Macareus finished. And Aeneas' nurse,now buried in a marble urn, had thisbrief, strange inscription on her tomb:—“My foster-child of proven piety,burned me Caieta here: althoughI was at first preserved from Argive fire,I later burned with fire which was my due.”The cable loosened from the grassy bank,they steered a course which kept them well awayfrom ill famed Circe's wiles and from her homeand sought the groves where Tiber dark with shade,breaks with his yellow sands into the sea.Aeneas then fell heir to the home and wonthe daughter of Latinus, Faunus' son,not without war. A people very fiercemade war, and Turnus, their young chief,indignant fought to hold a promised bride.With Latium all Etruria was embroiled,a victory hard to win was sought through war.By foreign aid each side got further strength:the camp of Rutuli abounds in men,and many throng the opposing camp of Troy.Aeneas did not find Evander's homein vain. But Venulus with no successcame to the realm of exiled Diomed.That hero had marked out his mighty wallswith favor of Iapygian Daunus andheld fields that came to him as marriage dower.When Venulus, by Turnus' orders, maderequest for aid, the Aetolian hero saidthat he was poor in men: he did not wishto risk in battle himself nor any troopsbelonging to his father-in-law and hadno troops of his that he could arm for battle.“Lest you should think I feign,” he then went on“Although my grief must be renewed becauseof bitter recollections of the past,I will endure recital now to you:—“After the lofty Ilion was burntand Pergama had fed the Grecian flames,and Ajax, the Narycian hero, hadbrought from a virgin, for a virgin wronged,the punishment which he alone deservedon our whole expedition, we were thendispersed and driven by violent windsover the hostile seas; and we, the Greeks,had to endure in darkness, lightning, rain,the wrath both of the heavens and of the sea,and Caphareus, the climax of our woe.Not to detain you by relating suchunhappy things in order, Greece might thenhave seemed to merit even Priam's tears.“Although well armed Minerva's care preservedme then and brought me safe through rocks and waves,from my native Argos I was driven again,for outraged Venus took her full revengeremembering still that wound of long ago;and I endured such hardships on the deep,and hazards amid armies on the shore,that often I called those happy whom the storm—an ill that came on all, or Cephareus had drowned.I even wished I had been one of them.“My best companions having now enduredutmost extremities in wars and seas,lost courage and demanded a swift endof our long wandering. Acmon, by nature hot,and much embittered by misfortune, said,‘What now remains for you, my friends,that patience can endure? What can be doneby Venus (if she wants to) more than shealready has done? While we have a dreadof greater evils, reason will be foundfor patience; but, when fortune brings her worst,we scorn and trample fear beneath our feet.Upon the height of woe, why should we care?Let Venus listen, let her hate Diomedmore than all others—as indeed she does,we all despise her hate. At a great pricewe have bought and won the right to such contempt!’“With language of this kind Pleuronian Acmon.Provoking Venus further than before,revived her former anger. His fierce wordswere then approved of by a few, while wethe greater number of his real friends,rebuked the words of Acmon: and while heprepared to answer us, his voice, and eventhe passage of his voice, were both at oncediminished, his hair changed to feathers, whilehis neck took a new form. His breast and backcovered themselves with down, and both his armsgrew longer feathers, and his elbows curvedinto light wings, much of each foot was changedto long toes, and his mouth grew still and hardwith pointed horn.“Amazed at his swift changewere Lycus, Abas, Nycteus and Rhexenor.And, while they stared, they took his feathered shape.The larger portion of my companyflew from their boat, resounding all aroundour oars with flapping of new-fashioned wings.If you should ask the form of these strange birdsthey were like snowy swans, though not the same.“Now as Iapygian Daunus' son-in-lawI scarcely hold this town and arid fieldswith my small remnant of trustworthy men.”So Diomed made answer. Venulussoon after left the Calydonian realms,Peucetian bays, and the Messapian fields.Among those fields he saw a darkened cavein woods and waving reeds. The halfgoat Pannow lives there, but in older time the nymphspossessed it. An Apulian shepherd scaredthem from that spot. At first he terrifiedthem with a sudden fear, but soon in scorn,as they considered what the intruder was,they danced before him, moving feet to time.The shepherd clown abused them, capering,grotesquely imitating graceful steps,and railed at them with coarse and foolish words.He was not silent till a tree's new barkhad closed his mouth for now he is a tree.And the wild olive's fruit took bitternessfrom him. It has the tartness of his tongue.
