The Æneid of Virgil Translated Into Scottish Verse. Gawin Douglas
dessolat Crevse, my spows sa sweit,
I thocht alsso, and dangeris of my place;
Of litill Ascaneus sayr I dred the cace.
About I blent to behald, heir and thar,
Quha of our feris remanyt with me thar.
Al war thai fled full wery, left me alane;
Sum to the erd loppin from hie towris of stane;
Sum in the fyre thar irkit bodeis leit fall;
Thar was na ma bot I left of thame all:
Quhen in the tempil of Vesta the goddas,
Lurkand ful law, intil a secrete place,
Tyndarus douchter, queyn Helene I espy;
The fyrys schane sa brycht, as I went by,
All thing was patent quhar so euer I went.
Scho, dreding les the Troianys wald hir schent,
And kast sum way for hir distructioun,
Becaus all Troy, for hir, was thus bet doun,
Sayr punytioun of Grekis dred scho, als
Hir husbandis wroth, quham scho left and was fals,
And eik the common fatale fury of Troy,
Hir self scho hyd tharfor, and held ful koy,
Besyde the altare sytting onethis seyn.
My spreit for ire brynt in propir teyn,
And, al in greif, thocht cruel vengeans take,
Of my cuntre for this myschews wrake,
With byttir panys to wreke our harmys smart;
Thocht I, sal scho pas to the realm of Spart
Hailskarth, and se Mycene hir natyve land,
And with triumphe follow hir fyrst husband?
Or, lyke a queyn, sal scho wend hame our see?
Hir frendis agane and childring sal scho se,
Accumpanyit with mony Troiane maid,
And Phrygiane seruandis in bondage with hir had?
Sen now, by hir, with sword lyis Priam ded,
And ryal Troy all brynt in flambis red;
Of Dardane eik the strandis and the flude
Sa oft has bene waterit or bathit in blude.
Na, na, nocht swa, I wys, that sal scho nocht:
And, set it be nocht lovabill nor semly thocht
To punys a woman, bot schameful hir to sla,
Na victory, bot lak followyng alswa;
Ȝit, netheles, I aucht lovit to be
Vengeans to tak on hir deservis to de.
It wil my mynd asswage, forto be wrokyn
On hir quham by Troy brynt is and down brokyn,
And, forto eik the myscheif of hir ded
Til our sorowis, fyllit with assis red.
Syk thingis I thocht half wod and furyus,
As owt of wit my mynd was cachit thus;
Quhen that my blissit moder, of sik bewte,
Apperit farer than euer I dyd hir se,
Schynyng ful cleir for al the dyrk nycht,
Confessyng hir tobe a goddes brycht;
In sik form of quantite and estait
As scho is seyn with spretis deificat.
Me by the rycht hand hynt scho, and held fast,
And with hir rosy lippis thus said at last;
Son, quha sa gret and furyus cruelte
And hie ondantit ire has rasyt in the?
Quhy gois thou mad? quhidder is went thus onkynd
Our ramembrance, or we forȝet of mynd?
Suld thou not first think quhar thou left, but les,
Thi wery fader, the agit Anchises?
Wenys thou, or not, Crevsa ȝit levand be,
And Ascanyus thi ȝong son? quham al thre
The Grekis armyis walkis rownd about;
And, bot my myght rasistit thame, sans dout
Thai had bene brynt or this in flambis red,
And with thar fays swordis smyt to ded.
Not the bewte of Helene Laconya,
Quham thou hatis, nor Parys, quhilk alswa
Is blamyt oft, this ryches has ȝou reft;
Bot the wroth of the goddis has down beft
The city of Troy from top onto the grond.
Behald! (for I, within a litil stound,
The clowd of dyrknes from thi sycht so cleir,
That on ȝour mortell eyn, quhil ȝe beyn heir,
Lyke to ane watry slowch standis dym about;
Thi moderis heist on na wys nedis the dowt,
Na hir command refusyng to obey)
Quhar thir towris thou seys downfall and swey,
And stane fra stane down bet, and reyk vp rys,
With stew, powder, and duste myxt on this wys,
Neptune the fundamentis of thir wallis hie,
With his gret mattok havand granys thre,
Vndermyndis rownd about the towne,
Furth of the grond holkand the barmkyn doun.
Maist cruel Juno has, or this, alsswa
Saysit with the fyrst the port clepit Sceya,
And from the schippis the ostis in scho callis,
Standing wod wraith enarmyt on the wallis.
The hie castellis and strenthis to and fra,
Behald, now Pallas of Tritonya
All occupyis, schynyng in weirlyke weid,
Fell Gorgones hed into hir scheild, tak heid.
The gret fader Jupiter strenth and mycht
Distributis happely to the Grekis in fyght,
And eik the goddis ire prouokis he
Aganys Troianys power in the melle.
Fle thou, my son, in haist away thou wend,
And of this laubour onprofitabil mak ane end;
I salbe with the soverly and ful koy,
Quhil to thi faderis ȝet I the convoy.
Thus sayand, scho hir hyd in the cloys nycht.
Than terribil figuris apperis to my sycht
Of gret goddis, semand with Troy agrevit;
And tho beheld I al the cite myschevit,
Fayr Ilion all fall in gledis down,
And, fra the soyll, gret Troy, Neptunus town,
Ourtumlyt to the grond: so as ȝhe se
The lauboreris, into the montanys hie,
With steil axis byssely hak and hew
A mekil ayk that mony ȝeir thar grew;
The tre branglis bostyng to the fall,
With top trymlyng, and branchis schakand all;
Quhil finaly it get the lattyr straik,
Than, with a rair, down duschis the mekil aik,
And with his fard brekis down bewis about.
Furth of that sted I went, and throu the rowt
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