Manilius: ASTRONOMICON

In nova surgentem maioraque viribus ausum
nec per inaccessos metuentem vadere saltus
ducite, Pierides. vestros extendere fines
conor et ignotos in carmina ducere census.
non ego in excidium caeli nascentia bella,

Lead me, Pierides, to a new rising theme and one bold in greater powers,
not fearing to pass through inaccessible glens;
I strive to extend your bounds and to lead unknown provinces into my songs.
I will not sing of wars born for the ruin of the sky

fulminis et flammis partus in matre sepultos,
non coniuratos reges Troiaque cadente
Hectora venalem cineri Priamumque ferentem,
Colchida nec referam vendentem regna parentis
et lacerum fratrem stupro, segetesque virorum

children of thunderbolts and flames, born and buried in their mother,
not the conspiring kings and Troy falling,
Hector and Priam borne to the mercenary ashes,
nor will I relate the Colchian selling her father’s realms
and a brother mangled by rape, and the harvests of men

taurorumque trucis flammas vigilemque draconem
et reduces annos auroque incendia facta
et male conceptos partus peiusque necatos;
non annosa canam Messenes bella nocentis,
septenosve duces ereptaque fulmine flammis

and the savage bulls’ flames and the vigilant dragon
and years restored and the fires turned to gold
and ill-conceived offspring and those worse slain;
I will not sing the age-old wars harming Messene,
or seven leaders and those snatched away by lightning and flames

moenia Thebarum et victam quia vicerat urbem,
germanosve patris referam matrisque nepotes,
natorumve epulas conversaque sidera retro
ereptumque diem, nec Persica bella profundo
indicta et magna pontum sub classe latentem

the walls of Thebes and the city conquered, because he had conquered the city,
and the father's brothers and the mother's nephews I will recount,
or the feasts of sons and the stars turned backward,
and the day snatched away, nor the Persian wars declared and the sea hiding beneath a great fleet

immissumque fretum terris, iter aequoris undis;
non regis magni spatio maiore canenda
quam sunt acta loquar. Romanae gentis origo,
quotque duces urbis tot bella atque otia, et omnis
in populi unius leges ut cesserit orbis,

and the strait thrust into the lands, the sea’s course of waves;
I will not sing of the great king in a span greater than his deeds are;
but I will speak of the origin of the Roman people,
and of as many leaders of the city, so many wars and rests, and how the whole
world yielded to the laws of one people,

differtur. facile est ventis dare vela secundis
fecundumque solum varias agitare per artes
auroque atque ebori decus addere, cum rudis ipsa
materies niteat. speciosis condere rebus
carmina vulgatum est, opus et componere simplex.

it is deferred. Easy it is to give sails to favorable winds
and to set fertile soil to be stirred by various arts,
and to add ornament to gold and ivory, when the very raw
material gleams. To found songs on specious matters has become common,
and to compose a simple work.

at mihi per numeros ignotaque nomina rerum
temporaque et varios casus momentaque mundi
signorumque vices partesque in partibus ipsis
luctandum est. quae nosse nimis, quid, dicere quantum est?
carmine quid proprio?

but I must wrestle through metres and the unknown names of things
and the times and the various chances and the moments of the world,
and the vicissitudes of the signs and the roles within the very parts themselves.
to know which things too fully — what, to say how much is that?
in a poem of my own?

pedibus quid iungere certis?

what to join to certain feet?

huc ades, o quicumque meis advertere coeptis
aurem oculosque potes, veras et percipe voces.
impendas animum; nec dulcia carmina quaeras:
ornari res ipsa negat contenta doceri.
et, siqua externa referentur nomina lingua,

hither attend, O whoever can turn ear and eyes to my undertakings,
and perceive true voices. Fix your mind; nor seek sweet poems:
the thing itself, content, refuses to be adorned by being taught.
and, if any external names are brought back by the tongue,

hoc operis, non vatis erit: non omnia flecti
possunt, et propria melius sub voce notantur.
Nunc age subtili rem summam perspice cura,
quae tibi praecipuos usus monstrata ministret
et certas det in arte vias ad fata videnda,

this will belong to the craft, not to the poet: not all things can be bent,
and those proper are better noted under their own name.
Now come, with subtle care behold the sum of the matter,
which, shown to you, may supply foremost uses
and give certain paths in the art for seeing the fates,

si bene constiterit vigilanti condita sensu.
principium rerum et custos natura latentum
(cum tantas strueret moles per moenia mundi
et circum fusis orbem concluderet astris
undique pendentem in medium, diversaque membra

if it shall have stood well fixed in a wakeful sense.
the beginning of things and guardian Nature of the hidden
(when she was piling so great a mass through the ramparts of the world
and with stars poured around would enclose the orb,
hanging everywhere into the midst, and diverse limbs

ordinibus certis sociaret corpus in unum,
aeraque et terras flammamque undamque natantem
mutua in alternum praebere alimenta iuberet,
ut tot pugnantis regeret concordia causas
staretque alterno religatus foedere mundus),

that he might join the body into one by certain orders,
and command that the air and the lands and both flame and the floating wave
furnish mutual sustenance by turns,
so that concord might rule so many contending causes
and the world, bound by an alternating covenant, might stand),

exceptum a summa nequid ratione maneret
et quod erat mundi mundo regeretur ab ipso,
fata quoque et vitas hominum suspendit ab astris,
quae summas operum partes, quae lucis honorem,
quae famam assererent, quae numquam fessa volarent.

so that by no reason anything might remain excepted from the Highest,
and that what was of the world should be governed by the world itself,
he also suspended fates and the lives of men from the stars,
which would allot the highest portions of deeds, which the honor of light,
which would establish fame, which would never, wearied, cease to fly.

quae, quasi, per mediam, mundi praecordia, partem
disposita, obtineant, Phoebum lunamque vagasque
evincunt stellas nec non vincuntur et ipsa,
his regimen natura dedit, propriasque sacravit
unicuique vices sanxitque per omnia summam,

which, as it were, disposed through the middle part of the world's breast,
hold sway and outdo Phoebus and the moon and the wandering stars,
nor are they not themselves also overcome;
to these Nature gave governance, and consecrated their own vicissitudes,
and hallowed for each, through all, the highest rule,

undique uti fati ratio traheretur in unum.
nam, quodcumque genus rerum, quotcumque labores
quaeque opera atque artes, quicumque per omnia casus
humana in vita poterant contingere, sorte
complexa est, tot et in partes, quot et astra locarat,

that the order of fate might be drawn together from every side into one.
for whatever kind of things, however many labors,
and whatever works and arts, whatever chances through all
could befall human life, it embraced by lot, and divided into as many parts as it had set stars,

disposuit, certasque vices, sua munera cuique
attribuit, totumque hominis per sidera censum
ordine sub certo duxit, pars semper ut eidem
confinis parti vicinis staret in astris.
horum operum sortes ad singula signa locavit,

he disposed, and fixed the sure alternations, assigned to each his own munera,
and the whole census of man's life through the stars he led in a certain order,
so that one part might always stand in the stars contiguous to the same
neighbouring part. The lots of these works he placed at each single sign,

non ut in aeterna caeli statione manerent
et cunctos hominum pariter traherentur in ortus
ex isdem repetita locis, sed tempore sedes
nascentum acciperent proprias signisque migrarent
atque alias <alii> sors quaeque accederet astro,

not that they should remain in the eternal station of the heavens
and that all men alike should be drawn into births from the same repeated places,
but that in time they would receive the proper seats of the newly born and with the signs migrate
and that to each <alii> lot there would come a different star,

ut caperet genitura novam per sidera formam
nec tamen incerto confunderet omnia motu.
sed, cum pars operum quae prima condita sorte est
accepit propriam nascentis tempore sedem,
cetera succedunt signisque sequentibus haerent.

so that each offspring might take a new form through the stars
and yet not confuse all things by an uncertain motion.
but, when the portion of works which first was ordained by lot
received its proper seat at the time of birth,
the rest succeed and cling, following the signs.

ordo ducem sequitur donec venit orbis in orbem.
has autem facies rerum per signa locatas,
in quibus omnis erit fortunae condita summa,
ut cursu stellae septem laeduntve iuvantve
cardinibusve movet divina potentia mundum,

the order follows its leader until one orb comes into another orb.
but these aspects of things, set in place through signs,
in which the whole sum of fortune will be founded,
so that in their course the seven stars either wound or help,
or by the cardines divine potency moves the world,

sic felix aut triste venit per singula fatum,
talis et illius sors est speranda negoti.
haec mihi sollemni sunt ordine cuncta canenda
et titulis signanda suis rerumque figuris,
ut pateat positura operum nomenque genusque.

thus lucky or sorrowful fate comes through each single thing,
such too is the lot of that enterprise to be hoped for.
these things for me are all to be sung in solemn order
and to be marked with their own titles and with the figures of things,
so that the arrangement of the works and their name and their kind may be made plain.

