Enter[503]Dido, Æneas, Anna, Iarbas, Achates, CupidasAscanius,andFollowers.Dido.Æneas, think not but I honour thee,That thus in person go with thee to hunt:My princely robes, thou see'st, are laid aside,Whose glittering pomp Diana's shroud[504]supplies;All fellows now, disposed alike to sport;The woods are wide, and we have store of game.Fair Trojan, hold my golden bow a while,Until I gird my quiver to my side.—Lords, go before; we two must talk alone.Iar.Ungentle, can she wrong Iarbas so?10I'll die before a stranger have that grace."We two will talk alone"—what words be these! [Aside.Dido.What makes Iarbas here of all the rest?We could have gone without your company.Æn.But love and duty led him on perhapsTo press beyond acceptance to your sight.Iar.Why! man of Troy, do I offend thine eyes?Or art thou grieved thy betters press so nigh?Dido.How now, Gætulian! are you grown so brave,To challenge us with your comparisons?20Peasant, go seek companions like thyself,And meddle not with any that I love.—Æneas, be not moved at what he says;For otherwhile he will be out of joint.Iar.Women may wrong by privilege of love;But, should that man of men, Dido except,Have taunted me in these opprobrious terms,I would have either drunk his dying blood,Or else I would have given my life in gage.29Dido.Huntsmen, why pitch you not your toils apace,And rouse the light-foot deer from forth their lair?Anna.Sister, see, see Ascanius in his pomp,Bearing his hunt-spear bravely in his hand!Dido.Yea, little son, are you so forward now?Cup.I, mother; I shall one day be a man,And better able unto other arms;Meantime these wanton weapons serve my war,Which I will break betwixt a lion's jaws.Dido.What? dar'st thou look a lion in the face?Cup.I; and outface him too, do what he can.40Anna.How like his father speaketh he in all!Æn.And mought I live to see him sack rich Thebes,And load his spear with Grecian princes' heads,Then would I wish me with Anchises' tomb,And dead to honour that hath brought me up.Iar.And might I live to see thee shipp'd away,And hoist aloft on Neptune's hideous hills,Then would I wish me in fair Dido's arms,And dead to scorn that hath pursu'd me so. [Aside.Æn.Stout friend Achates, dost thou know this wood?50Ach.As I remember, here you shot the deerThat saved your famish'd soldiers' lives from death,When first you set your foot upon the shore;And here we met fair Venus, virgin-like,Bearing her bow and quiver at her back.Æn.O, how these irksome labours now delight,And overjoy my thoughts with their escape!Who would not undergo all kind of toil,To be well stor'd with such a winter's tale?Dido.Æneas, leave these dumps, and let's away.60Some to the mountains, some unto the soil,[505]You to the valleys,—thou unto the house. [Exeunt all exceptIarbas.Iar.I, this it is which wounds me to the death,To see a Phrygian, far-fet[506]o'er the sea,Preferr'd before a man of majesty.O love! O hate! O cruel women's hearts,That imitate the moon in every change,And, like the planets, ever love to range!What shall I do, thus wrongèd with disdain?Revenge me on Æneas or on her?70On her! fond man, that were to war 'gainst heaven,And with one shaft provoke ten thousand darts.This Trojan's end will be thy envy's aim,Whose blood will reconcile thee to content,And make love drunken with thy sweet desire.But Dido, that now holdeth him so dear,Will die with very tidings of his death:But time will discontinue her content,And mould her mind unto new fancy's shapes,O God of heaven, turn the hand of Fate80Unto that happy day of my delight!And then—what then? Iarbas shall but love:So doth he now, though not with equal gain;That resteth in the rival of thy pain,Who ne'er will cease to soar till he be slain.[Exit.
Enter[503]Dido, Æneas, Anna, Iarbas, Achates, CupidasAscanius,andFollowers.
Dido.Æneas, think not but I honour thee,That thus in person go with thee to hunt:My princely robes, thou see'st, are laid aside,Whose glittering pomp Diana's shroud[504]supplies;All fellows now, disposed alike to sport;The woods are wide, and we have store of game.Fair Trojan, hold my golden bow a while,Until I gird my quiver to my side.—Lords, go before; we two must talk alone.
Iar.Ungentle, can she wrong Iarbas so?10I'll die before a stranger have that grace."We two will talk alone"—what words be these! [Aside.
Dido.What makes Iarbas here of all the rest?We could have gone without your company.
Æn.But love and duty led him on perhapsTo press beyond acceptance to your sight.
Iar.Why! man of Troy, do I offend thine eyes?Or art thou grieved thy betters press so nigh?
Dido.How now, Gætulian! are you grown so brave,To challenge us with your comparisons?20Peasant, go seek companions like thyself,And meddle not with any that I love.—Æneas, be not moved at what he says;For otherwhile he will be out of joint.
Iar.Women may wrong by privilege of love;But, should that man of men, Dido except,Have taunted me in these opprobrious terms,I would have either drunk his dying blood,Or else I would have given my life in gage.29
Dido.Huntsmen, why pitch you not your toils apace,And rouse the light-foot deer from forth their lair?
Anna.Sister, see, see Ascanius in his pomp,Bearing his hunt-spear bravely in his hand!
Dido.Yea, little son, are you so forward now?
Cup.I, mother; I shall one day be a man,And better able unto other arms;Meantime these wanton weapons serve my war,Which I will break betwixt a lion's jaws.
Dido.What? dar'st thou look a lion in the face?
Cup.I; and outface him too, do what he can.40
Anna.How like his father speaketh he in all!
Æn.And mought I live to see him sack rich Thebes,And load his spear with Grecian princes' heads,Then would I wish me with Anchises' tomb,And dead to honour that hath brought me up.
Iar.And might I live to see thee shipp'd away,And hoist aloft on Neptune's hideous hills,Then would I wish me in fair Dido's arms,And dead to scorn that hath pursu'd me so. [Aside.
Æn.Stout friend Achates, dost thou know this wood?50
Ach.As I remember, here you shot the deerThat saved your famish'd soldiers' lives from death,When first you set your foot upon the shore;And here we met fair Venus, virgin-like,Bearing her bow and quiver at her back.
Æn.O, how these irksome labours now delight,And overjoy my thoughts with their escape!Who would not undergo all kind of toil,To be well stor'd with such a winter's tale?
Dido.Æneas, leave these dumps, and let's away.60Some to the mountains, some unto the soil,[505]You to the valleys,—thou unto the house. [Exeunt all exceptIarbas.
Iar.I, this it is which wounds me to the death,To see a Phrygian, far-fet[506]o'er the sea,Preferr'd before a man of majesty.O love! O hate! O cruel women's hearts,That imitate the moon in every change,And, like the planets, ever love to range!What shall I do, thus wrongèd with disdain?Revenge me on Æneas or on her?70On her! fond man, that were to war 'gainst heaven,And with one shaft provoke ten thousand darts.This Trojan's end will be thy envy's aim,Whose blood will reconcile thee to content,And make love drunken with thy sweet desire.But Dido, that now holdeth him so dear,Will die with very tidings of his death:But time will discontinue her content,And mould her mind unto new fancy's shapes,O God of heaven, turn the hand of Fate80Unto that happy day of my delight!And then—what then? Iarbas shall but love:So doth he now, though not with equal gain;That resteth in the rival of thy pain,Who ne'er will cease to soar till he be slain.[Exit.
The storm. EnterÆneasandDidoin the cave, at several times.Dido.Æneas!Æn.Dido!Dido.Tell me, dear love, how found you out this cave?Æn.By chance, sweet queen, as Mars and Venus met.Dido.Why, that was in a net, where we are loose;And yet I am not free,—O, would I were!Æn.Why, what is it that Dido may desireAnd not obtain, be it in human power?Dido.The thing that I will die before I ask,And yet desire to have before I die.10Æn. It is not aught Æneas may achieve?Dido.Æneas! no; although his eyes do pierce.Æn.What, hath Iarbas anger'd her in aught?And will she be avengèd on his life?Dido.Not anger'd me, except in angering thee.Æn.Who, then, of all so cruel may he beThat should detain thy eye in his defects?Dido.The man that I do eye where'er I am;Whose amorous face, like Pæan, sparkles fire,Whenas he butts his beams on Flora's bed.20Prometheus hath put on Cupid's shape,And I must perish in his burning arms:Æneas, O Æneas, quench these flames!Æn.What ails my queen? is she faln sick of late?Dido.Not sick, my love; but sick I must concealThe torment that it boots me not reveal:And yet I'll speak,—and yet I'll hold my peace.Do shame her worst, I will disclose my grief:Æneas, thou art he—what did I say?Something it was that now I have forgot.30Æn.What means fair Dido by this doubtful speech?Dido.Nay, nothing; but Æneas loves me not.Æn.Æneas' thoughts dare not ascend so highAs Dido's heart, which monarchs might not scale.Dido.It was because I saw no king like thee,Whose golden crown might balance my content;But now that I have found what to affect,I follow one that loveth fame 'fore[507]me,And rather had seem fair [in] Sirens' eyes,Than to the Carthage queen that dies for him.40Æn.If that your majesty can look so lowAs my despisèd worths that shun all praise,With this my hand I give to you my heart,And vow, by all the gods of hospitality,By heaven and earth, and my fair brother's bow,By Paphos, Capys,[508]and the purple seaFrom whence my radiant mother did ascend,[509]And by this sword that sav'd me from the Greeks,Never to leave these new-uprearèd walls,Whiles Dido lives and rules in Juno's town,—50Never to like or love any but her!Dido.What more than Delian music do I hear,That calls my soul from forth his living seatTo move unto the measures of delight?Kind clouds, that sent forth such a courteous stormAs made disdain to fly to fancy's lap!Stout love, in mine arms make thy Italy,Whose crown and kingdom rests at thy command:Sichæus, not Æneas, be thou call'd;The king of Carthage, not Anchises' son.60Hold, take these jewels at thy lover's hand, [Giving jewels, &c.These golden bracelets, and this wedding-ring,Wherewith my husband woo'd me yet a maid,And be thou king of Libya by my gift.[Exeunt to the cave.
