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  • The Episode of Nisus and Euralus[;] A Paraphrase from the "Æneid," Lib.9

The Episode of Nisus and Euralus[;] A Paraphrase from the "Æneid," Lib.9

  1. 1Nisus, the guardian of the portal, stood,
  2. 2Eager to gild his arms with hostile blood;
  3. 3Well skill'd, in fight, the quivering lance to wield,
  4. 4Or pour his arrows thro' th' embattled field:
  5. 5From Ida torn, he left his sylvan cave,
  6. 6And sought a foreign home, a distant grave.
  7. 7To watch the movements of the Daunian host,
  8. 8With him Euryalus sustains the post;
  9. 9No lovelier mien adorn'd the ranks of Troy,
  10. 10And beardless bloom yet grac'd the gallant boy;
  11. 11Though few the seasons of his youthful life,
  12. 12As yet a novice in the martial strife,
  13. 13'Twas his, with beauty, Valour's gifts to share--
  14. 14A soul heroic, as his form was fair:
  15. 15These burn with one pure flame of generous love;
  16. 16In peace, in war, united still they move;
  17. 17Friendship and Glory form their joint reward;
  18. 18And, now, combin'd they hold their nightly guard.
  1. 19"What God," exclaim'd the first, "instils this fire?
  2. 20Or, in itself a God, what great desire?
  3. 21My lab'ring soul, with anxious thought oppress'd,
  4. 22Abhors this station of inglorious rest;
  5. 23The love of fame with this can ill accord,
  6. 24Be't mine to seek for glory with my sword.
  7. 25See'st thou yon camp, with torches twinkling dim,
  8. 26Where drunken slumbers wrap each lazy limb?
  9. 27Where confidence and ease the watch disdain,
  10. 28And drowsy Silence holds her sable reign?
  11. 29Then hear my thought:--In deep and sullen grief
  12. 30Our troops and leaders mourn their absent chief:
  13. 31Now could the gifts and promised prize be thine,
  14. 32(The deed, the danger, and the fame be mine,)
  15. 33Were this decreed, beneath yon rising mound,
  16. 34Methinks, an easy path, perchance, were found;
  17. 35Which past, I speed my way to Pallas' walls,
  18. 36And lead Æneas from Evander's halls."
  1. 37With equal ardour fir'd, and warlike joy,
  2. 38His glowing friend address'd the Dardan boy:--
  3. 39"These deeds, my Nisus, shalt thou dare alone?
  4. 40Must all the fame, the peril, be thine own?
  5. 41Am I by thee despis'd, and left afar,
  6. 42As one unfit to share the toils of war?
  7. 43Not thus his son the great Opheltes taught:
  8. 44Not thus my sire in Argive combats fought;
  9. 45Not thus, when Ilion fell by heavenly hate,
  10. 46I track'd Æneas through the walks of fate:
  11. 47Thou know'st my deeds, my breast devoid of fear,
  12. 48And hostile life-drops dim my gory spear.
  13. 49Here is a soul with hope immortal burns,
  14. 50And life, ignoble life, for Glory spurns.
  15. 51Fame, fame is cheaply earn'd by fleeting breath:
  16. 52The price of honour, is the sleep of death."
  1. 53Then Nisus:--"Calm thy bosom's fond alarms:
  2. 54Thy heart beats fiercely to the din of arms.
  3. 55More dear thy worth, and valour than my own,
  4. 56I swear by him, who fills Olympus' throne!
  5. 57So may I triumph, as I speak the truth,
  6. 58And clasp again the comrade of my youth!
