Virgil: GEORGICON

Quid faciat laetas segetes, quo sidere terram
uertere, Maecenas, ulmisque adiungere uitis
conueniat, quae cura boum, qui cultus habendo
sit pecori, apibus quanta experientia parcis,
hinc canere incipiam. uos, o clarissima mundi

What makes fruitful crops, under what star to turn the earth,
Maecenas, and to adjoin vines to elms it is fitting,
what care of oxen, what cultivation for maintaining
is for the herd, how great experience for the frugal bees,
from here I shall begin to sing. You, O brightest of the world

lumina, labentem caelo quae ducitis annum;
Liber et alma Ceres, uestro si munere tellus
Chaoniam pingui glandem mutauit arista,
poculaque inuentis Acheloia miscuit uuis;
et uos, agrestum praesentia numina, Fauni

lights, who lead the gliding year in the sky;
Liber and nourishing Ceres, if by your gift the earth
has changed the Chaonian acorn for a fat ear of grain,
and mixed Acheloian cups with the grapes discovered;
and you, Fauns, present divinities of the rustics,

(ferte simul Faunique pedem Dryadesque puellae:
munera uestra cano); tuque o, cui prima frementem
fudit equum magno tellus percussa tridenti,
Neptune; et cultor nemorum, cui pinguia Ceae
ter centum niuei tondent dumeta iuuenci;

(advance together your step, Fauns and Dryad maidens:
I sing your gifts); and you too, O you, for whom the earth,
smitten by the great trident, first poured forth the neighing horse,
Neptune; and the cultivator of groves, for whom the rich Cean
thickets are cropped by three hundred snow-white steers;

ipse nemus linquens patrium saltusque Lycaei
Pan, ouium custos, tua si tibi Maenala curae,
adsis, o Tegeaee, fauens, oleaeque Minerua
inuentrix, uncique puer monstrator aratri,
et teneram ab radice ferens, Siluane, cupressum:

Pan himself, leaving his fatherland grove and the glades of Lycaeus,
guardian of sheep, if your Maenalus is a care to you,
be present, O Tegean, favoring; and you, Minerva,
inventress of the olive; and you, boy demonstrator of the hooked plow,
and you, Silvanus, bearing from the root a tender cypress:

dique deaeque omnes, studium quibus arua tueri,
quique nouas alitis non ullo semine fruges
quique satis largum caelo demittitis imbrem.
tuque adeo, quem mox quae sint habitura deorum
concilia incertum est, urbisne inuisere, Caesar,

gods and goddesses all, who have zeal to guard the fields,
and you who rear new crops with no seed at all,
and you who send down from heaven a lavish rain for the sown fields.
and you too, whom it is uncertain what councils of the gods are soon to hold—whether to visit the city, Caesar,

terrarumque uelis curam, et te maximus orbis
auctorem frugum tempestatumque potentem
accipiat cingens materna tempora myrto;
an deus immensi uenias maris ac tua nautae
numina sola colant, tibi seruiat ultima Thule,

and may you will the care of the lands, and may the greatest orb
receive you as author of fruits and potent of seasons,
encircling your temples with maternal myrtle;
or come as a god of the immense sea, and may sailors
worship your numina alone, let farthest Thule serve you,

teque sibi generum Tethys emat omnibus undis;
anne nouum tardis sidus te mensibus addas,
qua locus Erigonen inter Chelasque sequentis
panditur (ipse tibi iam bracchia contrahit ardens
Scorpius et caeli iusta plus parte reliquit);

and may Tethys purchase you for herself as a son-in-law with all her waves;
or whether you add yourself as a new constellation to the tardy months,
where a space is opened between Erigone and the following Claws
(Scorpius himself, blazing, already draws in his arms for you
and has left more than a just part of the sky);

quidquid eris (nam te nec sperant Tartara regem,
nec tibi regnandi ueniat tam dira cupido,
quamuis Elysios miretur Graecia campos
nec repetita sequi curet Proserpina matrem),
da facilem cursum atque audacibus adnue coeptis,

whatever you will be (for neither does Tartarus hope for you as king,
nor may so dire a desire of ruling come to you,
although Greece admires the Elysian fields
nor does Proserpina, though recalled, care to follow her mother),
grant an easy course and nod assent to bold undertakings,

ignarosque uiae mecum miseratus agrestis
ingredere et uotis iam nunc adsuesce uocari.
Vere nouo, gelidus canis cum montibus umor
liquitur et Zephyro putris se glaeba resoluit,
depresso incipiat iam tum mihi taurus aratro

and, pitying with me the rustics ignorant of the way,
enter, and even now grow accustomed to be called upon by vows.
In the new spring, when the icy, hoary moisture melts on the mountains
and at the Zephyr the crumbling clod loosens itself,
let the bull begin for me even then with the plough pressed down

ingemere et sulco attritus splendescere uomer.
illa seges demum uotis respondet auari
agricolae, bis quae solem, bis frigora sensit;
illius immensae ruperunt horrea messes.
ac prius ignotum ferro quam scindimus aequor,

for the ploughshare to groan and, worn in the furrow, to glisten.
that crop at last responds to the vows of the avaricious farmer, which has felt twice the sun, twice the frosts;
of him immense harvests have burst his granaries.
and before we cleave the plain unknown to iron,

uentos et uarium caeli praediscere morem
cura sit ac patrios cultusque habitusque locorum,
et quid quaeque ferat regio et quid quaeque recuset.
hic segetes, illic ueniunt felicius uuae,
arborei fetus alibi atque inussa uirescunt

let it be a concern to pre-learn the winds and the variable manner of the sky,
and the native cultivations and the habitudes of places,
and what each region bears and what each refuses.
here grain-crops, there grapes come more felicitously;
elsewhere the arboreal offspring, and burned-over lands grow green

gramina. nonne uides, croceos ut Tmolus odores,
India mittit ebur, molles sua tura Sabaei,
at Chalybes nudi ferrum uirosaque Pontus
castorea, Eliadum palmas Epiros equarum?
continuo has leges aeternaque foedera certis

grasses. Do you not see how Tmolus sends forth saffron-hued odors,
India sends ivory, the Sabaeans their own soft incense,
but the naked Chalybes iron, and Pontus its pungent castoreum,
Epirus the victory-palms of the mares of Elis?
straightway these laws and eternal covenants for fixed regions

imposuit natura locis, quo tempore primum
Deucalion uacuum lapides iactauit in orbem,
unde homines nati, durum genus. ergo age, terrae
pingue solum primis extemplo a mensibus anni
fortes inuertant tauri, glaebasque iacentis

Nature has imposed upon the places, at that time when first
Deucalion cast stones into the vacant orb,
whence men were born, a hardy race. Therefore come, let
strong bulls straightway from the first months of the year
turn the rich soil of the earth, and the clods lying

puluerulenta coquat maturis solibus aestas;
at si non fuerit tellus fecunda, sub ipsum
Arcturum tenui sat erit suspendere sulco:
illic, officiant laetis ne frugibus herbae,
hic, sterilem exiguus ne deserat umor harenam.

let dusty summer cook with mature suns;
but if the earth be not fertile, right under Arcturus it will be enough to suspend in a slender furrow:
there, lest weeds obstruct the lush crops,
here, lest scant moisture desert the sterile sand.

