Porcius, Socration, the greedy Piso'sTools of thievery, rogues to famish ages,So that filthy Priapus ousts to please youMy Veranius even and Fabullus?5What? shall you then at early noon carousingLap in luxury? they, my jolly comrades,Search the streets on a quest of invitation?
Porcius, Socration, the greedy Piso'sTools of thievery, rogues to famish ages,
So that filthy Priapus ousts to please youMy Veranius even and Fabullus?
5What? shall you then at early noon carousingLap in luxury? they, my jolly comrades,Search the streets on a quest of invitation?
If, Juventius, I the grace win everStill on beauteous honied eyes to kiss thee,I would kiss them a million, yet a million.Yea, nor count me to win the full attainment,5Not, tho' heavier e'en than ears at harvest,Fall my kisses, a wealthy crop delightful.
If, Juventius, I the grace win everStill on beauteous honied eyes to kiss thee,I would kiss them a million, yet a million.
Yea, nor count me to win the full attainment,5Not, tho' heavier e'en than ears at harvest,Fall my kisses, a wealthy crop delightful.
Greatest speaker of any born a Roman,Marcus Tullius, all that are, that have been,That shall ever in after-years be famous;Thanks superlative unto thee Catullus5Renders, easily last among the poets.He as easily last among the poetsAs thou surely the first among the pleaders.
Greatest speaker of any born a Roman,Marcus Tullius, all that are, that have been,That shall ever in after-years be famous;
Thanks superlative unto thee Catullus5Renders, easily last among the poets.
He as easily last among the poetsAs thou surely the first among the pleaders.
1.
Dear Lucinius, yestereve we linger'dScrawling fancies, a hundred, in my tablets,Wits in combat; a treaty this between us.Scribbling drolleries each of us together5Launched one arrowy metre and another,Tenders jocular o'er the merry wine-cup.
Dear Lucinius, yestereve we linger'dScrawling fancies, a hundred, in my tablets,Wits in combat; a treaty this between us.
Scribbling drolleries each of us together5Launched one arrowy metre and another,Tenders jocular o'er the merry wine-cup.
2.
So quite sorely with all your humour heatedGay Lucinius, I that eve departed.Food my misery could not any lighten,10Sleep nor quiet upon my eyes descended.Still untamable o'er the couch did I thenTurn and tumble, in haste to see the day-light,Hear your prattle again, again be with you.
So quite sorely with all your humour heatedGay Lucinius, I that eve departed.
Food my misery could not any lighten,10Sleep nor quiet upon my eyes descended.
Still untamable o'er the couch did I thenTurn and tumble, in haste to see the day-light,Hear your prattle again, again be with you.
3.
Then, when weary with all the worry, numb'd, dead,15Sank my body, upon the bed reposing,This, O humorous heart, did I, a poemWrite, my tedious anguish all revealing.O beware then of hardihood; a lover'sPlea for charity, dear my friend, reject not:20What if Nemesis haply claim repayment?She is tyrannous. O beware offending.
Then, when weary with all the worry, numb'd, dead,15Sank my body, upon the bed reposing,This, O humorous heart, did I, a poemWrite, my tedious anguish all revealing.
O beware then of hardihood; a lover'sPlea for charity, dear my friend, reject not:20What if Nemesis haply claim repayment?She is tyrannous. O beware offending.
He to me like unto the Gods appeareth,He, if I dare speak it, ascends above them,Face to face who toward thee attently sittingGazes or hears thee5Lovely in sweet laughter; alas within meEvery lost sense falleth away for anguish;When as I look'd on thee, upon my lips noWhisper abideth,Straight my tongue froze, Lesbia; soon a subtle10Fire thro' each limb streameth adown; with inwardSound the full ears tinkle, on either eye night'sCanopy darkens.Ease alone, Catullus, alone afflicts thee;Ease alone breeds error of heady riot;15Ease hath entomb'd princes of old renown andCities of honour.
He to me like unto the Gods appeareth,He, if I dare speak it, ascends above them,Face to face who toward thee attently sittingGazes or hears thee
5Lovely in sweet laughter; alas within meEvery lost sense falleth away for anguish;When as I look'd on thee, upon my lips noWhisper abideth,Straight my tongue froze, Lesbia; soon a subtle10Fire thro' each limb streameth adown; with inwardSound the full ears tinkle, on either eye night'sCanopy darkens.Ease alone, Catullus, alone afflicts thee;Ease alone breeds error of heady riot;15Ease hath entomb'd princes of old renown andCities of honour.
Enough, Catullus! how can you delay to die?If in the curule chair a hump sits, Nonius;A would-be consul lies in hope, Vatinius;Enough, Catullus! how can you delay to die?
Enough, Catullus! how can you delay to die?If in the curule chair a hump sits, Nonius;A would-be consul lies in hope, Vatinius;Enough, Catullus! how can you delay to die?
How I laughed at a wag amid the circle!He, when Calvus in high denunciationOf Vatinius had declaim'd divinely,Hands uplifted as in supreme amazement,5Cried 'God bless us! a wordy cockalorum!'
How I laughed at a wag amid the circle!He, when Calvus in high denunciationOf Vatinius had declaim'd divinely,Hands uplifted as in supreme amazement,5Cried 'God bless us! a wordy cockalorum!'
Otho's head is a very dwarf; a rustic'sShanks has Herius, only semi-cleanly;Libo's airs to a fume of art refine them.. . . . . . . .5. . . . . . . .Yet thou flee'st not above my keen iambics.. . . . . . . .. . . . . . . .[So may destiny doom me quite to silence]10As I care not if every line offend theeAnd Sufficius, age in youth's revival.. . . . . . . .Thou shalt kindle at innocent iambics,Mighty general, once again returning.
