第44章

Thus while he wrought, revolving in his mind The ways to compass what his wish design'd, He cast his eyes upon the gloomy grove, And then with vows implor'd the Queen of Love:

"O may thy pow'r, propitious still to me, Conduct my steps to find the fatal tree, In this deep forest; since the Sibyl's breath Foretold, alas! too true, Misenus' death."Scarce had he said, when, full before his sight, Two doves, descending from their airy flight, Secure upon the grassy plain alight.

He knew his mother's birds; and thus he pray'd:

"Be you my guides, with your auspicious aid, And lead my footsteps, till the branch be found, Whose glitt'ring shadow gilds the sacred ground.

And thou, great parent, with celestial care, In this distress be present to my pray'r!"Thus having said, he stopp'd with watchful sight, Observing still the motions of their flight, What course they took, what happy signs they shew.

They fed, and, flutt'ring, by degrees withdrew Still farther from the place, but still in view:

Hopping and flying, thus they led him on To the slow lake, whose baleful stench to shun They wing'd their flight aloft; then, stooping low, Perch'd on the double tree that bears the golden bough.

Thro' the green leafs the glitt'ring shadows glow;As, on the sacred oak, the wintry mistletoe, Where the proud mother views her precious brood, And happier branches, which she never sow'd.

Such was the glitt'ring; such the ruddy rind, And dancing leaves, that wanton'd in the wind.

He seiz'd the shining bough with griping hold, And rent away, with ease, the ling'ring gold;Then to the Sibyl's palace bore the prize.

Meantime the Trojan troops, with weeping eyes, To dead Misenus pay his obsequies.

First, from the ground a lofty pile they rear, Of pitch trees, oaks, and pines, and unctuous fir:

The fabric's front with cypress twigs they strew, And stick the sides with boughs of baleful yew.

The topmost part his glitt'ring arms adorn;Warm waters, then, in brazen caldrons borne, Are pour'd to wash his body, joint by joint, And fragrant oils the stiffen'd limbs anoint.

With groans and cries Misenus they deplore:

Then on a bier, with purple cover'd o'er, The breathless body, thus bewail'd, they lay, And fire the pile, their faces turn'd away-Such reverend rites their fathers us'd to pay.

Pure oil and incense on the fire they throw, And fat of victims, which his friends bestow.

These gifts the greedy flames to dust devour;Then on the living coals red wine they pour;And, last, the relics by themselves dispose, Which in a brazen urn the priests inclose.

Old Corynaeus compass'd thrice the crew, And dipp'd an olive branch in holy dew;Which thrice he sprinkled round, and thrice aloud Invok'd the dead, and then dismissed the crowd.

But good Aeneas order'd on the shore A stately tomb, whose top a trumpet bore, A soldier's fauchion, and a seaman's oar.

Thus was his friend interr'd; and deathless fame Still to the lofty cape consigns his name.

These rites perform'd, the prince, without delay, Hastes to the nether world his destin'd way.

Deep was the cave; and, downward as it went From the wide mouth, a rocky rough descent;And here th' access a gloomy grove defends, And there th' unnavigable lake extends, O'er whose unhappy waters, void of light, No bird presumes to steer his airy flight;Such deadly stenches from the depths arise, And steaming sulphur, that infects the skies.

From hence the Grecian bards their legends make, And give the name Avernus to the lake.

Four sable bullocks, in the yoke untaught, For sacrifice the pious hero brought.

The priestess pours the wine betwixt their horns;Then cuts the curling hair; that first oblation burns, Invoking Hecate hither to repair:

A pow'rful name in hell and upper air.

The sacred priests with ready knives bereave The beasts of life, and in full bowls receive The streaming blood: a lamb to Hell and Night (The sable wool without a streak of white)Aeneas offers; and, by fate's decree, A barren heifer, Proserpine, to thee, With holocausts he Pluto's altar fills;Sev'n brawny bulls with his own hand he kills;Then on the broiling entrails oil he pours;Which, ointed thus, the raging flame devours.

Late the nocturnal sacrifice begun, Nor ended till the next returning sun.

Then earth began to bellow, trees to dance, And howling dogs in glimm'ring light advance, Ere Hecate came."Far hence be souls profane!"The Sibyl cried, "and from the grove abstain!

Now, Trojan, take the way thy fates afford;Assume thy courage, and unsheathe thy sword."She said, and pass'd along the gloomy space;The prince pursued her steps with equal pace.

Ye realms, yet unreveal'd to human sight, Ye gods who rule the regions of the night, Ye gliding ghosts, permit me to relate The mystic wonders of your silent state!

Obscure they went thro' dreary shades, that led Along the waste dominions of the dead.

Thus wander travelers in woods by night, By the moon's doubtful and malignant light, When Jove in dusky clouds involves the skies, And the faint crescent shoots by fits before their eyes.

Just in the gate and in the jaws of hell, Revengeful Cares and sullen Sorrows dwell, And pale Diseases, and repining Age, Want, Fear, and Famine's unresisted rage;Here Toils, and Death, and Death's half-brother, Sleep, Forms terrible to view, their sentry keep;With anxious Pleasures of a guilty mind, Deep Frauds before, and open Force behind;The Furies' iron beds; and Strife, that shakes Her hissing tresses and unfolds her snakes.

Full in the midst of this infernal road, An elm displays her dusky arms abroad:

The God of Sleep there hides his heavy head, And empty dreams on ev'ry leaf are spread.

Of various forms unnumber'd specters more, Centaurs, and double shapes, besiege the door.

Before the passage, horrid Hydra stands, And Briareus with all his hundred hands;Gorgons, Geryon with his triple frame;

And vain Chimaera vomits empty flame.