Avienus: Periegesis

Qua protenta iacent vastae divortia terrae
et qua praecipiti volvuntur prona meatu
flumina per terras, qua priscis inclyta muris
oppida nituntur, genus hoc procul omne animantum
qua colit, Aoniis perget stilus impiger orsis.

Where stretched lie the vast divorces of the earth
and where rivers are rolled headlong in their prone course
through the lands, where towns renowned for ancient walls
rest, and where every kind of living thing of this sort dwells far off—
whither it inhabits, thence the eager stylus will proceed from Aonian beginnings.

ardua res, musae. deus, en deus intrat Apollo
pectora, fatidicae quatiens penetralia Cirrhae.
Pierides, toto celeres Helicone venite,
concinat et Phoebo vester chorus; Oceanumque,
carminis auspicium, primum memorate camenae.

an arduous matter, O Muses. Behold, a god enters — Apollo,
shaking the innermost shrines of prophetic Cirrha, the breasts (hearts) stirred.
Pierides, swift ones of all Helicon, come forth,
let your chorus harmonize also for Phoebus; and first, O Camenae,
remember Ocean, the augury of the song.

Oceani nam terra salo praecingitur omnis,
parva ut caeruleo caput effert insula ponto:
nec tamen extremo teres est situs undique in orbe,
qua colitur populis, qua tellus paret aratro;
sed, matutino qua caelum sole rubescit,

For all the land is girded by the salt of Ocean,
as a small isle lifts its head on the blue main:
nor yet, at the extreme, is the inhabited orb smooth on every side,
where it is tilled by peoples, where the earth yields to the plough;
but where the sky reddens with the morning sun,

latior, accisi curvatur caespitis arvo,
cetera protentus. tria sunt confinia terrae
unius: est primum Libyae Europaeque Asiaeque.
Aequore ab Hesperio qua se salis insinuat vis,
terrarumque cavis illabitur, arduus Atlas

broader, it is curved by the field’s mown turf,
the rest stretched forth. three are the confines of one land:
the first is of Libya and of Europe and of Asia.
From the western sea where the force of the salt insinuates itself,
and into the hollow lands glides, lofty Atlas

qua iuga celsa tumet, Libyae sese explicat ora:
finis huic Gades, septenaque gurgite vasto
ora procul Nili, Phariorum ubi gleba recumbit,
et Pelusiaci celebrantur templa Canopi.
Europaeque dehinc laevum est latus: at procul ambas

where the lofty ridges swell, and Libya’s shore unfolds itself:
Gades is the limit of this, and the sevenfold shores of the Nile in a vast gulf
far off, where the soil of Pharos lies down,
and the temples of Canopus of Pelusium are renowned.
and thence the left flank is Europe’s: but both far off

una Asia, inclinans geminis se cornibus, urget
desuper, ac rupti divortia continet orbis.
Europam atque Asiam Tanais disterminat amnis
hic se Sarmaticis evolvens finibus alta
scissus Araseo prius aequore, iam suus unda

one Asia, inclining with twin horns, presses from above and contains the separations of the ruptured orb:
the Tanais river divides Europe and Asia; here, unrolling itself within Sarmatic borders, high,
first cleft from the Arasian sea by its plain, now its own wave

effluit in Scythiam: procul hinc Maeotida Tethyn
intrat, et inserto freta pellit vasta fluento,
Ismaricique riget semper flabris aquilonis.
at qua piscosi gurges strepit Hellesponti,
vis obliqua sali tepidum procumbit in austrum,

it flows into Scythia: far hence the Maeotian Tethys enters,
and thrusting in its current drives away the vast seas that flow,
and Ismarus ever stiffens with the blasts of the north wind.
but where the fishy whirl of the Hellespont roars,
an oblique force of the salt leans down toward the tepid south,

terrarumque trium modus est mare, donec in alti
ora procul Nili late Thetis efflua serpat.
altera pars orbem telluris limite findit.
caespes terga iacens Asiae succedit in oras,
immensusque modi protenditur. hic latus artans

and the sea is the measure of three lands, until into the deep
shores far off the Nile the widely flowing Thetis winds.
the other part cleaves the orb of the earth by a boundary.
a turf, lying upon Asia’s back, yields to the shores,
and an immense extent of measure is stretched forth. here the side, enclosing

Caspia contingit freta desuper, atque tumenti
proximus Euxino est: Asiam conterminus iste
Europamque secat. tellus sese altera in austrum
porrigit, insertoque sinus interiacet agro
aestuat); et Libycis Asiam discernit ab oris

The Caspian seas touch it above, and it is nearest the swelling Euxine:
that sea is conterminous with Asia and severs off Europe. Another land
stretches itself southward, and with an inserted bay the plain between
heaves and seethes); and it discerns Asia from the Libyan shores

Caspian straits touch it from above, and it is nearest the swelling Euxine: that one borders Asia and cleaves Europe. The other land stretches itself southward, and with an inserted gulf between the plain it lies and seethes; and it separates Asia from the Libyan shores

sic diversa fuit sententia, rite quis orbi
limes haberetur. totum hoc circumlatrat aestus,
et maris infesti moles ligat. una furenti
natura est pelago, pelagi sed nomina mille,
aequor ut innumeris terrarum admoverit oris.

thus the opinion was various, where properly to the world
a boundary should be held. The whole surge bays about this,
and binds a mass hostile to the sea. One nature is to the raging
sea, but to the sea a thousand names,
as the expanse brings itself to the innumerable shores of lands.

qua se blanda satis intendunt flabra favoni,
Hesperium Oceano mare terras intrat ab alto.
axe Lycaoniae rursum facis, atque ubi dura
belligeratores nutrit tellus Arimaspas,
nomine Saturni late iacet aequoris unda.

where the breezes, flattering enough, bend themselves to Favonius,
the Hesperian sea from the deep Ocean enters the lands.
you again make the axis of Lycaonia, and where the harsh
land feeds the warrior Arimaspians,
the wave of the sea, by the name of Saturn, lies broad and far.

hic densata sali stant marmora, pigraque ponti
se natura tenet, numquam ruit effluus umor:
mortuus hic Graio perhibetur gurges in usu
denique, quod lento stupeat plaga salsa profundo,
vel quod sole carens pars orbis taetra rigescat.

here marbles, thickened with salt, stand, and nature holds itself a sluggish sea;
the effluent moisture never rushes away:
here a dead whirlpool is said in Greek usage,
either because the salty plain is stunned by the slow deep,
or because, lacking the sun, a gloomy part of the world grows rigid.

vis hebes has oras ardor Titanius afflat,
vis evecta dies illuminat, omneque late
at qua prima dies rutilo sustollitur ortu,
aureus et tremulas late rubor inficit undas,
Eoum pelagus, freta dicunt Indica pandi.

The dull force of Titanian ardor breathes upon these shores,
the day borne aloft illuminates, and everywhere far and wide
when first the day is uplifted in a ruddy rising,
a golden blush likewise spreads far and dyes the trembling waves,
the Eastern sea, the straits called Indian, they say, unfold.

propter Erythraei tenduntur dorsa profundi,
Aethiopumque salum diffunditur. hic notus aethram
urit, et hic aestu radiorum Phoebus anhelo
arva coquit: sterilis regio est, et inhospita late
aret humus, cassaeque solo torrentur harenae.

because of the Erythraean the backs of the deep are stretched,
and the sea of the Aethiopians is poured forth. Here the well-known sun
scorches the aether, and here Phoebus with the heated breath of his rays
bakes the fields: it is a sterile region, and far and wide the soil
lies inhospitable and parched, and naked sands are swept over the ground.

Oceanus sic cuncta vago complectitur aestu,
undique sic unus terras interminus ambit,
innumerosque sinus cavat illabentibus undis
desuper: e multis celebri sub nomine tantum
quattuor infuso late sale terga dehiscunt.

Thus Oceanus with wandering swell embraces all things,
and thus one alone girds the lands roundabout without end,
and he carves innumerable bays with waves gliding from above:
of the many, celebrated in name alone, four broad backs gape open far and wide,
with the salt poured in.

primus in orbe sinus vasti maris aequora gignit,
gurgitis Hesperii: procul hic protentus in ortus
faucibus a Libycis aestum trahit, atque ubi laetam
caespite sub pingui pandit Pamphylia glebam,
deficit, et curva sinuatur litoris ora.

the first bay in the orb of the vast sea begets its waters,
of the Hesperian gulph: far stretched toward the east
from Libyan throats it draws the tide, and where Pamphylia
spreads a fertile clod beneath rich turf,
it sinks away, and the mouth of the shore is curved into a bay.

alter item est primo brevior, maiorque duobus.
hic prolapsus aquaest, boreali fusus ab alto,
terga procelloso turgescit Caspia fluctu.
Hyrcanum hoc pelagus pars nominat. hinc duo rursum
ora patent ponti: geminus sinus aequoris intrat,

another too is shorter than the first, and greater than two.
here the water has fallen forward, poured from the northern deep,
the Caspian swells on its back with a stormy surge.
a part names this sea Hyrcanian. from here again two mouths of the sea lie open:
a twin bay of the ocean enters,

another likewise is shorter than the first, and larger than the two.
here the water has fallen down, poured from the northern deep,
the Caspian swells its backs with a stormy wave.
this region some call the Hyrcanian sea. From here again
two mouths of the sea lie open: a twin inlet of the ocean enters,

telluremque cavat, qua se notus axe tepenti
erigit. horum unus vada longe Persica fundit,
Caspia conversus procul in freta; porrigiturque
quartus Arabs, tumet hic rapido per aperta fluento,
Eusinumque salum videt eminus. en tibi rursum

and he carves out the land, where the South Wind, known, lifts himself on the warm axle.
One of these pours its Persian shallows far and wide,
turned toward the Caspian sea in the distance; and forth extends
a fourth, the Arab, this one swelling as it flows swiftly through the open,
and from afar beholds the Euxine salt‑sea. behold to you again

aequoris Hesperii tractus loquar: istius unda
lambit terga soli, qua se vagus explicat orbis.
nam vel caeruleo loca circumplectitur aestu,
vel celso demissa iugo confinia radit,
moenia vel fusi praestringit gurgite ponti.

I will speak of the tract of the Western sea: its wave laps the skirts of the land, where the wandering circuit unfolds itself.
for either it enwraps places with a cerulean tide,
or, cast down from the lofty ridge, it grazes the confines,
or it clasps the walls stretched forth with the gulf of the sea.

in zephyrum tellus extenditur, oraque terrae
ultima proceras subducit in astra columnas.
Hic modus est orbis Gadir locus, hic tumet Atlas
arduus, hic duro torquetur cardine caelum,
hic circumfusis vestitur nubibus axis.

the land is stretched toward the Zephyr, and the last shores of the earth lift their tall columns up into the stars.
Here is the measure of the orb, the place of Gadir; here Atlas swells, towering;
here the sky is turned on a rigid hinge,
here the axis is clothed with surrounding clouds.

100

et primum ruptas se pontus Hibericus illinc
inserit in terras: caput autem principiumque
Europae et Libyae est. mediis infunditur oris,
irrepitque salum. scopuli stant ardui utrimque:
unus enim Europam, Libyam procul aspicit alter.

and first thence the Iberian sea, breaking in, thrusts itself into the lands: and it is the head and the beginning of Europe and Libya. It is poured into the midst of the shores, and the salt creeps in. Lofty rocks stand on either side: for one gazes upon Europe, the other beholds Libya far off.

105

sic discreta freto procera cacumina celsis
emicuere iugis, sic intrant saxa profundum,
sic subeunt nubes, sic caelum vertice fulcit
Maura Abila, et dorso consurgit Hiberica Calpe.
Gallicus hinc aestus provolvitur. hic super urbem

thus, with the sea parted, the towering peaks sprang forth with their high ridges,
thus the rocks plunge into the deep, thus clouds ascend, thus Moorish Abila props the sky with its summit,
and Iberian Calpe rises on its back. From here the Gallic tide rolls forward. here above the city

110

Massiliam gens Graia colit, Ligurumque tumescit
aequor, et indomito tellus iacet Itala regno.
Ausonis haec regio est; pubi genus ab Iove summo.
qua se flabra trucis boreae per inhospita terrae
eructant caelo, populis caput Aeneadarum,

Massilia is inhabited by a Greek gens, and the sea swells with Ligurians,
and the Italic land lies under unconquered rule.
This is the Ausonian region; a people sprung from highest Jove.
where the blasts of savage Boreas pour themselves through the inhospitable lands into the sky,
the head of the peoples of the Aeneads

115

alba dehinc cautes est terminus: haec freta propter
Trinacriae summa consurgit litoris ora.
evolvuntur item vada fusi caerula ponti;
insula qua Cyrnus fluctu madet alludente,
litoris ostriferi protendens latius undam,

then a white crag marks the boundary: these straits on account of Trinacria’s tip rise against the seaboard.
likewise the blue shallows of the sea are rolled out, poured forth;
the island where Cyrnus is wetted by the playing surge,
stretching its oyster-bearing shore’s wave more widely,

120

Sardiniamque dehinc moles circumflua cingit
aequoris, et cano spumant freta concita fluctu.
hinc Tyrrhena sali sunt agmina, qua notus axem
umidus inclinat: qua lux se rursus eoa
emergit pelago, Siculi maris aestuat unda,

Sardinia is then girdled by a mass of surrounding sea
and the straits foam white with the stirred wave.
From here Tyrrhenian ranks of breakers leap up, where the moist Notus
bends the axis: where the light again emerges eastward
from the sea, the wave of the Sicilian sea surges,

125

obliquumque quatit gurges protentior altum
usque in saxosi Pachyni iuga. plurimus inde
in Cretam trahitur ponti tumor: hicque procul se
inclinat rupes, atque obvia fluctibus altis
ingreditur pelagus Gortynia moenia iuxta,

and the oblique gulf drives the stretched-out deep
even unto the rocky ridge of Pachynus. From there a very great
swelling of the sea is drawn toward Crete: and here the cliff
leans itself far off, and meeting the high waves
the Gortynian walls advance into the sea close by,

130

ac procumbentis sola propter pinguia Phaesti.
Prona mari cautes extenditur, ut ferus ora
est aries, ultroque minax petit obvia fronte:
denique sic olli nomen prior indidit aetas:
nec minus Italiam cornu prospectat acuto

and alone it leans forward for the fertile plains of Phaestus.
A rock, prone to the sea, is stretched forth, its face like a fierce ram’s,
and threatening of its own accord it strikes with an opposing brow:
in short, thus a former age bestowed that name upon it:
nor less does it behold Italy with its pointed horn

135

litoris, et rapidi perflatur Iapygis ore.
hinc se rursus aquis Hadriatica marmora fundunt
in borean, zephyrumque dehinc deflexa parumper
alta petunt, rauco penitus repentia fluctu:
hic sinus Ionius curvatur litoris acta, 140
caespitis et gemini tellus irrumpitur alto.
nam qua caeruleis pontus sese inserit undis,
Illyris in dextris pandit regionibus agros,
Emathiamque super sulcat genus acre virorum:
Ausonidum laevast. hinc longo caespite tellus

the shore, and is breathed upon by the swift Iapygis mouth.
from here again the Hadrian marbles pour themselves into the waters
toward the north, and thence the zephyr, turned aside for a little,
seeks the deep heights, plunging wholly with a hoarse wave:
here the Ionian bay is curved from the driven shore, 140
and the land, with twin headlands, breaks forth into the deep.
for where the sea thrusts itself among cerulean waves,
it spreads fields into the right-hand Illyrian regions,
and ploughs Emathia above, a stock keen in men:
and lies on the left of the Ausonians. Hence the land with long turf

145

funditur, et varia populorum pube domantur
arva soli. trina haec pelagi circumtonat unda.
nam qua se zephyri sustollunt flabra, profundum
Tyrrheni est pelagi; qua se notus erigit aethra,
Sicanum late fluitat mare: qua procul autem

is poured forth, and the fields of the land are subdued by the varied youth of peoples
a threefold wave of the sea thunders around these.
for where the breaths of the Zephyrs lift themselves, the deep
is the Tyrrhenian of the sea; where the South Wind raises the aether,
the Sicilian sea flows far and wide: where, however, afar

150

spirat ab eois pulcher regionibus eurus,
Ionii sunt terga sali. sic Itala tellus
a circumfusis latus amplum lambitur undis.
efflua post Siculi moles evolvitur alti,
inque notum late vada ponti caerula serpunt,

from the eastern regions blows the fair Eurus,
the backs of the Ionian sea are of salt. thus the Italian land
is licked on its wide flank by the surrounding waves.
behind, the outflowing mass of the Sicilian deep rolls up high,
and the blue shallows creep far and wide into the familiar sea,

155

donec harenosae se attollant aequore Syrtes,
infidumque rati tenuent mare. languida quippe
aequore iam fesso sese trahit unda per ambas.
montibus ab Siculis capit autem prona meatum,
Cretaeisque iugis mox Syrtes inter oberrat

until the sandy Syrtes lift themselves from the sea,
and, deeming the sea treacherous, hold it in check. For the languid
wave, already wearied by the sea, draws itself through both.
From the Sicilian mountains it takes a sloping course indeed,
and soon wanders among the Syrtes between the ridges of Crete

160

parcior, et tenui praetexens ima fluento.
rursus ab Idaea Salmonide porrigit aequor
se geminum: nautae Pharium dixere profundum,
quod procul in Casiae vergit confinia cautis:
Sidoniique dehinc late salis aestuat unda,

more spare, and fringeing the lowest with a thin flood.
again from Idaean Salmonis the sea stretches itself twin-fold:
the sailors named the depth Pharian,
which far off leans toward the confines of Casia with skiffs:
and thence the Sidonian wave surges widely over the salt,

165

Issicus immodico donec sinus ore patescat,
aequoris et nostri sit terminus: arva ubi late
pinguia proceris Cilicum versantur aratris.
curva salo forma est: hinc sese marmora ponti
in zephyrum torquent, ac flexu lubricus errat

Until the Issic bay, with an immense mouth, lies open,
and becomes the limit of our sea: where far and wide
the fertile fields are turned by the deep-ploughed aratra of tall Cilicia.
Its shape is curved in the salt: hence the sea’s marbles turn themselves to the Zephyr,
and, slippery in its bend, it wanders

170

gurges, et exesas illabitur unda lacunas.
sic virosorum prolixa volumina sese
sponte cerastorum facili sub viscere curvant;
sic spiras crebro sinuat draco, seque vel orbe
colligit inclinans, vel pronis agmina longe

a gulf, and the eaten wave slips into the hollowed pits.
thus the long coils of the venomous ones
of the cerastes bend themselves of their own accord beneath the yielding belly;
thus the dragon oft winds its spirals, and either gathers itself into a ring
by inclining, or its forward ranks stretch far away

175

tractibus absolvit: stridet nemus undique totum,
pestifero afflatu serpens vagus inquinat aethram.
haut secus illapso penetrantur litora fluctu,
et rursum tellus init aequora: iugis ubique
mugitus pelago est, gemitu loca cuncta resultant.

he fills the tracts: the grove creaks on every side,
a wandering serpent fouls the whole air with pestilential breath.
not otherwise do the shores get pierced by the fallen wave,
and again the land receives the waters: from ridges everywhere
there is a bellowing to the sea, all places echo with a groan.

