Adsuetumque malo Ligurem Volscosque verutos
Extulit[387],—
for its great men and families who had fought for it in old times, and for one greater still, who was then in the furthest East defending Rome against her enemies,—
Haec Decios magnosque Camillos,
Scipiadas duros bello, et te, maxime Caesar,
Qui nunc extremis Asiae iam victor in oris
Imbellem avertis Romanis arcibus Indum[388].
This passage, introduced as a counter-picture to the description of the rank luxuriance of Nature in the vast forests and jungles of the East, concentrates in itself the deepest meaning and [pg 256]inspiration of the poem. The glory of Italy is declared to be the motive for the revival of this ancient theme—
Tibi res antiquae laudis et artis
Ingredior[389].