html.skin-theme-clientpref-night @media(prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os }RMS, and the Man I sing, who forc'd by Fate,
And haughty Juno's unrelenting Hate;
Expell'd and exil'd, left the Trojan Shoar:
Long Labours, both by Sea and Land he bore
And in the doubtful War, before he won 5
The Latian Realm, and built the destin'd Town:
His banish'd Gods restor'd to Rites Divine,
And setl'd sure Succession in his Line:
From whence the Race of Alban Fathers come,
And the long Glories of Majestick Rome.10
O Muse! the Causes and the Crimes relate,
What Goddess was provok'd, and whence her hate:
For what Offence the Queen of Heav'n began
To persecute so brave, so just a Man!
Involv'd his anxious Life in endless Cares,15
Expos'd to Wants, and hurry'd into Wars!
Can Heav'nly Minds such high resentment show;
Or exercise their Spight in Human Woe?
Against the Tiber's Mouth, but far away,
An ancient Town was seated on the Sea:20
A Tyrian Colony; the People made
Stout for the War, and studious of their Trade.
Carthage the Name, belov'd by Juno more
Than her own Argos, or the Samian Shoar.
Here stood her Chariot, here, if Heav'n were kind, 25
The Seat of awful Empire she design'd.
Yet she had heard an ancient Rumour fly,
(Long cited by the People of the Sky;)
That times to come shou'd see the Trojan Race
Her Carthage ruin, and her Tow'rs deface: 30
Nor thus confin'd, the Yoke of Sov'raign Sway,
Should on the Necks of all the Nations lay.
}She ponder'd this, and fear'd it was in Fate;
Nor cou'd forget the War she wag'd of late,
For conq'ring Greece against the Trojan State. 35
Besides long Causes working in her Mind,
And secret Seeds of Envy lay behind.
Deep graven in her Heart, the Doom remain'd
Of partial Paris, and her Form disdain'd:
The Grace bestow'd on ravish'd Ganimed,40
Electra's Glories, and her injur'd Bed.
Each was a Cause alone, and all combin'd
To kindle Vengeance in her haughty Mind.
For this, far distant from the Latian Coast,
She drove the Remnants of the Trojan Hoast:45
And sev'n long Years th' unhappy wand'ring Train,
Were toss'd by Storms, and scatter'd through the Main.
Such Time, such Toil requir'd the Roman Name,
Such length of Labour for so vast a Frame.
Now scarce the Trojan Fleet with Sails and Oars,50
Had left behind the Fair Sicilian Shoars:
Ent'ring with chearful Shouts the wat'ry Reign,
And ploughing frothy Furrows in the Main:
When lab'ring still, with endless discontent,
The Queen of Heav'n did thus her Fury vent.55
Then am I vanquish'd, must I yield, said she,
And must the Trojans reign in Italy?
So Fate will have it, and Jove adds his Force;
Nor can my Pow'r divert their happy Course.
Cou'd angry Pallas, with revengeful Spleen,60
The Grecian Navy burn, and drown the Men?
She for the Fault of one offending Foe,
The Bolts of Jove himself presum'd to throw:
With Whirlwinds from beneath she toss'd the Ship,
And bare expos'd the Bosom of the deep:65
Then, as an Eagle gripes the trembling Game,
The Wretch yet hissing with her Father's Flame,
She strongly seiz'd, and with a burning Wound,
Transfix'd and naked, on a Rock she bound.
But I, who walk in awful State above,70
The Majesty of Heav'n, the Sister-wife of Jove;
For length of Years, my fruitless Force employ
Against the thin remains of ruin'd Troy.
What Nations now to Juno's Pow'r will pray,
Or Off'rings on my slighted Altars lay?75
Thus rag'd the Goddess, and with Fury fraught,
The restless Regions of the Storms she sought.
Where in a spacious Cave of living Stone,
The Tyrant Æolus from his Airy Throne,
With Pow'r Imperial curbs the strugling Winds,80
And sounding Tempests in dark Prisons binds.
