* J ^^^ " L. ^ THE PHARSALIA L U C A N L LITERALLY TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH PROSF, WITH COPIOUS NOTES. H. T. RILEY, B.A., LATE SCHOLAR OF CLARE HALL, CAMBRIDGE. LONDON: HENRY G. BOHN, YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN. MDCCCLIII. PEEFACE. IN the following Translation, the text of Weise has been adopted, except ha a few instances, where the readings of .Cortius, Weher, or the older Commentators, appeared pre- ferable. It is much to be regretted that, notwithstanding their labours, the text still remains in a corrupt state. The Pharsalia has not been previously translated into English prose ; but there have been two poetical versions, one by Thomas May, in 1627, the other by Nicholas Kowe. The latter is too well known to require comment ; the former, though replete with the quaint expressions pe- culiar to the early part of the seventeenth century, has the merit of adhering closely to the original, and is remark- able for its accuracy. The present translation has been made on the same principle as those of Ovid and Plautus in the CLASSICAL LIBRARY ; it is strictly literal, and is intended to be a faith- ful reflex, not only of the author's meaning, but, as nearly as possible, of his actual modes of expression. To enhance the value of the work in an historical point of view, the narrative has been illustrated by a compari- son With parallel passages in the Commentaries of Csesar, and the works of other ancient historians who have treated of the wars between Pompey and Csesar. H. T. R. CONTENTS. BOOK I. Page The nature of the subject, 1-7. The lamentable character of the warfare, 8-32. The Poet addresses Nero, 33-66. The causes of the war, 67-97. The rivalry between Pompey and Caesar after the death of Crassus, 98-157. The luxury of Rome, 158-182. Caesar crosses the Rubicon, and takes possession of Ariminum, 183-230. The complaints of the inhabitants of those parts that they are the first to feel the effects of every war, 231-260. Curio, being expelled from Rome, comes to Caesar's camp, and entreats him to march against Rome, 261-291. Caesar's address to his soldiers, 292-351. The soldiers wavering, Laelius encourages them, 352-385. They consent to march against Rome, 386-391. Caesar advancing against Rome, his forces are enumerated, 392-465. The reports at Rome 'on his approach. The fear of the people. The Senators and citizens, with Pompey, take to flight, 466 522. Prodigies then beheld are re- counted, 523-583. Aruns, the Etrurian prophet, is consulted. The City is purified. The sacrifices are productive of ill omens. Aruns presages evil to the state, 584- 638. Figulus does the same, 639-672. A Roman matron prophesies woe to the City, 673 695 1 BOOK II. Reflections on the Prodigies, 1-15. The alarm at Rome described. The complaints of the matrons, 16-42. The complaints of the men, 43-66. A long speech is spoken by an aged man in reference to the Civil Wars carried on between Sulla and Marius, 67-233. Brutus repairs to Cato at night, and asks his advice, 234-285. Cato answers that he shall follow Pompey, and advises Brutus to do the same, 286- 325. While they are conversing, Marcia appears, whom, formerly his own wife, Cato had given to his friend Hortensius, since whose death she has sought him again as her husband, 326-349. In the presence of Brutus they renew the nuptial vow, 350-391. Pompey has in the meantime retired to Campania. The Apennines, with their streams, are described, 392-433. Caesar takes possession of the whole of Italy. The flight of Libo, Thermus, Sulla, Varus, Lentulus, and Scipio, from the cities which they hold, 439-477. Domitius Ahenobarbus, by breaking down the bridge, endeavours to impede the course of Caesar at Corfinium. Caesar crosses the river, and while he is preparing to lay siege to Corfinium, the citizens deliver Domitius to him. Caesar gives him his liberty against his wish, 478-525. Pompey addresses his troops, and promises to lead b vi CONTENTS. Page them to battle, 526-595. He retreats to Brundisium, 596-609. The situation of that place is described, 610-627. Pompey sends his son to Asia to request the assistance of the eastern Kings. He himself prepares to cross over to Epirus, 628-649. Caesar follows Pompey, and endeavours to cut him off from the sea, 650-679. Pompey leaves Italy, 680-703. Caesar enters Brundisium, 704-736 46 BOOK III. While Pompey is crossing to Greece, the ghost of Julia appears to him in a dream, and predicts the devastating nature of the war, 1-35. Pompey arrives in Epirus, 36-45. Caesar instructs Curio to procure corn in Sicily, 46-70. He then marches to Rome, 76-97. The alarm at Rome described. The hostility of the Senate to Caesar. Metellus the Tribune resists the spoilers of the public treasury, 98- 133. Caesar threatens him, 134-140. Cotta advises Metellus to yield, 141-152. The Temple is opened, and the treasure is carried off, 153-168. In the meantime Pompey collects forces in Greece and Asia, which are enumerated, 169-297. Caesar, on his way to Spain, repairs to Massilia, which has remained faithful to Pompey, 298-303. The people of Massilia send deputies to him, deprecating civil war, 304-357. Caesar besieges Massilia, 358-374. The works are described, 374-398. Caesar commands a sacred grove to be cut down, and forces the soldiers, though reluctant, to do so, 399-452. Departing for Spain, he entrusts the siege to Trebonius, by whom it is continued, 453 496. The Massilians sally forth by night and repulse the enemy, 497-508. The attack is now carried on by sea. Brutus arrives with his fleet, 509-537. The sea-fight is described, 538-751. The Massilians are vanquished, and Brutus is victorious, 752-762 89 BOOK IV. In the meantime Caesar arrives in Spain, where Afranius and Petreius are in command of Pompey 's forces, consisting of Romans and Spaniards, 1-10. A battle is fought at Ilerda, 11-47. By reason of the rains in the spring an inundation ensues, and Caesar's camp is overflowed, 48-90. A famine prevails, 91-97. And then a flood, 98-120. When the waters subside Petreius departs from Ilerda, 121-147. Caesar comes up with him, and a battle is fought, 148-156. Caesar commands the flying enemy to be intercepted, 157-166. Both sides pitch their camps. The fellow-citizens recognize each other, and interchange courtesies, 167-194. But Petreius puts an end to this good feeling, and calls his own men to arms, 195-211. He then harangues his troops, 212-235. The warfare is resumed, 236-253. The Pompeian troops fly towards Ilerda, 254-263. Caesar shuts them out from a supply of water, 264-266. The sufferings of the Pompeians are described, 267-336. Afranius sues for peace, 337-362. Which Caesar grants to the enemy, 363-401. In the meantime Antony, the lieutenant of Caesar, is besieged by the adherents of CONTENTS. vii Page Pompey on the shores of the Adriatic, and his troops are suffering from famine, 402-414. He then attempts to escape by sea, 415-432. Loose chains are placed by the enemy beneath the waves, which intercept the flight of one of Antony's rafts, 433-464. Vulteius, the commander of the raft, exhorts his men to slay each other rather than fall into the hands of the enemy, 465-520. They obey his commands, 521-581. Curio sails for Africa, and landing at the river Bagrada, near Utica, is informed by one of the inhabitants of the contest which took place near there between Hercules and the giant Antaeus, 581-660. Vanis, the Pompeian commander, is routed by Curio, 661-714. Curio fights against Juba, but being surrounded by an ambuscade, is destroyed with his forces, 715-798. He is apos- trophized by the Poet, 799-824 . . .' 126 BOOK V. In the early part of the year the Consuls convene the Senate in Epirus, 1-14. Lentulus addresses the Senators, and advises them to appoint Pompey Commander-in-chief, which is accordingly done, 15-49. The Poet praises the monarchs and nations who lent their aid, 50-64. Appius goes to consult the oracle at Delphi, which has now long been silent, as to the result of the war, 65-70. The oracle is described, 71-120. The Temple is opened, and Phemonoe, the Priestess, tries to dissuade Appius from his enquiries, 121-140. She is forced, how- ever, to ascend the oracular tripod, 141-162. And is inspired by the prophetic frenzy. The oracle foretells, in ambiguous terms, the death of Appius himself before the battle of Pharsalia, in the Island of Euboea, 163-197. The oracle is apostrophized by the Poet, 198- 236. The soldiers of Caesar's party become mutinous, 237-261. Their threats and clamours for peace, 262-296. Caesar presents himself before them thus complaining, 297-318. He addresses them, 319 364. The tumult is appeased, 365-373. Caesar sends his army to Brundisium, and orders a fleet to be collected there, 374 380. He then repairs to Rome, where he is made Dictator and Consul, 380-384. Evil omens give portentous signs, 384-402. He goes thence to Brundisium ; where collecting a fleet, he orders part of his troops to embark, although the skies betoken an approaching tempest, 403-411. He harangues his soldiers, 412 423. The sea is suddenly becalmed, and passing over he lands at Palaeste, in Epirus, 424-460. He encamps at Dyrrhachium, 461-475. Caesar entreats Antony to send over the remaining forces, 476-497. Impatient at his delay, he determines to go across, 498 503. He does so in a small boat, 504-570. Caesar encourages the mariners in a tempest, 571-593. Which is described, 594-653. He arrives in Italy, 654-677. He returns to Epirus, and his soldiers expostulate with him for leaving them, 678-700. Antony passes over with the rest of his troops, 701-721. Pompey determines to send his wife Cornelia to Lesbos, 722-739. He apprises her of his intentions, 740-759. Cornelia's answer, 760-790. She embarks, 790-801. And sails for Lesbos, 801-815 . 164 viii CONTENTS. BOOK VI. Page Caesar, being unable to bring Pompey to a battle, marches to seize Dyrrhachium, 1-14. Pompey intercepts him on his march, 15-18. The situation of the city is described, 19-28. Caesar surrounds the city and the forces of Pompey with vast outworks, 29-63. Pompey sallies forth to interrupt the works, 64-79. A famine and pestilence arise in his army, 80-105. The army of Caesar also suffers from famine, 106-117. Pompey attempts to break through the outworks, 118-124. He is at first successful in his attempts, 125 -139. But is driven back by Scaeva, 140-144. Whose praises are sung by the Poet, 145-148. Scaeva exhorts his comrades, 149-165. While bravely fighting, he is pierced by an arrow, 166-227. He requests to be carried to the camp of Pompey, 228-235. Deceived by bis stratagem, Aulus is slain by him, 235-239. The words of Scaeva, 240-246. His wounds are described, and his praises descanted upon, 247-262. Pompey attacks the outworks nearer to the sea, 263 278. Caesar prepares to renew the engagement, 278-289. At the approach of Pompey, the troops of Caesar are in alarm, 290 299. Pompey neglects to follow up his successes, 299-313. Caesar repairs to Thessaly, and is followed by Pompey, 314-332. The situation of Thessaly is described, 333-412. Both sides pitch their camps, the troops anxiously awaiting the event, 413-419. Sextus, the son of Pompey, is urged by fear to enquire into the destinies of futurity by means of magic arts, 420-434. The Thessalian incantations are described, 434 506. Erictho, a Thessalian enchantress, and her rites, are described, 507-569. Sextus repairs to her at night, 570-588. He addresses her, and requests her to disclose to him the future, 589-603. She promises him that she will do so, 604-623. A dead body is chosen for her to restore to life, and is dragged to her cave, 624-641. The cave of Erictho is described, 642-653. Commencing her incantations, she reproaches the attendants of Sextus, 654-666. By her incantations and magic skill she raises the dead body to life, 667-761. She requests it to disclose the future, 762-774. It discloses the woes of Rome, and of the adherents of Pompey in particular, 775-820. The body is then burned, and Sextus returns to the camp, 820-830 201 BOOK VII. The vision of Pompey the night before the battle of Pharsalia is de- scribed, 1-44. His soldiers demand to be led forth to battle, 45-61. Cicero's address to Pompey on this occasion, 62-85. Pompey'g answer, 85-123. The soldiers prepare for battle, 124-150. Por- tentous signs appear, 151-184. Distant nations are made aware of the impending catastrophe, 185-213. The army of Pompey is de- scribed, 214-234. Caesar's delight on seeing them preparing for battle, 235-249. He harangues his soldiers, 250-329. They prepare for battle, 330-336. Pompey harangues his army, 337-384. The Poet laments the approaching slaughter, 385-459. The soldiers CONTENTS. hesitate on both sides on recognizing each other, 460-469. Crastinus, a soldier in Caesar's army, commences the battle, 470-475. The beginning of the battle is described, 476-505. Caesar attacks the army of Pompey in flank, and the cavalry is repulsed, 506-544. The centre of Pompey's army offers a stronger resistance, 545-550. The Poet is averse to describe the scenes of horror there perpetrated, 551-556. Caesar exhorts his men to deeds of valour, 557-585. It is the design of Brutus to slay Caesar, 586-596. Multitudes of the Patricians are slain, among whom is Domitius, 597-616. The Poet laments the carnage, 617-646. Pompey takes to flight, 647-679. The Poet apostrophizes Pompey, 680-711. Pompey comes to Larissa, where he is welcomed by the inhabitants, 712-727. Caesar takes possession of the enemy's camp, 728-786. The bodies of Pompey's troops lie unburied, a prey to birds and wild beasts, 787-846. The Poet concludes with imprecations against the scene of such horrors, 847-872 249 BOOK VIII. Pompey arrives at the sea-shore in his flight, 1-34. He embarks for Lesbos to join Cornelia, whose apprehensions are described, 35-49. He arrives at Lesbos, 50-71. He consoles his wife, 72-85. Cornelia's answer, 86 -105. The people of Mitylene welcome Pompey, 106-127. He commends their fidelity, 128-146. He leaves Lesbos, taking Cornelia with him, amid the regrets of the inhabitants, 147-158. At night he addresses the pilot of the ship and orders him to avoid the coasts of Italy and Thessaly, and to leave to fortune the course of the ship, 159-201. He despatches Deiotarus to seek aid for his cause, 202-243. And then sails past Ephesus, Samos, Rhodes, Pamphylia, and Taurus, 244-255. Arriving in Cilicia he addresses his companions, and recommends them to take refuge with Phraates, the king of Parthia, as he suspects the fidelity of the Egyptians and Nnmidians, 256-327. He is opposed by Lentulus, who advises him to take refuge with Ptolemy, the king of Egypt, 328-455. He follows the advice of Lentulus, and proceeds to Pelusium, 456-466. The ministers of Ptolemy are in trepidation, and deliberate what steps to take, 467-475. Pothinus urges the King to slay Pompey, 476-535. Achillas is commissioned by Ptolemy to do so, 536 538. The Poet expresses his grief and indignation, 539-560. Pompey goes on board a small boat for the shore, 561-595. He is there murdered in the sight of Cornelia by Septimius and Achillas, 596-620. His last words, 621-636. The lamentations of Cornelia, 637-662. Septimius cuts off his head, and gives it to Achillas, who carries it to Ptolemy, 663-686. By whose order it is embalmed, 687-691. The Poet deplores the fate of Pompey, 692-711. Cordus, an attendant of Pompey, burns the body on the shore, and burying the bones, places over them a stone with an inscription, 712-793. The Poet again laments his fate, and concludes with imprecations against treacherous Egypt, 794-872 293 CONTENTS. BOOK IX. Page The soul of Fompey, leaving the tomb, soars to the abodes of the Blessed, and thence looking down upon the earth inspires the breasts of Brutus and Cato, 1-23. Cato, with the remnant of Pompey's forces, repairs to Corcyra, 24-35. And thence to Crete and Africa, where he meets the fleet of Pompey with Cornelia, 36-50. She, having beheld the death of her husband and the funeral pile, has been reluctant to leave the shores of Egypt, 51-116. After which she has touched at Cyprus, whence she has repaired to Africa to join Cato and the eldest son of Pompey, where Sextus informs his brother Cneius of their father's death, 117-145. Cneius is desirous to proceed to Egypt, but is dissuaded by Cato, 146 166. Cornelia having landed, burns the vestments and arms of Pompey, which she has brought with her, in place of his body, and performs the funereal rites, 167- 185. Cato delivers an oration-in praise of Pompey, 186-214. The soldiers of Cato become dissatisfied, and wish to return home, the chief among the malcontents being Tarchondimotus, the Cilician, whom Cato rebukes ; on which another one replies that they followed Pompey for his own sake, and not for the love of civil war, and that they are now desirous to return home, 215 254. Cato is indignant, and by his eloquence prevails upon them to stay, 255-293. The soldiers are trained to arms, and the city of Cyrene is taken, 294-299. They embark for the kingdom of .Tuba; the Syrtes are described, 300-318. A tempest arises, and the ships are separated, 319-347. The region of Tritonis is described, in which were formerly the golden orchards of the Hesperides, and the river Lethe, 348-367. The fleet, having escaped the Syrtes, anchors off the coast of Libya, 368-370. Cato, impatient of delay, persuades his soldiers to disembark and to march over the sandy desert, 371-410. A description of Libya, and the evils to be encountered by those who travel there, 411-497. The soldiers are tormented by thirst, 498 511. They arrive at the Temple of Jupiter Ammon; its situation is described, 512-543. Labienus exhorts them to consult the oracle, 544-563. Cato dissuades them, saying that it is enough to know that a brave man ought to die with fortitude, 564-586. They proceed on their march, and arrive at a spring filled with serpents, at which, however, encouraged by Cato, they drink, 587-618. The Poet enters on an enquiry how Africa came to be thus infested with serpents, and relates the story of Medusa, 619-658. And how Perseus cut off her head, 659-684. And then flew in the air over Libya, the blood of the Gorgon falling on which produced the serpents, which are then described, 685-733. During Cato's march, many of his men are killed by the serpents ; their deaths are described, 734-838. The complaints of the soldiers, 839-880. The fortitude of Cato, 881-889. The Paylli assist them in their distress by sucking the poison out of their wounds, 890-941. They arrive at Leptis, 942-949. In the meantime Caesar, in pur- suit of Pompey, sails along the Hellespont and touches at Troy, 950- 965. Which is described, 966-999. He arrives in Egypt, where CONTENTS. xi Page a soldier, sent by the king, meets him with the head of Pompey, 1000-1033. Caesar, though really overjoyed, sheds tears, and re- proaches Pompey's murderers, and then commands them to appease the shade of Pompey, 1034-1108 337 BOOK X. Caesar, although finding the people of Egypt hostile to him, comes to Alexandria, and visits the tomb of Alexander the Great, 1-19. The Poet inveighs against Alexander and the people of the East, 20-52. In the meantime Ptolemy comes to Cassar as a hostage ; Cleopatra also obtains admission to him by stratagem, 53-60. The Poet utters maledictions against Cleopatra, 61-81. Cleopatra entreats Caesar to protect her and her brother against the power of Pothinus, 82-103. Caesar assents. The luxury of the Egyptians is described, 104-135. The dress and beauty of Cleopatra are depicted, and the sumptuousness of the banquet, 136-171. At the feast Caesar addresses Achoreus, the chief priest, on the subject of the Egyptian Gods and the sources of the Nile, 172-192. Achoreus first combats the false notions that exist on the rise of the Nile, 193-261. And then states his own opinions on the subject, 262-331. Pothinus plans the death of Caesar with Achillas, 332-398. Collecting his soldiers, Achillas surrounds the palace, 399-443. Caesar orders the gates to be closed, and detains the king as a hostage, 444-467. The palace is besieged, 468-484. The valour of Caesar is described. The ships of the enemy being burnt, Caesar takes possession of Pharos, 485-509. Pothinus is put to death, 510-519. Arsinoe, the younger sister of Ptolemy, slays Achillas, 519-529. Ganymedes, the newly-appointed general, ac- tively wages the war against Caesar, and the work concludes, 530-546 384 LUCAN'S PHARSALIA. BOOK THE FIKST. CONTENTS. The nature of the subject, 1-7. The lamentable character of the warfare, 8-32. The Poet addresses Nero, 33-66. The causes of the war, 67 -97. The rivalry between Pompey and Caesar after the death of Crassus, 98-157. The luxury of Rome, 158-182. Caesar crosses the Rubicon, and takes possession of Ariminum, 183-230. The complaints of the inhabitants of those parts that they are the first to feel the effects of every war, 231-260. Curio, being expelled from Rome, comes to Caesar's camp, and entreats him to march against Rome, 261-291. Cassar's address to his soldiers, 292-351. The soldiers wavering, Laelius en- courages them, 352-385. They consent to march against Rome, 386- 391. Caesar advancing against Rome, his forces are enumerated, 392-465. The reports at Rome on his approach. The fear of the people. The Senators and citizens, with Pompey, take to flight, 466-522. Prodigies then be- held are recounted, 523-583. Aruns, the Etrurian prophet, is consulted. The City is purified. The sacrifices are productive of ill omens. Anins presages evil to the state, 584-638. Figulus does the same, 639-672. A Roman matron prophesies woe to the City, 673-695. WAKS more than civil 1 upon the Emathian plains 2 , and li- cense conceded to lawlessness, I sing; and a powerful people turning with victorious right-hand against its own vitals, and kindred armies engaged ; and, the compact of rule rent 1 Wars more than civil) ver. 1. There is some doubt as to the meaning of this expression. It has been suggested that the Poet refers to the circum- stance of foreign nations taking part in a warfare which had originated between the citizens of Rome ; while another opinion is, that he alludes to the fact of Caesar and Pompey being not only fellow-citizens but connected by marriage. 2 T/te Ematkian plains) ver. 1. Emathia was properly that part of Macedonia which lay between the rivers Haliacmon and Axius. The poets, however, frequently give the name of Emathia to Thessaly, which adjoined Macedonia, and in which Pharsalia was situate. B 2 PHARSALIA. [B. i. 3-20. asunder ', a contest waged with all the might of the shaken earth for the universal woe, and standards meeting with hos- tile standards, the eagles alike -, and darts threatening darts :l . What madness, this, citizens ! what lawlessness so great of the sword, while nations are your hate, for you to shed the Latian blood ? And, while proud Babylon was to be spoiled 4 of the Ausonian trophies, and the shade of Crassus was wan- dering unavenged, has it pleased you that wars, doomed to produce no triumphs, should be waged ? Alas ! how much of land and of sea might have been won with that self-same blood which the right-hands of fellow-citizens have shed. "Whence Titan makes his approach, and where the night con- ceals the stars, and where the mid-day intensely burns with its scorching moments ; where too, the whiter, frozen and un- used to be relaxed by the spring, binds fast the icy ocean with Scythian cold ! By this beneath the yoke should the Seres 5 , by this the barbarian Araxes 6 , have come, and the race, if any there be, that lies situate contiguous to the rising Nile 7 . 1 The. compact of rule rent asunder) ver. 4. By the use of the word " regnum," he probably refers to the compact which had been originally made between the Triumvirs Pompey, Caesar, and Crassus, to divide the sovereign power among themselves. 2 T/*e eagles alike) ver. 7. " Pares aquilas." More literally " matched." The figure is derived from the " comparatio" or " matching" of the gladiators at the gladiatorial games. 3 And dartt threatening darts) ver. 7. "Pila." Howe, who translates it "pile," has the following Note here : " I have chosen to translate the Latin word ' pilum ' thus nearly, or indeed rather to keep it and make it English ; because it was a weapon, as eagles were the ensigns, peculiar to the Romans, and made use of here by Lucan purposely to denote the war made among themselves." It was a javelin or dart about five feet in length, which the Roman infantry discharged against the enemy at the commencement of the engagement. 4 Babylon teas to be spoiled) ver. 10. He speaks of Babylon as then belonging to the Parthians, who had recently conquered the Crassi with im- mense slaughter, a disaster which Had not been avenged. 5 Beneath the yoke should the Seres) ver. 19. Seres was the name given to the inhabitants of Serica, an indefinite region situate in the north-western parts of Asia ; but it is generally supposed that a part of China was so called. The great wall of China is called by Ammianus Marcellinus " Aggeres Se- rium," " The bulwarks of the Seres." 6 The barbarian, Araxes) ver. 19. There were rivers of this name in Armenia, Mesopotamia, Persia, and Thessaly. Probably the first is the one here alluded to. 1 Contiguous to the rising File) ver. 20. The subject of the rise of the Nile is fully treated of in the speech of Achoreus, in the Tenth Book. B. i. 21-41.] PHAESAL1A. 3 Then, Home, if so great thy love for an accursed warfare, when thou hast subjected the whole earth to Latian laws, turn thy hands against thyself; not as yet has a foe been wanting to thee. But now that the walls are tottering with the dwellings half overthrown throughout the cities of Italy, and," the fortifications falling away, vast stones are lying there, and the houses are occupied by no protector, and but few inhabitants are wandering amid the ancient cities, that Hesperia has remained unsightly with brambles and un- ploughed for many a year, and that hands are wanting for the fields requiring them not thou, fierce Pyrrhus, nor yet the Carthaginian 1 , will prove the cause of ruin so great; to no sword has it been allowed to penetrate the vitals; deep-seated are the wounds of the fellow-citi- zen's right hand. But if the Fates have decreed no other way 8 for Nero to succeed, and at a costly price eternal realms are provided for the Gods, and heaven could only obey its own Thunderer after the wars of the raging Giants :i ; then in no degree, O Gods above, do we complain ; crimes themselves, and law- lessness, on these conditions, are approved; let Pharsalia fill her ruthless plains, and let the shades of the Cartha- ginians be sated with blood ; let the hosts meet for the last time at tearful Munda 4 . To these destined wars, Caesar, 1 Pyrrhus, nor yet the Carthaginian) ver. 30. He alludes to Pyrrhus, king of Epirus, and Hannibal the Carthaginian, two of the most terrible ene- mies of Rome. 2 Have decreed no other way) ver. 33. One of the Scholiasts thinks that this is said in bitter irony against the Emperor Nero. It is, however, more probable that it is intended in a spirit of adulation ; as the First Book was evidently written under very different political feelings from the latter ones ; in which he takes every opportunity of indirectly censuring the tyrant. 3 Wars of the raging Giants) ver. 36. He alludes to the Giganto- machia, or war between the Gods and the Giants. By this expression he either intends a compliment to the fame of Caesar and Pompey individually, or to the prowess of the Roman people. * At tearful Mwnda) ver. 40. Munda was a village of Spain near Malaga, or, according to some, in the neighbourhood of Cordova, where Caesar, in the year B.C. 45, defeated the sons of Pompey with the loss of 30,000 men. Cneins, the eldest, was slain there. The Poet alludes in the preceding line to the war carried on in the north of Africa, where Juba sided with the partisans of Pompey. B 2 4 PHAESALIA. [B. I. 41-56. let the famine of Perusia 1 and the struggles of Mutina 2 be added, the fleets, too, which rugged Leucadia overwhelmed 3 , and the servile wars beneath the burning ^Etna^; still, much does Eome owe to the arms of her citizens, since for thy sake these events have come to pass. When, thy allotted duties fulfilled, thou shalt late repair to the stars, the palace of heaven, preferred by thee, shall receive thee 5 , the skies rejoicing ; whether it please thee to wield the sceptre, or whether to ascend the flaming chariot of Phoebus, and with thy wandering fire to survey the earth, hi no way alarmed at the change of the sun ; by every Divinity will it be yielded unto thee, and to thy free choice will nature leave it what God thou shalt wish to be, where to establish the sovereignty of the world. But do thou neither choose thy abode in the Arctic circle, nor where the sultry sky of the south behind us declines ; whence with thy star obliquely thou mayst look upon Rome 7 . If thou 1 The famine of Perusia) ver. 41. Perusia was an ancient city of Etru- ria. L. Antonius, the brother of the Triumvir, took refuge here, and was besieged by Augustus for several months, till he was compelled by famine to surrender. This lengthened siege gave occasion to that campaign being called " Bellum Perusinum." 2 And the struggles of Mutina) ver. 41. He alludes to the siege of Mutina, now Modena, in the years B.C. 44, 43. Decimus Brutus being be- sieged there by Marc Antony, the Consuls Hirtius and Pansa hastened to relieve him, and perished in battle under its walls. 3 Which nigged Leucadia overwhelmed) Ter. 43. Keference is made to the sea fight at Actium near the isle of Leucas or Leucadia, off the coast of Acarnania, in which Augustus defeated Antony and Cleopatra. 4 Servile wars beneath the lurning JEtna) ver. 44. He alludes to the defeat of Seztus, the son of Poinpey, in the Sicilian seas; where a vast number of slaves had ranged under his banners. He was first defeated by Agrippa, the son-in-law of Augustus, off Mylae, and again off Naulochus, a seaport be- tween Mylse and Pelorum in Sicily, B.C. 36. s The palace of heaven shall receive thee) ver. 46. This is more abject flattery than we could expect from a Poet whose works breathe the intense spirit of liberty to be found in the latter books of this Poem. a Alarmed at the change of the sun) ver. 49. He probably alludes to the disastrous result of Phaeton guiding the chariot of the Sun, when the world was set in flames. Nero prided himself upon his skill as a charioteer, and not improbably the Poet intends here to flatter him on his weak point. Ai to the disaster of Phaeton, see the Metamorphoses of Ovid, at the com- mencement of the Second Book. 7 Obliquely thou mayst look upon Rome) ver. 65. Some of the Scho- B. i. 56-77.] PHAKSALIA. 5 shouldst press upon one side of the boundless aether, the sky will be sensible of the burden 1 . Keep thy weight in the mid sphere of the balanced heavens ; may all that part of the (Ether with sky serene be free from mist, and may no clouds interpose before Caesar. Then, arms laid aside, may the human race consult its own good, and may all nations love one another; may Peace, sent throughout the world, keep close the iron thresholds 2 of the warlike Janus. But to myself already art thou a Divinity ; and, if I, a bard, receive thee in my breast, I could not wish to invoke the God who moves the mystic shrines of Cirrha 3 , and to withdraw Bacchus from Nysa" 1 . Suffi- cient art thou to supply inspiration for Roman song. My design leads me 5 to recount the causes of events so great, and a boundless task is commenced upon ; what it was that impelled a frantic people to arms what that drove away Peace from the world. The envious course of the Fates, and the denial to what is supreme to be of long duration ; the heavy fall, too, beneath a weight too great ; and Rome that could not support herself. So when, its structure dissolved, the last hour shall have closed so many ages of the universe, all things shall return once more to former chaos ; constellations shall rush on against mingled constellations ; fiery stars shall fall into the deep ; faith shall refuse to extend her shores, and shall cast away th? ocean ; Phoebe shall come into collision with her bro- liasts, fancying that all this is said in irony, would have this word ' obliquum,' 'sidelong,' or 'oblique/ to refer to the squint or cast observable in Nero's eye. There seems, however, no ground for this notion. 1 Will be sensible of the burden) ver. 57. The same Scholiasts think that satirical allusion is here made to the fatness of Nero. 2 Keep close the iron thresholds) ver. 62. He alludes to the Temple of Janus, which was shut in time of peace. 3 The mystic shrines of Cirrha) ver. 64. Cirrha was a town of Phocis, situate on Mount Parnassus, near Delphi, sacred to Apollo, who is here re- ferred to. 4 Withdraw Bacchus from Nysa) ver. 65. Nysa was the name of several cities sacred to Bacchus. One was in India, which is also supposed to have been called Dionysopolis. Another was in ^Ethiopia. The others were in Caria, Cappadocia, Thrace, and Boeotia. As the latter was, like Cyrrha, situate on Mount Parnassus, it is not improbable that it is the one here re- ferred to. ' My design leads me) ver. 67. The Metamorphoses of Ovid begin with the same expression, " fert animus." 6 PHARSALIA. [u. i. 77-97. ther, and, disdaining to guide her two-horsed chariot hi its sidelong course, will demand the day for herself ; and the whole mechanism, discordant, will confuse the ties of the universe rent asunder. Mighty things fall of themselves ; this limit to increase have the Deities assigned to a prosperous state. Nor yet to the advantage of any other nations does Fortune turn her hate against a people all-powerful by land and hy sea. Thou, Rome, wast the cause of thy own woes, becoming the common property of three masters 1 ; the fatal compact 2 , too, for sway never successfully entrusted to a number. ye, dis- astrously concordant, and blinded by desires too great, why does it please you to unite your strength and to share the world in common ? While the earth shall support the sea, and the air the earth", and his long courses shall whirl on Titan in his career, and night shall -succeed the day through signs as many, no faith is there hi partners hi rule, and all power will be impatient of a sharer. And believe not any nations, nor let the examples of t his fatality be sought from afar ; the rising walls of Rome were steeped with a brother's blood 4 . Nor was the earth and the ocean then the reward of frenzy so great ; an humble retreat 5 brought into collision its lords. 1 The common property of three masters) ver. 85. He alludes to the first Triumvirate or compact secretly made between Pompey, Caesar, and Crauus to share the Roman power between them. By this arrangement Pod^ey had Spain and Africa, Crassus Syria, while Caesar's government over Gaul was prolonged for five years. 8 The fatal compact, too) ver. 85, 6. " Nee nmqnam In turbam missi feralia foedera regni !" The meaning is, "The sovereign sway divided among several, fatal in its consequences, and a thing never successfully done be- fore ;" the Romans having hitherto, except in the disastrous times of Sulla and Marius, been governed by the laws of the Republic, from the period when the kings ceased to reign. 3 And the air the earth) ver. 90, 1. Ovid has a very similar passage in the Metamorphoses, B. i. 1. 11. "The earth did not as yet hang in the surrounding air, balanced by its own weight." * Steeped with a brother'* blood) ver. 95. He alludes to the death of Remus, who, according to some, was slain by the hand of his brother Romu- lus ; Ovid, however, in the Fasti, B. iv. 1. 839, says, that he was slain by Celer, one of the followers of Romulus. His offence was the contempt which he displayed in leaping over the walls of infant Rome. * An humble retreat) ver. 97. " Asylum." Under the name " asylum," he probably alludes to the whole of the spot on which Rome then stood. Roma- B. 1. 98-113.] PHARSALIA. 7 The discordant concord lasted for a short time ; and peace there was, through no inclination of the chieftains. For Crassus, interposing, was the sole impediment to the des- tined war. Just as the narrow Isthmus 1 which cleaves and barely divides the two seas, nor yet allows them to meet together ; if the earth were to withdraw, the Ionian would dash itself against the JEgean main ; so, when Crassus, who kept asunder the ruthless arms of the chieftains, hy a fate much to be deplored stained Assyrian Carrhse 2 with Latian blood, the Parthian misfortunes let loose the frenzy of Home. More, ye descendants of Arsaces 3 , was effected by you in that battle than you suppose ; civil warfare you con- ferred upon the conquered. The sway is cut asunder by the sword ; and the fortunes of a powerful people, which embrace the sea, the land, the whole earth, brook not two leaders. For Julia, cut off by the ruthless hand 4 of the Destinies 5 , bore away to the shades below the ties of allied blood, and the marriage lus constituted a grove near the Tiber a place of refuge for the slaves and criminals of neighbouring states, that he might thereby augment the number of his own-citizens. In later times the Asylum was walled in. From a passage in the Fasti of Ovid, B. ii. 1. 