Ovid: FASTI

'Alma, fave', dixi 'geminorum mater Amorum';
     ad vatem voltus rettulit illa suos;
'quid tibi' ait 'mecum? certe maiora canebas.
     num vetus in molli pectore volnus habes?'
'scis, dea', respondi 'de volnere.' risit, et aether

'Nurturing one, be favorable,' I said, 'mother of the twin Loves';
     to the poet she turned her countenance;
'what have you' she said 'to do with me? surely you were singing greater things.
     do you perhaps have an old wound in your soft breast?'
'you know, goddess,' I replied 'about the wound.' she laughed, and the aether

protinus ex illa parte serenus erat.
'saucius an sanus numquid tua signa reliqui?
tu mihi propositum, tu mihi semper opus.

straightway on that side the aether was serene.
'wounded or sound, have I ever abandoned your standards?
you to me are the purpose, you to me are always the work.'

quae decuit primis sine crimine lusimus annis;
nunc teritur nostris area maior equis.

what was fitting for our first years we played without reproach;
now a larger area is worn by our horses.

tempora cum causis, annalibus eruta priscis,
     lapsaque sub terras ortaque signa cano.
venimus ad quartum, quo tu celeberrima mense:
     et vatem et mensem scis, Venus, esse tuos.'
mota Cytheriaca leviter mea tempora myrto

times with their causes, unearthed from ancient annals,
     and the signs that have slipped beneath the earth and that have arisen, I sing.
we have come to the fourth, in which month you are most celebrated:
     and you know, Venus, both the bard and the month to be yours.'
my temples lightly stirred with Cytheraean myrtle

     contigit et 'coeptum perfice' dixit 'opus'.
sensimus, et causae subito patuere dierum:
     dum licet et spirant flamina, navis eat.
Siqua tamen pars te de fastis tangere debet,
     Caesar, in Aprili quod tuearis habes:

     it befell, and she said, 'complete the work begun.'
we sensed it, and the causes of the days suddenly lay open:
     while it is permitted and the breezes breathe, let the ship go.
If any part of the fasti ought to touch upon you,
     Caesar, in April you have what you may protect:

hic ad te magna descendit imagine mensis,
     et fit adoptiva nobilitate tuus.
hoc pater Iliades, cum longum scriberet annum,
     vidit et auctores rettulit ipse tuos:
utque fero Marti primam dedit ordine sortem,

here to you the month descends in a grand image,
     and becomes yours by adoptive nobility.
this the Iliadic father, when he was writing the long year,
     saw and himself recounted your authors:
and as to fierce Mars he gave the first lot in order,

     quod sibi nascendi proxima causa fuit,
sic Venerem gradibus multis in gente receptam
     alterius voluit mensis habere locum;
principiumque sui generis revolutaque quaerens
     saecula, cognatos venit adusque deos.

     because that was the proximate cause of his being born,
thus he wished Venus, received into the clan by many steps,
     to have the place of the second month;
and, seeking the beginning of his own race and the ages rolled back,
     he came even to kindred gods.

Dardanon Electra nesciret Atlantide natum
     scilicet, Electran concubuisse Iovi?
huius Ericthonius, Tros est generatus ab illo,
     Assaracon creat hic, Assaracusque Capyn;
proximus Anchises, cum quo commune parentis

Would Dardanus not know himself born from Electra, the Atlantid,
     namely, that Jove lay with Electra?
of her is Erichthonius; Tros was begotten from him,
     this man begets Assaracus, and Assaracus Capys;
next is Anchises, with whom there is a parent in common.

     non dedignata est nomen habere Venus:
hinc satus Aeneas; pietas spectata per ignes
     sacra patremque umeris, altera sacra, tulit.
venimus ad felix aliquando nomen Iuli,
     unde domus Teucros Iulia tangit avos.

     Venus did not disdain to have the name of parent:
hence was Aeneas begotten; piety proven through fires
     he bore the sacred things and his father upon his shoulders, the other sacred thing.
we come at length to the happy name of Iulus,
     whence the Julian house touches the Teucrian ancestors.

Postumus hinc, qui, quod silvis fuit ortus in altis,
     Silvius in Latia gente vocatus erat.
isque, Latine, tibi pater est; subit Alba Latinum;
     proximus est titulis Epytus, Alba, tuis.
ille dedit Capyi repetita vocabula Troiae

Postumus from here, who, because he had been born in the high woods,
     was called Silvius in the Latian gens.
and he, O Latinus, is father to you; Alba succeeds Latinus;
     Epytus is next to your titles, O Alba.
he gave to Capys the renewed appellations of Troy

     et tuus est idem, Calpete, factus avus.
cumque patris regnum post hunc Tiberinus haberet,
     dicitur in Tuscae gurgite mersus aquae.
iam tamen Agrippam natum Remulumque nepotem
     viderat; in Remulum fulmina missa ferunt.

     and the same became your grandsire too, Calpete.
and when Tiberinus after him held his father’s kingdom,
     he is said to have been submerged in the whirlpool of Tuscan water.
yet by then he had seen Agrippa his son and Remulus his grandson;
     they report that thunderbolts were sent against Remulus.

venit Aventinus post hos, locus unde vocatur,
     mons quoque; post illum tradita regna Procae;
quem sequitur duri Numitor germanus Amuli;
     Ilia cum Lauso de Numitore sati:
ense cadit patrui Lausus; placet Ilia Marti,

after these Aventinus comes, from whom the place is named, and the mount as well;
     after him the kingdoms were handed down to Proca;
whom follows Numitor, brother of harsh Amulius;
     Ilia with Lausus, born of Numitor:
Lausus falls by his uncle’s sword; Ilia pleases Mars,

     teque parit, gemino iuncte Quirine Remo.
ille suos semper Venerem Martemque parentes
     dixit, et emeruit vocis habere fidem:
neve secuturi possent nescire nepotes,
     tempora dis generis continuata dedit.

     and she bears you, Quirinus, joined with twin Remus.
he always said that Venus and Mars were his parents,
     and he merited that his voice have credence:
lest the grandsons who would follow could be ignorant,
     he gave times, continued in sequence, to the gods of his stock.

sed Veneris mensem Graio sermone notatum
     auguror; a spumis est dea dicta maris.
nec tibi sit mirum Graeco rem nomine dici;
     Itala nam tellus Graecia maior erat.
venerat Euander plena cum classe suorum,

but I augur the month of Venus noted in Greek speech;
     from the foams of the sea the goddess is said to be named.
nor let it be a marvel to you that the matter is said by a Greek name;
     for the Italian land was Greater Greece.
Euander had come with a full fleet of his own,

     venerat Alcides, Graius uterque genus
(hospes Aventinis armentum pavit in herbis
     claviger, et tanto est Albula pota deo),
dux quoque Neritius; testes Laestrygones exstant
     et quod adhuc Circes nomina litus habet;

     Alcides had come, both Greek by lineage;
(as a guest the club-bearer pastured his herd in the Aventine grasses,
     and by so great a god the Albula was drunk),
the Neritian leader as well; the Laestrygonians stand as witnesses,
     and the shore which still holds Circe’s names;

et iam Telegoni, iam moenia Tiburis udi
     stabant, Argolicae quod posuere manus.
venerat Atridae fatis agitatus Halaesus,
     a quo se dictam terra Falisca putat.
adice Troianae suasorem Antenora pacis,

and already the walls of Telegonus, now of dewy Tibur, were standing,
     which Argolic hands had set up.
the Atreid’s Halaesus had come, agitated by fates,
     from whom the Faliscian land thinks itself named.
add Antenor, persuader of Trojan peace,

     et generum Oeniden, Apule Daune, tuum.
serus ab Iliacis, et post Antenora, flammis
     attulit Aeneas in loca nostra deos.
huius erat Solimus Phrygia comes unus ab Ida,
     a quo Sulmonis moenia nomen habent,                80
Sulmonis gelidi, patriae, Germanice, nostrae.

     and your son-in-law, the Oenid, Apulian Daunus, your own.
late from the Iliac flames, and after Antenor,
     Aeneas brought the gods into our places.
of him was Solimus, one companion from Phrygian Ida,
     from whom the walls of Sulmo have their name,                80
of chilly Sulmo—our fatherland, Germanicus.

me miserum, Scythico quam procul illa solo est!
ergo ego tam longe -- sed supprime, Musa, querellas:
non tibi sunt maesta sacra canenda lyra.
Quo non livor abit?

Alas for me, how far that is from the Scythian soil!
therefore I, so far away -- but suppress, Muse, the lamentations:
the sacred rites are not to be sung by a mournful lyre.
Where does envy not go?

sunt qui tibi mensis honorem

there are those who ascribe to you the honor of the month

     eripuisse velint invideantque, Venus.
nam, quia ver aperit tunc omnia densaque cedit
     frigoris asperitas fetaque terra patet,
Aprilem memorant ab aperto tempore dictum,
     quem Venus iniecta vindicat alma manu.

     would wish to have snatched it away and begrudge you, Venus.
for, since spring then opens all things and the dense
     harshness of cold yields, and the fecund earth stands open,
they recount that April is named from the opened time,
     which nourishing Venus claims with her kindly hand laid upon it.

illa quidem totum dignissima temperat orbem,
     illa tenet nullo regna minora deo,
iuraque dat caelo, terrae, natalibus undis,
     perque suos initus continet omne genus.
illa deos omnes (longum est numerare) creavit,

she indeed, most worthy, tempers the whole orb,
     she holds realms lesser than no god,
and she gives laws to sky, to earth, to the natal waves,
     and through her own initiations she contains every genus.
she created all the gods (it would be long to enumerate),

     illa satis causas arboribusque dedit,
illa rudes animos hominum contraxit in unum,
     et docuit iungi cum pare quemque sua.
quid genus omne creat volucrum, nisi blanda voluptas?
     nec coeant pecudes, si levis absit amor.

     she gave causes to the crops and to the trees,
she drew together the rude minds of men into one,
     and taught each to be joined with his own peer.
what creates the whole genus of birds, if not alluring pleasure?
     nor would the beasts mate, if light love were absent.

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cum mare trux aries cornu decertat, at idem
     frontem dilectae laedere parcit ovis;
deposita sequitur taurus feritate iuvencam,
     quem toti saltus, quem nemus omne tremit;
vis eadem lato quodcumque sub aequore vivit

when the fierce ram contests with his horn, yet the same
     spares to injure the forehead of his beloved ewe;
with ferocity laid aside, the bull follows the heifer,
     whom all the woodland-pasture, whom every grove, trembles at;
the same force whatever lives beneath the broad level sea

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     servat, et innumeris piscibus implet aquas.
prima feros habitus homini detraxit: ab illa
     venerunt cultus mundaque cura sui.
primus amans carmen vigilatum nocte negata
     dicitur ad clausas concinuisse fores,

     it preserves, and fills the waters with innumerable fishes.
first she stripped from man his savage habit: from her
     came culture and the clean care of oneself.
the first lover is said to have sung a song, having kept vigil with the night denied,
     at closed doors to have sung in harmony,

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eloquiumque fuit duram exorare puellam,
     proque sua causa quisque disertus erat.
mille per hanc artes motae; studioque placendi,
     quae latuere prius, multa reperta ferunt.
hanc quisquam titulo mensis spoliare secundi

and eloquence was to entreat the hard-hearted girl,
     and each man was eloquent on behalf of his own cause.
a thousand arts were set in motion through her;
     and by the zeal to please,
which had lain hidden before, many things are said to have been found.
would anyone strip her of the title of the second month?

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     audeat? a nobis sit furor iste procul.
quid quod ubique potens templisque frequentibus aucta,
     urbe tamen nostra ius dea maius habet?
pro Troia, Romane, tua Venus arma ferebat,
     cum gemuit teneram cuspide laesa manum;

     would he dare? let that madness be far from us.
what of the fact that, though powerful everywhere and augmented by frequent temples,
     yet in our city the goddess has a greater jurisdiction?
for your Troy, Roman, Venus bore arms,
     when she groaned, her tender hand wounded by the spear-point;

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caelestesque duas Troiano iudice vicit
     (ah nolim victas hoc meminisse deas),
Assaracique nurus dicta est, ut scilicet olim
     magnus Iuleos Caesar haberet avos.
nec Veneri tempus, quam ver, erat aptius ullum

and she conquered two celestials with the Trojan as judge
     (ah, may I not wish the goddesses, defeated, to remember this),
and she was called the daughter-in-law of Assaracus, so that of course someday
     great Caesar might have Julian ancestors.
nor was any time more apt for Venus than spring

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     (vere nitent terrae, vere remissus ager;
nunc herbae rupta tellure cacumina tollunt,
     nunc tumido gemmas cortice palmes agit),
et formosa Venus formoso tempore digna est,
     utque solet, Marti continuata suo est.

