Tityrus, you, lying back beneath the canopy of a spreading beech,

Tityre, tu patulae recubans sub tegmine fagi

work over the woodland Muse on a slender reed;

silvestrem tenui Musam meditaris avena;

we are leaving our country’s borders, our sweet fields;

nos patriae fines et dulcia linquimus arva:

we flee our homeland; you, Tityrus, at ease in the shade,

nos patriam fugimus; tu, Tityre, lentus in umbra

teach the woods to echo lovely Amaryllis.

formosam resonare doces Amaryllida silvas.

O Meliboeus, a god made this peace for us:

O Meliboee, deus nobis haec otia fecit:

for he will always be a god to me; his altar

namque erit ille mihi semper deus; illius aram

a tender lamb from our folds will often stain.

saepe tener nostris ab ovilibus imbuet agnus.

He let my cattle wander, as you see, and let me myself

Ille meas errare boves, ut cernis, et ipsum

play what I pleased upon the rustic reed.

ludere, quae vellem, calamo permisit agresti

I do not begrudge it, no; I marvel more: on every side,

Non equidem invideo; miror magis: undique totis

through all the fields, is such turmoil. Look, I myself

usque adeo turbatur agris. En, ipse capellas

drive my goats onward, sick at heart; this one, Tityrus, I scarcely lead:

protinus aeger ago; hanc etiam vix, Tityre, duco:

for here among the thick hazels, just now, she dropped her twins,

hic inter densas corylos modo namque gemellos,

the flock’s hope, ah, on the bare flint, and left them there.

spem gregis, ah, silice in nuda conixa reliquit.

Often this trouble, had my mind not been blind,

Saepe malum hoc nobis, si mens non laeva fuisset,

the oaks struck from heaven, I remember, foretold us;

de caelo tactas memini praedicere quercus:—

often the crow on the left gave warning from the hollow ilex.

saepe sinistra cava praedixit ab ilice cornix.

But still — who is this god of yours? Tell us, Tityrus.

Sed tamen, iste deus qui sit, da, Tityre, nobis.

The city they call Rome, Meliboeus, I imagined,

Urbem, quam dicunt Romam, Meliboee, putavi

fool that I was, was like this town of ours, where often we

stultus ego huic nostrae similem, quo saepe solemus

shepherds drive down the tender offspring of our ewes:

pastores ovium teneros depellere fetus:

so I knew pups were like dogs, kids like their mothers,

sic canibus catulos similis, sic matribus haedos

so I would set great things beside small.

noram, sic parvis componere magna solebam:

But this city has lifted her head as high among the rest

verum haec tantum alias inter caput extulit urbes,

as cypresses are wont to do among the bending guelder-roses.

quantum lenta solent inter viburna cupressi.

And what was so great a reason for your seeing Rome?

Et quae tanta fuit Romam tibi causa videndi?

Freedom; which, though late, looked back on me, a sluggard,

Libertas; quae sera, tamen respexit inertem,

after my beard fell whiter under the blade;

candidior postquam tondenti barba cadebat;

it looked back, even so, and came at long last,

respexit tamen, et longo post tempore venit,

once Amaryllis holds me and Galatea has let me go:

postquam nos Amaryllis habet, Galatea reliquit:

for — I will confess it — while Galatea kept me,

namque, fatebor enim, dum me Galatea tenebat,

there was no hope of freedom, no thought for savings:

nec spes libertatis erat, nec cura peculi:

however many victims went out from my pens,

quamvis multa meis exiret victima saeptis,

and rich cheese was pressed for the thankless town,

pinguis et ingratae premeretur caseus urbi,

never did my hand come home heavy with coin.

non umquam gravis aere domum mihi dextra redibat.

I used to wonder why, in sorrow, you called on the gods, Amaryllis,

Mirabar, quid maesta deos, Amarylli, vocares,

for whom you let the apples hang upon their tree:

cui pendere sua patereris in arbore poma:

Tityrus was away. The very pines, Tityrus,

Tityrus hinc aberat. Ipsae te, Tityre, pinus,

the very springs, these very orchards were calling you.

ipsi te fontes, ipsa haec arbusta vocabant.

What was I to do? I could not break free of bondage,

Quid facerem? Neque servitio me exire licebat,

nor find gods so present to me anywhere else.

nec tam praesentis alibi cognoscere divos.

Here I saw that young man, Meliboeus, for whom each year

hic illum vidi iuvenem, Meliboee, quot annis

twelve days our altars smoke;

bis senos cui nostra dies altaria fumant;

here he first gave answer to my asking:

hic mihi responsum primus dedit ille petenti:

"Graze your cattle as before, lads; breed your bulls."

"pascite, ut ante, boves, pueri, submittite tauros."

Lucky old man — so your fields will stay yours,

Fortunate senex, ergo tua rura manebunt,

and large enough for you, though bare stone

et tibi magna satis, quamvis lapis omnia nudus

and marsh with muddy reeds cover all the pasture!

limosoque palus obducat pascua iunco!

No strange fodder will tempt your heavy-bearing ewes,

Non insueta gravis temptabunt pabula fetas,

no foul contagion of a neighbour’s flock will harm them.

nec mala vicini pecoris contagia laedent.

Lucky old man — here, among familiar streams

Fortunate senex, hic, inter flumina nota

and sacred springs, you will take the shaded cool!

et fontis sacros, frigus captabis opacum!

Here, as always, from the neighbouring boundary, the hedge

hinc tibi, quae semper, vicino ab limite, saepes

whose willow-bloom is grazed by the bees of Hybla

Hyblaeis apibus florem depasta salicti

will often coax you to slip into sleep with its light hum;

saepe levi somnum suadebit inire susurro;

here, beneath the high crag, the pruner will sing to the breeze;

hinc alta sub rupe canet frondator ad auras;

nor meanwhile will the hoarse wood-pigeons, your delight,

nec tamen interea raucae, tua cura, palumbes,

nor the turtledove cease to moan from the airy elm.

nec gemere aëria cessabit turtur ab ulmo.

Sooner, then, shall light-footed stags graze upon the open sea,

Ante leves ergo pascentur in aequore cervi,

and the straits leave their fish bare on the shore,

et freta destituent nudos in litore pisces,

sooner, the borders of both lands wandered through in exile,

ante pererratis amborum finibus exsul

shall the Parthian drink the Saône, or Germany the Tigris,

aut Ararim Parthus bibet, aut Germania Tigrim,

than that his face shall slip from my heart.

quam nostro illius labatur pectore voltus.

But we, some of us, shall go from here to the thirsting Africans,

At nos hinc alii sitientis ibimus Afros,

some shall come to Scythia and to Crete’s swift Oaxes,

pars Scythiam et rapidum Cretae veniemus Oaxen,

and to the Britons, wholly cut off from all the world.

et penitus toto divisos orbe Britannos.

Ah, shall I ever, after long years, look on my country’s borders,

En umquam patrios longo post tempore finis,

and the turf-piled roof of my poor hut,

pauperis et tuguri congestum caespite culmen,

and gaze in wonder, at last, on my realm — a few ears of grain?

post aliquot mea regna videns mirabor aristas?

Will some godless soldier hold these new-broken fields, so well tilled,

Impius haec tam culta novalia miles habebit,

some barbarian these crops? See where discord has brought

barbarus has segetes? En, quo discordia civis

our wretched citizens! For these we have sown our fields!

produxit miseros! His nos consevimus agros!

Graft your pears now, Meliboeus; set your vines in rows.

Insere nunc, Meliboee, piros, pone ordine vitis.

Go, my goats, once a happy flock, go on.

Ite meae, felix quondam pecus, ite capellae.

Never again, stretched out in a green cave,

Non ego vos posthac, viridi proiectus in antro,

shall I watch you hang, far off, on a brambly crag;

dumosa pendere procul de rupe videbo;

I shall sing no songs; no more, with me to herd you, my goats,

carmina nulla canam; non, me pascente, capellae,

shall you crop the flowering clover and the bitter willows.

florentem cytisum et salices carpetis amaras.

Yet here you could rest this one night with me

Hic tamen hanc mecum poteras requiescere noctem

on the green leaves: I have ripe apples,

fronde super viridi: sunt nobis mitia poma,

soft chestnuts, and a wealth of pressed cheese;

castaneae molles, et pressi copia lactis;

and already, far off, the rooftops of the farms are smoking,

et iam summa procul villarum culmina fumant,

and longer shadows fall from the high mountains.

maioresque cadunt altis de montibus umbrae.

The shepherd Corydon burned for lovely Alexis,

Formosum pastor Corydon ardebat Alexim,

his master’s darling, and had nothing to hope for;

delicias domini, nec quid speraret habebat;

only among the thick beeches, their shady crowns,

tantum inter densas, umbrosa cacumina, fagos

he came, again and again. There, alone, these artless words

adsidue veniebat. Ibi haec incondita solus

he flung at the hills and woods in fruitless longing:

montibus et silvis studio iactabat inani:

O cruel Alexis, do you care nothing for my songs?

O crudelis Alexi, nihil mea carmina curas?

No pity for me? In the end you will drive me to my death.

Nil nostri miserere? Mori me denique coges.

Now even the cattle seek out the shade and the cool;

nunc etiam pecudes umbras et frigora captant;

now even the green lizards hide in the thorn-brakes,

nunc viridis etiam occultant spineta lacertos,

and Thestylis, for reapers worn by the racing heat,

Thestylis et rapido fessis messoribus aestu

pounds garlic and wild thyme, those pungent herbs.

alia serpyllumque herbas contundit olentis.

But with me, as I trace your footprints,

at mecum raucis, tua dum vestigia lustro,

the orchards ring with shrill cicadas under the burning sun.

sole sub ardenti resonant arbusta cicadis.

Was it not better to endure sad Amaryllis’ rages

Nonne fuit satius tristis Amaryllidis iras

and her proud disdain — better to endure Menalcas,

atque superba pati fastidia, nonne Menalcan,

however dark he was, however fair you are?

quam vis ille niger, quamvis tu candidus esses?

O lovely boy, do not trust too much in your colour!

o formose puer, nimium ne crede colori!

The white privets fall; the dark hyacinths are gathered.

alba ligustra cadunt, vaccinia nigra leguntur.

I am scorned by you, and you do not ask who I am, Alexis —

Despectus tibi sum, nec qui sim quaeris, Alexi,

how rich in flocks, how abounding in snow-white milk.

quam dives pecoris, nivei quam lactis abundans.

A thousand lambs of mine wander on the Sicilian hills;

mille meae Siculis errant in montibus agnae;

fresh milk fails me neither in summer nor in cold;

lac mihi non aestate novum, non frigore defit;

I sing the songs that Amphion of Dirce sang,

canto quae solitus, si quando armenta vocabat,

whenever he called his herds, on Attic Aracynthus.

Amphion Dircaeus in Actaeo Aracimtho.

