors in close array.
Heu nihil invitis fas quemquam fidere divis!Ecce trahebatur passis Priameïa virgocrinibus a templo Cassandra adytisque Minervae,ad caelum tendens ardentia lumina frustra,—lumina, nam teneras arcebant vincula palmas.Non tulit hanc speciem furiata mente Coroebus,et sese medium iniecit periturus in agmen.Consequimur cuncti et densis incurrimus armis.Hic primum ex alto delubri culmine telisnostrorum obruimur, oriturque miserrima caedesarmorum facie et Graiarum errore iubarum.Tum Danai gemitu atque ereptae virginis iraundique collecti invadunt, acerrimus Aiax,et gemini Atridae, Dolopumque exercitus omnis;adversi rupto ceu quondam turbine venticonfligunt, Zephyrusque Notusque et laetus EoisEurus equis; stridunt silvae, saevitque tridentispumeus atque imo Nereus ciet aequora fundo.Illi etiam, si quos obscura nocte per umbramfudimus insidiis totaque agitavimus urbe,apparent; primi clipeos mentitaque telaadgnoscunt, atque ora sono discordia signant.Ilicet obruimur numero; primusque CoroebusPenelei dextra divae armipotentis ad aramprocumbit; cadit et Rhipeus, iustissimus unusqui fuit in Teucris et servantissimus aequi:dis aliter visum; pereunt Hypanisque Dymasqueconfixi a sociis; nec te tua plurima, Panthu,labentem pietas nec Apollinis infula texit.Iliaci cineres et flamma extrema meorum,testor, in occasu vestro nec tela nec ullasvitavisse vices Danaum, et, si fata fuissentut caderem, meruisse manu. Divellimur inde,Iphitus et Pelias mecum, quorum Iphitus aevoiam gravior, Pelias et volnere tardus Ulixi;protinus ad sedes Priami clamore vocati.Hic vero ingentem pugnam, ceu cetera nusquambella forent, nulli tota morerentur in urbe.Sic Martem indomitum, Danaosque ad tecta ruentiscernimus, obsessumque acta testudine limen.Haerent parietibus scalae, postisque sub ipsosnituntur gradibus, clipeosque ad tela sinistrisprotecti obiciunt, prensant fastigia dextris.Dardanidae contra turris ac tota domorumculmina convellunt; his se, quando ultima cernunt,extrema iam in morte parant defendere telis;auratasque trabes, veterum decora alta parentum,devolvunt; alii strictis mucronibus imasobsedere fores; has servant agmine denso.Instaurati animi, regis succurrere tectis,auxilioque levare viros, vimque addere victis.
Thus were our hearts inflamed to stand and strikefor the king's house, and to his body-guardbring succor, and renew their vanquished powers.A certain gate I knew, a secret way,which gave free passage between Priam's halls,and exit rearward; hither, in the daysbefore our fall, the lone Andromachewas wont with young Astyanax to passin quest of Priam and her husband's kin.This way to climb the palace roof I flew,where, desperate, the Trojans with vain skillhurled forth repellent arms. A tower was there,reared skyward from the roof-top, giving viewof Troy's wide walls and full reconnaissanceof all Achaea's fleets and tented field;this, with strong steel, our gathered strength assailed,and as the loosened courses offered usgreat threatening fissures, we uprooted itfrom its aerial throne and thrust it down.It fell with instantaneous crash of thunderalong the Danaan host in ruin wide.But fresh ranks soon arrive; thick showers of stonerain down, with every missile rage can find.
Limen erat caecaeque fores et pervius usustectorum inter se Priami, postesque relictia tergo, infelix qua se, dum regna manebant,saepius Andromache ferre incomitata solebatad soceros, et avo puerum Astyanacta trahebat.Evado ad summi fastigia culminis, undetela manu miseri iactabant inrita Teucri.Turrim in praecipiti stantem summisque sub astraeductam tectis, unde omnis Troia videriet Danaum solitae naves et Achaia castra,adgressi ferro circum, qua summa labantisiuncturas tabulata dabant, convellimus altissedibus, impulimusque; ea lapsa repente ruinamcum sonitu trahit et Danaum super agmina lateincidit: ast alii subeunt, nec saxa, nec ullumtelorum interea cessat genus.
