But Caesar's mind though frenzied for the fightWas forced to pause until Antonius broughtThe rearward troops; Antonius even nowRehearsing Leucas' fight. With prayers and threatsCaesar exhorts him. ' Why delay the fates,Thou cause of evil to the suffering world?My speed hath won the major part: from theeFortune demands the final stroke alone.Do Libyan whirlpools with deceitful tidesUncertain separate us? Is the deepUntried to which I call? To unknown risksArt thou commanded? Caesar bids thee come,Thou sluggard, not to leave him. Long agoI ran my ships midway through sands and shoalsTo harbours held by foes; and dost thou fearMy friendly camp? I mourn the waste of days'Which fate allotted us. Upon the wavesAnd winds I call unceasing: hold not backThy willing troops, but let them dare the sea;Here gladly shall they come to join my camp,Though risking shipwreck: with indignant voiceI call upon thee. Not in equal shares'The world has fallen between us: thou aloneDost hold Italia, but Epirus IAnd all the lords of Rome.' Twice called and thriceAntonius lingered still: but Caesar's mindWas that he failed the gods, not they his cause.By night he braved the strait which others fearedThough bidden: for he knew that daring deedsAre safely wrought beneath the smile of heaven:And thus he hoped in fragile boat to crossThe stormy billows fearful to a fleet.Now gentle night had brought repose from arms;And sleep, blest guardian of the poor man's couch,Restored the weary; and the camp was still.The hour was come that called the second watchWhen mighty Caesar, in the silence vastWith cautious tread advanced to such a deedAs slaves should dare not. Fortune for his guide,Alone he passes on, and o'er the guardStretched in repose he leaps, in secret wrathAt such a sleep. Pacing the winding beach,Fast to a sea-worn rock he finds a boatOn ocean's marge afloat. Hard by on shoreIts master dwelt within his humble home.No solid front it reared, for sterile rushAnd marshy reed enwoven formed the walls,Propped by a shallop with its bending sidesTurned upwards. Caesar's hand upon the doorKnocks twice and thrice until the fabric shakes.Amyclas from his couch of soft seaweedArising, calls: ' What shipwrecked sailor seeks'My humble home? Who hopes for aid from me,' By fates adverse compelled? ' He stirs the heapUpon the hearth, until a tiny sparkGlows in the darkness, and throws wide the door.Careless of war, he knew that civil strifeStoops not to cottages. O! happy lifeThat poverty affords! great gift of heavenToo little understood! what mansion wall,What temple of the gods, would feel no fearWhen Caesar called for entrance? Then the chief:' Enlarge thine hopes and look for better things.' Do but my bidding, and on yonder shore' Place me, and thou shalt cease from one poor boat' To earn thy living; and in years to come' Look for a rich old age: and trust thy fates' To those high gods whose wont it is to bless' The poor with sudden plenty.' So he spakeE'en at such time in accents of command,For how could Caesar else? Amyclas said,''Twere dangerous to brave the deep to-night.' The sun descended not in ruddy clouds' Or peaceful rays to rest; part of his beams' Presaged a southern gale, the rest proclaimed' A northern tempest; and his middle orb,' Shorn of its strength, permitted human eyes' To gaze upon his grandeur; and the moon' Rose not with silver horns upon the night' Nor pure in middle space; her slender points'Not drawn aright, but blushing with the track' Of raging tempests, till her lurid light'Was sadly veiled within the clouds. Again' The forest sounds; the surf upon the shore;' The dolphin's mood, uncertain where to play;' The sea-mew on the land; the heron used' To wade among the shallows, borne aloft' And soaring on his wings-all these alarm;' The raven, too, who plunged his head in spray,' As if to anticipate the coming rain,And trod the margin with unsteady gait.But if the cause demands, behold