Seneca: FABULAE

Octavia Iam uaga caelo sidera fulgens
     Aurora fugat,
surgit Titan radiante coma
mundoque diem reddit clarum.
Age, tot tantis onerata malis,                              5
repete assuetos iam tibi questus
atque aequoreas uince Alcyonas,
uince et uolucres Pandionias:
grauior namque his fortuna tua est.
Semper genetrix deflenda mihi,                              10
prima meorum causa malorum,
tristes questus natae exaudi,
si quis remanet sensus in umbris.
utinam ante manu grandaeua sua
mea rupisset stamina Clotho,                              15

Octavia Now the wandering stars in the sky
     Aurora puts to flight,
Titan rises with radiant hair
and gives back to the world a bright day.
Come, burdened with so many and so great evils,                              5
repeat the complaints now accustomed to you
and outdo the sea-dwelling Halcyons,
and outdo the Pandionian birds:
for heavier than theirs is your fortune.
Always a mother to be wept by me,                              10
the first cause of my evils,
hear the sad complaints of your daughter,
if any sense remains in the shades.
would that long before, with her own aged hand,
Clotho had broken my threads,                              15

tua quam maerens uulnera uidi
oraque foedo sparsa cruore!
o nox semper funesta mihi;
tempore ab illo lux est tenebris
     inuisa magis:                              20
tulimus saeuae iussa nouercae,
hostilem animum uultusque truces.
illa, illa meis tristis Erinys
thalamis Stygios praetulit ignes
teque extinxit, miserande pater,                              25
modo cui totus paruit orbis
ultra Oceanum cuique Britanni
     terga dedere,
ducibus nostris ante ignoti
     iurisque sui;                              30

how grieving I saw your wounds,
and your face spattered with foul gore!
O night ever funereal to me;
from that time light has been more hated than darkness
     by me:                              20
we have borne the commands of the cruel stepmother,
her hostile spirit and grim countenance.
She—she, a gloomy Erinys to my marriage-bed—
preferred Stygian fires to my chambers,
and extinguished you, pitiable father,                              25
to whom but lately the whole world obeyed,
and to whom even the Britons beyond Ocean
     turned their backs,
before unknown to our leaders
     and of their own law;                              30

coniugis, heu me, pater, insidiis
oppresse iaces seruitque domus
cum prole tua capta tyranno.
     Nvtrix Fulgore primo captus et fragili bono
fallacis aulae quisquis attonitus stupet,                              35
subito latentis ecce Fortunae impetu
modo praepotentem cernat euersam domum
stirpemque Claudi, cuius imperio fuit
subiectus orbis, paruit liber diu
Oceanus et recepit inuitus rates.                              40
En qui Britannis primus imposuit iugum,
ignota tantis classibus texit freta
interque gentes barbaras tutus fuit
et saeua maria, coniugis scelere occidit;
mox illa nati: cuius extinctus iacet                              45

by a spouse’s plots—alas for me, father—you lie oppressed, and the house serves, with your offspring captive, to a tyrant.
     Nurse Whoever, captivated by the first glitter and the brittle good of the deceitful court, stands astonied and amazed,                              35
behold, by the sudden rush of lurking Fortune, may see the house, just now all-powerful, overthrown,
and the stock of Claudius, under whose sway the world was
subject; the Ocean, long free, obeyed, and unwilling received the ships.                              40
Lo, he who first imposed the yoke upon the Britons,
covered with fleets the straits unknown to so great armadas,
and was safe among barbarian peoples and the savage seas—by a wife’s crime he fell;
soon she, by her son’s crime: and he lies extinguished, whose                              45

frater uenenis, maeret infelix soror
eademque coniunx nec graues luctus ualet
ira coacta tegere crudelis uiri,
quem spreta refugit semper atque odio pari
ardens mariti mutua flagrat face.                              50
animum dolentis nostra solatur fides
pietasque frustra: uincit immitis dolor
consilia nostra nec regi mentis potest
generosus ardor, sed malis uires capit.
heu quam nefandum prospicit noster timor                              55
scelus, quod utinam numen auertat deum.
Oc. O mea nullis aequanda malis
     fortuna, licet
repetam luctus, Electra, tuos:
tibi maerenti caesum licuit                              60

the brother by poisons, the unhappy sister mourns
and likewise the spouse, nor is she able to cover her heavy griefs
coerced by the anger of a cruel husband,
whom, scorned, she ever flees, and with equal hatred
burning, she blazes with a mutual torch against her husband.                              50
our faithfulness consoles the spirit of the sufferer
and our piety, in vain: remorseless dolor overcomes
our counsels, nor can the noble ardor of her mind be ruled,
but from evils it takes strength.
alas what nefarious crime our fear foresees                              55
a crime which, would that the numen of the gods avert.
Oc. O my fortune to be matched by no evils;
     fortune, though it is permitted
that I repeat your griefs, Electra:
for you, grieving, it was permitted the slain.                              60

     flere parentem,
scelus ulcisci uindice fratre,
tua quem pietas hosti rapuit
     texitque fides:
me crudeli sorte parentes                              65
raptos prohibet lugere timor
fratrisque necem deflere uetat,
in quo fuerat spes una mihi
totque malorum breue solamen.
nunc in luctus seruata meos                              70
magni resto nominis umbra.
Nvt. Vox en nostras perculit aures
     tristis alumnae;                              72a
cesset thalamis inferre gradus
     tarda senectus?

     to weep your parent,
to avenge the crime with an avenging brother,
whom your pietas snatched from the enemy
     and your fidelity sheltered:
me, by a cruel lot, fear forbids to mourn my parents                              65
snatched away, and forbids me to lament the death of my brother,
in whom there had been my one hope
and the brief solace of so many evils.
now, kept for my own griefs,                              70
I remain the shade of a great name.
Nurse. Lo, a voice has struck our ears
     sad, of the foster-daughter;                              72a
should sluggish old age cease to bring steps
     into the chambers?

Oc. Excipe nostras lacrimas, nutrix, 75

Oc. Receive our tears, nurse, 75

testis nostri fida doloris.
Nvt. Quis te tantis soluet curis,
miseranda, dies?
Oc. Qui me Stygias mittet ad umbras.

a faithful witness of our grief.
Nvt. What day will loosen you from such cares,
poor one?
Oc. The one that will send me to the Stygian shades.

Nvt. Omina quaeso sint ista procul.                              80
Oc. Non uota meos tua nunc casus,
     sed fata regunt.
Nvt. Dabit afflictae meliora deus
     tempora mitis;                              83a
tu modo blando uince obsequio
     placata uirum.
Oc. Vincam saeuos ante leones
     tigresque truces                              86a
fera quam saeui corda tyranni:
odit genitos sanguine claro,
spernit superos hominesque simul,
nec fortunam capit ipse suam,                              90
quam dedit illi per scelus ingens
     infanda parens.

Nvt. I beg, may those omens be far off.                              80
Oc. Not your vows now govern my misfortunes,
     but the fates rule.
Nvt. A gentle god will grant better times
     to the afflicted;                              83a
only, with blandishing compliance, overcome
     the man, once placated.
Oc. I will vanquish savage lions
     and grim tigers sooner                              86a
than the wild harsh heart of the tyrant:
he hates those born of noble blood,
he spurns the gods above and men alike,
nor does he even grasp his own fortune,                              90
which an unspeakable parent gave to him
     through enormous crime.

Licet ingratum dirae pudeat
munere matris 93a
hoc imperium cepisse, licet
tantum munus morte rependat,
feret hunc titulum post fata tamen
femina longo semper in aeuo.
Nvt. Animi retine uerba furentis,
temere emissam comprime uocem.
Oc. Toleranda quamuis patiar, haud umquam queant 100

Although it may shame the ungrateful one to have taken this dominion by the gift of a dire mother, munere matris 93a
although he may recompense so great a gift with death,
yet a woman will bear this title after his fates
forever in a long age.
Nvt. Restrain the words of a frenzied mind,
repress the voice rashly sent forth.
Oc. Although I suffer things that must be endured, they can never 100

nisi morte tristi nostra finiri mala.
genetrice caesa, per scelus rapto patre,
orbata fratre, miseriis luctu obruta,
maerore pressa, coniugi inuisa ac meae
subiecta famulae, luce non grata fruor,                              105
trepidante semper corde non mortis metu,
sed sceleris++absit crimen a fatis meis,
mori iuuabit; poena nam grauior nece est
uidere tumidos et truces miserae mihi
uultus tyranni, iungere atque hosti oscula,                               110
timere nutus cuius obsequium meus
haud ferre posset fata post fratris dolor
scelere interempti, cuius imperium tenet
et sorte gaudet auctor infandae necis.
     Quam saepe tristis umbra germani meis                              115

unless my evils be ended by grim death.
with my mother slain, my father snatched through crime,
bereft of a brother, overwhelmed by miseries and mourning,
pressed down by grief, hateful to my husband and subjected to my
handmaid, I do not enjoy welcome light,                              105
with my heart ever trembling, not from fear of death,
but—far be the charge of crime from my fates—
it will be pleasing to die; for a punishment heavier than death is
for me, wretched, to see the swollen and savage
looks of the tyrant, and to join kisses with an enemy,                              110
to fear the nods of one to whose obedience my
grief, after the fate of my brother slain by crime, could not submit,
whose command he holds, and as the author of the unspeakable murder rejoices in the lot.
     How often the sad shade of my brother to my                              115

offertur oculis, membra cum soluit quies
et fessa fletu lumina oppressit sopor:
modo facibus atris armat infirmas manus
oculosque et ora fratris infestus petit,
modo trepidus idem refugit in thalamos meos;                              120
persequitur hostis atque inhaerenti mihi
uiolentus ensem per latus nostrum rapit.
tunc tremor et ingens excutit somnos pauor
renouatque luctus et metus miserae mihi.
     Adice his superbam paelicem, nostrae domus                              125
spoliis nitentem, cuius in munus suam
Stygiae parentem natus imposuit rati,
quam, dira post naufragia, superato mari,
ferro interemit saeuior pelagi fretis:
quae spes salutis, post nefas tantum, mihi?                              130

he is offered to my eyes, when rest loosens my limbs
and sleep has pressed down my eyes wearied by weeping:
now he arms his feeble hands with black torches
and, hostile, he seeks the eyes and face of his brother,
now the same, trembling, flees into my bedchambers;                              120
the enemy pursues, and, as he clings to me,
violent, he snatches the sword through our side.
then trembling and vast fear shakes off my sleep
and renews griefs and dreads for wretched me.
     Add to these the proud concubine, gleaming with the spoils of our house,                              125
for whose gift the son placed his own parent on the Stygian raft,
whom, after dire shipwrecks, with the sea overcome,
he slew with iron, more savage than the straits of the sea:
what hope of salvation, after such a nefarious deed, is there for me?                              130

inimica uictrix imminet thalamis meis
odioque nostri flagrat et pretium stupri
iustae maritum coniugis poscit caput.
     Emergere umbris et fer auxilium tuae
natae inuocanti, genitor, aut Stygios sinus                              135
tellure rupta pande, quo praeceps ferar.
Nvt. Frustra parentis inuocas manes tui,
miseranda, frustra, nulla cui prolis suae
manet inter umbras cura: qui nato suo
praeferre potuit sanguine alieno satum                              140
genitamque fratris coniugem captus sibi
toris nefandis flebili iunxit face.