  7. 59But should I fall,--and he, who dares advance
  8. 60Through hostile legions, must abide by chance,--
  9. 61If some Rutulian arm, with adverse blow,
  10. 62Should lay the friend, who ever lov'd thee, low,
  11. 63Live thou--such beauties I would fain preserve--
  12. 64Thy budding years a lengthen'd term deserve;
  13. 65When humbled in the dust, let some one be,
  14. 66Whose gentle eyes will shed one tear for me;
  15. 67Whose manly arm may snatch me back by force,
  16. 68Or wealth redeem, from foes, my captive corse;
  17. 69Or, if my destiny these last deny,
  18. 70If, in the spoiler's power, my ashes lie;
  19. 71Thy pious care may raise a simple tomb,
  20. 72To mark thy love, and signalise my doom.
  21. 73Why should thy doating wretched mother weep
  22. 74Her only boy, reclin'd in endless sleep?
  23. 75Who, for thy sake, the tempest's fury dar'd,
  24. 76Who, for thy sake, war's deadly peril shar'd;
  25. 77Who brav'd what woman never brav'd before,
  26. 78And left her native, for the Latian shore."
  1. 79"In vain you damp the ardour of my soul,"
  2. 80Replied Euryalus; "it scorns controul;
  3. 81Hence, let us haste!"--their brother guards arose,
  4. 82Rous'd by their call, nor court again repose;
  5. 83The pair, buoy'd up on Hope's exulting wing,
  6. 84Their stations leave, and speed to seek the king.
  1. 85Now, o'er the earth a solemn stillness ran,
  2. 86And lull'd alike the cares of brute and man;
  3. 87Save where the Dardan leaders, nightly, hold
  4. 88Alternate converse, and their plans unfold.
  5. 89On one great point the council are agreed,
  6. 90An instant message to their prince decreed;
  7. 91Each lean'd upon the lance he well could wield,
  8. 92And pois'd with easy arm his ancient shield;
  9. 93When Nisus and his friend their leave request,
  10. 94To offer something to their high behest.
  11. 95With anxious tremors, yet unaw'd by fear,
  12. 96The faithful pair before the throne appear;
  13. 97Iulus greets them; at his kind command,
  14. 98The elder, first, address'd the hoary band.
  1. 99"With patience" (thus Hyrtacides began)
  2. 100"Attend, nor judge, from youth, our humble plan.
  3. 101Where yonder beacons half-expiring beam,
  4. 102Our slumbering foes of future conquest dream,
  5. 103Nor heed that we a secret path have trac'd,
  6. 104Between the ocean and the portal plac'd;
  7. 105Beneath the covert of the blackening smoke,
  8. 106Whose shade, securely, our design will cloak!
  9. 107If you, ye Chiefs, and Fortune will allow,
  10. 108We'll bend our course to yonder mountain's brow,
  11. 109Where Pallas' walls, at distance, meet the sight,
  12. 110Seen o'er the glade, when not obscur'd by night:
  13. 111Then shall Æneas in his pride return,
  14. 112While hostile matrons raise their offspring's urn;
  15. 113And Latian spoils, and purpled heaps of dead
  16. 114Shall mark the havoc of our Hero's tread;
  17. 115Such is our purpose, not unknown the way,
  18. 116Where yonder torrent's devious waters stray;
  19. 117Oft have we seen, when hunting by the stream,
  20. 118The distant spires above the valleys gleam."
  1. 119Mature in years, for sober wisdom fam'd,
  2. 120Mov'd by the speech, Alethes here exclaim'd,--
  3. 121"Ye parent gods! who rule the fate of Troy,
  4. 122Still dwells the Dardan spirit in the boy;
  5. 123When minds, like these, in striplings thus ye raise,
  6. 124Yours is the godlike act, be yours the praise;
  7. 125In gallant youth, my fainting hopes revive,
  8. 126And Ilion's wonted glories still survive."
  9. 127Then in his warm embrace the boys he press'd,
  10. 128And, quivering, strain'd them to his agéd breast;
  11. 129With tears the burning cheek of each bedew'd,
  12. 130And, sobbing, thus his first discourse renew'd:--
  13. 131"What gift, my countrymen, what martial prize,
  14. 132Can we bestow, which you may not despise?
  15. 133Our Deities the first best boon have given--
  16. 134Internal virtues are the gift of Heaven.
