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Story of Aeneas

M >> Michael Clarke >> Story of Aeneas




Turnus had scarcely finished speaking, when a messenger rushed into
the palace with the alarming intelligence that the Trojan and Etrurian
armies had quitted their camp on the bank of the Tiber, and were
marching toward the city. Instantly all was confusion and dismay in
the council.

A turmoil takes the public mind;
Their passions flame, by furious wind
To conflagration blown;
At once to arms they fain would fly;
"To arms!" the youth impatient cry;
The old men weep and moan.
CONINGTON, _AEneid_, BOOK XI.

Turnus was quick to take advantage of this altered state of affairs.
"Citizens," he exclaimed, "will you still persist in talking about
peace even now that the enemy is almost at your doors?" Then,
withdrawing from the council chamber, he hastened to give orders to
his Rutulian chiefs to get the troops ready for immediate action--some
to lead the armed horsemen out upon the plain, others to man the
towers, others to follow him where he should command. The Latians,
too, excited to ardor by the approach of the enemy, rushed to arms,
and soon the whole city was in warlike commotion.

Some help to sink new trenches; others aid
To ram the stones, or raise the palisade.
Hoarse trumpets sound the alarm; around the walls
Runs a distracted crew, whom their last labor calls.
DRYDEN, _AEneid_, BOOK XI.

In the midst of the excitement, Queen Amata and her daughter Lavinia,
attended by a great number of matrons, repaired in procession to the
temple of Minerva, and prayed to the goddess, to break the Trojan
pirate's spear, and lay him prostrate in death under the city's walls.
Meanwhile, Turnus, armed for battle, went forth from the palace, and
hastened towards the plain to join his brave Rutulians. At the gate he
was met by the Volscian Queen Camilla, at the head of a troop of
female warriors, all on horseback. The brave queen requested that she
and her companions should have the honor of being the first to
encounter the Trojan host. "Noble heroine," replied the Rutulian
chief, "how can I express my thanks? Since such is your spirit, I am
willing that you should share the dangers with us. AEneas has sent his
horsemen to scour the plain, while he himself is marching through a
secluded valley with his foot soldiers to take the city by surprise.
This we learn from our scouts. Now I will beset him on the way with an
armed band, and to you I assign the task of engaging the Etrurian
horsemen. The brave Messapus and the Latian troops will be with you,
and under your command."

Camilla and her troop performed prodigies of valor in the battle which
now took place on the plain before the city. Many Trojan and Etrurian
warriors fell, stricken down by the darts or pierced by the sword of
the brave heroine. On both sides the battle was maintained with the
utmost bravery. Twice the Trojans and their Tuscan allies drove the
Latians flying to the walls, and twice the Latians, facing about,
furiously drove back the Trojans.

Twice were the Tuscans masters of the field,
Twice by the Latins, in their turn, repelled.
Ashamed at length, to the third charge they ran--
Both hosts resolved, and mingled man to man.
Now dying groans are heard; the fields are strewed,
With falling bodies, and are drunk with blood.
Arms, horses, men, on heaps together lie;
Confused the fight, and more confused the cry.
DRYDEN, _AEneid_, BOOK XI.

The battle continued to rage furiously, and it seemed doubtful which
side would win, until Camilla was slain by the Etruscan Aruns, who had
been watching for an opportunity to cast a spear at the queen.

This way and that his winding course he bends,
And wheresoe'er she turns, her steps attends.
DRYDEN, _AEneid_, BOOK XI.

There was in the Trojan army a warrior, and priest of Cybele, named
Chlo'reus, conspicuous on the field by the rich trappings of his horse
and his own glittering arms and attire. He wore a purple robe, his
helmet and the bow which hung from his shoulders were of gold; his
saffron colored scarf was fastened with a gold clasp; and his tunic
was embroidered with needle-work. Camilla seeing these beautiful and
costly things, became eager to possess them, and so she pursued
Chloreus over the field of battle.

Him the fierce maid beheld with ardent eyes,
Fond and ambitious of so rich a prize,
Blind in her haste, she chases him alone,
And seeks his life, regardless of her own.
DRYDEN, _AEneid_, BOOK XI.

Thus she furnished the opportunity desired by Aruns, who, from a
covert in which he lay concealed, hurled a dart at the queen as,
heedless of danger, she rode in pursuit of Chloreus. The weapon
pierced her body and she sank down lifeless.

