Fulgentius: Expositio Virgilianae

Expetebat quidem, Leuitarum sanctissime, nostri temporis qualitas grande silentium, ut non solum mens expromptare desisset quod didicit, quantum etiam obliuionem sui efficere debuit quia uiuit; sed quia nouo caritatis dominatui fulcitur et in amoris praecepto contemptus numquam admittitur, ob hanc rem Uirgilianae continentiae secreta phisica tetigi uitans illa quae plus periculi possent praerogare quam laudis. Uae inquam nobis, aput quos et nosse aliquid periculum est et habere. Ob quam rem bucolicam georgicamque omisimus, in quibus tam misticae interstinctae sunt rationes, quo nullius pene artis in isdem libris interna Uirgilius praeterierit uiscera. Denique in prima egloga, secunda et tertia phisice trium uitarum reddidit continentiam; in quarta uaticinii artem adsumpsit; in quinta pontificalia designauit; in sexta artem musicam cum suis perfectissimis posuit numeris, in parte uero eiusdem eglogae phisiologiam secundum Stoicos exposuit; septima botanicen dinamin tetigit; octaua apotelesmaticen musicorum et magicam designauit, in parte uero extrema tetigit eufemesin, quam etiam in nona egloga prosecutus est, in octaua quidem ubi dicit:

Indeed, most holy of the Levites, the quality of our time was demanding a great silence, such that the mind would not only have ceased to bring forth what it has learned, but, since it lives, ought also to have effected an oblivion of itself; but because it is propped up by a new dominion of charity and under the precept of love contempt is never admitted, for this reason I have touched upon the physical secrets of Virgilian continuity, avoiding those things which could confer more danger than praise. Woe, I say, to us, among whom both to know something is a danger and to have it. For which reason we have omitted the Bucolic and the Georgic, in which reasonings so mystic are interspersed that in those same books Virgil has passed over the inner vitals of hardly any art. Finally, in the first eclogue, the second, and the third, in a physical manner he rendered the continuity of the three lives; in the fourth he assumed the art of vaticinium (prophecy); in the fifth he designated pontificals; in the sixth he set forth the art of music with its most perfect numbers, and in a part of the same eclogue he expounded physiology according to the Stoics; the seventh he touched on botanics, the dynamis (power); the eighth he marked out the apotelesmatics of the musici and magic, and in the furthest part he touched on euphēmēsis, which also in the ninth eclogue he pursued, indeed in the eighth where he says:

'Aspice, corripuit tremulis altaria flammis
sponte sua, dum ferre moror, cinis ipse. Bonum sit.
Nescio quid certum est et Hilas in limine latrat',

'Behold, it has seized the altars with tremulous flames
of its own accord, while I delay to carry, the ash itself. Let it be good.
Something—I know not what—is certain, and Hylas barks on the threshold',

in nona uero egloga ubi dicit: 'de caelo tactas memini praedicere quercus', [et] iterum: 'lupi Moerim uidere priores'. Primus uero georgicorum est omnis astrologus et in parte postrema eufemeticus, secundus phisiognomicus et medicinalis, tertius omnis aruspicinam continet, quam quidem et in sexto tetigit, dum dicit:

but in the ninth eclogue, where he says: 'I remember to have predicted oaks touched from heaven,' [and] again: 'the wolves saw Moeris first'. Now the first of the Georgics is entirely astrological and, in its final part, euphemetic; the second is physiognomic and medicinal; the third contains all haruspicy, which indeed he also touched in the sixth, when he says:

'Et summas carpens media inter cornua setas
ignibus inponit sacris libamina prima';

'And, plucking the topmost bristles between the horns,
he places the first libations upon the sacred fires';

quartus uero ad plenissimam rationem est musicus cum sua apotelesmatice in fine carminis dicta.

the fourth indeed, for the most complete reasoned account, is musical, with its own apotelesmatics stated at the end of the song.

Ergo doctrinam mediocritatem temporis excedentem omisimus, ne, dum quis laudem quaerit nominis, fragumen repperiat capitis. Esto ergo contentus, mi domine, leuiori fasciculo quem tibi Hesperidum florulentis decerpsimus hortulis; aurea enim mala si expetis, esto Euristeus alio fortiori, qui ut Alcides suam pro nihilo reputet uitam. Poteris enim ex his tacite multa colligere quae ad instrumentum tui proficiant desiderii.

Therefore we have omitted a doctrine exceeding the moderation of the time, lest, while someone seeks the praise of a name, he find a fracture of his head. Be therefore content, my lord, with the lighter little bundle which we have plucked for you from the flowery little gardens of the Hesperides; for if you seek golden apples, be a Eurystheus for some stronger man, who, like Alcides, may reckon his life as nothing. For you will be able from these quietly to gather many things which may profit the instrument of your desire.

Ego uero Chrisippi ellebori rancidulo acrore postposito cum Musis aliquid blandius fabulabor.

But I indeed, with the rancidulous acridity of Chrysippus’s hellebore set aside, will fable with the Muses of something more bland.

Uos, Eliconiades, neque enim mihi sola uocanda est
Calliope, conferte gradum, date praemia menti.
Maius opus moueo; nec enim mihi sufficit una.
Currite, Pierides, uos enim mea (maxima cura,)
Parrasias niueo conpellite pectine cordas.

You, Heliconiads, for Calliope alone is not to be summoned by me,
bring together your step, grant prizes to my mind.
I set a greater work in motion; for one does not suffice me.
Run, Pierides, for you are my (greatest care,)
compel the Parrhasian chords with a snowy plectrum.

Haec tam parua precatio credo quod Uirgilianis satisfecerit Musis. Cede mihi nunc personam Mantuani uatis, quo fugitiuos eius in lucem deducamus amfractus. Nam.

I believe that this so small a prayer has satisfied the Virgilian Muses. Yield to me now the persona of the Mantuan poet, in order that we may lead his fugitive windings into the light. For.

ecce ad me etiam ipse Ascrei fontis bractamento saturior aduenit, quales uatum imagines esse solent, dum adsumptis ad opus conficiendum tabulis stupida fronte arcanum quiddam latranti intrinsecus tractatu submurmurant. Cui ego: Seponas quaeso caperatos optutus, Ausonum uatum clarissime, rancidamque altioris salsuram ingenii iocundioris quolibet mellis sapore dulciscas: nam non illa in tuis operibus quaerimus, in quibus aut Pitagoras modulos aut Eraclitus ignes aut Plato ideas aut Ermes astra aut Crisippus numeros aut endelecias Aristoteles inuersat, nec illa quae aut Dardanus in dinameris aut Battiades in paredris aut Campester in catabolicis infernalibusque cecinerunt, sed tantum illa quaerimus leuia, quae mensualibus stipendiis grammatici distrahunt puerilibus auscultatibus. Tum ille contracto rugis multiplicibus supercilio: 'Putabam, inquit, uel te homuncule creperum aliquid desipere, in cuius cordis uecturam meas onerosiores exposuissem sarcinulas, at tu telluris glabro solidior adipatum quidpiam ruptuas.

behold, to me there even he himself comes, rather glutted with the tinsel-plating of the Ascraean spring, such as the images of seers are wont to be, while, tablets taken up for accomplishing the work, with a stolid brow they sub-murmur some arcane something, with a barking inward manipulation. To whom I: Set aside, I beg, your puckered, goat-crumpled glances, most illustrious of Ausonian bards, and sweeten the rancid brininess of a higher wit with the savor of honey more delightful than any; for we do not seek those things in your works, in which either Pythagoras turns over measures, or Heraclitus fires, or Plato ideas, or Hermes the stars, or Chrysippus numbers, or Aristotle entelechies; nor those which either Dardanus in dynameries or the Battiad in paredri or the Campestrian in catabolics and infernals sang; but we seek only those light trifles which schoolmasters, for monthly stipends, retail to boyish listenings. Then he, his brow contracted with multiple wrinkles: “I supposed,” he says, “that even you, little man, were dribbling out something crepuscular, into the freightage of whose heart I might have unloaded my somewhat heavier little packs; but you, more solid than the slick surface of earth, are belching up something grease-laden.”

