Stories from Virgil Part 5

Now the temple was a marvellous place to look upon. For Daedalus, when he fled from Minos, King of Crete, flying through the air upon wings, came northwards to the land of c.u.mae, and tarried there. Also he dedicated his wings in the temple. On the doors thereof was set forth, graven in stone, the death of Androgeos, and the men of Attica choosing by lot seven of their children who should be given as a ransom yearly; and, rising from the sea upon the other side, the land of Crete. Likewise the Labyrinth was there and its winding ways; but Icarus they saw not, for when his father would have wrought the manner of his death in gold his hands failed him: twice he strove and twice they failed. And when aeneas would have looked further, the priestess said, "Linger not with these things, but slay forthwith seven bullocks from the herd, and seven sheep duly chosen out of the flock." And when they came to the cave--now there are a hundred doors, and a voice cometh forth from each--the Sibyl cried, "It is time. Lo! the G.o.d, the G.o.d!" And even as she spake her look was changed and the colour of her face; also her hair was loosened, and her breast panted, and she waxed greater than is the stature of a man. Then she cried, "Delayest thou to pray, aeneas of Troy? delayest thou? for the doors open not but to prayer." Nor said she more. Then aeneas prayed, saying, "O Phbus, who didst always pity the sorrows of Troy, and didst guide the arrow of Paris that it slew the great Achilles, I have followed thy bidding, journeying over many lands, and now I lay hold on this sh.o.r.e of Italy, which ever seemed to fly before me. Grant thou that our ill fortune follow us no more. And all ye G.o.ds and G.o.ddesses who loved not Troy, be merciful to us. And thou, O Prophetess, give, if it may be, such answer as I would hear. So will I and my people honour thee for ever.

And write it not, I pray thee, upon leaves, lest the winds carry them away, but speak with thy voice."

And for awhile the prophetess strove against the spirit; but at the last it mastered her, and the doors flew open, and she spake, saying, "The perils of the sea thou hast escaped, but there await thee yet worse perils upon the land. The men of Troy shall come to the kingdom of Lavinium. Fear not for that; yet will they fain not have come. I see battles, and the Tiber foaming with blood, and a new Xanthus and Simos, and another Achilles, himself also G.o.ddess-born. Juno also shall be ever against thee. And thou shalt be a suppliant to many cities. And the cause of all these woes shall be again a woman. Only yield not thou, but go ever more boldly when occasion shall serve.

Little thinkest thou that thy first succour shall be from a city of the Greeks."

And when she had ended these words, aeneas made answer: "O Lady, no toil or peril shall take me unawares; for I have thought over all things in my heart. But one thing I ask of thee. Here is the door of the dwellings of the dead. Fain would I pa.s.s thereby, that I may visit my father. I carried him on my shoulders out of the fires of Troy, and with me he endured many things by land and sea, more than befitted his old age. Likewise he bade me ask this boon of thee. Do thou therefore pity both father and son, for thou hast the power, if only thou wilt.

Did not Orpheus bring back his wife from the dead, having his harp only? Also Pollux goeth many times this same path, redeeming his brother from death. And why should I tell of Theseus and Hercules? And I also am of the lineage of Jupiter."

Then the Sibyl spake, saying, "Son of Anchises, it is easy to go down to h.e.l.l. The door is open day and night. But to return, and struggle to the upper air, that is the labour. Few only have done it, and these of the lineage of the G.o.ds and dear to Jupiter. Yet if thou wilt attempt it, hearken unto me. There lieth hid in the forest a bough of gold which is sacred to the Queen of h.e.l.l. Nor may any man go on this journey till he have plucked it, for the Queen will have it as a gift for herself. And when the bough is plucked, there ever groweth another; and if it be the pleasure of the G.o.ds that thou go, it will yield to thy hand. But know that one of thy companions lieth dead upon the sh.o.r.e. First must thou bury him, and after offer due sacrifice, even black sheep. So shalt thou approach the dwellings of the dead."

Then aeneas departed from the cave, and Achates went with him, and much they wondered who it might be that was dead. And when they came to the sh.o.r.e, lo! Misenus lay there, than whom no man was more skilful to call men to battle with the voice of the trumpet. Hector's companion he had been in old time, and then followed aeneas. And now, blowing his trumpet on the sh.o.r.e, he had challenged the G.o.ds of the sea to compare with him; wherefore a Triton caught him and plunged him into the sea, so that he died. Then did aeneas and his companions prepare for the burial, cutting ilex and oak and mountain-ash from the wood. But when aeneas beheld the forest, how vast it was, he said, "Now may the G.o.ds grant that in this great forest the bough of gold discover itself."