an inimical victress looms over my marriage-chambers
and burns with hatred of us, and as the price of her defilement
demands the head of the lawful wife’s husband.
     Emerge from the shades and bring aid to your
daughter calling on you, father, or, the earth rent, lay open the Stygian bays,                              135
whither headlong I may be borne.
Nvt. In vain you invoke your parent’s shades,
pitiful one, in vain, for whom no care for his own offspring
abides among the shadows: he who could prefer to his own son
one sprung from alien blood—and, captivated, joined to himself as spouse,                              140
by unspeakable beds and a lamentable torch, the daughter born of his brother’s wife.

hinc orta series facinorum: caedes, doli,
regni cupido, sanguinis diri sitis;
mactata soceri concidit thalamis gener 145

from here arose a series of crimes: slaughters, deceits,
the cupidity for a kingdom, the thirst for dire blood;
the son-in-law, sacrificed, collapsed in his father-in-law’s bedchambers 145

uictima, tuis ne fieret hymenaeis potens.
pro facinus ingens! feminae est munus datus
Silanus et cruore foedauit suo
patrios penates, criminis ficti reus.

a victim, lest he become potent at your hymeneals.
O, immense crime! Silanus was given as a gift
to the woman, and with his own gore he defiled
his ancestral Penates, the defendant of a fictitious crime.

intrauit hostis, ei mihi, captam domum 150
dolis nouercae, principis factus gener
idemque natus, iuuenis infandi ingeni,
capaxque scelerum, dira cui genetrix facem
accendit et te iunxit inuitam metu.
Tantoque uictrix facta successu ferox 155
ausa imminere est orbis imperio sacri.
quis tot referre facinorum formas potest
et spes nefandas feminae et blandos dolos
regnum petentis per gradus scelerum omnium?

The enemy entered—alas for me—the house captured 150
by the stepmother’s wiles, made the Princeps’s son-in-law
and likewise son, a youth of unspeakable disposition,
capable of crimes, to whom a dread genetrix the torch
kindled and joined you, unwilling, by fear.
And made victress by so great success, grown fierce, 155
she dared to loom over the empire of the sacred orb.
Who can recount so many forms of crimes,
and the woman’s nefarious hopes and soothing deceits,
seeking the kingship by degrees of every crime?

tunc sancta Pietas extulit trepidos gradus 160

then holy Piety lifted up her trembling steps 160

uacuamque Erinys saeua funesto pede
intrauit aulam, polluit Stygia face
sacros penates, iura naturae furens
fasque omne rupit: miscuit coniunx uiro
uenena saeua, cecidit atque eadem sui 165
mox scelere nati. Tu quoque extinctus iaces,
deflende nobis semper, infelix puer,
modo sidus orbis, columen augustae domus,
Britannice, heu me, nunc leuis tantum cinis
et tristis umbra; saeua cui lacrimas dedit 170
etiam nouerca, cum rogis artus tuos
dedit cremandos membraque et uultus deo
similes uolanti saeuiens flamma abstulit.
Oc. Extinguat et me, ne manu nostra cadat!

and the savage Erinys with a baleful foot
entered the empty hall, polluted the sacred penates with a stygian torch,
raving she broke the laws of nature and all right:
the spouse mixed cruel poisons for her husband,
and the same woman soon fell by the crime of her own son. 165
You too lie extinguished,
to be wept by us forever, unhappy boy,
just now the star of the world, the column of the august house,
Britannicus, alas for me, now only light ash
and a sad shade; to whom even a cruel stepmother gave tears, 170
when she gave your limbs to the pyres to be burned,
and the raging flame carried off the limbs and the face like to a flying god.
Oc. Let it extinguish me too, lest he fall by our hand!

Nvt. Natura uires non dedit tantas tibi. 175

Nvt. Nature did not give you such strength. 175

Oc. Dolor ira maeror miseriae luctus dabunt.
Nvt. Vince obsequendo potius immitem uirum.
Oc. Vt fratrem ademptum scelere restituat mihi?

Oc. Pain, ire, grief, miseries, mourning will give me strength.
Nvt. Conquer the cruel man rather by compliance.
Oc. That he may restore to me my brother taken away by crime?

Nvt. Incolumis ut sis ipsa, labentem ut domum
genitoris olim subole restituas tua. 180
Oc. Expectat aliam principis subolem domus;
me dira miseri fata germani trahunt.
Nvt. Confirmet animum ciuium tantus fauor.
Oc. Solatur iste nostra, non releuat mala.

Nvt. So that you yourself may be safe, so that you may one day restore your father’s lapsing house by your progeny. 180
Oc. The house awaits another offspring of the prince; dire fates of my wretched brother drag me.
Nvt. Let so great favor of the citizens confirm your spirit.
Oc. That consoles our ills, it does not relieve them.

Nvt. Vis magna populi est. Oc. Principis maior tamen. 185
Nvt. Respiciet ipse coniugem. Oc. Paelex uetat.

Nvt. The might of the people is great. Oc. The prince’s is greater, however. 185
Nvt. He himself will have regard for his wife. Oc. The mistress forbids.

Nvt. Inuisa cunctis nempe. Oc. Sed cara est uiro.
Nvt. Nondum uxor est.

Nvt. Hated by all, indeed. Oc. But she is dear to her husband.
Nvt. She is not yet a wife.

Oc. Iam fiet, et genetrix simul.
Nvt. Iuuenilis ardor impetu primo furit,
languescit idem facile nec durat diu 190

Oc. Now she will be, and a mother at the same time.
Nvt. Juvenile ardor rages at the first impetus,
the same easily languishes and does not endure long 190

in Venere turpi, ceu leuis flammae uapor:
amor perennis coniugis castae manet.
Violare prima quae toros ausa est tuos
animumque domini famula possedit diu,
iam metuit eadem++Oc. Nempe praelatam sibi. 195
Nvt. Subiecta et humilis, atque monumenta extruit
quibus timorem falsa testatur suum.
Et hanc leuis fallaxque destituet deus
uolucer Cupido: sit licet forma eminens,
opibus superba, gaudium capiet breue.

in base Venus, like the vapor of a light flame:
the perennial love of a chaste spouse remains.
She who first dared to violate your marriage-beds
and the maidservant possessed the master’s mind for a long time,
now that same one fears++Oc. Of course, one preferred before herself. 195
Nvt. Submissive and humble, and she builds monuments
by which she falsely testifies her fear.
And even her the light and fallacious god,
winged Cupid, will forsake: though she be eminent in beauty,
proud in resources, she will take brief joy.

                              200
     Passa est similes ipsa dolores
     regina deum,
cum se formas uertit in omnes
dominus caeli diuumque pater
et modo pennas sumpsit oloris,                              205

                              200
     She herself suffered similar pains,
     the queen of the gods,
     when he turned himself into every form,
     the lord of heaven and father of the gods,
     and at one time took up the wings of a swan,                              205

modo Sidonii cornua tauri;
aureus idem fluxit in imbri;
fulgent caelo sidera Ledae,
patrio residet Bacchus Olympo,
deus Alcides possidet Heben                              210
nec Iunonis iam timet iras,
cuius gener est qui fuit hostis.
Vicit sapiens tamen obsequium
coniugis altae pressusque dolor:
sola Tonantem tenet aetherio                              215
secura toro maxima Iuno,
nec mortali captus forma
deserit altam Iuppiter aulam.
Tu quoque, terris altera Iuno,
soror Augusti coniunxque, graues                              220

now the horns of the Sidonian bull;
the same one, golden, flowed in a rain-shower;
the stars of Leda gleam in the sky,
Bacchus resides on his father’s Olympus,
the god Alcides possesses Hebe,                              210
nor now does he fear the wraths of Juno,
whose son-in-law is he who was an enemy.
Yet wise compliance prevailed
and the grief of the lofty spouse was pressed down:
mighty Juno alone holds the Thunderer, secure,                              215
on the aetherial couch,
nor, captivated by mortal form,
does Jupiter desert the lofty hall.
You too, another Juno on earth,
sister and spouse of Augustus, grave                              220

     uince dolores.
Oc. Iungentur ante saeua sideribus freta
et ignis undae, Tartaro tristi polus,
lux alma tenebris, roscidae nocti dies,
quam cum scelesti coniugis mente impia                              225
mens nostra, semper fratris extincti memor.
utinam nefandi principis dirum caput
obruere flammis caelitum rector paret,
qui saepe terras fulmine infesto quatit
mentesque nostras ignibus terret sacris                              230
nouisque monstris; uidimus caelo iubar
ardens cometen pandere infaustam facem,
qua plaustra tardus noctis alterna uice
regit Bootes, frigore Arctoo rigens:
en ipse diro spiritu saeui ducis                              235

     overcome your dolors.
Oc. Sooner shall the savage seas be joined to the stars
and fire to waves, the pole to gloomy Tartarus,
benign light to darkness, to dewy night the day,
than our mind with the impious mind of a wicked husband,                              225
ever mindful of a slain brother. Would that the ruler of the celestials
might be minded to overwhelm with flames the dire head
of the abominable prince, he who often shakes the lands with a hostile thunderbolt
and frightens our minds with sacred fires and with new portents;
we have seen in the sky a blazing comet unfold an ill-omened torch,                              230
where slow Boötes, stiff with Arctic cold,
guides the wagons in alternating turn of night:
lo, he himself, by the dire breath of the cruel leader,                              235

polluitur aether, gentibus clades nouas
minantur astra, quas regit dux impius.
non tam ferum Typhona neglecto Ioue
irata Tellus edidit quondam parens:
haec grauior illo pestis, hic hostis deum 240
hominumque templis expulit superos suis
ciuesque patria, spiritum fratri abstulit,
hausit cruorem matris++et lucem uidet
fruiturque uita noxiam atque animam trahit!
Pro summe genitor, tela cur frustra iacis 245
inuicta totiens temere regali manu?

the ether is polluted, the stars threaten new calamities
to the peoples whom an impious leader rules.
not so fierce a Typhon, with Jove neglected,
did angry Earth, the parent, once bring forth:
this is a pestilence graver than that one; this enemy of the gods 240
has driven the gods above from the temples of men,
and his own citizens from their fatherland; he has taken away
his brother’s breath, he has drained his mother’s blood++and he sees the light
and enjoys a noxious life and draws breath!
O highest Begetter, why do you hurl your unconquered missiles in vain 245
so often, rashly, with a royal hand?