67, it seems that, running down to the banks of the Tiber, it skirted the Capitolium. 1 Just as the narrow Isthmus) ver. 101. He alludes to the Isthmus of Corinth, which connects the Peloponnesus with the main land, and has the Ionian Sea on the west, the 2Egean on the east. 3 Stained Assyrian Carrhee) ver. 105. Carrhae or Carrae, the Haran of Scripture, was a city of Osroene in Mesopotamia, not far from Edessa. Cras- sus was slain in battle there with the Parthians, B.C. 53. 3 Ye descendants of Arsaces) v. 108. The kings of Parthia were called Arsacicke from Arsaces, the founder of the Parthian empire. He was a per- son of obscure origin, and said to. have been a mountain robber. About 250 B.C. he headed a revolt of the Parthians against Antiochus II., which being successful, he became their first monarch. 4 Julia, cut off by tJie ruthless hand) ver. 113. Julia was the daughter of Julius Caesar by his wife Cornelia, and his only child in marriage. She was betrothed to Servilius Caepio, but was married to Pompey, B.C. 59. She died B.C. 54, and her only child, which some writers state to have been a son, some a daughter, died a few days after. Seneca says that Caesar was in Britain at the time of Julia's death. Though she was twenty-three years younger than Pompey, she was devotedly attached to him, and received a shock which proved fatal to her on believing him to have been slain in a popular tumult. 4 Of the Destinies) ver. 113. " Parcarum." Literally, " of the Parcae." This was a name of the Fates or Destinies, Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos. 8 PHARSALIA. [B. i. 113-128. torches 1 , with direful omen, portentous of woe. But if the Fates had allowed thee a longer sojourn in life, tliou alone hadst been able to restrain on the one side the husband and on the other the parent, and, the sword dashed down, to join the armed hands, just as the Sabine Avomen, interposing 3 , united the sons-in-law with the fathers-in-law. By thy death is friendship rent asunder, and license granted to the chief- tains to commence the warfare. TJie ambition of rivalry adds its spur. Thou, Magnus, art afraid lest recent exploits should eclipse former triumphs, and the laurels gained from the pirates should be eclipsed by 3 the conquest of the Gauls ; thee, Casar, does the continuance of thy labours and thy experience gained by tliem now elevate, and Fortune 4 that cannot brook a second place. Neither can Caesar now endure any one his superior, nor Pompey any one his equal. Who with the more justice took up arms it is not permitted us to know 3 ; each one defends himself with a mighty abettor; the conquering cause was pleasing to the Gods, but the conquered one to Cato 6 . 1 And tlie marriage torches) ver. 112. " Taedae" were the marriage torches borne before the bride when -being led to her husband's house. By the use of the word " feralia," he means that her marriage torch was ominously soon supplanted by the torch which lighted her funeral pile. 3 As tlie Sabine women interposing) ver. 118. He alludes to the reconci- liation effected by the Sabine women, who had been carried off by Romulus and his Romans, between their relatives and their husbands, when about to engage in mortal combat. The story is prettily told by Ovid in the Fasti, B. iii. 1. 201, et seq. See the Translation in Bohn's Classical Library, p. 97. 3 Laurels gained from tJie pirates should be eclipsed by) ver. 122. He alludes to the victories of Caesar in Gaul, and those gained by Pompey over the Cilician pirates, who had swarmed in vast numbers in the Mediterra- nean, and whom Pompey had defeated with a fleet of 500 ships. The Poet alludes to the laurel crown with which Pompey would be grated when pro- ceeding in triumph to the Capitol. It may be here remarked that the Poet throughout the work calls Pompey by his surname of " Magnus." 4 And Fortune) ver. 124. " Fortuna." Caesar was in the habit of pay- ing especial veneration to the Goddess " Fortune." * It is not permitted us to know) ver. 126. This passage does not at all correspond with the spirit in which the latter books are written ; where every possible invective as a tyrant and murderer is unsparingly lavished upon Caesar. It is not improbable that this book was written several years be- fore the latter ones, and while the Poet was still enjoying the favour of Nero. 6 But the conquered one to Cato) ver. 128. This is a great compliment to Cato, who is made the hero of the Ninth Book. He was the great-grandson of Cato the Censor, and was doubtless the most virtuous of all the illustrioug Romans of his day. B. i. 129-147.] PHARSALIA. 9 Nor did they meet on equal terms ; the one, with his years tending downward to old age, and grown tranquil amid a long practice of the arts of peace', had now in tran- quillity 2 forgotten the general; and, an aspirant for fame, had been wont to confer upon the public many a largess' 1 ; solely to he wafted on by the popular gales, and to exult in the applause of a theatre his own 4 ; not to recruit his strength afresh, and principally to rely upon his former suc- cesses. There stood the shadow of a glorious name 5 : just as the lofty oak, hi a fertile field, which bears the spoils 6 of an ancient people and the consecrated gifts of chieftains, now no longer standing fast by its firm roots, is fixed by its own weight; and sending forth its bared branches into the air, with its trunk, and not its leaves, forms a shade ; and al- though it threatens to fall at the first eastern blast, and trees so many around it lift themselves with firmly-rooted strength, still it alone is venerated. But in Csesar not only was there a name as great, and the fame of the general ; but a valour that knew not how to rest in one place, and a shame only felt at not conquering in 1 Of the arts of peace) ver. 130. " Togse." Literally " of the toga." This was the robe or gown worn by the Roman citizens in domestic life. 2 In tranquillity forgotten the general) ver. 131. Pompey triumphed over Mithridates B.C. 62, since which time, for a period of fourteen years, he had been unused to active warfare. He was only six years older than Caesar. 3 To confer many a largess) ver. 133. "Dare multa." By the word " dare" he alludes to the largesses of corn which Pompey plentifully bestowed on the Roman populace, and the gladiatorial shows which he exhibited. 4 Applause of a theatre his own) ver. 133. He alludes to the theatre which Pompey built at Rome. It was the first one of stone there erected, and was large enough to accommodate 40,000 spectators. It was built in the Campus Martins, on the model of one at Mytilene, in the isle of Lesbos. It was opened with scenic representations, gladiatorial combats, and fights of wild beasts. Five hundred lions were killed, and eighteen ele- phants were hunted, and a rhinoceros exhibited for the first time. 5 Stood the shadow of a glorious name) ver. 135. The Poet probably alludes here to Pompey's title or surname of " Magnus," or " Great," which was given to him by the Roman people after he had conquered Domitius Ahenobarbus and Hiarbas in Sicily. Plutarch informs us that Pompey did not use that name himself till he was appointed to the command against Ser- torius in Spain. 6 Tliat bears the spoils) ver. 137. He compares Pompey, enriched with the spoil of nations and the rewards of his fellow-citizens, to an oak, upon which a trophy has been erected composed of spoils and gifts. 10 PHARSALIA. [B. L 147-170. war. Fierce and unrestrained; ready to lead his troops whither hope and whither vengeance should summon, and never to spare fleshing his sword ; to press on his own advantages, to rely on the favour of the Deity ; bearing down whatever opposed himself as he sought the summit, and rejoicing amid ruin to have made his way. Just as the lightning forced by the winds through the clouds flashes forth with the echoes of the riven aether and with a crash throughout the universe, and overwhelms the light of day, and terrifies the alarmed nations, dazzling the eyes with its sidelong flame. It rages against temples its own 1 ; and, no matter impeding its going forth, both fall- ing, it sends vast, and returning, vast devastation far and wide, and collects again its scattered fires. These were the motives secretly existing with the chief- tains ; but there were public grounds for the warfare, which have ever overwhelmed mighty nations. For when, the world subdued, Fortune introduced wealth too great, and the manners gave way before prosperity, and booty and the spoils of the enemy induced luxurious habits ; no mo- deration was there in gold or hi houses ; hunger, too, dis- dained the tables of former tunes ; dresses hardly suitable for the matrons to wear, the males seized hold upon 2 ; po- verty fruitful in men 3 was shunned; and that was fetched from the entire earth by means of which each nation falls. Then did they join the lengthened boundaries of the fields, and the extended lands once turned up by the hard plough- share of Camillus 4 , and which had submitted to the ancient mattocks of the Curii ', lay far and wide beneath the charge of husbandmen unknown to their employers. 1 Against temples tit own) ver. 155. He means that as the lightnings rage amid the clouds and the air, their own realms, so Caesar displayed hit warlike fury among his own fellow-citizens. 2 The males seized hold upon) ver. 164. He probably alludes to the use of " multitia," certain thin garments and silken textures which had been recently introduced into Home. 3 Fruitful in men) ver. 165. " Virorum." In the sense of " manly spirits." 4 Ploughshare of Camillna) ver. 168. He alludes to M. Furius Camillus, the Roman Dictator, who was said to hare been taken from the plough to lead his fellow-citizens against the enemy. He died of the plague, B.C. 365. * Mattocks of the Curii) ver. 169. He alludes to Marius Curius Dentatus, who held the Consulship with P. Cornelius llufinus, and enabled the Ro- mans to withstand Fyrrhus, and triumphed over the Samnites. \Vhen their B. J. 171-187.] PHARSALIA. 11 This was not the people whom tranquil peace might avail, whom its own liberty might satisfy with arms un- moved. Thence arose ready broils, and the contemptible wickedness which poverty could prompt; and the great honor, and one worthy to be sought with the sword, to have been able to do more than one's own country; might, too, was the measure of right; hence laws and decrees of the people 1 constrained, and Tribunes confounding their rights with Consuls. Hence the Fasces 2 snatched up at a price, and the populace itself the vendor of its own applause, and canvassing fatal to the city, bringing round the annual contests on the venal Plain of Mars' 6 ; hence devouring usury, and interest greedy for each moment, and credit shaken, and warfare profitable to the many 4 . Now had Caesar in his course 5 passed the icy Alps, and revolved in his mind the vast commotions and the future war. When he had arrived at the waves of the little Eubi- con 6 , the mighty image of his trembling country distinctly appeared to the chieftain hi the darkness of the night, bear- ambassadors came with the intention of bribing him, they found him at work in his field, and in answer to their solicitations, he told them that he would rather be the ruler of the rich than be rich himself, and that, invincible in the field, he could not be conquered by money. He died B.C. 270. ' Laws and decrees of the people) ver. 176. At Rome the " leges," or " laws " were approved by the Senate ; while the " plebiscita," or " decrees of the people," were passed at the " Comitia Tributa," or meetings of the tribes, on the rogation of a Tribune. * Hence the Fasces) ver. 178. "Fasces." These, which were formed of a bundle of rods inclosing an axe, were the insignia of the Consular dignity ; and the word is frequently used to denote the office itself. Lucan here al- ludes to the corrupt and venal manners of the Eoman people at this period. 3 The venal Plain of Mars) ver. 180. He alludes to the elections of the Eoman magistrates in the Campus Martius at Rome, and the system of bri- bery by which the suffrages of the people were purchased. * Profitable to the many) ver. 182. Those, namely, who had nothing to lose. s Ccesar in his course) ver. 185. On his march from Gaul to Italy. The leaves of tlie little Rubicon) ver. 185. This was a small river be- tween Caesenum and Ariminum, in the north of Italy, falling into the Adriatic. It was the ancient boundary of Gaul, which was Caesar's province. It is said to have received its name from the red (rubri) stones with which it abounded. It is uncertain whether it was the stream called Lusa, or that named Pisatello at the present day. It is said that on the bank of this river a pillar was placed by a decree of the Senate, with an inscription importing that whoever should pass in arms into the Roman territory would be deemed an enemy to the state. 12 PHARSALIA. [B. i. 187-201. ing marks of extreme sadness on her features, letting loose the white hair from her tower-bearing head, with her long locks dishevelled, standing with her arms all bare, and uttering these uvrds, mingled with sighs : " Whither beyond this do you proceed ? Whither, ye men, do you bear my standards ? If rightfully you come, if as citizens, thus far you may." Then did horror smite the limbs of the chieftain, his hair stood on end, and a languor that checked his course withheld his steps on the verge of the bank. Soon he exclaims, " O Thunderer, who dost look down ' upon the walls of the mighty city from the Tarpeian rock, and ye Phrygian Penates of the Julian race 2 , ye se- cret mysteries, too, of Quirinus borne away 3 , and Jove of Latium, who dost reside in lofty Alba 4 , and ye Vestal hearths 5 , and thou, O Rome, equal to a supreme Deity, favour my designs ! With no fatal arms am I pursuing thee ; lo ! 1 Thunderer, who dost look down) ver. 196. He alludes to Jupiter Capi- tnlinus, whose temple was on the Capitoline hill, a part of which was called the Tarpeian rock, from the virgin Tarpeia, who was killed and buried there. * Phrygian Penates of the Julian race) ver. 197. JJneas rescued his Penates or household gods from the flames of Troy, the capital of Phrygia. Ascanius or lulus, his son, was said to have been the ancestor of the Julian family, of which Julius Caesar was a member. Jupiter had a temple, which was built on the mountain of Alba by Ascanius, and was there worshipped under the name of Jupiter Latialis. The holy Are sacred to Vesta was first preserved there, until it was removed from Alba to Rome by Numa. 3 Mysteries of Quirinus lome away) ver. 197. Quirinus was a name of Romulus, derived, according to Dionysius of Haliearnassus, from the Sabine language. Some suppose it to have originated in the Sabine word " curis," a spear. Lucan here alludes to the mysterious manner in which Romulus dis- appeared. It is not improbable that he was slain by his nobles, and that through their agent Julius Proculus they spread the report that he had been taken up to heaven. In the Fasti of Ovid, B. ii. 1. 505, he is represented as saying, " Forbid the Quirites to lament, and let them not offend my Godhead with their tears. Let them offer me frankincense, and let the multitude pay adoration to Quirinus, their new God, and let them practise my father's arts and warfare." 4 Who dost reside in lofty Alba) ver. 198. Alba Longa was said to be the most ancient town in Latium, and to have been founded by Ascanius, the son of ./Eneas. It derived its name of Longa from its extending in a long line down the Alban mount toward the Alban lake. It was totally de- stroyed by Tullus Hostilins, and its inhabitants were removed to Rome. 4 And ye Vestal hearths) ver. 199. He alludes to the sacred fire which was tended by the Vestal virgins in the Temple of Vesta, said to have been brought from Troy by J2neas. B. I. 201-230.] PHARSALIA. 13 here am I, Caesar, the conqueror by land and hy sea. every- where (if only it is permitted me) thine own soldier even still. He will it be, he the guilty one, who shall make me thy foe ! " Then did he end the respite from the warfare, and swiftly bore the standards through the swollen stream. Just as when in the parched plains of sultry Libya a lion, his enemy perceived at hand, crouches undecided until he collects all his fury ; soon as he has aroused himself by the lashings of his infuriate tail, and has raised his mane erect, and from his vast throat the loud roar re-echoes ; then, if the light lance of the Moor, hurled, pierces him, or the hunt- ing spears enter his broad chest, amid the weapons, careless of wounds so great, he rushes on. From a small spring rises the ruddy Rubicon, and, when fervid summer glows, is impelled with humble waves, and through the lowly vales it creeps along, and, a fixed boundary, separates from the Ausonian husbandmen the Gallic fields. At that time winter 1 gave it strength, and now the showery Cynthia with her blunted horn for the third tiime 2 had swollen the waves, and the Alps were thawed by the watery blasts of the eastern breeze. First of all the charger 3 is opposed obliquely to the stream, to bear the brunt of the floods ; then the rest of the throng bursts through the pliant waves of the river, now broken in its course, across the easy ford. When Csesar, the stream surmounted, reached the opposite banks, and stood upon the forbidden fields of Hesperia ; " Here," said he, " here do I leave peace, and the violated laws behind ; thee, Fortune, do I follow ; henceforth, far hence be treaties ! The Desti- nies have we trusted ; War as our umpire we must adopt." Thus having said, the active leader in the shades of night hurries on his troops, and swifter than the hurled 1 At that time winter) ver. 217. Caesar passed the Rubicon at the end of the month of January. ' With her Hunted horn for the third time) ver. 218. " Tertia Cynthia" is probably the third night after the change of the moon. The passage seems to menn that it had mined three nights (and probably days) successively. * The charger) ver. 220. ' ; Sonipes," " sounding hoof," is the name gene- rally used by Lucan when he speaks of the charger or war-horse. 14 PHARSALIA. [B. 1. 230-249. charge of the Balearic sling 1 , and the arrow 2 shot behind the back of the Parthian ; and threatening he sur- prises Ariminum 3 . Lucifer left behind, the stars fled from the fires of the sun, and now arose the day doomed to behold the first outbreak of the war. Whether by the will of the Gods, or whether the murky south wind im- pelled them, clouds obscured the saddened light. When in the captured Forum the soldier halted, commanded to pitch his standard, the clash of clarions and the clang of trum- pets sounded the ill-omened signals 4 together with the hoarse-sounding horn. The rest of the people was broken, and, aroused from their beds, the youth snatched down the arms fixed up near the hallowed Penates, which a pro- longed peace still afforded ; they laid hold of shields decaying with the frames now bare, and darts with blunted points, and swords rough with the cankering of swarthy rust. When the well-known eagles glittered, and the Koman standards, and Csesar mounted aloft was beheld hi the midst of the ranks, they grew chilled with alarm, icy dread bound fast their limbs, and they revolved these silent complaints within their speechless breasts : " O walls ill founded, these, with the Gauls for their neighbours 5 ! O walls 1 Of the Balearic sling) ver. 229. The Baleares were islands in the Me- diterranean, off the coast of Spain, and were called " Major" and " Minor ;" whence their present names Majorca and Minorca. Their inhabitants were noted for their great skill in the use of the sling, and were much employed in the Roman and Carthaginian armies. 2 The arrow) yer. 230. The Parthians were filmed for the dexterity with which they used the bow when retreating on horseback at the swiftest speed. 3 He surprises Ariminum) ver. 231. Ariminum, now called Rimini, was a city of TJmbria, on the coast of the Adriatic; about nine miles south of the Rubicon. The Via Flaminia and the Via JEmilia led to it from Rome. Caesar took possession of it immediately after passing the Rubicon, as being a spot from which he could conveniently direct his operations against Etruria and Picenum. Caesar informs us in his account of the Civil War, B. i., c. 8, that he took possession of this place with the 13th legion, and that here he met the Tribunes who had fled to him from Rome for protection. 4 The ill-omened signals) ver. 238. Because sounding the note of civil war. * The Gauls for tiieir neighbours) ver. 248. Ariminum was originally inha- bited by the Umbrians, then by the Senonian Gauls, who were expelled by the Romans in the year B.C. 268, when it was colonized from Rome. B. i. 249-265.] PHARSALIA. 15 condemned to a hapless site ! Profound peace and tranquil repose is there throughout all nations, we are the prey and the first encampment for these thus frenzied. Far better, For- tune, wouldst thou have afforded an abode in an eastern clime, and under the icy north, and wandering abodes 1 , rather than to have to protect the threshold of Latium. We were the first to behold the commotions of the Senones 2 , the Cimbrian 3 , too, rushing on, and the hosts of Libya 4 , and the career of the Teutonic rage. As oft as Fortune aims a blow at Eome, this is the passage for the warfare." Thus with a secret sigh spoke each, not venturing to ex- press his alarm aloud ; no voice was entrusted to anguish ; but in the same degree in which, when the winter keeps in the birds, the fields are silent, and the mid ocean without a murmur is still, thus profound was the silence. Light has now dispelled the cold shades of night ; lo ! the Fates sup- ply to his wavering mind the torches of war and induce- ments provoking to battle, and rend asunder all the pauses of moderation ; Fortune struggles that the movements of the chieftain shall be justified, and discovers pretexts for his arms. ' And wandering abodes) ver. 253. He alludes either to the wander- ing life of the Numidian tribes or of the Scythians, who were said to move from place to place, and to live in waggons. * The commotions of the Senones) ver. 254. The Senonian Gauls were originally from Gallia Lugdunensis, dwelling near the Sequana or Seine. A part of their people passed into Italy by way of the Alps about B.C. 400, and penetrating to the south, they took up their abode on the borders of the Adriatic, after expelling the Umbrians. Marching against Rome they took all the City except the Capitol, B.C. 390. They were finally subdued by the Romans, and the greater part of them destroyed by the Consul Dolabella, B.C. 283. Of course Ariminum, being at the very verge of Italy, would be ex- posed to their first attacks. 3 T/ie Cimbrian, too) ver. 254. The Cimbri are supposed to have originally inhabited the Chersonesus Cimbrica, or Jutland. Migrating south with the Teutoni and Ambrones, they overran Gaul, which they ravaged in all direc- tions. They repulsed several Roman armies with great slaughter, but were ulti- mately defeated by Caius Marius near Aquae Sextiae (now Aix) in Gaul, and by Marius and Catulus at the battle of Cainpi Raudii, near Verona, B.C. 101. 4 And the hosts of Libya) ver. 255. Under the name of " Mars Libyes" he alludes to the Punic wars; in the second of which Ariminum played a distinguished part. In the year B.C. 218 Sempronius directed his legions thither in order to oppose Hannibal in Cisalpine Gaul ; and throughout that war it was one of the points to which the greatest importance was attached from its commanding position. 16 PHARSALIA. [u. i. 266-276. The threatening Senate, the law violated, expelled from the divided city the differing Tribunes \ the Gracchi being thrown in their teeth 2 . These now repairing to the stand- ards of the chieftain moving onward and in their vicinity, the daring Curio, with his venal tongue 3 , accompanies; a voice that once was the people's, and that had dared to defend liberty, and to place armed potentates on a level with the lower classes 4 . And when he beheld the chieftain revolving his various cares in his breast, he said, " While, Csesar, thy party could be aided by my voice, although against the will of the Senate, then did we prolong thy rule 5 , so long as I had 1 Expelled the differing Tribunes} ver. 266. Caesar offered to lay down his command if Pompey would do the same ; but the party of the latter would listen to no proposals for an accommodation. Quintus Cassius Longi- nus, and Marc Antony, the Tribunes of the people, ventured to speak boldly in behalf of Caesar, but were violently censured by the Consuls Marcellus and Lentulus, who reminded them very significantly of the con- duct and fate of the Gracchi, and threatened them with a similar end; on which they escaped from the city by night, disguised like slaves, and fled to Caesar at Ariminnm. This the Poet considers to be unfortunate, inasmuch as it would consequently appear that Caesar marched towards Rome for no other reason than to preserve the privileges of the Tribunes, and to support the laws of his country. 3 The Gracchi leing throvm, in their teeth) ver. 267. Tiberius and Caius Gracchus devoted their public career to asserting the rights of the Plebeians againat the Patricians of Rome, for which reason their names became by- words for sedition and violence. They both met with violent deaths at different periods. 3 The, daring Curio, with hit venal tongue) ver. 269. C. Scribonius Curio was an orator of great natural talents. He first belonged to the party of Pompey; but having run deeply into debt, he abandoned him and joined Caesar, on the understanding that he would pay off all his liabilities. When the Senate demanded that Caesar should lay down his command before coming into the city, Curio proposed that Pompey should do the same. While he was opposing the party of Pompey in the Senate, the year of his Tribune- ship came to a close, and, fearing for his own safety, he fled from the city and joined Caesar at Ariminum ; or, according to some, at Ravenna. * On a, level t?ith the loiter classes) ver. 271. By his eloquence he was able to counteract the ambition of great men, and to reduce them to a private station. It is supposed by some that Curio is the person referred to by Virgil in the sixth Book of the JKncid, in the famous words, " Vendidit hie auro pa- triam." " This man sold his country for gold." 4 Then did we prolong/ thy rule) ver. 275. He takes to himself the credit of having obtained for Csasar a prolongation of his government of Gaul for another five years. B. I. 27.6-291.] PHARSALIA. 17 the liberty to occupy the Eostra *, and to bring over to thee the wavering Quirites. But after the laws, coerced by war- fare, were dumb, we were driven from our paternal homes, and of our own accord we endured exile ; ' t is thy victory will make us citizens again. While, strengthened with no support, the factions are still in doubt, away with delay ! it always injures men prepared to procrastinate. Equal labours and anxieties are being sought for a greater reward 2 . Gaul has kept thee engaged in war for twice five years 3 , a portion of the earth how trifling ! If with a happy result thou hast fought a few battles, Rome for thee will subdue the world J ! " Now neither does the procession of the lengthened triumph 5 receive thee returning, nor does the Capitol demand the consecrated laurels. Cankering envy denies thee everything; and hardly wilt thou escape with im- punity having subdued the foe ; it is the determination of the son-in-law to deprive the father-in-law 6 of the sway. Thou canst not share the earth ; alone thou mayst pos- sess it." 1 To occupy the Rostra) ver. 275. " Eostra," or " The Beaks," was the name given to the stage in the Forum at Rome, from which the Orators addressed the populace. It was so called from having been adorned with the "rostra," or " beaks " of the ships of war taken from the Antiates. The Rostra were transferred by Julius Caesar to another part of the Forum, from which time the spot where the ancient Rostra had stood was called " Rostra Vetera," while the other was styled the " Rostra Nova," or " Rostra Julia." 2 Are sought for a greater reward) ver. 282. Meaning, " The risk and labour are equal to those you encountered in the Gallic war, but the reward will be far greater." 3 For twice five years) ver. 283. " Geminis lustris." The original mean- ing of the word " lustrum " (which was derived from " luo," " to cleanse," or "atone for,") was, "a purifying sacrifice," offered in behalf of the whole people by one of the Censors, after finishing the census or review of the Roman people, at the end of every five years, or four years according to the Julian Calendar. The Gallic campaigns of Caesar extended over a period of ten years. 4 Rome for thee will subdue the world) ver. 285. That is to say, " in conquering Rome you will have conquered the world." 5 Procession of (fa lengthened triumph) ver. 286. He alludes to the un- just refusal which Caesar had met with when he demanded a triumph for his conquests in Gaul. a The son-in-law to deprive the father-in-law) ver. 289. Throughout his poem, Lucan generally styles Caesar " socer," " the father-in-law," and Ponipey " gener," " the son-in-law," relatively to each other. The marriage of Pompey to Julia, the daughter of Caesar, has been previously referred to. 13 PHAKSAL1A. [B. L 291-313. After he bad thus spoken, and had aroused iu him, though eager already for the war, much anger still, and had inflamed the chieftain, hi the same degree as the Elean courser is urged on by the shouts 1 , although, the starting place now closed 2 , he struggles against the door, and head- long loosens the bolts. - Forthwith he summons the armed maniples :f to the standards, and when, the multitudes collect- ing, he has well calmed their hurrying tumultuousness, with his countenance and his right hand he enjoins silence : " O companions in war ! " he exclaims, " who together with me have experienced the thousand hazards of battle, now in the tenth year that you have conquered, has your blood, shed in the regions of the north, deserved this, and wounds and death, and winters passed at the foot of the Alps? Not otherwise is Home convulsed by the vast tumultuous preparations for war, than if the Punic Hannibal were de- scending from the Alps. With stout recruits the cohorts are being filled ; for the fleet every forest is falling ; and both by sea and by land is Csesar ordered to be expelled. What, if my standards had lain prostrate in adverse war- fare, and if the fierce nations of the Gauls had been rushing close on our backs ? Now, when Fortune acts with me hi prospering circumstances, and the Gods are summoning us to the mastery, we are challenged. Let him come to the war, the chieftain, enfeebled by prolonged peace 4 , with his soldiery so hastily levied, his toga-clad partisans, too, and 1 Elean courser it urged on by the shouts) ver. 294. He alludes to the coursers in the chariot races at the Olympic games, which were celebrated in the territory of Elis, in the Peloponnesus. 2 The starting place closed) ver. 295. The "carceres" were vaults at the end of the race-course, closed by gates of open woodwork, which, on the signal being given, were simultaneously opened by the aid of men and ropes, and the chariots came forth, ready for starting. The " carceres " were fastened with " repagula," " bars " or " bolts." 3 Sumnnont the armed maniples) ver. 296. In the early times of the Koman state a bundle of hay on the end of a pole served the Roman army for the purposes of a standard. To each troop of a hundred men, a " mani- pulus," or " wisp " of hay (so called from " manum implere," " to fill the hand," as forming a handful), was assigned as a standard, and hence in time the company itself obtained the name of " manipulus," and the soldier, as a member of it, was called " manipularis." 4 The chieftain, enfeebled by prolonged peace) ver. 311. He alludes to Pompey, in recent years grown unused to warfare. B. L 313-322.] PHARSALIA. 19 the loquacious Marcellus 1 , the Catos as well, mere idle names 2 . Will, forsooth, men from afar 3 and purchased dependants still associate Pompey with the sway for years so many ? Is he to be guiding the triumphal chariot, his years not yet permitting it 4 ? Is he never to resign the honors which he has once usurped? Why need I now complain of the fields placed under restraint 5 throughout the whole earth, and how that starvation at his command has become his slave ? Who does not know how the camp has been intermingled with the trembling Forum ? When the swords ominously threatening surrounded the terrified judg- ment seat 6 with an unwonted array, and, the soldiery pre- suming to burst in upon the midst of the legal proceedings, 1 The loquacious Marcellus) ver. 313. C. Claudius Marcellus is re- ferred to, who, when Consul, together with his colleague, Cornelius Len- tulus, distinguished himself by his fierce animosity against Csesar. He appears to have been a person of slender abilities, and a tool in the hands of the partisans of Pompey. Judging from the present passage, he was probably noted for his garrulity. It is supposed that he perished in the Civil War. 2 The Catos, as well, mere idle names) ver. 313. The plural number is used here as a contemptuous mode of expression. M. Porcius Cato was tbe only one of the family who was distinguished at this period. 3 Men from afar) ver. 314. Cortius thinks that the word " extremi " refers to the " lowest," or " dregs" of the people. It is more probable that it alludes to persons or nations from a distance, as Pompey had gained victories and subdued nations in Spain, Africa, Asia Minor, and other parts of the world. 4 His years not yet permitting it) ver. 316. According to the laws of Rome, a general was not allowed to enjoy a triumph till he had arrived at his thirtieth year. Pompey having conquered Hiarbas, King of Numidia, who had espoused the cause of Cn. Domitius Ahenobarbus, the Marian leader, obtained a triumph before he had attained his twenty-fifth year. 5 Fields placed under restraint) ver. 318. We are informed by Cicero, in his Epistles to Atticus, and by Plutarch, in the Life of Pompey, that by a law passed for the purpose, the whole power of importing corn was entrusted to Pompey for five years ; and Plutarch states that it was asserted by Clodius that the law was not made by reason of the scarcity of corn, but that the scarcity of corn was made that it might give rise to a law to invest Pompey with a power almost supreme. Pompey was accused of having, by his agents, used under-hand means to create this scarcity. 8 Surrounded the terrified judgment seat) ver. 321. He alludes to the conduct of Pompey, on the occasion when T. Annius Papianus Milo was accused of the murder of Clodius, and defended by Cicero, who then pro- nounced his oration pro Milone, or rather a part of it, as, being intimi- dated, he forgot a large portion of what he had intended to say in favour of his client. Pompey was then the sole Consul, and to prevent the tumults c a 20 PHARSALIA. [u. i. 323-337. the standards of Pompey closed around the accused Milo. Now, too, lest an old age spent in privacy should await him in his feebleness, he is preparing for contests accursed, accustomed to civil warfare, and, trained by crimes, to surpass his master Sulla'. And as the fierce tigers never lay aside their fury, which, in the Hyrcanian forest*, while they haunted the lairs of their dams, the blood deep-drawn of the slain herds has nurtured ; so too, Magnus, does thy thirst survive to thee accustomed to lick the sword of Sulla. Once received within the lips, no blood allows the polluted jaws to become satiated. Still, what end will power meet with, thus prolonged ? What limit is there to crimes '? At least, dishonorable man, let this Sulla of thine teach thee 3 now to dismount from this supreme sway. Shall then, after the wandering Cilicians 4 , and the Pontic battles of the ex- hausted monarch 5 , with difficulty ended through barbarian that were threatened by the friends of Clodius, he lined the Forum and the surrounding hills with soldiers. This was contrary to law, and though Pompey aided the prosecution of Milo, Caesar is made to insinuate, in the present speech, that it was done to protect him ; whereas, in all probability, Pompey acted thus solely with the view of maintaining the public peace. Milo was condemned, and retired in exile to Massilia or Marseilles. 