"If happy, to my country, to the state,
"Be it;--if ominous of ill, to me."
And then with odorous fires the gods ador'd,
On grassy altars of the green sward form'd;
And from the goblets pour'd the wine; and search'd,
The panting entrails of the slaughter'd sheep,
For what was meant. Th' Etruscan seer beheld
That mighty revolutions they foretold;
But yet obscurely: till his piercing eye
He from the entrails turn'd to Cippus' horns.
Then cry'd;--"Save thee, O king! for lo! the place
"For thee, O Cippus! and thy horns, the towers
"Of Latium will obey. Thou only haste;
"Delay not, but within the open gates
"Enter; so fate commands. In them receiv'd
"King wilt thou be; in safety wilt enjoy
"An ever-during kingdom." Back he drew
His feet, and from the city's walls he turn'd
Sternly his looks; exclaiming; "far, ye gods!
"O, far avert these omens! Better I
"An exile roam for life, than monarch rule
"The Capitol." Then he assembled straight
The reverend senate, and the people round:
But first with peaceful laurel veil'd his horns:
Then on a mound, there by the soldiers rais'd,
He stood; and pray'd in ancient mode to heaven.
"Lo! here," he cry'd, "is one, whom save ye drive
"Far from your city, will your monarch be;
"By marks, but not by name I him describe:
"Two horns his forehead bears. He is the man,
"Once in the town receiv'd, the augur tells,
"With servile laws will rule ye. Nay, he might
"Your open gates have enter'd, but myself
"Oppos'd him; though more near to me is none.
"Expel him, Romans! from your city far;
"Or, if he merit them, with massive chains
"Load him: or rid yourself at once of fear
"By the proud tyrant's death." Such murmurs sound
'Mid lofty pines, when Eurus whistles fierce;
Such is the roaring of the ocean waves
Rolling far distant, as the crowd sent forth:
Till from amidst the all-confounding noise
One spoke more loud, and--"which is he?" exclaim'd.
Then all the brows they search'd, the horns to find.
Cippus again address'd them. "What you seek
"Behold!" and from his head the garland tore,
Spite of their efforts, and his forehead shew'd,
With double horns distinguish'd. All their eyes
Depress'd, and sighs from every bosom burst:
Unwillingly, (incredible!) they view
That head so bright with merit. Then, no more
Bearing that honors due he should not gain,
They bind his temples with a festa