Claudian: IN RUFINUM: Liber Prior Liber Posterior

Phoebeo domitus Python cum decidit arcu
     membraque Cirrhaeo fudit anhela iugo,
qui spiris tegeret montes, hauriret hiatu
     flumina, sanguineis tingeret astra iubis,
iam liber Parnasus erat, nexuque solutum

When the Python, subdued by the Phoebean bow, fell
     and poured out its panting limbs on the Cirrhaean ridge,
which with its coils would cover mountains, would gulp down rivers with its gape,
     and would dye the stars with its blood-stained manes,
now Parnassus was free, and released from the bond

     coeperat erecta surgere fronde nemus,
concussaeque diu spatiosis tractibus orni
     securas uentis explicuere comas,
et qui uipereo spumauit saepe ueneno
     Cephisos nitidis purior ibat aquis.

     the grove had begun to rise with its frond erect,
and the ash-trees, long shaken through spacious tracts,
     unfolded their tresses, secure from the winds,
and Cephisus, who often foamed with viperine venom,
     was going purer with shining waters.

omnis 'io Paean' regio sonat, omnia Phoebum
rura canunt, tripodas plenior aura rotat,
auditoque procul Musarum carmine dulci
ad Themidis coeunt antra seuera dei.

every region resounds ‘io Paean’, all the fields sing of Phoebus,
a fuller breeze whirls the tripods,
and, with the sweet song of the Muses heard from afar,
they gather to the severe caves of the god of Themis.

Nunc alio domini telis Pythone perempto

Now, with another Python slain by the master’s shafts

conuenit ad nostram sacra caterua lyram,
qui stabilem seruans Augustis fratribus orbem
iustitia pacem, uiribus arma regit.

a sacred band convenes to our lyre,
who, keeping the world stable for the brother Augusti,
governs peace by justice, and arms by might.

Liber I

Book 1

Saepe mihi dubiam traxit sententia mentem,
curarent superi terras an nullus inesset
rector et incerto fluerent mortalia casu.
nam cum dispositi quaesissem foedera mundi
praescriptosque mari fines annique meatus

Often a judgment has drawn my mind into doubt,
whether the gods above care for the earth or whether no ruler is present
and mortal things flow by uncertain chance.
For when I had inquired into the compacts of the ordered world
and the prescribed bounds of the sea and the courses of the year

et lucis noctisque uices, tunc omnia rebar
consilio firmata dei, qui lege moueri
sidera, qui fruges diuerso tempore nasci,
qui uariam Phoeben alieno iusserit igni
conpleri Solemque suo, porrexerit undis

and the vicissitudes of light and of night, then I thought all things were made firm by the counsel of God, who has ordered the stars to be moved by law, who has ordered the fruits to be born at a different time, who has ordered changeful Phoebe to be filled by an alien fire and the Sun by his own, has stretched forth to the waves

litora, tellurem medio librauerit axe.
sed cum res hominum tanta caligine uolui
aspicerem laetosque diu florere nocentes
uexarique pios, rursus labefacta cadebat
religio causaeque uiam non sponte sequebar

the shores, and has balanced the earth on its middle axis.
but when I saw the affairs of men being rolled in so great a darkness
and the guilty, joyful, flourish for a long time
and the pious harried, again my religion, shaken, was falling
and the way to the cause I did not follow of my own accord

alterius, uacuo quae currere semina motu
adfirmat magnumque nouas per inane figuras
fortuna non arte regi, quae numina sensu
ambiguo uel nulla putat uel nescia nostri.
abstulit hunc tandem Rufini poena tumultum

of the other, who affirms that the seeds run in empty motion
and that the Great is ruled through the void by Fortune, not by Art, in new figures,
who thinks the numina, with ambiguous sense,
either none or unknowing of us.
Rufinus’s punishment at length removed this tumult

absoluitque deos. iam non ad culmina rerum
iniustos creuisse queror; tolluntur in altum
ut lapsu grauiore ruant. nos pandite uati,
Pierides, quo tanta lues eruperit ortu.
inuidiae quondam stimulis incanduit atrox

and acquitted the gods. Now I no longer complain that the unjust have grown to the culminations of affairs; they are lifted on high
so that, by a graver lapse, they may rush to ruin. Unfold to your poet,
Pierides, from what origin so great a pestilence burst forth.
Once, at the goads of Envy, the fierce one incandesced

Allecto, placidas late cum cerneret urbes.
protinus infernas ad limina taetra sorores,
concilium deforme, uocat. glomerantur in unum
innumerae pestes Erebi, quascumque sinistro
Nox genuit fetu: nutrix Discordia belli,

Allecto, when she saw the cities far and wide at peace.
straightway she summons her infernal sisters to the dreadful thresholds,
a misshapen council. The numberless plagues of Erebus swarm into one,
whatever Night has begotten in sinister brood: Discord, nurse of war,

imperiosa Fames, leto uicina Senectus
inpatiensque sui Morbus Liuorque secundis
anxius et scisso maerens uelamine Luctus
et Timor et caeco praeceps Audacia uultu
et Luxus populator opum, quem semper adhaerens

imperious Hunger, Old Age near to death,
and Disease impatient of itself, and Envy anxious at successes,
and Grief mourning with torn veil,
and Fear, and headlong Audacity with blind countenance,
and Luxury, despoiler of wealth, whom, ever clinging

infelix humili gressu comitatur Egestas,
foedaque Auaritiae conplexae pectora matris
insomnes longo ueniunt examine Curae.
conplentur uario ferrata sedilia coetu
toruaque conlectis stipatur curia monstris.

unhappy Poverty attends with lowly step,
and the foul breasts of their mother Avarice embraced,
the sleepless Cares come in a long column.
the iron-seated benches are filled with a varied throng,
and the grim Curia is packed, hemmed in with gathered monsters.

