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THE LOEB CLASSICAL LIBRARY

EDITED BV T. E. PAGE, MIT.D.

E. CAPPS, PH.D., LL.D. W. H. D. ROUSE, i.itt.d.

STATIUS

I

s^

STATIUS

WITH AN ENGLISH TRANSLATION BY

J. H. MOZLEY, M.A.

SOMETIME SCHOLAR OF KING'S COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE

LECTURER IN CLASSICS AT EAST LONDON COLLIGE, UNIVERSITY

Of LONDON

IN TWO VOLUMES

SILVAE

THEBAID I-IV

y-b-

LONDON: WILLIAM HEINEMANN LTD NEW YORK : G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS

MCMXXVIII

P/9

V.I &CC.Z

printed iti Great Britain.

CONTENTS OF VOLUME I

Inthoduction

PACE

vii

SILVAE

Book I-

Statius to his friend Stella ... 2

I. The statue of Domitian ... 6 II. Epithalaiiiium in honour of Stella and

Violentilla 14

III. The villa of Manlius Vopiscus . . 38

IV. To Kutilius Gallieus .... 46 V. The baths of Claudius Etruscus . . 58

VI. The Kalends of December . . . 6'4

Book II—

Statins to his friend Melior I. Glaucias 11. The villa of Pollius Felix

III. The tree of Atedius Melior

IV. Melior's parrot V. The tame lion

VI. To Flavins Ursus . VII. To Polla on Lucan's birthday

72 76 94 106 112 116 118 128

CONTENTS

Book III—

Statins to his friend Pollius I. The temjile of Hei'cules at Surrentum

II. To Maecius Celer ....

III. To Claudius Etruscus

IV. The tresses of Elavius Earinus V. To liis wife Claudia

Book IV—

Statius to his friend Marcellus I. The seventeenth consulship of Domitian n. To the Emperor Domitian III. The Domitian Road IV To Vitorius Marcellus V. To Septimius Severus

VI. The Hercules statuette .

VII. To Vibius Maximus VIII. To Julius Menecrates

IX. To Plotius Grypus Book V—

Statius to his friend Abascantus I. On the death of Priscilla II. The praises of Crispinus

III. A lament for his father .

IV. To Sleep .....

V. A lament for his adoj^ted son Fragment of a Poem on the German War

THEBAID

Book	I.
Book	II.
Book	III.
Book	IV.

138 140 154 16G 184 192

202 206 210 216 228 236 242 250 256 260

266 268 288 302 328 330 336

340 3.94 450 506

Mai'

. at beginning of volume

INTRODUCTION

PuBLius Papinius Statius was born at Naples, prob- ably about A.D. 40." His father was a native of Velia on the Lucanian coast, but had moved to Naples, where as " graniniatlcus " he conducted a school to which pupils came from all parts of Italy. Here he taught literature, which in the secondary school of the time meant poetry, with exposition of grammar, style, and antiquities ; he also instructed his pupils in augury and the various rites of the Roman state religion. He was himself a poet, and had won prizes in the Grecian contests, at Delphi, Nemea, and the Isthmus ; he had written a poem on the civil war of a.d. 69, and was planning another on the eruption of Vesuvius in 79, when he died. He was buried on an estate that he possessed near Alba. The younger Statius owed to his father's personal care and instruction all his education and poetical training, a debt which he acknowledges in terms of the warmest gratitude ; he soon gained fame as a poet himself, and won prizes at the local competitions in Naples, held at the festival of the Augustalia. Probably after his father's death he left Naples and

" See references to his senium in Silv. iii. 5. 13, 24, iv. 4. 70, V. 2. 158 ; the date also suits his father's Hfetime. Other information will be found for tlie most part in Silv. v. 3, and iii. 5.

INTRODUCTION

went to Rome, where he hved till the year Qi, writing poetry and declaiming extracts from his Thebaid before crowded audiences. He was awarded a prize in the annual poetical contest held by Domitian in honour of Minerva at his residence near Alba, but to his great disappointment, when he competed at the important Capitoline " Agon " in Rome, he met with failure. In Rome he married his wife Claudia, a widow with one daughter. The poet himself was childless, and adopted a slave-boy born in his own house, whose early death he mourns with real sorrow in his last, unfinished poem. About 9^ he returned in broken health to Naples, where he died, probably in 95 or 96.

Although one may take Juvenal's word for it that Statins, in spite of the large crowds his recitations drew, made no money out of poetry, one need not assume that he lived in poverty and was forced to write libretti for the stage in order to make a living ; * there is nothing in his own wi'itings that implies it, while from the mention of his father's estate at Alba one would gather that he was ^t least moderately well off. The poet, at any rate, seems to have lived on terms of familiarity with the wealthy Pollius Felix and others, and his wife was the personal friend of Priscilla, whose husband Abascantus was secretary of state. It seems doubtful whether he formed part of any circle or group of poets ; his patrons were those of Martial, Atedius Melior, for instance, and Pollius Felix, but neither writer ever mentions the other, whence some have thought that there was a coolness between the two. This is not unlikely, for from what we know of the two men we should conclude that they " See Juv. vii. 82 sqq.

INTRODUCTION

were extremely uncongenial to each other. Juvenal indeed, is the only Latin writer before Sidonius Apollinaris who does mention Statius, though his influence upon later poets was strong.

His relations with the Court were those of the humble aspirant to Imperial favour ; his poems upon the colossal equestrian statue of Domitian, the Emperor's 17th Consulship, the tresses of his favourite Earinus, and the banquet to which the Emperor invited him, are all marked by the flattery that the subservience of the times was eager to bestow ; Domitian affected to be a patron of letters, even a poet himself : it was one of the stock compliments of the time to wonder whether he were more brilliant a poet or a commander.'* Statius frequently men- tions his campaigns, and follows the convention of pretending to be planning a great work on the Emperor's wars, to which the actual epics are only preliminary.^

Statius flourished in tlie middle of the Silver Age of Latin literature, coming after Seneca and Lucan (though born about the same time as the latter), before Juvenal, Tacitus, and the younger Pliny, and contemporary with Martial, Valerius Flaccus, and Quintilian. The later part of his life was thus spent under the Flavian dynasty, which in spite of its faults did really encourage letters. He also lived at a time when the practice of recitation had become a popular rage ; his pleasant voice, '^ his poetry, with its subtle

« See Achilleid, i. 15. " See Thebald, i. 32, Ach. i. 19.

'^ vocem iucundam, Juv. vii. 82 : for the dulcedo which Juvenal also mentions (1. 8i) see on Statius's versification (below) ; the word was probablj' the origin of Dante's line (put in Statius's niouth), " Tanto fu dolce mio vocale spirto " {Purg. xxi. 88).

ix

INTRODUCTION

effects of alliteration and assonance, its brilliant passages, startling tricks of style and language, its avoidance of the obvious and occasional touches of the pathetic and the horrible, all this combined to tickle the ears and feelings of the popular audiences of the day." Or again, with an Italian's gift of rapid improvisation, he would delight a patron by dashing off a description of his villa in marvellously smooth hexameters, or obhge him with occasional verse on any subject, serious or trivial.

The poetry of Statins shows many of the character- istics of the Silver Age. (i.) The rhetorical influence is evident, frequency of hyperbole, straining after epigram and point, superficiality and obedience to text-book models, (ii.) There is a tendency to realism which shows itself now in the petty, now in the horrible, as for instance in many of the battle-scenes of the Thehaid. (iii.) There is a general diminution of scale, characteristic perhaps of Silver periods of litera- ture, when the great subjects are exhausted and poets descend to more trivial themes ; or, if the grand themes are still attempted, the treatment is unequal to them, and lack of proportion is the inevitable result. The search for new matter takes the form of describing things that the great poets would not have thought worth describing, or not suitable to poetry. The Description, indeed, as such, the eK(/)/ja<rts, becomes a recogiiized literary form. (iv.) Another note of the age is the conscious learning which obtrudes itself into many a passage ; poets could draw on learned compilations of mythological matter and general information, on treatises dealing

" See, for a satirical exaggeration of the picture, Persius i. 13 sqq.

INTRODUCTION

with anything from astronomy to horse-breeding, while audiences probably relished such compliments to their culture.

The Sn.rjE "■

These are a collection of occasional poems, many of which were written hastily to order or just as the fancy seized the poet ; some, on the other hand, like the lament for his father (v. 3), are more carefully constructed. Six of them are Poems of Consolation, ** for the loss of a father, a wife or a favourite slave ; this was a type of composition of which the Romans were very fond, in prose as well as in poetry. They cannot be said to be the most successful examples of Statius's verse ; to our taste, at any rate, they appear artificial and exaggerated in tone, and lacking in real sentiment," also for the most part much too long. It should be said, however, that he was following the rules laid downi for that type of poem by the schools of rhetoric and obeyed by the poets. This applies also to other literary forms, for example, the

" The word means literally " pieces of raw material," from sllva= Gk. iiX-q, i.e. pieces ready to be worked up into shape, or impromptu pieces; cf. Quint, x. 3. 17 " diversum est eorum vitium, qui primum decurrere per materiam stilo quam velocissimo volunt, et sequentes calorem atque impetum ex tempore scribunt ; hanc silvam vocant." " Their fault is different, who wish to run over their material first with as rapid a pen as possible, and write impromptu, following the inspiration of the moment : such work they call silva.'' Cf. also Aulus Gellius, Noct. Att. Pref. 6.

*" Epicedion, or 'ETri/cijSeioi', from ktjSos, mourning, funeral lamentation.

" l',\cej)tions are v. 3, v. 5 and the passage at the end of ii. 1 (i>U8-end).

INTRODUCTION

Epithalamion (i. 2), a much more pleasing composi- tion, the Propempticon, or Farewell-piece (iii. 2), the Description ("EK(jbpao-ts, i. 3, i. 5, ii. 2, iv. 6), the Genethliacon (ii. 7), a name more commonly given to a poem wTitten for the birthday of a living person, while here the occasion is the anniversary of the birthday of the poet Lucan, who has been dead some years.

More attractive again are such pieces as that on Atedius Melior's Tree (ii. 3), where Statius's hghtness of touch and fancy appears at its best, or the account of the entertainment given to the people by the Emperor on the Kalends of December (i. 6). The two imitations of Horatian lyric (iv. 5 and 7) are feeble, but the hendecasyllables of iv. 9 are spirited, and in the Lucan ode Statins succeeds in rising above the conventional, and there is real feehng in Calliope's lament for her favourite poet. The piece which he addresses to his wife Claudia is also marked by sincerity, and so are the two poems on the deaths of members of his own family, his father (v. 3) and his adopted son (v. 5) ; this latter poem is left unfinished, but it seems to have been planned with the same elaboration that we find in the case of the former. Best known of all the Silvae, probably, is the httle sonnet-like poem addressed to the god Sleep (v. 4).

Statius's chief merit in this class of poetry consists perhaps, in his descriptive power, and to it we owe much of our knowledge of Roman society in the Flavian era. The scenes are varied, and include a state banquet given by the Emperor (iv. 2), a fashion- able wedding (i. 2), country-seats of patrons of Utera- ture (i.3,ii.2), funeral scenes (ii. l,ii. 6, etc.), the new road along the coast of Campania recently opened

INTRODUCTION

(iv. 3), an entertainment in the Amphitheatre (i. 6), Among the personages introduced are the poet's own friend and patron Polhus Fehx, wealthy and cultured, the literary Epicurean Manlius Vopiscus, the soldier Rutilius Gallicus, of noble birth and distinguished career, the young Maecius Celer, just off to the Syrian front, the art-collector Novius Vindex, the freedman Claudius Etruscus, who had risen from slavery to the position of secretary of finance to the Emperor Nero, one of the three great secretaryships of the early Empire.

By far the greater number of these pieces are written in hexameters, a metre first applied by Statius, so far as we know, to the composition of genre poems of this kind, and employed with marvellous facility and ease ; the lines run smoothly, though without the extreme elaboration that we sometimes find in the Thebaid, and without great attention to variation of pause, or subtlety of allitera- tive effect. He displays wonderful skill in expres- sion and choice of phrase ; when describing, for instance, the water flowing in its silver channels in the Baths of Claudius Etruscus, he says (i. 5 . 48) :

argento felix propellitur unda argentoque cadit, labrisque nitentibus instat delicias mirata suas et abire recusat.

and, of the stream outside :

extra autem niveo qui margine caerulus amnis vivit.

In his address to his wife, again, speaking of the peacefulness of Naples, he says (iii. 5. 87) :

nulla foro rabies aut strictae in iurgia leges, morum iura viris solum et sine fascibus aequum.

INTRODUCTION

As a poet who depicts the society of his time, Statius compares very favourably with Martial in avoiding the coarseness that was so prominent a feature of it, and his poetry reflects the sensitiveness of his character.

The Thebaid and Aciiillfjd

To be the author of a great epic poem is to count as one of the few great poets of the world, and it need hardly be said that Statius can make no claim to that honour. He stands with Apollonius, Lucan, and Valerius Flaccus in the second rank. Yet the Thebaid received high praise from the elder Scaliger and the post-Renaissance critics, and the tendency to-day is, if anything, to underrate its merits. It is, indeed, somewhat lacking in unity of theme, yet it must be remembered that much depends on the story chosen, and that of the Seven against Thebes is a difficult one to handle owing to the double interest : the Argive and the Theban strands are hard to combine satis- factorily ; in fact, the unity of the plot is a duality, i.e. the conflicting fortunes of the two brothers, and the real interest consists in the gradual approach and closer interweaving of the two " subjects," until, as in the stretto of a fugue, the climax is reached in the great duel of Bk. XI. Here, it is true, Statius might have stopped, with the Aeneid as his model, but the Theban legend is fruitful in incident, and it might be justly urged that the burial of the Argives, with the appeal of Theseus that it involves, together with the striking episode of the " strife of flames upon the funeral pyre " of the two rivals, formed a real part of the story ; it must be admitted, however, that the

INTRODUCTION

Thebaid does not end satisfactorily : that Statins was worried over it we may gather from a hint in the Silvae (iii. 2. US). H. W. Garrod has defended the Thebaid as an " episodic " epic, and that is probably its most conspicuous feature ; at the same time, though Statius had every right to make his poem episodic if he wished, it would be wrong to overlook the unity that it does possess, even if it is less obvious than in a story like the Argonautica, for example, or the Aeneid.

The same critic has spoken of the poet's " tender- ness, mysticism, and piety^ — in short, his Christian- ity " ; it is true that the tenderness at times becomes sentimentality, at times a morbid emphasizing of the horrible, yet, generally speaking, Statius responds sympathetically to the tender emotions : Argia as wife and daughter, Hypsipyle in the anguish caused by the loss of the babe Opheltes, Antigone as sister, are faithfully drawn, and the relations of mother and son seem to have had a particular attraction for Statius, e.g. Atalanta and Parthenopaeus, Ismenis and Crenaeus in the Thebaid (notice, too, how many times he refers to Ino and Palaemon), Thetis and Achilles in the AchiUeid.'^

With regard to the gods, Jupiter and Nature are both referred to by Statius as supreme, quite apart from Fate or Destiny ; ^ he does not actually identify them, but we may see here a tendency to

" In Virgil, as Warde Fowler has pointed out, the father- son relation is more prominent. Statius loves to describe children ; cf. the Opheltes episode, and the three epicedia (Silv. ii. 1, ii. 6, v. 5), and such touches as " qui pueris sopor " (Ach. i. 229).

* There is also the mysterious triplkis mundi summum of iv. 516, for whom see note ad loc.

XV

INTRODUCTION

syncretism, or the regarding of different deities as so many manifestations of one ultimate Power, charac- teristic of the time." This probably originated A\ith Stoicism, and Stoicism had become the religion of educated Romans, so far as they had one. " Dieu, c'est-a-dire Jupiter, et la Nature ne sont qu'un. Et cette raison divine, cette loi universelle, c'est le Fatum qui ne fait aussi qu'un avec la Nature et avec Dieu " (Legras, La Thebai'de.p.l60). Another apparent incon- sistency has been laid to the poet's account, in making Jupiter first announce his decision to embroil Argos and Thebes, and then attempt to deter the Argives on their march by hostile omens ; in this, however, he is doing no more than ancient wTitei's commonly do in accepting both divine warning by omen and divine irrevocable will without attempting to reconcile them. That Statius was not unaware of the difficulty can be gathered from his discussions of divination and of omens (iii. 551, vi. QS^).

The divine personages who make up the super- natural machinery of the Thehaid are treated in the familiar, realistic manner of traditional epic ; certain personifications take their place among them, such as Sleep, Virtue, Piety ; the latter, in her well-meant effort to stop the duel of the brothers, is treated very unceremoniously by Tisiphone, and hustled off the battle-ground whence she flees complaining to the Thunderer (xi. t57 sq). Yet oc '''^- ^ly the poet strikes a higher note ; one of iie best known passages of the Thehaid is the description of the altar and grove of Clementia at Athens, in which the poet gives beautiful expression to the old Athenian ideal

" Cf. also i. 696 sq. where Apollo is identified with Mithras, Osiris, etc.

INTRODUCTION

of humanity, lines that breatlie the spirit of a purer rehgion than any known to the ancient world, and may well have given rise to Dante's belief that Statius was a Christian.

We may now consider briefly some further char- acteristics of the Thehaid. (I,) Statius revels in de- scription : in the first book we have the storm that Polynices encounters on his way to Argos, in Bk. II. the exciting narrative of the ambush set for Tydeus on his return from Thebes, in Bk. III. the auspice- taking, in Bk. IV. the necromancy. The games in Bk. \T. are well done, Statius, no doubt, owing several details to his own close observation in the Roman Circus, as, for example, in the boxing and WTCstling matches and the discus-throwing. In Bks. VII. and X. we have two set pieces, the abode of Mars and of Sleep respectively. Battle-pieces since Homer have, as a rule, been failures, in painting as well as in poetry ; those of the Silver Latin poets suggest the large canvases of third-rate Italian painters, depicting, for example, the capture of Constantinople by the Latins for the adornment of a ducal palace ; the same grim detail, the same hectic fui-y marks the battle-scenes of Statius. It is in description that his love of hyperbole becomes most manifest : the mountain in ii. 32 sq. is so high that the stars rest upon it, the sei-pent in v. 550 covers several acres, the Centaur plunging down from the mountain dams a whole river with his bulk, iv. 144<, etc.

(II.) Passages of this kind, and also similes, are in

many cases borrowed from previous poets, Virgil,

Ovid, or Lucan. Statius in borrowing often adds

details to fill out the picture, or elaborates the

VOL. I b xvii

INTRODUCTION

language : often, too, he introduces a sentimental touch, i.e. he either attributes feeling to inanimate objects, or looks at the scene from the point of view of some living person : in ix. 90 the sea-resisting rock " feels no fear," or in the simile of the snake renewing its skin (iv. 93 sq.) a countrvman is intro- duced("a! miser agrestum;" etc.) Someof his similes are worthy of notice, for example, that which com- pares the calm produced by the majesty of Jove's utterance to that of lakes and streams under the tranquil influence of summer (iii. 253), or that of Pluto coming into his inheritance of the underworld (xi. 44-3). But we get rather tired of the endless bulls and boars to which his heroes are compared.

(III.) Of Statius's inequality as a poet it is hardly necessary to speak ; he suffers from lack of judgement, rising now to the wildest heights of exaggeration and bombast, and now sinking to trivial and absurd detail, as when persons are described kissing each other through closed visors (" galeis iuvat oscula clausis inserere," iv. 20), or when Mercurj^'s hat gets wet in the rainstorms of Thrace (\di. 39)- At the same time there are lines of great poetic beauty : i. 336-341, a beautiful description of the rising moon, " her airy chariot hung with pearly dew " (Pope's transl.), and of Sleep's mysterious influence ; or the moonbeams ^„«<». glinting on the bronze armour of the ambuscade (ii. 532), or a picture of sunrise on the fields in winter (iii. 468-9), or the last breeze dying away on droop- ing sails (i. 479-481) ; again, in i. 264-5, we seem to hear the beating of the gongs and the wailing of votaries by some sacred river of the East, while the mysterious figure of the Lydian Bacchus, the spirit of the golden river, appears dimly in " aut Hermi de xviii

INTRODUCTION

fontibus aureus exis " (iv. 389). There is an effective touch in the duel of the brotliers, when the ghosts of Thebans are pei-mitted by Pluto to throng the hills around and watch the combat ; in the journey of Argia, too, in Bk. XII. there are some romantic scenes (xii. 228 sq., 250-54, 267-77).

(IV.) His love of epigram and point has already been mentioned ; here we may notice that it is frequently seen at the ends of paragraphs, some- times producing an effect of overstrain, even of obscurity. Examples may be found in i. 335, i. 547 (see note), i. 623, iii. 323, 498, v. 485, 533, vi. 795, X. 570.

(V.) Statins has great skill in versification, which shows itself not perhaps so much in the ai't of varying the pauses and the rhythm of his lines, though in this respect he has learnt more from Virgil than either Ovid or Lucan, as in his use of assonance and allitera- tion. The latter especially repays study, both in the single line, e.g. i. 123, ii. 89, v. 14, v. 615, and in passages of two or three lines, in which usually one or two consonant or vowel sounds predominate, with others as subordinate, e.g. ii. 118-19 (" f "), ii. 538 sq. (" c," " t," with " f," " V," " h ") or even in longer passages, e.g. i. 342-54). There is also sometimes remarkable symmetry in words, see the simile in iv. 93 sq., where the verb " erigitur " connects two groups, each consisting of two sub-groups, in each of which again noun and adjective are arranged in a chiasmus, and he often brackets his phrase between noun and adjective or participle, as in ii. 252-3, 718-9. It was, no doubt, technique of this kind, combined with the pointed phrases, the appearance of familiar similes and descriptions in more elaborate form, and

xix

INTRODUCTION .. <-

/ the sprinkling of recondite mythological allusion that made Statius a popular poet with the audiences of Flavian Rome.

(VI.) Statius takes great liberties with the Latin language. There are phrases which it is impossible to make sense of, if taken grammatically and literally. Legras is reduced to despair by some, as by v. 115 " vel iustos cuius pulsantia menses vota tument ? " he says " c'est, si on I'ose dire, un pur charabia" " ; so too " raptus ab omni sole dies " (v. 364), where the scholiast is compelled to exclaim " nove dictum ! " and, perhaps the most untranslatable of all, " viderat Inachias rapidum glomerare cohortes Bacchus iter " (\ii. 45). It is impossible, in translating, to do more than give the general sense ; the poet is here a pure " impressionist." Postgate has made a similar comment on the style of Propertius {Select Elegies, Introduction, p. Ix), " The outhnes of his pictures lack sharpness and precision, and the colours and even forms on his canvas tend to blend imperceptibly with each other. Thus it is the general impression that fascinates us in his poems, not the proportion and perfection of the details." Again, speaking of Pro- pertius' excessive subtlety of construction, he says " sometimes the sentence must be read as a whole, as it is almost impossible to give it a detailed con- struction. . . . Cf. i. 20. 24, where I have compared the tendency of the Greek tragedians to spread the meaning through a sentence rather than apportion it among the words." This verj' well expresses the character of the Statian phrase, and in this respect Statius is the successor of Propertius. Both poets perhaps were led to MTite in this way by an attempt " i.e. " pure gibberish."

INTRODUCTION

to avoid the hard ghtter of Latin, so suitable to the clear-cut phrase of Horace or the snap and polish of Ovid or Martial, and a longing for occasional half- tones, for lack of precision. Possibly it is due to Virgilian influence, for part of Virgil's genius consists in being able to give a soft, mysterious effect without any sense of unnaturalness. Statius aims at a like effect, but fails to avoid unnatvn-alness.

(VII.) Psychologically, he is not conspicuous for remarkable insight ; it may be said, however, in his defence that the epic does not demand refinement in character drawing, which is rather the business of the drama. In the Thebaid, as, indeed, in the Aeneid, the treatment of character is broad : Amphiaraus the seer, Eteocles the fierce tyrant, Capaneus the scorner " ** of the gods, Hippomedon the stalwart warrior, Parthenopaeus the gallant youth, are all true to type ;<* more carefully drawn are Adrastus and his son- in-law Polynices ; the former is depicted as an elderly monarch, grave, kindly, diplomatic, and perhaps some- what lacking in decision, while the latter is shown as not altogether easy in mind, even diffident, about the undertaking, and ready to lapse into utter despair and to contemplate suicide when things go badly ; at the same time he is not quite ingenuous (see iii. 381-2), and on comparing him with his brother one feels there is not much to choose. Tydeus is vigorously drawn, especially in the episode of the embassy ; he becomes the mere warrior in Bk. X., and his memory is stained by the inhuman gnawing of his enemy's skull with which the book, and his career, closes.