The storm. EnterÆneasandDidoin the cave, at several times.
Dido.Æneas!
Æn.Dido!
Dido.Tell me, dear love, how found you out this cave?
Æn.By chance, sweet queen, as Mars and Venus met.
Dido.Why, that was in a net, where we are loose;And yet I am not free,—O, would I were!
Æn.Why, what is it that Dido may desireAnd not obtain, be it in human power?
Dido.The thing that I will die before I ask,And yet desire to have before I die.10
Æn. It is not aught Æneas may achieve?
Dido.Æneas! no; although his eyes do pierce.
Æn.What, hath Iarbas anger'd her in aught?And will she be avengèd on his life?
Dido.Not anger'd me, except in angering thee.
Æn.Who, then, of all so cruel may he beThat should detain thy eye in his defects?
Dido.The man that I do eye where'er I am;Whose amorous face, like Pæan, sparkles fire,Whenas he butts his beams on Flora's bed.20Prometheus hath put on Cupid's shape,And I must perish in his burning arms:Æneas, O Æneas, quench these flames!
Æn.What ails my queen? is she faln sick of late?
Dido.Not sick, my love; but sick I must concealThe torment that it boots me not reveal:And yet I'll speak,—and yet I'll hold my peace.Do shame her worst, I will disclose my grief:Æneas, thou art he—what did I say?Something it was that now I have forgot.30
Æn.What means fair Dido by this doubtful speech?
Dido.Nay, nothing; but Æneas loves me not.
Æn.Æneas' thoughts dare not ascend so highAs Dido's heart, which monarchs might not scale.
Dido.It was because I saw no king like thee,Whose golden crown might balance my content;But now that I have found what to affect,I follow one that loveth fame 'fore[507]me,And rather had seem fair [in] Sirens' eyes,Than to the Carthage queen that dies for him.40
Æn.If that your majesty can look so lowAs my despisèd worths that shun all praise,With this my hand I give to you my heart,And vow, by all the gods of hospitality,By heaven and earth, and my fair brother's bow,By Paphos, Capys,[508]and the purple seaFrom whence my radiant mother did ascend,[509]And by this sword that sav'd me from the Greeks,Never to leave these new-uprearèd walls,Whiles Dido lives and rules in Juno's town,—50Never to like or love any but her!
Dido.What more than Delian music do I hear,That calls my soul from forth his living seatTo move unto the measures of delight?Kind clouds, that sent forth such a courteous stormAs made disdain to fly to fancy's lap!Stout love, in mine arms make thy Italy,Whose crown and kingdom rests at thy command:Sichæus, not Æneas, be thou call'd;The king of Carthage, not Anchises' son.60Hold, take these jewels at thy lover's hand, [Giving jewels, &c.These golden bracelets, and this wedding-ring,Wherewith my husband woo'd me yet a maid,And be thou king of Libya by my gift.[Exeunt to the cave.
Enter[510]Achates, CupidasAscanius, Iarbas,andAnna.Ach.Did ever men see such a sudden stormOr day so clear so suddenly o'ercast?Iar.I think some fell enchantress dwelleth here,That can call them[511]forth whenas she please,And dive into black tempest's treasury,Whenas she means to mask the world with clouds.Anna.In all my life I never knew the like;It hailed, it snowed, it lightened all at once.Ach.I think, it was the devil's revelling night,There was such hurly-burly in the heavens:10Doubtless Apollo's axle-tree is crack'd,Or agèd Atlas' shoulder out of joint,The motion was so over-violent.Iar.In all this coil, where have ye left the queen?Asc.Nay, where's my warlike father, can you tell?Anna.Behold, where both of them come forth the cave.Iar.Come forth the cave! can heaven endure this sight?Iarbas, curse that unrevenging Jove,Whose flinty darts slept in Typhœus'[512]den,Whiles these adulterers surfeited with sin.20Nature, why mad'st me not some poisonous beast,That with the sharpness of my edgèd stingI might have staked them both unto the earth,Whilst they were sporting in this darksome cave! [Aside.Enter, from the cave,ÆneasandDido.Æn.The air is clear, and southern winds are whist.[513]Come, Dido, let us hasten to the town,Since gloomy Æolus doth cease to frown.Dido.Achates and Ascanius, well met.Æn.Fair Anna, how escap'd you from the shower?Anna.As others did, by running to the wood.30Dido.But where were you, Iarbas, all this while?Iar.Not with Æneas in the ugly cave.Dido.I see, Æneas sticketh in your mind;But I will soon put by that stumbling-block,And quell those hopes that thus employ your cares.[514][Exeunt.
Enter[510]Achates, CupidasAscanius, Iarbas,andAnna.
Ach.Did ever men see such a sudden stormOr day so clear so suddenly o'ercast?
Iar.I think some fell enchantress dwelleth here,That can call them[511]forth whenas she please,And dive into black tempest's treasury,Whenas she means to mask the world with clouds.
Anna.In all my life I never knew the like;It hailed, it snowed, it lightened all at once.
Ach.I think, it was the devil's revelling night,There was such hurly-burly in the heavens:10Doubtless Apollo's axle-tree is crack'd,Or agèd Atlas' shoulder out of joint,The motion was so over-violent.
Iar.In all this coil, where have ye left the queen?
Asc.Nay, where's my warlike father, can you tell?
Anna.Behold, where both of them come forth the cave.
Iar.Come forth the cave! can heaven endure this sight?Iarbas, curse that unrevenging Jove,Whose flinty darts slept in Typhœus'[512]den,Whiles these adulterers surfeited with sin.20Nature, why mad'st me not some poisonous beast,That with the sharpness of my edgèd stingI might have staked them both unto the earth,Whilst they were sporting in this darksome cave! [Aside.
Enter, from the cave,ÆneasandDido.
Æn.The air is clear, and southern winds are whist.[513]Come, Dido, let us hasten to the town,Since gloomy Æolus doth cease to frown.
Dido.Achates and Ascanius, well met.
Æn.Fair Anna, how escap'd you from the shower?
Anna.As others did, by running to the wood.30
Dido.But where were you, Iarbas, all this while?
Iar.Not with Æneas in the ugly cave.
Dido.I see, Æneas sticketh in your mind;But I will soon put by that stumbling-block,And quell those hopes that thus employ your cares.[514][Exeunt.
Enter[515]Iarbasto sacrifice.Iar.Come, servants, come; bring forth the sacrifice,That I may pacify that gloomy Jove,Whose empty altars have enlarg'd our ills.—[Servantsbring in the sacrifice, and then exeunt.Eternal Jove, great master of the clouds,Father of gladness and all frolic thoughts,That with thy gloomy[516]hand corrects the heaven,When airy creatures war amongst themselves;Hear, hear, O, hear Iarbas' plaining prayers,Whose hideous echoes make the welkin howl,And all the woods Eliza[517]to resound!10The woman that thou willed us entertain,Where, straying in our borders up and down,She crav'd a hide of ground to build a town,With whom we did divide both laws and land,And all the fruits that plenty else sends forth,Scorning our loves and royal marriage-rites,Yields up her beauty to a stranger's bed;Who, having wrought her shame, is straightway fled:Now, if thou be'st a pitying god of power,On whom ruth and compassion ever waits,20Redress these wrongs, and warn him to his ships,That now afflicts me with his flattering eyes.EnterAnna.Anna.How now, Iarbas! at your prayers so hard?Iar.I, Anna: is there aught you would with me?Anna.Nay, no such weighty business of importBut may be slacked until another time:Yet, if you would partake with me the causeOf this devotion that detaineth you,I would be thankful for such courtesy.Iar.Anna, against this Trojan do I pray,30Who seeks to rob me of thy sister's love,And dive into her heart by colour'd looks.Anna.Alas, poor king, that labours so in vainFor her that so delighteth in thy pain!Be rul'd by me, and seek some other love,Whose yielding heart may yield thee more relief.Iar.Mine eye is fixed where fancy cannot start:O, leave me, leave me to my silent thoughts,That register the numbers of my ruth,And I will either move the thoughtless flint,40Or drop out both mine eyes in drizzling tears,Before my sorrow's tide have any stint!Anna.I will not leave Iarbas, whom I love,In this delight of dying pensiveness.Away with Dido! Anna be thy song;Anna, that doth admire thee more than heaven.Iar.I may nor will list to such loathsome change.That intercepts the course of my desire—Servants, come fetch these empty vessels here;For I will fly from these alluring eyes,50That do pursue my peace where'er it goes.[Exit.—Servantsre-enter, and carry out the vessels, &c.Anna.Iarbas, stay, loving Iarbas, stay!For I have honey to present thee with.Hard-hearted, wilt not deign to hear me speak?I'll follow thee with outcries ne'ertheless,And strew thy walks with my dishevell'd hair.[Exit.
