Page:Aeneid (Conington 1866).djvu/271

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BOOK VII.
247

Joins the proud chiefs in rude attire,
And waves the emblem of his sire.
From Tibur's walls twin brothers came,
The town that bears Tiburtus' name,
Bold Coras and Catillus strong:
Through thick-rained darts they storm along,
The foremost in the fray:
As when two cloud-born Centaurs leap
Down Homole or Othrys' steep,
The forest parts before their sweep,
And crashing trees give way.

Nor lacked there to the embattled power
The founder of Præneste's tower,
Brave Cæculus, by all renowned
As Vulcan's son, 'mid embers found
And monarch of the rustics crowned.
Beneath him march his rural train,
Whom high Præneste's walls contain,
Who dwell in Gabian Juno's plain,
Whose haunt is Anio's chilly flood
And Hernic rocks, by streams bedewed,
Who till Anagnia's bosom green
Or drink of father Amasene.
Not all are furished for the war
With ample shield or sounding car.
Some sling lead bullets o'er the field,
Some javelins twain in combat wield.
A cap of fur protects their head
By spoil of tawny wolf supplied;
Their left foot bare, on earth they tread:
The right is cased in raw bull-hide.

Messapus, tamer of the steed,
The Ocean-monarch's mighty seed,