Alternis idem tonsas cessare noualis
et segnem patiere situ durescere campum;
aut ibi flaua seres mutato sidere farra,
unde prius laetum siliqua quassante legumen
aut tenuis fetus uiciae tristisque lupini

In alternate years likewise let the fallow, after being shorn, lie idle,
and allow the sluggish field to harden through disuse;
or there sow golden spelt with the constellation changed,
whence before the joyful pulse with its pod a‑rattle,
or the meager offspring of vetch and of the gloomy lupine

sustuleris fragilis calamos siluamque sonantem.
urit enim lini campum seges, urit auenae,
urunt Lethaeo perfusa papauera somno;
sed tamen alternis facilis labor, arida tantum
ne saturare fimo pingui pudeat sola neue

when you have removed the brittle canes and the sounding woodland.
for the crop of flax burns the field, the crop of oats burns,
the poppies, drenched with Lethean sleep, burn;
but yet with alternation the labor is easy, only
let it not shame you to saturate the dry soils with rich dung nor

effetos cinerem immundum iactare per agros.
sic quoque mutatis requiescunt fetibus arua,
nec nulla interea est inaratae gratia terrae.
saepe etiam sterilis incendere profuit agros
atque leuem stipulam crepitantibus urere flammis:

to scatter unclean ash over exhausted fields.
thus also the fields, with their plantings changed, take rest,
nor meanwhile is there no benefit of the untilled earth.
often too it has profited to set even sterile fields on fire
and to burn the light stubble with crackling flames:

siue inde occultas uiris et pabula terrae
pinguia concipiunt, siue illis omne per ignem
excoquitur uitium atque exsudat inutilis umor,
seu pluris calor ille uias et caeca relaxat
spiramenta, nouas ueniat qua sucus in herbas,

whether from there the hidden powers and rich nourishments of the earth are conceived,
or whether for them every defect is cooked out through fire and the useless humor sweats out,
or whether that heat opens more ways and loosens the blind spiracles,
by which sap may come into new plants,

seu durat magis et uenas astringit hiantis,
ne tenues pluuiae rapidiue potentia solis
acrior aut Boreae penetrabile frigus adurat.
multum adeo, rastris glaebas qui frangit inertis
uimineasque trahit cratis, iuuat arua, neque illum

or else it hardens more and constricts the gaping veins,
lest the fine rains or the keener potency of the rapid sun,
or Boreas’s penetrating cold, sear it.
so greatly indeed, he who with rakes shatters the inert clods
and drags the wicker hurdles, it helps the fields, nor him

flaua Ceres alto nequiquam spectat Olympo;
et qui, proscisso quae suscitat aequore terga,
rursus in obliquum uerso perrumpit aratro
exercetque frequens tellurem atque imperat aruis.
Vmida solstitia atque hiemes orate serenas,

golden Ceres looks in vain from high Olympus;
and he who, from the surface cleft, raises the ridges,
once more breaks through crosswise with the turned plough,
and, assiduous, exercises the soil and lays command upon the fields.
pray for dewy solstices and winters serene,

100

agricolae; hiberno laetissima puluere farra,
laetus ager: nullo tantum se Mysia cultu
iactat et ipsa suas mirantur Gargara messis.
quid dicam, iacto qui semine comminus arua
insequitur cumulosque ruit male pinguis harenae,

farmers; spelt most luxuriant in winter dust, the field glad:
Mysia does not so much vaunt herself in any cultivation,
and Gargara themselves marvel at their harvests.
what shall I say of him who, the seed having been cast, at close quarters the fields
pursues and rushes upon the heaps of the ill-fat sand,

105

deinde satis fluuium inducit riuosque sequentis,
et, cum exustus ager morientibus aestuat herbis,
ecce supercilio cliuosi tramitis undam
elicit? illa cadens raucum per leuia murmur
saxa ciet, scatebrisque arentia temperat arua.

then he leads in a river for the crops and the rills that follow,
and, when the parched field seethes with dying herbs,
behold, from the brow of a sloping track does he draw forth the water?
that, falling, stirs a raucous murmur over the smooth stones,
and with bubbling springs he tempers the arid fields.

110

quid qui, ne grauidis procumbat culmus aristis,
luxuriem segetum tenera depascit in herba,
cum primum sulcos aequant sata, quique paludis
collectum umorem bibula deducit harena?
praesertim incertis si mensibus amnis abundans

what of him who, lest the stalk fall forward with heavy ears,
grazes down the luxuriance of the crops in the tender blade,
when first the sowings make the furrows even; and he who from the marsh
draws off the gathered moisture with thirsty sand?
especially if, in uncertain months, a river abounding

115

exit et obducto late tenet omnia limo,
unde cauae tepido sudant umore lacunae.
Nec tamen, haec cum sint hominumque boumque labores
uersando terram experti, nihil improbus anser
Strymoniaeque grues et amaris intiba fibris

it goes out and, with mud overlaid, holds everything far and wide,
whence hollow pools sweat with tepid moisture.
Nor yet, although these things are so and the labors of men and of oxen, experienced in turning the earth,
does the mischievous goose, and the Strymonian cranes, and endives with bitter fibers, count for nothing.

120

officiunt aut umbra nocet. pater ipse colendi
haud facilem esse uiam uoluit, primusque per artem
mouit agros, curis acuens mortalia corda
nec torpere graui passus sua regna ueterno.
ante Iouem nulli subigebant arua coloni:

they hinder, or the shade harms. the father himself did not wish the way of cultivating to be easy, and he first through art set the fields in motion, sharpening mortal hearts with cares, nor did he allow his realms to grow torpid with heavy lethargy. before Jove no colonists subdued the fields:

125

ne signare quidem aut partiri limite campum
fas erat; in medium quaerebant, ipsaque tellus
omnia liberius nullo poscente ferebat.
ille malum uirus serpentibus addidit atris
praedarique lupos iussit pontumque moueri,

not even to mark or to divide the field with a boundary was right; they sought into the common stock, and the earth herself bore everything more freely, with no one demanding.
he added the evil virus to dark serpents
and ordered the wolves to prey, and the sea to be moved,

130

mellaque decussit foliis ignemque remouit
et passim riuis currentia uina repressit,
ut uarias usus meditando extunderet artis
paulatim, et sulcis frumenti quaereret herbam,
ut silicis uenis abstrusum excuderet ignem.

and he shook down honey from the leaves and removed fire,
and checked the wines running everywhere in rivulets,
so that by meditating on need he might hammer out various arts
little by little, and in furrows seek the herb of grain,
so that from the veins of flint he might strike out the hidden fire.

