_Ontil Eneas Venus armour requiris
Fra Wlcanus, quhilk grantis hir desiris._
The nycht approchis with hir weyngis gray,
Ourspred the erd, and put all lycht away; 10
Quhen Venus moder till Ene efferd,
And not but caus, seand the felloun rerd,
The dreidfull bost and assemly attanys
Aganys hir son of pepill Laurentanys,
To Wlcanus, hir husband and gud man, 15
Within hys goldyn chalmyr scho began
Thus forto spek, and with hir wordis the fyre
Of dyvyne luf can towartis hym inspire.
Quod sche, quhil that the kyngis of Grece and Arge
Down bet the Troiane wallys wyde and large, 20
That destinat war, bath towr, town, and wall,
Of ennemys be flambys to down fall,
Na help onto thai wrachit folkis I socht,
Nane armour axit, nor thy craft besocht,
Nor the, my deirest spows, exers bad I
Thy craft, nor wark invane wald occupy:
Albeit that to the childring of Pryam kyng 5
I was bedettit into mekill thing,
And the ontollerabill laubour of Enee
Bewalit oft wepand ful fair, quod sche,
Quhilk now by Jovis power stad remanys
Within the boundys of Rutilyanys. 10
Quharfor this tyme I, thy ilk spows and wyve,
Thy blissyt godhed, derrest to me on lyve,
Cummys lawly to beseik and requer
For wapynnys, harnes, armour, and sic ger;
For my deir son I, moder, prays the: 15
Sen Nereus douchter, Thetys, mycht, quod sche,
Induce the till enarm hir son Achill,
And eik Tythonus spous, at hir awin will,
Aurora, with hir terys so the brak
Fortill enarm hir child Memnon the blak. 20
Behald quhat pepill, lo, assemblit bene,
Quhat wallit townys with ȝettis closyt in teyn
Gryndys thar wapynnys aganis me and myne,
To bring ws to distructioun and rewyne.
Thus said the goddes, and in hir milk quhite armys 25
Ful tendirly belappys him and warmys,
Quhil that he musys so, that hait fyre sle
Of lufe bekend onon ressauyt he;
The natural heit into the merch dyd glyde,
Persand the banys maid soft on every syde: 30
Nane other wys than as, sum tyme, we se
The schynand brokkyn thundris lychtnyng fle
Wyth subtil fyry stremys throu a ryft,
Persand the watry clowdis in the lift.
Venus hys spows, confiding in hir bewte, 5
Ful glaid persavys that hym caucht had sche.
The fader than Vlcanus, god abuf,
Lokkyt in the eternal cheyn of luf,
Answerd and said; quharfor, myne awin hart deir,
Sa far about thou glosys thy mater? 10
Quhy axis thou nocht planely thy desire?
Quhiddir is becum of me, thy lord and syre,
The ferm confidence thou suld haue, Goddes?
Quhat nedyt mor bot schaw thy mynd expres?
Gyf siclike curis and desire had bene 15
Into thy mynd that sammyn tyme, I meyn
Duryng the subuertioun of Troys ryng,
To ws it had bene bot a lesum thing
Troianys til haue enarmyt at thy request:
Nowder the fader almychty at the lest, 20
Ne ȝit the fatis contrary dyd ganestand,
Bot Troys cite mycht haue langar stand,
So that kyng Priamus ryng, by our power,
Mycht haue remanyt fully othir ten ȝeir.
And now, gif thou the grathis forto fecht, 25
And tharto be thy mynd set, I the hecht
All maner thing, with solist diligens,
That may be wrocht in my craft or sciens,
Or ȝit may be forgit in irne or steill,
Or moltyn mettal graif and burnyst weill. 30
Sa far as fyre, and wynd, and hie engyne,
Into our art may cumpas or dyvyne.
Tharfor desist of thi strenth to haue dreid,
Or me to pray in ocht at thou hes neyd;
For in sic cacis thar nedis na request: 5
Am I nocht reddy to fulfill thy behest?
Thir wordis beyng said, this hait syre
Gan hir enbrasyng al at his desyre,
And, lappit to hys spowsys breist in armys,
The plesand natural sleip, to beit his harmys, 10
And eys hys wery membris, can he tak.