1 To surpass his master Sulla) ver. 326. Pompey was one of the most successful legates of the Dictator Sulla, in the latter part of the civil wars against the Marian faction. He married JEmilia, the step-daughter of Sulla, having put away his wife, Antistia, for that purpose. 2 In the Hyrcanian forest) ver. 328. The Hyrcanian forest was situate on the shores of the Caspian Sea. It was said to be the haunt of numerous panthers, leopards, and tigers, to which reference is here made. The country of Hyrcania flourished most under the Parthian kings, who often resided there during the summer. 3 Let this Sulla of thine teach thee) ver. 335. He alludes to the retire- ment of Sulla from public life, who, at the age of sixty, resigned the Dic- tatorship, and retired to the town of Puteoli. 4 sifter the wandering Cilicians) ver. 336. The pirates are alluded to, who were conquered by Pompey, and whose strongholds were on the coast of Cilicia, in Asia Minor. 5 The Pontic battles of the exhausted monarch) ver. 336. He alludes to the death of Mithridates, king of Pontus, who waged war with the Romans for a period of forty years. Having received many overthrows from Sulla and Lucullus, he was ultimately conquered by Pompey. Being closely be- sieged in a fortress by his son Pharnaces, he attempted to poison himself, but from his previous continued use of antidotes, he was unable to do so ; on which he fell on his sword and perished. In the next line Caesar refers to the protracted length of this war. B. i. 337-358.] PHARSALIA. 21 poison, Caesar be granted to Pompey as a last province, because, commanded to lay down my conquering eagles, I did not obey? If from myself the reward of my labours is torn away, to these, at least, let the rewards of their prolonged service be granted, though not with their general ; under some leader, whoever he is, let these troops enjoy their triumph. Whither, after the wars, shall pallid old age betake itself? What settlement is there to be for those who have served their time ? What lands shall be granted l for our veterans to plough- ? What walls for the invalided ? Or, Magnus, shall pirates, in preference, become the settlers 3 ? Victorious already, raise, raise your standards ; the might we must employ, which we have acquired ; to him who wields arms does he surrender everything who refuses what is his due. The Deities, too, will not forsake us ; for neither is plunder nor sovereignty sought by my arms ; we are tear- ing away its tyrants 4 from a City ready to be enslaved." Thus he speaks ; but the hesitating ranks mutter among themselves words of indecision in whispers far from dis- tinct ; duty and their paternal Penates check their feelings although rendered fierce with carnage, and their swelling spirits; but through ruthless love of the sword and dread of their general, they are brought back. Then Lcelius, Avho held the rank 5 of first centurion, and wore the 1 What lands shall lie granted) ver. 344. The " emeriti " in the Roman armies were those who had served for the stipulated time, and were entitled to immunity for the future. * For our -veterans to plouyli) ver. 345. When an "emeritus" was induced to continue in the service, either from attachment to his general, or from hopes of promotion, he was called " veteranus." When the " emeriti" retired from the service, it was usual to bestow on them grants of the public land. 3 Pirates, in preference, become tlie settlers) ver. 346. He refers to the manner in which Pompey disposed of the Cilician pirates after he had con- quered them ; some of whom he distributed among the cities of Cilicia, and many were settled at Soli, on the Cicilian coast, which had lately been depopulated by Tigranes, king of Armenia, and which was thenceforth called Pompeiopolis. Others received grants of land at Dymae, in Achaia, others in Calabria. 4 We are tearing away its tyrants) ver. 351. He probably alludes here to the sons of Pompey, as well as their father. s Lcelius, who held the rank) ver. 357. Lselius was the " primipilus," or " first centurion " of the thirteenth legion. The " primipilus " commanded the first maniple of the " Triarii," and was next in rank to the military Tribunes. In his charge was the eagle of the legion, which, perhaps, is here 22 PHARSALIA. [B. i. 358-372. insignia of the decoration won in service 1 , the oak that bespoke the reward for saving a citizen 2 , exclaimed: " If it is lawful, greatest guardian of the Roman fame, and if it is allowed to utter the accents of truth that a patience so long enduring has withheld thy might, do we complain. Was it that confidence hi us was wanting to thee? So long as the warm Wood imparts motion to these breath- ing bodies, and so long as stalwart arms have might to hurl the javelin, wilt thou be submitting to the degenerate arts of peace 8 , and the sovereign sway of the Senate ? Is it so very dreadful to prove the conqueror hi civil war ? Come, lead us amid the tribes of Scythia, amid the inhospitable shores of Syrtis 4 , amid the sultry sands of thirsting Libya. This army, when it left the conquered world behind its back, stilled the swelling waves of Ocean 5 with its oars, and subdued the foaming Rhine at its northern mouth 6 . To me, in following thy commands, it 'is as much a matter of course to do, as referred to under the title of " insignia." The vine sapling with which they had the power of inflicting punishment on refractory soldiers was another of the insignia of the centurions. 1 Won in service) ver. 357. " Emeriti." On the meaning of this word, see the Note to 1. 344. 4 The reward for saving a citizen) ver. 358. The " corona civica," or " civic crown," was the second in honor and importance in the Roman armies, and was presented to the soldier who had saved the life of a fel- low-citizen in battle. It was originally made from the " ilex," afterwards from the "jesculns," and, finally, from the "quercus," three different kinds of oak. The elder Pliny informs us that before the claim was allowed it was necessary to satisfy the following requisitions to have saved the life of a fellow-citizen in battle, slain his opponent, and maintained his ground. s Degenerate arts of peace) ver. 365. " Togam." Literally, the " toga," or " gown," which was worn by the citizens in time of peace. 4 Inhospitable shores of Syrtis) ver. 367. There were two quicksands off the coast of Africa, known by the name of " Syrtis" or " Syrtes." The greater Syrtis was a wide gulf on the shores of Tripolita and Cyrenaica, opposite the mouth of the Adriatic. It was especially dangerous for its sandbanks and quicksands, and its exposure to the northern winds ; while on the shore it was skirted by loose burning sands. The lesser Syrtis lay considerably to the west of the other one, and was dangerous from its rocky shores and the variableness of its tides. 4 Stilled tin swelling waves of Ocean) ver. 370. He alludes to the passage of Caesar from the coast of Gaul to that of Britain. At its northern mouth) ver. 371. "Venice;" literally, "heights." There is considerable doubt among the Commentators as to the exact mean- ing of this word in the present passage. B. i. 372-395.] PHARSALIA. 23 it is to will. And no fellow-citizen of mine, Csesar, is he against whom I shall hear thy trumpet-signal. By the prospering standards of thy ten campaigns I swear, and by thy triumphs gained over every foe ; if thou shouldst bid me bury my sword in the breast of my brother, in the throat too of my parent, and in the entrails of my wife teeming with her burden, still, though with unwilling right hand, I will do all this ; if to despoil the Gods, and to set fire to the Temples, the flames of thy camp 1 shall envelope the Divinity of Juno Moneta ; if to pitch the camp above the waves of Etrurian Tiber 2 , a bold marker-out of the en- campment will I enter upon the Hesperian fields. Whatever walls thou shalt desire to level with the plain, impelled by these arms the battering-ram shall scatter the stones far and wide ; even though that city which thou shouldst order to be utterly razed should be Eome herself." To these words the cohorts at once shout assent, and pledge themselves with hands lifted on high, for whatever wars he shall summon them to. An uproar ascends to the skies as vast, as, when the Thracian Boreas beats against the crags of pine-bearing Ossa 3 , the trunks bending of the woods bowed down, or returning again upright into the air, the roar of the forests arises. Caesar, when he perceives that the war is embraced by the soldiers thus heartily, and that the Fates are favouring, that by no indecision he may impede his fortune, summons forth the cohorts scattered throughout the Gallic fields, and with standards moved from every direction marches upon Home. 1 The flames of thy camp) ver. 380. " Numina miscebit castrensis flamma MoneUe." The exact meaning of this passage has caused much dis- cussion among the Commentators, but it seems most probable that the veteran is expressing his readiness, at the command of his general, to melt the statues of the Gods in the flames for his master's purposes. Under the name Moneta, as the protectress of money, Juno had a Temple on the Capitoline Hill, in which was the mint of Rome. The speaker probably means to hint his readiness, if necessary, to march into the very heart of Rome to seize the statues of the Divinities. 3 Waves of Elrv.nan Tiler) ver. 381. The Tiber takes its rise in the ancient country of Etruria. 3 The crags of pine-bearing Ossa) ver. 389. Ossa was a mountain much celebrated by the poets. It was in the north of Magnesia, in Thessaly, and was in the vicinity of Pelion and Olympus, but was much less lofty than the latter. 24 PHAKSALIA. [B. I. 396-406. They deserted the tents pitched by the cavity of Lemanus l , and the camp which soaring aloft above the curving rock of Vogesus 2 used to overawe the pugnacious Lingones :l with their painted arms. Those left the shallows of Isara J , which running with its own flood through such an extent, falling into a stream of greater fame, bears not its men name down to the ocean waves. The yellow-haired Rutenr' are re- lieved from the prolonged garrison; the placid Atax c re- joices at no longer bearing the Latian keels ; the Varus, too 7 , the limit of Hesperia, her boundaries now extended 8 ; where, too, beneath the divine authority of Hercules, the consecrated harbour adjoins the sea 9 with its hollowed 1 Lemanus) ver. 396. Now the Lake of Geneva. 2 Curving rock of Vogesus) ver. 397. Vogesus, or Vosgesus, now the Vosges, was the name of a range of mountains in Gaul, running parallel to the river Rhine. The rivers Seine, Saone, and Moselle rise in these moun- tains. 3 The pugnacious Lingones) ver. 398. The Lingnnes were a powerful people of Transalpine Gaul, separated from the Sequani by the river Arar, or Saone. Their chief town was Andeinaturinum, afterwards Lingones, now called Langres. Tacitus informs us that the Germans were also accustomed to paint their arms. 4 The shallows of Isara) ver. 399. Isara, now the Isere, a river of Gaul, flows into the Rhone, north of Valentia. 5 The yellow-haired Ruteni) ver. 402. The Ruteni, or Rutbeni, were a people of Gallia Aquitanica. Their chief town was Segodunum, afterwards Civitas Rutenorum, now called Rodez. * The placid Atax) ver. 403. The Atax, or Narbo, was a river of Gallia Narbonensis, rising in the Pyrenees : it is now called Aude. 7 The Varus, too) ver. 404. The Varus, now called Var, or Varo, was a river of Gallia Narbonensis, rising in Mount Cema, in the Alps, and falling into the Mediterranean. * Her boundaries now extended) ver. 404. " Promote limite." This passage has presented difficulties to some of the Commentatorsj but it is pretty clear that he alludes to the period when, the Roman state having extended beyond its former limits, the Rubicon was no longer considered the boundary which separated Italy from Gaul, and the Varus, which lay far to the north-west of it, was substituted as such in its place. Hesperia, or the " country of the West," was one of the ancient names of Italy. Spain also was sometimes called by that name. 9 The consecrated harbour adjoins the sea) ver. 405. This was the " Por- tus Monoeci," a seaport on the coast of Liguria, founded by the Massilians. The town was situate on a promontory, and possessed a temple of Her- cules Monoecus, from whom the place derived its name. The harbour was of importance, as being the only one on this part of the coast of Liguria. Hercules was said to have touched here when on his expedition against Geryon, king of Spain. B. I. 406-422.] PHAESALIA. 25 rocks ; no Corus l holds sway over it, nor yet the Zephyr ; alone does Circius 3 disturb the shores his own, and with- holds the ships from the safe harbour of Monoecus. Where, too, the doubtful coast extends 3 , which land and sea claim at alternate periods, when the vast ocean is poured forth upon it, or when with ebbing waves it retreats. Whether it is tJiat the wind thus rolls 4 on the sea from distant climes, and bearing it on there leaves it ; or whether the waves of wandering Tethys 5 , influenced by the second of the heavenly bodies fi , flow at the lunar hours ; or whether the flaming Titan, that he may quaff the refreshing waves, uplifts the ocean, and raises the billows to the stars do you enquire, whom the economy of the universe engages ; but to me, thou Cause, whatever thou art, that dost govern movements thus regular, as the Gods of heaven have willed it so, for ever lie concealed ! Then does he, who occupies the fields of Nemetis 7 and the banks of the Aturus 8 , where on the curving shore, flowing by Tarbela 9 , it encloses the sea gently flowing in, move his 1 No Corus holds sway) ver. 406. Corus, or Cauvus, the Argestes of the Greeks, is considered a stormy wind in Italy. It blows from the north-west. 2 Alone does Circius) ver. 407. Circius was a violent wind which was said to blow in the ancient Gallia Narbonensis. According to some it blew from the north-north-west, while others call it a south wind. The latter seems most probably the case, as if, as is sometimes represented, the harbour of Monoecus opened to the south-west, it could not well be exposed to any wind blowing from the north. 3 Where the doubtful coast extends) ver. 409. He probably alludes to the flat coast off Belgium and the present kingdom of Holland. * It is that the wind thus rolls) ver. 412. Pomponius Mela, in his Third Book, mentions the same three theories. The second is the right one. 5 Waves of wandering Tethys) ver. 414. Tethys is a name very gene- rally given by the poets to the ocean. She was one of the most ancient of the Deities, and was the wife of Oceanus, daughter of Coslus and Vesta, and the foster-mother of Juno. 6 The second of the heavenly bodies) ver. 413. " Sidere secundo." Un- der this name he refers to the moon, as being the next in apparent mag- nitude to the sun. 7 Who occiipies the fields of Nemetis) ver. 419. The Nemetes, or Ne- metae, were a people of Gallia Belgica, on the Rhine. Their chief town was Noviomagus, afterwards Nemetae, on the site of the present Spires. 8 The banks of the Aturus) ver. 420. The Aturus, or Atur, now called the Adour, was a river of Gallia Aquitanica, rising in the Pyrenees, and flowing through the territory of the Tarbelli into the ocean. 9 Flowing by Tarbela) ver. 421. The city of the Tarbelli, who were a 26 PHARSALIA. [B. L 422-427. standards, and the Santonian exults 1 , the enemy removed; the Biturigian 2 , too, and the active Suessones a with their long arms ; the Leucan 4 and the Rheman 9 , most adroit in extending the arm with tJie poised javelin ; the Sequanian race most adroit with the reins guided in the circle ; the Belgian, too 6 , the skilful guide of the scythed chariot 7 ; the powerful people of Gallia Aquitanica, lying between the ocean and the Pyrenees. Their chief town was ' Aquae Tarbellicae,' or ' AugusUe,' on the Atur or Adour. It is now called Dacqs. 1 The Santonian exults) ver. 422. The Santoni, or Santones, were a nation of Gallia Aquitanica, dwelling near the ocean, to the north of the Garumua, or Garonne. Their chief town was called Mediolanum, after- wards Santones, now Salutes. 2 The Biturigian, too) ver. 423. The Bituriges were a powerful people of Gallia Aquitanica. They were divided into the Bituriges Cubi, who in- habited the district now called Bourges, having Avaricum for their capital; and the Bituriges Vivisci, or Ubisci, on the Garonne, whose capital was Burdigala, now Bordeaux. 3 And the active Suessones) ver. 423. The Suessones, or Suessiones, were a warlike nation of Gallia Belgica. Their king, Divitiacus, in the time of Caesar, was reckoned the most powerful chief in Gaul. They inhabited a fertile country to the west of the Rhine, and possessed twelve towns, of which the capital was Noviodunum, afterwards Augusta Suessonum, or Suessones, now Soissons. They were noted for the height of their stature, and the length of their spears and shields. 4 The Leucan) ver. 424. The Leuci were a people in the south-east of Gallia Belgica, between the rivers Matrona and Mosella. Their chief town was Tullum, now Toul. And the Kheman) ver. 424. The Remi, or Rhemi, were a very power- ful people of Gallia Belgica, lying to the east of the Suessones and the JBellovaci. They formed an alliance with Caesar, when the rest of the Belgae made war against him, B.C. 57. Their chief town was Durocortornm, afterwards called Remi, now Rheims. From the expression " optimus excusso lacerto," it appears that the Rhemi were especially famed for their skill in the use of the javelin. ' The Belgian, too) ver. 426. The Belgae formed one of the three great peoples into which Caasar divides the population of Gaul. They were bounded on the north by the Rhine, on the west by the ocean, on the south by the Sequana or Seine and the Matrona or Marne, and on the east by the territory of the Treviri. They were of German origin, and had settled in the country, on dispossessing the former inhabitants. Though mentioned here separately from the Nervii, Remi, and Suessones, all the latter were really tribes of the Belgae. 7 Skilful guide of the scythed chariot) ver. 426. " Rostrati covini." The " covinus" was a kind of chariot much in use among the Belgae and the ancient Britons. Its spokes were armed with long scythes, which are here referred to in the epithet " rostrati," literally " beaked." From the Romans having designated a covered travelling carriage by the same name, it is B. i. 427-431.] PHARSALIA. 27 Arverni, likewise 1 , who have presumed to pretend them- selves 2 of Latian brotherhood, descended from the race of the people of Ilium ; the Nervian, also 3 , too fatally re- bellious 4 , and denied by the broken treaty with the slaugh- tered Cotta ; the Vangiones, too fl , who imitate thee, Sarma- tian, with the loosely-flowing trowsers 6 ; the fierce Batavians, supposed that the " covinus " was covered on all sides except the front, and that it was occupied by one person only, the " covinarius," or driver of the chariot. We learn from Tacitus, that the " covinarii " constituted a regular part of the British army. 1 The Arverni, likewise) ver. 427. The Arverni were a powerful nation of Celtica, and, in the time of Caesar, the rivals of the .ZEdui for the supre- macy. They are supposed to have possessed a large portion of the high lands of central France, in the valley of the Allier. Their territory gave its name to the modem Auvergne. 2 Who have presumed to pretend themselves) ver. 427. It has been suggested that either this remark is a mistake of the Poet, or that he simply alludes to the pride of the Arverni before they were conquered by the Romans, whose equals they considered themselves to be. It has been, how- ever, supposed by some that the Arverni really did claim descent from Antenor, the Trojan. One of the Scholiasts says that a Trojan named Alvernus founded the colony, and that Cicero makes mention of them in the words " In- venti sunt qui etiam fratres populi Romani vocarentur." " There have been found some who were even called the brothers of the Roman people." This passage, however, is to be found in none of the fragments of Cicero's works which have come down to us. 3 The Nervian, also) ver. 429. The Nervii were a warlike people of Gallia Belgica, whose territory extended from the river Sabis (now Sambre) to the ocean, and part of which was covered by the forest of Arduenna or Ardennes. They were divided into several smaller tribes, the Centrones, Grudii, Levaci, Pleumoxii, and Geiduni. 4 Too fatally rebellious) ver. 429. He alludes to the fete of Q. Aurun- culeius Cotta, an officer in the army of Julius Caesar. He and Q. Titurius Sabinus had the command of one legion and four cohorts, with which they took up their position in the territory of the Eburones. Listening to the advice of Sabinus, he was drawn into an ambuscade by Ambiorix and Cati- volcus, on which they, with the greater part of their soldiers, were cut to pieces. 5 The Vangiones, loo) ver. 431. The Vangiones were a people of Ger- many, in the neighbourhood of the modern Worms. ' With the loosely-flowing trowsers) ver. 430. Ovid, speaking of the people of Tomi, in Thrace, bordering on Sannatia, refers to this peculiarity in their dress. In the Tristia, B. iii. El. 10, 1. 19, he says " The in- habitants barely defend themselves from the cold by skins and sewn trow- sers." And again, in B. v. El. 10, 1. 34, he says " Even those who are supposed to derive their origin from the Grecian city, the Persian trowsers cover instead of the dress of their country ;" and in B. iv. El. 6, 1. 47 " Here there is a Scythian multitude, and crowds of the Getae, wearing 28 PHARSALIA. [a 1.431 -439. too 1 , whom the harsh-sounding trumpets of crooked brass 2 inflame to war; where Cinga flows around 3 with its tide; where the Rhone bears to the sea the Arar 4 , swept along with its impetuous waves ; where the race dwells upon the heights on the mountain summits, the Gebennse precipi- tous 5 with their snow-white crags. [The Pictones, left at liberty , cultivate their fields 7 ; and no more does the camp pitched around keep in check the fickle Turones ". The Andian disdaining, Meduana 9 , to pine amid thy fogs, is trowsers." The following nations are read of in ancient times as wearing "braccae," or "trowsers:" the Medes and Persians, the Parthians, the Phrygians, the Sacae, the Sannatians, the Dacians, the Getae, the Gauls, the Britons, the Belgae, and the Teutones. 1 The fierce Bataviaiu, too) ver. 431. The Batavi were a people who in- habited the country between the Maas and the Waal, at the mouth of the Rhine, now Holland. Their country was first styled " Insula Batavorum," and at a later period Batavia. Their chief towns were Batavodurum and Lugdunum, now Leyden. These people were long the allies of the Romans in their wars against the Germans, and were of great service by means of their excellent cavalry. 3 Harsh-sounding trumpets of crooked brass) ver. 432. The "tuba" or trumpet of the Roman armies was straight, while the " cornu " and the " lituus " were curved. Probably the peculiarity of the " tubae " of the Batavi was, that while they preserved the sound of the " tuba," they had the form of the " cornu." * Where Cinga flows around) ver. 432. Cinga, now Cinca, a river of Hispania Tarraconensis, rising in the Pyrenees, falling with the Sicoris into the Iberus, or Ebro. * Bears to the sea the Arar) ver. 433. The Arar, now the Saone, is a river of Gaul, which, rising in the Vosges, flows into the Rhodanus or Rhone, at Lugdunum or Lyons. * The Gebennce preeipitous) ver. 435. Gebennae, or Cebenna Mons, was the range of mountains now called the Cevennes, situate in the middle of Gaul, extending northwards to Lugdunum or Lyons, and separating the Arverni from the Helvii. T/ie Pictones, left at liberty) ver. 436. This and the next five lines are generally looked upon as spurious. According to some, they were first found by Cujacius ; but Cortius says, that the report was, that Marbodus An- dinus, the Bishop of Rennes, inserted these verses in the Poem to gratify his countrymen. 7 Cultivate their field*) ver. 436. The Pictones, who were afterwards called the Pictavi, were a powerful people on the coast of Gallia Aquitanica. Their chief town was Limonum, subsequently called Pictavi, now Poitiers. Keep the fickle Turones) ver. 437. The Turones, Turoni, or Turonii, were a people in the interior of Gallia Lugdunensis. Their chief town was Caesarodunum, subsequently Turoni, now Tours. Meduana) ver. 438. A river of Gaul, flowing into the Ligeris, now called the Mayne. B. i. 439-444.] PHARSALIA. 29 now refreshed by the placid stream of Liger 1 ; from the squadrons of Csesar renowned Genabos 2 is set free.] Thou, too, Trevirian a , overjoyed that the course of warfare is turned back; and thou, Ligurian 4 , now shorn, in former times with thy locks hanging adown thy graceful neck, preferred to the whole of long-haired Gaul 6 ; those, too, by whom the relentless Teutates 8 is appeased by direful bloodshed, and Hesus, dreadful 7 with his merciless altars ; and the shrine of Taranis 8 , not more humane than that of Scythian Diana 9 . You, too, ye Bards 10 , who, as poets, hand down hi your praises to remote ages spirits valiant, 1 Stream of Liger) ver. 439. Liger, orLigeris, now the Loire, is one of the largest rivers of France, and rises in the Cevennes. 2 Renowned Genabos) ver. 440. Genabum, or Cenabum, was a town of Gallia Lugdunensis, on the north bank of the Ligeris, and the chief town of the Carnutes ; it was plundered and burnt by Csesar, but was afterwards rebuilt. The present city of Orleans stands on its site. 3 Thou, too, Trevirian) ver. 441. The Treviri were a powerful nation of Gallia Belgica, and were faithful allies of the Romans. They were famous for the excellence of their cavalry. Their territory lay to the eastward of that of the Rhemi, and the Mosella flowed through it. Their chief town was made a Roman colony by Augustus, and was called Augusta Trevi- rorum, now Trier, or Treves. 4 And thou, Ligurian) ver. 442. The Ligurian tribes were divided by the Romans into the Ligures Transalpini and Cisalpini. Those who inhabited the Maritime Alps were called " Capillati," or " Comati," from the custom of wearing their hair long. s The long-haired Gaul) ver. 443. " Gallia Comata" was the name given to that part of Gaul which was the last conquered by the Romans, and re- ceived its name from the inhabitants continuing to wear their hair long and flowing, while the other nations of Gallia Cisalpina had adopted the Roman manners. 6 The relentless Teutates) ver. 445. Teutas, or Teutates, is supposed to have been the name of a Gallic Divinity corresponding to the Roman Mer- cury. Human victims were offered to him. 7 And Hesus, dreadful) ver. 445. Hesus was the Mars of the Gauls, and to him the prisoners taken in battle were sacrificed. 8 The shrine of Taranis) ver. 446. Taranis is supposed to have been the Jupiter of the Celtic nations. 9 That of Scythian Diana) ver. 446. He alludes to the worship of Diana at Tauris in Scythia, where, by order of Thoas, the king, all strangers were slain and sacrificed to the Gods. Iphigenia was her priestess, and narrowly escaped sacrificing her own brother Orestes. See the story related in the Tristia of Ovid, B. ii. El. 2, p. 425 of the Translation in Eohn's Classical Library. 10 You too, Bards) ver. 449. The " IBardi " were the Poets of Gaul and Germany, whose province it was to sing the praises of their chieftains and of the heroes who had died in combat. 80 PHAESALIA. [B. i. 44^-464. and cut off in war, freed from alarm, did then pour forth full many a strain ; and you, Druids 1 , after arms were laid aside, sought once again your barbarous ceremonials and the ruth- less usages of your sacred rites. To you alone * has it been granted to know the Gods and the Divinities of heaven, or alone to know that they do not exist. In remote forests do you inhabit the deep glades. On your authority :t the shades seek not the silent abodes of Erebus, and the pallid realms of Pluto 4 in the depths below ; the same spirit controls other limbs in another world 5 ; death is the mid space in a pro- longed existence, if you sing what is ascertained as truth. Assuredly the nations whom the Northern Bear looks down upon are happy in their error, whom this, the very greatest of terrors, does not move, the fear of death. Thence have the people spirits ever ready to rush to arms, and souls that welcome death ; and they deem it cowardice to be sparing of a life destined to return. You, too, stationed to prevent the Cauci 6 , with then- curling locks, from warfare, repair to 1 And you, Druids) ver. 451. The " Druidae," or Druids, were the high- priests of the Gauls, and performed many mysterious rites. By " positia armis," the Foet does not mean that they wielded arms, but that after arms were laid aside in Gaul by reason of the civil wars, they resumed thair super- stitious practices, which had been checked by Caesar. Caesar says, in his Gallic War, B. vi. ch. 14 " The Druids do not go to war, nor do they pay tribute together with the rest." 9 To you alone) ver. 453. The meaning seems to be, " To you alone is it granted to know the mysteries of the Gods, or the fact that there are no Gods." 3 On, your authority) ver. 454. The meaning is, that the Druids taught the doctrine of the immortality of the soul. 4 The pallid realms of Pluto) ver. 455. Dis wa an epithet of Pluto, the king of Erebus, or the infernal regions. 4 In another world) ver. 457. " Orbe alio " may mean simply " in another region " of the earth ; but it most probably refers to the idea preva- lent with those who taught the doctrine of the transmigration of the soul, that it animated various bodies in the stars in a certain cycle or routine. The doctrine of the Druids differed from that of Pythagoras, who is said, but upon very slender authority, to have derived his notions on this subject from them. The Druids believed that the soul passed from man into man alone ; while Pythagoras thought that on leaving the human body it passed into the bodies of various animals in succession. * To prevent the Cauci) ver. 464. The Cauci, Cayci, or Chauci, were a powerful people in the north-east of Germany, whose country was divided by the Visurgis or Weser. Tacitus describes them as the noblest and most courageous of the German tribes. In the use of the word " cirrigeros," he B. i. 464-487.] PHARSALIA. 31 Borne, and desert the savage banks of the Ehine, and the world now laid open to the nations. Csesar, when his immense resources, with their collected strength, had created confidence for daring still greater things, spread throughout all Italy, and filled the neigh- bouring fortified towns 1 . Idle rumours, too, were added to well-founded fears, and burst upon the feelings of the public, and presented to them the destined slaughter, and, a swift forerunner of the hastening warfare, let loose tongues innumerable to false alarms. Some there are who, where Mevania displays itself 2 in the plains that rear the bulls, aver that the audacious squadrons are pushing onward to the combat, and that, where Nar flows 3 on to the stream of Tiber, the barbarian troops of the ruthless Caesar are spread- ing far and wide; that he himself, leading all his eagles and his collected standards, is advancing with no single column, and with a camp densely thronged. And not such as they remember him do they now behold him ; both more terrible and relentless does he seem to their imaginations, and more inhuman than the conquered foe 4 . That after him the nations lying between the Rhine and the Alps, torn from the Arctic regions and from their paternal homes, are following close, and that the City has been ordered, a Roman looking on, to be sacked by barbarous tribes. Thus, by his fears, does each one give strength to rumour; and no one the author of their woes, what they have invented they dread. And not alone is the lower class alarmed, smitten by a groundless terror ; but the Senate alludes to the custom of the German nations of wearing the hair long and curling. 1 Filled the neighbouring fortified towns) ver. 468. We' learn from Caesar's Civil War, B. L c. 11, 12, that the next places which he took after Ariminum, were Arretium, Pisaurus, Fanum, Iguvium, and Auximum. 2 Mevania displays itself) ver. 473. This was an ancient city in the interior of Umbria, on the river Tinea. It was situate on the road from Borne to Ancona, and was very strongly fortified. The Clitumnus was a river in the neighbourhood, famous for a breed of white oxen fed on its banks. 3 And where Nar flows) ver. 475. This was a river of Central Italy, on the frontiers of Umbria and Picenum. Passing by Interamna and Narnia, it fell into the Tiber, not far from Ocriculum. 4 More inhuman than the conquered foe) ver. 480. Namely, the Gauls and the Britons. 82 PHAR3ALIA. [B. i. 487-514. house, and the Fathers themselves rush forth from their seats, and the Senate taking to flight gives its hateful de- crees * for the warfare into the charge of the Consuls. Then uncertain what to seek as safe, and what to leave as worthy to he feared, whither the anxiety for flight directs each one, it urges the populace headlong, and the throng, connected in one long line, bursts forth. You would suppose either that accursed torches had set fire to the abodes, or that now, the ruins shaking, the nodding houses were tottering to their fall ; thus does the panic-stricken multitude at random rush throughout the City with precipitate steps, as though there had been but one hope hi their ruined fortunes, to desert their paternal walls. Just as, when the stormy south wind has repulsed from the Libyan Syrtes the boundless ocean, and the broken mass of the sail-bearing mast has sent forth its crash, and the pilot, the ship deserted, leaps into the waves, the seaman, too, and thus, the structure of the vessel not yet torn asunder, each one makes a shipwreck for himself ; so the City forsaken, do they fly unto the warfare. The parent, now weakened with old age, was able to call no one back 2 ; nor yet the wife her husband with her tears ; nor did the household Lares detain them, while they were breathing prayers for their safety thus doubtful; nor did any one pause at the threshold, and then, filled with perhaps his last glimpse of the beloved City, take his departure ; not to be called back, the crowd rushes on. Deities, ready to grant supreme prosperity, and loth to preserve the same ! The cowardly throngs left the City a 1 Oives its hateful decrees) ver. 489. Speaking of this crisis, Caesar says, in the Civil War, B. i. ch. 5 " Recourse was had to that extreme and formal decree of the Senate" (which was never resorted to even by daring proposers except when the City was in danger of being set on fire, or when the public safety was despaired of), " that the Consuls, Praetors, Tribunes of the people, and Proconsuls in the City, should take care that the State re- ceived no detriment." Of course these decrees would be odious to the parti- zans of Caesar. 2 Was able to call no one lack) ver. 505. There is a similar passage in the Tristia of Ovid, B. i. El. B, 1. 54, where, describing the night of his leavisic Rome in banishment, he says : " Thrice did I touch the threshold ; thrice was I called back, and my lingering foot itself paused indulgent to my feelings ; often, having bade him farewell, did I again give utterance to many a word and, as if now departing, I gave the last kiss." B. I. 515-538.] PHARSALIA. 33 prey on Caesar's approach, filled with the people and with conquered nations, and able to hold the human race, if the multitude were collected together. When, hi foreign re- gions, the Eoman soldier, pressed by the foe, is hemmed in, he escapes the dangers of the night by a simple trench ; and the rampart suddenly formed with the protection of some clods torn up affords secure slumbers within the tents. Thou Rome, on the name only of war being heard art being deserted ; a single night has not been trusted to thy walls. Still, pardon must be granted, yes, must be granted for alarms thus great. Pompey flying, they were in dread 1 . Besides, that even no hope in the future might cheer their failing spirits, there was added the disclosed assurance of a still worse future, and the threatening Gods of heaven filled with prodigies the earth, the seas, the skies. The gloomy nights beheld stars unknown, and the sky burn- ing with flames, and torches flying obliquely through the expanse along the heavens, and the train of a fear-inspiring meteor, and a comet threatening tyranny to the earth *. Incessant hghtnings flashed in the deceptive clear sky, and the fire described various forms in the dense atmosphere ; now a javelin, with a prolonged flame, and now a torch, with a scattered light, flashed in the heavens. Lightning in silence without any clouds, and bringing its fires from the Arctic regions 3 , smote the Capital of Latium 4 ; the lesser stars, too, that were wont to speed onwards in the still hours of the night, came in the middle of the day; and, *her horns closed, when Phoebe was now reflecting her 1 Pompey flying, they were in dread) ver. 522. According to Caesar, Civil War, B. i. ch. 14, Pompey left the City on his road to the legions which he had placed in winter quarters in Apulia. 