DEATH OF PALLAS.
Meanwhile the king of heaven who had been watching the conflict on the
banks of the Tiber, called a council of the gods to consider whether
it would not be well to put an end to the quarrel between Juno and
Venus over the fortunes of the Trojans. The divinities assembled in
their golden council chamber on Mount Olympus and Jupiter addressed
them. "Ye gods," said he, "why do you seek to alter the decrees of
heaven? It was my desire that the Italians should not make war upon
the men of Troy. Why then have you incited them to arms? The time for
conflict between the two races favored by Juno and Venus has not yet
come. That time will be hereafter when the Carthaginians shall put
forth their efforts to ruin Rome. Then indeed you shall be free to
take either side in the contest. For the present cease your quarrels,
and let the league agreed upon between AEneas and Latinus be
ratified."
Thus spoke the king of heaven. Then Venus addressed the gods in behalf
of her son, whose sufferings, she said, were due to the hatred of
Juno. She recounted the various attempts of the unforgiving queen to
destroy the Trojans--how AEolus at her bidding had sent his storms to
scatter the fleet of AEneas, how Iris, her messenger, had induced the
Trojan women to set fire to the ships at Drepanum, and how at her
request the Fury Alecto had incited Queen Amata and King Turnus to war
against the men of Troy.
Juno next addressed the council, and spoke many bitter words against
AEneas and the Trojans, who, she declared, were themselves to blame
for all the evils that had come upon them. The Greek war against Troy
had not been caused by her, but by the Trojan Paris, and for his
conduct in carrying off Helen, Venus was responsible. As to the
troubles in Italy, it was true that AEneas had sailed to that country
by the will of the fates, but why, she asked, did he stir up war among
Italian nations that had before been at peace.
Juno having finished her speech against the Trojans, and none of the
other divinities desiring to take part in the controversy, Jupiter
then delivered judgment, declaring that as the quarrel between the two
goddesses could not be amicably settled, nor peace brought about
between the Trojans and Italians, the fates should take their course.
"Since Troy with Latium must contend,
And these your wranglings find no end,
Let each man use his chance to day
And carve his fortune as he may;
Each warrior from his own good lance
Shall reap the fruit of toil or chance;
Jove deals to all an equal lot,
And Fate shall loose or cut the knot."
CONINGTON, _AEneid_, BOOK IX.
Thus ended the council of the gods, and so by the decree of the king
of heaven the quarrel between the Trojans and Italians was left to the
fortune of war.
Meanwhile the Trojans in the camp on the Tiber were being hard pressed
by the enemy. As soon as Turnus had rejoined his army, the attack on
the ramparts was renewed with increased vigor, and the brave Mnestheus
and his companions, their forces now much reduced in number, were
beginning to lose hope.
Hopeless of flight, more hopeless of relief,
Thin on the towers they stand; and e'en those few,
A feeble, fainting, and dejected crew.
DRYDEN, AEneid, BOOK X.
But AEneas was hastening to the rescue. Having formed the league with
Tarchon, he lost no time in preparing to return to his friends. Many
other chiefs of Etruria joined their forces to the expedition, and all
placed themselves under the command of AEneas, in accordance with the
will of the gods that only under a foreign leader could they be
successful in the war against the Rutulians.
When everything was ready for departure they embarked on a fleet of
thirty ships, and sailed down the Tyr-rhe'ni-an Sea, along the
Etrurian coast, towards the mouth of the Tiber. AEneas led the way in
his own galley, and with him was young Pallas, the son of Evander.
During the voyage he learned in a strange manner of the perilous
situation of his people in the camp. It was night, and as he was
seated at the helm, for his anxiety permitted him not to sleep, a
number of sea-nymphs appeared swimming by the side of his ship. One of
them, Cym-o-do-ce'a by name, grasped the stern of the vessel with her
right hand, while with her left she gently rowed her way through the
waves. Then she addressed the Trojan chief. "Son of the gods," said
she, "we are the pines of Mount Ida, at one time your fleet, but now
nymphs of the sea. The Rutulian king would have destroyed us with fire
had it not been permitted to us by the mother of the gods to burst our
cables, and assume our present form. We come to tell you that your son
Ascanius is besieged in the camp, and pressed on all sides by the
Latian foe. Be ready then at the dawn of morning with your troops, and
bear with you to the fight the arms and armor which Vulcan has made.
To-morrow's sun shall see many of the Rutulian enemy slain."