" It is not inconsistent with this to point out that Partheno- paeus is modelled on Virgil's Camilla.

xxi

INTRODUCTION ^ ^'*L«^-

A few touches show some degree of insight : the people of Crotopus, king of Argos (in Adrastus' narrative), have just been saved from the awful pestilence sent on them by Apollo : " stupet Inacha pubes, magnaque post lacrimas etiamnunc gaudia pallent " (i. 619)) " the Inachian youth stand appalled and their joy, though great now sorrow is ended, even yet is pale and dim." Capaneus is said to be " largus animae modo suaserit ira " (iii. 603), " lavish of his life, should wrath but urge him," a development of the Horatian " animaeque magnae prodigum Paullum." The Argive leaders who have taken the place of those slain in the fight are " haud laeti seque hue crevisse dolentes " (x. 181), " feeling no joy, but grief that thev are raised so high." Thetis, urging the boy Achilles to don the girlish clothes, adds " nesciet hoc Chiron ' {Ach. i. 274), " Chiron will not know of it."

The plot of the Thehaid was probably modelled on the vast Epic of Antimachus {ji. c. 400 e.g.), which Cicero calls " magnum illud volumen," and of which Porphyrio tells us that the author had completed twenty-four books before the Argive host had been brought to Thebes. Statius, though he took only six books in doing it, has been criticized for un- necessary delay in arriving at Thebes, but he Mas probablv wise, as twelve books of battle-scenes would have rendered his work as unreadable as the seven- teen books of Silius Italicus' Punica.

The following is a summary of the chief events of the Thehaid : i. 1-45, Invocation of the Emperor. 45-311, Oedipus, who has blinded himself, invokes Tisiphone and curses his sons : she hears him and hurries to Thebes ; the brothers, full of mutual hate, agree to reign alternately ; the lot falls on Eteocles,

INTRODUCTION

and Polynices reluctantly departs. Jupiter an- nounces his decision to set Argos against Thebes. 312-720, Polynices' journey to Argos and his ex- periences there, ii. 1-33, Apparition of the shade of Laius to Eteocles. 134-305, Wedding celebrations of Polynices and Tydeus at Argos. 306-743, and iii. 1-439, Tydeus goes on embassy to Thebes, the ambush set for him, his victory and return. 440-721, Auspice-taking ; war is decided on at Argos. iv. 1-344, Catalogue of the Argive host. 345-645, Plight of Thebes : neci'omancy. 646-842 and v. 1-16, Bacchus causes the Argives to be delayed by thirst : they are saved by Hypsipyle, nurse of Opheltes, infant son of Lycurgus, king of Nemea. 17-498, Narrative of Hypsipyle. 499-753, Death of Opheltes. vi. 1-248, Funeral rites of Opheltes. 249-946, Funeral games, vii. 1-397, Catalogueofthe Thebans. 398-823, The fighting begins : disappeai-ance of the augur Amphiaraus. viii. 1-342, Amphiaraus's recep- tion in the underworld ; his successor is appointed. 342-766, Exploits and Death of Tydeus. ix. 1-569, Exploits and Death of Hippomedon. 570-907, Fears of Atalanta for Parthenopaeus : his death, x. 1-261, Intervention of Juno. 262-448, Night-raid and devotion of Hopleus and Dymas. 449-826, Devotion of Menoeceus. 827-936, Death of Capaneus. xi. 1-314, Preparations for the duel between the brothers. 315-761 , The duel. Exile of Oedipus, and end of the war. xii. 1-463, Funeral rites of the Thebans. De- votion of Antigone and Ai-gia. 464-809, Intervention of Theseus, after supplication of Argive woinen at Athens.

In the concluding lines of the poem Statins exhorts his Thebaid to follow far behind the divine Aeneicl

INTRODUCTION

and to reverence its footsteps ; " from them we may gather that he was hnmble enough not to thmk of himself as a rival of \ irgil, though acknowledging that poet as the chief inspirer of his work. In fact, the plan and chief incidents of the Aeneid seem to be reproduced with an astonishing scrupulousness in the Thehaid. \'irgil, however, was not the only poet whom Statius laid under contril)ution ; an analysis of the Thebaid shows that Ovid and Lucan, and in a lesser degree Seneca and Valerius Flaccus, have incidents, or at any rate, details borrowed from them by our author.* In versification he is, on the whole, 0\idian ; there is no trace of Virgil's gravity, or of Lucan's heaviness, but the hexameter is predomi- nantly the smooth, unehded line of Ovid, though the hephthemimeral pause and caesura, characteristic of Silver Latin verse, is frequent.

As for the authorities on whom Statius drew for the actual story of the Seven, we have already referred to the Thebaid of Antimachus ; its fragments, how-

" nee tu divinam Aeneida tempta,

sed longe sequere et vestigia semper adora.

Cf. also references in the Silvae, iv. 4. 53, iv. 7. 25.

'' e.^. Virgil: i. \Q1 sqq.= Aen.'i.'iSSsqq.; x.lsqq.; ii.l33 = Aen. YU.Sil ;theArgive rush to arms, and Catalogue (Bk. 1 1 1.) = Aen. vii. 572, etc., the Games. Parthenopaeus= Camilla; Hopleus and Dvmas= Nisus and Eurvalus, and manv others.

Lucan: iv. 369, etc. = P;;ars. i. 469, 674; iv. i2o=Ph. iv. 324.

Ovid : v. 505= Met. iii. 32 ; vi. 825, etc.= Met. ix. 33 (c/. also Luc. PJi. iv. 655).

Seneca : ii. 269, etc.= Medea, 734 etc. ; iv. 443= Oed. 556.

Homer is also largely followed in the funeral rites and games of Bk. VI., and in the river fight of Bk. IX. (//. xvii., xviii., and xxi.). Also some of the episodes of the night raid (Bk. X. ) are from the JJoloneia.

INTRODUCTION

ever, are so scanty that any estimate of his debt to it must be purely conjectural, and the same applies to the Oedipodeia and Thehais of the Epic Cycle. Of extant authors, Aeschylus and Sophocles appear to have contributed comparatively little, for, to take one or two instances, tlie character of Eteocles is quite diiferent in Aeschylus's-S'gp^ew, and in Sophocles' Oedipus Rex Jocasta commits suicide and Oedipus leaves the city immediately after the dis- covery, while in the Thebaid they are both there all the time. On the other hand the Phoenissae of Euripides is closely followed (probably also the Hypsipiile^) and Seneca's P/ioenissae. For the narra- tive of Hypsipyle both Statius and Valerius Flaccus elaborate considerably on the simpler account of Apollonius of Rhodes.

There is, in fact, little if anything to show that Statius has done more than work on the traditional epic material in a manner that seemed to him best suited to the requirements of his audience ; that he was successful and enjoyed considerable popularity as a poet we may gather both from the passage of Juvenal quoted above and from the closing lines of the poem itself (xii. 812-15) :

iam certe praesens tibi Fama benignum stravit iter coepitque novam monstrare futuris. iam te magnanimus dignatur noscere Caesar, Itala iam studio discit memoratque iuventus.

" Of a truth already present Fame hath of her bounty paved thy way, and begun to hold thee up, young as thou art, to future ages. Already great-hearted

" There are a number of verbal parallels with the Hypsipyle.

INTRODUCTION

Caesar deigns to know thee, and the youth of Italy eagerly learns and recounts thy verse."

The fame that Statius so anxiously yearned for was his throughout the Middle Ages. His epic, though of the ancient world, seems to herald the new age : Amphiaraus is almost the warrior bishop, Chaucer, indeed, calls him " the bisshop Amphiorax " ; dragons, sorcerers, enchanted woods, maidens waving to their lovers from high turrets, and other romantic features fill the pages of his poem, while its actual influence can be traced in medieval literature." All readers of Dante remember the meeting of Statius and \'irgil in Purgatory (Cantos 21, 22), and the touching lines in which the poet narrates the recogni- tion of \irgi! by his humble and admiring follower. Dante's belief that Statius was a Christian was due, according to Comparetti,^ to the latter's reverence for Virgil, whom the Middle Ages accepted as a prophet of Christ on the strength of the Fourth Eclogue. Mr. P. H. Wicksteed thinks that the words of xii. 496 " ignotae tantum felicibus arae " (" the altar is unknown only to the prosperous ") may have led to an identification with the altar to the Unknown God, " ignoto Deo," seen at Athens by St. Paul (Acts xvii. 23).'= See also A. W. Verrall's

" For Amphiorax see Chaucer, Trolhis and Criseyde, ii. 103 ; dragons, i. 600, v. 505, sorcerers, iv. -1'43, x. 600, wood, iv. 419, maidens, iv. 89, vi. 546, AcJi. ii. 23. Chaucer's Knight's Tale has borrowed largely from the Thebaid (through Boccaccio's Teseide), and its influence is seen in a poem entitled the " Lamentations of Oedipus, King of Thebes " (Anthology of Mediaeval Latin, S. Gaselee, 1925).

'' Virgil in the Middle Ages, Chapter vii.

" Essay.t in Commemoration of Dante: "Dante and the Latin Poets," 1921.

INTRODUCTION

ingenious suggestions in " The Altar of Mercy " (^Collected Literary Essays, 1913). Besides this there is a conjecture of Prof. Slater : Statius, as we know from Silv. iv. 4. 5S, Avas in the habit of frequenting the tomb of Virgil outside Naples ; he suggests that this fact, together with the well-known tradition of St. Paul's visit to that spot, may have given rise to a story of the meeting of the two, and of Statius 's conversion to Christianity as the result.'*

It is quite possible, however, that Dante origin- ated the idea for his OAvn purposes ; this was the opinion of Benvenuto, the commentator on Dante (quoted by Vernon, Readings on the Purgatorio, ii. 188), and there seems to be no earlier tradition. When Dante and Virgil meet Statius, he is in the Circle of Avarice, where he has been 500 years, having previously spent 300 in the Ante-Purgatory, and 400 in the Circle of Sloth. The latter punish- ment was due, as he explains, to his unreadiness to declare himself a Christian, the former to his prodi- gality (by which, apparently, Dante accounts for his poverty, see Juvenal vii. 82). Statius enlightens Dante on two matters, first, the natural causes of winds and earthquakes (C. 21, cf. Theb. vii. 809 sq.), and second, the nature of the soul when separated from the body (C. 25). This latter knowledge depended to some extent on revealed truth, for which Statius needs to be a Christian. If it be asked why Statius was chosen, the answer may be (i.) that he was highly esteemed in the Middle Ages, (ii.) that his Epic contains similar discussions, though certainly none so long (auguiy, iii. 482, 551,

" Introduction to translation of Silvae, Oxford, 1908.

xxvii

INTRODUCTION

physiology of horses, vi. 333, omens, vi. 93i, earth- quakes, vii, 809).

The Achilleid

Owing to tlie poet's ill-health and comparatively early death no more than 1127 lines of this epic appear to have ever been ^\Titten. In them Ave have the \asit of Thetis, anxious for her son at the out- break of the Trojan War, to Chiron, under whose charge he is ; she conveys the youthful Achilles to Scvros, disguises him as a girl and entrusts him to the care of King Lycomedes ; then come the deception of Deidaniia, the discovery of Achilles by Ulysses and Diomede, and his departure for Troy. There the fragment ends.

The poet's style is simpler and less artificial than in the Thebaid, and the narrative flows more evenly. The most successful pai't of it is undoubtedly the discovery of Achilles, i. 675-920, while the story of his introduction to and courtship of Deidamia is also well told.

The mss. of Statius

The " Silvae"

The only ms. that deserves separate notice is the fifteenth-century MS. at Madrid (hence known as Matritensis), from which it has been proved that all other existing mss. are derived (see Klotz, Introduction to the Silvae, Teubner edition). Besides this ms., designated M, there are a certain number of emenda- tions entered by PoHtian in a copy of the first edition in the Corsinian library at Rome ; some of these he

INTRODUCTION

expressly describes as taken from an old ms. he has recently discovered (1494'), which ms. he says is that which Poggio, the Renaissance scholar, brought into Italy fronr Gaul. He also says that from this MS. all other Mss. are derived, but although we can say the same of M we cannot identify it with Poggio's ms., for (i.) Politian states that the line Silv. i. 4. 86a, which is in M and subsequent mss., was not in Poggio's. (ii.) Some of the excerpts fi'om the latter differ from M. (iii.) He would not have called a fifteenth-century MS. " vetustus." '^ This ms. of Poggio is usually identified with the one that Poggio says he sent to Florence in 1416 or 1417, from Constance or St. Gall, which was probably a copy of a much older one that he found there. It is quite possible, however, tliat it was the original that he sent to Florence, and not a copy, and Politian's description of Poggio's MS. as " vetustus " would help this identification. See the Classical Review, Nos. 15-17, 20, 26, 27, 32.*

M : codex Matritensis M 31, dated about 1430. Ml : first hand, i.e. transcriber of the ms. M2 : second hand, i.e. first corrector of the ms. m : later correctors.

Ij : codex I^aurentianus (only of ii. 7), dated tenth century.

" It should be added that some of Politian's emendations in the Corsinian copy appear to be of the same date as those stated by him to be from Poggio's ms., and may therefore also come from there.

'' Also J. S. Phillimore's Introduction to SUvae (Oxford Classical Texts). Prof. A. C. Clark would identify Poggio's MS. with M (Introduction to Asconius, Oxford Classical Texts, p. xxxi); holding that Politian must have been mistaken.

xxix

INTRODUCTION

Pol. : emendations of Politian (fifteenth century), if from Poggio's MS., " from P." is added.

Dom. : Emendations of Domitius Calderinus (fifteenth century).

5" : later mss.

The " Thehaid " and " Achilleid "

The MSS. of the Thehaid, and in a lesser degree, of the Achilleid are extremely numerous, the former epic especially ha\ing been verj- popular in the Middle Ages. They fall into two well-defined groups, of which one has only one representative, the so-called Puteanus, at Paris, wTitten at the end of the ninth century, and the other consists of a number of mss. of the tenth and eleventh centui'ies, the offspring of a ms. now lost, but dating from nearly a century before Puteanus. These, following the Teubner and Oxford editions," I have designated P and oj respectively. When any particular one of the latter class is quoted, w, of course, signifies the other members of the group. Later mss. may be ignored.

There are remarkable differences between the two groups ; the most striking Mill be found at iv. 555, X. 135, xi. 490, but on frequent occasions the differ- ence is one that can hardlv be accounted for on grounds of ordinary textual error.* H. W. Garrod in his Introduction to the Thehaid and Achilleid

« Bj' A. Klotz (Teubner) and H. W. Garrod (Oxford Classical Texts).

6 See, for instance. Theh. iii. 36-2, 370, 373, AH, 454, .527, 658, 699.

INTRODUCTION

suggests that the double tradition may be due to a revised edition made by the poet himself."

On the whole the readings of P are to be preferred, and they deserve careful consideration even when they seem most difficult ; but in many cases it is only judgement that can decide what Statins could or could not have written. Though the mss. that form the oj-group hang very much together, D and N have perhaps more individuality than the others, see Garrod, Introd. pp. ix, x.

The Achilleid is found in P and in a number of the oj-group ; also in a ms. denoted E, in the College Library at Eton.

P : codex Puteanus (Parisinus 8051), end of

ninth century. Q : codex Parisinus 10317, tenth century. K : codex Gudianus 54, tenth to eleventh

century.

(These contain both Thehakl and Achilleid). S : codex Parisinus ISO^O, tenth century. D : MS. at St. John's Coll. Camb., tenth century. N : MS. at Cheltenham, tenth to eleventh

century. B : codex Bambergensis, eleventh century. C : codex Cassellanus, 164, eleventh century. L : codex Lipsiensis, i. 12, eleventh century.

(These contain only the Thebaid). E : codex Etonensis, tenth or eleventh century,

{Achilleid only). M : consensus of mss. other than P.

" P. viii : he quotes references in the letters to Stella and Marcellus {Silv. i. and iv.), where two editions seem to be implied; also T//^6. xii. 812-13 (novam). Klotz dissents, but without giving any satisfactory reason (p. Ixx).

INTRODUCTION

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Books 1-5 of the Thebaid were translated into English verse by T. Stephens in \Q\S, the Achilleid by Sir R. Howard in 1660; Book I. of the Thehaid by Pope in 1703 ; extracts from Book VI. by Gray in 1736; and all the Thehaid by W. L. Lewis in 1766. A prose translation of the Silvae by Prof. D. A. Slater was published by the Oxford Press in 1908. The only modern edition of the Silvae is that of Vollmer, Leipzig, 1898. There is no modern edition of the Thebaid or Achilleid.

For criticism, etc., see chapters in Butler's Post- Augustan Poetry, Oxford, 1909; Summers' Silver Age of Latin Literature, Methuen, 1920; B. A. Wise, The Injluence of Statius on Chaucer, 1911 5 T. S. Duncan, The Injiuence of Art on Description in the Poetry of Statius, 1914; J- M. Nisard, Poe<^* latins de la Decadence, 1849; L. Legras, La Thebaide de Stace, Paris, 1905.

No Index has been made to the poems of Statius. The naines that occur in them, and the adjectives formed from names, are so numerous that no good purpose would be served by including them all. The chief characters of the Thebaid and the books in which they occur will be found in the Summary of Events (Introduction, pp. xxii, xxiii), while in the ease of the Silvae the individuals to whom the different poems are addressed or those whom they commemorate will be found in the list of Contents of Vol. I (pp. V. vi).

SILVAE

SILVARUM

LIBER I

Statius Stellae Suo Salutem

Diu multumque dubitavi, Stella, iuvenis optime et in studiis nostris eniinentissime, qua parte voluisti, an hos libellos, qui mihi subito calore et quadam festinandi voluptate fluxerunt, cum singuli de sinu nieo prodierint/ congregates ipse dimitterem. Quid enim oportet me huius^ quoque auctoritate editionis onerari, qui adhuc pro Thebaide mea, quamvis me reliquerit, timeo ? Sed et Culicem legimus et Batrachomachiam etiam agnoscimus, nee quisquam est inlustrium poetarum qui non aliquid operibus suis stilo remissiore praeluserit. Quid ? Quod haec serum erat continere, cum ilia vos certe, quorum honori data sunt, haberetis ? Sed apud ceteros necesse est multum illis pereat ex venia, cum amiserint quam solam habuerunt gratiam cele-

^ Lacnna in Mss. after pro : prodierint Pol., prodiissent S~. * Lacuna in mss. after eniin : oportet me huius Dom.

" One of Virgil's earliest works, probably to be identified with the extant poem of that name ; see note on Sil'v. ii. 7. 74.

*" Usually known as Batrachomyomachia, or Battle of the Frogs and Mice, popularly attributed to Homer, a burlesque of the warlike epic.

SILVAE

BOOK I

Statius to his Friend Stella : Greeting !

Long and seriously have I hesitated, my excellent Stella — distinguished as you are in your chosen branch of our common pursuit — about these pieces of mine, which were produced in the heat of the moment and by a kind of joyful glow of improvisa- tion, whether I should collect them, after they have issued one by one from my bosom, and send them forth together. For why should I burden myself with the responsibility for this additional publica- tion, when I am still apprehensive for my Thehaid, although it has left my hands ? But we read the " Gnat,"'* and deign to recognize even the " Battle of the Frogs " ^ ; nor is there any of the great poets who has not made prelude to liis works in lighter vein. Again, was it not too late to keep these poems back, when others were already in the posses- sion of those in whose honour they were written (yourself among them) ? Yet with most people much of their claim to a lenient judgement must disappear, since they have lost their impromptu nature, the only charm that they possessed. For

3

STATIUS

ritatis. Nullum enim ex illis biduo longius tractum, quaedam et in singulis diebus effusa ; quam timeo, ne verum istuc versus quoque ipsi de se probent !

Primus libellus sacrosanctum habet testem : sumen- dum enim erat " a love principium." Centum hos versus, quos in equum maximum feci, indulgentissimo imperatori postero die, quam dedicaverat opus, tradere iussus sum. " Potuisti illud " dicet aliquis " et ante vidisse." Respondebis illi tu, Stella caris- sime, qui epithalamion tuum, quod mihi iniunxeras, scis biduo scriptum. Audacter mehercles, sed ter centum tamen^ hexametros habet, et fortasse tu pro collega mentieris. Manilius certe Vopiscus, vir eruditissimus et qui praecipue vindicat a situ litteras iam paene fugientes, solet ultro quoque nomine meo gloriari, villam Tiburtinam suam descriptam a nobis uno die. Sequitm* libellus Rutilio Gallico convale- scenti^ dedicatus, de quo nihil dico, ne videar defuncti testis occasione mentiri. Nam Claudi Etrusci testi- monium documentum^ est, qui balneolum a me suum intra moram cenae recepit. In fine sunt Kalendae Decembres, quibus utique creditur : noctem enim illam fehcissimam et voluptatibus pubUcis in- expertam . . . . .^

^ ter centum tamen Elter : tantum tamen M.

^ convalescenti Scriverius and Heinsius : est valent M {above valent, fee, erased by M2), est valenti Pol.

^ documentum Klotz : domomum M, commodum or idoneum Phlllimore.

* Seven or eight lines of the page left empty in uss.

SILVAE, I.

none of them took longei- than two days to write, while some were turned out in a single day. How I fear lest the poems themselves make that only too plain !

The first piece can appeal to a witness of inviolable sanctity: for "from Jove must I needs begin."** These hundred lines on the Great Horse I was bidden deliver to our most indulgent Prince the day after he had dedicated it. " Possibly," some one will say, " you had seen the statue already." You will answer him, my dearest Stella, you who know that the Epithalamium you demanded of me was wTitten in two days. A bold piece of work, by Hercules ! but all the same it contains three hundred hexameters — and perhaps you will tell a fib for a colleague. Certainly Manilius Vopiscus, a man of great erudition, who is foremost in rescuing from decay our almost vanishing literature, often boasts on my account, and quite spontaneously, that my sketch of his country-house at Tibur was done in one day. Then comes a poem dedicated to Rutilius Gallicus on his recovery from sickness, upon which I say notliing, lest I seem to be taking advantage of the death of my witness to exaggerate. For I can prove my case by the evidence of Claudius Etruscus, who received his " Bath " from me within the in- terval of a dinner. Last comes " The Kalends of December," wliich at all events will find credence : for a jiight so happily spent and so unprecedented for public amusements . . .

" A solemn formula with which hymns to the gods often began, cf. (k Ajos apx^iJ^ecrda (Theocr. /(/. 17. 1), "a love principium " (Virg. Eel. 3. 60).

STATIUS 1. EQUUS MAXIMUS DOMITIANI IMP.

Quae superimposito moles geminata colosso Stat Latium complexa forum ? caelone peractum fluxit opus ? Siculis an conformata caminis effigies lassum Steropem Brontemque reliquit ? an te Palladiae talem, Germanice, nobis 5

effinxere manus, qualem modo frena tenentem Rhenus et attoniti vidit domus ardua Daci ?

Nunc age Fama prior notum per saecula nornen Dardanii miretur equi, cui vertice sacro Dindymon et caesis decrevit frondibus Ide : 10

hunc neque discissis cepissent Pergama muris nee grege permixto pueri innuptaeque puellae ipse nee Aeneas nee magnus duceret Hector ! adde, quod iDe nocens saevosque amplexus Achivos, hunc mitis commendat eques : iuvat ora tueri 15

mixta notis belli placidamque gerentia pacem. nee veris maiora putes : par forma decorque, par honor, exhaustis Martem non altius armis Bistonius portat sonipes magnoque superbit pondere nee tardo^ raptus prope flumina cursu 20 fumat et ingenti propellit Strymona flatu.

1 tardo M : tanto or -us Pol., tantum Phill.

" Two of the Cyclopes who laboured at the forges of Vulcan.

* i.e., of Pallas Athene, goddess of handicrafts.

" The reference is to Domitian's campaigns against the Catti, a German tribe from the Taunus, who were threatening Mainz (a.d. 83-84) ; for this victory he received the title of " Germanicus " ; also to the defeat of the Dacians in a.d. 89. " Arduous," because their stronghold was in the mountains of Transylvania : hence " montem," 1. 80.

<^ i.e., Thracian.

6

SILVAE, I. I. 1-21

I. THE GREAT EQUESTRIAN STATUE OF THE EMPEROR DOMITIAN

This statue ivas dedicated to Domitian perhaps about A.D. 91 (i. 36)/ its appearance and position are described ; it is hailed by Curtius ; the poet declares it to be as immortal as Rome.

What mighty mass redoubled by the huge form surmounting it stands gathering to itself the Latian forum ? Did it glide dov/n, a completed work, from heaven ? Was the effigy moulded in Sicilian furnaces, leaving Brontes and Steropes* weary? or have Palladian hands ^ sculptured thee for us, O Ger- manicus, in such guise as Rhine of late beheld thee reining thy steed, and the astounded Dacian's arduous home '' ?

Come, now, let Fame of old time marvel at the age-long wonder of the Dardan horse, for whom Dindymon abased his sacred head and Ida was shorn of her leafy groves. This horse would Per- gamum ne'er have held, though wide its walls were rent, nor could the mingled throng of lads and un- wedded girls have drawn it, nor Aeneas himself nor mighty Hector ! That one, besides, was harmful, and contained fierce Achaeans : this one is com- mended by his gentle rider. 'Tis a pleasure to behold that countenance whereon the marks of war are blended with the guise of tranquil peace. And think not that truth is here surpassed ; equal beauty and splendour has he, and equal dignity. Not more loftily does the Bistonian '^ steed bear Mars when the fighting is done, exulting in the mighty weight, and swiftly flies by the river till he is all asteam and with his strong blowing stirs up the waves of Strymon.

