My soul is wrought to sing of forms transformedto bodies new and strange! Immortal Godsinspire my heart, for ye have changed yourselvesand all things you have changed! Oh lead my songin smooth and measured strains, from olden dayswhen earth began to this completed time!
In nova fert animus mutatas dicere formascorpora; di, coeptis (nam vos mutastis et illas)adspirate meis primaque ab origine mundiad mea perpetuum deducite tempora carmen.
Before the ocean and the earth appeared—before the skies had overspread them all—the face of Nature in a vast expansewas naught but Chaos uniformly waste.It was a rude and undeveloped mass,that nothing made except a ponderous weight;and all discordant elements confused,were there congested in a shapeless heap.As yet the sun afforded earth no light,nor did the moon renew her crescent horns;the earth was not suspended in the airexactly balanced by her heavy weight.Not far along the margin of the shoreshad Amphitrite stretched her lengthened arms,—for all the land was mixed with sea and air.The land was soft, the sea unfit to sail,the atmosphere opaque, to naught was givena proper form, in everything was strife,and all was mingled in a seething mass—with hot the cold parts strove, and wet with dryand soft with hard, and weight with empty void.But God, or kindly Nature, ended strife—he cut the land from skies, the sea from land,the heavens ethereal from material air;and when were all evolved from that dark masshe bound the fractious parts in tranquil peace.The fiery element of convex heavenleaped from the mass devoid of dragging weight,and chose the summit arch to which the airas next in quality was next in place.The earth more dense attracted grosser partsand moved by gravity sank underneath;and last of all the wide surrounding wavesin deeper channels rolled around the globe.And when this God —which one is yet unknown—had carved asunder that discordant mass,had thus reduced it to its elements,that every part should equally combine,when time began He rounded out the earthand moulded it to form a mighty globe.Then poured He forth the deeps and gave commandthat they should billow in the rapid winds,that they should compass every shore of earth.he also added fountains, pools and lakes,and bound with shelving banks the slanting streams,which partly are absorbed and partly jointhe boundless ocean. Thus received amidthe wide expanse of uncontrolled waves,they beat the shores instead of crooked banks.At His command the boundless plains extend,the valleys are depressed, the woods are clothedin green, the stony mountains rise. And asthe heavens are intersected on the rightby two broad zones, by two that cut the left,and by a fifth consumed with ardent heat,with such a number did the careful Godmark off the compassed weight, and thus the earthreceived as many climes.—Such heat consumesthe middle zone that none may dwell therein;and two extremes are covered with deep snow;and two are placed betwixt the hot and cold,which mixed together give a temperate clime;and over all the atmosphere suspendswith weight proportioned to the fiery sky,exactly as the weight of earth compareswith weight of water.And He ordered mistto gather in the air and spread the clouds.He fixed the thunders that disturb our souls,and brought the lightning on destructive windsthat also waft the cold. Nor did the greatArtificer permit these mighty windsto blow unbounded in the pathless skies,but each discordant brother fixed in space,although His power can scarce restrain their rageto rend the universe. At His commandto far Aurora, Eurus took his way,to Nabath, Persia, and that mountain rangefirst gilded by the dawn; and Zephyr's flightwas towards the evening star and peaceful shores,warm with the setting sun; and Boreasinvaded Scythia and the northern snows;and Auster wafted to the distant southwhere clouds and rain encompass his abode.—and over these He fixed the liquid sky,devoid of weight and free from earthly dross.And scarcely had He separated theseand fixed their certain bounds, when all the stars,which long were pressed and hidden in the mass,began to gleam out from the plains of heaven,and traversed, with the Gods, bright ether fields:and lest some part might be bereft of lifethe gleaming waves were filled with twinkling fish;the earth was covered with wild animals;the agitated air was filled with birds.But one more perfect and more sanctified,a being capable of lofty thought,intelligent to rule, was wanting stillman was created! Did the Unknown Goddesigning then a better world make manof seed divine? or did Prometheustake the new soil of earth (that still containedsome godly element of Heaven's Life)and use it to create the race of man;first mingling it with water of new streams;so that his new creation, upright man,was made in image of commanding Gods?On earth the brute creation bends its gaze,but man was given a lofty countenanceand was commanded to behold the skies;and with an upright face may view the stars:—and so it was that shapeless clay put onthe form of man till then unknown to earth.