in tam nocentem dextra cur cessat tua?
utinam suorum facinorum poenas luat
Nero insitiuus, Domitio genitus patre,
orbis tyrannus, quem premit turpi iugo 250

why does your right hand delay against one so guilty?
would that he pay the penalties of his own crimes
Nero the ingrafted, begotten from father Domitius,
the tyrant of the world, which he presses with a shameful yoke 250

morumque uitiis nomen Augustum inquinat!
Nvt. Indignus ille, fateor, est thalamis tuis;
sed cede fatis atque fortunae tuae,
alumna, quaeso, neue uiolenti moue
iram mariti. forsitan uindex deus 255
existet aliquis, laetus et ueniet dies.

and he befouls the August name with the vices of his character!
Nvt. He is unworthy, I confess, of your marriage bed;
but yield to the Fates and to your fortune,
foster-child, I beg, and do not stir the wrath
of a violent husband. Perhaps some avenging god will arise, and a glad day will come. 255

Oc. Graui deorum nostra iam pridem domus
urgetur ira, prima quam pressit Venus
furore miserae dura genetricis meae,
quae nupta demens nupsit incesta face, 260
oblita nostri, coniugis, legum immemor.
illos soluta crine, succincta anguibus
ultrix Erinys uenit ad Stygios toros
raptasque thalamis sanguine extinxit faces;
incendit ira principis pectus truci 265

Oc. Our house has long now been pressed by the grave wrath of the gods,
first, when harsh Venus crushed my wretched mother with madness—
she, though a wife, in her frenzy wedded with an incestuous torch, forgetting us, her spouse, unmindful of the laws.
against them, with hair loosened, girded with serpents,
the avenging Erinys came to the Stygian couches
and quenched with blood the torches snatched from the bridal chambers;
she inflamed with savage wrath the emperor’s breast 265

caedem in nefandam: cecidit infelix parens,
heu, nostra ferro meque perpetuo obruit
extincta luctu; coniugem traxit suum
natumque ad umbras, prodidit lapsam domum.
Nvt. Renouare luctus parce cum fletu pios, 270
manes parentis neue sollicita tuae,
graues furoris quae sui poenas dedit.
Chorvs Quae fama modo uenit ad aures?

into unspeakable slaughter: the unlucky parent fell,
alas, with the sword she overwhelmed our house, and me with perpetual
grief, herself extinguished by grief; she dragged her own husband
and son to the shades, she betrayed the fallen house.
Nvt. Spare to renew pious griefs with tears, 270
nor trouble the Manes of your mother,
who has paid the grave penalties of her own frenzy.
Chorvs What rumor has just come to our ears?

utinam falso credita perdat
frustra totiens iactata fidem, 275
nec noua coniunx nostri thalamos
principis intret, teneatque suos
nupta penates Claudia proles.
edat partu pignora pacis,
qua tranquillus gaudeat orbis 280

Would that, believed falsely, it may lose the credit
so often vaunted in vain, 275
and may no new consort enter the bedchambers
of our prince, and may a bride of the Claudian stock
hold her own Penates. Let her bring forth by birth pledges of peace,
whereby the world may rejoice, tranquil. 280

seruetque decus Roma aeternum.
Fratris thalamos sortita tenet
     maxima Iuno,
soror Augusti sociata toris
cur a patria pellitur aula?                              285
sancta quid illi prodest pietas
     diuusque pater?                               286a
quid uirginitas castusque pudor?

and let Rome preserve her eternal glory.
having been allotted her brother’s marriage-bed, she holds
     the greatest Juno,
the sister of the Augustus, joined to his bed—
why is she driven from the ancestral palace?                              285
what does holy piety avail her,
     and a deified father?                               286a
what good are virginity and chaste modesty?

Nos quoque nostri sumus immemores
post fata ducis, cuius stirpem
prodimus aegro suadente metu.                              290
     Vera priorum uirtus quondam
Romana fuit uerumque genus
Martis in illis sanguisque uiris.
Illi reges hac expulerunt
     urbe superbos                              294a
ultique tuos sunt bene manes,
mactata tua, miseranda, manu,                              301

We too are unmindful of what is ours
after the death of the leader, whose stock
we betray, at the urging of a sickly fear.                              290
     The true virtue of the former men once
was Roman, and the true genus
of Mars was in those men, and blood.
They drove proud kings out of this
     city,                              294a
and they well avenged your Manes,
you, pitiable, slaughtered by your own hand,                              301

     nata Lucreti,
stuprum saeui passa tyranni.
Te quoque bellum triste secutum est,                              300
uirgo dextra caesa parentis,                              296
ne seruitium paterere graue et
improba ferret praemia uictrix
     dira libido.
Dedit infandi sceleris poenas                              304

     daughter of Lucretius,
having suffered the outrage of the savage tyrant.
A grim war also followed you,                              300
maiden cut down by your father's right hand,                              296
lest you should endure grievous servitude and
the shameless victor, dire lust, should bear away its rewards.
     dire lust.
He paid the penalties for the unspeakable crime                              304

cum Tarquinio Tullia coniunx,
quae per caesi membra parentis
egit saeuos impia currus
laceroque seni uiolenta rogos
     nata negauit.                              308a
     Haec quoque nati uidere nefas
     saecula magnum,
cum Tyrrhenum rate ferali
princeps captam fraude parentem
     misit in aequor.                              312a
Properant placidos linquere portus
     iussi nautae,
resonant remis pulsata freta;                              315
fertur in altum prouecta ratis,
quae resoluto robore labens
pressa dehiscit sorbetque mare.
Tollitur ingens clamor ad astra
cum femineo mixtus planctu.                              320
mors ante oculos dira uagatur;
quaerit leti sibi quisque fugam:
alii lacerae puppis tabulis
haerent nudi fluctusque secant,
repetunt alii litora nantes;                              325

when with Tarquin Tullia the spouse,
who over the limbs of her hewn-down parent
drove the savage chariots, impious,
and to the lacerated old man, violent, the funeral pyres
     the daughter denied.                              308a
     These ages too of the son beheld a great
     abomination,
when into the Tyrrhenian, with a funereal raft,
the prince sent his parent, captured by fraud,
     out on the level sea.                              312a
They hasten to leave the placid harbors,
     the sailors ordered;
the straits resound, the waters beaten by oars;                              315
the raft, borne forward, is carried into the deep,
which, its timber loosened, slipping,
when pressed, gapes open, and the sea swallows it down.
A huge clamor is lifted to the stars,
mixed with feminine plangent lament.                              320
death, dread, wanders before the eyes;
each seeks for himself a flight from doom:
some to the planks of the torn stern
cling, naked, and cleave the waves,
others, swimming, seek again the shores;                              325

multos mergunt fata profundo.
     Scindit uestes Augusta suas
     laceratque comas
rigat et maestis fletibus ora.
postquam spes est nulla salutis,                              330
ardens ira, iam uicta malis:
'haec' exclamat 'mihi pro tanto
munere reddis praemia, nate?

many dooms drown many in the deep.
     The Augusta rends her garments
     and tears her tresses,
and wets her face with mournful tears.
after there is no hope of safety,                              330
burning with ire, now overcome by misfortunes:
‘these,’ she exclaims, ‘do you render to me as rewards in return for so great a favor, son?’

hac sum, fateor, digna carina,
quae te genui, quae tibi lucem                              335
atque imperium nomenque dedi
     Caesaris amens.
Exere uultus Acheronte tuos
poenisque meis pascere, coniunx:
ego causa tuae, miserande, necis                              340

with this ship I am, I confess, deserving,
I who bore you, who to you gave the light 335
and the imperium and the name of Caesar—out of my mind.
Bring forth your face from Acheron
and feed on my punishments, husband:
I am the cause of your death, poor man. 340

natoque tuo funeris auctor
en, ut merui, ferar ad manes
     inhumata tuos,
obruta saeuis aequoris undis.'
Feriunt fluctus ora loquentis,                               345
ruit in pelagus rursumque salo
     pressa resurgit;
pellit palmis cogente metu
freta, sed cedit fessa labori.
Mansit tacitis in pectoribus                              350
spreta tristi iam morte fides:
multi dominae ferre auxilium
pelago fractis uiribus audent;
bracchia quamuis lenta trahentem
uoce hortantur manibusque leuant.                              355

and, for your son, the author of death—
lo, as I have deserved, I shall be borne to your Manes
     unburied,
overwhelmed by the savage waves of the sea.'
The billows strike the mouth of the one speaking,                               345
she rushes into the deep and again from the brine,
     pressed down, she rises;
she beats the seas with her palms, fear compelling,
but, weary, yields to the labor.
Loyalty, now scorned by grim death, remained                               350
in silent breasts:
many dare to bring help to their mistress,
their forces broken by the sea;
her, though dragging slow arms,
they encourage with their voice and lift with their hands.                              355

     Quid tibi saeui fugisse maris
     profuit undas?
ferro es nati moritura tui,
cuius facinus uix posteritas,
tarde semper saecula credent.                              360
Furit ereptam pelagoque dolet
     uiuere matrem
impius ingens geminatque nefas:
ruit in miserae fata parentis
patiturque moram sceleris nullam.                              365
missus peragit iussa satelles:
reserat dominae pectora ferro.
Caedis moriens illa ministrum
     rogat infelix,
utero dirum condat ut ensem:                              370

     What did it profit you to have fled the waves
     of the savage sea?
you are about to die by the iron of your son,
whose crime posterity will scarcely,
the ever-slow ages, believe.                              360
He rages that she was snatched away and that his mother
     lives from the sea,
the monstrous impious one, and he doubles the nefariousness:
he rushes upon the fate of his wretched parent
and suffers no delay of the crime.                              365
the satellite, sent, carries out the orders:
he unbars the lady’s breast with iron.
Dying, she, the unlucky one, asks the minister
     of the slaughter,
to sheathe the dire sword in her womb.                              370

'hic est, hic est fodiendus' ait
'ferro, monstrum qui tale tulit.'
post hanc uocem cum supremo
     mixtam gemitu
animam tandem per fera tristem                              375
     uulnera reddit.
     Seneca Quid, impotens Fortuna, fallaci mihi
blandita uultu, sorte contentum mea
alte extulisti, grauius ut ruerem edita
receptus arce totque prospicerem metus?                              380
melius latebam procul ab inuidiae malis
remotus inter Corsici rupes maris,
ubi liber animus et sui iuris mihi
semper uacabat studia recolenti mea.
O quam iuuabat, quo nihil maius parens                              385

'here he is, here he is, to be dug/stabbed,' she says,
'with iron, the monster who bore such a deed.'
after this utterance, with her final
     groan mingled,
at last she gives back her spirit, sad through the savage                              375
     wounds.
     Seneca Why, unbridled Fortune, having flattered me
with a deceitful visage, me content with my lot
did you lift on high, so that I might crash more grievously, once received
into an exalted citadel, and look out upon so many fears?                              380
better I lay hidden far from the evils of envy,
removed among the cliffs of the Corsican sea,
where a free spirit and of its own right for me
always had leisure as I was re-collecting my studies.
O how it gratified, than which nothing greater the parent                              385

