ADVENTURES OF ÆNEAS
Roman Virgil, thou that singest
Ilion's lofty temples robed in fire,
Ilion falling, Rome arising,
wars, and filial faith, and Dido's pyre;
Landscape lover, lord of language
more than he that sang the Works and Days,
All the chosen coin of fancy
flashing out from many a golden phrase;...
Light among the vanish'd ages;
star that gildest yet this phantom shore;
Golden branch amid the shadows,
kings and realms that pass to rise no more;...
Now the Rome of slaves hath perish'd,
and the Rome of freemen holds her place,
I, from out the Northern Island
sunder'd once from all the human race,
I salute thee, Mantovano,
I that loved thee since my day began,
Wielder of the stateliest measure
ever molded by the lips of man.[354]
[Illustration: ITALY BEFORE THE GROWTH OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE]
=245. From Troy to Italy.= Homer tells the story of one of the Grecian
heroes, Ulysses, in his wanderings on his return home from Troy. Virgil
in his Æneid[355] narrates the mythical fortunes of the remnant of the
_conquered_ people under their chief Æneas, the son of Venus and the
Trojan Anchises, in their search for a new home after the ruin of their
native city. On that fatal night when the wooden horse disgorged its
contents of armed men, and the capture and conflagration of the city
were the result, Æneas made his escape from the scene of destruction,
with his father and his wife and young son. The father, Anchises, was
too old to walk with the speed required, and Æneas took him upon his
shoulders. Thus burdened, leading his son and followed by his wife, he
made the best of his way out of the burning city; but in the confusion
his wife, Creüsa, was swept away and lost.
[Illustration: FIG. 181. ÆNEAS, ANCHISES, AND IULIUS]
=246. The Departure from Troy.= On arriving at the place of rendezvous,
numerous fugitives of both sexes were found, who put themselves under
the guidance of Æneas. Some months were spent in preparation, and at
length they embarked. They first landed on the neighboring shores of
Thrace, and were preparing to build a city, but Æneas was deterred by
a prodigy. Preparing to offer sacrifice, he tore some twigs from one
of the bushes. To his dismay the wounded part dropped blood. When he
repeated the act, a voice from the ground cried out to him, "Spare me,
Æneas; I am thy kinsman, Polydore, here murdered with many arrows, from
which a bush has grown, nourished with my blood." These words recalled
to the recollection of Æneas that Polydore was a young prince of Troy,
whom his father had sent with ample treasures to the neighboring land
of Thrace, to be there brought up, at a distance from the horrors of
war. The king to whom he was sent had murdered him and seized his
treasures. Æneas and his companions, considering the land accursed by
the stain of such a crime, hastened away.
=247. The Promised Empire.= They next landed on the island of Delos.
Here Æneas consulted the oracle of Apollo, and received an answer,
ambiguous as usual,--"Seek thy ancient mother; there the race of
Æneas shall dwell, and reduce all other nations to their sway." The
Trojans heard with joy and immediately began to ask one another, "Where
is the spot intended by the oracle?" Anchises remembered that there
was a tradition that their forefathers came from Crete, and thither
they resolved to steer. They arrived at Crete and began to build
their city; but sickness broke out among them, and the fields that
they had planted, failed to yield a crop. In this gloomy aspect of
affairs, Æneas was warned in a dream to leave the country and seek a
western land called Hesperia, whence Dardanus, the true founder of the
Trojan race, was reported to have migrated. To Hesperia, now called
Italy, they therefore directed their future course, and not till after
many adventures, and the lapse of time sufficient to carry a modern
navigator several times round the world, did they arrive there.
=248. The Harpies.= Their first landing was at the island of the
Harpies. These were disgusting birds, with the heads of maidens, with
long claws, and faces pale with hunger. They were sent by the gods to
torment a certain Phineus, whom Jupiter had deprived of his sight in
punishment of his cruelty; and whenever a meal was placed before him,
the harpies darted down from the air and carried it off. They were
driven away from Phineus by the heroes of the Argonautic expedition,
and took refuge in the island where Æneas now found them. When the
Trojans entered the port they saw herds of cattle roaming over the
plain. They slew as many as they wished, and prepared for a feast.