     (in spring the lands shine, in spring the field is unbound;
now the grasses lift their tips through rent earth,
     now the vine-shoot stirs gem-buds in its swollen bark),
and beautiful Venus is worthy of a beautiful time,
     and, as she is wont, she is coupled to her own Mars.

130

vere monet curvas materna per aequora puppes
ire nec hibernas iam timuisse minas.

in spring admonishes curved ships through the maternal seas to go
and now not to fear winter menaces.

1. C K : APRIL : F

1. C KALENDS : APRIL : F

Rite deam colitis, Latiae matresque nurusque
et vos, quis vittae longaque vestis abest.
aurea marmoreo redimicula demite collo,

Duly you worship the goddess, Latian mothers and daughters-in-law
and you too, for whom fillets and the long robe are lacking.
remove the golden neckbands from the marble neck,

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     demite divitias: tota lavanda dea est.
aurea siccato redimicula reddite collo:
     nunc alii flores, nunc nova danda rosa est.
vos quoque sub viridi myrto iubet ipsa lavari:
     causaque cur iubeat, discite, certa subest.

     remove the riches: the whole goddess must be washed.
return the golden necklaces to the dried neck:
     now other flowers, now a new rose must be given.
she herself bids you too to be washed beneath the green myrtle:
     and learn the cause why she bids it; a sure reason underlies.

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litore siccabat rorantes nuda capillos:
     viderunt satyri, turba proterva, deam.
sensit et opposita texit sua corpora myrto:
     tuta fuit facto, vosque referre iubet.
discite nunc, quare Fortunae tura Virili

on the shore she, naked, was drying her dripping hair:
     the satyrs, a forward throng, saw the goddess.
she sensed it and covered her body with myrtle set before her:
     she was safe by the deed, and bids you to repeat it.
learn now why incense is offered to Virile Fortune

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     detis eo, gelida qui locus umet aqua.
accipit ille locus posito velamine cunctas
     et vitium nudi corporis omne videt;
ut tegat hoc celetque viros, Fortuna Virilis
     praestat et hoc parvo ture rogata facit.

     give it there, where the place is moistened with cold water.
that place receives all, with the veil laid aside,
     and it sees every defect of the naked body;
so that she may cover this and hide it from men, Fortuna Virilis
     assures it and, when asked, accomplishes this with a small offering of incense.

150

nec pigeat tritum niveo cum lacte papaver
     sumere et expressis mella liquata favis:
cum primum cupido Venus est deducta marito,
     hoc bibit; ex illo tempore nupta fuit.
supplicibus verbis illam placate: sub illa

nor let it be irksome to take poppy ground with snowy milk,
     and honey liquefied from pressed-out combs:
when first Venus, amorous, was led home to a husband,
     she drank this; from that time she was a bride.
placate her with supplicatory words: under her

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     et forma et mores et bona fama manet.
Roma pudicitia proavorum tempore lapsa est:
     Cumaeam, veteres, consuluistis anum.
templa iubet fieri Veneri: quibus ordine factis
     inde Venus verso nomina corde tenet.

     and both beauty and morals and good repute remain.
Rome lapsed from chastity in the time of the forefathers:
     you ancients consulted the Cumaean old woman.
she orders temples to be made for Venus: which, having been made in due order,
     thence Venus, with the heart turned, holds the names.

160

semper ad Aeneadas placido, pulcherrima, voltu
respice, totque tuas, diva, tuere nurus.
Dum loquor, elatae metuendus acumine caudae
Scorpios in virides praecipitatur aquas.

Always, most beautiful one, look upon the Aeneads with a placid countenance,
and, goddess, safeguard so many of your daughters-in-law.
While I speak, Scorpius, to be feared for the sharp point of his raised tail,
is precipitated into the green waters.

2. D F

Nox ubi transierit, caelumque rubescere primo
     coeperit, et tactae rore querentur aves,
semustamque facem vigilata nocte viator
     ponet, et ad solitum rusticus ibit opus,
Pliades incipient umeros relevare paternos,
     quae septem dici, sex tamen esse solent:

When night shall have passed, and the sky will begin to blush at first light,
     and the birds, touched by dew, will lament,
and the traveler will set down his half-burnt torch after a night kept in vigil,
     and the rustic will go to his accustomed work,
the Pleiades will begin to relieve their father’s shoulders,
     who are said to be seven, yet are wont to be six:

170

seu quod in amplexum sex hinc venere deorum
     (nam Steropen Marti concubuisse ferunt,
Neptuno Alcyonen et te, formosa Celaeno,
     Maian et Electran Taygetenque Iovi),
septima mortali Merope tibi, Sisyphe, nupsit;

either because from here six came into the embrace of gods
     (for they say Sterope lay with Mars,
to Neptune Alcyone and you, fair Celaeno,
     Maia and Electra and Taygete to Jove),
the seventh, Merope, married you, Sisyphus, a mortal;

175

paenitet, et facti sola pudore latet:
sive quod Electra Troiae spectare ruinas
non tulit, ante oculos opposuitque manum.

she repents, and alone hides out of shame for the deed:
or because Electra did not endure to behold the ruins of Troy
and set her hand before her eyes.

(3. EC) 4. FC

Ter sine perpetuo caelum versetur in axe,
     ter iungat Titan terque resolvat equos,
protinus inflexo Berecyntia tibia cornu
     flabit, et Idaeae festa parentis erunt.
ibunt semimares et inania tympana tundent,
     aeraque tinnitus aere repulsa dabunt;
ipsa sedens molli comitum cervice feretur

Thrice, in unbroken course, let the sky be turned on its perpetual axis,
     thrice let Titan yoke and thrice unyoke his horses,
straightway the Berecynthian pipe with its bent horn
     will blow, and there will be the feasts of the Idaean parent.
the half-males will go and will beat the empty tympana,
     and bronzes will give tinnitus, bronze rebounding from bronze;
she herself, sitting, will be borne on the soft neck of her companions

185

     Urbis per medias exululata vias.
scaena sonat, ludique vocant: spectate, Quirites,
     et fora Marte suo litigiosa vacent.
quaerere multa libet, sed me sonus aeris acuti
     terret et horrendo lotos adunca sono.

     through the middle streets of the city she will be borne, ululated.
the stage resounds, and the games call: look on, Quirites,
     and let the forums, litigious with their own Mars, lie vacant.
it is pleasing to inquire many things, but the sound of sharp bronze
     frightens me, and the hooked lotus-wood with its horrendous sound.

190

'da, dea, quam sciter.' doctas Cybeleia neptes
     vidit et has curae iussit adesse meae.
'pandite mandati memores, Heliconis alumnae,
     gaudeat assiduo cur dea Magna sono.'
sic ego. sic Erato (mensis Cythereius illi

'Grant it, goddess, how expertly.' Cybele saw the learned granddaughters
     and ordered these to be present to my care.
'Disclose, mindful of the mandate, alumnae of Helicon,
     why the Great Goddess rejoices in constant sound.'
Thus I. Thus Erato (the Cytherean month is hers

195

     cessit, quod teneri nomen amoris habet):
'reddita Saturno sors haec erat: "optime regum,
     a nato sceptris excutiere tuis."
ille suam metuens, ut quaeque erat edita, prolem
     devorat, immersam visceribusque tenet.

     yielded, that which bears the name of tender Love):
'this was the lot returned to Saturn: "best of kings,
     by your son you will be shaken out from your scepters."'
he, fearing for his own, as each offspring was brought forth,
     devours it, and keeps it immersed and in his viscera.

200

saepe Rhea questa est totiens fecunda nec umquam
     mater, et indoluit fertilitate sua.
Iuppiter ortus erat: (pro magno teste vetustas
     creditur; acceptam parce movere fidem)
veste latens saxum caelesti gutture sedit:

often Rhea complained, so often fecund and yet never
     a mother, and she grieved at her own fertility.
Jupiter had been born: (antiquity is believed as a great witness;
     spare to disturb the received faith)
hidden in a garment, the stone settled in the celestial throat:

205

     sic genitor fatis decipiendus erat.
ardua iamdudum resonat tinnitibus Ide,
     tutus ut infanti vagiat ore puer.
pars clipeos sudibus, galeas pars tundit inanes:
     hoc Curetes habent, hoc Corybantes opus.

     thus the father had to be deceived by the fates.
lofty Ida has long now resounded with ringings,
     so that the boy may wail safely with an infant mouth.
some beat shields with stakes, some beat empty helmets:
     this the Curetes have as their work, this the Corybantes.

210

res latuit, priscique manent imitamina facti:
     aera deae comites raucaque terga movent.
cymbala pro galeis, pro scutis tympana pulsant:
     tibia dat Phrygios, ut dedit ante, modos.'
desierat; coepi: 'cur huic genus acre leonum

the matter lay hidden, and imitations of the ancient deed remain:
     the companions move the goddess’s bronzes and the raucous backs.
they beat cymbals in place of helmets, drums in place of shields:
     the pipe gives Phrygian modes, as it gave before.'
he had ceased; I began: 'why to her the fierce breed of lions

215

     praebent insolitas ad iuga curva iubas?'
desieram; coepit: 'feritas mollita per illam
     creditur; id curru testificata suo est.'
'at cur turrifera caput est onerata corona?
     an primis turres urbibus illa dedit?'

     do they offer their curved manes, unusual, to the yoke?'
I had ceased; she began: 'the ferocity, softened through her,
     is believed; this has been attested by her own chariot.'
'but why is her head burdened with a tower-bearing crown?
     or did she give towers to the first cities?'

220

adnuit. 'unde venit' dixi 'sua membra secandi
     impetus?' ut tacui, Pieris orsa loqui:
'Phryx puer in silvis, facie spectabilis, Attis
     turrigeram casto vinxit amore deam;
hunc sibi servari voluit, sua templa tueri,

she nodded. 'whence,' I said, 'came the impulse to cut his own limbs?'
     when I fell silent, the Pierian began to speak:
'a Phrygian boy in the woods, remarkable in face, Attis,
     bound the tower-bearing goddess with chaste love;
she wished that he be kept for herself, to guard her temples,

225

     et dixit "semper fac puer esse velis."
ille fidem iussis dedit, et "si mentiar", inquit
     "ultima, qua fallam, sit Venus illa mihi."
fallit, et in nympha Sagaritide desinit esse
     quod fuit: hinc poenas exigit ira deae.

     and she said "make sure you always wish to be a boy."
he pledged faith to the commands, and "if I should lie," he said
     "let that Venus be my last for me, by which I deceive."
he deceives, and in the nymph Sagaritis he ceases to be what he was:
     hence the wrath of the goddess exacts penalties.

230

Naida volneribus succidit in arbore factis,
     illa perit; fatum Naidos arbor erat;
hic furit, et credens thalami procumbere tectum
     effugit, et cursu Dindyma summa petit;
et modo "tolle faces", "remove" modo "verbera" clamat,

The Naiad, by wounds made in the tree, falls down;
     she perishes; the tree was the fate of the Naiad;
he rages, and, believing the roof of the bridal chamber to be collapsing,
     he flees, and at a run seeks the heights of Dindymus;
and now he shouts "take away the torches," now "remove the lashes."

235

     saepe ~Palaestinas~ iurat adesse deas.
ille etiam saxo corpus laniavit acuto,
     longaque in immundo pulvere tracta coma est,
voxque fuit "merui: meritas do sanguine poenas.
     ah pereant partes quae nocuere mihi!"

     often he swears the ~Palestinian~ goddesses are present.
he also lacerated his body with a sharp stone,
     and his long hair was dragged in the unclean dust,
and his voice was: "I have merited it: I pay merited penalties with blood."
     ah, let the parts perish which have harmed me!"

