Ovid: FASTI

Tempora cum causis Latium digesta per annum
     lapsaque sub terras ortaque signa canam.
excipe pacato, Caesar Germanice, voltu
     hoc opus et timidae derige navis iter,
officioque, levem non aversatus honorem,

The times, with their causes, of Latium arranged through the year
     and the signs that have slipped beneath the earth and arisen, I will sing.
receive with a pacified countenance, Caesar Germanicus,
     this work, and direct the course of the timid ship,
and, not having spurned the slight honor of my service,

     en tibi devoto numine dexter ades.
sacra recognosces annalibus eruta priscis
     et quo sit merito quaeque notata dies.
invenies illic et festa domestica vobis;
     saepe tibi pater est, saepe legendus avus,

     lo, with devoted numen, be favorable at hand to you.
you will recognize sacred things exhumed from ancient annals
     and with what merit each day has been marked.
you will find there also domestic feasts for you;
     often for you a father, often a grandsire is to be read,

quaeque ferunt illi, pictos signantia fastos,
     tu quoque cum Druso praemia fratre feres.
Caesaris arma canant alii: nos Caesaris aras
     et quoscumque sacris addidit ille dies.
adnue conanti per laudes ire tuorum

and the things which those men bear, marking the painted fasti,
     you too will bear rewards with your brother Drusus.
let others sing of Caesar’s arms: we [shall sing] Caesar’s altars
     and whatever days he has added to the sacred rites.
nod assent to one attempting to go through the praises of your own

     deque meo pavidos excute corde metus.
da mihi te placidum, dederis in carmina vires:
     ingenium voltu statque caditque tuo.
pagina iudicium docti subitura movetur
     principis, ut Clario missa legenda deo.

     and shake from my heart the trembling fears.
grant me yourself placid; you will have given strength to my songs:
     my genius stands and falls by your visage.
the page is set in motion, about to undergo the judgment of a learned princeps,
     as if sent to the Clarian god to be read.

quae sit enim culti facundia sensimus oris,
     civica pro trepidis cum tulit arma reis.
scimus et, ad nostras cum se tulit impetus artes,
     ingenii currant flumina quanta tui.
si licet et fas est, vates rege vatis habenas,

for we have sensed what the eloquence of a cultivated mouth is,
     when it bore civic arms on behalf of tremulous defendants.
we also know, when the impetus carried itself to our arts,
     how great the rivers of your genius run.
if it is permitted and right, poet, rule the poet’s reins,

     auspice te felix totus ut annus eat.
Tempora digereret cum conditor Urbis, in anno
     constituit menses quinque bis esse suo.
scilicet arma magis quam sidera, Romule, noras,
     curaque finitimos vincere maior erat.

     under your auspice, may the whole year go fortunate.
When the founder of the City was arranging the seasons, in the year
     he established that there be twice five months in his own.
of course, Romulus, you knew arms rather than the stars,
     and the concern to vanquish the neighboring peoples was greater.

est tamen et ratio, Caesar, quae moverit illum,
     erroremque suum quo tueatur habet.
quod satis est, utero matris dum prodeat infans,
     hoc anno statuit temporis esse satis;
per totidem menses a funere coniugis uxor

there is, however, also a reason, Caesar, which moved him,
     and he has that by which he may defend his error.
what is enough, until the infant comes forth from the mother’s womb,
     this he established as sufficient time for the year;
for just as many months from the funeral of her husband the wife

     sustinet in vidua tristia signa domo.
haec igitur vidit trabeati cura Quirini,
     cum rudibus populis annua iura daret.
Martis erat primus mensis, Venerisque secundus;
     haec generis princeps, ipsius ille pater:

     she bears the sad signs in the widowed house.
these things therefore the care of trabeate Quirinus saw,
     when he gave annual laws to the rude peoples.
Of Mars was the first month, and of Venus the second;
     she, the first of the lineage, he, the father of himself:

tertius a senibus, iuvenum de nomine quartus,
     quae sequitur, numero turba notata fuit.
at Numa nec Ianum nec avitas praeterit umbras,
     mensibus antiquis praeposuitque duos.
Ne tamen ignores variorum iura dierum,

the third from the elders, the fourth from the name of the youths,
     the crowd which follows was marked by number.
but Numa passed by neither Janus nor the ancestral shades,
     and he set before the ancient months two.
Lest, however, you be ignorant of the laws of the various days,

     non habet officii Lucifer omnis idem.
ille nefastus erit, per quem tria verba silentur:
     fastus erit, per quem lege licebit agi.
nec toto perstare die sua iura putaris:
     qui iam fastus erit, mane nefastus erat;

     not every Lucifer has the same office.
that one will be nefastus, on which the three words are silent:
     it will be fastus, on which by law it will be licit to act.
nor should you think their own rights persist through the whole day:
     the one which now will be fastus, in the morning was nefastus;

nam simul exta deo data sunt, licet omnia fari,
     verbaque honoratus libera praetor habet.
est quoque, quo populum ius est includere saeptis;
     est quoque, qui nono semper ab orbe redit.
vindicat Ausonias Iunonis cura Kalendas;

for as soon as the entrails have been given to the god, it is permitted to speak all things,
     and the honored praetor has free words.
there is also one on which it is right to enclose the people in the pens;
     there is also one which always returns on the ninth circuit.
Juno’s care claims the Ausonian Kalends;

     Idibus alba Iovi grandior agna cadit;
Nonarum tutela deo caret. omnibus istis
     (ne fallare cave) proximus ater erit.
omen ab eventu est: illis nam Roma diebus
     damna sub averso tristia Marte tulit.                60
haec mihi dicta semel, totis haerentia fastis,
     ne seriem rerum scindere cogar, erunt.

     On the Ides a larger white lamb falls to Jove;
The Nones’ guardianship lacks a god. For all these
     (do not be deceived) the next will be black.
the omen is from the event: for on those days Rome
     bore sad losses under adverse Mars.                60
these things, said once by me, adhering through the whole Fasti,
     will remain, lest I be compelled to split the series of things.

1. A K : IAN : F

1. A KALENDS : JANUARY : F

Ecce tibi faustum, Germanice, nuntiat annum
inque meo primum carmine Ianus adest.
Iane biceps, anni tacite labentis origo,

Behold, to you, Germanicus, he announces an auspicious year
and in my song Janus is present first.
O two-faced Janus, origin of the tacitly gliding year,

     solus de superis qui tua terga vides,
dexter ades ducibus, quorum secura labore
     otia terra ferax, otia pontus habet:
dexter ades patribusque tuis populoque Quirini,
     et resera nutu candida templa tuo.

     you alone of the gods above who see your own backs,
be favorable to the leaders, through whose labor secure leisure
     the fertile earth has, the sea has leisure:
be favorable to your Fathers and to the people of Quirinus,
     and with your nod unbar the shining temples.

prospera lux oritur: linguis animisque favete;
     nunc dicenda bona sunt bona verba die.
lite vacent aures, insanaque protinus absint
     iurgia: differ opus, livida turba, tuum.
cernis odoratis ut luceat ignibus aether,

a propitious light rises: show favor with tongues and with minds;
     now good things must be said—good words for the day.
let ears be vacant from litigation, and let insane altercations be absent at once;
     defer your work, livid, envious crowd.
you see how the aether shines with odorous fires,

     et sonet accensis spica Cilissa focis?
flamma nitore suo templorum verberat aurum,
     et tremulum summa spargit in aede iubar.
vestibus intactis Tarpeias itur in arces,
     et populus festo concolor ipse suo est,

     and let Cilician saffron crackle on the kindled hearths?
the flame with its own brilliance lashes the gold of the temples,
     and scatters a trembling radiance on the top of the shrine.
in untouched garments they go to the Tarpeian citadels,
     and the people are themselves of the same color as their festival,

iamque novi praeeunt fasces, nova purpura fulget,
     et nova conspicuum pondera sentit ebur.
colla rudes operum praebent ferienda iuvenci,
     quos aluit campis herba Falisca suis.
Iuppiter arce sua totum cum spectet in orbem,

and now new fasces go before, new purple gleams,
     and the conspicuous ivory feels new weights.
young bulls, raw to tasks, offer their necks to be struck,
     whom the Faliscan grass has nourished in its own fields.
Jupiter, when from his own citadel he surveys the whole orb,

nil nisi Romanum quod tueatur habet.
salve, laeta dies, meliorque revertere semper,
a populo rerum digna potente coli.
Quem tamen esse deum te dicam, Iane biformis?

he has nothing save the Roman to protect.
Hail, happy day, and return ever better,
worthy to be honored by a people potent in affairs.
Yet what god shall I say you are, Janus, two-formed?

nam tibi par nullum Graecia numen habet.

for Greece has no divinity equal to you.