Finierat Macareus. Urnaque Aeneia nutrixcondita marmoreo tumulo breve carmen habebat:HIC ME CAIETAM NOTAE PIETATIS ALUMNUSEREPTAM ARGOLICO QUO DEBUIT IGNE CREMAVIT.Solvitur herboso religatus ab aggere funis,et procul insidias infamataeque relinquunttecta deae lucosque petunt, ubi nubilus umbrain mare cum flava prorumpit Thybris harena;Faunigenaeque domo potitur nataque Latini,non sine Marte tamen: bellum cum gente ferocisuscipitur, pactaque furit pro coniuge Turnus.Concurrit Latio Tyrrhenia tota, diuqueardua sollicitis victoria quaeritur armis.Auget uterque suas externo robore vires,et multi Rutulos, multi Troiana tuenturcastra. Neque Aeneas Euandri ad moenia frustra,at Venulus frustra profugi Diomedis ad urbemvenerat: ille quidem sub Iapyge maxima Daunomoenia condiderat dotaliaque arva tenebat.Sed Venulus Turni postquam mandata peregitauxilium petiit, vires Aetolius herosexcusat: nec se aut soceri committere pugnaevelle sui populos, aut quos e gente suorumarmet habere ullos, “neve haec commenta putetis,admonitu quamquam luctus renoventur amariperpetiar memorare tamen. Postquam alta cremata estIlion et Danaas paverunt Pergama flammas,Naryciusque heros, a virgine virgine rapta,quam meruit poenam solus, digessit in omnes,spargimur et ventis inimica per aequora raptifulmina, noctem, imbres, iram caelique marisqueperpetimur Danai cumulumque Capherea cladis.Neve morer referens tristes ex ordine casus,Graecia tum potuit Priamo quoque flenda videri.Me tamen armiferae servatum cura Minervaefluctibus eripuit, patriis sed rursus ab agrispellor, et antiquo memores de vulnere poenasexigit alma Venus, tantosque per alta laboresaequora sustinui, tantos terrestribus armis,ut mihi felices sint illi saepe vocati,quos communis hiems importunusque Caphereusmersit aquis, vellemque horum pars una fuissem.Ultima iam passi comites belloque fretoquedeficiunt finemque rogant erroris, at Acmonfervidus ingenio, tum vero et cladibus asper,“quid superest, quod iam patientia nostra recusetferre, viri?” dixit; “quid habet Cytherea, quod ultra(velle puta!) faciat? Nam dum peiora timentur,est locus in vulnus: sors autem ubi pessima rerum,sub pedibus timor est securaque summa malorum.Audiat ipsa licet, et, quod facit, oderit omnessub Diomede viros, odium tamen illius omnesspernimus: et magno stat magna potentia nobis!”Talibus iratam Venerem Pleuronius Acmoninstimulat verbis stimulisque resuscitat iram.Dicta placent paucis: numeri maioris amiciAcmona corripimus; cui respondere volentivox pariter vocisque via est tenuata, comaequein plumas abeunt, plumis nova colla tegunturpectoraque et tergum, maiores bracchia pennasaccipiunt, cubitusque leves sinuatur in alas.Magna pedis digitos pars occupat, oraque cornuindurata rigent finemque in acumine ponunt.Hunc Lycus, hunc Idas et cum Rhexenore Nycteus,hunc miratur Abas: et dum mirantur, eandemaccipiunt faciem, numerusque ex agmine maiorsubvolat et remos plausis circumvolat alis.Si volucrum quae sit dubiarum forma, requiris,ut non cygnorum, sic albis proxima cygnis.Vix equidem has sedes et Iapygis arida Dauniarva gener teneo minima cum parte meorum.”Hactenus Oenides. Venulus Calydonia regnaPeucetiosque sinus Messapiaque arva relinquit.In quibus antra videt, quae multa nubila silvaet levibus cannis manantia semicaper Pannunc tenet, at quodam tenuerunt tempore nymphae.Apulus has illa pastor regione fugatasterruit et primo subita formidine movit,mox, ubi mens rediit et contempsere sequentem,ad numerum motis pedibus duxere choreas.Improbat has pastor, saltuque imitatus agrestiaddidit obscenis convicia rustica dictis,nec prius os tacuit, quam guttura condidit arbor:arbore enim sucoque licet cognoscere mores;quippe notam linguae bacis oleaster amarisexhibet: asperitas verborum cessit in illas.
When the ambassadors returned and toldtheir tale about Aetolian arms refused,the bold Rutulians carried on the warwithout those forces, and much blood was shed.Then Turnus with a greedy torch drew nearthe Trojan fleet, well built of close-knit pine.What had escaped the waves, now feared the flame.Soon Mulciber was burning pitch and waxand other food of fire, up the high mastshe ran and fed upon the tight furled sails,and even the benches in the curved hull smoked.When the holy mother of the gods, recallinghow those same pines were felled on Ida's crest,filled the wind with a sound of cymbals clashedand trill of boxwood flutes. Borne through light airby her famed lion yoke, she came and said,“In vain you cast the fire with impious hand,Turnus, for I will save this burning fleet.I will not let the greedy flame consumetrees that were part and members of my grove.”It thundered while she spoke, and heavy clouds,following the thunder, brought a stormof bounding hail. The Astraean brothers filledboth air and swollen waters with their rageand rushed to battle. With the aid of oneof them the kindly mother broke the ropeswhich held the Phrygian ships, and, drawing allprow foremost, plunged them underneath the wave.Softening quickly in the waters quiet depth,their wood was changed to flesh, the curving prowswere metamorphosed into human heads,blades of the oars made feet, the looms were changedto swimming legs, the sides turned human flanks,each keel below the middle of a shiptransformed became a spine, the cordage changedto soft hair, and the sail yards changed to arms.The azure color of the ships remained.As sea-nymphs in the water they beganto agitate with virgin sports the waves,which they had always dreaded. Natives ofthe rugged mountains they are now so changed,they swim and dwell in the soft flowing sea,with every influence of birth forgot.Never forgetful of the myriad risksthey have endured among the boisterous waves,they often give a helping hand to shipstossed in the power of storms—unless, of course,the ship might carry men of Grecian race.Never forgetful of the Phrygians andcatastrophe, their hatred was so greatof all Pelasgians, that they looked with joyupon the fragments of Ulysses' ship;and were delighted when they saw the shipof King Alcinous growing hard uponthe breakers, as its wood was turned to stone.Many were hopeful that a fleet which hadreceived life strangely in the forms of nymphswould cause the chieftain of the Rutulito feel such awe that he would end their strife.But he continued fighting, and each sidehad its own gods, and each had courage too,which often can be as potent as the gods.Now they forgot the kingdom as a dower,forgot the scepter of a father-in-law,and even forgot the pure Lavinia:their one thought was to conquer, and they wagedwar to prevent the shame of a defeat.But Venus finally beheld the armsof her victorious son; for Turnus fell,and Ardea fell, a town which, while he lived,was counted strong. The Trojan swordsdestroyed it.—All its houses burned and sankdown in the heated embers: and a birdnot known before that time, flew upward froma wrecked heap, beating the dead ashes withits flapping wings. The voice, the lean pale look,the sorrows of a captured city, eventhe name of the ruined city, all these thingsremain in that bird—Ardea's fallen wallsare beaten in lamentation by his wings.
