Volume 2 / Book 3 — BOOK III (continued 4)
Maurice Platnauer translation
Quin age rumpe moras solaturusque sodalem absens eloquio fertiliore doce, 20 crebraque facundo festinet littera cursu libris atque animis insinuanda meis. dignatus tenui Caesar scripsisse Maroni, nec tibi dedecori Musa futura. vale.
XLI. (XLII.)
Ad Probinum.
Quem, precor, inter nos habitura silentia finem? quando dabit caras littera grata vices? me timidum vel te potius dixisse superbum convenit? alterius crimen utrumque tenet. transfluxere dies et, dum scripsisse priorem 5 paenitet, aeternas itur in usque moras. sed quid agam? coepisse vetat reverentia vestri; hinc amor hortatur scribere. vincat amor. “fors iuvat audentes” prisci sententia vatis. hac duce non dubitem te reticente loqui; 10 audax aut si quid penitus peccasse videbor, arguar, ingrati non subiturus onus. Romanos bibimus primum te consule fontes et Latiae accessit Graia Thalia togae, incipiensque tuis a fascibus omina cepi 15 fataque debebo posteriora tibi. ergo lacessitus tandem rescribe roganti et patria florens sorte, Probine, vale.
delay and to console thy friend speak to him from far away with richer eloquence; hither let many a letter hasten with winged speech, to find its way to my shelves and to my heart. Augustus disdained not to write to poor Vergil and my muse shall never bring thee shame. Farewell.
XLI.
Letter to Probinus.[110]
How long, pray, shall there be silence between us? When shall a welcome letter win a dear return? Is it right to call me timid or rather thee proud? Surely each shares the other’s fault. The days slip away and while each is ashamed to be the first to write our hesitation leads to an unbroken silence. Yet what am I to do? Respect forbids me to write first; love encourages me to do so. Let love have his way. Fortune favours the brave, as the old poet sang. Under her guidance I could not hesitate to speak, though thou still keep silence. If I shall seem overbold or guilty of some grave fault, thou mayst blame but I shall not bear the burden of ingratitude. ’Twas when thou wert consul that I first drank of the stream of Latin song and that my Muse, deserting Hellas, assumed the Roman toga.[111] From thy consulship my youth drew its omens and to thee I shall owe my future destiny. Be moved by my importunity and after so long a delay answer my letter. Farewell, Probinus; be thy father’s fortune thine.
XLII. (LIII.)
De apro et leone.
Torvus aper fulvusque leo coiere superbis viribus, hic saeta saevior, ille iuba; hunc Mars, hunc laudat Cybele. dominatur uterque montibus; Herculeus sudor uterque fuit.
XLIII. (LXXV.)
In Curetium.
Fallaces vitreo stellas componere mundo et vaga Saturni sidera saepe queri venturumque Iovem paucis promittere nummis Cureti genitor noverat Uranius. in prolem dilata ruunt periuria patris 5 et poenam merito filius ore luit. nam spurcos avidae lambit meretricis hiatus consumens luxu flagitiisque domum et, quas fallacis collegit lingua parentis, has eadem nati lingua refundit opes. 10
XLIV. (LXXVI.)
In eundem Curetium.
Si tua, Cureti, penitus cognoscere quaeris sidera, patre tuo certius ipse loquar. quod furis, adversi dedit inclementia Martis; quod procul a Musis, debilis Arcas erat;
XLII. (LIII.)
The Wild Boar and the Lion.
A dark boar and a tawny lion met once in battle, each exulting in his strength: the one shook his cruel bristles, the other his dreadful mane. One was Mars’ favourite, the other Cybele’s: both are kings of the mountains, both engaged the labours of Hercules.
XLIII. (LXXV.)
Against Curetius.[112]
Uranius, Curetius’ father, could set deceptive stars in a sphere of glass, gloomily shake his head over the errant course of Saturn, or ensure for a trifle the favourable influence of Jupiter. The father’s chicanery meets with its punishment, so long deferred, in the son whose mouth needs must pay the just penalty. For filthy are his delights and he wastes all his substance in wantoning and debauchery. And so the tongue of the son has squandered all the riches which that of his lying father gathered together.
XLIV. (LXXVI.)
The Same.