  17. 135What poor rewards can bless your deeds on earth,
  18. 136Doubtless await such young, exalted worth;
  19. 137Æneas and Ascanius shall combine
  20. 138To yield applause far, far surpassing mine."
  1. 139Iulus then:--"By all the powers above!
  2. 140By those Penates, who my country love!
  3. 141By hoary Vesta's sacred Fane, I swear,
  4. 142My hopes are all in you, ye generous pair!
  5. 143Restore my father, to my grateful sight,
  6. 144And all my sorrows, yield to one delight.
  7. 145Nisus! two silver goblets are thine own,
  8. 146Sav'd from Arisba's stately domes o'erthrown;
  9. 147My sire secured them on that fatal day,
  10. 148Nor left such bowls an Argive robber's prey.
  11. 149Two massy tripods, also, shall be thine,
  12. 150Two talents polish'd from the glittering mine;
  13. 151An ancient cup, which Tyrian Dido gave,
  14. 152While yet our vessels press'd the Punic wave:
  15. 153But when the hostile chiefs at length bow down,
  16. 154When great Æneas wears Hesperia's crown,
  17. 155The casque, the buckler, and the fiery steed
  18. 156Which Turnus guides with more than mortal speed,
  19. 157Are thine; no envious lot shall then be cast,
  20. 158I pledge my word, irrevocably past:
  21. 159Nay more, twelve slaves, and twice six captive dames,
  22. 160To soothe thy softer hours with amorous flames,
  23. 161And all the realms, which now the Latins sway,
  24. 162The labours of to-night shall well repay.
  25. 163But thou, my generous youth, whose tender years
  26. 164Are near my own, whose worth my heart reveres,
  27. 165Henceforth, affection, sweetly thus begun,
  28. 166Shall join our bosoms and our souls in one;
  29. 167Without thy aid, no glory shall be mine,
  30. 168Without thy dear advice, no great design;
  31. 169Alike, through life, esteem'd, thou godlike boy,
  32. 170In war my bulwark, and in peace my joy."
  1. 171To him Euryalus:--"No day shall shame
  2. 172The rising glories which from this I claim.
  3. 173Fortune may favour, or the skies may frown,
  4. 174But valour, spite of fate, obtains renown.
  5. 175Yet, ere from hence our eager steps depart,
  6. 176One boon I beg, the nearest to my heart:
  7. 177My mother, sprung from Priam's royal line,
  8. 178Like thine ennobled, hardly less divine,
  9. 179Nor Troy nor king Acestes' realms restrain
  10. 180Her feeble age from dangers of the main;
  11. 181Alone she came, all selfish fears above,
  12. 182A bright example of maternal love.
  13. 183Unknown, the secret enterprise I brave,
  14. 184Lest grief should bend my parent to the grave;
  15. 185From this alone no fond adieus I seek,
  16. 186No fainting mother's lips have press'd my cheek;
  17. 187By gloomy Night and thy right hand I vow,
  18. 188Her parting tears would shake my purpose now:
  19. 189Do thou, my prince, her failing age sustain,
  20. 190In thee her much-lov'd child may live again;
  21. 191Her dying hours with pious conduct bless,
  22. 192Assist her wants, relieve her fond distress:
  23. 193So dear a hope must all my soul enflame,
  24. 194To rise in glory, or to fall in fame."
  25. 195Struck with a filial care so deeply felt,
  26. 196In tears at once the Trojan warriors melt;
  27. 197Faster than all, Iulus' eyes o'erflow!
  28. 198Such love was his, and such had been his woe.
  29. 199"All thou hast ask'd, receive," the Prince replied;
  30. 200"Nor this alone, but many a gift beside.
  31. 201To cheer thy mother's years shall be my aim,
  32. 202Creusa's [2] style but wanting to the dame;
  33. 203Fortune an adverse wayward course may run,
  34. 204But bless'd thy mother in so dear a son.
