Manilius: ASTRONOMICON

Maximus Iliacae gentis certamina vates
et quinquaginta regum regemque patremque
Hectoraque Aeacidae victamque sub Hectore Troiam,
erroremque ducis totidem, quot vicerat, annis
<infestum experti dominum maris atque renato 4a
instantem bello geminataque Pergama ponto
ultimaque in patria captisque penatibus arma
ore sacro cecinit; patriam cui turba petentum,
dum dabat, eripuit, cuiusque ex ore profusos
omnis posteritas latices in carmina duxit
amnemque in tenuis ausa est deducere rivos

The greatest bard of the Iliac race’s contests
and of fifty kings and the king and father,
and Hector and the Aeacid, and Troy conquered under Hector,
and the wandering of the leader for as many years as he had conquered,
<having experienced the hostile lord of the sea and, with the sea renewed 4a
pressing on with war, and Pergama doubled upon the deep,
and the last arms in his fatherland and the Penates captured,
he sang with sacred mouth; whose fatherland a throng of claimants,
while he gave, snatched away; and from whose mouth the streams poured forth
all posterity has led into their songs,
and has dared to draw down the river into slender rills

unius fecunda bonis. sed proximus illi
Hesiodus memorat divos divumque parentes
et chaos enixum terras orbemque sub illo
infantem et primos titubantia sidera cursus
Titanasque senes, Iovis et cunabula magni

fecund in the goods of one. But next to him
Hesiod recounts the gods and the parents of the gods
and Chaos, having borne the lands and the orb beneath it
an infant, and the first courses of the tottering stars,
and the Titans as elders, and the cradle of great Jove

et sub fratre viri nomen, sine matre parentis,
atque iterum patrio nascentem corpore Bacchum,
silvarumque deos secretaque numina Nymphas.

and the name of a husband under a brother, and of a parent without a mother,
and Bacchus being born again from the paternal body,
and the gods of the forests and the secret numina, the Nymphs.

quin etiam ruris cultus legesque notavit

nay even he noted the cultivation of the countryside and its laws

militiamque soli, quod colles Bacchus amaret,
quod fecunda Ceres campos, quod Pallas utrumque,
atque arbusta vagis essent quod adultera pomis;
omniaque immenso volitantia lumina mundo,

and the campaigning of the soil, that Bacchus loved the hills,
that fruitful Ceres the plains, that Pallas both,
and that the orchards were adulterous with vagrant fruits;
and all the lights volitant in the immense world,

pacis opus, magnos naturae condit in usus.

a work of peace, he founds for nature’s great uses.

astrorum quidam varias dixere figuras,
signaque diffuso passim labentia caelo
in proprium cuiusque genus causasque tulere;
Persea et Andromedan poena matremque dolentem
solventemque patrem, raptamque Lycaone natam,
officioque Iovis Cynosuram, lacte Capellam

some have declared the various figures of the stars,
and the signs gliding everywhere through the diffused sky,
have referred each to its own proper kind and causes;
Perseus and Andromeda, the penalty and the grieving mother,
and the father unbinding, and the daughter snatched from Lycaon,
and Cynosura for her service to Jove, Capella by her milk

et furto Cycnum, pietate ad sidera ductam
Erigonen ictuque Nepam spolioque Leonem
et morsu Cancrum, Pisces Cythereide versa,
Lanigerum victo ducentem sidera ponto,
ceteraque ex variis pendentia casibus astra

and the Swan by theft, Erigone led to the stars by piety,
and the Scorpion by a stroke, and the Lion by the spoil,
and the Crab by a bite, the Fishes turned by the Cythereid,
the Wool-bearer leading the stars, the sea having been conquered,
and the other stars pendent from various chances

aethera per summum voluerunt fixa revolvi.
quorum carminibus nihil est nisi fabula caelum
terraque composuit mundum quae pendet ab illo.
quin etiam ritus pastorum et Pana sonantem
in calamos Sicula memorat tellure creatus,

aether through the highest they wanted the fixed ones to revolve back.
in whose songs there is nothing but fable: that heaven
and earth composed the world, which depends upon it.
nay even the rites of shepherds and Pan sounding on reeds
he recounts, born of Sicilian soil,

nec silvis silvestre canit perque horrida motus
rura serit dulcis Musamque inducit in aulas.
ecce alius pictas volucres ac bella ferarum,
ille venenatos angues aconitaque et herbas
fata refert vitamque sua radice ferentis.

nor in the forests does he sing a sylvan song, and, moved through rough fields,
he sows sweetness and brings the Muse into halls.
lo, another [sings] painted birds and the wars of wild beasts,
that one recounts venomous serpents and aconites and herbs
that bear fates and life by their own root.

quin etiam tenebris immersum Tartaron atra
in lucem de nocte vocant orbemque revolvunt
interius versum naturae foedere rupto.
omne genus rerum doctae cecinere sorores,
omnis ad accessus Heliconos semita trita est,

nay, even Tartarus, plunged in black darkness
they call into the light from night and roll back the orb
turned inside-out, with the covenant of nature broken.
the learned sisters have sung every kind of thing,
every path to the approaches of Helicon is worn,

et iam confusi manant de fontibus amnes
nec capiunt haustum turbamque ad nota ruentem.
integra quaeramus rorantis prata per herbas
undamque occultis meditantem murmur in antris,
quam neque durato gustarint ore volucres,

and now muddled rivers flow from the founts
nor do they admit the draught nor the throng rushing to the well-known.
let us seek the unspoiled through the grasses of the dewy meadows
and the water meditating a murmur in hidden caverns,
which not even birds with hardened beak have tasted,

ipse nec aetherio Phoebus libaverit igni.
nostra loquar, nulli vatum debebimus orsa,
nec furtum sed opus veniet, soloque volamus
in caelum curru, propria rate pellimus undas.
namque canam tacita naturae mente potentem

nor will Phoebus himself have sipped from the ethereal fire.
I will speak what is ours; to no poet-seers shall we owe our beginnings,
nor theft but a work shall come, and with our own chariot we fly
into heaven, and with our own craft we drive the waves.
for I shall sing of Nature, potent in her silent mind

infusumque deum caelo terrisque fretoque
ingentem aequali moderantem foedere molem,
totumque alterno consensu vivere mundum
et rationis agi motu, cum spiritus unus
per cunctas habitet partes atque irriget orbem

and the god infused into heaven and lands and sea
moderating the immense mass by an equal compact,
and that the whole world lives by reciprocal consensus
and is driven by the motion of reason, since one spirit
inhabits all parts throughout and irrigates the orb

omnia pervolitans corpusque animale figuret.
quod nisi cognatis membris contexta maneret
machina et imposito pareret tota magistro
ac tantum mundi regeret prudentia censum,
non esset statio terris, non ambitus astris,

flitting through all things and shaping the animate body.
and unless the machine, woven together with kindred members, remained
and the whole machine obeyed the master set over it,
and prudence ruled so great a reckoning of the world,
there would be no station for the lands, no circuit for the stars,

erraretque vagus mundus standove rigeret,
nec sua dispositos servarent sidera cursus
noxque alterna diem fugeret rursumque fugaret,
non imbres alerent terras, non aethera venti
nec pontus gravidas nubes nec flumina pontum

and the world would wander errant and, by standing still, would grow rigid,
nor would the stars preserve their courses disposed for them,
and alternating night would flee the day and in turn drive it to flight,
rains would not nourish the lands, nor the winds the aether,
nor would the sea nourish the pregnant clouds nor the rivers the sea

nec pelagus fontes, nec staret summa per omnis
par semper partes aequo digesta parente,
ut neque deficerent undae nec sideret orbis
nec caelum iusto maiusve minusve volaret.
motus alit, non mutat opus. sic omnia toto

nor the sea the fountains, nor would the sum stand equal through all parts, always equal, apportioned by an impartial parent,
so that neither would the waves fail nor would the orb sink,
nor would heaven fly greater or lesser than its just measure.
motion nourishes, it does not mutate the work. thus all things through the whole

dispensata manent mundo dominumque sequuntur.
hic igitur deus et ratio, quae cuncta gubernat,
ducit ab aetheriis terrena animalia signis,
quae, quamquam longo, cogit, summota recessu,
sentiri tamen, ut vitas ac fata ministrent

dispensed, they remain in the world and follow the lord.
here therefore the god and Reason, which governs all things,
leads terrestrial animals by aetherial signs,
which, although removed by a long distance, compels
to be perceived nonetheless, so that they may minister lives and fates.

gentibus ac proprios per singula corpora mores.
nec nimis est quaerenda fides: sic temperat arva
caelum, sic varias fruges redditque rapitque,
sic pontum movet ac terris immittit et aufert,
atque haec seditio pelagus nunc sidere lunae

to the nations, and through individual bodies, their proper customs.
nor need credence be sought too far: thus heaven tempers the fields,
thus it gives and takes away various fruits,
thus it stirs the sea and sends it upon the lands and withdraws it,
and this commotion the sea now by the star of the Moon

mota tenet, nunc diverso stimulata recessu,
nunc anni spatio Phoebum comitata volantem;
sic summersa fretis, concharum et carcere clausa,
ad lunae motum variant animalia corpus
et tua damna, tuas imitantur, Delia, vires;

moved, she holds it; now, spurred by a contrary recess,
now, in the space of a year, having accompanied flying Phoebus;
thus, submerged in the seas and shut in the prison of shells,
the animals vary their body to the motion of the moon,
and your losses, your powers, they imitate, Delia;

tu quoque fraternis sic reddis curribus ora
atque iterum ex isdem repetis, quantumque reliquit
aut dedit ille, refers et sidus sidere constas;
denique sic pecudes et muta animalia terris,
cum maneant ignara sui legisque per aevum,

you also thus turn your face to your brother’s chariots
and again from those same you resume, and whatever he left
or gave, you bring back, and you correspond, star with star;
finally, thus the herds and mute animals upon the earth,
although they remain ignorant of themselves and of law through the age,

100

natura tamen ad mundum revocante parentem
attollunt animos caelumque et sidera servant
corporaque ad lunae nascentis cornua lustrant
venturasque vident hiemes, reditura serena.
quis dubitet post haec hominem coniungere caelo,

nature, nevertheless, recalling the parent to the world,
they raise their spirits and keep watch on the heaven and the stars,
and lustrate their bodies at the horns of the waxing moon,
and see the winters to come, the fair weather to return.
who would doubt after these things to join man to heaven,

105

<cui, cupiens terras ad sidera surgere, munus> 105a
eximium natura dedit linguamque capaxque
ingenium volucremque animum, quem denique in unum
descendit deus atque habitat seque ipse requirit?
mitte alias artes, quarum est permissa facultas
invidiosa adeo, nec nostri munera census:

<to whom, desiring the lands to rise to the stars, the gift> 105a
an extraordinary gift nature gave: both a tongue and a capacious
ingenium, and a winged spirit, into whom at last
God descends and inhabits, and seeks himself?
set aside the other arts, whose permitted faculty is so invidious,
and not the gifts of our endowment:

110

[mitto quod aequali nihil est sub lege tributum,
quo patet auctoris summam, non corporis, esse;
mitto quod certum est et inevitabile fatum
materiaeque datum est cogi sed cogere mundo]
quis caelum posset nisi caeli munere nosse,

[I pass over that nothing is tributed under an equal law,
whereby it is evident that the sum is the author’s, not the body’s;
I pass over that fate is certain and inevitable,
and that it has been given to matter to be compelled, but to the world to compel]
who could know heaven unless by the gift of heaven,

115

et reperire deum, nisi qui pars ipse deorum est?
quisve hanc convexi molem sine fine patentis
signorumque choros ac mundi flammea tecta,
aeternum et stellis adversus sidera bellum
[ac terras caeloque fretum subiectaque utrisque]

and to discover God, unless he who is himself a part of the gods?
or who this mass of the convex vault of the boundlessly open,
and the choruses of the signs and the fiery roofs of the world,
and the eternal war, stars against stars,
[and the lands and the sea and the things subject to both]

120

cernere et angusto sub pectore claudere posset,
ni sanctos animis oculos natura dedisset
cognatamque sibi mentem vertisset ad ipsam
et tantum dictasset opus, caeloque veniret
quod vocat in caelum sacra ad commercia rerum?

who could discern and enclose within his narrow breast,
if Nature had not given sacred eyes to spirits,
and had turned toward herself a cognate mind,
and had dictated so great a work, and might come from heaven
that which calls into heaven, to the sacred commerce of things?

