Valerius Flaccus: ARGONAVTICA

Altera lux haud laeta viris emersit Olympo:
Argolicus morbis fatisque rapacibus Idmon
labitur extremi sibi tum non inscius aevi.
at memor Aesonides nimium iam vera locuti
Phineos hinc alios rapto pavet Idmone luctus. 5
tum comiti pia iusta tulit caelataque multa
arte Dolionii donat velamina regis,
hospes humum sedemque Lycus. flens arma revellit
Idmonis e celsa Mopsus rate.

The second light, not glad to the men, emerged from Olympus:
Idmon the Argive sinks by maladies and rapacious fates,
then not unaware to himself of his final age.
but mindful, the Aesonid now of Phineus having spoken truths too well,
from this point he fears other griefs, with Idmon rapt away. 5
then he rendered to his comrade the dutiful rites and gifts
the garments of the Dolionian king, embossed with much art;
the host Lycus grants earth and a resting-place. Weeping, Mopsus tears
Idmon’s arms from the lofty ship.

robora caedunt
pars silvis portantque arae, pars auguris alba                    10
fronde <caput> vittisque ligant positumque feretro
congemuere; dies simul et suus admonet omnes.
      Ecce inter lacrimas interque extrema virorum
munera, quem cursus penes imperiumque carinae,
Tiphyn agit violenta lues cunctique pavore                    15

they hew the oaks;
some in the forests and bear to the altar, others bind the augur’s white                    10
foliage about the and with fillets, and, placed upon the bier,
they groaned together; and at the same time his own day admonishes all.
      Behold, amid tears and amid the last gifts of the men,
Tiphys—he in whose control were the course and the command of the ship—
a violent pestilence drives on, and all with terror                    15

attoniti fundunt maestas ad sidera voces:
'arquipotens adverte, precor, nunc denique Apollo!
hoc, pater, hoc nobis refove caput, ulla laboris
si nostri te cura movet, qui cardine summo
vertitur atque omnis manibus nunc pendet ab unis!' 20
dicta dabant ventis nec debita fata movebant.
qualem praecipiti gravidum iam sorte parentem
natorum flet parva manus trepidique precantur
duret ut invalidis et adhuc genitoris egenis,
haud aliter socii supremo in tempore Tiphyn 25
ante alios superesse volunt.

thunderstruck they pour out mournful voices to the stars:
'archipotent, give heed, I pray, now at last, Apollo!
this, father, this head renew for us, if any care
of our labor moves you, he on whose highest hinge
it is turned and all now hangs from one man's hands!' 20
they were giving words to the winds, nor were they moving the fates owed.
as a small band of children weeps a father now heavy-laden with headlong lot
and, trembling, pray that he may endure for the weak and for those still in need
of a begetter, not otherwise do the comrades, in the last hour, for Tiphys
wish above the rest that he survive. 25

mors frigida contra
urget et ille recens oculis intervolat Idmon.
exanimum frustra Minyae clamore morantur
avellique negant: vix membra rigentia tandem
imposuere rogo lacrimasque et munera flammis 30

cold death, in turn, presses,
and Idmon, newly dead, flits before their eyes.
the Minyae in vain delay the lifeless one with a clamor
and deny that he be torn away: at last, scarcely,
they placed the stiffening limbs upon the pyre, and tears and gifts to the flames 30

vana ferunt, crescit donis feralis acervus.
ut vero amplexus fessi rupere supremos
et rapidae sonuere faces, tunc ipsa cremari
visa ratis medioque viros deponere ponto.
non tulit Aesonius geminis flagrantia cernens 35
corpora cara rogis, sed pectore ductor ab imo
talia voce gemit: 'quid tantum infensa repente
numina?

they bring vain things; the funereal heap grows with gifts.
but when indeed, exhausted, they broke off the last embraces
and the swift torches resounded, then the ship itself seemed
to be burning and to set down the men in the midst of the sea.
the Aesonian could not bear it, seeing the dear bodies blazing 35
on twin pyres; but from his inmost breast the leader
groans with such words in his voice: 'Why have the numina so greatly, suddenly
become hostile?

quas nostri poenas meruere labores?
bina (nefas) toto pariter mihi funera surgunt
litore. magna adeo comitum numerosaque pubes? 40
aut socios rapit atra dies aut ipse relinquo
sontibus impulsus Furiis.

what penalties have our labors deserved?
double (nefarious) funerals rise for me at once along the whole shore. so great and so numerous a youthful company of comrades? 40
either the black day snatches my comrades, or I myself abandon them, driven by the Furies against the guilty.

ubi Tiphys? ubi Idmon
fata canens? ubi monstriferae par ille novercae?

where is Tiphys? where is Idmon,
singing the fates? where is he, a match for the monster-bearing stepmother?

te sine, Thespiade, nos ulla movebimus ultra
aequora? nec summa speculantem puppe videbo 45

without you, Thespiad, shall we traverse any seas beyond?
nor shall I see you keeping watch from the high stern 45

Pleiadumque globos et agentes noctibus Arctos?
cui Minyas caramque ratem, cui sidera tradis?
carpere securas quis iam iubet Aesona noctes?

and the clusters of the Pleiads and the Bears coursing by night?
to whom do you hand over the Minyae and the dear ship, to whom do you entrust the stars?
who now bids the Aesonid to spend secure nights?

hoc labor, hoc dulci totiens fraudata sopore
lumina et admotis nimium mens anxia Colchis                    50
profuit? heu quantum Phasis, quantum Aea recessit!
nunc quoque, si tenui superant in imagine curae,
adsis umbra, precor, venturi praescia caeli
rectoremque tuae moneas ratis.' haec ubi fatus,
sola virum flammis vidit labentibus ossa.                    55
'quod tamen externis unum solamen in oris
restat,' ait 'caras humus haec non dividat umbras
ossaque nec tumulo nec separe contegat urna,
sed simul, ut iunctis venistis in aequora fatis.'
haud mora, reliquias socii defletaque miscent                    60

Has this labor, have these eyes so often defrauded of sweet sleep,
and a mind too anxious with the Colchians brought near, been of use?                    50
alas, how far the Phasis, how far Aea has receded!
even now, if cares survive in a thin image,
be present, shadow, I pray, prescient of the coming sky,
and warn the helmsman of your ship.' When he had said these things,
she alone saw the man’s bones as the flames were gliding down.                    55
'Yet the one solace that remains on foreign shores,' she says, 'let this earth not divide dear shades,
and let neither tomb nor separate urn cover the bones,
but together, as with joined fates you came upon the waters.'
No delay: they mingle the comrade’s remains and the wept-over ashes.                    60

nomina. tum vivo frondens e caespite tellus
aggeritur cinerem Lyco commendat Iason.
Maesti omnes dubiique, ratem fidissima cuius
dextra regat.

names. then earth, leafy from living turf, is heaped up;
Jason commends the ash to Lycus.
All mournful and uncertain, by whose most trusty right hand
the ship is to be guided.

simul Ancaeus sollersque petebat
Nauplius. Erginum fato vocat ipsa monenti 65
quercus et ad tonsas victi rediere magistri.
ac velut i<lle>, gregis cessit cui regia, taurus
fertur ovans, hunc omnis honos, hunc omnis in unum
transit amor.

at the same time Ancaeus and skilled Nauplius were seeking the helm.
the oak itself, by fate, calls Erginus as it admonishes 65
and the defeated masters returned to the oars.
and just as i<lle>, the bull to whom the kingship of the herd has yielded,
is borne exulting, to this one all honor, to this one all love
converges as one.

primo laetus sic tempore rector
ingreditur cursus. etenim dat candida certam 70
nox Helicen. iam prora fretum commoverat et iam
puppe sedes < . . > dimiserat ancora terras.

At first, glad, thus at that time the helmsman enters upon the course. For indeed a bright night gives a sure Helice. 70
already the prow had stirred the strait, and already from the stern
the anchor had let go its seats < . . > the lands.

Inde premente noto tristes Acherusidos oras
praeterit et festa vulgatum nocte Lyaei
Callichoron. nec vana fides: his Bacchus in undis 75

Thence, with the south wind pressing, he passes by the sad Acherusian shores
and the Callichoron of Lyaeus, publicized on a festal night.
nor is the belief vain: in these waves Bacchus 75

abluit eoo rorantes sanguine thyrsos.
illum post acies rubrique novissima claustra
aequoris hic resides thiasos, hic aera moventem
udaque pampinea nectentem cornua vitta
nunc etiam meministis, aquae, Boeotia qualem 80
Thyias et infelix cuperet vidisse Cithaeron.
Fama per extremos quin iam volat improba manes
interea et magnis natorum laudibus implet,
addita <ia>mque fretis repetens freta iamque patentes
Cyaneas.

he washed the thyrsi dripping with Eoan blood.
him, after the battle-lines and the very ruddy, last bars of the sea—here the resting thiasoi, here him stirring the air and binding his wet horns with a vine-leafy fillet—
even now you remember, O waters, such as a Boeotian Thyias and ill-fated Cithaeron would have wished to have seen.
Rumor meanwhile already flies, shameless, through the farthest shades below and fills them with the great praises of the sons,
and now, added to the straits, making again for the fairways, and now the Cyaneae lying open.

ardent avidos attollere vultus 85
quos pietas vel tangit adhuc quos aemula virtus.
fata immota manent; unum, qui litore in illo
conditus, ad carae mittunt spectacula turbae.
it Sthenelus.