Natura genuit, operis immensi artifex,
caelum intueri, solis et cursus sacros
mundique motus, noctis alternas uices
orbemque Phoebes, astra quam cingunt uaga,
lateque fulgens aetheris magni decus;                              390
qui si senescit, tantus in caecum chaos
casurus iterum, tunc adest mundo dies
supremus ille, qui premat genus impium
caeli ruina, rursus ut stirpem nouam
generet renascens melior, ut quondam tulit                              395
iuuenis, tenente regna Saturno poli.
Tunc illa uirgo, numinis magni dea,
Iustitia, caelo missa cum sancta Fide
terra regebat mitis humanum genus.
non bella norant, non tubae fremitus truces,                              400

Natura begot, artificer of an immense work,
to behold the sky, and the sacred courses of the sun
and the motions of the world, the alternating turns of night
and the orb of Phoebe, which the wandering stars gird,
and the far-shining adornment of the great aether;                              390
which, if it grows old, destined to fall again into blind Chaos,
then there is present for the world that ultimate day
which will press down the impious race with the sky’s collapse,
so that again, being reborn, it may engender a new and better stock,
as once it brought forth when young, with Saturn holding the realms of the sky.                              395
Then that maiden, a goddess of great numen,
Justice, sent from heaven with holy Faith,
on earth gently governed the human race.
they knew not wars, nor the harsh roar of trumpets,                              400

non arma gentes, cingere assuerant suas
muris nec urbes: peruium cunctis iter,
communis usus omnium rerum fuit;
et ipsa Tellus laeta fecundos sinus
pandebat ultro, tam piis felix parens                              405
et tuta alumnis. Alia sed suboles minus
conspecta mitis * * *
* * * Tertium sollers genus                              407a
nouas ad artes extitit, sanctum tamen,
mox inquietum quod sequi cursu feras
auderet acres, fluctibus tectos graui                              410
extrahere pisces rete uel calamo leui,
decipere uolucres crate * * *
tenere laqueo, premere subiectos iugo                              412bis
tauros feroces, uomere immunem prius
sulcare terram, laesa quae fruges suas
     *                              414a
interior, alte condidit sacro sinu.
     Sed in parentis uiscera intrauit suae
deterior aetas; eruit ferrum graue
aurumque, saeuas mox et armauit manus;
partita fines regna constituit, nouas
exstruxit urbes, tecta defendit sua                              420

peoples did not bear arms, nor had they been accustomed to gird their
cities with walls: the way was passable to all,
there was a common use of all things;
and Tellus herself, glad, her fruitful bosoms
spread forth of her own accord, so happy a parent to such pious ones                              405
and safe for her nurslings. But another offspring, less
conspicuously gentle * * *
* * * A third skillful kind                              407a
arose to new arts, yet sacred,
soon restless, in that it would dare to pursue in course fierce
beasts, to draw out fish covered by the waves with a heavy net                              410
or with a light rod, to deceive the winged ones with a lattice * * *
to hold with a noose, to press beneath a yoke                              412bis
fierce bulls, to furrow with a ploughshare the earth previously exempt,
which, once harmed, her fruits     *                              414a
within, hid deep in her sacred bosom.
     But into the bowels of its parent there entered
a worse age; it dug out heavy iron
and gold, and soon armed savage hands;
having partitioned boundaries it established kingdoms, it built new
cities, it defended its own roofs                              420

aliena telis aut petit praedae imminens.
neglecta terras fugit et mores feros
hominum, cruenta caede pollutas manus
Astraea uirgo, siderum magnum decus.
cupido belli creuit atque auri fames 425
totum per orbem, maximum exortum est malum
luxuria, pestis blanda, cui uires dedit
roburque longum tempus atque error grauis.

he seeks others’ goods with weapons, or, looming for plunder.
neglected, the virgin Astraea, the great ornament of the stars, flees the lands and the savage customs
of men, their hands defiled with bloody slaughter.
the desire of war grew and the hunger for gold 425
throughout the whole world; the greatest evil arose,
luxury, a blandishing pestilence, to which strength was given
and sturdiness by long time and grievous error.

     Collecta uitia per tot aetates diu
in nos redundant: saeculo premimur graui,                              430
quo scelera regnant, saeuit impietas furens,
turpi libido Venere dominatur potens,
luxuria uictrix orbis immensas opes
iam pridem auaris manibus, ut perdat, rapit.
     Sed ecce, gressu fertur attonito Nero                              435

     The collected vices through so many ages for long
overflow upon us: we are pressed by a grievous age,                              430
in which crimes reign, impiety rages, frenzied,
shameful libido, potent with Venus, holds dominion,
luxury, victress of the world, the immense resources
long since with avaricious hands, to waste them, seizes.
     But behold, with a stunned step Nero is borne                              435

trucique uultu. quid ferat mente horreo.
Nero Perage imperata: mitte, qui Plauti mihi
Sullaeque caesi referat abscisum caput.

and with a truculent visage. I shudder in mind at what he brings.
Nero Carry through the things commanded: send someone to bring to me the severed head of Plautus and of Sulla, cut down.

Praefectvs Iussa haud morabor: castra confestim petam.
Se. Nihil in propinquos temere constitui decet. 440
Ne. Iusto esse facile est cui uacat pectus metu.
Se. Magnum timoris remedium clementia est.

Praefectvs I will not delay the orders: I will forthwith make for the camp.
Se. It is not fitting that anything be rashly decreed against kinsmen. 440
Ne. It is easy to be just for him whose breast is free from fear.
Se. Clemency is a great remedy for fear.

Ne. Extinguere hostem maxima est uirtus ducis.
Se. Seruare ciues maior est patriae patri.
Ne. Praecipere mitem conuenit pueris senem. 445
Se. Regenda magis est feruida adolescentia.

Ne. To extinguish the enemy is the greatest virtue of a commander.
Se. To preserve citizens is greater for the Father of the Fatherland.
Ne. It befits a gentle old man to give precepts to boys. 445
Se. Fervid adolescence is more to be governed.

Ne. Aetate in hac satis esse consilii reor.
Se. Vt facta superi comprobent semper tua.
Ne. Stulte uerebor, ipse cum faciam, deos.

Ne. At this age I reckon there is enough counsel.
Se. May the gods above always approve your deeds.
Ne. Am I, foolishly, to fear the gods, when I myself do it?

Se. Hoc plus uerere quod licet tantum tibi. 450

Se. Fear this more, that so much is permitted to you. 450

Ne. Fortuna nostra cuncta permittit mihi.
Se. Crede obsequenti parcius: leuis est dea.
Ne. Inertis est nescire quid liceat sibi.

Ne. Our Fortune permits all things to me.
Se. Believe the obsequious one more sparingly: the goddess is light.
Ne. It is of the inert not to know what is licit for oneself.

Se. Id facere laus est quod decet, non quod licet.
Ne. Calcat iacentem uulgus. Se. Inuisum opprimit. 455
Ne. Ferrum tuetur principem.

Se. It is praise to do what is decorous, not what is licit.
Ne. The mob tramples the fallen. Se. It oppresses the hated. 455
Ne. Steel protects the prince.

Se. Melius fides.
Ne. Decet timeri Caesarem. Se. At plus diligi.

Se. Faith is better.
Ne. It befits Caesar to be feared. Se. But more, to be loved.

Ne. Metuant necesse est++Se. Quidquid exprimitur graue est.
Ne. Iussisque nostris pareant. Se. Iusta impera.

Ne. They must fear++Se. Whatever is extorted is grievous.
Ne. And let them obey our commands. Se. Command what is just.

Ne. Statuam ipse. Se. Quae consensus efficiat rata. 460
Ne. Destrictus ensis faciet. Se. Hoc absit nefas.

Ne. I myself will decree it. Se. What consensus makes ratified. 460
Ne. A drawn sword will do it. Se. Let this nefarious thing be far away.

Ne. An patiar ultra sanguinem nostrum peti,
inultus et contemptus ut subito opprimar?
exilia non fregere summotos procul
Plautum atque Sullam, pertinax quorum furor 465

Ne. Shall I endure any longer that our blood be sought,
that I, unavenged and contemned, be suddenly overwhelmed?
Exiles did not break, though removed far away,
Plautus and Sulla, whose pertinacious fury 465

armat ministros sceleris in caedem meam,
absentium cum maneat etiam ingens fauor
in urbe nostra, qui fouet spes exulum.
tollantur hostes ense suspecti mihi,
inuisa coniunx pereat et carum sibi 470
fratrem sequatur. quidquid excelsum est cadat.

he arms the ministers of crime for my slaughter,
while there still remains even an immense favor for the absent
in our city, which fosters the hopes of exiles.
let the enemies suspected by me be removed by the sword,
let the hated consort perish and follow her dear-to-herself 470
brother. whatever is exalted, let it fall.

Se. Pulcrum eminere est inter illustres uiros,
consulere patriae, parcere afflictis, fera
caede abstinere, tempus atque irae dare,
orbi quietem, saeculo pacem suo. 475
haec summa uirtus, petitur hac caelum uia.
sic ille patriae primus Augustus parens
complexus astra est, colitur et templis deus.
illum tamen Fortuna iactauit diu
terra marique per graues belli uices, 480

Se. Fair it is to stand out among illustrious men,
to consult for the fatherland, to spare the afflicted, fierce
slaughter to abstain from, to give time to anger,
to give the world quiet, to the age peace of its own. 475
this is the supreme virtue; by this way heaven is sought.
thus that Augustus, the first parent of the fatherland,
has embraced the stars, and is worshiped as a god in temples.
him, however, Fortune tossed for a long time
on land and sea through the grave vicissitudes of war, 480

hostes parentis donec oppressit sui:
tibi numen incruenta summisit suum
et dedit habenas imperi facili manu
nutuque terras maria subiecit tuo;
inuidia tristis, uicta consensu pio,                              485
cessit; senatus, equitis accensus fauor;
plebisque uotis atque iudicio patrum
tu pacis auctor, generis humani arbiter
electus orbem spiritu sacro regis
patriae parens: quod nomen ut serues petit                              490
suosque ciues Roma commendat tibi.
Ne. Munus deorum est, ipsa quod seruit mihi
Roma et senatus quodque ab inuitis preces
humilesque uoces exprimit nostri metus.
seruare ciues principi et patriae graues,                              495

until he crushed the enemies of his own parent:
to you the numen has submissively lowered its power without bloodshed,
and with an easy hand has given the reins of command,
and by your nod has subjected lands and seas to you;
sad envy, conquered by pious consensus,                              485
has yielded; the favor of the senate, of the equestrian order, is kindled;
and by the vows of the plebs and the judgment of the fathers
you, author of peace, arbiter of the human race,
chosen, rule the orb by sacred spirit,
parent of the fatherland: which title, that you preserve it, she asks,                              490
and Rome commends to you her own citizens.
Ne. It is a gift of the gods, that Rome herself serves me,
and that the senate, and that fear of us wrings from the unwilling
prayers and humble voices.
to preserve citizens who are burdensome to the princeps and to the fatherland,                              495

claro tumentes genere quae dementia est,
cum liceat una uoce suspectos sibi
mori iubere? Brutus in caedem ducis,
a quo salutem tulerat, armauit manus:
inuictus acie, gentium domitor, Ioui 500
aequatus altos saepe per honorum gradus
Caesar nefando ciuium scelere occidit.
Quantum cruoris Roma tum uidit sui,
lacerata totiens!