The fortune of the day now turned to the side of the Trojans. Dismayed
by the loss of their brave leader Camilla, the Volscian troops fled
from the field. The Rutulian captains, also losing courage, sought
safety in flight, and soon the whole Italian army was in full retreat
towards the city, hotly pursued by the Trojans. At the gates many were
trampled to death in the wild rush to get within, while many more were
slain by the swords of the enemy pressing on behind.

Then, in a fright, the folding gates they close,
But leave their friends excluded with their foes.
The vanquished cry; the victors loudly shout;
'Tis terror all within, and slaughter all without.
DRYDEN, _AEneid_, BOOK XI.

When Turnus heard that Camilla had fallen, that the Trojans had been
victorious in the battle, and that all was confusion and terror within
the walls, he immediately quitted the post where he had been lying in
wait for AEneas, and hurried towards the city. Almost at the same
moment the Trojan chief issued forth from the valley. Both armies and
both leaders were now in sight of each other and both were eager for
battle, but night coming on, they pitched their tents and encamped in
front of the town.

But the Latians were now disheartened, and Turnus saw they were no
longer willing to continue a struggle which seemed hopeless. He
himself, however, was still determined not to yield, and he resolved
to encounter AEneas in single combat. "With my own right hand," said
he, "I shall slay the Trojan adventurer, while the Latians sit still
and look on, and if he vanquish me, let him rule over us, and have
Lavinia for his bride." King Latinus endeavored to dissuade him from
this dangerous enterprise. "Turnus," said he, "you are heir to the
kingdom of your father Daunus. There are other high-born maidens in
Latium, from whom you may chose a wife. It was decreed by the gods
that Lavinia should wed no prince of Italy, yet through affection for
you, and yielding to the prayers of my queen, I permitted the Latians
to make war against him to whom, in accordance with the will of
heaven, my daughter was promised. You see what calamities have come
upon us in consequence. In two great battles we have been defeated,
and now we are scarce able to defend ourselves in our capital city. If
upon your death I am resolved to make an alliance with the Trojans, is
it not better to put an end to the war while you are still alive?"

Queen Amata also entreated Turnus not to risk his life in an
engagement with the Trojan chief. "Whatever fortune awaits you,
Turnus," she said, "awaits me also. I shall not live and see AEneas
my son-in-law." The fair Lavinia was present during her mother's
passionate appeal, but she expressed her feeling only by tears and
modest blushes.

--A flood of tears Lavinia shed;
A crimson blush her beauteous face o'erspread,
Varying her cheeks by turns with white and red.
Delightful change! Thus Indian ivory shows,
Which with the bordering paint of purple glows;
Or lilies damasked by the neighboring rose.
DRYDEN, _AEneid_, BOOK XII.

But Turnus would not listen to the advice of King Latinus or Queen
Amata and so he sent his herald Idmon with a challenge to AEneas.
"Tell him," said he, "not to lead his men against the Rutulians to-
morrow. Let both our armies rest, while by his sword and mine the war
shall be decided." AEneas, who had himself already proposed this
method of settling the quarrel, rejoiced to hear that now at length
the war was to be brought to an end on such terms. He therefore gladly
accepted the challenge, and early next morning preparations were made
for the combat.

A space of ground was measured off on the open plain in front of the
city walls, and in the center were erected altars of turf. The two
armies were marshalled on opposite sides of this space, the Trojans
and Etrurians on one side, the Rutulians and Latians on the other, and
at a given signal every man fixed his spear in the earth, and laid
down his shield. On the towers and house tops the women and old men
crowded to witness the fight. King Latinus rode out from the city in a
chariot drawn by four horses, and wearing on his head a crown with
twelve rays of gold. Turnus rode in a chariot drawn by two white
steeds, and he bore in each hand a javelin tipped with steel. On the
other side, AEneas, brilliant in the arms which Vulcan had made,
advanced from his camp into the open space, accompanied by the young
Iulus. Then the customary sacrifices and offerings were made at the
altars, after which the Trojan chief, unsheathing his sword, prayed
aloud to the gods, and pledged his people to the conditions of the
combat:--

"If victory in this fight shall fall to Turnus, the Trojans shall
retire to Evander's city, and no more make war on the Latians or
Rutulians. But if victory fall to our side, even then I shall not
compel the Italians to be subject to the Trojans, for I desire not
empire for myself. Both nations shall enter into alliance on equal
terms, and Latinus shall still be king. The Trojans shall build a city
for me, and to it Lavinia shall give her name."