Allecto stetit in mediis uulgusque tacere
iussit et obstantes in tergum reppulit angues
perque umeros errare dedit. tum corde sub imo
inclusam rabidis patefecit uocibus iram:
'sicine tranquillo produci saecula cursu,

Alecto stood in the midst and ordered the crowd to be silent
and pushed back the snakes that were obstructing onto her back
and let them wander over her shoulders. Then from the lowest depth
of her heart she laid open the anger shut in, with rabid voices:
'Is it thus that the ages are to be drawn out in a tranquil course,

sic fortunatas patiemur uiuere gentes?
quae noua corrupit nostros clementia mores?
quo rabies innata perit? quid inania prosunt
uerbera, quid facibus nequiquam cingimur atris?
heu nimis ignauae, quas Iuppiter arcet Olympo,

are we thus to suffer the fortunate peoples to live?
what new clemency has corrupted our mores?
whither does our inborn fury perish? what good are empty scourges,
why are we girded in vain with black torches?
alas, all too cowardly we, whom Jupiter keeps off Olympus,

Theodosius terris. en aurea nascitur aetas,
en proles antiqua redit. Concordia, Virtus,
cumque Fide Pietas alta ceruice uagantur
insignemque canunt nostra de plebe triumphum.
pro dolor!

Theodosius is on earth. Lo, a golden age is born,
lo, the ancient offspring returns. Concord, Virtue,
and with Faith, Piety roam with high necks
and sing an illustrious triumph of our people.
alas!

ipsa mihi liquidas delapsa per auras

she herself, having glided down through the liquid airs

Iustitia insultat uitiisque a stirpe recisis
elicit oppressas tenebroso carcere leges.
at nos indecores longo torpebimus aeuo
omnibus eiectae regnis? agnoscite tandem
quid Furias deceat; desuetas sumite uires

Justice tramples, and with vices cut from the root
brings forth the laws oppressed in a tenebrous prison.
But shall we, inglorious, lie torpid through a long age,
cast out from every realm? Recognize at last
what befits the Furies; take up your disused powers

conuentuque nefas tanto decernite dignum.
iam cupio Stygiis inuadere nubibus astra,
iam flatu uiolare diem, laxare profundo
frena mari, fluuios ruptis inmittere ripis,
et rerum uexare fidem.' sic fata cruentum

and by your convocation decree an impiety worthy of so great a gathering.
now I desire to invade the stars with Stygian clouds,
now to violate the day with a blast, to loosen in the deep
the reins to the sea, to let loose rivers with their banks broken,
and to vex the trust of things.' Thus having spoken, the blood-stained

mugiit et totos serpentum erexit hiatus
noxiaque effudit concusso crine uenena.
anceps motus erat uulgi: pars maxima bellum
indicit superis, pars Ditis iura tuetur,
dissensuque alitur rumor: ceu murmurat alti

she bellowed, and raised the gaping jaws of the serpents entire,
and with her hair shaken she poured out noxious poisons.
the movement of the crowd was wavering: the greatest part declares war
on the gods above; part defends the rights of Dis,
and rumor is nourished by dissension: as the deep murmurs

inpacata quies pelagi, cum flamine fracto
durat adhuc saeuitque tumor dubiumque per aestum
lassa recedentis fluitant uestigia uenti.
inproba mox surgit tristi de sede Megaera,

the unpacified calm of the sea, when the breeze is broken,
still endures and the swelling rages, and through the uncertain surge
the weary vestiges of the receding wind float.
soon wicked Megaera rises from her gloomy seat,

quam penes insani fremitus animique profanus
error et undantes spumis furialibus irae:
non nisi quaesitum cognata caede cruorem
inlicitumue bibit, patrius quem fuderit ensis,
quem dederint fratres; haec terruit Herculis ora
et defensores terrarum polluit arcus,

in whose control are the mad roars and the profane errancy of spirit, and rages billowing with Furial foams: she drinks only blood sought by kindred slaughter or illicit blood, which a paternal sword has poured, which brothers have dealt; these things terrified the face of Hercules and polluted the bows, defenders of the lands,

haec Athamanteae derexit spicula dextrae,
haec Agamemnonios intra bacchata penates
alternis misit iugulis; hac auspice taedae
Oedipoden matri, natae iunxere Thyesten.
quae tunc horrisonis effatur talia dictis:

this directed the darts of Athamas’s right hand,
this, Bacchic-frenzied within the Agamemnonian household gods,
sent into alternating throats; under this auspice the wedding-torches
joined Oedipus to his mother, Thyestes to his daughter.
who then utters such things with horrisonous words:

'signa quidem, o sociae, diuos attollere contra
nec fas est nec posse reor; sed laedere mundum
si libet et populis commune intendere letum,
est mihi prodigium cunctis inmanius hydris,
tigride mobilius feta, uiolentius Austris

