What makes the crops rejoice, under what star it is right

Quid faciat laetas segetes, quo sidere terram

to turn the earth, Maecenas, and to wed the vines to elms,

vertere, Maecenas, ulmisque adiungere vitis

what care the cattle ask, what tending is needed for keeping

conveniat, quae cura boum, qui cultus habendo

a flock, how much skill the thrifty bees require —

sit pecori, apibus quanta experientia parcis,

from here I will begin my song. You, O brightest lights

hinc canere incipiam. Vos, o clarissima mundi

of the world, who lead the gliding year through heaven,

lumina, labentem caelo quae ducitis annum,

Liber and nurturing Ceres, if by your gift the earth

Liber et alma Ceres, vestro si munere tellus

exchanged the Chaonian acorn for the swelling ear of grain

Chaoniam pingui glandem mutavit arista,

and mixed the cups of Achelous with the new-found grape;

poculaque inventis Acheloia miscuit uvis;

and you, ever-present powers of the countrymen, you Fauns —

et vos, agrestum praesentia numina, Fauni,

come, step forward together, Fauns and Dryad girls:

ferte simul Faunique pedem Dryadesque puellae:

your gifts I sing. And you, O Neptune, for whom the earth,

Munera vestra cano. Tuque o, cui prima frementem

first struck by your great trident, poured forth the snorting horse;

fudit equum magno tellus percussa tridenti,

and you, haunter of the groves, for whom three hundred

Neptune; et cultor nemorum, cui pinguia Ceae

snow-white bullocks crop the rich thickets of Cea;

ter centum nivei tondent dumeta iuvenci;

you yourself, leaving your native grove and the glades of Lycaeus,

ipse nemus linquens patrium saltusque Lycaei,

Pan, guardian of the sheep, if your own Maenalus is dear to you,

Pan, ovium custos, tua si tibi Maenala curae,

be present and favour me, god of Tegea; and Minerva,

adsis, o Tegeaee, favens, oleaeque Minerva

inventor of the olive; and the boy who showed the curved plough;

inventrix, uncique puer monstrator aratri,

and you, Silvanus, carrying a young cypress torn up by the root;

et teneram ab radice ferens, Silvane, cupressum,

and all you gods and goddesses whose care it is to guard the fields,

dique deaeque omnes, studium quibus arva tueri,

both you who nurse the new crops from no sown seed

quique novas alitis non ullo semine fruges,

and you who send the planted ground plentiful rain from heaven;

quique satis largum caelo demittitis imbrem;

and you above all, Caesar — which councils of the gods

tuque adeo, quem mox quae sint habitura deorum

are soon to hold you, it is unknown: whether you choose to watch over cities

concilia, incertum est, urbisne invisere, Caesar,

and the care of lands, and the vast world receive you

terrarumque velis curam et te maximus orbis

as giver of the harvests and lord of the seasons,

auctorem frugum tempestatumque potentem

binding your brow with your mother’s myrtle;

accipiat, cingens materna tempora myrto,

or whether you come as god of the boundless sea, and sailors

an deus inmensi venias maris ac tua nautae

worship your power alone, and farthest Thule serve you,

numina sola colant, tibi serviat ultima Thule

and Tethys buy you for her son-in-law with all her waves;

teque sibi generum Tethys emat omnibus undis,

or whether you add yourself, a new star, to the lingering months,

anne novum tardis sidus te mensibus addas,

where a place opens between Erigone and the pursuing Claws —

qua locus Erigonen inter Chelasque sequentis

already the blazing Scorpion draws in his arms for you

panditur—ipse tibi iam bracchia contrahit ardens

and has left you more than a just share of the sky —

Scorpius et caeli iusta plus parte reliquit—

whatever you will be — for Tartarus does not hope for you as king,

quidquid eris,—nam te nec sperant Tartara regem

nor may so dread a lust to reign come over you,

nec tibi regnandi veniat tam dira cupido,

however much Greece marvels at the Elysian fields,

quamvis Elysios miretur Graecia campos

and Proserpina, recalled, cares not to follow her mother —

nec repetita sequi curet Proserpina matrem—

grant an easy course, and nod assent to my bold undertaking,

da facilem cursum atque audacibus adnue coeptis

and pitying with me the countrymen who do not know the way,

ignarosque viae mecum miseratus agrestis

come forward, and even now grow used to being called on in prayer.

ingredere et votis iam nunc adsuesce vocari.

In the new spring, when the cold moisture melts from the white mountains

Vere novo, gelidus canis cum montibus humor

and the crumbling clod loosens itself to the West Wind,

liquitur et Zephyro putris se glaeba resolvit,

then even now let my bull begin to groan over the deep-pressed plough

depresso incipiat iam tum mihi taurus aratro

and the share, worn bright by the furrow, to shine.

ingemere et sulco attritus splendescere vomer.

That crop at last answers the prayers of the grasping

Illa seges demum votis respondet avari

farmer which has twice felt the sun and twice the frost;

agricolae, bis quae solem, bis frigora sensit;

its boundless harvests have burst the barns.

illius inmensae ruperunt horrea messes.

But before we cleave with iron an unfamiliar plain,

At prius ignotum ferro quam scindimus aequor,

let it be our care to learn beforehand the winds and the sky’s changing temper,

ventos et varium caeli praediscere morem

the ancestral tillage and the ways of the place,

cura sit ac patrios cultusque habitusque locorum

and what each region bears and what each refuses.

et quid quaeque ferat regio et quid quaeque recuset.

Here grain, there grapes come up more happily,

Hic segetes, illic veniunt felicius uvae,

elsewhere the fruits of trees, and grasses grow green unbidden.

arborei fetus alibi, atque iniussa virescunt

Do you not see how Tmolus sends its saffron scents,

gramina. Nonne vides, croceos ut Tmolus odores,

India its ivory, the soft Sabaeans their frankincense,

India mittit ebur, molles sua tura Sabaei,

but the naked Chalybes their iron, Pontus the rank

at Chalybes nudi ferrum, virosaque Pontus

beaver-musk, Epirus the palms of Elean mares?

castorea, Eliadum palmas Epiros equarum.

From the first nature laid these laws and everlasting covenants

Continuo has leges aeternaque foedera certis

on fixed places, from the hour when first

inposuit natura locis, quo tempore primum

Deucalion cast stones into the empty world,

Deucalion vacuum lapides iactavit in orbem,

from which men sprang, a hard race. So come: let strong bulls

unde homines nati, durum genus. Ergo age, terrae

turn over the rich soil of the land at the year’s first months,

pingue solum primis extemplo a mensibus anni

and let dusty summer bake the upturned clods

fortes invertant tauri glaebasque iacentis

with ripening suns;

pulverulenta coquat maturis solibus aestas;

but if the land is not fertile, it will be enough, just before

at si non fuerit tellus fecunda, sub ipsum

Arcturus rises, to lift it lightly in a shallow furrow:

Arcturum tenui sat erit suspendere sulco:

there, so the weeds may not choke the glad crops;

illic, officiant laetis ne frugibus herbae,

here, so the scant moisture may not abandon the barren sand.

hic, sterilem exiguus ne deserat humor harenam.

You will let your reaped fallows rest in alternate years

Alternis idem tonsas cessare novalis

and let the sluggish field harden in idleness;

et segnem patiere situ durescere campum;

or there, under a changed star, you will sow golden spelt

aut ibi flava seres mutato sidere farra,

where before you raised the glad pulse with its rattling pod

unde prius laetum siliqua quassante legumen

or the slender produce of the vetch and the bitter lupine

aut tenuis fetus viciae tristisque lupini

with its brittle stalks and rustling thicket.

sustuleris fragilis calamos silvamque sonantem.

For a crop of flax burns the field, a crop of oats burns it,

Urit enim lini campum seges, urit avenae,

poppies drenched in Lethe’s sleep burn it:

urunt Lethaeo perfusa papavera somno:

but still, by rotation the labour is easy — only be not ashamed

sed tamen alternis facilis labor, arida tantum

to glut the dry soil with rich dung, nor

ne saturare fimo pingui pudeat sola neve

to scatter unclean ash over the exhausted fields.

effetos cinerem inmundum iactare per agros.

So too the land rests when its crop is changed;

Sic quoque mutatis requiescunt fetibus arva;

nor meanwhile is there no thanks from the unploughed earth.

nec nulla interea est inaratae gratia terrae.

Often, too, it has paid to set the barren fields alight

Saepe etiam sterilis incendere profuit agros

and burn the light stubble in crackling flames:

atque levem stipulam crepitantibus urere flammis:

whether the earth thereby takes in hidden strength and rich food,

sive inde occultas viris et pabula terrae

or every fault is baked out of it through the fire

pinguia concipiunt, sive illis omne per ignem

and the useless moisture sweats away,

excoquitur vitium atque exsudat inutilis humor,

or that heat opens more channels and the hidden

seu pluris calor ille vias et caeca relaxat

vents by which the sap may rise into the new shoots,

spiramenta, novas veniat qua sucus in herbas,

or hardens it the more and binds the gaping veins,

seu durat magis et venas adstringit hiantis,

lest the fine rains, or the force of the fierce sun,

ne tenues pluviae rapidive potentia solis

or the piercing cold of the North Wind scorch it.

acrior aut Boreae penetrabile frigus adurat.

Much help, too, he gives his fields who breaks the sluggish clods with the harrow

Multum adeo, rastris glaebas qui frangit inertis

and drags wicker hurdles over them; nor does golden Ceres

vimineasque trahit cratis, iuvat arva, neque illum

look down on him in vain from high Olympus;

flava Ceres alto nequiquam spectat Olympo;

and he who, the ridges he has raised on the broken plain,

et qui, proscisso quae suscitat aequore terga,

breaks through again crosswise with the plough turned about,

rursus in obliquum verso perrumpit aratro,

works the earth unceasingly and masters his fields.

exercetque frequens tellurem atque imperat arvis.

Pray for wet solstices and clear winters,

Humida solstitia atque hiemes orate serenas,

farmers; with winter’s dust the spelt is happiest,

agricolae; hiberno laetissima pulvere farra,

the field is happiest: by no tilling does Mysia so

laetus ager: nullo tantum se Mysia cultu

vaunt itself, and Gargara marvels at its own harvests.

iactat et ipsa suas mirantur Gargara messis.

What shall I say of him who, the seed once cast, follows the fields close at hand

Quid dicam, iacto qui semine comminus arva

and levels the heaps of meagre sand,

insequitur cumulosque ruit male pinguis harenae

then leads the river over the sown ground and the channels in its train,

deinde satis fluvium inducit rivosque sequentis

and, when the scorched field swelters with dying plants,

et, cum exustus ager morientibus aestuat herbis,

behold, from the brow of a sloping track draws out a flow

ecce supercilio clivosi tramitis undam

of water? It, falling, wakes a hoarse murmur over the smooth

elicit. illa cadens raucum per levia murmur

stones, and with its gushings tempers the parched fields.

saxa ciet, scatebrisque arentia temperat arva.

What of him who, lest the stalk fall under the heavy ears,

Quid qui, ne gravidis procumbat culmus aristis,

grazes down the crop’s rankness while it is tender grass,

luxuriem segetum tenera depascit in herba,

as soon as the shoots come level with the furrows? and he who

cum primum sulcos aequant sata. quique paludis

drains off the gathered marsh-water through the thirsty sand —

collectum humorem bibula deducit harena.

above all if in the uncertain months a brimming river

Praesertim incertis si mensibus amnis abundans

overflows and holds all things far and wide under a coat of mud,

exit et obducto late tenet omnia limo,

from which the hollow pools sweat with warm moisture.

unde cavae tepido sudant humore lacunae.

And yet, though these be the labours of men and oxen

Nec tamen, haec cum sint hominumque boumque labores

proven in turning the earth, still the greedy goose does harm,

versando terram experti, nihil inprobus anser

the Strymonian cranes too, and the endive with its bitter roots,

Strymoniaeque grues et amaris intiba fibris

or the shade hurts. The Father himself willed that the path of tilling

officiunt aut umbra nocet. Pater ipse colendi

should not be easy; he first stirred the fields by craft,

haud facilem esse viam voluit, primusque per artem

sharpening mortal hearts with cares,

movit agros curis acuens mortalia corda

and would not let his realm grow numb in heavy sloth.

nec torpere gravi passus sua regna veterno.

Before Jupiter no farmers subdued the fields;

Ante Iovem nulli subigebant arva coloni;

even to mark the land or divide it by a boundary

ne signare quidem aut partiri limite campum

was not lawful: men sought for the common store, and the earth herself,

fas erat: in medium quaerebant ipsaque tellus

with none demanding, bore all things more freely.

omnia liberius nullo poscente ferebat.

He put deadly venom into the black serpents,

Ille malum virus serpentibus addidit atris

bade the wolves prey and the sea heave,

praedarique lupos iussit pontumque moveri,

shook the honey from the leaves and took fire away,

mellaque decussit foliis ignemque removit

and checked the wine that ran everywhere in streams,

et passim rivis currentia vina repressit,

so that practice, by pondering, might hammer out the various arts

ut varias usus meditando extunderet artis

little by little, and seek the blade of grain in the furrows,

paulatim et sulcis frumenti quaereret herbam.

and strike out the fire hidden in the veins of flint.

Ut silicis venis abstrusum excuderet ignem.

Then first the rivers felt the hollowed alders;

Tunc alnos primum fluvii sensere cavatas;

then the sailor gave numbers and names to the stars,

navita tum stellis numeros et nomina fecit,

the Pleiades, the Hyades, and the bright Bear of Lycaon;

Pleiadas, Hyadas, claramque Lycaonis Arcton;

then it was found how to snare wild beasts with traps and trick them with birdlime

tum laqueis captare feras et fallere visco

and to ring the great glades with hounds;

inventum et magnos canibus circumdare saltus;

and now one man lashes a wide river with the casting-net,

atque alius latum funda iam verberat amnem

seeking the deeps, while another drags his wet seine through the sea;

alta petens, pelagoque alius trahit humida lina;

then came the rigour of iron and the blade of the shrill saw —

tum ferri rigor atque argutae lamina serrae,—

for the first men split their cleavable wood with wedges —

nam primi cuneis scindebant fissile lignum

then came the various arts. Toil conquered all,

tum variae venere artes. Labor omnia vicit

relentless toil, and want that presses hard in harsh days.

inprobus et duris urgens in rebus egestas.

Ceres was first to teach mortals to turn the earth with iron,

Prima Ceres ferro mortalis vertere terram

when now the acorns and arbutes of the sacred wood

instituit, cum iam glandes atque arbuta sacrae

were failing and Dodona denied its food.

deficerent silvae et victum Dodona negaret.

Soon trouble was added to the grain as well, that the evil mildew

Mox et frumentis labor additus, ut mala culmos

should gnaw the stalks and the lazy thistle bristle in the fields;

esset robigo segnisque horreret in arvis

the crops perish, a rough growth comes up in their place,

carduus; intereunt segetes, subit aspera silva,

burrs and caltrops, and amid the shining tilth

lappaeque tribolique, interque nitentia culta

the barren darnel and the sterile wild oats lord it.

infelix lolium et steriles dominantur avenae.

So unless you harry the weeds without ceasing with the hoe,

Quod nisi et adsiduis herbam insectabere rastris,

and frighten the birds with noise, and with the hook keep down

et sonitu terrebis aves, et ruris opaci

the shadows over the darkened land, and call down rain with prayer,

falce premes umbras votisque vocaveris imbrem,

alas, you will gaze in vain at another’s great heap,

heu magnum alterius frustra spectabis acervum,

and in the woods console your hunger by shaking the oak.

concussaque famem in silvis solabere quercu.

I must tell, too, what the weapons of the hardy countrymen are,

Dicendum et, quae sint duris agrestibus arma,

without which the crops could neither be sown nor rise:

quis sine nec potuere seri nec surgere messes:

first the share and the heavy timber of the curved plough,

vomis et inflexi primum grave robur aratri

and the slow-rolling waggons of the Eleusinian Mother,

tardaque Eleusinae matris volventia plaustra

threshing-sledges and drags and harrows of cruel weight;

tribulaque traheaeque et iniquo pondere rastri;

besides, the cheap wickerwork gear of Celeus,

virgea praeterea Celei vilisque supellex,

hurdles of arbutus-wood and the mystic winnowing-fan of Iacchus.

arbuteae crates et mystica vannus Iacchi.

All these, mindful, you will lay up provided long beforehand,

Omnia quae multo ante memor provisa repones,

if the worthy glory of the godlike countryside awaits you.

si te digna manet divini gloria ruris.

From the first, in the woods, the elm is bent by great force and tamed

Continuo in silvis magna vi flexa domatur

into a plough-tail and takes the shape of the curved plough.

in burim et curvi formam accipit ulmus aratri.

To this a pole stretched out eight feet from the stock,

Huic a stirpe pedes temo protentus in octo,

two earth-boards, and a share-beam with double back are fitted.

binae aures, duplici aptantur dentalia dorso

Light linden, too, is cut beforehand for the yoke, and tall beech

caeditur et tilia ante iugo levis altaque fagus,

for the handle, to steer the frame’s body from behind,

stivaque, quae currus a tergo torqueat imos,

and the smoke, hung over the hearth, seasons the wood.

et suspensa focis explorat robora fumus.

I can recount to you many precepts of the ancients,

Possum multa tibi veterum praecepta referre,

unless you shrink from them and it irks you to learn slight cares.

ni refugis tenuisque piget cognoscere curas.

The threshing-floor above all must be levelled with a great roller

Area cum primis ingenti aequanda cylindro

and worked over by hand and made firm with binding clay,

et vertenda manu et creta solidanda tenaci,

lest weeds spring up, or, beaten to dust, it crack open,

ne subeant herbae neu pulvere victa fatiscat,

and then sundry plagues make sport of it: often the tiny mouse

tum variae inludant pestes: saepe exiguus mus

has set its house underground and built its granaries,

sub terris posuitque domos atque horrea fecit,

or the eyeless moles have dug their chambers,

aut oculis capti fodere cubilia talpae,

and the toad is found in the holes, and all the many monsters

inventusque cavis bufo et quae plurima terrae

the earth breeds, and the weevil lays waste the huge heap of spelt,

monstra ferunt, populatque ingentem farris acervum

and the ant, dreading a destitute old age.

curculio atque inopi metuens formica senectae.

Observe, likewise, when the almond tree, abundant in the woods,

Contemplator item, cum se nux plurima silvis

clothes itself in blossom and bends down its fragrant boughs.

induet in florem et ramos curvabit olentis.

If the fruit prevails, the grain crops will follow in like measure,

Si superant fetus, pariter frumenta sequentur

and a great threshing will come with great heat;

magnaque cum magno veniet tritura calore;

but if the leafage runs riot in a rankness of shade,

at si luxuria foliorum exuberat umbra,

in vain will your floor thresh stalks rich only in chaff.

nequiquam pinguis palea teret area culmos.

Many a sower I myself have seen treat the seeds,

Semina vidi equidem multos medicare serentis

steeping them first in nitre and black olive-lees,

et nitro prius et nigra perfundere amurca,

so that the yield might be larger in the deceptive pods,

grandior ut fetus siliquis fallacibus esset,

and, over however small a fire, the hastened seeds might swell.

et, quamvis igni exiguo, properata maderent.

I have seen seed long chosen and watched with much labour

Vidi lecta diu et multo spectata labore

degenerate even so, unless human effort, year by year,

degenerare tamen, ni vis humana quot annis

picked out the largest by hand. So all things by fate

maxima quaeque manu legeret. Sic omnia fatis

rush to the worse, slip back, and are carried in reverse —

in peius ruere ac retro sublapsa referri,

no otherwise than one who scarcely drives his skiff against the stream

non aliter, quam qui adverso vix flumine lembum

with the oars: if by chance he has slackened his arms,

remigiis subigit, si bracchia forte remisit,

the channel sweeps him headlong down the rushing current.

atque illum in praeceps prono rapit alveus amni.

Moreover, the stars of Arcturus must be watched by us,

Praeterea tam sunt Arcturi sidera nobis

the days of the Kids and the shining Snake,

Haedorumque dies servandi et lucidus Anguis,

as much as by those who, carried homeward over the windy seas,

quam quibus in patriam ventosa per aequora vectis

brave the deep and the straits of oyster-bearing Abydos.

pontus et ostriferi fauces temptantur Abydi.

When the Balance has made the hours of day and of sleep equal

Libra die somnique pares ubi fecerit horas

and now divides the globe midway between light and shadow,

et medium luci atque umbris iam dividit orbem,

work your bulls, men, sow barley in the fields

exercete, viri, tauros, serite hordea campis

right up to the last rain of intractable winter;

usque sub extremum brumae intractabilis imbrem;

then, too, it is time to cover the flax-crop and the poppy of Ceres

nec non et lini segetem et Cereale papaver

with earth, and long since to bend over the ploughs,

tempus humo tegere et iamdudum incumbere aratris,

while the ground is dry and allows it, while the clouds still hang.

dum sicca tellure licet, dum nubila pendent.

In spring is the sowing of beans; then you too, lucerne, the crumbling

Vere fabis satio; tum te quoque, Medica, putres

furrows receive, and the millet’s yearly care comes round,

accipiunt sulci et milio venit annua cura,

when the white Bull with gilded horns opens the year

candidus auratis aperit cum cornibus annum

and the Dog, yielding to the opposing star, goes down.

Taurus et averso cedens Canis occidit astro.

But if you work the soil for a wheat harvest and hardy spelt

At si triticeam in messem robustaque farra

and press on for grain alone,

exercebis humum solisque instabis aristis,

first let the Eastern daughters of Atlas hide from your sight

ante tibi Eoae Atlantides abscondantur

and the Cnossian star of the blazing Crown depart,

Gnosiaque ardentis decedat stella Coronae,

before you commit the due seeds to the furrows and hasten

debita quam sulcis committas semina quamque

to trust the year’s hope to a reluctant earth.

invitae properes anni spem credere terrae.

Many have begun before the setting of Maia; but the awaited crop

Multi ante occasum Maiae coepere; sed illos

has mocked them with empty oat-stalks.

exspectata seges vanis elusit avenis.

But if you sow the vetch and the cheap kidney-bean

Si vero viciamque seres vilemque phaselum

and do not scorn the care of the Pelusian lentil,

nec Pelusiacae curam aspernabere lentis,

the setting Bootes will send you signs not hard to read:

haud obscura cadens mittet tibi signa Bootes:

begin, and stretch your sowing on to mid-frost.

incipe et ad medias sementem extende pruinas.

For this the golden Sun governs the circle, measured in fixed parts,

Idcirco certis dimensum partibus orbem

through the twelve constellations of the world.

per duodena regit mundi Sol aureus astra.

Five zones hold the sky; one of them, ever red with the flashing sun,

Quinque tenent caelum zonae; quarum una corusco

is forever scorched with fire;

semper sole rubens et torrida semper ab igni;

around it, to right and left, the two outermost are drawn,

quam circum extremae dextra laevaque trahuntur

dark blue, set hard with ice and black rains;

caeruleae, glacie concretae atque imbribus atris;

between these and the middle one, two were granted to suffering mortals

has inter mediamque duae mortalibus aegris

by the gift of the gods, and a road cut through both,

munere concessae divom, et via secta per ambas,

where the slanting order of the signs might turn.

obliquus qua se signorum verteret ordo.

The world, as it rises steep toward Scythia and the Rhipaean heights,

Mundus, ut ad Scythiam Rhipaeasque arduus arces

sinks, sloping down toward Libya and the south winds.

consurgit, premitur Libyae devexus in austros.

This pole stands always high above us; but the other,

Hic vertex nobis semper sublimis; at illum

beneath our feet, black Styx and the deep Shades behold.

sub pedibus Styx atra videt Manesque profundi.

Here the great Snake glides out with winding coil

Maximus hic flexu sinuoso elabitur Anguis

around and through the two Bears, river-fashion,

circum perque duas in morem fluminis Arctos,

the Bears that fear to be dipped in Ocean’s water.

Arctos Oceani metuentis aequore tingui.

There, as they tell, either the dead of night is silent

Illic, ut perhibent, aut intempesta silet nox,

and the darkness thickens forever under a drawn veil of night,

semper et obtenta densentur nocte tenebrae,

or the Dawn returns there from us and brings back the day;

aut redit a nobis Aurora diemque reducit;

and when the rising Sun first breathes on us with panting horses,

nosque ubi primus equis Oriens adflavit anhelis,

there the red Evening-star is kindling its late lamps.

illic, sera rubens accendit lumina Vesper.

From this we can learn beforehand the weather in a doubtful sky,

Hinc tempestates dubio praediscere caelo

from this the day of harvest and the time for sowing,

possumus, hinc messisque diem tempusque serendi,

and when it is fitting to drive the treacherous sea-marble with oars,

et quando infidum remis inpellere marmor

when to launch the armed fleets,

conveniat, quando armatas deducere classis,

or to fell the pine in season from the woods.

aut tempestivam silvis evertere pinum.

Not in vain do we watch the settings and risings of the signs,

Nec frustra signorum obitus speculamur et ortus,

and the year balanced evenly among its four diverse seasons.

temporibusque parem diversis quattuor annum.

If ever a cold rain keeps the farmer indoors,

Frigidus agricolam si quando continet imber,

much that he would soon have to hurry under a clear sky

multa, forent quae mox caelo properanda sereno,

is given him to make ready: the ploughman hammers out the hard

maturare datur: durum procudit arator

tooth of his blunted share, hollows troughs from a tree,

vomeris obtunsi dentem, cavat arbore lintres,

or brands his flock, or marks his heaps with numbers.

aut pecori signum aut numeros inpressit acervis.

Others sharpen stakes and two-pronged forks

Exacuunt alii vallos furcasque bicornis

and prepare Amerian ties for the pliant vine.

atque Amerina parant lentae retinacula viti.

Now let an easy basket be woven of bramble-twig,

Nunc facilis rubea texatur fiscina virga,

now roast your grain at the fire, now grind it with the stone.

nunc torrete igni fruges, nunc frangite saxo.

For indeed even on holy days the laws of god and man allow

Quippe etiam festis quaedam exercere diebus

some tasks to be done; no scruple ever forbade

fas et iura sinunt; rivos deducere nulla

to draw off streams, to set a hedge before the crop,

religio vetuit, segeti praetendere saepem,

to lay snares for birds, to burn the briars,

insidias avibus moliri, incendere vepres,

or to plunge the bleating flock in the healing river.

balantumque gregem fluvio mersare salubri.

Often the driver loads the ribs of his slow ass with oil

Saepe oleo tardi costas agitator aselli

or cheap fruit, and returning brings back from town

vilibus aut onerat pomis, lapidemque revertens

a notched millstone or a lump of black pitch.

incusum aut atrae massam picis urbe reportat.

