Part 7 (1/2)
DRYDEN, _AEneid_, BOOK VI.
From this rising ground AEneas saw the shadowy forms of future heroes of Rome--of Rom'u-lus, who was to found the city--of Brutus, Ca-mil'lus, Fa'bi-us, and of the mighty Caesars.
”Lo! Caesar there and all his seed, Iulus' progeny decreed To pa.s.s 'neath heaven's high dome.
This, this is he, so oft the theme Of your prophetic fancy's dream, Augustus Caesar, Jove's own strain.”
CONINGTON, _AEneid_, BOOK VI.
Anchises next told AEneas of the wars he should have to wage, and instructed him how to avoid or overcome every difficulty. Then he conducted his visitors to the gates of Sleep, through which the G.o.ds of Hades sent dreams to the upper world--true dreams through the gate of horn, and false dreams through the gate of ivory. Here Anchises left them. Then departing by the ivory gate from the kingdom of the dead, they returned to the c.u.maean cave, and AEneas forthwith proceeded to his s.h.i.+ps.
Sleep gives his name to portals twain; One all of horn, they say, Through which authentic spectres gain Quick exit into day, And one which bright with ivory gleams, Whence Pluto sends delusive dreams.
Conversing still, the sire attends The travellers on their road, And through the ivory portal sends From forth the unseen abode.
The chief betakes him to the fleet, Well pleased again his crew to meet.
CONINGTON, _AEneid_, BOOK VI.
VI. AENEAS ARRIVES IN LATIUM--WELCOMED BY KING LATINUS.
The object of his visit to the Sibyl being accomplished, the Trojan chief set sail and steered along the coast in the direction of the promised land. But soon again he had occasion to put ash.o.r.e. His nurse, Ca-i-e'ta, having died shortly after the departure of the fleet from c.u.mae, he desired to give funeral honors to her remains. This duty performed, he named the place (modern Gaeta) in memory of his faithful and attached old servant.
And thou, O matron of immortal fame!
Here dying, to the sh.o.r.e hast left thy name; Gaieta still the place is called from thee, The nurse of great AEneas' infancy.
Here rest thy bones in rich Hesperia's plains; Thy name ('tis all a ghost can have) remains.
DRYDEN, _AEneid_, BOOK VII.
Again resuming their voyage they came near an island where dwelt the sorceress, Cir'ce, who by her enchantments changed men into beasts. As they pa.s.sed the island the Trojans heard with horror the roaring of lions and the howling of wolves, once human beings, but transformed by the cruel G.o.ddess into the shape of those savage animals. Aided, however, by favorable winds sent by the friendly Neptune, they sped away from this dangerous spot, and soon they were near the end of their wanderings. At the dawn of next morning they beheld a s.p.a.cious grove, through which a pleasant river, tinted with the hue of the yellow sand, burst forth into the sea. This was the Tiber on whose banks in the distant future was to be founded the city in which the descendants of the Trojan prince should hold imperial sway. AEneas, though not aware that he was so close to the destined spot, commanded his pilots to turn the s.h.i.+ps towards the land, and joyfully they entered the river. All around, the Trojan chief, as he gazed upon the scene, could hear the sweet music of the groves.
Embowered amid the silvan scene Old Tiber winds his banks between, Around, gay birds of diverse wing, Accustomed there to fly or sing, Were fluttering on from spray to spray And soothing ether with their lay.
CONINGTON, _AEneid_, BOOK VII.
The country in which the Trojans had now landed was called Latium, and La-ti'nus was its king. Like most great kings of ancient times, he was descended from a G.o.d. His father, Faunus, was the grandson of Saturn, the predecessor and father of Jupiter.
Latinus was advanced in years, and he had no male heir, but he had an only daughter, young and beautiful, whose name was La-vin'i-a. Many of the princes of the neighboring states eagerly sought Lavinia's hand in marriage. Chief amongst them was Turnus, king of the Ru'tu-li, a brave and handsome youth. Lavinia's mother, Queen A-ma'ta, favored the suit of Turnus, and desired to have him as her son-in-law.
But the G.o.ds had not willed it so, and they sent signs from heaven-- signs of their disapproval of the proposed union. In the inner court of the palace of Latinus stood a laurel tree which had been preserved for many years with great reverence. From this tree, it was said, Latinus had given the name Lau-ren'tines to the inhabitants of the country. Just about the time the Trojan fleet was entering the Tiber an immense number of bees were seen to cl.u.s.ter on the top of the laurel tree, and soon linking together, feet to feet, they swung in a strange manner from one of the boughs. The king's soothsayer explained this to mean that a foreign hero was then coming into the country, and that he would one day be its ruler.
About the same time, while the princess Lavinia was bringing fire to an altar where her father stood preparing to offer sacrifice, the flame seemed to catch her flowing hair, and to envelop her whole body in its glowing light, without, however, inflicting the slightest injury. The soothsayer declared that this was a sign that Lavinia would be great and famous, but that through her war should come on the people.
”The nymph who scatters flaming fires around, Shall s.h.i.+ne with honor, shall herself be crowned; But, caused by her irrevocable fate, War shall the country waste, and change the state.”
DRYDEN, _AEneid_, BOOK VII.
The king was much troubled by these events and so he went into the wood, to the tomb of his father, Faunus, by whom answers were given in dreams to those who, having offered sacrifices, lay down and slept under the trees. Latinus, after performing the necessary ceremonies, soon heard the voice of his father warning him not to give his daughter in marriage to any prince of his own country. ”A foreigner,”
said he, ”is coming who shall be your son-in-law, and his descendants shall exalt our name to the stars. From his race, united with ours, shall spring mighty men, who shall conquer and rule the world to its farthest limits.”
King Latinus did not conceal his dream. On the contrary he proclaimed it aloud to his people. And so the news of the arrival of the strangers with their s.h.i.+ps came not as a surprise to the inhabitants of Latium.
Meanwhile the Trojans having landed upon the Latian coast, Aeneas and several of his chiefs, accompanied by his son Iulus, sat down under a tall tree to refresh themselves with food and drink. They had cakes of wheat, the last of their store, spread upon the gra.s.s, and upon these cakes they placed wild fruits which they had gathered in the woods.
When they had eaten the fruit, they proceeded to eat the cakes, upon which Iulus exclaimed, ”What, are we eating our tables too?” The boy had no thought of the meaning of what they had been doing. But Aeneas joyfully recognized it as the fulfillment of the threatening prophecy of the Harpy Celaena. The cakes were the tables, and the Trojans had now eaten them without harm.
Then Aeneas spoke encouraging words to his companions. ”Hail, O land, destined to us by the Fates! This is our home; this is our country.