His actis, properè exsequitur præcepta Sibyllæ. Fuit spe quam haud ullæ volantes im ex atris faucibus ferebat sese ad His actis, properè exsequitur præcepta Sibyllæ. 240 lunca alta, immanisque vasto Spelunca alta fuit, vastoque immanis hiatu, hiatu, scrupea, tuta nigro lacu Scrupea, tuta lacu nigro nemorumque tenebris; tenebrisque nemorum; super Quam super haud ullæ poterant impune volantes pune poterant tendere iter Tendere iter pennis; talis sese halitus atris pennis; talis halitus effundens Faucibus effundens supera ad convexa ferebat; supera convexa; unde Graii Unde locum Graii dixerunt nomine Aornon dixerunt locum nomine Aor- Quatuor hic primùm nigrantes terga juvencos non. Hic sacerdos primùm constituit quatuor juvencos ni- Constituit, frontique invergit vina sacerdos; grantes terga, invergitque vina Et summas carpens media inter cornua setas, 245 fronti; et carpens summas seIgnibus imponit sacris libamina prima, nit eas sacris ignibus, quasi Voce vocans Hecaten, cœloque Ereboque potenprima libamina, voce vocans tas inter media cornua, impo Hecaten potentem cœlo Ere 'tem. boque. Alii supponunt cultros, Supponunt alii cultros, tepidumque cruorem paterisque suscipiunt tepidum Suscipiunt pateris. Ipse atri velleris agnam cruorem. Ipse Eneas ense ferit agnam atri velleris matri Eneas, matri Eumenidum magnæque sorori, Eumenidum, magnæque ejus Ense ferit, sterilemque tibi, Proserpina, vaccam, sorori, sterilemque vaccam tibi, O' Proserpina. Tam in- Tum Stygio regi nocturnas inchoat aras; choat nocturnas aras Stygio regi; 250 TRANSLATION. This done, he speedily executes the Sibyl's injunctions. There stood a cave profound and hideous, with a wide yawning mouth, stony, fenced by a black lake and the gloom of woods; over which none of the flying kind were able to wing their way unhurt; such noxious exhalations, issuing from its grim jaws, ascended to the vaulted skies; for which reason the Greeks called the place by the name of Aornus. Here first the priestess places four bullocks with backs of swarthy hue, and pours wine on their foreheads, and, cropping the topmost hairs between the horns, lays them on the sacred flames as the first offerings, by mystic sounds invoking Hecate, whose power extends both to heaven and hell. Others employ the sacrificingknives, and receive the tepid blood in bowls. Eneas himself smites with his sword an ewe-lamb of sable fleece, offering up the animal to the mother of the Furies and her great sister; and in honour of thee, Proserpina, he kills a barren heifer. Then he sets about the nocturnal sacrifices to the Stygian king, and lays on the flames the carcasses of bulls, solid and NOTES. 245. Summas carpens, &c. Before the sacrifice, it was customary for the priest to pluck off some of the roughest hairs growing between the horns of the beast, which he threw into the fire as the first offerings to the gods. 247. Voce vocans Hecaten. Servius says, they sed to invoke that goddess, not by words, but certain mystic, inarticulate sounds, representing the baying of dogs, the hissing of serpents, &c. 248. Supponunt cultros. This was a term adapted to the sacrifices, in which all harsh words, and such as were of bad omen, were carefully avoided; and therefore mactare was used instead of cædere. Dr. Trapp, in translating this phrase, has chosen a very unhappy idea, which would have been prodigiously shocking to a Roman ear. 250. Matri Eumenidum; that is, Night, who is said to have brought forth the Furies to Acheron, which, in the poetical style, signifies that night or darkness is the mother of horrid shapes, visionary forms, and apparitions. 