they burn to lift their avid faces 85
whom piety touches still, or emulous virtue.
the fates remain unmoved; one, who on that shore
interred, they send to the spectacles of the dear crowd.
Sthenelus goes.

qualem Mavortia vidit Amazon
cumque suis comitem Alcides ut condidit armis, 90

such as the Mavortian Amazon saw,
and as Alcides, with her own arms, laid his comrade to rest, 90

talis ab aequorei consurgens aggere busti
emicuit. fulsere undae, sol magnus ut orbem
tolleret aut nubem quater<et> polus. atque ea vixdum
visa viris atra nox protinus abstulit umbra.

such, rising from the embankment of the sea’s tomb,
he shot forth. The waves flashed, as when the great sun
should lift his orb, or the pole should shake a cloud. And this, scarcely
seen by the men, black night straightway carried off with its shadow.

ille dolens altum repetit chaos. omina Mopsus 95
dum stupet, in prima tumulum procul aspicit acta
obnubensque caput cineri dat vina vocato.
carmina quin etiam visos placantia manes
Odrysius dux rite movet mixtoque sonantem
percutit ore lyram nomenque relinquit harenis.100
Altius hinc ventos recipit ratis ac fugit omne
Crobiali latus et fatis tibi, Tiphy, negatum
Parthenium, ante alios Triviae qui creditur amnis
fidus et Inopi materna gratior unda.

he, grieving, seeks again the deep chaos. While Mopsus, astonied at the omens, 95
catches sight, far off, of a mound on the foremost shore,
and, veiling his head, gives wine to the invoked ash.
Nay more, the Odrysian leader, duly, sets moving songs pleasing
to the shades that have appeared, and with mingled mouth strikes the
sounding lyre, and leaves the name upon the sands.100
Thence the ship takes in the winds more loftily and flees the whole
Crobialian side, and the Parthenian, denied to you by the fates, Tiphys—
the stream which, before others, is believed trusty to Trivia,
and whose maternal wave is more pleasing to Inops.

mox etiam Cromnae iuga pallentem<que> Cytoron 105

soon also the ridges of Cromna and pallid Cytorus 105

te cita penitus condunt, Erythia, carina.
iamque reducebat noctem polus: alta Carambis
raditur et magnae pelago tremit umbra Sinopes.
Assyrios complexa sinus stat opima Sinope,
nympha prius blandosque Iovis quae luserat ignes 110
caelicolis immota procis: deceptus amatae
fraude deae nec solus Halys nec solus Apollo.

swiftly the keel hides you far within, Erythia.
and now the pole was bringing back night: lofty Carambis
is grazed and on the sea trembles the shadow of great Sinope.
opulent Sinope stands, embracing the Assyrian bays,
formerly a nymph, who had played with the coaxing fires of Jove, 110
unmoved by celestial suitors: deceived by the fraud
of the beloved goddess were not Halys alone nor Apollo alone.

Addidit hic casu comites fortuna benigno
Autolycum Phlogiumque et Deileonta, secutos
Herculis arma viros. vagus hos ibi fixerat error. 115
ut Graiam videre manum puppemque Pelasgam
prima ruunt celeres ad litora seque precantur
accipiant socios. nova dux accedere gaudet
nomina desertos et iam sibi currere remos.

Here Fortune, by a benign chance, added companions
Autolycus and Phlogius and Deileon, men who had followed
the arms of Hercules. A wandering error had fixed these there. 115
as they saw the Greek band and the Pelasgian ship
at once they, swift, rush to the shores and beg that
they be received as companions. The leader rejoices that new names draw near
and that the oars, once deserted, now run for him.

transit Halys longisque fluens anfractibus Iris 120

The Halys is passed, and the Iris, flowing in long windings 120

saevaque Thermodon medio sale murmura volvens,
Gradivo sacer et spoliis ditissimus amnis,
donat equos, donat votas cui virgo secures
cum redit ingenti per Caspia claustra triumpho
Massageten Medumque trahens. est vera propago 125
sanguinis, est ollis genitor deus. hinc magis alta
Haemonidae petere et monitus non temnere Phinei.

and the savage Thermodon rolling its murmurs in the mid brine,
a river sacred to Gradivus and most wealthy with spoils,
gives horses, gives the vowed axes to him to whom the virgin
when she returns with immense triumph through the Caspian barriers
dragging the Massagete and the Mede. There is a true progeny 125
of blood; for them the begetter is a god. Hence the Haemonidae the more to seek lofty things
and not to scorn the monitions of Phineus.

ipse autem comitum conversus ad ora novorum
'vos mihi nunc pugnas' ait 'et victricia' ductor
'Herculis arma mei vestrasque in litore Martis 130
interea memorate manus.' sic fatus et aegro
corde silens audit currus bellique labores
virginei, exciderit frenis quae prima remissis,
semianimem patrius quam sanguine vexerit amnis,
quae pelta latus atque umeros nudata pharetris 135

but he himself, turned toward the faces of his new companions
'you for me now the battles,' says the leader, 'and the victorious
arms of my Hercules and, on the shore of Mars, your bands 130
in the meantime, recount.' thus having spoken and, with a sick heart, silent, he listens to the chariots and the labors
of maidenly war, of her who first fell out when the reins were loosened, whom the native river harried half-alive with blood, she whose side and shoulders the pelta covered, her shoulders bared of quivers 135

fugerit, Herculeae mox vulnere prensa sagittae,
utque securigeras stimulaverit Ira catervas
fleturusque pater, quantus duce terror in ipsa,
qui furor in signis, quo balteus arserit auro.
Nocte sub extrema clausis telluris ab antris 140
pervigil auditur Chalybum labor: arma fatigant
ruricolae, Gradive, tui; sonat illa creatrix
prima manus belli, terras crudelis in omnes.
nam prius ignoti quam dura cubilia ferri
eruerent ensesque darent, Odia aegra sine armis 145
errabant Iraeque inopes et segnis Erinys.

she had fled, soon seized by the wound of Hercules’ arrow,
and how Ire stimulated the axe-bearing cohorts,
and the father about to weep, how great the terror in the leader herself,
what frenzy at the standards, with what gold the baldric blazed.
In the last watch of night, from the closed caverns of earth, 140
the ever-wakeful labor of the Chalybes is heard: they weary the arms,
your country-dwellers, Gradivus; that first, creating hand of war
resounds, cruel against all lands.
for before they tore out from the hard couches of unknown iron
and furnished swords, sickly Hatreds wandered without arms, 145
and Ires were needy, and a sluggish Erinys.

inde Genetaei rupem Iovis, hinc Tibarenum
dant virides post terga lacus, ubi deside mitra
feta ligat partuque virum fovet ipsa soluto.
vos quoque non notae mirati vela carinae, 150

thence the rock of Genetaean Jove, hence the Tibarene
they leave behind their backs the green lakes, where, with an idle mitra,
the woman in childbed swathes, and herself cherishes the man when the birth is loosed.
you too, amazed at the sails of an unknown keel, 150

Mossynoeci, et vos stabulis, Macrones, ab altis
Byzeresque vagi Philyraeque a nomine dicta
litora, quae cornu pepulit Saturnus equino.
      Ultimus inde sinus saevumque cubile Promethei
cernitur, in gelidas consurgens Caucasus Arctos.                    155
ille etiam Alciden Titania fata morantem
attulerat tum forte dies iamque aspera nisu
undique convellens veteris cum strage pruinae
vincula prensa manu saxis abduxerat imis
arduus et laevo gravior pede. consonat ingens                    160
Caucasus et summo pariter cum monte secutae
incubuere trabes abductaque flumina ponto.

Mossynoeci, and you too, Macrones, with your high stables,
and the wandering Byzeres, and the shores named from Philyra,
which Saturn drove with his equine horn.
      Thence the farthest bay and the savage couch of Prometheus
is seen, the Caucasus rising into the icy Arctos.                    155
that day by chance had also brought Alcides, delaying the Titanian fates,
and now, with harsh effort wrenching on every side,
together with the wreckage of the ancient rime he had, having grasped them with his hand,
drawn the chains away from the deepest rocks,
towering and heavier on his left foot. The huge Caucasus resounds, and the beams that followed,
together with the summit of the mountain, weighed down, and the rivers were drawn away from the sea.                    160
Caucasus, and together with the mountain-top the following beams
pressed down, and the rivers were drawn away from the sea.

fit fragor, aetherias ceu Iuppiter arduus arces
impulerit imas manus aut Neptunia terras.
horruit immensum Ponti latus, horruit omnis 165

there is a crash, as if towering Jupiter had driven with his hands the ethereal citadels down to their lowest foundations, or the Neptunian lands.
the immense flank of Pontus shuddered, all shuddered 165

Armeniae praetentus Hiber penitusque recusso
aequore Cyaneas Minyae timuere relictas.
tum gemitu propiore chalybs densusque revulsis
rupibus audiri montis labor et grave Titan
vociferans, fixos scopulis dum vellitur artus. 170
contra autem ignari (quis enim nunc credat in illis
montibus Alciden dimissave vota retemptet?)
pergere iter socii. tantum mirantur ab alto
litora discussa sterni nive ruptaque saxa
et simul ingentem moribundae desuper umbram 175
alitis atque atris rorantes imbribus auras.

the Hiber, stretched out as a screen for Armenia, and with the deep thoroughly shaken,
the Minyae feared the Cyanean [rocks] left behind.
then, with a nearer groan, the steel and the dense travail of the mountain with cliffs torn up
to be heard, and the weighty Titan shouting, while his limbs fixed in the crags are being plucked. 170
but on the other hand, unaware (for who now would believe that in those
mountains Alcides is present or would retry vows that have been dismissed?)
the comrades continue their journey. only they marvel from on high
that the shores, shaken, are being strewn with snow and the rocks broken,
and at the same time a huge shadow from above of the dying bird, and the airs dripping with black rains. 175

