The Æneid of Virgil Translated Into Scottish Verse. Gawin Douglas
al this nyght the reuthfull Eneas,
That in his mynd gan mony thyng compas,
Belive as that the hailsum day wolx lycht,
Dressit him furth to spy and haue a sycht
Of new placis; fortil sers and knaw,
To quhatkyn costis he with the wynd was blaw,
Quha thame inhabit, quhidder wild bestis or men,
For al semyt bot wildernes til hym then;
And as he fand schupe till hys feris to schaw:
Hys navy dern amyd the thyk wod schaw,
Vnderneth the holkit hyngand rochis hie,
Dekkit about with mony semly tre,
Quhois schaddowis dyrk hyd weill the schippis ilkane.
And he bot with a fallow furth is gane,
With traste Achates; in athiris hand yfeir
The braid steil heid schuke on the huntyng speir.
Amyd the wod hys moder met thame tway,
Semand a maid in vissage and aray,
With wapynnys like the virgynys of Spartha,
Or the stowt wench of Trace, Harpalica,
Hastand the hors hir fadir to reskew,
Spedyar than Hebrun, the swyft flude, dyd persew:
For Venus, eftyr the gys and maner thar,
Ane active bow apon hir schuldeir bar
As scho had bene a wild hunteres,
With wynd waving hir haris lowsit of tres,
Hir skyrt kiltit til hir bair kne,
And, first of other, onto thame thus spak sche;
Howe, say me ȝonkeris, saw ȝe walkand heir
By aventur ony of my sisteris deyr,
The cays of arrowis tachit by hir syde,
And cled in to the spottit lynx hyde,
Or with lowd cry followand the chays
Eftir the fomy bayr, in thar solace?
Thus said Venus. And hir son agane
Answeris and said, trewly, maide, in plane
Nane of thi systeris dyd I heir ne se;
Bot, O thou virgyne, quham sal I cal the?
Thy vissage semys na mortale creature,
Nor thi voce soundis not lyke to humane nature,
A goddes art thou suythly to my sycht.
Quhidder thou be Dyane, Phebus systir brycht,
Or than sum goddes of thir nymphis kynd,
Maistres of woddis, beis to ws happy and kynd,
Releve our lang travell quhat euer thou be,
And, vndir quhat art of this hevyn sa hie,
Or at quhat cost of the warld finaly
Sal we arrive, thou tech ws by and by:
Of men and land onknaw we ar drive will
By wynd and storm of sey cachit hiddertill;
And mony fair sacrifice and offerand
Befor thyne altar sal de of my rycht hand.
Venus answerd, I denȝe not to ressaue
Sik honour certis, quhilk feris me nocht to haue;
Forto the madynnys of Tyre this is the gyis,
To beir a cays of arowis on this wys,
With rede botynys on thar schankis hie.
This is the realm of Punyce quhilk ȝe se,
The pepill of Tyre, and the cite, but mor,
Belt by the folk discend from Agenor.
Ȝhe bene in the merchis of Lyby, sans faill,
Inhabit with pepill ondantabill in bataill.
Quhar Dido quene rewlis the empyre,
Hydder, for hir brodir, fled from the realm of Tyre:
Lang war the iniuris, the dowtis lang tobe tald,
Bot I the vmaste of the mater sall hald.
Ane husband, quhilk Sycheus hecht, had sche,
Rychast in all the ground of Phenyce,
And strangly luffit of the silly Dido;
For be hir fader, as was the maner tho,
By chans scho was in cleyn virginite
Weddit to hym; bot of Tyre the cuntre
In heretage held Pigmalyon hir brodir,
In wikkitnes cruel abufe all othir,
Quhilk, but offence or occasioun of greif,
For blynd cwatyce of gold throu his myscheif.
Befor the altar, slely with a knyfe,
Or he was war, reft Sycheus the lyfe;
And, of the gret luf of hys systir suyr,
Concelyt this cruel deid lang vndir cuyr;
That fals man, by dissaitfull wordis fair,
With vaynhope trumpit the wofull luffar.
Bot of hir husband bygravit the ymage
To hir apperis in sleip, with pail vissage,
On mervellus wys, and gan at lenth declare
Quhou he was cruelly slane at the altare;
He schew the knyf out throw hys breist threst,
And all the hyd cryme of hir hows manyfest:
Syne in gret haist exortis hir to fle,
And leif hir native land, and tak the see;
And, forto help hir onwart by the way,
Vnder the erth quhar ald hurdis hyd lay,
Of siluer and gold revelit a huge weght.
Dido heirat commovit, I ȝou hecht,
For hir departing falloschip reddy maid;
Togidder conuenys, but ony langar abaid,
All thai quhilk hatis the cruell tyrrantis dedis,
Or ȝit his fellon violence sair dredis.
The schippis that on cays war reddy thar
Thai tuke, and chargit full of gold but mayr.
The tresour of the wrachit Pigmaleon
Is thus caryit our the sey onone:
A woman captane is of all this deid.
To ȝone place ar thai cummyn, thou may tak heid,
Quhar now rysis ȝone large wallis stowt
Of New Cartage, with hie towris abowt.
Als mekill grond thai bocht at the first tyde
As thai mycht compas with a bullis hyde;
Ȝondir cheif castell standing on the bra
Into thar langage clepit is Byrsa,
And of this deid the name beris witnes ȝit.
Bot, quhat be ȝhe, finaly wald I wyt?
Or of quhat cuntre cummyn? or pas wald quhar?
Scho sperand this, Eneas sichand sair,
The voce drawand deip from his breist within,
Said, O thou goddes, gif I suld begyn
And tell our labour from the formast end,
To heir our storyis set thou myght attend,
Or I maid end, Vesper, the evyn starn brycht,
Suld