  35. 205Now, by my life!--my Sire's most sacred oath--
  36. 206To thee I pledge my full, my firmest troth,
  37. 207All the rewards which once to thee were vow'd,
  38. 208If thou should'st fall, on her shall be bestow'd."
  39. 209Thus spoke the weeping Prince, then forth to view
  40. 210A gleaming falchion from the sheath he drew;
  41. 211Lycaon's utmost skill had grac'd the steel,
  42. 212For friends to envy and for foes to feel:
  43. 213A tawny hide, the Moorish lion's spoil,
  44. 214Slain 'midst the forest in the hunter's toil,
  45. 215Mnestheus to guard the elder youth bestows,
  46. 216And old Alethes' casque defends his brows;
  47. 217Arm'd, thence they go, while all th' assembl'd train,
  48. 218To aid their cause, implore the gods in vain.
  49. 219More than a boy, in wisdom and in grace,
  50. 220Iulus holds amidst the chiefs his place:
  51. 221His prayer he sends; but what can prayers avail,
  52. 222Lost in the murmurs of the sighing gale?
  1. 223The trench is pass'd, and favour'd by the night,
  2. 224Through sleeping foes, they wheel their wary flight.
  3. 225When shall the sleep of many a foe be o'er?
  4. 226Alas! some slumber, who shall wake no more!
  5. 227Chariots and bridles, mix'd with arms, are seen,
  6. 228And flowing flasks, and scatter'd troops between:
  7. 229Bacchus and Mars, to rule the camp, combine;
  8. 230A mingled Chaos this of war and wine.
  9. 231"Now," cries the first, "for deeds of blood prepare,
  10. 232With me the conquest and the labour share:
  11. 233Here lies our path; lest any hand arise,
  12. 234Watch thou, while many a dreaming chieftain dies;
  13. 235I'll carve our passage, through the heedless foe,
  14. 236And clear thy road, with many a deadly blow."
  15. 237His whispering accents then the youth repress'd,
  16. 238And pierced proud Rhamnes through his panting breast:
  17. 239Stretch'd at his ease, th' incautious king repos'd;
  18. 240Debauch, and not fatigue, his eyes had clos'd;
  19. 241To Turnus dear, a prophet and a prince,
  20. 242His omens more than augur's skill evince;
  21. 243But he, who thus foretold the fate of all,
  22. 244Could not avert his own untimely fall.
  23. 245Next Remus' armour-bearer, hapless, fell,
  24. 246And three unhappy slaves the carnage swell;
  25. 247The charioteer along his courser's sides
  26. 248Expires, the steel his sever'd neck divides;
  27. 249And, last, his Lord is number'd with the dead:
  28. 250Bounding convulsive, flies the gasping head;
  29. 251From the swol'n veins the blackening torrents pour;
  30. 252Stain'd is the couch and earth with clotting gore.
  31. 253Young Lamyrus and Lamus next expire,
  32. 254And gay Serranus, fill'd with youthful fire;
  33. 255Half the long night in childish games was pass'd;
  34. 256Lull'd by the potent grape, he slept at last:
  35. 257Ah! happier far, had he the morn survey'd,
  36. 258And, till Aurora's dawn, his skill display'd.
  37. 259In slaughter'd folds, the keepers lost in sleep,
  38. 260His hungry fangs a lion thus may steep;
  39. 261'Mid the sad flock, at dead of night he prowls,
  40. 262With murder glutted, and in carnage rolls
  41. 263Insatiate still, through teeming herds he roams;
  42. 264In seas of gore, the lordly tyrant foams.
  1. 265Nor less the other's deadly vengeance came,
  2. 266But falls on feeble crowds without a name;
  3. 267His wound unconscious Fadus scarce can feel,
  4. 268Yet wakeful Rhæsus sees the threatening steel;
  5. 269His coward breast behind a jar he hides,
  6. 270And, vainly, in the weak defence confides;
  7. 271Full in his heart, the falchion search'd his veins,
  8. 272The reeking weapon bears alternate stains;
  9. 273Through wine and blood, commingling as they flow,
  10. 274One feeble spirit seeks the shades below.
