Ovid: FASTI

Ianus habet finem. cum carmine crescit et annus:
     alter ut hic mensis, sic liber alter eat.
nunc primum velis, elegi, maioribus itis:
     exiguum, memini, nuper eratis opus.
ipse ego vos habui faciles in amore ministros,

Janus has an end. With the song the year grows too:
     just as this other month, so let another book go forth.
now for the first time with sails, elegies, you go to greater matters:
     I remember, you were recently a slight work.
I myself have had you easy ministers in love,

     cum lusit numeris prima iuventa suis.
idem sacra cano signataque tempora fastis:
     ecquis ad haec illinc crederet esse viam?
haec mea militia est; ferimus quae possumus arma,
     dextraque non omni munere nostra vacat.

     when my first youth played with its own numbers.
the same I sing the sacred rites and the times marked in the fasti:
     would anyone have believed there to be a way from over there to these?
this is my militia; we bear such arms as we can,
     and my right hand is not free from every duty.

si mihi non valido torquentur pila lacerto
     nec bellatoris terga premuntur equi,
nec galea tegimur, nec acuto cingimur ense
     (his habilis telis quilibet esse potest),
at tua prosequimur studioso pectore, Caesar,

if javelins are not hurled by me with a robust upper arm
     nor are the backs of war-horses pressed,
nor are we covered by a helmet, nor girded with an acute sword
     (with these weapons anyone can be adept),
but we attend your undertakings with a studious breast, Caesar,

     nomina, per titulos ingredimurque tuos.
ergo ades et placido paulum mea munera voltu
     respice, pacando siquid ab hoste vacat.
Februa Romani dixere piamina patres:
     nunc quoque dant verbo plurima signa fidem.

     names, and through your titles we enter upon you.
therefore be present, and with a placid countenance for a moment
     look upon my gifts, if any leisure from pacifying the foe is free.
The Roman fathers have called the expiations “Februa”:
     now too very many signs give credence to the word.

pontifices ab rege petunt et flamine lanas,
     quis veterum lingua februa nomen erat;
quaeque capit lictor domibus purgamina certis,
     torrida cum mica farra, vocantur idem;
nomen idem ramo, qui caesus ab arbore pura

the pontiffs ask from the king and the flamen for wools,
     to which, in the tongue of the ancients, the name was Februa;
and what purgations the lictor takes for certain houses,
     parched spelt with a grain, are called by the same name;
the same name to the branch, which, cut from a pure tree

     casta sacerdotum tempora fronde tegit.
ipse ego flaminicam poscentem februa vidi;
     februa poscenti pinea virga data est.
denique quodcumque est quo corpora nostra piantur,
     hoc apud intonsos nomen habebat avos.

     it covers the chaste temples of the priests with foliage.
I myself saw the flaminica asking for februa;
     to her asking for februa a pine rod was given.
Finally, whatever there is by which our bodies are purified,
     this had the name among our unshorn ancestors.

mensis ab his dictus, secta quia pelle Luperci
     omne solum lustrant, idque piamen habent;
aut quia placatis sunt tempora pura sepulcris,
     tum cum ferales praeteriere dies.
omne nefas omnemque mali purgamina causam

the month is named from these, because with a cut hide the Luperci
     lustrate all the soil, and they hold that as an expiation;
or because the times are pure with the sepulchres placated,
     when the funereal days have gone by.
every nefas and every cause of evil’s pollutions

     credebant nostri tollere posse senes.
Graecia principium moris dedit: illa nocentes
     impia lustratos ponere facta putat.
Actoriden Peleus, ipsum quoque Pelea Phoci
     caede per Haemonias solvit Acastus aquas;

     our elders believed they could lift them away.
Greece gave the beginning of the custom: that land thinks that the guilty
     can set aside impious deeds, once purified.
Peleus, the Actoridēs—Peleus himself too—from Phocus’s
     slaughter did Acastus release by Haemonian waters;

vectam frenatis per inane draconibus Aegeus
     credulus immerita Phasida fovit ope;
Amphiareiades Naupactoo Acheloo
     'solve nefas' dixit, solvit et ille nefas.
ah nimium faciles, qui tristia crimina caedis

Aegeus, credulous, fostered the Phasian woman, carried through the void by bridled dragons, with unmerited aid;
the son of Amphiaraus said to Achelous at Naupactus, 'absolve the nefarious wrong,' and he absolved the nefarious wrong.
ah, all too compliant, who the grim crimes of slaughter

     fluminea tolli posse putatis aqua!
Sed tamen, antiqui ne nescius ordinis erres,
     primus, ut est, Iani mensis et ante fuit;
qui sequitur Ianum, veteris fuit ultimus anni:
     tu quoque sacrorum, Termine, finis eras.

     do you suppose that they can be lifted by river-water!
But yet, lest you err, unknowing of the ancient order,
     the month of Janus was first, as it is, and was before;
the one that follows Janus was the last of the old year:
     you too, Terminus, were the finish of the sacred rites.

primus enim Iani mensis, quia ianua prima est:
qui sacer est imis manibus, imus erat.
postmodo creduntur spatio distantia longo
tempora bis quini continuasse viri.

for the month of Janus is first, because the doorway is first:
that which is sacred to the lowest Manes was lowest.
afterwards it is believed that times far distant by a long span
the twice-five men made continuous.

1. H : K : FEB : N54a

1. H : KALENDS OF FEBRUARY : UNLAWFUL DAY54a

Principio mensis Phrygiae contermina Matri
     Sospita delubris dicitur aucta novis.
nunc ubi sunt, illis quae sunt sacrata Kalendis
     templa deae? longa procubuere die.
cetera ne simili caderent labefacta ruina
     cavit sacrati provida cura ducis,

At the beginning of the month, the Sospita, conterminous with the Phrygian Mother,
     is said to have been augmented with new shrines.
Now where are the temples of the goddess that were consecrated on those Kalends
     they have lain prostrate for a long time.
Lest the rest, shaken, should fall by a similar ruin,
     the provident care of the consecrated leader took precautions,

sub quo delubris sentitur nulla senectus;
     nec satis est homines, obligat ille deos.
templorum positor, templorum sancte repostor,
     sit superis opto mutua cura tui.
dent tibi caelestes, quos tu caelestibus, annos,

under whom in the shrines no senescence is felt;
     nor is it enough to bind men; he obligates the gods.
temples’ founder, temples’ holy restorer,
     may there be, I wish, among the supernals, a mutual care of you.
may the celestials grant to you the years which you to the celestials,

     proque tua maneant in statione domo.
tum quoque vicini lucus celebratur Alerni,
     qua petit aequoreas advena Thybris aquas.
ad penetrale Numae Capitolinumque Tonantem
     inque Iovis summa caeditur arce bidens.

     and for your sake may they remain at their post in your house.
then too the grove of neighboring Alernus is celebrated,
     where the newcomer Tiber seeks the sea-waters.
to the inner shrine of Numa and the Capitoline Thunderer
     and on Jove’s highest citadel a two-year-old (bidens) is slain.

saepe graves pluvias adopertus nubibus aether
concitat, aut posita sub nive terra latet.

Often the aether, covered with clouds, stirs up heavy rains,
or the earth, placed beneath snow, lies hidden.

2. A N72a

Proximus Hesperias Titan abiturus in undas
gemmea purpureis cum iuga demet equis,
illa nocte aliquis, tollens ad sidera voltum,

Next, Titan, about to depart into the Hesperian waves,
when he removes the gemmy yokes from his purpureal horses,
on that night someone, lifting his visage to the stars,

dicet 'ubi est hodie quae Lyra fulsit heri?'
dumque Lyram quaeret, medii quoque terga Leonis
in liquidas subito mersa notabit aquas.

he will say, 'where is today the Lyre which shone yesterday?'
and while he seeks the Lyre, he will also note the flanks of the middle of the Lion
suddenly sunk into the liquid waters.

3. B N78a

Quem modo caelatum stellis Delphina videbas,
     is fugiet visus nocte sequente tuos,
seu fuit occultis felix in amoribus index,
     Lesbida cum domino seu tulit ille lyram.
quod mare non novit, quae nescit Ariona tellus?
     carmine currentes ille tenebat aquas.
saepe sequens agnam lupus est a voce retentus,

The Dolphin whom just now you saw celated with stars,
     he will flee your sight on the night that follows,
whether he was a fortunate index in occult love affairs,
     or bore for his master the Lesbian lyre.
What sea does not know, what land is ignorant of Arion?
     by song he held the running waters.
often the wolf, following a lamb, has been held back by the voice,

     saepe avidum fugiens restitit agna lupum;
saepe canes leporesque umbra iacuere sub una,
     et stetit in saxo proxima cerva leae,
et sine lite loquax cum Palladis alite cornix
     sedit, et accipitri iuncta columba fuit.

     often a lamb, fleeing, has checked the greedy wolf;
often dogs and hares have lain beneath one shade,
     and on a rock a hind has stood next to a lioness,
and without quarrel the talkative crow with the bird of Pallas
     sat, and a dove has been joined to a hawk.

Cynthia saepe tuis fertur, vocalis Arion,
     tamquam fraternis obstipuisse modis.
nomen Arionium Siculas impleverat urbes
     captaque erat lyricis Ausonis ora sonis;
inde domum repetens puppem conscendit Arion,

Cynthia is often said to have been astonished at your strains, vocal Arion,
     as though at brotherly modes.
the Arionian name had filled the Sicilian cities,
     and the Ausonian shore had been captured by lyric sounds;
from there, returning home, Arion boarded a ship.

     atque ita quaesitas arte ferebat opes.
forsitan, infelix, ventos undasque timebas:
     at tibi nave tua tutius aequor erat.
namque gubernator destricto constitit ense
     ceteraque armata conscia turba manu.

     and thus he bore the wealth acquired by art.
perhaps, unlucky one, you were fearing the winds and the waves:
     but for you the sea was safer than your own ship.
for the helmsman stood with a drawn sword
     and the rest, a complicit throng, with armed hand.

100

quid tibi cum gladio? dubiam rege, navita, puppem:
     non haec sunt digitis arma tenenda tuis.
ille, metu pavidus, 'mortem non deprecor' inquit,
     'sed liceat sumpta pauca referre lyra.'
dant veniam ridentque moram: capit ille coronam,

What have you to do with a sword? Govern, sailor, the wavering stern:
     these are not arms to be held by your digits.
he, trembling with fear, says, 'I do not deprecate death,'
     'but let it be permitted to refer a few things with the lyre taken up.'
they grant leave and laugh at the delay: he takes up a crown,

105

     quae possit crines, Phoebe, decere tuos;
induerat Tyrio bis tinctam murice pallam:
     reddidit icta suos pollice chorda sonos,
flebilibus numeris veluti canentia dura
     traiectus penna tempora cantat olor.

     such as could befit your tresses, Phoebus;
he had donned a pall twice-dyed with Tyrian murex:
     the chord, struck by his thumb, gave back its own sounds,
in tearful numbers, just as, singing hard strains
     the swan, his temples pierced by the feather, sings.

