(XXXV.)
Not yet had bright day with herald beams struck the waves of the Ionian
main; the light of dawn shimmered on the waters and the straying
brilliance flickered over the deep blue sea. And now bold Proserpine,
forgetful of her mother’s jealous care and tempted by the wiles of
Venus, seeks the stream-fed vale. Such was the Fates’ decree. Thrice
did the doors sound a warning note as the hinges turned; thrice did
prophetic Aetna rumble mournfully with awful thunders. But her can no
portent, no omen detain. The sister goddesses bore her company.
First goes Venus exulting in her trickery and inspired by her great
mission. In her heart she takes account of the coming rape; soon she
will rule dread Chaos, soon, Dis once subdued, she will lead the
subject ghosts. Her hair, parted into many
[123] See Introduction, p. xiv.
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illi multifidos crinis sinuatur in orbes 15
Idalia divisus acu; sudata marito
fibula purpureos gemma suspendit amictus.
Candida Parrhasii post hanc regina Lycaei
et Pandionias quae cuspide protegit arces,
utraque virgo, ruunt: haec tristibus aspera bellis, 20
haec metuenda feris. Tritonia casside fulva
caelatum Typhona gerit, qui summa peremptus
ima parte viget, moriens et parte superstes;
hastaque terribili surgens per nubila ferro
instar habet silvae; tantum stridentia colla 25
Gorgonis obtentu pallae fulgentis inumbrat.
at Triviae lenis species et multus in ore
frater erat, Phoebique genas et lumina Phoebi
esse putes, solusque dabat discrimina sexus.
brachia nuda nitent; levibus proiecerat auris 30
indociles errare comas, arcuque remisso
otia nervus agit; pendent post terga sagittae.
crispatur gemino vestis Gortynia cinctu
poplite fusa tenus, motoque in stamine Delos
errat et aurato trahitur circumflua ponto. 35
Quas inter Cereris proles, nunc gloria matris,
mox dolor, aequali tendit per gramina passu
nec membris nec honore minor potuitque videri
Pallas, si clipeum ferret, si spicula, Phoebe.
collectae tereti nodantur iaspide vestes. 40
pectinis ingenio numquam felicior artis
contigit eventus; nulli sic consona telae
fila nec in tantum veri duxere figuras.
hic Hyperionio Solem de semine nasci
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locks, is braided round her head and secured by a Cyprian pin, and a
brooch cunningly fabricated by her spouse Vulcan supports her cloak
thick studded with purple jewels.
Behind her hasten Diana, fair queen of Arcadian Lycaeus, and Pallas
who, with her spear, protects the citadel of Athens--virgins both;
Pallas, cruel goddess of war, Diana bane of wild creatures. On her
burnished helmet the Triton-born goddess wore a carved figure of
Typhon, the upper part of his body lifeless, the lower limbs yet
writhing, part dead, part quick. Her terrible spear, piercing the
clouds as she brandished it, resembled a tree; only the Gorgon’s
hissing neck she hid in the spread of her glittering cloak. But mild
was Diana’s gaze and very like her brother looked she; Phoebus’ own
one had thought her cheeks and eyes, her sex alone disclosed the
difference. Her shining arms were bare, her straying locks fluttered
in the gentle breeze, and the chord of her unstrung bow hung idle, her
arrows slung behind her back. Her Cretan tunic, gathered with girdles
twain, flows down to her knees, and on her waving dress Delos wanders
and stretches surrounded by a golden sea.
Between the two Ceres’ child, now her mother’s pride, so soon to be
her sorrow, treads the grass with equal pace, their equal, too, in
stature and beauty; Pallas you might have thought her, had she carried
a shield, Diana, if a javelin. A brooch of polished jasper secured her
girded dress. Never did art give happier issue to the shuttle’s skill;
never was cloth so beautifully made nor embroidery so lifelike. In it
she had worked the birth of the sun from the seed of Hyperion, the
birth, too, of the moon,
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fecerat et pariter, forma sed dispare, Lunam, 45
aurorae noctisque duces; cunabula Tethys
praebet et infantes gremio solatur anhelos
caeruleusque sinus roseis radiatur alumnis.
invalidum dextro portat Titana lacerto
nondum luce gravem nec pubescentibus alte 50
cristatum radiis: primo clementior aevo
fingitur et tenerum vagitu despuit ignem.
laeva parte soror vitrei libamina potat
uberis et parvo signatur tempora cornu.