The Moon herself has appointed different days, in different rank,

Ipsa dies alios alio dedit ordine Luna

lucky for work. Shun the fifth: then pale Orcus

felicis operum. Quintam fuge: pallidus Orcus

and the Furies were born; then Earth, in monstrous birth,

Eumenidesque satae; tum partu Terra nefando

bore Coeus and Iapetus and savage Typhoeus

Coeumque Iapetumque creat saevumque Typhoea

and the brothers sworn to tear down heaven.

et coniuratos caelum rescindere fratres.

Three times they strove to pile Ossa on Pelion, yes,

Ter sunt conati inponere Pelio Ossam

and to roll leafy Olympus onto Ossa;

scilicet, atque Ossae frondosum involvere Olympum;

three times the Father scattered the heaped mountains with his bolt.

ter pater exstructos disiecit fulmine montis.

The seventeenth is lucky both to set the vine

Septima post decimam felix et ponere vitem

and to break in the caught oxen and to add the leashes to the loom:

et prensos domitare boves et licia telae

the ninth is kinder to flight, hostile to thefts.

addere: nona fugae melior, contraria furtis.

Many tasks, indeed, have gone better in the cool of night,

Multa adeo gelida melius se nocte dedere,

or when the morning star bedews the lands at the new sun.

aut cum sole novo terras inrorat Eous.

By night the light stubble is better cut, by night the dry meadows;

Nocte leves melius stipulae, nocte arida prata

by night the clinging moisture never fails.

tondentur, noctes lentus non deficit humor.

And a man will keep his vigil by a winter light’s late fire

Et quidam seros hiberni ad luminis ignis

and point the torches with sharp iron;

pervigilat ferroque faces inspicat acuto;

meanwhile his wife, soothing her long labour with song,

interea longum cantu solata laborem

runs the shrill comb across the web,

arguto coniunx percurrit pectine telas,

or boils down the liquor of sweet must over the fire

aut dulcis musti Volcano decoquit humorem

and skims the wave of the bubbling cauldron with leaves.

et foliis undam trepidi despumat aeni.

But ruddy Ceres is cut down in the midday heat,

At rubicunda Ceres medio succiditur aestu

and in the midday heat the floor threshes the sun-parched grain.

et medio tostas aestu terit area fruges.

Plough naked, sow naked; winter is the farmer’s idle time.

Nudus ara, sere nudus; hiems ignava colono.

In the cold the farmers mostly enjoy what they have won

Frigoribus parto agricolae plerumque fruuntur

and gladly tend feasts among themselves in turn.

mutuaque inter se laeti convivia curant.

Genial winter invites them and loosens their cares,

Invitat genialis hiems curasque resolvit,

as when laden keels have now reached harbour

ceu pressae cum iam portum tetigere carinae,

and the glad sailors have set garlands on the sterns.

puppibus et laeti nautae inposuere coronas.

But still it is the season then, too, to strip the oak’s acorns

Sed tamen et quernas glandes tum stringere tempus

and the bay’s berries, the olive and the blood-red myrtle,

et lauri bacas oleamque cruentaque myrta,

then to set snares for cranes and nets for deer

tum gruibus pedicas et retia ponere cervis

and chase the long-eared hares, then to bring down the does,

auritosque sequi lepores, tum figere dammas,

whirling the hempen lash of the Balearic sling,

stuppea torquentem Balearis verbera fundae,

when the snow lies deep, when the rivers drive ice before them.

cum nix alta iacet, glaciem cum flumina trudunt.

Why should I tell of autumn’s storms and stars,

Quid tempestates autumni et sidera dicam,

and what men must watch for, when now the day is shorter and the heat milder?

atque, ubi iam breviorque dies et mollior aestas,

or when the rain-bearing spring rushes down,

quae vigilanda viris. vel cum ruit imbriferum ver,

when now the eared harvest has bristled in the fields and when

spicea iam campis cum messis inhorruit et cum

the grain swells milky on the green stalk?

frumenta in viridi stipula lactentia turgent.

Often, when the farmer was leading the reaper into the yellow fields

Saepe ego, cum flavis messorem induceret arvis

and now was stripping the barley on its brittle stalk,

agricola et fragili iam stringeret hordea culmo,

I have seen all the battles of the winds clash together,

omnia ventorum concurrere proelia vidi,

which tore the heavy crop up far and wide from its lowest roots

quae gravidam late segetem ab radicibus imis

and flung it on high; so in a black whirlwind

sublimem expulsam eruerent; ita turbine nigro

the storm would carry off the light straw and the flying stubble.

ferret hiems culmumque levem stipulasque volantis.

Often, too, a vast army of waters comes out of the sky,

Saepe etiam inmensum caelo venit agmen aquarum

and the clouds, gathered from the deep, mass a foul tempest

et foedam glomerant tempestatem imbribus atris

of black rains; the high heaven rushes down

collectae ex alto nubes; ruit arduus aether

and with its mighty downpour washes away the glad crops and the oxen’s toil;

et pluvia ingenti sata laeta boumque labores

the ditches fill and the hollow rivers swell

diluit; inplentur fossae et cava flumina crescunt

with a roar, and the sea boils in its heaving straits.

cum sonitu fervetque fretis spirantibus aequor.

The Father himself, in the midnight of the storm-clouds,

Ipse pater media nimborum in nocte corusca

hurls his lightnings with flashing right hand; at the shock

fulmina molitur dextra; quo maxuma motu

the vast earth trembles; the wild beasts have fled, and through the nations

terra tremit; fugere ferae et mortalia corda

abject terror has laid mortal hearts low; he, with the blazing bolt,

per gentis humilis stravit pavor; ille flagranti

strikes down Athos or Rhodope or the high Ceraunian peaks;

aut Athon aut Rhodopen aut alta Ceraunia telo

the south winds redouble and the rain falls thickest;

deicit; ingeminant austri et densissimus imber;

now the woods, now the shores wail under the mighty wind.

nunc nemora ingenti vento, nunc litora plangunt.

Fearing this, mark the months and stars of heaven,

Hoc metuens caeli menses et sidera serva,

to what quarter the cold star of Saturn withdraws,

frigida Saturni sese quo stella receptet,

through what circles in the sky the Cyllenian fire wanders.

quos ignis caelo Cyllenius erret in orbis.

Above all, worship the gods, and render to great Ceres

In primis venerare deos atque annua magnae

her yearly rites, sacrificing on the glad grass

sacra refer Cereri laetis operatus in herbis

at the close of winter’s end, when spring is now clear.

extremae sub casum hiemis, iam vere sereno.

Then the lambs are fat and then the wines are softest,

Tum pingues agni et tum mollissima vina,

then sleep is sweet and the shadows thick upon the hills.

tum somni dulces densaeque in montibus umbrae.

Let all your country youth worship Ceres for you;

Cuncta tibi Cererem pubes agrestis adoret;

for her dissolve the honeycombs with milk and mellow wine,

cui tu lacte favos et miti dilue Baccho,

and three times let the lucky victim go around the new crops,

terque novas circum felix eat hostia fruges,

escorted by all the chorus and your comrades in their joy,

omnis quam chorus et socii comitentur ovantes,

and with a shout let them call Ceres into their homes; nor let anyone

et Cererem clamore vocent in tecta; neque ante

put the sickle to the ripe ears before,

falcem maturis quisquam supponat aristis,

his brows bound with a wreath of oak in Ceres’ honour,

quam Cereri torta redimitus tempora quercu

he has danced his artless steps and sung his songs.

det motus incompositos et carmina dicat.

And that we might learn these things by sure signs —

Atque haec ut certis possemus discere signis,

the heats, the rains, and the winds that bring the cold —

aestusque pluviasque et agentis frigora ventos,

the Father himself ordained what the monthly Moon should warn of,

ipse Pater statuit, quid menstrua Luna moneret,

by what sign the south winds drop, what the farmers, seeing it often,

quo signo caderent austri, quid saepe videntes

should keep their herds nearer the stalls for.

agricolae propius stabulis armenta tenerent.

At once, when the winds rise, either the straits of the sea

Continuo ventis surgentibus aut freta ponti

begin, stirred up, to swell, and a dry crash is heard

incipiunt agitata tumescere et aridus altis

on the high mountains, or the shores, echoing far,

montibus audiri fragor aut resonantia longe

are confounded, and the murmur of the woods grows thick.

litora misceri et nemorum increbrescere murmur.

Now the wave scarcely keeps itself from the curved keels,

Iam sibi tum a curvis male temperat unda carinis,

when the swift gulls fly back from the open sea

cum medio celeres revolant ex aequore mergi

and carry their cry to the shores, when the sea-coots

clamoremque ferunt ad litora, cumque marinae

sport on dry land, and the heron deserts its familiar marshes

in sicco ludunt fulicae notasque paludes

and flies above the high cloud.

deserit atque altam supra volat ardea nubem.

Often, too, when wind is impending, you will see the stars

Saepe etiam stellas vento inpendente videbis

fall headlong from the sky, and through the shadow of night

praecipitis caelo labi noctisque per umbram

long trails of flame whiten in their wake;

flammarum longos a tergo albescere tractus;

often light chaff and falling leaves will flit about,

saepe levem paleam et frondes volitare caducas

or feathers, floating on the water’s surface, play together.

aut summa nantis in aqua colludere plumas.

But when it lightens from the quarter of the fierce North Wind, and when

At Boreae de parte trucis cum fulminat et cum

the house of the East and West Winds thunders, all the fields

Eurique Zephyrique tonat domus: omnia plenis

swim with brimming ditches, and every sailor on the sea

rura natant fossis atque omnis navita ponto

furls his wet sails. Never has the rain harmed the unwarned:

humida vela legit. Numquam inprudentibus imber

either, as it rose from the deep valleys, the high cranes

obfuit: aut illum surgentem vallibus imis

have fled before it, or the heifer, gazing up at the sky,

aëriae fugere grues, aut bucula caelum

has snuffed the breeze with open nostrils,

suspiciens patulis captavit naribus auras,

or the shrill swallow has flitted round the lake,

aut arguta lacus circumvolitavit hirundo

and in the mud the frogs have sung their old complaint.

et veterem in limo ranae cecinere querelam.

More often, too, the ant has carried out its eggs from its inmost chambers,

Saepius et tectis penetralibus extulit ova

wearing a narrow path; and the great rainbow has drunk,

angustum formica terens iter et bibit ingens

and, leaving its feeding in a great column,

arcus et e pastu decedens agmine magno

an army of crows has clattered with thronging wings.

corvorum increpuit densis exercitus alis.

Now you may see the various sea-birds, and those which about the Asian meadows

Iam variae pelagi volucres et quae Asia circum

search the sweet pools of Cayster,

dulcibus in stagnis rimantur prata Caystri,

vie eagerly to pour copious spray over their backs,

certatim largos umeris infundere rores:

now thrusting their heads against the water, now running into the waves,

nunc caput obiectare fretis, nunc currere in undas

exulting, all for nothing, in the passion of washing.

et studio incassum videas gestire lavandi.

Then the impudent crow, with full voice, calls down the rain

Tum cornix plena pluviam vocat inproba voce

and paces alone, by herself, on the dry sand.

et sola in sicca secum spatiatur harena.

Not even the girls, spinning out their nightly tasks,

Ne nocturna quidem carpentes pensa puellae

have failed to know the storm, when in the burning lamp they saw

nescivere hiemem, testa cum ardente viderent

the oil sputter and the crumbling fungus gather on the wick.

scintillare oleum et putris concrescere fungos.

No less, after the rain, can you foresee sunshine and clear open skies

Nec minus ex imbri soles et aperta serena

and know them by sure signs:

prospicere et certis poteris cognoscere signis:

for then the edge of the stars does not seem blunted,

nam neque tum stellis acies obtunsa videtur,

nor the Moon to rise beholden to her brother’s rays,

nec fratris radiis obnoxia surgere Luna,

nor thin fleeces of wool to be borne across the sky;

tenuia nec lanae per caelum vellera ferri;

the halcyons, dear to Thetis, do not spread their wings

non tepidum ad solem pinnas in litore pandunt

to the warm sun on the shore, nor do the filthy swine

dilectae Thetidi alcyones, non ore solutos

remember to toss the loosened wisps with their snouts.

inmundi meminere sues iactare maniplos.

But the mists seek the low ground more, and settle on the plain,

At nebulae magis ima petunt campoque recumbunt,

and the owl, watching the sunset from the rooftop,

solis et occasum servans de culmine summo

plies its late song in vain.

nequiquam seros exercet noctua cantus.

Nisus appears on high in the clear air,

Adparet liquido sublimis in aëre Nisus

and Scylla pays the penalty for the crimson lock:

et pro purpureo poenas dat Scylla capillo:

wherever she, fleeing, cuts the light air with her wings,

quacumque illa levem fugiens secat aethera pinnis,

behold, her enemy, fierce, with a great whirring through the breeze,

ecce inimicus, atrox, magno stridore per auras

Nisus pursues; where Nisus bears himself toward the sky,

insequitur Nisus; qua se fert Nisus ad auras,

she, fleeing, cuts the light air swiftly with her wings.

illa levem fugiens raptim secat aethera pinnis

Then the crows, with throats compressed, three or four times

Tum liquidas corvi presso ter gutture voces

redouble their clear cries, and often in their high nests,

aut quater ingeminant, et saepe cubilibus altis

glad with some sweetness beyond their wont,

nescio qua praeter solitum dulcedine laeti

they chatter among themselves in the leaves; it delights them, the rains over,

inter se in foliis strepitant; iuvat imbribus actis

to see again their little brood and their dear nests —

progeniem parvam dulcisque revisere nidos;

not, I think, that they have wit from heaven

haud equidem credo, quia sit divinitus illis

or a foreknowledge of fate greater than other creatures’;

ingenium aut rerum fato prudentia maior;

but when the weather and the sky’s shifting moisture

verum ubi tempestas et caeli mobilis humor

have changed their courses, and Jupiter, sodden with the south winds,

mutavere vias et Iuppiter uvidus austris

thickens what was lately thin and loosens what was thick,

denset, erant quae rara modo, et, quae densa, relaxat,

the aspects of their minds are turned, and their breasts now conceive

vertuntur species animorum et pectora motus

motions other than they conceived while the wind was driving the clouds:

nunc alios, alios, dum nubila ventus agebat,

hence that concert of the birds across the fields,

concipiunt: hinc ille avium concentus in agris

the glad cattle, and the crows exulting in their throats.

et laetae pecudes et ovantes gutture corvi.

But if you watch the swift sun and the moons in their order,

Si vero solem ad rapidum lunasque sequentis

never will the morrow’s hour deceive you,

ordine respicies, numquam te crastina fallet

nor will you be caught by the snares of a cloudless night.

hora neque insidiis noctis capiere serenae.

The Moon, when first she gathers back her returning fires,

Luna, revertentis cum primum colligit ignis,

if she has caught dark air within her dim horn,

si nigrum obscuro conprenderit aera cornu,

a very great rain is brewing for farmers and for the sea;

maxumus agricolis pelagoque parabitur imber;

but if she has spread a maiden’s blush over her face,

at si virgineum suffuderit ore ruborem,

there will be wind; golden Phoebe always reddens with wind.

ventus erit; vento semper rubet aurea Phoebe.

But if on her fourth rising — for that is the surest sign —

Sin ortu quarto, namque is certissimus auctor,

she goes clear through the sky with unblunted horns,

pura neque obtunsis per caelum cornibus ibit,

that whole day, and those that are born from it

totus et ille dies et qui nascentur ab illo

right to the month’s end, will be free of rain and wind,

exactum ad mensem pluvia ventisque carebunt,

and the sailors, brought safe, will pay their vows on the shore

votaque servati solvent in litore nautae

to Glaucus and Panopea and Melicertes, son of Ino.

Glauco et Panopeae et Inoo Melicertae.

The sun, too, both as it rises and as it sinks into the waves,

Sol quoque et exoriens et cum se condet in undas

will give signs; the surest signs attend the sun,

signa dabit; solem certissima signa sequuntur,

both those it brings at morning and those at the rising of the stars.

et quae mane refert et quae surgentibus astris.

When it has dappled its new rising with spots,

Ille ubi nascentem maculis variaverit ortum

hidden in cloud, and shrunk back at the middle of its disk,

conditus in nubem medioque refugerit orbe,

let rains be suspect to you; for from the deep the South Wind presses,

suspecti tibi sint imbres; namque urget ab alto

baleful to trees and crops and flock.

arboribusque satisque Notus pecorique sinister.

Or when, at daybreak, the rays break apart, scattered, among the thick clouds,

Aut ubi sub lucem densa inter nubila sese

or when pale Dawn rises,

diversi rumpent radii aut ubi pallida surget

leaving the saffron bed of Tithonus,

Tithoni croceum linquens Aurora cubile,

alas, then the vine-leaf will ill defend the mellowing grapes:

heu male tum mitis defendet pampinus uvas:

so thick the bristling hail leaps clattering on the roofs.

tam multa in tectis crepitans salit horrida grando.

This, too, will be the more useful to remember, when, its course run out,

Hoc etiam, emenso cum iam decedit Olympo,

the sun is now departing the sky; for often we see

profuerit meminisse magis; nam saepe videmus

various colours wander over its very face:

ipsius in voltu varios errare colores:

dark blue threatens rain, fiery red the east winds;

caeruleus pluviam denuntiat, igneus Euros;

but if the spots begin to mingle with the ruddy fire,

sin maculae incipient rutilo inmiscerier igni,

then you will see all things alike seething with wind and storm.

omnia tum pariter vento nimbisque videbis

On that night let no one urge me to go over the deep,

fervere. Non illa quisquam me nocte per altum

or to pluck my cable from the land.

ire, neque a terra moneat convellere funem.

But if, both when it brings the day back and when it buries the day it brought,

At si, cum referetque diem condetque relatum,

the disk is bright, you will be frightened by storm-clouds for nothing,

lucidus orbis erit, frustra terrebere nimbis

and you will see the woods stirred by a clear north wind.

et claro silvas cernes Aquilone moveri.

In short, what the late evening brings, from where the wind drives the clear clouds,

Denique quid vesper serus vehat, unde serenas

what the moist South Wind is plotting,

ventus agat nubes, quid cogitet humidus Auster,

the sun will give you signs. Who would dare call the sun false?

sol tibi signa dabit. Solem quis dicere falsum

It even warns, often, that blind uprisings are at hand,

audeat. Ille etiam caecos instare tumultus

and treachery, and hidden wars swelling toward the surface.

saepe monet fraudemque et operta tumescere bella.

It, too, pitied Rome when Caesar was slain,

Ille etiam exstincto miseratus Caesare Romam,

when it veiled its shining head in dark, rusty gloom,

cum caput obscura nitidum ferrugine texit

and the godless age dreaded everlasting night.

inpiaque aeternam timuerunt saecula noctem.

Though at that time the earth, too, and the levels of the sea,

Tempore quamquam illo tellus quoque et aequora ponti

and ill-boding dogs and birds of evil omen,

obscenaeque canes inportunaeque volucres

gave their signs. How often we saw Etna boil over into the Cyclopes’ fields,

signa dabant. Quotiens Cyclopum effervere in agros

surging from its burst furnaces,

vidimus undantem ruptis fornacibus Aetnam

and roll forth balls of flame and molten rocks!

flammarumque globos liquefactaque volvere saxa!

Germany heard the clash of arms across the whole sky,

Armorum sonitum toto Germania caelo

the Alps trembled with unwonted heavings.

audiit, insolitis tremuerunt motibus Alpes.

A voice, too, was widely heard through the silent groves,

Vox quoque per lucos volgo exaudita silentis

a mighty voice, and phantoms pale in wondrous wise

ingens et simulacra modis pallentia miris

were seen in the dusk of night, and the cattle spoke —

visa sub obscurum noctis, pecudesque locutae,

unspeakable! — the rivers halt, the earth gapes open,

infandum! sistunt amnes terraeque dehiscunt

the mournful ivory weeps in the temples, and the bronze sweats.

et maestum inlacrimat templis ebur aeraque sudant.

Eridanus, king of rivers, whirling forests in his maddened eddy,

Proluit insano contorquens vertice silvas

swept them away, and over all the plains

fluviorum rex Eridanus camposque per omnis

carried off the herds along with their stalls. Nor in that same time

cum stabulis armenta tulit. Nec tempore eodem

did the threatening fibres cease to appear in the grim entrails,

tristibus aut extis fibrae adparere minaces

or blood to ooze from the wells, and the high towns

aut puteis manare cruor cessavit et altae

to ring all night with the howling of wolves.

per noctem resonare lupis ululantibus urbes.

Never at another time did more lightnings fall from a clear sky,

Non alias caelo ceciderunt plura sereno

nor dread comets so often blaze.

fulgura nec diri totiens arsere cometae.

And so Philippi saw the Roman lines clash once again,

ergo inter sese paribus concurrere telis

between themselves, with matched weapons;

Romanas acies iterum videre Philippi;

nor did the gods think it unworthy that Emathia twice,

nec fuit indignum superis, bis sanguine nostro

and the broad plains of Haemus, should grow fat with our blood.

Emathiam et latos Haemi pinguescere campos.

Surely the time will come, too, when, in those very lands,

Scilicet et tempus veniet, cum finibus illis

the farmer, heaving at the earth with his curved plough,

agricola incurvo terram molitus aratro

will find javelins eaten away with rough rust,

exesa inveniet scabra robigine pila

or strike empty helmets with his heavy hoe,

aut gravibus rastris galeas pulsabit inanis

and marvel at the great bones in the graves he has opened.

grandiaque effossis mirabitur ossa sepulchris.

Gods of our fathers, native Heroes, and Romulus, and mother Vesta,

Di patrii, Indigetes, et Romule Vestaque mater,

you who keep the Tuscan Tiber and the Roman Palatine,

quae Tuscum Tiberim et Romana Palatia servas,

do not, at least, forbid this young man to come to the rescue

hunc saltem everso iuvenem succurrere saeclo

of an age laid low! Long since, and enough, with our blood

ne prohibete! Satis iam pridem sanguine nostro

we have paid for the perjuries of Laomedon’s Troy;

Laomedonteae luimus periuria Troiae;

long since the palace of heaven has grudged you to us, Caesar,

iam pridem nobis caeli te regia, Caesar,

and complains that you care for the triumphs of men;

invidet atque hominum queritur curare triumphos;

for here right and wrong are reversed: so many wars across the world,

quippe ubi fas versum atque nefas: tot bella per orbem,

so many faces of crime; no fitting honour for the plough,

tam multae scelerum facies; non ullus aratro

the fields lie squalid, their farmers led away,

dignus honos, squalent abductis arva colonis

and the curved sickles are forged into the rigid sword.

et curvae rigidum falces conflantur in ensem.

On this side the Euphrates stirs up war, on that side Germany;

Hinc movet Euphrates, illinc Germania bellum;

neighbouring cities, the treaties broken between them,

vicinae ruptis inter se legibus urbes

take up arms; impious War rages over the whole world,

arma ferunt; saevit toto Mars inpius orbe;

as when the chariots have burst from the starting-gates,

ut cum carceribus sese effudere quadrigae,

gather speed lap by lap, and the driver, vainly hauling at the reins,

addunt in spatia et frustra retinacula tendens

is borne on by the horses, and the car heeds not the bridle.

fertur equis auriga neque audit currus habenas.

Thus far the tilling of the fields and the stars of heaven;

Hactenus arvorum cultus et sidera caeli,

now you, Bacchus, I will sing, and with you the woodland

nunc te, Bacche, canam, nec non silvestria tecum

saplings and the offspring of the slow-growing olive.

virgulta et prolem tarde crescentis olivae.

Hither, O father Lenaeus — here all things are full

Huc, pater o Lenaee—tuis hic omnia plena

of your gifts, for you the field, heavy with the vine-leaved autumn,

muneribus, tibi pampineo gravidus autumno

flowers, the vintage foams in the brimming vats —

floret ager, spumat plenis vindemia labris—

hither, O father Lenaeus, come, and, your legs bared,

huc, pater o Lenaee, veni nudataque musto

your buskins stripped away, dye them with me in the new must.

tingue novo mecum direptis crura cothurnis.

First, the way of bringing trees to birth is various:

Principio arboribus varia est natura creandis.

for some, with no men forcing them, of their own

namque aliae nullis hominum cogentibus ipsae

accord come up, and hold the plains and the winding rivers far and wide,

sponte sua veniunt camposque et flumina late

like the soft osier and the pliant broom,

curva tenent, ut molle siler lentaeque genestae,

the poplar, and the willow-beds greying with silver leaf;

populus et glauca canentia fronde salicta;

but some rise from the planted seed, like the tall

pars autem posito surgunt de semine, ut altae

chestnuts, and the winter-oak that, mightiest of the groves, leafs for Jove,

castaneae nemorumque Iovi quae maxima frondet

and the oaks the Greeks have held for oracles.

aesculus atque habitae Grais oracula quercus.

From the root of others a thick forest sprouts up,

Pullulat ab radice aliis densissima silva,

as with cherries and elms; the Parnassian laurel, too,

ut cerasis ulmisque; etiam Parnasia laurus

while small, shelters itself under its mother’s huge shade.

parva sub ingenti matris se subicit umbra.

These ways nature first gave; by these every kind

Hos natura modos primum dedit, his genus omne

of woodland and shrub and sacred grove grows green.

silvarum fruticumque viret nemorumque sacrorum.

There are others which practice itself has found out for its own ends.

Sunt aliae, quas ipse via sibi repperit usus.

One man, cutting slips from the tender body of the mothers,

Hic plantas tenero abscindens de corpore matrum

sets them in furrows; another buries the stocks in the soil,

deposuit sulcis, hic stirpes obruit arvo

stakes split four ways and props of sharpened wood;

quadrifidasque sudes et acuto robore vallos;

some trees wait for the bent arches of the layered shoot

silvarumque aliae pressos propaginis arcus

and for nurseries living in their own soil;

exspectant et viva sua plantaria terra;

others need no root, and the pruner does not hesitate

nil radicis egent aliae summumque putator

to return the topmost twig and commit it to the earth.

haud dubitat terrae referens mandare cacumen.

Nay, even from cut stumps — wondrous to tell —

Quin et caudicibus sectis—mirabile dictu—

the olive thrusts out its root from the dry wood.

truditur e sicco radix oleagina ligno.

And often we see the boughs of one tree change unharmed

Et saepe alterius ramos inpune videmus

into another’s, and the grafted pear bear altered apples,

vertere in alterius mutatamque insita mala

and stony cornel-cherries redden on the plums.

ferre pirum et prunis lapidosa rubescere corna.

Therefore come, learn the cultivation proper to each kind,

Quare agite o proprios generatim discite cultus,

farmers, and soften the wild fruits by tending,

agricolae, fructusque feros mollite colendo,

and let no lands lie idle. It is good to plant Ismara with the vine

neu segnes iaceant terrae. Iuvat Ismara Baccho

and to clothe great Taburnus with the olive.

conserere atque olea magnum vestire Taburnum.