'indeed, O companions, to raise standards against the gods is neither lawful nor do I think possible;
but if it pleases to injure the world and to aim a doom common to peoples,
there is for me a prodigy more monstrous than all Hydras,
more mobile than a tigress with cubs,
more violent than the South Winds

acribus, Euripi refluis incertius undis,
Rufinus, quem prima meo de matre cadentem
suscepi gremio. paruus reptauit in isto
saepe sinu teneroque per ardua colla uolutus
ubera quaesiuit fletu, linguisque trisulcis

more fierce, more uncertain than the Euripus with its reflowing waves,
Rufinus, whom, just falling from my mother at first,
I received in my lap. A little one, he often crawled in that
very bosom, and, rolled with his tender body over the steep necks,
sought the breasts with weeping, and with three-forked tongues

mollia lambentes finxerunt membra cerastae.
meque etiam tradente dolos artesque nocendi
edidicit simulare fidem sensusque minaces
protegere et blando fraudem praetexere risu,
plenus saeuitiae lucrique cupidine feruens.

the cerastes, licking the soft limbs, fashioned them.
and even as I handed down the tricks and the arts of harming,
he learned thoroughly to simulate good faith and to veil menacing feelings,
to cover them and to cloak fraud with a bland smile,
full of savagery and fervent with the cupidity of gain.

100

non Tartesiacis illum satiarit harenis
tempestas pretiosa Tagi, non stagna rubentis
aurea Pactoli; totumque exhauserit Hermum,
ardebit maiore siti. quam fallere mentes
doctus et unanimos odiis turbare sodales!

not with Tartessian sands will the precious flood of the Tagus sate him, nor the golden pools of ruddy Pactolus; and though he should drain the whole Hermus, he will burn with a greater thirst. How skilled to deceive minds and to trouble unanimous comrades with hatreds!

105

talem progenies hominum si prisca tulisset,
Pirithoum fugeret Theseus, offensus Oresten
desereret Pylades, odisset Castora Pollux.
ipsa quidem uinci fateor rapidoque magistram
praeuenit ingenio. nec plus sermone morabor:

Such a progeny of men, if the ancient age had borne it,
Theseus would flee Pirithous, offended Orestes
would desert Pylades, Pollux would hate Castor.
I myself indeed confess I am overcome, and with swift genius she
outstrips her teacher. Nor will I delay more in speech:

110

solus habet scelerum quidquid possedimus omnes.
hunc ego, si uestrae res est accommoda turbae,
regalem ad summi producam principis aulam.
sit licet ipse Numa grauior, sit denique Minos,
cedet et insidiis nostri flectetur alumni.'

he alone has whatever of crimes we all possess.
this man I, if the matter is suitable to your throng, will lead forth to the regal hall of the supreme prince.
though he himself be sterner than Numa, though he even be Minos,
he will yield and will be bent by the snares of our alumnus.'

115

orantem sequitur clamor cunctaeque profanas
porrexere manus inuentaque tristia laudant.
illa ubi caeruleo uestes conexuit angue
nodauitque adamante comas, Phlegethonta sonorum
poscit et ambusto flagrantis ab aggere ripae

a clamor follows the one praying, and all extended their profane hands, and they praise the sad discoveries found.
she, when she fastened her garments with a cerulean snake
and knotted her hair with adamant, calls upon sonorous Phlegethon
and from the scorched rampart of the blazing bank

120

ingentem piceo succendit gurgite pinum
pigraque ueloces per Tartara concutit alas.
est locus extremum pandit qua Gallia litus
Oceani praetentus aquis, ubi fertur Vlixes
sanguine libato populum mouisse silentem.

she sets alight a huge pine-torch with a pitch-black surge,
and she shakes, through Tartarus, the sluggish and the swift wings.
there is a place where Gaul spreads the farthest shore
stretched out before the waters of Ocean, where Ulysses
is said, with blood libated, to have stirred the silent people.

125

illic umbrarum tenui stridore uolantum
flebilis auditur questus; simulacra coloni
pallida defunctasque uident migrare figuras.
hinc dea prosiluit Phoebique egressa serenos
infecit radios ululatuque aethera rupit

there the mournful complaint is heard, with the thin screech of the flying shades;
they see the pale simulacra of the tenant and the departed figures migrate.
thence the goddess sprang forth, and, having emerged, she stained Phoebus’s serene rays,
and with an ululation she rent the aether

130

terrifico: sensit ferale Britannia murmur
et Senonum quatit arua fragor reuolutaque Tethys
substitit et Rhenus proiecta torpuit urna.
tunc in canitiem mutatis sponte colubris
longaeuum mentita senem rugisque seueras

terrifying: Britain sensed the funereal murmur
and the crash shakes the fields of the Senones, and Tethys, rolled back, halted,
and the Rhine grew torpid with his urn flung down.
then, with her snakes of their own accord changed into hoariness,
feigning a long-lived old man and severe wrinkles

135

persulcata genas et ficto languida passu
inuadit muros Elusae, notissima dudum
tecta petens, oculisque diu liuentibus haesit
peiorem mirata uirum; tum talia fatur:
'otia te, Rufine, iuuant frustraque iuuentae

with cheeks furrowed and languid with a feigned step
she invades the walls of Elusa, seeking roofs long well-known,
and with eyes long livid she lingered, marveling at a worse man;
then she utters such words:
'does leisure delight you, Rufinus, and the pursuits of youth in vain?