This Way, and that, th' impatient Captives tend,
And pressing for Release, the Mountains rend;
High in his Hall, th' undaunted Monarch stands,
And shakes his Scepter, and their Rage commands:85
Which did he not, their unresisted Sway
Wou'd sweep the World before them, in their Way:
Earth, Air, and Seas through empty Space wou'd rowl,
And Heav'n would fly before the driving Soul.
}In fear of this, the Father of the Gods 90
Confin'd their Fury to those dark Abodes,
And lock'd' em safe within, oppress'd with Mountain loads:
Impos'd a King, with arbitrary Sway,
To loose their Fetters, or their Force allay.
To whom the suppliant Queen her Pray'rs addrest, 95
And thus the tenour of her Suit express'd.
O Æolus! for to thee the King of Heav'n
The Pow'r of Tempests, and of Winds has giv'n:
Thy Force alone their Fury can restrain,
And smooth the Waves, or swell the troubl'd Main.
A race of wand'ring Slaves, abhorr'd by me, 101
With prosp'rous Passage cut the Thuscan Sea:
To fruitful Italy their Course they steer,
And for their vanquish'd Gods design new Temples there.
Raise all thy Winds, with Night involve the Skies;
Sink, or disperse my fatal Enemies.106
Twice sev'n, the charming Daughters of the Main,
Around my Person wait, and bear my Train:
}Succeed my Wish, and second my Design,
The fairest, Deiopeia, shall be thine;110
And make thee Father of a happy Line.
To this the God———Tis yours, O Queen! to will
The Work, which Duty binds me to fulfil.
These airy Kingdoms, and this wide Command,
Are all the Presents of your bounteous Hand: 115
Yours is my Sov'raign's Grace, and, as your Guest,
I sit with Gods at their Cœlestial Feast.
Raise Tempests at your Pleasure, or subdue;
Dispose of Empire, which I hold from you.
He said, and hurl'd against the Mountain side, 120
His quiv'ring Spear, and all, the God apply'd.
The raging Winds rush through the hollow Wound,
And dance aloft in Air, and skim along the Ground:
Then setling on the Sea, the Surges sweep;
Raise liquid Mountains, and disclose the deep. 125
South, East, and West, with mix'd Confusion roar,
And rowl the foaming Billows to the Shoar.
}The Cables crack, the Sailors fearful Cries
Ascend; and sable Night involves the Skies;
And Heav'n it self is ravish'd from their Eyes.130
Loud Peals of Thunder from the Poles ensue,
Then flashing Fires the transient Light renew;
The Face of things a frightful Image bears,
And present Death in various Forms appears.
Struck with unusual Fright, the Trojan Chief, 135
With lifted Hands and Eyes, invokes Relief.
And thrice, and four times happy those, he cry'd,
That under Ilian Walls before their Parents dy'd.
}Tydides, bravest of the Grecian Train,
Why cou'd not I by that strong Arm be slain, 140
And lye by noble Hector on the Plain,
Or great Sarpedon, in those bloody Fields,
Where Simois rouls the Bodies, and the Shields
Of Heroes, whose dismember'd Hands yet bear
The Dart aloft, and clench the pointed Spear? 145
Thus while the Pious Prince his Fate bewails,
Fierce Boreas drove against his flying Sails,
And rent the Sheets: The raging Billows rise,
And mount the tossing Vessel to the Skies:
Nor can the shiv'ring Oars sustain the Blow;150
The Galley gives her side, and turns her Prow:
While those astern descending down the Steep,
Thro' gaping Waves behold the boiling deep.
Three Ships were hurry'd by the Southern Blast,
And on the secret Shelves with Fury cast.155
Those hidden Rocks, th' Ausonian Sailors knew,
They call'd them Altars, when they rose in view,
And show'd their spacious Backs above the Flood.