135

tunc alnos primum fluuii sensere cauatas;
nauita tum stellis numeros et nomina fecit
Pleiadas, Hyadas, claramque Lycaonis Arcton.
tum laqueis captare feras et fallere uisco
inuentum et magnos canibus circumdare saltus;

then the rivers first felt alders hollowed out;
then the sailor made numbers and names for the stars,
the Pleiades, the Hyades, and the bright Bear of Lycaon.
then to catch wild beasts with snares and to beguile with birdlime
was invented, and to encircle great forest-lands with hounds;

140

atque alius latum funda iam uerberat amnem
alta petens, pelagoque alius trahit umida lina.
tum ferri rigor atque argutae lammina serrae
(nam primi cuneis scindebant fissile lignum),
tum uariae uenere artes. labor omnia uicit

and another now lashes the broad river with a casting-net,
seeking the deeps, and in the open sea another drags the wet lines.
then the rigor of iron and the lamina of the shrilling saw
(for at first they used to cleave fissile wood with wedges),
then various arts came. labor conquered all

145

improbus et duris urgens in rebus egestas.
prima Ceres ferro mortalis uertere terram
instituit, cum iam glandes atque arbuta sacrae
deficerent siluae et uictum Dodona negaret.
mox et frumentis labor additus, ut mala culmos

and need, relentless and pressing in hard straits.
Ceres first instituted that mortals turn the earth with iron,
when by now the acorns and arbutus-berries of the sacred woods
were failing, and Dodona denied victuals.
soon too toil was added for the grains, so that evils befall the stalks

150

esset robigo segnisque horreret in aruis
carduus; intereunt segetes, subit aspera silua
lappaeque tribolique, interque nitentia culta
infelix lolium et steriles dominantur auenae.
quod nisi et adsiduis herbam insectabere rastris

there would be rust, and in the fields would bristle
the sluggish thistle; the crops perish, the rough woodland comes up,
and burrs and caltrops, and amid the gleaming cultivated fields
ill-fated darnel and sterile oats dominate.
and unless you also harry the weed with assiduous rakes

155

et sonitu terrebis auis et ruris opaci
falce premes umbras uotisque uocaueris imbrem,
heu magnum alterius frustra spectabis aceruum
concussaque famem in siluis solabere quercu.
Dicendum et quae sint duris agrestibus arma,

and by sound you will frighten the birds, and of the shadowed countryside
with the sickle you will press the shades, and by vows you will call the rain,
alas, you will gaze in vain at another’s great heap,
and you will solace hunger in the woods with the shaken oak.
It must also be said what arms belong to hardy rustics,

160

quis sine nec potuere seri nec surgere messes:
uomis et inflexi primum graue robur aratri,
tardaque Eleusinae matris uoluentia plaustra,
tribulaque traheaeque et iniquo pondere rastri;
uirgea praeterea Celei uilisque supellex,

without which neither could seeds be sown nor could the harvests spring up:
the plowshare and, first, the heavy oak timber of the bent plow,
and the slow-rolling wagons of the Eleusinian Mother,
both threshing-sleds and drags, and rakes with their ill-balanced weight;
besides, the wicker gear of Celeus and lowly implements,

165

arbuteae crates et mystica uannus Iacchi;
omnia quae multo ante memor prouisa repones,
si te digna manet diuini gloria ruris.
continuo in siluis magna ui flexa domatur
in burim et curui formam accipit ulmus aratri.

arbutus hurdles and the mystic winnowing-fan of Iacchus;
all of which, being mindful, you will store away, foreseen long before,
if the glory of the divine countryside, worthy of you, awaits you.
straightway in the woods, bent with great force, the elm is tamed
into a plough-beam and takes the form of the curved plough.

170

huic a stirpe pedes temo protentus in octo,
binae aures, duplici aptantur dentalia dorso.
caeditur et tilia ante iugo leuis altaque fagus
stiuaque, quae currus a tergo torqueat imos,
et suspensa focis explorat robora fumus.

for this, from the stock, the pole is stretched eight feet long,
twin ears; the share-beams are fitted upon a double back.
and the linden, light, is hewn beforehand for the yoke, and the tall beech,
and the stilt, which twists the lowest wains from behind,
and smoke tests the oaken timbers when hung over the hearths.

175

Possum multa tibi ueterum praecepta referre,
ni refugis tenuisque piget cognoscere curas.
area cum primis ingenti aequanda cylindro
et uertenda manu et creta solidanda tenaci,
ne subeant herbae neu puluere uicta fatiscat,

I can recount many precepts of the ancients to you,
if you do not shrink back and it does not irk you to learn slight cares.
the threshing-floor, first of all, must be leveled with a huge cylinder-roller
and worked over by hand and made solid with tenacious clay,
lest weeds steal in, nor, overcome by dust, it crumble.

180

tum uariae inludant pestes: saepe exiguus mus
sub terris posuitque domos atque horrea fecit,
aut oculis capti fodere cubilia talpae,
inuentusque cauis bufo et quae plurima terrae
monstra ferunt, populatque ingentem farris aceruum

then various pests make sport: often the tiny mouse
beneath the earth has set his homes and has made granaries,
or moles, blind of eyes, have dug their lairs,
and the toad is found in hollows, and the monsters which the earth bears in greatest number,
and the huge heap of spelt is plundered

185

curculio atque inopi metuens formica senectae.
contemplator item, cum se nux plurima siluis
induet in florem et ramos curuabit olentis:
si superant fetus, pariter frumenta sequentur
magnaque cum magno ueniet tritura calore;

the weevil and the ant, fearful of needy old age.
observe likewise, when the nut-tree in the woods
clothes itself in very abundant blossom and bends its fragrant branches:
if the fruits abound, in like manner the grains will follow,
and great threshing will come with great heat.