240

"ah pereant" dicebat adhuc; onus inguinis aufert,
     nullaque sunt subito signa relicta viri.
venit in exemplum furor hic, mollesque ministri
     caedunt iactatis vilia membra comis.'
talibus Aoniae facunda voce Camenae

"ah, let them perish," he was still saying; he removes the burden of his groin,
     and suddenly no signs of the man are left.
this fury came into an example, and the soft ministers
     hack their cheap members, their hair being tossed.'
with such things the Aonian Camenae with eloquent voice

245

     reddita quaesiti causa furoris erat.
'hoc quoque, dux operis, moneas precor, unde petita
     venerit; an nostra semper in urbe fuit?'
'Dindymon et Cybelen et amoenam fontibus Iden
     semper et Iliacas Mater amavit opes:

     the cause of the sought-for fury had been rendered.
'this too, leader of the work, advise, I pray, whence, being fetched,
     she has come; or was she always in our city?'
'Dindymus and Cybele and Ida pleasant with springs
     the Mother has always loved, and the Iliac wealth:'

250

cum Troiam Aeneas Italos portaret in agros,
     est dea sacriferas paene secuta rates,
sed nondum fatis Latio sua numina posci
     senserat, adsuetis substiteratque locis.
post, ut Roma potens opibus iam saecula quinque

when Aeneas was carrying Troy into the Italian fields,
     the goddess almost followed the sacrifice-bearing ships,
but she had not yet perceived that by the Fates her divine powers were being demanded
     for Latium, and she had halted in her accustomed places.
afterward, when Rome, powerful in resources, already for five ages

255

     vidit et edomito sustulit orbe caput,
carminis Euboici fatalia verba sacerdos
     inspicit; inspectum tale fuisse ferunt:
"mater abest: matrem iubeo, Romane, requiras.
     cum veniet, casta est accipienda manu."

     she saw, and with the world tamed lifted her head;
the priest inspects the fateful words of the Euboean song;
     they say that upon inspection it was such as this:
"the mother is absent: I order you, Roman, to seek the mother.
     when she comes, she is to be received with a chaste hand."

260

obscurae sortis patres ambagibus errant,
     quaeve parens absit, quove petenda loco.
consulitur Paean, "divum" que "arcessite Matrem"
     inquit; "in Idaeo est invenienda iugo."
mittuntur proceres. Phrygiae tum sceptra tenebat

the fathers wander through the ambages of the obscure oracle,
     which parent is absent, and in what place she must be sought.
Paean is consulted, and he says, "Summon the Mother of the gods";
     "she is to be found on the Idaean ridge."
the grandees are sent. At that time the scepter of Phrygia was held

265

     Attalus; Ausoniis rem negat ille viris.
mira canam: longo tremuit cum murmure tellus,
     et sic est adytis diva locuta suis:
"ipsa peti volui: ne sit mora; mitte volentem:
     dignus Roma locus quo deus omnis eat."

     Attalus; he refuses the matter to the Ausonian men.
I shall sing marvels: the earth trembled with a long murmur,
     and thus the goddess spoke from her own adyta:
"myself I wished to be sought: let there be no delay; send the willing one:
     a worthy place is Rome, to which every god may go."

270

ille soni terrore pavens "proficiscere" dixit;
     "nostra eris: in Phrygios Roma refertur avos."
protinus innumerae caedunt pineta secures
     illa, quibus fugiens Phryx pius usus erat.
mille manus coeunt, et picta coloribus ustis

he, trembling at the terror of the sound, said, "Set forth";
     "you will be ours: Rome is referred back to Phrygian grandsires."
immediately innumerable axes cut down the pine-groves,
     those which the pious Phrygian, fleeing, had used.
a thousand hands gather, and things painted with charred hues

275

     caelestum Matrem concava puppis habet.
illa sui per aquas fertur tutissima nati,
     longaque Phrixeae stagna sororis adit,
Rhoeteumque capax Sigeaque litora transit,
     et Tenedum et veteres Eetionis opes.

     the concave stern holds the Mother of the celestials.
she is borne most safely over the waters by her own offspring,
     and she reaches the long pools of the Phrixean sister,
she passes the spacious Rhoetean and Sigean shores,
     and Tenedos and the ancient riches of Eetion.

280

Cyclades excipiunt, Lesbo post terga relicta,
     quaeque Carysteis frangitur unda vadis;
transit et Icarium, lapsas ubi perdidit alas
     Icarus, et vastae nomina fecit aquae.
tum laeva Creten, dextra Pelopeidas undas

The Cyclades take her in, with Lesbos left behind her back,
     and the wave that is broken on the Carystean shallows;
she passes too the Icarian sea, where Icarus lost his fallen wings
     and gave his name to the vast water.
then to the left Crete, to the right the Pelopid waters

285

     deserit, et Veneris sacra Cythera petit.
hinc mare Trinacrium, candens ubi tinguere ferrum
     Brontes et Steropes Acmonidesque solent,
aequoraque Afra legit, Sardoaque regna sinistris
     respicit a remis, Ausoniamque tenet.

     he leaves it, and seeks Cythera, sacred to Venus.
then the Trinacrian sea, where to dip glowing iron
     Brontes and Steropes and the Acmonides are accustomed,
and he skirts the African waters, and the Sardinian realms on the left
     he looks back on from the oars, and he attains Ausonia.

290

ostia contigerat, qua se Tiberinus in altum
     dividit et campo liberiore natat:
omnis eques mixtaque gravis cum plebe senatus
     obvius ad Tusci fluminis ora venit.
procedunt pariter matres nataeque nurusque

he had reached the mouths, where the Tiber divides itself into the deep
     and swims in a freer plain:
all the cavalry and the grave senate mingled with the plebs
     came to meet at the shores of the Tuscan river.
the mothers, daughters, and daughters-in-law proceed together

295

     quaeque colunt sanctos virginitate focos.
sedula fune viri contento bracchia lassant:
     vix subit adversas hospita navis aquas.
sicca diu fuerat tellus, sitis usserat herbas:
     sedit limoso pressa carina vado.

     and those who tend the holy hearths in virginity.
the sedulous men, with the rope drawn tight, weary their arms:
     hardly does the guest ship go up the opposing waters.
the land had long been dry, thirst had scorched the grasses:
     the keel settled, pressed upon a muddy shoal.

300

quisquis adest operi, plus quam pro parte laborat,
     adiuvat et fortes voce sonante manus:
illa velut medio stabilis sedet insula ponto;
     attoniti monstro stantque paventque viri.
Claudia Quinta genus Clauso referebat ab alto

whoever is present at the work labors more than for his share,
     and with a resounding voice he also aids the strong hands:
she sits, like an island, stable in the middle of the deep;
     the men, thunderstruck at the marvel, both stand and are afraid.
Claudia Quinta referred her lineage back to lofty Clausus

305

     (nec facies impar nobilitate fuit),
casta quidem, sed non et credita: rumor iniquus
     laeserat, et falsi criminis acta rea est.
cultus et ornatis varie prodisse capillis
     obfuit ad rigidos promptaque lingua senes.

     (nor was her face unequal to her nobility),
chaste indeed, but not also believed: iniquitous rumor
     had injured her, and she was arraigned on a false charge.
her attire and to have come forth with hair variously adorned
     proved a disadvantage with the rigid elders, and a ready tongue.

310

conscia mens recti famae mendacia risit,
     sed nos in vitium credula turba sumus.
haec ubi castarum processit ab agmine matrum
     et manibus puram fluminis hausit aquam,
ter caput inrorat, ter tollit in aethera palmas

her mind conscious of rectitude laughed at rumor’s lies,
     but we are a credulous crowd ready to believe in a fault.
when she had proceeded from the company of chaste matrons
     and with her hands drew the river’s pure water,
thrice she sprinkles her head, thrice she lifts her palms to the aether

315

     (quicumque aspiciunt, mente carere putant),
summissoque genu voltus in imagine divae
     figit, et hos edit crine iacente sonos:
"supplicis, alma, tuae, genetrix fecunda deorum,
     accipe sub certa condicione preces.

     (whoever behold her think she is bereft of mind),
with knee lowered she fixes her face upon the image of the goddess
     and, with hair hanging down, utters these sounds:
"of your suppliant, nurturing one, fecund genetrix of the gods,
     receive prayers under a fixed condition.

320

casta negor: si tu damnas, meruisse fatebor;
     morte luam poenas iudice victa dea;
sed si crimen abest, tu nostrae pignora vitae
     re dabis, et castas casta sequere manus."
dixit, et exiguo funem conamine traxit;

I am denied as chaste: if you condemn, I will admit I have deserved it;
     by death I shall pay the penalties, with you as judge, if conquered, goddess;
but if the charge is absent, you will give back the pledges of our life,
     and, chaste, follow chaste hands."
she spoke, and with a slight effort drew the rope;

325

     mira, sed et scaena testificata loquar:
mota dea est, sequiturque ducem laudatque sequendo;
     index laetitiae fertur ad astra sonus.
fluminis ad flexum veniunt (Tiberina priores
     Atria dixerunt), unde sinister abit.

     wondrous things, but I will also speak things testified by the scene:
the goddess is moved, and she follows the leader and praises by following;
     the sound, an index of joy, is borne to the stars.
they come to the bend of the river (the earlier ones called it the Tiberine Atrium),
     whence it goes off to the left.

330

nox aderat: querno religant in stipite funem,
     dantque levi somno corpora functa cibo.
lux aderat: querno solvunt a stipite funem,
     ante tamen posito tura dedere foco,
ante coronarunt puppem, sine labe iuvencam

Night was at hand: they fasten the rope on an oaken stake,
     and they give their bodies, sated with food, to light sleep.
Light was at hand: they loosen the rope from the oaken stake,
     yet first they gave incense to the set-up hearth,
before they crowned the stern, a heifer without blemish

335

     mactarunt operum coniugiique rudem.
est locus, in Tiberim qua lubricus influit Almo
     et nomen magno perdit in amne minor.
illic purpurea canus cum veste sacerdos
     Almonis dominam sacraque lavit aquis.

     they sacrificed a heifer untrained in labors and in coupling.
there is a place, where the slippery Almo flows into the Tiber
     and, the lesser, loses its name in the great river.
there the gray-haired priest with a purple garment
     washed the Mistress of Almo and the sacred things in the waters.

340

exululant comites, furiosaque tibia flatur,
     et feriunt molles taurea terga manus.
Claudia praecedit laeto celeberrima voltu,
     credita vix tandem teste pudica dea;
ipsa sedens plaustro porta est invecta Capena:

the companions ululate, and the furious tibia is blown,
     and hands strike soft backs with bull-hide;
Claudia goes before, most celebrated with a joyful countenance,
     the chaste woman scarcely at last believed, the goddess as witness;
she herself, sitting on the wagon, was borne in through the Capene Gate:

345

sparguntur iunctae flore recente boves.
Nasica accepit; templi non perstitit auctor:
Augustus nunc est, ante Metellus erat.'
substitit hic Erato. mora fit, si cetera quaeram.

the yoked oxen are sprinkled with fresh blossom.
Nasica received her; the author of the temple did not persist:
now it is Augustus; before, it was Metellus.'
here Erato halted. A delay arises, if I should seek the rest.

'dic' inquam 'parva cur stipe quaerat opes.'

'say,' I say, 'why she seeks wealth with a small offering.'

350

'contulit aes populus, de quo delubra Metellus
     fecit' ait; 'dandae mos stipis inde manet.'
cur vicibus factis ineant convivia, quaero,
     tum magis indictas concelebrentque dapes.
'quod bene mutarit sedem Berecyntia', dixit

'the people contributed bronze, from which Metellus made shrines,' he says; 'from that the custom of giving stipe remains.'
     why, with turns arranged, they enter banquets, I ask,
     and then all the more concelebrate the proclaimed feasts.
'because the Berecyntian has well changed her seat,' he said

355

     'captant mutatis sedibus omen idem.'
institeram, quare primi Megalesia ludi
     urbe forent nostra, cum dea (sensit enim)
'illa deos' inquit 'peperit: cessere parenti,
     principiumque dati Mater honoris habet.'

     'they seize the same omen with their seats changed.'
insteading, I pressed why the Megalesian games would be first in our city, when the goddess (for she sensed it)
     'she bore the gods,' she said; 'they yielded to their parent,
and the Mother has the primacy of the honor given.'