She ceased, and parting, to the bark
A measured impulse gave;
Like wind-swift arrow to its mark
It darts along the wave.
The rest pursue. In wondering awe
The chief revolves the things he saw.
CONINGTON, _AEneid_, BOOK X.
At dawn of morning the fleet came within view of the Trojan camp. Then
AEneas standing on the deck of his own vessel, held aloft his bright
shield made by Vulcan. His people saw it from the ramparts, and
shouted loud with joy, and now, their hope being revived, they
assailed the enemy with fresh courage. The Rutulians and Latians were
amazed at this sudden change, not knowing the cause, but looking back,
they too beheld the fleet approaching the shore.
The brave Turnus however was not dismayed at the sight. On the
contrary he resolved to give battle to the new foe without delay, and
so addressing his men he bade them fight valiantly for their homes and
country, remembering the glorious deeds of their ancestors.
"Your sires, your sons, your houses, and your lands,
And dearest wives, are all within your hands;
Be mindful of the race from whence you came,
And emulate in arms your fathers' fame."
DRYDEN, _AEneid_, BOOK X.
Then he hurried to the shore with the main body of his army, and
AEneas having already landed his companions and allies, a fierce
battle began. The Trojan hero performed wonderful feats of valor.
First he attacked the Latian troops, who were in front of the hosts of
the enemy, and he slew their leader The'ron, a warrior of giant size.
Through his brazen shield and golden coat of mail AEneas smote him
with his sword. Next he slew Lycas, and then Cis'seus and Gyas, tall
men and powerful, who, with clubs like the club of Hercules, had been
striking down the Trojans. Then a band of seven warrior brothers, the
sons of Phorcus, attacked the Trojan chief, hurling seven darts upon
him all together, some of which rebounded from his shield, and some,
turned aside by Venus, harmlessly grazed his skin. AEneas now called
to the faithful Achates to bring him darts--those with which on the
plains of Troy the bodies of Grecian warriors had been pierced--
"Those fatal weapons, which, inured to blood,
In Grecian bodies under Ilium stood;
Not one of those my hand shall toss in vain
Against our foes, on this contended plain."
DRYDEN, _AEneid_, BOOK X.
Grasping a mighty spear, as soon as these weapons were brought to him,
AEneas hurled it at Macon, one of the brothers. It pierced through his
shield and breastplate, and he fell mortally wounded. At his brother
Alcanor, who had run to his relief, AEneas cast another dart, which
penetrated his shoulder, leaving the warrior's arm hanging lifeless by
his body. And now Hal-ae'sus with his Auruncian bands, and Messapus,
the son of Neptune, conspicuous with his steeds, hastened up to
encounter AEneas. The fight then became more furious and many were
slain on both sides.
Thus Trojan and Italian meet,
With face to face, and feet to feet,
And hand close pressed to hand.
CONINGTON, _AEneid_, BOOK X.
In another quarter of the field young Pallas, fighting at the head of
his Arcadian horsemen, slew many chiefs of the Latians and Rutulians.
Opposed to him was Lausus, son of the tyrant Mezentius. Lausus being
hard pressed by the Arcadians, King Turnus was called to his
assistance, and rushing up he cried to the Rutulians, "Desist you for
a moment from the battle. I alone will fight Pallas. Would that his
father were here to see." Hearing these words the brave son of Evander
advanced boldly into the open plain between the two hosts. The hearts
of his Arcadian followers were filled with dread at seeing their young
chief about to engage in single combat with so great a warrior as the
Rutulian king. Turnus sprang down from his chariot, to meet his foe on
foot.
And, as a lion--when he spies from far
A bull that seems to meditate the war,
Bending his neck, and spurning back the sand--
Runs roaring downward from his hilly stand;
Imagine eager Turnus not more slow
To rush from high on his unequal foe.
DRYDEN, _AEneid_, BOOK X.
Then Pallas prayed to Hercules, once his father's guest, to help him.
Hercules in his place in heaven, hearing the prayer, groaned in
distress and poured forth tears, for he knew that the fate of the
brave youth could not be averted. Noticing the grief of his son,
almighty Father Jupiter spoke to him in comforting words. "To every
one," said he, "his period of life is fixed. Short is the time
allotted to all, but it is the part of the brave man to lengthen out
fame by glorious deeds. Many even of the sons of the gods have fallen
under the lofty walls of Troy. Turnus too awaits his destiny, and
already he has nearly arrived at the limit of existence left to him."