Sol propius flammabat aquas extremaque fessis
coeperat optatos iam lux ostendere Colchos,
magnus ubi adversum spumanti Phasis in aequor
ore ruit. cuncti pariter loca debita noscunt 180

The Sun, nearer, was inflaming the waters, and the light had now begun to show to the weary
the longed-for Colchis at the farthest edge, where the great Phasis rushes with its mouth
face-on into the foaming level of the sea. All alike recognize their appointed places 180

signaque commemorant emensasque ordine gentes
dantque ratem fluvio. simul aethere plena corusco
Pallas et alipedum Iuno iuga sistit equorum.
Ac dum prima gravi ductor subit ostia pulsu
populeos flexus tumulumque virentia supra 185
flumina cognati medio videt aggere Phrixi,
quem comes infelix Pario de marmore iuxta
stat soror, hinc saevae formidine maesta novercae,
inde maris, pecudique timens imponere palmas.

they commemorate the signs and the peoples traversed in order,
and they give the raft to the river. At once, in the coruscant ether full (of light),
Pallas and Juno set at a standstill the yokes of their wing‑footed horses.
And while the leader enters the first mouths with a heavy stroke,
he sees, above the poplar‑lined bends and the grassy mound, in the mid‑embankment, the streams of his kinsman Phrixus, 185
whom his unhappy companion, his sister, stands beside, of Parian marble,
on this side sorrowful from dread of the savage stepmother, on that of the sea, and fearing to set her palms upon the sheep.

sistere tum socios iubet atque hinc prima ligari 190
vincula, ceu Pagasas patriumque intraverit amnem.
ipse gravi patera sacri libamina Bacchi
rite ferens umbram vocat et sic fatur ad aras:
'per genus atque pares tecum mihi, Phrixe, labores,
tu precor orsa regas meque his tuteris in oris 195

then he bids the comrades to stand still and here that the first cables be tied 190
as though he had entered Pagasas and his fatherland’s river.
he himself, duly bearing in a weighty patera the libations of sacred Bacchus,
calls the shade and thus speaks at the altars:
'by our lineage and the toils equal with yours for me, Phrixus,
I pray that you guide the undertakings and protect me on these shores 195

tot freta, tot ~durae properanti~ sidera passum.
Phrixe, fave et patrias < . . . > reminiscere terras.
tu quoque nunc, tumulo nequiquam condita inani,
adnue, diva maris, numeroque accede tuorum.

so many straits, so many stars in ~harsh haste~ having been endured.
Phrixus, be favorable and recall the fatherland < . . . > lands.
you also now, buried in vain in an empty tomb,
give assent, goddess of the sea, and come into the number of your own.

quando egomet rursus per te vehar? aurea quando 200
Seston et infaustos agnoscent vellera fluctus?
vos etiam, silvae, vos, Colchidos hospitis orae,
pandite dives ubi pellis micet arbore sacra.

when shall I myself again be borne through you? when shall the golden fleeces 200
recognize Sestos and the ill-omened billows?
you too, forests, you, shores of the Colchian host,
open where the rich pelt glitters on the sacred tree.

tunc tibi, fecundi proles Iovis, orte nivali
Arcados axe deae, fluvio modo, Phasi, quieto 205
Palladiam patiare ratem. nec dona nec arae
defuerint tellure mea: veneranda fluentis
effigies te, Phasi, manet, quam magnus Enipeus
et pater aurato quantus iacet Inachus antro.'
dixerat atque illi dextra sine versa magistri 210

then for you, offspring of fecund Jove, born on the snowy axis
of the Arcadian goddess, just now, O Phasis, with your river calm, 205
suffer the Palladian ship. neither gifts nor altars
shall be lacking on my soil: a venerable effigy of the stream
awaits you, O Phasis, as great as that in which mighty Enipeus
and father Inachus lie in a gilded cavern.'
he had spoken, and to them the right hand, not turned aside, of the master 210

protinus in proram rediit ratis omine certo
fluminis os pontumque tuens. 'promittis ut ecce
utque vocas, revehemur!' ait. sic deinde precatus
arma iubet celsa socios depromere puppe.

straightway he returned to the prow of the ship with a sure omen,
gazing at the river’s mouth and the sea. “Since you promise—behold—and since you call,
we shall be borne back!” he said. Thus then, having prayed,
he orders his comrades to draw forth the arms from the lofty stern.

dona dehinc Bacchi casusque ut firmet in omnes 215
rapta Ceres viridesque premunt longo ordine ripas.
Incipe nunc cantus alios, dea, visaque vobis
Thessalici da bella ducis. non mens mihi, non haec
ora satis.

then, with gifts of Bacchus and with Ceres reaped—to fortify against every mischance— 215
they press the green riverbanks in long order.
Begin now other chants, goddess, and, as they have appeared to you,
grant the wars of the Thessalian leader. My mind is not, nor are these lips,
sufficient.

ventum ad furias infandaque natae
foedera et horrenda trepidam sub virgine puppem; 220
impia monstriferis surgunt iam proelia campis.
ante dolos, ante infidi tamen exsequar astus
Soligenae falli meriti meritique relinqui,
inde canens: Scythica senior iam Solis in urbe
fata laborati Phrixus compleverat aevi. 225

it was come to the frenzies and the unspeakable pacts of the daughter
and the dreadful ship trembling beneath the maiden; 220
impious battles now arise on the monster-bearing fields.
before the deceits, before, however, I will recount the wiles
of the Sun-born, deserving to be deceived and deserving to be left,
singing thence: already in the Scythian city of the Sun
the elder Phrixus had fulfilled the fates of his labored age. 225

illius extremo sub funere mira repente
flamma poli magnoque aries apparuit astro
aequora cuncta movens. at vellera Martis in umbra
ipse sui Phrixus monumentum insigne pericli
liquerat ardenti quercum complexa metallo.                    230
quondam etiam tacitae visus per tempora noctis
effigie vasta socerumque exterruit ingens
prodita vox: '<o> qui patria tellure fugatum
quaerentemque domos his me considere passus
sedibus, oblata generum mox prole petisti,                    235
tunc tibi regnorum labes luctusque supersunt
rapta soporato fuerint cum vellera luco.
praeterea infernae quae nunc sacrata Dianae
fert castos Medea choros, quemcumque procorum
pacta petat, maneat regnis ne virgo paternis.'                    240

at his final funeral rites, suddenly a wondrous
flame of the sky appeared, and a Ram as a great star,
moving all the seas. But in the shade of Mars
Phrixus himself had left a distinguished monument of his peril,
the fleece clasping the burning oak with metal.                    230
once too, seen through the times of silent night,
a vast effigy appeared, and a mighty voice, disclosed, terrified his father-in-law:
a revealed voice: '<o> you who, when I had been driven from the fatherland soil
and was seeking homes, allowed me to settle in these
seats, and soon, with progeny offered, sought me as son-in-law,                    235
then for you the lapse of kingdoms and griefs remain
when the fleece shall have been snatched from the sleep-laden grove.
moreover, the chaste choruses which Medea now bears to infernal Diana,
whichever of the suitors, being pledged, she may seek,
let the maiden not remain in her paternal realms.'                    240

dixit et admota pariter fatalia visus
tradere terga manu, tum falso fusus ab auro
currere per summi fulgor laquearia tecti.
membra toris rapit ille tremens patriumque precatur
numen et eoo surgentes litore currus: 245
'haec tibi fatorum, genitor, tutela meorum,
omnituens, tua nunc terris, tua lumina toto
sparge mari. seu nostra dolos molitur opertos
sive externa manus, primus mihi nuntius esto.

he spoke, and the fateful vision seemed, with hand brought near, to turn its back,
then a radiance, poured from the false gold, ran along the coffered ceilings of the highest roof.
trembling, he snatches his limbs from the couches and prays to his father’s divinity
and to the chariots rising from the Eoan shore: 245
'this, father, all-watching, be the guardianship of my fates for you—
now scatter your lights over the lands, your lights over the whole
sea. whether someone of ours is contriving hidden deceits
or an external hand, be the first messenger to me.

tu quoque, sacrata rutilant cui vellera quercu, 250
excubias, Gradive, tene. praesentia luco
arma tubaeque sonent, vox et tua noctibus exstet.'
vix ea, Caucaseis cum lapsus montibus anguis
haud sine mente dei spiris nemus omne refusis
implicuit Graiumque procul respexit ad orbem. 255

you too, for whom rutilant fleeces glow on the consecrated oak, 250
keep the watch, Gradivus. Let arms and trumpets sound presence in the grove, and let your voice stand forth by nights.'
scarcely had he said these things, when a serpent, having glided down from the Caucasian mountains,
not without a god’s intention, with coils unrolled enfolded the whole grove
and looked back from afar toward the orb of the Greeks. 255

ergo omnes prohibere minas praedictaque Phrixi
invigilat, plena necdum Medea iuventa
adnuitur thalamis Albani virgo tyranni.
Interea auguriis monstrisque minacibus urbem
territat ante monens semper deus et data seri 260
signa mali, reddi iubet exitiale sacerdos
vellus et Haemoniis infaustum mittere terris.
contra Sole satus Phrixi praecepta volutans
aegro corde negat nec vulgi cura tyranno
dum sua sit modo tuta salus.

