What day was that, on which, ye birds of no white hue, you sent forth your ominous notes, ever sad to me in my loves? Or what star must I consider to be the enemy of my destiny? Or what Deities am I to complain of, as waging war against me? She, who but lately [647] was called my own, whom I commenced alone to love, I fear that with many she must be shared by me.
Am I mistaken? Or has she gained fame by my poems? 'Tis so; by my genius has she been made public. And justly; for why have I made proclamation [648] of her charms? Through my fault has the fair been put up for sale. She pleases, and I the procurer; by my guidance is the lover introduced; by my hands has her door been opened. Whether verses are of any use, is matter of doubt; at all events, they have injured me; they have been envious of my happiness. While Thebes, [649] while Troy, while the exploits of Caesar existed; Corinna alone warmed my genius. Would that I had meddled with verses against the will of the Muses; and that Phoebus had deserted the work commenced! And yet, it is not the custom to listen to Poets as witnesses; [650] I would have preferred all weight to be wanting to my words.
Through us, Scylla, who robbed her father of his white hair, bears the raging dogs [651] beneath her thigh and loins. We have given wings to the feet, serpents to the hair; the victorious descendant of Abas [652] is borne upon the winged steed. We, too, have extended Tityus [653] over the vast space, and have formed the three mouths for the dog bristling -with snakes. We have described Enceladus, [654] hurling with his thousand arms; and the heroes captivated by the voice of the two-shaped damsels. [655] In the Ithacan bags [656] have we enclosed the winds of Æolus; the treacherous Tantalus thirsts in the middle of the stream. Of Niobe we have made the rock, of the damsel, the she-bear; the Cecropian [657] bird sings of Odrysian Itys. Jupiter transforms himself, either into a bird, or into gold [658] or, as a bull, with the virgin placed upon him, he cleaves the waves. Why mention Proteus, and the Theban seed, [659] the teeth? Why that there were bulls, which vomited flames from their mouths? Why, charioteer, that thy sisters distil amber tears? [660] Why that they are now Goddesses of the sea, who once were ships? [661] Why that the light of day fled from the hellish banquet [662] of Atreus? And why that the hard stones followed the lyre [663] as it was struck?
The fertile license of the Poets ranges over an immense space; and it ties not its words to the accuracy of history. So, too, ought my mistress to have been deemed to be falsely praised; now is your credulity a mischief to me.
ELEGY XIII.
He describes the Festival of Juno, as celebrated at Falisci, the native place of his wife.
A s my wife was born at Falisci, so fruitful in apples, we repaired to the walls that were conquered, Camillus, by thee. [664] The priestesses were preparing the chaste festival of Juno, with distinguished games, and the heifer of the country. 'Twas a great remuneration for my stay, to be acquainted with the ceremony; although a path, difficult from the ascent, leads the way thither. There stands a grove, ancient, and shaded with numberless trees; look at it, you must confess that a Divinity exists in the spot. An altar receives the prayers, and the votive incense of the pious; an altar made without skill, by ancient hands.
When, from this spot, the pipe has given the signal with its usual note, the yearly procession moves along the covered paths. [665] Snow-white heifers [666] are led, as the crowd applauds, which the Faliscan grass has fed on its own plains; calves, too, not yet threatening with the forehead to inspire fear; and the pig, a smaller victim, from its lowly sty; the leader too, of the flock, with his horns bending back over his hardy temples; the goat alone is odious to the Goddess queen. By her betrayal, discovered in the lofty woods, [667] she is said to have desisted from the flight she had commenced. Even now, by the boys, is she aimed at as a mark; [668] and she is given, as a prize, to the author of her wound. Where the Goddess is to come, the youths and bashful girls sweep the roads before her, with garments [669] as they lie. Their virgin hair is adorned with gold and gems; and the proud mantle conceals their feet, bedecked with gold. After the Grecian manner [670] of their ancestors, clad in white garments, they bear the sacred vessels entrusted to them on their heads, placed beneath. The people hold religious silence, [671] at the moment when the resplendent procession comes up; and she herself follows after her priestesses.