125

quis neget esse nefas invitum prendere mundum

who would deny that it is nefarious to seize the world against its will?

127

et velut in semet captum deducere in orbem?
sed, ne circuitu longo manifesta probentur,
ipsa fides operi faciet pondusque fidemque;

and as if to draw, captured, into one’s own orbit?
but, lest manifest things be proved by a long circuit,
faith itself will give the work both weight and faith;

130

nam neque decipitur ratio nec decipit umquam.
rite sequenda via est ac veris credita causis,
eventusque datur qualis praedicitur ante.
quod Fortuna ratum faciat, quis dicere falsum
audeat et tantae suffragia vincere sortis?

for reason is neither deceived nor ever deceives.
the way is duly to be followed and entrusted to true causes,
and the outcome is given such as is predicted beforehand.
what Fortune makes ratified, who would dare to call false
and to conquer the suffrages of so great a lot?

135

Haec ego divino cupiam cum ad sidera flatu
ferre, nec in turba nec turbae carmina condam
sed solus, vacuo veluti vectatus in orbe
liber agam currus non occursantibus ullis
nec per iter socios commune regentibus actus,

These things I would wish to bear to the stars with a divine breath,
neither in the throng nor for the throng will I compose songs,
but alone, as though borne in an empty orb,
I shall drive my chariot free, with none confronting me,
nor along the way driven by comrades steering a common course,

140

sed caelo noscenda canam, mirantibus astris
et gaudente sui mundo per carmina vatis,
vel quibus illa sacros non invidere meatus
notitiamque sui, minima est quae turba per orbem.
illa frequens, quae divitias, quae diligit aurum,

but I shall sing things to be known by heaven, with the stars marveling
and with the world rejoicing in itself through the songs of the bard,
or for those to whom that world did not begrudge the sacred courses
and the knowledge of itself, which is the least throng through the orb.
that throng is frequent, which loves riches, which loves gold,

145

imperia et fasces mollemque per otia luxum
et blandis diversa sonis dulcemque per aures
affectum, ut modico noscenda ad fata labore.
hoc quoque fatorum est, legem perdiscere fati.
Et primum astrorum varia est natura notanda

empires and fasces and soft luxury through leisure,
and the affect, by diverse blandishing sounds and sweet through the ears,
so that the things to be known about fate be known with moderate labor.
this too is of the fates: to learn thoroughly the law of fate.
And first the varied nature of the stars is to be noted

150

carminibus per utrumque genus. nam mascula sex sunt,
diversi totidem generis sub principe Tauro:
cernis ut aversos redeundo surgat in artus.
alternant genus et vicibus variantur in orbem.
Humanas etiam species in parte videbis,

in songs through both kinds. for there are six masculine,
just as many of a diverse genus under Taurus as prince:
you see how, by turning back, it rises into reversed limbs.
they alternate their genus and are varied by turns in the circle.
You will also see human shapes in part,

155

nec mores distant: pecudum pars atque ferarum
ingenium facient. quaedam signanda sagaci
singula sunt animo, propria quae sorte feruntur:
nunc binis insiste; dabunt geminata potentis
per socium effectus. multum comes addit et aufert,

nor do the characters differ: a portion will make the temperament of herd-beasts and of feral creatures.
some things must be marked singly by a sagacious mind, which are borne by their proper lot:
now insist on pairs; twinned things will give powerful effects through an associate.
a companion adds much and takes away,

160

ambiguisque valent, quis sunt collegia, fatis
ad meritum noxamque. duos per sidera Pisces
et totidem Geminos nudatis aspice membris.
his coniuncta manent alterno bracchia nexu,
dissimile est illis iter in contraria versis.

and they prevail in ambiguities—what the associations (collegia) are, in the fates, for merit and for guilt.
behold through the constellations two Fishes and just as many Twins, with bared limbs.
in these the arms remain joined by an alternate clasp;
for those the course is dissimilar, turned toward contraries.

165

par numerus, sed enim dispar natura notanda est.
atque haec ex paribus toto gaudentia censu
signa meant, nihil exterius mirantur in ipsis
amissumve dolent, quaedam quod, parte recisa
atque ex diverso commissis corpore membris, 170
ut Capricornus et intentum qui derigit arcum
iunctus equo: pars huic hominis, sed nulla priori.
[hoc quoque servandum est alta discrimen in arte,
distat enim gemini duo sint duplane figura]
quin etiam Erigone binis numeratur in astris,

an even number, but indeed a different nature must be noted.
and these signs, rejoicing in an even census throughout, move along;
they marvel at nothing external within themselves nor do they grieve anything lost,
some because, with a part cut off and with limbs of the body joined from an opposite kind,
as Capricorn and he who directs the taut bow, joined to a horse: 170
to this one a part of man, but none to the former.
[this too must be observed—a lofty distinction in the art,
for it differs whether twins be two or double in figure]
nay even Erigone is counted in two constellations,

175

nec facies ratio duplex; nam desinit aestas,
incipit autumnus media sub Virgine utrimque.
idcirco tropicis praecedunt omnibus astra
bina, ut Lanigero, Chelis Cancroque Caproque,
quod duplicis retinent conexo tempore vires.

nor is the scheme of appearance twofold without rationale; for summer ends,
autumn begins beneath mid-Virgo on either side.
therefore, before all the tropical signs there precede two stars,
a pair, as before the Wool-bearer, the Claws, and Cancer and Capricorn,
because they retain the forces of the double, with the time being conjoined.

180

ut, quos subsequitur Cancer per sidera fratres,
e geminis alter florentia tempora veris
sufficit, aestatem sitientem provehit alter;
nudus uterque tamen, sentit quia uterque calorem,
ille senescentis veris, subeuntis at ille

as the brothers whom Cancer follows through the stars,
of the Twins, the one supplies the flourishing times of spring,
the other propels the thirsting summer;
yet each is naked, since each feels the heat,
this one of a senescent spring, but that one of the approaching summer.

185

aestatis: par est primae sors ultima parti.
quin etiam Arcitenens, qui te, Capricorne, sub ipso
promittit, duplici formatus imagine fertur:
mitior autumnus mollis sibi vindicat artus
materiamque hominis, fera tergo membra rigentem

of summer: the portion of the first is equal to the last part.
indeed even the Bow-Bearer, who, Capricorn, promises you right beneath himself,
is said to be formed in a double image:
the milder autumn claims for itself soft limbs
and the matter of a man, while stiff with the wild limbs on his back.

190

excipiunt hiemem mutantque in tempora signum.
quosque Aries prae se mittit, duo tempora Pisces
bina dicant: hiemem hic claudit, ver incohat alter.
cum sol aequoreis revolans decurrit in astris,
hiberni coeunt cum vernis roribus imbres.

they take up winter and change the sign into seasons.
and those whom Aries sends before itself, let Pisces declare two seasons, twofold:
this one closes winter; the other inchoates spring.
when the sun, flying back, runs along in the sea-stars,
the hibernal showers coalesce with the vernal dews.

195

utraque sors umoris habet fluitantia signa.
     Quin tria signa novem signis coniuncta repugnant
et quasi seditio caelum tenet. aspice Taurum
clunibus et Geminos pedibus, testudine Cancrum
surgere, cum rectis oriantur cetera membris;           200
ne mirere moras, cum sol aversa per astra
aestivum tardis attollat mensibus annum.
     Nec te praetereat nocturna diurnaque signa
quae sint perspicere et propria deducere lege,
non tenebris aut luce suam peragentia sortem

Both portions of moisture have floating signs.
     Indeed, three signs, conjunct to nine signs, are contrary,
and, as if a sedition, holds the sky. Look upon Taurus
to rise by his haunches, the Twins by their feet, Cancer by his shell,
while the rest arise with their members in proper order;           200
marvel not at delays, when the sun through reversed stars
uplifts the summer year in slow months.
     Nor let it escape you to perceive which signs are nocturnal and diurnal
and to derive them by their proper law,
not by darkness or by light accomplishing their own lot.

205

(nam commune foret nullo discrimine nomen,
omnia quod certis vicibus per tempora fulgent
et nunc illa dies, nunc noctes illa sequuntur),
sed quibus illa parens mundi natura sacratas
temporis attribuit partes statione perenni.

(for the name would be common, with no distinction,
since all shine through the seasons at fixed vicissitudes,
and now the days, now the nights follow them),
but those to which Nature, parent of the world, has assigned the sacred
portions of time with a perennial station.

210

namque Sagittari signum rabidique Leonis
et sua respiciens aurato vellere terga,
tum Pisces <et> Cancer et acri Scorpios ictu,
aut vicina loco, divisa aut partibus aequis,
omnia dicuntur simili sub sorte diurna.

for the sign of Sagittarius and of the rabid Lion,
and the one, with golden fleece, looking back at its own back,
then Pisces <and> Cancer and Scorpio with a sharp sting,
either neighboring in place, or divided by equal parts,
all are said to be under a similar diurnal lot.

215

cetera, vel numero consortia vel vice sedis,
interiecta locis totidem, nocturna feruntur.
quidam etiam sex continuis dixere diurnas
esse vices astris, quae sunt a principe signo
Lanigeri, sex a Libra nocturna videri.

the others, whether consorted by number or by the alternation of seat,
interposed with just as many places between, are said to be nocturnal.
Some even have said that the six contiguous are diurnal turns
for the stars which are from the leading sign of the Wool-bearer,
and that six from the Balance are seen as nocturnal.

220

sunt quibus esse diurna placet quae mascula surgunt,
femineam sortem tutis gaudere tenebris.
Quin non nulla tibi nullo monstrante loquuntur
Neptuno debere genus, scopulosus in undis
Cancer et effuso gaudentes aequore Pisces.

There are those to whom it pleases that those which rise, the masculine, be diurnal,
that the feminine lot rejoice in safe darkness.
Indeed, some even tell you, with no one pointing it out,
that the stock is owed to Neptune: rocky amid the waves is Cancer,
and the Fishes rejoicing in the outpoured sea.

225

at, quae terrena censentur sidera sorte,
princeps armenti Taurus regnoque superbus
lanigeri gregis est Aries pestisque duorum
praedatorque Leo <et> dumosis Scorpios arvis.
sunt etiam mediae legis communia signa, 230
ambiguus tergo Capricornus, Aquarius undis,
umida terrenis aequali foedere mixta.

but the stars which are reckoned terrestrial by lot,
Taurus is the chief of the herd and proud in his realm,
Aries belongs to the wool-bearing flock, and Leo, the bane of the two
and the predator, and Scorpius in the bushy fields.
there are also common signs of the middle law, 230
Capricorn, ambiguous in his back, Aquarius in the waves,
the watery with the terrestrial mixed by an equal covenant.