Enter[515]Iarbasto sacrifice.
Iar.Come, servants, come; bring forth the sacrifice,That I may pacify that gloomy Jove,Whose empty altars have enlarg'd our ills.—[Servantsbring in the sacrifice, and then exeunt.Eternal Jove, great master of the clouds,Father of gladness and all frolic thoughts,That with thy gloomy[516]hand corrects the heaven,When airy creatures war amongst themselves;Hear, hear, O, hear Iarbas' plaining prayers,Whose hideous echoes make the welkin howl,And all the woods Eliza[517]to resound!10The woman that thou willed us entertain,Where, straying in our borders up and down,She crav'd a hide of ground to build a town,With whom we did divide both laws and land,And all the fruits that plenty else sends forth,Scorning our loves and royal marriage-rites,Yields up her beauty to a stranger's bed;Who, having wrought her shame, is straightway fled:Now, if thou be'st a pitying god of power,On whom ruth and compassion ever waits,20Redress these wrongs, and warn him to his ships,That now afflicts me with his flattering eyes.
EnterAnna.
Anna.How now, Iarbas! at your prayers so hard?
Iar.I, Anna: is there aught you would with me?
Anna.Nay, no such weighty business of importBut may be slacked until another time:Yet, if you would partake with me the causeOf this devotion that detaineth you,I would be thankful for such courtesy.
Iar.Anna, against this Trojan do I pray,30Who seeks to rob me of thy sister's love,And dive into her heart by colour'd looks.
Anna.Alas, poor king, that labours so in vainFor her that so delighteth in thy pain!Be rul'd by me, and seek some other love,Whose yielding heart may yield thee more relief.
Iar.Mine eye is fixed where fancy cannot start:O, leave me, leave me to my silent thoughts,That register the numbers of my ruth,And I will either move the thoughtless flint,40Or drop out both mine eyes in drizzling tears,Before my sorrow's tide have any stint!
Anna.I will not leave Iarbas, whom I love,In this delight of dying pensiveness.Away with Dido! Anna be thy song;Anna, that doth admire thee more than heaven.
Iar.I may nor will list to such loathsome change.That intercepts the course of my desire—Servants, come fetch these empty vessels here;For I will fly from these alluring eyes,50That do pursue my peace where'er it goes.[Exit.—Servantsre-enter, and carry out the vessels, &c.
Anna.Iarbas, stay, loving Iarbas, stay!For I have honey to present thee with.Hard-hearted, wilt not deign to hear me speak?I'll follow thee with outcries ne'ertheless,And strew thy walks with my dishevell'd hair.[Exit.
EnterÆneas.[518]Æn.Carthage, my friendly host, adieu!Since Destiny doth call me from thy[519]shore:Hermes this night, descending in a dream,Hath summoned me to fruitful Italy;Jove wills it so; my mother wills it so:Let my Phœnissa grant, and then I go.Grant she or no, Æneas must away;Whose golden fortunes, clogg'd with courtly ease,Cannot ascend to fame's immortal house,Or banquet in bright Honour's burnished hall,10Till he hath furrowed Neptune's glassy fields,And cut a passage through his topless[520]hills.—Achates, come forth! Sergestus, Ilioneus,Cloanthus, haste away! Æneas calls.EnterAchates, Cloanthus, Sergestus,andIlioneus.Ach.What wills our lord, or wherefore did he call?Æn.The dreams, brave mates, that did beset my bed,When sleep but newly had embrac'd the night,Commands me leave these unrenowmèd realms,[521]Whereas nobility abhors to stay,And none but base Æneas will abide.20Aboard, aboard! since Fates do bid aboard,And slice the sea with sable-colour'd ships,On whom the nimble winds may all day wait,And follow them, as footmen, through the deep.Yet Dido casts her eyes, like anchors, out,To stay my fleet from loosing forth the bay:"Come back, come back," I hear her cry a-far,"And let me link thy[522]body to my lips,That, tied together by the striving tongues,We may, as one, sail into Italy."30Ach.Banish that ticing dame from forth your mouth,And follow your fore-seeing stars in all:This is no life for men-at-arms to live,Where dalliance doth consume a soldier's strength,And wanton motions of alluring eyesEffeminate our minds, inur'd to war.Ili.Why, let us build a city of our own,And not stand lingering here for amorous looks.Will Dido raise old Priam forth his grave,And build the town again the Greeks did burn?40No, no; she cares not how we sink or swim,So she may have Æneas in her arms.Clo.To Italy, sweet friends, to Italy!We will not stay a minute longer here.Æn.Trojans, aboard, and I will follow you. [Exeunt all exceptÆneas.I fain would go, yet beauty calls me back:To leave her so, and not once say farewell,Were to transgress against all laws of love.But, if I use such ceremonious thanksAs parting friends accustom on the shore,50Her silver arms will coll[523]me round about,And tears of pearl cry, "Stay, Æneas, stay!"Each word she says will then contain a crown,And every speech be ended with a kiss:I may not dure this female drudgery:To sea, Æneas! find out Italy![Exit.
EnterÆneas.[518]
Æn.Carthage, my friendly host, adieu!Since Destiny doth call me from thy[519]shore:Hermes this night, descending in a dream,Hath summoned me to fruitful Italy;Jove wills it so; my mother wills it so:Let my Phœnissa grant, and then I go.Grant she or no, Æneas must away;Whose golden fortunes, clogg'd with courtly ease,Cannot ascend to fame's immortal house,Or banquet in bright Honour's burnished hall,10Till he hath furrowed Neptune's glassy fields,And cut a passage through his topless[520]hills.—Achates, come forth! Sergestus, Ilioneus,Cloanthus, haste away! Æneas calls.
EnterAchates, Cloanthus, Sergestus,andIlioneus.
Ach.What wills our lord, or wherefore did he call?
Æn.The dreams, brave mates, that did beset my bed,When sleep but newly had embrac'd the night,Commands me leave these unrenowmèd realms,[521]Whereas nobility abhors to stay,And none but base Æneas will abide.20Aboard, aboard! since Fates do bid aboard,And slice the sea with sable-colour'd ships,On whom the nimble winds may all day wait,And follow them, as footmen, through the deep.Yet Dido casts her eyes, like anchors, out,To stay my fleet from loosing forth the bay:"Come back, come back," I hear her cry a-far,"And let me link thy[522]body to my lips,That, tied together by the striving tongues,We may, as one, sail into Italy."30
Ach.Banish that ticing dame from forth your mouth,And follow your fore-seeing stars in all:This is no life for men-at-arms to live,Where dalliance doth consume a soldier's strength,And wanton motions of alluring eyesEffeminate our minds, inur'd to war.
Ili.Why, let us build a city of our own,And not stand lingering here for amorous looks.Will Dido raise old Priam forth his grave,And build the town again the Greeks did burn?40No, no; she cares not how we sink or swim,So she may have Æneas in her arms.
Clo.To Italy, sweet friends, to Italy!We will not stay a minute longer here.
Æn.Trojans, aboard, and I will follow you. [Exeunt all exceptÆneas.I fain would go, yet beauty calls me back:To leave her so, and not once say farewell,Were to transgress against all laws of love.But, if I use such ceremonious thanksAs parting friends accustom on the shore,50Her silver arms will coll[523]me round about,And tears of pearl cry, "Stay, Æneas, stay!"Each word she says will then contain a crown,And every speech be ended with a kiss:I may not dure this female drudgery:To sea, Æneas! find out Italy![Exit.