140

consumis florem patriis inglorius aruis?
heu nescis quid fata tibi, quid sidera donent,
quid Fortuna paret: toto dominabere mundo
si parere uelis! artus ne sperne seniles!
namque mihi magicae uires aeuique futuri

do you consume the flower of your youth ingloriously in your ancestral fields?
alas, you do not know what the fates, what the stars bestow for you,
what Fortune prepares:
you will dominate the whole world
if you are willing to obey! do not spurn aged limbs!
for to me are the magical powers of the age to come

145

praescius ardor inest; noui quo Thessala cantu
eripiat lunare iubar, quid signa sagacis
Aegypti ualeant, qua gens Chaldaea uocatis
imperet arte deis, nec me latuere fluentes
arboribus suci funestarumque potestas

a prescient ardor is within; I know by what chant the Thessalian
may snatch the lunar lustre, what the signs of sagacious
Egypt avail, by what art the Chaldaean race, when the gods are invoked,
lays command upon the gods, nor have the flowing juices
in trees and the power of baneful things been hidden from me.

150

herbarum, quidquid letali germine pollens
Caucasus et Scythicae uernant in crimina
rupes, quas legit Medea ferox et callida Circe.
saepius horrendos Manes sacrisque citaui
nocturnis Hecaten et condita funera traxi

of herbs, whatever, potent with lethal germ,
Caucasus and the Scythian crags green into crimes,
which fierce Medea and crafty Circe gathered.
very often I have summoned the horrendous Manes and Hecate with nocturnal rites,
and I have dragged forth buried corpses

155

carminibus uictura meis, multosque canendo,
quamuis Parcarum restarent fila, peremi.
ire uagas quercus et fulmen stare coegi
uersaque non prono curuaui flumina lapsu
in fontes reditura suos. neu uana locutum

to live again by my songs, and by singing I slew many,
although the threads of the Parcae still remained.
I compelled the wandering oaks to go and the thunderbolt to stand still;
and I bent rivers, turned back from a not headlong flow,
to return to their own springs. lest I seem to have spoken empty things

160

me fortasse putes, mutatos cerne penates.'
dixerat, et niueae (mirum!) coepere columnae
ditari subitoque trabes lucere metallo.
inlecebris capitur, nimiumque elatus auaro
pascitur intuitu. sic rex ad prima tumebat

‘perhaps you suppose me; behold the changed Penates.’
he had spoken, and the snow-white (wonder!) columns
began to be enriched, and the beams suddenly to shine with metal.
he is captured by allurements, and, too much exalted, he feeds on an avaricious
gaze. thus the king at the outset was swelling

165

Maeonius, pulchro cum uerteret omnia tactu;
sed postquam riguisse dapes fuluamque reuinctos
in glaciem uidit latices, tum munus acerbum
sensit et inuiso uotum damnauit in auro.
ergo animi uictus 'sequimur quocumque uocabis,

The Maeonian, when he was turning everything with his beautiful touch;
but after he saw that the banquets had stiffened and the tawny
waters bound into ice, then he felt the gift bitter
and damned his vow for hateful gold.
therefore, overcome in spirit, 'we follow wherever you will call,

170

seu tu uir seu numen' ait, patriaque relicta
Eoas Furiae iussu tendebat ad arces,
instabilesque olim Symplegadas et freta remis
incluta Thessalicis, celsa qua Bosporos urbe
splendet et Odrysiis Asiam discriminat oris.

'whether you are man or divinity,' he says, and, his homeland left behind,
by the command of the Fury he was heading to the Eoan citadels,
and the once-unstable Symplegades and the straits renowned
for Thessalian oars, where the Bosporus shines with its lofty city
and separates Asia from the Odrysian shores.

175

ut longum permensus iter ductusque maligno
stamine fatorum claram subrepsit in aulam,
ilicet ambitio nasci, discedere rectum,
uenum cuncta dari. profert arcana, clientes
fallit et ambitos a principe uendit honores.

when, having traversed a long journey and led by the malign thread of the fates, he crept into the bright court,
straightway ambition is born, the right departs,
everything is put up for sale. he brings forth secrets, he deceives clients
and vends from the prince the coveted honors.

180

ingeminat crimen, commoti pectoris ignem
nutrit et exiguum stimulando uulnus acerbat.
ac uelut innumeros amnes accedere Nereus
nescit et undantem quamuis hinc hauriat Histrum,
hinc bibat aestiuum septeno gurgite Nilum,

he redoubles the crime, he nourishes the fire of his stirred heart
and by goading the slight wound he aggravates it.
and just as Nereus does not know how to increase by countless rivers,
though from here he drains the billowing Hister,
from here he drinks the summer Nile with its sevenfold current,

185

par semper similisque manet: sic fluctibus auri
expleri calor ille nequit. cuicumque monile
contexture gemmis aut praedia culta fuissent,
Rufino populandus erat, dominoque parabat
exitium fecundus ager; metuenda colonis

ever equal and alike it remains: thus by the billows of gold that heat cannot be sated. to whomever a necklace to be woven with gems or cultivated estates had belonged, he was to be plundered by Rufinus, and the fertile field was preparing destruction for its master; to be feared by the tenant-farmers

190

fertilitas; laribus pellit, detrudit auitis
finibus; aut aufert uiuis aut occupat heres.
congestae cumulantur opes orbisque ruinas
accipit una domus; populi seruire coacti
plenaque priuato succumbunt oppida regno.

fertility; he drives them from their household gods, he thrusts them from ancestral
boundaries; he either takes from the living or, as heir, he seizes.
heaped-up riches are cumulated, and the ruins of the world
one house receives; peoples are compelled to serve,
and full towns succumb to a private kingdom.

