Ovid: FASTI

Hic quoque mensis habet dubias in nomine causas:
     quae placeat, positis omnibus ipse leges.
facta canam; sed erunt qui me finxisse loquantur,
     nullaque mortali numina visa putent.
est deus in nobis, agitante calescimus illo;

This month too has doubtful causes for its name:
     which one may please, with all things set forth, you yourself will choose.
I will sing of deeds; but there will be those who say I have feigned,
     and think that no numina have been seen by a mortal.
There is a god within us; as he stirs us, we grow warm;

     impetus hic sacrae semina mentis habet:
fas mihi praecipue voltus vidisse deorum,
     vel quia sum vates, vel quia sacra cano.
est nemus arboribus densum, secretus ab omni
     voce locus, si non obstreperetur aquis:

     this impulse holds the seeds of a sacred mind:
it is right for me especially to have seen the visages of the gods,
     either because I am a vates, or because I sing sacra.
there is a grove dense with trees, a place secluded from every
     voice, if it were not drowned out by the waters:

hic ego quaerebam coepti quae mensis origo
     esset, et in cura nominis huius eram.
ecce deas vidi, non quas praeceptor arandi
     viderat, Ascraeas cum sequeretur oves;
nec quas Priamides in aquosae vallibus Idae

here I was inquiring what the origin of the month I had begun might be,
     and I was in care about this name.
behold I saw goddesses, not those whom the preceptor of plowing
     had seen, when he was following the Ascraean sheep;
nor those whom the son of Priam in the valleys of watery Ida

     contulit: ex illis sed tamen una fuit,
ex illis fuit una, sui germana mariti;
     haec erat, agnovi, quae stat in arce Iovis.
horrueram tacitoque animum pallore fatebar;
     tum dea, quos fecit, sustulit ipsa metus.

     she brought together; but yet among them there was one,
from among them there was one, the sister-german of her own husband;
     this was she, I recognized, who stands on the citadel of Jove.
I had shuddered, and with a silent pallor I was confessing my mind;
     then the goddess herself lifted the fears that she had made.

namque ait 'o vates, Romani conditor anni,
     ause per exiguos magna referre modos,
ius tibi fecisti numen caeleste videndi,
     cum placuit numeris condere festa tuis:
ne tamen ignores volgique errore traharis,

for she said, 'O vates, founder of the Roman year,
     you who have dared to relate great matters in slight measures,
you have made for yourself the right to behold a heavenly numen,
     since it has pleased you to establish the feasts in your own numbers:
yet lest you be ignorant and be dragged along by the crowd’s error,

     Iunius a nostro nomine nomen habet.
est aliquid nupsisse Iovi, Iovis esse sororem:
     fratre magis dubito glorier anne viro.
si genus aspicitur, Saturnum prima parentem
     feci, Saturni sors ego prima fui.

     June takes its name from my name.
there is something in having wed Jove, in being Jove’s sister:
     I doubt whether I should glory more in my brother or my husband.
if lineage is looked at, as first I made Saturn a parent,
     I was Saturn’s first-born.

a patre dicta meo quondam Saturnia Roma est:
     haec illi a caelo proxima terra fuit.
si torus in pretio est, dicor matrona Tonantis,
     iunctaque Tarpeio sunt mea templa Iovi.
an potuit Maio paelex dare nomina mensi,

by my father Rome was once called Saturnian:
     for him this land was the earth nearest to heaven.
if the marriage-bed is in esteem, I am called the matron of the Thunderer,
     and my temples are joined to Tarpeian Jove.
or could a mistress give a name to the month of May,

     hic honor in nobis invidiosus erit?
cur igitur regina vocor princepsque dearum,
     aurea cur dextrae sceptra dedere meae?
an facient mensem luces, Lucinaque ab illis
     dicar, et a nullo nomina mense traham?

     will this honor be begrudged in us?
why, then, am I called queen and chief of the goddesses,
     why have golden scepters been given to my right hand?
or will the lights make the month, and shall I be called Lucina from them,
     and shall I draw my names from no month?

tum me paeniteat posuisse fideliter iras
     in genus Electrae Dardaniamque domum.
causa duplex irae: rapto Ganymede dolebam,
     forma quoque Idaeo iudice victa mea est.
paeniteat quod non foveo Carthaginis arces,

then may I regret to have faithfully put down my ire
     against the race of Electra and the Dardanian house.
a twofold cause of ire: I grieved at Ganymede snatched away,
     and my beauty too was defeated by the Idaean judge.
may I regret that I do not cherish the citadels of Carthage,

     cum mea sint illo currus et arma loco:
paeniteat Sparten Argosque measque Mycenas
     et veterem Latio subposuisse Samon:
adde senem Tatium Iunonicolasque Faliscos,
     quos ego Romanis succubuisse tuli.

     since my chariot and arms are in that place:
let me regret that I have set Sparta and Argos and my Mycenae
     and ancient Samos beneath Latium:
add old Tatius and the Juno-worshipping Falisci,
     whom I endured to have succumbed to the Romans.

sed neque paeniteat, nec gens mihi carior ulla est:
     hic colar, hic teneam cum Iove templa meo.
ipse mihi Mavors "commendo moenia" dixit
     "haec tibi: tu pollens urbe nepotis eris."
dicta fides sequitur: centum celebramur in aris,

but let me neither regret it, nor is any race dearer to me:
     here let me be worshiped, here let me hold temples with my Jove.
himself to me Mavors said "I entrust the walls
     these to you: you will be powerful in the city of your descendant."
faith follows the words: we are celebrated at a hundred altars,

     nec levior quovis est mihi mensis honor.
nec tamen hunc nobis tantummodo praestat honorem
     Roma: suburbani dant mihi munus idem.
inspice quos habeat nemoralis Aricia fastos
     et populus Laurens Lanuviumque meum:

     nor is the honor of my month lighter than that of any whatsoever.
nor yet does Rome alone bestow this honor on us:  the suburban folk grant me the same office.
inspect what Fasti the wooded Aricia has,
     and the Laurentine people, and my Lanuvium:

est illic mensis Iunonius. inspice Tibur
     et Praenestinae moenia sacra deae,
Iunonale leges tempus: nec Romulus illas
     condidit, at nostri Roma nepotis erat.'
finierat Iuno, respeximus: Herculis uxor

there is there a Junonian month. Look at Tibur
     and the walls of Praeneste sacred to the goddess;
you will read of a Junonian season: nor did Romulus found those,
     but Rome belonged to our descendant.'
Juno had finished; we looked back: the wife of Hercules

     stabat, et in voltu signa vigoris erant.
'non ego, si toto mater me cedere caelo
     iusserit, invita matre morabor' ait.
'nunc quoque non luctor de nomine temporis huius:
     blandior, et partes paene rogantis ago,                70
remque mei iuris malim tenuisse precando:
     et faveas causae forsitan ipse meae.
aurea possedit socio Capitolia templo
     mater et, ut debet, cum Iove summa tenet;
at decus omne mihi contingit origine mensis:

     she stood, and in her countenance were signs of vigor.
'not I, if my mother should order me to yield from the whole heaven,
     will linger—with my mother unwilling,' she said.
'now too I do not wrestle about the name of this season:
     I am more coaxing, and I almost play the part of a suppliant,                70
and I would prefer to have held the matter of my right by entreating:
     and perhaps you yourself may favor my cause.
my mother has possessed the golden Capitol with a companion temple
     and, as she ought, holds the heights with Jove;
but all the honor befalls me in the origin of the month:'

     unicus est, de quo sollicitamur, honor.
quid grave, si titulum mensis, Romane, dedisti
     Herculis uxori, posteritasque memor?
haec quoque terra aliquid debet mihi nomine magni
     coniugis: huc captas adpulit ille boves,

     There is a unique honor, about which we are solicitous.
quid is grievous, if, Roman, you have given the title of a month
     to the wife of Hercules, and posterity remembers?
this land also owes something to me in the name of my great
     consort: hither he drove the captured cattle,

hic male defensus flammis et dote paterna
     Cacus Aventinam sanguine tinxit humum.
ad propiora vocor: populum digessit ab annis
     Romulus, in partes distribuitque duas;
haec dare consilium, pugnare paratior illa est,

here, poorly defended by flames and by his father’s dowry,
     Cacus stained the Aventine ground with blood.
I am called to nearer matters: he separated the people by years
     Romulus, and distributed them into two parts;
this one to give counsel, that one more prepared to fight,

     haec aetas bellum suadet, at illa gerit.
sic statuit, mensesque nota secrevit eadem:
     Iunius est iuvenum; qui fuit ante, senum.'
dixit; et in litem studio certaminis issent,
     atque ira pietas dissimulata foret:

     this age counsels war, but that one wages it.
thus he resolved, and with the same mark he separated the months:
     June is of the youths; the one which was before, of the seniors.'
he said; and through zeal for contest they would have gone into a quarrel,
     and by ire piety would have been dissimulated:

venit Apollinea longas Concordia lauro
     nexa comas, placidi numen opusque ducis.
haec ubi narravit Tatium fortemque Quirinum
     binaque cum populis regna coisse suis,
et lare communi soceros generosque receptos,

Concord came, her long hair bound with Apollinean laurel,
     the numen and the work of the placid leader.
when she had told of Tatius and brave Quirinus,
     and that the twin realms had united with their peoples,
and that in a common hearth fathers-in-law and sons-in-law were received,

     'his nomen iunctis Iunius' inquit 'habet.'
dicta triplex causa est. at vos ignoscite, divae:
     res est arbitrio non dirimenda meo.
ite pares a me. perierunt iudice formae
     Pergama: plus laedunt, quam iuvat una, duae.

     'June,' she says, 'has its name from these joined.'
a triple cause has been stated. But forgive me, goddesses:
     the matter is not to be resolved by my arbitration.
go forth from me as equals. Pergama perished with beauty as judge:
     two wound more than one helps.'