So saying the king of heaven turned his eyes from the scene of battle.
Pallas now hurled his spear with great force. The weapon struck the
armor of Turnus near his shoulder, and piercing through it, grazed his
body. Then Turnus poising his sharp steel-tipped javelin, darted it at
Pallas. Through the centre of his many-plated shield and the folds of
his corselet the fatal shaft passed into the breast of the brave
youth, inflicting a mortal wound. Down on the earth he fell, and
Turnus approaching the dead body exclaimed, "You Arcadians carry these
my words to your king. In such plight as he deserved I send his son
back to him. His league of friendship with AEneas shall cost him
dear."
[Illustration with caption: PALLAS' BODY BORNE FROM THE FIELD. (Drawn
by Birch.)]
Then Turnus stripped from the body of Pallas a beautiful belt,
embossed with figures carved in gold, and putting it on his own armor,
triumphed in the spoil. It proved to be a fatal possession for
Turnus.
O mortals! blind in fate who never know
To bear high fortune, or endure the low!
The time shall come when Turnus, but in vain,
Shall wish untouched the trophies of the slain--
Shall wish the fatal belt were far away,
And curse the dire remembrance of the day.
DRYDEN, _AEneid_, BOOK X.
The body of the brave young prince was laid upon his shield, and borne
away from the field of battle, accompanied by a numerous retinue of
his sorrowing friends.
O sad, proud thought, that thus a son
Should reach a father's door!
This day beheld your wars begun;
This day beholds them o'er,
CONINGTON, _AEneid_, BOOK X.
The news of the fate of Pallas soon reached AEneas, who was deeply
distressed at the thought of the sorrow the youth's death would bring
upon his aged father Evander. Eager for vengeance, he hastened through
the battle field in search of Turnus, slaying many chiefs of the enemy
whom he encountered on his way. But he was not yet to meet the
Rutulian king face to face, for Juno, by Jupiter's permission, led
Turnus off the field, and saved him for a time from the wrath of the
Trojan hero. Out of a hollow cloud she fashioned a phantom with the
shape, likeness and voice of AEneas, and caused it to appear before
Turnus, as if challenging him to combat.
A phantom in AEneas' mould
She fashions, wondrous to behold,
Of hollow shadowy cloud,
Bids it the Dardan arms assume,
The shield, the helmet, and the plume,
Gives soulless words of swelling tone,
And motions like the hero's own,
As stately and as proud.
CONINGTON, _AEneid_, BOOK X.
The Rutulian king bravely advanced to attack the supposed Trojan
chief, upon which the spectre, wheeling about, hastily retreated
towards the river. Turnus followed, loudly upbraiding AEneas as a
coward. It happened that at the shore there was a ship, connected with
the land by a plank bridge or gangway. Into this ship the phantom
fled, closely pursued by Turnus; and no sooner had the latter reached
the deck of the vessel than Juno, bursting the cables which held it to
the bank, sent it floating down the stream. Then the figure of cloud,
soaring aloft, vanished into the air, and Turnus knew that he had been
deceived.
He was much distressed at being thus separated from his brave
followers, and mortified at the thought that they might think he had
deserted them in the hour of danger. In his grief he attempted to
destroy his own life with his sword, but Juno restrained him, and the
ship, wafted along by favoring wind and tide, bore him to Ardea, the
capital city of his own country, where his father, King Daunus,
resided.
Meanwhile, on the battle field, the Etrurian king, Mezentius, who had
taken the place of Turnus, attacked the Trojans with great fury. He
had slain many valiant warriors when AEneas espying him from a
distance, hurried forward to encounter him. Mezentius stood firm, and
relying on his strong arm and his weapons, rather than on divine aid
(being a despiser of the gods) he cast a spear at the Trojan leader.
The missile struck the hero's shield, but it was the shield which
Vulcan had made, and could not be pierced by earthly weapon. Then
AEneas hurled his javelin. Through the triple plates of brass, and the
triple bull-hide covering of the Etrurian king's shield it passed,
and, lodging in his groin, inflicted a severe, though not fatal,
wound. Instantly the Trojan chief rushed, with sword in hand, upon his
foe, as, disabled, he was about to withdraw from the conflict. But at
this moment young Lausus, the son of Mezentius, sprang forward and
received on his sword the blow that had been intended for his father.
The pious youth, resolved on death, below
The lifted sword, springs forth to face the foe;
Protects his parent, and prevents the blow.
DRYDEN, _AEneid_, BOOK X.