Enter[524]DidoandAnna.Dido.O Anna, run unto the water-side!They say Æneas' men are going aboard;It may be, he will steal away with them:Stay not to answer me; run, Anna, run! [ExitAnna.O foolish Trojans, that would steal from hence,And not let Dido understand their drift!I would have given Achates store of gold,And Ilioneus gum and Libyan spice;The common soldiers rich embroider'd coats,And silver whistles to control the winds,10Which Circe[525]sent Sichæus when he lived:Unworthy are they of a queen's reward.See where they come: how might I do to chide?Re-enterAnna,withÆneas, Achates, Cloanthus, Ilioneus, Sergestus,andCarthaginian Lords.Anna.'Twas time to run; Æneas had been gone;The sails were hoising up, and he aboard.Dido.Is this thy love to me?Æn.O princely Dido, give me leave to speak!I went to take my farewell of Achates.Dido.How haps Achates bid me not farewell?Ach.Because I feared your grace would keep me here.20Dido.To rid thee of that doubt, aboard again:I charge thee put to sea, and stay not here.Ach.Then let Æneas go aboard with us.Dido.Get you aboard; Æneas means to stay.Æn.The sea is rough, the winds blow to the shore.Dido.O false Æneas! now the sea is rough;But, when you were aboard, 'twas calm enough:Thou and Achates meant to sail away.Æn.Hath not the Carthage queen mine only son?Thinks Dido I will go and leave him here?30Dido.Æneas, pardon me; for I forgotThat young Ascanius lay with me this night;Love made me jealous: but, to make amends,Wear the imperial crown of Libya, [Giving him her crown and sceptre.Sway thou the Punic sceptre in my stead,And punish me, Æneas, for this crime.Æn.This kiss shall be fair Dido's punishment.Dido.O, how a crown becomes Æneas' head!Stay here, Æneas, and command as king.Æn.How vain am I to wear this diadem,40And bear this golden sceptre in my hand!A burgonet of steel, and not a crown,A sword, and not a sceptre, fits Æneas.Dido.O, keep them still, and let me gaze my fill!Now looks Æneas like immortal Jove:O, where is Ganymede, to hold his cup,And Mercury, to fly for what he calls?Ten thousand Cupids hover in the air,And fan it in Æneas' lovely face!O, that the clouds were here wherein thou fled'st,[526]50That thou and I unseen might sport ourselves!Heaven,[527]envious of our joys, is waxen pale;And when we whisper, then the stars fall down,To be partakers of our honey talk.Æn.O Dido, patroness of all our lives,When I leave thee, death be my punishment!Swell, raging seas! frown, wayward Destinies!Blow, winds! threaten, ye rocks and sandy shelves!This is the harbour that Æneas seeks:Let's see what tempests can annoy me now.60Dido.Not all the world can take thee from mine arms.Æneas may command as many MoorsAs in the sea are little water-drops:And now, to make experience of my love,—Fair sister Anna, lead my lover forth,And, seated on my jennet, let him ride,As Dido's husband, through the Punic streets;And will[528]my guard, with Mauritanian dartsTo wait upon him as their sovereign lord.Anna.What if the citizens repine thereat?70Dido.Those that dislike what Dido gives in charge,Command my guard to slay for their offence.Shall vulgar peasants storm at what I do?The ground is mine that gives them sustenance,The air wherein they breathe, the water, fire,All that they have, their lands, their goods, their lives!And I, the goddess of all these, commandÆneas ride as Carthaginian king.Ach.Æneas, for his parentage, deservesAs large a kingdom as is Libya.80Æn.I, and, unless the Destinies be false,I shall be planted in as rich a land.Dido.Speak of no other land; this land is thine;Dido is thine, henceforth I'll thee lord.—Do as I bid thee, sister; lead the way;And from a turret I'll behold my love.Æn.Then here in me shall flourish Priam's race;And thou and I, Achates, for revengeFor Troy, for Priam, for his fifty sons,Our kinsmen's lives[529]and thousand guiltless souls,90Will lead an host against the hateful Greeks,And fire proud Lacedæmon o'er their heads.[Exeunt all exceptDidoandCarthaginian Lords.Dido.Speaks not Æneas like a conqueror?O blessèd tempests that did drive him in!O happy sand that made him run aground!Henceforth you shall be [of] our Carthage gods.I, but it may be, he will leave my love,And seek a foreign land called Italy:O, that I had a charm to keep the windsWithin the closure of a golden ball;100Or that the Tyrrhene sea were in mine arms,That he might suffer shipwreck on my breast,As oft as he attempts to hoist up sail!I must prevent him; wishing will not serve.—Go bid my nurse take young Ascanius,And bear him in the country to her house;Æneas will not go without his son;Yet, lest he should, for I am full of fear,Bring me his oars, his tackling, and his sails. [ExitFirst Lord.What if I sink his ships? O, he will frown!110Better he frown than I should die for grief.I cannot see him frown; it may not be:Armies of foes resolv'd to win this town,Or impious traitors vow'd to have my life,Affright me not; only Æneas' frownIs that which terrifies poor Dido's heart;Not bloody spears, appearing in the air,Presage the downfall of my empery,Nor blazing comets threaten Dido's death;It is Æneas' frown that ends my days.120If he forsake me not, I never die;For in his looks I see eternity,And he'll make me immortal[530]with a kiss.Re-enterFirst Lord,withAttendantscarrying tackling, &c.First Lord.Your nurse is gone with young Ascanius:And here's Æneas' tackling, oars, and sails.Dido.Are these the sails that, in despite of me,Pack'd[531]with the winds to bear Æneas hence?I'll hang ye in the chamber where I lie;Drive, if you can, my house to Italy:I'll set the casement open, that the winds130May enter in, and once again conspireAgainst the life of me, poor Carthage queen:But, though ye[532]go, he stays in Carthage still;And let rich Carthage fleet[533]upon the seas,So I may have Æneas in mine arms.Is this the wood that grew in Carthage plains,And would be toiling in the watery billows,To rob their mistress of her Trojan guest?O cursèd tree, hadst thou but wit or sense,To measure how I prize Æneas' love,140Thou wouldst have leapt from out the sailors' hands,And told me that Æneas meant to go!And yet I blame thee not; thou art but wood.The water, which our poets term a nymph,[534]Why did it suffer thee to touch her breast,And shrunk not back, knowing my love was there?The water is an element, no nymph.Why should I blame Æneas for his flight?O Dido, blame not him, but break his oars!These were the instruments that launched him forth.150There's not so much as this base tackling too,But dares to heap up sorrow to my heart:Was it not you that hoisèd up these sails?Why burst you not, and they fell in the seas?For this will Dido tie ye full of knots,And shear ye all asunder with her hands:Now serve to chastise shipboys for their faults;Ye shall no more offend the Carthage queen.Now, let him hang my favours on his masts,And see if those will serve instead of sails;160For tackling, let him take the chains of gold,Which I bestow'd upon his followers;Instead of oars, let him use his hands,And swim to Italy. I'll keep these sure.—Come, bear them in.[Exeunt.
Enter[524]DidoandAnna.
Dido.O Anna, run unto the water-side!They say Æneas' men are going aboard;It may be, he will steal away with them:Stay not to answer me; run, Anna, run! [ExitAnna.O foolish Trojans, that would steal from hence,And not let Dido understand their drift!I would have given Achates store of gold,And Ilioneus gum and Libyan spice;The common soldiers rich embroider'd coats,And silver whistles to control the winds,10Which Circe[525]sent Sichæus when he lived:Unworthy are they of a queen's reward.See where they come: how might I do to chide?
Re-enterAnna,withÆneas, Achates, Cloanthus, Ilioneus, Sergestus,andCarthaginian Lords.
Anna.'Twas time to run; Æneas had been gone;The sails were hoising up, and he aboard.
Dido.Is this thy love to me?
Æn.O princely Dido, give me leave to speak!I went to take my farewell of Achates.
Dido.How haps Achates bid me not farewell?
Ach.Because I feared your grace would keep me here.20
Dido.To rid thee of that doubt, aboard again:I charge thee put to sea, and stay not here.
Ach.Then let Æneas go aboard with us.
Dido.Get you aboard; Æneas means to stay.
Æn.The sea is rough, the winds blow to the shore.
Dido.O false Æneas! now the sea is rough;But, when you were aboard, 'twas calm enough:Thou and Achates meant to sail away.
Æn.Hath not the Carthage queen mine only son?Thinks Dido I will go and leave him here?30
Dido.Æneas, pardon me; for I forgotThat young Ascanius lay with me this night;Love made me jealous: but, to make amends,Wear the imperial crown of Libya, [Giving him her crown and sceptre.Sway thou the Punic sceptre in my stead,And punish me, Æneas, for this crime.
Æn.This kiss shall be fair Dido's punishment.
Dido.O, how a crown becomes Æneas' head!Stay here, Æneas, and command as king.
Æn.How vain am I to wear this diadem,40And bear this golden sceptre in my hand!A burgonet of steel, and not a crown,A sword, and not a sceptre, fits Æneas.
Dido.O, keep them still, and let me gaze my fill!Now looks Æneas like immortal Jove:O, where is Ganymede, to hold his cup,And Mercury, to fly for what he calls?Ten thousand Cupids hover in the air,And fan it in Æneas' lovely face!O, that the clouds were here wherein thou fled'st,[526]50That thou and I unseen might sport ourselves!Heaven,[527]envious of our joys, is waxen pale;And when we whisper, then the stars fall down,To be partakers of our honey talk.
Æn.O Dido, patroness of all our lives,When I leave thee, death be my punishment!Swell, raging seas! frown, wayward Destinies!Blow, winds! threaten, ye rocks and sandy shelves!This is the harbour that Æneas seeks:Let's see what tempests can annoy me now.60
Dido.Not all the world can take thee from mine arms.Æneas may command as many MoorsAs in the sea are little water-drops:And now, to make experience of my love,—Fair sister Anna, lead my lover forth,And, seated on my jennet, let him ride,As Dido's husband, through the Punic streets;And will[528]my guard, with Mauritanian dartsTo wait upon him as their sovereign lord.
