(III.)
My mind has often wavered between two opinions: have the gods a care
for the world or is there no ruler therein and do mortal things drift
as dubious chance dictates? For when I investigated the laws and the
ordinances of heaven and observed the sea’s appointed limits, the
year’s fixed cycle and the alternation of light and darkness, then
methought everything was ordained according to the direction of a God
who had bidden the stars move by fixed laws, plants grow at different
seasons, the changing moon fulfil her circle with borrowed light and
the sun shine by his own, who spread the shore before the waves and
balanced the world in the centre of the firmament. But when I saw the
impenetrable mist which surrounds human affairs, the wicked happy and
long prosperous and the good discomforted, then in turn my belief in
God was weakened and failed, and even against mine own will I embraced
the tenets of that other philosophy[48] which teaches that atoms drift
in purposeless motion and that new forms throughout the vast void are
shaped by chance and not design--that philosophy which believes in God
in an ambiguous sense, or holds that there be no gods, or that they are
careless of our doings. At
[48] Epicureanism.
* * * * *
Page 28
abstulit hunc tandem Rufini poena tumultum 20
absolvitque deos. iam non ad culmina rerum
iniustos crevisse queror; tolluntur in altum,
ut lapsu graviore ruant. vos pandite vati,
Pierides, quo tanta lues eruperit ortu.
Invidiae quondam stimulis incanduit atrox 25
Allecto, placidas late cum cerneret urbes.
protinus infernas ad limina taetra sorores
concilium deforme vocat. glomerantur in unum
innumerae pestes Erebi, quascumque sinistro
Nox genuit fetu: nutrix Discordia belli, 30
imperiosa Fames, leto vicina Senectus
impatiensque sui Morbus Livorque secundis
anxius et scisso maerens velamine Luctus
et Timor et caeco praeceps Audacia vultu
et Luxus populator opum, quem semper adhaerens 35
infelix humili gressu comitatur Egestas,
foedaque Avaritiae complexae pectora matris
insomnes longo veniunt examine Curae.
complentur vario ferrata sedilia coetu
torvaque collectis stipatur curia monstris. 40
Allecto stetit in mediis vulgusque tacere
iussit et obstantes in tergum reppulit angues
perque umeros errare dedit. tum corde sub imo
inclusam rabidis patefecit vocibus iram:
“Sicine tranquillo produci saecula cursu, 45
sic fortunatas patiemur vivere gentes?
quae nova corrupit nostros clementia mores?
quo rabies innata perit? quid inania prosunt
verbera? quid facibus nequiquam cingimur atris?
* * * * *
Page 29
last Rufinus’ fate has dispelled this uncertainty and freed the gods
from this imputation. No longer can I complain that the unrighteous man
reaches the highest pinnacle of success. He is raised aloft that he may
be hurled down in more headlong ruin. Muses, unfold to your poet whence
sprang this grievous pest.
Dire Allecto once kindled with jealous wrath on seeing widespread peace
among the cities of men. Straightway she summons the hideous council of
the nether-world sisters to her foul palace gates. Hell’s numberless
monsters are gathered together, Night’s children of ill-omened birth.
Discord, mother of war, imperious Hunger, Age, near neighbour to
Death; Disease, whose life is a burden to himself; Envy that brooks
not another’s prosperity, woeful Sorrow with rent garments; Fear and
foolhardy Rashness with sightless eyes; Luxury, destroyer of wealth,
to whose side ever clings unhappy Want with humble tread, and the long
company of sleepless Cares, hanging round the foul neck of their mother
Avarice. The iron seats are filled with all this rout and the grim
chamber is thronged with the monstrous crowd. Allecto stood in their
midst and called for silence, thrusting behind her back the snaky hair
that swept her face and letting it play over her shoulders. Then with
mad utterance she unlocked the anger deep hidden in her heart.
“Shall we allow the centuries to roll on in this even tenour, and
man to live thus blessed? What novel kindliness has corrupted our
characters? Where is our inbred fury? Of what use the lash with none
to suffer beneath it? Why this purposeless girdle of smoky torches?
Sluggards, ye,
* * * * *
Page 30
heu nimis ignavae, quas Iuppiter arcet Olympo, 50
Theodosius terris. en aurea nascitur aetas,
en proles antiqua redit. Concordia, Virtus
eumque Fide Pietas alta cervice vagantur
insignemque canunt nostra de plebe triumphum.
pro dolor! ipsa mihi liquidas delapsa per auras 55
Iustitia insultat vitiisque a stirpe recisis
elicit oppressas tenebroso carcere leges.
at nos indecores longo torpebimus aevo
omnibus eiectae regnis! agnoscite tandem
quid Furias deceat; consuetas sumite vires 60
conventuque nefas tanto decernite dignum.
iam cupio Stygiis invadere nubibus astra,
iam flatu violare diem, laxare profundo
frena mari, fluvios ruptis inmittere ripis
et rerum vexare fidem.”
Sic fata cruentum 65
mugiit et totos serpentum erexit hiatus
noxiaque effudit concusso crine venena.
anceps motus erat vulgi. pars maxima bellum
indicit superis, pars Ditis iura veretur,
dissensuque alitur rumor: ceu murmurat alti 70
impacata quies pelagi, cum flamine fracto
durat adhuc saevitque tumor dubiumque per aestum
lassa recedentis fluitant vestigia venti.