But no sooner had they seated themselves at the table than a horrible
clamor was heard in the air, and a flock of these odious harpies came
rushing down upon them, seizing in their talons the meat from the
dishes and flying away with it. Æneas and his companions drew their
swords and dealt vigorous blows among the monsters, but to no purpose,
for they were so nimble it was almost impossible to hit them, and their
feathers were, like armor, impenetrable to steel. One of them, perched
on a neighboring cliff, screamed out, "Is it thus, Trojans, ye treat
us innocent birds, first slaughter our cattle and then make war on
ourselves?" She then predicted dire sufferings to them in their future
course, and, having vented her wrath, flew away.
=249. Epirus.= The Trojans made haste to leave the country, and next
found themselves coasting along the shore of Epirus. Here they landed
and to their astonishment learned that certain Trojan exiles, who had
been carried there as prisoners, had become rulers of the country.
Andromache, the widow of Hector, had borne three sons to Neoptolemus
in Epirus. But when he cast her off for Hermione, he left her to her
fellow-captive, Helenus, Hector's brother. Now that Neoptolemus was
dead she had become the wife of Helenus; and they ruled the realm.
Helenus and Andromache treated the exiles with the utmost hospitality,
and dismissed them loaded with gifts.
[Illustration: FIG. 182. SCYLLA]
=250. The Cyclopes Again.= From hence Æneas coasted along the shore of
Sicily and passed the country of the Cyclopes. Here they were hailed
from the shore by a miserable object, whom by his garments tattered,
as they were, they perceived to be a Greek. He told them he was one
of Ulysses' companions, left behind by that chief in his hurried
departure. He related the story of Ulysses' adventure with Polyphemus,
and besought them to take him off with them, as he had no means of
sustaining his existence where he was, but wild berries and roots, and
lived in constant fear of the Cyclopes. While he spoke Polyphemus made
his appearance,--terrible, shapeless, vast, and, of course, blind.[356]
He walked with cautious steps, feeling his way with a staff, down to
the seaside, to wash his eye-socket in the waves. When he reached the
water he waded out towards them, and his immense height enabled him to
advance far into the sea, so that the Trojans in terror took to their
oars to get out of his way. Hearing the oars, Polyphemus shouted after
them so that the shores resounded, and at the noise the other Cyclopes
came forth from their caves and woods, and lined the shore, like a row
of lofty pine trees. The Trojans plied their oars and soon left them
out of sight.
Æneas had been cautioned by Helenus to avoid the strait guarded by the
monsters Scylla and Charybdis. There Ulysses, the reader will remember,
had lost six of his men, seized by Scylla while the navigators were
wholly intent upon avoiding Charybdis. Æneas, following the advice of
Helenus, shunned the dangerous pass and coasted along the island of
Sicily.
=251. The Resentment of Juno.= Now Juno, seeing the Trojans speeding
their way prosperously towards their destined shore, felt her old
grudge against them revive, for she could not forget the slight that
Paris had put upon her in awarding the prize of beauty to another. In
heavenly minds can such resentment dwell![357] Accordingly she gave
orders to Æolus, who sent forth his sons, Boreas, Typhon, and the other
winds, to toss the ocean. A terrible storm ensued, and the Trojan ships
were driven out of their course towards the coast of Africa. They were
in imminent danger of being wrecked, and were separated, so that Æneas
thought that all were lost except his own vessel.
At this crisis, Neptune, hearing the storm raging, and knowing that he
had given no orders for one, raised his head above the waves and saw
the fleet of Æneas driving before the gale. Understanding the hostility
of Juno, he was at no loss to account for it, but his anger was not
the less at this interference in his province. He called the winds and
dismissed them with a severe reprimand. He then soothed the waves, and
brushed away the clouds from before the face of the sun. Some of the
ships which had got on the rocks he pried off with his own trident,
while Triton and a sea-nymph, putting their shoulders under others, set
them afloat again. The Trojans, when the sea became calm, sought the
nearest shore,--the coast of Carthage, where Æneas was so happy as to
find that one by one the ships all arrived safe, though badly shaken.
