The vestal from her sleep in fright awoke
And to the startled maid, whose trembling hands
A lamp did bear, thus spoke in tearful tones:
'O daughter of Eurydice, thou whom
Our father loved, from my whole frame departs
The vital force. For in my dreams I saw
A man2 of beauteous form, who bore me off
Through willows sweet, along the fountain's brink,
To places strange. And then, my sister dear,
Alone, with halting step and longing heart,
I seemed to wander, seeking thee in vain;
There was no path to make my footing sure.
[40]
"May I not recall to your memory some stories
to be found in the works of Roman and of Greek
poets? For example, the following dream of the
Vestal Virgin1 is from Ennius:
Cicero: De Senectute De Amicitia De Divinatione. With An English Translation. William Armistead Falconer. Cambridge. Harvard University Press; Cambridge, Mass., London, England. 1923.
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