Prophecy of the Golden Age and the Birth of a Child — Virgil, Eclogues 4.1–4.63, Latin & English

Sicelides Musae, paulo maiora canamus!

Sicilian Muses, let us sing of somewhat greater things!

Non omnis arbusta iuvant humilesque myricae;

Not all do orchards and humble tamarisks please;

si canimus silvas, silvae sint¹ consule dignae.

if we sing of woods, let the woods be worthy of a consul.

Ultima Cumaei venit iam carminis aetas;

Now comes the final age of Cumaean song;

magnus ab integro saeclorum nascitur ordo:

a great order of the ages is born anew:

iam redit et Virgo, redeunt Saturnia regna;

now too the Virgin returns, the reign of Saturn returns;

iam nova progenies caelo demittitur alto.

now a new offspring is sent down from high heaven.

Tu modo nascenti puero, quo ferrea primum

Only upon the boy at his birth, under whom the iron race shall first

desinet ac toto surget gens aurea mundo,

cease, and a golden race arise in all the world,

casta fave² Lucina: tuus iam regnat Apollo.

show favor, chaste Lucina: now your own Apollo reigns.

Teque adeo decus hoc aevi te consule³ inibit,

And indeed under your consulship, this glory of the age shall begin,

Pollio, et incipient magni procedere menses.

Pollio, and the mighty months shall begin to roll.

te duce, si qua manent sceleris vestigia nostri,

Under your guidance, if any traces of our guilt remain,

inrita perpetua solvent formidine terras.

they shall, rendered void, release the earth from perpetual fear.

ille deum vitam accipiet, divisque videbit

He shall receive the life of gods, and shall see

permixtos heroas, et ipse videbitur illis,

heroes mingled with gods, and shall himself be seen by them,

pacatumque reget patriis virtutibus orbem.

and shall rule a pacified world with his father’s virtues.

At tibi prima, puer, nullo munuscula cultu

But for you, boy, as first little gifts, with no cultivation,

errantis hederas passim cum baccare tellus

shall the earth pour forth wandering ivy everywhere with baccaris,

mixtaque ridenti colocasia fundet acantho.

and colocasia mixed with smiling acanthus.

Ipsae lacte domum referent distenta capellae

Of themselves shall the she-goats bring home their udders

ubera, nec magnos metuent armenta leones;

swollen with milk, nor shall the herds fear great lions;

ipsa tibi blandos fundent cunabula flores,

Your cradle itself shall pour forth enticing flowers for you,

occidet et serpens, et fallax herba veneni

the serpent also shall die, and the deceitful poison-herb

occidet, Assyrium volgo nascetur amomum.

shall perish; Assyrian spice shall grow everywhere.

at simul heroum laudes et facta parentis

But as soon as you are able to read the praises of heroes and the deeds of your father,

iam legere et quae sit poteris cognoscere virtus,⁴

and to know what virtue is,

molli paulatim flavescet campus arista,

gradually the field shall grow yellow with soft ears of grain,

incultisque rubens pendebit sentibus uva,

and the blushing grape shall hang from uncultivated thorns,

et durae quercus sudabunt roscida mella

and hard oaks shall sweat dewy honey.

Pauca tamen suberunt priscae vestigia fraudis,

Yet some few traces of ancient guilt shall remain,

quae temptare Thetim ratibus, quae cingere muris

which bid men tempt the sea with ships, to gird

oppida, quae iubeant telluri infindere sulcos:

towns with walls, and to cleave furrows in the earth.

alter erit tum Tiphys, et altera quae vehat Argo

Then shall there be another Tiphys, and another Argo to carry

delectos Heroas; erunt etiam altera bella,

chosen heroes; there shall also be other wars,

atque iterum ad Troiam magnus mittetur Achilles.

and once more great Achilles shall be sent to Troy.

Hinc, ubi iam firmata virum te fecerit aetas,

Thereafter, when now strengthening age has made you a man,

cedet et ipse mari vector, nec nautica pinus

even the voyager himself shall withdraw from the sea, nor shall the pine ship

mutabit merces: omnis feret omnia tellus:

exchange merchandise: every land shall bear all things.

non rastros patietur humus, non vinea falcem;

The soil shall not endure the rake, nor the vineyard the pruning-hook;

robustus quoque iam tauris iuga solvet arator;

the sturdy plowman too shall now loosen the yokes from his oxen.

nec varios discet mentiri lana colores:

Nor shall wool learn to counterfeit various colors,

ipse sed in pratis aries iam suave rubenti

but the ram himself in the meadows shall change his fleece, now with sweetly blushing

murice, iam croceo mutabit vellera luto;

purple, now with saffron-yellow dye;

sponte sua sandyx pascentis vestiet agnos.

of its own accord shall scarlet clothe the grazing lambs.

Talia saecla, suis dixerunt, currite,⁵ fusis

”Run on, such ages,” said the Parcae to their spindles,

concordes stabili fatorum numine Parcae.

harmonious in the steadfast will of the Fates.

Adgredere o magnos—aderit iam tempus—honores,

Enter upon your great honors—the time will soon be here—

cara deum suboles, magnum Iovis incrementum!

dear offspring of the gods, great increase of Jove!

Aspice convexo nutantem pondere mundum,

Behold the world nodding with its vaulted weight,

terrasque tractusque maris caelumque profundum!

the lands and the expanses of the sea and the deep heaven!

Aspice, venturo laetentur ut omnia saeclo!

Behold how all things rejoice at the coming age!

O mihi tam longae maneat pars ultima vitae,

O may the final part of so long a life remain to me,

spiritus et quantum sat erit tua dicere facta!

and breath as much as shall suffice to tell of your deeds!

Non me carminibus vincet nec Thracius Orpheus,

Neither Thracian Orpheus shall vanquish me in song,

nec Linus, huic mater quamvis atque huic pater adsit,

nor Linus, though his mother be near to the one and his father to the other,

Orphei Calliopea, Lino formosus Apollo,

Calliopea to Orpheus, handsome Apollo to Linus.

Pan etiam, Arcadia mecum si iudice certet,

Even Pan, if he should contend with me with Arcadia as judge,

Pan etiam Arcadia dicat se iudice victum.

even Pan, with Arcadia as judge, would declare himself vanquished.

Incipe, parve puer, risu cognoscere matrem,

Begin, little boy, to recognize your mother with a smile,

matri longa decem tulerunt fastidia menses.

ten months have brought long weariness to your mother.

Incipe, parve puer, cui non risere parentes,⁶

Begin, little boy; he on whom his parents have not smiled,

nec deus hunc mensa, dea nec dignata cubili est.

no god has deemed worthy of his table, nor goddess of her bed.

Syntax notes6 items

4.3sint
Present subjunctive, expressing a wish or command ("let them be").
4.8nascenti puero... fave
The intransitive verb faveo takes the dative; thus nascenti puero is the dative object of fave (in §4.10).
4.11te consule
Ablative absolute construction consisting of the pronoun te and the noun consule ("under your consulship").
4.27quae sit... virtus
Indirect question clause containing the present subjunctive sit, functioning as the object of the infinitive cognoscere.
4.46Talia saecla... currite
Talia saecla ("such ages") is a vocative addressing the ages, which is identical in form to the nominative plural of the neuter noun saeculum.
4.62cui non risere parentes
cui is the dative of the relative pronoun, whose antecedent is hunc in §4.63. The intransitive verb rideo ("smile upon") takes the dative of person.

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-22)urn:cts:latinLit:phi0690.phi001.humanitext-lat2:4.1-4.63