The Æneid of Virgil Translated Into Scottish Verse. Volumes 1 & 2. Virgil
to hym; bot of Tyre the cuntre
In heretage held Pigmalyon hir brodir,25
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;30
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 ymage5
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:10
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.15
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.20
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.25
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;30
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?5
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,10
Or I maid end, Vesper, the evyn starn brycht,
Suld cloys the hevin and end the days lycht.
We ar of ancyant Troy, gif euer ȝe
The name of Troy has hard in this cuntre,
And caryit throu owt diuers seys alswa,15
And now by fortoune to cost of Lybia
Drevyn with tempest. Rewthfull Ene am I,
That Troiane goddis tursys in my navy,
Quham fra amyd our ennemys I rent;
My fame is knaw abufe the eliment;20
I seik Itale and our auld cuntre fer,
And lynage cum from hyast Jupiter.
With schippis twys ten the Phrygyane see,
My modir a goddes techand the way, tuke we,
Followand destany quhilk was to me grant;25
Of all our floyt, from wynd and wallys, skant
Sevin evil perbrakit salue remanys with me.
Onkend and mystirfull in desertis of Lybe
I wandir, expellit from Europ and Asia.
Venus na mair sufferit hym pleyn or say,30
Amyd hys dolorus playntis thus spak sche;
Quhat evir thou art, I trast weill at thou be
Favorit with the goddis, and drawis this hailsum ayr,
Quhilk is the spreit of lyfe, to thy weilfair,
Sen thou art cummyn to Cartage the cyte.5
Now hald thy way, and at the Quenys entre
Present thy self; I schaw the, for certane,
Thy ferys ar salf, thy navy is cummyn agane,
In salfty brocht fre of north wyndis als,
Les than my parentis taucht me spayng craft fals.10
Behald twelf swannys in randoun glaid and fair,
Quham, newly from the regioun of the air
Jovis fowle, the Egill, discending fra hys hycht,
Has sair effrayt amyd the skyis brycht;
Now with lang range to lycht thai beyn adrest,15
And spyis the erth about quhar thai sall rest:
As thai return, thar weyngis swouchand jolely,
And with thar coursis circlys about the sky,
Cryand or syngand efter thar awyn gys;
Thy schippys and falloschip on the sammyn wys20
Owdir ar herbryit in the havyn, I wys,
Or with bent saill entris in the port be this.
Now pas thy way evyn furth that sammyn went.
Thus said sche, and turnand incontinent,
Hir nek schane lyke onto the roys in May,25
Hyr hevynly haris, glitterand brycht and gay,
Kest from hir forhed a smell gloryus and sweit,
Hir habyt fell down coveryng to hir feit,
And in hir passage a verray god dyd hir kyth.
And fra that he knew hys moder, alswith30
With sik wordis he followys as scho dyd fle;
Quhy art thou cruell to thy son, quod he,
Dissavand hym sa oft with fals sembland?
Quhy grantis thou nocht we mycht joyn hand in hand,
And fortill heir and rendir vocis trew?5
Thus he reprevys, bot sche is went adew;
Than to the Cyte he haldis furth the way.
Bot Venus with a sop of myst, baith tway,
And with a dyrk clowd, closyt rownd about,
That na man suld thame se nor twich but dowt,10
Ne by the ways stop or ellis deir,
Or ȝit the cawsis of thar cummyn speir.
Hyr self vplift to Paphum passyt swith,
To vissy hir restyng place, joly and blith;
Thar is hir tempill into