Virgil

“ Of fierce Achilles’ band, or in the train of hard
Ulysses, telling such a tale could hold his tears?
Now night sinks down the steeps of heaven, while setting stars
And constellations summon us to rest. But if
So strong is thy desire to know the story of
Our woe, and hear Troy’s final agonies rehearsed,
Though at the very thought my soul within me shrinks
And has recoiled in grief, I will begin the tale. All the Trojans and Carthaginians crowd around the tables, seating themselves to listen. As all faces are turned toward Æneas, he sinks back upon his couch, overcome with emotion. ”

“ Enter Æneas, breathless with his haste.
Æneas, going up to his father and attempting to lift him in his arms (635, 636) :
O father, all is lost; come, flee with me,
While still the fates and angry gods allow;
Come, let me bear thee on my shoulders broad
Unto the shelter of Mount Ida’s slopes. Anchises, resisting (637-649) :
If all is o’er, and Troy is in the dust,
Why should I wish to prolong this worthless life
In exiled wanderings? Turn ye to flight,
Who feel the blood of youth within your veins,
Whose sturdy powers still flourish in their prime. ”

“ When Barce has gone, Dido stealthily but quickly takes Æneas’ sword from the wall, and, seating herself, with trembling fingers draws it from its scabbard. She feels the edge, shrinking in terror at the thought of her intended suicide. With a shudder, she presses the cold blade against her neck.
As she is thus meditating, her sister is heard coming. Dido quickly conceals the sword beneath the draperies of the couch. She assumes an air of gayety, kissing her sister and drawing her to a seat. ”

“ There is a mighty struggle in her soul between love and duty.
Barce, wakened from her sleep and seeing her mistress pale and anguish-stricken, throws herself before her. Dido finally yields and reaches her trembling hand to quench the censer. The old nurse clings to her in terrified appeal. Dido frees herself from her. She quenches the flame and draws the curtain before the shrine. Old Barce sits sobbing before the darkened altar.
Meanwhile the light has been changing into dawn and the sea and harbor begin to be visible through the open window. ”

“ The other Trojans, because of their disguise of Greek armor, are attacked by their own friends stationed at near by points of vantage, and now the Greeks themselves, recognizing the ruse at last, overwhelm the little Trojan band by force of numbers. Other Greeks pour in from all sides and add their testimony that these are Trojans. In the desperate encounter many of the Trojans fall.
Æneas performs Herculean feats of arms, and slays many Greeks, but is himself unhurt. At last he and a few followers escape into a street leading to Priam’s palace, whence loud and continued shouting can be heard. ”

“ Mercury, to Æneas, as the Trojans turn and discover him (265-276) :
And can it be that thou art building here the walls
Of Tyrian Carthage, and uprearing her fair towers,
Thou dotard, of thy realm and thy great destiny
Forgetful! Jove himself, the ruler of the gods,
Who holds the heavens and earth and moves them at his will,
To thee from bright Olympus straight hath sent me here. ”

“ But by the gods above, divinities
Who with impartial eyes behold the truth,
If anywhere there still abides with men
Unsullied faith, I beg you, pity me
Who have endured so dire a weight of woe,
A soul that has been foully overborne. The Trojans are moved to tears by this tale of woe; and Priam bids the chains be stricken from him. He then addresses the prisoner with friendly words.
Priam (148-151) :
Whoe’er thou art, away with thoughts of Greeks. ”

“ Of amity. Let Dido wed the Trojan prince,
And give to thee, as royal dowry, Tyria’s lords. Venus (107-114) :
How mad th’ opponent who would such fair terms refuse!
Or who would wish to strive by preference with thee!
If only fortune favor what thou hast proposed:
But of the fates am I uncertain, whether Jove
Be willing that the Trojan exiles and the men
Of Carthage reign in common and a lasting bond
Of amity cement. Thou art his wife. ‘T is right
For thee by prayer to try his will. Do thou lead on,
I follow. Juno (115-126) :
Mine the task thou sayest. ”

“ Whose fame has filled the world. Here see Achilles fierce,
The sons of Atreus,—and, alas, our fallen king! Æneas, deeply affected (459-463) :
What place, Achates, what far corner of the world
Is not o’erburdened with our woes? O fallen King,
E’en here our glorious struggle wins its meed of praise,
And those our mortal hopes defeated and o’erthrown,
Are mourned by human tears.
Therefore our present cares
Let us dismiss. This fame shall bring us safety too. Achates, continuing to examine the pediment (467, 468) :
See how the Greeks are fleeing, pressed by Trojan youth! ”

