THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES POEMS All Rifihts Regerved POEMS FROM HORACE, CATULLUS AND SAPPHO AND OTHER PIECES BY EDWARD GEORGE HARMAN LONDON J. M. D K N T &f C O. MDCCCXCVII Printed by Ballantyne, Hanson &■ Co. At the Ballantyne Press PA T>EDICJ7ED TO THE €M EMORY OF MY FATHER [A few of these verses have appeared in the ^^ IVeslminster Gazette," and are reprinted by kind permission of the proprietors.'] CONTENTS RACE— PAGE Pyrrha 3 The praise of Italy .... 5 Fireside philosophy .... 9 "ONavis" 13 Chloe 15 A Roman's Sorrow ; or The Lament foi Quinctilius 17 To Venus 19 By the way ...... 21 " Persicos Odi " 23 Alas, the years I . ... 25 A mystical utterance .... 29 For the times 31 A trumpet call ..... 37 The reconciliation .... 41 Marjory 45 The Faun 47 The revellers 49 A poet's phrenzy 5' Neptune's feast 55 A poet's fame ..... 57 An early spring day .... 6i Time's revenge .... 65 A man's love 69 861814 viii CONTENTS CATULLUS— PAOE To Lesbia 73 Lesbia's sparrow dead 75 Sirmio 77 Soliloquy on breaking off his connection with " Lesbia " 79 At a brother's grave 83 SAPPHO— Sappho's song ...... 87 Sappho's hymn to Aphrodite ... 89 MISCELLANEOUS— Lines on a fragment ..... 95 Wanted a general ! 97 An epitaph 99 Homeric dawn ...... loi To a painter ...... 102 The old guide (as a Greek might have written it) ..... . 103 The old guide (a modern version) . . 105 An antique 106 A summer idyl 108 Envoy 109 HORACE HORACE CARM. I. V. Quis multa gracilis te puer in rosa Perfusus liquidis urget odoribus Grato, Pyrrha^ sub antro? Cui flavam religas comam Simplex munditiis ? Heu quoties Mem Mutatosque deos flebit et aspera Nigris aequora ventis Emirabitur insolens ; Qui nunc te fruitur credulus aurea, (^i semper vacuam, semper amabilem Sperat nescius aurae Fallacis. Miseri quibus Intentata nites ! Me tabula sacer Votiva paries indicat uvida Suspendisse potenti Vestimenta maiis deo. BOOK I. ODE V. PYRRHA. What slender youth, ou scattered roses lying, AV^oos thee, fair Pyrrha, in some cool sequestered place ? For whom bind'st thou thy yellow hair With artless grace ? Ah, hapless boy ! how soon, how soon to tears Will his young golden dream be turned, when clouds arise On that bright sea, and changed gods Avert their eyes ! Who now has all thy love, nor dreams that thou Could'st change, could'st ever cease to love him, or the day Could come when love and faith would fail — Ah, wretched they, For whom thy beauty shines ! My dripping weeds, Hung on great Neptune's votive wall, proclaim for me To all, how I erewhile escaped That cruel sea. HORACE CARM. I. VII. AD MUNATIUM PIjANCUM. Laudabunt alii claram Rhodoii aut Mitylenen Aut Epheson bimarisve Corinthi Moenia vel Baccho Thebas vel Apolline Delphos Insignes aut Thessala Tenipe. Sunt quibus unum opus est iiitactae Palladis urbem Carmine perpetuo celebrare et Undique decerptam fronti praeponere olivam, Plurimus in Juuonis honorem Aptum dicet equis Argos ditesque Mycenas. Me nee tarn patiens Lacedaemon Nee tarn Larissae percussit campus opimae, Quam domus Albuneae resonantis Et praeceps Anio ac Tiburni lucus et uda Mobilibus pomaria rivis. Albus ut obscuro deterget nubila caelo Saepe Notus neque parturit imbres BOOK I. ODE VII. THE PRAISE OP^ ITALY. Some men may praise tlie isles of Greece, Or Corinth set between her seas, Or tune a lyre to celebrate The storied shrines of deities, Hallowed by bards of old renown Throug'h hamlet, citadel, and town. The Delphic floor, the wondrous fane Of Ephesus may fire the ton2;ue, ^l^^hile some there be would still renew The cycle of immortal sonsj'. That hovers round that city bright. Which Pallas j?uards for her delight. Others in Juno's praise would sing The plains of Argos, nurse of steeds, Mycenae's wealth of ancient fame, The iron race that Sparta breeds, Larissa, Thebes, and many more. Which elder bards have sung before. High themes ; but I, who dwell beside The plunging Anio, noting these, Find sweeter to Italian ears Its music sounding through the trees Of Tibur's grove, whose sacred bough Keeps green a garland for my brow. Here dwells the awful Sibyl, here Broad shades and pleasant greens abound, Here, led by patient husbaudrj', A thousand rills refresh the ground. Where on the orchard's sunlit floor Pomona sheds her bounteous store. 6 HORACE Perpetuo, sic tu sapiens fiuire memento Tristitiam vitaeque labores MoUi, Plance, mero, sen te fulgentia signis Castra tenent seu densa tenebit Tiburis umbra tui. Teucer Salamina patremque Cum fugeret tameu uda Lyaeo Tempora populea fertur viuxisse corona. Sic tristes affatus amicos : Quo nos cuuque feret melior fortuna pareute Ibimus, o socii comitesque. Nil desperandum Teucro duce et auspice Teucro ; Certus enim promisit Apollo Ambiguam tellure nova Salamina futuram. O fortes pejoraque passi Mecum saepe viri, nunc vino pellite curas ; Cras ingens iterabinius aequor. BOOK I. ODE VII. And here, old friend, beneath the shade Of thy loved woods, 'twere sweet to lie. And, lulled by cups of fragrant wine, To bid dull care and sorrow fly. Nor count those hours as idly spent ^Vhich heaven for ease from toil has sent. All things have ease, the southern gale Comes oft without its load of storm. And clears the heavens ; so wine the mind, Here, or where'er our legions form The glittering ranks of serried war, Which keep thee from thy home afar. When, by a parent's stern decree. Bold Teucer left his island home, Though doomed from his loved Salamis In bitter banishment to roam, He wreathed his brow, wine-drenched with dew, And thus addressed his sorrowing crew : " Grieve not, my friends, the world is wide, And we will go where fortune calls. Brave hearts who follow Teucer's star Know no despair, whate'er befalls ; There lies a land across the main, Where Salamis shall rise again. Such is Apollo's promised word. His oracle which cannot fail ; A fate more kind than parent's law Shall speed at last our spreading sail ; Then banish care, and drink with me. To-morrow we will roam the sea." HORACE CARM. 1. IX. AD THALIARCHUM. ViDES ut alta stet nive candid um Soracte, uec jam sustineant onus Silvae laborantes geluque Flumina constiterint acuto. Dissolve frigus ligija super foco Large reponens, atque benignius Deprome quadrimum Sabiua, O Thaliarche, merum diota. Permitte divis cetera, qui simul Stravere ventos aequore fervido Deproeliantes nee cupressi Nee veteres agitantur orni. BOOK I. ODE IX. FIRESIDE PHILOSOPHY. Scene. — The parlour in Horace's Sahine farmhouse. Time.— .4 winter morning. Persons. — Horace and a young friend (somewhat afflicted with the fashionable pessimism). Horace loq. Good heavens, what cold ! The snow is down On all the hills ; the woods are lost ; The streams are blocked with ice. 'Tis clear We're in for something like a frost ! Draw up your chair and stir the fire ; Pile all the log's the hearth will hold ; We'll have a pint of Sabine wine To help us to keep out the cold. There — now we'll talk, and leave the world To the good care of Providence, Nor vex our souls o'ermuch to probe The Why, the "Whither, and the Whence. Look at that cypress and those elms, So still against the frosty sky ; How tossed and wracked their mighty limbs, M^hen God so wills and winds are high ! 