UC-NRLF
B M DM3 323
IBAU^ O'BSCUT^I
Robert Bridges
IBANT OBSCVRI
an
experiment in the classical
hexameter
by
ROBERT BRIDGES
^
X FO RT>
At the Clarendon Press
MDCCCCXVI
'ij^.ur-
Oxford University Press
London Edinburgh Glasgoiv Neiv Tork
Toronto Melbourne Bombay
Humphrey Milford M,A. Publisher to the University
PREFACE
^ I ^HIS book has grown up round a paper on
^ Virgil's Hexameter, published by my friend
Mr. Desmond MacCarthy in the New Quarterly,
Jan. 1909. The late Mr. Horace Hart undertook
to carry out my scheme for the reprinting of this,
but it was interrupted by his illness &' consequent
retirement from the post of Controller. His death
put an end to a long &^ friendly collaboration,
which I welcome this opportunity to record ; since
it was due to his patience & enthusiasm for typo-
graphy that my wishes had been carried out in
the production of several books, especially the
Yattendon Hymnal, 1895-9, when his present
successor, Mr. Hall, who in 191 5 printed 'The
Spirit of Man ' for me, gave us his valuable assist-
ance. In the completion of this volume I owe
much to the Press Reader, Mr. W. S. Gibson,
especially for his supervision of the printing of the
Greek text.
R. B.
Chilswell, Nov. 191 6.
370743
IB A NT OBSCURI
WHETHER quantitive hexameters can be made con-
genial to English speech I do not inquire : I have
experimented in writing them ; and as such an attempt will
certainly be judged by current notions of Latin verse, I would
guard mine with a prefatory consideration of the Virgilian
hexameter. The explanation, as I conceive it, of the way in
which the conditions of the Latin language determined the
rhythms of the Latin verse should forbid the idea that the
English hexameter ought to be like the Latin hexameter :
while analysis of the more exceptional forms of Virgil's verse
should lead any one — although he had never studied them
before — to recognize and even welcome at first hearing many
of the natural English rhythms, which he might otherwise
have found strange : and he will then be disposed to judge
the English hexameter on its own merits, rather than condemn
it by impatient comparison with an imperfect notion of some-
thing with which he should never have expected it to show
close correspondence.
I shall confine my illustrations of the Latin verse to Virgil's
work ; but this necessary convenience will exclude nothing
of present importance : for Virgil only developed the solution
which he found established, and no subsequent poet showed
any desire to break off from his model.
The problem which the Latins undertook was how best
B
X Ibant Ohsciiri
to reprsser.t the Greek epic verse in their own speech/ and
the main difference which a student will first observe between
model and copy is the more inflexible and regular type of
the Latin, and especially the fact that whereas in Homer
only some half of the lines have their last two feet accentual ^
(that is, regular in their accent), in the Latin over ninety per
cent, of the verses carry what an Aristophanes might have
called the ' strawberry jampot ' ending : and it is this
peculiarity of the Latin that has determined the English
notion of the hexameter rhythm.
I must for convenience omit at present any consideration
of the spondaic ending, and speak only of the common type,
* And to efFect this they imposed on their own strongly stressed speech the same
artificial distinction of syllables into two lengths, long and short, which the Greeks or
some other Aryan family had imagined and perfected for the scientific basis of poetic
rhythm. As the beauty of the Greek results determined the Latin imitation, so their
success may in turn encourage us in a similar venture : and good scholars have held that
English might attain a nearer likeness to the Greek than was possible in Latin.
The scientific reason of the quantitive system (which does not, I think, appear in
the grammars) would seem to be as follows : The Greeks knew — and any one may
discover it for himself by reading aloud — that there are only three means whereby speech-
rhythms can be expressed in reading or chanting, namely by variety in the loudness^ or
in the pitch, or in the duration of the syllabic units. Of these three means of expressing
rhythm the length of the unit is the only one that will give rhythm (or anything that
is worth calling rhythm) without the aid of either of the others. Hence it was argued
that the quality of length was the most fundamental rhythmic quality and the true basis of
speech-rhythm. Then the practical difficulty appeared that the syllabic units were of
indeterminate length. Now the inventors of the Greek system agreed to be contented
with two lengths, and made artificial rules for all rhythmic composition, by which every
syllable was pronounced as either long (= 2) or short (= i) : and this distinction had
to be learned just as we should have to learn the rules of an analogous fiction in English,
for in their common speech the Greek syllables were as various in length as ours are.
This artifice was justified in the result. Any well-conducted experiment in English
should be of interest ; but it is of course necessary for the syllabic fiction of long and
short to be understood and practically enforced ; and unfortunately English classical
scholars do not observe it even in their reading of classical verse : nor do they even
consider it important to pronounce Latin as the Latins pronounced it, though that is
indispensable to any appreciation of the rhythm of their poetry. There is therefore no
audience for the English expenment.
'^ Assuming, as we may assume, that the hexameter is a falling rhythm : /. e. with its
normal and typical accents on the first syllable of each foot. Hence regular falling feet
are called accentual ; and that term is extended in English to denote any feet that
observe the accent, even while neglecting the prosody or ' quantity ' of the syllables.
Virgil's Rhythms 3
in which the fifth foot is a dactyl. The spondaic verse, in
which the fifth is a spondee, makes no exception, but follows
the same rules, and 1 will treat of it later. In speaking of
both together it is difficult to avoid confusion without
constant discrimination.
Now the cause of this predominance of the accentual end-
ing (-^v^--) in Latin is simple and plain. It is, as Quintilian
observes, an absolute rule ' in Latin that all words with a long
penultima are accented on the penultima, and all that have
the penultima short are accented on the antepenultima :
whence it follows that, if the line must end with the end of
a word, there are (excluding monosyllables) only two possible
collocations of words which will not give the two accentual
feet : and these are when the first short syllable of the dactyl
in the fifth place begins a word, disyllabic or quadrisyllable,
as in the following lines —
Turnum, qui volucri curru medium secat agmen.
Et nunc ille Paris cum semiviro comitatu.
and even in these cases the last foot is accentual, while if
a monosyllable precedes the verbal pyrrhic, as it frequently
does,- then the fifth foot also is practically accentual.
Concerning verses with this type of irregular ending, and
of the rhythms obtained by introduction of monosyllables at
the end of the line, and of other unaccentual endings I intend
to speak later. Though they are deliberately used by Virgil,
and though it can be shown that he sometimes set the
common prosody at defiance in order to obtain their efi^ects,
they were yet used sparingly, and much more sparingly than
they would have been had they been on equal terms with
the regular accentual ending.
They were therefore, at least in some measure excluded :
and if so, what was the reason for their exclusion .? The
answer is easy.
^ The exceptions are truly negligible.
2 Virgil never uses a monosyllable before a quadrisyllable in this place.
B 2
4^ Ihant Ohscuri
If the condition which makes polysyllables give accentual
feet at the end of the line is that the line ends with the end
of a word, then it must equally happen that the cssura, being
the break of a foot between two words, will give an unac-
centual foot.
The only ways by which Virgil could avoid an unaccentual
or inverted foot in caesura were, first, the introduction of
monosyllables —
Tuque adeo, quern mox quae slnt habitura deorum.
Dicam equidem nee te suspensum, nate, tenebo.
Per gentes erit aut famam patieris Inultae.
Spicula, tanquam haec sit nostri medicina furoris.
Nee nulla interea est inaratae gratia terrae.
Secondly, the unequal division of a dactyl —
Sit mihi fas audita loqui, sit numine vestro
Thirdly, elision —
JEneas strictamque aciem venientibus offert :
Dis quamquam geniti atque invicti viribus essent.
Though all these devices are sometimes sought and used,
yet the main tendency is overruling, namely, for the CcESural
foot to be unaccentual, while the two final feet are accentual :
and it is the same cause giving these opposite results.
Now if the speech be allowed to contradict the normal
falling accent in mid-line, then the enforcement of the normal
accent at the end of the verse becomes more desirable ; and
so one may say that the prevalence of the natural condition
of an unaccentual caesural foot requires the prevalence of the
natural condition of the accentual ending.
The conditions being undoubtedly as described, Virgil
accepted them. What he might have done had he fought
against this inherent bias of the language, and whether his
followers might not by some innovation have escaped drown-
ing in his tradition, are matters beyond our inquiry. The
VirgiVs Rhytlmis f
9
world has hardly seen a better artist ; and that he chose to
follow the practice which he found established in his time,
and to work within its lines, is evidence that he either
approved of it or could not escape from it.
The final feet, then, are by preference accentual, because
the mid-line is habitually unaccentual : and this is the type,
viz. the first foot is generally accentual or falling ; then around
the caesura in mid-line an unaccentual section of rising feet
occurs, which may invade the second foot ; and as invariably
the end of the line reasserts the normal falling rhythm. It
is a pleasant effect, there is no doubt of that, but it is
impossible to overrate the skill with which Virgil has handled
it: for it is in danger of being somewhat monotonously
strong-featured. In continuous iteration it is best adapted
to please those who are most easily pleased, or who read only
a little at a time : but this is a popular advantage, since the
majority will always prefer a rhythm that keeps to the ruts.^
The typical features of the Virgilian rhythm being thus
traced to the conditions of Latin speech, the absurdity of
imposing them upon a language to which they are foreign is
made evident. If the Latin language had possessed spondees
like our conceal, embark, entomb, o'erpass, ordain, survive,
enchain, unvext, unseen, invade, condemned, endure, (which
^ I have found that most people who think that they can read poetry well intone it in
a monotonous sing-song or drawl on few notes of small compass and regularly recurring
accent : and this gives them the pleasure and satisfaction of a competent performance ;
and I have known poets who read in that way, though they were, as I knew, apprecia-
tive of the very irregularities of rhythm which their recitation obliterated. Others read
poetry in what is called a dramatic manner, enforcing the sense even at the expense of
the verse-structure. Others again object to all actual recitation, holding that it can
never attain to the ideal utterance which the silent reader enjoys in his imagination.
I myself like a reading which expresses the play of the poetic rhythms ; and I find
monotony as tedious as it is easy to produce, and I suppose that poets like Virgil,
Dante, and Milton would have excelled in monotony if they had aimed at it ; and that
the irregularities in their work are not the measure of their capacity to write regular
verses, nor of their carefulness, but rather the indication of how much liberty they thought
they might venture in obtaining the beautiful effects of varied rhythm without utterly
alienating the average audience to whom they were bound to appeal.
6 Ihant Ohscurt
I transcribe from the ends of verses in my paraphrase), then
Virgil would have put such words both at the end of his
lines to avoid the normal accent, and in his cassural places in
order to obtain it ; and his actual types would have been
more varied. An English writer who should attempt hexa-
meters on Virgil's model can have no notion of those first
principles of art which governed Virgil's practice: the very
chiefest of which is to exhaust the capabilities of the material,
and not to seek to do that which the nature of the material
forbids. The Latin language as a rhythmic medium is in
some qualities far superior to English, but this is an inherent
difference which no artistry can obviate ; the English
language has on the other hand its own proper qualities, by
which it is in some respects superior to the Latin: and there
can be no worse folly in an artist than to forgo the advantages
of his own medium in the hopeless pursuit of a likeness to
the work of some recognized genius, who had to wrestle with
another set of difficulties in another material, and probably
regretted the absence of those very opportunities which his
imitator is neglecting in order to fake up the superficial
features of his worthless copy.
It is unfortunate that our inability to read Greek as it was
spoken forbids any close comparison of our English results
with the Homeric model. The real question, however, will
be not whether our verse is more or less like Latin or Greek,
but whether it is agreeable to us : so that, whatever curiosity
the parallehsm might gratify, we may renounce it without
any other than a sentimental regret. But we must ask
whether our rhythms are agreeable in themselves; and since
to most readers some familiarity with the rhythmical intention
is necessary before they will even consider a rhythm, and
since they admire, or are at least bound to respect, Virgil's
rhythms, I propose by reference to Virgil to illustrate some
of the rhythms which arise from the natural use of English.
And first the line with six normally placed accents. This,
as will be guessed from what has already been said, is quite
Vtrgils Rhythms 7
easily obtained in English, and comes naturally enough. Here
is a passage of consecutive lines from my paraphrase —
Fell by slumber opprest unheedfully into the wide sea :
Whom i' the gloom when hardly he knew, now changctl in affliction,
First he addrest : 'What God, tell me O Palinurus, of all gods
Pluckt you away and drown'd i* the swift wake-water abandon'd ?
For never erst nor in else hath kind responsive Apollo
Led me astray, but alone in this thing wholly deluded,
When he aver'd that you, to remote Ausonia steering,
Safe would arrive. . . . '
There is, of course, no parallel to such unbroken rhythm
in Virgil ; a single line with all its six accents regular is
exceedingly rare. Here are a few, nor all these perfect, —
Omnia iam vulgata : quis aut Eurysthea durum.
Gaudia, mortiferumque adverse in limine helium.
Hie vir, hie est, tibi quem promitti saepius audis.
Hue ades, O Galatea ; quis est nam ludus in undis ?
Armaque corporaque et permisti caede virorum.
Falleret indeprensus et irremeabilis error.
Nee tamen, haec cum sint hominumque boumque labores.
Such lines, though they need, as aforesaid, some contrivance
to compose them, are rarer in Virgil than any difficulty of
construction will account for ; so that we must conclude that
he did not consider the effect a pleasing one to introduce
often. I think that the greater variety of the verse-type in
English makes the frequent intrusion of the unbroken form
very agreeable, and it is well suited to passages that ask for
no special effect.
Any one may guess, from the comparative frequency ot
the normal line in English, that the English hexameter will
be generally much more accentual than the Virgilian : and
this is true. Counting the accents in about 600 lines of the
iEneid I estimated ' the average of normally placed accents
^ There is some difficulty in estimating the proportion of true accentual feet ; but in
counting them I have used the same rules with Latin and English, not allowing weak
8 Ihant Obscuri
as less than 3*5 to the Hne, whereas in my paraphrase the
figure was above 4*7, and some fourteen per cent, of my
unaccentuals were mechanically transferred from Virgil with
the proper names.^
Since, then, it is not the great number of unaccentual feet
in my verses that can shock or trouble my readers, it must
be their pecuHar character or place in the line. I will con-
sider this point.
English lovers of Virgil are sometimes strangely unaware
of their tolerance of inverted rhythm in his verse. I have
found such lines as these —
Silv^strem tenui Musam meditaris avena.
Et fontis sacros frigus captabis opacum.
Dict£eos ; hseret lateri letalis harundo.
Sunt geminae Belli portae (sic nomine dicunt),
wherein more than all the first half of the line is contradictory
to the normal accent, were unsuspected of irregularity : the
reason being that the rhythm was familiar ; and if familiarity
with such a gross contravention of the type can reconcile the
ear to it, I suppose that an equal familiarity with other irregu-
larities would have the same effect, and that if the irregular
line-endings were only well recognized they would be
favoured. I will take the chief irregularities in turn.
I. There is a well-marked and well-established rhythm
which is accented thus : - w ^ - ^
^ole, namque tibi divum pater atque hominum r6x,
and Virgil was so satisfied with this way of signifying the
monosyllables or secondary accents which collided with main primary verbal stresses,
e. g. Et fontes sacros, quoted on this page. Also I reckon a foot as normally stressed
when it commences with a full accent, whether or no another strong accent occur within
the foot, as will often happen in English.
"^ If these names, pronounced as an English reader pronounces them when reading
Virgil, are unsatisfactory to him in my paraphrase, they may serve to suggest to him
that he has not been accustomed to read Virgil aright ; and, indeed, they do not scan
if pronounced in English fashion. They should not occur in an English poem, which
should use, if possible, English forms of the names.
KirgiTs Rhytlmis 9
dignity of Jupiter that he adopts it as a formula; other
lines are —
Vertitur intcrea caekim et ruit Oc6ano n6x.
Turn variae inludant pestes : saepe cxlguus mus.
Quae vigilanda viris ? vel cum ruit imbriferum ver.
Prima vel autumni sub frigora, cum rapidus sol.
Litoreis ingens inventa sub ilicibus sus, etc., etc.
Now if a student is not thoroughly familiar with this
rhythm, and does not recognize it at once as one of the proper
rhythmical closes of an hexameter verse, his acquaintance
with the subject is insufficient, and his opinion or taste
can be of no value. The effect was definitely sought by
Virgil, and the accent on the last syllable, at which I find
English readers most often shy, is in one sense exquisite, for
there are only two ways by which it can be obtained in
Latin : one way is the use of a monosyllable, and Virgil
enlists all these : dis, rex, sus, vis, bos, gens, res, mons, mens,
nox, spes, vir, mus, sol, se, te, hue, hinc, hos, quem, quam,
quo, quos, jam, ceu, stet, est.^ The other way is by eliding
the unaccented last syllable of a polysyllable before a vowel
initialling the following line — a licence absolutely forbidden
by the prosody, which allows short unclosed vowels at the
end of a line even when the next line begins with a vowel.
But Virgil, in order to secure an accent on the last syllable
has arbitrarily set this understanding aside, running lines
together without warning or analogy, and eliding nepotesque,
rudentesque, Latinorum, etc. Though the last syllable of
the line is by this device accented, as in the lines above, the
liberty is used to obtain a different rhythm, which will be
given under III. I introduce it here to convince a prejudiced
reader that the inversion of the sixth foot was really agreeable
to Virgil's ear ; and to sustain my assertion that had there
^ Rarely some of these words (It may be objected) are possibly to be reckoned as
enclitic, in which case they are not pertinent examples. There are, of course, all grades
of force in their stresses.
lo lb ant Ohscuri
been spondaic words in Latin, as there are in English,
accented on the last syllable, he would have used them freely
in this place.
Now the very beautiful rhythm of the lines quoted above
is altogether natural in English, and if English hexameters
are to be written it must be accepted as familiar ; here are
a few examples —
Grieving at heart and much pitying their unmerited lot.
Men sinning have put away from thought till impenitent death.
Hence is a road that led them a-down to the Tartarean streams.
O'er my mortality's spoil cast thou th' all-hallowing dust.
Next the sullen- hearted, who rashly with else-innocent hdnd.
Or thinketh to have seen i' the gloaming her delicate h6rn.
II. Another variety is that in which there are three accents
in the last two feet disposed thus: -^^v^-^; examples are —
Auspiciis manifesta fides, sic fdta d6um r6x.
Massylique ruunt equites et odora canum vis.
Sternitur exanimisque tremens prociimbit humi bos.
* Hie domus est ' inquit vobis. iam tempus dgi r6s.
Consilium, et saevae nutu Iun6nis 6unt r^s.
Dat latus, insequitur cumulo praeruptus dquae mons.
Tum, pietate gravem ac meritis si f6rte virum qu^m.
Expugnare Itali, summaque ev6rtere 6pum vi.
If this is really familiar and not deterrent to the reader
of Virgil how shall he shrink from the endings of the
following lines .?
And had not the Sibyl warn'd how these lively spirits w^re.
Are the buried ; nor ever may mortal acr6ss the livid Idke.
Wind borne with the current far-drifting, an' 6n the second m6rn.
He, rabid and distending a-hungry' his trlply-cdvern'd jdws.
Fool, who th' unreckoning tempest and deddly dreaded b61t.
My fleet moors i' the blue Tyrrhene : all with me g6eth w611.
Thence the living creatures, man, brute and 6v'ry fi^ather'd fowl.
Revisiting the ravisht lilycups, and dll the meadow hums.