Otho's head is a very dwarf; a rustic'sShanks has Herius, only semi-cleanly;Libo's airs to a fume of art refine them.. . . . . . . .5. . . . . . . .Yet thou flee'st not above my keen iambics.. . . . . . . .. . . . . . . .[So may destiny doom me quite to silence]10As I care not if every line offend theeAnd Sufficius, age in youth's revival.. . . . . . . .Thou shalt kindle at innocent iambics,Mighty general, once again returning.
1.
List, I beg, provided you're in humour,Speak your privacy, show what alley veils you.You I sought on Campus, I, the lesser,You on Circus, in all the bills but you, sir.5You with father Jove in holy temple.Then, where flocks the parade to Magnus' arches,Friend, I hail'd each lady promenader,Each, I found, did face me quite sedately.
List, I beg, provided you're in humour,Speak your privacy, show what alley veils you.You I sought on Campus, I, the lesser,You on Circus, in all the bills but you, sir.5You with father Jove in holy temple.Then, where flocks the parade to Magnus' arches,
Friend, I hail'd each lady promenader,Each, I found, did face me quite sedately.
2.
What? they steal, I loudly cried protesting,10My Camerius? out upon the wenches!Answer'd one and lightly bared a bosom,'See! what bowery roses; here he hides him.'Yea 'twould task e'en Hercules to bear you,You so scornful, friend, in your refusing.
What? they steal, I loudly cried protesting,10My Camerius? out upon the wenches!Answer'd one and lightly bared a bosom,'See! what bowery roses; here he hides him.'
Yea 'twould task e'en Hercules to bear you,You so scornful, friend, in your refusing.
3.
15Not tho' I were warder of the Cretans,Not tho' Pegasus on his airy pinion,Perseus feathery-footed, I a Ladas,Rhesus' chariot yok'd to snowy coursers,Add each feathery sandal, every flying20Power, ask fleetness of all the winds of heaven,Mine, Camerius, and to me devoted;Yet with drudgery sorely spent should I, yetWorn, outworn with languor unto languorFaint, O friend, in an empty quest to find you.
15Not tho' I were warder of the Cretans,Not tho' Pegasus on his airy pinion,
Perseus feathery-footed, I a Ladas,Rhesus' chariot yok'd to snowy coursers,Add each feathery sandal, every flying20Power, ask fleetness of all the winds of heaven,Mine, Camerius, and to me devoted;Yet with drudgery sorely spent should I, yet
Worn, outworn with languor unto languorFaint, O friend, in an empty quest to find you.
4.
25 (15)Say, where think you anon to be; declare it,Fair and free, submit, commit to daylight.What? still thrall to the lovely lily ladies?Keep close mouth, lock fast the tongue within it,Love's felicity falls without fruition;30 (20)Venus still is free to talk, a babbler.Yet close palate, an if ye will it; onlyIn my love some part to bear refuse not.
25 (15)Say, where think you anon to be; declare it,Fair and free, submit, commit to daylight.What? still thrall to the lovely lily ladies?Keep close mouth, lock fast the tongue within it,Love's felicity falls without fruition;30 (20)Venus still is free to talk, a babbler.Yet close palate, an if ye will it; onlyIn my love some part to bear refuse not.
O rare sympathies! happy rakes united!There Mamurra the woman, here a Caesar.Who can wonder? An ugly brand on either,His, true Formian, his, politely Roman,5Rests indelible, in the bone residing.Either infamous, each a twin dishonour,Bookish brethren, a dainty pair pedantic;One adultrous, as hungry he; with equalParts in women, a lusty corporation.10O rare sympathies! happy rakes united!
O rare sympathies! happy rakes united!There Mamurra the woman, here a Caesar.
Who can wonder? An ugly brand on either,His, true Formian, his, politely Roman,5Rests indelible, in the bone residing.
Either infamous, each a twin dishonour,Bookish brethren, a dainty pair pedantic;
One adultrous, as hungry he; with equalParts in women, a lusty corporation.10O rare sympathies! happy rakes united!
That bright Lesbia, Caelius, the self-samePeerless Lesbia, she than whom CatullusSelf nor family more devoutly cherish'd,By foul roads, or in every shameful alley,5Strains the vigorous issue of the people.
That bright Lesbia, Caelius, the self-samePeerless Lesbia, she than whom CatullusSelf nor family more devoutly cherish'd,By foul roads, or in every shameful alley,5Strains the vigorous issue of the people.
Poor Rufa from Bononia Rufulus gallants,Menenius' errant lady, she that in grave-yards(You've seen her often) snaps from every pile her meal,When hotly chasing dusty loaves the fire rolls down,5She felt some half-shorn corpseman and his hand's big blow.
Poor Rufa from Bononia Rufulus gallants,Menenius' errant lady, she that in grave-yards(You've seen her often) snaps from every pile her meal,When hotly chasing dusty loaves the fire rolls down,5She felt some half-shorn corpseman and his hand's big blow.
Hadst thou a Libyan lioness on heights all stone,A Scylla, barking wolvish at the loins' last verge,To bear thee, O black-hearted, O to shame forsworn,That unto supplication in my last sad need5Thou mightst not harken, deaf to ruth, a beast, no man?
Hadst thou a Libyan lioness on heights all stone,A Scylla, barking wolvish at the loins' last verge,To bear thee, O black-hearted, O to shame forsworn,That unto supplication in my last sad need5Thou mightst not harken, deaf to ruth, a beast, no man?
