The Æneid of Virgil Translated Into Scottish Verse. Volumes 1 & 2. Virgil

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СКАЧАТЬ mery new consait.

      Thoght venerabill Chauser, principal poet but peir,

      Hevynly trumpat, orlege, and reguler,

      In eloquens balmy, cundyt, and dyall,

      Mylky fontane, cleir strand, and roys ryall,20

      Of fresch endyte, throu Albion island braid,

      In hys legend of notabill Ladeis, said

      That he couth follow word by word Virgill,

      Wisar than I may faill in lakar stile;

      Sum tyme the text mon haue ane expositioun,25

      Sum tyme the cullour will caus a litill additioun,

      And sum tyme of a word I mon mak thre,

      In witnes of this term oppetere;

      Eik, weill I wait, syndry expositouris seir

      Makis on a text sentens diuers to heir,30

      As thame apperis, according thar entent,

      And for thar part schawis ressonys euident.

      All this is ganand, I will weill it swa be;

      Bot a sentens to follow may suffice me:

      Sum tyme I follow the text als neir I may,5

      Sum tyme I am constrenyt ane other way.

      Besyde Latyn our langage is imperfite,

      Quhilk in sum part is the caus and the wyte

      Quhy that of Virgillis vers the ornate bewte

      Intill our tung may nocht obseruyt be;10

      For thar be Latyn wordis, mony ane,

      That in our leyd ganand translatioun has nane,

      Les than we mynys thar sentens and grauyte,

      And ȝit scant weill exponyt; quha trewis nocht me

      Let thame interprit animal and homo,15

      With many hundreth other termys mo,

      Quhilkis in our langage suythly, as I weyn,

      Few men can tell me cleirly quhat thai meyn;

      Betweyn genus, sexus, and species

      Diuersite in our leid to seik I ces;20

      For obiectum and subiectum alsswa

      He war expert couth fynd me termys twa,

      Quhilkis ar als ryfe amangis clerkis in scuyll

      As evir fowlis plungit in laik or puyll.

      Logicianys knawys heirin myne entent,25

      Vndir quhais boundis lurkis mony strange went,

      Quharof the proces, as now, we mon lat be.

      Bot ȝit twychyng our tungis penuryte,

      I meyn into compar of fair Latyn,

      That knawyn is maste perfite langage fyne,30

      I mycht also, percace, cum lyddir speid

      For arbor and lignum intill our leid

      To fynd different proper termys twane,

      And tharto put circumlocutioun nane;

      Rycht so, by about spech oftyn tymys5

      And semabill wordis we compile our rymys.

      God wait, in Virgill ar termys mony a hundir

      Fortill expone maid me a felloun blundir;

      To follow alanerly Virgilis wordis, I weyn,

      Thar suld few vndirstand me quhat thai meyn;10

      The bewte of his ornate eloquens

      May nocht al tyme be kepit with the sentens.

      Sanct Gregor eik forbyddis ws to translait

      Word eftir word, bot sentens follow al gait.

      Quha haldis, quod he, of wordis the properteis15

      Full oft the verite of the sentens fleys.

      And to the sammyn purpos we may apply

      Horatius in hys art of poetry;

      Pres nocht, says he, thou traste interpreter,

      Word eftir word to translait thi mater.20

      Lo he reprevis, and haldis myssemyng,

      Ay word by word to reduce ony thing.

      I say nocht this of Chauser for offens,

      But till excus my lewyt insufficiens;

      For as he standis beneth Virgill in gre,25

      Vndir hym alsfer I grant my self to be.

      And netheles into sum place, quha kend it,

      My mastir Chauser gretly Virgill offendit.

      All thoch I be to bald hym to repreif,

      He was fer baldar, certis, by hys leif,30

      Sayand he followit Virgillis lantern toforn,

      Quhou Eneas to Dydo was forsworn.

      Was he forsworn? Than Eneas was fals;

      That he admittis, and callys hym traytour als.

      Thus, wenyng, allane Ene to haue reprevit,5

      He has gretly the prynce of poetis grevit.

      For, as said is, Virgill dyd diligens,

      But spot of cryme, reproch, or ony offens,

      Eneas for to loif and magnyfy;

      And gif he grantis hym maynsworn fowlely,10

      Than all hys cuyr and crafty engyne gais quyte,

      Hys twelf ȝheris laubouris war nocht worth a myte.

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