360

'cur igitur Gallos qui se excidere vocamus,
     cum tanto a Phrygia Gallica distet humus?'
'inter' ait 'viridem Cybelen altasque Celaenas
     amnis it insana, nomine Gallus, aqua.
qui bibit inde, furit: procul hinc discedite, quis est

'why therefore do we call those who cut themselves "Galli,"
     since Gallic soil is so far distant from Phrygia?'
'between,' she says, 'verdant Cybele and lofty Celaenae
     a river runs with mad water, by the name Gallus.
whoever drinks from there raves: depart far from here, whoever is

365

     cura bonae mentis: qui bibit inde, furit.'
'non pudet herbosum' dixi 'posuisse moretum
     in dominae mensis: an sua causa subest?'
'lacte mero veteres usi narrantur et herbis,
     sponte sua siquas terra ferebat' ait;

     a care for a good mind: whoever drinks from it raves.'
'is it not shameful,' I said, 'to have set herby moretum
     on my lady’s tables: or does its own cause underlie?'
'with pure milk the ancients are reported to have made use, and with herbs,
     if any the earth bore of its own accord,' he said;

370

'candidus elisae miscetur caseus herbae,
cognoscat priscos ut dea prisca cibos.'

'white cheese is mixed with the pounded herb,
so that the pristine goddess may recognize pristine foods.'

5. G NON : N

5. G NONES : N

Postera cum caelo motis Pallantias astris
fulserit, et niveos Luna levarit equos,
qui dicet 'quondam sacrata est colle Quirini

When on the next day, with the stars shifted in the sky, the Pallantian has gleamed,
and Luna has lifted her snowy horses,
who will say 'once it was consecrated on the hill of Quirinus

375

hac Fortuna die Publica', verus erit.

'on this day, Fortune is Public,' he will be true.

6. H NP (7. AN) (8. BN) 9. CN

Tertia lux (memini) ludis erat, ac mihi quidam
spectanti senior continuusque loco
'haec' ait 'illa dies, Libycis qua Caesar in oris
perfida magnanimi contudit arma Iubae.

The third day (I remember) was at the games, and to me, as I was watching, a certain elder, a regular in his place,
said, 'this is that day, on the Libyan shores on which Caesar
'this' said 'is that day, on the Libyan shores on which Caesar crushed the treacherous arms of magnanimous Juba.
crushed the treacherous arms of magnanimous Juba.'

380

dux mihi Caesar erat, sub quo meruisse tribunus
     glorior: officio praefuit ille meo.
hanc ego militia sedem, tu pace parasti,
     inter bis quinos usus honore viros.'
plura locuturi subito seducimur imbre:

Caesar was my leader, under whom I boast to have served as tribune,
     he presided over my office.
this seat I procured by military service, you by peace procured it,
     among 10 men having enjoyed honor.'
about to say more, we are suddenly drawn aside by a rain-shower:

385

pendula caelestes Libra movebat aquas.
Ante tamen quam summa dies spectacula sistat
ensifer Orion aequore mersus erit.

the pendulous Balance (Libra) was stirring the celestial waters.
Before, however, the height of day stages the spectacles,
sword-bearing Orion will have been submerged in the sea.

10. DN

Proxima victricem cum Romam inspexerit Eos
et dederit Phoebo stella fugata locum,
Circus erit pompa celeber numeroque deorum,
primaque ventosis palma petetur equis.

Next, when Eos shall have looked upon victress Rome,
and the star, put to flight, shall have given place to Phoebus,
the Circus will be thronged with a procession and with the number of gods,
and first the palm will be sought by wind-swift horses.

11. EN 12. FN

Hinc Cereris ludi: non est opus indice causae;
sponte deae munus promeritumque patet.
panis erat primis virides mortalibus herbae,

Hence the Games of Ceres: there is no need of an index of the cause;
by the goddess’s own accord the gift and the earned favor are evident.
bread for the first mortals was green herbs,

395

     quas tellus nullo sollicitante dabat;
et modo carpebant vivax e caespite gramen,
     nunc epulae tenera fronde cacumen erant.
postmodo glans nota est: bene erat iam glande reperta,
     duraque magnificas quercus habebat opes.

     which the earth gave with no one soliciting;
and just now they would pluck living grass from the sod,
     now the banquets were the tree-top with tender frondage.
thereafter the acorn became known: it was well now that the acorn had been found,
     and the hard oaks possessed magnificent wealth.

400

prima Ceres homine ad meliora alimenta vocato
     mutavit glandes utiliore cibo.
illa iugo tauros collum praebere coegit:
     tum primum soles eruta vidit humus.
aes erat in pretio, Chalybeia massa latebat:

first Ceres, with man summoned to better sustenance,
     changed acorns for more useful food.
she compelled bulls to offer the neck to the yoke:
     then for the first time the ground, upturned, saw the suns.
bronze was in esteem, the Chalybean mass lay hidden:

405

     eheu, perpetuo debuit illa tegi.
pace Ceres laeta est; et vos orate, coloni,
     perpetuam pacem pacificumque ducem.
farra deae micaeque licet salientis honorem
     detis et in veteres turea grana focos;

     alas, that ought to have been covered forever.
Ceres is glad with peace; and you, farmers, pray,
     for perpetual peace and a pacific leader.
grant to the goddess the honor of spelt and of the leaping grain of salt,
     and frankincense-grains into the ancient hearths;

410

et, si tura aberunt, unctas accendite taedas:
     parva bonae Cereri, sint modo casta, placent.
a bove succincti cultros removete ministri:
     bos aret; ignavam sacrificate suem.
apta iugo cervix non est ferienda securi:

and, if incenses are lacking, light the anointed torches:
     small gifts please good Ceres, provided only they be chaste.
from the ox, girded ministers, remove the knives:
     let the ox plow; sacrifice the slothful sow.
a neck fit for the yoke is not to be struck by the axe:

415

     vivat et in dura saepe laboret humo.
Exigit ipse locus raptus ut virginis edam:
     plura recognosces, pauca docendus eris.
terra tribus scopulis vastum procurrit in aequor
     Trinacris, a positu nomen adepta loci,

     let him live and often labor in the hard earth.
The place itself demands that I relate the rape of the maiden:
     you will recognize more; you will need to be taught but little.
the land with three crags juts out into the vast sea
     Trinacris, having obtained its name from the position of the place,

420

grata domus Cereri: multas ea possidet urbes,
     in quibus est culto fertilis Henna solo.
frigida caelestum matres Arethusa vocarat:
     venerat ad sacras et dea flava dapes.
filia, consuetis ut erat comitata puellis,

a welcome home to Ceres: she possesses many cities,
     among which Henna is fertile with cultivated soil.
cool Arethusa had called the mothers of the celestials:
     and the golden-haired goddess had come to the sacred banquets.
the daughter, as she was accompanied by her customary girls,

425

     errabat nudo per sua prata pede.
valle sub umbrosa locus est aspergine multa
     uvidus ex alto desilientis aquae.
tot fuerant illic, quot habet natura, colores,
     pictaque dissimili flore nitebat humus.

     she was wandering barefoot through her meadows.
in a valley under shade there is a place, damp with abundant spray
     from water leaping down from on high.
there were there as many colors as Nature has,
     and the ground shone, painted with dissimilar bloom.

430

quam simul aspexit, 'comites, accedite' dixit
     'et mecum plenos flore referte sinus.'
praeda puellares animos prolectat inanis,
     et non sentitur sedulitate labor.
haec implet lento calathos e vimine nexos,

as soon as she caught sight of it, 'companions, come near,' she said
     'and with me bring back laps full of blossom.'
the empty booty allures girlish spirits,
     and by sedulity the labor is not felt.
she fills the baskets woven from pliant osier,

435

     haec gremium, laxos degravat illa sinus;
illa legit calthas, huic sunt violaria curae,
     illa papavereas subsecat ungue comas;
has, hyacinthe, tenes; illas, amarante, moraris;
     pars thyma, pars rhoean et meliloton amat;

     this one burdens her lap; that one weighs down loose folds;
that one picks marigolds; for this one violet-beds are a care,
     that one clips with her nail the poppy tresses;
these, hyacinth, you hold; those, amaranth, you keep;
     some love thyme, some the rhoead and melilot;

440

plurima lecta rosa est, sunt et sine nomine flores:
     ipsa crocos tenues liliaque alba legit.
carpendi studio paulatim longius itur,
     et dominam casu nulla secuta comes.
hanc videt et visam patruus velociter aufert

very many roses have been picked, and there are flowers without a name as well:
     she herself collects the slender crocuses and the white lilies.
by zeal for plucking, gradually it is gone farther afield,
     and by chance no companion followed her mistress.
her uncle sees her and, once seen, swiftly carries her off

445

     regnaque caeruleis in sua portat equis.
illa quidem clamabat 'io, carissima mater,
     auferor!', ipsa suos abscideratque sinus:
panditur interea Diti via, namque diurnum
     lumen inadsueti vix patiuntur equi.

     and he carries her to his own realms with his cerulean horses.
she indeed kept crying, 'io, dearest mother,
     I am being carried off!', and she herself had torn her own garment:
meanwhile a way is opened for Dis, for the diurnal
     light the horses, unaccustomed, scarcely endure.

450

at, chorus aequalis, cumulatae flore ministrae
     'Persephone', clamant 'ad tua dona veni.'
ut clamata silet, montes ululatibus implent,
     et feriunt maesta pectora nuda manu.
attonita est plangore Ceres (modo venerat Hennam)

but, the equal-aged chorus, the handmaids heaped with flower,
     'Persephone,' they cry, 'come to your gifts.'
as, though called, she is silent, they fill the mountains with ululations,
     and they smite their breasts, mournful, with a bare hand.
Ceres is thunderstruck by the plangor (she had just come to Henna)

455

     nec mora, 'me miseram! filia' dixit 'ubi es?'
mentis inops rapitur, quales audire solemus
     Threicias fusis maenadas ire comis.
ut vitulo mugit sua mater ab ubere rapto
     et quaerit fetus per nemus omne suos,

     nor any delay, “wretched me! daughter,” she said, “where are you?”
bereft of mind she is swept away, such as we are accustomed to hear
     Thracian Maenads go with hair loosed.
as a mother bellows for her calf, with the teat snatched away,
     and seeks her offspring through every grove,

460

sic dea nec retinet gemitus, et concita cursu
     fertur, et e campis incipit, Henna, tuis.
inde puellaris nacta est vestigia plantae
     et pressam noto pondere vidit humum;
forsitan illa dies erroris summa fuisset,

thus the goddess does not restrain her groans, and, stirred to a run,
     she is borne, and from your fields, Henna, she sets out.
thence she found the footprints of a maiden foot
     and saw the ground pressed by a familiar weight;
perhaps that day would have been the sum of her errancy,

465

     si non turbassent signa reperta sues.
iamque Leontinos Amenanaque flumina cursu
     praeterit et ripas, herbifer Aci, tuas:
praeterit et Cyanen et fontes lenis Anapi
     et te, verticibus non adeunde Gela.

     if the swine had not disturbed the discovered signs.
and now she in her course passes by the Leontine and Amenanus rivers
     and your banks, herb-bearing Acis:
she passes also Cyane and the springs of gentle Anapus
     and you, Gela, not to be approached in your whirlpools.

