Aeneid 6 (lines 679-901)

In the midst of this larger epic poem the wandering hero Aeneas meets his deceased father, Anchises, in the Underworld

(ca. 1100 b.c., after the Trojan War) who reveals the great glories which await the future Rome from its beginning down

to the time of Augustus Caesar (20’s b.c., when V. composed the poem). The selection begins with the emotional reunion

of the son and father, followed by a visual ‘preview’ of Romans who have not yet been born.

But old Anchises, in a flow'ry vale,

Review'd his muster'd race, and took the tale:

Those happy spirits, which, ordain'd by fate,

For future beings and new bodies wait-

With studious thought observ'd th' illustrious throng,

In nature's order as they pass'd along:

Their names, their fates, their conduct, and their care,

In peaceful senates and successful war.

He, when Aeneas on the plain appears,

Meets him with open arms, and falling tears.

"Welcome," he said, "the gods' undoubted race!

O long expected to my dear embrace!

Once more 't is giv'n me to behold your face!

The love and pious duty which you pay

Have pass'd the perils of so hard a way.

'T is true, computing times, I now believ'd

The happy day approach'd; nor are my hopes deceiv'd.

What length of lands, what oceans have you pass'd;

What storms sustain'd, and on what shores been cast?

How have I fear'd your fate! but fear'd it most,

When love assail'd you, on the Libyan coast."

To this, the filial duty thus replies:

"Your sacred ghost before my sleeping eyes

Appear'd, and often urg'd this painful enterprise.

After long tossing on the Tyrrhene sea,

My navy rides at anchor in the bay.

But reach your hand, O parent shade, nor shun

The dear embraces of your longing son!"

He said; and falling tears his face bedew:

Then thrice around his neck his arms he threw;

And thrice the flitting shadow slipp'd away,

Like winds, or empty dreams that fly the day.

Now, in a secret vale, the Trojan sees

A sep'rate grove, thro' which a gentle breeze

Plays with a passing breath, and whispers thro' the trees;

And, just before the confines of the wood,

The gliding Lethe leads her silent flood.

About the boughs an airy nation flew,

Thick as the humming bees, that hunt the golden dew;

In summer's heat on tops of lilies feed,

And creep within their bells, to suck the balmy seed:

The winged army roams the fields around;

The rivers and the rocks remurmur to the sound.

Aeneas wond'ring stood, then ask'd the cause

Which to the stream the crowding people draws.

Then thus the sire: "The souls that throng the flood

Are those to whom, by fate, are other bodies ow'd:

In Lethe's lake they long oblivion taste,

Of future life secure, forgetful of the past.

Long has my soul desir'd this time and place,

To set before your sight your glorious race,

That this presaging joy may fire your mind

To seek the shores by destiny design'd."-

"O father, can it be, that souls sublime

Return to visit our terrestrial clime,

And that the gen'rous mind, releas'd by death,

Can covet lazy limbs and mortal breath?"

Anchises then, in order, thus begun

To clear those wonders to his godlike son:

"Know, first, that heav'n, and earth's compacted frame,

And flowing waters, and the starry flame,

And both the radiant lights, one common soul

Inspires and feeds, and animates the whole.

This active mind, infus'd thro' all the space,

Unites and mingles with the mighty mass.

Hence men and beasts the breath of life obtain,

And birds of air, and monsters of the main.

Th' ethereal vigor is in all the same,

And every soul is fill'd with equal flame;

As much as earthy limbs, and gross allay

Of mortal members, subject to decay,

Blunt not the beams of heav'n and edge of day.

From this coarse mixture of terrestrial parts,

Desire and fear by turns possess their hearts,

And grief, and joy; nor can the groveling mind,

In the dark dungeon of the limbs confin'd,

Assert the native skies, or own its heav'nly kind:

Nor death itself can wholly wash their stains;

But long-contracted filth ev'n in the soul remains.

The relics of inveterate vice they wear,

And spots of sin obscene in ev'ry face appear.

For this are various penances enjoin'd;

And some are hung to bleach upon the wind,

Some plung'd in waters, others purg'd in fires,

Till all the dregs are drain'd, and all the rust expires.

All have their manes, and those manes bear:

The few, so cleans'd, to these abodes repair,

And breathe, in ample fields, the soft Elysian air.

Then are they happy, when by length of time

The scurf is worn away of each committed crime;

No speck is left of their habitual stains,

But the pure ether of the soul remains.

But, when a thousand rolling years are past,

(So long their punishments and penance last,)

Whole droves of minds are, by the driving god,

Compell'd to drink the deep Lethaean flood,

In large forgetful draughts to steep the cares

Of their past labors, and their irksome years,

That, unrememb'ring of its former pain,

The soul may suffer mortal flesh again."

Thus having said, the father spirit leads

The priestess and his son thro' swarms of shades,

And takes a rising ground, from thence to see

The long procession of his progeny.

