Crown with a wreath of flowers, Stilicho, that head more often graced with the shining helmet. Bid cease the trumpets and let the happy marriagetorch banish fierce war afar. Let the blood derived from a kingly race flow on through royal veins. Do a father's duty and establish the firm bond of wedlock between thy daughter and adoptive son. Thou wert an emperor's son-in-law; now an emperor will be thine. What cause is there now for envy, what excuse for jealousy? Stilicho is at once father and father-in-law.
Solitas galea fulgere comas,Stilicho, molli necte corona.cessent litui saevumque proculMartem felix taeda releget.tractus ab aula rursus in aulamredeat sanguis, patris officiisiunge potenti pignora dextra.gener Augusti pridem fueras,nunc rursus eris socer Augusti.quae iam rabies livoris erit?vel quis dabitur color invidiae?Stilicho socer est, pater est Stilicho.
The city that meets our gaze veils the mountain peaks, fronting a tranquil sea. The two headlands that enclose the harbour protect the quiet water from the north wind. Here the sea is disarmed by the encircling land and learns to lie in undisturbed tranquillity.
Urbs in conspectu montana cacumina velattranquillo praetenta mari. ducentia portumcornua pacatas removent Aquilonibus undas.hic exarmatum terris cingentibus aequorclauditur et placidam discit servare quietem.
Phoebus' every breath from the Castalian spring, the tripod's every moan within the shrine of prophecy — all these are poetry. Of prose the Muses will have none. In poetry only can I express myself, so wholly does my patron, Apollo, possess me.
Quidquid Castalio de gurgite Phoebus anhelat,quidquid fatidico mugit cortina recessu,carmina sunt; sed verba negant communia Musae.carmina sola loquor: sic me meus implet Apollo.
Not such were the beauteous herds that the land once ruled over by triple Geryon produced. Not such the bulls thou bathest, Clitumnus, in thy stream for pious vows to offer duly to Tarpeian Jove. Not such the steer that, they say, scattered the sand of Tyre 2 what time he brought home his well-loved burden. Not the fields of Crete, nor Gnossos that knew of passion for a bull, nor Ida could have pastured the like. Even he whose monstrous figure united ill-assorted limbs, the Cretan child 3 who by his strange form revealed his mother's shame — even he could scarce have shown a shape so fair had all his rough limbs resembled those of his sire.
Non tales quondam species tulit armentorumtellus tergemino subdita Geryoni.non tales, Clitumne, lavas in gurgite tauros,Tarpeio referunt quos pia vota Iovi.non talis Tyrias sparsisse iuvencus harenasdicitur, optatum quando revexit onus,non Cretaeus ager nec amati conscia tauriGnoses nec similes paverit Ida feros.ipse et dispariles monstro commissus in artusqui crimen matris prodidit 1 ore novoCres puer haud talem potuisset reddere formam,portassent totum si fera membra patrem.
There is a place deep buried in a huge bay where an island, stretching far out into the sea, stills the rough waves to quiet, and steep cliffs, jutting out into the broken water, curve themselves into a peaceful harbourage.
Est procul ingenti regio summota recessu,insula qua resides fluctus mitescere cogitin longum producta latus, fractasque per undasardua tranquillo curvantur brachia portu.
Whate'er it carries, that rage converts into a weapon. Wrath supplies all with arms. When an angry man thirsts for blood anything will serve him for a spear. Fury turns a stick into a cudgel.
In iaculum, quodcumque gerit, dementia mutat.omnibus armatur rabies, pro cuspide ferricuncta volant, dum dextra ferox in vulnera saevit.pro telo geritur quidquid suggesserit ira.
1. Who had the skill to fashion so many figures out of one block of marble? The chariot melts into the charioteer; the horses with one common accord obey the same reins. These are distinguishable by their various forms but made from one and the same material without distinction. 2. The driver is of one piece with the car: to this are attached the steeds, each joined to, and proceeding out of, another. How admirable the artist's skill! A single block combines within itself all these bodies: one mass of marble by submitting to the chisel has grown into all these various shapes.
Quis dedit innumeros uno de marmore vultus?surgit in aurigam currus, paribusque lupatisunanimi frenantur equi: quos forma diremit,materies cognata tenet discrimine nullo.Vir redit in currum; ducuntur ab axe iugales;ex alio se quisque facit. quae tanta potestas?una silex tot membra ligat ductusque per artenimons patiens ferri varios mutatur in artus.
To what deeds of cruelty will the flames of love not inspire mankind? Here is a mother who dares not love her child, the fruit of her body. Holding the unhappy boy to her snowy breast and wishing to give him suck, she conceives for him, though she is his mother, a shameful passion. Cupid, thou goest too far; put down thy cruel quiver. Consult Venus; mayhap she feels like pangs.
Quid non saevus Amor flammarum numine cogat?sanguinis en fetum mater amare timet,pectore dum niveo miserum tenet anxia nutrix,inlicitos ignes iam fovet ipsa parens,ultrices pharetras tandem depone, Cupido.consule iam Venerem: forsan et ipsa dolet.
I had heard the strange tale, Stymphalus, that the birds that haunted thy marshes let fall from them arrows of death in their flight, and for long I could not bring myself to believe this story of iron feathers. But proof is not wanting, and the wellknown porcupine is warrant for the birds of Hercules. His long snout is like that of a swine. Stiff bristles like horns stand up from his forehead. Red and fierce are his fiery eyes. Under his bristly back are short legs like those of a small dog. Small as this animal is, nevertheless Nature has seen fit to dower him with a wonderful means of defence. All over the body grows a threatening thicket: a harvest of brightly coloured spears bristles up ready for battle. The roots of these weapons are white and are firmly fixed in the animal's skin. The quills are themselves parti-coloured with black bands and come to a stiff quill-like point, diminishing in diameter towards the tip which is smooth and sharp. But his armoury is not fixed like that of the woodland hedgehog. He can take the offensive and also protect himself at a distance by the frequent discharge of these darts of his, hurling through the air the flying missiles which his own back supplies. At times like the flying Parthian he wounds his pursuers; at times he entrenches himself and strikes his foe by the discharge of a storm of these terrible weapons which bristle on his shoulders out of which they grow. He fights with his whole body, and his back, as it moves, emits a raucous sound. You would think it was the trumpet's note stirring an army to close with the foe and fight. Small is the animal but great the din. Besides his arms he displays cunning and a cold, calculated fury that never wastes its weapons but cautiously contents itself with threats, for he never expends a dart but in defence of his life. His aim is sure; the blow, such is his skill, unerring, nor can distance delude his range. The motion of his skin in the act of discharging ensures the speed, and accurately directs the flight, of the weapon. Has human endeavour, with reason to guide it, ever done the like? Men rob of their horns the wild goats of Crete, then they force them to become pliant over the fire 1; they use the guts of cattle to string their bows; they tip their arrows with iron and wing them with feathers. But here is a small animal whose arms are contained in his own body and who needs no external defence. He carries all his own arms; himself his own quiver, arrow, and bow. Alone he possesses all the resources of war. But if all human activities as they grow have had their source in imitation we may see here the exemplar of combat by means of missiles. It is from him that the Cretans learned to shoot and the Parthians to strike while in flight. These did but follow the example of the animal that is armed with arrows.