what madness is it, for those swelling with illustrious birth,
when it is permitted with a single word to order those suspected by themselves
to die? Brutus armed his hands for the slaughter of the leader,
from whom he had received salvation; unconquered in battle, tamer of nations, to Jove 500
equaled through the high steps of honors,
Caesar fell by the unspeakable crime of citizens.
How much of her own blood did Rome then behold,
so often lacerated!

ille qui meruit pia
uirtute caelum, diuus Augustus, uiros 505
quot interemit nobiles, iuuenes senes
sparsos per orbem, cum suos mortis metu
fugerent penates et trium ferrum ducum,
tabula notante deditos tristi neci!
exposita rostris capita caesorum patres 510

he who by pious
virtue merited heaven, divine Augustus, men 505
how many nobles he slew, youths and elders,
scattered through the orb, when, in fear of death,
they fled their Penates and the iron of the three leaders,
the tablet marking them, given over to sad death!
the Fathers, the heads of the slaughtered exposed on the Rostra 510

uidere maesti, flere nec licuit suos,
non gemere dira tabe polluto foro,
stillante sanie per putres uultus graui.
Nec finis hic cruoris aut caedis stetit:
pauere uolucres et feras saeuas diu                              515
tristes Philippi, * * *
* * * hausit et Siculum mare                              516a
classes uirosque saepe caedentes suos,
concussus orbis uiribus magnis ducum.
superatus acie puppibus Nilum petit
fugae paratis, ipse periturus breui:                              520
hausit cruorem incesta Romani ducis
Aegyptus iterum, non leues umbras tegit.

downcast, they saw, nor was it permitted to weep for their own,
nor to groan, with the forum polluted by dire corruption,
with heavy sanious gore dripping over putrid faces.
Nor did the end of gore or slaughter halt here:
for a long time birds and savage beasts were afraid                              515
sad Philippi, * * *
* * * and the Sicilian sea too drank                              516a
fleets and men often slaughtering their own,
the world shaken by the great forces of the leaders.
overcome in battle he seeks the Nile with his ships,
his flight made ready, he himself doomed shortly:                              520
Egypt, incestuous, drank the blood of the Roman leader
again; it covers no light shades.

Illic sepultum est impie gestum diu
ciuile bellum. condidit tandem suos
iam fessus enses uictor hebetatos feris 525

There the civil war, impiously carried on for a long time, was buried.
At last the victor, now weary, sheathed his own swords,
dulled by savageries. 525

uulneribus, et continuit imperium metus.
armis fideque militis tutus fuit,
pietate nati factus eximia deus,
post fata consecratus et templis datus.
Nos quoque manebunt astra, si saeuo prior 530
ense occuparo quidquid infestum est mihi
dignaque nostram subole fundaro domum.

by wounds, and fear held the empire together.
he was secure by the arms and by the faith of the soldier,
made a god by the outstanding piety of his son,
after death consecrated and given to temples.
for us too the stars will abide, if I am first 530
with the savage sword to seize whatever is inimical to me,
and shall found a house worthy of our stock.

Se. Implebit aulam stirpe caelesti tuam
generata diuo, Claudiae gentis decus,
sortita fratris more Iunonis toros. 535
Ne. Incesta genetrix detrahit generi fidem,
animusque numquam coniugis iunctus mihi.
Se. Teneris in annis haud satis clara est fides,
pudore uictus cum tegit flammas amor.

Se. She will fill your hall with celestial stock,
generated by a god, the glory of the Claudian gens,
having obtained the marriage-bed of Juno after the manner of a brother. 535
Ne. An incestuous mother detracts credence from the lineage,
and the spirit of my spouse was never joined to me.
Se. In tender years loyalty is not sufficiently clear,
when love, overcome by modesty, veils its flames.

Ne. Hoc equidem et ipse credidi frustra diu, 540

Ne. This indeed I myself too believed in vain for a long time, 540

manifesta quamuis pectore insociabili
uultuque signa proderent odium mei,
tandem quod ardens statuit ulcisci dolor++
dignamque thalamis coniugem inueni meis
genere atque forma, uicta cui cedet Venus 545
Iouisque coniunx et ferox armis dea.
Se. Probitas fidesque coniugis, mores pudor
placeant marito: sola perpetuo manent
subiecta nulli mentis atque animi bona;
florem decoris singuli carpunt dies. 550
Ne. Omnes in unam contulit laudes deus
talemque nasci fata uoluerunt mihi.
Se. Recedat a te (temere ne credas) amor.

although, even if clear signs in an unsociable breast
and in the countenance betrayed the hatred of me,
at last that which burning pain resolved to avenge++
and I have found a spouse worthy of my marriage-beds
in birth and in form, to whom, conquered, Venus will yield 545
and Jupiter’s consort and the goddess fierce in arms.
Se. Let the probity and fidelity of a spouse, the morals and modesty,
please a husband: these alone endure perpetually,
goods of mind and spirit subject to none;
each single day plucks the flower of beauty. 550
Ne. The god has gathered all praises into one,
and the fates willed that such a one be born for me.
Se. Let love withdraw from you (lest you believe rashly).

Ne. Quem summouere fulminis dominus nequit,
caeli tyrannum, saeua qui penetrat freta 555

Ne. Whom the lord of the thunderbolt cannot remove,
the tyrant of the sky, who penetrates the savage straits 555

Ditisque regna, detrahit superos polo?
Se. Volucrem esse Amorem fingit immitem deum
mortalis error, armat et telis manus
arcuque sacras, instruit saeua face
genitumque credit Venere, Vulcano satum: 560
uis magna mentis blandus atque animi calor
Amor est; iuuenta gignitur, luxu otio
nutritur inter laeta Fortunae bona.
quem si fouere atque alere desistas, cadit
breuique uires perdit extinctus suas.

and the realms of Dis—does he drag the gods down from the sky?
Se. Mortal error fashions Love to be a winged and unmerciful god, and arms his hands with missiles and a consecrated bow, equips him with a savage torch, and believes him begotten of Venus, begotten by Vulcan: 560
Love is a great force of mind and a coaxing warmth of spirit; he is engendered by youth, he is nourished by luxury and leisure amid the happy goods of Fortune.
whom, if you cease to cherish and to nourish, he falls, and, extinguished, quickly loses his own powers.

565
Ne. Hanc esse uitae maximam causam reor,
per quam uoluptas oritur; interitu caret,
cum procreetur semper, humanum genus
Amore grato, qui truces mulcet feras.
hic mihi iugales praeferat taedas deus 570

565
Ne. I deem this to be the greatest cause of life,
through which pleasure arises; it is without destruction,
since the human race is ever procreated
by gracious Love, who mollifies truculent beasts.
May this god bear before me the nuptial torches 570

iungatque nostris igne Poppaeam toris.
Se. Vix sustinere possit hos thalamos dolor
uidere populi, sancta nec pietas sinat.
Ne. Prohibebor unus facere quod cunctis licet?

and let him join Poppaea to our marriage-beds with his fire.
Se. Hardly could the grief of the people endure to see these nuptials, nor would sacred pietas allow it.
Ne. Shall I alone be prohibited to do what is permitted to all?

Se. Maiora populus semper a summo exigit. 575
Ne. Libet experiri, uiribus fractus meis
an cedat animis temere conceptus furor.
Se. Obsequere potius ciuibus placidus tuis.
Ne. Male imperatur, cum regit uulgus duces.

Se. The people always exact greater things from the highest. 575
Ne. It pleases me to try, with my powers broken, whether the rashly-conceived fury yields to my spirits.
Se. Rather, comply with your citizens, calm.
Ne. It is ill commanded, when the mob rules the leaders.

Se. Nihil impetrare cum ualet, iuste dolet. 580
Ne. Exprimere ius est, ferre quod nequeunt preces?
Se. Negare durum est. Ne. Principem cogi nefas.

Se. When it can obtain nothing, it rightly grieves. 580
Ne. Is it a right that prayers should wring out to be spared what they cannot bear?
Se. To deny is harsh. Ne. For a prince to be coerced is impious.

Se. Remittat ipse. Ne. Fama sed uictum feret.
Se. Leuis atque uana.

Se. Let him himself relent. Ne. But fame will bear me vanquished.
Se. Light and vain.

Ne. Sit licet, multos notat.
Se. Excelsa metuit. Ne. Non minus carpit tamen. 585

Ne. Granted, it may be so, it censures many.
Se. It fears the exalted. Ne. Nevertheless it carps no less. 585

Se. Facile opprimetur. merita te diui patris
aetasque frangat coniugis, probitas pudor.
Ne. Desiste tandem, iam grauis nimium mihi,
instare: liceat facere quod Seneca improbat.

Se. It will be easily suppressed. let the merits of your deified father
and your wife’s age, probity, modesty, break you.
Ne. Cease at last—already too burdensome to me—
pressing me: let it be permitted to do what Seneca disapproves.

et ipse populi uota iam pridem moror                              590
     *                                                            590a
cum portet utero pignus et partem mei.
quin destinamus proximum thalamis diem.
     Agrippina Tellure rupta Tartaro gressum extuli,
Stygiam cruenta praeferens dextra facem
thalamis scelestis: nubat his flammis meo                              595
Poppaea nato iuncta, quas uindex manus
dolorque matris uertet ad tristes rogos.

and I myself have long delayed the people’s vows                              590
     *                                                            590a
since she carries in her womb a pledge and a part of me.
nay rather, let us appoint the next day for the nuptials.
     Agrippina With the earth rent I have raised my step from Tartarus,
bearing in my bloodstained right hand a Stygian torch
for the wicked bridal-chamber: let Poppaea, joined to my son, wed by these flames,                              595
which an avenging hand and a mother’s grief will turn to mournful pyres.

