BOOK II

(XX.)

Ashes of Phrygia and you last remnants of the ruined East (if any such

remain), the augury was but too true, too clear the threats of heaven:

now that the blow has fallen what use to learn the presagings of this

year of portents? The sailor is more cautious; he foresees the violence

of the North wind and hauls in his canvas before the swelling storm. Of

what avail to acknowledge a mistake when his vessel is already sunk?

Can tears extenuate a crime? The sinister auspices of your consul live

on; the atonement due to unmoved fate remains fixed. Ere the deed was

done you should have realized its horror; you should have erased the

blot ere it had dried. When the body is overwhelmed by long-standing

disease ’tis all in vain that thou makest use of healing medicines.

When an ulcer has penetrated to the marrow of the bones the touch of

a hand is useless, steel and fire must sane the place that the wound

heal not on the surface, like any moment to re-open. The flame must

penetrate to the quick to make a way for the foul humours to escape; in

order that, once the veins are emptied of corrupted blood, the

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Page 186

arescat fons ipse mali; truncatur et artus,

ut liceat reliquis securum degere membris.

at vos egregie purgatam creditis aulam, 20

Eutropium si Cyprus habet? vindictaque mundi

semivir exul erit? qui vos lustrare valebit

oceanus? tantum facinus quae diluet aetas?

Induerat necdum trabeas: mugitus ab axe

redditus inferno, rabies arcana cavernas 25

vibrat et alterno confligunt culmina lapsu.

bacchatus per operta tremor Calchedona movit

pronus et in geminas nutavit Bosphorus urbes.

concurrere freti fauces, radice revulsa

vitant instabilem rursum Symplegada nautae. 30

scilicet haec Stygiae praemittunt signa sorores

et sibi iam tradi populos hoc consule gaudent.

mox oritur diversa lues: hinc Mulciber ignes

sparserat, hinc victa proruperat obice Nereus;

haec flagrant, haec tecta natant. quam, numina,

poenam 35

servatis sceleri, cuius tot cladibus omen

constitit? incumbas utinam, Neptune, tridenti

pollutumque solum toto cum crimine mergas.

unam pro mundo Furiis concedimus urbem. 39

Utque semel patuit monstris iter, omnia tempus

nacta suum properant: nasci tum decolor imber

infantumque novi vultus et dissona partu

semina, tum lapidum fletus armentaque vulgo

ausa loqui mediisque ferae se credere muris;

tum vates sine more rapi lymphataque passim 45

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fountain-head of the evil may be dried up. Nay, even limbs are

amputated to assure the healthy life of the rest of the body. Think

you the Court fitly cleansed by Eutropius’ exile in Cyprus? The world

avenged by the banishment of a eunuch? Can any ocean wash away that

stain? any age bring forgetfulness of so great a crime?

Ere yet he had donned the consul’s robe there came a rumbling from

the bowels of the earth; a hidden madness shook the subterranean

caverns and buildings crashed one on another. Chalcedon, shaken to

the foundations, tottered like a drunken man, and Bosporus, straying

from his course, flooded the cities on his either bank. The shores of

the strait came together and the sailors once more had to avoid the

Clashing Rocks, torn from their foundation and errant. Surely such

presages were sent by the sister deities of Styx, rejoicing that under

this consul at last all peoples were delivered into their hands. Soon

arose divers forms of ruin: here the fire-god spread his flames; there

Nereus, god of the sea, brake his bounds. Here men’s homes were burned,

there flooded. Ye gods, what punishment do ye hold in store for the

scoundrel whose rise to power was marked by such portents? O’ercome us,

Neptune, with thy trident and overwhelm our defiled soil along with all

the guilt. One city we yield to the Furies, a scapegoat for the sins of

the world.

Once the way was open for portents, prodigies of every sort hasted to

disclose themselves. Rain of blood fell, children of weird form were

born and offspring discordant with their breed. Statues wept, not

seldom the herds dared to speak, and wild beasts braved an entrance

into the city. Then seers raved

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pectora terrifici stimulis ignescere Phoebi.

fac nullos cecinisse deos: adeone retusi

quisquam cordis erit, dubitet qui partibus illis

adfore fatalem castrati consulis annum?

sed quam caecus inest vitiis amor! omne futurum 50

despicitur suadentque brevem praesentia fructum

et ruit in vetitum damni secura libido,

dum mora supplicii lucro serumque quod instat

creditur, haud equidem contra tot signa Camillo

detulerim fasces, nedum (pro sexus!) inerti 55

mancipio, cui, cuncta licet responsa iuberent

hortantesque licet sponderent prospera divi,

turpe fuit cessisse viros.

Exquirite retro

crimina continui lectis annalibus aevi,

prisca recensitis evolvite saecula fastis: 60

quid senis infandi Capreae, quid scaena Neronis

tale ferunt? spado Romuleo succinctus amictu

sedit in Augustis laribus. vulgata patebat

aula salutantum studiis; huc plebe senatus

permixta trepidique duces omnisque potestas 65

confluit. advolvi genibus, contingere dextram

ambitus et votum deformibus oscula rugis

figere. praesidium legum genitorque vocatur

principis et famulum dignatur regia patrem.

posteritas, admitte fidem: monumenta petuntur 70

dedecoris multisque gemunt incudibus aera

formatura nefas. haec iudicis, ilia togati,

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strangely and frenzied hearts were everywhere ablaze, stirred by the

fires of the dread god Phoebus. Yet even had no god warned us, whose

mind shall be so dull as to doubt that the year of an emasculate consul

must be fatal to those lands? Blind folly ever accompanies crime;

of the future no account is taken; sufficient for the day is its

short-lived pleasure; heedless of loss passion plunges into forbidden

joys, counting the postponement of punishment a gain and believing

distant the retribution that even now o’erhangs. In face of such

portents I would not have entrusted Camillus’ self with the fasces,

let alone a sexless slave (oh! the shame of it!), to yield it to whom

were, for men, a disgrace, even though every oracle decreed it, and the

insistent deities gave pledges of prosperity.

Look back in the annals of crime, read o’er all past history, unroll

the volumes of Rome’s story. What can the Capri of Tiberius’ old

age, what can Nero’s theatre offer like to this?[105] A eunuch, clad

in the cloak of Romulus, sat within the house of the emperors; the

staled palace lay open to the eager throng of visitors; hither hasten

senators, mingling with the populace, anxious generals and magistrates

of every degree; all are fain to be the first to fall at his feet and

to touch his hand; the prayer of all is to set kisses on those hideous

wrinkles. He is called defender of the laws, father of the emperor,

and the court deigns to acknowledge a slave as its overlord. Ye who

come after, acknowledge that it is true! Men must needs erect monuments

to celebrate this infamy; on many an anvil groans the bronze that is

to take upon it the form of this monster. Here gleams his statue as a

judge,

[105] Suetonius draws a lurid (and probably exaggerated) picture

of the debaucheries of Tiberius’ old age at Capri. The same author

describes the “scaena Neronis.” The curious may find the account in

Suet, _Nero_, xxix.

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Page 190

haec nitet armati species; numerosus ubique

fulget eques: praefert eunuchi curia vultus.

ac veluti caveant ne quo consistere virtus 75

possit pura loco, cunctas hoc ore laborant

incestare vias. maneant inmota precamur

certaque perpetui sint argumenta pudoris.

subter adulantes tituli nimiaeque leguntur

vel maribus laudes: claro quod nobilis ortu 80

(cum vivant domini!), quod maxima proelia solus

impleat (et patitur miles!), quod tertius urbis

conditor (hoc Byzas Constantinusque videbant!).

inter quae tumidus leno producere cenas

in lucem, foetere mero, dispergere plausum 85

empturas in vulgus opes, totosque theatris

indulgere dies, alieni prodigus auri.

at soror et, si quid portentis creditur, uxor

mulcebat matres epulis et more pudicae

coniugis eunuchi celebrabat vota mariti. 90

hanc amat, hanc summa de re vel pace vel armis

consulit, huic curas et clausa palatia mandat

ceu stabulum vacuamque domum. sic magna tueri

regna nihil, patiensque iugi deluditur orbis?

Mitior alternum Zephyri iam bruma teporem 95

senserat et primi laxabant germina flores,

iamque iter in gremio pacis sollemne parabant

ad muros, Ancyra, tuos, auctore repertum

Eutropio, pelagi ne taedia longa subirent,

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Page 191

there as a consul, there as a warrior. On every side one sees that

figure of his mounted on his horse; before the very doors of the

senate-house behold a eunuch’s countenance. As though to rob virtue

of any place where she might sojourn undefiled, men labour to befoul

every street with this vile image. May they rest for ever undisturbed,

indisputable proofs of our eternal shame; such is my prayer. Beneath

the statues one reads flattering titles and praises too great even for

_men_. Do they tell of his noble race and lineage while his owners

are still alive? What soldier brooks to read that single-handed he,

Eutropius, won great battles? Are Byzas[106] and Constantine to be told

that he is the third founder of Rome? Meanwhile the arrogant pander

prolongs his revels till the dawn, stinking of wine and scattering

money amid the crowd to buy their applause. He spends whole days of

amusement in the theatres, prodigal of another’s money. But his sister

and spouse (if such a prodigy can be conceived) wins the favour of

Rome’s matrons by entertainments, and, like a chaste wife, sings the

praises of her eunuch husband. ’Tis her he loves, her he consults

on all matters of importance, be it of peace or war, to her care he

entrusts the keys of the palace, as one would of a stable or empty

house. Is the guardianship of a mighty empire thus naught? Is it thus

he makes a mockery of a world’s obedience?

Winter, passing into spring, had now felt the returning warmth of

Zephyrus’ breezes and the earliest flowers had oped their buds when, in

the lap of peace, they were preparing the annual journey to thy walls,

Ancyra. ’Twas Eutropius’ device that weariness of the sea[107] might

not come upon him,

[106] Mythical founder of Byzantium (= Constantinople): said to

have been contemporaneous with the Argonauts (Diod. iv. 49. 1).

[107] _i.e._ to prevent his being bored with the view of the

Bosporus.