Audieram memorande tuas Stymphale volucresspicula vulnifico quondam sparsisse volatu,nec mihi credibilis ferratae fabula pinnaevisa diu. datur ecce fides et cognitus hystrixHerculeas adfirmat aves. Os longius illiadsimulat porcum. mentitae cornua saetaesumma fronte rigent. oculis rubet igneus ardor,parva sub hirsuto catuli vestigia dorso.hanc tamen exiguam miro natura tueripraesidio dignata feram: stat corpore totosilva minax, iaculisque rigens in proelia crescitpicturata seges; quorum cute fixa tenacialba subit radix, alternantesque colorumtincta vices, spatiis internigrantibus, exitin solidae speciem pinnae, tenuataque furtimlevis in extremum sese producit acumen.Sed non haec acies ritu silvestris echinifixa manet. crebris propugnat iactibus ultroet longe sua membra tegit, tortumque per aurasevolat excusso nativum missile tergo.interdum fugiens Parthorum more sequentemvulnerat; interdum positis velut ordine castristerrificum densa mucronum verberat undaet consanguineis hastilibus asperat armos:militat omne ferae corpus vibrataque raucoterga fragore sonant, stimulis accensa tubarumagmina conlatis credas confligere signis:tantus in angusto strepitus furit. additur armiscalliditas parcusque sui tumor iraque numquamprodiga telorum, caute contenta minarinec nisi servandae iactus impendere vitae.error abest: certum sollertia destinat ictumnil spatio fallente modum, servatque tenoremmota cutis doctique regit conamina nisusQuid labor humanus tantum ratione sagaciproficit? eripiunt trucibus Gortynia capriscornua; subiectis eadem lentescere coguntignibus; intendunt taurino viscere nervos;instruitur pinnis ferroque armatur harundo.ecce brevis propriis munitur bestia telisexternam nec quaerit opem; fert omnia secum:se pharetra, sese iaculo, sese utitur arcu.unum animal cunctas bellorum possidet artes.Quodsi omnis nostrae paulatim industria vitaefluxit ab exemplis, quidquid procul appetit hostem,hine reor inventum, morem hinc traxisse Cydonasbellandi Parthosque retro didicisse ferireprima sagittiferae pecudis documenta secutos.
'Tis but the shadow of a name that is left. I cannot call it a coat of beaver, not though Beaver swear it is one. It cost six shillings. Now you know what it is like. If you don't believe me, believe the price.
Nominis umbra manet veteris; nam dicere birrum,si Castor iuret, castoreum nequeo.sex emptus solidis! quid sit, iam scire potestis:si mihi nulla fides, credite vel pretio.
Fate allows not beauty a long life: sudden is the end of all that is noble and pre-eminent. Here lies a lovely woman: hers was the beauty of Venus and hers the illwill of Heaven for a gift so rare.
Pulchris stare diu Parcarum lege negatur.magna repente ruunt; summa cadunt subito.hic formosa iacet: Veneris sortita figuramegregiumque decus invidiam meruit.
Stay awhile and bathe in these waters, traveller; then set forth again upon thy journey refreshed. An thou become its guest, warm will be thy gratitude towards him that built this bath and set it by the side of this long dusty road.
Fontibus in liquidis paulum requiesce, viator,atque tuum rursus carpe refectus iter.lympharum dominum nimium miraberis, hospes,inter dura viae balnea qui posuit.
Canst thou talk of feet? Dost blame my verses and criticize my lines, thou whose own feet are so weak? This couplet, you say, will scarcely stand: the scansion is shaky. Dear friend, a gouty man thinks nothing at all can stand.
Quae tibi cum pedibus ratio? quid carmina culpas?scandere qui nescis, versiculos laceras?“claudicat hic versus; haec” inquit “syllaba nutat”;atque nihil prorsus stare putat podager
Thou dost ever send me sweet gifts, Maximus; 'tis honey whatsoever thou sendest, methinks.
Dulcia dona mihi semper tu, Maxime, mittis,et, quidquid mittis, mella putare decet.
Biting poverty and cruel Cupid are my foes. Hunger I can endure; love I cannot.
Paupertas me saeva domat dirusque Cupido;sed toleranda fames, non tolerandus amor.
A hungry pauper am I, a victim fallen to love. Two ills; but poverty is the lesser.
Esuriens pauper telis incendor amoris.inter utrumque malum deligo pauperiem.
See these two brothers toiling beneath a burden piety bade them bear. They deserve the tribute of divine honours at the hands of all men: at the sight of them the respectful flames ceased their ravages and Etna in admiration restrained his flooding lava. Seizing their parents they set them upon their shoulders and, with eyes raised to heaven, hasten their steps. The aged parents, thus carried aloft by their two sons, impede their flight, but dear to the children is that very delay. See, the old man points to the cruel flames; the aged mother's trembling lips call upon the gods for help. Fear has set their hair on end, the bronze is terror-stricken and a pale shiver runs over all the metal. In the countenances of the sons is seen courage in face of danger, and, if fear, then fear for their burdens, none for themselves. The wind has blown back their cloaks. One raises his right hand; his left is enough to sustain his aged sire. But the other needs must clasp his burden with both arms, taking greater care for that it is his mother, one of the weaker sex, that he bears. This, too, as thou passest by, leave not unnoted, for well the craftsman's dumb hands deserve such regard; both he has moulded with a likeness such as brothers bear, yet the one resembles rather his mother, the other his father. The artist's cunning has succeeded in expressing a difference of age in their faces, though a likeness to either parent is apparent in the features of both the sons; while, to ensure a further dissimilarity in that resemblance, he has varied the tenderness that either countenance expresses. Faithful were ye to Nature's law, bright example of divine justice, model for youth, fond hope of age! Wealth ye despised, and dashed into the flames to rescue nought save your venerable parents. Not undeservedly, methinks, did such piety quench the fires in Enceladus' jaws. Vulcan himself checked the flow of molten lava from Etna that it should not harm those patterns of filial duty. The very elements were influenced thereby: father air and mother earth did their best to lighten the burden. If signal piety raised Castor and Pollux to the skies, if Aeneas won immortality by rescuing his sire from burning Troy, if ancient story has rendered famous the names of those Argive brothers, Cleobis and Biton, 1 who harnessed themselves to their mother's car, why does not Sicily dedicate a temple to the ageless memory of Amphinomos and Anapius? Though the three-cornered isle has many titles to fame, let her be sure that she has never given birth to a nobler deed. Let her not weep the destruction wrought by the spreading flames nor lament the houses burned down by the fire's fury. The flames abating had never put affection to the proof; the great disaster purchased immortal fame.