Now at the threshold of the outer courtPyrrhus triumphant stood, with glittering armsand helm of burnished brass. He glittered likesome swollen viper, fed on poison-leaves,whom chilling winter shelters underground,till, fresh and strong, he sheds his annual scalesand, crawling forth rejuvenate, uncoilshis slimy length; his lifted gorge insultsthe sunbeam with three-forked and quivering tongue.Huge Periphas was there; Automedon,who drove Achilles' steeds, and bore his arms.Then Scyros' island-warriors assaultthe palaces, and hurl reiterate fireat wall and tower. Pyrrhus led the van;seizing an axe he clove the ponderous doorsand rent the hinges from their posts of bronze;he cut the beams, and through the solid massburrowed his way, till like a window hugethe breach yawned wide, and opened to his gazea vista of long courts and corridors,the hearth and home of many an ancient king,and Priam's own; upon its sacred bournethe sentry, all in arms, kept watch and ward.Confusion, groans, and piteous turmoilwere in that dwelling; women shrieked and wailedfrom many a dark retreat, and their loud cryrang to the golden stars. Through those vast hallsthe panic-stricken mothers wildly roved,and clung with frantic kisses and embraceunto the columns cold. Fierce as his sire,Pyrrhus moves on; nor bar nor sentinelmay stop his way; down tumbles the great doorbeneath the battering beam, and with it fallhinges and framework violently torn.Force bursts all bars; th' assailing Greeks break in,do butchery, and with men-at-arms possesswhat place they will. Scarce with an equal ragea foaming river, when its dykes are down,o'erwhelms its mounded shores, and through the plainrolls mountain-high, while from the ravaged farmsits fierce flood sweeps along both flock and fold.My own eyes looked on Neoptolemusfrenzied with slaughter, and both Atreus' sonsupon the threshold frowning; I beheldher hundred daughters with old Hecuba;and Priam, whose own bleeding wounds defiledthe altars where himself had blessed the fires;there fifty nuptial beds gave promise proudof princely heirs; but all their brightness now,of broidered cunning and barbaric gold,lay strewn and trampled on. The Danaan foestood victor, where the raging flame had failed.
Vestibulum ante ipsum primoque in limine Pyrrhusexsultat, telis et luce coruscus aëna;qualis ubi in lucem coluber mala gramina pastusfrigida sub terra tumidum quem bruma tegebat,nunc, positis novus exuviis nitidusque iuventa,lubrica convolvit sublato pectore tergaarduus ad solem, et linguis micat ore trisulcis.Una ingens Periphas et equorum agitator Achillis,armiger Automedon, una omnis Scyria pubessuccedunt tecto, et flammas ad culmina iactant.Ipse inter primos correpta dura bipennilimina perrumpit, postisque a cardine vellitaeratos; iamque excisa trabe firma cavavitrobora, et ingentem lato dedit ore fenestram.Adparet domus intus, et atria longa patescunt;adparent Priami et veterum penetralia regum,armatosque vident stantis in limine primo.At domus interior gemitu miseroque tumultumiscetur, penitusque cavae plangoribus aedesfemineis ululant; ferit aurea sidera clamor.Tum pavidae tectis matres ingentibus errant;amplexaeque tenent postis atque oscula figunt.Instat vi patria Pyrrhus; nec claustra, neque ipsicustodes sufferre valent; labat ariete crebroianua, et emoti procumbunt cardine postes.Fit via vi; rumpunt aditus, primosque trucidantimmissi Danai, et late loca milite complent.Non sic, aggeribus ruptis cum spumeus amnisexiit, oppositasque evicit gurgite moles,fertur in arva furens cumulo, camposque per omniscum stabulis armenta trahit. Vidi ipse furentemcaede Neoptolemum geminosque in limine Atridas;vidi Hecubam centumque nurus, Priamumque per arassanguine foedantem, quos ipse sacraverat, ignis.Quinquaginta illi thalami, spes tanta nepotum,barbarico postes auro spoliisque superbi,procubuere; tenent Danai, qua deficit ignis.
But would ye haply know what stroke of doomon Priam fell? Now when his anguish sawhis kingdom lost and fallen, his abodeshattered, and in his very hearth and hometh' exulting foe, the aged King did bindhis rusted armor to his trembling thews,—all vainly,— and a useless blade of steelhe girded on; then charged, resolved to dieencircled by the foe. Within his wallsthere stood, beneath the wide and open sky,a lofty altar; an old laurel-treeleaned o'er it, and enclasped in holy shadethe statues of the tutelary powers.Here Hecuba and all the princessestook refuge vain within the place of prayer.Like panic-stricken doves in some dark storm,close-gathering they sate, and in despairembraced their graven gods. But when the Queensaw Priam with his youthful harness on,“What frenzy, O my wretched lord,” she cried,“Arrayed thee in such arms? O, whither now?Not such defences, nor such arm as thine,the time requires, though thy companion wereour Hector's self. O, yield thee, I implore!This altar now shall save us one and all,or we must die together.” With these wordsshe drew him to her side, and near the shrinemade for her aged spouse a place to cling.
Forsitan et Priami fuerint quae fata requiras.Urbis uti captae casum convolsaque viditlimina tectorum et medium in penetralibus hostem,arma diu senior desueta trementibus aevocircumdat nequiquam umeris, et inutile ferrumcingitur, ac densos fertur moriturus in hostis.Aedibus in mediis nudoque sub aetheris axeingens ara fuit iuxtaque veterrima laurus,incumbens arae atque umbra complexa Penatis.Hic Hecuba et natae nequiquam altaria circum,praecipites atra ceu tempestate columbae,condensae et divom amplexae simulacra sedebant.Ipsum autem sumptis Priamum iuvenalibus armisut vidit, “Quae mens tam dira, miserrime coniunx,”“impulit his cingi telis? Aut quo ruis?” inquit;“Non tali auxilio nec defensoribus istis”“tempus eget, non, si ipse meus nunc adforet Hector.”“Huc tandem concede; haec ara tuebitur omnis,”“aut moriere simul.” Sic ore effata recepitad sese et sacra longaevum in sede locavit.