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Page 192

sed vaga lascivis flueret discursibus aestas: 100

unde tamen tanta sublimes mole redibant,

ceu vinctos traherent Medos Indumque bibissent.

ecce autem flavis Gradivus ab usque Gelonis

arva cruentato repetebat Thracia curru:

subsidunt Pangaea rotis altaeque sonoro 105

stridunt axe nives. ut vertice constitit Haemi

femineasque togas pressis conspexit habenis,

subrisit cradele pater cristisque micantem

quassavit galeam; tunc implacabile numen

Bellonam adloquitur, quae sanguine sordida vestem

Illyricis pingues pectebat stragibus hydros: 111

“Necdum mollitiae, necdum, germana, mederi

possumus Eoae? numquam corrupta rigescent

saecula? Cappadocum tepidis Argaeus acervis

aestuat; infelix etiamnum pallet Orontes. 115

dum pereunt, meminere mali; si corda parumper

respirare sinas, nullo tot funera sensu

praetereunt: antiqua levis iactura cruoris!

“Adspicis obscaenum facinus? quid crinibus ora

protegis? en quales sese diffudit in actus 120

parva quies, quantum nocuerunt otia ferri!

qui caruit bellis, eunucho traditur annus.

actum de trabeis esset, si partibus una

mens foret Hesperiis; rueret derisa vetustas

nullaque calcati starent vestigia iuris, 125

ni memor imperii Stilicho morumque priorum

turpe relegasset defenso Thybride nomen

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Page 193

but a roaming summer might slide away in pleasure journeys. But so

magnificent was their return, you would have imagined they brought

conquered Persia in their train and had drunk of the waters of Indus.

Look you! Mars, returning from the distant lands of the yellow-haired

Geloni, was re-seeking the lands of Thrace in his bloody chariot.

Pangaeus subsided beneath his wheels, the mountain snows cried out

under his sounding axle. Scarce had the father stayed on Haemus’ summit

and, reining in his coursers, looked upon the toga-clad woman, when

he smiled a cruel smile and shook his gleaming crested helm; then he

addressed Bellona, implacable goddess, who, her raiment all stained

with blood, was combing her snake-hair, fattened on the slaughter of

Illyrians.

“Sister, shall we never succeed in curing the East of effeminacy? Will

this corrupt age never learn true manliness? Argaeus yet reeks with

those heaps of dead Cappadocians not yet cold; Orontes is still pale

from misery. But they only remember evil while they suffer it; give

them a moment’s respite and all their slaughter fades from their minds

unfelt; little they reck of bloodshed that is past.

“Seest thou this foul deed? Why veil thy face with thine hair? See

what crimes a short spell of peace has wrought! what a curse has the

sheathèd sword proved! The year that has known no war has had a eunuch

for its consul. The consulship would have been at an end had a like

spirit animated Italy; this age-long office had fallen amid mockery and

no traces been left of its trampled rights, had not Stilicho, heedful

of the empire and of the character and morals of a past age, banished

from Tiber’s city

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Page 194

intactamque novo servasset crimine Romam.

ille dedit portum, quo se pulsata referret

maiestas Latii deformataeque secures; 130

ille dedit fastos, ad quos Oriente relicto

confugeret sparsum maculis servilibus aevum.

“Quam similes haec aula viros! ad moenia visus

dirige: num saltem tacita formidine mussant?

num damnant animo? plaudentem cerne senatum 135

et Byzantinos proceres Graiosque Quirites.

o patribus plebes, o digni consule patres!

quid? quod et armati cessant et nulla virilis

inter tot gladios sexum reminiscitur ira?

hucine nostrorum cinctus abiere nepotum? 140

sic Bruti despectus honos?

“Ignosce parenti,

Romule, quod serus temeratis fascibus ultor

advenio: iamiam largis haec gaudia faxo

compensent lacrimis. quid dudum inflare moraris

Tartaream, Bellona, tubam, quid stringere falcem, 145

qua populos a stirpe metis? molire tumultus,

excute delicias. Thracum Macetumque ruinae

taedet et in gentes iterum saevire sepultas.

damna minus consueta move; trans aequora saevas

verte faces; aliis exordia sume rapinis. 150

non tibi Riphaeis hostis quaerendus ab oris,

non per Caucasias accito turbine valles

est opus. Ostrogothis colitur mixtisque Gruthungis

Phryx ager: hos parvae poterunt impellere causae

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Page 195

this shameful name and kept Rome unsullied by an unheard of crime.

He has given us a harbour to which the exiled majesty of Latium and

the disgraced fasces might retire; he has given us annals wherein,

abandoning the East, an age polluted with servile stains might find a

refuge.

“How like to its lord the inhabitants of the palace! Turn your eyes

to the city walls. Surely they at least mutter disapprobation, though

fear forbids them speak out? Do they not condemn him in their hearts?

No: list the plaudits of the senate, of the lords of Byzantium, of the

Grecian citizens of Rome. O people worthy of such a senate, senate

worthy of such a consul! To think that all these bear arms and use them

not, that manly indignation reminds not of their sex those many whose

thighs bear a sword! Has my descendants’ robe of office sunk so low? Is

Brutus’ renown thus brought to scorn?

“Romulus, forgive thy sire for coming so tardy an avenger of those

outraged fasces. Right soon will I make them pay for this joy with

liberal tears. Why delayest thou, Bellona, to sound the trumpet of hell

and to arm thyself with the scythe wherewith thou mowest the people

to the ground? Foment discord, banish pleasures. I am aweary of the

devastation of Thrace and Macedon, of vengeance twice wreaked on races

already buried. Arouse less accustomed destruction; spread fire and

sword beyond the seas, make a beginning of new devastation. Seek not

now thy foe on Riphaeus’ heights: what boots it to rouse the storm of

war amid Caucasia’s ravines? Ostrogoths and Gruthungi together inhabit

the land of Phrygia; ’twill need but a touch

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Page 196

in scelus; ad mores facilis natura reverti. 155

sic eat: in nostro quando iam milite robur

torpuit et molli didicit parere magistro,

vindicet Arctous violatas advena leges;

barbara Romano succurrant arma pudori.”

Sic fatus clipeo, quantum vix ipse deorum 160

arbiter infesto cum percutit aegida nimbo,

intonuit. responsat Athos Haemusque remugit;

ingeminat raucum Rhodope concussa fragorem.

cornua cana gelu mirantibus extulit undis

Hebrus et exanguem glacie timor adligat Histrum. 165

tunc, adamante gravem nodisque rigentibus hastam,

telum ingens nullique deo iaculabile, torsit.

fit late ruptis via nubibus; ilia per auras

tot freta, tot montes uno contenta volatu

transilit et Phrygiae mediis adfigitur arvis. 170

sensit humus; gemuit Nysaeo palmite felix

Hermus et aurata Pactolus inhorruit urna

totaque summissis fleverunt Dindyma silvis.

Nec dea praemissae stridorem segnius hastae

consequitur, centumque vias meditata nocendi 175

tandem Tarbigilum (Geticae dux improbus alae[108]

hic erat) adgreditur. viso tum forte redibat

Eutropio vacuus donis, feritasque dolore

creverat et, teneris etiam quae crimina suadet

[108] _alae_ Rubenus; MSS. (followed by Birt) have _aulae_.

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Page 197

to precipitate them into revolt; readily does nature return to her old

ways. So be it. Since our soldiers’ valour is numbed and they have

learned to obey an unmanned master, let a stranger from the north

avenge our outraged laws and barbarian arms bring relief to disgraced

Rome.”

So spake he and thundered with his shield nigh as loud as the ruler of

the gods when he shakes his aegis from out the lowering cloud. Athos

replies, Haemus re-echoes; again and again shaken Rhodope repeats the

hoarse uproar. Hebrus raised from out the wondering waters his horns

hoary with frost, and bloodless Ister froze in fear. Then the god cast

his javelin,[109] heavy with steel, and stiff with knotted shaft, a

mighty weapon such as none other god could wield. The clouds part

before its onset and give it free passage; through the air it speeds

o’er seas and mountains by one mighty cast and comes to earth amid

the plains of Phrygia. The ground felt the shock; Hermus blessed with

Dionysus’ vines groaned thereat, Pactolus’ golden urn shuddered, all

Dindymus bent his forest fleece and wept.

Bellona, too, hastens forth with speed no less than that of Mars’

whistling spear; a hundred ways of hurt she pondered and at last

approached Tarbigilus,[110] fierce leader of the Getic squadron. It

chanced he had but late returned with empty hands from a visit to

Eutropius; disappointment and indignation aggravated his ferocity, and

poverty, that can incite

[109] Alluding to the Roman custom of casting a spear as a sign of the

declaration of war; _cf_. Ovid, _Fasti_, vi. 207--

Hinc solet hasta manu belli praenuntia mitti

In regem et gentes cum placet arma capi.

[110] Tarbigilus seems to have belonged to the nation of the

Gruthungi. The exact form of his name is a matter of uncertainty.

The MSS. vary: Zosimus (v. 13. 2) calls him Τριβίγιλδος. His revolt

in Phrygia (_cf._ ll. 274, etc.) took place in 399.

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Page 198

ingeniis, Scythicum pectus flammabat egestas. 180

huic sese vultu simulatae coniugis offert

mentitoque ferox incedit barbara gressu,

carbaseos induta sinus: post terga reductas

uberibus propior mordebat fibula vestes,

inque orbem tereti mitra retinente capillum 185

strinxerat et virides flavescere iusserat angues.

advolat ac niveis reducem complectitur ulnis

infunditque animo furiale per oscula virus.

principe quam largo veniat, quas inde reportet

divitias, astu rabiem motura requirit. 190

ille iter ingratum, vanos deflere labores,

quos super eunuchi fastus, quae probra tulisset.

continuo secat ungue genas et tempore pandit

adrepto gemitus:

“I nunc, devotus aratris

scinde solum positoque tuos mucrone sodales 195

ad rastros sudare doce. bene rura Gruthungus

excolet et certo disponet sidere vites.

felices aliae, quas debellata maritis

oppida, quas magnis quaesitae viribus ornant

exuviae, quibus Argivae pulchraeque ministrant 200

Thessalides, famulas et quae meruere Lacaenas.

me nimium timido, nimium iunxere remisso

fata viro, totum qui degener exuit Histrum,

qui refugit patriae ritus, quem detinet aequi

gloria concessoque cupit vixisse colonus 205

quam dominus rapto. quid pulchra vocabula pigris

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Page 199

the gentlest heart to crime, inflamed his savage breast. Taking upon

her the similitude of his wife she comes to meet him; proudly she steps

forth like the barbarian queen, clothed in linen raiment. Close to

her breast a brooch fastened her dress that trailed behind her; she

had bound her locks into a coil that a polished circlet confined, and

bidden her green snakes turn to gold. She hastens to greet him on his

return and throws her snowy arms about his neck, instilling the poison

of the furies into his soul by her kisses. Guilefully to stir his rage

she asks if the great man has been generous to him; if he brings back

rich presents. With tears he recounts his profitless journey, his

useless toil, the pride and insults, moreover, which he had to bear

at the eunuch’s hands. At once she seized the favourable moment, and

tearing her cheek with her nails, discloses her complaints.