=252. The Sojourn at Carthage. Dido.= Carthage, where the exiles had
now arrived, was a spot on the coast of Africa opposite Sicily, where
at that time a Tyrian colony under Dido, their queen, were laying
the foundations of a state destined in later ages to be the rival of
Rome itself. Dido was the daughter of Belus, king of Tyre, and sister
of Pygmalion, who succeeded his father on the throne. Her husband
was Sichæus, a man of immense wealth, but Pygmalion, who coveted his
treasures, caused him to be put to death. Dido, with a numerous body of
friends and followers, both men and women, succeeded in effecting their
escape from Tyre, in several vessels, carrying with them the treasures
of Sichæus. On arriving at the spot which they selected as the seat of
their future home, they asked of the natives only so much land as they
could inclose with a bull's hide. When this was readily granted, the
queen caused the hide to be cut into strips, and with them inclosed a
spot on which she built a citadel, and called it Byrsa (a hide). Around
this fort the city of Carthage rose, and soon became a powerful and
flourishing place.
Such was the state of affairs when Æneas with his Trojans arrived
there. Dido received the illustrious exiles with friendliness and
hospitality. "Not unacquainted with distress," she said, "I have
learned to succor the unfortunate."[358] The queen's hospitality
displayed itself in festivities at which games of strength and skill
were exhibited. The strangers contended for the palm with her own
subjects on equal terms, the queen declaring that whether the victor
were "Trojan or Tyrian should make no difference to her."[359] At the
feast which followed the games, Æneas gave at her request a recital of
the closing events of the Trojan history and his own adventures after
the fall of the city. Dido was charmed with his discourse and filled
with admiration of his exploits. She conceived an ardent passion for
him, and he for his part seemed well content to accept the fortunate
chance which appeared to offer him at once a happy termination of his
wanderings, a home, a kingdom, and a bride. Months rolled away in the
enjoyment of pleasant intercourse, and it seemed as if Italy and the
empire destined to be founded on its shores were alike forgotten.
Seeing which, Jupiter dispatched Mercury with a message to Æneas
recalling him to a sense of his high destiny, and commanding him to
resume his voyage.
Æneas parted from Dido, though she tried every allurement and
persuasion to detain him. The blow to her affection and her pride was
too much for her to endure, and when she found that he was gone, she
mounted a funeral pile which she had caused to be prepared, and having
stabbed herself was consumed with the pile. The flames rising over the
city were seen by the departing Trojans, and, though the cause was
unknown, gave to Æneas some intimation of the fatal event.
=253. Palinurus. Italy at Last.= After touching at the island of
Sicily, where Acestes, a prince of Trojan lineage, bore sway, and gave
them a hospitable reception, the Trojans reëmbarked and held on their
course for Italy. Venus now interceded with Neptune to allow her son at
last to attain the wished-for goal and find an end of his perils on the
deep. Neptune consented, stipulating only for one life as a ransom for
the rest. The victim was Palinurus, the pilot. As he sat watching the
stars with his hand on the helm, Somnus, sent by Neptune, approached
in the guise of Phorbas, and said, "Palinurus, the breeze is fair,
the water smooth, and the ship sails steadily on her course. Lie down
awhile and take needful rest. I will stand at the helm in thy place."
Palinurus replied, "Tell me not of smooth seas or favoring winds,--me
who have seen so much of their treachery. Shall I trust Æneas to the
chances of the weather and the winds?" And he continued to grasp the
helm and to keep his eyes fixed on the stars. But Somnus waved over
him a branch moistened with Lethæan dew, and his eyes closed in spite
of all his efforts. Then Somnus pushed him overboard, and he fell;
but as he kept his hold upon the helm, it came away with him. Neptune
was mindful of his promise, and held the ship on her track without
helm or pilot till Æneas discovered his loss and, sorrowing deeply for
his faithful steersman, took charge of the ship himself. Under his
guidance the ships at last reached the shores of Italy, and joyfully
the adventurers leaped to land.