Ante mare et terras et quod tegit omnia caelumunus erat toto naturae vultus in orbe,quem dixere chaos: rudis indigestaque molesnec quicquam nisi pondus iners congestaque eodemnon bene iunctarum discordia semina rerum.nullus adhuc mundo praebebat lumina Titan,nec nova crescendo reparabat cornua Phoebe,nec circumfuso pendebat in aere tellusponderibus librata suis, nec bracchia longomargine terrarum porrexerat Amphitrite;utque aer, tellus illic et pontus et aether.Sic erat instabilis tellus, innabilis unda,lucis egens aer: nulli sua forma manebat,obstabatque aliis aliud, quia corpore in unofrigida pugnabant calidis, umentia siccis,mollia cum duris, sine pondere habentia pondus.Hanc deus et melior litem natura diremit.Nam caelo terras et terris abscidit undas,et liquidum spisso secrevit ab aere caelum.Quae postquam evolvit caecoque exemit acervo,dissociata locis concordi pace ligavit.Ignea convexi vis et sine pondere caeliemicuit summaque locum sibi fecit in arce:proximus est aer illi levitate locoque:densior his tellus, elementaque grandia traxitet pressa est gravitate sua: circumfluus umorultima possedit solidumque coercuit orbem.Sic ubi dispositam quisquis fuit ille deorumcongeriem secuit sectamque in membra redegit,principio terram, ne non aequalis ab omniparte foret, magni speciem glomeravit in orbis.Tum freta diffudit rapidisque tumescere ventisiussit et ambitae circumdare litora terrae.Addidit et fontes et stagna inmensa lacusquefluminaque obliquis cinxit declivia ripis,quae, diversa locis, partim sorbentur ab ipsa,in mare perveniunt partim campoque receptaliberioris aquae pro ripis litora pulsant.Iussit et extendi campos, subsidere valles,fronde tegi silvas, lapidosos surgere montes.Utque duae dextra caelum totidemque sinistraparte secant zonae, quinta est ardentior illis,sic onus inclusum numero distinxit eodemcura dei, totidemque plagae tellure premuntur.Quarum quae media est, non est habitabilis aestu:nix tegit alta duas: totidem inter utrumque locavittemperiemque dedit mixta cum frigore flamma.Inminet his aer. Qui quanto est pondere terrae,pondere aquae levior tanto est onerosior igni.Illic et nebulas, illic consistere nubesiussit et humanas motura tonitrua menteset cum fulminibus facientes fulgura ventos.His quoque non passim mundi fabricator habendumaera permisit: vix nunc obsistitur illis,cum sua quisque regant diverso flamina tractu,quin lanient mundum: tanta est discordia fratrum.Eurus ad Auroram Nabataeaque regna recessitPersidaque et radiis iuga subdita matutinis;vesper et occiduo quae litora sole tepescunt,proxima sunt Zephyro: Scythiam septemque trioneshorrifer invasit Boreas: contraria tellusnubibus adsiduis pluviaque madescit ab Austro.Haec super inposuit liquidum et gravitate carentemaethera nec quicquam terrenae faecis habentem.Vix ita limitibus dissaepserat omnia certis,cum, quae pressa diu massa latuere sub illa,sidera coeperunt toto effervescere caelo.Neu regio foret ulla suis animalibus orba,astra tenent caeleste solum formaeque deorum,cesserunt nitidis habitandae piscibus undae,terra feras cepit, volucres agitabilis aer.Sanctius his animal mentisque capacius altaedeerat adhuc et quod dominari in cetera posset.Natus homo est, sive hunc divino semine fecitille opifex rerum, mundi melioris origo,sive recens tellus seductaque nuper ab altoaethere cognati retinebat semina caeli;quam satus Iapeto mixtam pluvialibus undisfinxit in effigiem moderantum cuncta deorum.Pronaque cum spectent animalia cetera terram,os homini sublime dedit, caelumque videreiussit et erectos ad sidera tollere vultus.Sic, modo quae fuerat rudis et sine imagine, tellusinduit ignotas hominum conversa figuras.
First was the Golden Age. Then rectitudespontaneous in the heart prevailed, and faith.Avengers were not seen, for laws unframedwere all unknown and needless. Punishmentand fear of penalties existed not.No harsh decrees were fixed on brazen plates.No suppliant multitude the countenanceof Justice feared, averting, for they dweltwithout a judge in peace. Descended notthe steeps, shorn from its height, the lofty pine,cleaving the trackless waves of alien shores,nor distant realms were known to wandering men.The towns were not entrenched for time of war;they had no brazen trumpets, straight, nor hornsof curving brass, nor helmets, shields nor swords.There was no thought of martial pomp —securea happy multitude enjoyed repose.Then of her own accord the earth produceda store of every fruit. The harrow touchedher not, nor did the plowshare woundher fields. And man content with given food,and none compelling, gathered arbute fruitsand wild strawberries on the mountain sides,and ripe blackberries clinging to the bush,and corners and sweet acorns on the ground,down fallen from the spreading tree of Jove.Eternal Spring! Soft breathing zephyrs soothedand warmly cherished buds and blooms, producedwithout a seed. The valleys though unplowedgave many fruits; the fields though not renewedwhite glistened with the heavy bearded wheat:rivers flowed milk and nectar, and the trees,the very oak trees, then gave honey of themselves.When Saturn had been banished into nightand all the world was ruled by Jove supreme,the Silver Age, though not so good as goldbut still surpassing yellow brass, prevailed.Jove first reduced to years the Primal Spring,by him divided into periods four,unequal,—summer, autumn, winter, spring.