190

at si luxuria foliorum exuberat umbra,
nequiquam pinguis palea teret area culmos.
semina uidi equidem multos medicare serentis
et nitro prius et nigra perfundere amurca,
grandior ut fetus siliquis fallacibus esset

but if the luxuriance of leaves exuberates in shade,
in vain will the rich threshing-floor with chaff wear down the stalks.
I indeed have seen many sowers medicate their seeds
and first with nitre and drench with black amurca,
so that the produce might be larger in the deceitful pods

195

et quamuis igni exiguo properata maderent.
uidi lecta diu et multo spectata labore
degenerare tamen, ni uis humana quotannis
maxima quaeque manu legeret: sic omnia fatis
in peius ruere ac retro sublapsa referri,

and although, hurried with slight fire, they would become wet.
I have seen, chosen for long and tested by much labor,
nevertheless to degenerate, unless human force each year
should pick by hand whatever is the very best: thus all things by the Fates
rush into worse and, slipped backward, are borne back,

200

non aliter quam qui aduerso uix flumine lembum
remigiis subigit, si bracchia forte remisit,
atque illum in praeceps prono rapit alueus amni.
Praeterea tam sunt Arcturi sidera nobis
Haedorumque dies seruandi et lucidus Anguis,

not otherwise than one who, against an adverse river, scarcely drives a skiff
with oars; if by chance he has relaxed his arms,
and the channel, with the stream prone, snatches it headlong.
Moreover, the stars of Arcturus are to be observed by us
and the days of the Kids, and the bright Serpent,

205

quam quibus in patriam uentosa per aequora uectis
Pontus et ostriferi fauces temptantur Abydi.
Libra die somnique pares ubi fecerit horas
et medium luci atque umbris iam diuidit orbem,
exercete, uiri, tauros, serite hordea campis

as for those who, borne to their fatherland across the windy waters,
the Pontus and the straits of oyster-bearing Abydos are attempted.
when Libra has made the hours of day and of sleep equal
and already divides the orb midway between light and shadows,
work, men, the bulls, sow barley in the fields

210

usque sub extremum brumae intractabilis imbrem;
nec non et lini segetem et Cereale papauer
tempus humo tegere et iamdudum incumbere aratris,
dum sicca tellure licet, dum nubila pendent.
uere fabis satio; tum te quoque, medica, putres

right up under the last rain of intractable winter;
and likewise both the crop of flax and the Cerean poppy
it is time to cover with earth, and long since to lean upon the ploughs,
while it is permitted with the soil dry, while the clouds hang.
in spring, the sowing for beans; then you too, medick, the rotting

215

accipiunt sulci et milio uenit annua cura,
candidus auratis aperit cum cornibus annum
Taurus et auerso cedens Canis occidit astro.
at si triticeam in messem robustaque farra
exercebis humum solisque instabis aristis,

the furrows receive, and for millet the annual care comes,
when the bright Bull with gilded horns opens the year,
and the Dog, withdrawing, sets with his averted star.
but if you will exercise the soil for a wheat harvest and robust spelt
and will press upon the ears alone,

220

ante tibi Eoae Atlantides abscondantur
Cnosiaque ardentis decedat stella Coronae,
debita quam sulcis committas semina quamque
inuitae properes anni spem credere terrae.
multi ante occasum Maiae coepere; sed illos

before for you the Eoan Atlantids be concealed,
and the Cnosian star of the burning Crown withdraw,
than that you commit to the furrows the due seeds, and
hasten to entrust the year’s hope to the unwilling earth.
many began before the setting of Maia; but those

225

exspectata seges uanis elusit auenis.
si uero uiciamque seres uilemque phaselum
nec Pelusiacae curam aspernabere lentis,
haud obscura cadens mittet tibi signa Bootes:
incipe et ad medias sementem extende pruinas.

the awaited harvest has eluded you with vain oats.
but if indeed you sow vetch and the lowly kidney-bean,
nor will you spurn the care of the Pelusiac lentil,
as he sets, Bootes will send you no obscure signs:
begin, and extend your sowing to the mid frosts.

230

Idcirco certis dimensum partibus orbem
per duodena regit mundi sol aureus astra.
quinque tenent caelum zonae: quarum una corusco
semper sole rubens et torrida semper ab igni;
quam circum extremae dextra laeuaque trahuntur

Therefore, the orb measured out in fixed parts
the golden sun rules through the twelve stars of the world.
five zones hold the sky: of which one, ever reddening
with the coruscating sun and ever torrid from the fire;
around which the extreme ones, to right and to left, are drawn

235

caeruleae, glacie concretae atque imbribus atris;
has inter mediamque duae mortalibus aegris
munere concessae diuum, et uia secta per ambas,
obliquus qua se signorum uerteret ordo.
mundus, ut ad Scythiam Riphaeasque arduus arces

the cerulean ones, congealed with ice and with black rains;
between these and the middle, two, for ailing mortals
granted by the gods as a gift, and a way cut through both,
where the oblique order of the signs might turn itself.
the world, as toward scythia and the arduous rhipaean citadels

240

consurgit, premitur Libyae deuexus in Austros.
hic uertex nobis semper sublimis; at illum
sub pedibus Styx atra uidet Manesque profundi.
maximus hic flexu sinuoso elabitur Anguis
circum perque duas in morem fluminis Arctos,

it rises up, sloping toward Libya, is pressed down into the South Winds.
this summit for us is always sublime; but that one
the black Styx and the profound Manes behold beneath their feet.
here the greatest Serpent glides with sinuous flexure
around and through the two Bears in the manner of a river,

245

Arctos Oceani metuentis aequore tingi.
illic, ut perhibent, aut intempesta silet nox
semper et obtenta densentur nocte tenebrae;
aut redit a nobis Aurora diemque reducit,
nosque ubi primus equis Oriens adflauit anhelis

The Bears, of Ocean, fearing to be dipped by the sea’s surface.
there, as they aver, either the dead of night is silent
always, and the shadows are thickened with night drawn over;
or Aurora returns from us and brings back the day,
and when the Orient first has breathed upon us with its panting horses

250

illic sera rubens accendit lumina Vesper.
hinc tempestates dubio praediscere caelo
possumus, hinc messisque diem tempusque serendi,
et quando infidum remis impellere marmor
conueniat, quando armatas deducere classis,

There, late and reddening, Vesper lights its lamps.
hence we can forelearn storms with the sky uncertain,
hence the day for harvest and the time for sowing,
and when it is fitting to drive with oars the treacherous marble,
and when to lead down armed fleets,

255

aut tempestiuam siluis euertere pinum;
nec frustra signorum obitus speculamur et ortus
temporibusque parem diuersis quattuor annum.
Frigidus agricolam si quando continet imber,
multa, forent quae mox caelo properanda sereno,

or to fell the seasonable pine from the woods;
nor in vain do we watch the settings and risings of the signs,
and the year equal to the four diverse times.
If ever the cold rain confines the farmer,
many things, which soon would have to be hastened under a clear sky,

260

maturare datur: durum procudit arator
uomeris obtunsi dentem, cauat arbore lintres,
aut pecori signum aut numeros impressit aceruis.
exacuunt alii uallos furcasque bicornis
atque Amerina parant lentae retinacula uiti.

it is allowed to hasten: the hardy plowman hammers out the tooth of the blunted ploughshare, hollows skiffs from timber,
or has set a mark on the herd or impressed numbers upon the heaps.
others sharpen stakes and two-horned forks
and prepare Amerian bindings for the pliant vine.