III. Another variety has two accents separated as far as
possible, thus : - ^ ^ ~ --\ examples are —
Virgil's RhytJmis 1 1
Imprecor, arma armis : pugnent ipsiquc nepot6s(que).
Et magnos membrorum artus, magna ossa lacert6s(que).
Quo super atra silcx iamiam lapsura cadenti(quc).
lamque iter emensi turris ac t(^cta Latin6r(um).
Ecce furetis animis aderat Tirynthius omnc'm(que).
i^rea cui gradibus surgebant limina nexae(que).
Quern non incusavi amens hominumque deorum(que).
Omnia longaevo similis, vocdmque colorem(que).
Sternitur infelix alieno vulnere, caelum(que).
Aut dulcis musti Volcano d^coquit hum6r(em).
I have pointed out with what cost this effect has to be
obtained in Latin : and yet I find the best scholars are inclined
to think that it may have arisen accidentally from Virgil's
having merely chosen the most convenient form of the
sentence. But what a notion must they have of Virgil's
resources if they suppose him reduced to finding a form of
sentence convenient which not only broke the established
rules of his prosody, but also gave an undesirable rhythm !
The true explanation is so simple: he desired an effect which
he could only obtain by taking this liberty, and he preferred
risking the liberty to renouncing the effect. But in English
the number of spondaic words accented on the last syllable
make this rhythm unavoidable, and naturally somewhat fre-
quent : so that it is very satisfactory to find Virgil going out
of his way to provide it ; examples from my paraphrase are —
Wailing Grief, pallid Infections, and heart-stricken Old-age.
Of squalor infernal, Chardn : all filthily unkempt.
Of men and matrons ; nor did death's injury conceal.
Journey, or e'er upon Earth his bones lie peacefully entomb'd.
Nor vain was the promise his name should eternally survive.
He 'twas would sportively the guard of Tartarus enchain.
Hence the triple-throated bellowings of Cerberus invade.
In the above examples some of the final spondees approach
the condition in which both their syllables are practically
equal as well in stress as in weight, as in the following line —
That bright sprigg of weird for so long period unseen.
c 2
TX
Ibant Ohscuri
This is an indigenous English effect, and a very good one : ^
but it was no doubt much more nearly approached in Latin
than our common pronunciation of Latin exhibits. The
history of the word Infelix, for example, shows that the
negative prefix in it must have been spoken as regards stress
and length very much as the un in our word unseen.
The forms already illustrated, namely —
— \^ \j —
exhaust the possible varieties of rhythm when the accent is
on the last syllable of the line, and the fifth foot is a dactyl ;
but when the last foot is normal there is this common
rhythm —
IV.
— Kj ^
most frequently made by a pyrrhic word (that is, a word of
two short syllables) occupying the second half of the fifth
foot. Thus we have — medium secat agmen . . . quantum
satis hastae . . . lucet via longo . . ., etc., etc. But the
pyrrhic word is more frequently preceded by a monosyllable,
as — per juga Cynthi . . . tunc ego forti . . . et sua castra . . .
aut mala tactu . . ., etc. ; in which case the inverted condition
is eased and the fifth foot might in some instances be con-
sidered as accentual and the ending normal. They may,
however, be grouped together, and I have the following
examples —
"With ready naked point confronting their dreaded onset.
Whosoever thou be, that approachest my river all-arm 'd.
Cast him a cake, poppy-drencht with drowsiness and honey-sweeten 'd.
Name and shield keep f6r-thee the place ; but thy body, dear friend.
^ In the above English examples these spondaic words, however equal their syllables,
should not be in the least mispronounced in order to secure a falling rhythm. It is very
commonly asserted that there are no spondaic words in English : those who assert this
do not understand either English or Latin. They no doubt confuse stress and length,
but their dictum, as they intend it, is truer of Latin than of English.
VirgiVs Rhythms ig
In this last line the two final syllables being almost
indistinguishably equal in weight an effect is given of the
retirement of the metre from the sense, as if it refused to
meddle with the sentiment, which seems to me a very subtle
beauty.
To whatever opinion I might incline, I am not contending,
nor shall I, nor did I ever contend that quantitive classical
verse should be written in English, nor have I pretended that
any one but myself could be advantaged thereby. I was
induced to experiment in it, and the experiment persuades
me that if English hexameters are to be written, then such
endings as I have illustrated must be used, because they are
natural to the language. The inquiry, then, should be
whether they are intolerable, or only tolerable, or actually
pleasing. I have shown that Virgil uses them, and has
sometimes gone out of his way to procure them: and that
the reason why he did not use them oftener was almost
certainly the condition of the Latin word-accent, which
prescribed another form of verse. That condition being
absent from English, his negative practice is no guide to us,
but his positive practice with respect to them is of great
weight.
The above examples of typical verse-endings have altogether
omitted the spondaic ending. In my own experiments I
have made much less use of this form than might perhaps
prove to be desirable in English ; and I do not know what
withheld me, unless it were a wish to exhibit the possibility
of writing true dactylic endings in opposition to the clumsy,
club-footed dactyls of the Anglo-German type: for the
spondaic ending is extremely easy to write in Latin or English,
and a freer use of it than we find in Virgil or Homer might
have brought me under suspicion of evading a difficulty.
V. The common accentual form of the spondaic line needs
no illustration : but there is a peculiar form in which, the
last foot being accentual, there is no accent whatever on the
fifth foot. As there is a dactylic form corresponding with
1+
Ihant Ohscuri
this, I have reserved it in order that I might treat of them
together; and this is the type —
There are three varieties of each kind, which the reader
may lump together or discriminate as follows —
(i) Dactylic (a) -^
{c) .^
(2) Spondaic {a) -
\b) ^^
Examples of the dactylic are —
(i) {a) Seu mollis violae seu languentis hyacinthi.t
Castorea, Eliadum palmas 'Epiros^ equorum.f
{V) Agriae quercus aut coniferae cyparissi.f
Et nunc ille Paris cum semiviro comitatu.
Lamentis gemituque et femineo ululatu.
{c) Lyctius Idomeneus ; hie ilia ducis Meliboei.
Tris Antenoridas Cererique sacrum Polyboeten.
Altera candenti perfecta nitens elephanto.
Examples of the spondaic are —
(2) {a) Aut levis ocreas lento ducunt arg^nto.f
Saxa per et scopulos et depr^ssas convallis.
{h) Ardea Crustumerique et turrigerae Antdmnae.
Servabat senior, qui Parrhdsio Evandro.f
Antiquum in Buten. Hie Dardanio Anchisae.
(f) Quod fieri ferro llquidove p6test electro.
Sceptra Palatini sed^mque p^tit Evandri.
The lines marked f are almost entirely unaccentual
throughout except for the last foot.
It will be observed that, in all the {a) and (b) forms above,
^ I have a note that Servius says that Virgil intended the Greek accent on Epirot ; it
does not matter if he did not ; Servius' remark shows how Virgil's rhythms were
understood in his day.
yirgirs Rhytlmis 15-
the fourth foot Is unaccentual, whereas in [c] it is accentual/
a distinction which does not obtain in EngHsh : also that the
unaccented fifth foot draws attention to its weakness by loving
(as grammarians would say) to expose an hiatus in its bosom.
This is not an accident, nor an experiment ; the effect was
well known, and Virgil would not have used it if it had had
no significance or a bad significance to him. He must have
liked it ; and I believe that English scholars admire it ;
but the evident motive of the hiatus has, so far as I know,
never been pointed out. I will only say of it here that
whether or no the English hexameter be sufficiently perfected
to indulge securely in such a peculiar beauty, I find the
following verses in my paraphrase —
(i) Dactylic,
(a) As by an uncertain moonray secretly illumin'd.
Have the avenging Cares laid their sleepless habitations.
They forthwith their journey renew, tending to the wdter.
Whom when th' old boatman descried silently emerging.
Through Ereban darkness, thro' fields s6wn with desoldtion.
Than wer' a face of flint, or of ensculptur'd alabdster.
Where the spirits confin'd that await m6rtal resurrection.
{h) Inquisitor Minos, with his urn, summoning to assembly,
(f) Tearfully in once-lov'd accents he 16vingly addrest her.
(2) Spondaic.
I have, I believe, but one example of this kind of spondaic
ending, viz. —
Wander'd through the forest-obscurity ; and ^neas.
In this, though the fourth foot is regular, the weakness of
the fifth is well marked : and it will be seen that more than
half the English examples have the fourth foot normal,
whereas in Latin it is only possible in the (c) forms. This
fact, and a comparison, for instance, of such a line as Than
were a face with Seu mollis violae will exhibit the sort of
superiority which the English has over the Latin in respect
of the command of regular accent.
^ According to the principle in note I, p. 7.
i6 I hunt Ob s curt
As for the Irregularities, then, in the endings of my EngHsh
hexameters, I wish that I may have rescued them from dis-
respect, for I have shown that their free rhythms were
esteemed by Virgil. The only intelligent objection that
I can foresee is that I use such endings more frequently than
Virgil did. That is true enough ; but it is quite a different
objection from the assertion that they do not scan ; and my
real answer thereto would of course be that my undertaking
was not to copy the Latin imitation of the Greek, but to
make an analogous attempt in my own language. Waiving,
however, this general position (which I confess it would be
extremely inconvenient to maintain), and continuing to use
Virgil for comparison, I would reply, firstly, that these
rhythms are more natural and congenial to English than to
Latin, and, secondly, that they can be more freely introduced
in English because the English hexameter is generally more
accentual than the Latin. For instance, in the 490 lines which
I have paraphrased, the third foot is accentual in only about
.100 lines of the original, which is little more than one in
five, whereas in the English it is normal in over 300 places,
which is three in five ; and this argument cannot be set aside,
namely, that the Latin hexameter was naturally unaccentual
in one special place, and this condition being accepted by the
Latin versifier made it necessary that the end of his line
should generally reassert the normal rhythm. The English
hexameter is free from this flaw ; that is, it has no tendency
to have an unaccentual cassura and therefore not the same
obligation to make an accentual ending ; and to refuse this
argument almost implies the contention that because the
English verse is generally more accentual than the Latin it
should therefore be completely accentual, and eschew all
variety of inversion. My verse may not attract many readers :
that is another matter ; I can honestly say that I am truly
sorry ; but that I have not sought to please any prevalent
taste.
I will finally illustrate my position, supposing that the
Vir^iVs Rhythms 17
objection to the unaccentual places in my English lines is
that they occur in unprecedented positions. Now the rule
in Virgil is (as I have said) that the mid-feet of the verse are
unaccentual, so that if the unaccentual feet in the /Em^were
printed in a thicker type than the rest there would be a
darkening down the middle of the page rather towards the
left-hand side ; whereas if my paraphrase were so treated,
the darkening would be much less in quantity and more
irregularly distributed ; and that is the difference.
If it be asked, however, whether any of my dark patches
are wrongly disposed, it is plain that I cannot ever have
a dark patch where Virgil never has one, for there are no
forbidden places. Examination has shown that the fourth,
fifth and sixth places are sometimes all irregular, other lines
have the first four feet inverted, and some have only one
normal accent. And the variations in Virgil's rhythm are so
rich that I do not think it likely that I can have written any
line which could not be matched in his work, especially
considering that his regular feet are only about 3*5 to my 4*7.
If there were such a verse I should have thought that it would
have been this one —
Unfortun'd Theseus, while sad Phlegias saddeneth Hell,
for there is here only one normal accent, and that is in the
fourth foot ; and though one may find lines in Virgil with
only one regular accent, the fourth place is not where I should
first look for it; the following line, however, is in this
condition —
Litoreis ingens inventa sub ilicibus sus,
the main accents are all in the same places, and in both lines
the third foot is without accent. If one should object that
in Virgil's line the fourth foot is quite regular, whereas in
the English the first syllable of Phlegias carries an accent
which tends to make that foot irregular — although it has its
initial syllable sufficiently accented — it cannot be held that
D
i8 Ibant Obscuri
this difference is essential in such a verse, because we have
in —
Turn variae illudant pestes, saepe exiguus mus,
an example in which the fourth foot is also inverted, so that
there is no one normally placed accent in all the line, unless
the first be allowed to take its main accent from T'um, and
that is no stronger than the Un of Unfortuned.
I cannot but think that, important as that sow was, pro-
digious and portentous, and worthy of a memorial line, yet
Theseus and Phlegias have a higher claim to distort the
rhythm. Indeed, there can be no doubt that the irregularity
of Virgil's line is due to the homeliness and poetic poverty
of the sow, who needed to be rigged out in some extravagant
fashion in order to avoid a common bathos ; and Virgil did
quite rightly in not Castalianising her with melodious graces,
by which the bathos would have been rendered more evident
and ridiculous. In the artifice which he has used she
renounces all claim to elegance, but asserts her importance.
The exiguus mus line may further illustrate this poetic
method. He wishes to describe the constant petty annoy-
ances which the farmer has to suffer from the pertinacity of
vermin, and he inverts every accent in the line, with a real
effect of uncompensated discomfort concealed in an admirable
verse. Some critics need to be reminded how ridiculous it
is to suppose that just at this place an artist like Virgil,
a complete master of his material, happened to encounter
a mass of insurmountable difficulties which made it impossible
for him to get a single accentual foot into the line. And
it is not more illogical to assert this than to suppose that
the irregular endings which I have quoted from him,
and his occasionally accentual cassuras, were makeshifts
and conveniences forced on him by his material. However
suggested, they were approved contrivances of calculated
effect : that they appear convenient is only be-
cause they are well used ; the most regu-
larly melodious lines appear
equally convenient.
rHE VISION OF ^^^NE^S §
a 'Paraphrase of
(LAert. VI. 168-75-1 & 89^-8^ and
iz/:ii/^i'^z/yz/yic^/iz/iC <.»0
I CH. Baron BOW EN \
1 1887 i
} i
C'*^ (>«^ >«> C'*^ 5'«> O**^ !-•> 0«*> (y^i >*> 3"*> (J**^ (>*^ !>*> 0'*^ >"^ J""^ J"*>
'Son of Anchises' he answers, * Apollo's tripod and shrine
Have not lied : no god o'erwhelmed me thus in the brine.
True to my trust I was holding the helm, stood ruling the course.
When by sad misadventure I wrenched it loose, and perforce
Trailed it behind in my fall. By the cruel waters I swear
Fear of mine own life truly I knew not, felt but a care
Lest thy bark, of her rudder bereft, and her helmsman lost,
Might be unequal to combat the wild seas round her that tossed.
Three long nights of the winter, across great waters and wide,
Violent south winds swept me, at fourth day's dawn I descried
Italy's coast, as I rose on the crest of a wave of the sea.
Visio7i of ^^bieas 31
First he addrest. * What God, tell-me O Palinurus, of all gods 34 «
sic prior adioquitur : ' quit te, Palinore, deorunt
Pluckt-you away and drown'd i' the swift wake-water abandon'd ?
eripuit nobis niedioque sub acquore mersit ?
For never erst nor in else hath kind responsive Apollo
die age. namque mihi, fallax baud ante repertus,
Led-me astray, but alone in this thing wholly deluded,
hoc uno respoiiso animum delusit Apollo,
When he aver'd that you, to remote Ausonia steering,
qui fore te ponto incolumem finisque canebat
Safe would arrive. Where now his truth ? Is this the promis'd faith ?'
venturum Ausonios. en haec promissa fides est ? '
But he, * Neither again did Phoebus wrongly bespeak thee,
ille autem : ' neque te Phoebi cortina fefellit,
My general, nor yet did a god in 'his enmity drown me :
dux Anchisiade, nee me deus aequore mersit.
For the tiller, wherewith I led thy fleet's navigation,
namque gubemaclum multa vi forte revulsum,
And still clung to, was in my struggling hold of it unshipt, 350
cui datus haerebam custos cursusque regebam,
And came with-me' o'erboard. Ah ! then, by ev'ry accurst sea,
praecipitans traxi mecum. maria aspera iuro
Tho' in Utter despair, far less mine own peril awed me
non ullum pro me tantum cepisse timorem,
Than my thought o' the ship, what harm might hap to her, yawing
qoam tua ne spoliata armis, excussa magistro,
In the billows helmless, with a high wind and threatening gale.
deficeret tantis navis surgentibus undis.
Two nights and one day buffeted held I to the good spar
tris Notus hibernas immensa per aequora noctes
Windborne, with the current far-drifting, an' on the second morn
vexit me violentus aqua ; vix lumine quarto
Saw, when a great wave raised me aloft, the Italyan highlands ;
prospexi Italiam summa subiimis ab unda.
gi lb ant Ohscuri
Stroke by stroke I was swimming ashore, seemed nearly to be
Safe from the billows : and weighted by dripping garments, I clave
Clutching my hands, to the face of the cliff that towered on the wave,
When wild people assailed me, a treasure-trove to their mind.
Now are the waves my masters, I toss on the beach in the wind.
I G. B. WHEELER \
I i8n i
} i
c-«> :-^»*»«^ u-** >*»-»> c-»> ;-«> c-»^ ;^->o«i >«> 5'r»»> c»r> >w> j-»>
But by the pleasant light of heaven & air ; by thy Sire, I pray thee ;
by the hopes of youthful lulus, rescue me, unconquered one, from
this sad fate ; or cast a little earth upon me, for thou canst, and seek
the Velinian haven ; or do thou, by whatever means may be, if thy
goddess-parent shows thee any mode, — for I believe thou preparest
to cross these great rivers and the Stygian marsh, not without special
aid of heaven, — give thy right hand to a hapless man, & bear me
with thee thro* these waters, that at least in death I may repose in
tranquil rest.'
I JOHNBOTS \
I i66i i
} . £
But to him thus the prophetess replies,
* From whence doth this accurst desire arise .''
Think'st, Palinure, unburied to sayle o're
The Stygian sound, or to the other shore
Without thy passe-port wilt thou goe ? Forbear,
Vision of '^ Eneas gg
And swimming-on with effort got ashore, nay already was saved,
paulatini adiubam terrae ; iain tuta tciicbani,
Had not there the wrecking savages, who spicd-me defenceless,
ni gens crudclis madiila curu vistc gravatuni
Scarce clinging outwearied to a rock, half-drowned & speechless, i^o
prensantemque tincis manibus capita aspera mentis
Beafme to death for hope of an unfound booty upon me.
ferro invasisset pracd.inique ignara putasset.
Now to the wind and tidewash a sport my poor body rolleth.
nunc me tluctus habet versantque in litore venti.
Wherefore thee, by heav'n's sweet light & airiness, I pray,
quod te per caeli iucundum lunien ct auras.
By thy Sire's memories, thy hope of youthful lulus,
per genitorem oro, per spes surgentis luli,
Rescue-me from these ills, brave master ; Go to Velija,
eripe me his, invicte, malis : aut tu mihi ttrram
O'er my mortality's spoil cast thou th' all-hallowing dust :
inice, namque potes, portusque require Velinos ;
Or better, if so be the goddess, heav'n's lady-Creatress,
aut tu, si qua via est, si quam tibi diva creatrix
Showthee the way, — nor surely without high favoring impulse
ostendit (neque enim, credo, sine numine divum
Mak'st thou ventur' across these floods & black Ereban lake, —
flumina tanta parai Stygiamque innare paludem),
Give thy hand-to-me', an' o'er their watery boundary bring me 370
da dextram misero et tecum me telle per undas.
Unto the haven of all, death's home of quiet abiding.'
sedibus ut saltern placidis in morte quiescam.'