ede simul causam, cur de caelestibus unus
     sitque quod a tergo sitque quod ante vides.
haec ego cum sumptis agitarem mente tabellis,
     lucidior visa est quam fuit ante domus.
tum sacer ancipiti mirandus imagine Ianus

tell at once the cause, why among the celestials one
     is such that you see what is behind and what is before.
as I was turning these things over in my mind with tablets taken up,
     the house seemed more lucid than it had been before.
then sacred Janus, wondrous with a two-faced image

     bina repens oculis obtulit ora meis.
extimui sensique metu riguisse capillos,
     et gelidum subito frigore pectus erat.
ille tenens baculum dextra clavemque sinistra
     edidit hos nobis ore priore sonos:

     suddenly presented twin faces to my eyes.
i was terrified and felt my hair stiffen with fear,
     and my breast was gelid with sudden frigidity.
he, holding a staff in his right hand and a key in his left,
     uttered these sounds to us with his front mouth:

100

'disce metu posito, vates operose dierum,
     quod petis, et voces percipe mente meas.
me Chaos antiqui (nam sum res prisca) vocabant:
     aspice quam longi temporis acta canam.
lucidus hic aer et quae tria corpora restant,

'learn, with fear set aside, poet operose of days,
     what you seek, and receive my voices with your mind.
the ancients called me Chaos (for I am a thing of former time):
     behold how I shall sing deeds of long time.
this lucid air and the three bodies which remain,

105

     ignis, aquae, tellus, unus acervus erat.
ut semel haec rerum secessit lite suarum
     inque novas abiit massa soluta domos,
flamma petit altum, propior locus aera cepit,
     sederunt medio terra fretumque solo.

     fire, waters, earth, were a single heap.
as soon as this withdrew, the things having been separated by their own strife,
     and the loosened mass went off into new homes,
flame seeks the height, the nearer region took hold of the air,
     earth and the sea settled on the middle floor.

110

tunc ego, qui fueram globus et sine imagine moles,
     in faciem redii dignaque membra deo.
nunc quoque, confusae quondam nota parva figurae,
     ante quod est in me postque videtur idem.
accipe quaesitae quae causa sit altera formae,

then I, who had been a globe and a mass without image,
     returned into a form and limbs worthy of a god.
now also, a small mark of my once-confused figure,
     in me what is before and what is after appears the same.
receive what the cause is of the sought second form,

115

     hanc simul ut noris officiumque meum.
quicquid ubique vides, caelum, mare, nubila, terras,
     omnia sunt nostra clausa patentque manu.
me penes est unum vasti custodia mundi,
     et ius vertendi cardinis omne meum est.

     that you may know this as well, and my office.
whatever you see everywhere, the sky, the sea, the clouds, the lands,
     all are enclosed and lie open by our hand.
with me alone rests the custody of the vast world,
     and the entire right of turning the hinge is mine.

120

cum libuit Pacem placidis emittere tectis,
     libera perpetuas ambulat illa vias:
sanguine letifero totus miscebitur orbis,
     ni teneant rigidae condita Bella serae.
praesideo foribus caeli cum mitibus Horis

when it has pleased to send Peace forth from her placid roofs,
     free, she walks those perpetual ways:
with lethal blood the whole orb will be mixed,
     unless the rigid bolts hold the stored-away Wars.
I preside at the doors of heaven with the gentle Hours

125

     (it, redit officio Iuppiter ipse meo):
inde vocor Ianus; cui cum Ceriale sacerdos
     imponit libum farraque mixta sale,
nomina ridebis: modo namque Patulcius idem
     et modo sacrifico Clusius ore vocor.

     (he goes, he returns by my office, Jupiter himself):
thence I am called Janus; when the Cerial priest
     places upon me a libum-cake and spelt mixed with salt,
you will laugh at the names: for now I am likewise called Patulcius
     and now by the sacrificial mouth I am called Clusius.

130

scilicet alterno voluit rudis illa vetustas
     nomine diversas significare vices.
vis mea narrata est; causam nunc disce figurae:
     iam tamen hanc aliqua tu quoque parte vides.
omnis habet geminas, hinc atque hinc, ianua frontes,

Surely that rude antiquity wished, by an alternate name, to signify diverse vicissitudes.
My power has been narrated; now learn the cause of my figure:
Already, however, you too see this in some part.
Every door has twin fronts, on this side and on that.

135

     e quibus haec populum spectat, at illa Larem,
utque sedens primi vester prope limina tecti
     ianitor egressus introitusque videt,
sic ego perspicio caelestis ianitor aulae
     Eoas partes Hesperiasque simul.

     of which, this looks toward the people, but that toward the Lar,
and as, sitting near the thresholds of your foremost house,
     the janitor sees egresses and entrances,
so I, janitor of the celestial hall, look through
     the Eoan parts and the Hesperian at once.

140

ora vides Hecates in tres vertentia partes,
     servet ut in ternas compita secta vias:
et mihi, ne flexu cervicis tempora perdam,
     cernere non moto corpore bina licet.'
dixerat: et voltu, si plura requirere vellem,

you see Hecate’s faces turning to three parts,
     so that she may guard the crossroads cleft into triple ways:
and for me, lest I lose the moments by a bend of the neck,
     it is permitted to discern both without moving my body.'
he had spoken: and with his visage, if I should wish to inquire further,

145

     difficilem mihi se non fore pactus erat.
sumpsi animum, gratesque deo non territus egi,
     verbaque sum spectans plura locutus humum:
'dic, age, frigoribus quare novus incipit annus,
     qui melius per ver incipiendus erat?

     he had agreed that he would not be difficult for me.
I took courage, and, unafraid, I rendered thanks to the god,
     and, gazing at the ground, I spoke further words:
'Say, come now, why does the new year begin in cold seasons,
     which was better to be begun in spring?'

150

omnia tunc florent, tunc est nova temporis aetas,
     et nova de gravido palmite gemma tumet,
et modo formatis operitur frondibus arbor,
     prodit et in summum seminis herba solum,
et tepidum volucres concentibus aera mulcent,

everything then flourishes, then there is a new age of time,
     and a new bud swells from the gravid vine-shoot,
and the tree is covered with leaves just now formed,
     and the seedling-sprout comes forth to the topmost surface of the soil,
and the birds soothe the tepid air with their harmonies,

155

     ludit et in pratis luxuriatque pecus.
tum blandi soles, ignotaque prodit hirundo
     et luteum celsa sub trabe figit opus:
tum patitur cultus ager et renovatur aratro.
     haec anni novitas iure vocanda fuit.'

     the herd plays and luxuriates in the meadows.
then the suns are gentle, and the unknown swallow comes forth
     and fixes its luteous work beneath a lofty beam:
then the cultivated field allows the tilling and is renewed by the plow.
     this novelty of the year was rightly to be called.'

160

quaesieram multis; non multis ille moratus
     contulit in versus sic sua verba duos:
'bruma novi prima est veterisque novissima solis:
     principium capiunt Phoebus et annus idem.'
post ea mirabar cur non sine litibus esset

I had inquired of many; he, not delaying with many words,
     gathered his own words thus into two verses:
'the winter solstice is the first of the new sun and the last of the old sun:
     Phoebus and the year take the same beginning.'
after that I was marveling why it was not without litigation

165

prima dies. 'causam percipe' Ianus ait.
'tempora commisi nascentia rebus agendis,
totus ab auspicio ne foret annus iners.

the first day. 'Perceive the cause,' says Janus.
'I have committed the nascent times to affairs to be transacted,
so that from the auspice the whole year might not be inert.

quisque suas artes ob idem delibat agendo,
nec plus quam solitum testificatur opus.'

each man, for the same cause, samples his own arts by acting,
nor testifies to more than the accustomed work.'

170

mox ego, 'cur, quamvis aliorum numina placem,
     Iane, tibi primum tura merumque fero?'
'ut possis aditum per me, qui limina servo,
     ad quoscumque voles' inquit 'habere deos.'
'at cur laeta tuis dicuntur verba Kalendis,

soon I: 'why, although I appease the divinities of others,
Janus, do I first bring to you incense and unmixed wine?'
'so that you may be able to have, through me—who guard the thresholds—access
to whatever gods you wish,' he says. 'but why are joyful words spoken on your Kalends,

175

     et damus alternas accipimusque preces?'
tum deus incumbens baculo, quod dextra gerebat,
     'omina principiis' inquit 'inesse solent.
ad primam vocem timidas advertitis aures,
     et visam primum consulit augur avem.

     'and do we give and receive alternate prayers?'
then the god, leaning upon the staff which he was bearing in his right hand,
     'omens are wont to inhere in beginnings,' he says.
at the first word you turn your timid ears,
     and the augur consults the bird first seen.

180

templa patent auresque deum, nec lingua caducas
     concipit ulla preces, dictaque pondus habent.'
desierat Ianus. nec longa silentia feci,
     sed tetigi verbis ultima verba meis:
'quid volt palma sibi rugosaque carica' dixi

the temples lie open and the ears of the gods, nor does any tongue conceive vain prayers,
     and the things spoken have weight.'
Janus had ceased. Nor did I keep long silence,
     but with my words I touched upon ultimate words:
'what does the palm-date want for itself, and the wrinkled Carian fig?' I said

185

     'et data sub niveo candida mella cado?'
'omen' ait 'causa est, ut res sapor ille sequatur
     et peragat coeptum dulcis ut annus iter.'
'dulcia cur dentur video: stipis adice causam,
     pars mihi de festo ne labet ulla tuo.'