195

quo, uaesane, ruis? teneas utrumque licebit
Oceanum, laxet rutilos tibi Lydia fontes,
iungantur solium Croesi Cyrique tiaras,
numquam diues eris, numquam satiabere quaestu.
semper inops quicumque cupit. contentus honesto

whither, you madman, do you rush? you might hold both Oceans;
let Lydia let loose for you its ruddy streams;
let the throne of Croesus be joined to the tiaras of Cyrus—
you will never be rich, you will never be satiated with gain.
whoever desires is always poor. be content with the honorable.

200

Fabricius paruo spernebat munera regum
sudabatque graui consul Serranus aratro
et casa pugnaces Curios angusta tegebat.
haec mihi paupertas opulentior, haec mihi tecta
culminibus maiora tuis. ibi quaerit inanes

Fabricius with small means spurned the gifts of kings
and Consul Serranus sweated at the heavy plough
and a narrow cottage sheltered the pugnacious Curii.
this poverty is more opulent to me, these roofs for me
greater in their ridgelines than yours. there he seeks empty things

205

luxuries nocitura cibos: hic donat inemptas
terra dapes. rapiunt Tyrios ibi uellera fucos
et picturatae saturantur murice uestes;
hic radiant flores et prati uiua uoluptas
ingenio uariata suo. fulgentibus illic

luxury proffers foods that will be harmful: here the earth gives unbought banquets. there the fleeces take up Tyrian dyes and pictured garments are saturated with murex; here the flowers shine and the meadow’s living delight, diversified by its own genius. there, with gleaming

210

surgunt strata toris; hic mollis panditur herba
sollicitum curis non abruptura soporem.
turba salutantum latas ibi perstrepit aedes;
hic auium cantus, labentis murmura riui.
uiuitur exiguo melius; natura beatis

coverlets rise upon couches; here soft grass is spread,
not to break off a slumber anxious with cares.
there the throng of saluters makes a din through the wide halls;
here the song of birds, the murmurs of a gliding stream.
one lives better on little; nature for the blessed

215

omnibus esse dedit, si quis cognouerit uti.
haec si nota forent, frueremur simplice cultu,
classica non gemerent, non stridula fraxinus iret,
non uentus quateret puppes, non machina muros.
crescebat scelerata sitis praedaeque recentis

she has given it to all to be blessed, if anyone should know how to use it.
if these things were known, we would enjoy simple living,
war-trumpets would not groan, nor would the shrilling ash-spear go,
no wind would shake the ships, nor the engine the walls.
a wicked thirst for fresh plunder was growing

220

incestus flagrabat amor, nullusque petendi
cogendiue pudor: crebris periuria nectit
blanditiis; sociat perituro foedere dextras.
si semel e tantis poscenti quisque negasset,
effera praetumido quatiebat corda furore.

incestuous love blazed, and there was no shame either in asking or in compelling:
with frequent blandishments he weaves perjuries; he unites right hands in a pact doomed to perish.
if anyone, even once, out of so many had refused the demander,
he shook hearts with savage, over-swollen furor.

225

quae sic Gaetuli iaculo percussa leaena
aut Hyrcana premens raptorem belua partus
aut serpens calcata furit? iurata deorum
maiestas teritur; nusquam reuerentia mensae.
non coniunx, non ipse simul, non pignora caesa

what Gaetulian lioness, struck by a javelin, thus rages,
or Hyrcanian beast crushing the ravisher of her offspring,
or a serpent, when trampled, rages? The sworn majesty of the gods
is trampled; nowhere is there reverence for the table.
neither wife, nor he himself at once, nor the slaughtered pledges

230

sufficiunt odiis; non extinxisse propinquos,
non notos egisse sat est; excindere ciues
funditus et nomen gentis delere laborat.
nec celeri perimit leto; crudelibus ante
suppliciis fruitur; cruciatus, uincla, tenebras

do not suffice for her hatreds; not to have extinguished kinsmen,
not to have driven acquaintances into exile is enough; she strives to root out the citizens
from the foundation and to obliterate the name of the nation. Nor does she dispatch with swift
death; she first takes delight in cruel punishments; torments, chains, darkness

235

dilato mucrone parat. pro saeuior ense
parcendi rabies concessaque uita dolori!
mors adeone parum? causis fallacibus instat,
arguit attonitos se iudice.

with the point delayed he makes ready. ah! more savage than the sword
is the frenzy of sparing, and a life granted to suffering!
is death then so little? he presses on with fallacious causes,
he accuses the astonished, himself as judge.