233

Non licet a minimis animum deflectere curis,
nec quicquam rationis eget frustrave creatum.
fecundum est proprie Cancri genus, acer et ictu
Scorpios, et partu complentes aequora Pisces.
sed sterilis Virgo est, simili coniuncta Leoni,
nec capit, aut captos effundit, Aquarius ortus.
inter utrumque manet Capricornus corpore mixto

It is not permitted to deflect the mind from the least cares,
nor has anything been created devoid of reason or in vain.
Fecund is properly the genus of Cancer, and keen in stroke
is Scorpio, and the Fishes filling the seas with offspring.
But sterile is the Virgin, joined to the similar Lion,
Nor does Aquarius, at his rising, contain, or he pours out the captured.
Between the two remains Capricorn with a mixed body

240

et qui Cretaeo fulget Centaurus in arcu,
communisque Aries aequantem tempora Libram
et Geminos Taurumque pari sub sorte recenset.
Nec tu nulla putes in eo commenta locasse
naturam rerum, quod sunt currentia quaedam,

and the Centaur who gleams in the Cretan bow,
and Aries, in common, tallies the Libra that equalizes the seasons
and the Twins and the Bull under an equal lot.
Nor should you think that nature of things has placed no contrivances in this,
that there are certain current ones,

245

ut Leo et Arcitenens Ariesque in cornua tortus;
aut quae recta suis librantur stantia membris,
ut Virgo et Gemini, fundens et Aquarius undas;
vel quae fessa sedent pigras referentia mentes,
Taurus depositis collo sopitus aratris,

as Leo and the Bow-bearer (Sagittarius), and Aries twisted into his horns;
or those which, standing upright, are balanced by their own limbs,
as Virgo and the Twins, and Aquarius pouring out waves;
or those which, weary, sit, betokening sluggish minds,
Taurus, with the ploughs laid down from his neck, lulled to sleep,

250

Libra sub emerito considens orbe laborum,
tuque tuos, Capricorne, gelu contractus in artus;
quaeve iacent, Cancer patulam distentus in alvum,
Scorpios incumbens plano sub pectore terrae,
in latus obliqui Pisces semperque iacentes.

Libra, sitting beneath the orb with its labors served out,
and you too, Capricorn, contracted by frost into your own limbs;
and those that lie: Cancer, stretched into a gaping belly,
Scorpio leaning upon the level earth beneath his breast,
Pisces on their side, oblique and ever lying.

255

Quod si sollerti circumspicis omnia cura,
fraudata invenies amissis sidera membris.
Scorpios in Libra consumit bracchia, Taurus
succidit incurvo claudus pede, lumina Cancro
desunt, Centauro superest et quaeritur unum.

But if you survey everything with a skillful care,
you will find the constellations defrauded, their limbs lost.
Scorpio in Libra consumes its arms; Taurus
is cut down, lame with a crooked foot; lights are lacking to Cancer;
for the Centaur, one remains and one is sought.

260

sic nostros casus solatur mundus in astris
exemploque docet patienter damna subire,
omnis cum caelo fortunae pendeat ordo
ipsaque debilibus formentur sidera membris.
Temporibus quoque sunt propriis pollentia signa:

thus the world consoles our misfortunes in the stars
and by example teaches us to undergo losses patiently,
since the whole order of Fortune hangs upon the sky,
and the stars themselves are fashioned with feeble members.
There are also signs potent in their proper times:

265

aestas a Geminis, autumnus Virgine surgit,
bruma Sagittifero, ver Piscibus incipit esse.
quattuor in partes scribuntur sidera terna;
hiberna aestivis, autumni verna repugnant.
Nec satis est proprias signorum noscere formas

summer rises from Gemini, autumn rises with the Virgin,
winter with the Arrow-bearer (Sagittarius), spring begins with Pisces.
into four parts the constellations are inscribed, three apiece;
the wintry are opposed to the estival, the autumnal to the vernal.
Nor is it enough to know the proper forms of the signs

270

et privas quas dant leges nascentibus astra;

and the private laws which the stars give to those being born;

126

consensu quoque fata movent et foedere gaudent

by consensus too they move the fates and rejoice in a covenant

271

atque aliis alia succedunt sorte locoque.
circulus ut dextro signorum clauditur orbe,
in tris aequalis discurrit linea ductus
inque vicem extremis iungit se finibus ipsa,

and to others other things succeed by lot and by place.
as the circle of the signs is closed on the right-hand orb,
a line, drawn, runs into three equal parts
and in turn joins itself at the farthest boundaries itself,

275

et, quaecumque ferit, dicuntur signa trigona,
in tria partitus quod ter cadit angulus astra
quae divisa manent ternis distantia signis.
Laniger ex paribus spatiis duo signa, Leonis
atque Sagittari, diverso conspicit ortu;

and, whatever it strikes, are called trigon signs,
because the angle, divided into three, falls thrice upon the stars
which, when divided, remain distant by three signs.
The Ram-bearer, at equal intervals, beholds two signs, of Leo
and of Sagittarius, with a different rising;

280

Virginis et Tauri Capricorno consonat astrum;
cetera sunt simili ratione triangula signa
per totidem sortes, desunt quae, condita mundo:
[sed discrimen erit dextris laevisque: sinistra
quae subeunt, quae praecedunt dextra esse feruntur;

The star of the Virgin and of the Bull is consonant with Capricorn;
the other signs are trigonal by a similar ratio
through the same number of lots; those that are lacking, with the world established:
[but there will be a distinction between right and left: left are those that come up, those that precede are said to be right;

285

dexter erit Tauro Capricornus, Virgo sinistra]
hoc satis exemplo est. at, quae divisa quaternis
partibus aequali laterum sunt condita ductu
quorum designat normalis virgula sedes,
haec quadrata ferunt. Libram Capricornus et illum

Capricorn will be right-hand to Taurus, Virgo left-hand];
this is example enough. But those which, divided into four parts,
are established by an equal guidance of the sides,
whose seats a right-angled little rod designates,
these they call squares. Libra, Capricorn, and that one

290

conspicit ante Aries atque ipsum a partibus aequis
Cancer et hunc laeva subeuntis sidera Librae.
semper enim <in> dextris censentur signa priora.
sic licet in totidem partes diducere cuncta
ternaque bis senis quadrata effingere signis,

Aries beholds before, and Cancer from equal parts beholds that same one, and the stars of Libra, ascending on the left, behold this one. For the prior signs are always reckoned on the right. Thus it is permitted to divide all things into just so many parts and to fashion triple squares with the twice-six signs,

295

quorum proposito reddentur in ordine vires.
Sed siquis contentus erit numerasse quadrata,
divisum <ut> signis mundum putet esse quaternis,
aut tribus ac binis signis ornare trigonum,
ut socias vires et amicos exigat ortus

whose powers, as proposed, will be rendered in order.
But if anyone will be content to have counted the squares,
let him think that the world has been divided by four signs,
or to adorn the trigon with three and with two signs,
so that he may elicit allied powers and friendly risings

300

foederaque inveniat mundi cognata per astra,
falsus erit. nam, quina licet sint undique signa,
qui tamen e trinis, quae quinto quoque feruntur
astra loco, fuerint nati, sentire trigoni
non poterunt vires: licet illud nomine servent,

and though he find the cognate pacts of the world through the stars,
he will be mistaken. For, although there are five signs on every side,
yet those who have been born from the triads, the stars which are borne in every fifth
place, will not be able to sense the forces of the trigon:
although they preserve that in name,

305

amisere loco dotes numerisque repugnant.
nam, cum sint partes orbis per signa trecentae
et ter vicenae, quas Phoebi circuit ardor,
tertia pars eius numeri latus efficit unum
in tris perducti partes per signa trigoni.

they have lost their endowments by position and are at odds with the numbers.
for, since the parts of the circle through the signs are three hundred and thrice twenty,
which the ardor of Phoebus circuits,
a third part of that number makes one side
of the trigon drawn through the signs into three parts.

310

hanc autem numeri non reddit linea summam,
si signum signo, non pars a parte notetur,
quod, quamvis duo sunt ternis dirimentibus astra,
si tamen extremam laevi primamque prioris
inter se conferre voles numerumque notare,

but the line does not render this sum of the number,
if a sign be marked to a sign, not a part to a part,
because, although there are two stars severed by three,
if, however, you should wish to compare the last of the left and the first of the former
with one another and to note the number,

315

ter quinquagenas implebunt ordine partes;
transibit numerus formam finesque sequentis
consumet ductus. licet ergo signa trigona
dicantur, partes non servant illa trigonas.
haec eadem species fallet per signa quadrata

thrice fifty parts they will fill in order;
the number will pass beyond the figure and the bounds of the following,
the drawn line will consume them. therefore, although the signs are called trigonal,
those do not keep trigonal parts. this same pattern will deceive through the quadrate signs

320

(quod, cum totius numeri, qui construit orbem,
ter denae quadrum partes per sidera reddant,
evenit ut, prima signi de parte prioris
si partem ad summam ducatur virga sequentis,
bis sexagenas faciat; sin summa prioris

(because, since of the whole number that constructs the orb,
the thrice-ten parts of a square yield through the stars,
it comes about that, if from the first part of the prior sign
the rod of the following be drawn to the sum,
it makes twice sixty; but if the sum of the prior

325

et pars confertur subeuntis prima, duorum
signorum in medio numerum transique referque,
triginta duplicat partes, pars tertia derit);
et, quamvis quartum a quarto quis computet astrum,
naufragium facient partes unius in ipsis.

and the first part of the one entering is conferred; transit and carry back the number in the middle of two signs, it duplicates thirty parts; a third part will be lacking); and, although someone should compute the fourth star from the fourth, the parts of one will make shipwreck in themselves.

330

non igitur satis est signis numerasse trigona
quadrative fidem quaeri per signa quaterna.
quadrati si forte voles effingere formam,
aut trinis paribus facies cum membra trigoni,
hic poscit quintam partem centesima summa,

therefore it is not enough to have numbered trines by signs,
nor should trust be sought in the quadrate through four signs.
if perchance you wish to fashion the form of the square,
or with three equals you will make the members of the triangle,
here the sum as a hundred demands a fifth part,

335

illic amittit decimam. sic convenit ordo.
et, quiscumque quater iunctis favet angulus usque,
quaeque loca in triplici signarit linea ductu
cum sinuata viae linquet dispendia recta,
his natura dedit communi foedera lege

there it loses a tenth. thus the order is agreed.
and, whichever angle favors four conjoined all the way,
and whatever places a line will have marked in a triple course,
when the straight way will leave the losses of a sinuous path,
to these nature has given covenants by a common law

340

inque vicem affectus et mutua iura favoris.
quocirca non omnis habet genitura trigonis
consensum signis, nec, cum sunt forte quadrata,

and in turn affections and the mutual rights of favor.
wherefore not every geniture has, in the trigons,
consensus with the signs, nor, when they are by chance squared,

345

continuo inter se servant commercia rerum.
distat enim, partes consumat linea iustas
detrectetne modum numeri, quem circulus ambit,
nunc tris efficiens, nunc quattuor undique ductus,
quos in plura iubet ratio procedere signa

forthwith among themselves they keep the commerce of things.
for it differs whether the line consumes the just parts
or whether it refuses the measure of the number which the circle encompasses,
now making three, now four, drawn from every side,
which, as reason bids, proceed into more signs

350

interdum, quam sunt numeris memorata per orbem.
Sed longe maior vis est per signa trigoni
quam quibus est titulus sub quarto quoque quadratis.
altior est horum summoto linea templo,
illa magis vicina meat caeloque recedit

sometimes, as they have been remembered by numbers throughout the orb.
But far greater force is through the signs of the trigon
than those whose title is under every fourth, the squares.
higher is the line of these with the temple removed,
that one goes closer and withdraws from the sky.

355

et propius terras accedit visus eorum
aeraque infectum nostras demittit ad auras.
Debilia alternis data sunt commercia signis,
mutua nec magno consensu foedera servant,
invita angusto quod linea flectitur orbe.

and their aspect approaches the lands more closely and sends down the air, tainted, to our breezes.
Feeble commerce has been given to alternate signs, nor do they keep mutual federations with great consensus, because the line, unwilling, is bent in a narrow orb.

360

nam, cum praeteriens formatur singula limes
sidera et alterno devertitur angulus astro
sexque per anfractus curvatur virgula in orbem,
a Tauro venit in Cancrum, tum Virgine tacta
Scorpion ingreditur, tum te, Capricorne, rigentem

for, as it passes by, the limit is shaped by each constellation,
and the angle is diverted to an alternate star,
and through six anfractuous windings the little line is curved into an orb,
from Taurus it comes into Cancer, then, with Virgo touched,
it enters Scorpio, then you, Capricorn, rigid with cold.

