given the eighth car, drawn by two most natural storks, and likewise
enriched and adorned with five of his fables. For the first of these he
was seen appearing upon the new walls of Carthage, as the Messenger of
Jove, to the enamoured AEneas, and commanding him that he should depart
thence and set out on the way to Italy; even as for the second was seen
the unhappy Agraulos converted by him into stone, and for the third he
was seen likewise at the command of Jove binding the too audacious
Prometheus to the rocks of Mount Caucasus. In the fourth, again, he was
seen converting the ill-advised Battus into that stone that is called
basanite; and in the fifth and last was his slaying, so cunningly
achieved, of the many-eyed Argus. For clearer demonstration, that same
Argus was seen walking first before the car, in a pastoral habit all
covered with eyes; and with him was seen as his companion Maia, the
mother of the above-named Mercury and daughter of Faunus, in the very
rich habit of a young woman, with a vine upon the head and a sceptre in
the hand, having some serpents tame in appearance that were following
her. After these was seen coming Palaestra, daughter of Mercury, in the
semblance of a virgin wholly nude, but stalwart and proud to a marvel,
and adorned with various leaves of olive over the whole person, with the
hair cut short, to the end that when fighting, as it was her custom
always to do, it might not give a grip to the enemy; and with her was
Eloquence, also the daughter of Mercury, robed in the dignified and
decorous habit of a matron, with a parrot upon the head, and with one of
the hands open. Next were seen the three Graces, with the hands linked
in the usual manner, and draped in most delicate veiling; and after them
were seen coming the two Lares, dressed in the skins of dogs, with whom
there appeared as their companion Art, also in the habit of a matron,
with a great lever and a great flame of fire in the hands. These were
followed by Autolycus, that most subtle thief, the son of Mercury and of
the Nymph Chione, with shoes of felt and a closed cap that hid his face,
having both his hands occupied with such a lantern as is called a
thieves' lantern, various picklocks, and a rope-ladder. And finally,
Hermaphroditus, the offspring of the same Mercury and of Venus, figured
in the usual manner, was seen bringing up the rear of that little
company.
NINTH CAR, OF THE MOON.
The ninth car, all silvered, of the Moon, drawn by two horses, one black
and the other white, was seen passing in no less lovely fashion after
the last; the Moon, draped, as is customary, in a white and delicate
veil, guiding the silver reins with grace most gracious; and, like the
others, it was seen adorned with no less beauty and pomp by four of her
fables. For the first of these that most gentle Goddess, flying from the
fury of Typhoeus, was seen constrained to transform herself into a cat;
even as in the second she was seen fondly embracing and kissing
beautiful Endymion as he lay asleep, and in the third she was seen, won
over by a delicate fleece of white wool, making her way into a dark
forest, there to lie with the enamoured Pan, the God of Shepherds. In
the fourth was seen how the same Endymion named above, for the grace
acquired with her, was given pasture for his white flock; and for a
better representation of him who was so dear to the Moon, he was then
seen walking first before the car, crowned with dittany, and in his
company a fair-haired child, with a serpent in the hand, and also
crowned with leaves of the plane, representing the Good Genius, and a
great black man, awful in aspect, with the beard and hair all
dishevelled and with an owl in the hand, representing the Evil Genius.
These were followed by the God Vaticanus, who is believed to be able to
bring succour to the wailing of little infants, robed in a handsome
tawny habit, and with an infant in his arms; and with him was likewise
seen coming, in a splendid and well-varied dress, with a key in the
hand, the Goddess Egeria, who is also invoked in aid of pregnant women;
and with them the other Goddess, Nundina, who likewise protects the
names of little babes, in a venerable habit, with a branch of laurel and
a sacrificial vase in the hands. Then after these Vitumnus was seen
walking, who was reputed to breathe the soul into children at their
birth, figured after the Egyptian custom, and with him Sentinus, who
likewise was believed by the ancients to give to the newly-born the
power of the senses, on which account, he himself being all white, there
were seen in his head-dress the heads of those five animals that are
believed to have the five senses more acute than any of the others; that
of an ape, namely, that of a vulture, that of a wild-boar, that of a
lynx, and that--or rather, the whole body--of a little spider. Then
Edusa and Potina, who preside over the nourishment of those same
infants, were seen riding in the same fashion as the others, in the
habit of nymphs, but with breasts very long and very full, one holding a
basin containing white bread, and the other a most beautiful vase that
seemed to be full of water; and with them, concluding the last part of
the company, was Fabulinus, who presides over the first speech of the
same infants, robed in various colours, with the head all crowned with
wagtails and singing chaffinches.