     'and white honey given in a snow-white jar?'
'An omen,' he says, 'is the cause, so that events may follow that savor
     and so that the sweet year may complete the journey begun.'
'I see why sweets are given: add the reason for the coin-gift,
     so that no part of your festival may slip away from me.'

190

risit, et 'o quam te fallunt tua saecula' dixit,
     'qui stipe mel sumpta dulcius esse putas!
vix ego Saturno quemquam regnante videbam
     cuius non animo dulcia lucra forent.
tempore crevit amor, qui nunc est summus, habendi:

he laughed, and said, 'O how your ages deceive you,
     you who think honey is sweeter when a tip has been taken!
scarcely did I see anyone, with Saturn reigning,
     in whose spirit sweet lucre would not be.
with time the love of having has grown, which now is at its summit:'

195

     vix ultra quo iam progrediatur habet.
pluris opes nunc sunt quam prisci temporis annis,
     dum populus pauper, dum nova Roma fuit,
dum casa Martigenam capiebat parva Quirinum,
     et dabat exiguum fluminis ulva torum.

     it scarcely has anywhere beyond this now to advance.
there is more opulence now than in the years of ancient time,
     while the people was poor, while Rome was new,
while a small hut held the Mars-begotten Quirinus,
     and the sedge of the river gave an exiguous couch.

200

Iuppiter angusta vix totus stabat in aede,
     inque Iovis dextra fictile fulmen erat.
frondibus ornabant quae nunc Capitolia gemmis,
     pascebatque suas ipse senator oves:
nec pudor in stipula placidam cepisse quietem

Jupiter could scarcely stand whole in the narrow shrine,
     and in Jove’s right hand there was a fictile thunderbolt.
with fronds they adorned what the Capitolia now are adorned with gems,
     and the senator himself pastured his own sheep:
nor was it shame to have taken placid repose upon straw

205

     et fenum capiti subposuisse fuit.
iura dabat populis posito modo praetor aratro,
     et levis argenti lammina crimen erat.
at postquam fortuna loci caput extulit huius
     et tetigit summo vertice Roma deos,

     and to have put hay beneath his head.
he was giving laws to the peoples, the praetor with the plow only just set down,
     and a thin plate of silver was a crime.
but after the fortune of this place raised its head
     and Rome with her topmost vertex touched the gods,

210

creverunt et opes et opum furiosa cupido,
     et, cum possideant plurima, plura petunt.
quaerere ut absumant, absumpta requirere certant,
     atque ipsae vitiis sunt alimenta vices:
sic quibus intumuit suffusa venter ab unda,

both wealth and the furious cupidity for wealth have grown,
     and, though they possess very many things, they seek more.
they strive to seek in order to consume, to seek again what has been consumed,
     and the alternations themselves are nourishment for the vices:
thus for those whose belly has swollen, suffused by water,

215

     quo plus sunt potae, plus sitiuntur aquae.
in pretio pretium nunc est: dat census honores,
     census amicitias; pauper ubique iacet.
tu tamen auspicium si sit stipis utile quaeris,
     curque iuvent nostras aera vetusta manus,                220
aera dabant olim: melius nunc omen in auro est,
     victaque concessit prisca moneta novae.

     the more the waters are drunk, the more they are thirsted for.
now price is at a premium: wealth gives honors,
     wealth gives friendships; the poor lies everywhere.
yet if you ask whether the auspice of a coin is useful,
     and why ancient bronzes aid our hands,                220
bronzes were given once: now the omen is better in gold,
     and the ancient coin, conquered, has yielded to the new.

nos quoque templa iuvant, quamvis antiqua probemus,
aurea: maiestas convenit ipsa deo.
laudamus veteres, sed nostris utimur annis:

we too are pleased by temples, although we approve the ancient ones,
golden: majesty itself befits the god.
we praise the ancients, but we use our own years:

225

     mos tamen est aeque dignus uterque coli.'
finierat monitus. placidis ita rursus, ut ante,
     clavigerum verbis adloquor ipse deum:
'multa quidem didici: sed cur navalis in aere
     altera signata est, altera forma biceps?'

     yet the custom is that each is equally worthy to be cultivated.'
he had finished his monitions. calmly thus again, as before,
     I myself address with words the key-bearing god:
'I have indeed learned many things: but why on the bronze
     is one side stamped with a naval [image], the other with a two-headed form?'

230

'noscere me duplici posses ut imagine' dixit,
     'ni vetus ipsa dies extenuasset opus.
causa ratis superest: Tuscum rate venit ad amnem
     ante pererrato falcifer orbe deus.
hac ego Saturnum memini tellure receptum

'you could recognize me by a double image,' he said,
     'if not that the very day, grown old, had attenuated the work.
the cause of the raft remains: to the Tuscan river by raft there came
     before, the orb having been traversed, the sickle-bearing god.
on this earth I remember Saturn to have been received

235

     (caelitibus regnis a Iove pulsus erat).
inde diu genti mansit Saturnia nomen;
     dicta quoque est Latium terra latente deo.
at bona posteritas puppem formavit in aere,
     hospitis adventum testificata dei.

     (he had been driven from the heavenly realms by Jove).
thence for a long time the Saturnian name remained to the people;
     also the land was called Latium, with the god hidden.
but good posterity fashioned the ship in bronze,
     testifying to the advent of the guest god.

240

ipse solum colui, cuius placidissima laevum
     radit harenosi Thybridis unda latus.
hic, ubi nunc Roma est, incaedua silva virebat,
     tantaque res paucis pascua bubus erat.
arx mea collis erat, quem volgo nomine nostro

I myself tilled the soil, whose most placid wave of sandy Tiber grazes the left side.
Here, where now Rome is, an uncut forest was verdant,
and a thing so great was pasture for a few oxen.
My citadel was a hill, which commonly by our name

245

     nuncupat haec aetas Ianiculumque vocat.
tunc ego regnabam, patiens cum terra deorum
     esset, et humanis numina mixta locis.
nondum Iustitiam facinus mortale fugarat
     (ultima de superis illa reliquit humum),                250
proque metu populum sine vi pudor ipse regebat;
     nullus erat iustis reddere iura labor.

     this age names it and calls it the Janiculum.
then I was reigning, when the earth was tolerant of the gods,
     and the divine powers were mingled with human places.
not yet had mortal crime put Justice to flight
     (she, the last of the gods above, left the earth),                250
and in place of fear, modesty itself was ruling the people without force;
     there was no labor to render rights to the just.

nil mihi cum bello: pacem postesque tuebar,
et', clavem ostendens, 'haec' ait 'arma gero.'
presserat ora deus. tunc sic ego nostra resolvi,

nothing to do have I with war: I was guarding peace and the doorposts,
and', showing the key, 'these' he said 'are the arms I bear.'
the god had pressed my lips. then thus I unloosed my own words,

255

     voce mea voces eliciente dei:
'cum tot sint iani, cur stas sacratus in uno,
     hic ubi iuncta foris templa duobus habes?'
ille, manu mulcens propexam ad pectora barbam,
     protinus Oebalii rettulit arma Tati,

     with my voice eliciting the voices of the god:
'since there are so many doors, why do you, consecrated one, stand in one,
     here where, with the door-leaves joined, you have temples for two?'
he, with his hand soothing his beard hanging down to his breast,
     straightway recounted the arms of Oebalian Tatius,

260

utque levis custos, armillis capta, Sabinos
     ad summae tacitos duxerit arcis iter.
'inde, velut nunc est, per quem descenditis', inquit
     'arduus in valles per fora clivus erat.
et iam contigerat portam, Saturnia cuius

and how the light-minded guard, captured by armlets, led the Sabines
     along the silent path to the summit of the citadel.
'from there, just as it is now, by which you descend,' he says,
     'an arduous slope into the valleys ran through the fora.
and already she had reached the gate, of which the Saturnian ...

265

     dempserat oppositas invidiosa seras;
cum tanto veritus committere numine pugnam,
     ipse meae movi callidus artis opus,
oraque, qua pollens ope sum, fontana reclusi,
     sumque repentinas eiaculatus aquas.

     the invidious one had removed the opposing bolts;
since, fearing to commit a fight with so great a divinity,
     I myself, crafty, set in motion the work of my art,
and I unclosed the fountain mouths, in which power I am strong,
     and I shot forth sudden waters.

270

ante tamen madidis subieci sulpura venis,
     clauderet ut Tatio fervidus umor iter.
cuius ut utilitas pulsis percepta Sabinis,
     quae fuerat, tuto reddita forma loco est;
ara mihi posita est parvo coniuncta sacello:

beforehand, however, I set sulphur beneath the dripping veins,
     so that fervid moisture might close the way to Tatius.
and when its utility, with the Sabines repulsed, was perceived,
     the form which had been was safely restored to the place;
an altar was set for me, joined to a small shrine:

275

     haec adolet flammis cum strue farra suis.'
'at cur pace lates, motisque recluderis armis?'
     nec mora, quaesiti reddita causa mihi est:
'ut populo reditus pateant ad bella profecto,
     tota patet dempta ianua nostra sera.

