FOOTNOTES:

Thine in all rights of perfect friendship,

THOMAS THORPE.

FOOTNOTES:[576]A well-known bookseller.[577]Old ed. "Blount."[578]Paul's churchyard, the Elizabethan "Booksellers' Row."

[576]A well-known bookseller.

[577]Old ed. "Blount."

[578]Paul's churchyard, the Elizabethan "Booksellers' Row."

Wars worse than civil on Thessalian plains,And outrage strangling law, and people strong,We sing, whose conquering swords their own breasts lancht,[579]Armies allied, the kingdom's league uprooted,Th' affrighted world's force bent on public spoil,Trumpets and drums, like[580]deadly, threatening other,Eagles alike display'd, darts answering darts,Romans, what madness, what huge lust of war,Hath made barbarians drunk with Latin blood?Now Babylon, proud through our spoil, should stoop,10While slaughter'd Crassus' ghost walks unreveng'd,Will ye wage war, for which you shall not triumph?Ay me! O, what a world of land and seaMight they have won whom civil broils have slain!As far as Titan springs, where night dims heaven,I, to the torrid zone where mid-day burns,And where stiff winter, whom no spring resolves,Fetters the Euxine Sea with chains of ice;Scythia and wild Armenia had been yok'd,And they of Nilus' mouth, if there live any.20Rome, if thou take delight in impious war,First conquer all the earth, then turn thy forceAgainst thyself: as yet thou wants not foes.That now the walls of houses half-reared totter,That, rampires fallen down, huge heaps of stoneLie in our towns, that houses are abandon'd,And few live that behold their ancient seats;Italy many years hath lien untill'dAnd chok'd with thorns; that greedy earth wants hinds;—Fierce Pyrrhus, neither thou nor Hannibal30Art cause; no foreign foe could so afflict us:These plagues arise from wreak of civil power.But if for Nero, then unborn, the FatesWould find no other means, and gods not slightlyPurchase immortal thrones, nor Jove joy'd heavenUntil the cruel giants' war was done;We plain not, heavens, but gladly bear these evilsFor Nero's sake: Pharsalia groan with slaughter,And Carthage souls be glutted with our bloods!At Munda let the dreadful battles join;40Add, Cæsar, to these ills, Perusian famine,The Mutin toils, the fleet at Luca[s] sunk,And cruel[581]field near burning Ætna fought!Yet Rome is much bound to these civil arms,Which made thee emperor. Thee (seeing thou, being old,Must shine a star) shall heaven (whom thou lovest)Receive with shouts; where thou wilt reign as king,Or mount the Sun's flame-bearing chariot,And with bright restless fire compass the earth,Undaunted though her former guide be chang'd;50Nature and every power shall give thee place,What god it please thee be, or where to sway.But neither choose the north t'erect thy seat,Nor yet the adverse reeking[582]southern pole,Whence thou shouldst view thy Rome with squinting[583]beams.If any one part of vast heaven thou swayest,The burden'd axes[584]with thy force will bend:The midst is best; that place is pure and bright;There, Cæsar, mayst thou shine, and no cloud dim thee.Then men from war shall bide in league and ease,60Peace through the world from Janus' face shall fly,And bolt the brazen gates with bars of iron.Thou, Cæsar, at this instant art my god;Thee if I invocate, I shall not needTo crave Apollo's aid or Bacchus' help;Thy power inspires the Muse that sings this war.The causes first I purpose to unfoldOf these garboils,[585]whence springs a long discourse;And what made madding people shake off peace.The Fates are envious, high seats[586]quickly perish,70Under great burdens falls are ever grievous;Rome was so great it could not bear itself.So when this world's compounded union breaks,Time ends, and to old Chaos all things turn,Confused stars shall meet, celestial fireFleet on the floods, the earth shoulder the sea,Affording it no shore, and Phœbe's wainChase Phœbus, and enrag'd affect his place,And strive to shine by day and full of strifeDissolve the engines of the broken world.80All great things crush themselves; such end the godsAllot the height of honour; men so strongBy land and sea, no foreign force could ruin.O Rome, thyself art cause of all these evils,Thyself thus shiver'd out to three men's shares!Dire league of partners in a kingdom last not.O faintly-join'd friends, with ambition blind,Why join you force to share the world betwixt you?While th' earth the sea, and air the earth sustains,While Titan strives against the world's swift course,90Or Cynthia, night's queen, waits upon the day,Shall never faith be found in fellow kings:Dominion cannot suffer partnership.This need[s] no foreign proof nor far-fet[587]story:Rome's infant walls were steep'd in brother's blood;Nor then was land or sea, to breed such hate;A town with one poor church set them at odds.[588]Cæsar's and Pompey's jarring love soon ended,'Twas peace against their wills; betwixt them bothStepp'd Crassus in. Even as the slender isthmos,100Betwixt the Ægæan,[589]and the Ionian sea,Keeps each from other, but being worn away,They both burst out, and each encounter other;So whenas Crassus' wretched death, who stay'd them,Had fill'd Assyrian Carra's[590]walls with blood,His loss made way for Roman outrages.Parthians, y'afflict us more than ye suppose;Being conquer'd, we are plagu'd with civil war.Swords share our empire: Fortune, that made RomeGovern the earth, the sea, the world itself,110Would not admit two lords; for Julia,Snatch'd hence by cruel Fates, with ominous howlsBare down to hell her son, the pledge of peace,And all bands of that death-presaging alliànce.Julia, had heaven given thee longer life,Thou hadst restrain'd thy headstrong husband's rage,Yea, and thy father too, and, swords thrown down,Made all shake hands, as once the Sabines did:Thy death broke amity, and train'd to warThese captains emulous of each other's glory.120Thou fear'd'st, great Pompey, that late deeds would dimOld triumphs, and that Cæsar's conquering FranceWould dash the wreath thou war'st for pirates' wreck:Thee war's use stirr'd, and thoughts that always scorn'dA second place. Pompey could bide no equal,Nor Cæsar no superior: which of bothHad justest cause, unlawful 'tis to judge:Each side had great partakers; Cæsar's causeThe gods abetted, Cato lik'd the other.[591]Both differ'd much. Pompey was struck in years,130And by long rest forgot to manage arms,And, being popular, sought by liberal giftsTo gain the light unstable commons' love,And joy'd to hear his theatre's applause:He lived secure, boasting his former deeds,And thought his name sufficient to uphold him:Like to a tall oak in a fruitful field,Bearing old spoils and conquerors' monuments,Who, though his root be weak, and his own weightKeep him within the ground, his arms all bare,140His body, not his boughs, send forth a shade;Though every blast it nod,[592]and seem to fall,When all the woods about stand bolt upright,Yet he alone is held in reverence.Cæsar's renown for war was loss; he restless,Shaming to strive but where he did subdue;When ire or hope provok'd, heady and bold;At all times charging home, and making havoc;Urging his fortune, trusting in the gods,Destroying what withstood his proud desires,150And glad when blood and ruin made him way:So thunder, which the wind tears from the clouds,With crack of riven air and hideous soundFilling the world, leaps out and throws forth fire,Affrights poor fearful men, and blasts their eyesWith overthwarting flames, and raging shootsAlongst the air, and, not resisting it,Falls, and returns, and shivers where it lights.Such humours stirr'd them up; but this war's seedWas even the same that wrecks all great dominions.160When Fortune made us lords of all, wealth flow'd,And then we grew licentious and rude;The soldiers' prey and rapine brought in riot;Men took delight in jewels, houses, plate,And scorn'd old sparing diet, and ware robesToo light for women; Poverty, who hatch'dRome's greatest wits,[593]was loath'd, and all the worldRansack'd for