The facund well and hill of Helicon,
The mount Erix, the well of Acheron,
Baith dedicate to Venus in certain ;
We passed the hill and desert of Libane,
O'er mount Cinthús where God Apollo shone,
Straicht to the Muses' Caballine Fontain.1

Beside that crystal Well, sweet and digest,2
Them to repose, their horse refresh and rest,
Alichtit doun 3 thir4 Muses clear of hue.
The company all hailly,5 least and best,

Thrang to the Well to drink, whilk ran south-west,
Throughout ane mead where all-kind flowers grew.
Amang the lave full fast I did pursue

To drink; but sae the great press me opprest
That of the water I micht not taste a drew.9

Our horses pastured in ane pleasant plain,
Low at the foot of ane fair green montain,
Amid ane mead shadowed with cedar trees;
Safe frae all heat there micht we weell remain.
All kind of herbès, flowers, fruit, and grain,
With every growand tree, there men micht chees: 10
The beryl streams, rinnand 11 o'er stanerie grees,"
Made sober noise; the shaw dinnit again 13
For birdès sang and sounding of the bees.

11

15

The Ladies fair on divers instruments
Went playand, singand, dansand o'er the bents;
Full angel-like and heavenly was their soun:
What creature amid his heart imprents 16
The fresh beauty, the goodly represents,"
The merry speech, fair havings,18 high renown,
Of them, wald set a wise man half in swoun:
Their womanliness writhed 19 the elements,
Stonied 20 the heaven and all the earth adoun.21

12

14

1 The "Caballine Fountain," literally Horse Fountain (Lat. Fons Caballinus), was Hippocrene in Mount Helicon. It was fabled to have been produced by the stroke of the hoofs of the horse Pegasus; hence the name. 2 Wholesome. 3 Alighted down. 4 These. 5 Wholly. 7 Rest. 9 Drop. 10 Choose.

8 Crowd.

12 Gravelly (stony) steps (degrees).

14 Grassy ground.

15 Sound.

18 Behaviour.

19 Bound, captivated.

6 Thronged.

11 Running.

13 Wood resounded (dinned). 16 Imprints. 17 Appearance. 20 Astonished. 21 Below.

FROM THE PROLOGUES TO THE TRANSLATION

What is

OF THE ÆNEID.

TO LOVE THE ENSLAVER.

your force but feebling of the strength?
Your curious thochtès what but musardry?1

Your fremit 2 gladness lasts nocht ane hour's length;
Your sport for shame ye dare not specify;
Your fruit is but unfructuous fantasy;

Your sorry joys been but jangling and japes; 3
And your true servants silly goddès-apes.1

Your sweet mirthès are mixt with bitterness;
What is your dreary game? A merry pain!
Your work unthrift; your quiet is restless;
Your lust liking in languor to remain ;
Friendship torment, your trust is but a train.5
O Love, whether are you joy or foolishness,
That makes folk sae glad of their distress?
Solomon's wit, Samson thou robst his force,
And David thou bereft his prophecy ;
Men says thou bridled Aristotle as ane horse,
And creelit up the flower of poetry.
What sall I of thy michtès notify?

Farewell! Where that thy lusty dart assails,
Wit, strength, riches, nae thing, but grace, avails.

Thou chain of love, ha, benedicite!

How hard strainès thy bandès every

wicht !7

The god above, from his high majesty,

With thee y-bound, low on a maid did licht:

Thou vanquisht the strong giant of great micht:

8

Thou art mair forcy than the dead sae fell;

Thou plenest Paradise, and thou herriet 10 Hell! . . .

Thou swelth !11 Devourer of time unrécourable !12
O lust, infernal furnace inéxtinguible,

Thyself consuming, worths 13 insatiable!
Quaint fiendès net, to God and man odible,14
Of thy trigits 15 what tongue can tell the trible? 16
With thee to warstle, thou waxes evermore wicht:
Eschew thine hand, and minès sall19 thy micht.

18

Prologue to Book IV.

3 Jests. 4 Naturals, idiots. 5 Snare.
8 Mighty. 9 Fillest (Lat. plenus), full.
11 Glutton. 12 Unrecoverable. 13 Grows.
17 Wrestle. 18 Strong. 19 Shall eschew.

A SCOTCH WINTER EVENING IN 1512.

5

The frosty region ringès1 of the year,
The time and season bitter cauld and pale,
They short dayès that clerkès clepe brumale ;2
When that brim blastès of the northern art3
O'erwhelmit had Neptunus in his cart,*
And all to-shake the leavès of the trees.
The rage and storm o'erwalterand wally seas,
Rivers ran red on spate with water brown,
And burnès hurlès all their bankès down.
The soil y-soupit into water wack,9
The firmament o'ercast with rokès 10 black,
The ground fadit, and fauch11 wox all the fields,
Mountain-tops sleekit with their snaw ower-heilds ;12
On ragged rockès of hard harsk whin-stane,
With frozen fronts cauld clinty clewès shane.13
Beauty was lost, and barren shew the lands;
With frosty hair o'er-fret the fieldès stands.
Sour bitter bubbès 14 and the showers snell
Seemed on the sward ane similtude of Hell,
Reducing to our mind in every stead 15
Ghostly shadows of eild and grisly dead; 16
Thick drumly scuggès 17 darkened so the heaven.
Dim skyès oft forth warpit 18 fearful levin,19
Flaggès 20 of fire, and mony feloun flaw,2
Sharp sops of sleet and of the snipand snaw.
The dowie dikès 22 were all dank and wet;
The low valley was flooderit all with spate;
The plain streetès and every high way
Was full of flushes, dubbès,24 mire, and clay.
Laggerit 25 leas wallowit fernès 26 shew;
Brown moors kithit their wizzened mossy hue;
Bank, brae, and bottom, blanchèd wax and bare ;
For gurl128 weather gruit 29 beastès hair;