me thine.'Either we reach the bidden shore, or else'Storm and the deep forbid-we can no more.'Thus said he loosed the boat and raised the sail.No sooner done than stars were seen to fallIn flaming furrows from the sky: nay, more;The pole star trembled in its place on high:Black horror marked the surging of the sea;The main was boiling in long tracts of foam,Uncertain of the wind, yet seized with storm.Then spake the captain of the trembling bark:See what remorseless ocean has in store!Whether from east or west the storm may comeIs still uncertain, for as yet confused'The billows tumble. Judged by clouds and sky'A western tempest: by the murmuring deep'A wild south-eastern gale shall sweep the sea.'Nor bark nor man shall reach Hesperia's shoreIn this wild rage of waters. To return'Back on our course forbidden by the gods,'Is our one refuge, and with labouring boat'To reach the shore ere yet the nearest land'May be too distant.'But great Caesar's trustWas in himself, to make all dangers yield.And thus he answered: ' Scorn the threatening sea,Spread out thy canvas to the raging wind;If for thy pilot thou refusest heaven,'Me in its stead receive. Alone in theeOne cause of terror just-thou dost not know'Thy comrade, ne'er deserted by the gods,'Whom fortune blesses e'en without a prayer.'Break through the middle storm and trust in me.'The burden of this fight falls not on usBut on the sky and ocean; and our barkShall swim the billows safe in him it bears.Nor shall the wind rage long: the boat itselfShall calm the waters. Flee the nearest shore,Steer for the ocean with unswerving hand:Then in the deep, when to our ship and usNo other port is given, believe thou hast'Calabria's harbours. And dost thou not know'The purpose of such havoc? Fortune seeks'In all this tumult of the sea and skyA boon for Caesar.'
Caesaris adtonitam miscenda ad proelia mentemFerre moras scelerum partes iussere relictae.Ductor erat cunctis audax Antonius armis,Iam tunc civili meditatus Leucada bello.Illum saepe minis Caesar precibusque morantemEvocat: O mundi tantorum caussa malorum,Quid superos et fata tenes? Sunt cetera cursuActa meo: summam rapti per prospera belliTe poscit Fortuna manum. Num rupta vadosisSyrtibus incerto Libye nos dividit aestu?Numquid inexperto tua credimus arma profundo,Inque novos traheris casus? Ignave, venireTe Caesar, non ire, iubet. Prior ipse per hostesPercussi medias alieni iuris arenas.Tui mea castra times? Pereuntia tempora fatiConqueror: in ventos impendo vota, fretumque.Ne retine dubium cupientes ire per aequor:Si bene nota mihi est, ad Caesaris arma iuventusNaufragio venisse volet. Iam voce dolorisUtendum est: non ex aequo divisimus orbem.Epirum Caesarque tenet totusque senatus:Ausoniam tu solus habes. His terque quaterqueVocibus excitum postquam cessare videbat,Dum se deesse deis, ac non sibi numina, credit,Sponte per incautas audet tentare tenebras,Quod iussi timuere, fretum, temeraria pronoExpertus cessisse deo: fluctusque verendosClassibus, exigua sperat superare carina.Solverat armorum fessas nox languida curas:Parta quies miseris, in quorum pectora somnoDat vires fortuna minor. Iam castra silebant;Tertia iam vigiles commoverat hora secundos:Caesar sollicito per vasta silentia gressuVix famulis audenda parat: cunctisque relictis,Sola placet Fortuna comes. Tentoria postquamEgressus, vigilum somno cedentis membraTranssiluit, questus tacite quod fallere posset.Litora curva legit, primisque invenit in undisRupibus exesis haerentem fune carinam.Rectorem dominumque ratis secura tenebatHaud procul inde domus, non ullo robore fulta,Sed sterili iunco cannaque intexta palustri,Et latus inversa nudum munita phaselo.Haec Caesar bis terque manu quassantia tectumLimina commovit. Molli consurgit Amyclas,Quem dabat alga, toro. Quisnam mea nafragus, inquit,Tecta petit? aut quem nostrae Fortuna coegitAuxilium sperare casae? Sic fatus, ab altoAggere iam tepidae sublato fune