470

liquerat Ortygien Megareaque Pantagienque,
     quaque Symaetheas accipit aequor aquas,
antraque Cyclopum positis exusta caminis,
     quique locus curvae nomina falcis habet,
Himeraque et Didymen Acragantaque Tauromenumque,

he had left Ortygia and Megara and the Pantagias,
     and where the sea receives the Symaethan waters,
and the caves of the Cyclopes, burned out, the forges laid aside,
     and the place that takes its name from the curved sickle,
and Himera and Didyme and Acragas and Tauromenium,

475

     sacrarumque Mylas pascua laeta boum:
hinc Camerinan adit Thapsonque et Heloria tempe,
     quaque iacet Zephyro semper apertus Eryx.
iamque Peloriadem Lilybaeaque, iamque Pachynon
     lustrarat, terrae cornua prima suae:

     and the sacred pastures of Mylae, lush with oxen:
thence he approaches Camarina and Thapsus and the Helorian Tempe,
     and where Eryx lies ever open to the Zephyr.
and already Pelorias and Lilybaeum, and already Pachynus
     he had traversed, the first horns of his land:

480

quacumque ingreditur, miseris loca cuncta querellis
     implet, ut amissum cum gemit ales Ityn.
perque vices modo 'Persephone!' modo 'filia!' clamat,
     clamat et alternis nomen utrumque ciet;
sed neque Persephone Cererem nec filia matrem

wherever she goes, she fills all the places with wretched laments
     she fills them, as when the bird groans for the lost Itys.
by turns now 'Persephone!' now 'daughter!' she cries,
     she cries, and alternately summons each name;
but neither does Persephone answer Ceres, nor the daughter her mother

485

     audit, et alternis nomen utrumque perit;
unaque, pastorem vidisset an arva colentem,
     vox erat 'hac gressus ecqua puella tulit?'
iam color unus inest rebus tenebrisque teguntur
     omnia, iam vigiles conticuere canes:

     she hears, and by turns each name perishes;
and to each alike, whether she had seen a shepherd or one tilling the fields,
     her voice was: 'Has any girl carried her steps this way?'
     now a single color is present upon things, and are covered with darkness
     all things, now the watchful dogs have fallen silent:

490

alta iacet vasti super ora Typhoeos Aetne,
     cuius anhelatis ignibus ardet humus;
illic accendit geminas pro lampade pinus:
     hinc Cereris sacris nunc quoque taeda datur.
est specus exesi structura pumicis asper,

High Etna lies above the mouths of vast Typhoeus,
     and the ground burns with his panting fires;
there he lights twin pines as a lamp:
     hence even now a torch is given for the sacred rites of Ceres.
there is a cavern, rough with the structure of eaten-away pumice,

495

     non homini regio, non adeunda ferae:
quo simul ac venit, frenatos curribus angues
     iungit et aequoreas sicca pererrat aquas.
effugit et Syrtes et te, Zanclaea Charybdi,
     et vos, Nisei, naufraga monstra, canes,

     not a region for a human, not to be approached by a wild beast:
where as soon as she comes, she yokes the bridled serpents to her chariot
     and, dry, she traverses the sea-waters.
she escapes both the Syrtes and you, Zanclaean Charybdis,
     and you, Nisaean hounds, shipwrecking monsters,

500

Hadriacumque patens late bimaremque Corinthum:
     sic venit ad portus, Attica terra, tuos.
hic primum sedit gelido maestissima saxo:
     illud Cecropidae nunc quoque triste vocant.
sub Iove duravit multis immota diebus,

and the Adriatic lying open far and wide, and bi-marine Corinth:
     thus she came to your ports, Attic land, yours.
here first she sat, most sorrowful, on the gelid rock:
     that the Cecropidae even now call sad.
under Jove she endured for many days, unmoved,

505

     et lunae patiens et pluvialis aquae.
sors sua cuique loco est: quod nunc Cerialis Eleusin
     dicitur, hoc Celei rura fuere senis.
ille domum glandes excussaque mora rubetis
     portat et arsuris arida ligna focis.

     and patient of the moon and of rainy water.
each place has its own lot: what now is called Cerial Eleusis
     was the farmland of old Celeus.
he carries home acorns and mulberries shaken from the brambles,
     and dry wood for hearths that are going to burn.

510

filia parva duas redigebat monte capellas,
     et tener in cunis filius aeger erat.
'mater' ait virgo (mota est dea nomine matris),
     'quid facis in solis incomitata locis?'
perstitit et senior, quamvis onus urget, et orat

a small daughter was driving back from the hill two she-goats,
     and the tender son was ill in the cradle.
'mother,' says the maiden (the goddess was moved by the name of mother),
     'what do you do in solitary places unaccompanied?'
and the elder too persisted, although the burden presses, and implores

515

     tecta suae subeat quantulacumque casae.
illa negat (simularat anum mitraque capillos
     presserat); instanti talia dicta refert:
'sospes eas semperque parens; mihi filia rapta est.
     heu, melior quanto sors tua sorte mea est!'

     let her go beneath the roof of her cottage, however small.
she refuses (she had feigned an old woman and with a mitre her hair
     she had pressed); to the one insisting she returns such words:
'may you go safe and ever be a parent; my daughter has been snatched from me.
     alas, how much better your lot than my lot is!'

520

dixit, et ut lacrimae (neque enim lacrimare deorum est)
     decidit in tepidos lucida gutta sinus.
flent pariter molles animis virgoque senexque;
     e quibus haec iusti verba fuere senis:
'sic tibi, quam raptam quaeris, sit filia sospes;

she said, and as tears (for to weep is not of the gods)
     a lucid drop fell upon her tepid bosom.
they weep alike, the maiden and the old man, tender in spirit;
     of whom these were the words of the just old man:
'thus may your daughter, whom you seek as rapt, be safe to you;'

525

     surge, nec exiguae despice tecta casae.'
cui dea 'duc' inquit; 'scisti qua cogere posses',
     seque levat saxo subsequiturque senem.
dux comiti narrat quam sit sibi filius aeger,
     nec capiat somnos invigiletque malis.

     'rise, and do not despise the roofs of an exiguous cottage.'
to whom the goddess said, 'lead'; 'you knew by what means you could compel',
     and she lifts herself from the rock and follows after the old man.
the guide tells his companion how his son is ailing,
     nor can he take sleep and he keeps vigil in his troubles.

530

illa soporiferum, parvos initura penates,
     colligit agresti lene papaver humo.
dum legit, oblito fertur gustasse palato
     longamque imprudens exsoluisse famem;
quae quia principio posuit ieiunia noctis,

she, about to enter the little Penates, gathers from rustic soil the gentle, soporific poppy.
while she picks, she is said to have tasted with a forgetful palate,
and, unwitting, to have discharged her long hunger;
who, because she had set her fast at the beginning of the night,

535

     tempus habent mystae sidera visa cibi.
limen ut intravit, luctus videt omnia plena;
     iam spes in puero nulla salutis erat.
matre salutata (mater Metanira vocatur)
     iungere dignata est os puerile suo.

     the initiates have as the time for food, once the stars have been seen.
as she crossed the threshold, she sees everything full of mourning;
     now there was no hope of health for the boy.
having greeted the mother (the mother is called Metanira)
     she deigned to join the boyish mouth to her own.

540

pallor abit, subitasque vident in corpore vires:
     tantus caelesti venit ab ore vigor.
tota domus laeta est, hoc est, materque paterque
     nataque: tres illi tota fuere domus.
mox epulas ponunt, liquefacta coagula lacte

the pallor departs, and they see sudden strength in the body:
     so great a vigor came from the celestial mouth.
the whole house is joyful, that is, both mother and father
     and daughter: those three were the whole house.
soon they set out the feast, curds liquefied with milk

545

     pomaque et in ceris aurea mella suis.
abstinet alma Ceres, somnique papavera causas
     dat tibi cum tepido lacte bibenda, puer.
noctis erat medium placidique silentia somni:
     Triptolemum gremio sustulit illa suo,

     and fruits and golden honeys in their own combs.
she, nourishing Ceres, abstains, and the poppies of sleep, causes
     she gives to you to be drunk with tepid milk, boy.
it was the middle of the night and the silences of placid sleep:
     she lifted Triptolemus onto her own lap,

550

terque manu permulsit eum, tria carmina dixit,
     carmina mortali non referenda sono,
inque foco corpus pueri vivente favilla
     obruit, humanum purget ut ignis onus.
excutitur somno stulte pia mater, et amens

and three times she stroked him with her hand, she spoke three charms,
     charms not to be uttered by mortal voice,
and in the hearth she covered the boy’s body with living embers
     so that the fire might purge the human burden.
the foolishly pious mother is shaken from sleep, and out of her mind

555

     'quid facis?' exclamat, membraque ab igne rapit.
cui dea 'dum non es', dixit 'scelerata fuisti:
     inrita materno sunt mea dona metu.
iste quidem mortalis erit: sed primus arabit
     et seret et culta praemia tollet humo.'

     'what are you doing?' she exclaims, and snatches his limbs from the fire.
to whom the goddess said, 'while you are not yourself, you have been wicked:
     my gifts are rendered void by maternal fear.
this boy indeed will be mortal: but he will be the first to plow
     and to sow and to take the cultivated rewards from the soil.'

560

dixit et egrediens nubem trahit, inque dracones
     transit et aligero tollitur axe Ceres.
Sunion expositum Piraeaque tuta recessu
     linquit et in dextrum quae iacet ora latus;
hinc init Aegaeum, quo Cycladas aspicit omnes,

she spoke and, going out, draws along a cloud, and turns to her dragons,
     and Ceres is lifted on the winged axle.
Sunion exposed and the Piraeus secure in its recess
     she leaves, and the shore which lies to the right side;
from here she enters the Aegean, where she beholds all the Cyclades,

565

     Ioniumque rapax Icariumque legit,
perque urbes Asiae longum petit Hellespontum,
     diversumque locis alta pererrat iter.
nam modo turilegos Arabas, modo despicit Indos;
     hinc Libys, hinc Meroe siccaque terra subest;

     and she skims the rapacious Ionian and the Icarian,
and through the cities of Asia she seeks the long Hellespont,
     and over the deep she traverses a course diverse in places.
for now the frankincense-gathering Arabs, now she looks down upon the Indians;
     on this side Libya, on that side Meroe and the dry land lie beneath;

570

nunc adit Hesperios, Rhenum Rhodanumque Padumque
     teque, future parens, Thybri, potentis aquae.
quo feror? immensum est erratas dicere terras:
     praeteritus Cereri nullus in orbe locus.
errat et in caelo, liquidique immunia ponti

now she approaches the Hesperians, the Rhine and the Rhone and the Po
     and you too, Tiber, future parent, of potent water.
whither am I borne? it is immense to tell the lands wandered:
     no place in the world was passed by Ceres.
she wanders even in the sky, and things immune from the liquid sea

575

     adloquitur gelido proxima signa polo:
'Parrhasides stellae, namque omnia nosse potestis,
     aequoreas numquam cum subeatis aquas,
Persephonen natam miserae monstrate parenti.'
     dixerat. huic Helice talia verba refert:

     she addresses the constellations nearest the gelid pole:
'Parrhasian stars, for indeed you are able to know all things,
     since you never descend beneath the sea-waters,
show Persephone, the daughter, to her wretched parent.'
     she had spoken. To her Helice returns such words:

580

'crimine nox vacua est; Solem de virgine rapta
     consule, qui late facta diurna videt.'
Sol aditus 'quam quaeris', ait 'ne vana labores,
     nupta Iovis fratri tertia regna tenet.'
questa diu secum, sic est adfata Tonantem

'the night is free of the charge; consult the Sun about the abducted maiden,
     who sees far and wide the diurnal deeds.'
The Sun, when approached, says, 'she whom you seek—lest you toil in vain—
     wedded to Jove’s brother holds the third realm.'
having long complained with herself, thus she addressed the Thunderer

585

     (maximaque in voltu signa dolentis erant):
'si memor es de quo mihi sit Proserpina nata,
     dimidium curae debet habere tuae.
orbe pererrato sola est iniuria facti
     cognita: commissi praemia raptor habet.

     (and the greatest signs of one grieving were in her countenance):
'if you are mindful of by whom Proserpina was born to me,
     she ought to have half of your care.
with the world traversed, only the injustice of the deed
     has been known: the ravisher holds the prizes of the crime committed.'

590

at neque Persephone digna est praedone marito,
     nec gener hoc nobis more parandus erat.
quid gravius victore Gyge captiva tulissem
     quam nunc te caeli sceptra tenente tuli?
verum impune ferat, nos haec patiemur inultae;

but neither is Persephone worthy of a brigand for a husband,
     nor ought a son-in-law to have been provided for us in this manner.
what heavier thing would I, a captive, have borne under victorious Gyges
     than I have now borne with you holding the scepters of heaven?
well then, let him bear it unpunished; shall we suffer these things unavenged;

595

     reddat et emendet facta priora novis.'
Iuppiter hanc lenit, factumque excusat amore,
     nec gener est nobis ille pudendus ait;
'non ego nobilior: posita est mihi regia caelo,
     possidet alter aquas, alter inane chaos.

     let him repay and amend former deeds with new ones.'
Jupiter soothes her, and excuses the deed by love,
     nor is that son-in-law shameful to us, he says;
'I am not more noble: a royal palace has been set for me in heaven,
     another possesses the waters, another the empty Chaos.