Fortunae sors prima data est. hoc illa per artem
censetur titulo, quia proxima continet in se
fundamenta domus domuique haerentia cuncta:
qui modus in servis, qui sit concessus in arvis
quamque datum magnas operum componere moles,

The first lot of Fortune is given. This is by art esteemed a title,
because it contains near within itself the foundations of a house
and all things clinging to a home:
what measure among slaves, what is granted in the fields,
and to what extent the great masses of works are given to be composed,

100

ut vaga fulgentis concordant sidera caeli.
post hinc militiae locus est, qua quidquid in armis
quodque peregrinas inter versantibus urbes
accidere assuevit titulo comprenditur uno.
tertia ad urbanos statio est numeranda labores

as wandering stars of the shining heavens concord with one another.
after this comes the station of military service, in which whatever in arms
and whatever is wont to befall among foreign cities engaged in conflict
is encompassed under a single title. the third station is to be reckoned for urban labors

105

(hoc quoque militiae genus est, civilibus actis
compositum) fideique tenet parentia vincla;
format amicitias et saepe cadentia frustra
officia, et cultus contingant praemia quanta
edocet, appositis cum mundus consonat astris.

(this too is a kind of service, composed of civil acts
and parental bonds hold fast by faith;
it fashions friendships and often duties falling into neglect
and teaches what great rewards attend observance,
when, with apt placements, the world is consonant with the stars.

110

iudiciorum opus in quarto natura locavit
fortunamque fori: fundentem verba patronum
pendentemque reum lingua labrisque loquentis
impositum, et populo nudantem condita iura
atque expensa sua solventem iurgia fronte,

Nature placed the task of judgments in the fourth place
and the fortune of the forum: the patron pouring forth words
and the defendant hanging, imposed by a speaking tongue and lips,
and him who lays bare to the people the established laws
and who, at his own expense, pays off quarrels with his brow,

115

cum iudex veri nihil amplius advocat ipso.
quidquid propositas inter facundia leges
efficit, hoc totum partem concessit in unam
atque, utcumque regunt dominantia sidera, paret.
quintus coniugio gradus est per signa dicatus

when the judge of truth pleads for nothing more than the thing itself.
whatever eloquence effects among proposed laws,
this has reduced the whole to a single part,
and, however the dominating stars rule, he obeys.
the fifth degree is dedicated to marriage through the signs

120

et socios tenet, et committens hospita iura
iungitur et similis coniungens foedus amicos.
in sexta dives numeratur copia sede
atque adiuncta salus rerum, quarum altera quanti
contingant usus monet, altera quam diuturni,

and it holds companions, and entrusting the guest-rights
is joined and, like one uniting, binds friends in covenant.
in the sixth it is reckoned rich by abundant seat
and with it the appended safety of affairs, of which one
advises how great the uses will amount to, the other how long-lasting,

125

sidera ut inclinant vires et templa gubernant.
septima censetur saevis horrenda periclis,
si male subscribunt stellae per signa locatae.
nobilitas tenet octavam, qua constat honoris
condicio et famae modus et genus et specioso

as the stars incline powers and steer temples,
the seventh is reckoned dreadful with savage perils,
if the stars, placed through the signs, subscribe ill.
nobility holds the eighth, by which the condition
of honour and the measure of fame and the stock and the splendid

130

gratia praetexto. nonus locus occupat omnem
natorum sortem dubiam patriosque timores
omniaque infantum mixta nutricia turba.
huic vicinus erit, vitae qui continet actum,
in quo sortimur mores, et qualibus omnis

grace in the praetext. the ninth place takes up every
uncertain fate of the born and paternal fears
and the whole nurse-crowd mixed with infants.
Next to this will be he who contains the course of life,
in which we are allotted our manners, and by what kind every

135

formetur domus exemplis, quamque ordine certo
ad sua compositi discedant munera servi.
praecipua undecima pars est in sorte locata,
quae summam nostri semper viresque gubernat,
quaque valetudo constat, nunc libera morbis,

let the house be formed by examples, and that, arranged in fixed order,
the servants, set for their tasks, depart to their proper offices.
the principal eleventh part is placed in the lot,
which always governs the sum of our life and our powers,
and on which health depends, now freed from diseases,

140

nunc oppressa, movent ut mundum sidera cumque.
non alia est sedes, tempusve genusve medendi
quae sibi deposcat vel cuius tempore praestet
auxilium et vitae sucos miscere salubris.
ultimus et totam concludens ordine summam

now oppressed, they stir both world and stars alike.
there is no other seat, nor time, nor kind of healing
which might demand for itself, or in whose time may be afforded
help and to mingle the life’s salutary juices.
the last, and closing the whole, the supreme sum in the order

145

rebus apiscendis labor est, qui continet omnis
votorum effectus, et, quae sibi quisque suisque
proponit studia atque artes, haec irrita ne sint.
seu ferat officium nutus blanditus in omnis,
aspera sive foro per litem iurgia temptet,

In the gaining of things there is labour, which contains all the effects of wishes,
and that the studies and arts which each man sets before himself and his own
may not be rendered void. Whether duty brings a flattering nod to all,
or whether harsh quarrels in the forum through lawsuit put them to the test,

150

fortunamve petat pelago ventisque sequatur,
seu Cererem plena vincentem credita messe
aut repetat Bacchum per pinguia musta fluentem,
hac in parte dies atque hac momenta dabuntur,
si bene convenient stellae per signa sequentes;

whether he seeks fortune on the sea and follows the winds,
or seeks Ceres, believed to prevail with a full harvest,
or pursues Bacchus flowing through the rich musts,
in this quarter days and in this respect moments will be granted,
if the stars, following through the signs, come together well.

155

quarum ego posterius vires in utrumque valentis
ordine sub serto reddam, cum pandere earum
incipiam effectus. nunc, ne permixta legentem
confundant, nudis satis est insistere membris.
Et, quoniam certo digestos orbe labores

the strengths of which I will afterwards restore, in order beneath a wreath, each potent for either role,
when I shall begin to unfold their effects. Now, lest the mingled things confound the reader,
it is enough to stand upon the naked limbs.
And, since the labors are disposed through a certain orb of the world

160

nominaque in numerum viresque exegimus omnis
(athla vocant Grai, quae cuncta negotia rerum
in genera et partes bis sex divisa coercent),
nunc, quibus accedant signis quandoque, canendum est.
perpetuas neque enim sedes eademve per omnis

and we have enumerated all names and powers into a number
(the Greeks call athla, which confine all the affairs of things
into genera and parts divided into twelve),
now we must sing by which signs they are at times to be added.
for neither are their seats perpetual nor the same through all

165

sidera nascentis retinent, sed tempore mutant,
nunc huc nunc illuc signorum mota per orbem,
incolumis tamen ut maneat qui conditus ordo est.
ergo age, ne falsa variet genitura figura,
si sua quemque voles revocare ad signa laborem,

the stars retain the nascent, but change with time,
now hither, now thither, the signs moved through the orb,
yet uninjured, that the order which was founded may endure.
therefore come, lest a false geniture alter the figure,
if you would summon each to his own signs, it is labour,

170

Fortunae conquire locum per sidera cuncta,
quae primum est aerumnosis pars dicta sub athlis.
qui tibi cum fuerit certa ratione repertus,
cetera praedicto subeuntibus ordine signis
coniunges, teneant proprias ut singula sedes.

Seek a place for Fortune through all the stars,
that which first is called the portion beneath Athlis for the distressed.
When one shall have been found for you with a certain rationale,
the remaining signs, following in the said order, you will join,
so that each may hold its proper seat.