110

protinus in medias ornatus desilit undas;
     spargitur impulsa caerula puppis aqua.
inde (fide maius) tergo delphina recurvo
     se memorant oneri subposuisse novo.
ille, sedens citharamque tenens, pretiumque vehendi

straightway, adorned, he leaps down into the midst of the waves;
     the blue stern is splashed by water driven against it.
thence (greater than belief) they recount that a dolphin with a recurved back
     placed itself beneath the new burden as support.
he, sitting and holding the cithara, and the fare for his conveying

115

cantat et aequoreas carmine mulcet aquas.
di pia facta vident: astris delphina recepit
Iuppiter et stellas iussit habere novem.

he sings and with song soothes the sea-waters.
the gods see pious deeds: Jupiter received the dolphin among the stars
and ordered it to have nine stars.

(4. C N) 5. D NON : NP 118a

(4. C N) 5. D NONES : NP 118a

Nunc mihi mille sonos quoque est memoratus Achilles
     vellem, Maeonide, pectus inesse tuum,
dum canimus sacras alterno carmine Nonas.
     maximus hic fastis accumulatur honor.
deficit ingenium, maioraque viribus urgent:
     haec mihi praecipuo est ore canenda dies.
quid volui demens elegis imponere tantum

Now, since Achilles has been remembered in a thousand sounds, I too would wish,
     Maeonides, that your breast were present in me,
while we sing the sacred Nones with alternate song.
     here the greatest honor is heaped upon the Fasti.
my talent fails, and greater things press than my powers:
     this day must be sung by me with a preeminent voice.
what did I, out of my mind, wish to impose so much upon elegies

125

ponderis? heroi res erat ista pedis.
sancte pater patriae, tibi plebs, tibi curia nomen
hoc dedit, hoc dedimus nos tibi nomen, eques.

of weight? that affair was for the heroic foot.
holy father of the fatherland, to you the plebs, to you the curia the name
has given; this name we too have given to you—an eques.

res tamen ante dedit: sero quoque vera tulisti
nomina, iam pridem tu pater orbis eras.

Yet the fact had given it earlier: even late you bore the true
names, you had long since been the father of the world.

130

hoc tu per terras, quod in aethere Iuppiter alto,
     nomen habes: hominum tu pater, ille deum.
Romule, concedes: facit hic tua magna tuendo
     moenia, tu dederas transilienda Remo.
te Tatius parvique Cures Caeninaque sensit,

this name you have across the lands, which Jupiter has in the high aether:
     you the father of men, he of gods.
Romulus, you will concede: this man makes your great things by defending
     your walls; you had given them to be leaped over by Remus.
Tatius and little Cures and Caenina felt you,

135

     hoc duce Romanum est solis utrumque latus;
tu breve nescioquid victae telluris habebas,
     quodcumque est alto sub Iove, Caesar habet.
tu rapis, hic castas duce se iubet esse maritas;
     tu recipis luco, reppulit ille nefas;

     with this leader, Roman is each side of the sun;
you held some brief I-know-not-what of conquered earth,
     whatever is under high Jove, Caesar holds.
you seize; this one, with such a leader, bids wives be chaste;
     you receive in a grove, he repelled nefarious wrong;

140

vis tibi grata fuit, florent sub Caesare leges;
     tu domini nomen, principis ille tenet;
te Remus incusat, veniam dedit hostibus ille;
     caelestem fecit te pater, ille patrem.
Iam puer Idaeus media tenus eminet alvo,

force was pleasing to you; under Caesar the laws flourish;
     you hold the name of lord, he that of prince;
Remus accuses you; he granted pardon to enemies;
     your father made you celestial, he made his father so.
Now the Idaean boy stands out halfway from the womb,

145

et liquidas mixto nectare fundit aquas.
en etiam, siquis Borean horrere solebat,
gaudeat: a Zephyris mollior aura venit.

and he pours out limpid waters with nectar mixed.
lo, even if anyone was wont to shudder at Boreas,
let him rejoice: from the Zephyrs a softer aura comes.

(6. E N) (7. F N) (8. G N) (9. H N vel NP) 10. A N 148a

(6. E N) (7. F N) (8. G N) (9. H N or NP) 10. A N 148a

Quintus ab aequoreis nitidum iubar extulit undis
Lucifer, et primi tempora veris erunt.
ne fallare tamen, restant tibi frigora, restant,
magnaque discedens signa reliquit hiems.

On the fifth, Lucifer has lifted his shining beam from the sea-waves,
and it will be the time of the first spring.
yet do not be deceived: frosts remain for you, they remain,
and winter, departing, has left great signs.

(11. B N) 12. C N 152a

Tertia nox veniat, Custodem protinus Ursae
aspicies geminos exseruisse pedes.
inter hamadryadas iaculatricemque Dianam

Let the third night come; at once you will behold the Keeper of the Bear
to have thrust forth his twin feet.
between the hamadryads and javelin-throwing Diana

155

     Callisto sacri pars fuit una chori.
illa, deae tangens arcus, 'quos tangimus arcus,
     este meae testes virginitatis' ait.
Cynthia laudavit, 'promissa' que 'foedera serva,
     et comitum princeps tu mihi' dixit 'eris.'

     Callisto was one part of the sacred choir.
she, touching the goddess’s bows, 'you bows which we touch,
     be witnesses of my virginity,' she said.
Cynthia praised her, and said, 'keep the promised pacts,
     and you shall be leader of my companions for me.'

160

foedera servasset, si non formosa fuisset:
     cavit mortales, de Iove crimen habet.
mille feras Phoebe silvis venata redibat
     aut plus aut medium sole tenente diem;
ut tetigit lucum (densa niger ilice lucus,

she would have kept the pacts, if she had not been well‑formed:
     she shunned mortals; from Jove she has the crime.
Phoebe, having hunted, would return from the woods with a thousand wild beasts
     either more, or with the sun holding the middle of the day;
when she touched the grove (a grove black with dense holm‑oak,

165

     in medio gelidae fons erat altus aquae),
'hic' ait 'in silva, virgo Tegeaea, lavemur';
     erubuit falso virginis illa sono.
dixerat et nymphis. nymphae velamina ponunt;
     hanc pudet, et tardae dat mala signa morae.

     (in the midst there was a deep fount of gelid water),
'Here,' she says, 'in the woods, Tegean maiden, let us bathe';
     she blushed at the false sound of 'virgin'.
She had spoken also to the nymphs. The nymphs lay aside their veils;
     she is ashamed, and gives ill signs by her tardy delay.

170

exuerat tunicas; uteri manifesta tumore
     proditur indicio ponderis ipsa suo.
cui dea 'virgineos, periura Lycaoni, coetus
     desere, nec castas pollue' dixit 'aquas.'
luna novum decies implerat cornibus orbem:

she had stripped off her tunics; by the swelling of her womb, manifest,     she herself is betrayed by the evidence of her own weight.
to whom the goddess said, 'abandon the maidenly bands, perjured daughter of Lycaon,     and do not pollute the chaste waters.'
the moon had ten times filled the new orb with her horns:

175

quae fuerat virgo credita, mater erat.
laesa furit Iuno, formam mutatque puellae:
quid facis? invito est pectore passa Iovem.

she who had been believed a virgin was a mother.
Juno, offended, rages, and changes the girl’s form:
what are you doing? with an unwilling heart she suffered Jove.

utque ferae vidit turpes in paelice voltus,
'huius in amplexus, Iuppiter,' inquit 'eas.'

and when she saw the foul features of a beast in the paramour,
'into this one's embraces, Jupiter,' she said, 'go.'

180

ursa per incultos errabat squalida montes
     quae fuerat summo nuper amata Iovi.
iam tria lustra puer furto conceptus agebat,
     cum mater nato est obvia facta suo.
illa quidem, tamquam cognosceret, adstitit amens,

the squalid she-bear was wandering through uncultivated mountains
     who had lately been loved by highest Jove.
already three lustra the boy, conceived by stealth, was passing,
     when the mother met her own son.
she indeed, as though she recognized him, stood by, out of her mind,

185

     et gemuit: gemitus verba parentis erant.
hanc puer ignarus iaculo fixisset acuto
     ni foret in superas raptus uterque domos.
signa propinqua micant: prior est, quam dicimus Arcton,
     Arctophylax formam terga sequentis habet.

     and she groaned: the groans were the words of a parent.
the boy, unknowing, would have transfixed her with a sharp javelin
     had not each been snatched into the supernal homes.
the neighboring constellations gleam: the first is she whom we call the Bear,
     Arctophylax has the form of one following her back.

190

saevit adhuc canamque rogat Saturnia Tethyn
Maenaliam tactis ne lavet Arcton aquis.

Saturnia still rages and asks hoary Tethys
that the Maenalian Arctos not bathe in the waters she touches.

13. D EID : NP192a

13. DAY OF THE IDES : NP192a

Idibus agrestis fumant altaria Fauni
hic ubi discretas insula rumpit aquas.
haec fuit illa dies in qua Veientibus armis

On the Ides the rustic altars of Faunus smoke
here where the island breaks the divided waters.
this was that day on which by the Veientine arms

195

     ter centum Fabii ter cecidere duo.
una domus vires et onus susceperat urbis:
     sumunt gentiles arma professa manus.
egreditur castris miles generosus ab isdem,
     e quis dux fieri quilibet aptus erat.

     thrice a hundred Fabii, thrice two fell.
one house had undertaken the forces and the burden of the city:
     the clansmen take up arms, a professed band.
from those same camps the noble soldier goes forth,
     of whom anyone was apt to become a leader.

200

Carmentis portae dextro est via proxima iano:
     ire per hanc noli, quisquis es; omen habet.
illa fama refert Fabios exisse trecentos:
     porta vacat culpa, sed tamen omen habet.
ut celeri passu Cremeram tetigere rapacem

On the right of Janus, by the Carmental Gate, there is a way close by:
     do not go through this, whoever you are; it has an omen.
tradition reports that three hundred Fabii went out there:
     the gate is free from fault, but nevertheless it has an omen.
as with swift step they reached rapacious Cremera

205

     (turbidus hibernis ille fluebat aquis),
castra loco ponunt: destrictis ensibus ipsi
     Tyrrhenum valido Marte per agmen eunt;
non aliter quam cum Libyca de gente leones
     invadunt sparsos lata per arva greges.

     (turbid with wintry waters it was flowing),
they pitch camp on the spot: with swords drawn, they themselves
     go through the Tyrrhenian battle-line with mighty Mars;
no otherwise than when lions of the Libyan nation
     invade the flocks scattered across the broad fields.

210

diffugiunt hostes inhonestaque volnera tergo
     accipiunt: Tusco sanguine terra rubet.
sic iterum, sic saepe cadunt; ubi vincere aperte
     non datur, insidias armaque tecta parant.
campus erat, campi claudebant ultima colles

The enemies scatter and receive shameful wounds in the back;
     the earth reddens with Tuscan blood.
Thus again, thus often they fall; when it is not granted to conquer openly,
     they prepare ambushes and hidden arms.
There was a plain, the hills were enclosing the plain’s farthest bounds.