Three more, fierce Eurus in his angry Mood,
Dash'd on the Shallows of the moving Sand,160
And in mid Ocean left them moor'd a-land.
Orontes Barque that bore the Lycian Crew,
(A horrid Sight) ev'n in the Hero's view,
From Stem to Stern, by Waves was overborn:
The trembling Pilot, from his Rudder torn,165
Was headlong hurl'd; thrice round, the Ship was tost,
Then bulg'd at once, and in the deep was lost.
And here and there above the Waves were seen
Arms, Pictures, precious Goods, and floating Men.
The stoutest Vessel to the Storm gave way,170
And suck'd through loosen'd Planks the rushing Sea.
Ilioneus was her Chief: Alethes old,
Achates faithful, Abas young and bold
Endur'd not less: their Ships, with gaping Seams,
Admit the Deluge of the briny Streams.175
Mean time Imperial Neptune heard the Sound
Of raging Billows breaking on the Ground:
Displeas'd, and fearing for his Wat'ry Reign,
He rear'd his awful Head above the Main:
Serene in Majesty, then rowl'd his Eyes180
Around the Space of Earth, and Seas, and Skies.
He saw the Trojan Fleet dispers'd, distress'd
By stormy Winds and wintry Heav'n oppress'd.
Full well the God his Sister's envy knew,
And what her Aims, and what her Arts pursue:185
He summon'd Eurus and the western Blast,
And first an angry glance on both he cast:
Then thus rebuk'd; Audacious Winds! from whence
This bold Attempt, this Rebel Insolence?
Is it for you to ravage Seas and Land,190
Unauthoriz'd by my supream Command?
}To raise such Mountains on the troubl'd Main?
Whom I———But first tis fit, the Billows to restrain,
And then you shall be taught obedience to my Reign.
Hence, to your Lord my Royal Mandate bear,195
The Realms of Ocean and the Fields of Air
Are mine, not his; by fatal Lot to me
The liquid Empire fell, and Trident of the Sea.
His Pow'r to hollow Caverns is confin'd,
There let him reign, the Jailor of the Wind:200
With hoarse Commands his breathing Subjects call,
And boast and bluster in his empty Hall.
He spoke: And while he spoke, he smooth'd the Sea,
Dispell'd the Darkness, and restor'd the Day:
Cymothoe, Triton, and the Sea-green Train205
Of beauteous Nymphs, the Daughters of the Main,
}Clear from the Rocks the Vessels with their hands;
The God himself with ready Trident stands,
And opes the Deep, and spreads the moving sands;
}Then heaves them off the sholes: where e'er he guides
His finny Coursers, and in Triumph rides,211
The Waves unruffle and the Sea subsides.
As when in Tumults rise th' ignoble Crow'd,
Mad are their Motions, and their Tongues are loud;
And Stones and Brands in ratling Vollies fly,215
And all the Rustick Arms that Fury can supply:
If then some grave and Pious Man appear,
They hush their Noise, and lend a list'ning Ear;
He sooths with sober Words their angry Mood,
And quenches their innate Desire of Blood: 220
So when the Father of the Flood appears,
And o'er the Seas his Sov'raign Trident rears,
}Their Fury falls: He skims the liquid Plains,
High on his Chariot, and with loosen'd Reins,
Majestick moves along, and awful Peace maintains.
The weary Trojans ply their shatter'd Oars,225
To nearest Land, and make the Lybian Shoars.
Within a long Recess there lies a Bay,
An Island shades it from the rowling Sea,
And forms a Port secure for Ships to ride,230}
Broke by the jutting Land on either side:
In double Streams the briny Waters glide.
Betwixt two rows of Rocks, a Sylvan Scene
Appears above, and Groves for ever green:
A Grott is form'd beneath, with Mossy Seats,235
To rest the Nereids, and exclude the Heats.
Down thro' the Cranies of the living Walls
The Crystal Streams descend in murm'ring Falls.
