The Æneid of Virgil Translated Into Scottish Verse. Gawin Douglas

      Lawd, honour, praysyngis, thankis infynyte

      To the and thy dulce ornat fresch endyte,

      Maist reuerend Virgill, of Latyn poetis prynce,

      Gem of engyne and flude of eloquens.

      Thou peirles perle, patroun of poetry,

      Roys, regester, palm, lawrer, and glory,

      Chosyn charbukkil, cheif flour, and cedyr tre,

      Lantarn, laid stern, myrrour, and A per se,

      Maister of masteris, sweit sours, and spryngand well,

      Wyde quhar our all rung is thyne hevynly bell;

      I meyn thy crafty warkis curyus,

      Sa quyk, lusty, and maist sentencyus,

      Plesand, perfyte, and feilabill in all degre,

      As quha the mater beheld tofor thar E;

      In every volume quhilk the lyst do wryte,

      Surmontyng fer all other maner endyte,

      Lyke as the roys in June with her sweit smell

      The mary guld or dasy doith excell.

      Quhy suld I than, with dull forhed and vayn,

      With rude engyne and barrand emptyve brayn,

      With bad harsk spech and lewit barbour tong,

      Presume to write quhar thy sweit bell is rung,

      Or contyrfate sa precyus wordys deir?

      Na, na, noth swa, bot kneill quhen I thame heir.

      For quhat compair betwix myd day and nycht,

      Or quhat compair betwix myrknes and lycht,

      Or quhat compair is betwix blak and quhyte,

      Far grettar difference betwix my blunt endyte

      And thy scharp sugurate sang Virgiliane,

      Sa wysly wrocht, with nevir a word invane.

      My waverand wyt, my cunnyng febill at all,

      My mynd mysty, thir may nocht mys a fall;

      Stra for thys ignorant blabryng imperfyte,

      Besyde thy polyst termys redymyte.

      And netheles with support and correctioun,

      For naturall lufe and frendely affectioun,

      Quhilkis I beir to thy warkis and endyte;

      All thocht, God wait, tharin I knaw full lyte;

      And that thy facund sentence mycht be song

      In our langage alsweill as Latyn tong,

      Alsweill, na, na, impossibill war, per de;

      Ȝit with thy leif, Virgill, to follow the,

      I wald, into my rurall wlgar gros,

      Wryte sum savoryng of thyne Eneados.

      Bot fair I dreid forto disteyn the quyte,

      Throu my corruppit cadens imperfyte;

      Disteyn the, nay forsuyth, that may I nocht,

      Weill may I schaw my burall bustuus thocht,

      Bot thy wark sall endur in lawd and glory,

      But spot or falt, condyng etern memory.

      Thocht I offend, onwemmyt is thy fame,

      Thyne is the thank, and myne salbe the schame.

      Quha may thy versis follow in all degre,

      In bewtie, sentence, and in grauite?

      Nane is, nor was, ne ȝit salbe, trow I,

      Had, has, or sal haue sic craft in poetry.

      Of Helicon so drank thou dry the flude

      That of thy copios fouth or plenitude,

      All mon purches drynk at thy sugurit tun;

      So lamp of day thou art and schynand son,

      All otheris on fors mon thar lycht beg or borrow,

      Thou art Vesper and the day stern at morow;

      Thou Phebus lightnar of the planetis all,

      I not quhat dewly I the clepe sall,

      For thou art all, and sum, quhat nedis more,

      Of Latyn poetis that sens was, or before.

      Of the writis Macrobius, sans faill,

      In hys gret volume clepit Saturnaill.

      Thy sawys in sic eloquens doith fleit,

      So inuentive of rethorik flowris sweit

      Thou art, and has so hie profund sentens

      Tharto perfyte but ony indigens,

      That na lovyngis ma do incres thy fame,

      Nor na reproche dymynew thy gud name.

      Bot sen I am compellit the to translait,

      And not only of my curage, God wait,

      Durst interpryse syk owtrageus foly,

      Quhar I offend the les reprefe serve I;

      And that ȝe knaw at quhais instans I tuke

      Forto translait this maist excellent buke,

      I meyn Virgillis volume maist excellent,

      Set this my wark full febill be of rent,

      At the request of a lord of renown

      Of ancistry nobill and illustir baroun,

      Fader of bukis, protectour to sciens and lair,

      My speciall gud lord Henry lord Sanct Clair,

      Quhilk with gret instance, diuers tymys seir,

      Prayt me translait Virgill or Homeir;

      Quhais plesour suythly, as I undirstude,

      As neir conjunct to his lordschip in blude,

      So that me thocht hys request ane command,

      Half disparit this wark I tuke on hand,

      Nocht fully grantand nor anys sayand ȝee,

      Bot only to assay quhou it mycht be.

      Quha mycht gaynsay a lord so gentill and kynd,

      That euer had ony curtasy in thar mynd,

      Quhilk, besyde hys innatyve pollecy,

      Humanyte, curage, fredome and chevalry,

      Bukis to recollect, to reid and se,

      Has gret delyte as euer had Ptholome?

      Quharfor to hys nobilite and estait,

      Quhatso it be, this buke I dedicait,

      Writtin in the langage of Scottis natioun,

      And thus I mak my protestatioun.

      Fyrst I protest, beaw schirris, be ȝour leif,

      Beis weill avisit my wark or ȝhe repreif;

      Consider it warly, reid oftar than anys,

      Weill at a blenk sle poetry nocht tayn is;

      And ȝit forsuyth I set my bissy pane,

      As that I couth, to mak it braid and plane,

      Kepand na sudron bot our awyn langage,

      And spekis as I lernyt quhen I was page.

      Nor ȝit sa cleyn all sudron I refus,

      Bot sum word I pronunce as nyghtbouris doys;

      Lyke as in Latyn beyn Grew termys sum,

      So me behufyt quhilum, or than be dum,

      Sum bastard Latyn,