And you, be at my side, and run with me the labour begun,

Tuque ades inceptumque una decurre laborem,

O my glory, O deservedly the greatest part of my fame,

O decus, o famae merito pars maxima nostrae,

Maecenas, and, taking wing, give your sails to the open sea;

Maecenas, pelagoque volans da vela patenti;

I do not wish to compass it all in my verses,

non ego cuncta meis amplecti versibus opto,

not if I had a hundred tongues and a hundred mouths,

non, mihi si linguae centum sint oraque centum,

a voice of iron; be at my side and skirt the edge of the near shore.

ferrea vox; ades et primi lege litoris oram.

The land is here in hand; not with a feigned song

In manibus terrae; non hic te carmine ficto

will I hold you here through riddles and long preambles.

atque per ambages et longa exorsa tenebo.

Those that of their own accord lift themselves into the coasts of light

Sponte sua quae se tollunt in luminis oras,

rise unfruitful, indeed, but glad and strong;

infecunda quidem, sed laeta et fortia surgunt;

for nature lies beneath in the soil. Yet these too, if one

quippe solo natura subest. Tamen haec quoque, si quis

should graft them or commit them, transplanted, to trenched pits,

inserat aut scrobibus mandet mutata subactis,

will put off their wild temper, and under steady tending

exuerint silvestrem animum cultuque frequenti

will follow, not slow, into whatever arts you wish.

in quascumque voles artis haud tarda sequentur.

And likewise the barren sucker that springs from the lowest roots

Nec non et sterilis, quae stirpibus exit ab imis,

would do the same, were it set out through open fields;

hoc faciat, vacuos si sit digesta per agros;

as it is, the high leaves and the mother’s branches overshadow it

nunc altae frondes et rami matris opacant

and rob the growing thing of fruit and scorch it as it bears.

crescentique adimunt fetus uruntque ferentem.

Again, the tree that has raised itself from cast seeds

Iam quae seminibus iactis se sustulit arbos

comes on slowly, to make shade for late descendants,

tarda venit seris factura nepotibus umbram,

and the fruits degenerate, forgetting their former juices,

pomaque degenerant sucos oblita priores

and the vine bears clusters, a sorry prey for birds.

et turpis avibus praedam fert uva racemos.

On all, in short, labour must be spent, and all

Scilicet omnibus est labor inpendendus et omnes

must be forced into the furrow and tamed at great cost.

cogendae in sulcum ac multa mercede domandae.

But olives answer better to the stock, vines to the layer,

Sed truncis oleae melius, propagine vites

the Paphian myrtle to the solid wood;

respondent, solido Paphiae de robore myrtus;

from slips both the hard hazels are born and the huge

plantis et durae coryli nascuntur et ingens

ash, and the shady tree of Hercules’ crown,

fraxinus Herculeaeque arbos umbrosa coronae

and the acorns of the Chaonian father; the tall palm, too,

Chaoniique patris glandes, etiam ardua palma

is born, and the fir that shall see the perils of the sea.

nascitur et casus abies visura marinos.

But the rough arbutus is grafted with the walnut’s shoot,

Inseritur vero et fetu nucis arbutus horrida,

and barren planes have borne sturdy apple-trees;

et steriles platani malos gessere valentis;

the beech has whitened with the chestnut, the manna-ash with the white

castaneae fagus, ornusque incanuit albo

blossom of the pear, and swine have crunched acorns under elms.

flore piri glandemque sues fregere sub ulmis.

Nor is there one single way to graft and set the buds.

Nec modus inserere atque oculos inponere simplex.

For where the buds push out from the middle of the bark

Nam qua se medio trudunt de cortice gemmae

and burst their thin sheaths, a narrow slit is made

et tenuis rumpunt tunicas, angustus in ipso

in the very knot: here they enclose a shoot from an alien tree

fit nodo sinus: huc aliena ex arbore germen

and teach it to grow into the moist inner rind.

includunt udoque docent inolescere libro.

Or again, knotless stems are cut back, and deep

Aut rursum enodes trunci resecantur et alte

a way is split into the solid wood with wedges; then fruitful

finditur in solidum cuneis via, deinde feraces

slips are let in: and no long while, and a huge

plantae inmittuntur: nec longum tempus, et ingens

tree leaps up to the sky with prospering boughs

exsilit ad caelum ramis felicibus arbos

and marvels at its new leaves and fruits not its own.

miraturque novas frondes et non sua poma.

Moreover there is more than one kind, neither for the strong elms

Praeterea genus haud unum nec fortibus ulmis

nor the willow and the lotus nor the Idaean cypresses,

nec salici lotoque neque Idaeis cyparissis,

nor are the rich olives born in a single shape,

nec pingues unam in faciem nascuntur olivae,

the orchads and the radii and the pausia with its bitter berry,

orchades et radii et amara pausia baca

the orchards too, and the woods of Alcinous; nor is the slip the same

pomaque et Alcinoi silvae, nec surculus idem

for Crustumian and Syrian pears and the heavy hand-fillers.

Crustumiis Syriisque piris gravibusque volemis.

Not the same vintage hangs upon our trees

Non eadem arboribus pendet vindemia nostris,

as Lesbos plucks from the Methymnaean shoot;

quam Methymnaeo carpit de palmite Lesbos;

there are Thasian vines, there are white Mareotic ones too,

sunt Thasiae vites, sunt et Mareotides albae,

these suited to rich soils, those to lighter,

pinguibus hae terris habiles, levioribus illae,

and the Psithian better for raisin-wine, and the thin Lageos

et passo Psithia utilior tenuisque Lageos

that one day will try the feet and tie the tongue,

temptatura pedes olim vincturaque linguam,

the purple grapes and the early — and in what song shall I name you,

purpureae preciaeque, et quo te carmine dicam,

Rhaetic? Yet do not for that contend with the Falernian cellars.

Rhaetica? Nec cellis ideo contende Falernis.

There are Aminean vines, too, the firmest of wines,

Sunt et Amineae vites, firmissima vina,

to which the Tmolian rises in homage and King Phanaeus himself;

Tmolius adsurgit quibus et rex ipse Phanaeus;

and the lesser Argitis, with which none could vie

Argitisque minor, cui non certaverit ulla

either to run so freely or to last as many years.

aut tantum fluere aut totidem durare per annos.

I would not pass you by, welcome to the gods and to the second course,

Non ego te, Dis et mensis accepta secundis,

Rhodian grape, nor you, Bumastus, with your swelling clusters.

transierim, Rhodia, et tumidis, Bumaste, racemis.

But how many the kinds are, and what their names,

Sed neque quam multae species nec nomina quae sint,

there is no counting; nor does it matter to grasp them by number;

est numerus; neque enim numero conprendere refert;

he who would know it might as well wish to learn

quem qui scire velit, Libyci velit aequoris idem

how many sands of the Libyan plain are stirred by the West Wind,

discere quam multae Zephyro turbentur harenae,

or, when the East Wind falls more fiercely on the ships,

aut ubi navigiis violentior incidit Eurus,

to know how many Ionian waves come to the shore.

nosse, quot Ionii veniant ad litora fluctus.

Nor indeed can all soils bear all things.

Nec vero terrae ferre omnes omnia possunt.

By rivers the willows, in thick marshes the alders

fluminibus salices crassisque paludibus alni

are born, the barren manna-ashes on stony mountains;

nascuntur, steriles saxosis montibus orni;

the shores are happiest with myrtle-thickets; in short, the open

litora myrtetis laetissima; denique apertos

hills Bacchus loves, the yew the north wind and the cold.

Bacchus amat collis, aquilonem et frigora taxi.

Look, too, at the world tamed by farmers at its ends,

Aspice et extremis domitum cultoribus orbem

the eastern homes of the Arabs and the painted Geloni:

Eoasque domos Arabum pictosque Gelonos:

the trees have their allotted homelands. India alone bears black

divisae arboribus patriae. Sola India nigrum

ebony, the incense-twig is the Sabaeans’ alone.

fert ebenum, solis est turea virga Sabaeis.

Why should I tell you of the balsams sweating from fragrant wood

Quid tibi odorato referam sudantia ligno

and the berries of the ever-leafing acanthus?

balsamaque et bacas semper frondentis acanthi?

Why of the groves of the Ethiopians, whitening with soft wool,

Quid nemora Aethiopum molli canentia lana,

and how the Seres comb fine fleeces from the leaves;

velleraque ut foliis depectant tenuia Seres;

or of the groves that India, nearer the Ocean, bears,

aut quos Oceano propior gerit India lucos,

the world’s farthest inlet, where no arrows by their cast

extremi sinus orbis, ubi aera vincere summum

could ever clear the topmost height of the tree?

arboris haud ullae iactu potuere sagittae?

And that people, indeed, is not slow once the quivers are taken up.

Et gens illa quidem sumptis non tarda pharetris.

Media bears the bitter juices and lingering savour

Media fert tristis sucos tardumque saporem

of the blessed citron, than which nothing comes more ready to aid,

felicis mali, quo non praesentius ullum,

if ever cruel stepmothers have poisoned the cups,

pocula si quando saevae infecere novercae,

mixing in herbs and spells that are not harmless:

miscueruntque herbas et non innoxia verba,

it brings help and drives the black venom from the limbs.

auxilium venit ac membris agit atra venena.

The tree itself is huge, and in look most like the laurel;

Ipsa ingens arbos faciemque simillima lauro;

and, did it not fling far a different scent,

et, si non alium late iactaret odorem,

it would be a laurel; the leaves fall to no winds;

laurus erat; folia haud ullis labentia ventis;

the blossom is most clinging; with it the Medes soothe the breath

flos ad prima tenax; animas et olentia Medi

and the rank mouth, and cure the wheezing of the old.

ora fovent illo et senibus medicantur anhelis.

But neither the land of the Medes, richest in forest,

sed neque Medorum, silvae ditissima, terra,

nor the fair Ganges and the Hermus thick with gold

nec pulcher Ganges atque auro turbidus Hermus

could vie with Italy’s glories — not Bactra, nor the Indians,

laudibus Italiae certent, non Bactra neque Indi

nor all Panchaia rich with its incense-bearing sands.

totaque turiferis Panchaia pinguis harenis.

These lands no bulls breathing fire from their nostrils

Haec loca non tauri spirantes naribus ignem

turned up for the sowing of a monstrous serpent’s teeth,

invertere satis inmanis dentibus hydri

nor did a crop of men bristle with helmets and thick spears;

nec galeis densisque virum seges horruit hastis;

but heavy harvests and the Massic juice of Bacchus

sed gravidae fruges et Bacchi Massicus humor

have filled them; the olives and the glad herds possess them.

inplevere; tenent oleae armentaque laeta.

From here the war-horse bears himself proudly onto the field;

Hinc bellator equus campo sese arduus infert;

from here, Clitumnus, the white flocks and the bull, the greatest

hinc albi, Clitumne, greges et maxima taurus

victim, often bathed in your sacred stream,

victima, saepe tuo perfusi flumine sacro,

have led Roman triumphs to the temples of the gods.

Romanos ad templa deum duxere triumphos.

Here is unbroken spring, and summer in months not its own,

Hic ver adsiduum atque alienis mensibus aestas

twice the flocks are with young, twice the tree serves for fruit.

bis gravidae pecudes, bis pomis utilis arbos.

But raging tigers are far off, and the savage breed

At rabidae tigres absunt et saeva leonum

of lions; no aconite deceives the wretched gatherers;

semina nec miseros fallunt aconita legentis

nor does the scaly snake sweep its huge coils over the ground

nec rapit inmensos orbis per humum neque tanto

nor gather itself into a spiral with so vast a train.

squameus in spiram tractu se colligit anguis.

Add so many noble cities and the labour of their works,

Adde tot egregias urbes operumque laborem,

so many towns piled up by hand on sheer crags,

tot congesta manu praeruptis oppida saxis

and the rivers gliding beneath ancient walls.

fluminaque antiquos subter labentia muros.

Shall I recall the sea that washes her above, and that below,

An mare, quod supra, memorem, quodque adluit infra

or her great lakes? You, mighty Larius, and you,

anne lacus tantos? Te, Lari maxume, teque,

Benacus, rising with waves and roar like the sea?

fluctibus et fremitu adsurgens Benace marino

Shall I recall the harbours, the barrier set against the Lucrine,

an memorem portus Lucrinoque addita claustra

and the deep raging with great roarings,

atque indignatum magnis stridoribus aequor

where the Julian water sounds afar with the sea flung back

Iulia qua ponto longe sonat unda refuso

and the Tyrrhenian tide is let into the straits of Avernus?

Tyrrhenusque fretis inmittitur aestus Avernis?

This same land has shown streams of silver and mines of bronze

Haec eadem argenti rivos aerisque metalla

in her veins, and has flowed abundant with gold.

ostendit venis atque auro plurima fluxit.

She has reared a keen breed of men, the Marsi and the Sabellian youth,

Haec genus acre virum, Marsos pubemque Sabellam

the Ligurian inured to hardship and the javelin-armed Volsci;

adsuetumque malo Ligurem Volscosque verutos

she has brought forth the Decii, the Marii, and the great Camilli,

extulit, haec Decios, Marios, magnosque Camillos,

the Scipios hard in war, and you, mightiest Caesar,

Scipiadas duros bello et te, maxume Caesar,

who now, already victor on the farthest shores of Asia,

qui nunc extremis Asiae iam victor in oris

turn the unwarlike Indian away from the citadels of Rome.

inbellem avertis Romanis arcibus Indum.

Hail, great mother of harvests, Saturnian land,

Salve, magna parens frugum, Saturnia tellus,

great mother of men; for you I enter on a theme of ancient praise and craft,

magna virum; tibi res antiquae laudis et artem

daring to unseal the sacred springs,

ingredior, sanctos ausus recludere fontis,

and through Roman towns I sing the Ascraean song.

Ascraeumque cano Romana per oppida carmen.

Now is the place for the natures of the soils: what strength each has,

Nunc locus arvorum ingeniis: quae robora cuique,

what colour, and what its temper for bearing crops.

quis color et quae sit rebus natura ferendis.

First, stubborn lands and grudging hills,

Difficiles primum terrae collesque maligni,

where the clay is thin and the gravel in the bushy fields,

tenuis ubi argilla et dumosis calculus arvis,

rejoice in the Pallas-grove of the long-lived olive.

Palladia gaudent silva vivacis olivae.

A sign is the wild olive rising plentiful in the same tract

Indicio est tractu surgens oleaster eodem

and the fields strewn with its woodland berries.

plurimus et strati bacis silvestribus agri.

But the soil that is rich and glad with sweet moisture,

At quae pinguis humus dulcique uligine laeta,

and the plain thick with grass and fertile in its richness —

quique frequens herbis et fertilis ubere campus—

such as we often look down on in the hollow

qualem saepe cava montis convalle solemus

valley of a mountain; here streams melt down from the high cliffs

despicere; huc summis liquuntur rupibus amnes

and draw the fruitful silt along — and the field that, raised toward the south,

felicemque trahunt limum—quique editus austro

feeds the fern hateful to the curved ploughs:

et filicem curvis invisam pascit aratris:

this will one day yield you vines most strong and flowing with much

hic tibi praevalidas olim multoque fluentis

Bacchus, this fertile in the grape,

sufficiet Baccho vitis, hic fertilis uvae,

this in the liquor such as we pour from bowls and from gold,

hic laticis, qualem pateris libamus et auro,

when the plump Tyrrhenian has blown his ivory pipe at the altars

inflavit cum pinguis ebur Tyrrhenus ad aras,

and on the curved platters we render the smoking entrails.

lancibus et pandis fumantia reddimus exta.

But if your care is rather to keep herds and calves,

Sin armenta magis studium vitulosque tueri

or the young of sheep, or the she-goats that scorch the tilled land,

aut ovium fetum aut urentis culta capellas,

seek the glades and far reaches of rich Tarentum

saltus et saturi petito longinqua Tarenti

and such a plain as unhappy Mantua lost,

et qualem infelix amisit Mantua campum,

feeding snow-white swans on its grassy river;

pascentem niveos herboso flumine cycnos;

no clear springs, no grass will be wanting to the flocks;

non liquidi gregibus fontes, non gramina deerunt;

and as much as the herds crop in the long days,

et, quantum longis carpent armenta diebus,

so much the cold dew will restore in the brief night.

exigua tantum gelidus ros nocte reponet.

Land that is mostly black, and rich beneath the pressed share,

Nigra fere et presso pinguis sub vomere terra

and whose soil is crumbling — for this we copy in our ploughing —

et cui putre solum,—namque hoc imitamur arando—

is best for grain; from no plain will you see

optima frumentis; non ullo ex aequore cernes

more waggons go home behind the slow bullocks;

plura domum tardis decedere plaustra iuvencis;

or land from which the angry ploughman has hauled away the wood

aut unde iratus silvam devexit arator

and overthrown the groves that lay idle for many years

et nemora evertit multos ignava per annos

and uprooted the ancient homes of birds with their lowest stocks:

antiquasque domos avium cum stirpibus imis

the birds sought the heights, their nests forsaken,

eruit; illae altum nidis petiere relictis,

but the rough field shone out under the driven share.

at rudis enituit inpulso vomere campus.

For the hungry gravel of a sloping country

Nam ieiuna quidem clivosi glarea ruris

scarcely furnishes the bees their lowly cassia and rosemary;

vix humilis apibus casias roremque ministrat;

and rough tufa, and chalk eaten away by black water-snakes,

et tophus scaber et nigris exesa chelydris

deny that other fields give the serpents alike

creta negant alios aeque serpentibus agros

sweet food and offer them winding hiding-places.

dulcem ferre cibum et curvas praebere latebras.

The land that breathes out thin mist and flying smoke

Quae tenuem exhalat nebulam fumosque volucris

and drinks the moisture and, when it wills, gives it back of itself,

et bibit humorem et, cum volt, ex se ipsa remittit

and which always clothes itself in its own green grass

quaeque suo semper viridi se gramine vestit

and harms not the iron with scurf and salt rust:

nec scabie et salsa laedit robigine ferrum:

that will weave your elms with glad vines,

illa tibi laetis intexet vitibus ulmos,

that is fruitful in oil, that you will find, in the tilling,

illa ferax oleo est, illam experiere colendo

both kind to the flock and patient of the curved share.

et facilem pecori et patientem vomeris unci.

Such soil rich Capua ploughs, and the coast near the ridge of Vesuvius,

Talem dives arat Capua et vicina Vesevo

and Clanius, unkind to emptied Acerrae.

ora iugo et vacuis Clanius non aequus Acerris.

Now I will tell by what means you may know each kind.

Nunc, quo quamque modo possis cognoscere, dicam.

If you would ask whether it is loose, or dense beyond the wont —

Rara sit an supra morem si densa requires—

since the one favours grain, the other the vine,

altera frumentis quoniam favet, altera Baccho,

the dense more for Ceres, the loosest of all for Lyaeus —

densa magis Cereri, rarissima quaeque Lyaeo—

first you will mark a place with your eyes, and bid a pit

ante locum capies oculis alteque iubebis

be sunk deep into the solid ground, and put back all

in solido puteum demitti omnemque repones

the earth again, and level the surface sand with your feet.

rursus humum et pedibus summas aequabis harenas.

If it falls short, the soil is loose, and fitter for the flock

Si deerunt, rarum pecorique et vitibus almis

and the kindly vines; but if it refuses to be able

aptius uber erit; sin in sua posse negabunt

to go back into its own place, and earth is left over when the pit is filled,

ire loca et scrobibus superabit terra repletis,

the field is close-packed; look for clinging clods and thick ridges,

spissus ager; glaebas cunctantis crassaque terga

and break the ground up with sturdy bullocks.

exspecta et validis terram proscinde iuvencis.

But salt land, and what is called bitter —

Salsa autem tellus et quae perhibetur amara,

unkind to crops, it neither grows tame by ploughing

frugibus infelix—ea nec mansuescit arando

nor keeps for the vine its breed, or for fruits their names —

nec Baccho genus aut pomis sua nomina servat—

will give this proof: pull down baskets of close-woven wicker

tale dabit specimen: tu spisso vimine qualos

and the strainers of the presses from the smoky roofs;

colaque prelorum fumosis deripe tectis;

into them let that bad soil and sweet spring-water

huc ager ille malus dulcesque a fontibus undae

be trodden to the brim; all the water will struggle out,

ad plenum calcentur; aqua eluctabitur omnis

of course, and the big drops will pass through the wicker;

scilicet, et grandes ibunt per vimina guttae;

but the taste will give plain proof, and with its bitter tang

at sapor indicium faciet manifestus et ora

will twist the grim mouths of those who try it.

tristia temptantum sensu torquebit amaro.

Again, which land is rich, in this way at last

Pinguis item quae sit tellus, hoc denique pacto

we learn: tossed about in the hands, it never crumbles,

discimus: haud umquam manibus iactata fatiscit,

but, pitch-like, grows sticky to the fingers in the holding.

sed picis in morem ad digitos lentescit habendo.

Moist land feeds larger plants, and is itself too rank

Humida maiores herbas alit, ipsaque iusto

beyond what is right. Ah, let it not be too fertile for me,

laetior. Ah nimium ne sit mihi fertilis illa

nor show itself overstrong in the first ears!

nec se praevalidam primis ostendat aristis!

Land that is heavy betrays itself, unspoken, by its very weight,

Quae gravis est, ipso tacitam se pondere prodit,

and so the light. It is easy to learn the black by the eye,

quaeque levis. Promptum est oculis praediscere nigram,

and what colour goes with what. But to search out the accursed cold

et quis cui color. At sceleratum exquirere frigus

is hard: only the pitch-pines, and the harmful yews,

difficile est: piceae tantum taxique nocentes

sometimes, or the black ivies, reveal its traces.

interdum aut hederae pandunt vestigia nigrae.

These things observed, remember long beforehand

his animadversis terram multo ante memento

to bake the earth and cut the great slopes into trenches,

excoquere et magnos scrobibus concidere montis,

and show the upturned clods to the north wind,

ante supinatas aquiloni ostendere glaebas,

before you plant the glad stock of the vine. Best are fields

quam laetum infodias vitis genus. Optima putri

of crumbling soil: the winds see to that, and the cold frosts,

arva solo: id venti curant gelidaeque pruinae

and the sturdy digger heaving the loosened acres.

et labefacta movens robustus iugera fossor.

And if there are men whom no vigilance escapes,

Ac si quos haud ulla viros vigilantia fugit,

they first seek out a like place, where a first nursery

ante locum similem exquirunt, ubi prima paretur

may be made ready for the trees, and whither, set out, they may soon be moved,

arboribus seges et quo mox digesta feratur,

lest the slips, transplanted, should suddenly fail to know their mother.

mutatam ignorent subito ne semina matrem.

Nay more, they mark on the bark the quarter of the sky,

Quin etiam caeli regionem in cortice signant,

so that, just as each stood, on what side it bore the southern

ut, quo quaeque modo steterit, qua parte calores

heats, what back it turned to the pole,

Austrinos tulerit, quae terga obverterit axi,

they may restore it so: so much it matters to form the habit in tender years.

restituant: adeo in teneris consuescere multum est.

Whether it is better to set the vine on hills or on the level,

Collibus an plano melius sit ponere vitem,

ask first. If you measure out the rich fields of a plain,

quaere prius. Si pinguis agros metabere campi,

plant thick; in thick planting Bacchus is no slower in his bounty;

densa sere; in denso non segnior ubere Bacchus;

but if the soil slopes up in mounds and the hills lie back,

sin tumulis adclive solum collisque supinos,

give your rows room; yet none the less, the trees once set,

indulge ordinibus, nec setius omnis in unguem

let every path square true to the cut boundary, to a nail’s breadth.

arboribus positis secto via limite quadret.

As often, in a mighty war, when the legion has deployed

Ut saepe ingenti bello cum longa cohortis

its long cohorts and the column has stood on the open plain,

explicuit legio et campo stetit agmen aperto,

and the lines are dressed, and far and wide all the ground

directaeque acies, ac late fluctuat omnis

rolls with flashing bronze, and not yet do they join the bristling

aere renidenti tellus, necdum horrida miscent

battles, but Mars wanders doubtful amid the arms:

proelia, sed dubius mediis Mars errat in armis:

let all be measured out in even-numbered paths;

omnia sint paribus numeris dimensa viarum;

not only that the prospect may feed the idle mind,

non animum modo uti pascat prospectus inanem,

but because not otherwise will the earth give equal strength

sed quia non aliter viris dabit omnibus aequas

to all, nor will the branches be able to stretch into empty space.

terra neque in vacuum poterunt se extendere rami.

Perhaps, too, you may ask what depth the trenches should have.

Forsitan et scrobibus quae sint fastigia quaeras.

I would dare commit the vine even to a shallow furrow.

ausim vel tenui vitem committere sulco.

Deeper and far down is the tree set fast in the earth,

Altior ac penitus terrae defigitur arbos,

the winter-oak above all, which, as far as it reaches with its crown to the airs

aesculus in primis, quae quantum vertice ad auras

of heaven, so far it stretches with its root toward Tartarus.

aetherias, tantum radice in Tartara tendit.

Therefore neither winters, nor blasts, nor rains

Ergo non hiemes illam, non flabra neque imbres

tear it up; it stands unmoved, and outlasting many descendants,

convellunt; inmota manet, multosque nepotes,

rolling through many ages of men, it conquers by enduring.

multa virum volvens durando saecula vincit.

Then, spreading wide its strong boughs and arms

Tum fortis late ramos et bracchia pandens

this way and that, it sustains a vast shade from its own centre.

huc illuc, media ipsa ingentem sustinet umbram.

Let not your vineyards slope toward the setting sun,

Neve tibi ad solem vergant vineta cadentem,

nor sow the hazel among the vines, nor reach for the topmost

Neve inter vitis corylum sere, neve flagella

shoots, nor break off slips from the top of the tree —

summa pete aut summa defringe ex arbore plantas

so great is their love of earth — nor wound the cuttings

tantus amor terrae—neu ferro laede retunso

with blunt iron, nor graft in stocks of the wild olive:

semina, neve oleae silvestris insere truncos:

for often fire has slipped from careless shepherds,

nam saepe incautis pastoribus excidit ignis,

which, hidden at first by stealth under the oily bark,

qui furtim pingui primum sub cortice tectus

seizes the timber, and, escaping into the high leaves,

robora conprendit frondesque elapsus in altas

has given a huge roar to the sky; thence, following on,

ingentem caelo sonitum dedit; inde secutus

it reigns victorious through the branches and the high tops

per ramos victor perque alta cacumina regnat

and wraps the whole grove in flame and hurls a black,

et totum involvit flammis nemus et ruit atram

thick cloud to the sky in pitchy murk,

ad caelum picea crassus caligine nubem,

above all if a storm from above has settled on the woods

praesertim si tempestas a vertice silvis

and the wind, driving on, gathers the fires together.

incubuit glomeratque ferens incendia ventus.

When this has happened, they have no strength from the stock, and, cut down, cannot

Hoc ubi, non a stirpe valent caesaeque reverti

come back and grow green again, the same, from the deep earth;

possunt atque ima similes revirescere terra;

the barren wild olive survives, with its bitter leaves.

infelix superat foliis oleaster amaris.