600

sed si forte tibi non est mutabile pectus,
     statque semel iuncti rumpere vincla tori,
hoc quoque temptemus, siquidem ieiuna remansit;
     si minus, inferni coniugis uxor erit.'
Tartara iussus adit sumptis Caducifer alis,

but if by chance your heart is not mutable,
     and it stands fixed to break the bonds of the once-joined bed,
let us try this too, since she has remained fasting;
     if not, she will be the wife of the infernal consort.'
Ordered, the Caducifer goes to Tartarus with wings assumed,

605

     speque redit citius visaque certa refert:
'rapta tribus' dixit 'solvit ieiunia granis,
     Punica quae lento cortice poma tegunt.'
non secus indoluit quam si modo rapta fuisset
     maesta parens, longa vixque refecta mora est.

     and with hope he returns more quickly and reports sure sights seen:
'the ravished one,' he said, 'loosed her fast with three grains,
     which the Punic apples, with a tough rind, cover.'
no otherwise did the sorrowing parent grieve than if she had just been ravished,
     and after a long delay she was scarcely restored.

610

atque ita 'nec nobis caelum est habitabile' dixit;
     'Taenaria recipi me quoque valle iube.'
et factura fuit, pactus nisi Iuppiter esset
     bis tribus ut caelo mensibus illa foret.
tum demum voltumque Ceres animumque recepit,

and so she said, 'nor is the sky habitable for us';
     'order that I too be received in the Taenarian valley.'
and she would have done it, had not Jupiter bargained
     that she should be in the sky for six months.
then at last Ceres recovered both her countenance and her spirit,

615

     imposuitque suae spicea serta comae:
largaque provenit cessatis messis in arvis,
     et vix congestas area cepit opes.
alba decent Cererem: vestes Cerialibus albas
     sumite; nunc pulli velleris usus abest.

     and she set upon her own hair garlands of ears of grain:
a bountiful harvest sprang forth in fields that had lain idle,
     and the threshing-floor scarcely held the piled-up wealth.
white befits Ceres: take white garments for the Cerialia;
     now the use of dark fleece is absent.

620

13. G EID : NP

Occupat Apriles Idus cognomine Victor
Iuppiter: hac illi sunt data templa die.
hac quoque, ni fallor, populo dignissima nostro
atria Libertas coepit habere sua.

Jupiter, by the cognomen Victor, occupies the April Ides:
on this day temples were given to him.
on this day too, unless I am mistaken, Liberty began to have her own atria
most worthy for our people.

14. HN

Luce secutura tutos pete, navita, portus:
ventus ab occasu grandine mixtus erit.
scilicet ut fuerit, tamen hac Mutinensia Caesar
grandine militia perculit arma sua.

Seek safe harbors, sailor, at the light to come:
a wind from the Occident will be mixed with hail.
of course, when it has been so, yet in the Mutina campaign Caesar
with this hail, in soldiery, smote his own forces.

15. A FORD : NP 16. BN

Tertia post Veneris cum lux surrexerit Idus,
     pontifices, forda sacra litate bove.
forda ferens bos est fecundaque dicta ferendo:
     hinc etiam fetus nomen habere putant.
nunc gravidum pecus est, gravidae quoque semine terrae:
     Telluri plenae victima plena datur.
pars cadit arce Iovis, ter denas curia vaccas

When the third light has risen after the Ides of Venus,
     pontiffs, propitiate the sacred rites with a pregnant cow.
a forda is a cow that bears, and is called fertile from bearing:
     hence they think that even fetus has its name.
now the herd is pregnant, and the earth too with seed:
     to full Tellus a full victim is given.
a part falls on Jupiter’s citadel; the curia offers thirty cows

635

     accipit et largo sparsa cruore madet.
ast ubi visceribus vitulos rapuere ministri,
     sectaque fumosis exta dedere focis,
igne cremat vitulos quae natu maxima Virgo est,
     luce Palis populos purget ut ille cinis.

     she receives it and, spattered with copious gore, is drenched.
but when the attendants have snatched the calves from the viscera,
     and have given the cut entrails to the smoky hearths,
the Maiden eldest by birth burns the calves with fire,
     so that on the day of Pales that ash may purge the peoples.

640

rege Numa, fructu non respondente labori,
     inrita decepti vota colentis erant.
nam modo siccus erat gelidis Aquilonibus annus,
     nunc ager assidua luxuriabat aqua;
saepe Ceres primis dominum fallebat in herbis,

under King Numa, the yield not answering to the labor,
     the vows of the deceived cultivator were in vain.
for at one time the year was dry with the icy North Winds,
     now the field luxuriated with incessant water;
often Ceres, in the first blades, would trick the master,

645

     et levis obsesso stabat avena solo,
et pecus ante diem partus edebat acerbos,
     agnaque nascendo saepe necabat ovem.
silva vetus nullaque diu violata securi
     stabat, Maenalio sacra relicta deo:

     and the light oats stood on the besieged soil,
and the flock before its day was bringing forth unripe births,
     and the lamb, by being born, often was killing the ewe.
an ancient forest, long violated by no axe,
     stood, sacred, left to the Maenalian god:

650

ille dabat tacitis animo responsa quieto
     noctibus; hic geminas rex Numa mactat oves.
prima cadit Fauno, leni cadit altera Somno;
     sternitur in duro vellus utrumque solo.
bis caput intonsum fontana spargitur unda,

That one gave responses in the silent nights to a quiet mind;
     here King Numa sacrifices a pair of sheep.
The first falls to Faunus, the second falls to gentle Sleep;
     each fleece is strewn on the hard ground.
Twice his unshorn head is sprinkled with fountain water,

655

     bis sua faginea tempora fronde premit.
usus abest Veneris, nec fas animalia mensis
     ponere, nec digitis anulus ullus inest;
veste rudi tectus supra nova vellera corpus
     ponit, adorato per sua verba deo.

     twice he presses his temples with his beech-leaf frond.
the use of Venus is absent, nor is it right to place animals upon the tables,
     nor is any ring present upon his fingers;
covered with rough vesture he places his body upon new fleeces
     after he has adored the god by his own words.

660

interea placidam redimita papavere frontem
     Nox venit, et secum somnia nigra trahit;
Faunus adest, oviumque premens pede vellera duro
     edidit a dextro talia verba toro:
'morte boum tibi, rex, Tellus placanda duarum:

meanwhile, her placid forehead wreathed with poppy,
     Night came, and with her she drags black dreams;
Faunus is present, and pressing with his hard foot the fleeces of the sheep
     he uttered such words from the right-hand couch:
'By the death of two cattle, for you, king, Earth must be appeased:'

665

     det sacris animas una iuvenca duas.'
excutitur terrore quies: Numa visa revolvit,
     et secum ambages caecaque iussa refert.
expedit errantem nemori gratissima coniunx
     et dixit 'gravidae posceris exta bovis.'

     let one heifer give to the sacred rites two lives.'
sleep is shaken off by terror: Numa revolves the things seen,
     and to himself he recalls the ambiguities and blind commands.
his most welcome consort expedites the erring one in the grove
     and said 'you are asked for the entrails of a pregnant cow.'

670

exta bovis gravidae dantur; fecundior annus
     provenit, et fructum terra pecusque ferunt.
Hanc quondam Cytherea diem properantius ire
     iussit et admissos praecipitavit equos,
ut titulum imperii cum primum luce sequenti

The entrails of a pregnant cow are given; a more fecund year
     comes forth, and the earth and the herd bear fruit.
Once Cytherea ordered this day to go more hastily
     and drove headlong the loosed horses,
so that the title of imperium as soon as with the following light

675

Augusto iuveni prospera bella darent.

that to the young Augustus prosperous wars might be given.

17. CN (18. DN)

Sed iam praeteritas quartus tibi Lucifer Idus
respicit; hac Hyades Dorida nocte tenent.

But now the fourth Lucifer looks back on the Ides gone by for you;
on this night the Hyades hold Doris.

19. E CER : NP

19. E CEREALIA : PUBLIC HOLIDAY

Tertia post Hyadas cum lux erit orta remotas,
     carcere partitos Circus habebit equos.
cur igitur missae vinctis ardentia taedis
     terga ferant volpes causa docenda mihi est.
frigida Carseolis nec olivis apta ferendis
     terra, sed ad segetes ingeniosus ager;
hac ego Paelignos, natalia rura, petebam,

When the third light has arisen after the far-removed Hyades,
     the Circus will have the horses released from the carcer (starting-gate).
why therefore, when sent out, the foxes bear burning backs with torches bound on—
     the cause must be told by me.
a land cold at Carseoli and not apt for bearing olives,
     but a field ingenious for corn;
by this way I was seeking the Paeligni, my natal fields,

685

     parva, sed assiduis obvia semper aquis.
hospitis antiqui solitas intravimus aedes;
     dempserat emeritis iam iuga Phoebus equis.
is mihi multa quidem, sed et haec narrare solebat,
     unde meum praesens instrueretur opus:

     small, but always met by constant waters.
we entered the accustomed house of an ancient host;
     Phoebus had now taken the yoke from his veteran horses.
he indeed was wont to tell me many things, but was also wont to tell these,
     whence my present work might be instructed:

690

'hoc' ait 'in campo' (campumque ostendit) 'habebat
     rus breve cum duro parca colona viro.
ille suam peragebat humum, sive usus aratri,
     seu curvae falcis, sive bidentis erat;
haec modo verrebat stantem tibicine villam,

'“this,” he says, “in the field” (and he points out the field), “a thrifty colona had
a small farm with a hard-working man for a husband.
he would work through his own ground, whether there was use of the plow,
or of the curved sickle, or of the two-toothed bident;
she just now would sweep the villa standing shored by a prop,”

695

     nunc matris plumis ova fovenda dabat,
aut virides malvas aut fungos colligit albos
     aut humilem grato calfacit igne focum;
et tamen assiduis exercet bracchia telis,
     adversusque minas frigoris arma parat.

     now he would give eggs to be warmed by the mother’s plumes,
or he gathers green mallows or white mushrooms
     or he warms the lowly hearth with a grateful fire;
and yet he exercises his arms with assiduous missiles,
     and he prepares arms against the threats of cold.

700

filius huius erat primo lascivus in aevo,
     addideratque annos ad duo lustra duos.
is capit extremi volpem convalle salicti:
     abstulerat multas illa cohortis aves.
captivam stipula fenoque involvit et ignes

the son of this man was frolicsome in his first age,
     and he had added two years to two lustra.
he seizes a fox in the hollow of the far osier-bed:
     that one had carried off many birds from the poultry-yard.
he wraps the captive in straw and hay and fires

705

     admovet: urentes effugit illa manus:
qua fugit, incendit vestitos messibus agros;
     damnosis vires ignibus aura dabat.
factum abiit, monimenta manent: ~nam dicere certam~
     nunc quoque lex volpem Carseolana vetat,

     He brings them near: she escapes those burning hands:
where she flees, she sets ablaze the fields clothed with harvests;
     the breeze was giving strength to the damaging fires.
the deed has passed, the monuments remain: ~for to declare the certain~
     even now the Carseolan law forbids the fox,

710

utque luat poenas, gens haec Cerialibus ardet,
quoque modo segetes perdidit ipsa perit.'

and so that it may pay penalties, this race burns at the Cerialia,
and in the same way it destroyed the grainfields, it perishes itself.'