180

Imminet huic late Pamphylia, subluit illic
unda Chelidonias, illisum murmurat aequor,
saepius et crebra spumescunt aequora rupe,
terminus his cautis Patareidis eminet arcis.
ac rursum in zephyrum vada semet caerula curvant.

Pamphylia looms broad to this, there the wave bathes the Chelidonian shores,
the struck sea makes a murmur, more often the waters foam from the frequent rock,
and as a boundary the promontory of Patareidis rises with its crags.
and again the blue shallows bend themselves toward the Zephyr.

185

hinc salis Aegaei tractus tonat, inque Bootis
plaustra dehinc rapidi flectuntur marmora Nerei,
saxosis Sporadum saepe obluctantia ripis.
non aliud tanta consurgit mole profundum,
non sic curva Thetis fluctu tumet: extimus olli

From here the tract of Aegean salt thunders, and into Bootes’ wagons
thence the swift marbles of Nereus are turned, often struggling against
the rocky banks of the Sporades.
Nothing else so rises the deep with so great a mass,
nor does Thetis so swell with a curved wave: the outermost of it

190

in Tenedum cursus, pelagi caput incipit Imbro.
caespitis hinc proni protendens dorsa Propontis,
flatibus ex boreae tepidum procumbit in austrum,
immensaeque Asiae populos alit ubere terrae.
hinc artas inter fauces atque obvia saxa

to Tenedos the course runs, the sea’s head begins at Imbros.
thence stretching the sloping, grassy backs of the Propontis,
with blasts from Boreas it falls warm into the south,
and nourishes the peoples of vast Asia from the land’s fertile udder.
thence between narrow fauces and opposing rocks

195

Thracius angustas discludit Bosphorus oras,
Bosphorus Inachiae subvector virginis olim.
nam vicina sibi stant litora; terraque parci
faucibus oris hiat, pronam sinus evomit undam:
proxima non alibi tantum divortia cernas

The Thracian Bosphorus cleaves the narrow shores,
the Bosphorus, once the ferry of the Inachian maiden.
for the shores stand close to one another; and the land with sparing
jaws of the coast yawns, and vomits forth a bay leaning to the wave:
you shall not behold such near divortia anywhere else

200

caespitis: hac pecoris cursu sternacis in aequor
Inachis illata est; sic pectus canduit ira,
Paelicis et tanto divam dolor extulit igni.
illic instabili fama est sale saxa moveri,
inferrique sibi flabris urgentibus oras:

upon the turf: by this course of the herd the burden was borne onto the Inachian sea;
thus her breast grew white with wrath,
and the rival’s grief set the goddess aflame with so great a fire.
there men report that, on the unsteady salt, the rocks are moved,
and that the shores are driven toward her by blasts pressing upon them:

205

hic rigidas errare ferunt per marmora cautes,
et nunc ora sali vastas praetendere rupes,
nunc aperire sinum: gemit amplo murmure pontus,
seu quod collisas Thetis indignata per arces
saeviat obiectis; seu quod brevis exitus undas

here they report that rigid crags wander over the marbles,
and now the cliffs thrust forth vast faces to the salt,
now open a bay: the sea groans with a deep murmur,
whether because Thetis, indignant, rages through the shattered heights
with barriers opposed; or because a narrow outlet the waves

210

exerat, et strictis eructet faucibus aequor.
interius lato pontus se gurgite fundit,
undarumque procul latus explicat, aurea Phoebi
qua rota purpureo repetit convexa sub ortu.
sic obliqua maris panduntur denique dorsa,

it belched forth, and the sea spews with clenched jaws.
inwardly the main pours itself in a wide gulf,
and afar unfolds a flank of waves, the golden wheel of Phoebus
by which he retraces the purple vault beneath his rising.
thus at last the oblique backs of the sea are laid open,

215

ut matutinis inclinent aequora habenis,
longior aut boreae concedat gurges in axem.
Pontus enim nostrae sinus est amplissimus undae.
Huic Asia ab laevis praecingitur Europamque
excipit, adversusque dehinc se Thracius artat

so that the waters bend to the morning reins,
or that a longer gulf may yield to Boreas’ axis.
For Pontus is indeed the amplest bay of our wave.
To this Asia is girded on the left and receives Europe,
and opposite thereto Thrace presses itself hard

220

Bosphorus et tenui vix panditur oris hiatu
at qua diducto pontus distenditur aestu,
et porrecta mari terrae iuga longius intrant
in pelagus, tractuque vago sua litora linquunt,
caespite Paphlagonum prodit saxosa Carambis.

The Bosphorus scarce opens with a thin gaping of shore,
but where, with a drawn-out swell, the sea is stretched abroad,
and the extended ridges of land thrust farther into the main
and, by a wandering reach, leave their shores behind,
the turf-capped rocky Carambis reveals itself as the Paphlagonian promontory.

225

altera se cautes similis procul arietis ori,
dura pruinoso qua torpet Taurica caelo,
exerit, et tenta late premit aequora fronte.
eminus ista notum videt, arctos eminus illa.
porro inter fluctus ac fusi marmora ponti

another crag like the brow of a ram from afar,
which, numb beneath the frosty Tauric sky, grows rigid,
and thrusts forth, and with its tested forehead presses the seas far and wide.
that one from afar beholds the familiar, that one from afar the Arctic regions.
further amid the waves and the scattered marbles of the sea

230

proxima celsorum sic sunt sibi dorsa iugorum,
quamvis vasta sali moles interfluit arces,
ut gemini sit forma maris. sed brachia pontus,
finibus arctois, eoae lucis in ortum,
et qua prona dies atris involvitur umbris,

thus the nearest backs of the high ridges are set to one another,
although a vast mass of salt flows between the citadels,
so that the sea’s form is twin. But the sea’s arms,
at the northern bounds, toward the eastward rising of light,
and where the inclined day is wrapped in black shadows

235

molliter inclinans, Scythici speciem facit arcus;
at tepidi de parte noti directior oram,
continuumque iacens, rigidi sub imagine nervi
tenditur: excedit confinia sola Carambis
in borean vergens. boreali rursus in arcto

softly inclining, it makes the form of a Scythian bow;
but on the warm side of Notus the coast is more direct,
and lying continuous, beneath the semblance of rigid sinews
it is stretched: only Carambis, turning toward the north,
exceeds the confines. again into the northern Arctic

240

ore sinus patulo Maeotidis alta paludis
aequora prorumpunt: Scytha late barbarus oras
incolit, et matrem ponti cognominat undam.
sola parens ponto, genetrix haec sola fluentost:
hoc se fonte trahunt vaga glauci marmora ponti,

from a wide-mouthed lip the high marshes of Maeotis
pour forth their waters: a Scythian, widely barbarous, inhabits the shores,
and surnames the sea his mother. sole parent of the pontus, this alone is mother and flows:
from this spring the wandering blue-green waves of the pontus draw themselves,

245

Cimmerio prolapsa sinu; nam Bosphorus illic
Cimmerius fauces aperit: circumque superque
Cimmeris, gens dura, colunt. hic ardua Taurus
in iuga consurgit, caelumque cacumine fulcit
verticis, et celsis late caput inserit astris.

having plunged from the Cimmerian bay; for there the Bosphorus opens Cimmerian jaws:
and around and above dwell the Cimmerians, a hardy gens. here the lofty Taurus
rises into ridges, and props the sky with the summit of its peak
and plants its head far among the high stars.

250

huc, mirante salo, quondam sese intulit Argo
Thessala, et innantem stupuerunt aequora cumbam.
sic vasti moles pelagi interfunditur oras:
sic se forma maris toto procul explicat orhe.
Nunc tibi tellurem versu loquar: incute docto,

To this place, the salt sea marveling, once the Thessalian Argo entered herself,
and the waters were amazed at the boat floating.
Thus the bulk of the vast sea is poured between the shores:
thus the form of the sea unfolds itself far and wide about the whole orb.
Now I will speak to you of the land in verse: strike on, learned one,

255

Phoebe, chelyn plectro. musis intermina vita
permanet, et memori laus semper pullulat aevo.
indefessa tuae sint mentis acumina, lector,
sudorisque mei patulo bibe carmina rictu:
dulcis in his haustus, meritum grave, gratia perpes.

Phoebe, with chelyn plectrum. among the Muses unending life
abides, and laud, memorable, ever sprouts through age.
May the tireless acumen of your mind be, reader,
and drink the songs of my sweat with a wide-open mouth:
in these a sweet draught, a weighty merit, perpetual grace.

260

Ergo solum terraeque Libystidis ora per austrum
tenditur, eoae procul in confinia lucis.
Gades principium est; caput huius caespitis autem
artius angusto conducit litora tractu,
Oceanique salum cuneo subit: istius orae

Therefore the land and the Libystidian shore are stretched toward the south,
eastward far to the confines of light.
Gades is the beginning; but the head of this turf of land
draws the shores together more closely by a narrow stretch,
and plunges into the sea of Ocean like a wedge: of this shore

265

terminus immensis Arabum concluditur undis.
at latus hoc terra diffusius explicat agros,
arvaque tenta patent. haec pingui caespite tellus
Aethiopum est nutrix, qui nigros propter Erembas
extremi Libyae curvo sola vomere sulcant:

The boundary is enclosed by the immense waves of the Arabs.
But this flank of land more broadly unfolds its fields,
and the stretched arables lie open. This earth, with its rich turf,
is the nurse of the Ethiopians, who, on account of the Erembas,
alone of far Libya plough with the curved ploughshare.

270

et rursum Aethiopes soli subiecta cadenti
arva tenent. sic scissa virum gens ultima terrae
incolit: hos afflant rutilae incunabula lucis;
hi iam praecipitis terrentur solis habenis.
propter proceras zephyri regione columnas

and again the Ethiopians hold the fields lying beneath the setting sun.
thus the people cut off at the utmost of the earth dwell there:
upon these the ruddy cradles of light breathe;
these now are alarmed by the reins of the headlong sun.
because of the lofty columns of the Zephyr’s region

275

Mauri habitant; his fluxa fides et inhospita semper
corda rigent; trahitur duris vaga vita rapinis.
proxima se late Numidarum pascua tendunt,
Massyliique super populi per aperta locorum
palantes agitant. certi laris inscia gens est:

Moors dwell there; to these shifting fidelity and ever inhospitable hearts grow stiff;
wandering life is drawn along by harsh plunder.
Near them far and wide the pastures of the Numidians extend,
and the Massylians drive the people's flocks across the open tracts of the region.
a people unknowing of a sure hearth is they:

280

nunc in dumosas erepunt denique rupis,
nunc quatiunt campos, nunc silvas inter oberrant
coniugibus natisque simul: cibus aspera glando
omnibus: haud ollis sulcatur caespes aratro:
non his mugitus pecudum strepit. inclyta post hos

now they gnaw at brambly cliffs at last,
now they shake the fields, now wander among woods
together with spouses and children: harsh acorn
is food for all: for them the turf is not furrowed by the plough:
the lowing of cattle does not resound for them. renowned after these

285

moenia consurgunt Tyriae Carthaginis: illa
urbs Phoenissa prius, Libyci nunc ruris alumna,
paci blanda quies, et bello prompta cruento.
ast hinc in Syrtim praeceps ruit unda minorem,
ulteriusque dehinc qua lux se reddit Olympo,

The walls rise of Tyrian Carthage: that
city formerly Phoenician, now a foster-child of Libyan countryside,
a bland repose for peace, and ready for bloody war.
But from here a headlong wave rushes into the Syrtis, smaller,
and thence farther on where the light gives itself back from Olympus,

290

maior vasta sibi late trahit aequora Syrtis,
infidumque rati pelagus furit: ardua quippe
undarum moles Tyrrheno cogitur aestu,
curvatumque salum quatit amplo litora fluctu;
ecce alias lento prorepit gurgite Nereus,

a vaster sea draws the Syrtes to itself far and wide,
and the deceitful main rages: for indeed a mass of waves is driven by Tyrrhenian swell,
and the curved sea shakes the flood against the shore with a mighty wave;
behold elsewhere Nereus creeps forth in a slow gurgle,

295

295
the larger Syrtes draw the vast waters far to themselves, and the treacherous sea rages in deceit: for a mass of waves is driven by the Tyrrhenian tide, and the curved sea strikes the shores with a mighty swell; behold Nereus creeps forth elsewhere from the slow gulf,

undaque vix tenuis siccas praetexit harenas.
immemor ergo modi semper natura duabus
Syrtibus, et classem sors crebro caeca fatigat.
ambarum medio procera Neapolis arcem
surrigit: hanc rursum gens late prisca virorum

and on every side the scarcely thin wave overlays the dry sands.
heedless therefore of measure, Nature always between the two Syrtes,
and blind Chance oft wearies the fleet with repeated cares.
between them tall Neapolis lifts a citadel aloft:
this again an ancient race of men far and wide

300

Lotophagi includunt: diros Nasamonas at inde
aspice, quis quondam populorum examina multa
versavere solum, multo sonuere per agros
balatu pecudes: nunc lati iugera campi
et grege nuda iacent, et sunt cultoribus orba.

The Lotophagi enclose: behold the dire Nasamonians thereupon
see who once drove many ranks of peoples across the soil,
with much the flocks resounded through the fields by bleating:
now the broad iugera of the plain and stripped of herd they lie, and are bereft of cultivators.

305

Ausonis haec duro vastavit dextera bello:
Ausonis invicti gens roboris una per orbem
arma tulit: pubem Latiam ferus horruit Hister,
Romanas aquilas Rhodanus tremit, Italidum vi
maesta paludivagos Germania flevit alumnos.

With harsh war his right hand laid waste the Ausonian lands:
one single people of unconquered Ausonians bore arms through the whole orb:
the savage Hister made the Latin youth shudder,
the Rhodanus made the Roman eagles tremble, and mourning Germania bewailed the force of the Italids' marsh-roving youths.

310

Illi caeruleas attingunt aequoris undas:
at qua navigero tellus discedit ab aestu,
innumerae gentes, populorum examina mille
arva tenent. hic fata canit venerabilis Hammon,
mugit harenosis nemus illic denique lucis.

They touch the cerulean waves of the sea:
but where the ship-bearing land parts from the tide,
innumerable peoples, a thousand ranks of nations,
hold the fields. Here venerable Hammon sings the fates,
there the sandy grove lowed at last in the light.

315

astat Cyrene propter vetus, erigiturque
urbs procera arces, et Apolline dives alumno:
Marmaridae iuxta; procul hi tamen ultima regni
Aegypto inclinant: tergo Gaetulia glebam
protinus hinc Garamas late confinia tendit,

Cyrene stands from ancient times, and the tall city and its towers are raised, and rich in Apollo's foster-child:
the Marmaridae close by; yet these, far off, lean toward the utmost realm, Egypt:
to the rear Gaetulia the soil; straightaway hence Garamas stretches its borders far and wide,

320

trux Garamas, pedibus pernix, et harundinis usu
nobilis: at quantum terrarum interna recedunt,
ut procul Oceano tellus vicina madescat,
Aethiopum populos alit ampli caespitis ora,
terminus Aethiopum populos adit ultima Cerne.

fierce Garamas, fleet of foot, and noble in the use of the reed:
but as far as the inner parts of the lands recede,
so that the land, near the distant Ocean, grows sodden,
the shores of the more ample turf nourish the peoples of the Ethiopians,
behold the farthest boundary reaches the peoples of the Ethiopians.

325

post Blemyes medii succedunt solis habenas,
corpora proceri, nigri cute, viscera sicci,
et circumvincti nervis exstantibus artus.
hi celeri molles currunt pede semper harenas,
nec tamen impressae linquunt vestigia plantae.

after the middle Blemyes come next, successors to the sun’s reins,
tall of body, black of skin, their entrails dry,
and limbs girded with sinews standing forth.
these, with swift soft foot, always run the sands,
and yet the pressed sole leaves no footprints behind.

330

eminus evolvunt hinc sese pinguia Nili
flumina, et intenti prolabitur aequoris unda.
hic qua secretis incidit flexibus agros,
Aethiopum lingua Siris ruit: utque Syenen
caerulus accedens diti loca flumine adulat,

from afar here the rich rivers of the Nile unroll themselves,
and the intent wave of the sea glides forward.
here, where it falls into fields by secret bends,
in the Ethiopians’ tongue the Siris rushes: and as the blue one approaching Syene flatters the wealthy places with its river,

335

nomine se claro Nilum trahit, inque iacentem
Aegyptum fusus fluctu premit arva marito,
fecundatque solum: procul illinc agmina cogit
in borean, scissusque vagis amfractibus aequor
non olli compar quisquam fluit, inclyta quamquam

by his famed name he calls himself Nilus, and poured over lying Egypt he presses the fields with his wave as husband,
and fertilizes the soil: far thence he drives his ranks into the north, and the sea, cleft into wandering meanders,
no one flows comparable to him, illustrious though

340

undique se totis eructent flumina terris.
Nilus enim immensos vitam dispergit in agros,
et fovet invecto sata gurgite: Nilus honorem
telluri reparat: Nilus freta maxima pellit.
hic Asiam ab Libya disterminat, axe favoni

rivers disgorge themselves everywhere across the whole lands.
for the Nile pours vast life into the fields,
and cherishes the sown things with its borne flood: the Nile restores honour to the earth: the Nile drives back the greatest seas.
here it severs Asia from Libya, on a Favonian axis

345

secernens Libyam; redeuntis solis ab ortu
disiungens Asiae medio confinia fluctu.
nec procul illa virum gens incolit, axibus olim
quae prior humanas leges et iura notavit,
vomere quae duro, quae longi pondere aratri

severing Libya; from the east where the sun returns
shearing Asia’s confines by a midmost flood.
Not far off dwells that nation of men, who once by axes
first marked human leges and iura,
who with a hardy ploughshare tread the soil, who bear the weight of a long aratrum

350

sollicitavit humum, quae fetus edere sulcis
tellurem docuit, quae caedens partibus aethram
prodidit obliquo solem decurrere caelo.
istius ergo tibi formam regionis et oras
expediam versu. blandus praetenditur aer,

which stirred the ground, which taught the earth to bring forth fruit in furrows, which, cleaving the regions, disclosed the aether and showed the sun to run along the oblique sky.
therefore I will set forth for you the shape of that region and its coasts in verse. a gentle air is held forth,

355

prodigus herbarum caespes iacet, aspera nusquam
culmina consurgunt, portus cavat ora frequentis.
quidquid terra dehinc redeuntis sufficit anni
tempore, prae cunctis stupeas specieque modoque.
trina loco frons est, sed laxior axe Bootis,

a turf lavish of herbs lies; nowhere do harsh
peaks rise; it hollows the mouths of a busy harbor.
whatever the earth thereafter yields in the returning year's
season suffices; above all you gape at its appearance and manner.
there is a threefold promontory in place, but broader in axis than Bootes,

360

a lavish turf of herbs lies spread, nowhere do rugged summits arise,
frequented harbors hollow out the shores.
Whatever the earth thereafter yields in the season of the returning year,
above all you would marvel at its appearance and its manner.
its headland is threefold in place, but looser in the axle of Bootes,

luce sub eoa constrictior, usque Syenen
tenditur, unde pii volvuntur flumina Nili.
hic urbs est Thebae, Thebae quae moenibus altis
praecinxere larem: Memnon ubi Tithoneus
suspectat roseas Aurorae matris habenas.

narrower under the eastern light, it stretches even to Syene
whence the pious rivers of the Nile are rolled back.
here is the city Thebae, Thebae which with high walls
encircled her hearth: where Memnon, Tithoneus, looks up
to the rosy reins of his mother Aurora.