cetera segnis,
ad facinus uelox, penitus regione remotas

sluggish in other things,
swift to crime, utterly remote from the region

240

inpiger ire uias: non illum Sirius ardens
brumaue Riphaeo stridens Aquilone retardat
effera torquebant auidae praecordia curae,
effugeret ne quis gladios neu perderet ullum
Augusto miserante nefas. non flectitur annis,

unwearied to go the roads: neither blazing Sirius
nor winter shrieking with the Riphaean Aquilo holds him back;
savage, ravenous cares were wrenching his vitals,
lest anyone escape the swords, and lest, with Augustus showing pity, any crime be lost.
he is not bent by years,

245

non aetate labat: iuuenum rorantia colla
ante patrum uultus stricta cecidere securi;
ibat grandaeuus nato moriente superstes
post trabeas exul. quis prodere tanta relatu
funera, quis caedes possit deflere nefandas?

he does not totter with age: the dripping necks of youths
fell by the drawn axe before their fathers’ faces;
an aged man, surviving while his son was dying,
went, after the trabeae, an exile. who could set forth such
funerals in report, who could bewail the nefarious slaughters?

250

quid tale inmanes umquam gessisse feruntur
uel Sinis Isthmiaca pinu uel rupe profunda
Sciron uel Phalaris tauro uel carcere Sulla?
o mites Diomedis equi, Busiridis arae
clementes! iam, Cinna, pius, iam, Spartace, lenis

What deeds like this are the monstrous ever reported to have carried out
whether Sinis with the Isthmian pine or Sciron with the deep crag
or Phalaris with his bull or Sulla with his prison?
o mild horses of Diomedes, clement altars of Busiris!
now, Cinna, pious; now, Spartacus, lenient

255

Rufino conlatus eris! deiecerat omnes
occultis odiis terror tacitique sepultos
suspirant gemitus indignarique uerentur.
at non magnanimi uirtus Stilichonis eodem
fracta metu; solus medio sed turbine rerum

You will be compared to Rufinus! terror had cast down all
with hidden hatreds, and silent they breathe buried
sighs and fear to feel indignation. But the valor of magnanimous
Stilicho was not broken by the same fear; he alone, in the mid
whirlwind of affairs

260

contra letiferos rictus contraque rapacem
mouit tela feram, uolucris non praepete cursu
uectus equi, non Pegaseis adiutus habenis.
hic cunctis optata quies, hic sola pericli
turris erat clipeusque trucem proiectus in hostem,

against the death-bringing jaws and against the rapacious
beast he set his weapons, not borne by the swift course
of a winged horse, not aided by the Pegasean reins.
here for all was the longed-for repose, here the sole tower
in peril, and a shield projected against the fierce enemy,

265

hic profugis sedes aduersaque signa furori,
seruandis hic castra bonis. hucusque minatus
haerebat retroque fuga cedebat inerti:
haud secus hiberno tumidus cum uertice torrens
saxa rotat uoluitque nemus pontesque reuellit,

here a seat for the fugitives and standards set against frenzy,
here a camp for goods to be preserved. Up to this point, threatening
he clung fast, and backward his sluggish flight was giving way:
not otherwise than a torrent swollen with its winter crest
rolls rocks and rolls a grove and wrenches up bridges,

270

frangitur obiectu scopuli quaerensque meatum
spumat et inlisa montem circumtonat unda.
qua dignum te laude feram, qui paene ruenti
lapsuroque tuos umeros obieceris orbi?
te nobis, trepidae sidus ceu dulce carinae,

it is broken by the obstacle of the crag, and seeking a passage
it foams, and the wave, dashed against, thunders around the mountain.
With what laud, worthy of you, shall I proclaim you, you who have almost-collapsing
and about-to-slip world borne upon your shoulders?
you to us, like a sweet star to a trembling ship,

275

ostendere dei, geminis quae lassa procellis
tunditur et uicto trahitur iam caeca magistro.
Inachius rubro perhibetur in aequore Perseus.
Neptuni domuisse pecus, sed tutior alis:
te non pinna uehit; rigida cum Gorgone Perseus:

the gods show you forth, to a ship which, wearied by twin tempests,
is battered and, with its helmsman conquered, is now dragged blind.
the Inachian Perseus is said upon the red sea
to have tamed Neptune’s herd, but safer upon wings:
you are not borne by wing; Perseus with the rigid Gorgon:

280

tu non uipereo defensus crine Medusae;
illum uilis amor suspensae uirginis egit:
te Romana salus. taceat superata uetustas,
Herculeos conferre tuis iam desinat actus.
una Cleonaeum pascebat silua leonem;

you not defended by the viperine hair of Medusa;
that man was driven by the vile love of the suspended maiden:
you by the safety of Rome. let conquered antiquity be silent,
let it now cease to compare Herculean deeds with yours.
one wood was feeding the Cleonaean lion;

285

Arcadiae saltum uastabat dentibus unum
saeuus aper, tuque, o conpressa matre rebellis,
non ultra Libyae fines, Antaee, nocebas
solaque fulmineo resonabat Creta iuuenco
Lernaeamque uirens obsederat hydra paludem.

Arcadia’s single woodland pass a savage boar was laying waste with its tusks,
and you too, O rebellious one, your mother compressed,
did harm no farther than the confines of Libya, Antaeus;
and Crete alone resounded with the lightning-like young bull,
and the Hydra had besieged the verdant Lernaean marsh.