2 Threatening tyranny to the earth) ver. 529. By its appearance threaten- ing tyranny to the earth ; such as it had suffered under Marius and Sulla. 3 From the Arctic regions) ver. 534. This was considered portentous of ill, inasmuch as lightning was supposed generally to proceed from the south. 4 The Capital of Latium) ver. 535. By " Latiale caput " some un- derstand Home, as being the chief city of Latium. It is not Improbable that the Temple of Jupiter on the Capitoline Hill is meant. Jupiter Latialis is mentioned in 1. 198. D 34 PHARSALIA. [B. L 538-554. brother on her whole orb, struck by the sudden shadow of the earth she turned pale. Titan himself, when he was raising his head in mid Olympus, concealed his glowing chariot in dense darkness, and enwrapped the earth in shade, and forced the nations to despair of day ; just as, the Sun retreating by the east, Mycenae of Thyestes brought on the night 1 . Grim Mulciber opened the mouths of Sicilian Etna 2 ; nor did it raise its flames to the heavens, but with its crest bending low the flame fell downwards on the Hesperian side. The black Charybdis stirred up from her depths sea of the colour of blood ; the. savage dogs barked in dismal tones. The fire was torn from the Vestal altars ; and the flame that showed that the Latin rites 3 were completed was divided into two parts, and rose with a twofold point, re- sembling the funeral piles of Thebes 4 . Then did the Earth withdraw from her axis, and, their ridges quaking, the Alps shook off their ancient snows. With billows more mighty 1 Mycence of Thyestes brought on the night) ver. 544. Atrens and Thyestes, the sons of Pelops and: Hippodamia, slew their half-brother Chrysippus. Thyestes having seduced JErope, the wife of Atrens, sent Pleisthenes, the son of Atreus. whom he had brought up, to murder his lather, on which Atreus, supposing him to be the son of Thyestes, slew him. According to another version of the story, which is the one here referred to, Atreus, feigning a reconciliation, invited Thyestei to his kingdom, and killed and dressed the bodies of Tantalus and Pleisthenes, the sons of Thy- estes, and, while his brother was enjoying the meal, had their hands and heads brought in and shown to him, on which Thyestes fled to the court of Thesprotus. The Sun is said to have hid his face in horror, and turned back in his course, on seeing this transaction. 2 Opened the mouths of Sicilian Etna) ver. 545. This is a poetical method of stating that there was an eruption of Etna at this period. Mulciber was a name of Vnlcan, derived from " mulcco " " to soften," from his being the inventor of working iron. 3 Showed that the Latin rites) ver. 550. The festival called " Latinrc feriae," or simply " Latinae," was performed in honour of Jupiter Latialis on the Alban Mount, when an ox was sacrificed there by night: multi- tudes flocked thither, and the season was one of great rejoicings and feasting. 4 Resembling the funeral piles of Thebes) ver. 552. Eteocles and Pbly- nices, the Theban brothers, sons of (Edipus, having slain each other in combat, their bodies were burnt on the same funeral pile, bnt their animosity was said to have survived in death, and the flames refused to unite. B. i. 555-564.] PHARSALIA. 35 Tethys did overwhelm Hesperian Calpe ' and the heights of Atlas*. We have heard how that the native Deities a wept,, and how with sweat the Lares attested the woes of the Ciky, how, too, that the presented gifts fell down in their Temples, and hirds of ill omen 4 polluted the day; and how that the wild heasts, emboldened, the woods at nightfall deserted, made their lairs in the midst of Rome. Then were the tongues of cattle adapted to human accents; monstrous births, too, there were, of human beings, both as to the num- ber and the formation of the limbs, and her own infant struck the mother with horror; the fatal lines , too, of the Pro- 1 Hesperian Calpe) ver. 555. The rock of Gibraltar in Hesperia, or Spain, which was also called the Columns of Hercules. 5 The heights of Atlas) ver. 555. Atlas was the name of a mountain range in the north-west of Africa, situate between the Mediterranean and the Great Desert, now called the Desert of Sahara. 3 The native Deities) ver. 556. The " Dii Indigetes " were those Gods of the Romans who were supposed to have once lived on earth as mortals, and were after their death raised to the rank of Gods, such as Janus, Faunus, Picus, JEneas, Evander, Hercules, Latinus, and Romulus. Some take them to have been only such Deities as took part in the foundation of Rome, as Mars, Venas, Vesta, and others ; while others think that they were those whose worship was introduced into Latium from Troy. 4 And birds of ill omen) ver. 558. He probably means screech-owls and bats, which were considered birds of ill omen. 5 Tongues of cattle adapted) ver. 561. Livy and Valerius Maximus tell us that an ox spoke and warned Rome of the disasters which would ensue on Hannibal's arrival in Italy. We learn from one of the Scholiasts that in these Civil Wars an ass spoke. Another informs us that an ox spoke when ploughing, in reproof of his driver, and told him that it was useless to urge him on, for soon there would be no people left in Italy to consume the produce of the fields. 6 The fatal lines) ver. 564. He alludes to the Prophecies of the Sibyl ; a name given to several mysterious personages of antiquity, of whom ten are mentioned by Varro. The one here alluded to, resided at Cumae, on the sea-coast of Italy. Erythrea was her usual name, but she is sometimes called Herophile, Daphne, Deiphobe, Manto, &c. Apollo granted her a life to equal in the years of its duration the grains contained in a handful of sand. Forgetting to add to her request the enjoyment of health and strength, decrepitude and infirmity became her lot as her years ad- vanced. There was another Sibyl of Cumse in 2Etolia, who is represented as a different personage from the former. According to the Scholiasts, Lucan here alludes to a prophecy of the Sibyl couched under the follow- ing letters : R.R.R. P.P.P.P. F.F.F., which was said to mean " Romanum ruitregnum, Pompeius, pater patriae, pellitur ferro, flamma, fame." "The Roman state comes to ruin, Pompey, the father of his country, is expelled D 2 36 PHARSALIA. [B. i. 564-576. phetess of Cumae were repeated among the populace. Then did those, whom with their hacked arms the savage Bellona inspires *, sing of the Gods enraged ; and tossing their blood- stained hair, the Galli howled forth 2 sad accents to the throng. Urns filled with bones laid at rest sent forth groans. Then arose the crash of arms, and loud voices were heard amid the remote parts of the groves, and ghosts came nigh to men*. Those, too, who till the fields adjacent to the extre- mities of the walls, fled in all directions ; the mighty Erinnys was encompassing the City about, shaking her pitch-tree torch down-turned with flaming top, and her hissing locks ; such as when the Fury impelled the Theban Agave 4 , or whirled in air the weapons of the savage Lycurgus'; or such by sword, flames, and hunger." According to one account a frantic woman ran through the streets of Rome calling out these initial letters. For a full account of the Sibyls see the Translation of Ovid's Metamorphoses, in Bohris Classical Library, p. 484 et seq. 1 The savage Bellona inspires) ver. 565. Bellona, the Goddess of war, was probably a Sabine divinity, and is represented as the companion of Mars, sometimes as his sister or his wife. Her priests at Rome, to whom reference is here made, were called " Bellonarii," and when they offered sacrifice to her they wounded their own arms and legs, and offered up the blood, and sometimes even drank thereof, that they might become in- spired with a warlike enthusiasm. This sacrifice was performed on the 24th of March, which was thence called "Dies sanguinis," "the Day of blood." 2 The Galli howled forth) ver. 567. The Galli were eunuch priests of Cybele, whose worship was introduced into Rome from Phrygia, B.C. 204. Their wild and boisterous rites are here referred to, and, like the priests of Bellona, they were in the habit of mutilating their own bodies. The origin of their name is uncertain, but it was most probably derived from the river Gallus in Phrygia, which flowed near the temple of Cybele. One of the Scholiasts says, that to insult the Galli, after the conquest of Gaul, Caesar had some persons castrated and shut up in the temple of Cybele. Papias relates the same story. 3 Ghosts came nigh to men) ver. 570. " Venientes cominus umbrae."* It has been suggested that this passage means that the shadows of the body ominously fell in front at a time when they ought to have fallen behind. The translation given in the text is, however, the preferable one. * Impelled the Theban Agave) ver. 574. Pentheus having forbidden the people to worship Bacchus, and, having ordered him to be captured, his mother Agave and the other Bacchantes became inspired by the Furies and tore him to pieces. See the Metamorphoses of Ovid, Book vii. 1. 510, et seq. 5 T/ie weapons of the savage Lycurgus) ver. 575. Lycurgus, king of Thrace, having denied the Divinity of Bacchus, was punished with insanity, on which he slew his own wife and child, and cut off his own legs, mistaking them for vine branches. According to one account he was murdered by his B. i. 576-585.] PHARSALIA. 37 as, when, by the command of the unjust Juno, Pluto now visited, Alcides shuddered at Megsera 1 . Trumpets re- sounded, and black night, amid the silent shades, sent forth an uproar as loud as that with which the cohorts are min- gled in combat. The shade of Sulla, too, seeming to arise in the middle of the Plain of Mars 2 , uttered ill-boding prophe- cies ; and the husbandmen fled from Marius raising his head at the cold waves of Anio 3 , his sepulchre burst asunder. By reason of these things it seemed good that, according to the ancient usage, the Etrurian prophets 4 should be subjects, who were forbidden by an oracle to taste wine till he had been dispatched, while another version states that he was slain by the panthers sacred to Bacchus. The fates of Pentheus and Lycurgus are mentioned in conjunction, in the Fasti of Ovid, B. iii. 1. 721-2. " Thon also, unhappy prey of thy Theban mother, shalt remain unmentioned ; thou too, Lycurgus, impelled by madness to assail thy own knee." 1 Alcides shuddered at Megcera) ver. 577. He alludes to a tradition relative to Hercules, which stated that when he had returned from the In- fernal Regions, he was seized with madness, which Megaera, the chief of the Furies, had, by the command of Juno, his relentless persecutor, sent upon him ; on which he slew Megara, the daughter of Creon (who had been his wife, and whom he had given to lolaus), and her children by lolaiis. This madness was inflicted upon him for having slain Lycus, king of Thebes. Hercules was called Alcides, probably from the Greek word, k\*ot, strength. 9 In the middle of the Plain of Mars) ver 581. After the death of Sulla the Senate paid him the honor of a public funeral, and, with the Priests, Vestal Virgins, and Equites, accompanied the funeral procession to the Campus Martius, where, according to the express desire of the deceased, his body was burnt, as he feared that his enemies might insult his remains, as he had done those of Marius, which had been taken out of the grave and thrown into the Anio at his command. This circumstance was the more striking, as it had been previously the custom of the Cornelian family, of which he was a member, to bury and not burn their dead. A monument was erected to him in the Campus Martius, the inscription on which he is said to have composed himself. It stated that none of his friends ever did him a service, and none of his enemies a wrong, without being fully repaid. 3 The cold loaves of Anio) ver. 582. The Anio was a small stream which ran into the Tiber. In using the word " fracto," " burst asunder," the Poet probably alludes to the circumstance above-mentioned, of the viola- tion of his tomb by the orders of the vengeful Sulla. 4 The Etrurian prophets) ver. 584. The Romans received their supersti- tions relative to augury and soothsaying from Etruria, which was always fa- mous for the skill of its natives in those branches, and was for many centuries the nursery of the Roman priesthood. Ovid says, in the Metamorphoses, B. xv. 1. 559, that Tages, who was fabled to have sprung out of the earth, was the first to teach the Etrurian nation how to foretell future events. See 1. 637 of this Book, and the Translation in Bohn's Classical Library, p. 543. 88 PHABSALIA. [B. i. 585-599. summoned. Of whom, Aruns, the one most stricken in years, inhabited the walls of deserted Luca 1 , well-skilled in the movements of the lightnings, and the throbbing veins of the entrails, and the warnings of the -whig 2 hover- ing in the air. In the first place he orders the monsters, which revolting nature has produced from no seed, to be seized, and then bids them burn the accursed progeny of the barren womb in ill-omened flames 3 . Then next he orders the whole City to be perambulated by the trembling citi- zens, and the priests, who purify the walls at the festive lus- trum, to whom is granted the power to perform the rite, to go round about the lengthened spaces without the walls *, at the extreme boundaries. The inferior throng follows, tightly girt in the Gabinian fashion 5 , and the filleted priestess leads the Vestal choir, to whom alone it is permitted to behold the Trojan Minerva", l^ext, those who have charge 1 Deserted Luca) ver. 586. Luca, now Lucca, was a lognrian city in upper Italy, at the foot of the Apennines. Luna is another reading here ; it was a town of Etruria, situate on the left bank of the Macra, about four miles from the sea-shore. It was famed for its white marble, which now takes its name from the neighbouring town of Carrara. The character of Aruns here mentioned is probably a fabulous one, invented by the Poet. * Warnings of the wing) ver. 588. Auspices wre derived from the flight and from the voice of birds. Those which afforded the former were called " Prsepetes," those which gave the latter were called " Oscines." 3 In ill-omened flames) ver. 591. Infaustie flammis. One of the Scho- liasts tells us that those flames were called " infaustae " which were kindled from wood which had been struck by lightning, or which had been used in burning the dead. 4 Spaces without ike ttulls) ver. 594. Pornceria. This word is probably compounded of "post" and " moerium," the old name for " a wall," and sig- nified a space of ground adjoining the city walls. The limits of the Pomcerium were marked out by stone pillars at certain distances. The Pomoerium was probably described to denote the space within which the City auspices were to be taken. 5 In the Gabinian. fashion) ver. 596. According to Servius, the " Cinctus Gabinius" was formed by girding the toga tight round the body by one of its " laciniiE," or loose ends. This was done by forming a part of the toga into 3 girdle, drawing its outer edge round the body, and tying it in a knot in the front, at the same time that the head was covered with another portion of the garment The Lares were generally represented in the Gabinian habit. * To behold the Trojan Jf inertia) ver. 598. He alludes to the Palladium or image of Minerva which had been brought by JEneas from Troy, and was deposited in the Temple of Vesta nnder the care of the Vestal Virgins, who alone were permitted to look upon it. B. i. 599-603.] PHARSALIA. 89 of the decrees of the Gods and the mystic prophecies, and who reconduct Cybele, when bathed, from the little Almo 1 : the Augur, too, skilled in observing the birds on the left hand; and the Septemvir 2 , joyous at the festivals, and the fellowship of the Titii 3 , the Salian, likewise 4 , carrying 1 When bathed from the little Almo) ver. 600. It was a yearly custom with the Komans to wash the statue of the Goddess Cybele and her chariot in the waters of the Almo, a small river near Rome. Ovid mentions this practice in the Fasti, B. iv. 1. 338, et seq. " There is a spot where the rapid Almo flows into the Tiber, and the lesser stream loses its name in that of the greater. There does the hoary priest, in his purple vestments, lave the lady Goddess and her sacred utensils in the waters of the Almo." One of the Scholiasts says that there was a river of the same name in Phrygia, whence the worship of Cybele was brought. This line is by some thought to be spurious. In the previous line the Poet alludes to the " Quindecimviri," or " Fifteen," whose duty it was to preserve the Sibylline books, which were supposed to reveal the destinies of Borne. Their number was originally two, next ten, and by Sulla they were increased to fifteen. 2 And the Septemvir) ver. 602. " Septemvir." He alludes to the " Sep- temviri Epulones," who were originally three in number, and whose office was first instituted in the year B.C. 196. Their duty was, to attend to the " Epulum Jovis," or " Feast of Jove," and the banquets, or " lectisternia," given in honor of the other Gods ; a duty which had originally belonged to the Pontifices. Julius Caesar added three to their number, but they were afterwards reduced to seven. They formed a Collegium, and were ene of the four religious corporations of Borne, the other three being those of the Pontilices, Augures, and Quindecimviri. 3 Fellowship of the Titii) ver. 602. The " Titii Sodales" formed a College of priests at Borne, who represented the Titii or second tribe of the Bomans, which was descended from the Sabines, and continued to perform their ancient rites. This body is said to have been instituted by Titus Tatius, the king of the Sabines, who reigned jointly with Romulus. According to Tacitus, it would seem that Bomulus made the worship of Tatius after his death a part of the Sabine sacred rites. Varro derives the name from " Titioe aves," the " Titian birds," which were observed by these priests in certain auguries, and it is not improbable that they kept the auguries peculiar to the Sabines distinct from those used by the other tribes. It is very doubtful whether the office of the " Titii Sodales," as the preservers of the Sabine ritual, was in existence in the time of Lucan. 4 The Salian, likewise) ver. 603. The Salii were priests of Mars, who were instituted by Numa to keep the sacred shields or " ancilia ;" they re- ceived their name from " alio," to " leap" or "dance," because in the pro- cession round the City they danced with the shields suspended from their necks. Some writers say that they received their name from Salius, an Ar- cadian, a companion of jEneas, who taught the Italian youths to dance in armour. After the processions had lasted some days, the shields were replaced in the Temple of Mars. The dress of the Salii was an embroidered tunic, with a brazen belt, the " trabea," and the "apex," or tufted conical cap; 40 PHARSALIA. [a i. 603-610. the ancilia 1 on his exulting neck; and the Flamen 2 , who wears the tuft 3 upon his noble head. And while in prolonged circuit they go round about the emptied City, Aruns collects the dispersed objects struck by flames of lightning, and with a lamenting murmur buries them in the earth, and bestows a name upon the conse- crated spots 4 . Then does he urge onward to the altar a male, with selected neck. Now had he begun to pour the each having a sword by his side, and a spear or staff in his hand, with which, while dancing, he struck the ancile, kept time with the voice and the movements of the dance. 1 Carrying the ancilia) ver. 603. The "ancile" was a sacred shield, which was said to have fallen from heaven in the time of King Numa. To prevent its being stolen, as the destiny of the Roman state was supposed to depend on its preservation, Numa ordered a number of shields to be made by Mamurius exactly resembling it, in order that those having criminal designs might not be able to steal it. The "ancilia" were under the especial charge of the Salii. See the Fasti of Ovid, B. iii. 1. 363, ft teq. 2 And the Flamen) ver. 604. The Flamens were priests who dedicated their services to one particular Deity, while the Pontifices offered sacrifice to all. The " Flamen Dialis," or " Flamen of Jupiter," held the highest office of the Roman priesthood, though his political influence was less than that of the " Pontifex Maximus." Among other privileges, that of having a lictor was one. 3 Who wears the tuft) ver. 604. " Apicem." Under the name of " apex" he refers to a peculiar cap worn by the Flamens and Salii at Rome. That name, however, properly belonged to a pointed piece of olive wood, the base of which was surrounded with wool. This was held on the head by fillets or by a cap, which was fastened by two bands called " apicula," or " offendices." The cap was of a conical form, and was generally made of sheep-skin with the wool on; and from the "apex "on its summit it at length acquired that name. The Flamens were chosen from the higher classes; hence the present epithet "generoso." 4 A name upon (tie consecrated spots) ver. 608. He alludes to the conse- cration of the "bidental." This was a name given to a place struck by lightning, which was held sacred ever afterwards. Similar veneration was also paid to a place where a person who had been killed by lightning was buried. Priests collected the earth that had been torn up, the branches broken off by the lightning, and everything that had been scorched, and buried them in the ground with lamentations. The spot was then consecrated by sacrificing a two-year old sheep, which being called "bidens," gave itt name to the place. An altar was also erected there, and it was not allowable to tread on the spot, or to touch it, or even to look at it. When the altar had fallen to decay, it might be repaired, but to enlarge its boundaries was deemed sacrilege, and madness was supposed to ensue on committing such an offence ; Seneca mentions a belief that wine which had been struck by lightning would produce death or madness in those who drank it. E. L 610-633.] PHAESALIA. 41 wine, and to place on it the salted corn", with knife pointed downwards ; and long was the victim impatient of the rites 2 not grateful to him; when the aproned attendants pressed upon the threatening horns, sinking on his knees he pre- sented his subdued neck. And no blood as usual spurted forth ; but from the gaping wound there was black venom, poured forth instead of ruddy gore. Astounded at the ill- omened rites Aruns turned pale, and sought the wrath of the Gods of heaven in the torn-out entrails. The very colour alarmed the prophet; for a pervading lividness streaked with spots of blood the pallid vitals, tinted with foul spots and gorged with congealed blood. He perceives the liver reeking with corruption, and beholds the veins threatening on the enemy's side 3 . The fibres of the pant- ing lungs lie concealed, and a narrow line separates the vital parts. The heart lies still ; and through gaping clefts the vitals emit corrupt matter; the cauls, too, disclose their retreats ; and, shocking sign ! that which has appeared with impunity in no entrails, lo ! he sees growing upon the head of the entrails the mass of another head 4 a part hangs weak and flabby, a part throbs and with a rapid pulsation incessantly moves the veins. When, by these means, he understood the fated allotment of vast woes, he exclaimed, " Hardly is it righteous, Gods of heaven, for me to disclose to the people what you warn me of! nor indeed, supreme Jupiter, have I propitiously offered unto thee 5 this sacrifice ; and into the breast of the 1 The salted corn) ver. 610. The "mola," used in sacrifice, was a mix- ture of salt and spelt, which, together with wine, was poured between the horns of the victim before it was offered in sacrifice. " Obliquo cultro " seems to mean "with the knife pointed downwards," vertically, and not obliquely, which latter, however, is the more usual meaning of "obliquus." 2 Impatient of the rites) ver. 611. For the victim to struggle when about to be sacrificed was considered an ill omen. 3 On the enemy's side) ver. 622. In divining by the entrails, it was the custom for the priests to divide them into two portions ; one being assigned to those whom they favoured, the other to the enemy. In this instance the enemy's part, which was assigned to Caesar, was replete with appearances of the most fatal ominousness. 4 Mass of another head) ver. 628. He finds a twofold portion of what they called the head of the liver. This, which was a portentous omen, was sup- posed to denote the increase of Caesar's prosperity at the expense of Pompey. 4 Offered unto thee) ver. 633. He means that from the appearance of the victim it would seem as though he had not been sacrificing to Jupiter, but to 42 PHAESALIA. [B. L 633-648. slaughtered bull have the infernal Deities entered ! Things not to be uttered do we dread; but things still greater than our apprehensions will come to pass. May the Gods grant a prosperous result to what has been seen, and may tkere be no truth in the entrails ; but rather may Tages, the foun- der of the art 1 , have fondly invented all these things ! " Thus did the Etrurian, obscuring the omens and conceal- ing them in much perplexing doubt, utter his prophecies. But Figulus 2 , to whom it was a care to know the Gods and the secrets of the heavens, whom not Egyptian Mem- phis* could equal in the science of the stars and hi the principles which regulate the heavenly bodies, exclaimed : " Either this world wanders without any laws throughout all ages, and the Constellations run to and fro with uncertain movements ; or else, if the Fates hold sway, a speedy de- struction is preparing for the City and the human race. Will the earth yawn, and cities be swallowed up ? Or will the glowing atmosphere deprive us of all moderate temperature ? Will the faithless earth refuse her crops of corn ? Will all the Furies and the other Deities of the Infernal Regions, who have answered him with direful omens. 1 Tages, the founder of the art) ver. 637. See the note to 1. 584. Cicero mentions Tages as having sprung from the earth, in his book On Divination, B. ii- c. 23. 2 But Figulus) ver. 639. He probably alludes to P. Nigidius Figulus, a Roman Philosopher, who had a great reputation for learning. Aulus Gellius pronounces him as, next to Varro, the most learned among the Romans. lie was noted for his mathematical and physical investigations, and followed the tenets of the Pythagorean school of Philosophy. He was also famed as an astrologer, and, in the Eusebian Chronicle, he is called a magician. He was an intimate friend of Cicero, and was one of the Senators selected by him to take down the examinations of the witnesses who gave evidence with regard to Catiline's conspiracy, B.C. 63. He was Praetor four years afterwards, and took an active part in the Civil War on the side of Pompev. He was, conse- quently, compelled by Caesar to lire in banishment, and died B.C. 44. A letter of Cicero to him is still extant, in his Epistles Ad Familiares, B. iv. Ep. 13. He is said to have received the name of Figulus, which means " a potter," from the circumstance of having promulgated on his return from Greece that the globe whirled round with the rapidity of the potter's wheel. 8 Not Egyptian Memphit) ver. 640. This was the second city in import- ance in ancient Egypt, but sank into insignificance after the foundation of Alexandria. It was of unknown antiquity, its foundation being ascribed to Menes. It stood on the banks of the Nile, and was connected by canals with the lakes Moeris and Mareotis. It was the "seat of the worship of the Egyptian Ptha, or the Hephaestus of the Greeks. The Egyptian priesthood were especially famed for their skill in astrology and divination. u. I. 648-672] PHARSA.LIA. 43 the water be mingled with poison infused therein ? What kind of ruin, O Gods of heaven, with what plagues do you furnish your vengeance ? At the same instant the closing days of many have met. If the cold star of Saturn, with its evil influence in the lofty heaven, had lighted up its dusky fires, Aquarius would have poured forth showers worthy of Deucalion 1 , and the whole earth would haye been concealed in the ocean spread over it. If, Phcebus, thou wast now urging the fierce Nemean lion 2 with thy rays, flames would be making their way over the whole world, and, set on fire by thy chariot, the sky would be in a blaze. Those fires pause : thou, Gradivus, who dost inflame the threatening Scorpion with his burning tail, and dost scorch his claws, why dost thou make preparations thus mighty ? For with his remote setting propitious Jupiter 3 is going down, and the healthful star of Venus is dim, and the Cyllenian Deity 4 , rapid in his movements, is retarded, and Mars occupies the heavens alone. " Why have the Constellations forsaken their courses, and why hi obscurity are they borne along throughout the uni- verse ? Why thus intensely shines the side of the sword-girt Orion 5 ? The frenzy of arms is threatening ; and the might of the sword shall confound all right by force ; and for many & year shall this madness prevail. And what avails it to ask .an end from Hie Gods of heaven ? That peace comes with a tyrant alone. Prolong, Rome, the continuous series of thy woes ; protract for a length of tune thy calamities, only now free during civil war." 1 Showers wort/iy of Deucalion) ver. 653. For an account of the flood of Deucalion, see the First Book of Ovid's Metamorphoses. * The fierce Nemean lion) ver. 655. The Constellation Leo in the Zodiac was fabled to have been formed by the Lion of the Nemean forest, which was conquered by Hercules. 3 Propitious Jupiter) ver. 661 . He means the star so called. 4 And the Cyllenian Deity) ver. 662. Mercury was called " Cyllenius," from Mount Cyllene in Arcadia, on which he was said to have been born. * Side of the sword-girt Orion) ver. 665. " The unguarded words of Orion xcited the anger of the Gods. ' There is no wild beast,' said he, ' that I am unable to conquer.' The Earth sent a scorpion ; it attempted to fasten its crooked claws on the Goddess, the mother of the twins ; Orion opposed it. Latona added him to the number of the radiant stars, and said, ' Enjoy the reward of thy deserts.' " Such is the account which Ovid gives in the Fasti, B. v. L 540, of the origin of the Constellation of Orion. See also the curious tory of his birth related in the same Book, L 493, ct teg. Hesiod, however, ays that he was the son of Neptune by Euryale, the daughter of Minos. Pindar makes the isle of Chios to have been his birth-place, and not Boeotia. 44 PHARSALIA IB. L 673-681. These presages greatly alarm the trembling multitude, but greater ones confound them. For just as on the heights of Pindus 1 the Edonian female 2 , filled with the Ogygian Lyseus 3 , hurries along, so likewise is a matron 4 , borne along through the astounded City, disclosing by these words how Phoebus is exciting her breast : " Whither, O Paean 3 , am I being borne ? In what land art thou placing me, hurried along amid the skies ? I see Pangceum", white with its snowy ridges, and extended Philippi beneath the crags of Hsemus 7 . What frenzy this is, O Phoebus, tell 1 On the heighti of Pindut) ver. 674. Pindus was the name of that part of the mountain range running through Greece which separated Thessaly from Epirus. * The Edonian female) ver. 675. The Edoni or Edones were a Thracian people, situate between the Nestus and the Strymon. They were celebrated by their devotion to the orgies of Bacchus; whence " Edonis" in the Latin Poets, as in the present instance, signifies a female worshipper of Bacchus. 3 The Ogygian Lyaut) ver. 675. Bacchus was called Lyaeus, from the Greek word Xwr, to "loosen" or "relax," because wine dispels care. He was probably styled " Ogygian " from the circumstance of his having been born at Thebes, which was called Ogygia, from Ogyges, one of its early kings. 4 It a matron) ver. 676. Sulpitius says that her name was Oritia. * Whither, Pcean) ver. 678. Paean was originally a name given to a Deity who was the physician of the Gods. In that sense it came from the Greek -rcttui, " healing." Similarly it afterwards became a surname of JEscu- lapius, a God who had the power of healing. It was also given to Apollo and Thanatos, or Death, perhaps as being liberators of mankind from suffering and sorrow. It may, however, have been applied to the two last as coming from ra.'itu, " to strike," Death being supposed to strike with his dart, and Apollo, as the Deity of the Sun, striking with his rays. Apollo was frequently appealed to under this name, as all-powerful to avert evil. 6 I see Pangceum) ver. 679. Pangaeum, or Pangaeus, was a range of mountains in Macedonia, between the Strymon and the Nestus, in the vici- nity of Philippi. 7 The crags of Hcemus) ver. 680. The Haemus formed a lofty range of mountains (now called the Balkan chain) separating Thrace from Moesia. Though famed among the Poets for their immense height, they do not ex- ceed 4000 feet above the level of the sea. Lucan here falls into the error of confounding Pharsalia with Philippi, the place where Brutus and Cassius were afterwards defeated by Antony and Augustus Caesar. Howe has the following Note here : " It is pretty strange that so many great names of antiquity, as Virgil, Ovid, Petronius, and Lucan should be guilty of such a blunder in geography, as to confound the field of battle between Julius Caesar and Pompey with that between Octavius Caesar and Brutus, when it was very plain one was in the middle of Thessaly and the other in Thrace, a great part of Macedonia lying between them. Sulpitius, indeed, one of the commentators on Lucan, says, there was a town called Philippi, B. i. 681-695.] PHARSALIA. 45 me ; why do Roman armies mingle their weapons and their bands ? Without an enemy 1 is there war ? Torn away, whither am I being borne? Thou art conducting me to the distant east, where the sea is changed by the stream of the Nile of Lagus 3 . Him who is lying a hideous trunk 3 on the river's sand, do I recognize. Over the seas am I borne to the shifting Syrtes 4 and the parched Libya, whither the direful Erinnys has transferred the ranks of Emathia 5 . Now above the heights of the cloud-capt Alps and the aerial Pyrenees 6 am I torn away. To the abodes of my native City I return, and in the midst of the Senate impious warfare 7 is being waged. Factions again 8 arise, and once more throughout all the earth do I proceed. Permit me to behold fresh shores of the sea y , and fresh lands; now, Phoebus, have I beheld Philippi!" Thus she said ; and exhausted by her wearied frenzy she laid her down. in whose neighbourhood the battle between Caesar and Pompey was fought, but upon what authority I know not; but supposing that, it is undeniable that these two battles were fought in two different countries. I must own it seems to me the fault originally of Virgil (upon what occasion so correct a writer could commit so great an error is not easy to imagine), and that the rest took it very easily from him, without making any further enquiry." 1 Without an enemy) ver. 682. That is, " without a foreign foe." 2 The Nile of Lagus) ver. 684. The Nile is so called, as being under the sway of Ptolemy, the descendant of the Macedonian Lagus ; it was said to change the waters of the sea at its mouth in colour and taste. 3 A hideous trunk) ver. 685. In allusion to the death of Pompey, which is related in the Eighth Book. * To the shifting Syrtes) ver. 686. He alludes to the march of the Roman army along the desert sands of Libya under the command of Cato, related at length in the Ninth Book. 4 The ranks of Emathia) ver. 688. They are called Emathian from the circumstance of their then recent defeat in Emathia or Thessaly. 8 The aerial Pyrenees) ver. 689. She alludes to the war in Spain waped by Caesar against the sons of Pompey, whom he defeated at the battle of Wunda. 