No Haulsers need to bind the Vessels here,
Nor bearded Anchors, for no Storms they fear.240
Sev'n Ships within this happy Harbour meet,
The thin Remainders of the scatter'd Fleet.
The Trojans, worn with Toils, and spent with Woes,
Leap on the welcome Land, and seek their wish'd Repose.
First, good Achates, with repeated stroaks245
Of clashing Flints, their hidden Fire provokes;
Short Flame succeeds, a Bed of wither'd Leaves
The dying Sparkles in their Fall receives:
Caught into Life, in smoaking Fumes they rise,
And, fed with stronger Food, invade the Skies.250
The Trojans, dropping wet, or stand around
The chearful blaze, or lye along the Ground:
Some dry their Corn infected with the Brine,
Then grind with Marbles, and prepare to dine.
Æneas climbs the Mountain's airy Brow,255
And takes a Prospect of the Seas below:
If Capys thence, or Antheus he cou'd spy;
Or see the Streamers of Caicus fly.
No Vessels were in view: But, on the Plain,
Three beamy Stags command a Lordly Train260
Of branching Heads; the more ignoble Throng
Attend their stately Steps, and slowly graze along.
He stood; and while secure they fed below,
He took the Quiver, and the trusty Bow
Achates us'd to bear; the Leaders first265
He laid along, and then the Vulgar pierc'd:
Nor ceas'd his Arrows, 'till the shady Plain
Sev'n mighty Bodies, with their Blood distain.
For the sev'n Ships he made an equal Share,
And to the Port return'd, Triumphant from the War.
The Jarrs of gen'rous Wine, (Acestes Gift,271
When his Trinacrian Shoars the Navy left)
He set abroach, and for the Feast prepar'd;
In equal Portions, with the Ven'son shar'd.
Thus while he dealt it round, the pious Chief,275
With chearful Words, allay'd the common Grief.
Endure, and conquer; Jove will soon dispose
To future Good, our past and present Woes.
With me, the Rocks of Scylla you have try'd;
Th' inhuman Cyclops, and his Den defy'd.280
What greater Ills hereafter you can bear?
Resume your Courage, and dismiss your Care.
An Hour will come, with Pleasure to relate
Your Sorrows past, as Benefits of Fate.
Through various Hazards, and Events we move285
To Latium, and the Realms foredoom'd by Jove.
Call'd to the Seat, (the Promise of the Skies,)
Where Trojan Kingdoms once again may rise.
Endure the Hardships of your present State,
Live, and reserve your selves for better Fate.290
These Words he spoke; but spoke not from his Heart;
His outward Smiles conceal'd his inward Smart.
The jolly Crew, unmindful of the past,
The Quarry share, their plenteous Dinner haste:294
Some strip the Skin, some portion out the Spoil; }
The Limbs yet trembling, in the Cauldrons boyl:
Some on the Fire the reeking Entrails broil.
Stretch'd on the grassy Turf, at ease they dine;
Restore their Strength with Meat, and chear their Souls with Wine.
Their Hunger thus appeas'd, their Care attends300
The doubtful Fortune of their absent Friends:
Alternate Hopes and Fears their Minds possess,
Whether to deem 'em dead, or in Distress.
Above the rest, Æneas mourns the Fate
Of brave Orontes, and th' uncertain State305
Of Gyas, Lycus, and of Amycus:
The Day, but not their Sorrows, ended thus.
When, from aloft, Almighty Jove surveys
Earth, Air, and Shoars, and navigable Seas,
At length on Lybian Realms he fix'd his Eyes:310
Whom, pond'ring thus on Human Miseries,
When Venus saw, she with a lowly Look,
Not free from Tears, her Heav'nly Sire bespoke.
O King of Gods and Men, whose awful Hand, }
Disperses Thunder on the Seas and Land;315
Disposing all with absolute Command:
How cou'd my Pious Son thy Pow'r incense,
Or what, alas! is vanish'd Troy's Offence?