365

et geminos a te Pisces aversaque Tauri
sidera contingens finit, qua coeperat, orbem.
alterius ductus locus est per transita signa,
utque ea praetereas quae sunt mihi singula dicta,
flexibus et totidem similis sit circulus illi.

and, touching from you the twin Fishes and the averted stars of the Bull, it finishes the orb where it had begun.
the path of the other has its place through the traversed signs,
and, so that you may pass over those things which have been said by me singly,
let the circle be similar to that one, with just as many flexures.

370

tertia convexo conduntur signa recessu;

in the third, the signs are hidden in a convex recess;

374

transversos igitur fugiunt subeuntia visus,

therefore the things coming up flee the sidelong gazes,

371

quod nimis inclinata iacent limisque videntur
vicinoque latent: ex recto certior ictus.
et, quia succedit convexo linea caelo,

because they lie too inclined and seem askance and are hidden by what is near: from straight-on the blow is more certain.
and, because a line comes up beneath the convex sky,

375

singula circuitu quae tantum transeat astra,
visus eis procul est altoque vagatur Olympo
et tenuis vires ex longo mittit in orbem.
sed tamen est illis foedus sub lege propinqua,
quod non diversum genus est coeuntibus astris,

the single line which only passes across the individual stars by a circuit,
the sight is far from them and wanders on high Olympus,
and, tenuous, sends its powers from afar into the orb.
But nevertheless there is for them a compact under a kindred law,
because the genus is not diverse for the stars that come together,

380

mascula sed maribus respondent, cetera sexus
feminei secum iungunt commercia mundi.
sic, quamquam alternis, par est natura figuris,
et cognata iacent generis sub legibus astra.
Iam vero nulla est haerentibus addita signis

but the masculine respond to males, the rest join to themselves the commerce
of the feminine sex of the world. Thus, although by alternations, nature is equal with the figures,
and the kindred stars lie under the laws of the kind.
Now indeed no interval is added to the adjoining signs

385

gratia; nam consensus hebet, quia visus ademptus.
in seducta ferunt animos, quae cernere possunt.
sunt etiam adversi generis conexa per orbem
mascula femineis semperque obsessa vicissim.
[disparibus non ulla datur concordia signis]

grace; for their consensus is dull, because sight has been taken away.
they bear their spirits into secluded places, those which are able to discern.
there are also things of adverse kind connected across the orb,
masculine with feminine, and ever in turn beset.
[no concord is given to unlike signs]

390

Sexta quoque in nullas numerantur commoda vires,
virgula per totum quod par non ducitur orbem
sed duo signa ferit mediis summota quaternis,
tertius absumpto ductus non sufficit orbe.
At, quae diversis e partibus astra refulgent

The sixth too is counted as having no favorable forces,
since the little rod is not drawn equal across the whole orb,
but strikes two signs removed, with four set in the middle,
the third drawing, with the orb used up, does not suffice.
But the stars which flash back from different parts

395

per medium adverso mundum pendentia vultu
et toto divisa manent contraria caelo
septima quaeque, loco quamvis summota feruntur,
ex longo tamen illa valent viresque ministrant
vel bello vel pace suas, ut tempora poscunt,

through the middle of the world, hanging with an adverse visage,
and divided through the whole sky they remain contrary;
every seventh, though removed in place they are borne,
yet from afar they are potent and minister their forces
either for war or for peace, as the times demand,

400

nunc foedus stellis, nunc et dictantibus iras.
quod si forte libet, quae sunt contraria, signa
per titulos celebrare suos sedesque, memento
solstitium brumae, Capricornum opponere Cancro,
Lanigerum Librae (par nox in utroque diesque est),

now a covenant with the stars, now too, with them dictating, wraths.
but if by chance it pleases you to celebrate the signs which are opposite by their own titles and seats, remember
to oppose the solstice of midwinter, Capricorn to Cancer,
the Wool-bearer to Libra (in each the night and the day are equal),

405

Piscibus Erigonen, iuvenique urnaeque Leonem;
Scorpios e summo cum fulget, Taurus in imo est,
et cadit Arcitenens Geminis orientibus orbi.
[hos servant inter sese contraria cursus]
sed, quamquam adversis fulgent contraria signis,

Virgo to the Fishes, and the Lion to the youth and to the urn;
when Scorpius gleams from the summit, Taurus is at the lowest,
and the Bow-holder falls as the Twins are rising upon the world.
[these keep contrary courses among themselves]
but, although contraries gleam in adverse signs,

410

natura tamen interdum sociata feruntur,
et genere amplexis concordia mutua surgit:
mascula se paribus vel sic, diversa suorum
respondent generi. Pisces et Virginis artus
adversi volitant, sed amant communia iura,

yet by nature sometimes they are borne as confederates,
and, their kind embraced, mutual concord arises:
the masculine ones with their equals even so; the unlike
respond to the genus of their own. Pisces and the limbs of the Virgin
flutter opposed, but they love common laws,

415

et vincit natura locum; sed vincitur ipsa
temporibus, Cancerque tibi, Capricorne, repugnat
femina femineo, quia brumae dissidet aestas.
hinc rigor et glacies nivibusque albentia rura,
hinc sitis et sudor nudusque in collibus orbis,

and nature conquers place; but she herself is conquered by seasons, and Cancer, to you, Capricorn, resists—female to feminine—because summer dissents from winter. hence rigor and ice and countrysides whitening with snows, hence thirst and sweat and the world naked on the hills,

420

aestivosque dies aequat nox frigida brumae.
sic bellum natura gerit, discordat et annus,
ne mirere in ea pugnantia sidera parte.
at non Lanigeri signum Libraeque repugnant
in totum, quia ver autumno tempore differt 425
(fructibus hoc implet maturis, floribus illud)
sed ratione pari est, aequatis nocte diebus,
temporaque efficiunt simili concordia textu
permixtosque dies mediis hiemem inter et aestum
articulis uno servantia utrimque tenore

and the cold night of midwinter equals the summer days.
thus nature wages war, and the year is discordant,
do not wonder at the stars fighting in that part.
but the sign of the Wool-bearer and of Libra do not oppose in toto,
altogether, because spring differs from autumn in season 425
(this one fills with ripe fruits, that one with flowers)
but it is with a like rationale, the days made equal to the night,
and they fashion the seasons with a similar fabric of concord,
and the days are mingled, between winter and heat in the middle,
keeping, at the joints, a single tenor on both sides.

430

quo minus infesto decertent sidera bello.
talis erit ratio diversis addita signis.
His animadversis rebus quae proxima cura?
noscere tutelas adiectaque numina signis
et quae cuique deo rerum natura dicavit,

whereby the stars may contend less in a hostile war.
Such will be the rationale added to the diverse signs.
These things having been observed, what care is next?
to know the tutelages and the divinities adjoined to the signs
and what the nature of things has dedicated to each god,

435

cum divina dedit magnis virtutibus ora,
condidit et varias sacro sub nomine vires,
pondus uti rebus persona imponere posset.
Lanigerum Pallas, Taurum Cytherea tuetur,
formosos Phoebus Geminos; Cyllenie, Cancrum,

when the divine gave faces to the great virtues,
and established various powers under a sacred name,
so that a persona might be able to impose weight upon things.
Pallas watches over the Ram, Cytherea the Bull,
Phoebus the beautiful Twins; Cyllenian, the Crab,

440

Iuppiter, et cum matre deum regis ipse Leonem;
spicifera est Virgo Cereris fabricataque Libra
Vulcani; pugnax Mavorti Scorpios haeret;
venantem Diana virum, sed partis equinae,
atque angusta fovet Capricorni sidera Vesta;

Jupiter, and with the Mother of the Gods you yourself rule the Lion;
the ear-bearing Virgin is of Ceres, and the Balance fabricated by Vulcan;
the pugnacious Scorpion adheres to Mars;
Diana watches over the hunting man, yet of equine parts,
and Vesta fosters the narrow stars of Capricorn;

445

e Iovis adverso Iunonis Aquarius astrum est
agnoscitque suos Neptunus in aethere Pisces.
hinc quoque magna tibi venient momenta futuri,
cum ratio tua per stellas et sidera curret
argumenta petens omni de parte viasque

and opposite to Jupiter, Aquarius is Juno’s star,
and Neptune recognizes his own Pisces in the ether.
from this too great moments of the future will come to you,
when your reason will run through the stars and the constellations,
seeking arguments from every side and the ways

450

artis, ut ingenio divina potentia surgat
exaequentque fidem caelo mortalia corda.
Accipe divisas hominis per sidera partes
singulaque imperiis propriis parentia membra,
in quis praecipuas toto de corpore vires

of the art, so that by ingenuity the divine potency may rise
and that mortal hearts may equalize their faith with heaven.
Receive the parts of man divided through the stars
and the individual members obeying their proper commands,
in which the chief forces from the whole body

455

exercent. Aries caput est ante omnia princeps
sortitus censusque sui pulcherrima colla
Taurus, et in Geminis aequali bracchia sorte
scribuntur conexa umeris, pectusque locatum
sub Cancro est, laterum regnum scapulaeque Leonis,

they exercise. Aries is the head, before all, allotted as princeps
and, by his own allotment, the very fair neck;
Taurus, and in Gemini the arms with an equal lot
are written, fastened to the shoulders, and the breast placed
beneath Cancer, the realm of the sides and the shoulder-blades of Leo,

460

Virginis in propriam descendunt ilia sortem,
Libra regit clunes, et Scorpios inguine gaudet,
Centauro femina accedunt, Capricornus utrisque
imperitat genibus, crurum fundentis Aquari
arbitrium est, Piscesque pedum sibi iura reposcunt.

The loins descend into the Maiden’s own portion,
Libra rules the buttocks, and Scorpio rejoices in the groin,
to the Centaur the thighs are added, Capricorn commands both
knees, the authority over the shanks is Aquarius the Pourer’s,
and the Fishes reclaim for themselves the rights of the feet.

465

Quin etiam propriis inter se legibus astra
conveniunt, ut certa gerant commercia rerum,
inque vicem praestant visus atque auribus haerent
aut odium foedusve gerunt, conversaque quaedam
in semet proprio ducuntur prona favore.

Nay even the stars convene among themselves by their proper laws,
so that they conduct a certain commerce of things,
and in turn they present visions and adhere to the ears,
or they carry odium or a treaty, and certain, turned about,
are led into themselves, prone by their own proper favor.

470

idcirco adversis non numquam <est> gratia signis,
et bellum sociata gerunt; alienaque sede
inter se generant coniunctos omne per aevum,
a triquetrisque orti pugnant fugiuntque vicissim;
quod deus, in leges mundum cum conderet omnem,

therefore there is sometimes favor for opposing signs,
and, though allied, they wage war; from an alien seat
they generate among themselves those conjoined for all age,
and those arisen from triquetrous ones fight and flee in turn;
because God, when he was founding the whole world under laws,

475

affectus quoque divisit variantibus astris,
atque aliorum oculos, aliorum contulit aures,
iunxit amicitias horum sub foedere certo,
<illis perpetuas statuit discordibus iras,> 478a
cernere ut inter se possent audireque quaedam,
diligerent alia et noxas bellumque moverent,
his etiam propriae foret indulgentia sortis,
ut se diligerent semper sibique ipsa placerent;
sicut naturas hominum plerasque videmus
qui genus ex signis ducunt formantibus ortus.
Consilium ipse suum est Aries, ut principe dignum est,

he also divided affections by the varying stars,
and upon some he conferred eyes, upon others ears,
he joined the friendships of these under a fixed pact,
<for those at odds he established perpetual wraths,> 478a
so that they might be able to discern and to hear certain things among themselves,
that they might cherish some others and stir up wrongs and war,
for these too there would be an indulgence of their proper lot,
that they should always love themselves and be pleasing to themselves;
just as we see the greater part of the natures of men
who derive their lineage from the signs shaping their births.
Aries is his own counsel, as is worthy of a prince,

485

audit se Libramque videt, frustratur amando
Taurum; Lanigero qui fraudem nectit et ultra
fulgentis geminos audit per sidera Pisces,
Virgine mens capitur visa. sic vexerat ante
Europam dorso retinentem cornua laeva 490
indutusque Iovi. Geminorum ducitur auris
ad iuvenem aeternas fundentem Piscibus undas
inque ipsos animus Pisces oculique Leonem.
Cancer et adverso Capricornus conditus astro
in semet vertunt oculos, in mutua tendunt

he hears himself named and sees Libra, he is foiled by loving
the Bull; he who weaves fraud against the Wool-bearer and moreover
hears, across the stars, the twin shining Fishes,
his mind is captured by the Maiden when seen. Thus earlier he had vexed
Europa, holding the horns with her left hand on his back, 490
and was clad in the guise of Jove. The ear of the Twins is drawn
to the youth pouring eternal waves for the Fishes,
and both his mind toward the Fishes themselves and his eyes toward the Lion.
Cancer and Capricorn, set in the opposing star,
turn their eyes upon themselves; they stretch toward one another.