“Go then, busy thyself with the plough, cleave the soil, bid thy

followers lay aside their swords and sweat o’er the harrow. The

Gruthungi will make good farmers and will plant their vines in due

season. Happy those other women whose glory is seen in the towns

their husbands have conquered, they whose adornment is the spoils so

hardly won from an enemy, whose servants are fair captives of Argos or

Thessaly, and who have won them slaves from Sparta. Fate has mated me

with too timid, too indolent a husband, a degenerate who has forgotten

the valour of Ister’s tribes, who deserts his country’s ways, whom

a vain reputation for justice attracts, while he longs to live as a

husbandman by favour rather than as a prince by plunder. Why give fair

names to shameful weakness?

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Page 200

praetentas vitiis? probitatis inertia nomen,

iustitiae formido subit. tolerabis iniquam

pauperiem, cum tela geras? et flebis inultus,

cum pateant tantae nullis custodibus urbes? 210

“Quippe metus poenae. pridem mos ille vigebat,

ut meritos colerent impacatisque rebelles

urgerent odiis; at nunc, qui foedera rumpit,

ditatur; qui servat, eget. vastator Achivae

gentis et Epirum nuper populates inultam 215

praesidet Illyrico; iam, quos obsedit, amicos

ingreditur muros illis responsa daturus,

quorum coniugibus potitur natosque peremit.

sic hostes punire solent, haec praemia solvunt

excidiis. cunctaris adhuc numerumque tuorum 220

respicis exiguamque manum? tu rumpe quietem;

bella dabunt socios. nec te tam prona monerem,

si contra paterere viros: nunc alter in armis

sexus et eunuchis se defensoribus orbis

credidit; hos aquilae Romanaque signa sequuntur.

incipe barbaricae tandem te reddere vitae, 226

te quoque iam timeant admirenturque nocentem,

quem sprevere pium. spoliis praedaque repletus

cum libeat Romanus eris.”

Sic fata repente

in diram se vertit avem rostroque recurvo 230

turpis et infernis tenebris obscurior alas

auspicium veteri sedit ferale sepulcro.

Ille, pavor postquam resoluto corde quievit

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Page 201

Cowardice is called loyalty; fear, a sense of justice. Wilt thou

submit to humiliating poverty though thou bearest arms? Wilt thou weep

unavenged, though so many cities open to thee their undefended gates?

“Dost thou fear the consequences? Rome’s old way was to reward merit

and vent on rebels a hate that knew no bound. Now he who breaks a

treaty wins riches, while he who observes one lives in want. The

ravager of Achaea and recent devastator of defenceless Epirus is lord

of Illyria[111]; he now enters as a friend within the walls to which

he was laying siege, and administers justice to those whose wives he

has seduced and whose children he has murdered. Such is the punishment

meted out to an enemy, such the vengeance exacted for wholesale

slaughter--and dost thou still hesitate? Hast thou regard to the small

numbers of thy followers? Nay, have done with peace: war will give thee

allies. Nor would I urge thee so instantly hadst thou to face men. It

is another sex that is in arms against thee; the world has entrusted

itself to the protection of eunuchs; ’tis such leaders the eagles and

standards of Rome follow. Time it is thou didst return to a barbarian

life; be thou in thy turn an object of terror, and let men marvel at

thy crimes who despised thy virtues. Laden with booty and plunder thou

shalt be a Roman when it pleases thee.”

So saying she suddenly changed into an ill-omened bird, a loathsome

sight with its hooked beak and plumage blacker than Hell’s darkness,

and perched, a sinister augury, on an old tomb.

So soon as repose from terror came to his freed

[111] Alaric was made _magister militum_ in Illyricum: see

Introduction, p. x.

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et rigidae sedere comae, non distulit atrox

iussa deae; sociis, quae viderat, ordine pandit 235

inritatque sequi. Coniurat barbara pubes

nacta ducem Latiisque palam descivit ab armis.

Pars Phrygiae, Scythicis quaecumque Trionibus alget

proxima, Bithynos, solem quae condit, Ionas,

quae levat, attingit Galatas. utrimque propinqui 240

finibus obliquis Lydi Pisidaeque feroces

continuant australe latus. gens una fuere

tot quondam populi, priscum cognomen et unum

appellata Phryges; sed (quid non longa valebit

permutare dies?) dicti post Maeona regem 245

Maeones. Aegaeos insedit Graecia portus;

Thyni Thraces arant quae nunc Bithynia fertur;

nuper ab Oceano Gallorum exercitus ingens

illis ante vagus tandem regionibus haesit

gaesaque deposuit, Graio iam mitis amictu, 250

pro Rheno poturus Halyn. dat cuncta vetustas

principium Phrygibus; nec rex Aegyptius ultra

restitit, humani postquam puer uberis expers

in Phrygiam primum laxavit murmura vocem.

Hie cecidit Libycis iactata paludibus olim 255

tibia, foedatam cum reddidit umbra Minervam,

hic et Apollinea victus testudine pastor

suspensa memores inlustrat pelle Celaenas.

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heart, and his stiffened hair sank down again, he made all haste to

carry out the commands of the goddess. He told his followers all that

he had seen and urged them to follow him. Rebellious Barbary had found

a champion and openly threw off the Latin yoke.

That part of Phrygia which lies towards the north beneath the cold

constellation of the Wain borders on Bithynia; that towards the sunset

on Ionia, and that towards the sunrise on Galatia. On two sides runs

the transverse boundary of Lydia while the fierce Pisidians hem it in

to the south. All these peoples once formed one nation and had one

name: they were of old called the Phrygians, but (what changes does

time not bring about?) after the reign of a king Maeon, were known as

Maeones. Then the Greeks settled on the shores of the Aegean, and the

Thyni from Thrace cultivated the region now called Bithynia. Not long

since a vast army of Gauls, nomad hitherto, came at last to rest in the

district; these laid by their spears, clothed them in the civilized

robe of Greece and drank no longer from Rhine’s, but from Halys’,

waters. All antiquity gives priority to the Phrygian, even Egypt’s

king had perforce to recognize it when the babe, nourished at no human

breast, first opened his lips to lisp the Phrygian tongue.[112]

Here fell the pipe once hurled into the marshes of Libya, what time

the stream reflected Minerva’s disfigured countenance.[113] Here, too,

there perished, conquered by Apollo’s lyre, the shepherd Marsyas whose

flayed skin brought renown to the city of

[112] The reference is to Herodotus ii. 2. Psammetichus, King of

Egypt, wishing to find out which was the most ancient nation, had

two children reared in complete silence. As the first word they

uttered was “Becos,” the Phrygian word for “bread,” Phrygia was

accorded the honour.

[113] Minerva is said to have thrown her pipe into the river when

she observed in the reflection the facial contortions apparently

necessary to play it; _cf._ Ovid, _Fasti_, vi. 699.

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quattuor hinc magnis procedunt fontibus amnes

auriferi; nec miror aquas radiare metallo, 260

quae totiens lavere Midan. diversus ad Austrum

cursus et Arctoum fluviis mare. Dindyma fundunt

Sangarium, vitrei puro qui gurgite Galli

auctus Amazonii defertur ad ostia Ponti.

Icarium pelagus Mycalaeaque litora iuncti 265

Marsya Maeanderque petunt; sed Marsya velox,

dum suus est, flexuque carens iam flumine mixtus

mollitur, Maeandre, tuo; contraria passus,

quam Rhodano stimulatus Arar: quos inter aprica

planities Cererique favet densisque ligatur 270

vitibus et glaucae fructus attollit olivae,

dives equis, felix pecori pretiosaque picto

marmore purpureis, caedit quod Synnada, venis.

Talem tum Phrygiam Geticis populatibus uri

permisere dei. securas barbarus urbes 275

inrupit facilesque capi. spes nulla salutis,

nulla fugae: putribus iam propugnacula saxis

longo corruerant aevo pacisque senecta.

Interea gelidae secretis rupibus Idae

dum sedet et thiasos spectat de more Cybebe 280

Curetumque alacres ad tympana suscitat enses,

aurea sanctarum decus inmortale comarum

defluxit capiti turris summoque volutus

vertice crinalis violatur pulvere murus.

obstipuere truces omen Corybantes et uno 285

fixa metu tacitas presserunt orgia buxos.

indoluit genetrix, tum sic commota profatur:

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Celaenae. Hence flow four broad auriferous rivers. Small wonder that

the waters in which King Midas bathed so often glitter with the rare

metal. Two flow north, two southwards. Dindymus gives birth to the

river Sangarius, which, swollen by the clear stream of the Gallus,

hastens on to the Euxine, the sea of the Amazon. The conjoined streams

of Marsyas and Meander make for the Icarian main and Mycale’s strand.

Marsyas flows fast and straight while his course is his own; mingled

with thy waters, Meander, he goes slowly--unlike the Saône whose

waters are hastened by the Rhone’s inflowing. Between these rivers is

a sun-kissed plain; kindly is it to the corn, thick-set with vines and

displaying the fruit of the grey-green olive; rich, too, in horses,

fertile in flocks, and wealthy with the purple-veined marble that

Synnada quarries.

Such was Phrygia then when the gods allowed it to be ravaged by Getic

brigands. The barbarian burst in upon those cities so peaceful, so easy

of capture. There was no hope of safety, no chance of escape. Long and

peaceful ages had made the crumbling stones of their battlements to

fall.

Meanwhile Cybele was seated amid the hallowed rocks of cold Ida,

watching, as is her wont, the dance, and inciting the joyous Curetes

to brandish their swords at the sound of the drum, when, lo, the

golden-turreted crown, the eternal glory of her blessèd hair, fell from

off her head and, rolling from her brow, the castellated diadem is

profaned in the dust. The Corybantes stopped in amazement at this omen;

general alarm checked their orgies and silenced their pipes. The mother

of the gods wept; then spake thus in sorrow.