gold, which breeds the world['s] decay;And then large limits had their butting lands;The ground, which Curius and Camillus till'd,170Was stretched unto the fields of hinds unknown.Again, this people could not brook calm peace;Them freedom without war might not suffice:Quarrels were rife; greedy desire, still poor,Did vild deeds; then 'twas worth the price of blood,And deem'd renown, to spoil their native town;Force mastered right, the strongest govern'd all;Hence came it that th' edicts were over-rul'd,That laws were broke, tribunes with consuls strove,Sale made of offices, and people's voices180Bought by themselves and sold, and every yearFrauds and corruption in the Field of Mars;Hence interest and devouring usury sprang,Faith's breach, and hence came war, to most men welcome.Now Cæsar overpass'd the snowy Alps;His mind was troubled, and he aim'd at war:And coming to the ford of Rubicon,At night in dreadful vision fearful[594]RomeMourning appear'd, whose hoary hairs were torn,And on her turret-bearing head dispers'd,190And arms all naked; who, with broken sighs,And staring, thus bespoke: "What mean'st thou, Cæsar?Whither goes my standard? Romans if ye be,And bear true hearts, stay here!" This spectacleStruck Cæsar's heart with fear; his hair stood up,And faintness numb'd his steps there on the brink.He thus cried out: "Thou thunderer that guard'stRome's mighty walls, built on Tarpeian rock!Ye gods of Phrygia and Iülus' line,Quirinus' rites, and Latian Jove advanc'd200On Alba hill! O vestal flames! O Rome,My thoughts sole goddess, aid mine enterprise!I hate thee not, to thee my conquests stoop:Cæsar is thine, so please it thee, thy soldier.He, he afflicts Rome that made me Rome's foe."This said, he, laying aside all lets[595]of war,Approach'd the swelling stream with drum and ensign:Like to a lion of scorch'd desert Afric,Who, seeing hunters, pauseth till fell wrathAnd kingly rage increase, then, having whisk'd210His tail athwart his back, and crest heav'd up,With jaws wide-open ghastly roaring out,Albeit the Moor's light javelin or his spearSticks in his side, yet runs upon the hunter.In summer-time the purple Rubicon,Which issues from a small spring, is but shallow,And creeps along the vales, dividing justThe bounds of Italy from Cisalpine France.But now the winter's wrath, and watery moonBeing three days old, enforc'd the flood to swell,220And frozen Alps thaw'd with resolving winds.The thunder-hoof'd[596]horse, in a crookèd line,To scape the violence of the stream, first waded;Which being broke, the foot had easy passage.As soon as Cæsar got unto the bankAnd bounds of Italy, "Here, here," saith he,"An end of peace; here end polluted laws!Hence leagues and covenants! Fortune, thee I follow!War and the Destinies shall try my cause."This said, the restless general through the dark,230Swifter than bullets thrown from Spanish slings,Or darts which Parthians backward shoot, march'd on;And then, when Lucifer did shine alone,And some dim stars, he Ariminum enter'd.Day rose, and view'd these tumults of the war:Whether the gods or blustering south were causeI know not, but the cloudy air did frown.The soldiers having won the market-place,There spread the colours with confusèd noiseOf trumpets' clang, shrill cornets, whistling fifes.240The people started; young men left their beds,And snatch'd arms near their household-gods hung up,Such as peace yields; worm-eaten leathern targets,Through which the wood peer'd,[597]headless darts, old swordsWith ugly teeth of black rust foully scarr'd.But seeing white eagles, and Rome's flags well known,And lofty Cæsar in the thickest throng,They shook for fear, and cold benumb'd their limbs,And muttering much, thus to themselves complain'd:"O walls unfortunate, too near to France!250Predestinate to ruin! all lands elseHave stable peace: here war's rage first begins;We bide the first brunt. Safer might we dwellUnder the frosty bear, or parching east,Waggons or tents, than in this frontier town.We first sustain'd the uproars of the GaulsAnd furious Cimbrians, and of Carthage Moors:As oft as Rome was sack'd, here gan the spoil."Thus sighing whisper'd they, and none durst speak,And show their fear or grief; but as the fields260When birds are silent thorough winter's rage,Or sea far from the land, so all were whist,[598]Now light had quite dissolv'd the misty night,And Cæsar's mind unsettled musing stood;But gods and fortune pricked him to this war,Infringing all excuse of modest shame,And labouring to approve[599]his quarrel good.The angry senate, urging Gracchus'[600]deeds,From doubtful Rome wrongly expell'd the tribunesThat cross'd them: both which now approach'd the camp,270And with them Curio, sometime tribune too,One that was fee'd for Cæsar, and whose tongueCould tune the people to the nobles' mind.[601]"Cæsar," said he, "while eloquence prevail'd,And I might plead and draw the commons' mindsTo favour thee, against the senate's will,Five years I lengthen'd thy command in France;But law being put to silence by the wars,We, from her houses driven, most willinglySuffer'd exile: let thy sword bring us home,280Now, while their part is weak and fears, march hence:Where men are ready lingering ever hurts.[602]In ten years wonn'st thou France: Rome may be wonWith far less toil, and yet the honour's more;Few battles fought with prosperous successMay bring her down, and with her all the world.Nor shalt thou triumph when thou com'st to Rome,Nor Capitol be adorn'd with sacred bays;Envy denies all; with thy blood must thouAby thy conquest past:[603]the son decrees290To expel the father: share the world thou canst not;Enjoy it all thou mayst." Thus Curio spake;And therewith Cæsar, prone enough to war,Was so incens'd as are Elean[604]steeds.With clamours, who, though lock'd and chain'd in stalls,[605]Souse[606]down the walls, and make a passage forth.Straight summon'd he his several companiesUnto the standard: his grave look appeas'dThe wrestling tumult, and right hand made silence;And thus he spake: "You that with me have borne300A thousand brunts, and tried me full ten years,See how they quit our bloodshed in the north,Our friends' death, and our wounds, our winteringUnder the Alps! Rome rageth now in armsAs if the Carthage Hannibal were near;Cornets of horse are muster'd for the field;Woods turn'd to ships; both land and sea against us.Had foreign wars ill-thriv'd, or wrathful FrancePursu'd us hither, how were we bested,When, coming conqueror, Rome afflicts me thus?310Let come their leader[607]whom long peace hath quail'd,Raw soldiers lately press'd, and troops of gowns,Babbling[608]Marcellus, Cato whom fools reverence!Must Pompey's followers, with strangers' aid(Whom from his youth he brib'd), needs make him king?And shall he triumph long before his time,And, having once got head, still shall he reign?What should I talk of men's corn reap'd by force,And by him kept of purpose for a dearth?Who sees not war sit by the quivering judge,320And sentence given in rings of naked swords,And laws assail'd, and arm'd men in the senate?'Twas his troop hemm'd in Milo being accus'd;And now, lest age might wane his state, he castsFor civil war, wherein through use he's knownTo exceed his master, that arch-traitor Sylla.A[s] brood of barbarous tigers, having lapp'dThe blood of many a herd, whilst with their damsThey kennell'd in Hyrcania, evermoreWill rage and prey; so, Pompey, thou, having lick'd330Warm gore from Sylla's sword, art yet athirst:Jaws flesh[ed] with blood continue murderous.Speak, when shall this thy long-usurped power end?What end of mischief? Sylla teaching thee,At last learn, wretch, to leave thy monarchy!What, now Sicilian[609]pirates are suppress'd,And jaded[610]king of Pontus poison'd slain,Must Pompey as his last foe plume on me,Because at his command I wound not upMy conquering eagles? say I merit naught,[611]340Yet, for long service done, reward these men,And so they triumph, be't with whom ye will.Whither now shall these old bloodless souls repair?What seats for their deserts? what store of groundFor servitors to till? what coloniesTo rest their bones? say, Pompey, are these worseThan pirates of Sicilia?