250. Magnæque sorori, her great sister the Earth, night being only the shadow of the earth, et imponit flammis solida viseera taurorum, fundensque pingue oleum super ardenti255 bus extis. Ecce autem, sub Et solida imponit taurorum viscera flammis, 260 lumina et ortus primi solis, 30lum cæpit mugire sub pedibus, et juga cœpta sunt moveri, canesque vise sunt ululare per umbram sylvarum, Deâ adventante. Vates conclamat, O profani, procul, procul este, absistiteque toto luco: tuque invade viam, eripeque ferrum è vagina: 0 Enea, nunc opus est animis, nunc firmo pectore. Illa effata tantum, furens immisit se aperto antro. Ille æ quat ducem vadentem haud timidis passibus. Dì, quibus est imperium animarum, vos266 que silentes umbræ, et Chaos, et Phlegethon, loca latè silentia nocte! fas sit mihi loqui audita; fas sit mihi vestro numine pandere res mersas altă terrâ et caligine. Ibant obscuri 270 per umbram sub solâ nocte, in sylvis per incertam lunam sub ma Et Chaos, et Phlegethon, loca nocte silentia latè! TRANSLATION. unbroken, pouring fat oil on the broiling entrails. Lo now, at the early beams and rising of the sun, the ground beneath their feet began to rumble, the mountain-tops to quake, and dogs were seen to howl through the shade of the woods, at the approach of the goddess. Hence, far hence, O ye profane, exclaims the prophetess, and begone from all the grove: and do you, Æneas, boldly march forward, and snatch your sword from its sheath: now is the time for fortitude, now for firmness of resolution. This said, she furiously plunged into the open cave. He, with intrepid steps, keeps close by his guide, as she leads the way. Ye gods, to whom the empire of ghosts belongs, and ye silent shades, and Chaos, and Phlegethon, places where silence reigns around in the realms of night! permit me to utter the secrets I have heard; may I have your divine permission to disclose things buried in deep earth and darkness. Darkling they advanced under the solitary night through the shade, and through the desolate halls and empty realms of Pluto; their progress resembling a jourmey in woods by the precarious glimmering moon under a faint malignant NOTES. 253. Solida viscera. Servius explains viscera to signify all the parts between the bones and the skin; so that this sacrifice was what was called holocaust, or whole burnt-offering. 258. Procul, ô! procul, &c. This was the solemn preamble with which the celebration of the sacred mysteries used to be ushered in; and by it the profane, or uninitiated, were debarred from access to such holy rites. 260. Invade viam. This expression is emphatic, and denotes the difficulty of the enterprise: Set on the formidable way. 270. Luce maligna, envious light, that shines so faintly, as if it grudged one the happiness of enjoying it. ubi Jupiter condidit cœlum Est iter in sylvis, ubi cœlum condidit umbrâ umbrâ, et atra nox abstulit colorem rebus. Ante ipsum vesJupiter, et rebus nox abstulit atra colorem. tibulum inque primis faucibus Vestibulum ante ipsum, primisque in faucibus, Orci, Luctus et ultrices Cura Orci, posuere sua cubilia; pallentes 274 que Morbi habitant, tristisque Luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia Curae; Senectus, et Metus, et male- Pallentesque habitant Morbi, tristisque Senectus, suada Fames, et turpisEgestas, formæ terribiles visu! Lethum- Et Metus, et malesuada Famés, et turpis Egestas; que, Laborque; tum Sopor Terribiles visu forma! Lethumque, Laborque; consanguineus Lethi, et mala Gaudia mentis, inque limine Tum consanguineus Lethi Sopor, et mala mentis adverso mortiferum Bellum, Gaudia, mortiferumque adverso in limine Bellum," ferreique thalami Eumenidum, Ferreique Eumenidum thalami, et Discordia de et demens Discordia innexa vi pereum crinem cruentis vittis. mens, In medio ulmus opaca ingens Vipereum crinem vittis innexa cruentis. pandit suos ramos brachiaque 280 annosa; quam sedem vulgò fe- In medio ramos annosáque brachia pandit runt vana Somnia tenere, hæ- Ulmus opaca, ingens; quain sedem Somnia vulgò rentque sub omnibus foliis. Vana tenere ferunt, foliisque sub omnibus hærent. TRANSLATION. light, when