God, on verdurous HeliconDweller, child of Urania,Thou that draw'st to the man the fairMaiden, O Hymenaeus, O5Hymen, O Hymenaeus:Wreathe thy brows in amaracus'Fragrant blossom; an aureatVeil be round thee; approach, in allJoy, approach with a luminous10Foot, a sandal of amber.Come, for jolly the time, awake.Chant in melody musicalHymns of bridal; on earth a footBeating, hands to the winds above15Torches oozily swinging.Such, as she that on IdalyVenus dwelleth, appear'd beforeHim, the Phrygian arbiter,So with Mallius happily20Happy Junia weddeth.Like some myrtle of AsiaBright in airily blossomingBoughs, the wood HamadryadesNurse with showery dew, to be25Theirs, a tender plaything.So come to us in haste; away,Leave thy Thespian hollow-arch'dRock, muse-haunted, Aonian,Drench'd in spray from aloft, the cold30Drift of Nymph Aganippe.Homeward summon a sovereignWife most passionate, holden inLove fast prisoner: ivy notCloser closes an elm around,35Interchangeably trailing.You too with him, O you for whomComes as joyous a time, your own.Virgins stainless of heart, arise.Chant in unison, Hymen, O40Hymen, O Hymenaeus.That, more readily listening,Whiles your song to familiarDuty calls him, he hie apace,Lord of fair paramours, of youth's45Fair affection uniter.Who more worthy than he to listLovers wearily languishing?Bends from heaven a sovereignGod adorabler? Hymen, O50Hymen, O Hymenaeus.You the father in years for hisChild beseecheth; a virginalZone falls slackly to earth for you,You half-fear in his hankering55Lists the groomsman approaching.You from motherly lap the brightGirl can sever; your hand divineGives dominion, usheringWarm the lover. O Hymen, O60Hymen, O Hymenaeus.Nought delightful, if you be far,Nought unharmed of enviousTongues, Love wins him: if you be nearMuch he wins him. O excellent65God, that hath not a rival.Houses cannot, if you be far,Yield their children, a babe renewSire or mother: if you be near,Comes renewal. O excellent70God, that hath not a rival.If your great ceremonialFail, no champion yeomanryGuards the border. If you be nearArms the border. O excellent75God, that hath not a rival.Fling the portal apart. The brideWaits. O see ye the luminousTorch-flakes ruddily flickering?. . . . . . . .80. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . .(80)Nought she hears us: her innocent85Eyes do weep to be going.Weep not, lady; for enviousTongue no lovelier owneth, Au-Runculeia; nor any more(85)Fair saw rosily bright the dawn90Leave his chamber in Ocean.Such in many a floweringGarden, trimm'd for a lord's delight,Stands some delicate hyacinth.(90)Yet you tarry. The day declines.95Forth, fair bride, to the people.Forth, fair bride, to the people, ifSo it likes you, a-listeningWords that please us. O eye ye yon(95)Torches ruddily flickering?100Forth, fair bride, to the people.Husband never of yours shall hauntStained wanton, a mutinousFancy shamefully following,(100)Tire not ever, or e'er from your105Dainty bosom unyoke him.He more lithe than a vine amidTrees, that, mazily folded, itClasps and closes, in amorous(105)Arms shall close thee. The day declines.110Forth, fair bride, to the people.Couch of pleasure,O odorousCouch, whose gorgeous apparellings,Silver-purple, on IndianWoods do rest them; adownthe bright115Feet in ivory glisten;When thy lord in his hour attains,(110)What large extasy, while the nightFleets, or noon the meridianPasses thoro'. The day declines.120Forth, fair bride, to the people.Lift the torches aloft in air,(115)Boys: the fiery veil is here.Come, to measure your hymn rehearse.Hymen, O Hymenaeus, O125Hymen, O Hymenaeus.Nor withhold ye the countryman's(120)Ribald raillery Fescenine.Nor if happily boys declareThy dominion attaint, refuse,130Youth, the nuts to be flinging.Fling, O womanish youth; the boys(125)Ask thee charity. Time agoneToys and folly; to-day beginsOur high duty, Talassius.135Hasten, youth, to be flinging.Thou didst surely but yestereve(130)Mock the women, a favouriteFar above them: anon the firstBeard, the razor. Alack, alas!140Hasten, youth, to be flinging.You, whom odorous oils declare(135)Bridegroom, swerve not; a slipperyLove calls lightly, but yet refrain.Hymen, O Hymenaeus, O145Hymen, O Hymenaeus.Lawful only did e'er delight(140)You, we know; but it is not, OHusband, lawful as heretofore.Hymen, O Hymenaeus, O150Hymen, O Hymenaeus.Bride, thou also, if he demand(145)Aught, refuse not, assent, obey.Love can angrily pipe adieu.Hymen, O Hymenaeus, O155Hymen, O Hymenaeus.Look! thy mansion, a sovereign(150)Home most goodly, by him to theeGiven. Reign as a queen within,Hymen, O Hymenaeus, O160Hymen, O Hymenaeus.Still when hoary decrepitude,(155)Shaking wintery brows benign,Nods a tremulous Yes to all.Hymen, O Hymenaeus, O165Hymen, O Hymenaeus.With fair augury smite the blest(160)Threshold, sunnily glisteningFeet: yon ivory door approach,Hymen, O Hymenaeus, O170Hymen, O Hymenaeus.See one seated, a banqueter.(165)'Tis thy lord on a TyrianCouch: his spirit is all to thee.Hymen, O Hymenaeus, O175Hymen, O Hymenaeus.Not less surely in him than in(170)Thee love lighteth a bosomingFlame; but deeper, a fire within.Hymen, O Hymenaeus, O180Hymen, O Hymenaeus.. . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . .185. . . . . . .Thou, whose purple her arm, the slim(175)Arm, props happily, boy, depart.Time the bride be at entering.Hymen, O Hymenaeus, O190Hymen, O Hymenaeus.You in chastity tried the long(180)Years, good women of agedestHusbands, lay ye the bride to-night.Hymen, O Hymenaeus, O195Hymen, O Hymenaeus.Husband, stay not: a bride within(185)Coucheth ready, the floweringSpring less lovely; a countenanceWhite as parthenice, beyond200Yellow poppy to gaze on.Thou, so help me the favouring(190)Gods immortal, as heavenlyFair art also, adorned ofVenus' bounty. The day declines.205Come nor tarry to greet her.Not too slothfully tarrying,(195)Thou art here. Benediction ofVenus help thee, a man withoutShame of blameless, a love that is210Honest frankly revealing.Dust of infinite Africa,(200)Stars that sparkle, a myriadHost, who measureth, your delightsHe shall tell them, ineffable,215Multitudinous, over.Make your happy delight, renew'd(205)Soon in children. A gloriousName and olden is ill withoutChildren, unto the first a new220Stock as goodly begetting.Some Torquatus, a beauteous(210)Babe, on motherly breasts to theeStretching, father, his innocentHands, smile softly from inchoate225Lips half-open a welcome.Like his father, a Mallius(215)New presented, of everyEyeing stranger allowed his own;Mother's chastity moulded in230Features childly revealing.Glory speak of him issuing(220)Child of mother as excellentShe, as only that age-renown'dWife, whose story Telemachus235Blazons, Penelopea.Virgins, close ye the door. Enough(225)This our carol. O happiestLovers, jollity live with you.Still that genial youth to love's240Consummation attend ye.
God, on verdurous HeliconDweller, child of Urania,Thou that draw'st to the man the fairMaiden, O Hymenaeus, O5Hymen, O Hymenaeus:
Wreathe thy brows in amaracus'Fragrant blossom; an aureatVeil be round thee; approach, in allJoy, approach with a luminous10Foot, a sandal of amber.
Come, for jolly the time, awake.Chant in melody musicalHymns of bridal; on earth a footBeating, hands to the winds above15Torches oozily swinging.
Such, as she that on IdalyVenus dwelleth, appear'd beforeHim, the Phrygian arbiter,So with Mallius happily20Happy Junia weddeth.
Like some myrtle of AsiaBright in airily blossomingBoughs, the wood HamadryadesNurse with showery dew, to be25Theirs, a tender plaything.
So come to us in haste; away,Leave thy Thespian hollow-arch'dRock, muse-haunted, Aonian,Drench'd in spray from aloft, the cold30Drift of Nymph Aganippe.
Homeward summon a sovereignWife most passionate, holden inLove fast prisoner: ivy notCloser closes an elm around,35Interchangeably trailing.
You too with him, O you for whomComes as joyous a time, your own.Virgins stainless of heart, arise.Chant in unison, Hymen, O40Hymen, O Hymenaeus.
That, more readily listening,Whiles your song to familiarDuty calls him, he hie apace,Lord of fair paramours, of youth's45Fair affection uniter.
Who more worthy than he to listLovers wearily languishing?Bends from heaven a sovereignGod adorabler? Hymen, O50Hymen, O Hymenaeus.
You the father in years for hisChild beseecheth; a virginalZone falls slackly to earth for you,You half-fear in his hankering55Lists the groomsman approaching.
You from motherly lap the brightGirl can sever; your hand divineGives dominion, usheringWarm the lover. O Hymen, O60Hymen, O Hymenaeus.
Nought delightful, if you be far,Nought unharmed of enviousTongues, Love wins him: if you be nearMuch he wins him. O excellent65God, that hath not a rival.
Houses cannot, if you be far,Yield their children, a babe renewSire or mother: if you be near,Comes renewal. O excellent70God, that hath not a rival.
If your great ceremonialFail, no champion yeomanryGuards the border. If you be nearArms the border. O excellent75God, that hath not a rival.
Fling the portal apart. The brideWaits. O see ye the luminousTorch-flakes ruddily flickering?. . . . . . . .80. . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . .(80)Nought she hears us: her innocent85Eyes do weep to be going.
Weep not, lady; for enviousTongue no lovelier owneth, Au-Runculeia; nor any more(85)Fair saw rosily bright the dawn90Leave his chamber in Ocean.
Such in many a floweringGarden, trimm'd for a lord's delight,Stands some delicate hyacinth.(90)Yet you tarry. The day declines.95Forth, fair bride, to the people.
Forth, fair bride, to the people, ifSo it likes you, a-listeningWords that please us. O eye ye yon(95)Torches ruddily flickering?100Forth, fair bride, to the people.
Husband never of yours shall hauntStained wanton, a mutinousFancy shamefully following,(100)Tire not ever, or e'er from your105Dainty bosom unyoke him.
He more lithe than a vine amidTrees, that, mazily folded, itClasps and closes, in amorous(105)Arms shall close thee. The day declines.110Forth, fair bride, to the people.
Couch of pleasure,O odorousCouch, whose gorgeous apparellings,Silver-purple, on IndianWoods do rest them; adownthe bright115Feet in ivory glisten;
When thy lord in his hour attains,(110)What large extasy, while the nightFleets, or noon the meridianPasses thoro'. The day declines.120Forth, fair bride, to the people.