Hinc ubi legati rediere, negata ferentesarma Aetola sibi, Rutuli sine viribus illisbella instructa gerunt, multumque ab utraque cruorisparte datur; fert ecce avidas in pinea Turnustexta faces, ignesque timent, quibus unda pepercit.Iamque picem et ceras alimentaque cetera flammaeMulciber urebat perque altum ad carbasa malumibat, et incurvae fumabant transtra carinae:cum memor has pinus Idaeo vertice caesassancta deum genetrix tinnitibus aera pulsiaeris et inflati complevit murmure buxi,perque leves domitis invecta leonibus auras“inrita sacrilega iactas incendia dextra,Turne!” ait. “Eripiam, nec me patiente cremabitignis edax nemorum partes et membra meorum.”Intonuit dicente dea, tonitrumque secuticum saliente graves ceciderunt grandine nimbi,aeraque et tumidum subitis concursibus aequorAstraei turbant et eunt in proelia fratres.E quibus alma parens unius viribus usastuppea praerupit Phrygiae retinacula puppisfertque rates pronas medioque sub aequore mergit;robore mollito lignoque in corpora versoin capitum facies puppes mutantur aduncae,in digitos abeunt et crura natantia remi,quodque prius fuerat, latus est mediisque carinasubdita navigiis spinae mutatur in usum,lina comae molles, antemnae bracchia fiunt,caerulus, ut fuerat, color est; quasque ante timebant,illas virgineis exercent lusibus undasnaides aequoreae durisque in montibus ortaemolle fretum celebrant nec eas sua tangit origo.Non tamen oblitae, quam multa pericula saepepertulerint pelago, iactatis saepe carinissupposuere manus, nisi siqua vehebat Achivos:cladis adhuc Phrygiae memores, odere PelasgosNeritiaeque ratis viderunt fragmina laetisvultibus et laetis videre rigescere puppemvultibus Alcinoi saxumque increscere ligno.Spes erat, in nymphas animata classe marinas,posse metu monstri Rutulum desistere bello:perstat, habetque deos pars utraque, quodque deorum estinstar, habent animos; nec iam dotalia regnanec sceptrum soceri, nec te, Lavinia virgo,sed vicisse petunt deponendique pudorebella gerunt, tandemque Venus victricia natiarma videt, Turnusque cadit, cadit Ardea, Turnosospite dicta potens. Quem postquam barbarus ensisabstulit et tepida latuerunt tecta favilla,congerie e media tum primum cognita praepessubvolat et cineres plausis everberat alis.Et sonus et macies et pallor et omnia, captamquae deceant urbem, nomen quoque mansit in illaurbis; et ipsa suis deplangitur Ardea pennis.
The merit of Aeneas now had movedthe gods. Even Juno stayed her lasting hate,when, with the state of young Iulus safe,the hero son of Cytherea wasprepared for heaven. In a council of the godsVenus arose, embraced her father's neck,and said: “My father, ever kind to me,I do beseech your kind indulgence now;grant, dearest, to Aeneas, my own sonand also your own grandson, grant to hima godhead power, although of lowest class,sufficient if but granted. It is enoughto have looked once upon the unlovely realm.And once to have gone across the Stygian streams.”The gods assented, and the queen of Jovenodded consent with calm, approving face.The father said, “You well deserve the gift,both you who ask it, and the one for whomyou ask it: what you most desire is yours,my daughter.” He decreed, and she rejoicedand thanked her parent. Borne by harnessed dovesover and through the light air, she arrivedsafe on Laurentine shores: Numicius therewinds through his tall reeds to the neighboring seathe waters of his stream: and there she willedNumicius should wash perfectly awayfrom her Aeneas every part that mightbe subject unto death; and bear it farwith quiet current into Neptune's realm.The horned Numicius satisfied the willof Venus; and with flowing waters washedfrom her Aeneas every mortal part,and sprinkled him, so that the essential partof immortality remained alone,and she anointed him, thus purified,with heavenly essence, and she touched his facewith sweetest nectar and ambrosia mixt,thereby transforming him into a god.The throng of the Quirini later namedthe new god Indiges, and honored him.