Wouldst thou, Curetius, have sure knowledge of thy horoscope, I can give it thee better than even thy father. Thy madness thou owest to the evil influence of Mars; thine ignorance of poetry to
quod turpem pateris iam cano podice morbum, 5 femineis signis Luna Venusque fuit; attrivit Saturnus opes. hoc prorsus in uno haereo: quae cunnum lambere causa facit?
XLV. (LV.)
De concha.
Transferat huc liquidos fontes Heliconia Nais et patulo conchae divitis orbe fluat. namque latex doctae qui laverit ora Serenae, ultra Pegaseas numen habebit aquas.
XLVI. (LXXII.)
De chlamyde et frenis.
Non semper clipei metuendum gentibus orbem dilecto studiosa parens fabricabat Achilli, Lemnia nec semper supplex ardentis adibat antra dei nato galeam factura comantem, sed placidos etiam cinctus et mitia pacis 5 ornamenta dabat, bello quibus ille peracto conspicuus reges inter fulgeret Achivos. ipsa manu chlamydes ostro texebat et auro, frenaque, quae volucrem Xanthum Baliumque decerent, aequore quaesitis onerabat sedula gemmis. 10 At tibi diversis, princeps altissime, certant obsequiis soceri. Stilicho Mavortia confert munera, barbaricas strages Rhenique triumphos. reginae contenta modum servare Serena in tua sollicitas urget velamina telas. 15
enfeebling Mercury; thy shameful disease and premature decay to lady Moon and lady Venus; Saturn has robbed thee of thy property. But this one fact is beyond me:—what causes thy filthy ways?
XLV. (LV.)
The Shell.
Nymph, come from Helicon and pour herein thy limpid waters; fill all the vast extent of this wondrous shell. Surely the water that has bathed the face of the poetess Serena will have more virtue than all the streams of Castalia.
XLVI. (LXXII.)
On a Cloak and a Bridle.
His loving mother did not always fashion for her dear son Achilles those round shields that did affright the world; she did not constantly approach the fiery caverns of the god of Lemnos, begging a plumèd helmet for her son. She gave him, besides these, garments of peace and unwarlike adornments wherewith, after the toils of war, he might shine conspicuous among the chiefs of the Achaeans. With her own hand she wove him cloaks of purple and gold and with patient care studded with ocean gems bridles to adorn his fleet steeds, Xanthus and Balius.
On thee, most puissant emperor, thy wife’s parents bestow diverse presents. Stilicho gives thee warlike gifts—slaughter of barbarians and victories on the Rhine; Serena, content to do such work as befits a queen, plies her busy loom to weave thee raiment.
XLVII. (LXXIII.)
De equo dono dato.
O felix sonipes, tanti cui frena mereri numinis et sacris licuit servire lupatis, seu tua per campos vento iuba lusit Hiberos, seu te Cappadocum gelida sub valle natantem Argaeae lavere nives, seu laeta solebas 5 Thessaliae rapido perstringere pascua cursu: accipe regales cultus et crine superbus erecto virides spumis perfunde smaragdos. luxurient tumido gemmata monilia collo, nobilis auratos iam purpura vestiat armos, 10 et medium te zona liget variata colorum floribus et castae manibus sudata Serenae, Persarum gentile decus. sic quippe laborat maternis studiis nec dedignatur equestres moliri phaleras genero latura decorem. 15
XLVIII. (LXX.)
De zona equi regii missa Honorio Augusta a Serena.
Accipe parva tuae, princeps venerande, sororis munera, quae manibus texuit ipsa suis, dumque auro phalerae, gemmis dum frena renident, hac uterum zona cinge frementis equi, sive illum Armeniis aluerunt gramina campis 5 turbidus Argaea seu nive lavit Halys, sanguineo virides morsu vexare smaragdos et Tyrio dignum terga rubere toro.
XLVII. (LXXIII.)
On a Gift to a Horse.