365

pars quae coeaneo discedit ab aequore, septem
oppida sustentat: notiam pars vergit in oram,
et modus est olli Serbonidis alta paludis;
altera pulsatur genitalibus ore favoni.
hic urbem posuit Pellaeae dextera gentis;

the part which departs from the Coeanean sea sustains seven
towns: the southern part leans toward the shore,
and its limit is the deep marsh of Serbonis;
the other is lashed by the genial mouth of the Favonian wind.

370

hic inter celsas late surgentia nubes
templa Sinopaei Iovis astant nixa columnis,
divite saxorum circumvestita metallo,
auro fulta gravi, niveo radiantia dente.
nec minus hic speculae vertex subducitur, ex quo

here amid high clouds rising far and wide
the temples of Sinopian Jove stand, propped on columns,
clad about with a rich metal of rocks,
borne upon heavy gold, gleaming with a snowy tooth.
nor less here the summit of the watchtower is drawn up, from which

375

cernere sit longe Pallenidis intima terrae.
at qua surgenti terrae pars conscia Phoebost,
aggere murorum Pelusia moenia surgunt.
gens hic docta sali tumido freta gurgite currit,
inque procellosos lembum convertere fluctus

that one may discern from afar the inmost land of Pallenis.
but where, on the rising ground, a portion of the earth conscious to Phoebus,
the ramparts of Pelusia rise in an embankment of walls.
here a people, taught in salt, run the straits with a swelling surge,
and the waves to turn the skiff toward stormy breakers

380

ludum habet, et rauca vitam producit in unda.
Talis forma iacet Libyae, talique recessu
ab zephyro eoum tellus incumbit in axem.
istius extenti sola caespitis undique sulcant
gentes innumerae, quae sparsae litore longo

it plays a sport, and utters a hoarse life into the wave.
Such a shape lies in Libya, and with such a retreat
from the east Zephyr the eastern land leans upon its axis.
of this extent the turf alone furrows everywhere innumerable peoples,
which scattered along the long shore

385

Oceani australis vada late caerula tangunt;
et quae multimodis media tellure agitantes
arva domant, et quae Tritonidis alta paludis
ut circumfuso populorum examine cingunt.
Nunc tibi et Europae fabor latus: haec, ubi terras

the southern shoals of the Ocean touch the wide blue;
and those which, agitating the lands amid the middle earth in many ways, tame the fields,
and those which the deep marsh of Triton girds as with a surrounding throng of peoples.
Now I will speak also of Europe's flank: these, where the lands

390

intrat Atlantei vis aequoris, accipit ortum.
unus utramque sali fluxus secat, et procul unum
distinet os ambas: eadem insinuatio ponti
Europam et Libyam rapido disterminat aestu.
sed prior illa tamen tepido perfunditur austro,

the force of the Atlantic sea enters, taking its rise.
one flux of salt both ebbs and flows and severs both, and from afar
keeps the two mouths apart: the same insinuation of the sea
with a swift tide parts Europe and Libya by a channel.
but that former one is nevertheless bathed by a tepid south wind,

395

haec subit insanos tergum curvata aquilones.
ambae Asiam rursum simili sub limite tangunt:
aequus utrimque modus protenditur: at simul ambas
si conferre sibi quisquam velit, una parumper
ut credatur humus, mediique interflua ponti

these, the north winds bent, strike upon the backs of the raging sea.
both again touch Asia beneath a similar boundary:
an equal measure is stretched out on either side: but if anyone should wish to join them both together to himself, for a little while the land is thought one,
and the middle channels of the sea run between the bridge

400

subtrahat; extemplo, quali nux pinea formast,
singula versanti talis succedet imago
Europae et Libyae: sic nam latus explicat ambas,
unum et utrique caput, similis quoque finis utrique
sed tamen Hesperii qua spectant aequoris undam,

it withdraws; straightaway, as a pine nut is formed,
each turning, such an image succeeds of Europe and Libya: for thus the side unfolds both,
one head to each and to each a similar end,
yet nevertheless where they gaze toward the Hesperian wave of the sea

405

ambae producto coeunt sibi caespite terrae;
qua matutinis sol istas ignibus afflat,
latior ambabus species distenditur. unum
hoc agili sub mente tenens, velut obvia habebis
cetera terrarum. tellus Europa columnis

both, the land’s turf having been thrust forth, meet together to one another;
where the morning sun breathes upon those with fires,
a broader aspect is stretched out for both. Keeping
this one thing under an agile mind, you will, as if meeting,
have the rest of the lands. The land Europe by columns

410

proxuma magnanimos alit aequo caespite Hiberos.
hi super Oceani borealis frigida tangunt
aequora, et excursu diffusi latius agri
arva tenent, duris nimium vicina Britannis;
flavaque caesariem Germania porrigit oram,

nearest nourishes the magnanimous Iberians with level turf.
these touch the cold waters of the northern Ocean above,
and, spread by their outflow, the fields of the plain hold lands more widely,
too near the harsh Britons by proximity;
and blond-haired Germany stretches forth its shore,

415

dumosa Hercyniae peragrans confinia silvae.
Inde Pyrenaei turgescunt dorsa nivalis,
Gallorumque truces populi per inhospita terrae
vitam agitant: tum caeruleum Padus evomit antro
hic prius Heridani propter nemorosa fluenta

traversing the brambly confines of the Hercynian wood.
Thence the snow-clad ridges of the Pyrenees swell,
and the fierce peoples of the Gauls pass their lives through the inhospitable lands:
then the Padus disgorges its dark-blue stream from a cavern
here formerly the Heridani, on account of the wooded currents

420

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fleverunt liquidae lapsum Phaethonta sorores,
mutataeque manus planxerunt pectora ramis.
Nec procul hinc rigidis insurgunt rupibus Alpes,
nascentemque diem celso iuga vertice cernunt.
porro inter cautes et saxa sonantia Rhenus,

the liquid sisters wept the fall of Phaethon,
and with changed hands bewailed their breasts with boughs.
Not far from here the rigid Alps rise on craggy cliffs,
and they behold the dawning day from the lofty ridge‑top.
furthermore, among the crags and the sounding rocks the Rhine,

425

vertice qua nubes nebulosus fulcit Adulas,
urget aquas, glaucoque rapax rotat agmine molem
gurgitis, Oceani donec borealis in undas
effluat, et celeri perrumpat marmora fluctu.
quin et Danubium produnt secreta repente

where a nebulous cloud props the Adulae at their summit,
presses upon the waters, and the ravenous sea rolls the bulk of the gulf in a blue‑green throng,
until the northern Ocean pours forth into the waves,
and with a swift surge bursts through the marbles.
moreover even the Danube reveals its secrets suddenly

430

barbara, sed discors tamen est natura fluento.
Abnoba mons Histro pater est: cadit Abnobae hiatu
flumen; in eoos autem convertitur axes,
Euxinoque salo provolvitur; ora per aequor
quinque vomunt amnem, qua se procul insula Peuce

barbarous, yet discordant is the nature of the flowing.
Mount Abnoba is the father of the Hister: from Abnoba’s chasm the river falls;
into those parts the axis is turned, and it is rolled down into the Euxine salt-sea;
the shores along the sea in five places cast up the stream, by which far off the island Peuce

435

exerit: hunc rigidi qua spirant flabra aquilonis,
Sarmata, Germani, Geta, Basternaeque feroces,
Dacorumque tenent populi, tenet acer Halanus,
Incola Taurisci Scytha litoris; indeque rursum
dira Melanchlaeni gens circumfusa vagatur.

it thrusts him forth: where blow the blasts of the harsh Aquilo,
the Sarmatian, the Germani, the Getae, and the fierce Basternae,
and the peoples of the Daci hold him, keen Halanus holds him,
a Scythian inhabitant of the Taurisci shore; and thence again
the dread nation of the Melanchlaeni wanders, poured around.

440

proxima Neurorum regio est, celeresque Geloni,
praecinctique sagis semper pictis Agathyrsi.
inde Borysthenii vis sese fluminis effert
Euxinum in pelagus: tunc aequora Panticapaei
ardescique tibi celso de vertice surgunt

next is the region of the Neuri, and the swift Geloni,
and the Agathyrsi ever-girt with pictured mantles.
from there the force of the Borysthenes river bears itself
into the Euxine sea: then the waters of Panticapaeum
blaze and rise to you from the lofty summit

445

Riphaei montis, ubi dura saepe sub arcto
densa pruinosos eructant nubila nimbos.
hic dites venae niveum gignunt crystallum,
adque hic indomito tellus adamante rigescit
inter Riphaeos et proceros Agathyrsos.

On the Riphaean mountain, where often beneath the cold
dense clouds belch forth snowy storms.
Here veins rich produce the snow-white crystal,
and here likewise the unconquered earth hardens into adamant
between the Riphaeans and the tall Agathyrsos.

450

haec gentes Histrum, qua se plaga dura Bootis
porrigit, incumbunt: medii de parte diei
per dumosorum reptantes dorsa iugorum
Gerrhae habitant. Gerrhas attingunt oppida late
Norica, et immodicae rursum sola pinguia glebae

these peoples press upon the Histrum, where the harsh region of Bootes stretches itself,
on the mid-day side crawling along the thorny backs of ridges Gerrhae dwell.
Norican towns reach Gerrhae far and wide, and the boundless plains again, fertile with fat soil

455

Pannonia exercet. borean subit altior agro
Moesus, et extento post tergum caespite Thracas
plurimus excedit: tunc ipsi maxima Thraces
vomere sollicitant curvo loca: denique longo
qua porrecta iacet spatio piscosa Propontis,

Pannonia trains. High Moesus advances to the northern field
and, with turf stretched out behind his back, surpasses the Thraces in great numbers:
then the Thraces themselves stir the places with the curved ploughshare;
finally where the fishy Propontis lies stretched forth in a long
expanse,

460

et qua praecipiti fluctu furit Hellespontus,
Aegaeumque dehinc procul in mare, plurima Thraces
arva tenent: hic mellifluis Pallena sub antris
Lychnitis rutilae flammas alit: hic et iaspis
fulva micat stellis, quantum convexa per aethrae

and where the Hellespont rages with its headlong swell,
and thence the Aegean far out into the sea, very many Thracian fields
hold sway: here Pallene, with honey-flowing caverns, nourishes ruddy flames beneath its caves;
Lychnitis feeds the blazing fires: here too jasper
gleams tawny like stars, as far as the vaults across the ether

465

ignea perpetuis ardescunt sidera flammis.
Hic rursum occiduis Europam fabor ab oris.
haec tamquam speculis adsurgens plurima trinis,
spectat Achaemeniae lucis iubar: unus Hiberos
limes habet, limes tenet alter denique Graios,

fiery stars blaze with perpetual flames.
Here again I will speak of Europe from the western shores.
this one, as if rising from mirrors, displays very many things threefold,
beholds the radiance of Achaemenian light: one border contains the Iberians,
another boundary, finally, holds the Greeks,

470

the fiery stars blaze with everlasting flames.
Here again I will speak of Europe from the western shores.
This, rising as if on very many threefold mirrors,
gazes upon the radiance, the beam of Achaemenia’s light: one border holds the Iberians,
another border holds, finally, the Greeks

Ausoniae medius protendit latius arva.
Oceani vicina salo qua gleba recumbit,
Oceani Hesperii, tumet illic ardua Calpe;
Hic Hispanus ager, tellus ibi dives Hiberum:
Tartesusque super sustollitur: indeque Cemsi

The Ausonian midland stretches its fields more broadly.
Where the soil reposes near the salt of the Ocean,
of the Western Ocean, there the lofty Calpe swells;
here the Hispanic field, there the land rich in Hiberus:
and Tartessus is raised above; and thence the Cemsi

475

gens agit, in rupis vestigia Pyrenaeae
protendens populos: medio se limite gleba
Ausonis effundit; mediam secat Appenninus
Ausoniam: nam qua boreali vertice ad aethra
concrescunt Alpes, surgit caput Appennino;

A people stretches forth, trailing its peoples along the footmarks of the Pyrenean cliffs
and, with a middle boundary, the Ausonian glebe pours itself forth; the Appennine cleaves
Ausonia in the middle: for where the Alps, with their northern vertex, grow together to the aether,
there the head rises for the Appennine;

480

et qua Sicanii tellus madet aequoris aestu,
ut protelatae molis iuga gurgite condit.
huic circa multae sola sulcant proxima gentes;
et tamen has omnes solers tibi musa loquetur.
prima vetustorum gens est ibi Tyrrhenorum:

and where the Sicanian land is soaked by the sea’s tide,
so that the prolonged ridges it buries in the surge.
around this many peoples furrow the neighbouring sea;
and yet the skilled Muse will tell of all these to you.
the first of the ancient peoples there is the Tyrrhenians:

485

inde Pelasga manus, Cyllenae e finibus olim
quae petit Hesperii freta gurgitis, arva retentat
Itala: tum multa tenduntur parte Latini,
per quos flaventis Tybris pater explicat undas,
Romanosque lares lapsu praelambit alumno.

thence the Pelasgian band, once from the borders of Cyllene,
which seeks the straits of the Hesperian sea, holds fast the Italian fields:
then in many parts the Latins are stretched forth,
through whom the father Tiber spreads his yellowing waves,
and with a gliding course laps the Roman hearths about the offspring.

490

thence a Pelasgian band, who once from the borders of Cyllene
seek the currents of the Hesperian sea, and hold fast Italian fields:
then many Latins are spread over the region,
through whom the father Tiber unfolds his golden waves,
and with his flowing course laps the Roman hearths about the young scion.

hinc Campanus ager glebam iacit: hic freta quondam
Parthenopen blando labentem in marmora ponti
suscepere sinu: tepidum si rursus in austrum
convertare oculos, nemorosi maxima cernes
culmina Piceni: coma largi palmitis illic

From here the Campanian field casts its glebe: here once the seas of Parthenope, the ship slipping onto the marble of the quay, received in its bay: if again you turn your eyes toward the warm south, you will behold the highest summits of wooded Picenum: there the luxuriant foliage of abundant palms

495

From here the Campanian soil throws forth its clod: here the straits once
received Parthenope sliding onto the marble of the quay in a soft fold:
if again you turn your eyes toward the warm south,
you will behold the greatest peaks of wooded Picenum:
there the foliage of abundant palms

tenditur, ac fuso Bacchus tegit arva flagello.
tunc Lucanorum regio insurgentibus alte
cautibus horrescit: scrupus sola creber iniqua
asperat, et denso caecantur stipite silvae.
Britius hinc dumos acer colit inter, et arces

it stretches forth, and Bacchus, his whip hurled, mantles the fields.
then the region of the Lucanians shudders at cliffs rising high:
a lone rugged crag thickly roughens the uneven ground,
and the woods are darkened by trunks dense with growth.
hence Britius tends keen thickets among, and citadels

500

intendant pelagus, displosisque aequora terris
instabile inclinent semper mare, qua vel eois
Hadrias unda vadis largam procul expuit algam,
vel qua Tyrrheni praeceps involvitur aestus.
ad zephyri hinc rupes dorsum tumet, inque Bootis

they stretch toward the sea, and with the plains laid open the unstable sea will ever slope;
where either the Adriatic wave from eastern shallows casts forth abundant seaweed far off,
or where the Tyrrhenian surge is rolled headlong.
hither the cliff’s back swells for the Zephyr, and into Bootis

505

they steer the sea, and with the lands laid open the waters
they ever incline the unstable sea, where either toward the eastern
Adriatic the wave forthwith spits far off a rich seaweed on the shallows,
or where the Tyrrhenian surge is rolled headlong.
here the cliffs swell with the back of the west wind, and into Bootis

plaustra patens albo consurgit vertice saxum.
huc se prisca Locri gens intulit, et sale longo
eminus invecti, qua pontum gurgite rumpit
flumen Alex, Graiae rexerunt lintea cumbae.
hinc Metapontini discurrunt latius arvo:

a rock, open as wagons, rises with a white summit.
to this place the ancient people of Locris carried themselves, and borne from afar over the long salt,
where the river Alex breaks the sea with its surge, Greek skiffs guided their sails.
from here the Metapontines scatter more widely over the field:

510

inde Croton priscis attollit moenia muris:
Aesarus hic amnis salsa convertitur unda,
et Iunone calent hic arae praesule semper.
nec minus exciti post flumina dira tonantis
infortunatae Sybaris vicina ruinast;

thence Croton lifts its walls with ancient ramparts:
here the river Aesarus is turned by a briny wave,
and here the altars ever glow with Juno as their priest.
nor less, roused up after the dread rivers of the thundering one,
the neighboring, ill-fated Sybaris has been ruined.

515

thence Croton uplifts its walls with ancient ramparts:
here the river Aesarus is turned into a brackish wave,
and here the altars ever glow, with Juno always the presiding priest.
nor less, roused after the river of the dread Thunderer,
neighboring ill-fated Sybaris was ruined.

Samnitaeque truces habitant confinia: post hos
gens Marsum quondam tenuit loca: tumque Tarentum
surgit, Amyclaei suboles praedura tyranni.
hinc iacet in patulos proiecta Calabria campos,
et super arenti tenduntur Iapyges agro.

And the fierce Samnites inhabit the confines: after these
the race of the Marsi once possessed those places: then Tarentum
rises, offspring of Amyclaeus, a prey to the tyrant.
From here Calabria lies projected into wide fields,
and the Iapyges stretch over the parched soil.