Improba mox surgit tristi de sede Megaera,
quam penes insani fremitus animique profanus 75
error et undantes spumis furialibus irae:
non nisi quaesitum cognata caede cruorem
inlicitumve bibit, patrius quem fuderit ensis,
* * * * *
Page 31
whom Jove has excluded from heaven, Theodosius from earth. Lo! a golden
age begins; lo! the old breed of men returns. Peace and Godliness,
Love and Honour hold high their heads throughout the world and sing a
proud song of triumph over our conquered folk. Justice herself (oh the
pity of it!), down-gliding through the limpid air, exults over me and,
now that crime has been cut down to the roots, frees law from the dark
prison wherein she lay oppressed. Shall we, expelled from every land,
lie this long age in shameful torpor? Ere it be too late recognize a
Fury’s duty: resume your wonted strength and decree a crime worthy
of this august assembly. Fain would I shroud the stars in Stygian
darkness, smirch the light of day with our breath, unbridle the ocean
deeps, hurl rivers against their shattered banks, and break the bonds
of the universe.”
So spake she with cruel roar and uproused every gaping serpent mouth as
she shook her snaky locks and scattered their baneful poison. Of two
minds was the band of her sisters. The greater number was for declaring
war upon heaven, yet some respected still the ordinances of Dis and
the uproar grew by reason of their dissension, even as the sea’s calm
is not at once restored, but the deep still thunders when, for all the
wind be dropped, the swelling tide yet flows, and the last weary winds
of the departing storm play o’er the tossing waves.
Thereupon cruel Megaera rose from her funereal seat, mistress she of
madness’ howlings and impious ill and wrath bathed in fury’s foam. No
blood her drink but that flowing from kindred slaughter and forbidden
crime, shed by a father’s, by a brother’s
* * * * *
Page 32
quem dederint fratres; haec terruit Herculis ora
et defensores terrarum polluit arcus, 80
haec Athamanteae direxit spicula dextrae,
haec Agamemnonios inter bacchata penates
alternis lusit iugulis; hac auspice taedae
Oedipoden matri, natae iunxere Thyesten.
quae tune horrisonis effatur talia dictis: 85
“Signa quidem, sociae, divos attollere contra
nec fas est nec posse reor; sed laedere mundum
si libet et populis commune intendere letum.
est mihi prodigium cunctis inmanius hydris,
tigride mobilius feta, violentius Austris 90
acribus, Euripi fulvis incertius undis
Rufinus, quem prima meo de matre cadentem
suscepi gremio. parvus reptavit in isto
saepe sinu teneroque per ardua colla volutus
ubera quaesivit fletu linguisque trisulcis 95
mollia lambentes finxerunt membra cerastae;
meque etiam tradente dolos artesque nocendi
edidicit: simulare fidem sensusque minaces
protegere et blando fraudem praetexere risu,
plenus saevitiae lucrique cupidine fervens. 100
non Tartesiacis ilium satiaret harenis
tempestas pretiosa Tagi, non stagna rubentis
aurea Pactoli; totumque exhauserit Hermum,
ardebit maiore siti. quam fallere mentes
doctus et unanimos odiis turbare sodales! 105
talem progenies hominum si prisca tulisset,
Perithoum fugeret Theseus, offensus Orestem
desereret Pylades, odisset Castora Pollux.
ipsa quidem fateor vinci rapidoque magistram
* * * * *
Page 33
sword. ’Twas she made e’en Hercules afraid and brought shame upon
that bow that had freed the world of monsters; she aimed the arrow in
Athamas’[49] hand: she took her pleasure in murder after murder, a mad
fury in Agamemnon’s palace; beneath her auspices wedlock mated Oedipus
with his mother and Thyestes with his daughter. Thus then she speaks
with dread-sounding words:
“To raise our standards against the gods, my sisters, is neither
right nor, methinks, possible; but hurt the world we may, if such
our wish, and bring an universal destruction upon its inhabitants.
I have a monster more savage than the hydra brood, swifter than the
mother tigress, fiercer than the south wind’s blast, more treacherous
than Euripus’ yellow flood--Rufinus. I was the first to gather him,
a new-born babe, to my bosom. Often did the child nestle in mine
embrace and seek my breast, his arms thrown about my neck in a flood of
infant tears. My snakes shaped his soft limbs licking them with their
three-forked tongues. I taught him guile whereby he learnt the arts of
injury and deceit, how to conceal the intended menace and cover his
treachery with a smile, full-filled with savagery and hot with lust of
gain. Him nor the sands of rich Tagus’ flood by Tartessus’ town could
satisfy nor the golden waters of ruddy Pactolus; should he drink all
Hermus’ stream he would parch with the greedier thirst. How skilled to
deceive and wreck friendships with hate! Had that old generation of
men produced such an one as he, Theseus had fled Pirithous, Pylades
deserted Orestes in wrath, Pollux hated Castor. I confess myself his
inferior: his quick genius has outstripped
[49] Athamas, king of Orchomenus, murdered his son Learchus in a fit of
madness.
* * * * *
Page 34
praevenit ingenio; nec plus sermone morabor: 110
solus habet scelerum quidquid possedimus omnes.
hunc ego, si vestrae res est accommoda turbae,
regalem ad summi producam principis aulam.
sit licet ipse Numa gravior, sit denique Minos,
cedet et insidiis nostri flectetur alumni.” 115
Orantem sequitur clamor cunctaeque profanas
porrexere manus inventaque tristia laudant.
illa ubi caeruleo vestes conexuit angue
nodavitque adamante comas, Phlegethonta sonorum
poscit et ambusto flagrantis ab aggere ripae 120
ingentem piceo succendit gurgite pinum
pigraque veloces per Tartara concutit alas.