Then Latinus calling on the gods to hear his words, and laying his
hand upon the altar, swore for himself and his people that they would
never violate the treaty of peace, no matter how the combat of the day
should result.

"By the same heaven (said he), and earth, and main,
And all the powers that all the three contain;
Whatever chance befall on either side,
No term of time this union shall divide;
No force, no fortune, shall my vows unbind,
Or shake the steadfast tenor of my mind."
DRYDEN, _AEneid_, BOOK XII.

But while the solemn ceremonies were being carried out at the altars,
the Rutulians began to show signs of dissatisfaction. It seemed to
them that the youthful Turnus was no equal match in arms for the
veteran Trojan.

Already the Rutulians deemed their man
O'ermatched in arms, before the fight began.
First rising fears are whispered through the crowd;
Then, gathering sound, they murmur more aloud.
Now, side to side, they measure with their eyes
The champions' bulk, their sinews, and their size;
The nearer they approach, the more is known
The apparent disadvantage of their own.
DRYDEN, _AEneid_, BOOK XII.

Then Ju-tur'na, the sister of Turnus, knowing of the feeling among the
Rutulians, resolved to bring about a violation of the truce which had
been made. The goddess Juno had instigated her to do so, telling her
that the combat with AEneas would be fatal to her brother, and urging
her to prevent it. With this object Juturna, who, being a favorite of
Jupiter, had been by him made a sea-nymph, and immortal, went into the
midst of the Rutulians, and assuming the form of Ca'mers, an
illustrious warrior of their nation, thus addressed them. "Is it not a
shame, Rutulians, to permit one man to expose his life to danger for
you all? We are greater in number than the enemy and equal in valor.
If Turnus die in this fight, he indeed shall be famous forever, but we
who sit here inactive, shall, after losing our country, be the slaves
of haughty masters."

These words incited the Rutulians to a desire for war, but Juturna
still further inflamed their minds by a singular omen. She caused to
appear before them in the sky an eagle pursuing a flock of swans. The
eagle swooped down upon the swans where they had alighted on the water
of the river, and seizing one in its talons, was carrying it off. But
suddenly the flock of swans arose, and darting in a solid body upon
the eagle, attacked him with such force that he dropped his prey and
flew off into the clouds.

The Rutulians understood the meaning of this spectacle, and with loud
shouts they began to make preparations for battle. One of their
number, the augur To-lum'ni-us, cried out to them to take up their
swords and fall upon the Trojan foreigner after the example of the
birds who, by united action, had just vanquished their enemy. Then
rushing forward, Tolumnius cast a spear into the ranks of the Trojans.
Whizzing through the air it struck an Arcadian youth, one of nine
brothers who were standing together in the Etrurian lines, and
penetrating his side stretched him dead on the field.

Thus the truce was broken, and immediately a fierce battle began,
warriors on both sides hurling their darts and plying their swords,
the very altars being overthrown in the struggle. Latinus in deep
grief and disappointment retired from the scene, now that all hope of
peace was at an end. But the Trojan chief, with his head uncovered,
stretched forth his unarmed hand, and earnestly appealed to his own
people. "Whither do you rush?" he cried. "How has this discord arisen?
Restrain your rage, for the league is now formed, and all its terms
settled." While thus endeavoring to restore peace, the pious AEneas
himself was severely wounded.

--While he spoke, unmindful of defence,
A winged arrow struck the pious prince.
But whether from some human hand it came,
Or hostile god, is left unknown by fame;
No human hand, or hostile god, was found,
To boast the triumph of so base a wound.
DRYDEN, _AEneid_, BOOK XII.

AEneas was led away to his tent, bleeding from his wound. Then Turnus
called for his war chariot and his arms, and drove furiously over the
plain into the midst of the Trojans, dealing death around him on every
side.

He drives impetuous, and, where'er he goes,
He leaves behind a lane of slaughtered foes.
DRYDEN, _AEneid_, BOOK XII.

One brave Trojan warrior named Phe'geus made a gallant fight against
Turnus. Leaping in front of the chariot, and seizing the bridles, he
strove with all his might to bring the horses to a stand. While he was
being dragged along, clinging to the pole, a thrust from the lance of
Turnus pierced his coat of mail and inflicted a slight wound. Still
the heroic Phegeus held on, and, turning towards his foe, endeavored
to reach him with his sword, but just then, coming against the chariot
wheels, he was hurled to the ground, and in a moment Turnus, with one
blow, struck off his head.