Let no counsellor, however shrewd, persuade you

Nec tibi tam prudens quisquam persuadeat auctor

to stir the soil while it lies stiff and the North Wind blows.

tellurem Borea rigidam spirante movere.

Winter then locks the fields with frost, and, the seed once cast,

Rura gelu tum claudit hiems nec semine iacto

does not let the frozen root fasten to the earth.

concretam patitur radicem adfigere terrae.

Best for the vineyards is the planting when, in the blushing spring,

Optima vinetis satio, cum vere rubenti

the white bird comes, hateful to the long snakes,

candida venit avis longis invisa colubris,

or under autumn’s first colds, when the swift Sun

prima vel autumni sub frigora, cum rapidus Sol

does not yet touch winter with his team, and summer is now passing.

nondum hiemem contingit equis, iam praeterit aestas.

Spring above all is good for the leafage of the groves, spring for the woods;

Ver adeo frondi nemorum, ver utile silvis;

in spring the lands swell and call for the seeds of life.

vere tument terrae et genitalia semina poscunt.

Then the almighty Father, Aether, in fruitful rains

Tum pater omnipotens fecundis imbribus Aether

descends into the lap of his glad consort, and, mighty,

coniugis in gremium laetae descendit et omnis

mingled with her mighty body, nourishes all her brood.

magnus alit magno commixtus corpore fetus.

Then the trackless thickets ring with songful birds,

Avia tum resonant avibus virgulta canoris

and the herds renew their loves on the appointed days;

et Venerem certis repetunt armenta diebus;

the kindly field gives birth, and at the warm breezes of the West Wind

parturit almus ager Zephyrique tepentibus auris

the fields loosen their bosoms; a tender moisture brims in all;

laxant arva sinus; superat tener omnibus humor;

and the buds dare to trust themselves safely to the new suns,

inque novos soles audent se germina tuto

nor does the vine-shoot fear the rising south winds

credere, nec metuit surgentis pampinus austros

or the rain driven from the sky by the great north winds,

aut actum caelo magnis aquilonibus imbrem,

but thrusts out its buds and unfolds all its leaves.

sed trudit gemmas et frondes explicat omnis.

I would believe that no other days shone at the first

Non alios prima crescentis origine mundi

birth of the growing world, nor that they held another course:

inluxisse dies aliumve habuisse tenorem

spring it was, that spring the great world was keeping,

crediderim: ver illud erat, ver magnus agebat

and the east winds spared their wintry blasts,

orbis et hibernis parcebant flatibus Euri,

when the first flocks drank in the light, and the earth-born race

cum primae lucem pecudes hausere virumque

of men raised its head from the hard fields,

terrea progenies duris caput extulit arvis,

and the wild beasts were loosed into the woods, and the stars into the sky.

inmissaeque ferae silvis et sidera caelo.

Nor could the tender creatures endure this hardship,

Nec res hunc tenerae possent perferre laborem,

did not so great a rest come between the cold and the heat,

si non tanta quies iret frigusque caloremque

and the indulgence of heaven receive the lands.

inter, et exciperet caeli indulgentia terras.

For the rest, whatever cuttings you set through the fields,

Quod superest, quaecumque premes virgulta per agros,

sprinkle with rich dung and, mindful, cover deep with earth,

sparge fimo pingui et multa memor occule terra,

or bury beside them porous stone or rough shells;

aut lapidem bibulum aut squalentis infode conchas;

for between them the waters will glide, and a thin

inter enim labentur aquae tenuisque subibit

vapour steal up, and the plants will take heart; and men have been found

halitus atque animos tollent sata; iamque reperti,

who weighed them down with a stone above, and the weight of a great potsherd:

qui saxo super atque ingentis pondere testae

this is a defence against the bursting rains,

urgerent; hoc effusos munimen ad imbris,

this for when the heat-bringing Dog splits the gaping fields with thirst.

hoc, ubi hiulca siti findit canis aestifer arva.

The seeds once set, it remains to draw the earth back

Seminibus positis superest diducere terram

again and again about their crowns, and ply the hard mattocks,

saepius ad capita et duros iactare bidentis,

or to work the soil under the pressed share, and steer

aut presso exercere solum sub vomere et ipsa

the straining bullocks themselves among the vineyards;

flectere luctantis inter vineta iuvencos;

then to fit smooth reeds and shafts of peeled rod,

tum levis calamos et rasae hastilia virgae

and ashen stakes, and sturdy forks,

fraxineasque aptare sudes furcasque valentis,

by whose strength they may struggle up and scorn the winds

viribus eniti quarum et contemnere ventos

and learn to climb storey by storey up the elm-tops.

adsuescant summasque sequi tabulata per ulmos.

And while the first age is growing up in new leaves,

Ac dum prima novis adolescit frondibus aetas,

the tender things must be spared, and while the glad shoot

parcendum teneris, et dum se laetus ad auras

drives itself toward the airs, let loose with slack reins through the open,

palmes agit laxis per purum inmissus habenis,

the vine itself must not yet be tried with the hook’s edge, but with curved

ipsa acie nondum falcis temptanda, sed uncis

hands the leaves must be plucked and thinned here and there.

carpendae manibus frondes interque legendae.

Then, when now with strong stems they have climbed and clasped the elms

Inde ubi iam validis amplexae stirpibus ulmos

and gone up, then strip the tresses, then shear the arms —

exierint, tum stringe comas, tum bracchia tonde—

before this they shrink from the iron — then at last

ante reformidant ferrum—tum denique dura

exert your hard commands and curb the streaming branches.

exerce imperia et ramos conpesce fluentis.

Hedges, too, must be woven, and all the flock kept out,

Texendae saepes etiam et pecus omne tenendum,

above all while the leaf is tender and unschooled in hardship;

praecipue dum frons tenera inprudensque laborum;

for upon it, besides the cruel winters and the mighty sun,

cui super indignas hiemes solemque potentem

the wild buffaloes and the dogging roe-deer make

silvestres uri adsidue capreaeque sequaces

their endless sport, the sheep and the greedy heifers feed.

inludunt, pascuntur oves avidaeque iuvencae.

Neither the colds, set hard with hoary frost,

Frigora nec tantum cana concreta pruina

nor the heavy summer bearing down on the parched crags,

aut gravis incumbens scopulis arentibus aestas,

have harmed it so much as the flocks have, and the venom of the hard

quantum illi nocuere greges durique venenum

tooth, and the scar branded on the bitten stock.

dentis et admorso signata in stirpe cicatrix.

For no other fault is the goat slain to Bacchus at every altar,

Non aliam ob culpam Baccho caper omnibus aris

and the old plays come onto the stage,

caeditur et veteres ineunt proscaenia ludi

and the sons of Theseus set prizes for wit

praemiaque ingeniis pagos et compita circum

around the villages and crossroads, and, merry amid the cups,

thesidae posuere atque inter pocula laeti

leaped on the soft meadows over the greased wineskins.

mollibus in pratis unctos saluere per utres.

And likewise the Ausonian settlers, a people sent from Troy,

Nec non Ausonii, Troia gens missa, coloni

sport with unpolished verses and unbridled laughter,

versibus incomptis ludunt risuque soluto

and put on hideous masks of hollowed bark,

oraque corticibus sumunt horrenda cavatis

and call on you, Bacchus, in glad songs, and for you

et te, Bacche, vocant per carmina laeta tibique

hang soft little faces from the tall pine.

oscilla ex alta suspendunt mollia pinu.

From this every vineyard ripens with abundant fruit,

Hinc omnis largo pubescit vinea fetu,

the hollow valleys are filled, and the deep glades,

conplentur vallesque cavae saltusque profundi,

and wherever the god has turned his comely head.

et quocumque deus circum caput egit honestum.

Therefore duly will we pay Bacchus his honour

Ergo rite suum Baccho dicemus honorem

in ancestral songs, and bring platters and cakes,

carminibus patriis lancesque et liba feremus

and the sacred he-goat, led by the horn, will stand at the altar,

et ductus cornu stabit sacer hircus ad aram

and we will roast the rich entrails on spits of hazel-wood.

pinguiaque in veribus torrebimus exta colurnis.

There is, too, that other labour of tending the vines,

Est etiam ille labor curandis vitibus alter,

for which never enough is done, however spent: for every year

cui numquam exhausti satis est: namque omne quot annis

the soil must be broken three times and four, and the clod

terque quaterque solum scindendum glebaque versis

forever shattered with turned mattocks, and the whole grove

aeternum frangenda bidentibus, omne levandum

lightened of its leaves. The farmer’s labour returns, driven round in a circle,

fronde nemus. Redit agricolis labor actus in orbem

and the year rolls back upon itself along its own tracks.

atque in se sua per vestigia volvitur annus.

And now, when the vineyard has long since shed its last leaves

Ac iam olim, seras posuit cum vinea frondes,

and the cold north wind has shaken the glory from the woods,

frigidus et silvis aquilo decussit honorem,

even then the keen countryman stretches his cares into the coming year,

iam tum acer curas venientem extendit in annum

and with the curved tooth of Saturn pursues

rusticus et curvo Saturni dente relictam

and prunes the forsaken vine, shaping it by the cutting.

persequitur vitem attondens fingitque putando.

Be first to dig the ground, first to burn the carted-off

Primus humum fodito, primus devecta cremato

prunings, and first to bring the stakes back under cover;

sarmenta et vallos primus sub tecta referto;

be last to reap. Twice the shade falls thick upon the vines,

postremus metito. Bis vitibus ingruit umbra,

twice the weeds smother the crop with thick briars;

bis segetem densis obducunt sentibus herbae;

each labour is hard: praise great estates,

durus uterque labor: laudato ingentia rura,

but farm a small one. And likewise the rough twigs of butcher’s-broom

exiguum colito. Nec non etiam aspera rusci

are cut through the wood, and the river-reed on the banks,

vimina per silvam et ripis fluvialis arundo

and the care of the untilled willow-bed gives work.

caeditur, incultique exercet cura salicti.

Now the vines are tied, now the orchards lay by the hook,

Iam vinctae vites, iam falcem arbusta reponunt,

now the last vine-dresser sings his finished rows:

iam canit effectos extremus vinitor antes:

yet still the earth must be stirred, the dust raised,

sollicitanda tamen tellus pulvisque movendus

and now, the grapes ripe, Jupiter must be feared.

et iam maturis metuendus Iuppiter uvis.

Against this, there is no tending of the olives; nor do they

Contra non ulla est oleis cultura; neque illae

wait for the curved hook and the clinging mattocks,

procurvam exspectant falcem rastrosque tenacis,

once they have taken hold of the fields and borne the open air;

cum semel haeserunt arvis aurasque tulerunt;

the earth itself, when it is opened with the curved tooth,

ipsa satis tellus, cum dente recluditur unco,

gives moisture enough for the plants, and heavy fruit when ploughed.

sufficit humorem et gravidas, cum vomere, fruges.

For this, rear the rich olive, the tree pleasing to Peace.

Hoc pinguem et placitam Paci nutritor olivam.

Fruit-trees, too, as soon as they have felt their trunks grow strong

Poma quoque, ut primum truncos sensere valentis

and have their own powers, strive swiftly toward the stars

et viris habuere suas, ad sidera raptim

by their own force, needing no help of ours.

vi propria nituntur opisque haud indiga nostrae.

No less, meanwhile, does every grove grow heavy with fruit,

Nec minus interea fetu nemus omne gravescit

and the untilled haunts of birds redden with blood-red berries.

sanguineisque inculta rubent aviaria bacis.

The clovers are cropped, the high wood furnishes pine-torches,

Tondentur cytisi, taedas silva alta ministrat,

and the nightly fires are fed and pour out their light.

pascunturque ignes nocturni et lumina fundunt.

And do men hesitate to plant and to spend their care?

Et dubitant homines serere atque inpendere curam

Why pursue the greater? — willows and lowly broom,

quid maiora sequar?—salices humilesque genestae

either these give the flock their leaf, or the shepherds their shade,

aut illae pecori frondem aut pastoribus umbram

and serve as a hedge for the crops, and as food for the honey —

Sufficiunt saepemque satis et pabula melli—

and it is a joy to look on Cytorus waving with box,

et iuvat undantem buxo spectare Cytorum

and the groves of Narycian pitch; a joy to see fields

naryciaeque picis lucos, iuvat arva videre

beholden to no mattock, to no care of men.

non rastris, hominum non ulli obnoxia curae.

The very barren forests on the Caucasian height,

Ipsae Caucasio steriles in vertice silvae,

which the spirited east winds endlessly break and bear away,

quas animosi Euri adsidue franguntque feruntque,

give each their different yields — they give useful wood,

dant alios aliae fetus, dant utile lignum

the pine for ships, the cedar and cypress for houses.

navigiis pinus, domibus cedrumque cupressosque.

From these the farmers have turned the spokes for their wheels, from these the drums for their waggons,

Hinc radios trivere rotis, hinc tympana plaustris

and laid the curved keels for their boats;

agricolae et pandas ratibus posuere carinas,

the willows are rich in withes, the elms in leaves,

viminibus salices fecundae, frondibus ulmi,

but the myrtle in stout spear-shafts, and the cornel, good for war;

at myrtus validis hastilibus et bona bello

the yews are bent into Iturean bows.

cornus, Ituraeos taxi torquentur in arcus.

Nor do the smooth lindens, or the box shaped on the lathe,

Nec tiliae leves aut torno rasile buxum

fail to take a form and be hollowed with the sharp iron.

non formam accipiunt ferroque cavantur acuto.

And likewise the light alder swims the rushing flood,

Nec non et torrentem undam levis innatat alnus,

launched on the Po; and the bees, too, store their swarms

missa Pado; nec non et apes examina condunt

in hollow bark and in the rotten belly of the ilex.

corticibusque cavis vitiosaeque ilicis alvo.

What that the gifts of Bacchus have brought is as worth recalling?

Quid memorandum aeque Baccheia dona tulerunt

Bacchus gave even occasions for guilt: he tamed with death the raging

Bacchus et ad culpam causas dedit; ille furentis

Centaurs — Rhoetus and Pholus,

centauros leto domuit, Rhoetumque Pholumque

and Hylaeus, threatening the Lapiths with his great wine-bowl.

et magno Hylaeum Lapithis cratere minantem.

O farmers too fortunate, did they but know their blessings,

O fortunatos nimium, sua si bona norint,

for whom, far from the clash of arms, the most just earth

agricolas! quibus ipsa procul discordibus armis

of herself pours from the soil an easy living!

fundit humo facilem victum iustissima tellus.

If no high house, with proud doors,

Si non ingentem foribus domus alta superbis

spews from all its halls a great wave of morning callers,

mane salutantum totis vomit aedibus undam,

and they do not gape at doorposts inlaid with lovely tortoise-shell,

nec varios inhiant pulchra testudine postis

at garments tricked with gold, at Corinthian bronzes,

inlusasque auro vestes Ephyreiaque aera,

nor is the white wool stained with Assyrian poison,

alba neque Assyrio fucatur lana veneno

nor the use of their clear oil spoiled with cassia:

nec casia liquidi corrumpitur usus olivi:

yet untroubled rest is theirs, and a life that knows not how to cheat,

at secura quies et nescia fallere vita,

rich in its varied wealth; theirs the ease of broad estates —

dives opum variarum, at latis otia fundis—

caverns and living lakes and cool Tempe,

speluncae vivique lacus et frigida Tempe

the lowing of cattle and soft slumbers beneath a tree —

mugitusque boum mollesque sub arbore somni—

are not wanting; there are glades and the lairs of wild beasts,

non absunt; illic saltus ac lustra ferarum

a youth patient of toil and inured to little,

et patiens operum exiguoque adsueta iuventus,

the rites of the gods and revered fathers; among them Justice,

sacra deum sanctique patres; extrema per illos

as she left the earth, set her last footprints.

iustitia excedens terris vestigia fecit.

But me, first of all, before all else, may the sweet Muses,

Me vero primum dulces ante omnia Musae,

whose holy things I bear, struck through with a mighty love,

quarum sacra fero ingenti percussus amore,

receive, and show me the ways of heaven and the stars,

accipiant caelique vias et sidera monstrent,

the sun’s many eclipses and the moon’s labours;

defectus solis varios lunaeque labores;

whence comes the trembling of the lands; by what force the deep seas swell,

unde tremor terris, qua vi maria alta tumescant

their barriers burst, and sink back again into themselves;

obicibus ruptis rursusque in se ipsa residant,

why the winter suns hasten so to dip themselves in Ocean,

quid tantum Oceano properent se tinguere soles

or what delay stands in the way of the slow nights.

hiberni, vel quae tardis mora noctibus obstet.

But if, that I may not reach these regions of nature,

Sin, has ne possim naturae accedere partis,

the cold blood about my heart should bar the way:

frigidus obstiterit circum praecordia sanguis:

then let the countryside please me, and the streams that water the valleys;

rura mihi et rigui placeant in vallibus amnes,

let me love the rivers and the woods, inglorious. O where are the plains,

flumina amem silvasque inglorius. O ubi campi

and the Spercheus, and Taygetus, ranged in revel by the Spartan

Spercheosque et virginibus bacchata Lacaenis

maidens! O who will set me in the cool valleys of Haemus

Taygeta! O, qui me gelidis convallibus Haemi

and shelter me under the vast shade of its branches!

sistat et ingenti ramorum protegat umbra!

Happy is he who has been able to learn the causes of things,

Felix, qui potuit rerum cognoscere causas,

and has cast beneath his feet all fears, and inexorable fate,

atque metus omnis et inexorabile fatum

and the roar of greedy Acheron.

subiecit pedibus strepitumque Acherontis avari.

Fortunate, too, is he who knows the country gods,

Fortunatus et ille, deos qui novit agrestis,

Pan, and old Silvanus, and the sister Nymphs:

panaque Silvanumque senem Nymphasque sorores:

him neither the people’s rods of office, nor the purple of kings,

illum non populi fasces, non purpura regum

has swayed, nor the discord that sets faithless brothers at odds,

flexit et infidos agitans discordia fratres

nor the Dacian coming down from the confederate Danube,

aut coniurato descendens Dacus ab Histro,

nor the Roman state and the kingdoms doomed to fall; nor did he

non res Romanae perituraque regna; neque ille

either grieve in pity for the poor, or envy the man who had;

aut doluit miserans inopem aut invidit habenti

the fruits that the boughs, the fruits that the willing fields themselves

quos rami fructus, quos ipsa volentia rura

bore of their own accord, he plucked; nor did he see the iron laws,

sponte tulere sua, carpsit; nec ferrea iura

the maddened Forum, or the public archives.

insanumque forum aut populi tabularia vidit.

Others vex the blind seas with their oars, and rush

sollicitant alii remis freta caeca ruuntque

upon the sword, force their way into courts and the thresholds of kings;

in ferrum, penetrant aulas et limina regum;

one aims at the city’s ruin and its wretched household gods,

hic petit excidiis urbem miserosque Penatis,

that he may drink from jewels and sleep on Tyrian purple;

ut gemma bibat et Sarrano dormiat ostro;

another hoards up wealth and broods over buried gold;

condit opes alius defossoque incubat auro;

one is stupefied, thunderstruck, before the Rostra; another the applause,

hic stupet attonitus rostris; hunc plausus hiantem

redoubled through the tiers — for it comes from commons and fathers alike —

per cuneos—geminatus enim plebisque patrumque—

has carried away, openmouthed; they rejoice, drenched in their brothers’ blood,

corripuit; gaudent perfusi sanguine fratrum,

and exchange their homes and sweet thresholds for exile,

exsilioque domos et dulcia limina mutant

and seek a fatherland that lies under another sun.

atque alio patriam quaerunt sub sole iacentem.

The farmer has cleft the earth with his curved plough:

Agricola incurvo terram dimovit aratro:

from this the year’s work, from this he sustains his country and his little grandchildren,

hinc anni labor, hinc patriam parvosque nepotes

from this his herds of oxen and his deserving steers.

sustinet, hinc armenta boum meritosque iuvencos.

Nor is there rest, but the year overflows either with fruit,

Nec requies, quin aut pomis exuberet annus

or with the young of the flocks, or with the sheaf of Ceres’ stalk,

aut fetu pecorum aut cerealis mergite culmi,

and loads the furrows with increase and overwhelms the barns.

proventuque oneret sulcos atque horrea vincat.

Winter comes: the Sicyonian berry is crushed in the presses,

Venit hiems: teritur Sicyonia baca trapetis,

the swine come home glad with acorns, the woods give arbutes;

glande sues laeti redeunt, dant arbuta silvae;

and autumn lays down its varied fruits, and high

et varios ponit fetus autumnus et alte

on the sunny rocks the mellow vintage ripens.

mitis in apricis coquitur vindemia saxis.

Meanwhile his sweet children hang about his kisses,

Interea dulces pendent circum oscula nati,

his chaste house keeps its purity, the cows let down

casta pudicitiam servat domus, ubera vaccae

their milk-full udders, and on the glad grass the fat kids

lactea demittunt pinguesque in gramine laeto

wrestle together, horn against opposing horn.

inter se adversis luctantur cornibus haedi.

He himself keeps the holy days, and, stretched on the grass,

Ipse dies agitat festos fususque per herbam,

where the fire is in the midst and his comrades wreathe the bowl,

ignis ubi in medio et socii cratera coronant,

pouring to you, Lenaeus, he calls on you, and for the masters of the flock

te libans, Lenaee, vocat pecorisque magistris

sets contests of the swift javelin on an elm,

velocis iaculi certamina ponit in ulmo,

and they bare their hardy bodies for the rustic wrestling.

corporaque agresti nudant praedura palaestrae.

This life the old Sabines once lived,

Hanc olim veteres vitam coluere Sabini,

this Remus and his brother; thus brave Etruria grew strong,

hanc Remus et frater, sic fortis Etruria crevit

and Rome, in truth, became the fairest thing on earth,

scilicet et rerum facta est pulcherrima Roma,

and alone girdled her seven hills with a single wall.

septemque una sibi muro circumdedit arces.

Even before the sceptre of the Dictaean king, and before

Ante etiam sceptrum Dictaei regis et ante

the impious race feasted on slaughtered bullocks,

inpia quam caesis gens est epulata iuvencis,

golden Saturn led this life on earth;

aureus hanc vitam in terris Saturnus agebat;

nor had men yet heard the war-trumpets blown, nor yet

necdum etiam audierant inflari classica, necdum

the swords clang, laid out on the hard anvils.

inpositos duris crepitare incudibus enses.

But we have traversed a measureless plain in our course,

Sed nos inmensum spatiis confecimus aequor,

and now it is time to loose the steaming necks of our horses.

et iam tempus equum fumantia solvere colla.

You too, great Pales, and you, shepherd of Amphrysus worthy of memory,

Te quoque, magna Pales, et te memorande canemus

we will sing, and you, woods and rivers of Lycaeus.

pastor ab Amphryso, vos, silvae amnesque Lycaei.

All else, that might have held idle minds with song,

Cetera, quae vacuas tenuissent carmine mentes,

is now grown common: who does not know hard Eurystheus,

omnia iam volgata: quis aut Eurysthea durum

or the altars of unpraisable Busiris?

aut inlaudati nescit Busiridis aras?

By whom is the boy Hylas untold, and Latona’s Delos,

Cui non dictus Hylas puer et Latonia Delos

and Hippodame, and Pelops, marked by his ivory shoulder,

Hippodameque umeroque Pelops insignis eburno,

fierce with horses? A path must be tried by which I, too, may

acer equis? Temptanda via est, qua me quoque possim

lift myself from the ground and fly, victorious, through the mouths of men.

tollere humo victorque virum volitare per ora.

First, if only life remain, I will lead the Muses

Primus ego in patriam mecum, modo vita supersit,

home with me, returning from the Aonian peak;

Aonio rediens deducam vertice Musas;

first I will bring back to you, Mantua, the palms of Idumaea,

primus Idumaeas referam tibi, Mantua, palmas,

and on the green plain I will raise a temple of marble

et viridi in campo templum de marmore ponam

beside the water, where great Mincius wanders in slow

propter aquam. Tardis ingens ubi flexibus errat

windings and fringes his banks with tender reed.

Mincius et tenera praetexit arundine ripas.

In the midst Caesar shall be mine, and shall keep the shrine:

In medio mihi Caesar erit templumque tenebit:

for him I, victor, conspicuous in Tyrian purple,

illi victor ego et Tyrio conspectus in ostro

will drive a hundred four-horsed chariots beside the streams.

centum quadriiugos agitabo ad flumina currus.

For me all Greece, leaving the Alpheus and the groves of Molorchus,

Cuncta mihi Alpheum linquens lucosque Molorchi

will contend in running and with the raw-hide glove.

cursibus et crudo decernet Graecia caestu.

I myself, my head decked with the leaves of the shorn olive,

Ipse caput tonsae foliis ornatus olivae

will bring the gifts. Even now it is a joy to lead the solemn processions

dona feram. Iam nunc sollemnis ducere pompas

to the shrines, and to see the bullocks slain,

ad delubra iuvat caesosque videre iuvencos,

or how the scene parts as its panels turn,

vel scaena ut versis discedat frontibus utque

and how the Britons, woven in, lift the purple curtains.

purpurea intexti tollant aulaea Britanni.

On the doors I will fashion, of gold and solid ivory,

In foribus pugnam ex auro solidoque elephanto

the battle of the Gangaridae and the arms of conquering Quirinus,

Gangaridum faciam victorisque arma Quirini,

and here the Nile, surging with war and flowing mighty,

atque hic undantem bello magnumque fluentem

and columns rising of the bronze of ships.

Nilum ac navali surgentis aere columnas.

I will add the cities of Asia subdued, and Niphates driven back,

Addam urbes Asiae domitas pulsumque Niphaten

and the Parthian trusting in flight and in backward-shot arrows,

fidentemque fuga Parthum versisque sagittis,

and two trophies snatched by force from foes on either hand,

et duo rapta manu diverso ex hoste tropaea

and the peoples twice triumphed over, from each shore.

bisque triumphatas utroque ab litore gentes.

And the marbles of Paros shall stand, breathing statues,

Stabunt et Parii lapides, spirantia signa,

the seed of Assaracus, and the names of the line

Assaraci proles demissaeque ab Iove gentis

descended from Jove, and father Tros, and the Cynthian founder of Troy.

nomina, Trosque parens et Troiae Cynthius auctor.

Wretched Envy shall dread the Furies and the grim stream

Invidia infelix Furias amnemque severum

of Cocytus, and the twisted snakes of Ixion,

Cocyti metuet tortosque Ixionis anguis

and the monstrous wheel, and the stone that cannot be overcome.

immanemque rotam et non exsuperabile saxum.

Meanwhile let us follow the Dryads’ woods and the untouched

Interea Dryadum silvas saltusque sequamur

glades — your commands, Maecenas, no easy ones.

intactos, tua, Maecenas, haud mollia iussa.