Tali luxuriat cultu. comitantur euntem 55
Naides et socia stipant utrimque caterva,
quae fontes, Crinise, tuos et saxa rotantem
Pantagiam nomenque Gelam qui praebuit urbi
concelebrant, quas pigra vado Camerina palustri,
quas Arethusaei latices, quas advena nutrit 60
Alpheus; Cyane totum supereminet agmen:
qualis Amazonidum peltis exultat aduncis
pulchra cohors, quotiens Arcton populata virago
Hippolyte niveas ducit post proelia turmas,
seu flavos stravere Getas seu forte rigentem 65
Thermodontiaca Tanaim fregere securi;
aut quales referunt Baccho sollemnia Nymphae
Maeoniae, quas Hermus alit, ripasque paternas
percurrunt auro madidae: laetatur in antro
amnis et undantem declinat prodigus urnam. 70
Viderat herboso sacrum de vertice vulgus
Henna parens florum curvaque in valle sedentem
* * * * *
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though diverse was her shape--of sun and moon that bring the dawning
and the night. Tethys affords them a cradle and soothes in her bosom
their infant sobs; the rosy light of her foster-children irradiates her
dark blue plains. On her right shoulder she carried the infant Titan,
too young as yet to vex with his light, and his encircling beams not
grown; he is pictured as more gentle in those tender years, and from
his mouth issues a soft flame that accompanies his infant cries. The
moon, his sister, carried on Tethys’ left shoulder, sucks the milk of
that bright breast, her forehead marked with a little horn.
Such is the wonder of Proserpine’s dress. The Naiads bear her company
and on either side crowd around her, those who haunt thy streams,
Crinisus, and Pantagia’s rocky torrent and Gela’s who gives his name
to the city; those whom Camerina, the unmoved, nurtures in her shallow
marshes, whose home is Arethusa’s flood or the stream of Alpheus, her
foreign lover; tallest of their company is Cyane. So move they as the
beauteous band of Amazons, brandishing their moon-shaped shields what
time the maiden warrior Hippolyte, after laying waste the regions of
the north, leads home her fair army after battle, whether they have
o’erthrown the yellow-haired Getae or cloven frozen Tanais with the
axe of their native Thermodon; or as the Lydian Nymphs celebrate the
festivals of Bacchus--the Nymphs whose sire was Hermus along whose
banks they course, splashed with his golden waters: the river-god
rejoices in his cavern home and pours forth the flooding urn with
generous hand.
Henna, mother of blossoms, had espied the goddess’ company from her
grassy summit and thus addressed
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compellat Zephyrum: “pater o gratissime veris,
qui mea lascivo regnas per prata meatu
semper et adsiduis inroras flatibus annum, 75
respice Nympharum coetus et celsa Tonantis
germina per nostros dignantia ludere campos.
nunc adsis faveasque, precor; nunc omnia fetu
pubescant virgulta velis, ut fertilis Hybla
invideat vincique suos non abnuat hortos. 80
quidquid turiferis spirat Panchaia silvis,
quidquid odoratus longe blanditur Hydaspes,
quidquid ab extremis ales longaeva colonis
colligit optato repetens exordia leto,[124]
in venas disperge meas et flamine largo 85
rura fove. merear divino pollice carpi
et nostris cupiant ornari numina sertis.”
Dixerat; ille novo madidantes nectare pennas
concutit et glaebas fecundo rore maritat,
quaque volat vernus sequitur rubor; omnis in herbas
turget humus medioque patent convexa sereno. 91
sanguineo splendore rosas, vaccinia nigro
imbuit et dulci violas ferrugine pingit.
Parthica quae tantis variantur cingula gemmis
regales vinctura sinus? quae vellera tantum 95
ditibus Assyrii spumis fucantur aëni?
non tales volucer pandit Iunonius alas,
nec sic innumeros arcu mutante colores
incipiens redimitur hiems, cum tramite flexo
semita discretis interviret umida nimbis. 100
Forma loci superat flores: curvata tumore
parvo planities et mollibus edita clivis
creverat in collem; vivo de pumice fontes
[124] _leto_ Heinsius; Birt _saeclo_ (FDWB1V1).
* * * * *
Page 325
Zephyrus, lurking in the winding vale: “Gracious father of the spring,
thou who ever rulest over my meads with errant breeze and bringest
rain upon the summer lands with thine unceasing breath, behold this
company of Nymphs and Jove’s tall daughters who deign to sport them in
my meadows. Be present to bless, I pray. Grant that now all the trees
be thick with newly-grown fruit, that fertile Hybla may be jealous
and admit her paradise surpassed. All the sweet airs of Panchaea’s
incense-bearing woods, all the honied odours of Hydaspes’ distant
stream, all the spices which from furthest fields the long-lived
Phoenix gathers, seeking new birth from wished for death--spread thou
all these through my veins and with generous breath refresh my country.
May I be worthy to be plundered by divine fingers and goddesses seek to
be decked with my garlands.”
So spake she, and Zephyrus shook his wings adrip with fresh nectar and
drenches the ground with their life-giving dew. Wheresoe’er he flies
spring’s brilliance follows. The fields grow lush with verdure and
heaven’s dome shines cloudless above them. He paints the bright roses
red, the hyacinths blue and the sweet violets purple. What girdles of
Babylon, meet cincture of a royal breast, are adorned with such varied
jewels? What fleece so dyed in the rich juice of the murex where stand
the brazen towers of Tyre? Not the wings of Juno’s own bird display
such colouring. Not thus do the many-changing hues of the rainbow span
young winter’s sky when in curved arch its rainy path glows green amid
the parting clouds.
