by Tibullus
Cum mea ridebunt vana magisteria.
81 Alas! what lingering torture is this love for Marathus: helpless is my skill, and helpless all my cunning. Spare me, I pray thee, boy, lest I become a byword, when folk shall laugh at my useless teaching!
V
To Delia
Asper eram et bene discidium me ferre loquebar,
At mihi nunc longe gloria fortis abest.
Namque agor ut per plana citus sola verbere turben,
Quem celer adsueta versat ab arte puer.
1 I WAS angry. I vowed I could bear our severance well. But now my proud vaunting has left me far and far away. For I am driven as a top that springs before the lash over the level ground, whirled by a quick boy’s practised art.
Ure ferum et torque, libeat ne dicere quicquam 5
Magnificum post haec: horrida verba doma.
5 Bring brands and tortures for the untamed creature, that he may have no love of talking loud hereafter: quell his wild utterances.
Parce tamen, per te furtivi foedera lecti,
Per venerem quaeso conpositumque caput.
Ille ego, cum tristi morbo defessa iaceres,
Te dicor votis eripuisse meis, 10
Ipseque te circum lustravi sulphure puro,
Carmine cum magico praecinuisset anus;
Ipse procuravi, ne possent saeva nocere
Somnia, ter sancta deveneranda mola;
Ipse ego velatus filo tunicisque solutis 15
Vota novem Triviae nocte silente dedi.
Omnia persolvi: fruitur nunc alter amore,
Et precibus felix utitur ille meis.
At mihi felicem vitam, si salva fuisses,
Fingebam demens, sed renuente deo. 20
7 Yet spare me, by the bonds of our stealthy union, I entreat thee, by our love and the head that has lain by mine. It was I, they say, whose vows snatched thee from peril when thou layest exhausted in sickness’ gloomy hold. It was I that scattered all about thee the cleansing sulphur, the beldame first chaunting her magic spell. I appeased the cruel Dreams that had thrice to be honoured with offering of holy meal, that they might work no harm. In woollen headdress and ungirdled tunic I made nine vows to Trivia in the stilly night. All have I paid; but another hath now my love. He is the fortunate one, and reaps the fruit of all my prayers. Yet I used to dream that, if thou wert spared, there would be a happy life for me. Madman! a god said No.
Rura colam, frugumque aderit mea Delia custos,
Area dum messes sole calente teret,
Aut mihi servabit plenis in lintribus uvas
Pressaque veloci candida musta pede;
Consuescet numerare pecus, consuescet amantis 25
Garrulus in dominae ludere verna sinu.
Illa deo sciet agricolae pro vitibus uvam,
Pro segete spicas, pro grege ferre dapem.
Illa regat cunctos, illi sint omnia curae,
At iuvet in tota me nihil esse domo. 30
Huc veniet Messalla meus, cui dulcia poma
Delia selectis detrahat arboribus;
Et tantum venerata virum hunc sedula curet,
Huic paret atque epulas ipsa ministra gerat.
21 “In the country,” I said, “I will live. My Delia shall be there to keep watch upon the grain, while the threshing-floor winnows the harvest in the blazing sun; or she shall watch the grapes in the brimming trough when the quick feet tread the gleaming must. She shall learn to count the flock; she shall teach the prattling serf-child to play on a loving mistress’ lap. To the god that tends the country she will know what gifts to offer — for vines a cluster, spiked ears for cornfield, drink offering for flock. All folk shall she direct, and all things be her care. I shall love to be but a cipher in the house. Hither shall come my own Messalla. From chosen trees shall Delia pull him down sweet fruit. In homage to his greatness she shall give him zealous tendance, and prepare and carry him the repast, herself his waiting-maid.”
Haec mihi fingebam, quae nunc Eurusque Notusque 35
Iactat odoratos vota per Armenios.
35 Such were my dreams and prayers, now tost from East Wind unto South over all Armenia’s scented land.
Saepe ego temptavi curas depellere vino,
At dolor in lacrimas verterat omne merum.
Saepe aliam tenui, sed iam cum gaudia adirem,
Admonuit dominae deseruitque Venus. 40
Tunc me discedens devotum femina dixit
Et pudet et narrat scire nefanda meam.
Non facit hoc verbis, facie tenerisque lacertis
Devovet et flavis nostra puella comis.
Talis ad Haemonium Nereis Pelea quondam 45
Vecta est frenato caerula pisce Thetis.