Anna.What if the citizens repine thereat?70
Dido.Those that dislike what Dido gives in charge,Command my guard to slay for their offence.Shall vulgar peasants storm at what I do?The ground is mine that gives them sustenance,The air wherein they breathe, the water, fire,All that they have, their lands, their goods, their lives!And I, the goddess of all these, commandÆneas ride as Carthaginian king.
Ach.Æneas, for his parentage, deservesAs large a kingdom as is Libya.80
Æn.I, and, unless the Destinies be false,I shall be planted in as rich a land.
Dido.Speak of no other land; this land is thine;Dido is thine, henceforth I'll thee lord.—Do as I bid thee, sister; lead the way;And from a turret I'll behold my love.
Æn.Then here in me shall flourish Priam's race;And thou and I, Achates, for revengeFor Troy, for Priam, for his fifty sons,Our kinsmen's lives[529]and thousand guiltless souls,90Will lead an host against the hateful Greeks,And fire proud Lacedæmon o'er their heads.[Exeunt all exceptDidoandCarthaginian Lords.
Dido.Speaks not Æneas like a conqueror?O blessèd tempests that did drive him in!O happy sand that made him run aground!Henceforth you shall be [of] our Carthage gods.I, but it may be, he will leave my love,And seek a foreign land called Italy:O, that I had a charm to keep the windsWithin the closure of a golden ball;100Or that the Tyrrhene sea were in mine arms,That he might suffer shipwreck on my breast,As oft as he attempts to hoist up sail!I must prevent him; wishing will not serve.—Go bid my nurse take young Ascanius,And bear him in the country to her house;Æneas will not go without his son;Yet, lest he should, for I am full of fear,Bring me his oars, his tackling, and his sails. [ExitFirst Lord.What if I sink his ships? O, he will frown!110Better he frown than I should die for grief.I cannot see him frown; it may not be:Armies of foes resolv'd to win this town,Or impious traitors vow'd to have my life,Affright me not; only Æneas' frownIs that which terrifies poor Dido's heart;Not bloody spears, appearing in the air,Presage the downfall of my empery,Nor blazing comets threaten Dido's death;It is Æneas' frown that ends my days.120If he forsake me not, I never die;For in his looks I see eternity,And he'll make me immortal[530]with a kiss.
Re-enterFirst Lord,withAttendantscarrying tackling, &c.
First Lord.Your nurse is gone with young Ascanius:And here's Æneas' tackling, oars, and sails.
Dido.Are these the sails that, in despite of me,Pack'd[531]with the winds to bear Æneas hence?I'll hang ye in the chamber where I lie;Drive, if you can, my house to Italy:I'll set the casement open, that the winds130May enter in, and once again conspireAgainst the life of me, poor Carthage queen:But, though ye[532]go, he stays in Carthage still;And let rich Carthage fleet[533]upon the seas,So I may have Æneas in mine arms.Is this the wood that grew in Carthage plains,And would be toiling in the watery billows,To rob their mistress of her Trojan guest?O cursèd tree, hadst thou but wit or sense,To measure how I prize Æneas' love,140Thou wouldst have leapt from out the sailors' hands,And told me that Æneas meant to go!And yet I blame thee not; thou art but wood.The water, which our poets term a nymph,[534]Why did it suffer thee to touch her breast,And shrunk not back, knowing my love was there?The water is an element, no nymph.Why should I blame Æneas for his flight?O Dido, blame not him, but break his oars!These were the instruments that launched him forth.150There's not so much as this base tackling too,But dares to heap up sorrow to my heart:Was it not you that hoisèd up these sails?Why burst you not, and they fell in the seas?For this will Dido tie ye full of knots,And shear ye all asunder with her hands:Now serve to chastise shipboys for their faults;Ye shall no more offend the Carthage queen.Now, let him hang my favours on his masts,And see if those will serve instead of sails;160For tackling, let him take the chains of gold,Which I bestow'd upon his followers;Instead of oars, let him use his hands,And swim to Italy. I'll keep these sure.—Come, bear them in.[Exeunt.
Enter[535]Nurse,withCupidasAscanius.Nurse.My Lord Ascanius, you must go with me.Cup.Whither must I go? I'll stay with my mother.Nurse.No, thou shall go with me unto my house.I have an orchard that hath store of plums,Brown almonds, services, ripe figs, and dates,Dewberries, apples, yellow oranges;A garden where are bee-hives full of honey,Musk-roses, and a thousand sort of flowers;And in the midst doth run a silver stream,Where thou shalt see the red-gill'd fishes leap,10White swans, and many lovely water-fowls.Now speak, Ascanius, will you go or no?Cup.Come, come, I'll go. How far hence is your house?Nurse.But hereby, child; we shall get thither straight.Cup.Nurse, I am weary; will you carry me?Nurse.I, so you'll dwell with me, and call me mother.Cup.So you'll love me, I care not if I do.Nurse.That I might live to see this boy a man!How prettily he laughs! Go, ye wag![536]You'll be a twigger[537]when you come to age.—20Say Dido what she will, I am not old;I'll be no more a widow; I am young;I'll have a husband, or else a lover.Cup.A husband, and no teeth!Nurse.O, what mean I to have such foolish thoughts?Foolish is love, a toy.—O sacred love!If there be any heaven in earth, 'tis love,Especially in women of your years.—Blush, blush for shame! why shouldst thou think of love?A grave, and not a lover, fits thy age.—30A grave! why, I may live a hundred years;Fourscore is but a girl's age: love is sweet.—My veins are withered, and my sinews dry:Why do I think of love, now I should die?Cup.Come, nurse.Nurse.Well, if he come a-wooing, he shall speed:O, how unwise was I to say him nay![Exeunt.
Enter[535]Nurse,withCupidasAscanius.
Nurse.My Lord Ascanius, you must go with me.
Cup.Whither must I go? I'll stay with my mother.
Nurse.No, thou shall go with me unto my house.I have an orchard that hath store of plums,Brown almonds, services, ripe figs, and dates,Dewberries, apples, yellow oranges;A garden where are bee-hives full of honey,Musk-roses, and a thousand sort of flowers;And in the midst doth run a silver stream,Where thou shalt see the red-gill'd fishes leap,10White swans, and many lovely water-fowls.Now speak, Ascanius, will you go or no?
Cup.Come, come, I'll go. How far hence is your house?
Nurse.But hereby, child; we shall get thither straight.
Cup.Nurse, I am weary; will you carry me?
Nurse.I, so you'll dwell with me, and call me mother.
Cup.So you'll love me, I care not if I do.
Nurse.That I might live to see this boy a man!How prettily he laughs! Go, ye wag![536]You'll be a twigger[537]when you come to age.—20Say Dido what she will, I am not old;I'll be no more a widow; I am young;I'll have a husband, or else a lover.
Cup.A husband, and no teeth!
Nurse.O, what mean I to have such foolish thoughts?Foolish is love, a toy.—O sacred love!If there be any heaven in earth, 'tis love,Especially in women of your years.—Blush, blush for shame! why shouldst thou think of love?A grave, and not a lover, fits thy age.—30A grave! why, I may live a hundred years;Fourscore is but a girl's age: love is sweet.—My veins are withered, and my sinews dry:Why do I think of love, now I should die?
Cup.Come, nurse.
Nurse.Well, if he come a-wooing, he shall speed:O, how unwise was I to say him nay![Exeunt.
