PANEGYRIC ON THE FOURTH CONSULSHIP OF THE EMPEROR HONORIUS (A.D. 398)
(VIII.)
Once more the year opens under royal auspices and enjoys in fuller pride its famous prince; not brooking to linger around private thresholds the returning fasces rejoice in Caesar’s consulship. Seest thou how the armed chiefs and mighty judges don the raiment of senators? and the soldiers step forth in garb of peaceful hue worn Gabine[145] wise, and laying aside for a season the standards of war follow the banner of Quirinus. The eagles give way to the lictors, the smiling soldier wears the toga of peace and the senate-house casts its brilliance in the midst of the camp. Bellona herself, surrounded by a noble band of senators, puts on the consul’s gown and lays by her shield and helmet in order to harness the sacred curule chair to her shoulders. Think it no shame, Gradivus, to bear the laurel-crowned axes in a hand of peace and to exchange thy shining breastplate for the Latin toga while thine iron chariot remains unused and thy steeds disport them in the pastures of Eridanus.
Not unworthy of reverence nor but newly acquainted with war is the family of Trajan and that Spanish house which has showered diadems upon the world. No common stream was held worthy
[145] As marking a festival; see note on vii. 3.
promeruit gentis seriem: cunabula fovit
Oceanus; terrae dominos pelagique futuros
inmenso decuit rerum de principe nasci.
hinc processit avus, cui post Arctoa frementi
classica Massylas adnexuit Africa laurus, 25
ille, Caledoniis posuit qui castra pruinis,
qui medios Libyae sub casside pertulit aestus,
terribilis Mauro debellatorque Britanni
litoris ac pariter Boreae vastator et Austri.
quid rigor aeternus, caeli quid frigora prosunt 30
ignotumque fretum? maduerunt Saxone fuso
Orcades; incaluit Pictorum sanguine Thyle;
Scottorum cumulos flevit glacialis Hiverne.
quid calor obsistit forti? per vasta cucurrit
Aethiopum cinxitque novis Atlanta maniplis, 35
virgineum Tritona bibit sparsosque venenis
Gorgoneos vidit thalamos et vile virentes
Hesperidum risit, quos ditat fabula, ramos.
arx incensa Iubae, rabies Maurusia ferro
cessit et antiqui penetralia diruta Bocchi. 40
Sed laudes genitor longe transgressus avitas
subdidit Oceanum sceptris et margine caeli
clausit opes, quantum distant a Tigride Gades,
inter se Tanais quantum Nilusque relinquunt:
haec tamen innumeris per se quaesita tropaeis, 45
to water the homeland of so illustrious a race; Ocean laved their cradle, for it befitted the future lords of earth and sea to have their origin in the great father[146] of all things. Hence came Theodosius, grandfather of Honorius, for whom, exultant after his northern victories, Africa twined fresh laurels won from the Massylae. ’Twas he who pitched his camp amid the snows of Caledonia,[147] who never doffed his helmet for all the heat of a Libyan summer, who struck terror into the Moors, brought into subjection the coasts of Britain and with equal success laid waste the north and the south. What avail against him the eternal snows, the frozen air, the uncharted sea? The Orcades ran red with Saxon slaughter; Thule was warm with the blood of Picts; ice-bound Hibernia wept for the heaps of slain Scots. Could heat stay the advance of a courageous general? No; he overran the deserts of Ethiopia, invested Atlas with troops strange to him, drank of lake Triton where was born the virgin goddess Minerva, beheld the Gorgon’s empoisoned lair, and laughed to see the common verdure of those gardens of the Hesperides which story had clothed with gold. Juba’s fortress was burned down, the frenzied valour of the Moor yielded to the sword and the palace of ancient Bocchus was razed to the ground.
But thy father’s fame far surpassed that of thy grandsire: he subdued Ocean to his governance and set the sky for border to his kingdom, ruling from Gades to the Tigris, and all that lies ’twixt Tanais and Nile; yet all these lands won by countless triumphs of his own, he gained them not by gift
[146] Claudian is thinking of such passages in Homer as e.g. Il. xiv. 245-246:
ῤέεθρα
Ὠκεανοῦ, ὅς περ γένεσις πάντεσσι τέτυκται,
or perhaps Vergil’s Oceanumque patrem rerum (Virg. Georg. iv. 382).
[147] Cf. note on xv. 216.
non generis dono, non ambitione potitus.
digna legi virtus. ultro se purpura supplex
obtulit et solus meruit regnare rogatus.
nam cum barbaries penitus commota gementem
inrueret Rhodopen et mixto turbine gentes 50
jam deserta suas in nos transfunderet Arctos,
Danuvii totae vomerent cum proelia ripae,
cum Geticis ingens premeretur Mysia plaustris
flavaque Bistonios operirent agmina campos,
omnibus adflictis et vel labentibus ictu 55
vel prope casuris: unus tot funera contra
restitit extinxitque faces agrisque colonos
reddidit et leti rapuit de faucibus urbes.
nulla relicta foret Romani nominis umbra,
ni pater ille tuus iamiam ruitura subisset 60
pondera turbatamque ratem certaque levasset
naufragium commune manu: velut ordine rupto
cum procul insanae traherent Phaëthonta quadrigae
saeviretque dies terramque et stagna propinqui
haurirent radii, solito cum murmure torvis 65
sol occurrit equis; qui postquam rursus eriles
agnovere sonos, rediit meliore magistro
machina concentusque poli, currusque recepit
imperium flammaeque modum.
Sic traditus ille
servatusque Oriens. at non pars altera rerum 70
tradita: bis possessa manu, bis parta periclis.
per varium gemini scelus erupere tyranni
tractibus occiduis: hunc saeva Britannia fudit;
of birth or from lust of power. It was his own merit secured his election. Unsought the purple begged his acceptance of itself; he alone when asked to rule was worthy to do so. For when unrest at home drove barbarian hordes over unhappy Rhodope and the now deserted north had poured its tribes in wild confusion across our borders, when all the banks of Danube poured forth battles and broad Mysia rang beneath the chariots of the Getae, when flaxen-haired hordes covered the plains of Thrace and amid this universal ruin all was either prostrate or tottering to its fall, one man alone withstood the tide of disaster, quenched the flames, restored to the husbandmen their fields and snatched the cities from the very jaws of destruction. No shadow of Rome’s name had survived had not thy sire borne up the tottering mass, succoured the storm-tossed bark and with sure hand averted universal shipwreck. As when the maddened coursers broke from their path and carried Phaëthon far astray, when day’s heat grew fierce and the sun’s rays, brought near to earth, dried up both land and sea, Phoebus checked his fierce horses with his wonted voice; for they knew once more their master’s tones, and with a happier guide heaven’s harmonious order was restored; for now the chariot again accepted government and its fires control.
Thus was the East entrusted to him and thus was its salvation assured; but the other half of the world was not so entrusted: twice was the West gained by valour, twice won by dangers. In those lands of the sunset by manifold crime there arose to power tyrants twain: wild Britain produced one (Maximus), the other (Eugenius) was chosen
hunc sibi Germanus famulum delegerat exul:
ausus uterque nefas, domini respersus uterque 75
insontis iugulo. novitas audere priori
suadebat cautumque dabant exempla sequentem.
hic nova moliri praeceps, hic quaerere tuta
providus; hic fusis, collectis viribus ille;
hic vagus excurrens, hic intra claustra reductus. 80
dissimiles, sed morte pares, evadere neutri
dedecus aut mixtis licuit procumbere telis.
amissa specie, raptis insignibus ambo
in vultus rediere suos manibusque revinctis
oblati gladiis summittunt colla paratis 85
et vitam veniamque rogant. pro damna pudoris!
qui modo tam densas nutu movere cohortes,
in quos iam dubius sese libraverat orbis,
non hostes victore cadunt, sed iudice sontes;
damnat voce reos, petiit quos Marte tyrannos. 90
amborum periere duces: hic sponte carina
decidit in fluctus, illum suus abstulit ensis;
hunc Alpes, hunc pontus habet. solacia caesis
fratribus haec ultor tribuit: necis auctor uterque
labitur; Augustas par victima mitigat umbras. 95
has dedit inferias tumulis, iuvenumque duorum
purpureos merito placavit sanguine manes.
Illi iustitiam confirmavere triumphi,
as a tool by a Frankish outlaw (Arbogast). Both dared monstrous guilt; both stained their hands with an innocent emperor’s[148] blood. Sudden elevation inspired Maximus with audacity, his failure taught his successor caution. Maximus was quick to arm rebellion, Eugenius careful to attempt only what was safe. The one o’erran the country, spreading his forces in all directions, the other kept his troops together and himself secure behind a rampart. Different were they, but in their deaths alike. To neither was it granted to escape an ignominious end and to fall in the thick of the fight. Gone was their glory, their weapons were reft from them and they reduced to their former state; their arms were bound behind their backs and they stretched forth their necks to the sword’s imminent stroke, begging for pardon and for life. What a fall did pride there suffer! They who but lately had moved such countless cohorts with but a nod, into whose palm a wavering world had hung ready to drop, fall not as warriors at a victor’s hand but as malefactors before a judge; he sentences with his voice as criminals those whom he assailed in war as tyrants. With both perished their lieutenants: Andragathius hurled himself from his ship into the waves, Arbogast took his life with his own sword; the Alps mark the tomb of the one, the sea of the other. This solace at least the avenger afforded to those murdered brothers that both the authors of their deaths themselves were slain; two victims went to appease those royal ghosts. Such was Theodosius’ oblation at their tomb and with the blood of the guilty he appeased the shades of the two young emperors.
Those triumphs stablished Justice on her throne
[148] Maximus was responsible for the murder of the Emperor Gratian, Eugenius for that of Valentinian II. See Introduction, p. viii.
praesentes docuere deos. hinc saecula discant
indomitum nihil esse pio tutumve nocenti: 100
nuntius ipse sui longas incognitus egit
praevento rumore vias, inopinus utrumque
perculit et clausos montes, ut plana, reliquit.
extruite inmanes scopulos, attollite turres,
cingite vos fluviis, vastas opponite silvas, 105
Garganum Alpinis Appenninumque nivalem
permixtis sociate iugis et rupibus Haemum
addite Caucasiis, involvite Pelion Ossae:
non dabitis murum sceleri. qui vindicet, ibit:
omnia subsident meliori pervia causae. 110
Nec tamen oblitus civem cedentibus atrox
partibus infremuit; non insultare iacenti
malebat: mitis precibus, pietatis abundans,
poenae parcus erat; paci non intulit iram;
post acies odiis idem qui terminus armis. 115
profuit hoc vincente capi, multosque subactos
prospera[149] laturae commendavere catenae.
magnarum largitor opum, largitor honorum
pronus et in melius gaudens convertere fata.
hinc amor, hinc validum devoto milite robur. 120
hinc natis mansura fides.
Hoc nobilis ortu
nasceris aequaeva cum maiestate creatus
nullaque privatae passus contagia sortis.
omnibus acceptis ultro te regia solum
protulit et patrio felix adolescis in ostro, 125
[149] Birt, with the MSS., aspera; I return to the prospera of the edit. princeps.
and taught that heaven gives help. From them let the ages learn that righteousness need fear no foe and guilt expect no safety. Himself his own messenger, outstripping the rumour of his approach, Theodosius traversed those long journeys undetected by his enemies. Suddenly he fell on both, passing over entrenched mountains as if they were a plain. Build up monstrous rocks, raise towers, surround yourselves with rivers, set limitless forests to protect you, put Garganus and the snowy Apennines upon the summits of the Alps that all form one vast mountain barrier, plant Haemus on the crags of Caucasus, roll Pelion on Ossa, yet will ye not gain security for guilt. The avenger will come; for the better cause all things shall sink to make a path.
Yet never did Theodosius forget that he and the vanquished were fellow-citizens, nor was his anger implacable against those who yielded. Not his the choice to exult over the fallen. His ears were open to prayers, his clemency unbounded, his vengeance restrained. His anger did not survive the war to darken the days of peace; the day that set an end to the combat set an end to his wrath. Capture by such a victor was a gain; and many a conquered foe did their chains commend to future fortune.[150] As liberal of money as of honours he was ever bent to redress the injuries of fate. Hence the love, the fortitude, the devotion of his troops; hence their abiding loyalty to his sons.
Child of so noble a sire, thy kingly state was coëval with thy birth nor ever knewest thou the soilure of a private lot. To thee all things came unsought; thee only[151] did a palace rear; thy happy growth was in ancestral purple, and thy limbs, never
[150] i.e. by winning first the pity and then the favour of Theodosius.
[151] “Only,” because Arcadius was born before Theodosius became emperor.
membraque vestitu numquam violata profano
in sacros cecidere sinus. Hispania patrem
auriferis eduxit aquis, te gaudet alumno
Bosphorus. Hesperio de limine surgit origo,
sed nutrix Aurora tibi; pro pignore tanto 130
certatur, geminus civem te vindicat axis.
Herculis et Bromii sustentat gloria Thebas,
haesit Apollineo Delos Latonia partu
Cretaque se iactat tenero reptata Tonanti;
sed melior Delo, Dictaeis clarior oris 135
quae dedit hoc numen regio; non litora nostro
sufficerent angusta deo. nec inhospita Cynthi
saxa tuos artus duro laesere cubili:
adclinis genetrix auro, circumflua gemmis
in Tyrios enixa toros; ululata verendis 140
aula puerperiis. quae tunc documenta futuri?
quae voces avium? quanti per inane volatus?
qui vatum discursus erat? tibi corniger Hammon
et dudum taciti rupere silentia Delphi,
te Persae cecinere magi, te sensit Etruscus 145
augur et inspectis Babylonius horruit astris,
Chaldaei stupuere senes Cumanaque rursus
intonuit rupes, rabidae delubra Sibyllae.
nec te progenitum Cybeleius aere sonoro
lustravit Corybas: exercitus undique fulgens 150
adstitit; ambitur signis augustior infans,
sentit adorantes galeas, redditque ferocem
vagitum lituus.