495

auribus, et Cancri captatur Aquarius astu.
at Leo cum Geminis aciem coniungit et aurem
Centauro ferus et Capricorni diligit astrum.
Erigone Taurum spectat sed Scorpion audit
atque Sagittifero conatur nectere fraudem.

to the ears, and Aquarius is captured by Cancer’s cunning.
but the Lion with the Twins joins his gaze, and his ear
to the Centaur, ferocious, and he esteems the star of Capricorn.
Erigone looks at the Bull but listens to the Scorpion
and tries to weave a fraud for the Arrow-bearer.

500

Libra suos sequitur sensus solumque videndo
Lanigerum atque animo complexa est Scorpion infra.
ille videt Pisces, audit quae proxima Librae.
nec non Arcitenens magno parere Leoni
auribus atque oculis sinum fundentis Aquari

Libra follows its own senses and only by seeing
the Wool-bearer, and in mind has embraced the Scorpion beneath.
that one sees the Fishes, and hears what is nearest to Libra.
and likewise the Bow-holder obeys the great Lion
with the ears and eyes of bowl-pouring Aquarius.

505

conspicere assuevit solamque ex omnibus astris
diligit Erigonen. contra Capricornus in ipsum
convertit visus (quid enim mirabitur ille
maius, in Augusti felix cum fulserit ortum?)
auribus et summi captat fastigia Cancri.

he has grown accustomed to behold, and alone out of all the stars
he cherishes Erigone. Conversely Capricorn turns his sights upon him
(for what greater thing will that one marvel at,
than when, felicitous, he has shone at the rising of Augustus?)
and with his ears he catches the summits of highest Cancer.

510

at nudus Geminis intendit Aquarius aurem
sublimemque colit Cancrum spectatque reducta
tela Sagittiferi. Pisces ad Scorpion acrem
derexere aciem cupiuntque attendere Taurum.
has natura vices tribuit, cum sidera fixit.

but naked Aquarius inclines an ear to Gemini,
and courts lofty Cancer and gazes at the drawn-back shafts of the Sagittary.
Pisces have directed their keen gaze toward the fierce Scorpion,
and they long to attend to Taurus.
Nature assigned these interchanges when it fixed the stars.

515

his orti similis referunt per mutua sensus,
audire ut cupiant alios aliosque videre,
[horum odio nunc horum idem ducuntur amore]
illis insidias tendant, captentur ab illis.
Quin adversa meant alterna trigona trigonis,

those born from these report similar perceptions through mutual senses,
so that they desire to hear some and to see others,
[by hatred of these now, by love of these same they are led],
they lay ambushes for those, they are captured by those.
Indeed the adverse alternate trigons go to trigons,

520

alteraque in bellum diverso limite ducit
linea. sic veri per totum consonat ordo.
namque Aries, Leo et Arcitenens, sociata trigona
signa, negant Chelis foedus totique trigono
quod Gemini excipiunt fundens et Aquarius undas.

and another line leads into war along a different boundary.
thus the order of truth harmonizes throughout.
for Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius (the Bow-bearer), the signs allied in trines,
refuse a pact with the Scales, and with the whole trigon
which Gemini receive, and Aquarius, pouring out waves.

525

idque duplex ratio cogit verum esse fateri,
quod tria signa tribus signis contraria fulgent,
quodque aeterna manent hominum bella atque ferarum.
[humana est facies Librae, diversa Leonis]
idcirco et cedunt pecudes, quod viribus amplis

and a twofold reasoning compels us to confess this to be true,
that three signs shine contrary to three signs,
and that the eternal wars of men and of wild beasts abide.
[the face of Libra is human, different is that of Leo]
therefore also the herds yield, because by ample forces

530

consilium est maius. victus Leo fulget in astris,
aurea Lanigero concessit sidera pellis,
ipse suae parti Centaurus tergore cedit,
usque adeo est hominis virtus. quid mirer ab illis
nascentis Librae superari posse trigono?

Counsel is greater. The conquered Lion shines in the stars,
the golden pelt has yielded the stars to the Fleece-bearer,
the Centaur himself yields his back to his own quarter,
so far-reaching is the virtue of man. Why should I marvel that by them
the trigone of a nascent Libra can be overcome?

535

Nec sola est ratio quae dat nascentibus arma

Nor is reason alone that which gives weapons to the newborn

570

inque odium generat partus et mutua bella;
sed plerumque manent inimica tertia quaeque
lege, in transversum vultu defixa maligno,
quodque, manent quaecumque loco contraria signa
adversosque gerunt inter se septima visus,

and birth begets hatred and mutual wars;
but for the most part every third remains inimical
by law, fixed crosswise with a malign visage,
and moreover, whatever signs are contrary in place remain,
and the sevenths carry adverse sights between themselves,

575

tertia quaeque illis utriusque trigona feruntur;
ne sit mirandum si foedus non datur astris
quae sunt adversis signis cognata trigona.
quin etiam brevior ratio est per signa sequenda;

every third is counted as a trigon for each of them;
let it not be a wonder if no pact is granted to the stars
whose cognate trigons are in opposing signs.
nay even, a briefer rationale is to be followed through the signs;

536

nam, quaecumque nitent humana condita forma
astra, manent illis inimica et victa ferarum.
sed tamen in proprias secedunt singula mentes
et privata gerunt secretis hostibus arma.

for whatever stars shine, fashioned with a human form,
remain to them inimical and vanquished by beasts.
but nevertheless each withdraws into its own minds,
and they bear private arms against hidden enemies.

540

Lanigero genitis bellum est cum Virgine natis
et Libra Geminisque et eis quos protulit Urna.
in partus Tauri sub Cancro nata feruntur
pectora et in Chelis et quae dant Scorpios acer
et Pisces. at, quos Geminorum sidera formant, 545
his cum Lanigero bellum est eiusque trigono.

To those begotten under the Wool-bearer, there is war with those born from the Virgin and the Balance and the Twins and those whom the Urn brought forth.
hearts born under Cancer are borne toward the offspring of the Bull and into the Claws, and those which keen Scorpius and Pisces grant.
but those whom the constellations of the Twins shape, 545
with these there is war for the Wool-bearer and for his trigon.

in Cancro genitos Capricorni semina laedunt
et Librae partus et quos dat Virginis astrum
quique sub aversi numerantur sidere Tauri.
Lanigeri communis erit rabidique Leonis

those born in Cancer are harmed by the seed of Capricorn
and the offspring of Libra and those whom the star of the Virgin gives,
and those who are counted under the adverse star of the Bull.
The enmity will be common to the Wool-bearer and the rabid Lion

550

hostis, et a totidem bellum subscribitur astris.
Erigone Cancrumque timet geminique sub arcu
Centauri et Pisces et te, Capricorne, rigentem.
maxima turba petit Libram, Capricornus et illi
adversus Cancer, Iuvenis quod utrimque quadratum est,

enemy, and war is subscribed by just as many stars.
Erigone fears Cancer and, beneath the bow
of the Centaur, the Twins and Pisces, and you, Capricorn, rigid.
the greatest throng seeks Libra; Capricorn too, and against it
Cancer—because to the Youth it is squared on both sides,

555

quaeque in Lanigeri numerantur signa trigonum.
Scorpios in totidem fecundus creditur hostes;
aequoreum iuvenem, Geminos, Taurum atque Leonem,
Erigonen Libramque fugit metuendus et ipse,
quique Sagittari veniunt de sidere partus.

and the signs which are numbered in the trigon of the Ram.
The Scorpion is believed fecund in just as many enemies;
the watery Youth, the Twins, the Bull and the Lion,
and he himself, to be feared, flees Erigone and the Balance,
and the births that come from the sign of the Archer.

560

hos Geminis nati Libraque et Virgine et Urna
depressisse volent. naturae lege iubente
haec eadem, Capricorne, tuis inimica feruntur.
at quos aeternis perfundit Aquarius undis,
in pugnam Nemeaeus agit totumque trigonum,

those born under the Twins and the Balance and the Virgin and the Urn will wish to press these down.
with the law of nature bidding,
these same are borne as inimical to your own, Capricorn.
but those whom Aquarius drenches with eternal waves,
into battle the Nemean drives, and the whole trigon,

565

turba sub unius fugiens virtute ferarum.
Piscibus exortos vicinus Aquarius urget
et gemini fratres et quos dat Virginis astrum
quique Sagittari descendunt sidera nati.
Per tot signorum species contraria surgent

the crowd of wild beasts fleeing under the prowess of one.
the neighboring Water-Bearer presses those sprung from the Fishes,
and the twin brothers, and those whom the Virgin’s star gives,
and those born under the stars of the Archer (Sagittarius) who descend.
Through so many contrary kinds of the signs they will arise

579

corpora totque modis totiens inimica creantur.
idcirco nihil ex semet natura creavit
foedere amicitiae maius nec rarius umquam;
perque tot aetates hominum, tot tempora et annos,

bodies are created, and so often inimical in so many ways.
therefore nature has created from herself nothing greater, nor ever rarer, than the covenant of amity;
and through so many ages of men, so many times and years,

589

tot bella et varios etiam sub pace labores,
cum Fortuna fidem quaerat, vix invenit usquam.
unus erat Pylades, unus qui mallet Orestes

so many wars and various labors even under peace,
when Fortune seeks fidelity, she scarcely finds it anywhere.
there was one Pylades, one Orestes who would rather

583

ipse mori; lis una fuit per saecula mortis,
alter quod raperet fatum, non cederet alter.
[et duo, qui potuere sequi: vix noxia poenis,
optavitque reum sponsor non posse reverti,
sponsoremque reus timuit, ne solveret ipsum]
at quanta est scelerum moles per saecula cuncta,

himself to die; there was one dispute through the ages, about death,
that the one might seize the fate, the other would not yield.
[and the two who were able to follow: scarcely culpable to penalties,
and the sponsor wished that the defendant could not return,
and the defendant feared for the sponsor, lest he pay it himself]
but how great is the mass of crimes through all the ages,

592

quamque onus invidiae non excusabile terris!
venales ad fata patres matrumque sepulcra
<non posuere modum sceleri, sed fraude nefanda 594a
ipse deus Caesar cecidit, qua territus orbi> 594b
imposuit Phoebus noctem terrasque reliquit.
quid loquar eversas urbes et prodita templa
et varias pacis clades et mixta venena
insidiasque fori, caedes in moenibus ipsis
et sub amicitiae grassantem nomine turbam?

and what a burden of odium not excusable upon the lands!
venal to dooms were the fathers, and the sepulchers of mothers—
<they set no limit to crime, but by unspeakable fraud 594a
the god Caesar himself fell, whereat, the world terrified> 594b
Phoebus imposed night and left the lands.
what shall I say of overturned cities and betrayed temples,
and the various disasters of peace and mingled poisons,
and the ambushes of the forum, slaughters within the walls themselves,
and the mob rampaging under the name of friendship?

in populo scelus est et abundant cuncta furoris.

in the populace there is crime, and all things of fury abound.