therefore he keeps watch to ward off all threats and the things foretold by Phrixus,
Medea, not yet in full youth,
is not yet assented to the marriage-beds of the Alban tyrant’s maiden.
Meanwhile, with auguries and menacing prodigies, a god, ever forewarning beforehand, terrifies the city, and, the signs of evil given too late, 260
the priest bids the deadly fleece be returned and to send it to the Haemonian lands, ill-omened.
but on the other hand the Sun-begotten, turning over Phrixus’ precepts,
with a sick heart refuses, nor is the care of the crowd to the tyrant,
so long as only his own safety is secure.

tunc ordine regi 265
proximus et frater materno sanguine Perses
increpitare virum, sequitur duce turba reperto.
ille furens ira solio se proripit alto
praecipitatque patres ipsumque ut talibus ausis
spem sibi iam rerum vulgi levitate serentem 270

then, next to the king in order and a brother by maternal blood, Perses 265
began to inveigh against the man; the crowd follows, once a leader is found.
he, frenzied with ire, springs from the high throne
and precipitates the Fathers, and him too, since by such ventures
he was already, through the levity of the mob, sowing for himself the hope of power. 270

ense petit. rapit inde fugam crudelia Perses
signa gerens omnemque quatit rumoribus Arcton.
iamque aderat magnis regum cum milibus urbi
primaque in adversos frustratus proelia muros
constiterat.

he makes at him with his sword. Thence Perses snatches flight, bearing cruel standards, and he shakes all the Bear with rumors.
and now he was at hand to the city with great thousands of kings,
and, his first battles against the opposing walls frustrated,
he had halted.

datus et sociis utrimque cremandis                    275
ille dies alterque dies, cum Marte remisso
debitus Aeaeis dux Thessalus adpulit oris.
      Nox hominum genus et duros mi<se>rata labores
rettulerat fessis optata silentia terris.
at Iuno et summi virgo Iovis intima secum                    280
consilia et varias sociabant pectore curas.

that day and another day were given for comrades on both sides to be burned                    275
with warfare remitted, the Thessalian leader due to the Aeaean shores made landfall.
      Night, pitying the race of men and their hard labors,
had brought back to the weary lands the longed-for silences.
but Juno and the maiden most intimate of highest Jove
were joining counsels and various cares within their breast.                    280

virgo prior 'magna pariter quos mole petamus?
cernis,' ait 'Colchos habeant quae proelia quique
nunc status. hinc Perses, illinc non viribus aequis
apparat Aeetes aciem.

the maiden first: 'With great mass together, whom shall we assail?
you see,' she says, 'what battles the Colchians have and what the status is now.
on this side Perses, on that Aeetes marshals the battle line,
not with equal forces.'

quibus addimur armis?' 285

to whose arms are we being added?' 285

cui Iuno: 'dimitte metus, ne proelia forte
hinc tibi grata negem. < . . . > manet aegida sudor
et nostros iam sudor equos. stat pectore fixum
Aeetae sociare manus.

to whom Juno: 'dismiss your fears, lest perhaps I refuse from here battles pleasing to you. < . . . > sweat remains upon the aegis, and already sweat is on our horses. the resolve stands fixed in my breast to join hands with Aeetes.

scio perfida regis
corda quidem, nullos Minyis exsolvet honores.                    290
verum alios tunc ipsa dolos, alia orsa movebo.'--
'sint precor haec; tua namque mihi comitanda potestas,'
Pallas ait 'liceat Grais ut reddere terris
Aesonium caput et puppem, quam struximus ipsae,
iactatam tandem nostro componere caelo.'                    295
talia tunc hominum superi pro laude movebant.
      Tristior at numquam tantove paventibus ulla
nox Minyis egesta metu. nil quippe reperto
Phaside, nil domitis actum Symplegados undis
cunctaque adhuc, magni veniant dum regis ad urbem,                    300

I know the perfidious heart of the king indeed; he will pay out no honors to the Minyans.                    290
but then I myself will set in motion other deceits, other ventures.'--
'let these be, I pray; for your power is to be accompanied by me,'
Pallas says, 'let it be permitted to restore to the Greek lands
the Aesonian head and the ship, which we ourselves constructed,
and to set at last in repose, tossed as it has been, beneath our sky.'                    295
such things then the gods above were stirring for the praise of men.
      But never was any night sadder, nor any spent with so great fear
by the trembling Minyans. For nothing, in fact, has been found
at Phasis, nothing accomplished though the Symplegades’ waves were tamed,
and all things are still in suspense, until they come to the city of the great king.                    300

ambigua et dubia rerum pendentia summa.
praecipue Aesoniden varios incerta per aestus
mens rapit undantem curis ac multa novantem.
qualiter ex alta cum Iuppiter arce coruscat
Pliadas ille movens mixtumque sonoribus imbrem 305
horriferamve nivem, canis ubi tollitur omnis
campus aquis, aut sanguinei magna ostia belli
aut alios duris fatorum gentibus ortus,
sic tum diversis hinc atque hinc motibus anceps
pectora dux crebro gemitu quatit, optat et almum 310
iam iubar et certi tandem discriminis horas.

the ambiguous and dubious highest issues of things hanging in suspense.
especially the Aesonid, through uncertain surges, is his mind carried, billowing with cares and contriving many new things.
just as when from his high citadel Jove flashes, moving the Pleiads and a rain mingled with sounds, 305
or dreadful snow, when every plain is lifted, hoary with waters, or the great gates of blood-red war,
or other births of peoples under the harsh decrees of the fates,
so then, with divergent movements on this side and that, the leader, in two minds,
shakes his breast with frequent groan, and he longs for the kindly radiance now and, at last, the hours of a sure decision.310

tunc defixa solo coetuque intenta silenti
versus ad ora virum 'quod primum ingentibus ausis
optavistis' ait 'veterumque quod horruit aetas,
adsumus en tantumque fretis enavimus orbem. 315
nec pelagi nos mille viae nec fama fefellit
Soligenam Aeeten media regnare sub Arcto.
ergo ubi lux altum sparget mare, tecta petenda
urbis et ignoti mens experienda tyranni.
adnuet ipse, reor, neque <in>exorabile certe 320

then, fixed to the ground and intent upon the silent assembly,
turned toward the faces of the men, she says: 'what first, for your mighty ventures,
you desired, and what the age of the ancients shuddered at,
lo, we are present, and we have swum out over so great a circle of seas. 315
nor have a thousand paths of the sea nor report deceived us,
that the Sun-born Aeetes reigns beneath the mid Bear.
therefore when light will scatter over the deep sea, the roofs
of the city must be sought, and the mind of the unknown tyrant tested.
he himself will nod assent, I think, nor surely inexorable 320

quod petimus. sin vero preces et dicta superbus
respuerit, iam nunc animos firmate repulsae
quaque via patriis referamus vellera terris,
stet potius: rebus semper pudor absit in artis.'
dixerat et Scythicam qui se comitentur ad urbem 325
sorte petit numeroque novem ducuntur ab omni.
inde viam, qua Circaei plaga proxima campi,
corripiunt regemque petunt iam luce reducta.

what we seek. But if indeed, proud, he should spit back prayers and words, now at once make firm your spirits for a rebuff, and by whatever way we may carry back the fleeces to our native lands, let that rather stand: let shame be ever absent in straits.' He had spoken, and he chooses by lot those who should accompany him to the Scythian city 325
by lot he selects them, and nine are led off from the whole company. Then they seize the road, where the tract of the Circaean plain is nearest, and they make for the king now with light returned.

      Forte deum variis per noctem territa monstris
senserat ut pulsas tandem Medea tenebras                    330
rapta toris primi iubar ad placabile Phoebi
ibat et horrendas lustrantia flumina noctes.
namque soporatos tacitis in sedibus artus
dum premit alta quies nullaeque in virgine curae,
visa pavens castis Hecates excedere lucis,                    335

      By chance, terrified through the night by the gods’ various prodigies,
as soon as Medea had sensed the shadows at last driven back,                    330
snatched from her bed she went toward the first radiance of placable Phoebus
and to the streams lustrating the horrendous nights.
For while deep quiet presses her slumbering limbs in silent seats
and there are no cares in the maiden,
trembling she seemed to see the chaste lights of Hecate withdraw,                    335

dumque pii petit ora patris, stetit arduus inter
pontus et ingenti circum stupefacta profundo
fratre tamen conante sequi. mox stare paventes
viderat intenta pueros nece seque trementem
spargere caede manus et lumina rumpere fletu. 340
his turbata minis fluvios ripamque petebat
Phasidis aequali Scythidum comitante caterva.
florea per verni qualis iuga duxit Hymetti
aut Sicula sub rupe choros hinc gressibus haerens
Pallados, hinc carae Proserpina iuncta Dianae, 345
altior ac nulla comitum certante, priusquam
palluit et viso pulsus decor omnis Averno;
talis et in vittis geminae cum lumine taedae
Colchis erat nondum miseros exosa parentes.

and while she seeks the face of her pious father, a towering sea stood between
and she, astonished all around by the immense deep—
with her brother, however, striving to follow. Soon she had seen
the boys standing in fear, with death intent upon them, and herself trembling
to spatter her hands with slaughter and to burst her eyes with weeping. 340
troubled by these menaces she made for the rivers and bank
of the Phasis, with an even cohort of Scythians accompanying.
like as through the flowery ridges of vernal Hymettus
or beneath a Sicilian crag Proserpina led her choruses, now keeping to the steps
of Pallas, now joined to dear Diana—taller, with none of her companions rivaling her— 345
before she grew pale and, Avernus being seen, all grace was driven forth;
such too was the Colchian, with headbands and with the light of the twin torch,
not yet hateful toward her wretched parents.