Even more lovely than the flowers is the country. The plain, with
gentle swell and gradual slopes, rose into a hill; issuing from the
living rock gushing
* * * * *
Page 326
roscida mobilibus lambebant gramina rivis,
silvaque torrentes ramorum frigore soles 105
temperat et medio brumam sibi vindicat aestu:
apta fretis abies, bellis accommoda cornus,
quercus amica Iovi, tumulos tectura cupressus,
ilex plena favis, venturi praescia laurus;
fluctuat hic denso crispata cacumine buxus, 110
hic hederae serpunt, hic pampinus induit ulmos.
haud procul inde lacus (Pergum dixere Sicani)
panditur et nemorum frondoso margine cinctus
vicinis pallescit aquis: admittit in altum
cernentes oculos et late pervius umor 115
ducit inoffensos liquido sub flumine visus
imaque perspicui prodit secreta profundi.
[huc elapsa cohors gaudet per florida rura.][125]
Hortatur Cytherea legant. “nunc ite, sorores,
dum matutinis praesudat solibus aër, 120
dum meus umectat flaventes Lucifer agros
roranti praevectus equo.” sic fata doloris
carpit signa sui. varios tum cetera saltus
invasere cohors: credas examina fundi
Hyblaeum raptura thymum, cum cerea reges 125
castra movent fagique cava dimissus ab alvo
mellifer electis exercitus obstrepit herbis.
pratorum spoliatur honos: haec lilia fuscis
intexit violis; hanc mollis amaracus ornat;
haec graditur stellata rosis, haec alba ligustris. 130
te quoque, flebilibus maerens Hyacinthe figuris,
[125] Written into F by a later hand. Doubtless an interpolation
and as such erased in C. It anticipates the _saltus invasere
cohors_ of 123.
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Page 327
streams bedewed their grassy banks. With the shade of its branches a
wood tempers the sun’s fierce heat and at summer’s height makes for
itself the cold of winter. There grows the pine, useful for seafaring,
the cornel-tree for weapons of war, the oak, friendly to Jove, the
cypress, sentinel of graves, the holm filled with honeycombs, and the
laurel foreknowing of the future; here the box-tree waves its thick
crown of leaves, here creeps the ivy, here the vine clothes the elm.
Not far from here lies a lake called by the Sicani Pergus, girt with
a cincture of leafy woods close around its pallid waters. Deep down
therein the eye of whoso would can see, and the everywhere transparent
water invites an untrammelled gaze into its oozy depths and betrays the
uttermost secrets of its pellucid gulfs. [Hither came their company
well pleased with the flowery climb.]
Venus bids them gather flowers. “Come, sisters, while yet the morning
sun shines through the moist air, and while Lucifer, my harbinger
of dawn, yet drives his dewy steeds and waters the flower-bright
field.” So spake she and gathered the flower that testifies to her
own woe.[126] Her companions ranged the various vales. You could have
believed a swarm of bees was on the wing, eager to gather its sweetness
from Hyblaean thyme, where the king bees lead out their wax-housed
armies and the honey-bearing host, issuing from the beech-tree’s hollow
bole, buzzes around its favourite flowers. The meadows are despoiled
of their glory; this goddess weaves lilies with dark violets, another
decks herself with pliant marjoram, a third steps forth rose-crowned,
another wreathed with white privet. Thee also, Hyacinthus,
[126] Traditionally said to be the anemone, which is supposed to have
sprung up red from the spot where Adonis was killed by the boar.
* * * * *
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Narcissumque metunt, nunc inclita germina veris,
praestantes olim pueros: tu natus Amyclis,
hunc Helicon genuit; disci te perculit error,
hunc fontis decepit amor; te fronte retusa 135
Delius, hunc fracta Cephisus harundine luget.
Aestuat ante alias avido fervore legendi
frugiferae spes una deae: nunc vimine texto
ridentes calathos spoliis agrestibus implet;
nunc sociat flores seseque ignara coronat, 140
augurium fatale tori. quin ipsa tubarum
armorumque potens dextram, qua fortia turbat
agmina, qua stabiles portas et moenia vellit,
iam levibus laxat studiis hastamque reponit
insuetisque docet galeam mitescere sertis; 145
ferratus lascivit apex horrorque recessit
Martius et cristae pacato fulgure vernant.
nec, quae Parthenium canibus scrutatur odorem,
aspernata choros libertatemque comarum
iniecta voluit tantum frenare corona. 150
Talia virgineo passim dum more geruntur,
ecce repens mugire fragor, confligere turres
pronaque vibratis radicibus oppida verti.
causa latet; dubios agnovit sola tumultus
diva Paphi mixtoque metu perterrita gaudet. 155
iamque per anfractus animarum rector opacos
sub terris quaerebat iter gravibusque gementem
* * * * *
Page 329
they gather, thy flower inscribed with woe, and Narcissus too--once
lovely boys, now the pride of flowering spring. Thou, Hyacinthus, wert
born at Amyclae, Narcissus was Helicon’s child; thee the errant discus
slew; him the amorous water-nymphs beguiled; for thee weeps Delos’ god
with sorrow-weighted brow; for him Cephisus with his broken reeds.