Lift the torches aloft in air,(115)Boys: the fiery veil is here.Come, to measure your hymn rehearse.Hymen, O Hymenaeus, O125Hymen, O Hymenaeus.
Nor withhold ye the countryman's(120)Ribald raillery Fescenine.Nor if happily boys declareThy dominion attaint, refuse,130Youth, the nuts to be flinging.
Fling, O womanish youth; the boys(125)Ask thee charity. Time agoneToys and folly; to-day beginsOur high duty, Talassius.135Hasten, youth, to be flinging.
Thou didst surely but yestereve(130)Mock the women, a favouriteFar above them: anon the firstBeard, the razor. Alack, alas!140Hasten, youth, to be flinging.
You, whom odorous oils declare(135)Bridegroom, swerve not; a slipperyLove calls lightly, but yet refrain.Hymen, O Hymenaeus, O145Hymen, O Hymenaeus.
Lawful only did e'er delight(140)You, we know; but it is not, OHusband, lawful as heretofore.Hymen, O Hymenaeus, O150Hymen, O Hymenaeus.
Bride, thou also, if he demand(145)Aught, refuse not, assent, obey.Love can angrily pipe adieu.Hymen, O Hymenaeus, O155Hymen, O Hymenaeus.
Look! thy mansion, a sovereign(150)Home most goodly, by him to theeGiven. Reign as a queen within,Hymen, O Hymenaeus, O160Hymen, O Hymenaeus.
Still when hoary decrepitude,(155)Shaking wintery brows benign,Nods a tremulous Yes to all.Hymen, O Hymenaeus, O165Hymen, O Hymenaeus.
With fair augury smite the blest(160)Threshold, sunnily glisteningFeet: yon ivory door approach,Hymen, O Hymenaeus, O170Hymen, O Hymenaeus.
See one seated, a banqueter.(165)'Tis thy lord on a TyrianCouch: his spirit is all to thee.Hymen, O Hymenaeus, O175Hymen, O Hymenaeus.
Not less surely in him than in(170)Thee love lighteth a bosomingFlame; but deeper, a fire within.Hymen, O Hymenaeus, O180Hymen, O Hymenaeus.
. . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . .185. . . . . . .
Thou, whose purple her arm, the slim(175)Arm, props happily, boy, depart.Time the bride be at entering.Hymen, O Hymenaeus, O190Hymen, O Hymenaeus.
You in chastity tried the long(180)Years, good women of agedestHusbands, lay ye the bride to-night.Hymen, O Hymenaeus, O195Hymen, O Hymenaeus.
Husband, stay not: a bride within(185)Coucheth ready, the floweringSpring less lovely; a countenanceWhite as parthenice, beyond200Yellow poppy to gaze on.
Thou, so help me the favouring(190)Gods immortal, as heavenlyFair art also, adorned ofVenus' bounty. The day declines.205Come nor tarry to greet her.
Not too slothfully tarrying,(195)Thou art here. Benediction ofVenus help thee, a man withoutShame of blameless, a love that is210Honest frankly revealing.
Dust of infinite Africa,(200)Stars that sparkle, a myriadHost, who measureth, your delightsHe shall tell them, ineffable,215Multitudinous, over.
Make your happy delight, renew'd(205)Soon in children. A gloriousName and olden is ill withoutChildren, unto the first a new220Stock as goodly begetting.
Some Torquatus, a beauteous(210)Babe, on motherly breasts to theeStretching, father, his innocentHands, smile softly from inchoate225Lips half-open a welcome.
Like his father, a Mallius(215)New presented, of everyEyeing stranger allowed his own;Mother's chastity moulded in230Features childly revealing.
Glory speak of him issuing(220)Child of mother as excellentShe, as only that age-renown'dWife, whose story Telemachus235Blazons, Penelopea.
Virgins, close ye the door. Enough(225)This our carol. O happiestLovers, jollity live with you.Still that genial youth to love's240Consummation attend ye.
YOUTHS.
Hesper is here; rise youths, rise all of you; high on OlympusHesper his orb long-look'd for aloft 'gins slowly to kindle.Time is now to arise, from tables costly to part us;Now doth a virgin approach, now soundeth a glad Hymenaeal.5Hymen O Hymenaeus, O Hymen come Hymenaeus.
Hesper is here; rise youths, rise all of you; high on OlympusHesper his orb long-look'd for aloft 'gins slowly to kindle.Time is now to arise, from tables costly to part us;Now doth a virgin approach, now soundeth a glad Hymenaeal.
5Hymen O Hymenaeus, O Hymen come Hymenaeus.
VIRGINS.
See ye yon youthful band? O, maidens, rise ye to meet them.Comes not Night's bright bearer a fire o'er Oeta revealing?Surely; for even now, in a moment all have arisen,Not for nought have arisen; a song waits, goodly to gaze on.10Hymen O Hymenaeus, O Hymen come Hymenaeus.
See ye yon youthful band? O, maidens, rise ye to meet them.Comes not Night's bright bearer a fire o'er Oeta revealing?Surely; for even now, in a moment all have arisen,Not for nought have arisen; a song waits, goodly to gaze on.
10Hymen O Hymenaeus, O Hymen come Hymenaeus.
YOUTHS.
No light victory this, O comrades, ready before us.Busy the virgins muse, their practis'd ditty recalling,Muse nor shall miscarry; a song for memory waits us.Rightly; for all their souls do inwards labour in issue.15We—our thoughts one way, our ears have drifted another,So comes worthy defeat; no victory calls to the careless.Come then, in even race let thought their melody rival;They must open anon; 'twere better anon be replying.Hymen O Hymenaeus, O Hymen come Hymenaeus.