Nor am I so ill-favoured: lately I saw myself on the shore,

Nec sum adeo informis: nuper me in litore vidi,

when the sea stood still of winds; I would not fear Daphnis,

cum placidum ventis staret mare; non ego Daphnim

with you for judge, if the reflection never lies.

iudice te metuam, si numquam fallit imago.

O might it only please you to live with me in the rough country,

O tantum libeat mecum tibi sordida rura

in lowly cottages, to pierce the stag,

atque humilis habitare casas, et figere cervos,

and drive the flock of kids with a green mallow-switch!

haedorumque gregem viridi compellere hibisco!

With me in the woods you will rival Pan in song.

Mecum una in silvis imitabere Pana canendo.

Pan first taught the joining of many reeds with wax;

Pan primus calamos cera coniungere pluris

Pan cares for the sheep and the shepherds of sheep.

instituit; Pan curat ovis oviumque magistros.

Do not regret to have chafed your lip upon the reed:

Nec te paeniteat calamo trivisse labellum:

to master these same arts, what did Amyntas not do?

haec eadem ut sciret, quid non faciebat Amyntas?

I have a pipe made fast from seven unequal hemlock-stalks,

est mihi disparibus septem compacta cicutis

which Damoetas once gave me as a gift,

fistula, Damoetas dono mihi quam dedit olim,

and, dying, said: "Now this has you for its second master."

et dixit moriens: "Te nunc habet ista secundum."

So said Damoetas; foolish Amyntas envied me.

dixit Damoetas, invidit stultus Amyntas.

Besides, two fawns, found by me in no safe valley,

Praeterea duo, nec tuta mihi valle reperti,

their coats even now flecked with white,

capreoli, sparsis etiam nunc pellibus albo,

drain a ewe’s udders twice a day; these I keep for you:

bina die siccant ovis ubera; quos tibi servo:

Thestylis has long been begging to take them from me;

iam pridem a me illos abducere Thestylis orat;

and she shall, since my gifts seem cheap to you.

et faciet, quoniam sordent tibi munera nostra.

Come here, O lovely boy: see, for you the Nymphs

Huc ades, O formose puer: tibi lilia plenis

bring lilies in brimming baskets; for you the fair Naiad,

ecce ferunt Nymphae calathis; tibi candida Nais,

plucking pale violets and the tops of the poppies,

pallentis violas et summa papavera carpens,

joins the narcissus and the flower of sweet-smelling dill;

narcissum et florem iungit bene olentis anethi;

then, weaving in cassia and other fragrant herbs,

tum casia atque aliis intexens suavibus herbis,

she sets off the soft hyacinths with golden marigold.

mollia luteola pingit vaccinia calta.

I myself will gather quinces hoary with tender down,

Ipse ego cana legam tenera lanugine mala,

and chestnuts, which my Amaryllis loved;

castaneasque nuces, mea quas Amaryllis amabat;

I will add waxen plums — this fruit too shall have its honour;

addam cerea pruna: honos erit huic quoque pomo;

and you, O laurels, I will pluck, and you beside them, myrtle,

et vos, O lauri, carpam, et te, proxima myrte,

since, ranged so, you mingle your sweet scents.

sic positae quoniam suavis miscetis odores.

You are a peasant, Corydon: Alexis cares nothing for gifts,

Rusticus es, Corydon: nec munera curat Alexis,

nor, should you contend in gifts, would Iollas yield.

nec, si muneribus certes, concedat Iollas.

Alas, alas, what have I wished on my wretched self! I have loosed

Heu, heu, quid volui misero mihi! Floribus austrum

the south wind, ruined, on my flowers, and boars into my clear springs.

perditus et liquidis inmisi fontibus apros.

Whom do you flee, ah madman? Gods too have dwelt in the woods,

Quem fugis, ah, demens? Habitarunt di quoque silvas,

and Dardanian Paris. Let Pallas keep the citadels

Dardaniusque Paris. Pallas, quas condidit arces,

she herself founded; let the woods please us before all else.

ipsa colat; nobis placeant ante omnia silvae.

The grim lioness hunts the wolf; the wolf himself the she-goat;

Torva leaena lupum sequitur; lupus ipse capellam;

the wanton she-goat hunts the flowering clover;

florentem cytisum sequitur lasciva capella;

Corydon hunts you, Alexis: each is drawn by his own delight.

te Corydon, o Alexi: trahit sua quemque voluptas.

Look, the bullocks bring back the ploughs slung from the yoke,

Aspice, aratra iugo referunt suspensa iuvenci,

and the setting sun doubles the lengthening shadows:

et sol crescentis decedens duplicat umbras:

yet love burns me still; for what limit can there be to love?

me tamen urit amor; quis enim modus adsit amori?

Ah, Corydon, Corydon, what madness has taken you!

Ah, Corydon, Corydon, quae te dementia cepit!

Your vine hangs half-pruned on the leafy elm;

Semiputata tibi frondosa vitis in ulmo est;

why not, rather, set about some task the day’s need calls for,

quin tu aliquid saltem potius, quorum indiget usus,

weaving with osiers and pliant rushes?

viminibus mollique paras detexere iunco?

You will find another Alexis, if this one scorns you.

Invenies alium, si te hic fastidit, Alexim.

Tell me, Damoetas, whose flock is this? Meliboeus’?

Dic mihi, Damoeta, cuium pecus, an Meliboei?

No — Aegon’s; Aegon handed it over to me lately.

Non, verum Aegonis; nuper mihi tradidit Aegon.

O sheep, ever luckless flock! While he himself courts Neaera

Infelix o semper, ovis, pecus, ipse Neaeram

and fears she may prefer me to him,

dum fovet, ac ne me sibi praeferat illa veretur,

this hireling keeper milks the ewes twice in an hour,

hic alienus ovis custos bis mulget in hora,

and the strength is drained from the flock, the milk from the lambs.

et sucus pecori et lac subducitur agnis.

Yet remember to fling such charges at men more sparingly:

Parcius ista viris tamen obicienda memento:

we know who had you — while the he-goats looked askance —

novimus et qui te, transversa tuentibus hircis,

and in what shrine; but the easy-going Nymphs only laughed.

et quo—sed faciles Nymphae risere—sacello.

Then, I suppose — when they saw me slashing Micon’s orchard

Tum, credo, cum me arbustum videre Miconis

and his young vines with a spiteful billhook.

atque mala vitis incidere falce novellas.

Or here, by the old beeches, when you broke Daphnis’ bow

Aut hic ad veteres fagos cum Daphnidis arcum

and his arrows — which you, crooked Menalcas,

fregisti et calamos quae tu, perverse Menalca,

grieved to see given to the boy,

et cum vidisti puero donata, dolebas,

and, had you not harmed him somehow, you would have died of it.

et si non aliqua nocuisses, mortuus esses.

What are masters to do, when thieves dare such things!

Quid domini faciant, audent cum talia fures!

Did I not see you, you scoundrel, trap Damon’s he-goat

non ego te vidi Damonis, pessime, caprum

by ambush, while Lycisca barked and barked?

excipere insidiis, multum latrante Lycisca?

And when I shouted, "Where is he bolting off to now?

et cum clamarem: "Quo nunc se proripit ille?

Tityrus, round up the flock!" — you were hiding behind the sedge.

Tityre, coge pecus," tu post carecta latebas.

Was he not, beaten in singing, bound to hand me back

An mihi cantando victus non redderet ille

the goat my pipe had earned with its songs?

quem mea carminibus meruisset fistula caprum?

If you don’t know it — that goat was mine; and Damon himself

Si nescis, meus ille caper fuit; et mihi Damon

admitted it to me, but said he could not pay it back.

ipse fatebatur, sed reddere posse negabat.

You beat him in singing? Or did you ever own a pipe

Cantando tu illum, aut umquam tibi fistula cera

fastened with wax? Were you not the one, you dunce, at the crossroads,

iuncta fuit? Non tu in triviis, indocte, solebas

who used to murder a wretched tune on a screeching straw?

stridenti miserum stipula disperdere carmen?

Do you want us, then, to test by turns what each of us can do

Vis ergo inter nos quid possit uterque vicissim

between us? I stake this heifer — and lest you refuse,

experiamur? Ego hanc vitulam—ne forte recuses,

she comes twice to the pail, feeds two calves at her udder —

bis venit ad mulctram, binos alit ubere fetus—

I set her down: now say what stake you’ll wager against me.

depono: tu dic, mecum quo pignore certes.

From the flock I would not dare to stake a thing against you.

De grege non ausim quicquam deponere tecum.

For I have a father at home, and an unfair stepmother;

Est mihi namque domi pater, est iniusta noverca;

twice a day they both count the flock, and one of them the kids.

bisque die numerant ambo pecus, alter et haedos.

But — what you yourself will grant is far the greater stake,

Verum, id quod multo tute ipse fatebere maius,

since you are bent on this madness — I’ll put up cups,

insanire libet quoniam tibi, pocula ponam

of beechwood, the chased work of divine Alcimedon;

fagina, caelatum divini opus Alcimedontis;

over them a pliant vine, laid on by the smooth-running lathe,

lenta quibus torno facili superaddita vitis

clothes with pale ivy the scattered grape-clusters:

diffusos hedera vestit pallente corymbos:

in the middle, two figures — Conon, and who was the other,

in medio duo signa, Conon, et—quis fuit alter,

the man who marked out for the nations the whole round of the sky with his rod,

descripsit radio totum qui gentibus orbem,

what seasons the reaper, what the stooping ploughman should keep?

tempora quae messor, quae curvus arator haberet?

I have not yet set my lips to them, but keep them stored away.

Necdum illis labra admovi, sed condita servo.

For me, too, the same Alcimedon made a pair of cups,

Et nobis idem Alcimedon duo pocula fecit,

and clasped the handles round about with soft acanthus,

et molli circum est ansas amplexus acantho,

and set Orpheus in the middle, and the woods that followed him.

Orpheaque in medio posuit silvasque sequentis.

I have not yet set my lips to them, but keep them stored away:

Necdum illis labra admovi, sed condita servo:

if you look to the heifer, there is no cause to praise the cups.

si ad vitulam spectas, nihil est quod pocula laudes.

You’ll not escape me today; I’ll come, wherever you summon me.

Nunquam hodie effugies; veniam, quocumque vocari

Only let someone hear this — why, here comes Palaemon!

audiat haec tantum—vel qui venit ecce Palaemon

I’ll see to it you challenge no one with your voice hereafter.

efficiam posthac ne quemquam voce lacessas.

Come on then, if you have anything; there’ll be no holding back on my side,

Quin age, si quid habes, in me mora non erit ulla,

nor do I shrink from anyone: only, neighbour Palaemon,

nec quemquam fugio: tantum, vicine Palaemon,

lay this up in your inmost mind — it is no small matter.

sensibus haec imis, res est non parva, reponas.