175

et, ne forte vagus Fortunae quaerere sedem
incipias, duplici certam ratione capesse.
cum tibi, nascentis percepto tempore, forma
constiterit caeli, stellis ad signa locatis,
transverso Phoebus si cardine celsior ibit

and, lest haply you begin to seek the wandering seat of Fortune,
take hold by a sure rule with a double rationale.
when to you, at the perceived time of birth, the form
of the heavens shall have stood fixed, the stars placed at their signs,
if Phoebus, higher, shall move by a transverse axis

180

qui tenet exortum vel qui demergit in undas,
per tempus licet affirmes natum esse diei.
at, si subiectis senis fulgebit in astris
inferior dextra laevaque tenentibus orbem
cardinibus, noctis fuerit per tempora natus.

he who holds the rising or who plunges into the waves,
you may, for a while, affirm to have been born of the day.
but if, with the elders set beneath, he shall shine among the stars,
holding the lower right and left of the globe with the poles,
he will have been born in the seasons of night.

185

haec tibi cum fuerint certo discrimine nota,
tunc, si forte dies nascentem exceperit alma,
a sole ad lunam numerabis in ordine partes
signorum, ortivo totidem de cardine duces,
quem bene partitis memorant horoscopon astris.

when these things are made known to you with a certain discriminant mark,
then, if by chance the kindly day shall have received the newborn,
you will number from the Sun to the Moon, in order, the parts of the signs,
as many leaders from the rising cardinal point,
which the horoscope of the stars, well portioned, records.

190

in quodcumque igitur numerus pervenerit astrum
hoc da Fortunae. iunges tum cetera signis
athla suis, certo subeuntibus ordine cunctis.
at, cum obducta nigris nox orbem texerit alis,
siquis erit qui tum materna excesserit alvo,

into whatever number then the star shall have come,
this give to Fortune. You will then join the other athla to their signs,
all in a sure succession entering in order.
But when, night having veiled the world with black wings,
there shall be any one who then has issued from the maternal womb,

195

verte vias, sicut naturae vertitur ordo.
consule tum Phoeben imitantem lumina fratris
semper et in proprio regnantem tempore noctis;
quotque ab ea Phoebus partes et signa recedit
tot numerare iubet fulgens horoscopos a se.

turn your ways, as the order of nature is turned.
then consult Phoebe, imitating the lights of her brother,
always reigning in her own season of night;
and as many parts and signs as Phoebus withdraws from her
so he bids to count the shining horoscopes from himself.

200

hunc Fortuna locum teneat subeuntibus athlis,
ordine naturae sicut sunt cuncta locata.
Forsitan et quaeras, agili rem corde notandam,
qua ratione queas, natalis tempore, nati
exprimere immerso surgentem horoscopon orbe.

may Fortune hold this place for the athletes who enter,
as all things are set in the order of nature.
Perhaps you may also ask, with an agile heart to note the matter,
by what method you are able, at the natal time of the newborn,
to portray the rising horoscope from the immersed sphere.

205

quod nisi subtili visum ratione tenetur,
fundamenta ruunt artis nec consonat ordo;
cardinibus quoniam falsis, qui cuncta gubernant,
mentitur faciem mundus nec constat origo
flexaque momento variantur sidera templi.

which, if not held by a subtle reason perceived,
the foundations of the art collapse and order is not consonant;
for when the cardines are false, those that govern all things,
the world deceives in its face and the origin does not stand,
and the temple’s stars are altered in a turned moment.

210

sed, quanta effectu, res est tam plena laboris
cursibus aeternis mundum per signa volantem,
ut totum lustret curvatis arcubus orbem,
exprimere et vultus eius componere certos
ac tantae molis minimum deprendere punctum:

but, with what exertion, is the affair so full of labor
—the world flying through the signs in eternal courses—,
that it traverses the whole orb with curved arches,
and to portray and compose its determinate faces,
and to discern the smallest point of so great a weight:

215

quae pars exortum vel quae fastigia mundi
<obtineat summi demersosve aequoris undis>                  216a
auferat occasus aut imo sederit orbe.
     Nec me vulgatae rationis praeterit ordo,
quae binas tribuit signis surgentibus horas
et paribus spatiis aequalia digerit astra,

which part takes the sunrise or which the summits of the world
<may hold or the highest sun sunk in the waves of the sea> 216a
carries off the setting or has settled in the lowest orb.
Nor does the customary order of common reason escape me,
which assigns two hours to the rising signs
and, in equal intervals, distributes the equal stars,

220

ut parte ex illa, qua Phoebi coeperit orbis,
discedat numerus summamque accommodet astris,
donec perveniat nascentis tempus ad ipsum,
atque, ubi substiterit, signum dicatur oriri.
sed iacet obliquo signorum circulus orbe,

that from that part, where the orb of Phoebus has begun,
the number (order) depart and adjust the sum to the stars,
until the time of the rising one arrives at that very point,
and, where it has halted, the sign is said to arise.
but the circle of the signs lies upon an oblique orb,

225

atque alia inflexis oriuntur sidera membris,
ast illis magis est rectus surgentibus ordo,
ut propius nodis aliquod vel longius astrum est.
vix finit luces Cancer, vix bruma reducit,
quam brevis ille iacet, tam longus circulus hic est;

and other stars rise on their curved limbs,
but for them the order of those rising is straighter,
so that by the nodes some star is nearer or some is farther away.
Scarcely does Cancer end the lights, scarcely does it restore the winter;
as brief as that one lies, so long is this circle.

230

Libra Ariesque parem reddunt noctemque diemque.
sic media extremis pugnant extremaque summis.
nec nocturna minus variant quam tempora lucis,
sed tantum adversis idem stat mensibus ordo.
in tam dissimili spatio variisque dierum

Libra and Aries make night and day equal.
thus middles contend with extremes and extremes with the summits.
nor do nocturnal seasons change less than the times of light,
but only the same order stands against opposing months.
in so dissimilar a span and with the varied days

235

umbrarumque modis quis credere possit in auras
omnia signa pari mundi sub lege meare?
adde quod incerta est horae mensura neque ullam
altera par sequitur, sed, sicut summa dierum
vertitur, et partes surgunt rursusque recedunt;

who could believe, by the modes of shadows, that all the signs move through the airs under one equal law of the world?
add that the measure of the hour is uncertain and no other follows it equally, but, just as the total of the days is turned,
and portions rise and again withdraw;

240

cum tamen, in quocumque dies deducitur astro,
sex habeat supra terras, sex signa sub illis.
quo fit ut in binas non possint omnia nasci,
cum spatium non sit sibi par pugnantibus horis,
si modo bis senae servantur luce sub omni,

yet when, beneath whatever star the day is led down,
it has six signs above the lands, six signs beneath them.
whence it happens that not all things can be born into twofolds,
since there is not to it a space equal for the hours that strive together,
if only twice the sixfold lights are kept beneath every sky,

245

quem numerum debet ratio sed non capit usus.
Nec tibi constabunt aliter vestigia veri,
ni, lucem noctemque paris dimensus in horas,
in quantum vario pateant sub tempore noris,
regulaque exacta primum formetur in hora

which number reason ought, but usage does not contain.
Nor will the footprints of truth stand to you otherwise,
unless, having measured light and night into equal hours,
to the extent that you shall know they open under a varying time,
and that a precise rule be first formed in the hour

250

quae surgens sidensque diem perpendat et umbras.
haec erit, in Libra cum lucem vincere noctes
incipiunt vel cum medio concedere vere.
tunc etenim solum bis senas tempora in horas
aequa patent, medio quod currit Phoebus Olympo.

which, both rising and setting, weighs day and shadows.
this will be, when in Libra nights begin to conquer the light
or when they begin to yield to mid-spring.
for then alone do the times open equally into twice-six hours,
which Phoebus runs from the middle of Olympus.