But, lo! just 'scaped of Pyrrhus' murderous hand,Polites, one of Priam's sons, fled fastalong the corridors, through thronging foesand a thick rain of spears. Wildly he gazedacross the desolate halls, wounded to death.Fierce Pyrrhus followed after, pressing hardwith mortal stroke, and now his hand and spearwere close upon:— when the lost youth leaped forthinto his father's sight, and prostrate therelay dying, while his life-blood ebbed away.Then Priam, though on all sides death was nigh,quit not the strife, nor from loud wrath refrained:“Thy crime and impious outrage, may the gods(if Heaven to mortals render debt and due)justly reward and worthy honors pay!My own son's murder thou hast made me see,blood and pollution impiously throwingupon a father's head. Not such was he,not such, Achilles, thy pretended sire,when Priam was his foe. With flush of shamehe nobly listened to a suppliant's pleain honor made. He rendered to the tombmy Hector's body pale, and me did sendback to my throne a king.” With this proud wordthe aged warrior hurled with nerveless armhis ineffectual spear, which hoarsely rangrebounding on the brazen shield, and hungpiercing the midmost boss,- but all in vain.Then Pyrrhus: “Take these tidings, and conveymessage to my father, Peleus' son!tell him my naughty deeds! Be sure and sayhow Neoptolemus hath shamed his sires.Now die!” With this, he trailed before the shrinesthe trembling King, whose feet slipped in the streamof his son's blood. Then Pyrrhus' left hand clutchedthe tresses old and gray; a glittering swordhis right hand lifted high, and buried itfar as the hilt in that defenceless heart.So Priam's story ceased. Such final doomfell on him, while his dying eyes surveyedTroy burning, and her altars overthrown,though once of many an orient land and tribethe boasted lord. In huge dismembermenthis severed trunk lies tombless on the shore,the head from shoulder torn, the corpse unknown.
Ecce autem elapsus Pyrrhi de caede Polites,unus natorum Priami, per tela, per hostisporticibus longis fugit, et vacua atria lustratsaucius: illum ardens infesto volnere Pyrrhusinsequitur, iam iamque manu tenet et premit hasta.Ut tandem ante oculos evasit et ora parentum,concidit, ac multo vitam cum sanguine fudit.Hic Priamus, quamquam in media iam morte tenetur,non tamen abstinuit, nec voci iraeque pepercit:“At tibi pro scelere”, exclamat, “pro talibus ausis,”“di, si qua est caelo pietas, quae talia curet,”“persolvant grates dignas et praemia reddant”“debita, qui nati coram me cernere letum”“fecisti et patrios foedasti funere voltus.”“At non ille, satum quo te mentiris, Achilles”“talis in hoste fuit Priamo; sed iura fidemque”“supplicis erubuit, corpusque exsangue sepulchro”“reddidit Hectoreum, meque in mea regna remisit.”Sic fatus senior, telumque imbelle sine ictuconiecit, rauco quod protinus aere repulsume summo clipei nequiquam umbone pependit.Cui Pyrrhus: “Referes ergo haec et nuntius ibis”“Pelidae genitori; illi mea tristia facta”“degeneremque Neoptolemum narrare memento.”“Nunc morere.” Hoc dicens altaria ad ipsa trementemtraxit et in multo lapsantem sanguine nati,implicuitque comam laeva, dextraque coruscumextulit, ac lateri capulo tenus abdidit ensem.Haec finis Priami fatorum; hic exitus illumsorte tulit, Troiam incensam et prolapsa videntemPergama, tot quondam populis terrisque superbumregnatorem Asiae. Iacet ingens litore truncus,avolsumque umeris caput, et sine nomine corpus.
Then first wild horror on my spirit felland dazed me utterly. A vision roseof my own cherished father, as I sawthe King, his aged peer, sore wounded Iyingin mortal agony; a vision tooof lost Creusa at my ravaged hearth,and young Iulus' peril. Then my eyeslooked round me seeking aid. But all were fled,war-wearied and undone; some earthward leapedfrom battlement or tower; some in despairyielded their suffering bodies to the flame.
At me tum primum saevus circumstetit horrorObstipui; subiit cari genitoris imago,ut regem aequaevum crudeli volnere vidivitam exhalantem; subiit deserta Creüsa,et direpta domus, et parvi casus Iuli.Respicio, et quae sit me circum copia lustro.Deseruere omnes defessi, et corpora saltuad terram misere aut ignibus aegra dedere.
