_Quhou the fyre was expellit fra the navye,
The schippis translait in nymphis or goddessis of see._
Say me, O Musys, reherses and declare,
Quhilk of the Goddis sa cruel flammys sayr
Held from Troianys? quha sa vehement fyre
Drave from thar schippis, thus wys byrnand schire?
The deid is auld forto beleif or wry,
Bot the memor remanys perpetualy.
The first tyme quhen the Troiane Eneas 5
By sey to tak hys vayage schup to pas,
And gan do beld his schippis vp ilkane
In Ida forest, that mont Phrygiane;
The moder of Goddis, Berecyntia,
Spak to hir son gret Jupiter, thai sa, 10
With sikkynd wordis, sayand; My child deir,
Grant this ane axin quhilk I the requeir,
Grant thy belovit moder bot a thing,
Thou at art master of the hevynly ryng.
Apon the top of Gargarus, quod sche, 15
Thar grew a fyr wod, the quhilk into dante
Full mony ȝeris held I, as is knaw;
Thys was my cuthill and my hallowit schaw,
Quhar that the Phrygianys maid me sacrifice;
Ful weill me lykyt thar to walk oft sys, 20
With pikky treis blak skuggit abowt,
And abundans of hattyr gestis stowt;
Quhilk glaidly I haue gevin a ȝong Troiane,
Strang Eneas, discend from kyng Dardane,
Fortill support the mysteris of hys navy. 25
And now the dowtsum dreid, for the ilk quhy,
Full pensyve haldis me and doith constrene:
Deliuer me of thys feir be sum meyn,
My deir son, suffir at thy moderis request
Be admittit this a time, be the leste, 30
So that tha schippis be nevir mair ourset
With contrar curs, nor ȝit with storm dovn bet;
Quharby thai may haue sum avale, quod sche,
At thai vmquhill grew in our hillys hie.
Hyr son, the quhilk rewlys at hys lykyng 5
The hevyn, the starris, and all erdly thyng,
Ansuerd and said: O moder best belovyt,
Quhou art thou thus agane the fatis amovyt?
Or quharto axis thou to thir, quod he,
With mortale handis wrocht of stokkis and tre, 10
That is to say, thir schippis so habill to faill,
That lesum war thai suld be immortale?
And that Enee, in dedly corps onsure,
Assoverit fermly throw all dangeris fuyr?
Quhat God hes to hym grantyt sik frelage? 15
Bot for thy saik, quhen fully thar vayage
Thai haue compleyt, and at costis of Itale
Arryvit ar, and in tha portis set sail,
And thar duke Troiane careit our the see
To boundis of Lawrentum, that cuntre, 20
Alsmony of thame as than hes eschaipe
The wally fludis sall I turn and schaip
Furth of thar mortale formys corruptabill,
And sall command thame forto be mair habill
From thens forthwart, as immortale, quod he, 25
In Nymphes turnyt and Goddessys of see;
Lyke as Nereus douchter, Clotho gay,
And Galathea, throw fomy fludis gray
Scheryng with braid brestis delytabill.
Quod Jupiter: and till hald ferm and stabill, 30
Be Stix the flude, Pluto hys broderis see,
Hys godly aith and promys sworn hes he;
Be that ilk pykky laik with brays blak,
And laithly sworlys, till kepe at he spak
He dyd afferm hys hecht, and in takynnyng 5
The hevynnys all maid trymmyll at hys likyng.
Tharfor the day that he by promys set
Is now at hand, and the ful tyme of det,
By the werd sisteris schaip, is now compleit;
Quhen Turnus thus in hys iniuryus heit 10
Admonyst hes hys pepill, and commandis,
With dry schydis and with hait fyre brandis,
The moder of Goddis by sik flambys fell
Furth of hir hallowyt schippis to expell.
At this tyme first apperis in thar syght 15
A new takynnyng of gret plesand lycht,
And a braid schynand clowd thai dyd aspy
Cum from the est, rynnand our all the sky;
The rowtis eik onone thai gan behald
Of Ideanys, tha wightis that in the hald 20
Ar of the moder of the Goddis clos;
Dovn throu the air eik come a feirful voce,
And fillit all the ostis baith atanys
Of Troiane pepill and Rutilianys,
Sayand; Troianys, dreid na thing, haist ȝou nocht 25
Fortill defend my schippis, albeit ȝe mocht,
For that caus tak na wapynnys in ȝour handis:
For rather, now as that the mater standis,
Sal it be lefull Turnus fyre the see,
Or that he byrn my bargis maid of tre. 30
O ȝe my schippys, now to ȝou I say,
Go fre at large quhar ȝou list away,
Go furth and swym as Goddessis of the see;
The moder of Goddis commandis so tobe.
And, wyth that word, als tyte furth from the bra 5
Ilk barge bownys, cuttyand hir cabyll in twa;
Lyke delphyn fysch onon as thai tuke kepe,
Thar snowtis dowkand held vnder the deip.
Syne from the grond, a wonder thing to say,
With als feill virgyne facis vpsprang thai, 10
And throu the fludis, quhar thame list, dyd fair,
Quhou mony steill stammyt bargis that ayr
Stude by the costis syde, or thai war fyryt.