And as he spake, lo! two doves flew before his face, and settled on the gra.s.s, and he knew them to be the birds of his mother, and cried, saying, "Guide me now to the bough of gold, and thou, my mother, help me as before." Then the birds flew so that he could still see them with his eyes, and he followed after them. But when they came to the mouth of Avernus, they sat both of them on the tree. And lo! the bough of gold glittered among the branches and rustled in the wind. Right gladly did aeneas break it off, and carry it to the dwelling of the Sibyl.

In the mean time the men of Troy made a great burial for Misenus on the sh.o.r.e, building a pile of wood, and washing and anointing the body. Also they laid the body on a bier, and on it the garments which he had worn being yet alive. Then others, with faces turned away, held a torch to the wood, whereon also were burned incense and offerings of oil. And when the burning was ended they quenched the ashes with wine. And Corynaeus gathered the bones into an urn of bronze, and purified the people, sprinkling them with water with a bough of an olive-tree. Then aeneas made a great mound, and put thereon the trumpet of the man and his bow; and the mountain is called Misenus, after him, to this day.

But when the burial was ended he did as the Sibyl had commanded. A great cavern there is, from which cometh so evil a stench that no bird may fly across. There they brought four black oxen, and the priestess poured wine upon their heads and cut hairs from between the horns. And when they had burned these they slew the oxen, holding dishes for the blood. And aeneas offered a black lamb to the Furies and a barren heifer to the Queen of h.e.l.l, smiting them with his sword. Then they burned the entrails with fire, pouring oil upon them. Then did the ground give a hollow sound beneath them, and the dogs howled, for the G.o.ddess was at hand. And the priestess cried, "Go ye who may not take part in this matter. And thou, aeneas, draw thy sword from its sheath and follow. Now hast thou need of all thy strength and courage." Then she plunged into the cave, and aeneas went with her.

CHAPTER XIV.

THE DWELLINGS OF THE DEAD.

So they went together through the land of shadows, like unto men who walk through a wood in a doubtful light, when the moon indeed hath risen, but there are clouds over the sky. And first they came to where, in front of the gates of h.e.l.l, dwell Sorrow and Remorse, and pale Disease and Fear, and Hunger that tempteth men to sin, and Want, and Death, and Toil, and Slumber, that is Death's kinsman, and deadly War; also they saw the chambers of the Furies, and Discord, whose hair is of snakes that drip with blood. And in this region there is an ancient elm, in the boughs whereof dwell all manner of dreams, and shapes of evil monsters, as many as have been, such as were the Centaurs, half man half horse, and Briareus with the hundred hands, and others also. These aeneas, when he saw them, sought to slay, rushing upon them with the sword, but his guide warned him that they were shadows only.

After this they came to the river of h.e.l.l, whereon plies the Boatman Charon. A long white beard hath he and unkempt; and his eyes are fixed in a fiery stare, and a scarf is knotted upon his shoulder, as is a pilot's wont. An old man he seemeth to be, but hale and ruddy. Now there was ever rushing to the bank a great crowd, wives and mothers, and valiant men of war, boys, and girls dead before they were given in marriage, and young men laid on the funeral pile before their parents'

eyes. Thick they were as the leaves that fall to the earth at the first frost of autumn, or as the swallows, when they gather themselves together, making ready to fly across the sea to the lands of the sun.

And of these Charon would take some into his boat; but others he would forbid, and drive from the sh.o.r.e. This when aeneas saw, he marvelled, and said, "O Lady, what meaneth this concourse at the river? What seek these souls? Why be some driven from the bank and some ferried across?"

And the Sibyl made answer: "This river that thou seest is the Styx, by which the G.o.ds in heaven swear, and fear to break their oath. Those whom thou seest to be driven from the bank are such as have lacked burial, but those who are ferried across have been buried duly; for none pa.s.s this stream till their bodies have been laid in the grave, otherwise they wander for a hundred years, and so at last may cross over."

Much did aeneas pity their ill fortune, and the more when he beheld Orontes and his Lycians, whom the sea had swallowed up alive before his eyes. Here likewise there met him his pilot Palinurus, to whom, when he knew him, for indeed he scarce could see him in the darkness, he said, "What G.o.d took thee from us and drowned thee in the sea?

Surely, in this one matter, Apollo hath deceived me, saying that thou shouldst escape the sea and come to the land of Italy."