Meanwhile, AEneas attended by Mnestheus, the faithful Achates, and the
young Iulus, lay bleeding in his camp. The barb of the arrow by which
he had been wounded still remained fixed in the flesh, and not even
the skillful surgeon I-a'pis, whom Apollo himself had instructed in
medicine, could extract it. But the goddess Venus once more came to
the relief of her son. While Iapis was fomenting the wound with water,
the goddess, unseen, dipped into the vessel a branch of dit'ta-ny, a
plant famous for its healing qualities. At the same time she injected
celestial ambrosia, and juice of the all-curing herb pan-a-ce'a.

Instantly the arrow dropped out, the wound healed up, and the Trojan
chief recovered his full strength and vigor. Then Iapis exclaimed,
"Not by human hand has this cure been effected. Some powerful god,
AEneas, has saved you for great enterprises." Immediately the hero put
on his armor; and before going out into the battle-field, he tenderly
embraced his son and spoke to him words of counsel and encouragement.

In his mailed arms his child he pressed,
Kissed through his helm, and thus addressed:
"Learn of your father to be great,
Of others to be fortunate.
This hand awhile shall be your shield
And lead you safe from field to field;
When grown yourself to manhood's prime,
Remember those of former time,
Recall each venerable name,
And catch heroic fire
From Hector's and AEneas' fame,
Your uncle and your sire."
CONINGTON, _AEneid_, BOOK XII.

AEneas now went forth to the fight. The chiefs and their followers,
encouraged by the appearance of their leader, slew numbers of the
enemy, including the augur Tolumnius, who had first broken the truce.
But the Trojan hero himself sought only for Turnus, and he pursued him
over the plain. Juturna seeing this, assumed the shape and likeness of
Me-tis'cus, her brother's charioteer, and taking his place upon the
chariot, drove rapidly through the field, now here now there, but ever
keeping at a distance from the pursuing Trojan chief.

She steers a various course among the foes;
Now here, now there, her conquering brother shows;
Now with a straight, now with a wheeling flight,
She turns and bends, but shuns the single fight.
AEneas, fired with fury, breaks the crowd,
And seeks his foe, and calls by name aloud;
He runs within a narrower ring, and tries
To stop the chariot, but the chariot flies.
DRYDEN, _AEneid_, BOOK XII.

At length AEneas resolved to bring the battle and the war to a speedy
end. While pursuing Turnus, he had noticed that the city was left
without defence, all the Latian and Rutulian troops being engaged in
the field. Calling his chiefs quickly together, he told them of his
plan. "The city before us," said he, "is the center of the enemy's
strength. It is now in our power. This day we may overturn it, and lay
its smoking towers level with the ground. Am I to wait until it
pleases Turnus to accept my challenge? Quickly bring firebrands, and
very soon we shall establish peace."

The Trojan forces were at once marshalled, and led in a solid
battalion to the walls, where a vigorous assault forthwith commenced.
Some rushed to the gates and slew the first they met, others hurled
darts into the city, and others, by means of scaling ladders, sought
to climb over the ramparts. AEneas in a loud voice called the gods to
witness that he was now for the second time compelled to fight, and
that for a second time a solemn league had been violated by the
Latians. Within the town dissension broke out among the alarmed
citizens, some urging that the gates should be opened to the Trojans,
others taking up arms to defend the walls.

Turnus was in a distant part of the field when he heard of the attack
on the city. A messenger rode up to him in haste with the intelligence
that AEneas was about to overthrow the stately towers of Latium, and
that already flaming torches had been applied to the roofs. Then
Turnus saw that the moment for action had come, and he cried out to
his sister (for notwithstanding her disguise he had known her from the
first): "Now, now, sister, my destiny prevails. Forbear to further
stop me. Let me follow whither the gods call. I am resolved to enter
the lists with AEneas. No longer shall you see me in disgrace.
Whatever bitterness there is in death I am ready to endure it."

So saying, Turnus sprang from his chariot, and bounding over the
plain, rushed into the midst of the combatants at the gates of the
city. With outstretched arms he made a sign to his friends, and
called upon them in a loud voice: "Rutulians and Latians, cease
fighting. Whatever fortune of the war remains is mine. It is for me
alone by my sword to put an end to this strife."