Cui ego: Serua ista quaeso tuis Romanis, quibus haec nosse laudabile competit et inpune succedit; nobis uero erit maximum, si uel extremas tuas praestringere contingerit fimbrias. Ad haec ille: 'Quatenus, inquit, in his tibi discendis non adipata grassedo ingenii quam temporis formido periculosa reluctat, de nostro torrentis ingenii impetu breuiorem urnulam praelibabo, quae tibi crapulae plenitudine nausiam mouere non possit. Ergo uaciuas fac sedes tuarum aurium, quo mea commigrare possint eloquia'. Itaque compositus in dicendi modum erectis in iotam duobus digitis tertium pollicem comprimens ita uerbis exorsus est: 'In omnibus nostris opusculis fisici ordinis argumenta induximus, quo per duodena librorum uolumina pleniorem humanae uitae monstrassem statum.

To whom I: Keep those things, I beg, for your Romans, for whom to know these is laudably fitting and accrues with impunity; for us, indeed, it will be the greatest thing if it should chance even to graze the outermost fringes of you. To this he: 'Inasmuch as, he said, in learning these things for you there struggles against not so much an adipose rampaging of wit as a perilous dread of time, from the impetus of our torrential genius I will pre-ladle a briefer little urn, which cannot stir nausea in you by the fullness of surfeit. Therefore make vacant the seats of your ears, that my eloquences may be able to migrate.' And so, composed in the manner of speaking, with two fingers raised into an iota, pressing the third thumb, he thus began with words: 'In all our opuscles we have introduced arguments of the physical order, whereby through twelve volumes of books I might demonstrate a fuller state of human life.'

Denique ideo talem dicendi exordium sumpsimus: 'arma uirumque cano', in armis uirtutem, in uiro sapientiam demonstrantes; omnis enim perfectio inuirtute constat corporis et sapientia ingenii'. Ad haec ego: Si me tuae orationis adserta non fallunt, uates clarissime, ideo etiam diuina lex nostrum mundi redemptorem Christum uirtutem et sapientiam cecinit, quod perfectum hominis diuinitas adsumpsisse uideretur statum. Ad haec ille: 'Uideris ipse quid te uera maiestas docuerit; nobis interim quid uisum sit edicamus. Et quamuis oportuerit secundum dialecticam disciplinam primum personam edicere sicque personae congruentia enarrare, quo prima poneretur substantia, deinde accidens substantiae, ut primum uirum, sic etiam arma edicere, uirtus enim in subiecto est corpore: sed quia laudis est adsumpta materia, ante meritum uiri quam ipsum uirum ediximus, quo sic ad personam ueniretur iam recognita meriti qualitate; solet quippe etiam in epistolis hoc ipsud communis obseruare loquacitas, quo primum 'domino merito', sic ponatur nominis uocitatio.

Finally, for that reason we took such an exordium of speaking: ‘I sing of arms and the man,’ demonstrating virtue in the arms, and wisdom in the man; for every perfection consists in the virtue of the body and the wisdom of the intellect. To this I: If the assertions of your oration do not deceive me, most illustrious vates, for that reason also the divine law sang our world’s Redeemer Christ as virtue and wisdom, since the Divinity seemed to have assumed the perfect status of man. To this he: ‘You yourself will have seen what true Majesty has taught you; meanwhile let us declare what has seemed to us. And although it would have been proper, according to the discipline of dialectic, first to declare the person and thus to narrate the things congruent to the person, so that substance be put first, then the accident of the substance—namely, to state first the man, and so also the arms, for virtue is in the subject, the body—yet because a matter of praise has been undertaken, we have declared the man’s merit before the man himself, so that thus one might come to the person with the quality of the merit already recognized; for indeed even in letters this very thing common loquacity is wont to observe, whereby first “to the lord by merit,” and thus the calling by the name is set.’

Sed quo cognoscas me plenius laudis adsumpsisse materiam, uide quid in sequentibus dictum sit, et quod 'fato profugus' et 'ui superum', quo intenderemus fortunae fuisse culpam, non uirtutis debilitatem ut fugiret et deos quam sapientiam esse culpabiles ut pericula sustentaret, illam nihilominus Platonis antiquam firmantes sententiam, ubi ait: NOUS ANTHROPINOS THEOSOUTOS EAN AGATHOS, THEOS EU ER(GAKSO)MENOS, id est: sensus hominis deus est; is si bonus est, deus est propitius; nam et Carneades in libro Telesiaco ita ait: PASATUCHE AISTHESIN FRONIMOIS CHATOICHEI, id est: omnis fortuna in sensu habitat sapientis. Nam identidem ideo uirtutem primum dici uoluimus et sic sapientiam, quod quamuis sapientia uirtutem regat, tamen in uirtute animae sapientia floret. Defectus enim uirtutis egritudo est sapientiae hoc uidelicet pacto, quia quidquid sapientiae consultatio agendum inuenerit, si ad subrogandum posse uirtus deficiat, curtata in suis effectibus sapientiae plenitudo torpescit.

But that you may recognize that I have more fully assumed the material of praise, see what has been said in what follows, namely that “fato profugus” and “ui superum,” whereby we would intend that the blame was Fortune’s, not a debility of Virtue, that he fled; and that the gods rather than Wisdom were to be culpable, in that he sustained dangers—nonetheless affirming that ancient sentence of Plato, where he says: NOUS ANTHROPINOS THEOSOUTOS EAN AGATHOS, THEOS EU ER(GAKSO)MENOS, that is: the sense of man is a god; if it is good, God is propitious; for even Carneades in the Telesiac book thus says: PASATUCHE AISTHESIN FRONIMOIS CHATOICHEI, that is: all Fortune inhabits the sense of the wise. For for this very reason we wished Virtue to be said first and Wisdom thus, because although Wisdom rules Virtue, nevertheless in the Virtue of the soul Wisdom flowers. For the defect of Virtue is a sickness of Wisdom, namely on this pact, that whatever Wisdom’s consultation has found ought to be done, if Virtue should fail to subrogate the ability, the plenitude of Wisdom, curtailed in its effects, grows torpid.

Nam ut ab armis inciperem, ‚ sciui enim quod uiri uocabulum significatio sexus sit, non honoris; si uiri primum nomen ponerem: multi uiri sunt, non tamen omnes laudandi; ergo uirtutem primum posui, pro qua uirum laudandum adsumpsi Homerum uidelicet secutus qui ait: MENINAEIDE THEA PELEIADEO ACHILEOS, ante iracundiam uiri quam ipsum uirum significans. Nam et ipse sub figura Mineruae uirtutem monstrans dicit uerticem Acilli detentum'. Cui ego: Nec in hoc iusta te fefellit oratio: diuina enim sapientia uestris supereminentior sensibus tale sumpsit principium dicens: 'Beatus, inquit, uir qui non abiit in consilio impiorum'. Denique ut bonae uitae perfectissimus institutor profeta prouocans ad bene uiuendi certamen ante praemium beatitudinis quam sudorem certaminis posuit. Tum ille: 'Gaudeo, inquit, mi omuncule, his subrogatis sententiis, quia etsi non nobis de consultatione bonae uitae ueritas obtigit, tamen ceca quadam felicitate etiam stultis mentibus suas scintillas sparsit.