Happy steed, whose good fortune it is to obey the directing hand of a god and to be guided by a sacred bit. Whether on the plains of Spain the wind tossed thy mane in sport, or thou didst bathe in the melted snows of Mount Argaeus, in some fertile valley of Cappadocia, or thou didst scour the rich pasture-lands of Thessaly in wind-swift course, receive this royal harness and, tossing thy proud mane, fleck with foam the bridle studded with emeralds. Arch thy haughty neck beneath its collar of pearls; let cloth of purple and gold clothe thy shoulders and a belt of many colours worked by Serena’s chaste hands pass beneath thy belly. ’Tis an ornament worthy the kings of Persia. Such is her motherly love that to enhance her son-in-law’s glory she disdains not to embroider the very harness of his horses.
XLVIII. (LXX.)
On a Strap embroidered by Serena for Honorius’ Horse.
Receive at a sister’s hand a small gift, revered prince, a gift embroidered by her own hand; the bridle of thy champing steed is of gold, his head-harness studded with jewels; use now this strap to pass beneath his belly. Whether his home was the grassy plain of Armenia, or by the Halys, swollen with the melted snows of Mount Argaeus wherein he was wont to bathe, he well deserves an emerald-encrusted bit to champ in his blood-flecked mouth and cloth of Tyrian purple to adorn his back. How
o quantum formae sibi conscius erigit armos spargit et excussis colla superba iubis! 10 augescit brevitas doni pietate Serenae, quae volucres etiam fratribus ornat equos.
XLIX. (XLVI.)
De torpedine.
Quis non indomitam dirae torpedinis artem audiit et merito signatas nomine vires? Illa quidem mollis segnique obnixa natatu reptat et attritis vix languida serpit harenis. sed latus armavit gelido natura veneno, 5 et frigus, quo cuncta rigent animata[113], medullis miscuit et proprias hiemes per viscera duxit. naturam iuvat ipsa dolis et conscia sortis utitur ingenio longeque extenta per algas attactu confisa subit. inmobilis haeret: 10 qui tetigere iacent. successu laeta resurgit et vivos impune ferox depascitur artus. Si quando vestita cibis incautior aera hauserit et curvis frenari senserit hamis, non fugit aut vano conatur vellere morsu, 15 sed proprius nigrae iungit se callida saetae et meminit captiva sui longeque per undas pigra venenatis effundit flamina venis. per saetam vis alta meat fluctusque relinquit absentem victura virum: metuendus ab imis 20
conscious he is of his own beauty as he steps high and shakes his flowing mane over his proud neck! The slight nature of the present is dignified by the affection of Serena who for her brothers decks even their swift steeds.
XLIX. (XLVI.)
The Electric Ray.
Who has not heard of the invincible skill of the dread torpedo and of the powers that win it its name?
Its body is soft and its motion slow. Scarcely does it mark the sand o’er which it crawls so sluggishly. But nature has armed its flanks with a numbing poison and mingled with its marrow chill to freeze all living creatures, hiding as it were its own winter in its heart. The fish seconds nature’s efforts with its own guilefulness; knowing its own capabilities, it employs cunning, and trusting to its power of touch lies stretched full length among the seaweed and so attacks its prey. It stays motionless; all that have touched it lie benumbed. Then, when success has crowned its efforts, it springs up and greedily devours without fear the living limbs of its victim.
Should it carelessly swallow a piece of bait that hides a hook of bronze and feel the pull of the jagged barbs, it does not swim away nor seek to free itself by vainly biting at the line; but artfully approaches the dark line and, though a prisoner, forgets not its skill, emitting from its poisonous veins an effluence which spreads far and wide through the water. The poison’s bane leaves the sea and creeps up the line; it will soon prove too much for the distant fisherman.
emicat horror aquis et pendula fila secutus transit harundineos arcano frigore nodos victricemque ligat concreto sanguine dextram. damnosum piscator onus praedamque rebellem iactat et amissa redit exarmatus avena. 25
L. (LXXVII.)
In Iacobum magistrum equitum.
Per cineres Pauli, per cani limina Petri, ne laceres versus, dux Iacobe, meos. sic tua pro clipeo defendat pectora Thomas et comes ad bellum Bartholomaeus eat; sic ope sanctorum non barbarus inruat Alpes, 5 sic tibi det vires sancta Susanna suas; sic quicumque ferox gelidum transnaverit Histrum, mergatur volucres ceu Pharaonis equi; sic Geticas ultrix feriat romphaea catervas Romanasque regat prospera Thecla manus; 10 sic tibi det magnum moriens conviva triumphum atque tuam vincant dolia fusa sitim; sic numquam hostili maculetur sanguine dextra: ne laceres versus, dux Iacobe, meos.