EnterÆneas,[538]with a paper in his hand, drawing the platform[539]of the city;Achates, Sergestus, Cloanthus,andIlioneus.Æn.Triumph, my mates! our travels are at end:Here will Æneas build a statelier TroyThan that which grim Atrides overthrew.Carthage shall vaunt her petty walls no more;For I will grace them with a fairer frame,And clad her in a crystal livery,Wherein the day may evermore delight;From golden India Ganges will I fetch,Whose wealthy streams may wait upon her towers,And triple-wise entrench her round about;10The sun from Egypt shall rich odours bring,Wherewith his burning beams (like labouring beesThat load their thighs with Hybla's honey-spoils)[540]Shall here unburden their exhalèd sweets,And plant our pleasant suburbs with their[541]fumes.Ach.What length or breadth shall this brave town contain?Æn.Not past four thousand paces at the most.Ili.But what shall it be call'd? Troy, as before?Æn.That have I not determin'd with myself.Clo.Let it be term'd Ænea, by your name.20Serg.Rather Ascania, by your little son.Æn.Nay, I will have it callèd Anchisæon,Of my old father's name.EnterHermeswithAscanius.Her.Æneas, stay; Jove's herald bids thee stay.Æn.Whom do I see? Jove's wingèd messenger!Welcome to Carthage new-erected town.Her.Why, cousin, stand you building cities here,And beautifying the empire of this queen,While Italy is clean out of thy mind?Too-too forgetful of thine own affairs,30Why wilt thou so betray thy son's good hap?The king of gods sent me from highest heaven,To sound this angry message in thine ears:Vain man, what monarchy expect'st thou here?Or with what thought sleep'st thou in Libya shore?If that all glory hath forsaken thee,And thou despise the praise of such attempts,Yet think upon Ascanius' prophecy,And young Iulus' more than thousand years,Whom I have brought from Ida, where he slept,40And bore young Cupid unto Cyprus' isle.Æn.This was my mother that beguil'd the queen.And made me take my brother for my son:No marvel, Dido, though thou be in love,That daily dandlest Cupid in thy arms.—Welcome, sweet child: where hast thou been this long?Asc.Eating sweet comfits with Queen Dido's maid,Who ever since hath lull'd me in her arms.Æn.Sergestus, bear him hence unto our ships,Lest Dido, spying him, keep him for a pledge.50[ExitSergestuswithAscanius.Her.Spend'st thou thy time about this little boy,And giv'st not ear unto the charge I bring?I tell thee, thou must straight to Italy,Or else abide the wrath of frowning Jove. [Exit.Æn.How should I put into the raging deep.Who have no sails nor tackling for my ships?What? would the gods have me, Deucalion-like,Float up and down where'er the billows drive?Though she repair'd my fleet and gave me ships,Yet hath she ta'en away my oars and masts,60And left me neither sail nor stern[542]aboard.EnterIarbas.Iar.How now, Æneas! sad! what means these dumps?Æn.Iarbas, I am clean besides myself;Jove hath heaped on me such a desperate charge,Which neither art nor reason may achieve,Nor I devise by what means to contrive.Iar.As how, I pray? may I entreat you tell?Æn.With speed he bids me sail to Italy,Whenas I want both rigging for my fleet,And also furniture for these my men.70Iar.If that be all, then cheer thy drooping looks,For I will furnish thee with such supplies,Let some of those thy followers go with me,And they shall have what thing soe'er thou need'st.Æn.Thanks, good Iarbas, for thy friendly aid:Achates and the rest shall wait on thee,Whilst I rest thankful for this courtesy. [Exeunt all exceptÆneas.Now will I haste unto Lavinian shore,And raise a new foundation to old Troy.Witness the gods, and witness heaven and earth,80How loath I am to leave these Libyan bounds,But that eternal Jupiter commands!EnterDido.Dido.I fear I saw Æneas' little sonLed by Achates[543]to the Trojan fleet.If it be so, his father means to fly:—But here he is; now, Dido, try thy wit.— [Aside.Æneas, wherefore go thy men abroad?Why are thy ships new-rigged? or to what end,Launched from the haven, lie they in the road?Pardon me, though I ask; love makes me ask.90Æn.O, pardon me, if I resolve thee why!Æneas will not feign with his dear love.I must from hence: this day, swift Mercury,When I was laying a platform[544]for these walls,Sent from his father Jove, appear'd to me,And in his name rebuk'd me bitterlyFor lingering here, neglecting Italy.Dido.But yet Æneas will not leave his love.Æn.I am commanded by immortal JoveTo leave this town and pass to Italy;100And therefore must of force.Dido.These words proceed not from Æneas' heart.Æn.Not from my heart, for I can hardly go;And yet I may not stay. Dido, farewell.Dido.Farewell! is this the 'mends for Dido's love?Do Trojans use to quit[545]their lovers thus?Fare well may Dido, so Æneas stay;I die, if my Æneas say farewell.Æn.Then let me go, and never say farewell:Let me go; farewell:[546]I must from hence.110Dido.These words are poison to poor Dido's soul:O, speak like my Æneas, like my love!Why look'st thou toward the sea? the time hath beenWhen Dido's beauty chain'd[547]thine eyes to her.Am I less fair than when thou saw'st me first?O, then, Æneas, 'tis for grief of thee!Say thou wilt stay in Carthage with thy[548]queen,And Dido's beauty will return again.Æneas, say, how can'st thou take thy leave?Wilt thou kiss Dido? O, thy lips have sworn120To stay with Dido! canst thou take her hand?Thy hand and mine have plighted mutual faith;Therefore, unkind Æneas, must thou say,"Then let me go, and never say farewell?"Æn.O queen of Carthage, wert thou ugly-black,Æneas could not choose but hold thee dear!Yet must he not gainsay the gods' behest.Dido.The gods! what gods be those that seek my death?Wherein have I offended Jupiter,That he should take Æneas from mine arms?130O no! the gods weigh not what lovers do:It is Æneas calls Æneas hence;And woful Dido, by these blubber'd[549]cheeks,By this right hand, and by our spousal rites,Desires Æneas to remain with her;Si[550]bene quid de te merui, fuit aut tibi quidquamDulce meum, miserere domus labentis, et istam,Oro, si quis adhuc[551]precibus locus, exue mentem.Æn. Desine[552]meque tuis incendere teque querelis;Italiam non sponte sequor.140Dido.Hast thou forgot how many neighbour kingsWere up in arms, for making thee my love?How Carthage did rebel, Iarbas storm,And all the world calls me a second Helen,For being entangled by a stranger's looks?So thou wouldst prove as true as Paris did,Would, as fair Troy was, Carthage might be sack'd,And I be called a second Helena!Had I a son by thee, the grief were less,That I might see Æneas in his face:150Now if thou go'st, what canst thou leave behind,But rather will augment than ease my woe?Æn.In vain, my love, thou spend'st thy fainting breath:If words might move me, I were overcome.Dido.And wilt thou not be mov'd with Dido's words?Thy[553]mother was no goddess, perjured man,Nor Dardanus the author of thy stock;But thou art sprung from Scythian Caucasus,And tigers of Hyrcania gave thee suck.—Ah, foolish Dido, to forbear this long!—160Wast thou not wrecked upon this Libyan shore,And cam'st to Dido like a fisher swain?Repaired not I thy ships, made thee a king,And all thy needy followers noblemen?O serpent, that came creeping from the shore,And I for pity harbour'd in my bosom,Wilt thou now slay me with thy venomed sting,And hiss at Dido for preserving thee?Go, go, and spare not; seek out Italy:I hope that that which love forbids me do,170The rocks and sea-gulfs will perform at large,And thou shalt perish in the billows' waysTo whom poor Dido doth bequeath revenge:I, traitor! and the waves shall cast thee up,Where thou and false Achates first set foot;Which if it chance, I'll give ye burial,And weep upon your lifeless carcasses,Though thou nor he will pity me a whit.Why starest thou in my face? If thou wilt stay,Leap in mine arms; mine arms are open wide;180If not, turn from me, and I'll turn from thee;For though thou hast the heart to say farewell,I have not power to stay thee. [ExitÆneas.Is he gone?I, but he'll come again; he cannot go;He loves me too-too well to serve me so:Yet he that in my sight would not relent,Will, being absent, be obdurate[554]still.By this, is he got to the water-side;And, see, the sailors take him by the hand;But he shrinks back; and now remembering me,190Returns amain: welcome, welcome, my love!But where's Æneas? ah, he's gone, he's gone!EnterAnna.Anna.What means my sister, thus to rave and cry?Dido.O Anna, my Æneas is abroad,And, leaving me, will sail to Italy!Once didst thou go, and he came back again:Now bring him back, and thou shalt be a queen,And I will live a private life with him.Anna.Wicked Æneas!Dido.Call him not wicked, sister: speak him fair,200And look upon him with a mermaid's eye;Tell him, I never vow'd at Aulis' gulfThe desolation of his native Troy,Nor sent a thousand ships unto the walls,Nor ever violated faith to him;Request him gently, Anna, to return:I crave but this,—he stay a tide or two,That I may learn to bear it patiently;If he depart thus suddenly, I die.Run, Anna, run; stay not to answer me.210Anna.I go, fair sister: heavens grant good success! [Exit.EnterNurse.Nurse.O Dido, your little son AscaniusIs gone! he lay with me last night,And in the morning he was stoln from me:I think, some fairies have beguilèd me.Dido.O cursèd hag and false dissembling wretch,That slay'st me with thy harsh and hellish tale!Thou for some petty gift hast let him go,And I am thus deluded of my boy.