whom the queen of the Gods had thus snatched from his conquering hands.
Under his leadership the Trojans and their allies, flushed with success,
pressed more eagerly on their discomfited foe; but Mezentius now advanced
to restore the courage of the Rutulians. The Etrurians, as soon as they
saw their expelled monarch, out of hostility to whom they had engaged in
the war, rushed upon him with shouts of rage; but he, as fearless as he
was wicked, stood as firmly against them as a great rock on the shore
meets all the fury of the winds and waves. Three warriors he overthrew in
quick succession: Hebrus he cut down with his sword, Latagus he slew by
hurling a great stone which battered in his face, and at Palmus he threw a
javelin which pierced his thigh and extended him helpless on the ground.
Then the raging king slew Evas the Phrygian, and a Trojan named Mimas, who
in former days had been the companion of Paris, having been born in Troy
on the same night that gave to the light the ill-starred son of Priam.
Paris now lay in eternal repose amid the ruins of his native city, while
to Mimas the sword of Mezentius assigned an unknown grave on the distant
shore of Italy. And just as when an old wild boar, chased from his retreat
amid the wooded Alps, stands at bay among the underwood, and the hunters,
afraid to approach him, ply him with darts from a distance, while he
gnashes his tusks with rage and faces them undaunted, so stood Mezentius;
while his former subjects, though filled with just anger against him, and
eager for his destruction, dare not come within reach of his dreaded
sword, but galled him with spears and useless clamor. It chanced that a
Greek from Corytus, named Acron, presented himself in the front,
conspicuous in nodding plumes, and in purple trappings that had been
worked for him by his betrothed wife. His gay attire caught the eye of
Mezentius, who rushed forward and smote down the luckless Greek; then, as
the others fell back, he cut off the retreat of an Etrurian chief, Orodes,
forced him to engage hand to hand, and speedily slew him. Pressing his
foot on the expiring warrior to draw out his lance from his body,
Mezentius cried to his followers, "Behold, friends! Orodes has fallen--not
the meanest of our foes." The Rutulians raised a joyful shout, but the
dying Orodes faintly answered, "Not long shall thou rejoice with impunity
over me; a similar fate awaits thyself, and soon shalt thou also be
stretched lifeless on this same field." Smiling scornfully, Mezentius
returned, "Die thou, and leave my fate to the Gods, in whose hands it
rests." His example inspired other of the Rutulians; they pressed fiercely
forward and drove back the troops of Æneas. Mezentius advanced at their
head, and as he strode along, the Trojan hero espied him, and hastened
towards him. Unawed by the prospect of an encounter even with so terrible
a foe, Mezentius stood firm, and poising a huge spear in his hand,
exclaimed,--for he was a contemner of the Gods, and never offered
invocations to them,--"Now let this right hand and this good dart be my
aid; and then I vow that my son, my dear Lausus, shall be clad in the
bright arms torn from the body of yon Trojan pirate." With these words he
drew the spear. Sent with a true aim, it struck the shield of Æneas, but
glanced from the hardened surface, and turning aside, pierced the side of
Antores, a faithful follower of Evander, who had come with Pallas to the
war. Thus died Antores, by a weapon never aimed at him, but he was
speedily avenged. Æneas, putting all his might into the cast, now in his
turn hurled his spear. It tore its way through the triple plates of
Mezentius' shield, through his corselet, and inflicted a severe wound in
his groin, though its force was so far spent that the injury was not
mortal.
Overjoyed at the sight of his enemy's blood, Æneas drew his sword from its
sheath, and rushed upon Mezentius, who was as yet bewildered by the blow.
When Lausus saw his father in such peril he sprang forward and stood
before Æneas, while Mezentius fell back among his friends, the Trojan
lance still trailing in his armor. Lausus received the first stroke of
Æneas' sword on his buckler, while the Rutulians with loud shouts
applauded him, and poured on the Trojan hero a tempest of darts. Against
this he protected himself with his shield, and meanwhile, pitying the
youth and courage of Lausus, spoke to him in words of warning: "Why do you
thus rush on your own destruction, and attempt what is beyond your
strength? Your filial devotion blinds you to your danger." But Lausus,
resolute to defend his wounded sire, returned a haughty defiance. Then
Æneas could no longer control his wrath; he exerted all his strength, and
thrust his terrible sword up to the hilt through the body of the youth,
who sank lifeless on the blood-steeped ground. When Æneas saw the comely
young warrior stretched dead before him, his heart was filled with pity.