LI. (LXVIII.)
In sphaeram Archimedis.
Iuppiter in parvo cum cerneret aethera vitro, risit et ad superos talia dicta dedit:
The dread paralysing force rises above the water’s level and climbing up the drooping line, passes down the jointed rod, and congeals, e’er he is even aware of it, the blood of the fisherman’s victorious hand. He casts away his dangerous burden and lets go his rebel prey, returning home disarmed without his rod.
L. (LXXVII.)
Against James Commander of the Cavalry.[114]
By the ashes of S. Paul and the shrine of revered S. Peter, do not pull my verses to pieces, General James. So may S. Thomas prove a buckler to protect thy breast and S. Bartholomew bear thee company to the wars; so may the blessed saints prevent the barbarians from crossing the Alps and Suzanna[115] endow thee with her strength; so, should any savage foe seek to swim across the Danube, let him be drowned therein like the swift chariots of Pharaoh; so may an avenging javelin strike the Getic hordes and the favour of Thecla[116] guide the armies of Rome; so may thy guests dying in their efforts to out-drink thee assure thy board its triumph of hospitality and the broached casks o’ercome thy thirst; so may thy hand ne’er be red with an enemy’s blood—do not, I say, pull my verses to pieces.
LI. (LXVIII.)
Archimedes’ Sphere.
When Jove looked down and saw the heavens figured in a sphere of glass he laughed and said to
“hucine mortalis progressa potentia curae? iam meus in fragili luditur orbe labor? iura poli rerumque fidem legesque deorum 5 ecce Syracusius transtulit arte senex. inclusus variis famulatur spiritus astris et vivum certis motibus urget opus. percurrit proprium mentitus Signifer annum, et simulata novo Cynthia mense redit, 10 iamque suum volvens audax industria mundum gaudet et humana sidera mente regit. quid falso insontem tonitru Salmonea miror? aemula naturae parva reperta manus.”
LII. (XXXVII.)
Gigantomachia.
Terra parens quondam caelestibus invida regnis Titanumque simul crebros miserata dolores omnia monstrifero complebat Tartara fetu invisum genitura nefas Phlegramque retexit tanta prole tumens et in aethera protulit hostes. 5 fit sonus: erumpunt crebri necdumque creati iam dextras in bella parant superosque lacessunt stridula volventes gemino vestigia lapsu. pallescunt subito stellae flectitque rubentes Phoebus equos docuitque timor revocare meatus. 10 Oceanum petit Arctos inocciduique Triones occasum didicere pati. tum fervida natos talibus hortatur genetrix in proelia dictis: “O pubes domitura deos, quodcumque videtis,
the other gods: “Has the power of mortal effort gone so far? Is my handiwork now mimicked in a fragile globe? An old man of Syracuse has imitated on earth the laws of the heavens, the order of nature, and the ordinances of the gods. Some hidden influence within the sphere directs the various courses of the stars and actuates the lifelike mass with definite motions. A false zodiac runs through a year of its own, and a toy moon waxes and wanes month by month. Now bold invention rejoices to make its own heaven revolve and sets the stars in motion by human wit. Why should I take umbrage at harmless Salmoneus and his mock thunder? Here the feeble hand of man has proved Nature’s rival.”
LII. (XXXVII.)
The Battle of the Giants.