But beyond her fellows she, the one hope of the corn-bearing goddess,
burned with a fierce desire to gather flowers. Now she fills with the
spoil of the fields her laughing baskets, osier-woven; now she twines
a wreath of flowers and crowns herself therewith, little seeing in
this a foreshadowing of the marriage fate holds in store for her. E’en
Pallas herself, goddess of the trumpets and of the weapons of war,
devotes to gentler pursuits the hand wherewith she o’erwhelms the host
of battle and throws down stout gates and city walls. She lays aside
her spear and wreaths her helmet with soft flowers--strange aureole!
The iron peak is gay, o’ershadowed the fierce martial glint, and the
plumes, erstwhile levin bolts, now nod with blossoms. Nor does Diana,
who scours Mount Parthenius with her keen-scented hounds, disdain this
company but would fain bind her free-flowing tresses with a flowery
crown.
But while the maidens so disport themselves, wandering through the
fields, a sudden roar is heard, towers crash and towns, shaken to their
foundations, totter and fall. None knows whence comes the tumult;
Paphus’ goddess alone recognized the sound that set her companions in
amaze, and fear mixed with joy fills her heart. For now the king of
souls was pricking his way through the dim labyrinth of the underworld
and crushing Enceladus, groaning
* * * * *
Page 330
Enceladum calcabat equis: inmania findunt
membra rotae pressaque Gigas cervice laborat
Sicaniam cum Dite ferens temptatque moveri 160
debilis et fessis serpentibus impedit axem:
fumida sulphureo praelabitur orbita dorso.
ac velut occultus securum pergit in hostem
miles et effossi subter fundamina campi
transilit inclusos arcano limite muros 165
turbaque deceptas victrix erumpit in arces
terrigenas imitata viros: sic tertius heres
Saturni latebrosa vagis rimatur habenis
devia, fraternum cupiens exire sub orbem.
ianua nulla patet; prohibebant undique rupes 170
oppositae duraque deum compage tenebant:
non tulit ille moras indignatusque trabali
saxa ferit sceptro. Siculae sonuere cavernae;
turbatur Lipare; stupuit fornace relicta
Mulciber et trepidus deiecit fulmina Cyclops. 175
audiit et si quem glacies Alpina coërcet
et qui te, Latiis nondum praecincte tropaeis
Thybri, natat missamque Pado qui remigat alnum.
Sic, cum Thessaliam scopulis inclusa teneret
Peneo stagnante palus et mersa negaret 180
arva coli, trifida Neptunus cuspide montes
impulit adversos: tunc forti saucius ictu
dissiluit gelido vertex Ossaeus Olympo;
carceribus laxantur aquae factoque meatu
redduntur fluviusque mari tellusque colonis. 185
* * * * *
Page 331
beneath the weight of his massy steeds. His chariot-wheels severed the
monstrous limbs, and the giant struggles, bearing Sicily along with
Pluto on his burdened neck, and feebly essays to move and entangle the
wheels with his weary serpents; still o’er his blazing back passes
the smoking chariot. And as sappers seek to issue forth upon their
unsuspecting enemy and, following a minèd path beneath the foundations
of the tunnelled field, pass unmarked beyond the foe-invested walls
of the city to break out, a victorious party, into the citadel of the
outwitted enemy, seeming sprung from earth, even so Saturn’s third son
scours the devious darkness whithersoever his team hurries him, all
eager to come forth beneath his brother’s sky. No door lies open for
him; rocks bar his egress on every side and detain the god in their
escapeless prison. He brooked not the delay but wrathfully smote the
crags with his beam-like staff. Sicily’s caverns thundered, Lipare’s
isle was confounded, Vulcan left his forge in amaze and the Cyclops let
drop their thunderbolts in fear. The pent-up denizens of the frozen
Alps heard the uproar and he who then swam thy wave, father Tiber, thy
brows not as yet graced with the crown of Italy’s triumphs; there heard
it he who rows his bark down Padus’ stream.
So when the rock-encircled lake, ere Peneus’ wave rolled seaward,
covered all Thessaly and allowed not its submerged fields to be tilled,
Neptune smote the imprisoning mountain with his trident. Then did the
peak of Ossa, riven with the mighty blow, spring apart from snowy
Olympus; a passage was made and the waters were released, whereby the
sea won back her feeding streams and the husbandman his fields.