20. FN

Proxima cum veniet terras visura patentes
Memnonis in roseis lutea mater equis,
de duce lanigeri pecoris, qui prodidit Hellen,

When next the luteous mother of Memnon shall come to see the open lands
in her rosy horses,
about the leader of the wool-bearing herd, who betrayed Helle,

715

     sol abit: egresso victima maior adest.
vacca sit an taurus non est cognoscere promptum:
     pars prior apparet, posteriora latent.
seu tamen est taurus sive est hoc femina signum,
     Iunone invita munus amoris habet.                720

     the sun departs: with it gone forth, a greater victim is at hand.
a cow or a bull it is not easy to recognize:
     the prior part appears, the hind parts lie hidden.
whether, however, it is a bull or this sign is female,
     with Juno unwilling it has the gift of love.                720

21. G PAR : NP

Nox abiit, oriturque aurora: Parilia poscor;
     non poscor frustra, si favet alma Pales.
alma Pales, faveas pastoria sacra canenti,
     prosequor officio si tua festa meo.
certe ego de vitulo cinerem stipulasque fabales

Night has departed, and Aurora rises: I am called for the Parilia;
     I am not called in vain, if kindly Pales is favorable.
kindly Pales, may you favor one singing the pastoral sacred rites,
     if I attend your feast with my office.
surely I, for my part, [bring] ash from a calf and bean-stalks

725

     saepe tuli plena, februa tosta, manu;
certe ego transilui positas ter in ordine flammas,
     udaque roratas laurea misit aquas.
mota dea est, operique favet. navalibus exit
     puppis; habent ventos iam mea vela suos.                730
i, pete virginea, populus, suffimen ab ara;
     Vesta dabit, Vestae munere purus eris.

     often have I borne, with a full hand, the toasted februa;
surely I have leapt three times over flames set in a row,
     and the wet laurel has sent forth dewy waters.
the goddess is moved, and favors the work. From the dockyards a ship puts out,
     my sails now have their own winds.                730
go, seek, O people, from the maiden’s altar a suffiment;
     Vesta will give it—by Vesta’s gift you will be pure.

sanguis equi suffimen erit vitulique favilla,
tertia res durae culmen inane fabae.
pastor, oves saturas ad prima crepuscula lustra:

the blood of a horse will be a suffiment, and the cinder of a calf,
the third thing, the empty husk of the hard bean.
shepherd, lustrate the well-fed sheep at the first twilight:

735

     unda prius spargat, virgaque verrat humum;
frondibus et fixis decorentur ovilia ramis,
     et tegat ornatas longa corona fores.
caerulei fiant puro de sulpure fumi,
     tactaque fumanti sulpure balet ovis.

     let water first sprinkle, and a rod sweep the ground;
let the sheepfolds be adorned with fronds and fixed branches,
     and let a long corona cover the ornate doors.
let the fumes become cerulean from pure sulfur,
     and let the sheep, touched with smoking sulfur, bleat.

740

ure mares oleas taedamque herbasque Sabinas,
     et crepet in mediis laurus adusta focis;
libaque de milio milii fiscella sequatur:
     rustica praecipue est hoc dea laeta cibo.
adde dapes mulctramque suas, dapibusque resectis

burn male olives, torch-pine, and Sabine herbs,
     and let the laurel, scorched, crackle in the mid hearths;
let cakes from millet, and a small basket of millet, follow:
     the rustic goddess is especially glad with this food.
add offerings and their milk-pail, and, the viands cut back,

745

     silvicolam tepido lacte precare Palem.
'consule' dic 'pecori pariter pecorisque magistris:
     effugiat stabulis noxa repulsa meis.
sive sacro pavi, sedive sub arbore sacra,
     pabulaque e bustis inscia carpsit ovis;

     pray to Pales, the woodland-dweller, with tepid milk.
'have regard,' say, 'to the herd equally and to the masters of the herd:
     let harm, repelled, flee from my stables.
whether I have pastured on sacred ground, or whether under a sacred tree,
     and whether the sheep, unknowing, has nibbled fodder from the funeral mounds;

750

si nemus intravi vetitum, nostrisve fugatae
     sunt oculis nymphae semicaperque deus;
si mea falx ramo lucum spoliavit opaco,
     unde data est aegrae fiscina frondis ovi,
da veniam culpae: nec, dum degrandinat, obsit

if I have entered a forbidden grove, or if by our eyes the nymphs and the half-goat god have been put to flight;
if my sickle has despoiled the grove of a shady branch,
whence a little basket of foliage was given to a sick sheep,
grant pardon for the fault: nor, while it hails heavily, let it be harmful

755

     agresti fano subposuisse pecus.
nec noceat turbasse lacus: ignoscite, nymphae,
     mota quod obscuras ungula fecit aquas.
tu, dea, pro nobis fontes fontanaque placa
     numina, tu sparsos per nemus omne deos.

     to have set the herd beneath a rustic shrine.
let it not harm that we have troubled the pools: forgive, nymphs,
     that a hoof in motion has made the waters dark.
you, goddess, for us, placate the springs and the fountain numina,
     you the gods scattered through the whole grove.

760

nec dryadas nec nos videamus labra Dianae
     nec Faunum, medio cum premit arva die.
pelle procul morbos; valeant hominesque gregesque,
     et valeant vigiles, provida turba, canes.
neve minus multos redigam quam mane fuerunt,

nor let us see the Dryads nor the basins of Diana
     nor Faunus, when he presses the fields at midday.
drive diseases far; may men and flocks be well,
     and may the vigilant, provident throng, the dogs, be well.
and may I bring back no fewer than they were in the morning,

765

     neve gemam referens vellera rapta lupo.
absit iniqua fames: herbae frondesque supersint,
     quaeque lavent artus quaeque bibantur aquae.
ubera plena premam, referat mihi caseus aera,
     dentque viam liquido vimina rara sero;

     and let me not groan, bringing back fleeces snatched by a wolf.
let iniquitous hunger be absent: let herbs and leafage be in surplus,
     and let there be waters which may wash the limbs and which may be drunk.
let me press full udders; let cheese bring me bronze,
     and let the sparse withies grant a way to the liquid late;

770

sitque salax aries, conceptaque semina coniunx
     reddat, et in stabulo multa sit agna meo;
lanaque proveniat nullas laesura puellas,
     mollis et ad teneras quamlibet apta manus.
quae precor, eveniant, et nos faciamus ad annum

and let the ram be salacious, and let my spouse, having conceived, give back the seeds
     and let there be many ewe-lambs in my stable;
and let wool come forth that will harm no girls,
     soft and however apt for tender hands.
may the things I pray for come to pass, and let us make it through the year

775

     pastorum dominae grandia liba Pali.'
his dea placanda est: haec tu conversus ad ortus
     dic quater et vivo perlue rore manus.
tum licet adposita, veluti cratere, camella
     lac niveum potes purpureamque sapam;

     great liba for Pales, mistress of shepherds.'
By these the goddess must be placated: these say, turned toward the east,
     say four times and lave your hands with living dew.
Then it is permitted, with a little bowl set there, as if a crater,
     you can drink snowy milk and purple sapa;

780

moxque per ardentes stipulae crepitantis acervos
     traicias celeri strenua membra pede.
expositus mos est; moris mihi restat origo:
     turba facit dubium coeptaque nostra tenet.
omnia purgat edax ignis vitiumque metallis

and soon through the blazing heaps of crackling straw
     you should fling your vigorous limbs with a swift foot.
the rite has been expounded; the origin of the custom remains to me:
     the crowd makes it doubtful and holds our undertakings.
the devouring fire purges all things and the flaw from metals

785

     excoquit: idcirco cum duce purgat oves?
an, quia cunctarum contraria semina rerum
     sunt duo discordes, ignis et unda, dei,
iunxerunt elementa patres, aptumque putarunt
     ignibus et sparsa tangere corpus aqua?

     it smelts out: for that reason does he purge the sheep with a leader?
or, because the contrary seeds of all things
     are two discordant gods, fire and wave,
the fathers joined the elements, and thought it apt
     to touch the body with fires and with sprinkled water?

790

an, quod in his vitae causa est, haec perdidit exul,
     his nova fit coniunx, haec duo magna putant?
vix equidem credo: sunt qui Phaethonta referri
     credant et nimias Deucalionis aquas.
pars quoque, cum saxis pastores saxa feribant,

or, because in these is the cause of life, has the exile lost these,
     by these a new consort is made—do they reckon these two great?
vix indeed I hardly believe: there are those who think Phaethon to be recalled
     and the excessive waters of Deucalion.
some also, when with stones the shepherds were striking stones,

795

     scintillam subito prosiluisse ferunt;
prima quidem periit, stipulis excepta secunda est:
     hoc argumentum flamma Parilis habet?
an magis hunc morem pietas Aeneia fecit,
     innocuum victo cui dedit ignis iter?

     they report that a spark suddenly leapt forth;
the first indeed perished, the second was caught by straws:
     does the Parilian flame have this argument?
or rather did Aenean piety make this custom,
     for whom, once conquered, the fire gave an unharmed path?

800

num tamen est vero propius, cum condita Roma est,
     transferri iussos in nova tecta Lares,
mutantesque domum tectis agrestibus ignem
     et cessaturae subposuisse casae,
per flammas saluisse pecus, saluisse colonos?

Or is it, however, nearer to the truth, when Rome was founded,
     that the Lares were ordered to be transferred into new roofs,
and, changing home, to have set the fire beneath rustic roofs,
     and beneath the cottage that was going to go idle,
that the herd leapt through the flames, the husbandmen leapt?

805

     quod fit natali nunc quoque, Roma, tuo.
ipse locum casus vati facit: Urbis origo
     venit; ades factis, magne Quirine, tuis.
iam luerat poenas frater Numitoris, et omne
     pastorum gemino sub duce volgus erat;

which happens now also, Rome, on your natal day.
the very chance makes room for the poet: the origin of the City comes; be present to your deeds, great Quirinus.
already the brother of Numitor had paid the penalties, and the whole crowd of shepherds was under twin leaders;

810

contrahere agrestes et moenia ponere utrique
     convenit: ambigitur moenia ponat uter.
'nil opus est' dixit 'certamine' Romulus 'ullo;
     magna fides avium est: experiamur aves.'
res placet: alter init nemorosi saxa Palati;

to gather the rustics and to set the walls suited each
     it is disputed which of the two should set the walls.
'no need,' said Romulus, 'of any contest;
     great is the trust in birds: let us test the birds.'
the plan pleases: one enters the rocks of the wooded Palatine;

815

     alter Aventinum mane cacumen init.
sex Remus, hic volucres bis sex videt ordine; pacto
     statur, et arbitrium Romulus urbis habet.
apta dies legitur qua moenia signet aratro:
     sacra Palis suberant; inde movetur opus.

     the other at morning enters the summit of the Aventine.
Remus sees six birds; this one sees twice six in order; by the pact
     it is agreed, and Romulus has the adjudication of the city.
a fitting day is chosen on which he may mark the walls with the plow:
     the sacred rites of Pales were at hand; thence the work is set in motion.

820

fossa fit ad solidum, fruges iaciuntur in ima
     et de vicino terra petita solo;
fossa repletur humo, plenaeque imponitur ara,
     et novus accenso fungitur igne focus.
inde premens stivam designat moenia sulco;

a trench is made down to the solid ground, grain is cast into the depths
     and earth fetched from the neighboring soil;
the trench is filled with earth, and a full altar is set upon it,
     and a new hearth does service with a kindled fire.
thence, pressing the plow-handle, he designates the walls with a furrow;

825

     alba iugum niveo cum bove vacca tulit.
vox fuit haec regis: 'condenti, Iuppiter, urbem,
     et genitor Mavors Vestaque mater, ades,
quosque pium est adhibere deos, advertite cuncti:
     auspicibus vobis hoc mihi surgat opus.

     a white cow bore the yoke with a snow-white bull.
this was the king’s voice: 'Jupiter, to me as I found the city,
     and father Mavors and mother Vesta, be present,
and you gods whom it is pious to summon, turn your attention, all:
     under your auspices let this work rise for me.'

830

longa sit huic aetas dominaeque potentia terrae,
     sitque sub hac oriens occiduusque dies.'
ille precabatur, tonitru dedit omina laevo
     Iuppiter, et laevo fulmina missa polo.
augurio laeti iaciunt fundamina cives,

may her age be long, and the mistress’s potency over the earth,
     and let the Orient and the Occident be under her day.'
he was praying; with thunder on the left omens were given
     by Jupiter, and from the left pole lightning-bolts were sent.
joyful at the augury, the citizens cast the foundations,

835

     et novus exiguo tempore murus erat.
hoc Celer urget opus, quem Romulus ipse vocarat,
     'sint' que, 'Celer, curae' dixerat 'ista tuae,
neve quis aut muros aut factam vomere fossam
     transeat; audentem talia dede neci.'

     and in a brief time a new wall was.
this work Celer presses on, whom Romulus himself had summoned, and had said,
     'let these be your cares, Celer,
nor let anyone either the walls or the ditch made by the ploughshare
     cross; deliver to death whoever dares such things.'