TENTH CAR, OF MINERVA.
Minerva, clad in armour, with the spear and the shield of the Gorgon, as
she is generally figured, had the tenth car, composed in a triangular
form and in the colour of bronze, and drawn by two very large and most
bizarre owls, of which I cannot forbear to say that although it would be
possible to relate singular and even incredible marvels of all the
animals that drew the cars, yet these, beyond all the others, were
figured so lifelike and so natural, and their feet, wings, and necks
were made to move, and even the eyes to open and shut so well, and with
a resemblance so close to the reality, that I know not how I could ever
be able to convince of it those who never saw them. However, ceasing to
speak of these, I must relate that of the three sides of which the
triangular car was composed, there was seen painted in one the
miraculous birth of the Goddess from the head of Jove, even as in the
second Pandora was seen adorned by her with all those countless
ornaments, and in the third, likewise, she was seen converting the hair
of the wretched Medusa into snakes. Then on one part of the base there
was painted the contest that she had with Neptune over the name that was
to be given to Athenae (before she had such a name), when, he producing
the fiery horse and she the fruitful olive, she was seen to win thereby
a glorious and memorable victory; and on the other she was seen in the
form of a little old woman, striving to persuade the overbold Arachne,
before she had transformed her into the animal of that name, that she
should consent, without putting the matter to the proof, to yield her
the palm in the art of embroidery; even as in the third and last part,
with a different aspect, she was seen valorously slaying the proud
Typhon. Before the car was seen walking Virtue, in the form of a young
and stalwart woman, with two great wings, and in an easy, chaste, and
becoming habit, having as a worthy companion the venerable Honour,
crowned with palm and resplendent in purple and gold, with the shield
and spear in the hands, who was shown supporting two temples, into one
of which (namely, that dedicated to the same Honour) it appeared
impossible to pass save by way of that dedicated to Virtue; and to the
end that a noble and worthy companion might be given to those masks, it
seemed right that Victory, crowned with laurel and likewise with a
branch of palm in the hand, should be added to the same line. These were
followed by Good Fame, figured in the form of a young woman with two
white wings, sounding a great trumpet, and after her, with a little
white dog in her arms, came Faith, likewise all white, with a luminous
veil that was seen covering her arms, head, and face; and with them
Salvation, holding in the right hand a cup that she seemed to be seeking
to offer to a serpent, and in the other a thin and straight wand. After
these, then, was seen coming Nemesis, the daughter of Night, who rewards
the good and chastises the wicked, virginal in aspect, and crowned with
little stags and little victories, with a spear of ash and a similar cup
in the hands; with whom appeared as her companion Peace, also a virgin,
but of a kindly aspect, with a branch of olive in the hand and a blind
boy, representing the God of riches, in the arms; and with them,
carrying in the hand a drinking-vessel in the form of a lily, and in
similar guise, was seen likewise coming ever-verdant Hope, followed by
Clemency, who was riding upon a great lion, with a spear in one hand and
in the other a thunderbolt, which she was making as if not to hurl
furiously, but to throw away. Then were seen likewise coming
Opportunity, who had a little behind her Penitence, by whom she seemed
to be continually smitten, and Felicity, upon a commodious throne, with
a caduceus in one hand and a horn of plenty in the other. And these were
seen followed by the Goddess Pellonia, whose office it is to keep
enemies at a distance, in full armour, with two great horns upon the
head, and in the hand a vigilant crane, who was seen poised upon one
foot, as is their custom, and holding in the other a stone; and with
her, closing the last part of the glorious company, was Science, figured
in the form of a young man, who was shown carrying in the hand a book
and upon the head a gilded tripod, to denote his constancy and
firmness.