10 HORACE Quid sit futurum eras fuge quaerere, et Quem Fors dierum cuiique dabit lucro Appone, nee dulces amores Speriie puer neque tu choreas^ Donee virenti canities abest Morosa. Nunc et campus et areae Lenesque sub noctem susurri Composita repetantur hora ; Nunc et latentis proditor intimo Gratus puellae risus ab angulo, Pignusque dereptum lacertis Aut digito male pertinaci. BOOK I. ODE IX. n Man's a small thing — he has his hour — Things, after all, are not so bad : Enjoy the present while you may, Leave to the future what is sad. Tut, tut, you talk ! Too soon the years Will fleck your golden locks with grey. Bring crabbed age for frolic youth. Steal all your pretty loves away. You smile ! when there are lips to kiss, And nymphs who beckon as they fly — Be wise in time ; you'll never have Such games when you're as old as I. 12 HORACE CARM. I. XIV. O NAVis, referent in mare te iiovi Fluctus ! () quid agis? Fortiter occupa Portum. Nonne vides ut Nudum remijjio latus Et malus celeri saucius Africo Antennaeque gemant ac sine funibus V'ix durare carinae Possint imperiosius Aequor ? Non tibi sunt Integra liutea, Non di, quos iterum pressa voces malo. Quamvis Pdntica pinus^ Silvae filia nobilis, Jactes et genus et nomen inutile ; Nil pictis timidus uavita puppibus Fidit. Tu, nisi ventis Debes ludibrium^ cave. Nuper sollicitum quae mihi taedium. Nunc desideriuni curaque non levis, Interfusa nitentes Vites aequora Cvcladas. BOOK I. ODE XIV. 13 "{) NAVIJS." O THOU who far upon a summer sea Spreadest white canvas to the favoviiiiig air^ Glad in thy proud convoying company Of statelier craft — take heed ! Though thou art fair^, And bravely leanest to the flowing blue, Yet waters are there, under other skies. Where storms are sudden and where stars are few. Ah ! when frail timbers rend and cordage flies, 'Mid the loud buff"ets of that boisterous world, How wilt thou fare? Were it not better far To seek the port, and there, with sails close furled. To hear the wild waves rage across the bar. Thy little barque secure, ere the night fall, With none on the lone waste to hear thee call ? 14 HORACE CARM. I. xxiii. Vitas hinnuleo me similis, Chloe, Quaereiiti pavidam montibus aviis Matrem non sine vano Aurarum et siliiae metu. Nam seu mobilibus veris inhorruit Adventus foliis seu virides rubum Dimovere lacertae, Et corde et genibus tremit. Atqui non ego te tigris ut aspera Gaetulusve leo frangere persequor Tandem desiue matrem Tempestiva sequi viro. BOOK I. ODE XXIII. 15 C H L O E. ChloEj you shuu me like a stnrtled fawn^ That seeks her timorous dam upon the heights^ And in each wandering air and stirring brake Some terror sights. 'Twas but the rustle of the coming spring, That softly shivered through the opening leaves, Or a green lizard darting through the briar. Her bosom heaves. Her limbs are all a-tremble ! Nay, what fears ! No savage lion I, that lies in wait To rudely rend thee. Leave thy mother then. And seek a mate. 16 HORACE CARM. I. XXIV. AD VIRGILIUM. Qi'is desiderio sit pudor aut modus Tarn cari capitis ? Praecipe lugubres Cautus, Melpomene, cui liquidam pater Vocem cum cithara dedit. Ergo Quinctilium perpetuus sopor Urget ! cui Pudor et Justitiae soror Incorrupta Fides nudaque Veritas Quando ullum iiiveniet parem ? Multis ille bonis flebilis occidit, Nulli flebilior quam tibi, Virgili. Tu frustra pius heu non ita creditum Poscis Quinctilium deos. Quodsi Threicio blandius Orpheo Auditam moderere arboribus fidem, Non vanae redeat sanguis imagini, Quam virga semel horrida Non lenis precibus fata recludere Nigro compulerit Mercurius gregi. Durum : sed levius fit patientia Quid quid corrigere est nefas. BOOK I. ODE XXIV. 17 A ROMAN'S SORROW; OR THE LAMENT FOR QUINCTILIUS. Tears have no measure, Sorrow needs no shame. To mourn so loved a life. Begin then, Muse, The heavy strain, and teach me how to mourn. For thou, Melpomene, did'st erst receive The ringing lyre from the great Father's hands. The lyre, and liquid tones of solemn song. Sunk is that head in the long sleep of death ; That dear, dear head ! Ah, brother ! friend beloved ! Shall Faith and Honour ever find thy peer ? His death brought tears to many a good man's eyes ; Most to thine, Virgil, who, with bootless plaint, Requir'st of Heaven this end of all thy prayers. Ah ! — might you tune your lyre to sweeter lays Than ever Orpheus woke by wood or stream, To that faint ghost the blood comes not again, Which once dread Hermes, with his awful wand. Has gathered in. 'Tis hard : but comfort still Seek we in bearing what high Heaven decrees. B 18 HORACE CARM. I. XXX. AD VENEBE.AI. O Venus, regina Cnidi Paphique, Sperne dilectam Cypron, et vocantis Thure te multo Glycerae decoram Transfer in aedem. Fervidus tecum puer et solutis Gratiae zonis properentque Nymphae Et parum comis sine te Juventas Mercuriusque. BOOK I. ODE XXX. 19 TO VENUS. O Venus, queen of many a sunny isle, Leave thy loved Cyprus, and across the sea Come hither to my Glycera's fair bower. Who summons thee With wealth of incense. Come, and with thee bring Thy glowing boy, nor let the Nymphs delay ; Youth too, love-longing, and the Graces three Bid come away ! 20 HORACE CARM. I. XXXIV. Parous deorum cultor et infrequens Insanientis dum sapientiae Consultus erro, nunc retrorsum Vela dare atque iterare cursus Cogor relictos : namque Diespiter, Igni corusco nubila dividens Plerumque, per purum tonantes Egit equos volucremque currum Quo bruta tellus et vaga flumina. Quo Styx et invisi horrida Taenari Sedes Atlauteusque finis Concutitur. Valet ima summis Mutare et insignem attenuat deus Obscura promens ; hinc apicem rapax Fortuna cum stridore acute Sustulit, hie posuisse gaudet. BOOK I. ODE XXXIV. 21 BY THE WAY. I, WHO for many years had ceased To go to church, or say my prayers. Making Philosophy my priest, Till, tangled in the mazy snares Of puzzle-headed Wisdom's saws, I 'gan to wonder where I was ; Casting about in witless wise, I, one fine day — the world may smile. But there it was — I rubbed my eyes. And saw that, had I walked a mile By the old road, I'd better done Than twenty by the way I'd come. So, musing to myself, I said '^I've been a fool" — and back I ran ; And, as the ancient way I tread, ' A sadder and a wiser man,' I recognise there's still some knowledge We may acquire when we've left college. 22 HORACE CARM. I. XXXVIII. AD PUEKUM. Persicos odi, puer, apparatus, Displicent nexae philyra coronae ; Mitte sectari rosa quo locorum Sera moretur. Simplici myrto nihil allabores Sedulus euro : neque te ministrum Dedecet myrtus neque me sub arta Vite bibentem. BOOK I. ODE XXXVIII. 