ut procul extremi gelidis a fluminis undis 350

as far from the gelid waves of the farthest river 350

prima viros tacito vidit procedere passu,
substitit ac maesto nutricem adfata timore est:
'quae manus haec, certo ceu me petat agmine, mater,
advenit haud armis, haud umquam cognita cultu?
quaere fugam, precor, et tutos circumspice saltus.' 355
audit virginei custos grandaeva pudoris
Henioche, cultus primi cui creditus aevi,
tum trepidam dictis firmans hortatur alumnam.
'non tibi ab hoste minae nec vis' ait 'ulla propinquat
nec [te] metus: externo iam flammea murice cerno 360
tegmina, iam vittas frondemque imbellis olivae.

first she saw men proceed with a silent step,
she halted and with gloomy fear addressed her nurse:
'what band is this, mother, as if in a sure column it seeks me,
that comes not by arms, not ever known by their attire?
seek flight, I pray, and look around for safe passes.' 355
the aged guardian of maidenly pudor hears,
Henioche, to whom the cultivation of her earliest age was entrusted,
then, steadying the trembling foster-child with words, urges her on.
'no threats for you from an enemy, nor does any force draw near,' she says, 'nor [for you] fear: already I discern
garments blazing with foreign murex-purple, already the fillets and the foliage of the unwarlike olive.' 360

Graius adest, Graio sic cuncta simillima Phrixo.'
Sic ait. at Iuno, pulchrum longissima quando
robur cura ducis magnique edere labores,
mole nova et roseae perfudit luce iuventae. 365

A Greek is here; thus all things are most similar to Greek Phrixus.'
So she spoke. But Juno, since it is beautiful for the most long-continued care to educe the leader’s robust strength and great labors,
bathed him with a new mass and with the light of roseate youth. 365

iam Talaum iamque Ampyciden astroque comantes
Tyndaridas ipse egregio supereminet ore.
non secus autumno quam cum magis asperat ignes
Sirius et saevo cum nox accenditur auro
luciferas crinita faces, hebet Arcas et ingens 370
Iuppiter. ast illum tanto non gliscere caelo
vellet ager, vellent calidis iam fontibus amnes.

Already over Talaus and over Ampycides, and the Tyndarids comate with a star,
he himself towers with an outstanding countenance.
not otherwise in autumn than when Sirius sharpens the fires more,
and when night is kindled with savage gold, with light-bringing, hair-tressed torches,
Arcas grows dim, and vast Jupiter; 370
but the field would wish him not to glow so greatly in the sky,
and the rivers would wish it too, their springs already warm.

regina, attonito quamquam pav<or> ore silentem
exanimet, mirata tamen paulumque reductis
passibus in solo stupuit duce. nec minus inter 375
ille tot ignoti socias gregis haeret in una
defixus sentitque ducem dominamque catervae.
'si dea, si magni decus huc ades' inquit 'Olympi,
has ego credo faces, haec virginis ora Dianae,
teque renodatam pharetris ac pace fruentem 380

the queen, although fear with a thunderstruck face makes her silent
and breathless, yet, marveling and with steps a little drawn back,
stood amazed at the leader alone. Nor less, amid so many unknown
companions of the flock, he clings fixed on one, and perceives the leader and mistress of the company. 375
‘if a goddess, if you, the ornament of great Olympus, come hither,’
he says, ‘I believe these to be the features, this the maiden’s face of Diana,
and you with hair tied back for the quivers and enjoying peace—’ 380

ad sua Caucaseae producunt flumina nymphae.
si domus in terris atque hinc tibi gentis origo,
felix prole parens olimque beatior ille,
qui tulerit longis et te sibi iunxerit annis.
sed fer opem, regina, viris!

the Caucasian nymphs lead you forth to their own rivers.
if your home is on earth and from here is the origin of your race,
happy in offspring the parent, and happier in time that man,
who shall have borne long years and shall have joined you to himself.
but bring aid, queen, to the men!

nos hospita pubes 385
advehimur, Graium proceres [ta] tua tecta petentes.
duc, precor, ad vestri quicumque est ora tyranni
ac tu prima doce fandi tempusque modumque.
nam mihi sollicito deus ignaroque locorum
te dedit, in te animos atque omnia nostra repono.'390
Dixit et opperiens trepidam stetit.

we, a guest band, 385
are borne hither, princes of the Greeks, seeking your halls.
lead, I pray, to the face of your ruler, whoever he is,
and do you first teach the time and the manner of speaking.
for to me, anxious and ignorant of the places,
the god has given you; in you I place my spirits and all our affairs.'390
He spoke and, waiting, stood for the trembling queen.

illa parumper
virgineo cunctata metu sic orsa vicissim:
'quem petis Aeeten genitor meus ipsaque iuxta
moenia, si vivos possis discernere calles.
hac adeo duce ferte gradus! ingentia namque 395

she, having hesitated for a little with maidenly fear, thus began in turn:
'the Aeetes whom you seek is my begetter, and his very walls are close by,
if you can discern the well-trodden paths. With this guide then, set your steps! for the mighty 395

castra alios aditus atque impius obsidet hostis.'
dixerat haec patrium<que> viam detorquet ad amnem
sacraque terrificae supplex movet inrita Nocti.
      Ille autem inceptum famula duce protinus urget
aere saeptus iter, patitur nec regia cerni                    400
Iuno virum, prior Aeetae ne nuntius adsit.
iamque inerat populo mediaeque incognitus urbi
cum comes orsa loqui: 'Phoebi genitoris ad aras
ventum.' ait 'huc adytis iam se de more paternis
rex feret, hic proceres audit populosque precantes                    405
adloquiis facilis: praesens pater admonet aequi.'
      Dixerat.

'the camp and the other approaches an impious enemy besieges.'
she had said this and turns aside the native road toward the river,
and, a suppliant, sets in motion ineffectual rites to terrifying Night.
      But he, with the handmaid as guide, forthwith urges on his inception,
his path enclosed in air, nor does Juno allow the man to be seen by the palace,                    400
lest a messenger be prior to Aeetes.
and now he was within the people and, unknown, in the midst of the city,
when his companion began to speak: 'We have come to the altars of Phoebus the begetter,' she says;
'hither the king will now, according to custom, bear himself from his paternal inner shrines,
here he hears the nobles and the peoples praying,                    405
accessible to addresses: the present father counsels equity.'
      She had spoken.

ast illi propere monstrata capessunt 426

but they quickly take up the things pointed out 426

limina. non aliter quam si radiantis adirent 407
ora dei verasque aeterni luminis arces,
tale iubar <per> tecta micat. stat ferreus Atlans
Oceano genibusque tumens infringitur unda. 410
at medii per terga senis rapit ipse nitentes
altus equos curvoque diem subtexit Olympo.

the thresholds. no otherwise than if they were approaching the radiant face of the god and the true citadels of the eternal light, 407
such a radiance flashes through the roofs. the iron Atlas stands upon Ocean, and the wave, swelling at his knees, is broken. 410
but the lofty one himself drives the shining horses over the old man’s back in the midst, and under the curved Olympus he weaves the day.

pone rota breviore soror densaeque sequuntur
Pliades et madidis rorantes crinibus ignes.
nec minus hinc varia dux laetus imagine templi 415

behind, the sister with the briefer wheel,
and the dense Pleiades and fires dripping with dewy tresses follow.
no less on this side the leader is glad at the varied image of the temple 415

ad geminas fert ora fores cunabula gentis
Colchidos hic ortusque tuens, ut prima Sesostris
intulerit rex bella Getis, ut clade suorum
territus hos Thebas patriumque reducat ad amnem,
Phasidis hos imponat agris Colchosque vocari                    420
imperet. Arsinoen illi tepidaeque requirunt
otia laeta Phari pinguemque sine imbribus annum
et iam Sarmaticis permutant carbasa bracis.
barbarus in patriis sectatur montibus Aean
Phasis amore furens. pavidas iacit illa pharetras                    425
virgineo turbata metu, discursibus et iam                    427

he turns his face toward the twin doors, surveying here the cradle of the Colchian race
and its origins, how King Sesostris first brought wars upon the Getae,
how, terrified by the slaughter of his own, he leads these back to Thebes
and to the ancestral river, sets these on the fields of the Phasis and commands that they be called Colchians,                    420
they seek Arsinoe and the happy leisures of warm Pharos
and a fat year without rains, and now they exchange their canvas for Sarmatian breeches.
the barbarian Phasis, raging with love, pursues Aea in her native mountains;
she, shaken by maidenly fear, throws down her trembling quivers,                    425
and now in her dartings and                    427

deficit ac volucri victam deus alligat unda.
flebant populeae iuvenem Phaethonta sorores
ater et Eridani trepidum globus ibat in amnem. 430
at iuga vix Tethys sparsumque recolligit axem
et formidantem patrios Pyroenta dolores.
aurea quin etiam praesaga Mulciber arte
vellera venturosque olim caelarat Achivos.

she faints, and the god binds the conquered one with the swift wave.
the poplar sisters were weeping the youth Phaethon,
and a black globe was going into the river of Eridanus in alarm. 430
but Tethys scarcely gathers the yokes and the scattered axle,
and Pyroenta, dreading his father’s pains.
nay even the Golden-Smith, with presaging art,
had engraved the golden fleeces and the Achaians who one day would come.