"Ill-fated youth!" he cried, "how can I testify my reverence for thy
filial piety and thy undaunted valor? Thou shalt at least retain those
arms which it was thy delight to wear, and thy body shall be given up
unspoiled to thy friends." With that he summoned the dismayed followers of
Lausus, and with his own hands raised from the ground the comely body, all
disfigured with blood and wounds. Meantime Mezentius had retreated to the
bank of the Tiber, where he took off his armor, and bathed his wound with
water. While he was thus resting from the fatigues of the battle, he was
full of anxiety for his son, and sent messenger after messenger to recall
him from the fight. But too soon a crowd of weeping warriors appeared,
carrying the corpse of Lausus in their arms. The sorrowing father divined
what had occurred from their lamentations, even before the body was
brought to him. He threw dust upon his head, he clasped the loved form in
his arms, and bedewed the pallid face with his tears. "O my son," he
exclaimed, "was I possessed with such a fond desire of life as to suffer
thee to offer thyself in my place to the relentless foe? Am I preserved at
the cost of these cruel wounds? Now, indeed, I feel the calamity of exile.
My crimes have cost thee not only thy paternal throne and sceptre, but thy
life also. It was I that owed expiation to my country, and should have
satisfied my people by a deserved death. And yet I live! yet I do not quit
the detested light! but I will quickly follow thee." Then he rose up, and
though crippled by the wound in his thigh, and suffering anguish from its
smart, he did not flinch, but ordered his attendants to bring his courser.
This was a horse famous for its speed and its prompt obedience to the
rein. When it was brought, he accosted it: "Long have we lived together,
Rhoebus, and many great deeds have we accomplished. To-day we shall either
bear away the head of Æneas and his arms all spattered with his blood, or
we shall perish together; for I am assured that thou wilt never condescend
to bear a Trojan lord." Then mounting the noble steed, he filled both
hands with darts, and dashed recklessly into the midst of the battle. His
heart swelling with rage and shame and grief, he thrice loudly summoned
Æneas to the combat. Æneas heard, and rejoiced at the challenge; and with
threatening spear advanced to meet his foe. "Barbarous wretch," cried
Mezentius, "thinkest thou to affright me with thy weapons, now that thou
hast robbed me of my son? That was the only means by which thou couldst
destroy me. I fear neither death nor the anger of any of your gods.
Forbear threats; now am I come hither to die, but first I bring you these
gifts." So saying, he rapidly hurled one dart after another at the hero,
whirling swiftly round him on his horse; but the shield framed by Vulcan's
hands received all the shafts and repelled them. Wearied at last of so
unequal a fight, in which he had to endure ceaseless attacks without
striking a blow, Æneas stepped forward, and hurled his spear against the
charger, piercing its skull betwixt the ears. The fiery horse reared
upward in the death agony, and then fell backward upon his rider, pressing
him to the earth. The spectators of this fierce combat uplifted their
voices in shouts, some in joy and others in sorrow, as Æneas rushed up to
the fallen warrior, and lifting his sword to deal the fatal blow, cried,
"Where is now the stern Mezentius?" The Etrurian, on the other hand,
replied, "Spiteful foe, why dost thou threaten and insult before thou
strikest? Thou wilt do me no wrong in slaying me. I sought thee expecting
nothing else, and neither I nor my son has asked mercy at thy hands. One
favor alone I implore of thee, that thou wilt give burial to my corpse. I
know well that the hate of my former subjects would pursue me after death.
Defend my remains, I entreat, from outrage, and grant me a grave along
with my son." He said no more, but extended his throat to receive the
fatal blow, which descended and drew forth his life as the blood poured
over his armor.
The shades of night were now gathering, and as the Rutulians and Latins
had quitted the field in confusion, the conflicts of that sanguinary day
were at last, ended.
ÆNEAS FINALLY CONQUERS THE LATINS
By Alfred J. Church
Prince Turnus was filled with rage. Even as a lion which a hunter hath
wounded breaketh the arrow wherewith he hath been stricken, and rouseth
himself to battle, shaking his mane and roaring, so Turnus arose. And
first he spake to King Latinus, saying, "I will meet this man face to
face, and slay him while ye look on; or, if the Gods will that he vanquish
me so, he shall rule over you, and have Lavinia to wife."