290

hoc monstrum non una palus, non una tremebat
insula, sed Latia quidquid dicione subactum
diuidit a primis Gangen horrebat Hiberis.
hoc neque Geryones triplex nec turbidus Orci
ianitor aequabit nec si concurrat in unum

At this monster not a single marsh, not a single island trembled,
but whatever, subdued under Latian dominion,
separates the Ganges from the farthest Hiberians shuddered.
This neither triple-bodied Geryon nor the turbid doorkeeper of Orcus
will equal, not even if they should converge into one

295

uis hydrae Scyllaeque fames et flamma Chimaerae.
certamen sublime diu, sed moribus inpar,
uirtutum scelerumque fuit. iugulare minatur,
tu prohibes; ditem spoliat, tu reddis egenti.
eruit, instauras; accendit proelia, uincis.

the force of the Hydra, the hunger of Scylla, and the flame of the Chimaera.
the contest was sublime for a long time, but unequal in morals,
it was of virtues and of crimes. he threatens to slaughter,
you forbid; he despoils the rich man, you restore to the needy.
he tears down, you rebuild; he kindles battles, you conquer.

300

ac, uelut infecto morbus crudescere caelo
incipiens primos pecudum depascitur artus,
mox populos urbesque rapit uentisque perustis
corruptos Stygiam pestem desudat in amnes,
sic auidus praedo iam non per singula saeuit,

and, just as, with the sky tainted, a disease beginning to grow cruel devours the first limbs of the cattle,
soon it seizes peoples and cities, and, with the winds parched,
it sweats out a Stygian pestilence into corrupted rivers,
so the avid brigand now no longer rages only one by one,

305

sed sceptris inferre minas omnique perempto
milite Romanas ardet prosternere uires.
iamque Getas Histrumque mouet Scythiamque receptat
auxilio traditque suas hostilibus armis
reliquias. mixtis descendit Sarmata Dacis,

but to bring threats against the scepters, and, with every soldier slain,
he burns to prostrate Roman forces.
and now he rouses the Getae and the Hister and takes back Scythia for aid,
and he hands over his remnants to hostile arms.
with Dacians intermingled, the Sarmatian descends,

310

et qui cornipedes in pocula uulnerat audax
Massagetes caesamque bibens Maeotin Alanus
membraque qui ferro gaudet pinxisse Gelonus,
Rufino collecta manus. uetat ille domari
innectitque moras et congrua tempora differt.

and the bold Massagete who wounds cornipeds into cups,
the Alan, drinking the blood of the slaughtered Maeotian,
and the Gelon who rejoices to have painted his limbs with iron,
a band gathered for Rufinus. He forbids them to be tamed
and weaves delays and puts off the fitting times.

315

nam tua cum Geticas strauisset dextra cateruas,
ulta ducis socii letum, parsque una maneret
debilior facilisque capi, tunc inpius ille
proditor imperii coniuratusque Getarum
distulit instantes eluso principe pugnas,

for when your right hand had laid low the Getic cohorts,
having avenged the death of the allied leader, and one part remained
weaker and easy to capture, then that impious
betrayer of the empire and conspirator with the Getae
deferred the imminent battles, the emperor outwitted,

320

Hunorum laturus opem, quos adfore bello
norat et inuisis mox se coniungere castris.
est genus extremos Scythiae uergentis in ortus
trans gelidum Tanain, quo non famosius ullum
Arctos alit. turpes habitus obscaenaque uisu

About to bring the aid of the Huns, whom he knew would be present for war
and would soon join themselves to the detested camps.
There is a race at the farthest bounds of Scythia, inclining toward the rising (sun),
beyond the icy Tanais, than which the Bear nourishes none more famous.
foul in bearing and obscene to the sight

325

corpora; mens duro numquam cessura labori;
praeda cibus, uitanda Ceres, frontemque secari
ludus et occisos pulchrum iurare parentes.
nec plus nubigenas duplex natura biformes
cognatis aptauit equis: acerrima nullo

bodies; a mind never to yield to hard toil;
prey their food, Ceres to be shunned, and to have the forehead cut a sport,
and to swear by slain parents a fine thing.
nor has twofold Nature more fitted the cloud-born, two-formed, to their kindred horses:
most keen in no

330

ordine mobilitas insperatique recursus.
quos tamen inpauidus contra spumantis ad Hebri
tendis aquas, sic ante tubas aciemque precatus:
'Mauors. nubifero seu tu procumbis in Haemo
seu te cana gelu Rhodope seu remige Medo

orderly mobility and unforeseen wheelings-back.
whom, however, fearless, you confront, toward the foaming waters of the Hebrus
you stretch your course, thus before the trumpets and the battle-line having prayed:
'Mavors. whether you recline on cloud-bearing Haemus,
or hoary Rhodope holds you with her frost, or by a Median oarsman

335

sollicitatus Athos seu caligantia nigris
ilicibus Pangaea tenent, accingere mecum
et Thracas defende tuos. si laetior adsit
gloria, uestita spoliis donabere quercu.'
audiit illa pater scopulisque niualibus Haemi

whether Athos, when solicited, or the Pangaea, dim with black
holm-oaks, hold you, gird yourself with me
and defend your Thracians. If a brighter glory be present,
you shall be endowed with an oak clothed in spoils.'
the father heard that, and on the snowy crags of Haemus