Est locus extremum pandit qua Gallia litus
Oceani praetentus aquis, ubi fertur Ulixes
sanguine libato populum movisse silentem. 125
illic umbrarum tenui stridore volantum
flebilis auditur questus; simulacra coloni
pallida defunctasque vident migrare figuras.
hinc dea prosiluit Phoebique egressa serenos
infecit radios ululatuque aethera rupit 130
terrifico: sentit ferale Britannia murmur
et Senonum quatit arva fragor revolutaque Tethys
substitit et Rhenus proiecta torpuit urna.
tunc in canitiem mutatis sponte colubris
longaevum mentita senem rugisque seueras 135
persulcata genas et ficto languida passu
invadit muros Elusae, notissima dudum
* * * * *
Page 35
his preceptress: in a word (that I waste not your time further) all the
wickedness that is ours in common is his alone. Him will I introduce,
if the plan commend itself to you, to the kingly palace of the emperor
of the world. Be he wiser than Numa, be he Minos’ self, needs must he
yield and succumb to the treachery of my foster child.”
A shout followed her words: all stretched forth their impious hands and
applauded the awful plot. When Megaera had gathered together her dress
with the black serpent that girdled her, and bound her hair with combs
of steel, she approached the sounding stream of Phlegethon, and seizing
a tall pine-tree from the scorched summit of the flaming bank kindled
it in the pitchy flood, then plied her swift wings o’er sluggish
Tartarus.
There is a place where Gaul stretches her furthermost shore spread out
before the waves of Ocean: ’tis there that Ulysses is said to have
called up the silent ghosts with a libation of blood. There is heard
the mournful weeping of the spirits of the dead as they flit by with
faint sound of wings, and the inhabitants see the pale ghosts pass and
the shades of the dead. ’Twas from here the goddess leapt forth, dimmed
the sun’s fair beams and clave the sky with horrid howlings. Britain
felt the deadly sound, the noise shook the country of the Senones,[50]
Tethys stayed her tide, and Rhine let fall his urn and shrank his
stream. Thereupon, in the guise of an old man, her serpent locks
changed at her desire to snowy hair, her dread cheeks furrowed with
many a wrinkle and feigning weariness in her gait she enters the walls
of Elusa,[51] in search of the house she had long known so well. Long
[50] Their territory lay some sixty miles S.E. of Paris. Its chief town
was Agedincum (mod. Sens).
[51] Elusa (the modern Eauze in the Department of Gers) was the
birthplace of Rufinus (_cf._ Zosim. iv. 51. 1).
* * * * *
Page 36
tecta petens, oculisque diu liventibus haesit
peiorem mirata virum, tum talia fatur:
“Otia te, Rufine, iuvant frustraque iuventae 140
consumis florem patriis inglorius arvis?
heu nescis quid fata tibi, quid sidera debent,
quid Fortuna parat: toto dominabere mundo,
si parere velis! artus ne sperne seniles!
namque mihi magicae vires aevique futuri 145
praescius ardor inest; novi quo Thessala cantu
eripiat lunare iubar, quid signa sagacis
Aegypti valeant, qua gens Chaldaea vocatis
imperet arte deis, nec me latuere fluentes
arboribus suci funestarumque potestas 150
herbarum, quidquid letali gramine pollens
Caucasus et Scythicae vernant in crimina[52] rupes,
quas legit Medea ferox et callida Circe.
saepius horrendos manes sacrisque litavi
nocturnis Hecaten et condita funera traxi 155
carminibus victura meis, multosque canendo,
quamvis Parcarum restarent fila, peremi.
ire vagas quercus et fulmen stare coegi
versaque non prono curvavi flumina lapsu
in fontes reditura suos. ne vana locutum 160
me fortasse putes, mutatos cerne penates.”
dixerat, et niveae (mirum!) coepere columnae
ditari subitoque trabes lucere metallo.
Inlecebris capitur nimiumque elatus avaro
pascitur aspectu. sic rex ad prima tumebat 165
[52] _gramina_ E: other codd. _gramine_. Birt conjectures
_toxica_, Heinsius _carmina_. I take Postgate’s _crimina_.
* * * * *
Page 37
she stood and gazed with jealous eyes, marvelling at a man worse
than herself; then spake she thus: “Does ease content thee, Rufinus?
Wastest thou in vain the flower of thy youth inglorious thus in thy
father’s fields? Thou knowest not what fate and the stars owe thee,
what fortune makes ready. So thou wilt obey me thou shalt be lord of
the whole world. Despise not an old man’s feeble limbs: I have the gift
of magic and the fire of prophecy is within me. I have learned the
incantations wherewith Thessalian witches pull down the bright moon,
I know the meaning of the wise Egyptians’ runes, the art whereby the
Chaldeans impose their will upon the subject gods, the various saps
that flow within trees and the power of deadly herbs; all those that
grow on Caucasus rich in poisonous plants, or, to man’s bane, clothe
the crags of Scythia; herbs such as cruel Medea gathered and curious
Circe. Often in nocturnal rites have I sought to propitiate the dread
ghosts and Hecate, and recalled the shades of buried men to live again
by my magic: many, too, has my wizardry brought to destruction though
the Fates had yet somewhat of their life’s thread to spin. I have
caused oaks to walk and the thunderbolt to stay his course, aye, and
made rivers reverse their course and flow backwards to their fount.
Lest thou perchance think these be but idle boasts behold the change of
thine own house.” At these words the white pillars, to his amazement,
began to turn into gold and the beams of a sudden to shine with metal.