Syne as he had slummyrrit bot a snak,
Quhen the first silence of the quyet nycht
Hys myddil curs and cirkill run had rycht,
Provokyng folk of the first sleip awaik: 15
Lyke as the puyr wife, quhilk at evin had raik
Hyr ingill, rysys forto beit hir fyre,
As scho that hes nane other rent nor hyre
Bot with hir rok and spynnyng forto thryve,
And tharwithall sustene hir enty lyve; 20
Hir day wark to encres, or scho may se,
Thartill a part of the nycht ekis sche,
And at the candill lycht hir handys tway,
And eik hir pur damysellis, as scho may,
Natly exercis forto wirk the lyne, 25
To snoif the spyndill, and lang thredis twyne,
Quharby scho mycht sustene hir powerte,
Kepe chaist hir spowsys bed in honeste,
And tharwith eik foster hir childer lyte:
The mychty God of fyre this tyme als tyte, 30
And no slawar, bot on the sam maner,
Furth of hys bed startis, and hynt his geir,
And to hys smyddy craft and forge hym spedis.
Thar standis ane ile, with reky stanys as gledis,
Vpstrekyng hie betwix the cost Sycille 5
And Lyparen, god Eolus wyndis ille:
Vndre the quhilk byg iland in the see
Ane coif thar is, and hyrnys feill thar be,
Lyke till Ethna holkyt in the mont,
By the Ciclopes fornace worn or bront, 10
That makys rumlyng, as quha dyd thunder heir,
The bustuus dyntis on the styddeys seir;
Ane huge dyn and noys the strayke doyth mak.
The irne lumpys in tha cavys blak
Can byss and quhissill, and the hait fyre 15
Doith fuf and blaw in blesys byrnand schire:
Quhilk forges bene Wlcanus duellyng call,
And eftir Wlcan that cuntre nemmyt all.
The mychty God of fyre dovn from the hevin
Into this forsaid ile discendit evin, 20
Quhar as, intill hys large and gowsty caif,
The hydduus Ciclopes forgit furth and draif,
Brontes, Steropes, and nakyt Pyracmon,
The glowand irne to well and peyn onon.
The fyreflaucht, ȝyt nocht formyt perfitely, 25
Quhilk the fader of godis oft throw the sky
From euery art dovn in the erth doys cast,
Thai had into thar handys wirkand fast;
That ane part polist, burnyst weill and dycht,
Thar other party not perfytit rycht. 30
Thre rawys wel tha of the frosyn hail schour,
Thre of the watry clowd, to eik the stowr,
Thre blesys of the byrnand fyris brycht,
With thre blastis of the south wyndis lyght:
Syne to thar wark, in maner of gun powder, 5
Thai myddillyt and thai myxit this feirful sowder,
A grysly sound, gret dreid, and goddis ire,
Quham followys ay the fel flambys of fyre.
Ane other sort ful bissely to Mart
The rynnyng quhelys forgis, and weir cart, 10
Quharwith the men to batale doys he steir,
And movys citeis to rays mortal weir:
Thai dycht and polys egirly alssua
The horribill terget, bustuus Egyda,
Quhilk is the grevyt Pallas grysly scheild, 15
With serpent scalys puldrit in goldyn feild,
Togidder lynkyng lowpyt edderis twa;
And in the breist of the goddes graif thai
Gorgones hed, that monstre of gret wondir,
With eyn wawland, and nek bane hak in sondyr. 20
Away with this, ȝhe Ethna Ciclopes,
Quod Wlcanus, and all sic warkis ses,
And at I say enprentis in ȝour thocht.
Ontill a forcy man ar tobe wrocht
Harnes and armour: now nedis it, quod he, 25
Ȝour strenth exers and pythis schaw; lat se
Quha nymlyast can cum and turn thar handis;
Now on all master poynt of craft it standis:
Do put away in haist all maner delay.
Na mair he said; bot wondir frakly thai 30
Onto thar laubour can thame all addres,
Assignand euery man hys part expres:
The irne the mettal throw thir cundyttis flowys,
The moltyn gold and weirlyk steil hait glowys,
And furth of gousty furnace fundyt ran. 5
Maste craftely to forgyng thai began
A huge gret semly target, or a scheild,
Quhilk only mycht resistyng into feild
Agane the dynt of Latyn wapynnys all;
In euery place sevin ply thai welt and call. 10
Sum can ressaue the glowand heyt, sum wynd
With blawand bellys bet the fyre behynd;
Sum of the trowch apon the sparkand gledis
The byssand watir strynklys and ourspredis.
The huge coif and all the mont within, 15
For strak of stydeys, can resound and dyn.
Amangis thame self thai grisly smythys gret
With mekil fors dyd forge, peyn, and bet,
And can thar armys hesyng vp and dovn
In nowmyr and in dew proportioun, 20
And with the grippand turcas oft alsso
The glowand lump thai turnyt to and fro.