23 'PERSICOS ODI." Sir John to his Valet : I DO not like your Jewish tastes, I hate your furs and astrachan, Melton and velvet's good enough, Or was, to coat a gentleman. You need not trouble to inquire ^Fhat is the latest sort of hat, Chapman & Moore have got my size. And yours, and can attend to that. 24 HORACE CARM. II. XIV. AD POSTUJIUM. Ehet fugaces, Postume, Postume, Labuntur anni, nee pietas moram Rugis et instanti senectae Afferet indomitaeque morti. Non, si trecenis, quotquot eunt dies. Amice, places illacrimabilem Plutona tauris, qui ter amplum Geryonen Tityonque tristi Compescit unda, scilicet omnibus Quicunque terrae munere vescimur Enaviganda, sive reges Sive inopes erimus coloni. Frustra cruento Marte carebimus Fractisque rauci fluctibus Hadriae, Frustra per auctumnos nocentem Corporibus metuemus Austrum : Visendus ater flumine languido Cocytos errans et Danai genus Infame damnatusque longi Sisyphus Aeolides laboris. BOOK II. ODE XIV. 23 ALAS, THE YEARS! Alas, the years, how soon they pass away ! And what can hold the ruthless hand of Time .'' Athwart the path, alike for you, for me, Stands wrinkled eld, and, at the end, the grave. Not if you brought in daily sacrifice A hecatomb of bulls on altar slain, Stern Pluto's gloomy power might you assuage. Who winds about with his remorseless stream The huge Earth-monsters. To that dismal shore We all must come, and all must cross that flood. Whether on earth in palaces we dwell. Or till the soil as lowly husbandmen. 'Tis all in vain we keep from cruel wars, Vain that we shun the bursting billow's surge. Vainly, with heedful care, when autumn comes. We shield our bodies from its harmful airs. Dark with its sobbing waters winding slow We all must view Cocytus' wandering stream, And that sad race condemned to endless toil. For sins whose guilt no toil may purge away. 26 HORACE Linquenda tellus et domus et placens Uxor, ueque harum quas colis arborum Te praeter invisas cupressos Ulla brevem dominum sequetur. Absumet heres Caecuba dignior Servata ceutum clavibus, et mero Tiuget pavimentum superbo Pontificum potiore coenis. BOOK II. ODE XIV. '27 All must be leftj lauds, home, and charming wife, Fondest of pledges, and of all these trees Your hands have raised, except the cypress drear. Not one shall follow thee, their short-lived lord ! In prouder state your lavish heir shall quaff The wine you guarded with a hundred keys. And dash its splendid wealth upon your floor, A lordlier brand than pontiffs' feasts can boast ! 28 HORACE CARM. II. XIX. AD BACCHUM. Bacchum in remotis carmina rupibus Vidi docentem — credite posteri — Nymphasque disceutes et aures Capripedum Satyrorum acutas. Euoe, recenti mens trepidat metu Plenoque Bacchi pectore turbidum Laetatur. Euoe^ parce Liber, Parce, gravi jnetuende thyrso ! Fas pervicaces est mihi Thyiadas Vinique foutem lactis et uberes Cantare rivos, atque truncis Lapsa cavis iterare mella ; Fas et beatae conjugis additum Stellis honorem, tectaque Peuthei Disjecta non leni ruina, Tliracis et exitium Lycurgi. Tu flectis amnes, tu mare barbarum, Tu separatis uvidus in jugis Nodo coerces viperino Bistonidum sine fraude crines : Tu, cum parentis regua per arduum Cohors Gigantum scanderet impia, Rhoetum retorsisti leonis Unguibus horribilique mala ; Quamquam choreis aptior et jocis Ludoque dictus non sat idoneus Pugnae ferebaris : sed idem Pacis eras mediusque belli. Te vidit insons Cerberus aureo Cornu decorum, leniter atterens Caudam, et recedentis trilingui Ore pedes tetigitque crura. BOOK II. ODE XIX. 29 A MYSTICAL UTTERANCE. Of lonely rocks a vision came, Where Bacchus — let who will believe — To Nymphs and listening Satyrs tame The mysterie of song did give ; Attuning to each ravished ear The various note : whereat my heart, With strange delight and mingled fear — Such is that goddes power — did start. Evoe spare me ! spare to harm Thy servants of the ivy crown I Who reel beneath the potent charm. Which from thy tufted staff comes down ' So will I sing, with rage divine. Thy godhead's all-subduing fame, In wars achieved, in song and wine. On earth, in heaven and hell the same. 30 HORACE CARM. III. I. Odi profanum vulgus et arceo ; Favete linguis : carmina non prius Audita Musarum sacerdos Virginibus puerisque canto. Regum timendorum in proprios greges, Reges in ipsos imperium est Jovis Clari Giganteo triumph o, Cuncta supercilio moventis. Est ut viro vir latius ordinet Arbusta sulcis, hie generosior Descendat in Campum petitor, IVIoribus hie meliorque fama Contendat, illi turba clientium Sit major : aequa lege Necessitas Sortitur insignes et imos ; Omne capax movet urna nomen. BOOK III. ODE I. 31 FOR THE TIMES. I SING for boys, for maidens fair I sing. Songs which were taught me by the Muses nine ; Draw near and listen to the truths I bring. All ye who keep the golden thread so fine Of youth glad-hearted ; but avaunt, ye proud. Ye sordid, vulgar, money-grubbing crowd ! The mighty sway of kings the nations prove. But kings in turn must own the power of God, \VTio, lifted high in heaven all things above, Shakes the great universe with awful nod : Kings have their hour, but, be it soon or late. Subjects and kings alike must bow to fate. Make broad your acres, boast your pedigree, Flatter your souls with pride of wealth and place. Affect the people with your high degree. Your birth superior, and your nobler race. Their suffrage win, acclaimed by every breath. The casting vote will still remain with Death. 32 HORACE Districtus ensis cui super impia Cervice pendet non Siculae dapes Dulcem elaborabunt saporem, Non avium citharaeque cantus Somnum reducent. Somnus agrestium Lenis virorum non humiles domos Fastidit umbrosamque ripanij Non Zephyris agitata Tempe. Desiderantem quod satis est neque Tumultuosum soUicitat mare. Nee saevus Arcturi cadentis Impetus aut orientis Haedi, Non verberatae grandine vineae Fundusque mendax, arbore nunc aquas Culpante nunc torrentia agros Sidera nunc hiemes iuiquas. BOOK III. ODE I. 33 For him, the guilty mau, above whose head A drawn sword hovers, banquets have no charm. And sleep has fled his anxious fearful bed, Where Care sits brooding and wide-eyed Alarm ; Nor song of birds, nor sounds from trembling string Of lute scarce touched sweet Sleep may thither bring. But in some far secluded rustic cot The gentle god takes joy to lay him down ; Ah, happy men ! thrice blessed, happy lot ! Removed from care and fickle fortune's frown, Calm is your rest, o'er-canopied by trees. Your lullaby the whispering of the breeze. True happiness in calm contentment lies, Blindly we seek it over land and sea. For purple, gems, and costliest merchandise Holding the farthest shores of earth in fee ; For this the storm-tossed sailor knows no rest, And dreads Arcturus sloping toward the west. But if the limits of a man's desires Are bounded by the simple needs of life, Nor winter rains, nor summer's scorching fires Disturb his quiet, nor the furious strife Of elements, what time the farmer sees The loss of crops and corn and wine's increase. 