600

et fas atque nefas mixtum, legesque per ipsas
saevit nequities; poenas iam noxia vincit.
scilicet, in multis quoniam discordia signis
corpora nascuntur, pax est sublata per orbem,
et fidei rarum foedus paucisque tributum,

and right and wrong are mingled, and through the laws themselves
wickedness rages; already the guilty outmatch penalties.
Of course, since bodies are born under many discordant signs,
peace has been removed throughout the world,
and the rare covenant of fidelity is granted to few,

605

utque sibi caelum sic tellus dissidet ipsa
atque hominum gentes inimica sorte feruntur.
Si tamen et cognata cupis dinoscere signa,
quae iungant animos et amica sorte ferantur,
Lanigeri partus cum toto iunge trigono.

and as the heaven is at variance with itself, so the earth itself is at odds,
and the nations of men are borne along by a hostile lot.
Yet if you also desire to discern the cognate signs,
which join spirits and are borne along by a friendly lot,
join the offspring of the Ram with the whole trigon.

610

simplicior tamen est Aries, meliusque Leone
prosequitur genitos et te, Centaure, creatos
quam colitur. namque est natura mitius astrum
expositumque suae noxae, nec fraudibus ullis,
nec minus ingenio molli quam corpore constans:

simpler, however, is Aries, and, better than the Lion, it attends with favor those born and those brought forth by you, Centaur, more than it is cultivated.
for it is by nature a gentler star, and exposed to its own hurt, not to any frauds,
and no less steadfast in a gentle disposition than in body:

615

illis est feritas signis praedaeque cupido,
venalisque animus non umquam excedere cogit
commoditate fidem, nec longa est gratia facti;
plus tamen in duplici numerandum est roboris esse,

to those signs belong ferocity and a cupidity for prey,
and a venal spirit never allows faith to exceed advantage,
nor is the gratitude for a deed long-lived;
yet more is to be numbered of strength in the double-formed one,

622

cui commixtus homo est, quam te, Nemeaee, sub uno.
at, cum Lanigeri partus sub utroque <laborant

to which man is commixed, than you, Nemean, under a single.
but, when the offspring of the Wool-bearer labor under both <laborant

619

vique urgente dolent amborum astuque,> trigono 619a
non parcit; sed rara gerit pro tempore bella,
quae feritas utriusque magis prorumpere cogit.
idcirco et pax est signis et mixta querella.

with force pressing they suffer and with the astuteness of both;> in a trine 619a
it does not spare; but it wages, for the time, rare wars,
which the ferocity of each compels the more to burst out.
therefore there is both peace in the signs and a mingled complaint.

624

quin etiam Tauri Capricorno iungitur astrum,
nec magis illorum coeunt ad foedera mentes;
Virgineos etiam partus, quicumque creantur
Tauro, complecti cupiunt, sed saepe queruntur.
quos Geminique dabunt Chelaeque et Aquarius ortus
unum pectus habent fideique immobile vinclum,

Nay even the star of Taurus is joined to Capricorn,
nor do their minds the more come together to covenants;
the Virgin’s births also, whoever are begotten
with Taurus, they long to embrace, but they often complain.
Those whom the risings of Gemini and of the Claws and Aquarius will grant
have one heart and an immovable bond of faith,

630

magnus et in multos veniet successus amicos.

and great success will come to many friends.

632

Scorpios et Cancer fraterna in nomina ducunt
ex semet genitos, nec non et Piscibus orti
concordant illis. saepe est et subdolus actus:

Scorpios and Cancer assign fraternal names to those begotten from themselves,
and likewise those sprung from Pisces are in concord with them.
Often too the act is insidious:

635

Scorpios aspergit noxas sub nomine amici;
at, quibus in lucem Pisces venientibus adsunt,
his non una manet semper sententia cordi,
commutant animos interdum et foedera rumpunt
ac repetunt, tectaeque lues sub fronte vagantur.

Scorpio sprinkles harms under the name of a friend;
but for those whom, as they come into the light, the Fishes attend,
not a single sentiment always remains at heart for them,
they sometimes change their spirits and break covenants
and take them up again, and a hidden pestilence roves beneath the brow.

640

sic erit ex signis odium tibi paxque notanda.
Nec satis hoc, tantum solis insistere signis:

thus from the signs hatred and peace are to be noted by you.
Nor is this enough, to insist only on the signs alone:

643

contemplare locum caeli sedemque vagarum.
parte genus variant et vires linea mutat.
nam sua quadratis veniunt, sua iura trigonis
et quae per senos decurrit virgula tractus
quaeque secat medium transverso limite caelum;
distat enim surgatne eadem subeatne cadatne.

contemplate the place of the sky and the seat of the wanderers.
by part they vary the kind, and a line alters the forces.
for their own rights come to squares, their own to trigons,
and the little rod that runs through by six spans,
and that which cuts the mid-sky with a transverse boundary;
for it makes a difference whether the same thing rises, or goes under, or falls.

651

hinc modo dat mundus vires, modo deterit idem, 649
quaeque illic sumunt iras, huc acta reponunt.
crebrius adversis odium est, cognata quadratis

from here now the world gives powers, now the same wears them away, 649
and whatever there take on wraths, when driven hither they lay them aside.
hatred is more frequent in oppositions; kin is cognate with squares.

652

corpora censentur signis et amica trigonis.
nec ratio obscura est; nam quartum quodque locavit
eiusdem generis signum natura per orbem.

bodies are assessed by the signs and by friendly trigons.
nor is the rationale obscure; for Nature has placed
every fourth sign of the same genus throughout the circle.

655

quattuor aequali caelum discrimine signant
in quibus articulos anni deus ipse creavit,
ver Aries, Cererem Cancer Bacchumque ministrans
Libra, caper brumam genitusque ad frigora piscis.
nec non et duplici quae sunt conexa figura

four mark the sky with equal partition,
in which the articulations of the year the god himself created,
spring—Aries; Cancer ministering to Ceres, and Libra to Bacchus,
the Goat the winter-solstice, and the Fish begotten for cold.
and likewise also those which are connected in a double figure

660

quartum quemque locum retinent; duo cernere Pisces
et geminos iuvenes duplicemque in Virgine formam
et duo Centauri licet uno corpora textu.
sic et simplicibus signis stat forma quadrata;
nam neque Taurus habet comitem, nec iungitur ulli

every fourth place they hold; one may discern two Fishes
and the twin youths and a double form in the Virgin
and two Centaurs, bodies in a single weave.
thus too, with the simple signs, the quadrate form stands;
for neither does Taurus have a companion, nor is he joined to any

665

horrendus Leo, nec metuit sine compare quemquam
Scorpios, atque uno censetur Aquarius astro.
sic quaecumque manent quadrato condita templo
signa parem referunt numeris aut tempore sortem
ac veluti cognata manent sub foedere tali.

the horrendous Lion, nor does, without a peer, fear anyone
Scorpio, and Aquarius is reckoned as one star.
thus whatever signs remain, founded in a squared temple,
report an equal lot in numbers or in time,
and, as if cognate, remain under such a covenant.

670

idcirco affines signant gradibusque propinquis
accedunt unaque tenent sub imagine natos,
quotquot cardinibus, <prona vertigine mundi

therefore the kindred [signs] signify, and with neighboring degrees
they approach, and together they hold those born under one image,
as many as by the cardinal points, <the headlong vertigo of the world

683

naturae vires> propriae variante, moventur; 683a
quae, quamquam in partes divisi quattuor orbis
sidera quadrata efficiunt, non lege quadrati
censentur: minor est numeri quam cardinis usus.
longior in spatium porrecta est linea maius

nature’s proper powers, varying, are moved; 683a
which, although divided into the four parts of the circle,
bring about quadrate stars, are not judged by the law of the square:
the use of number is less than that of the cardinal point.
the line stretched farther into space is the greater magnitude.

673

quae tribus emensis signis facit astra trigona.
haec ad amicitias imitantis iura gradumque
sanguinis atque animis haerentia foedera ducunt,
utque ipsa ex longo coeunt summota recessu,
sic nos coniungunt maioribus intervallis.
haec meliora putant, mentes quae iungere possunt,
quam quae non numquam foedus sub sanguine fallunt.

which, with three signs elapsed, make the stars trigonal.
these lead to friendships that imitate the rights and the grade
of blood, and to pacts clinging in minds,
and just as they themselves, removed to a long recess, come together,
so they join us at greater intervals.
these they deem better, which can join minds,
than those which sometimes betray the covenant of blood.

680

proxima vicinis subscribunt, tertia quaeque
hospitibus. sic astrorum servabitur ordo.
adde suas partes signis, sua partibus astra;

the nearest subscribe to their neighbors, every third to guests.
thus the order of the stars will be preserved.
add to the signs their parts, to the parts their stars;

687

nam nihil in totum servit sibi: mixta feruntur,
ipsis dant in se partes capiuntque vicissim.
quae mihi mox certo digesta sub ordine surgent.

for nothing wholly serves itself: things are borne mixed,
the parts themselves give into one another and in turn receive.
which will soon arise for me, arranged under a fixed order.

690

omnibus ex istis ratio est repetenda per artem,
pacata infestis signa ut discernere possis.
Perspice nunc tenuem visu rem, pondere magnam
et tantum Graio signari nomine passam,
dodecatemoria, in titulo signantia causas.

from all of these the rationale must be retraced through the art,
so that you may discern pacified signs from hostile.
Look now into a thing slight to the sight, great in weight,
and one that has allowed itself to be designated only by a Greek name—
the dodecatemoria, signifying causes in their title.

695

nam, cum tricenas per partes sidera constent,
rursus bis senis numerus diducitur omnis;
ipsa igitur ratio binas in partibus esse
dimidiasque docet partes. his finibus ecce
dodecatemorium constans, bis senaque tanta

for, since the signs consist of thirty apiece in their parts,
again the whole number is divided by twice six;
therefore the reasoning itself shows that within the sections there are double-parts
and also half-parts. Within these bounds, behold
a dodecatemorium consisting, and as many, twice six.

700

omnibus in signis; quae mundi conditor ille
attribuit totidem numero fulgentibus astris,
ut sociata forent alterna sidera sorte,
et similis sibi mundus, et omnia in omnibus astra,
quorum mixturis regeret concordia corpus

in all the signs; which that Founder of the world assigned in the same number to the shining stars, so that the stars might be associated by an alternating lot, and the world be like unto itself, and all the stars be in all things, by whose mixtures concord would rule the body

705

et tutela foret communi mutua causa.
in terris geniti tali sub lege creantur;

and tutelage would be a mutual cause for the common good.
those engendered on earth are created under such a law;

642

idcirco, quamquam signis nascantur eisdem,

therefore, although they are born under the same signs,

707

diversos referunt mores inimicaque vota;
et saepe in peius derrat natura, maremque
femina subsequitur: miscentur sidere partus,

they report diverse mores and inimical vows;
and often nature strays for the worse, and the female
follows the male: births are mixed under the star,

710

singula divisis variant quod partibus astra,
dodecatemoriis proprias mutantia vires.
Nunc, quod sit cuiusque, canam, quove ordine constent,
ne vagus ignotis signorum partibus erres.
ipsa suo retinent primas in corpore partes

the stars, divided into parts, vary individually,
changing their proper powers by the dodecatemoria.
Now I shall sing what each one’s is, and in what order they consist,
lest, wandering, you err in the unknown parts of the signs.
the signs themselves keep the first parts in their own body

715

sidera, vicinae subeuntibus attribuuntur,
cetera pro numero ducunt ex ordine partes,
ultima et extremis ratio conceditur astris.
singula sic retinent binas in sidere quoque
dimidiasque eius partes, et summa repletur

the neighboring parts are assigned to those coming up among the stars,
the rest take their parts, according to the number, in order,
and the final reckoning is granted to the farthest stars.
thus each retains two also in the star,
and its half-parts, and the sum is filled up

720

sortibus exactis triginta sidere in omni.
Nec genus est unum, ratio nec prodita simplex,
pluribus inque modis verum natura locavit
diduxitque vias voluitque per omnia quaeri.
haec quoque comperta est ratio sub nomine eodem.

with the lots computed, thirty in every sign.
Nor is the kind one, nor the method set forth simple,
and in several modes Nature has located the truth
and has divided the paths and has willed that it be sought through all things.
this method too has been discovered under the same name.