37 Often have I sought to banish love’s troubles with strong drink; but pain turned all the wine to tears. Often have I held another in my arms; but on the very brink of delight Love bade me think of my mistress and forsook me. Then the woman, departing, declared me bewitched, and spread the tale (oh, shame!) that my love was versed in unholy arts. Not by charms does my lass do this. ’Tis her beauty, soft arms and golden hair bewitch me. Such was Thetis, the sea-blue Nereid, when in old days she rode on her bridled fish to Peleus of Haemonia.
Haec nocuere mihi, quod adest huic dives amator;
Venit in exitium callida lena meum.
Sanguineas edat illa dapes atque ore cruento
Tristia cum multo pocula felle bibat; 50
Hanc volitent animae circum sua fata querentes
Semper et e tectis strix violenta canat;
Ipsa fame stimulante furens herbasque sepulcris
Quaerat et a saevis ossa relicta lupis,
Currat et inguinibus nudis ululetque per urbes, 55
Post agat e triviis aspera turba canum.
47 These charms have been my bane. A rich lover waits for the lass. So the crafty bawd is bent on my undoing. May the hag’s food be mixed with blood. May the cup she puts to her gory lips be bitterly charged with gall. May ghosts flit round her always, bemoaning their fate, and the fierce vampire bird shrill from her roof; and she herself, frantic from hunger’s goad, hunt for weeds upon the graves and for bones which the wild wolves have left, and with middle bare run and shriek through the towns, and a savage troop of dogs from the crossways chase her from behind.
Eveniet: dat signa deus; sunt numina amanti,
Saevit et iniusta lege relicta Venus.
57 Thus shall it be. A god gives the sign. There are powers to guard the lover, and Love shows no ruth, when left for a lawless tie.
At tu quam primum sagae praecepta rapacis
Desere, nam donis vincitur omnis amor. 60
Pauper erit praesto semper, te pauper adibit
Primus et in tenero fixus erit latere,
Pauper in angusto fidus comes agmine turbae
Subicietque manus efficietque viam,
Pauper ad occultos furtim deducet amicos 65
Vinclaque de niveo detrahet ipse pede.
59 But do thou, Delia, with all speed leave the school of the grasping witch. There is no love that gifts will not master. The poor man will ever be at hand for thy service; he will come to thee first and cleave to thy tender side. The poor man, a trusty companion in the trooping crowds, will push below with his hands and make thee a way. The poor man [will take thee privately to the abodes of his friends] and himself unlace the boots from thy snowy feet.
Heu canimus frustra, nec verbis victa patescit
Ianua, sed plena est percutienda manu.
67 Alas! in vain do I sing; no words will win her door to open. Nay, the hand that knocks upon it must be filled.
At tu, qui potior nunc es, mea fata timeto:
Versatur celeri Fors levis orbe rotae. 70
Non frustra quidam iam nunc in limine perstat
Sedulus ac crebro prospicit ac refugit,
Et simulat transire domum, mox deinde recurrit,
Solus et ante ipsas excreat usque fores.
Nescio quid furtivus amor
parat. utere quaeso, 75
Dum licet: in liquida nat tibi linter aqua.
69 But thou who art victor now must fear that my fate awaits thee. Chance turns lightly on her swift-rolling wheel. Not without reason even now some one stands patient on the threshold, looks oft in front, retreats, feigns to pass by the house, but soon runs back again alone, and hawks without cease before the very door. Stealthy Love has some scheme afoot. Take thy good, I beg, while thou mayst; for in calm waters is thy shallop.
VI
To Delia
Semper, ut inducar, blandos offers mihi voltus,
Post tamen es misero tristis et asper, Amor.
Quid tibi saevitiae mecum est? an gloria magna est
Insidias homini conposuisse deum?
1 LOVE, thou dost always meet me with smiling visage to draw me on; but after that, poor wretch, I find thee frowning and angry. What hast thou to do with me, cruel boy? Is there great glory to a god in laying snares for a man?
Nam mihi tenduntur casses: iam Delia furtim 5
Nescio quem tacita callida nocte fovet.
Illa quidem tam multa negat, sed credere durum est:
Sic etiam de me pernegat usque viro.
Ipse miser docui, quo posset ludere pacto
Custodes: heu heu nunc premor arte mea, 10
Fingere nunc didicit causas, ut sola cubaret,
Cardine nunc tacito vertere posse fores.
