Richard Stanyhurst

Richard Stanyhurst (1547 – 1618) was an Anglo-Irish alchemist, translator, poet and historian.

Quotes

The First Foure Bookes of Virgil his Aeneis (1582)

The First Foure Bookes of Virgil his Aeneis (Leiden: Iohn Pates, 1582)

• Now manhood and garbroyls I chaunt, and martial horror.
  I blaze thee captayne first from Troy cittye repairing,
  Lyke wandring pilgrim too famosed Italie trudging,
  And coast of Lavyn: soust wyth tempestuus hurlwynd,
  On land and sayling, bi Gods predestinat order:
  But chiefe through Junoes long fostred deadlye revengment.
  Martyred in battayls, ere towne could statelye be buylded,
  Or Gods theare setled: thence flitted thee Latin ofspring,
  Thee mote of old Alban: thence was Rome peereles inhaunced.
  My muse shew the reason, what grudge or what furye kendled
  Of Gods thee Princesse, through so cursd mischevus hatred,
  Wyth sharp sundrye perils too tugge so famus a captayne.
  Such festred rancoure doo Sayncts celestial harbour?
    A long buylt citty theare stood, Carthago so named,
  From the mouth of Tybris, from land eke of Italye seaverd,
  Possest wyth Tyrians, in streingh and ritches abounding.
  Theare Juno, thee Princes her Empyre wholye reposed,
  Her Samos owtcasting, heere shee dyd her armonye settle,
  And warlick chariots, heere chiefly her joylitye raigned.
  This towne shee labored too make thee gorgeus empresse,
  Of towns and regions, her drift yf destenye furthred.
  But this her hole meaning a southsayd mysterie letted
  That from thee Troians should branch a lineal ofspring,
  Which would thee Tyrian turrets quite batter a sunder,
  And Libye land likewise wyth warlick victorye conquoure.
  • Invocation (I. 1-22)

• Wee leave Creete Country; and our sayls unwrapped uphoysing,
  With woodden vessel thee rough seas deepelye we furrowe.
  When we fro land harbours too mayne seas gyddye dyd enter
  Voyded of al coast sight with wild fluds roundly bebayed,
  A watrye clowd gloomming, ful above mee clampred, apeered,
  A sharp storme menacing, from sight beams soonye rejecting:
  Thee flaws with rumbling, thee wroght fluds angrye doe jumble:
  Up swel thee surges, in chauffe sea plasshye we tumble:
  With the rayn, is daylight through darcknesse mostye bewrapped,
  And thundring lightbolts from torneclowds fyrye be flasshing.
  Wee doe mis oure passadge through fel fluds boysterus erring,
  Oure pilot eke, Palinure, through dymnesse clowdye bedusked
  In poinccts of coompasse dooth stray with palpabil erroure.
  Three dayes in darcknesse from bright beams soony repealed,
  And three nights parted from lightning starrye we wandered,
  The fourth day foloing thee shoare, neere setled, apeered
  And hils uppeaking; and smoak swift steamed to the skyward.
  Oure sayls are strucken, we roa Furth with speedines hastye,
  And the sea by our mariners with the oars cleene canted is harrowd
  On shoars of strophades from storme escaped I landed,
  For those plats Strophades in languadge Greekish ar highted,
  With the sea coucht Islands. Where foule bird foggye Celaeno
  And Harpy is nestled: sence franckling Phines his housroume
  From theym was sunderd, and fragments plentye remooved.
  No plage more perilous, no monster grislye more ouglye,
  No stigian vengaunce lyke too theese carmoran haggards.
  Theese fouls lyke maydens are pynde with phisnomye palish;
  With ramd cramd garbadge, thire gorges draftye be gulled,
  With tallants prowling, theire face wan withred in hunger,
  With famin upsoaken.
  • The Harpies (III. 209-77)

• Scant had he thus spoken: when that from mountenus hil toppe
  Al wee see the giaunt, with his hole flock lowbylyke hagling.
  Namde the shepeherd Polyphem, to the wel knowne sea syd aproching.
  A fowle fog monster, great swad, deprived of eyesight:
  His fists and stalcking are propt with trunck of a pynetree.
  His flock him doe folow, this charge him chieflye rejoyceth.
  In grief al his coomfort on neck his whistle is hanged.
  When that to the seasyde the swayne Longolius hobbled,
  Hee rinst in the water the drosse from his late bored eyelyd.
  His tusk grimly gnashing, in seas far waltred, he groyleth;
  Scantly doo the water surmounting reache to the shoulders.
  But we being feared, from that coast hastly remooved,
  And with us embarcked the Greekish suitur, as amply
  His due request merited, wee chopt off softly the cables.
  Swift wee sweepe the sea froth with nimble lustilad oare striefe.
  The noise he perceaved then he turning warily lifteth.
  But when he consider’d that wee prevented his handling,
  And that from foloing our ships the fluds hye revockt him,
  Loud the lowbie brayed with belling monsterous eccho;
  The water hee shaketh, with his out cryes Italie trembleth,
  And with a thick thundring the fyerde forge Aetna rebounded.
  Then runs from mountayns and woods the rowncival helswarme
  Of Cyclopan lurdens to the shoars in coompanie clustring.
  Far we se them distaunt, us grimly and vainely beholding.
  Up to the sky reatching, the breetherne swish swash of Aetna.
  A folck moaste fulsoom, for sight most fitlye resembling
  Trees of loftye cipers, with thickned multitud oak rowes;
  Or Joves great forest, or woods of mightye Diana.
  Feare thear us enforced with forcing speediness headlong
  To swap off our cables, and fal to the seas at aventure.
  • Polyphemus (III. 655-91)

• A wind fane changabil huf puffe
  Always is a woomman.
  • Woman (IV. ?)