Thus-he lamented, anon spake sternly the maid of Avernus.
talia fatus erat coepit cum talia vates :
* Whence can such unruly desire, Palinurus, assail thee .''
' unde haec, o Palinure, tibi tarn dira cupido ?
Wilt thou th' Eumenidan waters visit unburied .'' o'erpass
tu Stygias inhumatus aquas amnemquc severum
F
34- Ihant Ob s curt
The stubborn Fates will not be bow'd by Pray'r :
Take this for solace of thy sadder chance,
By prodigies compell'd, th' Inhabitants
Both far, and neer, thy Manes shall appease.
And to thy memory a tomb shall rayse
After thy name to all j^ternitie ;
The place shall Palinurus called bee.'
This speech, the grief which he conceiv'd, abates :
He's pleased that hee that Coast denominates.
I WJLTER FJRRER {
} i8p3 £
} i
Therefore they proceed on the journey they have begun, and
approach the river : whom soon as the mariner descried from the
Stygian wave, passing through the quiet grove and turning their
footsteps towards the bank, thus first he accosts with words and
unprovoked rebukes.
I G. K. RICKARDS \
I 1871 i
I i
* What errand brings thee here, a warrior armed ^
Stay thy rash foot, intruder, come not near.
These are the realms of Sleep and drowsy Night ;
Vision of '^/Erieas jy
Hell's Stygian barrier ? Charon's boat unbidden enter ?
Kuniciiiiluni aspicies, ripanivc iiiiussus adibis ?
Cease to believe that fate can hh by prayl'r averted.
desine fata deuni flccti spcrare precando.
Let my sooth a litel thy cruel destiny comfort.
scd cape dicta memor, duri solacia casus.
Surely the people of all thy new-found country, determin'd
nam tua tinitinii, longe lateqiie per urbes
By heav'n-sent omens will achieve thy purification,
prodigiis acti caelestibus, ossa piabunt
Build thee a tomb of honour with yearly solemnity ordain'd, 380
et statuent tuniulum et tuniulo soUemnia mittent,
And dedicate for ever thy storied name to the headland.*
aeternumque locus Paliiiuri iiomen habebit.*
These words lighten awhile his fear, his sadness allaying,
His dictis curae cmotae pulsusque parumper
Nor vain was the promise his name should eternally survive.
cordc dolor tristi ; gaudet cognomine terra.
They forthwith their journey renew, tending to the water :
Ergo iter inceptum peragunt fluvioque propinquant.
Whom when th' old boatman descried silently emerging
navita quos iam inde ut Stygia prospexit ab unda
Out o' the leafy shadows, advancing t'ward the river-shore,
per taciturn nemus ire pedemque advertere ripae,
Angrily gave"he challenge, imperious in salutation.
sic prior adgreditur dictis atque increpat ultro :
* Whosoever thou be, that approachest my river all-arm'd,
' quisquis es, armatus qui nostra ad flumina tendis,
Stand to announce thyself, nor further make footing onward.
fare age quid venias iam istinc, et comprime gressum.
Here 'tis a place of ghosts, of night & drowsy delusion : 39*
umbrarum hie locus est, somni noctisque soporae :
F 2
^6 Ihant Obscuri
This Stygian raft no living soul may bear.
Nor had I cause for joy that once my bark
Pirithous, Theseus, Hercules conveyed —
The last Hell's yelling watch-dog bound in chains,
And dragged the cowering beast from Pluto's throne ;
Those daring ravishers would fain have torn
E'en from the couch of Dis his beauteous Queen.
<»-: t»^ t»«.»c <.»c c»< c»< c»< t*-s <^^ <*< t*< t*< <*< t*< <*-c t»«^^
I R. C. SINGLETON f
3 i
In answer whereunto
Spake briefly the Amphrysian prophetess.
* Here no such ambush ; cease to be disturbed ;
Nor do our weapons violence import.
Let the colossal porter in his den,
For ever barking scare the bloodless shades ;
Chaste Proserpine her uncle's palace keep.
I CHR. p. CRUNCH I
J Boston 1872 i
}' i
Trojan JEneas, well renowned for arms
And filial reverence, to these lower shades
Of Erebus descends to meet his sire.
If by such piety thou art not moved, **
At least this branch thou wilt acknowledge.' Here
She showed the branch concealed within her robe.
At once his anger fell, nor more he spake ;
J^'is'ion of '^Ibicas 37
Forbidden unto living mortals is my Stygian keel :
corpora viva ncfas Stvgia vectnrr carina.
Truly not Alkides embarkt I cheerfully, nor took
iicc vero Alcideii me sum lactatus eimtem
Of Theseus or Pirithous glad custody, nay though
accepifse lacu, ncc Thesea Pirithouniquc,
God-sprung were they both, warriors invincible in might :
dis quaniquam geiiiti atque invicti viribus esseiit.
H6 'twas would sportively the guard of Tartarus enchain,
Tartareum ille manu custodcm in vincla petivit
Yea and from the palace with gay contumely dragged him ;
ipsius a solio regis traxitque trementein ;
They to ravish Hell's Queen from Pluto's chamber attempted.'
hi dominam Ditis thaiamo deducere adorti.'
Then thus th'Amphrysian prophetess spake briefly in answer.
Quae contra breviter fata est Amphrysia vates :
* No such doughty designs are ours, Cease thou to be moved !
' nullae hie insidiae tales (absiste moveri),
Nor these sheeny weapons intend force. Cerberus unvext 400
nee vim tela ferunt ; licet ingens ianitor antro
Surely for us may affray the spirits with 'howling eternal,
aeternum latrans exsanguis terreat umbras,
And chaste Persephone enjoy her queenly seclusion.
casta licet patrui servet Proserpina limeii.
Troian iEneas, bravest and gentlest-hearted,
Troius Aeneas, pietate insignis et armis.
Hath left earth to behold his father in out-lying Ades.
ad geiiitorem imas Erebi descendit ad umbras.
If the image " of a so great virtue doth not affect thee,
si te nulla movet tantae pietatis imago.
Yet this bough ' — glittering she reveal'd its golden avouchment —
at ramum hunc ' (aperit ranium qui veste latebat)
' Thou mayst know.' Forthwith his bluster of heart was appeased :
' aguoscas.' tumida ex ira turn corda residunt.
38
Ibant Ohscuri
But gazed, admiring, at the fated bough,
The offering revered, so long a time
Unseen ; and toward them turns around his barge
Of dusky hue, and brings it to the shore.
tt.*'.<»0
\ LONSDALE & LEE f
I 1871 i
Next he thrusts out other spirits, who were sitting along the length
of the benches, and clears the gangways ; withal he admits into the
hull the great ^Eneas. The crazy craft groaned beneath the weight,
and thro' its leaks let in a flood of marshy water. At last on the
other side of the stream he lands in safety prophetess and hero, on
the unsightly mire and gray sedge.
I E. S. CROOKE I
} late igth century i
Huge Cerberus makes these realms resound with the baying from
his three throats, couching monstrous in his den at the entrance.
To whom, seeing that his necks were already bristling with the
snakes, the prophetess throws a cake made of honey and medicated
corn to produce sleep.
\ H. OWGAN \
1 i8s2 i
\ i
He, stretching his triple throat with raving greediness, seizes the
offered cake, and, laid on the ground, unbends his giant limbs, and
stretches his huge length along the cave, i^neas secures the entrance
while its guard lay sleeping.
Vision of ^^yEneas
Nor word gave~he, but admiring the celestial omen,
nee plura hit. ille admirans venerabile donum
That bright sprigg of weird for so long period unseen,
fatalis virgae longo post tempore visum
Quickly he~turneth about his boat, to the margin approaching, 4'°
caerulcam advert it puppini ripaeque propinquat.
And the spirits, that along the gun'al benchways sat in order,
inde alias aiiimas, quae per iuga loiiga sedebant,
Drave he ashore, offering ready room ; but when the vessel took
deturbat laxatque foros ; simul accipit alveo
Ponderous i^neas, her timbers crankily straining
ingentem Aeneaii. gemuit sub pondere cuniba
Creak'd, an' a brown water came trickling through the upper seams.
sutilis et multam accepit rimosa paludem.
Natheless both Sibyl and Hero, slow wafted across stream
tandem trans fluvium incoiumis vatemque virumque
Safe on th'ooze & slime's hideous desolation alighted.
informi limo glaucaque exponit in ulva.
Hence the triple-throated bellowings of Cerberus invade
Cerberus haec ingens latratu regna trifauci
All Hell, where opposite the arrival he lies in a vast den.
p>ersonat advcrso recubans immanis in antro.
But the Sibyl, who mark'd his necklaces of stiffening snakes,
cui rates horrere videns iam coUa colubris
Cast him a cake, poppy-drench'd with drowsiness and honey-sweeten'd.
melle soporatam et medicatis frugibus offam
He, rabid and distending a-hungry' his triply-cavern'd jaws, 421
obicit. ille fame rabida tria guttura pandens
Gulp'd the proffer 'd morsel ; when slow he-relaxt his immense bulk,
cotripit obiectam, atque inunania terga resolvit
And helplessly diffused fell out-sprawl'd over the whole cave.
fusus humi totoque ingens extenditur antro.
.ffineas fled by, and left full boldly the streamway,
occupat Aeneas aditum custode sepulto
^.o Ihant Ohscuri
and promptly leaves the bank of the irrepassable stream.
\ JOHN VICARS \
Straight in's first entrance piteous cries he heares,
And loud laments of infants 'bout his eares,
Of tender babes, snatcht from their mothers breast,
Deprived of longer life by death's arrest.
Next these, were those who by false sentence dy'd,
Yet lot and law these to their place apply'd.
Minos th' inquisitour the lots doth cast.
And spies and tries their lives and follies past.
\ JOHN OGlLVr \
^ 164Q \
Next after these, those wretched Ghosts reside,
Who hating life, have by their own hands dyde.
And lost their soules : who now to live again
Would not hard toil and poverty disdain ;
Them fates deny, and the most dreadful sound
Binds in, and Styx nine times incircles round.
Not farre from hence they to large champaigns came,
Vision of ^^-Encas 4,1
That biddeth all men across but alloweth ne'er a returning.
evaditque celcr ripain iiirimeabilii uiidae.
Already now i' the air were voices heard, lamentation
Continuo auditac voces vagitus et ingens
And shrilly crying of infant souls by th' entry of Ades.
ii)faiUunique aiiiniac fleiitcs, in limine prinio
Babes, whom unportion'd of sweet life, unblossoming buds,
quos dulcis vitae exsortis et ab ubere raptos
One black day carried off and chokt in dusty corruption. —
abstulit atra dies et funere mersit acerbo.
Next are they who falsely accused were wrongfully condemn'd 430
hos iuxta falso damnati crimine mortis.
Unto the death : but here their lot by justice is order'd.
nee vero hae sine sorte datae, sine iudice, sedes :
Inquisitor Minos, with his urn, summoning to assembly
quaesitor Minos urnam movet; ille silentum
His silent council, their deed or slander arraigneth. —
conciliumque vocat vitasque et crimina discit.
Next the sullen-hearted, who rashly with else-innocent hand
proxima deinde tenent maesti loca, qui sibi letuni
Their own life did"away, for hate or weariness of light,
intontes peperere manu lucemque perosi
Imperiling their souls. How gladly, if only in Earth's air,
proiecere animas. quani vellent aethere in alto
Would-they again their toil, discomfort, and pities endure !
nunc et pauperiem et duros perferre labores 1
Fate obstructs : deep sadness now, unloveliness awful
fas obstat, tristisque palus inamabiiis undae
Rings them about, & Styx with ninefold circle enarmeth. —
alligat et novies Styx interfusa coercet.
Not far hence they come to a land extensiv on all sides ; 440
Nee procul hinc partem fiui moQstrantur in omnem
G
4-X Ibant Ohscuri
The fields of sorrow call'd, such was the name :
Here those whom cruel Love with griefe devours.
Did haunt close walks, conceal'd in mirtle bowres,
Nor in their death relinquish they their woes ;
Here Phaedra, Procris, and Euryphile, goes,
Showing those wounds her son had made, he saw
Pasiphae, Evadne, Laodamia,
Caeneus with them, now woman, once a man,
Whom fates restor'd to her own sex againe.
I JOHNDRYDEN \
I "" \
Not far from these Phoenician Dido stood ;
Fresh from her Wound, her Bosom bathe'd in Blood.
Whom, when the Trojan Heroe hardly knew,
Obscure in Shades, and with a doubtful view,
(Doubtful as he who runs thro' dusky Night,
Or thinks he sees the Moon's uncertain Light ;)
With tears he first approach'd the silent Shade ;
And, as his Love inspired him, thus he said.
* Unhappy Queen ! then is the common breath
Of Rumour true in your reported Death,
T^'tsion of '^y^neas 4^
Weeping Plain 'tis call'd : — such name such country deserveth.
lugentes canipi ; sic illos nomine dicunt.
Here the lovers, whom fiery passion hath cruelly consumed,
hie quo$ durus amor crudeli tabe pcrcdit
Hide in leafy alleys ^ and pathways bow'ry, sequester'd
sccreti celant calles ct myrtea circuni
By woodland myrtle, nor hath Death their sorrow ended.
silva tegit ; curae non ipsa in morte relinquunt.
Here was Phaedra to see, Procris " and sdd Eriphyle,
his Phaedram Procrimque locis maestamque Eriphj'Ien
She of her unfilial deathdoing wound not ashamM,
crudelis nati monstrantem vulnera cernit,
Evadne, " and Pasiphae " and Laodamia,
Euadnenquc et Pasiphaen ; his Laodamia
And epicene Keneus, a woman to a man metamorphos'd,
it comes et iuvenis quondam, nunc femina, Caeneus
Now by Fate converted again to her old feminine form.
nirsus et in veterem fate revoluta figuram.
'Mong these shades, her wound yet smarting ruefully, Dido 450
Inter quas Phoenissa recens a vulnere Dido
"Wander'd throu' the forest-obscurity ; and iEneas
errabat silva in magna f quam Troiui heros
Standing anigh knew surely the dim form, though i' the darkness
ut primum iuxta stetit agnovitque per umbras
Veil'd, — as when one seeth a young moon on the horizon,
obscuram, qualem primo qui surgere mense
Or thinketh to ' have seen i' the gloaming her delicate horn :
aut videt aut vidisse putat per nubila lunam,
Tearfully in once"lov'd accents he-lovingly addrest her.
demisit lacrimas dulcique adfatus amore est :
'Unhappy ! ah ! too true 'twas told me, O unhappy Dido,
' infelix Dido, verus mihi nuntius ergo
Dead thou wert ; to the fell extreme didst thy passion ensue.
veucrat exstinctam ferroque extrema secutam ?
G 2
4-4 Ihant Obscuri
And I, alas, the Cause ! by Heav'n I vow,
And all the Pow'rs that rule the Realms below.
Unwilling I forsook your friendly State ;
Commanded by the Gods, & forc'd by Fate,
Those Gods, that Fate, whose unresisted Might '
Have sent me to these Regions void of Light
Thro' the vast Empire of eternal Night. j
Nor dar'd I to presume, that, press'd with Grief,
My flight sh"^ urge you to this dire Relief.
Stay, stay your Steps, & listen to my Vows :
'Tis the last Interview that Fate allows ! '
In vain he thus attempts her Mind to move.
With Tears & Pray'rs, & late repenting Love.
Disdainfully she look'd : then turning round.
But fix'd her Eyes unmov'd upon the Ground.
And, what he says, & swears, regards no more.
Than the deaf Rocks, when the loud Billows roar.
But whirl'd away, to shun his hateful sight,
Hid in the Forest and the Shades of Night.
Then sought Sicheus, thro' the shady Grove,
Who answer'd all her Cares & equal'd all her Love.
T^'tslon of '^^nens 45*
And was It I that slew-thee ? Alas ! Smite falsity, ye hcav'ns !
funeris heu tibi causa fui ? per sidcra iuro,
And Hell-fury attest-me', if here any sanctity reigneth,
per $up>croj et si qua tides tellure jub ima est,
Unwilling, O my Queen, my step thy kingdom abandon'd. 4*50
invitus, regina, tuo de litore cessi.
Me the command of a god, who here my journey determines
scd me iussa deum, quae nunc has ire per umbras,
Through Ereban darkness, through fields sown with desolation,
I>er loca scnta situ cogunt noctemque profundam,
Drave"me to wrong my heart. Nay tho' deep-pain'd to desert thee
imperiis egere suis ; nee credere quivi
I ne'er thought to provoke thy pain of mourning eternal.
hunc tantum tibi me discessu ferre dolorem.
Stay yet awhile, ev'n here unlook'd-for again look upon me :
siste gradum teque aspectu ne subtrahe nostro.
Flyme not ere the supreme words that Fate granteth us are said.'
quem fugis ? extremum fato quod te adloquor hoc est.'
Thus he : but the spirit was raging, fiercely defiant,
Talibus Aeneas ardentem et torva tuentem
Whom he approach'd with words to appease, with tears for atonement.
lenibat dictis animum lacrimasque ciebat.
She to the ground downcast her" eyes in fixity averted ;
ilia solo fixos oculos aversa tenebat
Nor were her features more by his pleading affected, 470
nee magis incepto vultum sermone movetur
Than wer' a face of flint, or of ensculptur'd alabaster.
quam si dura silex aut stet Marpesia caute^
At length she started disdainful, an' angrily withdrew
tandem coiripuit sese atque inimica refugit
Into a shady thicket : where her grief kindly Sychasus
in nemus umbriferum, coniunx ubi pristinus ilJi
Sooth'd with other memories, first love and virginal embrace.
reipondet curii aequatque Sychaeus amorein.
^6 Ihant Ohscuri
\ EARL of LJVDERDJLE \
% 1710 i
Mov'd with her Death -Eneas' watry Eyes
Follow with looks of Pity while she flies,
And now pursues the way the Fates ordain'd,
He and his Guide the outmost Fields attained ;
Where by themselves Heroick Souls remain
Of Men renown'd in War. Here on the Plain
He met Parthenopeus, Tideus here,
And pale Adrastus trembling still through Fear.
Of Trojan Ghosts he saw a mighty Train,
All much regretted, all in Battel slain ;
Thersilochus, Glaucon, Medon with the rest,
Antenor's son, & Ceres' sacred Priest :
Great Polybetes, glad Ideus there
Driving his chariot, in his Hand a Spear.
\ Mr. CHRISTOPHER PUT \
I 1740 i
3 i
(>.*> C'**^ p**^ ^-«^ C'*^ ^^r^ >*^ &«^ >«% l>«^ >«^ (>«^ >«%>«> >«^ >«% (V«% &«^
Eager to view the Chief, on either Hand,
Rank behind Rank, the airy Warriors stand :
All in their turn retard the Prince, to know
What urged his Journey to the Shades below.
Not so the Kings of Greece — Appall'd, dismay'd
The hostile Chiefs the godlike man survey 'd
In arms that glitter'd thro' the dusky Shade.
Some turn'd and fled, astonished at the View
V'tsmi of '^Uneas 47
And ever i^neas, to remorse by deep pity soften'd,
ncc minus Aeneas casu concusius iniquo
With brimming eyes pursued her queenly figure disappearing.
proscijuitur lacrinn't loiige et niiseratur euntcin.
Thence the Sibyl to the plain's extremest boundary led him,
Inde (latum moiitur iter, iamque arva tenebant
Where world-fam'd warriors, a lionlike company, haunted.
ultima, quae bello clari secreta frequentant.