His senses are captured by the bait, and, thrilled beyond measure, he
feasts his greedy eyes on the sight. So Midas, king of Lydia, swelled
at first
* * * * *
Page 38
Maeonius, pulchro cum verteret omnia tactu;
sed postquam riguisse dapes fulvamque revinctos
in glaciem vidit latices, tum munus acerbum
sensit et inviso votum damnavit in auro.
ergo animi victus “sequimur quocumque vocabis, 170
seu tu vir seu numen” ait, patriaque relicta
Eoas Furiae iussu tendebat ad arces
instabilesque olim Symplegadas et freta remis
inclita Thessalicis, celsa qua Bosphorus urbe
splendet et Odrysiis Asiam discriminat oris. 175
Ut longum permensus iter ductusque maligno
stamine fatorum claram subrepsit in aulam,
ilicet ambitio nasci, discedere rectum,
venum cuncta dari; profert arcana, clientes
fallit et ambitos a principe vendit honores. 180
ingeminat crimen, commoti pectoris ignem
nutrit et exiguum stimulando vulnus acerbat.
ac velut innumeros amnes accedere Nereus
nescit et undantem quamvis hinc hauriat Histrum,
hinc bibat aestivum septeno gurgite Nilum, 185
par semper similisque manet: sic fluctibus auri
expleri calor ille nequit. cuicumque monile
contextum gemmis aut praedia culta fuissent,
Rufino populandus erat, dominoque parabat
exitium fecundus ager; metuenda colonis 190
fertilitas: laribus pellit, detrudit avitis
* * * * *
Page 39
with pride when he found he could transform everything he touched to
gold: but when he beheld his food grow rigid and his drink harden
into golden ice then he understood that this gift was a bane and in
his loathing for the gold cursed his prayer. Thus Rufinus, overcome,
cried out: “Whithersoever thou summonest me I follow, be thou man or
god.” Then at the Fury’s bidding he left his fatherland and approached
the cities of the East, threading the once floating Symplegades and
the seas renowned for the voyage of the Argo, ship of Thessaly, till
he came to where, beneath its high-walled town, the gleaming Bosporus
separates Asia from the Thracian coast.
When he had completed this long journey and, led by the evil thread of
the fates, had won his way into the far-famed palace, then did ambition
straightway come to birth and right was no more. Everything had its
price. He betrayed secrets, deceived dependents, and sold honours that
had been wheedled from the emperor. He followed up one crime with
another, heaping fuel on the inflamed mind and probing and embittering
the erstwhile trivial wound. And yet, as Nereus knows no addition from
the infinitude of rivers that flow into him and though here he drains
Danube’s wave and there Nile’s summer flood with its sevenfold mouth,
yet ever remains his same and constant self, so Rufinus’ thirst knew no
abatement for all the streams of gold that flowed in upon him. Had any
a necklace studded with jewels or a fertile demesne he was sure prey
for Rufinus: a rich property assured the ruin of its own possessor:
fertility was the husbandman’s bane. He drives them from their homes,
expels them from the lands their sires had
* * * * *
Page 40
finibus; aut aufert vivis aut occupat heres
congestae cumulantur opes orbisque ruinas
accipit una domus: populi servire coacti
plenaque privato succumbunt oppida regno. 195
Quo, vesane, ruis? teneas utrumque licebit
Oceanum, laxet rutilos tibi Lydia fontes,
iungatur solium Croesi Cyrique tiara:
numquam dives eris, numquam satiabere quaestu.
semper inops quicumque cupit. contentus honesto
Fabricius parvo spernebat munera regum 201
sudabatque gravi consul Serranus aratro
et casa pugnaces Curios angusta tegebat.
haec mihi paupertas opulentior, haec mihi tecta
culminibus maiora tuis. ibi quaerit inanes 205
luxuries nocitura cibos; hic donat inemptas
terra dapes. rapiunt Tyrios ibi vellera sucos
et picturatae saturantur murice vestes;
hic radiant flores et prati viva voluptas
ingenio variata suo. fulgentibus illic 210
surgunt strata toris; hic mollis panditur herba
sollicitum curis non abruptura soporem.
turba salutantum latas ibi perstrepit aedes;
hic avium cantus, labentis murmura rivi.
vivitur exiguo melius; natura beatis 215
omnibus esse dedit, si quis cognoverit uti.
haec si nota forent, frueremur simplice cultu,
classica non gemerent, non stridula fraxinus iret,
nec ventus quateret puppes nec machina muros.
* * * * *
Page 41
left them, either wresting them from the living owners or fastening
upon them as an inheritor. Massed riches are piled up and a single
house receives the plunder of a world; whole peoples are forced into
slavery, and thronging cities bow beneath the tyranny of a private man.
Madman, what shall be the end? Though thou possess either Ocean, though
Lydia pour forth for thee her golden waters, though thou join Croesus’
throne to Cyrus’ crown, yet shalt thou never be rich nor ever contented
with thy booty. The greedy man is always poor. Fabricius, happy in
his honourable poverty, despised the gifts of monarchs; the consul
Serranus sweated at his heavy plough and a small cottage gave shelter
to the warlike Curii. To my mind such poverty as this is richer than
thy wealth, such a home greater than thy palaces. There pernicious
luxury seeks for the food that satisfieth not; here the earth provides
a banquet for which is nought to pay. With thee wool absorbs the dyes
of Tyre; thy patterned clothes are stained with purple; here are bright
flowers and the meadow’s breathing charm which owes its varied hues but
to itself. There are beds piled on glittering bedsteads; here stretches
the soft grass, that breaks not sleep with anxious cares. There a crowd
of clients dins through the spacious halls, here is song of birds and
the murmur of the gliding stream. A frugal life is best. Nature has
given the opportunity of happiness to all, knew they but how to use it.