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“Hoc mihi iam pridem Lachesis grandaeva canebat

augurium: Phrygiae casus venisse supremos

delapsus testatur apex, heu sanguine qualis 290

ibit Sangarius quantasque cadavera lenti

Maeandri passura moras! inmobilis haeret

terminus, haec dudum nato placuere Tonanti.

par et finitimis luctus, frustraque Lyaei

non defensuros implorat Lydia thyrsos. 295

iamque vale Phrygiae tellus perituraque flammis

moenia, conspicuas quae nunc attollitis arces,

mox campi nudumque solum! dilecta valete

flumina! non vestris ultra bacchabor in antris

nec iuga sulcabit noster Berecynthia currus.” 300

dixit et ad tristes convertit tympana planctus.

labentem patriam sacris ululatibus Attis

personat et torvi lacrimis maduere leones.

Eutropius, nequeat quamvis metuenda taceri

clades et trepidus vulgaverit omnia rumor, 305

ignorare tamen fingit regnique ruinas

dissimulat: parvam latronum errare catervam,

ad sontes tormenta magis quam tela parari

nec duce frangendas iactat, sed iudice vires:

vasta velut Libyae venantum vocibus ales 310

cum premitur calidas cursu transmittit harenas

inque modum veli sinuatis flamine pennis

pulverulenta volat; si iam vestigia retro

clara sonent, oblita fugae stat lumine clauso

(ridendum!) revoluta caput creditque latere, 315

quem non ipsa videt. furtim tamen ardua mittit

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“This is the portent that agèd Lachesis foretold long years ago. My

fallen crown assures me that Phrygia’s final crisis is upon her. Alas

for the blood that shall redden Sangarius’ waves; for all the corpses

that shall retard Meander’s slow stream. The hour is fixed irrevocably;

such, long since, was my son’s, the Thunderer’s, will. A like disaster

awaits the neighbouring peoples; in vain does Lydia invoke the thyrsus

of Bacchus in her defence. Now fare thee well, land of Phrygia,

farewell, walls doomed to the flames, walls that now rear aloft proud

towers but will soon be levelled with the ground and the bare earth.

Farewell, dear rivers: never more shall I hold my inspired revels in

your grottoes; no more shall my chariot leave the traces of its wheels

on Berecynthus’ heights.” So spake she, and turned her drums to strains

of mourning. Attis filled his devoted country with holy lamentations

and Cybele’s tawny lions burst into tears.

Eutropius, although this terrible revolt could not be hid and although

rumour had spread everywhere the dread news, none the less affects to

ignore it and shuts his eyes to the empire’s peril. ’Twas some poor

troop of wandering brigands; such wretches call for punishment not war;

a judge--so he brags--not a general should crush their strength. Even

so the great Libyan bird, hard pressed by the cries of its pursuers,

runs o’er the burning sands and flies through the dust, curving its

wings like sails to catch the breeze; but when it clearly hears the

footsteps close behind it, it forgets its flight, standing with closed

eyes and hiding its head, believing, poor fool, it cannot be seen by

those whom itself cannot see. None the less Eutropius

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cum donis promissa novis, si forte rogatus

desinat. ille semel nota dulcedine praedae

se famulo servire negat, nec grata timentum

munera; militiam nullam nec prima superbus 320

cingula dignari; nam quis non consule tali

vilis honos?

Postquam precibus mitescere nullis,

non auro cessisse videt creberque recurrit

nuntius incassum nec spes iam foederis extat:

tandem consilium belli confessus agendi 325

ad sua tecta vocat. iuvenes venere protervi

lascivique senes, quibus est insignis edendi

gloria corruptasque dapes variasse decorum,

qui ventrem invitant pretio traduntque palato

sidereas Iunonis aves et si qua loquendi 330

gnara coloratis viridis defertur ab Indis,

quaesitos trans regna cibos, quorumque profundam

ingluviem non Aegaeus, non alta Propontis,

non freta longinquis Maeotia piscibus explent.

vestis odoratae studium; laus maxima risum 335

per vanos movisse sales minimeque viriles

munditiae; compti vultus; onerique vel ipsa

serica. si Chunus feriat, si Sarmata portas,

solliciti scaenae; Romam contemnere sueti

mirarique suas, quas Bosphorus obruat! aedes; 340

saltandi dociles aurigarumque periti.

Pars humili de plebe duces; pars compede suras

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sends towering promises with new gifts, if haply his foe may pause at

his entreaty. But the barbarian, in whose heart was once waked the

old love of plunder, refuses to submit to a slave; for him the gifts

of fear have no charm; haughtily he disdains any rank,[114] even the

highest, for under such a consul what honour would not be disgrace?

When Eutropius saw that no prayers could move him nor any gold win

him over; when messenger after messenger returned, his mission

unfulfilled, and all hopes of an alliance were at an end, he at last

recognized the necessity for war and summoned the council to his

palace. Thither they came--wanton lads and debauched greybeards whose

greatest glory was gluttony, and whose pride it was to diversify the

outraged banquet. Their hunger is only aroused by costly meats, and

they tickle their palates with foods imported from overseas, the flesh

of the many-eyed fowl of Juno,[115] or of that coloured bird brought

from farthest Ind that knows how to speak. Not the Aegean, not deep

Propontis, not Maeotis’ lake afar can sate their appetites with fish.

Perfumed garments are their care, their pride to move foolish laughter

with their silly jests. On their adornment and toilette they bestow

a woman’s care and find even the silk they wear too heavy a burden.

Should the Hun, the Sarmatian, strike at the city’s gates yet trouble

they for nought but the theatre. Rome they despise and reserve their

admiration for their own houses--may Bosporus’ waters overwhelm them!

Skilful dancers they and clever judges of charioteers.

Some sprung from the dregs of the people are generals; some

magistrates--though their legs and

[114] Claudian uses the word _cingulum_ (= a soldier’s belt) as =

military service--a not uncommon late use, _cf._ Serv. _Aen._ viii.

724 and (frequently) _cingi_ = to serve, in the Digests.

[115] _i.e._ the peacock.

* * * * *

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cruraque signati nigro liventia ferro

iura regunt, facies quamvis inscripta repugnet

seque suo prodat titulo. sed prima potestas 345

Eutropium praefert Hosio subnixa secundo.

dulcior hic sane cunctis prudensque movendi

iuris et admoto qui temperet omnia fumo,

fervidus, accensam sed qui bene decoquat iram.

considunt apices gemini dicionis Eoae, 350

hic cocus, hic leno, defossi verbere terga,

servitio, non arte pares, hic saepius emptus,

alter ad Hispanos nutritus verna penates.

Ergo ubi collecti proceres, qui rebus in artis

consulerent tantisque darent solacia morbis, 355

obliti subito Phrygiae bellisque relictis

ad solitos coepere iocos et iurgia circi

tendere. nequiquam magna confligitur ira,

quis melius vibrata puer vertigine molli

membra rotet, verrat quis marmora crine supino? 360

quis magis enodes laterum detorqueat arcus,[116]

quis voci digitos, oculos quis moribus aptet?

hi tragicos meminere modos; his fabula Tereus,

his necdum commissa choro cantatur Agave.

Increpat Eutropius: non haec spectacula tempus

poscere; nunc alias armorum incumbere curas; 366

se satis Armenio fessum pro limite cingi

[116] Birt _artus_; I return to the vulg. _arcus_.

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ankles are still scarred and livid with their wearing of the fetters of

servitude and though their branded foreheads deny their owners’ right

to office and disclose their true title. Among them Eutropius holds

the first place; Hosius, on whom he relies, comes next. He of a truth

is more popular, a cunning artificer of justice who knows well how to

steam his cases; at times boiling with anger, yet well able to render

down that anger when aroused.[117] These sit enthroned, joint rulers

of the eastern empire, the one a cook the other a pander. The backs of

both are scarred with the whip, each was a slave though of a different

kind. The one had been bought and sold a hundred times, the other

brought up a dependant in a Spanish household.

When, therefore, the chief men were gathered together for consultation

in this strait and to comfort the sickness of the state, forthwith

they forget Phrygia and, setting aside the question of war, start

their accustomed fooling and engage in disputes about the Circus.

With heat as fierce as it is pointless they wrangle what boy can best

whirl quivering limbs in an easy somersault or sweep the marble floor

with his drooping locks; who can most twist his flanks into a boneless

arch; who can best suit his gestures to his words and his eyes to his

character. Some recite speeches from tragedy, others chant the play of

Tereus, others again that of Agave, never before staged.

Eutropius chides them; the present moment, says he, demands other

spectacles than these; it is war which now should claim all their care.

For his part (for he is an old man and a weary) it is enough to defend

the frontiers of Armenia; single-handed

[117] Hosius, by birth a Spaniard, had been a slave and a

cook--whence these various double meanings. He rose to be _magister

officiorum_ at the court of Arcadius (_circa_ 396-8).

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nec tantis unum subsistere posse periclis;

ignoscant senio, iuvenes ad proelia mittant:--

qualis pauperibus nutrix invisa puellis 370

adsidet et tela communem quaerere victum

rauca monet; festis illae lusisse diebus

orant et positis aequaevas visere pensis,

irataeque operi iam lasso pollice fila

turbant et teneros detergent stamine fletus. 375

Emicat extemplo cunctis trepidantibus audax

crassa mole Leo, quem vix Cyclopia solum

aequatura fames, quem non ieiuna Celaeno

vinceret; hinc nomen fertur meruisse Leonis.

acer in absentes linguae iactator, abundans 380

corporis exiguusque animi, doctissimus artis

quondam lanificae, moderator pectinis unci.

non alius lanam purgatis sordibus aeque

praebuerit calathis, similis nec pinguia quisquam

vellera per tenues ferri producere rimas. 385

tunc Aiax erat Eutropii lateque fremebat,

non septem vasto quatiens umbone iuvencos,

sed, quam perpetuis dapibus pigroque sedili

inter anus interque colos oneraverat, alvum.

adsurgit tandem vocemque expromit anhelam: 390

“Quis novus hic torpor, socii? quonam usque sedemus

femineis clausi thalamis patimurque periclum

gliscere desidia? graviorum turba malorum

texitur, ignavis trahimus dum tempora votis.

me petit hic sudor. numquam mea dextera segnis

ad ferrum. faveat tantum Tritonia coeptis, 396

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he cannot cope with all these perils. They must pardon his age and send

younger men to the war:--it is as though a hated forewoman were sitting

among a crowd of poor working-girls and bidding them in her raucous

voice ply the loom and gain their livelihood, while they beg to be

allowed the enjoyment of a holiday, to lay aside their tasks and visit

their friends; angered at her refusal and wearied of their work they

crush the threads in their hands and wipe away their gentle tears with

the cloth.