7

ST ATI us

Par operi sedes. hinc obvia limina pandit, qui fessus bellis adscitae^ munere prolis primus iter nostris ostendit in aethera divis ; discit et e vultu, quantum tu mitior armis, 25

qui nee in externos facilis saevire furores das Cattis Dacisque fidem. te signa ferente et minor in leges gener et Cato Caesaris iret.^ at laterum passus hinc lulia tecta tuentur, illinc belligeri sublimis regia Pauli, 30

terga Pater, blandoque videt Concordia vultu.

Ipse autem puro celsum caput aere saeptus templa superfulges et prospectare videris, an nova contemptis surgant Palatia flammis pulchrius, an tacita vigilet face Troicus ignis 35

atque exploratas iam laudet Vesta ministras. dextra vetat pugnas,^ laevam Tritonia virgo non gravat et sectae praetendens colla Medusae : ceu stimulis accendit equum ; nee dulcior usquam lecta deae sedes nee si, Pater, ipse tenei-es. 40

pectora, quae mundi valeant evolvere curas,

* adscitae M : adsertae 5~.

^ gener et Cato Caesaris iret Scriverius and Housman {see ManUius, p. Lrvii) : iret gener et Cato castris M. ^ pugnas Pol. : pugnes 3f.

° The statue is opposite the temple of Divus Julius (the first of the Roman Emperors to be deified), dedicated by Augustus in 27 b.c, on either side of it are the Basilicas of Julius Caesar and Aemilius Lepidus respectively, i.e. on the right and left of one looking down the Forum away from the Capitol ; behind it is the temple of Jupiter on the Capitol, and that of Concord.

* Julius Caesar adopted Octavian, his great-nephew, as his son.

SILVAE, I. I. 22-41

Well suited to the work are its surroundings." Here facing it he opens wide his portals, who weary with warfare, by the gift of his adopted son,* first showed our deities the way to heaven ; and from thy face he leai-ns thy greater gentleness in arms, who not even against the foreigner's rage art easily stern, but with Cattians and with Dacians makest bond. Under thy leadership both his son-in-law, now the lesser'' man, and Cato had bowed to Caesar's sway. Lengthwise thy flanks are guarded, on this hand by the Julian edifice, on that by the high basilica of warlike Paullus ; thy back the Sire beholds, and Concord with tranquil brow.

Thou thyself with lofty head enshrined in the pure air dost tower resplendent over the temples, and seemest to look forth to see whether the new Palace, despising the flames, be rising in greater beauty, or whether the brand of Trojan fire keep silent watch, and \^esta now be praising the proved worth of her ministrants.*^ Thy right hand bids battles cease ; thy left the Tritonian maiden '" over- burdens not, and holding out Medusa's sevei'ed head incites thy steed as with a goad ; never had the goddess choicer resting-place, not even if thou, O Father, didst hold her. Thy breast is such as might avail to solve the riddles of the universe, and thereon

" The point is that the son-in-law was Ponipej' " the (ireat " (Magnus).

''■ Domitian had recently punished one of the Vestals for unchastity (Suet. Dom. 8). Domitian, looking slightly to his right, woukl see the temple of Vesta, and the Palatine rising above it ; his new buildings there are referred to by Suetonius {l>om. 5). The sacred fire brought from Troy was kept concealed in the temple of Vesta, cf. v. 3. 178 " facis opertae." " i.e., Pallas.

9

STATIUS

et quis^ se totis Temese dedit hausta metallis ;

it tergo demissa clilamys ; latus ense qiiieto

securum, magnus quanto mucrone minatur

noctibus hibernis et sidera terret Orion. 45

at sonipes habitus animosque iniitatus equestres

acrius attollit vultus cursumque minatui' ;

cui rigidis stant colla iubis vivusque per armos

impetus et tantis calcaribus ilia late

sufFeetura patent ; vacuae pro caespite terrae 50

aerea captivi erinem tegit ungula Rheni.

hunc et Adrasteus visum extimuisset Arion

et pavet aspiciens Ledaeus ab aede propinqua

Cyllarus. hie domini numquam mutabit habenas

perpetuus frenis atque uni scr\"iet astro ! 55

\ix sola sufficiunt insessaque pondere tanto^

subter anhelat humus ; nee ferro aut aere : laborant

sub genio, teneat quamvis aeterna crepido,

quae superingesti portaret culmina mentis

caeliferique attrita genu durasset Atlantis. 60

Nee longae traxere morae. iuvat ipsa labores

forma dei praesens operique intenta iuventus

miratur plus posse manus. strepit ardua pulsu

machina ; continuus septem per culmina Martis^

it fragor et magnae vincit* vaga murmura Romae.

^ et quis 5' : et qui M, et cui 5~ ; it, cui Phill.

^ tanto r : toto 31.

^ Martis Gronovius : montis M (from 59).

* vincit Heinsius : fingit 3/, frangit conj. Phill.

" A town in Bruttii, on the west coast, famous for copper- mines ; cf. Odyssey, i. 1 84. 10

SILVAE, I. I. 42-05

Temese" has exhausted tlie wealth of all her mines ; a cloak hangs from thy shoulders ; the sword sleeps by thy untroubled side : even so vast a blade does threatening Orion wield on winter nights and terrify the stars. But the steed, counterfeiting the proud mien and high mettle of a horse, tosses his head in greater spirit and makes as though to move ; the mane stands stiff upon his neck, his shoulders thrill with life, and his flanks spread wide enough for those mighty spurs ; in place of a clod of empty earth his brazen hoof tramples the hair of captive Rhine. Seeing him, Adrastus' horse Arion^ would have been sore afraid, yea Castor's Cyllarus fears as he looks forth upon him from his neighbouring temple. Never will this steed suffer another master's rein ; this curb is his for ever, one star, and one star only will he serve. Scarce doth the soil hold, and the ground pants beneath the pressure of so vast a weight ; and not of iron or bronze : 'tis under thy deity it trembles, ay, even should an everlasting rock support thee, such as would bear the peaks of a mountain piled upon it, or have endured to be pressed by the knee of heaven- sustaining Atlas.

No lengthy tarrying drew out the time. The present beauty of the god itself makes labour sweet, and the workmen intent upon their task marvel at their greater vigour. Towering cranes creak and rattle ; continuous runs the roar over the seven heights of Mars, and drowns the wandering noises of mighty Rome.

'' The horse of Adrastus, king of Argos, leader of the Seven against Thebes; see Theb. vi. 301. Neptune was supposed to have been his father.

11

STATIUS

Ipse loci custos, cuius sacrata vorago 66

famosique lacus nomen memnrabile servant, innumei'os aeris sonitus et verbere crudo ut sensit mugire forum, movet horrida sancto era situ meritaque caput venerabile quercu. 70

ac primum ingentes habitus lucemque coruscam expavit niaioi-is equi terque ardua mersit coUa lacu trepidans, laetus mox praeside viso : " salve, magnorum proles genitorque deorum, auditum longe numen mihi ! nunc mea felix, 75 nunc veneranda palus, cum te prope nosse tuumque immortale iubar vicina sede tueri concessum. semel auctor ego inventorque salutis Romuleae : tu bella lovis, tu proelia Rheni, tu civile nefas, tu tardum in foedera montem 80

longo Marte domas. quod si te nostra tulissent saecula, temptasses me non audente profundo ire lacu, sed Roma tuas tenuisset habenas."

Cedat equus, Latiae qui contra templa Diones Caesarei stat sede fori — quem traderis ausus 85

Pellaeo, Lysippe, duci, mox Caesaris ora rairata cervice tulit — vix lumine fesso explores, quam longus in hunc despectus ab illo.

" i.e., Curtius who saved Rome by leaping into a chasm in the Forum ; for his " devotion " see Livy, i. 12, vii. 6. The place was known as the " lacus Curtius." As one who had saved the lives of citizens he wears the crown of oak- leaves, the " corona civica."

* i.e., of the Dacians, as frequenth^

" i.e., in the fighting on the Capitol which took place after Vespasian's accession.

^ An equestrian statue of Julius Caesar in the Forum 12

SILVAE, I. I. 66-88

The guai-dian" of the spot himself, whose memorable name the hallowed chasm and famous pools preserve, hearing the ceaseless clash of bronze and the Forum echoing with vigorous blows, raises his grisly visage, venerable even in decay, and his head revered for the well-deserved oak-wreath. And first, affrighted at the huge form and flashing glance of a mightier steed, he thrice in dismay bowed his lofty neck beneath the lake ; then, joyful at the sight of his prince : " Hail, offspring and sire of mighty deities," he cries, " whose godhead I heard of from afar ! Now is my lake blessed, now is it holy, since it has been granted me to know thee nigh at hand, and from my neighbouring seat to watch thy immortal brightness. Once only was I the author and winner of salvation for the folk of Romulus : thou dost win the wars of Jove and the battles of the Rhine,'' thou dost quell the strife of citizens,'' and in long warfare constrain the tardy mountain to submit. But if our age had borne thee, thou wouldest have ventured to plunge into the lake's depths, though I dared not ; but Rome would have held back thy rein."

Let that steed '^ give place, whose statue stands in Caesar's Forum, over against Dione's shrine — thy daring work, 'tis said, Lysippus, for the Pellaean chief; thereafter on marvelling back he bore the effigy of Caesar — scarce could your straining sight discover how far the downward view from this monarch to that. Who is so boorish as to deny,

Julium opposite the temple of Venus Genetrix, called "Latia" here as being the mother of Aeneas, and so of the Roman race. Both forum and temple were built by Caesar out of his Gallic spoils. Probably Caesar's head was substituted for Alexander's ; the practice was common at Rome, cf. Suet. Caligula, 92.

13

STATIUS

([ids riidis usque adeo, qui non, ut viderit anibos, tantuni dicat equos quantum distare regentes ? 90

Non hoc inibriferas hienies opus aut lovis ignem tergeminun:i, Aeolii non agmina carceris horret annorumve moras : stabit, dum terra polusque, dum Romana dies, hue et sub nocte silenti, cum superis terrena placent, tua turba relicto 95

labetur caelo miscebitque oscula iuxta. ibit in amplexus natus fraterque paterque et soror : una locum cervix dabit omnibus astris.

Utere perpetuum popuh magnique senatus munere. Apelleae cuperent te scribere cerae 100 optassetque novo similem te ponere templo Atticus Elei senior lovis, et tua mitis ora Tarans, tua sidereas imitantia flammas lumina contempto mallet Rhodes aspera Phoebo. certus ames terras et quae tibi templa dicamus, 105 ipse colas ; nee te caeli iuvet aula, tuosque laetus huic dono videas dare tura nepotes.

11. EPITHALAMION IN STELLAM ET VIOLENTILLAM

Unde sacro Latii sonuerunt carmine montes ?

» Caesar's statue was probably on a lower pedestal ; Caesar is as far inferior to Domitian as a ruler as the one statue is beneath the other !

*" Often for deified members of the Imperial house, cf. Theb. i. 31.

" i.e., Phidias.

"* The famous Colossus was a statue of the sun-god. There was a colossal statue of Zeus at Tarentum.

14

SILVAE, I. I. 89—11. 1

when he lias seen both, that ruler differs from ruler as steed from steed " ?

This statue fears no rainy squalls of winter or triple fire of Jove, nor the cohorts of Aeolus' prison- house nor the long hngering years : it will stand while earth and sky abide, while Rome's sun endures. Hither also in the silent night, when things of earth find favour with the gods above, will thy kinsfolk, leaving heaven, glide down and join with thee in close embrace. Son and brother, sire and sister will seek thy welcoming arms : about thy sole neck Avill cluster all heaven's stars. ^

Enjoy for ever the people's and the mighty Senate's gift. Fain would the wax of Apelles have portrayed thee, and the old Athenian'^ would have longed to set thy likeness in a new temple of Elean Jove ; yea, soft Tarentum would rather have thy visage, and fiei-ce Rhodes, scorning her Phoebus,'' thy flame-like glance. Keep thy aff"ections fixed on earth, and inhabit thyself the shrines we dedicate to thee ; let not heaven's high court delight thee, but mayst thou joyously see thy grandsons offer incense to this our gift.

II. AN EPITHALAMIUM IN HONOUR OF STELLA AND VIOLENTILLA

A marriage-song in honour of Lucius Arruntius Stella and his bride Violentilla. Stella was a young noble, a poet and a friend of Statins ; he was one of the XVviri (see n. on I. 176), and had held some curule office. The poem con- tains a long episode relating hoio Venus and one of her Cupids brouglit about the match ; the usual features of an Epithalamium {praise of the pair, description of tlie bride, and of the marriage-festival) are freely treated.

Whence comes this sound of divine melody upon

1.5

STATIUS

cui, Paean, nova plectra moves umeroque comanti facundum suspendis ebur ? procul ecce canoro demigrant Helicone deae quatiuntque novena lampade solemnem thalamis coeuntibus ignem 5

et de Pieriis vocalem fontibus undam. quas inter vultu petulans Elegea propinquat celsior adsueto divasque hortatur et ambit alternum fultm-a^ pedem decimamque videri se cupit et medias fallit permixta sorores. 10

ipsa manu nuptam genetrix Aeneia duxit lumina demissam et dulci probitate rubentem, ipsa toros et sacra parat cinctuque^ Latino dissimulata deam crinem vultusque genasque temperat atque nova gestit minor ire marita. 15

Nosco diem causasque sacri : te concinit iste — pande fores ! — te, Stella, chorus ; tibi Phoebus et

Euhan et de Maenalia volucer Tegeaticus umbra serta ferunt. nee blandus Amor nee Gratia cessat amplexum niveos optatae coniugis artus 20

floribus innumeris et olenti spargere nimbo. tu modo fronte rosas, viohs modo hlia mixta excipis et dominae niveis a vultibus obstas.

Ergo dies aderat Parcai'um conditus albo vellere, quo Stellae \'io]entillaeque professus 25

clamaretur hymen, cedant curaeque metusque, cessent mendaces obhqui carminis astus,

^ fultura S" : futura M, factura m, furata Sandstroem. ^ cinctuque Barthhts : coetuque M, cestuque Phill.

" The elegiac couplet has the pentameter as its second line, composed of five instead of six feet : cf. Ovid, Am. iii. 1.8" et, piito, pes illi (Elegeia) longior alter erat." The second line, therefore, limps. We may suppose that Stella had MTitten love-poetrj' in this metre.

16

SILVAE, I. II. 2-27

the Latian hills ? For whom, O Paean, dost thou ply thy quill anew and hang the eloquent ivory from thy tress-strewn shoulders ? Lo ! far away the goddesses troop down fi*om musical Helicon, and toss on high with ninefold torch the flame that hallows wedded union and streams of song from Pierian fountains. Among them pert-faced Elegy draws nigh, loftier of mien than is her wont, and implores the goddesses as she goes about, fain to support her one lame foot,** and desires to make a tenth Muse and mingles with the Sisters unper- ceived. The mother of Aeneas * with her own hand leads forth the bride, downcast of look and the sweet blush of chastity upon her ; herself she pre- pares the couch and the sacred rites, and with a Latin girdle dissembles her deity and tempers the brilliance of eyes and cheeks and tresses, eager to yield before the new bride.

Ah, now do I learn what day is this, what hath caused this solemn rite : 'tis thou, Stella, thou whom that choir — fling wide the gates ! — is hymning ; for thee Phoebus and Euhan and the swift Tegean " from the shades of Maenalus bring garlands. Nor do winsome Love and Grace grow weary in scattering countless blossoms and cloudy perfumes o'er thee as thou boldest close-locked the snow-white limbs of thy longed-for bride. And now roses, now lilies mixed with violets dost thou receive upon thy brow, as thou shieldest the fair face of thy mistress.

This then was the day, laid up in the white wool of the Fates, whereon the marriage-song of Stella and Violentilla should be proclaimed and sung. Let cares and fears give place, and .the clever hints

'' i.e., Venus. " i.e., Bacchus and Mercury.

VOL. I c 17

STATIUS

Fama tace : subiit leges et frena momordit ille solutus amoi- : consumpta est fabula vulgi et narrata diu viderunt oscula eives. 30

tu tamen attonitus, quani\ds data eopia tantae noctis, adhuc optas permissaque numine dextro vota paves, pone, o duleis, suspiria, vates, pone : tua est. licet expositum per limen aperto ire, redire gradu : iam nusquani ianitor aut lex 35 aut pudor. amplexu tandem satiare petito — ■ contigit ! — et duras pariter reniiniscere noctes.

Digna qiiidem merces, et si tibi luno labores Herculeos, Stygiis et si concurrere nionstris Fata darent, si Cyaneos raperere per aestus. 40

hanc propter tanti Pisaea lege trementem currere et Oenomai fremitus audire sequentis. nee si Dardania pastor temerarius Ida sedisses, haec dona forent, nee si alma per auras te potius prensum aveheret^ Tithonia biga. 45

Sed quae causa toros inopinaque gaudia vati attulit ? hie mecum, dum fervent agmine postes atriaque et multa pulsantur limina virga, hie, Erato iocunda, doce. vacat apta movere colloquia et docti norunt audire penates. 50

Forte, serenati qua stat plaga lactea caeli, alma Venus thalamo pulsa modo nocte iacebat amplexu duro Getici resoluta mariti.

^ prensum Parrhasius, aveheret Baehrens : prensa veheret M.

" The dangerous clashing rocks at the Bosporus.

^ Suitors for the hand of Hippodamia, daughter of Oenomaus, were challenged by him to a chariot-race, on condition of forfeiting their lives if they were beaten.

' Aurora was the wife of Tithonus.

"* i.e., Thracian.

18

SILVAE, I. II. 28-53

of lying fables cease, and, Rumour, be thou silent ; that love that ranged so free now brooks control and takes the bridle ; we have done with gossip and our citizens have seen the kisses so long talked of. Yet thou in bewilderment — although a night so marvel- lous has been granted thee — still dost pray, and art affrighted that kindly heaven has given thee thy wish. Sigh no more, sweet poet, she is thine. The door lies open, and thou canst come and go with fearless step : no doorkeeper, no rule of honour stays thee now. At last take thy fill of the desired embrace — it is thine to take ! — and remember the while those nights of misery.

Worthy indeed were thy reward, even though Juno set thee Herculean toils, and the Fates gave thee monsters to contend withal, though thou wert swept through the Cyanean surge." To gain her it were worth while to run the race in terror of Pisa's law * and hear the shouts of Oenomaus in hot pursuit. Nor had such a prize been thine, hadst thou, a bold shephei'd lad, held thy court on Dardan Ida, nor though the warm-hearted Dawn ^ had preferred thee, and snatched thee up and borne thee in her chariot through the air.

But what was the cause that brought to the poet the unhoped-for joys of wedlock ? Do thou teach me, lovely Erato, here by my side, while the halls and portals are astir with folk, and many a staff beats upon the threshold. Time permits apt converse, and the poet's home knows well how to listen.

Once on a time, where the milky region is set in a tranquil heaven, lay kindly Venus in her bower, whence night had but lately fled, faint in the rough embrace of her Getic^ lord. About the posts and

19

STATIUS

fulcra torosque deae tenerum premit agmen Amorum; signa petunt qua ferre faces, quae pectora figi 55 imperet ; an terris saevire an malit in undis, an miscere deos an adhuc vexare Tonantem. ipsi animus nondum nee cordi fixa voluntas, fessa iacet stratis, ubi quondam conscia culpae Lemnia depi-enso repserunt vineula lecto. 60

hie puer e turba volucrum, cui plurimus ignis ore manuque levi numquam frustrata sagitta, agmine de medio tenera sic dulce profatur voce — pharetrati pressere silentia fratres.

" Scis ut, mater," ait " nulla mihi dextera segnis 65 militia ; quemcumque hominum divumque dedisti, uritur. at quondam lacrimis et supplice dextra et votis precibusque virum concede moveri, o genetrix : duro nee enim ex adamante creati, sed tua turba sumus. clarus de gente Latina 70

est iuvenis, quern patriciis maioribus ortum nobilitas gavisa tulit praesagaque formae protinus e nostro posuit cognomina caelo. hunc egomet tota quondam — tibi dulce — pharetra improbus et densa trepidantem cuspide fixi. 75

quamvis Ausoniis multum gener ille petitus matribus, edomui victum dominaeque potentis ferre iugum et longos iussi sperare per annos. ast illam summa leviter — sic namque iubebas — lampade parcentes et inerti strinximus arcu. 80

ex illo quantos iuvenis premat anxius ignes, testis ego attonitus, quantum me nocte dieque

" i.e., made by Hephaestus, whose forges were in the island of Lemnos. For the story see Odyssey, viii. 266.

20

SILVAE, I. II. 54-82

pillows of hei* couch swarm a troop of tender Loves, begging her make sign where she bids them bear her torches, what hearts they shall transfix : whether to wreak their cruelty on land or sea, to set gods at variance or yet once more to vex the Thunderer. Herself she has yet no purpose, no certain will or pleasure. Weary she hes upon her cushions, where once the Lemnian chains " crept over the bed and held it fast, leai'iiing its guilty secret. Then a boy of that winged crowd, whose mouth was fieriest and Avhose deft hand ne'er sent his arrow amiss, from the midst of the troop thus called to her in liis sweet boyish voice — his quivered brethren held their peace. " Mother," says he, " thou knowest how no war- fare finds my right hand idle ; whomsoe'er of gods or men thou dost assign me, he feels the smart. Yet once, O Mother, suffer us to be moved by the tears and suppliant hands, by the vows and prayers of men ; for not of steely adamant are we born, but are all thy offspring. There is a youth of famous Latin family, whom nobility rejoicing brought forth of old patrician stock, and in prescience of his beauty named straightway from our sky. Him ere now have I plied relentlessly — such was thy pleasure — with all my quiver's armoury, and pierced him to his dismay with a thick hail of darts ; and for all he is much sought by Ausonian matrons as a son-in-law, I have quelled and mastered him, and bidden him bear a noble lady's yoke and spend long years in hoping. But her we spared — such was thy command — and did but lightly graze with the flame's tip and loose- strung bow. Since then I can bear marvelling witness what fires the heart-sick youth is smothering, what strong urgency of mine he suffei-s night and day.

21

ST ATI us

urgentem ferat. haud ulli vehementior umquam incubui, genetrix, iterataque vulnera fodi. vidi ego et immiti cupidum decurrere campo 85

Hippomenen, nee sic nieta pallebat in ipsa ; \idi et Abydeni iuvenis certantia reniis bracchia laudavique manus et saepe natanti praeluxi : minor ille calor, quo saeva tepebant aequora : tu veteres, iuvenis, transgressus amores. ipse ego te tantos stupui durasse per aestus 91

firmavique animos blandisque madentia plumis lumina detersi. quotiens mihi questus Apollo, sic vatem maerere suum ! iam, mater, amatos indulge thalamos. noster comes ille piusque 95

signifer ; armiferos poterat memorare labores claraque facta \'irum et torrentes sanguine campos, sed tibi plectra dedit mitisque incedere vates maluit et nostra laurum subtexere myrto. hie iuvenum lapsus suaque aut externa revoUit 100 vulnera ; pro ! quanta est Paphii reverentia, mater, numinis : hie nostrae deflevit fata columbae."

Finierat^ ; tenera matris cervice pependit blandus et admotis tepefecit pectora pennis. ilia refert vultu non aspernata rogari : 105

" grande quidem rarumque \iris, quos ipsa probavi, Pierius votum iuvenis cupit. hanc ego formae egregium mirata decus, cui gloria patrum et generis certabat honos, tellure cadentem excepi fo\ique sinu nee colla genasque 110

^ finierat S" : emis erat M, finis erat Pol.

" The successful suitor to the hand of Atalanta, whom he defeated in a race. * i.e., Leander.

' Stella, we maj' gather, had written a poem on the death of a dove (a bird sacred to Venus) ; the parallel of 29

SILVAE, I. II. 83-110

None ever, mother, have I so fiercely pressed, thrustmg home oft -repeated wounds. And yet I saw eager Hippomenes'' run the cruel coui'se, but even at the very goal he was not so pale ; and I saw, too, the youth of Abydos,^ whose arms did vie with oars, and praised his skill and often shone before him as he swam : yet less was that heat wherewith the savage sea grew warm ; thou, O youth, hast sur- passed those loves of old. I myself, amazed that thou couldest endure such gusts of passion, have strengthened thy resolve and wiped thy streaming eyes -with soothing plumes. How oft has Apollo com- plained to me of his poet's grief ! Grant him at last, O Mother, the bride of his desire. Our comrade is he, and loyally bears our standard ; he could tell of armed prowess and heroes' famous deeds and fields flowing with blood, but his quill is dedicate to thee and he prefers to walk in gentle poethood and twine our myrtle with bay. The follies of lovers are his theme, and his own or others' wounds ; O Mother, what reverence hath he for thy Paphian godhead ! 'twas he that bewailed the death of our poor dove." ^ He made an end, and from his mother's soft neck hung persuasive, making her bosom warm with his covering wings. With a look that scorned not his petition she replied : "A large request and rarely granted e'en to lovers that I myself have proved, this of Pieria's young votary ! Marvelling at this maiden's peerless beauty, that rivalled the glory of her sires and her family's renown, I took her to me at her birth and cherished her in my bosom : nor, child, has my hand grown weary of giving comeliness

Lesbia's sparrow (Catullus 2, 3), suggests that the dove was Violentilla's.