* * * * *
Page 332
Postquam victa manu duros Trinacria nexus
solvit et inmenso late discessit hiatu,
adparet subitus caelo timor; astra viarum
mutavere fidem; vetito se proluit Arctos
aequore; praecipitat pigrum formido Booten; 190
horruit Orion. audito palluit Atlas
hinnitu: rutilos obscurat anhelitus axes
discolor et longa solitos caligine pasci
terruit orbis equos; pressis haesere lupatis
attoniti meliore polo rursusque verendum 195
in chaos obliquo certant temone reverti.
mox ubi pulsato senserunt verbera tergo
et solem didicere pati, torrentius amne
hiberno tortaque ruunt pernicius hasta:
quantum non iaculum Parthi, non impetus Austri, 200
non leve sollicitae mentis discurrit acumen.
sanguine frena calent; corrumpit spiritus auras
letifer; infectae spumis vitiantur harenae.
Diffugiunt Nymphae: rapitur Proserpina curru
imploratque deas. iam Gorgonis ora revelat 205
Pallas et intento festinat Delia telo
nec patruo cedunt: stimulat communis in arma
virginitas crimenque feri raptoris acerbat.
ille velut stabuli decus armentique iuvencam
cum leo possedit nudataque viscera fodit 210
unguibus et rabiem totos exegit in armos:
stat crassa turpis sanie nodosque iubarum
excutit et viles pastorum despicit iras.
“Ignavi domitor vulgi, deterrime fratrum,”
* * * * *
Page 333
When Trinacria beneath Pluto’s stroke loosed her rocky bonds and yawned
wide with cavernous cleft, sudden fear seized upon the sky. The stars
deserted their accustomed courses; the Bear bathed him in forbidden
Ocean; terror hurried sluggish Boötes to his setting; Orion trembled.
Atlas paled as he heard the neighing coursers; their smoky breath
obscures the bright heavens and the sun’s orb affrighted them, so long
fed on darkness. They stood biting the curb astonied at the brighter
air, and struggle to turn the chariot and hurry back to dread Chaos.
But soon, when they felt the lash on their backs and learned to bear
the sun’s brightness, they gallop on more rapidly than a winter torrent
and more fleet than the hurtling spear; swifter than the Parthian’s
dart, the south wind’s fury or nimble thought of anxious mind. Their
bits are warm with blood, their death-bringing breath infects the air,
the polluted dust is poisoned with their foam.
The Nymphs fly in all directions; Proserpine is hurried away in the
chariot, imploring aid of the goddesses. Now Pallas unveils the
Gorgon’s head, Diana strings her bow and hastes to help. Neither yields
to her uncle’s violence; a common virginity compels them to fight and
enrages them at the crime of the fierce ravisher. Pluto is like a lion
when he has seized upon a heifer, the pride of the stall and the herd,
and has torn with his claws the defenceless flesh and has sated his
fury on all its limbs, and so stands all befouled with clotted blood
and shakes his tangled mane and scorns the shepherds’ feeble rage.
“Lord of the strengthless dead,” cries Pallas,
* * * * *
Page 334
Pallas ait “quae te stimulis facibusque profanis 215
Eumenides movere? tua cur sede relicta
audes Tartareis caelum incestare quadrigis?
sunt tibi deformes Dirae, sunt altera Lethes
numina, sunt tristes Furiae, te coniuge dignae.
fratris linque domos, alienam desere sortem; 220
nocte tua contentus abi. quid viva sepultis
admisces? nostrum quid proteris advena mundum?”
Talia vociferans avidos transire minaci
cornipedes umbone ferit clipeique retardat
obice Gorgoneisque premens adsibilat hydris 225
praetentaque operit crista; libratur in ictum
fraxinus et nigros inluminat obvia currus
missaque paene foret, ni Iuppiter aethere summo
pacificas rubri torsisset fulminis alas
confessus socerum: nimbis hymenaeus hiulcis 230
intonat et testes firmant conubia flammae.
Invitae cessere deae. compescuit arcum
cum gemitu talesque dedit Latonia voces:
“Sis memor o longumque vale. reverentia patris
obstitit auxilio, nec nos defendere contra 235
possumus: imperio vinci maiore fatemur.
in te coniurat genitor populoque silenti
traderis, heu! cupidas non adspectura sorores
aequalemque chorum. quae te fortuna supernis
abstulit et tanto damnavit sidera luctu? 240
* * * * *
Page 335
“wickedest of thy brothers, what Furies have stirred thee with
their goads and accursed torches? Why hast thou left thy seat and how
darest thou pollute the upper world with thy hellish team? Thou hast
the hideous Curses, the other deities of Hell, the dread Furies--any
of them would be a worthy spouse for thee. Quit thy brother’s realm,
begone from the kingdom allotted to another. Get thee hence; let thine
own night suffice thee. Why mix the quick with the dead? Why treadest
thou our world, an unwelcome visitant?”
So exclaiming she smote with her threatening shield the horses who
sought to advance and barred their way with the bulk of her targe,
thrusting them back with the hissing snake-hair of Medusa’s head
and o’ershadowing them with its outstretched plumes. She poised for
throwing her beechen shaft whose radiance met and illumed Pluto’s black
chariot. Almost had she cast it had not Jove from heaven’s height
hurled his red thunderbolt on peaceful wings, acknowledging his new
son; mid the riven clouds thunders the marriage-paean and attesting
fires confirm the union.