Vitam tibi contulit idem
outraged by garb profane, were laid upon a hallowed lap. Spain with its rivers of gold gave birth to thy sire; Bosporus boasts thee among its children. The West is the cradle of thy race but the East was thine own nurse; rivals are they for so dear a pledge, either hemisphere claims thee as its citizen. The fame of Hercules and Bacchus has immortalized Thebes; when Latona gave birth to Apollo in Delos that island stayed its errant course; it is Crete’s boast that over its fields the infant Thunderer crawled. But the land that brought divine Honorius to birth is a greater than Delos, a more famous than Crete. Such narrow shores would not suffice our god. Nor did the bleak rocks of Cynthus hurt thy body with their rough bed; on couch of gold, clothed in jewelled raiment, thy mother gave birth to thee amid Tyrian purples; a palace rang with joy at that royal deliverance. What presages were there not then of future prosperity? what songs of birds, what flights of good omen in the heavens? What was the hurrying to and fro of seers? Hornèd Ammon and Delphi so long dumb at length broke their silence; Persian magi prophesied thy triumphs; Tuscan augurs felt thine influence; seers of Babylon beheld the stars and trembled; amazement seized the Chaldaean priests; the rock of Cumae, shrine of raging Sibyl, thundered once again. Cybele’s corybants surrounded not thy cradle with the clatter of their brazen shields; a shining host stood by thee on every side. Standards of war hedged in the royal babe who marked the bowed helmets of the worshipping soldiery while the trumpet’s blare answered his warlike cries.
The day that gave thee birth gave thee a kingdom;
imperiumque dies; inter cunabula consul
proveheris, signas posito modo nomine fastos 155
donaturque tibi, qui te produxerat, annus.
ipsa Quirinali parvum te cinxit amictu
mater et ad primas docuit reptare curules.
uberibus sanctis inmortalique dearum
crescis adoratus gremio: tibi saepe Diana 160
Maenalios arcus venatricesque pharetras
suspendit, puerile decus; tu saepe Minervae
lusisti clipeo fulvamque impune pererrans
aegida tractasti blandos interritus angues;
saepe tuas etiam iam tum gaudente marito 165
velavit regina comas festinaque voti
praesumptum diadema dedit, tum lenibus ulnis
sustulit et magno porrexit ad oscula patri.
nec dilatus honos: mutatur principe Caesar;
protinus aequaris fratri. 170
Non certius umquam
hortati superi, nullis praesentior aether
adfuit ominibus. tenebris involverat atra
lumen hiems densosque Notus collegerat imbres.
sed mox, cum solita miles te voce levasset,
nubila dissolvit Phoebus pariterque dabantur 175
sceptra tibi mundoque dies: caligine liber
Bosphorus adversam patitur Calchedona cerni.
nec tantum vicina nitent, sed tota repulsis
nubibus exuitur Thrace, Pangaea renident
insuetosque palus radios Maeotia vibrat. 180
in thy cradle thou wast raised to the consulship.[152] With the name so recently bestowed upon thee thou dowerest the fasti and the year wherein thou wert born is consecrated to thee. Thy mother herself wrapped thy small form in the consular robe and directed thy first steps to the curule chair. Nourished at a goddess’ breasts, honoured with the embraces of immortal arms thou grewest to maturity. Oft to grace thy boyish form Diana hung upon thy shoulders her Maenalian bow and huntress’ quiver; oft thou didst sport with Minerva’s shield and, crawling unharmed over her glittering aegis, didst caress its friendly serpents with fearless hand. Often even in those early days thy mother beneath thy sire’s happy gaze crowned thy tender locks and, anticipating the answer to her prayers, gave thee the diadem that was to be thine hereafter; then raising thee in her gentle arms she held thee up to receive thy mighty father’s kiss. Nor was that honour long in coming; thou, then Caesar, didst become emperor and wert straightway made equal with thy brother.[153]
Never was the encouragement of the gods more sure, never did heaven attend with more favouring omens. Black tempest had shrouded the light in darkness and the south wind gathered thick rain-clouds, when of a sudden, so soon as the soldiers had borne thee aloft with customary shout, Phoebus scattered the clouds and at the same moment was given to thee the sceptre, to the world light. Bosporus, freed from clouds, permits a sight of Chalcedon on the farther shore; nor is it only the vicinity of Byzantium that is bathed in brightness; the clouds are driven back and all Thrace is cleared; Pangaeus shows afar and lake Maeotis makes quiver the rays he
[152] Honorius, who was born Sept. 9, 384, was made consul for 386.
[153] Arcadius was made Augustus Jan. 16 (? 19), 383: Honorius not till Nov. 20, 393. Both succeeded to the throne Jan. 17, 395.
nec Boreas nimbos aut sol ardentior egit:
imperii lux illa fuit; praesagus obibat
cuncta nitor risitque tuo natura sereno.
visa etiam medio populis mirantibus audax
stella die, dubitanda nihil nec crine retuso 185
languida, sed quantus numeratur nocte Bootes,
emicuitque plagis alieni temporis hospes
ignis et agnosci potuit, cum luna lateret:
sive parens Augusta fuit, seu forte reluxit
divi sidus avi, seu te properantibus astris 190
cernere sol patiens caelum commune remisit.
adparet quid signa ferant. ventura potestas
claruit Ascanio, subita cum luce comarum
innocuus flagraret apex Phrygioque volutus
vertice fatalis redimiret tempora candor. 195
at tua caelestes inlustrant omina flammae.
talis ab Idaeis primaevus Iuppiter antris
possessi stetit arce poli famulosque recepit
natura tradente deos; lanugine nondum
vernabant vultus nec adhuc per colla fluebant 200
moturae convexa comae; tum scindere nubes
discebat fulmenque rudi torquere lacerto.
Laetior augurio genitor natisque superbus
iam paribus duplici fultus consorte redibat
splendebatque pio complexus pignora curru. 205
haud aliter summo gemini cum patre Lacones,
progenies Ledaea, sedent: in utroque relucet
frater, utroque soror; simili chlamys effluit auro;
rarely sees. ’Tis not Boreas nor yet Phoebus’ warmer breath that has put the mists to flight. That light was an emperor’s star. A prophetic radiance was over all things, and with thy brightness Nature laughed. Even at mid-day did a wondering people gaze upon a bold star (’twas clear to behold)—no dulled nor stunted beams but bright as Boötes’ nightly lamp. At a strange hour its brilliance lit up the sky and its fires could be clearly seen though the moon lay hid. May be it was the Queen mother’s star or the return of thy grandsire’s now become a god, or may be the generous sun agreed to share the heavens with all the stars that hasted to behold thee. The meaning of those signs is now unmistakable. Clear was the prophecy of Ascanius’ coming power when an aureole crowned his locks, yet harmed them not, and when the fires of fate encircled his head and played about his temples.[154] Thy future the very fires of heaven foretell. So the young Jove, issuing from the caves of Ida, stood upon the summit of the conquered sky and received the homage of the gods whom Nature handed to his charge. The bloom of youth had not yet clothed his cheeks nor flowed there o’er his neck the curls whose stirrings were to shake the world. He was yet learning how to cleave the clouds and hurl the thunderbolt with unpractised hand.
Gladdened by that augury and proud of his now equal sons the sire returned, upstayed on the two princes and lovingly embracing his children in glittering car. Even so the Spartan twins, the sons of Leda, sit with highest Jove; in each his brother is mirrored, in each their sister; round each alike flows a golden dress, and star-crowned are the
[154] Virgil mentions the portent (Aen. ii. 682).
stellati pariter crines. iuvat ipse Tonantem
error et ambiguae placet ignorantia matri; 210
Eurotas proprios discernere nescit alumnos.
Ut domus excepit reduces, ibi talia tecum
pro rerum stabili fertur dicione locutus:
“Si tibi Parthorurm solium Fortuna dedisset,
care puer, terrisque procul venerandus Eois 215
barbarus Arsacio consurgeret ore tiaras:
sufficeret sublime genus luxuque fluentem
deside nobilitas posset te sola tueri.
altera Romanae longe rectoribus aulae
condicio. virtute decet, non sanguine niti. 220
maior et utilior fato coniuncta potenti,
vile latens virtus. quid enim? submersa tenebris
proderit obscuro veluti sine remige puppis
vel lyra quae reticet vel qui non tenditur arcus.
“Hanc tamen haud quisquam, qui non agnoverit ante 225
semet et incertos animi placaverit aestus,
inveniet; longis illuc ambagibus itur.
disce orbi, quod quisque sibi. cum conderet artus
nostros, aetheriis miscens terrena, Prometheus,
sinceram patri mentem furatus Olympo 230
continuit claustris indignantemque revinxit
et, cum non aliter possent mortalia fingi,
adiunxit geminas. illae cum corpore lapsae
intereunt, haec sola manet bustoque superstes
evolat. hanc alta capitis fundavit in arce 235
mandatricem operum prospecturamque labori;
locks of both. The Thunderer rejoices in his very uncertainty, and to their hesitating mother her ignorance brings delight; Eurotas cannot make distinction between his own nurslings.
When all had returned to the palace, Theodosius, anxious for the world’s just governance, is said to have addressed thee in these terms:
“Had fortune, my dear son, given thee the throne of Parthia, hadst thou been a descendant of the Arsacid house and did the tiara, adored by Eastern lands afar, tower upon thy forehead, thy long lineage would be enough, and thy birth alone would protect thee, though wantoning in idle luxury. Very different is the state of Rome’s emperor. ’Tis merit, not blood, must be his support. Virtue hidden hath no value, united with power ’tis both more effective and more useful. Nay, o’erwhelmed in darkness it will no more advantage its obscure possessor than a vessel with no oars, a silent lyre, an unstrung bow.
“Yet virtue none shall find that has not first learned to know himself and stilled the uncertain waves of passion within him. Long and winding is the path that leads thereto. What each man learns in his own interests learn thou in the interests of the world. When Prometheus mixed earthly and heavenly elements and so formed human kind, he stole man’s spirit pure from his own heavenly home, held it imprisoned and bound despite its outcries, and since humanity could be formed in no other way he added two more souls.[155] These fail and perish with the body; the first alone remains, survives the pyre and flies away. This soul he stationed in the lofty fastness of the brain to control and oversee the work and labours of the body. The other
[155] Claudian here follows the Platonic psychology which divides the soul into τὸ ἐπιθυμητικόν, τὸ θυμοειδές, the two (” geminas” ) baser elements, and τὸ λογιστικόν (the “haec” of l. 234).
illas inferius collo praeceptaque summae
passuras dominae digna statione locavit.
quippe opifex veritus confundere sacra profanis
distribuit partes animae sedesque removit. 240
iram sanguinei regio sub pectore cordis
protegit imbutam flammis avidamque nocendi
praecipitemque sui. rabie succensa tumescit,
contrahitur tepefacta metu. cumque omnia secum
duceret et requiem membris vesana negaret, 245
invenit pulmonis opem madidumque furenti
praebuit, ut tumidae ruerent in mollia fibrae.
at sibi cuncta petens, nil conlatura cupido
in iecur et tractus imos compulsa recessit,
quae, velut inmanis reserat dum belua rictus, 250
expleri pascique nequit: nunc verbere curas
torquet avaritiae, stimulis nunc flagrat amorum,
nunc gaudet, nunc maesta dolet satiataque rursus
exoritur caesaque redit pollentius hydra.
“Hos igitur potuit si quis sedare tumultus, 255
inconcussa dabit purae sacraria menti.
tu licet extremos late dominere per Indos,
te Medus, te mollis Arabs, te Seres adorent:
si metuis, si prava cupis, si duceris ira,
servitii patiere iugum; tolerabis iniquas 260
interius leges. tunc omnia iure tenebis,
cum poteris rex esse tui. proclivior usus
in peiora datur suadetque licentia luxum
inlecebrisque effrena favet. tum vivere caste
two he set below the neck in a place befitting their functions, where it is their part to obey the commands of the directing soul. Doubtless our creator, fearing to mix the heavenly with the mortal, placed the different souls in different parts and kept their dwelling-places distinct. Near to the heart whence springs our blood there is within the breast a place where fiery anger lurks, eager to hurt and uncontrolled. This cavity swells when heated by rage and contracts when cooled by fear. Then, since anger swept everything away with it and in its fury gave the limbs no rest, Prometheus invented the lungs to aid the body and applied their humidity to the raging of anger to soothe our wrath-swollen flesh. Lust, that asks for everything and gives nought, was driven down into the liver and of necessity occupied the lowest room. Like a beast, opening its capacious jaws, lust can never be full fed nor satisfied; it is a prey now to the cruel lash of sleepless avarice, now to the fiery goads of love; is swayed now by joy, now by misery, and is no sooner fed than fain to be fed again, returning with more insistence than the oft-beheaded hydra.
“Can any assuage this tumult he will assure an inviolable sanctuary for a spotless soul. Thou mayest hold sway o’er farthest India, be obeyed by Mede, unwarlike Arab or Chinese, yet, if thou fearest, hast evil desires, art swayed by anger, thou wilt bear the yoke of slavery; within thyself thou wilt be a slave to tyrannical rule. When thou canst be king over thyself then shalt thou hold rightful rule over the world. The easier way often trod leads to worse; liberty begets licence and, when uncontrolled, leads to vice. Then is a chaste
asperius, cum prompta Venus; tum durius irae 265
consulitur, cum poena patet. sed comprime motus
nec tibi quid liceat, sed quid fecisse decebit
occurrat, mentemque domet respectus honesti.