Adspice sudantes venerando pondere fratres,divino meritos semper honore coli,iusta quibus rapidae cessit reverentia flammaeet mirata vagas reppulit Aetna faces,complexi manibus fultos cervice parentesattollunt vultus accelerantque gradus.grandaevi gemina sublimes prole ferunturet cara natos implicuere mora,nonne vides, ut saeva senex incendia monstret?ut trepido genetrix invocet ore deos?erexit formido comam, perque omne metallumfusus in attonito palluit aere tremor,in iuvenum membris animosus cernitur horroratque oneri metuens impavidusque sui.reiectae vento chlamydes. dextram exerit illecontentus laeva sustinuisse patrem;ast illi duplices in nodum colligit ulnascautior in sexu debiliore labor,hoc quoque praeteriens oculis ne forte relinquas,artificis tacitae quod meruere manus:nam consanguineos eadem cum forma figuret,hic propior matri fit tamen, ille patri.dissimiles annos sollertia temperat artis!alter in alterius redditur ore parens,et nova germanis paribus discrimina praebensdivisit vultus cum pietate faber.O bene naturae memores, documenta supernaeiustitiae, iuvenum numina, vota senum:qui spretis opibus medios properastis in ignesnil praeter sanctam tollere canitiem.haud equidem inmerito tanta virtute repressasEnceladi fauces obriguisse reor.ipse redundantem frenavit Mulciber Aetnam,laederet exempli ne monumenta pii.senserunt elementa fidem. pater adfuit aetherterraque maternum sedula iuvit onus,quodsi notus amor provexit in astra Laconas,Aenean Phrygio raptus ab igne pater,si vetus Argolicos inlustrat gloria fratres,qui sua materno colla dedere iugo:cur non Amphinomo, cur non tibi, fortis Anapi,aeternum Siculus templa dicavit honos?plura licet summae dederit Trinacria laudi,noverit hoc maius se genuisse nihil;nec doleat damnis, quae devius intulit ardor,nec gemat exustas igne furente domos.non potuit pietas flamma cessante probari:emptum est ingenti clade perenne decus.
Behold the docile children of fast-flowing Rhone that at their master's word come together and at that word disperse. See how they go this way or that according to the different cries he utters, and, guided only by his voice, take the path he would have them take. Though each unguided by the rein takes his own course and no collar presses upon their necks they obey as though harnessed and, insensible to fatigue, hear and follow the directions shouted by their barbarous master. Though far away from their owner they nevertheless respect his commands, obeying the word of the muleteer as it were a bridle. It is his voice that even at a distance gathers them together when scattered or scatters them when gathered together; this that checks their haste or quickens their dragging steps. Does he shout “left,” they turn them to the left: does he alter his cry to “right,” to the right they go. Slaves, yet without bonds, free, but without licence, they go unbridled but obedient. Covered with tawny pelts they haul along the rumbling carts, each cheerfully doing his fair share. Dost thou wonder that Orpheus tamed the wild beasts with his song when the words of a Gaul can guide these swift-footed mules?
Adspice morigeras Rhodani torrentis alumnasimperio nexas imperioque vagas,dissona quam varies flectant ad murmura cursuset certas adeant voce regente vias.quamvis quaeque sibi nullis discurrat habeniset pateant duro libera colla iugo,ceu constricta tamen servit patiensque laborumbarbaricos docili concipit aure sonos.absentis longinqua valent praecepta magistri,frenorumque vicem lingua virilis agit.haec procul angustat sparsas spargitque coactas:haec sistit rapidas, haec properare facit.laeva iubet: laevo deducunt limite gressum.mutavit strepitum: dexteriora petunt.nec vinclis famulae nec libertate feroces,exutae laqueis, sub dicione tamenconsensuque pares et fulvis pellibus hirtaeesseda Concordes multisonora trahunt.miraris, si voce feras pacaverit Orpheus,cum pronas pecudes Gallica verba regant?
Glory of all Italy, who dwellest on the pleasant banks of Rubicon, ornament of the Roman bar second only to Cicero, well known to the peoples of Greece and to Egypt, land of my birth (for both have feared and loved thy rule), dost thou ask for poems to appease thy hungry throat? By our friendship, I swear there are none at home. My verses soon learn to trust to their own wings and leave the nest, flying far afield nor ever returning to their humble home.
Italiae commune decus, Rubiconis amoeniincola, Romani fama secunda fori,Graiorum populis et nostro cognite Nilo(utraque gens fasces horret amatque tuos):carmina ieiunas poscis solantia fauces?tester amicitiam nulla fuisse domi.nam mihi mox nidum pennis confisa relinquuntet lare contempto non reditura volant.
Happy he who has passed his whole life mid his own fields, he of whose birth and old age the same house is witness; he whose stick supports his tottering steps o'er the very ground whereon he crawled as a baby and whose memory knows but of one cottage as the scene where so long a life was played out. No turns of fortune vexed him with their sudden storms; 1 he never travelled nor drank the waters of unknown rivers. He was never a trader to fear the seas nor a soldier to dread the trumpet's call; never did he face the noisy wrangles of the courts. Unpractised in affairs, unfamiliar with the neighbouring town, he finds his delight in a freer view of the sky above him. For him the recurring seasons, not the consuls, mark the year: he knows autumn by his fruits and spring by her flowers. From the selfsame fields he watches the sun rise and set, and, at his work, measures the day with his own round of toils. He remembers yon mighty oak an acorn, and sees the plantation, set when he was born, grown old along with him. Neighbouring Verona is, for him, more distant than sun-scorched India; Benacus he accounts as the Red Sea. But his strength is unimpaired and the third generation see in him a sturdy, stoutarmed grandsire. Let who will be a wanderer and explore farthest Spain: such may have more of a journey; he of Verona has more of a life. 1
Felix, qui propriis aevum transegit in arvis,ipsa domus puerum quem videt, ipsa senem;qui baculo nitens in qua reptavit harenaunius numerat saecula longa casae.illum non vario traxit fortuna tumultu,nec bibit ignotas mobilis hospes aquas,non freta mercator tremuit, non classica miles,non rauci lites pertulit ille fori,indocilis rerum, vicinae nescius urbisadspectu fruitur liberiore poli.frugibus alternis, non consule computat annum:autumnum pomis, ver sibi flore notat.idem condit ager soles idemque reducit,metiturque suo rusticus orbe diem,ingentem meminit parvo qui germine quercumaequaevumque videt consenuisse nemus,proxima cui nigris Verona remotior IndisBenacumque putat litora Rubra lacum.sed tamen indomitae vires firmisque lacertisaetas robustum tertia cernit avum.erret et extremos alter scrutetur Hiberos:plus habet hic vitae, plus habet ille viae.