100

1. H K : IVN : N100a

1. KALENDS : JUNE : NEFASTUS100a

Prima dies tibi, Carna, datur. dea cardinis haec est:
     numine clausa aperit, claudit aperta suo.
unde datas habeat vires, obscurior aevo
     fama; sed e nostro carmine certus eris.
adiacet antiquus Tiberino lucus Alerni:

The first day is given to you, Carna. This is the goddess of the hinge:
     by her numen she opens the closed, she shuts the opened.
whence she has powers granted, the tradition is more obscured by age;
     but from our song you will be certain.
an ancient grove of Alernus lies beside the Tiber:

105

     pontifices illuc nunc quoque sacra ferunt.
inde sata est nymphe (Cranaen dixere priores)
     nequiquam multis saepe petita procis.
rura sequi iaculisque feras agitare solebat,
     nodosasque cava tendere valle plagas;

     thither the pontiffs even now bear the sacred rites.
thence the nymph was begotten (the earlier ones called her Cranaë),
     often sought by many suitors in vain.
she used to range the fields and chase wild beasts with javelins,
     and to stretch knotted nets in a hollow valley;

110

non habuit pharetram, Phoebi tamen esse sororem
     credebant, nec erat, Phoebe, pudenda tibi.
huic aliquis iuvenum dixisset amantia verba,
     reddebat tales protinus illa sonos:
'haec loca lucis habent nimis, et cum luce pudoris:

she did not have a quiver, nevertheless they believed her to be the sister of Phoebus,
     nor, Phoebe, would there have been things shameful for you.
if any one of the youths had spoken amorous words to her,
     that girl at once returned such sounds:
'these places have too much of light, and, along with light, of modesty:'

115

     si secreta magis ducis in antra, sequor.'
credulus ante ut iit, frutices haec nacta resistit,
     et latet et nullo est invenienda modo.
viderat hanc Ianus, visaeque cupidine captus
     ad duram verbis mollibus usus erat.

     'if you lead me into more secret caverns, I follow.'
as he, credulous, went on ahead, she, having found some shrubs, stopped,
     and hides and is to be found by no way.
Janus had seen her, and, seized by desire at the sight,
     had employed soft words upon the hard-hearted one.

120

nympha iubet quaeri de more remotius antrum,
utque comes sequitur, destituitque ducem.
stulta! videt Ianus quae post sua terga gerantur:
nil agis, et latebras respicit ille tuas.

the nymph bids that, according to custom, a more remote cave be sought,
and as a companion he follows, and she deserts the guide.
foolish girl! Janus sees what things are done behind his own back:
you achieve nothing, and he looks back at your hiding places.

nil agis, en! dixi: nam te sub rupe latentem

You achieve nothing, lo! I said: for you, hiding beneath the rock

125

     occupat amplexu, speque potitus ait
'ius pro concubitu nostro tibi cardinis esto:
     hoc pretium positae virginitatis habe.'
sic fatus spinam, qua tristes pellere posset
     a foribus noxas (haec erat alba) dedit.

     he seizes with an embrace, and, having gained his hope, says
'let the right of the hinge be yours in return for our coupling:
     have this as the price of virginity laid aside.'
thus having spoken he gave a thorn, with which he might be able
     to drive sad harms from the doors (this was white).

130

sunt avidae volucres, non quae Phineia mensis
     guttura fraudabant, sed genus inde trahunt:
grande caput, stantes oculi, rostra apta rapinis;
     canities pennis, unguibus hamus inest;
nocte volant puerosque petunt nutricis egentes,

there are greedy birds, not those which cheated the throats at Phineus’s tables,
     but they draw their genus from that stock:
a large head, staring eyes, beaks apt for rapine;
     hoariness in the feathers, a hook is in their claws;
by night they fly and seek boys lacking a nurse,

135

     et vitiant cunis corpora rapta suis;
carpere dicuntur lactentia viscera rostris,
     et plenum poto sanguine guttur habent.
est illis strigibus nomen; sed nominis huius
     causa quod horrenda stridere nocte solent.

     and they defile bodies snatched from their own cradles;
they are said to pluck the milk-fed viscera with their beaks,
     and they have a throat full, with quaffed blood.
their name is striges; but of this name
     the cause is that they are wont to shriek horribly at night.

140

sive igitur nascuntur aves, seu carmine fiunt
     neniaque in volucres Marsa figurat anus,
in thalamos venere Procae: Proca natus in illis
     praeda recens avium quinque diebus erat,
pectoraque exsorbent avidis infantia linguis;

whether therefore the birds are born, or are made by a charm,
     and a Marsian old woman figures them into winged creatures with dirge,
into the bedchambers of Proca they came: Proca’s son, there,
     was the fresh prey of the birds for five days,
and they suck out the infant chest with greedy tongues;

145

at puer infelix vagit opemque petit.
territa voce sui nutrix accurrit alumni,
et rigido sectas invenit ungue genas.
quid faceret?

but the unlucky boy wails and seeks aid.
terrified by the voice of her own ward the nurse runs up,
and finds his cheeks cut with a rigid nail.
what was she to do?

color oris erat qui frondibus olim
esse solet seris, quas nova laesit hiems.

the color of his face was that which is wont to be on leaves late in the season
which a new winter has injured.

150

pervenit ad Cranaen, et rem docet. illa 'timorem
     pone: tuus sospes' dixit 'alumnus erit.'
venerat ad cunas; flebant materque paterque:
     'sistite vos lacrimas, ipsa medebor' ait.
protinus arbutea postes ter in ordine tangit

she arrived at Cranaë, and explains the matter. She said, 'put aside fear:
     your alumnus will be safe.'
she had come to the cradle; both mother and father were weeping:
     'stay your tears, I myself will heal,' she says.
forthwith with arbutus-wood she touches the doorposts three times in order

155

     fronde, ter arbutea limina fronde notat,
spargit aquis aditus (et aquae medicamen habebant)
     extaque de porca cruda bimenstre tenet,
atque ita 'noctis aves, extis puerilibus' inquit
     'parcite: pro parvo victima parva cadit.

     with foliage, thrice she marks the thresholds with arbutus foliage,
she sprinkles the entrances with waters (and the waters had a medicament)
     and she holds the raw entrails from a two-months-old young sow,
and thus, 'birds of night, from the child’s entrails,' she says
     'spare: for a small victim falls in place of the small.'

160

cor pro corde, precor, pro fibris sumite fibras:
     hanc animam vobis pro meliore damus.'
sic ubi libavit, prosecta sub aethere ponit,
     quique adsint sacris respicere illa vetat:
virgaque Ianalis de spina subditur alba,

heart for heart, I pray; for fibers take fibers:
     this life/spirit we give to you in place of a better.'
thus, when he had made a libation, he sets the cut-off pieces beneath the sky,
     and he forbids those who are present at the rites to look back at them:
and a Janual rod of white thorn is put beneath,

165

     qua lumen thalamis parva fenestra dabat.
post illud nec aves cunas violasse feruntur,
     et rediit puero qui fuit ante color.
Pinguia cur illis gustentur larda Kalendis
     mixtaque cum calido sit faba farre rogas?

     where a small window gave light to the bedchambers.
after that, nor are birds reported to have violated the cradles,
     and the color which was before returned to the boy.
Why on those Kalends is fat bacon tasted,
     and do you ask that the bean be mixed with warm spelt?

170

prisca dea est, aliturque cibis quibus ante solebat,
     nec petit adscitas luxuriosa dapes.
piscis adhuc illi populo sine fraude natabat,
     ostreaque in conchis tuta fuere suis;
nec Latium norat quam praebet Ionia dives

she is an ancient goddess, and she is nourished by the foods by which she was formerly accustomed,
     nor does she, luxurious, seek adscititious banquets.
for that people the fish still swam without deceit,
     and oysters were safe in their own shells;
nor did Latium know what rich Ionia proffers

175

     nec quae Pygmaeo sanguine gaudet avis;
et praeter pennas nihil in pavone placebat,
     nec tellus captas miserat arte feras.
sus erat in pretio, caesa sue festa colebant;
     terra fabas tantum duraque farra dabat.

     nor the bird that rejoices in Pygmy blood;
and in the peacock nothing pleased except the feathers,
     nor had the earth sent forth beasts captured by craft.
the sow was in price; with a sow slain they observed feasts;
     the earth gave only beans and hard spelt.

180

quae duo mixta simul sextis quicumque Kalendis
     ederit, huic laedi viscera posse negant.
Arce quoque in summa Iunoni templa Monetae
     ex voto memorant facta, Camille, tuo.
ante domus Manli fuerat, qui Gallica quondam

whoever shall have eaten these two, mixed together, on the Sixth Kalends,
     they say that his viscera cannot be harmed.
Also on the summit of the Citadel, a temple to Juno Moneta
     they recount was made, Camillus, from your vow.
before, it had been the house of Manlius, who once in the Gallic [war]

185

     a Capitolino reppulit arma Iove.
quam bene, di magni, pugna cecidisset in illa
     defensor solii, Iuppiter alte, tui!
vixit, ut occideret damnatus crimine regni:
     hunc illi titulum longa senecta dabat.

     from Capitoline Jove he repelled the arms.
how well, great gods, he would have fallen in that fight
     defender of your throne, Jupiter on high!
he lived, to die condemned on the charge of kingship:
     this title long old age gave him.

190

Lux eadem Marti festa est, quem prospicit extra
     adpositum Tectae porta Capena Viae.
te quoque, Tempestas, meritam delubra fatemur,
     cum paene est Corsis obruta classis aquis.
haec hominum monimenta patent: si quaeritis astra,

The same day is a festival for Mars, whom, set outside,
     the Capene Gate of the Covered Way looks out upon.
you too, Tempest, we confess shrines deserved,
     when the fleet was almost overwhelmed by Corsican waters.
these monuments of men stand open: if you seek the stars,

195

tunc oritur magni praepes adunca Iovis.

then arises the hooked eagle of great Jove.

2. A F196a

2. A196a

Postera lux Hyadas, Taurinae cornua frontis,
evocat, et multa terra madescit aqua.

The next light calls forth the Hyades, the horns of the Taurine brow,
and the earth is soaked with much water.

3. B C198a

Mane ubi bis fuerit Phoebusque iteraverit ortus
     factaque erit posito rore bis uda seges,
hac sacrata die Tusco Bellona duello
     dicitur, et Latio prospera semper adest.
Appius est auctor, Pyrrho qui pace negata
     multum animo vidit, lumine cas erat.
prospicit a templo summum brevis area Circum:

When morning shall have been twice and Phoebus has repeated his rising,
     and the standing grain will have been made twice wet with the laid-down dew,
on this hallowed day Bellona is said to be dedicated to the Tuscan war,
     and she is always present auspicious to Latium.
Appius is the authority, who, with peace denied to Pyrrhus,
     saw much with his mind; he was bereft of light.
from the temple a small court looks out over the top of the Circus:

205

est ibi non parvae parva columna notae;
hinc solet hasta manu, belli praenuntia, mitti,
in regem et gentes cum placet arma capi.

there is there a small column of no small renown;
from here the spear, the harbinger of war, is wont to be sent by hand,
against a king and nations when it pleases that arms be taken up.