840

quod Remus ignorans humiles contemnere muros
     coepit, et 'his populus' dicere 'tutus erit?'
nec mora, transiluit: rutro Celer occupat ausum;
     ille premit duram sanguinulentus humum.
haec ubi rex didicit, lacrimas introrsus obortas

Of this unaware, Remus began to contemn the humble walls
     and to say, 'by these will the people be safe?'
no delay, he leaped across: with a mattock Celer assails the darer;
     he, bloodied, presses the hard ground.
when the king learned these things, the tears that had sprung up within

845

     devorat et clausum pectore volnus habet.
flere palam non volt exemplaque fortia servat,
     'sic' que 'meos muros transeat hostis' ait.
dat tamen exsequias; nec iam suspendere fletum
     sustinet, et pietas dissimulata patet;

     he swallows it and holds the wound shut in his breast.
he does not wish to weep openly and keeps brave exemplars,
     and says, 'thus may an enemy cross my walls.'
nevertheless he gives the funeral rites; nor now can he suspend his weeping,
     he endures it no longer, and the disguised piety stands revealed;

850

osculaque adplicuit posito suprema feretro,
     atque ait 'invito frater adempte, vale',
arsurosque artus unxit: fecere, quod ille,
     Faustulus et maestas Acca soluta comas.
tum iuvenem nondum facti flevere Quirites;

and he pressed final kisses upon the bier set down,
     and said, 'Brother taken away against my will, farewell,'
and he anointed the limbs that were to burn: did what he did,
     Faustulus and Acca, her sad locks loosened.
then the Quirites, not yet made so, wept for the youth;

855

     ultima plorato subdita flamma rogo est.
urbs oritur (quis tunc hoc ulli credere posset?)
     victorem terris impositura pedem.
cuncta regas et sis magno sub Caesare semper,
     saepe etiam plures nominis huius habe;

     the final flame was set beneath the wept-over pyre.
a city arises (who then could have made anyone believe this?)
     destined to set a victor’s foot upon the lands.
may you rule all things and be always under a great Caesar,
     and often have several more of this name as well;

860

et, quotiens steteris domito sublimis in orbe,
omnia sint umeris inferiora tuis.

and, whenever you stand sublime upon the subdued orb,
let all things be inferior to your shoulders.

(22. HN) 23. A VIN : FP (ut vid.)

(22. HN) 23. A VIN : FP (as it seems.)

Dicta Pales nobis: idem Vinalia dicam.
una tamen media est inter utramque dies.
numina, volgares, Veneris celebrate, puellae:

Pales has been spoken of by me: likewise I shall speak of the Vinalia.
yet one day is in the middle between the two.
celebrate the numina of Venus, common girls:

865

     multa professarum quaestibus apta Venus.
poscite ture dato formam populique favorem,
     poscite blanditias dignaque verba ioco;
cumque sua dominae date grata sisymbria myrto
     tectaque composita iuncea vincla rosa.

     many are the things of Venus apt to the profits of the professed.
ask, with incense given, for form and the people’s favor,
     ask for blandishments and words worthy of jest;
and with her own myrtle give to your mistress pleasing sisymbrium,
     and rush-made bonds, composed, covered with a rose.

870

templa frequentari Collinae proxima portae
     nunc decet; a Siculo nomina colle tenent,
utque Syracusas Arethusidas abstulit armis
     Claudius et bello te quoque cepit, Eryx,
carmine vivacis Venus est translata Sibyllae,

it is now fitting that the temples nearest the Colline Gate be frequented;
     they take their names from a Sicilian hill,
and as Claudius carried off Arethusian Syracuse by arms
     and in war captured you too, Eryx,
by the song of the long-lived Sibyl Venus has been translated.

875

     inque suae stirpis maluit urbe coli.
cur igitur Veneris festum Vinalia dicant
     quaeritis, et quare sit Iovis ista dies?
Turnus an Aeneas Latiae gener esset Amatae
     bellum erat: Etruscas Turnus adorat opes.

     and in the city of her own stock she preferred to be worshiped.
why therefore they call the feast of Venus the Vinalia
     you ask, and why that day is Jupiter’s?
whether Turnus or Aeneas should be the son-in-law of Latian Amata
     it was war: Turnus courts Etruscan power.

880

clarus erat sumptisque ferox Mezentius armis,
     et vel equo magnus vel pede maior erat;
quem Rutuli Turnusque suis adsciscere temptat
     partibus. haec contra dux ita Tuscus ait:
'stat mihi non parvo virtus mea: volnera testor

Mezentius was renowned and fierce with arms taken up,
     and he was great on horse or greater on foot;
whom the Rutulians and Turnus try to enroll to their own parties.
     To these things in reply the Tuscan leader thus says:
'My valor stands to me not at small cost: I call my wounds to witness

885

armaque, quae sparsi sanguine saepe meo.
qui petis auxilium, non grandia divide mecum
praemia, de lacubus proxima musta tuis.
nulla mora est operae: vestrum est dare, vincere nostrum.

and arms, which I have often spattered with my own blood.
you who seek assistance, do not divide great rewards with me
—from your vats the must nearest at hand.
there is no delay for the work: yours is to give, ours to conquer.

quam velit Aeneas ista negata mihi!'

how Aeneas would desire those things denied to me!'

890

adnuerant Rutuli. Mezentius induit arma,
     induit Aeneas adloquiturque Iovem:
'hostica Tyrrheno vota est vindemia regi:
     Iuppiter, e Latio palmite musta feres.'
vota valent meliora: cadit Mezentius ingens

The Rutulians had assented. Mezentius puts on arms,
     Aeneas puts on arms and addresses Jove:
'a hostile vintage has been vowed for the Tyrrhenian king;
     Jupiter, from the Latin vine-shoot you will bear must.'
the better vows prevail: mighty Mezentius falls

895

     atque indignanti pectore plangit humum.
venerat Autumnus calcatis sordidus uvis:
     redduntur merito debita vina Iovi.
dicta dies hinc est Vinalia; Iuppiter illa
     vindicat, et festis gaudet inesse suis.

     and with an indignant breast he beats the ground.
Autumn had come, sordid with trodden grapes:
     the wines owed are rendered, deservedly, to Jove.
Hence the day is called the Vinalia; Jupiter
     claims it, and rejoices to be present at his own feasts.

900

(24. BC) 25. C ROB : NP

(24. BC) 25. Comitial (C) Robigalia : Nefastus Publicus (NP)

Sex ubi, quae restant, luces Aprilis habebit,
     in medio cursu tempora veris erunt,
et frustra pecudem quaeres Athamantidos Helles,
     signaque dant imbres, exoriturque Canis.
hac mihi Nomento Romam cum luce redirem,

When April will have six days remaining,
     the seasons of spring will be in mid-course,
and you will seek in vain the sheep of Helle, daughter of Athamas,
     and the rains give signs, and the Dog rises.
on this day, as I was returning from Nomentum to Rome with the daylight,

905

     obstitit in media candida turba via:
flamen in antiquae lucum Robiginis ibat,
     exta canis flammis, exta daturus ovis.
protinus accessi, ritus ne nescius essem;
     edidit haec flamen verba, Quirine, tuus:

     a white throng stood in the middle of the way:
the flamen was going into the grove of ancient Robigo,
     about to give to the flames the entrails of a dog, and the entrails of a sheep.
at once I approached, lest I should be unknowing of the rite;
     your flamen, Quirinus, uttered these words:

910

'aspera Robigo, parcas Cerialibus herbis,
     et tremat in summa leve cacumen humo.
tu sata sideribus caeli nutrita secundi
     crescere, dum fiant falcibus apta, sinas.
vis tua non levis est: quae tu frumenta notasti,

'harsh Robigo, spare the Cereal herbs,
     and let the light tip tremble on the topmost soil.
you allow the sown things, nourished by the stars of a favorable sky,
     to grow until they become apt for sickles.
your force is not light: the grain that you have marked,

915

     maestus in amissis illa colonus habet;
nec venti tantum Cereri nocuere nec imbres,
     nec sic marmoreo pallet adusta gelu,
quantum si culmos Titan incalfacit udos:
     tum locus est irae, diva timenda, tuae.

     sad, the farmer reckons those among the things lost;
nor have the winds so harmed Ceres nor the rains,
     nor thus does she grow pale, seared by marble-like frost,
as much as if Titan warms the wet stalks:
     then there is a place for your wrath, goddess to be feared.

920

parce, precor, scabrasque manus a messibus aufer,
     neve noce cultis; posse nocere sat est.
nec teneras segetes, sed durum amplectere ferrum,
     quodque potest alios perdere perde prior.
utilius gladios et tela nocentia carpes:

spare, I pray, and withdraw your scabrous hands from the harvests,
     nor harm the cultivated fields; to be able to harm is enough.
not the tender crops, but embrace the hard iron,
     and what can destroy others, destroy first.
more usefully you will pluck swords and noxious weapons:

925

     nil opus est illis; otia mundus agit.
sarcula nunc durusque bidens et vomer aduncus,
     ruris opes, niteant; inquinet arma situs,
conatusque aliquis vagina ducere ferrum
     adstrictum longa sentiat esse mora.

     there is no need of them; the world enjoys leisure.
let the little hoes and the sturdy two-pronged mattock and the hooked ploughshare,
     the resources of the countryside, shine; let neglect grime the arms,
and if someone attempts to draw the iron from the scabbard,
     let him feel it to be bound fast by a long delay.

930

at tu ne viola Cererem, semperque colonus
     absenti possit solvere vota tibi.'
dixerat; a dextra villis mantele solutis
     cumque meri patera turis acerra fuit.
tura focis vinumque dedit fibrasque bidentis

But you, do not violate Ceres, and may the farmer always
     though absent be able to discharge vows to you.'
He had spoken; at the right there was a towel with shaggy fringes loosened,
     and, together with a bowl of unmixed wine, a censer of incense.
he gave incense to the hearths and wine and the entrails of a two-toothed sheep

935

     turpiaque obscenae (vidimus) exta canis.
tum mihi 'cur detur sacris nova victima quaeris?'
     (quaesieram) 'causam percipe' flamen ait.
'est Canis, Icarium dicunt, quo sidere moto
     tosta sitit tellus praecipiturque seges:

     and the foul entrails of an obscene (we have seen) dog.
then to me, 'do you ask why a new victim is given to the rites?'
     (I had asked.) "Perceive the cause," the flamen said.
'there is the Dog, they call it Icarius; when that star is set in motion
     the scorched earth thirsts and the crop is hurled headlong:'

940

pro cane sidereo canis hic imponitur arae,
et quare fiat nil nisi nomen habet.'

in place of the sidereal Dog, a dog is set here upon the altar,
and as to why it is done, it has nothing but the name.'

(26. DF) (27. EC) 28. F NP 29. GC 30. HC

Cum Phrygis Assaraci Tithonia fratre relicto
sustulit immenso ter iubar orbe suum,
mille venit variis florum dea nexa coronis;

When, with the brother of Phrygian Assaracus left behind, the Tithonian Dawn
raised her own radiance thrice in the immense orb,
the goddess came bound with a thousand various garlands of flowers;

945

     scaena ioci morem liberioris habet.
exit et in Maias sacrum Florale Kalendas:
     tunc repetam, nunc me grandius urget opus.
aufer, Vesta, diem: cognati Vesta recepta est
     limine; sic iusti constituere patres.

     the scene holds the custom of a more liberal jest.
and the Floralian sacred rite goes forth even into the May Kalends:
     then I will return; now a grander work presses me.
remove, Vesta, the day: Vesta has been received at a kinsman’s
     threshold; thus have the just Fathers established.

950

Phoebus habet partem: Vestae pars altera cessit:
quod superest illis, tertius ipse tenet.
state Palatinae laurus, praetextaque quercu
stet domus: aeternos tres habet una deos.

Phoebus holds a part: another part has yielded to Vesta:
what remains beyond those, he himself as the third holds.
stand, Palatine laurels, and let the house, pretexted with oak, stand:
one house holds three eternal gods.