7 Impious warfare) ver. 691. Allusion is made to the death of Caesar by the hands of Brutus and Cassius and the other assassins in the Senate- house. 8 Factions again arise} ver. 692. The Civil "Wars waged between Au- gustus and Antony on one side against Brutus and Cassius on the other, and afterwards between Augustus and Antony. * Fresh shores of the sea) ver. 693. By the use of the word " Pontus " he seems vaguely to refer to the Euxine Sea lying off the coast of Thrace, in which Philippi was situate. BOOK THE SECOND. CONTENTS. Reflections on the Prodigies, 1-15. The alarm at Borne described. The complaints of the matrons, 16-42. The complaints of the men, 43-66. A long speech is spoken by an aged man in reference to the Civil Wars carried on between Sulla and Marins, 67-233. Brutus repairs to Cato at night, and asks his advice, 234-285. Cato answers that he shall follow Pompey, and advises Brutus to do the same, 286-325. While they are conversing, Harcia appears, whom, formerly his own wife, Cato bad given to his friend; Hortensias, since whose death she has sought him again as her husband, 326 -349. In the presence of Brutus they renew the nuptial vow, 350- 391. Pompcy has in the meantime retired to Campania. The Apen- nines, with their streams, are described, 392438. Caesar takes posses- sion of the whole of Italy. The flight of Libo, Thermns, Sulla, Tarns, Lentulns, and Scipio, from the cities which they hold, 439477. Domitius Ahenobarbus, by breaking down the bridge, endeavours to impede the course of Caesar at Corfinium. Caesar crosses the river, and while he is preparing to lay siege to Corfinium, the citizens deliver Domitius to him. Caesar gives him his liberty against his wish, 478-525. Pompey addresses his troops, and promises to lead them to battle, 526-595. He retreats to Brnndisium, 596-609. The situation of that place is described, 610-627. Pompey sends his son to Asia to request the assistance of the eastern Kings, He himself prepares to cross over to E pirns, 628-649. Caesar follow! Pompey, and endeavours to cut him off from the sea. 650-679. Pompey leaves Italy, 680-703. Caesar enters Brundisinm, 704-736. AND now was the wrath of the Deities displayed, and the universe gave manifest signs of war; foreknowing nature by her monster-bearing confusion overthrew the laws and the compacts of things, and proclaimed, the fkiality. Why. ruler of Olympus, has it seemed good to thee to add this care to anxious mortals, that by means of direful omens they should know of misfortunes about to come? Whether it is that, when first the parent of the world, the flame re ceding, set apart the shapeless realms and unformed matter, he established causes to endless time, by which he rules all tilings, binding himself as well by a law, and, with the im- movable boundaries of fate, allotted the world to endure its destined ages ; or whether it is that nothing is preordained, but Chance wanders in uncertainty, and brings and brings round again events, and accident rules the affairs of mortals : may that be instantaneous, whatever thou dost intend; B. n. 15-34.] PHARSALIA. 47 may the mind of man be blind to his future fate ; to him who dreads may it be allowed to hope. Therefore when they perceived at the price of how vast calamity to the world the truthfulness of the Gods of heaven was about to be realized, there was a general mourning 1 in token of woe throughout the City ; clad in the plebeian garb 2 all honors lay concealed ; the purple accompanied no fasces. Then did they withhold expression of their griefs, and great anguish without a voice pervaded all. Thus at the moment of death the astounded house is silent while the body is lying not yet called upon by name 3 , nor as yet does the mother with her dishevelled locks prompt the arms of the female domestics to the cruel beatings on their breasts ; but when, life fled, she presses the stiffened limbs and the lifeless features, and the eyes swimming in death, no longer is it anguish, but now it is dread ; distractedly she throws herself down, and is astounded at her woes. The matron has laid aside her former habit, and sorrowing throngs occupy the shrines. These sprinkle the Gods with tears ; these dash then- breasts against the hard ground, and, awe-stricken, throw their torn-out hair upon the sacred threshold, and with repeated bowlings strike upon the ears accustomed to be addressed in prayer. And not all lay in the Temple of the Supreme Thunderer ; 1 There was a general mourning) ver. 18. " Justitium." This term doubtless originally signified a cessation of judicial business, but came after- wards to denote a time when public business of every kind was suspended. At this period the courts of law and the treasury were closed, and no am- bassadors were received by the Senate. The justitium was formally pro- claimed by the Senate and the magistrates in times of public alarm and danger. In the lapse of time, a justitium was usually ordered as a mark of public mourning, and under the Empire it was only employed under such circumstances. a Clad in the plebeian garb) ver. 19. By this expression he means that the Consuls forbore to wear the purple, which was one of the insignia of their office. Their being attended by lictors, with the fasces, was another of their badges of office. 3 Called upon by name) ver. 23. " Conclamata." After a person was dead, those who were present lamented aloud, and called on the party by name, to ascertain if he was only in a trance. According to some autho- rities this was repeated daily for seven days, and was done for the last time when the body was placed on the funeral pile, on which occasion it was finally said " conclamatum est," signifying that no hope of life now remained. 48 PHAESALIA. [B. n. 35-50. Ahey made division of the Deities, and at no altar was there wanting a parent to create discontent 1 ; one of whom, tearing her bedewed cheeks, and blackened with blows, upon her livid arms, exclaimed, " Now, wretched matrons, beat your breasts, now tear your locks, nor defer this grief and preserve it for our crowning woes. Now have you the power to weep, while the fortune of the chieftains is undecided; when one shall have proved the conqueror, you must rejoice." With these incentives did grief en- courage itself. The men likewise, repairing to the hostile camps, are pour- ing forth well-grounded complaints against the relentless Divinities. " Oh luckless lot, that we were not born for the Punic days of Cannse 2 and of Trebia :J , a youthful race ! Gods of heaven, we do not ask for peace; inspire with anger foreu/n nations ; at once arouse the enraged cities ; let the world conspire in arms ; let the Median ranks descend from Acheemenian 4 Susa s ; let the Scythian Ister 6 not confine 1 To create discontent) ver. 36. " Invidiam factura." By addressing prayers to the Gods which were not likely to be fulfilled, and thus causing the Deities to be censured for their inattention to the wishes of their worshippers. a Punic days of Cannce) ver. 46. Cannae was a village of Apulia, situate in a plain near the rivers Aufidus and Vergellus. It was famed for the memorable defeat there of the Romans under L. JKmilius Paulus and C. Terentius Varro, the Consuls, by Hannibal, the Carthaginian general, B.C. 216. From forty to fifty thousand Romans are said to have perished in this battle. 3 And of Trebia) ver. 46. Trebia was a small river in Gallia Cisalpina, falling into the Padus, or Fo, near Placcntia. Hannibal gained a victory there over the Ramans, B.C. 218. 4 Achamenian) ver. 49. This epithet refers to Achremenes, the founder of the race of the Achaemenidae, and the ancestor of the Fenian kings. He was said to have been nurtured by an eagle. The epithet in the present instance, and, in general, as used by the Latin Poets, has the signification of " Persian." * (Sfaso) ver. 49. Susa (which is called Shushan in the Old Testament) was the winter residence of the Persian kings, and was situate in the province of Susiana, on the banks of the rirer Choaspes. The climate was very hot here, and hence the choice of it for a winter palace. Its site is now marked by huge mounds, in which are found fragments of bricks and pottery. 8 The Scythian Ister) ver. 50. The river, the whole whereof is now called the Danube, was, from its source as far as Vienna, called " Danubius" by the Romans; from there to the Black Sea it received the name of "' Ister." B. n. 50-56.] PHAESALIA. 49 the Massagetan 1 ; let the Albis 2 pour forth the yellow- haired Suevi 3 from the extreme north and the unsubdued sources of the Rhine * ; make us the foes of all nations ; but avert civil warfare. On the one side let the Dacian press- wpow us 6 , the Getan on the other ; let the one meet the Iberians 7 , the other turn his standards against the eastern quivers. Let no hand, Rome, of thine 8 , enjoy 1 The Massagetan) ver. 50. The Massagetse were a warlike race of Scythia, to the north of the Araxes, and the present Sea of Aral. Their country corresponds to that of the Kirghiz Tartars at the present day, in the north of Independent Tartary. Herodotus appears to include under this name all the Nomadic tribes of Asia east of the Caspian. It was said that it was their custom to kill and eat their aged people. a Let the Albis) ver. 52. The Albis, now the Elbe, was the most easterly river of Germany with which the Romans became acquainted. According to Tacitus it rose in the country of the Hermunduri. The Romans first reached this river B.O. 9, and crossed it for the first time B.C. 3, under Domitius Ahenobarbus. 3 The yellow-haired Suevi) ver. 51. The term " Suevi " is supposed to have been the collective name of a large number of German tribes, who were remarkable for a migratory mode of life. Their locality has not been with any exactness ascertained. In the third century a race of people called " Suevi " settled in and gave the name to the present Suabia. 4 Sources of the Rhine) ver. 52. The lllucti lived about the sources of the Rhine. Suetonius says *hat Augustus crippled, but did not subdue, them. 5 Let the Dacian press upon us) ver. 54. The Daci inhabited Dacia, which lay to the north of the Danube, and comprehended the present coun- tries of Transylvania, Moldavia, Wallachia, and part of Hungary. They were of similar race with the Getae, and spoke the same language. In the reign of Augustus, this warlike people crossed the Danube, and, after plundering the allies of Rome, were repulsed by the generals of Augustus. In the reign of Domitian they obliged the Romans to purchase peace by the payment of a tribute. They were finally conquered by Trajan. 6 The Getan on the other) ver. 54. The Getae are said to have been the same people as the Daci. In the later periods of the Roman Empire their country was occupied by the Goths, who had migrated from the southern shores of the Baltic, from which circumstance the Getae and the Goths have often been erroneously looked upon as the same people. The Getae fur- nished slaves" to Greece and Italy; and Geta figures as a crafty servant in the Plays of Terence. Davus similarly means a Dacian slave ; he, too, is introduced in the Latin Comedy. 7 Meet the Iberians) ver. 54. The Iberi were the nations of Spain, who dwelt in the vicinity of the Iberus, now called the Ebro, in the north-east of that country. 8 Let no hand, Rome, of thine) ver. 56. That is, " Let every hand be engaged in war against a foreign enemy." E 50 PHAESALIA. [B. n. 56-72. leisure. Or if, ye Gods of heaven, it is your pleasure to blot out the Hesperian name, gathered into fires let the entire aether l descend in lightnings upon the earth. En- raged Parent, at the same instant smite both partisans and leaders, while not as yet they have deserved it. Do they with an extent so great of unheard of crimes, seek to know which of the two is to rule the City? Hardly would it have been worth the while to levy civil war, that neither might." Such complaints did piety, doomed to be bootless, pour forth ; but a care their own afflicted wretched parents, and they detested the long-lived destiny of a sorrowing old age, and years reserved for civil warfare a second time. And one, seeking precedents for their great alarm, exclaimed, " Not other commotions did the Fates intend at the time when.victorious afterthe Teutonic 2 and the Libyan triumphs 3 , the exiled Marius concealed his head amid the slimy sedge 4 . The pools of the plashy soil and the fenny marshes con- cealed, Fortune, thy deposit ; next did the chains of iron 5 1 Let the entire cether) ver. 58. Probably by the term " aether," he means the fiery element which was supposed to range in the firmament, above the regions of the air. 2 After the Teutonic) ver. 69. The speaker probably alludes to the vic- tory which Marius, the Consul, gained at Aquas Sextiae (now Aix) against the combined forces of the Teutones and Ambrones. According to some accounts there were 200,000 slain and 80,000 taken prisoners at this battle. 6 And the Libyan triumphs) ver. 69. He alludes to the conquest of Jugurtha, king of Numidia, by Marius ; which, however, was effected by the treachery of Bocchus, king of Mauritania, as much as by the general- ship of either Marias or his predecessor Metcllus. 4 Amid the slimy sedge) ver. 70. Allusion is made to the circumstance of Marius hiding in the sedge and mud of the marshes of Minturna-, in Latium. when pursued by the vengeance of Sulla. He was, however, dis- covered, dragged from his retreat, and, with a rope round his neck, deli- vered up to the authorities of Minturna?. 5 The chains of iron) ver. 72. Marius, when taken captive, was not, as the present passage would seem to imply, thrown into a dungeon, but placed in the charge of a woman named Fannia, who was supposed to be his personal enemy, but was secretly his friend. It was while he was here that a Gallic or a Cimbrian soldier was sent into his apartment to put him to death. The part of the room where the aged Marius lay was in the shade, and with a terrible voice he exclaimed " Man, dost thou dare to murder C. Marius 1" The barbarian, imagining that fire flashed from his eyes, dropped his sword, and rushed out of the house, exclaiming " I cannot murder C. Marius ! " B. n. 73-92.] PHARSALIA. 51 eat into the aged man, and prolonged squalor in prison. A Consul, and fated to die successful * in the subdued City, beforehand did he pay the penalty of his crimes. Death herself fled full oft from the hero, and in vain was power granted to his enemy 2 over the hated blood; who, at the very stroke of death stood riveted and from his faltering hand let fall the sword. He had beheld an intense light in the darkened cell, and the dread Goddesses of crime, and the Marius of a future day, and in alarm he had heard, ' It is not right for thee to touch this neck ; to the laws of fate does he owe many deaths before his own ; lay aside thy vain fury. If it is your wish to avenge the destruction of your extinct race, Cimbrians, do you preserve this aged man ! ' Not by the favour of the Deity, but by the mighty anger of the Gods of heaven was this cruel man pro- tected, and he sufficed for Fate when desiring to ruin Eome. " He, too, borne over the stormy main 3 to a hostile land, and driven among the deserted cottages 4 , lay amid the spoiled realms of the conquered Jugurtha 5 , and trod upon the Punic ashes c . Carthage and Marius exchanged consolation for their fates, and equally prostrate, patiently 1 Fated to die successful) ver. 74. Being afterwards restored to power at Rome, he died in the 71st year of his age, and on the 18th day of his seventh Consulship. 2 Power granted to his enemy) ver. 76. The Chnbrian or Gallic soldier referred to in the Note to 1. 72. 3 Borne over the stormy main) ver. 88. He allndes to the departure of Marius from Minturnae, where he was furnished with a small ship, and, after touching at the isle of 2Enaria (now Ischia) and Eryx, in Sicily, he landed in Africa, the country of his former enemy, Jugurtha. 4 Among the deserted cottages) ver. 89. "Mapalia" were moveabls huts or cottages, which the Numidians carried on waggons when they moved from place to place, seeking new pastures for their flocks. s Of the conquered Jugurtha) ver. 90. Jugurtha, the king of Numidia, an illegitimate son of Mastanabal, despite of numerous defeats, long made head against Metellus, the Roman general, but was finally conquered by Marius, who enjoyed the honour of a triumph on the occasion, and Jugur- tha was finally thrown into a dungeon and starved to death. * Trod upon the Punic ashes) ver. 91. Landing near Carthage, Marius was forbidden, by the lictor of Sextilius, the Praetor, to set foot on the African shore ; on which he exclaimed, " Go tell thy master that thou hast seen Caius Marius sitting amid the ruins of Carthage ;" not inaptly com- paring the downfall of that great city to his own ruined fortunes. E a 52 PHARSALIA. [B. n. 93-104. submitted to the Gods. There did he collect together the resentfulness of Libya 1 . When first, his fortune returning, he set free troops of slaves 2 , the iron wrought up 3 into swords, the slaves' dungeons 4 sent forth the ruthless bands. To no one were entrusted the ensigns of their leader to be carried, except to him who had now gained expe- rience in wickedness, and had brought crime into the camp. Oh ye Fates ! what a day, what a day was that, on which the victorious Marius seized the walls ! and with strides how vast did cruel Death hurry on ! With the commonalty the nobles fall; and far and wide stalks the sword, and the weapon is withdrawn from the breast of none. Gore stands in the temples, and red with plenteous slaughter the slippery stones are wet. To no one was his age* a protection. 1 The resentfulness of Libya) ver. 93. By " Libycas irag," he perhaps means such a thirst for vengeance as Libyans or Africans alone usually display. It has been suggested that there is an intended reference here to the giant Antaeus, who (as Lucan says in the Fourth Book, 1. 597) was born in the caves of Libya and of whom it was fabled that every time he touched the earth he received additional strength, and that similarly Marius always rose from the most depressed state superior to his misfortunes. The serpents of Africa were said to gain fresh fury and venom from their contact with the earth. 2 lie set free troops of slaves) ver. 94. He alludes to the circumstance of Marius landing in Etruria from Africa, and, by proclaiming freedom to the slaves, collecting a large army, with which he joined L. Cornelius Cinna, the Consul, who had been driven from Rome by his colleague, Cn. Octavius. Ma- rius, with Cinna and Carbo, shortly afterwards entered Rome, and, in their thirst for vengeance, were guilty of the most dreadful atrocities. 3 The iron icroug/ti up) ver. 95. " Conflato ferro," probably means, as one of the Scholiasts suggests, that the iron chains and fetters with which the slaves were bound, were used to make swords and other weapons. Another suggestion is, that " ferro " means the spades and mattocks which were used in cultivating the fields. 4 The slaves' dungeons) ver. 95. The " ergastula " were private prisons attached to most of the country residences of the more wealthy Romans, for the confinement and punishment of their refractory slaves. They were pro- bably underground, as appears from passages in Columella, and in the Au- lularia of Flautus, 1L 301. 319, where the dungeon is called by the name of " puteus." Columella also says, that the "ergastulum" was lighted by narrow windows, too high to be touched by the hand. Plutarch says that these prisons became necessary throughout Italy by reason of the numerous conquests of the Romans, and the great number of foreign slaves intro- duced to cultivate the lands. 8 To no one was his age) ver. 104. He alludes to the dreadful butcheries perpetrated by the body-guard of Marius, which he had formed out of the B. n. 105-122.] PHAESALIA. 53 There was no shame at having hurried on the closing day of the aged man hi his declining years; nor in the very threshold of life at cutting short the rising destiny of the wretched infant. By what criminality could little chil- dren be deserving of slaughter? But now enough is it to be able to die. The very impetuosity of frenzy hurries them on, and it seems like sluggishness to be in search of the guilty. To swell the number a large portion falls ; and the blood-stained victor seizes the head cut off from an unknown neck, as he is ashamed to go with an empty hand. The only hope of safety is to imprint trembling kisses ' on the polluted right hand. Although a thousand swords attended the unheard-of signals for death, de- generate people, hardly would it be becoming for men thus to earn lengthened ages of existence, much less the short-lived disgrace of surviving, and life until Sulla returns 2 . " Who has the leisure to bewail the deaths of the multitude ? Hardly thee, Baebius 3 , rent asunder by thine entrails, and how that the countless hands of the dismembering throng tore thy limbs to pieces; or thee, Antonius, foreteller of woes, whose features, hanging by the torn white hah- 4 , slaves attending him, who slew indiscriminately all of the aristocratic party they could lay hands upon. 1 To imprint trembling kisses) ver. 114. Marius had given instruc- tions to his guards that all in the streets whom he did not salute, or to whom he did not extend his hands to be kissed, were to be put to death indiscriminately. Under these circumstances Q. Ancharius was killed ; and one of the Scholiasts mentions Euanthius, a former friend of Marius, who was thus slain. 1 Until Sulla returns) ver. 118. Who dealt equal vengeance on the Marian party. 3 Hardly thee, Bcelius) ver. 120. He alludes to the death of M. Baebius, who was torn to pieces by the hands of the Marian faction. Con- nected with his fate one of the Scholiasts relates a story not to the credit of Terence, the Comic Poet He says that Terence, being surrounded by the partisans of Marius, promised, probably as the price of his own safety, that he would discover to them an enemy of Marius, who had used his influence in the Senate to his prejudice, and thereupon informed them where they would find Baebius. 4 Hanging by the torn white hair) ver. 122. M. Antonius, who is spoken of by Cicero as one of the greatest of the Roman Orators, having belonged to the party of Sulla, was marked out for destruction by Marius, on his return to the City. Touched by his eloquence, the soldiers who were sent 04 PHABSALLL [B. n. 123-133: dripping with blood, the soldier carrying placed upon the festive table. Fimbia mangled l the beheaded Crassi 2 . The relentless prison was steeped with Tribunitial gore. Thee also, Scsevola :t , neglected by the unscrupulous right hand, before the very shrine of the Goddess and her ever-burning hearths they slew ; but exhausted old age poured forth little blood from thy throat, and spared the flames. These things his seventh Consular year followed 4 , the fasces regained. That was the closing period of the life of Marius, who had endured all things which evil fortune is able to effect, and who had enjoyed all things which a better fortune can bring, and had experienced what fortune can destine for man. refused to execute their commands, on which P. Annius, the Tribune, their commander, cut off his head, and carried it to Marina, while he was at table. After he had handled it with scorn and derision, he ordered it to be placed on the Rostra. 1 Fimbria mangled) ver. 124. C. Flavius Fimbria was one of the most violent partisans of the Marian faction. Cicero styles him " homo auda- cissimus et insanissimus," " a most audacious and most insane man." Being finally defeated by Sulla, he fell by the hands of one of his own slaves, whom he commanded to slay him. His career seems to have been that of a madman. a The beheaded Crassi) ver. 124. According to some accounts P. Lici- nius Crassus, the father, and his son of the same name, were slain in each other's sight by Fimbria. It is, however, more generally stated that the son was put to death before his father's eyes, who afterwards stabbed himself to escape a more ignominious death at the hands of the Marian fac- tion. Appian relates the story in a different manner. He says that the father, after slaying the son, was himself slain by the partisans of Marius. Crassus, the Triumvir, was a younger son of the elder of these Crassi. s Thee also, Scctvola) ver. 126. Mucius Sczevola, the Pontifex Maximum, notwithstanding his virtuous character, was proscribed by the Marian faction, on which he fled for refuge to the temple of Vesta, He was, how- ever, slain by the younger Marius, and the altars were drenched with hi blood. " Neglectum violatae dextrae " has been supposed by some to refer to the story of his ancestor, Mucins Scsevola, having thrust his hand into the flames to show his firmness when taken prisoner by Porsenna. Weisse, however, thinks that it refers to the right hand of Marius, which was ex- tended to be kissed by those whom he intended to save, and that (certainly by a forced construction) it means " unregarded by the unscrupulous right hand." "Neglectu violatse Vestoe," "with heedlessness of the outraged Vesta," is another reading, and perhaps a preferable one, as Scaevola was not put to death till some years after the de^th of the elder Marius. * Seventh Consular year followed) ver. 130. Thirteen years intervened between the sixth and seventh Consulship of Marius. He died at the com- mencement of his seventh Consulship. B. n. 134-149.] PHARSALIA. 55 " Now at Sacriportus l how many dead bodies fell pros- trate, or how many slaughtered troops did the Collinian Gate 2 endure, at the time when the sovereignty of the world and the sway of power, transferred, had almost changed its site 3 , and the Samnite hoped for Roman, wounds exceeding the Caudine Forks 4 ! Sulla, too, added as an avenger to the boundless slaughter. He shed the little blood that was remaining to the City, and while he amputated the limbs now too corrupt, the healing art ex- ceeded its limits, and the hand followed too far where the malady led it. The guilty perished ; but when now the guilty alone could possibly be surviving. Then was scope given to hatred, and, let loose from the rein of the laws, anger rushed on. Not for one crime were all sacrificed, but each one framed a criminality of his own. Once for all had the victor given his commands. Through the entrails of his master 5 did the servant plunge the accursed sword ; sons 1 Now at Sacriportus) ver. 134. Marins baring died, and Cinna being slain, Sulla returned from Asia, where he had been carrying on the war against Mithridates, and after landing at Brundisium, defeated the younger Marina with great slaughter at Sacriportus, in Latium, B.C. 82. 2 Did the Collinian Gate) ver. 135. The-Samnites and Lucanians, who favoured the cause of the younger Marius, under Pontius Telesinus and L. Lamponius, marched towards Rome, which, on Marins being shut up in Praeneste, was left by Sulla without any protection. Sulla, however, came up with them at the Colline Gate, and a battle was fought, which was most obstinately contested, as Telesinus had vowed that he would level Eome to the ground, and transfer the dominion to his own native place. The victory was gained by Sulla, but 50,000 men are said to have fallen on each side. Telesinus was among the slain. The Porta Collina was the most northernly of the gates of Rome ; it was situate near the Quirinal Esquinal and Viminal Hills (Colles), from which it took its name. 3 Had almost changed its site) ver. 136. He alludes to the resolution abovementioned, which had been formed by Pontins Telesinus and the younger Marius, to remove the seat of government from Rome to Samnium. 4 Exceeding the Caudine Forks) ver. 138. The " Furcse Caudinae," or " Caudine Forks," were narrow passes in the mountains near Caudium, a town of Samnium. Here the Roman array had been defeated by the Sam- mies, and were sent under the yoke, B.C. 321. s Through the entrails of his master) ver. 149. One of the Scholiasts suggests that this is said particularly in allusion to the fate of the younger Marius, who, being shut up in Praeneste, and, despairing of holding out any longer, endeavoured, with the brother of Telesrnug, to make his escape by a subterranean passage, but was betrayed by a slave ; on which, finding their 6 PHAESALIA. [B. n. 149-171 were steeped in a father's blood. The contention was, to whom the severed head of the parent belonged ; brothers fell as a reward to brothers. The tombs were filled by flight, and living bodies were intermingled with the buried, and the dens of wild beasts received the throng. This one broke his neck and his compressed throat with the halter ; another hulling himself, with weight falling headlong, dashed against the hard ground, burst asunder ; and from the blood-stained victor they snatched away their own slaughter ; this one himself heaped up the oaken fabric of his own funeral pile, and, all his blood not yet poured forth, leaped down into the flames, and, while yet he might, took possession of the fires. The heads of chieftains are carried on javelins throughout the trembling City, and heaped up in the midst of the Forum. Whatever crime there is any- where existing is then known. Not Thrace beheld so many hanging in the stables l of the Bistonian tyrant, nor Libya upon the posts of Antseus ; nor did lamenting Greece weep for torn limbs so many in the halls of Pisa 8 . When now they had mouldered away in corruption, and confused, in length of time lost their marks, the right hand of the wretched parents collected them, and, recognized, stealthily removed them with timid theft. I remember, too, that I myself, anxious to place the disfigured features of my slain brother upon the pile and the forbidden flames, searched about among all the carcases of this Sullanian peace, and amid all the trunks sought for one with which the head lopped from the neck would correspond. flight discovered, they slew each other. According to other accounts Marius killed himself, or, at his own request, was stabbed by his own slave. 1 Hanging in the stalled) ver. 163. Diomedes, king of Thrace (which was also called Bistonia), was said to have fed his mares upon the flesh of strangers, and to have fixed their heads on his doors. Antaeus, the Libyan giant, who was slain by Hercules, was also said to have perpetrated similar cruelties. 8 In the /Milt of Pisa) ver. 165. He alludes to the practice of (Enomaiis, king of Pisa in Elis, who made it a condition that those who came forward as suitors for the hand of his daughter, Hippodamia, should contend with himself in a chariot race ; and that those who were conquered should be put to death. After many had been sacrificed in the attempt, Pelops, through bribing Myrtilus, the charioteer of (Enomaiis, won the hand of Hippodamia. B. n. 173-194.] PHARSALIA. 57 " Why shall I make mention of the shades of Catulus ap- peased l ? When Marius the victim 2 made, a sad sacrifice to perhaps an unwilling shade, an unutterable atonement to an insatiate tomb 3 ; when we beheld the mangled limbs, and the wounds equal in number with the members, and no one given fatal to life, although upon a body mangled all over, and the ruthless usage of an accursed cruelty to forego the death of him who was thus perishing. Hands torn off fell down, and the tongue cut out still quivered, and with noiseless movement beat the vacant air. This one cuts off the ears, another the nostrils of the aquiline nose ; that one gouges out the eye-balls from their hollow sockets, and, his mangled limbs viewed by himself, put out his eyes the last. Hardly will there be any believing that one person could have endured the punishments thus numerous of a crime so dreadful. Thus under the mass of ruins limbs are broken beneath the vast weight ; nor more disfigured do the headless carcases come to shore which have pe- rished in the midst of the ocean. " Why has it pleased you to lose your pains, and to dis- figure the features of Marius, as though an ignoble person ? That this criminality and slaughter on being made known might please Sulla, he ought to have been able to be recog- nized. Praenestine Fortune beheld 4 all her citizens cut off 1 The shades of Catulus appeased) ver. 174. Q. Lutatius Catulus, who had formerly been the colleague of Marius in the Consulship, in his expe- dition against the Cimbri, having espoused the cause of Sulla, his name was included among the rest of victims in the Marian proscription of B.C. 87. Finding escape impossible, he shut himself in a room, and, kindling a char- coal fire, died of suffocation. J When Marius the victim) ver. 175. He alludes to the cruel death of M. Marius Gratidianus, the friend and fellow-townsman of Cicero. He was the son of M. Gratidius, but was adopted by one of the Marii, probably a brother of the elder Marius. In revenge for the death of Catulus, his brother, or, according to some, his son, obtained of Sulla the proscription of Gratidianus, on account of his connexion with the family of the Marii. He was butchered by the infamous Catiline, according to some accounts, at the tomb of Catulus. His tongue, nose, and ears were cut off, and his eyes dug out, and his head was then carried in triumph through the City. 3 To an insatiate tomb) ver. 176. " Inexpleto busto." " A tomb that would be content with no propitiatory sacrifice." 4 Prasnestine Fortune beheld) ver. 194. By the direction of Sulla, Lu- cretius Ofella laid siege to the town of Praeneste, and, after it was taken, 5000 of the inhabitants were put to the sword, although they had thrown 58 PHARSALI A. [B. n. 194-213. together by the sword a people perishing at a moment by a single death. Then fell the flower of Italy, now the solje youth of Latium, and stained the sheepfolds of wretched Rome 1 . So many youths at the same instant to fall by a hostile death, fall oft has famine, the rage too of the ocean, and -uman wars, and Kings be led over the seas beneath other climes, and shall I alone live in inactivity? Far hence avert, O Gods of heaven, die frantic notion that Rome may fall, in its ruin to affect the Dahans 1 and the Getans, while I am free from care. As grief itself bids the parent bereaved by the death of his sons, to head the long fu- nereal procession to the tomb ; it gives him satisfaction to have thrust his hands amidst the blackening flames, and himself to have held the swarthy torches - in die heaped-up structure of die pile ; I will not be torn away, before, Bx>me, I shall have embraced thee lifeless, and Liberty, thy name, and shall have followed thy unsubstantial shade. So let it be ; let the unappeased Gods receive a full expiatory sacri- fice, of no blood let us defraud die warfare. And would diat it were possible for die Gods of heaven and of Erebus to ex- pose this head of mine condemned to every punishment ! " The hostile troops bore down die devoted Decius :1 ; me 1 To */ect ike Dahans) ver. 296. The Dahae were a great nation of Scythia, who roamed at large in the country to the east of the Caspian (which from them still bears the name of Daghesan), on the banks of the Axus and the Jaxartes. They were famed for their skill as archers on horseback. * To have held the svmrthy torches) ver. 301. He alludes to the custom of the nearest relative of the deceased setting fire to the pile. 3 Bore down the devoted Decius) ver. 308. It is impossible to say to which of the Decii he here refers, as two individuals of the name of P. De- cius Mus, father and son, devoted themselves to death for the Roman cause. The elder was commander jointly with T. Manlius Torquatus in the Latin B. n. 309-328.] PHABSALIA. 63 let two armies assail, me let the barbarian multitude from the Rhine aim at with their darts ; may I, accessible, in the midst, receive from all the lances the wounds of the entire warfare. May this blood redeem the people; by my fate may it be atoned for, whatever the Roman manners have deserved to pay the penalty for. Why should the people ready for the yoke why should those desirous to endure a harsh sway, perish? Myself alone attack with the sword myself who in vain maintain our laws and empty rights ; this throat, this, will provide peace, and an end of their hard- ships for the nations of Hesperia ; after I am gone there is no need of war for him who wishes to reign. Why do we not then follow the standards of the state and Pompey as our leader ? And yet, if Fortune shall favour, it has been well ascertained that he as well promises himself the sway over the whole world. Let him conquer therefore, myself his soldier, that he may not suppose that for himself he has conquered." Thus he spoke, and he applied sharp incentives to his indignation and aroused the warm blood of the youth to too great fondness for civil war. In the meantime, Phoebus dispelling the chilly shades of night, the door, being knocked at, sent forth a sound; and the hallowed Marcia 1 entered in grief, having left the tomb War. Learning from a vision that the general of the one eide and the army of the other, were devoted to the Gods of the dead, he rushed into the thickest of the enemy, wearing the sacrificial dress, and was slain. Zonaras, however, says that he was slain, as a devoted victim, by a Iloman soldier. His son, who commanded the left wing of the Iloman army at the battle of Sentinum against the Gauls, resolved to imitate the example of his father, and dedicating himself and the army of the enemy to the Gods of the dead, he fell a sacrifice for his country. 