—then glowed with tawny heat the parched air,or pendent icicles in winter frozeand man stopped crouching in crude caverns, whilehe built his homes of tree rods, bark entwined.Then were the cereals planted in long rows,and bullocks groaned beneath the heavy yoke.The third Age followed, called The Age of Bronze,when cruel people were inclined to armsbut not to impious crimes. And last of allthe ruthless and hard Age of Iron prevailed,from which malignant vein great evil sprung;and modesty and faith and truth took flight,and in their stead deceits and snares and fraudsand violence and wicked love of gain,succeeded.—Then the sailor spread his sailsto winds unknown, and keels that long had stoodon lofty mountains pierced uncharted waves.Surveyors anxious marked with metes and boundsthe lands, created free as light and air:nor need the rich ground furnish only crops,and give due nourishment by right required,—they penetrated to the bowels of earthand dug up wealth, bad cause of all our ills,—rich ores which long ago the earth had hidand deep removed to gloomy Stygian caves:and soon destructive iron and harmful goldwere brought to light; and War, which uses both,came forth and shook with sanguinary griphis clashing arms. Rapacity broke forth—the guest was not protected from his host,the father in law from his own son in law;even brothers seldom could abide in peace.The husband threatened to destroy his wife,and she her husband: horrid step dames mixedthe deadly henbane: eager sons inquiredtheir fathers, ages. Piety was slain:and last of all the virgin deity,Astraea vanished from the blood-stained earth.And lest ethereal heights should long remainless troubled than the earth, the throne of Heavenwas threatened by the Giants; and they piledmountain on mountain to the lofty stars.But Jove, omnipotent, shot thunderboltsthrough Mount Olympus, and he overturnedfrom Ossa huge, enormous Pelion.And while these dreadful bodies lay overwhelmedin their tremendous bulk, (so fame reports)the Earth was reeking with the copious bloodof her gigantic sons; and thus repletewith moisture she infused the steaming gorewith life renewed. So that a monumentof such ferocious stock should be retained,she made that offspring in the shape of man;but this new race alike despised the Gods,and by the greed of savage slaughter proveda sanguinary birth.
Aurea prima sata est aetas, quae vindice nullo,sponte sua, sine lege fidem rectumque colebat.Poena metusque aberant, nec verba minantia fixoaere legebantur, nec supplex turba timebatiudicis ora sui, sed erant sine vindice tuti.Nondum caesa suis, peregrinum ut viseret orbem,montibus in liquidas pinus descenderat undas,nullaque mortales praeter sua litora norant.Nondum praecipites cingebant oppida fossae;non tuba directi, non aeris cornua flexi,non galeae, non ensis erat: sine militis usumollia securae peragebant otia gentes.ipsa quoque inmunis rastroque intacta nec ullissaucia vomeribus per se dabat omnia tellus;contentique cibis nullo cogente creatisarbuteos fetus montanaque fraga legebantcornaque et in duris haerentia mora rubetiset quae deciderant patula Iovis arbore glandes.Ver erat aeternum, placidique tepentibus aurismulcebant zephyri natos sine semine flores.Mox etiam fruges tellus inarata ferebat,nec renovatus ager gravidis canebat aristis;flumina iam lactis, iam flumina nectaris ibant,flavaque de viridi stillabant ilice mella.Postquam, Saturno tenebrosa in Tartara misso,sub Iove mundus erat, subiit argentea proles,auro deterior, fulvo pretiosior aere.Iuppiter antiqui contraxit tempora verisperque hiemes aestusque et inaequalis autumnoset breve ver spatiis exegit quattuor annum.Tum primum siccis aer fervoribus ustuscanduit, et ventis glacies adstricta pependit.Tum primum subiere domus (domus antra fueruntet densi frutices et vinctae cortice virgae).Semina tum primum longis Cerealia sulcisobruta sunt, pressique iugo gemuere iuvenci.Tertia post illam successit aenea proles,saevior ingeniis et ad horrida promptior arma,non scelerata tamen. De duro est ultima ferro.Protinus inrupit venae peioris in aevumomne nefas: fugere pudor verumque fidesque;In quorum subiere locum fraudesque doliqueinsidiaeque et vis et amor sceleratus habendi.Vela dabat ventis (nec adhuc bene noverat illos)navita; quaeque diu steterant in montibus altis,fluctibus ignotis insultavere carinae,communemque prius ceu lumina solis et aurascautus humum longo signavit limite mensor.Nec tantum segetes alimentaque debita divesposcebatur humus, sed itum est in viscera terrae:quasque recondiderat Stygiisque admoverat umbris,effodiuntur opes, inritamenta malorum.Iamque nocens ferrum ferroque nocentius aurumprodierat: prodit bellum, quod pugnat utroque,sanguineaque manu crepitantia concutit arma.Vivitur ex rapto: non hospes ab hospite tutus,non socer a genero; fratrum quoque gratia rara est.Inminet exitio vir coniugis, illa mariti;lurida terribiles miscent aconita novercae;filius ante diem patrios inquirit in annos.Victa iacet pietas, et virgo caede madentis,ultima caelestum terras Astraea reliquit.Neve foret terris securior arduus aether,adfectasse ferunt regnum caeleste Gigantasaltaque congestos struxisse ad sidera montes.Tum pater omnipotens misso perfregit Olympumfulmine et excussit subiectae Pelion Ossae.Obruta mole sua cum corpora dira iacerent,perfusam multo natorum sanguine Terraminmaduisse ferunt calidumque animasse cruorem,et, ne nulla suae stirpis monimenta manerent,in faciem vertisse hominum. Sed et illa propagocontemptrix superum saevaeque avidissima caediset violenta fuit: scires e sanguine natos.