All unwilling the goddesses yielded, and weeping Diana laid aside her
weapons and thus spake: “Fare well, a long farewell; forget us not.
Reverence for our sire forbade our help, and against his will we cannot
defend thee. We acknowledge defeat by a power greater than our own.
The Father hath conspired against thee and betrayed thee to the realms
of silence, no more, alas! to behold the sisters and companions who
crave sight of thee. What fate hath reft thee from the upper air and
condemned the heavens to so deep mourning? Now no more
* * * * *
Page 336
iam neque Partheniis innectere retia lustris
nec pharetram gestare libet: securus ubique
spumet aper saevique fremant impune leones.
te iuga Taygeti, posito te Maenala flebunt
venatu maestoque diu lugebere Cyntho. 245
Delphica quin etiam fratris delubra tacebunt.”
Interea volucri fertur Proserpina curru
caesariem diffusa Noto planctuque lacertos
verberat et questus ad nubila tendit inanes:
“Cur non torsisti manibus fabricata Cyclopum 250
in nos tela, pater? sic me crudelibus umbris
tradere, sic toto placuit depellere mundo?
nullane te flectit pietas nihilumque paternae
mentis inest? tantas quo crimine movimus iras?
non ego, cum rapido saeviret Phlegra tumultu, 255
signa deis adversa tuli; non robore nostro
Ossa pruinosum vexit glacialis Olympum.
quod conata nefas aut cuius conscia culpae
exul ad inmanes Erebi detrudor hiatus?
o fortunatas alii quascumque tulere 260
raptores! saltem communi sole fruuntur.
sed mihi virginitas pariter caelumque negatur,
eripitur cum luce pudor, terrisque relictis
servitum Stygio ducor captiva tyranno.
o male dilecti flores despectaque matris 265
consilia! o Veneris deprensae serius artes!
mater, io! seu te Phrygiis in vallibus Idae
Mygdonio buxus circumsonat horrida cantu,
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can we rejoice to set Parthenius’ steep with nets nor wear the
quiver; at large as he lists let the wild boar, raven and the lion
roar savagely with none to say him nay. Thee, Taygetus’ crest, thee
Maenalus’ height shall weep, their hunting laid aside. Long shalt thou
be food for weeping on sorrowing Cynthus’ slopes. E’en my brother’s
shrine at Delphi shall speak no more.”
Meanwhile Proserpine is borne away in the winged car, her hair
streaming before the wind, beating her arms in lamentation and calling
in vain remonstrance to the clouds: “Why hast thou not hurled at me,
father, bolts forged by the Cyclops’ hands? Was this thy will to
deliver thy daughter to the cruel shades and drive her for ever from
this world? Does love move thee not at all? Hast thou nothing of a
father’s feeling? What ill deed of men has stirred such anger in thee?
When Phlegra raged with war’s madness I bore no standard against the
gods; ’twas through no strength of mine that ice-bound Ossa supported
frozen Olympus. For attempt of what crime, for complicity with what
guilt, am I thrust down in banishment to the bottomless pit of Hell?
Happy girls whom other ravishers have stolen; they at least enjoy the
general light of day, while I, together with my virginity, lose the air
of heaven; stolen from me alike is innocence and daylight. Needs must
I quit this world and be led a captive bride to serve Hell’s tyrant.
Ye flowers that I loved in so evil an hour, oh, why did I scorn my
mother’s warning? Too late did I detect the wiles of Venus. Mother,
my mother, whether in the vales of Phrygian Ida the dread pipe sounds
about thine ears with Lydian
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seu tu sanguineis ululantia Dindyma Gallis
incolis et strictos Curetum respicis enses: 270
exitio succurre meo! compesce furentem!
comprime ferales torvi praedonis habenas!”
Talibus ille ferox dictis fletuque decoro
vincitur et primi suspiria sensit amoris.
tunc ferrugineo lacrimas deterget amictu 275
et placida maestum solatur voce dolorem:
“Desine funestis animum, Proserpina, curis
et vano vexare metu. maiora dabuntur
sceptra nec indigni taedas patiere mariti.
ille ego Saturni proles, cui machina rerum 280
servit et inmensum tendit per inane potestas.
amissum ne crede diem: sunt altera nobis
sidera, sunt orbes alii, lumenque videbis
purius Elysiumque magis mirabere solem
cultoresque pios; illic pretiosior aetas, 285
aurea progenies habitat, semperque tenemus
quod superi meruere semel. nec mollia desunt
prata tibi; Zephyris illic melioribus halant
perpetui flores, quos nec tua protulit Henna.
est etiam lucis arbor praedives opacis 290
fulgentes viridi ramos curvata metallo:
haec tibi sacra datur fortunatumque tenebis
autumnum et fulvis semper ditabere pomis.
parva loquor: quidquid liquidus complectitur aër,
quidquid alit tellus, quidquid maris aequora verrunt, 295
quod fluvii volvunt, quod nutrivere paludes,
cuncta tuis pariter cedent animalia regnis
lunari subiecta globo, qui Septimus auras
ambit et aeternis mortalia separat astris.