favillae,Scintillam tenuem commotos pavit in ignes;Securus belli: praedam civilibus armisScit non esse casas. O vitae tuta facultasPauperis, angustique lares! o munera nondumIntellecta deum! quibus hoc contingere templisAut potuit muris, nullo trepidare tumultu,Caesarea pulsante manu? Tum poste recluso,Dux ait: Exspecta votis maiora modestis,Spesque tuas laxa, iuvenis. Si iussa secutusMe vehis Hesperiam, non ultra cuncta carinaeDebebis, manibusque inopem duxisse senectam.Ne cessa praebere deo tua fata, volentiAngustos opibus subitis implere Penates.Sic fatur: quamquam plebeio tectus amictu,Indocilis privata loqui. Tum pauper Amyclas:Multa quidem prohibent nocturno credere ponto.Nam sol non rutilas deduxit in aequora nubesConcordesque tulit radios: Noton altera Phoebi,Altera pars Borean diducta luce vocabat.Orbe quoque exhaustus medio languensque recessit,Spectantes oculos infirmo lumine passus.Lunaque non gracili surrexit lucida cornu,Aut orbis medii puros exesa recessus:Nec duxit recto tenuata cacumina cornu,Ventorumque nota rubuit: tum lurida pallensOra tulit, vultu sub nubem tristis ituro.Sed mihi nec motus nemorum, nec litoris ictus,Nec placet incertus, qui provocat aequora, Delphin:Aut siccum quod mergus amat: quodque ausa volareArdea sublimis pennae confisa natanti:Quodque caput spargens undis, velut occupet imbrem,Instabili gressu metitur litora cornix.Sed si magnarum poscunt discrimina rerum,Haud dubitem praebere manus. Vel litora tangamIussa, vel hoc potius pelagus flatusque negabunt.Haec fatus, solvensque ratem, dat carbasa ventis:Ad quorum motus non solum lapsa per altumAera dispersos traxere cadentia sulcosSidera: sed summis etiam quae fixa tenenturAstra polis, sunt visa quati. Niger inficit horrorTerga maris: longo per multa volumina tractuAestuat unda minax, flatusque incerta futuri:Turbida testantur conceptos aequora ventos.Tunc rector trepidae fatur ratis: Adspice, saevumQuanta paret pelagus. Zephyros intendat, an Euros,Incertum est. Puppim dubius ferit undique pontus.Nubibus et coelo Notus est: si murmura pontiConsulimus, Cori verrunt mare. Gurgite tanto,Nec ratis Hesperias tanget, nec naufragus oras.Desperare viam et vetitos convertere cursus,Sola salus. Liceat vexata litora puppePrendere, ne longe nimium sit proxima tellus.Fisus cuncta sibi cessura pericula Caesar,Sperne minas, inquit, pelagi, ventoque furentiTrade sinum. Italiam si coelo auctore recusas,Me pete. Sola tibi caussa haec est iusta timoris,Vectorem non nosse tuum; quem numina numquamDestituunt, de quo male tunc Fortuna meretur,Cum post vota venit. Medias perrumpe procellas,Tutela secure mea. Coeli iste fretique,Non puppis nostrae labor est: hanc Caesare pressamA fluctu defendet onus. Ne longa furoriVentorum saevo dubitur mora: proderit undisIsta ratis. Ne flecte manus: fuge proxima velisLitora: tum Calabro portu te crede potitum,Cum iam non poterit puppi nostraeque salutiAltera terra dari Quid tanta strage paretur,Ignoras? Quaerit pelagi coelique tumultu
Then a hurricaneSwooped on the boat and tore away the sheet:The fluttering sail fell on the fragile mast:And groaned the joints. From all the universeCommingled perils rushed. In Atlas' seasFirst Corus raised his head, and stirred the depthsTo fury, and had forced upon the rocksWhole seas and oceans; but the chilly northDrove back the deep that doubted which was lord.But Scythian Aquilo prevailed, whose blastTossed up the main and showed as shallow poolsEach deep abyss; and yet was not the seaHeaped on the crags, for Corus' billows metThe waves of Boreas: such seas had clashedEven were the winds withdrawn; Eurus enragedBurst from the cave, and Notus black with rain,And all the winds from every part of heavenStrove for their own; and thus the ocean stayedWithin his boundaries. No petty seasRapt in the storm are whirled. The Tuscan deepInvades th' AEgean; in Ionian gulfsSounds wandering Hadria. How long the cragsWhich that day fell, the Ocean's blows