23

STATIUS

comere nee pingui crinem deducere amonio cessavit mea, nate, nianus. mihi dulcis imago prosiluit. celsae procul aspice frontis honores suggestumque eomae. Latias metire quid ultra emineat matres : quantum Latonia nymplias 115

virgo premit quantumque egomet Nereidas exsto. haec et caeruleis meeum consurgere digna fluctibus et nostra potuit considere coneha ; et si flammigeras potuisset scandere sedes hasque intrai-e domos, ipsi erraretis, Amores. 120

huic quamvis census dederim largita beatos, vincit opes animo. querimur iam Seras avaros angustum spoliare nemus Clymenaeaque deesse germina nee virides satis inlacrimare sorores, vellera Sidonio iam pauca rubeseere tabo 125

raraque longaevis nivibus crystalla gelari. huic Hermum fulvoque Tagum decurrere limo, - — nee satis ad cultus — huie Inda monilia Glaucum Proteaque atque omnem Nereida quaerere iussi. banc si Thessalicos vidisses, Phoebe, per agros 130 erraret secura Daphne, si in^ htore Naxi Theseum iuxta foret haec conspecta cubile, Gnosida desertam profugus hquisset et Euhan. quod nisi me longis placasset luno querehs, falsus huic pennas et cornua sumeret aethrae 135 rector, in banc vero^ cecidisset luppiter auro.

^ Daphne, si in Baehrens : dafnes in M, Daphne, sin Phill.

* vero M : verso Herzog, alio, fulvo, pluvio Markland, iteruni Burmann. "^

" " Seres " : here the reference is to cotton, as " nemus " shows, cf, Pliny's mention of " lanigerae arbores Serum," N.II. xii. 10. " Clymenaeaque germina ": amber, because the Heliades who wept tears of amber for Phaethon their brother were daughters of Hehos (the Sun) and Clymene. " virides 24

SILVAE, I. II. 111-136

to face and form and smoothing with rich bahii her tresses. She has grown up my own sweet image. Behold even from here the lofty beauty of her brow and high-piled hair. Reckon how far she doth tower above the matrons of Rome : even so far as the Latonian maid out-tops the nymphs, or I myself stand out above the Nereids. This girl is worthy to rise with me from out the dark-blue waves ; she could sit with me upon my chariot-shell. Nay, could she have climbed to the flaming mansions and entered this abode, even you, ye Loves, would be deceived. Although in my bounty I have given her the boon of wealth, her mind is a yet richer dower. Ah-eady I complain that the avaricious Seres are stripping their diminished groves, that Clymene's fruit is failing, that the green Sisters weep not tears enough ; that already too few fleeces are blushing with Sidonian dye, and too rarely freeze the crystals of the immemorial snows." For her Tagus and Hermus at my bidding run down their yellow sand — nor yet do they suffice for her arraying ; for her Glaucus and Proteus and every Nereid go in search of Indian necklaces. If thou, Phoebus, hadst seen her on the fields of Thessaly, Daphne had wandered unafraid. If on Naxos' shore she had been spied by Theseus' couch, Euhan, too, would have fled from the Cretan maid and left her desolate. Nay, had not Juno appeased me by her endless plaint, heaven's lord would for this maid have taken the disguise of horns or feathers, on her lap had Jove descended in true gold. But the youth whom thou

sorores " : because they were turned into poplars, "cry- stalla " : crystals were thought to be formed from ice, c/, Propertius, iv. 3. 52 " crystallus aquosa."

25

ST ATI us

sed dabitur iuveni, cui tu, mea summa potestas, nate, cupis, thalanii quamvis iuga ferre secundi saepe neget niaerens. ipsam iani cedere sensi inque viceni tepuisse viro."

Sic fata levavit 140

sidereos artus thalamique egressa superbum limen Amyclaeos ad frena citavit olores. iungit Amor laetanique vehens per nubila niatrem gemmato temone sedet. iam Thybridis arces Iliacae : pandit nitidos donius alta penates 145

claraque gaudentes plauserunt liniina cygni. digna deae sedes, nitidis nee sordet ab astris. hie Libycus Phrvgiusque silex, hie dura Laeonum saxa virent. hie flexus onyx et concolor alto vena mari rupesque nitent, quis purpura saepe 150 Oebalis et Tyrii moderator livet aeni. pendent innumeris fastigia nixa columnis, robora Dalmatieo lucent satiata metallo. excludunt radios silvis demissa vetustis frigora, perspicui vivunt in marmore fontes. 155

nee servat natura vices : hie Sirius alget, bruma tepet versumque domus sibi temperat annum.

Exsultat visu tectisque potentis alumnae non secus alma Venus, quam si Paphon aequore ab alto

" Other descriptions of marble will be found in Silvae, i. 5. 34, ii. 2. 85, iv. 2. 26. In each passage Libyan and Phrygian are mentioned, probably a kind of giaJlo antko and pavonazzetto respectively. Marble of Carystos also, if " concolor alto vena mari " and " glaucae certantia Doridi saxa " are to be so explained. This is perhaps cipollino verde ondato. The green Laconian (here, i. 5. 40 and ii. 2. 90) is verde antiro. " Flexus onj-x " is either " onyx alabastrites " or perhaps a kind of agate. 11. 150-1 refer tn porphyry ; other marbles mentioned by

26

SILVAE, I. II. 137-159

favoiirest, my son, my chiefest power, shall have his will, though many a time she refuse with tears to bear the yoke of a second wedlock. She herself, I have noticed, is already yielding, and in her turn grows warm toward her lover." With these words she raised her starry limbs, and passing the proud threshold of her chamber called to the rein her Amyclaean doves. Love harnesses them, and seated on the jewelled car bears his mother rejoicing through the clouds. Soon appears the Ilian citadel of Tiber : a lofty mansion spreads wide its shining halls, and the swans exulting beat their wings on its bright portals. Worthy of the goddess was that abode, nor mean after the radiant stars. Here is marl)le of Libya and Phrygia, and the hard green Laconian rock ^ ; here the winding pattern of the onyx, and the vein that matches the deep sea's hue, and the brilliant stone that is envied by Oebalian '' purple and the mixer of the Tyrian cauldron. The ceilings rest poised on columns innumei-able ; the beams glitter in lavish decking of Dalmatian ore.'^ Coolness down-streaming from ancestral trees shuts out the rays of the sun, translucent fountains play in basins of marble ; nor does Nature keep her wonted order : here Siriiis is cool, midAvinter warm, and the house sways the altered seasons to its pleasure.

Kindly Venus rejoiced to see the house of her queenly fosterling, no less than if from the deep sea she were drawing nigh to Paphos or her Idalian Statius are those of Thasos, Chios, and Syene, and the stone called ophites (= serpentine).

'' i.e.. Spartan, Laconian, cf. " purpuras Laconicas," Hor. C. ii. 18. 7.

" i.e., gold, mined there since Augustus ; cf. iii. 3. 90.

27

STATIUS

Idaliasque domos Eiycinaque templa subiret. 160 tunc ipsam solo reclinem adfata cubili :

" Quonam hie usque sopor vacuique modestia lecti, o mihi Laurentes inter dileeta puellas ? quis morum fideique modus ? numquamne virili summittere iugo ? veniet iam tristior aetas. 165

exerce formam et fugientibus utere donis. non ideo tibi tale decus vultusque superbos meque dedi, viduos ut transmittare per annos ceu non cara mihi. satis o nimiumque priores despexisse procos. etenim hie tibi sanguine toto deditus unam omnes inter miratur amatque 171

nee formae nee stirpis egens. nam docta per urbem carmina qui iuvenes, quae non didicere puellae ? hunc et bissenos — sic indulgentia pergat praesidis Ausonii — cernes attollere fasces 175

ante diem ; certe iam nunc Cybeleia movit limina et Euboicae carmen legit ille Sibyllae. iamque parens Latins, cuius praenoscere mentem fas mihi, purpureos habitus iuvenique curule indulgebit ebur Dacasque — haec^ gloria maior — exu\ias laurosque dabit celebrare recentes. 181

ergo age, iunge toros atque otia deme iuventae. quas ego non gentes, quae non face corda iugavi^ ? alituum pecudumque mihi durique ferarum

^ haec Otto : et M.

* iugavi Dom. : iugali M. Some edd. support Mss. here, and explain by ellipse.

° From Laurentum on the coast of Latium ; here = Italian.

'' i.e., the Emperor ; so " the Latian Father," 1. 178.

* i.e., he has been made one of the XVviri, under whose

28

SILVAE, I. 11. 160-184

home or her shrine at Eryx. Then she addressed the maiden, as she reehned alone upon her couch : " How long this slothfulness, this modest, unshared bed, O well -beloved of me among Laurentian " gix'ls ? What limit wilt thou set to chastity and thy sworn vow ? Wilt thou never submit to a husband's yoke ? Soon sadder years will come. Employ thy beauty and use the gifts that are quick to fly. Not for that end did I give thee such charm and pride of countenance and my own spirit, to see thee pass year after year of loneliness, as though thou wert not dear to me. Enough, ay and too much to have despised thy former suitors. For truly this one with his whole manhood's reverent devotion loves thee alone among all others, nor lacks he beauty or noble birth ; and, for his poetry, what youths, what maidens all the city through have not his songs by heart ? Him also shalt thou see — so far may the Ausonian prince* prove gracious ! — raise high the twelvefold rods before the due age ; of a truth already has he opened Cybele's gates and read the Euboean Sibyl's song.*^ Soon will the Latian Father, whose purpose I may foreknow, bestow upon the youth the purple raiment and the curule ivory,'' and will permit him to celebrate (a greater glory this) the spoils of Dacia and the laurels newly won. Come, marry then and have done with youth's tarrying. What races, what hearts has my torch failed to subdue ? Birds, cattle, savage herds

charg'e were all foreign worships as well as the Sibylline books.

"* It is not certain to what curule office tliis refers, or in what capacity Stella " celebrated the Dacian victory," i.e., the games that accompanied Domitian's triumph at the end of 89.

29

STATIUS

non renuere greges, ipsum in conubia terrae 185

aethera, cum pluviis rarescunt nubila, solvo. sic rerum series mundique revertitur aetas. unde novum Troiae decus ardentumque deorum raptorem, Phrygio si non ego iuncta marito, Lydius unde meos iterasset Thybris lulos ? 190

quis septemgeminae posuisset moenia Romae imperii Latiale caput, nisi Dardana furto cepisset Martem, nee me prohibente, sacerdos ? "

His mulcet dictis tacitaeque^ inspirat honorem^ conubii. redeunt animo iam dona precesque 195

et lacrimae vigilesque viri prope limina questus, Asteris et vatis totam cantata per urbem, Asteris ante dapes, nocte Asteris, Asteris ortu, quantum non clamatus Hylas. iamque aspera coepit flectere corda libens et iam sibi dura videri. 200

Macte toris, Latios inter placidissime vates, quod durum permensus iter coeptique labores^ prendisti portus. nitidae^ sic transfuga Pisae amnis in externos longe flammatus amores flumina demerso trahit intemerata canali. 205

donee Sicanios tandem prolatus anhelo

1 tacitaeque VoUmer : tacitoque J/.

^ honorem il : amorem 5".

^ labores Macnaghtfn : laboris M.

^ nitidae 5" : nitiade il/: viduaeP/n7//7«ore: tumidae Dow.

" Cf. Lucretius, i. 1 sqq.^ Perviyillum Veneris, i. 7 sqq.

* Pihea Silvia, or Ilia, mother of Romulus and Remus. " Dardana " : because descended from Aeneas. " sacerdos " : because she was a Vestal Virgin.

" Stella= Gk. 'XaT-qp (Aster), therefore he calls his lady Asteris. 30

SILVAE, I. II. 185-206

of beasts, none have said me nay : " the very air, when rain-showers empty the clouds, do I melt into union with the earth. Thus life succeeds to life, and the world's age is renewed. Whence could have come Troy's later glory and the rescuer of the burning gods, had I not been joined to a Phrygian spouse ? how could Lydian Tiber have renewed the stock of my own luli ? Who could have founded the walls of sevenfold Rome, the head of Latium's empire, had not a Dardan priestess ^ suffered the secret embrace of Mars, which I forbade not ? "

By such winning words she inspires the silent girl with the pride of wedlock ; her suitor's gifts and prayers are remembered, his tears and wakeful pleading at her gates, and how the whole city sang of the poet's Asteris,*' before the banquet Asteris, Asteris at night, Asteris at dawn of day, as never Hylas' name resounded.'^ And now she begins gladly to bend her stubborn heart, and now to account herself unfeeling.

Blessing on thy bridal couch, gentlest of Latian bards ! Thou hast endured thy hard voyage to the end and the labours of thy quest, and gained thy haven. So does the river ^ that fled sleek Pisa, aflame for an alien love afar, flow with unsullied streams through a channel beneath the sea, until at last arriving he drinks with panting mouth of the Sicanian

■* An echo of Virg. G. ill. 6 "cui non dictus Hylas?" His story was a favourite one, e.(/. Theocr. Id. l.S, Prop. ii. 20.

*■ Alpheus, which flowed through the territory of Pisa (called " sleek " from the oil of the wrestlers at the Olympian games), thence under the sea to Sicily. The Naiad is Arethusa.

31

STATIUS

ore bibat fontes ; miratur dulcia Nais oscula nee eredit pelago venisse niaritum.

Quis tibi tunc alacri caelestum in munere claro, Stella, dies, qiianto salierunt pectora voto, 210

dulcia cum dominae dexter conubia vultus adnuit ! ire polo nitidosque errare per axes visus. Amyclaeis minus exsultavit harem's pastor ad Idaeas Helena veniente carinas ; Thessala nee talem viderunt Pelea Tempe, 215

cum Thetin Haemoniis Chii-on accedere terris erecto prospexit equo. quam longa morantur sidera ! quam segnis votis Aurora mariti !

At procul ut Stellae thalamos sensere parari Letous vatum pater et Semeleius Euhan, 220

hie movet Ortygia, movet hie rapida agmina Nysa. huic Lycii montes gelidaeque umbracula Thymbrae et Parnase, sonas^ ; illi Pangaea resultant Ismaraque et quondam genialis litora Naxi. tunc caras iniere fores comitique canoro 225

hie chelyn, hie flavam maculoso nebrida tergo, hie thyrsos, hie plectra ferunt ; hie enthea lauro tempora, Minoa crinem premit ille corona.

Vixdum emissa dies, et iam socialia praesto omina, iam festa fervet domus utraque pompa. 230 fronde virent postes, effulgent compita flammis, et pars immensae gaudet celeberrima Romae.

^ Parnase sonas Dorn. : Parnasis honos M : Parnasis hiems Schwartz.

" It was there that he made Ariadne his bride.

'' Clearly not the crown of Ariadne ; probably ivy, with which Bacchus is always connected ; there was a tradition that he wore it for sorrow after the death of Ariadne (Theon on Aratus, Phaen. 71). 32

S1L\'AE, I. II, 207-232

springs ; the Naiad marvels at the freshness of his kisses, nor can beheve her lover has come from the open main.

What a day was that, O Stella, for thy eager spirit, when the gods showed thee signal bounty ! How thy hopes surged within thy heart, when thy lady's favouring look gave promise of the bliss of wedlock ! Thou didst seem to tread the sky and walk among the shining heavens. Less exultant was the shepherd on Amyclae's sand when Helen came to the ships of Ida ; less eager seemed Peleus to Thessalian Tempe, when Chiron high on his horse's body looked forth and beheld Thetis draw nigh to the Haemonian strand. How tardy are the lingering stars ! how slow is Aurora to a lover's prayer !

But when the son of Leto, sire of poets, and Euhan, Semele's son, perceived from afar that Stella's marriage-chamber was preparing, from Ortygia the one, from Nysa the other they set their swift companies in train. To Apollo the Lvcian hills and cool resorts of shadv Thymbra sound responsive, and thou, Parnassus ; Pangaea and Ismara re-echo Bacchus, and the shores of Naxos, once his bridal bower." Then did they enter the doors they loved, and brought to their tuneful friend their gifts of lyre and quill, of dappled yellow fawnskin and mystic wands : the one adorns the poet's brow with bay, the other sets a Minoan crown '' upon his hair.

Scarce is the light of day sent forth, and already the omens of a happy union are at hand, already cither house is aglow with festal pomp. The door- posts are green with foliage, the cross-roads bright with flame, and the most populous part of im- measurable Rome rejoices. No office of State, no

VOL. I D .'>.'?

STATIUS

omnis honos, euncti veniunt ad limina fasces,

omnis plebeio teritur praetexta tumultu : 234

hinc eques. hinc iuvenuni coetu^ stola mixta laborat.

felices utrosqiie vocant, sed in agmine plures

invidere viro. iamduduin poste reclinis

quaerit Hymen thalamis intactum dieei'e carmen,

quo vatem mulcere queat. dat luno verenda

vincula et insignit gemina^ Concordia taeda. 24u

hie fuit ille dies : noctem canat ipse maritus I

quantum nosse licet, sic victa sopore doloso

Martia fluminea posuit latus Ilia ripa ;

non talis niveos tinxit^ Lavinia vultus,

cum Turno spectante rubet ; non Claudia talis 245

respexit populos mota iam vii'go carina.

Nunc opus, Aonidum comites tripodumque ministri. diversis certare modis : eat enthea vittis atque hederis redimita cohors, ut pollet ovanti quisque lyra. sed praecipui. qui nobile gressu 250 extremo fraudatis opus, date carmina festis digna toris. hunc ipse Coo plaudente Pliiletas Callimachusque senex Umbroque Propertius antro ambissent laudare diem, nee tristis in ipsis Naso Tomis divesque foco lucente Tibullus. 255

Me certe non unus amor simplexque canendi

1 iuvenuni coetu Bernartius : iiiveniun questus hasta (hasta erased by M\): in iuvenumque aestu Postgate, hie iuvenuni vestis ElJls, of. PhiUimore, Pre/, to Silvae, p. xx,

^ insignit gemina PhiUimore : insigni geniinat M.

' tinxit Giiyef : strinxit M.

" Claudia, when accused of incontinency, proved her maidenhood liy causing to move the vessel that had brought the image of the Great Mother to Rome (,?04 b.c.) ; the ship had stuck fast, and according to the soothsayers could only be moved bv a chaste woman (Livy, xxix. 14 ; Ov. Fast. iv. 343).

34-

S1L\'AE, I. II. 233-250

train of lictors but seeks that threshold ; Senators' robes are jostled by crowds of common folk ; yonder are knights, and women's gowns that mix and struggle in a throng of youths. Each they call happy, but more among the multitude envy the bridegroom. Long since leaning against the portal hath Hymen sought to utter a new song in honour of their marriage, and to gladden the poet's heart. Juno brings the holy bonds, and Concord marks the union with twofold torch. Such was that day : of the night let the bridegroom sing ! This only may we know : 'twas thus that Iha, bride of Mars, o'ercome by deceitful slumber, laid her side on the river's bank ; less fair was Lavinia when she tinged her snow-white cheeks and blushed 'neath the eyes of Turnus ; not so did Claudia ** turn to meet the people's gaze, when the ship moved and her maiden- hood was sure.

Now, comrades of the Aonian'' sisters and ministers of the tripods, now must we strive in manifold measures : send forth the inspired train, chapleted and ivy-crowned, each bard in the strength of his own exultant lyre. But above all, ye who spoil of its last pace '^ your noble rhyme, bring songs that are worthy of the marriage feast. Philetas himself with Cos to applaud him and old Callimachus and Propertius in his Umbrian grot would fain have praised this day, and Naso too right gladly e'en in Tomi, and Tibullus by the glowing hearth that was his wealth.

For my part, verily, 'tis no one love, no single

* Boeotian, i.e. Muses, liy "comrades " and " ministers " he means poets.

" Cf. note on i. 2. 9.

35

STATIUS

causa traliit : tecum similes iunctaeque Camenae,

Stella, mihi, multumque pares bacchamur ad aras

et sociam doctis haurimus ab amnibus undam ;

at te nascentem gremio mea prima recepit 260

Parthenope, dulcisque solo tu gloria nostro

reptasti. nitidura consurgat ad aethera tellus

Eubois et pulchra tumeat Sebethos alumna ;

nee sibi sulpureis Lucrinae Naides antris

nee Pompeiani placeant magis otia Sarni. 265

Heia age, praeclaros Latio properate nepotes, qui leges, qui castra regant,'^ qui carmina ludant. acceleret partu decimum bona Cynthia mensem, sed parcat Lucina precor ; tuque ipse parenti parce, puer, ne mollem uterum, ne stantia laedas 270 pectora ; cumque tuos tacito natura recessu formarit vultus, multum de patre decoris, plus de matre feras. at tu, pulcherrima forma Italidum, tandem merito possessa marito, vincla diu quaesita fove : sic damna decoris 275

nulla tibi ; longae^ viridis sic flore iuventae perdurent vultus, tardeque haec forma senescat.

1 regant Pul. : legant M. ^ longae S" : longe M. See Slater^s note, ad loc.

" i.e., Naples.

'' i.e., Cumae, originally a colony of Chalcis in Euboea. Sebethos was the name of a small stream flowing past Naples.

36

SILVAR, I. IT. 257-277

impulse that makes me sing : tliou, Stella, hast a Muse like to and closely joined with mine, at similar altars do we feel the poet's rage, and together draw water from the springs of song. Thee, lady, at thv birth my own Parthenope " first fostered in her bosom, and in thy infancy thou wert the glory and delight of my native soil. Let the Euboean ^ land be exalted to the starry pole, and Sebethos swell with pride of his fair nursling ; nor let the Lucrine Naiads boast more of their sulphur caves, nor Pompeian Sarnus '^ in his SMeet repose.

Come now, hasten ye to bestow on Latium noble sons who will make her laws and rule her armies, and practise poesy. May merciful Cynthia hasten the tenth month for the bringing-forth, but spare her, I.ucina, I pray thee ; and thou, O babe, spare thy mother, hurt not her tender womb and swelling breasts ; and when Nature in secrecy has marked thy features, much beauty mayst thou draw from thy father, but more from thy mother. And thou, loveliest of Italian maids, won at last by a husband worthy of thee, cherish the bonds he sought so long ; so may thy beauty suffer no loss, and the fresh prime of youth abide for many a year upon thy brow, and that comeliness be slow to age.

•^ A river flowing into the bay of Naples, to-daj- about two miles from Pompeii, but formerly past its walls.

37

ST ATI us

III VILLA TIBURTINA MANILII VOPISCI

Cernere facundi 'libur glaciale \'upisci si quis et inserto geminos Aniene penates aut potuit sociae commercia noscere ripae certantescpie sibi doniinuni defendere villa<:, ilium nee ealido latravit Sirius astro, 5

nee gravis aspexit Nemeae frondentis alumnus : talis hiems tectis, frangunt sie improba solem frigora, Pisaeumque domus non aestuat annum.

Ipsa manu tenera tecum seripsisse \'oluptas'^

tune Venus Idaliis unxit fastigia sucis 10

permulsitque comis blandumque reliquit honorem sedibus, et volueres vetuit diseedere natos.

O longum memoranda dies ! quae inente reporto gaudia, quam lassos per tot miracula visus ! ingenium quam mite solo ! quae forma beatis l;! ante"^ manus artemque locis ! non largius usquam indulsit Xatura sibi. nemora alta citatis incubuere vadis : fallax responsat imago frondibus, et longas eadem fugit umbra per undas. ipse Anien — miranda fides — infraque superque 20

^ yo lacuna In mss. after this line. It was first recognized by Schwartz, though the text was dovhted by J)om. : Phiili- more conj. telam /oi" tecum (iii. 1. 117).

^ ante Bursian : arte M.

" i.e., the constellation Leo, the sign of the zodiac in which the sun is in July.

*" i.e., such heat as at the Olympian js^ames, held at mid- summer. 38

SILVAE, I. in. 1-2U

III. THE VILLA OF MANILIUS VOPISCUS AT TIBUR

Matiilii's I'opixcux is mentioned in the Preface to t/iin hook ; III' u\is a man of literary tastes, and an Epicurean (1. 94). The villa was prohahly above TUntr ; Volpi found remains that he said tallied irifh Sfativs's description (" Vetiis Latium ]irofanum," x. p. 3;50, ITOl), bid no trace of if has endured to modern times.

If anyone lias been privileged to behold eloquent \'opiscus' cool retreat at Tibur and the double dwell- ing threaded by Anio's stream, or to see the friendly intercourse of bank with bank, and each villa striving to keep their master to itself, on him the hot star of Sirius has not barked, nor leafy Nemea's offspring " looked with fierce aspect ; such icy coolness is in the house, so pitilessly does the cold break the sun's power, nor does the dwelling swelter in Pisa's summer heat."