Our hope of Italy not only lost, }
On various Seas, by various Tempests tost,320
But shut from ev'ry Shoar, and barr'd from ev'ry Coast.
You promis'd once, a Progeny Divine,
Of Romans, rising from the Trojan Line,
In after-times shou'd hold the World in awe,
And to the Land and Ocean give the Law.325
How is your Doom revers'd, which eas'd my Care;
When Troy was ruin'd in that cruel War?
Then Fates to Fates I cou'd oppose; but now,
When Fortune still pursues her former Blow,
What can I hope? What worse can still succeed?330
What end of Labours has your Will decreed?
Antenor, from the midst of Grecian Hosts,
Could pass secure, and pierce th' Illyrian Coasts:
Where rowling down the Steep, Timavus raves,
And through nine Channels disembogues his Waves.355
At length he founded Padua's happy Seat,
And gave his Trojans a secure Retreat:
There fix'd their Arms, and there renew'd their Name,
And there in Quiet rules, and crown'd with Fame.
But we, descended from your sacred Line,340
Entitled to your Heav'n, and Rites Divine,
Are banish'd Earth, and, for the Wrath of one,
Remov'd from Latium, and the promis'd Throne.
Are these our Scepters? These our due Rewards?
And is it thus that Jove his plighted Faith Regards?
To whom, the Father of th' immortal Race,346
Smiling with that serene indulgent Face,
With which he drives the Clouds, and clears the Skies:
First gave a holy Kiss; then thus replies.
Daughter, dismiss thy Fears: To thy desire350
The Fates of thine are fix'd, and stand entire.
Thou shalt behold thy wish'd Lavinian Walls,
And, ripe for Heav'n, when Fate Æneas calls,
Then shalt thou bear him up, sublime, to me;
No Councils have revers'd my firm Decree.355
And left new Fears disturb thy happy State,
Know, I have search'd the Mystick Rolls of Fate:
Thy Son (nor is th' appointed Season far)
In Italy shall wage successful War:
Shall tame fierce Nations in the bloody Field,360
And Sov'raign Laws impose, and Cities build.
Till, after ev'ry Foe subdu'd, the Sun
Thrice through the Signs his Annual Race shall run:
This is his time prefix'd. Ascanius then,
Now called Julus, shall begin his Reign.365
He thirty rowling Years the Crown shall wear:
Then from Lavinium shall the Seat transfer:
And, with hard Labour, Alba-longa build;
The Throne with his Succession shall be fill'd,
Three hundred Circuits more: then shall be seen,370
Ilia the fair, a Priestess and a Queen.
Who full of Mars, in time, with kindly Throws,
Shall at a Birth two goodly Boys disclose.
The Royal Babes a tawny Wolf shall drain,
Then Romulus his Grandsire's Throne shall gain,375
Of Martial Tow'rs the Founder shall become,
The People Romans call; the City Rome.
To them, no Bounds of Empire I assign;
Nor term of Years to their immortal Line.
Ev'n haughty Juno, who, with endless Broils,380
Earth, Seas, and Heav'n, and Jove himself turmoils;
At length atton'd, her friendly Pow'r shall joyn,
To cherish and advance the Trojan Line.
The subjećt World shall Rome's Dominion own,
And, prostrate, shall adore the Nation of the Gown.
An Age is ripening in revolving Fate,386
When Troy shall overturn the Grecian State:
And sweet Revenge her conqu'ring Sons shall call,
To crush the People that conspir'd her Fall.
Then Cæsar from the Julian Stock shall rise,390
Whose Empire Ocean, and whose Fame the Skies
Alone shall bound. Whom, fraught with Eastern Spoils,
Our Heav'n, the just Reward of Human Toyls,
Securely shall repay with Rites Divine;
And Incense shall ascend before his sacred Shrine.395
Then dire Debate, and impious War shall cease,
And the stern Age be softned into Peace:
Then banish'd Faith shall once again return,
And Vestal Fires in hallow'd Temples burn,
And Remus with Quirinus shall sustain,400
The righteous Laws, and Fraud and Force restrain.