[Illustration: FIG. 183. THE CUMÆAN SIBYL
From the painting by Michelangelo]
=254. The Sibyl of Cumæ.= While his people were employed in making
their encampment, Æneas sought the abode of the Sibyl. It was a cave
connected with a temple and grove, sacred to Apollo and Diana. While
Æneas contemplated the scene, the Sibyl accosted him. She seemed
to know his errand, and, under the influence of the deity of the
place, burst forth in a prophetic strain, giving dark intimations
of labors and perils through which he was destined to make his way
to final success. She closed with the encouraging words which have
become proverbial: "Yield not to disasters, but press onward the more
bravely."[360] Æneas replied that he had prepared himself for whatever
might await him. He had but one request to make. Having been directed
in a dream to seek the abode of the dead in order to confer with
his father Anchises to receive from him a revelation of his future
fortunes and those of his race, he asked her assistance to enable him
to accomplish the task. The Sibyl replied: "The descent to Avernus
is easy; the gate of Pluto stands open night and day; but to retrace
one's steps and return to the upper air, that is the toil, that the
difficulty."[361] She instructed him to seek in the forest a tree on
which grew a golden branch. This branch was to be plucked off and
borne as a gift to Proserpine, and if fate was propitious, it would
yield to the hand and quit its parent trunk, but otherwise no force
could rend it away. If torn away, another would succeed.
Æneas followed the directions of the Sibyl. His mother, Venus, sent
two of her doves to fly before him and show him the way, and by their
assistance he found the tree, plucked the branch, and hastened back
with it to the Sibyl.
=255. The Infernal Regions.= The region where Virgil locates the
entrance to the infernal regions is, perhaps, the most strikingly
adapted to excite ideas of the terrific and preternatural of any
on the face of the earth. It is the volcanic region near Vesuvius,
where the whole country is cleft with chasms from which sulphurous
flames arise, while the ground is shaken with pent-up vapors, and
mysterious sounds issue from the bowels of the earth. The lake Avernus
is supposed to fill the crater of an extinct volcano. It is circular,
half a mile wide and very deep, surrounded by high banks, which in
Virgil's time were covered with a gloomy forest. Mephitic vapors rise
from its waters, so that no life is found on its banks, and no birds
fly over it. Here Æneas offered sacrifices to the infernal deities,
Proserpine, Hecate, and the Furies. Then a roaring was heard in the
earth, the woods on the hilltops were shaken, and the howling of dogs
announced the approach of the deities. "Now," said the Sibyl, "summon
thy courage, for thou shalt need it." She descended into the cave of
Avernus, and Æneas followed. Before the threshold of hell they passed
through a group of beings who are enumerated as Griefs and avenging
Cares, pale Diseases, and melancholy Age, Fear and Hunger that tempt to
crime, Toil, Poverty, and Death,--forms horrible to view. The Furies
spread their couches there, and Discord, whose hair was of vipers tied
up with a bloody fillet. Here also were the monsters, Briareus, with
his hundred arms, Hydras hissing, and Chimæras breathing fire. Æneas
shuddered at the sight, drew his sword and would have struck, but
the Sibyl restrained him. They then came to the black river Cocytus,
where they found the ferryman Charon, old and squalid, but strong and
vigorous, who was receiving passengers of all kinds into his boat,
stout-hearted heroes, boys and unmarried girls, as numerous as the
leaves that fall at autumn or the flocks that fly southward at the
approach of winter. They stood pressing for a passage and longing to
touch the opposite shore. But the stern ferryman took in only such
as he chose, driving the rest back. Æneas, wondering at the sight,
asked the Sibyl, "Why this discrimination?" She answered, "Those who
are taken on board the bark are the souls of those who have received
due burial rites; the host of others who have remained unburied are
not permitted to pass the flood, but wander a hundred years, and flit
to and fro about the shore, till at last they are taken over." Æneas
grieved at recollecting some of his own companions who had perished
in the storm. At that moment he beheld Palinurus, his pilot, who fell
overboard and was drowned. He addressed him and asked him the cause of
his misfortune. Palinurus replied that the rudder was carried away,
and he, clinging to it, was swept away with it. He besought Æneas most
urgently to extend to him his hand and take him in company to the
opposite shore. The Sibyl rebuked him for the wish thus to transgress
the laws of Pluto, but consoled him by informing him that the people of
the shore where his body had been wafted by the waves should be stirred
