A foreign son is pointed out by fate; And, till Æneas shall Lavinia wed, The wrath of heaven is hovering o'er his head. The gods, he saw, espoused the juster side, } When late their titles in the field were tried: } Witness the fresh laments, and funeral tears undried. } Thus full of anxious thought, he summons all The Latian senate to the council-hall. The princes come, commanded by their head, And crowd the paths that to the palace lead. Supreme in power, and reverenced for his years, He takes the throne, and in the midst appears. Majestically sad, he sits in state, And bids his envoys their success relate. When Venulus began, the murmuring sound Was hushed, and sacred silence reigned around. "We have," said he, "performed your high command, And passed with peril a long tract of land: We reached the place desired; with wonder filled, The Grecian tents and rising towers beheld. Great Diomede has compassed round with walls The city, which Argyripa he calls, From his own Argos named. We touched, with joy, The royal hand that razed unhappy Troy. When introduced, our presents first we bring, Then crave an instant audience from the king. His leave obtained, our native soil we name, And tell the important cause for which we came. Attentively he heard us, while we spoke; Then, with soft accents, and a pleasing look, Made this return:--'Ausonian race, of old Renowned for peace, and for an age of gold, What madness has your altered minds possessed, To change for war hereditary rest, Solicit arms unknown, and tempt the sword-- A needless ill, your ancestors abhorred? We--for myself I speak, and all the name Of Grecians, who to Troy's destruction came-- (Omitting those who were in battle slain, Or borne by rolling Simoïs to the main,) Not one but suffered, and too dearly bought The prize of honour which in arms he sought; Some doomed to death, and some in exile driven, Out-casts, abandoned by the care of heaven-- So worn, so wretched, so despised a crew, As even old Priam might with pity view. Witness the vessels by Minerva tossed In storms--the vengeful Capharean coast-- The Eubœan rocks--the prince, whose brother led Our armies to revenge his injured bed, In Egypt lost. Ulysses, with his men, Have seen Charybdis, and the Cyclops' den. Why should I name Idomeneus, in vain } Restored to sceptres, and expelled again? } Or young Achilles, by his rival slain? } Even he, the king of men, the foremost name Of all the Greeks, and most renowned by fame, The proud revenger of another's wife, Yet by his own adulteress lost his life-- Fell at his threshold; and the spoils of Troy The foul polluters of his bed enjoy. The gods have envied me the sweets of life,