[Ill.u.s.tration: CHARON AND THE GHOSTS.]

Then answered Palinurus, "Not so, great aeneas. For indeed to the land of Italy I came. Three nights the south wind carried me over the sea, and on the fourth day I saw the land of Italy from the top of a wave.

And when I swam to the sh.o.r.e, and was now clinging to the rocks, my garments being heavy with water, the savage people came upon me, and took me for a prey, and slew me. And now the winds and waves bear me about as they will. Wherefore I pray thee, by thy father, and Iulus, the hope of thy house, that thou deliver me from these woes.

Go, therefore, I pray thee, to the haven of Velia, and cast earth upon me for burial; or give me now thy hand, and take me with thee across this river."

Then said the priestess, "O Palinurus, what madness is this? Wilt thou without due burial cross the river, and look upon the awful faces of the Furies? Think not that the Fates can be changed by prayers. Yet hear this, and be comforted. They that slew thee, being sore troubled by many plagues, shall make due expiation to thee, and build a tomb, and make offerings thereon year by year; and the place where they slew thee shall be called after thy name."

Then he took comfort and departed. But when they came near to the river, the Boatman beheld them, and cried, "Stay thou, whoever thou art, that comest armed to this river, and tell me what thou seekest.

This is the land of Shadows, of Sleep, and of Night. The living may not be ferried in this boat. An evil day it was when I carried Hercules, and Theseus, and Pirithous, though they were children of the G.o.ds. For Hercules chained the Watch-dog of h.e.l.l, and dragged him trembling from his master's seat. And Theseus and his friend sought to carry away the Queen even from the chamber of her husband."

Then the Sibyl made answer: "Be not troubled. We came not hither with evil thoughts. Let the Watch-dog of h.e.l.l make the pale ghosts afraid; let your Queen abide in her husband's palace; we will not harm them.

aeneas of Troy cometh down to h.e.l.l that he may speak with his father.

And if thou takest no account of such piety, yet thou wilt know this token."

And she showed him the bough of gold. And when he saw it he laid aside his anger, rejoicing to behold, now after many years, the marvellous gift. Then he brought near his boat to the bank, and drave out the souls that were therein, and took on board aeneas and the priestess.

Much did it groan with the weight, and the water poured apace through the seams thereof. Yet did they come safe across.

[Ill.u.s.tration: CERBERUS.]

Then they saw Cerberus, the Watch-dog, in his cave. And to him the Sibyl gave a cake of honey and poppy-seed, causing sleep. And this he swallowed, opening wide his three ravenous mouths, and straightway stretched himself out asleep across the cave.

After this they heard a great wailing of infants, even the voices of such as are taken away before they have had lot or part in life. And near to these were such as have died by false accusation; yet lack they not justice, for Minos trieth their cause. And yet beyond, they that, being guiltless, have laid hands upon themselves. Fain would they now endure hardships, being yet alive, but may not, for the river keeps them in with its unlovely stream as in a prison. Not far from these are the Mourning Fields, where dwell the souls of those that have died of love, as Procris, whom Cephalus slew in error, and Laodamia, who died of grief for her husband. And among these was Dido, fresh from the wound wherewith she slew herself. And when aeneas saw her darkly through the shadows, even as one who sees, or thinketh that he sees, the new moon lately risen, he wept, and said, "O Dido, it was truth, then, that they told me, saying that thou hadst slain thyself with the sword. Tell me, Was I the cause of thy death? Loath was I, O Queen--I swear it by all that is most holy in heaven or h.e.l.l--to leave thy land. But the G.o.ds, at whose bidding I come hither this day, constrained me; nor did I think that thou wouldst take such sorrow from my departure. But stay; depart not; for never again may I speak to thee but this once only."

So he spake, and would fain have appeased her wrath. But she cast her eyes to the ground, and her heart was hard against him, even as a rock. And she departed into a grove that was hard by, wherein was her first husband, Sichaeus, who loved her even as he was loved. After this they came to the land where the heroes dwell. And there they saw Tydeus, who died before Thebes; and Adrastus, and also many men of Troy, as the three sons of Antenor, and Idaeus, who was the armour-bearer of King Priam, and bare the arms and drave the chariot yet. All these gathered about him, and would fain know wherefore he had come. But when the hosts of Agamemnon saw his shining arms through the darkness, they fled, as in old days they had fled to the ships; and some would have cried aloud, but could not, so thin are the voices of the dead.

[Ill.u.s.tration: aeNEAS AND THE SHADE OF DIDO.]