“Hoc te praeterea crebro sermone monebo,
ut te totius medio telluris in ore 270
vivere cognoscas, cunctis tua gentibus esse
facta palam nec posse dari regalibus usquam
secretum vitiis; nam lux altissima fati
occultum nihil esse sinit, latebrasque per omnes
intrat et abstrusos explorat fama recessus. 275
“Sis pius in primis; nam cum vincamur in omni
munere, sola deos aequat clementia nobis.
neu dubie suspectus agas neu falsus amicis
rumorumve avidus: qui talia curat, inanes
horrebit strepitus nulla non anxius hora. 280
non sic excubiae, non circumstantia pila
quam tutatur amor. non extorquebis amari;
hoc alterna fides, hoc simplex gratia donat.
nonne vides, operum quod se pulcherrimus ipse
mundus amore liget, nec vi conexa per aevum 285
conspirent elementa sibi? quod limite Phoebus
contentus medio, contentus litore pontus
et, qui perpetuo terras ambitque vehitque,
nec premat incumbens oneri nec cesserit aër?
qui terret, plus ipse timet; sors ista tyrannis 290
convenit; invideant claris fortesque trucident,
life harder when love is at call; then is it a sterner task to govern anger when vengeance is to hand. Yet master thine emotions and ponder not what thou mightest do but what thou oughtest to do, and let regard for duty control thy mind.
“Of this too I cannot warn thee too often: remember that thou livest in the sight of the whole world, to all peoples are thy deeds known; the vices of monarchs cannot anywhere remain hid. The splendour of their lofty station allows nought to be concealed; fame penetrates every hiding-place and discovers the inmost secrets of the heart.
“Above all fail not in loving-kindness; for though we be surpassed in every virtue yet mercy alone makes us equal with the gods. Let thine actions be open and give no grounds for suspicion, be loyal to thy friends nor lend an ear to rumours. He who attends to such will quake at every idle whisper and know no moment’s peace. Neither watch nor guard nor yet a hedge of spears can secure thee safety; only thy people’s love can do that. Love thou canst not extort; it is the gift of mutual faith and honest goodwill. Seest thou not how the fair frame of the very universe binds itself together by love, and how the elements, not united by violence, are for ever at harmony among themselves? Dost thou not mark how that Phoebus is content not to outstep the limits of his path, nor the sea those of his kingdom, and how the air, which in its eternal embrace encircles and upholds the world, presses not upon us with too heavy a weight nor yet yields to the burden which itself sustains? Whoso causes terror is himself more fearful; such doom befits tyrants. Let them be jealous of another’s fame, murder the
muniti gladiis vivant saeptique venenis,
ancipites habeant arces trepidique minentur:
tu civem patremque geras, tu consule cunctis,
non tibi, nec tua te moveant, sed publica vota. 295
“In commune iubes si quid censesque tenendum,
primus iussa subi: tunc observantior aequi
fit populus nec ferre negat, cum viderit ipsum
auctorem parere sibi. componitur orbis
regis ad exemplum, nec sic inflectere sensus 300
humanos edicta valent quam vita regentis:
mobile mutatur semper cum principe vulgus.
“His tamen effectis neu fastidire minores
neu pete praescriptos homini transcendere fines.
inquinat egregios adiuncta superbia mores. 305
non tibi tradidimus dociles servire Sabaeos,
Armeniae dominum non te praefecimus orae,
nec damus Assyriam, tenuit quam femina, gentem.
Romani, qui cuncta diu rexere, regendi,
qui nec Tarquinii fastus nec iura tulere 310
Caesaris. annales veterum delicta loquuntur:
haerebunt maculae. quis non per saecula damnat
Caesareae portenta domus? quem dira Neronis
funera, quem rupes Caprearum taetra latebit
incesto possessa seni? victura feretur 315
gloria Traiani, non tam quod Tigride victo
nostra triumphati fuerint provincia Parthi,
alta quod invectus fractis Capitolia Dacis,
brave, live hedged about with swords and fenced with poisons, dwelling in a citadel that is ever exposed to danger, and threaten to conceal their fears. Do thou, my son, be at once a citizen and a father, consider not thyself but all men, nor let thine own desires stir thee but thy people’s.
“If thou make any law or establish any custom for the general good, be the first to submit thyself thereto; then does a people show more regard for justice nor refuse submission when it has seen their author obedient to his own laws. The world shapes itself after its ruler’s pattern, nor can edicts sway men’s minds so much as their monarch’s life; the unstable crowd ever changes along with the prince.
“Nor is this all: show no scorn of thine inferiors nor seek to overstep the limits established for mankind. Pride joined thereto defaces the fairest character. They are not submissive Sabaeans whom I have handed over to thy rule, nor have I made thee lord of Armenia; I give thee not Assyria, accustomed to a woman’s rule. Thou must govern Romans who have long governed the world, Romans who brooked not Tarquin’s pride nor Caesar’s tyranny. History still tells of our ancestors’ ill deeds; the stain will never be wiped away. So long as the world lasts the monstrous excesses of the Julian house will stand condemned. Will any not have heard of Nero’s murders or how Capri’s foul cliffs were owned by an agèd lecher[156]? The fame of Trajan will never die, not so much because, thanks to his victories on the Tigris, conquered Parthia became a Roman province, not because he brake the might of Dacia and led their chiefs in triumph up the slope of the Capitol, but because
[156] i.e. Tiberius.
quam patriae quod mitis erat. ne desine tales,
nate, sequi.
“Si bella canant, prius agmina duris
exerce studiis et saevo praestrue Marti. 321
non brumae requies, non hibernacula segnes
enervent torpore manus. ponenda salubri
castra loco; praebenda vigil custodia vallo.
disce, ubi denseri cuneos, ubi cornua tendi 325
aequius aut iterum flecti; quae montibus aptae,
quae campis acies, quae fraudi commoda vallis,
quae via difficilis. fidit si moenibus hostis,
tum tibi murali libretur machina pulsu;
saxa rota; praeceps aries protectaque portas 330
testudo feriat; ruat emersura iuventus
effossi per operta soli. si longa moretur
obsidio, tum vota cave secura remittas
inclusumve putes; multis damnosa fuere
gaudia; dispersi pereunt somnove soluti; 335
saepius incautae nocuit victoria turbae.
neu tibi regificis tentoria larga redundent
deliciis, neve imbelles ad signa ministros
luxuries armata trahat. neu flantibus Austris
neu pluviis cedas, neu defensura calorem 340
aurea summoveant rapidos umbracula soles.
inventis utere cibis. solabere partes
aequali sudore tuas: si collis iniquus,
he was kindly to his country. Fail not to make such as he thine example, my son.
“Should war threaten, see first that thy soldiers are exercised in the practices of war and prepare them for the rigours of service. The ease of winter months spent in winter quarters must not weaken nor unnerve their hands. Establish thy camps in healthy places and see that watchful sentries guard the ramparts. Learn how to know when to mass your troops and when it is better to extend them or face them round; study the formations suitable for mountain warfare and those for fighting on the plain. Learn to recognize what valleys may conceal an ambush and what routes will prove difficult. If thine enemy trusts in his walls to defend him then let thy catapults hurl stones at his battlements; fling rocks thereat and let the swinging ram and shield-protected testudo[157] shake his gates. Your troops should undermine the walls and issuing from this tunnel should rush into the town. Should a long siege delay thee, then take care thou unbend not thy purpose in security or count thine enemy thy prisoner. Many ere this have found premature triumph their undoing, scattered or asleep they have been cut to pieces; indeed victory itself has not seldom been the ruin of careless troops. Not for thee let spacious tents o’erflow with princely delights nor luxury don arms and drag to the standards her unwarlike train. Though the storm winds blow and the rain descends yield not to them and use not cloth of gold to guard thee from the sun’s fierce rays. Eat such food as thou canst find. It will be a solace to thy soldiers that thy toil is as heavy as theirs; be the first to mount the arduous hill and, should
[157] A well-known Roman method of attack by which the troops advanced to the point of attack in close formation, each man holding his shield above his head. The protection thus afforded to the assaulting band was likened to the shell of the tortoise (testudo).
primus ini; silvam si caedere provocat usus,
sumpta ne pudeat quercum stravisse bipenni. 345
calcatur si pigra palus, tuus ante profundum
pertemptet sonipes. fluvios tu protere cursu
haerentes glacie, liquidos tu scinde natatu.
nunc eques in medias equitum te consere turmas;
nunc pedes adsistas pediti. tum promptius ibunt
te socio, tum conspicuus gratusque geretur 351
sub te teste labor.”
Dicturum plura parentem
voce subis: “equidem, faveant modo numina coeptis,
haec effecta dabo, nec me fratrique tibique
dissimilem populi commissaque regna videbunt. 355
sed cur non potius, verbis quae disseris, usu
experior? gelidas certe nunc tendis in Alpes.
duc tecum comitem; figant sine nostra tyrannum
spicula; pallescat nostro sine barbarus arcu.
Italiamne feram furiis praedonis acerbi 360
subiectam? patiar Romam servire clienti?
usque adeone puer? nec me polluta potestas
nec pia cognati tanget vindicta cruoris?
per strages equitare libet. da protinus arma.
cur annos obicis? pugnae cur arguor impar?
aequalis mihi Pyrrhus erat, cum Pergama solus 365
verteret et patri non degeneraret Achilli.
denique si princeps castris haerere nequibo,
vel miles veniam.”
Delibat dulcia nati
oscula miratusque refert: “laudanda petisti; 370
sed festinus amor, veniet robustior aetas;
ne propera. necdum decimas emensus aristas
adgrederis metuenda viris: vestigia magnae
necessity demand the felling of a forest, be not ashamed to grasp the axe and hew down the oak. If a stagnant marsh must be crossed let thy horse be the first to test the depth of it. Boldly tread the frozen river; swim the flood. Mounted thyself, ride amid thy squadrons of horse or again stand foot to foot with the infantry. They will advance the bolder for thy presence, and with thee to witness glorious and glad shall be the fulfilment of their task.”
More would he have spoken but Honorius broke in and said: “All this will I do, so God favour my attempts. The peoples and kingdoms committed to my care shall find me not unworthy of thee nor of my brother. But why should I not experience in action what thou has taught in words? Thou goest to the wintry Alps: take me with thee. Let mine arrows pierce the tyrant’s body, and the barbarians pale at my bow. Shall I allow Italy to become the prey of a ruthless bandit? Rome to serve one who is himself but a servant? Am I still such a child that neither power profaned nor just revenge for an uncle’s blood shall move me? Fain would I ride through blood. Quick, give me arms. Why castest thou my youth in my teeth? Why thinkest me unequal to the combat? I am as old as was Pyrrhus when alone he o’erthrew Troy and proved himself no degenerate from his father Achilles. If I may not remain in thy camp as a prince I will come even as a soldier.”
Theodosius kissed his son’s sweet lips and answered him wondering: “Nought have I but praise for thy petition, but this love of glory has bloomed too early. Thy strength will increase with years; till then be patient. Though thou hast not yet completed ten summers thou wouldst hansel dangers that a man
indolis agnosco, fertur Pellaeus, Eoum
qui domuit Porum, cum prospera saepe Philippi 375
audiret, laetos inter flevisse sodales
nil sibi vincendum patris virtute relinqui.
hos video motus. fas sit promittere patri:
tantus eris. nostro nec debes regna favori,
quae tibi iam natura dedit. sic mollibus olim 380
stridula ducturum pratis examina regem
nascentem venerantur apes et publica mellis
iura petunt traduntque favos; sic pascua parvus
vindicat et necdum firmatis cornibus audax
iam regit armentum vitulus. sed proelia differ 385
in iuvenem patiensque meum cum fratre tuere
me bellante locum, vos impacatus Araxes,
vos celer Euphrates timeat, sit Nilus ubique
vester et emisso quidquid sol imbuit ortu.
si pateant Alpes, habeat si causa secundos 390
iustior eventus, aderis partesque receptas
suscipies, animosa tuas ut Gallia leges
audiat et nostros aequus modereris Hiberos.
tunc ego securus fati laetusque laborum
discedam, vobis utrumque regentibus axem. 395
“Interea Musis animus, dum mollior, instet
et quae mox imitere legat; nec desinat umquam
tecum Graia loqui, tecum Romana vetustas.
antiquos evolve duces, adsuesce futurae
might fear: I mark the tokens of a noble nature. It is said that Alexander, conqueror of eastern Porus, wept at the constant news of Philip’s fortune, telling his companions who rejoiced thereat that his sire’s valour left him nought to conquer. In thee I see like spirit. May a father be allowed this prophecy—“thou shalt be as great”! It is not to my goodwill thou owest the kingdom, for nature has already made it thine. So even from his birth bees reverence the king[158] who is to lead their buzzing swarms through the soft meadows, ask his public laws for the gathering of the honey and entrust to him their combs. So the spirited young bull-calf claims sovereignty over the grazing-grounds and, though as yet his horns are not grown strong, lords it over the herd. Nay: postpone thy campaigns till thou art a man and while I do battle patiently help thy brother to fulfil my office. Be you two the terror of untamed Araxes and of swift Euphrates; may Nile throughout all his length belong to you and all the lands upon which the morning sun lets fall his beam. Should I force a passage over the Alps, should success crown the juster cause, thou shalt come and govern the recovered provinces, whereby fierce Gaul shall obey thy laws and my native Spain be guided by thy just rule. Then, careless of doom and rejoicing in my labours, I shall quit this mortal life, while you, my sons, rule either hemisphere.