I stood there sole surviving; when, behold,to Vesta's altar clinging in dumb fear,hiding and crouching in the hallowed shade,Tyndarus' daughter!— 't was the burning townlighted full well my roving steps and eyes.In fear was she both of some Trojan's ragefor Troy o'erthrown, and of some Greek revenge,or her wronged husband's Iong indignant ire.So hid she at that shrine her hateful brow,being of Greece and Troy, full well she knew,the common curse. Then in my bosom rosea blaze of wrath; methought I should avengemy dying country, and with horrid deedpay crime for crime. “Shall she return unscathedto Sparta, to Mycenae's golden pride,and have a royal triumph? Shall her eyesher sire and sons, her hearth and husband see,while Phrygian captives follow in her train?is Priam murdered? Have the flames swept o'ermy native Troy? and cloth our Dardan strandsweat o'er and o'er with sanguinary dew?O, not thus unavenged! For though there beno glory if I smite a woman's crime,nor conqueror's fame for such a victory won,yet if I blot this monster out, and wringfull punishment from guilt, the time to comewill praise me, and sweet pleasure it will beto glut my soul with vengeance and appeasethe ashes of my kindred.”
[Iamque adeo super unus eram, cum limina Vestae][servantem et tacitam secreta in sede latentem][Tyndarida aspicio: dant clara incendia lucem][erranti passimque oculos per cuncta ferenti.][Illa sibi infestos eversa ob Pergama Teucros][et poenas Danaum et deserti coniugis iras][praemetuens, Troiae et patriae communis Erinys,][abdiderat sese atque aris invisa sedebat.][Exarsere ignes animo; subit ira cadentem][ulcisci patriam et sceleratas sumere poenas.][“Scilicet haec Spartam incolumis patriasque Mycenas”][“aspiciet, partoque ibit regina triumpho,”][“coniugiumque, domumque, patres, natosque videbit,”][“Iliadum turba et Phrygiis comitata ministris?”][“Occiderit ferro Priamus, Troia arserit igni?”][“Dardanium totiens sudarit sanguine litus?”][“Non ita: namque etsi nullum memorabile nomen”][“feminea in poena est, nec habet victoria laudem,”][“extinxisse nefas tamen et sumpsisse merentis”][“laudabor poenas, animumque explesse iuvabit”][“ultricis flammae, et cineres satiasse meorum.”]
So I raved,and to such frenzied purpose gave my soul.Then with clear vision (never had I seenher presence so unclouded) I beheld,in golden beams that pierced the midnight gloom,my gracious mother, visibly divine,and with that mien of majesty she wearswhen seen in heaven; she stayed me with her hand,and from her lips of rose this counsel gave:“O son, what sorrow stirs thy boundless rage?what madness this? Or whither vanisheththy love of me? Wilt thou not seek to knowwhere bides Anchises, thy abandoned sire,now weak with age? or if Creusa livesand young Ascanius, who are ringed aboutwith ranks of Grecian foes, and long ere this—save that my love can shield them and defend—had fallen on flame or fed some hungry sword?Not Helen's hated beauty works thee woe;nor Paris, oft-accused. The crueltyof gods, of gods unaided, overwhelmsthy country's power, and from its Iofty heightcasts Ilium down. Behold, I take awaythe barrier-cloud that dims thy mortal eye,with murk and mist o'er-veiling. Fear not thouto heed thy mother's word, nor let thy heartrefuse obedience to her counsel given.'Mid yonder trembling ruins, where thou see'ststone torn from stone, with dust and smoke uprolling,'t is Neptune strikes the wall; his trident vastmakes her foundation tremble, and unseatsthe city from her throne. Fierce Juno leadsresistless onset at the Scaean gate,and summons from the ships the league of powers,wearing her wrathful sword. On yonder heightbehold Tritonia in the citadelclothed with the lightning and her Gorgon-shield!Unto the Greeks great Jove himself renewstheir courage and their power; 't is he thrusts onthe gods themselves against the Trojan arms.Fly, O my son! The war's wild work give o'er!I will be always nigh and set thee safeupon thy father's threshold.” Having said,she fled upon the viewless night away.
[Talia iactabam, et furiata mente ferebar:]cum mihi se, non ante oculis tam clara, videndamobtulit et pura per noctem in luce refulsitalma parens, confessa deam, qualisque videricaelicolis et quanta solet, dextraque prehensumcontinuit, roseoque haec insuper addidit ore:“Nate, quis indomitas tantus dolor excitat iras?”“Quid furis, aut quonam nostri tibi cura recessit?”“Non prius aspicies, ubi fessum aetate parentem”“liqueris Anchisen; superet coniunxne Creüsa,”“Ascaniusque puer? Quos omnes undique Graiae”“circum errant acies, et, ni mea cura resistat,”“iam flammae tulerint inimicus et hauserit ensis.”“Non tibi Tyndaridis facies invisa Lacaenae”“culpatusve Paris: divom inclementia, divom,”“has evertit opes sternitque a culmine Troiam.”“Aspice—namque omnem, quae nunc obducta tuenti”“mortalis hebetat visus tibi et umida circum”“caligat, nubem eripiam; tu ne qua parentis”“iussa time, neu praeceptis parere recusa:—”“hic, ubi disiectas moles avolsaque saxis”“saxa vides mixtoque undantem pulvere fumum.”“Neptunus muros magnoque emota tridenti”“fundamenta quatit, totamque a sedibus urbem”“eruit; hic Iuno Scaeas saevissima portas”“prima tenet, sociumque furens a navibus agmen”“ferro accincta vocat.”“Iam summas arces Tritonia, respice, Pallas”“insedit, nimbo effulgens et Gorgone saeva.”“Ipse pater Danais animos viresque secundas”“sufficit, ipse deos in Dardana suscitat arma.”“Eripe, nate, fugam, finemque impone labori.”“Nusquam abero, et tutum patrio te limine sistam.”Dixerat, et spissis noctis se condidit umbris.Adparent dirae facies inimicaque Troiaenumina magna deum.