21

19

23

The wind made wave the red weed on the dike.
Bedoven in dankès deep 30 was every sike ;31

1 Reigns, prevails.

2 These short days that learned men call brumal (i.e. wintry; Lat. bruma, winter, from a word meaning "to shorten").

3 Point of the compass; German, ort, place; modern Scotch, airt, direction 6 În flood. 7 Streams violently drive.

whence.

4 Chariot. 5 Wavy.

8 Became soaked. 9 In weak water. 10 Fogs. 11 Yellow or dun-red. 12 Smoothed with their snowy coverings. 13 Cold splintery cliffs shone. 14 Squalls. 15 Bringing to our mind in every place. 16 Age and grisly death. 17 Thick turbid shadows. 18 Cast forth. 19 Lightning. 20 Flashes. 22 Dismal mounds. 23 Rain-flood. 24 Muddy heaps. 26 Exhibited withered ferns. 27 Showed. 31 Rill.

21 Blasts.

25 Bemired.

28 Bleak, growling.

29 Shuddered. 30 Sunk deep in damps.

O'er craggès and the front of rockès sere
Hung great ice-shockles,1 lang as ony spear;
The ground stood barren, withered, dusk, and grey;
Herbs, flowers, and gersses2 wallowit3 away.

So busteously Boreas his bugle blew,

The deer full dern1 down in the dalès drew.
Small birdès, flocking through thick rounis thrang,5
In chirming and with cheeping changed their sang,
Seekand hidles and hirnès them to hide
Frae fearful thuds of the tempestuous tide.7
The water-linnès routs; and every lind9
Whistlit and brayit of the soughand 10 wind.
Poor labourers and busy husbandmen
Went wet and weary, draggled in the fen;
The silly sheep and their little herd-grooms 11
Lurks under lee1? of bankès, woods, and brooms.
And other dauntit greater bestial,13

Within their stables seized into stall,
Sic as mulès, horses, oxen, and kye,
Fed tuskit boarès, and fat swine in stye,
Sustainit were by mannès governance
On harvest and on summer's purveyance.
Widewhere with force so Eolus shouts shrill
In this congealit season sharp and chill,
The caller1a air, penétrative and pure,
Dazing 15 the blood in every creäture,
Made seek warm stovès and bien16 firès hot,
In double garment clad and wily-coat,17
With michty drink and meatès comfortive,
Against the stormy winter for to strive.

.20

Repaterit18 weel, and by the chimney beikit,19 At even, betime, abed down I me streikit ;2 Wrapped my head, cast on claithés three-fauld, For till expel the perilous piercand cauld.

I crossèd me, syne bounit 21 for to sleep;

Where, gleamand through the glass I did take keep 22 Latonia,23 the lang irksome nicht,

Her subtle blinkès shed and watery licht,

Full high upwhirlit in her regioun..

Hornèd Hebawd, which clepe 24 we the nicht-owl,

Within her cavern heard I shout and howl,

Laithly of form, with crooked camshow1 beak:
Ugsome to hear was her wild eldritch 2 shriek.
The wild geese, claiking eke by nichtès tide,3
Attour the city fleeand heard I glide.

Prologue to Book VII.

A SCOTCH WINTER MORNING IN 1512.

On slumber I slaid 5 full sad, and sleepit sound,
While the Orient upward gan rebound.
Phoebus' crowned bird,' the nichtès orlogére,
Clappand his wingès, thrice had crawen clear.
Approaching near the breaking of the day,
Within my bed I wakened where I lay ;
So fast declinès Cynthia the Moon;

16

And kaès caickles on the roof aboon.9
Fast by my chamber, in high wizzened trees,
The soir gled 10 whistles loud with mony ane pew,
Whereby the day was dawen" weell I knew;
Bade beit 12 the fire, and the candel alicht;
Syne blessit me,13 and in my weedes dicht ;14
Ane shut window unshut, a little on jar ;
Perceivit the morning blae,15 wan, and haar,1
With cloudy gum 17 and rack o'erwhelmed the air.
Branches brattling, and blackened shew the braes
With hirstès harsk of wagging windle-strays .18
The dew-droppès congealed on stubble and rind;
And sharp hailstanès, mortfundit of kind,19
Hopping on the thatch and on the causey 20 by.
The shot I closed, and drew inward in hie,2
Shivering for cauld, the season was so snell.22

19

Prologue to Book VII.

A SCOTCH MAY MORNING IN 1513.

Nyctimene,23 affrayit of the licht,

Went under covert, for gone was the nicht ;
As fresh Aurora, to michty Tython spouse,
Ished 24 from her saffron bed and ivory house,