texitur Argea pinus Pagasaea securi 435
iamque eadem remos, eadem dea flectit habenas,
ipsa subit nudaque vocat dux agmina dextra.
exoritur Notus et toto ratis una profundo
cernitur, Odrysio gaudebant carmine phocae.
apparent trepidi <per> Phasidis ostia Colchi 440

the Argean pine is woven by the Pagasaean axe 435
and now the same goddess guides the oars, the same goddess turns the reins,
she herself goes aboard and, as leader, with bare right hand summons the ranks.
Notus rises, and the ship alone is seen on the whole deep,
the seals were rejoicing at the Odrysian song.
the fearful Colchians appear through the mouths of the Phasis <per> estuary 440

clamantemque procul linquens regina parentem.
urbs erat hinc contra gemino circumflua ponto,
ludus ubi et cantus taedaeque in nocte iugales
regalique toro laetus gener; ille priorem
deserit: ultrices spectant a culmine Dirae. 445
deficit in thalamis turbataque paelice coniunx
pallam et gemmiferae donum exitiale coronae
apparat ante omnes secum dequesta labores.
munere quo patrias paelex ornatur ad aras
infelix et iam rutilis correpta venenis 450
implicat igne domos.

and the queen, leaving far off a father crying out.
there was a city here opposite, surrounded by a twin sea,
where play and song and nuptial torches in the night,
and on the royal couch the son-in-law glad; he deserts the former:
the avenging Furies look from the summit. 445
she fails in the bedchambers, the wife troubled by the concubine,
she prepares the robe and the deadly gift of the gem-bearing crown
before all things, having complained to herself of her toils.
with which gift the mistress is adorned at her country’s altars—
unhappy—and now seized by ruddy poisons 450
she enwraps the houses with fire.

haec tum miracula Colchis
struxerat Ignipotens nondum noscentibus, ille
quis labor, aligeris aut quae secet anguibus auras
caede madens. odere tamen visusque reflectunt.
Quin idem Minyas operum defixerat error, 455

These marvels then for the Colchians
the Ignipotent had built, they not yet knowing, he—
what toil, or what would cut the air with winged serpents,
reeking with slaughter. Yet they hate and turn away their gaze.
Nay, the same bewilderment of the works had fastened the Minyans as well, 455

cum se Sole satus patriis penetralibus infert.
filius hunc iuxta primis Absyrtus in annis,
dignus avo quemque insontem meliora manerent.
tum gener Albanis Styrus qui advenerat oris,
distulerant sed bella toros.

when he, born of Sol, enters the paternal penetralia.
his son Absyrtus beside him, in his earliest years,
worthy of his grandsire, and whom, innocent, better things should await.
then the son-in-law Styrus, who had come to the Alban shores,
but wars had deferred the marriage-couches.

tum Phrontis et Argus 460
Aeolidae fraterque Melas, quos advena Phrixus
progenuit, pariterque levi Cytisorus in hasta.
post alii, quos praecipuo Titania tellus
legit honore patres, motique ad proelia reges.
admonet hic socios nebulamque erumpit Iason 465
sideris ora ferens; nova lux offusa Cytaeis.

then Phrontis and Argus 460
Aeolids and their brother Melas, whom the stranger Phrixus
begot, and likewise Cytisorus with his light spear.
next others, whom the Titanian earth chose as fathers with especial honor,
and kings stirred to battles.
here he warns his comrades, and Jason bursts forth from the cloud, 465
bearing the visage of a star; a new light poured upon the Cytaeans.

conveniunt ~rogitant~que viros rogitantque, quid ausi
quidve ferant. postquam primis inhiantia dictis
agmina suppressumque videt iam murmur Iason
talia miranti propius tulit orsa tyranno: 470

They gather and ply the men with questions, asking what they have dared,
or what they bring. After Jason sees the ranks gaping at the first words,
and the murmur now suppressed, he brought such beginnings nearer to the wondering tyrant: 470

'rex Hyperionide, quem per freta tanta petendum
caelicolae et prima dignum statuere carina,
siquando hic aliquam nostro satus orbe solebat
Thessaliam, siquos Phrixus memorare Pelasgos,
hi tibi tot casus, horrenda tot avia mensi 475
cernimur. ipse egomet proprio de sanguine Phrixi:
namque idem Cretheus ambobus et Aeolus auctor
cum Iove Neptunoque et cum Salmonide nympha.
me neque nunc enses araeque egere paternae
nec tua Thessalicis quamquam inclita nomina terris 480
sponte sequor.

'king, Hyperionid, whom through such great straits it was decreed
by the heaven-dwellers should be sought, and worthy of the first keel,
if ever here he, begotten from our orb, was wont
to recall Thessaly at all, if Phrixus used to name any Pelasgians,
here to you, having measured so many fortunes, so many horrendous pathless wastes, 475
we are seen. I myself am of Phrixus’s very blood:
for the same Cretheus is progenitor to both, and Aeolus too,
together with Jove and Neptune and with the Salmonid nymph.
neither now have swords and my paternal altars driven me,
nor, although your names are illustrious in Thessalian lands, 480
do I follow of my own accord.

cui non iusso tot adire voluptas
monstra maris, cui Cyaneos intrare fragores?
sceptra tui toto Pelias sub numine Phoebi
maxima sorte tenens totque illa ~cremantia~ clivos
oppida, tot vigili pulcherrima flumina cornu, 485

For whom is it not, without being bidden, a delight to approach so many monsters of the sea; for whom to enter the Cyanian crashes?
Pelias, holding the scepters under the full numen of your Phoebus by the greatest title, and those towns, so many, that perch on those craggy slopes,
so many most beautiful rivers with their wakeful horn, 485

ille meum imperiis urget caput, ille labores
dat varios, suus ut magnum rex spargit ab Argis
Alciden, Sthenelo ipse satus. tamen aspera regum
perpetimur iuga nec melior parere recuso.
hic sibi me auratae pecudis quiscumque periclis 490
exuvias perferre iubet.

he presses my head with commands, he assigns various labors,
as his own king dispatches from Argos the great Alcides,
himself begotten of Sthenelus. Yet we endure the harsh
yokes of kings, nor, though better, do I refuse to obey.
this man bids me to bring to him, through whatever perils, 490
the spoils of the golden sheep.

tibi gratia nostri
sit precor haec meritique locus, quod iussa recepi
teque alium quam quem Pelias speratque cupitque
promisi et meliora tuae mihi foedera dextrae.
si petere hoc saevi statuissem sanguine belli, 495
Ossa dabat Pindusque rates quotque ante secuti
inde nec audacem Bacchum nec Persea reges.
sed me nuda fides sanctique potentia iusti
huc tulit ac medii sociatrix gratia Phrixi
iamque tibi nostra geniti de stirpe nepotes. 500

may this, I pray, be your favor for me and a place for merit, that I received your orders
and I promised myself to you as other than the one whom Pelias hopes and longs for,
and better pacts of your right hand to me.
if I had resolved to seek this in the blood of savage war, 495
Ossa and Pindus would have furnished rafts, and as many kings as once from there
followed after bold Bacchus and Perseus.
but bare faith and the potency of the holy just
brought me hither, and the associating grace of Phrixus the mediator,
and now already for you grandsons born from our stock. 500

nec tamen aut Phrygios reges aut arva furentis
Bebryciae spernendus adi: seu fraude petivit
seu quis honore meos, sua reddita dona deumque
nos genus atque ratem magnae sensere Minervae.
vix tandem longis quaesitam Colchida votis 505
contigimus qualemque dabat te fama videmus.
tu modo ne claros Minyis invideris actus!

nor, however, did I approach either the Phrygian kings or the fields of raging
Bebrycia to be scorned: whether someone sought my men by fraud
or with honor, their own gifts were repaid, and both our race and our ship
felt the divinity of great Minerva. scarcely at last the Colchian land, sought by long vows,
we have attained, and we see you such as fame was presenting you. 505
only do not begrudge to the Minyans their illustrious deeds!

non aliena peto terrisve indebita nostris
(siquis et in precibus vero locus) atque ea Phrixo
crede dari, Phrixum ad patrios ea ferre penates. 510
munera tu contra victum mihi vecta per aequor
accipe, Taenarii chlamydem de sanguine aeni
frenaque et accinctum gemmis fulgentibus ensem:
hoc patrium decus, haec materni texta laboris,
his Lapithes adsuerat eques. da iungere dona, 515

I seek not alien things nor things undue to our lands
(if there be any place for truth even in prayers), and believe that these are given to Phrixus,
that Phrixus bears them to his paternal Penates. 510
do you in return accept as gifts provisions borne for me across the sea,
a Taenarian chlamys from the blood of bronze,
and bridles and a sword girded with gleaming gems:
this a paternal honor, these the woven works of a mother’s labor,
to these the Lapith horseman had been accustomed. grant the gifts to be joined, 515

da Scythicas sociare domos. sciat effera regis
ira mei, quem te horrifero sortitus in axe
Caucasus atque tuis quantum mitescat habenis.'
      Talibus orantem vultu gravis ille minaci
iamdudum premit et furiis ignescit opertis.                    520
ceu tumet atque imo sub gurgite concipit austros
unda silens, trahit ex alto sic barbarus iras
et nunc ausa viri, nunc heu sua prodita Grais
regna fremit. quin et facili sibi mente receptum
iam Phrixum dolet et Scythiae periisse timores.                    525
nunc quassat caput ac iuvenis spes ridet inanes,
quid vesanus agat, quod vellera poscat ab angue.