Tum sucos herbasque dedi, quis livor abiret,
Quem facit inpresso mutua dente venus.
5 For the net is spread to take me; now cunning Delia clasps a gallant covertly in the hush of night. She denies it, indeed, and on oath; but ’tis hard to believe her. Thus touching me, too, she denies every hour to her husband. Poor wretch, it was I who taught her the ways of tricking her watchers, and now alas! by my own craft am I sore bestead. Then learned she how to frame excuses for lying alone, and then how to turn the door without a sound from the hinges. Then I gave her juices and herbs to efface the dark signs which the teeth in love’s communion imprint upon the flesh.
At tu, fallacis coniunx incaute puellae, 15
Me quoque servato, peccet ut illa nihil.
Neu iuvenes celebret multo sermone, caveto,
Neve cubet laxo pectus aperta sinu,
Neu te decipiat nutu, digitoque liquorem
Ne trahat et mensae ducat in orbe notas. 20
Exibit quam saepe, time, seu visere dicet
Sacra Bonae maribus non adeunda Deae.
At mihi si credas, illam sequar unus ad aras;
Tunc mihi non oculis sit timuisse meis.
15 And thou, the unwary mate of a faithless wife, watching me with the rest that she may never sin, take care that she talk not much or oft with young men, nor use nods to deceive thee, or recline with loose robe and bosom bare; and see she take not wine on her fingers and trace signs on the table’s round. Have thy fears when she goes out often, or if she say that she would witness the rites of the Good Goddess which no male must go nigh. But trust her to my keeping; and I, I only, will attend her to that altar. Then for my eyes need I have no fear.
Saepe, velut gemmas eius signumque probarem, 25
Per causam memini me tetigisse manum;
Saepe mero somnum peperi tibi, at ipse bibebam
Sobria subposita pocula victor aqua.
Non ego te laesi prudens: ignosce fatenti,
Iussit Amor: contra quis ferat arma deos? 30
Ille ego sum, nec me iam dicere vera pudebit,
Instabat tota cui tua nocte canis.
25 Many a time on the plea of judging her gem and its image can I remember how I touched her hand. Many a time my neat wine has put thee to sleep whilst I drank in triumph the sober cup of substituted water. I did not wrong thee of purpose — forgive me, now I own it— ’twas at Love’s bidding. And who may fight against a god? It was I — nor will I blush to speak the truth — whom thy dog was menacing the whole night through!
Quid tenera tibi coniuge opus? tua si bona nescis
Servare, frustra clavis inest foribus.
Te tenet, absentes alios suspirat amores 35
Et simulat subito condoluisse caput.
33 What good is a gentle wife to thee? If thine own treasures thou canst not guard, the key is vainly turned in the door. Her arms are round thee; but her sighs are for another, an absent love. And of a sudden she feigns the throes of headache.
At mihi servandam credas: non saeva recuso
Verbera, detrecto non ego vincla pedum.
Tum procul absitis, quisquis colit arte capillos,
Et fluit effuso cui toga laxa sinu, 40
Quisquis et occurret, ne possit crimen habere,
Stet procul aut alia ~stet procul~ ante via.
37 Thou shouldst trust her to my keeping. Then I recoil not from torturing stripes, nor shrink from shackles on my feet. Then far be ye all who dress your hair with art and whose togas fall slack with copious folds. And let whosoever meets us, that no sin may be his, [stand aloof or pass by another road.]
Sic fieri iubet ipse deus, sic magna sacerdos
Est mihi divino vaticinata sono.
Haec ubi Bellonae motu est agitata, nec acrem 45
Flammam, non amens verbera torta timet;
Ipsa bipenne suos caedit violenta lacertos
Sanguineque effuso spargit inulta deam,
Statque latus praefixa veru, stat saucia pectus,
Et canit eventus, quos dea magna monet: 50
‘Parcite, quam custodit Amor, violare puellam,
Ne pigeat magno post didicisse malo.
Adtigerit, labentur opes, ut volnere nostro
Sanguis, ut hic ventis diripiturque cinis.’