1 The hallowed Marcia) ver. 328. Marcia was the daughter of L. Mar- cius 1'hilippus, and wag the second wife of Cato. After she had borne him three children, he ceded her to hia friend Hortensius, with the sanction of her father. After the death of Hortensius she returned to Cato, and it was aneeringly remarked that Cato was not a loser, in a pecuniary way, by the transaction. In Dr. Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography, we find the following remarks on this transaction. " Heineccius infers, from the words of Plutarch, that Cato did not, according to the common belief, lend his wife, but that she was divorced from him by the ceremony of sale, and married to Hortensius. Heineccius quotes the case as an instance of a marriage contracted by ' coemptio,' and dissolved by ' remancipatio.' But it does not seem that Cato formally married her again after the death of Hor- tensius, though it appears that she returned to her former relation of wife." 64 PHARSALIA. [B. n. 328-355. of Hortensius l ; once, a virgin, joined in wedlock to a better husband ; afterwards when, the price and the reward of wed- lock, her third progeny was bom, she in her pregnancy was given to fill another home with her offspring, destined to unite two houses by a mother's blood. But after she had enclosed hi the urn the last ashes, hurrying with tearful countenance, tearing her dishevelled hair, and beating her breast with repeated blows, and bearing the ashes of the tomb, not destined to please her husband in other guise, thus in sadness did she speak : " While I had in me the strengthening blood, while strength to endure a mother's pains, Cato, I performed thy com- mands, and pregnant, two husbands did I receive*. My vitals wearied and exhausted by child-bearing I now return, to no other husband to be handed over. Grant the unenjoyed ties of our former union; grant only the empty name of wedlock ; let it be allowed to inscribe on my tomb, ' Marcia, the wife of Cato ; ' nor let it be enquired as doubtful in remote posterity whether I abandoned my first marriage torch, repudiated or only transferred. Thou dost not receive me as a partner hi joyous circumstances : amid thy cares and to share thy griefs, do I come. Allow me to attend the camp. Why shall I be left hi the safety of peace, and Cornelia be near to the civic strife?" These words influenced the hero, and though the times were unsuited for wedlock, Fate now summoning him to the war, still a solitary union pleased him, and nuptials devoid of empty pomp, and the admission of the Gods alone 3 as witnesses of the solemnities. No festive garlands hang from the wreath-bound threshold, and no white fillet 4 1 The tomb of Hortensius) ver. 328. Q. Hortensius was one of the most famous of the Roman Orators, and, for many years, the rival of Cicero. He had the adroitness to escape being enrolled on the lists of either the Marian or the Sullane faction, and died a natural death, B.C. 50, in his sixty -fourth year. He was noted for his luxurious habits, and at his death left 10,000 casks of Chian wine to his heir. At the time when he took Marcia as his wife she was pregnant by Cato, her first husband. 2 Pregnant, two husbands did I receive) ver. 339. In allusion to her pregnancy when married to Hortensius. 8 Admission of the Gods alone) ver. 353. The Deities thus adjured as witnesses would probably be Jupiter, Juno, Venus, Suada, and Diana. 4 No white fillet) ver. 355. " Infulae," or " fillets" of wool, were hung by the bride on the doorposts of the house of the bridegroom. B. II. 355-364.] PHARSALIA. 65 runs along the two doorposts, nor are there the usual torches 1 , nor does the couch stand on high 2 with its ivory steps :i , or variegate its coverings with embroidered gold : and no matron, pressing her forehead with the turreted crown 4 , forbids her, with foot lifted over 5 , to touch the threshold. No saffron-coloured veil 6 lightly to hide the timid blushes of the bride, concealed her downcast features ; the girdle with its gems did not encircle her flowing robes 7 , no necklace her graceful neck 8 ; and no scanty under-tunic 9 , 1 The usual torches) ver. 356. He alludes to the torches which were carried before the bride by boys dressed in the praetexta, when she was conducted to her husband's house. * Couch stand on high) ver. 357. He alludes to the " torus genialis," or marriage bed, which was generally placed in the " atrium," or great room on the ground floor of the Roman houses. 3 With its ivory steps) ver. 357. The bedsteads used by the Romans were, in general, rather high, so that persons were in the habit of entering the bed by means of steps placed beside it, which Varro calls by the name of " scamnum." The bedsteads were sometimes made of metal or of costly wood, or else veneered with tortoise-shell or ivory. We find, from the present passage, that the " scamnum " was similarly ornamented. 4 With the turreted crown) ver. 358. One of the Scholiasts states that a turreted crown was generally worn by the bride during the nuptial cere- monies. s With foot lifted over) ver. 359. When the procession arrived at the house of the bridegroom, the door of which was adorned with garlands and flowers, the bride was carried across the threshold by " pronubi," or men who had been married to but one woman, that she might not strike against it with her foot, which would be an evil omen. See the Casina of Plautus, Act iv. Sc. iv. 1. 1, 2. 9 No saffron-coloured veil) ver. 361. The bridal veil which the bride wore was called " flammeum," and was of a bright yellow colour, which was also the colour of her shoes. 7 Her flowing roles) ver. 362. The bride was dressed in a long white robe with a purple fringe, or adorned with ribands. This dress was called " tunica recta," and was bound round the waist with a girdle or zone. 8 Jfo necklace her graceful neck) ver. 363. Necklaces were much worn in an- cient times by the Indians, Persians, and Egyptians. They were more especially used (as mentioned in the present instance) by the Greek and Roman females as bridal ornaments. The "monile baccatum," or " bead necklice," was the most common, being made of berries, glass, or other materials strung toge- ther, with thread, silk, wire, or hooks of gold. Emeralds were used for a similar purpose, and amber was much employed. Thus Ovid says in the second Book of the Metamorphoses, 1. 366, that the amber distilled from the trees, into which the sisters of Phaeton were changed, was sent to be worn by the Latian matrons. 9 No scanty under-tunic) ver. 364. The " supparus," or " supparum," is F 66 THABSALIA. [u. n. 364-383. clinging to the lower part of the shoulders, enveloped her bared arms. Even so, just as she was, she preserved the mournful ensign* of the garb of woe, and in the way in which hor sons, in the same her husband, did she embrace. Covered by the funereal wool the purple was concealed. None of the wonted jests 1 acted their merry part, nor after the Sabine usage '' did the sorrowing husband receive the festive taunts. No pledges of the house 3 , no relations met to- gether. They were united in silence, and contented with the auspices of Brutus. Nor did Cato remove the grim long hair from his hallowed face, or admit of joyousness on his rigid features. Since first he had beheld the deadly arms upraised, he had allowed the unshorn white hair to descend upon his rugged brow and the woeful beard to grow upon his cheeks. Because, forsooth, he had leisure for one thing alone free from factions and from hate to weep for mankind. Nor were the ties of their former connexion renewed ; his con- tinence 4 withheld from even lawful love. These were the manners, this was the unswerving rule of the rigid Cato ; to observe moderation, and to adhere to his end ; to follow the guidance of nature, and to lay down his life for his country; and not "to believe himself born for himself, but for the said by Fcstus to have been made of linen, and to have been the same as the " sulmcula," or under tunic ; but Varro says that it was an outer gar- ment, and contrasts it with the " subucula," which he derives from " subter," "under,' while "supparus" he derives from "supra," "over." Judging from the present passage, it appears to have been an outer garment, which left the arms and shoulders bare. It was, perhaps, peculiar to the nuptial cere- mony. 1 None of (he wonted jests) ver. 368. He alludes to the Fescennine verses which, full of broad jests and railleries, were sung at the door of the bridal apartment, by girls, when the other persons had left. These verses were also called epithalamia. Ovid relates a curious story, by way of accounting for the origin of this custom. See the Fasti, B. iii. 1. 675, (t .<'/. * Nor after the Sabine usage) ver. 369. The custom of singing these songs, and of joking the bridegroom on this occasion, was laid to have been derived from the Sabines. * No pledges of the home) ver. 370. "Pignora," "pledges," or "ties," meaning relations or children. 4 His continence withheld) ver. 378. Shortly after his reunion with Marcia Cato fled from Koine, but left her there to protect his property and interests. B. n. 383-405.] PHARSALIA. 67 whole world. To subdue hunger was a banquet to him, and to keep away by a mere roof the winter's cold, an opulent abode ; to wrap a shaggy toga around his limbs, after the manner of the Koman follower of Quirinus 1 , was a costly robe ; to him, too, the especial object of sexual desire was offspring ; he was the City's husband 2 , and the City's sire ; a worshipper of justice, an observer of strict honor ; he was a good man for the common weal: and upon none of Gate's deeds did pleasure, born but for herself, make inroad and exact her share. In the mean tune, Magnus departing with the hastening throng, took possession of the Campanian walls of the Dar- danian colonist 3 . This seat of war was to his mind, for him, exerting all his might, thence to spread abroad his scattered party to meet the foe, where with its shady hills Apennine raises on high the mid part of Italy, than which no land swells with its peaks to a loftier height, or approaches more nigh to Olympus. The mountain hi the midst ex- tends itself between the two waters of the Lower and the Upper sea 4 ; and on the one side does Pisa, that, with its shallows, breaks the Etrurian waves, on the other, Ancona, opposed to the Dalmatian billows, bound the mountain ridges. From vast sources does it produce boundless streams, and extend its rivers along the space that separates the two seas. On the left side descend both the swift Metaurus 5 , 1 Follower of Quirinus) ver. 386. "Quiritis" here means one of the lower classes of the people in the city which had been founded by Quirinus or Romulus, and not, as some have supposed, one of the ancient Romans in contradistinction to those of the more modern Rome. 3 He -was the City's husband) ver. 388. The whole state received from him the affections of a father and a husband. 3 Campanian -walls of the Dardanian colonist) ver. 393. Capua, the capital of Campania, was said to have been founded by Capys, one of the Trojans who accompanied JJneas from Troy. See Virgil's JEneid, B. z. 1. 145. 4 The Lower and the Upper sea) ver. 400. The Adriatic, or the Lower, and the Etrurian, or the Higher, Sea. He is speaking of that part of Italy where Pisa is on the coast on the Etrurian side, and Ancona, which is somewhat more southerly, on the Adriatic. Ancona is opposite the coast of Dalmatia, whence the expression " obnoxia fluctibus Dalmaticis." * The swift Metaurus) ver. 405. This was the name of two rivers of Italy, one of which was a small river of Umbria, now called the Metaro, flowing into the Adriatic Sea, and rendered memorable by the defeat and F 2 68 PHARSALIA. [B. n. 406-422. and the rapid Crustumium 1 , and the Sapis 2 uniting with the Isaurus ', and the Sena 4 , the Aufidus*, too, that beats the Adriatic waves ; and, (into a river more vast than which no region dissolves itself,) the Eridanus rolls down disman- tled forests into the main, and by its waters empties Hesperia of streams. The story is, that this river 7 was the first to shade its banks with a poplar crown ; and that, when Phaeton, his bounds overstepped, bringing headlong down- wards the light of day, set the skies on fire with his blazing reins, the streams throughout the scorched earth being swept away, this one had waves equal to quenching the fires of Phoebus. Not less is it than the Nile, if the Nile did not lie stagnant far and wide over the flat surface of level Egypt, the Libyan sands. Nor less is it than the Ister, except that while the Ister flows through the globe, it receives streams that might have fallen as rivers into any seas what- ever, and not by itself is discharged into the Scythian waves. The waters that seek the right-hand declivities of the mountain range form the Tiber, and the Kutuba 8 in its death of Hasdrubal, the brother of Hannibal, on its banks, B.C. 207. The second, now called the Marro, was .1 stream on the east coast of Bruttium. The " laevum latus," or " left side," here mentioned, is the Adriatic. 1 Rapid Crustumium) ver. 406. The Crustumium was a river falling into the Adriatic, near the town of Aiiimnum. * And the Sapis) ver. 406. The Sapis, now called the Savio, was a small river of Gallia Cisalpina, rising in the Apennines, and flowing into the Adriatic, south of Ravenna. 3 With, the Isaurus) ver. 406. This river was also called the Fisaurus, and, flowing through Umbria, falls into the Adriatic. It is now called La Foglia. 4 And the Send) ver. 407. The Sena was a small river of Umbria, which flowed past the town of Senogallia, founded by the Galli Senones. It it now called La Nevola. 4 The A ufidus) ver. 407. The Aufidus, now called the Ofanto, was the principal river of Apulia. It rose in the territory of the Hirpini in Samnium, flowing at first with a rapid current, and then more slowly into the Adriatic. ' The Eridanus rolls down) ver. 409. Eridanus, also called the Padus, now the Po, flows into the Adriatic near the city of Ravenna. 7 The story is, that this river) ver. 410. He refers to the tradition which stated that, when Phaeton was smitten by the thunderbolts of Jupiter, he fell into the river Eridanus or Padus, and his sisters Phaethusa, Lampetie, and Phoebe, the Naiads of Italy, were changed into poplars on its banks. See the story in the Metamorphoses of Ovid, B. ii. 1. 325, el seq. 8 And the Rutuba) ver. 422. The Rutuba, now the Roya, is a small river on the coaat of Liguria, which flows between very high banks. B. n. 422-430.] PHARSALIA 69 cavities. Thence downward glide both the swift Vulturnus ', and the Sarnus 2 , the producer of night-like mists, and the Liris :i impelled by the Vestine waters 4 through the realms of shady Marica 5 , and the Siler , skimming along the cultivated fields of Salernum 7 ; the Macra 8 , too, which in its shallows admits of no barks, runs into the sea of neighbouring Luna. Where, extending still beyond, it rises with its ridges elevated in the air, it beholds the Gallic fields, and looks down upon the declining Alps. Then, fer- tile for the Umbrians 9 and the Marsians 10 , and subdued by 1 The swift Vultiimus) ver. 423. The Vulturnus, now called Volturno, was the chief river of Campania, rising in the Apennines in Samnium, and falling into the Etrurian sea. 2 And Ike Sarnus) ver. 424. The Sarnus, now called Sarno, is a river of Campania, flowing by Nuceria, and falling into the sea at Puteoli near Pompeii. Being in the vicinity of Mount Vesuvius, its mephitic va- pours here alluded to were probably owing to the action of that volcano. 3 And the Liris) ver. 424. The Liris, more anciently called the Clanis, and now the Garigliano, is one of the principal rivers of Central Italy, rising in the Apennines and flowing into the bay of Caieta near Minturnae, at the boundary between Latium and Campania. Horace speaks of the " quieta aqua," " the placid waters " of the Liris. 4 Impelled by the Vestine waters) ver. 425. The Vestini were a Sabellian race of Central Italy, lying between the Apennines, and the Adriatic Sea. 5 Of shady Marica) ver. 424. Marica was a nymph of Latium, who was worshipped at Minturnse, and had a sacred grove on the banks of the river Liris. Virgil mentions her as being the mother of Latinus by Faunus. Servius remarks, that some considered her identical with Aphro- dite, and others with Circe. * And the Siler) ver. 426. The Siler, now called the Silaro, was a river of lower Italy, forming the boundary between Lucania and Campania. Rising in the Apennines it falls into the Etrurian Sea, north of Paestum. 7 Fields of Salernum) ver. 425. Salernum, now called Salerno, was an ancient town of Campania, on the bay of Paestum. It was made a Roman colony B.C. 194, but attained a greater prosperity in the middle ages, when a College of Health was established there. 8 The Macra) ver. 426. The Macra, now called the Magra, was a small river rising in the Apennines, and discharging itself into the Ligurian Sea, near Luna. As here stated by the Poet, it was unnavigable for ships. 9 Fertile for tlie Umbrians) ver. 430. He speaks of a former time, when, before the rise of Rome, Italy was inhabited by the Umbri, the Marsi, and the Sabines. The Umbri were one of the most ancient nations of Italy, and at the same time very powerful ; their country, which was afterwards that called Etruria, extending across the peninsula from the Adriatic to the Etrurian Sea. The Umbrians were subdued by the Romans B.C. 307. 10 And the Marsians) ver. 430. The Marsi were a brave and warlike people of Central Italy, in the high lands surrounded by the Apennines, near TO PHARSALIA. f> n. 430-440. the Sabine ploughshare ', embracing with its pine-clad rocks all the native races of Latium, it deserts not Hesperia before it is cut short by the waves of Scylla 2 , and extends its rocks to the Lacinian temples 11 ; longer than Italy, until 4 the sea pressing on cut short its boundaries, and the ocean forced back the land. But after the earth was separated by the two seas, the extremity of the range ended in Sicilian Pelorus \ Caesar, furious for war, is not pleased at 6 having a way Lake Fucinus. Marruvium was their chief town. Being probably acquainted with the medicinal qualities of many plants, they acquired the reputation among their Italian neighbours of being magicians, and were said to have descended from Circe, the enchantress. 1 By the Sabine ploughshare) ver. 430. The Sabini were an ancient and powerful race in Central Italy, situate at the foot of the Apennines, and extending to the confines of Lucania and Apulia. The term " Sabellas," at in the present instance, is often applied to the Sabines, though properly this race was divided into three classes, the Sabini, the Sabelli, and the Sam- nites. The Marsi were, properly speaking, a tribe of the Sabelli. 4 Waves of Scylla) ver. 433. Scylla was a dangerous whirlpool lying between the coasts of Italy and Sicily. * To the Lacinian temples) ver. 434. Lacinium, or Lacinia, was a Pro- montory on the eastern coast of Bruttium, a few miles south of Croton, and forming the western boundary of the Tarentine Gulf. It had a celebrated Temple of Juno, who was worshipped here under the surname of Lacinia. The Temple was situate on the Promontory, and the remains of it are still extant. The spot is said, by one of the Scholiasts, to have taken iU name from Lacinius, a robber, who was slain there by Hercules. 4 Longer than Italy, until) ver. 435. He means that the Apennines were nee longer in extent than the present Italy, at the time when Sicily was not broken off from Italy by the intervening sea, and these mountains ran through it as far as Pelorus. * Sicilian Pelonu) ver. 438. Pelorus was a Promontory, or mountain, forming the north-east angle of Sicily. The common story was, that it received its name from the pilot of Hannibal, who was slain and buried there ; but, unfortunately for the truth of the story, it is called by this name by Thucydides long before the time of Hannibal. " /* not pleased at) ver. 439. Owing to the peculiar manner in which Lucan makes use of the conjunctions copulative and negative, this passage may be translated in two different ways, of exactly opposite meaning : " Caesar, most anxious for civil war, is not pleased at making his way with- out effusion of blood, and is not pleased at marching through the Italian territories free from an enemy, and at not being able to sally forth against the fields in hostile form." This is the translation suggested by Sulpitius, Ascensius, and Farnabius, and approved of by Weise, Grotius, &c. Cortius, however, would render it, " Caesar, most anxious for civil war, is pleased at Dot making his way, except with' effusion of blood, and at not marching B. ii. 440-459.] PHAESALIA. 71 otherwise than by the shedding of blood, and that he cannot lay waste the limits of Hesperia now free from an enemy, and rush down upon the deserted fields, and he would not lose the advantage of his march 1 , and would be leading on force hand to hand with force. It delights him not so much to enter the opening gates, as to have broken them down ; nor so much for the fields to be ploughed by the submitting husbandman, as if the land were laid waste with fire and sword. By paths permitted he is reluctant to pro- ceed, and to appear to be a fellow-citizen. Then the cities of Latium, hi doubt, and wavering with varying party feel- ings, although about to yield at the first alarm of the approaching warfare, still with stout ramparts strengthen their walls, and surround them on every side with the deep trench. Round masses of stone, too, and darts which may be hurled from above against the foe, they provide upon the lofty towers of the walls. The multitude is more favourable to Magnus, and attach- ment struggles with threatening terror ; just as when the south wind, with his dread-sounding blasts, possesses the sea, him do all the billows follow : if again the earth 2 , loosened by the stroke of the JSolian trident, sends forth the eastern gales over the swelling waves, although swept by this fresh one, the billows still retain the effects of the former wind, and while the heavens give way to the eastern through the Italian territories free from an enemy, and at being able to sally forth tigainst the fields in hostile form," The first is probably the correct translation, for Weise very justly asks, where were the persons to defend the fields'? It is notorious, on the other hand, that the only partizans of Pompey and the Senate were shut up in the fortified towns of Italy. Besides, the first mode of translation would tend to blacken the character of Caesar, as making him(though contrary to the real fact), gratuitously a lover of bloodshed, which is quite consistent with the design of Lucan throughout the work. This is the more clear, as we find that the march of Caesar through the boundaries of Italy was unimpeded, for Pompey had withdrawn his forces to the south, and awaited him in Campania. 1 Would not lose the advantage of his march) ver. 442. "Non perdat iter." " Would not wish to lose the benefit of a march, as though through an enemy's country, and thereupon gaining the opportunity of gathering spoil as he proceeds." * If again the earth) ver. 456. He probably means the land of Strongyle, now Stromboli, one of the Liparian or jEolian Islands, off the coast of Italy, where /Kolus, the God of the Winds, was said to have his abode. See the JEneid of Virgil, B. i. 1. 51, et seq. 72 PHARSALIA. [B. n. 453-467. winds sweeping along the clouds, the waves still obey the southern gales. But terror was able readily to change their feelings, and fortune swayed their wavering attachment. The Etrurian race was left defenceless by the flight of frightened Libo ', and now, Thermus repulsed a , Umbria lost the disposal of itself. Nor with his father's auspices did Sulla wage the civic warfare :1 , turning his back, on hearing the name of Caesar. Varus, when 4 the approach- ing troops attacked Auximum 5 , rushing through the 1 Flight of frightened Lilo) ver. 462. Scribonius Libo was the father-in- law of Sextus Pompeius, the son of Pompey the Great He was entrusted with the command of Etruria, but on the rapid approach of Caesar, forsook his charge and hastened to join the Consuls in Campania. Augustus after- wards married his sister, Scribonia, and he was Consul with M. Antony in the year B.C. 34. It is not known at what time he died. 2 Now, Thermus repulsed) ver. 463. Caesar says, in his History of the Civil War, B. i. ch. 12: "In the meantime, being informed that Thermus, the Praetor, was in possession of Iguvium [an important city of Umbria], with five cohorts, and was fortifying the town, but that the feelings of all the in- habitants were very well inclined towards himself, be detached Curio, with three cohorts, which he had at Ariminum and Pisaurus. Upon notice of his approach, Thermus, distrusting the affections of the townsmen, drew his cohorts out of it, and made his escape ; his soldiers deserted him on the road, and returned home." This was Q. Minutius Thermus, formerly Pro- praetor in Asia. After the death of Pompey, he followed the fortunes of his son Sextus, but finally deserted him, B.C. 35, and went over to M. Antony. 3 Did Sulla wage the civic warfare) ver. 465. This was Faustus Cornelius Sulla, a son of the Dictator, by his fourth wife, Caecilia Metella. He was the son-in-law of Pompey, and, joining his party, crossed over into Greece, on the approach of Caesar. Being taken prisoner by Caesar after the battle of Thapsus, he was murdered in a tumult of the soldiers, in the victor's camp. 4 Varus, when) ver. 46ti. This was P. Attius Varus, a zealoas partizan of Pompey in the Civil War. When Pompey left Italy, he crossed over to Africa, which, with the assistance of Juba, he subdued for the Pompeian party. He afterwards burnt several of Caesar's ships at Adrumetum. Join- ing Cneius Pompeius in Spain, he was defeated in a naval battle by C. Didius. He fell at the battle of Munda, and his head, with that of Labienus, was carried to Caesar. * Attacked Auximum) ver. 466. Auximum was a large town of Picenum, and a Roman colony. Caesar thus relates the present circumstance in his Civil War, B. i. c. 13 : "On news of Caesar's approach, the senate of Auxi- mum went in a body to Attius Varus, and told him that it was not a subject for them to determine upon, yet neither they nor the rest of the freemen were willing that Caius Caesar, a general who had merited so well of the state, after performing such great achievements, should be excluded from their town and walls ; wherefore he ought to pay some regard to the opinion of B. ii. 467-477.] PHAKSALIA. 73 walls J on the opposite side, his rear neglected, flies where are the woods, where are the rocks. Lentulus is driven 2 from the citadel of Asculum 3 . The victor presses upon them re- treating, and draws over the troops ; and alone out of a force so great the commander escapes, and standards that escort no cohorts 4 . Thou, too, Scipio, dost forsake the deserted citadel of Nuceria 3 , entrusted to thy charge; although a most hardy youthful band is posted in this camp, some time before withdrawn from Ceesar's arms by reason of the Parthian panic ; with which Magnus reinstated the Gallic losses, and, whilst he himself summoned them to the war- fare, gave to his father-in-law the loan of Eoman blood. posterity, and his own danger. Alarmed at this declaration, Attius Varus drew out of the town the garrison he had placed there, and fled. A few of Caesar's front rank having pursued him, obliged him to halt, and when the battle began, Varus was deserted by his troops, some of whom dispersed to their homes, and the rest came over to Caesar." 1 Rushing through the walls} ver. 467. By the mention of his mode of escape, it is not improbable that Lucan has confounded Attius Varus with C. Attius the Pelignian, who, on the approach of Caesar, leaped from the walls of Sulmo with the intention of-escaping. 2 Lentulus is driven) ver. 469. This was P. Cornelius Lentulus Spinther, the Consul, who afterwards joined Pompey in Greece, and fled with him to the isle of Rhodes. His subsequent fate is not known. 3 Citadel of Asculum) ver. 469. This was Asculum, a town of Picenum ; it was a Roman municipium. There was another town in Apulia of the same name. Caesar thus mentions this circumstance in his Civil War, B. i. c. 15: " In the meantime, the twelfth legion came to join Caesar; with these two he marched to Asculum, the chief town of Picenum. Lentulus Spinther occupied that town with ten cohorts ; but on being informed of Csesar's approach, he fled from the town, and in attempting to bring off his cohorts with him, was deserted by a great part of his men." 4 That escort no cohorts) ver. 471. This was not the case, as some of his men still remained with him, whom he added shortly afterwards to the forces of Vibullius Rufus, the Pompeian partizan. 8 The citadel of Nuceria) ver. 473. Nuceria, sometimes called " Luceria," was a town of Apulia, on the borders of Samnium. It was situate on a steep hill, and had a Temple of Minerva. This was now held by L. Scipio, the father-in-law of Pompey. In reference to the preceding passage, Mar- cellus, for the purpose probably of weakening Ccesar, had prevailed on the Senate to make a decree that Csesar should give up one legion and Pompey another, which they pretended to be about to send to the Parthian war. In obedience to this decree, Caesar delivered to Bibulus one legion as his own, and another which had formerly been raised and lent to him by Pompey, to supply the great loss which he had sustained by the defeat of his legates, Titurius and Cotta. These legions were now with Scipio in the town of Nuceria. 74 PHABSALIA. [B. n. 478-499. But thee, valiant Domitius 1 , the abodes of Corfinium 2 , surrounded by strong walls, receive ; those recruits, which once were placed around the polluted Milo, obey thy trumpet's call. When he beheld afar an immense cloud arising on the plain, and the ranks shining with weapons glittering in the glistening sun, " Run down, my comrades," said he, " to the banks of the river, and sink the bridge under water ; and thou, stream, now come forth, in all thy strength, from thy mountain sources, and collect together all the waters, that with thy foaming tide, thou mayst, the structure broken, bear off the alder timbers. At this line let the war come to a stand ; upon these banks let the foe at his leisure take his ease. Put a check upon the headlong leader ; Caesar first coming to a stop at this spot shall be to us a victory." No more having said, he leads down from the walls his active band, in vain. For when first, from the plains, the river set at liberty 3 , Caesar beheld his passage being cut off, excited by boiling indignation, lie said, "Is it not enough to have sought a lurking-place for your cowardice within walls? Do you close up the plains, ye cowards, and attempt to keep me hi check with streams? Not, if Ganges with his swelling tide were to separate me, should Ccesar now come to a stand at any river, after the waters of Rubicon. Hasten on, ye squadrons of horse ; onward, too, ye foot ; 1 Thee, valiant Domitius) ver. 479. L. Domitius Ahenobarbus was one of the most active opponents of Pompey and Caesar on their coalition, and fol- lowed the opinions of Cato, whose sister Forcia he had married. He after- ward* became more closely allied with Fompey. Being abandoned by Pompey, he was obliged by his soldiers to surrender Corfinium ; on which, offended at the remissness of his leader, he retired to Massilia, which he defended against Caesar. He afterwards joined Pompey in Thessaly, and was slain at the battle of Pharsalia, where he commanded the left wing. Cicero asserts in his Second Philippic, that he fell by the hand of M. Antony. 3 The abodes of Corfinium) ver. 478. Corfinium was the chief town of the Peligni in Samnium : it is now called Popolo. Ahenobarbus had gar- risoned it with twenty cohorts, among which were those soldiers who had enclosed the Forum when Milo was arraigned for the death of Clodius. He sent five cohorts to break down the bridge of the river, which was three miles from the town, but these, meeting the advance-guard of Caesar's army, were repulsed. See the Civil War of Caesar, B. L c. 16. 3 The river set at liberty) rer. 492. " Amne solute." " The river being about to be let loose," or " set free," as it were, by reason of the bridge being in the act of being broken down. B. n. 499-512.] PHARSALIA. 75 ascend the bridge about to fall ! " When this had been said, the light horsemen gave full rein along the plain, and their stalwart arms hurled the darts to the opposite bank, much like a shower thickly falling. Caesar enters upon 1 the stream left vacant, its guard being put to flight, and is brought safe to the citadel of the enemy. And now he was erecting towers to discharge vast masses, and the mantelet 2 had moved on beneath the midst of the walls ; when lo ! a crime in warfare 3 , the gates being opened, the troops dragged forth their captive chief, and before the feet of his haughty fellow-citizen he stood. Still, his features contemptuously scowling, with undaunted neck did his high-born courage demand the sword. Csesar was aware both that punishment was wished for and that pardon was dreaded 4 . " Live on," said he 5 , " although thou art unwill- 1 Caesar enters upon) ver. 503. It is hard to say whether "ingreditur" here means that he crossed the river by the bridge, or that, disdaining the bridge, he forded it with his troops. Caesar, however, in the Civil War, B. i. c. 16, speaks of marching his legions " over," so that a passage by the bridge is probably meant. 2 And the mantelet) ver. 506. The " vinese," which were similar to what are called " mantelets " in modern warfare, were roofs or sheds, under which the besiegers protected themselves from the darts, stones, and fires hurled from the walls of the besieged town on the assailants. The roof and sides were formed of wicker-work, while planks, covered with wet cloth or raw hides, also supported the sides. They were on light frames, and were either carried or wheeled by the soldiers to the walls. They received their name from their resemblance to a leafy bower, formed by the branches of vines. 3 A crime in warfare) ver. 507. According to Caesar (Civil War, B. i. C. 19, 20), the facts were these : Domitius, having sent to Pompey for aid, received an answer that Pompey would not encounter the risk of relieving him, as he had retreated to Corfinium without his own advice or consent, and that if any opportunity should offer, he, Domitius, was to come to Pompey with his whole force. On this, Domitius determined on escaping from the town, imparting his design to a few of his friends. His intentions becoming suspected, his troops mutinied, and, seizing him, sent dispatches to Cassar, to say that they were ready to deliver the town and Domitius into his hands. * That pardon was dreaded) ver. 511. According to some accounts, Domi- tius had endeavoured to poison himself on being about to fall in the hands of Caesar, but his physician only gave him a sleeping potion. 