725

quacumque in parti nascentum tempore Luna
constiterit, numeris hanc ter dispone quaternis,
sublimi totidem quia fulgent sidera mundo.
inde suas illi signo, quo Luna refulsit,
quaeque hinc defuerant partes numerare memento.

In whatever part at the time of those being born the Moon has stood,
arrange this three times by fours in numbers,
since in the sublime world just so many stars shine.
then remember for that sign, in which the Moon gleamed,
to number its own parts, and the parts which from here had been lacking.

730

proxima tricenas pariterque sequentia ducunt.
[hic ubi deficiet numerus, tunc summa relicta
in binas sortes adiecta parte locetur
dimidia, reliquis tribuantur ut ordine signis]
in quo destituent, eius tum Luna tenebit

the next count thirty, and the following likewise lead.
[here, when the number will fail, then, the sum left over
let it be placed into two lots, with a half part added,
so that to the remaining signs they may be assigned in order]
in whichever they will fall short, the Moon will then hold that one.

735

dodecatemorium signi; post cetera ducet
ordine quodque suo, sicut stant astra locata.
Haec quoque te ratio ne fallat, percipe paucis
(maior in effectu minor est) de partibus ipsis
dodecatemorii quota sit quod dicitur esse

the dodecatemorian of the sign; afterward the rest will follow,
each in its own order, just as the stars stand located.
Lest this reckoning also deceive you, grasp it in few words
(the greater in effect is the lesser), from the very parts
of the dodecatemorian what fraction that is which is said to be

740

dodecatemorium. namque id per quinque notatur
partes; nam totidem praefulgent sidera caelo
quae vaga dicuntur, ducunt et singula sortes
dimidias, viresque in eis et iura capessunt.
in quo quaeque igitur stellae quandoque locatae 745
dodecatemorio fuerint spectare decebit;
cuius enim stella in fines in sidere quoque
inciderit, dabit effectus in viribus eius.

dodecatemorium. For it is marked out by five parts; for just as many stars shine forth in the sky as are called wandering, and each conducts half-lots, and they take up powers and jurisdictions in them. In which dodecatemorion, therefore, it will be fitting to observe in which each of the stars is at any time placed; 745
dodecatemorion it shall have been, one ought to look; for whichever star shall also fall into the bounds within the sign will grant effects by its strengths.

undique miscenda est ratio per quam omnia constant.
verum haec posterius proprio cuncta ordine reddam;

on all sides the reason must be mingled whereby all things consist.
but these things later I will render all in their proper order;

750

nunc satis est docuisse suos ignota per usus,
ut, cum perceptis steterit fiducia membris,
sic totum corpus facili ratione notetur
et bene de summa veniat post singula carmen.
ut rudibus pueris monstratur littera primum

now it is enough to have taught one’s own the unknowns by use,
so that, when confidence has stood with the limbs perceived,
thus the whole body may be noted by an easy method
and the song about the sum total may come well after the individual parts.
as the letter is shown first to untutored boys

755

per faciem nomenque suum, tum ponitur usus,
tum coniuncta suis formatur syllaba nodis,
hinc verbi structura venit per membra legendi,
tunc rerum vires atque artis traditur usus
perque pedes proprios nascentia carmina surgunt,

by its face and its own name, then its use is set,
then, conjoined by its own knots, the syllable is formed,
hence the structure of the word comes, through the members of reading,
then the powers of things and the use of the art are transmitted
and through their own feet the nascent songs rise,

760

singulaque in summam prodest didicisse priora
(quae nisi constiterint primis fundata elementis,
effluat in vanum rerum praeposterus ordo

and it profits the sum to have learned the earlier particulars
(which, unless they have stood firm, founded on the first elements,
the preposterous order of things would flow out into the void

764

versaque quae propere dederint praecepta magistri),

and the precepts which the masters have quickly given and turned over),

763

sic mihi per totum volitanti carmine mundum

thus for me flitting with my song through the whole world

765

erutaque abstrusa penitus caligine fata,
Pieridum numeris etiam modulata, canenti
quoque deus regnat revocanti numen in artem,
per partes ducenda fides et singula rerum
sunt gradibus tradenda suis, ut, cum omnia certa

and the fates, unearthed, once hidden deep in murk,
even modulated to the numbers of the Pierides,
for the singer too a god reigns, calling the numen back into art,
credence must be led through parts, and the particulars of things
are to be handed down by their proper grades, so that, when all things are certain

770

notitia steterint, proprios revocentur ad usus.
ac, velut, in nudis cum surgunt montibus urbes,
conditor et vacuos muris circumdare colles
destinat, ante manus quam temptet scindere fossas,
fervit opus (ruit ecce nemus, saltusque vetusti

when the notions have stood fast, let them be recalled to their proper uses.
and, just as, when cities rise on bare mountains,
the founder also destines to encircle the empty hills with walls,
before his hands attempt to cleave the fosses,
the work boils (lo, the grove falls, and the ancient glades

775

procumbunt solemque novum, nova sidera cernunt,
pellitur omne loco volucrum genus atque ferarum,
antiquasque domos et nota cubilia linquunt,
ast alii silicem in muros et marmora templis
rimantur, ferrique rigor per pignora nota

they topple, and behold the new sun, new stars,
every genus of birds and of wild beasts is driven from its place,
and they leave their ancient homes and well-known lairs,
but others pry into flint for walls and marbles for temples
they scrutinize, and the hardness of iron by familiar tokens

780

quaeritur, hinc artes, hinc omnis convenit usus),
tum demum consurgit opus, cum cuncta supersunt,
ne medios rumpat cursus praepostera cura,
sic mihi conanti tantae succedere moli
materies primum rerum, ratione remota,

is sought; hence the arts, hence every use convenes),
then at last the work rises, when all things are at hand,
lest a preposterous care break the courses midway,
thus for me, trying to succeed to so great a mass,
the material of things first, reason removed,

785

tradenda est, ratio sit ne post irrita neve
argumenta novis stupeant nascentia rebus.
Ergo age noscendis animum compone sagacem
cardinibus, qui per mundum sunt quattuor omnes
dispositi semper mutantque volantia signa:

must be handed down, let there be a method, lest afterward they be futile, nor let the nascent arguments be stupefied by new matters.
Therefore come, compose a sagacious mind for knowing the cardines, which through the world are four in all arranged, and they ever change the flying signs:

790

unus ab exortu caeli nascentis in orbem,
qua primum terras aequali limite cernit,
alter ab adversa respondens aetheris ora,
unde fugit mundus praecepsque in Tartara tendit;
tertius excelsi signat fastigia caeli,

one from the rising of the nascent heaven into the circle,
where first it discerns the lands with an equal boundary,
another answering from the opposite shore of the aether,
whence the world flees and headlong tends into Tartarus;
a third marks the gable-peaks of the lofty heaven,

795

quo defessus equis Phoebus subsistit anhelis
reclinatque diem mediasque examinat umbras;
ima tenet quartus fundato nobilis orbe,
in quo principium est reditus finisque cadendi
sideribus, pariterque occasus cernit et ortus.

where Phoebus halts, his horses panting and wearied,
and he reclines the day and examines the middle shadows;
the fourth, distinguished with its founded orb, holds the lowest,
in which is the beginning of return and the end of falling
for the stars, and equally it discerns settings and risings.

800

haec loca praecipuas vires summosque per artem
fatorum effectus referunt, quod totus in illis
nititur aeternis veluti compagibus orbis;
quae nisi perpetuis alterna sorte volantem
cursibus excipiant nectantque in vincula, bina

these places bear the principal powers and, through art, the supreme effects of the fates, because the whole orb leans upon them as upon eternal fastenings; which, unless by perpetual alternate lot they should receive with their courses the thing in flight and bind it into bonds, in pairs,

805

per latera atque imum templi summumque cacumen,
dissociata fluat resoluto machina mundo.
Sed diversa tamen vis est in cardine quoque,
et pro sorte loci variant atque ordine distant.
primus erit, summi qui regnat culmine caeli

through the sides and the bottom of the temple and the topmost summit,
the machine, disjoined, would flow with the world loosened.
But a different power, however, is in the hinge as well,
and according to the lot of the place they vary and differ in order.
first will be he who rules on the summit of the highest heaven

810

et medium tenui partitur limite mundum;
quem capit excelsa sublimem Gloria sede
(scilicet haec tutela decet fastigia summa),
quidquid ut emineat sibi vindicet et decus omne
asserat et varios tribuendo regnet honores.

and it divides the middle of the world with a thin limit;
which lofty Glory holds exalted in her high seat
(of course this tutelage befits the highest fastigia),
to claim for herself whatever may stand out and to assert every decorum,
and to rule by bestowing various honors.

815

hinc favor et species atque omnis gratia vulgi,
reddere iura foro, componere legibus orbem
foederibusque suis externas iungere gentes
et pro sorte sua cuiusque extollere nomen.
proximus, est ima quamquam statione locatus,

hence favor and aspect and all the grace of the crowd,
to render judgments to the forum, to compose the world by laws
and by its treaties to join foreign nations
and to exalt each one’s name according to his lot.
next, although placed in the lowest station,

820

sustinet aeternis nixum radicibus orbem,
effectu minor in specie sed maior in usu.
fundamenta tenet rerum censusque gubernat,
quam rata sint fossis, scrutatur, vota metallis
atque ex occulto quantum contingere possit.

he sustains the orb, propped upon eternal roots,
lesser in show but greater in use.
he holds the foundations of things and governs the census,
he scrutinizes how secure the diggings are, the prospects in the metals,
and, from what is hidden, how much can accrue.

825

tertius, aequali terris in parte nitentem
qui tenet exortum, qua primum sidera surgunt,
unde dies redit et tempus describit in horas,
hinc inter Graias horoscopos editur urbes,
nec capit externum, proprio quia nomine gaudet.

the third, gleaming in a portion equal to the lands,
who holds the rising East, where first the stars rise,
whence day returns and time is described into hours,
hence among the Greek cities the horoscope is published,
nor does it take an external designation, since it rejoices in its own proper name.

830

hunc penes arbitrium vitae est, hic regula morum,
fortunamque dabit rebus, ducetque per artes,
qualiaque excipiant nascentis tempora prima,
quos capiant cultus, quali sint sede creati,
utcumque admixtis subscribent viribus astra.

In him resides the arbitration of life; here the rule of morals,
and he will give fortune to affairs, and will lead through the arts,
and what first seasons shall receive the nascent one,
what cultivations they shall take up, in what seat they have been created,
however the stars will subscribe with mingled forces.

835

ultimus, emenso qui condit sidera mundo
occasumque tenens summersum despicit orbem,
pertinet ad rerum summas finemque laborum,
coniugia atque epulas extremaque tempora vitae
otiaque et coetus hominum cultusque deorum.

the last, who, the world traversed, sets the stars and, holding the west, looks down upon the sunken orb,
pertains to the sums of things and the finish of labors,
to marriages and banquets and the ultimate times of life,
and to leisures and gatherings of men and the cults of the gods.

840

Nec contentus eris percepto cardine quoque:
intervalla etiam memori sunt mente notanda
per maius dimensa suas reddentia vires.
quidquid ab exortu summum curvatur in orbem,
aetatem primam nascentisque asserit annos.

Nor will you be content, the cardinal point perceived as well:
the intervals also are to be noted by a mindful mind,
measured through the greater, rendering back their forces.
whatever from the rising is curved to the summit in the orb,
affirms the first age and the nascent years.