     'this one burns to the flames the spelt with its own heap.'
'But why do you lie hidden in peace, and are recluded when arms are set in motion?'
     No delay: the cause sought was rendered to me:
'so that returns may stand patent to the people when they have gone forth to wars,
     our door lies wholly patent, the bolt removed.'

280

pace fores obdo, ne qua discedere possit;
     Caesareoque diu numine clausus ero.'
dixit, et attollens oculos diversa videntes
     aspexit toto quicquid in orbe fuit:
pax erat, et vestri, Germanice, causa triumphi,

in peace I bar the doors, lest anyone may be able to depart;
     and by the Caesarean numen I shall be long enclosed.'
he said, and lifting up eyes seeing diverse things
     he looked upon whatever was in the whole orb:
there was peace, and, Germanicus, the cause of your triumph,

285

     tradiderat famulas iam tibi Rhenus aquas.
Iane, fac aeternos pacem pacisque ministros,
     neve suum praesta deserat auctor opus.
Quod tamen ex ipsis licuit mihi discere fastis,
     sacravere patres hac duo templa die.

     the Rhine had already handed over to you its subject waters.
Janus, make peace and the ministers of peace eternal,
     and see to it that the author does not desert his own work.
What, however, it was permitted me to learn from the very Fasti,
     the Fathers consecrated two temples on this day.

290

accepit Phoebo nymphaque Coronide natum
insula, dividua quam premit amnis aqua.
Iuppiter in parte est: cepit locus unus utrumque
iunctaque sunt magno templa nepotis avo.

an island received the son born to Phoebus and the nymph Coronis,
which the water of the river, dividing, presses.
Jupiter is in a part: one place has taken both,
and the temples of the grandson are joined to the mighty grandsire.

(2. B F) 3. C C (4. D C)

Quid vetat et stellas, ut quaeque oriturque caditque,
dicere? promissi pars sit et ista mei.
felices animae, quibus haec cognoscere primis
inque domos superas scandere cura fuit!

What forbids me also to speak of the stars, as each one rises and sets,
to speak? Let this too be a part of my promise.
happy souls, for whom to know these things first
and to climb into the supernal homes was a care!

credibile est illos pariter vitiisque locisque
altius humanis exseruisse caput.

it is credible that they alike, in both vices and places,
have raised their heads higher than human.

300

non Venus et vinum sublimia pectora fregit
     officiumque fori militiaeve labor;
nec levis ambitio perfusaque gloria fuco
     magnarumque fames sollicitavit opum.
admovere oculis distantia sidera mentis

not Venus and wine broke sublime hearts
     and the duty of the forum or the toil of military service;
nor light ambition and glory suffused with rouge
     and the hunger for great opulence stirred them.
they brought before their eyes the mind’s distant stars

305

     aetheraque ingenio subposuere suo.
sic petitur caelum, non ut ferat Ossan Olympus
     summaque Peliacus sidera tangat apex.
nos quoque sub ducibus caelum metabimur illis,
     ponemusque suos ad vaga signa dies.

     and they have set the aether beneath their own ingenuity.
thus the sky is sought, not that Olympus may bear Ossa
     and the Pelian apex touch the highest stars.
we too, under those leaders, shall measure the sky,
     and we shall set their proper days to the wandering signs.

310

Ergo ubi nox aderit venturis tertia Nonis,
sparsaque caelesti rore madebit humus,
octipedis frustra quaerentur bracchia Cancri:
praeceps occiduas ille subibit aquas.

Therefore, when night shall come, the third night before the coming Nones,
and the ground, sprinkled with celestial dew, will be wet,
the arms of the eight-footed Cancer will be sought in vain:
he will plunge headlong beneath the western waters.

5. E NON : F

5. FROM THE NONES : F

Institerint Nonae, missi tibi nubibus atris
signa dabunt imbres exoriente Lyra.

When the Nones press on, rains sent to you from black clouds
will give you signs at the Lyre’s rising.

(6. F F) (7. G C) (8. H C) 9. A AGON : (? NP)

Quattuor adde dies ductos ex ordine Nonis,
Ianus Agonali luce piandus erit.
nominis esse potest succinctus causa minister,
hostia caelitibus quo feriente cadit,

Add four days drawn in order from the Nones,
Janus must be propitiated on the Agonalian day.
the girded minister can be the cause of the name,
by whose striking the victim falls for the celestials,

320

qui calido strictos tincturus sanguine cultros
     semper agatne rogat nec nisi iussus agit.
pars, quia non veniant pecudes, sed agantur, ab actu
     nomen Agonalem credit habere diem.
pars putat hoc festum priscis Agnalia dictum,

who, about to dye the drawn knives in warm blood,
always asks whether he should drive, and does not act unless ordered.
some, because the sheep do not come, but are driven, believe the day to have the name Agonalia from the act;
some think this festival was called Agnalia by the ancients,

325

     una sit ut proprio littera dempta loco.
an, quia praevisos in aqua timet hostia cultros,
     a pecoris lux est ipsa notata metu?
fas etiam fieri solitis aetate priorum
     nomina de ludis Graeca tulisse diem.

     so that one letter be removed from its proper place.
or, because the victim fears the knives fore-seen in the water,
     is the day itself marked by the fear of the herd?
it is also lawful that, as was the custom in the age of the ancients,
     the day took Greek names from games.

330

et pecus antiquus dicebat agonia sermo;
     veraque iudicio est ultima causa meo.
utque ea non certa est, ita rex placare sacrorum
     numina lanigerae coniuge debet ovis.
victima quae dextra cecidit victrice vocatur;

and ‘agonia’ the ancient speech used to call the cattle;
     and true, in my judgment, is the last cause.
and as that is not certain, so the king of the sacred rites ought to placate
     the numina with the consort of the wool-bearing sheep.
the victim which has fallen by a conquering right hand is called ‘victim’;

335

     hostibus a domitis hostia nomen habet.
ante, deos homini quod conciliare valeret,
     far erat et puri lucida mica salis.
nondum pertulerat lacrimatas cortice murras
     acta per aequoreas hospita navis aquas,

     from foes subdued the victim has its name.
before, what could conciliate the gods to a man,
     was spelt and the bright grain of pure salt.
not yet had carried the tearful myrrhs in bark
     a foreign ship, driven through the sea-waters,

340

tura nec Euphrates nec miserat India costum,
     nec fuerant rubri cognita fila croci.
ara dabat fumos herbis contenta Sabinis,
     et non exiguo laurus adusta sono;
siquis erat factis prati de flore coronis

neither had the Euphrates sent incense nor had India sent costus,
     nor had the threads of red crocus been known.
the altar gave off fumes, content with Sabine herbs,
     and laurel, burned, with no small sound;
if anyone had crowns made from the meadow’s flower

345

     qui posset violas addere, dives erat.
hic, qui nunc aperit percussi viscera tauri,
     in sacris nullum culter habebat opus.
prima Ceres avidae gavisa est sanguine porcae,
     ulta suas merita caede nocentis opes:

     who could add violets was wealthy.
this man, who now opens the viscera of the stricken bull,
     in sacred rites the knife had no work.
first Ceres rejoiced in the blood of the greedy sow,
     having avenged her own wealth by the deserved slaughter of the guilty one:

350

nam sata vere novo teneris lactentia sucis
     eruta saetigerae comperit ore suis.
sus dederat poenas: exemplo territus huius
     palmite debueras abstinuisse, caper.
quem spectans aliquis dentes in vite prementem,

for the sown crops, in the new spring, lactescent with tender juices,
     she found torn up by the mouth of a bristle-bearing sow.
the sow had paid the penalties: warned by this example
     you ought to have refrained from the vine-shoot, goat.
someone, beholding you pressing your teeth into the vine,

355

     talia non tacito dicta dolore dedit:
'rode, caper, vitem: tamen hinc, cum stabis ad aram,
     in tua quod spargi cornua possit erit.'
verba fides sequitur: noxae tibi deditus hostis
     spargitur adfuso cornua, Bacche, mero.

     such words he gave, not with tacit grief:
'gnaw, goat, the vine: nevertheless from this, when you stand at the altar,
     there will be what can be sprinkled on your horns.'
faith follows the words: the enemy given over to you for his offense
     the horns, Bacchus, are sprinkled with wine poured out.

360

culpa sui nocuit, nocuit quoque culpa capellae:
     quid bos, quid placidae commeruistis oves?
flebat Aristaeus, quod apes cum stirpe necatas
     viderat inceptos destituisse favos;
caerula quem genetrix aegre solata dolentem

his own guilt did harm, and the she-goat’s guilt harmed as well:
     what did the ox do, what did the placid sheep deserve?
Aristaeus was weeping, because he had seen the bees, with their brood slain,
     to have deserted the commenced combs;
whom his cerulean mother, with difficulty, consoled as he grieved

365

     addidit haec dictis ultima verba suis:
'siste, puer, lacrimas: Proteus tua damna levabit
     quoque modo repares quae periere dabit.
decipiat ne te versis tamen ille figuris,
     impediant geminas vincula firma manus.'

     she added these last words to her words:
'cease, boy, your tears: Proteus will lighten your losses
     and he will also give the way by which you may restore what has perished.
lest he deceive you, however, with his changed forms,
     let firm bonds impede both hands.'