255

is cum per gelidas hiemes summotus in austros
fulget in octava Capricorni parte biformis,
tunc angusta dies vernalis fertur in horas
dimidiam atque novem, sed nox oblita diei
bis septem apposita, numerus ne claudicet, hora

when he, driven into the south through icy winters,
shines two‑formed in the eighth part of Capricorn,
then the narrow vernal day is said to run to nine and a half hours,
but the night, forgetful of the day, is set beside it as twice seven (14), that the number not be lacking, hour

260

dimidia. sic in duodenas exit utrimque
et redit in solidum natura condita summa.
inde cadunt noctes surguntque in tempora luces,
nunc huc nunc illuc gradibus per sidera certis

half. thus into twelfths it issues on both sides
and returns into a whole, the sum established by Nature.
thence nights fall and lights rise into their times,
now hither now thither with fixed steps through the stars

268

impulsae, quorum ratio manifesta per artem
collecta est venietque suo per carmina textu,
donec ad ardentis pugnarunt sidera Cancri;

the impulses, whose reason, made manifest through art,
has been gathered and will come by its own through a weave of songs,
until they fought to the ardent stars of Cancer;

264

atque ibi conversis vicibus mutantur in horas
brumalis, noctemque dies lucemque tenebrae
hibernam referunt, alternaque tempora vincunt.
atque haec est illas demum mensura per oras

and there, with the vicissitudes reversed, they are changed into the winter hours,
and night and day and light and darkness restore the wintry season,
and the alternating times prevail over one another.
and this is at last the measure of those things along the shores

271

quas rigat aestivis gravidus torrentibus amnis
Nilus et erumpens imitatur sidera mundi
per septem fauces atque ora fugantia pontum.
Nunc age, quot stadiis et quanto tempore surgant

which the Nile, laden with summer torrents, waters,
and Nilus, bursting forth, imitates the stars of the world
through seven throats and the shores that flee the sea.
Now then, reckon by how many stadia and in what time they rise

275

sidera, quotque cadant, animo cognosce sagaci,
ne magna in brevibus lateant compendia dictis.
nobile Lanigeri sidus, quod cuncta sequuntur,
dena quater stadia exoriens duplicataque ducit
cum cadit, atque horam surgens eiusque trientem

280

occupat, occiduus geminat. tum cetera signa
octonis crescunt stadiis orientia in orbem
et totidem amittunt gelidas vergentia in umbras.
hora novo crescit per singula signa quadrante
tertiaque e quinta pars parte inducitur eius.

the western one occupies and doubles. then the remaining signs
grow into an eastward ring by eight stadia
and lose as many, inclining into cold shadows.
the hour increases anew through each sign by a quarter,
and a third of its fifth part is added.

285

haec sunt ad Librae sidus surgentibus astris
incrementa: pari momento damna trahuntur
cum subeunt orbem. rursusque a sidere Librae
ordine mutato paribus per tempora versa
momentis redeunt. nam, per quot creverat astrum

these are the increments for the starry sign of Libra when the stars rise:
at an equal moment losses are drawn off when they enter the circle. and again from the sign of Libra
with the order changed, turned through equal times, they return with moments reversed.

290

Lanigeri stadia aut horas, tot Libra recedit;
occiduusque Aries spatium tempusque cadendi
quod tenet, in tantum Chelae consurgere perstant.
excipiunt vicibus se signa sequentia versis.
haec ubi constiterint vigilanti condita mente

For as many stadia or hours of the wool-bearing one, so many the Scales withdraw;
and the westward Aries holds the span and time of falling which it occupies, to such an extent the Claws persist in rising.
The signs that follow take their turns, receiving themselves with positions reversed.
When these have stood firm, laid down in a watchful mind

295

iam facile est tibi, quod quandoque horoscopet astrum,
noscere, cum liceat certis surgentia signa
ducere temporibus propriasque ascribere in horas,
partibus ut ratio signo ducatur ab illo,
in quo Phoebus erit, quarum mihi reddita summa est.

now it is easy for you, whenever the horoscopic star rises,
to know, since it is permitted to trace the rising signs to fixed times
and to assign to hours their own, so that the ratio may be led by that sign
into parts, in which Phoebus will be, the total of which has been returned to me.

300

Sed neque per terras omnis mensura dierum
umbrarumque eadem est, simili nec tempora summa
mutantur: modus est varius ratione sub una.
nam, qua Phrixei ducuntur vellera signi
Chelarumque fides iustaeque examina Librae,

But neither over all lands is the measure of days
and of shadows the same, nor are the chief times changed
by a like rule: there is a varying measure under one reason.
for, where the fleeces of Phrixus are borne as signs
and the Chelarum’s faith and the just balances of Libra,

305

omnia consurgunt binas ibi signa per horas,
quod medius recto praeciditur ordine mundus
aequalisque super transversum vertitur axem.
illic perpetua iunguntur pace diebus
obscurae noctes; aequo stat foedere tempus;

all things rise there with twofold signs through the hours,
because the middle of the world is severed by a straight order
and the equal axis is turned across transversely.
there perpetual days are joined in peace with
obscure nights; time stands by an even covenant;

310

nec manifesta patet falsi fallacia mundi,
sed similis simili toto nox redditur aevo;
omnibus autumnus signis, ver omnibus unum,
una quod aequali lustratur linea Phoebo.
nec refert illic quo sol decurrat in astro,

nor does the manifest deceit of the false world lie open,
but night is rendered to the whole age like unto like;
to all, autumn by its signs, to all, spring is one,
that which by an equal line is traversed for Phoebus.
nor does it matter there on which star the sun runs down,

315

litoreumne coquat Cancrum contrane feratur,
[sideribus mediis an quae sint quattuor inter]
quod, quamquam per tris signorum circulus arcus
obliquus iaceat, recto tamen ordine zonae
consurgunt supra caput in terrasque feruntur

whether the littoral Crab is seethed or is borne contrariwise,
[or which four are between the middle stars]
which, although an oblique arc lies through three circles of the signs,
yet in a straight order of the zones they rise above the head and are carried over the lands

320

et paribus spatiis per singula lustra resurgunt,
ac bene diviso mundus latet orbe patetque.
at, simul ex illa terrarum parte recedas,
quidquid ad extremos temet provexerit axes
per convexa gradus gressum fastigia terrae,

and at equal intervals they reappear through each lustrum,
and the world, well divided, lies hidden and by its orb lies open.
but, as soon as you withdraw from that part of the lands,
whatever the outermost axes have borne you toward,
across the convexities the ascents and heights of the earth convey your step

325

quam tereti natura solo decircinat orbem
in tumidum et mediam mundo suspendit ab omni,++
ergo ubi conscendes orbem scandensque rotundum
degrediere simul, fugiet pars altera terrae,
altera reddetur. sed, quantum inflexeris orbem,

which nature with a smooth soil encircles the sphere,
and suspends it from all the world into the swollen and middle part,++
therefore when you shall climb the sphere and, mounting the round, at once
descend, one part of the earth will flee, the other be restored.
but, as far as you shall have bent about the orb,

330

tantum inclinabit caeli positura volantis,
et modo quae fuerant surgentia limite recto
sidera curvato ducentur in aethera tractu,
atque erit obliquo signorum balteus orbe
qui transversus erat, statio quando illius una est,

so far the posture of the flying heavens will incline,
and now the stars which had been rising at a straight limit
will be drawn into the aether by a curved tract,
and there will be an oblique belt of the signs in the orb
that had been transverse, when its station is the same,

335

nostrae mutantur sedes. ergo ipsa moveri
tempora iam ratio cogit variosque referre
sub tali regione dies, cum sidera flexo
ordine conficiant cursus obliqua malignos,
longius atque aliis aliud propiusve recumbat.

our seats are changed. Therefore reason now compels the seasons themselves to be moved
and to reckon days variously under such a region, when the stars, with their order bent,
bring their courses to completion obliquely malign, so that one lies farther off and another reclines nearer than the rest.