215

     silvaque montanas occulere apta feras.
in medio paucos armentaque rara relinquunt,
     cetera virgultis abdita turba latet.
ecce velut torrens undis pluvialibus auctus
     aut nive, quae Zephyro victa tepente fluit,

     and a wood apt to conceal mountain beasts.
in the midst they leave a few and sparse herds,
     the rest of the throng, hidden in the brushwood, lies concealed.
lo, just as a torrent increased by pluvial waves
     or by snow, which, conquered by the tepid Zephyr, flows,

220

per sata perque vias fertur nec, ut ante solebat,
     riparum clausas margine finit aquas,
sic Fabii vallem latis discursibus implent,
     quodque vident sternunt, nec metus alter inest.
quo ruitis, generosa domus? male creditis hosti:

through the sown fields and along the roads it is borne, nor, as it used before,
     does the margin of the banks bound the waters enclosed,
thus the Fabii fill the valley with broad sweeps,
     and whatever they see they lay low, and no other fear is within.
whither do you rush, noble house? you ill trust the foe:

225

simplex nobilitas, perfida tela cave.
fraude perit virtus: in apertos undique campos
prosiliunt hostes et latus omne tenent.
quid faciant pauci contra tot milia fortes?

simple nobility, beware treacherous weapons.
by fraud virtue perishes: into open fields on every side
the enemies leap forth and hold every flank.
what can a few brave men do against so many thousands?

quidve, quod in misero tempore restet, adest?

or what, which remains in a miserable time, is present?

230

sicut aper longe silvis latratibus actus
     fulmineo celeres dissipat ore canes,
mox tamen ipse perit, sic non moriuntur inulti,
     volneraque alterna dantque feruntque manu.
una dies Fabios ad bellum miserat omnes,

just as a boar, driven far through the forests by barkings,
     with lightning-swift mouth scatters the swift hounds,
soon, however, he himself perishes; so they do not die unavenged,
     and with alternating wounds they both give and bear by hand.
one day had sent all the Fabii to war,

235

     ad bellum missos perdidit una dies.
ut tamen Herculeae superessent semina gentis,
     credibile est ipsos consuluisse deos:
nam puer impubes et adhuc non utilis armis
     unus de Fabia gente relictus erat;                240
scilicet ut posses olim tu, Maxime, nasci,
     cui res cunctando restituenda foret.

     one day destroyed those dispatched to war.
yet that the seeds of the Herculean gens might survive,
     it is credible that the gods themselves took counsel:
for a boy underage and as yet not useful for arms
     one from the Fabian gens had been left behind;                240
evidently so that someday you, Maximus, could be born,
     for whom the state would have to be restored by delaying.

14. E N242a

Continuata loco tria sidera, Corvus et Anguis
et medius Crater inter utrumque, iacent.
Idibus illa latent, oriuntur nocte sequenti;

Contiguous in position three constellations, Corvus and Anguis
and the middle Crater between the two, lie.
On the Ides they are hidden, they rise on the following night;

245

     quae, tibi, cur tria sint tam sociata, canam.
forte Iovi Phoebus festum sollemne parabat
     (non faciet longas fabula nostra moras):
'i, mea' dixit 'avis, ne quid pia sacra moretur,
     et tenuem vivis fontibus adfer aquam.'

     I will sing to you why the three are so associated.
by chance Phoebus was preparing for Jove a solemn festival
     (our fable will not make long delays):
'Go, my bird,' he said, 'lest anything delay the pious rites,
     and bring a little water from living fountains.'

250

corvus inauratum pedibus cratera recurvis
     tollit et aerium pervolat altus iter.
stabat adhuc duris ficus densissima pomis:
     temptat eam rostro, non erat apta legi;
immemor imperii sedisse sub arbore fertur,

the raven lifts with his recurved feet a gilded krater,
     and, high, flies across the aerial path.
a fig tree still stood, very dense with hard fruits:
     he tests it with his beak; it was not fit to be gathered;
unmindful of the command, he is said to have sat beneath the tree,

255

     dum fierent tarda dulcia poma mora.
iamque satur nigris longum rapit unguibus hydrum,
     ad dominumque redit, fictaque verba refert:
'hic mihi causa morae, vivarum obsessor aquarum:
     hic tenuit fontes officiumque meum.'

     while the sweet fruits were being made tardy by delay.
and now, sated, he snatches a long water-snake with black talons,
     and returns to his master and reports feigned words:
"this was for me the cause of delay, the besieger of the living waters:
     this one held the springs and my office."

260

'addis' ait 'culpae mendacia' Phoebus 'et audes
     fatidicum verbis fallere velle deum?
at tibi, dum lactens haerebit in arbore ficus,
     de nullo gelidae fonte bibentur aquae.'
dixit, et, antiqui monimenta perennia facti,

'you add,' says Phoebus, 'lies to your fault, and do you dare
     to wish to deceive with words the fatidic god?
but for you, while a milky fig shall cling on the tree,
     waters shall be drunk from no cold spring.'
he spoke, and, perennial monuments of the ancient deed,

265

Anguis, avis, Crater sidera iuncta micant.

The Serpent, the Bird, the Crater—joined constellations—shine.

15. F LVPER : NP266a

15. F LUPERCALIA : NP266a

Tertia post Idus nudos aurora Lupercos
aspicit, et Fauni sacra bicornis eunt.
dicite, Pierides, sacrorum quae sit origo,
attigerint Latias unde petita domos.

The third day after the Ides the dawn beholds the naked Luperci,
and the rites of the two-horned Faunus go forth.
say, Pierides, what the origin of the rites may be,
whence, sought, they have reached the Latian homes.

270

Pana deum pecoris veteres coluisse feruntur
     Arcades; Arcadiis plurimus ille iugis.
testis erit Pholoe, testes Stymphalides undae,
     quique citis Ladon in mare currit aquis,
cinctaque pinetis nemoris iuga Nonacrini,

Pan, the god of flocks, the ancients are said to have worshiped,
     the Arcadians; he is most at home upon Arcadian ridges.
Pholoe will be witness, witnesses the Stymphalian waters,
     and Ladon, who with swift waters runs into the sea,
and the ridges of the Nonacrian forest, girdled with pinewoods,

275

     altaque Tricrene Parrhasiaeque nives.
Pan erat armenti, Pan illic numen equarum,
     munus ob incolumes ille ferebat oves.
transtulit Euander silvestria numina secum:
     hic, ubi nunc urbs est, tum locus urbis erat.

     and the high Tricrene and the Parrhasian snows.
Pan was the divinity of the herd, Pan there the numen of the mares,
     he would bear a gift on account of the sheep unharmed.
Evander transferred the woodland numina with him:
     here, where now a city is, then there was a place for a city.

280

inde deum colimus devectaque sacra Pelasgis:
     flamen ad haec prisco more Dialis erat.
cur igitur currant, et cur (sic currere mos est)
     nuda ferant posita corpora veste, rogas?
ipse deus velox discurrere gaudet in altis

thence we worship the god and the sacred rites conveyed by the Pelasgians:
     for these, by ancient custom, there was a Flamen Dialis.
why therefore they run, and why (thus to run is the custom)
     they bear their bodies naked, the garment set aside, you ask?
the god himself, swift, rejoices to run about on the heights

285

     montibus, et subitas concipit ipse fugas:
ipse deus nudus nudos iubet ire ministros;
     nec satis ad cursus commoda vestis erit.
ante Iovem genitum terras habuisse feruntur
     Arcades, et luna gens prior illa fuit.

     on the mountains, and he himself conceives sudden flights:
the god himself, naked, bids his ministers go naked;
     nor will a garment be sufficiently commodious for courses.
before Jove was begotten, the lands are said to have been held
     by the Arcadians; and that race was prior to the moon.

290

vita feris similis, nullos agitata per usus:
     artis adhuc expers et rude volgus erat.
pro domibus frondes norant, pro frugibus herbas;
     nectar erat palmis hausta duabus aqua.
nullus anhelabat sub adunco vomere taurus,

life similar to wild beasts, driven by no uses:
     the common crowd was still without art and rude.
instead of houses they knew leaves, instead of crops herbs;
     water, drawn with two palms, was nectar.
no bull panted beneath the hooked ploughshare,

295

     nulla sub imperio terra colentis erat:
nullus adhuc erat usus equi; se quisque ferebat:
     ibat ovis lana corpus amicta sua.
sub Iove durabant et corpora nuda gerebant,
     docta graves imbres et tolerare Notos.

     no land was under the dominion of a cultivator:
there was as yet no use of the horse; each one bore himself:
     the sheep went, its body clothed with its own wool.
they endured under Jove and bore naked bodies,
     taught to tolerate heavy rains and the South Winds.

300

nunc quoque detecti referunt monimenta vetusti
     moris, et antiquas testificantur opes.
Sed cur praecipue fugiat velamina Faunus,
     traditur antiqui fabula plena ioci.
forte comes dominae iuvenis Tirynthius ibat:

even now the uncovered recall monuments of ancient custom
     and bear witness to ancient wealth.
But why Faunus especially shuns the veils,
     a tale full of ancient jest is handed down.
by chance the Tirynthian youth, companion of his mistress, was going:

305

     vidit ab excelso Faunus utrumque iugo;
vidit et incaluit, 'montana' que 'numina', dixit
     'nil mihi vobiscum est: hic meus ardor erit.'
ibat odoratis umeros perfusa capillis
     Maeonis, aurato conspicienda sinu:

     Faunus saw them both from a lofty ridge;
he saw and grew hot, and said, 'mountain divinities,'
     'I have nothing to do with you: here will be my ardor.'
She was going, her shoulders drenched with perfumed hair
     the Maeonian woman, conspicuous to behold with a gilded bosom:

310

aurea pellebant tepidos umbracula soles,
     quae tamen Herculeae sustinuere manus.
iam Bacchi nemus et Tmoli vineta tenebat,
     Hesperos et fusco roscidus ibat equo.
antra subit tofis laqueata et pumice vivo;

golden sunshades were driving off the tepid suns,
     which, however, Herculean hands sustained.
by now he was holding the grove of Bacchus and the vineyards of Tmolus,
     and Hesperus too, dewy, was going on his dusky horse.
he enters caves coffered with tufa and living pumice;

315

     garrulus in primo limine rivus erat.
dumque parant epulas potandaque vina ministri,
     cultibus Alciden instruit illa suis:
dat tenues tunicas Gaetulo murice tinctas,
     dat teretem zonam, qua modo cincta fuit.

     a garrulous stream was at the very threshold.
and while the ministers prepare the banquets and the wines to be drunk,
     she equips Alcides with her own adornments:
she gives delicate tunics dyed with Gaetulian murex,
     she gives a sleek girdle, with which she had just been girt.