"Survey," pursued the sire, "this airy throng,

As, offer'd to thy view, they pass along.

These are th' Italian names, which fate will join

With ours, and graff upon the Trojan line.

Observe the youth who first appears in sight,

And holds the nearest station to the light,

Already seems to snuff the vital air,

And leans just forward, on a shining spear:

Silvius is he, thy last-begotten race,

But first in order sent, to fill thy place;

An Alban name, but mix'd with Dardan blood,

Born in the covert of a shady wood:

Him fair Lavinia, thy surviving wife,

Shall breed in groves, to lead a solitary life.

In Alba he shall fix his royal seat,

And, born a king, a race of kings beget.

Then Procas, honor of the Trojan name,

Capys, and Numitor, of endless fame.

A second Silvius after these appears;

Silvius Aeneas, for thy name he bears;

For arms and justice equally renown'd,

Who, late restor'd, in Alba shall be crown'd.

How great they look! how vig'rously they wield

Their weighty lances, and sustain the shield!

But they, who crown'd with oaken wreaths appear,

Shall Gabian walls and strong Fidena rear;

Nomentum, Bola, with Pometia, found;

And raise Collatian tow'rs on rocky ground.

All these shall then be towns of mighty fame,

Tho' now they lie obscure, and lands without a name.

See Romulus the great, born to restore

The crown that once his injur'd grandsire wore.

This prince a priestess of your blood shall bear,

And like his sire in arms he shall appear.

Two rising crests, his royal head adorn;

Born from a god, himself to godhead born:

His sire already signs him for the skies,

And marks the seat amidst the deities.

Auspicious chief! thy race, in times to come,

Shall spread the conquests of imperial Rome-

Rome, whose ascending tow'rs shall heav'n invade,

Involving earth and ocean in her shade;

High as the Mother of the Gods in place,

And proud, like her, of an immortal race.

Then, when in pomp she makes the Phrygian round,

With golden turrets on her temples crown'd;

A hundred gods her sweeping train supply;

Her offspring all, and all command the sky.

"Now fix your sight, and stand intent, to see

Your Roman race, and Julian progeny.

The mighty Caesar waits his vital hour,

Impatient for the world, and grasps his promis'd pow'r.

But next behold the youth of form divine,

Ceasar himself, exalted in his line;

Augustus, promis'd oft, and long foretold,

Sent to the realm that Saturn rul'd of old;

Born to restore a better age of gold.

Afric and India shall his pow'r obey;

He shall extend his propagated sway

Beyond the solar year, without the starry way,

Where Atlas turns the rolling heav'ns around,

And his broad shoulders with their lights are crown'd.

At his foreseen approach, already quake

The Caspian kingdoms and Maeotian lake:

Their seers behold the tempest from afar,

And threat'ning oracles denounce the war.

Nile hears him knocking at his sev'nfold gates,

And seeks his hidden spring, and fears his nephew's fates.

Nor Hercules more lands or labors knew,

Not tho' the brazen-footed hind he slew,

Freed Erymanthus from the foaming boar,

And dipp'd his arrows in Lernaean gore;

Nor Bacchus, turning from his Indian war,

By tigers drawn triumphant in his car,

From Nisus' top descending on the plains,

With curling vines around his purple reins.

And doubt we yet thro' dangers to pursue

The paths of honor, and a crown in view?

But what's the man, who from afar appears?

His head with olive crown'd, his hand a censer bears,

His hoary beard and holy vestments bring

His lost idea back: I know the Roman king.

He shall to peaceful Rome new laws ordain,

Call'd from his mean abode a scepter to sustain.

Him Tullus next in dignity succeeds,

An active prince, and prone to martial deeds.

He shall his troops for fighting fields prepare,

Disus'd to toils, and triumphs of the war.

By dint of sword his crown he shall increase,

And scour his armor from the rust of peace.

Whom Ancus follows, with a fawning air,

But vain within, and proudly popular.

Next view the Tarquin kings, th' avenging sword

Of Brutus, justly drawn, and Rome restor'd.

He first renews the rods and ax severe,

And gives the consuls royal robes to wear.

His sons, who seek the tyrant to sustain,

And long for arbitrary lords again,

With ignominy scourg'd, in open sight,

He dooms to death deserv'd, asserting public right.

Unhappy man, to break the pious laws

Of nature, pleading in his children's cause!

Howeer the doubtful fact is understood,

'T is love of honor, and his country's good:

The consul, not the father, sheds the blood.

Behold Torquatus the same track pursue;

And, next, the two devoted Decii view:

The Drusian line, Camillus loaded home

With standards well redeem'd, and foreign foes o'ercome

The pair you see in equal armor shine,

Now, friends below, in close embraces join;

But, when they leave the shady realms of night,

And, cloth'd in bodies, breathe your upper light,

With mortal hate each other shall pursue:

What wars, what wounds, what slaughter shall ensue!