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strains, or thou hauntest mount Dindymus, ahowl with self-mutilated
Galli, and beholdest the naked swords of the Curetes, aid me in my
bitter need; frustrate Pluto’s mad lust and stay the funereal reins of
my fierce ravisher.”
Her words and those becoming tears mastered e’en that rude heart as
Pluto first learned to feel love’s longings. The tears he wiped away
with his murky cloak, quieting her sad grief with these soothing words:
“Cease, Proserpine, to vex thy heart with gloomy cares and causeless
fear. A prouder sceptre shall be thine, nor shalt thou face marriage
with a husband unworthy of thee. I am that scion of Saturn whose will
the framework of the world obeys, whose power stretches through the
limitless void. Think not thou hast lost the light of day; other stars
are mine and other courses; a purer light shalt thou see and wonder
rather at Elysium’s sun and blessed habitants. There a richer age, a
golden race has its home, and we possess for ever what men win but
once. Soft meads shall fail thee not, and ever-blooming flowers, such
as thy Henna ne’er produced, breathe to gentler zephyrs. There is,
moreover, a precious tree in the leafy groves whose curving branches
gleam with living ore--a tree consecrate to thee. Thou shalt be queen
of blessed autumn and ever enriched with golden fruit. Nay more;
whatsoe’er the limpid air embraces, whatever earth nourishes, the salt
seas sweep, the rivers roll, or the marsh-lands feed, all living things
alike shall yield them to thy sway, all, I say, that dwell beneath the
orb of the moon that is the seventh of the planets and in its ethereal
journey separates things mortal from the deathless
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sub tua purpurei venient vestigia reges 300
deposito luxu turba cum paupere mixti
(omnia mors aequat); tu damnatura nocentes,
tu requiem latura piis; te iudice sontes
improba cogentur vitae commissa fateri.
accipe Lethaeo famulas cum gurgite Parcas, 305
sitque ratum quodcumque voles.”
Haec fatus ovantes
exhortatur equos et Tartara mitior intrat.
conveniunt animae, quantas violentior Auster
decutit arboribus frondes aut nubibus imbres
colligit aut frangit fluctus aut torquet harenas; 310
cunctaque praecipiti stipantur saecula cursu
insignem visura nurum. mox ipse serenus
ingreditur facili passus mollescere risu
dissimilisque sui. dominis intrantibus ingens
adsurgit Phlegethon: flagrantibus hispida rivis 315
barba madet totoque fluunt incendia vultu.
Occurrunt properi lecta de plebe ministri:
pars altos revocant currus frenisque solutis
vertunt emeritos ad pascua nota iugales;
pars aulaea tenent; alii praetexere ramis 320
limina et in thalamum cultas extollere vestes.
reginam casto cinxerunt agmine matres
Elysiae teneroque levant sermone timores
et sparsos religant crines et vultibus addunt
flammea sollicitum praevelatura pudorem. 325
Pallida laetatur regio gentesque sepultae
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stars. To thy feet shall come purple-clothed kings, stripped of their
pomp, and mingling with the unmoneyed throng; for death renders all
equal. Thou shalt give doom to the guilty and rest to the virtuous.
Before thy judgement-throne the wicked must confess the crimes of
their evil lives. Lethe’s stream shall obey thee and the Fates be thy
handmaidens. Be thy will done.”
So speaking he urges on his triumphant steeds and enters Tartarus in
gentler wise. The shades assemble, thick as the leaves the stormy south
wind shakes down from the trees, dense as the rainclouds it masses,
countless as the billows it curls or the sand it scatters. The dead of
every age throng with hastening foot to see so illustrious a bride.
Soon Pluto himself enters with joyful mien submitting him to the
softening influence of pleasant laughter, all unlike his former self.
At the incoming of his lord and mistress huge Phlegethon rises; his
bristly beard is wet with burning streams and flames dart o’er all his
countenance.
There hasten to greet the pair slaves chosen from out the number.
Some put away the lofty chariot, take the bits from the mouths of
the toil-freed horses and turn them out to graze in their accustomed
pastures. Some hold back the curtains, others decorate the doorway
with branches and fasten broidered hangings in the bridal chamber. In
chaste bands the matrons of Elysium throng their queen, and with sweet
converse banish her fear; they gather and braid her dishevelled hair
and place the wedding-veil upon her head to hide her troubled blushes.