  11. 275Now where Messapus dwelt they bend their way,
  12. 276Whose fires emit a faint and trembling ray;
  13. 277There, unconfin'd, behold each grazing steed,
  14. 278Unwatch'd, unheeded, on the herbage feed:
  15. 279Brave Nisus here arrests his comrade's arm,
  16. 280Too flush'd with carnage, and with conquest warm:
  17. 281"Hence let us haste, the dangerous path is pass'd;
  18. 282Full foes enough, to-night, have breath'd their last:
  19. 283Soon will the Day those Eastern clouds adorn;
  20. 284Now let us speed, nor tempt the rising morn."
  1. 285What silver arms, with various art emboss'd,
  2. 286What bowls and mantles, in confusion toss'd,
  3. 287They leave regardless! yet one glittering prize
  4. 288Attracts the younger Hero's wandering eyes;
  5. 289The gilded harness Rhamnes' coursers felt,
  6. 290The gems which stud the monarch's golden belt:
  7. 291This from the pallid corse was quickly torn,
  8. 292Once by a line of former chieftains worn.
  9. 293Th' exulting boy the studded girdle wears,
  10. 294Messapus' helm his head, in triumph, bears;
  11. 295Then from the tents their cautious steps they bend,
  12. 296To seek the vale, where safer paths extend.
  1. 297Just at this hour, a band of Latian horse
  2. 298To Turnus' camp pursue their destin'd course:
  3. 299While the slow foot their tardy march delay,
  4. 300The knights, impatient, spur along the way:
  5. 301Three hundred mail-clad men, by Volscens led,
  6. 302To Turnus with their master's promise sped:
  7. 303Now they approach the trench, and view the walls,
  8. 304When, on the left, a light reflection falls;
  9. 305The plunder'd helmet, through the waning night,
  10. 306Sheds forth a silver radiance, glancing bright;
  11. 307Volscens, with question loud, the pair alarms:--
  12. 308"Stand, Stragglers! stand! why early thus in arms?
  13. 309From whence? to whom?"--He meets with no reply;
  14. 310Trusting the covert of the night, they fly:
  15. 311The thicket's depth, with hurried pace, they tread,
  16. 312While round the wood the hostile squadron spread.
  1. 313With brakes entangled, scarce a path between,
  2. 314Dreary and dark appears the sylvan scene:
  3. 315Euryalus his heavy spoils impede,
  4. 316The boughs and winding turns his steps mislead;
  5. 317But Nisus scours along the forest's maze,
  6. 318To where Latinus' steeds in safety graze,
  7. 319Then backward o'er the plain his eyes extend,
  8. 320On every side they seek his absent friend.
  9. 321"O God! my boy," he cries, "of me bereft,
  10. 322In what impending perils art thou left!"
  11. 323Listening he runs--above the waving trees,
  12. 324Tumultuous voices swell the passing breeze;
  13. 325The war-cry rises, thundering hoofs around
  14. 326Wake the dark echoes of the trembling ground.
  15. 327Again he turns--of footsteps hears the noise--
  16. 328The sound elates--the sight his hope destroys:
  17. 329The hapless boy a ruffian train surround,
  18. 330While lengthening shades his weary way confound;
  19. 331Him, with loud shouts, the furious knights pursue,
  20. 332Struggling in vain, a captive to the crew.
  21. 333What can his friend 'gainst thronging numbers dare?
  22. 334Ah! must he rush, his comrade's fate to share?
  23. 335What force, what aid, what stratagem essay,
  24. 336Back to redeem the Latian spoiler's prey?
  25. 337His life a votive ransom nobly give,
  26. 338Or die with him, for whom he wish'd to live?
  27. 339Poising with strength his lifted lance on high,
  28. 340On Luna's orb he cast his frenzied eye:--
  1. 341"Goddess serene, transcending every star!