Manlius Theodorus sleeps night and day; the sleepless Egyptian steals alike from gods and men. Peoples of Italy, be this your one prayer — that Manlius keep awake and the Egyptian sleep.
Manlius indulget somno noctesque diesque;insomnis Pharius sacra profana rapit.omnibus hoc, Italae gentes, exposcite votis,Manlius ut vigilet, dormiat ut Pharius.
Must the violence of thine anger last so long? Are my tears never to cease to flow? Dost thou thus suddenly turn thy favour to hatred? Where, then, is that leniency that knows not to harm any, that loving-kindness? Shall envy have such licence? Has the clamour of calumny so prevailed? What though rash wrath, though heedless youth tempted me, though pride urged, though passion led me astray, yet shouldst thou be above meeting me with like weapons. Human murmurs never touch the gods nor do the loose railings of man disturb the peace of heaven. My punishment has epigram was probably written in 396: the apology (next poem) perhaps the same year. been too severe; spare a fallen foe. Behold me; I confess my faults and ask pardon for my sin. Fierce Achilles showed mercy to the shade of Hector, Orestes appeased his mother's avenging furies, Hercules restored to Priam the cities which he had taken. A king's overthrow won the pity of Pella's youthful monarch, who wept, men say, for the death of Darius at a slave's hand, and consoled his ghost with a lofty mausoleum. To captive Porus Alexander gave back an ampler kingdom. 'Twas thus the founder of our country 1 spared his conquered foes. Thine own nobility demands that thou shouldst follow his example. If it is one of the gods that I have insulted let him send down punishment upon me and sate his anger. Now that I have lost thy favour I am become a prey to grinding poverty, my house is desolate, my friends reft from me. Death with torture is the fate of one, exile of another. What further losses can I suffer? What more cruel plagues can befall me? The power to despoil and kill softens anger. Wild beasts turn away from their stricken prey, and fierce lions, eager to destroy, abandon the dead victim, and with a nobler hunger riot only in the flesh of the warlike steer. Envy has snapped the thread of my prosperity and turned my happiness into mourning. I am fordone with punishment and my pride is broken; look on me again with favour. Is a humble client worth so heavy a weight of anger? Aeolus makes not trial of himself where the sea's waters are shallow; no lowly hill encounters Boreas' blasts; 'tis the Alps he shakes, the summit of Rhodope he harasses. Never doth the lightning strike the humble willows nor do the modest shrubs deserve the Thunderer's angry bolt; lofty oaks and agèd ashes are his victims. Instead of the suppliant's branch plucked from Minerva's sacred olive, instead of incense, I offer thee this poem. Have mercy on thy servant. Restore me, even me, to my former state, heal my cruel wounds, bid life and honour return to me. Do thou, who didst overthrow my fortune, build it up again. Telephus came back cured by the magic of Achilles. 1 The same hand dealt death and healing — an enemy restoring him to health by the assuagement of the very pains he had inflicted. But if neither my prayers nor my tears can soften thee, spurn the Muses with thy foot and take away my unlucky decorations, deprive me of my rank, cast me aside who was once thy companion. A noteworthy victory this thou hast won over a poor poet; redoubtable indeed the spoils that will grace such a triumph. Let a fellow-countryman's power overwhelm his wretched fellows. 2 Be my fate told to our common fatherland and to Pharos, known of all who sail the distant seas, and let Father Nile raise his weeping head from out the flood and mourn my cruel case along the banks of all his seven mouths.
Usque adeone tuae producitur impetus irae?nullus erit finis lacrimis? subitisque favorempermutas odiis? quo mens ignara nocendi,quo sensus abiere pii? tantumne licebitinvidiae? tantum strepitus valuere maligni?Me dolor incautus, me lubrica duxerit aetas,me tumor impulerit, me devius egerit ardor:te tamen baud decuit paribus concurrere telis.humanae superos numquam tetigere querellaenec vaga securum penetrant convicia caelum.excessit iam poena modum. concede iacenti.en adsum; veniam confessus crimina posco.Manibus Hectoreis atrox ignovit Achilles,ultrices Furias matris placavit Orestes,reddidit Alcides Priamo, quas ceperat, arces.Pellaeum iuvenem regum flexere ruinae:Darium famulis manibus doluisse peremptumfertur et ingenti solatus fata sepulchro;tradita captivo spatiosior India Poro.conditor hie patriae; sic hostibus ille pepercit;hunc virtus tua digna sequi. quemcumque deorumlaesimus, insultet iugulo pascatque furorem.Gratia defluxit, sequitur feralis egestas;desolata domus, caris spoliamur amicis:hunc tormenta necant, hic undique truditur exul.quid superest damnis? quae saeva pericula restant?Emollit rabiem praedae mortisque facultas.praetereunt subiecta ferae, torvique leones,quae stravisse calent, eadem prostrata relinquuntnec nisi bellantis gaudent cervice iuvencinobiliore fame, secuit nascentia votalivor et ingesto turbavit gaudia luctu:iamiam suppliciis fessos humilesque serenusrespice. quid tanta dignaris mole clientem?in brevibus numquam sese probat Aeolus undis,nec capit angustus Boreae certamina collis:Alpes ille quatit, Rhodopeia culmina lassat.incubuit numquam caelestis flamma salictisnec parvi frutices iram meruere Tonantis:ingentes quercus, annosas fulminat ornos.Hoc pro supplicibus ramis, pro fronde Minervae,hoc carmen pro ture damus. miserere tuorum.me, precor, heu, me redde mihi gravibusque mederevulneribus vitamque iube famamque reverti.quae per te cecidit, per te fortuna resurgat.sanus Achilleis remeavit Telephus herbis,cuius pertulerat vires, et sensit in unoletalem placidamque manum; medicina per hostemcontigit, et pepulit quos fecerat ipse dolores.Quodsi nec precibus fletu nec flecteris ullo,eripe calcatis non prospera cingula Musis,eripe militiam, comitem me pelle sodalis. 1scilicet insignis de paupere vate triumphus.scilicet egregiis ornabere victor opimis.inruat in miseros cognata potentia cives;audiat haec commune solum longeque carinisnota Pharos, flentemque attollens gurgite vultumnostra gemat Nilus numerosis funera ripis.