340

pro spatio mora magna datur: quae proxima nobis
consurgunt, longos caeli visuntur in orbes;
ultima quae fulgent, celeris merguntur in umbras.
et, quanto ad gelidas propius quis venerit Arctos,
tam magis effugiunt oculos brumalia signa,

for a space a great delay is given: those that rise nearest to us
are seen into the long orbits of the sky;
the last that shine are plunged into swift shadows.
and, by how much one has come nearer to the icy Arctos,
so much more the brumal signs flee from the eyes,

345

vixque ortis occasus erit. si longius inde
procedat, totis condentur singula membris
tricenasque trahent conexo tempore noctes
et totidem luces adiment. sic parva dierum
efficitur mora et attritis consumitur horis

and scarcely will there be a setting after their rising. If he proceed farther from there,
each single thing will be enclosed in whole limbs;
and thirty nights, drawn out in linked time, will be protracted
and just as many lights (days) will be taken away. Thus a small delay of days
is effected and is consumed by hours worn away

350

paulatimque perit, spatio fugientibus astris.
pluraque, per partes surrepto tempore, signa
quaerentur medio terrae celata tumore
abducentque simul Phoebum texentque tenebras,
mensibus ereptis donec sit debilis annus.

and little by little it perishes, as the stars flee through their course.
and more omens, with time stolen away in portions, will be sought;
hidden by the swelling of the earth’s mid-bulk they will be concealed
and at once will draw Phoebus off and weave the shadows,
months having been snatched away until the year is grown enfeebled.

355

si vero natura sinat sub vertice caeli,
quem gelidus rigidis fulcit compagibus axis,
aeternas super ire nives orbemque rigentem
prona Lycaoniae spectantem membra puellae,
stantis erit caeli species, laterumque meatu

but if truly nature should allow beneath the summit of the sky,
which a cold axis supports with rigid compages,
that the girl’s limbs, bent forward toward Lycaonia, may pass above the eternal snows and behold the freezing orb,
there will be the semblance of heaven standing, and by the motion of her sides

360

turbinis in morem recta vertigine curret.
inde tibi obliquo sex tantum signa patebunt
circuitu, nullos umquam fugientia visus
sed teretem acclini mundum comitantia spira.
hic erit una dies per senos undique menses

it will run straight with a whirling motion, in the manner of a whirlwind.
thence for you only six oblique signs will lie open
in their circuit, their sight never fleeing,
but the rounded world, accompanying, in a leaning spiral.
here one day will be through six months on every side

365

dimidiumque trahens contextis lucibus annum,
numquam erit occiduus quod tanto tempore Phoebus,
dum bis terna suis perlustrat cursibus astra,
sed circum volitans recto versabitur orbe.
at, simul e medio praeceps descenderit orbe

and drawing half the year with interwoven rays,
Phoebus will never set for so long a time,
while twice he traverses the threefold stars with his courses,
but circling, winged, he will be turned in a straight orbit.
but, as soon as headlong he descends from the middle of the orb

370

inferiora petens deiecto sidera curru
et dabit in pronum laxas effusus habenas,
per totidem menses iunget nox una tenebras
vertice sub caeli. nam quisquis spectat ab axe,
dimidium e toto mundi videt orbe rotundi,

seeking the lower regions with his chariot cast down the stars,
and will give the loose reins, poured forth, to the sloping descent,
for as many months night will join one darkness beneath the vault of the sky.
for whoever watches from the axle sees half of the whole round world,

375

pars latet inferior; neque enim circumvenit illum
recta acies, mediaque tenus distenditur alvo.
effugit ergo oculos summo spectantis ab orbe
dum sex summersis vectatur Phoebus in astris,
abducitque simul luces tenebrasque relinquit

the lower part lies hidden; for a straight line does not encompass it,
and it is stretched inward even to the middle of the hollow.
therefore it escapes the eyes of one gazing from the highest sphere,
while Phoebus is borne through the stars for six months submerged,
and at once he draws the lights away and leaves behind the darkness

380

sideribus, donec totidem, quot mensibus actis
cesserat, inde redit geminasque ascendit ad Arctos.
hic locus in binas annum noctesque diesque
per duo partitae dirimit divortia terrae.
Et, quoniam quanto varientur tempora motu

to the stars, until as many — as months having run — it had ceased; then from there it returns and mounts to the twin Arctics.
this place, into two parts divided, severs the year and sunders nights and days through the parted earth.
And, since by how much the seasons are changed by motion

385

et quibus e causis dictum est, nunc accipe, signa
quot surgant in quoque loco cedantque per horas,
partibus ut prendi possint orientia certis,
ne falsus dubia ratione horoscopos erret.
atque hoc in totum certa sub lege sequendum est,

and for what causes this was said, now receive the signs
how many rise in each place and in which hours they set,
so that the orienting points may be seized in certain parts,
lest a false interpreter err about doubtful horoscopes by reason.
and this in whole must be followed under a fixed law,

390

singula quod nequeunt, per tot distantia motus,
temporibus numerisque suis exacta referri.
a me sumat iter positum, sibi quisque sequatur
perque suos tendat gressus, mihi debeat artem.
quacumque hoc parti terrarum quisque requiret,

that which individuals cannot, across so many distances of motion,
be referred back as exactly measured to their own times and numbers.
Let the route placed by me be taken, let each one follow for himself
and bend his steps through his own ways; to me let art be owed.
Whithersoever in this part of the lands anyone inquires,

395

deducat proprias noctemque diemque per horas
maxima sub Cancro minimis quae cingitur umbris;
et sextam summae, fuerit quae forte, diurnae
vicino tribuat post Cancri templa Leoni;
at quae nocturnis fuerit mensura tenebris

let him assign their proper night and day through the hours,
and the greatest under Cancer, the least which is girded by the smallest shadows;
and may he grant the sixth to the summit of the day, whatever it perhaps may be,
to neighboring Leo after Cancer’s temples;
but that which shall be the measure for nocturnal darknesses

400

in totidem partes simili ratione secanda est,
ut, quantum una ferat, tantum tribuatur ad ortus
temporis averso nascenti sidere Tauro.
has inter quasque accipiet Nemeeius horas
quod discrimen erit, per tris id divide partes,

must be divided into just as many parts by similar reason,
so that, as much as one bears, so much is allotted to the risings
of time, to the east, to Taurus rising with the opposite star.
Between each of these the Nemean will take the hours;
whatever the distinction shall be, divide that into three parts,

405

tertia ut accedat Geminis, qua tempora Tauri
vincant, atque eadem Cancro similisque Leoni,
sed certa sub lege, prioris semper ut astri

that a third sector come to Gemini, in which the seasons of Taurus prevail,
and that same sector be like Cancer and akin to Leo,
but under a fixed law, ever as the star of the former.

411

incolumem servent summam crescantque novando.
sic erit ad summam ratio perducta priorem

may they keep the summit unharmed and increase it by renewing.
thus shall the ratio be brought to the former summit

408

quam modo divisis Nemeaeus duxerit horis.
inde pari Virgo procedat temporis auctu.
his usque ad Chelas horarum partibus aucta

just as the Nemean led when the hours were divided.
thence let the Maiden proceed with an equal augmentation of time.
these increased by portions of the hours even up to Chelas

413

per totidem e Libra decrescent sidera partes.
et, quantis in utrumque moris tollentur ad ortus,
diversam in sortem tantis mergentur ad umbras.
haec erit horarum ratio ducenda per orbem
<signorum: nunc in noscenda pone laborem> 417a
illa, quot stadiis oriantur quaeque cadantque.
quae <quater et> cum ter centum vicenaque constent,
detrahitur summae tota pars, quota demitur usque

through as many parts the stars that wane from Libra are diminished.
and, by how many to each rising their ascents are raised,
into a different lot they shall be plunged by so great shadows.
this will be the rule for leading the hours through the orb
<of the signs: now set the labour to knowing> 417a
that one, by how many stadia each will rise and fall.
which, <fourfold and> when they amount to three hundred and twenty,
a whole part is subtracted from the sum; by how much it is taken away up to

420

omnibus ex horis aestivae nomine noctis,
solstitium summo peragit cum Phoebus Olympo.
quodque his exsuperat demptis id ducito in aequas
sex partes, sextamque ardenti trade Leoni.
rursus qui steterit numerus sub nomine noctis

of all the hours counted under the name of summer-night,
Phoebus with highest Olympus completes the solstice.
and what of these remains, with those taken away, lead into six equal
parts, and hand the sixth to the burning Leo.
again, whatever number shall stand under the name of night

425

eius erit signo Tauri pars illa dicanda.
quodque, haec, exsuperat, pars cum superatur ab illa,
distinguitque duas medio discrimine summas,
tertia pars eius, numero super addita Tauri,
tradetur Geminis. simili tum cetera lucro

That portion shall be assigned to the sign of Taurus.
And what of this exceeds, when that part is surpassed by that one,
and distinguishes the two highest by a middle separation,
a third part of it, added over to the number of Taurus,
will be handed over to the Twins. Then the remaining parts to like profit

430

procedent numeros semper tutata priores
augebuntque novo vicinas munere summas,
donec perveniant ad iustae sidera Librae:
ex illa totidem per partes sic breviantur
Lanigeri ad fines; conversaque omnia lege

the advancing numbers, ever protecting the prior ones,
will augment the adjacent summits with a new charge,
until they reach the stars of rightful Libra:
from that point, in just as many parts, thus are shortened
to the borders of the Wool‑bearing; and all things are turned by law

435

accipiunt perduntque paris cedentia sortes.
haec via monstrabit stadiorum ponere summas
et numerare suos ortus per sidera cuncta.
quod bene cum propriis simul acceptaveris horis,
in nulla fallet regione horoscopos umquam,

they take and lose the paired, yielding lots.
this method will show how to set the totals of stadia
and to number their risings through all the stars.
which, when you have well received together with their proper hours,
will fail the horoscopes in no region ever.

