Aeneid

Virgil

Vergil. The Aeneid of Virgil. Williams, Theodore, C, translator. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1910.

  1. Meanwhile how all his smitten ocean moaned,
  2. and how the tempest's turbulent assault
  3. had vexed the stillness of his deepest cave,
  4. great Neptune knew; and with indignant mien
  5. uplifted o'er the sea his sovereign brow.
  6. He saw the Teucrian navy scattered far
  7. along the waters; and Aeneas' men
  8. o'erwhelmed in mingling shock of wave and sky.
  9. Saturnian Juno's vengeful stratagem
  10. her brother's royal glance failed not to see;
  11. and loud to eastward and to westward calling,
  12. he voiced this word:“What pride of birth or power
  13. is yours, ye winds, that, reckless of my will,
  14. audacious thus, ye ride through earth and heaven,
  15. and stir these mountain waves? Such rebels I—
  16. nay, first I calm this tumult! But yourselves
  17. by heavier chastisement shall expiate
  18. hereafter your bold trespass. Haste away
  19. and bear your king this word! Not unto him
  20. dominion o'er the seas and trident dread,
  21. but unto me, Fate gives. Let him possess
  22. wild mountain crags, thy favored haunt and home,
  23. O Eurus! In his barbarous mansion there,
  24. let Aeolus look proud, and play the king
  25. in yon close-bounded prison-house of storms!”
  1. He spoke, and swiftlier than his word subdued
  2. the swelling of the floods; dispersed afar
  3. th' assembled clouds, and brought back light to heaven.
  4. Cymothoe then and Triton, with huge toil,
  5. thrust down the vessels from the sharp-edged reef;
  6. while, with the trident, the great god's own hand
  7. assists the task; then, from the sand-strewn shore
  8. out-ebbing far, he calms the whole wide sea,
  9. and glides light-wheeled along the crested foam.
  10. As when, with not unwonted tumult, roars
  11. in some vast city a rebellious mob,
  12. and base-born passions in its bosom burn,
  13. till rocks and blazing torches fill the air
  14. (rage never lacks for arms)—if haply then
  15. some wise man comes, whose reverend looks attest
  16. a life to duty given, swift silence falls;
  17. all ears are turned attentive; and he sways
  18. with clear and soothing speech the people's will.
  19. So ceased the sea's uproar, when its grave Sire
  20. looked o'er th' expanse, and, riding on in light,
  21. flung free rein to his winged obedient car.
  1. Aeneas' wave-worn crew now landward made,
  2. and took the nearest passage, whither lay
  3. the coast of Libya. A haven there
  4. walled in by bold sides of a rocky isle,
  5. offers a spacious and secure retreat,
  6. where every billow from the distant main
  7. breaks, and in many a rippling curve retires.
  8. Huge crags and two confronted promontories
  9. frown heaven-high, beneath whose brows outspread
  10. the silent, sheltered waters; on the heights
  11. the bright and glimmering foliage seems to show
  12. a woodland amphitheatre; and yet higher
  13. rises a straight-stemmed grove of dense, dark shade.
  14. Fronting on these a grotto may be seen,
  15. o'erhung by steep cliffs; from its inmost wall
  16. clear springs gush out; and shelving seats it has
  17. of unhewn stone, a place the wood-nymphs love.
  18. In such a port, a weary ship rides free
  19. of weight of firm-fluked anchor or strong chain.