Book XIV

off Their wives and little ones. The rumor reached The city soon; the people heard the alarm And came together. With the early morn All the great plain was thronged with horse and foot, And gleamed with brass; while Jove, the Thunderer, sent A deadly fear into our ranks, where none Dared face the foe. On every side was death. The Egyptians hewed down many with the sword, And some they led away alive to toil For them in slavery. To my mind there came A thought, inspired by Jove; yet I could wish That I had met my fate, and perished there In Egypt, such have been my sorrows since. I took the well-wrought helmet from my head, And from my shoulders dropped the shield, and flung The javelin from my hand, and went to meet The monarch in his chariot, clasped his knees And kissed them. He was moved to pity me, And spared me. In his car he seated me, And bore me weeping home. Though many rushed At me with ashen spears, to thrust me through⁠— For furious was their anger⁠—he forbade. He feared the wrath of Jove, the stranger’s friend And foe of wrong. Seven years I dwelt among The Egyptians, and I gathered in their land Large wealth, for all were liberal of their gifts. But with the eighth revolving year there came A shrewd Phoenician, deep in guile, whose craft Had wrought much wrong to many. With smooth words This man persuaded me to go with him Into Phoenicia, where his dwelling lay And his possessions. With him I abode For one whole year; and when its months and days Were ended, and another year began, He put me in a ship to cross the sea To Lybia. He had framed a treacherous plot, By making half the vessel’s cargo mine, To lure me thither, and to sell me there For a large price. I went on board constrained, But with misgivings. Under a clear sky, With favoring breezes from the north, we ran O’er the mid sea, beyond the isle of Crete. When we had left the isle, and saw no land But only sky and sea, Saturnius bade A black cloud gather o’er our roomy ship. The sea grew dark below. On high the God Thundered again and yet again, and sent A bolt into our ship, which, as it felt The lightning, reeled and shuddered, and was filled With sulphur-smoke. The seamen from the deck Fell