Sing, then, since we are settled on the soft grass:

Dicite, quandoquidem in molli consedimus herba:

and now every field, now every tree is bringing forth,

et nunc omnis ager, nunc omnis parturit arbos,

now the woods are in leaf, now the year is at its loveliest.

nunc frondent silvae, nunc formosissimus annus.

Begin, Damoetas; then you take it up, Menalcas:

Incipe, Darmoeta; tu deinde sequere Menalca:

you’ll sing in turns; the Muses love alternation.

alternis dicetis; amant alterna Camenae.

From Jupiter the beginning, Muses; all is full of Jupiter:

Ab Iove principium, Musae; Iovis omnia plena:

he tends the lands; to him my songs are dear.

ille colit terras, illi mea carmina curae.

And me Phoebus loves; for Phoebus there are always, in my keeping,

Et me Phoebus amat; Phoebo sua semper apud me

his gifts — laurels and the sweetly blushing hyacinth.

munera sunt, lauri et suave rubens hyacinthus.

Galatea pelts me with an apple, the wanton girl,

Malo me Galatea petit, lasciva puella,

and flees to the willows, and longs to be seen first.

et fugit ad salices, et se cupit ante videri.

But to me, unbidden, my flame Amyntas offers himself,

At mihi sese offert ultro, meus ignis, Amyntas,

so that by now Delia is no better known to my dogs.

notior ut iam sit canibus non Delia nostris.

Gifts are got ready for my love: for I have marked the place myself,

Parta meae Veneri sunt munera: namque notavi

high up, where the wood-pigeons of the air have nested.

ipse locum, aëriae quo congessere palumbes.

What I could, I have sent the boy: ten golden apples,

Quod potui, puero silvestri ex arbore lecta

picked from a woodland tree; tomorrow I’ll send another ten.

aurea mala decem misi; cras altera mittam.

O how often, and what things, Galatea has said to me!

O quotiens et quae nobis Galatea locuta est!

Carry some part of it, winds, to the ears of the gods!

partem aliquam, venti, divom referatis ad auris!

What use is it, Amyntas, that in your heart you do not scorn me,

Quid prodest, quod me ipse animo non spernis, Amynta.

if, while you chase the boars, I am left to mind the nets?

si, dum tu sectaris apros, ego retia servo?

Send Phyllis to me: it is my birthday, Iollas;

Phyllida mitte mihi: meus est natalis, Iolla;

when I sacrifice a heifer for the crops, then come yourself.

cum faciam vitula pro frugibus, ipse venito.

I love Phyllis before all others; for she wept at my going,

Phyllida amo ante alias; nam me discedere flevit,

and, drawing it out, said, "Farewell, lovely Iollas, farewell."

et longum "formose, vale, vale," inquit, "Iolla."

A grief, the wolf to the folds, the rains to the ripe crops,

Triste lupus stabulis, maturis frugibus imbres.

the winds to the trees; to me, the angers of Amaryllis.

arboribus venti, nobis Amaryllidis irae.

Sweet is moisture to the sown fields, arbutus to the weaned kids,

Dulce satis umor, depulsis arbutus haedis,

the pliant willow to the breeding flock; to me, Amyntas alone.

lenta salix feto pecori, mihi solus Amyntas.

Pollio loves my Muse, rustic though she is:

Pollio amat nostram, quamvis est rustica, Musam:

Muses, fatten a heifer for your reader.

Pierides vitulam lectori pascite vestro.

Pollio himself, too, makes new songs: fatten a bull,

Pollio et ipse facit nova carmina: pascite taurum,

one that now butts with the horn and scatters sand with its hooves.

iam cornu petat et pedibus qui spargat arenam.

Whoever loves you, Pollio, let him come where he is glad you too have come;

Qui te, Pollio, amat, veniat quo te quoque gaudet:

let honey flow for him, and the rough bramble bear sweet spice.

mella fluant illi, ferat et rubus asper amomum.

Whoever does not hate Bavius, let him love your songs, Maevius,

Qui Bavium non odit, amet tua carmina, Maevi,

and let that same man yoke foxes and milk he-goats.

atque idem iungat vulpes et mulgeat hircos.

You who gather flowers and the strawberries born of the ground,

Qui legitis flores et humi nascentia fraga,

flee from here, boys — cold in the grass a snake lies hidden.

frigidus, O pueri, fugite hinc, latet anguis in herba.

Forbear, sheep, to go too far; the bank

Parcite, oves, nimium procedere; non bene ripae

is not safely trusted; the ram himself is still drying his fleece.

creditur; ipse aries etiam nunc vellera siccat.

Tityrus, drive the grazing goats back from the river:

Tityre, pascentes a flumine reice capellas:

when the time comes, I’ll wash them all myself in the spring.

ipse ubi tempus erit, omnis in fonte lavabo.

Pen the sheep, boys; if the heat dries the milk before us,

Cogite ovis, pueri; si lac praeceperit aestus,

as it did lately, we’ll press the udders with our palms in vain.

ut nuper, frustra pressabimus ubera palmis.

Alas, how lean my bull is, in rich vetch though he stands!

Heu, heu, quam pingui macer est mihi taurus in ervo!

The same love is the ruin of the herd and the herd’s master.

Idem amor exitium est pecori pecorisque magistro.

For these, at least, love is no cause; they barely cling to their bones.

His certe neque amor causa est; vix ossibus haerent.

Some evil eye, I know not whose, bewitches my tender lambs.

nescio quis teneros oculus mihi fascinat agnos.

Tell me — and you shall be my great Apollo —

Dic, quibus in terris—et eris mihi magnus Apollo—

in what lands the breadth of sky opens no wider than three ells.

tris pateat caeli spatium non amplius ulnas.

Tell me in what lands flowers spring up

Dic, quibus in terris inscripti nomina regum

inscribed with the names of kings, and have Phyllis to yourself.

nascantur flores, et Phyllida solus habeto.

It is not for me to settle such great quarrels between you.

Non nostrum inter vos tantas componere lites.

You deserve the heifer, and so does he, and whoever

Et vitula tu dignus, et hic, et quisquis amores

shall either dread love’s sweetness or taste its bitterness.

aut metuet dulces, aut experietur amaros.

Shut off the channels now, boys; the meadows have drunk enough.

Claudite iam rivos, pueri, sat prata biberunt.

Sicilian Muses, let us sing of things a little greater!

Sicelides Musae, paulo maiora canamus!

Orchards and the lowly tamarisks do not please everyone;

Non omnis arbusta iuvant humilesque myricae;

if we sing the woods, let the woods be worthy of a consul.

si canimus silvas, silvae sint consule dignae.

Now has come the last age of the Cumaean song;

Ultima Cumaei venit iam carminis aetas;

the great order of the centuries is born anew:

magnus ab integro saeclorum nascitur ordo:

now the Virgin returns, and the reign of Saturn returns;

iam redit et Virgo, redeunt Saturnia regna;

now a new generation is sent down from heaven on high.

iam nova progenies caelo demittitur alto.

Only do you, on the boy being born — under whom the iron race

Tu modo nascenti puero, quo ferrea primum

shall first cease, and a golden race rise over all the world —

desinet ac toto surget gens aurea mundo,

smile, chaste Lucina: now your own Apollo reigns.

casta fave Lucina: tuus iam regnat Apollo.

And in your consulship, Pollio, yes, in yours, this glory of the age will set in,

Teque adeo decus hoc aevi te consule inibit,

and the great months will begin their march.

Pollio, et incipient magni procedere menses.

Under your leadership, whatever traces of our guilt remain

te duce, si qua manent sceleris vestigia nostri,

shall, made void, release the lands from their unending dread.

inrita perpetua solvent formidine terras.

He will receive the life of gods, and will see heroes

ille deum vitam accipiet, divisque videbit

mingled with gods, and will himself be seen among them,

permixtos heroas, et ipse videbitur illis,

and rule a world made peaceful by his father’s virtues.

pacatumque reget patriis virtutibus orbem.

But for you, child, the earth untilled will pour out

At tibi prima, puer, nullo munuscula cultu

its first small gifts on every side — straggling ivy with cyclamen,

errantis hederas passim cum baccare tellus

and the Egyptian lily mingled with the smiling acanthus.

mixtaque ridenti colocasia fundet acantho.

The she-goats of themselves will bring home udders

Ipsae lacte domum referent distenta capellae

swollen with milk, and the herds will not dread great lions;

ubera, nec magnos metuent armenta leones;

your very cradle will pour out coaxing flowers for you,

ipsa tibi blandos fundent cunabula flores,

the serpent too will die, and the treacherous poison-plant

occidet et serpens, et fallax herba veneni

will die; Assyrian spice will spring up everywhere.

occidet, Assyrium volgo nascetur amomum.

But as soon as you can read the praises of heroes and your father’s deeds,

at simul heroum laudes et facta parentis

and come to know what valour is,

iam legere et quae sit poteris cognoscere virtus,

little by little the plain will grow golden with the soft ear of grain,

molli paulatim flavescet campus arista,

and the reddening grape will hang from the wild brambles,

incultisque rubens pendebit sentibus uva,

and the hard oaks will sweat dewy honey.

et durae quercus sudabunt roscida mella

Yet a few traces of the old deceit will linger underneath,

Pauca tamen suberunt priscae vestigia fraudis,

bidding men tempt Thetis with ships, gird towns

quae temptare Thetim ratibus, quae cingere muris

with walls, cut furrows into the earth:

oppida, quae iubeant telluri infindere sulcos:

then there will be a second Tiphys, and a second Argo to bear

alter erit tum Tiphys, et altera quae vehat Argo

chosen heroes; there will be other wars as well,

delectos Heroas; erunt etiam altera bella,

and once again a great Achilles will be sent against Troy.

atque iterum ad Troiam magnus mittetur Achilles.

Then, when settled age has made a man of you,

Hinc, ubi iam firmata virum te fecerit aetas,

the trader himself will quit the sea, nor will the seafaring pine

cedet et ipse mari vector, nec nautica pinus

barter its wares: every land will bear all things.

mutabit merces: omnis feret omnia tellus:

The ground will not endure the mattock, nor the vine the pruning-hook;

non rastros patietur humus, non vinea falcem;

the sturdy ploughman, too, will now loose the yokes from his bulls;

robustus quoque iam tauris iuga solvet arator;

nor will wool learn to counterfeit changing colours:

nec varios discet mentiri lana colores:

but the ram himself, in the meadows, will turn his fleece now to a sweetly blushing

ipse sed in pratis aries iam suave rubenti

purple, now to saffron yellow;

murice, iam croceo mutabit vellera luto;

of its own will, scarlet will clothe the grazing lambs.

sponte sua sandyx pascentis vestiet agnos.

"Run on, such ages!" to their spindles said the Fates,

Talia saecla, suis dixerunt, currite, fusis

agreed in the steadfast will of destiny.

concordes stabili fatorum numine Parcae.

Enter upon your great honours — the time will soon be here —

Adgredere o magnos—aderit iam tempus—honores,

dear offspring of the gods, great increase of Jupiter!

cara deum suboles, magnum Iovis incrementum!