Jupiter hath wrapped up the heavens in shade, and sable night hath stripped objects of colour. Before the very courts, and in the opening jaws of hell, Grief and vengeful tormenting Cares have fixed their couches, and pale Diseases dwell, and disconsolate sullen Old Age, and Fear, and the evil counsellor Famine, and vile deformed Indigence, forms ghastly to the sight, and Death, and Toil; then Sleep that is a-kin to Death, and criminal Joys of the mind; and in the oppo-" site confronting threshold murderous War, and the iron bed-chambers of the Furies, and frantic Discord, having her viperous locks bound with bloody fillets. In the midst a gloomy elm displays its boughs and aged arms; which seat vain fantastic Dreams are commonly said to haunt, and under every leaf they NOTES. 273. Vestibulum. The vestibule was the space or area before the gate, that divided the house from the high-way. In this infernal vestibule he imagines the various calamities of human life to have their fixed residence. 276. Malesuada Fames, because famine is a strong incentive to vice. Ruæns, however, has well observed, that fames might signify not merely want of bread, but avarice; that auri sacra fumes, which is the fruitful source of so many natural and moral ills. 278. Tum consanguineus Lethi Sopor. By Sopor, here perhaps the poet designed we should understand the lethargy of the mind, or that inconsiderateness and insensibility whereby men are lulled asleep in the paths of vice and error; in which light it is fitly joined with the mala Gaudia mentis, the criminal joys of the mind, which are the source of that fatal security. 279. Adverso in limine Bellum. Here another moral lies obvious to observation: War; the iron beds of the Furies, that is, the racking torments of a guilty conscience; Discord, and all those boisterous deformed passions that unninge the mind, and overturn the peace and happiness of human society, represented by the Hydras, Harpies, and other monsters here mentioned; are with great propriety placed in the opposite threshold, confronting the guilty joys of the mind. Multaque præterea variarum monstra ferarum; 285 Corripit hìc subitâ trepidus formidine ferrum Prætereaque multa monstra stabulant in foribus, biformes variarum ferarum; Centauri que Scyllæ, et Briareus cen tumgeminus, ac bellua Lernæ um- raque armata flammis; Gorgo stridens horrendum, Chima nes, Harpyiæque, et forma umbræ tricorporis. Hic Eneas 290 trepidus subità formidine corripit ferrum, offertque strictam aciem umbris venientibus: et irruat, et frustra diverberet umbras ferro, ni docta comes admoneat eum tenues illas vitas volitare sine corpore sub cavâ imagine formæ. Hinc est 296 via, quæ fert ad undas Tartarei Acherontis: hic gurges, turbidus cœno vastâque voragine, estuat, atque eructat omnem arenam Cocyto. Portitor Charon horrendus terribili squalore servat has aquas Hinc via, Tartarei quæ fert Acherontis ad undas: Turbidus hic cœno, vastâque voragine gurges Estuat, atque omnem Cocyto eructat arenam. Portitor has horrendus aquas et flumina servat TRANSLATION. dwell. Beside many monstrous savages of various forms; in the gates Centaurs stable, and double-formed Scyllas, and Briareus with his hundred hands, and the enormous snake of Lerna hissing dreadful, and Chimæra armed with flames; Gorgons, Harpies, and the form of Geryon's three-bodied ghost. Here Æneas, disconcerted with sudden fear, grasps his sword, and presents the naked point to each approaching shade: and had not his skilful guide put him in mind that they were airy unbodied phantoms, fluttering about under an empty imaginary form, he had rushed in, and with his sword struck at the ghosts in vain. Hence is a path, which leads to the floods of Tartarean Acheron: here a gulf turbid and impure boils up with mire and vast whirlpools, and disgorges all its sand into Cocytus. A grim ferryman guards these floods and rivers, NOTES. 