Pleasure herself with her own delicate hand <is said> to have traced with thee . . . Then Venus poured Idalian perfumes upon the roof-tops and caressed them with her hair, and left a winsome charm upon the house and bade her winged sons abide there for ever.

O ever memorable day ! What raptures of the mind, what cloying of the sight by countless marvels do I recall ! How kindly the temper of the soil ! How beautiful beyond human art the enchanted scene ! Nowhere has Nature more lavishly spent her skill. Lofty woods lean over rushing waters ; a false image counterfeits the foliage, and the reflection dances unbroken over the long waves. Anio himself — marvellous to believe — though full of boulders

39

STATIUS

saxeus^ hie tuniidani rabieni spumosaque ponit murmura, ceu placidi veritus turbare Vopisci Pieriosque dies et habentes carmina somnos. litus utrumque domi, nee te mitissimus amnis dividit. alternas servant praetoria ripas, 25

non externa sibi fluviumve obstare^ queruntur. Sestiacos nunc Fania sinus pelagusque natatum iactet et audaci victos delphinas ephebo ! hie aeterna quies, nullis hie iura proeellis, 29

numquam fervor aquis. datur hie transmittere visus et voces et paene nianus. sic Chalcida fluetus expellunt reflui, sic dissociata profundo Bruttia Sicanium circumspicit ora Pelorum.

Quid prinium niediunive canam, quo fine quiescam? auratasne trabes an Maux'os undique postes 35

an picturata lucentia marmora vena niirer, an eniissas per cuncta cubiha nymphas ? hue ocuhs, hue mente trahor. venerabile dicam lucoruni senium ? te, quae vada fluminis infra cernis, an ad silvas quae respicis, aula, tacentis, 40 qua tibi tota quies ofFensaque turbine nullo nox silet et teneros invitant^ murmura somnos ? an quae graminea suscepta crepidine fumant balnea et impositum ripis algentibus ignem ? duaque vaporiferis iunctus fornacibus amnis 45

ridet anhelantes vicino flumine nymphas ?

Vidi artes veterumque manus variisque metalla

^ saxeus . . . spumosa 3/ : Slater conj. spumeus . . . saxosa.

^ fluviumve obstare Pol. : fluviorum optare M.

' teneros invitant Lemaire: nigros imitantia {or poss. mutantia) M : pigros Peyraredus : mutantia Postgate.

" i.e., Leander. The point is that these shores are kinder 40

SILVAF-, I. HI. 21-47

below and above, liere silences his swollen rage and foamy din, as if afraid to disturb the Pierian days and niusic-liauntcd slumbers of tranquil \opiscus. On either shore is home, and that most gentle river parts thee not in twain. Stately buildings guard either bank, and complain not that they are strange to each other, or that the stream bars approach. Now let P'ame boast of the Sestian gulf, and the bold youth who swam the sea and outstripped the dolphins ! " Here is eternal quiet, storms have here no power, waters ne'er grow angry. Here can one see and talk, ay all but join hands across the stream. Thus do the ebbing waves repel Chalcis, thus the curve of Bruttian shore that the deep has sundered regards Sicanian Pelorus.

What shall be my first, what my middle theme, whereon shall I conclude ? Shall I marvel at the gilded beams, the Moorish lintels ^ on every side, patterned veins of glittering marbles, the water- nymphs that hie them through every bed-chamber ? This way my eyes, that way my mind would snatch me. Shall I tell of the forest's venerable age ? Of the courtyard which sees the river's lower reaches, or of that other which looks back towards the mute woodland, where it hath quiet unbroken and the silence of night unmarred by any storm, and mur- muring sounds that invite to gentle slumber ? Or of the smoking baths upraised on the grassy bank and the fire kindled upon the icy flood } Or where the river, chained to the vaporous fui-nace, laughs at the njmiphs that gasp in its stream hard by ?

Works of art I saw and masterpieces of the ancients

than those of the Hellespont, which parted Leander from his love. * These were of citrus-wood from Mauretania.

41

ST ATI us

viva modis. labor est auri meniorare figiiras aut ebur aut dignas digitis contingere gemmas, quicquid et argento primum, vel in aere minori 50 lusit et enormes manus est experta colossos. cum vagoi* aspectu visusque per omnia duco, calcabam neeopinus opes, nam splendor ab alto defluus et nitidum referentes aera testae monstravere solum, varias ubi picta per artes 55

gaudet humus superatque novis asarota figuris : expavere gradus.

Quid nunc iungentia^ mirer aut quid partitis distantia tecta trichoris ? quid te, quae mediis servata penatibus arbor tecta per et postes liquidas emergis in auras, 60

quo non sub domino saevas passura bipennes ? et nunc ignai-o forsan vel lubrica Nais vel non abruptos tibi debet^ Hamadryas annos.

Quid referam alternas gemino super aggere mensas albentesque lacus altosque in gurgite fontes fi5

teque, per obliquum penitus quae laberis amnem, Marcia, et audaci transcurris flumina pluml)o ? an solum loniis sub fluctibus Elidis amnem dulcis ad Aetnaeos deducat semita portus ? illic ipse antris Anien et^ fonte relicto 70

^ iungentia Dorn. : ingencia M.

* debet Heinsius : demet M.

' illic Krohn, Anien et Pol. : illis ipse antris anienem M.

" A famous mosaic floor by one Sosus in Pergamum, so- called because it represented the scraps and leavings of a banquet (see Plin. X.II. xxxvi. 184).

* The term in Greek means a building of three stories ; here and in Spartianus {Penc. ^'if/. xii. 4) it seems to mean the upper story or stories of a house. The word is used

42

SILVAE, I. III. 48-70

and metals tliat lived in niainfold forms. A labour is it to tell of the shapes of gold, the ivories and the gems worthy to adorn a finger, and of all that the artist's hand first playfully wrought in silver or smaller bi'onze, and made trial of huge colossal forms. While 1 wandered gazing and cast my eyes on all, I was treading on riches unaware. For the radiance down-streaming from on high and the tiles that reflected the brilliant light displayed to me the floor, where the ground rejoices in manifold skill of painting, and with strange shapes surpasses the Unswept Pavement « : awe held my steps.

Why should I now marvel at the central buildings, or at the outer Avings each with its upper story '' ? why at thee, preserved in the very heart of the house, thou tree that risest up through roof and roof- beam to the pure air above, and under any other lord wouldest endure the cruel axe ? Even now, though thou '^ knowest it not, some lissome Naiad or Hamadryad perchance doth owe to thee the life that no stroke has severed.

Why should I tell of feasts held now on this bank, now on that, of white-gleaming pools and springs deep-hidden 'neath the flood, or of thee, O Marcia,'' that glidest athwart the river's depths and in l)old lead dost cross its channels ? Shall only the river of Elis come safe by an unsalt path to Aetna's haven beneath Ionian waves ? '^ There Anio himself, leaving

nowhere else in classical Latin : in Paulinus of Nola in the (Ireek sense. " trichora altaria " {Ep. xxxii. 10).

'^ i.e., Vopiscus : the change of person addressed is awkward, unless we understand Statius's habit of apostro- phizing, ef. i. 4. 3, 38, 106.

■^ One of the aqueducts that supplied Rome with water.

' See note on i. 2. 904.

43

ST ATI us

nocte sub arcana^ glaucos exutus amictus hue illuc fragili prosternit pectora musco, aut ingens in stagna cadit vitreasque natatu plaudit aqua'., ilia recubat Tiburnus in umbra, illic sulpureos cupit Albula mergere crines ; 75

haec donius Egeriae nenioraleni abiungere Phoeben et Drvadum viduare choris algentia possit Taygeta et silvis accersere Pana Lycaeis. quod ni templa darent alias Tirynthia sortes, et Praenestinae poterant niigrare sorores. 80

quid bifera Alcinoi laudem pomaria vosque, qui numquam vacui prodistis in aethera, rami ? cedant Telegoni, eedant Laurentia Turni iugera Lucrinaeque domus litusque cruenti Antiphatae, cedant vitreae iuga perfida Circes 8") Dulichiis ululata lupis arcesque superbae Anxuris et sedes, Phrygio quas mitis alumno debet anus : cedant, quae te iam solibus artis Antia- nimbosa revocabunt litora bruma

Scilicet hie illi meditantur pondera mores, 90

hie premitur fecunda quies virtusque serena fronte gravis sanusque nitor luxuque carentes deliciae, quas ipse suis digressus Athenis mallet deserto senior Gargettius horto ;

^ nocte sub arcana S' : nocte sub arcane m, artano 31, noctis ubi arcano P/iillimore.

^ Antia MarkJancl : avia M: obvia Postgate.

" Tiburnus, usually Tiburtus, was the founder of Tibur ; Albula, a sulphurous lake from which a stream flowed into the Anio at Tibur.

* A nymph of Aricia, and servant of Phoebe, who had a shrine there.

"^ The temple of Fortime at Praeneste was famous for telling the future by the casting of lots ; the reference to Sisters is not clear, but ^lartial refers to the " veridicae sorores "

44

SIL\'AK, I. III. 71-94

his grotto and his spring, in niglit's mysterious liour puts off his grey-green raiment and leans his breast against the soft moss hereabouts, or plunges in all his bulk into the pools and swimming splashes among the glassy waters. In that shade Tiburnus reclines, there Albula would fain dip her sulphurous tresses ; ** this bower could steal woodland Phoebe from Egeria* and empty cold Taygetus of Dryad choirs, and summon Pan from the Lycean glades. Ay, did not the Tirynthian shrine as well give oracles, even the Sisters of Praeneste might change their abode .'-' Why should I belaud the twice-bearing apple- orchards of Alcinous and the boughs that never stretched unladen to the air ? <^ Let the domain of Telegonus give place and Turnus' Laurentian fields, and the Lucrine dwellings and the shore of cruel Antiphates ; let the perfidious height of glassy Circe yield, where the Dulichian wolves once howled, and Anxur's haughty towers and the home that the kind old nurse owes to her Phrygian foster-child; let the shores of Antium give place, which when the suns are narrowed in their path and winter's storms are come will call thee to them.''

Ay, here that serious mind broods on weighty themes ; here silence shrouds a fruitful quiet and grave virtue tranquil-browed, sane elegance and comfort that is not luxury, such as the Gargettian sage ^ had liimself preferred and left his own Athens and his garden behind him ; these were

of Antium in tlie same way (v. 1. .S). "TirynHiia templa " is a temple of Hercules. '' Cf. Horn. Od. vii. 117.

" The places are Tusfulum, Ardea, Baiae, Formiae, Circeii (Dulichian, because they were Odysseus' men), y\nxur, C'aieta (nurse of Aeneas), Antium. f Epicurus.

4r)

ST ATI us

haec per et Aegaeas liiemes Hyaduinque nivosum 95

sidus et Oleniis dignum petiisse sub astris,

si Maleae credenda ratis Siculosque per aestus

sit via : cur oculis sordet vicina voluptas ?

hie tua Tiburtes Faunos chelys et iuvat ipsum

Alciden dictumque lyra maiore Catillum, 100

seu tibi Pindaricis animus contendere plectris

sive chelyn tollas heroa ad robora sive

liventem satiram nigra rubigine turbes^

seu tua non alia splendescat epistola cura.

Digne Midae Croesique bonis et Perside gaza, lOo macte bonis animi, cuius stagnantia rura debuit et flavis Hermus transcurrere ripis et limo splendente Tagus ! sic docta frequentes otia, sic omni detectus pectora nube finem Nestoreae precor egrediare senectae. 110

IV

SOTERIA RUTILI GALLICI

Estis, io, superi, nee inexorabile Clotho volvit opus, videt alma pios Astraea lovique

^ turbes M : vibres Scriver'ms.

" The star known as Capella, the rising of which heralded storms ; Aege, daughter of Olenus, was changed into a goat.

* Scylla and Charybdis.

'^ Either Virgil {Aen. vii. 670) or Horace (C i. 18). Catillus was one of the founders of Tibur.

■* Often identified with Justice.

46

SILVAE, I. III. 95— IV. 2

worth seeing despite Aegean storms and the Hyades* snowy constellation and the Olenian star,*^ even though the Ijark must be thrown on Malea's mercy and the way lie through Sicilian surges ^ : why do men look slightingly on pleasure near at hand .'' Here thy lyre delights the Fauns of Tibur and Aleides himself and Catillus, sung of by a mightier harp,'^ wliether thou hast a mind to strive with the Pindaric quill or dost lift thy lyre to the height of heroic deeds or stirrest up the black venom of thy bitter satire, or whether thy letters glow and sparkle, composed with no less skill.

O worthy of the wealth of Midas and of Croesus and of Persian treasure, all blessing on thy wealth of soul, thou o'er whose watered fields Hermus should have flowed with yellow channel and Tagus with liis shining sand ! So mayst thou full oft enjoy thy learned leisure, I pray, so with heart unclouded mayst thou outpass the limits of old Nestor's age !

IV. TO RUTILIUS GALLICUS, ON HIS RECO\'ERY FROM ILLNESS

" iSoteria " means a thanksgiving for recovery from sick- ness {as here), or for rescue from any serious danger. Here Stat ins congratulates Rutilius (Jallicus, a man of nohJe rank and military distinction, who after seeing service in Asia Minor and Pannonia had become successively Praetor, Gov- ernor of the province of Asia, Consul, Imperial Commissioner in Africa, and finally Prefect of the City ; between tlie last tint offices lie had fought on the lUiine. The recorery is effected by dirine agency, Apollo and Aesculapius visiting the patient and tending him t/ienist-l res.

Hurrah ! ye exist then, ye gods, nor is Clotho's spinning inexorable ; kindly Astraea '^ hath regard

47

ST ATI us

conciliata redit dubitataque sidera cernit Gallicus. es caelo. dive, es,^ Germanice, cordi — quis neget r^: erubuit tanto spoliare ministro 5 imperium Fortuna tuum. stat proxima cervix ponderis immensi damnosaque fila senectae exuit atque alios melior revirescit in annos. ergo alacres, quae signa colunt urbana. cohoi'tes inque sinum quae saepe tuum fora turbida questum 10 confugiunt, leges urbesque ubicumque togatae, quae tua longinquis implorant iura querelis, certent laetitia, nosterque ex ordine collis confremat et sileant peioris murniura faniae I quippe manet longunique aevo i-edeunte nianebit, lo quern penes intrepidae mitis custodia Romae. nee tantuni induerint fatis nova saecula crimen aut instaurati peccaverit ara Tarenti.

Ast ego nee Phoebum, quamquam milii surda sine illo plectra, nee Aonias decima cum Pallade divas 20

aut mitem Tegeae Dircesve hortabor alumnum : ipse veni \iresque novas animumque ministra, qui^ caneris ; docto nee enim sine numine tantus Ausoniae decora ampla togae centumque dedisti iudicium mentemque viris. licet enthea vatis 25

^ es 5~: et M : dive es Pol.: dives -1/: dis es I)om.: Diti es Postgate.

^ qui Pol. (from P): quis M.

" One of the titles of the Emperor Domitian.

* The four urban cohorts, directly under the Praefectus urbi ; the Prefect's court was the supreme court of criminal jurisdiction, and appeals from Italian towns came to him.

•^ Sometimes explained as Helicon, cf. "nostras" 1. 30; sometimes as Rome. Slater suggests Alba.

•^ Tarentum was the name given to a depression in the Campus Mnrtins near the Tiber, where there was nn altar.

48

SILVAE, I. IV. 3-25

for pious folk, and comes back reconciled with Jove, and Gallicus beholds the stars he doubted e'er to see again. Beloved of heaven art thou, divine Gernian- icus,'' who can deny it ? Fortune was ashamed to rob thy empire of so great a minister. Those shoulders with tlieir immense burden rise once more next to thine, and have cast off the ruinous doom of eld and revive more vigorous yet for many a year. There- fore let the brisk cohorts ^ that venerate the City's eagles, and the laws that ofttimes take refuge in thy bosom, complaining of the courts' confusion, and the cities of the toga wheresoe'er they be, that with far-travelling pleas implore thy justice — let them vie in their rejoicing, and let our own hill'' duly join its shouts to theirs, and the mutterings of ill report be silent. For he abides, and long will abide in his new span of life, in whose merciful hand is placed the guardianship of fearless Rome. No such grave re- proach will the new age lay upon the fates, nor will the altar of Tarentum,'' late restored, so deeply sin. But I will call neither on Phoebus, although my quill is mute without him, nor on the Aonian god- desses with Pallas the tenth Muse, nor on the gentle sons of Tegea and of Dirce '^ : come thou thyself and bring new strength and spirit, thou that art my theme ; for not without genius heaven-sent wert thou so mighty to shed great glory upon the Ausonian gown and to give judgement and understanding to the Hundred./ Thougli god-possessed Pimplea shut

* Mercury and Bacclius.

^ The Centumviral court, prominent under the Empire, was a court of civil jurisdiction ; its numbers, originally 105 (3 from each tribe) had been raised to 180. Cf. Sllv. iv. 4. 43.

VOL. I E 49

ST ATI us

excludat Pimplea sitim nee conscia detur Pirene : largos potius mihi gurges in haustus, qui rapitur de fonte tuo, seu plana solutis quoni struis orsa niodis seu quom tibi dulcis in artem frangitur et nostras curat facundia leges. 30

quare age, si Cereri sua dona merumque Lyaeo reddimus et dives praedae tamen aecipit omni exu\ias Diana tholo eaptivaque tela Bellipotens : nee tu, quando tibi, Gallice, mains eloquium. fandique opibus sublimis abundas, 3")

sperne coli tenuiore lyra. vaga cingitur astris luna, et in oceanum rivi cecidere minores.

Quae tibi sollicitus persolvit praemia morum Urbis amor ! quae turn patrumque equitumque

notavi lumina et ignarae plebis lugere potentes ? 40

non labente Numa timuit sic Curia felix Pompeio nee eelsus eques nee femina Bruto. hoe illud : tristes in\itum audire cateiias, parcere verberibus nee qua iubet alta potestas ire, sed armatas multum sibi demere vires 45

dignarique manus humiles et verba preeantum, reddere iura foro nee proturbare eurules et ferrum mulcere toga, sic itur in alta peetora, sic mixto reverentia fidit amori. ipsa etiam eunetos gravis inclementia fati 50

terruit et subiti praeceps iuvenile pericli, nil cunetante malo. non illud culpa seneetae — quippe ea bissenis vixdum orsa excedere lustris — ,

" Pimplea and Pirene were fountains of the Muses.

'' J.I?., of us poets.

" He was mourned by the Pi,oman matrons for a whole year, Livy, ii. 7, .50

SILVAE, I. IV. 26-53

out the thirsty bard and conspiring Pirene " be not granted me, yet dearer are the lavish draughts snatclied from the flood of thy own fountain, whether thou dost create free and flowing prose or whether thy sweet eloquence is broken in to rules of art and obeys our laws.** Wherefore come — if we make return to Ceres of her gifts and to Lyaeus of his wine, and if Diana though rich in booty yet receives spoils in every temple and the Lord of War our trophies of the fight — and spurn not, Gallicus, since tliou hast a mightier utterance and aboundest in wealth of speech sublime, spurn not the worship of a humbler Ivre. The wandering moon is ringed Avith stars, and lesser streams run down into the Ocean.

What rich reward for thy virtues did the City's loving anxiety give thee ! What famous Senators and knights, what champions of the obscure multi- tude saw I then in tears ! The prosperous Curia feared not so when Numa was failing, nor the noble Knights at Pompey's danger nor the women at Brutus' death/ And this is the cause thereof : thou wert loth to hear the sullen chains, didst spare the scourge nor go as lofty otfice bade thee, but didst renounce much of thy armed force, and deign to regard the petitions of the lowly and their humble prayers ; thou broughtest back justice to the Forum nor didst vex the curule magistrates, but temperedst force by law. So is a way won to the deep places of the heart, so doth reverence trust the love Avhere- with it mingles. Terrible too to all was the dire severity of Fate and the impetuous violence of tlie sudden peril, as the mischief tarried not. 'Twas not the fault of thy age — scarce had that begun to with- draw from its twelfth lustre — but of straining toil

.01

STATIUS

sed labor intendens animique in membra vigentis imperium vigilesque suo pro Caesare cm'ae, 55

dulce opus, hinc fessos penitus subrepsit in artus insidiosa quies et pigra oblivio vitae.

Tunc deus, Alpini qui iuxta culmina dorsi signat Apollineos sancto cognomine lucos, respicit heu tanti pridem^ securus alumni. 60

praecidensque^ moras : " nunc mecum, Epidauria

proles, hinc " ait " i^ gaudens : datur — aggredienda

facultas ! — ingentem recreare virum. teneamus adorti tendentes* iam fila colos : ne fulminis atri sit metus : has ultro laudabit luppiter artes. 65

nam neque plebeiam aut dextro sine numine cretam servo animam. atque adeo breviter, dum tecta

subimus, expediam. genus ipse suis permissaque retro nobilitas ; nee origo latet, sed luce sequente vincitur et magno gaudet cessisse nepoti. 70

prima togae virtus illi quoque : clarus et ingens eloquio ; mox innumeris exercita castris occiduas primasque domos et sole sub omni permeruit iurata manus nee in otia pacis pei-missum laxare animos ferrumque recingi. 75

hunc Galatea vigens ausa est incessere bello — me quoque — perque novem timuit Pamphylia

messes Pannoniusque ferox arcuque horrenda fugaci

1 prideni Dom. : precidem M. - praecidens Ifou.tman : progressus M : praegressus S". * ait, i Biirsian : alti M. * tendentes Markland : tendatis M. " Probably Turin, the birthplace of Gallicus, is meant. Evidence for any cult of Apollo there is exceedingly weak. 52

SILVAE, I. IV. 54-78

and a strong mind's mastery o'er the body and unsleeping diligence in thy Emperor's cause, a labour of love to thee. Hence came creeping deep into the weary limbs a treacherous quiet and dull forgetful- ness of life.

Then the god who luird by the peaks of the Alpine ridge " sets his sacred name of Apollo ujion the groves, turns to behold, long alas ! neglectful of so precious a ward. Then cutting short delay : " Come with me on the instant, Epidaurian son," he cries, " away, and gladly too ! 'Tis in our power — the chance must be seized ! — to restore to health a mighty hero. Let us advance and grasp the thread that e'en now the distaff stretches.'' Fear no dread thunderbolt : '^ Jupiter will be the first to praise this skill of ours. For 'tis no plebeian life I save nor one unblest in its begetting. Briefly while we draw nigh his house will I unfold his story. Himself he gives pedigree to his line, and reflects thereon his own nobility ; yet his origin is not obscure, but surpassed by the glory that follows it, and gladly gives place to its famous progeny. He too first excelled in the arts of peace : in eloquence brilliant and powerful ; then loyal to his oath he served in East and West and under every sun, bearing the brunt of countless camps, nor was he suffered to relax his ardour in peaceful ease nor to ungirdhis swoi'd. Him did Galatia dare to provoke to war in lusty pride — ay, and me also '^ — and for the space of nine harvests Pamphylia feared him, and the bold Pannonian and Armenia's

*" i.e., because it is running out.

" Jupiter fiad slain Aesculapius for restoring tiie dead to life.

"^ Attack on Delphi by the Gauls, 279 b.c.

53

STATIUS

Armenia et patiens Latii iain pontis Araxes. quid gcminos fasces magnaeque iterata revolvam 80 iura Asiae ? veiit ilia quidem ter habere quaterque hunc sibi, sed i-evocant fasti maiorque curulis nee promissa seniel. Libvci quid niira tributi obsequia et niissuni media de pace triumphum laudem et opes quantas nee qui mandaverat ausus 85 exspectare fuit r gaudet Trasimennus et Alpes^ Cannensesque animae ; primusque insigne tributum ipse palam lacera^ poscebat Regulus umbra, non vacat Arctoas acies Rhenumque rebellem eaptivaeque preces \'eledae et, quae maxima nuper 90 gloria, depositam Dacis pereuntibus Urbem pandere, cum tanti lectus rectoris habenas, Gallice, Fortuna non admirante subisti.

Hunc igitur, si digna loquor, rapiemus iniquo, nate, loui. rogat hoc Latiae pater inclitus ui'bis 95 et meruit ; neque enim frustra mihi nuper honora carmina patricio pueri sonuistis in ostro. si qua salutifero gemini Chironis in antro herba, tholo quodcumque tibi Troiana recondit Pergamus aut medicis felix Epidaurus harenis loo educat, Idaea profert quam Creta sub umbra dictamni florentis opem, quoque anguis abundat

^ After this line M has attollam cantii gaiidet Thrasj'- mennus et Alpes, obviously an interpolation, though various edd. try to fit it into the text. See Introd.

* lacera Pol. : laeta M. Pol.'s reading was taken by him from P.

" Some explain as "the praetorship," cf. Mommsen {Staatsrecht, i. 384 n.), who quotes Cic. De leg. agr. ii. 34. 93. and Plautus, Epid. i. 1. 25. to prove that the praetor in Rome only had two lictors (cf, bissenos fasces, of the consulship, Silv. i. 2. 174).