But Lausus was no match for the veteran Trojan warrior. Yet AEneas,
admiring his courage and filial devotion, would fain have spared the
brave youth. "Why do you attempt," said he, "what you have not
strength to accomplish? You do but rush to your own destruction."
Regardless, however, of danger, the gallant Lausus fought till he fell
lifeless on the earth. AEneas was touched with pity at the sight, for
he thought of his own son, and of how he himself had loved his own
father. Then, he tenderly lifted the body from the ground, and
consigned it to the care of his friends. They carried it to Mezentius,
who was resting on the river bank, after having bathed his wounds in
the water. When he beheld the lifeless form, the unhappy man burst
into tears, and bitterly lamented his own misdeeds which had brought
such calamities upon him--banishment from his throne and country, and
now, worst of all, the loss of his son. "Why do I live, my son," cried
he, "at the cost of thy life? My crimes have been the cause of thy
death."
"Dear child! I stained your glorious name
By my own crimes, driven out to shame
From my ancestral reign;
My country's vengeance claimed my blood;
Ah! had that tainted, guilty flood
Been shed from every vein!
Now 'mid my kind I linger still
And live; but leave the light I will."
CONINGTON, _AEneid_, BOOK X.
Then though he was suffering much from the pain of his wound, he
called for his horse, the gallant steed Rhoebus, which had borne him
victorious through many a fight. The animal seemed to feel the grief
of its master, and to understand the words he spoke: "Long, Rhoebus,"
said he, "have we lived, companions in war,--if indeed the life of
mortals can be said to be long. But to-day we shall either die
together, or bear away the body of AEneas, and so avenge the death of
Lausus."
Mounting his horse, and filling both hands with javelins Mezentius
then rode rapidly to the scene of conflict, calling loudly for AEneas.
The Trojan chief knew the voice, and eager for the encounter, he
quickly advanced. But the brave Etrurian, fearing not to meet his foe,
cried out, "Cruel man, you cannot terrify me, now that my son is
snatched from me. I am not afraid of death, for I have come to die.
First, however, take these gifts which I bring for you." Thus speaking
he hurled a dart at the Trojan leader, and then another and another,
and three times he rode in a circle round the hero, casting javelins
at him. But the weapons of Mezentius could not pass through the
celestial shield of AEneas, though they fixed themselves in it, and
there were so many that they resembled a grove of spears.
Thrice, fiercely hurling spears on spears,
From right to left he wheeled;
Thrice, facing round as he careers,
The steely grove the Trojan bears,
Thick planted on his shield.
At length AEneas hurled a javelin at the warrior's horse, striking it
between the temples. The animal reared, beating the air with its
hoofs, and rolling over its rider, pinned him to the earth. Then the
Trojan chief rushed, sword in hand, upon his fallen foe, and the brave
Mezentius died asking only the favor of burial for his body.
"For this, this only favor, let me sue;
If pity can to conquered foes be due,
Refuse it not; but let my body have
The last retreat of human-kind, a grave.
This refuge for my poor remains provide;
And lay my much-loved Lausus by my side."
DRYDEN, _AEneid_, BOOK X.
X. FUNERAL OF PALLAS--AENEAS AND TURNUS FIGHT--TURNUS IS SLAIN.
With the death of Mezentius the battle of the day came to an end.
Early next morning AEneas offered sacrifices to the gods in
thanksgiving for his victory. On a rising ground he caused to be
erected the trunk of a huge oak, with its boughs lopped off. Upon this
he hung as an offering to the war-god Mars, the arms that had been
borne by the Etrurian king--his crest, and his broken spears, his
breastplate, showing the marks of many blows, his shield of brass, and
his ivory-hilted sword. Then he spoke words of encouragement to his
chiefs and companions.
"Brother warriors, our most important work is done. Henceforth we need
have no fear. Having vanquished the tyrant Mezentius, the way lies
open for us to the Latian capital. Make ready your arms so that there
may be no obstacle to detain us when the proper moment arrives for
leading forth our valiant youth from the camp. Meanwhile let us commit
to the earth the bodies of our dead friends. It is the sole honor
remaining for us to pay to the heroic men who, with their lives, have
won for us a country to dwell in. But first, to the mourning city of
Evander let the body of the noble Pallas be conveyed."
"Brave Pallas, heir of high renown,
Whose hopeful day has set too soon,
O'ercast by darkness ere its noon"
CONINGTON, _AEneid_, BOOK X.