For to begin from arms, ‚ for I knew that the word “vir” is a designation of sex, not of honor; if I were to set the name of “man” first: there are many men, yet not all are to be praised; therefore I put virtue first, on account of which I took up a man to be praised, plainly following Homer who says: MENIN AEIDE, THEA, PELEI ADEO ACHILEOS, signifying the wrath of the man before the man himself. For he too, showing Virtue under the figure of Minerva, says that the crest of Achilles was held back.' To this I: Nor in this has just speech deceived you: for divine wisdom, surpassing your perceptions, took up such a beginning, saying: 'Blessed, he says, is the man who has not gone in the counsel of the impious.' In fine, as the most perfect instructor of the good life, the prophet, provoking to the contest of living well, set before the reward of beatitude rather than the sweat of the contest. Then he: 'I rejoice, he says, my little homunculus, at these sentences subrogated, because even if the truth concerning the counsel of the good life has not fallen to us, yet by a certain blind felicity it has scattered its own sparks even upon foolish minds.

Ergo ut dicere coeperamus, uirtus substantia est, sapientia uero quae substantiam regit, sicut et Sallustius ait: 'nam nostra omnis uis in animo et corpore sita est'. Nam ut tuis saturantius aliquid adhuc satisfaciamus ingeniis, trifarius in uita humana gradus est, primum habere, deinde regere quod habeas, tertium uero ornare quod regis. Ergo tres gradus istos in uno uersu nostro considera positos, id est: 'arma', 'uirum' et 'primus': 'arma', id est uirtus, pertinet ad substantiam corporalem, 'uirum', id est sapientia, pertinet ad substantiam sensualem, 'primus' uero, id est princeps, pertinet ad substantiam censualem, quo sit ordo huiusmodi: habere, regere, ornare. Ergo sub figuralitatem historiae plenum hominis monstrauimus statum, ut sit prima natura, secunda doctrina, tertia felicitas.

Therefore, as we had begun to say, virtue is substance, but wisdom is that which governs the substance, just as Sallust says: ‘for all our strength is situated in mind and body.’ And, that we may more fully satisfy your talents, there is a threefold grade in human life: first to have, then to rule what you have, and third to adorn what you rule. Therefore consider these three grades set in one verse of ours, that is: ‘arma’, ‘uirum’ and ‘primus’: ‘arma’, that is virtue, pertains to the corporal substance; ‘uirum’, that is wisdom, pertains to the sensual (of sense) substance; ‘primus’ indeed, that is princeps, pertains to the censual substance; so that the order is of this kind: to have, to rule, to adorn. Therefore, under the figure of history we have shown the full state of man: let the first be nature, the second doctrine, the third felicity.

Hos ergo gradus uiuaciter intuere: quo sit ut supra diximus prima uirtus animi naturaliter data quae proficiat ‚ neque enim eruditur nisi quod erudibile nascitur ‚, secunda doctrina quae naturam ornat cum proficit, ut est aurum; est enim natura in auro productionis et decoris, sed ad perfectionem malleo proficit excudentis. Ita et ingenium natum est prouectibile; proficit quia natum fuit; accedit felicitas ut prode sit quod proficit. Ergo et infantibus quibus haec nostra materia traditur isti sunt ordines consequendi, quia omne honestum docibile nascitur, eruditur ne naturae uaeet commoditas, oraatur etiam ne donum doctrinae inane sit; unde et Plato trifarium humanae uitae instruens ordinem ait: 'Omne bonum aut nascitur aut eruditur aut cogitur'; nascitur quidem ex natura, eruditur ex doctrina, cogitur ex utilitate.

Therefore look vividly upon these steps: so that, as we said above, the first is the virtue of the mind naturally given, which makes progress — for nothing is educated unless that which is born educable — the second is doctrine, which adorns nature as it progresses, as with gold; for there is in gold a nature both of production and of decor, but to perfection it advances by the hammer of the one who forges. Thus also inborn ingenium is born capable of advancement; it makes progress because it was born; felicity is added so that what makes progress may be of use. Therefore even for infants to whom this our material is handed down these are the orders to be attained, because every honorable thing is born teachable, it is educated lest the commodity of nature be vacant, it is also adorned lest the gift of doctrine be empty; whence also Plato, instructing a threefold order of human life, says: 'Every good either is born or is trained or is compelled'; it is born indeed from nature, it is trained from doctrine, it is compelled from utility.

Omisso ergo antilogii circuitu coepti operis adgrediamur exordium. Sed ut sciam me non arcaicis expromtare fabulam auribus, primi nostri libri continentiam narra; tunc demum haec tibi, si uisum fuerit, reserabimus'. Cui ego: Si me scolarum praeteritarum non fallit memoria, primum Iuno Eolum petit, quo naufragium Troianis inportet. Dehinc cum septem nauibus euadit.

Therefore, with the circuit of antilogy omitted, let us approach the exordium of the work begun. But, so that I may know I am not bringing forth a tale for archaic ears, recount the contents of our first book; then at last we will unseal these things for you, if it shall seem good.' To which I: 'If the memory of past lessons does not deceive me, first Juno seeks Aeolus, in order that she may bring shipwreck upon the Trojans. Thereafter he escapes with seven ships.'

Libico in litore accipitur. Matrem uidit nec agnoscit. Nube caua cum Acate contegitur.

He is received on the Libyan shore. He saw his mother and does not recognize her. He is covered by a hollow cloud with Achates.

Dehinc picturis animum aduocat. Posthaec cena acceptus citharae sono mulcetur. Habes breuiter decursam primi libri continentiam.

Then he turns his mind to the pictures. After this, welcomed to dinner, he is soothed by the sound of the cithara. You have, briefly, the run-through of the first book’s contents.

Quid de his senseris, audire desidero. Tum ille: 'Naufragium posuimus in modum periculosae natiuitatis, in qua et maternum est pariendi dispendium uel infantum nascendi periculum. In qua necessitate uniuersaliter humanam uoluitur genus.

What you have thought about these things, I desire to hear. Then he: 'We have set the shipwreck in the mode of a perilous nativity, in which there is both the maternal expense of giving birth and the infants’ danger of being born. In this necessity the human race is universally involved.'

Nam ut euidentius hoc intellegas, a Iunone, quae dea partus est, hoc naufragium generatur. Nam et Eolum inmittit; Eolus enim Grece quasi eonolus, id est saeculi interitus; unde et Homerus ait: OULOMENEMETA MURIA ACHAIOIS ALGE EDOCHEN. Nam uide quid etiam ipso Eolo promittatur.

For, that you may understand this more evidently, from Juno, who is the goddess of parturition, this shipwreck is generated. For she also lets Aeolus loose; for Aeolus in Greek is as it were eonolus, that is, the destruction of the saeculum; whence also Homer says: OULOMENEMETA MURIA ACHAIOIS ALGE EDOCHEN. For see what is even promised to Aeolus himself.

Deiopea in coniugium; demos enim Grece puplicum dicitur, iopa uero oculi uel uisio; ergo nascentibus in mundo seculare est periculum; cui quidem perfectionis puplica a dea partus promittitur uisio. Nam et cum septem nauibus euadit, quo ostendatur septenum arithmeticum numerum armonicum esse partui. Cuius formulam, si uidetur, breuiter explanabo'. Cui ego: Saturanter haec [inquam] in libro fisiologo quem nuper edidimus de medicinalibus causis et de septenario et de nouenario numero omnem arithmeticae artis digessimus rationem, eritque perissologiae nota si, quae in uno libro descripsimus, etiam aliis inseramus.