—Away with her to prison presently,220EnterAttendants.Trait'ress too kenned[555]and cursèd sorceress!Nurse.I know not what you mean by treason, I;I am as true as any one of yours.Dido.Away with her! suffer her not to speak. [ExitNursewithAttendants.My sister comes: I like not her sad looks.Re-enterAnna.Anna.Before I came, Æneas was aboard,And, spying me, hoist up the sails amain;But I cried out, "Æneas, false Æneas, stay!"Then gan he wag his hand, which, yet held up,Made me suppose he would have heard me speak;230Then gan they drive into the ocean:Which when I view'd, I cried, "Æneas, stay!Dido, fair Dido wills Æneas stay!"Yet he, whose heart['s] of adamant or flint,My tears nor plaints could mollify a whit.Then carelessly I rent my hair for grief:Which seen to all, though he beheld me not,They gan to move him to redress my ruth,And stay a while to hear what I could say;But he, clapp'd under hatches, sail'd away.240Dido.O Anna, Anna, I will follow him!Anna.How can you go, when he hath all your fleet?Dido.I'll frame me wings of wax, like Icarus,And, o'er his ships, will soar unto the sun,That they may melt, and I fall in his arms;Or else I'll make a prayer unto the waves,That I may swim to him, like Triton's niece.O Anna, [Anna,[556]] fetch Arion's[557]harp,That I may tice a dolphin to the shore,And ride upon his back unto my love!250Look, sister, look! lovely Æneas' ships!See, see, the billows heave him[558]up to heaven,And now down falls the keels into the deep!O sister, sister, take away the rocks!They'll break his ships. O Proteus, Neptune, Jove,Save, save, Æneas, Dido's liefest[559]love!Now is he come on shore, safe without hurt:But, see, Achates wills him put to sea,And all the sailors merry-make for joy;But he, remembering me, shrinks back again:260See, where he comes! welcome, welcome, my love!Anna.Ah, sister, leave these idle fantasies!Sweet sister, cease; remember who you are.Dido.Dido I am, unless I be deceiv'd:And must I rave thus for a runagate?Must I make ships for him to sail away?Nothing can bear me to him but a ship,And he hath all my[560]fleet.—What shall I do,But die in fury of this oversight?I; I must be the murderer of myself:270No, but I am not; yet I will be straight.— [Aside.Anna, be glad; now have I found a meanTo rid me from these thoughts of lunacy:Not far from henceThere is a woman famousèd for arts,Daughter[561]unto the nymphs Hesperides,Who will'd me sacrifice his ticing relics:Go, Anna, bid my servants bring me fire. [ExitAnna.EnterIarbas.Iar.How long will Dido mourn a stranger's flightThat hath dishonoured her and Carthage both?280How long shall I with grief consume my days,And reap no guerdon for my truest love?EnterAttendantswith wood and torches.Dido.Iarbas, talk not of Æneas; let him go:Lay to thy hands, and help me make a fire,That shall consume all that this stranger left;For I intend a private sacrifice,To cure my mind, that melts for unkind love.Iar.But afterwards, will Dido grant me love?Dido.I, I, Iarbas; after this is done,None in the world shall have my love but thou. [They make a fire.290So leave me now; let none approach this place. [ExeuntIarbasandAttendants.Now, Dido, with these relics burn thyself,And make Æneas famous through the worldFor perjury and slaughter of a queen.Here lie[562]the sword that in the darksome caveHe drew, and swore by, to be true to me:Thou shall burn first; thy crime is worse than his.Here lie the garment which I cloth'd him inWhen first he came on shore; perish thou too.These letters, lines, and perjur'd papers, all300Shall burn to cinders in this precious flame.And now, ye gods, that guide the starry frame,And order all things at your high dispose,Grant, though the traitors land in Italy,They may be still tormented with unrest;And from mine ashes let a conqueror rise,That may revenge this treason to a queenBy ploughing up his countries with the sword!Betwixt this land and that be never league;Litora[563]litoribus contraria, fluctibus undas310Imprecor, arma armis; pugnent ipsique nepotes![564]Live, false Æneas; truest Dido dies;Sic,[565]sic iuvat ire sub umbras. [Throws herself into the flames.Re-enterAnna.Anna.O, help, Iarbas! Dido in these flamesHath burnt herself! ay me, unhappy me!Re-enterIarbas,running.Iar.Cursèd Iarbas, die to expiateThe grief that tires[566]upon thine inward soul!—Dido, I come to thee.—Ay me, Æneas! [Stabs himself and dies.Anna.What can my tears or cries prevail[567]me nowDido is dead!320Iarbas slain, Iarbas my dear love!O sweet Iarbas, Anna's sole delight!What fatal destiny envies me thus,To see my sweet Iarbas slay himself?But Anna now shall honour thee in death,And mix her blood with thine; this shall I do,That gods and men may pity this my death,And rue our ends, senseless of life or breath:Now, sweet Iarbas, stay! I come to thee.[Stabs herself, and dies.
EnterÆneas,[538]with a paper in his hand, drawing the platform[539]of the city;Achates, Sergestus, Cloanthus,andIlioneus.
Æn.Triumph, my mates! our travels are at end:Here will Æneas build a statelier TroyThan that which grim Atrides overthrew.Carthage shall vaunt her petty walls no more;For I will grace them with a fairer frame,And clad her in a crystal livery,Wherein the day may evermore delight;From golden India Ganges will I fetch,Whose wealthy streams may wait upon her towers,And triple-wise entrench her round about;10The sun from Egypt shall rich odours bring,Wherewith his burning beams (like labouring beesThat load their thighs with Hybla's honey-spoils)[540]Shall here unburden their exhalèd sweets,And plant our pleasant suburbs with their[541]fumes.
Ach.What length or breadth shall this brave town contain?
Æn.Not past four thousand paces at the most.
Ili.But what shall it be call'd? Troy, as before?
Æn.That have I not determin'd with myself.
Clo.Let it be term'd Ænea, by your name.20
Serg.Rather Ascania, by your little son.
Æn.Nay, I will have it callèd Anchisæon,Of my old father's name.
EnterHermeswithAscanius.
Her.Æneas, stay; Jove's herald bids thee stay.
Æn.Whom do I see? Jove's wingèd messenger!Welcome to Carthage new-erected town.
Her.Why, cousin, stand you building cities here,And beautifying the empire of this queen,While Italy is clean out of thy mind?Too-too forgetful of thine own affairs,30Why wilt thou so betray thy son's good hap?The king of gods sent me from highest heaven,To sound this angry message in thine ears:Vain man, what monarchy expect'st thou here?Or with what thought sleep'st thou in Libya shore?If that all glory hath forsaken thee,And thou despise the praise of such attempts,Yet think upon Ascanius' prophecy,And young Iulus' more than thousand years,Whom I have brought from Ida, where he slept,40And bore young Cupid unto Cyprus' isle.
Æn.This was my mother that beguil'd the queen.And made me take my brother for my son:No marvel, Dido, though thou be in love,That daily dandlest Cupid in thy arms.—Welcome, sweet child: where hast thou been this long?
Asc.Eating sweet comfits with Queen Dido's maid,Who ever since hath lull'd me in her arms.
Æn.Sergestus, bear him hence unto our ships,Lest Dido, spying him, keep him for a pledge.50[ExitSergestuswithAscanius.
Her.Spend'st thou thy time about this little boy,And giv'st not ear unto the charge I bring?I tell thee, thou must straight to Italy,Or else abide the wrath of frowning Jove. [Exit.
Æn.How should I put into the raging deep.Who have no sails nor tackling for my ships?What? would the gods have me, Deucalion-like,Float up and down where'er the billows drive?Though she repair'd my fleet and gave me ships,Yet hath she ta'en away my oars and masts,60And left me neither sail nor stern[542]aboard.
EnterIarbas.
Iar.How now, Æneas! sad! what means these dumps?
Æn.Iarbas, I am clean besides myself;Jove hath heaped on me such a desperate charge,Which neither art nor reason may achieve,Nor I devise by what means to contrive.
Iar.As how, I pray? may I entreat you tell?
Æn.With speed he bids me sail to Italy,Whenas I want both rigging for my fleet,And also furniture for these my men.70
Iar.If that be all, then cheer thy drooping looks,For I will furnish thee with such supplies,Let some of those thy followers go with me,And they shall have what thing soe'er thou need'st.
Æn.Thanks, good Iarbas, for thy friendly aid:Achates and the rest shall wait on thee,Whilst I rest thankful for this courtesy. [Exeunt all exceptÆneas.Now will I haste unto Lavinian shore,And raise a new foundation to old Troy.Witness the gods, and witness heaven and earth,80How loath I am to leave these Libyan bounds,But that eternal Jupiter commands!
EnterDido.
Dido.I fear I saw Æneas' little sonLed by Achates[543]to the Trojan fleet.If it be so, his father means to fly:—But here he is; now, Dido, try thy wit.— [Aside.Æneas, wherefore go thy men abroad?Why are thy ships new-rigged? or to what end,Launched from the haven, lie they in the road?Pardon me, though I ask; love makes me ask.90
Æn.O, pardon me, if I resolve thee why!Æneas will not feign with his dear love.I must from hence: this day, swift Mercury,When I was laying a platform[544]for these walls,Sent from his father Jove, appear'd to me,And in his name rebuk'd me bitterlyFor lingering here, neglecting Italy.
Dido.But yet Æneas will not leave his love.
Æn.I am commanded by immortal JoveTo leave this town and pass to Italy;100And therefore must of force.
Dido.These words proceed not from Æneas' heart.
Æn.Not from my heart, for I can hardly go;And yet I may not stay. Dido, farewell.
Dido.Farewell! is this the 'mends for Dido's love?Do Trojans use to quit[545]their lovers thus?Fare well may Dido, so Æneas stay;I die, if my Æneas say farewell.
Æn.Then let me go, and never say farewell:Let me go; farewell:[546]I must from hence.110
Dido.These words are poison to poor Dido's soul:O, speak like my Æneas, like my love!Why look'st thou toward the sea? the time hath beenWhen Dido's beauty chain'd[547]thine eyes to her.Am I less fair than when thou saw'st me first?O, then, Æneas, 'tis for grief of thee!Say thou wilt stay in Carthage with thy[548]queen,And Dido's beauty will return again.Æneas, say, how can'st thou take thy leave?Wilt thou kiss Dido? O, thy lips have sworn120To stay with Dido! canst thou take her hand?Thy hand and mine have plighted mutual faith;Therefore, unkind Æneas, must thou say,"Then let me go, and never say farewell?"