Then loomed o'er Troy the apparition vastof her dread foes divine; I seemed to seeall Ilium sink in fire, and sacred Troy,of Neptune's building, utterly o'erthrown.So some huge ash-tree on the mountain's brow(when rival woodmen, heaving stroke on strokeof two-edged axes, haste to cast her down)sways ominously her trembling, leafy top,and drops her smitten head; till by her woundsvanquished at last, she makes her dying groan,and falls in loud wreck from the cliffs uptorn.I left the citadel; and, led by Heaven,threaded the maze of deadly foes and fires,through spears that glanced aside and flames that fell.
Tum vero omne mihi visum considere in ignisIlium et ex imo verti Neptunia Troia;ac veluti summis antiquam in montibus ornumcum ferro accisam crebrisque bipennibus instanteruere agricolae certatim,—illa usque minaturet tremefacta comam concusso vertice nutat,volneribus donec paulatim evicta, supremumcongemuit, traxitque iugis avolsa ruinam.Descendo, ac ducente deo flammam inter et hostisexpedior; dant tela locum, flammaeque recedunt.
Soon came I to my father's ancient seat,our home and heritage. But lo! my sire(whom first of all I sought, and first would bearto safe asylum in the distant hills)vowed he could never, after fallen Troy,live longer on, or bear an exile's woe.“O you,” he cried, “whose blood not yet betraysthe cruel taint of time, whose powers be stillunpropped and undecayed, go, take your flight.If heavenly wrath had willed my life to spare,this dwelling had been safe. It is too muchthat I have watched one wreck, and for too Iongoutlived my vanquished country. Thus, O, thus!Compose these limbs for death, and say farewell.My own hand will procure it; or my foewill end me of mere pity, and for spoilwill strip me bare. It is an easy lossto have no grave. For many a year gone by,accursed of Heaven, I tarry in this worlda useless burden, since that fatal hourwhen Jove, of gods the Sire and men the King,his lightnings o'er me breathed and blasting fire.”
Atque ubi iam patriae perventum ad limina sedisantiquasque domos, genitor, quem tollere in altosoptabam primum montis primumque petebam,abnegat excisa vitam producere Troiaexsiliumque pati. “Vos O, quibus integer aevi”“sanguis,” ait “solidaeque suo stant robore vires,”“vos agitate fugam:”“me si caelicolae voluissent ducere vitam,”“has mihi servassent sedes. Satis una superque”“vidimus exscidia et captae superavimus urbi.”“Sic O, sic positum adfati discedite corpus.”“Ipse manu mortem inveniam; miserebitur hostis”“exuviasque petet; facilis iactura sepulcri.”“Iam pridem invisus divis et inutilis annos”“demoror, ex quo me divom pater atque hominum rex”“fulminis adflavit ventis et contigit igni.”
Such fixed resolve he uttered o'er and o'er,and would not yield, though with my tears did joinmy spouse Creusa, fair Ascanius,and our whole house, imploring the gray sirenot with himself to ruin all, nor addyet heavier burdens to our crushing doom.He still cried, “No!” and clung to where he satand to the same dread purpose. I once moreback to the fight would speed. For death aloneI made my wretched prayer. What space was leftfor wisdom now? What chance or hope was given?“Didst thou, dear father, dream that I could flysundered from thee? Did such an infamyfall from a father's lips? If Heaven's decreewill of this mighty nation not let livea single soul, if thine own purpose beto cast thyself and thy posterityinto thy country's grave, behold, the dooris open to thy death! Lo, Pyrrhus comesred-handed from King Priam! He has slaina son before a father's eyes, and spilta father's blood upon his own hearthstone.Was it for this, O heavenly mother mine,that thou hast brought me safe through sword and fire?that I might see these altars desecrateby their worst foes? that I might look uponmy sire, my wife, and sweet Ascaniusdead at my feet in one another's blood?To arms, my men, to arms! The hour of deathnow beckons to the vanquished. Let me gowhither the Greeks are gathered; let me standwhere oft revives the flagging stroke of war:Not all of us die unavenged this day!”
