HE sea was flushing in the morning's rays,
And from the ethereal heights Aurora's car With rose and saffron gleamed; when suddenly The winds were stilled, and every breath of air, And the oars struggled through the sluggish sea. And here Æneas from the deep descries
A spacious grove. Through this the Tiber pours
His smiling waves along, with rapid whirls,
And yellow sand, and bursts into the sea.
And all around and overhead were birds
Of various hues, accustomed to the banks
And river-bed; from tree to tree they flew,
Soothing the air with songs.
He bids the crews direct the vessels' prows,
And joyfully the shadowy river gains.
Virgil. Tr. C. P. Cranch.
THE RUINS OF OSTIA.
YAY they, a famous seaport town?
One look abroad I bid thee cast,
Then tell me if thou canst descry
A dwelling here, or there a mast.
Of all its old magnificence
Stands one poor skeleton of brick,
With grass are sown the hidden streets,
The palace ploughed in furrows thick.
And this, the temple of a god,
The body of a mighty thought!
Here vowed the heart, elate with hope
When priests the struggling victim brought, -
Hearts like these hearts of ours; that drink
Existence, as an endless cup,
And smile to hear of an abyss
Where life and strength are swallowed up.
These men our brothers were, but built
Of sturdier frame and mind than we;
Tamed by their will, the unruly flood
Led their proud galleys to the sea.
Walk further, let my guidance show
One crumbling tower of Trajan's port.
Strange that Christ's vicar, God-inspired,
Has never had as wise a thought.
ANTENOR, from the midst of Grecian hosts
Escaped, was able, safe, to penetrate
The Illyrian bay, and see the interior realms
Of the Liburni; and to pass beyond
The source of the Timavus, issuing whence,
With a vast mountain murmur from nine springs,
A bursting flood goes forth, and on the fields
Crowds with resounding waters. Yet he here
Founded the walls of Padua, and built
The Trojan seats, and to the people gave
A name, and there affixed the arms of Troy.
Now, laid at rest, he sleeps in placid peace.
Virgil. Tr. C. P. Cranch.
UCENTIO. Tranio, since, for the great desire I had To see fair Padua, nursery of arts,
I am arriv'd for fruitful Lombardy,
The pleasant garden of great Italy;
And, by my father's love and leave, am arm'd
With his good will, and thy good company,
My trusty servant, well approv'd in all;
Here let us breathe, and haply institute
A course of learning, and ingenious studies. -
Pisa, renowned for grave citizens,
Gave me my being; and my father first,
A merchant of great traffic through the world,
Vincentio come of the Bentivolii.
Lucentio his son, brought up in Florence,
It shall become, to serve all hopes conceiv'd,
To deck his fortune with his virtuous deeds.
And therefore, Tranio, for the time I study,
Virtue and that part of philosophy
Will I apply, that treats of happiness
By virtue 'specially to be achiev'd.
Tell me thy mind; for I have Pisa left,
And am to Padua come: as he that leaves
A shallow plash, to plunge him in the deep,
And with satiety seeks to quench his thirst.
TRANIO. Mi perdonate, gentle master mine,
I am in all affected as yourself.
Glad that you thus continue your resolve,
To suck the sweets of sweet philosophy.
Only, good master, while we do admire
This virtue, and this moral discipline,
Let's be no stoics, nor no stocks, I pray;
Or so devote to Aristotle's Ethics,
As Ovid be an outcast quite abjur'd.
Balke logic with acquaintance that you have,
And practise rhetoric in your common talk;
Music and poesy use to quicken you;
The mathematics, and the metaphysics,
Fall to them as you find your stomach serves you; No profit grows where is no pleasure ta'en.
In brief, sir, study what you most affect.
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