Deiopea in conjugium; for dēmos in Greek is called “public,” but iopa indeed “eyes” or “vision”; therefore, for those being born in the world there is a secular peril; to whom, indeed, a public vision of perfection is promised by the goddess of childbirth. For also he escapes with seven ships, whereby it is shown that the septenary arithmetical number is harmonic for parturition. The formula of which, if it seems good, I will briefly explain'. To which I: We have said these things sufficiently [I say] in the book Physiologus, which we have lately published; concerning medicinal causes and concerning the septenary and the novenary number we have digested the whole rationale of the art of arithmetic, and it will be a mark of perissology if we insert also into other books the things which we have set forth in one book.

Ergo qui ista discere cupit, nostrum fisiologicum perlegat librum. Nunc uero a te quae restant expeto. Tum ille: 'Ut dicere coeperam, mox ut terram tangit, matrem uidet nec agnoscit, plenam designantes infantiam quia a partu recentibus matrem uidere datur, non tamen statim cognoscere meritum contribuitur.

Therefore, whoever desires to learn these things, let him read through our Physiological book. Now indeed from you I seek what remains. Then he: 'As I had begun to say, as soon as he touches the earth, he sees his mother and does not recognize her, indicating full infancy, because to those recent from birth it is granted to see the mother, yet the merit to recognize her at once is not bestowed.

Dehinc nube conseptus socios cognoscit, adloqui non potest; uide quam euidens crepundiorum mos, dum adest inspiciendi potestas et deest loquendi facultas. Huic quoque Acaten ab initio coniungimus et post naufragium armigerum et in nube aeque conclusum; Acates enim Grece quasi aconetos, id est tristitiae consuetudo. Ab infantia enim erumnis coniuncta est humana natura, sicut Euripides in tragoedia Figeniae ait:

Then, enclosed in a cloud, he recognizes his companions, he cannot address them; see how evident is the custom of baby-rattles, while the power of looking-on is present and the faculty of speaking is lacking. To him, too, we join Acates from the beginning, both after the shipwreck as his armor-bearer and likewise shut up in the cloud; for Acates in Greek is, as it were, “aconetos,” that is, a consuetude of sadness. For from infancy human nature has been conjoined with hardships, just as Euripides in the tragedy of Iphigenia says:

OUCH ESTIN OUDEN DEINON OD' EIPEIN EPOS
OUDE PATHOS OUDE SUMFORA THEELATOS
ES OUCH AN ARAIT ACHTHOS ANTHROPON FUSIS,

THERE IS NOTHING TERRIBLE—THIS WORD TO SPEAK—
NOR ANY SUFFERING NOR CALAMITY WELCOME,
WHICH HUMAN NATURE WOULD NOT CURSE AS A BURDEN,

id est: non est aliquid pessimum neque accedentia extrema quod non pertulerit natura humana. Arma uero tristitiae non sunt nisi lacrimae, quibus se ipsa et uindicat et commendat infantia; denique uix nobis quino mense ridere permittitur, dum lacrimae in ipsa uitae ianua profluant. At uero animum pictura inani quod pascit, certum puerile studium refert; infantia enim uidere nouit, sentire uero quid uideat nescit, sicut in picturis est uisibilitas, deest sensibilitas.

that is: there is not anything worst, nor the approaching extremes, which human nature has not borne. But the arms of sadness are nothing except tears, by which infancy both vindicates and commends itself; finally, scarcely is it permitted us to laugh in the fifth month, while tears flow at the very doorway of life. But indeed, since it feeds the mind with an empty picture, it conveys a certain puerile study; for infancy knows how to see, but does not know, indeed, to sense what it sees, just as in pictures there is visibility, sensibility is lacking.

Dehinc ad epulas accipitur et citharae sono mulcetur; paruulorum quippe mos est nihil amplius quaerere quam delectari sono et saturari cibo. Nam denique nomen eiusdem citharedantis considera; Iopas enim Grece quasi siopas dictus est, id est taciturnitas puerilis. Infantia enim blandiloquiis semper nutricum (et) cantibus oblectatur; unde et crinitum eum posuimus uertici muliebri simillimum.

Then he is received to the banquet and is soothed by the sound of the cithara; for it is the custom of very little children to seek nothing more than to be delighted by sound and to be sated with food. For at last consider the name of that same citharode; for Iopas in Greek is as if called “siopas,” that is, childish taciturnity. For infancy is always amused by the blandiloquies of nurses (and) by their songs; whence also we have set him long‑haired, very like to a woman’s head.

Tunc etiam Cupidinem uidet; cupere enim ac desiderare aliquid semper accedit infantiae. Nam denique ideo et talem uersum in secundo libro post citharae sonum posuimus: 'temperet a lacrimis'.

Then he also sees Cupid; for to desire and to long for something always attaches to infancy. For indeed, for this reason we have also placed such a verse in the second book after the sound of the cithara: 'let him be tempered from tears'.

In secundo uero libro et tertio auocatur fabulis quibus puerilis consueta est auocari garrulitas. Nam in fine tertii libri Ciclopas uidet Achemenide monstrante; acos enim Grece tristitia dicitur, ciclos Grece circulus uocatur. Ergo pueritia, quoniam pes puer Grece dicitur, iam timore nutritorum feriata tristitiam cogitandi nescit et uaginam puerilem exercit.

But in the second and in the third book he is diverted by fables, by which puerile garrulity is accustomed to be called away. For at the end of the third book he sees the Cyclopes, with Achaemenides pointing them out; for acos in Greek is called sadness, and ciclos in Greek is called circle. Therefore boyhood (since pes, “boy,” is said in Greek), now, at leisure from the fear of the nurses, does not know the sadness of thinking, and exercises the childish scabbard.

Ob hanc rem etiam Ciclops unum oculum in fronte habere dicitur, quia nec plenum nec rationalem uisum puerilis uagina portat et omnis aetas puerilis in superbia erigatur ut Ciclops. Ideo in capite oculum, quod nihil nisi superbum et uideat et sentiat. Quem sapientissimus Ulixes extinguit, id est: igne ingenii uana gloria cecatur.

On account of this matter the Cyclops too is said to have one eye in his forehead, because the puerile sheath carries neither full nor rational vision, and every childish age is lifted up in pride (superbia) like a Cyclops. Therefore an eye on the head, because it both sees and feels nothing except what is proud. This the most wise Ulysses extinguishes—that is: by the fire of ingenium vain-glory is blinded.

Ideo eum et Poliphemum diximus quasi apolunta femen, quod nos Latine perdentem famam dicimus. Ergo iuuentutis elationem et famae perditionem aetatis cecitas sequitur. Nam ut ordo se euidenti manifestatione delucidet, tunc patrem sepelit.

Therefore we have called him also Polyphemus, as if apolunta phēmēn, which we in Latin call “destroying fame.” Therefore the elation of youth and the perdition of reputation is followed by the blindness of that age. For, in order that the order may make itself clear by evident manifestation, then he buries his father.

Adcrescens enim iuuenalis aetas paterni uigoris respuit pondera. Denique Drepanos portus sepelit ‚ Drepanos enim quasi drimipedos, drimos enim acer dicitur, pes uero puer uocatur ‚, quod puerilis acerbitas paternam respuat disciplinam. Feriatus ergo animus a paterno iudicio in quarto libro et uenatu progreditur et amore torretur, et tempestate ac nubilo, uelut in mentis conturbatione, coactus adulterium perficit.

For the increasing juvenile age rejects the weights of paternal vigor. Finally the harbor Drepanos buries ‚ Drepanos indeed as if drimipedos, for drimos is said “sharp,” and pes truly is called “boy” ‚, because boyish acridity spurns paternal discipline. Therefore the mind, on holiday from the paternal judgment, in the fourth book both goes forth to the hunt and is scorched by love, and by tempest and cloud, as in a perturbation of mind, is compelled to consummate adultery.