845

quod summo premitur devexum culmine mundi
donec ad occasus veniat, puerilibus annis
succedit teneramque regit sub sede iuventam.
quae pars occasus aufert imumque sub orbem
descendit, regit haec maturae tempora vitae

that which, sloping, is pressed by the topmost summit of the world
until it comes to the settings, succeeds to boyish years
and under its seat rules tender youth.
the part which the setting takes away and which descends beneath the lowest circle,
this rules the seasons of mature life

850

perpetua serie varioque exercita cursu.
at, qua perficitur cursus redeunte sub ortum,
tarda supinatum lassatis viribus arcum
ascendens, seros demum complectitur annos
labentemque diem vitae tremulamque senectam.

with a perpetual series and exercised by a varied course.
But, where the course is perfected as it returns beneath the rising,
slow, ascending the upturned arch with wearied forces,
at length it embraces the late years
and the sliding day of life and tremulous senescence.

855

Omne quidem signum sub qualicumque figura
partibus inficitur mundi; locus imperat astris
et dotes noxamque facit; vertuntur in orbem
singula et accipiunt vires caeloque remittunt.
vincit enim natura loci legesque ministrat

Every sign indeed, under whatever figure,
is imbued with the parts of the world; place commands the stars
and makes both the endowments and the noxious harm; they are turned into the orb
each and receive forces and remit them to the sky.
for the nature of the place prevails and administers the laws

860

finibus in propriis et praetereuntia cogit
esse sui moris, vario nunc ditia honore,
nunc sterilis poenam referentia sidera sedis.
quae super exortum est a summo tertia caelo,
infelix regio rebusque inimica futuris

within its own bounds it even compels those passing by to be of its own manner
now rich with varied honor,
now sterile, the stars rendering the penalty of the seat.
which above the rising is the third from the highest heaven,
an ill-fated region and inimical to future affairs

865

et vitio fecunda nimis; nec sola, sed illi
par erit, adverso quae fulget sidere sedes
iuncta sub occasu. neu praestet, cardine mundi
utraque praetenta fertur deiecta ruina.
porta laboris erit: scandendum est atque cadendum.

and too fertile in fault; nor alone, but equal to it will be the seat
which shines with an opposing star, joined beneath the west.
and, lest it excel, from the hinge of the world
each, stretched forth, is said to be cast down by a downfall.
it will be a gate of labor: one must climb and also fall.

870

nec melior super occasus contraque sub ortu
sors agitur mundi: praeceps haec, illa supina
pendens aut metuit vicino cardine finem
aut fraudata cadet. merito Typhonis habentur
horrendae sedes, quem Tellus saeva profudit,

nor is the lot of the world better above the West and, opposite, beneath the East:
this [one] headlong, that supine,
hanging, either it fears an end at the nearby hinge,
or, defrauded, it will fall. Rightly are held the horrendous seats of Typhon,
whom savage Earth poured forth,

875

cum bellum caelo peperit nec matre minores
exstiterunt partus. sed fulmine rursus in alvum
compulsi, montesque super rediere cadentes,
cessit et in tumulum belli vitaeque Typhoeus.
ipsa tremit mater flagrantem monte sub Aetna.

when she bore war to heaven, and the offspring proved not lesser than their mother.
but by the thunderbolt they were again driven back into the womb, and the mountains, falling, returned atop them,
and Typhoeus yielded into the tomb of war and of life.
the mother herself trembles, as he blazes beneath Mount Etna.

880

at, quae fulgentis sequitur fastigia caeli
proxima, neve ipsi cedat, cui iungitur, astro
spe melior, palmamque petens victrixque priorum
altius insurgit: summae comes addita finis,
in peiusque manent cursus nec vota supersunt.

but she who follows next to the summits of the shining sky,
and, better in hope, lest she yield to the star to which she is joined,
seeking the palm and victor over those before,
rises higher: a companion added to the highest limit,
and the courses abide for the worse, nor do vows remain.

885

quocirca minime mirum, si proxima summo
atque eadem integrior Fortunae sorte dicatur
cui titulus Felix. censum sic proxima Graiae
nostra subit linguae vertitque a nomine nomen.
Iuppiter hac habitat: venerandam crede regenti.

Wherefore it is not at all a marvel, if the one proximate to the summit, and likewise more integral, is said by Fortune’s lot—whose title is “Felix.” Thus our tongue undergoes the reckoning nearest to the Greek and turns a name from a name. Jupiter dwells in this: deem the ruling power venerable.

890

huic in perversum similis deiecta sub orbe
imaque summersi contingens culmina mundi,
adversa quae parte nitet, defessa peracta
militia rursusque novo devota labori
cardinis et subitura iugum sortemque potentem

to this one, similar in reverse, cast down beneath the orb,
and touching the lowest summits of the sunken world,
which shines in the adverse quarter, weary with the campaign completed,
and again devoted to new labor,
and about to undergo the yoke of the axis and a potent lot

895

nondum sentit onus mundi, iam sperat honorem.
Daemonien memorant Grai, Romana per ora
quaeritur inversus titulus. sub corde sagaci
conde locum numenque loci nomenque potentis,
quae tibi posterius magnos revocentur ad usus.

Not yet does it feel the burden of the world; already it hopes for honor.
The Greeks recount Daemonia, and through Roman lips the reversed title is sought.
Under your sagacious heart store the place, and the numen of the place, and the name of the potent one,
which may later be called back to you for great uses.

900

hic momenta manent nostrae plerumque salutis
bellaque morborum caecis pugnantia telis,
viribus ambiguam geminis casusque deique
nunc huc nunc illuc sortem mutantis utraque.
sed medium post astra diem curvataque primum

here the moments of our health for the most part abide,
and the wars of diseases fighting with blind missiles,
by twin forces—chance and the god—making the lot ambiguous,
both of them changing fate now this way, now that.
but the mid-day beyond the stars and, first, the curved

905

culmina nutantis summo de vertice mundi
aethra Phoebus alit; sub quo quae corpora nostra
concipiunt vitia et fortunam, ex viribus eius
decernunt. Deus ille locus sub nomine Graio
dicitur. huic adversa nitens, quae prima resurgit

the roof-peaks of the swaying world, from the topmost vertex,
Phoebus nourishes the aether; beneath which our bodies,
when they conceive vices and fortune, determine from its forces.
That place is called “God” under a Greek name.
Opposite to this, shining against it, that which first rises again

910

sedibus ex imis iterumque reducit Olympum,
pars mundi fratrumque vices mortesque gubernat;
et dominam agnoscit Phoeben, fraterna videntem
regna per adversas caeli fulgentia partes
fataque damnosis imitantem finibus oris.

and from the lowest seats it again leads back Olympus,
and a part of the world governs the vicissitudes and deaths of the brothers;
and it acknowledges Lady Phoebe, seeing the fraternal realms
shining through the opposing parts of the sky,
and imitating fates at the baneful bounds of the horizon.

915

huic parti Dea nomen erit Romana per ora,
Graecia voce sua titulum designat eundem.
arce sed in caeli, qua summa acclivia finem
inveniunt, qua principium declivia sumunt,
culminaque insurgunt occasus inter et ortus

to this part the Goddess will be a name upon Roman lips,
Greece with its own voice designates the same title.
but in the citadel of heaven, where the highest acclivities find an end,
where the declivities take their beginning,
and the summits rise between the setting and the rising

920

suspenduntque suo libratum examine mundum,
asserit hanc Cytherea sibi per sidera sedem
et velut in facie mundi sua collocat ora,
per quae humana regit. propria est haec reddita parti
vis, ut conubia et thalamos taedasque gubernet:

and they suspend the world, poised on its own balance,
Cytherea claims this seat for herself among the stars,
and as upon the face of the world she places her own features,
through which she rules human affairs. A power has been assigned proper to this part,
the power to govern marriages and bridal chambers and wedding torches:

925

haec tutela decet Venerem, sua tela movere.
nomen erit Fortuna loco, quod percipe mente,
ut brevia in longo compendia carmine praestem.
at, qua subsidit converso cardine mundus
fundamenta tenens, aversum et suspicit orbem

this guardianship befits Venus, to wield her own weapons.
the name in that place will be Fortune—grasp this with your mind,
so that I may furnish brief compendia in a long song.
but where the world sinks down with its hinge reversed,
holding the foundations, it looks up at the averted orb

930

ac media sub nocte iacet, Saturnus in illa
parte suas agitat vires, deiectus et ipse
imperio quondam mundi solioque deorum,
et pater in patrios exercet numina casus
fortunamque senum.           935a
titulus, quem Graecia fecit,          937b
Daemonium signat dignas pro nomine vires.
nunc age surgentem primo de cardine mundum
respice, qua solitos nascentia signa recursus

and it lies beneath the middle of the night; Saturn in that
part stirs his powers, he too cast down
from the sovereignty once of the world and the throne of the gods,
and as father he exerts his numina upon paternal fates
and the fortune of old men. 935a
the title which Greece devised, 937b
marks as Daemonium powers worthy of the name.
now come, look back at the world rising from the first hinge,
where the nascent signs perform their accustomed returns

940

incipiunt, viridis gelidis et Phoebus ab undis
enatat et fulvo paulatim accenditur igni
asperum iter temptans,           937a
Aries qua ducit Olympum.          945b
haec tua templa ferunt, Maia Cyllenie nate,

they begin, and Phoebus swims out from the green icy waves
and is gradually kindled with tawny fire,
attempting the rough journey,           937a
where Aries leads Olympus.          945b
these bear your temples, O son of Maia, Cyllenian,

943

pro facie signata nota, quod nomen et ipsi
auctores tibi dant.           945a
una est tutela duorum:          935b
[nascentum atque patrum. quae tali condita parte est]
in qua fortunam natorum condidit omnem

on account of the visage marked by a sign, which name even the authors themselves
give to you.           945a
one tutelage is of two:          935b
[namely of the being-born and of the fathers. which is established in such a part]
in which he has established all the fortune of the offspring

946

natura, ex illa suspendit vota parentum.
unus in occasu locus est super. ille ruentem
praecipitat mundum terris et sidera mergit,
tergaque prospectat Phoebi, qui viderat ora;

Nature, upon it, suspends the vows of parents.
One place in the west remains. That one hurls the rushing-down world
headlong to the lands and sinks the stars,
and looks upon the back of Phoebus, who had seen his face;

950

ne mirere, nigri si Ditis ianua fertur
et finem vitae retinet<que repagula mortis.>
hic etiam ipse dies moritur, tellusque per orbem
surripit et noctis captum sub carcere claudit.
nec non et fidei tutelam vindicat ipsi

do not marvel, if the gate of black Dis is said
and it retains<the bars of death.>
here even the day itself dies, and the earth throughout the orb
steals it away and, captured, shuts it under the prison of night.
and indeed it also vindicates for itself the tutelage of faith itself

955

pectoris et pondus. tanta est in sede potestas
quae vocat et condit Phoebum recipitque refertque,
consummatque diem. tali sub sorte notandae
templorum tibi sunt vires: quae pervolat omnis
astrorum series ducitque et commodat illis

the heart and its weight. so great is the power in that seat
which calls and sets Phoebus, receives him and carries him back,
and consummates the day. under such a lot the powers
of the temples are for you to be marked: through which the whole
series of the stars flies, and it leads and lends to them

960

ipsa suas leges, stellaeque ex ordine certo,
ut natura sinit, lustrant, variasque locorum
efficiunt vires, utcumque aliena capessunt
regna et in externis subsidunt hospita castris.
haec mihi sub certa stellarum parte canentur;

Nature herself assigns her own laws, and the stars, in a fixed order, as nature permits, make their circuits, and they bring about the various powers of places, whenever they take up alien realms and, as guests, settle in external camps. These things will be sung by me under a certain portion of the stars;

965

nunc satis est caeli partes titulosque notasse
effectusque loci per se cuiusque deosque.
[cui parti nomen posuit, qui condidit artem,
octotropos; per quod stellae diversa volantes
quos reddant motus, proprio venit ordine rerum].

now it is enough to have noted the sky’s parts and titles
and the effects of each place by itself, and its gods.
[to which part the founder of the art assigned the name,
octotropos; through which the stars, diverse in their wandering,
yield the motions they give—this comes in the proper order of things].