* /.f., the consulship, which would be registered in the Fasti.

SILVAE, I. IV. 79-102

dire retreating bowmen and Araxes that now brooks a Roman bridge. Why should I tell of the double command " and the twice repeated governorship of Asia ? who thrice and four times would fain liave him for herself, but our Annals and the higher ciu'ule chair, ** oft promised, call him back. Why extol the tribute and wondrous obedience of Libya,'' and the spoils of triumph sent to Rome from the midst of peace, and such wealth as not even he who gave the charge had dared to expect ? Trasimene and the Alps exult and the ghosts of Cannae ; and the mangled shade of Regulus first appears and claims its glorious reward. Time allows not to re- count the armies of the North and rebellious Rhine and the prayers of captive ^Vleda,'^' and, latest and greatest glory, Rome given thee in charge, when the Dacians were falling before us and thou wert chosen, Gallicus, to take up the reins of so great a chief, and Fortune marvelled not.

" Him then, if my words find favour, we will rescue, my son, from Pluto's cruelty. This is the prayer of the illustrious Father of the Latian City,* and lie has deserved it ; for not in vain of late did ye sing my praise, ye boys, clad in patrician purple. If there be any herb in twy-formed Chiron's health- giving cave, all that Trojan Pergamus stores for thee in thy shrine or blest Epidaurus nurtures in her healing sands, all the aid of flowering dittany that Crete brings forth in the glens of Ida, the abundant

' Vespasian had renewed and increased the tribute paid by Africa and other provinces ; Gallicus was perhaps sent there as Special Commissioner for this purpose.

•* A German prophetess, for whom see Tac. Hist. iv. 61, V. 22.

' i.e., the Emperor.

STATIUS

spumatu : iungam ipse manus atque omne benignum^

virus, odoriferis Arabum quod doctus in arvis

aut Amphrysiaco pastor de gramine cai'psi.^ " 105

Dixerat. inveniunt positos iam segniter artus pugnantemque animam ; ritu se cingit uterque Paeonio monstrantque simul parentque volentes, donee letiferas vario niedicaniine pestes et suspecta mali ruperunt nubila somni. 110

adiuvat ipse deos morboque valentior omni occupat auxilium. citius non arte refectus Telephus Haemonia, nee quae metuentis Atridae saeva Machaonio coierunt vulnera suco.

Quis mihi tot coetus inter populique patrumque 115 sit curae votique locus ? tamen ardua testor sidera teque, pater vatum Thymbraee, quis omni luce mihi, quis nocte timor, dum postibus haerens assiduus nunc aure vigil nunc lumine cuncta aucupor^ ; immensae veluti conexa carinae 120

cumba minor, cum saevit hiems, pro parte furentis parva receptat aquas et eodem volvitur austro.

Nectite nunc laetae candentia fila, sorores, nectite ! nemo modum transmissi computet aevi : hie vitae natalis erit. tu Troica dignus 125

saecula et Euboici transcendere pulveris annos Nestoreosque situs ! qua nunc tibi pauper acerra digna litem ? nee si vacuet Mevania valles aut praestent niveos Clitumna novalia tauros,

^ benignum Lindenhrog : benigne M.

^ carpsi Dom. : carpsit M.

* aucupor Heinshts : auguror M.

" Cf. Virg. Aen. xii. 400. " i.e., by Achilles, cf. Hor. Epod. 17. 8. ' i.e. Apollo. 56

SILVAE, I. IV. 103-129

sj)ume of serpents — <these bring>, and I will join thei'eto my skill of hand, and every kindly juice that I learned in Arabia's balmy fields, or gathered as a shephei'd in the meadows of Amphrysus."

He ended ; they find the sufferer lying languid and battling for life ; " each girds himself in Paeonian wise, and willingly both teach and both obey, until with varied art of healing they have shattered the deadly plague and dispersed the dire cloud of bane- ful lethargy. He himself aids the heavenly ones, and prevailing o'er the utmost power of the disease anticipated the help they bring. Not more swiftly was Telephus restored by Haemonian skill,'' nor the cruel wounds of which Atrides stood in terror stanched by Machaon's healing balm.

What place, amid such a gathering of Senators and people, for anxious prayers of mine ? Yet I call the high stars to witness, and thee, Thymbraean sire of bards," what terror held me night and day while I clung to the portals and in unremitting vigilance caught every hint with eye or ear : just as a tiny skiff trailing behind a mighty vessel, when the tempest rages, bears its small share of the waters' fury and is tossed in the self-same gale.

Twine now, ye Sisters, joyfully twine your threads of shining white ! Let none reckon the measure of life already spent : this day is the birthday of life to be. Thou dost deserve to outlast the age-long lives of Troy j'^ the Euboean Sibyl's dust and Nestor's mouldering decay. What censer of mine can avail, needy as I am, to supplicate for thee ? Not if Mevania should empty her valleys or the fields of Clitumnus vouchsafed their snow-white bulls, were '' Priam or Tithonus, as in ii, 3. 73, v. 3. 256.

STATIUS

sufficiam. sed saepe dels hos intei* liouores 130

caespes et exiguo placuerunt farra salitiu.

BALNEUM CLAUDII ETRUSCT

Non Helicona gravi pulsat chelys enthea plectro, nee lassata voco totiens mihi numina, Musa!> ; et te, Phoebe, choris et te diniittinius, Euhan. tu quoque muta ferae, volucer Tegeaee, sonorae terga prenias : alios poscunt mea carmina coetus. 5 Naidas, undaruni doniinas, regemque corusci ignis adhuc fessum Siculaque incude rubentem elicuisse satis, pauluni arnia nocentia, Thebae, ponite : dilecto volo lascivire sodali. iunge. puer. cyathos — set ne numevare^ labora — 10 cunctantemque intende chelyn : discede Laborque Curaque, dum nitidis canimus gemmantia saxis balnea dumque procax vittis hederisque, soluta fronde vereeunda.^ Clio mea ludit E!.trusco. ite, deae \irides, liquidosque advertite vultus lo

et vitreum teneris crimen redimite corvmbis, veste nihil tectae. quales emergitis altis fontibus et visu Satyros torquetis amantes. non vos, quae culpa decus infamastis aquarum,

^ set ne numerare Scrirerinx : et enumerare 3/, nee et Postgate.

^ verecunda Baehrens : verecundo M.

" Salt and roasted meal was the simplest form of sacrifice, cf. Hor. C. iii. 23. 20. The turf formed the altar.

* Mercury invented the lyre from the shell of a tortoise. " i.e.. \'ulcan.

.58

SILVAE, I. IV. 130— V. 19

tliat sufficient. Yet amid .sucli offerings a simple turf, some meal and a humble salt - cellar have ofttinies pleased the gods."

V. THE BATHS OF CLAUDIUS ETRUSCUS

The Baths of Claudius Etrusvus were possibly on tlie Quirinal ; they are mentioned hy Martial (vi. 42). For their owner see note to Silv. iii. 3.

Not at Helicon's gates doth my harp resound in fierce, ecstatic melody, nor call I on the heavenly Muses, so often wearied by my prayer ; thou Phoebus, and thou, Euhan, art released from my choral song, and do thou, sAvift Tegean, keep in mute silence thy tuneful tortoise-shell ^ : other choirs doth my song demand. 'Tis enough to lure the Naiads hither, queens of the wave, and the lord of the flashing fire, weary still and glowing with the Sicilian anvil's heat.'' Thebes, lay down thy sinful arms awhile ^ : I would fain make revel for a friend I love. Cup after cup, lad !— nay, trouble not to count them ! Tune the tardy lyre ! Toil and Care, avaunt ! while I sing of the baths that sparkle with bright mai-bles, and while my Clio, wantoning in ivy chaplets and free from the sober laurel, makes sport for Etruscus. Come then, ye Nymphs of the waters, turn hither your clear countenances and bind up your glass-green tresses with tender vine-shoots, your bodies all unclothed as when ye emerge from the deep springs and torture your Satyr-lovers with the sight. You, who with guilt have defamed the

■* He refers to his Thebaid, whicli recounted the impious strife of the bretliren, Eteocles and Polynices.

59

STATIUS

sollicitare iuvat ; procul hinc et fonte doloso 20

Salmacis et viduae Cebrenidos arida liictu flumina ct Herculei praedatrix cedat alumni. vos mihi, quae Latium septenaque culmina, nymphae, incolitis Thybrimque novis attollitis undis, quas praeceps Anien atque exceptui-a natatus 25

Virgo iuvat Marsasque nives et frigora ducens Marcia, praeeelsis quarum vaga molibus unda crescit et innumero pendens transmittitur arcu — : vestrum opu'; aggredimur, vestra est. quani carmine molli 29

pando. domus. non umquam aliis liabil^istis; in antris ditius. ipsa manus tenuit Cvtherea mariti monstravitque artes ; neu vilis flamma caminos ureret, ipsa faces volucrum succendit Amorum. non hue admissae Thasos aut undosa Carystos, maeret onyx longe, ([ueriturque exclusus ophites : 35 sola nitet flavis Nomaduni decisa metallis purpura^ sola cavo Phrygiae quam Synnados antro ipse cruentavit maculis lucentibus^ Attis, quasque Tyrus^ niveas secat et Sidonia rupes. vix locus Eurotae, viridis cum regula longo 40

^ hicentibus M: liventibus Pol., Markland : rf. Apoll. Si(L xxii. 137.

^ quasque Tyrus Dom. : quoque tiri M : cumque Tyri Vollmer : quasque Tyrus niveas secuit La/aye : quamque Paros niveam Pontgate : quaeque Tyri vincas fucatam (or, fucum et quae) sindona rupes Slater. See also C.R. xx. pp. 38, 39.

" Salmacis enticed Hermaphroditus into her waters and united herself indissolubly to him. Cebrenis is Oenone. Hylas, ward of Hercules, was drawn by a nymph into the spring where he was getting water.

* Two famous aqueducts, excellent for swimming in and drinking respectivelv, from the purity of the one and the

60

SILVAE, 1. V. 20-40

honour of tJie streams, I care not to solicit : far lience remove thou, O Salmacis, with thy deceiving fount, and the river of Cebrenis left forlorn, that grief made dry, and the ravisher of Hercules' young ward ! " But ye Nymphs who dwell in I/atium and on the Seven Heights and make Thybris swell with your fresh waters, ye whom headlong Anio delights and the Maiden destined to welcome the swimmer, and Marcia that brings down the Marsian snow and cold,** ye whose travelling waves flood through the lofty masonry and are carried high in air over countless arches — yours is the work I fain would sing, yours the home whereof my gentle verse doth tell. Never in other grottos dwelt ye more sumptuously. Cytherea herself guided her lord's hand, and taught him skill ; and that no baser flame miglit scorch the furnace, herself she kindled the brands of her winged Loves thereunder. Neither Thasos nor wave-lashed Carystos are suffered here ; " far off the onyx mourns, and the serpent-stone rejected makes complaint ; only the porphyry gleams, hewn from the Nomads' tawny rocks, only that which in the hollow caves of Phrygian Synnas Attis bedewed with the bright drops of his own blood, and the snow-white cliffs that Tyre and Sidon quarry .** Scarce is there space for stone from

coolness of the other. The " Maiden " fed several baths, including those of Agrippa. " See note on i. 2. 148.

■^ No emendation of the text is convincing here. It is not certain whether there is any allusion to marble of Tyre and Sidon, of which nothing is otherwise known. The parallel in i. 2. 151 suggests rather a comparison with Tyrian dye, or, as Slater conjectures, with the purple "sindon" (linen garment) of a guest at the banquet ; hence he would read " quaeque Tyri vincas fucatam sindona rapes," " marble of a deeper purple than fine linen dyed at Tyre."

()1

STATIUS

Synnada distinctu variat. non limina cessant,

effulgent camerae, vario fastigia \itro

in species animosque nitent. stupet ipse beatas

circumplexus opes et pareius impei*at ignis.

multus ubique dies, radiis ubi culmina totis 45

perforat atque alio sol improbus uritur aestu.

nil ibi plebeium ; nusquani Temesaea notabis

aera, sed argento felix propellitur unda

argentoque cadit labrisque nitentibus instat

delicias mirata suas et abire recusat. 50

extra autem niveo qui margine caerulus amnis

V'ivit et in suniniuni fundo^ patet oninis ab inio,

cui non ii-e lacu pigros(|ue exsolvere amictus

suadeat ? hoc mallet nasci Cytherea profundo,

hie te perspicuum melius, Narcisse, videres, 55

hie velox Hecate velit et deprensa lavari.

quid nunc strata solo referam tabulata crepantis

auditura pilas, ubi languidus ignis inerrat

aedibus et tenuem volvunt hypocausta vaporem ?

nee si Baianis veniat novus hospes ab oris, 60

talia despiciet — fas sit componere magnis

parva — Neronea nee qui modo lotus in unda,

hie iterum sudare neget. macte, oro, nitenti

ingenio curaque puer ! tecum ista senescant

et tua lam melius discat fortuna renasci ! 65

^ in summum fundo S" : in funduin summo M.

" See note on i. 1 . 42. ** The baths of Nero on the Campus Martins.

62

SILVAE. I. V 41 65

tlie Eurotas, where the long hne of green picks out the marble of Synnas. The doorways yield not in splendour, the ceilings are radiant, the gables glitter with mosaics of pictured life. The very fire is astounded at the riches he encompasses, and tempers the fierceness of his sway. Everywhere is flooding light, where the sun pierces the roof with all his rays, and, spite of all his fierceness, is scorched by a heat that is not his own. NougJit is common there, nowhere will you mark bronze of Temese," but from silver is the glad wave poured and into silver it falls, and marvelling at its own beauty stands poised upon the gleaming brim and refuses to go its way. But the dark-blue stream without, running gaily between snow-white banks, all clear to see from loMcst depth to surface — whom would it not tempt to throw off his lazy robe and plunge into the water ? From these deeps had Cytherea chosen to be born ; here, Narcissus, hadst thou seen thyself more clearly ; here would suift Hecate fain bathe, e'en though discovered. Why now should I tell of the floors laid upon the earth, destined to hear the noise of balls, whei-e languidly creeps the warmth about the house and a scant haze rolls upward from the furnaces below ? Such beauty would no guest despise, though fresh from the shore of Baiae, nor, if I may compare great things with small, would one who had bathed of late in Nero's baths ^ refuse to sweat here once more. A blessing, Claudius, on thy brilliant cleverness and careful thought I may this work grow old with thee, and thy fortune learn to rise to a new and more glorious birth.

63

ST ATI us

VI

KALENDAE DECEMBRES

Et Phoebus pater et severa Pallas et Musae procul ite feriatae : lani vos revocabimus Kalendis. Saturnus niihi compede exsoluta et multo gravidus mei'o December 5

et ridens locus et Sales protervi adsint, duni refero diem beatum laeti Caesaris ebriamque apax'chen.^ Vix Aurora novos movebat ortus, iam bellaria^ linea pluebant 10

— hunc rorem veniens profudit eurus : quicquid nobile Ponticis nucetis, fecundis cadit aut iugis Idymes ; quod ramis pia germinat Damascos, et quod percoquit ebriosa Caunos,^ 15

largis gratuitum cadit rapinis ; niolles gaioli lucuntulique, et massis Amerina non perustis et mustaceus et latente palma praegnates caryotides cadebant. 20

^ ebriamque aparchen {i.e. dTrapxv", originally *\/irst- fruits,'" "first offering,'''' then '\feast," as in Pint. 40 b) Phillimore : parcen M, pacem Pol., noctem li. TJiomson, etc. ^ bellaria 5" : vellaria M.

^ ebriosa Cauiios Waller : aebosia caiinos M, aestuosa Imhnf, Ebosea Vollmer, arbor Inda cannas Ellis, et quod praecoquit Ebosia cannis La/aye and Slater.

" Saturn was put in chains by Jupiter, but set free, according- to popular belief, on his festival.

** A rope was stretched across the amphitheatre, from

64

SILVAE, I. VI. 1-20

VI. THE KALENDS OF DECEMBER

An account of an entertainment given by the Emperor to the people during the Saturnalia. Suetonius (Doniit. 4) mentions also chariot-races, sham fights, naval battles in the Amphitheatre, combats of gladiators, beasts, etc., and various distributions of money and food to the people.

Hence, father Phoebus and stern Pallas ! Away, ye Muses, go, keep holiday ; we will call you back at the New Year. But Saturn, slip your fetters '^ and come hither, and December tipsy with much wine, and laughing Mirth and wanton Wit, while I recount the glad festival of our merry Caesar and the ban- quet's drunken revel.

Scarce was the new da^n stirring, when already sweetmeats were raining from the line,^ such was the dew the rising East wind was scattering ; the fiimous fruit of Pontic nut-groves, or of Idume's fertile slopes,'' all that devout Damascus grows upon its boughs ^ or thirsty Caunus " ripens, falls in a generous profusion. Biscuits and melting pastries,^ Amerian fruit ^ not over-ripe, must-cakes, and burst- ing dates from invisible palms were showering down.

which the dainties were shaken down amona; the people, cf. Mart. viii. 78. 7.

" i.e., dates ; Idume often in Statins for Palestine, cf. Liic. iii. 216. ** i.e., plums (damsons).

<■ Cannus in Asia Minor was famous for its figs. Kbosia, the MS. reading, would refer to Ebusus, one of the Balearic isles, modern Iviza, which Pliny praises for its figs ; but the combination with Caunos, "the fig-town of Ebusus" (Vollmer), is awkward. Slater, following Eafaye (Notes on the Silvae, Paris, 1896), reads " et quod praecoquit Ebosia cannis."

f So-called because they were in the shape of human figures, i.e. little " Gaii."

' From Ameria came apples and pears.

VOL. I F Q5

66

STATIUS

non tantis Hyas inserena nimbis

terras obruit aut soluta Plias,

qualis per cuneos hiems Latinos

plebem grandine contudit serena.

ducat nubila luppiter per orbem 25

et latis pluvias minetur agris,

dum nostri lovis hi ferantur imbres.

Ecce autem caveas subit per omnis insignis specie, decora cultu plebes altera non minor sedente. 30

hi panaria candidasque mappas subvectant epulasque lautiores ; ilh marcida vina lai'giuntur : Idaeos totidem putes ministros. oi'bem, qua mehor severiorque est, 35

et gentes ahs insimuP togatas, et cum tot populos, beate,^ pascas, hunc Annona diem superba nescit.^ i nunc saecula compara, Vetustas, antiqui lovis aureumque tempus : 40

non sic hbera vina tunc fluebant nee tardum seges occupabat annum, una vescitur omnis ordo mensa, parvi, femina, plebs, eques, senatus : libertas reverentiam remisit. 45

et tu quin etiam — quis hoc vacare,* quis promittere possit hoc deorum ? — nobiscum socias dapes inisti. iam se, quisquis is est, inops, beatus, convivam ducis esse gloriatur. 50

Hos inter fremitus novosque hixus spectandi le\ds effugit voluptas :

^ insimul S" : insemel M. ^ beate Hessius and Lafaye : beata M.

SILVAE, I. VI. 21-52

Not with such torrents do stormy Hyades o'erwhelm the earth or Pleiades dissolved in rain, as the hail that from a sunny sky lashed the people in the theatre of Rome. Let Jupiter send his tempests through the world and threaten the broad fields, while our own Jove sends us showers like these !

But lo ! another multitude, handsome and well- dressed, as numerous as that upon the benches, makes its way along all the rows. Some carry baskets of bread and white napkins and more luxu- rious fare ; others serve languorous wine in abundant measure ; so many cupbearers of Ida " would you think them. Thou dost nourish alike the circle of the noble and austere and the folk that wear the toga, and since, O generous lord, thou dost feed so many multitudes, haughty Annona knoweth nought of this festival.'' Come now. Antiquity, compare with ours the age of primeval Jove and the times of gold : less bounteously then did the vintage flow, not thus did the harvest anticipate the tardy year. One table serves every class alike, children, women, people, knights, and senators : freedom has loosed the bonds of awe. Nay even thyself — ^what god could have such leisure, or vouchsafe as much ? — thou didst come and share our banquet. And now everyone, be he rich or poor, boasts himself the Emperor's guest.

Amid such excitements and strange luxuries the pleasure of the scene flies quickly by : women un-

" i.e., so many Ganyinedes.

** The feast is free and gratis, therefore the price of bread has nothing to do with it.

* nescit M : nescis S". * vacare Fhillimore : vocare M: vocari Ettigius.

67

ST ATI us

stat sexus rudis insciu-^que ferri ;

ut pugnas capit improbus viriles !

credas ad Tanain ferumque Phasini 55

Thermodontiacas calere turmas.

hie audax subit ordo pumilorum,

quos natura brevis statim peracta

nodosum semel in globuni ligavit.

edunt vulnera conseruntque dextras 60

et mortem sibi — qua manu ! — minantur.

ridet Mars pater et cruenta Virtus

casuraeque vagis grues rapinis

mirantur pugiles^ ferociores.

lam noctis propioribus sub umbris 65

dives sparsio quos agit tumultus ! hie intrant faciles emi puellae, hie agnoscitur omne, quod theatris aut forma placet aut probatur arte, hoc plaudunt grege Lydiae tumentes, 70

illic cymbala tinnulaeque Gades, ilHc agmina confremunt S\Torum, hie plebs scenica quique comminutis permutant vitreis gregale sulpur.

Inter quae subito cadunt volatu 75

immensae volucrum per astra nubes, quas Nilus sacer horridusque Phasis, quas udo Xumidae legunt sub austro. desunt qui rapiant sinusque pleni gaudent, dum nova lucra comparantur. 80

tollunt innumeras ad astra voces Saturnaha principis sonantes

68

SILVAE, I. VI. 53-82

trained to the sword take their stand, daring, how recklessly, men's battles I you would think Ther- modon's bands " were furiously lighting by Tanais or barbarous Phasis. Then comes a bold array of dwarfs, whose term of growth abruptly ended has bound them once for all into a knotted lump. They give and suffer wounds, and threaten death — with fists how tiny ! Father Mars and Bloodstained Valour laugh, and cranes,^ waiting to swoop on scattered booty, marvel at the fiercer pugilists.

Now as the shades of night draw on, what com- motion attends the scattei-ing of largess ! Here enter maidens easily bought ; here is recognized all that in theatres wins favour or applause for skill or l)eauty. Here a crowd of buxom Lydian girls are clapping hands, here tinkle the cymbals of Cadiz, there troops of Syrians are making uproar, there are theatre-folk and they who barter common sulphur for broken glass.''

Amid the tumult dense clouds of birds swoop suddenly down through the air, bii-ds from holy Nile '^ and frost-bound Phasis, birds that Numidians capture 'neath the dripping South. Too few are there to seize them all, exultantly they grasp their fill and ever clutch fresh plunder. Countless voices are raised to heaven, acclaiming the Emperor's festival ; with

" i.e., Amazons.

'' These dwarfs seem fiercer fighters than the old enemies of the cranes, viz. the Pygmies (Hom. //. iii. S).

" Rag-and-bone men plying the same trade are mentioned bv Martial, i. 41. 4. For sulphur matches cf. also Martial, x." 3. 3.

** Flamingos (Nile), pheasants (Phasis), guinea-fowl (Nu- midia).

^ pugiles Friederich : pumilos M.

69

STATIUS

et dulci doniinum favore clamant : hoc solum vetuit licere Caesar.

Vixdum caerula nox subibat orbem, 85

descendit media nitens harena densas flammeus orbis inter umbras vincens Gnosiacae facem coronae. conlucet polus ignibus nihilque obscurae patitur licere nocti. 90

fugit pigra Quies inersque Somnus haec cernens alias abit in urbes. quis spectacula, quis iocos licentes, quis convivia, quis dapes inemptas, largi flumina quis canat Lyaei ? 95

iam iam deficio tuoque Baccho^ in serum trahor ebrius soporem.

Quos ibit procul hie dies per annos ! quam nullo sacer exolescet aevo ! dum montes Latii paterque Thybris, 100

dum stabit tua Roma dumque terris quod reddis Capitolium manebit.

^ tnoqiie Baccho S" : tuaque Baccho AT.

70

SILVAE, I. VI. 83-102

loving entliusiasm they salute their Lord. This liberty'' alone did Caesar forbid them.

Scarce was dusky night shrouding the world, when through the dense gloom a ball of flame fell gleaming into the arena's midst, surpassing the brigjitness of the Gnosian crown .^ The sky was ablaze ^vith fire, and suffered not the reign of darkness : sluggish Quiet fled, and lazy Sleep betook himself to other cities at the sight. Who can sing of the spectacle, the unrestrained mirth, the banqueting, the unbought feast, the lavish streams of wine ? Ah ! now I faint, and drunken with thy liquor drag myself at last to sleep.

For how many years shall this festival abide ! Never shall age destroy so holy a day ! While the hills of Latium remain and ftither Tiber, while thy Rome stands and the Capitol thou hast restored to the world, it shall continue.

" i.e., to salute him as "Dominus"; for Doniitian's titles of " Dominus et Deus " see Suet. Dom. 1.3. ** The constellation called Ariadne's crown.