Without you my mind begins nothing lofty; come, break off

Te sine nil altum mens incohat; en age segnis

sluggish delays; Cithaeron calls with a mighty cry,

rumpe moras; vocat ingenti clamore Cithaeron

and the hounds of Taygetus, and Epidaurus, tamer of horses,

Taygetique canes domitrixque Epidaurus equorum

and the cry, redoubled by the woods’ assent, roars back.

et vox adsensu nemorum ingeminata remugit.

Yet soon I will gird myself to tell of the burning battles

Mox tamen ardentis accingar dicere pugnas

of Caesar, and to bear his name in fame through as many years

Caesaris et nomen fama tot ferre per annos,

as Caesar is removed from the first birth of Tithonus.

Tithoni prima quot abest ab origine Caesar.

Whether a man, in awe of the prize of the Olympic palm,

Seu quis Olympiacae miratus praemia palmae

keeps horses, or another keeps strong bullocks for the plough,

pascit equos seu quis fortis ad aratra iuvencos,

let him choose, above all, the bodies of the mothers. The best shape

corpora praecipue matrum legat. Optuma torvae

for a grim-browed cow is an ugly head, a great neck,

forma bovis, cui turpe caput, cui plurima cervix,

and dewlaps that hang from chin to legs;

et crurum tenus a mento palearia pendent;

then no limit to her long flank; all parts large,

tum longo nullus lateri modus; omnia magna,

the foot too; and under crooked horns shaggy ears.

pes etiam; et camuris hirtae sub cornibus aures.

Nor would I dislike one marked with spots and white,

Nec mihi displiceat maculis insignis et albo,

or one that balks at the yoke and is at times rough with the horn,

aut iuga detractans interdumque aspera cornu

nearer in face to a bull, who is tall in all her frame

et faciem tauro propior, quaeque ardua tota,

and, as she walks, sweeps her own tracks with the tip of her tail.

et gradiens ima verrit vestigia cauda,

The age to suffer Lucina and lawful wedlock

Aetas Lucinam iustosque pati hymenaeos

ends before the tenth year, begins after the fourth;

desinit ante decem, post quattuor incipit annos;

the rest is neither fit for breeding nor strong for the plough.

cetera nec feturae habilis nec fortis aratris.

Meanwhile, while glad youth abounds in the herds,

Interea, superat gregibus dum laeta iuventas,

loose the males; be first to send your cattle to their loves,

solve mares; mitte in Venerem pecuaria primus,

and by breeding supply offspring after offspring.

atque aliam ex alia generando suffice prolem.

For wretched mortals the best days of life are ever

Optuma quaeque dies miseris mortalibus aevi

the first to flee; diseases come on, and sad old age,

prima fugit; subeunt morbi tristisque senectus

and toil, and the harshness of unrelenting death sweeps them away.

et labor, et durae rapit inclementia mortis.

There will always be some whose bodies you would wish replaced:

Semper erunt, quarum mutari corpora malis:

so always renew them, and, lest you miss them once lost,

semper enim refice ac, ne post amissa requiras,

come before, and choose the herd’s increase each year.

ante veni et subolem armento sortire quotannis.

Likewise, for the breed of horses there is the same selecting.

Nec non et pecori est idem dilectus equino.

You only, on those you will rear as the hope of their kind,

Tu modo, quos in spem statues submittere gentis,

spend chief care from their tender years onward.

praecipuum iam inde a teneris impende laborem.

At once the foal of noble stock steps higher in the fields

Continuo pecoris generosi pullus in arvis

and sets down his supple legs;

altius ingreditur et mollia crura reponit;

first he dares to lead the way and try the threatening rivers

primus et ire viam et fluvios temptare minaces

and trust himself to an unknown bridge,

audet et ignoto sese committere ponti

and starts not at empty noises. His neck is high,

nec vanos horret strepitus. Illi ardua cervix

his head fine-drawn, his belly short, his back full,

argutumque caput, brevis alvus obesaque terga,

and his spirited breast riots with muscle. The bays and greys

luxuriatque toris animosum pectus. Honesti

are good of colour; the worst hue is the white and the dun.

spadices glaucique, color deterrimus albis

Then, if from afar arms have given any sound,

et gilvo. Tum, si qua sonum procul arma dedere

he cannot keep his place: his ears prick, he trembles in his limbs,

stare loco nescit, micat auribus et tremit artus

and, snorting, rolls the gathered fire beneath his nostrils.

collectumque premens volvit sub naribus ignem.

His mane is thick, and, tossed, falls back upon the right shoulder;

Densa iuba, et dextro iactata recumbit in armo;

a double spine runs along his loins, and his hoof

at duplex agitur per lumbos spina, cavatque

scoops the earth and rings heavy with the solid horn.

tellurem et solido graviter sonat ungula cornu.

Such was Cyllarus, tamed by the reins of Amyclaean Pollux,

Talis Amyclaei domitus Pollucis habenis

and such — those whom the Greek poets remembered —

Cyllarus et, quorum Grai meminere poetae,

the paired horses of Mars and the team of great Achilles.

Martis equi biiuges et magni currus Achilli.

Such, too, was swift Saturn himself, who, at his wife’s coming,

Talis et ipse iubam cervice effundit equina

poured a mane along his horse’s neck, and, fleeing,

coniugis adventu pernix Saturnus et altum

filled high Pelion with his shrill neighing.

Pelion hinnitu fugiens implevit acuto.

Him too, when, heavy with disease or now too slow with years,

Hunc quoque, ubi aut morbo gravis aut iam segnior annis

he fails, shut up at home, and pardon not his shameful age.

deficit, abde domo nec turpi ignosce senectae.

Cold to love when old, in vain he drags the thankless

frigidus in Venerem senior, frustraque laborem

toil, and, when it ever comes to the encounter,

ingratum trahit, et, si quando ad proelia ventum est,

as a great fire in stubble, without strength,

ut quondam in stipulis magnus sine viribus ignis,

he rages for nothing. Therefore mark, above all, the spirit and the age;

incassum furit. Ergo animos aevumque notabis

then the other arts, and the breeding of their sires,

praecipue; hinc alias artis prolemque parentum

and what grief each feels in defeat, what glory in the palm.

et quis cuique dolor victo, quae gloria palmae.

Do you not see, when in headlong contest the chariots

Nonne vides, cum praecipiti certamine campum

have seized the course and pour from the starting-gate,

corripuere ruuntque effusi carcere currus,

when the young men’s hopes are strung high, and throbbing fear

cum spes arrectae iuvenum, exsultantiaque haurit

drains their leaping hearts? They press on with the twisted lash

corda pavor pulsans? Illi instant verbere torto

and, leaning forward, give the reins; the axle flies, white-hot with speed;

et proni dant lora, volat vi fervidus axis;

now low, now lifted aloft, they seem to be borne

iamque humiles, iamque elati sublime videntur

through the empty air and to rise into the breezes;

aera per vacuum ferri atque adsurgere in auras;

no pause, no rest; but a cloud of tawny sand

nec mora nec requies; at fulvae nimbus harenae

is raised, and they are wet with the foam and breath of those behind:

tollitur, umescunt spumis flatuque sequentum:

so great is their love of praise, so dear to them is victory.

tantus amor laudum, tantae est victoria curae.

Erichthonius was first who dared to yoke the chariot and four

Primus Erichthonius currus et quattuor ausus

horses, and, swift and victorious, to stand upon the wheels.

iungere equos rapidusque rotis insistere victor

The Lapiths of Pelethronium gave the bit and the wheeling rings,

Frena Pelethronii Lapithae gyrosque dedere

mounted on the horse’s back, and taught the rider under arms

impositi dorso atque equitem docuere sub armis

to prance upon the ground and gather his proud paces.

insultare solo et gressus glomerare superbos.

Either labour is equal; alike the trainers seek out the young horse,

Aequus uterque labor, aeque iuvenemque magistri

hot in spirit and keen in the running,

exquirunt calidumque animis et cursibus acrem,

however often that other has driven routed foes in flight,

quamvis saepe fuga versos ille egerit hostis

and claims Epirus for his country and brave Mycenae,

et patriam Epirum referat fortisque Mycenas

and traces his breed from the very origin of Neptune.

Neptunique ipsa deducat origine gentem.

These things observed, they bend their effort, as the time draws near,

His animadversis instant sub tempus et omnis

and lay out all their care to swell with thick fat

impendunt curas denso distendere pingui,

the one they have chosen as leader and named the herd’s mate;

quem legere ducem et pecori dixere maritum;

they cut the flowering grasses and furnish streams

florentisque secant herbas fluviosque ministrant

and grain, lest he prove unequal to the winsome toil

farraque, ne blando nequeat superesse labori

and the weak young show their fathers’ starving.

invalidique patrum referant ieiunia nati.

But the herds themselves they thin, on purpose, to leanness,

Ipsa autem macie tenuant armenta volentes,

and, when now the familiar pleasure stirs them to their first

atque, ubi concubitus primos iam nota voluptas

matings, they deny them leaves and keep them from the springs.

sollicitat, frondesque negant et fontibus arcent.

Often, too, they shake them with running and tire them in the sun,

Saepe etiam cursu quatiunt et sole fatigant,

when the floor groans under the heavily threshed grain

cum graviter tunsis gemit area frugibus et cum

and the empty chaff is tossed at the rising West Wind.

surgentem ad Zephyrum paleae iactantur inanes.

This they do, lest by too much indulgence the use of the breeding field

Hoc faciunt, nimio ne luxu obtunsior usus

grow blunted and clog the idle furrows,

sit genitali arvo et sulcos oblimet inertis,

but, thirsting, may seize on love and store it the deeper within.

sed rapiat sitiens Venerem interiusque recondat.

Again the care of the sires begins to slacken, and that of the mothers

Rursus cura patrum cadere et succedere matrum

to take its place. When their months run out and they wander heavy,

incipit. Exactis gravidae cum mensibus errant,

let no one suffer them to draw the yokes of heavy waggons,

non illas gravibus quisquam iuga ducere plaustris,

nor to clear the road with a leap, nor in keen

non saltu superare viam sit passus et acri

flight to scour the meadows, nor to swim the racing rivers.

carpere prata fuga fluviosque innare rapacis.

They feed them in open glades and beside brimming

Saltibus in vacuis pascunt et plena secundum

rivers, where there is moss and the bank is greenest with grass,

flumina, muscus ubi et viridissima gramine ripa,

and where caverns may shelter them and a rock’s shadow stretch over.

speluncaeque tegant et saxea procubet umbra.

About the groves of Silarus and Alburnus green with ilex

Est lucos Silari circa ilicibusque; virentem

there swarms in flight, in number, a fly — the Roman name

plurimus Alburnum volitans, cui nomen asilo

for it is "asilus," but the Greeks, translating, called it "oestrus" —

Romanum est, oestrum Grai vertere vocantes,

fierce, shrill-sounding, before which whole herds, terrified,

asper, acerba sonans, quo tota exterrita silvis

scatter through the woods; the air, struck, roars with their bellowing,

diffugiunt armenta; furit mugitibus aether

and the woods, and the bank of dry Tanager.

concussus silvaeque et sicci ripa Tanagri.

With this monster Juno once worked her dreadful wrath,

Hoc quondam monstro horribilis exercuit iras

devising a plague for the heifer-daughter of Inachus.

Inachiae Iuno pestem meditata iuvencae.

This too — for it presses keener in the midday heats —

Hunc quoque, nam mediis fervoribus acrior instat,

you will keep off the breeding herd, and pasture the cattle

arcebis gravido pecori, armentaque pasces

when the sun is freshly risen, or while the stars bring on the night.

sole recens orto aut noctem ducentibus astris.

After the birth, all the care passes to the calves,

Post partum cura in vitulos traducitur omnis,

and at once they brand the marks and names of the breed,

continuoque notas et nomina gentis inurunt

and choose which they would rather rear to keep the stock,

et quos aut pecori malint submittere habendo

or keep sacred for the altars, or to cleave the earth

aut aris servare sacros aut scindere terram

and turn up the bristling plain with its broken clods.

et campum horrentem fractis invertere glaebis.

The rest of the herd graze through the green grass:

Cetera pascuntur viridis armenta per herbas:

but those you will shape to zeal and to country use,

Tu quos ad studium atque usum formabis agrestem,

urge on while still calves, and set upon the way of taming,

iam vitulos hortare viamque insiste domandi,

while the minds of the young are pliant, while the age is supple.

dum faciles animi iuvenum, dum mobilis aetas.

And first bind loose collars of slender osier

Ac primum laxos tenui de vimine circlos

about the neck; then, when their free necks

cervici subnecte; dehinc, ubi libera colla

have grown used to service, yoke them, matched and fitted

servitio adsuerint, ipsis e torquibus aptos

from those same collars, and force the bullocks to keep step;

iunge pares et coge gradum conferre iuvencos;

and let the empty wheels now often be drawn by them

atque illis iam saepe rotae ducantur inanes

over the ground, and mark their tracks in the surface dust;

per terram et summo vestigia pulvere signent;

afterward let the beechen axle, straining under a heavy load,

post valido nitens sub pondere faginus axis

creak, and the bronze-tipped pole drag the joined wheels.

instrepat et iunctos temo trahat aereus orbes.

Meanwhile, for the unbroken young, you will pluck by hand not grass alone,

Interea pubi indomitae non gramina tantum

nor the thin leaves of willows and the marsh-sedge,

nec vescas salicum frondes ulvamque palustrem,

but the sown corn; nor, in our fathers’ way, will the cows newly calved

sed frumenta manu carpes sata; nec tibi fetae

fill for you the snow-white milk-pails,

more patrum nivea implebunt mulctraria vaccae,

but spend their whole udders on their sweet young.

sed tota in dulcis consument ubera natos.

But if your bent is rather toward war and fierce squadrons,

Sin ad bella magis studium turmasque ferocis,

or to glide on wheels past the Alphean streams of Pisa

aut Alphea rotis praelabi flumina Pisae

and drive the flying chariots in the grove of Jove:

et Iovis in luco currus agitare volantis:

the horse’s first task is to behold the spirit and the arms

primus equi labor est, animos atque arma videre

of warriors, to bear the trumpets, and to suffer the groaning

bellantum lituosque pati tractuque gementem

wheel in its drawing, and to hear the bridles ring in the stall;

ferre rotam et stabulo frenos audire sonantis;

then more and more to delight in the winsome

tum magis atque magis blandis gaudere magistri

praises of his trainer, and to love the sound of the patted neck.

laudibus et plausae sonitum cervicis amare.

And let him dare this even now, just weaned from his mother’s udder,

Atque haec iam primo depulsus ab ubere matris

and in turn give his mouth to soft halters,

audeat, inque vicem det mollibus ora capistris

still weak and trembling, still ignorant of his years.

invalidus etiamque tremens, etiam inscius aevi.

But when three summers are past and the fourth has come on,

At tribus exactis ubi quarta accesserit aestas,

let him soon begin to circle the ring and to ring out

carpere mox gyrum incipiat gradibusque sonare

with measured paces, and bend the alternate curves of his legs,

compositis sinuetque alterna volumina crurum

and be like one toiling; then let him challenge the winds

sitque laboranti similis; tum cursibus auras,

in his running, and, flying through the open as if free of the reins,

tum vocet, ac per aperta volans ceu liber habenis

scarcely set the tips of his hoofs on the surface sand;

aequora vix summa vestigia ponat harena;

as when the North Wind, dense from the Hyperborean shores,

qualis Hyperboreis Aquilo cum densus ab oris

has fallen on, and scatters the storms of Scythia and the dry

incubuit, Scythiaeque hiemes atque arida differt

clouds: then the deep cornfields and the swimming plains

nubila: tum segetes altae campique natantes

shudder under the gentle gusts, the tops of the woods

lenibus horrescunt flabris summaeque sonorem

give out a sound, and the long waves press toward the shores;

dant silvae longique urgent ad litora fluctus;

he flies, sweeping in his course both the fields and the levels of the sea.

ille volat simul arva fuga, simul aequora verrens

Hence either, at the goal of Elis, he will sweat over the vast

Hinc vel ad Elei metas et maxuma campi

spaces of the field and fling bloody foam from his mouth,

sudabit spatia et spumas aget ore cruentas,

or better, with soft neck, will draw the Belgic war-cars.

Belgica vel molli melius feret esseda collo.

Then at last let their great bodies grow on thick mash,

Tum demum crassa magnum farragine corpus

once they are broken: for before the taming

crescere iam domitis sinito: namque ante domandum

they will raise too high a spirit, and, if caught, refuse

ingentis tollent animos prensique negabunt

to bear the pliant lash and obey the hard curb-bit.

verbera lenta pati et duris parere lupatis.

But no diligence so confirms their strength

Sed non ulla magis viris industria firmat,

as to turn aside love and the goads of blind desire,

quam Venerem et caeci stimulos avertere amoris,

whether one prefers the use of oxen or of horses.

sive boum sive est cui gratior usus equorum.

And therefore they banish the bulls far off, to lonely

Atque ideo tauros procul atque in sola relegant

pastures, behind an opposing mountain and across broad rivers,

pascua post montem oppositum et trans flumina lata,

or keep them shut up within, at full mangers.

aut intus clausos satura ad praesepia servant.

For the female little by little wears away his strength and burns him by the sight,

Carpit enim viris paulatim uritque videndo

nor does she let him remember the woods or the grass —

femina nec nemorum patitur meminisse nec herbae

she, indeed, with her sweet allurements — and often she drives

dulcibus illa quidem inlecebris, et saepe superbos

the proud lovers to fight it out between them with the horn.

cornibus inter se subigit decernere amantis.

In great Sila the lovely heifer grazes:

Pascitur in magna Sila formosa iuvenca:

the bulls, taking turns, join battle with great force

illi alternantes multa vi proelia miscent

and frequent wounds; black blood bathes their bodies,

volneribus crebris, lavit ater corpora sanguis,

and the horns are driven, lowered, against the resisting foe

versaque in obnixos urguentur cornua vasto

with a vast bellowing; the woods and long Olympus roar back.

cum gemitu, reboant silvaeque et longus Olympus

Nor is it the way of the warring to stall together, but the one,

Nec mos bellantis una stabulare, sed alter

beaten, goes off and lives in exile far on unknown shores,

victus abit longeque ignotis exulat oris,

groaning much over the disgrace, the blows of the proud

multa gemens ignominiam plagasque superbi

victor, and then the love he lost, unavenged;

victoris, tum, quos amisit inultus, amores;

and, gazing back at his stalls, he has quit his ancestral realm.

et stabula aspectans regnis excessit avitis.

So with all care he trains his strength, and among

Ergo omni cura viris exercet et inter

hard rocks lies all night on an unstrewn bed,

dura iacet pernix instrato saxa cubili

fed on prickly leaves and sharp sedge,

frondibus hirsutis et carice pastus acuta,

and tries himself, and learns to vent his rage upon his horns,

et temptat sese atque irasci in cornua discit

butting against a tree’s trunk, and lashes the winds

arboris obnixus trunco ventosque lacessit

with his blows, and rehearses the fight by pawing the scattered sand.

ictibus et sparsa ad pugnam proludit harena.

Afterward, when his strength is gathered and his powers restored,

Post ubi collectum robur viresque refectae

he moves his standards and is borne headlong against the unmindful foe:

signa movet praecepsque oblitum fertur in hostem:

as a wave, when it begins to whiten in mid-sea,

fluctus uti medio coepit cum albescere ponto

draws its curve from far in the deep, and, rolling

longius ex altoque sinum trahit, utque volutus

toward the land, roars monstrous among the rocks, and falls

ad terras immane sonat per saxa neque ipso

no smaller than a very mountain, while the water deep below

monte minor procumbit, at ima exaestuat unda

boils up in eddies and flings the black sand high.

verticibus nigramque alte subiectat harenam.

Indeed every kind on earth, of men and of beasts,

Omne adeo genus in terris hominumque ferarumque,

the race of the sea, the cattle and the painted birds,

et genus aequoreum, pecudes pictaeque volucres,

rush into the same frenzy and fire: love is the same for all.

in furias. ignemque ruunt. Amor omnibus idem.

At no other time does the lioness, forgetful of her cubs,

Tempore non alio catulorum oblita leaena

roam the plains more savagely, nor have the shapeless bears

saevior erravit campis, nec funera volgo

dealt so many deaths and havoc far and wide

tam multa informes ursi stragemque dedere

through the woods; then the boar is fierce, then the tigress worst of all;

per silvas; tum saevus aper, tum pessima tigris;

alas, then it is ill to wander in the lonely fields of Libya.

heu male tum Libyae solis erratur in agris.

Do you not see how a trembling runs through the whole frame

Nonne vides, ut tota tremor pertemptet equorum

of horses, if only a scent has brought the familiar breath?

corpora, si tantum notas odor attulit auras?

And now neither the bridles of men nor the cruel lash,

Ac neque eos iam frena virum neque verbera saeva

not the crags and hollow rocks, hold them back, nor the rivers thrown in their path,

non scopuli rupesque cavae atque obiecta retardant

that whirl whole mountains, torn away, on their flood.

flumina correptosque unda torquentia montis.

The Sabellian boar himself rushes on and whets his tusks,

Ipse ruit dentesque Sabellicus exacuit sus

roots the earth with his foot, rubs his ribs against a tree,

et pede prosubigit terram, fricat arbore costas

and on this side and on that hardens his shoulders to the wounds.

atque hinc atque illinc umeros ad volnera durat.

What of the young man in whose bones harsh love

Quid iuvenis, magnum cui versat in ossibus ignem

turns its great fire? Sure enough, late in the blind night

durus amor? Nempe abruptis turbata procellis

he swims the straits, churned by the bursting squalls; over him

nocte natat caeca serus freta; quem super ingens

the vast gate of heaven thunders, and the seas, dashed on the rocks,

porta tonat caeli et scopulis inlisa reclamant

cry back; nor can his wretched parents call him home,

aequora; nec miseri possunt revocare parentes

nor the maiden who must die above him by his cruel death.

nec moritura super crudeli funere virgo.

What of the dappled lynxes of Bacchus, the fierce breed of wolves

Quid lynces Bacchi variae et genus acre luporum

and dogs? What battles do the unwarlike stags give?

atque canum? Quid, quae imbelles dant proelia cervi?

But beyond all the frenzy of mares is conspicuous;

Scilicet ante omnis furor est insignis equarum;

and Venus herself gave them that temper, in the hour when the team

et mentem Venus ipsa dedit, quo tempore Glauci

of Potniae devoured the limbs of Glaucus with their jaws.

Potniades malis membra absumpsere quadrigae.

Love leads them over Gargarus and over the sounding

Illas ducit amor trans Gargara transque sonantem

Ascanius; they climb the mountains, they swim the rivers.

Ascanium; superant montis et flumina tranant.

And at once, when the flame is set beneath their greedy marrow —

Continuoque avidis ubi subdita flamma medullis,

in spring the more, for in spring the heat returns to the bones —

vere magis, quia vere calor redit ossibus: illae

they all stand, turned to face the West Wind on the high cliffs,

ore omnes versae in Zephyrum stant rupibus altis,

and drink in the light breezes, and often, without any

exceptantque levis auras et saepe sine ullis

mating, big with the wind — wondrous to tell —

coniugiis vento gravidae, mirabile dictu,

flee away over rocks and crags and the sunken valleys,

saxa per et scopulos et depressas convallis

not toward your quarter, East Wind, nor toward the sun’s rising,

diffugiunt, non, Eure, tuos, neque solis ad ortus,

but to the North and the Northwest, or where the blackest south wind

in Borean caurumque, aut unde nigerrimus auster

is born and saddens the sky with rainy cold.

nascitur et pluvio contristat frigore caelum.

Here at last the slow poison the shepherds rightly call

Hic demum, hippomanes vero quod nomine dicunt

"hippomanes" drips from the groin,

pastores, lentum destillat ab inguine virus,

hippomanes, which evil stepmothers have often gathered

hippomanes, quod saepe malae legere novercae

and mixed with herbs and spells that are not harmless.

miscueruntque herbas et non innoxia verba.

But meanwhile it flees, irrecoverable time flees,

Sed fugit interea, fugit inreparabile tempus,

while, captive to our love, we linger over each detail.

singula dum capti circumvectamur amore.

This is enough for the herds: there remains the other half of my care,

Hoc satis armentis: superat pars altera curae,

to tend the woolly flocks and the shaggy she-goats.

lanigeros agitare greges hirtasque capellas.

Here is labour; from here hope your praise, brave husbandmen.

Hic labor, hinc laudem fortes sperate coloni.

Nor am I in doubt how great a task it is to master this in words,

Nec sum animi dubius, verbis ea vincere magnum

and to add this honour to a lowly theme;

quam sit, et angustis hunc addere rebus honorem;

but a sweet love hurries me over the desolate heights

sed me Parnasi deserta per ardua dulcis

of Parnassus; it delights me to walk the ridges where no track

raptat amor; iuvat ire iugis, qua nulla priorum

of earlier men turns down to Castalia by an easy slope.

Castaliam molli devertitur orbita clivo.

Now, reverend Pales, now I must sound with a mighty voice.

Nunc, veneranda Pales, magno nunc ore sonandum

First I decree that the sheep crop the grass in soft folds,

Incipiens stabulis edico in mollibus herbam

until soon leafy summer is brought back,

carpere ovis, dum mox frondosa reducitur aestas,

and that you strew the hard ground beneath them with much straw

et multa duram stipula filicumque maniplis

and handfuls of fern, lest the cold ice harm

sternere subter humum, glacies ne frigida laedat

the soft flock and bring the scab and ugly foot-rot.

molle pecus scabiemque ferat turpisque podagras.

Passing from this, I bid you furnish the goats with leafy

Post hinc digressus iubeo frondentia capris

arbutes and provide them fresh streams,

arbuta sufficere et fluvios praebere recentis

and set their stalls away from the winds, facing the winter sun

et stabula a ventis hiberno opponere soli

toward midday, when now cold Aquarius

ad medium conversa diem, cum frigidus olim

is setting and bedews the year’s last days with rain.

iam cadit extremoque inrorat Aquarius anno.

These too must be tended by us with no lighter care,

Haec quoque non cura nobis leviore tuendae,

nor will the profit be less, however dearly the Milesian

nec minor usus erit, quamvis Milesia magno

fleeces, steeped in Tyrian crimson, are bartered:

vellera mutentur Tyrios incocta rubores:

from these comes a more numerous offspring, from these a plenty of milk;

densior hinc suboles, hinc largi copia lactis;

the more the pail has foamed from the drained udder,

quam magis exhausto spumaverit ubere mulctra,

the more freely the glad streams will flow from the pressed teats.

laeta magis pressis manabunt flumina mammis.

No less, meanwhile, men shear the beards and grizzled chins

Nec minus interea barbas incanaque menta

of the Cinyphian he-goat, and his bristling hairs,

Cinyphii tondent hirci saetasque comantis

for the use of camps and as coverings for wretched sailors.

usum in castrorum et miseris velamina nautis.