No light victory this, O comrades, ready before us.Busy the virgins muse, their practis'd ditty recalling,Muse nor shall miscarry; a song for memory waits us.Rightly; for all their souls do inwards labour in issue.
15We—our thoughts one way, our ears have drifted another,So comes worthy defeat; no victory calls to the careless.Come then, in even race let thought their melody rival;They must open anon; 'twere better anon be replying.
Hymen O Hymenaeus, O Hymen come Hymenaeus.
VIRGINS.
20Hesper, moveth in heaven a light more tyrannous ever?Thou from a mother's arms canst wrest her daughter asunder,Wrest from a mother's arms her daughter woefully clinging,Then to the burning youth his virgin beauty deliver.Foes in a new-sack'd town, when wrought they crueller ever?25Hymen O Hymenaeus, O Hymen come Hymenaeus.
20Hesper, moveth in heaven a light more tyrannous ever?Thou from a mother's arms canst wrest her daughter asunder,Wrest from a mother's arms her daughter woefully clinging,Then to the burning youth his virgin beauty deliver.Foes in a new-sack'd town, when wrought they crueller ever?
25Hymen O Hymenaeus, O Hymen come Hymenaeus.
YOUTHS.
Hesper, shineth in heaven a light more genial ever?Thou with a bridal flame true lovers' unity crownest,All which duly the men, which plighted duly the parents,Then completed alone, when thou in splendour awakest.30When shone an happier hour than thy god-speeded arriving?Hymen O Hymenaeus, O Hymen come Hymenaeus.
Hesper, shineth in heaven a light more genial ever?Thou with a bridal flame true lovers' unity crownest,All which duly the men, which plighted duly the parents,Then completed alone, when thou in splendour awakest.30When shone an happier hour than thy god-speeded arriving?
Hymen O Hymenaeus, O Hymen come Hymenaeus.
VIRGINS.
Sisters, Hesper a fellow of our bright company taketh.. . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . .35. . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . .Hymen O Hymenaeus, O Hymen come Hymenaeus.
Sisters, Hesper a fellow of our bright company taketh.. . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . .35. . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . .
Hymen O Hymenaeus, O Hymen come Hymenaeus.
YOUTHS.
40. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . .Hesper, awaiting thee each sentinel holdeth alarum.Night veils love's false thieves; thieves still when, Hesper, another(35)Name, but unalter'd still, thou tak'st them surely, returning.45Yet be the maidens pleas'd in woeful fancy to chide thee.Maybe for all they chide, their hearts do inly desire thee.Hymen O Hymenaeus, O Hymen come Hymenaeus.
40. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . .Hesper, awaiting thee each sentinel holdeth alarum.Night veils love's false thieves; thieves still when, Hesper, another(35)Name, but unalter'd still, thou tak'st them surely, returning.45Yet be the maidens pleas'd in woeful fancy to chide thee.Maybe for all they chide, their hearts do inly desire thee.
Hymen O Hymenaeus, O Hymen come Hymenaeus.
VIRGINS.
Look in a garden-croft when a flower privily growing,(40)Hid from grazing kine, by ploughshare never y-broken,50Strok'd by the breeze, by the sun nurs'd sturdily, rear'd by the showers;Many a wistful boy, and maidens many desire it:Yet if a slender nail hath nipt his bloom to deflour it,Never a wistful boy, nor maidens any desire it:(45)Such is a girl untoy'd with as yet, yet lovely to kinsmen;55Once her body profan'd, herflow'r of chastity blighted,Boys no more she delights, nor seems so lovely to maidens;Hymen O Hymenaeus, O Hymen come Hymenaeus.
Look in a garden-croft when a flower privily growing,(40)Hid from grazing kine, by ploughshare never y-broken,50Strok'd by the breeze, by the sun nurs'd sturdily, rear'd by the showers;Many a wistful boy, and maidens many desire it:
Yet if a slender nail hath nipt his bloom to deflour it,Never a wistful boy, nor maidens any desire it:
(45)Such is a girl untoy'd with as yet, yet lovely to kinsmen;55Once her body profan'd, herflow'r of chastity blighted,Boys no more she delights, nor seems so lovely to maidens;
Hymen O Hymenaeus, O Hymen come Hymenaeus.
YOUTHS.
Look as a lone lorn vine in a bare field sorrily growing,(50)Never an arm uplifts, no grape to maturity ripens,60Only with headlong weight her tender body declining,Bows, till topmost spray and roots meet feebly together;Her no peasant swain, nor bullock tendeth her ever;Yet to the bachelor elm if marriage-fortune unite her,(55)Many a peasant tills and bullocks many about her;65Such is a maid untoy'd with as yet, in loneliness aging;Wins she a bridegroom meet, in time's warm fulness arriving,So to the man more dear, and less unlovely to parents.O then, clasp thy love, nor fight, fair maiden, against him.(60)Sin 'twere surely to fight; thy father gave to his arms thee,70Father's self and mother; obey nor wrongly defy them.. . . . . . . . . .Virgin's crown thou claim'st not alone, but partly the parents,Father's one whole part, one goes to the mother allotted,Rests one only to thee; O fight not with them alone thou,75 (65)Both to a son their rights and both their dowry deliver.Hymen O Hymenaeus, O Hymen come Hymenaeus.
