Corydon's Lament for the Youth Alexis — Virgil, Eclogues 2.1–2.73, Latin & English

Formosum pastor Corydon ardebat¹ Alexim,

The shepherd Corydon burned for the beautiful Alexis,

delicias domini, nec quid speraret habebat;

the darling of his master, nor had he anything to hope for;

tantum inter densas, umbrosa cacumina, fagos

only among the thick beeches, with their shady tops,

adsidue veniebat. Ibi haec incondita solus

did he continually come. There, alone, these unpolished songs

montibus et silvis studio iactabat inani:

he used to fling to the mountains and the woods with bootless passion:

O crudelis Alexi, nihil mea carmina curas?

”O cruel Alexis, do you care nothing for my songs?

Nil nostri miserere? Mori me denique coges.

Have you no pity on me? In the end you will compel me to die.

nunc etiam pecudes umbras et frigora captant;

Now even the cattle court the shade and the cool;

nunc viridis etiam occultant spineta lacertos,

now even the green lizards hide in the brambles,

Thestylis et rapido fessis messoribus aestu

and Thestylis for the reapers weary with the fierce heat

alia serpyllumque herbas contundit olentis.

bruises garlic and wild thyme, strong-smelling herbs.

at mecum² raucis, tua dum vestigia lustro,

But with me, while I trace your footsteps,

sole sub ardenti resonant arbusta cicadis.

under the burning sun the copses resound with hoarse cicadas.

Nonne fuit satius tristis Amaryllidis iras

Was it not better to endure the sad rages of Amaryllis

atque superba pati fastidia, nonne Menalcan,

and her proud disdain, was it not better to bear Menalcas,

quam vis ille niger, quamvis tu candidus esses?

though he was dark, and though you were fair?

o formose puer, nimium ne crede colori!

O beautiful boy, trust not too much to your color!

alba ligustra cadunt, vaccinia nigra leguntur.

White privets fall, dark hyacinths are gathered.

Despectus tibi sum, nec qui sim quaeris, Alexi,

I am despised by you, nor do you ask who I am, Alexis,

quam dives pecoris, nivei quam lactis abundans.

how rich in flocks, how abounding in snowy milk.

mille meae Siculis errant in montibus agnae;

A thousand lambs of mine wander on the Sicilian mountains;

lac mihi non aestate novum, non frigore defit;

new milk fails me not in summer nor in the cold of winter;

canto quae solitus, si quando armenta vocabat,

I sing what Dircaean Amphion was wont to sing

Amphion Dircaeus in Actaeo Aracimtho.

on Actaean Aracynthus when he called his herds.

Nec sum adeo informis: nuper me in litore vidi,

Nor am I so unsightly: lately I saw myself on the shore,

cum placidum ventis staret mare; non ego Daphnim

when the sea stood calm with no winds; I should not fear Daphnis,

iudice te metuam, si numquam fallit imago.

with you as judge, if my image never deceives.

O tantum libeat³ mecum tibi sordida rura

O that it might only please you to dwell with me in the low country

atque humilis habitare casas, et figere cervos,

and humble cots, and to shoot the stags,

haedorumque gregem viridi compellere hibisco!

and to drive a flock of kids with a green mallow!

Mecum una in silvis imitabere Pana canendo.

With me together in the woods you shall imitate Pan in singing.

Pan primus calamos cera coniungere pluris

Pan first taught how to join several reeds with wax;

instituit; Pan curat ovis oviumque magistros.

Pan cares for sheep and the masters of sheep.

Nec te paeniteat calamo trivisse labellum:

Nor let it repent you to have worn your lip with the reed:

haec eadem ut sciret, quid non faciebat Amyntas?

what did Amyntas not do to learn these same things?

est mihi disparibus septem compacta cicutis

I have a pipe of seven unequal hemlock-stalks

fistula, Damoetas dono mihi quam dedit olim,

compact together, which Damoetas once gave me as a gift,

et dixit moriens: “Te nunc habet ista secundum.”

and dying said: ‘Now that pipe has you as its second master.’

dixit Damoetas, invidit stultus Amyntas.

So Damoetas spoke, foolish Amyntas envied.

Praeterea duo, nec tuta mihi valle reperti,

Besides, I have two young roes, found by me in no safe valley,

capreoli, sparsis etiam nunc pellibus albo,

with their skins even now dappled with white,

bina die siccant ovis ubera; quos tibi servo:

which drain a sheep’s udders twice a day; these I keep for you:

iam pridem a me illos abducere Thestylis orat;

long ago Thestylis has been begging to take them away from me;

et faciet, quoniam sordent tibi munera nostra.

and she shall do so, since our gifts are mean in your eyes.