When, from his thronesupreme, the Son of Saturn viewed their deeds,he deeply groaned: and calling to his mindthe loathsome feast Lycaon had prepared,a recent deed not common to report,his soul conceived great anger —worthy Jove—and he convened a council. No delaydetained the chosen Gods.When skies are cleara path is well defined on high, which men,because so white, have named the Milky Way.It makes a passage for the deitiesand leads to mansions of the Thunder God,to Jove's imperial home. On either sideof its wide way the noble Gods are seen,inferior Gods in other parts abide,but there the potent and renowned of Heavenhave fixed their homes.—It is a glorious place,our most audacious verse might designatethe “Palace of High Heaven.” When the Godswere seated, therefore, in its marble hallsthe King of all above the throng sat high,and leaning on his ivory scepter, thrice,and once again he shook his awful locks,wherewith he moved the earth, and seas and stars,—and thus indignantly began to speak;“The time when serpent footed giants stroveto fix their hundred arms on captive Heaven,not more than this event could cause alarmfor my dominion of the universe.Although it was a savage enemy,yet warred we with a single source derivedof one. Now must I utterly destroythis mortal race wherever Nereus roarsaround the world. Yea, by the Infernal Streamsthat glide through Stygian groves beneath the world,I swear it. Every method has been tried.The knife must cut immedicable wounds,lest maladies infect untainted parts.“Beneath my sway are demi gods and fauns,nymphs, rustic deities, sylvans of the hills,satyrs;—all these, unworthy Heaven's abodes,we should at least permit to dwell on earthwhich we to them bequeathed. What think ye, Gods,is safety theirs when I, your sovereign lord,the Thunder-bolt Controller, am ensnaredby fierce Lycaon?” Ardent in their wrath,the astonished Gods demand revenge overtakethis miscreant; he who dared commit such crimes.'Twas even thus when raged that impious bandto blot the Roman name in sacred bloodof Caesar, sudden apprehensive fearsof ruin absolute astonished man,and all the world convulsed. Nor is the lovethy people bear to thee, Augustus, lessthan these displayed to Jupiter whose voiceand gesture all the murmuring host restrained:and as indignant clamour ceased, suppressedby regnant majesty, Jove once againbroke the deep silence with imperial words;“Dismiss your cares; he paid the penaltyhowever all the crime and punishmentnow learn from this:—An infamous reportof this unholy age had reached my ears,and wishing it were false, I sloped my coursefrom high Olympus, and—although a God—disguised in human form I viewed the world.It would delay us to recount the crimesunnumbered, for reports were less than truth.“I traversed Maenalus where fearful densabound, over Lycaeus, wintry slopesof pine tree groves, across Cyllene steep;and as the twilight warned of night's approach,I stopped in that Arcadian tyrant's realmsand entered his inhospitable home:—and when I showed his people that a Godhad come, the lowly prayed and worshiped me,but this Lycaon mocked their pious vowsand scoffing said; ‘A fair experimentwill prove the truth if this be god or man.’and he prepared to slay me in the night,—to end my slumbers in the sleep of death.So made he merry with his impious proof;but not content with this he cut the throatof a Molossian hostage sent to him,and partly softened his still quivering limbsin boiling water, partly roasted themon fires that burned beneath. And when this fleshwas served to me on tables, I destroyedhis dwelling and his worthless Household Gods,with thunder bolts avenging. Terror struckhe took to flight, and on the silent plainsis howling in his vain attempts to speak;he raves and rages and his greedy jaws,desiring their accustomed slaughter, turnagainst the sheep—still eager for their blood.His vesture separates in shaggy hair,his arms are changed to legs; and as a wolfhe has the same grey locks, the same hard face,the same bright eyes, the same ferocious look.“Thus fell one house, but not one house alonedeserved to perish; over all the earthferocious deeds prevail,—all men conspirein evil. Let them therefore feel the weightof dreadful penalties so justly earned,for such hath my unchanging will ordained.”with exclamations some approved the wordsof Jove and added fuel to his wrath,while others gave assent: but all deploredand questioned the estate of earth deprivedof mortals. Who could offer frankincenseupon the altars? Would he suffer earthto be despoiled by hungry beasts of prey?Such idle questions of the state of manthe King of Gods forbade, but granted soonto people earth with race miraculous,unlike the first.