had braved!What lofty peaks did vanquished earth resign!And yet on yonder coast such mighty wavesTook not their rise; from distant regions cameThose monster billows, driven on their courseBy that great current which surrounds the world.Thus did the King of Heaven, when length of yearsWore out the forces of his thunder, callHis brother's trident to his help, what timeThe earth and sea one second kingdom formedAnd ocean knew no limit but the sky.Now, too, the sea had risen to the starsIn mighty mass, had not Olympus' chiefPressed down its waves with clouds: that night from heavenCame not, as others; but the murky airWas dim with pallor of the realms below;The sky lay on the deep; within the cloudsThe waves received the rain: the lightning flashClove through the parted air a path obscuredBy mist and darkness: and the heavenly vaultsRe-echoed to the tumult, and the frameThat holds the sky was shaken. Nature fearedChaos returned, as though the elementsHad burst their bonds, and night had come to mixTh' infernal shades with heaven.In such turmoilNot to have perished was their only hope.Far as from Leucas point the placid mainSpreads to the horizon, from the billow's crestThey viewed the dashing of th' infuriate sea;Thence sinking to the middle trough, their mastScarce topped the watery height on either hand,Their sails in clouds, their keel upon the ground.For all the sea was piled into the waves,And drawn from depths between laid bare the sand.The master of the boat forgot his art,For fear o'ercame; he knew not where to yieldOr where to meet the wave: but safety cameFrom ocean's self at war: one billow forcedThe vessel under, but a huger waveRepelled it upwards, and she rode the stormThrough every blast triumphant. Not the shoreOf humble Sason, nor Thessalia's coastIndented, not Ambracia's scanty portsDismayed the mariners, but the giddy topsOf high Ceraunia's cliffs.But Caesar now,Thinking the peril worthy of his fates:Are such the labours of the gods? ' exclaimed,Bent on my downfall have they sought me thus,Here in this puny skiff in such a sea?If to the deep the glory of my fallIs due, and not to war, intrepid stillWhatever death they send shall strike me down.Let fate cut short the deeds that I would doAnd hasten on the end: the past is mine.The northern nations fell beneath my sword;'My dreaded name compels the foe to flee.'Pompeius yields me place; the people's voiceGave at my order what the wars denied.And all the titles which denote the powersKnown to the Roman state my name shall bear.Let none know this but thou who hear'st my prayers,Fortune! that Caesar summoned to the shades,Dictator, Consul, full of honours, diedEre his last prize was won. I ask no pyreOr tomb, ye gods! wherein my dust may rest:Nay! plunge in middle deep this battered frame!All earth shall look for me, nor shall men ceaseAt Caesar's name to fear.' Such words he spake,When lo! a tenth gigantic billow raisedThe feeble keel, and where between the rocksA cleft gave safety, placed it on the shore.Thus in a moment fortune, kingdoms, lands,Once more were Caesar's.But on his returnWhen daylight came, he entered not the campSilent as when he parted; for his friendsSoon pressed around him, and with weeping eyesIn accents welcome to his ears began:'Whither in reckless daring hast thou gone,Unpitying Caesar? Were these humble livesLeft here unguarded while thy limbs were given,Unsought for, to be scattered by the storm?'When on thy breath so many nations hangFor life and safety, and so great a worldCalls thee its master, to have courted deathProves want of heart. Were none of all thy friendsDeserving held to join their fate with thine?'When thou wast tossed upon the stormy mainWe lay in slumber! Shame upon such sleep!'And why thyself didst seek Italia's shores?'"Twere cruel (such thy thought) to speak the wordThat bade another dare the furious sea.All men must bear what chance or fate may bring,The sudden