Once upon a time mother Earth, jealous of the heavenly kingdoms and in pity for the ceaseless woes of the Titans, filled all Tartarus with a monster brood, thus giving birth to that which proved a very bane. Her womb swollen with this monstrous birth she opened Phlegra’s side and brought forth foes against heaven. With a noise as of thunder they burst forth in profusion and, scarce born, prepare their hands for war, as with twofold trail[117] they writhe their hissing course. Suddenly the stars grow pale, Phoebus turns his rosy steeds and, impelled by fear, retraces his steps. The Bear takes refuge in the Ocean, and the unsetting Triones learned to endure setting. Then their angry mother stirred up her sons to war with words such as these: “Children, ye shall conquer
pugnando dabitur; praestat victoria mundum. 15 sentiet ille meas tandem Saturnius iras, cognoscet, quid Terra potest, si viribus ullis vincor, si Cybele nobis meliora creavit! cur nullus Telluris honos? cur semper acerbis me damnis urgere solet? quae forma nocendi 20 defuit? hinc volucrem vivo sub pectore pascit infelix Scythica fixus convalle Prometheus; hinc Atlantis apex flammantia pondera fulcit et per canitiem glacies asperrima durat. quid dicam Tityon, cuius sub vulture saevo 25 viscera nascuntur gravibus certantia poenis? sed vos, o tandem veniens exercitus ultor, solvite Titanas vinclis, defendite matrem. sunt freta, sunt montes: nostris ne parcite membris; in Iovis exitium telum non esse recuso. 30 ite, precor, miscete polum, rescindite turres sidereas. rapiat fulmen sceptrumque Typhoeus; Enceladi iussis mare serviat; alter habenas Aurorae pro Sole regat: te Delphica laurus stringet, Porphyrion, Cirrhaeaque templa tenebis.” 35 His ubi consiliis animos elusit inanes, iam credunt vicisse deos mediisque revinctum Neptunum traxisse fretis; hic sternere Martem cogitat, hic Phoebi laceros divellere crines; hic sibi promittit Venerem speratque Dianae 40 coniugium castamque cupit violare Minervam.
heaven: all that ye see is the prize of victory; win, and the universe is yours. At last shall Saturn’s son feel the weight of my wrath; shall recognize Earth’s power. What! can any force conquer me? Has Cybele born sons superior to mine? Why has Earth no honour? Why is she ever condemned to bitter loss? Has any form of injury passed me by? There hangs luckless Prometheus in yon Scythian vale, feeding the vulture on his living breast; yonder, Atlas supports the weight of the starry heavens upon his head, and his grey hair is frozen stiff with cruel cold. What need to tell of Tityus whose liver is ever renewed beneath the savage vulture’s beak, to contend with his heavy punishment? Up, army of avengers, the hour is come at last, free the Titans from their chains; defend your mother. Here are seas and mountains, limbs of my body, but care not for that. Use them as weapons. Never would I hesitate to be a weapon for the destruction of Jove. Go forth and conquer; throw heaven into confusion, tear down the towers of the sky. Let Typhoeus seize the thunderbolt and the sceptre; Enceladus, rule the sea, and another in place of the sun guide the reins of dawn’s coursers. Porphyrion, wreathe thou thy head with Delphi’s laurel and take Cirrha for thy sanctuary.”
This exhortation filled their minds with vain hopes. They think themselves already victors o’er the gods, imagine they have thrown Neptune into chains and dragged him a prisoner from Ocean’s bed. One thinks to lay Mars low, one to tear Phoebus’ locks from his head; one assigns Venus to himself, another anticipates in thought his marriage with Diana, and another is all aflame to do violence to chaste Minerva.
Interea superos praenuntia convocat Iris. qui fluvios, qui stagna colunt, cinguntur et ipsi auxilio Manes; nec te, Proserpina, longe umbrosae tenuere fores; rex ipse silentum 45 Lethaeo vehitur curru lucemque timentes insolitam mirantur equi trepidoque volatu spissas caeruleis tenebras e naribus efflant. ac velut hostilis cum machina terruit urbem, undique concurrunt arcem defendere cives: 50 haud secus omnigenis coeuntia numina turmis ad patris venere domos. tum Iuppiter infit: “O numquam peritura cohors, o debita semper caelo progenies, nullis obnoxia fatis: cernitis ut Tellus nostrum coniuret in orbem 55 prole nova dederitque alios interrita partus? ergo, quot dederit natos, tot funera matri reddamus: longo maneat per saecula luctu tanto pro numero paribus damnata sepulcris.” Iam tuba nimborum sonuit, iam signa ruendi 60 his Aether, his Terra dedit confusaque rursus pro domino Natura timet. discrimina rerum miscet turba potens: nunc insula deserit aequor, nunc scopuli latuere mari. quot litora restant nuda! quot antiquas mutarunt flumina ripas! 65 hic rotat Haemonium praeduris viribus Oeten; hic iuga conixus manibus Pangaea coruscat; hunc armat glacialis Athos; hoc Ossa movente tollitur; his Rhodopen Hebri cum fonte revellit
Meanwhile Iris, messenger of the gods, summons the immortal council. There come the deities of river and lake; the very ghosts were there in heaven’s defence. Hell’s shady portals could not hold Proserpine afar; the king of the silent himself advances in his Lethaean chariot. His horses fear the light which hitherto their astonished eyes have never looked upon and, swerving this way and that, they breathe forth thick vapour from their soot-black nostrils. As, when an enemy’s siege-engine affrights a town, the citizens run together from all sides to defend their citadel, so gods of all shapes and forms came together to protect their father’s home. Them Jove thus addressed: “Deathless army, whose dwelling-place is, and must ever be, the sky, ye whom no adverse fortune can ever harm, mark ye how Earth with her new children conspires against our kingdom and undismayed has given birth to another brood? Wherefore, for all the sons she bore, let us give back to their mother as many dead; let her mourning last through the ages as she weeps by as many graves as she now has children.”