[612]they had houses.Spread, spread these flags that ten years' space have conquer'd!Let's use our tried force: they that now thwart right,In wars will yield to wrong:[613]the gods are with us;350Neither spoil nor kingdom seek we by these arms,But Rome, at thraldom's feet, to rid from tyrants."This spoke, none answer'd, but a murmuring buzzTh' unstable people made: their household-godsAnd love to Rome (though slaughter steel'd their hearts,And minds were prone) restrain'd them; but war's loveAnd Cæsar's awe dash'd all. Then Lælius,[614]The chief centurion, crown'd with oaken leavesFor saving of a Roman citizen,Stepp'd forth, and cried: "Chief leader of Rome's force,So be I may be bold to speak a truth,361We grieve at this thy patience and delay.What, doubt'st thou us? even now when youthful bloodPricks forth our lively bodies, and strong armsCan mainly throw the dart, wilt thou endureThese purple grooms, that senate's tyranny?Is conquest got by civil war so heinous?Well, lead us, then, to Syrtes' desert shore,Or Scythia, or hot Libya's thirsty sands.This band, that all behind us might be quail'd,370Hath with thee pass'd the swelling ocean,And swept the foaming breast of Arctic[615]Rhene.Love over-rules my will; I must obey thee,Cæsar: he whom I hear thy trumpets charge,I hold no Roman; by these ten blest ensignsAnd all thy several triumphs, shouldst thou bid meEntomb my sword within my brother's bowels,Or father's throat, or women's groaning[616]womb,This hand, albeit unwilling, should perform it?Or rob the gods, or sacred temples fire,380These troops should soon pull down the church of Jove;[617]If to encamp on Tuscan Tiber's streams,I'll boldly quarter out the fields of Rome;What walls thou wilt be levell'd with the ground,These hands shall thrust the ram, and make them fly,Albeit the city thou wouldst have so raz'dBe Rome itself." Here every band applauded,And, with their hands held up, all jointly criedThey'll follow where he please. The shouts rent heaven,As when against pine-bearing Ossa's rocks390Beats Thracian Boreas, or when trees bow[618]downAnd rustling swing up as the wind fets[619]breath.When Cæsar saw his army prone to war,And Fates so bent, lest sloth and long delayMight cross him, he withdrew his troops from France,And in all quarters musters men for Rome.They by Lemannus' nook forsook their tents;They whom[620]the Lingones foil'd with painted spears,Under the rocks by crookèd Vogesus;And many came from shallow Isara,400Who, running long, falls in a greater flood,And, ere he sees the sea, loseth his name;The yellow Ruthens left their garrisons;Mild Atax glad it bears not Roman boats,[621]And frontier Varus that the camp is far,Sent aid; so did Alcides' port, whose seasEat hollow rocks, and where the north-west windNor zephyr rules not, but the north aloneTurmoils the coast, and enterance forbids;And others came from that uncertain shore410Which is nor sea nor land, but ofttimes both,And changeth as the ocean ebbs and flows;Whether the sea roll'd always from that pointWhence the wind blows, still forcèd to and fro;Or that the wandering main follow the moon;Or flaming Titan, feeding on the deep,Pulls them aloft, and makes the surge kiss heaven;Philosophers, look you; for unto me,Thou cause, whate'er thou be, whom God assignsThis great effect, art hid. They came that dwell420By Nemes' fields and banks of Satirus,[622]Where Tarbell's winding shores embrace the sea;The Santons that rejoice in Cæsar's love;[623]Those of Bituriges,[624]and light Axon[625]pikes;And they of Rhene and Leuca,[626]cunning darters,And Sequana that well could manage steeds;The Belgians apt to govern British cars;Th' A[r]verni, too, which boldly feign themselvesThe Roman's brethren, sprung of Ilian race;The stubborn Nervians stain'd with Cotta's blood;430And Vangions who, like those of Sarmata,Wear open slops;[627]and fierce Batavians,Whom trumpet's clang incites; and those that dwellBy Cinga's stream, and where swift RhodanusDrives Araris to sea; they near the hills,Under whose hoary rocks Gebenna hangs;And, Trevier, thou being glad that wars are past thee;And you, late-shorn Ligurians, who were wontIn large-spread hair to exceed the rest of France;And where to Hesus and fell Mercury[628]440They offer human flesh, and where Jove seemsBloody like Dian, whom the Scythians serve.And you, French Bardi, whose immortal pensRenown the valiant souls slain in your wars,Sit safe at home and chant sweet poesy.And, Druides, you now in peace renewYour barbarous customs and sinister rites:In unfell'd woods and sacred groves you dwell;And only gods and heavenly powers you know,Or only know you nothing; for you hold450That souls pass not to silent ErebusOr Pluto's bloodless kingdom, but elsewhereResume a body; so (if truth you sing)Death brings long life. Doubtless these northern men,Whom death, the greatest of all fears, affright not,Are blest by such sweet error; this makes themRun on the sword's point, and desire to die,And shame to spare life which being lost is won.You likewise that repuls'd the Caÿc foe,March towards Rome; and you, fierce men of Rhene,460Leaving your country open to the spoil.These being come, their huge power made him boldTo manage greater deeds; the bordering townsHe garrison'd; and Italy he fill'd with soldiers.Vain fame increased true fear, and did invadeThe people's minds, and laid before their eyesSlaughter to come, and, swiftly bringing newsOf present war, made many lies and tales:One swears his troops of daring horsemen foughtUpon Mevania's plain, where bulls are graz'd;470Other that Cæsar's barbarous bands were spreadAlong Nar flood that into Tiber falls,And that his own ten ensigns and the restMarch'd not entirely, and yet hide the ground;And that he's much chang'd, looking wild and big,And far more barbarous than the French, his vassals;And that he lags[629]behind with them, of purpose,Borne 'twixt the Alps and Rhene, which he hath broughtFrom out their northern parts,[630]and that Rome,He looking on, by these men should be sack'd.480Thus in his fright did each man strengthen fame,And, without ground, fear'd what themselves had feign'd.Nor were the commons only struck to heartWith this vain terror; but the court, the senate,The fathers selves leap'd from their seats, and, flying,Left hateful war decreed to both the consuls.Then, with their fear and danger all-distract,Their sway of flight carries the heady rout,[631]That in chain'd[632]troops break forth at every port:You would have thought their houses had been fir'd,490Or, dropping-ripe, ready to fall withruin.So rush'd the inconsiderate multitudeThorough the city, hurried headlong on,As if the only hope that did remainTo their afflictions were t' abandon Rome.Look how, when stormy Auster from the breachOf Libyan Syrtes rolls a monstrous wave,Which makes the main-sail fall with hideous sound,The pilot from the helm leaps in the sea,And mariners, albeit the keel be sound,500Shipwreck themselves; even so, the city left,All rise in arms; nor could the bed-rid parentsKeep back their sons, or women's tears their husbands:They stayed not either to pray or sacrifice;Their household-gods restrain them not; none lingered,As loath to leave Rome whom they held so dear:Th' irrevocable people fly in troops.O gods, that easy grant men great estates,But hardly grace to keep them! Rome, that flowsWith citizens and captives,[633]and would hold510The world, were it together, is by cowardsLeft as a prey, now Cæsar doth approach.When Romans are besieged by foreign foes,With slender trench they escape night-stratagems,And sudden rampire rais'd of turf snatched up,Would make them sleep securely in their tents.Thou, Rome, at name of war runn'st from thyself,And wilt not trust thy city-walls one