peril and the stroke of death;But shall the ruler of the world attempt'The raging ocean? With incessant prayersWhy weary heaven? is it indeed enoughTo crown the war, that Fortune and the deep'Have cast thee on our shores? And wouldst thou use'The grace of favouring deities, to gainNot lordship, not the empire of the world,'But lucky shipwreck! ' Night dispersed, and soonThe sun beamed on them, and the wearied deep,The winds permitting, lulled its waves to rest.And when Antonius saw a breeze ariseFresh from a cloudless heaven, to break the sea,He loosed his ships which, by the pilots' handsAnd by the wind in equal order held,Swept as a marching host across the main.But night unfriendly from the seamen snatchedAll governance of sail, parting the shipsIn divers paths asunder. Like as cranesDeserting frozen Strymon for the streamsOf Nile, when winter falls, in casual linesOf wedge-like figures first ascend the sky;But when in loftier heaven the southern breezeStrikes on their pinions tense, in loose arrayDispersed at large, in flight irregular,They wing their journey onwards. Stronger windsWith day returning blew the navy on,Past Lissus' shelter which they vainly sought,Till bare to northern blasts, Nymphaeum's port,But safe in southern, gave the fleet repose.
Quid praestet Fortuna mihi.Non plura locuto,Avulsit laceros, percussa puppe, rudentesTurbo rapax, fragilemque super volitantia malumVela tulit: sonuit victis compagibus alnus.Inde ruunt toto congesta pericula mundo.Primus ab Oceano caput exeris Atlanteo,Core, movens aestus: iam te tollente furebatPontus, et in scopulos totas erexerat undas.Occurrit gelidus Boreas, pelagusque retundit:Et dubium pendet, vento cui pareat, aequor.Sed Scythici vicit rabies Aquilonis, et undasTorsit, et abstrusas penitus vada fecit arenas.Nec perfert pontum Boreas ad saxa, suumqueIn fluctus Cori frangit mare: motaque possuntAequora subductis etiam concurrere ventis.Non Euri cessasse minas, non imbribus atrumAeolii iacuisse Notum sub carcere saxiCrediderim: cunctos solita de parte ruentesDefendisse suas violento turbine terras;Sic pelagus mansisse loco. Non parva procellisAequora rapta ferunt: Aegeas transit in undasTyrrhenum: sonat Ionio vagus Hadria ponto.Ah quoties frustra pulsatos aequore montesObruit illa dies! quam celsa cacumina pessumTellus victa dedit! Non illo litore surguntTam validi fluctus, alioque ex orbe volutiA magno venere mari, mundumque coercensMonstriferos agit unda sinus. Sic rector OlympiCuspide fraterna lassatum in saecula fulmenAdiuvit, regnoque accessit terra secundo,Cum mare convolvit gentes, cum litora TethysNoluit ulla pati, coelo contenta teneri.Nunc quoque tanta maris moles crevisset in astra,Ni superum rector pressisset nubibus undas.Non coeli nox illa fuit: latet obsitus aerInfernae pallore domus, nimbisque gravatusDeprimitur, fluctusque in nubibus accipit imbrem.Lux etiam metuenda perit, nec fulgura curruntClara, sed obscurum nimbosus dissilit aer.Tunc superum convexa fremunt, atque arduus axisInsonuit, motaque poli compage laborantExtimuit natura chaos: rupisse videnturConcordes elementa moras, rursusque redireNox manes mixtura deis. Spes una salutis,Quod tanta mundi nondum periere ruina.Quantum Leucadio placidus de vertice pontusDespicitum; tantum nautae videre trementesFluctibus e summis praeceps mare: quumque tumentesRursus hiant undae, vix eminet aequore malus.Nubila tanguntur velis, et terra carina.Nam pelagus, qua parte sedet, non celat arenas:Exhaustum in tumulos, omnisque in fluctibus unda est.Artis opem vicere metus: nescitque magister,Quam frangat, cui cedat aquae. Discordia pontiSuccurrit miseris, fluctusque evertere puppimNon valet in fluctus: victum latus unda repellensErigit, atque omni surgit ratis ardua vento.Non humilem Sasona vadis, non litora curvaeThessaliae saxosa pavent, oraeque malignosAmbraciae portus: scopulosa Ceraunia nautaeSumma timent. Credit iam digna pericula CaesarFatis esse