Janus himself before his Fane shall wait,
And keep the dreadful issues of his Gate,
With Bolts and Iron Bars: within remains
Imprison'd Fury, bound in brazen Chains:405
High on a Trophie rais'd, of useless Arms,
He sits, and threats the World with vain Alarms.
He said, and sent Cyllenius with Command
To free the Ports, and ope the Punique Land
To Trojan Guests; left ignorant of Fate,410
The Queen might force them from her Town and State.
Down from the Steep of Heav'n Cyllenius flies,
And cleaves with all his Wings the yielding Skies.
Soon on the Lybian Shoar descends the God;
Performs his Message, and displays his Rod:415
The surly Murmurs of the People cease,
And, as the Fates requir'd, they give the Peace.
The Queen her self suspends the rigid Laws,
The Trojans pities, and protects their Cause.
Mean time, in Shades of Night Æneas lies;420
Care seiz'd his Soul, and Sleep forsook his Eyes.
But when the Sun restor'd the chearful Day,
He rose, the Coast and Country to survey,
Anxious and eager to discover more:
It look'd a wild uncultivated Shoar:425
But whether Human Kind, or Beasts alone
Possess'd the new-found Region, was unknown.
Beneath a ledge of Rocks his Fleet he hides; }
Tall Trees surround the Mountains shady sides:429
The bending Brow above, a safe Retreat provides.
Arm'd with two pointed Darts, he leaves his Friends,
And true Achates on his steps attends.
Loe, in the deep Recesses of the Wood,
Before his Eyes his Goddess Mother stood:
A Huntress in her Habit and her Meen;435
Her dress a Maid, her Air confess'd a Queen.
Bare were her Knees, and knots her Garments bind; }
Loose was her Hair, and wanton'd in the Wind;
Her Hand sustain'd a Bow, her Quiver hung behind.
She seem'd a Virgin of the Spartan Blood:440
With such Array Harpalice bestrode
Her Thracian Courser, and outstrip'd the rapid Flood.
Ho! Strangers! have you lately seen, she said, }
One of my Sisters, like my self array'd;
Who crost the Lawn, or in the Forest stray'd?445
A Painted Quiver at her Back she bore; }
Vary'd with Spots, a Linx's Hide she wore:
And at full Cry pursu'd the tusky Boar?
Thus Venus: Thus her Son reply'd agen;
None of your Sisters have we heard or seen,450
O Virgin! or what other Name you bear
Above that style; O more than mortal fair!
Your Voice and Meen Cœlestial Birth betray!
If, as you seem, the Sister of the Day;
Or one at least of Chast Diana's Train,455
Let not an humble Suppliant sue in vain:
But tell a Stranger, long in Tempests tost,
What Earth we tread, and who commands the Coast?
Then on your Name shall wretched Mortals call;
And offer'd Victims at your Altars fall.460
I dare not, she reply'd, assume the Name
Of Goddess, or Cœlestial Honours claim:
For Tyrian Virgins Bows and Quivers bear,
And Purple Buskins o'er their Ankles wear.
Know, gentle Youth, in Lybian Lands you are:465
A People rude in Peace, and rough in War.
The rising City, which from far you see,
Is Carthage; and a Tyrian Colony.
Phenician Dido rules the growing State, }
Who fled from Tyre, to shun her Brother's hate:470
Great were her wrongs, her Story full of Fate;
Which I will sum in short. Sicheus known
For wealth, and Brother to the Punic Throne,
Possess'd fair Dido's Bed: And either heart
At once was wounded with an equal Dart.475
Her Father gave her, yet a spotless Maid;
Pigmalion then the Tyrian Scepter sway'd:
One who contemn'd Divine and Humane Laws.