In quo diu commoratus Mercurio instigante libidinis suae male praesumptum amorem relinquit; Mercurius enim deus ponitur ingenii; ergo ingenio instigante aetas deserit amoris confinia. Qui quidem amor contemptus emoritur et in cineres exustus emigrat; dum enim de corde puerili auctoritate ingenii (libido) expellitur, sepulta in obliuionis cinere fauillescit. In quinto uero paternae memoriae contemplatione adtractus ludis iuuenalibus exercetur.

In which, having lingered long, with Mercury inciting he abandons the love ill-assumed by his lust; for Mercury is set as the god of genius; therefore, with genius instigating, the age deserts the confines of love. Which love indeed, being despised, dies away and, burned into ashes, migrates; for while (lust) is expelled from the boyish heart by the authority of genius, buried in the ash of oblivion it smolders. In the fifth, however, drawn by contemplation of paternal memory, he is exercised in juvenile games.

Et quidnam aliut est nisi ut iam prudentior aetas paternae memoriae exempla secuta liberalibus corpus exerceat causis. Nam uide quia et pugillationem exercent, id est: uirtutis artem Entellus et Dares peragunt; entellin enim Grece imperare dicimus, derin cedere; quod et magistri in disciplinis faciunt. Tunc etiam et naues ardescunt, id est instrumenta periculosa, quibus aetas tempestiuis iactationum cursibus flagitatur et uelut procellis periculorum cottidie quatitur.

And what else is it, if not that now the more prudent age, having followed the examples of paternal memory, should exercise the body with liberal pursuits. For see that they also practice pugilism, that is: Entellus and Dares perform the art of virtue; for in Greek we say entellin “to command,” derin “to yield,” which likewise the masters do in the disciplines. Then too even the ships are kindled, that is, the perilous instruments, by which the age is exacted by seasonable courses of jactations and, as it were, is daily buffeted by the tempests of dangers.

Igne ingenii superexcellente haec omnia consumuntur et scientia astutiae coalescente in fauillam obliuionis sopita commigrant. Sed hoc incendium Beroe efficit quasi ueritatis ordo. Ad uero in sexto ad templum Apollinis adueniens ad inferos discendit; Apollinem deum studii dicimus, ideo et Musis additum; ergo postposito lubricae aetatis naufragio et Palinuro omisso ‚ Palinurus enim quasi planonorus, id est errabunda uisio, unde et in quarto libro de aspectu libidinis ita posuimus: 'totumque pererrat luminibus tacitis', nam et in bucolica: 'errabunda bouis uestigia' ‚ ergo omissis his rebus ad templum Apollinis, id est ad doctrinam studii, peruenitur; ibique de futurae uitae consultatur ordinibus et ad inferos discensus inquiritur, id est: dum quis futura considerat, tunc sapientiae obscura secretaque misteria penetrat.

By the fire of an over-excelling genius all these things are consumed, and as the science of astuteness coalesces, they migrate, lulled, into the cinder of oblivion. But this conflagration Beroe brings about, as if it were the order of truth. But indeed, in the sixth, arriving at the temple of Apollo, he descends to the infernal regions; we call Apollo the god of study, therefore added also to the Muses; therefore, with the shipwreck of the lubric age set aside and Palinurus omitted ‚ for Palinurus is as it were planonorus, that is, a wandering vision, whence also in the fourth book concerning the aspect of libido we have put thus: 'and it wanders all through with silent lights,' and in the Bucolic: 'the wandering footprints of the ox' ‚ therefore, with these things omitted, one comes to the temple of Apollo, that is, to the doctrine of study; and there counsel is taken about the orders of the future life and a descent to the lower regions is inquired, that is: while one considers future things, then one penetrates the obscure and secret mysteries of wisdom.

Sepeliat ante et Misenum necesse est; misio enim Grece orreo dicitur, enos uero laus uocatur. Ergo nisi uanae laudis pompam obrueris, numquam. secreta sapientiae penetrabis; uanae enim laudis appetitus numquam ueritatem inquirit, sed falsa in se adulanter ingesta uelut propria reputat.

It is necessary first to bury Misenus as well; for misio in Greek is said to be “I shudder,” and enos is called “praise.” Therefore, unless you overwhelm the pomp of vain praise, you will never penetrate the secrets of wisdom; for the appetite of vain praise never inquires into truth, but flatteringly reckons as its own things falsely ingested into itself.

Denique etiam cum Tritone bucino atque conca certatur. Uides enim quam fixa proprietas; uanae enim laudis tumor uentosa uoce turgescit, quem quidem Triton interimit quasi tetrimmenon quod nos Latine contritum dicimus; omnis ergo contritio omnem uanam laudem extinguit. Ideo et Tritona dicta est dea sapientiae; omnis enim contritio sapientem facit'. Cui ego: Certior ego hanc tuam comprobo doctor sententiam; nam et nostra salutaris diuinaque praeceptio cor contritum et humiliatum Deum non dispicere praedicat.

Finally, there is even a contest with Triton, with the buccina and the conch. For you see how fixed the propriety is; for the swelling of vain praise swells with a windy voice, which indeed Triton destroys as a “tetrimmenon,” which we in Latin call “contrite” (contritum); therefore every contrition extinguishes all vain praise. For this reason too Tritona is called the goddess of wisdom; for every contrition makes one wise. To whom I [said]: Being the more assured, I approve this your learned opinion; for our saving and divine precept also proclaims that God does not despise a heart contrite and humbled.

Quae uere certa manifestaque est sapientia. Ad haec ille: 'Ut certius tibi planiusque liquescat quod dictum est, Carineum posuimus eius corpus igne cremasse; carin enim Grece gratiam dicimus, eon uero seculum nuncupamus. Gratia ergo saecularis uanae gloriae necesse est sepeliat cineres.

Which truly is sure and manifest wisdom. To this he: 'That what has been said may become more certain and plainer to you, we have posited that Carineus burned his body with fire; for carin in Greek we call grace, and eon we name the age. Therefore secular grace must bury the ashes of vain glory.'

Sed tamen non antea discitur cognitio secretorum, nisi quis ramum decerpserit aureum, id est doctrinae atque litterarum discatur studium. Ramum enim aureum pro scientia posuimus memores quia et mater mea ramum se somniat genuisse et Apollo cum ramo depingitur; nam ideo et ramus dictus est apo tes rapsodias, id est a scriptura, sicut Dionisius in Grecis articulationibus memorat. At uero aureum quod diximus, claritatem facundiae designare uoluimus memores Platonis sententiam, cuius hereditatem Diogenes Cinicus inuadens nihil ibi plus (nisi) auream linguam inuenit, ut Tiberianus in libro de (deo) Socratis memorat.

But nevertheless the cognition of secrets is not learned beforehand, unless someone plucks the golden branch—that is, the study of doctrine and letters be learned. For we have set the golden branch for scientia, mindful that both my mother dreams that she had begotten a branch, and Apollo is depicted with a branch; for for this reason a branch is also said to be apo tes rapsodias, that is, from writing, as Dionysius records in the Greek articulations. But as for “golden,” which we said, we wished to designate the brilliance of eloquence, mindful of Plato’s sententia, whose inheritance, when Diogenes the Cynic invaded, he found nothing there more (nisi) than a golden tongue, as Tiberianus recalls in the book on the (god) Socrates.

Nam et nos in bucolicis ideo mala aurea decem posuimus, scilicet decem eglogarum politam facundiam; nam et Hercules aurea mala de horto Hesperidum tollit; quattuor enim Esperides dictae sunt, id est Egle, Esper, Medusa et Aretusa, quas nos Latine studium, intellectus, memoria et facundia dicimus, quod primum sit studere, secundum intellegere, tertium memorari quod intellegis, inde ornare dicendo quod terminas. Hinc ergo ornatum aureum studii uirtus rapit'. Cui ego: Uerum, inquam, dicis, Maro doctissime; nuper enim me diuinae storiae memoria tetigit, quae ait ex anathemate subreptam esse linguam auream et dextraria pura, nihilominus ex gentili facundia fugatum eloquium. Attamen ergo quae restant eloquere.