Huc ades, O formose puer: tibi lilia plenis

Come hither, O beautiful boy: behold, the Nymphs bring lilies

ecce ferunt Nymphae calathis; tibi candida Nais,

to you in full baskets; for you the fair Naiad,

pallentis violas et summa papavera carpens,

plucking pale violets and the tops of poppies,

narcissum et florem iungit bene olentis anethi;

joins the narcissus and the flower of sweet-smelling dill;

tum casia atque aliis intexens suavibus herbis,

then weaving them with cassia and other sweet herbs,

mollia luteola pingit vaccinia calta.

she paints the soft hyacinths with yellow marigold.

Ipse ego cana legam tenera lanugine mala,

I myself will gather pale quinces with tender down,

castaneasque nuces, mea quas Amaryllis amabat;

and chestnuts, which my Amaryllis loved;

addam cerea pruna: honos erit huic quoque pomo;

I will add waxen plums: honor shall be to this fruit also;

et vos, O lauri, carpam, et te, proxima myrte,

and you, O laurels, I will pluck, and you, neighboring myrtle,

sic positae quoniam suavis miscetis odores.

since thus placed you mingle sweet odors.

Rusticus es, Corydon: nec munera curat Alexis,

You are a rustic, Corydon: Alexis cares not for gifts,

nec, si muneribus certes, concedat Iollas.

nor, if you should contend with gifts, would Iollas yield.

Heu, heu, quid volui misero mihi! Floribus austrum

Alas, alas, what have I wished for myself in my misery! On my flowers

perditus et liquidis inmisi fontibus apros.

I have let loose the south wind, and wild boars on my clear springs.

Quem fugis, ah, demens? Habitarunt di quoque silvas,

Whom do you flee, ah, madman? Even gods have dwelt in the woods,

Dardaniusque Paris. Pallas, quas condidit arces,⁴

and Dardanian Paris. Let Pallas dwell in the citadels

ipsa colat; nobis placeant ante omnia silvae.

she herself has built; but let the woods please us above all things.

Torva leaena lupum sequitur; lupus ipse capellam;

The grim lioness pursues the wolf; the wolf himself the she-goat;

florentem cytisum sequitur lasciva capella;

the wanton she-goat pursues the flowering clover;

te Corydon, o Alexi: trahit sua quemque voluptas.

Corydon pursues you, O Alexis: his own pleasure draws each.

Aspice, aratra iugo referunt suspensa iuvenci,

See, the young bulls bring back the plows suspended from the yoke,

et sol crescentis decedens duplicat umbras:

and the departing sun doubles the growing shadows:

me tamen urit amor; quis enim modus adsit amori?

yet love burns me; for what limit can there be to love?

Ah, Corydon, Corydon, quae te dementia cepit!

Ah, Corydon, Corydon, what madness has seized you!

Semiputata tibi frondosa vitis in ulmo est;

Your leafy vine is half-pruned on the elm;

quin tu aliquid saltem potius, quorum indiget usus,

why do you not rather prepare to weave at least something of what utility requires,

viminibus mollique paras detexere iunco?

with twigs and soft rushes?

Invenies alium, si te hic fastidit, Alexim.

You will find another Alexis, if this one disdains you.”

Syntax notes4 items

2.1ardebat
ardeo (to burn) is normally an intransitive verb, but here it is used transitively with the accusative Alexim to mean "to burn with love for" or "to passionately love." This poetic usage expresses intense and direct emotion.
2.12at mecum
mecum (with me) stands in contrast to the previous lines describing the rest of nature at peace or resting. The main verb of this sentence is resonant (resound), and mecum suggests "in my company" or "for me, too," as the shepherd wanders. The structure coordinates mecum with the ablative of instrument/manner raucis... cicadis (with hoarse cicadas).
2.28O tantum libeat
libeat is an optative subjunctive expressing a wish ("O that it might please..."). It takes the dative tibi (to you) and the infinitives habitare (to dwell), figere (to shoot), and compellere (to drive) as its subject clause.
2.61quas condidit arces
The noun arces (citadels), which is logically the antecedent of the relative pronoun quas, is attracted into the relative clause ("which citadels she built"). In translation, it is understood as the object of colat in the main clause: "Let Pallas herself dwell in the citadels which she built."

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-22)urn:cts:latinLit:phi0690.phi001.humanitext-lat2:2.1-2.73