Look as a lone lorn vine in a bare field sorrily growing,(50)Never an arm uplifts, no grape to maturity ripens,
60Only with headlong weight her tender body declining,Bows, till topmost spray and roots meet feebly together;Her no peasant swain, nor bullock tendeth her ever;
Yet to the bachelor elm if marriage-fortune unite her,(55)Many a peasant tills and bullocks many about her;
65Such is a maid untoy'd with as yet, in loneliness aging;Wins she a bridegroom meet, in time's warm fulness arriving,So to the man more dear, and less unlovely to parents.
O then, clasp thy love, nor fight, fair maiden, against him.(60)Sin 'twere surely to fight; thy father gave to his arms thee,70Father's self and mother; obey nor wrongly defy them.. . . . . . . . . .
Virgin's crown thou claim'st not alone, but partly the parents,Father's one whole part, one goes to the mother allotted,Rests one only to thee; O fight not with them alone thou,75 (65)Both to a son their rights and both their dowry deliver.
Hymen O Hymenaeus, O Hymen come Hymenaeus.
In a swift ship Attis hasting over ocean a marinerWhen he gained the wood, the Phrygian, with a foot of agility,When he near'd the leafy forest, dark sanctuary divine;By unearthly fury frenzied, a bewildered agony,5With a flint of edge he shatter'd to the ground his humanity.Then aghast to see the lost limbs, the deform'd inutility,While still the gory dabble did anew the soil pollute,With a snowy palm the woman took affrayed a taborine.Taborine, the trump that hails thee, Cybele, thy initiant.10Then a dainty finger heaving to the tremulous hide o' the bull,He began this invocation to the company, spirit-awed."To the groves, ye sexless eunuchs, in assembly to Cybele,Lost sheep that err rebellious to the lady Dindymene;Ye, who all awing for exile in a country of aliens,15My unearthly rule obeying to be with me, my retinue,Could aby the surly salt seas' mid inexorability,Could in utter hate to lewdness your sex dishabilitate;Let a gong clash glad emotion, set a giddy fury to roam,All slow delay be banish'd, thither his ye thither away20To the Phrygian home, the wild wood, to the sanctuary divine;Where rings the noisy cymbal, taborines are in echoing,On a curved oat the Phrygian deep pipeth a melody,With a fury toss the Maenads clad in ivies a frolic head,To a barbarous ululation the religious orgy wakes,25Where fleets across the silence Cybele's holy family;Thither his we, so beseems us; to a mazy measure away."Thus as Attis, a woman, Attis, not a woman, urg'd the rest,On a sudden yell'd in huddling agitation every tongue,Taborines give airy murmur, give a clangorous echo gongs,30With a rush the brotherhood hastens to the woods, the bosom of Ide.Then in agony, breathless, errant, flush'd wearily, cometh onTaborine behind him, Attis, thoro' leafy glooms a guide,As a restive heifer yields not to the cumbrous onerous yoke.Thither his the votaress eunuchs with an emulous alacrity.35Now faintly sickly plodding to the goddess's holy shrine,They took the rest which easeth long toil, nor ate withal.Slow sleep descends on eyelids ready drowsily to decline,In a soft repose departeth the devout spirit-agony.When awoke the sun, the golden, that his eyes heaven-orient40Scann'd lustrous air, the rude seas, earth's massy solidity,When he smote the shadowy twilight with his healthy team sublime,Then arous'd was Attis; o'er him sleep hastily fled awayTo Pasithea's arms immortal with a tremulous hovering.But awaked from his reposing, the delirious anguish o'er,45When as Attis' heart recalled him to the past solitarily,Saw clearly where he stood, what, an annihilate apathy,With a soul that heaved within him, to the water he fled again.Then as o'er the waste of ocean with a rainy eye he gazedTo the land of home he murmur'd miserable a soliloquy.50"Mother-home of all affection, dear home, my nativity,Whom in anguish I deserting, as in hatred a runawayFrom a master, hither have hurried to the lonely woods of Ide,To be with the snows, the wild beasts, in a wintery domicile,To be near each savage houser that a surly fury provokes,55What horizon, O beloved, may attain to thee anywhere?Yet an eyeless orb is yearning ineffectually to thee.For a little ere returneth the delirious hour again.Shall a homeless Attis hie him to the groves uninhabited?Shall he leave a country, wealth, friends? bid a sire, a mother, adieu?60The palaestra lost, the forum, the gymnasium, the course?O unhappy, fall a-weeping, thou unhappy soul, for aye.For is honour of any semblance, any beauty but of it I?Who, a woman here, in order was a man, a youth, a boy,To the sinewy ring a fam'd flower, the gymnasium's applause.65With a throng about the portal, with a populace in the gate,With a flowery coronal hanging upon every column of home,When anew my chamber open'd, as awoke the sunny morn.O am I to live the god's slave? feodary be to Cybele?Or a Maenad I, an eunuch? or a part of a body slain?70Or am I to range the green tracts upon Ida snowy-chill?Be beneath the stately caverns colonnaded of Asia?Be with hind that haunts the covert, or in hursts that house the boar?Woe, woe the deed accomplish'd! woe, woe, the shame to me!"From rosy lips ascending when approached the gusty cry75To celestial ears recording such a message inly borne,Cybele, the thong relaxing from a lion-haled yoke,Said, aleft the goad addressing to the foe that awes the flocks—"Come, a service; haste, my brave one; let a fury the madman arm,Let a fury, a frenzy prick him to return to the wood again,80This is he my hest declineth, the unheedy, the runaway.From an angry tail refuse not to abide the sinewy stroke,To a roar let all the regions echo answer everywhere,On a nervy neck be tossing that uneasy tawny mane."So in ire she spake, adjusting disunitedly then her yoke85At his own rebuke the lion doth his heart to a fury spur,With a step, a roar, a bursting unarrested of any brake.But anear the foamy places when he came, to the frothy beach,When he saw the sexless Attis by the seas' level opaline,Then he rushed upon him; affrighted to the wintery wood he flew,90Cybele's for aye, for all years, in her order a votaress.Holy deity, great Cybele, holy lady Dindymene,Be to me afar for ever that inordinate agony.O another hound to madness, O another hurry to rage!