“Meanwhile cultivate the Muses whilst thou art yet young; read of deeds thou soon mayest rival; never may Greece’s story, never may Rome’s, cease to speak with thee. Study the lives of the heroes of old to accustom thee for wars that are to be.
[158] As is well known, the ancients mistook the sex of the queen bee.
militiae, Latium retro te confer in aevum. 400
libertas quaesita placet? mirabere Brutum.
perfidiam damnas? Metti satiabere poenis.
triste rigor nimius? Torquati despice mores.
mors impensa bonum? Decios venerare ruentes.
vel solus quid fortis agat, te ponte soluto 405
oppositus Cocles, Muci te flamma docebit;
quid mora perfringat, Fabius; quid rebus in artis
dux gerat, ostendet Gallorum strage Camillus.
discitur hinc nullos meritis obsistere casus:
prorogat aeternam feritas tibi Punica famam, 410
Regule; successus superant adversa Catonis.
discitur hinc quantum paupertas sobria possit:
pauper erat Curius, reges cum vinceret armis,
pauper Fabricius, Pyrrhi cum sperneret aurum;
sordida dictator flexit Serranus aratra: 415
lustratae lictore casae fascesque salignis
postibus adfixi; collectae consule messes
et sulcata diu trabeato rura colono.”
Haec genitor praecepta dabat: velut ille carinae
longaevus rector, variis quem saepe procellis 420
exploravit hiems, ponto iam fessus et annis
aequoreas alni nato commendat habenas
et casus artesque docet: quo dextra regatur
sidere; quo fluctus possit moderamine falli;
quae nota nimborum; quae fraus infida sereni; 425
Go back to the Latin age. Admirest thou a fight for liberty? Thou wilt admire Brutus. Does treachery rouse thine indignation? The punishment of Mettius[159] will fill thee with satisfaction. Dost thou hate undue severity? Abominate Torquatus’ savagery. Is it a virtue to die for one’s country? Honour the self-devotion of the Decii. Horatius Cocles, facing the foe on the broken bridge, Mucius holding his arm in the flames,[160] these shall show thee what, single-handed, brave men can do. Fabius will show thee what overthrow delay can cause; Camillus and his slaughter of the Gauls what in face of odds a leader can effect. From history thou mayest learn that no ill fortune can master worth; Punic savagery extends thy fame, Regulus, to eternity; the failure of Cato outdoes success. From history thou mayest learn the power of frugal poverty; Curius was a poor man when he conquered kings in battle; Fabricius was poor when he spurned the gold of Pyrrhus; Serranus, for all he was dictator, drove the muddy plough. In those days the lictors kept watch at a cottage door, the fasces were hung upon a gateway of wood; consuls helped to gather in the harvest, and for long years the fields were ploughed by husbandmen who wore the consular robe.”
Such were the precepts of the sire. Even so an aged helmsman oft proved by winter’s various storms, aweary now of the sea and his weight of years, commends to his son the rudder of his bark, tells him of dangers and devices—by what art the helmsman’s hand is guided; what steerage may elude the wave; what is a sign of storms; what the treachery of a cloudless sky, the promise of the
[159] The story of the punishment of Mettius Fufetius, the Alban dictator, by the Roman king Tullus Hostilius for his treachery in the war against Fidenae is told by Livy (i. 28. 10) and referred to by Claudian (xv. 254).
[160] For Mucius (Scaevola) holding his arm in the flame to show Lars Porsenna how little he, a Roman, minded bodily pain see Livy ii. 12.
quid sol occiduus prodat; quo saucia vento
decolor iratos attollat Cynthia vultus.
adspice nunc, quacumque micas, seu circulus Austri,
magne parens, gelidi seu te meruere Triones,
adspice: completur votum. iam natus adaequat 430
te meritis et, quod magis est optabile, vincit
subnixus Stilichone tuo, quem fratribus ipse
discedens clipeum defensoremque dedisti.
pro nobis nihil ille pati nullumque recusat
discrimen temptare sui, non dura viarum, 435
non incerta maris, Libyae squalentis harenas
audebit superare pedes madidaque cadente
Pleiade Gaetulas intrabit navita Syrtes.
Hunc tamen in primis populos lenire feroces
et Rhenum pacare iubes. volat ille citatis 440
vectus equis nullaque latus stipante caterva,
aspera nubiferas qua Raetia porrigit Alpes,
pergit et hostiles (tanta est fiducia) ripas
incomitatus adit. totum properare per amnem
attonitos reges humili cervice videres. 445
ante ducem nostrum flavam sparsere Sygambri
caesariem pavidoque orantes murmure Franci
procubuere solo: iuratur Honorius absens
imploratque tuum supplex Alamannia nomen.
Bastarnae venere truces, venit accola silvae 450
Bructerus Hercyniae latisque paludibus exit
Cimber et ingentes Albim liquere Cherusci.
setting sun; what storm-wind frets the Moon so that discoloured she uplifts an angry face. Behold now, great father, in whatsoever part of heaven thou shinest, be it the southern arch or the cold constellation of the Plough that has won the honour of thy presence; see, thy prayer has been answered; thy son now equals thee in merit, nay, a consummation still more to be desired, he surpasseth thee, thanks to the support of thy dear Stilicho whom thou thyself at thy death didst leave to guard and defend the brothers twain. For us there is nought that Stilicho is not ready to suffer, no danger to himself he is not willing to face, neither hardships of the land nor hazards of the sea. His courage will carry him on foot across the deserts of Libya, at the setting of the rainy Pleiads his ship will penetrate the Gaetulian Syrtes.
To him, however, thy first command is to calm fierce nations and bring peace to the Rhine. On wind-swift steed, no escort clinging to his side, he crosses the cloud-capped summits of the Raetian Alps, and, so great is his trust in himself, approaches the river unattended. Then mightest thou have seen from source to mouth come hastening up Rhine’s princes, bending their heads in fearful submission. Before our general the Sygambri abased their flaxen locks and the Franks cast themselves upon the ground and sued with trembling voice for pardon. Germany swears allegiance to the absent Honorius and addresses her suppliant prayers to him. Fierce Bastarnae were there and the Bructeri who dwell in the Hercynian forest. The Cimbrians left their broad marsh-lands, the tall Cherusci came from the river Elbe. Stilicho listens
accipit ille preces varias tardeque rogatus
adnuit et magno pacem pro munere donat.
nobilitant veteres Germanica foedera Drusos, 455
Marte sed ancipiti, sed multis cladibus empta—quis
victum meminit sola formidine Rhenum?
quod longis alii bellis potuere mereri,
hoc tibi dat Stilichonis iter.
Post otia Galli
limitis hortaris Graias fulcire ruinas. 460
Ionium tegitur velis ventique laborant
tot curvare sinus servaturasque Corinthum
prosequitur facili Neptunus gurgite classes,
et puer, Isthmiaci iam pridem litoris exul,
secura repetit portus cum matre Palaemon. 465
plaustra cruore natant: metitur pellita iuventus:
pars morbo, pars ense perit. non lustra Lycaei,
non Erymantheae iam copia sufficit umbrae
innumeris exusta rogis, nudataque ferro
sic flagrasse suas laetantur Maenala silvas. 470
excutiat cineres Ephyre, Spartanus et Arcas
tutior exanguis pedibus proculcet acervos
fessaque pensatis respiret Graecia poenis!
gens, qua non Scythicos diffusior ulla Triones
incoluit, cui parvus Athos angustaque Thrace, 475
cum transiret, erat, per te viresque tuorum
fracta ducum lugetque sibi iam rara superstes,
et, quorum turbae spatium vix praebuit orbis,
uno colle latent. sitiens inclusaque vallo
to their various prayers, gives tardy assent to their entreaties and of his great bounty bestows upon them peace. A covenant with Germany gave glory to the Drusi of old, but purchased by what uncertain warfare, by how many disasters! Who can recall the Rhine conquered by terror alone? That which others were enabled to win by long wars—this, Honorius, Stilicho’s mere march gives thee.
Thou biddest Stilicho after restoring peace in Gaul save Greece from ruin. Vessels cover the Ionian sea; scarce can the wind fill out so many sails. Neptune with favouring currents attends the fleet that is to save Corinth, and young Palaemon, so long an exile from the shores of his isthmus, returns in safety with his mother to the harbour. The blood of barbarians washes their wagons; the ranks of skin-clad warriors are mowed down, some by disease, some by the sword. The glades of Lycaeus, the dark and boundless forests of Erymanthus, are not enough to furnish such countless funeral pyres; Maenalus rejoices that the axe has stripped her of her woods to provide fuel for such a holocaust. Let Ephyre[161] rise from her ashes while Spartan and Arcadian, now safe, tread under foot the heaps of slain; let Greece’s sufferings be made good and her weary land be allowed to breathe once more. That nation, wider spread than any that dwells in northern Scythia, that found Athos too small and Thrace too narrow when it crossed them, that nation, I say, was conquered by thee and thy captains, and now, in the persons of the few that survive, laments its own overthrow. One hill now shelters a people whose hordes scarce the whole world could once contain. Athirst and hemmed within their rampart they
[161] = Corinth.
ereptas quaesivit aquas, quas hostibus ante 480
contiguas alio Stilicho deflexerat actu
mirantemque novas ignota per avia valles
iusserat averso fluvium migrare meatu.
Obvia quid mirum vinci, cum barbarus ultro
iam cupiat servire tibi? tua Sarmata discors 485
sacramenta petit; proiecta pelle Gelonus
militat; in Latios ritus transistis Alani.
ut fortes in Marte viros animisque paratos,
sic iustos in pace legis longumque tueris
electos crebris nec succedentibus urges. 490
iudicibus notis regimur, fruimurque quietis
militiaeque bonis, ceu bellatore Quirino,
ceu placido moderante Numa. non inminet ensis,
nullae nobilium caedes; non crimina vulgo
texuntur; patria maestus non truditur exul; 495
impia continui cessant augmenta tributi;
non infelices tabulae; non hasta refixas
vendit opes; avida sector non voce citatur,
nec tua privatis crescunt aeraria damnis.
munificus largi, sed non et prodigus, auri. 500
perdurat non empta fides nec pectora merces
adligat; ipsa suo pro pignore castra laborant;
te miles nutritor amat.
Quae denique Romae
sought in vain for the stolen waters, that, once within our foemen’s reach, Stilicho had turned aside in another course, and commanded the stream, that marvelled at its strange channel amid unknown ways, to shift its altered track.
What wonder that the nations barring thy path should fall before thee, since the barbarian of his own choice now seeks to serve thee? The Sarmatae, ever a prey to internal strife, beg to swear allegiance to thee; the Geloni cast off their cloaks of hide and fight for thee; you, O Alans, have adopted the customs of Latium. As thou choosest for war men that are brave and eager for the fray, so thou choosest for the offices of peace men that are just, and once chosen keepest them long in their charge, not ousting them by ever new successors. We know the magistrates who govern us, and we enjoy the blessings of peace while we reap the advantages of war, as though we lived at one and the same time in the reign of warlike Romulus and peace-loving Numa. A sword is no longer hung over our heads; there are no massacres of the great; gone is the mob of false accusers; no melancholy exiles are driven from their fatherland. Unholy increase of perpetual taxes is at an end; there are no accursed lists,[162] no auctions of plundered wealth; the voice of greed summons not the salesman, nor is thy treasury increased by private losses. Thou art liberal with thy money, yet not wasteful of it. The loyalty of thy soldiers is a lasting loyalty, for it is not bought, nor is it gifts that win their love; the army is anxious for the success of its own child and loves thee who wast its nursling.
And how deep is thy devotion to Rome herself!
[162] i.e. lists of the proscribed and of their properties put up for sale.
cura tibi! quam fixa manet reverentia patrum!
firmatur senium iuris priscamque resumunt 505
canitiem leges emendanturque vetustae
acceduntque novae. talem sensere Solonem
res Pandioniae; sic armipotens Lacedaemon
despexit muros rigido munita Lycurgo.
quae sub te vel causa brevis vel iudicis error 510
neglegitur? dubiis quis litibus addere finem
iustior et mersum latebris educere verum?
quae pietas quantusque rigor tranquillaque magni
vis animi nulloque levis terrore moveri
nec nova mirari facilis! quam docta facultas 515
ingenii linguaeque modus! responsa verentur
legati, gravibusque latet sub moribus aetas.
Quantus in ore pater radiat! quam torva voluptas
frontis et augusti maiestas grata pudoris!
iam patrias imples galeas; iam cornus avita 520
temptatur vibranda tibi; promittitur ingens
dextra rudimentis Romanaque vota moratur.
quis decor, incedis quotiens clipeatus et auro
squameus et rutilus cristis et casside maior!
sic, cum Threïcia primum sudaret in hasta, 525
flumina laverunt puerum Rhodopeia Martem.
quae vires iaculis vel, cum Gortynia tendis
spicula, quam felix arcus certique petitor
vulneris et iussum mentiri nescius ictum!
scis, quo more Cydon, qua dirigat arte sagittas 530
How fixed abides thy reverence for the Senate! Old customs are preserved, law has recovered its ancient sanctity in the amendment of former statutes and by the addition of new ones. Such an one as thee Pandion’s city[163] found in Solon; even so did warrior Lacedaemon disdain walls, for unyielding Lycurgus gave it defence. What case so petty, what judicial error so slight that it escapes thy notice? Who with truer justice put an end to dishonest suits and brought forth lurking truth from her hiding-place? What mercy, yet what firmness; thine is the quiet strength of a great soul, too firm to be stirred by fear, too stable to be swayed by the attraction of novelty. How stored with learning thy ready wit, how controlled thy speech; ambassadors are awe-stricken at thine answers, and thy grave manners make them forget thy years.