320

ventre minor zona est; tunicarum vincla relaxat,
     ut posset magnas exseruisse manus.
fregerat armillas non illa ad bracchia factas,
     scindebant magni vincula parva pedes.
ipsa capit clavamque gravem spoliumque leonis

the belt is smaller than the belly; she loosens the tunics’ fastenings,
     so that he could have bared his great hands.
he had broken the armlets not made for those arms,
     the great feet were rending the small bindings.
she herself takes up both the heavy club and the lion’s spoil

325

     conditaque in pharetra tela minora sua.
sic epulis functi sic dant sua corpora somno,
     et positis iuxta secubuere toris:
causa, repertori vitis quia sacra parabant,
     quae facerent pure, cum foret orta dies.

     and her smaller missiles stored in the quiver.
thus, with banquets performed, thus they give their bodies to sleep,
     and, with couches placed side by side, they lay down together:
the cause, because they were preparing sacred rites for the discoverer of the vine,
     which they might perform purely, when day had arisen.

330

noctis erat medium. quid non amor improbus audet?
     roscida per tenebras Faunus ad antra venit:
utque videt comites somno vinoque solutos,
     spem capit in dominis esse soporis idem.
intrat et huc illuc temerarius errat adulter,

It was the middle of the night. What does improper love not dare?
     through the dewy darkness Faunus came to the caves:
and when he sees the companions loosened by sleep and wine,
     he takes hope that the same slumber is upon the masters.
he enters and, here and there, the rash adulterer wanders,

335

     et praefert cautas subsequiturque manus.
venerat ad strati captata cubilia lecti,
     et felix prima sorte futurus erat;
ut tetigit fulvi saetis hirsuta leonis
     vellera, pertimuit sustinuitque manum,

     and he puts forth cautious hands and follows after them.
he had come, by groping, to the couches of the spread bed,
     and was going to be happy in the first chance;
as he touched the tawny lion’s fleece, shaggy with bristles,
     he grew afraid and held back his hand,

340

attonitusque metu rediit, ut saepe viator
     turbatum viso rettulit angue pedem.
inde tori qui iunctus erat velamina tangit
     mollia, mendaci decipiturque nota.
ascendit spondaque sibi propiore recumbit,

and, thunderstruck with fear, he drew back, as often a wayfarer
     has pulled back his disturbed step at the sight of a serpent.
then he touches the coverings of the couch that was adjoined,
     soft, and is deceived by a mendacious mark.
he ascends and reclines on the side of the bed nearer to himself,

345

     et tumidum cornu durius inguen erat.
interea tunicas ora subducit ab ima:
     horrebant densis aspera crura pilis.
cetera temptantem subito Tirynthius heros
     reppulit: e summo decidit ille toro.

     and the groin was harder than a tumid horn.
meanwhile he draws up the borders of the tunics from the bottom:
     his rough legs bristled with dense hairs.
as he tried the rest, suddenly the Tirynthian hero repelled him: he fell from the top of the couch.

350

fit sonus, inclamat comites et lumina poscit
     Maeonis: inlatis ignibus acta patent.
ille gemit lecto graviter deiectus ab alto,
     membraque de dura vix sua tollit humo.
ridet et Alcides et qui videre iacentem,

a sound arises; the Maeonian calls out to her companions and demands lights;
     with fires brought in, the doings lie open.
he groans, heavily thrown from the high couch,
     and scarcely lifts his limbs from the hard ground.
both Alcides laughs and those who saw him lying,

355

     ridet amatorem Lyda puella suum.
veste deus lusus fallentes lumina vestes
     non amat, et nudos ad sua sacra vocat.
Adde peregrinis causas, mea Musa, Latinas,
     inque suo noster pulvere currat equus.

     the Lydian girl laughs at her lover.
by vesture the god, tricked—the garments that deceive the eyes—
     does not love, and he calls the naked to his sacra.
Add Latin causes to the peregrine, my Muse, and let our horse run in his own dust.

360

cornipedi Fauno caesa de more capella
     venit ad exiguas turba vocata dapes.
dumque sacerdotes veribus transuta salignis
     exta parant, medias sole tenente vias,
Romulus et frater pastoralisque iuventus

a she-goat, slain according to custom for the horn-footed Faunus,
     the throng, summoned, comes to the scant viands.
and while the priests, the entrails run through with willow spits,
     prepare the entrails, the sun holding the middle ways,
Romulus and his brother and the pastoral youth

365

     solibus et campo corpora nuda dabant.
vectibus et iaculis et misso pondere saxi
     bracchia per lusus experienda dabant:
pastor ab excelso 'per devia rura iuvencos,
     Romule, praedones, et Reme', dixit 'agunt.'

     to the suns and the plain they were giving their naked bodies.
with bars and javelins and with the hurled weight of a stone
     they were offering their arms to be tested through games:
a shepherd from on high, “through trackless fields the young bulls,
     Romulus, brigands, and Remus,” he said, “are driving.”

370

longum erat armari: diversis exit uterque
     partibus, occursu praeda recepta Remi.
ut rediit, veribus stridentia detrahit exta
     atque ait 'haec certe non nisi victor edet.'
dicta facit, Fabiique simul. venit inritus illuc

it would have taken long to arm: each goes out to different parts,
     with Remus’s booty recovered by the encounter.
when he returned, he pulls down from the spits the entrails hissing
     and says, 'surely these will be eaten by none but a victor.'
he does what he says, and the Fabii likewise. He comes there in vain.

375

     Romulus et mensas ossaque nuda videt.
risit, et indoluit Fabios potuisse Remumque
     vincere, Quintilios non potuisse suos.
forma manet facti: posito velamine currunt,
     et memorem famam quod bene cessit habet.

     Romulus sees the tables and the bare bones.
he laughed, and he grieved that the Fabii and Remus had been able
     to conquer, and that the Quintilii, his own, had not been able.
the form of the deed remains: with the covering set aside they run,
     and what turned out well holds commemorative fame.

380

Forsitan et quaeras cur sit locus ille Lupercal,
     quaeve diem tali nomine causa notet.
Silvia Vestalis caelestia semina partu
     ediderat, patruo regna tenente suo;
is iubet auferri parvos et in amne necari:

Perhaps you also ask why that place is the Lupercal,
     and what cause marks the day with such a name.
Silvia the Vestal had brought forth by childbirth celestial seed,
     her own paternal uncle holding the kingdoms;
he orders the little ones to be carried off and to be killed in the river:

385

     quid facis? ex istis Romulus alter erit.
iussa recusantes peragunt lacrimosa ministri
     (flent tamen) et geminos in loca sola ferunt.
Albula, quem Tiberim mersus Tiberinus in undis
     reddidit, hibernis forte tumebat aquis:

     what are you doing? from these there will be another Romulus.
the attendants, refusing, execute the tearful orders
     (they weep, however) and carry the twins into lonely places.
Albula, which Tiberinus, drowned in the waves, made "Tiber"
     was by chance swelling with wintry waters:

390

hic, ubi nunc fora sunt, lintres errare videres,
     quaque iacent valles, Maxime Circe, tuae.
huc ubi venerunt (neque enim procedere possunt
     longius), ex illis unus et alter ait:
'at quam sunt similes! at quam formosus uterque!

here, where now the fora are, you would see skiffs wander,
     and where your valleys lie, Greatest Circus.
hither when they came (for they could not proceed
     farther), one and another of them says:
'Ah how alike they are! Ah how handsome each!'

395

     plus tamen ex illis iste vigoris habet.
si genus arguitur voltu, nisi fallit imago,
     nescioquem in vobis suspicor esse deum.
at siquis vestrae deus esset originis auctor,
     in tam praecipiti tempore ferret opem:

     yet nevertheless this one has more vigor than those.
if lineage is argued by the visage, unless the image deceives,
     I suspect someone among you to be a god.
but if any god were the author of your origin,
     in so precipitous a time he would bring aid:

400

ferret opem certe, si non ope, mater, egeret,
     quae facta est uno mater et orba die.
nata simul, moritura simul, simul ite sub undas
     corpora.' desierat, deposuitque sinu.
vagierunt ambo pariter: sensisse putares;

he would surely bring aid, if the mother were not in need of aid,
     who has been made a mother and bereft in a single day.
born together, about to die together, together go beneath the waves
     bodies.' She had ceased, and laid them down from her bosom.
both wailed alike together: you would have thought they had sensed it;

405

     hi redeunt udis in sua tecta genis.
sustinet impositos summa cavus alveus unda:
     heu quantum fati parva tabella tulit!
alveus in limo silvis adpulsus opacis
     paulatim fluvio deficiente sedet.

     they return into their own roofs with cheeks wet.
the hollow vessel sustains the ones set upon it on the topmost wave:
     alas, how much fate the small board bore!
the vessel, driven against the shadowy woods, in the mud
     little by little as the river is ebbing, settles.

410

arbor erat: remanent vestigia, quaeque vocatur
     Rumina nunc ficus Romula ficus erat.
venit ad expositos, mirum, lupa feta gemellos:
     quis credat pueris non nocuisse feram?
non nocuisse parum est, prodest quoque. quos lupa nutrit,

There was a tree: its traces remain, and the fig which is now called Rumina was the Romulean fig.
     who would believe the wild beast did not harm the boys?
there came to the exposed twin boys, a marvel, a she-wolf newly whelped:
     who would believe the wild beast did not harm the boys?
Not to have harmed is too little; she even helps. Those whom the she-wolf nourishes,

415

perdere cognatae sustinuere manus.
constitit et cauda teneris blanditur alumnis,
et fingit lingua corpora bina sua.
Marte satos scires: timor abfuit.

her kindred hands held back from destroying.
she stood still and with her tail she fawns upon the tender alumni,
and with her tongue she fashions the twin bodies as her own.
You would know them as born of Mars: fear was absent.

ubera ducunt
nec sibi promissi lactis aluntur ope.

they draw the udders
nor are they nourished for themselves by the aid of the promised milk.

420

illa loco nomen fecit, locus ipse Lupercis;
magna dati nutrix praemia lactis habet.
Quid vetat Arcadio dictos a monte Lupercos?
Faunus in Arcadia templa Lycaeus habet.

she gave the place its name; the place itself gave a name to the Luperci;
the nurse has great rewards for the milk she gave.
What forbids that the Luperci be said to be named from an Arcadian mountain?
Lycaean Faunus has temples in Arcadia.

Nupta, quid exspectas? non tu pollentibus herbis

Bride, what are you waiting for? Do you not with potent herbs

425

     nec prece nec magico carmine mater eris;
excipe fecundae patienter verbera dextrae,
     iam socer optatum nomen habebit avi.
nam fuit illa dies, dura cum sorte maritae
     reddebant uteri pignora rara sui.

     neither by prayer nor by a magical incantation will you be a mother;
receive patiently the lashes of a fertile right hand,
     soon the father-in-law will have the desired name of grandsire.
for it was that day, when with the hard lot of a married woman
     the wombs were giving back their own rare pledges.