520

huc se praecipiti cogit ferus Hadria ponto.
hic Aquileia decens celsis caput inserit astris:
Tergestumque dehinc curvi salis incubat oram,
extimus Ionii qua se sinus aequoris abdit.
tot populi Ausoniam circumdant moenibus altis,

hither the savage Adriatic drives itself with a headlong sea.
here comely Aquileia plants her head among the lofty stars:
and then Tergestum reclines upon the shore of the curved salt,
where the outermost gulf of the Ionian sea hides itself.

525

Italiam cingunt tot diti caespite gentes.
in iubar eoum rursum se pervia flectunt
aequora, et Assyrium suspectant eminus axem
Ionii freta glauca sali, primosque Liburnos
praestringunt pelago; gens Hylli plurima rursum

So many peoples, rich in turf, gird Italy about.
The seas, passable, again bend themselves toward the eastern light,
and from afar they behold the Assyrian axle;
the glauca waves of the Ionian sea leap, and brush the foremost Liburnian ships
against the sea; the very numerous gens of the Hylli again

530

accolit: hic tenui tellus discluditur aestu.
Illyris ora dehinc distenditur: hicque periclis
saepe carinarum famosa Ceraunia surgunt.
tum prorepentis qua sunt vada turgida Nerei,
Harmoniae et Cadmi sustentat gleba sepulchrum

it adjoins: here the land is cleft by a slight tide.
thence the Illyrian shores stretch forth: and here often rise the famed Ceraunian rocks, perils to keels.
then where the shoals swollen with the advancing Nereus lie, the soil supports the tomb of Harmonia and Cadmus

535

barbara: nam longo iactati saepius orbe,
postquam liquerunt Hismeni fluminis undam,
hic in caeruleos mutati membra dracones
absolvere diem, finemque dedere labori.
nec minus hic aliut monstri genus arbiter aethrae

barbara: for, oft by a long circuit thrown about,
after they left the wave of the river Hismen,
here, their limbs changed into azure dragons,
they completed the day, and gave an end to their labor.
nor less here another kind of monster, arbiter of the aethra

540

barbarous: for, tossed oft by a long circuit,
after they left the wave of the river Hismen,
here, their limbs changed into azure dragons,
they completed the day, and gave an end to their labour.
nor less here another kind of monster, arbiter of the aether

edidit: adsistunt scopuli duo, cumque quid atri
imminet eventus, ut vulgi corda fatiget
sors rerum, et gentes terat inclementia fati,
et motantur humo, et coeunt sibi vertice saxa.
sed qua mitis item spirat notus, Oriciumque

it produced: two cliffs stand opposing, and whenever some dark event threatens,
and the lot of things wearies the hearts of the multitude, and the inclementy of fate wears down nations,
and they are stirred from the earth, and the rocks come together at their summits.
but where likewise the known gentle breeze breathes, and Oricium

545

pulsant flabra solum, Graiae confinia terrae
incipiunt aperire latus, prolixaque longis
iugera producunt spatiis, praecincta duobus
aequoris infusi procursibus: hanc freta quippe
Aegaei lambunt pelagi; citus Hadria rursum

the winds beat upon the shore, the borders of Greek land
begin to open a flank, and wide acres stretch forth
extended by long spaces, girded about by two
outspread courses of the sea: indeed the straits of the Aegean lap this of the sea; again swiftly the Adriatic

550

subluit hanc fluctu: gemino sic gurgite late
Graia madet tellus, sortitaque marmora ventos
quaeque suos, imo turgescunt mota profundo.
Eurus in Aegaeum contorquet flabra: cadentis
parte poli zephyris Hadriatica terga tumescunt.

The wave washes this away: thus far and wide the Greek land is soaked by a double gulf,
and the marbles, allotted winds and each their own, swell up, stirred from the deep.
The East Wind twists its blasts into the Aegean: on the side where the sky falls the Adriatic’s backs swell with zephyrs.

555

swept this away with a wave: so the Greek land is drenched far and wide by a double flood,
and the marbles that have been allotted winds and their own things, indeed swell, stirred from the deep.
The East wind hurls its blasts into the Aegean: on the side where the sky falls the Adriatic’s backs swell with zephyrs.

insula se rursum Pelopis visentibus offert,
insula quae platani folio compar sedet. Isthmi
quippe caput summum conducitur, artaque vergit
in borean tellus, et Graios adiacet agros:
cetera sub folii specie distenditur arva,

the island again offers itself to those visiting Pelops,
an island which sits like the leaf of a plane-tree. The very head of the Isthmus is drawn together, and the land slopes close to the northern (wind), and borders on Greek fields:
the remaining fields are stretched out beneath a guise of foliage,

560

ac per utrumque latus sinuoso saepe recedit
caespite: sed tepido qua tellus tunditur austro,
Graiorum Triphylis sterili se porrigit ora.
hinc sacer Alpheus flumen trahit, et vagus aequor
influit Eurotas. Pisanos alter adulat, 565
alter Amyclaeas celeri secat agmine terras.

and along each side it often withdraws in a sinuous sod:
but where the land is beaten by the warm South Wind,
it stretches forth the sterile shore of Greek Triphylia. From here the sacred Alpheus draws his river, and the wandering sea
flows into the Eurotas. One adulates the Pisan lands, 565
the other cleaves the Amyclaean fields in a swift column of march.

insula qua curvas inclinat concava valles,
Arcades immensum propter degunt Erymanthum.
hic distentus aquas sata lambit pinguia Ladon.
iuxta Argivus ager, iuxta sunt culta Laconum:

the island which inclines the hollow valleys into curves,
the Arcadians dwell around vast Erymanthus.
here the Ladon, swollen with waters, laps the sown fertile fields.
next to it is Argive land, next are the cultivated lands of the Laconians:

570

illos prima dies, celer istos aspicit auster.
Isthmi terga dehinc geminus circumlatrat aestus,
parte Ephyres, piceas qua nos agit atra tenebras,
et matutinus qua lucem proserit ortus.
hic usu Graio nomen tenet unda Saronis.

the first day looks upon them, the swift South Wind beholds those;
then a twin surge bays around the backs of the Isthmus,
on the Ephyrean side, where the black darkness drives us into pitchy shadows,
and where the morning east brings forth the light.
here by Greek usage the wave bears the name Saronis.

575

Atticus hanc ultra limes iacet, Attica tellus
belligeratorum genetrix memoranda virorum.
fertilis haec herbis Illissum subvehit amnem:
Illissi boreas stagno tulit Orithyiam.
Boeotumque dehinc sese confinia iungunt,

Beyond this lies Attica, the land Attica
renowned mother of warlike men.
Fertile, it bears the Ilissos river beneath in her herbage:
to the Ilissos pool the North Wind carried Orithyia.
And thence Boeotia joins its borders,

580

et Locris, et patuli sulcator Thessalus agri,
et Macetum praepingue solum; tumet arduus Hemus,
Threiciumque caput subducitur: adiacet Hemum
partibus ab zephyri Dodonae vatis alumnus.
axe noti rigidas subter rupes Aracynthi

and Locris, and Thessaly, plougher of the broad field,
and Macetus’ very rich soil; lofty Hemus swells,
and the Thracian headland is uplifted: Hemus lies adjacent
to the quarters of Zephyr, fosterling of Dodona the seer.
under the axle of the known world the rigid rocks of Aracynthus

585

gens Aetola colit; campis ibi pulcher apertis
labitur, et virides sulcans terras Achelous
irruit Hadriaci tergum maris; hicque frequentes
fluctibus attolluntur Echinades: haut procul inde
prisca Cephallenae consurgunt oppida terrae.

the Aetolian race inhabits; there he glides over fair open fields,
and Achelous, furrowing the green lands, bursts upon the back of the Adriatic sea;
and here the Echinades are oft uplifted by the waves: not far thence
rise the ancient towns of Cephallenian land.

590

Delphica quin etiam miscet confinia Phocis,
lucis in exortum protentior; inque Booten
Thermopylae cedunt. hic se Parnasia rupes
erigit: hic celeri Cephisus volvitur unda:
hic quondam Python transactus harundine membra,

Delphic ground even mingles the confines of Phocis,
stretched more toward the east of light; and into Boeotia Thermopylae yield.
here the Parnassian crag uprears itself: here the swift wave of Cephisus is rolled:
here once the Python, pierced through by the reed, his limbs,

595

sanguinis et cassus prolixa volumina solvit.
illic saepe deum conspeximus arridentem,
inter turicremas hic Phoebum vidimus aras.
Nunc ut quaeque vago surrexerit insula ponto,
ordine quo steterint pelago circumflua saxa,

and bloodless, emptied, he unloosed his long coils.
there we often beheld the god smiling,
amidst incense-burnings here we saw Phoebus at the altars.
Now as each island has arisen from the wandering sea,
in the order in which the sea‑surrounded rocks stand upon the main,

600

expediam. cumbae ducatur cursus ab unda
gurgitis occidui: precor, aspirate, camenae,
Inter et oppositas intendite lintea terras.
Gadir prima fretum solida supereminet arce,
Attollitque caput geminis inserta columnis.

I will make clear. Let the course of the skiffs be drawn from the wave
of the western stream: I beg you, breathe, Camenae,
and spread your sails between the opposing lands.
Gadir first towers over the strait with a solid citadel,
and lifts its head set upon twin columns.

605

Haec Cotinussa prius fuerat sub nomine prisco,
Tartesumque dehinc Tyrii dixere coloni,
barbara quin etiam Gades hanc lingua frequentat:
Poenus quippe locum Gadir vocat undique saeptum
aggere praeducto. Tyrii per inhospita late

This place was formerly called Cotinussa in ancient name,
and thereafter the Tyrian colonists called it Tartessus,
indeed even the barbarian tongue frequents this name:
for the Poenus calls the place Gadir, all round enclosed
by a bulwark drawn forth. Tyrians far and wide through inhospitable

610

aequora provecti, tenuere ut caespitis oram,
constituere domus; dant hi quoque maxima templa
Amphitryoniadae, numenque verentur alumnum.
insula se propter Gymnesia tollit ab alto,
ac dilecta vago pecori consurgit Ebusus,

having sailed the seas, they held the turf‑shore,
and set up homes; these also give great temples
to the Amphitryoniad, and revere the fosterling divinity.
the island lifts itself from the deep for the Gymnesians’ sake,
and dear Ebusus rises for its wandering flocks,

615

Sardiniaeque arces, et inhorrens Corsica silvis:
Aeolidesque dehinc tumidis se fluctibus edunt
insulae, et inserto canescunt undique ponto.
has dudum tenuit rex Aeolus: Aeolus illic
hospita iactatis indulsit litora nautis,

Sardinia’s citadels, and Corsica bristling with woods:
and then the Aeolid isles lift themselves from swelling waves,
and grow grey all around where the sea is thrust between.
These long ago King Aeolus held: there Aeolus
granted hospitable shores to sailors cast about,

620

Aeolus imperio summi Iovis arbiter alto
impositus pelago est, effundere carcere ventos
et sedare salum. septem sese aequoris aestu
emergunt arces: celsam rex Aeolus aulam
hic habuit. tunc Ausoniam se pandit in oram

Aeolus, by the authority of highest Jove appointed over the deep,
was set to pour the winds from their prison and to still the sea.
Seven fortresses rise themselves from the tossing of the deep:
here King Aeolus held a lofty hall.
then he spreads himself toward the Ausonian shore

625

tellus Trinacria et patulo distenditur agro.
haec autem trinis laterum procursibus astat,
ternaque caeruleis longe iuga porrigit undis.
in matutinos Pachynos producitur ortus:
pars tepet ab zephyro Lilybeia: celsa Peloris

the land Trinacria stretches forth over a broad plain.
this, however, rises with three projecting flanks,
and threefold it thrusts ridges far into the blue waves.
its dawns are extended toward the morning Pachynus:
part is warmed by the Zephyr Lilybeia; lofty Pelorus

630

tota sereniferae pulsatur flatibus ursae.
hic iter infidum pelagi, miserandaque fata
involvere salo fluctuque hausere voraci
saepe ratis. urgent angustae marmora fauces,
artaque praecipitant properum confinia pontum.

the whole land is lashed by the blasts of the serenity-bearing bear.
here the treacherous passage of the sea, and the pitiable fates,
the ship often drank up, envolving in the salt and the devouring wave.
narrow marbled jaws press in upon it,
and the close confines hurl the hastening sea headlong.

635

qua se parte dehinc celsae notus erigit aethrae,
vis late Libyci furit aequoris. una ibi Syrtis;
ast aliam ulterius freta prolabentia tendunt,
parvaque caeruleo circumsonat aequore Meninx.
rursus in Hadriacam lembum cogentibus undam,

from that quarter thereafter Notus rears himself into the lofty aether,
the force of the Libyan sea rages far and wide. together there is Syrtis;
but other seas, sliding onward, stretch their outreaches farther,
and little Meninx rings around with the cerulean sea.
again, with the waves forcing, they drive the swell into an Adriatic skiff,

640

et laevum curva pelagus sulcantibus alno,
insula se Grai Diomedis gurgite promit,
Italiam spectans et Iapygis arva coloni.
huc illum motae quondam tulit ira Diones,
postquam per celeres extorrem traxit Hiberos:

and with a curved elm ploughing the left sea,
an isle of Greek Diomedes shows itself from the surge,
looking toward Italy and the fields of the Iapygian colonists.
hither once the wrath of the stirred Diones bore him,
after he had dragged the Iberians, exiled, through the swift [waters]:

645

coniugis huc dirae misit furor Aegialiae.
Ionii siquis rate rursum caerula currat
aequora, et eoos cumbam producat in ortus,
Absyrti cautes et crebras protinus arces
inveniet. Colchos huc quondam cura fidesque

the dire fury of his wife Aegialia sent him hither.
If any ship again runs over the blue Ionian seas,
and drives its skiff forth toward the eastern dawns,
he will find Absyrtus’ rocks and straightaway his frequent strongholds
He will find. Colchis hither once by care and fidelity

650

extulit, insanam sectantes Aeetinen.
nec procul Ionii per terga Libyrnides astant:
inque notum post dira Ceraunia carbasa siquis
torqueat, et tepidos lembum declinet in axes,
Ambraciotarum succedent protinus arces,

they bore her off, pursuing the mad Aeetinian;
nor far away the Liburnians stood at the backs of the Ionian sea:
and if anyone, after the dread Ceraunian winds, should whirl his sails toward the familiar shore,
and bend his warm skiff toward the bearings,
the strongholds of the Ambraciotes will straightway succeed,

655

Alcinoique domus pandetur Cercyra rursum,
Cercyra compta solum, locupleti Cercyra sulco.
hanc super est tellus, Ithaci vetus aula tyranni,
exulis et toto raptati saepe profundo.
plurima praeterea consurgunt gurgite saxa,

And the house of Alcinous and Cercyra are laid open again,
Cercyra with adorned soil, Cercyra rich by the furrow.
Above this is the land, the old hall of the Ithacan tyrant,
oft plundered of its exile and often swept away into the whole deep.
Moreover very many rocks surge up from the gulph,

660

quae protentus aquas Achelous pulcher oberrat;
Amnisusque dehinc alias circumfluit unda,
quae tamen in borean vergunt magis; Aegila parva
et procera caput turgescunt pulchra Cythera;
eminet hic etiam saxosa Calauria iuxta;

which, stretching forth, fair Achelous sweeps over the waters;
and the Amnisus wave then flows around other [lands],
which nevertheless lie more toward the north; small Aegila
and tall, fair Cythera swell up their heads;
here also rocky Calauria rises nearby;

665

Carpathus hic rupes attollitur: haec tamen axem
respicit occiduum. nutrix hic Creta tonantis,
multa latus, glebamque ferax et opima virentum
erigitur pelago. Cretam super astitit Ida,
Ida procellosis agitans aquilonibus ornos.

Carpathus here a crag is uplifted: yet this one looks toward the western axis.
here Crete, nurse of the thundering one,
raises many a flank, and a glebe fruitful and fat with verdure
is uplifted to the sea. Ida stood above Crete,
Ida, agitating the ash-trees with stormy north winds.

670

nec procul Aegyptum Rhodus adiacet, adiacet oram
Suniados, qua se protendit caespes Abantum,
fertilis Aeginae tellus, et opima Salamis.
lucis ab exortu, Pamphylia qua cavat aestum
prolabentis aquae, Cyprus alta cingitur unda,

and not far off Rhodes borders Egypt, it borders the coast of the Suniades,
where the turf of Abantis extends itself, the fertile land of Aegina, and rich Salamis.
from the rising of the light, Pamphylia, where the swell of advancing water hollows [the shore],
Cyprus is girded by the deep wave,

675

adque Dionaei pulsatur litoris acta.
inde Chelidoniae tris sese gurgite tollunt,
qua frons tenta salo Patareidis eminet arcis.
laeta dehinc Aradus Phoenicum praeiacet oram,
multus ubi exesae sinus est telluris ab alto,

and the shore, beaten by Dionaeus’ surge, is lashed.
thence the three Chelidonian isles lift themselves in a whirl of sea,
where a headland, stretched into the salt, of the Pataraeans’ citadel projects.
then fruitful Aradus thrusts forth its Phoenician shore,
where a roomy bay of the land is hollowed out from the deep,

680

and the Dionean shore is lashed by the sea’s assault.
thence the three Chelidonian isles lift themselves upon the surge,
where the sea-stretched brow of the Patarean citadel juts forth.
then glad Aradus projects itself before the Phoenician coast,
where a great gulf of the land has been hollowed out from the deep

ac latus omne soli procul in dispendia cedit
litoris, et curvo praelambitur ora fluento.
mirus at ille dehinc Aegaei gurges habetur,
qui gemina de parte sali velut ordine fisso
saxa mari profert circumflua, tenuia sese

and the whole flank of the sun yields afar into the drop-offs
of the shore, and the coast’s edge is licked along by the curved flood.
But that wondrous whirlpool of the Aegean is then considered,
which, as if the sea were split in twin order on either side of the foam,
brings forth rocks surrounded by the sea, slender in themselves

685

areta praecipitant Athamantidis inclyta leto:
Sextus ubi atque Abydus parvo sale discernuntur,
et vicina sibi lambit confinia pontus.
pars procul Europae laevum latus, altera porro
ditem Asiam spectat: cunctae tamen ordine facto

Areta hurl the famed daughter of Athamas headlong to death:
where Sestos and Abydus are parted by a little sea,
and the neighboring sea laps their contiguous borders.
one part, far off, faces the left flank of Europe, the other moreover
looks toward wealthy Asia: all, however, with order made

690

insulae in arctoi procedunt plaustra Bootis.
Europam incumbit prolixus limes Abantum.
Scyrus ibi late dorsum tumet, ac Peparethum
protollit pelagus. iuxta Vulcania Lemnos
erigitur, Cererique Thasus dilecta profundo

islands stretch forward into the Arctic chariots of Bootes.
A long boundary, Abantum, leans upon Europa.
There Scyros' ridge swells widely, and Peparethus uplifts the sea.
Near by, Vulcan's Lemnos rises,
and Thasus, beloved of Ceres, to the deep.