ELEVENTH CAR, OF VULCAN.
Vulcan, the God of fire, old, ugly, and lame, with a cap of
turquoise-blue upon the head, had the eleventh car, drawn by two great
dogs; and in it was figured the Isle of Lemnos, where it is said that
Vulcan, thrown down from Heaven, was nursed by Thetis, and began to
fashion there the first thunderbolts for Jove. Before it were seen
walking, as his ministers and servants, three Cyclopes, Brontes,
Steropes, and Pyracmon, of whose aid he is said to have been wont to
avail himself in making those thunderbolts. After them was seen coming
Polyphemus, the lover of the beautiful Galatea and the first of all the
Cyclopes, in the garb of a shepherd, with a great pipe hanging from his
neck and a staff in the hand; and with him, crowned with seven stars,
the deformed but ingenious Ericthonius, born with serpent's feet from
Vulcan's attempt to violate Minerva, to conceal the ugliness of which it
is believed that he invented the use of chariots, on which account he
walked with one of these in the hand. He was seen followed by the savage
Cacus, also the son of Vulcan, spouting a stream of sparks from the
mouth and nose; and by Caeculus, likewise the son of Vulcan, and likewise
in pastoral garb, but adorned with the royal diadem, and in one of his
hands, in memory of the building of Praeneste, was seen a city placed
upon a hill, and in the other a ruddy and burning flame. After these was
seen coming Servius Tullius, King of Rome, who is also believed to have
been born of Vulcan, and upon his head, even as in the hand of Caeculus,
in token of his happy augury, a similar flame was seen to form in
marvellous fashion a splendid and propitious garland. Then was seen the
jealous Procris, daughter of the above-named Ericthonius, and wife of
Cephalus, who, in memory of the ancient fable, seemed to have the breast
transfixed by a javelin; and with her was seen Oreithyia, her sister, in
a virginal and lovely habit, and in the centre between them was Pandion,
King of Athens, born with them of the same father, adorned with the
vestments of a Grecian King. After him came Procne and Philomela, his
daughters, one dressed in the skin of a deer, with a spear in the hand
and upon the head a little chattering swallow, and the other carrying
in the same place a nightingale, and likewise having in the hand a
woman's embroidered mantle, in allusion to her miserable fate; and she
appeared to be following her beloved father all filled with sorrow,
although adorned with a rich vestment. And with them, to conclude the
last part of the company, was Caca, the sister of Cacus, adored by the
ancients as a Goddess for the reason that, laying aside her love for her
brother, she is said to have revealed to Hercules the secret of the
stolen cattle.
TWELFTH CAR, OF JUNO.
When Vulcan had passed, Queen Juno, adorned with a rich, superb, and
royal crown, and with vestments transparent and luminous, was seen
coming in much majesty upon the twelfth car, which was not less pompous
than any of the others, and drawn by two most lovely peacocks; and
between the five little stories of her actions that were seen painted
therein, were Lycorias, Beroe, and Deiopea, her most beautiful and most
favoured Nymphs. For the first of these stories was seen the unhappy
Callisto transformed by her into a bear, who was placed afterwards by
compassionate Jove among the principal stars in the heavens; and in the
second was seen how, having transformed herself into the likeness of
Beroe, she persuaded the unsuspecting Semele to beseech Jove that he
should deign in his grace to lie with her in the guise wherein he was
wont to lie with his wife Juno; on which account the unhappy mortal, not
being able to sustain the force of the celestial splendour, was consumed
by fire, and Jove was seen to take Bacchus from her belly and place him
in his own, preserving him for the full time of birth. In the third,
likewise, she was seen praying AEolus that he should send his furious
winds to scatter the fleet of Trojan AEneas; even as in the fourth she
was seen in like manner, filled with jealousy, demanding from Jove the
miserable Io transformed into a cow, and giving her, to the end that she
might not be stolen from her by Jove, into the custody of the
ever-vigilant Argus, who, as has been told elsewhere, was put to sleep
and slain by Mercury; and in the fifth picture was seen Juno sending
after most unhappy Io the pitiless gad-fly, to the end that he might
keep her continually pricked and stung. At the foot of the car, then,
were seen coming a good number of those phenomena that are formed in the
air, among which could be seen as the first Iris, regarded by the
ancients as the messenger of the Gods, and the daughter of Thaumas and