up by prodigies to give it due burial, and that the promontory should
bear the name of Cape Palinurus,--and so it does to this day. Leaving
Palinurus consoled by these words, they approached the boat. Charon,
fixing his eyes sternly upon the advancing warrior, demanded by what
right he, living and armed, approached that shore. To which the Sibyl
replied that they would commit no violence, that Æneas' only object
was to see his father, and finally exhibited the golden branch, at
sight of which Charon's wrath relaxed, and he made haste to turn his
bark to the shore and receive them on board. The boat, adapted only to
the light freight of bodiless spirits, groaned under the weight of the
hero. They were soon conveyed to the opposite shore. There they were
encountered by the three-headed dog Cerberus, with his necks bristling
with snakes. He barked with all three throats till the Sibyl threw him
a medicated cake, which he eagerly devoured, and then stretched himself
out in his den and fell asleep. Æneas and the Sibyl sprang to land. The
first sound that struck their ears was the wailing of young children
who had died on the threshold of life; and near to these were those who
had perished under false charges. Minos presides over them as judge and
examines the deeds of each. The next class was of those who had died by
their own hand, hating life and seeking refuge in death. How willingly
would they now endure poverty, labor, and any other infliction if they
might but return to life! Next were situated the regions of sadness,
divided off into retired paths, leading through groves of myrtle. Here
roamed those who had fallen victims to unrequited love, not freed
from pain even by death itself. Among these Æneas thought he descried
the form of Dido, with a wound still recent. In the dim light he was
for a moment uncertain, but approaching, perceived it was indeed she.
Tears fell from his eyes, and he addressed her in the accents of love.
"Unhappy Dido! was then the rumor true that thou hadst perished? And
was I, alas! the cause? I call the gods to witness that my departure
from thee was reluctant and in obedience to the commands of Jove; nor
could I believe that my absence would have cost thee so dear. Stop,
I beseech thee, and refuse me not a last farewell." She stood for a
moment with averted countenance and eyes fixed on the ground, and
then silently passed on, as insensible to his pleadings as a rock.
Æneas followed for some distance, then with a heavy heart rejoined his
companion and resumed his route.
They next entered the fields where roam the heroes who have fallen in
battle. Here they saw many shades of Grecian and Trojan warriors. The
Trojans thronged around him and could not be satisfied with the sight.
They asked the cause of his coming and plied him with innumerable
questions. But the Greeks, at the sight of his armor glittering through
the murky atmosphere, recognized the hero, and, filled with terror,
turned their backs and fled, as they used to do on the plains of Troy.
Æneas would have lingered long with his Trojan friends, but the Sibyl
hurried him away. They next came to a place where the road divided,
the one way leading to Elysium, the other to the regions of the
condemned. Æneas beheld on one side the walls of a mighty city, around
which Phlegethon rolled its fiery waters. Before him was the gate of
adamant that neither gods nor men can break through. An iron tower
stood by the gate, on which Tisiphone, the avenging Fury, kept guard.
From the city were heard groans, and the sound of the scourge, the
creaking of iron, and the clanking of chains. Æneas, horror-stricken,
inquired of his guide what crimes were those whose punishments produced
the sounds he heard. The Sibyl answered, "Here is the judgment hall
of Rhadamanthus, who brings to light crimes done in life which the
perpetrator vainly thought impenetrably hid. Tisiphone applies her whip
of scorpions and delivers the offender over to her sister Furies." At
this moment with horrid clang the brazen gates unfolded, and within,
Æneas saw a Hydra with fifty heads guarding the entrance. The Sibyl
told him that the gulf of Tartarus descended deep, so that its recesses
were as far beneath their feet as heaven was high above their heads. In
the bottom of this pit the Titan race, who warred against the gods, lie
prostrate; Salmoneus also, who presumed to vie with Jupiter, and built
a bridge of brass over which he drove his chariot that the sound might
resemble thunder, launching flaming brands at his people in imitation
of lightning, till Jupiter struck him with a real thunderbolt and
taught him the difference between mortal weapons and divine. Here also
is Tityus, the giant, whose form is so immense that, as he lies, he
stretches over nine acres, while a vulture preys upon his liver, which
as fast as it is devoured grows again, so that his punishment will have
no end.