Behold the world swaying with its arched mass,

Aspice convexo nutantem pondere mundum,

the lands, the reaches of the sea, the sky’s deep vault!

terrasque tractusque maris caelumque profundum!

Behold how all things rejoice at the age to come!

Aspice, venturo laetentur ut omnia saeclo!

O may the last span of so long a life remain to me,

O mihi tam longae maneat pars ultima vitae,

and breath enough to tell your deeds!

spiritus et quantum sat erit tua dicere facta!

Neither Thracian Orpheus will outsing me,

Non me carminibus vincet nec Thracius Orpheus,

nor Linus, though the one have his mother at his side and the other his father,

nec Linus, huic mater quamvis atque huic pater adsit,

Calliope for Orpheus, lovely Apollo for Linus.

Orphei Calliopea, Lino formosus Apollo,

Even Pan, should he contend with me with Arcadia for judge,

Pan etiam, Arcadia mecum si iudice certet,

even Pan would own himself beaten, with Arcadia for judge.

Pan etiam Arcadia dicat se iudice victum.

Begin, little boy, to know your mother by a smile —

Incipe, parve puer, risu cognoscere matrem,

ten long months have brought your mother her weariness.

matri longa decem tulerunt fastidia menses.

Begin, little boy: the child whose parents have not smiled on him,

Incipe, parve puer, cui non risere parentes,

no god honours with his table, no goddess with her bed.

nec deus hunc mensa, dea nec dignata cubili est.

Why not, Mopsus — since we have met, both of us skilled,

Cur non, Mopse, boni quoniam convenimus ambo,

you at blowing the light reeds, I at speaking verses —

tu calamos inflare levis, ego dicere versus,

sit down here, among the elms mingled with hazels?

hic corylis mixtas inter consedimus ulmos?

You are the elder; it is right I obey you, Menalcas,

Tu maior; tibi me est aequum parere, Menalca,

whether we go under the wavering shadows stirred by the west winds,

sive sub incertas zephyris motantibus umbras,

or rather take shelter in the cave: see how the wild vine

sive antro potius succedimus: aspice, ut antrum

has strewn the cave with its scattered clusters.

silvestris raris sparsit labrusca racemis.

On our hills, Amyntas alone competes with you.

Montibus in nostris solus tibi certat Amyntas.

What of it, if that same man should strive to outsing Phoebus?

Quid, si idem certet Phoebum superare canendo?

Begin first, Mopsus, if you have any songs — of Phyllis’ loves,

Incipe, Mopse, prior, si quos aut Phyllidis ignes,

or the praises of Alcon, or the quarrels of Codrus:

aut Alconis habes laudes, aut iurgia Codri:

begin; Tityrus will mind the grazing kids.

incipe, pascentis servabit Tityrus haedos.

No, rather these, which lately I carved on the green bark of a beech

Immo haec, in viridi nuper quae cortice fagi

and, setting them to the tune, marked out their answering parts,

carmina descripsi et modulans alterna notavi,

I’ll try; then bid Amyntas compete after me.

experiar, tu deinde iubeto ut certet Amyntas.

As far as the pliant willow yields to the pale olive,

Lenta salix quantum pallenti cedit olivae,

as far as the lowly spikenard to the crimson rose-beds,

puniceis humilis quantum saliunca rosetis,

so far, by our judgement, does Amyntas yield to you.

iudicio nostro tantum tibi cedit Amyntas.

But say no more, boy; we have come under the cave.

sed tu desine plura, puer; successimus antro.

The nymphs wept for Daphnis, cut down by a cruel death;

Extinctum nymphae crudeli funere Daphnim

you hazels and rivers are witnesses for the nymphs;

flebant; vos coryli testes et flumina nymphis;

when, clasping the piteous body of her son,

cum complexa sui corpus miserabile nati,

his mother called both gods and stars cruel.

atque deos atque astra vocat crudelia mater.

No one in those days drove their fed cattle

Non ulli pastos illis egere diebus

down to the cool rivers, Daphnis; no beast

frigida, Daphni, boves ad flumina; nulla neque amnem

tasted the stream, nor touched a blade of grass.

libavit quadrupes, nec graminis attigit herbam.

Daphnis, that even Carthaginian lions groaned at your dying,

Daphni, tuum Poenos etiam ingemuisse leones

the wild mountains and the woods declare.

interitum montesque feri silvaeque loquuntur.

Daphnis it was who taught to yoke Armenian tigers to the car,

Daphnis et Armenias curru subiungere tigres

Daphnis to bring in the revel-bands of Bacchus,

instituit; Daphnis thiasos inducere Bacchi,

and to wreathe the supple spears with soft leaves.

et foliis lentas intexere mollibus hastas.

As the vine is a glory to its trees, as grapes to the vines,

Vitis ut arboribus decori est, ut vitibus uvae,

as bulls to the herds, as crops to rich fields,

ut gregibus tauri, segetes ut pinguibus arvis,

so you were all the glory of your own. After the fates took you,

tu decus omne tuis. Postquam te fata tulerunt,

Pales herself, and Apollo himself, forsook the fields.

ipsa Pales agros atque ipse reliquit Apollo.

Often in the furrows where we entrusted plump barley,

Grandia saepe quibus mandavimus hordea sulcis,

luckless darnel and barren oat-grass spring up;

infelix lolium et steriles nascuntur avenae;

in place of the soft violet, in place of the purple narcissus,

pro molli viola, pro purpureo narcisso,

the thistle rises, and the buckthorn with its sharp spines.

carduus et spinis surgit paliurus acutis.

Strew the ground with leaves, draw shade over the springs,

Spargite humum foliis, inducite fontibus umbras,

shepherds — Daphnis bids such things be done for him;

pastores, mandat fieri sibi talia Daphnis;

and raise a mound, and on the mound add this song:

et tumulum facite, et tumulo superaddite carmen:

"DAPHNIS AM I, KNOWN IN THE WOODS FROM HERE EVEN TO THE STARS,

DAPHNIS EGO IN SILVIS HINC VSQUE AD SIDERA NOTVS

KEEPER OF A LOVELY FLOCK, MYSELF MORE LOVELY STILL."

FORMONSI PECORIS CVSTOS FORMONSIOR IPSE.

Such is your song to us, divine poet,

Tale tuum carmen nobis, divine poeta,

as sleep upon the grass to the weary, as in the heat

quale sopor fessis in gramine, quale per aestum

the quenching of thirst at a leaping rill of sweet water:

dulcis aquae saliente sitim restinguere rivo:

not with the reeds alone, but with your voice you match your master.

nec calamis solum aequiparas, sed voce magistrum.

Lucky boy, you will now be the next after him.

Fortunate puer, tu nunc eris alter ab illo.

Still, we in turn will sing you these songs of ours, however we can,

Nos tamen haec quocumque modo tibi nostra vicissim

and will lift your Daphnis to the stars;

dicemus, Daphnimque tuum tollemus ad astra;

Daphnis we will bear to the stars: Daphnis loved us too.

Daphnin ad astra feremus: amavit nos quoque Daphnis.

Could anything be greater to us than such a gift?

An quicquam nobis tali sit munere maius

The boy himself was worthy to be sung, and Stimichon

Et puer ipse fuit cantari dignus, et ista

praised these songs of yours to us long ago.

iam pridem Stimichon laudavit carmina nobis.

Radiant, Daphnis marvels at the unfamiliar threshold of Olympus,

Candidus insuetum miratur limen Olympi,

and beneath his feet sees the clouds and the stars.

sub pedibusque videt nubes et sidera Daphnis.

And so a quickening gladness takes the woods and all the countryside,

ergo alacris silvas et cetera rura voluptas

and Pan, and the shepherds, and the Dryad girls;

Panaque pastoresque tenet, Dryadasque puellas;

no wolf plots ambush against the flock, no nets

nec lupus insidias pecori, nec retia cervis

plot any snare for the deer: good Daphnis loves peace.

ulla dolum meditantur: amat bonus otia Daphnis.

The very unshorn mountains fling their voices in joy to the stars;

ipsi laetitia voces ad sidera iactant

now the very crags, the very orchards

intonsi montes; ipsae iam carmina rupes,

ring out their songs: "A god, that one is a god, Menalcas!"

ipsa sonant arbusta: "Deus, deus ille, Menalca."

O be kind and gracious to your own! See, four altars:

Sis bonus O felixque tuis! En quattuor aras:

look, two for you, Daphnis, and two as high altars for Phoebus.

ecce duas tibi, Daphni, duas altaria Phoebo.

Two cups, foaming with fresh milk, year by year,

pocula bina novo spumantia lacte quotannis,

and two bowls of rich olive oil, I will set up for you,

craterasque duo statuam tibi pinguis olivi,

and, above all, gladdening the feasts with plenty of wine —

et multo in primis hilarans convivia Baccho,—

before the hearth if it is cold, at harvest in the shade —

ante focum, si frigus erit, si messis, in umbra,—

I’ll pour Ariusian wine, a fresh nectar, from the bowls.

vina novum fundam calathis Ariusia nectar.

Damoetas will sing for me, and Lyctian Aegon;

cantabunt mihi Damoetas et Lyctius Aegon;

Alphesiboeus will mime the dancing satyrs.

saltantis satyros imitabitur Alphesiboeus.

These rites will always be yours, both when we pay our solemn vows

Haec tibi semper erunt, et cum solemnia vota

to the Nymphs, and when we go to purify the fields.

reddemus Nymphis, et cum lustrabimus agros.

While the boar loves the mountain ridges, while the fish loves the streams,

Dum iuga montis aper, fluvios dum piscis amabit,

while bees feed on thyme, and cicadas on the dew,

dumque thymo pascentur apes, dum rore cicadae,

always your honour, your name, your praises will endure;

semper honos nomenque tuum laudesque manebunt;

as to Bacchus and to Ceres, so to you each year

ut Baccho Cererique, tibi sic vota quotannis

the farmers will make their vows: you too will hold them to their vows.

agricolae facient: damnabis tu quoque votis.

What gifts, what gifts shall I give you for such a song?

Quae tibi, quae tali reddam pro carmine dona?

For neither the whistle of the rising south wind delights me so,

Nam neque me tantum venientis sibilus austri,

nor shores beaten by the wave, nor the rivers

nec percussa iuvant fluctu tam litora, nec quae

that run down through the rocky valleys.

saxosas inter decurrunt flumina valles.

First we will present you with this slender hemlock-pipe:

Hac te nos fragili donabimus ante cicuta:

this it was that taught us, "Corydon burned for lovely Alexis,"

haec nos, "Formosum Corydon ardebat Alexim,"

this same one, "Whose flock is this? Meliboeus’?"

haec eadem docuit, "Cuium pecus, an Meliboei?"