71

LIBER II

STATIUS MELIORI SUO SALUTEM

Et familiaritas nostra qua gaudeo, Melior, vir optime nee minus in iudicio Htterarum quam in omni vitae colore tersissime, et ipsa opusculorum quae tibi trado condicio sic posita est ut totus hie ad te^ liber meus etiamsine epistola spectet.^ Primum enim habet Glauciam nostrum, cuius gratissima infantia^ et qualem plerumque infelices sortiuntur (apud te complexus amabam) iam non tibi. Huius amissi recens vulnus, ut scis, epicedio prosecutus sum adeo festinanter, ut excusandam habuerim afFectibus tuis celeritatem. Nee nunc eam apud te iacto, qui nosti, sed et ceteris indico, ne quis asperiore lima carmen examinet et a confuso scriptum et dolenti datum, cum paene supervacua sint tarda solacia. Polli mei villa Surrentina quae sequitur, debuit a me vel in honorem eloquentiae eius dili- gentius dici, sed amicus igno\-it. In arborem certe tuam, Melior, et psittacum scis a me leves libellos quasi epigrammatis loco scriptos. Eandem exigebat

^ ad te Vollmer : altae M, alter s".

^ spectet Baehrens : expect et M. {Baelir. inserted ad te before spectet.

* gratissima infantia M : gratissimam infantiam S".

BOOK II

Statius to his Friexd Melior : Greeting I

Not only our friendship wherein I take such pleasure, my excellent Melior. who are as fiiultless in your literary judgement as in every phase of life, but also the actual circumstances of the poems I am presenting to you are responsible for the whole of this book of mine being directed towards you, even without an introductory letter. For its first subject is our beloved Glaucias, whose charming infancy — a charm so often bestowed on the unfortunate — is lost to you now ; I loved him when I took him in my arms at your house. While that wound was yet fresh, I wrote as you know a poem of consolation, with such dispatch that I felt my pi'omptness owed an apology to your feelings. Nor am I boasting of it now to you who know, but warning others not to criticize too sharply a poem written in distress and sent to one in sorrow, seeing that sympathy must be timely or else superfluous. The Surrentine Villa of my friend Pollio which follows should have been written with greater care if only in honour of his eloquent tongue, but he has displayed a friend's indulgence. Certainly the trifling pieces on your tree, Melior, and on the parrot were as you know dashed off like epigrams. A like facility of pen was

73

STATIUS

stili facilitatem leo mansuetus, quem in amphi- theatro prostratum frigidum erat, sacratissimo Imperatori ni statim traderem Ad Ursum quoque nostrum, iuvenem candidissimum et sine iactura desidiae doctissimum, scriptam de amisso puero consolationem super ea quae ipsi debeo huic libvo libenter in'^erui, quia honorem eius tibi laturus accepto est. Cludit^ volumen genethliacon Lucani, quod Polla Argentaria, rarissima uxorum, cum hunc diem forte eonsuleremus, imputari sibi voluit. Ego non potui maiorem tanti auctoris habere reverentiam quam quod laudes eius dicturus hexametros meos timui. haee qualiaeumque sunt, Melior carissime, si tibi non displicuerint, a te publicum accipiant ; si minus, ad me revertantur.

^ esh cludit Madvig : excludit 3/.

74

SILVAE, II.

demanded by the Tame Lion, for had I not presented liim to His Alost Sacred Majesty while still lying in the amphitheatre, all the effect would have been missed. Then there is the consolatory piece I wrote on the loss of his slave-boy for our friend Ursts, a youth of blameless life and an accomplished poet, M'ho wastes no time in idleness ; I was glad to include it in this book, quite apart from the debt I owe to him, for he will credit you with the honour he derives therefrom. The volume is concluded by the Birthday Ode to Lucan, for which Polla Argen- taria, rarest of wives, desired to be held accountable, when we happened to be considering the celebration of the day. I could not show a deeper reverence for so great a poet than by distrusting my own hexa- meters when about to sing his praises. These pieces, my excellent Melior, such as they are, if you like them, give them to the world : if not, let them return to me.

75

STATIUS

I GLAUCIAS ATEDII MELIORIS DELICATUS

Quod tibi praerepti, Melior, solamen alumni, improbus ante rogos et adhuc vivente favilla ordiar ? abruptis etiam nunc flebile venis vulnus hiat, niagnaeque patet via lubrica plagae. cum lam egomet cantus et verba medentia saevus 5 consero, tu planetus lamentaque fortia ina\is odistique chelyn surdaque averteris aura, intempesta cano : citius me tigris abactis fetibus orbatique velint audire leones. nee si tergeminum Sicula de virgine carmen 10

affluat aut sihis chelys intellecta ferisque, mulceat insanos gemitus. stat pectore demens luctus et admoto latrant praecordia tactu.

Nemo vetat : satiare malis aegrumque dolorem libertate doma. iam flendi expleta voluptas 15

iamque preces fessus non indignaris arnicas ?

" i.e., the wound in all its length, a " path " leading to a vital spot.

* The Sirens, whose number is variously given as two or as three ; in ii. 2. 1, Statius places them at Sorrento.

76

SILVAE, II. I. 1-16

I. GLA.UCIAS, THE FAVOURITE OF ATEDIUS MELIOR

In this and the following Epicedia Statins shows the in- fliience both of philosophic consolation such as ire see it in Seneca, or the Consolatio ad Liviam, and also of the rhetorical schools with their enTdcpioL and Trapa/j.v6riTiKoi, divided into regular parts, such as Praise of the departed, description of the illness and death, description of the burial, loelcome of the sold of the dead one in the under-world, etc. Statiiis's treatment is free, as in the Epithtdamium ; mythological allusion is frequent, and teas tindouhtedlij part of the poetic convention of the time, and therefore should, not be condemned as frigid and implying a lack of true feeling. The reader may compare earlier poems of the same kind, e.g. Horace, C. i. 24 ; Propertius, iii. 18, iv. 11 ; Ovid, Am. iii. 9. Two poems of Martial (vi. 28, 29) were also written on tlie same occasion.

How can I begin to console thee, Melior, for thy foster-son untimely taken ? How can I heartlessly sing before the pyre, while the ashes are still aglow ? The lamentable wound gapes wide with sundered veins, and the dangerous path of the great gash lies open.** Even while I relentlessly compose my spells and healing words, thou dost prefer to beat the breast and cry aloud, and hatest my lyre and turnest away with deaf ear. Untimely is my song : sooner would a despoiled lioness or tigress robbed of her cubs give ear to me. Not if the triple chant of the Sicilian maidens ^ were wafted hither, or the harp that beasts and woodlands understood, would they soothe thy distracted wailing. Demented Grief hath his stand in thy heart ; at a touch thy breast heaves and sobs.

Have thy fill of bitterness : none forbids thee. Overcome, by giving it rein, the malady of thy distress. At last is thy luxury of weeping sated ? At last art thou wearied out and deignest to hear a

77

STATIUS

iamne canani ? lacrimis en et mea carmina in ipso ore^ natant tristesque cadunt in verba litui-ae. ipse etenim tecum nigrae solemnia pompae spectatumque Urbi scelus et puerile feretrum 20

produxi, saevos damnati turis acervos plorantemque animam supra sua funera vidi, teque patrum gemitus superantem et brachia matrum complexumque rogos ignemque haurire parantem vix tenui similis comes offendique tenendo. 25

et nunc, heu, vittis et frontis honore soluto infaustus vates versa mea pectora tecum plango lyra, sed tu^ comitem sociumque doloris, si merui luctusque tui consortia sensi, iam lenis patiare precor. me fulmine in ipso 30

audivere pafres, ego iuxta busta profusis matribus atque piis cecini solacia natis et mihi, cum proprios gemerem defectus ad ignes — quem, Natura ! — patrem. nee te lugere severus arceo, sed confer gemitus pariterque fleamus. 35

lamdudum dignos aditus laudumque tuarum, o merito dilecte puer, primordia quaerens distrahor. hinc anni stantes in limine vitae, hinc me forma rapit, rapit inde modestia praecox et pudor et tenero probitas maturior aevo. 40

o ubi purpureo suifusus sanguine candor sidereique orbes radiataque lumina caelo et castigatae collecta modestia frontis

* carmina in ipso ore 3/ : carmine in ipso ora Friedrich. ^ sed tu Vollmer : et diu M, at diri r, at dici Slater.

" The souls of those untimely dead were supposed to bewail their lot, cf. Virg. Aen. vi. 427 " infantumque animae

78

SILVAE, II. I. 17-43

friend's entreaty ? Now shall I sing ? Lo ! even in my mouth my song is choked witli sobs, the words are blotted by falling tears. For I myself led forth with thee the solemn line of sable mourners and the boyish bier, a crime for the City to behold ; I saw the cruel heaps of incense doomed to destruction and the soul wailing above its own corpse « ; thee too, as thou didst break through sobbing fathers and mothers that would stay thee, and didst embrace the pyre and prepare to swallow the flames, could I scarce restrain, thy comrade in like case, and offended by restraining. And now, alas ! a bard of evil, my fillets imbound and the glory departed from my brow, I reverse my lyre and beat my breast with thee ; but be assuaged, I pray thee, and suffer me as partner of thy mourning, if I have so deserved and shared thy sorrow. In the very hour of calamity fathers have heard my voice ; by the very pyre have I sung solace to prostrate mothers and loving children — ay, to myself also, when swooning beside kindred flames I mourned, O Nature, what a father ! Nor do I sternly forbid thee to lament ; nay, let us mingle our tears and weep together.

Long have I sought distractedly, beloved boy, a worthy approach and prelude to thy praises. Here thy boyhood, standing on life's threshold, calls me, there thy beauty, there a modesty beyond thy years and honour and probity too ripe for thy tender age. Ah ! where is that fair complexion flushed by the glow of health, those starry orbs whose glance is radiant with heaven's light, where the chaste com-

flentes." For souls hovering about the funeral pyre cf. Theb. V. 163, xii. 55: they are often so represented on Attic vases.

79

ST ATI us

ingenuique super crines mollisque decorae 44

niargo comae ? blandis ubinam ora arguta querelis osculaque impliciti vernos redolentia flores et niixtae risu laerimae peiiitusque loquentis Hyblaeis vox mixta fjivis ? cui sibila serpens poneret et saevae vellent servire novercae. nil veris adfingo bonis, heu lactea colla ! 50

braehia, quo^ numquam domini sine pondere cervix ! o ubi venturae spes non longinqua iuventae atque genis optatus honos iurataque multum barba tibi ? cuncta in cineres gravis intulit hora hostilisque dies : nobis meminisse relictum. 55

quis tua colloquiis hilaris mulcebit amatis pectora ? quis curas mentisque arcana remittet ? accensum quis bile fera famulisque tumentem^ leniet ardentique in se deflectet ab ira ? inceptas quis ab ore dapes libataque vina 60

auferet et dulci turbabit cuncta rapina ? quis matutinos abrumpet murmure somnos impositus stratis abitusque morabitur artis nexibus atque ipso revocabit ad oscula poste^ ? obvius intranti rursus quis in ora manusque 65

prosiliet brevibusque umei'os circumdabit ulnis ? muta domus, fateor, desolatique penates, et situs in thalamis et maesta silentia niensis !

Quid niirum, tanto si te pius altor honorat funere ? tu domino requies portusque senectae, 70

^ braehia, quo Saftien : brachiaque M. ^ tumentem Pol. {from P) : timentem 31. ^ ipso . . . poste 5" : ipsos . . . postes M.

" Always much admired in ancient times ; " castigata " 80

SILVAE, II. I. 44-70

posure of that low " brow, the ai'tless curls above and the soft line of lovely hair ? Where is the mouth that prattled with fond complainings, those kisses redolent, as he clung, of vernal blossoms, his tears mingled with smiles, and his accents steeped in Hybla's honey ? A serpent would hush its hissing and cruel stepdames be fain to do his bidding. Nothing false do I add to his true beauty. Alas ! that milk-white throat ! those arms that were ever about his master's neck ! Where now is that not far distant hope of coming manhood, the longed-for glory of his cheeks, that beard that thou oft didst swear by ? The remorseless hour and Time the enemy have swept all to ashes : to us is left but to remember. Who will beguile thy thoughts with the merry chatter thou didst love ? who will allay thy cares and brood- ing mind ? Who will appease thee when incensed with angry passion and storming at the serving-folk, and divert thee from thy fury to himself ? Who, when the feast is begun and the wine poured out, will snatch it away e'en from thy lips and confound all things in delightful rapine ? Who will climb on thy couch in the morning and whisper thee awake, and clasping thee tight delay thy going, and from the very gate recall thee to his kisses ? Who will be the first to meet thee on thy return, and leap to thy kiss and thy embrace, and put his tiny arms about thy shoulders ? Mute is the house, I vow, and lonely the hearth ; desolation is in the chambers and a drear silence at the board.

What wonder if thy good foster-father honours thee mth so grand a funeral ? thou wert to thy lord

( =" controlled, narrowed down ") is used of a horse's mane, Theb. ix. 687 ; cf. also vi. 872, Ov. Am. i. 5. 21.

vol,. I G 81

STATICS

tu modo deliciae, dulces modo pectore curae. non te barbaricae versabat turbo catastae, nee mixtus Phai'iis venalis niercibus infans eompositosque sales meditataque verba locutus quaesisti lascivus erum tardeque parasti. 75

hie domus, hinc ortus, dominique penatibus olim carus uterque parens atque in tua gaudia liber, ne quererere genus, raptum sed protinus alvo sustulit exsultans ac prima lucida voce astra salutantem dominus <^ibi niente dicavit, 80

amplexusque sinu tulit et genuisse putavit. fas niihi sanctorum venia dixisse parentum, tuque, oro, Natura, sinas, cui prima per orbem iura animis sancire datum : non omnia sanguis proximus aut serie generis demissa propago 85

alligat ; interius nova saepe adscitaque serpunt pignora conexis. natos genuisse necesse est, elegisse iuvat. tenero sic blandus Achilli semifer Haemonium vincebat Pelea Chiron, nee senior Peleus natum comitatus in arma 90

Troica, sed claro Phoenix haerebat alumno. optabat longe reditus Pallantis ovantis Evander, fidus pugnas spectabat Acoetes. cumque procul nitidis genitor cessaret ab astris, fluctivagus volucrem comebat Persea Dictys. 95

quid referam altricum victas pietate parentes ? quid te post cineres deceptaque funera matris

" Such as slaves were commonly displayed on.

'' The "lifting-up" of a new-horn child by the father siarnified his recognition of it as his own. On this occasion Melior shows that he has adopted the child.

" The son of Danae bj' Zeus. Dictys was a fisherman of Seriphus, the island to which Danae and her babe were

82

SILVAE, II. I. 71-97

t]ie peaceful haven of his old age, thou wert now his delight, now the sweet object of his care. No out- landish revolving stage " turned thee about, no slave- boy wert thou amid Egyptian wares, to utter studied jests and well-conned speeches, and by impudent tricks to seek and slowly Min a master. Here was thy home, here wast thou born, both thy parents have long been loved in their master's house, and for thy joy were they freed, lest thou shouldst complain of thy birth. Nay, no sooner wert thou taken from the womb, when thy lord exultantly raised thee,'' and as thy first cry greeted the shining stars appointed thee for his own and held thee close in his bosom and deemed himself thy sire. May the sanctities of parents forgive my words, and do thou suffer me, O Nature, to whom it is given to hallow the earliest ties between soul and soul throughout the world : bonds of blood and lineage are not all ; often do alien or adopted children creep further into our hearts than our own kindred. Of necessity we beget sons, of our pleasure do we choose them. Thus by his win- ning ways the half-beast Chiron supplanted Hae- monian Peleus in young Achilles' favour. Nor did the aged Peleus accompany his son to the fight at Troy, but 'twas Phoenix that stirred not from his pupil's side. Far off Evander prayed for Pallas' victorious return, but faithful Acoetes watched the combat. And when his sire for idleness came not from the shining stars, wave-wandering Dictys tended the winged Perseus." Why should I speak of mothers surpassed in their affection by foster-nurses ? Why of thee, O Bacchus, who when a treacherous doom had

washed in the wooden chest, "volucrem" refers to the winged sandals given him by Hermes to fight Medusa.

83

STATIUS

tutius Inoo reptantem pectore, Bacche ?

iam secura patris Tuscis i-egnabat in undis

Ilia, portantem lassabat Romulus Accam. 100

vidi ego transertos alieno in robore ramos

altius ire suis. et te iam fecerat illi

mens animusque patrem, necdum moresve decorve :

tu tamen et iunctas^ etiam nunc murmure voces

vagitumque rudem fletusque infantis amabas. 105

Ille, velut prinios exspiraturus ad austros mollibus in pratis alte flos improbus exstat, sic tener ante diem vultu gressuque superbo vicerat aequales multumque reliquerat annos. sive catenatis curvatus membra palaestris 110

staret : Amyclaea conceptum matre putares, Oebaliden illo praeceps mutaret Apollo, Alcides pensaret Hylan ; seu Grains^ amictu Attica facundi decurreret orsa Menandri : laudaret ga\isa sonum crinemque decorum 115

fregisset rosea lasciva Thalia corona ; Maeonium sive ille senem Troiaeque labores diceret aut casus tarde remeantis Ulixis : ipse pater sensus, ipsi stupuere magistri. scilicet infausta Lachesis cunabula dextra 120

attigit, et gremio puerum complexa fovebat Invidia : ilia genas et adultum comere crinem, haec monstrare artes et verba infigere, quae nunc plangimus. Herculeos annis aequare labores

^ iiinctas M2 : vinctas M : truncas Baehrens. ^ Graius S" : aratus M.

" She was the sister of Semele, the mother of Bacchus.

* Ilia (see note on i. 2. 192) was drowned in the Anio by her father Amulius, but became the wife of the river-god. Acca was the nurse of Romulus. 84.

SILVAE, II. I. 98-124

laid thy motliei* in ashes nestled moi'e securely in Ino's bosom ? '^ And when Ilia, fearing her sire no more, reigned a queen in Tuscan waters,** Romulus was burdening Acca's arms. I have seen myself shoots grafted on another tree grow higher than their own. And already had thy will and purpose, Melior. made thee his sire, though not yet his charm and goodness ; nevertheless tliou didst love the words even now mingled with his utterance, and his rude infant cries and tears.

He, like a flower that is doomed to perish at the first breath of the South wind, yet with reckless daring lifts high its head in the lush meadow, young as he was liad early surpassed his peers in pride of step and countenance, and had far outstripped his years. Did he stand with limbs bent in the locked wrestling-bout, you would have deemed liim born of an Amyclaean mother ^ ; Apollo would soon have exchanged for him the son of Oebalus,^ Alcides had bartered Hylas ; if in Grecian dress he declaimed the Attic speech of fluent Menander, Thalia would have rejoiced and praised his accents, and in wanton mood have disordered his comely locks witli a rosy garland ; or if he recited the old Maeonian and the toils of Troy, or the mishaps and slow returning of Ulysses, his very father, his very teachers were amazed at his understanding. Truly did Lachesis " touch his cradle witli ill-omened hand, and Envy clasped the babe and held him in her bosom : the one fondled his cheeks and luxuriant curls, the other tauglit him his skill and inspired those words over which we now make moan. His rising years, though

° i.e.. Spartan, the Spartan youths being famed for their wrestling. ^ i.e., K^arcissus. * One of the Fates.

85

STATIUS

coeperat adsurgens, sed adhuc infantia iuxta ; 125 iam tanien et validi gressus mensuraque niaior cultibus et visae puero decrescere vestes, cum tibi quas vestes, quae non gestamina mitis festinabat erus ! brevibus non stringere^ laenis pectora et angustante alas^ artare lacerna ; 130

enormes non ille sinus, sed semper ad annos texta legens modo puniceo velabat amictu, nunc herbas imitante sinu, nunc dulce rubenti murice, nunc vivis digitos incendere gemmis gaudebat : non turba comes, non munera cessant : 135 sola verecundo deerat praetexta decori.

Haec fortuna domus. subitas inimica levavit Parca manus. quo, diva, feros gravis exseris ungues ? non te forma movet, non te lacrimabilis aetas ? hunc nee saeva viro potuisset carpere Procne, 140 nee fera crudeles Colchis durasset in iras, editus Aeolia nee si foret iste Creusa ; torvus ab hoc Athanias insanos flecteret arcus, hunc quamquam Hectoreos cineres Troiamque per-

osus turribus e Phrygiis flesset missurus Ulixes 145

septima lux, et iam frigentia lumina torpent, iam complexa manu crinem tenet infera luno.

^ non stringere Postgate : constringere M. ^ angustante alas Postgate : angusta telas M.

" Or, keeping the ms. reading, translate " he would fasten a short tunic on thy chest, and contract the web with a narrow cloak." Cf. Theb. vi. 74 ff. In any case the meaning, first made clear by Macnaghten {Journ. Phil., 1891), is that Glaucias was ahvays given clothes which fitted exactly, neither too large nor too small.

'' The toga with a purple border, worn by free-born children up to the age of 16. Glaucias was slave-born.

86

SILVAE, II. I. 125-147

infancy still was near, had begun to draw level with the toils of Hercules ; yet already was he firm of stride, and his height outstripped his dress, and the garments seemed to shrink upon the lad, for what garments, what apparel did not thy kindly lord hasten to procure thee ? He constrained not thy breast in a narrow tunic," nor cramped thy shoulders in a straitening cloak ; nor did he drape thee in large, ill-fitting folds, but ever suiting the raiment to thy years now garbed thee in scarlet, now in grass-green clothing, now in the soft blush of purple, or rejoiced to kindle the flash of gems upon tiiy fingers ; unfail- ing was thy attendant train, unfailing were his gifts ; the bordered robe ** alone was lacking to thy modest beauty.

Such was the fortune of that house. Suddenly Fate lifted her hand to strike. Wherefore, O god- dess, dost thou banefully unsheathe those cruel talons ? Doth not his beauty move thee, or his piteous tender age ? Fierce Procne would not have had the heart to rend him for her lord, nor would the savage Colchian have persisted in her cruel ire, even though he had been the son of Aeolian Creusa ; from him would grim Athamas have turned aside his maddened bow ; Ulysses though hating Hector's ashes and Troy full sore would have wept to hurl him from the Phrygian towers.*^ 'Tis the seventh day, and already those eyes are dull and cold, and Juno of the underworld hath clasped him and seized

" Procne slew lier son Itys and gave him as food to her husband Tereus ; Medea was deserted by Jason for Creusa ; Aeolian = Corinthian, because Sisyphus, King of Corinth, was son of Aeolus, cf. " Sisyphii portus," Tlteb. ii. 380 ; Athamas in madness slew his son Learchus ; Astyanax, son of Hector, was flung by Ulysses from the walls of Troy.

87

STATIUS

ille tamen, Parcis fragiles urgentibus annos, te vultu moriente videt linguaque cadente murmurat ; in te omnes vacui iam pectoris efflat 150 reliquias, solum meminit solumque vocantem exaudit tibique ora movet, tibi verba relinquit et prohibet gemitus consolaturque dolentem. gratum est, Fata, tamen, quod non mors lenta iacentis exedit puerile decus, manesque subivit 155

integer et nullo temeratus corpora damno, qualis erat.

Quid ego exsequias et prodiga flammis dona loquar maestoque ardentia funera luxu ? quod tibi purpureo tristis rogus aggei-e cre\'it, quod Cilicum flores, quod munera graminis Indi, 160 quodque Arabes Phariique Palaestinique^ liquores arsuram lavere comam ? cupit omnia ferre prodigus et totos Melior succendere census, desertas exosus opes ; sed non capit ignis invidus, atque artae desunt in munera flammae. 165 horror habet sensus. qualem te funere summo atque rogum iuxta, Melior placidissime quondam, extimui ! tune ille hilaris comisque videri ? unde animi saevaeque manus et barbarus horror, dum modo fusus humi lucem aversaris iniquam, 170 nunc torvus pariter vestes et pectora rumpis dilectosque premis visus et frigida lambis oscula ? erant illic genitor materque iacentis maesta, sed attoniti te spectavere parentes. 174:

quid mirum ? plebs cuncta nefas et prae\ia flerunt agmina, Flaminio quae limite Molvius agger

^ Palaestinique Selden : palam est vidique M.

" Saffron, frankincense. * Myrrh, balsam,

88

SILVAE, II. I. 148-176

in her Jiand tlie lock of hair. Yet he, tliough the Fates press hard upon his frail life, beholds thee with his dying vision and murmurs thy name with faltering tongue ; to thee he gasps out the last breath from his exhausted frame, thee alone he remembers, thy cry alone he hears, for thee his lips are moved and his last words spoken, as he bids thee not to mourn and consoles thy grief. Yet we thank thee, O Fate, that no lingering death devoured his boyish charm as he lay, that he went inviolate to the shades, just as he was, without touch of harm upon his body.