Quae pater ut summa vidit Saturnius arce,ingemit et, facto nondum vulgata recenti,foeda Lycaoniae referens convivia mensae,ingentes animo et dignas Iove concipit iras,conciliumque vocat: tenuit mora nulla vocatos.Est via sublimis, caelo manifesta sereno:lactea nomen habet, candore notabilis ipso.Hac iter est superis ad magni tecta Tonantisregalemque domum. Dextra laevaque deorumatria nobilium valvis celebrantur apertis(plebs habitat diversa locis): hac parte potentescaelicolae clarique suos posuere penates.Hic locus est, quem, si verbis audacia detur,haud timeam magni dixisse Palatia caeli.Ergo ubi marmoreo superi sedere recessu,celsior ipse loco sceptroque innixus eburnoterrificam capitis concussit terque quaterquecaesariem, cum qua terram, mare, sidera movit.Talibus inde modis ora indignantia solvit:“Non ego pro mundi regno magis anxius illatempestate fui, qua centum quisque parabatinicere anguipedum captivo bracchia caelo.Nam quamquam ferus hostis erat, tamen illud ab unocorpore et ex una pendebat origine bellum.Nunc mihi, qua totum Nereus circumsonat orbem,perdendum est mortale genus: per flumina iuroinfera, sub terras Stygio labentia luco!cuncta prius temptata: sed inmedicabile corpusense recidendum est, ne pars sincera trahatur.Sunt mihi semidei, sunt rustica numina, nymphaefaunique satyrique et monticolae silvani:quos quoniam caeli nondum dignamur honore,quas dedimus certe terras habitare sinamus.An satis, o superi, tutos fore creditis illos,cum mihi, qui fulmen, qui vos habeoque regoque,struxerit insidias notus feritate Lycaon?”Confremuere omnes studiisque ardentibus ausumtalia deposcunt. Sic, cum manus inpia saevitsanguine Caesareo Romanum exstinguere nomen,attonitum tanto subitae terrore ruinaehumanum genus est totusque perhorruit orbis:nec tibi grata minus pietas, Auguste, tuorum est,quam fuit illa Iovi. Qui postquam voce manuquemurmura conpressit, tenuere silentia cuncti.Substitit ut clamor pressus gravitate regentis,Iuppiter hoc iterum sermone silentia rupit:“Ille quidem poenas, curam hanc dimittite, solvit.Quod tamen admissum, quae sit vindicta, docebo.Contigerat nostras infamia temporis aures;quam cupiens falsam summo delabor Olympoet deus humana lustro sub imagine terras.Longa mora est, quantum noxae sit ubique repertum,enumerare: minor fuit ipsa infamia vero.Maenala transieram latebris horrenda ferarumet cum Cyllene gelidi pineta Lycaei:Arcadis hinc sedes et inhospita tecta tyranniingredior, traherent cum sera crepuscula noctem.Signa dedi venisse deum, vulgusque precaricoeperat: inridet primo pia vota Lycaon,mox ait ”experiar deus hic, discrimine aperto,an sit mortalis. Nec erit dubitabile verum.”Nocte gravem somno necopina perdere morteme parat: haec illi placet experientia veri.Nec contentus eo est: missi de gente Molossaobsidis unius iugulum mucrone resolvit,atque ita semineces partim ferventibus artusmollit aquis, partim subiecto torruit igni.Quod simul inposuit mensis, ego vindice flammain domino dignos everti tecta penates.Territus ipse fugit, nactusque silentia rurisexululat frustraque loqui conatur: ab ipsoconligit os rabiem, solitaeque cupidine caedisvertitur in pecudes et nunc quoque sanguine gaudet.In villos abeunt vestes, in crura lacerti:fit lupus et veteris servat vestigia formae.Canities eadem est, eadem violentia vultus,idem oculi lucent, eadem feritatis imago est.Occidit una domus. Sed non domus una periredigna fuit: qua terra patet, fera regnat Erinys.In facinus iurasse putes. Dent ocius omnesquas meruere pati (sic stat sententia) poenas.”Dicta Iovis pars voce probant stimulosque frementiadiciunt, alii partes adsensibus inplent.Est tamen humani generis iactura doloriomnibus, et, quae sit terrae mortalibus orbaeforma futura, rogant, quis sit laturus in arastura, ferisne paret populandas tradere terras.Talia quaerentes (sibi enim fore cetera curae)rex superum trepidare vetat subolemque prioridissimilem populo promittit origine mira.