440

cum poterunt certis numerari singula signa
temporibus parte ex illa quam Phoebus habebit.
Nunc, quibus hiberni momentis surgere menses
incipiant (neque enim paribus per sidera cuncta
procedunt gradibus, nivei dum vellera signi

when each sign will be able to be numbered to certain times
from that part which Phoebus will possess.
Now, in which wintry moments the months begin to rise
(for indeed they do not proceed through all the stars by equal steps,
while the fleeces of the snowy sign...)

445

contingant aequum luces cogentia et umbras
ferre iugum), magna est ratio breviterque docenda.
principio capienda tibi est mensura diei
quam minimam Capricornus agit, noctisque per horas
quam summam; quodque a iusto superaverit umbris,

that equal lights may fall, and shadows, compelling to bear the yoke,
there is a great method and it must be taught briefly.
first you must take the measure of the day—
the least part which Capricorn presides over, and the greatest through the hours of night;
and that which has exceeded the just shadows,

450

perdiderint luces, eius pars tertia signo
tradenda est medio semper, qua sorte retenta
dimidio vincat primum, vincatur et ipsum
extremo: totum in partes ita digere tempus.
his opibus tria signa valent; sed summa prioris

when the lights have perished, a third part of it must always be handed to the middle sign,
which, if by lot retained, let it overcome the first by half, and let it itself be overcome
by the last: thus divide the whole time into parts.
to these forces three signs avail; but the sum of the prior

455

ac medii numeri coniuncta sequentibus astris
cesserit, ut, senis fuerit si longior horis
brumali nox forte die, Capricornus in horam
dimidiam attollat luces, et Aquarius horam
ipse suam proprie ducat summaeque priori

and if the middle number, joined to the following stars,
shall yield, so that, if by chance it should be longer than the hours of the old man in a wintry night,
Capricorn raise the lights to the half hour, and Aquarius himself lead
his own hour and the one preceding the highest

460

adiungat, Pisces tantum sibi temporis ipsi
constituant, quantum accipiant de sorte prioris,
et tribus expletis horis noctemque diemque
Lanigero tradant aequandam tempore veris.
incipit a sexta tempus procedere parte

let him add, let Pisces allot to themselves only so much of the time
as they receive from the lot of the prior sign,
and, with the three hours fulfilled, let them render night and day
equal in the wool‑bearing time of spring.
time begins to advance from the sixth part

465

dividuum; triplicant vires haerentia signa
ultimaque acceptas duplicant. ita summa diebus
redditur, aequatae solvuntur faenore noctes

divided; the signs that cling treble their forces
and the last ones double what they receive. Thus the total is restored to the days
and the nights are discharged, balanced by interest

473

rursus et incipiunt propria de sorte diebus
cedere diversa labentia tempora lege.

again they begin to surrender what is their own by allotment to the days,
the diverse, sliding seasons to yield to a changing law.

468

namque Aries totidem deducit noctibus horas
quot prius abstulerant proprio sub nomine Pisces,
hora datur Tauro, cumuletque ut damna priora
dimidiam adiungunt Gemini. sic ultima primis
respondent, pariterque, illis quae proxima fulgent,

for Aries leads down as many hours by nights
as formerly under the name Pisces had taken away,
an hour is given to Taurus, and to Gemini they add so that they join up half the former losses.
thus the last correspond to the first, and equally to those which shine most proximate,

475

et media aequatis censentur viribus astra.
[praecipuosque gerunt varianda ad tempora motus]
hac vice descendunt noctes a sidere brumae
tollunturque dies, annique invertitur orbis,
solstitium tardi dum fit sub sidere Cancri;

and the middle stars are deemed equalized in their forces.
[praecipuosque gerunt varianda ad tempora motus]
at this turn the nights descend from the winter star
and the days are uplifted, and the year's orb is turned,
while the slow solstice is made under the star Cancer;

480

tumque diem brumae nox aequat, tempora noctis
longa dies, similique redit, quam creverat, actu.
Illa etiam poterit nascens via ducere ad astrum
quod quandoque vadis emissum redditur orbi.
nam quota sit lucis, si luce requiritur, hora

and then the bruma night levels the day, the long seasons of night become day, and it returns equal to the state in which it had grown.
That rising way likewise will be able to lead to a star
which at some time, sent forth in its courses, is restored to the orb.
for what portion of light there is, if by light it is sought, the hour

485

aspicies, atque hunc numerum revocabis in ipsum
multiplicans decies, adiectis insuper eidem
quinque tamen summis, quia qualicumque sub hora
ter quinas mundi se tollunt sidera partes.
hic ubi constiterit numerus, coniungere et illas,

you will behold, and you will call this number back into itself,
multiplying it tenfold, moreover adding to the same five at the summit,
for under whatever hour three fives of the world's stellar parts lift themselves.
when that number shall have stood fixed here, to join even those,

490

quae superent Phoebo partes per signa, memento.
ex hac tricenas summa per sidera partes
distribues, primamque vicem, quo Phoebus in astro
fulserit, inde aliis, solem quaecumque sequentur.
tum quo subsistet numerus consumptus in astro

remember the parts that remain above Phoebus through the signs.
from this sum of thirty distribute the parts through the stars;
and the first vicissitude, where Phoebus has shone in a star,
assign thence to the others, whatever suns shall follow.
then where the number consumed in the star will subsist

495

quave in parte suam summam nomenque relinquet
haec erit exoriens et pars et forma per ignes.
* 497a
contineat partes. ubi summam feceris unam,
tricenas dabis ex illa per singula signa,
donec deficiat numerus; quaque ille sub astri

and in which part it will leave its sum and name
this will be rising both part and form through the fires.
* 497a
let it contain the parts. When you have made one totality,
you will distribute thirty from that through each sign,
until the number fails; and wherever that number under the star

500

parte cadet, credas illam cum corpore natam
esse hominis pariterque orbem vidisse per umbras.
sic erit ipse tibi rapidis quaerendus in astris
natalis mundi certoque horoscopos ortu,
ut, cum exacta fides steterit sub cardine primo,

when a part shall fall, believe that she, born with a body,
has alike seen the orb of man through shadows.
thus he himself must be sought for you in the swift stars,
by the natal rising of the world and by the horoscope’s certain birth,
so that, when exact faith has stood beneath the first cardinal point,

505

fallere non possint summi fastigia caeli,
non celeres obitus, stent fundamenta sub imo,
[stent veri stellarum obitus verique subortus]
sideraque in proprias vires sortesque recedant.
Nunc sua reddentur generatim tempora signis,

may not the highest summits of heaven be able to deceive,
nor the swift settings; may foundations stand beneath the lowest,
[may the true settings of the stars and the true risings stand]
and may the stars withdraw into their proper powers and fates.
Now times will be returned by kind to their own signs,

510

quae divisa etiam proprios ducuntur in annos
et menses lucesque suas horasque dierum,
per quae praecipuas ostendunt singula vires.
primus erit signi, quo Sol effulserit, annus,
annua quod lustrans consumit tempora mundum;

which, once divided, are also borne into their own years
and months and into their lights and the hours of the days,
through which each thing displays its chief forces.
The first year will be that of the sign in which the Sun has shone,
the annual period which, traversing, consumes the times of the world.