But King Latinus made answer, "Yet think awhile, my son. Thou hast the
kingdom of thy father Daunus; and there are other noble virgins in Latium
whom thou mayest have to wife. Wilt thou not then be content? For to give
my daughter to any husband of this nation I was forbidden, as thou
knowest. Yet did I disobey, being moved by love of thee, my wife also
beseeching me with many tears. Thou seest what troubles I and my people,
and thou more than all, have suffered from that time. Twice have we fled
in the battle, and now the city only is left to us. If I must yield me to
these men, let me yield whilst thou art yet alive. For what doth it profit
me that thou shouldst die? Nay, but all men would cry shame on me if I
gave thee to death!" Now for a space Turnus spake not for wrath. Then he
said, "Be not troubled for me, my father. For I, too, can smite with the
spear; and as for this Æneas, his mother will not be at hand to snatch him
in a cloud from my sight."
Then Amata cried to him, saying, "Fight not, I beseech thee, with these
men of Troy, my son; for surely what thou sufferest I also shall suffer.
Nor will I live to see Æneas my son-in-law."
And Lavinia heard the voice of her mother, and wept. As a man stains ivory
with crimson, or as roses are seen mixed with lilies, even so the virgin's
face burned with crimson. And Turnus, regarding her, loved her
exceedingly, and made answer, "Trouble me not with tears or idle words, my
mother, for to this battle I must go. And do thou, Idmon the herald, say
to the Phrygian king, 'To-morrow, when the sun shall rise, let the people
have peace, but we two will fight together. And let him that prevaileth
have Lavinia to wife.'"
Then first he went to the stalls of his horses. The wife of the North Wind
gave them to Pilumnus. Whiter than snow were they, and swifter than the
wind. Then he put the coat of mail about his shoulders, and fitted a
helmet on his head, and took the great sword which Vulcan had made for
Daunus his father, and had dipped it when it was white-hot in the river of
Styx. His spear also he took where it stood against a pillar, saying,
"Serve me well, my spear, that hast never failed me before, that I may lay
low this womanish robber of Phrygia, and soil with dust his curled and
perfumed hair." The next day the men of Italy and the men of Troy measured
out a space for the battle. And in the midst they builded an altar of
turf. And the two armies sat on the one side and on the other, having
fixed their spears in the earth and laid down their shields. Also the
women and the old men stood on the towers and roofs of the city, that they
might see the fight.
But Queen Juno spake to Juturna, the sister of Turnus, saying, "Seest thou
how these two are now about to fight, face to face? And indeed Turnus
goeth to his death. As for me, I endure not to look upon this covenant or
this battle. But if thou canst do aught for thy brother, lo! the time is
at hand." And when the nymph wept and beat her breast, Juno said, "This is
no time for tears. Save thy brother, if thou canst, from death; or cause
that they break this covenant."
After this came the kings, that they might make the covenant together. And
King Latinus rode in a chariot with four horses, and he had on his head a
crown with twelve rays of gold, for he was of the race of the sun; and
Turnus came in a chariot with two white horses, having a javelin in either
hand; and Æneas had donned the arms which Vulcan had made, and with him
was the young Iulus. And after due offering Æneas sware, calling on all
the Gods, "If the victory shall fall this day to Turnus, the men of Troy
shall depart to the city of Evander, nor trouble this land any more. But
if it fall to me, I will not that the Latins should serve the men of Troy.
Let the nations be equal one with the other. The gods that I bring we will
worship together, but King Latinus shall reign as before. A new city shall
the men of Troy build for me, and Lavinia shall call it after her own
name."
Then King Latinus sware, calling on the gods that are above and the gods
that are below, saying, "This covenant shall stand forever, whatsoever may
befall. As sure as this sceptre which I bear--once it was a tree, but a
cunning workman closed it in bronze, to be the glory of the Latian
kings--shall never again bear twig or leaf, so surely shall this covenant
be kept."
But the thing pleased not the Latins; for before, indeed, they judged that
the battle would not be equal between two; and now were they the more
assured, seeing them when they came together, and that Turnus walked with
eyes cast to the ground, and was pale and wan. Wherefore there arose a
murmuring among the people, which when Juturna perceived, she took upon
herself the likeness of Camertus, who was a prince and a great warrior
among them, and passed through the host saying, "Are ye not ashamed, men
of Italy, that one man should do battle for you all? For count these men;
surely they are scarce one against two. And if he be vanquished, what
shame for you! As for him, indeed, though he die, yet shall his glory
reach to the heavens; but ye shall suffer disgrace, serving these
strangers forever."