Here great Tydeus saw he eclips'd, & here the benighted
hie illi occurrit Tydeus, hie inelutus armis
Phantom of Adrastus,'' of stalwart Parthenopaeus. 480
Parthenopaeus et Adrasti pallentis imago,
Here long mourn'd upon earth went all that prowess of Ilium
hie niuhum fieti ad superos belloque caduci
Fallen in arms ; whom, when he"beheld them, so many and great,
Dardanidae, quos ille omnis longo ordine eernens
Much he-bewail'd. By Thersilochus his mighty brothers stood,
ingemuit, Glaucumque Medontaque Thersilochumque,
Children of Antenor ; here Demetrian Polyboetes,
tris Antenoridas Cererique saerum Polyboeten,
And Idaeus, in old chariot-pose dreamily stalking,
Idaeumque etiam currus, etiam arma tenentem.
Right and left the spirits flocking-on stood crowding around him ;
cireumstant animae dextra laevaque frequentes :
Nor their eyes have enough ; they touch, find joy unwonted
nee vidisse semel satis est ; iuvat usque morari
Marching in equal st^p, and eager of his coming enquire.
ct conferre gradum et Teniendi discere causas.
But th' Argive leaders, and they that obey'd Agamemnon,
at Danaum proceres Agamemnoniaeque phalanges
When they saw that Trojan in arms come striding among them, 490
ut videre virum fulgentiaque arma per umbras,
Old terror invaded their ranks : some fled stricken, as once
ingenti trepidare metu ; pars vertere terga,
48 Ihant Obscuri
As when before him to their Fleets they flew.
Some rais'd a Cry : the flutt'ring Accents hung
And dy'd imperfect on the trembling Tongue.
I H. W. HVlSriKlG \
I 1891 i
3 i
And here he saw Deiphobus the son of Priam gashed o'er all his
body, cruelly mangled as to his face, his face and both hands, and
his temples stripped and deprived of ears, and nostrils hewn away by
shameful wound. Scarce indeed did he recognise him shrinking and
hiding his grievous punishment, and first addressed him with his well
known voice.
I i
I y. B. Gentleman \
1 1600 i
1 ^^ i
* Valiant Deiphobus, sprung of Troy's great Blood
What cruel man would use you in this sort
Or whom would God permit to do't ? [I heard]
\ J. W. MAC KAIL \
1 i88t i
} i
Rumour reached me that on that last night, outwearied with
endless slaughter of the Pelasgians, thou hadst sunk on the heap of
mingled carnage. Then mine own hand reared an empty tomb on
the Rhoetean shore, mine own voice thrice called aloud upon thy
ghost. Thy name and armour keep the spot : thee, O my friend,
I could not see nor lay in the native earth I left.'
They to the ships had fled for shelter ; others the alarm raise,
ceu quondam petiere rates, pars tollcre voccni
But their thin utterance mock'd vainly the lips wide-parted.
cxigiiani : inceptiis clamor frustratur hiantis.
Here too Deiphobus he espied, his fair body mangled,
atque hie Priamiden laniatum corporc toto
Cruelly dismember'd, disfeatur'd cruelly his face,
Deiphobum vidit, lacerum crudeliter ora,
Face and hands ; and lo ! shorn closely from either temple,
era manusque ambas, populataque tempera raptis
Gone wer' 'his ears, and maim'd each nostril in impious outrage.
auribus et truncas inhonesto vulnere uaris.
Barely he-knew him again cow'ring shamefastly ' an' hiding
vix adeo agnovit pavitaiitem ac dira tegentem
His dire plight, & thus he 'his old companyon accosted.
supplicia, et notis compellat vocibus ultro :
* Noblest Deiphobus, great Teucer's intrepid offspring, 500
' Deiphobe armipotens, genus alto a sanguine Teucri,
Who was it, inhuman, coveted so cruel a vengeance ?
quis tarn crudelis optavit sumere poenas ?
Who can hav adventur'd on th6e '^. That last terrible night
cui tantum de te licuit ? mihi fama suprema
Thou wert said to hav exceeded thy bravery, an' only
nocte tulit fessum vasta te caede Pelasgum
On thy fain enemies wert fain by weariness o'ercome.
procubuisse super confusae stragis acervum.
Wherefor' upon the belov'd sea-shore thine empty sepulchral
tunc egomet tumulum Rhoeteo litore inanem
Mound 1 erected, aloud on thy ghost tearfully calling.
constitui et magna manis ter voce vocavi.
Name and shield keep for-thee the place ; but thy body, dear friend,
nomen et arma locum servant ; te, amice, nequivi
Found I not, to commit to the land ere sadly ' I left it.'
conspicere et patria decedensponere terra.'
H
5-0 Ihant Ohscuri
I JLEXJNDER STRJHJN \
\ ^767 i
©■-•^ C-*^ C''*^ >«~i >*^ C-*"* >*^ (>*^ >•"> >*^ >*^ >*^ >*^ >•> c-*^ >*^ C-*> {>«>
To which the son of Priam : * nothing 's left
By you, my friend, undone ; you have discharg'd
All pious duties to Deiphobus,
And to his shade. But me my destiny,
And that Laconian woman's wickedness
Detestable, o'erwhelm'd with all these ills.
These monuments she left me.
I W, y. THORNHILL \
1 1886 i
} i
How we poor dupes, that fatal night bestowed,
Fooled of false hope, on mad delusive joys.
Thou know'st, dear friend ; must needs but too well know.
At that sad tide, when as the fatal steed
Came bounding up our castle's steep ascent.
And big with death, a mail-clad host did bring
Hid in its teeming womb, this precious dame,
On mock pretence for Bacchic dance to lead
A troop of yelling wives about the walls.
Amid the throng, with monster torch uplift.
Signalled the Greeks from off the topmost tower.
I J^S, RHOADES \
1 1893 i
} i
Then I with trouble spent, weighed down with sleep.
Was holden of our ill-starred bridal bower.
Lying with deep sweet slumber overwhelmed,
Deep as the calm of death. My peerless wife
Meanwhile all arms from out the palace moves —
The true sword first from 'neath my pillow filched —
Calls Menelaus in, throws wide the door.
P^isioTi of 'tineas 5T
Then the son of Priam ^ * I thought not, friend, to reproach thee:
Ad quae Priamidet : ' nihil o tibi, amice, relictum ;
Thou didst all to the full, ev'n my shade's service, accomplish. 510
omnia Deiphobo solvisti et funcris unibris,
'Twas that uninterdicted adultress from Lacedaemon
sed me fata mea et scelus exitiale Lacaenae
Drave~me to doom, & planted in hell her trophy triumphant.
his mersere malis ; ilia haec monimenta reliquit.
On that night, — how vain a security and merrymaking
namque ut supremam falsa inter gaudia noctem
Then sullied us thou know'st, yea must too keenly remember, —
egerimus, nosti : et nimium memiiiisse necesse est.
"When the ill-omened horse oerleapt Troy's lofty defences,
cum fatalis equus saltu super ardua venit
Dragg'd in amidst our town pregnant with a burden of arm'd men.
Pergama et armatum peditem gravis attulit alvo,
She then, her Phrygian women in feign'd phrenzy collecting,
ilia chorum simulans euhantis orgia circum
All with torches aflame, in wild Bacchic orgy paraded,
ducebat Phrygias ; flammam media ipsa tenebat
Flaring a signal aloft to her ambusht confederate Greeks.
ingentem et summa Danaos ex arce vocabat.
I from a world of care had fled with weariful eyelids 530
turn me confectuni curis somnoque gravatum
Unto my unhappy chamber ', an' lay fast lockt in oblivyon,
infelix habuit thalamus, pressitque iacenteni
Sunk to the depth of rest as a child that nought will awaken.
dulcis et alta quies placidaeque simillima morti.
Meanwhile that paragon helpmate had robb'd me of all arms,
egregia interea coniunx arma omnia tectis
E'en from aneath the pillow my blade of trust purloining ; —
amovet et fidum capiti subduxerat enscm ;
Then to the gate ; wide flings she it op'n an' calls Menelaus.
intra tecta vocat Menelaum et limina pandit,
H 2
TX
Ihant Ohscuri
Hoping forsooth that to her lover this
Would prove a mighty boon, and so be quenched
The fame of old offences. Why delay ?
They burst into my chamber : joins the crew,
Prompter of crimes, the son of ^olus.
Ye gods, like measure to the Greeks repay,
If with pure lips I ask for vengeance.
\ JOHN MILLER \
} i86s i
l i '
But what events
Have brought thee living hither, say in turn.
Com'st thou wide wafted by the erroneous sea ?
Or by the Gods admonished ? What is this
111 fortune that impels thee, so that thou
Art present in these melancholy abodes,
Where the sun shines not, and where rest is none.'
\ HAMILTON BR TCE \
. I i8p4 i
} i
Thus as they talked, Aurora, in her rosy team
had passed the zenith in her course :
and they had likely spent the whole allotted time in such communing ;
but the Sibyl as attendant guide, admonished him & briefly spoke.
<*<<*« <.»^ t*«>(;-»> o-»> (>»> i>«>c-»^ e«»> !v*> f^ 5-»> j-r> c-«> e-*> ^"^ >»> ^«> 5-^
When as Tineas cast a sudden look,
Lo ! on his left, beneath a rocky height,
A vast wide edifice met his wondering sight :
Three lines of wall the enormous pile surround.
And Phlegethon's foaming fiery torrents bound.
Whose rocks roll thundering in its flaming flood
Right in the front a mighty portal stood :
Columns of solid adamant defy-
All strength of men, and powers of the sky,
To burst its barriers with their utmost blows :
High in the air an iron tower uprose :
In blood-dyed pall Tisiphone sits by.
And guards the vestibule with sleepless eye
Both day and night.
I CH. RANN KENNEDY \
} 1840 i
3 i
Hence groans are heard, the lash, the clank of iron.
And trail of heavy chains.
Vision of '^yRneas ^<;
Only receives their feet who wend to eternal affliction.*
exercct poenas et ad irnpi* Tartara niittit."
Deiphobus then again, ' Speak not, great priestess, in anger ;
Dciphobus contra : ' Tie jaevi, iiui^iia sacerdos ;
I will away to refill my number among th' unfortun'd.
(liscedam, explebo numenim reddarque tenebrii.
Thou, my champyon, adieu ! Go where thy glory awaits thee ! '
i decus, i, nostrum; nielioribus utere fatis."
When these words he 'had spok'n, he-turn'd and hastily was fled.
tantum etfatus, et in verbo vestigia torsit.
./Eneas then look'd where leftward, under a mountain,
Respicit Aeneas subito et sub ru[)e sinistra
Outspread a wide city lay, threefold with fortresses engirt,
nioenia lata videt triplici circumdata muro,
Lickt by a Tartarean river of live fire, the torrential 550
quae rapidus flammis ambit torrentibus amnis,
Red Phlegethon, and huge boulders his roundy bubbles be :
Tartareus Phlegethon, torquetque sonantia saxa.
Right i' the front stareth the columnar gate adamantine,
porta adversa ingens solidoque adamante columnae,
Such that no battering warfare of men or immortals
vis ut nulla virum, non ipsi exscindere bello
E'er might shake ; blank-faced to the cloud its bastion upstands.
caelicolae valeant ; stat ferrea turris ad auras,
Tisiphone thereby In a bloodspotty robe sitteth alway
Tisiphoneque sedens palla succincta cruenta
Night and day guarding sleeplessly the desperat entrance.
vestibulum e.xsomnis servat noctesque diesque,
Wherefrom an awestirring groan-cry and fierce clamour outburst,
hinc exaudiri gemitus et saeva sonare
Sharp lashes, insane yells, dragg'd chains and clanking of Iron.
verbera, turn stridor ferri tractaeque catenae.
s6 Ibant Ohscuri
The Chieftain stood,
And listen'd fearful. ' Holy Virgin, say,
What crimes are these ? What punishments, and why
This dreadful wail ? ' The Sibyl answer'd thus.
i»^ <^< <.»^ t*<) t**> >«^ >*^ O'*^ >*> 5-»> 5-^ C-«> 5-^ 5-«^ >*> 0-»> J-«-> >«^ >«> (y«->
There they that did their brethren most abhor while life did last.
Or beat their parents, or their clients cause have foule betraied,
Visio7t of '^4ineas 6i
Blasted, an' eke his rattling car and smoky pretences
contortit, non ille faces iicc funiea taedis
Extinguish'd at a stroke, scattering his dust to the whirlwind.
luniina, praccipitcniqiie ininiaiii turbine adogit.
There too huge Tityos, whom Earth that gendereth all things
iiec non et Tityon, Terrae omniparentis alumnuni,
Once foster'd, spreadeth'out o'er nine full roods his immense limbs.
cernere erat, per tota novem cui iugera corpus
On him a wild vulture with hook-beak greedily gorgeth
porrigitur, rostroque immanis vultur obunco
His liver upsprouting quick as that Hell-chicken eateth.
immortale iecur tondens fecundaque poem's
Sh6 diggeth and dwelleth under the vast ribs, her bloody bare neck
viscera rimaturque epulis habitatque sub alto
Lifting anon : ne'er loathes-she the food, ne'er fails the renewal. 600
tore, nee fibris requies datur ulla renatis.
Where wer an end their names to relate, their crimes and torments ?
quid memorem Lapithas, Ixiona Pirithoumque ?
Some o'er whom a hanging black rock, slipping at very point of
quo super atra silex iam iam lapsiira cadeiitique
Falling, ever threateneth : Couches luxurious invite
imminet adsimilis; lucent genialibus altis
Softly-cushion'd to repose : Tables for banqueting outlaid
aurea fulcra toris, epulaeque ante ora paratae
Tempt them ever-famishing : hard by them a Fury regardeth,
regifico luxu ; furiarum maxima iuxta
And should th6y but a hand uplift, trembling to the dainties,
accubat et manibus prohibet contingere mensas,
She with live firebrand and direful yell springeth on them.
exsurgitque facem attoUens atque intonat ore.
Their crimes, — not to 'hav lov'd a brother while love was allow'd them ;
Hie, quibus invisi fratres, duni vita manebat,
Or to 'hav struck their father, or inveigled a dependant ;
pulsatusve parens aut fraus innexa clienti,
6z Ihant Obscuri
And such as gatherid goodes unto themselfs, and no man paied,
Nor almes never gave, wherof there Is to great a throng.
Or for aduoutry have been slaine, or reisid warres in wrong.
Or rebells to their prince, or maisters goods wold not discerne :
Includid in that Jaile their paines they bide. Seeke not to lerne
What pains : what world of wo ther is : how ech his fortune feeles.
Som rolls unweldy rocks, some hangs on hie displaied on wheeles.
Some tombling tyre themselfs. There ever sitts and ever shall
Unhappy Theseus, & Phlegias most of misers all
Among those caytives darke & loud with voice to them doth rore,
Learn justice now by this, & gods above despise no more.
One wretch his country sold, & prince of strength therto did call,
He forgid lawes for bribes, & made, & mard, & altrid all.
Another leapt into his doughters bed, confounding kindes.
All ment outragious dedes, & fyld their foule outragious minds.
Not if I had a hundred mouthes, a hundred tonges to spend,
And voice as strong as Steele, yet could I never comprehend
Vision of '^Eneas 6^
Or who chancing alone on wealth prey'd lustfully thereon, Cio
aut qui divitiis soli incubuere repcrtii
Nor made share with others, no greater company than they :
ncc partem posuere suis (quae maxima turba est),
Some for adultery slain ; some their bright swords had offended
quique ob adulterium caesi, quique arma secuti
Drawn i' the wrong : or a master's trust with perfidy had met :
impia nee veriti dominorum failere dextraj,
Dungeon'd their penalties they await. Look not to be answer'd
inclusi poenain exspectant. ne quaere doceri
What that doom, nor th' end of these men think to determine.
quam poenam, aut quae forma viros fortunave mersit.
S6me aye roll heavy rocks, some whirl dizzy on the revolving
tazum ingens volvunt alii, radiisque rotarum
Spokes of a pendant wheel : sitteth and to eternity shall sit
districti pendent ; sedet aeternumque sedebit
Unfortun'd Theseus ; while sad Phlegias saddeneth hell
jnfelix Theseus, Phiegyasque miserrimus omnis
With vain oyez to' all loud crying a tardy repentance,
admonet et magna testatur voce per umbras :
" Walk, O man, i' the fear of God, and learn to be righteous ! " 6jo
"discite iustitiam moniti et non temnere divos."
Here another, who sold for gold his country, promoting
vendidit hie auro patriam dominumque potentem
Her tyrant ; or annuU'd for a base bribe th' inviolate law.
imposuit ; fixit leges pretio atque refixit ;
This one 'had unfather'd his blood with bestial incest :
hie thalamum invasit natae vetitosque hymenaeos :
All some fearful crime had dared & vaunted achievement.
ausi omnes immane nefas ausoque potiti.
What mind could harbour the offence of such recollection,
aon, mihi si linguae centum sint oraque centum,
Or lend welcoming ear to the tale of iniquity and shame,
ferrea vox, omnis scelerum comprendere formas,
^4- Ihant Obscuri
Their sondry sinnes & paines, nor of their names sh'^ make an end.
When SIBLI to iENEAS thus had said : * Now make me speede,
Go furth, keepe on thy way, performe those things that thou hast
neede.
Dispatche we now (q^ she) I spie from hence the chimneis topps
Of CICLOPS boistous walles, I see their gates their forge, & shopps,
Where we commaunded be to leave this gift of golden spraies.'
I ARTHUR MJLET \
3 1880 i
3 i
Thus she spake : and both together moving o'er the dusky way
Pass across the middle space, till at the massive gates they stay ;
Standing in the porch ^neas sprinkles him with water pure,
And the golden branch he fixes on the lintel of the door.
I WM. MORRIS I
} 1876 I
} i
So all being done, the Goddess' gift well paid in manner meet,
They came into a joyous land, & greensward fair & sweet
Amid the happiness of groves, the blessed dwelling-place.
Therein a more abundant heaven clothes all the meadows' face
With purple light, & their own sun & their own moon they have.
Here some in games upon the grass their bodies breathing gave :
V^hion of '^/Etieas 6j
And to the pains wherewith such deeds arc justly requited ?'
omnia [x>cnarum pcrcurrere nomina possim.*
Ev'n when thus she ' had spok'n, the priestess dear to Apollo,
Hacc ubi dicta dcdit Phoebi longacva sacerdos,
' But, ready, come let us on, perform-we the order appointed !
' sed iam age, carpe viam et susceptuni pcrfice munus ;
Hast'n-we (saith-she), the wall forged on Cyclopian anvils 630
acceleremus ' ait ; 'Cyclopuni ediicta camiiiis
Now 1 see, an' th' archway in ^^tna's furnace attemper'd,
nioenia conspicio atque adverso fornice portas,
Where my lore biddeth us to depose our high-privileg'd gift.'
haec ubi nos praecepta iubent deponere dona.'
Then together they trace i' the drooping dimness a footpath,
Dixerat et pariter gressi per opaca viarum
Whereby, faring across, they arrive at th' arches of iron.
corripiunt spatium medium foribusque propinquant.
.^neas stept into the porch, and duly besprinkling
occupat Aeneas aditum corpusque recenti
His body with clear water affixt his bough to the lintel ;
spargit aqua ramumque adverso in limine figit.