695

proserit albenti se vertice: prominet Imbrus,
Thressaque consurgit propter Samus: indeque rursum
Cyclades accedunt Asiam, Delumque coronant.
omnes fatidico curant sollemnia Phoebo.
nam cum vere novo tellus se dura relaxat,

with its whitening summit it thrusts itself forth: Imbrus juts out,
and Thrace rises up because of Samos: thence again
the Cyclades draw near to Asia, and crown Delos.
they all care for the solemn rites of prophetic Phoebus.
for when, in the new spring, the earth relaxes itself from hardness,

700

culminibusque cavis blandum strepit ales hirundo,
gens devota choros agitat, gratique sacrato
ludunt festa die, visit sacra numen alumnum.
Hinc Sporades crebro producunt caespite sese
densa serenato ceu splendent sidera caelo.

and on hollow roofs the wooing swallow, a charming bird, twittering;
a devout people set in motion choruses, and in the sacred revels
grateful, they play on the festival day; the fostered numen visits the rites.
Thence the Sporades oft thrust themselves forth on thick turf,
dense, as if stars shining in the serenely clear sky.

705

nec minus attolluntur Ionides insulae ab alto.
hic iuxta Caunus, Samus hic Saturnia iuxta,
tumque Chius patulae prospectans arva Pelinae.
Lesbus item et Tenedus per aperti marmora ponti
expediunt arces, et culmina nubibus indunt.

no less do the Ionian isles rise from the deep.
here Caunus nearby, there Samus close to Saturnia,
and then Chios, gazing over the wide fields of Pelinae.
Also Lesbos and Tenedos, through the open sea’s gleaming marble,
put forth their citadels, and clothe their summits with clouds.

710

hinc se piscosi pandit sinus Hellesponti.
hic salis arctoi spumas vomit impiger aestus,
hic protenta quatit late freta glauca Propontis.
siquis laeva dehinc Euxini marmora sulcet,
ora Borysthenii qua fluminis in mare vergunt,

from here the fishy bay of the Hellespont unfolds itself.
here the eager tide vomits the foams of the northern salt,
here the wide-stretched grey-green straits of the Propontis shake afar.
if anyone thence ploughs the left marbles of the Euxine,
the shores of the Borysthenes where the river leans into the sea,

715

e regione procul spectabit culmina Leuces.
Leuce cana iugum, Leuce sedes animarum:
nam post fata virum semper versarier illic
insontes aiunt animas; ubi concava vasto
cedit in antra sinu rupes, ubi saxa dehiscunt

from that region afar the summits of Leuce will be seen.
Leuce, the white ridge, Leuce, the seat of souls:
for after the fates of men they say the harmless souls always dwell there;
where a hollow cliff yields to a vast bay into caverns, where the rocks split open

720

molibus exesis, et curvo fornice pendent.
haec sunt dona piis: sic illos Iuppiter imis
exemit tenebris, Erebi sic inscia virtus.
Rursum Cimmerius qua Bosphorus ora patescit,
dexterior ponto subit insula, vastaque late

with the masses hollowed out, and hanging from a curved vault.
these are gifts to the pious: thus Jupiter freed them from the deepest shadows, thus virtue, unknowing of Erebus.
Again where the Cimmerian Bosphorus reveals its shores,
to the right an island rises from the sea, and far and wide vast

725

excedit moles pelagus: sedet eminus ingens
Phaenagore, et muros attollitur Hermonassa.
haec maris infusi consurgunt insulae ab alto.
exterior quis unda dehinc, circumfluus et quis
aestuet Oceanus, quibus illae flatibus omnes

the bulk rears above the sea: vast Phaenagore sits afar,
and Hermonassa is lifted with walls.
these islands, poured forth from the sea, rise up out of the deep.
what outer wave then, what circumfluent Ocean shall swell,
by whose blasts all those

730

culmina pulsentur, memores date carmine musae.
Propter Atlantei tergum salis Aethiopum gens
Hesperides habitant; dorsum tumet hic Erythiae,
hicque Sacri, sic terga vocat gens ardua, montis:
nam protenta iugum tellus trahit: hoc caput amplae

the peaks are smitten; give a mindful song, O Muses.
Because of Atlas’s salt-bearing back a people of the Ethiopians, the Hesperides, dwell;
here the ridge of Erythia swells, and here that of the Sacred — so the lofty people call the backs of the mountain:
for the outstretched land draws the yoke: this head of the broad

735

the summits are struck; give a song, remembering, O Muse.
Because of Atlas’s salt-bearing back the Ethiopian race,
the Hesperides, dwell; here the ridge of Erythaea swells,
and here that of the Sacred — so the lofty people call the backs of the mountain:
for the stretched-out land draws a yoke: this is the head of the wide

proditur Europae: genetrix haec ora metalli,
liventis stagni venas vomit: acer Hiberus
hic freta veloci percurrit saepe phaselo.
eminus hic aliae gelidi prope flabra aquilonis
exsuperant undas et vasta cacumina tollunt.

it thrusts forth into Europe: this shore, mother of metal,
spews the veins of leaden tin: keen Iberus
here oft courses the straits in a swift skiff.
thence at a distance others, near the chilly breaths
of the north wind, outdo the waves and lift up vast crests.

740

hae numero geminae, pingues sola, caespitis amplae,
conditur occidui qua Rhenus gurgitis unda,
dira Britannorum sustentant agmina terris.
hic spumosus item ponti liquor explicat aestum,
et brevis e pelago vertex subit: hic chorus ingens

these, twin in number, the isles rich in turf and ample sod,
are set where the Rhine is swallowed by the western stream’s wave,
dread bands of Britons hold the lands.
here likewise the foaming water of the sea unfolds its tide,
and from the deep a short whirl rises: here a vast chorus

745

producit noctem ludus sacer: aera pulsant
vocibus, et crebris late sola calcibus urgent.
non sic Absynthi prope flumina Thracis almae
Bistonides; non, qua celeri ruit agmine Ganges,
Indorum populi stata curant festa Lyaeo.

The sacred rite prolongs the night: they beat the bronze with voices,
and with frequent heels the place is pressed far and wide.
Not thus the Bistonian women by the streams of nurturing Absynth;
nor those festivals which, where the Ganges rushes in a swift host,
the peoples of India keep established for Lyaeus.

750

longa dehinc celeri siquis rate marmora currat,
inque Lycaonias cumbam procul urgeat arctos,
inveniet vasto surgentem vertice Thulen.
hic cum plaustra poli tangit Phoebeius ignis,
nocte sub illustri rota solis fomite flagrat

then if anyone thereafter with a swift ship plies the long marble seas,
and urges his little boat far toward the Lycaonian North,
he will find Thule rising with a vast summit.
here, when Phoebus’s fire touches the wagons of the sky,
by night beneath the bright wheel of the sun it blazes with tinder

755

continuo, clarumque diem nox aemula ducit.
nam sol obliquo torquetur cardine mundi,
directosque super radios vicinior axi
occiduo inclinat, donec iuga rursus anhela
devexo accipiat caelo notus. inde fluenta

immediately, and rival Night leads off the bright day.
for the sun is whirled on the oblique axis of the world,
and, nearer the western axle, he bends the direct rays downward,
until the hills, panting, again receive light from the bowed sky. Thence the streams

760

tenduntur Scythici longe maris in facis ortum
Eoae: tum coeaneis erepit ab undis
insula, quae prisci signatur nominis usu
aurea, quod fulvo sol hic magis orbe rubescat.
Contemplator item, ceu se mare flectat in austrum,

The Scythian torches are stretched far toward the rising of the eastern sea,
then an island is snatched up from the ocean waves,
which by ancient customary use is named Aurea (the Golden),
because here the sun makes the tawny orb redden more.
Likewise the beholder, as if the sea were bending itself southward,

765

inque notum Oceanus freta ponti caerula curvet:
altaque Coliadis mos hic tibi dorsa patescent
rupis, et intenti spectabis caespitis arces.
pro quibus ingenti consistens mole per undas
insula Taprobane gignit taetros elephantos,

and the Ocean will bend the sea’s blue straits toward the familiar main:
and here the high backs of Coliadic crags will lie open to you
and you will behold turfed strongholds intent.
Before which, Taprobane, halting with a huge bulk through the waves,
the island brings forth grim elephants,

770

et super aestiferi torretur sidere cancri.
haec immensa patet, vastisque extenditur oris
undique per pelagus: latus autem protinus olli
agmina cetosi pecoris, vaga monstra profundi,
alludunt: fervent Erythraei marmora ponti

and above is scorched by the summer-bearing constellation Cancer.
this immense land lies open, and is stretched with a vast shore
on every side over the sea: but immediately on that flank
herds of cetacean cattle, wandering monsters of the deep,
rub along her sides: the marbles of the Erythraean sea seethe

775

tota feris: haec, ut rigidi iuga maxima montis,
nubibus attollunt latus omne, et terga tumescunt:
instar in his rupis spinae tenor arduus astat,
molibus in celsis scrupus quoque creber inhorret.
a! nequis rapidi subvectus gurgitis unda

all exposed to beasts: these, like the greatest ridges of a rigid mountain,
lift their whole flank to the clouds, and their backs swell:
a likeness of spines of cliffs, a lofty ridge stands among them,
and the crag too, crowded with masses on the heights, bristles.
ah! let no one, borne aloft by the wave of the rapid gulf

780

haec in terga sali lembum contorqueat umquam:
a! ne monstrigenis, hostem licet, inferat aestus
fluctibus: immodici late patet oris hiatus
quippe feris, antro panduntur guttura vasto;
protinus haec ipsas absorbent fauce carinas,

may the salt wave ever hurl this little ship upon their backs:
ah! lest the swell, though an enemy to monstrous things, cast
its surges: far open lies the gap of the unmeasured shore
for indeed the gullets of wild beasts are laid open in the vast cave;
straightaway these very keels will swallow them in their maw,

785

involvuntque simul mox monstra voracia nautas.
Ogyris inde salo promit caput, aspera rupes,
Carmanis qua se pelagi procul invehit undas;
regis Erythraei tellus haec nota sepulchro
tenditur, et nudis iuga tantum cautibus horrent.

and voracious monsters at once envelop the sailors together.
Ogyris thence thrusts its head from the sea, a rugged cliff of Carmania,
by which it projects itself far into the waves of the deep;
this land of the Erythraean king is stretched forth, known for its tomb,
and its ridges bristle only with bare crags.

790

Persicus hinc aestus fauces hiat: insula rursum,
si tamen in borean flectantur carbasa cumbae,
Icarus aerio consurgit vertice in auras,
Icarus ignicomo Soli sacra; namque Sabaei
turis ibi semper vaga fumum nubila volvunt.

From here the Persian surge yawns its jaws: an island again,
if yet the skiffs’ carbases are bent toward the north,
Icarus with aerial summit rises into the airs,
Icarus sacred to the fire‑companion Sun; for the Sabaeans
there ever roll wandering clouds of incense smoke.

795

Insulae in Oceani procursibus hae tibi tantum
carmine sunt dignae: multas vehit undique pontus
praeterea, parvas specie, famaque carentia
pars Asiam, Libyam pars adiacet altera ponto,
pars videt Europam: non has tamen aut modus orae,

These islands on the fore-runs of the Ocean are worthy of song to you alone:
moreover the sea bears many from every quarter,
some small in appearance and lacking in fame,
one part adjoins Asia, another part lies by the Libyan sea,
another part looks toward Europe: yet not these nor the measure of the shore,

800

aut interna cavi commendat vena metalli.
harum aliae duris reserant vis litora nautis,
et scaber in multis scrupus riget; undique iniquus
surrigitur vertex, et inhospita caespitis orast.
harum quis valeat numerosa ut nomina fari?

or an internal vein of the hollow metal bestows.
some of these shores the force unlocks for hard-pressed sailors,
and a rough pebble bristles in many places; everywhere an unequal
summit is raised, and the shore is inhospitable with turf.
who could dare to speak the numerous names of these?

805

si velit hoc ullus, velit idem scire quot alto
curventur fluctus pelago, quot sidera caeli
educant flammas, quot robora proferat Ida,
quantus harenarum numerus versetur ab euro.
Carmine nunc Asiam formet stilus: incute doctam,

if anyone will wish this, let him wish likewise to know how many waves are bowed on the deep sea, how many stars of the sky bring forth flames, how many oaks Ida produces, how great a number of sands is turned by the east wind.
By song now the stylus will form Asia: instill, O learned,

810

Phoebe, chelyn! totis Helicon aspiret ab antris.
maxima pars orbis narrabitur; inclyta tellus
prometur musis.

Phoebe, chelyn! let all Helicon breathe forth from its caverns.
the greatest part of the orb will be recounted; the renowned land
is offered to the Muses.

terrarum summa duarum
unius est limes, quae caespite protegit ambas.
vastius ast Asiae diti caput, indeque sensim

the summit of two lands
is the boundary of one, which with turf protects both.
but the more vast head of wealthy Asia, and thence slowly

815

in matutinos oram conducitur axes.
hic astare procul Bacchi fert fama columnas,
ultimus Oceani qua terras alluit aestus,
Indica qua rupes tumet extima, quo vaga Ganges,
caespite dorsa trahens in Nysaeum Platamona

to the morning shore the axis is brought.
here, fame reports, Bacchus’ columns stand afar,
where the Ocean’s last tide washes the lands,
where an Indian cliff swells at the utmost, where the roaming Ganges,
drawing turf‑clad ridges, flows into Nysa’s Platamona

820

porrigitur. similis nequaquam est forma duabus,
nec modus est compar: secat unus denique pontus
Oceanus, trinoque sinu vagus influit aestus
unam Asiae molem: sinus istam Persicus intrat,
maximus hanc Arabum scindit sinus, et sinus aequor

it stretches forth. in no wise is its shape like two,
nor is its measure comparable: at last one sea the Ocean severs,
and the wandering tide, with a threefold curve, flows
into one mass of Asia: that bay the Persian enters,
the greatest bay of the Arabs cleaves this bay, and the sea is a gulf

825

inserit Hyrcanus: duo nigri partibus austri
curvantur, rigidam suspectat tertius arcton:
hic et in Euxini prorepit marmoris undam,
et zephyrum tergo spectat procul: adiacet ambos
tellus multa dehinc, et longis tenditur arvis.

Hyrcanus inserts: two dark ones are bent toward southern parts,
a third regards the rigid Arcton:
this one even creeps into the Euxine’s marble wave,
and from afar watches the Zephyr at his back: adjacent to both lies
much land thereafter, and it is stretched in long fields.

830

ast Asiam incumbit vasto mons aggere Taurus,
interstatque iugo mediam, Pamphylia campo
qua iacet, incipiens, ac verticis ardua ducit
Indorum in pelagus: nunc autem surrigit idem
obliquas arces et flexilis aera pulsat;

but Taurus, a mountain leaning upon Asia with a vast rampart,
and with its ridge stands between the middle of the Pamphylian plain
where it lies, beginning, and it draws the lofty summit of the Indians
into the sea: now likewise the same rises up
and smites oblique citadels and beats the pliant air;

835

nunc directa solo tentus vestigia figit.
mille dehinc amnes unus vomit, exerit unus
flumina per terras, vel qua riget ora Bootis,
vel qua lene notus spirat, qua perstrepit eurus,
et qua deiecto zephyrus sustollitur axe.

now stretched flat upon the ground, he presses and fixes his footprints.
then one spring vomits a thousand rivers, one sends forth streams across the lands,
or where Bootes’ shore grows numb, or where gentle Notus breathes, where blustering Eurus rustles,
and where, the axis cast down, Zephyrus is uplifted.

840

nec tamen hic uno signatur nomine ubique,
sed dum flectit iter, novus emicat; utque tumenti
gens vicina subest, peregrina vocabula mutat.
Accipe, qui populi circumdent denique Taurum.
Maeotae primi salsam cinxere paludem.

nor yet is this everywhere marked by one name alone,
but while it bends its way, a new one springs forth; and as
a neighboring people is set over the swelling shore, it changes to foreign vocables.
Mark this, you who at last encompass the Tauric people around.
The Maeotae first girded the briny marsh.

845

obversatur item trux Sarmata, bellica quondam
gentis Amazonidum suboles: nam cum prius illae
egissent vasti prope flumina Thermodontis
Threicio de Marte satae, iunxere profectae
concubitus: longas exercet Sarmata silvas:

Likewise the grim Sarmatian turns up, once the warlike scion of the people of the Amazons: for when those, sprung from Thracian Mars, had first driven out the men near the vast rivers Thermodon, having gone forth they joined in unions: Sarmatia inhabits long forests.

850

ex quibus elapsus Tanais procul arva pererrat
barbara, et in salsam protendit terga paludem.
hic Asiam Europa disterminat. arduus istum
Caucasus eructat: Scythicos hic fusus in agros
impacatorum nutrit pubem populorum.

from which escaped, the Tanais wanders far over barbarian fields
and thrusts its back into the salty marsh.
Here Europa severs Asia. That lofty
Caucasus spews him forth: here, poured into the Scythian
fields, it nourishes the youth of untamed peoples.