Sudden from out that trembling throng upleaps bold Leo[118] with his

vast bulk, he whose single prowess Cyclopean hunger could scarce

match, whom starving Celaeno could not outvie. ’Tis to this fact that

he is said to have owed his name. Bold (when his foe was absent),

brave (as a speaker), great in bulk but small of heart, once a highly

skilled spinner of thread and a cunning carder, none other could so

well cleanse the dirt from out the fleece and fill the baskets, none

other pull the thick wool over the iron teeth of the comb as could he.

He was then Eutropius’ Ajax and far and near he raged, shaking not

a huge shield compact of seven layers of ox-hide, but that belly of

his, laden with continuous feastings, as he sat lazily among old dames

and distaffs. At length he arose and, panting, said, “What unwonted

sluggishness is this, my friends? How long must we sit closeted in the

women’s apartments and suffer our perils to increase by reason of our

sloth? Fate weaves for us a network of ill while we waste our time in

useless vows. This difficult task demands my action; never was my hand

slow to use iron. Let but Minerva favour

[118] Gainas and Leo were sent by Eutropius to put down the revolt

of Tarbigilus. Gainas, however, never left the Hellespont and

Leo, advancing into Pamphylia, there met, and was defeated by,

Tarbigilus (Zosim. v. 16. 5). We gather from Claudian that he had

once been a weaver.

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inceptum peragetur opus. iam cuncta furorem

qui gravat, efficiam leviorem pondere lanae

Tarbigilum tumidum, desertoresque Gruthungos

ut miseras populabor oves et pace relata 400

pristina restituam Phrygias ad stamina matres.”

His dictis iterum sedit; fit plausus et ingens

concilii clamor, qualis resonantibus olim

exoritur caveis, quotiens crinitus ephebus

aut rigidam Nioben aut flentem Troada fingit. 405

protinus excitis iter inremeabile signis

adripit infaustoque iubet bubone moveri

agmina Mygdonias mox impletura volucres.

Pulcher et urbanae cupiens exercitus umbrae,

adsiduus ludis, avidus splendere lavacris 410

nec soles imbresve pati, multumque priori

dispar, sub clipeo Thracum qui ferre pruinas,

dum Stilicho regeret, nudoque hiemare sub axe

sueverat et duris haurire bipennibus Hebrum.

cum duce mutatae vires. Byzantia robur 415

fregit luxuries Ancyranique triumphi.

non peditem praecedit eques; non commoda castris

eligitur regio; vicibus custodia nullis

advigilat vallo; non explorantur eundae

vitandaeque viae; nullo se cornua flectunt 420

ordine: confusi passim per opaca vagantur

lustra, per ignotas angusto tramite valles.

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mine attempts and the work begun will be the work completed. Now will I

render proud Tarbigilus, whose madness has caused all this turmoil, of

less weight than a ball of wool, the faithless Gruthungi I will drive

before me like a flock of wretched sheep; and when I have restored

peace I will set the women of Phrygia once more beside their ancient

spinning.”

So saying he sat down again. Great clamour and applause filled the

council-chamber, applause such as rises from the rows of spectators in

the theatre when some curled youth impersonates Niobe turned to stone,

or Hecuba in tears. Straightway Leo unfolds his banners and starts on

the journey whence there is to be no return. To the accompaniment of

the screech-owl’s ill-omened cry he bids march the host destined so

soon to feed the vultures of Mygdonia.

’Tis a well-favoured army, enamoured of the city’s shade, ever present

at the games, anxious to shine in the baths, not to bear sun-scorch

and rain, and oh! how different to that former army who, ’neath the

leadership of Stilicho, endured under arms the frosts of Thrace and

were wont to winter in the open air and break with their axes the

frozen waters of Hebrus for a draught. Changed is the leader and

changed their character. Byzantium’s luxury and Ancyra’s pomp[119]

have destroyed their vigour. No longer does the cavalry ride ahead of

the foot; suitable ground is not chosen for camps; no constant change

of sentries safeguards the ramparts, no scouts are sent forward to

discover which roads to take or which to avoid; their evolutions are

performed without drill or discipline, in confusion they stray hither

and thither amid dark forests, along narrow

[119] _Triumphi_ is ironical. Claudian refers to Eutropius’ pleasure

journey to Ancyra; _cf._ l. 98 of this poem.

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sic vacui rectoris equi, sic orba magistro

fertur in abruptum casu, non sidere, puppis;

sic ruit in rupes amisso pisce sodali 425

belua, sulcandas qui praevius edocet undas

inmensumque pecus parvae moderamine caudae

temperat et tanto coniungit foedera monstro;

illa natat rationis inops et caeca profundi;

iam brevibus deprensa vadis ignara reverti 430

palpitat et vanos scopulis inlidit hiatus.

Tarbigilus simulare fugam flatusque Leonis

spe nutrire leves improvisusque repente,

dum gravibus marcent epulis hostique catenas

inter vina erepant, largo sopita Lyaeo 435

castra subit. pereunt alii, dum membra cubili

tarda levant; alii leto iunxere soporem;

ast alios vicina palus sine more ruentes

excipit et cumulis inmanibus aggerat undas.

ipse Leo damma cervoque fugacior ibat 440

sudanti tremebundus equo: qui pondere postquam

decidit, implicitus limo cunctantia pronus

per vada reptabat. caeno subnixa tenaci

mergitur et pingui suspirat corpore moles

more suis, dapibus quae iam devota futuris 445

turpe gemit, quotiens Hosius mucrone corusco

armatur cingitque sinus secumque volutat,

quas figat verubus partes, quae frusta calenti

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paths in unexplored valleys. So goes a horse that has lost his rider,

thus a ship whose helmsman has been drowned is swept to the abyss,

chance guiding her and not the stars. So too the sea monster[120] is

dashed to pieces against the rocks when it has lost the comrade fish

that swam before it and guided its course through the waves, piloting

the great beast with the motion of its tiny tail according to the

compact which is between it and its huge companion. Aimlessly the

monster swims all unguided through the deep; then, surprised in the

shallow water and knowing not how to return to the sea, pants and to no

purpose dashes its gaping jaws against the rocks.

Tarbigilus feigns retreat and raises the presumptuous hopes of Leo,

then suddenly he bursts all unexpected upon the wine-sodden army, as,

overcome by the heavy feast, they brag over their cups of leading the

foe in chains. Some are slain as they lift their sluggish limbs from

the couch, others know not any break between sleep and death. Others

rush pell-mell into a neighbouring swamp and heap the marsh high

with their dead bodies. Leo himself, swifter than deer or antelope,

fled trembling on his foam-flecked horse, and it falling under his

weight Leo sank in the mire and on all fours fought his way through

the clinging slime. Held up at first by the thick mud, his fat body

gradually settles down panting like a common pig, which, destined to

grace the coming feast, squeals when Hosius arms him with flashing

knife, and gathers up his garments, pondering the while what portions

he will transfix with spits, which pieces of the flesh he will boil and

how much sea-urchin

[120] The _balaena_ or whale. According to ancient naturalists the

_balaena_ entered into an alliance with the _musculus_ or sea-mouse

which, in Pliny’s words, “vada praenatans demonstrat oculorumque

vice fungitur” (Pliny, _H.N._ ix. 186).

* * * * *

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mandet aquae quantoque cutem distendat echino.

flagrat opus; crebro pulsatus perstrepit ictu;[121] 450

contexit varius penetrans Calchedona nidor.

Ecce levis frondes a tergo concutit aura:

credit tela Leo; valuit pro vulnere terror

implevitque vicem iaculi, vitamque nocentem

integer et sola formidine saucius efflat. 455

quis tibi tractandos pro pectine, degener, enses,

quis solio campum praeponere suasit avito?

quam bene texentum laudabas carmina tutus

et matutinis pellebas frigora mensis!

hic miserande iaces; hic, dum tua vellera vitas, 460

tandem fila tibi neverunt ultima Parcae.

Iam vaga pallentem densis terroribus aulam

fama quatit; stratas acies, deleta canebat

agmina, Maeonios foedari caedibus agros,

Pamphylos Pisidasque rapi. metuendus ab omni 465

Tarbigilus regione tonat; modo tendere cursum

in Galatas, modo Bithynis incumbere fertur.

sunt qui per Cilicas rupto descendere Tauro,

sunt qui correptis ratibus terraque marique

adventare ferant; geminantur vera pavoris 470

ingenio: longe spectari puppibus urbes

accensas, lucere fretum ventoque citatas

omnibus in pelago velis haerere favillas.

Hos inter strepitus funestior advolat alter

[121] I print Birt’s text; but unless _pulsatus_ be taken as a

substantive (Baehrens’ suggestion, cf. P. Lat. Min. v. p. 120 l.

169) it is untranslatable. Emendations proposed are _pulsu Cos …

icta_ Barthius; _pulsatus aper strepit_ Buecheler; _cultri sus_ or

_pulpae ius_ Birt. The sense demands, however, some such word as

_Bosporus_ to make a parallelism with _Calchedona_. Possibly the

line ended _pulsatur Bosporus ictu, perstrepit_ being a gloss on

_pulsatur_ and eventually ousting _Bosporus_.

* * * * *

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stuffing will be needed to fill the empty skin. The work of preparation

goes on apace, Bosporus echoes to many a blow and the savoury smell

envelops Chalcedon.

Suddenly a gentle breeze stirs the foliage behind Leo’s back. He

thinks it an arrow, and terror, taking a missile’s place, does duty

for a wound. Untouched and stricken only by fear he breathes his last.

Degenerate Roman, by whose advice didst thou exchange the comb for the

sword, thine ancestral calling for the field of battle? How much better

to praise in safety the work of the weavers at their looms and keep out

the cold by means of morning feasts. Here thou hast suffered a wretched

death; here, while thou soughtest to shirk thy spinning, the Fates have

at last spun for thee the final thread.