Iamque deos omnes ipsamque Aeneia virtusIunonem veteres finire coegerat iras,cum, bene fundatis opibus crescentis Iuli,tempestivus erat caelo Cythereius heros:ambieratque Venus superos, colloque parentiscircumfusa sui “numquam mihi” dixerat “ullotempore dure pater, nunc sis mitissimus, opto,Aeneaeque meo, qui te de sanguine nostrofecit avum, quamvis parvum des, optime, numen,dummodo des aliquod: satis est inamabile regnumadspexisse semel, Stygios semel isse per amnes.”Adsensere dei, nec coniunx regia vultusimmotos tenuit placatoque adnuit ore;tum pater “estis” ait “caelesti numine digni,quaeque petis, pro quoque petis: cape, nata, quod optas!”Fatus erat: gaudet gratesque agit illa parenti,perque leves auras iunctis invecta columbislitus adit Laurens, ubi tectus harundine serpitin freta flumineis vicina Numicius undis.Hunc iubet Aeneae, quaecumque obnoxia morti,abluere et tacito deferre sub aequora cursu;corniger exsequitur Veneris mandata suisque,quidquid in Aenea fuerat mortale, repurgatet respergit aquis: pars optima restitit illi.Lustratum genetrix divino corpus odoreunxit et ambrosia cum dulci nectare mixtacontigit os fecitque deum, quem turba Quirininuncupat Indigetem temploque arisque recepit.
Under the scepter of Ascaniusthe Latin state, transferred, was Alban too.Silvius ruled after him. Latinus then,wearing the crown, brought back an older name.Illustrious Alba followed after him,Epytus next in time, and Capys next,then Capetus. And reigning after themKing Tiberinus followed. He was drownedin waves of that Etrurian stream, to whichhe gave his name. His sons were Remulusand fierce Acrota—each in turn was king.The elder, Remulus, would imitatethe lightning, and he perished by a flashof lightning. Then Acrota, not so rash,succeeded to his brother, and he lefthis scepter to the valiant Aventinus,hill-buried on the very mountain whichhe ruled upon and which received his name.And Proca ruled then—on the Palatine.Under this king, Pomona lived, and noneof all the Latin hamadryads couldattend her garden with more skill, and nonewas more attentive to the fruitful trees,because of them her name was given to her.She cared not for the forests or the streams,but loved the country and the boughs that beardelicious fruit. Her right hand never felta javelin's weight, always she loved to holda sharp curved pruning-knife with which she wouldat one time crop too largely growing shoots,or at another time reduce the branchthat straggled; at another time she wouldengraft a sucker in divided bark,and so find nourishment for some young, strangenursling. She never suffered them to thirst,for she would water every winding threadof twisting roots with freshly flowing streams.All this was her delight, her chief pursuit;she never felt the least desire of love;but fearful of some rustic's violence,she had her orchard closed within a wall;and both forbade and fled the approach of males.What did not satyrs do to gain her love,a youthful crew expert at every dance?And also Pans their brows wreathed with the pine,Silenus too, more youthful than his years,and that god who is ever scaring thieveswith pruning-hook or limb—what did they notto gain her love? And though Vertumnus didexceed them in his love, yet he was notmore fortunate than they.How often disguisedas a rough reaper he brought her barley ears—truly he seemed a reaper to the life!Often he came, his temples wreathed with hay,as if he had been tossing new mown grass.He often held a whip in his tough hand,you could have sworn he had a moment beforeunyoked his wearied oxen. When he hada pruning-knife, he seemed to rear fine fruitin orchard trees or in the well kept vines.When he came with a ladder, you would thinkhe must be gathering fruit. Sometimes he wasa soldier with a sword—a fisherman,the rod held in his hand.—In fact by meansof many shapes he often had obtainedaccess to her and joyed in seeing her beauty.At length he had his brows bound with a capof color, and then leaning on a stick,with white hair round his temples, he assumedthe shape of an old woman. Entering sothe cultivated garden, he admiredthe fruit and said, “But you are so much lovelier!”And, while he praised her, gave some kisses too,such as no real beldame ever gave.The bent old creature then sat on the grass.Gazing at branches weighed down with their fruitof autumn. Opposite to them there wasan elm-tree beautiful with shining grapes;and, after he had praised it with the vineembracing it, he said,“But only think,if this trunk stood unwedded to this vine,it would have nothing to attract our heartsbeyond its leaves, and this delightful vine,united to the elm tree finds its rest;but, if not so joined to it, would fall down,prostrate upon the ground. And yet you findno warning in the example of this tree.You have avoided marriage, with no wishto be united—I must wish that youwould change and soon desire it. Helen wouldnot have so many suitors for her hand, nor shewho caused the battles of the Lapithae,nor would the wife of timid, and not bold,Ulysses. Even now, while you avoidthose who are courting you, and while you turnin your disgust, a thousand suitors wantto marry you—the demigods and gods,and deities of Alba's mountain-tops.“But you, if you are wise, and wish to makea good match, listen patiently to me,an old, old woman (I love you much morethan all of them, more than you dream or think).Despise all common persons, and choose nowVertumnus as the partner of your couch,and you may take me as a surety for him.He is not better known even to himself,than he is known to me. And he is notnow wandering everywhere, from here to therethroughout the world. He always will frequentthe places near here; and he does not, likeso many of your wooers, fall in lovewith her he happens to have seen the last.You are his first and last love, and to youalone will he devote his life. Besidesall—he is young and has a natural giftof grace, so that he can most readilytransform himself to any wanted shape,and will become whatever you may wish—even though you ask him things unseen before.“And only think, have you not the same tastes?Will he not be the first to welcome fruitswhich are your great delight? And does he nothold your gifts safely in his glad right hand?But now he does not long for any fruitplucked from the tree, and has no thought of herbswith pleasant juices that the garden gives;he cannot think of anything but you.Have pity on his passion, and believethat he who woos you is here and he pleadswith my lips.“You should not forget to fearavenging deities, and the Idalian,who hate all cruel hearts, and also dreadthe fierce revenge of her of Rhamnus-Land.And that you may stand more in awe of them,(old age has given me opportunitiesof knowing many things) I will relatesome happenings known in Cyprus, by which youmay be persuaded and relent with ease.