Talia perstabat memorans, fixusque manebat.Nos contra effusi lacrimis, coniunxque CreüsaAscaniusque omnisque domus, ne vertere secumcuncta pater fatoque urguenti incumbere vellet.Abnegat, inceptoque et sedibus haeret in isdem.Rursus in arma feror, mortemque miserrimus opto:nam quod consilium aut quae iam fortuna dabatur?“Mene efferre pedem, genitor, te posse relicto”“sperasti, tantumque nefas patrio excidit ore?”“Si nihil ex tanta Superis placet urbe relinqui,”“et sedet hoc animo, perituraeque addere Troiae”“teque tuosque iuvat, patet isti ianua leto,”“iamque aderit multo Priami de sanguine Pyrrhus,”“natum ante ora patris, patrem qui obtruncat ad aras.”“Hoc erat, alma parens, quod me per tela, per ignis”“eripis, ut mediis hostem in penetralibus, utque”“Ascanium patremque meum iuxtaque Creüsam”“alterum in alterius mactatos sanguine cernam?”“Arma, viri, ferte arma; vocat lux ultima victos.”“Reddite me Danais; sinite instaurata revisam”“proelia: Numquam omnes hodie moriemur inulti.”
I clasped my sword-belt round me once again,fitted my left arm to my shield, and turnedto fly the house; but at the threshold clungCreusa to my knees, and lifted upIulus to his father's arms. “If thouwouldst rush on death,” she cried, “O, suffer usto share thy perils with thee to the end.But if this day's work bid thee trust a sword,defend thy hearthstone first. Who else shall guardthy babe Iulus, or thy reverend sire?Or me, thy wife that was—what help have I?”
Hinc ferro accingor rursus clipeoque sinistraminsertabam aptans, meque extra tecta ferebam.Ecce autem complexa pedes in limine coniunxhaerebat, parvumque patri tendebat Iulum:“Si periturus abis, et nos rape in omnia tecum;”“sin aliquam expertus sumptis spem ponis in armis,”“hanc primum tutare domum. Cui parvus Iulus,”“cui pater et coniunx quondam tua dicta relinquor?”
So rang the roof-top with her piteous cries:but lo! a portent wonderful to seeon sudden rose; for while his parents' griefheld the boy close in arm and full in view,there seemed upon Iulus' head to glowa flickering peak of fire; the tongue of flameinnocuous o'er his clustering tresses played,and hovered round his brows. We, horror-struck,grasped at his burning hair, and sprinkled him,to quench that holy and auspicious fire.then sire Anchises with exultant eyeslooked heavenward, and lifted to the starshis voice and outstretched hands. “Almighty Jove,if aught of prayer may move thee, let thy gracenow visit us! O, hear this holy vow!And if for service at thine altars done,we aught can claim, O Father, lend us aid,and ratify the omen thou hast given!”
Talia vociferans gemitu tectum omne replebat,cum subitum dictuque oritur mirabile monstrum.Namque manus inter maestorumque ora parentumecce levis summo de vertice visus Iulifundere lumen apex, tactuque innoxia mollislambere flamma comas et circum tempora pasci.Nos pavidi trepidare metu, crinemque flagrantemexcutere et sanctos restinguere fontibus ignis.At pater Anchises oculos ad sidera laetusextulit, et caelo palmas cum voce tetendit:“Iuppiter omnipotens, precibus si flecteris ullis,”“aspice nos; hoc tantum, et, si pietate meremur,”“da deinde auxilium, pater, atque haec omina firma.”
Scarce ceased his aged voice, when suddenlyfrom leftward, with a deafening thunder-peal,cleaving the blackness of the vaulted sky,a meteor-star in trailing splendor ran,exceeding bright. We watched it glide sublimeo'er tower and town, until its radiant beamin forest-mantled Ida died away;but left a furrow on its track in air,a glittering, Iong line, while far and widethe sulphurous fume and exhalation flowed.My father strove not now; but lifted himin prayer to all the gods, in holy aweof that auspicious star, and thus exclaimed:“Tarry no moment more! Behold, I come!Whithersoe'er ye lead, my steps obey.Gods of my fathers, O, preserve our name!Preserve my son, and his! This auguryis yours; and Troy on your sole strength relies.I yield, dear son; I journey at thy side.”He spoke; and higher o'er the blazing wallsleaped the loud fire, while ever nearer drewthe rolling surges of tumultuous flame.