Electra; all lissom and free, and dressed in vestments of red, yellow,
blue, and green, signifying the rainbow, with two hawks' wings upon the
head that denoted her swiftness. In her company, then, in a red habit,
with the hair ruddy and dishevelled, was the Comet, figured as a young
woman who had a large and shining star upon the brow; and with them came
Clear Sky, in the aspect of a virgin, who was seen with the countenance
of turquoise-blue, and turquoise-blue all the wide and ample dress, not
without a white dove likewise upon the head, to signify the sky. After
these were seen Snow and Mist, coupled together; the first dressed in
tawny-coloured draperies, upon which were shown lying many trunks of
trees all sprinkled with snow, and the other was seen walking, as if she
had no shape, as it were in the semblance of a great white mass; having
with them verdant Dew, figured in that same colour, to denote the green
plants upon which she is generally seen, and having a round moon upon
the head, signifying that in the time of the moon's fulness, above all,
dew is wont to fall from the heavens upon green herbage. Then there
followed Rain, dressed in a white but somewhat soiled habit, upon whose
head seven stars, partly bright and partly dim, formed a garland
representing the seven Pleiades, even as the seventeen that blazed upon
her breast appeared to denote the sign of rainy Orion. There followed,
likewise, three virgins of different ages, attired in white draperies
and also crowned with olive, representing the three classes of virgins
that used to run races in the ancient games of Juno; having with them,
for the last, the Goddess Populonia in the rich habit of a matron, with
a garland of pomegranate and balm-mint upon the head, and with a little
table in the hand, by whom the airy company above described was seen
graciously concluded.
THIRTEENTH CAR, OF NEPTUNE.
Fanciful, bizarre, and beautiful beyond all the others appeared the
thirteenth car, of Neptune, which was composed of an immense crab, such
as the Venetians are wont to call Grancevola, which rested upon four
great dolphins, having about the base, which resembled a real and
natural rock, a vast number of sea-shells, sponges, and corals, which
rendered it most lovely and ornate, and being drawn by two sea-horses;
and upon it was seen standing Neptune, in the customary form and with
the customary trident, having at his feet, as a companion, his spouse
Salacia, in the form of a snow-white nymph all covered with foam. Before
the car, then, was seen walking the old and bearded Glaucus, all
dripping and all covered with sea-weed and moss, whose person from the
waist downwards was seen in the form of a swimming fish. About him
circled many halcyon-birds, and with him was seen the much-changing and
deceitful Proteus, likewise old, all dripping, and covered with
sea-weed; and with them proud Phorcys, with a royal band of
turquoise-blue about the head, and with beard and hair long and flowing
beyond measure, and carrying in the hand the famous Pillars of Hercules,
as a sign of the empire that he once had. Then followed two Tritons with
the customary tails, sounding their trumpets, and in their company
appeared old AEolus, likewise holding in the hands a royal sceptre and a
sail, and having upon the head a burning flame of fire. And he was
followed by four of his principal Winds; by young Zephyrus, with the
locks and the varied wings adorned with various little flowers, by dark
and parching Eurus, who had a radiant sun upon the head; by cold and
snowy Boreas; and, finally, by the soft, cloudy, and proud Auster; all
figured, according as they are generally painted, with swelling cheeks
and with the large and swift wings that are customary. After these, in
due place, were seen coming the two giants, Otus and Ephialtes, all
wounded and transfixed by various arrows, in memory of their having been
slain by Apollo and Diana; and with them, not less appropriately, were
seen coming likewise two Harpies, with the customary maiden's face and
the customary rapacious claws and most hideous belly. There was seen
also the Egyptian God Canopus, in memory of the astuteness formerly used
by the priest against the Chaldaeans, figured as very short, round, and
fat; and likewise, young and lovely, winged Zetes and Calais, the sons
of Boreas, by whose valour it is related that once upon a time those
foul and ravenous Harpies were driven from the world. And with them were
seen, at the last, the beautiful Nymph Amymone, beloved by Neptune, with
a gilded vase, and the young Greek Neleus, son of the same Neptune, who,
with royal sceptre and habit, was seen to conclude the last part of the
company described above.