34 HORACE Contracta pisces aequora sentiunt Jactis in altum molibus ; hue frequens Caementa demittit redemptor Cum famulis dominusque terrae Fastidiosus. Sed Timor et Miuae Scandunt eodem quo domiuus, neque Decedit aerata triremi, et Post equitem sedet atra Cura. Quodsi dolentem nee Phrygius lapis Nee purpurarum sidere clarior Delenit usus nee Falerna Vitis Aehaemeuiumque costum. Cur invidendis postibus et novo Sublime ritu moliar atrium ? Cur valle permutem Sabiua Divitias operosiores ? BOOK III. ODE I. 35 Frantic for change and crazed for novelty. The lords of wealth must ease tlieir latest pain ; Tired of the land, they would fill up the sea. And hurl huge blocks into the fretted main. While slaves and factors sweat to rise a pile Upon the waters in the last new style. But at the windows of the topmost tower The horrid face of Fear looks gaping in ; Not all the rich man's gold can forge a power To lay the spectres that attend on sin ; They climb his brazen barge, while Care, as black As armoured steed, rides clinging at his back. If, then, nor purple robes nor mansions fine Can banish grief or lull the soul to rest ; If gems and perfumes rare and choicest wine Can bring no balm to sooth the troubled breast ; If neither pillared court nor marble hall Give comfort to the aching heart at all ; If, with the world and with myself at peace, I live contented in my Sabine vale ; If, far from strife of tongues which never cease, My home aifords no mark for Envy pale — Why should I change a state, which such wealth brings. For all the splendid poverty of kings ? 36 HORACE CARM. III. II. Angustam amice pauperiem pati Robustus acri militia puer Condiscat, et Parthos feroces Vexet eques metuendus hasta^ Vitamque sub divo et trepidis agat In rebus. Ilium ex moenibus hosticis Matrona bellantis tyranni Prospiciens et adulta virgo Suspiret, eheu, ne rudis agminum Sponsus lacessat regius asperum Tactu leonem^ quern crueuta Per medias rapit ira caedes. Dulce et decorum est pi-o patria mori : Mors et fugacem persequitur virumj Nee parcit imbellis j uventae Poplitibus timidoque tergo. Virtus repulsae nescia sordidae Intaminatis fulget honoribus, Nee sumit aut ponit secures Arbitrio popularis aurae. BOOK III. ODE II. 37 A TRUMPET CALL. Nurtured to arms, and schooled by rigorous war, Let Youth go learn to fare on frugal cheer. And teach, at last, the savage Parthian hordes To dread the prowess of a Roman spear. Let him live hard, beneath the open sky. Where deeds are stirring ; from embattled towers Let royal mothers, watching for their sons, And maids new-wedded, tremble lest the flowers Of all their hopes, alas ! should rashly rouse The lion in his fury where he goes Through heaps of slain, and on their ill-starred heads Bring all the wrath he wreaks upon his foes. Ah, 'tis a sweet and seemly thing to die For home and country ! But a coward's grave What man would win.'' — and death o'ertakes the coward. For all his pains his recreant limbs to save. Honour, that will not brook a base defeat. Shines forth with bright unsullied glory still, Nor takes nor abdicates the seals of power To suit the changes of the people's will. 38 HORACE Virtus recludens immeritis mori Caelum negata tentat iter via, Coetusque vulgares et udam Spernit hiimum fugiente penna. Est et fideli tuta sileutio Merces : vetabo qui Cereris sacrum Vulgarit arcanae sub isdem Sit trabibus fragilemve mecum Solvat phaselon ; saepe Diespiter Neglectus iucesto addidit integrum. Raro antecedentem scelestum Deseruit pede Poena claudo. BOOK III. ODE II. 39 Scorning' the misty earth, on beatinjj- wing Honour her trackless path to heaven doth cleave, And pours its light on those she lifts above The coil that mean earth-groping mortals weave. For reverence, too, and faith there lies in store A sure reward : that man shall never be, Who blabs the mysteries of holy rites. Under one roof or in one ship with me. Oft, for our sins, on good and bad alike God, in his wisdom, hurls his vengeful blast ; Seldom hath Justice, though with halting foot, Failed to o'ertake the guilty man at last. 40 HORACE CARM. III. IX. DoNEC gratus eram tibi Nee quisquam potior brachia candidae Cervici juvenis dabat^ Persarum vigui rege beatior. Donee non alia magis Arsisti neque erat Lydia post Chloen^ Multi Lydia nominis Romana vigui elarior Ilia. Me nune Thressa Chloe regit Dulces docta modos et citharae seiens. Pro qua non metuam mori Si parcent animae fata superstiti. Me torret face mutua Thurini Calais filius Ornyti, Pro quo bis patiar mori Si parcent puero fata superstiti. BOOK III. ODE IX. 41 THE RECONCILIATION. He. So long as I to thee was pleasing. And none than I more fondly pressed Round thy white neck his arms was wreathing, Than prince or king I lived more blessed. She. So long as thou thoughtst Lydia fairest, And other girls for her didst fly. No maid renowned for beauty rarest Was prouder queen of love than I. Hk. For me now Chloe is the fairer, She rules me with her sparkling eye — Ah, if the jealous Fates would spare her. For her sweet sake I'd gladly die ! She. I Phaon love, my heart doth yield him The vows he asks with ardent breath — Ah, if the envious Fates would shield liim. Thrice for his sake I'd welcome death ! 42 HORACE Quid si prisca red it Venus Diductosque jugo cogit aeneo, Si flava excutitur Chloe Rejectaeque patet janua Lydiae? Quamquam sidere pulchrior Ille est, tu levior cortice et improbo Iracundior Hadria, Tecum vivere amem, tecum obeam libens. BOOK III. ODE IX. 43 He. What if the old, old love returning, Send Lydia back her truant boy. If he, the fair-haired Chloe spurning, Should seek again his early joy.'' She. Though like Jove's star his beauty flashes, And fickle thou as April sky. Hasty as flood the north wind lashes — With thee I'd live, with thee I'd die. 44 HORACE CARM. III. xn. MiSEKARUM est neque amori dare ludum neque dulci Mala vino lavere, aut exanimari metuentes Patruae verbera linguae. Tibi qualum Cythereae puer ales, tibi telas Operosaeque Minervae studium aufert, Neobule, Liparaei nitor Hebri, Simul unctos Tiberinis humeros lavit in undis, Eques ipso melior Bellerophonte, neque pugno Neque segni pede victus ; Catus idem per apertum fugientes agitato Grege cervos jaculari et celer alto latitantem Fruticeto excipere aprum. BOOK III. ODE XII. 45 MARJORY. Alas^ poor girls ! Who, when they love, must hide their tender grief, Nor in sweet soothing wine Seek short relief, But still must peak and pine. While scolding parents frighten them to tears ; Alas, poor dears ! Fie, to thy task ! Why, Marjory, thy spinning wheel is dumb ! What ails thee that it stays Its wonted hum ? That sigh, that pensive gaze, Betray, methinks, a heart no longer whole ; Alas, poor soul ! I know the boy. Thy pretty squire, thy knight of old romance- No bolder spark than lie His neck to chance. When hounds are running free, And thou wouldst keep him at thine apron string ; Alas, poor thing ! 46 HORACE CARxAI. III. XVIII. AD FAUNUM. Faunb, Nympharum fugientum amator, Per meos flues et aprica rura Lenis incedas abeasque parvis Aequus alumuis^ Si tener pleno cadit haedus anno, Larga nee desunt Veneris sodali Vina craterae. Vetus ara multo Fumat odore, Ludit herboso pecus omne canipo. Cum tibi Nonae redeunt Decembres ; Festus in pratis vacat otioso Cum bove pagus ; Inter audaces lupus errat agnos ; Spargit agrestes tibi silva frondes ; Gaudet invisam pepulisse fossor Ter pede terram. BOOK III. ODE XVIII. 