LETTER VII.
SIR,
I
AM now to collect the Passages of the Æneid, mentioned in my former Letters, and bring them together with the rhym'd and blank Verse Translations.
The first Passage is this (not to take notice of the very first Lines, which Mr. Pit has translated in two different manners)
"Sic cunctus pelagi cecidit fragor, æquora postquam
Prospiciens genitor, cœloque invectus aperto
Flectit equos, curruque volans dat lora secundo.
Dr. Trapp,
"So all the hurry of the Ocean ceas'd,
Soon as its God appear'd above the Waves:
Who, managing his Steeds in Air serene,
Flies swift with slacken'd Reins and loose Career.
Mr. Pit,
"Then did the roaring Waves their Rage compose,
When the great Father of the Flood arose,
Rapt by his Steeds he flies in open Day,
Throws up the Reins, and skims the watry Way.
"Atque rotis summas levibus pellabitur undas.
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Dr. Trapp,
"And with light Wheels upon the Surface rides,
Mr. Pit,
"Then mounted on his radiant Carr he rides,
And wheels along the Level of the Tides.
Again,
"Æole (namque tibi divûm pater atque hominum rex
mulcere dedit fluctus, & tollere vento)
Dr. Trapp,
"———————O Æolus (for thee
The Sire of Gods, and King of Men impow'rs
To smooth the Waves, or raise them with the Wind.)
Mr. Pit,
"———————Since mighty Jove,
The King of Men, and Sire of Gods above,
Gives thee, great Æolus, the Power to raise
Storms at thy sovereign Will, and smooth the Seas.
Again,
"Sit ait, & dicto citius tumida æquora placat,
Collectasque fugat nubes, solemque reducit.
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Dr. Trapp,
"So spake the God, and sooner than he spoke
Appeas'd the tossing of the Waves, dispell'd
The Clouds collected, and restor'd the Sun.
Mr. Pit,
"He spoke, and speaking chas'd the Clouds away:
Hush'd the loud Billows, and restor'd the Day.
Again,
"———————Fotum Gremio dea tollit in altos
Idaliæ lucos.
Dr. Trapp,
"———————And on her Bosom hush'd,
Carries him to Idalia's lofty Groves.———
Mr. Pit,
"Lull'd in her Lap to rest, the Queen of Love
Conveys him to the soft Idalian Grove.
Again,
"————Ubi tot Simois correpta sub undis
Scuta virûm, galeasque, & fortia corpora volvit,
Dr. Trapp,
"Where Simois in his rapid Torrent rolls
So many Warriour Bodies, Helms and Shields.
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Mr. Pit,
"Where Simois Streams incumber'd with the Slain,
Roll'd Shields, and Helms, and Heroes to the Main.
Again,
"Urbs antiqua fuit, Tyrii tenuere coloni
Carthago, Italiam contra, Tiberinaque longe
Ostia, dives opum, studiisque asperrima belli,
Dr. Trapp,
"Fronting th' Italian Coast, and Tyber's Mouth,
Tho' far remote, an ancient City stood.
Carthage its Name, a Colony of Tyre,
Mighty in Wealth, and rough in study'd War,
Mr. Pit,
"Against th' Italian Coast, of ancient Fame,
A City rose, and Carthage was the Name;
A Tyrian Colony: From Tyber far,
Rich, rough, and brave, and exercis'd in War,
Again,
"Hoc metuens, molemque & montis insuper altos
Imposuit, regemque dedit, qui fœdere certo
Et premere, & laxas sciret dare jussus habenas,
Dr. Trapp,
"But fearing this, the Sovereign of the Gods
Pent them in gloomy Caves, and o'er them threw
Vast Piles of massy Rocks; impos'd a King,
Who should by certain Measures know to curb,
Or, when commanded, to indulge their Rage.
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Mr. Pit,
"But Jove, the mighty Ruin to prevent,
In gloomy Caves th'Aereal Captives pent:
O'er their wild Rage the pond'rous Rock he spread,
And hurl'd huge Heaps of Mountains on their Head;
And gave a King commissioned to restrain
And curb the Tempest, or to loose the Rein.
Hurl'd, huge, Heaps, Head, all in the same Line, imitate Virgil's Metuens, Molem, Montis.
And again,
"————————Facti de nomine Byrsam;
Sed vos qui tandem, quibus aut venistis ab oris,
Quove tenetis iter?—————————
Dr. Trapp,
"———————And the Name of Byrsa gave
In Mem'ry of the Deed. But, in your turn,
At length inform me, who, and whence you are,
And whither bound?——————
Mr. Pit,
"Hence Byrsa nam'd: But now ye Strangers, say,
Who? Whence you are? And whither lies your way?———
There is no Occasion to make any more Remarks upon these Lines.
Nov. 20. 1736.
I am, Sir, &c.
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