And, having all perform'd at length with ritual exact.
His demum exactis, perfecto munere divae.
They came out on a lovely pleasance, that dream'd-of oasis,
devenere locos laetos et amoena virecta
Fortunat isle, the abode o' the blest, their fair Happy Woodland.
fortunatorum nemorum sedesque beatas.
Here is an ampler sky, those meads ar' azur'd by a gentler 640
largior hie campos aether et lumine vestit
Sun than th' Earth, an' a new starworld their darkness adorneth.
purpureo, solemque suum, sua sidera norunt.
Some were matching afoot their speed on a grassy arena,
Pars in gramineis cxercent membra palaestris,
K
66 Ihant Ohscuri
Or on the yellow face of sand they strive & play the play.
Some beat the earth with dancing foot, & some the song they say :
And there withal the Thracian man in flowing raiment sings
Unto the measure of the dance on seven-folded strings ;
And now he smites with finger-touch, and now with ivory reed.
And here is Teucer's race of old, most lovely sons indeed ;
High-hearted heroes born on earth in better days of joy :
Ilus was there, Assaracus, & he who builded Troy,
E'en Dardanus. Far off are seen their empty wains of war
And war-weed : stand the spears in earth, unyoked the horses are,
And graze the meadows all about ; for even as they loved
Chariot & weapons, yet alive, & e'en as they were moved
To feed sleek horses, under earth doth e'en such joy abide.
Others he saw to right & left about the meadows wide
Feasting, or joining merry mouths to sing the battle won
Amidst the scented laurel-grove, whence earth-ward rolleth on
The full flood that Eridanus athwart the wood doth pour.
Vis'io7i of 'tineas 6^
In playful combat some wrestling upon the yellow sand,
contcnduiit ludo ct fulva luctaiitur harcna ;
Part in a dance-rhythm or poetry's fine phantasy engage ;
pars pcdibus plaudunt choreas et carmina dicunt.
While full-toga'd anear their high-priest musical Orpheus
nee non Threicius longa cum veste sacerdos
Bade his prime sev'n tones in varied harmony discourse,
obloquitur nunieris septem discrimina vocuni,
Now with finger, anon sounding with an ivory plectrum.
iamque eadem digitis, iam pectine pulsat cbumo.
And here i^neas met Teucer's fortunate offspring,
hie genus antiquum Teucri, pulcherrima proles,
High-spirited heroes, fair-favor'd sons o' the morning,
magnanimi heroes, nati melioribus annis,
Assarac and Ilos " and Dardan founder of Ilium : 650
Ilusque Assaracusque et Troiae Dardanus auctor.
Their radiant chariots he ' espied rank't empty afar off,
arma procul currusque virum miratur inanis.
Their spears planted afield, their horses wandering at large,
slant terra defixae hastae passimque soluti
Grazing around : — as on earth their joy had been, whether armour
per campum pascuntur equi. quae gratia currum
Or chariot had charmed them, or if 'twer' good manage and care
armorumque fuit vivis, quae cura nitentis
Of the gallant warhorse, the delight liv'd here unabated :
pascere equos, eadem sequitur tellure repostos.
Lo ! then others, that about the meadow sat feasting in idless,
conspicit, ecce, alios dextra laevaque per herbam
And chanting for joy a familyar paean of old earth,
vescentis laetumque choro paeana canentis
By fragrant laurel o'ercanopied, where 'twixt enamel'd banks
inter odoratum lauri nemus, unde supeme
Bountiful Eridanus glides throu' their bosky retirement.
plurimus Eridani per silvam volvitur amnis.
K 2
(58 Ihant Ohscuri
Lo, they who in their country's fight sword-wounded bodies bore :
Lo, priests of holy life & chaste, while they in life had part ;
Lo, God-loved poets, men who spake things worthy Phoebus' heart :
And they who bettered life on earth by newfound mastery ;
And they whose good deeds left a tale for men to name them by :
And all they had their brows about with snowy fillets bound.
t»^ t*< t*»e t** J-«^ f-*>(>-*»«> C-«> J-^ >«^ >*> >*> 3-^ >*> 5-*^ =-^ 5-^ >*> J-^
But sire Anchises 'neath the hill
Was calmly scanning at his will
The souls unborn now prisoned there,
One day to pass to upper air ;
There as he stood, his wistful eye
Marked all his future progeny.
Their fortunes & their fates assigned,
The shape, the mien, the hand, the mind.
Soon as along the green he spied
^neas hastening to his side,
With eager act both hands he spread,
And bathed his cheeks with tears, & said :
* At last ! and are you come at last ?
Has love the perilous road o'erpast.
That love so tried of yore ?
And may I hear that well-known tone,
And speak in accents of my own.
And see that face once more ?
Ah yes ! I knew the hour would come :
I pondered o'er the days' long sum,
Till anxious care the future knew :
And now completion proves it true.
\ J. RJNG I
\ after Dry den ^ P///, 1H20 i
3 \
C-^ 0-^ (>-^ (?-»>(>-»> 5-»> C'«> (>-^ :>«^ 5-^ (V«^ (^«> 5-«> 5-^ 5-^ »-*> C-^ (>«>
From what strange lands, what stormy seas and skies,
Returns my son, to bless my longing eyes ?
How have I fear'd your fate, but fear'd it most
Vis 1 07 I of '^yEuens 71
Speaking 'he led : and come to the upland, sheweth a fair plain
dixit, ct ante tulit grestum camposque nitentis
Gleaming aneath ; and they, with grateful adieu, the descent made.
desupcr ustcntat; dehinc sunima cacuniina lin(]uuiit.
Now lord Anchises was down i* the green valley musing.
At pater Anchises penitus convalle vireiiti
Where the spirits confin'd that await mortal resurrection 680
inclusas animas supcrumquc ad lumen ituras
While diligendy he-mark'd, his thought had turn'd to his own kin,
lustrabat studio recolens, omnemque suorum
Whose numbers he-reckon'd, an' of all their progeny foretold
forte recensebat numeruni, carosque nepotes
Their fate and fortune, their ripen'd temper an' action.
fataque fortunasque virum moresque manusque.
He then, when he espied iEneas t'ward him approaching
isque ubi tendentem adversuni per graniina vidit
O'er the meadow, both hands uprais'd and ran to receive him,
Aenean, alacris palmas utrasque tetendit.
Tears in his eyes, while thus his voice in high passion outbrake.
effusaeque genis lacrimae et vox excidit ore:
* Ah, thou'rt come, thou'rt come ! at length thy dearly-belov'd grace
' venisti tandem, tuaque exspectata parenti
Conquering all hath won-thee the way. 'Tis allow'd to behold thee,
vicit iter durum pietas ? datur ora tueri,
O my son, — yea again the familyar raptur' of our speech.
nate, tua et notas audire et reddere voces ?
Nay, I look't for 't thus, counting patiently the moments, 690
sic equidem ducebam animo rebarque futurum
And ever expected ; nor did fond fancy betray me.
tempora dinumerans, nee me mea cura fefellit.
From what lands, my son, from what life-dangering ocean
quas ego te terras et quanta per aequora vectum
Art-thou arrived ? full mighty perils thy path hav' opposed :
accipiol quantis iactatum, nate, periclis I
71 Ihant Ohscuri
When late you linger'd on the Libyan coast ! '
* Your pensive ghost,' the godlike chief replies,
* Appearing urg'd this painful enterprise.
By your behest I visit these abodes,
My fleet lies anchor 'd in the Tuscan floods. —
O father ! give thy hand, nor hide thy face,
Nor, Oh ! withdraw thyself from our embrace ! *
While yet he spoke, the tender sorrows rise,
And the big drops run trickling from his eyes,
Thrice round his neck his eager arms he threw.
Thrice from his arms an airy phantom flew ;
Swift as the wind, with momentary flight.
Swift as a fleeting vision of the night.
I FAIRFAX TAYLOR |
3 100^ i
} i
Meanwhile he views, deep-bosomed in a dale
A grove, & brakes that rustle in the breeze,
And Lethe, gliding throu' the peaceful vale.
Peoples & tribes, all hovering round, he sees.
Unnumbered, as in summer heat the bees
Hum round the flowerets of the field, to drain
The fair white lilies of their sweets ; so these
Swarm numberless, & ever & again
The gibbering ghosts disperse, & murmur o'er the plain.
Vision of '-^Eyicas 75
And how nearly the dark Libyan thy destiny o'erthrew ! '
quatn metui nc quid Libyae tibi regna nocerent I *
Then 'he, * Thy spirit, O my sire, 'twas thy spirit often
illc auteni : ' tua nic, gciiitor, tua trijtis imago
Sadly appearing aroused-me to seek thy far habitation.
taepiui occurrens hacc liniiiia tendere adegit ;
My fleet moors i' the blue Tyrrhene : all with-me goeth well.
slant sale Tyrrheno classes, da lungers dextrani,
Grant-me to touch thy hand as of old, and thy body embrace.'
da, genitor, teque amplexu ne subtrahe nojtro.*
Speaking, awhile in tears his feeling mutinied, and when
lie memorans largo fietu simul ora rigabat.
For the longing contact of mortal affection, he out-held 700
ter conatus ibi colic dare bracchia circum ;
His Strong arms, the figure sustain'd them not : 'twas as empty
ter frujtra comprenta nianus effugit imago,
E'en as a windworn cloud, or a phantom of irrelevant sleep.
par levibu5 ventis volucrique timillima sotnno.
On the level bosom of this vale more thickly the tall trees
Interea videt Aeneas in valle reducta
Grow, an' aneath quivering poplars and whispering alders
seclusum nemus et virgulta sonantia silvae,
Lethe's dreamy river throu' peaceful scenery windeth.
Lethaeumque domos placidas qui praenatat amnem.
Whereby now flitted in vast swarms many people of all lands,
hunc circum innumerae gentes populique volabant.
As when in early summer 'honey-bees on a flowery pasture
ac velut in pratis ubi apes aestate serena
Pill the blossoms, hurrying to' an' fro, — innumerous are they,
floribus insidunt variis et Candida circum
Revisiting the ravish'd lily cups, while all the meadow hums.
lilia funduntur, strepit oninis niurmurc campus.
74- Ihant Ohscuri
Awe-struck iEneas would the cause enquire :
What streams are yonder ? What the crowd so great,
That filled the river's margin ? Then the Sire
Anchises answered : * They are souls that wait
For other bodies, promised them by Fate.
Now by the banks of Lethe here below
They lose the memory of their former state.
And from the silent waters as they flow
Drink the oblivious draught, & all their cares forgo.
I C. J. BILLSON \
I 1906 i
These have I wished to show thee many a day,
And count my children's children, to increase
Thy joy with mine, when Italy is found.*
* O Father ! may we think that any souls
Pass upward, and return to irksome flesh }
What is this strange sad longing for the light ? '
* Son, I will hold thee in suspense no more.'
And thus his sire unfolds the gradual tale.
I r. CLJYTON I
3 180s i
)) i
C'*> /«> >«^ t>^ »«^ (>*> !>-»^ >«> »-*^ >«> 5-"^ (!'»> 5-»^ 0-^ 5-»> »«> ^^^ (^«>
* First then a soul within them quickens heaven and earth, the
watery kingdom, and the moon's bright orb, and Titan's stelled fires.
Vision of '^ title as 75*
^neas was turn'd to the sight, and marvelling enquired, 710
Horrescit visu lubito cauias<]uc rc'iuirit
* Say, sir, what the river that there i' the valc-bottom I see ?
iiiscius Aeneas, quae sint ea flutiiina ptirro,
And who they that thickly along its bank have assembled ? '
quive viri tanto compleriiit agmiiie ripas.
Then Lord Anchises, ' The spirits for whom a second life
Turn pater Anchises : ' animae, quibus altera fato
And body are destined ar' arriving thirsty to Lethe,
corpora debentur, Lethaci ad fluminis undam
And here drink th' unmindful draught from wells of oblivyon.
secures latices et longa oblivia potant.
My heart greatly desired of this very thing to acquaint thee,
has equidem memorare tibi atque ostendere coram,
Yea, and show-thee the men to-be-born, our glory her'after,
iampridem banc prolem cupio euumerare meorum,
So to gladden thine heart where now thy voyaging endeth.'
quo magis Italia mecum laetere reperta.*
* Must it then be-believ'd, my sire, that a soul which attaineth
' o pater, anne aliquas ad caelum hinc ire putandum est
Elysium will again submit to her old body-burden ? yao
sublimis animas iterumque ad tarda reverti
Is this well ? what hap can awake such dire longing in them ? '
corpora ? quae lucis miseris tarn dira cupido ? '
* I will tell-thee, O son, nor keep thy wonder awaiting,'
' dicam equidem nee te suspensum, nate, tenebo '
Answereth Anchises, and all expoundeth in order.
suscipit Anchises atque ordine singula pandit.
* Know first that the heavens, and th' Earth, and space fluid or void,
' Principio caelum ac terram camposque liquentis
Night's pallid orb, day's Sun, and all his starry coaevals,
lucentemque globum lunae Titaiiiaque astra
Are by one spirit inly quickened, and, mingling in each part,
spiritus iiitus alit, totamque infusa per artus
L 2
^6 I bant Obscuri
and a Mind spread through each member thrills the universal frame,
and blends itself with the mighty mass. Hence men and beasts and
birds derive their life, and the strange creatures which the Ocean
bears beneath its glassy floor. Heaven is the birthplace of these
essences, and theirs a pith of fire, so far as 'tis not clogged by thews
of clay, and limbs compact of death.
\ Sir THEODORE MJRTIN \
1 K.C.B., 1896 i
} i
From these spring fears, desires, and joys and griefs.
"Within the darkness of their dungeon pent.
Men look not upward to the heaven beyond ;
Nor even, when life is o'er, do all the ills
And plagues that erewhile did their bodies taint.
Depart, so deep are they perforce engrained
Into their being by long years of sin.
Therefore by penal sufferings must they make
Atonement for misdeeds of former days.
t*4 <»«*<<,»-;
igneus est oilis vigor et caelestis origo
In so far as unimpeded by an alien evil,
seminibus, quantum non corpora noxia tarjant
Nor dull'd by the body's framework condemn'd to corruption.
terrenique hebetant artas moribundaque membra.
Hence the desires and vain tremblings that assail them, unable
hinc metaunt cupiuntque, dolent gaudeutque, neque auras
Darkly prison'd to arise to celestial exaltation ;
dispiciunt clausae tenebris et carcere caeco.
Nor when death summoneth them anon earth-life to relinquish,
quin et supremo cum lumine vita reliquit,
Can they in all discard their stain, nor wholly away with
non tamen omne malum miseris r.ec funditus omnes
Mortality's plague-spots. It must-be that, O, many wild graifs
corporeae excedunt pestes, penitusque necesse est
Deeply at 'heart engrain'd have rooted strangely upon them :
multa diu concreta modis inolescere miris.
Wherefore must suffering purge them, yea, Justice atone them
ergo exercentur poenis veterunique malorum
With penalties heavy as their guilt : some purify exposed 740
lupplicia expendunt : aliae panJuntur inanes
Hung to the viewless winds, or others long watery searchings
suspensae ad ventos, aliis sub gurgite vasto
Cleanse i' the ocean-salt, some bathe in ffery renewal :
infectum eluitur scelus aut exuritur igni —
Each Cometh unto his own retribution, — if after in ample
quifque suos patimur manis ; exinde per amplum
78 Ihant Ohscuri
Then are we sent to range Elysium's sweets :
And few are we who gain these blissful seats,
Till, his full orb complete, long-toiling Time
Has cleansed the foulness of concreted crime,
And left in all its native radiance bright
The etherial sense of elemental light.
Then when a thousand circling years have roll'd.
All thus to Lethe crowd, by Heaven controll'd,
That thence unconscious, they may wish anew
To breathe in bodies, and the sun review.'
• •••••
I JOHN CONINGTON \
1 1882 i
} i
C-»i >«i 5-w> »-•> C-*^ J-^ >^ C-^iJ^^'^O'^ S'*^ !>«»*> J-^ i>-^ >*> >*>
There are two gates of Sleep : the one, as story tells
of horn, supplying a ready exit for true spirits :
the other gleaming with the polish of dazzling ivory,
but thro' it the powers below send false dreams to the world above.
Thither Anchises, talking thus, conducts his son and the Sibyl,
and dismisses them by the gate of ivory.
J^'is'ton of'^yEHeas 79
Elysium we attain, but a few, to the fair Happy Woodland,
tnittimur Elysium et pauci laeu arva tenemus—
Yet slow time still worketh on us to remove the defilement,
donee longa dies pcrfccto teniporis orbe
Till it 'hath eaten away the acquir'd dross, leaving again free
concretam exemit labem, punimque relinquit
That first ff^ry vigour, the celestial virtue of our life.
aetherium sensum atque aurai simplicis ignem.
All whom here thou seest, hav accomplished purification :
has omnis, ubi mille rotam volvere per annos,
Unto the stream of Lethe a god their company calleth,
Lethaeuni ad fluvium dcus evocat aginine magno,
That forgetful of old failure, pain & disappointment, 750
icilicet immemorcs supera ut convexa revisant
They may again into' earthly bodies with glad courage enter.'
rursus, et incipiant in corpora velle reverti.'
Twin be the gates o' the house of sleep : as fable opineth
Sunt geminae Somni portae, quanim altera fertur
One is of horn, and thence for a true dream outlet is easy :
cornea, qua veris facilis datur exitus umbris,
Fair the other, shining perfected of ivory carven ;
altera candenti perfecta nitens elephanto,
But false are the visions that thereby find passage upward,
sed falsa ad caelum mittunt insomnia manes.
Soon then as Anchises had spok'n, he-led the Sibyl forth
his ibi turn natum Anchises unaque Sibyllam
And his son, and both dismisst from th' ivory portal.
prosequitur dictis portaque emittit eburna.
COCOCOCOCOCOC'XOCOCOCOCOCOCOCOCOCOCOCOCOC/X/XOCOCOCOOOCOCOCOCOC^COCO
PRIAM ^ND :^CHILLES \
a T^araphrase of
,. Iliad XX iv, 339-ddo and
c^ CENTO
of previous translations
When Achilles had slain Hector, he kept his body unburied
and dishonoured in revenge for Patroclus' death. Zeus was
offended, and in a vision advised Priam to buy his son's
body from Achilles with a great ransom, and Thetis warned
Achilles that he should consent. Since it was certain death
for Priam to enter the Grecian camp, the gods promised
him the assistance and escort of Hermes. The following
passage commences where Hermes is setting out from
Olympos to meet Priam by night and ensure his success.
Priam is already on his way: he is driving his own chariot,
and his servant Idaeus drives the mule-wagon that carries
the ransom. Priam does not immediately recognize Hermes
in his disguise.
MHNIN AEIAE 0EA nHAHIAAEH AXIAHOS
OTAOMENHN, H MTPI' AXAIOI^ AAFE' E0HKE
M
Consecutive examples of
previous translations
t»i<»Cl»«<
I J. CONINGTON £
3 (W01{SLET G? CONINGTON) i
I ^''' i
OO he : nor Hermes slighted his command :
Swift to his feet he bound his sandals fair,
Of deathless gold, that carry him o'er dry land
Or the moist sea, e'en with the winds of air :
Then took his rod, wherewith he lulls whome'er
He listeth, or awakes the slumbering :
Which holding, straight the mighty Argus-slayer
To Troy & Hellespont his way did wing,
In form a princely youth, in life's first, sweetest spring.