But you, take the crook which Antigenes, often as he begged me for it,

At tu sume pedum, quod, me cum saepe rogaret,

never carried off — and he was worthy then of being loved —

non tulit Antigenes—et erat tum dignus amari—

a fine crook, with even knots and bronze, Menalcas.

formosum paribus nodis atque aere, Menalca.

My Thalia first deigned to sport in Syracusan verse,

Prima Syracosio dignata est ludere versu,

and did not blush to make her home in the woods.

nostra nec erubuit silvas habitare Thalia.

When I would sing of kings and battles, the Cynthian

Cum canerem reges et proelia, Cynthius aurem

tweaked my ear and warned: "A shepherd, Tityrus, ought

vellit, et admonuit: "Pastorem, Tityre, pinguis

to feed fat sheep, but sing a fine-drawn song."

pascere oportet ovis, deductum dicere carmen."

Now I — for there will be more than enough who long to tell

Nunc ego—namque super tibi erunt, qui dicere laudes,

your praises, Varus, and to set down grim wars —

Vare, tuas cupiant, et tristia condere bella—

will practice the rustic Muse on a slender reed.

agrestem tenui meditabor arundine Musam.

I do not sing unbidden: yet if anyone, if anyone

Non iniussa cano: si quis tamen haec quoque, si quis

caught by love shall read these too, of you, Varus, our tamarisks,

captus amore leget, te nostrae, Vare, myricae,

of you all the grove will sing; nor is any page more pleasing to Phoebus

te nemus omne canet; nec Phoebo gratior ulla est,

than one that has set Varus’ name at its head.

quam sibi quae Vari praescripsit pagina nomen.

Go on, Muses! Chromis and Mnasyllus, boys, saw

Pergite, Pierides! Chromis et Mnasyllos in antro

Silenus lying in a cave, sunk in sleep,

Silenum pueri somno videre iacentem,

his veins swollen, as ever, with yesterday’s wine:

inflatum hesterno venas, ut semper, Iaccho:

only the garlands, slipped from his head, lay a little way off,

serta procul tantum capiti delapsa iacebant,

and his heavy tankard hung by its worn handle.

et gravis attrita pendebat cantharus ansa.

Falling on him — for often the old man had cheated both

Adgressi—nam saepe senex spe carminis ambo

with the hope of a song — they throw on him chains made from his own garlands:

luserat—iniciunt ipsis ex vincula sertis:

Aegle joins them as ally and comes upon the timid pair —

addit se sociam, timidisque supervenit Aegle,—

Aegle, fairest of the Naiads — and now, as he opens his eyes,

Aegle, Naiadum pulcherrima,—iamque videnti

she paints his brow and temples with blood-red mulberries.

sanguineis frontem moris et tempora pingit.

He, laughing at the trick, says, "Why fasten these chains?

Ille dolum ridens, "Quo vincula nectitis?" inquit;

Loose me, boys; it is enough to have shown you could:

"solvite me, pueri; satis est potuisse videri:

learn the songs you wish; for you, songs;

carmina, quae voltis, cognoscite; carmina vobis,

for her there will be another reward." And at once he begins.

huic aliud mercedis erit." Simul incipit ipse.

Then indeed you would see Fauns and wild beasts dance

Tum vero in numerum Faunosque ferasque videres

in time, then the stiff oaks sway their crowns;

ludere, tum rigidas motare cacumina quercus;

the Parnassian crag does not rejoice so much in Phoebus,

nec tantum Phoebo gaudet Parnasia rupes,

nor do Rhodope and Ismarus marvel so at Orpheus.

nec tantum Rhodope miratur et Ismarus Orphea.

For he sang how, through the great void, the seeds

Namque canebat, uti magnum per inane coacta

of earth and air and sea were driven together,

semina terrarumque animaeque marisque fuissent,

and of liquid fire as well; how from these first beginnings

et liquidi simul ignis; ut his exordia primis

all things, and the young globe of the world itself, grew dense;

omnia et ipse tener mundi concreverit orbis;

then how the ground began to harden, and to shut Nereus off within the sea,

tum durare solum et discludere Nerea ponto

and little by little to take on the forms of things;

coeperit, et rerum paulatim sumere formas;

and now how the lands are struck with wonder that a new sun shines,

iamque novum terrae stupeant lucescere solem,

and that rains fall from clouds lifted higher;

altius atque cadant submotis nubibus imbres;

when first the woods begin to rise, and when

incipiant silvae cum primum surgere, cumque

scattered creatures stray over hills that do not know them.

rara per ignaros errent animalia montis.

Next he tells of the stones cast by Pyrrha, the reign of Saturn,

Hinc lapides Pyrrhae iactos, Saturnia regna,

the Caucasian birds, and the theft of Prometheus:

Caucasiasque refert volucres, furtumque Promethei:

to these he adds at what spring the sailors left Hylas behind

his adiungit, Hylan nautae quo fonte relictum

and cried for him, till the whole shore rang "Hylas, Hylas!"

clamassent, ut litus "Hyla, Hyla!" omne sonaret.

And he comforts Pasiphaë — fortunate, had herds never been —

et fortunatam, si numquam armenta fuissent,

in her love for the snow-white bull.

Pasiphaen nivei solatur amore iuvenci.

Ah, luckless girl, what madness seized you!

ah, virgo infelix, quae te dementia cepit!

The daughters of Proetus filled the fields with false lowings:

Proetides inplerunt falsis mugitibus agros:

yet none of them pursued so vile a coupling with the cattle,

at non tam turpis pecudum tamen ulla secuta est

though each had feared the plough upon her neck,

concubitus, quamvis collo timuisset aratrum,

and often sought for horns on her smooth forehead.

et saepe in levi quaesisset cornua fronte.

Ah, luckless girl, now you wander on the mountains:

ah, virgo infelix, tu nunc in montibus erras:

he, his snowy flank propped on soft hyacinth,

ille, latus niveum molli fultus hyacintho,

beneath a dark ilex chews the pale grass,

ilice sub nigra pallentis ruminat herbas,

or follows some cow in the great herd. "Close, you nymphs,

aut aliquam in magno sequitur grege. "Claudite, nymphae,

nymphs of Dicte, close now the woodland glades,

Dictaeae nymphae, nemorum iam claudite saltus,

in case, by chance, the straying tracks of the bull

si qua forte ferant oculis sese obvia nostris

should come before our eyes; perhaps some cows,

errabunda bovis vestigia; forsitan illum,

either caught by the green grass, or following a herd,

aut herba captum viridi, aut armenta secutum,

will lead him on to the Gortynian stalls."

perducant aliquae stabula ad Gortynia vaccae."

Then he sings of the girl who marvelled at the apples of the Hesperides;

Tum canit Hesperidum miratam mala puellam;

then he wraps the sisters of Phaethon in the bitter moss

tum Phaethontiades musco circumdat amaro

of bark, and raises tall alders from the ground.

corticis, atque solo proceras erigit alnos.

Then he sings how one of the sisters led Gallus, as he wandered

Tum canit, errantem Permessi ad flumina Gallum

by the streams of Permessus, up into the Aonian mountains,

Aonas in montis ut duxerit una sororum,

and how the whole choir of Phoebus rose to its feet for the man;

utque viro Phoebi chorus adsurrexerit omnis;

how Linus, a shepherd of divine song,

ut Linus haec illi, divino carmine pastor,

his hair adorned with flowers and bitter parsley,

floribus atque apio crinis ornatus amaro,

said to him: "These reeds the Muses give you — here, take them —

dixerit: "Hos tibi dant calamos, en accipe, Musae,

the reeds they gave before to the old man of Ascra, with which he

Ascraeo quos ante seni, quibus ille solebat

used, by his singing, to draw the stiff ash-trees down from the mountains:

cantando rigidas deducere montibus ornos:

with these let the origin of the Grynean grove be told by you,

his tibi Grynei nemoris dicatur origo,

that there be no grove in which Apollo glories more."

ne quis sit lucus, quo se plus iactet Apollo."

Why should I tell of Scylla, daughter of Nisus, whom rumour has followed,

Quid loquar aut Scyllam Nisi, quam fama secuta est

her white loins girt about with barking monsters,

candida succinctam latrantibus inguina monstris

harrying the ships of Dulichium, and, in the deep eddy,

Dulichias vexasse rates, et gurgite in alto,

ah, mangling the terrified sailors with her sea-dogs;

ah, timidos nautas canibus lacerasse marinis,

or how he told of the altered limbs of Tereus;

aut ut mutatos Terei narraverit artus;

what feast, what gifts Philomela made ready for him,

quas illi Philomela dapes, quae dona pararit,

by what flight she sought the wilds, and with what wings, before that,

quo cursu deserta petiverit, et quibus ante

the luckless one hovered above her own roof?

infelix sua tecta supervolitaverit alis?

All that, which once, while Phoebus practiced it, the blessed

Omnia, quae Phoebo quondam meditante, beatus

Eurotas heard, and bade his laurels learn by heart,

audiit Eurotas, iussitque ediscere laurus,

he sings: the smitten valleys carry it back to the stars;

ille canit: pulsae referunt ad sidera valles;

until Vesper bade the sheep be gathered to the folds and counted,

cogere donec ovis stabulis numerumque referri

and came forth, though Olympus was loath to let him.

iussit, et invito processit Vesper Olympo.

By chance Daphnis had sat down beneath a rustling ilex,

Forte sub arguta consederat ilice Daphnis,

and Corydon and Thyrsis had driven their flocks together,

compulerantque greges Corydon et Thyrsis in unum,

Thyrsis his sheep, Corydon his she-goats swollen with milk,

Trhyrsis ovis, Corydon distentas lacte capellas,

both in the flower of their years, Arcadians both,

ambo florentes aetatibus, Arcades ambo,

matched in singing, and ready to answer back.

et cantare pares, et respondere parati.

Here, while I sheltered my tender myrtles from the cold,

Huc mihi, dum teneras defendo a frigore myrtos,

the he-goat himself, lord of the flock, had strayed; and I

vir gregis ipse caper deerraverat; atque ego Daphnim

catch sight of Daphnis. When he sees me across from him: "Quick,"

aspicio. Ille ubi me contra videt: "Ocius" inquit

he says, "come here, Meliboeus; your goat is safe, and the kids;

"huc ades, O Meliboee, caper tibi salvus et haedi;

and if you can spare a while, rest here in the shade.

et, si quid cessare potes, requiesce sub umbra.

Here the bullocks will come of themselves through the meadows to drink,

huc ipsi potum venient per prata iuvenci,

here Mincius fringes his green banks with tender reed,

hic viridis tenera praetexit arundine ripas

and from the sacred oak the swarms are humming."

Mincius, eque sacra resonant examina quercu."

What was I to do? I had neither Alcippe nor Phyllis

Quid facerem? Neque ego Alcippen, nec Phyllida habebam,

to pen at home the lambs just weaned from the milk,

depulsos a lacte domi quae clauderet agnos,

and there was a great contest on, Corydon against Thyrsis.

et certamen erat, Corydon cum Thyrside, magnum.