Among these he saw Dephobus, son of Priam. Cruelly mangled was he, for his hands had been cut off, and his ears and his nostrils likewise. Scarce did aeneas know him, and he himself in shame would have hidden his wounds; but the son of Anchises spake to him, saying, "Who hath dealt so foully with thee, great Dephobus? Men told me that on the last night of Troy thou didst fall dead on a heap of Greeks whom thou hadst slain. Wherefore I built thee a tomb by the sea, and thrice called aloud thy name. But thee I found not, that I might lay thee therein."

Then Dephobus made answer: "Thou hast left nothing undone, but hast paid me all due honour. But my ill fate and the accursed wickedness of the Spartan woman have destroyed me. How we spent that last night in idle rejoicings thou knowest. And she, while the women of Troy danced before the G.o.ds, stood holding a torch on the citadel, as though she were their leader, yet in truth she called therewith the Greeks from Tenedos. But I lay overcome with weariness in my chamber. Then did she, a n.o.ble wife, forsooth! take all the arms out of the house, and my trusty sword also from under my head; and after brought thereunto Menelaus, so hoping to do away her sin against him; and Ulysses also, always ready with evil counsels. What need of more? May the G.o.ds do so and more also to them. But tell me why hast thou come hither?"

And it was now past noonday, and the two had spent in talk all the allotted time. Therefore the Sibyl spake: "Night cometh, aeneas, and we waste the day in tears. Lo! here are two roads. This on the right hand leadeth to the palace of Pluto and to the Elysian plains; and that on the left to Tartarus, the abode of the wicked." And Dephobus answered: "Be not wroth, great priestess; I depart to my own place. Do thou, my friend, go on and prosper."

But as aeneas looked round he saw a great building, and a three-fold wall about it, and round the wall a river of fire. Great gates there were, and a tower of bra.s.s, and the fury Tisiphone sat as warder. Also he heard the sound of those that smote upon an anvil, and the clanking of chains. And he stood, and said, "What mean these things that I see and hear?" Then the Sibyl made answer: "The foot of the righteous may not pa.s.s that threshold. But when the Queen of h.e.l.l gave me this office she herself led me through the place and told me all. There sits Rhadamanthus the Cretan, and judges the dead. And them that be condemned Tisiphone taketh, and the gate which thou seest openeth to receive them. And within is a great pit, and the depth thereof is as the height of heaven. Herein lie the t.i.tans, the sons of Earth, whom Jupiter smote with the thunder; and herein the sons of Aloeus, who strove to thrust the G.o.ds from heaven; and Salmoneus, who would have mocked the thunder of Jupiter, riding in his chariot through the cities of Elis, and shaking a torch, and giving himself out to be a G.o.d. But the lightning smote him in his pride. Also I saw t.i.tyos, spread over nine acres of ground, and the vulture feeding on his heart. And over some hangs a great stone ready to fall; and some sit at the banquet, but when they would eat, the Fury at their side forbids, and rises and shakes her torch and thunders in their ears.

These are they who while they were yet alive hated their brothers, or struck father or mother, or deceived one that trusted to them, or kept their riches for themselves, nor cared for those of their own household (a great mult.i.tude are they), or stirred up civil strife.

And of these some roll a great stone and cease not, and some are bound to wheels, and some sit for ever crying, 'Learn to do righteousness and to fear the G.o.ds.'"

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE FURY AT THE FEAST.]

And when the priestess had finished these words they hastened on their way. And, after a while, she said, "Lo! here is the palace which the Cyclopes built for Pluto and the Queen of h.e.l.l. Here must we offer the gift of the bough of gold." And this being accomplished, they came to the dwellings of the righteous. Here are green s.p.a.ces, with woods about them; and the light of their heaven is fuller and brighter than that which men behold. Another sun they have and other stars.

Some of them contend together in wrestling and running; and some dance in measure, singing the while a pleasant song; and Orpheus, clad in a long robe, makes music, touching his harp, now with his fingers and now with an ivory bow. Here did aeneas marvel to see the mighty men of old, such as were Ilus, and Darda.n.u.s, builder of Troy. Their spears stood fixed in the earth, and their horses fed about the plain; for they love spear and chariot and horses, even as they loved them upon earth. And others sat and feasted, sitting on the gra.s.s in a sweet-smelling grove of bay, whence flows the river which men upon the earth call the Po. Here were they who had died for their country, and holy priests, and poets who had uttered nothing base, and such as had found out witty inventions, or had done great good to men. All these had snow-white garlands on their heads. Then spake the Sibyl to Musaeus, who stood in the midst, surpa.s.sing them all in stature: "Tell me, happy souls, where shall we find Anchises." And Musaeus answered, "We have no certain dwelling-place: but climb this hill, and ye can see the whole plain below, and doubtless him whom ye seek."