grant to ally the Scythian houses. Let the savage wrath
of my king know—Caucasus, having gotten you on the horror-bearing
axis—and how much it grows mild beneath your reins.'
      As he begs with such words, that man, grave with a menacing face,
has long been pressing him and ignites with hidden furies.                    520
as when a silent wave swells and, beneath the deepest whirl, conceives
the south winds, so the barbarian draws angers up from the deep
and now at the man’s daring, now—alas!—that his realms are betrayed to the Greeks,
he roars. Nay, and he even regrets that Phrixus was already received
with easy mind to himself, and that Scythia’s terrors have perished.                    525
now he shakes his head and laughs at the young man’s empty hopes—
what the madman is about, that he should demand the fleeces from the serpent.

urit et antiquae memorem vox praescia sortis:
cur simul ac Persen illinc sibi moverit atque hinc
Thessalicam fortuna ratem, num debitus ista 530

it burns too, a voice prescient, mindful of the ancient fate:
why, as soon as Fortune has set Perseus in motion from there for herself and from here
the Thessalian ship, is that the due?530

finis agat saevaeque petant iam vellera Parcae.
interea quoniam belli pugnaeque propinquae
cura prior, fingit placidis fera pectora dictis
reddit et haec: 'cuperem haut tali vos tempore tectis
advenisse meis, quo me gravis adsidet hostis. 535
frater enim--sceptri sic omnibus una cupido--
excidium parat et castris me ingentibus urget.
quare age cognatas primum defendite sedes
nec decus oblati dimiseris advena belli;
namque virum trahit ipse chalybs.

let an end bring it, and let the savage Parcae now seek the Fleece.
meanwhile, since the care of war and the near combat is prior,
he molds his wild breast with placid words
and replies thus: 'I would that you had not at such a time come to my roofs,
when a grievous enemy sits close upon me. 535
for my brother—for thus one desire of the scepter is one for all—
is preparing my ruin and presses me with vast encampments.
wherefore come, first defend the kindred seats,
nor, as a newcomer, let slip the honor of the war that is offered;
for the steel itself draws the man.'

tum vellera victor 540
tam meritis nec sola dabo.' contra inscius astus
'ergo nec hic nostris derat labor arduus actis'
excipit Aesonides 'et ceu nihil aequore passis
additus iste dies? veniant super haec quoque fato
bella meo? non hunc parva mihi caede dolorem 545

then to the victor I will give the fleeces 540
for such merits, nor will I give them alone.' In reply, unaware of the stratagem,
'ergo, not even here was an arduous labor lacking to our deeds,'
the Aesonid takes up, 'and is this day added as if, though we have suffered on the sea,
it were nothing? Do wars too, in addition to these, come by my fate?
this grief does not, for me, come with small slaughter.' 545

quasque dedit luet ille moras.' tum Castora mittit,
qui ferat Aeaei sociis responsa tyranni.
acribus ast illos curis mora saeva trahebat
ac simul ut medio viderunt Castora campo
crebrior incussit mentem pavor. 'o Iovis alma                    550
progenies, fare an patriam spes ulla videndi,
fare!' omnes, ille in mediis sic orsus Achivis:
'nec ferus Aeetes, ut fama, nec aurea nobis
terga negat, bello interea sed pressus iniquo
auxilium petit: armatos dux protinus omnes                    555
accelerare iubet, longo nam tuta recessu
puppis et apposita fluvius defenditur urbe.'
      Haud mora.

and he will pay the delays which he has given.' Then he sends Castor,
to carry to the comrades the responses of the Aeaean tyrant.
But a savage delay was dragging them with sharp cares,
and as soon as they saw Castor in the middle of the plain
a more frequent fear struck their mind. 'O kindly progeny of Jove,                    550
speak, whether there is any hope of seeing our fatherland,
speak!' they all (cried), and he thus began in the midst of the Achaeans:
'neither is Aeetes savage, as the report, nor does he deny to us
the golden hide; but meanwhile, pressed by an unequal war,
he asks for aid: the leader bids at once all the armed men                    555
to hasten, for the ship is safe by a long retreat,
and the river is defended by the city set beside.'
      No delay.

prosiliunt quos nec Rhipaea iuventus
quos nec Hiber aut tota suis Aurora pharetris
sustineat. stetit explicito prius agmine pubes 560

They spring forth—those whom neither the Rhipaean youth
nor the Iber, or Aurora with all her own quivers,
could withstand. The young soldiery had first stood with the line deployed 560

expertique simul si tela artusque sequantur.
nec quisquam freta nec patrias iam respicit urbes,
sed magis ad praesens itur decus. incita cristas
aura quatit, variis floret via discolor armis,
qualis ab Oceano nitidum ~chorus~ aethera vestit, 565
qualibus adsurgens nox aurea cingitur astris.

and at the same time they test whether weapons and limbs will follow.
nor does anyone now look back at the seas nor the fatherland cities,
but rather they go toward the present glory. the rousing breeze shakes their crests,
the road blooms variegated with various arms,
just as from Ocean a shining ~chorus~ clothes the aether, 565
with such stars as golden Night, rising, is girded.

illos Sole satus tacita maestissimus ira
miratur temere adsumptos nec talia mallet
robora quam medios hostem subiisse penates.
interea laeto patitur convivia cultu 570
et iuxta Aesoniden magno cratere lacessit
nunc sibi monstrantem natos Iovis oraque iuxta
Aeacidum, nunc ingentes Calydonis alumnos.
audit et Alciden infando errore relictum
defletosque duces terraeque marisque labores. 575

those men the Sun-sired, with most mournful-silent wrath,
marvels at as rashly assumed, nor would he prefer such
strength to the enemy’s having entered the midst of his Penates.
meanwhile he allows banquets with joyful adornment 570
and, next to the Aesonid, with a great krater he challenges him,
now having him point out to him the sons of Jove and, close by, the faces
of the Aeacids, now the mighty alumni of Calydon.
he hears too of Alcides left by unspeakable error,
and of the wept-for leaders and the labors of land and sea. 575

ipse autem tantis concita furoribus arma
expetit Aesonides et amicos ordine reges.
'quis procul ille virum nobis, quem balteus asper
subligat et stricto stat proximus armiger arcu
ceu pugnam paret et positas confundere mensas?' 580
contra flammigeri proles Perseia Solis
'quem rogitas, Carmeius.' ait. 'mos comminus arma
semper habere viro, semper meminisse pharetrae.'
'illum' ait Aesonides 'pariter refer, horrida signis 587
cui chlamys et multa spirat coma flexilis aura.'
respicit Aeetes atque hunc quoque nomine reddit:
'dives Aron.

but the Aesonid himself, stirred by such great frenzies, seeks arms and his friends, the kings, in order.
‘who is that man far off to us, whom a rough belt girds, and the armiger with a drawn bow stands nearest, as if he prepares for battle and to confound the set-out tables?’ 580
in reply the Perseian offspring of the flame-bearing Sun says, ‘he about whom you ask, the Carmeian. It is the custom for the man always to have arms at close quarters, always to remember his quiver.’
‘that one,’ says the Aesonid, ‘likewise tell of, whose chlamys bristles with insignia, and whose pliant hair breathes much breeze.’ 587
Aeetes looks back and gives this one too by name: ‘wealthy Aron.

croceos sic illius omnis odores 590

thus all his saffron odors 590

iactat eques, cunctis sic est coma culta maniplis;
sed ne sperne virum et comptis diffide capillis.
Campesus hic spoliis in tigri<di>s. ille profundo
incumbens Odrussa mero; viden alta comantem
pectora et ingenti turbantem pocula barba?' 595
hic et Iaxarten dictis stupet hospes acerbis
immodicum linguaque gravem, cui nulla minanti
non superum, non praesentis reverentia belli.
contra autem Aeetes 'non frustra magna superbo
dicta volant' ait 'et vocem paria arma sequuntur 600
nec requies quin Marte diem noctemque fatiget.

the horseman flaunts himself; thus is his hair groomed in all its locks;
but do not spurn the man, and do not distrust his coiffed hair.
Here is Campesus upon the spoils of a tiger. That one, leaning over deep
Odrussan wine; do you see his high chest shaggy with hair, and his huge beard
churning the cups? 595
Here too the guest amazes even the Jaxartes with bitter words—
immoderate and heavy of tongue—for whom, when he threatens, there is no reverence
either for the gods above or for the present war.
But in reply Aeetes says: ‘Not in vain do great words fly for the proud,
and arms equal to the voice follow; nor is there repose, but that he wearies
day and night with War.’ 600

atque ubi Rhipaea stupuerunt flumina bruma
iam pavidi cum prole Getae, iam pervigil illum
Medus et oppositis exspectat Hiberia claustris.
quid Latagum, quid si amnigenam mirere Choaspen? 584

and when the Rhipaean rivers were astonied by brumal cold
now the Getae, timorous with their progeny, now the ever-vigil Medus keeps watch on him
and Hiberia awaits him with opposing barriers.
what of Latagus, what if you marvel at the river-born Choaspes? 584

bellatoris equi potantem cerne cruores
nec tamen immissis hic segnior ibit habenis.
hos autem quae quemque manus, <quae> signa sequantur 605
si memorem, prius umentem lux solverit umbram.
cras acies atque illa ducum cras regna videbis
dissona, saxiferae surgat quibus imber habenae,
quae iaculo gens apta levi, quae picta pharetris
venerit.