Still, I put my own serious business behind their play:

posthabui tamen illorum mea seria ludo:

so the two began to vie in answering verses;

alternis igitur contendere versibus ambo

the Muses willed the turns to be remembered.

coepere; alternos Musae meminisse volebant.

These Corydon, those Thyrsis recited, each in his turn.

hos Corydon, illos referebat in ordine Thyrsis.

Nymphs of Libethra, our love, either grant me a song

Nymphae, noster amor, Libethrides, aut mihi carmen,

such as my Codrus has — he makes verses next to those of Phoebus —

quale meo Codro, concedite: proxima Phoebi

or, if we cannot all do so,

versibus ille facit; aut, si non possumus omnes,

here my shrill pipe shall hang upon the sacred pine.

hic arguta sacra pendebit fistula pinu.

Shepherds, deck the rising poet with ivy,

Pastores, hedera crescentem ornate poetam,

Arcadians, that Codrus’ guts may burst with envy;

Arcades, invidia rumpantur ut ilia Codro;

or, if he praise me past what pleases, bind my brow with foxglove,

aut si ultra placitum laudarit, baccare frontem

lest an evil tongue harm the poet that is to be.

cingite, ne vati noceat mala lingua futuro.

This head of a bristly boar to you, Delia, little

Saetosi caput hoc apri tibi, Delia, parvus

Micon gives, and the branching antlers of a long-lived stag.

et ramosa Micon vivacis cornua cervi.

If this stays mine for good, you shall stand full-length in polished marble,

Si proprium hoc fuerit, levi de marmore tota

your calves bound up in crimson hunting-boots.

puniceo stabis suras evincta coturno.

A bowl of milk and these cakes, Priapus, year by year

Sinum lactis et haec te liba, Priape, quotannis

is all you may expect: you are keeper of a poor garden.

exspectare sat est: custos es pauperis horti.

For now we have made you of marble, as the season allows; but you,

Nunc te marmoreum pro tempore fecimus; at tu,

if the breeding fills out the flock, be made of gold.

si fetura gregem suppleverit, aureus esto.

Galatea, daughter of Nereus, sweeter to me than Hybla’s thyme,

Nerine Galatea, thymo mihi dulcior Hyblae,

whiter than swans, lovelier than pale ivy,

candidior cycnis, hedera formosior alba,

as soon as the fed bulls make for their stalls again,

cum primum pasti repetent praesepia tauri,

if any care for your Corydon holds you, come to me.

si qua tui Corydonis habet te cura, venito.

Rather, may I seem to you more bitter than Sardinian herbs,

Immo ego Sardoniis videar tibi amarior herbis,

rougher than butcher’s-broom, cheaper than cast-up seaweed,

horridior rusco, proiecta vilior alga,

if this day is not already longer to me than a whole year.

si mihi non haec lux toto iam longior anno est.

Go home, fed bullocks, go, if you have any shame.

Ite domum pasti, si quis pudor, ite iuvenci.

Mossy springs, and grass softer than sleep,

Muscosi fontes et somno mollior herba,

and the green arbutus that screens you with its thin shade,

et quae vos rara viridis tegit arbutus umbra,

ward off the solstice from the flock; now comes the scorching

solstitium pecori defendite; iam venit aestas

summer, now the buds swell on the pliant vine-shoot.

torrida, iam lento turgent in palmite gemmae.

Here is a hearth and resinous torches, here always a great fire,

Hic focus et taedae pingues, hic plurimus ignis

and doorposts black with the steady soot;

semper, et adsidua postes fuligine nigri;

here we heed the cold of the North Wind as much

hic tantum Boreae curamus frigora, quantum

as the wolf the count of the flock, or rushing rivers their banks.

aut numerum lupus, aut torrentia flumina ripas.

Junipers stand, and shaggy chestnut-trees;

Stant et iuniperi, et castaneae hirsutae;

the fallen fruit lies scattered, each under its own tree;

strata iacent passim sua quaque sub arbore poma;

now all things smile: but should lovely Alexis

omnia nunc rident: at si formosus Alexis

leave these hills, you would see even the rivers run dry.

montibus his abeat, videas et flumina sicca.

The field is parched; the grass, dying from the tainted air, thirsts;

Aret ager; vitio moriens sitit aeris herba;

Bacchus has grudged the hills the shade of his vines:

Liber pampineas invidit collibus umbras:

at the coming of my Phyllis the whole grove will grow green again,

Phyllidis adventu nostrae nemus omne virebit,

and Jupiter come down in plenty, in a gladdening rain.

Iuppiter et laeto descendet plurimus imbri.

The poplar is dearest to Alcides, the vine to Iacchus,

Populus Alcidae gratissima, vitis Iaccho,

the myrtle to lovely Venus, his own laurel to Phoebus;

formosae myrtus Veneri, sua laurea Phoebo;

Phyllis loves the hazels: while Phyllis loves them,

Phyllis amat corylos: illas dum Phyllis amabit,

neither the myrtle will outdo the hazels, nor the laurel of Phoebus.

nec myrtus vincet corylos, nec laurea Phoebi.

The ash is fairest in the woods, the pine in gardens,

Fraxinus in silvis pulcherrima, pinus in hortis,

the poplar by the rivers, the fir on the high mountains:

populus in fluviis, abies in montibus altis:

but if more often, lovely Lycidas, you would come back to me,

saepius at si me, Lycida formose, revisas,

the ash in the woods would yield to you, the pine in gardens.

fraxinus in silvis cedat tibi, pinus in hortis.

This I remember — and that Thyrsis, beaten, strove in vain:

Haec memini, et victum frustra contendere Thyrsim:

from that time on, Corydon is Corydon for us.

ex illo Corydon Corydon est tempore nobis.

The pastoral song of Damon and Alphesiboeus—

Pastorem Musam Damonis et Alphesiboei—

at whom the heifer, forgetting the grass, marvelled

immemor herbarum quos est mirata iuvenca

as they contended, at whose song the lynxes were stunned,

certantis, quorum stupefactae carmine lynces,

and the rivers, altered, stayed their courses—

et mutata suos requierunt flumina cursus—

the song of Damon and Alphesiboeus we will tell.

Illonis Musam dicemus et Alphesiboei.

You — whether you are passing now the rocks of great Timavus,

Tu mihi seu magni superas iam saxa Timavi,

or skirting the shore of the Illyrian sea — ah, will there ever

sive oram Illyrici legis aequoris, en erit umquam

come that day when I may tell your deeds?

ille dies, mihi cum liceat tua dicere facta?

Ah, will it be granted me to carry through all the world

en erit ut liceat totum mihi ferre per orbem

your songs, alone worthy of the Sophoclean buskin?

sola Sophocleo tua carmina digna coturno?

From you my beginning; in you I will end: receive the songs

A te principium, tibi desinam: accipe iussis

begun at your bidding, and let this ivy creep about your brow

carmina coepta tuis, atque hanc sine tempora circum

amid the victorious laurels.

inter victrices hederam tibi serpere laurus.

Scarcely had the cold shadow of night withdrawn from the sky,

Frigida vix caelo noctis decesserat umbra,

at the hour when dew on the tender grass is sweetest to the flock;

cum ros in tenera pecori gratissimus herba;

leaning on his smooth olive-staff, Damon thus began.

incumbens tereti Damon sic coepit olivae.

Rise, Morning Star, and, coming on, bring up the kindly day,

Nascere, praeque diem veniens age, Lucifer, almum,

while I, cheated of the love of Nisa, my betrothed,

coniugis indigno Nisae deceptus amore

make my lament, and call on the gods — though by them as witnesses

dum queror, et divos, quamquam nil testibus illis

I gained nothing — even so, dying, in my last hour.

profeci, extrema moriens tamen adloquor hora.

Begin with me, my pipe, the Maenalian verses.

Incipe Maenalios mecum, mea tibia, versus.

Maenalus always has a tuneful grove and talking pines;

Maenalus argutumque nemus pinosque loquentis

always he listens to the loves of shepherds,

semper habet; semper pastorum ille audit amores,

and to Pan, who first would not let the reeds lie idle.

Panaque, qui primus calamos non passus inertis.

Begin with me, my pipe, the Maenalian verses.

Incipe Maenalios mecum, mea tibia, versus.

Nisa is given to Mopsus: what may we lovers not hope for?

Mopso Nisa datur: quid non speremus amantes?

Now griffins will be paired with mares, and in the age to come

Iungentur iam grypes equis, aevoque sequenti

the timid does will come with the hounds to drink.

cum canibus timidi venient ad pocula dammae.

Mopsus, cut new torches: a wife is led home to you;

Mopse, novas incide faces: tibi ducitur uxor;

scatter the nuts, bridegroom: for you Hesperus quits Oeta.

sparge, marite, nuces: tibi deserit Hesperus Oetam.

Begin with me, my pipe, the Maenalian verses.

Incipe Maenalios mecum, mea tibia, versus.

O joined to a worthy husband — while you despise all others,

O digno coniuncta viro, dum despicis omnes,

and while my pipe is hateful to you, and my goats,

dumque tibi est odio mea fistula, dumque capellae,

and my shaggy brow and my unkempt, straggling beard,

hirsutumque supercilium promissaque barba,

and you believe no god cares for any mortal thing!

nec curare deum credis mortalia quemquam!

Begin with me, my pipe, the Maenalian verses.

Incipe Maenalios mecum, mea tibia, versus.

Within our hedges, small, with your mother I saw you

Saepibus in nostris parvam te roscida mala—

gathering dewy apples — I was your guide —

dux ego vester eram—vidi cum matre legentem.

the year next after my eleventh had then just taken me;

Alter ab undecimo tum me iam acceperat annus;

already I could reach the brittle boughs from the ground.

iam fragilis poteram ab terra contingere ramos.

How I saw, how I was lost! How a fatal madness swept me off!

Ut vidi, ut perii! Ut me malus abstulit error!

Begin with me, my pipe, the Maenalian verses.

Incipe Maenalios mecum, mea tibia, versus.

Now I know what Love is: on hard flint-rocks

Nunc scio, quid sit Amor: duris in cotibus illum

either Tmaros, or Rhodope, or the farthest Garamantes

aut Tmaros, aut Rhodope, aut extremm Garamantes,

bring forth that boy, not of our race nor of our blood.

nec generis nostri puerum nec sanguinis edunt.

Begin with me, my pipe, the Maenalian verses.

Incipe Maenalios mecum, mea tibia, versus.

Cruel Love taught a mother to defile her hands

saevus Amor docuit natorum sanguine matrem

with her own children’s blood; cruel were you too, mother:

commaculare manus; crudelis tu quoque, mater:

was the mother more cruel, or that wicked boy?

crudelis mater magis, an puer improbus ille?

Wicked was that boy; cruel were you too, mother.

improbus ille puer; crudelis tu quoque, mater.

Begin with me, my pipe, the Maenalian verses.