suis. Tantusne evertere, dixit,Me superis labor est: parva quem puppe sedentemTam magno petiere mari? Si gloria letiEst pelago donata mei, bellisque negamur;Intrepidus, quamcunque datis mihi numina, mortemAccipiam. Licet ingentes abruperit actusFestinata dies fatis; sat magna peregi.Arctoas domui gentes: inimica subegiArma metu: vidit Magnum mihi Roma secundum.Iussa plebe tuli fasces per bella negatos.Nulla meis aberit titulis Romana potestas.Nesciet hoc quisquam, nisi tu, quae sola meorumConscia votorum es, me, quamvis plenus honorumEt dictator eam Stygias et consul ad umbras,Privatum, Fortuna, mori. Mihi funere nulloEst opus, o superi: lacerum retinete cadaverFluctibus in mediis: desint mihi busta rogusque,Dum metuar semper, terraque exspecter ab omni.Haec fatum decimus, dictu mirabile, fluctusInvalida cum puppe levat: nec rursus ab altoAggere deiecit pelagi, sed pertulit unda,Scruposisque angusta vacant ubi litora saxis,Imposuit terrae. Pariter tot regna, tot urbesFortunamque suam, tacta tellure, recepit.Sed non tam remeans Caesar iam luce propinqua,Quam tacita sua castra fuga comitesque fefellit.Circumfusa duci flevit, gemituque suorumEt non ingratis incessit turba querelis:Quo te, dure, tulit virtus temeraria, Caesar?Aut quae nos viles animas in fata relinquens,Invitis spargenda dabas tua membra procellis?Cum tot in hac anima populorum vita salusquePendeat, et tantus caput hoc sibi fecerit orbis,Saevitia est voluisse mori. Nullusne tuorumEmeruit comitum, fatis non posse superstesEsse tuis? Cum te raperet mare, corpora segnisNostra sopor tenuit. Pudet, heu! Tibi caussa petendaeHaec fuit Hesperiae: visum est, committere quemquamTam saevo, crudele, mari. Sors ultima rerumIn dubios casus et prona pericula mortisPraecipitare solet. Mundi iam summa tenentemPermisisse mari! Tantum quid numina lassas?Sufficit ad belli summam favor iste laborqueFortunae, quod te nostris impegit arenis?Hine usus placuere deum, non rector ut orbis,Nec dominus rerum, sed felix naufragus esses?Talia iactantes, discussa nocte serenusOppressit cum sole dies, fessumque tumentesComposuit pelagus, ventis patientibus, undas.Nec non Hesperii lassatum fluctibus aequorUt videre duces, purumque insurgere coeloFracturum pelagus Borean, solvere carinas,Quas ventus ductaeque pari moderamine dextraePermixtas habuere diu: latumque per aequor,Ut terrestre, coit, consertis puppibus, agmen.Sed nox saeva modum venti velique tenoremEripuit nautis, excussitque ordine puppes.Strymona sic gelidum, bruma pellente, relinquuntPoturae te, Nile, grues, primoque volatuEffingunt varias, casu monstrante, figuras.Mox ubi percussit tensas Notus altior alas,Confusos temere immixtae glomerantur in orbes,Et turbata perit dispersis littera pennis.Cum primum redeunte die violentior aerPuppibus incubuit, Phoebeo concitus ortu,Praetereunt frustra tentati litora Lissi,Nymphaeumque tenent. Nudas Aquilonibus undasSuccedens Boreae iam portum fecerat Auster.
When Caesar's troops were gathered in their strengthAnd Magnus saw the battle day was nearBefore his camp, Cornelia he resolvedTo send to Lesbos' shore, from rage of fightSafe and apart: so lifting from his soulThe weight that burdened it. Thus, lawful Love,Thus art thou tyrant o'er the mightiest mind!His spouse was the one cause why Magnus stayedNor met his fortunes, though he staked the worldAnd all the destinies of Rome. The wordHe speaks not though resolved; so sweet it seemed,When on the future pondering, to gainA pause from Fate! But at the close of night,When drowsy sleep had fled, Cornelia soughtTo soothe the anxious bosom of her lordAnd win his kisses; when amazed she sawHis cheek was tearful, and with boding soulShrank from the hidden wound, nor dared surpriseMagnus in tears. But sighing thus he spake:' Dearer to me than life itself, when life'Is happy (not at moments such as these);'The day of sorrow comes, too long delayed,'Nor long enough! With Caesar at our gates' With all his forces, a secure retreat'Shall Lesbos give thee. Try me not with prayers.'This fatal boon I have denied myself.'Thou wilt not long be absent from thy spouse.'Disasters hasten, and things highest fallWith speediest ruin. 