The clouds echo the blast of heaven’s trumpets; on this side Heaven, on that Earth, sounds the attack. Once more Nature is thrown into confusion and fears for her lord. The puissant company of the giants confounds all differences between things; islands abandon the deep; mountains lie hidden in the sea. Many a river is left dry or has altered its ancient course. One giant brandishes Thessalian Oeta in his mighty hand, another gathers all his strength and hurls Pangaeus at the foe, Athos with his snows arms another; this one roots up Ossa, that tears out Rhodope and Hebrus’ source, dividing the
et socias truncavit aquas summaque levatus 70 rupe Giganteos umeros inrorat Enipeus: subsedit patulis Tellus sine culmine campis in natos divisa suos. Horrendus ubique it fragor et pugnae spatium discriminat aër. primus terrificum Mavors non segnis in agmen 75 Odrysios impellit equos, quibus ille Gelonos sive Getas turbare solet: splendentior igni aureus ardescit clipeus, galeamque nitentes adrexere iubae. tum concitus ense Pelorum transigit adverso, femorum qua fine volutus 80 duplex semifero conectitur ilibus anguis, atque uno ternas animas interficit ictu. tum super insultans avidus languentia curru membra terit multumque rotae sparsere cruorem. Occurrit pro fratre Mimas Lemnumque calentem 85 cum lare Vulcani spumantibus eruit undis et prope torsisset, si non Mavortia cuspis ante revelato cerebrum fudisset ab ore. ille, viro toto moriens, serpentibus imis vivit adhuc stridore ferox et parte rebelli 90 victorem post fata petit. Tritonia virgo prosilit ostendens rutila cum Gorgone pectus; adspectu contenta suo non utitur hasta (nam satis est vidisse semel) primumque furentem longius in faciem saxi Pallanta reformat. 95 ille procul subitis fixus sine vulnere nodis ut se letifero sensit durescere visu (et steterat iam paene lapis) “quo vertimur?” inquit,
waters that before were one; Enipeus, gathered up with its beetling crags, scatters its waters over yon giant’s shoulders: robbed of her mountains Earth sank into level plains, parted among her own sons.
On all sides a horrid din resounds and only the air divides the rival armies. First impetuous Mars urges against the horrid band his Thracian steeds that oft have driven in rout Getae or Geloni. Brighter than flame shines his golden shield, high towers the crest of his gleaming helmet. Dashing into the fray he first encounters Pelorus and transfixes him with his sword, where about the groin the two-bodied serpent unites with his own giant form, and thus with one blow puts an end to three lives. Exulting in his victory he drives his chariot over the dying giant’s limbs till the wheels ran red with blood.
Mimas ran forward to avenge his brother. He had torn Lemnos and with it Vulcan’s fiery house from out the foaming main, and was on the point of hurling it when Mars’ javelin prevented him, scattering the brain from his shattered skull. What was giant in him died, but the serpent legs still lived, and, hissing vengeance, sought to attack the victor after Mimas’ death.