As I hope never to cross the plains of Ethiopia beneath a summer sun, never to pass a winter naked beneath the northern pole, never to entrust my bellying sails to the Ionian Sea what time the Kids bring round the rainy nights, never, driven by the Furies' hellish blows, to re-read the verses of an angry pedant, 1 'twas not, I swear, impudent effrontery that moved me, nor did my tongue exceed a just outspokenness. I admit I incautiously found fault with a few lines, not realizing, luckless wight, the heinousness of my offence. Others attack the books of Orpheus and nothing is said; nor does thy fame, Maro, support thee in safety. The very father of poetry. Homer, lord of Helicon, knew the stigma of the censor's pen. Yet neither Vergil nor Homer complains, for neither was a quaestor and both were poor. See, then, I applaud! See, in terror I praise every word and loudly cry again and again “bravo!” Let him be appeased and pardon at last, let him cease from wrath — and with secure voice recite whate'er he will; I applaud.
Sic non Aethiopum campos aestate pererremnec Scythico brumam sub Iove nudus agam,sic non imbriferam noctem ducentibus HaedisIonio credam turgida vela mari,sic non Tartareo Furiarum verbere pulsusirati relegam carmina grammatici:nulla meos traxit petulans audacia sensus,liberior iusto nec mihi lingua fuit.versiculos, fateor, non cauta voce notavi,heu miser! ignorans, quam grave crimen erat.Orpheos alii libros impune lacessuntnec tua securum te, Maro, fama vehit;ipse parens vatum, princeps Heliconis, Homerusiudicis excepit tela severa notae.sed non Vergilius, sed non accusat Homerus:neuter enim quaestor, pauper uterque fuit.en moveo plausus! en pallidus omnia laudoet clarum repeto terque quaterque " sophos "!ignoscat placidus tandem flatusque remittatet tuto recitet quod libet ore: placet.
Long horns project from his head; fierce eyes stand out from his forehead; his back is protected by the armour of his self-grown shell. Nature herself has rendered his skin a sufficient defence, covering it with small, red, pointed spikes.
Horret apex capitis; medio fera lumina surguntvertice; cognatus dorso durescit amictus.armavit natura cutem dumique rubentescuspidibus parvis multos acuere rubores.
Asked to improvise a song in honour of a marriage I find myself unwilling to refuse the bridegroom and unable to say no to his father-in-law. The former was my comrade-in-arms, the latter my general; at court the first is of equal rank with me, the second my superior. Similarity of age and pursuits made me a friend of Palladius; age and dignity set Celerinus far above me. The love I bear the one demands my good offices as a poet, the awe in which I hold the other a soldier's obedience: I must sing. It chanced that Venus had one day retired into the bosom of a cave overgrown with vine to woo sleep mid its alluring cool, and had laid her goddess limbs on the thick grass, her head upon a heap of flowers. The vine branches stir gently in the breeze and sway the full- veined grapes. Slumber befits the disorder of her brow, the midday heat will none of coverings, and the leaves show through them the gleam of her bare breast. Round her He the nymphs of Ida and hard by beneath a lofty oaktree the three Graces sleep with interlaced arms. Here and there, where'er the shade invites them, repose winged Cupids. Their bows are unstrung and their quivers hang from the branches of neighbouring trees, instinct with latent fire. Some wake and play or wander through the thickets in search of birds' nests or take delight in plucking dewy apples as a gift for Venus or hunt the gadding vine for grapes, and, poised on their wings, climb its branches to the very tops of the elm-trees. Others keep guard over the wood and drive off the wanton, curious Dryads, the country gods and the woodland deities, discharging flaming darts at the amorous Fauns who try from a distance to catch a glimpse of Venus' bower. Suddenly there arose cries and shoutings from the neighbouring city; joyous acclamations of youth and the strains of the lyre accompanying dancing in the streets. Through all the hills of Italy the name of Celerina is chanted and every field re-echoes that of her husband Palladius. The pleasant sound reached the goddess' ears; aroused by the noise she sat up and with her fair hands rubbed from her eyes the residue of sleep; then, just as she was, her hair disordered, her breasts uncovered, she leapt from her soft couch and summoned Hymen from among the unnumbered Loves that formed her bodyguard. (Him, son of the Muse, Cytherea chose out and made the patron god of marriage. Without his sanction is no entry into wedlock nor is it lawful but with his leave to uplift the first wedding-torches.) At last he is found. There he lay stretched beneath a tall planetree joining with wax pipes of unequal length, seeking to repeat with his lips Maenalian measures and pastoral tunes, while, as his mouth ran over them, he varied his breathing upon the slender reed. Seeing Venus he stopped; noiseless to the ground from out the nerveless grasp of his fingers fell the pipe. Affection lights up his eyes; a modest blush suffuses those sun-browned cheeks so snowy-white by nature, clothed, too, with the scarce seen down of youth where ceased the ne'er cut hair. Silent he stood and the goddess first addressed him. “Wilt thou, boy, never leave thy beloved song? Wilt thou never have enough of thy mother's gifts, ever devoted to the Muses' task and too eager to rival thy parent 1? What is it thou dost practise all alone in the midday heat? Dost thou now despise the lyre and seekest thou rather the woods of Lycaeus and the herds and Echo resounding from the rocks? Come hither and tell me the reason for this general rejoicing. What marriage is this that is attended with such ceremony and such demonstrations of joy? Who is the newly dowered bride? Of what country, what race are they that are wed? Tell me from what land they spring and what their parentage. Needs must thou know, for no marriage can take place without thee and by covenant with thee are wedlock's joys first tasted.” He replied: “
Carmina per thalamum quamvis festina negarenec volui genero nec potui socero.hic socius, dux ille mihi nostrique per aulamordinis hic consors emicat, ille prior,hune mihi coniungit studiis communibus aetas;hune mihi praeponit vel senium vel honos.carmen amor generi, soceri reverentia poscitofficio vatis, militis obsequio.Forte Venus blando quaesitum frigore somnumvitibus intexti gremio successerat antridensaque sidereos per gramina fuderat artusadclinis florum cumulo; crispatur opacapampinus et musto sudantem ventilat uvam.ora decet neglecta sopor; fastidit amictumaestus et exuto translucent pectore frondes.Idaliae iuxta famulae triplexque vicissimnexa sub ingenti requiescit Gratia quercu.pennati passim pueri quo quemque vocavitumbra iacent; fluitant arcus ramisque propinquispendentes placido suspirant igne pharetrae.pars vigiles ludunt aut per virgulta vagantesscrutantur nidos avium vel roscida laetimala legunt donum Veneri flexusque sequunturpalmitis et summas pennis librantur in ulmos;defendunt alii lucum Dryadasque procacesspectandi cupidas et rustica numina pelluntsilvestresque deos longeque tuentibus antrumflammea lascivis intendunt spicula Faunis:cum subito varius vicina clamor ab urbeet fausti iuvenum plausus mixtaeque choreisauditae per rura lyrae. Celerina per omnesItaliae canitur montes omnisque maritumPalladium resonabat ager. Pervenit ad auresvox iucunda deae strepituque excita reseditet reliquum nitido detersit pollice somnumutque fuit, turbata comas, intecta papillas,mollibus exurgit stratis interque suorumagmen et innumeros Hymenaeum quaerit Amores(hunc Musa genitum legit Cytherea ducemquepraefecit thalamis; nullum iunxisse cubilehoc sine nec primas fas est attollere taedas).conspicitur tandem, platano namque ille sub altafusus inaequales cera texebat avenasMaenaliosque modos et pastoralia labrismurmura temptabat relegens orisque recursudissimilem tenui variabat harundine ventum.Restitit ut vidit Venerem, digitisque remissisad terram tacito defluxit fistula flatu.dulce micant oculi; niveas infecerat ignisolque pudorque genas; dubiam lanuginis umbramcaesaries intonsa tegit. prior ipsa silentem compellat:“Numquamne, puer, dilecta relinquescarmina? maternis numquam satiabere donisdedite Musarum studio nimiumque parentisaemule? quid medio tecum modularis in aestu?iamne tibi sordent citharae? iam lustra Lycaeiatque pecus cordi redituraque rupibus Echo?huc ades et tantae nobis edissere causaslaetitiae, cui pompa toro tam clara resultet,quae nova dotetur virgo: patriamque genusquepande, quibus terris orti, quo semine ducti.haud ignarus enim, nec te conubia falluntulla; tuo primae libantur 1 foedere noctes.”