370

pervenit ad vatem iuvenis, resolutaque somno
     alligat aequorei bracchia capta senis.
ille sua faciem transformis adulterat arte;
     mox domitus vinclis in sua membra redit,
oraque caerulea tollens rorantia barba

the youth reaches the seer, and, relaxed by sleep,
     he binds the arms of the sea-old man, captured.
he, shapeshifting, adulterates his own face by his art;
     soon, subdued by bonds, he returns into his own limbs,
and, raising his sea-blue face, its beard dripping

375

     'qua' dixit 'repares arte requiris apes?
obrue mactati corpus tellure iuvenci:
     quod petis a nobis, obrutus ille dabit.'
iussa facit pastor; fervent examina putri
     de bove: mille animas una necata dedit.

     'by what art,' he said, 'do you inquire to restore the bees?
bury the body of a slaughtered young bull in the earth:
     what you seek from us, he, once buried, will give.'
the shepherd fulfills the orders; the swarms seethe from the putrid
     ox: one slain gave a thousand souls.'

380

poscit ovem fatum: verbenas improba carpsit,
     quas pia dis ruris ferre solebat anus.
quid tuti superest, animam cum ponat in aris
     lanigerumque pecus ruricolaeque boves?
placat equo Persis radiis Hyperiona cinctum,

Fate demands a sheep: the wicked one has plucked vervain,
     which the pious old woman was accustomed to carry to the gods of the countryside.
what safety remains, when upon the altars there is laid down
     the wool-bearing flock and the countryman’s cattle?
the Persian placates Hyperion, girded with rays, with a horse,

385

     ne detur celeri victima tarda deo.
quod semel est geminae pro virgine caesa Dianae,
     nunc quoque pro nulla virgine cerva cadit.
exta canum vidi Triviae libare Sapaeos
     et quicumque tuas accolit, Haeme, nives.

     lest a slow victim be given to the swift god.
what once was cut down for the maiden of twin Diana,
     now too a hind falls for no maiden.
I saw the Sapaeans make libation to Trivia with dogs’ entrails
     and whoever inhabits your snows, Haemus.

390

caeditur et rigido custodi ruris asellus;
     causa pudenda quidem, sed tamen apta deo.
festa corymbiferi celebrabas, Graecia, Bacchi,
     tertia quae solito tempore bruma refert.
di quoque cultores in idem venere Lyaei

and a little ass too is slain for the rigid guardian of the countryside;
     a cause indeed to be ashamed of, but nevertheless apt for the god.
you were celebrating, Greece, the festivals of corymb-bearing Bacchus,
     which midwinter brings back at the accustomed time, in the third year.
the gods too, worshipers of Lyaeus, came for the same.

395

     et quicumque iocis non alienus erat,
Panes et in Venerem Satyrorum prona iuventus
     quaeque colunt amnes solaque rura deae.
venerat et senior pando Silenus asello,
     quique ruber pavidas inguine terret aves.

     and whoever was not alien to jests,
the Pans and the Satyrs’ youth prone toward Venus,
     and the goddesses who inhabit the rivers and the solitary rural fields.
and the elder Silenus had come too on a bowed little ass,
     and he who, ruddy, terrifies the timid birds with his groin.

400

dulcia qui dignum nemus in convivia nacti
     gramine vestitis accubuere toris:
vina dabat Liber, tulerat sibi quisque coronam,
     miscendas parce rivus agebat aquas.
Naides effusis aliae sine pectinis usu,

who, having found a grove worthy for sweet banquets,
     reclined on couches clothed with grass:
Liber was giving wine, each had brought a garland for himself,
     a stream was driving the waters to be mixed sparingly.
the Naiads, with hair let loose, others without the use of a comb,

405

     pars aderant positis arte manuque comis;
illa super suras tunicam collecta ministrat,
     altera dissuto pectus aperta sinu;
exserit haec umerum, vestes trahit illa per herbas,
     impediunt teneros vincula nulla pedes.

     some were present with their tresses set by art and hand;
she, with her tunic gathered above her calves, serves,
     another, her breast laid bare by a rent fold;
this one bares a shoulder, that one drags her garments through the grasses,
     no bonds impede the tender feet.

410

hinc aliae Satyris incendia mitia praebent,
     pars tibi, qui pinu tempora nexa geris:
te quoque, inexstinctae Silene libidinis, urunt:
     nequitia est quae te non sinit esse senem.
at ruber, hortorum decus et tutela, Priapus

hence others provide mild fires to the Satyrs,
     part to you, who bear your temples bound with pine:
you too, Silenus of inextinguishable libido, they burn:
     it is wantonness that does not allow you to be an old man.
but the ruddy, the ornament and guardian of gardens, Priapus

415

     omnibus ex illis Lotide captus erat:
hanc cupit, hanc optat, sola suspirat in illa,
     signaque dat nutu sollicitatque notis.
fastus inest pulchris sequiturque superbia formam:
     inrisum voltu despicit illa suo.

     out of all of them, he had been captured by Lotis:
this one he desires, this one he opts for, he sighs only for her,
     and he gives signs with a nod and solicits her with signals.
haughtiness is in the beautiful, and pride follows beauty:
     she, with her own face, despises in mockery.

420

nox erat, et vino somnum faciente iacebant
     corpora diversis victa sopore locis;
Lotis in herbosa sub acernis ultima ramis,
     sicut erat lusu fessa, quievit humo.
surgit amans animamque tenens vestigia furtim

it was night, and with wine making sleep they lay
     bodies, conquered by slumber, in diverse places;
Lotis beneath the farthest branches of the maples,
     just as she was, wearied by play, rested on the grassy ground.
the lover rises and, holding his breath, sets his footsteps stealthily

425

     suspenso digitis fert taciturna gradu.
ut tetigit niveae secreta cubilia nymphae,
     ipsa sui flatus ne sonet aura cavet;
et iam finitima corpus librabat in herba:
     illa tamen multi plena soporis erat.

     with suspended step on her toes she moves, silent.
when she touched the secret bed of the snow-white nymph,
     she herself takes care that even the breeze of her own breath not sound;
and now she was poising her body on the neighboring grass:
     yet that girl was full of much sleep.

430

gaudet et a pedibus tracto velamine vota
     ad sua felici coeperat ire via.
ecce rudens rauco Sileni vector asellus
     intempestivos edidit ore sonos.
territa consurgit nymphe, manibusque Priapum

he rejoices, and with the veil drawn from her feet, his vows
     had begun to go their way by a fortunate path.
behold, braying with a hoarse voice, the little ass, the carrier of Silenus,
     uttered untimely sounds from its mouth.
the nymph, terrified, rises, and with her hands Priapus

435

     reicit, et fugiens concitat omne nemus.
at deus, obscena nimium quoque parte paratus,
     omnibus ad lunae lumina risus erat.
morte dedit poenas auctor clamoris; et haec est
     Hellespontiaco victima grata deo.

     she throws him off, and fleeing she rouses the whole grove.
but the god, equipped also in his too-obscene part,
     was a laughter to all by the light of the moon.
the author of the clamor paid the penalties with death; and this is
     a victim pleasing to the Hellespontine god.

440

intactae fueratis aves, solacia ruris,
     adsuetum silvis innocuumque genus,
quae facitis nidos et plumis ova fovetis,
     et facili dulces editis ore modos;
sed nihil ista iuvant, quia linguae crimen habetis,

you had been inviolate birds, solaces of the countryside,
     an innocuous kind accustomed to the forests,
who make nests and with feathers warm the eggs,
     and with a facile mouth you produce sweet modes;
but those things avail nothing, since you bear the crime of the tongue,

445

     dique putant mentes vos aperire suas.
(nec tamen hoc falsum: nam, dis ut proxima quaeque,
     nunc pinna veras, nunc datis ore notas.)
tuta diu volucrum proles tum denique caesa est,
     iuveruntque deos indicis exta sui.

     and the gods think that you lay open their minds.
(nor, however, is this false: for, as being nearest to the gods,
     now by the pinion true notes, now you give notes with the mouth.)
the progeny of birds, safe for a long time, then at last was slain,
     and the entrails of their own indicator aided the gods.

450

ergo saepe suo coniunx abducta marito
     uritur Idaliis alba columba focis.
nec defensa iuvant Capitolia, quo minus anser
     det iecur in lances, Inachioti, tuas.
nocte deae Nocti cristatus caeditur ales,

therefore often the wife abducted from her own husband
     the white dove is burned on Idalian hearths.
nor do the defended Capitoline heights help, to prevent the goose
     from giving its liver onto your platters, Inachian goddess.
by night the crested bird is slaughtered to the goddess Night,

455

quod tepidum vigili provocet ore diem.
Interea Delphin clarum super aequora sidus
tollitur et patriis exserit ora vadis.

so that he may provoke the tepid day with a wakeful mouth.
Meanwhile the Dolphin, the bright constellation, over the waters
is lifted and exserts its mouth from its native shoals.