4. C C208a

4. 100 100208a

Altera pars Circi Custode sub Hercule tuta est,
quod deus Euboico carmine munus habet.
muneris est tempus qui Nonas Lucifer ante est;
si titulum quaeris, Sulla probavit opus.

Another part of the Circus is safe under Hercules as Custodian,
because the god holds the office by an Euboean song.
the time of the observance is that which is before the Nones;
if you seek the title, Sulla approved the work.

5. D NON : N212a

5. DAY OF THE NONES: N212a

Quaerebam Nonas Sanco Fidione referrem
an tibi, Semo pater; tum mihi Sancus ait:
'cuicumque ex istis dederis, ego munus habebo:

I was inquiring whether I should refer the Nones to Sancus Fidius
or to you, Father Semo; then Sancus said to me:
'to whichever of these you give it, I shall have the office:'

215

nomina terna fero: sic voluere Cures.'
hunc igitur veteres donarunt aede Sabini,
inque Quirinali constituere iugo.

'I bear three names: thus the Cures willed.'
therefore the ancient Sabines endowed this one with a temple,
and set him on the Quirinal ridge.

6. E N218a

Est mihi, sitque, precor, nostris diuturnior annis,
     filia, qua felix sospite semper ero.
hanc ego cum vellem genero dare, tempora taedis
     apta requirebam, quaeque cavenda forent:
tum mihi post sacras monstratus Iunius Idus
     utilis et nuptis, utilis esse viris,
primaque pars huius thalamis aliena reperta est;

I have—and may there be, I pray— a daughter longer-lived than our years,
     by whose safety I shall always be happy.
when I wished to give her to a son-in-law, I was seeking times apt for the torches,
     and what things should be avoided:
then to me, after the sacred Ides of June, it was shown
     to be useful both for brides and for men,
and the first part of this was found alien to the marriage-bed;

225

     nam mihi sic coniunx sancta Dialis ait:
'donec ab Iliaca placidus purgamina Vesta
     detulerit flavis in mare Thybris aquis,
non mihi detonso crinem depectere buxo,
     non ungues ferro subsecuisse licet,

     for thus my sacred Dialis consort says to me:
'until from Iliac Vesta the placid Tiber
     shall have borne the purgings down into the sea with its blond waters,
it is not permitted for me to comb out my hair with shaven boxwood,
     nor to have trimmed my nails with iron,'

230

non tetigisse virum, quamvis Iovis ille sacerdos,
quamvis perpetua sit mihi lege datus.
tu quoque ne propera: melius tua filia nubet
ignea cum pura Vesta nitebit humo.'

not to have touched a man, although he is a priest of Jove,
although he is assigned to me by perpetual law.
you too, do not hasten: your daughter will wed better
when fiery Vesta will shine on pure ground.'

7. F N234a

Tertia post Nonas removere Lycaona Phoebe
     fertur, et a tergo non habet Ursa metum.
tunc ego me memini ludos in gramine Campi
     aspicere et dici, lubrice Thybri, tuos.
festa dies illis qui lina madentia ducunt,
     quique tegunt parvis aera recurva cibis.

On the third day after the Nones Phoebe is said to remove Lycaon,
     and the Bear has no fear from behind.
then I remember I looked at games on the grass of the Campus
     and that they were called, slippery Tiber, yours.
a festal day for those who draw the dripping linens,
     and for those who cover the recurved bronzes with small foods.

240

8. G N240a

Mens quoque numen habet: Mentis delubra videmus
     vota metu belli, perfide Poene, tui.
Poene, rebellaras, et leto consulis omnes
     attoniti Mauras pertimuere manus.
spem metus expulerat, cum Menti vota senatus

Mind too has a numen: we see the shrines of Mens,
     vows from fear of your war, treacherous Punic.
Poenic one, you had rebelled, and at the consul’s death all,
     thunderstruck, feared the Moorish hands.
fear had driven out hope, when to Mens the senate made vows

245

suscipit, et melior protinus illa venit.
aspicit instantes mediis sex lucibus Idus
illa dies qua sunt vota soluta deae.

the Senate takes them up, and forthwith a better fortune comes.
it beholds the Ides pressing on, with six lights in the midst—
that day on which the vows to the goddess were paid.

9. H VEST : N248a

9. HOLIDAY OF VESTA: N248a

Vesta, fave: tibi nunc operata resolvimus ora,
     ad tua si nobis sacra venire licet.
in prece totus eram: caelestia numina sensi,
     lactaque purpurea luce refulsit humus.
non equidem vidi (valeant mendacia vatum)
     te, dea, nec fueras aspicienda viro;
sed quae nescieram quorumque errore tenebar

Vesta, be favorable: for you now, with rites performed, we unloose our lips,
     if it is permitted for us to come to your sacred rites.
I was wholly in prayer: I sensed the celestial numina,
     and the ground, milky, flashed back with purple light.
I indeed did not see (away with the mendacities of bards)
     you, goddess, nor were you to be looked upon by a man;
but the things which I had not known and by whose error I was held

255

     cognita sunt nullo praecipiente mihi.
dena quater memorant habuisse Parilia Romam,
     cum flammae custos aede recepta dea est,
regis opus placidi, quo non metuentius ullum
     numinis ingenium terra Sabina tulit.

     they were known to me with no one instructing me.
they recount that Rome held the Parilia forty times,
     when the goddess, keeper of the flame, was received into a temple,
the work of a placid king, than whom no temperament
     more fearing of the numen did the Sabine land bear.

260

quae nunc aere vides, stipula tum tecta videres,
     et paries lento vimine textus erat.
hic locus exiguus, qui sustinet Atria Vestae,
     tunc erat intonsi regia magna Numae;
forma tamen templi, quae nunc manet, ante fuisse

which now you see in bronze, then you would have seen roofs of straw,
     and the wall was woven with pliant wattle.
this small place, which supports the Atrium of Vesta,
     then was the great regia of unshorn Numa;
nevertheless the form of the temple, which now remains, was formerly

265

     dicitur, et formae causa probanda subest.
Vesta eadem est et terra: subest vigil ignis utrique:
     significant sedem terra focusque suam.
terra pilae similis, nullo fulcimine nixa,
     aere subiecto tam grave pendet onus:

     it is said, and a cause for the form lies beneath to be proved.
Vesta is the same as Earth: a wakeful fire lies beneath each:
     earth and hearth signify their own seat.
the earth, like a ball, resting on no support,
     with air set beneath, so heavy a burden hangs:

270

ipsa volubilitas libratum sustinet orbem,
     quique premat partes angulus omnis abest:
cumque sit in media rerum regione locata,
     ut tangat nullum plusve minusve latus,
ni convexa foret, parti vicinior esset,

its very revolving sustains the balanced orb,
     and every angle which might press upon the parts is absent:
and since it is located in the middle region of things,
     so that it touches no side more or less,
if it were not convex, it would be nearer to a part,

275

     nec medium terram mundus haberet onus.
arte Syracosia suspensus in aere clauso
     stat globus, immensi parva figura poli,
et quantum a summis, tantum secessit ab imis
     terra; quod ut fiat forma rotunda facit.

     nor would the world have the earth as a central burden.
by Syracusan art, suspended in enclosed air, a globe stands,
     a small figure of the immense pole,
and the earth has withdrawn as much from the highest as from the lowest
     earth; the round form makes this to be so.

280

par facies templi; nullus procurrit in illo
     angulus, a pluvio vindicat imbre tholus.
cur sit virginibus, quaeris, dea culta ministris?
     inveniam causas hac quoque parte suas.
ex Ope Iunonem memorant Cereremque creatas

the temple’s aspect is even; no corner projects in it
     and the dome protects from the pluvial shower.
you ask why the goddess is worshiped by virgin ministers?
     I will find her reasons on this point too.
they recount Juno and Ceres as created from Ops

285

     semine Saturni; tertia Vesta fuit.
utraque nupserunt, ambae peperisse feruntur;
     de tribus impatiens restitit una viri.
quid mirum, virgo si virgine laeta ministra
     admittit castas ad sua sacra manus?

     from the seed of Saturn; the third was Vesta.
both married, both are said to have borne;
     of the three, one, intolerant of a man, stood fast.
what wonder, if the virgin, happy with a virgin minister,
     admits chaste hands to her own sacred rites?

290

nec tu aliud Vestam quam vivam intellege flammam;
     nataque de flamma corpora nulla vides.
iure igitur virgo est, quae semina nulla remittit
     nec capit, et comites virginitatis amat.
esse diu stultus Vestae simulacra putavi,

and you, understand Vesta as nothing other than living flame;
     and you see that no bodies are born from flame.
rightly therefore she is a virgin, who sends out no seeds
     nor does she receive them, and she loves the companions of virginity.
for a long time, foolish, I thought the simulacra of Vesta to be,

295

     mox didici curvo nulla subesse tholo.
ignis inexstinctus templo celatur in illo:
     effigiem nullam Vesta nec ignis habet.
stat vi terra sua: vi stando Vesta vocatur;
     causaque par Grai nominis esse potest.

     soon I learned that nothing lies beneath the curved tholus.
an inextinguishable fire is hidden in that temple:
     neither Vesta nor the fire has any effigy.
it stands by the strength of its own earth: by force of standing she is called Vesta;
     and an equal cause of the Greek name can be.

300

at focus a flammis et quod fovet omnia dictus;
     qui tamen in primis aedibus ante fuit.
hinc quoque vestibulum dici reor; inde precando
     praefamur Vestam, quae loca prima tenet.
Ante focos olim scamnis considere longis

but the hearth is named from the flames and because it fosters all;
     which, however, was formerly in front, in the first part of the house.
from this too I think the vestibule is so called; thence, in praying,
     we preface our prayer to Vesta, who holds the foremost places.
In front of the hearths once they used to sit on long benches

305

     mos erat, et mensae credere adesse deos;
nunc quoque, cum fiunt antiquae sacra Vacunae,
     ante Vacunales stantque sedentque focos.
venit in hos annos aliquid de more vetusto:
     fert missos Vestae pura patella cibos.

     it was a custom, and to believe that the gods were present at the table;
now too, when the rites of ancient Vacuna are performed,
     they both stand and sit before the Vacunalian hearths.
there comes into these years something from the old custom:
     a pure dish bears the foods sent to Vesta.