“ Nay, nay! as thou deservest, die, and with the sword
Thy sorrows end. O why was it not given me
To spend my life from wedlock and its sorrows free,
As beasts within their forest lairs? Or why, alas,
Was not my promise to Sychæus’ ashes kept? She sprinkles incense on the flame at the shrine of Sychæus. Dawn begins to brighten. The sailors are heard singing in the distance. Dido starts. She rushes to the window, and looking out, sees the Trojan fleet sailing away over the sea. She cries out in frenzy.
Dido (590-629) :
Ye gods! ”

“ While in the dust thy comely locks and valiant spear
Are basely trailed. Achates (479-482) :
Here to Minerva’s temple come
Our Trojan dames with suppliant mien and votive gifts;
With locks dishevelled, self-inflicted blows, and tears;
16But all for naught. All unappeased the goddess stands
With stern averted face, nor will she heed their prayers. Æneas (483-487) :
Thrice round the walls of Troy the fell Achilles drags
The body of my friend.—O Hector, Hector! Here
He sells thy lifeless body for accursed gold,
While aged Priam stretches forth his helpless hands. Achates (488-497) ”

“ Draw up your ships.
20To Trojan and to Tyrian will I favor show
In equal measure. Would that your Æneas’ self,
Conducted by the same o’er-mastering gale, were here!
My messengers along the shore will I despatch,
And bid them search the farthest bounds of Libya,
If he in wood or city, rescued from the waves,
May chance to stray. She despatches courtiers to seek Æneas. Æneas and Achates, meantime, are greatly agitated by her words.
Achates, to Æneas, aside (582-585) :
Æneas, what thy purpose now?
Thou seest all is well. Thy fleet and captains all,
Save one, are rescued. ”

“ For ignorant of men
And land we wander, driven on by wind and wave
In vast conspiracy.
Full many a victim slain
Upon thine altars shall repay thine aid. Venus (335-350) :
For me,
I claim no homage due the gods. Behold a maid
Of ancient Tyre, with quiver girt and feet high shod
With purple buskin—such our country’s garb. Thou seest
Before thee Punic realms; the city and its men
Are both alike Phœnician; but around them lie
The borders of the Libyans, hardy race, unmatched
In war. The city owns the sway of Dido, late
Escaped from Tyre and from her brother’s threat’nings. ”

“ Æneas is resplendent in full armor. Achates wears the Phrygian costume: long trousers of brown, a tunic of deep old blue, ornate with embroidered patterns in gold and purple thread; over this a traveling cloak of brown. He carries two spears. The maidens withdraw and as their voices grow fainter Æneas and Achates kneel before the altar. The light brightens. A bugle call in the distance rouses them from their devotion. They arise. Enter Venus, dressed as a huntress.
Venus (Æneid, I. 321-324) ”

“ All is confusion and terror. Women rush from room to room, with disheveled hair streaming, and with cries of wild despair. A crowded mass of men are attempting to defend the main entrance. Overhead can be seen and heard the defenders on the roof opposing the attack from without.
In the central open court of the palace, upon the steps of a great altar overshadowed by a laurel tree, Hecuba and a group of women have seated themselves, huddling there in the hope of protection from the sanctity of the altar. Suddenly old Priam comes out into the court, hurriedly adjusting his armor. ”

“ All flee in terror. As the storm increases, the courtiers flee across the scene in every direction. The trumpets are heard calling through all the woods.
At last, amid the crash of thunder and the roar of the tempest, Dido and Æneas enter, seeking a place of shelter. Discovering the cavern, they flee to that. ”

“ In their mad zeal they hurry timbers from the woods,
Unhewn and rough, from which to shape their masts and oars,
While from the city shoreward rush the fleeing men. The shouts of the sailors are heard. Dido groans. Anna, hastily putting aside her work, goes to her sister, whose face is buried in her hands. Barce takes up the spinning, stopping at times to wipe her eyes.
Dido, lifting her face to her sister (416-418) :
Thou seest, Anna, how they haste from every side,
And how the bustle of departure fills the shore. ”