And when she saw that the people were moved, she gave also a sign from
heaven. For lo! an eagle, that drave a crowd of sea-fowl before him,
swooped down to the water, and caught a great swan; and even while the
Italians looked, the birds that before had fled turned and pursued the
eagle, and drave him before them, so that he dropped the swan and fled
away. Which thing when the Italians perceived they shouted, and made them
ready for battle. And the augur Tolumnius cried, "This is the token that I
have looked for. For this eagle is the stranger, and ye are the birds,
which before, indeed, have fled, but shall now make him to flee."
And he ran forward and cast his spear, smiting a man of Arcadia below the
belt, upon the groin. One of nine brothers was he, sons of a Tuscan
mother, but their father was a Greek; and they, when they saw him slain,
caught swords and spears, and ran forward. And straightway the battle was
begun. First they brake down the altars, that they might take firebrands
therefrom; and King Latinus fled from the place. Then did Messapus drive
his horses against King Aulestes of Mantua, who, being fain to fly,
stumbled upon the altar and fell headlong on the ground. And Messapus
smote him with a spear that was like a weaver's beam, saying, "This, of a
truth, is a worthier victim." After this Coryneus, the Arcadian, when
Ebysus would have smitten him, snatched a brand from the altar and set
fire to the beard of the man, and, before he came to himself, caught him
by the hair, and thrusting him to the ground, so slew him. And when
Podalirius pursued Alsus the shepherd, and now held his sword over him
ready to strike, the other turned, and with a battle-axe cleft the man's
head from forehead to chin.
But all the while the righteous Æneas, having his head bare, and holding
neither spear nor sword, cried to the people, "What seek ye? what madness
is this? The covenant is established, and I only have the right to do
battle." But even while he spake an arrow smote him, wounding him. But who
let it fly no man knoweth; for who, of a truth, would boast that he had
wounded Æneas? And he departed from the battle.
Now when Turnus saw that Æneas had departed from the battle he called for
his chariot. And when he had mounted thereon he drave it through the host
of the enemy, slaying many valiant heroes, as Sthenelus and Pholus, and
the two sons of Imbrasus the Lycian, Glaucus and Lades. Then he saw
Eumedes, son of that Dolon who would have spied out the camp of the
Greeks, asking as his reward the horses of Achilles (but Diomed slew him).
Him Turnus smote with a javelin from afar, and, when he fell, came near
and put his foot upon him, and taking his sword drave it into his neck,
saying, "Lo! now thou hast the land which thou soughtest. Lie there and
measure out Italy for thyself." Many others he slew, for the army fled
before him. Yet did one man, Phegeus by name, stand against him, and would
have stayed the chariot, clutching the bridles of the horses in his hand.
But as he clung to the yoke and was dragged along, Turnus broke his
cuirass with his spear, and wounded him. And when the man set his shield
before him, and made at Turnus with his sword, the wheels dashed him to
the ground, and Turnus struck him between the helmet and the breastplate
and smote off his head.
But in the meanwhile Mnestheus and Achates and Iulus led Æneas to the
camp, leaning on his spear. Very wroth was he, and strove to draw forth
the arrow. And when he could not, he commanded that they should open the
wound with the knife, and so send him back to the battle. Iapis also, the
physician, ministered to him. Now this Iapis was dearer than all other men
to Apollo, and when the god would have given him all his arts, even
prophecy and music and archery, he chose rather to know the virtues of
herbs and the art of healing, that so he might prolong the life of his
father, who was even ready to die. This Iapis, then, having his garments
girt about him in healer's fashion, would have drawn forth the arrow with
the pincers, but could not. And while he strove, the battle came nearer,
and the sky was hidden by clouds of dust, and javelins fell thick into the
camp. But when Venus saw how grievously her son was troubled, she brought
from Ida, which is a mountain of Crete, the herb dittany. A hairy stalk it
hath and a purple flower. The wild goats know it well if so be that they
have been wounded by arrows. This, then, Venus, having hidden her face,
brought and dipped into the water, and sprinkled there with ambrosia and
sweet-smelling panacea.
And Iapis, unawares, applied the water that had been healed; and lo! the
pain was stayed and the blood was staunched and the arrow came forth,
though no man drew it, and Æneas's strength came back to him as before.