“Haste, father, on these bending shoulders climb!This back is ready, and the burden light;one peril smites us both, whate'er befall;one rescue both shall find. Close at my sidelet young Iulus run, while, not too nigh,my wife Creusa heeds what way we go.Ye servants of our house, give ear, I pray,to my command. Outside the city's gateslies a low mound and long since ruined faneto Ceres vowed; a cypress, ancient shadeo'erhangs it, which our fathers' pious careprotected year by year; by various pathsbe that our meeting-place. But in thy handsbring, sire, our household gods, and sanctifies:for me to touch, who come this very hourfrom battle and the fresh blood of the slain,were but abomination, till what timein living waters I shall make me clean.”So saying, I bowed my neck and shoulders broad,o'erspread me with a lion's tawny skin,and lifted up my load. Close at my sidelittle Iulus twined his hand in mineand followed, with unequal step, his sire.My wife at distance came. We hastened on,creeping through shadows; I, who once had viewedundaunted every instrument of warand all the gathered Greeks in grim array,now shook at every gust, and heard all soundswith fevered trepidation, fearing bothfor him I bore and him who clasped my hand.Now near the gates I drew, and deemed our flightsafely at end, when suddenly I heardthe sounding tread of many warriorsthat seemed hard-by, while through the murky nightmy father peered, and shouted, “O my son,away, away! for surely all our foesare here upon us, and my eyes beholdthe glance of glittering shields and flash of arms.”O, then some evil-working, nameless godclouded my senses quite: for while I spedalong our pathless way, and left behindall paths and regions known—O wretched me!—Creusa on some dark disaster fell;she stopped, or wandered, or sank down undone,—I never knew what way,—and nevermoreI looked on her alive. Yet knew I notmy loss, nor backward turned a look or thought,till by that hallowed hill to Ceres vowedwe gathered all,— and she alone came not,while husband, friends, and son made search in vain.What god, what man, did not my grief accusein frenzied word? In all the ruined landwhat worse woe had I seen? Entrusting thenmy sire, my son, and all the Teucrian godsto the deep shadows of a slanting valewhere my allies kept guard, I tried me backto that doomed town, re-girt in glittering arms.Resolved was I all hazards to renew,all Troy to re-explore, and once againoffer my life to perils without end.
Vix ea fatus erat senior, subitoque fragoreintonuit laevum, et de caelo lapsa per umbrasstella facem ducens multa cum luce cucurrit.Illam, summa super labentem culmina tecti,cernimus Idaea claram se condere silvasignantemque vias; tum longo limite sulcusdat lucem, et late circum loca sulphure fumant.Hic vero victus genitor se tollit ad auras,adfaturque deos et sanctum sidus adorat.“Iam iam nulla mora est; sequor et qua ducitis adsum.”“Di patrii, servate domum, servate nepotem.”“Vestrum hoc augurium, vestroque in numine Troia est.”“Cedo equidem, nec, nate, tibi comes ire recuso.”Dixerat ille; et iam per moenia clarior ignisauditur, propiusque aestus incendia volvunt.“Ergo age, care pater, cervici imponere nostrae;”“ipse subibo umeris, nec me labor iste gravabit:”“quo res cumque cadent, unum et commune periclum,”“una salus ambobus erit. Mihi parvus Iulus”“sit comes, et longe servet vestigia coniunx:”“vos, famuli, quae dicam, animis advertite vestris.”“Est urbe egressis tumulus templumque vetustum”“desertae Cereris, iuxtaque antiqua cupressus”“religione patrum multos servata per annos.”“Hanc ex diverso sedem veniemus in unam.”“Tu, genitor, cape sacra manu patriosque Penatis;”“me, bello e tanto digressum et caede recenti,”“attrectare nefas, donec me flumine vivo”“abluero.”Haec fatus, latos umeros subiectaque collaveste super fulvique insternor pelle leonis,succedoque oneri; dextrae se parvus Iulusimplicuit sequiturque patrem non passibus aequis;pone subit coniunx: ferimur per opaca locorum;et me, quem dudum non ulla iniecta movebanttela neque adverso glomerati ex agmine Grai,nunc omnes terrent aurae, sonus excitat omnissuspensum et pariter comitique onerique timentem.Iamque propinquabam portis, omnemque videbarevasisse viam, subito cum creber ad aurisvisus adesse pedum sonitus, genitorque per umbramprospiciens; “Nate” exclamat, “fuge nate, propinquant.”“Ardentis clipeos atque aera micantia cerno!”—Hic mihi nescio quod trepido male numen amicumconfusam eripuit mentem. Namque avia cursudum sequor, et nota excedo regione viarum,heu, misero coniunx fatone erepta Creüsasubstitit, erravitne via, seu lassa resedit,incertum; nec post oculis est reddita nostris.Nec prius amissam respexi animumque reflexi,quam tumulum antiquae Cereris sedemque sacratamvenimus; hic demum collectis omnibus unadefuit, et comites natumque virumque fefellit.Quem non incusavi amens hominumque deorumque,aut quid in eversa vidi crudelius urbe?Ascanium Anchisenque patrem Teucrosque Penatiscommendo sociis et curva valle recondo;ipse urbem repeto et cingor fulgentibus armis.Stat casus renovare omnis, omnemque revertiper Troiam, et rursus caput obiectare periclis.