And now his thunder boltswould Jove wide scatter, but he feared the flames,unnumbered, sacred ether might igniteand burn the axle of the universe:and he remembered in the scroll of fate,there is a time appointed when the seaand earth and Heavens shall melt, and fire destroythe universe of mighty labour wrought.Such weapons by the skill of Cyclops forged,for different punishment he laid aside—for straightway he preferred to overwhelmthe mortal race beneath deep waves and stormsfrom every raining sky. And instantlyhe shut the Northwind in Aeolian caves,and every other wind that might dispelthe gathering clouds. He bade the Southwind blow:—the Southwind flies abroad with dripping wings,concealing in the gloom his awful face:the drenching rain descends from his wet beardand hoary locks; dark clouds are on his browsand from his wings and garments drip the dews:his great hands press the overhanging clouds;loudly the thunders roll; the torrents pour;Iris, the messenger of Juno, cladin many coloured raiment, upward drawsthe steaming moisture to renew the clouds.The standing grain is beaten to the ground,the rustic's crops are scattered in the mire,and he bewails the long year's fruitless toil.The wrath of Jove was not content with powersthat emanate from Heaven; he brought to aidhis azure brother, lord of flowing waves,who called upon the Rivers and the Streams:and when they entered his impearled abode,Neptune, their ancient ruler, thus began;“A long appeal is needless; pour ye forthin rage of power; open up your fountains;rush over obstacles; let every streampour forth in boundless floods.” Thus he commands,and none dissenting all the River Godsreturn, and opening up their fountains rolltumultuous to the deep unfruitful sea.And Neptune with his trident smote the Earth,which trembling with unwonted throes heaved upthe sources of her waters bare; and throughher open plains the rapid rivers rushedresistless, onward bearing the waving grain,the budding groves, the houses, sheep and men,—and holy temples, and their sacred urns.The mansions that remained, resisting vastand total ruin, deepening waves concealedand whelmed their tottering turrets in the floodand whirling gulf. And now one vast expanse,the land and sea were mingled in the wasteof endless waves—a sea without a shore.One desperate man seized on the nearest hill;another sitting in his curved boat,plied the long oar where he was wont to plow;another sailed above his grain, abovehis hidden dwelling; and another hookeda fish that sported in a leafy elm.Perchance an anchor dropped in verdant fields,or curving keels were pushed through tangled vines;and where the gracile goat enjoyed the green,unsightly seals reposed. Beneath the waveswere wondering Nereids, viewing cities, grovesand houses. Dolphins darting mid the trees,meshed in the twisted branches, beat againstthe shaken oak trees. There the sheep, affrayed,swim with the frightened wolf, the surging wavesfloat tigers and lions: availeth naughthis lightning shock the wild boar, nor availsthe stag's fleet footed speed. The wandering bird,seeking umbrageous groves and hidden vales,with wearied pinion droops into the sea.The waves increasing surge above the hills,and rising waters dash on mountain tops.Myriads by the waves are swept away,and those the waters spare, for lack of food,starvation slowly overcomes at last.A fruitful land and fair but now submergedbeneath a wilderness of rising waves,'Twixt Oeta and Aonia, Phocis lies,where through the clouds Parnassus' summits twainpoint upward to the stars, unmeasured height,save which the rolling billows covered all:there in a small and fragile boat, arrived,Deucalion and the consort of his couch,prepared to worship the Corycian Nymphs,the mountain deities, and Themis kind,who in that age revealed in oraclesthe voice of fate. As he no other livedso good and just, as she no other fearedthe Gods.When Jupiter beheld the globein ruin covered, swept with wasting waves,and when he saw one man of myriads left,one helpless woman left of myriads lone,both innocent and worshiping the Gods,he scattered all the clouds; he blew awaythe great storms by the cold northwind.
Iamque erat in totas sparsurus fulmina terras:sed timuit, ne forte sacer tot ab ignibus aetherconciperet flammas longusque ardesceret axis:esse quoque in fatis reminiscitur, adfore tempus,quo mare, quo tellus correptaque regia caeliardeat et mundi moles obsessa laboret.Tela reponuntur manibus fabricata Cyclopum:poena placet diversa, genus mortale sub undisperdere et ex omni nimbos demittere caelo.Protinus Aeoliis Aquilonem claudit in antriset quaecumque fugant inductas flamina nubesemittitque Notum. Madidis Notus evolat alis,terribilem picea tectus caligine vultum:barba gravis nimbis, canis fluit unda capillis;fronte sedent nebulae, rorant pennaeque sinusque.Utque manu late pendentia nubila pressit,fit fragor: hinc densi funduntur ab aethere nimbi.Nuntia Iunonis varios induta coloresconcipit Iris aquas alimentaque nubibus adfert.Sternuntur segetes et deplorata colonivota iacent, longique perit labor inritus anni.Nec caelo contenta suo est Iovis ira, sed illumcaeruleus frater iuvat