How thy father’s nobility shines in thy face! How awful is thy winning brow, how charming the majesty of a blushing emperor! Boy though thou art, thou canst wear thy sire’s helmet and brandish thy grandsire’s spear. These exercises of thy youth foreshadow vast strength in manhood and convince Rome that the ruler of her prayers is come. How fair art thou in shield and golden armour girt, with waving plumes and taller by the altitude of a helmet! So looked the youthful Mars when after the toil and sweat of his first battle he bathed him in Thracian Rhodope’s mountain stream. With what vigour thou hurlest the javelin, and, when thou stretchest the Cretan bow, what success attends thy shaft! Sure is the wound it seeks; it knows not how to fail the appointed stroke. Thou knowest in what fashion the Cretan,
[163] i.e. Athens.
Armenius, refugo quae sit fiducia Partho:
sic Amphioniae pulcher sudore palaestrae
Alcides pharetras Dircaeaque tela solebat
praetemptare feris olim domitura Gigantes
et pacem latura polo, semperque cruentus 535
ibat et Alcmenae praedam referebat ovanti;
caeruleus tali prostratus Apolline Python
implicuit fractis moritura volumina silvis.
Cum vectaris equo simulacraque Martia ludis,
quis mollis sinuare fugas, quis tendere contum 540
acrior aut subitos melior flexisse recursus?
non te Massagetae, non gens exercita campo
Thessala, non ipsi poterunt aequare bimembres;
vix comites alae, vix te suspensa sequuntur
agmina ferventesque tument post terga dracones. 545
utque tuis primum sonipes calcaribus arsit,
ignescunt patulae nares, non sentit harenas
ungula discussaeque iubae sparguntur in armos;
turbantur phalerae, spumosis morsibus aurum
fumat, anhelantes exundant sanguine gemmae. 550
ipse labor pulvisque decet confusaque motu
caesaries; vestis radiato murice solem
combibit, ingesto crispatur purpura vento.
si dominus legeretur equis, tua posceret ultro
verbera Nereidum stabulis nutritus Arion 555
serviretque tuis contempto Castore frenis
with what skill the Armenian, directs his arrows; in what the retreating Parthian puts his trust. Thus was Alcides, graced with the sweat of the wrestling-ground at Thebes, wont to try his bow and Boeotian arrows on the beasts of the forest ere he turned them against the Giants and so secured peace for heaven. Stains of blood were ever upon him and proud was his mother Alcmena of the spoils he brought back home. Such was Apollo when he slew the livid serpent that enfolded and brake down forests in his dying coils.
When mounted on thy horse thou playest the mimicry of war, who is quicker smoothly to wheel in flight, who to hurl the spear, or more skilled to sweep round in swift return? There the Massagetae are not thy peers nor the tribes of Thessaly, well versed though they be in riding, no, nor the very Centaurs themselves. Scarce can the squadrons and flying bands that accompany thee keep pace, while the wind behind thee bellies the fierce dragons on the flags. So soon as the touch of thy spur has fired thy steed, flames start from his swelling nostrils; his hoof scarce touches the ground and his mane is outspread over his shoulders. His harness rattles and the golden bit grows warm in his foam-flecked mouth. The jewels that stud his quivering bridle are red with blood. The signs of toil, the dust stains, the disorder of thy hair all do but increase thy beauty. Thy brilliant scarlet cloak drinks in the sunlight as the wind blows its gay surface into folds. Could horses choose their riders then surely would Arion, full fed in the stables of the Nereids, have prayed for the very whip of such a master, Cyllarus would have had none of Castor, but would have looked
Cyllarus et flavum Xanthus sprevisset Achillem.
ipse tibi famulas praeberet Pegasus alas
portaretque libens melioraque pondera passus
Bellerophonteas indignaretur habenas. 560
quin etiam velox Aurorae nuntius Aethon,
qui fugat hinnitu stellas roseoque domatur
Lucifero, quotiens equitem te cernit ab astris,
invidet inque tuis mavult spumare lupatis.
Nunc quoque quos habitus, quantae miracula pompae 565
vidimus, Ausonio cum iam succinctus amictu
per Ligurum populos solito conspectior ires
atque inter niveas alte veherere cohortes,
obnixisque simul pubes electa lacertis
sidereum gestaret onus. sic numina Memphis 570
in vulgus proferre solet; penetralibus exit
effigies, brevis illa quidem: sed plurimus infra
liniger imposito suspirat vecte sacerdos
testatus sudore deum; Nilotica sistris
ripa sonat Phariosque modos Aegyptia ducit 575
tibia; summissis admugit cornibus Apis.
omnis nobilitas, omnis tua sacra frequentat
Thybridis et Latii suboles; convenit in unum
quidquid in orbe fuit procerum, quibus auctor honoris
vel tu vel genitor. numeroso consule consul 580
cingeris et socios gaudes admittere patres.
inlustri te prole Tagus, te Gallia doctis
civibus et toto stipavit Roma senatu.
portatur iuvenum cervicibus aurea sedes
ornatuque novo gravior deus. asperat Indus 585
velamenta lapis pretiosaque fila smaragdis
to thy reins for guidance and Xanthus have scorned to bear golden-haired Achilles. Pegasus himself had lent thee his subject wings and been glad to carry thee and, now that a mightier rider bestrode him, had turned in proud disdain from Bellerophon’s bridle. Nay, Aethon, swift messenger of dawn, who routs the stars with his neigh and is driven by rosy Lucifer, seeing thee from heaven as thou ridest by, is filled with envy and would choose rather to hold thy bit in his foaming mouth.
What raiment, too, have we not seen, what miracles of splendour, when, girt with the robe of Italy, thou didst go, still more glorious than thou art wont, through the peoples of Liguria, borne aloft amid thy troops clad in triumphal white and carried upon the shoulders of chosen warriors who so proudly upheld their godlike burden! ’Tis thus that Egypt brings forth her gods to the public gaze. The image issues from its shrine; small it is, indeed, yet many a linen-clad priest pants beneath the pole, and by his sweat testifies that he bears a god; Nile’s banks resound to the holy rattles, and Egypt’s pipe drones its native measure; Apis abases his horns and lows in reply. All the nobles, all whom Tiber and Latium rear, throng thy festival; gathered in one are all the great ones of the earth that owe their rank either to thee or to thy sire. Many a consular surrounds thee, the consul whose good pleasure it is to associate the senate in thy triumph. The nobles of Spain, the wise men of Gaul, and the senators of Rome all throng round thee. On young men’s necks is borne thy golden throne, and new adorning adds weight to deity. Jewels of India stud thy vestment, rows of green emeralds enrich
ducta virent; amethystus inest et fulgor Hiberus
temperat arcanis hyacinthi caerula flammis.
nec rudis in tali suffecit gratia textu;
auget acus meritum picturatumque metallis 590
vivit opus: multa remorantur iaspide cultus[164]
et variis spirat Nereia baca figuris.
quae tantum potuit digitis mollire rigorem
ambitiosa colus? vel cuius pectinis arte
traxerunt solidae gemmarum stamina telae? 595
invia quis calidi scrutatus stagna profundi
Tethyos invasit gremium? quis divitis algae
germina flagrantes inter quaesivit harenas?
quis iunxit lapides ostro? quis miscuit ignes
Sidonii Rubrique maris? tribuere colorem 600
Phoenices, Seres subtegmina, pondus Hydaspes.
hoc si Maeonias cinctu graderere per urbes,
in te pampineos transferret Lydia thyrsos,
in te Nysa choros; dubitassent orgia Bacchi,
cui furerent; irent blandae sub vincula tigres. 605
talis Erythraeis intextus nebrida gemmis
Liber agit currus et Caspia flectit eburnis
colla iugis: Satyri circum crinemque solutae
Maenades adstringunt hederis victricibus Indos;
ebrius hostili velatur palmite Ganges. 610
Auspice mox laetum sonuit clamore tribunal
te fastos ineunte quater. sollemnia ludit
omina libertas; deductum Vindice morem
lex celebrat, famulusque iugo laxatus erili
[164] Birt vultus; cod. Ambrosianus cultus.
the seams; there gleams the amethyst and the glint of Spanish gold makes the dark-blue sapphire show duller with its hidden fires. Nor in the weaving of such a robe was unadorned beauty enough; the work of the needle increases its value, thread of gold and silver glows therefrom; many an agate adorns the embroidered robes, and pearls of Ocean breathe in varied pattern. What bold hand, what distaff had skill enough to make thus supple elements so hard? What loom so cunning as to weave jewels into close-textured cloth? Who, searching out the uncharted pools of hot Eastern seas, despoiled the bosom of Tethys? Who dared seek o’er burning sands rich growth of coral? Who could broider precious stones on scarlet and so mingle the shining glories of the Red Sea and of Phoenicia’s waters? Tyre lent her dyes, China her silks, Hydaspes his jewels. Shouldst thou traverse Maeonian cities in such a garb, to thee would Lydia hand over her vine-wreathed thyrsus, to thee Nysa her dances; the revels of Bacchus would have doubted whence came their madness; tigers would pass fawning beneath thy yoke. Even such, his fawn-skin enwoven with orient gems, doth the Wine-god drive his car, guiding the necks of Hyrcanian tigers with ivory yoke; around him satyrs and wild-haired Maenads fetter Indians with triumphant ivy, while drunken Ganges twines his hair with the vine tendril.
Already shouts of joy and of good omen resound about the consul’s throne to welcome this thy fourth opening of Rome’s year. Liberty enacts her wonted ceremonies; Law observes the custom dating back to Vindex[165] whereby a slave freed from his master’s service is introduced into thy presence and thence
[165] Vindex (or Vindicius) was the name of the slave who was granted his liberty by Brutus for giving information of the royalist plot in which Brutus’ own sons were implicated. For the story (probably an aetiological myth to explain vindicta, another word for festuca) see Livy ii. 5.
ducitur et grato remeat securior ictu. 615
tristis condicio pulsata fronte recedit;
in civem rubuere genae, tergoque removit
verbera permissi felix iniuria voti.
Prospera Romuleis sperantur tempora rebus
in nomen ventura tuum. praemissa futuris 620
dant exempla fidem: quotiens te cursibus aevi
praefecit, totiens accessit laurea patri.
ausi Danuvium quondam transnare Gruthungi
in lintres fregere nemus; ter mille ruebant
per fluvium plenae cuneis inmanibus alni. 625
dux Odothaeus erat. tantae conamina classis
incipiens aetas et primus contudit annus:
summersae sedere rates; fluitantia numquam
largius Arctoos pavere cadavera pisces;
corporibus premitur Peuce; per quinque recurrens
ostia barbaricos vix egerit unda cruores, 631
confessusque parens Odothaei regis opima
rettulit exuviasque tibi. civile secundis
conficis auspiciis bellum. tibi debeat orbis
fata Gruthungorum debellatumque tyrannum: 635
Hister sanguineos egit te consule fluctus;
Alpinos genitor rupit te consule montes.
Sed patriis olim fueras successibus auctor,
nunc eris ipse tuis. semper venere triumphi
cum trabeis sequiturque tuos victoria fasces. 640
dismissed—a freeman thanks to that envied stroke.[166] A blow upon the brow and his base condition is gone; reddened cheeks have made him a citizen, and with the granting of his prayer a happy insult has given his back freedom from the lash.
Prosperity awaits our empire; thy name is earnest for the fulfilment of our hopes. The past guarantees the future; each time that thy sire made thee chief magistrate of the year the laurels of victory crowned his arms. Once the Gruthungi, hewing down a forest to make them boats, dared to pass beyond the Danube. Three thousand vessels, each crowded with a barbarous crew, made a dash across the river. Odothaeus was their leader. Thy youth, nay, the first year of thy life, crushed the attempt of that formidable fleet. Its boats filled and sank; never did the fish of that northern river feed more lavishly on the bodies of men. The island of Peuce was heaped high with corpses. Scarce even through five mouths could the river rid itself of barbarian blood, and thy sire, owning thine influence, gave thanks to thee for the spoils won in person from King Odothaeus. Consul a second time thou didst end civil war by thine auspices. Let the world thank thee for the overthrow of the Gruthungi and the defeat of their king; thou wast consul when the Danube ran red with their blood, thou wast consul, too, when thy sire crossed the Alps to victory.[167]
But thou, once author of thy father’s successes, shalt now be author of thine own. Triumph has ever attended thy consulship and victory thy fasces.
[166] A reference to the Roman method of manumitting a slave alapa et festuca, i.e. by giving him a slight blow (alapa) with a rod (festuca). See Gaius on vindicatio (iv. 16) and on the whole question R. G. Nisbet in Journal of Roman Studies, viii. Pt. 1.