310

Ecce coronatis panis dependet asellis,
     et velant scabras florida serta molas.
sola prius furnis torrebant farra coloni
     (et Fornacali sunt sua sacra deae):
subpositum cineri panem focus ipse parabat,

Behold, bread hangs from crowned little asses,
     and florid garlands veil the rough millstones.
formerly the farmers used to roast far-spelt in furnaces alone
     (and the Fornacalia has its own rites of the goddess):
the hearth itself used to prepare bread placed beneath the ash,

315

     strataque erat tepido tegula quassa solo.
inde focum servat pistor dominamque focorum
     et quae pumiceas versat asella molas.
praeteream referamne tuum, rubicunde Priape,
     dedecus?

     and a cracked tile had been laid on the tepid floor.
from there the baker keeps the hearth and the mistress of the hearths,
     and the little she-ass who turns the pumiceous millstones.
shall I pass over, or shall I recount, your disgrace, ruddy Priapus,
     disgrace?

est multi fabula parva ioci.

there is much: a little fable of jest.

320

turrigera frontem Cybele redimita corona
     convocat aeternos ad sua festa deos;
convocat et satyros et, rustica numina, nymphas;
     Silenus, quamvis nemo vocarat, adest.
nec licet et longum est epulas narrare deorum:

Cybele, her brow wreathed with a tower-bearing crown
     convokes the eternal gods to her own feasts;
she convokes both satyrs and, rustic divinities, nymphs;
     Silenus, although no one had summoned him, is present.
nor is it allowed and it is a long task to narrate the feasts of the gods:

325

     in multo nox est pervigilata mero.
hi temere errabant in opacae vallibus Idae,
     pars iacet et molli gramine membra levat;
hi ludunt, hos somnus habet; pars bracchia nectit
     et viridem celeri ter pede pulsat humum.

     the night was kept in vigil with much wine.
these were wandering at random in the valleys of shadowy Ida,
     part lies and lightens its limbs on the soft grass;
these play, sleep holds those; part entwines its arms
     and with swift foot thrice pulses the green ground.

330

Vesta iacet placidamque capit secura quietem,
     sicut erat, positum caespite fulta caput.
at ruber hortorum custos nymphasque deasque
     captat, et errantes fertque refertque pedes;
aspicit et Vestam: dubium nymphamne putarit

Vesta lies and, secure, takes placid repose,
     just as she was, her head set and propped by turf.
but the ruddy guardian of gardens both nymphs and goddesses
     he snatches at, and bears and bears back his wandering feet;
he looks upon Vesta too: it is doubtful whether he thought her a nymph

335

     an scierit Vestam, scisse sed ipse negat.
spem capit obscenam, furtimque accedere temptat,
     et fert suspensos corde micante gradus.
forte senex, quo vectus erat, Silenus asellum
     liquerat ad ripas lene sonantis aquae;

     whether he knew Vesta, but he himself denies having known.
he conceives an obscene hope, and he tries to approach furtively,
     and he bears steps suspended, with a quivering heart.
by chance the old man, Silenus, had left the little ass, by which he had been borne,
     at the banks of the softly-sounding water;

340

ibat ut inciperet longi deus Hellesponti,
     intempestivo cum rudit ille sono.
territa voce gravi surgit dea; convolat omnis
     turba, per infestas effugit ille manus.
Lampsacos hoc animal solita est mactare Priapo,

he was going to begin, the god of the long Hellespont,
     when that one brayed with an untimely sound.
frightened by the grave voice the goddess rises; the whole throng
     rushes together; he flees through hostile hands.
Lampsacus has been accustomed to slaughter this animal to Priapus,

345

     'apta' canens 'flammis indicis exta damus.'
quem tu, diva, memor de pane monilibus ornas;
     cessat opus, vacuae conticuere molae.
Nomine quam pretio celebratior arce Tonantis
     dicam Pistoris quid velit ara Iovis.

     'apt,' singing, 'we give the entrails to the telling flames.'
whom you, goddess, mindful, adorn with necklaces from bread;
     the work ceases, the empty millstones fell silent.
more celebrated by name than by price in the citadel of the Thunderer,
     I will tell what the altar of Jupiter the Baker means.

350

cincta premebantur trucibus Capitolia Gallis:
     fecerat obsidio iam diuturna famem.
Iuppiter, ad solium superis regale vocatis,
     'incipe' ait Marti; protinus ille refert:
'scilicet ignotum est quae sit fortuna malorum,

girdled, the Capitol was being pressed by truculent Gauls:
     a long-continued siege had by now produced famine.
Jupiter, the gods above having been called to the royal throne,
     said to Mars, 'begin'; straightway he replies:
'surely it is not unknown what the fortune of the wretched is,

355

     et dolor hic animi voce querentis eget.
si tamen ut referam breviter mala iuncta pudori
     exigis, Alpino Roma sub hoste iacet.
haec est cui fuerat promissa potentia rerum,
     Iuppiter?

     and this pain of mind requires the voice of one complaining.
if, however, you demand that I briefly recount the evils joined to shame,
     Rome lies beneath an Alpine enemy.
is this she to whom the power of things had been promised,
     Jupiter?

hanc terris impositurus eras?

Were you about to impose this upon the lands?

360

iamque suburbanos Etruscaque contudit arma:
     spes erat in cursu: nunc lare pulsa suo est.
vidimus ornatos aerata per atria picta
     veste triumphales occubuisse senes;
vidimus Iliacae transferri pignora Vestae

and now has crushed the suburban and Etruscan arms:
     hope was in full course: now she is driven from her own hearth.
we have seen, through bronze-clad atria, triumphal elders,
     adorned with painted vesture, lie fallen;
we have seen the pledges of Iliac Vesta transferred

365

     sede: putant aliquos scilicet esse deos.
at si respicerent qua vos habitatis in arce
     totque domos vestras obsidione premi,
nil opis in cura scirent superesse deorum,
     et data sollicita tura perire manu.

     in their seat: they suppose, forsooth, that there are some gods.
but if they looked back to where you dwell on the citadel
     and that so many of your houses are pressed by siege,
they would know that no aid remains in the care of the gods,
     and that incense, offered by an anxious hand, perishes.

370

atque utinam pugnae pateat locus; arma capessant,
     et, si non poterunt exsuperare, cadant.
nunc inopes victus ignavaque fata timentes
     monte suo clausos barbara turba premit.'
tunc Venus et lituo pulcher trabeaque Quirinus

and would that a place for battle might be open; let them take up arms,
     and, if they cannot overcome, let them fall.
now, destitute of victuals and fearing a sluggish doom,
     the barbarian throng presses them, shut in on their own mount.'
then Venus and Quirinus, fair with the lituus and trabea

375

     Vestaque pro Latio multa locuta suo est.
'publica' respondit 'cura est pro moenibus istis'
     Iuppiter 'et poenas Gallia victa dabit.
tu modo, quae desunt fruges, superesse putentur
     effice, nec sedes desere, Vesta, tuas.                380
quodcumque est solidae Cereris, cava machina frangat,
     mollitamque manu duret in igne focus.'
iusserat, et fratris virgo Saturnia iussis
     adnuit, et mediae tempora noctis erant.

     and Vesta too spoke much on behalf of her own Latium.
"It is a public care," Jupiter replied, "for those walls,
     and conquered Gaul will pay penalties.
Do you only bring it about that the grains which are lacking be thought to be in surplus,
     and do not desert your seats, Vesta."                380
whatever there is of solid Ceres, let the hollow machine crush,
     and let the hearth harden in the fire what has been softened by hand."
he had ordered, and the Saturnian maiden, his sister, nodded assent to her brother’s orders,
     and it was the middle time of the night.

iam ducibus somnum dederat labor. increpat illos

By now toil had given sleep to the leaders. He rebukes them

385

     Iuppiter et sacro quid velit ore docet:
'surgite, et in medios de summis arcibus hostes
     mittite, quam minime mittere voltis, opem.'
somnus abit, quaeruntque, novis ambagibus acti,
     tradere quam nolint et iubeantur opem.

     Jupiter too teaches what he wills with a sacred mouth:
'Rise, and into the midst of the enemies from the highest citadels
     send the aid which you least wish to send.'
sleep departs, and they seek, driven by new ambiguities,
     how to deliver the aid which they are unwilling to deliver and are bidden to.

390

esse Ceres visa est; iaciunt Cerialia dona:
     iacta super galeas scutaque longa sonant.
posse fame vinci spes excidit: hoste repulso
     candida Pistori ponitur ara Iovi.
Forte revertebar festis Vestalibus illa

she seemed to be Ceres; they toss Cerial gifts:
     tossed upon helmets and long shields they resound.
the hope of being conquered by hunger falls away: with the enemy driven back
     a white altar is set up to Pistor Jupiter.
By chance I was returning on that day of the Vesta-festivals

395

     quae Nova Romano nunc Via iuncta foro est:
huc pede matronam nudo descendere vidi;
     obstipui tacitus sustinuique gradum.
sensit anus vicina loci, iussumque sedere
     adloquitur, quatiens voce tremente caput:

     which is now the New Way joined to the Roman forum:
hither I saw a matron descend with bare foot;
     I was astonished, silent, and I held back my step.
the old woman, a neighbor of the place, sensed it, and, bidding me to sit,
     addresses me, shaking her head with a trembling voice:

400

'hoc, ubi nunc fora sunt, udae tenuere paludes;
     amne redundatis fossa madebat aquis.
Curtius ille lacus, siccas qui sustinet aras,
     nunc solida est tellus, sed lacus ante fuit;
qua Velabra solent in Circum ducere pompas,

'this place, where now the fora are, watery marshes held;
     with the river overflowing, the fosse was drenched with waters.
that Lake of Curtius, which sustains dry altars,
     now is solid earth, but before it was a lake;
where the Velabrum is wont to lead the pomps into the Circus,

405

     nil praeter salices cassaque canna fuit:
saepe suburbanas rediens conviva per undas
     cantat et ad nautas ebria verba iacit.
nondum conveniens diversis iste figuris
     nomen ab averso ceperat amne deus.

     nothing was except willows and hollow cane:
often a dinner-guest, returning through the suburban waters,
     sings and flings drunken words to the sailors.
not yet, suitable to diverse figures,
     had that god taken his name from the turned-back river.