For we too in the Bucolics for that reason set ten golden apples, namely the polished facundity of the ten Eclogues; for Hercules also takes the golden apples from the garden of the Hesperides; for four Hesperides are so called, that is, Egle, Esper, Medusa, and Aretusa, which we in Latin call studium, intellectus, memoria, and facundia, because the first is to study, the second to understand, the third that what you understand be remembered, then to adorn by speaking what you bring to an end. Hence therefore the virtue of study seizes the golden adornment.' To which I: 'True, I say, most learned Maro; for lately the memory of the divine historia touched me, which says that from an anathema a golden tongue and pure right-hand gloves were filched, and nonetheless speech was put to flight by gentile facundity. Yet therefore speak what remains.'

Tunc ille: 'Ergo ut antea diximus ramum aureum, id est doctrinam adeptus inferos ingreditur et secreta scientiae perscrutatur. Sed in uestibulo inferorum luctus, morbos, bella, discordiam, senectutem atque egestatem uidet. Quando ergo omnia in animo aut corde uiri considerantur nisi percepto doctrinae studio et altiori scientia penetrata caligine; tunc enim agnoscitur et inertis somnii uentosa delusio et senectutis propinquior ad mortem uicinia et bellum, auaritiae seminarium, et morbus, indigestionis et inmodestiae soboles, et scandala, ebrietatis germina, et famem, pigritiae et torporis uernaculam.

Then he: 'Therefore, as we said before, having obtained the golden branch, that is, doctrine, he enters the infernal regions and scrutinizes the secrets of science. But in the vestibule of the lower world he sees griefs, diseases, wars, discord, old age, and destitution. When, then, are all things considered in a man’s mind or heart, unless, the zeal of doctrine having been received and the higher science having pierced the murk; then indeed there is recognized both the windy delusion of an inert dream, and the nearer vicinity of old age to death, and war, the seminary of avarice, and disease, the offspring of indigestion and immodesty, and scandals, the germs of ebriety, and hunger, the homeborn of sloth and torpor.'

Ergo discendit ad inferos atque illic et poenas malorum et bonorum retributiones et amantum considerans tristes errores oculatus inspicit testis. Denique nauta Carone deportante transit Acherontem. Ideo et hic fluuius uelut aestus habet ebullientes iuuenilium actuum; ideo et cenosus, quia non habent iuuenes digesta liquidaque consilia; Acheron enim Grece sine tempus dicitur, Caron uero quasi ceron, id est tempus, unde et Polidegmonis filius dicitur; Polidegmon enim Grece multae scientiae dicitur.

Therefore he descends to the underworld, and there, considering both the punishments of the wicked and the recompenses of the good and the sad errors of lovers, he, an eye-witness, keen-sighted, looks upon them. Finally, with the boatman Charon transporting him, he crosses the Acheron. Therefore this river too has, like a tide, the boilings of youthful acts; therefore it is also muddy, because young men do not have counsels digested and liquid; for Acheron in Greek is said “without time,” but Charon as if “ceron,” that is “time,” whence he is also said to be the son of Polidegmon; for Polidegmon in Greek is said “of much science.”

Ergo dum ad tempus multae scientiae quis peruenerit, in temporales gurgitum cenositates morumque feculentias transit. Deinde Tricerberum mellitis resopit offulis; Tricerberi enim fabulam iam superius exposuimus in modum iurgii forensisque litigii positam; unde et Petronius in Euscion ait: 'Cerberus forensis erat causidicus'. Ergo tunc iurgii calomnia discitur et uenalis lingua in alienis negotiis exercetur, dum studii doctrina proficerit, sicut in aduocatis nunc usque conspicitur. Sed melle sapientiae scandali dulcoratus resipiet rancor.

Therefore, until someone has come, in due time, to much knowledge, he passes through the temporal muddinesses of the whirlpools and the feculences of morals. Then he lulls to sleep the triple-Cerberus with honeyed little morsels; for we have already set forth above the fable of the Triple-Cerberus as placed in the manner of wrangling and forensic litigation; whence also Petronius in Euscion says: 'Cerberus was a forensic advocate.' Therefore then the calumny of wrangling is learned, and a venal tongue is exercised in other people’s affairs, while the doctrine of study makes progress, just as up to now it is seen in advocates. But the rancor of scandal, sweetened by the honey of wisdom, will come to its senses.

Deinde in secretis considerationibus admissus uirorum fortium contemplatur imagines, id est uirtutis insignia monimentaque considerat. Ibi etiam et Deiphobi inspicit poenam; Deiphobus enim Grece aut quasi dimofobus aut uelut demofobus, id est aut terroris timor aut puplicus timor. Ergo qualislibet timor sit, iuste amputatis et manibus et oculis et auribus pingitur, illa uidelicet ratione quod omnis timor nec quod uideat sentit nec quod audiat scit nec quod gerat sine manibus nouit.

Then, admitted to secret considerations, he contemplates the images of valiant men, that is, he considers the insignia of virtue and the monuments. There also he inspects the punishment of Deiphobus; for Deiphobus in Greek is either as if dimofobus or as it were demofobus, that is, either fear of terror or public fear. Therefore, whatever kind of fear it may be, he is justly portrayed with hands and eyes and ears amputated, for this manifest reason: that every fear neither perceives what it sees nor knows what it hears, nor knows what to do without hands.

Denique et in somnis occiditur a Menelao; Grece enim Menelaus quasi menelau, id est uirtus populi; quae quidem uirtus omnem timorem semper somno deditum interficit. Illic etiam et Dido uidetur quasi amoris atque antiquae libidinis umbra iam uacua. Contemplando enim sapientiam libido iam contemptu emortua lacrimabiliter penitendo ad memoriam reuocatur.

Finally, even in dreams he is slain by Menelaus; for in Greek Menelaus is as if menelau, that is, the virtue of the people; which virtue indeed always kills every fear devoted to sleep. There also Dido is seen, as it were, the shadow of love and of ancient libido, now empty. For by contemplating wisdom, libido, now dead through contempt, is tearfully called back to memory by repenting.

At uero dum ad locum illum uenitur, ubi dicimus:

But indeed, as one comes to that place where we say:

'Porta aduersa ingens solidoque adamante colomnae,
uis ut nulla uirum, non ipsi excindere ferro
caelicolae ualeant, stat ferrea turris ad auras',

'The gate opposite, huge, and columns of solid adamant,
so that no force of men, not even the heaven-dwellers themselves,
could hew them down with iron; an iron tower stands to the breezes',

uide quam euidentem superbiae atque tumoris imaginem designauimus. Cui etiam turri ideo adamantinas colomnas addidimus, quia hoc genus lapidis indomabile est, sicut etiam in Greco absolues; superbiam enim nec diuinus timor nec humana uirtus nec famae reuocat uerecundia; 'ferrea' uero 'turris ad auras' elatio erecta et incuruabilis dicitur. Sed elationem quis seruat nisi Tisifone, hoc est furibunda uox.

see how evident an image of pride and swelling we have designated. To this tower also we added adamantine columns, because this kind of stone is indomitable, as you will also find in Greek; for neither divine fear nor human virtue nor the modesty of repute calls pride back; 'iron' indeed 'tower to the breezes' is said to be an elation erect and unbendable. But who keeps watch over elation except Tisiphone, that is, a frenzied voice.