manet inter umbras impiae caedis mihi
semper memoria, manibus nostris grauis
adhuc inultis, reddita et meritis meis 600

the memory of impious slaughter remains for me among the shades
always, grievous to my still unavenged Manes,
and rendered to my merits 600

funesta merces puppis et pretium imperi
nox illa qua naufragia defleui mea;
comitum necem natique crudelis nefas
deflere uotum fuerat++haud tempus datum est
lacrimis, sed ingens scelere geminauit nefas.                              605
perempta ferro, foeda uulneribus sacros
intra penates spiritum effudi grauem
erepta pelago, sanguine extinxi meo
nec odia nati: saeuit in nomen ferus
matris tyrannus, obrui meritum cupit,                              610
simulacra, titulos destruit mortis metu
totum per orbem, quem dedit poenam in meam
puero regendum noster infelix amor.
     Extinctus umbras agitat infestus meas
flammisque uultus noxios coniunx petit,                              615

the funereal wage of the ship and the price of empire—
that night on which I wept my shipwrecks;
to bewail the slaughter of my companions and the cruel unspeakable wrong against my son
had been my vow++no time was given for tears,
but a vast villainy doubled the outrage with crime.                              605
slain by steel, foul with wounds, within the sacred Penates
I poured out my grievous breath;
snatched from the sea, with my blood I did not quench
my son’s hatreds: the savage tyrant rages against the very name
“mother,” he longs to have my merit overwhelmed,                              610
he destroys statues and titles throughout the whole world in fear of death—
the world which, to my punishment, our unlucky love
gave to be ruled by a boy.
     My extinguished spouse, hostile, harasses my shades,
and with flames he seeks my baneful features.                              615

instat, minatur, imputat fatum mihi
tumulumque nati, poscit auctorem necis.
iam parce: dabitur, tempus haud longum peto.
ultrix Erinys impio dignum parat
letum tyranno, uerbera et turpem fugam                              620
poenasque quis et Tantali uincat sitim,
dirum laborem Sisyphi, Tityi alitem
Ixionisque membra rapientem rotam.
licet extruat marmoribus atque auro tegat
superbus aulam, limen armatae ducis                              625
seruent cohortes, mittat immensas opes
exhaustus orbis, supplices dextram petant
Parthi cruentam, regna diuitias ferant:
ueniet dies tempusque quo reddat suis
animam nocentem sceleribus, iugulum hostibus                              630

he presses, he menaces, he imputes to me fate
and the tomb of the son; he demands the author of the murder.
now forbear: it will be given; I ask no long time.
the avenging Erinys prepares a death worthy
for the impious tyrant, lashes and a shameful flight,                              620
and penalties which even would outmatch the thirst of Tantalus,
the dire labor of Sisyphus, the bird of Tityus,
and the wheel of Ixion snatching the limbs.
though he pile up a hall with marbles and cover it with gold,
proud, though cohorts guard the threshold of the armed leader,                              625
though the exhausted world send immense wealth,
though Parthians as suppliants seek his blood-stained right hand,
though kingdoms bring riches:
there will come a day and a time when he will render to his own
a soul guilty with crimes, his throat to his enemies.                              630

desertus ac destructus et cunctis egens.
     Heu, quo labor, quo uota ceciderunt mea?
quo te furor prouexit attonitum tuus
et fata, nate, cedat ut tantis malis
genetricis ira, quae tuo scelere occidit?                              635
utinam, antequam te paruulum in lucem edidi
aluique, saeuae nostra lacerassent ferae
uiscera: sine ullo scelere, sine sensu innocens
meus occidisses; iunctus atque haerens mihi
semper quieta cerneres sede inferum                              640
proauos patremque, nominis magni uiros,
quos nunc pudor luctusque perpetuus manet
ex te, nefande, meque quae talem tuli.

deserted and destroyed and in need of all things.
     Alas, where have my labor, where have my vows fallen?
whither has your own frenzy driven you, thunderstruck as you are,
and the fates, my son, so that the mother’s wrath—who perished by your crime—
should yield to such great evils?                              635
Would that, before I brought you, a little one, into the light
and nourished you, savage beasts had torn our viscera:
without any crime, without sense, innocent,
you would have perished—my own; joined and clinging to me,
you would ever behold from the quiet seat of the shades below                              640
your great-grandfathers and your father, men of a great name,
whom now shame and perpetual mourning await
because of you, nefarious one, and me, who bore such a one.

Quid tegere cesso Tartaro uultus meos,
nouerca coniunx mater infelix meis? 645

Why do I delay to cover my visage with Tartarus,
a stepmother as a wife, an unhappy mother to my own children? 645

     Octavia Parcite lacrimis urbis festo
     laetoque die,
ne tantus amor nostrique fauor
principis acres suscitet iras
uobisque ego sim causa malorum.                               650
non hoc primum pectora uulnus
mea senserunt: grauiora tuli;
dabit hic nostris finem curis
     uel morte dies;                              653a
non ego saeui cernere cogar
     coniugis ora,
non inuisos intrare mihi
     thalamos famulae;
soror Augusti, non uxor ero.
absint tantum tristes poenae
     letique metus++                              660
scelerum diri, miseranda, uiri
potes hoc demens sperare memor?

     Octavia Spare tears on the city’s festive
     and joyful day,
lest so great love and favor for me
arouse the sharp wraths of the princeps,
and I be for you the cause of evils.                               650
not this wound first have my breast
felt: I have borne heavier;
this day will give an end to our cares,
     even by death;                              653a
I shall not be forced to behold
     the face of a savage husband,
nor that a maidservant enter
     my hateful bridal-chambers;
I shall be the sister of the Augustus, not a wife.
only let sad penalties be absent
     and the fear of death++                              660
remembering the crimes of the dread man, pitiable one,
can you, demented, hope this?

hos ad thalamos seruata diu
uictima tandem funesta cades.
Sed quid patrios saepe penates 665

kept long for these bridal chambers,
a funest victim you will at last fall.
But why the paternal Penates so often 665

respicis udis confusa genis?
propera tectis efferre gradus,
linque cruentam principis aulam.
     Chorvs En illuxit suspecta diu
fama totiens iactata dies:                              670
cessit thalamis Claudia diri
     pulsa Neronis,
quos iam uictrix Poppaea tenet,
cessat pietas dum nostra graui
compressa metu segnisque dolor.                               675
Vbi Romani uis est populi,
fregit diros quae saepe duces,
dedit inuictae leges patriae,
fasces dignis ciuibus olim,
iussit bellum pacemque, feras                              680

do you look back, your cheeks wet and confounded?
hurry to carry your steps out of the house,
leave the bloody hall of the princeps.
     Chorus Lo, there has dawned the day long suspected,
the report so often bandied about:                              670
Claudia has yielded the bridal-chambers, driven out
     by dire Nero,
which now the conquering Poppaea holds,
our pietas stands inactive, while, pressed down by heavy
fear, and our grief is sluggish.                               675
Where is the force of the Roman people,
which often broke dread leaders,
gave laws to the unconquered fatherland,
the fasces once to worthy citizens,
ordered war and peace, and wild                              680

     gentes domuit,                              680a
captos reges carcere clausit?
Grauis en oculis undique nostris
iam Poppaeae fulget imago
     iuncta Neroni!
affligat humo uiolenta manus                              685
similes nimium uultus dominae
ipsamque toris detrahat altis,
petat infestis mox et flammis
telisque feri principis aulam.

     it subdued nations,                              680a
it shut captured kings in prison?
Lo, grievous to our eyes on every side
now Poppaea’s image gleams,
     joined to Nero!
let a violent hand dash to the ground                              685
the too-similar visages of the mistress,
and drag the mistress herself down from her high couches,
and soon assail with hostile flames
and with weapons the hall of the savage prince.

Nvtrix Quo trepida gressum coniugis thalamis tui 690
effers, alumna, quidue secretum petis
turbata uultu? cur genae fletu madent?
certe petitus precibus et uotis dies
nostris refulsit: Caesari iuncta es tuo
taeda iugali, quem tuus cepit decor 695

Nurse Where, trembling, do you carry your step from your husband’s marriage-chambers, 690
foster-child, or what secret do you seek, with countenance disturbed?
why are your cheeks wet with weeping? Surely the day sought by our prayers and vows
has shone forth: you are joined to your Caesar by the nuptial torch,
whom your beauty has captured. 695

et culta sancte tradidit uinctum tibi
genetrix Amoris, maximum numen, Venus.
O qualis altos quanta pressisti toros
residens in aula! uidit attonitus tuam
formam senatus, tura cum superis dares 700
sacrasque grato spargeres aras mero,
uelata summum flammeo tenui caput;
et ipse lateri iunctus atque haerens tuo
sublimis inter ciuium laeta omina
incessit habitu atque ore laetitiam gerens 705
princeps superbo: talis emersam freto
spumante Peleus coniugem accepit Thetin,
quorum toros celebrasse caelestes ferunt
pelagique numen omne consensu pari.

and worshiped in holy rites the Mother of Love, the greatest numen, Venus, delivered Love, bound, to you.
O of what sort, how great, the lofty couches you pressed
as you sat in the hall! The senate, thunderstruck, beheld your
beauty, when you were offering incense to the gods above and were sprinkling the sacred altars with pleasing wine, 700
your head veiled at the crown with a thin flammeum;
and he himself, joined and clinging to your side,
on high, amid the joyful omens of the citizens,
advanced, the prince with proud bearing, carrying joy in his bearing and face:
such as Peleus received his spouse Thetis, risen from the foaming strait,
they say the celestials celebrated their marriage-beds,
and every numen of the sea, with equal accord.705

Quae subita uultus causa mutauit tuos? 710

What sudden cause has changed your features? 710

quid pallor iste, quid ferant lacrimae doce.
Poppaea Confusa tristi proximae noctis metu
uisuque, nutrix, mente turbata feror,
defecta sensu. laeta nam postquam dies
sideribus atris cessit et nocti polus, 715
inter Neronis uincta complexus mei
somno resoluor; nec diu placida frui
quiete licuit.

what is that pallor? tell what your tears portend.
Poppaea Confused by the fear and the vision of last night, nurse, I am borne with my mind disturbed,
bereft of sense. for after the joyful day
yielded to the black stars and the pole to night, 715
clasped within my Nero’s embraces I am released into sleep;
nor was it permitted to enjoy placid repose for long.
quiet was not granted.

uisa nam thalamos meos
celebrare turba est maesta: resolutis comis
matres Latinae flebiles planctus dabant; 720
inter tubarum saepe terribilem sonum
sparsam cruore coniugis genetrix mei
uultu minaci saeua quatiebat facem.
Quam dum sequor coacta praesenti metu,
diducta subito patuit ingenti mihi 725

for it seemed that a mournful throng was celebrating my bedchambers;
with loosened hair the Latin mothers were giving tearful lamentations; 720
amid the often terrible sound of trumpets
my genetrix, spattered with my husband’s blood,
with menacing countenance was shaking a savage torch.
While I follow her, compelled by present fear,
rent apart, there suddenly lay open to me something immense 725

tellus hiatu; lata quo praeceps toros
cerno iugales pariter et miror meos,
in quis resedi fessa. uenientem intuor
comitante turba coniugem quondam meum
natumque; properat petere complexus meos 730
Crispinus, intermissa libare oscula:
irrupit intra tecta cum trepidus mea
ensemque iugulo condidit saeuum Nero.
Tandem quietem magnus excussit timor;
quatit ora et artus horridus nostros tremor 735
pulsatque pectus; continet uocem timor,
quam nunc fides pietasque produxit tua.

the earth by a yawning chasm; where, headlong, I see the conjugal couches spread alike, and I marvel at my own,
on which, weary, I sat down. I behold my one-time husband coming
with a crowd accompanying, and my son; hastens to seek my embraces 730
Crispinus, to taste the long-intermitted kisses:
then, in a panic, he irrupted into my house, and Nero
plunged a cruel sword into his throat. At length a great fear shook off my rest;
a horrid tremor shakes my face and limbs and beats upon my breast, 735
and fear restrains my voice, which now your faith and piety have brought forth.