265

nunc facilis rubea texatur fiscina uirga,
nunc torrete igni fruges, nunc frangite saxo.
quippe etiam festis quaedam exercere diebus
fas et iura sinunt: riuos deducere nulla
religio uetuit, segeti praetendere saepem,

now let the easy pannier be woven of red osier,
now roast the grain with fire, now crush it with stone.
for indeed even on feast days to exercise certain tasks
right and laws allow: to lead down rivulets no
religious scruple has forbidden, to set a hedge before the crop,

270

insidias auibus moliri, incendere uepres
balantumque gregem fluuio mersare salubri.
saepe oleo tardi costas agitator aselli
uilibus aut onerat pomis, lapidemque reuertens
incusum aut atrae massam picis urbe reportat.

to contrive snares for birds, to set the brambles ablaze,
and to immerse the bleating flock in a salubrious river.
often the driver of a slow little donkey anoints its ribs with oil,
or loads it with cheap fruits, and, returning,
he brings back from the city an anvil-stone or a lump of black pitch.

275

Ipsa dies alios alio dedit ordine luna
felicis operum. quintam fuge: pallidus Orcus
Eumenidesque satae; tum partu Terra nefando
Coeumque Iapetumque creat saeuumque Typhoea
et coniuratos caelum rescindere fratres.

The Moon herself has given different days, in different order, as fortunate for works;
shun the fifth: pallid Orcus and the Eumenides were begotten; then by an unspeakable birth Earth
brings forth Coeus and Iapetus and savage Typhoeus, and the brothers sworn together to rend the sky.

280

ter sunt conati imponere Pelio Ossam
scilicet atque Ossae frondosum inuoluere Olympum;
ter pater exstructos disiecit fulmine montis.
septima post decimam felix et ponere uitem
et prensos domitare boues et licia telae

thrice they attempted to place Ossa upon Pelion,
of course, and to involve leafy Olympus around Ossa;
thrice the father scattered the piled-up mountains with his thunderbolt.
the seventh after the tenth is fortunate both to plant the vine
and to break in halter-caught oxen and to set the warp-threads of the web

285

addere. nona fugae melior, contraria furtis.
Multa adeo gelida melius se nocte dedere
aut cum sole nouo terras inrorat Eous.

to add. the ninth is better for flight, contrary to thefts.
Many things indeed yield themselves better in the chilly night
or when Eous bedews the lands with the new sun.

nocte leues melius stipulae, nocte arida prata
tondentur, noctes lentus non deficit umor.

by night the light stubbles are better, by night the arid meadows
mown, by night the lingering moisture does not fail.

290

et quidam seros hiberni ad luminis ignis
peruigilat ferroque faces inspicat acuto.
interea longum cantu solata laborem
arguto coniunx percurrit pectine telas,
aut dulcis musti Volcano decoquit umorem

and one keeps vigil late by the light of the winter fire,
and with sharp iron he points the torches.
meanwhile the wife, consoled in her long labor by song,
runs through the webs with a shrilling comb,
or over Vulcan she boils down the moisture of sweet must.

295

et foliis undam trepidi despumat aeni.
at rubicunda Ceres medio succiditur aestu
et medio tostas aestu terit area fruges.
nudus ara, sere nudus. hiems ignaua colono:
frigoribus parto agricolae plerumque fruuntur

and with leaves he skims the foam from the water of the trembling bronze.
but ruddy Ceres is cut down in the mid-heat,
and in the mid-heat the threshing-floor grinds the toasted grains.
plough naked, sow naked. winter is idle for the farmer:
with what has been gotten in the cold farmers for the most part take their enjoyment.

300

mutuaque inter se laeti conuiuia curant.
inuitat genialis hiems curasque resoluit,
ceu pressae cum iam portum tetigere carinae,
puppibus et laeti nautae imposuere coronas.
sed tamen et quernas glandes tum stringere tempus

and joyful they attend to mutual banquets among themselves.
genial winter invites and loosens cares,
as when the pressed keels have now touched the harbor,
and the sailors, glad, have set garlands upon the sterns.
but yet even then it is time to strip oaken acorns

305

et lauri bacas oleamque cruentaque myrta,
tum gruibus pedicas et retia ponere ceruis
auritosque sequi lepores, tum figere dammas
stuppea torquentem Balearis uerbera fundae,
cum nix alta iacet, glaciem cum flumina trudunt.

and the berries of the laurel and the olive and the blood-red myrtle,
then to set snares for cranes and to place nets for stags,
and to chase the long-eared hares, then to pierce the fallow-deer,
whirling the hempen lashes of a Balearic sling,
when deep snow lies, when the rivers push the ice along.

310

Quid tempestates autumni et sidera dicam,
atque, ubi iam breuiorque dies et mollior aestas,
quae uigilanda uiris? uel cum ruit imbriferum uer,
spicea iam campis cum messis inhorruit et cum
frumenta in uiridi stipula lactentia turgent?

Why should I speak of the tempests of autumn and the stars,
and, when the day is now briefer and the summer softer,
what must be vigilantly watched by men? or when the rain-bearing spring rushes,
when the spicate harvest has now bristled in the fields, and when
the milky grains swell on the green stalk?

315

saepe ego, cum flauis messorem induceret aruis
agricola et fragili iam stringeret hordea culmo,
omnia uentorum concurrere proelia uidi,
quae grauidam late segetem ab radicibus imis
sublimem expulsam eruerent: ita turbine nigro

often I, when the farmer would bring in the reaper to the golden fields
and was already cutting the barley on its brittle stalk,
I have seen all the battles of the winds converge,
which would wrench up the gravid standing crop from its deepest roots far and wide:
so in a black whirlwind

320

ferret hiems culmumque leuem stipulasque uolantis.
saepe etiam immensum caelo uenit agmen aquarum
et foedam glomerant tempestatem imbribus atris
collectae ex alto nubes; ruit arduus aether
et pluuia ingenti sata laeta boumque labores

winter would carry off the light stalk and the flying straws.
often too there comes from the sky an immense column of waters,
and they mass a foul tempest with black showers,
clouds collected from the deep; the lofty ether rushes down,
and with enormous rain it overwhelms the glad sowings and the labors of the oxen.