Incipe Maenalios mecum, mea tibia, versus.

Now let the wolf even flee the sheep unbidden; let the hard oaks

nunc et ovis ultro fugiat lupus; aurea durae

bear golden apples; let the alder bloom with narcissus;

mala ferant quercus; narcisso floreat alnus;

let the tamarisks sweat rich amber from their bark;

pinguia corticibus sudent electra myricae;

let owls contend with swans; let Tityrus be an Orpheus,

certent et cycnis ululae; sit Tityrus Orpheus,

an Orpheus in the woods, an Arion among the dolphins.

Orpheus in silvis, inter delphinas Arion.

Begin with me, my pipe, the Maenalian verses.

Incipe Maenalios mecum, mea tibia, versus.

Let all things become even open sea: live on without me, woods!

Omnia vel medium fiant mare: vivite, silvae!

Headlong from the watch-crag of an airy mountain, into the waves

praeceps aerii specula de montis in undas

I will throw myself: take this as the last gift of a dying man.

deferar; extremum hoc munus morientis habeto.

Cease the Maenalian verses, my pipe; now cease.

desine Maenalios, iam desine, tibia, versus.

So Damon. What Alphesiboeus answered,

Haec Damon: vos, quae responderit Alphesiboeus,

tell, you Muses; we cannot all do all things.

dicite, Pierides; non omnia possumus omnes.

Bring out water, and bind these altars with a soft fillet,

Effer aquam, et molli cinge haec altaria vitta,

and burn rich vervain and the male frankincense,

verbenasque adole pinguis et mascula tura,

that I may try, with magic rites, to turn aside

coniugis ut magicis sanos avertere sacris

my lover’s sound senses; nothing is wanting here but the spells.

experiar sensus nihil hic nisi carmina desunt.

Draw Daphnis home from the town, my spells, draw Daphnis home.

Ducite ab urbe domum, mea carmina, ducite Daphnim.

Spells can even draw the Moon down from the sky;

Carmina vel caelo possunt deducere Lunam;

by spells Circe transformed the comrades of Ulysses;

carminibus Circe socios mutavit Ulixi;

the cold snake in the meadows is burst apart by chanting.

frigidus in pratia cantando rumpitur anguis.

Draw Daphnis home from the town, my spells, draw Daphnis home.

Ducite ab urbe domum, mea carmina, ducite Daphnim.

First I wind about you these three threads, each of a different colour,

terna tibi haec primum triplici diversa colore

and three times round these altars

licia circumdo, terque haec altaria circum

I lead your image: the god delights in an odd number.

effigiem duco: numero deus impare gaudet.

Draw Daphnis home from the town, my spells, draw Daphnis home.

Ducite ab urbe domum, mea carmina, ducite Daphnim.

Tie in three knots the three colours, Amaryllis,

Necte tribus nodis ternos, Amarylli, colores,

tie them, Amaryllis, now, and say: "I tie the bonds of Venus."

necte, Amarylli, modo, et "Veneris" dic "vincula necto."

Draw Daphnis home from the town, my spells, draw Daphnis home.

Ducite ab urbe domum, mea carmina, ducite Daphnim.

As this clay hardens and this wax melts away

Limus ut hic durescit et haec ut cera liquescit

in one and the same fire, so may Daphnis by our love.

uno eodemque igni, sic nostro Daphnis amore.

Scatter the meal, and kindle the brittle laurels with pitch.

Sparge molam, et fragilis incende bitumine laurus.

Cruel Daphnis burns me; I burn this laurel for Daphnis.

Daphnis me malus urit, ego hanc in Daphnide laurum.

Draw Daphnis home from the town, my spells, draw Daphnis home.

Ducite ab urbe domum, mea carmina, ducite Daphnim.

May such love hold Daphnis as when a heifer, worn out

Talis amor Daphnim, qualis cum fessa iuvencum

with searching for the bullock through the woods and the high groves,

per nemora atque altos quaerendo bucula lucos

sinks down beside a stream of water on the green sedge,

propter aquae rivum viridi procumbit in ulva,

undone, and forgets to give way to the late-falling night,

perdita, nec serae meminit decedere nocti,

may such love hold him, and let me not care to heal it.

talis amor teneat, nec sit mihi cura mederi.

Draw Daphnis home from the town, my spells, draw Daphnis home.

Ducite ab urbe domum, mea carmina, ducite Daphnim.

These spoils that faithless one once left me,

Has olim exuvias mihi perfidus ille reliquit,

dear pledges of himself, which now, on the very threshold,

pignora cara sui, quae nunc ego limine in ipso,

I commit to you, O earth; these pledges owe me Daphnis.

terra, tibi mando; debent haec pignora Daphnim.

Draw Daphnis home from the town, my spells, draw Daphnis home.

Ducite ab urbe domum, mea carmina, ducite Daphnim.

These herbs and these poisons, gathered for me in Pontus,

Has herbas atque haec Ponto mihi lecta venena

Moeris himself gave me; very many grow in Pontus.

ipse dedit Moeris; nascuntur plurima Ponto.

By these I have often seen Moeris turn into a wolf and hide in the woods,

His ego saepe lupum fieri et se condere silvis

often call up spirits from the bottom of their graves,

Moerim, saepe animas imis excire sepulcris,

and seen him carry off the sown crops to another field.

atque satas alio vidi traducere messis.

Draw Daphnis home from the town, my spells, draw Daphnis home.

Ducite ab urbe domum, mea carmina, ducite Daphnim.

Carry the ashes out, Amaryllis, and into the running stream

Fer cineres, Amarylli, foras, rivoque fluenti

fling them over your head, and do not look back: with these I’ll assail

transque caput iace, nec respexeris: his ego Daphnim

Daphnis — he cares nothing for the gods, nothing for spells.

adgrediar, nihil ille deos, nil carmina curat.

Draw Daphnis home from the town, my spells, draw Daphnis home.

Ducite ab urbe domum, mea carmina, ducite Daphnim.

Look! the ash itself, of its own accord, while I delay to carry it out,

Aspice, corripuit tremulis altaria flammis

has caught the altars with flickering flames: may it be a good omen!

sponte sua, dum ferre moror, cinis ipse: bonum sit!

Something there surely is — and Hylax is barking at the door.

Nescio quid certe est, et Hylas in limine latrat.

Do we believe it, or do those who love shape their own dreams?

Credimus, an, qui amant, ipsi sibi somnia fingunt?

Hold off — he is coming from the town, now hold off, my spells — Daphnis comes.

Parcite, ab urbe venit, iam carmina, parcite, Daphnis.

Where are your feet taking you, Moeris? To town, where the road leads?

te, Moeri, pedes? an, quo via ducit, in urbem?

O Lycidas, we have lived to see it — that a stranger, owner

O Lycida, vivi pervenimus, advena nostri

of our little field (a thing we never feared),

(quod numquam veriti sumus) ut possessor agelli

should say: "This is mine; be off, you old tenants!"

diceret: "Haec mea sunt; veteres migrate coloni!"

Now beaten, downcast, since Fortune overturns all things,

nunc victi, tristes, quoniam Fors omnia versat,

we are sending him these kids — and may they do him no good.

hos illi—quod nec vertat bene—mittimus haedos.

Surely I had heard that, where the hills begin to draw back

Certe equidem audieram, qua se subducere colles

and to let down their ridge in a gentle slope,

incipiunt, mollique iugum demittere clivo,

all the way to the water and the old beeches — their tops now broken —

usque ad aquam et veteres (iam fracta cacumina) fagos

your Menalcas had saved it all by his songs.

omnia carminibus vestrum servasse Menalcan.

You had heard it, and so the rumour ran; but our songs

Audieras, et fama fuit; sed carmina tantum

avail as much, Lycidas, amid the weapons of war,

nostra valent, Lycida, tela inter Martia, quantum

as they say the doves of Chaonia do when the eagle comes.

Chaonias dicunt aquila veniente columbas.

Indeed, had not a crow on the left first warned me, from a hollow ilex,

quod nisi me quacumque novas incidere lites

to cut these new quarrels short by whatever means,

ante Sinistra cava monuisset ab ilice cornix,

neither your Moeris here, nor Menalcas himself, would be alive.

nec tuus hic Moeris, nec viveret ipse Menalcas.

Alas, can such wickedness fall on any man? Alas, were your comforts

Heu, cadit in quemquam tantum scelus? Heu, tua nobis

nearly snatched from us, Menalcas, together with you?

paene simul tecum solatia rapta, Menalca?

Who would sing the nymphs? Who would strew the ground

quis caneret nymphas; quis humum florentibus herbis

with flowering herbs, or draw green shade over the springs?

spargeret, aut viridi fontes induceret umbra?

Or the songs I lately stole from you in silence,

vel quae sublegi tacitus tibi carmina nuper,

when you were going to Amaryllis, our darling?

cum te ad delicias ferres, Amaryllida, nostras?

"Tityrus, till I come back — the way is short — graze the goats,

Tityre, dum redeo—brevis est via—pasce capellas,

and when they are fed, drive them to drink, Tityrus, and as you drive them,

et potum pastas age, Tityre, et inter agendum

take care not to cross the he-goat: he strikes with his horn."

occursare capro, cornu ferit ille, caveto.

Rather these, which, not yet finished, he was singing to Varus:

Immo haec, quae Varo necdum perfecta canebat:

"Varus, your name — if only Mantua is left to us,

"Vare, tuum nomen, superet modo Mantua nobis—

Mantua, alas, too near to wretched Cremona —

Mantua, vae miserae nimium vicina Cremonae—

the singing swans shall bear on high to the stars."

cantantes sublime ferent ad sidera cycni."

So may your swarms shun the yews of Corsica;

Sic tua Cyrneas fugiant examina taxos;

so may your cows, fed on clover, swell out their udders!

sic cytiso pastae distendant ubera vaccae!

Begin, if you have anything: me too the Muses made a poet;

Incipe, si quid habes: et me fecere poetam

I too have songs; the shepherds call me a bard as well,

Pierides; sunt et mihi carmina; me quoque dicunt

but I put no faith in them.

vatem pastores, sed non ego credulus illis.

For as yet I seem to say nothing worthy of Varius,

Nam neque adhuc Vario videor, nec dicere Cinna

nor of Cinna, but to cackle like a goose among tuneful swans.

digna, sed argutos inter strepere anser olores.

That is just what I am doing, Lycidas: silently I turn it over with myself,

Id quidem ago et tacitus, Lycida, mecum ipse voluto,

to see if I can call it to mind; and it is no mean song:

si valeam meminisse; neque est ignobile carmen:

"Come here, O Galatea; for what sport is there in the waves?

‘huc ades, O Galatea; quis est nam ludus in undis

Here is the purple spring; here, around the streams, the earth

hic ver purpureum; varios hic flumina circum

pours out its many flowers; here the white poplar leans over the cave,

fundit humus flores; hic candida populus antro

and the pliant vines weave their arbours of shade.

imminet, et lentae texunt umbracula vites.