430

'quid mihi' clamabat 'prodest rapuisse Sabinas'
     Romulus (hoc illo sceptra tenente fuit),
'si mea non vires, sed bellum iniuria fecit?
     utilius fuerat non habuisse nurus.'
monte sub Esquilio multis incaeduus annis

'What profit to me,' he was shouting, 'to have snatched the Sabine women'
     Romulus (this was while that man was holding the scepters),
'if not my strength, but an injury made the war?
     It would have been more useful not to have had daughters-in-law.'
under the Esquiline Mount, uncleared for many years

435

     Iunonis magnae nomine lucus erat.
huc ubi venerunt, pariter nuptaeque virique
     suppliciter posito procubuere genu:
cum subito motae tremuere cacumina silvae,
     et dea per lucos mira locuta suos.

     There was a grove in the name of great Juno.
hither when they came, equally both brides and men
     in supplication, with the knee set down, they lay prostrate:
when suddenly, set in motion, the treetops of the forest trembled,
     and the goddess through her groves spoke marvels.

440

'Italidas matres' inquit 'sacer hircus inito.'
     obstipuit dubio territa turba sono.
augur erat, nomen longis intercidit annis:
     nuper ab Etrusca venerat exul humo;
ille caprum mactat: iussae sua terga puellae

'Italian mothers,' he says, 'let the sacred he-goat enter.'
     the terrified crowd stood agape at the ambiguous sound.
he was an augur; his name has perished in the long years:
     lately he had come as an exile from Etruscan soil;
he sacrifices a he-goat: the girls, when ordered, present their own backs

445

     pellibus exsectis percutienda dabant.
luna resumebat decimo nova cornua motu,
     virque pater subito nuptaque mater erat.
gratia Lucinae: dedit haec tibi nomina lucus,
     aut quia principium tu, dea, lucis habes.

     they gave their backs to be struck with skins cut out.
the new moon was resuming her horns at the tenth motion,
     and the man was suddenly a father and the bride a mother.
thanks to Lucina: the grove gave you these names,
     or because you, goddess, hold the beginning of light.

450

parce, precor, gravidis, facilis Lucina, puellis,
     maturumque utero molliter aufer onus.
Orta dies fuerit, tu desine credere ventis;
     perdidit illius temporis aura fidem.
flamina non constant, et sex reserata diebus

spare, I pray, the pregnant girls, gracious Lucina,
     and gently remove the mature burden from the womb.
When the day has arisen, you cease to credit the winds;
     the breeze of that time has lost credence.
the blasts are not constant, and, unlocked for 6 days

455

     carceris Aeolii ianua lata patet.
iam levis obliqua subsedit Aquarius urna:
     proximus aetherios excipe, Piscis, equos.
te memorant fratremque tuum (nam iuncta micatis
     signa) duos tergo sustinuisse deos.                460
terribilem quondam fugiens Typhona Dione,
     tum, cum pro caelo Iuppiter arma tulit,
venit ad Euphraten comitata Cupidine parvo,
     inque Palaestinae margine sedit aquae.

     the wide gate of Aeolus’ prison stands open.
now the light urn of Aquarius has settled down obliquely:
     next receive, Pisces, the aetherial horses.
they recount that you and your brother (for as joined signs you glitter)
     sustained two gods upon your back.                460
once fleeing the terrible Typhon, Dione,
     then, when Jupiter bore arms for heaven,
came to the Euphrates, accompanied by little Cupid,
     and sat on the margin of the Palestinian water.

populus et cannae riparum summa tenebant,

poplars and reeds held the tops of the banks,

465

     spemque dabant salices hos quoque posse tegi.
dum latet, insonuit vento nemus: illa timore
     pallet, et hostiles credit adesse manus,
utque sinu tenuit natum, 'succurrite, nymphae,
     et dis auxilium ferte duobus' ait.

     and the willows gave hope that these too might be covered.
while she hides, the grove resounded with the wind: she, with fear
     grows pale, and believes hostile hands to be present,
and as she held her son to her bosom, 'succor us, nymphs,
     and, gods, bring help to the two,' she says.

470

nec mora, prosiluit. pisces subiere gemelli:
pro quo nunc, cernis, sidera nomen habent.
inde nefas ducunt genus hoc imponere mensis
nec violant timidi piscibus ora Syri.

No delay: she leapt forth. The twin fishes went beneath; in return for which, you see, the stars now have their name.
From that they deem it nefas to set this kind upon tables nor do the timid Syrians violate their mouths with fishes.

(16. G EN) 17. H QVIR : NP 474a

Proxima lux vacua est; at tertia dicta Quirino,
     qui tenet hoc nomen (Romulus ante fuit),
sive quod hasta 'curis' priscis est dicta Sabinis
     (bellicus a telo venit in astra deus);
sive suum regi nomen posuere Quirites,
     seu quia Romanis iunxerat ille Cures.

The next light is vacant; but the third is said for Quirinus,
     who holds this name (formerly he was Romulus),
whether because the spear was called “curis” by the ancient Sabines
     (the warlike god from the weapon came into the stars);
or because the Quirites placed their own name upon the king,
     or because that man had joined Cures to the Romans.

480

nam pater armipotens postquam nova moenia vidit,
     multaque Romulea bella peracta manu,
'Iuppiter', inquit 'habet Romana potentia vires:
     sanguinis officio non eget illa mei.
redde patri natum: quamvis intercidit alter,

for the father mighty in arms, after he saw the new walls,
     and many Romulean wars accomplished by his hand,
'Iupiter,' he says, 'Roman power has strength:
     it does not need the service of my blood.
give back the son to his father: although the other has perished,

485

     pro se proque Remo qui mihi restat erit.
"unus erit quem tu tolles in caerula caeli"
     tu mihi dixisti: sint rata dicta Iovis.'
Iuppiter adnuerat: nutu tremefactus uterque
     est polus, et caeli pondera novit Atlas.                490
est locus, antiqui Caprae dixere paludem:
     forte tuis illic, Romule, iura dabas.
sol fugit, et removent subeuntia nubila caelum,
     et gravis effusis decidit imber aquis.

     the one who remains to me will stand for himself and for Remus.
"there will be one whom you will lift into the cerulean of heaven"
     you said to me: let the words of Jove be ratified.'
Jupiter had nodded assent: at his nod each
     pole trembled, and Atlas knew the weights of heaven.                490
there is a place, the ancients called the Caprae Marsh:
     by chance there, Romulus, you were giving laws to your own.
the sun flees, and the clouds coming up remove the sky,
     and a heavy shower falls with waters poured out.

hinc tonat, hinc missis abrumpitur ignibus aether:

From here it thunders, from here the aether is broken asunder by dispatched fires:

495

     fit fuga, rex patriis astra petebat equis.
luctus erat, falsaeque patres in crimine caedis,
     haesissetque animis forsitan illa fides;
sed Proculus Longa veniebat Iulius Alba,
     lunaque fulgebat, nec facis usus erat,

     there is flight; the king was seeking the stars with his ancestral horses.
there was grief, and the Fathers under the false charge of the crime of murder,
     and perhaps that belief would have stuck in their minds;
but Proculus Julius was coming from Alba Longa,
     and the moon was shining, nor was there use of a torch,

500

cum subito motu saepes tremuere sinistrae:
     rettulit ille gradus, horrueruntque comae.
pulcher et humano maior trabeaque decorus
     Romulus in media visus adesse via
et dixisse simul 'prohibe lugere Quirites,

when with sudden motion the hedges on the left trembled:
     he drew back his steps, and his hair bristled.
fair and greater than human, and adorned with the trabea,
     Romulus seemed to be present in the middle of the way
and at the same time to have said, 'prohibit mourning, Quirites,'

505

     nec violent lacrimis numina nostra suis:
tura ferant placentque novum pia turba Quirinum,
     et patrias artes militiamque colant.'
iussit et in tenues oculis evanuit auras;
     convocat hic populos iussaque verba refert.

     nor let them violate our numina with their tears:
let them bring incense, and let the pious crowd please the new Quirinus,
     and let them cultivate their ancestral arts and the militia.'
He ordered, and before their eyes he vanished into the thin airs;
     this man calls together the peoples and reports the ordered words.

510

templa deo fiunt: collis quoque dictus ab illo est,
     et referunt certi sacra paterna dies.
Lux quoque cur eadem Stultorum festa vocetur
     accipe: parva quidem causa, sed apta, subest.
non habuit doctos tellus antiqua colonos:

temples are made for the god: the hill too is named from him,
     and fixed days bring back the ancestral sacred rites.
Also, why the same day is called the Feast of Fools, learn:
     a small cause indeed, yet a fitting one, lies beneath.
the ancient earth did not have learned colonists:

515

     lassabant agiles aspera bella viros.
plus erat in gladio quam curvo laudis aratro:
     neglectus domino pauca ferebat ager.
farra tamen veteres iaciebant, farra metebant,
     primitias Cereri farra resecta dabant:

     harsh wars were wearing out agile men.
there was more praise in the sword than in the curved plow:
     the field, neglected by its master, was yielding little.
yet the ancients were sowing spelt, they were reaping spelt,
     they gave to Ceres the first-fruits, the reaped spelt:

520

usibus admoniti flammis torrenda dederunt,
     multaque peccato damna tulere suo;
nam modo verrebant nigras pro farre favillas,
     nunc ipsas ignes corripuere casas.
facta dea est Fornax: laeti Fornace coloni

admonished by their uses, they gave to the flames what was to be parched,
     and they bore many losses through their own fault;
for just now they were sweeping black cinders instead of spelt,
     now the fires have seized the cottages themselves.
Fornax was made a goddess: the farmers rejoice in Fornax.

525

     orant ut fruges temperet illa suas.
curio legitimis nunc Fornacalia verbis
     maximus indicit nec stata sacra facit:
inque foro, multa circum pendente tabella,
     signatur certa curia quaeque nota,

     they pray that she temper their grain.
now the curio maximus, with legitimate words, proclaims the Fornacalia
     and does not perform fixed rites:
and in the forum, with many a tablet hanging around,
     each curia is designated by a definite sign,

530

stultaque pars populi quae sit sua curia nescit,
sed facit extrema sacra relata die.

and the foolish part of the populace does not know which is its own curia,
but performs the final sacred rites on the deferred day.

(18. A C) (19. B C) (20. C C) 21. D FERAL : F vel FP 532a

(18. A C) (19. B C) (20. C C) 21. D FERAL : F or FP 532a

Est honor et tumulis, animas placare paternas,
parvaque in exstructas munera ferre pyras.
parva petunt manes: pietas pro divite grata est

There is honor even for the tumuli, to placate the paternal spirits,
and to carry small gifts onto the heaped-up pyres.
the Manes seek small things: piety is pleasing in place of the rich (gift)

535

     munere; non avidos Styx habet ima deos.
tegula porrectis satis est velata coronis
     et sparsae fruges parcaque mica salis,
inque mero mollita Ceres violaeque solutae:
     haec habeat media testa relicta via.

     as an offering; the deep Styx has gods not avid.
a tile veiled with garlands stretched forth is sufficient
     and scattered grains and a sparing crumb of salt,
and Ceres softened in unmixed wine and violets unbound:
     let a potsherd left in the middle of the way hold these.