Had we realized this we should now have been enjoying a simple life, no
trumpets would be sounding, no whistling spear would speed, no ship be
buffeted by the wind, no siege-engine overthrow battlements.
* * * * *
Page 42
Crescebat scelerata sitis praedaeque recentis 220
incestus flagrabat amor, nullusque petendi
cogendive pudor: crebris periuria nectit
blanditiis; sociat perituro foedere dextras.
si semel e tantis poscenti quisque negasset,
effera praetumido quatiebat corda furore. 225
quae sic Gaetuli iaculo percussa leaena
aut Hyrcana premens raptorem belua partus
aut serpens calcata furit? iurata deorum
maiestas teritur; nusquam reverentia mensae.
non coniunx, non ipse simul, non pignora caesa 230
sufficiunt odiis; non extinxisse propinquos,
non notos egisse sat est; exscindere cives
funditus et nomen gentis delere laborat.
nec celeri perimit leto; crudelibus ante
suppliciis fruitur; cruciatus, vincla, tenebras 235
dilato mucrone parat. pro saevior ense
parcendi rabies concessaque vita dolori!
mors adeone parum est? causis fallacibus instat,
arguit attonitos se iudice. cetera segnis,
ad facinus velox, penitus regione remotas 240
impiger ire vias: non illum Sirius ardens
brumave Riphaeo stridens Aquilone retardat.
effera torquebant avidae praecordia curae,
effugeret ne quis gladios neu perderet ullum
Augusto miserante nefas. non flectitur annis, 245
non aetate labat: iuvenum rorantia colla
ante patrum vultus stricta cecidere securi;
* * * * *
Page 43
Still grew Rufinus’ wicked greed, and his impious passion for new-won
wealth blazed yet fiercer; no feeling of shame kept him from demanding
and extorting money. He combines perjury with ceaseless cajolery,
ratifying with a hand-clasp the bond he purposes to break. Should any
dare to refuse his demand for one thing out of so many, his fierce
heart would be stirred with swelling wrath. Was ever lioness wounded
with a Gaetulian’s spear, or Hyrcan tiger pursuing the robber of her
young, was ever bruisèd serpent so fierce? He swears by the majesty
of the gods and tramples on his oath. He reverences not the laws of
hospitality. To kill a wife and her husband with her and her children
sates not his anger; ’tis not enough to slaughter relations and drive
friends into exile; he strives to destroy every citizen of Rome and
to blot out the very name of our race. Nor does he even slay with a
swift death; ere that he enjoys the infliction of cruel torture; the
rack, the chain, the lightless cell, these he sets before the final
blow. Why, this remission is more savage, more madly cruel, than the
sword--this grant of life that agony may accompany it! Is death not
enough for him? With treacherous charges he attacks; dazed wretches
find him at once accuser and judge. Slow to all else he is swift to
crime and tireless to visit the ends of the earth in its pursuit.
Neither the Dog-star’s heat nor the wintry blasts of the Thracian north
wind detain him. Feverish anxiety torments his cruel heart lest any
escape his sword, or an emperor’s pardon lose him an opportunity for
injury. Neither age nor youth can move his pity: before their father’s
eyes his bloody axe severs boys’ heads
* * * * *
Page 44
ibat grandaevus nato moriente superstes
post trabeas exul. quis prodere tanta relatu
funera, quis caedes possit deflere nefandas? 250
quid tale inmanes umquam gessisse feruntur
vel Sinis Isthmiaca pinu vel rupe profunda
Sciron vel Phalaris tauro vel carcere Sulla?
o mites Diomedis equi! Busiridis arae
clementes! iam Cinna pius, iam Spartace segnis 255
Rufino collatus eris!
Deiecerat omnes
occultis odiis terror tacitique sepultos
suspirant gemitus indignarique verentur.
at non magnanimi virtus Stilichonis eodem
fracta metu; solus medio sed turbine rerum 260
contra letiferos rictus contraque rapacem
movit tela feram, volucris non praepete cursu
vectus equi, non Pegaseis adiutus habenis.
hic cunctis optata quies, hic sola pericli
turris erat clipeusque trucem porrectus in hostem,
hic profugis sedes adversaque signa furori, 266
servandis hic castra bonis.
Hucusque minatus
haerebat retroque fuga cedebat inerti:
haud secus hiberno tumidus cum vertice torrens
saxa rotat volvitque nemus pontesque revellit, 270
frangitur obiectu scopuli quaerensque meatum
spumat et inlisa montem circumtonat unda.
Qua dignum te laude feram, qui paene ruenti
* * * * *
Page 45
from their bodies; an aged man, once a consul, survived the murder of
his son but to be driven into exile. Who can bring himself to tell of
so many murders, who can adequately mourn such impious slaughter? Do
men tell that cruel Sinis of Corinth e’er wrought such wickedness with
his pine-tree, or Sciron with his precipitous rock, or Phalaris with
his brazen bull, or Sulla with his prison? O gentle horses of Diomede!
O pitiful altars of Busiris! Henceforth, compared with Rufinus thou,
Cinna, shalt be loving, and thou, Spartacus, a sluggard.
All were a prey to terror, for men knew not where next his hidden
hatred would break forth, they sob in silence for the tears they dare
not shed and fear to show their indignation. Yet is not the spirit of
great-hearted Stilicho broken by this same fear. Alone amid the general
calamity he took arms against this monster of greed and his devouring
maw, though not borne on the swift course of any wingèd steed nor
aided by Pegasus’ reins. In him all found the quiet they longed for,
he was their one defence in danger, their shield out-held against the
fierce foe, the exile’s sanctuary, standard confronting the madness of
Rufinus, fortress for the protection of the good.