Æn.O queen of Carthage, wert thou ugly-black,Æneas could not choose but hold thee dear!Yet must he not gainsay the gods' behest.
Dido.The gods! what gods be those that seek my death?Wherein have I offended Jupiter,That he should take Æneas from mine arms?130O no! the gods weigh not what lovers do:It is Æneas calls Æneas hence;And woful Dido, by these blubber'd[549]cheeks,By this right hand, and by our spousal rites,Desires Æneas to remain with her;Si[550]bene quid de te merui, fuit aut tibi quidquamDulce meum, miserere domus labentis, et istam,Oro, si quis adhuc[551]precibus locus, exue mentem.
Æn. Desine[552]meque tuis incendere teque querelis;Italiam non sponte sequor.140
Dido.Hast thou forgot how many neighbour kingsWere up in arms, for making thee my love?How Carthage did rebel, Iarbas storm,And all the world calls me a second Helen,For being entangled by a stranger's looks?So thou wouldst prove as true as Paris did,Would, as fair Troy was, Carthage might be sack'd,And I be called a second Helena!Had I a son by thee, the grief were less,That I might see Æneas in his face:150Now if thou go'st, what canst thou leave behind,But rather will augment than ease my woe?
Æn.In vain, my love, thou spend'st thy fainting breath:If words might move me, I were overcome.
Dido.And wilt thou not be mov'd with Dido's words?Thy[553]mother was no goddess, perjured man,Nor Dardanus the author of thy stock;But thou art sprung from Scythian Caucasus,And tigers of Hyrcania gave thee suck.—Ah, foolish Dido, to forbear this long!—160Wast thou not wrecked upon this Libyan shore,And cam'st to Dido like a fisher swain?Repaired not I thy ships, made thee a king,And all thy needy followers noblemen?O serpent, that came creeping from the shore,And I for pity harbour'd in my bosom,Wilt thou now slay me with thy venomed sting,And hiss at Dido for preserving thee?Go, go, and spare not; seek out Italy:I hope that that which love forbids me do,170The rocks and sea-gulfs will perform at large,And thou shalt perish in the billows' waysTo whom poor Dido doth bequeath revenge:I, traitor! and the waves shall cast thee up,Where thou and false Achates first set foot;Which if it chance, I'll give ye burial,And weep upon your lifeless carcasses,Though thou nor he will pity me a whit.Why starest thou in my face? If thou wilt stay,Leap in mine arms; mine arms are open wide;180If not, turn from me, and I'll turn from thee;For though thou hast the heart to say farewell,I have not power to stay thee. [ExitÆneas.Is he gone?I, but he'll come again; he cannot go;He loves me too-too well to serve me so:Yet he that in my sight would not relent,Will, being absent, be obdurate[554]still.By this, is he got to the water-side;And, see, the sailors take him by the hand;But he shrinks back; and now remembering me,190Returns amain: welcome, welcome, my love!But where's Æneas? ah, he's gone, he's gone!
EnterAnna.
Anna.What means my sister, thus to rave and cry?
Dido.O Anna, my Æneas is abroad,And, leaving me, will sail to Italy!Once didst thou go, and he came back again:Now bring him back, and thou shalt be a queen,And I will live a private life with him.
Anna.Wicked Æneas!
Dido.Call him not wicked, sister: speak him fair,200And look upon him with a mermaid's eye;Tell him, I never vow'd at Aulis' gulfThe desolation of his native Troy,Nor sent a thousand ships unto the walls,Nor ever violated faith to him;Request him gently, Anna, to return:I crave but this,—he stay a tide or two,That I may learn to bear it patiently;If he depart thus suddenly, I die.Run, Anna, run; stay not to answer me.210
Anna.I go, fair sister: heavens grant good success! [Exit.
EnterNurse.
Nurse.O Dido, your little son AscaniusIs gone! he lay with me last night,And in the morning he was stoln from me:I think, some fairies have beguilèd me.
Dido.O cursèd hag and false dissembling wretch,That slay'st me with thy harsh and hellish tale!Thou for some petty gift hast let him go,And I am thus deluded of my boy.—Away with her to prison presently,220
EnterAttendants.
Trait'ress too kenned[555]and cursèd sorceress!
Nurse.I know not what you mean by treason, I;I am as true as any one of yours.
Dido.Away with her! suffer her not to speak. [ExitNursewithAttendants.My sister comes: I like not her sad looks.
Re-enterAnna.
Anna.Before I came, Æneas was aboard,And, spying me, hoist up the sails amain;But I cried out, "Æneas, false Æneas, stay!"Then gan he wag his hand, which, yet held up,Made me suppose he would have heard me speak;230Then gan they drive into the ocean:Which when I view'd, I cried, "Æneas, stay!Dido, fair Dido wills Æneas stay!"Yet he, whose heart['s] of adamant or flint,My tears nor plaints could mollify a whit.Then carelessly I rent my hair for grief:Which seen to all, though he beheld me not,They gan to move him to redress my ruth,And stay a while to hear what I could say;But he, clapp'd under hatches, sail'd away.240
Dido.O Anna, Anna, I will follow him!
Anna.How can you go, when he hath all your fleet?
Dido.I'll frame me wings of wax, like Icarus,And, o'er his ships, will soar unto the sun,That they may melt, and I fall in his arms;Or else I'll make a prayer unto the waves,That I may swim to him, like Triton's niece.O Anna, [Anna,[556]] fetch Arion's[557]harp,That I may tice a dolphin to the shore,And ride upon his back unto my love!250Look, sister, look! lovely Æneas' ships!See, see, the billows heave him[558]up to heaven,And now down falls the keels into the deep!O sister, sister, take away the rocks!They'll break his ships. O Proteus, Neptune, Jove,Save, save, Æneas, Dido's liefest[559]love!Now is he come on shore, safe without hurt:But, see, Achates wills him put to sea,And all the sailors merry-make for joy;But he, remembering me, shrinks back again:260See, where he comes! welcome, welcome, my love!
Anna.Ah, sister, leave these idle fantasies!Sweet sister, cease; remember who you are.
Dido.Dido I am, unless I be deceiv'd:And must I rave thus for a runagate?Must I make ships for him to sail away?Nothing can bear me to him but a ship,And he hath all my[560]fleet.—What shall I do,But die in fury of this oversight?I; I must be the murderer of myself:270No, but I am not; yet I will be straight.— [Aside.Anna, be glad; now have I found a meanTo rid me from these thoughts of lunacy:Not far from henceThere is a woman famousèd for arts,Daughter[561]unto the nymphs Hesperides,Who will'd me sacrifice his ticing relics:Go, Anna, bid my servants bring me fire. [ExitAnna.
EnterIarbas.
Iar.How long will Dido mourn a stranger's flightThat hath dishonoured her and Carthage both?280How long shall I with grief consume my days,And reap no guerdon for my truest love?
EnterAttendantswith wood and torches.
Dido.Iarbas, talk not of Æneas; let him go:Lay to thy hands, and help me make a fire,That shall consume all that this stranger left;For I intend a private sacrifice,To cure my mind, that melts for unkind love.
Iar.But afterwards, will Dido grant me love?
Dido.I, I, Iarbas; after this is done,None in the world shall have my love but thou. [They make a fire.290So leave me now; let none approach this place. [ExeuntIarbasandAttendants.Now, Dido, with these relics burn thyself,And make Æneas famous through the worldFor perjury and slaughter of a queen.Here lie[562]the sword that in the darksome caveHe drew, and swore by, to be true to me:Thou shall burn first; thy crime is worse than his.Here lie the garment which I cloth'd him inWhen first he came on shore; perish thou too.These letters, lines, and perjur'd papers, all300Shall burn to cinders in this precious flame.And now, ye gods, that guide the starry frame,And order all things at your high dispose,Grant, though the traitors land in Italy,They may be still tormented with unrest;And from mine ashes let a conqueror rise,That may revenge this treason to a queenBy ploughing up his countries with the sword!Betwixt this land and that be never league;Litora[563]litoribus contraria, fluctibus undas310Imprecor, arma armis; pugnent ipsique nepotes![564]Live, false Æneas; truest Dido dies;Sic,[565]sic iuvat ire sub umbras. [Throws herself into the flames.
Re-enterAnna.
Anna.O, help, Iarbas! Dido in these flamesHath burnt herself! ay me, unhappy me!
Re-enterIarbas,running.
Iar.Cursèd Iarbas, die to expiateThe grief that tires[566]upon thine inward soul!—Dido, I come to thee.—Ay me, Æneas! [Stabs himself and dies.
Anna.What can my tears or cries prevail[567]me nowDido is dead!320Iarbas slain, Iarbas my dear love!O sweet Iarbas, Anna's sole delight!What fatal destiny envies me thus,To see my sweet Iarbas slay himself?But Anna now shall honour thee in death,And mix her blood with thine; this shall I do,That gods and men may pity this my death,And rue our ends, senseless of life or breath:Now, sweet Iarbas, stay! I come to thee.[Stabs herself, and dies.