FOURTEENTH CAR, OF OCEANUS AND OF TETHYS.
There followed in the fourteenth company, with Tethys, the great Queen
of the sea, the great father Oceanus, her husband, the son of Heaven,
who was figured in the form of a tall and cerulean old man, with a great
beard and long hair all wet and dishevelled, and covered all over with
sea-weed and various sea-shells, with a horrible seal in the hand, while
she was represented as a tall and masterful matron, resplendent, old,
and white, and holding in the hand a great fish; and they were both seen
upon a most fantastic car in the semblance of a rock, very strange and
bizarre, drawn by two immense whales. At the foot of the car was seen
walking Nereus, their son, old, venerable, and covered with foam, and
with him Thetis, daughter of that Nereus and of Doris, and mother of
great Achilles, who was shown riding upon a dolphin; and she was seen
followed by three most beautiful Sirens figured in the usual manner, who
had behind them two very beautiful, although white-haired, Nymphs of the
sea, called Graeae, likewise daughters of the Sea-God Phorcys and of the
Nymph Ceto, clothed most pleasingly in various graceful draperies.
Behind these, then, were seen coming the three Gorgons with their snaky
locks, daughters of the same father and mother, who made use of a single
eye, with which alone, lending it to one another, they were all three
able to see; and there was likewise seen coming the cruel Scylla, with
the face and breast of a maiden and with the rest of the person in the
form of a fish, and with her the old, ugly, and voracious Charybdis,
transfixed by an arrow in memory of her well-deserved punishment. And
behind these, in order to leave the last part of the company more
gladsome in aspect, there was seen coming for the last, all nude, the
beautiful and pure-white Galatea, beloved and gracious daughter of
Nereus and Doris.
FIFTEENTH CAR, OF PAN.
In the fifteenth car, which had the natural and true appearance of a
shady forest counterfeited with much artifice, and was drawn by two
great white he-goats, was seen coming the rubicund Pan, the God of
forests and of shepherds, in the form of an old and horned Satyr,
crowned with foliage of the pine, with the spotted skin of a panther
across the body, and in the hands a great pipe with seven reeds and a
pastoral staff. At the foot of the car were seen walking some other
Satyrs and some old Sylvan Gods, crowned with fennel and lilies, and
holding some boughs of cypress in memory of the beloved Cyparissus.
After these, likewise, were seen coming two Fauns crowned with laurel,
and each with a cat upon the right shoulder; and behind them the wild
and beautiful Syrinx, beloved by Pan, who, flying from him, is said to
have been transformed by the Naiad sisters into a tremulous and musical
reed. Syrinx had in her company the other Nymph, Pitys, likewise beloved
by Pan; but since the wind Boreas was also and in like manner enamoured
of her, it is believed that out of jealousy he hurled her over a most
cruel rock, whereupon, being all shattered, it is said that out of pity
she was transformed by Mother Earth into a beautiful pine, from the
foliage of which her lover Pan used, as has been shown above, to make
himself a gracious and well-beloved garland. Then after these was seen
coming Pales, the revered custodian and protectress of flocks, dressed
as a gentle shepherdess, with a great vessel of milk in the hands, and a
garland of medicinal herbs; and with her the protectress of herds, by
name Bubona, in a similar pastoral dress, with an ornate head of an ox
that made a cap for her head; and Myiagrus, the God of flies, dressed in
white, with an infinite multitude of those importunate little creatures
about his head and his person, with a garland of spondyl, and with the
club of Hercules in his hand; and Evander, who first taught men in
Italy to make sacrifices to Pan, adorned with royal purple and the royal
head-band, and with the royal sceptre in his hand, concluded with
gracious pomp the last part of that pastoral, indeed, yet pleasing and
most fair company.
SIXTEENTH CAR, OF PLUTO AND OF PROSERPINE.