Thus far Rufinus advanced his threats and stayed; then fell back in
coward flight: even as a torrent swollen with winter rains rolls down
great stones in its course, overwhelms woods, tears away bridges, yet
is broken by a jutting rock, and, seeking a way through, foams and
thunders about the cliff with shattered waves.
How can I praise thee worthily, thou who
* * * * *
Page 46
lapsuroque tuos umeros obieceris orbi?
te nobis trepidae sidus ceu dulce carinae 275
ostendere dei, geminis quae lassa procellis
tunditur et victo trahitur iam caeca magistro.
Inachius Rubro perhibetur in aequore Perseus
Neptuni domuisse pecus, sed tutior alis:
te non penna vehit; rigida cum Gorgone Perseus:
tu non vipereo defensus crine Medusae; 281
ilium vilis amor suspensae virginis egit:
te Romana salus. taceat superata vetustas,
Herculeos conferre tuis iam desinat actus.
una Cleonaeum pascebat silva leonem; 285
Arcadiae saltum vastabat dentibus unum
saevus aper, tuque o compressa matre rebellans
non ultra Libyae fines, Antaee, nocebas,
solaque fulmineo resonabat Creta iuvenco
Lernaeamque virens obsederat hydra paludem. 290
hoc monstrum non una palus, non una tremebat
insula, sed Latia quidquid dicione subactum
vivit, et a primis Ganges horrebat Hiberis.
hoc neque Geryon triplex nec turbidus Orci
ianitor aequabit nec si concurrat in unum 295
vis hydrae Scyllaeque fames et flamma Chimaerae.
Certamen sublime diu, sed moribus impar
virtutum scelerumque fuit. iugulare minatur:
tu prohibes; ditem spoliat: tu reddis egenti;
eruit: instauras; accendit proelia: vincis. 300
* * * * *
Page 47
sustainedst with thy shoulders the tottering world in its threatened
fall? The gods gave thee to us as they show a welcome star to
frightened mariners whose weary bark is buffeted with storms of wind
and wave and drifts with blind course now that her steersman is beaten.
Perseus, descendant of Inachus, is said to have overcome Neptune’s
monsters in the Red Sea, but he was helped by his wings; no wing bore
thee aloft: Perseus was armed with the Gorgons’ head that turneth all
to stone; the snaky locks of Medusa protected not thee. His motive
was but the love of a chained girl, thine the salvation of Rome. The
days of old are surpassed; let them keep silence and cease to compare
Hercules’ labours with thine. ’Twas but one wood that sheltered the
lion of Cleonae, the savage boar’s tusks laid waste a single Arcadian
vale, and thou, rebel Antaeus, holding thy mother earth in thine
embrace, didst no hurt beyond the borders of Africa. Crete alone
re-echoed to the bellowings of the fire-breathing bull, and the green
hydra beleaguered no more than Lerna’s lake. But this monster Rufinus
terrified not one lake nor one island: whatsoever lives beneath the
Roman rule, from distant Spain to Ganges’ stream, was in fear of him.
Neither triple Geryon nor Hell’s fierce janitor can vie with him nor
could the conjoined terrors of powerful Hydra, ravenous Scylla, and
fiery Chimaera.
Long hung the contest in suspense, but the struggle betwixt vice and
virtue was ill-matched in character. Rufinus threatens slaughter, thou
stayest his hand; he robs the rich, thou givest back to the poor; he
overthrows, thou restorest; he sets wars afoot, thou winnest them. As a
pestilence, growing from day
* * * * *
Page 48
ac velut infecto morbus crudescere caelo
incipiens primos pecudum depascitur artus,
mox populos urbesque rapit ventisque perustis
corruptos Stygiam pestem desudat in amnes:
sic avidus praedo iam non per singula saevit. 305
sed sceptris inferre minas omnique perempto
milite Romanas ardet prosternere vires,
iamque Getas Histrumque movet Scythiamque receptat
auxilio traditque suas hostilibus armis
relliquias. mixtis descendit Sarmata Dacis 310
et qui cornipedes in pocula vulnerat audax
Massagetes caesamque bibens Maeotin Alanus
membraque qui ferro gaudet pinxisse Gelonus,
Rufino collecta manus. vetat ille domari
innectitque moras et congrua tempora differt. 315
nam tua cum Geticas stravisset dextra catervas,
ulta ducis socii letum, parsque una maneret
debilior facilisque capi, tunc impius ille
proditor imperii coniuratusque Getarum
distulit instantes eluso principe pugnas 320
Hunorum laturus opem, quos adfore hello
norat et invisis mox se coniungere castris.