[167] The campaign of Theodosius against Odothaeus, King of the Gruthungi (Zosimus iv. 35 calls him Ὀδόθεος) is thus dated as 386, the year of Honorius’ first consulship (see note on viii. 153). Honorius’ second consulship (394) saw the defeat of Eugenius.
sis, precor, adsiduus consul Mariique relinquas
et senis Augusti numerum. quae gaudia mundo,
per tua lanugo cum serpere coeperit ora,
cum tibi protulerit festas nox pronuba taedas!
quae tali devota toro, quae murice fulgens 645
ibit in amplexus tanti regina mariti?
quaenam tot divis veniet nurus, omnibus arvis
et toto donanda mari? quantusque feretur
idem per Zephyri metas Hymenaeus et Euri!
o mihi si liceat thalamis intendere carmen 650
conubiale tuis, si te iam dicere patrem!
tempus erit, cum tu trans Rheni cornua victor,
Arcadius captae spoliis Babylonis onustus
communem maiore toga signabitis annum;
crinitusque tuo sudabit fasce Suebus, 655
ultima fraternas horrebunt Bactra secures.
Heaven grant thou mayest be our perpetual consul and outnumber Marius[168] and old Augustus. Happy universe that shall see the first down creep over thy cheeks, and the wedding-night that shall lead forth for thee the festal torches. Who shall be consecrated to such a couch; who, glorious in purple, shall pass, a queen, to the embraces of such a husband? What bride shall come to be the daughter of so many gods, dowered with every land and the whole sea? How gloriously shall the nuptial song be borne at once to farthest East and West! O may it be mine to sing thy marriage-hymn, mine presently to hail thee father! The time will come when, thou victorious beyond the mouths of the Rhine, and thy brother Arcadius laden with the spoil of captured Babylon, ye shall endow the year with yet more glorious majesty; when the long-haired Suebian shall bear the arms of Rome and the distant Bactrian tremble beneath the rule of thyself and thy brother.
[168] Marius was consul seven, Augustus thirteen, times.
PANEGYRICUS DICTUS MANLIO THEODORO CONSULI
PRAEFATIO
(XVI.)
Audebisne, precor, tantae subiecta catervae,
inter tot proceres, nostra Thalia, loqui?
nec te fama vetat, vero quam celsius auctam
vel servasse labor vel minuisse pudor?
an tibi continuis crevit fiducia castris 5
totaque iam vatis pectora miles habet?
culmina Romani maiestatemque senatus
et, quibus exultat Gallia, cerne viros.
omnibus audimur terris mundique per aures
ibimus. ah nimius consulis urget amor! 10
Iuppiter, ut perhibent, spatium cum discere vellet
naturae regni nescius ipse sui,
armigeros utrimque duos aequalibus alis
misit ab Eois Occiduisque plagis.
Parnasus geminos fertur iunxisse volatus; 15
contulit alternas Pythius axis aves.
Princeps non aquilis terras cognoscere curat;
certius in vobis aestimat imperium.
hoc ego concilio collectum metior orbem;
hoc video coetu quidquid ubique micat. 20
PANEGYRIC ON THE CONSULSHIP OF FL. MANLIUS THEODORUS[169] (A.D. 399)
PREFACE
(XVI.)
Wilt dare to sing, my Muse, when so great, so august an assembly shall be thy critic? Does not thine own renown forbid thee? ’Tis greater now than thou deservest; how hard then to enhance, how disgraceful to diminish it! Or has thine assurance grown through ever dwelling in the camp, and does the soldier now wholly possess the poet’s breast? Behold the flower of the Roman senate, the majesty, the pride, the heroes of Gaul. The whole earth is my audience, my song shall sound in the ears of all the world. Alack! Love for our consul constrains too strongly. Jove, ’tis said, when he would fain learn its extent (for he knew not the bounds of his own empire) sent forth two eagles of equal flight from the East and from the West. On Parnassus, as they tell, their twin flights met; the Delphic heaven brought together the one bird and the other. Our Emperor needs no eagles to teach him the magnitude of his domains; yourselves are preceptors more convincing. ’Tis this assembly that gives to me the measure of the universe; here I see gathered all the brilliance of the world.
[169] See Introduction, p. xv. Judging from this poem Manlius started by being an advocatus in the praetorian prefect’s court, was then praeses of some district in Africa, then governor (consularis) of Macedonia, next recalled to Rome as Gratian’s magister epistularum, then comes sacrarum largitionum (= ecclesiastical treasurer) and after that praetorian prefect of Gaul (ll. 50-53).
PANEGYRICUS
(XVII.)
Ipsa quidem Virtus pretium sibi, solaque late
Fortunae secura nitet nec fascibus ullis
erigitur plausuve petit clarescere vulgi.
nil opis externae cupiens, nil indiga laudis,
divitiis animosa suis inmotaque cunctis 5
casibus ex alta mortalia despicit arce.
attamen invitam blande vestigat et ultro
ambit honor: docuit totiens a rure profectus
lictor et in mediis consul quaesitus aratris.
te quoque naturae sacris mundique vacantem, 10
emeritum pridem desudatisque remotum
iudiciis eadem rursum complexa potestas
evehit et reducem notis imponit habenis.
accedunt trabeae: nil iam, Theodore, relictum,
quo virtus animo crescat vel splendor honori.[170] 15
culmen utrumque tenes: talem te protinus anni
formavere rudes, et dignum vita curuli
traxit iter primaeque senes cessere iuventae.
iam tum canities animi, iam dulce loquendi
[170] honori conject. Birt; honore codd.
PANEGYRIC
(XVII.)
Virtue is its own reward; alone with its far-flung splendour it mocks at Fortune; no honours raise it higher nor does it seek glory from the mob’s applause. External wealth cannot arouse its desires, it asks no praise but makes its boast of self-contained riches, and unmoved by all chances it looks down upon the world from a lofty citadel. Yet in its own despite importunate honours pursue it, and offer themselves unsought; that the lictor coming from the farm hath ofttimes proved and a consul sought for even at the plough. Thou, too, who wert at leisure to study the mysteries of nature and the heavens, thou who hadst served thy time and retired from the law courts where thou hadst toiled so long, art once more enfolded by a like dignity, which, raising thee aloft, sets in thy returning hands the familiar rein. The consulship now is thine, Theodorus, nor is there now aught left to add to thy virtues or to the glory of thy name. Thou art now at the summit of both; from thine earliest years thy character was thus formed, the whole course of thy life was worthy of the curule chair; thy earliest youth outrivalled age. Even then thy mind was hoar, thy pleasant talk weighty, thy
pondus et attonitas sermo qui duceret aures. 20
mox undare foro victrix opulentia linguae
tutarique reos. ipsa haec amplissima sedes
orantem stupuit, bis laudatura regentem.
hinc te pars Libyae moderantem iura probavit,
quae nunc tota probat; longi sed pignus amoris 25
exiguae peperere morae populumque clientem
publica mansuris testantur vocibus aera.
inde tibi Macetum tellus et credita Pellae
moenia, quae famulus quondam ditavit Hydaspes;
tantaque commissae revocasti gaudia genti 30
mitibus arbitriis, quantum bellante Philippo
floruit aut nigri cecidit cum regia Pori.
Sed non ulterius te praebuit urbibus aula:
maluit esse suum; terris edicta daturus,
supplicibus responsa venis. oracula regis 35
eloquio crevere tuo, nec dignius umquam
maiestas meminit sese Romana locutam.
hinc sacrae mandantur opes orbisque tributa
possessi, quidquid fluviis evolvitur auri,
quidquid luce procul venas rimata sequaces 40
abdita pallentis fodit sollertia Bessi.
Ac velut expertus[171] lentandis navita tonsis
praeficitur lateri custos; hinc ardua prorae
temperat et fluctus tempestatesque futuras
edocet; adsiduo cum Dorida vicerit usu, 45
iam clavum totamque subit torquere carinam:
[171] expertus Barthius; Birt keeps MSS. exertus.
converse the admiration and delight of all that heard it. The wealth of thy triumphant eloquence soon overflowed the forum and brought safety to the accused. Yea, this most august assembly was astonied at thy pleading, as it was twice to applaud thy governance. Next, a part of Libya approved the administration which it now in its entirety enjoys; but thy brief stay won for thee a pledge of perpetual love, and public statues bear witness with enduring eloquence that thou wert a nation’s guardian. Macedonia was next committed to thy care and the walls of Pella, enriched once by conquered Hydaspes. The mildness of thy rule brought to the country entrusted to thee such joy as it once knew under warlike Philip or when the empire of Indian Porus fell to Alexander’s arms.
But Rome could not spare thy services longer to the provinces; she chose rather to have thee for her own; thou comest to give edicts to the world, to make reply to suppliants. A monarch’s utterance has won dignity from thine eloquence, never can the majesty of Rome recall when she spoke more worthily. After this the offerings and wealth of the world, the tribute of the empire, is entrusted to thy care; the gold washed down by the rivers and that dug out of deep Thracian mines by the skill of pale-faced Bessi who track the hidden seams—all is thine.
As a sailor skilled in wielding the oar is at first set in charge of but a side of the vessel, then, when he can manage the lofty prow and is able, thanks to his long experience of the sea, to know beforehand what storms and tempests the vessel is like to encounter, he has charge of the helm and is entrusted with the
sic cum clara diu mentis documenta dedisses,
non te parte sui, sed in omni corpore sumpsit
imperium cunctaque dedit tellure regendos
rectores. Hispana tibi Germanaque Tethys 50
paruit et nostro diducta Britannia mundo,
diversoque tuas coluerunt gurgite voces
lentus Arar Rhodanusque ferox et dives Hiberus.
o quotiens doluit Rhenus, qua barbarus ibat,
quod te non geminis frueretur iudice ripis! 55
unius fit cura viri, quodcumque rubescit
occasu, quodcumque dies devexior ambit.
Tam celer adsiduos explevit cursus honores;
una potestatum spatiis interfuit aetas
totque gradus fati iuvenilibus intulit annis. 60
Postquam parta quies et summum nacta cacumen
iam secura petit privatum gloria portum,
ingenii redeunt fructus aliique labores,
et vitae pars nulla perit: quodcumque recedit
litibus, incumbit studiis, animusque vicissim 65
aut curam imponit populis aut otia Musis.
omnia Cecropiae relegis secreta senectae
discutiens, quid quisque novum mandaverit aevo
quantaque diversae producant agmina sectae.
Namque aliis princeps rerum disponitur aër; 70
hic confidit aquis; hic procreat omnia flammis.
direction of the entire ship; so when thou hadst long given illustrious proofs of thy character, the empire of Rome summoned thee to govern not a part but the whole of itself, and set thee as ruler over all the rulers of the world. The seas of Spain, the German ocean obeyed thee and Britain, so far removed from our continent. Rivers of all lands observed thy statutes, slow-flowing Saône, swift Rhone, and Ebro rich in gold. How often did the Rhine, in those districts where the barbarians dwell, lament that the blessings of thy rule extended not to both banks! All the lands the setting sun bathes in its rays, all that its last brilliance illumines are entrusted to the charge of one man.
So swiftly did thy career fill office after office; a single period of life was enough for the round of dignities and gave to thy youthful years every step on fortune’s ladder.
When repose was earned and now, after reaching the highest place, glory, laying care aside, seeks refuge in a private life, genius again wins reward from other tasks. No part of life is lost: all that is withdrawn from the law courts is devoted to the study, and thy mind in turn either bestows its efforts on the State or its leisure on the Muses. Once more thou readest the secrets of ancient Athens, examining the discoveries with which each sage has enriched posterity and noting what hosts of disciples the varying schools produce.
For some hold that air[172] is the first beginning of all things, others that water is, others again derive the sum of things from fire. Another, destined to
[172] Claudian refers to the early Ionian philosophers. Anaximenes believed that air was the first principle of all things, Thales said water, Heraclitus fire. l. 72 refers to Empedocles who postulated the four elements and two principles, love and hate, which respectively made and unmade the universe out of the elements. The “hic” of l. 75 may be Democritus or it may refer to the Sceptic, Pyrrho. The “hic” of l. 76 is Anaxagoras, the friend of Pericles. “Ille” (79) may be taken to refer to Leucippus, the first of the atomic philosophers; he postulated infinite space. “Hi” (82) = Democritus, Epicurus, and other atomists. “Alii” (83) are the Platonists.
alter in Aetnaeas casurus sponte favillas
dispergit revocatque deum rursusque receptis
nectit amicitiis quidquid discordia solvit.
corporis hic damnat sensus verumque videri 75
pernegat. hic semper lapsurae pondera terrae
conatur rapido caeli fulcire rotatu
accenditque diem praerupti turbine saxi.
ille ferox unoque tegi non passus Olympo
inmensum per inane volat finemque perosus 80
parturit innumeros angusto pectore mundos.
hi vaga collidunt caecis primordia plagis.
numina constituunt alii casusque relegant.
Graiorum obscuras Romanis floribus artes
inradias, vicibus gratis formare loquentes 85
suetus et alterno verum contexere nodo.
quidquid Socratico manavit ab ordine, quidquid
docta Cleantheae sonuerunt atria turbae,
inventum quodcumque tuo, Chrysippe, recessu,
quidquid Democritus risit dixitque tacendo 90
Pythagoras, uno se pectore cuncta vetustas
condidit et maior collectis viribus exit.
ornantur veteres et nobiliore magistro
in Latium spretis Academia migrat Athenis,
ut tandem propius discat, quo fine beatum 95
dirigitur, quae norma boni, qui limes honesti;
quaenam membra sui virtus divisa domandis
obiectet vitiis; quae pars iniusta recidat,
quae vincat ratione metus, quae frenet amores;
aut quotiens elementa doces semperque fluentis 100
fall self-immolated into Etna’s fiery crater, reduces God to principles of dispersion and re-collection and binds again in resumed friendship all that discord separates. This philosopher allows no authority to the senses and denies that the truth can be perceived. Another seeks to explain the suspension of the world in space by the rapid revolution of the sky (whence else the world would fall) and kindles day’s fires by the whirl of a rushing rock. That fearless spirit, not content with the covering of but one sky, flies through the limitless void and, scorning a limit, conceives in one small brain a thousand worlds. Others make wandering atoms clash with blind blows, while others again set up deities and banish chance.