Long have I been wondering, goddess, at thy delay, and marvelled that thou didst take no notice of so world-famed an union. They are no common folk that now submit them to thy laws. Two families are united illustrious with consulships, upheld by the highest offices, in whose veins flows the noblest blood of all the world. What island on whose coasts thunder the waves of the Red Sea, what tract of Ethiopia, what land so far withdrawn from human intercourse but has heard the blessings that the affection of his country calls down on the head of Palladius' sire for his clemency, his learning, his wit, his genial age? He has trodden every rung of the ladder of honours, has held every place at court, and reached the highest of all offices, directing the deliberations of the senate of the East with a sure authority. Such is the bridegroom's brilliance. The bride first saw the light in the old city of Tomi by the mouth of the Danube. She is descended on her mother's side from noble ancestors famed in war and enriched by war's spoils and derives especial glory from the renown of that stalwart Celerinus who, when appointed to the defence of Meroë and the Nile, and, after the death by lightning of Carus 1 in Parthia, offered the throne and dominion of the world by his soldiers, paid no heed to their clamour and preferred repose to an empire. Of his own will he refused when it was offered that which men will use every sort of violence and outrage every sort of right to acquire. For the first time virtue was reckoned above a throne and sovereignty, making offer of herself, met with a refusal. Sadly did Fortune confess herself beaten by a mortal. Great it is to deserve high office, still greater to have despised it.
Ille refert: “equidem dudum te, diva, morantemmirabar, quod adhuc tanti secura maneresconiugii. non parva tibi mandatur origo.fascibus insignes et legum culmine fultaeconvenere domus et qui lectissimus orbisanguis erat. rubris quae fluctibus insula latrat,qui locus Aethiopum, quae sic impervia famaesecessit regio, quo non rumore secundoPalladii penetravit amor mentisque benignatemperies doctique sales et grata seneclus?per cunctos iit ille gradus aulaeque laboresemensus tenuit summae fastigia sedisEoum stabili moderatus iure senatum.hic splendor iuveni. cunabula prima puellaeDanuvius veteresque Tomi. Mavortia matrisnobilitas spoliis armisque exultat avitisinmensamque trahit Celerini robore lucem,qui quondam Meroen iussus Nilumque tueri,cum sibi post obitus et Parthica fulmina Cari 1sceptra daret miles rebusque imponere vellet,despexit fremitus et praetulit otia regno;respuit ingestum, quod vi, quod poscere ferroposthabita pietate solent. tum purpura primuminferior virtute fuit meruitque repulsamobvia maiestas. doluit Fortuna minoremse confessa viro. magnum delata potestas,maiorem contempta probat. Cognomina sumpsitplena ducum genitor.
Celerina's father has won every title that a warrior may. Step by step he has reached the highest of all ranks, that of commander-in-chief; it is he who dispenses titles of honour, settles the garrisons of the provinces, unites the scattered forces of the empire, and checks the disposition of its troops. He decides the defences of Sarmatia and the legions that are to face the wild Getae or keep Saxon and Scot in subjection. He knows how many cohorts fringe the shore of Ocean, how great an army maintains peace along the banks of the Rhine. In the family of Celerina is to be found unspotted virtue, unfeigned loyalty, and diligence guided by knowledge. She is Stilicho's choice; to such choice and judgement no praise can be added. It were a shame, Venus, shouldst thou not be present at the marriage of such a maid. Come, bring all thy train. Fain would I shake the withering wreaths, brandish the torches, and devote the night to pleasure. Now even this my pipe gives no dishonoured service answering the choirs' songs.”