In a swift ship Attis hasting over ocean a marinerWhen he gained the wood, the Phrygian, with a foot of agility,When he near'd the leafy forest, dark sanctuary divine;By unearthly fury frenzied, a bewildered agony,5With a flint of edge he shatter'd to the ground his humanity.Then aghast to see the lost limbs, the deform'd inutility,While still the gory dabble did anew the soil pollute,With a snowy palm the woman took affrayed a taborine.Taborine, the trump that hails thee, Cybele, thy initiant.10Then a dainty finger heaving to the tremulous hide o' the bull,He began this invocation to the company, spirit-awed.
"To the groves, ye sexless eunuchs, in assembly to Cybele,Lost sheep that err rebellious to the lady Dindymene;Ye, who all awing for exile in a country of aliens,15My unearthly rule obeying to be with me, my retinue,Could aby the surly salt seas' mid inexorability,Could in utter hate to lewdness your sex dishabilitate;
Let a gong clash glad emotion, set a giddy fury to roam,All slow delay be banish'd, thither his ye thither away20To the Phrygian home, the wild wood, to the sanctuary divine;
Where rings the noisy cymbal, taborines are in echoing,On a curved oat the Phrygian deep pipeth a melody,With a fury toss the Maenads clad in ivies a frolic head,To a barbarous ululation the religious orgy wakes,25Where fleets across the silence Cybele's holy family;Thither his we, so beseems us; to a mazy measure away."
Thus as Attis, a woman, Attis, not a woman, urg'd the rest,On a sudden yell'd in huddling agitation every tongue,Taborines give airy murmur, give a clangorous echo gongs,30With a rush the brotherhood hastens to the woods, the bosom of Ide.Then in agony, breathless, errant, flush'd wearily, cometh onTaborine behind him, Attis, thoro' leafy glooms a guide,As a restive heifer yields not to the cumbrous onerous yoke.Thither his the votaress eunuchs with an emulous alacrity.35Now faintly sickly plodding to the goddess's holy shrine,They took the rest which easeth long toil, nor ate withal.Slow sleep descends on eyelids ready drowsily to decline,In a soft repose departeth the devout spirit-agony.When awoke the sun, the golden, that his eyes heaven-orient40Scann'd lustrous air, the rude seas, earth's massy solidity,When he smote the shadowy twilight with his healthy team sublime,Then arous'd was Attis; o'er him sleep hastily fled awayTo Pasithea's arms immortal with a tremulous hovering.But awaked from his reposing, the delirious anguish o'er,45When as Attis' heart recalled him to the past solitarily,Saw clearly where he stood, what, an annihilate apathy,With a soul that heaved within him, to the water he fled again.Then as o'er the waste of ocean with a rainy eye he gazedTo the land of home he murmur'd miserable a soliloquy.
50"Mother-home of all affection, dear home, my nativity,Whom in anguish I deserting, as in hatred a runawayFrom a master, hither have hurried to the lonely woods of Ide,
To be with the snows, the wild beasts, in a wintery domicile,To be near each savage houser that a surly fury provokes,55What horizon, O beloved, may attain to thee anywhere?
Yet an eyeless orb is yearning ineffectually to thee.For a little ere returneth the delirious hour again.
Shall a homeless Attis hie him to the groves uninhabited?Shall he leave a country, wealth, friends? bid a sire, a mother, adieu?60The palaestra lost, the forum, the gymnasium, the course?
O unhappy, fall a-weeping, thou unhappy soul, for aye.
For is honour of any semblance, any beauty but of it I?Who, a woman here, in order was a man, a youth, a boy,To the sinewy ring a fam'd flower, the gymnasium's applause.
65With a throng about the portal, with a populace in the gate,With a flowery coronal hanging upon every column of home,When anew my chamber open'd, as awoke the sunny morn.
O am I to live the god's slave? feodary be to Cybele?Or a Maenad I, an eunuch? or a part of a body slain?
70Or am I to range the green tracts upon Ida snowy-chill?Be beneath the stately caverns colonnaded of Asia?Be with hind that haunts the covert, or in hursts that house the boar?
Woe, woe the deed accomplish'd! woe, woe, the shame to me!"
From rosy lips ascending when approached the gusty cry75To celestial ears recording such a message inly borne,Cybele, the thong relaxing from a lion-haled yoke,Said, aleft the goad addressing to the foe that awes the flocks—
"Come, a service; haste, my brave one; let a fury the madman arm,Let a fury, a frenzy prick him to return to the wood again,80This is he my hest declineth, the unheedy, the runaway.
From an angry tail refuse not to abide the sinewy stroke,To a roar let all the regions echo answer everywhere,On a nervy neck be tossing that uneasy tawny mane."
So in ire she spake, adjusting disunitedly then her yoke85At his own rebuke the lion doth his heart to a fury spur,With a step, a roar, a bursting unarrested of any brake.But anear the foamy places when he came, to the frothy beach,When he saw the sexless Attis by the seas' level opaline,Then he rushed upon him; affrighted to the wintery wood he flew,90Cybele's for aye, for all years, in her order a votaress.Holy deity, great Cybele, holy lady Dindymene,Be to me afar for ever that inordinate agony.O another hound to madness, O another hurry to rage!