Then said lapis, "Art of mine hath not healed thee, my son. The Gods call
thee to thy work." Then did Æneas arm himself again, and when he had
kissed Iulus and bidden him farewell, he went forth to the battle. And all
the chiefs went with him, and the men of Troy took courage and drave back
the Latins. Then befell a great slaughter, for Gyas slew Ufens, who was
the leader of the Æquians; also Tolumnius, the great augur, was slain, who
had first broken the covenant, slaying a man with his spear. But Æneas
deigned not to turn his hand against any man, seeking only for Turnus,
that he might fight with him. But when the nymph Juturna perceived this
she was sore afraid. Therefore she came near to the chariot of her
brother, and thrust out Metiscus, his charioteer, where he held the reins,
and herself stood in his room, having made herself like to him in shape
and voice. Then as a swallow flies through the halls and arcades of some
rich man's house, seeking food for its young, so Juturna drave the chariot
of her brother hither and thither. And ever Æneas followed behind, and
called to him that he should stay; but whenever he espied the man, and
would have overtaken him by running, then again did Juturna turn the
horses about and flee. And as he sped Messapus cast a spear at him. But
Æneas saw it coming, and put his shield over him, resting on his knee. Yet
did the spear smite him on the helmet-top and shear off the crest. Then
indeed was his wrath kindled, and he rushed into the army of the enemy,
slaying many as he went.
Then was there a great slaughter made on this side and on that. But after
a while Venus put it into the heart of Æneas that he should lead his army
against the city. Therefore he called together the chiefs, and, standing
in the midst of them on a mound, spake, saying, "Hearken now to my words,
and delay not to fulfill them, for of a truth Jupiter is on our side. I am
purposed this day to lay this city of Latinus even with the ground, if
they still refuse to obey. For why should I wait for Turnus till it please
him to meet me in battle?"
Then did the whole array make for the walls of the city. And some carried
firebrands, and some scaling-ladders, and some slew the warders at the
gates, and cast javelins at them who stood on the walls. And then there
arose a great strife in the city, for some would have opened the gates
that the men of Troy might enter, and others made haste to defend the
walls. Hither and thither did they run with much tumult, even as bees in a
hive in a rock which a shepherd hath filled with smoke, having first shut
all the doors thereof.
Then also did other ill fortune befall the Latins, for when Queen Amata
saw from the roof of the palace that the enemy were come near to the
walls, and saw not anywhere the army of the Latins, she supposed Turnus to
have fallen in the battle. Whereupon, crying out that she was the cause of
all these woes, she made a noose of the purple garment wherewith she was
clad, and hanged herself from a beam of the roof. Then did lamentation go
through the city, for the women wailed and tore their hair, and King
Latinus rent his clothes and threw dust upon his head.
But the cry that went up from the city came to the ears of Turnus where he
fought in the farthest part of the plain. And he caught the reins and
said, "What meaneth this sound of trouble and wailing that I hear?" And
the false Metiscus, who was in truth his sister, made answer, "Let us
fight, O Turnus, here where the Gods give us victory. There are enough to
defend the city." But Turnus spake, saying, "Nay, my sister, for who thou
art I have known even from the beginning; it must not be so. Why camest
thou down from heaven? Was it to see thy brother die? And now what shall I
do? Have I not seen Murranus die, and Ufens the Æquian? And shall I suffer
this city to be destroyed? Shall this land see Turnus flee before his
enemies? Be ye kind to me, O gods of the dead, seeing that the gods of
heaven hate me. I come down to you a righteous spirit, and not unworthy of
my fathers."
And even as he spake came Saces, riding on a horse that was covered with
foam, and on his face was the wound of an arrow. And he cried, "O Turnus,
our last hopes are in thee. For Æneas is about to destroy the city, and
the firebrands are cast upon the roofs. And King Latinus is sore tried
with doubt, and the Queen hath laid hands upon herself and is dead. And
now only Messapus and Atinas maintain the battle, and the fight grows
fierce around them, whilst thou drivest thy chariot about these empty
fields."
Then for a while Turnus stood speechless, and shame and grief and madness
were in his soul; and he looked to the city, and lo! the fire went up even
to the top of the tower which he himself had builded upon the walls to be
a defense against the enemy. And when he saw it, he cried, "It is enough,
my sister; I go whither the Gods call me. I will meet with Æneas face to
face, and endure my doom."
And as he spake he leapt down from his chariot, and ran across the plain
till he came near to the city, even where the blood was deepest upon the
earth, and the arrows were thickest in the air. And he beckoned with the
hand and called to the Italians, saying, "Stay now your arrows. I am come
to fight this battle for you all." And when they heard it they left a
space in the midst. Æneas also, when he heard the name of Turnus, left
attacking the city, and came to meet him, mighty as Athos, or Eryx, or
Father Apenninus, that raiseth his snowy head to the heavens. And the men
of Troy and the Latins and King Latinus marveled to see them meet, so
mighty they were.