auxiliaribus undis.Convocat hic amnes. Qui postquam tecta tyranniintravere sui, “non est hortamine longonunc” ait “utendum. Vires effundite vestras:sic opus est! aperite domos ac mole remotafluminibus vestris totas inmittite habenas!”Iusserat; hi redeunt ac fontibus ora relaxantet defrenato volvuntur in aequora cursu.Ipse tridente suo terram percussit: at illaintremuit motuque vias patefecit aquarum.Exspatiata ruunt per apertos flumina camposcumque satis arbusta simul pecudesque virosquetectaque cumque suis rapiunt penetralia sacris.Siqua domus mansit potuitque resistere tantoindeiecta malo, culmen tamen altior huiusunda tegit, pressaeque latent sub gurgite turres.Iamque mare et tellus nullum discrimen habebant:omnia pontus erant; deerant quoque litora ponto.Occupat hic collem, cumba sedet alter aduncaet ducit remos illic, ubi nuper ararat,ille supra segetes aut mersae culmina villaenavigat, hic summa piscem deprendit in ulmo.Figitur in viridi, si fors tulit, ancora prato,aut subiecta terunt curvae vineta carinae;et, modo qua graciles gramen carpsere capellae,nunc ibi deformes ponunt sua corpora phocae.Mirantur sub aqua lucos urbesque domosqueNereides, silvasque tenent delphines et altisincursant ramis agitataque robora pulsant.Nat lupus inter oves, fulvos vehit unda leones,unda vehit tigres, nec vires fulminis apro,crura nec ablato prosunt velocia cervo.Quaesitisque diu terris, ubi sistere possit,in mare lassatis volucris vaga decidit alis.Obruerat tumulos inmensa licentia ponti,pulsabantque novi montana cacumina fluctus.Maxima pars unda rapitur; quibus unda pepercit,illos longa domant inopi ieiunia victu.Separat Aonios Oetaeis Phocis ab arvis,terra ferax, dum terra fuit, sed tempore in illopars maris et latus subitarum campus aquarum.Mons ibi verticibus petit arduus astra duobus,nomine Parnasus, superantque cacumina nubes.Hic ubi Deucalion (nam cetera texerat aequor)cum consorte tori parva rate vectus adhaesit,Corycidas nymphas et numina montis adorantfatidicamque Themin, quae tunc oracla tenebat.Non illo melior quisquam nec amantior aequivir fuit aut illa metuentior ulla deorum.Iuppiter ut liquidis stagnare paludibus orbemet superesse virum de tot modo milibus unum,et superesse videt de tot modo milibus unam,innocuos ambo, cultores numinis ambo,nubila disiecit nimbisque aquilone remotiset caelo terras ostendit et aethera terris.Nec maris ira manet, positoque tricuspide telomulcet aquas rector pelagi supraque profundumexstantem atque umeros innato murice tectumcaeruleum Tritona vocat conchaeque sonantiinspirare iubet fluctusque et flumina signoiam revocare dato. Cava bucina sumitur illi,tortilis, in latum quae turbine crescit ab imo,bucina, quae medio concepit ubi aera ponto,litora voce replet sub utroque iacentia Phoebo.Tunc quoque, ut ora dei madida rorantia barbacontigit et cecinit iussos inflata receptus,omnibus audita est telluris et aequoris undis,et quibus est undis audita, coercuit omnes.Iam mare litus habet, plenos capit alveus amnes,flumina subsidunt collesque exire videntur,surgit humus, crescunt loca decrescentibus undis,postque diem longam nudata cacumina silvaeostendunt limumque tenent in fronde relictum.
Once morethe earth appeared to heaven and the skiesappeared to earth. The fury of the mainabated, for the Ocean ruler laidhis trident down and pacified the waves,and called on azure Triton.—Triton aroseabove the waving seas, his shoulders mailedin purple shells.—He bade the Triton blow,blow in his sounding shell, the wandering streamsand rivers to recall with signal known:a hollow wreathed trumpet, tapering wideand slender stemmed, the Triton took amainand wound the pearly shell at midmost sea.Betwixt the rising and the setting sunsthe wildered notes resounded shore to shore,and as it touched his lips, wet with the brinebeneath his dripping beard, sounded retreat:and all the waters of the land and seaobeyed. Their fountains heard and ceased to flow;their waves subsided; hidden hills uprose;emerged the shores of ocean; channels filledwith flowing streams; the soil appeared; the landincreased its surface as the waves decreased:and after length of days the trees put forth,with ooze on bending boughs, their naked tops.And all the wasted globe was now restored,but as he viewed the vast and silent worldDeucalion wept and thus to Pyrrha spoke;“O sister! wife! alone of woman left!My kindred in descent and origin!Dearest companion of my marriage bed,doubly endeared by deepening dangers borne,—of all the dawn and eve behold of earth,but you and I are left—for the deep seahas kept the rest! And what prevents the tidefrom overwhelming us? Remaining cloudsaffright us. How could you endure your fearsif you alone were rescued by this fate,and who would then console your bitter grief?Oh be assured, if you were buried in the waves,that I would follow you and be with you!Oh would that by my father's art I mightrestore the people, and inspire this clayto take the form of man. Alas, the Godsdecreed and only we are living!”, ThusDeucalion's plaint to Pyrrha;—and they wept.And after he had spoken, they resolvedto ask the aid of sacred oracles,—and so they hastened to Cephissian waveswhich rolled