286. Centauri stabulant. The Centaurs were fabled to be monsters, half-men halfhorses; therefore the word stabulant is properly said of them. In fact, they were a people in Thessaly, who first broke horses; and the ignorant populace, seeing them at a distance, took the man and horse to be but one animal. 286. Scyllæque. See Æn. III. 424. 287. Briareus, a giant who is feigned to have had a hundred hands. 287. Bellua Lernæ, a snake bred in the lake of Lerna, which Hercules destroyed. It had seven, or, according to others, fifty heads; and no sooner was one cut off than another grew in its place. 288. Chimera, a monster that vomited flames; it had the head of a lion, the breast of a goat, and the tail of a serpent. It was slain VOL. II. by Bellerophon mounted on the horse Pegasus. Those who would see all these fables explained, may consult Banier's Mythology, which is the best and completest system extant of the kind. 289. Forma tricorporis umbra. Geryon, king of Spain, is feigned to have had three bodies, because he reigned likewise over the three islands adjacent to Spain, namely, Majorca, Minorca, and Yvica. 298. Has aquas et flumina. Milton has given a very fine description of the infernal rivers that are mentioned here, and in other passages of this book; distinguishing them by their different qualities, according to the etymology of their names: Bend et flumina; cui plurima cani- Terribili squalore Charon; cui plurima mento. Huc omnis turba effusa ruebat Huc omnis turba ad ripas effusa ruebat; parentum; tam multi quàm 305 mâm heröum defuncta vitâ, Magnaniniûm heröum, pueri innuptæque puellæ, pueri innuptæque puellæ, juve- Impositique rogis juvenes ante ora parentum; nesque impositi rogis ante ora Quàm multa in sylvis autumni frigore primo 309 multa folia lapsa cadunt in syl- Lapsa cadunt folia, aut ad terram gurgite ab alto vis primo frigore autumni, aut Quàm multa glomerantur aves, ubi frigidus annus quàm multæ aves glomerantur ab alto gurgite, ubi frigidus an- Trans pontum fugat, et terris immittit apricis. nus fugat trans pontum, et im- Stabant orantes, primi transmittere cursum, mittit eas apricis terris. Sta bant orantes transmittere cur- Tendebantque manus ripæ ulterioris amore: sum primi, tendebantque ma- Navita sed tristis nunc hos, nunc accipit illos; 315 nus amore ulterioris ripe; sed Ast alios longè summotos arcet arenâ. tristis navita nunc accipit hos, nunc illos: ast arcet alios longè summotos arenâ. TRANSLATION. hair uncomb Charon, of frightful slovenliness; on whose chin a load of grey ed and neglected lies; his eyes all flame stand glaring: his vestment hangs from his shoulders by a knot with filth overgrown. Himself works the barge with a pole, and supplies it with sails, and wafts over the bodies in his ironcoloured boat, now in years; but the god is of fresh and green old age. Hither the whole tribe of ghosts in swarms came pouring to the banks, matrons and men, the souls of magnanimous heroes who had gone through the labours of life, boys and unmarried maids, and young men who had been stretched on the funeral-pile before the eyes of their parents; as numerous as withered leaves fall in the woods with the first nipping cold of autumn, or as numerous as birds flock to land from the deep ocean, when the chilling year drives them beyond sea, and sends them to sunny climes. They stood praying to cross the flood the first, and were stretching forth their hands with fond desire to gain the farther bank: but the sullen boatman admits sometimes these, sometimes those; whilst others, to a great distance removed, he debars from the banks. NOTES. Of four infernal rivers that disgorge Heard on the rueful stream; fierce Phlege- Whose waves of torrent fire inflame with rage. Far off from these a slow and silent stream, Forgets both joy and grief, pleasure and |