From Alpine heights the father first descends;

His daughter's husband in the plain attends:

His daughter's husband arms his eastern friends.

Embrace again, my sons, be foes no more;

Nor stain your country with her children's gore!

And thou, the first, lay down thy lawless claim,

Thou, of my blood, who bearist the Julian name!

Another comes, who shall in triumph ride,

And to the Capitol his chariot guide,

From conquer'd Corinth, rich with Grecian spoils.

And yet another, fam'd for warlike toils,

On Argos shall impose the Roman laws,

And on the Greeks revenge the Trojan cause;

Shall drag in chains their Achillean race;

Shall vindicate his ancestors' disgrace,

And Pallas, for her violated place.

Great Cato there, for gravity renown'd,

And conqu'ring Cossus goes with laurels crown'd.

Who can omit the Gracchi? who declare

The Scipios' worth, those thunderbolts of war,

The double bane of Carthage? Who can see

Without esteem for virtuous poverty,

Severe Fabricius, or can cease t' admire

The plowman consul in his coarse attire?

Tir'd as I am, my praise the Fabii claim;

And thou, great hero, greatest of thy name,

Ordain'd in war to save the sinking state,

And, by delays, to put a stop to fate!

Let others better mold the running mass

Of metals, and inform the breathing brass,

And soften into flesh a marble face;

Plead better at the bar; describe the skies,

And when the stars descend, and when they rise.

But, Rome, 't is thine alone, with awful sway,

To rule mankind, and make the world obey,

Disposing peace and war by thy own majestic way;

To tame the proud, the fetter'd slave to free:

These are imperial arts, and worthy thee."

He paus'd; and, while with wond'ring eyes they view'd

The passing spirits, thus his speech renew'd:

"See great Marcellus! how, untir'd in toils,

He moves with manly grace, how rich with regal spoils!

He, when his country, threaten'd with alarms,

Requires his courage and his conqu'ring arms,

Shall more than once the Punic bands affright;

Shall kill the Gaulish king in single fight;

Then to the Capitol in triumph move,

And the third spoils shall grace Feretrian Jove."

Aeneas here beheld, of form divine,

A godlike youth in glitt'ring armor shine,

With great Marcellus keeping equal pace;

But gloomy were his eyes, dejected was his face.

He saw, and, wond'ring, ask'd his airy guide,

What and of whence was he, who press'd the hero's side:

"His son, or one of his illustrious name?

How like the former, and almost the same!

Observe the crowds that compass him around;

All gaze, and all admire, and raise a shouting sound:

But hov'ring mists around his brows are spread,

And night, with sable shades, involves his head."

"Seek not to know," the ghost replied with tears,

"The sorrows of thy sons in future years.

This youth (the blissful vision of a day)

Shall just be shown on earth, and snatch'd away.

The gods too high had rais'd the Roman state,

Were but their gifts as permanent as great.

What groans of men shall fill the Martian field!

How fierce a blaze his flaming pile shall yield!

What fun'ral pomp shall floating Tiber see,

When, rising from his bed, he views the sad solemnity!

No youth shall equal hopes of glory give,

No youth afford so great a cause to grieve;

The Trojan honor, and the Roman boast,

Admir'd when living, and ador'd when lost!

Mirror of ancient faith in early youth!

Undaunted worth, inviolable truth!

No foe, unpunish'd, in the fighting field

Shall dare thee, foot to foot, with sword and shield;

Much less in arms oppose thy matchless force,

When thy sharp spurs shall urge thy foaming horse.

Ah! couldst thou break thro' fate's severe decree,

A new Marcellus shall arise in thee!

Full canisters of fragrant lilies bring,

Mix'd with the purple roses of the spring;

Let me with fun'ral flow'rs his body strow;

This gift which parents to their children owe,

This unavailing gift, at least, I may bestow!"

Thus having said, he led the hero round

The confines of the blest Elysian ground;

Which when Anchises to his son had shown,

And fir'd his mind to mount the promis'd throne,

He tells the future wars, ordain'd by fate;

The strength and customs of the Latian state;

The prince, and people; and forearms his care

With rules, to push his fortune, or to bear.

Two gates the silent house of Sleep adorn;

Of polish'd ivory this, that of transparent horn:

True visions thro' transparent horn arise;

Thro' polish'd ivory pass deluding lies.

Of various things discoursing as he pass'd,

Anchises hither bends his steps at last.

Then, thro' the gate of iv'ry, he dismiss'd

His valiant offspring and divining guest.

Straight to the ships Aeneas his way,

Embark'd his men, and skimm'd along the sea,

Still coasting, till he gain'd Cajeta's bay.

At length on oozy ground his galleys moor;

Their heads are turn'd to sea, their sterns to shore.