But they graze the woods and the heights of Lycaeus

Pascuntur vero silvas et summa Lycaei

and the prickly brambles and the thickets that love the steep:

horrentisque rubos et amantis ardua dumos:

and of themselves, remembering, they come back to the steadings

atque ipsae memores redeunt in tecta suosque

and lead their young, and scarce clear the threshold for their laden udders.

ducunt et gravido superant vix ubere limen.

Therefore, the less they have of human want to care for,

Ergo omni studio glaciem ventosque nivalis

with all your zeal you will ward off the ice and snowy winds,

quo minor est illis curae mortalis egestas,

and bring them food and the leafy fodder gladly,

avertes victumque feres et virgea laetus

nor shut up your hay-lofts all the winter through.

pabula, nec tota claudes faenilia bruma.

But when, at the West Winds’ call, glad summer

At vero Zephyris cum laeta vocantibus aestas

sends both flocks into the glades and the pastures,

in saltus utrumque gregem atque in pascua mittet,

let us, at the first star of the Morning-bringer, range

Luciferi primo cum sidere frigida rura

the cool fields, while the morning is new, while the grass is grey,

carpamus, dum mane novum, dum gramina canent,

and the dew on the tender blade is most welcome to the flock.

et ros in tenera pecori gratissimus herba.

Then, when the fourth hour of the day has gathered up their thirst

Inde ubi quarta sitim caeli collegerit hora

and the plaintive cicadas split the orchards with their song,

et cantu querulae rumpent arbusta cicadae,

I will bid the flocks drink, at the wells or the deep pools,

ad puteos aut alta greges ad stagna iubebo

the water running in channels of ilex-wood;

currentem ilignis potare canalibus undam;

but at the midday heats to seek out a shady valley,

aestibus at mediis umbrosam exquirere vallem,

wherever some great oak of Jove, with its ancient trunk,

sicubi magna Iovis antiquo robore quercus

spreads its huge boughs, or wherever a dark grove

ingentis tendat ramos, aut sicubi nigrum

lies thick with ilex in its sacred shade;

ilicibus crebris sacra nemus accubet umbra;

then to give them again the clear waters, and feed them again

tum tenuis dare rursus aquas et pascere rursus

toward the sun’s setting, when the cool evening

solis ad occasum, cum frigidus aera vesper

tempers the air, and the now dewy moon refreshes the glades,

temperat et saltus reficit iam roscida luna

and the shores ring with the halcyon, the thickets with the goldfinch.

litoraque alcyonem resonant, acalanthida dumi.

Why should I pursue in verse the shepherds of Libya, their pastures,

Quid tibi pastores Libyae, quid pascua versu

and the encampments housed in scattered huts?

prosequar et raris habitata mapalia tectis?

Often by day and night, and a whole month at a stretch,

Saepe diem noctemque et totum ex ordine mensem

the flock grazes and goes off into the long wastes without any

pascitur itque pecus longa in deserta sine ullis

shelter: so far the plain lies open. The African herdsman

hospitiis: tantum campi iacet. Omnia secum

carries all with him — his house and his hearth,

armentarius Afer agit, tectumque laremque

his arms, his Amyclaean dog, and his Cretan quiver;

armaque Amyclaeumque canem Cressamque pharetram;

no otherwise than the keen Roman in his fathers’ arms,

non secus ac patriis acer Romanus in armis

when he takes the road under an unfair load and, before the enemy

iniusto sub fasce viam cum carpit et hosti

looks for it, has pitched his camp and stands in line of battle.

ante expectatum positis stat in agmine castris.

But not so where the tribes of Scythia and the Maeotic water lie,

At non, qua Scythiae gentes Maeotiaque unda,

and the turbid Hister whirling its yellow sands,

turbidus et torquens flaventis Hister harenas,

and where Rhodope, stretched out, returns beneath the middle pole.

quaque redit medium Rhodope porrecta sub axem.

There they keep the herds shut up in stalls, and no

Illic clausa tenent stabulis armenta, neque ullae

grass appears in the field, nor leaves upon the tree;

aut herbae campo apparent aut arbore frondes;

but the land lies shapeless under snowy ridges and deep

sed iacet aggeribus niveis informis et alto

ice, far and wide, and rises to seven cubits.

terra gelu late septemque adsurgit in ulnas.

Always winter, always the northwest winds breathing cold.

Semper hiemps, semper spirantes frigora cauri.

Then the Sun never scatters the pale shadows,

Tum Sol pallentis haud umquam discutit umbras,

neither when, borne by his horses, he climbs the high heaven, nor when

nec cum invectus equis altum petit aethera, nec cum

he washes his headlong car in the red waters of Ocean.

praecipitem Oceani rubro lavit aequore currum.

Sudden crusts of ice harden on the running river,

Concrescunt subitae currenti in flumine crustae

and now the water bears iron-rimmed wheels upon its back,

undaque iam tergo ferratos sustinet orbis,

hospitable once to ships, now to broad waggons;

puppibus illa prius, patulis nunc hospita plaustris;

the bronze splits everywhere, the garments stiffen

aeraque dissiliunt vulgo vestesque rigescunt

on the body, and they cleave the wet wine with axes,

indutae caeduntque securibus umida vina

and whole pools have turned to solid ice,

et totae solidam in glaciem vertere lacunae

and the rough icicle hardens on their unkempt beards.

stiriaque impexis induruit horrida barbis.

Meanwhile it snows no less through all the air:

Interea toto non setius aere ninguit:

the cattle perish, the great frames of the oxen stand

intereunt pecudes, stant circumfusa pruinis

wrapped about with frost, and the deer in their packed herd

corpora magna boum, confertoque agmine cervi

are numbed under the new weight and scarcely show with the tips of their horns.

torpent mole nova et summis vix cornibus extant.

These they hunt not with loosed hounds, nor with any nets,

Hos non immissis canibus, non cassibus ullis

nor scare the frightened things with the crimson feather’s terror,

puniceaeve agitant pavidos formidine pennae,

but, as they push in vain with their breast against the opposing drift,

sed frustra oppositum trudentis pectore montem

cut them down hand to hand with the steel, and butcher them

comminus obtruncant ferro graviterque rudentis

as they bellow loud, and carry them home, glad with a great shout.

caedunt et magno laeti clamore reportant.

They themselves, in dug-out caves, deep beneath the earth,

Ipsi in defossis specubus secura sub alta

spend untroubled ease, and roll heaped logs and whole

otia agunt terra congestaque robora totasque

elms to their hearths and give them to the fire.

advolvere focis ulmos ignique dedere.

Here they pass the night in play, and gladly mock

Hic noctem ludo ducunt et pocula laeti

the wine-cup with leaven and with the sour service-berry.

fermento atque acidis imitantur vitea sorbis.

Such is the unbridled race of men, set beneath the Hyperborean

Talis Hyperboreo septem subiecta trioni

Wain, beaten by the Rhipaean east wind,

gens effrena virum Rhiphaeo tunditur euro

and they clothe their bodies in the tawny hides of beasts.

et pecudum fulvis velatur corpora saetis.

If wool is your care, first let the rough thicket,

Si tibi lanitium curae, primum aspera silva,

the burrs and the caltrops, be far off; shun rank pastures;

lappaeque tribolique, absint; fuge pabula laeta;

and from the start choose flocks white with soft fleece.

Continuoque greges villis lege mollibus albos.

But that ram, however white he be himself,

Illum autem, quamvis aries sit candidus ipse,

if only the tongue beneath his moist palate is black,

nigra subest udo tantum cui lingua palato,

reject, lest he darken the fleeces of the lambs to come

reice, ne maculis infuscet vellera pullis

with dusky spots, and look about for another in the teeming field.

nascentum, plenoque alium circumspice campo.

With such a snowy gift of wool, if it is worth believing,

Munere sic niveo lanae, si credere dignum est,

Pan, god of Arcadia, beguiled you, Moon, and caught you,

Pan deus Arcadiae captam te, Luna, fefellit

calling you into the deep woods; nor did you scorn his call.

in nemora alta vocans; nec tu aspernata vocantem.

But he whose love is for milk, let him carry with his own hand

At cui lactis amor, cytisum lotosque frequentis

clover and lotus in plenty, and salted herbs to the mangers.

ipse manu salsasque ferat praesepibus herbas.

Hence they love the rivers more, and swell their udders more,

Hinc et amant fluvios magis et magis ubera tendunt

and bring back a hidden savour of salt in the milk.

et salis occultum referunt in lacte saporem.

Many keep the now grown kids away from their mothers

Multi iam excretos prohibent a matribus haedos

and fit their first mouths with iron-tipped muzzles.

primaque ferratis praefigunt ora capistris.

What they have milked at the rising of day and in the daytime hours,

Quod surgente die mulsere horisque diurnis,

they press at night; what at dusk and at the falling of the sun,

nocte premunt; quod iam tenebris et sole cadente,

the shepherd carries off at dawn in baskets and goes to the towns;

sub lucem exportant calathis adit oppida pastor;

or they sprinkle it with a little salt and lay it by for winter.

aut parco sale contingunt hiemique reponunt.

Nor let the care of the dogs be your last, but together

Nec tibi cura canum fuerit postrema, sed una

feed the swift whelps of Sparta and the keen Molossian

velocis Spartae catulos acremque Molossum

on rich whey. Never, with such guardians,

pasce sero pingui. Numquam custodibus illis

will you dread the night-thief at your stalls, the inroads of wolves,

nocturnum stabulis furem incursusque luporum

or the unpacified Iberians at your back.

aut impacatos a tergo horrebis Hiberos.

Often, too, you will chase the timid wild asses in the hunt,

Saepe etiam cursu timidos agitabis onagros

and hunt the hare with hounds, with hounds the does;

et canibus leporem, canibus venabere dammas,

often you will rout the boars, driven from their woodland wallows,

saepe volutabris pulsos silvestribus apros

with the baying pack, and over the high mountains

latratu turbabis agens montisque per altos

press the great stag with your cry toward the nets.

ingentem clamore premes ad retia cervum.

Learn, too, to burn fragrant cedar in the stalls

Disce et odoratam stabulis accendere cedrum

and to drive out the noisome water-snakes with the reek of galbanum.

galbaneoque agitare gravis nidore chelydros.

Often beneath the unstirred mangers a viper, dangerous to the touch,

saepe sub immotis praesepibus aut mala tactu

has lurked and, terrified, fled the light of day,

vipera delituit caelumque exterrita fugit,

or a snake, used to creep under the roof and the shade,

aut tecto adsuetus coluber succedere et umbrae,

the cattle’s bitter bane, that sprinkles its venom on the flock,

pestis acerba boum, pecorique aspergere virus,

has hugged the ground. Take stones in hand, take stout staves, shepherd,

fovit humum. Cape saxa manu, cape robora, pastor,

and strike down the threatening creature as it rears and swells

tollentemque minas et sibila colla tumentem

its hissing neck. And now in flight it has hidden its timid head deep,

deice. Iamque fuga timidum caput abdidit alte,

when the middle coils and the trailing ranks of the tail’s end

cum medii nexus extremaeque agmina caudae

come loose, and the last fold drags its slow curves along.

solvuntur, tardosque trahit sinus ultimus orbis.

There is, too, that evil snake in the Calabrian glades,

Est etiam ille malus Calabris in saltibus anguis,

twisting its scaly back, its breast raised high,

squamea convolvens sublato pectore terga

and mottled with large markings along its long belly,

atque notis longam maculosus grandibus alvum

which, while the streams are broken from any spring and while

qui, dum amnes ulli rumpuntur fontibus et dum

the earth is wet with the moist spring and the rainy south winds,

vere madent udo terrae ac pluvialibus austris

haunts the pools, and, dwelling on the banks, here gluts its black

stagna colit, ripisque habitans hic piscibus atram

maw, wickedly, with fish and with chattering frogs;

improbus ingluviem ranisque loquacibus explet;

but after the marsh is burnt up and the earth gapes with heat,

postquam exusta palus, terraeque ardore dehiscunt,

it leaps out onto the dry land, and, rolling its flaming eyes,

exsilit in siccum et flammantia lumina torquens

rages over the fields, fierce with thirst and frantic with the heat.

saevit agris asperque siti atque exterritus aestu.

Let me not then take soft slumbers under the open sky,

Ne mihi tum mollis sub divo carpere somnos

nor choose to lie on the grass along a wooded ridge,

neu dorso nemoris libeat iacuisse per herbas,

when, his slough cast off, new and bright with youth,

cum positis novus exuviis nitidusque iuventa

he glides, and, leaving his young or his eggs at home,

volvitur, aut catulos tectis aut ova relinquens

rears up to the sun and flickers from his mouth a three-forked tongue.

arduus ad solem et linguis micat ore trisulcis.

The causes, too, and the signs of diseases I will teach you.

Morborum quoque te causas et signa docebo.

The foul scab attacks the sheep when a cold rain

Turpis ovis temptat scabies, ubi frigidus imber

has sunk too deep, to the quick, and the bristling winter

altius ad vivum persedit et horrida cano

with its hoar frost, or when, after the shearing, the unwashed sweat

bruma gelu, vel cum tonsis inlotus adhaesit

has clung, and the rough briars have gashed their bodies.

sudor et hirsuti secuerunt corpora vepres.

For this the masters drench the whole flock in sweet

Dulcibus idcirco fluviis pecus omne magistri

rivers, and the ram is plunged in the pool with his fleece soaked

perfundunt, udisque aries in gurgite villis

and let go to float down the favouring stream;

mersatur missusque secundo defluit amni;

or they smear the shorn body with bitter olive-lees

aut tonsum tristi contingunt corpus amurca

and mix in foam of silver and live sulphur,

et spumas miscent argenti et sulfura viva

Idaean pitch and waxes rich with grease,

Idaeasque pices et pinguis unguine ceras

squill and strong hellebores and black bitumen.

scillamque elleborosque gravis nigrumque bitumen.

Yet no remedy of their sufferings is more present

Non tamen ulla magis praesens fortuna laborum est,

than if one has been able to lance with the steel the head

quam si quis ferro potuit rescindere summum

of the sore: the mischief is fed and lives by being hidden,

ulceris os: alitur vitium vivitque tegendo,

while the shepherd refuses to lay healing hands to the wounds

dum medicas adhibere manus ad volnera pastor

and sits, asking the gods for all things better.

abnegat et meliora deos sedet omnia poscens.

Nay, even when the pain, sunk to the deepest bones of the bleating creatures,

Quin etiam, ima dolor balantum lapsus ad ossa

rages, and the parching fever feeds upon their limbs,

cum furit atque artus depascitur arida febris,

it has helped to draw off the kindled heat, and between

profuit incensos aestus avertere et inter

the lower joints of the foot to strike the vein that throbs with blood,

ima ferire pedis salientem sanguine venam,

in the way the Bisaltae are wont, and the keen Geloni,

Bisaltae quo more solent acerque Gelonus;

when he flees to Rhodope and into the wastes of the Getae

cum fugit in Rhodopen atque in deserta Getarum

and drinks his milk curdled with the blood of horses.

et lac concretum cum sanguine potat equino.

Whichever you see go too often into the soft shade,

Quam procul aut molli succedere saepius umbrae

or crop the topmost grass too listlessly,

videris aut summas carpentem ignavius herbas

and lag behind, or sink down grazing in the midst

extremamque sequi aut medio procumbere campo

of the field, and leave the flock alone for the late night:

pascentem et serae solam decedere nocti:

check the fault at once with the steel, before

continuo culpam ferro compesce, prius quam

the dread contagion creep through the unwary throng.

dira per incautum serpant contagia volgus.

Not so thick does the whirlwind that drives the storm rush over the sea

Non tam creber agens hiemem ruit aequore turbo,

as the plagues of the cattle are many. Nor do the diseases seize

quam multae pecudum pestes. Nec singula morbi

single bodies, but a whole summer’s fold at once,

corpora corripiunt, sed tota aestiva repente,

the hope and the flock together, the whole kind from its root.

spemque gregemque simul cunctamque ab origine gentem.

Then would he know it, who, even now, so long after, should see

Tum sciat, aerias Alpis et Norica si quis

the airy Alps and the Noric forts upon their hills

castella in tumulis et Iapydis arva Timavi

and the fields of Iapydian Timavus —

nunc quoque post tanto videat desertaque regna

the realms of the shepherds deserted, and the glades empty far and wide.

pastorum et longe saltus lateque vacantis.

Here once, from a sickness of the air, there arose a pitiable

Hic quondam morbo caeli miseranda coorta est

season, and it grew hot with all the heat of autumn,

tempestas totoque autumni incanduit aestu

and gave to death every kind of cattle, every kind of wild beast,

et genus omne neci pecudum dedit, omne ferarum,

and tainted the lakes, and poisoned the pastures with corruption.

corrupitque lacus, infecit pabula tabo.

Nor was the way of death a simple one; but when fiery thirst,

Nec via mortis erat simplex, sed ubi ignea venis

driven through all the veins, had drawn the wretched limbs together,

omnibus acta sitis miseros adduxerat artus,

again a watery humour welled up and drew into itself

rursus abundabat fluidus liquor omniaque in se

all the bones, dissolved little by little by the disease.

ossa minutatim morbo collapsa trahebat.

Often, standing at the altar in the midst of the gods’ worship,

Saepe in honore deum medio stans hostia ad aram

the victim, while the woolen fillet with its snowy band was bound about it,

lanea dum nivea circumdatur infula vitta,

fell dying among the lingering attendants.

inter cunctantis cecidit moribunda ministros.

Or if the priest had slain any beforehand with the knife,

Aut si quam ferro mactaverat ante sacerdos

from that the altars do not blaze with the entrails laid on them,

inde neque impositis ardent altaria fibris

nor can the seer, consulted, render his answers,

nec responsa potest consultus reddere vates,

and the knives set beneath are scarcely stained with blood,

ac vix suppositi tinguntur sanguine cultri

and the surface sand is darkened with a thin gore.

summaque ieiuna sanie infuscatur harena.

Hence the calves die everywhere amid the glad grass

Hinc laetis vituli volgo moriuntur in herbis

and give back their sweet lives at the full mangers;

et dulcis animas plena ad praesepia reddunt;

hence madness comes upon the fawning dogs, and a panting cough

hinc canibus blandis rabies venit et quatit aegros

shakes the sick swine and chokes them with swollen throats.

tussis anhela sues ac faucibus angit obesis.

The victor horse falls, forgetful of his zeal and of the grass,

Labitur infelix studiorum atque immemor herbae

and turns away from the springs, and strikes the earth

victor equus fontisque avertitur et pede terram

again and again with his hoof; his ears droop, and at the same place

crebra ferit; demissae aures, incertus ibidem

a fitful sweat — and that, in the dying, cold — and the hide

sudor et ille quidem morituris frigidus, aret

is dry, and, to the hand that strokes it, resists, hard, to the touch.

pellis et ad tactum tractanti dura resistit.

These signs they give in the first days, before the end;

Haec ante exitium primis dant signa diebus;

but if, as it goes on, the disease begins to grow fierce,

sin in processu coepit crudescere morbus,

then indeed the eyes burn, and the breath is drawn from deep,

tum vero ardentes oculi atque attractus ab alto

heavy at times with a groan, and the lowest flanks

spiritus, interdum gemitu gravis, imaque longo

strain with a long sobbing; black blood runs from the nostrils,

ilia singultu tendunt, it naribus ater

and the rough tongue presses on the blocked throat.

sanguis et obsessas fauces premit aspera lingua.

It helped to pour in the juices of Lenaeus through an inserted

Profuit inserto latices infundere cornu

horn; that seemed the one salvation for the dying;

Lenaeos; ea visa salus morientibus una;

soon this very thing was their ruin, and, revived by frenzy,

mox erat hoc ipsum exitio, furiisque refecti

they burned, and now, in their sick death-throes —

ardebant ipsique suos iam morte sub aegra,

the gods grant better to the righteous, and that error to our foes! —

di meliora piis erroremque hostibus illum,

they tore their own limbs apart with their bared teeth.

discissos nudis laniabant dentibus artus.

But behold, the bull, smoking under the hard plough,

Ecce autem duro fumans sub vomere taurus

falls, and vomits from his mouth blood mixed with foam,

concidit et mixtum spumis vomit ore cruorem

and heaves his last groans. Sadly the ploughman goes,

extremosque ciet gemitus. It tristis arator

unyoking the steer that mourns its brother’s death,

maerentem abiungens fraterna morte iuvencum,

and leaves the plough fixed fast in the midst of the work.

atque opere in medio defixa relinquit aratra.

Not the shade of the deep groves, not the soft

Non umbrae altorum nemorum, non mollia possunt

meadows can move his spirit, not the stream that, rolled

prata movere animum, non qui per saxa volutus

over rocks, seeks the plain purer than amber; but his deep

purior electro campum petit amnis; at ima

flanks fall slack, and a stupor weighs on his listless eyes,

solvuntur latera atque oculos stupor urguet inertis

and his neck sinks earthward under its drooping weight.

ad terramque fluit devexo pondere cervix.

What avail his toil, his good deeds? What, to have turned

Quid labor aut benefacta iuvant? Quid vomere terras

the heavy soil with the share? And yet no Massic gifts of Bacchus,

invertisse gravis? Atqui non Massica Bacchi

no banquets piled course on course, have harmed these:

munera, non illis epulae nocuere repostae:

on leaves they feed and the fare of simple grass,

frondibus et victu pascuntur simplicis herbae,

their cups are the clear springs and the rivers quickened

pocula sunt fontes liquidi atque exercita cursu

by their running, nor does care break their wholesome sleep.

flumina, nec somnos abrumpit cura salubris.

At no other time, they say, in those regions

Tempore non alio dicunt regionibus illis

were cattle sought in vain for the rites of Juno, and the cars

quaesitas ad sacra boves Iunonis et uris

drawn to the high shrines by ill-matched buffaloes.

imparibus ductos alta ad donaria currus.

So men scratch the earth painfully with mattocks, and with their very

Ergo aegre rastris terram rimantur et ipsis

nails bury the seed, and over the high mountains

unguibus infodiunt fruges montisque per altos

drag the creaking waggons with their own straining necks.

contenta cervice trahunt stridentia plaustra.

No wolf prowls round the sheepfolds seeking his ambush,

Non lupus insidias explorat ovilia circum

nor walks by night about the flocks; a sharper

nec gregibus nocturnus obambulat; acrior illum

care tames him; the timid does and the fugitive stags

cura domat; timidi dammae cervique fugaces

now wander among the dogs and about the houses.

nunc interque canes et circum tecta vagantur.

Now the brood of the measureless sea and every kind of swimming thing

Iam maris immensi prolem et genus omne natantum

the wave washes up on the farthest shore, like shipwrecked

litore in extremo, ceu naufraga corpora, fluctus

bodies; the seals, unwonted, flee into the rivers.

proluit; insolitae fugiunt in flumina phocae.

The viper perishes too, defended in vain by her winding lair,

Interit et curvis frustra defensa latebris

and the water-snakes, stunned, their scales standing on end.

vipera et attoniti squamis adstantibus hydri.

The air is unkind to the very birds, and they,

Ipsis est aer avibus non aequus et illae

headlong, leave their lives beneath the high cloud.

praecipites alta vitam sub nube relinquunt.

Moreover, it no longer avails to change the pastures,

Praeterea iam nec mutari pabula refert

and the arts sought out do harm; the masters have given way,

artes nocent quaesitaeque; cessere magistri

Chiron son of Phillyra and Melampus son of Amythaon.

Phillyrides Chiron Amythaoniusque Melampus.

Pale Tisiphone rages, sent forth into the light from the Stygian

Saevit et in lucem Stygiis emissa tenebris

darkness, and drives before her Diseases and Fear,

pallida Tisiphone Morbos agit ante Metumque,

and, rising, day by day lifts higher her greedy head:

inque dies avidum surgens caput altius effert:

the rivers and the parched banks and the sloping hills

Balatu pecorum et crebris mugitibus amnes

ring with the bleating of flocks and the unceasing lowing;

arentesque sonant ripae collesque supini:

and now in troops she deals out slaughter, and heaps in the very

Iamque catervatim dat stragem atque aggerat ipsis

stalls the bodies, rotted away with foul corruption,

in stabulis turpi dilapsa cadavera tabo

until men learn to cover them with earth and hide them in pits.

donec humo tegere ac foveis abscondere discunt.

For there was no use in the hides, nor could anyone

Nam neque erat coriis usus nec viscera quisquam

cleanse the flesh with water or master it with flame;

aut undis abolere potest aut vincere flamma;

nor could they even shear the fleeces, eaten through

ne tondere quidem morbo inluvieque peresa

with disease and filth, nor touch the rotten webs;

vellera nec telas possunt attingere putris;

nay, even if any had tried on the hated garments,

verum etiam invisos si quis temptarat amictus,

burning blisters and a foul sweat would follow over his reeking

ardentes papulae atque immundus olentia sudor

limbs, and, before long, when he had waited no great

membra sequebatur nec longo deinde moranti

while, the accursed fire devoured his tainted joints.

tempore contactos artus sacer ignis edebat.

Next I will set forth the heavenly gift of honey from the air:

Protinus aerii mellis caelestia dona

on this part too, Maecenas, cast your eye.

exsequar: hanc etiam, Maecenas, adspice partem.

The wondrous shows of a slight matter I will tell you —

Admiranda tibi levium spectacula rerum

great-hearted leaders, and the customs of a whole nation

magnanimosque duces totiusque ordine gentis

in order, its pursuits, its peoples, its battles.

mores et studia et populos et proelia dicam.

The toil is in a small field; but the glory is not small, if any

In tenui labor; at tenuis non gloria, si quem

powers do not thwart, and Apollo, called on, hears.

numina laeva sinunt auditque vocatus Apollo.

First, a seat and station must be sought for the bees,

Principio sedes apibus statioque petenda,

where there is no access for the winds — for the winds forbid

quo neque sit ventis aditus—nam pabula venti

them to carry their food home — and where neither the sheep nor the butting kids

ferre domum prohibent—neque oves haedique petulci

trample the flowers, nor the heifer, straying over the meadow,

floribus insultent aut errans bucula campo

shake off the dew and bruise the rising grass.

decutiat rorem et surgentes atterat herbas.

Let the painted lizards with their scaly backs be far off

Absint et picti squalentia terga lacerti

from the rich hives, and the bee-eaters and the other birds,

pinguibus a stabulis meropesque aliaeque volucres

and Procne, her breast marked by her bloody hands;

et manibus Procne pectus signata cruentis;

for they lay all waste far and wide, and carry off the bees themselves

omnia nam late vastant ipsasque volantes

in flight, in their mouths, sweet morsels for their cruel nests.

ore ferunt dulcem nidis immitibus escam.