At uero quod diximus: 'Quinquaginta atris inmanis hiatibus ydra seuior', illut nihilominus designauimus, quia deterior in superborum corde est tumoris inflatio quam in ore uentosa iactatio; nam illud quod diximus: 'Tartarus ipse bis patetinpraeceps tantum', considera plenum superbiae meritum; poena enim superbiae deiectio est; quanto enim elatus contemnit, tanto sprebilitatis deiectione torquetur; ergo exaltatus quis in superbia duplum eliditur. Unde et Porfirius in epigrammate ait:

But indeed, as for what we said: “a hydra more savage with fifty immense black gullets,” by that nonetheless we signified that the inflation of swelling in the hearts of the proud is worse than the windy vaunting in the mouth; for as to what we said: “Tartarus itself twice lies open only into a headlong plunge,” consider the full desert of pride; for the punishment of pride is a casting down; for the more an exalted man despises, by so much he is tormented by a casting down into despicableness; therefore one exalted in pride is dashed down doubly. Whence also Porphyry, in an epigram, says:

'Auxilium fortuna tibi, res perfida, Quinte,
et tulit in fronte grande supercilium;
haut aliud credam, puteum puto te quoque, Quinte:
quanto altus magis es, tam mage despiceris.

'Fortune gave help to you, perfidious thing, Quintus,
and set upon your forehead a great supercilious brow;
I will believe nothing else—I think you a well too, Quintus:
the higher you are, so much the more you are looked down upon.

Denique ibi etiam Gigantas uidet et Ixionem et Salmoneum, omnes superbiae poena damnatos, nec non et Tantalum; Tantalus enim Grece quasi teantelon, id est uisionem uolens; omnis enim auaritia ieiuna fruendi usu solae uisionis imagine pascitur. Sed his locis iudex Radamantus Gnosius ponitur; Radamantum enim Grece quasi tarematadamonta, id est uerbum domantem, gnoso enim sentire dicitur: ergo qui uerborum impetum dominari scit, hic superbiae et damnator est et contemptor. Denique Aeneas hoc strepitu terretur, uir enim pius superbiae uoces et malorum poenas effugit ac pauescit.

Finally, there he also sees the Giants and Ixion and Salmoneus, all condemned by the penalty of pride, and likewise Tantalus; for Tantalus in Greek, as it were teantelon, that is, “willing vision”; for all avarice, fasting from the enjoyment of use, is fed by the image of vision alone. But in these places the judge Rhadamanthus the Gnossian is set; for Rhadamanthus in Greek, as it were tarematadamonta, that is, “taming the word,” for gnoso is said to mean “to sense”: therefore he who knows how to master the onset of words is both a condemner and a contemner of pride. Finally Aeneas is terrified by this din; for a pious man flees and fears the voices of pride and the punishments of evils.

Deinde ramum aureum postibus deuotis infigit et ita Elisium ingreditur, quo clareat, dum perfectionem omisso iam labore discendi ää memoriae quae in cerebro est sicut in postibus perpetue infigenda. Elisium ingreditur campum ‚ elisis enim Grece resolutio dicitur ‚ id est feriatam uitampost magistrianum timorem. Sicut enim inferni Proserpina regina est, ita scientiae regina memoria est, quaein elisis proserpens dominatur perenniter mentibus.

Then he fastens the golden bough into the consecrated doorposts and thus enters Elysium, in order that it may be clear that, with the labor of learning now laid aside, perfection is to be infixed perpetually into memory—which is in the brain—just as into doorposts. He enters the Elysian field ‚ for elisis in Greek is called resolution ‚ that is, a holiday life after pedagogic fear. For just as Proserpina is queen of the underworld, so Memory is queen of knowledge, which, creeping forth in the relaxations, perennially dominates minds.

Huic ergo doctrinae aureum ramulum dedicatur; de qua memoria Cicero dicere solitus erat tesaurum scientiae. Sed in Elisiis campis primum Museum uidet, quasi Musarum donum, excelsiorem omnibus, qui ei etiam patrem ostendit Anchisen et Letheum fluuium, patrem scilicet ad tenendum grauitatis morem, Letheum uero ad obliuiscendam pueritiae leuitatem. Denique ipsum nomen Anchisae considera; Anchises enim Grece quasi ano scenon, id est patrium habitans; unus Deus enim pater, rex omnium, solus habitans in excelsis, qui quidem scientiae dono monstrante conspicitur.

Therefore to this doctrine a golden little branch is dedicated; about which memory Cicero was accustomed to say “the thesaurus of science.” But in the Elysian fields first he sees the Museum, as if the gift of the Muses, more exalted than all, which also shows to him his father Anchises and the Lethean river—the father, namely, for maintaining the habit of gravity, but the Lethean for forgetting the lightness of childhood. Finally, consider the very name of Anchises; for Anchises in Greek is as it were ano scenon, that is, “dwelling in the paternal”; for one God is Father, king of all, dwelling alone in the heights, who indeed is beheld, the gift of science pointing the way.

Nam et uide quid filium docet:

For see also what he teaches his son:

'Principio caelum ac terram camposque liquentes
lucentemque globum lunae Titaniaque astra'.

'In the beginning, heaven and earth and the liquid plains,
and the shining globe of the Moon and the Titanian stars'.

Uides ergo quia sicut Deum creatorem oportuit et de secretis naturae mysteriis docet et reduces iterum animasiterum de uita demonstrans et futura ostendit'. Ad haec ego: O uatum Latialis autenta, itane tuum clarissimum ingenium tam stultae defensionis fuscare debuisti caligine? Tune ille qui dudum in bucolicis mystice persecutus dixeras:

You see therefore that, just as it was fitting for God the creator, he both teaches about the mysteries of nature’s secrets and, showing souls brought back again into life, also points out the things to come.' To these things I: O authority of the Latial bards, was it thus that you ought to cloud your most illustrious genius with the murk of so foolish a defense? Are you that man who not long ago in the Bucolics, having pursued mystically, said:

'Iam redit et uirgo, redeunt Saturnia regna;
iam noua progenies caelo promittitur alto',

'Now the Virgin returns, the Saturnian reigns return;
now a new progeny is promised from high heaven',

nunc uero dormitanti ingenio Academicum quippiam stertens ais: 'Sublimes animas iterumque ad tarda reuerti corpora'. Numquidnam oportuerat te inter tanta dulcia poma mora etiam ponere tuaeque luculentae sapientiae funalia caligare? Ad haec ille subridens: 'Si, inquit, inter tantas Stoicas ueritates aliquid etiam Epicureum non desipissem, paganus non essem; nullo enim omnia uera nosse contingit nisi uobis, quibus sol ueritatis inluxit. Neque enim hoc pacto in tuis libris conductus narrator accessi, ut id quod sentire me oportuerat, disputarem et non ea potius quae senseram lucidarem.

now indeed, with a dozing wit, snoring you say something Academic: ‘lofty souls and again to return to sluggish bodies’. Was it really fitting that you, amid so many sweet fruits, should also put in a delay, and that the torches of your luculent wisdom should grow dim? To this he, smiling, said: ‘If, among so many Stoic truths, I had not also played the fool in something Epicurean, I would not be a pagan; for to no one does it befall to know all truths except to you, for whom the sun of truth has shone. Nor indeed did I in this fashion come into your books as a hired narrator, to dispute what it had been proper for me to think, and not rather to elucidate the things which I had perceived.’

Audi ergo quae restant. In septimo uero Caieta nutrice sepulta, id est magistriani timoris proiecta grauidine ‚ unde et Caieta dicta est quasi coactrix aetatis; nam et aput antiquos caiatio dicebatur puerilis cedes; unde et Plautus in Cistolaria comedia ait: 'Quid tu amicam times ne te manuleo caiiet?'; nam euidenter monstratur quia in modum disciplinae posita est, dum diximus: 'Aeternam moriens famam Caieta dedisti'; disciplina doctrinae quamuis studendo desciscat, aeternum tamen memoriae semen hereditat. Ergo pedagogantis suspectione sepulta ad desideratam olim peruenitur Ausoniam, id est ad boni crementa, quo omnis sapientum uoluntas auida alacritate festinat, ‚ Ausonia enim apo tu ausenin, id est cremento ‚ siue etiam quod usque in hac aetate crementa sint corporum.