Inde sub Ascanii dicione binominis Albaresque Latina fuit. Succedit Silvius illi.Quo satus antiquo tenuit repetita Latinusnomina cum sceptro. Clarus subit Alba Latinum.Epytus ex illo est; post hunc Capetusque Capysque,sed Capys ante fuit. Regnum Tiberinus ab illiscepit et in Tusci demersus fluminis undisnomina fecit aquae; de quo Remulusque feroxqueAcrota sunt geniti. Remulus maturior annisfulmineo periit, imitator fulminis, ictu.Fratre suo sceptrum moderatior Acrota fortitradit Aventino, qui, quo regnarat, eodemmonte iacet positus tribuitque vocabula monti.Iamque Palatinae summam Proca gentis habebat.Rege sub hoc Pomona fuit, qua nulla Latinasinter hamadryadas coluit sollertius hortosnec fuit arborei studiosior altera fetus.Unde tenet nomen: non silvas illa nec amnes,rus amat et ramos felicia poma ferentes.Nec iaculo gravis est, sed adunca dextera falce,qua modo luxuriem premit et spatiantia passimbracchia compescit, fisso modo cortice lignuminserit et sucos alieno praestat alumno;nec sentire sitim patitur bibulaeque recurvasradicis fibras labentibus inrigat undis:hic amor, hoc studium; veneris quoque nulla cupido est.Vim tamen agrestum metuens pomaria clauditintus et accessus prohibet refugitque viriles.Quid non et satyri, saltatibus apta iuventus,fecere et pinu praecincti cornua PanesSilenusque, suis semper iuvenalior annis,quique deus fures vel falce vel inguine terret,ut poterentur ea? Sed enim superabat amandohos quoque Vertumnus neque erat felicior illis.O quotiens habitu duri messoris aristascorbe tulit verique fuit messoris imago!Tempora saepe gerens faeno religata recentidesectum poterat gramen versasse videri;saepe manu stimulos rigida portabat, ut illumiurasses fessos modo disiunxisse iuvencos.Falce data frondator erat vitisque putator;induerat scalas: lecturum poma putares;miles erat gladio, piscator harundine sumpta.Denique per multas aditum sibi saepe figurasrepperit, ut caperet spectatae gaudia formae.Ille etiam picta redimitus tempora mitra,innitens baculo, positis per tempora canis,adsimulavit anum cultosque intravit in hortospomaque mirata est “tanto” que “potentior!” inquit,paucaque laudatae dedit oscula, qualia numquamvera dedisset anus, glaebaque incurva reseditsuspiciens pandos autumni pondere ramos.Ulmus erat contra speciosa nitentibus uvis:quam socia postquam pariter cum vite probavit,“at si staret” ait “caelebs sine palmite truncus,nil praeter frondes, quare peteretur, haberet;haec quoque, quae iuncta est, vitis requiescit in illo:si non nupta foret, terrae acclinata iaceret.Tu tamen exemplo non tangeris arboris huiusconcubitusque fugis nec te coniungere curas.Atque utinam velles! Helene non pluribus essetsollicitata procis nec quae Lapitheia movitproelia nec coniunx nimium tardantis Ulixei.Nunc quoque, cum fugias averserisque petentes,mille viri cupiunt et semideique deiqueet quaecumque tenent Albanos numina montes.Sed tu, si sapies, si te bene iungere anumquehanc audire voles, quae te plus omnibus illis,plus quam credis, amo, vulgares reice taedasVertumnumque tori socium tibi selige! pro quome quoque pignus habes (neque enim sibi notior ille est,quam mihi); nec passim toto vagus errat in orbe:haec loca magna colit; nec, uti pars magna procorum,quam modo vidit, amat: tu primus et ultimus illiardor eris, solique suos tibi devovet annos.Adde, quod est iuvenis, quod naturale decorismunus habet formasque apte fingetur in omnes,et quod erit iussus, iubeas licet omnia, fiet.Quid quod amatis idem? quod, quae tibi poma coluntur,primus habet laetaque tenet tua munera dextra?Sed neque iam fetus desiderat arbore demptos,nec, quas hortus alit, cum sucis mitibus herbas,nec quicquam, nisi te; miserere ardentis et ipsum,quod petit, ore meo praesentem crede precariultoresque deos et pectora dura perosamIdalien memoremque time Rhamnusidis iram!Quoque magis timeas (etenim mihi multa vetustasscire dedit), referam tota notissima Cyprofacta, quibus flecti facile et mitescere possis.