47 THE FAUN. Faunus, thou lover of the Nymphs that fly. If through my sunny fields thou chance to pass, Kind be thy coming and thy footing light Upon the grass. And, when thou go'st, may my young weanlings feel No harmful influence, if, when droops the year, A kid falls to thee and full stoups of wine — Such loving cheer Bright Venus chooseth. From yon antique mound My rustic altar smokes with fragrance sweet. While beasts do leap upon the verdant sward. When seasons meet 'Twixt drouth and winter. Then, in joy of thee. The village hind with herds makes holiday Through all the meadows, and the wolf is seen With lambs at play. Then, in thy path, the wildwood strews her leaves. To grace thy coming ; while, with shouts of mirth, The ploughman tramples in the three-time dance His foe, the earth. 48 HORACE CARM. III. XIX. AD TELEPHUM. ******* Insanire juvat : cur Berecyntiae Cessant flamina tibiae ? Cur pendet tacita fistula cum lyra? Parcentes ego dexteras Odi : sparge rosas ; audiat invidus Dementem strepitum Lycus Et vicina seni non habilis Lyco. Spissa te nitidum coma, Puro te similem, Telephe, Vespero Tempestiva petit Rhode : Me lentus Glycerae torret amor meae. BOOK III. ODE XIX. 49 THE REVELLERS. Music awake^ aud let the echoes ring ; With music for our king We'll pass the hour ; While jealous Age, to mistress fair ill wed, Shall hear us from his bed, And curse the riot that invades his bower. Then, as the clear and sparkling cup goes round, With wreath of roses crowned, We'll dream of love — Young love for thee, which flutters to the light Of eyes and hair as bright As the still star of eve that broods above ; For me, A slow, more wasting fire must my companion be. 50 HORACE CARM. III. XXV. AD BACCHUM. Quo me, Bacche, rapis tui Plenum ? quae nemora aut quos agor in specus Velox mente nova } quibus Antris egregii Caesaris audiar Aeteruum meditans decus Stellis inserere et consilio Jovis ? Dicam insigne recens adhuc Indictum ore alio. Non secus in jugis Exsomnis stupet Euias Hebrum prospiciens et nive candidam Thracen ac pede barbaro Lustratam Rhodopen, ut mihi devio Ripas et vacuum nemus BOOK III. ODE XXV. 51 A POET'S PHllENZY. Whither, whither art thou jwhirling me, thou god of wiue, Full of thee, by thee possessed ? By what rocks, or through what wandering, silent groves, Am I driven, by thy deity oppressed? From what antres dim and vast Shall I prophesy at last, And set great Caesar's fame among the stars ? O the song ! Which from my lips shall burst, and loud and long, In strains unheard before. To the throne of Jove shall soar. Who rules with counsel high the various world. Faster, faster, as I follow in thy train. With thy leaves about my brow. Glide the trees, the wild-wood banks, the rocky glades. Ah, the rapture of thy spirit fills me now ! And I gaze upon the scene Like some wild Bacchante queen. When the dawn bursts o'er the gleaming heights of Thrace. 52 HORACE Mirari libet. O Naiadum potens Baccharumque valentiuni Proceras manibus vertere fraxinos^ Nil parvum aut humili modo, Nil mortale loquar. Dulce periculum est, O Lenaee, sequi deum Cingentem viridi tempora pampino. BOOK III. ODE XXV. bS \V'ild surprise Stays her step and stills the frenzy of her eyes. As she sees beneath her feet Pale Hebrus' gliding sheet, And the snowy peaks of Rhodope's wild tribes. O thou lord of Nymphs and all the dancing throng. Whom thy spirit fills with strength To rend rude forest boughs, be with me now, As I call thee, and inspire my song at length, To a strain unheard before, Which shall mount to heaven's high floor As with willing feet I follow in thy train ! 54 HORACE CARM. III. xxvui. Festo quid potius die Neptuni faciam ? Prome reconditum, Lyde strenua, Caecubum Munitaeque adhibe vim sapientiae. Inclinare meridiem Sentis ac, veluti stet volucris dies, Parcis deripere horreo Cessantem Bibuli consulis amphoram. Nos cantabimus invicem Neptunum et virides Nereidum comas Tu curva recines lyra Latonam et celeris spicula Cynthiae ; Summo carmine quae Cnidon Fulgentesque tenet Cycladas et Papliou Junctis visit oloribus ; Dicetur merita Nox quoque nenia. BOOK III. ODE XXVIII. 55 NEPTUNE'S FEAST. What shall we do, my Lyde, say, To celebrate this festal day .'' See, the siiii wheels to his decline, Haste then, 'tis time to broach the wine. Our oldest wine shall quit its rest. For Neptune's feast demands the best. Neptune, the green-haired Nymphs among-. We'll praise in antiphonal song ; Your lyre shall themes divide between Latona and the huntress Queen. Then, in a song, we'll celebrate The praise of her who keeps her state At Cnidos and the Cyclades, Which gleam afar across the seas ; And oft times chooseth to repair To Paphos' sweet pellucid air. When through the blue is borne afar By snow-white swans her glittering car. And last, to Night we will rehearse A holy, high and solemn verse. 56 HORACE CARM. IV. Ill AD MELPOMENEN. QuEJVi tu, Melpomene, semel Nascentem placido lumine videris, Ilium non labor Isthmius Clarabit pugilem, non equus impiger Curru ducet Achaico Victorem, neque res bellica Deliis Ornatum foliis ducem. Quod regum tumidas contuderit minas, Osteudet Capitolio : Sed quae Tibur aquae fertile praefluunt Et spissae nemorum comae Fingent Aeolio carmine nobilem. Romae principis urbium Dignatur suboles inter amabiles Vatum ponere me choros, Et jam dente minus mordeor invido. BOOK IV. ODE III. 57 A POETS FAME. The man upon whose cradled state Your eyes have turned their quiet g^aze^ Melpomene, he needs no praise From Isthmian toils, to make him great. For him no shouts the air shall fill For victories won in chariot race, Nor kings he captive led to grace His triumph up the Sacred Hill. But streams, which Tibur's woods among Flow gently on, shall nurse his fame. And rear throughout the world his name As master of Aeolian song. Lords of the earth, the sons of Rome Have deigned to set me up on high. Amid the gracious company Of bards, where Envy cannot come. 58 HORACE O^ testudinis aureae Dulcem quae strepitum, Fieri, temperas, O niutis quoque piscibus Donatura cycni, si libeat, sonum, Totum muneris hoc tui est. Quod monstror digito praetereuntium Romauae fidicen lyrae, Quod spiro et placeo, si placeo, tuum est. BOOK IV. ODE III. 59 O goddess of the golden lyre ' Queen of the dulcet-sounding shell ! Who, with sweet song's enthralling spell, Could fishes mute, like swans, inspire I If I am praised, by nod and sign If men do mark me through the town, My powers, my all — art, life, renown — Are but thy gift — the praise be thine ! 