515

proximus atque alii subeuntia signa sequuntur.
Luna dabit menses, peragit quod menstrua cursum.
tutelaeque suae primas horoscopos horas
asserit atque dies, traditque sequentibus astris.
sic annum mensesque suos natura diesque

next, and others follow the succeeding signs.
The Moon will give the months, and completes her monthly course.
And she assigns to her tutelage the first horoscopic hours
and the days, and commits them to the following stars.
Thus nature establishes the year and its months and days

520

atque ipsas voluit numerari signa per horas,
omnia ut omne foret divisum tempus in astra
perque alterna suos variaret sidera motus,
ut cuiusque vices ageret redeuntis in orbem.
idcirco tanta est rerum discordia in aevo

and he even wished the signs themselves to be numbered by the hours,
that all time might be divided into the stars,
and that by alternate change the stars might vary their several motions,
so that each one's turns might act in returning round the orb.
therefore so great is the discord of things in the age

525

et subtexta malis bona sunt lacrimaeque sequuntur
vota nec inconstans servat fortuna tenorem;
usque adeo permixta fluit nec permanet usquam,
amisitque fidem variando cuncta per omnis.
non annis anni nec menses mensibus usquam 530
conveniunt, seque ipsa dies alia usque requirit
horaque non ulli similis producitur horae,
tempora quod distant, propriis parentia signis,
per numeros omnis aevi divisa volantis,
talisque efficiunt vitas casusque animantum,

and with evils woven beneath, goods and tears follow their vows, nor does inconstant fortune keep a steady tenor;
so mingled it flows and does not anywhere remain unchanged,
and, altering, has lost faith throughout all things everywhere.
years do not meet with years nor months with months anywhere 530
they come together, and the day itself always seeks another,
and hour unlike any hour is extended to match an hour,
times that are separate, parents of their own signs,
through the numbers of the whole flying age divided,
and such chances give life and animate the fates of beings

535

qualia sunt, quorum vicibus tum vertimur, astra.
Sunt quibus et caeli placeat nascentis ab orae
sidere, quem memorant horoscopon inventores,
parte quod ex illa describitur hora diebus,
omne genus rationis agi per tempora et astra

such as those stars, by whose vicissitudes then we are turned.
There are some for whom the heavens favour the rising star of the horizon,
which the inventors of the horoscope call the horoscopon,
because from that point an hour is marked out into the days,
and every sort of rational kind is driven through times and stars

540

et capite ex uno menses annosque diesque
incipere atque horas tradique sequentibus astris;
et, quamquam socia nascantur origine cuncta,
diversas tamen esse vices, quod tardius illa,
haec citius peragant orbem. semel omnia ad astra

and from one head months and years and days begin
and hours are handed over to the following stars;
and, although all are born of a common origin,
yet the turns are different, because those complete the circuit more slowly,
these more quickly. once all to the stars

545

hora die, bis mense dies venit, unus in anno
mensis et exactis bis sex iam solibus annus.
difficile est in idem tempus concurrere cuncta,
unius ut signi pariter sit mensis et annus
<atque dies atque hora simul: sibi discrepat ordo.                  549a
saepe fit ut, mitis tulerint qui sideris annum,>                  549b
asperioris agant mensem; si mensis in astrum
laetius inciderit, signum sit triste diei;
si fortuna diem foveat, sit durior hora.
idcirco nihil in totum sibi credere fas est,
non annos signis, menses vertentibus annis,
mensibus aut luces, aut omnis lucibus horas,

an hour in a day, twice in a month a day arrives, once in a year
a month; and with twice six suns now counted the year.
difficult it is that all things should run together at the same time,
that the month and the year be likewise of one sign
<and day and hour at once: order disagrees with itself. 549a
often it happens that those who have borne the mild year of a star,> 549b
perform a harsher month; if a month has fallen more joyfully into a star,
let it be a gloomy omen for the day;
if Fortune favors the day, let the hour be harder.
therefore it is not right to trust anything wholly to itself,
not years to signs, months to years turning the months,
days to months, nor all hours to the days,

555

quod nunc illa nimis properant, nunc illa morantur,
et modo dest aliis, modo adest, vicibusque recedit
aut redit atque alio mutatur tempore tempus
interpellatum variata sorte dierum.
Et, quoniam docui, per singula tempora, vitae

which now those too hasten, now those tarry,
and now are wanting to some, now present to others, and by turns retire
or return, and time is changed at another season,
time interrupted by the varied lot of days.
And, since I have taught through the several seasons of life

560

quod quandoque genus veniat, cuiusque sit astri
quisque annus, cuius mensis, simul hora diesque,
altera nunc ratio, quae summam continet aevi,
reddenda est, quot quaeque annos dare signa ferantur.
quae tibi, cum finem vitae per sidera quaeris,

what sort at any time will come, and to which star each belongs,
which year to whom, which month, together hour and day,
now another reckoning, which contains the sum of life,
must be rendered, how many years each sign is said to give.
what things to you, when you seek the end of life through the stars,

565

respicienda manet ratio numerisque notanda.
bis quinos annos Aries unumque triente
fraudatum dabit. appositis tu, Taure, duobus
vincis, sed totidem Geminorum vinceris astro,
tuque bis octonos, Cancer, binosque trientes,

a reckoning remains to be considered and noted by numbers.
Aries will yield twice-five years and one third as deficient.
you, Taurus, with two added, prevail, but by as many the star of Gemini prevails over you,
and you, Cancer, twice eight and two thirds,

570

bisque novem, Nemeaee, dabis bessemque sub illis.
Erigone geminatque decem geminatque trientem,
nec plures fuerint Librae quam Virginis anni.
Scorpios aequabit tribuentem dona Leonem.

and eighteen, Nemean, you will give, and a half beneath them.
Erigone doubles ten and doubles the third,
nor will the years of Libra be more than those of Virgo.
Scorpio will equal Leo, the giver of gifts.

Centauri fuerint eadem quae munera Cancri.

Centaurs will be the same as the gifts of Cancer.

575

ter quinos, Capricorne, dares, si quattuor essent
appositi menses. triplicabit Aquarius annos
quattuor et menses vitam producet in octo.
Piscibus est Aries et sorte et finibus haerens:
lustra decem tribuent solis cum mensibus octo.

you would give fifteen, Capricorn, if four months were appointed.
Aquarius will triple four years, and will extend life by months into eight.
To Pisces belongs Aries, both by lot and clinging to its bounds:
ten lustrums will they grant the sun, together with eight months.

580

Nec satis est annos signorum noscere certos,
ne lateat ratio finem quaerentibus aevi:
templa quoque et partes caeli sua munera norunt
et proprias tribuunt certo discrimine summas,
cum bene constiterit stellarum conditus ordo.

Nor is it enough to know the certain years of the signs,
lest the reasoning of the limit escape those seeking the age:
temples and the parts of the sky likewise know their munera
and assign their own highest things with a sure distinction,
when the well‑established order of the stars stands firm.

585

sed mihi templorum tantum nunc iura canentur;
mox veniet mixtura suis cum viribus omnis,
cum bene materies steterit percognita rerum
non interpositis turbatarum undique membris.
si bene constiterit primo sub cardine Luna, 590
qua redit in terras mundus, nascensque tenebit
exortum, octo tenor decies ducetur in annos
si duo decedant. at, cum sub culmine summo
consistet, tribus hic numerus fraudabitur annis.
bis quadragenos occasus dives in actus

but for me only the rites of temples will now be sung;
soon every mixture will come with its own powers,
when the materies of things shall have stood thoroughly examined
not with the disturbed members interposed on every side.
if the Moon shall have stood rightly first beneath the hinge, 590
by which the world returns to the lands, and the newly rising will hold
its exordium, an eightfold tenor will be led ten times into years
if two depart. But, when it stands beneath the highest summit,
here this number will be defrauded by three years.
twice forty sunsets, the rich in their courses

595

solis erat, numero nisi desset olympias una.
imaque tricenos bis fundamenta per annos
censentur bis sex adiectis messibus aevo.
quodque prius natum fuerit dextrumque trigonum
hoc sexagenos tribuit duplicatque quaternos.

it would have been of the Sun, if not one Olympiad were lacking in the count.
and the lowest foundations are reckoned through twice thirty years
with twice six months added to the age.
and whatever is born first and is the right trigon,
that one grants sixty-year spans and doubles the fourfold ones.