Now spreading rumour shakes the palace, pale with terror upon terror.

It told how that the army was destroyed, the troops butchered, the

plain of Maeonia red with slaughter, Pamphylia and Pisidia o’errun by

the enemy. On all sides rings the dread name of Tarbigilus. He is now

said to be bearing down upon Galatia, now to be meditating an attack

on Bithynia. Some say he has crossed the Taurus and is descending

upon Cilicia, others that he has possessed himself of a fleet and is

advancing both by land and sea. Truth is doubled by panic’s fancy; they

say that from the ships far cities are seen ablaze, that the straits

are aglow and that ashes driven by the wind catch in the sails of every

ship at sea.

Amid all this confusion comes a yet more terrible

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Page 220

nuntius: armatam rursus Babylona minari 475

rege novo; resides Parthos ignava perosos

otia Romanae finem iam quaerere paci.

rarus apud Medos regum cruor; unaque cuncto

poena manet generi: quamvis crudelibus aeque

paretur dominis. sed quid non audeat annus 480

Eutropii? socium nobis fidumque Saporem

perculit et Persas in regia vulnera movit

rupturasque fidem, leto pars ne qua vacaret,

Eumenidum taedas trans flumina Tigridis egit.

Tum vero cecidere animi tantisque procellis 485

deficiunt. saepti latrantibus undique bellis

infensos tandem superos et consulis omen

agnovere sui, nec iam revocabile damnum

eventu stolido serum didicere magistro.

namque ferunt geminos uno de semine fratres 490

Iapetionidas generis primordia nostri

dissimili finxisse manu: quoscumque Prometheus

excoluit multumque innexuit aethera limo,

hi longe ventura notant dubiisque parati

casibus occurrunt fabro meliore politi. 495

deteriore luto pravus quos edidit auctor,

quem merito Grai perhibent Epimethea vates,

et nihil aetherii sparsit per membra vigoris,

hi pecudum ritu non impendentia vitant

nec res ante vident; accepta clade queruntur 500

et seri transacta gemunt.

* * * * *

Page 221

rumour--that Babylon is again in arms and, under a new monarch,[122]

threatens our Empire; the Parthians, long inactive, and now scorning

slothful ease, seek to put an end to the peace imposed by Rome. Rare

among the Medes is the murder of a king, for punishment falls on the

regicide’s whole family. Thus equal obedience is offered to their

overlords, cruel as well as kind. But what would not the year of

Eutropius’ consulship dare? ’Tis that has stricken down our faithful

ally Sapor and roused the Persians’ swords against their own king; that

has cast the torch of the Furies across the Euphrates, there to kindle

rebellion, that no quarter of the globe may escape carnage.

Then indeed men’s hearts failed them, their courage ebbed away amid

all these storms; surrounded as they were on every side by the din of

war, at last they recognized the wrath of heaven and their consul’s

evil omen, learning too late--schooled by the stubborn issue--their now

irrevocable doom. They say that the twin sons of Iapetus formed our

first parents of the same materials but with unequal skill. Those whom

Prometheus fashioned, and with whose clay he mingled abundant ether,

foresee the distant future and, thanks to their more careful making by

a better workman, are thus prepared to meet what fate has in store for

them. Those framed of baser clay by the sorry artificer the Greek poets

so well call Epimetheus, men through whose limbs no ethereal vigour

spreads--these, like sheep, cannot avoid the dangers that o’erhang

them, nor foresee aught. Not till the blow has fallen do they protest

and weep too late the accomplished deed.

[122] Varanes IV., who, like his three predecessors, Artaxerxes,

Sapor III., and Varanes III., had observed a truce with Rome, died

in 399 and was succeeded by Isdigerdes. For all Claudian’s real or

simulated anxiety this monarch was as peaceably disposed as the

previous ones (see Oros. vii. 34). Claudian seems to have made an

error in calling him Sapor (l. 481).

* * * * *

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Iam sola renidet

in Stilichone salus, et cuius semper acerbum

ingratumque sibi factorum conscius horror

credidit adventum, quem si procedere tantum

Alpibus audissent, mortem poenasque tremebant,

iam cuncti venisse volunt, scelerumque priorum 506

paenitet; hoc tantis bellorum sidus in undis

sperant, hoc pariter iusti sontesque precantur:

ceu pueri, quibus alta pater trans aequora merces

devehit, intenti ludo studiisque soluti 510

latius amoto passim custode vagantur;

si gravis auxilio vacuas invaserit aedes

vicinus laribusque suis proturbet inultos,

tum demum patrem implorant et nomen inani

voce cient frustraque oculos ad litora tendunt. 515

Omnes supplicio dignos letoque fatentur,

qui se tradiderint famulis Stilichone relicto.

mutati stupuere diu sensuque reducto

paulatim proprii mirantur monstra furoris

avertuntque oculos: proiectis fascibus horret 520

lictor et infames labuntur sponte secures:

quales Aonio Thebas de monte reversae

Maenades infectis Pentheo sanguine thyrsis,

cum patuit venatus atrox matrique rotatum

conspexere caput, gressus caligine figunt 525

et rabiem desisse dolent. quin protinus ipsa

tendit ad Italiam supplex Aurora potentem

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Page 223

There now shone forth but one hope of salvation--Stilicho. Him the

expectation of whose visits the consciousness of deeds ill-done had

ever rendered bitter and unpleasant, him whose approach even as far as

the Alps afflicted the Byzantines with fear of death and punishment,

all now wish to come, repentant of their former wrongdoing. To him they

look as to a star amid this universal shipwreck of war; to him innocent

and guilty alike address their prayers. So children whose sire carries

merchandise across the sea, wrapt up in their amusements and heedless

of their studies, wander afield more joyfully now that their guardian

is absent, yet, should a dangerous neighbour invade their defenceless

home and seek to drive them forth unprotected as they are from their

fireside, _then_ they beg their father’s help, call upon his name with

useless cries and all to no purpose direct their gaze towards the shore.

All admit that they deserve punishment and death for deserting Stilicho

and entrusting themselves to the governance of slaves. Long they stood

dazed with altered thoughts, and as their senses slowly return they

marvel at the results of their own madness and turn away their eyes;

flinging down his rods the lictor shudders, and the dishonoured axes

fall of their own accord. Even so the Maenads returning to Thebes from

the Aonian mount, their thyrses dripping with Pentheus’ blood, learning

the true character of their dreadful hunting and seeing the head cast

by the mother herself, hide them in the darkness and lament the end of

their madness. Thereupon suppliant Aurora turned her flight towards

powerful Italy, her hair no

* * * * *

Page 224

non radiis redimita comam, non flammea vultu

nec croceum vestita diem; stat livida luctu,

qualis erat Phrygio tegeret cum Memnona busto.

quam simul agnovit Stilicho nec causa latebat, 531

restitit; illa manum victricem amplexa moratur

altaque vix lacrimans inter suspiria fatur:

“Tantanc te nostri ceperunt taedia mundi?

sic me ludibrium famulis risumque relinquis 535

dux quondam rectorque meus? solamque tueris

Hesperiam? domiti nec te post bella tyranni

cernere iam licuit? sic te victoria nobis

eripuit Gallisque dedit? Rufinus origo

prima mali: geminas inter discordia partes 540

hoc auctore fuit. sed iam maiora moventi

occurrit iusta rediens exercitus ira,

fortis adhuc ferrique memor. brevis inde reluxit

falsaque libertas; rursum Stilichonis habenis

sperabam me posse regi. pro caeca futuri 545

gaudia! fraterno coniungi coeperat orbis

imperio (quis enim tanto terrore recentis

exempli paribus sese committeret ausis?),

cum subito (monstrosa mihi turpisque relatu

fabula) Rufini castratus prosilit heres, 550

et similes iterum luctus Fortuna reduxit,

ut solum domini sexum mutasse viderer.

“Hic primum thalami claustris delicta tegebat

clam timideque iubens; erat invidiosa potestas,

sed tamen eunuchi, necdum sibi publica iura 555

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Page 225

longer aureole-crowned and she no more bright of countenance nor

clothed with the saffron of the dawn. She stands wan with woe, even as

when she buried Memnon in his Phrygian grave. Stilicho recognized her

and stayed, well knowing the reason of her visit. Long time she clasped

his victorious hand and at length amid tears and sighs addressed him.

“Why art thou so wearied of the world whereon I shine? Leavest thou me

thus to be the sport and laughing-stock of slaves and carest only for

Italy, thou that wert once my guide and my leader? Since thy victory

over the tyrant Eugenius I have not seen thee. Has victory thus robbed

me of thee and given thee to Gaul? Rufinus was the prime cause of the

trouble; ’twas he who wrought disunion between the two empires. But

when he aimed at more there met him an army returning in righteous

wrath, an army still strong, still mindful of its former prowess. For

a moment I was dazzled by the mirage of liberty: I hoped that Stilicho

would once more hold the reins of our empire. Alas for my short-sighted

happiness! The world had begun to form one single empire under the rule

of the two brothers (for who, with the awful example[123] so fresh in

his mind, would dare embark upon a like venture?) when suddenly (it is

a monstrous story which scarce bears the telling) a eunuch came forward

as Rufinus’ heir. Thus fortune brought back my former miseries with

this one difference--that of changing my master’s sex.

At first he kept his crimes hidden behind the doors of his chamber,

an unseen and timid ruler; power was his that all envied, yet only a

eunuch’s, nor dared he yet arrogate to himself the right of

[123] _i.e._ that of Rufinus.