60 HORACE CARM. IV. VII. AD TORQUATUM. DiFFUGERE iiives^ redeunt jam gramina campis Arboribusque comae ; Mutat terra vices et decresceutia ripas Flumina praetereuut ; Gratia cum Nymphis geminisque sororibus audet • Ducere nuda chores. Immortalia ne speres monet aunus et almum Quae rapit hora diem, Frigora mitescuut Zephyris^ ver proterit aestas Interitura simul Pomifer Auctumnus fniges eiFuderit, et mox Bruma recurrit iners. Damna tamen celeres reparant caelestia lunae : Nos ubi decidimus Quo pius Aeneas quo dives Tullus et Ancus Pulvis et umbra sumus. Quis scit an adjiciant hodiernae crastina summae Tempora di superi ? BOOK IV. ODE VII. 61 AN EARLY SPRING DAY. Gone is the snow, and the first tender green O'er field and wood is seen ; The earth is changed again, and rivers flow Between the banks they know. Now, on the dewy sward, with motion free. Dance Nymphs and Graces three, While winds are hushed, and tender suns caress Their naked comeliness. That in thy heart no idle hope should be Of immortality, The year reminds us, and this golden day, ^Vhich the hours steal away. At Spring's behest the balmy Zephyr blows. Then melt the winter snows. But Spring to Summer yields, himself to bow. Though lordly be his brow. To Autumn, bringing fruits — and soon again Winter renews his reign. Swiftly the moon's increase keeps coming on. And we, when we are gone, Where all the mighty dead have gone before. Are dust and nothing more. Whether the gods will add to our to-day To-morrow, who shall say ? 62 HORACE Cuncta manus avidas fugient heredis amico Quae dederis auimo. Cum semel occideris et de te spleudida Minos Fecerit arbitria, Non, Torquate, genus, non te facundia, non te Restituet pietas ; Infernis ueque euim teuebris Diana pudicum Liberat Hippolytum, Nee Lethaea valet Theseus abrumpere caro Vincula Peirithoo. BOOK IV. ODE VII. es Give while you can^ and save from what your heirs Already grasp as theirs ; For when the lord of that dim shadowy throne Has claimed thee for his own, Nor birth, nor piety, nor eloquence, Friend, shall restore thee thence, Where gods, for those they loved, have sought in vain To loose death's fatal chain. 64 HORACE CARM. IV. XIII. AD LYCEN. AuDivEBE, Lyce, di mea vota, di Audivere, Lyce : fis anus, et tamen Vis formosa videri Ludisque et bibis impudens Et cantu tremulo pota Cupidinem Lentum sollicitas. Ille virentis et Doctae psallere Chiae Pulchris excubat in genis. Importunus enim transvolat aridas Quercus, et refugit te quia luridi Dentes, te quia rugae Turpant et capitis nives. Nee Coae referunt jam tibi purpurae Nee clari lapides tempora, quae semel Notis condita fastis Inclusit volucris dies. BOOK IV. ODE XIII. 65 TIME'S REVENGE. Aha ! so, Lyce, you are growing old ; To this 'tis come, iu spite of all your pains. Your paint and patches ; let the truth be told, You're old, and v^^hat is life when beauty wanes ? Still at the game ? Pah ! 'tis a pretty sight, Scarce ever sober, and quite shameless grown. Quavering your tipsy staves and snatches light. To summon wanton love, when love has flown. Best spare your pains, for wrinkles and grey hair Like not the pampered boy, who wings his way Where cheeks like Chia's blossom fresh and fair. And there he nestles all the livelonar dav. Jewels and purple cannot youth recall, Your fine array, your efforts all are vain. For time, once gone, is gone for ay and all. And youth, once fled, comes never more again. 66 HORACE Quo fugit venus, heu, quove color ? decens Quo motus ? quid habes, illius, illius, Quae spirabat amores, Quae me surpuerat mihi, Felix post Cinaranij notaque et artium Gratarum facies ? Sed Cinarae breves Annos fata dederunt, Servatura diu parem Cornicis vetulae temporibus Lycen, Possent ut juvenes visere fervidi Multo non sine risu Dilapsam in cinei*es facem. BOOK IV. ODE XIII. 67 Where is that beauty now, alas ! and where The rosy bloom, the charm, the moving grace? Where is that Lyce breathing love's own air. And a whole world in bondage to a face ? I, like the rest, was caught within the spell, Though still to Cinara my heart was true ; To think that fate so soon should ring the knell For her — poor Cinara !— and leave us you ! Ay, you are left, to match the crow in years. While, " There goes Lyce with her draggled flounce," The young blades laugh — a sight more meet for tears. For— who'd have thought it .?— she was pretty once ! 68 HORACE CARiM. IV. I. Intermissa, Venus, diu Rursus beila moves ? Parce, precor, precor, Non sum qualis eram bonae Sub regno Cinarae. Desine, dulcium Mater saeva Cupidinum, Circa lustra decem flectere mollibus Jam durum imperils : abi Quo blandae juvenum te revocant preces. ****** BOOK IV. ODE I. 69 A MAN'S LOVE. Spare me^ O goddess, spare ! Thy cruel dart Hath pierced through my heart. While she so fair Goes careless still and gay ; yet my heart's woe I swear, great goddess, she shall never know. Her beauty, formed by thee For love's delight. Dazzles my aching sight ; I would be free ; But when in angry shame to 'scape I try. She holds me in the fetters of her eye. Capricious fate and blind, 1 laugh at thee ! And yet I am not free. Nor is she kind. Nay, goddess, then, unloose these galling chains. So tedious grown, and ease me of my pains. Go where some ardent boy Sighs to the air. And summons thee with prayer To crown his joy ; Go conquer hearts which have not felt thy sway, Mine is grown hard, and likes not to obey. CATULLUS 72 CATULLUS VivAMi'S, mea Lesbia, atque amemus, Rumoresque senum severiorum Omnes iinius aestimemus assis. Soles occidere et redire possunt : Nobis cum semel occidit brevis lux Nox est perpetua una dormienda. Da mi basia mille, deinde centum, Dein mille altera, dein secunda centum, Deinde usque altera mille, deinde centum. Dein, cum milia multa fecerimus, Conturbabimus ilia, ne sciamus, Aut nequis malus invidere possit, Cum tantum sciat esse basiorum. CATULLUS 73 TO LESBIA. Kiss me, my love, and yet again Kiss me, that so the eager pain Of severance we may forget ; For when our little sun is set, Though suns may set and rise again, For us shall endless night remain. Then kiss me, love, while yet we may ; Let Wisdom frown so we are gay ; Kiss me, and from that honeyed store Of kisses bring a hundred more, — A thousand kisses add to these, And then a thousand more, nor cease Till all the reckoning of our bliss Is blotted out in kiss on kiss. And envious wight may never see The kisses thou didst give to me. 74 CATULLUS III. LuGETE, o Veneres Cupidinesque, Et quantum est hominum venustiorum. Passer mortuus est meae puellae, Passer, deliciae meae puellae ; Quem plus ilia oculis suis amabat : Nam mellitus erat suamque norat Ipsam tam bene quam puella matrem ; Nee sese a gremio illius movebat, Sed circumsiliens modo hue modo illue Ad solam dominam usque pipilabat. Qui nunc it per iter tenebricosum Illue, unde negant redire quenquam. At vobis male sit, malae tenebrae Orel, quae omnia bella devoratis : Tam bellum mihi passerem abstulistis. Vae factum male ! vae miselle passer ! Tua nunc opera meae puellae Flendo turgiduli rubent ocelli. CATULLUS LESBIA'S SPARROW DEAD. Mourn, all ye Loves, ye Loves and Cupids, mourn. Make moan for heaviness, ye gallants bright. For Lesbia's bird my Lesbia weeps forlorn ; He's dead — poor, pretty bird — my love's delight ! Ah, honey-sweet he was ! when she addressed Him loving things, he'd answer at her ear, And perch about her, flutter at her breast, And pipe and chirrup to his mistress dear. No hand but hers he loved, no other call He heeded : now, his pretty doings o'er. His little soul goes darkling whither all Must go, and, going, may return no more. Then out, alack ! and fie upon your spite ! Ye sullen shadows of the insatiate grave. Devouring all that's beautiful and bright — Out on ye ! — all the lovely things we have ! And now my mistress weeps, and 'tis your work That red and swollen are her tender eyes. O hapless bird ! O dull, devouring murk ! Her bird is dead, and my poor Lesbia cries. 