But let clear springs be at hand, and pools green with moss,

At liquidi fontes et stagna virentia musco

and a slender brook fleeting through the grass,

adsint et tenuis fugiens per gramina rivus,

and a palm or a great wild olive to shade the entrance,

palmaque vestibulum aut ingens oleaster inumbret,

so that, when the new kings lead the first swarms

ut, cum prima novi ducent examina reges

in their own spring, and the youth, let loose, sport from the combs,

vere suo ludetque favis emissa iuventus,

the neighbouring bank may invite them to retire from the heat,

vicina invitet decedere ripa calori,

and the tree in their path may hold them in its leafy welcome.

obviaque hospitiis teneat frondentibus arbos.

In the midst, whether the water stand still or flow along,

In medium, seu stabit iners seu profluet umor,

throw crosswise willow-boughs and great stones,

transversas salices et grandia conice saxa,

so that on the frequent bridges they may settle and spread

pontibus ut crebris possint consistere et alas

their wings to the summer sun, if perchance, as they linger,

pandere ad aestivum solem, si forte morantes

the East Wind has scattered them or plunged them headlong into Neptune.

sparserit aut praeceps Neptuno immerserit Eurus.

Around this let green cassia and wild thyme, fragrant far,

Haec circum casiae virides et olentia late

and a wealth of strong-breathing savory

serpylla et graviter spirantis copia thymbrae

flower, and let the violet-beds drink the watering spring.

floreat inriguumque bibant violaria fontem.

But the hives themselves, whether sewn for you of hollowed bark

Ipsa autem, seu corticibus tibi suta cavatis,

or woven of pliant withe,

seu lento fuerint alvaria vimine texta,

let them have narrow entrances: for winter freezes

angustos habeant aditus: nam frigore mella

the honey with cold, and the same, the heat, melts and thaws it.

cogit hiems, eademque calor liquefacta remittit.

Either force is alike to be feared by the bees; nor in vain

Utraque vis apibus pariter metuenda; neque illae

do they vie in the hive to smear the thin chinks

nequiquam in tectis certatim tenuia cera

with wax, and stop the rims with pollen and flowers,

spiramenta linunt fucoque et floribus oras

and store, for this very service, the glue they have gathered,

explent collectumque haec ipsa ad munera gluten

stickier than birdlime or the pitch of Phrygian Ida.

et visco et Phrygiae servant pice lentius Idae.

Often too, if the tale is true, they have warmed their home

Saepe etiam effossis, si vera est fama, latebris

in dug-out hiding-places underground, and been found deep

sub terra fovere larem, penitusque repertae

in porous pumice and in the cave of a hollowed tree.

pumicibusque cavis exesaeque arboris antro.

You, nonetheless, smear their chinky chambers, warming them about

Tu tamen et levi rimosa cubilia limo

with smooth mud, and throw a few leaves over them.

ungue fovens circum et raras superinice frondes.

And let no yew be near the hive, nor roast in the fire

Neu propius tectis taxum sine, neve rubentes

the reddening crabs, nor trust a deep marsh,

ure foco cancros, altae neu crede paludi,

nor where the smell of mud is heavy, nor where the hollow rocks

aut ubi odor caeni gravis aut ubi concava pulsu

ring to a blow and the struck echo of a voice rebounds.

saxa sonant vocisque offensa resultat imago.

For the rest, when the golden sun has driven routed winter

Quod superest, ubi pulsam hiemem sol aureus egit

beneath the earth and unlocked the sky with summer light,

sub terras caelumque aestiva luce reclusit,

at once they range the glades and the woods

illae continuo saltus silvasque peragrant

and reap the crimson flowers and sip the rivers’

purpureosque metunt flores et flumina libant

surface lightly. Hence, glad with some sweetness I cannot name,

summa leves. Hinc nescio qua dulcedine laetae

they cherish their brood and their nests; hence with craft they hammer out

progeniem nidosque fovent, hinc arte recentes

fresh wax and mould the clinging honey.

excudunt ceras et mella tenacia fingunt.

Hence, when you have looked up and seen the host let out from the hives

Hinc ubi iam emissum caveis ad sidera caeli

swimming toward the stars of heaven through the clear summer

nare per aestatem liquidam suspexeris agmen

and marvel that a dark cloud is drawn along on the wind,

obscuramque trahi vento mirabere nubem,

mark them well: ever do they seek sweet waters and leafy

contemplator: aquas dulces et frondea semper

shelters. Here scatter the scents I bid you,

tecta petunt. Huc tu iussos adsperge sapores,

crushed balm and the lowly herb of honeywort,

trita melisphylla et cerinthae ignobile gramen,

and raise a tinkling and shake the Mother’s cymbals round about.

tinnitusque cie et Matris quate cymbala circum.

Of themselves they will settle on the medicined seats, of themselves

ipsae consident medicatis sedibus, ipsae

hide, in their own fashion, in the inmost cradles.

intima more suo sese in cunabula condent.

But if they go out to battle — for often discord

Sin autem ad pugnam exierint, nam saepe duobus

has fallen on two kings with a great commotion —

regibus incessit magno discordia motu,

straightway you may foreknow, far off, the temper of the commons

continuoque animos vulgi et trepidantia bello

and their hearts trembling for war; for that warlike clang

corda licet longe praesciscere; namque morantes

of harsh bronze chides the laggards, and a voice

Martius ille aeris rauci canor increpat et vox

is heard that mimics the broken blasts of trumpets;

auditur fractos sonitus imitata tubarum;

then, quivering, they crowd together and flash their wings

tum trepidae inter se coeunt pennisque coruscant

and whet their stings with their beaks and ready their arms,

spiculaque exacuunt rostris aptantque lacertos

and thick about the king and at his very headquarters

et circa regem atque ipsa ad praetoria densae

they mass and call the foe out with great shouts.

miscentur magnisque vocant clamoribus hostem.

So, when they have found a clear spring and open fields,

Ergo ubi ver nactae sudum camposque patentes,

they burst from the gates; the charge is joined, a din

erumpunt portis; concurritur, aethere in alto

arises high in the air, they mingle, balled into a great mass,

fit sonitus, magnum mixtae glomerantur in orbem

and fall headlong; no thicker is the hail from the sky,

praecipitesque cadunt; non densior aere grando,

nor so much acorn rains from a shaken ilex.

nec de concussa tantum pluit ilice glandis.

The kings themselves, through the midst of the lines, on conspicuous wings,

ipsi per medias acies insignibus alis

turn mighty spirits within a narrow breast,

ingentes animos angusto in pectore versant,

resolved to the last not to yield, until the heavy victor

usque adeo obnixi non cedere, dum gravis aut hos

has forced these or those to turn their backs in flight.

aut hos versa fuga victor dare terga subegit.

These stirrings of spirit and these contests so great

Hi motus animorum atque haec certamina tanta

are stilled and quieted by the throw of a little dust.

pulveris exigui iactu compressa quiescent.

But when you have called both leaders back from the field,

Verum ubi ductores acie revocaveris ambo,

the one that seems the worse, give him to death,

deterior qui visus, eum, ne prodigus obsit,

lest the wastrel do harm; let the better reign in an empty court.

dede neci; melior vacua sine regnet in aula.

The one will be ablaze with spots that glitter like gold;

Alter erit maculis auro squalentibus ardens;

for there are two kinds: this, the better, conspicuous in look

nam duo sunt genera: hic melior, insignis et ore

and bright with ruddy scales; the other shaggy

et rutilis clarus squamis, ille horridus alter

with sloth and trailing inglorious a broad belly.

desidia latamque trahens inglorius alvum.

As the two kings differ in face, so differ the bodies of the commons.

Ut binae regum facies, ita corpora plebis.

For some are foul and bristling, as when a thirsty traveller

Namque aliae turpes horrent, ceu pulvere ab alto

comes in from the deep dust and spits the dry earth from his mouth;

cum venit et sicco terram spuit ore viator

others shine out and gleam with a flashing brightness,

aridus; elucent aliae et fulgore coruscant

ablaze with gold, their bodies dappled with even drops.

ardentes auro et paribus lita corpora guttis.

This is the choicer breed; from these, at heaven’s appointed season,

Haec potior suboles, hinc caeli tempore certo

you will press sweet honey — not so much sweet

dulcia mella premes, nec tantum dulcia, quantum

as clear, fit to subdue the harsh savour of the wine.

et liquida et durum Bacchi domitura saporem.

But when the swarms fly aimless and play in the sky

At cum incerta volant caeloque examina ludunt

and scorn the combs and leave their cold quarters,

contemnuntque favos et frigida tecta relinquunt,

you will check their unstable spirits from the idle sport.

instabiles animos ludo prohibebis inani.

Nor is it great labour to check them: do you tear away

Nec magnus prohibere labor: tu regibus alas

the kings’ wings; while they linger, no one will dare

eripe; non illis quisquam cunctantibus altum

to take the high road or pluck the standards from the camp.

ire iter aut castris audebit vellere signa.

Let gardens, breathing the scent of saffron flowers, invite them,

Invitent croceis halantes floribus horti

and let the guard against thieves and birds, the Hellespontic

et custos furum atque avium cum falce saligna

Priapus, keep watch with his sickle of willow-wood.

Hellespontiaci servet tutela Priapi.

Let the man whose care is such things bring thyme and pines from the high mountains

Ipse thymum pinosque ferens de montibus altis

and plant them wide about the hives;

tecta serat late circum, cui talia curae;

let him wear his hand with hard toil, let him set fruitful

ipse labore manum duro terat, ipse feraces

slips in the ground and pour on kindly showers.

figat humo plantas et amicos inriget imbres.

And indeed, were I not now, at the very last verge of my labours,

Atque equidem, extremo ni iam sub fine laborum

furling my sails and hastening to turn my prow to land,

vela traham et terris festinem advertere proram,

perhaps I would sing what care of tending might

forsitan et, pingues hortos quae cura colendi

deck the rich gardens, and the rose-beds of twice-bearing Paestum,

ornaret, canerem, biferique rosaria Paesti,

and how the endives rejoice in the streams they drink,

quoque modo potis gauderent intiba rivis

and the green banks in celery, and how the cucumber,

et virides apio ripae, tortusque per herbam

twisting through the grass, swells into its belly; nor would I have been silent

cresceret in ventrem cucumis; nec sera comantem

on the late-flowering narcissus, or the stem of the curling acanthus,

narcissum aut flexi tacuissem vimen acanthi

the pale ivies, and the myrtles that love the shore.

pallentesque hederas et amantes litora myrtos.

For I remember, beneath the towers of the Oebalian citadel,

Namque sub Oebaliae memini me turribus arcis,

where dark Galaesus waters the yellowing crops,

qua niger umectat flaventia culta Galaesus,

I saw a Corycian old man, who owned a few acres

Corycium vidisse senem, cui pauca relicti

of a left-over plot, ground neither fertile for the bullocks,

iugera ruris erant, nec fertilis illa iuvencis

nor fit for the flock, nor friendly to the vine.

nec pecori opportuna seges nec commoda Baccho.

Yet here, planting potherbs here and there among the briars,

Hic rarum tamen in dumis olus albaque circum

and white lilies about, and vervain, and the slender poppy,

lilia verbenasque premens vescumque papaver

he matched in his contentment the wealth of kings, and returning home

regum aequabat opes animis seraque revertens

late in the night, he loaded his board with unbought feasts.

nocte domum dapibus mensas onerabat inemptis.

He was first to pluck the rose in spring and the apple in autumn,

Primus vere rosam atque autumno carpere poma,

and when grim winter was still splitting the rocks with cold

et cum tristis hiems etiamnum frigore saxa

and curbing the courses of the waters with ice,

rumperet et glacie cursus frenaret aquarum,

he was already shearing the locks of the soft hyacinth,

ille comam mollis iam tondebat hyacinthi

chiding the late summer and the lingering West Winds.

aestatem increpitans seram Zephyrosque morantes.

Therefore he too was first to abound with teeming bees

Ergo apibus fetis idem atque examine multo

and a plentiful swarm, and to gather the foaming honey

primus abundare et spumantia cogere pressis

from the pressed combs; his were the lindens and the richest pine,

mella favis; illi tiliae atque uberrima pinus,

and as many fruits as the fertile tree had clothed itself in

quotque in flore novo pomis se fertilis arbos

at its fresh flowering, so many it kept, ripe, in autumn.

induerat, totidem autumno matura tenebat.

He too set out in rows the late-grown elms,

Ille etiam seras in versum distulit ulmos

the hard pear, and the blackthorns already bearing sloes,

eduramque pirum et spinos iam pruna ferentes

and the plane already serving shade to the drinkers.

iamque ministrantem platanum potantibus umbras.

But this I myself, shut out by the unfair limits of my space,

Verum haec ipse equidem spatiis exclusus iniquis

pass over and leave for others to recall after me.

praetereo atque aliis post me memoranda relinquo.

Come now, the natures that Jupiter himself

Nunc age, naturas apibus quas Iuppiter ipse

gave the bees I will unfold, in reward for which, having followed

addidit, expediam, pro qua mercede canoros

the tuneful sounds of the Curetes and their clashing bronze,

Curetum sonitus crepitantiaque aera secutae

they fed the king of heaven in the Dictaean cave.

Dictaeo caeli regem pavere sub antro.

They alone hold their children in common, the shared dwellings

Solae communes natos, consortia tecta

of a city, and pass their life under mighty laws,

urbis habent magnisque agitant sub legibus aevum,

and they alone know a fatherland and fixed household gods,

et patriam solae et certos novere penates,

and, mindful of the coming winter, in summer

venturaeque hiemis memores aestate laborem

they ply their toil and lay up their gains for the common store.

experiuntur et in medium quaesita reponunt.

For some keep watch over the food and, by a fixed compact,

Namque aliae victu invigilant et foedere pacto

labour in the fields; some, within the fenced homes,

exercentur agris; pars intra saepta domorum

lay the tear of the narcissus and the sticky gum from bark

Narcissi lacrimam et lentum de cortice gluten

as the first foundations of the combs, then hang up the clinging

prima favis ponunt fundamina, deinde tenaces

wax; others lead out the grown brood, the nation’s hope;

suspendunt ceras: aliae spem gentis adultos

others pack the purest honey

educunt fetus, aliae purissima mella

and swell the cells with clear nectar.

stipant et liquido distendunt nectare cellas.

There are some whose lot it is to keep guard at the gates,

Sunt quibus ad portas cecidit custodia sorti,

and in turn they watch the rains and the clouds of heaven,

inque vicem speculantur aquas et nubila caeli

or take the loads of those who come in, or, formed in a line,

aut onera accipiunt venientum aut agmine facto

keep the drones, that lazy herd, from the mangers.

ignavum fucos pecus a praesepibus arcent.

The work glows, and the fragrant honey is sweet with thyme.

Fervet opus, redolentque thymo fragrantia mella.

And as when the Cyclopes hasten the thunderbolts from the stubborn masses,

ac veluti lentis Cyclopes fulmina massis

some take in and give back the air with bull-hide bellows,

cum properant, alii taurinis follibus auras

others dip the hissing bronze in the trough;

accipiunt redduntque, alii stridentia tingunt

Etna groans under the anvils laid upon it;

aera lacu; gemit impositis incudibus Aetna;

they, between themselves, raise their arms with great force

illi inter sese magna vi bracchia tollunt

in measure, and turn the iron with the gripping tongs:

in numerum versantque tenaci forcipe ferrum:

no otherwise, if it is allowed to compare small things with great,

non aliter, si parva licet componere magnis,

an inborn love of getting drives the Attic bees,

Cecropias innatus apes amor urget habendi,

each to her own task. The aged have the towns in their charge,

munere quamque suo. Grandaevis oppida curae

to wall the combs and fashion the intricate chambers.

et munire favos et daedala fingere tecta.

But the younger, weary, return late in the night,

At fessae multa referunt se nocte minores,

their thighs full of thyme; they feed everywhere on the arbutes,

crura thymo plenae; pascuntur et arbuta passim

the grey willows, the cassia and the reddening crocus,

et glaucas salices casiamque crocumque rubentem

the rich linden and the rust-coloured hyacinths.

et pinguem tiliam et ferrugineos hyacinthos.

For all there is one rest from work, for all one labour:

Omnibus una quies operum, labor omnibus unus:

at morning they rush from the gates; nowhere a delay; again, the same,

mane ruunt portis; nusquam mora; rursus easdem

when evening at last has warned them to quit the fields

vesper ubi e pastu tandem decedere campis

and their feeding, then they seek their roofs, then they tend their bodies;

admonuit, tum tecta petunt, tum corpora curant;

a hum arises, and they murmur about the rims and thresholds.

fit sonitus, mussantque oras et limina circum.

Afterward, when they have laid themselves down in their chambers, there is silence

Post, ubi iam thalamis se composuere, siletur

into the night, and their own sleep seizes their weary limbs.

in noctem fessosque sopor suus occupat artus.

Nor, when rain threatens, do they go far from the hives,

Nec vero a stabulis pluvia impendente recedunt

or trust the sky when the East Winds are coming on,

longius aut credunt caelo adventantibus Euris,

but draw water safely about, under the city’s walls,

sed circum tutae sub moenibus urbis aquantur,

and try short flights, and often take up little stones,

excursusque breves temptant et saepe lapillos,

as unsteady skiffs take ballast in the tossing surge,

ut cumbae instabiles fluctu iactante saburram,

and with these they poise themselves through the empty clouds.

tollunt, his sese per inania nubila librant.

That custom of the bees you will marvel has pleased them:

Illum adeo placuisse apibus mirabere morem,

that they neither give themselves to mating, nor slacken their bodies

quod neque concubitu indulgent nec corpora segnes

in love, nor bring forth their young in birth-pangs;

in Venerem solvunt aut fetus nixibus edunt:

but of themselves they gather their children from the leaves and sweet herbs

verum ipsae e foliis natos, e suavibus herbis

with their mouths, of themselves supply the king and the little citizens

ore legunt, ipsae regem parvosque Quirites

and refashion their courts and waxen realms.

sufficiunt aulasque et cerea regna refigunt.

Often, too, straying among the hard rocks, they have worn

saepe etiam duris errando in cotibus alas

their wings, and freely yielded up their lives beneath the load:

attrivere ultroque animam sub fasce dedere:

so great is their love of flowers, so great their glory in making honey.

tantus amor florum et generandi gloria mellis.

Therefore, though the term of a narrow life awaits them —

Ergo ipsas quamvis angusti terminus aevi

for not more than a seventh summer is drawn out for any —

excipiat, neque enim plus septima ducitur aestas,

yet the breed stays immortal, and through many years

at genus immortale manet multosque per annos

the fortune of the house stands, and grandsires’ grandsires are counted.

stat fortuna domus et avi numerantur avorum.

Moreover, not so do Egypt and great Lydia

Praeterea regem non sic Aegyptus et ingens

and the peoples of the Parthians and the Median Hydaspes

Lydia nec populi Parthorum aut Medus Hydaspes

revere their king. While the king is safe, all are of one mind;

observant. Rege incolumi mens omnibus una est;

when he is lost, they break their faith, and themselves tear apart

amisso rupere fidem constructaque mella

the honey they have built, and loose the lattices of the combs.

diripuere ipsae et crates solvere favorum.

He is the guardian of their works; him they admire, and all

Ille operum custos, illum admiruntur et omnes

stand around him with a thick humming, and throng him close,

circumstant fremitu denso stipantque frequentes

and often raise him on their shoulders and fling their bodies into war

et saepe attollunt umeris et corpora bello

and seek a glorious death amid the wounds.

obiectant pulchramque petunt per vulnera mortem.

By these signs and these examples some have said

His quidam signis atque haec exempla secuti

that the bees have a share of the divine mind and draughts

esse apibus partem divinae mentis et haustus

of heaven; for that god goes through all

aetherios dixere; deum namque ire per omnes

the lands and the tracts of the sea and the deep sky;

terrasque tractusque maris caelumque profundum.

that from this the flocks, the herds, men, every kind of wild beast,

Hinc pecudes, armenta, viros, genus omne ferarum,

each at its birth draws to itself its slender life;

quemque sibi tenues nascentem arcessere vitas;

that to this, then, all are rendered back, and, dissolved, restored,

scilicet huc reddi deinde ac resoluta referri

and there is no room for death, but, living, they fly

omnia nec morti esse locum, sed viva volare

to the number of the stars and mount to the high heaven.

sideris in numerum atque alto succedere caelo.

Whenever you would unseal their narrow seat and the honey

Si quando sedem angustam servataque mella

stored in the treasuries, first sprinkle yourself with a draught of water

thesauris relines, prius haustu sparsus aquarum

and play the soothing smoke before you in your hand.

ora fove fumosque manu praetende sequaces.

Twice they gather the teeming yield, two seasons of harvest:

Bis gravidos cogunt fetus, duo tempora messis,

as soon as Taygete the Pleiad has shown her comely face

Taygete simul os terris ostendit honestum

to the lands and spurned the streams of Ocean beneath her foot,

Pleas et Oceani spretos pede reppulit amnes,

or when the same, fleeing the sign of the watery Fish,

aut eadem sidus fugiens ubi Piscis aquosi

sadder, comes down from the sky into the wintry waves.

tristior hibernas caelo descendit in undas.

Their anger is beyond measure, and, when hurt, they breathe venom

Illis ira modum supra est, laesaeque venenum

into their bites and leave their unseen stings

morsibus inspirant et spicula caeca relinquunt

fixed in the veins, and lay down their lives in the wound.

adfixae venis animasque in vulnere ponunt.

But if you fear a hard winter and would spare the future,

Sin duram metues hiemem parcesque futuro

and pity their bruised spirits and their broken fortunes,

contunsosque animos et res miserabere fractas,

who would hesitate to fumigate with thyme and cut away the empty wax?

at suffire thymo cerasque recidere inanes

For often the unseen newt has gnawed the combs,

quis dubitet? nam saepe favos ignotus adedit

and the chambers are heaped with the light-shunning cockroach,

stellio et lucifugis congesta cubilia blattis

and the drone, sitting idle at another’s food,

immunisque sedens aliena ad pabula fucus

or the fierce hornet has mixed in with unequal arms,

aut asper crabro imparibus se immiscuit armis,

or the dread race of moths, or the spider, hateful to Minerva,

aut dirum tiniae genus, aut invisa Minervae

has hung its loose nets in the doorways.

laxos in foribus suspendit aranea casses.

The more they are drained, the more keenly will they all

Quo magis exhaustae fuerint, hoc acrius omnes

set themselves to repair the ruins of their fallen race,

incumbent generis lapsi sarcire ruinas

and fill the floors and weave their granaries of flowers.

complebuntque foros et floribus horrea texent.

But if — since life has brought our own mischances to the bees too —

Si vero, quoniam casus apibus quoque nostros

their bodies languish with a grievous sickness

vita tulit, tristi languebunt corpora morbo—

(which now by no doubtful signs you may know:

quod iam non dubiis poteris cognoscere signis:

at once the sick have another colour, a hideous leanness

continuo est aegris alius color, horrida vultum

disfigures the face, then they carry out of doors the bodies

deformat macies, tum corpora luce carentum

of those gone from the light and lead the sad funerals;

exportant tectis et tristia funera ducunt;

or they hang, hooked foot to foot, at the threshold,

aut illae pedibus conexae ad limina pendent,

or linger within, in the closed dwellings, all

aut intus clausis cunctantur in aedibus, omnes

listless with hunger and sluggish with the gathered cold);

ignavaeque fame et contracto frigore pigrae.

then a heavier sound is heard, and they hum in a long drawl,

Tum sonus auditur gravior, tractimque susurrant,

as the cold South Wind sometimes murmurs in the woods,

frigidus ut quondam silvis immurmurat Auster,

as the troubled sea hisses with the ebbing waves,

ut mare sollicitum stridit refluentibus undis,

as the racing fire seethes in the shut furnace:

aestuat ut clausis rapidus fornacibus ignis:

here now I will counsel you to burn galbanum’s scents

hic iam galbaneos suadebo incendere odores

and bring honey in through reed pipes, freely

mellaque harundineis inferre canalibus, ultro

urging them on and calling the weary to the food they know.

hortantem et fessas ad pabula nota vocantem.

It will help, too, to mix in the crushed savour of oak-gall

Proderit et tunsum gallae admiscere saporem

and dried roses, or new wine thickened over much fire,

Arentesque rosas aut igni pinguia multo

or raisins of the Psithian vine dried on the cluster,

defruta vel psithia passos de vite racemos

and Attic thyme and strong-smelling centaury.

Cecropiumque thymum et grave olentia centaurea.

There is a flower in the meadows, to which the farmers

Est etiam flos in pratis, cui nomen amello

have given the name "amellus," a plant easy for the seekers;

fecere agricolae, facilis quaerentibus herba;

for it lifts a great forest from a single sod,

namque uno ingentem tollit de caespite silvam,

golden itself, but in the petals, which spread thick around,

aureus ipse, sed in foliis, quae plurima circum

the purple of the dark violet glimmers;

funduntur, violae sublucet purpura nigrae;

often the altars of the gods are decked with its woven garlands;

saepe deum nexis ornatae torquibus arae

its taste is rough in the mouth; the shepherds gather it in the mown

asper in ore sapor; tonsis in vallibus illum

valleys and beside the winding streams of Mella.

pastores et curva legunt prope flumina Mellae.

Boil the roots of this in fragrant wine

Huius odorato radices incoque Baccho

and set the food in full baskets at the doorways.

pabulaque in foribus plenis adpone canistris.

But if anyone’s whole stock has suddenly failed,

Sed siquem proles subito defecerit omnis,

and he has no source from which to recall the new line’s breed,

nec genus unde novae stirpis revocetur habebit,

it is time, too, to unfold the memorable discovery of the Arcadian

tempus et Arcadii memoranda inventa magistri

master, and how, from slain bullocks, often already

pandere, quoque modo caesis iam saepe iuvencis

the tainted blood has bred bees. From its first source

insincerus apes tulerit cruor. Altius omnem

I will unfold the whole tale, tracing it from the beginning.

expediam prima repetens ab origine famam.

For where the fortunate people of Pellaean Canopus

Nam qua Pellaei gens fortunata Canopi

dwell beside the Nile that floods and stands in a spreading stream,

accolit effuso stagnantem flumine Nilum

and are carried about their fields in painted skiffs,

et circum pictis vehitur sua rura phaselis,

and where the borderland of quivered Persia presses near,

quaque pharetratae vicinia Persidis urget,

and the river, rushing down from the dark Indians,

et viridem Aegyptum nigra fecundat harena,

makes green Egypt fertile with its black sand,

et diversa ruens septem discurrit in ora

and splits, as it runs, into seven separate mouths,

usque coloratis amnis devexus ab Indis

that whole region rests its sure salvation on this art.

omnis in hac certam regio iacit arte salutem.

First a small place is chosen, and narrowed for these very uses;

Exiguus primum atque ipsos contractus in usus

this they press in with a narrow tiled roof

eligitur locus; hunc angustique imbrice tecti

and close walls, and add four windows

parietibusque premunt artis et quattuor addunt,

with slanting light from the four winds.

quattuor a ventis obliqua luce fenestras.