night:Well might these fear, when Pompey feared and fled.Now evermore, lest some one hope might ease520The commons' jangling minds, apparent signs arose,Strange sights appeared; the angry threatening godsFilled both the earth and seas with prodigies.Great store of strange and unknown stars were seenWandering about the north, and rings of fireFly in the air, and dreadful bearded stars,And comets that presage the fall of kingdoms;The flattering[634]sky glittered in often flames,And sundry fiery meteors blazed in heaven,Now spear-like long, now like a spreading torch;530Lightning in silence stole forth without clouds,And, from the northern climate snatching fire,Blasted the Capitol; the lesser stars,Which wont to run their course through empty night,At noon-day mustered; Phœbe, having filledHer meeting horns to match her brother's light,Struck with th' earth's sudden shadow, waxèd pale;Titan himself, throned in the midst of heaven,His burning chariot plunged in sable clouds,And whelmed the world in darkness, making men540Despair of day; as did Thyestes' town,Mycenæ, Phœbus flying through the east.Fierce Mulciber unbarrèd Ætna's gate,Which flamèd not on high, but headlong pitchedHer burning head on bending Hespery.Coal-black Charybdis whirled a sea of blood.Fierce mastives howled. The vestal fires went out;The flame in Alba, consecrate to Jove,Parted in twain, and with a double pointRose, like the Theban brothers' funeral fire.550The earth went off her hinges; and the AlpsShook the old snow from off their trembling laps.[635]The ocean swelled as high as Spanish CalpeOr Atlas' head. Their saints and household-godsSweat tears, to show the travails of their city:Crowns fell from holy statues. Ominous birdsDefiled the day; and wild beasts were seen,[636]Leaving the woods, lodge in the streets of Rome.Cattle were seen that muttered human speech;Prodigious births with more and ugly joints560Than nature gives, whose sight appals the mother;And dismal prophecies were spread abroad:And they, whom fierce Bellona's fury movesTo wound their arms, sing vengeance; Cybel's[637]priests,Curling their bloody locks, howl dreadful things.Souls quiet and appeas'd sighed from their graves;Clashing of arms was heard; in untrod woodsShrill voices schright;[638]and ghosts encounter men.Those that inhabited the suburb-fieldsFled: foul Erinnys stalked about the walls,570Shaking her snaky hair and crookèd pineWith flaming top; much like that hellish fiendWhich made the stern Lycurgus wound his thigh,Or fierce Agave mad; or like MegæraThat scar'd Alcides, when by Juno's taskHe had before look'd Pluto in the face.Trumpets were heard to sound; and with what noiseAn armèd battle joins, such and more strangeBlack night brought forth in secret. Sylla's ghostWas seen to walk, singing sad oracles;580And Marius' head above cold Tav'ron[639]peering,His grave broke open, did affright the boors.To these ostents, as their old custom was,They call th' Etrurian augurs: amongst whomThe gravest, Arruns, dwelt in forsaken Leuca[640]Well-skill'd in pyromancy; one that knewThe hearts of beasts, and flight of wandering fowls.First he commands such monsters Nature hatch'dAgainst her kind, the barren mule's loath'd issue,To be cut forth[641]and cast in dismal fires;590Then, that the trembling citizens should walkAbout the city; then, the sacred priestsThat with divine lustration purg'd the walls,And went the round, in and without the town;Next, an inferior troop, in tuck'd-up vestures,After the Gabine manner; then, the nunsAnd their veil'd matron, who alone might viewMinerva's statue; then, they that kept and readSibylla's secret works, and wash[642]their saintIn Almo's flood; next learnèd augurs follow;600Apollo's soothsayers, and Jove's feasting priests;The skipping Salii with shields like wedges;And Flamens last, with net-work woollen veils.While these thus in and out had circled Rome,Look, what the lightning blasted, Arruns takes,And it inters with murmurs dolorous,And calls the place Bidental. On the altarHe lays a ne'er-yok'd bull, and pours down wine,Then crams salt leaven on his crookèd knife:The beast long struggled, as being like to prove610An awkward sacrifice; but by the hornsThe quick priest pulled him on his knees, and slew him.No vein sprung out, but from the yawning gash,Instead of red blood, wallow'd venomous gore.These direful signs made Arruns stand amazed,And searching farther for the gods' displeasure,The very colour scared him; a dead blacknessRan through the blood, that turned it all to jelly,And stained the bowels with dark loathsome spots;The liver swelled with filth; and every vein620Did threaten horror from the host of CæsarA small thin skin contained the vital parts;The heart stirred not; and from the gaping liverSqueezed matter through the caul; the entrails peered;And which (ay me!) ever pretendeth[643]ill,At that bunch where the liver is, appear'dA knob of flesh, whereof one half did lookDead and discolour'd, th' other lean and thin.[644]By these he seeing what mischiefs must ensue,Cried out, "O gods, I tremble to unfold630What you intend! great Jove is now displeas'd;And in the breast of this slain bull are creptTh' infernal powers. My fear transcends my words;Yet more will happen than I can unfold:Turn all to good, be augury vain, and Tages,Th' art's master, false!" Thus, in ambiguous termsInvolving all, did Arruns darkly sing.But Figulus, more seen in heavenly mysteries,Whose like Ægyptian Memphis never hadFor skill in stars and tuneful planeting,[645]640In this sort spake: "The world's swift course is lawlessAnd casual; all the stars at random range;[646]Or if fate rule them, Rome, thy citizensAre near some plague. What mischief shall ensue?Shall towns be swallow'd? shall the thicken'd airBecome intemperate? shall the earth be barren?Shall water be congeal'd and turn'd to ice?[647]O gods, what death prepare ye? with what plagueMean ye to rage? the death of many menMeets in one period. If cold noisome Saturn650Were now exalted, and with blue beams shin'd,Then Ganymede[648]would renew Deucalion's flood,And in the fleeting sea the earth be drench'd.O Phœbus, shouldst thou with thy rays now singeThe fell Nemæan beast, th' earth would be fir'd,And heaven tormented with thy chafing heat:But thy fires hurt not. Mars, 'tis thou inflam'stThe threatening Scorpion with the burning tail,And fir'st his cleys:[649]why art thou thus enrag'd?Kind Jupiter hath low declin'd himself;660Venus is faint; swift Hermes retrograde;Mars only rules the heaven. Why do the planetsAlter their course, and vainly dim their virtue?Sword-girt Orion's side glisters too bright:War's rage draws near; and to the sword's strong handLet all laws yield, sin bears the name of virtue:Many a year these furious broils let last:Why should we wish the gods should ever end them?War only gives us peace. O Rome, continueThe course of mischief, and stretch out the date670Of slaughter! only civil broils make peace."These sad presages were enough to scareThe quivering Romans; but worse things affright them.As Mænas[650]full of wine on Pindus raves,So runs a matron through th' amazèd streets,Disclosing Phœbus' fury in this sort;"Pæan, whither am I haled? where shall I fall,Thus borne aloft? I seen Pangæus' hillWith hoary top, and, under Hæmus' mount,Philippi plains. Phœbus, what rage is this?680Why grapples Rome, and makes war, having no foes?Whither turn I now? thou lead'st me toward th' east,Where Nile augmenteth the Pelusian sea:This headless trunk that lies on Nilus' sandI know. Now th[o]roughout the air I flyTo doubtful Syrtes and dry Afric, whereA Fury leads the Emathian bands. From thenceTo the pine-bearing[651]hills; thence[652]to the mountsPyrene; and so back to Rome again.See, impious war defiles the senate-house!690New factions rise. Now through the world againI go. O Phœbus, show me Neptune's shore,And other regions! I have seen Philippi."This said, being tir'd with fury, she sunk down.