325

diluit; implentur fossae et caua flumina crescunt
cum sonitu feruetque fretis spirantibus aequor.
ipse pater media nimborum in nocte corusca
fulmina molitur dextra, quo maxima motu
terra tremit, fugere ferae et mortalia corda

it washes away; the ditches are filled and the hollow streams swell,
with a roar, and the plain of the sea seethes, the straits breathing.
the Father himself, in the flashing mid-night of the storm-clouds,
with his right hand he forges the lightnings, whereat with greatest commotion
the earth trembles, the wild beasts flee, and mortal hearts

330

per gentis humilis strauit pauor; ille flagranti
aut Atho aut Rhodopen aut alta Ceraunia telo
deicit; ingeminant Austri et densissimus imber;
nunc nemora ingenti uento, nunc litora plangunt.
hoc metuens caeli mensis et sidera serua,

through the peoples abject fear laid them low; he with a blazing
weapon casts down either Athos or Rhodope or the lofty Ceraunian peaks;
the South Winds redouble, and a most dense downpour;
now they beat the groves with a vast wind, now the shores.
fearing this, mark the months of the sky and keep watch on the stars,

335

frigida Saturni sese quo stella receptet,
quos ignis caelo Cyllenius erret in orbis.
in primis uenerare deos, atque annua magnae
sacra refer Cereri laetis operatus in herbis
extremae sub casum hiemis, iam uere sereno.

where the cold star of Saturn withdraws itself,
in what orbits in the sky the Cyllenian fire wanders.
first of all, venerate the gods, and render the annual
sacred rites to great Ceres, having labored amid the glad herbage,
at the fall of utmost winter, now with spring serene.

340

tum pingues agni et tum mollissima uina,
tum somni dulces densaeque in montibus umbrae.
cuncta tibi Cererem pubes agrestis adoret:
cui tu lacte fauos et miti dilue Baccho,
terque nouas circum felix eat hostia fruges,

then the lambs are fat and then the wines most mellow,
then sweet slumbers and thick shades on the mountains.
let all the rustic youth adore Ceres for you:
for whom you dilute the honeycombs with milk and with mild Bacchus,
and thrice let a lucky victim go around the new-grown crops,

345

omnis quam chorus et socii comitentur ouantes
et Cererem clamore uocent in tecta; neque ante
falcem maturis quisquam supponat aristis
quam Cereri torta redimitus tempora quercu
det motus incompositos et carmina dicat.

whom let a chorus and comrades accompany rejoicing,
and with a shout let them call Ceres into the roofs; nor before
let anyone put the sickle beneath the ripe ears,
until, his temples wreathed with twisted oak for Ceres,
he give uncomposed motions and speak songs.

350

Atque haec ut certis possemus discere signis,
aestusque pluuiasque et agentis frigora uentos,
ipse pater statuit quid menstrua luna moneret,
quo signo caderent Austri, quid saepe uidentes
agricolae propius stabulis armenta tenerent.

And that we might be able to learn these things by sure signs,
the heats and the rains and the chills of the driving winds,
the Father himself ordained what the monthly moon should warn,
by what sign the South winds would fall, what things, when often seen,
the agriculturists should keep the herds nearer to the stables.

355

continuo uentis surgentibus aut freta ponti
incipiunt agitata tumescere et aridus altis
montibus audiri fragor, aut resonantia longe
litora misceri et nemorum increbrescere murmur.
iam sibi tum a curuis male temperat unda carinis,

immediately, with the winds rising, either the straits of the sea
begin, when stirred, to swell, and a dry
crash to be heard on the high mountains, or the far-resounding
shores to be thrown into commotion and the murmur of the groves to grow stronger.
already then the wave hardly keeps itself in check from the curved keels,

360

cum medio celeres reuolant ex aequore mergi
clamoremque ferunt ad litora, cumque marinae
in sicco ludunt fulicae, notasque paludes
deserit atque altam supra uolat ardea nubem.
saepe etiam stellas uento impendente uidebis

when swift divers fly back from the midst of the level sea
and carry their clamor to the shores, and when the marine
coots play on dry ground, and the heron deserts its noted
marshes and flies above the high cloud.
often too you will see the stars with the wind impending

365

praecipitis caelo labi, noctisque per umbram
flammarum longos a tergo albescere tractus;
saepe leuem paleam et frondes uolitare caducas
aut summa nantis in aqua conludere plumas.
at Boreae de parte trucis cum fulminat et cum

to slip headlong from the sky, and through the shadow of night the long trails of flames to whiten behind;
often the light chaff and the falling leaves to flutter,
or the feathers floating on the surface of the water to sport together.
but when it lightens from the quarter of grim Boreas, and when

370

Eurique Zephyrique tonat domus, omnia plenis
rura natant fossis atque omnis nauita ponto
umida uela legit. numquam imprudentibus imber
obfuit: aut illum surgentem uallibus imis
aeriae fugere grues, aut bucula caelum

The house of Eurus and Zephyr thunders, all the fields float with full
ditches, and every sailor on the sea gathers up his wet sails.
never has a rainstorm harmed the unwary: either the aerial cranes
have fled it rising from the lowest valleys, or the heifer the sky

375

suspiciens patulis captauit naribus auras,
aut arguta lacus circumuolitauit hirundo
et ueterem in limo ranae cecinere querelam.
saepius et tectis penetralibus extulit oua
angustum formica terens iter, et bibit ingens

looking up, with flared nostrils she has caught the breezes,
or the shrilling swallow has flitted around the lakes,
and the frogs have sung their ancient complaint in the mire.
and more often from the inner chambers has brought out her eggs
the ant, wearing a narrow path, and the huge one has drunk

380

arcus, et e pastu decedens agmine magno
coruorum increpuit densis exercitus alis.
iam uariae pelagi uolucres et quae Asia circum
dulcibus in stagnis rimantur prata Caystri—
certatim largos umeris infundere rores,

the rainbow, and, leaving their feeding, in a great column
an army of crows has rattled with thick-beating wings.
now the various birds of the sea, and those which around Asia
in the sweet pools search the meadows of the Cayster—
vie to pour copious dews upon their shoulders,

