Vast is the throng of these; nor less the train 830

Of lustful youths, for foul adult'ry slain-
Hosts of deserters, who their honour sold,

And basely broke their faith for bribes of gold.
All these within the dungeon's depth remain,
Despairing pardon, and expecting pain.

895

Ask not what pains; nor farther seek to know
Their process, or the forms of law below.
Some roll a mighty stone; some, laid along,
And bound with burning wires, on spokes of wheels

are hung.

Unhappy Theseus, doom'd for ever there,
Is fix'd by Fate on his eternal chair:

840

845

And wretched Phlegyas warns the world with cries,
(Could warning make the world more just or wise)!
"Learn righteousness, and dread th' avenging deities.'
To tyrants others have their country sold,
Imposing foreign lords, for foreign gold:
Some have old laws repeal'd, new statutes made,
Not as the people pleas'd, but as they paid.
With incest some their daughters' bed profan'd. 849
All dar'd the worst of ills, and, what they dar'd, attain'd.
Had I a hundred mouths, a hundred tongues,
And throats of brass, inspir'd with iron lungs,
I could not half those horrid crimes repeat,
Nor half the punishments those crimes have met..

But let us haste our voyage to pursue:

The walls of Pluto's palace are in view, 、
The gate, and iron arch above:-it stands-
On anvils labour'd by the Cyclops' hands.
Before our farther way the Fates allow,

$55

110

865

Here must we fix on high the golden bough." 860
She said: and through the gloomy shades they past,
And chose the middle path.-Arriv'd at last,
The prince, with living water, sprinkled o'er
His limbs and body; then approach'd the door,
Possess'd the porch, and on the front above
He fix'd the fatal bough, requir'd by Pluto's love.
These holy rites perform'd, they took their way,
Where long extended plains of pleasure lay.
The verdant fields with those of heav'n may vie,
With æther vested, and a purple sky-

870

The blissful seats of happy souls below:

Stars of their own, and their own suns, they know.
Their airy limbs in sports they exercise,

And, on the green, contend the wrestler's prize.
Some, in heroic verse, divinely sing:

875

Others in artful measures lead the ring.

The Thracian bard, surrounded by the rest,
There stands conspicuous in his flowing vest.

His flying fingers, and harmonious quill,

Strike sev'n distinguish'd notes, and sev'n at once

they fill.

880

Here found they Teucer's old heroic race,
Born better times and happier years to grace.
Assaracus and Ilus here enjoy

885

Perpetual fame, with him who founded Troy.
The chief beheld their chariots from afar,
Their shining arms, and coursers train'd to war.
Their lances fix'd in earth-their steeds around, i
Free from their harness, graze the flow'ry ground.
The love of horses which they had, alive,
And care of chariots, after death survive.
Some cheerful souls were feasting on the plain;
Some did the song, and some the choir, maintain,
Beneath a laurel shade, where mighty Po

890

Mounts up to woods above, and hides his head below.
Here patriots live, who, for their country's good, 895
In fighting-fields, were prodigal of blood:
Priests of unblemish'd lives here make abode,
And poets worthy their inspiring god;

And searching wits, of more mechanic parts,
Who grac'd their age with new-invented arts; 900
Those who, to worth, their bounty did extend,
And those who knew that bounty to commend.
The heads of these with holy fillets bound,
And all their temples were with garlands crown'd.

To these the Sibyl thus her speech address'd, 905 And first to him surrounded by the rest

(Tow'ring his height, and ample was his breast) "Say, happy souls! divine Museus! say, an Where lives Anchises, and where lies our waysA To find the hero, for whose only sakę

1383910 We sought the dark abodes, and cross'd the bitter lake?"

To this the sacred poet thus reply'd:

"In no fix'd place the happy souls reside.

In

914

groves we live, and lie on mossy beds, By crystal streams, that murmur through the meads: But pass yon easy hill, and thence descend; a The path conducts you to your journey's end.?? This said, he led them up the mountain's brow,el And shews them all the shining fields below. They wind the hill, and through the blissful meadows go. But old Anchises, in a flow'ry vale,

919

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

Those happy spirits, which, ordain'd by Fate,
For future being and new bodies wait-

924

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 Æneas on the plain appears,

Meets him with open arms, and falling tears. 930 "Welcome," he said, "the gods' undoubted race!

O long expected to my dear embrace!

935

Once more 'tis 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.
'Tis 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, 940
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.

945

But reach your hand, oh 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; 950
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, through which a gentle breeze

Plays with a passing breath, and whispers through

the trees:

And, just before the confines of the wood,