855

from which escaped, the Tanais wanders far over barbarian plains
and thrusts its back into a briny marsh.
Here Europe parts from Asia. The lofty Caucasus belches him forth:
here, poured into the Scythian fields, it nourishes the youth of untamed peoples.

huius utrumque latus quatit amplis bruma procellis,
constrictumque tenent hunc frigora. proxima rursus
Cimmerii Sindique colunt: Cercetia gens est
adque Toretarum propter genus: indeque Achaei,
ab Xanthi ripis atque Idaeo Simoente,

on either side of this the winter shakes it with mighty storms,
and the colds hold this bound. Nearest, again,
dwell the Cimmerii and the Sindi: there is the people of the Cercetes
and of the Toretans because of their stock: and thence the Achaeans,
from the banks of Xanthus and the Idaean Simoeis

860

inter chauricrepas et scruposas convallis,
transvexere larem. iuxta gens aspera degit
Eniochi, Zygique dehinc, qui regna Pelasgum
linquentes, quondam tenuerunt proxima ponti.
impiger hos propter Colchus colit: iste feraci

between Chauricrepas and the stony hollows,
they transported the lar. Next dwells the hardy folk
of Eniochus, and then of Zygius, who, leaving the realms of the Pelasgians,
once held the parts nearest the sea. The active Colchian tends these for their fruitfulness:

865

exul ab Aegypto celsae serit aspera rupis:
Caucasus Hyrcanae nimium conterminus undae
huius valle procul Phasis gemit, istius antro
agmina provolvit, Circaeaque lapsus in arva
incidit, Euxinum. borealis cardine caeli

the exile from Egypt plants himself upon a lofty, rugged cliff:
the Caucasus, too near the Hyrcanian wave,
in whose valley far off the Phasis laments, into that cave
it rolls its ranks; and Circaea, sliding into the fields,
falls to the Euxine, at the northern hinge of the sky

870

rursus in eoae lucis confinia tellus
inclinata iacet, gemino vicina profundo.
Caspia nam late terram super alluit unda,
Euxinique subest tergum salis: asper Hiberus
hic agit: hic olim Pyrenide pulsus ab ora

875

caespitis eoi tenuit sola, ceu vaga saepe
fors rapit exactos patria: tenet aequora campi
gens Camaritarum, qui post certamina Bacchum,
Indica Bassaridum cum duceret agmina victor,
accepere casis, mensasque dedere Lyaeo:

the east’s turf alone that land held, as often fickle chance
snatches the expelled from their patria: the watery plains hold
the gens of the Camaritae, who, after contests, when victorious
Bacchus was leading the Indian bands of Bassarids,
received huts and set out tables for Lyæus:

880

I do not see any Latin lines to translate after the line marker "880." Please provide the text (the verse or lines) you want translated, and I will render them preserving spacing and poetic formatting.

orgia ludentes et nebride pectora cincti
deduxere choros, Nysaei ludicra ritus.
hos super in fluctus adsurgit Caspia Tethys.
Haec dicenda mihi; nec diri gurgitis umquam
lustravi pinu freta barbara, nec vagus orbem

playing their orgies and, chests girded with nebris, they led out dances, the sportive rites of Nysa.
above these the Caspian Tethys rises into the waves.
These things must be told by me; nor have I ever traversed with a pine the barbarian straits of the dreadful whirlpool, nor, wandering, the orb

885

undique reptavi: sed vasti flumina Gangis,
Caucaseas arces et dumicolas Arienos
incentore canam Phoebo, musisque magistris
omnia veridico decurrens carmine pandam.
Caspia per teretes Tethys distenditur oras,

I have crept from every side: but I will sing, with Phoebus as instigator and the Muses as my teachers,
the rivers of the vast Ganges, the Caucasian citadels and the rustic Aryans;
running down, in a truthful song I will unfold all things.
Through rounded shores the Caspian Tethys is stretched,

890

et sinuant curvis hanc totam litora terris.
tantum sed fuso pontus iacet iste profundo,
ut ter luna prius reparet facis incrementa,
quam quis caeruleum celeri rate transeat aequor.
gurgitis Oceanus pater est: namque iste nivalis

and let all these shores wind in curving lands.
but that sea lies poured into a deep abyss,
so that the moon, thrice, first replenishes the increases of her torch,
before any one may cross the blue sea in a swift vessel.
Ocean is father of the gulf: for that snowy

895

axe Helices infert rapidi freta concita ponti,
et sinus inde sibi pelagus trahit: hic vada propter
Caspia versatur Scytha belliger; hicque feroces
degunt Albani: trux illic arva Cadusus
dura tenet, Mardi celeres, Hyrcani, Apyrique.

on its axle the Helices bears the stirred channels of the swift sea,
and thence the bay draws the open deep to itself: here the warlike Scythian is tossed about the Caspian shallows;
and here fierce Albani dwell: there the stern Cadusii hold the harsh fields,
the swift Mardi, the Hyrcani, and the Apyri.

900

caespite vicino Mardus fluit, et procul ipsos
accedit Bactros; attingens denique atroces
agmine Dercebios, medius disterminat ambos,
Hyrcanique salis tumido convolvitur aestu.
sed Bactrena solo vasto procul arva recedunt,

The Mardus flows by the neighboring turf, and from afar it draws near the Bactrians themselves;
at last touching the fierce Dercebians in a host, it severs the two in the middle,
and with a swelling surge is rolled together by the Hyrcanian salt sea.
but Bactrian fields withdraw far from the wasteful soil,

905

the Mardus flows by neighboring turf, and from afar it draws near the Bactrians themselves;
at last touching the fierce Dercebians with its host, it divides the two in the middle,
and is rolled about by the swollen surge of Hyrcanian salt.
but the Bactrian fields retire far from the vast soil,

Parnassique iugi tegitur gens rupibus illa:
Dercebios aliud cohibet latus et vada tangit
Caspia: tum clari pharetris agilique sagitta
Massagetae rauci succedunt flumen Araxis:
durum ab stirpe genus, placidae mens nescia vitae,

and that people is clad by the crags of Parnassus’ ridge:
another side restrains the Dercebi and the Caspian touches its shallows:
then the Massagetae, of famed quivers and nimble arrow, follow the hoarse Araxes river:
a hardy stock from its root, a spirit unknowing of placid life,

910

And that people is clad by the ridges of Parnassus:
one flank restrains the Dercebi and the Caspian touches its shallows
then the Massagetae of famed quivers and nimble arrow succeed the hoarse Araxes river:
a hard-born stock, a mind unacquainted with placid life,

ignorant flavae Cereris commercia, Bacchi
semper inexpertes animam traxere ferinam.
his cibus et potus simul est: nam sanguen equinum
et lac concretum per barbara guttura sorbent.
nec procul ad borean diri posuere Chorasmi

they know not the rites of golden Ceres,
always unversed in Bacchus, they have drawn a feral soul.
to them food and drink are one and the same: for they suck horse-blood
and curdled milk through barbarous throats.
and not far to the north the dread Chorasmi are set

915

hospitia, et iuxta protendit Sugdias agros,
Sugdias, ingenti quam flumine dissicit Oxus.
hic procul Hemodii late ruit aggere montis,
et per prolixos evectus protinus agros
Caspia propellit fluctu freta: qua patet huius

inns, and beside them it stretches the Sugdian fields,
the Sugdian lands which the Oxus cleaves with its mighty river.
here far off the rampart of Mount Hemodii rushes broadly,
and, borne up over the long-extended plains, straightaway
it drives the Caspian waters with a surge: where the sea of this

920

inns, and nearby it stretches the Sogdian fields,
the Sogdian fields which Oxus cleaves with its mighty river.
here far off the ridge of Hemodii bursts forth wide,
and borne up over long-drawn fields it at once drives
the Caspian seas back with its surge: where the plain of this lies open

fluminis os, diri ripas habitant Iaxartae.
tendere non horum quisquam certaverit arcus:
ambitus hos etenim multus trahit, et grave curvis
pondus inest taxis, longo sunt spicula ferro,
et rigor in nervis veluti bovis. inde cruenti

the mouth of the river, the dread banks of the Jaxartes dwell.
none of these would dare to strive to bend a bow:
for a great sweep draws them on, and a heavy weight
lies in their curved backs, their points are of long iron,
and a rigidity in the sinews like that of an ox. thence bloody

925

sunt Tocari, Phrurique truces, et inhospita Seres
arva habitant, gregibus permixti oviumque boumque
vellera per silvas Seres nemoralia carpunt.
ultima Epetrimos tellus habet: et procul ista
cassa virum est, nullis pecorum balatibus agri

There are Tocari, and the fierce Phruri, and the inhospitable Seres inhabit the fields;
mingled with flocks of sheep and of oxen the Seres pluck fleeces through the sylvan woods.
The furthest land holds Epetrimus: and far off that hollow is empty of men, with no bleatings of the herds of the field

930

persultant; herbae viduus iacet undique caespes,
fronde caret; nusquam terras intersecat amnis.
Caspia tot late circumdant aequora gentes.
Nunc rursum ab Colchis et glauci Phasidis undis
occiduum ad solem populos memorate, camenae,

they frisk about; the turf lies bereft of grass on every side,
it lacks foliage; nowhere does a river cleave the lands.
So many peoples far and wide surround the Caspian waters.
Now again from Colchis and the blue waves of the Phasis
recall the peoples westward toward the setting sun, O Muses,

935

usque in Threicii fauces maris! aspera primum
Byzeron est gens: diri sunt inde Bechires,
Macrones, Phyliresque et pernix Durateum gens.
inde Tibareni, Chalybes super, arva ubi ferri
ditia vulnifici crepitant incudibus altis.

even to the Thracian jaws of the sea! first harsh is the people of Byzeron:
thence are the dread Bechires, the Macrones, and the Phylires and the nimble people Durateus.
thence the Tibareni, above them the Chalybes, where fields rich in iron
ring with the blows of wound‑making anvils on high.

940

940
to the very jaws of the Thracian sea! First harsh is the people Byzeron:
thence come the dreadful Bechires,
the Macrones and the Phylires and the fleet Duratean race.
thence the Tibareni, above them the Chalybes, where the fields rich in iron
of wound-dealing clang with high anvils.

post hos Assyriae tenduntur iugera terrae,
Armenioque iugo late surgens Thermodon
erigitur celsa in fastigia prisca Sinope.
hanc urbem quondam, magni Iovis ardor, Asopis
virgo, locans saevae propter confinia terrae,

after these the acres of Assyria are stretched out,
and Thermodon, rising far along an Armenian ridge,
is raised aloft into the ancient heights of Sinope.
this city once — the passion of great Jove — the maiden of Asopus,
placing it on account of the confines of a savage land,

945

aulam habuit, plebemque suo de nomine dixit.
nec procul hinc purus laticem provolvitur Iris;
et citus Armeniae cursum convallibus arcis,
qua vastum in pelagus vergit saxosa Carambis,
urget Halys: tum Paphlagonum sata longa patescunt,

she had a palace, and named the commonfolk from her own name.
not far hence the pure Iris rolls forth her flood;
and forthwith the course of Armenia, swift, winds through the valleys of the ridge,
where the rocky Carambis turns toward the vast pelagus,
the Halys presses on: then the long sown lands of the Paphlagonians lie open,

950

he held a court, and called the common folk by his own name.
and not far hence the clear Iris rolls forth a broad stream;
and quick the course of Armenia runs through the valleys of the fortress,
where the rocky Carambis slopes into the vast sea,
the Halys presses on: then the long-spread lands of the Paphlagonians lie open,

et Mariandinon gens incolit, unde triformis
ora canis superas quondam produxit in auras
Alcides Erebo: propter Bithynia glebam
exerit: hic late Rhebas extenditur amnis,
Rhebas, coeanei qui dissicit aequora ponti,

and the Mariandynian race inhabits, whence the three-formed
mouth of a dog Alcides once brought forth from Erebus into the upper airs:
on account of the Bithynian soil he turned it up: here far and wide the river Rhebas is spread,
Rhebas, who parts the coean waters of the sea,

955

Rhebas, argento similem qui porrigit undam.
hi pontum cingunt populi. nunc illa canatur
ora Asiae, glaucus pelagi quam subluit aestus,
axe noti in fauces rapidi procul Hellesponti,
et freta qua spumant Aegyptia partibus austri,

Rhebas, who stretches a wave like silver.
these peoples gird the sea. now let that shore of Asia be sung,
which the glaucous tide of the deep washes up,
by the axis of the south wind into the jaws of the swift Hellespont afar,
and the straits where the Egyptian waters foam with southern gusts,

960

usque Arabas et longa Syrae confinia terrae.
dictum etenim, quantus rigidas Scytha degat ad arctoS.
Calchedon tumulus fluctu circumdatus alto
eminus Europam proceraque moenia Byzae
aspicit: ab tergo tendit Bebrycia glebam,

as far as the Arabs and the long confines of Syrian land.
for it is told, how vast a Scythian dwells toward the rigid Arctos.
the mound of Chalcedon, girdled by the deep wave,
from afar beholds Europe and the tall walls of Byzas
: behind it Bebrycia stretches forth its soil,

965

celsaque nubiferae sustollit culmina rupis
Mysus ager: Mysos tacitum diffusus in aequor
tergaque flavescens sulcat Cius: huius ad undam
pulcher Hylas nymphis quondam fuit anxia cura.
Hinc in caeruleum cedit sinus Hellespontum,

and the lofty summits of the cloud‑bearing crag uplift the Mysian land:
Mysos, silent, spread out into the sea,
and Cius, yellowing, ploughs the backs (of the waves): to the wave of this
fair Hylas once was an anxious care to the nymphs.
From here the gulf yields into the blue Hellespont,

970

explicat et Phrygiam tellus incurva Minorem;
maior Sangario late praestringitur amni.
haec procul eoos procedit plurima in axes,
fertilis herbarum: qua caelum rursus in umbras
inclinat vertex, panduntur terga Minori,

and the curved land unfolds Phrygia the Lesser;
the greater is girded far and wide by the stream of Sangarius.
this, far off, proceeds eastward in very many axes,
fertile in herbage: where the vertex again inclines the sky into shades,
the backs of the Lesser are spread open,

975

quae iacet immensae late sub rupibus Idae,
infortunatam pertingens caespite Troiam.
Aeolis inde patet vastum super Hellespontum
Aegaei per terga sali. prolixus Ionum
rursus ager glebam protenditur: hunc secat ingens

which lies broad under the immense cliffs of Ida,
reaching with turf to ill-fated Troy.
Thence an Aeolian plain opens vast above the Hellespont
across the backs of the Aegean sea. The long-stretched Ionian
field again extends its soil: this a huge

980

Maeander, salsique ruens vada gurgitis intrat.
comminus hic gelidi qua spirant flabra aquilonis,
urbs Ephesus tetricae sustollit fana Dianae,
munus Amazonidum memorabile; nec minus inde
Lydia procedens longum latus explicat euro:

Maeander, rushing, enters the salty shallows of the gulf.
Close by here, where the breaths of the chilly north-wind blow,
the city Ephesus lifts up the temples of grim Diana,
a memorable gift of the Amazonids; nor less thence
Lydia, advancing, unfolds a long flank to the east wind:

985

in qua vitiferae Molus iuga proserit arcis,
Et Pactolus aquas agit auriger, arva canoris
persultant cygnis, curva sedet undique ripa
creber olos, laetis adsurgunt gramina campis,
herbaque luxurians sola semper pinguia vestit.

in which the vine-bearing Molus thrusts forth the ridges of the height,
and Pactolus stirs his gold-bearing waters, the fields of sweet song
skip with swans, the curved bank sits thick with reeds on every side,
grasses spring up on the joyous plains,
and luxuriant herbage alone always clothes it rich and fertile.

990

sed locuplete magis Maeandria gleba recumbit
ubere, nam blandi terram rigat unda Caystri.
Maeonis hic etiam deducit turba choreas:
aurea subnectunt haec vincula, ritus Iaccho
luditur, atque sacris feriunt ululatibus aethram;

but the more opulent Maeandrian glebe lies reclining with a fertile breast, for the flattering wave of the Cayster waters wets the land.
Here too a throng leads forth Maeonian dances:
they bind on these golden fillets, the rite is played to Iacchus,
and with sacred ululations they strike the aether;

995

but the Maeandrian soil lies more wealthy with its breasts, for the flattering wave of Cayster waters the land. Here too a Maeonian throng leads forth dances: they bind these golden fillets round themselves, the rite is played for Iacchus, and with sacred ululations they strike the air.

virgineusque chorus late strepit, exilit omnis
coetus, ut instabiles vaga pendent corpora dammae:
Chaurorum quoque flabra deo famulantia ludunt
ritibus in vulgi; subeunt haec serica saepe
pallia, et impulsi zephyris agitantur amictus.

and the virginal chorus resounds far and wide, every company leaps up,
as the unsteady bodies of the wandering doe hang swaying:
the blasts of the Chauri also, ministering to the god, sport
in the rites of the throng; these silken cloaks often rise up,
and the garments, driven by zephyrs, are shaken about.

1000

haec linquenda tamen laeto reor omnia Lydo.
Qua se Xanthus agit, Lyciorum tenditur ora
inclinata mari, surgunt ibi culmina Tauri
Pamphyliae in fines: hic idem Cragus habetur
nomine sub gentis: prope celsam surgit in arcem

yet I think all these things ought to be left to the joyful Lydus.
Where the Xanthus drives itself, the Lycian shores are bent toward the sea,
there the summits of Taurus rise into the bounds of Pamphylia:
here the same Cragus is held by name under the people: near it rises a lofty citadel

1005

prisca Side: fomes calidis adoletur in aris
saepe Dionaeae veneri: stat Corycus alta,
stat Perge propter, micat ardua tecta Phaselis
eminus, et Phoebi radiis tremit aemulus ardor.
inde Lycaoniae tractus iacet: impiger agros

ancient Side: on warm altars tinder is kindled often for Dionaean Venus:
high Corycus stands, Perge stands nearby, Phaselis’ lofty roofs flash from afar,
and a rival ardor trembles in Phoebus’ rays.
thence lies the tract of Lycaonia: eager he tills the fields

1010

ancient Side: tinder is burned on warm altars
often to Dionean Venus: lofty Corycus stands,
Perge stands nearby, the high roofs of Phaselis
gleam from afar, and a rival ardor trembles in Phoebus’ rays.
thence the tract of Lycaonia lies: active in the fields

incola decurrit, sitit atrum dira cruorem
gens hominum, et saevo pascuntur pectora bello.
tum Pisida ferox exercet pinguia culta,
Telmissusque dehinc urbs eminet, eminet arcem
inclyta per nubes attollens moenia Lyrbe,

the inhabitant descends; the nation of men thirsts for dire, dark blood,
and their breasts are fed upon by savage war.
then fierce Pisidia tills its rich, fat fields,
and Telmissus then the city rises high, rises high its citadel,
Lyrbe, renowned, lifting its walls through the clouds,

1015

et Lacedaemoniae surgunt fastigia Selges.
Plurimus hinc terras intrat sinus, undaque longe
vicina Euxino rupti sola caespitis urget.
hic diros Cilicas trames tenet, inque diei
tenditur exortum: sulcant duo flumina terram,

and Selge's summits rise toward LACEDAEMONIA,
from here the fullest bay cuts into the lands, and its wave far
presses, torn turf alone, against the neighboring EUXINE.
here a dread Cilician track holds, and is stretched toward the rising of day:
two rivers plough the earth,

1020

Pyramus hic undas, hic volvit Pinarus aequor.
Cydnus item mediae discernit moenia Tarsi.
Pegasus hoc olim suspendit caespite sese,
impressique solo liquit vestigia calcis;
esset ut insigni revoluta in saecula semper

Here Pyramus rolls its waters, here Pinarus turns the plain-sea.
Cydnus likewise parts the walls in the midst of Tarsus.
Once Pegasus suspended himself upon this turf,
and, pressing the soil, left the prints of his hoof;
so that it might be conspicuous, turned down into the ages forever

1025

nomen humo, clari post ultima Bellerophontis.
sic caespes late producit Aleius arva,
horrescitque comis nemorum, per inhospita cuius
aequora secreto vitam protraxerat agro.
Lyrnessusque dehinc, hic Malus et Anchialia,

a name on the ground, famed after the final deeds of Bellerophon.
thus the turf widely brings forth Aleius’ fields,
and the woods bristle with leafy growth, through whose inhospitable
plains he had protracted life in a secret field.
And Lyrnessus then, here Malus and Anchialia,

1030

illustresque Soloe post carmina vatis alumni.
Commagenorum propter diffunditur ora:
et procul Hesperium curvatur limes in axem,
donec piniferas Casii prorepat ad arces.
Hinc solers Asiam facili cape carmine totam.

and illustrious scions of the bard at Soloe after his poems.
the shore of the Commagenes spreads forth for that reason:
and afar the Hesperian boundary is bent into an axis,
until it creeps forward to the pine-bearing citadels of Cassius.
From here, O skillful one, seize all Asia with an easy song.