Hear then the things that remain. In the seventh, indeed, Caieta the nurse having been buried, that is, the gravid weight of magisterial fear cast off ‚ whence also Caieta is said as if a compeller of age; for among the ancients caiatio was called the boyish chastisement; whence also Plautus in the comedy Cistellaria says: 'Why do you fear your girlfriend lest she caiet you with the sleeve-cuff?'; for it is clearly shown that it is set in the manner of discipline, when we said: 'Dying, you gave eternal fame, Caieta'; the discipline of doctrine, although by studying it may defect, nevertheless inherits an eternal seed of memory. Therefore, with the suspicion of the pedagogue buried, one comes to the long-desired Ausonia, that is, to the increments of the good, whither every will of the wise hastens with eager alacrity, ‚ for Ausonia is from apo tu ausenin, that is, crementum ‚ or else because even up to this age there are crements of bodies.

Denique tunc et uxorem petit Lauiniam, id est laborum uiam; ab hac enim aetate unusqui(ui)s suis utilitatum emolumentis laborum asciscit suffragia; unde et filia Latini dicta est, nepus Cauni; Latinus enim quasi a latitando dictus, quod omnis labor diuersis in locis latitet, unde et Latona dicta est Luna quod nunc superna celet, nunc inferiora, nunc uniformis latitet; Caunus uero id est quasi camnonus, id est laborans sensus. Nam et Maricam nimpham ducit quasi mericam, id est cogitationem; unde et Homerus ait: STETHESSINLASIOISI DIANDICHA MERMERIKSEN. Deinde in octauo Euandri auxilium petit; Euandros enim Grece bonus uir dicitur.

Finally then he also seeks as wife Lavinia, that is, the way of labors; for from this age each person enrolls, for the emoluments of his utilities, the suffrages of labors; whence she is called the daughter of Latinus, the granddaughter of Caunus; for Latinus is as if said from “latitating,” because every labor lies hidden in diverse places, whence also Latona is called the Moon, because now she hides the things above, now the lower things, now, being uniform, she lies hidden; but Caunus is as it were camnonus, that is, a laboring sense. For he also takes the nymph Marica, as if merica, that is, thought; whence also Homer says: STETHESSINLASIOISI DIANDICHA MERMERIKSEN. Then in the 8th he seeks the aid of Evander; for Euandros in Greek is said “good man.”

Ergo iam perfectio uirilis humanae bonitatis societatem inquirit, a qua bonitatis uirtutes, id est Herculis gloriam, audit, quemadmodum Cacum occiderit, quod nos Latine malum dicimus. Deinde arma Uulcania, id est igniti sensus munimina aduersus omnem malitiae temptamentum induitur; Uulcanus enim quasi bulencauton, id est ardens consilium, dicimus. Ideo illic etiam omnes Romanorum depictae uirtutes sunt, quod in sapientiae consulto munimine felicitates omnes aut conueniunt aut praeuidentur; bene enim agere futurae bonitatis est seminarium; siue etiam is qui bene agit bona sibi fiducialiter repromittit.

Therefore now the perfection of virile human goodness seeks out society, from which it hears the virtues of goodness, that is, the glory of Hercules, how he killed Cacus, which we in Latin call “evil.” Then the Vulcanian arms are put on, that is, the muniments of an ignited sense against every temptation of malice; for Vulcanus, as it were bulencauton, that is, “burning counsel,” we say. For this reason there, too, all the virtues of the Romans are depicted, because in the advised muniment of wisdom all felicities either come together or are foreseen; for to act well is the seminary of future goodness; or also he who acts well confidently promises good things to himself.

Ergo sapientia et bona seminat et bona sperat. In nono uero ipsis armis adiutus contra Turnum pugnat; Turnus enim Grece quasi turosnus dicitur, id est furibundus sensus; contra omnem enim furiam sapientiae atque ingenii arma reluptant; unde et Homerus ait: MACHESEKS(EGAGE THOURON AREA). Exhinc etiam Mezentium contemtorem deorum interficit; Deus enim omnia bona fieri et praestat et imperat, sed animus qui est in corpore medius contemnendo bona non complet reluptatque bonis inlesione sua. Cuius ausus ledentes quasi Lausum filium eius uir sapiens interimit; dehinc ipsum animum uincit.

Therefore sapience both sows good things and hopes for good things. In the ninth, indeed, aided by those very arms, he fights against Turnus; for Turnus in Greek is said as it were “turosnus,” that is, a frenzied sense; for against every fury the arms of wisdom and ingenuity struggle back; whence also Homer says: MACHESEKS(EGAGE THOURON AREA). From here too he kills Mezentius, the contemner of the gods; for God both brings it about and commands that all good things be done, but the mind, which is in the body as a middle thing, by despising the goods does not complete them and struggles back against the goods without injury to itself. Whose injurious ventures, as it were Lausus his son, the wise man does away with; then thereafter he conquers the mind itself.

Nam quis amicus Turni esse dicitur? Nihilominus Messapus, quasi misonepos quod nos Latine orrens sermonem dicimus; unde et Euripides in tragoedia Figeniae ait: OUCH ESTIN(OUDEN DEINON OD EIPEINEPOS). Superans ergo Messapum uictor tunc demum trutanae aequa lance, morum grauitate, ponderatur ac disponitur. Deinde Iuturna bello discedere praecipitur, quae currum etiam fratris regebat; Iuturna enim in modum perniciei ponitur quod diuturne permaneat.

For who is said to be a friend of Turnus? Nonetheless Messapus, as if “misonepos,” which we in Latin call “hating speech”; whence also Euripides in the tragedy of Iphigenia says: OUCH ESTIN(OUDEN DEINON OD EIPEINEPOS). Therefore, overcoming Messapus, the victor is then at last weighed and set in order by the equal pan of the balance, by the gravity of morals. Then Juturna is bidden to withdraw from the war, she who was even driving her brother’s chariot; for Juturna is posited in the manner of perniciousness, because it endures for a long time.

Ergo furibundae mentis pernicies soror est; currum uero eius quod regit et eum de morte protelat, certe, pernicies quod furorem diu producere nouit ne finiatur; nam primum aurigam Metiscum habuit; metiscos enim Greee est ebriosus, ut primum furiam animi ebrietas ducit, dehinc pernicies ad protelandum accedat. Ideo et ipsa inmortalis dicitur, Turnus uero mortalis dicitur; furor enim animi cito finitur, pernicies uero diuturna perseuerat. Ideo et currum eius circumagit, id est in longum tempus protelat; rotae enim in modum temporis ponuntur; unde et Fortuna rotamferre dicitur, id est temporis uolubilitatem.

Therefore the perniciousness of a raging mind is its sister; and her chariot, which she guides and by which she puts him off from death—surely, it is Perniciousness, which knows how to draw out frenzy for a long time lest it come to an end; for at first she had the charioteer Metiscus—metiskos in Greek is “drunkard”—so that at the outset drunkenness leads the mind’s fury, and thereafter Perniciousness comes in to protract it. Therefore she herself is called immortal, but Turnus is called mortal; for the fury of the mind is quickly finished, whereas perniciousness persists long. Therefore too she wheels his chariot around, that is, she prolongs it into a long time; for wheels are set in the likeness of time; whence also Fortune is said to bear a wheel, that is, the volubility of time.