385

nunc caput obiectare fretis, nunc currere in undas
et studio incassum uideas gestire lauandi.
tum cornix plena pluuiam uocat improba uoce
et sola in sicca secum spatiatur harena.
ne nocturna quidem carpentes pensa puellae

now you would see them to expose the head to the straits, now to run into the waves,
and in zeal, in vain, to exult with a craving for washing.
then the crow, full, calls the rain with an impudent voice
and alone strolls with itself on the dry sand.
not even the girls plucking at their nocturnal tasks

390

nesciuere hiemem, testa cum ardente uiderent
scintillare oleum et putris concrescere fungos.
Nec minus ex imbri soles et aperta serena
prospicere et certis poteris cognoscere signis:
nam neque tum stellis acies obtunsa uidetur,

they did not know winter, when they saw oil scintillate on a burning potsherd
and putrid mushrooms congeal.
No less, from rain you will be able to foresee suns and open serene skies,
to look out, and you will be able to recognize by sure signs:
for neither then does the edge of the stars seem blunted,

395

nec fratris radiis obnoxia surgere Luna,
tenuia nec lanae per caelum uellera ferri;
non tepidum ad solem pennas in litore pandunt
dilectae Thetidi alcyones, non ore solutos
immundi meminere sues iactare maniplos.

nor does the Moon, subject to her brother’s rays, rise,
nor are thin fleeces of wool borne through the sky;
not do the halcyons, dear to Thetis, spread their wings on the shore toward the tepid sun,
nor have unclean swine remembered with the mouth to toss loosened handfuls.

400

at nebulae magis ima petunt campoque recumbunt,
solis et occasum seruans de culmine summo
nequiquam seros exercet noctua cantus.
apparet liquido sublimis in aere Nisus,
et pro purpureo poenas dat Scylla capillo:

but the mists rather seek the low places and recline upon the plain,
and the owl, keeping the setting of the sun from the topmost summit,
in vain exercises late songs.
lofty in the liquid air appears Nisus,
and for her purple lock Scylla pays penalties:

405

quacumque illa leuem fugiens secat aethera pennis,
ecce inimicus atrox magno stridore per auras
insequitur Nisus; qua se fert Nisus ad auras,
illa leuem fugiens raptim secat aethera pennis.
tum liquidas corui presso ter gutture uoces

wherever she, fleeing, cleaves the light ether with her feathers,
lo, the hostile fierce Nisus, with a great screech, through the airs
pursues; where Nisus bears himself into the auras,
she, fleeing, swiftly cleaves the light ether with her feathers.
then the limpid voices of a crow, with throat pressed, three times

410

aut quater ingeminant, et saepe cubilibus altis
nescio qua praeter solitum dulcedine laeti
inter se in foliis strepitant; iuuat imbribus actis
progeniem paruam dulcisque reuisere nidos.
haud equidem credo, quia sit diuinitus illis

or they redouble four times, and often in their high nests,
glad with I know not what sweetness beyond the usual,
they chatter among themselves in the leaves; it delights them, when the rains have passed,
to revisit their small progeny and their sweet nests.
I indeed do not believe that it is divinely bestowed on them

415

ingenium aut rerum fato prudentia maior;
uerum ubi tempestas et caeli mobilis umor
mutauere uias et Iuppiter uuidus Austris
denset erant quae rara modo, et quae densa relaxat,
uertuntur species animorum, et pectora motus

their natural genius or, by the fate of things, their prudence is greater;
but when the weather and the sky’s mobile moisture
have changed their paths, and Jupiter, moist with the South Winds,
makes dense what just now was rare, and relaxes what is dense,
the appearances of their spirits are turned, and the motions of their breasts

420

nunc alios, alios dum nubila uentus agebat,
concipiunt: hinc ille auium concentus in agris
et laetae pecudes et ouantes gutture corui.
Si uero solem ad rapidum lunasque sequentis
ordine respicies, numquam te crastina fallet

now they conceive one thing, another, while the wind was driving the clouds,
from this comes that concert of birds in the fields
and the joyful flocks and the crows exulting with their throat.
If indeed you look toward the rapid sun and the moon following
in order, tomorrow will never deceive you

425

hora, neque insidiis noctis capiere serenae.
luna reuertentis cum primum colligit ignis,
si nigrum obscuro comprenderit aera cornu,
maximus agricolis pelagoque parabitur imber;
at si uirgineum suffuderit ore ruborem,

the hour, nor will you be taken by the ambushes of a serene night.
when the returning moon first gathers her fires,
if with a dark horn she has encompassed the dusky air,
the greatest rain will be prepared for farmers and for the sea;
but if she has suffused a virginal blush upon her face,

430

uentus erit: uento semper rubet aurea Phoebe.
sin ortu quarto (namque is certissimus auctor)
pura neque obtunsis per caelum cornibus ibit,
totus et ille dies et qui nascentur ab illo
exactum ad mensem pluuia uentisque carebunt,

there will be wind: with wind golden Phoebe ever reddens.
but if at her fourth rising (for that is the most certain authority)
she will go through the sky pure and not with blunted horns,
both that whole day and those that are born from it
will lack rain and winds for a full month.

435

uotaque seruati soluent in litore nautae
Glauco et Panopeae et Inoo Melicertae.
sol quoque et exoriens et cum se condet in undas
signa dabit; solem certissima signa sequentur,
et quae mane refert et quae surgentibus astris.

and the sailors, saved, will discharge their vows on the shore
to Glaucus and Panopea and Ino’s Melicertes.
the sun too, both when rising and when he hides himself in the waves,
will give signs; the most certain signs will follow the sun,
both those which he brings back in the morning and those with the stars rising.

440

ille ubi nascentem maculis uariauerit ortum
conditus in nubem medioque refugerit orbe,
suspecti tibi sint imbres: namque urget ab alto
arboribusque satisque Notus pecorique sinister.
aut ubi sub lucem densa inter nubila sese

he, when he has variegated his rising with spots,
hidden in a cloud and has fled back in mid-orb,
let the showers be suspect to you: for from the deep
the South Wind presses, and Notus is sinister for trees, for sown fields, and for cattle.
or when toward daybreak among dense clouds he himself

445

diuersi rumpent radii, aut ubi pallida surget
Tithoni croceum linquens Aurora cubile,
heu, male tum mitis defendet pampinus uuas:
tam multa in tectis crepitans salit horrida grando.
hoc etiam, emenso cum iam decedit Olympo,

diverse rays will burst asunder, or when the pallid
Dawn of Tithonus rises, leaving her saffron couch,
alas, then the gentle vine-leaf will poorly defend the grapes:
so many a horrid hail, rattling, leaps upon the roofs.
this also, when, Olympus having been traversed, he now withdraws,