TRI^M Q^NT> (lACHILLES
Line for line paraphrase of Homer
Iliad xxiv. 359-660
with the G re ek^inter lined
THUS sed-he, & Hermes hearing did not disobey him,
But stoop'd quickly to bind his winged shoon on his ankles 340
cu/riK tTni^ vzTo Tizorh ioiii<7XT0 >(^Xu TnoiXx
Gold-glittering, which bear him aloft whether over the ocean
Journeying, or whether over the broad earth, swift as a wild wind ;
And his Rod, wherewith men's eyes he drowsily sealeth,
Whom that he list, or again from torpor awakeneth — his wand
Seiz'd he in hand, an' arose and sped forth, God's merry angel.
Till when soon he espied fair Troy & briny Hellespont,
Then he alighted on earth, to a young prince likening himself
"With first down on^his cheek in manhood's most loveable prime.
M 2
84 Ihant Ohscuri
But when the twain by Ilus' tomb had driven.
The horses & the mules awhile they stayed,
To drink ; for darkness had o'erspread the heaven :
When lo ! the herald nearing through the shade
Saw Hermes, & to Priam spake, & said :
* Have care, O king ! in sooth is need of care :
A man I see : our graves will soon be made :
Say, fly we on the horses, or make prayer
For mercy at his knees, if he perchance may spare ? *
I 7?, M. THOMAS \
I M.A. Lord. i
I i
So spake he, & the old man's heart was troubled, & he was sore
afraid, and the hair stood stiflF on his lithe limbs, & he stood amazed ;
but unasked the Luckbringer came nigh, & took the old man's hand
& questioned him, & said : * Whither away, my father, art thou
thus guiding thy horses & mules thro' the ambrosial night, when
other mortals sleep ? And wast thou not afraid of the Achaeans, who
Triam and cylchilles 8y
They meantime onward past th' old tomb-tower of IIos
0< J\^ tint avi f^ip^ o-lifjiM "fttfiX lAai* tXxo3-tti¥,
Had driven, & were halting awhile their teams to refresh them 350
At the river: when now, as nightfall already darkened,
Idaeus descried Hermes very near them approaching,
And turning to Priam, he in earnest whisper addrest him.
* Haste to avise-thee, my liege ! an affair for discretion asketh :
I see a man, who I think very soon may annihilate us both.
«ey^ afoti, &^ J[ icfx,fxi .^^^ppxiWcd'aM lit/.
Say now, will you we urge our steeds to 'escape from him, or stay
Friendly to deal, and humbly with all entreaty beseech him ? '
Thus sed-he, but th' old king lost heart & greatly affrighted
Felt his skin to be staring, an' all his limbs wer' atremble :
«P^< J """S^^f Iff'' '^' ynxfATTitiiai ^tAton,
Dazed he stood : but anon Hermes coming up to him outheld 3<5o
His right hand, and thus with frank enquiry accosted.
* Where ever, O father, farest thou with this equipment
In the hallow'd starlight, when men are wont to be sleeping ?
vukIx ot ctfjL'ofanlw, art 3"' dChvn /3p«7»< ec)i,oi;
Art thou not then afraid o' the slaughter-breathing Achaeans,
86 I bant Ohscuri
breathe violence, foes implacable who abide near at hand ? "Were
any one of them to see thee convoying such treasures through the
murky night which is fast falling, what device, p»ay, would be thine ?
Thyself art not young, & yonder servingman is old to keep off
a man that should be forward to vex thee. Nay then, I will do thee
no wrong & perchance I may defend thee from another ; I deem
thee like my own dear father.'
I E, H. BLJKENEY \
Him, then, did the old man, godlike Priam answer :—
* My son, 'tis, methinks, as thou sayest, yet still, even over me,
doth some divinity hold his hand, seeing that he has sent, to meet
me, a wayfarer such as thou art, in peaceful guise \or for good
luck] ; in that thou in face & form art so noble, and wise of heart,
happy are they that call thee son.'
I T.S. BIl^NDJ{ETH f
I 1846 i
fr*»»» 5-^ C-«^ 5-»^ C-*> 5-»>(V«> 5-»^ »*»«>(>«»»> f-»> >«^ C^ >^ fr»»
Him guiding Mercury again address'd :
* Indeed, old man, thou hast all rightly said.
But come now, tell me, & the truth declare ;
Tr'iam and (LAchiUes 87
Those monsters of fury relentless lurking around thee ?
Haply an if one here espied thee, neath the flying night
Convoying such a prize, how then would thy business be?
reoTciJ[ iftlxT «j3»7a, Uf kt a)t rei »a«f lin;
Thyself art not young, and th' old man here thy attendant
CUT ccoTVi lid fori, yt^Mi at 'Iji eurej iTnjatl,
Scarce would serve to protect thee against whoso sh*^ attack thee.
Ne'ertheless I'd not wrong thee a whit, would rather against all 370
it^ 'f/o that* ")wf <^tfy»ii'
N
90 Tbant Ohscuri
Yes, I am one of the Myrmidon heroes, Polyctor my father ;
Rich he is held, & is now well-stricken in years, as thyself art.
Father of six brave sons was my sire, & myself am the seventh :
Well, lots casting, my own fell out, & I follow'd him hither.
On to the plain I have come from the galleys, because on the morrow
Early the quick-eyed Argives the fight will begin by the city ;
Wrathful the bands feel sitting at rest, while longing for battle ;
None of the chiefs of the fleet-horsed Argives have power to restrain
them.'
I C. B. CATLET \
\ 1877 i
f-«^ >-^ c-'^j-^ j-*> j«> »-*i >*> c-*> ;;-«> 5-»> >«> 5-»> i;-»»«^ !;-»»*^ 5-">
And thus again godlike Priam bespoke him in answer :
* If the son of Peleus thou servest, even Achilles,
I pray thee, tell me what I ask, & plainly direct me.
Is my son still amongst yon ships, or is he by Achilles
Hack'd & dismember'd, & thrown to the dogs to be eaten } *
Him the divine legate answer'd, the slayer of Argus :
* Neither a dog, father, nor a bird of prey yet assails him ;
But still is he lying, 'midst yonder tents, by Achilles'
Triam and c^chilles 91
Myrmidon is my nation, a man of plenty, Polyctor,
Is my sire, in his age reverend & grey-headed as thou.
cc^vno; jA y Wl, yi^ADi it it) aij ^0C^1 C^^CcJ\^ i7nS'U4.
Now I am come to the plain here scouting, for the Achaeans
Will sally forth at dawn in full puissance to attack you :
Long they chafe sitting idle, an' all their kings are unable
i^jeAowcn ^ oioi tcx^tt^ci, chit otwowTUj
In their impacience any more from fight to withhold them.'
'^X^f t(xyvM/Jovi TroXifA^v jix(nX^t<; 'A^tuM."
Him then in answer addrest god-like Priam, Ilyon's old king.
* If that thou indeed be the squire of mighty Achilles,
Tell me the whole truth plainly, I pray, nor seek to delude me.
Lyeth yet by the shipping my son's body, or hath Achilles
)j £71 Trap y>iEojiy if^o; Tmt?, »ie f/,t)) ndi]
Rent and cast it away for beasts piecemeal to devour it .'' '
Then bespake him again God's angel, slayer of Argus. 410
* O good sire, not yet hath foul dog nor ravening bird
Made their prey of him : ev'n as he was, so lies he neglected
N 2
91 Ihant Ohscuri
Own galley, where Day-dawn twelve times hath seen him abiding,
Unrotting & unscath'd by crawling worms, such as elsewhere
Mar bodies of warriors low-laid : he 's dragged by Achilles,
Round his friend's monument, each sacred morn that appeareth,
Yet not disfeatur'd ; thou wouldst be amaz'd to behold him
Thyself, so dew-sweet he appears, all gory pollutions
Wash'd off, nor gapeth now a wound on his whole body, whilom
So gash'd ; for many foes with brass had cruelly maim'd him.
I J.HENl^YDJKJ I
I i86s I
Therefore, be well assured, that the blessed Gods for thy brave son
Care, all dead as he is ; & he still is with favor regarded.'
Such were the words of the God ; &, rejoicingly, answer'd the elder.
* It is a good thing, son ! to do honor, with gifts, to the altars
Of the immortal powers ; — my own child, while in existence,
Ne'er, in his home, neglected the Gods who inhabit Olympus.
So, in his day of death, by the great Gods he is remember'd.
Triam and z^cJjilles 9J
Hard by Achilles' ship i' the camp : and already twelve days
There hath lain, nor doth his flesh rot nor the corrupt worms
Touch him, that fatten on mankind nor spare the illustrious.
fi t^O C»^ t»^ l»^ <.*^ <^^ <.B^ «^^ ^^^ t>^ tW t*«.>^ (»< lA>C <.»-: t»0
\ EDWIN M. SIMCOX \
} i
»"*> /-^ f^ r-^ C*^ J*^ >*> J"^ >"^ f*^ 5-^ {"TJ 5-*>0*»«^ 5-"^ C'*^ 5-^
Him then thus answered the messenger, slayer of Argus :
* Me, a youth, thou temptest, old man, but thou shalt not persuade me,
In that thou biddest me gifts to receive unknown to Achilleus ;
Him do I greatly fear, & reverence too in my spirit.
And I may not such booty take, lest ill come upon me.
But I to thee would conductor be as far as famed Argos,
Heedfully, either in rapid ship, or on foot as thy comrade ;
Nor should any despise, who dared to contend with, thy leader.'
1*< l*^ t*^ (»« l^ t*4 <»^ ivi t»« «j^ t*< «.»< ta^ <.>^ <»< l»^ ta«jO
I JKJH'VR S. WAT \
3 i88S %
3 £
0-»> J«> 5-^ >«> 5-^ J*^ 5-^ l>«^ !>*> >«> >*> ^-^ >*> J-^ f-»> ?*> 5-^ C-^
Leapt on the chariot of horses the Helper-god as he spake,
And swiftly the whip and the reins in his grasp of might did he take.
And into the horses and muleteam breathed he mettle stout.
So when they were come to the towers of the ships and the trench
thereabout.
Even then were the watchmen preparing their meat of the even-tide ;
Triam and o^chilks 95-
But come, an' at my hands this daintily-wrought flagon accept:
kits «p4 iii -nAX d\\cu ifxia tto^ KxXtt uXetnty
And thou guard & guide me, that I, if so be the gods' will, 430
Safe may arrive with these my goods to the tent of Achilles.'
Him then in answer addrest high Zeuses favouring angel.
Tor J[ ocon ts&nfi-m 2>^^%foi 'Afyi^omn'
* Tempt not a young man, sire! Thou wilt not lightly corrupt me,
" -TnifoL f^na, }*^ct4'i, tiM-rrfov, owJi f/.i ttikt^?,
Thus proffering me presents of worth unknown to Achilles;
if fit K1X1CC4 (no oalgjt TTufi^ A^Xnx dt^^cu'
Whom I fear, nor ever my heart for shame would allow me
Toy fA iyoi oll&iufsf- HSf-^ cuatofXM4 -are* Ktig/t
So to defraud, lest haply some ill should come to me after.
But as a guide w'^ I aid-thee ; yea, ev'n to illustrious Argos
Faithfully both by land and sea w'^ accompany thy way ;
And not a man for scorn of thine escort sh*^ attack thee.'
Thus saying, on to the car high heav'n's merry fortuner upsprang,
"H, ^ eCtXt^Xi tQAOUflOi a/pfiX ^J JWTTTOf
And, with his either hand reins & whip seizing alertly, 441
Both mules and wearied horses with fresh vigour inspired.
Till to the fosse they came, & rampart, where the defenders
Chanc't to be off their guard, busilie with their supper engaged ;
^6 Ihant Obscuri
But sleep on them all was shed of the Slayer of Argus, the Guide.
And straightway he opened the gates, and backward the bolts he shot,
And Priam and those fair gifts on the wain therethrough hath he
brought,
t*0 1^ <*{ ^«0 1»{ 1*4 1»^ ^*(>«>»«^ >«^ 0'«> >«>»«*>*> 5-*»«^ ;-*> c-*> s-«> ^*> >*> s-^ 5-«>
But when the tent of Peleus' son they reach'd — a tall pavilion
Which for their Lord the Myrmidons had built with beams of larches
And from the meadow heap'd aloft a roof with rushes downy ;
But round, with closely planted stakes a mighty yard they fashioned,
Whose door a single beam of larch did bar, which three Achaeans
(Three of the common sort) would lift to fasten or to open ;
But only Achilleus might raise the mighty bar unaided : —
t»^ <*^ t»{ <* f«i S"** (>*> C-«> ^*> l>«^ >*1 ^*> >*> !>*> ^*> C-«^ »«»*>
And Hermes, the Benefactor, opened the gate for the old man,
and brought in the splendid present fof the fleet son of Peleus,
& stepped from the chariot to the ground, and spake — * Old man,
I who have come to thee am an immortal God, Hermes ; for my
Triam and (^Achilles 97
Whom Hermes drowz'd deeply, in senseless slumber immersing
EvVyone, and coming up to the gate & thrusting it open
■7rS.ni, ufXf J\^ *<$« TTuXXf KXt CCTTUjrt O^-Cf,
Brought Priam into the camp, & Hector's ransom in his train.
So full soon they arriv'd at Achilles' lofty pavilyon,
That high house which for their king his folk had erected.
Hewing pines o' the hill for timbering, & for a roof-thatch 4 5°
Harvesting the rushes that grew i' the lowland pastures ;
And had around the dwelling fenc't for their chieften a wide court
ccf^!pi at cl fx.t}£i>Ju> cu/XjU/ TTvlriaui euiXiclt
With thick stakes, & one huge bar clos'd its carriage-entry,
Made of a pine, which three men of his servants, pulling all three
All together, would shift back or forwards, so immense was
His gate-bar, but Pele'ldes would handle it himself.
This gate for th' old king th' archfortuner easily open'd.
And brought in the treasures of Troy to the house of Achilles ;
ii >^ 5-^ !"> (>*> C'*^ C-*»»^ >»> S-»^ 0-«^ S«*^ 0-^ S-^ !"> f«>
He spoke, and to the Olympian steep away
Departed. Priam from the chariot sprang
And left Idaeus there to bide and rein
The mules and horses ; but himself passed on
Into the house, wherein the loved of Zeus,
Achilles, oftest sate ; whom now within
He found, and of his train all lay aloof,
Save two, Automedon and Alcimus.
These stood there ministering to their lord.
Who just had ceased regale of food and wine ;
Still stood the table as before him served.
Tr'iam and c^cbilles 99
Hermes, whom great Zeus did charge to attend thee in escort :
EffAtuCi ovt la/p f/.t TTUTtff ccf^x Tro^Tnir oTntorif.
But hence must I turn me again, nor now will I enter
Into Achilles' sight; twould make good cause for his anger
o^JttXfA^li tiT^fjit' nijxtos'ri'm S)t ki» art
Were an immortal god to befriend men so manifestly.
Enter thou, and as thou pray'st, in lowliness embrace
His knees, and by^his sire and fair heav'n-born mother implore
And by^his son, that thou may'st melt his soul with emotion.*
With these words Hermes sped away for lofty Olympos:
And Priam all fearlessly from off his chariot alighted,
Ordering Idaeus to remain i' the entry to keep watch 470
'laUfHoy « Kxr ctoBi xIthv' o at fAi/^yty tovKuy
Over the beasts : th' old king meanwhile strode doughtily onward.
Where Achilles was then most wont to be, and sitting indoors
TrT p ' 'A^Xtui it^taxt Ait ^lx«i, ci it f^ty cwtvi
Found he him ; all his men sat apart ; for his only attendance
X'^, 'iTKfoi u7ruf >«> C-*^ >*>>*»•> J-*^ f-«^ >*> S'*^ J*^ S'"^ >*>>*> 5-*^ >*>/-*> ^*>
As when a wretch (who conscious of his crime,
Pursued for murder, flies his native clime)
Just gains some frontier, breathless, pale ! amazed
All gaze, all wonder : Thus Achilles gazed :
Thus stood the attendants stupid with surprise ;
All mute, yet seem'd to question with their eyes ;
Each look'd on other, none the silence broke.
Till thus at last the kingly suppliant spoke :
* Ah, think, thou favour'd of the powers divine !
Think of thy father's age and pity mine 1
In me that father's reverend image trace,
Those silver hairs, that venerable face ;
His trembling limbs, his helpless passion, see !
In all my equal but in misery !
I GEO. CHAPMAN \
3 i6ii i
I i
P-^ C-*> 5-*^ C«> 5-^ 5-«^ C^ >^ O*^ >-^ S-** >*> f-«l ^*»*> J-*> ^»i f-»i
neighbour foes, (thou abfent) taking time
To do him mifchiefe ; no meane left, to terrifie the crime
Of his oppreffion ; yet he heares, thy graces still suruiue,
And ioyes to heare it ; hoping ftill, to fee thee fafe arriue.
Triam and z^ch'tlles loi
And Priam entering unperceiv'd til he well was among them,
Clasp'd his knees & seized his hands all humbly to kiss them,
Those dread murderous hands which his sons so many had slain.
As when a man whom spite of fate hath curs'd in his own land 480
For homicide, that he fleeeth abroad & seeketh asylum
^Jtk x.XTUK\(*iXi «»>ft»y t^'iKt-n ifif^r,
With some lord, and they that see^'him are fill'd with amazement,
Ev'n so now Achilles was amaz'd as he saw Priam enter,
And the men all wer' amaz'd, & lookt upon each other in turn.
But Priam (as Hermes had bade) bow'd down to beseech him.
* O God-like Achilles, thy father call to remembrance.
How he is halting as I, i' the darkening doorway of old age,
And desolately liveth, while all they that dwell about him
Vex him, nor hath he one from their violence to defend him :
Yet but an heareth he aught of thee, thy wellbeing in life, 490
i^' JiTT* Ktiyoi y€ cnjiy ^aioy-m xi{svui
Then he rejoiceth an* all his days are glad with a good hope
^Ifi r 11 ^/t**, f7" T fAwTTOf llfMlTtt TTCUrrX
Soon to behold thee again, his son safe home from the warfare.
lox Ihant Ohscuri
From ruin'd Troy : but I (curst man) of all my race, (hall Hue
To fee none liuing. Fiftie fonnes the Deities did giue,
My hopes to Hue in ; aU aliue, when neare our trembHng fhore
The Greeke (hips harbor'd ; and one wombe, nineteene of thofe ions bore.
Now MarSy a number of their knees hath ftrengthlefle left ; and he
That was (of all) my onely ioy, and Troyes fole guard ; by thee
(Late fighting for his countrey) flaine ; whose tenderd person, now
I come to ranfome. Infinite, is that I offer you,
Myfelfe conferring it : exposde, alone to all your oddes :
Onely imploring right of armes. AchilleSy feare the gods,
Pitie an old man, like thy fire ; different in onely this.
That I am wretcheder, and beare that weight of miferies
That neuer man did ; my curfl lips, enforc't to kifl'e that hand
That fleue my children.'
I WILLIAM SOTHEBY \
3 i8si i
3 £
That woe, that form allay 'd Peleides' ire.
And to his heart recall'd his helpless sire.
And aw'd by reverence for that head belov'd
Took Priam's hand, & from him gently mov'd
Triam and zAchilks lo^
But most hapless am I, for I had sons numerous and brave
In wide Troy; where be they now? scarce Is one o' them left.