“Iphis, born of a humble family,had seen the famed Anaxarete, whowas of the race of ancient Teucer.—Hehad seen her and felt fire inflame his bones.Struggling a long time, he could not subduehis passion by his reason, so he camea suppliant to her doors. And having nowconfessed his ardent passion to her nurse,besought her by the hopes reposed in herby the loved girl, not to give him a cold heartand at another time, with fair words givento each of many servants he besoughttheir kindest interest with an anxious voice.He often gave them coaxing words engravedon tablets of soft wax; and sometimes hewould fasten garlands, wet with dew of tears,upon the door-posts; and he often laidhis tender side nightlong on the hard threshold,sadly reproaching the obdurate bolt.“Deafer than the deep sea that rises highwhen the rainy Constellation of the Kidsis setting; harder than the iron whichthe fire of Noricum refines; more hardthan rock which in its native state is fixedfirm rooted; she despised and laughed at him,and, adding to her cruel deeds and pride,she boasted and deprived him of all hope.“Iphis, unable to endure such pain prolonged,spoke these, his final words, before her door:‘Anaxarete, you have conquered me,and you shall have no more annoyancesto bear from me. Be joyful and prepareyour triumph, and invoke god Paean, crownyourself with shining laurel. You are nowmy conqueror, and I resigned will die.Woman of iron, rejoice in victory!“At least, you will commend me for one thing,one point in which I must please even you,and cause you to confess my right of praise.Remember that my star crossed love for youdied only with the last breath of my life.And now in one short moment I shall bedeprived a twofold light; and no reportwill come to you, no messenger of death.But doubt not, I will come to you so thatI can be seen in person, and you maythen satiate your cruel eyesight withmy lifeless body. If, you gods above!You have some knowledge of our mortal waysremember me, for now my tongue can prayno longer. Let me be renowned in timesfar distant and give all those hours to Famewhich you have taken from my life on earth.’“Then to the doorpost which he often hadadorned with floral wreaths he lifted uphis swimming eyes and both his pallid arms,and, when he had fastened over the capitala rope that held a dangling noose, he said,—“Are these the garlands that delight your heart?You cruel and unnatural woman?”—Then,thrust in his head, turning even then towards her,and hung a hapless weight with broken neck.“The door, struck by the motion of his feetas they were quivering, seemed to utter soundsof groaning, and, when it flew open, showedthe sad sight. All the servants cried aloud,and after they had tried in vain to save him,carried him from there to his mother's house,(to her because his father was then dead).“She held him to her bosom and embracedthe cold limbs of her dead child. After shehad uttered words so natural to the griefof wretched mothers—after she had donewhat wretched mothers do at such sad times,she led a tearful funeral through the streets,the pale corpse following high upon the bier,on to a pyre laid in the central square.By chance, Anaxarete's house was nearthe way through which the mournful funeralwas going with the corpse, and the sad soundof wailing reached the ears of that proud girl—hardhearted, and already goaded onby an avenging god. Moved by the sound,she said; “Let me observe their sniveling rites.”And she ascended to an upper room,provided with wide windows. Scarcely hadshe looked at Iphis, laid out on the bier,when her eyes stiffened, and she turned all white,as warm blood left her body. She tried thento turn back from the window, but she stoodtransfixed there. She then tried to turn her faceaway from that sad sight, but could not move;and by degrees the stone, which always hadexisted, petrified in her cold breast,and took possession of her heart and limbs.“This is not fiction, and that you may know,Salamis keeps that statue safe today,formed of the virgin and has also builta temple called, ‘Venus the watchful Goddess.’Warned by her fate, O sweet nymph, lay asideprolonged disdain, and cheerfully uniteyourself to one who loves you. Then may frostof springtime never nip your fruit in bud,nor rude winds strike the blossom.”When the god,fitted for every shape, had said these words in vain,he laid the old woman's form aside and wasagain a youth. On her he seemed to blaze,as when the full light of the brilliant Sun,after it has dispelled opposing clouds,has shone forth with not one to intercept.He purposed violence, but there was thenno need of force. The lovely nymph was charmed,was captivated by the god's bright formand felt a passion answering to his love.