Why should I tell of the funeral rites, the gifts flung prodigally to the flarnes, the melancholy pomp of the blazing pyre ? How thou didst heap the purples high on the sad pile, how Cilician blooms and gifts of Indian herbs," and juices of Arabia and Palestine and Egypt ^ steeped the hair that Avas to burn ? Fain would Melior bring all without stinting, and consume whole fortunes in loathing of his wealth laid desolate ; but the grudging fire avails not, and the puny flames are too few to burn the gifts. Awe lays hold upon my heart. O Melior, once so calm, how distraught wert thou in that deadly hour beside the pyre, how I feared thee ! Was that the merry, kindly face we knew ? Whence that frenzy, those merciless hands, those spasms of wild grief as thou liest prostrate on the ground shunning the cruel light, or fiercely tearest thy clothes and bosom, straining the dear face to thee and kissing the cold lips ? The fiither and sorrowing mother of the dead one were there, but on thee they gazed awe-stricken — what wonder ? All the people mourned the deadlv blow, and crowds escorted thee on the Flaminian road

89

STATIUS

transvehit, immeritus flammis dum tristibus infans traditur, et geniitum formaque aevoque^ meretur : talis in Isthmiacos prolatus ab aequore portus naufragus imposita iacuit sub matre Palaemon ; 180 sic et in anguiferae ludentem gramine Lernae rescissum squamis avidus bibit ignis^ Ophelten.

Pone metus Letique minas desiste vereri : ilium nee terno latrabit Cerberus ore, nulla soror flammis, nulla adsurgentibus hydris 185 terrebit ; quin ipse avidae trux navita cumbae interius steriles ripas et adusta subibit litora, ne puero dura ascendisse facultas.

Quid mihi gaudenti proles Cyllenia virga 189

nuntiat ? estne aliquid tarn saevo in tempore laetum ? noverat effigies generosique ardua Blaesi ora puer, dum saepe domi nova serta ligantem te videt et similes tergentem pectore ceras. hune ubi Lethaei lustrantem gurgitis oras Ausonios inter proceres seriemque Quirini 195

adgnovit, timide primum vestigia iungit accessu tacito summosque lacessit amictus, inde magis sequitur ; neque enim magis ille

trahentem spernit et ignota credit de stirpe nepotum. mox ubi delicias et rari pignus amici 200

sensit et amissi puerum solacia Blaesi, tollit humo magnaque ligat cervice diuque

^ aevoque Gulielmiis : ac voce J/. ^ ignis Koestlin : anguis M.

" See Theb. vi. 54 sqq.

^ i.e., no Fury. The Furies, often called by Statins " the Sisters," are represented with torches and snaky hair.

" Mercurj', who conducted the souls of the dead to the underworld.

90

SILVAE, II. I. 177-202

across the Mulvian bridge, while an innocent eliild is given over to the angry ilames, and both by his age and by his beauty wins their tears. Such was Palaemon, v,'hen his mother flung herself on him as he lay ship^vTecked and cast up from the sea in the Isthmian haven ; such too Opheltes, whom the serpent tore as he played in the snake-haunted grass of Lerna, when the greedy fire consumed him."

But lay aside thy fears, and be no more in dread of threatening Death : Cerberus with triple jaws will not bark at him, no Sister ** will terrify him with flames and towering hydras ; nay, even the grim sailor of the greedy boat will draw nearer to the barren shores and fire-scorched bank, that the boy's embarking may be easy.

What message brings the son of Cyllene," waving a glad wand ? Can there be aught of joy in so terrible a time ? Well did the lad know the likeness and lofty countenance of noble Blaesus, for often had he seen thee at home twining fresli garlands and pressing that image to thy breast. And when he recognized him among the Ausonian nobles and the lineage of Quirinus pacing the shores of Lethe's stream, he silently drew near and first walked beside him timidly and plucked at his garment's edge, then followed him more boldly, for as he more boldly plucked the other spurned him not, but thought him an unknown scion of his house. Soon when he knew that the boy was the darling and favourite of a friend so rare, the solace for his lost Blaesus,'^ he raised him from the ground and fastened him about his mighty

^ The points seems to be that the boy himself was "blaesus," i.e. "stammering," being still under 12, and was so a consolation to Melior for his friend Blaesus.

9J

ST ATI us

ipse manu gaudens vehit et, quae munera mollis Elysii, steriles ramos niutasque volucres porgit et obtunso pallentes genuine flores. 205

nee prohibet nieminisse tui, sed pectora blandus roiscet et alternum pueri parti tur amorem.

Hie finis rapto. quin tu iam vulnera sedas et tollis mersum luctu caput ? omnia functa aut moritura vides : obeunt noctesque diesque 210 astraque, nee solidis prodest sua machina terris. nam populus mortale genus plebisque caducae quis fleat interitus ? lios bella, hos aequora poscunt ; his amor exitio, furor his et saeva cupido, ut sileam morbos ; hos ora rigentia Brumae, 215

illos implacido letalis Sirius igni, hos manet imbrifero pallens Autumnus hiatu. quicquid init ortus, finem timet, ibimus omnes, ibimus : immensis urnam quatit Aeacus umbris. ast hie, quem gemimus, felix hominesque deosque et dubios casus et caecae lubrica vitae 221

efFugit, immunis fatis. non ille rogavit, non timuit meruitve^ mori : nos anxia plebes, nos miseri, quibus unde dies suprema, quis aevi exitus, incertum, quibus instet fulmen ab astris, 225 quae nubes fatale sonet. nil flecteris istis ? sed flectere libens. ades hue emissus ab atro limine, cui soli cuncta impetrare facultas, Glaucia^ — insontes animas nee portitor arcet nee durae comes ille ferae — : tu pectora mulce, 230

^ meruitve M : renuit\e Heinsiiis.

^ Glaucia M : Glaucia si Macnaghten, Glaucia nam 5".

" Slater suggests that " comes " = Cerberus, and "ferae" = Hydra, as in Virg. Aen.xi. 287; Vollmer makes Cerberus the beast, and the comrade a figure found on a wall-painting by the side of Cerberus, and described Lucan, Phars. vi. 702 ; cf. Sil. It. Pun. xiii. 587.

92

SILVAE, II. I. 203-230

shoulders, and a long while carried him rejoicing upon his arm, and offered him such gifts as kindly Elysium bears, sterile boughs and songless birds and pale flowers with bruised blossoms. Nor does he forbid him to remember thee, but fondly blends heart with heart, and takes part in turn in the affection of the lad.

It is the end : he is lost to thee. Wilt thou not now assuage thy pain and lift thy grief-sunken head ? All that thou seest is dead or doomed to die ; nights and days perish, and the stars, nor does the frame of the solid earth avail her. Our race is of mortal kind, and who should bewail the passing of folk whose end is sure ? War claims some, the ocean others ; some are victims of love, of madness, or fell desire ; these winter's freezing breath awaits, those the fierce heat of deadly Sirius, others pale Autumn with rain-bringing j aws . All that hath had beginning fears its end. Doomed are we all, ay, doomed : for shades innumerable doth Aeacus shake his urn. But he whom we mourn is happy : gods and men hath he escaped, and doubtful chance and the dangers of our dark life : he is beyond the will of Fate. He prayed not, nor feared nor deserved to die ; but we, poor anxious creatures, miserable folk, we know not whence our death shall come, what our life's end shall be, from what quarter the thunderbolt threatens, what cloud utters the sound of doom. Do these thoughts not move thee ? But thou shalt be moved, and willingly. Come hither, Glaucias, who alone canst obtain all thou dost ask ; leave that dark threshold, for neither the ferryman nor the comrade of the cruel beast '^ bars the way to innocent souls ;

93

STATIUS

tu prohibe nianare genas noctesque beatas dulcibus alloquiis et vivis vultibus imple, et periisse nega, desolatamque sororem, qui potes, et misei'os perge insinuare parentes.

II

MLLA SURRENTINA POLLII FELICIS

Est intex- notos Sirenum nomine muros saxaque Tyrrhenae templis onerata Minervae celsa Dicarchei speculatrix villa profundi, qua Bromio dilectus ager, collesque per altos uritur et prelis non invidet uva Falernis. 5

hue me post patrii laetum quinquennia lustri, cum stadio iam pigra quies canusque sederet pulvis ad Ambracias conversa gymnade frondes, trans gentile fretum placidi facundia Polli detulit et nitidae iuvenilis gratia Pollae, 10

" The name of Surrentum was locally derived from that of the Sirens, probably through the fact that Parthenope, the old man of Naples, was also the name of one of the Sirens themselves ; the islands to the south of the promontory are called ZnpT^vovffcrai as early as Eratosthenes. The southernmost headland bore the name and temple of Minerva ; Tyrrhene, perhaps from the " mare Tyrrhenum," perhaps from a tradition of Etruscan power {cf. Steph. Byz. 'ZvpivTiov TToXis Tvpprji'las), Minerva herself being originally Etruscan. "The Dicarchean deep " is the bay of Naples, from Dicarchus or Dicarcheus, founder of Puteoli.

* The four-yearly fe>)tival of the Augustalia at Naples, instituted in a.d. 2 ; it consisted of musical and gymnastic contests. The Actian (" Ambracian " 1. 8) games came a little later, beginning on September 2.

94

SILVAE, II, I. 231—11. 10

soothe thou his heart and forbid his tears to flow ; make liis nights glad with thy sweet converse and thy hving countenance. Tell him thou art not dead, and hasten to commend to him — for thou canst — thy unhappy parents and thy sister left fox-lorn.

II. THE VILLA OF POLLIUS FELIX AT SURRENTUM

The rjeneral arrangement of the poem follows the lines of I. 3 ; there is a description of tlie villa and its surroundings, followed by praise of its master, Pollius, and, in this case, of his wife Polla as well. Pollivs Felix was a wealthy patron of Statius. The position of the villa can be deter- mined with some degree of certainty as having been on the coast between the Capo di Sorrento and tlie Capo di Massa, on the heights of the Punta della Calcarella ; just to the south the Marina di Puolo still preserves the name of Pollius, and must be the " unum litus " of II. 15, 16 ; the temples of Neptune and Hercules lay somewhere below the villa. Con- siderable remains of Roman masonry still exist.

The building of the Temple of Hercules is described in Silv. iii. 1.

Between the walls that are known by the Sirens' name and the cliff that is burdened by the shrine of Etruscan Minerva a lofty villa stands and gazes out upon the Dicarchean deep ; '^ there the ground is beloved of Bromius, and the grapes ripen on the high hills nor envy the Falernian wine-pressess. Hither was I glad to come after the four-yearly festival ^ of my home, — when at last deep quiet had fallen and the dust lay white upon the course, and the athletes had turned them to Ambracian garlands, — • drawn by the eloquence of gentle Pollius and bright Folia's girlish charm to cross my native strait :

95

ST ATI us

flectere iam cupidum gressus, qua limite noto Appia longarum teritur regina viarum.

Sed iuvere niorae. placido lunata recessu hinc atque hinc cui'vas perrunipunt aequora rupes. dat natura locum montique intervenit unum^ 15

litus et in terras scopulis pendentibus exit, gratia prima loci, gemina testudine fumant balnea, et e terris occurrit dulcis amaro nympha mari. levis hie Phorci chorus udaque crines Cymodoce viridisque cupit Galatea lavari. 20

ante domum tumidae moderator caerulus undae excubat, innocui custos laris ; huius amico spumant templa salo. felicia rura tuetur Alcides ; gaudet gemino sub numine portus : hie servat terras, hie saevis fluctibus obstat. 25

mira quies pelagi : ponunt hie lassa furorem aequora, et insani spirant clementius austri, hie praeceps minus audet hiems, nulloque tumultu stagna modesta iacent dominique imitantia mores.

Inde per obliquas erepit porticus arces, 30

urbis opus, longoque domat saxa aspera dorso. qua prius obseuro permixti pulvere soles et feritas inamoena viae, nunc ire voluptas : qualis, si subeas Ephyres Baccheidos altum culmen, ab Inoo fert semita tecta Lechaeo.^ 35

1 unum M (Kroltn ; cf. Suet. Tib. 40): uduni, inium, uncum edd.

^ Lechaeo T>om. : lyceo 3/: Lyaeo S~.

" Old name of Corinth ; the epithet appears to allude to the Bacchiadae, ancient rulers of Corinth.

*" Lechaeum was the port of Corinth on the Corinthian gulf, associated with the worship of I no and Palaemon

9Q

SILVAE, II. II. 11 35

tJiough already fain to direct my steps where runs the worn and well-known track of Appia, queen of the long roads.

Yet the time I spent delighted me. The crescent waters of a tranquil bay break through the curving line of cliff on either hand. The spot is of Nature's giving : one single beach lies between sea and hill, ending towards the land in overhanging rocks. The first charm of the place is a smoking bath-house with two cupolas, and a stream of fresh water from the land meeting the salt brine. Here would the nimble choir of Phorcus wish to bathe, and Cymodoce with dripping tresses and sea-green Galatea. Before the building the dark-blue ruler of the swelling waves keeps watch, and guards that innocent home ; his shrine is it that is wet with friendly spray. Alcides protects the happy fields ; in the two deities does the haven rejoice : one guards the land, the other resists the angry billows. A wondrous peace is on the sea : here the Aveary waves rage no more, and the furious South wind blows more mildly ; here the swift hurricane is less daring, and the pools lie tranquil and undisturbed, calm as the spirit of their lord.

Thence a colonnade climbs slantwise up the cliff, vast as a city, and its long line of roof gains mastery over the rugged rocks. Where the sun once shone through clouds of dust, and the way was wild and unlovely, now it is a pleasure to go. Even such, should you scale the lofty height of Bacchic Ephyre,'* is the covered way that leads from Lechaeum, of Ino's fame.**

(Melicertes), whence came the Isthmian games ; cf. Theh. ii. 381.

VOL. I H 97

ST ATI us

Non, mihi si cunctos Helicon indulgeat amnes et superet Pimplea sitim largeque volantis iingula sedet equi reseretque arcana pudicos Phemonoe fontes vel quos meus auspice Phoebo altius immersa turbavit Pollius urna, 40

innumeras valeam species cultusque locorum Pieriis aequare modis. vix ordine longo sufFecere oculi, vix, dum per singula ducor, suffecere gradus. quae reruni turba ! locine 44

ingenium an domini niirer prius ? haec domus ortus aspicit et Phoebi tenerum iubar ; ilia cadentem detinet exactamque negat diniittere lucem, cum iam fessa dies et in aequora mentis opaci umbra cadit vitreoque natant praetoria ponto. haec pelagi clamore fremunt, haec tecta sonoros 50 ignorant fluctus terraeque silentia malunt. liis favit natura locis, hie victa colenti cessit et ignotos docilis mansue\'it in usus. mons erat hie, ubi plana vides ; et lustra fuerunt, quae nunc tecta subis ; ubi nunc nemora ardua cernis, hie nee terra fuit : domuit possessor, et ilium 56

formantem rupes expugnantemque secuta gaudet humus, nunc cerne iugum discentia saxa intrantesque domos iussumque recedere montem. iam Methymnaei vatis manus et chelys una 60

Thebais et Getici cedat tibi gloria plectri : et tu saxa moves, et te nemora alta sequuntur.

" i.e., the fountain Hippocrene struck forth by the hoof of Pergasus, cf. ii. 7. 4.

*" Daughter of Apollo, and, according to Strabo, the first Pjthian priestess. Her " pure " springs are those of Castalia (" castus "), and " arcana " may be meant as an etymologizing of " Phemonoe," " she who speaks forth hidden thoughts."

" Arion, Amphion, Orpheus.

98

SILVAE, II. II. 3G-62

Not if Helicon were to grant me all her streams, or Pimplea quench my thirst, or the hoof of the flying steed " abundantly assuage it : not if mystic Phemonoe ^ were to unlock her pure springs or those wherein my Pollius, under the auspices of Phoebus , hath plunged his deep-immersed urn — not even so could I equal in Pierian strains the countless charms and beauties of the place. Scarcely could my eyes sus- tain the long array, scarce could my feet avail, while I was led from scene to scene. What a multitude of things ! Shall I first admire the genius of the place or of its master ? This part of the house looks eastward to Phoebus' morning rays ; that part de- tains him as he sets, nor allows the exhausted light to disappear, when the day is wearied out and the shadow of the dark mountain falls on the waters, and the proud mansion floats upon the glassy flood. Here the sound of the sea is in the chambers, here they know not the roaring of the waves, but prefer the silence of the land. Here are spots that Nature has favoured, here she has been outdone and given way to the settler and learnt gentleness in ways unknown before. Here, where you now see level ground, was a hill ; the halls you enter were wild country ; where now tall groves appear, there was once not even soil : its owner has tamed the place, and as he shaped and conquered the rocks the earth gladly gave way before him. See how the cliff learns to bear the yoke, how the dwellings force tlieir entry and the mountain is bidden withdraw. Now let the skill of Methymne's bard and that sole Theban lyre and the glory of the Getic quill *= give way before thee : thou too dost move the rocks, thee too the high woods follow.

99

STATIUS

Quid referam veteres ceraeque aerisque figuras, si quid Apellei gaudent animasse colores, si quid adhuc vacua, tamen admirabile, Pisa 65

Phidiacae rasere manus, quod ab arte Myronis aut Polycliteo iussum est quod vivere caelo, aeraque ab Isthniiacis auro potiora favillis, era ducum ac vatum sapientumque ora priorum, quos tibi cura sequi, quos toto pectore sentis, 70

expers curarum atque animum virtute quieta compositus semperque tuus ? quid mille revolvam culmina visendique vices ? sua cuique voluptas atque omni proprium thalamo mare, transque

iacentem Nerea diversis servit sua terra fenestris : 75

haec videt Inarimen, illinc Prochyta aspera paret ; armiger hac magni patet Hectoris, inde malignum aera respirat pelago circumflua Nesis ; inde vagis omen felix Euploea carinis quaeque ferit curves exserta Megalia fluctus, 80

angitur et domino contra recubante proculque Surrentina tuus spectat praetoria Limon. una tamen cunctis, procul eminet una diaetis, quae tibi Parthenopen derecto limite ponti ingerit : hie Grais penitus delecta metallis 85

saxa ; quod Eoae respergit vena Syenes, Synnade quod maesta Phrygiae fodere secures per Cybeles lugentis agros, ubi marmore picto Candida purpureo distinguitur area gyro ; hie et Amyclaei caesum de monte Lycurgi 90

" i.e., before the statue of Olympian Zeus was there.

'' Statues supposed to have been cast from the masses of molten bronze found in Corinth after its burning : see Petronius, 50 ; Plinj% N.II. xxxiv. 5.

" The cape called after Misenus.

■* Because the name (EuTrXota) means " happy voyaging." 100

SILVAE, II. II. G3-90

Why should I tell of ancient forms in wax or bronze, or of aught that the colours of Apelles re- joiced to animate, or the hand of Phidias carved, though Pisa still was empty," yet wondrously withal, or what was bidden live by Myron's art or Polycletus' chisel, the bronzes, from the funeral fire of Corinth,'' more precious than gold, countenances of chieftains and prophets and sages of old time, whom it is thy care to follow, whose influence tliou dost feel in all thy being, untroubled and steadfast in thy tranquil virtue, and ever lord of thy own heart ? Why should I recount the numberless summits and the changing views ? Each chamber has its oAvn deliglit, its own particular sea, and across the expanse of Nereus each window commands a different landscape : this one beholds Inarime, from that rugged Prochyta is seen ; here the squire of mighty Hector " is outspread, there sea-girt Nesis breathes tainted air ; yonder is Euploea, good omen for wandering barks,'^ and Megalia flung out to repel the curving billows ; and thy own Limon grieves that his lord reclines there over against him, and gazes at thy Surrentine mansion from afar. Yet one room there is, one higher than all the rest, which over a straight track of sea brings Parthenope to thy sight : here are marbles chosen from the heart of Grecian quarries ; ^ the stone of Eastern Syene, splashed with veining, and that which Phrygian axes hew in mournful Synnas o'er the fields of wailing Cybele,^ whereon the white ex- panse is bordered by a rim of purple ; here too are green blocks quarried from the hill of Lycurgus at

* See note on i. 2. 148.

^ The Phrygian worship of Cybele, who wails for Attis, her votary (c/. i. 5. 38), is here referred to.

101

STATIUS

quod viret et molles imitatur rupibus herbas, hie Nomadum lucent flaventia saxa Thasosque et Cliios et gaudens fluctus spectare Carystos : omnia Chalcidicas turres obversa salutant. macte animo, quod Graia probas, quod Graia^

frequentas 95

ai'va ; nee invideant quae te genuere Diearehi moenia ! nos docto melius potiemur alumno.

Quid nune ruris opes pontoque novalia dicam iniecta et madidas Baecheo nectare rupes ? saepe per autumnum lam pubescente Lyaeo 100

conseendit scopulos noctisque oeculta sub umbra palmite maturo rorantia lumina tersit Nereis et dulces rapuit de collibus uvas. saepe et vicino sparsa est vindemia fluctu, et Satyri cecidere vadis, nudamque per undas 105 Dorida montani cupierunt prendere Panes.

Sis felix, tellus, dominis ambobus in annos Mygdonii Pyliique senis nee nobile mutes servitium, nee te eultu Tirynthia vincat aula Dicareheique sinus, nee saepius isti 110

blanda Therapnaei plaeent^ vineta Galaesi. hie ubi Pierias exercet Pollius artes, seu volvit monitus, quos dat Gargettius auctor,

^ Graia . Graia Gevart : grata . grata M. ^ isti . . placent M : istis . . placeant S".

" Either because of the similarity of colour, or, according to PhilUmore (quoted by Slater), because the view recalls tiiat from the Carj'stian quarries.

*" Cumae, a colony of Chalcis in Euboea, was very near to Naples; " Chalcidian " can therefore = " Neapolitan." "Diearehi moenia " = Puteoli.

' Statins congratulates Pollius on his love of Greek marbles, Greek learning {cf. 1. 113), and Greek dwelling-

102

SILVAE, II. II. 91-113

Amyclae, where the stone counterfeits the grass ; here gleam the tawny rocks from Numidia, Thasian marble too and Chian, and Carystian stone that joys to behold the waves : " all turn to salute the Chal- cidian towers .'' A blessing on thy heart, that thou approvest what is Greek and hauntest Grecian land ; nor let the city of Dicarchus that gave thee birth feel envy ! We shall prove better owners of our poet- ward."

Why should I rehearse the wealth of the country- side, the fallows flung out into the sea and the cliffs steeped in Bacchus' nectar ? Often in autumn-time when the grapes are ripening a Nereid climbs the rocks, and under cover of the shades of night brushes the sea-water from her eyes with a leafy vine-spray, and snatches sweet clusters from the hills. Often is the vintage sprinkled by the neighbouring foam ; Satyrs plunge into the water, and Pan-gods from the mountain are fain to grasp the sea-nymph as she flies naked through the waves.

Bless with prosperity, O land, thy lord and lady both, unto the years of a Nestor or a Tithonus, nor ever change thy noble servitude ! Let not the Tirynthian hall and Dicarchus' bay outdo thee as a home,*^ nor thy lords too often gladden the wistful vineyards of Laconian Galaesus. Here where Pollius plies his Pierian craft, whether he ponders the

places (Naples and its surroundings). "We," i.e. we of Naples, as opposed to Puteoli.

"* Pollius seems to have possessed a house at Bauli near Puteoli (cf. note on 1. 94), and also near Tarentum. The latter is represented as " coaxing " ("blanda") him to come and spend his time there, and jealous (hence " placent ") if he does not. Therapnaean, because Therapnae is in Laconia, and Tarentum was a Spartan colony.

103

STATIUS

seu nostram quatit ille chelyn seu dissona nectit carniina sive niinax ultorem stringit iambon : 115

hinc levis e scopulis meliora ad carmina Siren advolat, hinc motis audit Tritonia cristis. tunc rapidi ponunt flatus, maria ipsa vetantur obstrepere, emergunt pelago doctamque trahuntur ad clielyn et blandi scopulis delphines aderrant. 120

Vive, Midae gazis et Lydo ditior auro, Troica et Euphratae supra diademata felix, quern non anibigui fasces, non mobile vulgus, non leges, non castra terent, qui pectore magno spemque metumque domas voto^ subliniior onini, 125 exemptus fatis indignantemque refellens Fortunam ; dubio queni non in turbine rerum deprendet suprema dies, sed abire paratum ac plenum vita, nos, vilis turba, caducis deservire bonis semperque optare parati, 130

spargimur in casus : celsa tu mentis ab arce despicis errantes humanaque gaudia rides, tempus erat, cum te geminae suffragia terrae diriperent celsusque duas veherere per urbes, inde Dicarcheis multum venerande colonis, 135

hinc adscite meis, pariterque his largus et illis ac iuvenile calens plectrique errore superbus. at nunc discussa rerum caligine verum aspicis — illo alii rursus iactantur in alto — , et tua secures portus placidamque quietem 140

intravit non quassa ratis. sic perge nee umquam ^ voto Waller : tuto M: vitio, motu, titulo edd.

" Pollius, like Vopiscus, was an Epicurean : this, how- ever, may not mean more than that he enjoyed a cuUured leisure, and avoided pubhc life.

* i.e.,