410

hic quoque lucus erat iuncis et harundine densus
     et pede velato non adeunda palus.
stagna recesserunt et aquas sua ripa coercet,
     siccaque nunc tellus: mos tamen ille manet.'
reddiderat causam. 'valeas, anus optima' dixi;

Here too there was a grove, dense with rushes and reed
     and a marsh not to be approached with a shod foot.
the pools have receded and its bank restrains the waters,
     and now the ground is dry; nevertheless that custom remains.'
He had rendered the reason. 'Farewell, best old woman,' I said;

415

     'quod superest aevi molle sit omne tui.'
Cetera iam pridem didici puerilibus annis,
     non tamen idcirco praetereunda mihi.
moenia Dardanides nuper nova fecerat Ilus
     (Ilus adhuc Asiae dives habebat opes);

     'may all that remains of your lifetime be gentle.'
The rest I long since learned in my boyhood years,
     yet not for that reason is it to be passed over by me.
Ilus, the Dardanid, had lately made new walls
     (Ilus still held the wealthy resources of Asia);

420

creditur armiferae signum caeleste Minervae
     urbis in Iliacae desiluisse iuga.
cura videre fuit: vidi templumque locumque;
     hoc superest illi, Pallada Roma tenet.
consulitur Smintheus, lucoque obscurus opaco

it is believed that a heavenly sign of weapon-bearing Minerva
     has leapt down upon the ridges of the Iliac city.
the concern was to see: I saw both the temple and the place;
     this remains to her—Rome holds Pallas.
Smintheus is consulted, and, hidden in the dusky grove

425

     hos non mentito reddidit ore sonos:
'aetheriam servate deam, servabitis urbem:
     imperium secum transferet illa loci.'
servat et inclusam summa tenet Ilus in arce,
     curaque ad heredem Laomedonta redit;

     he returned these sounds with a truthful mouth:
'guard the ethereal goddess, you will guard the city:
     she will transfer with herself the dominion of the place.'
Ilus keeps her and holds her, enclosed, on the highest citadel,
     and the care returns to Laomedon’s heir;

430

sub Priamo servata parum: sic ipsa volebat,
     ex quo iudicio forma revicta sua est.
seu gener Adrasti, seu furtis aptus Ulixes,
     seu fuit Aeneas, eripuisse ferunt;
auctor in incerto, res est Romana: tuetur

under Priam it was poorly preserved: thus she herself was willing,
     from the time of the judgment in which her own form was overcome.
whether the son-in-law of Adrastus, or Ulysses apt for thefts,
     or whether it was Aeneas, they are said to have snatched it away;
the author is uncertain, the thing is Roman: she protects it.

435

     Vesta, quod assiduo lumine cuncta videt.
heu quantum timuere patres, quo tempore Vesta
     arsit et est tectis obruta paene suis!
flagrabant sancti sceleratis ignibus ignes,
     mixtaque erat flammae flamma profana piae;

     Vesta, because with an assiduous light she sees all things.
alas how greatly the fathers feared, at the time when Vesta
     burned and was almost buried beneath her own roofs!
the sacred fires were blazing with wicked fires,
     and the profane flame was mingled with the pious flame;

440

attonitae flebant demisso crine ministrae:
     abstulerat vires corporis ipse timor.
provolat in medium, et magna 'succurrite' voce,
     'non est auxilium flere' Metellus ait.
'pignora virgineis fatalia tollite palmis:

the attendant priestesses, astonished, were weeping with hair let down:
     fear itself had taken away the body’s strength.
he flies forth into the midst, and with a great voice, “succor!”
     “weeping is no aid,” says Metellus.
“lift the fateful pledges with virginal palms:”

445

non ea sunt voto, sed rapienda manu.
me miserum! dubitatis?' ait.

not to be gained by vow are these, but to be snatched by hand.
Wretched me! ‘Do you hesitate?’ he says.

dubitare videbat
et pavidas posito procubuisse genu.
haurit aquas, tollensque manus 'ignoscite', dixit
'sacra: vir intrabo non adeunda viro.

he saw them hesitate
and that the frightened had prostrated with the knee set down.
he draws water, and raising his hands, 'forgive,' he said
'sacred rites: I, a man, will enter things not to be approached by a man.

450

si scelus est, in me commissi poena redundet:
     sit capitis damno Roma soluta mei.'
dixit, et inrupit: factum dea rapta probavit,
     pontificisque sui munere tuta fuit.
nunc bene lucetis sacrae sub Caesare flammae:

if it is a crime, let the penalty of what was committed redound upon me:
     let Rome be released at the capital loss of my head.'
he said, and burst in: the goddess, when snatched, approved the deed,
     and by the office of her own pontiff she was safe.
now you shine well, sacred flames, under Caesar:

455

     ignis in Iliacis nunc erit estque focis;
nullaque dicetur vittas temerasse sacerdos
     hoc duce, nec viva defodietur humo:
sic incesta perit, quia, quam violavit, in illam
     conditur: est Tellus Vestaque numen idem.

     the fire now will be and is on the Iliac hearths;
no priestess will be said to have profaned the fillets
     under this leader, nor will she be buried alive in the soil:
thus the unchaste perishes, because in that which she violated, into that
     she is laid away: Earth and Vesta are the same numen.

460

Tum sibi Callaico Brutus cognomen ab hoste
     fecit et Hispanam sanguine tinxit humum.
scilicet interdum miscentur tristia laetis,
     ne populum toto pectore festa iuvent:
Crassus ad Euphraten aquilas natumque suosque

Then for himself Brutus made the cognomen Callaicus from the enemy,
     and stained the Hispanic soil with blood.
surely sometimes sad things are mixed with joyful ones,
     lest festivals gladden the people with their whole heart:
Crassus at the Euphrates the eagles and his son and his own men

465

perdidit, et leto est ultimus ipse datus.
'Parthe, quid exsultas?' dixit dea 'signa remittes,
quique necem Crassi vindicet ultor erit.'

he lost them, and he himself was last given to death.
'Parthian, why do you exult?' said the goddess, 'you will remit the standards,
and there will be an avenger to vindicate the death of Crassus.'

10. A N468a

At simul auritis violae demuntur asellis,
et Cereris fruges aspera saxa terunt,
navita puppe sedens 'Delphina videbimus', inquit
'umida cum pulso nox erit orta die.'

But as soon as the violets are taken off the long‑eared asses,
and the rough stones grind Ceres’s grain,
the sailor, sitting at the stern, says, 'We shall see the Dolphin,' inquit
'when damp night has arisen with the day driven off.'

11. B MATR : N vel NP472a

11. B MOTHER: N or NP472a

Iam, Phryx, a nupta quereris, Tithone, relinqui,
et vigil Eois Lucifer exit aquis:
ite, bonae matres (vestrum Matralia festum),

Now, Phrygian, Tithonus, you complain of being left by your bride,
and watchful Lucifer goes forth from the Eoan waters:
go, good mothers (yours is the Matralia festival),

475

     flavaque Thebanae reddite liba deae.
pontibus et magno iuncta est celeberrima Circo
     area, quae posito de bove nomen habet.
hac ibi luce ferunt Matutae sacra parenti
     sceptriferas Servi templa dedisse manus.

     and render the golden liba to the Theban goddess.
pontibus et magno the most celebrated area is joined by bridges and to the Great Circus
     which has its name from a laid-down ox.
on this day there, they relate that to parent Matuta
     the scepter-bearing hands of Servius gave temples.

480

quae dea sit, quare famulas a limine templi
     arceat (arcet enim) libaque tosta petat,
Bacche racemiferos hedera distincte capillos,
     si domus illa tua est, derige vatis opus.
arserat obsequio Semele Iovis: accipit Ino

which goddess she is, why she keeps maidservants from the threshold of the temple
     she keeps off (for she does keep off), and seeks toasted liba,
Bacchus, you with grape-bearing hair marked with ivy,
     if that house is yours, direct the poet’s work.
Semele had burned through her compliance to Jove: Ino takes it up.

485

     te, puer, et summa sedula nutrit ope.
intumuit Iuno, raptum quod paelice natum
     educet: at sanguis ille sororis erat.
hinc agitur furiis Athamas et imagine falsa,
     tuque cadis patria, parve Learche, manu;

     and with the utmost aid she diligently nurses you too, boy.
Juno swelled, because she would rear the child snatched from a concubine:
     yet that was the blood of her sister.
From this Athamas is driven by the Furies and by a false image,
     and you too fall by your father’s hand, little Learchus;

490

maesta Learcheas mater tumulaverat umbras
     et dederat miseris omnia iusta rogis.
haec quoque, funestos ut erat laniata capillos,
     prosilit et cunis te, Melicerta, rapit.
est spatio contracta brevi, freta bina repellit,

the mournful mother had entombed Learchus’s shades
     and had given to the wretched pyres all due rites.
she too, with funereal hair torn as it was,
     leaps forth and snatches you, Melicertes, from the cradle.
there is a place contracted to a brief span, it repels the twin straits,

495

     unaque pulsatur, terra, duabus aquis:
huc venit insanis natum complexa lacertis,
     et secum celso mittit in alta iugo.
excipit inlaesos Panope centumque sorores,
     et placido lapsu per sua regna ferunt.

     and the land, one, is buffeted by two waters:
hither she comes, clasping her son with insane arms,
     and sends him with herself from a lofty ridge into the deep.
Panope and her hundred sisters receive them uninjured,
     and with a placid glide they bear them through their realms.

500

nondum Leucothea, nondum puer ille Palaemon
     verticibus densi Thybridis ora tenent.
lucus erat, dubium Semelae Stimulaene vocetur;
     maenadas Ausonias incoluisse ferunt:
quaerit ab his Ino quae gens foret. Arcadas esse

not yet Leucothea, not yet that boy Palaemon
     do not yet hold the banks of the Tiber dense with whirlpools.
there was a grove, doubtful whether it should be called Semele’s or Stimula’s;
     they say Ausonian Maenads once inhabited it:
Ino asks of them what people it might be. That they are Arcadians

505

     audit et Euandrum sceptra tenere loci;
dissimulata deam Latias Saturnia Bacchas
     instimulat fictis insidiosa sonis:
'o nimium faciles, o toto pectore captae,
     non venit haec nostris hospes amica choris.

     she hears too that Evander holds the scepters of the place;
with her divinity dissembled, Saturnia the Latian Bacchae
     incites, insidious, with feigned sounds:
'O all too facile, O captured in your whole breast,
     this guest does not come friendly to our choruses.'