540

nec maiora veto, sed et his placabilis umbra est:
     adde preces positis et sua verba focis.
hunc morem Aeneas, pietatis idoneus auctor,
     attulit in terras, iuste Latine, tuas.
ille patris Genio sollemnia dona ferebat:

nor do I forbid greater things, but even with these the shade is placable:
     add prayers too, and their proper words, to the hearths set in place.
this custom Aeneas, an apt author of piety,
     brought into your lands, just Latinus.
he would bring solemn gifts to his father’s Genius:

545

     hinc populi ritus edidicere pios.
at quondam, dum longa gerunt pugnacibus armis
     bella, Parentales deseruere dies.
non impune fuit; nam dicitur omine ab isto
     Roma suburbanis incaluisse rogis.                550
vix equidem credo: bustis exisse feruntur
     et tacitae questi tempore noctis avi,
perque vias Urbis latosque ululasse per agros
     deformes animas, volgus inane, ferunt.

     hence the peoples learned by heart pious rites.
but once, while they waged long wars with pugnacious arms,
     they deserted the Parental Days.
it was not with impunity; for it is said that from that omen
     Rome grew hot with suburban pyres.                550
scarcely indeed do I believe it: from the tombs they are reported to have gone forth,
     and the silent grandsires to have complained in the time of night,
and through the streets of the City and to have ululated through the broad fields
     misshapen spirits, an empty rabble, they say.

post ea praeteriti tumulis redduntur honores,

after that honors are returned to the tombs of the departed,

555

     prodigiisque venit funeribusque modus.
dum tamen haec fiunt, viduae cessate puellae:
     exspectet puros pinea taeda dies,
nec tibi, quae cupidae matura videbere matri,
     comat virgineas hasta recurva comas.

     and to prodigies and to funerals there comes a measure.
yet while these things are happening, be widowed, girls, desist:
     let the pine torch await pure days,
nor to you, who will seem ripe to an eager mother,
     let the recurved spear comb your maiden tresses.

560

conde tuas, Hymenaee, faces, et ab ignibus atris
     aufer: habent alias maesta sepulcra faces.
di quoque templorum foribus celentur opertis,
     ture vacent arae stentque sine igne foci.
nunc animae tenues et corpora functa sepulcris

stow your torches, Hymenaeus, and from the black fires
     withdraw: sad sepulchres have other torches.
let the gods too be hidden with the doors of the temples shut,
     let the altars be vacant of incense and let the hearths stand without fire.
now the tenuous souls and the defunct bodies are for sepulchres

565

     errant, nunc posito pascitur umbra cibo.
nec tamen haec ultra, quam tot de mense supersint
     Luciferi, quot habent carmina nostra pedes.
hanc, quia iusta ferunt, dixere Feralia lucem;
     ultima placandis manibus illa dies.

     they wander; now the shade is fed by food set down.
nor, however, do these last beyond as many Lucifers remain of the month
     as our songs have feet.
this day, because they bring due rites, they have called the light Feralia;
     that is the last day for appeasing the Manes.

570

Ecce anus in mediis residens annosa puellis
     sacra facit Tacitae (vix tamen ipsa tacet),
et digitis tria tura tribus sub limine ponit,
     qua brevis occultum mus sibi fecit iter:
tum cantata ligat cum fusco licia plumbo,

Behold, an old woman, aged, sitting in the midst of the girls,
     performs the rites for Tacita (scarcely, however, she herself is silent),
and with three fingers she places three grains of incense beneath the threshold,
     where a small mouse has made for itself an occult path:
then she ties threads, chanted-over, with dusky lead,

575

     et septem nigras versat in ore fabas,
quodque pice adstrinxit, quod acu traiecit aena,
     obsutum maenae torret in igne caput;
vina quoque instillat: vini quodcumque relictum est,
     aut ipsa aut comites, plus tamen ipsa, bibit.

     and she turns seven black beans in her mouth,
and what she has bound with pitch, what she has pierced with a brazen needle,
     she roasts the sewn-up head of a maena in the fire;
she also instills wine: whatever of the wine is left,
     either she herself or her companions—yet she herself more—drinks.

580

'hostiles linguas inimicaque vinximus ora'
     dicit discedens ebriaque exit anus.
protinus a nobis quae sit dea Muta requires:
     disce per antiquos quae mihi nota senes.
Iuppiter, inmodico Iuturnae victus amore,

'we have bound hostile tongues and inimical mouths'
     she says as she departs, and the drunken old woman goes out.
straightway you inquire from me who the goddess Muta is:
     learn from ancient elders what is known to me.
Jupiter, overcome by immoderate love for Juturna,

585

     multa tulit tanto non patienda deo:
illa modo in silvis inter coryleta latebat,
     nunc in cognatas desiliebat aquas.
convocat hic nymphas, Latium quaecumque tenebant,
     et iacit in medio talia verba choro:

     he bore many things not to be borne by so great a god:
she just now was hiding in the woods among the hazel-groves,
     now she was leaping down into her cognate waters.
here he summons the nymphs, whoever held Latium,
     and he casts such words into the midst of the chorus:

590

'invidet ipsa sibi vitatque quod expedit illi
     vestra soror, summo iungere membra deo.
consulite ambobus: nam quae mea magna voluptas,
     utilitas vestrae magna sororis erit.
vos illi in prima fugienti obsistite ripa,

'she envies herself and avoids what is expedient for her,
     your sister—to join her limbs to the highest god.
consult for both: for what is my great pleasure,
     will be a great utility for your sister.
you, as she flees, oppose her on the foremost bank,

595

     ne sua fluminea corpora mergat aqua.'
dixerat; adnuerant nymphae Tiberinides omnes
     quaeque colunt thalamos, Ilia diva, tuos.
forte fuit Nais, Lara nomine; prima sed illi
     dicta bis antiquum syllaba nomen erat,

     lest she submerge her own riverine body in the water.'
He had spoken; all the Tiberine nymphs nodded assent
     and those who inhabit your chambers, divine Ilia, yours.
By chance there was a Naiad, by name Lara; but to her the first
     syllable, spoken twice, was her ancient name,

600

ex vitio positum. saepe illi dixerat Almo
     'nata, tene linguam': nec tamen illa tenet.
quae simul ac tetigit Iuturnae stagna sororis,
     'effuge' ait 'ripas', dicta refertque Iovis.
illa etiam Iunonem adiit, miserataque nuptas

set from a defect. Almo had often said to her,
     'daughter, hold your tongue': and yet she does not hold it.
as soon as she touched the pools of her sister Juturna,
     'flee the banks,' she says, and she reports Jove’s words.
she even approached Juno, and, pitying brides

605

     'Naida Iuturnam vir tuus' inquit 'amat.'
Iuppiter intumuit, quaque est non usa modeste
     eripit huic linguam, Mercuriumque vocat:
'duc hanc ad manes: locus ille silentibus aptus.
     nympha, sed infernae nympha paludis erit.'                610
iussa Iovis fiunt. accepit lucus euntes:
     dicitur illa duci tum placuisse deo.

     'Your husband,' she says, 'loves the Naiad Juturna.'
Jupiter swelled, and the tongue which she has not used modestly
     he snatches from her, and he calls Mercury:
'lead this one to the shades: that place is apt for the silent.
     she will be a nymph, but a nymph of the infernal marsh.'                610
the orders of Jove are done. a grove received them as they went:
     she is said then to have pleased the god as she was being led.

vim parat hic, voltu pro verbis illa precatur,
et frustra muto nititur ore loqui,
fitque gravis geminosque parit, qui compita servant

he prepares force, she with her countenance prays in place of words,
and in vain strives to speak with a mute mouth,
and she becomes gravid and bears twins, who guard the crossroads

615

et vigilant nostra semper in urbe Lares.

and the Lares keep watch always in our city.

22. E C616a

Proxima cognati dixere Karistia kari,
et venit ad socios turba propinqua deos.
scilicet a tumulis et qui periere propinquis
protinus ad vivos ora referre iuvat,

Next the dear cognates have called it the Karistia,
and a near throng comes to the associate gods.
namely, from the burial-mounds and from the kindred who have perished
straightway it pleases to turn our faces to the living,

620

postque tot amissos quicquid de sanguine restat
     aspicere et generis dinumerare gradus.
innocui veniant: procul hinc, procul impius esto
     frater et in partus mater acerba suos,
cui pater est vivax, qui matris digerit annos,

and after so many lost, to look upon whatever of the blood remains
     and to denumerate the grades of the lineage.
let the innocents come: far hence, far be the impious
     brother, and the mother bitter toward her own offspring,
he whose father is long-lived, he who sees out his mother’s years,

625

     quae premit invisam socrus iniqua nurum.
Tantalidae fratres absint et Iasonis uxor,
     et quae ruricolis semina tosta dedit,
et soror et Procne Tereusque duabus iniquus
     et quicumque suas per scelus auget opes.

     the iniquitous mother-in-law who oppresses the detested daughter-in-law.
Let the Tantalid brothers be absent and the wife of Jason,
     and she who gave roasted seeds to the rustics,
and both the sister and Procne, and Tereus iniquitous to the two,
     and whoever augments his own wealth through crime.

630

dis generis date tura boni: Concordia fertur
     illa praecipue mitis adesse die;
et libate dapes, ut, grati pignus honoris,
     nutriat incinctos missa patella Lares.
iamque, ubi suadebit placidos nox umida somnos,

give incense to the gods of your race: Concord is said
     especially to be mild and present on that day;
and libate the viands, so that, as a pledge of grateful honor,
     the sent platter may nourish the girt Lares.
and now, when the dewy night will persuade calm slumbers,

635

larga precaturi sumite vina manu,
et 'bene vos, bene te, patriae pater, optime Caesar'
dicite; suffuso sint bona verba mero.

take generous wine in hand, you who are about to pray,
and say, 'good be to you all, good be to you, father of the fatherland, best Caesar';
let the words be good, with neat wine poured in.

23. F TER : NP638a

23. F TERMINALIA : PUBLIC NEFAST638a

Nox ubi transierit, solito celebretur honore
     separat indicio qui deus arva suo.
Termine, sive lapis sive es defossus in agro
     stipes, ab antiquis tu quoque numen habes.
te duo diversa domini de parte coronant,
     binaque serta tibi binaque liba ferunt.
ara fit: huc ignem curto fert rustica testo

When night has passed, with the wonted honor let be celebrated
     the god who separates the fields by his own sign.
Terminus, whether you are a stone or a post buried in the field,
     a stake, you too have numen from the ancients.
two owners from different sides crown you,
     and to you they bring double garlands and double liba-cakes.
an altar is made: hither the rustic brings fire in a broken earthenware potsherd

645

     sumptum de tepidis ipsa colona focis.
ligna senex minuit concisaque construit arte,
     et solida ramos figere pugnat humo;
tum sicco primas inritat cortice flammas;
     stat puer et manibus lata canistra tenet.

     taken from the tepid hearths by the farm-woman herself.
the old man chops the wood and constructs the cut pieces with art,
     and strives to fix the branches in the solid earth;
then with dry bark he provokes the first flames;
     a boy stands and holds broad baskets in his hands.

