The Æneid of Virgil Translated Into Scottish Verse. Gawin Douglas
ȝe haue hard, quhat nedis tell agane?
And of this mater maid hym ful certane.
Onone he knew our elderis dowtis ilk deill,
And of our clan the dowbill stok full weill:
He grantis the unkouth errour hym dissavit
Of ancyant placis, quhilk he not persavit.
Syne said he, son, thou irkit art al gatis
By the contrarius frawart Troiane fatis;
Now I remembir only quhou Cassandra
Ful oft maid mensioun of Hesperya,
And oft als of the realm hait Italy,
Thir materis me declaring by and by.
That land now knaw I destinate to our kyn:
Bot quha wald haue belevit at euer within
The realm of Itail Teucrus blude suld cum?
Or quha wald than, mair than scho had bene dum,
Set by the prophetes wordis Cassandra?
Lat ws obey Phebus, and wend awa,
As we bene monyst, follow our chance, but pleys.
Thus said he, and we glaid al hym obeys:
A few folkis thar left to kepe the town,
This sted alsso leif we, and sail maid bown;
In bowit bargis throu the large streym we slyde.
Quhen sycht of land was tynt on euery syde,
Sa that na cost apperis quhilk we mycht se,
Bot the schippis haldand the deip see,
The hevin abufe, and fludis al abowt;
A watry clowd, blak and dyrk, but dowt,
Gan tho appeir abone our hed ful rycht,
And down a tempest sent als myrk as nycht.
The streym apperis vgsum of the dym sky;
The wyndis weltris the sey continualy,
That huge wallis boldynnys apon loft;
Skatterit widequhar our the fame ful oft
War our schippis, and the brythnes of day,
Inuolvit al with clowdis, hyd away.
The rayn and royk reft from ws sycht of hevin;
The brokkyn skyis rappis furth thunderis levin;
Forswiftit from our richt cowrs, gan we ar
Amang the blynd wallis waverand far.
For Palynurus him self maist expart,
For al his cunnyng of schipman craft and cart,
Amyd the sey forȝet the richt way,
Denyand als that the nycht from the day
He mycht discern be sycht of firmament.
Apon sik wys oncertanly we went
Thre days wilsum throu the mysty streym,
And als mony nychtis but starnys leym,
That quhidder was day or nycht oneith wist we;
Bot at the last, on the ferd day we se
On far the land appeir, and hillis rys,
The smoky vapour vpcasting on thar gys.
Down fallis salis, the aris sone we span;
But mair abaid, the marineris euery man
Egirly rollis our the fomy flude,
And the haw sey weltis vp as thai war woid.
Salve from the wallis at the costis of Strophe
With al our navy first arryvit we.
CAP. IV
Quhou till Ene the harpyes dyd gret wo, And of the drery prophete Celeno.
Strophades in Grew leid ar nemmyt so,
In the gret sey standing ilis two;
The quhilk sey clepit is Ionium;
And, in thir ilandis quhidder we ar becum,
Dwelt and inhabit the cruel Celeno,
With all the otheris harpeys mony mo,
Evir sen thai war expeld from the land
Of Arcad, quhar kyng Phyneus was dwelland,
And for dreid at his tabil durst not remane.
Mair wikkit monstreis than thai kan be nane,
Nor nane mair cruel pestilens is fund,
Nor fury of goddis that cummys from hellis grund,
Furth of the flude of Stix that sory place.
Thir fowlis hes a vyrgynys wlt and face,
With handis like to bowland byrdis clewis;
Bot the vile belleis of thai cursit schrewis
Aboundis of fen maist abhomynabill,
And pail al tyme thar mowthis miserabill
For wod hungyr and gredy appetite.
At this ilke cost as we arryvit, als tyte,
And in the port entrit, lo! we se
Flokkis and herdis of oxin and of fe,
Fat and tydy, rakand our alquhar,
And trippis eik of gait, but ony kepar,
In the rank gyrs pasturyng on raw;
With wapynnys thame we brittyn, but dreid or aw:
To goddis syne and Jupiter we pray,
And thame distribut a party of our pray.
Syne eftir, endlang the sey costis bay,
Vp sonkis set, and desys dyd array;
To meit we sat with habundans of cheir:
Quhen suddanly, with horribill dyn and beir,
From the montanys the harpeis on vs fell,
With huge fard of weyngis and mony a ȝell.
Our mesis and our mete thai reft away,
And with thar laithly twich al thing fyle thai;
Thar voce alsso was vgsum fortil heir,
With sa corruppit flewyr nane mycht byde neir.
From that place syne ontil a caif we went,
Vndir a hyngand hewch, in a dern went,
With treys clos bilappit rownd about,
And thik harsk granyt pikis standing owt:
Thar, vp agane, our tabillis haue we dicht,
And on the altaris bet the fyris bricht.
Bot, of the hevin agane from syndry artis,
Out of quyet hyrnys, the rowt vpstartis
Of thai birdis, with byr and mony a bray,
And in thar crukyt clawis grippis the pray:
Evir as thai fle about fra sete to sete,
With thar vyle mowthis infek thai al our mete.
Quhen I saw this, our feris command I than
Tak thar wapynnys, and bargane euery man
Agane tha cruell pepill, or byrdis fell.
As I thame chargit, schortly for to tell,
Sone haue thai done; and, vnder the gers, al bair
Ful prevaly thar swerdis in thai stair,
And darnly eik thar targis al ourheildis;
So that, quhen the sey costis and the feildis
Resoundis at down come of thir