76 CATULLUS XXXI. Paene insularum^ Sirmio^ insularumque Ocelle, quascunque in liquentibus stagnis Marique vasto fert uterque Neptunus ; Quam te libenter quamque laetus inviso, Vix mi ipse credens Tliuniam atque Bithunos Liquisse campos et videre te iu tuto. O quid solutis est beatius curis ? Cum mens onus reponit, ac pei*egrino Lahore fessi venimus larem ad nostrum, Desideratoque acquiescimus lecto. Hoc est quod unum est pro laboribus tantis. Salve venusta Sirmio atque hero gaude ; Gaudete vosque o Lydiae lacus undae ; Ridete quidquid est domi cachinnorum. CATULLUS 77 SIRMIO* (On returning from foreign parts.) SiRaiio ! fairest jewel in mine eyes, Of all the headlands that the sea runs round, Or sweet lakes bosom — how my heart doth bound, To see again thy lawns and woodlands rise Upon my vision ! After all my toil In foreign lands — Bithynia's sultry plain Scarce left — to think, O joy ! that once again 1 should be here upon my native soil ! At ease ! O guerdon sweet ! when, after wars. With journeyings and vigils sore bestead, Our own old home we come to, and the bed So often longed for under alien stars. This is the recompense for all our pain ; Here may the mind lay by its load of care : Search the world over, nothing can compare With what we feel in coming home again. Hail, lovely Sirmio ! and do thou rejoice To greet thy master and his happy chance. Ye Tuscan waves, with all your ripples dance ! And laugh, old home, with every heart and Aoice ! ^ Now Sirmione, on Lago di Garc'a. 78 CATULLUS LXXVI. SiQUA recordanti benefacta priora voluptas Est hominij cum se cogitat esse pium, Nee sanctam violasse fidem, nee foedere in ullo Divum ad fallendos numine abusum homines, Multa parata manent jam in longa aetate, CatuUe, Ex hoc ingrato gaudia amore tibi. Nam quaecumque homines bene cuiquam aut dicere possunt Aut facere, haec a te dictaque factaque sunt ; Omnia quae ingratae perierunt credita menti. Quare cur te jam a ! amplius excrucies? Quin tu animum offirmas atque istinc te ipse reducis, Et dis invitis desinis esse miser ? Difficile est longum subito depouere amorem. Difficile est, verum hoe qualubet efficias : Una salus haec est, hoc est tibi pervincendum. Hoc facias, sive id non pote sive pote. CATULLUS 79 SOLILOQUY OF CATULLUS If to a man the reckoning o'er Of gentle deeds may pleasure give. Of that, methinksj there lies in store Enough to last me while I live. If honest vows, faith without stain, Life lavished, love without repine. Have savour sweet, there should remain Sweet from this bitter love of mine. What was undone that love could do ? What was unsaid that love could say .'' Perish regret ! nor still renew The worthless story of a day. Worthless and heartless ! let it go. Ah ! why should anguish count again — When strength could give release from woe- The bitter reckoning of her pain ? 'Tis hard to lay aside at will The love of years, — and yet, I trow, What men erewhile have borne may still Be borne, though hard, and shall be now. Borne, ay, and done — done, whatsoe'er The pain of doing. Here, for me. Lies the sole refuge from despair. And end of all this misery. 80 CATULLUS O di, si vestrum est misereri, aut si quibus unquam Extremam iam ipsa in morte tulistis opem. Me miserum aspicite et, si vitam puriter egi, Eripite hanc pestem perniciemque mihi. Heu ! mihi surrepens imos ut torpor in artus Expulit ex omni pectore laetitias ! Non iam illud quaere, contra me ut diligat ilia, Aut, quod non potis est, esse pudica velit : Ipse valere opto et taetrum hunc deponere morbum. O di, reddite mi hoc pro pietate mea. CATULLUS 81 Oh, but in pity — if for pain Pity may touch immortal minds — Grant me, kind Heavens, to win again Ease from this wasting woe, which winds Its weight about me. Grant but this, If recompense for faith be due, Only to know again the bliss. Of healthful days, which once I knew. Not that she love me, or forbear Of shame the brimming cup to fill — Black ne'er was white, foul is not fail-. And filthy will be filthy still. I ask not that — that ne'er can be — Enough if, while the years remain, I may look up and know me free To live, and to be well again. 82 CATULLUS CI. MuLTAS per geutes et multa«-per aequora vectus Advenio has miseras, frater, ad inferias, Ut te postremo donarem munere mortis Et mutam nequicquam alloquerer cinerem. Quandoquidem fortuaa mihi tete abstulit ipsum, Heu miser indigne frater adempte mihi, Nunc tamen interea haec prisco quae more parentum Tradita sunt tristes munera ad inferias, Accipe fraterno multum manantia fletu, Atque in perpetuum, frater, ave atque vale. CATULLUS 83 AT A BROTHER'S GRAVE. Homewards, a traveller, from many lands returning, I greet thee, brother, only at thy grave. To thy dumb ashes telling o'er, in accents burning, Those rites, 'tis said, departed spirits crave. All that I can — with tears — the words our fathers taught us — Which borne afar, like sound of sea-rocked bell. Perchance may reach thee on those sad and lonely waters, Longed for, though late — a brother's last farewell. SAPPHO 86 SAPPHO ^atverat /mot ktJvos icros Oeoicriv e/ijuev iovqp, cxni'i kvavTio^ TOt t^avet, Kal irXacrLOv ctSu wv€v- (ras VTTaKovet Kal yeAaicras i[M€p6ev, to fioi fidv KapSiav €v (TTv^^ecrtv e7rToao"ev ws yap €vi8ov /Spo^ews ere, <^wvas ovoev ex etKef aAAa Ka/u. /jiev yAwcro^a eaye, AeirTov S' avTLKa ^pw TTvp VTraSeSpofiaKev, OTnrdTecrcrt 8' ovSeu opTjix', €7ripp6[x- /3eio"i 8' aKovai. a Se /x' i'8/jws KaK^^eerat, Tp6p.os 8e 7rao"av aypei, ^^XwpOTepa Se —oias e/xjut, T€t7vaKi]v o oAtyw Trtoeur^s (fiatvofiai (xAAa. SAPPHO 87 SAPPHO'S SONG. Like to the gods he seems to me, Yea, happier than the gods to be. The man who, sitting at thy feet, Hears thy soft voice and laughter sweet ; Which leave me breathless — for, if I But see thee, all my senses fly ; Words fail me, and, bereft of sound. In sudden bands my tongue is bound ; About my flesh, through that desire. Courses a subtle, searching fire. Nothing 1 see, with horrid din My throbbing ears resound within. The dews of passion drench my brow And all my trembling body now. Paler than leaf of aspen grown, Like one from whom all life has flown. 88 SAPPHO IIoiKtAo^pov , dddvar ' A(f)p68iTa, iral Aid's, SoXoirXoKe, Xia-cro^ai crc, firi fJL d(Tai(Ti jx-qr oviaicri Safxva, TTOTVia, dvfJLOV aAAa Tvl8' eXB', aiTrora Karepwra Tas e'juas avSuis dtoicra rr'qXvi kXv€S, Trdrpos 8e Sojxov XiTTOicra ^pvcTtov I'^XOes dpfx' vTro^ev^aia-a' KaXoi 8e cr' dyov wKees crrpovdoi Tvepl yas jacAatvas TTVKva Stvevvres Trrep avr wpavto aWe- pos Sttt jxkcrcrit). aixpa. 