Rutylianys wolx affrayit with myndis myryt;
Mesapus musyng can withdraw on dreich, 15
Seand hys stedis and the horssis skeich;
And eik the ryver brayt with hays sovnd,
Quhill Tyberinus bakwartis dyd rebound,
As thocht hys curs dyd stop and step abak.
Bot netheles, for all the feir thai mak, 20
The hie curage and forcy hardyment
Baid onamovyt in Turnus stowt entent,
So that baldly with hardy wordis on hie
Thar spretis rasyt, and rycht fersly he
Gan thame repreve, that tuk for nocht affray. 25
Thir monstruus takynnys at ȝe se, perfay,
Sekis mischeif to the Troianys, said he;
And by this way gret Jupiter, as ȝe se,
Hes now byreft thar help and confidens,
Quharby thai wont war to fle for defens: 30
Now nowder Rutyliane fyre nor swerdis dynt
May thai withstand, for all thar fors is tynt.
Sen that thai may not eschape by the see,
Nor hes na maner hope away to fle,
The maist half of the Troiane help is lost; 5
This land is in our power, feld and cost;
So that thai sal na wys eschape our brandis,
Quhou mony thousand douchty men of handis
Ar heir assemblyt, all Italyanys.
I compt na thing all thocht ȝon fant Troianys 10
Rakkyn thar fatis that thame hydder brocht;
All syk vayn ruys I feir as thing of nocht,
In cace thai prowd be of the goddis answeris,
And thame avant tharof with felloun feris.
It may weill suffys, and eneuch, I wys, 15
Baith to thar fatis and Venus grantit is,
That evir thir Troianys in this cost fast by
Hes anys twichit the boundis of Italy.
My werdis eik and fatale destane
Be the contrar is grantit onto me, 20
Thys cursyt pepill tobet down with my glave,
For my deir spous, quham byreft me thai have:
Nor this ennoy alanerly twichis nocht
The twa Atrydes, that Troy to rewyne brocht;
I meyn the principal chiftanys, breder twa, 25
That is to knaw, Agamemnon and Menelay;
Ne ȝit allane this caus to armys steris
The pepill of Myce to move batale and weris;
Bot principaly this querrell myne I knaw.
Gif it had bene eneuch, as that thai schaw, 30
At thai bot anys distroyit aucht tobe,
It war eneuch and mycht suffys, think me,
That thai haue faltit anys lang tyme befor;
Quhy dowbill thai thar trespas mor and mor?
All thocht that women brocht thame to foly, 5
Ȝyt hait thai not wemen aluterly.
Quhat meyn thai be this myddill mantill wall?
This litill stop of dykis and fowseis all?
Weyn thai this be a strenth that may thame save?
Thar lyfe is now in juperte, thai raif, 10
Full neir thar ded thai stand: all men may knaw
Quhidder gif the wight wallys of Troy thai saw,
Belt by the hand of Neptunus, that syre,
Rent and bet down, and all the town in fyre.
Bot O ȝe walyt knychtis of renown, 15
Quham I behald with pykkis brekand dovn
Ȝon forteres, and now present with me
Assalȝeand this affrayt strenth we se;
Ws nedis not Wlcanus armour heir
Aganys thir maste fant Troianys in our weir, 20
Nor ȝit we mystir not a thousand schippis.
All thocht hail Tuscany into falloschippis
With thame adione, and cum on euery syde,
Lat thame nocht dreid that we, be nyghtis tyde,
Sall thyftuusly Palladium steill away, 25
Nor sla thar wachis slepand; na, perfay,
Dern in ane horssis belly large and wyde,
Thame to dissave, we sall ws neuer hyde:
For we determyt haue by fors in fyght,
In plane batale, and on days lyght, 30
With fyre and swerd ȝon wallys ombeset.
So dowchtely we schape to do our det,
That thai sall not beleif weir vndertane
Agane Grekis, nor pepill Pelasgane,
Quhilkis in thar weris previt sa spreitles men 5
That Hector thame delayt ȝeris ten.
Now, chosyn men, and walyt weriouris,
Sen the maist part of this days howris
Is gane, said he, I hald it for the best
Eftir this gud journay ȝe tak ȝou rest; 10
Do eys ȝour bodeis and ȝour hors quhil day,
Bot hald ȝou reddy for the batale ay.
In the meyn tyme, of the nycht wach the cure
We geif Mesapus, the ȝettis to discure,
And forto beit brycht fyris abowt the wallys. 15
Twys sevin Rutilianys for al chance befallys
Was chosyn with knychtis forto wach the town;
Ilkane ane hundreth fallowys reddy bown
Of ȝoung gallandis, with purpour crestis red;
Thar giltyn geir maid glitteryng euery sted, 20
Quhar so thai walk, and rowmys still and soft.
Thai stalk about, and wardis changis oft,
And sum tyme, on the greyn herbys down set,
Thai byrll the wyne, and ilk man dyd hys det
Fortil ourturn goblettis of mettell bryght. 25
The schynand fyris our al the land kest lycht;
And all the forenycht thir wachis sikkyn way,
But sleip, dyd spend in revale, gam, and play.