Æneas saw groups seated at tables loaded with dainties, while near by
stood a Fury who snatched away the viands from their lips as fast as
they prepared to taste them. Others beheld suspended over their heads
huge rocks, threatening to fall, keeping them in a state of constant
alarm. These were they who had hated their brothers, or struck their
parents, or defrauded the friends who trusted them, or who, having
grown rich, kept their money to themselves and gave no share to
others,--the last being the most numerous class. Here also were those
who had violated the marriage vow, or fought in a bad cause, or failed
in fidelity to their employers. Here was one who had sold his country
for gold, another who perverted the laws, making them say one thing
to-day and another to-morrow.
Ixion was there, fastened to the circumference of a wheel ceaselessly
revolving; and Sisyphus, whose task was to roll a huge stone up to a
hilltop; but when the steep was well-nigh gained, the rock, repulsed by
some sudden force, rushed again headlong down to the plain. Again he
toiled at it, while the sweat bathed all his weary limbs, but all to no
effect. There was Tantalus, who stood in a pool his chin level with the
water, yet he was parched with thirst and found nothing to assuage it;
for when he bowed his hoary head, eager to quaff, the water fled away,
leaving the ground at his feet all dry. Tall trees, laden with fruit,
stooped their heads to him,--pears, pomegranates, apples, and luscious
figs; but when, with a sudden grasp, he tried to seize them, winds
whirled them high above his reach.
[Illustration: FIG. 184. IXION ON THE WHEEL]
=256. The Elysian Fields.= The Sibyl now warned Æneas that it was
time to turn from these melancholy regions and seek the city of the
blessed. They passed through a middle tract of darkness and came upon
the Elysian Fields, the groves where the happy reside. They breathed a
freer air and saw all objects clothed in a purple light. The region had
a sun and stars of its own. The inhabitants were enjoying themselves in
various ways, some in sports on the grassy turf, in games of strength
or skill, others dancing or singing. Orpheus struck the chords of his
lyre and called forth ravishing sounds. Here Æneas saw the founders
of the Trojan state, great-hearted heroes who lived in happier times.
He gazed with admiration on the war chariots and glittering arms now
reposing in disuse. Spears stood fixed in the ground, and the horses,
unharnessed, roamed over the plain. The same pride in splendid armor
and generous steeds which the old heroes felt in life accompanied them
here. He saw another group feasting and listening to the strains of
music. They were in a laurel grove, whence the great river Po has its
origin and flows out among men. Here dwelt those who fell by wounds
received in their country's cause, holy priests also, and poets who
have uttered thoughts worthy of Apollo, and others who have contributed
to cheer and adorn life by their discoveries in the useful arts, and
have made their memory blessed by rendering service to mankind. They
wore snow-white fillets about their brows. The Sibyl addressed a
group of these and inquired where Anchises was to be found. They were
directed where to seek him, and soon found him in a verdant valley,
where he was contemplating the ranks of his posterity, their destinies
and worthy deeds to be achieved in coming times. When he recognized
Æneas approaching, he stretched out both hands to him, while tears
flowed freely. "Dost thou come at last," said he, "long expected, and
do I behold thee after such perils past? O my son, how have I trembled
for thee, as I have watched thy course!" To which Æneas replied, "O
father! thy image was always before me to guide and guard me." Then he
endeavored to infold his father in his embrace, but his arms inclosed
only an unsubstantial shade.
=257. The Valley of Oblivion.= Æneas perceived before him a spacious
valley, with trees gently waving to the wind, a tranquil landscape,
through which the river Lethe flowed. Along the banks of the stream
wandered a countless multitude, numerous as insects in the summer air.
Æneas, with surprise, inquired who were these. Anchises answered:
"They are souls to which bodies are to be given in due time. Meanwhile
they dwell on Lethe's bank and drink oblivion of their former lives."