1035

forma sit huius enim talis tibi: quattuor illam
in latera effusam cordi dato; longior autem
sit modus his, rutili quae spectant sideris ortum:
tumque tene, primo quod carmine musa locuta,
totam Asiam celsi praecingi vertice Tauri

let the shape of this be such for you: give it poured out into four sides to the heart; but let the extent be longer toward those that behold the rising of the ruddy star: and then hold, first, what the Muse spoke in song, that all Asia is girded round by the lofty summit of Taurus

1040

extima in Indorum: montis tamen accipe molem
per latus id duci, quo dat Cynosura pruinas:
solis ab occasu vastum decurrere Nilum:
Indicum ab eois mare fervere, rursus ab austro
fluctibus immodicis Rubri salis aequora volvi.

the outermost of the Indians: yet take the bulk of a mountain to be drawn along that side, by which Cynosura gives frosts:
that the vast Nile runs down from the sun’s setting:
that the Indian sea seethes from the east, again from the south
the waters of the Red salt are heaved by immoderate waves.

1045

to the outermost parts of the Indians: yet take the mass of the mountain to be led along that flank
by which Cynosura bestows its frosts:
that the Nile, vast, runs down from the west at sunset:
the Indian sea to seethe from the easterns, again from the south the waters of the Red Salt to be rolled by immoderate waves.

ora Syrum curvi procumbens litoris acta
in notum et eoi confinia tenditur euri.
haec Coele est Graio sub nomine: namque duobus
ut conclusa iugis, vallis vice, multa cavatur.
ab zephyro Casius mons imminet: axe diei

The shores of Syria, leaning forward as a curved littoral, are driven
toward the familiar and the eastern confines by the east wind.
This is Coele under a Greek name: for, as enclosed by two
ridges, in the stead of a valley, much is hollowed out.
Mount Casius looms from the Zephyr: on the axis of the day

1050

1050
the Syrian shore, bent forward and driven by the curve of the coast,
is stretched toward the familiar east and to the confines of the east wind.
This is Coele under a Greek name: for, shut in by two ridges,
as if in the stead of a valley much is hollowed out.
From the west wind Mount Casius overhangs: on the axis of the day

consurgentis item Libanus premit arduus arva.
pars procul a pelago terras colit, inque recessu
gens agitat: salso quidquid pulsatur ab aestu,
Phoenicum regio est: hi Rubro a gurgite quondam
mutavere domus, primique per aequora vecti

Likewise lofty Lebanon presses the fields of the rising day.
Part, far from the sea, cultivates the lands, and in the recess
a people stirs: whatever is driven by the salt surge,
that is the Phoenician region: these once from the Red gulf
changed their homes, and first borne over the seas

1055

lustravere salum; primi docuere carinis
ferre cavis orbis commercia; sidera primi
servavere polo; populis Phoenicibus ergo
urbs Iope, sterilisque dehinc habitatur Elais,
Gazaque proceris adsurgens undique muris.

they traversed the sea; first they taught that hollow-keel ships
bear the world’s commerce; first they kept the stars
in the sky; therefore for the Phoenician peoples the city Iope,
and thereafter barren Elais is inhabited,
and Gaza rising with lofty walls on every side.

1060

hic Tyrus est opulens, et Berytus optima, Byblos,
Sidoniique lares; ubi labens agmine amoeno
caespitis irrigui Bostrenus iugera findit.
Nec minus hic Tripolis pingui sola porrigit agro;
Orthosisque dehinc attollitur: hic Marathus stat.

here Tyre is opulent, and Berytus most excellent, Byblos,
and the homes of Sidon; where the Bostrenus, sliding in a pleasant course,
cleaves acres of watered turf.
No less here Tripolis alone yields forth its fertile field;
and Orthosia is thence uplifted: here Marathus stands.

1065

litoris extremo caput altis turribus effert
Laodice, et glauci praelambitur aequoris unda.
hic nemorosa virent Daphnae loca, celsa cupressus
erigitur, ramos innectit laurus odora,
crine Dionaeo myrtus diffunditur, altae

at the extreme head of the shore Laodice raises high towers
and is lapped by the glaucous wave of the sea.
here Daphne’s wooded places flourish green, a lofty cypress
is uplifted, the fragrant laurel entwines its branches,
the myrtle is spread with Dionean tress, of the high

1070

consurgunt pinus, et caelum sibila pulsant
robora, mollicomis tellus insternitur herbis.
urbs mediis Apamea dehinc consistit in arvis,
et qua Phoebeam procul incunabula lucem
prima fovent, Emesus fastigia celsa renidet.

pines rise, and the oaks beat the sky with their rustlings
the earth is strewn with tender grasses.
then Apamea the city stands amid the fields,
and where, afar, the first incunabula cherish Phoebean light,
Emesus gleams with lofty roofs.

1075

Please provide the verse(s) following line 1075; there is no translatable text here beyond the line number.

nam diffusa solo latus explicat, ac subit auras
turribus in caelum nitentibus: incola claris
cor studiis acuit, vitam pius imbuit ordo:
denique flammicomo devoti pectora Soli
vitam agitant: Libanus frondosa cacumina turget,

for its broad flank spreads out upon the soil, and it mounts into the airs
toward towers gleaming into the sky: the inhabitant sharpens his heart
with bright studies, pious order pours life in:
and finally the chests, devoted and flame‑haired to the Sun,
live out life: leafy Lebanon swells its pinnacles,

1080

et tamen his celsi certant fastigia templi.
hic scindit iuxta tellurem glaucus Orontes,
nec procul Antiochi vagus interlabitur urbem,
praestringens undis Apamenae iugera glebae.
fertilis hic caespes protenditur, arvaque amica

and yet these contend for the lofty summits of the temple.
here the glaucous Orontes cleaves along the earth,
and not far wanders through the city of Antioch,
enfolding with its waves the acres of Apamenean soil.
fertile turf is stretched out here, and friendly fields

1085

one thousand eighty-five

sunt pecori, in septu facilis Pomona resurgit,
et fecunda Ceres campo flavescit aperto.
Si rursus tepidum via deflectatur in austrum,
curva sinus Arabi succedent aequora propter.
namque Arabas Syriaeque solum sinus iste fluento

there are pastures for cattle, to the north Pomona rises again with ease,
and fruitful Ceres turns golden on the open plain.
If again the road bends warm toward the south,
the curved bays of Arabia will follow the waters on account of the turn.
for that bay, with flowing tide, bathes the soil of the Arabs and of Syria

1090

supply for the flocks; in the north Pomona rises easily again,
and fruitful Ceres turns golden over the open field.
If again the warm road is bent down toward the south,
the curved bay will cause the Arabian waters to follow on account of it.
for this gulf flows toward the Arab lands and the Syrian shore.

dividit, et tentis procul interfunditur undis:
et tamen eoos paulum inclinatur in axes
usque in belligeri confinia flexus Elani.
hinc tellus Arabum producit caespite campos,
et latera ab gemino sale cingitur; alluit aestus

it divides, and is poured between by far-stretched waves:
and yet it bends them a little toward the axes
even to the confines of warlike Elani’s bends.
hence the land of the Arabs thrusts forth turf-clad fields,
and its flanks are girded by twin salts; the tide bathes

1095

Persicus hanc, Arabumque sinus rigat aequore terram.
his sua flabra polo spirant: nam Persicus euro
turgescit vento, zephyro sinus aestuat alter.
pars autem in primos quae semet porrigit ortus,
et notus insurgit qua nubifer, aequore Rubri

The Persian Sea waters this and the bays of the Arabs bedew the land with their sea.
Upon these their own breezes breathe from the sky: for the Persian swells with the east wind,
another bay heaves with the zephyr. But the part which stretches itself toward the first risings,
and where the cloud-bearing wind is known to arise over the Red Sea

1100

tangitur Oceani; felici terra recumbit
tota solo: tellus hic semper fragrat odoro
caespite: prorumpit lacrimoso stipite myrrha,
Myrrha furor quondam Cinyreius; hic ladani vim
vellera desudant, calami coma pullulat almi,

it is touched by the Ocean; the land lies upon a happy soil
the whole earth here ever breathes a scent
of turf: from a tearful trunk myrrh bursts forth,
Myrrha, once the Cinyran madness; here the labdanum’s force
the fleeces sweat out, the reed’s hair sprouts of the nourishing,

1105

gignit humus casiam, concrescunt tura per agros,
longaque fecundis pinguescit odoribus ora.
vera fides, illic femoris sub imagine partus
disrupisse Iovem penetralia; proderet ortus
ut sacer aetheria fulgentem fronte Lyaeum.

the earth produces cassia, frankincense grows up across the fields,
and the long shore fattens with rich, fruitful odors.
True faith, there, beneath the semblance of a thigh, that birth
had burst open Jupiter’s innermost parts; the offspring would reveal
that the sacred Lyaeus, gleaming with aetherial brow, had arisen.

1110

nascenti Baccho risit pater, undique fulsit
caelicolum sedes, convexaque pura tetendit
festa dies: tellus effudit dives odores;
villorum subitis tumuit pecus incrementis:
ver habuere suum nova gramina, flore frequenti

to the newborn Bacchus the Father smiled, everywhere shone the seats of the caelicolæ, and the festive day spread its pure vaults:
the earth poured forth rich odours; the flocks of the villas swelled with sudden increases:
spring kept its own — new grasses, frequent with blossom

1115

pinsit terra sinus, ac nymphis unda cucurrit
largior: internis etiam procul undique ab oris
ales amica deo largum congessit amomum.
extemplo Liber subnectit nebride pectus,
effusasque comas hedera ligat, inde virentis

the earth painted its bays, and a wave ran, more lavish for the nymphs:
even from inland far off on every side from the shores a bird, friendly to the god, brought together abundant amomum.
immediately Liber ties a nebride about his breast,
and binds his flowing hair with ivy, thence of verdant

1120

attollit thyrsos, et blandi luminis igne
os hilarat, totaque celer diffunditur aethra.
Sed propter Libanum terram sulcant Nabataei,
Chaulasiique dehinc, Agraei rursus et inde
Hatramis est tellus: Macae vicina fluento

he lifts the thyrsus, and with the bland fire of light
he brightens his face, and swift delight is diffused through the whole ether.
But on account of Libanus the Nabataeans plough the land,
and Chaulasians next, again the Agraei and thence
the land of the Hatraeans: Macae neighboring the flowing

1125

Persidis accedunt: Rutili contermina ponti
Minaei Sabataeque tenent; super impiger ampla
aequora desulcat glebae ditis Cletavenus.
Plurima praeterea gens circumplectitur illic
oram Arabum, muta sed degunt agmina fama,

They draw near the Persians: the Rutili hold the shore contiguous to the Minaei, and the Sabaeans possess Sabata; above, brisk Cletavenus furrows the broad seas over the land of the wealthy soil.
Moreover a very many a people there gird the Arab coast, but their ranks exist in silent fame,

1130

et numerus cunctis inglorius: inde favoni
qua plaga fecundis alit almos flatibus agros,
barbara montivagos tellus extendit Erembas.
hi vitam duris agitant in cautibus omnem,
intectique artus erepunt ardua semper

and a number inglorious to all: thence to Favonius
which region with fecund blasts nourishes the kindly fields,
the barbarous land of the mountain-wanderers stretches Erembas.
these lead a life on every harsh crag,
and, their limbs covered, ever clamber the steep

1135

culmina saxorum: non ollis pabula in usum
terra parit: glebas abrodunt more ferarum
ieiunas herbae, nec amicas frugibus ullis.
Hinc ultra Libani rursum fastigia celsi,
lux Hyperionio qua se sustollit ab ortu,

the summits of rocks: the land yields no fodder for their use
soils nibble away, in the manner of wild beasts, the hungry herbs,
nor any friendly crops for fruits.
From here beyond Lebanon’s high ridges again,
the Hyperionian light by which he lifts himself from the rising

1140

alterius Syriae limes iacet usque Sinopen
gurgitis attiguam; mediis hic impigra in arvis
Cappadocum gens est: propter freta turgida rursus
Assyrii iuxta sunt ostia Thermodontis,
et festina citis evolvitur unda fluentis.

the frontier of another Syria lies even to Sinopen, touching the whirlpool;
here amid the fields is an active people, the Cappadocians: because of the swollen straits again
the Assyrians are beside the mouths of the Thermodon,
and the wave of the flowing stream is hurled onward in swift courses.

1145

Nec procul, attollit qua se facis ardor eoae,
plurimus Euphratae manat liquor: iste feroci
fusus ab Armenia vastum caput exerit antro,
inque notum primae protenditur agmine molis;
at matutinos iterum conversus in axes,

Not far off, where the eastern ardor lifts itself,
the very plentiful water of the Euphrates flows: that stream, poured forth from fierce Armenia, throws forth a vast head from a cavern,
and is extended in a familiar line of mass of the first banks;
but turned again into its morning courses,

1150

dividit inserto mediam Babylona fluento.
inde Teredoniae iuga propter maxima rupis
Persidis in pontum sparso cadit effluus amni.
Hunc super, in septem quantum via carpitur ortus
caespitis extenti spatiis, citus aequora Tigris

Babylon cleaves the midst with a stream thrust in and flowing.
Thence the ridges of Teredon, because of a very great Persian crag thrown out, the river’s efflux falls, scattered, into the sea.
Above this, as far as sevenfold rises the road is measured, by stretches of turf extended, the swift Tigris urges its waters over the plains

1155

prona rotans, et saxa iugis avulsa supernis,
et totas late celeri trahit agmine silvas.
quin et vasta palus medio distenditur agro;
maximus hanc fluctu Tigris secat: intrat aperti
terga lacus, stupet unda silens, tacitaeque recumbunt

rolling forward prone, and rocks torn from the upper ridges,
and drags whole forests far and wide in a swift column.
indeed a vast marsh is stretched across the middle of the field;
the greatest Tigris cuts this with its flood: it enters the backs
of open lakes, the wave is astonished and silent, and the quiet waters recline

1160

aequora Thospitis; solidarum denique more
riparum stagni facies incisa quiescit,
invectumque sibi cohibens altrinsecus amnem
stat disclusa palus. sic Elidis incola pontum
dissicit Alpheus: pelago sic inserit undas

the waters of Thospis; and at last, like joined banks, the face of the pool, cut in, lies quiet,
and, restraining to itself the stream borne in from the far side, the marsh stands opened.
Thus the inhabitant of Elis sundered the sea—Alpheus cleaves it: thus he casts his waves into the main

1165

illaesum optatae flumen ducens Arethusae.
ergo per et stagnum vehitur celer amnis apertum,
hoc elapsus item vim proni gurgitis urget.
non alium tantus rapit impetus; haud ita quisquam
spumescit fluctus, neque tantos ulla fragores

The unharmed stream of the desired Arethusa running along.
Therefore the swift river is borne even through the open pool,
having slipped past this it likewise drives the force of the sloping whirlpool.
So great an impetus carries no other; no wave foams thus,
nor does any make such great crashes of breakers

1170

unda ciet. medio quae tellus funditur agro,
hoc Interamnis nomen tenet; ut situs illam
flumine praecinctam gemino per aperta locavit.
non qui lanatum longo pecus educat agro,
aut qui cornigeri ductor gregis arva pererrat,

which the wave stirs. The land that is founded in the midst of the plain
bears the name Interamnis; for its site she placed it girded by a river
and set it through twin openings across the plain.
not he who leads a woolly flock across the long field,
nor he who, a herdsman of horned cattle, wanders the arable lands

1175

gramina qui pastor simis petit apta capellis,
quique cavo solers committit semina sulco,
quem Pomona iuvat, quem ramis aesculus altis
illicit, et pingui dependens subere glando;
bracchia Nysaei qui palmitis ordine iusto

who, like a shepherd, seeks grasses fit for kids,
and who skillfully entrusts the seeds to the hollow furrow,
whom Pomona delights, whom the oak with lofty boughs covers,
and the cork‑tree hangs beneath with its fat acorn;
the arms of the Nysaean vine, which with palmate shoots in just order

1180

digerit, aut tectis siquis dolat impiger ornos,
vel salis in fluctus qui cumbam navita texit,
spreverit hos saltus: nihil indiga subtrahit ora:
dives humo tellus, dives iacet arbore caespes.
istius in borean quidquid protenditur agri,

who will hew away, or if any nimble hand carves ash-trees for roofs,
or the sailor who wove a skiff to bear on the salt waves,
shall scorn these pastures: nothing needy withdraws the shores:
rich is the earth in humus, rich the turf lies upon the tree.
whatever of that field is stretched forth toward the north,

1185

Armenii et vita duri sulcant Matieni.
Qua sunt flabra noti, Babylon subducitur arce
procera in nubes: hanc prisca Semiramis urbem
vallavit muris, quos non absumere flammae,
non aries penetrare queat: stat maxima Beli

Armenians and the hardy Matieni furrow a harsh life.
Where the blasts are known, Babylon is raised from its lofty citadel
high into the clouds: this ancient Semiramis walled the city
with ramparts which neither flame can consume,
nor can a battering‑ram penetrate: the great temple of Bel stands

1190

aula quoque argento, domus Indo dente nitescit,
aurum tecta operit, sola late contegit aurum.
ipsa dehinc tellus, quae circumplectitur urbem,
et procerarum fluctu vernat palmarum,
et splendente procul beryllo ferta renidet.

the hall likewise shines with silver, the house gleams with Indian ivory,
gold covers the roofs, gold alone spreads widely over all.
and then the very land that embraces the city,
and with a swell of towering palms puts forth spring-like green,
and rich in shining beryl gleams afar.