They were fifty the day ye arriv'd hither out of Achaia,
Nineteen royally born princes from one mother only,
While the others women of my house had borne me ; of all these
Truly the greater part hath Ares in grim battle unstrung.
But h6j who was alone the city's lov'd guardian and stay,
Of at f^i «i«f tlw, HfVTV at ifv >(5cJ cw^ui.
Few days since thou slew'st him alas ! his country defending, 500
Hector, for whose sake am I-come to the ships of Achaia
His body dear to redeem, offering thee a ransom abundant.
O God-like Achilles, have fear o' the gods, pity him too,
cc^ acihlo ^«y'f, ' A.^X<£j , cumt r t>\y\ f-n 0-^ C^ f^ 5-^ 5-^ 5-** ^-^ 5-^ (>«> f^ ^«»«>!>*> f*> J*> C''^
Him answered godlike Priam, aged king :
* Lead me not to a seat, Jove-nurtured prince,
"While Hector lies uncared for in the tent ;
But oh, release him quickly, that mine eyes
Once more may see him ; and do thou accept
The many gifts we for his ransom bring ;
And mayest thou enjoy them, and return
Triam and (LAch'ilks T09
Comforts th' old man at home, since exiled far from him I bide
y)p«<7Xoii7K 1(5^/(^4;, \m\ fjutXtc tjjAoSi Tmr^iif
Here in Troy, thy sons' destruction compassing and thine.
Thou too, sir, we have heard enjoy 'd'st good fortune aforetime;
From Mytilene in Lesbos away to the boundary eastward
Of Phrygia's highlands, & north to the briny Hellespont,
Thou, sir, didst all men for wealth & progeny excel :
But when once th' high gods let loose this mischief anigh thee,
ourjuf «7rt» rot Wrif^gb tv^ lyt^^y Oh^imitiy
Thy city was compast with nought but fierce battle and blood.
cud TBI tSC* «5t/ f*«J^t T C*4idf»KTUmoC4 Tt.
Bear up, allow thy temper awhile some respite of anguish :
Thou wilt not benefit thy dear son vainly bewailing, 550
Nor restore him alive ere thou taste flirther affliction.'
Him then in answer addrest god-like Priam, Ilyon's old king.
Ton ^ ifietotT tyntTK ytfn* H^^XfMi ^oaim'
* Bid me not, O heav'nborn, to be seated, while ever Hector
Lyeth i' the camp dishonour'd, nay rather quickly with all speed
x.aTU\ c*< KXiinriaiy ctxrihii, uXb.ct (c^^fU
Fetch him here to my eyes ; and this great ransom apportion'd
Unto^his worth accept : may^it serve thy good pleasure, and thou
no Ibant Ohscuri
Safe to thy native land again, since thou
Permittest me to live, and to behold
The light of day.'
l»4 t»»o t*< ^j^ c«*> t'"^ C"** f*> C'*^*^ c-*^ >»i s"*
Then fleet-footed Achilles looked sternly upon him and said,
*No longer chafe me, old sire; of myself I am minded to give
Hector back to thee, for there came to me a messenger from
Zeus, even my mother who bare me, daughter of the Ancient One
of the Sea. And I know, O Priam, in my mind, nor am I unaware
that some god it is that hath guided thee to the swift ships of the
Achaians. For no mortal man, even though in prime of youth,
would dare to come among the host, for neither could he escape the
watch, nor easily thrust back the bolts of our doors. Therefore
now stir my heart no more here amid my troubles, lest I leave not
even thee in peace, old sire, within my hut, albeit thou art my sup-
pliant, & lest I transgress the commandment of Zeus.'
I CHAjq.ESUEJ{IVJLE \
3 1869 i
3 i
e«> 5-*> C'*> O-^ 5-*> C-*> 5-»> ;-f> (>»>»-»> 5-»i J-»» f-»^ e-^ &«> f-»> J-»^ f-w>
He spake ; the old man trembled, obey'd, & silent sate ;
Then Pcleide, like a lion wood, forth bounded from the gate ;
Triam and (z^cbilles iii
Safely return to thy home and sire, since now thou allow'st me
Still to renew my days i' the light o' the sun to behold it.*
Then glancing full dourly bespake him swift-foot Achilles.
Ton V ctf vzi-o^x to VI iOi^n^n Triaeti iiKUi 'A^fi^dii'
* O sir, vex me no more : myself I am already minded 560
Now to restore him. Awhile Zeus sent one here to command me.
My mother, — and the wizard who hometh in Ocean is her sire.
f^nTflfj n f/! tTCKflj ^^7J)p «;AIo<0 yifOITVi.
Yea, an' I-know, Priam, also^of thee, — think not to deceive me —
That 'twas a god who brought-thee hither to the ships of Achaia,
Since no mortal alive would dare, nay not one in his prime,
•w \»f xt rXxlt) /ifOTVi ixjii^/jy elai fMcX' ivS*,
Here to' intrude, neither c"^ he pass our senteries unseen,
If aXTtt' elot JO «» (pvXctKovi Xtcjvtj eiJi k c^X
Nor the resistant bars of my doors easily undo.
Spare then again to provoke my soul o'erstrain'd In affliction,
tS iv£ h*!)' fASi fMXt^of ci itX}tJi Jvf/,011 og/Ojlf,
Lest, old king, I donhee a wrong in thine enemy's camp.
Lest I in anger offend mine own honour and sin against God.' 570
^< Ix'tTlui Off iitntf Aios ^ icXiTttficu t EKiQfUlf Kl^xXm Ct/ZJfUffi UTTBItX.
Two rich mantles left they, a tunicle of linen also, 580
>(jM ^' fAi/TB* Sua ^ccfe li/ttrfTOf -n ^rmiXy
Comely to shroud his corpse when 'twas given-up to be borne home.
And the women were call'd who laved it an' after anointed
^Ifxijieci J^ C4MytAl(7«j Xt)Z(^Xor /iccXtt isi ^t*»«,
Then himself Achilles on a fair bier laid it, assisted
euTTVi TVf y 'A;yA<i t*< t»^ t»< C» f^ T"*^ t'^ J**^ 5-^ >*> f*i >«> S-«> /-«^ >«> >«^ J**^ >«»^ 9"^ !>*> e*^
* O Patroclus, be not wrathful with me, if thou shouldest hear,
although being in Hades, that I have ransomed noble Hector to his
beloved father, since he has not given me unworthy ransoms. Besides
even of these will I give thee a share, whatever is just.'
Noble Achilles spoke, & returned into the tent, and sat down
upon a well-made couch, whence he had risen, at the opposite wall,
and addressed Priam.
\ WILLIAM CVLLEN BJ^T ANT \
J Boston 1870 i
3 i
e«> f^ >*> T*^ J*t /"> ?^ f"^ 5«*> >«> 5*> f«^ >«> 5-«> 5-^ &«^?«^ >»> J«> ?-»> ?«> f-^
* Behold thy son is ransomed, aged man.
As thou hast asked, & lies upon his bier ;
Thou shalt behold him with the early dawn,
And bear him hence. Now let us break our fast,
For even Niobe, the golden-haired.
Refrained not from her food, though children twelve
Perished within her palace, — six young sons
And six fair daughters. Phoebus slew the sons
Trinm and z^chilles 115-
By his two followers, and on to Priam's wagon upraised, 590
Groaning deeply' and calling aloud on his old companyon.
* Be not aggriev'd, Patroclus, against me an' if thou hearest,
Tho' i' the grave, that now I allow the surrender of Hector
«» "Atiif /O? ittf «Ti Ejt'lggj* eiat \Xvmt
Unto his sire, for surely he pays me full ample a ransom.
fncTQ/i ^IA«, fmi cv fj^i tttiKiX omKti eCTnnX.
Thine is it all, as ever thou sharedst with me in all things.'
arc'i J^ ouj tyu (c x«'[ 'iif{^f Ktxl cv ^oy«, cuds 71; t|{r
Could bury them, for men smitten in God's fury were as stones.
Then the 'high gods themselves came down & their burial made.
But Niobe took thought to renounce not food in affliction ;
And somewhere ev'n now, on a mountain pasture among rocks,
On Sipylus, where, as 'tis told, all-nightly the nymphs lie,
cv HiTTuXcfj o3> ^xn Jixa)» 'i[XfX,tvtu f*> f-*^ 5««> f«> f^f^?'*> ?"*> f*> Z^ f*> 5*^ J'^ '"^ ?*> f^ 5*^ f'*> ''^
Each then stretched forth his hand & partook the viands before him.
Now when at length the pangs of hunger & thirst were abated,
Gazed on Achilles' lofty form Dardanian Priam,
Struck with amaze at his godlike mien & imperial bearing.
Nor did Achilles less admire Dardanian Priam,
Touched by his looks, so mild, & good, & his courteous expressions.
Long on each other their eyes they fixed, till, satiate with gazing.
Thus broke silence at last, & spake illustrious Priam :
'Send me now quickly to rest, O heav'n born prince, that reposing.
Both may recruit our strength & partake the blessings of slumber.
l»0 t»A l»4 t»i l»i ta><^^ (*4 1^ l»< i»^ (»i i»4 1»^ IV: («^ t»4 1»^
I SAMUEL BVTLEJl |
3 i8p8 i
i i
Never once have my eyes been closed from the day your hands
Triam and (^Achilles 119
Kill'd it, an' his followers skinning & dismembering aptly
Into lesser portions cut it up, which fixing upon spits
Laid they anigh to the fire, & drew off daintily roasted.
Meanwhile Automedon set fine loaves out on a table
In baskets, but Achilles made the apportioning of flesh.
>(^>itii cv >($cFf«(^i l>iy*x >(^Xcc
Of fair scarlet dye, and counterpanes spread above them :
Also ther'on for night-apparel two warm woolly mantles.
So the women came torches in hand forth from the inner rooms,
And working busilie laid out very quickly the two beds.
Then laughingly to godly Priam spake swift-foot Achilles.
*I must lodge-thee without, dear sir; lest someone of our folk 650
" iKloi [A, oil xil,Oj p^pa> ^IXtj fx.^ 77; A^mcj»
Haply come in : 'tis ever some councillor asking an audience.
And ther' is old counsel when they sit with me debating.
If one of all that flock chanc'd here i' the swift-shadowing night
T « 7IJ n ihno %lw 2^ »vk1x fiiXtuiMVy
Ill Ihant Ohscuri
To Agamemnon, pastor of the host,
He straight would blab ; then haply would there be
A putting off of ransoming the corse.
I <■ A GKJDUJTE OF THE \
3 "VNIFEHSITr OF OXFORD' i
3 1821 i
But come, tell me this, & declare it accurately ; how many days
dost thou desire to perform the obsequies of the noble Hector, that
so long I may myself remain quiet, & restrain the people.'
Whom answered then Priam, the godlike old man : * If indeed
thou be now willing that we celebrate a funeral to the noble Hector,
by thus doing, O Achilles, thou dost things surely giving delight
to me. . . .
Triam and zyfchilles iig
Thee to espy, 'tw'' reach the shepherd, their great Agamemnon,
eurrxK tit i^etTm A^fxl/xtttt TntfOfit Xtcuf,
And there might be delay in accomplishing our agreement.
But come, tell thy mind to me nor make scruple about it,
mXk,' myt fj($i WV H-n £ kr^tKitii t{t^Tt»^t\»yy
How many days thou'rt fain to devote to the mourning of Hector,
7iT0(r?iytp fji,\/jf$icK KlifeiL^ifBfJ Ek^ojh d'lot.
That for so long a time I await & from battle abstain.'
0^^ TfVi CUrm TT fOflM )(£f.\ Xtiil tfUKt/."
"Whom answer 'd then again god-like Priam, Ilyon's old king.
* If thou nobly desire me to bate my son's honour in nought, 660
Scarce, Achilles, couldst thou with a greater kindness attach me. . . .
NOTES
CHAP. I
ON THE VIRGIL
1INE 268. Ibant. 'And suddenly they were walking.*
^ That is, the vision induced by the magic began, and
it seemed to them that they were walking, (Sfc. ' lis se
trouvaient' : and thus Dante, '■ Mi ritrovai\ But the words
used to translate Ibant must throw no doubt on the reality
of the ensuing scenes. Ibant is therefore difficult to translate,
since the English equivalent * They were walking ' is out
of key with the diction, being in our poetry too colloquial
to carry a severe interpretation.
290. CoRRiPiT. The simple and almost inevitable mean-
ing of these lines (290-291) is that iEneas drew his sword.
But he was walking with his sword drawn in his hand, see
line 260, Tuque invade viam, vaginaque eripe ferrum. We
must therefore either blame the poet for an inconsistency in
his picture, or interpret corripit by ' firmlier grasped ' or
some such phrase.
In the first case, it would seem that the two passages
cannot have been written consecutively, or else that the
intervening description (273-89), being a composite piece
of work, had interrupted the thought, so that the picture of
iEneas in Virgil's mind had faded or shifted. I am myself
inclined to this opinion, and have had no hesitation in
Notes on the Virgil 115-
changing the ofFending word in my paraphrase, since, apart
from the necessary consistency, the maintenance of iEneas*
intended attitude is preferable, as having more dignity and
less disturbance of the figure.
In the second case, it seems to me that the defence of
corripit exposes Virgil to the charge of choosing an unsuit-
able word (compare note on 453).
320. Remis verrvnt. An unfortunate ' Castalianism *
characteristic of the Augustans. Here the conventional
* poetic ' periphrasis is out of propriety and confuses the
picture with a wrong suggestion : because it was not
intended that the shades should row themselves across, nor
were there any oars. The ambiguity of Hnquunt ripas is
also weak.
359. Gravatvm. By the lowest estimate Palinurus must
have been sixty hours in the water. Counting the night on
which he fell overboard (say at 3 a.m.) as the first night,
he was aswim the two following days and nights, and then
on the next morning {lumtne quarto^ that is the fourth
day counting the first night as a day) he scarcely saw the
Italian mountains from the top of a wave. Vix is of
uncertain but easy interpretation ; and he may be supposed
to have seen Italy early on that morning, and to have got
ashore some time in the afternoon of that day (say 3 p.m.),
which makes 48+12 hours.
This, the most economical calculation, makes line 359
somewhat absurd, because the forward and accentuated
position of gravatum in the description is equivalent to
Palinurus* alleging that a main reason why he could not
defend himself against the attack of armed savages was that
his clothes were heavy with the salt-water ; whereas the
lid Ihant Ohscuri
honest and sufficient cause of his inactivity was, or would
have been, his exhaustion after sixty hours' immersion in
a rough and wintry sea (I take ' wintry ' from hibernas in
line 355) : his getting ashore at all was a miracle.
His long swim is copied closely from the similar adventure
of Ulysses in Odyssey V : and I do not now know why I
reduced it in my paraphrase. A friend told me that in his
opinion Palinurus was intended to brag or exaggerate
throughout his tale — and hibernas would perhaps be an
example — ; but I see nothing in his mood to make that
desirable : and I suppose that I wished to render him what
little service I could. I now regard the liberty that I took
as a needless inaccuracy.
It is of course true that gravatum is very pictorial, and
if Virgil had been painting a fresco, the clinging and
dripping clothes would have been of first importance.
But ^neas did not see this in his Vision ; nor can Palinurus
have been likely to dwell on the pictorial qualities of his
adventure: and it is uncomfortable to have to think of his
appealing to iEneas' feelings by such an indirect and un-
certain mode of presentation.
366. Velija. Virgil uses the adjective Velinos at the end of
the line : and since it was imperative to keep the place-name
in its position I have lengthened the penultimate syllable.
To the English reader the matter is indifferent, and I
suppose that the Greek Epic adjectival form would be ffAe/*.
453. SvRGERE. Without any doubt the setting new
moon is intended, and the simile is one of the most beautifully
handled in all poetry. As the word surgere means ' to rise *,
it seems to be unfortunately used here in its more unusual
sense to the exclusion of its primary and specially astronomical
Notes on the Virgil 117
sense. It is of course impossible that Virgil should have
confounded the rising with the setting of the moon, and the
only explanation must be that the secondary sense of the
word (implying merely sudden appearance) was so common
as to admit of its use even in these apparently forbidding
conditions. Mr. Mackail would explain surgere as * come to
the surface '.
618. Phlegias. 'The learning and critical sagacity of
Bishop Warburton ' supply the following note on this name.
'The Phlegiae here mentioned, I take to be those people
of Boeotia spoke of by Pausanias, who attempting to plunder
the temple of Apollo at Delphi, were almost all destroyed
by lightning, earthquakes, and pestilence : hence Phlegiae,
I suppose, signified impious, sacrilegious persons in general,
and is so to be understood here.' I quote this peculiar
elucidation not only for its originality and grammatical
interest, but because I imagine that some of my learned
friends will think it in suitable company amongst my own
lucubrations.
698 and 700. Ter conatvs. Three lines are here re-
peated from ii. 792, where iEneas narrates his meeting
with Creusa's shade before leaving Troy. The result of
their re-employment here is disastrous. The situation,
though of unimpeded and almost leisurely movement,
arrives at a crisis of intense emotion, which is not com-
municable through a formula. Indeed, even without the
previous experiments on Creusa, iEneas would not have
made three attempts to embrace his father : the first shock
at finding that the figure was incorporeal would have
overwhelmed him ; nor could he have quickly recovered.
Observe the effect on the story : the situation being missed,
1x8 Ilant Ohscuri
the narration takes no heed of it, but continues Interea videt,
which seems to mean that while iEneas was making these
ineffectual attempts to embrace his father, he was also
observing what was going on in another place. I believe
that we have here an example of the common artistic flaws
that come of copying, that is of adopting a ready-made
form accidentally suggested by the memory, instead of the
spontaneous phrasing of the present feeHng. Had ^Eneas'
true emotion been really imagined and honestly described,
then Interea would have been even more impossible to Virgil
than it was to me in following him. The way in which
my paraphrase avoids the bathos will illustrate these remarks.
Mr. Mackail tells me that he thinks Interea is a proof that
this passage had not received its final form ; and that is
what I should contend, namely that it is one of those
passages which Virgil must have desired to correct. And
Mr. Mackail believes that the recurrence of the Ter conatus
passage would not have been allowed by Virgil, but that in
his revision he would have omitted it from one of the two
places : my objections point also to the same conclusion.
The Ter conatus passage is taken by Virgil from the
Odyssey (xi. 206), where Ulysses meets his own mother's
shade in Hades ; and it is likely enough that it was written
into the two places in the iEneid tentatively.
Note also that in line 698, Teque ample xu ne subtrahe
nostra^ the economy of making iEneas use to his father the
same phrase which he had so very lately and ineffectively
used to Dido (L 465) is unworthy.
893. SvNT GEMiNAE. This passage on the Dream-gates is
takenfrom the Odyssey (xix. 562, &c.), where Penelope talking
with Ulysses, while he is still unrecognized by her, moralizes
Notes 071 the Virgil ii(;
on the vanity of her dreams. The passage there is of
eight hnes.
Two gates there are in heaven of shadowy dreams,
One pair of ivory wrought and one of horn :
And dreams that through the ivory come to men
Are cheating, and show things that shall not be ;
But such as through the polished horn fly down
Are true in issue to their glad beholders : —
But thence came not my strange dream, as I fear.
Welcome as 'twere to me and to my son.