'Tis enough for thee' To hear of Magnus' peril; and thy love'Deceives thee with the thought that thou canst gaze'Unmoved on civil strife. It shames my soul'On the eve of war to slumber at thy side,'And rise from thy dear breast when trumpets call'A woeful world to misery and arms.'I dread lest Magnus in this war endure'Nor loss nor sorrow. But do thou lie hid'Safer than kings or peoples, far removed;'That so the grievous fortunes of thy lord' May lighter fall on thee. If unkind heaven' Our armies rout, still let my choicest part' Survive in thee; if fated is my flight,' Still leave me that whereto I fain would flee.'Hardly at first her senses grasped the wordsIn their full misery; then her mind amazedCould scarce find utterance for the grief that pressed.Nought, Magnus, now is left wherewith to upbraid'The gods and fates of marriage; 'tis not death'That parts our love, nor yet the funeral pyre,Nor that dread torch which marks the end of all.I share the ignoble lot of vulgar lives:'My spouse rejects me. Yes, the foe is come!'Break we our bonds and Julia's sire appease! -Is this thy consort, Magnus, this thy faith'In her fond loving heart? Can danger fright'Her and not thee? Long since our mutual fates'Hang by one chain; and dost thou bid me now'The thunder-bolts of ruin to withstandWithout thee? Is it well that I should die'Even while you pray for fortune? And suppose' I flee from evil and with death self-sought' Follow thy footsteps to the realms below—' Am I to live till to that distant isle' Some tardy rumour of thy fall may come?' And then thou say'st, unfeeling! that by use' Strength shall be mine to bear such load of ills' As fate reserves for us: but at such a strength' My spirit trembles. Ah! forgive the truth.' And if the favouring gods shall hear my prayers,' I shall be last to hear the victory' In that lone isle of rocks. When all are glad,' My heart shall throb with anguish, and the sail' Which brings the message I shall see with fear,' Not safe e'en then: for Caesar in his flight' Might seize me there, abandoned and aloneTo be his hostage. If thou place me there,The spouse of Magnus, shall not all the world'Well know the secret Mitylene holds?This my last prayer: if all is lost but flight,'And thou shalt seek the ocean, to my shores'Turn not thy keel, ill-fated one: for there,'There will they seek thee.' Thus she spoke distraught,Leaped from the couch and rushed upon her fate;No stop nor stay: she clung not to his neckNor threw her arms about him; both foregoThe last caress, the last fond pledge of love,And grief rushed in unchecked upon their souls;Still gazing as they part no final wordsCould either utter, and the sweet FarewellRemained unspoken. This the saddest dayOf all their lives: for other woes that cameMore gently struck on hearts inured to grief.Borne to the shore with failing limbs she fellAnd grasped the sands, embracing, till at lastHer maidens placed her senseless in the ship.Not in such grief she left her country's shoresWhen Caesar's host drew near; for now she leaves,Though faithful to her lord, his side in flightAnd flees her spouse. All that next night she waked;Then first what means a widowed couch she knew,Its cold, its solitude. When slumber foundHer eyelids, and forgetfulness her soul,Seeking with outstretched arms the form beloved,She grasps but air. Though tossed by restless love,She leaves a place beside her as for himReturning. Yet she feared Pompeius lostTo her for ever. Nay! such happy lotThe gods prepared not; for the hour drew nearWhich gave her Magnus to her arms again.