Viderat a veteris generosam sanguine TeucriIphis Anaxareten, humili de stirpe creatus,viderat et totis perceperat ossibus aestumluctatusque diu, postquam ratione furoremvincere non potuit, supplex ad limina venitet modo nutrici miserum confessus amorem,ne sibi dura foret, per spes oravit alumnae,et modo de multis blanditus cuique ministrissollicita petiit propensum voce favorem;saepe ferenda dedit blandis sua verba tabellis,interdum madidas lacrimarum rore coronaspostibus intendit posuitque in limine duromolle latus tristisque serae convicia fecit.Saevior illa freto surgente cadentibus Haedis,durior et ferro, quod Noricus excoquit ignis,et saxo, quod adhuc vivum radice tenetur,spernit et inridet factisque inmitibus additverba superba ferox et spe quoque fraudat amantem.Non tulit impatiens longi tormenta dolorisIphis et ante fores haec verba novissima dixit:“Vincis, Anaxarete, neque erunt tibi taedia tandemulla ferenda mei: laetos molire triumphoset Paeana voca nitidaque incingere lauru!Vincis enim, moriorque libens: age, ferrea, gaude!Certe aliquid laudare mei cogeris amoris,Non tamen ante tui curam fugisse memento,quam vitam, geminaque simul mihi luce carendum est.Nec tibi fama mei ventura est nuntia leti:ipse ego, ne dubites, adero praesensque videbor,corpore ut exanimi crudelia lumina pascas.Si tamen, o superi, mortalia facta videtis,este mei memores (nihil ultra lingua precarisustinet) et longo facite ut narremur in aevo,et, quae dempsistis vitae, date tempora famae!”Dixit, et ad postes ornatos saepe coronisumentes oculos et pallida bracchia tollens,cum foribus laquei religaret vincula summis,“haec tibi serta placent, crudelis et impia?” dixit,inseruitque caput, sed tum quoque versus ad illam,atque onus infelix elisa fauce pependit.Icta pedum motu est adapertaque ianua factumprodidit. Exclamant famuli frustraque levatum(nam pater occiderat) referunt ad limina matris;accipit illa sinu complexaque frigida natimembra sui postquam miserarum verba parentumedidit et matrum miserarum facta peregit,funera ducebat mediam lacrimosa per urbemluridaque arsuro portabat membra feretro.Forte viae vicina domus, qua flebilis ibatpompa, fuit, duraeque sonus plangoris ad auresvenit Anaxaretae, quam iam deus ultor agebat:mota “tamen videamus” ait “miserabile funus”et patulis iniit tectum sublime fenestris;vixque bene impositum lecto prospexerat Iphin,deriguere oculi, calidusque e corpore sanguisinducto pallore fugit, conataque retroferre pedes haesit, conata avertere vultushoc quoque non potuit, paulatimque occupat artus,quod fuit in duro iam pridem pectore, saxum.Neve ea ficta putes, dominae sub imagine signumservat adhuc Salamis: Veneris quoque nomine templumProspicientis habet. — Quorum memor, o mea, lentospone, precor, fastus et amanti iungere, nymphe.Sic tibi nil vernum nascentia frigus aduratpoma nec excutiant rapidi florentia venti!'Haec ubi nequiquam formae deus aptus aniliedidit, in iuvenem rediit et anilia demitinstrumenta sibi talisque apparuit illi,qualis ubi oppositas nitidissima solis imagoevicit nubes nullaque obstante reluxit,vimque parat: sed vi non est opus, inque figuracapta dei nymphe est et mutua vulnera sensit.
At Proca's death unjust Amuliusseized with his troops the whole Ausonian wealth.And yet old Numitor, obtaining aidfrom his two grandsons, won the land againwhich he had lost; and on the festivalof Pales were the city walls begun.King Tatius with his Sabines went to war;Tarpeia, who betrayed the citadel,died justly underneath the weight of arms.Then troops from Cures crept, like silent wolves,without a word toward men subdued by sleepand tried the gates that Ilia's son had barred.Then Saturn's daughter opened wide a gate,turning the silent hinge. Venus aloneperceived the bars of that gate falling down.She surely would have closed it, were it notimpossible for any deityto countervail the acts of other gods.The Naiads of Ausonia occupieda spring that welled up close to Janus' fane.To them she prayed for aid. The fountain-nymphscould not resist the prayer of Venus, whenshe made her worthy plea and they releasedall waters under ground. Till then the pathby Janus' fane was open, never yet had floodsrisen to impede the way. But now they laidhot sulphur of a faint blue light beneaththe streaming fountain and with care appliedfire to the hallowed ways with smoking pitch.By these and many other violent meanshot vapors penetrated to the sourceof the good fountain.—Only think of it!Those waters which had rivalled the cold Alps,now rivalled with their heat the flames themselves!And, while each gate post steamed with boiling spray,the gate, which had been opened (but in vain)to hardy Sabines just outside, was madeimpassable by the heated fountain's flood,till Roman soldiers had regained their arms.After brave Romulus had led them forthand covered Roman ground with Sabines deadand its own people; and the accursed swordshed blood of father-in-law and son-in-law,with peace they chose at last to end the war,rather than fight on to the bitter end:Tatius and Romulus divide the throne.Tatius had fallen, and you, O Romulus,were giving laws to peoples now made one,when Mars put off his helmet and addressedthe father of gods and men in words like these:“The time has come, for now the Roman statehas been established on a strong foundationand no more must rely on one man's strengththe time has come for you to give the prize,promised to me and your deserving grandson,to raise him from the earth and grant him herea fitting place in heaven. One day you saidto me before a council of the gods,(for I recall now with a grateful mindhow I took note of your most gracious speech)‘Him you shall lift up to the blue of heaven.’Now let all know the meaning of your words!”The god all-powerful nodded his assent,and he obscured the air with heavy cloudsand on a trembling world he sent belowharsh thunder and bright lightning. Mars at onceperceived it was a signal plainly givenfor promised change—so, leaning on a spear,he mounted boldly into his chariot,and over bloodstained yoke and eager steedshe swung and cracked the loud-resounding lash.Descending through steep air, he halted onthe wooded summit of the Palatineand there, while Ilia's son was giving laws—needing no pomp and circumstance of kings,Mars caught him up. His mortal flesh dissolvedinto thin air, as when a ball of leadshot up from a broad sling melts all awayand soon is lost in heaven. A nobler shapewas given him, one more fitted to adornrich couches in high heaven, the shape divineof Quirinus clad in the trabea.His queen, Hersilia, wept continually,regarding him as lost, till regal Junocommanded Iris to glide down alongher curving bow and bring to her these words:“O matron, glory of the Latin raceand of the Sabines, worthy to have beenthe consort chosen by so great a manand now to be his partner as the godQuirinus, weep no more. If you desireto see your husband, let me guide you upto a grove that crowns the hill of Quirinus,shading a temple of the Roman king.”Iris obeyed her will, and, gliding downto earth along her tinted bow, conveyedthe message to Hersilia; who replied,with modest look and hardly lifted eye,“Goddess (although it is not in my powerto say your name, I am quite certain youmust be a goddess), lead me, O lead meuntil you show to me the hallowed formof my beloved husband. If the Fateswill but permit me once again to seehis features, I will say I have won heaven.”At once Hersilia and the virgin childof Thaumas, went together up the hillof Romulus. Descending through thin airthere came a star, and then Hersiliaher tresses glowing fiery in the light,rose with that star, as it returned through air.And her the founder of the Roman statereceived with dear, familiar hands. He changedher old time form and with the form her name.He called her Hora and let her becomea goddess, now the mate of Quirinus.