AEneas, hearing the challenge of Turnus, forsook the lofty walls and
towers, and hastened to encounter his foe. The hosts on both sides
laid down their arms. A space was cleared on the open plain, and
immediately the two heroes rushed to the combat, with hurling of darts
and clashing of swords and shields.

They launch their spears; then hand to hand they meet;
The trembling soil resounds beneath their feet;
Their bucklers clash; thick blows descend from high,
And flakes of fire from their hard helmets fly.
DRYDEN, _AEneid_, BOOK XII.

The great fight now began. Turnus aimed a mighty blow at AEneas,
raising himself on tiptoes, and adding to the force of the stroke the
whole weight of his body. But the blade snapped in two as it struck
the armor of the Trojan hero, thus leaving the Rutulian chief at the
mercy of his foe. The weapon was one he had hastily snatched up
instead of his own when mounting his chariot for the first fight of
the day. It had served his purpose so long as he used it only on
fleeing Trojans, but when it came against the armor made by Vulcan it
broke like ice. The unfortunate Rutulian now turned and fled over the
field, calling loudly on his friends to bring him his sword. AEneas
followed in pursuit, threatening death to any one who should venture
to approach, and thus five times round the lists they ran.

Five times they circle round the place,
Five times the winding course retrace;
No trivial game is here; the strife
Is waged for Turnus' own dear life.
CONINGTON, _AEneid_, BOOK XII.

Finding that he could not overtake the fleeing Turnus, AEneas resolved
again to make trial of his celestial spear. At the outset of the
combat he had hurled this weapon with such force, that it fixed itself
deep in the stump of a wild olive tree that stood in the field. The
tree had been sacred to the deity Faunus, but the Trojans had cut it
down to make a clear ground for their military movements. When AEneas
attempted to wrench the spear out, Turnus prayed to Faunus to detain
the weapon.

"O Faunus! pity! and thou, mother Earth,
Where I thy foster-son received my birth,
Hold fast the steel! If my religious hand
Your plant has honored, which your foes profaned,
Propitious hear my pious prayer."
DRYDEN, _AEneid_, BOOK XII.

But now the power of the gods was exercised on behalf of both heroes.
While AEneas struggled in vain to extricate the javelin, Juturna,
again taking the form of Metiscus, ran forward to her brother and gave
him his own sword. Then Venus came to the aid of her son, and the
steel was easily drawn from the tough root. Once more the two chiefs
stood ready for the combat, the one relying on his trusty sword, the
other, on the spear which a god had made.

Meanwhile the goddess Juno, sitting in a yellow cloud, was watching
the combat, and Jupiter, coming near, advised her to abandon her
hopeless enmity to the Trojans, and forbade her to further resist the
decree of heaven. Juno was now ready to yield, but on one condition--
"When by this marriage they establish peace, let the people of Latium
retain their ancient name and language. Let Latium subsist. Let the
sons of Rome rise to imperial power by means of Italian valor. Troy
has perished. Let the name also perish." To this the king of heaven
replied: "I grant what you desire. The Italians shall retain their
native language and customs. The Trojans shall settle in Latium and
mingle with its people and all shall be called Latins and have but one
speech."

"All shall be Latium; Troy without a name;
And her lost sons forget from whence they came.
From blood so mixed a pious race shall flow,
Equal to gods, excelling all below.
No nation more respect to you shall pay,
Or greater offerings on your altars lay."
Juno consents, well pleased that her desires
Had found success, and from the cloud retires.
DRYDEN, _AEneid_, BOOK XII.

Then Jupiter sent one of the Furies down to the field of battle, in
the form of an owl, and the evil bird flew backwards and forwards in
the sight of Turnus, flapping its wings. The chief, knowing that this
was an unfavorable omen, hesitated to advance, and AEneas calling to
him aloud cried, "Turnus, why do you further decline to fight? It is
not in running that we must now try our skill, but with arms in close
conflict." "I have no fear of you, insulting foe," answered Turnus.
"My dread is of the gods, who are against me." As he spoke, he saw on
the ground before him a huge stone, such as only a man of giant
strength could lift. Seizing it and poising it over his head he rushed
forward, and hurled it against the enemy.

But wildering fears his mind unman;
Running, he knew not that he ran,
Nor throwing that he threw;
Heavily move his sinking knees;
The streams of life wax dull and freeze;
The stone, as through the void it passed,
Reached not the measure of its cast,
Nor held its purpose true.
CONINGTON; _AEneid_, BOOK XII.

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