650

inde ubi ter fruges medios immisit in ignes,
     porrigit incisos filia parva favos.
vina tenent alii: libantur singula flammis;
     spectant, et linguis candida turba favet.
spargitur et caeso communis Terminus agno,

then, when thrice she has sent the grains into the midst of the fires,
     the little daughter proffers the cut honeycombs.
others hold wines: each is libated to the flames;
     they look on, and with their tongues the bright throng favors.
and the common Terminus is sprinkled with the slaughtered lamb,

655

     nec queritur lactans cum sibi porca datur.
conveniunt celebrantque dapes vicinia simplex
     et cantant laudes, Termine sancte, tuas:
'tu populos urbesque et regna ingentia finis:
     omnis erit sine te litigiosus ager.

     nor does the suckling complain when a sow is given to him.
they gather and celebrate the feasts, the simple neighborhood,
     and they sing your lauds, holy Terminus:
'you set bounds to peoples and cities and vast kingdoms:
     every field will be litigious without you.

660

nulla tibi ambitio est, nullo corrumperis auro,
     legitima servas credita rura fide.
si tu signasses olim Thyreatida terram,
     corpora non leto missa trecenta forent,
nec foret Othryades congestis lectus in armis.

no ambition is yours, by no gold are you corrupted,
     you keep the entrusted fields with legitimate faith.
if you had once signed the Thyreatid land,
     the three hundred bodies would not have been sent to lethal doom,
nor would Othryades have been laid out among piled-up arms.

665

     o quantum patriae sanguinis ille dedit!
quid, nova cum fierent Capitolia? nempe deorum
     cuncta Iovi cessit turba locumque dedit;
Terminus, ut veteres memorant, inventus in aede
     restitit et magno cum Iove templa tenet.

     O how much blood for the fatherland he gave!
What then, when the new Capitol was being made? Surely of the gods
     the whole crowd yielded to Jove and gave him the place;
Terminus, as the ancients relate, found in the shrine,
     stood fast and with great Jove holds the temple.

670

nunc quoque, se supra ne quid nisi sidera cernat,
     exiguum templi tecta foramen habent.
Termine, post illud levitas tibi libera non est:
     qua positus fueris in statione, mane;
nec tu vicino quicquam concede roganti,

now also, so that it may see nothing above itself except the stars,
     the roofs of the temple have a small opening.
Terminus, after that, freedom to shift is not yours:
     in whatever station you have been placed, remain;
nor concede anything to a neighbor asking,

675

     ne videare hominem praeposuisse Iovi:
et seu vomeribus seu tu pulsabere rastris,
     clamato "tuus est hic ager, ille tuus".'
est via quae populum Laurentes ducit in agros,
     quondam Dardanio regna petita duci:

     lest you seem to have preferred a man to Jove:
and whether you will be struck by ploughshares or by harrows,
     shout "this field is yours, that is yours".'
there is a road which leads the Laurentine people into the fields,
     once the realms sought by the Dardanian leader:

680

illa lanigeri pecoris tibi, Termine, fibris
sacra videt fieri sextus ab Urbe lapis.
gentibus est aliis tellus data limite certo:
Romanae spatium est Urbis et orbis idem.

those rites for you, Terminus, with the entrails of the wool-bearing flock
the sixth stone from the City sees being performed.
for other peoples land is given with a fixed limit:
for the Roman City, the space of City and world is the same.

24. G REGIF : N684a

Nunc mihi dicenda est regis fuga. traxit ab illa
sextus ab extremo nomina mense dies.
ultima Tarquinius Romanae gentis habebat
regna, vir iniustus, fortis ad arma tamen.

Now the king’s flight must be told by me. From that
the sixth day from the end of the month drew its name.
Tarquinius held the last reign of the Roman nation,
an unjust man, yet strong for arms.

ceperat hic alias, alias everterat urbes,
et Gabios turpi fecerat arte suos.

he had captured some cities, others he had overthrown,
and had made Gabii his own by a shameful artifice.

690

namque trium minimus, proles manifesta Superbi,
     in medios hostes nocte silente venit.
nudarant gladios: 'occidite' dixit 'inermem:
     hoc cupiant fratres Tarquiniusque pater,
qui mea crudeli laceravit verbere terga'

for indeed, the youngest of the three, the manifest offspring of the Proud,
     came into the midst of the enemies in the silent night.
they had bared their swords: 'kill,' he said, 'the unarmed man:
     let my brothers and my father Tarquinius desire this,
who has lacerated my back with a cruel lash'

695

     (dicere ut hoc posset, verbera passus erat).
luna fuit: spectant iuvenem, gladiosque recondunt,
     tergaque, deducta veste, notata vident:
flent quoque, et ut secum tueatur bella precantur.
     callidus ignaris adnuit ille viris.                700
iamque potens misso genitorem appellat amico,
     perdendi Gabios quod sibi monstret iter.
hortus odoratis suberat cultissimus herbis,
     sectus humum rivo lene sonantis aquae:
illic Tarquinius mandata latentia nati

     (so that he might be able to say this, he had endured beatings).
there was a moon: they behold the youth, and sheathe their swords,
     and, with his garment drawn down, they see backs marked:
they weep as well, and they pray that he may watch over the wars with them.
     that shrewd man nodded assent to the unknowing men.                700
and now, being powerful, by a dispatched friend he addresses his sire,
     that he might show him the path of destroying Gabii.
a garden most cultivated was set below with fragrant herbs,
     the ground cut by a rivulet of gently-sounding water:
there Tarquinius received the hidden mandates of his son

705

     accipit, et virga lilia summa metit.
nuntius ut rediit decussaque lilia dixit,
     filius 'agnosco iussa parentis' ait.
nec mora, principibus caesis ex urbe Gabina,
     traduntur ducibus moenia nuda suis.

     he receives it, and with a rod he reaps the tops of the lilies.
when the messenger returned and said the lilies had been cut down,
     the son said, 'I recognize the commands of my parent.'
nor was there delay: the chiefs having been slain, from the Gabine city,
     the walls, laid bare, are handed over to their own leaders.

710

ecce, nefas visu, mediis altaribus anguis
     exit et exstinctis ignibus exta rapit.
consulitur Phoebus. sors est ita reddita: 'matri
     qui dederit princeps oscula, victor erit.'
oscula quisque suae matri properata tulerunt,

behold—an abomination to see—a serpent in the midst of the altars
     comes forth and from the extinguished fires snatches the entrails.
phoebus is consulted. the lot is thus returned: 'the leader
     who shall have given kisses to his mother will be victor.'
each man brought to his own mother kisses made in haste,

715

     non intellecto credula turba deo.
Brutus erat stulti sapiens imitator, ut esset
     tutus ab insidiis, dire Superbe, tuis.
ille iacens pronus matri dedit oscula Terrae,
     creditus offenso procubuisse pede.

     the credulous crowd, the god not understood.
Brutus was a wise imitator of a fool, so that he might be
     safe from your snares, dire Superbus.
he, lying face-down, gave kisses to his mother Earth,
     believed to have prostrated himself, his foot having stumbled.

720

cingitur interea Romanis Ardea signis,
     et patitur longas obsidione moras.
dum vacat et metuunt hostes committere pugnam,
     luditur in castris, otia miles agit.
Tarquinius iuvenis socios dapibusque meroque

Meanwhile Ardea is girded by Roman standards,
     and suffers long delays in a siege.
while there is leisure and the foes fear to join battle,
     sport is indulged in the camp, the soldier passes his leisure.
The young Tarquin entertains his companions with feasts and unmixed wine

725

     accipit; ex illis rege creatus ait:
'dum nos sollicitos pigro tenet Ardea bello,
     nec sinit ad patrios arma referre deos,
ecquid in officio torus est socialis? et ecquid
     coniugibus nostris mutua cura sumus?'

     he accepts; from them, created king, he says:
'while Ardea holds us anxious in a sluggish war,
     nor does it allow us to carry back our arms to our paternal gods,
is the conjugal couch at all in its duty? and at all
     are we a mutual care to our wives?'

730

quisque suam laudat: studiis certamina crescunt,
     et fervet multo linguaque corque mero.
surgit cui dederat clarum Collatia nomen:
     'non opus est verbis, credite rebus' ait.
'nox superest: tollamur equis Urbemque petamus';

each man praises his own; with zeal the contests grow,
     and both tongue and heart seethe with much wine.
he rises to whom Collatia had given a famous name:
     'there is no need of words, trust to the facts,' he says.
'the night remains: let us mount our horses and seek the City';

735

dicta placent, frenis impediuntur equi.
pertulerant dominos. regalia protinus illi
tecta petunt: custos in fore nullus erat.

the words please; the horses are checked by the reins.
they had borne their masters. straightway they seek the regal roofs:
no guard was at the door.

ecce nurum regis fusis per colla coronis
inveniunt posito pervigilare mero.

behold, they find the king’s daughter-in-law, with garlands let down along her neck
keeping vigil, the unmixed wine having been set aside.

740

inde cito passu petitur Lucretia, cuius
     ante torum calathi lanaque mollis erat.
lumen ad exiguum famulae data pensa trahebant;
     inter quas tenui sic ait illa sono:
'mittenda est domino (nunc, nunc properate, puellae)

thence with a quick step Lucretia is sought, before whose
     bed there were baskets and soft wool.
by a scant light the handmaids were drawing the allotted wool;
     among whom she thus spoke in a low, thin tone:
'it must be sent to the lord (now, now, hasten, girls)'

745

     quamprimum nostra facta lacerna manu.
quid tamen auditis (nam plura audire potestis)?
     quantum de bello dicitur esse super?
postmodo victa cades: melioribus, Ardea, restas,
     improba, quae nostros cogis abesse viros.

     as soon as possible, the mantle made by our hand.
what, however, have you heard (for you can hear more)?
     how much is said to remain of the war?
afterward, conquered you will fall: for better men, Ardea, you remain,
     wicked one, you who compel our men to be away.

750

sint tantum reduces. sed enim temerarius ille
     est meus, et stricto qualibet ense ruit.
mens abit et morior, quotiens pugnantis imago
     me subit, et gelidum pectora frigus habet.'
desinit in lacrimas inceptaque fila remisit,

only let them return. but indeed that rash one
     is mine, and with sword drawn he rushes anywhere.
my mind goes away and I die, whenever the image
     of him fighting comes upon me, and a gelid chill holds my breast.'
she breaks off into tears and let slack the threads she had begun,

755

     in gremio voltum deposuitque suum.
hoc ipsum decuit: lacrimae decuere pudicam,
     et facies animo dignaque parque fuit.
'pone metum, veni' coniunx ait; illa revixit,
     deque viri collo dulce pependit onus.

     she laid her own countenance in his lap.
this very thing was fitting: tears befitted the modest one,
     and her face was worthy of and equal to her spirit.
'put aside fear, come,' the spouse said; she revived,
     and as a sweet burden she hung from her husband’s neck.

