XXXIX. "Oh thou, unconquered, whose resistless hand
Smote the twin giants of the [cloud-born crew,
Pholus, Hylæus;] and the Cretan land
Freed from [its monster;] and in Nemea slew
The lion! Styx hath trembled at thy view,
And Cerberus, when, smeared with gore, he lay
On bones half-mumbled in his darksome mew.
Thee not [Typhoeus,] when in armed array		343
He towered erect, could daunt, nor grisly shapes dismay.
XL. "Prompt was thy wit, when, powerless to prevail,
Around thee twined, the beast of Lerna's fen
Hissed with the legion of its heads. O hail,
True son of Jove, the praise of mortal men,
And Heaven's new glory. Hither turn thy ken,
And cheer thy votaries." So with heart and will
They chant his praise, nor less the monster's den,
And Cacus, breathing flames. The loud notes fill		352
The sacred grove around, and echo to the hill.
XLI. The rites thus ended, to the town they fare.
In front, the good Evander, old and grey,
Moves 'twixt Æneas and his youthful heir,
And oft with various converse, as they stray,
Beguiles the lightened labour of the way.
Now this, now that the Trojan chief admires,
Filled with new pleasure, as his eyes survey
Each place in turn. Oft, gladly he enquires		361
The tokens, one by one, and tales of ancient sires.

XLII. Then he, who built the citadel of Rome,
Spake thus—the good Evander: "Yonder view
The forest; 'twas the Fauns' and Wood-nymphs' home.
Their birth from trunks and rugged oaks they drew;
No arts they had, nor settled life, nor knew
To yoke the ox, or lay up stores, or spare
What wealth they gathered; but their wants were few;
The branches gave them sustenance, whate'er		370
In toilsome chase they won, composed their scanty fare.
XLIII. "Then first came Saturn from Olympus' height,
Flying from Jove, his kingdom barred and banned,
He taught the scattered hillsmen to unite,
And gave them laws, and bade the name to stand
Of [Latium,] he safe latent in the land.
Then tranquilly the happy seasons rolled
Year after year, and Peace, with plenteous hand,
Smiled on his sceptre. 'Twas the Age of Gold,		379
So well his placid sway the willing folk controlled.
XLIV. "Then waxed the times degenerate, and the stain
With stealthy growth gave birth to deeds of shame,
The rage of battle, and the lust of gain.
Then came Ausonians, then Sicanians came,
And oft the land of Saturn changed its name.
Strange tyrants came, and ruled Italia's shore,
Grim-visaged Thybris, of gigantic frame;
His name henceforth the river Tiber bore,		388
And Albula's old name was known, alas! no more.
XLV. "Me, from my country driven forth to roam
The utmost deep, perforce the Fates' design
And Fortune's power drove hitherward. This home
My mother, Nymph Carmentis, warned was mine;
A god, Apollo, did these shores assign."
So saying, he shows the altar and the gate
Long called Carmental, from the Nymph divine,
First seer who sang, with faithful voice, how great		397
Æneas' race should rise, and Pallanteum's fate.
XLVI. He shows the grove of Romulus, his famed
[Asylum;] then, beneath the rock's cold crest
[Lupercal's] cave, from Pan Lycæan named;
Then, Argiletum's grove, whose shades attest
The death of Argus, once the monarch's guest;
Tarpeia's rock, [the Capitolian height,
Now golden]—rugged 'twas of old, a nest
Of tangled brakes, yet hallowed was the site		406
E'en then, and wood and rock filled the rude hinds with fright.
XLVII. "These wooded steeps," he said, "this sacred grove
What godhead haunts, we know not; legends say
Arcadians here have seen the form of Jove,
And seen his right hand, with resistless sway,
Shake the dread Ægis, and the clouds array.
See, yon two cities, once renowned by fame,
Now ruined walls and crumbling to decay;
This Janus built, those walls did Saturn frame;		415
Janiculum was this, that bore Saturnia's name."