a turbid flood in channels known.Thence when their robes and brows were sprinkled well,they turned their footsteps to the goddess' fane:its gables were befouled with reeking mossand on its altars every fire was cold.But when the twain had reached the temple stepsthey fell upon the earth, inspired with awe,and kissed the cold stone with their trembling lips,and said; “If righteous prayers appease the Gods,and if the wrath of high celestial powersmay thus be turned, declare, O Themis! whenceand what the art may raise humanity?O gentle goddess help the dying world!”Moved by their supplications, she replied;“Depart from me and veil your brows; ungirdyour robes, and cast behind you as you go,the bones of your great mother.” Long they stoodin dumb amazement: Pyrrha, first of voice,refused the mandate and with trembling lipsimplored the goddess to forgive—she fearedto violate her mother's bones and vexher sacred spirit. Often pondered theythe words involved in such obscurity,repeating oft: and thus Deucalionto Epimetheus' daughter uttered speechof soothing import; “Oracles are justand urge not evil deeds, or naught availsthe skill of thought. Our mother is the Earth,and I may judge the stones of earth are bonesthat we should cast behind us as we go.”And although Pyrrha by his words was movedshe hesitated to comply; and both amazeddoubted the purpose of the oracle,but deemed no harm to come of trial. They,descending from the temple, veiled their headsand loosed their robes and threw some stonesbehind them. It is much beyond belief,were not receding ages witness, hardand rigid stones assumed a softer form,enlarging as their brittle nature changedto milder substance,—till the shape of manappeared, imperfect, faintly outlined first,as marble statue chiseled in the rough.The soft moist parts were changed to softer flesh,the hard and brittle substance into bones,the veins retained their ancient name. And nowthe Gods supreme ordained that every stoneDeucalion threw should take the form of man,and those by Pyrrha cast should woman's formassume: so are we hardy to endureand prove by toil and deeds from what we sprung.
Redditus orbis erat. Quem postquam vidit inanemet desolatas agere alta silentia terras,Deucalion lacrimis ita Pyrrham adfatur obortis:“O soror, o coniunx, o femina sola superstes,quam commune mihi genus et patruelis origo,deinde torus iunxit, nunc ipsa pericula iungunt,terrarum, quascumque vident occasus et ortus,nos duo turba sumus; possedit cetera pontus.Haec quoque adhuc vitae non est fiducia nostraecerta satis; terrent etiam nunc nubila mentem.Quis tibi, si sine me fatis erepta fuisses,nunc animus, miseranda, foret? quo sola timoremferre modo posses? quo consolante doleres?Namque ego (crede mihi) si te quoque pontus haberet,te sequerer, coniunx, et me quoque pontus haberet.O utinam possim populos reparare paternisartibus atque animas formatae infundere terrae!Nunc genus in nobis restat mortale duobus(sic visum superis) hominumque exempla manemus.”Dixerat, et flebant. Placuit caeleste precarinumen et auxilium per sacras quaerere sortes.Nulla mora est: adeunt pariter Cephisidas undas,ut nondum liquidas, sic iam vada nota secantes.Inde ubi libatos inroravere liquoresvestibus et capiti, flectunt vestigia sanctaead delubra deae, quorum fastigia turpipallebant musco stabantque sine ignibus arae.Ut templi tetigere gradus, procumbit uterquepronus humi gelidoque pavens dedit oscula saxoatque ita “si precibus” dixerunt “numina iustisvicta remollescunt, si flectitur ira deorum,dic, Themi, qua generis damnum reparabile nostriarte sit, et mersis fer opem, mitissima, rebus.”Mota dea est sortemque dedit: “Discedite temploet velate caput cinctasque resolvite vestesossaque post tergum magnae iactate parentis.”Obstipuere diu, rumpitque silentia vocePyrrha prior iussisque deae parere recusat,detque sibi veniam pavido rogat ore, pavetquelaedere iactatis maternas ossibus umbras.Interea repetunt caecis obscura latebrisverba datae sortis secum inter seque volutant.Inde Promethides placidis Epimethida dictismulcet et “aut fallax” ait “est sollertia nobis,aut pia sunt nullumque nefas oracula suadent.Magna parens terra est, lapides in corpore terraeossa reor dici; iacere hos post terga iubemur.”Coniugis augurio quamquam Titania mota est,spes tamen in dubio est: adeo caelestibus ambodiffidunt monitis. Sed quid temptare nocebit?Discedunt velantque caput tunicasque recinguntet iussos lapides sua post vestigia mittunt.Saxa (quis hoc credat, nisi sit pro teste vetustas?)ponere duritiem coepere suumque rigoremmollirique mora mollitaque ducere formam.Mox ubi creverunt naturaque mitior illiscontigit, ut quaedam, sic non manifesta, videriforma potest hominis, sed, uti de marmore coepta,non exacta satis rudibusque simillima signis.Quae tamen ex illis aliquo pars umida sucoet terrena fuit, versa est in corporis usum;quod solidum est flectique nequit, mutatur in ossa;quae modo vena fuit, sub eodem nomine mansit;inque brevi spatio superorum numine saxamissa viri manibus faciem traxere virorum,et de femineo reparata est femina iactu.Inde genus durum sumus experiensque laborumet documenta damus qua simus origine nati.