The Æneid of Virgil Translated Into Scottish Verse. Volumes 1 & 2. Virgil
O wallaway! of spamen and dyvynys
The blynd myndis, quhilkis na way diffynys
The fors ne strenth of Luf with hys hard bandis!15
Quhat avalyt thir sacrifice and offerandis?
Quhat helpis to vyssy tempillis in luffis rage?
Behald onhappy Dido of Cartage
In this meyn sesson byrnyng hait as gleyd:
The secrete wound deip in hir mynd gan spreyd,20
And of hoyt amouris the subtell quent fyre
Waistis and consumys merth, banys, and lyre.
Our all the cite enragyt scho heir and thar
Wandris, as ane strykkyn hynd, quhom the stalkar,
Or scho persave, from far betis with hys flane25
Amyd the woddis of Creyt, and lattis remane
The braid hed, onknaw the beste was hyt:
Scho skypping furth, as to eschew the byt,
Gan throu the forest fast and gravys glyde;
Bot evir the dedly schaft stykkis in hir syde.30
Sum tyme the queyn Ene with hir dyd leid
Throu owt the wallys onto euery steid,
The tresour al and riches of Sydony
Schawyng to hym; and offerit al reddy
The cite of Cartage at hys commandment:5
Begyn scho wald to tell furth hir entent,
And in the myd word stop, and hald hir styll.
And quhen the evyn come, it wes hir will
To seik ways hym to feste, as scho dyd ayr;
And, half myndles, agane scho langis sayr10
For tyll enquyre and heir the sege of Troy,
And in a stair behaldis hym for joy.
Eftir all wes voydyt, and the licht of day
Ay mair and mair the moyn quynchit away,
And the declynyng of the starris brycht15
To sleip and rest persuadis euery wight,
Within hir chalmyr alane scho langis sayr,
And thocht al waist for lak of hir luffar.
Amyd a voyd bed scho hir laid adoun,
And of hym absent thinkis scho heris the sown;20
Hys voce scho heris, and hym behaldis sche,
Thocht he, God wait, far from hir presens be:
And sum tyme wald scho Ascanyus, the page,
Caucht in the figur of hys faderis ymage,
And in hir bosum brace, gif scho tharby25
The lufe ontellabill mycht swik or satisfy.
The wark and wallys begun ar not vpbrocht;
The ȝounkeris dedis of armys excersis nocht;
Nothir fortres nor turettis suyr of weir
Now graith tha mair; for al the wark, but weir,30
Cessis and is stoppyt, baith of pynnakillis hie,
And byg towris, semyt to rys in the skie.
CAP. III.
Tyl Venus carpys Juno the goddes,
And of thar spech and sermond, mar and les.
Alsswyth as Juno, with syk maleys ourtane,
Persauyt hir deir frend that remeid was nane,
Nothir fame ne honour the rage resyst mycht,5
Saturnus douchtir with syk wordis on hyght
Begouth to carp onto Venus, I wys;
A huge honour and lawd ȝe sal of this
Raport, and richt large spulȝe beir away,
Thou and thi child forsuyth, quod scho, bath tway:10
O Lord, quhou gret power and notabil mycht,
Gif that, of twa hie goddis throu the slycht,
A sylly woman sal ourcummyn be!
Not so, I wys, hes thou dissavyt me,
Bot that I knaw thou had in feir and dreid15
Our cite, and held the lugyng suspek, in deid,
Of our renownyt hie burgh of Cartage.
Bot on quhat wys sall sesyng al this rage?
Or now quhat nedis sa gret stryfe and contak?
Far rather perpetuell pes lat ws mak,20
And knyt vp band of mariage thartill,
Sen thou hes gottin al thyne hartis will;
For Dido byrnys in hait lufe al atanys,
The brym fury glydis throu owt hir banys.
Lat ws thir pepill to ws common, for thy,
Be frendly favouris govern equaly;
So that it lesum be Dido remane5
In spousage bund, and serve a lord Troiane,
And suffir Tirreanys, and al Lyby land,
Be geif in dowry to thi son in hand.
Than Venus, knawing hir spech of fenȝeit mynd,
To that effect scho mycht the Troiane kynd,10
And werys to cum furth of Itail alsswa,
With hald and kepe from boundis of Lybia,
Answerd and sayd: quhat wikkyt wyght wald euer
Refuys syk proffyr, or ȝyt with the had levir
Contend in bataill, or stand at debait,15
Gif that, as thou rehersis, the deid algait
Als sovirly mycht follow fortunabill?
Bot I affeir me les the fatis onstabill,
Nor Jupiter, consent not, ne aggre,
That bot a cite to Tyryanys suld be20
And eik to folkis from Troy in vayage cummyn,
Or list appreif thai pepillis all and summyn
Togiddir myddill, or joyn in lyge or band.
Thou art hys spows; til the to tak on hand
Is lefull with request hys mynd to assay.25
Pas on befor, I follow the perfay.
Than Juno queyn syk answer maid agane:
This laubour I tak on hand, al myne alane.
Bot on quhat wys, sen tyme is convenabill,
The fasson quhou this stant to do maist habill,30
Hark, at schort wordys that poynt I sal ȝou say.
Eneas and onsilly Dido, baith tway,
To forest grathis in huntyng furth to wend,
To morow, als fast as Titan doith ascend,
And our the warld gan hys bemys spreid.5
Quhen that the rangis and the faid on breid
Dynnys throu the gravys, sersyng the woddis wyde,
And setis set the glen on euery syde,
I