paulatim vectus ad altumprinceps militiae, qua non inlustrior extataltera, cunctorum tabulas adsignat honorum,regnorum tractat numeros, constringit in unumsparsas imperii vires cuneosque recensetdispositos: quae Sarmaticis custodia ripis,quae saevis obiecta Getis, quae Saxona frenatvel Scottum legio, quantae cinxere cohortesOceanum, quanto pacatur milite Rlienus.casta domus, sincera fides, industria sollers.elegit Stilicho; nihil ultra laudibus addiiudiciove potest, tali nubente puellanonne tibi cessare nefas? duc protinus omnes,duc age. marcentes cupio quassare coronaset vibrare faces et noctem ducere ludo.haec quoque non vilem iam fistula commodat usum responsura choris.”Vix haec Hymenaeus;
Scarce had Hymen spoken and she bathes her in the cool stream, gathers her flowing hair, and renews her charms, taking from out the press the wondrous garments spun by her mother Dione. Her chariot is heaped with flowers and the yoke thereof is fragrant with blossoms. Flowers entwine the reins that fetter her bright doves. From all sides the birds flock together, those that soothe with their song the roar of Athesis, those whom Larius hears, Benacus feeds, or Mincius welcomes with his quiet flood. Quiet are those waters now that the birds' plaintive notes resound there no more. The swans have flown away and left the banks of Eridanus and the sounding marshes of Padusa. Right glad are the wanton Loves; they catch and harness the birds and ride them through the clouds before the eyes of Venus. There they join in noisy battle, lean forward to strike one another, and fall but suffer no hurt. Fallen they overtake their steeds with flight swifter than theirs, for the charioteer is fleeter than the chariot. Soon as they reached the doors of the marriage-chamber they empty baskets full of red spring flowers, pouring forth showers of roses and scattering from their laden quivers violets gathered in Venus' meadow, violets untouched e'en by the heat of the Dog-star who had tempered for their frail beauty his accustomed fires. Others throughout the palace poured forth from jewelled caskets unguents gathered by the banks of the Nile from trees whose bark, when wounded by the cruel finger-nail, oozed with rich gum. Cytherea approaches the bride, and, despite her tears, drew her from her mother's arms. Her swelling breast betokens maidenhood ripe for marriage, her skin is whiter than lilies or than snow, and her golden hair points to the Danube as her birthplace. Then, taking the hand of the bridegroom, Venus joins to it that of the bride and with these words blesses their union: “Live as one and fulfil all my rites. Give a thousand kisses, let arm be bruised with enfolding arm, and lips so join that soul may meet soul. And thou, husband, put not thy confidence in rude love-making; thy wife's love cannot be won by threats, but must be gained by entreaty. And do thou yield to thy husband nor seek to show anger; use not thy nails as weapons like the women of Scythia. I beg thee submit to conquest; so shalt thou be indeed a wife, so a mother. Why are there tears in thine eyes? Believe me, thou shalt love him whom now thou fearest.” So spake she, and chose from out her winged attendants the two whose bows were strongest and their aim most sure. At once Aethon and Pyrois leaped forward, their bright wings tinged with purple. Dipping their shafts in pure honey the one aims his at the bride, the other his at the bridegroom. They draw their bows; the strings twang and the sure arrows cleave the air with equal speed and implant themselves at equal depths in the hearts of the twain.
at illafontibus abluitur gelidis legemque capilloreddit et ornatum formae prelisque solutaemira Dioneae sumit velamina telae.floribus extruitur currus; iuga floribus halant;florea purpureas adnectunt frena columbas.undique concurrunt volucres, quaecumque frementempermulcent Athesin cantu, quas Larius audit,quas Benacus alit, quas excipit amne quietoMincius: ereptis obmutuit unda querellis.Eridani ripas et raucae stagna Padusaediffugiens nudavit olor. laetantur Amoresfrenatisque truces avibus per nubila vectiostentant se quisque deae magnoque tumultuconfligunt pronique manus in verbera tenduntatque impune cadunt: lapsus meliore volatuconsequitur vincitque suos auriga iugales.Ut thalami tetigere fores, tum vere rubentesdesuper invertunt calathos largosque rosarumimbres et violas plenis sparsere pharetriscollectas Veneris prato, quibus ipse pepercitSirius et teneras dementi sidere fovit.gemmatis alii per totum balsama tectumeffudere cadis, duro quae saucius ungueNiliacus pingui desudat vulnere cortex,adgreditur Cytherea nurum flentemque pudicodetraxit matris gremio. matura tumescitvirginitas superatque nives ac lilia candoret patrium flavis testatur crinibus Histrum.tum dextram complexa viri dextramque puellaetradit et his ultro sancit conubia dictis:“Vivite Concordes et nostrum discite munus.oscula mille sonent; livescant brachia nexu;labra ligent animas. neu tu virtute protervaconfidas, iuvenis; non est terrore domanda,sed precibus placanda tibi. concede maritotu quoque neu Scythicas infensis unguibus irasexercere velis; vinci patiare, rogamus.sic uxor, sic mater eris. quid lumina tinguis,virgo? crede mihi: quem nunc horrescis, amabis.”Dixit et aligera geminos arcuque manuquepraestantes e plebe vocat. puer ilicet Aethonet Pyrois rutilas respersi murice plumasprosiliunt puroque imbutis melle sagittishic nuptam petit, ille virum. sonuere reductacornua; certa notos pariter sulcavit harundoet pariter fixis haeserunt tela medullis.
Fount that prolongest life for the dwellers in Antenor's city, banishing by thy neighbouring waters all harmful fates, seeing that thy marvels stir utterance even in the dumb, that a people's love bids poets to honour thee in song, and that there is no hand whose fingers have not traced for thee some lines in thankful witness of prayers granted, shall I not be held guilty alike by the Muses and the Nymphs if I alone sing not thy praises? How can a spot whose fame is on so many lips rightly be passed over by me in slighting silence? Lower than a lofty hill yet higher than the level plain rises a gentle eminence,, clear to see from all around. Prolific is it in hot springs, for wherever water penetrates its recesses encountering fires drive it forth. The crumbling ground exhales vapours, and the water, closed down in its prison of burning rock, forces its way out by many a fissured channel. 'Tis a region of liquid fire where Vulcan's flames spring forth from earth's breast, a land of burning and of sulphur. Who would not think it barren? Yet are those fiery fields green with verdure; grass grows o'er the burning marl and, though the very rocks melt at the heat, plants, mocking at the flames, boldly flourish. Beyond this are vast furrows cut in the rock, scarring and cleaving it in long lines. Traces are they — so tradition tells — of Hercules' plough, or else chance did the ploughshare's work. In the middle of the hill is what seems a broad, steaming sea, an azure lake of vast extent. Great is the space it covers, still greater its depth where it plunges down and loses itself beneath the rocky caverns. A thick pall of steam hangs over it; its waters cannot be touched nor drunk though they are transparent as crystal to the very bottom. Nature took counsel for herself and lest that lake should be entirely beyond our ken she let our eyes penetrate what, because of its heat, our bodies could not enter. When a breeze scatters the thick clouds of steam and clears the grey surface of the erstwhile vaporous water you can gaze with wonder