450

profuerit meminisse magis; nam saepe uidemus
ipsius in uultu uarios errare colores:
caeruleus pluuiam denuntiat, igneus Euros;
sin maculae incipiunt rutilo immiscerier igni,
omnia tum pariter uento nimbisque uidebis

it will be more profitable to have remembered; for we often see
various colors wander in her very face:
cerulean denotes rain, fiery the Eurus-winds;
but if spots begin to be mingled with ruddy fire,
then you will see everything alike, with wind and storm-clouds

455

feruere: non illa quisquam me nocte per altum
ire neque a terra moneat conuellere funem.
at si, cum referetque diem condetque relatum,
lucidus orbis erit, frustra terrebere nimbis
et claro siluas cernes Aquilone moueri.

to seethe: on that night let no one advise me to go over the deep
nor to wrench the cable from land.
but if, when it both brings back the day and hides the day restored,
the lucid orb will be, in vain you will be terrified by clouds
and you will see the woods moved by clear Aquilo, the North wind.

460

denique, quid Vesper serus uehat, unde serenas
uentus agat nubes, quid cogitet umidus Auster,
sol tibi signa dabit. solem quis dicere falsum
audeat? ille etiam caecos instare tumultus
saepe monet fraudemque et operta tumescere bella;

finally, what late Vesper carries, whence the wind drives the serene clouds, what the humid Auster contemplates, the sun will give you signs. who would dare to call the sun false? he too often warns that blind tumults are pressing on, and that fraud and covert wars are swelling;

465

ille etiam exstincto miseratus Caesare Romam,
cum caput obscura nitidum ferrugine texit
impiaque aeternam timuerunt saecula noctem.
tempore quamquam illo tellus quoque et aequora ponti,
obscenaeque canes importunaeque uolucres

he too, pitying Rome when Caesar was extinguished,
when he covered his shining head with dusky ferruginous gloom,
and impious ages feared an eternal night.
although at that time the earth also and the waters of the sea,
and ill-omened hounds and inopportune birds

470

signa dabant. quotiens Cyclopum efferuere in agros
uidimus undantem ruptis fornacibus Aetnam,
flammarumque globos liquefactaque uoluere saxa!
armorum sonitum toto Germania caelo
audiit, insolitis tremuerunt motibus Alpes.

Signs were being given. How often into the fields of the Cyclopes
we saw Aetna billowing, its furnaces burst,
and roll globes of flames and liquefied rocks!
Germany heard the sound of arms across the whole sky,
the Alps trembled with unaccustomed motions.

475

uox quoque per lucos uulgo exaudita silentis
ingens, et simulacra modis pallentia miris
uisa sub obscurum noctis, pecudesque locutae
(infandum!); sistunt amnes terraeque dehiscunt,
et maestum inlacrimat templis ebur aeraque sudant.

a voice too, vast, was commonly heard through the silent groves,
and simulacra, pale in wondrous modes, were seen beneath the darkening of night,
and the flocks spoke (unspeakable!);
rivers stand still, and the lands yawningly gape,
and mournful ivory in the temples weeps, and the bronzes sweat.

480

proluit insano contorquens uertice siluas
fluuiorum rex Eridanus camposque per omnis
cum stabulis armenta tulit. nec tempore eodem
tristibus aut extis fibrae apparere minaces
aut puteis manare cruor cessauit, et altae

he washed away the forests, twisting with a mad vortex,
the king of rivers, Eridanus, and through all the fields
he carried off the herds with their stalls. Nor at the same time
did the fibers in dismal entrails cease to appear menacing,
nor did blood cease to flow from wells, and high

485

per noctem resonare lupis ululantibus urbes.
non alias caelo ceciderunt plura sereno
fulgura nec diri totiens arsere cometae.
ergo inter sese paribus concurrere telis
Romanas acies iterum uidere Philippi;

through the night the cities resounded with wolves ululating.
at no other time did more lightnings fall from a clear sky,
nor did dire comets blaze so often.
therefore Philippi saw the Roman battle-lines rush to clash among themselves with equal weapons again;

490

nec fuit indignum superis bis sanguine nostro
Emathiam et latos Haemi pinguescere campos.
scilicet et tempus ueniet, cum finibus illis
agricola incuruo terram molitus aratro
exesa inueniet scabra robigine pila,

nor was it unworthy to the supernal ones that twice with our blood
Emathia and the broad fields of Haemus should grow fat.
surely too the time will come, when in those borders
a farmer, having toiled the earth with the curved plow,
will find javelins gnawed rough with scabby rust,

495

aut grauibus rastris galeas pulsabit inanis
grandiaque effossis mirabitur ossa sepulcris.
di patrii Indigetes et Romule Vestaque mater,
quae Tuscum Tiberim et Romana Palatia seruas,
hunc saltem euerso iuuenem succurrere saeclo

or with heavy mattocks he will strike empty helmets,
and he will marvel at great bones from dug-up tombs.
O native gods, the Indigetes, and Romulus, and mother Vesta,
you who guard the Tuscan Tiber and the Roman Palatine,
let this youth at least succor the overturned age

500

ne prohibete. satis iam pridem sanguine nostro
Laomedonteae luimus periuria Troiae;
iam pridem nobis caeli te regia, Caesar,
inuidet atque hominum queritur curare triumphos,
quippe ubi fas uersum atque nefas: tot bella per orbem,

do not forbid. Long now already with our blood we have washed the perjuries of Laomedontean Troy;
long already the royal palace of heaven begrudges you to us, Caesar, and complains that you concern yourself with the triumphs of men,
indeed, since right has been reversed and wrong [is law]: so many wars throughout the world,

505

tam multae scelerum facies, non ullus aratro
dignus honos, squalent abductis arua colonis,
et curuae rigidum falces conflantur in ensem.
hinc mouet Euphrates, illinc Germania bellum;
uicinae ruptis inter se legibus urbes

so many faces of crimes, no honor worthy for the plow,
the fields lie squalid with the colonists carried off,
and curved sickles are fused into a rigid sword.
on this side the Euphrates sets war in motion, on that side Germany;
neighboring cities, with the laws between themselves broken

510

arma ferunt; saeuit toto Mars impius orbe,
ut cum carceribus sese effudere quadrigae,
addunt in spatia, et frustra retinacula tendens
fertur equis auriga neque audit currus habenas.

they bear arms; impious Mars rages over the whole orb,
as when the quadrigae have poured themselves out from the carceres,
they press on into the course, and, stretching the reins in vain,
the charioteer is borne by the horses, nor does the chariot heed the reins.