Undique collatis in robur Caesaris armis,Summa videns duri Magnus discrimina MartisIam castris instare suis, seponere tutumConiugii decrevit onus, Lesboque remotamTe procul a saevi strepitu, Cornelia, belliOcculere. Heu quantum mentes dominatur in aequasIusta Venus! Dubium trepidumque ad proelia, Magne,Te quoque fecit amor: quod nolles stare sub ictuFortunae, quo mundus erat Romanaque fata,Coniux sola fuit. Mentem iam verba paratamDestituunt, blandaeque iuvat ventura trahentemIndulgere morae, et tempus subducere fatis.Nocte sub extrema, pulso torpore quietis,Dum fovet amplexu gravidum Cornelia curisPectus, et aversi petit oscula grata mariti:Humentes mirata genas, percussaque caecoVulnere, non audet flentem deprendere Magnum.Ille gemens: Vita non nunc mihi dulcior, inquit,Cum taedet vitae, laeto sed tempore, coniux,Venit moesta dies, et quam nimiumque parumqueDistulimus: iam totus adest in proelia Caesar.Cedendum est bellis: quorum tibi tuta latebraLesbos erit. Desiste preces tentare: negaviIam mihi: non longos a me patiere recessus.Pracipites aderunt casus: properante ruina,Summa cadunt. Satis est audisse pericula Magni:Meque tuus decepit amor, civilia bellaSi spectare potes. Nam me iam, Marte parato,Securos cepisse pudet cum coniuge somnos,Eque tuo, miserum quatiunt cum classica mundun,Surrexisse sint. Vereor civilibus armisPompeium nullo tristem committere damno.Tutior interea populis, et tutior omniRege, late, positamque procul fortuna maritiNon tota te mole premat. Si numina nostrasImpulerint acies, maneat pars optima nostri;Sitque mihi, si fata premant victorque cruentusQuo fugisse velim. Vix tantum infirma doloremCepit, et adtonito cessere e pectore sensus.Tandem vix moestas potuit proferre querelas:Nil mihi de fatis thalami superisque relictum est,Magne, queri: nostros non rumpit funus amores,Nec diri fax summa rogi: sed sorte frequentiPlebeiaque nimis careo dimissa marito.Hostis ad adventuum rumpamus foedera tedae:Placemus socerum. Sic est tibi cognita, Magne,Nostra fide? credisne aliquid mihi tutius esse,Quam tibi? non olim casu pendemus ab uno?Fulminibus me, saeve, iubes tantaeque ruinaeAbsentem praestare caput? secura videturSors tibi, cum facias etiam nunc vota, perisse?Ut nolim servire malis, sed morte parataTe sequar ad manes; feriat dum moesta remotasFama procul terras, vivam tibi nempe superstes.Adde, quod adsuescis fatis, tantumque doloremCrudelis me ferre doces. Ignosce fatenti:Posse pati, timeo. Quodsi sunt vota, deisqueAudior, eventus rerum sciet ultima coniux.Sollicitam rupes, iam te victore, tenebunt:Et puppim, quae fata ferat tam laeta, timebo.Nec solvent audita metus mihi prospera belli,Cum, vacuis proiecta locis, a Caesare possimVel fugiente capi. Notescent litora clariNominis exsilio, positaque ibi coniuge Magni,Quis Mitylenaeas poterit nescire latebras?Hoc precor extremum, si nil tibi victa relinquentTutius arma fuga, cum te commiseris undis,Quolibet infaustam potius deflecte carinam:Litoribus quaerere meis. Sic fata, relictisExsiluit stratis amens, tormentaque nullaVult differre mora. Non moesti pectora MagniSustinet amplexu dulci, non colla tenere:Extremusque perit tam longi fructus amoris:Praecipitantque suos luctus, [neuterque recedens][Sustinuit dixisse, vale] vitamque per omnemNulla fuit tam moesta dies. Nam cetera damnaDurata iam mente malis firmaque tulerunt.Labitur infelix, manibusque excepta suorumFertur ad aequoreas, ac se prosternit, arenas,Litoraque ipsa tenet, tandemque illata carinae est.Non sic infelix patiam portusque reliquitHesperios, saevi premerent cum Caesaris arma.Fida comes Magni vadit duce sola relicto,Pompeiumque fugit. Quae nox sibi proxima venit,Insomnis. Viduo tum primum frigida lectoAtque insueta quies uni, nudumque maritoNon haerente latus. Somno quam saepe gravataDeceptis vacuum manibus complexa cubile est,Atque oblita fugae quaesivit nocte maritumNam, flamma quamvis tacitas urgente medullas,Non iuvat in toto corpus iactare cubili:Servatur pars illa tori. Caruisse timebatPompeio: sed non superi tam laeta parabant.Instabat, miserae Magnum quae redderet hora.