Then they beheld Anchises where he sat in a green valley, regarding the spirits of those who should be born in after-time of his race. And when he beheld aeneas coming, he stretched out his hands and cried, "Comest thou, my son? Hast thou won thy way hither to me? Even so I thought that it would be, and lo! my hope hath not failed me."

And aeneas made answer, "Yea, I have come a long way to see thee, even as thy spirit bade me. And now let me embrace thee with my arms."

But when he would have embraced him it was as if he clasped the air.

Then aeneas looked and beheld a river, and a great company of souls thereby, thick as the bees on a calm summer day in a garden of lilies.

And when he would know the meaning of the concourse, Anchises said, "These are souls which have yet to live again in a mortal body, and they are constrained to drink of the water of forgetfulness." And aeneas said, "Nay, my father, can any desire to take again upon them the body of death?" Then Anchises made reply: "Listen, my son, and I will tell thee all. There is one soul in heaven and earth and the stars and the shining orb of the moon and the great sun himself; from which soul also cometh the life of man and of beast, and of the birds of the air, and of the fishes of the sea. And this soul is of a divine nature, but the mortal body maketh it slow and dull. Hence come fear and desire, and grief and joy, so that, being as it were shut in a prison, the spirit beholdeth not any more the light that is without.

And when the mortal life is ended yet are not men quit of all the evils of the body, seeing that these must needs be put away in many marvellous ways. For some are hung up to the winds, and with some their wickedness is washed out by water, or burnt out with fire. But a ghostly pain we all endure. Then we that are found worthy are sent unto Elysium and the plains of the blest. And when, after many days, the soul is wholly pure, it is called to the river of forgetfulness, that it may drink thereof, and so return to the world that is above."

Then he led aeneas and the Sibyl to a hill, whence they could see the whole company, and regard their faces as they came; and he said, "Come, and I will show thee them that shall come after thee. That youth who leans upon a pointless spear is Silvius, thy youngest child, whom Lavinia shall bear to thee in thy old age. He shall reign in Alba, and shall be the father of kings. And many other kings are there who shall build cities great and famous. Lo! there is Romulus, whom Ilia shall bear to Mars. He shall build Rome, whose empire shall reach to the ends of the earth and its glory to the heaven. Seest thou him with the olive crown about his head and the white beard? That is he who shall first give laws to Rome. And next to him is Tullus, the warrior. And there are the Tarquins; and Brutus, who shall set the people free, aye, and shall slay his own sons when they would be false to their country. See also the Decii; and Torquatus, with the cruel axe; and Camillus winning back the standards of Rome. There standeth one who shall subdue Corinth; and there another who shall avenge the blood of Troy upon the race of Achilles. There, too, thou mayest see the Scipios, thunderbolts of war, whom the land of Africa shall fear; and there Regulus, busy in the furrows; and there the Fabii, chiefly him, greatest of the name, who shall save thy country by wise delay.

Such, my son, shall be thy children's children. Others with softer touch shall carve the face of man in marble or mould the bronze; some more skilfully shall plead, or map the skies, or tell the rising of the stars. 'Tis thine, man of Rome, to subdue the world. This is thy work, to set the rule of peace over the vanquished, to spare the humble, and to subdue the proud."

Then he spake again: "Regard him who is the first of all the company of conquerors. He is Marcellus; he shall save the state in the day of trouble, and put to flight Carthaginian and Gaul."

Then said aeneas, for he chanced to see by his side a youth clad in shining armour, and very fair to look upon, but sad, and with downcast eyes, "Tell me, father, who is this? How n.o.ble is he! What a company is about him! but there is a shadow of darkness round his head."

And Anchises made answer, "O my son, seek not to know the greatest sorrow that shall befall thy children after thee. This youth the Fates shall only show for a brief s.p.a.ce to man. Rome would seem too mighty to the G.o.ds should he but live! What mourning shall there be for him! What a funeral shalt thou see, O river of Tiber, as thou flowest by the new-made tomb! No youth of the race of Troy shall promise so much as he. Alas! for his righteousness, and truth, and valour unsurpa.s.sed! O luckless boy, if thou canst haply break thy evil doom thou shalt be a Marcellus. Give handfuls of lilies. I will scatter the bright flowers and pay the idle honours to my grandson's shade."