  2. 342Queen of the sky, whose beams are seen afar!
  3. 343By night Heaven owns thy sway, by day the grove,
  4. 344When, as chaste Dian, here thou deign'st to rove;
  5. 345If e'er myself, or Sire, have sought to grace
  6. 346Thine altars, with the produce of the chase,
  7. 347Speed, speed my dart to pierce yon vaunting crowd,
  8. 348To free my friend, and scatter far the proud."
  9. 349Thus having said, the hissing dart he flung;
  10. 350Through parted shades the hurtling weapon sung;
  11. 351The thirsty point in Sulmo's entrails lay,
  12. 352Transfix'd his heart, and stretch'd him on the clay:
  13. 353He sobs, he dies,--the troop in wild amaze,
  14. 354Unconscious whence the death, with horror gaze;
  15. 355While pale they stare, thro' Tagus' temples riven,
  16. 356A second shaft, with equal force is driven:
  17. 357Fierce Volscens rolls around his lowering eyes;
  18. 358Veil'd by the night, secure the Trojan lies.
  19. 359Burning with wrath, he view'd his soldiers fall.
  20. 360"Thou youth accurst, thy life shall pay for all!"
  21. 361Quick from the sheath his flaming glaive he drew,
  22. 362And, raging, on the boy defenceless flew.
  23. 363Nisus, no more the blackening shade conceals,
  24. 364Forth, forth he starts, and all his love reveals;
  25. 365Aghast, confus'd, his fears to madness rise,
  26. 366And pour these accents, shrieking as he flies;
  27. 367"Me, me,--your vengeance hurl on me alone;
  28. 368Here sheathe the steel, my blood is all your own;
  29. 369Ye starry Spheres! thou conscious Heaven! attest!
  30. 370He could not--durst not--lo! the guile confest!
  31. 371All, all was mine,--his early fate suspend;
  32. 372He only lov'd, too well, his hapless friend:
  33. 373Spare, spare, ye Chiefs! from him your rage remove;
  34. 374His fault was friendship, all his crime was love."
  35. 375He pray'd in vain; the dark assassin's sword
  36. 376Pierced the fair side, the snowy bosom gor'd;
  37. 377Lowly to earth inclines his plume-clad crest,
  38. 378And sanguine torrents mantle o'er his breast:
  39. 379As some young rose whose blossom scents the air,
  40. 380Languid in death, expires beneath the share;
  41. 381Or crimson poppy, sinking with the shower,
  42. 382Declining gently, falls a fading flower;
  43. 383Thus, sweetly drooping, bends his lovely head,
  44. 384And lingering Beauty hovers round the dead.
  1. 385But fiery Nisus stems the battle's tide,
  2. 386Revenge his leader, and Despair his guide;
  3. 387Volscens he seeks amidst the gathering host,
  4. 388Volscens must soon appease his comrade's ghost;
  5. 389Steel, flashing, pours on steel, foe crowds on foe;
  6. 390Rage nerves his arm, Fate gleams in every blow;
  7. 391In vain beneath unnumber'd wounds he bleeds,
  8. 392Nor wounds, nor death, distracted Nisus heeds;
  9. 393In viewless circles wheel'd his falchion flies,
  10. 394Nor quits the hero's grasp till Volscens dies;
  11. 395Deep in his throat its end the weapon found,
  12. 396The tyrant's soul fled groaning through the wound.
  13. 397Thus Nisus all his fond affection prov'd--
  14. 398Dying, revenged the fate of him he lov'd;
  15. 399Then on his bosom sought his wonted place,
  16. 400And death was heavenly, in his friend's embrace!
  1. 401Celestial pair! if aught my verse can claim,
  2. 402Wafted on Time's broad pinion, yours is fame!
  3. 403Ages on ages shall your fate admire,
  4. 404No future day shall see your names expire,
  5. 405While stands the Capitol, immortal dome!
  6. 406And vanquished millions hail their Empress, Rome!