* * * * *

Page 226

sumere nec totas audebat vertere leges.

at postquam pulsisque bonis et faece retenta

peiores legit socios dignusque satelles

hinc Hosius stetit, inde Leo, fiducia crevit

regnandique palam flagravit aperta libido. 560

patricius, consul maculat quos vendit honores,

plus maculat quos ipse gerit. iam signa tubaeque

mollescunt, ipsos ignavia fluxit in enses.

exultant merito gentes facilisque volenti

praeda sumus. iam Bistoniis Haemoque nivali 565

vastior expulsis Oriens squalescit aratris.

ei mihi, quas urbes et quanto tempore Martis

ignaras uno rapuerunt proelia cursu!

nuper ab extremo veniens equitatus Araxe

terruit Antiochi muros, ipsumque decorae 570

paene caput Syriae flammis hostilibus arsit.

utque gravis spoliis nulloque obstante profunda

lactus caede redit, sequitur mucrone secundo

continuum vulnus; nec iam mihi Caucasus hostes

nec mittit gelidus Phasis; nascuntur in ipso 575

bella sinu. legio pridem Romana Gruthungi,

iura quibus victis dedimus, quibus arva domusque

praebuimus, Lydos Asiaeque uberrima vastant

ignibus et si quid tempestas prima reliquit.

nec vi nec numero freti; sed inertia nutrit 580

proditioque ducum, quorum per crimina miles

* * * * *

Page 227

governing the state or of trampling on the laws. But when he had

banished the good and, retaining the dregs of the people, had chosen

therefrom advisers of no worth; when his creature Hosius stood on

his one side and Leo on the other, then indeed his self-confidence

waxed and his lust for power broke forth into open flame. Patrician

and consul he brought defilement on the honours he sold; even greater

defilement on those he carried himself. The very standards and trumpets

of war grew feeble; a palsy seized upon our swords. What wonder the

nations rejoiced and we became the easy prey of any who would subdue

us? Gone are ploughs and ploughmen; the East is more a desert than

Thrace and snowy Haemus. Alas! how many cities, how long unused to

war’s alarms, have perished in a single invasion! Not long since a

mounted band coming from Araxes’ farthest banks threatened the walls

of Antioch and all but set fire to the chief city of the fair province

of Syria. Laden with spoil and rejoicing in the vast carnage it had

wrought the band returned with none to bar its passage; now it pursues

its victorious career inflicting on me wound upon wound. ’Tis not now

Caucasus nor cold Phasis that send forces against me; wars arise in the

very centre of my empire. Time was when the Gruthungi formed a Roman

legion; conquered we gave them laws; fields and dwelling-places we

apportioned them. Now they lay waste with fire Lydia and the richest

cities of Asia, ay, and everything that escaped the earlier storm.

’Tis neither on their own valour or numbers that they rely; it is our

cowardice urges them on, cowardice and the treason of generals, through

whose guilt our soldiers now

* * * * *

Page 228

captivis dat terga suis, quos teste subegit

Danuvio partemque timet qui reppulit omnes.

“Aula choris epulisque vacat nec perdita curat,

dum superest aliquid. ne quid tamen orbe reciso

venditor amittat, provincia quaeque superstes 586

dividitur geminumque duplex passura tribunal

cogitur alterius pretium sarcire peremptae.

sic mihi restituunt populos; hac arte reperta

rectorum numerum terris pereuntibus augent. 590

“In te iam spes una mihi. pro fronde Minervae

has tibi protendo lacrimas: succurre ruenti,

eripe me tandem, servilibus eripe regnis.

neve adeo cunctos paucorum crimine damnes

nec nova tot meritis offensa prioribus obstet. 595

iamiam flecte animum. suprema pericula semper

dant veniam culpae. quamvis iratus et exul

pro patriae flammis non distulit arma Camillus.

nec te subtrahimus Latio; defensor utrique

sufficis. armorum liceat splendore tuorum 600

in commune frui; clipeus nos protegat idem

unaque pro gemino desudet cardine virtus.”

* * * * *

Page 229

flee before their own captives, whom, as Danube’s stream well knows,

they once subdued; and those now fear a handful who once could drive

back all.

Meanwhile the palace devotes its attention to dances and feastings,

and cares not what be lost so something remain. But lest our salesman

lose aught by this dismemberment of the empire he has divided each

remaining province into two, and forces the two halves, each under its

own governor, to compensate him for the loss of other provinces. ’Tis

thus they give me back my lost peoples: by this ingenious device they

increase the number of my rulers while the lands they should rule are

lost.

In thee is now my only hope; in place of Minerva’s supplicating branch

I offer thee my tears. Help me in my distress. Save me from this

tyranny of a slave master; do not condemn all for the fault of a few,

and let not a recent offence cancel former merits. Grant me now my

request; extreme danger ever exonerates from blame. Camillus, though

justly angered at his banishment, forebore not to succour his country

when in flames. I seek not to draw thee away from Italy; thou art

enough defence for both empires. Let both have the benefit of thine

illustrious arms; let the same shield defend us and one hero work the

salvation of a twofold world”

* * * * *

Page 230

FESCENNINA DE NUPTIIS HONORII AUGUSTI

I. (XI.)

Princeps corusco sidere pulchrior,

Parthis sagittas tendere doctior,

eques Gelonis imperiosior,

quae digna mentis laus erit arduae?

quae digna formae laus erit igneae? 5

te Leda mallet quam dare Castorem;

praefert Achilli te proprio Thetis;

victum fatetur Delos Apollinem;

credit minorem Lydia Liberum.

tu cum per altas impiger ilices 10

praedo citatum cornipedem reges

ludentque ventis instabiles comae,

telis iacebunt sponte tuis ferae

gaudensque sacris vulneribus leo

admittet hastam morte superbior. 15

Venus reversum spernit Adonidem,

damnat reductum Cynthia Virbium.

Cum post labores sub platani voles

virentis umbra vel gelido specu

torrentiorem fallere Sirium 20

et membra somno fessa resolveris:

o quantus uret tum Dryadas calor!

quot aestuantes ancipiti gradu

furtiva carpent oscula Naides!

* * * * *

Page 231

FESCENNINE VERSES IN HONOUR OF THE MARRIAGE OF THE EMPEROR HONORIUS[124]

I. (XI.)

Prince, fairer than the day-star, who shootest thine arrows with an

aim more sure than the Parthian’s, rider more daring than the Geloni,

what praise shall match thy lofty mind, what praise thy brilliant

beauty? Leda would rather have thee her son than Castor; Thetis counts

thee dearer than her own Achilles; Delos’ isle admits thee Apollo’s

victor; Lydia puts Bacchus second to thee. When in the heat of the

chase thou guidest thy coursing steed amid the towering holm-oaks and

thy tossing locks stream out upon the wind, the beasts of their own

accord will fall before thine arrows and the lion, right gladly wounded

by a prince’s sacred hand, will welcome thy spear and be proud so to

die. Venus scorns Adonis returned from the dead, Diana disapproves

Hippolytus recalled to life.

When after thy toils thou seekest the shade of a green plane-tree or

shunnest Sirius’ extreme heat in some cool grot and freest thy wearied

limbs in sleep, what a passion of love will inflame the Dryads’ hearts!

how many a Naiad will steal up with trembling foot and snatch an

unmarked kiss! Who,

[124] The marriage of Honorius and Maria, daughter of Stilicho, took

place at Milan, Feb. 398.

* * * * *

Page 232

quis vero acerbis horridior Scythis, 25

quis beluarum corde furentior,

qui, cum micantem te prope viderit,

non optet ultro servitium pati,

qui non catenas adripiat libens

colloque poscat vincula libero?

tu si nivalis per iuga Caucasi 30

saevas petisses pulcher Amazonas,

peltata pugnas desereret cohors

sexu recepto; patris et inmemor

inter frementes Hippolyte tubas

strictam securim languida poneret 35

et seminudo pectore cingulum

forti negatum solveret Herculi,

bellumque solus conficeret decor.

Beata, quae te mox faciet virum 40

primisque sese iunget amoribus.

II. (XII.)

Age cuncta nuptiali

redimita vere tellus

celebra toros eriles;

omne nemus cum fluviis,

omne canat profundum 5

Ligures favete campi,

Veneti favete montes,

subitisque se rosetis

vestiat Alpinus apex

et rubeant pruinae. 10

Athesis strepat choreis

calamisque flexuosus

leve Mincius susurret

* * * * *

Page 233

though he be more uncivilized than the wild Scythians and more cruel

even than the beasts, but will, when he has seen near at hand thy

transcendent loveliness, offer thee a ready servitude? Who will not

willingly seize the chains of slavery and demand the yoke for a neck as

yet free? Hadst thou o’er the heights of snowy Caucasus gone against

the cruel Amazons in all thy beauty, that warrior band had fled the

fight and called to mind again their proper sex; Hippolyte, amid the

trumpets’ din, forgetful of her sire, had weakly laid aside her drawn

battle-axe, and with half-bared breast loosed the girdle all Hercules’

strength availed not to loose. Thy beauty alone would have ended the

war.

Blessed is she who will soon call thee husband and unite herself to

thee with the bonds of first love.

II. (XII.)

Come, earth, wreathed about with nuptial spring, do honour to thy

master’s marriage-feast. Sing, woods and rivers all, sing, deep of

ocean. Give your blessing, too, Ligurian plains and yours, Venetian

hills. Let Alpine heights on a sudden clothe themselves with

rose-bushes and the fields of ice grow red. Let the Adige re-echo the

sound of choric lays and meandering Mincius whisper gently through his

* * * * *

Page 234

et Padus electriferis

admoduletur alnis; 15

epulisque iam repleto

resonet Quirite Thybris

dominique laeta votis

aurea septemgeminas

Roma coronet arces. 20

procul audiant Hiberi,

fluit unde semen aulae,

ubi plena laurearum

imperio feta domus

vix numerat triumphos. 25

habet hinc patrem maritus,

habet hinc puella matrem

geminaque parte ductum

Caesareum flumineo

stemma recurrit ortu. 30

decorent virecta Bactim,

Tagus intumescat auro

generisque procreator

sub vitreis Oceanus

luxurietur antris. 35

Oriensque regna fratrum

simul Occidensque plaudat;

placide iocentur urbes,

quaeque novo quaeque nitent

deficiente Phoebo. 40

Aquiloniae procellae,

rabidi tacete Cauri,

taceat sonorus Auster.

solus ovantem Zephyrus

perdominetur annum. 45

* * * * *

Page 235

reeds and Padus make answer with his amber-dripping alders. Let Tiber’s

banks now ring with the voices of Rome’s full-fed citizens and the

golden city, rejoicing in her lord’s marriage, crown her seven hills

with flowers.

Let Spain hear afar, Spain the cradle of the imperial race, where is

a house that is mother of emperors, rich in crowns of laurel, whose

triumphs can scarce be numbered. Hence came the bridegroom’s sire,

hence the bride’s mother; from either branch flows the blood of the

Caesars, like twin streams reunited. Let rich herbage clothe Baetis’

banks and Tagus swell his golden flood; may Ocean, ancestor of the

imperial race, make merry in his crystal caves. Let East and West, the

two brothers’ realms, join in their applause, and peace and joy fill

the cities illumined by the sun at his rising and at his setting. Be

still, ye storms of the north and ye mad blasts of Caurus; sounding

Auster, sink to rest. Let Zephyrus have sole rule over this year of

triumph.