10. B EN

Postera lux hiemem medio discrimine signat,
aequaque praeteritae quae superabit erit.

The next light marks winter by its mid-division,
and will be equal to what has passed and to what will remain.

11. C CAR : NP (12. D C)

11. C CARMENTALIA : NP (12. D COMITIAL)

Proxima prospiciet Tithono nupta relicto
     Arcadiae sacrum pontificale deae.
te quoque lux eadem, Turni soror, aede recepit,
     hic ubi Virginea Campus obitur aqua.
unde petam causas horum moremque sacrorum?

Next will look forth, with Tithonus left behind, the wedded one,
     upon the pontifical sacred rite of the Arcadian goddess.
you too, sister of Turnus, the same light received into a temple,
     here where the Campus is visited by the Virgin’s water.
whence shall I seek the causes and the custom of these sacred rites?

465

     deriget in medio quis mea vela freto?
ipsa mone, quae nomen habes a carmine ductum,
     propositoque fave, ne tuus erret honor.
orta prior luna, de se si creditur ipsi,
     a magno tellus Arcade nomen habet.

     who will direct my sails in the midst of the strait?
you yourself advise, you who have a name drawn from song,
     and favor my purpose, lest your honor err.
born before the Moon, if one believes her about herself,
     from the great Arcadian the land has its name.

470

hinc fuit Euander, qui, quamquam clarus utroque,
     nobilior sacrae sanguine matris erat;
quae, simul aetherios animo conceperat ignes,
     ore dabat vero carmina plena dei.
dixerat haec nato motus instare sibique,

hence was Evander, who, although renowned on both sides,
     was more noble by the sacred blood of his mother;
who, as soon as she had conceived aetherial fires in her spirit,
     with her mouth she gave songs truly full of the god.
she had said these things, that commotions were impending for her son and for herself,

475

     multaque praeterea tempore nacta fidem.
nam iuvenis nimium vera cum matre fugatus
     deserit Arcadiam Parrhasiumque larem.
cui genetrix flenti 'fortuna viriliter' inquit
     '(siste, precor, lacrimas) ista ferenda tibi est.

     and many things besides, which in time gained credence.
for the young man, with a mother too truthful, was driven into exile
     and leaves Arcadia and the Parrhasian Lar.
to whom, as he wept, his mother said, 'Bear Fortune manfully'
     '(stop, I pray, your tears) this must be borne by you.'

480

sic erat in fatis, nec te tua culpa fugavit,
     sed deus: offenso pulsus es urbe deo.
non meriti poenam pateris, sed numinis iram:
     est aliquid magnis crimen abesse malis.
conscia mens ut cuique sua est, ita concipit intra

thus it was in the fates, nor did your own fault drive you into exile,
     but a god: with the god offended, you were driven from the city.
you suffer not the penalty of your deserts, but the numen’s wrath:
     it is something for the crime to be absent in great evils.
as each one’s mind is conscious to itself, so it conceives within

485

     pectora pro facto spemque metumque suo.
nec tamen ut primus maere mala talia passus:
     obruit ingentes ista procella viros.
passus idem est Tyriis qui quondam pulsus ab oris
     Cadmus in Aonia constitit exul humo;

     their hearts, according to the deed, conceive their own hope and fear.
nor yet as if you were the first to mourn such ills endured:
     that tempest has overwhelmed mighty men.
the same was suffered by him who once, driven from Tyrian shores,
     Cadmus stood as an exile on Aonian soil;

490

passus idem Tydeus et idem Pagasaeus Iason,
     et quos praeterea longa referre mora est.
omne solum forti patria est, ut piscibus aequor,
     ut volucri vacuo quicquid in orbe patet.
nec fera tempestas toto tamen horret in anno:

The same did Tydeus endure, and the same Pagasaean Jason,
     and those besides whom it is a long delay to recount.
every soil is a fatherland to the brave, as the level sea to fishes,
     as for the winged whatever in the void of the world lies open.
nor yet does a wild tempest bristle through the whole year:

495

     et tibi, crede mihi, tempora veris erunt.'
vocibus Euander firmata mente parentis
     nave secat fluctus Hesperiamque tenet.
iamque ratem doctae monitu Carmentis in amnem
     egerat et Tuscis obvius ibat aquis:

     and for you, believe me, there will be seasons of spring.'
Evander, with his mind fortified by the voices of his parent,
     cleaves the billows with his ship and makes for Hesperia.
and now, at the monition of learned Carmentis, he had driven the raft into the river
     and was going to meet the Tuscan waters:

500

fluminis illa latus, cui sunt vada iuncta Tarenti,
     aspicit et sparsas per loca sola casas;
utque erat, immissis puppem stetit ante capillis,
     continuitque manum torva regentis iter,
et procul in dextram tendens sua bracchia ripam

she beholds that side of the river, to which the shallows of the Tarentum are joined,
     and the huts scattered through the solitary places;
and just as she was, with her hair let loose, she stood before the stern,
     and held back the hand of the grim regent steering the course,
and, stretching her arms toward the right-hand bank from afar,

505

     pinea non sano ter pede texta ferit,
neve daret saltum properans insistere terrae
     vix est Euandri vixque retenta manu;
'di' que 'petitorum' dixit 'salvete locorum,
     tuque, novos caelo terra datura deos,

     she strikes the pine‑woven deck with a mad thrice‑beating foot,
lest she make a leap, hastening to set foot on the land,
     she is scarcely held by Evander’s hand, scarcely restrained;
'gods' and 'of the sought places,' she said, 'hail,
     and you, land that will give new gods to heaven,'

510

fluminaque et fontes, quibus utitur hospita tellus,
     et nemorum silvae Naiadumque chori,
este bonis avibus visi natoque mihique,
     ripaque felici tacta sit ista pede.
fallor, an hi fient ingentia moenia colles,

and rivers and springs, which the hospitable earth uses,
     and the woods of the groves and the choirs of the Naiads,
be seen with good auspices for my son and for me,
     and let that bank be touched by a fortunate foot.
Am I deceived, or will these hills become vast walls,

515

iuraque ab hac terra cetera terra petet?
montibus his olim totus promittitur orbis.
quis tantum fati credat habere locum?

and will the rest of the earth seek laws from this land?
upon these mountains someday the whole world is promised.
who would believe that a place could have so much of fate?

et iam Dardaniae tangent haec litora pinus:
hic quoque causa novi femina Martis erit.

and now Dardanian pines will touch these shores:
here too a woman will be the cause of a new Mars.

520

care nepos Palla, funesta quid induis arma?
     indue: non humili vindice caesus eris.
victa tamen vinces eversaque, Troia, resurges:
     obruit hostiles ista ruina domos.
urite victrices Neptunia Pergama flammae:

dear descendant Pallas, why do you put on funereal arms?
     put them on: you will not be slain with a lowly avenger.
conquered, nevertheless you will conquer, and, overthrown, Troy, you will rise again:
     that ruin overwhelms hostile homes.
burn, victorious flames, the Neptunian Pergama:

525

     num minus hic toto est altior orbe cinis?
iam pius Aeneas sacra et, sacra altera, patrem
     adferet: Iliacos accipe, Vesta, deos.
tempus erit cum vos orbemque tuebitur idem,
     et fient ipso sacra colente deo,                530
et penes Augustos patriae tutela manebit:
     hanc fas imperii frena tenere domum.
inde nepos natusque dei, licet ipse recuset,
     pondera caelesti mente paterna feret,
utque ego perpetuis olim sacrabor in aris,

     Is not this ash here higher than the whole orb?
now pious Aeneas will bring the sacred things and, another sacred thing, his father:
     receive, Vesta, the Iliac gods.
there will be a time when the same one will protect both you and the orb,
     and the sacred rites will be performed, the god himself their worshiper,                530
and the tutelage of the fatherland will remain with the Augusti:
     it is right that this house hold the reins of empire.
thence the grandson and the son of a god, although he himself refuses,
     will bear the burdens with a celestial paternal mind,
and, as I shall one day be consecrated on perpetual altars,

535

     sic Augusta novum Iulia numen erit.'
talibus ut dictis nostros descendit in annos,
     substitit in medio praescia lingua sono.
puppibus egressus Latia stetit exul in herba:
     felix, exilium cui locus ille fuit!

     thus Augusta Julia will be a new numen.'
as, with such words, she descended into our years,
     the prescient tongue halted in mid sound.
disembarked from the ships, the exile stood on Latin turf:
     fortunate, for whom that place was his exile!

