Beneath an airy hill that thence Misenus' name hath borne, And still shall bear it, not to die till time hath faded out. This done, those deeds the Sibyl bade he setteth swift about: A deep den is there, pebble-piled, with mouth that gapeth wide; Black mere and thicket shadowy-mirk the secret of it hide. And over it no fowl there is may wend upon the wing And 'scape the bane; its blackened jaws bring forth such venoming. 240 Such is the breath it bears aloft unto the hollow heaven; So to the place the Greekish folk have name of Fowl-less given. Here, first of all, four black-skinned steers the priestess sets in line, And on the foreheads of all these out-pours the bowl of wine. Then 'twixt the horns she culleth out the topmost of the hair, And lays it on the holy fire, the first-fruits offered there, And cries aloud on Hecaté, of might in heaven and hell; While others lay the knife to throat and catch the blood that fell Warm in the bowls: Æneas then an ewe-lamb black of fleece Smites down with sword to her that bore the dread Eumenides, 250 And her great sister; and a cow yet barren slays aright To thee, O Proserpine, and rears the altars of the night Unto the Stygian King, and lays whole bulls upon the flame, Pouring rich oil upon the flesh that rush of fire o'ercame. But now, when sunrise is at hand, and dawning of the day, The earth falls moaning 'neath their feet, the wooded ridges sway, And dogs seem howling through the dusk as now she drew anear The Goddess. "O be far away, ye unclean!" cries the seer. "Be far away! ah, get ye gone from all the holy wood! But thou, Æneas, draw thy steel and take thee to the road; 260 Now needeth all thine hardihood and steadfast heart and brave." She spake, and wildly cast herself amidst the hollow cave, But close upon her fearless feet Æneas followeth. O Gods, who rule the ghosts of men, O silent shades of death, Chaos and Phlegethon, hushed lands that lie beneath the night! Let me speak now, for I have heard: O aid me with your might To open things deep sunk in earth, and mid the darkness blent. All dim amid the lonely night on through the dusk they went, On through the empty house of Dis, the land of nought at all. E'en as beneath the doubtful moon, when niggard light doth fall 270 Upon some way amid the woods, when God hath hidden heaven, And black night from the things of earth the colours dear hath driven.