“ Dido, Anna, Æneas, Ascanius, followed by the entire court in brilliant array, cross the scene amid the flourish of trumpets.
All the costumes are very brilliant with gold, purple, deep blue, and wood green. Dido is dressed in purple and gold, Anna in brown and green with a leopard skin instead of a himation. Æneas is in full armor. All the Trojans and Carthaginians are dressed and armed for the chase. ”

“ The richest far in wide possessions; well beloved
By his ill-fated bride was he, whose virgin hand
In wedlock’s primal rite her sire had given him.
But Tyre’s domain Pygmalion her brother held,
Surpassing all in crime. Between these Tyrian lords
A deadly feud arose. With impious hand and blind
12With love of gold, Pygmalion, at the altar-side,
With stealthy, unsuspected stroke Sychæus slew;
And little recked he of his sister’s doting love. Æneas (III. 56, 57) :
O awful, quenchless thirst of gold! ”

“ While Mercury is giving his message, Dido, followed by her maidens, comes forth from the temple, and as she catches the import of his words, stands horror-stricken upon the temple steps, unnoticed by Æneas or his men, whose faces are turned intently toward Mercury. ”

“ Dido—The Phœnician Queen
3 THE ARGUMENT For ten years the Greeks had besieged Troy, and on the tenth they took and utterly destroyed that ancient city. The inhabitants who had escaped captivity and the sword, wandered in exile to many quarters of the earth. Now the chief band of exiles was led by Æneas, son of Venus and Anchises, and son-in-law of Priam, king of Troy. ”

“ Tasso pictures the heroic war of Godfrey and his crusaders, who strove to free the holy city of Jerusalem; and Milton, ignoring all bounds of time and space, fills his triple stage of heaven, earth, and hell with angels, men, and devils, all working out the most stupendous problems of human destiny.
Such gigantic dramas could be presented on no human stage. ”

“ Anna wears a dress of delicate blue, elaborately embroidered about the edges with a Greek pattern in gold thread. Her himation, wrapped gracefully about her, is a tender shade of rose pink.
In Dido’s train all classes are represented, gayly dressed courtiers, soldiers, and peasants. The men wear cloaks of dark blue and of rich brown over their tunics. The women are clad in dresses of cream color, pink, and faint green. ”

“ Inspires the Greeks with courage, gives them strength,
And whets the gods against the Trojans’ arms.
Betake thee then to flight and end thy toils.
For I will never leave thee, till at last
I bring thee safely to thy father’s house. Æneas, overcome by these revelations, and resigned to fate, retires.
113 ACT III
115 Act III. Scene 1 The atrium in the palace of Æneas. The aged Anchises lies prone upon the couch. Creüsa, Ascanius, and other members of the household are huddled together in the same room, listening in awestruck silence to the confused sounds of battle without. ”

“ They kneel upon the steps and Anna advances to the altar. As the smoke ascends, Dido and Æneas turn to follow the rest. Curtain.
Act I. Scene 2 A place in the deep, green forest. Ferns and flowers strew the ground and the sunlight falls through the branches in flecks of gold. In the foreground are two great moss-grown rocks, on one of which sits Cupid, draped with garlands of wild flowers, shooting his arrows at a heart-shaped target hung from the branches of a tree in the center of the stage. At one side sits Venus, absorbed in deep, troubled meditation. ”

“ Chicago, Illinois U.S.A.
v PREFACE The epic is a drama on gigantic scale; its acts are years or centuries; its actors, heroes; its stage, the world of life; its events, those mighty cycles of activity that leave their deep impress on human history. Homer’s epics reënact the stirring scenes of the ten years’ siege of Troy, and the perilous, long wanderings of Ulysses before he reached his home; Vergil’s epic action embraces the fall of Troy and the never-ending struggles of Æneas and his band of exiles till Troy should rise again in the western world ”

“ The Trojans rush upon him and slay him together with the others of his band.
Corœbus, one of Æneas’ band, exultingly (387-391) :
O friends, where kindly fortune first doth show
The path of safety, let us follow there.
With these slain Greeks let us our shields exchange,
Their helms and breastplates let us don, and so
108In all things seem as Greeks. When foemen strive,
Who questions aught of trickery or might?
Our foes against themselves shall lend us arms. They exchange arms with the dead Greeks. Thus arrayed, they mingle with the parties of Greeks who straggle in, and slay them. ”