Wars worse than civil on Thessalian plains,

And outrage strangling law, and people strong,

We sing, whose conquering swords their own breasts lancht,[579]

Armies allied, the kingdom's league uprooted,

Th' affrighted world's force bent on public spoil,

Trumpets and drums, like[580]deadly, threatening other,

Eagles alike display'd, darts answering darts,

Romans, what madness, what huge lust of war,

Hath made barbarians drunk with Latin blood?

Now Babylon, proud through our spoil, should stoop,10

While slaughter'd Crassus' ghost walks unreveng'd,

Will ye wage war, for which you shall not triumph?

Ay me! O, what a world of land and sea

Might they have won whom civil broils have slain!

As far as Titan springs, where night dims heaven,

I, to the torrid zone where mid-day burns,

And where stiff winter, whom no spring resolves,

Fetters the Euxine Sea with chains of ice;

Scythia and wild Armenia had been yok'd,

And they of Nilus' mouth, if there live any.20

Rome, if thou take delight in impious war,

First conquer all the earth, then turn thy force

Against thyself: as yet thou wants not foes.

That now the walls of houses half-reared totter,

That, rampires fallen down, huge heaps of stone

Lie in our towns, that houses are abandon'd,

And few live that behold their ancient seats;

Italy many years hath lien untill'd

And chok'd with thorns; that greedy earth wants hinds;—

Fierce Pyrrhus, neither thou nor Hannibal30

Art cause; no foreign foe could so afflict us:

These plagues arise from wreak of civil power.

But if for Nero, then unborn, the Fates

Would find no other means, and gods not slightly

Purchase immortal thrones, nor Jove joy'd heaven

Until the cruel giants' war was done;

We plain not, heavens, but gladly bear these evils

For Nero's sake: Pharsalia groan with slaughter,

And Carthage souls be glutted with our bloods!

At Munda let the dreadful battles join;40

Add, Cæsar, to these ills, Perusian famine,

The Mutin toils, the fleet at Luca[s] sunk,

And cruel[581]field near burning Ætna fought!

Yet Rome is much bound to these civil arms,

Which made thee emperor. Thee (seeing thou, being old,

Must shine a star) shall heaven (whom thou lovest)

Receive with shouts; where thou wilt reign as king,

Or mount the Sun's flame-bearing chariot,

And with bright restless fire compass the earth,

Undaunted though her former guide be chang'd;50

Nature and every power shall give thee place,

What god it please thee be, or where to sway.

But neither choose the north t'erect thy seat,

Nor yet the adverse reeking[582]southern pole,

Whence thou shouldst view thy Rome with squinting[583]beams.

If any one part of vast heaven thou swayest,

The burden'd axes[584]with thy force will bend:

The midst is best; that place is pure and bright;

There, Cæsar, mayst thou shine, and no cloud dim thee.

Then men from war shall bide in league and ease,60

Peace through the world from Janus' face shall fly,

And bolt the brazen gates with bars of iron.

Thou, Cæsar, at this instant art my god;

Thee if I invocate, I shall not need

To crave Apollo's aid or Bacchus' help;

Thy power inspires the Muse that sings this war.

The causes first I purpose to unfold

Of these garboils,[585]whence springs a long discourse;

And what made madding people shake off peace.

The Fates are envious, high seats[586]quickly perish,70

Under great burdens falls are ever grievous;

Rome was so great it could not bear itself.

So when this world's compounded union breaks,

Time ends, and to old Chaos all things turn,

Confused stars shall meet, celestial fire

Fleet on the floods, the earth shoulder the sea,

Affording it no shore, and Phœbe's wain

Chase Phœbus, and enrag'd affect his place,

And strive to shine by day and full of strife

Dissolve the engines of the broken world.80

All great things crush themselves; such end the gods

Allot the height of honour; men so strong

By land and sea, no foreign force could ruin.

O Rome, thyself art cause of all these evils,

Thyself thus shiver'd out to three men's shares!

Dire league of partners in a kingdom last not.

O faintly-join'd friends, with ambition blind,

Why join you force to share the world betwixt you?

While th' earth the sea, and air the earth sustains,

While Titan strives against the world's swift course,90

Or Cynthia, night's queen, waits upon the day,

Shall never faith be found in fellow kings:

Dominion cannot suffer partnership.

This need[s] no foreign proof nor far-fet[587]story:

Rome's infant walls were steep'd in brother's blood;

Nor then was land or sea, to breed such hate;

A town with one poor church set them at odds.[588]

Cæsar's and Pompey's jarring love soon ended,

'Twas peace against their wills; betwixt them both

Stepp'd Crassus in. Even as the slender isthmos,100

Betwixt the Ægæan,[589]and the Ionian sea,

Keeps each from other, but being worn away,

They both burst out, and each encounter other;

So whenas Crassus' wretched death, who stay'd them,

Had fill'd Assyrian Carra's[590]walls with blood,

His loss made way for Roman outrages.

Parthians, y'afflict us more than ye suppose;

Being conquer'd, we are plagu'd with civil war.

Swords share our empire: Fortune, that made Rome

Govern the earth, the sea, the world itself,110

Would not admit two lords; for Julia,

Snatch'd hence by cruel Fates, with ominous howls

Bare down to hell her son, the pledge of peace,

And all bands of that death-presaging alliànce.

Julia, had heaven given thee longer life,

Thou hadst restrain'd thy headstrong husband's rage,

Yea, and thy father too, and, swords thrown down,

Made all shake hands, as once the Sabines did:

Thy death broke amity, and train'd to war

These captains emulous of each other's glory.120

Thou fear'd'st, great Pompey, that late deeds would dim

Old triumphs, and that Cæsar's conquering France

Would dash the wreath thou war'st for pirates' wreck:

Thee war's use stirr'd, and thoughts that always scorn'd

A second place. Pompey could bide no equal,

Nor Cæsar no superior: which of both

Had justest cause, unlawful 'tis to judge:

Each side had great partakers; Cæsar's cause

The gods abetted, Cato lik'd the other.[591]

Both differ'd much. Pompey was struck in years,130

And by long rest forgot to manage arms,

And, being popular, sought by liberal gifts

To gain the light unstable commons' love,

And joy'd to hear his theatre's applause:

He lived secure, boasting his former deeds,

And thought his name sufficient to uphold him:

Like to a tall oak in a fruitful field,

Bearing old spoils and conquerors' monuments,

Who, though his root be weak, and his own weight

Keep him within the ground, his arms all bare,140

His body, not his boughs, send forth a shade;

Though every blast it nod,[592]and seem to fall,

When all the woods about stand bolt upright,

Yet he alone is held in reverence.

Cæsar's renown for war was loss; he restless,

Shaming to strive but where he did subdue;

When ire or hope provok'd, heady and bold;

At all times charging home, and making havoc;

Urging his fortune, trusting in the gods,

Destroying what withstood his proud desires,150

And glad when blood and ruin made him way:

So thunder, which the wind tears from the clouds,

With crack of riven air and hideous sound

Filling the world, leaps out and throws forth fire,

Affrights poor fearful men, and blasts their eyes

With overthwarting flames, and raging shoots

Alongst the air, and, not resisting it,

Falls, and returns, and shivers where it lights.

Such humours stirr'd them up; but this war's seed

Was even the same that wrecks all great dominions.160

When Fortune made us lords of all, wealth flow'd,

And then we grew licentious and rude;

The soldiers' prey and rapine brought in riot;

Men took delight in jewels, houses, plate,

And scorn'd old sparing diet, and ware robes

Too light for women; Poverty, who hatch'd

Rome's greatest wits,[593]was loath'd, and all the world

Ransack'd for gold, which breeds the world['s] decay;

And then large limits had their butting lands;

The ground, which Curius and Camillus till'd,170

Was stretched unto the fields of hinds unknown.

Again, this people could not brook calm peace;

Them freedom without war might not suffice:

Quarrels were rife; greedy desire, still poor,

Did vild deeds; then 'twas worth the price of blood,

And deem'd renown, to spoil their native town;

Force mastered right, the strongest govern'd all;

Hence came it that th' edicts were over-rul'd,

That laws were broke, tribunes with consuls strove,

Sale made of offices, and people's voices180

Bought by themselves and sold, and every year

Frauds and corruption in the Field of Mars;

Hence interest and devouring usury sprang,

Faith's breach, and hence came war, to most men welcome.