Est genus extremos Scythiae vergentis in ortus
trans gelidum Tanain, quo non famosius ullum
Arctos alit. turpes habitus obscaenaque visu 325
corpora; mens duro numquam cessura labori;
praeda cibus, vitanda Ceres frontemque secari
* * * * *
Page 49
to day by reason of the infected air, fastens first upon the bodies
of animals but soon sweeps away peoples and cities, and when the
winds blow hot spreads its hellish poison to the polluted streams, so
the ambitious rebel marks down no private prey, but hurls his eager
threats at kings, and seeks to destroy Rome’s army and overthrow her
might. Now he stirs up the Getae[53] and the tribes on Danube’s banks,
allies himself with Scythia and exposes what few his cruelties have
spared to the sword of the enemy. There march against us a mixed horde
of Sarmatians and Dacians, the Massagetes who cruelly wound their
horses that they may drink their blood, the Alans who break the ice
and drink the waters of Maeotis’ lake, and the Geloni who tattoo their
limbs: these form Rufinus’ army. And he brooks not their defeat; he
frames delays and postpones the fitting season for battle. For when
thy right hand, Stilicho, had scattered the Getic bands and avenged
the death of thy brother general, when one section of Rufinus’ army
was thus weakened and made an easy prey, then that foul traitor, that
conspirator with the Getae, tricked the emperor and put off the instant
day of battle, meaning to ally himself with the Huns, who, as he knew,
would fight and quickly join the enemies of Rome.[54]
These Huns are a tribe who live on the extreme eastern borders of
Scythia, beyond frozen Tanais; most infamous of all the children of the
north. Hideous to look upon are their faces and loathsome their bodies,
but indefatigable is their spirit. The chase supplies their food; bread
they will not eat. They love to slash their faces and hold it a
[53] Here and throughout his poems Claudian refers to the Visigoths as
the Getae.
[54] _Cf._ Introduction, p. x.
* * * * *
Page 50
ludus et occisos pulchrum iurare parentes.
nec plus nubigenas duplex natura biformes
cognatis aptavit equis; acerrima nullo 330
ordine mobilitas insperatique recursus.
Quos tamen impavidus contra spumantis ad Hebri
tendis aquas, sic ante tubas aciemque precatus:
“Mavors, nubifero seu tu procumbis in Haemo
seu te cana gelu Rhodope seu remige Medo 335
sollicitatus Athos seu caligantia nigris
ilicibus Pangaea tenent, accingere mecum
et Thracas defende tuos. si laetior adsit
gloria, vestita spoliis donabere quercu.”
Audiit illa pater scopulisque nivalibus Haemi 340
surgit et hortatur celeres clamore ministros:
“fer galeam, Bellona, mihi nexusque rotarum
tende, Pavor. frenet rapidos Formido iugales.
festinas urgete manus. meus ecce paratur
ad bellum Stilicho, qui me de more tropaeis 345
ditat et hostiles suspendit in arbore cristas.
communes semper litui, communia nobis
signa canunt iunctoque sequor tentoria curru.”
sic fatus campo insiluit lateque fugatas
hinc Stilicho turmas, illinc Gradivus agebat 350
et clipeis et mole pares; stat cassis utrique
sidereis hirsuta iubis loricaque cursu
aestuat et largo saturatur vulnere cornus.
Acrior interea voto multisque Megaera
luxuriata malis maestam deprendit in arce 355
* * * * *
Page 51
righteous act to swear by their murdered parents. Their double nature
fitted not better the twi-formed Centaurs to the horses that were parts
of them. Disorderly, but of incredible swiftness, they often return to
the fight when little expected.
Fearless, however, against such forces, thou, Stilicho, approachest
the waters of foaming Hebrus and thus prayest ere the trumpets sound
and the fight begins: “Mars, whether thou reclinest on cloud-capped
Haemus, or frost-white Rhodope holdeth thee, or Athos, severed to give
passage to the Persian fleet, or Pangaeus, gloomy with dark holm-oaks,
gird thyself at my side and defend thine own land of Thrace. If victory
smile on us, thy meed shall be an oak stump adorned with spoils.”
The Father heard his prayer and rose from the snowy peaks of Haemus
shouting commands to his speedy servants: “Bellona, bring my helmet;
fasten me, Panic, the wheels upon my chariot; harness my swift horses,
Fear. Hasten: speed on your work. See, my Stilicho makes him ready
for war; Stilicho whose habit it is to load me with rich trophies and
hang upon the oak the plumed helmets of his enemies. For us together
the trumpets ever sound the call to battle; yoking my chariot I follow
wheresoever he pitch his camp.” So spake he and leapt upon the plain,
and on this side Stilicho scattered the enemy bands in broadcast flight
and on that Mars; alike the twain in accoutrement and stature. The
helmets of either tower with bristling crests, their breastplates flash
as they speed along and their spears take their fill of widely dealt
wounds.
Meanwhile Megaera, more eager now she has got her way, and revelling in
this widespread
* * * * *
Page 52
Iustitiam diroque prior sic ore lacessit:
“en tibi prisca quies renovataque saecula rursus,
ut rebare, vigent? en nostra potentia cessit
nec locus est usquam Furiis? huc lumina flecte.
adspice barbaricis iaceant quot moenia flammis, 360
quas mihi Rufinus strages quantumque cruoris
praebeat et quantis epulentur caedibus hydri.
linque homines sortemque meam, pete sidera; notis
Autumni te redde plagis, qua vergit in Austrum
Signifer; aestivo sedes vicina Leoni 365
iam pridem gelidaeque vacant confinia Librae.
atque utinam per magna sequi convexa liceret!”
Diva refert: “non ulterius bacchabere demens.
iam poenas tuus iste dabit, iam debitus ultor
inminet, et, terras qui nunc ipsumque fatigat 370
aethera, non vili moriens condetur harena.
iamque aderit laeto promissus Honorius aevo
nec forti genitore minor nec fratre corusco,
qui subiget Medos, qui cuspide proteret Indos.
sub iuga venturi reges; calcabitur asper 375
Phasis equo pontemque pati cogetur Araxes,
tuque simul gravibus ferri religata catenis
expellere die debellatasque draconum
tonsa comas imo barathri claudere recessu.
tum tellus communis erit, tum limite nullo 380
* * * * *
Page 53
calamity, comes upon Justice sad at heart in her palace, and thus
provokes her with horrid utterance: “Is this that old reign of peace;
this the return of that golden age thou fondly hopedst had come to
pass? Is our power gone, and no place now left for the Furies? Turn
thine eyes this way. See how many cities the barbarians’ fires have
laid low, how vast a slaughter, how much blood Rufinus hath procured
for me, and on what widespread death my serpents gorge themselves.