Proximus Ausonias iniusti miles Amulirexit opes, Numitorque senex amissa nepotismunere regna capit, festisque Palilibus urbismoenia conduntur, Tatiusque patresque Sabinibella gerunt, arcisque via Tarpeia reclusadignam animam poena congestis exuit armis.Inde sati Curibus tacitorum more luporumore premunt voces et corpora victa soporeinvadunt portasque petunt, quas obice firmoclauserat Iliades: unam tamen ipsa reclusitnec strepitum verso Saturnia cardine fecit.Sola Venus portae cecidisse repagula sensitet clausura fuit, nisi quod rescindere numquamdis licet acta deum. Iano loca iuncta tenebantnaides Ausoniae gelido rorantia fonte:has rogat auxilium, nec nymphae iusta petentemsustinuere deam venasque et flumina fontiselicuere sui; nondum tamen invia Ianiora patentis erant, neque iter praecluserat unda:lurida supponunt fecundo sulphura fontiincenduntque cavas fumante bitumine venas.Viribus his aliisque vapor penetravit ad imafontis, et Alpino modo quae certare rigoriaudebatis aquae, non ceditis ignibus ipsis!Flammifera gemini fumant adspergine postes,portaque, nequiquam rigidis promissa Sabinis,fonte fuit praestructa novo, dum Martius armaindueret miles; quae postquam Romulus ultroobtulit, et strata est tellus Romana Sabiniscorporibus strata estque suis, generique cruoremsanguine cum soceri permiscuit impius ensis,pace tamen sisti bellum nec in ultima tantumdecertare placet Tatiumque accedere regno.Occiderat Tatius, populisque aequata duobus,Romule, iura dabas, posita cum casside Mavorstalibus adfatur divumque hominumque parentem:“Tempus adest, genitor, quoniam fundamine magnores Romana valet et praeside pendet ab uno,praemia (sunt promissa mihi dignoque nepoti!)solvere et ablatum terris imponere caelo.Tu mihi concilio quondam praesente deorum(nam memoro memorique animo pia verba notavi)“unus erit, quem tu tolles in caerula caeli”dixisti: rata sit verborum summa tuorum!”Adnuit omnipotens et nubibus aera caecisocculuit tonitruque et fulgure terruit orbem:quae sibi promissae sensit rata signa rapinaeinnixusque hastae pressos temone cruentoimpavidus conscendit equos Gradivus et ictuverberis increpuit pronusque per aera lapsusconstitit in summo nemorosi colle Palatireddentemque suo non regia iura Quiritiabstulit Iliaden: corpus mortale per aurasdilapsum tenues, ceu lata plumbea fundamissa solet medio glans intabescere caelo.Pulchra subit facies et pulvinaribus altisdignior, est qualis trabeati forma Quirini.Flebat ut amissum coniunx, cum regia IunoIrin ad Hersiliam descendere limite curvoimperat et vacuae sua sic mandata referre:“O et de Latio, o et de gente Sabinapraecipuum, matrona, decus, dignissima tantiante fuisse viri, coniunx nunc esse Quirini,siste tuos fletus et, si tibi cura videndiconiugis est, duce me lucum pete, colle Quiriniqui viret et templum Romani regis obumbrat.”Paret et in terram pictos delapsa per arcusHersilien iussis compellat vocibus Iris.Illa verecundo vix tollens lumina vultu“o, dea, namque mihi nec, quae sis, dicere promptum est,et liquet esse deam, duc, o duc” inquit “et offerconiugis ora mihi, quem si modo posse viderefata semel dederint, caelum accepisse fatebor.”Nec mora, Romuleos cum virgine Thaumanteaingreditur colles: ibi sidus ab aethere lapsumdecidit in terras, a cuius lumine flagransHersilie crines cum sidere cessit in auras.Hanc manibus notis Romanae conditor urbisexcipit et priscum pariter cum corpore nomenmutat Horamque vocat, quae nunc dea iuncta Quirino est.