Minerva rushed forward presenting her breast whereon glittered the Gorgon’s head. The sight of this, she knew, was enough: she needed not to use a spear. One look sufficed. Pallas drew no nearer, rage as he might, for he was the first to be changed into a rock. When, at a distance from his foe, without a wound, he found himself rooted to the ground, and felt the murderous visage turn him, little by little, to stone (and all but stone he was) he called out, “What is happening to me? What
“quae serpit per membra silex? qui torpor inertem marmorea me peste ligat?” vix pauca locutus, 100 quod timuit, iam totus erat; saevusque Damastor, ad depellendos iaculum cum quaereret hostes, germani rigidum misit pro rupe cadaver. Hic vero interitum fratris miratus Echion inscius, auctorem dum vult temptare nocendo, 105 te, Dea, respexit, solam quam cernere nulli bis licuit. meruit sublata audacia poenas et didicit cum morte deam. sed turbidus ira Palleneus, oculis aversa tuentibus atrox, ingreditur caecasque manus in Pallada tendit. 110 hunc mucrone ferit dea comminus; ac simul angues Gorgoneo riguere gelu corpusque per unum pars moritur ferro, partes periere videndo. Ecce autem medium spiris delapsus in aequor Porphyrion trepidam conatur rumpere Delon, 115 scilicet ad superos ut torqueat improbus axes. horruit Aegaeus; stagnantibus exilit antris longaevo cum patre Thetis desertaque mansit regia Neptuni famulis veneranda profundis. exclamant placidae Cynthi de vertice Nymphae, 120 Nymphae, quae rudibus Phoebum docuere sagittis errantes agitare feras primumque gementi Latonae struxere torum, cum lumina caeli parturiens geminis ornaret fetibus orbem. implorat Paeana suum conterrita Delos 125 auxiliumque rogat: “si te gratissima fudit
is this ice that creeps o’er all my limbs? What is this numbness that holds me prisoner in these marble fetters?” Scarce had he uttered these few words when he was what he feared, and savage Damastor, seeking a weapon wherewith to repel the foe, hurled at them in place of a rock his brother’s stony corpse.
Then Echion, marvelling, all ignorant, at his brother’s death, even as he seeks to assail the author of the deed, turned his gaze upon thee, goddess, whom alone no man may see twice. Beaten audacity well deserved its punishment and in death he learned to know the goddess. But Palleneus, mad with anger, turning his eyes aside, rushed at Minerva, striking at her with undirected sword. Nigh at hand the goddess smote him with her sword, and at the same time the snakes froze at the Gorgon’s glance, so that of one body a part was killed by a weapon and a part by a mere look.
Impious Porphyrion, carried by his serpents into the middle of the sea, tries to uproot trembling Delos, wishing to hurl it at the sky. The Aegean was affrighted; Thetis and her agèd sire fled from their watery caverns; the palace of Neptune, regarded with awe by all the denizens of the deep, lay deserted. The summit of Cynthus rang with the cries of the gentle nymphs who had taught Phoebus’ unpractised hand to shoot at the wandering beasts with his bow, they who first had prepared the bed for weeping Latona when, in labour with the lights of heaven, she blessed the world with twin offspring. Delos in terror called her lord Phoebus to help her and begged him for aid. “In remembrance of the
in nostros Latona sinus, succurre precanti. en iterum convulsa feror.”
time when Latona entrusted thine infant life to my care, help me who thus call upon thee. Behold, once more they seek to uproot me.…”[118]
DE RAPTU PROSERPINAE
LIBRI PRIMI PRAEFATIO
(XXXII.)
Inventa secuit primus qui nave profundum et rudibus remis sollicitavit aquas, qui dubiis ausus committere flatibus alnum quas natura negat praebuit arte vias: tranquillis primum trepidus se credidit undis 5 litora securo tramite summa legens; mox longos temptare sinus et linquere terras et leni coepit pandere vela Noto. ast ubi paulatim praeceps audacia crevit cordaque languentem dedidicere metum, 10 iam vagus inrumpit pelagus caelumque secutus Aegaeas hiemes Ioniumque domat.
LIBER PRIMUS
(XXXIII.)
Inferni raptoris equos adflataque curru sidera Taenario caligantesque profundae Iunonis thalamos audaci promere cantu