600

quod fuerit laevum praelataque signa sequetur
tricenos annos duplicat, tris insuper addit.
quaeque super signum nascens a cardine primum
tertia sors manet et summo iam proxima caelo
haec ter vicenos geminat, tris abstrahit annos.

what shall be left, and the signs that follow the preferred, doubles thirty years, and adds three besides.
and whichever is born above the first sign from the hinge, the third lot remains, and now nearest to the highest heaven;
these thrice twin twenty, and three years it subtracts.

605

quaeque infra veniet spatio divisa sub aequo
per quinquagenas complet sua munera brumas.
quemque locum superat nascens horoscopos, ille
dena quater revocat vertentis tempora solis
accumulatque duos cursus iuvenemque relinquit.

and whatever comes beneath, divided beneath the even sky by an interval,
fulfills its functions through fifty winters.
Whichever place the rising sign surpasses among the horoscopes, that sign
calls back forty times the seasons of the turning sun
and heaped together two courses, and leaves the youth behind.

610

at qui praecedit surgentis cardinis oram
vicenos ternosque dabit nascentibus annos
vix degustatam rapiens sub flore iuventam.
quod super occasus templum est ter dena remittit
annorum spatia et decimam tribus applicat auctis.

but he who precedes the shore of the rising cardinal point
will grant to those being born twenty and three years,
snatching youth scarcely tasted beneath the flower.
but that which is above the setting is a temple: it restores thrice ten
spaces of years and applies a tenth to the three increased.

615

inferius puerum interimet, bis sexque peracti
immatura trahent natales corpora morti.
Sed tamen in primis memori sunt mente notanda
partibus adversis quae surgunt condita signa
divisumque tenent aequo discrimine caelum;

the lower one will slay the boy; twelve years completed,
his unripe bodies will be drawn to untimely death.
But yet first of all are to be noted in a mindful memory
the signs set in opposing parts which arise
and hold the divided sky with an equal distinction;

620

quae tropica appellant, quod in illis quattuor anni
tempora vertuntur signis nodosque resolvunt
totumque emutant converso cardine mundum
inducuntque novas operum rerumque figuras.
Cancer ad aestivae fulget fastigia zonae

which they call the tropics, because in them the four seasons of the year are turned through the signs and they loosen the knots and change the whole world with its axis reversed, and bring in new figures of works and things.
Cancer gleams at the summits of the summer belt

625

extenditque diem summum parvoque recessu
destruit et, quanto fraudavit tempore luces,
in tantum noctes auget: stat summa per omnis.
tum Cererem fragili properant destringere culmo,
Campus et in varias destringit membra palaestras,

and he lengthens the utmost day and with a slight recession destroys the summit,
and, by as much as he has defrauded the lights of time,
to that extent he increases the nights: the highest point stands through all.
then they hasten to strip Ceres' fragile stem,
and the Field trims limbs into various palaestras,

630

et tepidas pelagus iactatum languet in undas.
tunc et bella fero tractantur Marte cruenta
nec Scythiam defendit hiems; Germania sicca
iam tellure fugit Nilusque tumescit in arva.
hic rerum status est, Cancri cum sidere Phoebus

and the tepid sea, tossed, grows faint into waves.
then also bloody wars are waged by fierce Mars,
nor does winter defend Scythia; dry Germany
now flees from the earth, and the Nile swells into the fields.
such is the state of things, when Phoebus with the Cancer constellation

635

solstitium facit et summo versatur Olympo.
Parte ex adversa brumam Capricornus inertem
per minimas cogit luces et maxima noctis
tempora, producitque diem tenebrasque resolvit,
inque vicem nunc damna regit, nunc tempora supplet.

He makes the solstice and is turned upon the highest Olympus.
On the opposite side Capricorn drives on the inert winter
through the shortest lights and the longest times of night,
and brings forth the day and dissolves the shadows,
and in turn now governs losses, now supplies the seasons.

640

tunc riget omnis ager, clausum mare, condita castra,
nec tolerant medias hiemes sudantia saxa,
statque uno natura loco paulumque quiescit.
Proxima in effectum et similis referentia motus
esse ferunt luces aequantia signa tenebris.

then every field stiffens, the sea is closed, the camp pitched,
nor do the sweating rocks endure the mid-winters,
and nature stands in one place and rests a little.
They say that the lights nearest to fulfillment, and of like motion,
make the signs equal to the darkness.

645

namque Aries Phoebum repetentem sidera Cancri
inter principium reditus finemque coercet
tempora diviso iungens concordia mundo,
convertitque vices victumque a sidere Librae
exsuperare diem iubet et succumbere noctes,

for Aries restrains Phoebus, seeking the stars of Cancri,
and binds between the beginning of his return and its end the times, joining by concord to the divided world,
and turns the vicissitudes, and bids the sun, vanquished by the sign of Librae,
to surpass the day and to succumb to the nights,

650

aestivi donec veniant ad sidera Cancri.
tum primum miti pelagus consternitur unda
et varios audet flores emittere tellus;
tum pecudum volucrumque genus per pabula laeta
in Venerem partumque ruit, totumque canora

until the summer stars of Cancer come.
then first the sea is struck by a gentle wave
and the earth dares to send forth divers flowers;
then the herds and the kind of birds through joyous pastures
rush to Venus and to birth, and all melodious

655

voce nemus loquitur frondemque virescit in omnem.
viribus in tantum signi natura movetur.
Huic ex adverso simili cum sorte refulget
Libra diem noctemque pari cum foedere ducens,
tantum quod victas usque ad se vincere noctes

the grove speaks with a voice and its foliage grows green everywhere.
so greatly in its powers is the nature of the sign set in motion.
Opposite to this, with like fate there shines forth
Libra, leading day and night in equal foedus,
only that it conquers nights, subdued even up to itself

660

ex ipsa iubet, ad brumae dum tempora surgant.
tum Liber gravida descendit plenus ab ulmo
pinguiaque impressis despumant musta racemis;
mandant et sulcis Cererem, dum terra tepore
autumni resoluta patet, dum semina ducit.

he commands from the very tree, while winter's times arise.
then Liber, gravid, comes down full from the elm
and the rich new wines foam from grapes pressed;
and they entrust Ceres to the furrows, while the earth, loosened by the warmth
of autumn, lies open, while it brings forth seed.

665

Quattuor haec et in arte valent, ut tempora vertunt
sic hos aut illos rerum flectentia casus
nec quicquam in prima patientia sede manere.
sed non per totas aequa est versura figuras,
annua nec plenis flectuntur tempora signis.

These four likewise avail in the art, as they turn the seasons
thus the fortune-bending chances of things will turn these or those;
nor does anything remain fixed in its first seat of endurance.
but the turning of forms is not equal through all the years,
nor are the annual times bent by wholly full signs.

670

una dies sub utroque aequat sibi tempore noctem,
dum Libra atque Aries autumnum verque figurant;
una dies toto Cancri longissima signo,
cui nox aequalis Capricorni sidere fertur:
cetera nunc urgent vicibus, nunc tempora cedunt.

one day makes night equal to itself in both seasons,
while Libra and Aries shape autumn and spring;
one day, lengthiest through the whole sign of Cancer,
to which a night equal is said to be brought by the star of Capricorn:
the rest now press in turns, now the seasons yield.

675

una ergo in tropicis pars est cernenda figuris,
quae moveat mundum, quae rerum tempora mutet,
facta novet, consulta alios declinet in usus,
omnia in aversum flectat contraque revolvat.
has quidam vires octava in parte reponunt;

therefore one portion in the tropics must be discerned by its figures,
which moves the world, which changes the seasons of things,
renews deeds, redirects established counsels to other uses,
bends all things toward the opposite and rolls them back against themselves.
some place these powers in the eighth part;

680

sunt quibus esse placet decimae; nec defuit auctor
qui primae momenta daret frenosque dierum.

There are those who prefer that a tenth should be; nor was there lacking an author
who would give the first moments and the reins of the days.