Come here: let the wild waves beat the shores without you."

huc ades: insani feriant sine litora fluctus.

What of the songs I heard you singing, alone, under the clear night?

Quid, quae te pura solum sub nocte canentem

I remember the tune, if only I could keep the words.

audieram? Numeros memini, si verba tenerem.

"Daphnis, why look up at the ancient risings of the constellations?

"Daphni, quid antiquos signorum suspicis ortus?

See, the star of Caesar, son of Dione, has come forth,

Ecce Dionaei processit Caesaris astrum,

the star at which the cornfields would rejoice in their grain, and by which

astrum, quo segetes gauderent frugibus, et quo

the grape would take its colour on the sunny hillsides.

duceret apricis in collibus uva colorem.

Graft your pears, Daphnis: your grandchildren will pluck their fruit."

insere, Daphni, piros: carpent tua poma nepotes."

Time carries off all things, the mind as well: often, as a boy,

Omnia fert aetas, animum quoque: saepe ego longos

I remember laying long days to rest with my singing:

cantando puerum memini me condere soles:

now so many songs are forgotten by me; even his voice

nunc oblita mihi tot carmina; vox quoque Moerim

now fails Moeris himself; the wolves have seen Moeris first.

iam fugit ipsa; lupi Moerim videre priores.

But still, Menalcas will recite all that to you often enough.

Sed tamen ista satis referet tibi saepe Menalcas.

By raising objections you draw out our longing:

Causando nostros in longum ducis amores:

and now the whole sea lies hushed and smooth for you, and all

et nunc omne tibi stratum silet aequor, et omnes,

the breezes of the gusting murmur, see, have died away.

aspice, ventosi ceciderunt murmuris aurae.

From here, indeed, our way is half done; for the tomb

hinc adeo media est nobis via; namque sepulcrum

of Bianor begins to come in sight: here, where the farmers

incipit adparere Bianoris: hic ubi densas

are stripping the thick leaves, here, Moeris, let us sing;

agricolae stringunt frondes, hic, Moeri, canamus;

set the kids down here: we will get to town all the same.

hic haedos depone: tamen veniemus in urbem.

Or, if we fear that night may gather rain before then,

aut si, nox pluviam ne colligat ante, veremur,

we may go on singing all the way — the road wears on us less;

cantantes licet usque (minus via laedit) eamus;

that we may go on singing, I will ease you of this load.

cantantes ut eamus, ego hoc te fasce levabo.

Say no more, boy, and let us get on with what now presses:

Desine plura, puer, et quod nunc instat agamus:

we will sing the songs the better when he himself has come.

carmina tum melius, cum venerit ipse, canemus.

Grant me this last labour, Arethusa:

Extremum hunc, Arethusa, mihi concede laborem:

a few songs for my Gallus — but such as Lycoris herself may read —

pauca meo Gallo, sed quae legat ipsa Lycoris,

must be sung. Who would refuse songs to Gallus?

carmina sunt dicenda. neget quis carmina Gallo?

So, when you glide beneath the Sicanian waves,

sic tibi, cum fluctus subterlabere Sicanos,

may bitter Doris not mingle her stream with yours.

Doris amara suam non intermisceat undam.

Begin; let us tell the troubled loves of Gallus,

incipe; sollicitos Galli dicamus amores,

while the snub-nosed she-goats crop the tender shoots.

dum tenera attondent simae virgulta capellae.

We do not sing to the deaf; the woods give back all.

non canimus surdis; respondent omnia silvae.

What groves, or what glades, held you, maiden

Quae nemora, aut qui vos saltus habuere, puellae

Naiads, while Gallus was perishing of an unworthy love?

Naides, indigno cum Gallus amore peribat?

For neither the ridges of Parnassus, nor of Pindus,

nam neque Parnasi vobis iuga, nam neque Pindi

made any delay for you, nor Aonian Aganippe.

ulla moram fecere, neque Aoniae Aganippe.

For him even the laurels, even the tamarisks, wept.

Illum etiam lauri, etiam flevere myricae.

For him, as he lay beneath a lonely crag, even pine-clad

Pinifer illum etiam sola sub rupe iacentem

Maenalus, and the rocks of cold Lycaeus, wept.

Maenalus, et gelidi fleverunt saxa Lycaei.

The sheep stand round about too — they are not ashamed of us,

Stant et oves circum;—nostri nec poenitet illas,

nor should you be ashamed of the flock, divine poet —

nec te poeniteat pecoris, divine poeta;—

even lovely Adonis grazed his sheep beside the rivers;

et formosus ovis ad flumina pavit Adonis;

the shepherd came too; the slow swineherds came;

venit et upilio; tardi venere subulci;

Menalcas came, dripping from the winter mast.

uvidus hiberna venit de glande Menalcas.

All ask, "Whence this love of yours?" Apollo came:

Omnes "Unde amor iste" rogant "tibi?" Venit Apollo:

"Gallus, why this madness?" he said; "your love, Lycoris,

"Galle, quid insanis?" inquit; "tua cura Lycoris

has followed another through the snows and the rough camps."

perque nives alium perque horrida castra secuta est."

Silvanus came too, with rustic honour on his head,

Venit et agresti capitis Silvanus honore,

shaking his flowering fennel-stalks and tall lilies.

florentis ferulas et grandia lilia quassans.

Pan, the god of Arcadia, came, whom we ourselves saw

Pan deus Arcadiae venit, quem vidimus ipsi

reddened with the blood-red berries of dwarf-elder and with vermilion.

sanguineis ebuli bacis minioque rubentem.

"Will there be any end?" he said; "Love cares nothing for such things;

"Ecquis erit modus?" inquit; "Amor non talia curat;

cruel Love is no more glutted with tears than the grass with streams,

nec lacrimis crudelis Amor, nec gramina rivis,

the bees with clover, or the she-goats with leaves."

nec cytiso saturantur apes, nec fronde capellae."

But he, in sorrow: "Yet you will sing of this, Arcadians," he said,

Tristis at ille: "Tamen cantabitis, Arcades," inquit

"to your mountains: Arcadians alone are skilled

"montibus haec vestris: soli cantare periti

to sing. O how softly then would my bones rest,

Arcades. O mihi tum quam molliter ossa quiescant,

if one day your pipe should tell of my loves!

vestra meos olim si fistula dicat amores!

And would that I had been one of you, and had been

Atque utinam ex vobis unus, vestrique fuissem

either a keeper of your flock, or a dresser of the ripe grape!

aut custos gregis, aut maturae vinitor uvae!

Surely, whether Phyllis were mine, or Amyntas,

Certe, sive mihi Phillis, sive esset Amyntas,

or whatever passion — what of it, if Amyntas is swarthy?

seu quicumque furor—quid tum, si fuscus Amyntas;

violets too are dark, and the hyacinths are dark —

et nigrae violae sunt et vaccinia nigra—

he would lie with me among the willows, beneath the pliant vine;

mecum inter salices lenta sub vite iaceret;

Phyllis would gather garlands for me, Amyntas would sing.

serta mihi Phyllis legeret, cantaret Amyntas.

Here are cool springs, here soft meadows, Lycoris,

Hic gelidi fontes, hic mollia prata, Lycori,

here a grove; here, with you, I would be spent by time itself.

hic nemus; hic ipso tecum consumerer aevo.

Now a mad love keeps me, in the arms of harsh Mars,

Nunc insanus amor duri me Martis in armis

amid the press of weapons, facing the foe:

tela inter media atque adversos detinet hostes:

you, far from your homeland — let me not have to believe so much! —

tu procul a patria (nec sit mihi credere tantum!)

look, ah hard-hearted, on the Alpine snows and the frosts of the Rhine,

Alpinas, ah dura, nives et frigora Rheni

alone, without me: ah, may the frosts not harm you!

me sine sola vides: ah, te ne frigora laedant!

ah, may the rough ice not cut your tender feet!

ah, tibi ne teneras glacies secet aspera plantas!

I will go, and the songs I composed in Chalcidian verse

Ibo, et, Chalcidico quae sunt mihi condita versu

I will set to the pipe of a Sicilian shepherd.

carmina, pastoris Siculi modulabor avena.

It is settled: in the woods, among the dens of wild beasts,

certum est in silvis, inter spelaea ferarum

I had rather suffer, and carve my loves upon the tender

malle pati, tenerisque meos incidere amores

trees; they will grow, and you, my loves, will grow with them.

arboribus; crescent illae, crescetis, amores.

Meanwhile I will roam Maenalus among the mingled nymphs,

Interea mixtis lustrabo Maenala nymphis,

or hunt the fierce boars: no frosts will forbid me

aut acris venabor apros: non me ulla vetabunt

to ring the Parthenian glades about with my hounds.

frigora Parthenios canibus circumdare saltus.

Already I seem to go over the crags and through the echoing groves;

iam mihi per rupes videor lucosque sonantis

it pleases me to launch Cretan shafts from a Parthian bow —

ire; libet Partho torquere Cydonia cornu

as though this were the cure for my madness,

spicula:—tamquam haec sit nostri medicina furoris,

as though that god could learn to soften at men’s sufferings!

ut deus ille malis hominum mitescere discat!

Now once more neither the hamadryads nor the songs themselves

Iam neque hamadryades rursus nec carmina nobis

please me; once more, you very woods, give way.

ipsa placent; ipsae rursus concedite silvae.

Our toils cannot change that god,

non illum nostri possunt mutare labores,

not though in the midst of cold we should drink of the Hebrus,

nec si frigoribus mediis Hebrumque bibamus,

and endure the Sithonian snows of a watery winter,

Sithoniasque nives hiemis subeamus aquosae,

nor though, when the dying bark withers high on the elm,

nec si, cum moriens alta liber aret in ulmo,

we should drive the Ethiopians’ sheep beneath the sign of the Crab.

Aethiopum versemus ovis sub sidere Cancri.

Love conquers all; let us too yield to Love."

omnia vincit Amor; et nos cedamus Amori."

This will be enough, goddesses, for your poet to have sung,

Haec sat erit, divae, vestrum cecinisse poetam,

while he sits and weaves a little basket of slender mallow,

dum sedet et gracili fiscellam texit hibisco,

you Pierians; you will make these songs greatest for Gallus —

Pierides; vos haec facietis maxima Gallo—

for Gallus, whose love grows in me from hour to hour,

Gallo, cuius amor tantum mihi crescit in horas,

as much as the green alder shoots up in the new spring.

quantum vere novo viridis se subicit alnus.

Let us rise; the shade is wont to be heavy for singers;

Surgamus; solet esse gravis cantantibus umbra;

heavy the juniper’s shade; shadows harm the crops as well.

iuniperi gravis umbra; nocent et frugibus umbrae.

Go home well-fed, my goats; Hesperus comes — go on.

Ite domum saturae, venit Hesperus, ite capellae.

V irgil by Claude

The Eclogues

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