Aeneid

Virgil

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

  1. Such plaints, such prayers, again and yet again,
  2. betwixt the twain the sorrowing sister bore.
  3. But no words move, no lamentations bring
  4. persuasion to his soul; decrees of Fate
  5. oppose, and some wise god obstructs the way
  6. that finds the hero's ear. Oft-times around
  7. the aged strength of some stupendous oak
  8. the rival blasts of wintry Alpine winds
  9. smite with alternate wrath: Ioud is the roar,
  10. and from its rocking top the broken boughs
  11. are strewn along the ground; but to the crag
  12. steadfast it ever clings; far as toward heaven
  13. its giant crest uprears, so deep below
  14. its roots reach down to Tartarus:—not less
  15. the hero by unceasing wail and cry
  16. is smitten sore, and in his mighty heart
  17. has many a pang, while his serene intent
  18. abides unmoved, and tears gush forth in vain.