But I will send
messengers
along the coast, and bid them trace
Libya to its limits, if haply he strays shipwrecked in forest or town.
Libya to its limits, if haply he strays shipwrecked in forest or town.
Virgil - Aeneid
Aeneas was our king,
foremost of men in righteousness, incomparable in goodness as in warlike
arms; whom if fate still preserves, if he draws the breath of heaven and
lies not yet low in dispiteous gloom, fear we have none; nor mayest thou
repent of challenging the contest of service. In Sicilian territory too
is tilth and town, and famed Acestes himself of Trojan blood. Grant us
to draw ashore our storm-shattered fleet, to shape forest trees into
beams and strip them for oars; so, if to Italy we may steer with our
king and comrades found, Italy and Latium shall we gladly seek; but if
salvation is clean gone, if the Libyan gulf holds thee, dear lord of thy
Trojans, and Iulus our hope survives no more, seek we then at least the
straits of Sicily, the open homes whence we sailed hither, and Acestes
for our king. ' Thus Ilioneus, and all the Dardanian company
[560-593]murmured assent. . . . Then Dido, with downcast face, briefly
speaks:
'Cheer your anxious hearts, O Teucrians; put by your care. Hard fortune
in a strange realm forces me to this task, to keep watch and ward on my
wide frontiers. Who can be ignorant of the race of Aeneas' people, who
of Troy town and her men and deeds, or of the great war's consuming
fire? Not so dull are the hearts of our Punic wearing, not so far doth
the sun yoke his steeds from our Tyrian town. Whether your choice be
broad Hesperia, the fields of Saturn's dominion, or Eryx for your
country and Acestes for your king, my escort shall speed you in safety,
my arsenals supply your need. Or will you even find rest here with me
and share my kingdom? The city I establish is yours; draw your ships
ashore; Trojan and Tyrian shall be held by me in even balance. And would
that he your king, that Aeneas were here, storm-driven to this same
haven!
But I will send messengers along the coast, and bid them trace
Libya to its limits, if haply he strays shipwrecked in forest or town. '
Stirred by these words brave Achates and lord Aeneas both ere now burned
to break through the cloud. Achates first accosts Aeneas: 'Goddess-born,
what purpose now rises in thy spirit? Thou seest all is safe, our fleet
and comrades are restored. One only is wanting, whom our eyes saw
whelmed amid the waves; all else is answerable to thy mother's words. '
Scarce had he spoken when the encircling cloud suddenly parts and melts
into clear air. Aeneas stood discovered in sheen of brilliant light,
like a god in face and shoulders; for his mother's self had shed on her
son the grace of clustered locks, the radiant light of youth, and the
lustre of joyous eyes; as when ivory takes beauty under the artist's
hand, or when silver or Parian stone is inlaid in gold. [594-625]Then
breaking in on all with unexpected speech he thus addresses the queen:
'I whom you seek am here before you, Aeneas of Troy, snatched from the
Libyan waves. O thou who alone hast pitied Troy's untold agonies, thou
who with us the remnant of the Grecian foe, worn out ere now by every
suffering land and sea can bring, with us in our utter want dost share
thy city and home! to render meet recompense is not possible for us, O
Dido, nor for all who scattered over the wide world are left of our
Dardanian race. The gods grant thee worthy reward, if their deity turn
any regard on goodness, if aught avails justice and conscious purity of
soul. What happy ages bore thee? what mighty parents gave thy virtue
birth? While rivers run into the sea, while the mountain shadows move
across their slopes, while the stars have pasturage in heaven, ever
shall thine honour, thy name and praises endure in the unknown lands
that summon me. ' With these words he advances his right hand to dear
Ilioneus, his left to Serestus; then to the rest, brave Gyas and brave
Cloanthus.
Dido the Sidonian stood astonished, first at the sight of him, then at
his strange fortunes; and these words left her lips:
'What fate follows thee, goddess-born, through perilous ways?
foremost of men in righteousness, incomparable in goodness as in warlike
arms; whom if fate still preserves, if he draws the breath of heaven and
lies not yet low in dispiteous gloom, fear we have none; nor mayest thou
repent of challenging the contest of service. In Sicilian territory too
is tilth and town, and famed Acestes himself of Trojan blood. Grant us
to draw ashore our storm-shattered fleet, to shape forest trees into
beams and strip them for oars; so, if to Italy we may steer with our
king and comrades found, Italy and Latium shall we gladly seek; but if
salvation is clean gone, if the Libyan gulf holds thee, dear lord of thy
Trojans, and Iulus our hope survives no more, seek we then at least the
straits of Sicily, the open homes whence we sailed hither, and Acestes
for our king. ' Thus Ilioneus, and all the Dardanian company
[560-593]murmured assent. . . . Then Dido, with downcast face, briefly
speaks:
'Cheer your anxious hearts, O Teucrians; put by your care. Hard fortune
in a strange realm forces me to this task, to keep watch and ward on my
wide frontiers. Who can be ignorant of the race of Aeneas' people, who
of Troy town and her men and deeds, or of the great war's consuming
fire? Not so dull are the hearts of our Punic wearing, not so far doth
the sun yoke his steeds from our Tyrian town. Whether your choice be
broad Hesperia, the fields of Saturn's dominion, or Eryx for your
country and Acestes for your king, my escort shall speed you in safety,
my arsenals supply your need. Or will you even find rest here with me
and share my kingdom? The city I establish is yours; draw your ships
ashore; Trojan and Tyrian shall be held by me in even balance. And would
that he your king, that Aeneas were here, storm-driven to this same
haven!
But I will send messengers along the coast, and bid them trace
Libya to its limits, if haply he strays shipwrecked in forest or town. '
Stirred by these words brave Achates and lord Aeneas both ere now burned
to break through the cloud. Achates first accosts Aeneas: 'Goddess-born,
what purpose now rises in thy spirit? Thou seest all is safe, our fleet
and comrades are restored. One only is wanting, whom our eyes saw
whelmed amid the waves; all else is answerable to thy mother's words. '
Scarce had he spoken when the encircling cloud suddenly parts and melts
into clear air. Aeneas stood discovered in sheen of brilliant light,
like a god in face and shoulders; for his mother's self had shed on her
son the grace of clustered locks, the radiant light of youth, and the
lustre of joyous eyes; as when ivory takes beauty under the artist's
hand, or when silver or Parian stone is inlaid in gold. [594-625]Then
breaking in on all with unexpected speech he thus addresses the queen:
'I whom you seek am here before you, Aeneas of Troy, snatched from the
Libyan waves. O thou who alone hast pitied Troy's untold agonies, thou
who with us the remnant of the Grecian foe, worn out ere now by every
suffering land and sea can bring, with us in our utter want dost share
thy city and home! to render meet recompense is not possible for us, O
Dido, nor for all who scattered over the wide world are left of our
Dardanian race. The gods grant thee worthy reward, if their deity turn
any regard on goodness, if aught avails justice and conscious purity of
soul. What happy ages bore thee? what mighty parents gave thy virtue
birth? While rivers run into the sea, while the mountain shadows move
across their slopes, while the stars have pasturage in heaven, ever
shall thine honour, thy name and praises endure in the unknown lands
that summon me. ' With these words he advances his right hand to dear
Ilioneus, his left to Serestus; then to the rest, brave Gyas and brave
Cloanthus.
Dido the Sidonian stood astonished, first at the sight of him, then at
his strange fortunes; and these words left her lips:
'What fate follows thee, goddess-born, through perilous ways?