Then Strife ensu'd, and cursed Gold the Cause.
The Monarch, blinded with desire of Wealth;480
With Steel invades his Brother's life by stealth;
Before the sacred Altar made him bleed,
And long from her conceal'd the cruel deed:
Some Tale, some new Pretence, he daily coin'd,
To sooth his Sister, and delude her Mind.485
At length, in dead of Night, the Ghost appears }
Of her unhappy Lord: The Spectre stares,
And with erected Eyes his bloody Bosom bares.
The cruel Altars, and his Fate he tells,
And the dire Secret of his House reveals.490
Then warns the Widow, with her household Gods,
To seek a Refuge in remote abodes.
Last, to support her, in so long a way,
He shows her where his hidden Treasure lay.
Admonish'd thus, and seiz'd with mortal fright,495
The Queen provides Companions of her flight:
They meet; and all combine to leave the State,
Who hate the Tyrant, or who fear his hate.
They seize a Fleet, which ready rigg'd they find:
Nor is Pigmalion's Treasure left behind.500
The Vessels, heavy laden, put to Sea
With prosp'rous Winds; a Woman leads the way.
I know not, if by stress of Weather driv'n,
Or was their fatal Course dispos'd by Heav'n;
At last they landed, where from far your Eyes505
May view the Turrets of new Carthage rise:
There bought a space of Ground, which Byrsa call'd
From the Bulls hid, they first inclos'd, and wall'd.
But whence are you, what Country claims your Birth?
What seek you, Strangers, on our Lybian Earth?510
To whom, with sorrow streaming from his Eyes,
And deeply fighing, thus her Son replies:
Cou'd your with Patience hear, or I relate,
O Nymph! the tedious Annals of our Fate!
Thro' such a train of Woes if I shou'd run,515
The day wou'd sooner than the Tale be done!
From ancient Troy, by Force expell'd we came,
If you by chance have heard the Trojan Name
On various Seas by various Tempests tost,
At length we landed on your Lybian Coast.520
The Good Æneas am I call'd, a Name,
While Fortune favour'd, not unknown to Fame:
My houshold Gods, Companions of my Woes,
With pious Care I rescu'd from our Foes.
To fruitful Italy my Course was bent,525
And from the King of Heav'n is my Descent.
With twice ten Sail I crost the Phrygian Sea;
Fate and my Mother Goddess, led my Way.
Scarce sev'n, the thin Remainder of my Fleet,329
From Storms preserv'd, within your Harbour meet:
My self distress'd, an Exile, and unknown, }
Debarr'd from Europe, and from Asia thrown
In Lybian Desarts wander thus alone.
His tender Parent could no longer bear;
But, interposing, sought to sooth his Care.535
Who e'er you are, not unbelov'd by Heav'n,
Since on our friendly Shoar your Ships are driv'n:
Have Courage: To the Gods permit the rest,
And to the Queen expose your just Request.
Now take this earnest of Success, for more:540
Your scatter'd Fleet is join'd upon the Shoar;
The Winds are chang'd, your Friends from danger free,
Or I renounce my Skill in Augury.
Twelve Swans behold, in beauteous order move,
And stoop with closing Pinions from above:545
Whom late the Bird of jove had driv'n along,
And through the Clouds pursu'd the scattring Throng:
Now all united in a goodly Team,
They skim the Ground, and seek the quiet Stream.
As they, with Joy returning, clap their Wings,550
And ride the Circuit of the Skies in Rings:
Not otherwise your Ships, and ev'ry Friend,
Already hold the Port, or with swift Sails descend.
No more Advice is needful, but pursue
The Path before you, and the Town in view.555
Thus having said, she turn'd, and made appear
Her Neck refulgent, and dishevel'd Hair;
Which flowing from her Shoulders, reach'd the Ground,
And widely spread Ambrosial Scents around:
In length of Train descends her sweeping Gown,560
And by her graceful Walk, the Queen of Love is known.