43 That this be done doth God himself command; and this hath the great priestess revealed to me with voice inspired. She, when Bellona’s impulse drives her, fears in that frenzy neither searching flames nor twisted scourge. Fiercely with axe in hand she hacks at her own arms. With the gushing blood is the goddess sprinkled; but she goes without scathe. Erect with wounds on her breast, erect with the spit standing out from her side, she chaunts the words of fate that the great goddess prompts. “See to it that ye do no despite to the maid whom love doth guard; lest hereafter a great mischief lesson you to your woe. If any touch her, his fortune shall waste as the blood doth from my wound, and as these ashes are scattered by the wind.”
Et tibi nescio quas dixit, mea Delia, poenas; 55
Si tamen admittas, sit precor illa levis.
Non ego te propter parco tibi, sed tua mater
Me movet atque iras aurea vincit anus.
Haec mihi te adducit tenebris multoque timore
Coniungit nostras clam taciturna manus, 60
Haec foribusque manet noctu me adfixa proculque
Cognoscit strepitus me veniente pedum.
Vive diu mihi, dulcis anus: proprios ego tecum,
Sit modo fas, annos contribuisse velim.
Te semper natamque tuam te propter amabo: 65
Quicquid agit, sanguis est tamen illa tuos.
Sit modo casta, doce, quamvis non vitta ligatos
Impediat crines nec stola longa pedes.
55 And for thee, my Delia, she named a punishment. If notwithstanding thou shouldst sin, I pray let her be merciful. Not for thyself do I spare thee. It is thy aged mother moves me; before her golden nature sinks my wrath. She brings me to thee in the dark, and in fear and trembling secretly and silently she joins our hands. Long life to thee still, dear dame. Did but heaven allow, to thy stock of years would I add my own. I will love thee always, and thy daughter for thy sake; whatever she does, she is of thy blood after all. Only teach her to be chaste, though no band of the matrons’ fillets confines her hair, nor their long robe her feet.
Et mihi sint durae leges, laudare nec ullam
Possim ego, quin oculos adpetat illa meos, 70
Et siquid peccasse putet, ducarque capillis
Inmerito pronas proripiarque vias.
N
on ego te pulsare velim, sed, venerit iste
Si furor, optarim non habuisse manus;
Nec saevo sis casta metu, sed mente fideli, 75
Mutuus absenti te mihi servet amor.
69 And for me let there be hard terms; let me never praise a woman without her flying at my eyes, and if she should think I have done her wrong, let me be taken by the hair, though I be guiltless, and pitched forward down the steep. I would not wish to strike thee, Delia, but if such madness come to me, I would pray to have no hands. Yet be not chaste through cruel fear, but by loyal heart; and when absent, let love on thy side keep thee safe for me....
At, quae fida fuit nulli, post victa senecta
Ducit inops tremula stamina torta manu
Firmaque conductis adnectit licia telis
Tractaque de niveo vellere ducta putat. 80
Hanc animo gaudente vident iuvenumque catervae
Conmemorant merito tot mala ferre senem,
Hanc Venus exalto flentem sublimis Olympo
Spectat et, infidis quam sit acerba, monet.
Haec aliis maledicta cadant; nos, Delia, amoris 85
Exemplum cana simus uterque coma.
77 [The faithful have their reward.] But she whom no one has found true, thereafter poor and bowed with age draws out the twisted yarn with shaking hand and for hire fastens firm the leashes to the loom and pulls and cleans the handfuls of snowy wool. The troops of young are glad at heart to see her plight, and declare that she deserves to suffer so many woes in age. Venus from her throne on high Olympus looks upon her weeping, and bids us mark how sharp she is with the faithless. Upon others, Delia, let these curses fall: but let us twain still be pattern lovers when our hair is white.
VII
Hunc cecinere diem Parcae fatalia nentes
Stamina, non ulli dissoluenda deo,
Hunc fore, Aquitanas posset qui fundere gentes,
Quem tremeret forti milite victus Atax.
Evenere: novos pubes Romana triumphos 5
Vidit et evinctos bracchia capta duces;
At te victrices lauros, Messalla, gerentem
Portabat nitidis currus eburnus equis.
1 The Triumph of Messalla OF this day sang the Parcae as they span the thread of doom which no god can untwist — that this should be the day to put the folk of Aquitaine to rout, to make the Aude to tremble, by a valiant soldiery overpowered. So hath it come about. The men of Rome have seen new triumphs, and chiefs with shackles on their captive arms, whilst thou, Messalla, wearing the conqueror’s bays, wast borne in ivory car by steeds of shining white.