8' i^LKOVTO' Tv 8', w fiaKaipa, p.ii8id.iXco) fi€yav crTpary^yov ov8e 8ia7re7rXiy)u,6vov, ov8k (io;s, ov Sixpos e'x^' '^' ' <^'^^' oi'Se Tro^ctvbs av^yotoTTWv eVt croi /3iotos' ^wet? yap a/ie/XTTTw? avyais ev Kadapala-iv 'OAujU,7rov ttXtjctiov ovtos. [Unknown.] VERSES 99 AN EPITAPH. Ah ! tell us not that in the grave, A bride of Death, our darling lies ; Far out beyond the western wave To fairer fields her spirit hies. A blessed company she knows, With brave delights her heart is glad. There where the lily and the rose Fade not, nor cometh aught that's sad. Or evil. There no winter's rage Harms her, for her heat scorcheth not. Hunger and thirst, decay and age, Sorrow and pain are all forgot. Of human love she needs no store, A better lot to her is given. Who without blame for evermore Dwells in the holy light of heaven. [Note. — The primitive simplicity of Greek feeling appears in this epitaph. The following is a literal translation : — " Thou art not dead, Prote, but thou art gone to a better place, and dwellest in the islands of the blessed 100 MISCELLANEOUS among much festivity (good cheer) ; where thou art delighted while gambolling (skipping like a roe) along the Elysian plains amongst soft flowers, far from all ills. The winter pains not thee ; * nor does heat nor disease trouble thee ; nor hunger nor thirst possess thee ; nor is the life of man any longer regretted by thee ; for thou livest without blame in the pure radiance of Olympus, which is near." * Compare Shakespeare in "Cymbeline" — " Fear no more the heat of the sun, Nor the furious winter's rages ; Thou thy worldly task hast done," &c., &c.] VERSES 101 HOMERIC DAWN. Lo, at the curtained threshold of the east, The gentle Dawn appears with quiet feet, And, at her coming, every bird and beast. That slept upon the earth, awakes to greet Her beauteous presence. From his wave-washed bed The drowsy God of Day looks up to see His fair handmaiden, while about his head Await him all the chiding Hours. But he Oft, for his pleasure, loves to linger there. And weave about her fantasies of light. Or sport awhile and wanton with her hair ; Whereat she blushes, and a world grows bright ; And brighter, as, to chase the Hours that flee. The laughing god comes leaping from the sea. 102 MISCELLANEOUS TO A PAINTER. If you would paiut my lady's hair, Go bid your faithful Ariel bring The blackness from the raven's wing. The lustre from the ebon rare. Mix those together, still you'll fail. Unless the Night, her aid to lend, Implored at darkest hour, will send A shadow from the sleeping dale. VERSES 103 THE OLD GUIDE. (As a Greek might have written it. ) Old HanSj who finds his day is done, And that no more the heights he'll scale, That walking now where others run, His feet must linger in the vale. His lantern, sachel, pic,* and ropes Has hung upon a votive wall. And down the last descent he hopes To find his way without a fall. [Note. — The custom here referred to was prevalent among the Greeks. C/'. " Anthology," passim. Thus : Polycrates hangs up his hammer, pincers, and tongs to Vulcan, through whom, by frequent beatings on the anvil, he found for his children abundance and drove away miserable poverty. Another dedicates his bow and arrows, another his spear, after ceasing from war, or the strength of life having failed. Pan has offered up to Bacchus his crook and fawn- skin, having forsworn the revels of that deity through * Ice-axe. 104 MISCELLANEOUS love ; for he is in love with Echo and is wandering about. But do thou, Bacchus, be kind to him, who is labouring under a common misfortune ! A child has hung up to Hermes his pleasant-sounding ball, his rattle, the dice of which he was so madly fond, and his whirling top, the playthings of his youth. Callimenes, being no longer able to see, offers up his writing materials to the Muses. So, likewise, an old fisherman his net to Neptune, and a traveller his felt hat, the symbol of his wayfaring life, to Hecate (deity of roads). And (to give one more illustration) the tippler, Xenophon, has offered thee up, O Bacchus, an empty cask. Receive it favourably, for he has nothing else ! VERSES 105 THE OLD GUIDE. {A Modern Version.) ^Fhat shall remain when all the race is run. And listless hands have drooped on aching knee? When, spite of doing, nothing has been done. Or done, seems nothing of what still should be — What shall remain ? What shall remain when, through the dying glow. The shi'unken ashes of the past appear, And, as the flame burns lower and more low, The mounting shadows grow to things of fear — What shall remain ? And what, at length, when faltering footsteps grope The last lone way, and strength is bowed to pain ? Surely the dream, the bright, far-beckoning hope Of clearer consummation shall remain — Shall still remain ! 106 MISCELLANEOUS AN ANTIQUE. Youth betimes with Fancy wed — Ho, dear delight ! — Strewed him roses for his bed — Ha, fond delight ! 'Neath a canopy of green He was king and she was queen, Brighter pair ne'er was, I ween — Ho, fond delight ! Birds for them the livelong day — Ah, fair delight ! — Tuned a merry roundelay — Ha, sweet delight ! And when Phoebus left the sky, From the woods the night-owl's cry Was their crooning lullaby — Ha, soft delight ! Jove, who envies mortal bliss — Ah, frail delight ! — Envied happiness like this — Ah, brief delight ! VERSES 107 Sent a cloud aud spouts of rain, Broke their pretty bower in twain,' They may never kiss again — Ah, lost delight ! 108 MISCELLANEOUS A SUMMER IDYL. See where the moou Rides in the azure blue. The delicate, shy moon, A waif of down upon a summer sea, ^Vhile the long, golden afternoon Slopes slowly westward, lengthening every tree Upon the sward, where full-breathed cattle feed Through all the flowery mead. Now sinks the sun Adown the flaming west. And, one by one. Stars open winking eyes that hid their light, VThilst owls and flitting things, that shun The garish day, come forth to greet the night, Which, now the tale of one more day is told. Steals over field and fold. VERSES 109 ENVOY. To L. N. GtJiLLEMARD and F. S. Parey. (1887-1897.) Friends of old days, though many suns have set, Since that great summer blessed our youthful prime, Glad were I if, for you, in fancy yet Its classic glories lingered in my rhyme ; Like those long lights, which, 'neath o'erarching skies, We saw together climb from cloud to cloud, Where to cool waters, far from London's cries, Our Thames allured us from the madding crowd. And though upon our lot, united j'et, The changes of ten summers hold their sway, The fact sometimes 'tis pleasant to forget, In idle memories of an earlier day. Printed by Ballantyne, Hanson <&• Co. Edinburgii &■ London UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY Los Angeles HI E^ C'^^^s book is DUE on the last date stamped below. NOV 5 19 A.M. _7l5i9lio!/riinll \\y b4 LD-yRiji: F' fr r LfiJUWL p. f* k Liiy oOECa 110966 Form L9-40m-7,'56(C790s4)444 ■^ 4 >^B?> THE LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNU' LOS ANnKri?(a . 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