on the valley floor below that glassy flood where glint old weapons, king's gifts 1 of bygone days (between these a gulf of other hue, dark with the eddyings of black sand, swallows the hastening waters; below there opens a cavern into which the darkling flood pours, filling every nook and cranny with its swirling eddies); then are revealed the hidden places of the hill which, bent round in a bow, encircles the surface of the water with an overhanging rim. 2 A verdant amphitheatre surrounds this steaming cauldron, and the ground floats lightly with slender film 3; never will it give way beneath the visitor's weight, upholding his timorous feet, trusty though seeming so unsure. One would think it the work of man's hand, so smoothly does its circuit enfold the shore, slight and yet firm all the way. The water in the lake stands motionless, filling it to the brim and fearing to o'erstep its appointed limit. The overflow runs in a stream down a sloping rock and seeks the undulating plain below. A natural but tortuous channel carries the water away and thence it flows into an open conduit of lead. These pipes, noiselessly impregnated with some powderous mineral that the water carries down, produce a snowwhite distillation of salt. The streams branch off in all directions carrying with them this natural wealth whithersoever art has directed their going, flexing this way and that their errant courses, flowing in swift torrent below aqueducts and warming the arches with the heat of their rushing waters. Within the arches, amid the roarings of the echoing rock, issues forth fiercer steam and vapour as the water rushes out. Then the sick, weak with sweating, seek next the stagnant pools that long time has made pleasantly cool. Hail to thee, stream, generous giver of the waters of healing, chief glory of the land of Italy, doctor of all that come to thee, common helper of all Aesculapius' sons; a very present deity for whose aid there is nought to pay. Whether it be that hell's fiery streams have burst their banks and that Phlegethon gone astray bestows his heat upon the upper world, or that a river, originally of cold water, sinks down into veins of sulphur and rises thence afire (as one would think from the smell), or that the mountain in arbitration summons the two elements to a treaty, balancing a certain quantity of fire against a similar amount of water that neither yield to the other but under a just law of equipoise each may withstand the other's might — whatsoever shall prove to be the cause, whatever the origin, of this we may be sure — that thou flowest not without design. Who would dare to ascribe such a miracle to chance? Who could deny that the overruling gods have so ordained? Nature's lord, who measures the centuries by the stars, has given thee a place of honour among the works of his divinity, and, pitying the feebleness of our human bodies, has bidden pour forth healing waters for the earth, and from the riven hills burst forth streams that should win pardon from the Fates' relentless distaffs. Happy ye whose lot it is to dwell by those banks and to possess Aponus for your own; you no plague of earth, no pestilence-fraught winds of the south, nor Sirius with his cruel fires can harm. Should Lachesis' fatal thread threaten death men find in thee a more propitious fate. If it chance that noxious humours swell their limbs or that excess of bile inflames their ailing bowels they need not to open their veins nor to cure one wound with another nor yet to drink medicine of bitter herbs. By thy water's aid they renew their lost strength without suffering; 'mid luxury the sick find relief from pain.
Fons, Antenoreae vitam qui porrigis urbifataque vicinis noxia pellis aquis,cum tua vel mutis tribuant miracula vocem,cum tibi plebeius carmina dictet honoset sit nulla manus, cuius non pollice ductaetestentur memores prospera vota notae:nonne reus Musis pariter Nymphisque tenebor,si tacitus soli praetereare mihi?ludibrium quid enim fas est a vate relinquihunc qui tot populis pervolat ora locum?Alto colle minor, planis erectior arvisconspicuo clivus molliter orbe tumetardentis fecundus aquae; quacumque cavernasperforat, offenso truditur igne latex,spirat putre solum, conclusaque subter anhelopumice rimosas perfodit 1 unda vias.umida flammarum regio: Vulcania terraeubera, sulphureae fervida regna plagae.quis sterilem non credat humum? fumantia vernantpascua; luxuriat gramine cocta silexet, cum sic rigidae cautes fervore liquescant,contemptis audax ignibus herba viret.Praeterea grandes effosso marmore sulcisaucia longinquo limite saxa secant.Herculei (sic fama refert) monstratur aratrisemita, vel casus vomeris egit opus.in medio pelagi late flagrantis imagocaerulus inmenso panditur ore lacusingenti fusus spatio; sed maior in altumintrat et arcanae rupis inane subit:densus nube sua tactuque inmitis et haustu,sed vitreis idem lucidus usque vadis.consuluit natura sibi, ne tota lateret,admisitque oculos, quo vetat ire calor:turbidus impulsu venti cum spargitur aerglaucaque fumiferae terga serenat aquae,tunc omnem liquidi vallem mirabere fundi,tunc veteres hastae, regia dona, micant(quas inter, nigrae tenebris obscurus harenae,discolor abruptum flumen hiatus agit;adparent infra latebrae, quas gurges opacusimplet et abstrusos ducit in antra sinus);tunc mentis secreta patent, qui flexus in arcumaequora pendenti margine summa ligat.Viva coronatos adstringit scaena vapores,et levis exili cortice terra natatcalcantumque oneri numquam cessura virorumsustentat trepidum, fida ruina, pedem.facta manu credas, sic levis circuit orasambitus et tenuis perpetuusque riget.haerent stagna lacu plenas aequantia ripaspraescriptumque timent transiluisse modum;quod superat, fluvius devexa rupe volutusegerit et campi dorsa recurva petit,devehit exceptum nativo spira 1 meatu;in patulas plumbi labitur inde vias;nullo cum strepitu madidis infecta favillisdespumat niveum fistula cana salem.multifidas dispergit opes artemque secutus,qua iussere manus, mobile torquet iteret iunctos rapido pontes subtermeat aestuadflatasque vago temperat igne tholos.acrior interius, rauci cum murmure saxi,spumeus eliso pellitur amne vapor. —hinc pigras repetunt fessi sudore lacunas,frigora quis longae blanda dedere morae.Salve Paeoniae largitor nobilis undae,Dardanii salve gloria magna soli,publica morborum requies, commune medentumauxilium, praesens numen, inempta salus.seu ruptis inferna ruunt incendia ripiset nostro Phlegethon devius orbe calet,sulphuris in venas gelidus seu decidit amnisaccensusque fluit (quod manifestat odor),sive pares 2 flammas undarum lance rependensarbiter in foedus mons elementa vocat,ne cedant superata sibi, sed legibus aequisalterius vires possit utrumque pati:quidquid erit causae, quocumque emitteris ortu,non sine consilio currere certa fides.quis casum meritis adscribere talibus audet?quis negat auctores haec statuisse deos?ille pater rerum, qui saecula dividit astris,inter prima poli te quoque sacra deditet fragilem nostri miseratus corporis usumtelluri medicas fundere iussit aquas,Parcarumque colos exoratura severasflumina laxatis emicuere iugis.Felices, proprium qui te meruere, coloni,fas quibus est Aponon iuris habere sui. 90non illis terrena lues corrupta nec Austriflamina nec saevo Sirius igne nocet,sed quamvis Lachesis letali stamine damnet,in te fata sibi prosperiora petunt.quodsi forte malus membris exuberat umorlanguida vel nimio viscera felle rubent,non venas reserant nec vulnere vulnera sanantpocula nec tristi gramine mixta bibunt:amissum lymphis reparant impune vigorem,pacaturque aegro luxuriante dolor.