Then a calf is sought, curving its horns now on a two-year brow;

Tum vitulus bima curvans iam cornua fronte

for it both nostrils and the breath of the mouth

quaeritur; huic geminae nares et spiritus oris

are stopped, for all its struggling, and, slain with blows,

multa reluctanti obstruitur, plagisque perempto

the flesh is pounded to pulp through the unbroken hide.

tunsa per integram solvuntur viscera pellem.

So laid in the closed place they leave it, and put beneath its ribs

Sic positum in clauso linquunt et ramea costis

broken boughs, thyme, and fresh cassia.

subiciunt fragmenta, thymum casiasque recentes.

This is done when the West Winds first stir the waves,

Hoc geritur Zephyris primum impellentibus undas,

before the meadows blush with new colours, before

ante novis rubeant quam prata coloribus, ante

the chattering swallow hangs her nest from the rafters.

garrula quam tignis nidum suspendat hirundo.

Meanwhile the moisture, warmed in the soft bones, ferments,

Interea teneris tepefactus in ossibus umor

and creatures, wondrous to behold in their fashion,

aestuat et visenda modis animalia miris,

at first without feet, then buzzing with wings as well,

trunca pedum primo, mox et stridentia pennis,

swarm, and more and more take to the thin air,

miscentur tenuemque magis magis aera carpunt,

until, like a shower poured from the summer clouds,

donec, ut aestivis effusus nubibus imber,

they have burst forth, or like arrows from the throbbing string,

erupere aut ut nervo pulsante sagittae,

when the light Parthians enter their first battles.

prima leves ineunt si quando proelia Parthi.

What god, O Muses, what god forged this art for us?

Quis deus hanc, Musae, quis nobis extudit artem?

Whence did this strange experiment of men take its start?

Unde nova ingressus hominum experientia cepit?

The shepherd Aristaeus, fleeing Tempe by the Peneus,

Pastor Aristaeus fugiens Peneia Tempe,

his bees lost, so the tale runs, to sickness and to hunger,

amissis, ut fama, apibus morboque fameque,

stood mournful at the sacred fountain-head of the stream

tristis ad extremi sacrum caput adstitit amnis

and, with many a complaint, addressed his mother in these words:

multa querens atque hac adfatus voce parentem:

“Mother, mother Cyrene, who hold the depths

“Mater, Cyrene mater, quae gurgitis huius

of this flood, why, from the famed line of the gods —

ima tenes, quid me praeclara stirpe deorum,

if indeed, as you tell, my father is Thymbraean Apollo —

si modo, quem perhibes, pater est Thymbraeus Apollo,

did you bear me, hateful to the fates? or whither has your love

invisum fatis genuisti? aut quo tibi nostri

for me been driven? Why did you bid me hope for heaven?

pulsus amor? quid me caelum sperare iubebas?

Lo, even this very honour of my mortal life,

En etiam hunc ipsum vitae mortalis honorem,

which the skilled keeping of crops and herds had hardly hammered out for me,

quem mihi vix frugum et pecudum custodia sollers

who tried all things, I lay down, though you are my mother.

omnia temptanti extuderat, te matre relinquo.

Come then, and with your own hand tear up my fruitful woods,

Quin age et ipsa manu felices erue silvas,

bring the enemy fire to my stalls, kill my harvests,

fer stabulis inimicum ignem atque interfice messes,

burn my crops, and swing the strong axe against my vines,

ure sata et validam in vites molire bipennem,

if so great a loathing of my fame has seized you.”

tanta meae si te ceperunt taedia laudis.”

But his mother, beneath the stream’s deep chamber, heard the sound.

At mater sonitum thalamo sub fluminis alti

Around her the Nymphs were carding Milesian fleeces

sensit. Eam circum Milesia vellera Nymphae

dyed with the deep colour of glassy green,

carpebant hyali saturo fucata colore,

Drymo and Xantho and Ligea and Phyllodoce,

drymoque Xanthoque Ligeaque Phyllodoceque,

their shining hair flowing over their white necks,

caesariem effusae nitidam per candida colla,

Nesaee and Spio and Thalia and Cymodoce,

Nesaee Spioque Thaliaque Cymodoceque,

Cydippe and golden Lycorias, the one a maiden,

Cydippeque et flava Lycorias, altera virgo,

the other but newly come through Lucina’s first pangs,

altera tum primos Lucinae experta labores,

Clio and her sister Beroe, both daughters of Ocean,

Clioque et Beroe soror, Oceanitides ambae,

both girt with gold, both in dappled hides,

ambae auro, pictis incinctae pellibus ambae,

and Ephyre and Opis and Asian Deiopea,

atque Ephyre atque Opis et Asia Deiopea

and swift Arethusa, her arrows laid by at last.

et tandem positis velox Arethusa sagittis.

Among them Clymene was telling of the vain care

Inter quas curam Clymene narrabat inanem

of Vulcan, the wiles of Mars and his sweet stolen joys,

Vulcani Martisque dolos et dulcia furta,

and from Chaos on was counting the thronging loves of the gods;

aque Chao densos divum numerabat amores

and while, charmed by the song, they spin the soft wool

carmine quo captae dum fusis mollia pensa

from their spindles, again the grief of Aristaeus struck

devolvunt, iterum maternas impulit aures

his mother’s ears, and on their glassy seats they all

luctus Aristaei, vitreisque sedilibus omnes

were stunned; but before her sisters Arethusa,

obstipuere; sed ante alias Arethusa sorores

looking out, lifted her golden head from the topmost wave

prospiciens summa flavum caput extulit unda

and cried from afar: “O not in vain dismayed by so great a groan,

et procul: “O gemitu non frustra exterrita tanto,

Cyrene sister, he himself, your greatest care,

Cyrene soror, ipse tibi, tua maxima cura,

your mournful Aristaeus, by the wave of father Peneus

tristis Aristaeus Penei genitoris ad undam

stands weeping, and names you cruel.”

stat lacrimans et te crudelem nomine dicit.”

To her the mother, her mind struck with a strange dread,

Huic percussa nova mentem formidine mater,

“Lead him, come, lead him to us; for him it is right

“duc, age, duc ad nos; fas illi limina divum

to touch the thresholds of the gods,” she says. And at once she bids

tangere,” ait. Simul alta iubet discedere late

the deep streams part wide, where the youth might set his steps. But the wave,

flumina, qua iuvenis gressus inferret. At illum

arched into the likeness of a mountain, stood round him,

curvata in montis faciem circumstetit unda

took him into its vast bosom and sent him beneath the river.

accepitque sinu vasto misitque sub amnem.

And now, marvelling at his mother’s house and the watery realms,

Iamque domum mirans genetricis et umida regna

the lakes shut in caverns and the sounding groves,

speluncisque lacus clausos lucosque sonantes

he went, and, dazed by the mighty stir of the waters,

ibat et ingenti motu stupefactus aquarum

gazed at all the rivers gliding beneath the great earth,

omnia sub magna labentia flumina terra

each in its place apart, the Phasis and the Lycus

spectabat diversa locis, Phasimque Lycumque

and the source whence the deep Enipeus first bursts forth,

et caput, unde altus primum se erumpit Enipeus

whence father Tiber, and whence the streams of the Anio,

unde pater Tiberinus et unde Aniena fluenta

and rock-strewn, roaring Hypanis, and Mysian Caicus,

saxosusque sonans Hypanis Mysusque Caicus,

and Eridanus, with twin gilded horns on a bull’s brow,

et gemina auratus taurino cornua vultu

than which no other river flows more violently

Eridanus, quo non alius per pinguia culta

through the rich tilth out into the purple sea.

in mare purpureum violentior effluit amnis.

After he had come to the chamber’s roof, hung with pumice,

Postquam est in thalami pendentia pumice tecta

and Cyrene had learned the empty weeping of her son,

perventum et nati fletus cognovit inanes

the sisters in order pour clear springs over his hands

Cyrene, manibus liquidos dant ordine fontes

and bring towels with the nap shorn off;

germanae tonsisque ferunt mantelia villis;

some load the boards with the feast and set on the brimming

pars epulis onerant mensas et plena reponunt

cups; the altars blaze up with Panchaean fires;

pocula, Panchaeis adolescunt ignibus arae;

and the mother, “Take the goblets of Maeonian wine:

et mater, “Cape Maeonii carchesia Bacchi:

let us pour to Ocean,” she says. And at once she herself prays

Oceano libemus,” ait. Simul ipsa precatur

to Ocean, the father of things, and to the sister Nymphs

Oceanumque patrem rerum Nymphasque sorores

who keep the hundred woods, who keep the hundred streams.

centum quae silvas, centum quae flumina servant.

Three times she drenched the glowing Vesta with clear nectar,

Ter liquido ardentem perfundit nectare Vestam,

three times the flame, leaping up, flashed bright to the roof’s peak.

ter flamma ad summum tecti subiecta reluxit.

Strengthening her heart with this omen, she thus begins:

Omine quo firmans animum sic incipit ipsa:

“There is in Neptune’s Carpathian flood a seer,

“Est in Carphatio Neptuni gurgite vates

sea-green Proteus, who measures the great deep with his fishes

caeruleus Proteus, magnum qui piscibus aequor

and his car yoked with two-footed horses.

et iuncto bipedum curru metitur equorum.

He now revisits the harbours of Emathia and his native

Hic nunc Emathiae portus patriamque revisit

Pallene; him both we Nymphs revere and aged

Pallenen, hunc et Nymphae veneramur et ipse

Nereus himself; for the seer knows all things,

grandaevus Nereus; novit namque omnia vates,

what are, what have been, what soon are drawn on to come;

quae sint, quae fuerint, quae mox ventura trahantur;

since so it seemed good to Neptune, whose monstrous

quippe ita Neptuno visum est, immania cuius

herds and ugly seals he pastures beneath the flood.

armenta et turpes pascit sub gurgite phocas.

He, my son, must first be caught by you in chains, that he may

Hic tibi, nate, prius vinclis capiendus, ut omnem

unfold the whole cause of the sickness and make the issue prosper.

expediat morbi causam eventusque secundet.

For without force he will give no precepts, nor will you bend him

Nam sine vi non ulla dabit praecepta, neque illum

by entreaty; lay hard force and bonds on him when caught;

orando flectes; vim duram et vincula capto

against these alone his vain wiles will at last be broken.

tende; doli circum haec demum frangentur inanes.

I myself, when the sun has kindled the midday heats,

Ipsa ego, te, medios cum sol accenderit aestus,

when the grass is parched and the shade is now welcomer to the flock,

cum sitiunt herbae et pecori iam gratior umbra est,

will lead you into the old man’s retreat, where, weary, from the waves

in secreta senis ducam, quo fessus ab undis

he withdraws, that you may easily come on him as he lies asleep.

se recipit, facile ut somno adgrediare iacentem.

But when you hold him caught in your hands and bonds,

Verum ubi correptum manibus vinclisque tenebis,

then will manifold shapes mock you, and the faces of wild beasts.

tum variae eludent species atque ora ferarum

For of a sudden he will become a bristling boar, a black tigress,

Fiet enim subito sus horridus atraque tigris

a scaly dragon, a lioness with tawny neck,

squamosusque draco et fulva cervice leaena,

or will give the sharp crackle of flame and so slip from his bonds,

aut acrem flammae sonitum dabit atque ita vinclis

or, dissolving into thin waters, will be gone.

excidet, aut in aquas tenues dilapsus abibit.

But the more he turns himself into every shape,

Sed quanto ille magis formas se vertet in omnes,

the more, my son, do you strain the clinging bonds,

tanto, nate, magis contende tenacia vincla,

until, his body changed, he is once more such as you saw him

donec talis erit mutato corpore, qualem

when, beginning his sleep, he was closing his eyes.”

videris, incepto tegeret cum lumina somno.”

So she speaks, and pours out the liquid scent of ambrosia,

Haec ait et liquidum ambrosiae defundit odorem,

with which she anointed her son’s whole body; and from his

quo totum nati corpus perduxit; at illi

ordered hair a sweet breath blew,

dulcis compositis spiravit crinibus aura

and a ready vigour came into his limbs. There is a vast cave

atque habilis membris venit vigor. Est specus ingens

in the hollowed side of a mountain, where much water

exesi latere in montis, quo plurima vento

is driven by the wind and breaks itself into receding bays,

cogitur inque sinus scindit sese unda reductos,

once a most sheltered haven for storm-caught sailors;

deprensis olim statio tutissima nautis;

within, Proteus screens himself behind a barrier of huge rock.

intus se vasti Proteus tegit obice saxi.

Here the Nymph sets the youth in the dark, turned from the light;

Hic iuvenem in latebris aversum a lumine Nympha

she herself stands apart, dim in the mist.

collocat; ipsa procul nebulis obscura resistit.

Now Sirius, raging, the burning star, that scorches the thirsting

Iam rapidus torrens sitientes Sirius Indos

Indians, was ablaze, and the fiery sun had drained

ardebat, caelo et medium sol igneus orbem

the middle circle of the sky; the grass was parched, and the rays

hauserat; arebant herbae et cava flumina siccis

were baking the hollow rivers, warm to the mud in their dry throats:

faucibus ad limum radii tepefacta coquebant:

when Proteus, seeking his wonted caves, came from the waves;

cum Proteus consueta petens e fluctibus antra

about him the watery race of the vast sea,

ibat; eum vasti circum gens umida ponti

leaping, scattered the bitter spray far and wide.

exsultans rorem late dispergit amarum.

The seals lay down to sleep, here and there along the shore.

Sternunt se somno diversae in litore phocae.

He himself, like the keeper of a fold in the hills, when evening

Ipse, velut stabuli custos in montibus olim,

brings the calves home from pasture to the steadings,

vesper ubi e pastu vitulos ad tecta reducit,

and the lambs, their bleatings heard, whet the wolves’ hunger,

auditisque lupos acuunt balatibus agni,

sits down on a rock in the midst and counts their number.

considit scopulo medius numerumque recenset.

And since the chance of taking him was offered to Aristaeus,

Cuius Aristaeo quoniam est oblata facultas,

scarcely letting the old man lay his weary limbs to rest,

vix defessa senem passus componere membra

he rushed on with a great shout and seized him in fetters as he lay.

cum clamore ruit magno manicisque iacentem

He, on his side, not forgetful of his art,

occupat. Ille suae contra non immemor artis

transforms himself into all the wonders of things,

omnia transformat sese in miracula rerum,

into fire, and a horrible beast, and a flowing river.

ignemque horribilemque feram fluviumque liquentem.

But when no trickery found him escape, vanquished,

Verum ubi nulla fugam reperit fallacia, victus

he returned to himself and at last spoke with a human mouth:

in sese redit atque hominis tandem ore locutus:

“Who, most presumptuous of young men, bade you

“Nam quis te, iuvenum confidentissime, nostras

approach our home? Or what do you seek from here?” he says. But the other:

iussit adire domos? Quidve hinc petis?” inquit. At ille:

“You know, Proteus, you yourself know; nor can anyone deceive you;

“Scis, Proteu, scis ipse; neque est te fallere quicquam

but cease to wish it. Following the gods’ precepts,

sed tu desine velle. Deum praecepta secuti

we have come hither to seek oracles for our fallen fortunes.”

venimus hinc lapsis quaesitum oracula rebus.”

So much he spoke. At this the seer, with great force at last,

Tantum effatus. Ad haec vates vi denique multa

rolled his blazing eyes, gleaming grey-green,

ardentes oculos intorsit lumine glauco

and, grinding hard, thus unsealed his lips to fate:

et graviter frendens sic fatis ora resolvit.

“It is the wrath of no slight power that pursues you;

“Non te nullius exercent numinis irae;

you pay for great crimes: it is wretched Orpheus who rouses these

magna luis commissa: tibi has miserabilis Orpheus

penalties against you, in no way matched to your desert — did the fates not withstand —

haudquaquam ob meritum poenas, ni fata resistant,

and rages grievously for his ravished wife.

suscitat et rapta graviter pro coniuge saevit.

She indeed, while she fled you headlong along the river,

Illa quidem, dum te fugeret per flumina praeceps,

the doomed girl, did not see, in the deep grass before her feet,

immanem ante pedes hydrum moritura puella

the monstrous water-snake that guarded the banks.

servantem ripas alta non vidit in herba.

But the band of Dryads, her companions, filled the highest

At chorus aequalis Dryadum clamore supremos

mountains with their cry; the heights of Rhodope wept,

implerunt montes; flerunt Rhodopeiae arces

and lofty Pangaea, and the martial land of Rhesus,

altaque Pangaea et Rhesi mavortia tellus

the Getae too, and Hebrus, and Attic Orithyia.

atque Getae atque Hebrus et Actias Orithyia.

He himself, soothing his sick love with his hollow shell,

Ipse cava solans aegrum testudine amorem

sang of you, sweet wife, of you, alone on the lonely shore,

te, dulcis coniunx, te solo in litore secum,

of you as day came on, of you as day departed.

te veniente die, te decedente canebat.

He even entered the jaws of Taenarus, the high gates of Dis,

Taenarias etiam fauces, alta ostia Ditis,

and the grove that darkens with black terror,

et caligantem nigra formidine lucum

and approached the shades and the dread king

ingressus manesque adiit regemque tremendum

and the hearts that know not to soften at human prayers.

nesciaque humanis precibus mansuescere corda.

But, stirred by his song, from the deepest seats of Erebus

At cantu commotae Erebi de sedibus imis

came the thin shades and the phantoms of those who lack the light,

umbrae ibant tenues simulacraque luce carentum,

as many as the thousands of birds that hide among the leaves

quam multa in foliis avium se milia condunt

when evening or a wintry shower drives them from the hills,

vesper ubi aut hibernus agit de montibus imber,

mothers and men and the bodies, their lives done,

matres atque viri defunctaque corpora vita

of great-hearted heroes, boys and unwed girls,

magnanimum heroum, pueri innuptaeque puellae,

and youths laid on the pyres before their parents’ faces,

impositique rogis iuvenes ante ora parentum,

whom the black mud and the foul reed of Cocytus

quos circum limus niger et deformis harundo

and the unlovely marsh with its sluggish water hem in all around,

Cocyti tardaque palus inamabilis unda

and Styx, poured nine times between, confines.

alligat et noviens Styx interfusa coercet.

Nay, the very house was struck, and the inmost halls

Quin ipsae stupuere domus atque intima Leti

of Death, and the Furies, their hair entwined with blue-grey snakes,

tartara caeruleosque implexae crinibus angues

and Cerberus held his three mouths agape,

Eumenides, tenuitque inhians tria Cerberus ora

and the wheel of Ixion’s circling stopped in the wind.

atque Ixionii vento rota constitit orbis.

And now, retracing his step, he had escaped all mischances,

Iamque pedem referens casus evaserat omnes;

and Eurydice, given back, was coming to the upper air,

redditaque Eurydice superas veniebat ad auras,

following behind — for Proserpina had laid down this law —

pone sequens, namque hanc dederat Proserpina legem,

when a sudden madness seized the unwary lover,

cum subita incautum dementia cepit amantem,

a thing to be forgiven, did the shades know how to forgive:

ignoscenda quidem, scirent si ignoscere manes.

he stopped, and his own Eurydice, now under the very light,

Restitit Eurydicenque suam iam luce sub ipsa

forgetful, alas, and overcome in spirit, looked back. There all

immemor heu! victusque animi respexit. Ibi omnis

his labour was spilled, and the pact of the ruthless tyrant

effusus labor atque immitis rupta tyranni

broken, and three times a crash was heard in the pools of Avernus.

foedera, terque fragor stagnis auditus Avernis.

She cried, “What madness, Orpheus, what madness so great

Illa, “Quis et me,” inquit, “miseram et te perdidit, Orpheu,

has ruined both wretched me and you? Lo, again the cruel

quis tantus furor? En iterum crudelia retro

fates call me back, and sleep buries my swimming eyes.

Fata vocant, conditque natantia lumina somnus.

And now farewell: I am borne off, wrapped in vast night,

Iamque vale: feror ingenti circumdata nocte

stretching out to you my helpless hands — yours, alas, no more!”

invalidasque tibi tendens, heu non tua, palmas!”

She spoke, and suddenly, like smoke mingling into thin

dixit et ex oculis subito, ceu fumus in auras

air, fled from his sight in the other direction, nor did she see him again

commixtus tenues, fugit diversa, neque illum,

as he clutched in vain at the shadows and longed to say

prensantem nequiquam umbras et multa volentem

so much; nor did the ferryman of Orcus suffer him

dicere, praeterea vidit, nec portitor Orci

to cross again the marsh thrown in his way.

amplius obiectam passus transire paludem.

What could he do? Whither bear himself, his wife twice ravished?

Quid faceret? Quo se rapta bis coniuge ferret?

With what weeping move the shades, with what voice move the powers?

Quo fletu Manis, quae numina voce moveret?

She indeed, now cold, was swimming the Stygian skiff.

Illa quidem Stygia nabat iam frigida cumba.

Seven whole months on end, they say, beneath an airy

Septem illum totos perhibent ex ordine menses

crag, by the wave of the desert Strymon,

rupe sub aeria deserti ad Strymonis undam

he wept, and unrolled this tale in the cold caverns,

flesse sibi et gelidis haec evolvisse sub antris

soothing the tigers and drawing the oaks with his song;

mulcentem tigres et agentem carmine quercus;

as the nightingale, mourning in the poplar’s shade,

qualis populea maerens philomela sub umbra

laments her lost brood, which a hard ploughman,

amissos queritur fetus, quos durus arator

watching, has dragged unfledged from the nest; but she

observans nido implumes detraxit; at illa

weeps all night, and, perched on a bough, renews her piteous

flet noctem ramoque sedens miserabile carmen

song, and fills the country far and wide with her sad complaints.

integrat et maestis late loca questibus implet.

No love, no wedding-songs bent his heart.

Nulla Venus, non ulli animum flexere hymenaei.

Alone he ranged the Hyperborean ice and the snowy Tanais

Solus Hyperboreas glacies Tanaimque nivalem

and the fields never widowed of the Rhipaean frosts,

arvaque Rhipaeis numquam viduata pruinis

mourning his ravished Eurydice and the gifts

lustrabat raptam Eurydicen atque inrita Ditis

of Dis made void; by which devotion slighted, the Ciconian mothers,

dona querens; spretae Ciconum quo munere matres

amid the rites of the gods and the orgies of nightly Bacchus,

inter sacra deum nocturnique orgia Bacchi

tore the young man apart and scattered him over the wide fields.

discerptum latos iuvenem sparsere per agros.

Then too, when the Oeagrian Hebrus, in mid-stream,

Tum quoque marmorea caput a cervice revulsum

was rolling the head torn from the marble neck,

gurgite cum medio portans Oeagrius Hebrus

the bare voice and the cold tongue, with the soul fleeing,

volveret, Eurydicen vox ipsa et frigida lingua

kept calling “Eurydice! ah, wretched Eurydice!”

“ah miseram Eurydicen!” anima fugiente vocabat:

and the banks echoed “Eurydice” down all the river.”

“Eurydicen” toto referebant flumine ripae.”

So Proteus, and with a plunge he gave himself into the deep sea,

Haec Proteus, et se iactu dedit aequor in altum,

and where he plunged, he whirled the foaming wave beneath the eddy.

quaque dedit, spumantem undam sub vertice torsit.

But not Cyrene; for unbidden she addressed the fearful youth:

At non Cyrene; namque ultro adfata timentem:

“Son, you may lay aside the sad cares from your mind.

“Nate, licet tristes animo deponere curas.

This is the whole cause of the sickness; hence the Nymphs,

Haec omnis morbi causa; hinc miserabile Nymphae,

with whom she led her dances in the deep groves,

cum quibus illa choros lucis agitabat in altis,

have sent this piteous ruin on the bees. You, a suppliant,

exitium misere apibus. Tu munera supplex

hold out gifts, seeking peace, and worship the gentle wood-Nymphs;

tende petens pacem et faciles venerare Napaeas;

for they will grant pardon to your prayers and remit their anger.

namque dabunt veniam votis irasque remittent.

But what the manner of your praying should be, I will first tell in order.

Sed modus orandi qui sit, prius ordine dicam.

Pick out four choice bulls of surpassing body,

Quattuor eximios praestanti corpore tauros,

which now graze for you on the heights of green Lycaeus,

qui tibi nunc viridis depascunt summa Lycaei,

and as many heifers with neck untouched by the yoke.

delige et intacta totidem cervice iuvencas.

For these set up four altars at the high shrines of the goddesses,

Quattuor his aras alta ad delubra dearum

and let the sacred blood down from their throats,

constitue et sacrum iugulis demitte cruorem,

and leave the bodies of the oxen themselves in a leafy grove.

corporaque ipsa boum frondoso desere luco.

Then, when the ninth Dawn has shown her risings,

Post, ubi nona suos Aurora ostenderit ortus,

you will send to Orpheus the funeral gift of Lethe’s poppies

inferias Orphei Lethaea papavera mittes

and slay a black ewe and revisit the grove:

et nigram mactabis ovem lucumque revises:

with a heifer slain you will worship Eurydice, appeased.”

placatam Eurydicen vitula venerabere caesa.”

No delay; at once he carries out his mother’s precepts;

Haud mora; continuo matris praecepta facessit;

he comes to the shrines, raises the altars she showed,

ad delubra venit, monstratas excitat aras,

leads four choice bulls of surpassing body

quattuor eximios praestanti corpore tauros

and as many heifers with neck untouched by the yoke.

ducit et intacta totidem cervice iuvencas.

Then, when the ninth Dawn had brought on her risings,

Post, ubi nona suos Aurora induxerat ortus,

he sends the funeral gifts to Orpheus and revisits the grove.

inferias Orphei mittit lucumque revisit.

But here indeed they behold a sudden portent, wondrous to tell:

Hic vero subitum ac dictu mirabile monstrum

through the whole belly, among the dissolved flesh of the oxen,

adspiciunt, liquefacta boum per viscera toto

bees buzzing, and swarming out from the burst ribs,

stridere apes utero et ruptis effervere costis,

and drawn off in vast clouds, and now on a tree-top

immensasque trahi nubes, iamque arbore summa

flowing together and hanging a cluster from the pliant boughs.

confluere et lentis uvam demittere ramis.

This song I sang of the tending of fields and of flocks

Haec super arvorum cultu pecorumque canebam

and of trees, while great Caesar thundered in war

et super arboribus, Caesar dum magnus ad altum

by the deep Euphrates and, victorious, gave laws

fulminat Euphraten bello victorque volentes

among willing peoples, and made his way toward Olympus.

per populos dat iura viamque adfectat Olympo.

In that time sweet Parthenope nourished me, Virgil,

Illo Vergilium me tempore dulcis alebat

flourishing in the studies of inglorious ease —

Parthenope studiis florentem ignobilis oti,

I who toyed with shepherds’ songs, and, bold in youth,

carmina qui lusi pastorum audaxque iuventa,

sang of you, Tityrus, beneath the canopy of a spreading beech.

Tityre, te patulae cecini sub tegmine fagi.

V irgil by Claude

The Georgics

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