* * * * *

Page 236

III. (XIII.)

Solitas galea fulgere comas,

Stilicho, molli necte corona.

cessent litui saevumque procul

Martem felix taeda releget.

tractus ab aula rursus in aulam 5

redeat sanguis. patris officiis

iunge potenti pignora dextra.

gener Augusti pridem fueras,

nunc rursus eris socer Augusti.

quae iam rabies livoris erit? 10

vel quis dabitur color invidiae?

Stilicho socer est, pater est Stilicho.

IV. (XIV.)

Attollens thalamis Idalium iubar

dilectus Veneri nascitur Hesperus.

iam nuptae trepidat sollicitus pudor,

iam produnt lacrimas flammea simplices.

ne cessa, iuvenis, comminus adgredi, 5

impacata licet saeviat unguibus.

non quisquam fruitur veris odoribus

Hyblaeos latebris nec spoliat favos,

si fronti caveat, si timeat rubos;

armat spina rosas, mella tegunt apes. 10

crescunt difficili gaudia iurgio

accenditque magis, quae refugit, Venus.

quod flenti tuleris, plus sapit osculum.

dices “o!” quotiens, “hoc mihi dulcius

quam flavos deciens vincere Sarmatas!” 15

* * * * *

Page 237

III. (XIII.)

Twine with a soft garland, Stilicho, the locks whereon a helmet is wont

to shine. Let the trumpets of war cease and the propitious torch of

marriage banish savage Mars afar. Let regal blood unite once more with

regal blood. Perform a father’s office and unite these children with

thine illustrious hand. Thou didst marry an emperor’s daughter, now, in

turn, thy daughter shall marry an emperor. What room is here for the

madness of jealousy? What excuse for envy? Stilicho is father both of

bride and bridegroom.

IV. (XIV.)

Hesperus, loved of Venus, rises and shines for the marriage with his

Idalian[125] rays. Maiden shame now overcomes the anxious bride; her

veil now shows traces of innocent tears. Hesitate not to be close in

thine attacks, young lover, e’en though she oppose thee savagely with

cruel finger-nail. None can enjoy the scents of spring nor steal the

honey of Hybla from its fastnesses if he fears that thorns may scratch

his face. Thorns arm the rose and bees find a defence for their honey.

The refusals of coyness do but increase the joy; the desire for that

which flies us is the more inflamed; sweeter is the kiss snatched

through tears. How oft wilt thou say: “Better this than ten victories

over the yellow-haired Sarmatae”!

[125] Idalian: from Idalium, a mountain in Cyprus, sacred to Venus.

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Adspirate novam pectoribus fidem

mansuramque facem tradite sensibus.

tam iunctis manibus nectite vincula,

quam frondens hedera stringitur aesculus,

quam lento premitur palmite populus, 20

et murmur querula blandius alite

linguis adsiduo reddite mutuis.

et labris animum conciliantibus

alternum rapiat somnus anhelitum.

amplexu caleat purpura regio 25

et vestes Tyrio sanguine fulgidas

alter virgineus nobilitet cruor.

tum victor madido prosilias toro

nocturni referens vulnera proelii.

Ducant pervigiles carmina tibiae 30

permissisque iocis turba licentior

exultet tetricis libera legibus.

passim cum ducibus ludite milites,

passim cum pueris ludite virgines.

haec vox aetheriis insonet axibus, 35

haec vox per populos, per mare transeat:

“formosus Mariam ducit Honorius.”

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Breathe a new loyalty into your breasts and let your senses kindle a

flame that shall never be extinguished. May your clasped hands form a

bond more close than that betwixt ivy and leafy oak tree or poplar and

pliant vine. Be the frequent kisses that ye give and receive breathed

more softly than those of plaintive doves, and when lips have united

soul to soul let sleep still your throbbing breath. Be the purple couch

warm with your princely wooing, and a new stain ennoble coverlets ruddy

with Tyrian dye. Then leap victorious from the marriage-bed, scarred

with the night’s encounter.

All night long let the music of the flute resound and the crowd, set

free from law’s harsh restraints, with larger licence indulge the

permitted jest. Soldiers, make merry with your leaders, girls with

boys. Be this the cry that re-echoes from pole to pole, among the

peoples, over the seas: “Fair Honorius weds with Maria.”

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EPITHALAMIUM DE NUPTIIS HONORII AUGUSTI

PRAEFATIO

(IX.)

Surgeret in thalamum ducto cum Pelion arcu

nec caperet tantos hospita terra deos,

cum socer aequoreus numerosaque turba sororum

certarent epulis continuare dies

praeberetque Iovi communia pocula Chiron, 5

molliter obliqua parte refusus equi,

Peneus gelidos mutaret nectare fontes,

Oetaeis fluerent spumea vina iugis:

Terpsichore facilem lascivo pollice movit

barbiton et molles duxit in antra choros. 10

carmina nec superis nec displicuere Tonanti,

cum teneris nossent congrua vota modis.

Centauri Faunique negant. quae flectere Rhoeton,

quae rigidum poterant plectra movere Pholum?

Septima lux aderat caelo totiensque renato 15

viderat exactos Hesperus igne choros:

tum Phoebus, quo saxa domat, quo pertrahit ornos,

pectine temptavit nobiliore lyram

venturumque sacris fidibus iam spondet Achillem,

iam Phrygias caedes, iam Simoënta canit. 20

frondoso strepuit felix Hymenaeus Olympo;

reginam resonant Othrys et Ossa Thetim.

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EPITHALAMIUM OF HONORIUS AND MARIA

PREFACE

(IX.)

When Pelion reared his height to form a bridal chamber with long-drawn

arches, and his hospitable land could not contain so many gods; when

Nereus, sire of the bride, and all the throng of her sisters strove to

link day to day with feastings; when Chiron, lying at ease with his

horse-flanks curled under him, offered the loving-cup to Jove; when

Peneus turned his cold waters to nectar and frothing wine flowed down

from Oeta’s summit, Terpsichore struck her ready lyre with festive

hand and led the girlish bands into the caves. The gods, the Thunderer

himself, disdained not these songs, for they knew that lovers’ vows

ever harmonized with tender strains. Centaurs and Fauns would have none

of it: what lyre could touch Rhoetus or move inhuman Pholus?

The seventh day had flamed in heaven, seven times had Hesperus relumed

his lamp and seen the dances completed; then Phoebus touched his

lyre with that nobler quill, wherewith he leads captive rocks and

mountain-ashes, and sang to his sacred strings now the promised birth

of Achilles, now the slaughter of the Trojans and the river Simois. The

happy marriage-cry re-echoed o’er leafy Olympus, and Othrys and Ossa

gave back their mistress Thetis’ name.

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EPITHALAMIUM

(X.)

Hauserat insolitos promissae virginis ignes

Augustus primoque rudis flagraverat aestu;

nec novus unde calor nec quid suspiria vellent,

noverat incipiens et adhuc ignarus amandi.

non illi venator equus, non spicula curae, 5

non iaculum torquere libet; mens omnis aberrat

in vulnus, quod fixit Amor. quam saepe medullis

erupit gemitus! quotiens incanduit ore

confessus secreta rubor nomenque beatum

iniussae scripsere manus! iam munera nuptae 10

praeparat et pulchros Mariae sed luce minores

eligit ornatus, quidquid venerabilis olim

Livia divorumque nurus gessere superbae.

incusat spes aegra moras longique videntur

stare dies segnemque rotam non flectere Phoebe. 15

Scyria sic tenerum virgo flammabat Achillem

fraudis adhuc expers bellatricesque docebat

ducere fila manus et, mox quos horruit Ide,

Thessalicos roseo nectebat pollice crines.

Haec etiam queritur secum: “quonam usque verendus 20

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EPITHALAMIUM

(X.)

Unfelt before was the fire the Emperor Honorius had conceived for his

promised bride, and he burned, all unexperienced, with passion’s first

fever, nor knew whence came the heat, what meant the sighs--a tyro and

as yet ignorant of love. Hunting, horses, javelins--for none of these

he now cares nor yet to fling the spear; Love’s wound occupies all his

thoughts. How often he groaned from the very heart; how often a blush,

mantling to his cheeks, betrayed his secret; how often, unbidden of

himself, his hand would write the loved one’s name. Already he prepares

gifts for his betrothed and selects to adorn her (though their beauty

is less than hers) the jewels once worn by noble Livia of old and all

the proud women of the imperial house. The impatient lover chafes at

the delay; the long days seem as though they stood still and the moon

as though she moved not her slow wheel. Thus Deidamia, girl of Scyros,

e’er yet she sees through his disguise, inflamed with love the young

Achilles, and taught his warrior hands to draw the slender thread and

passed her rosy fingers through the locks of that Thessalian of whom

all Ida was soon to stand in awe.

Thus too he communed with himself: “How long

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cunctatur mea vota socer? quid iungere differt,

quam pepigit, castasque preces implere recusat?

non ego luxuriem regum moremque secutus

quaesivi vultum tabulis[126] ut nuntia formae

lena per innumeros iret pictura penates, 25

nec variis dubium thalamis lecturus[127] amorem

ardua commisi falsae conubia cerae.

non rapio praeceps alienae foedera taedae,

sed quae sponsa mihi pridem patrisque relicta

mandatis uno materni sanguinis ortu 30

communem partitur avum. fastidia supplex

deposui gessique procum; de limine sacro

oratum misi proceres, qui proxima nobis

iura tenent. fateor, Stilicho, non parva poposci,

sed certe mereor princeps, hoc principe natus 35

qui sibi te generum fraterna prole revinxit,

cui Mariam debes. faenus mihi solve paternum,

redde suos aulae. mater fortasse rogari

mollior. o patrui germen, cui nominis heres

successi, sublime decus torrentis Hiberi, 40

stirpe soror, pietate parens, tibi creditus infans

inque tuo crevi gremio, partuque remoto

tu potius Flaccilla mihi. quid dividis ergo

[126] _tabulis_ vulg.; Birt reads _thalamis_ with the better

MSS.

[127] Birt reads _laturus_ with P; other MSS. _lecturus_.

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