540

nec mora longa fuit: stabant nova tecta, nec alter
     montibus Ausoniis Arcade maior erat.
ecce boves illuc Erytheidas adplicat heros
     emensus longi claviger orbis iter,
dumque huic hospitium domus est Tegeaea, vagantur

nor was the delay long: new roofs stood, nor was there another
     Arcadian greater in the Ausonian mountains.
lo, the hero brings there the Erythean cattle,
     the club-bearer, having traversed the long circuit of the orb,
and while the Tegean house is hospitality for him, they wander

545

     incustoditae lata per arva boves.
mane erat: excussus somno Tirynthius actor
     de numero tauros sentit abesse duos.
nulla videt quaerens taciti vestigia furti:
     traxerat aversos Cacus in antra ferox,

     unguarded, the cattle roamed across the broad fields.
It was morning: shaken from sleep, the Tirynthian drover
     perceives that two bulls are absent from the number.
searching, he sees no vestiges of the silent theft:
     fierce Cacus had dragged them, turned backward, into the caves,

550

Cacus, Aventinae timor atque infamia silvae,
     non leve finitimis hospitibusque malum.
dira viro facies, vires pro corpore, corpus
     grande (pater monstri Mulciber huius erat),
proque domo longis spelunca recessibus ingens,

Cacus, the fear and infamy of the Aventine wood,
     no light evil to neighboring folk and to guests.
a dire visage had the man, strengths in proportion to his body, a body
     huge (Mulciber was the father of this monster),
and in place of a home a cave vast with long recesses,

555

     abdita, vix ipsis invenienda feris;
ora super postes adfixaque bracchia pendent,
     squalidaque humanis ossibus albet humus.
servata male parte boum Iove natus abibat:
     mugitum rauco furta dedere sono.

     hidden away, scarcely to be found even by the wild beasts themselves;
mouths above the doorposts and affixed arms hang,
     and the squalid ground is white with human bones.
with a portion of the cattle ill-kept back, the son of Jove was departing:
     the thefts gave a mooing with a raucous sound.

560

'accipio revocamen' ait, vocemque secutus
     impia per silvas ultor ad antra venit.
ille aditum fracti praestruxerat obice montis;
     vix iuga movissent quinque bis illud opus.
nititur hic umeris (caelum quoque sederat illis),

"I accept the recall," he says, and following the voice
     the impious avenger came through the forests to the caves.
He had barricaded the approach with a barrier of shattered mountain;
     scarcely would 10 yokes have moved that work.
He strains with his shoulders (the sky too had sat upon them),

565

     et vastum motu conlabefactat onus.
quod simul eversum est, fragor aethera terruit ipsum,
     ictaque subsedit pondere molis humus.
prima movet Cacus conlata proelia dextra
     remque ferox saxis stipitibusque gerit.

     and by his motion he shakes the vast burden to collapse.
as soon as it was overthrown, the crash terrified the aether itself,
     and the ground, struck, subsided beneath the weight of the mass.
Cacus first sets close-joined battle in motion with his right hand,
     and, fierce, he conducts the affair with stones and clubs.

570

quis ubi nil agitur, patrias male fortis ad artes
     confugit, et flammas ore sonante vomit;
quas quotiens proflat, spirare Typhoea credas
     et rapidum Aetnaeo fulgur ab igne iaci.
occupat Alcides, adductaque clava trinodis

who, when nothing is being accomplished, in his sorry valor takes refuge in his paternal arts,
     takes refuge, and vomits flames from a resonant mouth;
which, as often as he breathes them forth, you would think Typhoeus to be breathing,
     and that a swift lightning-bolt is being hurled from Aetnaean fire.
Alcides seizes the initiative, and with his three-knotted club drawn back

575

     ter quater adverso sedit in ore viri.
ille cadit mixtosque vomit cum sanguine fumos
     et lato moriens pectore plangit humum.
immolat ex illis taurum tibi, Iuppiter, unum
     victor et Euandrum ruricolasque vocat,

     thrice and four times it settled on the man’s opposing face.
he falls and vomits fumes mixed with blood,
     and, dying, with his broad chest he beats the ground.
from them he immolates one bull to you, Jupiter,
     the victor, and he calls Evander and the country-dwellers,

580

constituitque sibi, quae Maxima dicitur, aram,
     hic ubi pars Urbis de bove nomen habet.
nec tacet Euandri mater prope tempus adesse
     Hercule quo tellus sit satis usa suo.
at felix vates, ut dis gratissima vixit,

and he established for himself the altar which is called the Maxima,
     here where a part of the City has its name from the ox.
nor is Evander’s mother silent that the time is near
     when the earth will have made sufficient use of her own Hercules.
but the happy prophetess, as she lived most pleasing to the gods,

585 possidet hunc Iani sic dea mense diem.

585 thus the goddess possesses this day in the month of Janus.

13. E EID : NP (14. F EN)

13. E IDES : NP (14. F EN)

Idibus in magni castus Iovis aede sacerdos
semimaris flammis viscera libat ovis;
redditaque est omnis populo provincia nostro
et tuus Augusto nomine dictus avus.

On the Ides, in the temple of great Jove, the chaste priest
offers to the flames the viscera of a half-male sheep;
and the whole province was returned to our people,
and your grandsire was called by the name Augustus.

590

perlege dispositas generosa per atria ceras:
     contigerunt nulli nomina tanta viro.
Africa victorem de se vocat, alter Isauras
     aut Cretum domitas testificatur opes;
hunc Numidae faciunt, illum Messana superbum;

read through the wax tablets arranged throughout the noble halls:
     names so great have befallen no man.
Africa calls him a victor over herself, another attests the Isaurians
     or testifies to the subdued might of the Cretans;
this one the Numidians make proud, that one Messana makes proud;

595

     ille Numantina traxit ab urbe notam:
et mortem et nomen Druso Germania fecit;
     me miserum, virtus quam brevis illa fuit!
si petat a victis, tot sumet nomina Caesar
     quot numero gentes maximus orbis habet.

     that one drew a mark from the Numantine city:
and Germany made for Drusus both his death and his name;
     alas for me, how brief that valor was!
if he should seek from the conquered, Caesar will take up so many names
     as many in number as the greatest orb has nations.

600

ex uno quidam celebres aut torquis adempti
     aut corvi titulos auxiliaris habent.
Magne, tuum nomen rerum est mensura tuarum:
     sed qui te vicit nomine maior erat.
nec gradus est supra Fabios cognominis ullus:

from a single thing certain men are celebrated, either of a torc snatched away
     or they have the titles of the auxiliary crow.
Great One, your name is the measure of your deeds:
     but he who defeated you was greater in name.
nor is there any degree of surname above the Fabii:

605

     illa domus meritis Maxima dicta suis.
sed tamen humanis celebrantur honoribus omnes,
     hic socium summo cum Iove nomen habet.
sancta vocant augusta patres, augusta vocantur
     templa sacerdotum rite dicata manu:

     that house, by its own merits, was called Maxima.
but yet all are celebrated with human honors,
     this man has a name as a companion with Highest Jove.
the Fathers call sacred things "augusta," "augusta" are called
     the temples duly dedicated by the hand of priests:

610

huius et augurium dependet origine verbi
     et quodcumque sua Iuppiter auget ope.
augeat imperium nostri ducis, augeat annos,
     protegat et vestras querna corona fores:
auspicibusque deis tanti cognominis heres

and its augury too depends on the origin of the word
     and whatever Jupiter augments by his own aid.
may he augment the empire of our leader, may he augment the years,
     and may an oaken crown protect your doors:
and, with the gods as auspices, the heir of so great a cognomen

615

omine suscipiat, quo pater, orbis onus.

may he take up, with the omen by which his father did, the orb’s burden.

15. G CAR : NP

Respiciet Titan actas ubi tertius Idus,
fient Parrhasiae sacra relata deae.
nam prius Ausonias matres carpenta vehebant
(haec quoque ab Euandri dicta parente reor);

Titan will look back on the days gone by when it is the third to the Ides,
the rites of the Parrhasian goddess will be brought back.
for previously the Ausonian mothers were conveyed by carpenta
(I think these too are said to be named from Evander’s parent);

620

mox honor eripitur, matronaque destinat omnis
     ingratos nulla prole novare viros,
neve daret partus, ictu temeraria caeco
     visceribus crescens excutiebat onus.
corripuisse patres ausas immitia nuptas,

soon honor is snatched away, and every matron resolves
     to grant their ungrateful husbands no renewal by progeny,
and, lest she give births, rashly with a blind stroke
     she would shake out from her viscera the burden as it grew.
the fathers are said to have seized the brides who dared such cruel things,

625

     ius tamen exemptum restituisse ferunt,
binaque nunc pariter Tegeaeae sacra parenti
     pro pueris fieri virginibusque iubent.
scortea non illi fas est inferre sacello,
     ne violent puros exanimata focos.

     nevertheless they are said to have restored the right that had been removed,
and now they order twin sacred rites to the Tegean parent
     to be made equally on behalf of boys and maidens.
it is not lawful to bring leathern things into that little shrine,
     lest lifeless hides violate the pure hearths.

630

siquis amas veteres ritus, adsiste precanti;
     nomina percipies non tibi nota prius.
Porrima placatur Postvertaque, sive sorores,
     sive fugae comites, Maenali diva, tuae;
altera quod porro fuerat cecinisse putatur,

If anyone loves the ancient rites, stand by the one praying;
     you will perceive names not known to you before.
Porrima is propitiated and Postverta, whether sisters,
     or companions of your flight, Maenalian goddess, yours;
the one is thought to have sung what would be forward,

635

altera venturum postmodo quicquid erat.

the other, whatever was going to come afterward.