760

interea iuvenis furiales regius ignes
     concipit, et caeco raptus amore furit.
forma placet niveusque color flavique capilli
     quique aderat nulla factus ab arte decor:
verba placent et vox et quod corrumpere non est;

meanwhile the royal youth conceives Fury-like fires
     and, seized by blind love, he raves.
the beauty pleases, and the snowy color and the golden hair,
     and the grace which was present, made by no art:
the words please, and the voice, and that which is incorruptible;

765

     quoque minor spes est, hoc magis ille cupit.
iam dederat cantus lucis praenuntius ales,
     cum referunt iuvenes in sua castra pedem.
carpitur attonitos absentis imagine sensus
     ille; recordanti plura magisque placent.

     the less the hope is, the more he desires.
Already the bird, herald of light, had given its song,
     when the youths returned their step to their own camp.
he is consumed, his thunderstruck senses by the image of the absent one
     he; as he recalls, more and more things please him.

770

sic sedit, sic culta fuit, sic stamina nevit,
     iniectae collo sic iacuere comae,
hos habuit voltus, haec illi verba fuerunt,
     hic color, haec facies, hic decor oris erat.
ut solet a magno fluctus languescere flatu,

thus she sat, thus she was groomed, thus she spun the threads,
     thus the hair, cast upon her neck, lay,
these looks she had, these were her words,
     this color, this face, this decor of the countenance was.
as a wave is wont to languish after a great blast,

775

     sed tamen a vento, qui fuit, unda tumet,
sic, quamvis aberat placitae praesentia formae,
     quem dederat praesens forma, manebat amor.
ardet, et iniusti stimulis agitatus amoris
     comparat indigno vimque metumque toro.

     but yet from the wind that had been, the wave swells,
so, although the presence of the pleasing form was absent,
     the love which the present form had given remained.
he burns, and, agitated by the goads of unjust love,
     he prepares both force and fear for an unworthy bed.

780

'exitus in dubio est: audebimus ultima' dixit:
'viderit! audentes forsque deusque iuvat.
cepimus audendo Gabios quoque.' talia fatus
ense latus cinxit tergaque pressit equi.

'The outcome is in doubt: we will dare the utmost,' he said:
'let it be seen! Both Chance and a god aid the bold. By daring we also took Gabii.' Having spoken such things,
he girt his side with the sword and pressed the back of the horse.

accipit aerata iuvenem Collatia porta,

Collatia’s bronze-clad gate receives the youth,

785

condere iam voltus sole parante suos.
hostis ut hospes init penetralia Collatini:
comiter excipitur; sanguine iunctus erat.
quantum animis erroris inest!

now, with the sun preparing to hide its own visage.
as a foe like a guest he enters the penetralia of Collatinus:
he is courteously received; he was joined by blood.
how much error dwells in our minds!

parat inscia rerum
infelix epulas hostibus illa suis.

Ignorant of the facts, she prepares
ill-fated, she, a feast for her own enemies.

790

functus erat dapibus: poscunt sua tempora somnum;
     nox erat, et tota lumina nulla domo.
surgit et aurata vagina liberat ensem
     et venit in thalamos, nupta pudica, tuos;
utque torum pressit, 'ferrum, Lucretia, mecum est'

He had finished the banquets: the hours demand sleep;
     it was night, and in the whole house there were no lights.
he rises and frees his sword from its gilded sheath
     and comes into your marriage-chamber, chaste bride;
and when he pressed the bed, 'the iron, Lucretia, is with me'

795

     natus ait regis, 'Tarquiniusque loquor.'
illa nihil, neque enim vocem viresque loquendi
     aut aliquid toto pectore mentis habet;
sed tremit, ut quondam stabulis deprensa relictis
     parva sub infesto cum iacet agna lupo.

     ‘born of the king,’ he says, ‘and I, Tarquin, speak.’
she says nothing, for she has neither voice nor the powers of speaking
     or anything of mind in her whole breast;
but she trembles, as once, with the stalls left behind, caught,
     a little lamb lies beneath a hostile wolf.

800

quid faciat? pugnet? vincetur femina pugnans.

what is she to do? should she fight? a woman fighting will be conquered.

clamet? at in dextra, qui vetet, ensis erat.
effugiat?

should she cry out? but in the right hand, which would veto it, there was a sword.
should she flee?

positis urgentur pectora palmis,
tum primum externa pectora tacta manu.
instat amans hostis precibus pretioque minisque:

with palms set down, the breasts are pressed,
then for the first time the external breasts touched by a hand from outside.
the loving enemy presses on with prayers, with a price, and with threats:

805

     nec prece nec pretio nec movet ille minis.
'nil agis: eripiam' dixit 'per crimina vitam:
     falsus adulterii testis adulter ero:
interimam famulum, cum quo deprensa fereris.'
     succubuit famae victa puella metu.

     he is moved neither by prayer nor by price nor by threats.
'nothing do you accomplish: I will snatch away,' he said, 'your life by crimes:
     as a false witness of adultery I shall be an adulterer:
I will slay the servant, with whom you will be reported as having been caught.'
     the girl, conquered by fear of reputation, succumbed.

810

quid, victor, gaudes? haec te victoria perdet.
     heu quanto regnis nox stetit una tuis!
iamque erat orta dies: passis sedet illa capillis,
     ut solet ad nati mater itura rogum,
grandaevumque patrem fido cum coniuge castris

Why, victor, do you rejoice? This victory will undo you.
     Alas, how much one night cost your kingdoms!
And now day had arisen: she sits with hair let down,
     as a mother, about to go to her son’s pyre, is wont,
and the aged father with his faithful spouse from the camp

815

     evocat: et posita venit uterque mora.
utque vident habitum, quae luctus causa, requirunt,
     cui paret exsequias, quoque sit icta malo.
illa diu reticet pudibundaque celat amictu
     ora: fluunt lacrimae more perennis aquae.

     She calls them out; and, the delay set aside, both come.
And as they see the habit, they inquire what the cause of mourning is,
     for whom she prepares exequies, and by what ill she has been struck.
She for a long time is silent, and bashful she hides with her mantle
     her face: tears flow in the manner of perennial water.

820

hinc pater, hinc coniunx lacrimas solantur et orant
     indicet et caeco flentque paventque metu.
ter conata loqui ter destitit, ausaque quarto
     non oculos ideo sustulit illa suos.
'hoc quoque Tarquinio debebimus? eloquar' inquit,

On this side the father, on that the husband console her tears and pray
     that she disclose, and they weep and quake with blind fear.
Three times she tried to speak, three times she ceased, and daring a fourth time
     she did not therefore lift her eyes.
'Shall we owe this too to Tarquinius? I will speak,' she says,

825

     'eloquar infelix dedecus ipsa meum?'
quaeque potest, narrat; restabant ultima: flevit,
     et matronales erubuere genae.
dant veniam facto genitor coniunxque coactae:
     'quam' dixit 'veniam vos datis, ipsa nego.'

     'shall I, unhappy, speak out my own disgrace?'
and what she can, she tells; the last things remained: she wept,
     and her matronly cheeks blushed.
her father and husband, compelled, grant pardon for the deed:
     'the pardon which you grant, I myself refuse.'

830

nec mora, celato fixit sua pectora ferro,
     et cadit in patrios sanguinulenta pedes.
tum quoque iam moriens ne non procumbat honeste
     respicit: haec etiam cura cadentis erat.
ecce super corpus, communia damna gementes,

no delay: with the hidden steel she pierced her own breast,
     and falls, blood-stained, upon her father’s feet.
then too, even as she was dying, so that she might not collapse dishonorably,
     she looks back: this too was the care of her as she fell.
lo, above the body, lamenting their common losses,

835

     obliti decoris virque paterque iacent.
Brutus adest, tandemque animo sua nomina fallit,
     fixaque semanimi corpore tela rapit,
stillantemque tenens generoso sanguine cultrum
     edidit impavidos ore minante sonos:

     forgetful of decorum, both the husband and the father lie.
Brutus is present, and at last in spirit he belies his own names,
     and he snatches the weapons fixed in the half-alive body,
and, holding the knife dripping with noble blood,
     he uttered fearless sounds with a menacing mouth:

840

'per tibi ego hunc iuro fortem castumque cruorem,
     perque tuos manes, qui mihi numen erunt,
Tarquinium profuga poenas cum stirpe daturum.
     iam satis est virtus dissimulata diu.'
illa iacens ad verba oculos sine lumine movit,

'by you I swear upon this brave and chaste blood,
     and by your shades, who will be a numen to me,
that Tarquin the fugitive shall pay penalties with his stock.
     now it is enough that virtue has long dissimulated.'
she, lying, at the words moved her eyes without light,

845

     visaque concussa dicta probare coma.
fertur in exsequias animi matrona virilis
     et secum lacrimas invidiamque trahit.
volnus inane patet: Brutus clamore Quirites
     concitat et regis facta nefanda refert.

     and her hair, seen shaken, seemed to approve the words.
she is borne into the exequies, a matron of virile spirit,
     and with her she draws tears and envy.
the empty wound gapes: Brutus with a shout the Quirites
     rouses and recounts the nefarious deeds of the king.

850

Tarquinius cum prole fugit: capit annua consul
     iura: dies regnis illa suprema fuit.
Fallimur, an veris praenuntia venit hirundo,
     nec metuit ne qua versa recurrat hiems?
saepe tamen, Procne, nimium properasse quereris,

Tarquinius flees with his offspring: the consul takes the annual rights;
     that day was the last for the kingship.
Are we deceived, or has the swallow, harbinger of spring, come,
     nor does she fear lest some turned-back winter recur?
often, however, Procne, you complain that you have hastened too much,

855

virque tuo Tereus frigore laetus erit.

and your husband Tereus will be glad at your frigidity.

(25. H C) (26. A EN) 27. B EQVIR : NP (28. C C) 856a

Iamque duae restant noctes de mense secundo,
Marsque citos iunctis curribus urget equos;
ex vero positum permansit Equirria nomen,
quae deus in campo prospicit ipse suo.

And now two nights remain of the second month,
and Mars urges on swift horses with yoked chariots;
the name Equirria, established from the truth, has remained,
which the god himself oversees in his own field.

860

iure venis, Gradive: locum tua tempora poscunt,
signatusque tuo nomine mensis adest.
venimus in portum libro cum mense peracto.
naviget hinc alia iam mihi linter aqua.

by right you come, Gradivus: your time demands its place,
and the month signed with your name is here.
we have come into port, the book with the month completed.
let my skiff now sail from here upon another water.