Thou dost adorn the obscure learning of Greece with Roman flowers,[173] skilled to shape speech in happy interchange and weave truth’s garland with alternate knots. All the lore of Socrates’ school, the learning that echoed in Cleanthes’ lecture-room, the thoughts of the stoic Chrysippus in his retreat, all the laughter of Democritus, all that Pythagoras spoke by silence—all the wisdom of the ancients is stored in that one brain whence it issues forth the stronger for its concentration. The ancients gain fresh lustre and, scorning Athens, the Academy migrates to Latium under a nobler master, the more exactly at last to learn by what end happiness guides its path, what is the rule of the good, the goal of the right; what division of virtue should be set to combat and overthrow each separate vice, and what part of virtue it is that curbs injustice, that causes reason to triumph over fear, that holds lust in check. How often hast thou taught us the nature
[173] Claudian’s way of saying that Manlius translates Greek philosophy into clear and elegant Latin, throwing his translation into the form of a dialogue.
materiae causas: quae vis animaverit astra
impuleritque choros; quo vivat machina motu;
sidera cur septem retro nitantur in ortus
obluctata polo; variisne meatibus idem
arbiter an geminae convertant aethera mentes;
sitne color proprius rerum, lucisne repulsu 106
eludant aciem; tumidos quae luna recursus
nutriat Oceani; quo fracta tonitrua vento,
quis trahat imbriferas nubes, quo saxa creentur
grandinis; unde rigor nivibus; quae flamma per auras 110
excutiat rutilos tractus aut fulmina velox
torqueat aut tristem figat crinita cometem.
Iam tibi compositam fundaverat ancora puppim,
telluris iam certus eras; fecunda placebant
otia; nascentes ibant in saecula libri: 115
cum subito liquida cessantem vidit ab aethra
Iustitia et tanto viduatas iudice leges.
continuo frontem limbo velata pudicam
deserit Autumni portas, qua vergit in Austrum
Signifer et noctis reparant dispendia Chelae. 120
pax avibus, quacumque volat, rabiemque frementes
deposuere ferae; laetatur terra reverso
numine, quod prisci post tempora perdidit auri.
illa per occultum Ligurum se moenibus infert
et castos levibus plantis ingressa penates 125
invenit aetherios signantem pulvere cursus,
quos pia sollicito deprendit pollice Memphis:
of the elements and the causes of matter’s ceaseless change; what influence has given life to the stars, moving them in their courses; what quickens with movement the universal frame. Thou tellest why the seven planets strive backward towards the East, doing battle with the firmament; whether there is one lawgiver to different movements or two minds govern heaven’s revolution; whether colour is a property of matter or whether objects deceive our sight and owe their colours to reflected light; how the moon causes the ebb and flow of the tide; which wind brings about the thunder’s crash, which collects the rain clouds and by which the hail-stones are formed; what causes the coldness of snow and what is that flame that ploughs its shining furrow through the sky, hurls the swift thunderbolt, or sets in heaven’s dome the tail of the baleful comet.
Already had the anchor stayed thy restful bark, already thou wert minded to go ashore; fruitful leisure charmed and books were being born for immortality, when, of a sudden, Justice looked down from the shining heaven and saw thee at thine ease, saw Law, too, deprived of her great interpreter. She stayed not but, wreathing her chaste forehead with a band, left the gates of Autumn where the Standard-bearer dips towards the south and the Scorpion makes good the losses of the night. Where’er she flies a peace fell upon the birds and howling beasts laid aside their rage. Earth rejoices in the return of a deity lost to her since the waning of the age of gold. Secretly Justice enters the walls of Milan, Liguria’s city, and penetrating with light step the holy palace finds Theodorus marking in the sand those heavenly movements which reverent Memphis discovered by
quae moveant momenta polum, quam certus in astris
error, quis tenebras solis causisque meantem
defectum indicat numerus, quae linea Phoeben 130
damnet et excluso pallentem fratre relinquat.
ut procul adspexit fulgentia Virginis ora
cognovitque deam, vultus veneratus amicos
occurrit scriptaeque notas confundit harenae.
Tum sic diva prior: “Manli, sincera bonorum 135
congeries, in quo veteris vestigia recti
et ductos video mores meliore metallo:
iam satis indultum studiis, Musaeque tot annos
eripuere mihi. pridem te iura reposcunt:
adgredere et nostro rursum te redde labori 140
nec tibi sufficiat transmissae gloria vitae.
humanum curare genus quis terminus umquam
praescripsit? nullas recipit prudentia metas.
adde quod haec multis potuit contingere sedes,
sed meriti tantum redeunt actusque priores 145
commendat repetitus honos, virtusque reducit
quos fortuna legit.[174] melius magnoque petendum
credis in abstrusa rerum ratione morari?
scilicet illa tui patriam praecepta Platonis
erexere magis, quam qui responsa secutus 150
obruit Eoas classes urbemque carinis
vexit et arsuras Medo subduxit Athenas?
Spartanis potuit robur praestare Lycurgus
matribus et sexum leges vicere severae
[174] Birt regit with the MSS. (he suggests nequit); Heinsius legit.
anxious reckoning. He sought the forces that move the heavens, the fixed (though errant) path of the planets, the calculation which predicts the over-shadowing of the sun and its surely-fixed eclipse, and the line that sentences the moon to be left in darkness by shutting out her brother. Soon as from afar he beheld the shining face of the Maiden[175] and recognized the goddess, reverencing that dear countenance, he hurries to meet her, effacing from the sand the diagrams he had drawn.
The goddess was the first to speak. “Manlius, in whom are gathered all the virtues unalloyed, in whom I see traces of ancient justice and manners moulded of a purer metal, thou hast devoted time enough now to study; all these years have the Muses reft from me my pupil. Long has Law demanded thy return to her allegiance. Come, devote thyself once more to my service, and be not content with the glory of thy past. To the service of mankind what boundary ever set the limits? Wisdom accepts no ends for herself. Then, too, to many has this office fallen, as well it might, but only the worthy return thereto; reappointment to office is the best commendation of office well held, and virtue brings back him whom chance elects. Deemst thou it a better and a worthier aim to spend thy days in exploring Nature’s secret laws? Dost thou think it was thy Plato’s precepts raised his country to glory rather than he[176] who, in obedience to the oracle, sank the Persian fleet, put his city on shipboard and saved from the Medes Athens destined for the flames? Lycurgus could dower the mothers of Sparta with a man’s courage and by his austere laws correct the weakness of their sex; by forbidding
[175] Virgo (= Astraea) was a recognized synonym for the goddess Justice; see Virg. Ec. iv. 6.
[176] i.e. Themistocles.
civibus et vetitis ignavo credere muro 155
tutius obiecit nudam Lacedaemona bellis:
at non Pythagorae monitus annique silentes
famosum Oebalii luxum pressere Tarenti.
“Quis vero insignem tanto sub principe curam
respuat? aut quando meritis maiora patebunt 160
praemia? quis demens adeo qui iungere sensus
cum Stilichone neget? similem quae protulit aetas
consilio vel Marte virum? nunc Brutus amaret
vivere sub regno, tali succumberet aulae
Fabricius, cuperent ipsi servire Catones. 165
nonne vides, ut nostra soror Clementia tristes
obtundat gladios fratresque amplexa serenos
adsurgat Pietas, fractis ut lugeat armis
Perfidia et laceris morientes crinibus hydri
lambant invalido Furiarum vincla veneno? 170
exultat cum Pace Fides, iam sidera cunctae
liquimus et placidas inter discurrimus urbes.
nobiscum, Theodore, redi.”
Subit ille loquentem
talibus: “agrestem dudum me, diva, reverti
cogis et infectum longi rubigine ruris 175
ad tua signa vocas. nam quae mihi cura tot annis
altera quam duras sulcis mollire novales,
nosse soli vires, nemori quae commoda rupes,
quis felix oleae tractus, quae glaeba faveret
frugibus et quales tegeret vindemia colles? 180
terribiles rursum lituos veteranus adibo
et desueta vetus temptabo caerula vector?
his fellow-citizens to put a coward’s trust in walls, he set Lacedemon to face wars more securely in her nakedness; but all the teaching of Pythagoras and his years of silence never crushed the infamous licentiousness of Sparta’s colony Tarentum.
“Besides, beneath such an emperor, who could refuse office? Was ever merit more richly rewarded? Who is so insensate as not to wish to meet Stilicho in council? Has ever any age produced his equal in prudence or in bravery? Now would Brutus love to live under a king; to such a court Fabricius would yield, the Catos themselves long to give service. Seest thou not how my sister Mercy blunts the cruel sword of war; how Piety rises to embrace the two noble brothers; how Treason laments her broken weapons and the snakes, writhing in death upon the Furies’ wounded heads, lick their chains with enfeebled venom? Peace and loyalty are triumphant. All the host of heaven leaves the stars and wanders from peaceful city to peaceful city. Return thou with us, Theodorus.”
Then Theodorus made answer: “From my long accustomed fields, goddess, thou urgest me to return, summoning to thy standard one grown rusty in the distant countryside. What else has been my care all these years but to break up the stubborn fallow-land into furrows, to know the nature of the soil, the rocky land suitable to the growth of trees, the country where the olive will flourish, the fields that will yield rich harvests of grain or the hills which my vineyards may clothe? I have served my time; am I to hearken once more to the dreadful trumpet? Is the old helmsman again to brave the seas whose lore he has forgotten?
collectamque diu et certis utcumque locatam
sedibus in dubium patiar deponere famam?
nec me, quid valeat natura fortior usus, 185
praeterit aut quantum neglectae defluat arti.
desidis aurigae non audit verbera currus,
nec manus agnoscit quem non exercuit arcum.
esse sed iniustum fateor quodcumque negatur
iustitiae. tu prima hominem silvestribus antris 190
elicis et foedo deterges saecula victu.
te propter colimus leges animosque ferarum
exuimus. nitidis quisquis te sensibus hausit,
inruet intrepidus flammis, hiberna secabit
aequora, confertos hostes superabit inermis. 195
ille vel Aethiopum pluviis solabitur aestus;
illum trans Scythiam vernus comitabitur aër.”
Sic fatus tradente dea suscepit habenas
quattuor ingenti iuris temone refusas.
prima Padum Thybrimque ligat crebrisque micantem
urbibus Italiam; Numidas[177] Poenosque secunda 201
temperat; Illyrico se tertia porrigit orbi;
ultima Sardiniam, Cyrnum trifidamque retentat
Sicaniam et quidquid Tyrrhena tunditur unda
vel gemit Ionia. nec te tot lumina rerum 205
aut tantum turbavit onus; sed ut altus Olympi
vertex, qui spatio ventos hiemesque relinquit,
perpetuum nulla temeratus nube serenum
celsior exurgit pluviis auditque ruentes
[177] Numidas Heinsius; Birt †Lydos.
My fame has long been gathered in and where it is ’tis in safe custody; am I to suffer its being put to the hazard? Full well do I realize that habit is a stronger force than nature, nor am I ignorant of the rapidity with which we forget an art that we have ceased to exercise. The whip of an unpractised charioteer is powerless to urge on his horses; the hand that is unaccustomed thereto cannot bend the bow. And yet it were unjust, I admit, to refuse aught to Justice. Thou first didst draw man from his woodland cave and free the human race from its foul manner of life. Thanks to thee we practise law and have put off the temper of wild beasts. Whosoever has drunk of thee with pure heart will rush fearless through flames, will sail the wintry seas, and overcome unarmed the densest company of foemen. Justice is to the just as rain to temper even the heat of Ethiopia, a breath of spring to journey with him across the deserts of Scythia.”
So spake he and took from the goddess’ hand the four reins that lay stretched along the huge pole of Justice’s car. The first harnesses the rivers Po and Tiber and Italy with all her glittering towns; the second guides Numidia and Carthage; the third runs out across the land of Illyria; the last holds Sardinia, Corsica, three-cornered Sicily and the coasts beaten by the Tyrrhenian wave or that echo to the Ionian. The splendour and magnitude of the undertaking troubled thee not one whit; but as the lofty summit of Olympus, far removed from the winds and tempests of the lower air, its eternal bright serene untroubled by any cloud, is lifted above the rain storms and hears the hurricane rushing
sub pedibus nimbos et rauca tonitrua calcat: 210
sic patiens animus per tanta negotia liber
emergit similisque sui, iustique tenorem
flectere non odium cogit, non gratia suadet.
nam spretas quis opes intactaque pectora lucro
commemoret? fuerint aliis haec forte decora: 215
nulla potest laus esse tibi, quae crimina purget.
servat inoffensam divina modestia vocem:
temperiem servant oculi; nec lumina fervor
asperat aut rabidas suffundit sanguine venas,
nullaque mutati tempestas proditur oris. 220
quin etiam sontes expulsa corrigis ira
et placidus delicta domas; nec dentibus umquam
instrepis horrendum, fremitu nec verbera poscis.