Now Cæsar overpass'd the snowy Alps;

His mind was troubled, and he aim'd at war:

And coming to the ford of Rubicon,

At night in dreadful vision fearful[594]Rome

Mourning appear'd, whose hoary hairs were torn,

And on her turret-bearing head dispers'd,190

And arms all naked; who, with broken sighs,

And staring, thus bespoke: "What mean'st thou, Cæsar?

Whither goes my standard? Romans if ye be,

And bear true hearts, stay here!" This spectacle

Struck Cæsar's heart with fear; his hair stood up,

And faintness numb'd his steps there on the brink.

He thus cried out: "Thou thunderer that guard'st

Rome's mighty walls, built on Tarpeian rock!

Ye gods of Phrygia and Iülus' line,

Quirinus' rites, and Latian Jove advanc'd200

On Alba hill! O vestal flames! O Rome,

My thoughts sole goddess, aid mine enterprise!

I hate thee not, to thee my conquests stoop:

Cæsar is thine, so please it thee, thy soldier.

He, he afflicts Rome that made me Rome's foe."

This said, he, laying aside all lets[595]of war,

Approach'd the swelling stream with drum and ensign:

Like to a lion of scorch'd desert Afric,

Who, seeing hunters, pauseth till fell wrath

And kingly rage increase, then, having whisk'd210

His tail athwart his back, and crest heav'd up,

With jaws wide-open ghastly roaring out,

Albeit the Moor's light javelin or his spear

Sticks in his side, yet runs upon the hunter.

In summer-time the purple Rubicon,

Which issues from a small spring, is but shallow,

And creeps along the vales, dividing just

The bounds of Italy from Cisalpine France.

But now the winter's wrath, and watery moon

Being three days old, enforc'd the flood to swell,220

And frozen Alps thaw'd with resolving winds.

The thunder-hoof'd[596]horse, in a crookèd line,

To scape the violence of the stream, first waded;

Which being broke, the foot had easy passage.

As soon as Cæsar got unto the bank

And bounds of Italy, "Here, here," saith he,

"An end of peace; here end polluted laws!

Hence leagues and covenants! Fortune, thee I follow!

War and the Destinies shall try my cause."

This said, the restless general through the dark,230

Swifter than bullets thrown from Spanish slings,

Or darts which Parthians backward shoot, march'd on;

And then, when Lucifer did shine alone,

And some dim stars, he Ariminum enter'd.

Day rose, and view'd these tumults of the war:

Whether the gods or blustering south were cause

I know not, but the cloudy air did frown.

The soldiers having won the market-place,

There spread the colours with confusèd noise

Of trumpets' clang, shrill cornets, whistling fifes.240

The people started; young men left their beds,

And snatch'd arms near their household-gods hung up,

Such as peace yields; worm-eaten leathern targets,

Through which the wood peer'd,[597]headless darts, old swords

With ugly teeth of black rust foully scarr'd.

But seeing white eagles, and Rome's flags well known,

And lofty Cæsar in the thickest throng,

They shook for fear, and cold benumb'd their limbs,

And muttering much, thus to themselves complain'd:

"O walls unfortunate, too near to France!250

Predestinate to ruin! all lands else

Have stable peace: here war's rage first begins;

We bide the first brunt. Safer might we dwell

Under the frosty bear, or parching east,

Waggons or tents, than in this frontier town.

We first sustain'd the uproars of the Gauls

And furious Cimbrians, and of Carthage Moors:

As oft as Rome was sack'd, here gan the spoil."

Thus sighing whisper'd they, and none durst speak,

And show their fear or grief; but as the fields260

When birds are silent thorough winter's rage,

Or sea far from the land, so all were whist,[598]

Now light had quite dissolv'd the misty night,

And Cæsar's mind unsettled musing stood;

But gods and fortune pricked him to this war,

Infringing all excuse of modest shame,

And labouring to approve[599]his quarrel good.

The angry senate, urging Gracchus'[600]deeds,

From doubtful Rome wrongly expell'd the tribunes

That cross'd them: both which now approach'd the camp,270

And with them Curio, sometime tribune too,

One that was fee'd for Cæsar, and whose tongue

Could tune the people to the nobles' mind.[601]

"Cæsar," said he, "while eloquence prevail'd,

And I might plead and draw the commons' minds

To favour thee, against the senate's will,

Five years I lengthen'd thy command in France;

But law being put to silence by the wars,

We, from her houses driven, most willingly

Suffer'd exile: let thy sword bring us home,280

Now, while their part is weak and fears, march hence:

Where men are ready lingering ever hurts.[602]

In ten years wonn'st thou France: Rome may be won

With far less toil, and yet the honour's more;

Few battles fought with prosperous success

May bring her down, and with her all the world.

Nor shalt thou triumph when thou com'st to Rome,

Nor Capitol be adorn'd with sacred bays;

Envy denies all; with thy blood must thou

Aby thy conquest past:[603]the son decrees290

To expel the father: share the world thou canst not;

Enjoy it all thou mayst." Thus Curio spake;

And therewith Cæsar, prone enough to war,

Was so incens'd as are Elean[604]steeds.

With clamours, who, though lock'd and chain'd in stalls,[605]

Souse[606]down the walls, and make a passage forth.

Straight summon'd he his several companies

Unto the standard: his grave look appeas'd

The wrestling tumult, and right hand made silence;

And thus he spake: "You that with me have borne300

A thousand brunts, and tried me full ten years,

See how they quit our bloodshed in the north,

Our friends' death, and our wounds, our wintering

Under the Alps! Rome rageth now in arms

As if the Carthage Hannibal were near;

Cornets of horse are muster'd for the field;

Woods turn'd to ships; both land and sea against us.

Had foreign wars ill-thriv'd, or wrathful France

Pursu'd us hither, how were we bested,

When, coming conqueror, Rome afflicts me thus?310

Let come their leader[607]whom long peace hath quail'd,

Raw soldiers lately press'd, and troops of gowns,

Babbling[608]Marcellus, Cato whom fools reverence!

Must Pompey's followers, with strangers' aid

(Whom from his youth he brib'd), needs make him king?

And shall he triumph long before his time,

And, having once got head, still shall he reign?

What should I talk of men's corn reap'd by force,

And by him kept of purpose for a dearth?

Who sees not war sit by the quivering judge,320

And sentence given in rings of naked swords,

And laws assail'd, and arm'd men in the senate?

'Twas his troop hemm'd in Milo being accus'd;

And now, lest age might wane his state, he casts

For civil war, wherein through use he's known

To exceed his master, that arch-traitor Sylla.

A[s] brood of barbarous tigers, having lapp'd

The blood of many a herd, whilst with their dams

They kennell'd in Hyrcania, evermore

Will rage and prey; so, Pompey, thou, having lick'd330

Warm gore from Sylla's sword, art yet athirst:

Jaws flesh[ed] with blood continue murderous.

Speak, when shall this thy long-usurped power end?

What end of mischief? Sylla teaching thee,

At last learn, wretch, to leave thy monarchy!

What, now Sicilian[609]pirates are suppress'd,

And jaded[610]king of Pontus poison'd slain,

Must Pompey as his last foe plume on me,

Because at his command I wound not up

My conquering eagles? say I merit naught,[611]340

Yet, for long service done, reward these men,

And so they triumph, be't with whom ye will.

Whither now shall these old bloodless souls repair?

What seats for their deserts? what store of ground

For servitors to till? what colonies

To rest their bones? say, Pompey, are these worse

Than pirates of Sicilia?[612]they had houses.

Spread, spread these flags that ten years' space have conquer'd!

Let's use our tried force: they that now thwart right,

In wars will yield to wrong:[613]the gods are with us;350

Neither spoil nor kingdom seek we by these arms,

But Rome, at thraldom's feet, to rid from tyrants."