1195

hic tamen internis Ophietidis arcis in arvis
inter gemmiferas excrescit creber harenas.
hinc Babylona super, geminae pro finibus ursae,
Cissi Massabataeque et Chalonita vagantur.
At rursum Armeniae siquis pede pergat ab arce

here, however, in the internal fields of the Ophietid citadel
among gem-bearing places there thick sands spring up.
From here above is Babylon, the twin bears as boundary-marks,
Cissi and Massabata and Chalonita wander about.
But again, if anyone should travel on foot from the citadel of Armenia

1200

rupis, et eoas gressum producat in oras,
Medica prolixos spectabit regna per agros.
horum qui gelidi succedunt plaustra Bootis,
pinguia rura tenent: sunt illic Atropateni,
sunt Geri et Mardi. tepidum qui rursus ad austrum

to the rock, and may lead his step out to the eastern shores,
Medica will behold long-stretched realms across the fields.
whose cold wagons of Bootes follow these,
fertile countrysides hold them: there dwell the Atropateni,
there the Geri and Mardi. he who again toward the warm south

1205

oram habitant, Scythicae deducunt semina gentis.
nam Medea ferox fuit ollis sanguinis auctor.
haec cum Pandionis letum componeret aulae,
Attica qua pulchro tellus pinguescit Ilisso,
proditur, inque fugam propere convertitur exul.

they inhabit the shore, they lead forth the seed of the Scythian people.
for Medea was a fierce author of that blood.
when she was contriving the death of Pandion's court,
where Attica, by the fair Ilissus, fattens the land,
she is betrayed, and the exile is swiftly turned to flight.

1210

they inhabit the shores, they lead forth the seed of the Scythian gens.
for fierce Medea was the author of that blood in those women.
when she framed the death of Pandion’s hall,
where Attica, by the fair Ilissus, fattens the land,
it is betrayed, and the exile is straightway turned into flight.

has post in terras pinu subit Aeetine,
inseditque locos: veteres accedere Colchos
nulla inerat menti fiducia; denique ab illa
Medorum suboli magicae furor artis inhaeret.
pars gentis, rutilos Phoebi quae spectat in ortus,

afterwards she ascends into these lands beneath the Aeetine pine,
and she settled in those places: in the minds of the ancient Colchians there was no confidence to draw near; at last from that woman the frenzy of magic art clings to the offspring of the Medes.
part of the people, which watches the ruddy risings of Phoebus,

1215

saxa habitat, saxis excudit narcissiten:
qui propter dumos nemorosaque rura vagantur,
in pecus intenti, crebro grege pascua tondent.
Medica se tantos effundit gleba per agros,
Caspia ut extento contingat caespite claustra.

it dwells on rocks, from rocks it fashions a narcissus:
those who because of briars and wooded rura wander,
mindful of their flock, often with the flock they shear the pastures.
A medicinal glebe pours itself forth through so vast fields,
that the Caspian, with stretched sward, may touch the enclosures.

1220

haec Asiae digere fores, hiet ore quod illo
porta quasi, et longas bivium discedat in oras.
panditur Hyrcanis hinc ianua; ianua Persis
hinc patet, imbriferum qua vergit mundus in austrum.
Ecce sub immenso portarum vertice Parthi 1225
rura tenent, curvi nequicquam vomeris usu
sollicitanda sibi; non ollis cura laborque,
aequora terrarum gravibus componere rastris:
exercent saevi se semper Martis in arma.
sica comes lateri est, manus autem hastilia vibrat,

these gates of Asia stretch their thresholds apart, that one gapes with a mouth as a gate,
and the long forked road departs into distant shores.
From here a gate is thrown open to the Hyrcanians; from here a gate lies open to the Persians,
where the rain-bearing world leans toward the south.
Behold, under the vast apex of the gates the Parthians 1225
hold the fields, their curved ploughs in vain needing to be urged by use for themselves;
they have no care nor labour to smooth the plains of the lands with heavy rakes:
they ever train themselves in the arms of fierce Mars.
a dagger is a companion at the flank, and the hand brandishes spear-shafts,

1230

demittunt pharetras umeris et letifer arcus
semper inest laesae: neque per compendia diras
producunt animas; non puppibus aequora sulcant:
non proni gregibus pecoris fera vita iuvatur.
sed quatit alipedum sola semper cursus equorum,

they let down quivers from their shoulders, and the deadly bow is ever at hand to wound:
nor do they, by compendia, send forth dire souls; they do not plough the seas with sterns:
the savage life is not upheld by tending drooping herds of cattle.
but the sole running of swift‑hoofed horses is always what they shake into being,

1235

pulsaque terra gemit: discurrunt crebra per auras
spicula, missilibus late subtegitur aer.
Quin etiam post hos amor est si discere Persas
consimilis, solersque trahit te cura per orbem;
has quoque musa tibi formabit carmine terras,

and the smitten earth groans: often through the airs spears scatter about,
the air is broadly veiled with missiles.
Moreover even after these things there is a love, if like the Persians you are to learn,
and a clever care drags you through the orb;
the Muse too will fashion these lands for you in song

1240

quae liquidos amnis via devehat, utque iugorum
consurgat vertex, quibus oris arva recumbant
barbara, famosum qui Persam roboret usus.
quippe Asianarum primi degunt regionum.
vita opulens genti, gazas quoque terra ministrat

which the river bears as a liquid way, and where the ridge’s summit arises,
on whose shores barbarian fields lie, whose renowned usage strengthens the Persian.
for they dwell first in the regions of Asia.
a wealthy life for the people, the land also supplies treasures

1245

omnibus, et largum populis producitur aevum.
dives in his mos est iam longi tempore saecli,
ex quo Maeoniam bello trivere cruento.
illudunt auro vestes, et cuncta teguntur
auro membra viris, auro vestigia condunt:

for all, and a bounteous age is granted forth to the peoples.
rich in these things is the custom now for a long time of the century,
since they crushed Maeonia in a bloody war.
they bedeck garments with gold, and all things are covered
the limbs of men with gold, the footsteps they hide in gold:

1250

tantus Persarum dissolvit pectora luxus.
ipsa autem tellus inclusa est montibus altis,
undique in australem latus inclinatior axem,
ac borean longe, longe quoque Caspia claustra
deserit, atque noti placida perfunditur aura.

Such great luxury of the Persians loosens their breasts.
the land itself, moreover, is shut in by high mountains,
on every side its slope bends more toward the southern axis,
and far, far to the north likewise it abandons the Caspian barriers
and is bathed by the placid breeze of the well-known air.

1255

istius at spatiis finem dat Persicus aestus,
incoliturque solum populis tribus. una sub arcto
pars agit, armigeris nimium contermina Medis:
altera per mediae telluris terga vagatur:
porro ad flabra noti, pelagus prope, tertia degit.

but the Persian sea gives an end to its stretches,
and the soil is inhabited by three peoples. one part dwells beneath the Arctic,
a region bordering too near the armed Medes:
another wanders over the backs of middle-earth:
further, a third spends its life by the breezes of the South, the sea near at hand.

1260

1260
the Persian sea gives this region its limit,
and the soil is inhabited by three peoples. One part dwells beneath the north,
a portion too near the armed Medes;
another wanders over the backs of the world’s middle:
and further, by the breaths of the South, near the sea, the third lives.

Persidis, et rigidas curvant labentia ripas.
arva secat Cyrus, perrumpit rura Coaspes,
Indica provolvens procul aequora: cuius ad undam
incola flaventem studio sectatur achatem.
nam cum brumali ceciderunt sidere nimbi,

Persian waters, and the sliding floods bow the rigid banks.
Cyrus cleaves the fields, Coaspes bursts through the countrysides,
rolling Indian seas far off: to whose wave
a native pursues the yellow achate with eager zeal.
For when the clouds fell beneath the wintry star,

1265

imbribus et caelo fusis furit auctior amnis,
eos lapides late flumen trahit: undique tellus
circumiecta dehinc laeti viret ubere campi.
Sed qua caeruleam sinus infert Persicus undam,
gens Carmanorum late colit: hanc facis ortus

with rains and sky poured forth the stream rages, grown mightier,
the river drags those stones far and wide: everywhere the surrounding land
then grows green with the fertile breast of joyful fields.
But where the Persian gulf bears a dark-blue wave,
a people of the Carmanians cultivates widely: this people sprung

1270

urit Phoebeae; tanto quoque funditur agro,
ut simul et glauci contingat gurgitis aestum,
et procul internae perreptet iugera terrae.
Hos super et tellus tendit Gedrosia glebam
Oceani vicina fretis; at flumen ad Indum

it scorches the Phoebean; so great too is poured over the field,
that at once it may touch the surge of the glaukean gulf,
and far off creep through the acres of the inland land.
Above these too the Gedrosian earth stretches its soil
neighboring the straits of the Ocean; but the river toward the Indus

1275

Auroraeque latus Scytha miti proximus austro
accolit: australis certe Scytha dicitur iste:
namque alii dura pulsantur desuper arcto.
Indus Caucasiae prorumpens rupis ab antro
adversum pelago Rubri procul aequoris amnem

And on the side of Dawn a Scythian dwells nearest the mild South Wind,
indeed that Scythian is called southern:
for others are beaten from above by the harsh North Wind.
The Indus, bursting forth from a cavern in a Caucasian rock, pours toward the Red Sea, a river of the distant ocean

1280

porrigit, inque notum recto fluit agmine aquarum.
ora dehinc Indo duo sunt, mediumque per agrum
insula se vasto fundit tergo Patalene.
innumeras idem dispescit flumine gentes,
Oritas Aribasque et veloces Arachotas,

it thrusts forth, and in a straight column of waters flows into the familiar sea.
then two shores are of the Indus, and through the middle of the plain
an island pours itself forth, Patalene spreading its vast back.
the same river dispenses countless peoples by its stream,
the Oritae and Aribae and the swift Arachoti,

1285

et Satram infidum, vel qui per inhospita late
discreti populis, discreti finibus agri
arva agitant, uno sed nomine sunt Arieni.
hi quamquam steriles decurrant semper harenas,
munera nec carpant cerealia, nec nova prelo

and Satram the treacherous, or those who, living far apart among inhospitable peoples,
severed by boundaries of fields, till the arva, yet by one name are Arieni.
these, although they always run down sterile sands,
neither gather cereal gifts, nor press new produce under the mill

1290

musta premant, fulvo tamen invenere corallo
pandere vivendi commercia, quaerere pulchrae
Sapphiri latebras et praeduros adamantas.
Calliope, Indorum populos et regna canamus.
ultima terrarum tellus aspergitur Indi 1295
fluctibus Oceani; primam coquit hanc radiis sol,
sol Hyperionius, sol magni gratia mundi,
astrorum genitor, lucis sator et vigor aethrae.

let them tread out musts, yet they judged to spread the traffick of life in tawny coral, to seek the lairs of fair sapphire and of adamants hard to be broken.
Calliope, let us sing the peoples and the kingdoms of the Indians.
the farthest land of the earth is washed by the waves of the Ocean; 1295
the sun first ripens this with his rays, the Hyperionian sun, the sun by whose grace the great world, sire of the stars, is sower of light and vigour of the aether.

sed genti Indorum taeter color: efflua semper
his coma liventes imitatur crine hyacinthos.

but to the nation of the Indians the color is foul: their flowing locks always, with livid tresses, imitate hyacinthine hair.

1300

terrarum in latebris excludant caute metalla:
pars telas statuunt, et vestimenta laborant
lintea: pars Indi procurat segmina dentis,
atque ebur invigilat: multi, qua flumina nimbis
Auget hiems, vastum ut late trahat agmen aquarum

they cautiously enclose metals in the earth’s hiding-places:
some set up looms, and labor at garments, linens:
some of the Indians procure tooth‑seeds, and ivory keeps watch: many, where winter with rains
increases the rivers, so that a vast column may draw a wide procession of waters

1305

alveus, et celsas evincant aequora ripas,
palantes obeunt beryllum, prona fluenta
quem procul internis a finibus, aut adamanta
detulerint: his glauca dehinc tornatur iaspis.
nec minus et bacas alii prope marmora curvis

the channel, and the seas overtop the lofty banks,
they pass around gleaming beryl, the prone streams
which from far internal boundaries, or have borne down
adamant: to these a sea‑green jasper is thereafter turned on the lathe.
nor less do others set beads close beside curved marbles

1310

excudunt conchis: pars rursum divite cura
herbosi lapidis venas fodit: hique rubore
suffusas blando quaerunt campis amethystos.
horum dives enim tellus est Indica semper,
et tali scrupo caespes tumet: amnibus autem

they fashion from shells: part again, with rich care,
digs the veins of the grassy stone: and those, flushed
with a rosy hue, seek amethysts in the charming fields.
for the Indian land is always rich in these,
and with such grit the turf swells: but in the rivers

1315

fertilis irriguis crebro praelambitur ora:
extendunt celsi vaga late brachia luci,
et vernat nemorum semper coma. nunc tibi formam
terrarum expediam, nunc carmine flumina fabor,
nunc rigidos montes, nunc multae denique gentis

the fertile shores are oft licked by irrigating waves:
lofty woods fling their wandering arms far and wide,
and the groves’ foliage is ever springing. now to you I will set forth the form
of the lands, now in song I will speak of rivers,
now the rigid mountains, now at last of many peoples

1320

absolvam populos. latera agris undique in Indis
quattuor esse tene: coeant tot et anguli ab omni
parte sibi, oblique claudentes extima terrae,
ceu species rhombo est. zephyri de partibus, Indus
gurgitis occursu fit certae terminus orae: 1325
axe noti, Rubri late salis obiacet unda:
flumen item Ganges fit limes caespiti eoo;
adque Lycaonia consurgit Caucasus arcto.
aequore qua fuso laticem provolvitur Indus,
Dardanidum gens est, ubi magnus sorbet Hydaspes

I will set forth the peoples. Hold that the lands in India have four sides on every hand:
let so many corners meet and join to each other from every part,
closing obliquely the outermost bounds of the earth,
as if the shape were a rhombus. From the quarters the zephyrs blow, the Indus
by the meeting of its surge becomes the terminus of a certain shore: 1325
on the axis of the known, the wave of the Red Sea lies widely in the foreground:
likewise the river Ganges becomes a limit for the grassy east;
and toward Lycaonia the Caucasus rises to the north.
Where the Indus pours its milk-white flood upon the sea,
there is the Dardanian race, where mighty Hydaspes drinks it up.

1330

delapsum summa saxorum mole Acesinen.
tertius amnis item secat agri proxima Cofes;
in medioque Sabae sunt caespite: gens quoque Sodri
propter agit; populique dehinc velut ordine facto
Peucaleum longas exercent vomere terras.

Acesines, hurled down from the utmost mass of rocks.
A third river likewise cleaves the fields — Cofes, nearest;
and in the midst the Sabae are on turf: and the people of Sodrus
he drives there; and thence the peoples, as if set in order,
till with the plough the long Peucalean lands.

1335

Gargaridae rursum: gens haec obnoxia Baccho,
et glebam sulcant, et ritibus orgia ludunt.
Hic Hypanis lateque trahens vaga terga Cymander,
rupe procul fulvum provolvunt fluctibus aurum:
nec minus hi campos intrant Gangetidis orae,

Again the Gargaridae: this race, subject to Bacchus,
both plow the glebe and enact orgia by rites.
Here the Hypanis and Cymander, drawing their wandering backs far and wide,
from a cliff they roll tawny gold into the waves:
nor less these enter the fields of the Gangetic shore,

1340

quae per flabra noti fuso distenditur agro,
usque in celsa iacens confinia Colidis arcis.
Colis et ipsa dehinc cetosi vergit in aequor
Oceani, tantoque iugo subit aetheris auras,
arceat alituum subducta ut rupe volatum.

which is stretched by the breaths over the famed, spread-out field,
lying all the way to the lofty confines of Colidis’ citadel.
And Colis herself then leans toward the sea of Cetos into the Ocean,
and with so great a ridge ascends to the breezes of the aether,
withdrawn like a rock so as to keep off the flight of birds.

1345

sed circum Gangen regio est devota Lyaeo,
perpetuique sacri talis narratur origo.
Indorum in populos fatalia Liber agebat
proelia: vipereo late Bellona flagello
increpat, et magno tremuerunt regna pavore,

but around the Ganges a region is devoted to Lyæus,
and such is told the origin of the perpetual sacred rite.
In the peoples of the Indians Liber waged fatal battles:
far and wide Bellona lashes with a vipereal whip,
and kingdoms trembled with great dread.

1350

insistente deo. venit ergo ad flumina Gangis,
discursuque sacro praeludit proelia Liber.
Maenades extemplo maculosae nebridis usum
permutant clipeis, viridique hastilia thyrso
succedunt; solvunt properantes lintea Bacchae

with the god standing near. Therefore Liber came to the rivers Ganges,
and with a sacred running rehearsed the battles.
Straightaway the maenads, spotted in fawn-skins, change the use of their cups
for shields, and take green spear‑shafts in place of the thyrsus;
the hurrying Bacchae cast off their linen robes

1355

vincula, viroso pectus vinxere dracone;
pro molli vitta prorepunt crine chelydri;
excitoque ferox persultat in agmine Mavors:
dux aquilas in bella rapit, tremit Indica tellus
pressa pede, et toto tonuerunt classica caelo.

chains, they bound the chest with a venomous dragon;
in place of a soft fillet there creeps forth the chelydra’s hair;
and roused, fierce Mavors capers in the column:
the leader snatches the aquilae to wars, the Indian land trembles pressed by his foot,
and the classic trumpets thundered through the whole heaven.

1360

ergo et Nysaeos discit gens rite recessus,
et stata sollicito deducunt orgia ritu.
ipse dehinc diros ut Liber perculit Indos,
Hemodi victor conscendit verticis arces,
effusamque solo gentem procul aspicit omnem:

therefore the people learn the Nysean retreats rightly,
and, the rite established, lead forth the orgies in a careful ritual.
then Liber himself smites the dread Indians,
Hemodi the victor climbs the citadels of the summit,
and from afar beholds the whole people poured out upon the plain:

1365

ima iugi extantis vestigia gurgite canent.
Oceani eoi praetento denique Bacchus
litore, et extrema terrarum victor in ora,
ducit laurigeros post Indica bella triumphos,
erigit et geminas telluris fine columnas,

they sing the traces of the low ridge standing above the sea's flood.
at last Bacchus, with the Ocean's shore stretched out thither,
on the strand, and conqueror upon the extreme shores of the earth,
leads laurel-bearing triumphs after the Indian wars,
and erects twin columns at the world's boundary

1370

invisitque dehinc Ismeni fluminis undam.
Has tantum gentes commendat fama per orbem.
vile aliae vulgus, pecorum vice, terga pererrant
caespitis abiecti: non his aut gloria forti
parta manu est, aut clara decus peperere metalla

and then he surveyed the wave of the river Ismenus.
Fame throughout the orb praises these peoples only so much.
others, a base rabble, in the place of cattle, wander the backs of thrown-down turf:
for them neither glory won by a strong hand is bestowed, nor bright honor brought forth metals

1375

terrarum venis: habitant ignota locorum
semper inexpertes famae, per inhospita degunt
arva procul, nullis sunt dignae denique musis.
at tu, Phoebe pater, vos clari turba, camenae,
nominis, Aonio famam inspirate labori.

You come from the lands: unknown to places dwell
always untried by fame, they live through inhospitable fields afar,
at last worthy of no Muses are they.
But you, Phoebus father, you a renowned throng, camenae,
breathe the fame of your name into Aonian toil.

1380