"O father!" said Æneas, "is it possible that any can be so in love with
life as to wish to leave these tranquil seats for the upper world?"
Anchises replied by explaining the plan of creation. The Creator, he
told him, originally made the material of which souls are composed, of
the four elements, fire, air, earth, and water, all which when united
took the form of the most excellent part, fire, and became _flame_.
This material was scattered like seed among the heavenly bodies, the
sun, moon, and stars. Of this seed the inferior gods created man and
all other animals, mingling it with various proportions of earth,
by which its purity was alloyed and reduced. Thus the more earth
predominates in the composition, the less pure is the individual; and
we see that men and women with their full-grown bodies have not the
purity of childhood. So in proportion to the time which the union of
body and soul has lasted, is the impurity contracted by the spiritual
part. This impurity must be purged away after death, which is done
by ventilating the souls in the current of winds, or merging them in
water, or burning out their impurities by fire. Some few, of whom
Anchises intimates that he is one, are admitted at once to Elysium,
there to remain. But the rest, after the impurities of earth are purged
away, are sent back to life endowed with new bodies, having had the
remembrance of their former lives effectually washed away by the waters
of Lethe. Some souls, however, there still are, so thoroughly corrupted
that they are not fit to be intrusted with human bodies, and these pass
by metempsychosis into the bodies of brute animals.
Anchises, having explained so much, proceeded to point out to Æneas
individuals of his race who were hereafter to be born, and to relate
to him the exploits they should perform in the world. After this he
reverted to the present, and told his son of the events that remained
to him to be accomplished before the complete establishment of himself
and his followers in Italy. Wars were to be waged, battles fought, a
bride to be won, and, in the result, a Trojan state founded, from which
should rise the Roman power, to be in time the sovereign of the world.
As Æneas and the Sibyl pursued their way back to earth, he said to
her: "Whether thou be a goddess or a mortal beloved by the gods, by me
thou shalt always be held in reverence. When I reach the upper air, I
will cause a temple to be built to thy honor, and will myself bring
offerings." "I am no goddess," said the Sibyl; "I have no claims to
sacrifice or offering. I am mortal, yet, could I but have accepted
the love of Apollo, I might have been immortal. He promised me the
fulfillment of my wish, if I would consent to be his. I took a handful
of sand and, holding it forth, said, 'Grant me to see as many birthdays
as there are sand-grains in my hand.' Unluckily I forgot to ask for
enduring youth. This also he would have granted could I have accepted
his love, but, offended at my refusal, he allowed me to grow old. My
youth and youthful strength fled long ago. I have lived seven hundred
years, and to equal the number of the sand-grains I have still to see
three hundred springs and three hundred harvests. My body shrinks up as
years increase, and in time I shall be lost to sight, but my voice will
remain, and future ages will respect my sayings."
These concluding words of the Sibyl alluded to her prophetic power. In
her cave she was accustomed to inscribe on leaves gathered from the
trees the names and fates of individuals. The leaves thus inscribed
were arranged in order within the cave, and might be consulted by her
votaries. But if, perchance, at the opening of the door the wind rushed
in and dispersed the leaves, the Sibyl gave no aid to restoring them
again, and the oracle was irreparably lost.
FOOTNOTES:
[354] From Tennyson's To Virgil.
[355] For Virgil, see § 299; for translations of his Æneid, see
corresponding section in Commentary.
[356] _Monstrum horrendum, informe, ingens, cui lumen
ademptum._--Æneid, 3, 658.
[357] _Tantaene animis coelestibus irae?_--Æneid, 1, 11.
[358] _Haud ignara mali, miseris succurrere disco._--Æneid, 1, 630.
[359] _Tros Tyriusve mihi nullo discrimine agetur._--Æneid, 1, 574.
[360]
_Tu ne cede malis, sed contra audentior ito._--Æneid, 6, 95.
[361]
_Facilis descensus Averno;_
_Noctes atque dies patet atri janua Ditis;_
_Sed revocare gradum, superasque evadere ad auras,_
_Hoc opus, hic labor est._--Æneid, 6, 126-129.