510

fraude petit, sacrique parat cognoscere ritum:
     quo possit poenas pendere pignus habet.'
vix bene desierat, complent ululatibus auras
     thyiades, effusis per sua colla comis,
iniciuntque manus puerumque revellere pugnant.

he seeks it by fraud, and prepares to learn the sacred rite:
     he has a pledge by which he may pay the penalties.'
scarcely had she well ceased, they fill the air with ululations
     the Thyiads, with their hair poured down over their necks,
and they lay hands on him and struggle to tear away the boy.

515

     quos ignorat adhuc, invocat illa deos:
'dique virique loci, miserae succurrite matri.'
     clamor Aventini saxa propinqua ferit.
adpulerat ripae vaccas Oetaeus Hiberas;
     audit, et ad vocem concitus urget iter:

     whom she does not yet know, she invokes the gods:
'gods and men of the place, succor a wretched mother.'
     the clamor strikes the nearby rocks of the Aventine.
he had driven to the bank the Oetaean the Iberian cows;
     he hears, and at the voice, stirred, he presses his way:

520

Herculis adventu quae vim modo ferre parabant
turpia femineae terga dedere fugae.
'quid petis hinc', (cognorat enim) 'matertera Bacchi?
an numen, quod me, te quoque vexat?' ait.

At Hercules’ arrival those who just now were preparing to withstand force
gave their shameful backs to feminine flight.
'What do you seek here,' (for he had recognized) 'aunt of Bacchus?
Or does the numen, which vexes me, vex you as well?' he says.

illa docet partim, partim praesentia nati

she teaches in part, in part the presence of her son

525

     continet, et furiis in scelus isse pudet.
Rumor, ut est velox, agitatis pervolat alis,
     estque frequens, Ino, nomen in ore tuum.
hospita Carmentis fidos intrasse penates
     diceris et longam deposuisse famem.

     it restrains her, and she is ashamed to have gone into crime in her furies.
Rumor, as it is swift, flies through on agitated wings,
     and your name, Ino, is frequent on the lips.
as a guest you are said to have entered the faithful Penates of Carmentis
     and to have laid aside your long hunger.

530

liba sua properata manu Tegeaea sacerdos
     traditur in subito cocta dedisse foco.
nunc quoque liba iuvant festis Matralibus illam;
     rustica sedulitas gratior arte fuit.
'nunc', ait 'o vates, venientia fata resigna,

her own liba, hastened by her hand, the Tegean priestess
     is reported to have given, cooked, to the sudden hearth.
now also the liba delight her on the festive Matralia;
     rustic sedulity was more pleasing than art.
'now,' she says, 'O vates, unseal the coming fates,'

535

     qua licet: hospitiis hoc, precor, adde meis.'
parva mora est, caelum vates ac numina sumit,
     fitque sui toto pectore plena dei;
vix illam subito posses cognoscere, tanto
     sanctior et tanto, quam modo, maior erat.                540
'laeta canam: gaude, defuncta laboribus Ino'
     dixit, 'et huic populo prospera semper ades.
numen eris pelagi: natum quoque pontus habebit.
     in vestris aliud sumite nomen aquis:
Leucothea Grais, Matuta vocabere nostris;

     so far as it is permitted: add this, I pray, to my hospitalities.'
a brief delay there is; the prophetess assumes the sky and the numina,
     and becomes with her whole breast full of her own god;
scarcely could you suddenly recognize her, so much
     holier, and so much greater than just now, she was.                540
'joyous things I shall sing: rejoice, Ino, your labors finished,'
     she said, 'and be ever propitious to this people.
you will be a divinity of the sea: the sea will have your son as well.
     in your waters take another name:
Leucothea by the Greeks, Matuta you will be called by our own.'

545

     in portus nato ius erit omne tuo,
quem nos Portunum, sua lingua Palaemona dicet.
     ite, precor, nostris aequus uterque locis.'
adnuerat, promissa fides; posuere labores,
     nomina mutarunt: hic deus, illa dea est.

     over harbors your son shall have all jurisdiction,
whom we will call Portunus; his own language will call him Palaemon.
     go, I pray, be propitious, both of you, to our places.'
she had nodded assent; the pledged faith was kept; they laid down their labors,
     they changed their names: this one is a god, that one a goddess.

550

Cur vetet ancillas accedere quaeritis? odit,
     principiumque odii, si sinat illa, canam.
una ministrarum solita est, Cadmei, tuarum
     saepe sub amplexus coniugis ire tui.
improbus hanc Athamas furtim dilexit; ab illa

Why do you ask why she forbids the handmaids to approach? She hates them,
     and—the beginning of the hatred, if she would allow it—I will sing.
one of your maidservants, Cadmean, was accustomed
     often to go under the embraces of your spouse.
shameless Athamas loved her furtively; from that

555

     comperit agricolis semina tosta dari:
ipsa quidem fecisse negas, sed fama recepit:
     hoc est cur odio sit tibi serva manus.
non tamen hanc pro stirpe sua pia mater adoret:
     ipsa parum felix visa fuisse parens.

     she discovered that parched seeds were being given to the farmers:
you indeed deny that you yourself did it, but rumor has taken it up:
     this is why the band of your handmaids is hateful to you.
not, however, would a pious mother cherish this one on behalf of her own stock:
     she herself seemed to have been too little fortunate as a parent.

560

alterius prolem melius mandabitis illi:
     utilior Baccho quam fuit illa suis.
hanc tibi 'quo properas?' memorant dixisse, Rutili,
     'luce mea Marso consul ab hoste cades.'
exitus accessit verbis, flumenque Toleni

you will more aptly commit another’s progeny to her:
     more useful to Bacchus than she was to her own.
they recount that she said to you, Rutilius, “Where are you hastening?”
     “in my light you, consul, will fall by a Marsian foe.”
the outcome matched the words, and the river Tolenus

565

     purpureum mixtis sanguine fluxit aquis.
proximus annus erat: Pallantide caesus eadem
     Didius hostiles ingeminavit opes.
Lux eadem, Fortuna, tua est, auctorque locusque;
     sed superiniectis quis latet iste togis?

     purple flowed the waters, mixed with blood.
the next year it was: with a Pallantid as consul, slain on the same day,
     Didius ingeminated the enemy’s powers.
The same day, Fortune, is yours, and both the author and the place;
     but who is that who lies hidden under the togas thrown over him?

570

Servius est, hoc constat enim: sed causa latendi
     discrepat, et dubium me quoque mentis habet.
dum dea furtivos timide profitetur amores,
     caelestemque homini concubuisse pudet
(arsit enim magno correpta cupidine regis,

It is Servius—this is agreed: but the cause of the hiding
     differs, and holds me too in doubt of mind.
while the goddess timidly professes her furtive loves,
     and it shames her that a celestial has lain with a man
(for she burned, seized by a great desire for the king,

575

     caecaque in hoc uno non fuit illa viro),
nocte domum parva solita est intrare fenestra,
     unde Fenestellae nomina porta tenet.
nunc pudet, et voltus velamine celat amatos,
     oraque sunt multa regia tecta toga.

     and in this one man that goddess was not blind),
at night she was accustomed to enter the house by a small window,
     whence the gate holds the name Fenestellae.
now she is ashamed, and she hides her beloved features with a veil,
     and her royal features are covered by a voluminous toga.

580

an magis est verum post Tulli funera plebem
     confusam placidi morte fuisse ducis:
nec modus ullus erat, crescebat imagine luctus,
     donec eum positis occuluere togis?
tertia causa mihi spatio maiore canenda est;

or is it truer that after Tullius’s funerals the plebs
     was confounded by the death of the placid leader:
nor was there any limit; the grief grew at the image,
     until they covered him with togas laid down?
a third cause must be sung by me with a greater span;

585

     nos tamen adductos intus agemus equos.
Tullia coniugio, sceleris mercede, peracto
     his solita est dictis exstimulare virum:
'quid iuvat esse pares, te nostrae caede sororis
     meque tui fratris, si pia vita placet?

     we, however, will drive the reined-in horses inside.
Tullia, with the marriage, the wage of crime, completed,
     was wont to goad the man with these words:
'what does it profit to be peers, you by the slaughter of my sister
     and me by that of your brother, if a pious life pleases?'

590

vivere debuerant et vir meus et tua coniunx,
     si nullum ausuri maius eramus opus.
et caput et regnum facio dotale parentis.
     si vir es, i, dictas exige dotis opes.
regia res scelus est: socero cape regna necato,

both my husband and your consort ought to have lived,
     if we were going to dare no greater work.
and I make both the head and the kingdom of my parent my dotal portion.
     if you are a man, go, exact the declared wealth of the dowry.
royal business is crime: seize the kingdom with your father-in-law killed,

595

     et nostras patrio sanguine tingue manus.'
talibus instinctus solio privatus in alto
     sederat: attonitum volgus in arma ruit:
hinc cruor et caedes, infirmaque vincitur aetas:
     sceptra gener socero rapta Superbus habet.

     and tinge our hands with paternal blood.'
instigated by such words, as a private citizen he had sat on the lofty throne:
     the thunderstruck crowd rushes to arms:
hence blood and slaughter, and feeble age is overcome:
     Superbus, the son-in-law, holds the scepters snatched from his father-in-law.

600

ipse sub Esquiliis, ubi erat sua regia, caesus
     concidit in dura sanguinulentus humo.
filia carpento, patrios initura penates,
     ibat per medias alta feroxque vias.
corpus ut aspexit, lacrimis auriga profusis

he himself beneath the Esquiline, where his own royal palace was, cut down,
     fell blood-smeared onto the hard soil.
the daughter, in a carpentum, about to enter the paternal Penates,
     was going through the middle of the streets, tall and fierce.
when the charioteer saw the body, with tears poured out

605

     restitit; hunc tali corripit illa sono:
'vadis, an exspectas pretium pietatis amarum?
     duc, inquam, invitas ipsa per ora rotas.'
certa fides facti: dictus Sceleratus ab illa
     vicus, et aeterna res ea pressa nota.

     he halted; she rebukes him with such a tone:
'Do you go, or do you wait for the bitter price of piety?
     drive, I say, the unwilling wheels over his very face.'
sure proof of the deed: from her the street was called Sceleratus,
     and that deed was impressed with an eternal mark.