16. H C (NP inde ab anno 10 p. C.)

16. H C (NP from the year 10 A.D.)

Candida, te niveo posuit lux proxima templo,
qua fert sublimes alta Moneta gradus,
nunc bene prospiciens Latiam Concordia turbam,
~nunc~ te sacratae constituere manus.

Candida, the next day set you in a snow-white temple,
where high Moneta bears her sublime steps,
now Concordia, looking out well upon the Latin throng,
~now~ consecrated hands have established you.

640

Furius antiquam, populi superator Etrusci,
     voverat et voti solverat ille fidem.
causa, quod a patribus sumptis secesserat armis
     volgus, et ipsa suas Roma timebat opes.
causa recens melior: passos Germania crines

Furius, the conqueror of the Etruscan people, had vowed the ancient temple,
     and he had discharged the faith of his vow.
the cause, that the common crowd had seceded from the Fathers, the arms having been taken up,
     and Rome herself was fearing her own powers.
a more recent, better cause: Germany with hair let down

645

     porrigit auspiciis, dux venerande, tuis.
inde triumphatae libasti munera gentis
     templaque fecisti, quam colis ipse, deae.
hanc tua constituit genetrix et rebus et ara,
     sola toro magni digna reperta Iovis.                650

     she stretches forth her loosened tresses under your auspices, venerable leader.
thence you libated the gifts of the triumphed-over nation,
     and you made temples for the goddess whom you yourself cherish.
your Genetrix established this one both by deeds and by an altar,
     found alone worthy of the couch of great Jove.                650

17. A C

(18. B C) (19. C C) (20. D C) (21. E C) (22. F C) 23. G C

Haec ubi transierint, Capricorno, Phoebe, relicto
per iuvenis curres signa regentis aquam.
septimus hinc Oriens cum se demiserit undis,
fulgebit toto iam Lyra nulla polo.

When these things have passed, with Capricorn left behind, Phoebe,
you will run through the signs of the youth who rules the water.
when from here the seventh Rising has plunged itself into the waves,
the Lyre will now shine in no part of the whole sky.

24. H C (25. A C) (26. B C)

Sidere ab hoc ignis venienti nocte, Leonis
     qui micat in medio pectore, mersus erit.
Ter quater evolvi signantes tempora fastos,
     nec Sementiva est ulla reperta dies;
cum mihi (sensit enim) 'lux haec indicitur' inquit
     Musa, 'quid a fastis non stata sacra petis?

From this star the fire, in the coming night, of the Lion
     which sparkles in the middle breast, will be plunged.
Thrice and four times I unrolled the fasti that mark the times,
     nor was any Sementiva day found;
when to me (for she perceived it) the Muse said, “this day is proclaimed—
     why do you seek from the fasti sacra not fixed?”

660

utque dies incerta sacri, sic tempora certa,
     seminibus iactis est ubi fetus ager.'
state coronati plenum ad praesepe, iuvenci:
     cum tepido vestrum vere redibit opus.
rusticus emeritum palo suspendat aratrum:

and as the day of the sacred rite is uncertain, so the times are fixed,
     there is a fruitful field where the seeds have been cast.'
stand crowned at the full manger, young bullocks:
     when, with tepid spring, your work will return.
let the rustic suspend the plough, its service done, on a pole:

665

     omne reformidat frigore volnus humus.
vilice, da requiem terrae semente peracta;
     da requiem, terram qui coluere, viris.
pagus agat festum: pagum lustrate, coloni,
     et date paganis annua liba focis.

     the ground shudders at every wound from the cold.
overseer, give rest to the earth with the sowing completed;
     give rest to the men who have tilled the earth.
let the village keep festival: lustrate the village, farmers,
     and give to the village hearths the annual cakes.

670

placentur frugum matres, Tellusque Ceresque,
     farre suo gravidae visceribusque suis:
officium commune Ceres et Terra tuentur;
     haec praebet causam frugibus, illa locum.
consortes operis, per quas correcta vetustas

let the mothers of the crops be appeased, Tellus and Ceres,
     with their own spelt and with their own entrails:
the common office Ceres and Earth maintain;
     this provides the cause for the crops, that the place.
partners in the work, through whom antiquity was set right

675

     quernaque glans victa est utiliore cibo,
frugibus immensis avidos satiate colonos,
     ut capiant cultus praemia digna sui.
vos date perpetuos teneris sementibus auctus,
     nec nova per gelidas herba sit usta nives.

     and the oak acorn has been conquered by a more useful food,
satiate the avid farmers with immense crops,
     that they may take rewards worthy of their cultivation.
do give perpetual increases to tender sowings,
     and let the new herbage not be scorched by icy snows.

680

cum serimus, caelum ventis aperite serenis;
     cum latet, aetheria spargite semen aqua.
neve graves cultis Cerialia rura cavete
     agmine laesuro depopulentur aves.
vos quoque, formicae, subiectis parcite granis:

when we sow, open the sky to serene winds;
     when it lies hidden, sprinkle the seed with ethereal water.
and beware lest weighty birds ravage the Cerial fields when tilled,
     with a column poised to harm.
you too, ants, spare the grains laid beneath:

685

     post messem praedae copia maior erit.
interea crescat scabrae robiginis expers
     nec vitio caeli palleat ulla seges,
et neque deficiat macie nec pinguior aequo
     divitiis pereat luxuriosa suis;

     after the harvest there will be a greater abundance of booty.
meanwhile let it grow free of scabrous rust,
     nor let any crop grow pale by a fault of the sky,
and let it neither fail from leanness nor, fatter than is due,
     perish, luxurious, by its own riches;

690

et careant loliis oculos vitiantibus agri,
     nec sterilis culto surgat avena solo;
triticeos fetus passuraque farra bis ignem
     hordeaque ingenti fenore reddat ager.
haec ego pro vobis, haec vos optate coloni,

and let the fields lack darnels that vitiate the eyes,
     nor let sterile oats spring up in a cultivated soil;
let the field render triticeous offspring and spelt to undergo twice the fire
     and barley with immense interest.
these things I for you, these things do you opt, farmers,

695

     efficiatque ratas utraque diva preces.
bella diu tenuere viros: erat aptior ensis
     vomere, cedebat taurus arator equo;
sarcula cessabant, versique in pila ligones,
     factaque de rastri pondere cassis erat.

     and let both goddesses make the prayers ratified.
wars long held men: the sword was more apt than the plowshare;
     the plowman’s bull yielded to the horse;
the little hoes were idle, and the mattocks were turned into pikes,
     and a helmet had been made from the weight of a rake.

700

gratia dis domuique tuae: religata catenis
iampridem vestro sub pede Bella iacent.
sub iuga bos veniat, sub terras semen aratas:
Pax Cererem nutrit, Pacis alumna Ceres.

thanks to the gods and to your house: bound with chains
for a long time Wars lie beneath your foot.
let the ox come under the yokes, let seed beneath the ploughed lands:
Peace nourishes Ceres; Ceres is the foster-child of Peace.

27. C C (28. D C) (29. E F [? NP])

At quae venturas praecedit sexta Kalendas,
hac sunt Ledaeis templa dicata deis:
fratribus illa deis fratres de gente deorum
circa Iuturnae composuere lacus.

But the day which precedes the coming Kalends by six,
on this day temples have been dedicated to the Ledaean gods:
brothers from the race of the gods for the brother-gods those
around the pools of Juturna constructed.

30. F NP (31. GC)

Ipsum nos carmen deduxit Pacis ad aram:
     haec erit a mensis fine secunda dies.
frondibus Actiacis comptos redimita capillos,
     Pax, ades et toto mitis in orbe mane.
dum desint hostes, desit quoque causa triumphi:
     tu ducibus bello gloria maior eris.
sola gerat miles, quibus arma coerceat, arma,

The very song has led us to the altar of Peace:
     this will be the second day from the end of the month.
wreathed with Actian fronds, your hair adorned,
     Peace, be present and remain gentle in the whole world.
so long as enemies are lacking, let the cause of triumph be lacking as well:
     you will be, for leaders, a glory greater than war.
let the soldier bear only arms by which he may restrain arms,

715

     canteturque fera nil nisi pompa tuba.
horreat Aeneadas et primus et ultimus orbis:
     siqua parum Romam terra timebat, amet.
tura, sacerdotes, Pacalibus addite flammis,
     albaque perfusa victima fronte cadat;

     and let the fierce trumpet sing nothing but the pomp.
let both the first and the last orb shudder at the Aeneads:
     if any land feared Rome too little, let it love her.
add incense, priests, to the Peace-fires,
     and let the white victim fall with its forehead drenched;

720

utque domus, quae praestat eam, cum pace perennet
ad pia propensos vota rogate deos.
Sed iam prima mei pars est exacta laboris,
cumque suo finem mense libellus habet.

and that the house which provides it may, with peace, endure forever
ask the gods, propitious to pious vows.
But now the first part of my labor is completed,
and the little book has its end with its own month.