The walls and gloomy gates whence forth I cameI first revisit, and retrace my way,searching the night once more. On all sides roundhorror spread wide; the very silence breatheda terror on my soul. I hastened thenback to my fallen home, if haply thereher feet had strayed; but the invading Greekswere its possessors, though the hungry firewas blown along the roof-tree, and the flamesrolled raging upward on the fitful gale.To Priam's house I haste, and climb once morethe citadel; in Juno's temple there,the chosen guardians of her wasted halls,Phoenix and dread Ulysses watched the spoil.Here, snatched away from many a burning fane,Troy's treasures lay,—rich tables for the gods,thick bowls of messy gold, and vestures rare,confusedly heaped up, while round the pilefair youths and trembling virgins stood forlorn.Yet oft my voice rang dauntless through the gloom,from street to street I cried with anguish vain;and on Creusa piteously calling,woke the lamenting echoes o'er and o'er.While on this quest I roamed the city through,of reason reft there rose upon my sight—O shape of sorrow!— my Creusa's ghost,hers truly, though a loftier port it wore.I quailed, my hair rose, and I gasped for fear;but thus she spoke, and soothed my grief away:“Why to these frenzied sorrows bend thy soul,O husband ever dear! The will of Heavenhath brought all this to pass. Fate doth not sendCreusa the long journeys thou shalt take,or hath th' Olympian King so given decree.Long is thy banishment; thy ship must ploughthe vast, far-spreading sea. Then shalt thou comeunto Hesperia, whose fruitful plainsare watered by the Tiber, Lydian stream,of smooth, benignant Bow. Thou shalt obtainfair fortunes, and a throne and royal bride.For thy beloved Creusa weep no more!No Myrmidon's proud palace waits me now;Dolopian shall not scorn, nor Argive damescommand a slave of Dardan's royal stemand wife to Venus' son. On these loved shoresthe Mother of the Gods compels my stay.Farewell! farewell! O, cherish evermorethy son and mine!” Her utterance scarce had ceased,when, as I strove through tears to make reply,she left me, and dissolved in empty air.Thrice would my frustrate arms her form enfold;thrice from the clasp of hand that vision fled,like wafted winds and like a fleeting dream.
Principio muros obscuraque limina portae,qua gressum extuleram, repeto, et vestigia retroobservata sequor per noctem et lumine lustro.Horror ubique animo, simul ipsa silentia terrent.Inde domum, si forte pedem, si forte tulisset,me refero: inruerant Danai, et tectum omne tenebant.Ilicet ignis edax summa ad fastigia ventovolvitur; exsuperant flammae, furit aestus ad auras.Procedo et Priami sedes arcemque reviso.Et iam porticibus vacuis Iunonis asylocustodes lecti Phoenix et dirus Ulixespraedam adservabant. Huc undique Troia gazaincensis erepta adytis, mensaeque deorum,crateresque auro solidi, captivaque vestiscongeritur; pueri et pavidae longo ordine matresstant circum.Ausus quin etiam voces iactare per umbramimplevi clamore vias, maestusque Creüsamnequiquam ingeminans iterumque iterumque vocavi.Quaerenti et tectis urbis sine fine furentiinfelix simulacrum atque ipsius umbra Creüsaevisa mihi ante oculos et nota maior imago.Obstipui, steteruntque comae et vox faucibus haesit.[Tum sic adfari et curas his demere dictis:]“Quid tantum insano iuvat indulgere dolori,”“O dulcis coniunx? Non haec sine numine divom”“eveniunt; nec te hinc comitem asportare Creüsam”“fas, aut ille sinit superi regnator Olympi.”“Longa tibi exsilia, et vastum maris aequor arandum,”“et terram Hesperiam venies, ubi Lydius arva”“inter opima virum leni fluit agmine Thybris:”“illic res laetae regnumque et regia coniunx”“parta tibi. Lacrimas dilectae pelle Creüsae.”“Non ego Myrmidonum sedes Dolopumve superbas”“aspiciam, aut Graiis servitum matribus ibo,”“Dardanis, et divae Veneris nurus.”“Sed me magna deum genetrix his detinet oris:”“iamque vale, et nati serva communis amorem.”Haec ubi dicta dedit, lacrimantem et multa volentemdicere deseruit, tenuisque recessit in auras.Ter conatus ibi collo dare bracchia circum:ter frustra comprensa manus effugit imago,par levibus ventis volucrique simillima somno.
The night had passed, and to my friends once moreI made my way, much wondering to finda mighty multitude assembled thereof friends new-come,—matrons and men-at-arms,and youth for exile bound,— a doleful throng.From far and near they drew, their hearts preparedand their possessions gathered, to sail forthto lands unknown, wherever o'er the waveI bade them follow. Now above the crestof loftiest Ida rose the morning-star,chief in the front of day. The Greeks held fastthe captive gates of Troy. No help or hopewas ours any more. Then, yielding all,and lifting once again my aged sire,for refuge to the distant hills I fled.
Sic demum socios consumpta nocte reviso.Atque hic ingentem comitum adfluxisse novoruminvenio admirans numerum, matresque virosque,collectam exsilio pubem, miserabile volgus.Undique convenere, animis opibusque parati,in quascumque velim pelago deducere terras.Iamque iugis summae surgebat Lucifer Idaeducebatque diem, Danaique obsessa tenebantlimina portarum, nec spes opis ulla dabatur;cessi, et sublato montes genitore petivi.