see the war-horse drinking gore; nor, however, will this one go slower with the reins let loose.
but, if I should recount which band each follows, which standards they follow, 605
before I remember it all, light will have loosed the moist shadow.
tomorrow you will see the battle-lines, and tomorrow those realms of the leaders discordant—
against whom the shower of the stone-bearing thong rises,
which nation is apt to the light javelin, which, painted with quivers, has come.

ingentes animo iam prospice campos 610
atque hanc alipedi pulsantem corpora curru
Euryalen, quibus exsultet Mavortia turmis
et quantum elata valeat peltata securi,
cara mihi et veras inter non ultima natas.'
fatur et occiduo libat cratera parenti. 615

now look forth with your mind upon vast fields 610
and this Euryale, striking bodies with her wing-footed chariot,
at whose squadrons the Mavortian one exults,
and how much the peltast axe, lifted high, may prevail,
dear to me and not the least among my true-born daughters.'
he speaks and pours a krater as a libation to his setting father. 615

quisque suis tum vota deis et pocula fundit,
dent aciem, dent belligeros superare labores.
Ecce autem Geticis veniens Gradivus ab antris
ingentemque trahens Arctoa per aequora nubem
aspicit Aeaea Minyas stupefactus in urbe 620
ambitumque senem promissaque vellera puppi
Thessalicae. citus ad summi stellantia patris
tecta ruit questuque Iovem testatur acerbo:
'quae studiis, rex magne, quies?

each then to his own gods pours vows and cups,
let them grant the battle-line, let them grant to overcome warlike labors.
Behold, however, Gradivus coming from the Getic caverns
and dragging a huge cloud across the Arctic plains,
he beholds the Minyae in the Aeaean city, astonished, 620
and both the old man’s circuit and the fleeces promised to the Thessalian ship.
swiftly to the starry roofs of his supreme father he rushes and with bitter complaint calls Jove to witness:
'what rest, great king, for pursuits?

iam mutua divi
exitia in solos hominum molimur honores 625
teque ea cuncta iuvant, rabidam qui Pallada caelo
non abigis neque femineis ius obicis ausis.
non queror exstructa quod vexerit ipsa carina
vellera sacra meis sperantem avertere lucis
quodque palam tutata viros. sic cetera pergat, 630

now we gods are contriving mutual destructions for the mere honors of men 625
and all these things delight you, you who do not drive the rabid Pallas from the sky
nor throw the law in the way of feminine ventures.
I do not complain that she herself, with a constructed keel,
has vexed the sacred fleece, hoping to turn it away from my lights,
and that she has openly protected the men. so let her proceed in the rest likewise, 630

si valet. insidiis quid nunc fallacibus ambit,
nostra ut Phrixeo spolientur templa metallo?
non opus auxilio Colchis nec foedere vestro:
et Persen simul et Minyas deposcimus hostes.

if she can. why does she now aim by fallacious ambushes,
so that our temples be despoiled of the Phrixean metal?
there is no need for the Colchians of aid nor of your covenant:
and we demand both Perses and the Minyae as enemies.

quin age (quid tantae coeunt in proelia gentes, 635
quid tuus Aesonides?) imus nos, protinus imus
in nemus auriferum et sumptis decernimus armis?
vel tu sola polo tacitis inopina tenebris
labere: quantus ibi deus experiere nec illas
adstiteris impune trabes. an Martia templa 640
intemeranda minus, tantum mihi lucus et agger
quod rudis et sola colimur si gentibus umbra?

come now (why do so great nations gather into battles, 635
what of your Aesonid?) shall we go, let us go at once
into the auriferous grove and, arms taken up, shall we decide it?
or do you alone glide from the sky in silent unforeseen darkness
glide: you will experience how great a god is there, nor
will you stand beside those beams with impunity. or are the temples of Mars 640
less to be left inviolate, only my grove and rampart
because rough and solitary, are we held in cult by the peoples only as a shadow?

est amor et rerum cunctis tutela suarum.
et tibi, magne pater, terris donaria certant;
est honor his etiam silvis. ego cara Mycenes 645

there is love, and for all a tutelage of their own things.
and to you, great Father, on earth votive gifts vie;
even these woods have honor. I, dear to Mycenae 645

culmina, virgineas praeder si Cecropis arces,
iam coniunx, iam te gemitu lacrimisque tenebit
nata querens. metuant ergo nec talia possint.'
      Non tulit haec animis quin longa silentia Pallas
rumperet inridens strepitumque minasque Gradivi.                    650
'non tibi Aloidae quibus haec fera <mur>mura iactes,
non Lapithae, sed Pallas' ait 'neque ego aegide digna
nec vocer ulterius proles Iovis, excidat iste
ni tibi corde tumor: lituos miser armaque faxo
oderis et primis adimam tua nomina bellis.                    655
quin simili matrem demens gravitate secutus?
digna quidem, monstrum superis quae tale crearit.

the summits, the maiden citadels of Cecrops, if you should plunder them,
already a wife, already a daughter, lamenting, will hold you with groan and tears.
Let them fear, then, nor be able to do such things.'
      She did not endure this in her spirit without Pallas breaking a long silence,
mocking the clamor and threats of Gradivus.                    650
'It is not the Aloidae for whom you fling these fierce <mur>murings,
not the Lapiths, but Pallas,' she says, 'nor am I worthy of the aegis,
nor let me any longer be called the offspring of Jove, unless that swelling
depart from your heart: I will make you, wretch, hate the war-trumpets and arms,
and I will take away your names from the earliest wars.                    655
Why not, madman, have you followed your mother with a like gravity?
Worthy indeed, she who has created such a monster for the gods.'

quod tamen adgressae scelus aut quo crimine sontes
si iuvenem, qui iussa sui tam dira tyranni
impavidus maria et nondum qui nota subibat, 660

yet what crime have they attempted, or by what charge are they guilty,
if the youth, who fearless was undergoing the orders of his own so dire tyrant
and the seas not yet known, 660

iuvimus et magnis aliquam spem movimus ausis?
an nullas praeferre preces nec foedera regis
ulla sequi, caeca sed cuncta impellere pugna
debuimus? sic Thraces agunt, sic turbidus iste
siqua petit.

Have we aided and, with great daring, stirred some hope?
or ought we to put forward no prayers nor follow any treaties of the king,
but drive all things by blind battle?
thus the Thracians act, thus that turbulent one
whenever he seeks anything.

cuperem haec etiamnum bella remitti 665
nec socias armare manus. da vellera, rector,
et medio nos cerne mari. quod sin ea Mavors
abnegat et solus nostris sudoribus obstat,
ibimus indecores frustraque tot aequora vectae?'--
'fas aliquid nequeat sit femina--' coeperat ardens 670
hic iterum alternis Mavors insurgere dictis.

I would wish these wars even now to be remitted, 665
and not to arm allied hands. give the fleeces, ruler,
and behold us in mid-sea. but if Mars denies these things
and alone stands in the way of our labors,
shall we go inglorious, and carried over so many seas in vain?'--
'let there be something that a woman may not be able—' the fiery 670
here again Mars began to rise up with counter-speeches.

excipit hinc contra pater et sic voce coercet:
'quid, vesane, fremis? cum vos iam paenitet acti
peccatumque satis, tunc ad mea iura venitis.
quolibet ista modo quacumque impellite pugna, 675

he takes up in reply from here the father and thus with his voice coerces:
'why, madman, do you roar? when you already repent of what has been done
and have had enough of sin, then you come to my laws.
drive these matters in whatever way, with whatever fight, 675

quae coepistis, habent quoniam sua fata furores.
te tamen hoc, coniunx, et te, mea nata, monebo:
sit Persen pepulisse satis nec vana retentet
spes Minyas finemve velint imponere bello.
illum etenim talis rerum manet, accipite, ordo: 680
victa retro nunc castra dabit bellumque remittet
territus adventu ducis et virtute Pelasgi.

what frenzies you have begun have their own fates.
you nevertheless, spouse, and you, my daughter, I will warn of this:
let it be enough to have driven Perses away, and let not an empty
hope detain you that the Minyae wish to impose an end to the war.
for such an order of things awaits that man—hear it: 680
defeated, he will now give ground, his camp in retreat, and he will remit the war,
frightened by the arrival of the leader and by the valor of Pelasgus.

mox ubi Thessalicis referent hos flamina terris,
tunc aderit victorque domos et sceptra tenebit,
donec et Aeeten inopis post longa senectae 685
exilia, heu magnis quantum licet, impia, fatis,
nata iuvet Graiusque nepos in regna reponat.
hic labor amborum<que> haec sunt discrimina fratrum.
vadite et adversis, ut quis volet, inruat armis.'
Dixerat.

Soon, when the breezes will bring these men back to Thessalian lands,
then he will be present, and as victor will hold his house and scepters,
until even Aeetes, after the exiles of impoverished old age—alas, impious, so far as the great Fates permit— 685
his daughter may help, and a Greek grandson may replace him in his realms.
Here is the labor of both, and these are the dividing-lines of the brothers.
Go, and let whoever will rush in with adverse arms.'
He had spoken.

instaurat mensas pacemque reducit 690

he restores the tables and brings back peace 690

et iam sidereo noctem demittit Olympo.
tunc adsuetus adest Phlegraeas [qui] reddere pugnas
Musarum chorus et citharae pulsator Apollo
fertque gravem Phrygius circum cratera minister.
surgitur in somnos seque ad sua limina flectunt.

and now he lets down night from starry Olympus.
then there is present, accustomed to render the Phlegraean battles,
the chorus of the Muses, and Apollo, striker of the cithara,
and the Phrygian cup-bearer bears the weighty bowl around.
they rise for sleep and turn themselves to their own thresholds.