8 Live on, said he) ver. 512. Caesar says that Lentulus Spinther inter- ceded with him for the lives of Domitius and the other nobles taken at Cor- tinium, on which the conqueror replied that he had not left his Province to injure any one, but to protect himself against the malice of his enemies, and to restore the Tribunes of the people, who had been expelled from the City. He not only dismissed Domitius, but even returned him sixty sestertia, 76 PHARSALIA. [B. n. 512-640. ing ; and by my bounty behold the light of day. To the conquered faction now let there be bright hopes, and the example of myself; even if it pleases thee try arms once more ; and nothing for this pardon do I stipulate, if thou shalt be overcome." He thus speaks, and orders the chains to be loosened on his tightened hands. Alas! even his murder perpetrated, how much more becomingly might Fortune have spared a Roman's shame ; to whom it is the very greatest of punish- ments, to be pardoned because he has followed the camp of his country and Magnus for his leader, and the whole of the Senate. He, undismayed, checks his heavy wrath, and to himself he says, " And wilt thou repair, degenerate man, to Rome, and the retreats of peace? Dost thou not prepare to go into the midst of the frenzy of war, destined soon to die ? Rush on assured, and burst asunder all delay to losing thy life, and thus be rid of Caesar's gift." In the meantime, not aware of the chieftain being taken, Magnus was preparing arms, that, with strength inter- mingled, he might recruit his party. And now, on the ensuing day, about to order the trumpet to sound, and thinking that the resentment of the soldiers about to move might be ascertained, with a voice moving veneration he addressed the silent cohorts : "0 avengers of crimes, and who have followed the preferable standards, O truly Roman band, to whom the Senate has given arms in no private cause ', in your aspirations demand the fight. With ruthless ravages the fields of Hesperia glow ; along the icy Alps is poured forth the Gallic rage '-' ; already has blood touched the polluted swords of Caesar. Well have the Gods provided, that we were the first to endure the casualties of war On their side let the criminality commence. "Now, e'en now, myself the umpire, let Rome seek punishment and vengeance. Nor indeed is it right for these to be called real battles, but j atJier the wrath of an though he knew that it was a sum originally provided to pay the adherents of Pompey. See the Civil War, B. i. c. 22, 23. 1 In no private cause) ver. 533. " Non privata," " in no private cause," lie having been enjoined to undertake the war against Caesar on behalf of the state. 1 The Gallic rage) yer. 535. In allusion to the Gallic forces who accom- panied Caesar. B. n. 540-548.] PHARSALIA. 77 avenging country. No more is this a war than when Catiline prepared x the torches to blaze amid the houses, and Lentulus the partner in his fury, and the frantic band of Cethegus, with his naked shoulders ~. O frenzy of the leader greatly to be pitied ! When, Caesar, the Fates could wish to enrol thee among the Camilli 3 and the great Me- telli 4 , among the Cinnse 5 and the Marii dost thou come. Assuredly thou shalt be laid prostrate, as by Catulus Le- pidus fell 6 , and Carbo, who, submitting 7 to my axe, is buried 1 When Catiline prepared) ver. 541. He alludes to the intended rebel- lion of L. Sergins Catilina, when, in conjunction with P. Cornelius Lentulus Sura, who had lost his seat in the Senate, and other conspirators, he had destined the City of Rome to the flames. Information of the conspiracy was given to Cicero, who took instant measures to quell it ; on which, Catiline and others left the City, and, raising an army, waged open war against the state. He was defeated by M. Petreius, and was slain in battle fighting with desperate courage. 2 Cethegus, with his naked shoulders) ver. 543. He alludes to an ancient fashion which seems to have prevailed among the Cethegi, of wearing the arms bare. Horace, in his Art of Poetry, 1. 50, refers to the same custom. The person here mentioned was C. Cornelius Cethegus, one of the most aban- doned of the associates of Catiline. It was to have been his part to murder the leading Senators. He was, however, arrested, and put to death, the evi- dence against him being the swords and daggers which he had collected in his house. a Among the Camilli) ver. 544. He, no doubt, though using the plural number, refers more especially to M. Furius Camillus, the patriotic Dictator, and the deliverer of Rome from Gallic bondage. * And the great Metelli) ver. 545. He probably alludes in particular to L. Caecilius Metellus, who, when Consul, successfully opposed the Carthagi- nians in the first Punic war. When high priest, he rescued the Palladium from the Temple of Vesta when on fire, but lost his sight in consequence ; he was therefore allowed the privilege, previously granted to no one, of riding to the Senate-house in a chariot, and was rewarded with a statue in the Capitol. * Among the Cinnce) ver. 546. He alludes to L. Cornelius Cinna, the partizan of Marius, who endeavoured to recall Marius to Rome when in ba- nishment in Africa. He at length succeeded in regaining power, and became Consul jointly with Marius, when he distinguished himself by his cruelty. He was finally slain by his own troops when marching against Sulla. 6 By Catulus Lepidus fell) ver. 547. M. ^iniilius Lepidus, the father of the Triumvir, being declared by the Senate an enemy to the state, collected an army in Etruria, and marched against Rome. Here he was defeated in the Campus Martius by Pompey and Catulus, and fled with the remainder of his troops to Sardinia, where he was again repulsed, and is supposed to have died of grief. 7 Carbo, who, submitting) ver. 548. Cn. Papirius Carbo was one of the leaders 78 PHAKSALIA. [B. n. 548-561. in a Sicilian sepulchre, Sertorius, too 1 , who, an exixe, aroused the fierce Iberians. And yet, if there is any belief in me, I grudge, Csesar, to add thee as well to these, and that Rome has opposed my hands to thee in thy madness. " Would that Crassus had returned safe after the battles of the Parthians, and victorious from the regions of Scythia, that thou mightst fall by a like cause to that by which the foeman Spartacus fell-. If the Gods of heaven have ordained that thou as well shalt be added to my titles of triumph, mighty is my right arm at hurling the javelin ; this glowing blood has again waxed warm around my heart; thou shalt learn, that not all who could submit to peace are cowards in war. Although he styles me enfeebled and worn out, let not my age alarm you. In this camp let the chief be more aged :< , so long as the soldier is more aged in that. of the Marian faction. He conducted the war in Cisalpine Gaul and Spain against the generals of Sulla, and with Norbanus was finally defeated near Faventia, in Italy, by Metellns. He fled first to Africa and thence to Sicily. Going thence to the isle of Cossyra, near Malta, he was taken prisoner by the emissaries of Pompey. He was brought in chains to Pompey at Lily- bseum, in Sicily, who, after rebuking him, had his head struck off, which he gent to Sulla. 1 Sertorius, too) ver. 549. Q. Sertorins, one of the most gallant of the Romans, though fully sensible of the faults of Marins, his old com- mander, espoused his cause against the aristocratic party. Though he com- manded one of the four armies which besieged Rome under Marius and Ginna, he was entirely averse to the bloodshed which ensued. Long after the death of Marius he asserted his own independence in Spain, and for many years kept the forces of Pompey and Metellus at bay, and destroyed a great portion of their troops. He was assassinated, B.C. 72, by Perperna and some others of his officers, who had long been jealous of him. Regardless of his merits, Lucan unjustly quotes him as an instance of the prowess of Pompey having dealt retribution against rebellion. * The foeman Spartacut felt) ver. 554. Spartacus was a Thracian by birth, and originally a shepherd, then a soldier, and afterwards a leader of banditti. Being taken prisoner, he was sold to a trainer of gladiators. Regaining his freedom, he headed his fellow slaves, and defeated several of the Roman armies. After a successful career, M. Licinius Crassus, the Roman Praetor, was appointed to the command of the war against him, and, after gaining several advantages, defeated him at the river Silarus in a decisive battle, in which Spartacus was skin. 3 Let the chief be more aged) ver. 561. Alluding to his being the senior of Caesar, while Caesar had the veterans in his camp, and he himself a larger number of young recruits. B. n. 562-586.] PHARSALIA. 7* To whatever height a free people could elevate a citizen, thither have I ascended, and nothing have I left above me hut the sovereignty. No private station does he desire, whoever in the Boman City attempts to be higher than Pompey. Here on our side either Consul is, here on our side are the ranks of our nobles to take their stand. Shall Csesar be the conqueror of the Senate ? Not to that degree, O Fortune ! dost thou drag onward all things in thy blind career and feel ashamed at nothing. " Does Gaul, rebellious now for many a year 1 , and an age spent in labours, impart courage ? Is it, because he fled from the cold waves 2 of the Ehine, and, calling the shallows 3 of a fluctuating sea the ocean, he showed his frightened back to the Britons he had sought out ? Or do . vain menaces swell, because the rumour of his frenzy has driven the City in arms from its paternal abodes ? Alas ! madman, they fly not from thee ; all are following me ! who, when I raised my standards gleaming over the whole ocean, before Cynthia had twice filled her completed orb, the pirate abandoned every ford of the sea, and asked for a home* in a narrow allotment of land. I too, more fortunate than Sulla 5 , pursued to the death, the monarch hitherto unsub- dued 6 and who stayed the destinies of Eome, flying in exile through the retreats of Scythian Pontus. " No portion of the world is unconnected with me, but the whole earth is occupied by my trophies, under whatever sun it lies. Hence do the Arctic regions own me as a victor at the cold waves of Phasis 7 ; a meridian clime is known to 1 For many a year) ver. 568, 69. " Multis lustris," literally " for many ' lustra,' " or periods of four or five years. 2 Fled from the cold -waves) ver. 570. He alludes to the return of Caesar from Germany into Gaul, and for the sake of a rhetorical artifice, pretends to call it a flight. 3 Calling the shallows) ver. 571. See B. i. 1. 410. 4 And asked for a home) ver. 579. Alluding to his conquest of the Cilician pirates and their subsequent settlements. * More fortunate than Sulla) ver. 512. This is said antithetically, and the words " although he was called fortunate (felix)," must be supposed to be supplied. Sulla had previously gained some victories over Mithridates. * The monarch hitherto unsubdued) ver. 581. In allusion to his victories over Mithridates. 7 The cold traves of Phasis) ver. 585. Phasis, now the Faz or Rioni, was a famous river of Colchis. In ancient times it was crossed by 120 80 PHARSALIA. [B. n. 686-596. me in hot Egypt 1 , and in Syeiie 2 , which on no side diverts its shades. The west obeys my laws, and the Hesperian Bsetis', that beyond all rivers dashes into the retreating Tethys. The subdued Arab 4 has known me ; me the He- niochi, fierce in war s , and the Colchians, famed for the fleece borne away. My standards do the Cappadocians dread, and Judaea, devoted to the rites of an unknown God , and the luxurious Sophene 7 . The Armenians, and the fierce Cili- cians, and the Taurians 8 have I subdued. What war but a civil one to my father-in-law have I left ? " His partizans followed the words of the chieftain with no bridges, and had many towns on its banks. When conquered by Pompey, Hithridates took refuge in the wild and inaccessible regions beyond the Phasis, whither Pompey found himself unable to pursue him. 1 Known to me in hot Egypt) ver. 587. He had been sent by the Roman Senate to Egypt to be the guardian of Ptolemy, the youthful king of that ' country. * And in Syene) ver. 587. Syene was a city of Upper Egypt, on the eastern bank of the Nile, just below the first Cataract, and was considered the southern frontier city of Egypt against Ethiopia. It was an important point in the geography and astronomy of the ancients, as appears from the expression used in the present instance. It lay just under the tropic of Cancer, and was therefore chosen as the place through which they drew their chief parallel of latitude. The sun was vertical to Syene at the time of the summer solstice, and a well was shown there where the face of the sun was seen at noon at that time. * The Hesperian Badis) ver. 589. The Baetis, now the Guadalquivir, a river in the south of Spain, was also called Tartessus and Certis. It falls into the Atlantic to the north of Gades, now Cadiz. Pompey refers most probably to his campaigns against Sertorius, which, however, certainly did not redound to his credit as a general. * The subdued Arab) ver. 590. In his campaign in Syria and Palestine, where he replaced Hyrcanus in possession of the government in opposition to his brother Aristobulus. 8 The Heniochi, fierce in war) ver. 591. The Heniochi were a people of Colchis famed for their piratical habits. 8 Rites of an unknown God) ver. 593. " Incerti Dei," a God unknown to other nations. It was at this period that Pompey restored Ariobarzanes, king of Cappadocia, to his kingdom. f The luxurious Sophene) ver. 593. Sophene was a district of Greater Armenia, lying between the ranges of Antitaurus and Masius, near the banks of the Euphrates. According to one of the Scholiasts it is here called "mollis " from the heat of the sun in those regions, but more probably it is o termed by reason of the effeminacy of its inhabitants. * And the Tauriant) ver. 594. " Tauros." By this term he probably means the inhabitants of the country adjoining the great mountain range of Taurus in Central Asia. B. ii. 596-622.] PHARSALIA. 81 applause, nor did they demand the speedy trumpet signal for the promised fight. Magnus too himself perceived their fears, and it pleased him that his standards should he borne back, and not to expose to the risks of a combat so decisive troops already vanquished by the fame of Csesar not yet seen by them. Just as among the herds a bull, worsted in the first combat, seeks the recesses of the woods, and, exiled amid the vacant fields, tries his horns upon the opposing trunks ; and returns not to the pastures, but when, his neck reinvigorated, his muscles exercised give him confidence ; then, soon victorious, the bulls accom- panying, he leads the recovered herds, maugre the shepherd, to any pastures he lists ; so, unequal in strength, Magnus surrendered Hesperia, and taking to flight over the Apu- lian fields ascended the secure towers of Brundisium 1 . This is a city once possessed by Dictsean colonists 2 , whom, flying from Crete, the Cecropian ships bore along the seas, with sails that falsely told a that Theseus was con- quered. In this region, the coast of Hesperia, which now contracts itself into a narrow arch, extends into the sea a small tongue, which, with its curving horns, shuts in the waves of the Adriatic. Nor yet would this water inclosed hi the narrowed inlet form a harbour, if an island did not receive upon its rocks the violent north-west gales, and turn back the dashing waves. On the one side and on the other nature has opposed mountains with craggy cliffs to the open main, and has warded off the blasts, so that, held fast by the shaking cables, ships can stand there. Hence far and wide extends all the ocean, whether the sails are 1 Secure towers of Brundisium) ver. 609. Caesar says, in his " Civil War," B. i. c. 84, " Pompey, being informed of what had passed at Corfinium, marched from Luceria to Canusium, and thence to Brundisium." This was a town of Calabria, on a small bay of the Adriatic, forming an excellent harbour, to which the place owed its importance. * Dictcecm colonists) ver. 610. Or Cretan colonists, so called from Dicte, a mountain in the eastern part of Crete, where Jupiter is said to have been reared. 9 With sails lliat falsely told) ver. 612. He alludes to the story of Theseus having returned from Crete, by inadvertence, with black sails, when they ought, according to the arrangement previously made, to have been white ; on which JEgeus, his father, threw himself into the sea. He means that Brundisium was colonized by the Cretans who had escaped from Crete with Theseus in the Cecropian or Athenian ships. G 82 PHABSALIA. [B. IL 622-638. borne, Corcyra, to thy harbours', or whether on the left Illyrian Epidamnus s is sought, bordering upon the Ionian waves. Hither is the flight of mariners, when the Adriatic has put forth all its strength, and the Ceraunia ' have dis- appeared in clouds, and when the Calabrian Sason 4 is washed by the foaming main. Therefore, when there is no hope in the affairs that have been left behind, and there is no means of turning the warfare to the hardy Iberians, since the Alps, with their immense tracts, lie extended between, then that son 5 , one of a progeny so great, whose age M more advanced, he thus addresses : "I bid you try the distant regions of the world. Arouse the Euphrates and the Nile 6 , even as far as the fame of my name has reached, cities through which the fame of Home has been spread abroad after myself as her general. Bring back to the seas the Cilician colonists scattered amid the fields. On the one side arouse the Pharian kings 7 and my friend Tigranes. And neglect not, I advise thee, the arms of Pharnaces 8 , nor yet do thou the tribes that wander 1 Corcyra, to thy harbours) ver. 623. Corcyra, now Corfu, was an island in the Ionian Sea, off the coast of Epirus, long famed for the naval enter- prise of its inhabitants. a Illyrian Epidamnus) ver. 624. Epidamnus was a town in Greek Illy- ria, on the Adriatic Sea. It was founded by the Corcyreans, and received from them the name of Epidamnus ; but when the Romans became masters of the country, they changed the name to Dyrrhacbium, as it reminded them of their word " damnum," signifying " loss," or " misfortune." It was the usual place of landing for those who crossed over from Brundisium. 3 And the Ceraunia) ver. 626. The Ceraunia, or Acroceraunia, were immense rocks on the coast of Epirus. 4 When the Calabrian Sason) ver. 627. Sason, or Saso, was a small rocky island off the coast of Illyria, to the north of the promontory of Acroceraunia, much frequented by pirates. It is now called Sasseno, or Sassa. s Then that son) ver. 631. His son Cneius Pompeius. 8 Arouse the Euphrates and the Jfile) ver. 633. He is to repair to the Euphrates and the Nile to invoke the aid of the kings of Parthia and Egypt. 7 Arouse the Pharian kings) ver. 636. Lucan frequently calls the Egyp- tians " Pharii," " Pharians," from the island of Pharos, situate at the mouth of the Nile. Tigranes was king of Armenia, and was indebted to Pompey for his kingdom. * The arms of Pharnaces) ver. 637. Pharnaces, king of Pontus or, more properly, of the Bosporus, was a son of Mitbridates the Great. He com- B. ii. 638-661.] PHAESALIA. 83 in either Armenia, and the fierce nations along the shores of Pontus, and the Rhipoean bands ', and those whom on its frozen waves the sluggish swamp of Miotis 2 , enduring the Scythian waggon, bears. But why do I any further delay ? Throughout the entire East, my son, thou wilt carry the warfare, and awaken all the cities that have been subdued throughout the entire world ; let all my triumphs repair once again to my camp. You too, who mark the Latian annals with your names, let the first northern breeze bear you to Epirus ; thence, throughout the fields of the Greeks and the Macedonians acquire new strength, while winter affords time for peace." Thus he speaks, and all obey his commands, and unmoor their hollow ships from the shore. But, never enduring peace and a long cessation from arms, lest it may be in the power of the Fates to work any change, Caesar follows, and presses hard on the foot- steps of his son-in-law. To others would have sufficed so many fortified towns 3 captured at the first assault, so many towers overwhelmed, the enemy expelled; thou thyself, Rome, the Capital of the world, the greatest reward of the warfare, so easy to be taken. But Cffisar, precipitate in everything, thinking nothing done while anything re- mains to be done, fiercely pursues ; and still, although he is hi possession of the whole of Italy, because Magnus is located on its extreme shores, does he grieve that as yet it is common to them ; nor on the other hand is he willing pclled his father to put an end to his own life ; and, to secure himself on the throne, sent offers of submission with hostages to Pompey in Syria, and the body of his father to Sinope to be at the disposal of the Roman general. Pompey accepted his submission, and gave him the kingdom of the Bosporus, with the title of friend and ally of the Roman people. Pharnaces afterwards took advantage of the Civil Wars, and reconquered nearly the whole of his father's dominions, but was defeated by Csesar at the battle of Zela, and shortly afterwards perished. 1 And the Rhipaan, bands) ver. 640. Rhipacan was a general and indefi- nite name for the northern nations of Scythia ; but the Rhipaean mountains are supposed to have been a western branch of the Uralian chain, a Swamp of Maotu) ver. 641. He alludes to the Palus Maeotis, or Sea of Azof, which, when frozen, was said to be crosied by the Nomad tribes of Scythia with their waggons. 8 So many fortified towns) ver. 653. Of which number the Poet has already specified Ariminum, Auximnm, Asculum, Luceria,and Corfinium. o 2 84 PHARSALIA. [B. n. 661-673. that the foe should wonder on the open main, but with moles he dams out the waves 1 , and the expansive ocean with rocks hm*led down. To no purpose is this labour bestowed on the immense undertaking ; the voracious sea sucks in all the rocks, and mingles the mountains with its sands ; just as, if the lofty Eryx- were thrown down into the midst of the waves of the ^Egean Sea, still no rocky heights would tower above the main ; or if Gaurus ', his pinnacles rooted up, were to fall down to the very depths of stagnant Avernus. There- fore, when in the shoals no mass retained its weight, then it pleased him, the woods cut down, to connect rafts, and to fasten together with wide extent the trunks of trees by immense chains. Fame relates that exulting Xerxes constructed 4 such a 1 Dams out the waves) ver. 662. This passage is best explained by a por- tion of what Caesar himself has written on the subject. He states that he was afraid that if Pompey remained at Brundisium he might command the whole Adriatic Sea, with the extremity of Italy and the coast of Greece, and be able to conduct the war on either side of it, and, fearing that he would not relinquish Italy, he determined to deprive him of his means of communi- cation. For that purpose (Civil War, B. i. c. 25), " where the mouth of the port was narrowest, he threw up a mole of earth on either side, because in these places the sea was shallow. Having gone out so far that the mole could not be continued into deep water, he fixed double floats, thirty feet on either side, before the mole. . These he fastened with four anchors at the four corners, that they might not be carried away by the waves. Having com- pleted and secured them, he then joined to them other floats of equal size. These he covered over with earth and mould, that he might not be prevented from access to them to defend them, and on the front and both sides he pro- tected them with a parapet of wicker-work: and on every fourth one he raised a turret two stories high, to secure them the better from being attacked by shipping and set on fire." 2 As, \f the lofty Eryx) ver. 666. Eryx was a lofty mountain of Sicily, on the summit of which there was a Temple sacred to Venus. * Or if Gaums) ver. 667. Gaurus was the name of a volcanic range of mountains in Campania. Avernus was a small lake seated near their foot, filling the crater of an extinct volcano. It was supposed to be connected with the Infernal Regions. The mephitic vapours were so powerful as to be said to kill the birds that attempted to-fly over it. 4 Exulting Xerxes constructed) ver. 672. Xerxes, king of Persia, the eon of Darius and Atossa, when invading Europe, had a bridge of boats thrown across the Hellespont from the vicinity of Abydos on the Asiatic aide, to the coast between Sestos and Abydos on the European, where the straits are about a mile in width. The first bridge having been destroyed by B. ii. 673-689.] PHARSALIA. 85 passage over the seas, when, daring great things, with his bridges he joined both Europe to Asia, and Sestos to Aby- dos 1 , and walked over the straits of the rapid Hellespont, not fearing Eurus and Zephyrus ; at the time when he would have borne his sails and ships through the midst of Athos 2 . In such manner are the inlets of the deep narrowed by the fall of the woods ; then with many a mound the work rises apace, and the tall towers vibrate over the seas. Pompey, seeing the inlets of the deep choked up with land newly-formed, vexed his mind with carking cares how to open the sea, and to spread the warfare over the main. Full oft, filled by the southern gales, and dragged by extended cables 3 through the obstructions of the sea themselves, ships dashed down into the salt tide the summits of the mass, and made room for the barks 4 to enter; the balista, too, hurled by stalwart arms amid the shades of night, hurled torches cleft into many parts. When at length the occasion suited for a stolen flight, he first ordered his followers that no sailors' clamour should arouse, or clarion divide 3 the a storm, the despot caused the heads of the chief engineers to be cut off, and commanded the Straits to be scourged, and a set of fetters to be cast therein. A new bridge was then formed consisting of a double line of ships. (See Herodotus, B. viii. c. 36.) ' And Sestos to Abydos) ver. 674. Sestos and Abydos have been famed in story for the loves of Hero and Leander. See their Epistles in the Heroides of Ovid. 2 Through tfte midst of Alhos) ver. 677. Athos is a mountain which was also called Acte, projecting from Chalcidice in Macedonia. Lucan here alludes to the canal which Xerxes ordered to be cut through the Isthmus of Mount Athos, from the Strymonic to the Toronaic Gulf, that his ships might pass through; the remains of which work are to be seen at the present day. . 3 Dragged by extended cables) ver. 683. They were not only impelled by sails, but were also dragged on by means of ropes from the shore, on account of their unwieldy size. 4 Made room for the barks) ver. 685. Caesar, in the Civil War, B. L c. 26, gives the following account of these operations : " To counteract this, Pompey fitted out large merchant ships, which he found in the harbour of Brundisium ; on them he erected turrets three stories high, and, having fur- nished them with several engines and all sorts of weapons, drove them amongst Caesar's works, to break through the floats and interrupt the works; thus there occurred skirmishes every day with slings, arrows, and other weapons." ' Or clarion divide) ver. 689. The "buccina" was properly a trumpet made from the conch-shell, and as such, in the hands of Triton, is described 99 PHARSALIA. [B. n. 689-703. hoars, or trumpet lead the sailors, instructed beforehand, out to sea. Now had the Virgin, towards her close 1 , begun to precede the claws of the Scorpion that were to bring on Phoebus, when in silence the ships were unmoored. No .anchor arouses then* voices 2 while from the dense sands its hook is being dragged. While the sailyards are being set to tJic wind, and while the lofty pine-tree mast is being raised, the anxious masters of the fleet are silent; and the sailors, hanging by the ropes, unfurl the tightened sails, nor shake the stout shrouds, lest the air should breathe a whisper. The chieftain, too, in his aspirations, Fortune, entreats, thee, that Italy, which thou dost forbid him to re- tain, it may be at least allowed him to quit. Hardly do the Fates permit it; for with a loud noise, impelled by beaks of ships, the sea re-echoes, the waters dash, and the billows with the tracks of so many ships tliere intermingled 3 . by Ovid in the Metamorphoses, B. i. 1. 335, et seq. In after times it was made of metal to resemble the shell. It was probably distinct in form from the " cornu ;" but is often confounded with it As mentioned in the present instance, it was used chiefly to proclaim the watches of the night and day, which were hence called " buccina prima," " secunda," &c. The present orders were given that Caesar's troops might not be put on the alert. 1 The Virgin, towards her dote) ver. 691. Weise has the following Note here : " The time after midnight is meant, before the dawn and the rising of the sun, which the Poet describes as then being in Sagittarius. For the 'Chelae ' are [the claws] of the Scorpion. By ' Virgo ultima' he means that part of the constellation Virgo in the Zodiac which is nearest before the Scor- pion. At this hour Pompey sets sail from the harbour, being aided by the darkness. The meaning of the Poet seems to be that this took place in au- tumn, although others write to a contrary effect." 3 jVb anchor arouses their voices) ver. 694. He alludes to the "celenima," or call, with which sailors keep time in heaving the anchor. * Ship* there intermingUd) ver. 703. Caesar gives the following interesting account of this escape of Pompey, in his Civil War, B. i. c. 27, 26 : " Pom- pey now began to prepare for his departure on the arrival of the ships ; and the more effectually to retard Caesar's attack, last his soldiers should force their way into the town at the moment of his departure, he stopped up the gates, built walls across the streets and avenues, sunk trenches across the ways, and fixed on them palisadoes and sharp stakes which he made level with the ground by means of hurdles and clay. But he barricaded with large beams, fastened in the ground and sharpened at the ends, two passages and roads without the walls, which led to the port. After making these arrangements, he ordered his soldiers to go on board without noise, and dis- B. IT. 704-717.] PHARSALIA. 87 Therefore, the enemy being received by the gates, all of which throughout the city attachment changing with for- tune has opened, and within the walls, winding along the piers, with precipitate course seek the entrance to the har- bour, and are vexed that the fleet has reached the sea. O shame ! a slight victory is the flight of Pompey ! A narrow pass let the ships out to sea, more limited than the Euboean tide where it beats upon Chalcis 1 . Here stuck fast two ships, and received the grappling-irons pre- pared for the fleet ; and the warfare being thus dragged to - the shore 2 , here, for the first time, did Nereus grow red with the blood of citizens. The rest of the fleet departs, de- spoiled of the two last ships ; just as, when the bark from Pagasse * sought the waves of Phasis, the earth shot forth the Cyanean rocks 4 into the deep ; less by its stern torn off posed here and there, on the walls and turrets, some light-armed veterans, archers, and slingers. These he designed to call off by a certain signal, when all the soldiers were embarked, and left galleys for them in a secure place. The people of Brundisium, irritated by the insolence of Pompey's soldiers, and the insults received from Pompey himself, were in favour of Caesar's party. Therefore, as soon as they were aware of Pompey's departure, whilst his men were running up and down, and busied about their voyage, they made signs from the tops of the houses; Caesar, being apprised of the design by them, ordered scaling-ladders to be got ready and his men to take arms, that he might not lose any opportunity of coming to an action. Pompey weighed anchor at nightfall. The soldiers who had been posted on the wall to guard it, were called off by the signal which had been agreed on, and, knowing the road, ran down to the ships." 1 Where it beats upon Chalcis) ver. 710. He compares the narrow pas- sage leading out of the harbour to the Enripus or Straits of Eubffia, now the straits of Negropont, which separated it from the main land. Chalcis was a city of Eubcea. a To the shore) ver. 712. Caesar, in his Civil War, B. i. c. 28, gives this account of their capture : " Caesar's soldiers fixed their ladders and scaled the walls; but, being cautioned by the people to beware of the hidden stakes and covered trenches, they halted, and being conducted by the inhabitants by a long circuit, they reached the port and captured with their boats and small craft two of Pompey's ships, full of soldiers, which had struck against Caesar's moles." The " manus," or " hands," mentioned by Lucan, were probably " harpagones," or " grappling irons." * The bark from Pagasce) ver. 715. He speaks of the expedition of Jason to Colchis, to recover the Golden Fleece, in the ship Argo, which was built at Pagasae in Thessaly. * The Cyanean rocks) ver. 716. The story was, that when Jason's ship passed between the Symplegades, or Cyanean Islands, which floated at the 88 PHARSALIA. [B. n. 717-736. did the Argo escape from the mountains, and in vain did the Symplegas strike at the vacant sea, and, destined to stand, it bounded back 1 . Now, the complexion of the eastern sky no longer the same warns that Phoebus is pressing on, and the pale light is not yet ruddy, and is withdrawing their flames from the nearer stars ; and now the Pleiades - are dim, now the Wain of the declining Bootes :f , growing faint, returns to the appearance of the serene heavens, and the larger stars lie hid, and Lucifer himself flies from the warm day. Now, Magnus, thou hadst gained the open sea, not bearing with thee those destinies which thou wast wont, when over the waves throughout all seas thou didst give chase to the pirate. Exhausted by thy triumphs, Fortune has forsaken thee. Banished with wife and children, and dragging all thy household Gods to the warfare, still, a mighty exile thou dost go, nations ac- companying thee. A distant spot is sought for thy unworthy downfall 4 . Not because the Gods of heaven prefer to deprive thee of a sepulchre in thy native land are the Pharian sands con- demned to be thy tomb. It is Hesperia that is spared ; in order that, afar off, in a remote region, Fortune may hide the horrid deed, and the Roman land be preserved un- spotted by the blood of her own Magnus. -mouth of the Euxine Sea, the isles closed and struck off the stern of the Argo. 1 Destined to stand, it bounded bacl) ver. 719. It was ordained by the Fates that if any ship should pass in safety between the Symplegades, they should ever after remain fixed to one spot. * And now ike Pleiades) ver. 722. The Pleiades were the daughters of Atlas and Pleione. They were changed into stars, of which six were visible and the seventh invisible, because, as the story was, when on earth she was united to a mortal ; whereas her sisters had intercourse only with Divinities. The Romans called them " Vergiliae." 3 The Wain of the declining Bob'te*) ver. 722. The Constellation before the Great Bear was called Bootes, Arcturus, or Arctophylax. The name Bootes was derived from the position of the star before the wain, resembling that of the driver of a team. 4 For thy unworthy downfall) ver. 731. The meaning is, that Egypt is appointed by the Fates as the scene of the death of Porapey. 89 BOOK THE THIKD. CONTENTS. While Pompey is crossing to Greece, the ghost of Julia appears to him in a dream, and predicts the devastating nature of the war, 1-35. Pompey arrives in Epirus, 36-45. Caesar instructs Curio to procure corn in Sicily, 46-70. He then marches to Rome, 76-97- The alarm at Rome de- scribed. The hostility of the Senate to Caesar. Metellus the Tribune resists the spoilers of the public treasury, 98-133. Caesar threatens him, 134-140. Gotta advises Metellus to yield, 141-152. The Temple is opened, and the treasure is carried off, 153-168. In the meantime Pompey collects forces in Greece and Asia, which are enumerated, 169- 297. Caesar, on his way to Spain, repairs to Massilia, which has remained faithful to Pompey, 298-303. The people of Massilia send deputies to him, deprecating civil war, 304-357. Cassar besieges Massilia, 358-374. The works are described, 374-398. Caesar commands a sacred grove to be cut down, and forces the soldiers, though reluctant, to do so, 399-452. Departing for Spain, he entrusts the siege to Trebonius, by whom it is continued, 453-496. The Massilians sally .forth by night and repulse the enemy, 497-508. The attack is now carried on by sea. Brutus arrives with his fleet, 509-537. The sea-fight is described, 538- 751. The Massilians are vanquished, and Brutus is victorious, 752-762. WHEN the south wind pressing upon the yielding sails urged on the fleet, and the ships set in motion the middle of the deep, each sailor looked upon the Ionian waves ; Magnus alone did not turn his eyes from the Hesperian land, while he heheld his country's harbours, and the shores des- tined never to return to his gaze, and the peaks hidden in clouds, and the dim mountains, vanish. Then did the wearied limbs of the chieftain yield to sopor, ferous slumber. Then, a ghost, full of dread horror, Julia 1 seemed to raise her sorrowing head through the yawning earth, and to stand like a Fury 2 above the lighted pyre. "Exiled," said she 3 , "from the Elysian abodes and the 1 Jidia) ver. 10. His former wife, the daughter of Caesar. 