IV.
Thy task it is to guide the state,
Solicitous the city’s fate
To learn, what eastern hordes design,
What Bactra, ruled by Cyrus’ line,
Or China; or why discord reigns
Where Tanais flows through sandy plains.
God knows, alone, what is to be,
Prudent, the future veils in night,
And laughs when ills blind mortals see