Heu quid minantur inferum manes mihi
aut quem cruorem coniugis uidi mei?
Nvt. Quaecumque mentis agitat intentus uigor, 740

Alas, what do the infernal shades menace for me
or what gore of my consort did I see?
Nurse. Whatever an intent vigor of the mind agitates, 740

ea per quietem sacer et arcanus refert
ueloxque sensus. coniugem thalamos toros
uidisse te miraris amplexu noui
haerens mariti? sed mouent laeto die
pulsata palmis pectora et fusae comae? 745
Octauiae discidia planxerunt sacros
inter penates fratris et patrium larem.

these things a sacred and arcane, and swift, sense reports in repose.
Do you marvel that you saw your spouse, the thalamoi and couches,
clinging in the embrace of a new husband? But do
breasts smitten by palms and loosened tresses move you on a glad day? 745
Octavia’s severances were lamented among the sacred
Penates of her brother and the ancestral Lar.

fax illa, quam secuta es, Augustae manu
praelata clarum nomen inuidia tibi
partum ominatur, inferum sedes toros 750
stabiles futuros spondet aeternae domus.
iugulo quod ensem condidit princeps tuus,
bella haud mouebit, pace sed ferrum teget.
Recollige animum, recipe laetitiam, precor,
timore pulso redde te thalamis tuis. 755

that torch, which you followed, borne by the Augusta’s hand,
carried before, portends to you a renowned name birthed by envy,
but the infernal seats pledge the couches 750
of the eternal house will be steadfast.
because your princeps planted the sword in his throat,
he will not set wars in motion, but will cover the iron with peace.
Gather your spirit, take back joy, I pray,
with fear driven out restore yourself to your own bridal-chambers. 755

Po. Delubra et aras petere constitui sacras,
caesis litare uictimis numen deum,
ut expientur noctis et somni minae
terrorque in hostes redeat attonitus meos.
Tu uota pro me suscipe et precibus piis                              760
superos adora, maneat ut praesens status.
     Chorvs Si uera loquax fama Tonantis
furta et gratos narrat amores
(quem modo Ledae pressisse sinum
tectum plumis pennisque ferunt,                              765
modo per fluctus raptam Europen
taurum tergo portasse trucem),
quae regit et nunc deseret astra,
petet amplexus, Poppaea, tuos,
quos et Ledae praeferre potest                              770

Po. I have resolved to seek the sacred shrines and altars, to propitiate the numen of the gods with slaughtered victims, so that the threats of night and of the dream may be expiated, and that thunderstruck terror may return upon my enemies. Do you take up vows for me and with pious prayers adore the gods above, that the present status may remain.                              760
     Chorvs If talkative fame tells true the thefts and welcome amours of the Thunderer
(whom they say just now pressed Leda’s bosom,
covered with plumes and feathers,                              765
and just now, over the waves, that as a fierce bull
he bore on his back the snatched-away Europa),
he who rules the stars will even now desert them,
he will seek your embraces, Poppaea—
which even to Leda’s he can prefer.                              770

et tibi, quondam cui miranti
fuluo, Danae, fluxit in auro.
Formam Sparte iactet alumnae
licet et Phrygius praemia pastor,
uincet uultus haec Tyndaridos, 775
qui mouerunt horrida bella
Phrygiaeque solo regna dedere.
Sed quis gressu ruit attonito
aut quid portat pectore anhelo?

and for you, Danaë, to whom once, as you marveled,
he flowed in tawny gold. Let Sparta vaunt the beauty
of her foster-daughter, and the Phrygian shepherd his prizes,
this woman will surpass the visage of the Tyndarid, 775
which set in motion horrid wars and gave kingdoms to the Phrygian soil.
But who rushes with stunned step,
or what does he bear in his panting breast?

Nvntivs Quicumque tectis excubat miles ducis, 780
defendat aulam, cui furor populi imminet.
trepidi cohortes ecce praefecti trahunt
praesidia ad urbis, uicta nec cedit metu
concepta rabies temere, sed uires capit.
Cho. Quis iste mentes agitat attonitus furor? 785

Messenger Whoever of the soldiers keeps watch over the leader’s roofs, 780
let him defend the palace, upon which the people’s frenzy impends.
See, the anxious prefects are dragging the cohorts, the garrisons, to the city,
nor does the madness once conceived, conquered by fear, yield rashly, but gathers strength.
Chorus What thunderstruck frenzy is this that agitates our minds? 785

Nvn. Octauiae fauore percussa agmina
et efferata per nefas ingens ruunt.
Cho. Quid ausa facere quoue consilio doce.
Nvn. Reddere penates Claudiae diri parant
torosque fratris, debitam partem imperi. 790
Cho. Quos iam tenet Poppaea concordi fide?

Nvn. The ranks, smitten by favor for Octavia,
and, made savage through nefas, rush on in a vast charge.
Cho. Teach what she dared to do and with what counsel.
Nvn. They are preparing to restore the Penates of Claudia,
and her brother’s couch, the due share of empire. 790
Cho. Which Poppaea now holds in concordant troth?

Nvn. Hinc urit animos pertinax nimium fauor
et in furorem temere praecipites agit:
quaecumque claro marmore effigies stetit
aut aere fulgens, ora Poppaeae gerens, 795
afflicta uulgi manibus et saeuo iacet
euersa ferro; membra per partes trahunt
diducta laqueis, obruunt turpi diu
calcata caeno. uerba conueniunt feris
immixta factis, quae timor reticet meus. 800

Nvn. Hence a too pertinacious favor sears their spirits
and rashly drives them headlong into fury:
whatever effigy has stood in bright marble
or gleaming in bronze, bearing Poppaea’s features, 795
smitten by the hands of the crowd, lies
overthrown by cruel steel; they drag the limbs,
torn apart by nooses, in pieces, they overwhelm with foul
mud long trampled. Words, mixed with savage deeds,
accord with them—things which my fear keeps silent. 800

Saepire flammis principis sedem parant,
populi nisi irae coniugem reddat nouam,
reddat penates Claudiae uictus suos.
ut noscat ipse ciuium motus mea
uoce, haud morabor iussa praefecti exequi.                              805
Cho. Quid fera frustra bella mouetis?
inuicta gerit tela Cupido:
flammis uestros obruet ignes
quis extinxit fulmina saepe
captumque Iouem caelo traxit.                              810
     Laesi tristes dabitis poenas
     sanguine uestro;
non est patiens feruidus irae
     facilisque regi:                              813a
ille ferocem iussit Achillem
     pulsare lyram,
fregit Danaos, fregit Atriden,
regna euertit Priami, claras
     diruit urbes.                              817a
et nunc animus quid ferat horret
uis immitis uiolenta dei.

They prepare to fence with flames the prince’s seat,
unless he give back the new consort to the people’s wrath,
give back, overcome, his own Penates to Claudia.
that he himself may learn the citizens’ motions by my voice,
I will by no means delay to execute the Prefect’s commands.                              805
Cho. Why do you stir savage wars in vain?
unconquered weapons does Cupid bear:
with his flames he will overwhelm your fires—
he who has often quenched the thunderbolts
and, captured, dragged Jove down from heaven.                              810
     Offended, grim penalties you shall pay
     with your own blood;
the fervid one is not patient of wrath
     nor easy to be ruled:                              813a
he bade fierce Achilles
     to strike the lyre,
he broke the Danaans, he broke the son of Atreus,
he overturned Priam’s realms, he demolished
     renowned cities.                              817a
and now the mind shudders at what
the unpitying force of the violent god may bring.

Nero O lenta nimium militis nostri manus 820

Nero O too slow the hand of our soldier 820

et ira patiens post nefas tantum mea,
quod non cruor ciuilis accensas faces
extinguit in nos, caede nec populi madet
funerea Roma, quae uiros tales tulit!
Admissa sed iam morte puniri parum est,                              825
grauiora meruit impium plebis scelus.
en illa, cui me ciuium subicit furor,
suspecta coniunx et soror semper mihi,
tandem dolori spiritum reddat meo
iramque nostram sanguine extinguat suo;                              830
mox tecta flammis concidant urbis meis,
ignes ruinae noxium populum premant
turpisque egestas, saeua cum luctu fames.
Exultat ingens saeculi nostri bonis
corrupta turba nec capit clementiam                               835

and my wrath patient after so nefarious a crime of mine,
that civil gore does not extinguish the kindled torches
against us, nor does funereal Rome drip with the slaughter
of the people, she who has borne such men!
But now, to be punished by death is too little for the deeds admitted,                              825
the impious crime of the plebs has deserved heavier.
Lo, that woman, to whom the frenzy of the citizens subjects me—
a suspect consort and sister ever to me—
let her at last render up her spirit to my grief
and extinguish our ire with her own blood;                              830
soon let the roofs of the city collapse by my flames,
let the fires of ruin press the noxious people,
and foul indigence, savage famine with mourning.
The vast mob, corrupted by the goods of our age,
exults, nor does it take in clemency.                              835

ingrata nostram, ferre nec pacem potest,
sed inquieta rapitur hinc audacia,
hinc temeritate fertur in praeceps sua:
malis domanda est et graui semper iugo
premenda, ne quid simile temptare audeat                              840
contraque sanctos coniugis uultus meae
attollere oculos; fracta per poenas metu
parere discet principis nutu sui.
     Sed adesse cerno rara quem pietas uirum
fidesque castris nota praeposuit meis.                              845
     Praefectvs Populi furorem caede paucorum, diu
qui restiterunt temere, compressum affero.
Ne. Et hoc sat est?

ungrateful to us, it cannot bear peace,
but, unquiet, it is swept away now by audacity,
now by rashness it is borne headlong into its own ruin:
it must be tamed by evils and always by a heavy yoke
be pressed down, lest it dare to attempt anything similar                              840
against the sacred visage of my wife
to lift up its eyes; broken through punishments, by fear
it will learn to obey the nod of its prince.
     But I perceive present the man whom rare piety
and loyalty, known in my camps, has set in command over them.                              845
     Prefect I bring word that the people’s frenzy, by the slaughter of a few who for a long time resisted rashly, has been checked.
Ne. And is this enough?

sic miles audisti ducem?
* * 848a
compescis? haec uindicta debetur mihi?

so, soldier, have you obeyed the commander?
* * 848a
do you restrain it? is this the vengeance owed to me?