610

post tamen hoc ausa est templum, monimenta parentis,
     tangere: mira quidem, sed tamen acta loquar.
signum erat in solio residens sub imagine Tulli;
     dicitur hoc oculis opposuisse manum,
et vox audita est 'voltus abscondite nostros,

after this, however, she dared to touch the temple, the monuments of her parent;
     marvelous indeed, but yet I will speak the deeds.
there was a statue sitting on a throne, in the likeness of Tullius;
     it is said to have set its hand before its eyes,
and a voice was heard: 'hide our faces,'

615

     ne natae videant ora nefanda meae.'
veste data tegitur; vetat hanc Fortuna moveri,
     et sic e templo est ipsa locuta suo:
'ore revelato qua primum luce patebit
     Servius, haec positi prima pudoris erit.'

     ‘lest my daughters see my unspeakable features.’
with a garment given, she is covered; Fortune forbids this to be moved,
     and thus from her own temple she herself spoke:
‘with the face revealed, where Servius will first be patent to the light,
     this will be the first of modesty laid aside.’

620

parcite, matronae, vetitas attingere vestes
     (sollemni satis est voce movere preces),
sitque caput semper Romano tectus amictu
     qui rex in nostra septimus urbe fuit.
arserat hoc templum: signo tamen ille pepercit

spare, matrons, from touching the forbidden garments
     (it is enough to move prayers with a solemn voice),
and let the head be always covered with a Roman mantle
     of him who was the seventh king in our city.
this temple had burned: nevertheless that blaze spared the statue.

625

     ignis; opem nato Mulciber ipse tulit.
namque pater Tulli Volcanus, Ocresia mater
     praesignis facie Corniculana fuit.
hanc secum Tanaquil, sacris de more peractis,
     iussit in ornatum fundere vina focum:

     fire; Mulciber himself brought aid to his son.
For Vulcan was the father of Tullus, Ocresia the mother
     a Corniculan woman remarkable in appearance.
Tanaquil, the rites performed according to custom,
     ordered her to pour wines upon the adorned hearth:

630

hinc inter cineres obsceni forma virilis
     aut fuit aut visa est, sed fuit illa magis.
iussa foco captiva sedet: conceptus ab illa
     Servius a caelo semina gentis habet.
signa dedit genitor tunc cum caput igne corusco

hence, among the ashes, the form of an obscene male
     either was or seemed to be; but it rather was indeed.
at the command, the captive sits at the hearth: conceived from her
     Servius holds from heaven the seeds of the race.
the father gave signs then, when his head with coruscant fire

635

     contigit, inque comis flammeus arsit apex.
Te quoque magnifica, Concordia, dedicat aede
     Livia, quam caro praestitit ipsa viro.
disce tamen, veniens aetas: ubi Livia nunc est
     porticus, immensae tecta fuere domus;                640
urbis opus domus una fuit spatiumque tenebat
     quo brevius muris oppida multa tenent.

     it befell, and upon his hair a fiery apex burned.
You too, Concordia, Livia dedicates in a magnificent temple
     which she herself provided for her dear husband.
learn, however, coming age: where now the Portico of Livia is
     there were the roofs of an immense house;                640
a single house was the work of a city and occupied a space
     which in briefer compass many towns hold within their walls.

haec aequata solo est, nullo sub crimine regni,
sed quia luxuria visa nocere sua.
sustinuit tantas operum subvertere moles

this was leveled to the ground, under no charge of kingship,
but because its own luxury seemed to do harm.
he endured to subvert such great masses of works

645

totque suas heres perdere Caesar opes:
sic agitur censura et sic exempla parantur,
cum vindex, alios quod monet, ipse facit.

and the heir Caesar to lose so much of his own wealth:
thus is censure conducted and thus are exempla prepared,
when the vindicator, what he warns others against, himself does.

12. C N 13. D EID : NP ut vid.648a

12. C N 13. D IDES : NP as it seems648a

Nulla nota est veniente die, quam dicere possis;
Idibus Invicto sunt data templa Iovi.
et iam Quinquatrus iubeor narrare minores.
nunc ades o coeptis, flava Minerva, meis.

There is no mark on the coming day that you could declare;
on the Ides, temples were given to Unconquered Jove.
and now I am bidden to narrate the Lesser Quinquatrus.
now be present to my undertakings, golden‑haired Minerva.

'cur vagus incedit tota tibicen in Urbe?
quid sibi personae, quid stola longa volunt?'
sic ego. sic posita Tritonia cuspide dixit

'why does the piper wander through the whole City?
what do the personae, what does the long stola mean?'
sic I. Thus Tritonia, her spear set aside, said

655

     (possim utinam doctae verba referre deae):
'temporibus veterum tibicinis usus avorum
     magnus et in magno semper honore fuit:
cantabat fanis, cantabat tibia ludis,
     cantabat maestis tibia funeribus;

     (would that I might be able to convey the words of the learned goddess):
'in the times of the forefathers of old the use of the tibicen
     was great and was always in great honor:
it sang in the fanes, the tibia sang at the games,
     the tibia sang at mournful funerals;

660

dulcis erat mercede labor. tempusque secutum
     quod subito gratae frangeret artis opus.
adde quod aedilis, pompam qui funeris irent,
     artifices solos iusserat esse decem.
exilio mutant Urbem Tiburque recedunt:

the labor was sweet with pay. and a time followed
     which would suddenly shatter the work of the welcome art.
add that the Aedile, for those who went in the funeral procession,
     had ordered the artists alone to be ten.
by exile they change the City and withdraw to Tibur:

665

     exilium quodam tempore Tibur erat.
quaeritur in scaena cava tibia, quaeritur aris;
     ducit supremos nenia nulla toros.
servierat quidam, quantolibet ordine dignus,
     Tibure, sed longo tempore liber erat.                670
rure dapes parat ille suo, turbamque canoram
     convocat: ad festas convenit illa dapes.

     at a certain time Tibur was the place of exile.
the hollow pipe is called for on the stage, it is called for at the altars;
     no dirge leads the last biers.
a certain man had served, worthy of whatever rank,
     at Tibur, but for a long time he had been free.                670
on his own farm he prepares banquets, and a tuneful crowd
     he summons: that crowd assembles for the festive banquets.

nox erat, et vinis oculique animique natabant,
cum praecomposito nuntius ore venit,
atque ita "quid cessas convivia solvere?" dixit

it was night, and in wines eyes and minds were swimming,
when a messenger came with a pre-composed speech,
and thus he said, "why do you delay to dissolve the banquets?"

675

     "auctor vindictae nam venit ecce tuae."
nec mora, convivae valido titubantia vino
     membra movent; dubii stantque labantque pedes.
at dominus "discedite" ait, plaustroque morantes
     sustulit; in plaustro scirpea lata fuit.

     "for behold, the author of your vengeance has come."
no delay; the guests move their limbs, reeling with strong wine,
     and their uncertain feet both stand and totter.
but the master says, "depart," and those delaying
     he hoisted; on the wagon there was a broad rush-mat.

680

adliciunt somnos tempus motusque merumque,
     potaque se Tibur turba redire putat.
iamque per Esquilias Romanam intraverat urbem,
     et mane in medio plaustra fuere foro.
Plautius, ut posset specie numeroque senatum

time, motion, and pure wine entice sleep,
     and the drunk crowd thinks itself to be returning to Tibur.
and now through the Esquiline it had entered the Roman city,
     and in the morning the wagons were in the middle of the forum.
Plautius, so that he might be able by appearance and by number the senate

685

     fallere, personis imperat ora tegi,
admiscetque alios et, ut hunc tibicina coetum
     augeat, in longis vestibus esse iubet;
sic reduces bene posse tegi, ne forte notentur
     contra collegi iussa venire sui.

     to deceive, he orders their faces to be covered with masks,
and he mixes in others as well, and, so that the flute-girl may augment this assembly,
     he bids them be in long garments;
thus those returning can be well concealed, lest by chance they be noticed
     as coming against the orders of their own college.

690

res placuit, cultuque novo licet Idibus uti
     et canere ad veteres verba iocosa modos.'
haec ubi perdocuit, 'superest mihi discere' dixi
     'cur sit Quinquatrus illa vocata dies.'
'Martius' inquit 'agit tali mea nomine festa,

the matter pleased, and on the Ides it is permitted to use new attire,
     and to sing jocose words to ancient modes.'
when she had thoroughly taught these things, I said, 'it remains for me to learn
     why that day is called Quinquatrus.'
'March,' she says, 'holds festivals in my name of such a sort,

695

     estque sub inventis haec quoque turba meis.
prima, terebrato per rara foramina buxo,
     ut daret, effeci, tibia longa sonos.
vox placuit: faciem liquidis referentibus undis
     vidi virgineas intumuisse genas.

     and this crowd too is among my inventions.
first, through boxwood bored with sparse apertures,
     I contrived that a long pipe should give sounds.
the sound pleased me: in liquid waves that were rendering back my face
     I saw that my virginal cheeks had swelled.

700

"ars mihi non tanti est; valeas, mea tibia" dixi:
     excipit abiectam caespite ripa suo.
inventam satyrus primum miratur, et usum
     nescit, et inflatam sentit habere sonum;
et modo dimittit digitis, modo concipit auras,

"Art is not worth so much to me; farewell, my pipe," I said:
     the bank receives it, cast away, upon its own turf.
a Satyr first marvels at the thing found, and its use
     he does not know, and he feels that, when inflated, it has sound;
and now he lets it go with his fingers, now he draws in breaths,

705

     iamque inter nymphas arte superbus erat:
provocat et Phoebum. Phoebo superante pependit;
     caesa recesserunt a cute membra sua.
sum tamen inventrix auctorque ego carminis huius:
     hoc est cur nostros ars colat ista dies.'

     and now among the nymphs he was proud in his art:
he even challenges Phoebus. With Phoebus prevailing, he hung;
     his limbs, cut away, withdrew from his skin.
yet I am the inventress and author of this song:
     this is why that art keeps my days in honor.'

710

(14. E EN) 15. F Q : ST : D : F 710a

Tertia nox veniet, qua tu, Dodoni Thyone,
stabis Agenorei fronte videnda bovis.
haec est illa dies qua tu purgamina Vestae,
Thybri, per Etruscas in mare mittis aquas.

