Aeneid

Virgil

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

  1. Aeneas, by that fleeting vision struck
  2. with an exceeding awe, straightway leaped forth
  3. from slumber's power, and to his followers cried :
  4. “Awake, my men! Away! Each to his place
  5. upon the thwarts! Unfurl at once the sails!
  6. A god from heaven a second time sent down
  7. urges our instant flight and bids us cut
  8. the twisted cords. Whatever be thy name,
  9. behold, we come, O venerated Power!
  10. Again with joy we follow! Let thy grace
  11. assist us as we go! And may thy power
  12. bring none but stars benign across our sky.”
  13. So saying, from its scabbard forth he flashed
  14. the lightning of his sword, with naked blade
  15. striking the hawsers free. Like ardor seized
  16. on all his willing men, who raced and ran;
  17. and, while their galleys shadowed all the sea,
  18. clean from the shore they scudded, with strong strokes
  19. sweeping the purple waves and crested foam.