Leave thou the world of men; that lot is mine. Mount to the stars,
return to that well-known tract of Autumn sky where the Standard-bearer
dips towards the south. The space next to the summer constellation of
the Lion, the neighbourhood of the winter Balance has long been empty.
And would I could now follow thee through the dome of heaven.”
The goddess made answer: “Thou shalt rage no further, mad that thou
art. Now shall thy creature receive his due, the destined avenger
hangs over him, and he who now wearies land and the very sky shall
die, though no handful of dust shall cover his corpse. Soon shall come
Honorius, promised of old to this fortunate age, brave as his father
Theodosius, brilliant as his brother Arcadius; he shall subdue the
Medes and overthrow the Indians with his spear. Kings shall pass under
his yoke, frozen Phasis shall bear his horses’ hooves, and Araxes
submit perforce to be bridged by him. Then too shalt thou be bound with
heavy chains of iron and cast out from the light of day and imprisoned
in the nethermost pit, thy snaky locks overcome and shorn from thy
head. Then the world shall be owned by all in common, no field marked
off from another
* * * * *
Page 54
discernetur ager; nec vomere sulcus adunco
findetur: subitis messor gaudebit aristis.
rorabunt querceta favis; stagnantia passim
vina fluent oleique lacus; nec murice tinctis
velleribus quaeretur honos, sed sponte rubebunt 385
attonito pastore greges pontumque per omnem
ridebunt virides gemmis nascentibus algae.”
* * * * *
Page 55
by any dividing boundary, no furrow cleft with bended ploughshare; for
the husbandman shall rejoice in corn that springs untended. Oak groves
shall drip with honey, streams of wine well up on every side, lakes
of oil abound. No price shall be asked for fleeces dyed scarlet, but
of themselves shall the flocks grow red to the astonishment of the
shepherd, and in every sea the green seaweed will laugh with flashing
jewels.”
* * * * *
Page 56
IN RUFINUM LIBER SECUNDUS
INCIPIT PRAEFATIO
(IV.)
Pandite defensum reduces Helicona sorores,
pandite; permissis iam licet ire choris:
nulla per Aonios hostilis bucina campos
carmina mugitu deteriore vetat.
tu quoque securis pulsa formidine Delphis 5
floribus ultorem, Delie, cinge tuum.
nullus Castalios latices et praescia fati
flumina polluto barbarus ore bibit.
Alpheus late rubuit Siculumque per aequor
sanguineas belli rettulit unda notas 10
agnovitque novos absens Arethusa triumphos
et Geticam sensit teste cruore necem.
Inmensis, Stilicho, succedant otia curis
et nostrae patiens corda remitte lyrae,
nec pudeat longos interrupisse labores 15
et tenuem Musis constituisse moram.
fertur et indomitus tandem post proelia Mavors
lassa per Odrysias fundere membra nives
oblitusque sui posita clementior hasta
Pieriis aures pacificare modis. 20
* * * * *
Page 57
THE SECOND BOOK AGAINST RUFINUS
PREFACE
(IV.)
Return, ye Muses, and throw open rescued Helicon; now again may your
company gather there. Nowhere now in Italy does the hostile trumpet
forbid song with its viler bray. Do thou too, Delian Apollo, now that
Delphi is safe and fear has been dispelled, wreath thy avenger’s head
with flowers. No savage foe sets profane lips to Castalia’s spring or
those prophetic streams. Alpheus’[55] flood ran all his length red
with slaughter and the waves bore the bloody marks of war across the
Sicilian sea; whereby Arethusa, though herself not present, recognized
the triumphs freshly won and knew of the slaughter of the Getae, to
which that blood bore witness.
Let peace, Stilicho, succeed these age-long labours and ease thine
heart by graciously listening to my song. Think it no shame to
interrupt thy long toil and to consecrate a few moments to the Muses.
Even unwearying Mars is said to have stretched his tired limbs on the
snowy Thracian plain when at last the battle was ended, and, unmindful
of his wonted fierceness, to have laid aside his spear in gentler mood,
soothing his ear with the Muses’ melody.
[55] A reference to Stilicho’s campaign against Alaric in the
Peloponnese in 397 (see Introduction, p. x).
* * * * *
Page 58
LIBER II
(V.)
Iam post edomitas Alpes defensaque regna
Hesperiae merita complexus sede parentem
auctior adiecto fulgebat sidere mundus,
iamque tuis, Stilicho, Romana potentia curis
et rerum commissus apex, tibi credita fratrum 5
utraque maiestas geminaeque exercitus aulae.
Rufinus (neque enim patiuntur saeva quietem
crimina pollutaeque negant arescere fauces)
infandis iterum terras accendere bellis
incohat et solito pacem vexare tumultu. 10
haec etiam secum: “quanam ratione tuebor
spem vitae fragilem? qua tot depellere fluctus
arte queam? premor hinc odiis, hinc milite cingor.
heu quid agam? non arma mihi, non principis ullus
auxiliatur amor. matura pericula surgunt 15
undique et impositi radiant cervicibus enses.
quid restat, nisi cuncta novo confundere luctu
insontesque meae populos miscere ruinae?
everso iuvat orbe mori; solacia leto
* * * * *
Page 59