The obsequies of the young prince were carried out on a scale of great
magnificence. A thousand men formed the funeral procession. The body
was dressed in rich robes, stiff with embroidery of gold and purple,
which Queen Dido with her own hands had wrought for AEneas. Beside the
bier were borne the dead youth's arms, and the spoils he had won in
battle. His war-horse AEthon, too, was led along, big tear drops
running down the animal's cheeks, as if it shared in the general
sorrow.
Then AEthon comes, his trappings doffed,
The warrior's gallant horse;
Big drops of pity oft and oft
Adown his visage course.
CONINGTON, _AEneid_, BOOK XI.
Behind followed the numerous escort of Trojan, Etrurian and Arcadian
warriors, and the long procession passed on with a last sad adieu from
the Trojan chief. "By the same fearful fate of war," said he, "I am
called to other scenes of woe. Farewell, noble Pallas, farewell,
forever." When the sorrowing cortege reached Pallanteum, the whole
city was in mourning. To the gates the people hastened in vast numbers
bearing funeral torches in their hands, according to ancient custom,
and Trojans and Arcadians joined in loud lamentations.
Both parties meet; they raise a doleful cry;
The matrons from the walls with shrieks reply;
And their mixed mourning rends the vaulted sky.
DRYDEN, _AEneid_, BOOK XI.
King Evander distracted with grief, prostrated himself upon the bier,
and clasping in his arms the body of his son, poured out a flood of
tears, bewailing the unhappy fate which left him childless in his old
age.
Meantime, AEneas and the Latian chiefs agreed upon a truce of twelve
days for the burial of the dead of both armies, which lay scattered
over the battle field. While this sad duty was being performed, King
Latinus and his counsellors considered what was best to be done, after
the truce--whether to continue the war, or to propose terms of peace.
They had sent ambassadors to solicit help from Di-o-me'de, one of the
Grecian heroes of the Trojan war, who, after the siege, had settled in
Apulia in Italy, and built the city of Ar-gyr'i-pa, where he now
resided. But Diomede refused to fight against AEneas, and he reminded
the Latians that all who had raised the sword against Troy had
suffered grievous punishments. "I myself," said he, "am an exile from
my native country, and dire calamities have fallen upon many of my
people. Ask me not, therefore, to quarrel with the Trojans. How mighty
their leader is in battle I know by experience, for I have engaged him
hand to hand. Had Troy produced two other such heroes, it would have
fared ill with Greece. It was Hector and AEneas who held back the
victory of our countrymen for ten years--both distinguished for valor
and noble feats of arms, but the son of Anchises excelling in
reverence for the gods. With him, therefore, men of Latium, I advise
you to join in a league of friendship, if by any means you can do it.
Beware, however, of encountering him in war."
The ambassadors delivered this message to King Latinus as he was
sitting in his council chamber with his chief men around him. The king
once more earnestly advised that they should make peace with the
Trojans, and give them lands to settle on, if they still desired to
dwell in Latium, or build for them a new fleet if they were willing to
withdraw from Italy and seek homes in some other country. He also
advised that they should send these proposals to the Trojan camp.
"To treat the peace, a hundred senators
Shall be commissioned hence with ample powers,
With olive crowned; the presents they shall bear,
A purple robe, a royal ivory chair,
And sums of gold. Among yourselves debate
This great affair, and save the sinking state."
DRYDEN, _AEneid_, BOOK XI.
King Turnus was present at this council, and there was also present a
Latian named Dran'ces, a very eloquent man, but not a warrior.
--Bold at the council board,
But cautious in the field, he shunned the sword.
DRYDEN, _AEneid_, BOOK XI.
Drances spoke in support of the advice given by Latinus. He also said
that one more gift should be sent to AEneas, namely, the fair Lavinia,
since by no other means could peace be more firmly established than by
a marriage between the Latian princess and the Trojan hero. Then
addressing Turnus, the bold Drances reproached him with having brought
upon his country all the horrors of war to gratify his ambition for
the honor of a royal wife. "You Turnus," said he, "are the cause of
the evils which afflict us. It is through you that so many of our
chiefs have perished on the battle field, and that our whole city is
in mourning. Have you no pity for your own people? Lay aside your
fierceness, and give up this hopeless contest. But if you are still
eager for glory in war, and must have a kingdom with your wife, then
take all the risk yourself, and do not ask others to expose themselves
to danger for you. AEneas has challenged you to single combat. If you
have any valor, go and fight with him."