Joy fills that grey land, the buried throng holds
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luxuriant epulisque vacant genialibus umbrae.
grata coronati peragunt convivia Manes;
rumpunt insoliti tenebrosa silentia cantus;
sedantur gemitus. Erebi se sponte relaxat 330
squalor et aeternam patitur rarescere noctem,
urna nec incertas versat Minoia sortes.
verbera nulla sonant nulloque frementia luctu
impia dilatis respirant Tartara poenis:
non rota suspensum praeceps Ixiona torquet; 335
non aqua Tantaleis subducitur invida labris.
solvitur Ixion et Tantalus invenit undas
et Tityos tandem spatiosos erigit artus
squalentisque novem detexit iugera campi
(tantus erat), laterisque piger sulcator opaci 340
invitus trahitur lasso de pectore vultur
abreptasque dolet iam non sibi crescere fibras.
Oblitae scelerum formidatique furoris
Eumenides cratera parant et vina feroci
crine bibunt flexisque minis iam lene canentes 345
extendunt socios ad pocula plena cerastas
et festas alio succendunt lumine taedas.
tunc et pestiferi pacatum flumen Averni
innocuae transistis, aves, flatumque repressit
Amsanctus: fixo tacuit torrente vorago. 350
tunc Acheronteos mutato gurgite fontes
lacte novo tumuisse ferunt, hederisque virentem
Cocyton dulci perhibent undasse Lyaeo.
stamina nec rumpit Lachesis; nec turbida sacris
obstrepitant lamenta choris. mors nulla vagatur 355
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high festival, and the ghosts sport them at the nuptial feast. The
flower-crowned Manes sit at a joyous banquet and unwonted song breaks
the gloomy silence; wailing is hushed. Hell’s murk gladly disperses
and suffers the darkness of age-long night to grow less impenetrable.
Minos’ urn of judgement throws no ambiguous lots; the sound of blows
is stilled, and Tartarus, the prison of the wicked, is hushed and
still, for punishments are intermitted. No longer is Ixion tortured by
the ever-turning wheel to which he is bound; from Tantalus’ lips no
more is the flying water withdrawn. Ixion is freed, Tantalus reaches
the stream, and Tityus at length straightens out his huge limbs and
uncovers nine acres of foul ground (such was his size), and the
vulture, that burrows lazily into the dark side, is dragged off from
his wearied breast sore against its will, lamenting that no longer is
the devoured flesh renewed for it.
The Furies, forgetful of crimes and dread wrath, make ready the
wine-bowl and drink therefrom for all their snaky hair. Nay, with
gentle song, their threatenings laid aside, they stretch out their
snakes to the full cups and kindle the festal torches with unusual
flame. Then, too, the birds flew unhurt over the now appeasèd stream of
poisonous Avernus, and Lake Amsanctus checked his deadly exhalations;
the stream was stayed and the whirlpool grew still. They say that then
the springs of Acheron were changed and welled up with new milk, while
Cocytus, enwreathed with ivy, flowed along in streams of sweet wine.
Lachesis slit not the thread of life nor did funeral dirge sound in
challenge to the holy chant. Death walked not
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in terris, nullique rogum planxere parentes.
navita non moritur fluctu, non cuspide miles;
oppida funerei pollent inmunia leti,
impexamque senex velavit harundine frontem
portitor et vacuos egit cum carmine remos. 360
Iam suus inferno processerat Hesperus orbi:
ducitur in thalamum virgo. stat pronuba iuxta
stellantes Nox picta sinus tangensque cubile
omina perpetuo genitalia foedere sancit;
exultant cum voce pii Ditisque sub aula 365
talia pervigili sumunt exordia plausu:
“Nostra potens Iuno tuque o germane Tonantis
et gener, unanimi consortia discite somni
mutuaque alternis innectite vota lacertis.
iam felix oritur proles; iam laeta futuros 370
expectat Natura deos. nova numina rebus
addite et optatos Cereri proferte nepotes.”
LIBER TERTIUS
(XXXVI.)
Iuppiter interea cinctam Thaumantida nimbis
ire iubet totoque deos arcessere mundo.
illa colorato Zephyros illapsa volatu
numina conclamat pelagi Nymphasque morantes
increpat et Fluvios umentibus evocat antris. 5
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on earth and no parents wept beside the funeral pyre. The wave brought
not destruction to the sailor nor the spear to the warrior. Cities
flourished and knew not death, the destroyer. Charon crowned his
uncombed locks with sedge and singing plied his weightless oars.
And now its own evening-star had shone upon the underworld. The maiden
is led into the bridal chamber. Night, clad in starry raiment, stands
by her as her brideswoman; she touches the couch and blesses the union
of marriage with a bond that cannot be broken. The blessed shades raise
their voices and beneath the palace roof of Dis thus begin their song
with sleepless acclaim: “Proserpine, queen of our realm, and thou,
Pluto, at once the brother and the son-in-law of Jove, the Thunderer,
be it yours to know the alliance of conjoined sleep; pledge mutual
troth as ye hold each other in intertwining arms. Happy offspring shall
be yours; joyous Nature awaits gods yet to be born. Give the world a
new divinity and Ceres the grandchildren she longs for.”