A third night will come, on which you, Thyone of Dodona,
will stand, to be seen, before the front of the Agenorean bull.
this is that day on which you send the purgaments of Vesta,
Tiber, into the sea through the Etruscan waters.

16. G C714a

Siqua fides ventis, Zephyro date carbasa, nautae:
cras veniet vestris ille secundus aquis.

If there is any trust in the winds, sailors, give your canvas to Zephyr:
tomorrow he will come favorable upon your waters.

17. H C 18. A C716a

At pater Heliadum radios ubi tinxerit undis,
et cinget geminos stella serena polos,
tollet humo validos proles Hyriea lacertos;
continua Delphin nocte videndus erit.

But when the father of the Heliades shall have dipped his rays into the waves,
and a serene star will gird the twin poles,
the offspring of Hyrieus will lift from the ground his strong arms;
the Dolphin will be seen through the continuous night.

720

scilicet hic olim Volscos Aequosque fugatos
viderat in campis, Algida terra, tuis;
unde suburbano clarus, Tuberte, triumpho
vectus es in niveis postmodo victor equis.

surely this place once had seen the Volsci and the Aequians put to flight
in the plains, Algidan land, in your own fields;
whence, renowned for a suburban triumph, Tubertus,
you were thereafter borne as victor in snow-white horses.

19. B C724a

Iam sex et totidem luces de mense supersunt,
huic unum numero tu tamen adde diem.
sol abit a Geminis, et Cancri signa rubescunt:
coepit Aventina Pallas in arce coli.

Now six and just as many lights remain of the month,
yet add one day to this number, however.
the sun goes from the Twins, and the signs of Cancer blush red:
Aventine Pallas began to be worshiped on the citadel.

20. C C728a

Iam tua, Laomedon, oritur nurus, ortaque noctem
pellit, et e pratis uda pruina fugit:
reddita, quisquis is est, Summano templa feruntur,
tum cum Romanis, Pyrrhe, timendus eras.

Now, Laomedon, your daughter-in-law rises, and, risen, she drives the night away,
and from the meadows the wet rime flees:
temples are reported to have been given back to Summanus, whoever he is,
then, Pyrrhus, when you were to be feared by the Romans.

21. D C732a

21. 500 100732a

Hanc quoque cum patriis Galatea receperit undis,
plenaque securae terra quietis erit,
surgit humo iuvenis telis adflatus avitis,

When Galatea too shall have received this one with her native waves,
and the land will be full of secure quiet,
there rises from the ground a youth, inspired by ancestral weapons,

735

     et gemino nexas porrigit angue manus.
notus amor Phaedrae, nota est iniuria Thesei:
     devovit natum credulus ille suum.
non impune pius iuvenis Troezena petebat:
     dividit obstantes pectore taurus aquas.

     and he stretches forth hands bound with a twin serpent.
known is the love of Phaedra, known is the injury of Theseus:
     he, credulous, devoted his own son.
not with impunity was the pious youth seeking Troezen:
     a bull with his breast divided the waters that stood in the way.

740

solliciti terrentur equi, frustraque retenti
     per scopulos dominum duraque saxa trahunt.
exciderat curru, lorisque morantibus artus
     Hippolytus lacero corpore raptus erat,
reddideratque animam, multum indignante Diana.

the agitated horses are terrified, and, restrained in vain,
     they drag their master over crags and hard rocks.
he had fallen from the chariot, and with the reins entangling his limbs
     Hippolytus had been snatched with a lacerated body,
and had given back his spirit, with Diana very indignant.

745

     'nulla' Coronides 'causa doloris' ait:
'namque pio iuveni vitam sine volnere reddam,
     et cedent arti tristia fata meae.'
gramina continuo loculis depromit eburnis:
     profuerant Glauci manibus illa prius,                750
tum cum observatas augur descendit in herbas,
     usus et auxilio est anguis ab angue dato.
pectora ter tetigit, ter verba salubria dixit:
     depositum terra sustulit ille caput.
lucus eum nemorisque sui Dictynna recessu

     'No cause of grief,' says the Coronid:
'for to the pious youth I will restore life without wound,
     and the gloomy fates will yield to my art.'
straightway he brings out grasses from ivory little caskets:
     those had profited Glaucus’s hands before,                750
then, when an augur went down into the observed herbs,
     and made use of aid—a serpent given by a serpent.
thrice he touched the breast, thrice he spoke salubrious words:
     he lifted the head laid upon the ground.
the grove—and Dictynna, with the recess of her own wood—him

755

     celat: Aricino Virbius ille lacu.
at Clymenus Clothoque dolent, haec fila teneri,
     hic fieri regni iura minora sui.
Iuppiter, exemplum veritus, derexit in ipsum
     fulmina qui nimiae moverat artis opem.

     she hides him: that one is Virbius at the Arician lake.
but Clymenus and Clotho grieve, she that her threads are being held back,
     he that the rights of his realm are being made lesser.
Jupiter, fearing the precedent, directed against the very man
     the thunderbolts, who had set in motion the aid of excessive art.

760

Phoebe, querebaris: deus est, placare parenti:
propter te, fieri quod vetat, ipse facit.

Phoebe, you were complaining: he is a god; placate your parent:
on account of you, he himself does what he forbids to be done.

22. E C 23. F C762a

Non ego te, quamvis properabis vincere, Caesar,
si vetet auspicium, signa movere velim.
sint tibi Flaminius Trasimenaque litora testes

I would not wish you, Caesar, although you will hasten to conquer,
if the auspice forbids, to move the standards.
let Flaminius and the shores of Trasimene be witnesses for you

765

     per volucres aequos multa monere deos.
tempora si veteris quaeris temeraria damni,
     quintus ab extremo mense bis ille dies.
postera lux melior: superat Masinissa Syphacem,
     et cecidit telis Hasdrubal ipse suis.

     through the impartial birds the gods admonish many things.
times, if you seek the rash time of the former loss,
     that day is the fifth from the end of the month, twice.
the next light is better: Masinissa overcomes Syphax,
     and Hasdrubal himself fell by his own weapons.

770

24. G C770a

Tempora labuntur, tacitisque senescimus annis,
     et fugiunt freno non remorante dies.
quam cito venerunt Fortunae Fortis honores!
     post septem luces Iunius actus erit.
ite, deam laeti Fortem celebrate, Quirites:

Times slip away, and we grow old with silent years,
     and the days flee with no bridle delaying them.
how quickly have the honors of Strong Fortune arrived!
     after seven lights, June will have been spent.
go, gladly celebrate the goddess Strong Fortune, Quirites:

775

     in Tiberis ripa munera regis habet.
pars pede, pars etiam celeri decurrite cumba,
     nec pudeat potos inde redire domum.
ferte coronatae iuvenum convivia, lintres,
     multaque per medias vina bibantur aquas.

     on the bank of the Tiber it has the king’s gifts.
run down, some on foot, some also in the swift skiff,
     nor be ashamed to return home from there drunk.
bring, boats, the banquets of garlanded youths,
     and let many wines be drunk through the middle waters.

780

plebs colit hanc, quia qui posuit de plebe fuisse
fertur, et ex humili sceptra tulisse loco.
convenit et servis, serva quia Tullius ortus
constituit dubiae templa propinqua deae.

the plebs worships her, because he who set it up is said to have been of the plebs, and to have borne scepters from a humble place.
it also befits slaves, because Tullius, born from a slave-woman, established neighboring temples of the fickle goddess.

25. H C 26. A C, postea NP784a

25. H C 26. A C, later NP784a

Ecce suburbana rediens male sobrius aede
     ad stellas aliquis talia verba iacit:
'zona latet tua nunc, et cras fortasse latebit:
     dehinc erit, Orion, aspicienda mihi.'
at, si non esset potus, dixisset eadem
     venturum tempus solstitiale die.

Behold, returning from a suburban temple, not very sober,
     someone hurls such words to the stars:
'your belt lies hidden now, and perhaps tomorrow it will lie hidden:
     thereafter, Orion, it will be for me to behold.'
but, if he had not been drunk, he would have said the same,
     that the solstitial season would be coming tomorrow.

790

27. B C 28. C C790a

Lucifero subeunte Lares delubra tulerunt
hic ubi fit docta multa corona manu.
tempus idem Stator aedis habet, quam Romulus olim
ante Palatini condidit ora iugi.

With Lucifer rising, the Lares raised their shrines
here where many a learned circle is formed by a skilled hand.
The same time belongs to the Temple of Stator, which Romulus once
founded before the front of the Palatine ridge.

29. D F794a

Tot restant de mense dies quot nomina Parcis,
cum data sunt trabeae templa, Quirine, tuae.

As many days remain of the month as the Parcae have names,
when temples were given to your trabea, Quirinus.

30. E C796a

Tempus Iuleis cras est natale Kalendis:
     Pierides, coeptis addite summa meis.
dicite, Pierides, quis vos addixerit isti
     cui dedit invitas victa noverca manus.                800
sic ego. sic Clio: 'clari monimenta Philippi
     aspicis, unde trahit Marcia casta genus,
Marcia, sacrifico deductum nomen ab Anco,
     in qua par facies nobilitate sua.

Tomorrow is the natal time on the Julian Kalends:
     Pierides, add the finishing touch to my undertakings.
say, Pierides, who has bound you to that one
     to whom a stepmother, conquered, gave unwilling hands.                800
thus I. thus Clio: 'you behold the monuments of illustrious Philippus,
     whence chaste Marcia draws her lineage,
Marcia, a name drawn from priestly Ancus,
     in whom her appearance is equal to her nobility.

par animo quoque forma suo respondet; in illa

her form too answers to her spirit as its equal; in her

805

     et genus et facies ingeniumque simul.
nec, quod laudamus formam, tu turpe putaris:
     laudamus magnas hac quoque parte deas.
nupta fuit quondam matertera Caesaris illi:
     o decus, o sacra femina digna domo!'

     both lineage and form and wit as well.
nor, because we praise form, should you think it shameful:
     we praise the great goddesses in this part too.
nupta was once the maternal aunt of Caesar to him:
     O glory, O sacred woman worthy of the house!'

810

sic cecinit Clio, doctae adsensere sorores;
adnuit Alcides increpuitque lyram.

Thus Clio sang, the learned sisters assented;
Alcides nodded and made the lyre resound.