This spoke, none answer'd, but a murmuring buzz

Th' unstable people made: their household-gods

And love to Rome (though slaughter steel'd their hearts,

And minds were prone) restrain'd them; but war's love

And Cæsar's awe dash'd all. Then Lælius,[614]

The chief centurion, crown'd with oaken leaves

For saving of a Roman citizen,

Stepp'd forth, and cried: "Chief leader of Rome's force,

So be I may be bold to speak a truth,361

We grieve at this thy patience and delay.

What, doubt'st thou us? even now when youthful blood

Pricks forth our lively bodies, and strong arms

Can mainly throw the dart, wilt thou endure

These purple grooms, that senate's tyranny?

Is conquest got by civil war so heinous?

Well, lead us, then, to Syrtes' desert shore,

Or Scythia, or hot Libya's thirsty sands.

This band, that all behind us might be quail'd,370

Hath with thee pass'd the swelling ocean,

And swept the foaming breast of Arctic[615]Rhene.

Love over-rules my will; I must obey thee,

Cæsar: he whom I hear thy trumpets charge,

I hold no Roman; by these ten blest ensigns

And all thy several triumphs, shouldst thou bid me

Entomb my sword within my brother's bowels,

Or father's throat, or women's groaning[616]womb,

This hand, albeit unwilling, should perform it?

Or rob the gods, or sacred temples fire,380

These troops should soon pull down the church of Jove;[617]

If to encamp on Tuscan Tiber's streams,

I'll boldly quarter out the fields of Rome;

What walls thou wilt be levell'd with the ground,

These hands shall thrust the ram, and make them fly,

Albeit the city thou wouldst have so raz'd

Be Rome itself." Here every band applauded,

And, with their hands held up, all jointly cried

They'll follow where he please. The shouts rent heaven,

As when against pine-bearing Ossa's rocks390

Beats Thracian Boreas, or when trees bow[618]down

And rustling swing up as the wind fets[619]breath.

When Cæsar saw his army prone to war,

And Fates so bent, lest sloth and long delay

Might cross him, he withdrew his troops from France,

And in all quarters musters men for Rome.

They by Lemannus' nook forsook their tents;

They whom[620]the Lingones foil'd with painted spears,

Under the rocks by crookèd Vogesus;

And many came from shallow Isara,400

Who, running long, falls in a greater flood,

And, ere he sees the sea, loseth his name;

The yellow Ruthens left their garrisons;

Mild Atax glad it bears not Roman boats,[621]

And frontier Varus that the camp is far,

Sent aid; so did Alcides' port, whose seas

Eat hollow rocks, and where the north-west wind

Nor zephyr rules not, but the north alone

Turmoils the coast, and enterance forbids;

And others came from that uncertain shore410

Which is nor sea nor land, but ofttimes both,

And changeth as the ocean ebbs and flows;

Whether the sea roll'd always from that point

Whence the wind blows, still forcèd to and fro;

Or that the wandering main follow the moon;

Or flaming Titan, feeding on the deep,

Pulls them aloft, and makes the surge kiss heaven;

Philosophers, look you; for unto me,

Thou cause, whate'er thou be, whom God assigns

This great effect, art hid. They came that dwell420

By Nemes' fields and banks of Satirus,[622]

Where Tarbell's winding shores embrace the sea;

The Santons that rejoice in Cæsar's love;[623]

Those of Bituriges,[624]and light Axon[625]pikes;

And they of Rhene and Leuca,[626]cunning darters,

And Sequana that well could manage steeds;

The Belgians apt to govern British cars;

Th' A[r]verni, too, which boldly feign themselves

The Roman's brethren, sprung of Ilian race;

The stubborn Nervians stain'd with Cotta's blood;430

And Vangions who, like those of Sarmata,

Wear open slops;[627]and fierce Batavians,

Whom trumpet's clang incites; and those that dwell

By Cinga's stream, and where swift Rhodanus

Drives Araris to sea; they near the hills,

Under whose hoary rocks Gebenna hangs;

And, Trevier, thou being glad that wars are past thee;

And you, late-shorn Ligurians, who were wont

In large-spread hair to exceed the rest of France;

And where to Hesus and fell Mercury[628]440

They offer human flesh, and where Jove seems

Bloody like Dian, whom the Scythians serve.

And you, French Bardi, whose immortal pens

Renown the valiant souls slain in your wars,

Sit safe at home and chant sweet poesy.

And, Druides, you now in peace renew

Your barbarous customs and sinister rites:

In unfell'd woods and sacred groves you dwell;

And only gods and heavenly powers you know,

Or only know you nothing; for you hold450

That souls pass not to silent Erebus

Or Pluto's bloodless kingdom, but elsewhere

Resume a body; so (if truth you sing)

Death brings long life. Doubtless these northern men,

Whom death, the greatest of all fears, affright not,

Are blest by such sweet error; this makes them

Run on the sword's point, and desire to die,

And shame to spare life which being lost is won.

You likewise that repuls'd the Caÿc foe,

March towards Rome; and you, fierce men of Rhene,460

Leaving your country open to the spoil.

These being come, their huge power made him bold

To manage greater deeds; the bordering towns

He garrison'd; and Italy he fill'd with soldiers.

Vain fame increased true fear, and did invade

The people's minds, and laid before their eyes

Slaughter to come, and, swiftly bringing news

Of present war, made many lies and tales:

One swears his troops of daring horsemen fought

Upon Mevania's plain, where bulls are graz'd;470

Other that Cæsar's barbarous bands were spread

Along Nar flood that into Tiber falls,

And that his own ten ensigns and the rest

March'd not entirely, and yet hide the ground;

And that he's much chang'd, looking wild and big,

And far more barbarous than the French, his vassals;

And that he lags[629]behind with them, of purpose,

Borne 'twixt the Alps and Rhene, which he hath brought

From out their northern parts,[630]and that Rome,

He looking on, by these men should be sack'd.480

Thus in his fright did each man strengthen fame,

And, without ground, fear'd what themselves had feign'd.

Nor were the commons only struck to heart

With this vain terror; but the court, the senate,

The fathers selves leap'd from their seats, and, flying,

Left hateful war decreed to both the consuls.

Then, with their fear and danger all-distract,

Their sway of flight carries the heady rout,[631]

That in chain'd[632]troops break forth at every port:

You would have thought their houses had been fir'd,490

Or, dropping-ripe, ready to fall withruin.

So rush'd the inconsiderate multitude

Thorough the city, hurried headlong on,

As if the only hope that did remain

To their afflictions were t' abandon Rome.

Look how, when stormy Auster from the breach

Of Libyan Syrtes rolls a monstrous wave,

Which makes the main-sail fall with hideous sound,

The pilot from the helm leaps in the sea,

And mariners, albeit the keel be sound,500

Shipwreck themselves; even so, the city left,

All rise in arms; nor could the bed-rid parents

Keep back their sons, or women's tears their husbands:

They stayed not either to pray or sacrifice;

Their household-gods restrain them not; none lingered,

As loath to leave Rome whom they held so dear:

Th' irrevocable people fly in troops.

O gods, that easy grant men great estates,

But hardly grace to keep them! Rome, that flows

With citizens and captives,[633]and would hold510

The world, were it together, is by cowards

Left as a prey, now Cæsar doth approach.

When Romans are besieged by foreign foes,

With slender trench they escape night-stratagems,

And sudden rampire rais'd of turf snatched up,

Would make them sleep securely in their tents.

Thou, Rome, at name of war runn'st from thyself,

And wilt not trust thy city-walls one night:

Well might these fear, when Pompey feared and fled.

Now evermore, lest some one hope might ease520

The commons' jangling minds, apparent signs arose,

Strange sights appeared; the angry threatening gods

Filled both the earth and seas with prodigies.

