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Exhausted, the Aeneans to the nearest shores hurriedly
sought their course, and they are turned to the bays of Libya.
There, in a place in a deep inlet: an island whose port
Forms a barrier of sides, by which every wave from the deep
Is broken and cuts-through itself, reflected in a curve.
On this side and that, vast rocks and twin reefs tower,
Threatening the sky, beneath the top of which
All the waters are silent; then, a scene with quivering forests
And a dark grove overhangs with shuddering darkness.
Beneath the face opposite the hanging reefs is a cave,
Sweet waters within, and living within seats in the rock
The Home of the nymphs: Here, no chains restrained the tired ships,
nor did any anchors hold them with curved bite.
Aeneas arrives there with just seven ships, having been collected
From the whole number; and with a great love for the earth
The Trojans win-over the desired sands,
And place their salt soaked limbs on the shore.
And a first spark by flint, struck Achates
And he received fire from leaves, and dry fuel around the fire
He gave as nourishment, and snatched up a flame in the tinder.
Then, they bring out wave-spoiled grain, and tools of bread-making
and, exhausted by such things, they quickly recover fruits
and they prepare to roast the grain by fire, crushed by rocks.
Meanwhile, Aeneas climbs the reef, and seeks a vantage point
Over all the wintery calm, so that he might see whatever of Antheus
thrown about by wind, or of the Phrygian galleys,
Or Capys, or the arms of Caicus in the towering sterns.
With no ships in view, he catches sight of three deer
Wandering on the shore; Whole herds follow them
From behind, and a long line grazes through the valley.
Here he stopped, and took in his hand the bow and swift arrows,
Having snatched up those which trusted Achates was carrying,
And first, the leaders themselves, those bearing their heads high
And with branching horns, he laid low, and he confuses
The whole herd with arrows, driving the lot among leafy forests
Nor does he stop before he, victorious, spills-forth seven mighty bodies
onto moist ground, making the number equal to the ships.
From here he seeks the port, and shares the deer among his comrades.
Then, the good wine which Acestes had loaded in jars
On Sicilian shores, and had given to the departing Trojans,
He divided, and soothed their grieving chests with his words:
"O comrades—as indeed we are not ignorant of previous evils—
O sufferers of graver things, god will also give an end to these.
You who approached the madness of Scylla, and the roaring crags, and you who experienced the Cyclopean rocks,
Recall now your courageous spirits and send away gloomy fear,
And perhaps at some time it will help to remember these things.
Through many different disasters, through so many crises,
We are pressing into Latium; where the fates show peaceful seats;
For it is right that a kingdom of Troy will rise again in that place.
Endure, and thus save yourselves for better things.”
Having said such words, his voice weary with huge cares,
He pretends hope with his face, pressing down on his deep grief.
And so they prepare themselves for the prize, and for future feasts;
They tear the hides from the sides and denude the flesh;
Cutting parts into pieces, they pierce the quivering meat with spears;
Others place bronze urns on the shore and tend to the flames.
Then they restored their strength with food, and laying in the grass
They filled themselves with old Bacchus (wine) and rich venison.
After their hunger was vanquished by feasts, and the tables struck,
Again they sought long lost friends by conversation,
Uncertain between hope and fear, whether they believed them alive,
Or to have suffered the final fate, called but unable to hear.
Pious Aeneas, mourning now the downfall of sharp Orontes,
Now for Amycus, he groans, groaning for the cruel
Fate of Lycus, and for brave Gyan and brave Cloanthus.
But already there was an end, with Juppiter from the highest heavens
Looking down at the billowing seas and lands, and shores and people
having been tossed about, thus from the top of the clouds
he stopped, and fixed his lights (eyes) on the kingdom of Libya.
And while he was pondering such things, tossed-about in his heart,
Even sadder than he, with her shining eyes full of tears,
Venus addressed him: “O you who rule the affairs of men and gods
with eternal dominion, and who terrify them with lightning,
What (crime) so great was my Aeneas able to commit against you?
What could the Trojans possibly have done, that the entire world
Might be shut-off from them, on account of Italy suffering so much?
For certain, that Romans, some day through revolving years,
Will be leaders there, restored from the blood of Teucrus,
Who will hold the seas, who will hold all the lands with power,
This you have promised! What idea, then, has turned you, progenitor?
Indeed by this (promise) I found consolation for the ruin of Troy,
and with the sad downfalls balancing the opposing fates,
Now the same fortune follows men driven by so many misfortunes.
For what end of labors do you give, great king?
Antenor was able, having escaped from the midst of the Greeks,
To enter into the Illyrian bays and, once safe, to overpower
the kingdoms of the Liburnians, and the spring of Timavus,
whence through the nine mouths with a vast roar it rushes
into the furious sea and overwhelms the fields with raging floods.
Here however, he placed the city and homes of Patavium
And he gave the nation the name of Teurcrians, and hung the arms
Of Troy, And now he rests settled in quiet peace.
But we, your offspring to whom you promised the palace of heaven,
With ships lost on account of the anger of one unspeakable
We are betrayed and separated far from the shores of Italy.
Is this the reward of piety? Do thus you restore us to power?”