Now, Erato, be with me, let me sing 45 of kings and times and of the state of things in ancient Latium when the invaders first beached their boats upon Ausonia’s coasts, and how it was that they began to battle. O goddess, help your poet. I shall tell 50 of dreadful wars, of men who struggle, tell of chieftains goaded to the grave by passion, of Tuscan troops and all Hesperia in arms. A greater theme is born for me; I try a greater labor.