Qui fruitur poena, ferus est, legumque videtur
vindictam praestare sibi; cum viscera felle 225
canduerint, ardet stimulis ferturque nocendi
prodigus, ignarus causae: dis proximus ille,
quem ratio, non ira movet, qui facta rependens
consilio punire potest. mucrone cruento
se iactent alii, studeant feritate timeri 230
addictoque hominum cumulent aeraria censu.
lene fluit Nilus, sed cunctis amnibus extat
utilior nullo confessus murmure vires;
acrior ac rapidus tacitas praetermeat ingens
Danuvius ripas; eadem dementia sani 235
gurgitis inmensum deducit in ostia Gangen.
torrentes inmane fremant lassisque minentur
beneath its feet while it treads upon the thunder’s roar; so thy patient mind, unfettered by cares so manifold, rises high above them; thou art ever the same, no hatred can compel thee, no affection induce thee, to swerve from the path of justice. For why should any speak of riches scorned and a heart unallured by gain? These might perhaps be virtues in others: absence of vice is no praise to bestow on thee. The calm of a god banishes anger from thy voice; the spirit of moderation shines from thine eyes; passion never inflames that glance or fills with blood the angry veins; never is a tempest heralded on thy changed countenance. Nay, thou punishest the very criminals without show of anger and checkest their evil-doing with unruffled calm. Never dost thou gnash with thy teeth upon them nor shout orders for them to be chastised.
He is a savage who delights in punishment and seems to make the vengeance of the laws his own; when his heart is inflamed with the poison of wrath he is goaded by fury and rushes on knowing nothing of the cause and eager only to do hurt. But he whom reason, not anger, animates is a peer of the gods, he who, weighing the guilt, can with deliberation balance the punishment. Let others boast them of their bloody swords and wish to be feared for their ferocity, while they fill their treasuries with the goods of the condemned. Gently flows the Nile, yet is it more beneficent than all rivers for all that no sound reveals its power. More swiftly the broad Danube glides between its quiet banks. Huge Ganges flows down to its mouths with gently moving current. Let torrents roar horribly, threaten weary
pontibus et volvant spumoso vertice silvas:
pax maiora decet; peragit tranquilla potestas,
quod violenta nequit, mandataque fortius urget 240
imperiosa quies.
Idem praedurus iniquas
accepisse preces, rursus, quae digna petitu,
largior et facilis; nec quae comitatur honores,
ausa tuam leviter temptare superbia mentem.
frons privata manet nec se meruisse fatetur, 245
quae crevisse putat; rigidi sed plena pudoris
elucet gravitas fastu iucunda remoto.
quae non seditio, quae non insania vulgi
te viso lenita cadat? quae dissona ritu
barbaries, medii quam non reverentia frangat? 250
vel quis non sitiens sermonis mella politi
deserat Orpheos blanda testudine cantus?
qualem te legimus teneri primordia mundi
scribentem aut partes animae, per singula talem
cernimus et similes agnoscit pagina mores. 255
Nec dilata tuis Augusto iudice merces
officiis, illumque habitum, quo iungitur aulae
curia, qui socio proceres cum principe nectit,
quem quater ipse gerit, perfecto detulit anno
deposuitque suas te succedente curules. 260
crescant virtutes fecundaque floreat aetas.
ingeniis patuit campus certusque merenti
stat favor: ornatur propriis industria donis.
surgite sopitae, quas obruit ambitus, artes.
nil licet invidiae, Stilicho dum prospicit orbi 265
bridges, and sweep down forests in their foaming whirl; ’tis repose, befits the greater; quiet authority accomplishes what violence cannot, and that mandate compels more which comes from a commanding calm.
“Thou art as deaf to the prayers of injustice as thou art generous and attentive where the demand is just. Pride, that ever accompanies office, has not so much as dared to touch thy mind. Thy look is a private citizen’s nor allows that it has deserved what it thinks to have but grown[178]; but full of stately modesty shines forth a gravity that charms because pride is banished. What sedition, what madness of the crowd could see thee and not sink down appeased? What country so barbarous, so foreign in its customs, as not to bow in reverence before thy mediation? Who that desires the honied charm of polished eloquence would not desert the lyre-accompanied song of tuneful Orpheus? In every activity we see thee as we see thee in thy books, describing the creation of the newly-fashioned earth or the parts of the soul; we recognize thy character in thy pages.
The Emperor has not been slow in rewarding thy merit. The robe that links Senate-house and palace, that unites nobles with their prince—the robe that he himself has four times worn, he hath at the year’s end handed on to thee, and left his own curule chair that thou mightest follow him. Grow, ye virtues; be this an age of prosperity! The path of glory lies open to the wise; merit is sure of its reward; industry dowered with the gifts it deserves. Arts, rise from the slumber into which depraved ambition had forced you! Envy cannot hold up her head while Stilicho and his godlike
[178] i.e. Manlius modestly regards his honours as a natural growth, not as the reward of merit.
sidereusque gener. non hic violata curulis,
turpia non Latios incestant nomina fastos;
fortibus haec concessa viris solisque gerenda
patribus et Romae numquam latura pudorem.
Nuntia votorum celeri iam Fama volatu 270
moverat Aonios audito consule lucos.
concinuit felix Helicon fluxitque Aganippe
largior et docti riserunt floribus amnes.
Uranie redimita comas, qua saepe magistra
Manlius igniferos radio descripserat axes, 275
sic alias hortata deas: “patimurne, sorores,
optato procul esse die nec limina nostri
consulis et semper dilectas visimus aedes?
notior est Helicone[179] domus. gestare curules
et fasces subiisse libet. miracula plebi 280
colligite et claris nomen celebrate theatris.
“Tu Iovis aequorei summersam fluctibus aulam
oratum volucres, Erato, iam perge quadrigas,
a quibus haud umquam palmam rapturus Arion.
inlustret circum sonipes, quicumque superbo 285
perstrepit hinnitu Bactin, qui splendida potat
stagna Tagi madidoque iubas adspergitur auro.
“Calliope, liquidas Alciden posce palaestras:
cuncta Palaemoniis manus explorata coronis
adsit et Eleo pubes laudata Tonanti. 290
“Tu iuga Taygeti frondosaque Maenala, Clio,
i Triviae supplex; non aspernata rogantem
amphitheatrali faveat Latonia pompae.
[179] codd. have Stilichone; Birt obelizes the line; it is only found in V; Helicone Gevartius.
son-in-law direct the state. Here is no pollution of the consul’s office, no shameful names disgrace the Latin fasti; here the consulship is an honour reserved for the brave, given only to senators, never a source of scandal to Rome’s city.[180]
Now had Fame, announcing our good fortune, winged her way to Aonia whose groves she stirred with the tidings of the new consul. Helicon raised a hymn of praise, Aganippe flowed with waters more abundant, the streams of song laughed with flowers. Then Urania, her hair wreath-crowned, Urania whose hand had oft directed Manlius’ compass in marking out the starry spheres, thus addressed the other Muses: “Sisters, can we bear to be absent this longed-for day? Shall we not visit our consul’s door and the house we have always loved? Better known to us is it than Helicon; gladly we draw the curule chair and bear the fasces. Bring marvels for the people’s delight and make known his name in the famed theatres.
“Do thou, Erato, go visit the palace of Neptune beneath the sea and beg for four swift coursers such that even Arion could not snatch the prize from them. Let the Circus be graced by every steed to whose proud neighing Baetis re-echoes, who drinks of Tagus’ shining pools and sprinkles his mane with its liquid gold.
“Calliope, ask thou of Alcides the oil of the wrestling-ground. Let all the company proved in the games at Elis follow thee and the athletes who have won fame with Olympian Jove.
“Fly, Clio, to Taygetus’ heights and leafy Maenalus and beg Diana not to spurn thy petition but help the amphitheatre’s pomp. Let the goddess herself
[180] Claudian is thinking of Eutropius, Manlius’ eastern colleague.
audaces legat ipsa viros, qui colla ferarum
arte ligent certoque premant venabula nisu. 295
ipsa truces fetus captivaque ducat ab antris
prodigia et caedis sitientem differat arcum.
conveniant ursi, magna quos mole ruentes
torva Lycaoniis Helice miretur ab astris,
perfossique rudant populo pallente leones, 300
quales Mygdonio curru frenare Cybebe
optet et Herculei mallent fregisse lacerti.
obvia fulminei properent ad vulnera pardi
semine permixto geniti, cum forte leaenae
nobiliorem uterum viridis corrupit adulter; 305
hi maculis patres referant et robore matres.
quidquid monstriferis nutrit Gaetulia campis,
Alpina quidquid tegitur nive, Gallica siquid
silva tenet, iaceat; largo ditescat harena
sanguine; consumant totos spectacula montes. 310
“Nec molles egeant nostra dulcedine ludi:
qui laetis risum salibus movisse facetus,
qui nutu manibusque loquax, cui tibia flatu,
cui plectro pulsanda chelys, qui pulpita socco
personat aut alte graditur maiore cothurno, 315
et qui magna levi detrudens murmura tactu
innumeras voces segetis moderatus aenae
intonet erranti digito penitusque trabali
vecte laborantes in carmina concitet undas,
vel qui more avium sese iaculentur in auras 320
choose out brave hunters cunningly to lasso the necks of wild animals and to drive home the hunting-spear with unfailing stroke. With her own hand let her lead forth from their caverns fierce beasts and captive monsters, laying aside her bloodthirsty bow. Let bears be gathered together, whereat, as they charge with mighty bulk, Helice may gaze in wonder from Lycaon’s stars.[181] Let smitten lions roar till the people turn pale, lions such as Cybele would be fain to harness to her Mygdonian chariot or Hercules strangle in his mighty arms. May leopards, lightning-swift, hasten to meet the spear’s wound, beasts that are born of an adulterous union what time the spotted sire did violence to the nobler lion’s mate: of such beasts their markings recall the sire, their courage the dam. Whatsoever is nourished by the fields of Gaetulia rich in monsters, whatsoever lurks beneath Alpine snows or in Gallic woods, let it fall before the spear. Let large streams of blood enrich the arena and the spectacle leave whole mountains desolate.
“Nor let gentler games lack the delights we bring: let the clown be there to move the people’s laughter with his happy wit, the mime whose language is in his nod and in the movements of his hands, the musician whose breath rouses the flute and whose finger stirs the lyre, the slippered comedian to whose voice the theatre re-echoes, the tragedian towering on his loftier buskin; him too whose light touch can elicit loud music from those pipes of bronze that sound a thousand diverse notes beneath his wandering fingers and who by means of a lever stirs to song the labouring water.[182] Let us see acrobats who hurl themselves through the air like birds and build
[181] Helice = the Great Bear; so does the phrase “Lycaon’s stars,” for Lycaon was the father of Callisto who was transformed by the jealous Juno into a bear and as such translated by Jupiter to the sky. Claudian means that he wants the Great Bear to observe this assemblage of earthly bears.
[182] The hydraulus or water organ was known in Cicero’s day (Tusc. iii. 18.43). It is illustrated by a piece of sculpture in the Museum at Arles (see Grove, Dict. of Music, under “Organ” ).
corporaque aedificent celeri crescentia nexu,
quorum compositam puer amentatus in arcem
emicet et vinctu plantae vel cruribus hacrens
pendula librato figat vestigia saltu.
mobile ponderibus descendat pegma reductis 325
inque chori speciem spargentes ardua flammas
scaena rotet varios et fingat Mulciber orbis
per tabulas impune vagus pictaeque citato
ludant igne trabes et non permissa morari
fida per innocuas errent incendia turres. 330
lascivi subito confligant aequore lembi
stagnaque remigibus spument inmissa canoris.
“Consul per populos idemque gravissimus auctor
eloquii, duplici vita subnixus in aevum
procedat pariter libris fastisque legendus. 335
accipiat patris exemplum tribuatque nepoti
filius et coeptis ne desit fascibus heres.
decurrat trabeata domus tradatque secures
mutua postcritas servatoque ordine fati
Manlia continuo numeretur consule proles.” 340
pyramids that grow with swift entwining of their bodies, to the summit of which pyramid rushes a boy fastened by a thong, a boy who, attached there by the foot or leg, executes a step-dance suspended in the air. Let the counterweights be removed and the mobile crane descend, lowering on to the lofty stage men who, wheeling chorus-wise, scatter flames; let Vulcan forge balls of fire to roll innocuously across the boards, let the flames appear to play about the sham beams of the scenery and a tame conflagration, never allowed to rest, wander among the untouched towers. Let ships meet in mimic warfare on an improvised ocean and the flooded waters be lashed to foam by singing oarsmen.
“As consul at once and stateliest master, upborne by a twofold fame, let Manlius go forth among the peoples, read in his own books and in our calendars. May the sire’s example be followed by the son[183] and handed on to a grandson, nor these first fasces ever lack succession. May his race pass on purple-clad, may the generations, each to each, hand on the axes, and obedient to the ordinance of fate, Manlius after Manlius add one more consul to the tale.”
[183] We do not hear of Claudian’s hopes coming true. This son was, however, proconsul of Africa (Augustine, Contra Crescon. iii. 62).
DE CONSULATU STILICHONIS
LIBER I.
(XXI.)
Continuant superi pleno Romana favore
gaudia successusque novis successibus augent:
conubii necdum festivos regia cantus
sopierat, cecinit fuso Gildone triumphos,
et calidis thalami successit laurea sertis, 5
sumeret ut pariter princeps nomenque mariti
victorisque decus; Libyae post proelia crimen
concidit Eoum, rursusque Oriente subacto
consule defensae surgunt Stilichone secures.
ordine vota meant. equidem si carmen in unum 10
tantarum sperem cumulos advolvere rerum,
promptius imponam glaciali Pelion Ossae.
si partem tacuisse velim, quodcumque relinquam
maius erit. veteres actus primamque iuventam
prosequar? ad sese mentem praesentia ducunt. 15
narrem iustitiam? resplendet gloria Martis.
armati referam vires? plus egit inermis.
quod floret Latium, Latio quod reddita servit
Africa, vicinum quod nescit Hiberia Maurum,