The use that Virgil has made of it here has caused much
discussion ; but in one respect the intention is clear and the
effect good, i^neas' vision of Hades, induced by magical
means in the Sibyl's cave, had appeared real to him, and had
been so described. His sudden awaking to ordinary life was
the only opportunity that the poet had of denoting the
unreality of the previous scenes, and Virgil with his usual
artistic resource has made a beauty of the difficulty, and by
passing iEneas and the Sibyl out of Hades by the false
dream-gate he excuses the pessimism and contradictions of
his mythical tales ; which, as an Epicurean, he would have
wished to do.
The unsatisfactory side of the device is that it does not
suit that part of the vision which I have not translated, from
line 752 onwards, which is a prophecy by Anchises con-
cerning the future of Rome. This, since it was drawn
from actual history, and owed its value to its truth, could
not be called a false dream. If any dreams can be called
true, this was one. The connexion, as it appears in my
paraphrase, omitting the prophecy, is satisfactory : so that if
one could imagine that the prophecy was not a part of the
igo Ihant Obscuri
original design, but was interpolated, then we should have
an explanation ; but I see no reason to suppose this : for
if the Marcellus episode was added it was added because
there was the place for it.
The word falsa cannot be explained away or mitigated,
and there would seem to be no resolution of the difficulty,
unless we are content to admit that ^Eneas and the Sibyl
could not go out by both gates, and that the ivory gate was
the more suitable of the two.
It is probably forgotten that the Sibyl had warned iEneas
that the descent to Hades was easy enough but the return
difficult : whereas he found all his difficulty in getting
down, and escaped at a gesture.
In writing the above criticisms I have had in my mind
the old tradition that Virgil just before his death said that
he wished the manuscript of the ^Eneid to be destroyed.
There is no doubt that it lacked his final correction.
Throughout the poem there are places where a sentence ends
in the midst of an unfinished line, and the narrative is taken
up by a full line, leaving a gap in the metre ; and it is
probable enough that these are gaps between two sections
written separately and never welded together, and that if
Virgil had lived to correct his poem he would have filled in
those metric gaps : these are probabilities ; and students
find other traces of fracture or imperfect union in places
where the eye is no guide. It is a certainty that these gaps
and fractures are not errors of which Virgil could have been
ashamed ; they cannot have been the ground of his wish
that his whole poem should be destroyed. Whatever his
main objection to his poem may have been, passages such
Notes on the Virgil igr
as some that I have criticized must have been among the
things that he wished to remedy; unless indeed some of
them may be due to the friends who put his poem together
for pubhcation. An alternative is that my criticisms are
wrong ; which I must leave the reader to judge : but if he
should judge me ill-affected or irreverent or presumptuous in
making them, I can only think that he has not a proper
estimate of Virgil's artistic eminence — which is truly such,
that nothing can possibly damage it, certainly not such little
nibbles as mine. The more one studies his art the more
one must admire it ; but a student who does not see the flaw
of an unfitness cannot be credited with being able to
perceive fully the dazzling clarity and the marvel of his
beauties ; nor would Virgil have felt much honoured by the
delight and pleasure of a reader who could not distinguish.
CHAP. II
NOTES ON THE HOMER
The note on the 700th line of the sixth ^Eneid shows one
disadvantage of the epic practice of exactly repeating the
same verbal description in similar situations. This practice
Virgil took — as he took the lines in question — from Homer,
in whose epic such repetitions are characteristic. Every
speech, for instance, is generally introduced by a whole line,
which ushers the speaker by name and gives his titles : and
the recurrence of these lines is very prominent.
s 2
igx Ihant Ohscuri
If one were to translate Homer it would be a folly as well
as a fault not to copy this practice exactly. For every
recurrent line the translator should compose one as closely
corresponding as possible, and employ his substitute wher-
ever the original recurred : and in this way he would be
able to reproduce very closely one prominent if not impor-
tant Homeric effect.
I have not absolutely adhered to this rule in my paraphrase :
my reason being that in a short passage (such as I have
rendered) the disadvantages of this poetic form appear, while
its accumulated effect is lacking. I have therefore used it
only where there was no disadvantage. I will give some
instances of my refusing it.
When Hermes meets Priam on the plain, he says that he
wonders that the King should venture so near to the Greek
camp. What if he should be discovered .? and his line
is (366)
ToDV si rU o-e 'idoiTO Qotjv dice vvKTct fjLsXcuvav.
An hour or so after this occurrence Priam is sitting with
Achilles, and Achilles apologizes for not offering him a bed
within the house, explaining that the Grecian counsel-
mongers often look in of an evening, and might discover him,
and he repeats Hermes' line
Teav a tU o"£ H^oito Soyjv oia, vvkto, fxsXoLtvoLv.
Unless the reader or hearer has become quite accustomed to
the convention, the effect here is most distracting. It is
needless to point out the ambiguities of the distraction.
Again, here is another example of a somewhat different
kind : when Hermes, talking with Priam, begins two of his
speeches with these identical words wei^a, efA,iioy yspctie : and the
Notes on the Homer igg
effect is very good. But yrei^a. has not exactly the same
meaning in both cases. In the first it means * you would
test me, by your questions, to discover whether I am the
person whom I pretend to be ', and in the second ' you would
tempt me, and seek to bribe me with a gift.' The Greek
word may cover both meanings ; but even if we had a simple
word, capable of being taken equally well in both senses,
it would be foolish to use it at the cost of a straightfor-
ward distinction : because the prominent recurrence of the
expression suggests and courts identical interpretation. The
repetition has unquestionable force, but it is simpler and
better to ensure distinction.
Again, here is another different kind of example. The
line that introduces Hermes' speeches is
Toi' doLvre TrpoG'tsiTre aloiiCTopo? 'Apyei}f,
and supposing the English of 'ApysKpovTfj^ to be ' slayer of
Argus ', then, if this term is used in line 432, the place-name
Argos comes in, five lines lower down, with an uncomfort-
able blurr : and it was for that reason that I refused the
recurrent line in 432.
I have given my motives for departing from the original
in these places, because it might else seem that I had been
careless or reckless in such matters. See also notes on 11. 506
and 595.
385. :SW TTctiV. Attentive readers will be arrested by these
words, and object, first, that Hermes is acting his part very
ill, and secondly that Priam is dull in not perceiving this
betrayal of his disguise. The patient examination which
my translating involved led me to judge that all this
dialogue between Hermes and Priam is a very careful piece
ig4- lb ant Obscuri
of work, and I will give my explanation for what it is
worth.
When they first meet (1. 360) Hermes of course knows
Priam, while Priam does not immediately recognize Hermes :
but he has been warned that Hermes will meet him, and
during Hermes' first speech he makes the identification.
His reply to Hermes is masterly. He knows that he must
not openly recognize the god and expose his disguise, but he
is bound to treat him as a god, and cannot do this without
letting Hermes see that he is recognized. This he manages
with great skill, and Hermes' answer (379),
'NcCi ^Y\ TuvToi ye TTAVTct, yepov, kccto, fjcoipctv setTcif,
almost seems as if Hermes was capable of appreciating Priam's
good manners.
The situation is now changed : Hermes, assured that
Priam will understand him, is at liberty to mix up his two
characters and to say whatever he may choose ; while Priam
is obliged to maintain his double attitude of understanding
and pretending to be deceived. There is therefore nothing
wrong in Hermes' recognizing Priam, (which in his assumed
disguise he had no mortal means of doing; nor could have
ventured to do, had not Priam allowed him to see that he
was recognized;) nor is there any reason for Priam to be
surprised, when Hermes speaks of Hector as * thy son '
(385). But Priam takes this virtual abnegation of disguise
as a hint that Hermes is willing to throw it off ; so he asks
him plainly (387) who he really is:
T33-^3^
Martin
1896
blank verse
733-740
15'X
Ihant Obscuri
May
I
903
blank verse
585-589
Miller
1863
blank verse
531-534
Moore
1889
rimed heroics
548-556
Morris
1876
rimed ballad fourteens
637-665
Ogilvy
1649
rimed heroics
434-449
Owgan
1812
prose
421-425
Phaer
1584
rimed ballad fourteens
608-632
Pierce
1879
prose
566-572
Pitt
1740
rimed heroics
486-493
Rhoades
1893
blank verse
520-530
Rickards
1871
blank verse
388-397
Ring
1820
rimed heroics
692-702
Singleton
1859
blank verse
398-402
Smart
1822
prose
sei-s^s
Strahan
[767
blank verse
509-512
Symmons
1817
rimed heroics
601-607
again
741-751
Taylor
I
903
Spenserian stanza
703-715
Thornhill
1886
blank verse
513-519
Trapp
1731
blank verse
590-594
Vicars
1632
rimed heroics
426-433
Wheeler
1853
prose
363-371
Wright
I
903
blank verse
295-304
HOMER
Barter
1854
Spenserian stanza
618-626
Blakeney
I
905
prose
372-377
Brandreth
1846
blank verse
378-388
Bridges
1883
blank verse
614-617
Bryant
1870
blank verse
599-613
Buckley
1851
prose
592-598
Butler
1898
prose
637-648
Cayley
1877
quasi-quantitive accentual
hexameters
405-421
Chapman
1611
rimed fourteens
488-506
Cochrane
1867
accentual hexameters
389-404
Conington (Worsley & C.) 1 8 68
Spenserian stanza
339-357
Cordery
1871
blank verse
468-479
Index of Tratidaior$
15-5
Covvpcr
[791
blank verse
517-530
Dart
1865
accentual hexameters
422-431
Derby, earl
of
1864
blank verse
531-551
Graduate of Oxford
1821
prose
656 to end
Herschel
1866
accentual hexameters
627-636
Leaf
1882-93
prose
559-570
Merivale
1869
rimed fourteens (varied)
571-591
Newman
1856
unrimed fifteens (rising)
448-456
Norgate
1864
blank verse
649-655
Pope
]
[720
rimed heroics
480-487
Purves
1891
prose
457-467
Simcox
1865
accentual hexameters
432-439
Sothery
1831
rimed heroics
507-516
Thomas
no
date
prose
358-371
Way
1888
6-accented rimed couplet
440-447
Wright
1865
blank verse
552-558
NOTE ON STONE'S PROSODY
For those who are interested in Stone's system of classical prosody in English, I give
the following particulars.
In the year 1899 William Johnstone Stone published a tract ' On the use of Classical
Metres in English' (Frowde). He died in 1901, leaving nie bound by a promise
that I would give his system a trial. Ex hypothesi I worked at first entirely on his
lines, and only gradually discovered and eliminated what I considered the faults in his
scheme.
In the Monthly RevieWyJuly 1903, I printed my experiment ' Epistle to a Socialist
in London ' and accompanied that with a ' Summary* of Stone's Prosody, showing his
laws with my modifications up to that date. I now reprint this, accompanied by my
later observations and modifications. I will set them in two columns, the old summary
on the left, with the criticism on the right.
Summary 1903
Note. — It is a very common opinion
that accent takes the place of quantity in
English. Stone's system sets out by
absolutely denying this. It is therefore
remarkable that of the following sixteen
rules, eight are concerned with quantity in
some way determined by accent.
Observations 191 6
The machines that now record speech
may be relied on to settle all disputed
points.
I. OF VOWEL-SOUNDS LONG BY NATURE
1. These are A {father), EI {vale .
day .), E {being . green .), I {bite . wy .), O
{moat . hope .), U and YU {pool . union .),
AW {anvful. all.), OW {how . bough .), 01
{joy .), and the slight varieties of these
produced by a following R, as hKir, h¥.re,
fire, bore, pure, lord.
2. A vowel followed immediately by
another vowel in the same word is long
when accented, piety : when unaccented it
can be long only when it precedes the
yfj ord-acctnt, preeminent, never when follow-
ing li, follonvlng.
Long vowels may keep their quality
and yet, if unaccented, be in a doubtful
condition of quantity. That is, they may
often be fitly pronounced either long or
short, and in some cases they are quite
short, especially when following the word-
accent, as the second YU in accumulate.
This is untrue to fact. Stone's example
itself, piety, is wrong : for the I is short
although it is both long in quality and
accented. In this the English rule seems
to be like the Greek. Whatever exceptions
there may be, the rule would seem to be
that all vowels (and even diphthongs)
wiicther accented or unaccented are
shortened before a naked vowel, e.g. going.
Ideal, piety, poetry, and even alliance. And
thus luho Inherit, but whore, as in tliis last
Kote on Stone's 'Prosody
Trr
Summary 1903
3. The sound ERR (however spelt) is
long when it is accented, demur : when
unaccented it is short before a vowel,
generate, bhtter and eggs : long before a
consonant, bifurcate.
4. All other vowel-sounds, not here
enumerated, are short.
5. Note that degraded unaccented
vowels are always short by nature : their
spellings must not mislead ; thus rumour^
passage, tortoise.
Observations 191 6
case, the condition is lx?twcen two words,
then if the vowel in question be accented
strongly by the sense it will keep its long
quantity, as
Yod have a soul's paradise.
Na^, and since possession.
See also note 13.
ER when unaccented and pronounced
as a single vowel may be treated as such,
and be short before a consonant, and
sometimes it is very short, as in
Over the ocean,
but there are all degrees. Compare An-
siver conundrums, masterly, iveaker. For
remarks on this sound see note to rule 1 4.
In words like labour, commonly pro-
nounced with an indeterminate vowel, the
question is whether in good speech this
vowel is really quite the same as e.g. in
weaker : if not it may be better to treat it
as long before a consonant, e.g. labour-
market.
II. SHORT VOWELS LENGTHENED BY POSITION
6. A short vowel followed by two or
more consonants makes a long syllable,
when one at least of the consonants is
sounded with it. This condition, in which
the vowel is said to be propped by the con-
sonant, occurs, First, when the consonants
cannot all be spoken with the next syllable,
as improve, contain : but a-sleep, re-tract :
secondly, when the short vowel is accented,
in which case it will always attract one of
the consonants, dis-tant.
7. This rule applies to all true compound
consonantal sounds [but not to the simple
consonantal combinations of H, see below,
is6
Note on Stone* s Trosody
Summary 1903
rule 9], and includes CH = tsh, J =i dg,
QU = iiv, and consonants followed by
the impure U = yu. Short vowels
followed by these combinations make long
syllables when they carry the word-accent,
but short when they do not — e.g. riches,
but things nvhich are : imag'int, but
encSurag'tng : liquid, but obloquy : regular,
but attune ( = atyiin).
8. When these syllables occur in poly-
syllables which contain a secondary accent,
they may apparently be spoken either long
or short, as regulation, magisterial, miserably.
9. H counts as a consonant, where it is
used at full power, as in happy, unhappy :
but it sometimes has a lesser force which
must be distinguished as in at-home. It
does not count as a consonant in the sounds
represented by TH, DH, SH, ZH, PH,
WH.
10. NG is a single letter, except when
the sound of G is truly present ; thus
singer, hut finger.
11. Z is a single letter in English.
12. Doubled consonants do not make
position unless they are both pronounced
(as in in-nate, ful-ly). They occur in a
haphazard way in English spelling to show
that the preceding vowel is short — e.g.,
happy, rapid . . . shoddy, body . . . muddy,
study . . . Billy, sensibility . . . rabbit,
habit . . ., &c.
Observations 191 6
Thus said he =r sedde. The H of have
is generally very weak, and completely
gives way when it comes alongside other
initial H's, as he had heard. While the
undoubted consonantal H must always be
observed, other cases seem to vary and
allow liberty.
That is the preceding accented vowel.
III. ELISION AND
13. The use of true speech contractions
(such as they've, I'll) is a matter of taste.
Poetic synaloephe is disallowed between
words. Instances of synaloephe within
words may be seen in obedient, egregious,
which count as trisyllables though all the
vowels (reckoning ou as one vowel) are
heard : but it has ceased to exist in such
words as nation, conscience, ancient, which
are disyllablcs in which the / has no value
as a vowel, its only function being to affect
LIQUID ENDINGS
The Latin practice of synaloephe
between words was used by Milton and is
permissive in syllabic verse, that is, its
use is optional ; and Milton extends the
practice to the semivowels. I have ex-
perimented with the Miltonic ' elision * in
my Homeric paraphrase, and it seems to
help the English hexameter by intro-
ducing the effect of trisyllabic feet. I do
not know whether it would suit other metres
as well.
Note on Stone's Trosody
15-7
Summary 1903
the preceding consonant. There arc all
shades of difference in the sjx'ech-condition
of such colliding vowels ; thus lerrestritd
must be a quadrisyllable, but celeslial will
be doubtful, to be classed either with
obedient or with terrestrial.
Where synaloephe within the word
is possible, it cannot be forbidden. In
some words, onion, mi//ion, familiar, the i
seems to have become a consonantal y.
Such words must scan as un-y6n, mll-yon,
famll-yar, and will fall under rule 7.
I4. The terminations LE, RE, scan
exactly as if spelt EL, ER, falling into
line with all other liquid endings — e.g.
garden, solemn. Since the vocalization of
the liquid is certainly closed by a consonantal
liquid, they are considered as true syllables,
thus garden ^ guard it.
Observations i 9 i 6
In these examples ER is not in the
same condition as the other endings EL,
EM, EN, for which last we may accept
Stone's rule, although these unaccented ter-
minations contain no true vowel, but are
merely vocalized liquids. There is no dif-
ference between their endings in solemn deed,
and schism dull, these are sol'm and schis'm.
In such paroxytone pyrrhics (i.e. v5 ^) as
battle, bosom, prison (bat'l, buz'm, priz'n)
the finals are more lengthened than in
trochaic words (— \j) like able, freedom,
garden.
As for ER, when before vowels, the
R is trilled and preserved, and it obeys
Stone's rule 3, but when a consonant
follows, the R is not trilled, and the ER
seems to be a short vowel (a sort of a),
so that it is questionable whether it would
not be better to treat it frankly as such
in quantitive prosody. I have followed
Stone's rule, and his practice has some
advantages. Compare, e.g.
With a desire hasteth
and
Whither desire hasteth,
in which last (as in river, river-bdni) the
rule for paroxytone pyrrhics seems to
lengthen the ER.
15*8 Note on Stone s Trosody
IV. MONOSYLLABLES
Summary 1903
15. Monosyllabic proclitics and enclitics, in parting with their accent, often become
short ; thus to be let, give me, &c., you and thee can be in the same condition as prithee,
may It please you = prithi, please yii. AXsofor and or are generally short before vowels.
16. In English special rules are needed for such important monosyllables as are
short by rule but undoubtedly often spoken so as to occupy more time than can be
allowed for a short syllable. It must be recognized that all these syllables are by
nature short, and will, under some circumstances, preserve their brevity, but that,
owing to their impoitance in the sentence, they are much more frequently dwelt upon,
and made to occupy the longer time. Examples are Man, Love, Will, Bless, back, &c.
The general rule for such words seems to be that when they end in a semi-
vowel or in a spirant, that is, with any consonant whose sound can be ' produced ',
they owe their length to the production of this consonant : it is often written double
(as Bless . ivill .), but it would perhaps be simpler to accent such words. Words
ending in mutes or consonants which cannot be held on, should, if used long before
a vowel, be accredited with a double consonant, as bad . odd.
Oxytone disyllables may be held to follow the same rule as these monosyllables,
thus possiss = posess.
The word God may be regarded as an exception ; though there is in fact more
d in it than in the word goddess there will be no reason to double the d. That this
word, when shorn of its importance, is really a short syllable, may be heard in the
following lines:
* Will thejlame you re so rich in
Make a fire in the kitchen ?
Or the little god of love turn the spit, spit, spit ? '
^.
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