Great store of strange and unknown stars were seen

Wandering about the north, and rings of fire

Fly in the air, and dreadful bearded stars,

And comets that presage the fall of kingdoms;

The flattering[634]sky glittered in often flames,

And sundry fiery meteors blazed in heaven,

Now spear-like long, now like a spreading torch;530

Lightning in silence stole forth without clouds,

And, from the northern climate snatching fire,

Blasted the Capitol; the lesser stars,

Which wont to run their course through empty night,

At noon-day mustered; Phœbe, having filled

Her meeting horns to match her brother's light,

Struck with th' earth's sudden shadow, waxèd pale;

Titan himself, throned in the midst of heaven,

His burning chariot plunged in sable clouds,

And whelmed the world in darkness, making men540

Despair of day; as did Thyestes' town,

Mycenæ, Phœbus flying through the east.

Fierce Mulciber unbarrèd Ætna's gate,

Which flamèd not on high, but headlong pitched

Her burning head on bending Hespery.

Coal-black Charybdis whirled a sea of blood.

Fierce mastives howled. The vestal fires went out;

The flame in Alba, consecrate to Jove,

Parted in twain, and with a double point

Rose, like the Theban brothers' funeral fire.550

The earth went off her hinges; and the Alps

Shook the old snow from off their trembling laps.[635]

The ocean swelled as high as Spanish Calpe

Or Atlas' head. Their saints and household-gods

Sweat tears, to show the travails of their city:

Crowns fell from holy statues. Ominous birds

Defiled the day; and wild beasts were seen,[636]

Leaving the woods, lodge in the streets of Rome.

Cattle were seen that muttered human speech;

Prodigious births with more and ugly joints560

Than nature gives, whose sight appals the mother;

And dismal prophecies were spread abroad:

And they, whom fierce Bellona's fury moves

To wound their arms, sing vengeance; Cybel's[637]priests,

Curling their bloody locks, howl dreadful things.

Souls quiet and appeas'd sighed from their graves;

Clashing of arms was heard; in untrod woods

Shrill voices schright;[638]and ghosts encounter men.

Those that inhabited the suburb-fields

Fled: foul Erinnys stalked about the walls,570

Shaking her snaky hair and crookèd pine

With flaming top; much like that hellish fiend

Which made the stern Lycurgus wound his thigh,

Or fierce Agave mad; or like Megæra

That scar'd Alcides, when by Juno's task

He had before look'd Pluto in the face.

Trumpets were heard to sound; and with what noise

An armèd battle joins, such and more strange

Black night brought forth in secret. Sylla's ghost

Was seen to walk, singing sad oracles;580

And Marius' head above cold Tav'ron[639]peering,

His grave broke open, did affright the boors.

To these ostents, as their old custom was,

They call th' Etrurian augurs: amongst whom

The gravest, Arruns, dwelt in forsaken Leuca[640]

Well-skill'd in pyromancy; one that knew

The hearts of beasts, and flight of wandering fowls.

First he commands such monsters Nature hatch'd

Against her kind, the barren mule's loath'd issue,

To be cut forth[641]and cast in dismal fires;590

Then, that the trembling citizens should walk

About the city; then, the sacred priests

That with divine lustration purg'd the walls,

And went the round, in and without the town;

Next, an inferior troop, in tuck'd-up vestures,

After the Gabine manner; then, the nuns

And their veil'd matron, who alone might view

Minerva's statue; then, they that kept and read

Sibylla's secret works, and wash[642]their saint

In Almo's flood; next learnèd augurs follow;600

Apollo's soothsayers, and Jove's feasting priests;

The skipping Salii with shields like wedges;

And Flamens last, with net-work woollen veils.

While these thus in and out had circled Rome,

Look, what the lightning blasted, Arruns takes,

And it inters with murmurs dolorous,

And calls the place Bidental. On the altar

He lays a ne'er-yok'd bull, and pours down wine,

Then crams salt leaven on his crookèd knife:

The beast long struggled, as being like to prove610

An awkward sacrifice; but by the horns

The quick priest pulled him on his knees, and slew him.

No vein sprung out, but from the yawning gash,

Instead of red blood, wallow'd venomous gore.

These direful signs made Arruns stand amazed,

And searching farther for the gods' displeasure,

The very colour scared him; a dead blackness

Ran through the blood, that turned it all to jelly,

And stained the bowels with dark loathsome spots;

The liver swelled with filth; and every vein620

Did threaten horror from the host of Cæsar

A small thin skin contained the vital parts;

The heart stirred not; and from the gaping liver

Squeezed matter through the caul; the entrails peered;

And which (ay me!) ever pretendeth[643]ill,

At that bunch where the liver is, appear'd

A knob of flesh, whereof one half did look

Dead and discolour'd, th' other lean and thin.[644]

By these he seeing what mischiefs must ensue,

Cried out, "O gods, I tremble to unfold630

What you intend! great Jove is now displeas'd;

And in the breast of this slain bull are crept

Th' infernal powers. My fear transcends my words;

Yet more will happen than I can unfold:

Turn all to good, be augury vain, and Tages,

Th' art's master, false!" Thus, in ambiguous terms

Involving all, did Arruns darkly sing.

But Figulus, more seen in heavenly mysteries,

Whose like Ægyptian Memphis never had

For skill in stars and tuneful planeting,[645]640

In this sort spake: "The world's swift course is lawless

And casual; all the stars at random range;[646]

Or if fate rule them, Rome, thy citizens

Are near some plague. What mischief shall ensue?

Shall towns be swallow'd? shall the thicken'd air

Become intemperate? shall the earth be barren?

Shall water be congeal'd and turn'd to ice?[647]

O gods, what death prepare ye? with what plague

Mean ye to rage? the death of many men

Meets in one period. If cold noisome Saturn650

Were now exalted, and with blue beams shin'd,

Then Ganymede[648]would renew Deucalion's flood,

And in the fleeting sea the earth be drench'd.

O Phœbus, shouldst thou with thy rays now singe

The fell Nemæan beast, th' earth would be fir'd,

And heaven tormented with thy chafing heat:

But thy fires hurt not. Mars, 'tis thou inflam'st

The threatening Scorpion with the burning tail,

And fir'st his cleys:[649]why art thou thus enrag'd?

Kind Jupiter hath low declin'd himself;660

Venus is faint; swift Hermes retrograde;

Mars only rules the heaven. Why do the planets

Alter their course, and vainly dim their virtue?

Sword-girt Orion's side glisters too bright:

War's rage draws near; and to the sword's strong hand

Let all laws yield, sin bears the name of virtue:

Many a year these furious broils let last:

Why should we wish the gods should ever end them?

War only gives us peace. O Rome, continue

The course of mischief, and stretch out the date670

Of slaughter! only civil broils make peace."

These sad presages were enough to scare

The quivering Romans; but worse things affright them.

As Mænas[650]full of wine on Pindus raves,

So runs a matron through th' amazèd streets,

Disclosing Phœbus' fury in this sort;

"Pæan, whither am I haled? where shall I fall,

Thus borne aloft? I seen Pangæus' hill

With hoary top, and, under Hæmus' mount,

Philippi plains. Phœbus, what rage is this?680

Why grapples Rome, and makes war, having no foes?

Whither turn I now? thou lead'st me toward th' east,

Where Nile augmenteth the Pelusian sea:

This headless trunk that lies on Nilus' sand

I know. Now th[o]roughout the air I fly

To doubtful Syrtes and dry Afric, where

A Fury leads the Emathian bands. From thence

To the pine-bearing[651]hills; thence[652]to the mounts

Pyrene; and so back to Rome again.

See, impious war defiles the senate-house!690

New factions rise. Now through the world again

I go. O Phœbus, show me Neptune's shore,

And other regions! I have seen Philippi."

This said, being tir'd with fury, she sunk down.

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