340

surgit et hortatur celeres clamore ministros:
'fer galeam, Bellona, mihi nexusque rotarum
tende, Pauor. frenet rapidos Formido iugales.
festinas urgete manus. meus ecce paratur
ad bellum Stilicho.

surgit et hortatur celeres clamore ministros:
'he rises and exhorts the swift attendants with a shout:
bring my helmet, Bellona, to me, and stretch the fastenings of the wheels,
Pavor. let Formido bridle the swift yoke-horses.
press on, you hasty hands. behold, my Stilicho is being prepared
for war.

qui me de more tropaeis

who, according to custom, adorns me with trophies

345

ditat et hostiles suspendit in arbore cristas.
communes sonipes litui, communia nobis
signa canunt iunctoque sequor tentoria curru.'
sic fatus campo insiluit lateque fugatas
hine Stilicho turmas, illinc Gradiuus agebant

he enriches and hangs the enemy crests on the tree.
the war-steed and clarions are common; common for us
the standards sing, and with a yoked chariot I follow the tents.'
thus having spoken he leapt onto the field, and far and wide the routed
on this side Stilicho drove the squadrons, on that side Gradivus drove them

350

et clipeis et mole pares: stat cassis utrique
sidereis hirsuta iubis loricaque cursu
aestuat et largo satiatur uulnere cornus.
acrior interea uoto multisque Megaera
luxuriata malis maestam deprendit in arce

and matched both in shields and in mass: upon each a helmet stands, bristling with starry manes, and the cuirass seethes with the running, and the cornel-wood spear is sated with lavish wounding. meanwhile, keener in her vow and having luxuriated in many evils, Megaera surprises the sorrowful one in the citadel

355

Iustitiam diroque prior sic ore lacessit:
'en tibi prisca quies renouataque saecula rursus,
ut rebare, uigent! en nostra potentia cessit
nec locus est usquam Furiis! huc lumina flecte.
aspice barbaricis iaceant quot moenia flammis,

She first thus provokes Justice with dire speech:
'Lo, for you the ancient calm and the renewed ages again,
as you supposed, are flourishing! Lo, our power has yielded
and there is nowhere any place for the Furies! Turn your eyes hither.
Look how many walls lie in barbarian flames,

360

quas mihi Rufinus strages quantumque cruoris
praebeat et quantis epulentur caedibus hydri.
linque homines sortemque meam, pete sidera, notis
autumni te redde plagis, qua uergit in Austrum
Signifer: aestiuo sedes uicina Leoni

what massacres Rufinus provides me and how much gore,
and upon how great slaughters the hydras banquet.
leave men and my lot; seek the stars, return yourself
to the familiar tracts of autumn, where the Sign-bearer inclines to the South:
your seat is next to the summer Lion

365

iam pridem gelidaeque uacant confinia Librae.
atque utinam per magna sequi conuexa liceret!'
diua refert: 'non ulterius bacchabere demens.
iam poenas tuus iste dabit, iam debitus ultor
inminet, et terras qui nunc ipsumque fatigat

long since already the confines of gelid Libra stand vacant.
and would that it were permitted to follow through the great vaults!'
the goddess replies: 'you shall rave in Bacchic frenzy no further, madman.
now that one of yours will pay the penalties, now the due avenger
is imminent, and he who now wearies the lands and himself

370

aethera nec uili moriens condetur harena.
iamque aderit laeto promissus Honorius aeuo
nec forti genitore minor nec fratre corusco,
qui subiget Medos, qui cuspide proteret Indos.
sub iuga uenturi reges; calcabitur asper

he will be laid in the aether, nor, dying, be buried in cheap sand.
and now Honorius, promised for a glad age, will be at hand,
no lesser than his brave begetter nor than his coruscant brother,
who will subdue the Medes, who with his spear will trample the Indians.
kings will come under the yoke; the harsh will be trodden down

375

Phasis equo pontemque pati cogetur Araxes,
tuque simul grauibus ferri religata catenis
expellere die debellatasque draconum
tonsa comas imo barathri claudere recessu.
tum tellus communis erit, tum limite nullo

The Phasis will be compelled to endure the horse, and the Araxes to endure a bridge,
and you too, bound with grave chains of iron,
to expel by day the debelled dragons’ shorn manes
and to shut them in the inmost recess of the abyss.
then the earth will be common, then with no limit

380

discernetur ager; nec uomere sulcus obunco
findetur: subitis messor gaudebit aristis.
rorabunt querceta fauis; stagnantia passim
uina fluent oleumque lacus; nec murice tinctis
uelleribus quaeretur honos, sed sponte rubebunt

the field will be distinguished; nor will a furrow be cleft by the hooked plowshare: the reaper will rejoice in sudden ears.
the oak-groves will be dewy with honeycombs; stagnant wines will flow everywhere, and lakes with oil; nor will honor be sought in fleeces dyed with murex, but of their own accord they will redden

385

attonito pastore greges pontumque per omnem
ridebunt uirides gemmis nascentibus algae.'

the flocks will smile at their thunderstruck shepherd,
and across the whole sea the green algae will laugh with nascent gems.'