9 To stand like a Fury) ver. 11. The term "furialis" is used because it was her errand, as she states to him, to follow him with vengeance through- out the Civil Warfare. * Exiled, saidslie) ver. 12. "Expulsa." This term does not mean that she is expelled from the abodes of the Blessed by force, but that she is aroused by the portentousness of the Civil War, and is unable, from the inte- rest she feels in it, to remain there any longer. 90 PHAR8ALIA. [B. m. 12-35. fields of the Blessed, unto the Stygian shades and the guilty ghosts, since the civil warfare have I been dragged. I my- self have beheld the Eumenides holding torches, the which to brandish against your arms. The ferryman of scorched Acheron 1 is preparing boats innumerable, and Tartarus is expanding for manifold punishments. Hardly with plying right hand do all the Sisters suffice for the work ; those who are breaking their threads quite weary the Destinies. While I was thy Avife, Magnus, thou didst head the joyous triumphal processions; with thy marriage Fortune has changed ; and ever condemned by fate to drag her mighty husbands to ruin, lo ! my funereal pile stitt warm, the supplanter Cornelia 2 has manned tlitc. " Let her, in war and upon the deep, adhere to thy standards, so long as it is allowed me to break thy slumbers not secure from care, and let no time be left at leisure for your love, but both let Ctesar occupy thy days and Julia thy nights 3 . Me, husband, not the obliviousness of the Lethsean shore has made forgetful of thyself, and the princes of the dead have allowed me to follow thee. Thou waging the warfare, I will come into the midst of the ranks. Never, Magnus, by the Shades and by my ghost shall it be allowed thee not to have been his son-in-law. In vain dost thou sever thy ties with the sword, the civic warfare shall make thee mine." Thus having said, the ghost, gliding away through the embrace of her trem- bling husband, fled. 1 The ferryman of scorched Acheron) ver. 17. Charon, the ferryman of hell. * The supplanter Cornelia) ver 23. Cornelia was the daughter of P. Cor- nelius Scipio, sometimes called Q. Caecilius Metellus Scipio on account of his adoption by Q. Metellus. She was first married to Crawus, the son of the Triumvir, who perished with his father in the Parthian expedition. In the next year she was married to Pompej-, shortly after the death of his wife Julia. After the death of Pompey she was pardoned by Caesar, and return- ing to Rome, received from him the ashes of her husband, which she pre- served on his Alban estate. The usual period of mourning among the Ro- mans for a husband or wife was ten months (see the Fasti of Ovid, B. i. 1. 86), within which space of time it was doomed infamous to marry ; Corne- lia, having been married to Pompey very shortly after Julia's death, is conse- quently here called by the opprobioug name of " pellex," " supplanter," or " paramour." 3 A nd Julia thy nights) ver. 27. By haunting his thoughts and his dreams. B. m. 36-61.] PHARSALIA. 91 He, although the Deities and the Shades threaten de- struction, rushes the more boldly to arms, with a mind assured of ill. And, " Why," says he, " are we alarmed at the phantom of an unsubstantial dream ? Either there is no sense left in the mind after death, or else death itself is nothing." Now the setting Titan was sinking in the waves, and had plunged into the deep as much of his fiery orb as is wont to be wanting to the moon, whether she is about to be at full, or whether she has just been full ; then did the hospitable land present an easy access to the ships ; they coiled up the ropes, and, the masts laid down, with oars they made for the shore. Csesar, when the winds bore off the ships thus escaping, and the seas had hidden the fleet, and he stood the sole ruler on the Hesperian shore, no glory hi the expulsion of Magnus caused joy to him ; but he complained that the enemy had turned their backs in safety upon the deep. Nor, indeed, did any fortune now suffice for the eager hero ; nor was conquest of such value that he should delay the warfare. Then did he expel from his breast the care for arms and become intent upon peace, and in what manner he might conciliate the fickle attachment of the populace, fully aware that both the causes of anger and the highest grounds of favour originate in supplies of corn. For it is famine alone that makes cities free, and respect is purchased when the powerful are feeding a sluggish multi- tude. A starving commonalty knows not how to fear 1 . Curio is ordered to pass over- into the Sicilian cities, where the sea has either overwhelmed the land with sudden waves or has cut it asunder and made the mid-land 3 a shore for itself. ! Knows not how to fear) ver. 58. Being always ready for insurrection. 4 Ordered to pats over) ver. 59. The movements of Caesar at this con- juncture are thus related by himself in the Civil War, B. i. c. 80:" There- fore, for the present, he relinquished all intention of pursuing Pompey, and resolved to march to Spain, and commanded the magistrates of the free towns to procure him ships, and to have them conveyed to Brundisiiim. He detached Valerius, his lieutenant, with one legion to Sardinia ; Curio, the Propraetor, to Sicily with three legions; and ordered him, when he had recovered Sicily, immediately to transport his army to Africa." The object of Caesar was, as Lucan states, to procure supplies of corn from Sardinia and Sicily, two of the great granaries of Rome. 3 Made Hie mid-land) ver. 61. Has made that which was the middle of a 92 PHARSALIA. [u. ra. 62-84. There, is a vast conflict of the main, and the waves are ever struggling, that the mountains, burst asunder, may not reunite their utmost verges. The war, too l , is extended even to the Sardinian coasts. Each island is famous for its corn-bearing fields ; nor more do any lands fill Hesperia with harvests brought from afar, nor to a greater extent supply the Koman granaries. Hardly in fertility of soil does it excel them, when, the south winds pausing 2 , Boreas sweep- ing the clouds downwards to a southern clime, Libya bears a plenteous year from the falling showers. When these things had been provided for by the chief- tain, then, victorious, he repaired to the abodes of his country, not bringing with him bands of armed men, but having the aspect of peace. Oh! if he had re- turned to the City, the nations of the Gauls and the North only subdued, what a long line of exploits might he have paraded before him in the lengthened procession of triumph ', what representations of the warfare ! How might he have placed chains upon the Rhine and upon the ocean! How high-spirited Gaul would have followed his lofty chariot, and mingled with the yellow-haired Britons! Alas! by conquering still more what a triumph was it 4 that he lost! Not with joyous crowds did the cities see him as he went along, but silent they beheld him with alarm. Nowhere was there the multitude coming forth to meet the chieftain. Still, he rejoiced that he was held in such dread by the people, and he would prefer himself not to be loved. And now, too, he has passed over the steep heights of continent into sea-shore. He has mentioned in the Second Book the belief that Sicily once joined the continent of Italy. 1 The war, too) ver. 64. Weise thinks that " bella" does not here literally mean war, but " ships of war," sent for the purpose of collecting corn in the isle of Sardinia. See the Note to 1. 59. 2 The south winds pausing) ver. 68. The " Austri," or south winds of Africa, brought dry weather and kept away the fertilizing showers. * In the lengthened procession of triumph) ver. 75. Lucan, in his zeal, overlooks the fact that a refusal to allow Caesar to do this, or, in other words, to have a triumph for his Gallic wars, was one of the main causes which led him to engage in the Civil War. * What a triumph was it) ver. 79. No triumphs were permitted for con- quests in civil warfare. B. ra. 84-103.] PHAESALIA. 93 Anxur 1 , and where the watery way divides the Pontine marshes. Where, too, is the lofty grove, where the realms of Scythian Diana 2 ; and where there is the road for the Latian fasces :1 to lofty Alba. Afar from a lofty rock he now views the City, not beheld by him during the whole period of his northern wars ; and, thus speaking, he admires the walls of his Rome : " And have there been men, forced by no warfare, to de- sert thee, the abode of the Gods ! For what city will they fight? The Gods have proved more favouring in that it is no Eastern fury that now presses upon the Latian shores, nor yet the swift Sarmatian in common with the Pannonian, and the Getans mingled with the Dacians. Fortune, Borne, has spared thee, having a chief so cowardly 4 , in that the warfare was a civil one." Thus he speaks, and he enters Rome stupefied with terror ; for he is supposed to be about to overthrow the walls of Rome as though captured, with dusky fires, and to scatter abroad the Gods. This is the extent of their fear ; they think that he is ready to do whatever he is able. No festive omens are there, no pretending feigned applause with joyous uproar; hardly is there time to hate. The throng 1 Steep heights of Anxur) ver. 84. Anxur, which was the former name of Terracina, was an ancient town of Latiuni, situate 58 miles to the south- east of Rome, on the Appian Way, and upon the coast ; it had a citadel on a high hill, on which stood the Temple of Jupiter Anxurus. 2 Realms of Scythian Diana) ver. 86. He alludes to the town of Aricia at the foot of the Alban Mount, on the Appian Way, about 16 miles from Home. In its vicinity was a celebrated grove and temple of Diana Aricina, on the borders of the Lacus Neraorensis. Diana was worshipped here in a barbarous manner. Her priest, who was called " Rex nemorensis," was always a runaway slave, who obtained his office by slaying his predecessor, and he was obliged to fight with any slave who succeeded in breaking off a branch of a certain tree in the sacred grove. The worship of Diana was said to have been introduced here from the Tauric Chersonesus by Orestes and his sister Iphigenia, when flying from the cruelty of king Thoas. See the story related in the Pontic Epistles of Ovid, B. iii. Ep. 2. 3 Road for the Latian fasces) ver. 87. He alludes to the " Latinae Periae," which were celebrated by the Roman Consuls on the Alban Mount. See the First Book, 1. 550, and the Note to the passage. 4 Having a chief so cowardly) ver. 96. A chief so timid as Pompey hag proved himself by his flight. 94 PHAESALIA. [B. m. 108-114. of Senators fills the Palatine halls of Phoebus ' drawn forth from their concealment, by no right of convoking the Senate. The sacred seats are not graced with the Consul, no Prae- tor is there, the next power according to law; and the empty curule seats 2 have been removed from their places. Caesar is everything. The Senate is present, witness to the words of a private person. The Fathers sit, prepared to give their sanction, whether he shall demand a kingdom, whether a Temple for himself, the throats, too, of the Senate, and their exile. Fortunate was it that he blushed at commanding, more than Rome did at obeying. Still, liberty, making the ex- periment in one man whether the laws can possibly with- stand force, gives rise to anger ; and the resisting Metellus :< , 1 Palatine halls of Phoebus) ver. 103. On arriving at Rome Caesar con- voked the Senate not in the Senate-house, but in the Temple of Apollo, on the Palatine hill. 2 The empty cut-vie seats) ver. 107. The curule seats were graced by neither the Consuls nor the Praetors, as they were in arms with Pom- pey. In the account of the Civil War, B. i. c. 32, Caesar relates what he said on this occasion. He excused the war which he had undertaken as he was compelled in his own defence to protect himself against the malice and envy of a few, and at the same time requested that they would send messengers to Pompey and the Consuls to propose a treaty for adjusting the present differences. This proposition of Caesar is suppressed by Lucan, who throughout endeavours to place Caesar's conduct in the most invidious light. Caesar tells us, c. 33, " The Senate approved of sending deputies, but none could be found fit to execute the commission ; for every person by reason of his own private fears declined the office. For Pompey, on leaving the city, had declared in the open Senate, that he would hold in the same degree of estimation those who stayed in Rome and those in Caesar's camp. Thus three days were wasted in disputes and excuses. Besides, Lucius Metellus, one of the Tribunes, was suborned by Caesar's enemies, to prevent this, and to embarrass everything else which Caesar should propose." 1 The resisting Metellus) rer. 114. This was L. Caecilins Metellus Cre- ticus, the Tribune of the people, and one of the adherents of Pompey. Re- maining behind in the City on the approach of Caesar, he did not fly with Pompey and the rest of his party. The public treasury of 'Rome was in the Temple of Saturn, in which Appian states that there was a large sum of money especially deposited as a fund to defray the expenses of any war that night arise from the Gauls invading the Roman territory. Caesar laid hands on this, alleging that as he bad conquered the Gauls there was no longer any use for it. Metellus attempted to prevent him, but he drew his sword in an attitude of menace, saying, " Young man, it is as easy to do this as to say it.'' It is supposed that this was the same Metellus who fought on the side 8. ni. 115-140.J PHAESALIA. -8S when he beholds the Temple of Saturn being forced open by vast efforts, hurries his steps, and bursting through the troops of Csesar, takes his stand before the doors of the Temple not yet opened. (To such a degree does the love of gold alone know not how to fear the sword and death. Swept away, the laws perish with no contest; but thou, pelf, the most worthless portion of things, dost excite the contest;) and, forbidding the conqueror the plunder, the Tribune with loud voice addresses him : " Only through my sides shall the Temple struck by thee be opened, and, plunderer, thou shalt carry off no scattered wealth except by shedding sacred blood. Surely this violated power will find the Gods its avengers. The Tribune's curse, too \ following Crassus to the warfare, prayed for the direful battles. Now unsheathe the sword ; for the multitude is not to be regarded by thee, the spectator of thy crimes : in a deserted City do we stand. No soldier accursed shall bear off his reward from our Treasury ; nations there are for thee to overthrow, walls for thee to grant. Want does not drive thee to the spoils of exhausted peace; Caesar, thou hast a war of thy own." 2 The victor, aroused by these words to extreme anger, exclaims, " Thou dost conceive vain hopes of a glorious death : my hand, Metellus, shall not pollute itself with that throat of thine. No honor shall make thee deserving of the resentment of Csesar. Has liberty been left safe, thee its assertor? Not to that degree has length of tune con- founded the highest with the lowest, that the laws, if they are to be preserved by the voice of Metellus, would not prefer by Cffisar to be uprooted." of Antony against Augustus, and on being taken prisoner was pardoned at the intercession of his son, who had sided with Augustus. 1 The Tribune's curse, too) ver. 127. C. Ateius Capito and Aquillius Gallus, the Tribunes of the people, were the opponents of Pompey and Crassus when Consuls. They endeavoured to stop the levy of troops and to render the cam- paigns which they wished to undertake impossible ; Crassus, however, conti- nuing to make preparation for an expedition against the Parthians, Capito uttered curses against him, and announced the appearance of dreadful prodi- gies, which were disregarded by Crassus. The overthrow and death of Crassus were by many looked upon as the result of his disregard of the warnings of Capito. * A war of tky ovm) ver. 133. You have the war in Gaul, in which you may gain sufficient spoil. 96 PHARSALIA. [B. ra. 141-160. He spoke, and, the Tribune not yet retreating from the door, his anger became more intense; he looked around upon the ruthless swords, forgetful to pretend that there was peace l . Then did Cotta- persuade Metellus to desist from his too audacious purpose. " The liberty of a people," said he, " which a tyrant's sway is ruling, perishes through excess of liberty ; of it thou mayst preserve the shadow, if thou art ready to do whatever thou art commanded. To so many unjust things have we, conquered, submitted ; this is the sole excuse for our shame and our degenerate fears, that nothing can possibly now be dared. Quickly let him carry off the evil incentives to direful warfare. Injuries move the people, if any there are, whom then* laws pro- tect. Not to ourselves, but to our tyrant, is the poverty dangerous that acts the slave." Forthwith, Metellus led away, the Temple was opened wide. Then did the Tarpeian rock re-echo, and with a loud peal attest that the doors were opened ; then, stowed away in the lower part of the Temple, was dragged up, un- touched for many a year, the wealth of the Roman people, which the Punic wars ', which Perseus 4 , which the booty of the conquered Philip 5 , had supplied; that which, Rome, Pyrrhus left to thee in his hurrying flight, the gold for 1 That tfiere was peace) ver. 143. "Togam;" literally, the "toga" or gown, worn by citizens in the time of peace, and consequently employed aa the emblem of peace. 2 Then did Cotta) ver. 143. This was L. Aurelius Cotta, a relative of Aurelia, the mother of Caesar, to whose party he belonged in the Civil War. He had been Consul, Praetor, and Censor, and was an intimate friend of Cicero, by whom he is much praised as a man of great talent and extreme prudence. Lucan is probably in error in representing him as unwillingly submitting to Caesar. 3 Which the Punic tears) ver. 157. At the end of the first Punic war the Carthaginians were obliged to pay 1200 talents, and of the second 10,000. 4 Which Perseus) ver. 158. Perses, or Perseus, the last king of Mace- don, was conquered by Paulus .iEmilius, B.C. 188. The booty was of im- mense value, and was paid into the Roman treasury, much to the chagrin of the soldiers, who were so indignant at their small share of the plunder, that it was not without much opposition that .V.imlius obtained his triumph. * Of the conquered Philip) ver. 158. Philip the Fifth, king of Macedon, was conquered by Quintus Flamininus, who acquired a large amount of booty, and celebrated a magnificent triumph which lasted three days. Philip was the father of Perseus. B. m. 160-175.] PHARSALIA. 97 which Fabricius did not sell himself 1 to the king, whatever you saved, manners of our thrifty forefathers ; that which, as tribute, the wealthy nations of Asia 2 had sent, and Mino'ian Crete 3 had paid to the conqueror Metellus ; that, too, which Cato brought from Cyprus 4 over distant seas. Besides, the wealth of the East, and the remote treasures of captive kings, which were borne before him in the triumphal processions of Pompey 5 , were carried forth; the Temple was spoiled with direful rapine ; and then for the first time was Home poorer than Csesar 6 . In the meantime the fortune of Magnus throughout the whole earth has aroused to battle the cities destined to fall with him. Greece near at hand affords forces for the neighbouring war. Amphissa sends 7 Phocian bands, the rocky Cirrha 8 too, and Parnassus deserted on either mountain ridge. The Boeotian leaders assemble, whom the swift Cephisus 9 surrounds with its fate-foretelling 1 Fabricius did not sell himself) ver. 160. He alludes to the vain attempt made by Pyrrhus, king of Epirus, when he invaded Italy, to bribe C. Fabri- cius Luscinus. The money, according to Lucan, being left behind, was put in the public treasury. 8 The wealthy nations of Asia) ver. 162. He probably alludes to treasures acquired from Antiochus, king of Syria, and Attalus, king of Pergamus, the latter of whom made the Roman people his heirs. 3 And Minolan Crete) ver. 163. Crete, formerly the kingdom of Minos, was subdued by Q. Metellus Creticus. * Cato brought from Cyprus) ver. 164. The island of Cyprus was made a Roman province in the year B.C. 58, and M. Porcius Cato was sent to reduce it to submission. The money which he had collected there was put in the public treasury, and afterwards fell into Caesar's hands. It was said to have amounted to 7000 talents. * Triumphal processions of Pompey) ver. 166. Those which he had gained from Mithridates, king of Pontus, Tigranes, king of Armenia, and Aristobulus, king of Judaea. * Poorer than Caesar) ver. 168. Caesar, in consequence of the large sums which he had expended in promoting his interests, was now greatly in debt. 7 Amphissa sends) ver. 172. Amphissa, now Salona, was one of the chief towns of the Ozolian Locrians, on the borders of Phocis, seven miles from Delphi. * The rocky Cirrha) ver. 172. Cirrha was a town of Phocis, a country of Greece between .aJtolia and Boeotia, in which was the mountain of Par- nassus, the fountain of Hippocrene and Helicon, and the city of Delphi. * The swift Cephims) ver. 175. The Cephisus here alluded to was the chief river of Boeotia and Phocis, rising near Lilxa in the latter country, H 98 PHARSALIA. [B. m. 175-182. waters. Cadmean Dirce, too 1 , and the bands of Fisae 2 , and the Alpheus 3 that sends beneath the main its waters to the peoples of Sicily. Then does the Arcadian leave Msenalus 4 , and the Trachynian soldier Herculean (Eta*. The Thesprotians 6 and the Dryopians 7 rush on, and the ancient Sellse 8 forsake the silent oaks on the Chaonian heights. Although the levy has exhausted 9 the whole of Athens, three little barks keep possession of the Phoebean and falling into the lake Copais. Its waters are called " fatidica " from its rising in Phocis, in which was situate Delphi, the oracle of Apollo. 1 CAdmean Dirce, too) ver. 175. Dirce was a fountain near Thebes, which city was founded by Cadmus, the son of Agenor, king of Phoenicia. a The bandt of Pitce) ver. 176. Pisa was a city of Elis, near which the Olympic games were celebrated. 3 And the AlpJteus) ver. 177. The Alpheus was a river of Arcadia, famed in story for his love for Arethusa, a water nymph of Sicily, and fabled to have passed under the earth from Greece to Sicily. See the story related in the Metamorphoses of Ovid, B. v. 1. 487 and 576, et seq. * Leave Mcenalus) ver. 177. Maenalus was the name of a mountain and a wood in Arcadia, in the Peloponnesus, sacred to Pan. 4 Herculean (Eta) ver. 178. (Eta was the name given to a pile of moun- tains in the south of Thessaly. It was on one of these, that, according to ancient mythology, Hercules put himself to death, by burning on his funeral S'le. See the Metamorphoses of Ovid, Book z. Tracbyn was also called eraclea, and was celebrated as having been for a time the residence of Hercules. It was a town of Thessaly, situate in the district Malis. There was another of the same name in Phocis. * TJie Thesprotians) ver. 179. The Thesproti were a people on the coast of Epirus. They were said to have been the most ancient race, and to have derived their name from Thesprotus, the son of Lycaon. 7 And the Dryopiant) ver. 179. The Dryopes dwelt first in Thessaly, and afterwards in Doris. Being driven thence by the Dorians, they migrated to other countries, and settled in Peloponnesus, Euboea, and Asia Minor. * And tlte ancient Sella) ver. 180. The Sellae were probably a people of Chaonia, in the neighbourhood of Dodona, The priests of the Temple ef Jupiter there were called Selli or Helli. The will of the Divinity was said to be declared by the wind rustling through the oaks ; and in order to render the sounds more distinct, brazen vessels were suspended on the branches of the trees, which, being set in motion by the wind, came in contact with ona another. The oracle, as mentioned by Lucan, had now been long extinct, for in the year B.C. 219 the Temple was destroyed by the JEtolians, and the acred oaks cut down. 9 The levy hat exhausted) ver. 181. This passage has greatly puzzled the commentators, but the sense is pretty evidently that suggested by Cor- tius : "Although it was but a levy, still it exhausted the resources of Athens, which was now weak, and but thinly inhabited." B. in. 182-190.] PHAESALIA. 99 dockyards 1 , and demand Salamis to be believed as true 2 . Now, beloved by Jove :i , ancient Crete with its hundred peoples resorts to arms, both Gnossus skilled 4 at wielding the quiver, and Gortyna not inferior to the arrows of the East '. Then, too, he who possesses Dardanian Oricum 6 , and the wandering Athamanians 7 dispersed amid the towering woods, and the Enchelians 8 with then* ancient name, who witnessed the end of the transformed Cadmus, the Colchian 1 Phcebean dockyards) ver. 182. The dockyards of Athens are probably called " Phcebea " from the circumstance of Minerva, the tutelar Divinity of Athens, having dedicated the Piraeus to Apollo, as she did the Areopagus or Hill of Justice to Mars. 2 Salamis to be believed as true) ver. 183. The levy has so weakened Athens, that there are only three ships of war left in the harbour, to ask you to believe that this is the maritime state which once vanquished the Per- sians at the battle of Salamis. These three ships of war may probably have been those which were used for sacred or state purposes, namely, the Theoris, which performed a yearly voyage to Delos ; the Paralos, which, according to the Scholiast on Aristophanes, was sent to Delphi or other places on sacred missions ; and the Salaminia, which, according to Plutarch, was used for the conveyance of those summoned from abroad for trial. 3 Note, beloved by Jove) ver. 184. Crete was said to have been the birth- place of Jupiter, and, according to some accounts, he was buried there. Minos, its first king and lawgiver, was the son of Jupiter by Europa. 4 Both Gnossus skilled) ver. 185. Gnossus and Gortyna were two of the famed hundred cities of Crete. Its inhabitants were noted for their skill in archery. 5 To the arrows of Hie East) ver. 186. By the word " Eoi's" he refers to the Parthians, who were remarkable for their expertness in the use of the bow, even on horseback. * Dardanian Oricum) ver. 187. Oricum or Oricus was a Greek town on the coast of Illyria, near the Ceraunian Mountains and the frontiers of Epirus. According to the tradition here followed in the use of the word " Darda- nium," it was founded by Helenus, the son of Priam, who had then become the husband of Andromache. Another account was that it was founded by the Eubceans, who were cast here by a storm on their return from Troy ; while a third legend stated that it was a Colchian colony. 7 The -wandering Atfiamanians) ver. 188. By the use of the word " Athamas," he means the " Athamanes," a race living on the mountains of Epirus. 8 And the Enchelians) ver. 189. The Enchelise were a people of Illyria, into whose country Cadmus and his wife Harmonia retiring, were changed into snakes or dragons. Lucan says that they received their name from this circumstance: ly^tAuj being the Greek name for a kind of serpent. See Ovid's Metamorphoses, B. iv. 1. 563, et seq. H 2 100 PHARSALIA. [B. ra. 190-204. Absyrtis, too 1 , that foams down to the Adriatic tide, and those who cultivate the fields of Peneus 2 , and by whose labours the Thessalian ploughshare cleaves Hsemonian lolcos. From that spot for the first time was the sea at- tempted when the untaught Argo :l mingled unknown races upon a polluted sea-shore 4 , and first committed the mortal race to the winds and the raging waves of the ocean, and through that bark one more death was added to the destinies of man. Then Thracian Hsemus is deserted, and Pholoe' that feigned 6 the two-formed race. Strymon is abandoned 6 , accustomed to send the Bistonian birds to the warm Nile, and the barbarian Cone 7 , where one mouth of the Ister, divided into many parts, loses the Sarmatian waves, and washes Peuce sprinkled by the main ; Mysia, too 8 , and the Idalian land bedewed by the cold Caicus , and 1 The Cotchian Absyrtis, too) ver. 190. He alludes to the two islands off the coast of Illyri.i called Absyrtides, where the Colchian Medea was said to have slain her brother Absyrtus. It was, however, more generally believed that this took place at Tomi, whither Ovid was banished, on the shores of the Pontus Euzinus. The Absyrtis was probably a river at the mouth of which these islands were situate. 2 The fields of Peneus) ver. 191. The Peneus was a river of Thessaly, of which lolcos was a seaport, from which the Argonauts set sail for Colchis in the ship Argo. 3 The untaught Argo) ver. 193. The Argo was said to have been the first ship launched on the sea by mankind. 4 A polluted sea-shore) ver. 194. The shore might be considered polluted or guilty, by reason of Medea's undutiful conduct to her father and her other iniquities. In navigating the Argo, mankind for the first time incurred the peril of shipwreck. And Pholoe that feigned) ver. 198. This was a mountain forming the boundary between Arcadia and Elis. It was famed as having been one of the abodes of the Centaurs. Strymon is abandoned) ver. 199. The Strymon was a river of Thrace, whose banks were frequented by large flocks of cranes, which were said to migrate to Egypt in the winter season. ' And the barbarian Cone) ver. 200. Cone was an island at the mouth of the Ister or Danube. Peuce was also an island of Moesia, formed by the two southern mouths of the Danube. It was inhabited by the Peucini, a tribe of the Bastarnae. Lucan speaks here of its being washed by only one mouth of the Danube. 8 Mysia, too) ver. 203. Mysia was an extensive district of Asia Minor, in which Troy was situate. By the cold Catcus) ver. 203. The Caicus was a river of Mysia that flowed past Troy and the foot of Mount Ida. B. m. 204-215.] PHARSALIA. 101 Arisbe 1 very ban-en in its soil. Those, too, who inhabit Pitane 2 , and Celsense^, which, Pallas, condemned when Phoebus was victor, laments thy gifts, ^here, too, the swift Marsyas "* descending with his straight banks approaches the wandering Mseander, and, mingling, is borne back again ; the land, too, that permits the Pactolus 5 to flow forth from its gold-bearing mines, not less invaluable than which the Hermus divides the fields. The bands of Ilium, too, with omens their own 7 , seek the standards and the camp doomed to fall ; nor does the story of Troy restrain them, and Csesar declaring himself 8 the descendant of Phrygian lulus. The nations of Syria came ; the deserted Orontes 9 , and Kinos so wealthy 10 (as the story is), and windy Damascus 11 , 1 And Arisbe) ver. 204. Arisbe was a small town situate in the Troad. 2 Who inhabit Pitane) ver. 205. Pitane was a seaport town of Mysia, on the shores of the Elaitic gulf, at the mouth of the Evenus, or, according to some, of the Cai'cus. It was the birth-place of the Academic philosopher Arcesilaiis. 3 And Celanai) ver. 206. Celsenae was a great city of southern Phry- gia, which lay at the sources of the rivers Mseander and Marsyas. Near the source of the latter river there was a grotto which was said to have been the scene of the punishment of Marsyas by Apollo. After he had been flayed alive, his skin was hung up in the town of Celaenae. The story of the musical contest between Apollo and Marsyas is told in Ovid's Metamorphoses, B. vi. 1. 383. 4 The swift Marsyas) ver. 207. This river was said to have been formed by the tears which were shed by the rural Deities in sympathy for the tragical death of Marsyas. 5 Permits the Pactolus) ver. 209. The Pactolus was a river of Lydia in Asia Minor, said to have golden sands. The word "passa," "allowing" or " permitting/' is used, inasmuch as flowing forth from the mines it would tend to waste the precious metal. 6 Tfa Hermus divides) ver. 210. The Hermus was another river of Lydia, which was also said to have golden sands. 7 With omens their own) ver. 212. " Ominibus suis ;" meaning " with their usual ill-luck," that of being conquered, whenever they had recourse to arms. 8 Caesar declaring himself) ver. 213. Julius Caesar boasted of being descended from lulus or Ascanius, the son of JEneas, through the kings of Alba Longa. 9 The deserted Orontes) ver. 214. He means the country about the river Orontes, which flowed past Antioch in Syria. 10 And Ninos so wealthy) ver. 215. Ninus or Nineveh, according to Scripture, was founded by Nimrod. According to profane historians, it was founded by Ninus, the husband of Semiramis. 11 The windy Damascus) ver. 215. Damascus in Coele-Syria is probably 102 PHAESALIA. [B. ra. 216-225. and Gaza 1 , and Idumsea 2 rich in its groves of palms. Un- stable Tyre as well 3 , and Sidon precious with its purple dye. These ships did thje Cynosure conduct 4 to the warfare by no winding track along the sea, more certain for no other barks. The Phoenicians first, if belief is given to report, ventured to represent in rude characters the voice destined to endure. Not yet had Memphis learned to unite 5 the rushes of the stream; and only animals engraved upon stones, both birds and wild beasts, kept in ex- istence the magic tongues". The forest, too, of Taurus is called " ventosa " from the circumstance of its being situate on a plain and exposed to the winds. Notwithstanding this epithet, it* situation it con- sidered one of the finest in the globe. 1 And Gaza) ver. 216. There were two cities of the name of Gaza. One -was the strongly-fortified city of the Philistines, so called, on the sea- coast, while the other was a city in the Persian province of Sogdiana. 3 And Idumcea) ver. 216. Idnmaea in the later Jewish history and the Roman annals means the southern part of Judea and a small part of the northern part of Arabia Petraea, extending beyond the ancient Edom of Scriptnre. 3 Unstable Tyre ax toell) ver. 217. The famous city of Tyre was on the sea-coast of Syria : at this period it had considerably fallen from its opulence. According to some, h is called " instabilis " from its liability to earthquakes, while others would have the word to mean " fickle " or "-de- ceitful." Virgil speaks in the First Book of the JEncid of the " Tyrii bilingnes," " the double-tongued Tyrians." Sidon was the neighbour of Tyre, and the rival of its commercial enterprise and opulence. These cities were famed for the production of the " mnrex " or purple dye extracted from the hell-fish so called, which was extremely valuable. 4 Did the Cynomn conduct) ver. 219. The Constellation of the Lesser Bear was called Cynosnra from Ki/vo,- eiaa " the Dog's tail," the stars in their sequence being fancifully thought to resemble that object. According, how- ever, to another account, Cynosure was the name of a nymph who nursed Jupiter on Mount Ida, and for that service was raised to the stars. The Phoenicians of Tyre and Sidon, in navigating the ocean, took their observa- tions from this Constellation, while the Greeks for that purpose used Helice or the Greater Bear. See the Fasti of Ovid, B. iii. L 107, el ttq. * Memphis learned to unite) ver. 222. fie means that the Phoenicians were the inventors of the art of writing, before it was known to the Egyptians, who had not then discovered the art of making paper from the byblus or papyrus, and only knew the use of hieroglyphics, which they carved on stone. Kept in existence the magic tongues) ver. 224. By "magicas lingua* " he probably means the secrets known to the priesthood of Egypt, who pro- fessed to be skilled in the magic art. B. m. 225-237.] PHABSALIA. 103 deserted, and Persean Tarsus 1 , and the Corycian cave 2 opening with its rocks worn away. Mallus 3 and remote ^Egte 4 resound with their dockyards, and the Cilician ship 5 goes forth obedient to the law, no longer a pirate now. The rumour, too, of the warfare has moved the corners of the East, where Ganges is worshipped, who alone through- out all the world dares to discharge himself by a mouth opposite" to the rising sun, and impels Ms waves towards the opposing eastern winds ; here it was that the chieftain from Pella 7 , arriving beyond the seas of Tethys, stopped short, and confessed that he was conquered by the vast earth. Where, too, Indus carrying along his rapid stream with di- vided flood is not sensible of the Hydaspes mingling" with his waters. Those also, who drink the sweet juices 9 from the 1 And Persean Tarsus) ver. 225. Tarsus was a very ancient city of Syria. According to the tradition here alluded to, it was founded by Perseus, the son of Jupiter and Danae, and was said to have been so called from the Greek