Prf. Cecidere motus impii ferro duces.
Ne. Quid illa turba, petere quae flammis meos
ausa est penates, principi legem dare,
abstrahere nostris coniugem caram toris,
uiolare quantum licuit incesta manu
et uoce dira? debita poena uacat? 855

Prf. The leaders of the impious uprising have fallen by the sword.
Ne. What of that mob, which dared to assail my Penates with flames, to give law to the princeps, to drag my dear consort from our marriage-beds, to violate, as far as it was permitted, with an incestuous hand and a dire voice? Does the due penalty stand vacant? 855

Prf. Poenam dolor constituet in ciues tuos?
Ne. Constituet, aetas nulla quam famae eximat.
Prf. Tua temperet nos ira, non noster timor.

Prf. Will grief impose the penalty upon your citizens?
Ne. It will; no age will exempt it from fame.
Prf. Let your anger temper us, not our fear.

Ne. Iram expiabit prima quae meruit meam.
Prf. Quam poscat ede, nostra ne parcat manus. 860
Ne. Caedem sororis poscit et dirum caput.
Prf. Horrore uinctum trepidus astrinxit rigor.

Ne. She who first deserved my wrath shall expiate it.
Prf. Tell whom it demands, lest our hand spare. 860
Ne. It demands the slaughter of my sister and her dire head.
Prf. A trembling rigor has fastened me, bound with horror.

Ne. Parere dubitas? Prf. Cur meam damnas fidem?
Ne. Quod parcis hosti.

Ne. Do you hesitate to obey? Prf. Why do you condemn my fidelity?
Ne. Because you spare the enemy.

Prf. Femina hoc nomen capit?
Ne. Si scelera cepit. Prf. Estne qui sontem arguat? 865
Ne. Populi furor.

Prf. Does a woman take this name?
Ne. If she has committed crimes. Prf. Is there one to arraign the guilty? 865
Ne. The people’s fury.

Prf. Quis regere dementes ualet?
Ne. Qui concitare potuit. Prf. Haud quemquam, reor,
mulier++Ne. Dedit natura cui pronum malo
animum, ad nocendum pectus instruxit dolis.

Prf. Who is able to rule the demented?
Ne. He who could incite them. Prf. No one, I think,
woman++Ne. Nature gave to her a mind prone to evil,
and equipped her breast for harming with deceits.

Prf. Sed uim negauit. Ne. Vt ne inexpugnabilis 870

Prf. But she denied force. Ne. So that she might not be inexpugnable 870

esset, sed aegras frangeret uires timor
uel poena; quae iam sera damnatam premet
diu nocentem. tolle consilium ac preces
et imperata perage: deuectam rate
procul in remotum litus interimi iube,                              875
tandem ut residat pectoris nostri tumor.
     Chorvs O funestus multis populi
     dirusque fauor,                              877a
qui cum flatu uela secundo
ratis impleuit uexitque procul,
languidus idem deserit alto                              880
     saeuoque mari.

would be, but fear or punishment would shatter her sickly strength; which, now belated, will press upon the condemned woman, long offending. Away with counsel and prayers, and carry out the commands: order her, borne by ship, to be killed far off on a remote shore,                              875
so that at last the swelling of our breast may subside.
     Chorvs O the funereal to many and dire
     favor of the people,                              877a
which, with a following breeze, has filled
the ship’s sails and has borne it far,
the same, languid, deserts it on the deep                              880
     and savage sea.

Fleuit Gracchos miseranda parens,
perdidit ingens quos plebis amor
     nimiusque fauor,                              883a
genere illustres, pietate fide
lingua claros, pectore fortes,
     legibus acres.
Te quoque, Liui, simili leto
     Fortuna dedit,
quem neque fasces texere, suae
nec tecta domus++plura referre                              890

The pitiable parent wept for the Gracchi,
whom the vast love of the plebs
     and excessive favor destroyed,                              883a
illustrious in birth, in piety and faith,
renowned in tongue, stout in breast,
     keen for laws.
You too, Livius, to a like death
     Fortune gave,
whom neither the fasces covered, nor his
own house’s roofs++ to report more                              890

prohibet praesens exempla dolor:
modo cui patriam reddere ciues
aulam et fratris uoluere toros,
nunc ad poenam letumque trahi
flentem miseram cernere possunt.                              895
     Bene paupertas humili tecto
     contenta latet:                              896a
quatiunt altas saepe procellae
aut euertit Fortuna domos.
     Octavia Quo me trahitis quodue tyrannus
aut exilium regina iubet?                              900
sic mihi uitam fracta remittit,
tot iam nostris euicta malis?
sin caede mea cumulare parat
luctus nostros, inuidet etiam
cur in patria mihi saeua mori?

present grief forbids examples:
just now those citizens who could restore to her her fatherland,
the palace, and celebrate her brother’s marriage-beds,
now can behold the wretched woman, weeping, dragged
to punishment and death.                              895
     Well does poverty, content with a lowly roof,
     lie hidden:                              896a
storms often shake high houses,
or Fortune overturns homes.
     Octavia Whither are you dragging me, and what does the tyrant
or the queen order? exile?                              900
thus does she give me back life, she broken,
already overcome by so many of our miseries?
But if she prepares to heap up
our griefs with my slaughter, why does she begrudge me even
to die, cruelly, in my fatherland?

905

sed iam spes est nulla salutis:
fratris cerno miseranda ratem.
hac est cuius uecta carina
quondam genetrix, nunc et thalamis
expulsa soror miseranda uehar.                              910
nullum Pietas nunc numen habet
     nec sunt superi:
regnat mundo tristis Erinys.
     Quis mea digne deflere potest
mala?

but now there is no hope of safety:
I, pitiable, behold my brother’s ship.
this is the ship by whose hull my mother was once conveyed,
and now, from the bridal chambers,
expelled, I, the pitiable sister, shall be borne.                              910
Piety now has no numen
     nor are the gods above:
a gloomy Erinys reigns over the world.
     Who can worthily bewail my ills
woes?

quae lacrimis nostris questus                              915
     reddere aedon?                              915a
cuius pennas utinam miserae
     mihi fata darent!
fugerem luctus ablata meos
penna uolucri procul et coetus
hominum tristes caedemque feram.                              920

what nightingale could render back laments to our tears?                              915
     to give back?                              915a
whose wings would that the fates might grant
     to wretched me!
I would flee my griefs, borne away
with a swift pinion, far from the sad gatherings
of men and from savage slaughter.                              920

sola in uacuo nemore et tenui
     ramo pendens                              921a
querulo possem gutture maestum
     fundere murmur.
Cho. Regitur fatis mortale genus
nec sibi quidquam spondere potest                              925
     firmum et stabile,
quem per casus uoluit uarios
semper nobis metuenda dies.
Animum firment exempla tuum,
iam multa domus quae uestra tulit:                              930
quid saeuior est Fortuna tibi?

alone in a vacant grove and on a slender
     branch hanging                              921a
with a querulous throat I could pour forth a mournful
     murmur.
Cho. The mortal race is governed by the Fates,
nor can it pledge to itself anything                              925
     firm and stable,
whom the day, ever to be feared, rolls
through various chances for us always.
Let examples strengthen your spirit—
the many things which your house has already borne:                              930
is Fortune any more savage to you?

Tu mihi primum tot natorum
memoranda parens, nata Agrippae,
nurus Augusti, Caesaris uxor,
cuius nomen clarum toto 935

You, to me first, mother memorable for so many children,
daughter of Agrippa,
daughter-in-law of Augustus, wife of Caesar,
whose name is renowned through the whole 935

     fulsit in orbe,
utero totiens enixa graui
     pignora pacis,                              937a
mox exilium, uerbera, saeuas
passa catenas, funera, luctus,
tandem letum cruciata diu.                              940
Felix thalamis Liuia Drusi
natisque ferum ruit in facinus
     poenamque suam.
Iulia matris fata secuta est:
post longa tamen tempora ferro                              945
caesa est, quamuis crimine nullo.
Quid non potuit quondam genetrix
tua quae rexit principis aulam
cara marito partuque potens?

     she shone in the orb,
having so often borne, with a heavy womb,
     pledges of peace,                              937a
soon she suffered exile, beatings, savage
chains, funerals, griefs,
at last death, long tormented.                              940
Happy in marriage-chambers Livia of Drusus
and in children rushed into a savage crime
     and her own penalty.
Julia followed her mother’s fates:
after long times, however, by iron she was cut down,                              945
though with no crime. What could your genetrix not once accomplish,
she who ruled the prince’s hall,
dear to her husband and powerful through childbirth?

eadem famulo subiecta suo 950

the same, subjected to her own servant 950

cecidit diri militis ense.
Quid cui licuit regnum caeli
sperare, parens tanta Neronis?
non funesta uiolata manu
remigis ante, 955
mox et ferro lacerata diu
saeui iacuit uictima nati?

she fell by the sword of a dire soldier.
What of her to whom it was permitted to hope for the kingdom of heaven, the mother of so great a Nero?
was she not earlier, violated by the funereal hand
of an oarsman before, 955
soon also, long torn by steel,
she lay the victim of her savage son?

Oc. Me quoque tristes mittit ad umbras
ferus et manes ecce tyrannus.
quid iam frustra miseranda moror?                              960
rapite ad letum quis ius in nos
     Fortuna dedit.                              961a
Testor superos++quid agis, demens?
parce precari quis inuisa es
numina diuum: Tartara testor
Erebique deas scelerum ultrices                              965

Oc. The savage tyrant sends me too to the gloomy shades
and to the Manes—behold.
Why now do I, pitiable, delay in vain?                              960
Snatch me away to death, whoever has the right over us
     Fortune has given.                              961a
I call the gods above to witness—what are you doing, madwoman?
refrain from praying to the divine powers by whom you are hated:
I call Tartarus to witness and
the goddesses of Erebus, avengers of crimes.                              965

     et te, genitor,
dignum tali morte et poena:
non inuisa est mors ista mihi.
     Armate ratem, date uela fretis
uentisque, petat puppis rector                              970
Pandatariae litora terrae.
Cho. Lenes aurae zephyrique leues,
tectam quondam nube aetheria
qui uexistis raptam saeuae
uirginis aris Iphigeniam,                              975
hanc quoque tristi procul a poena
portate, precor, templa ad Triuiae.

     and you too, father,
worthy of such a death and penalty:
that death is not hateful to me.
     Arm the ship, give sails to the straits
and to the winds; let the helmsman aim the stern                              970
for the shores of the land of Pandataria.
Cho. Gentle breezes and light zephyrs,
who once bore Iphigenia, snatched from the altars
of the cruel virgin, covered by an aetherial cloud,
carry this woman also, far from grim punishment,                              975
I pray, to the temples of Trivia.

Vrbe est nostra mitior Aulis
et Taurorum barbara tellus:
hospitis illic caede litatur 980

Our city is milder than Aulis
and the barbarian land of the Taurians:
there the sacrifice is propitiated by the slaughter of a guest 980

numen superum;
ciuis gaudet Roma cruore.

the divine will of the gods above;
Rome rejoices in a citizen’s blood.