- Source
- Vergil. The Bucolics, Aeneid, and Georgics Of Virgil. Greenough, J.B., editor. Boston: Ginn and Company, 1881.
- Translation
- AI-generated (gemini-3.5-flash) — machine translation; may contain errors
- Languages
- 日本語 · English · 简体中文 · 한국어
- CTS URN
- urn:cts:latinLit:phi0690.phi001.humanitext-lat2:8.1-8.57
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-27
After introducing the great songs of Damon and Alphesiboeus and dedicating the work to his patron, the poet begins Damon's sorrowful lament over his unfaithful lover.
Pastorem Musam1 Damonis et Alphesiboei—
The pastoral Muse of Damon and Alphesiboeus—
immemor herbarum quos est mirata iuvenca
whom, competing, the heifer, unmindful of her grass, admired,
certantis, quorum stupefactae carmine lynces,
at whose song lynxes were stupefied,
et mutata suos requierunt flumina cursus—
and the rivers, changed, stayed their courses—
Illonis2 Musam dicemus et Alphesiboei.
the Muse of Damon and Alphesiboeus we shall sing.
Tu mihi seu magni superas iam saxa Timavi,
You, whether you are now passing the rocks of great Timavus,
sive oram Illyrici legis aequoris, en erit umquam
or coasting the shore of the Illyrian sea, lo, will that day
ille dies, mihi cum liceat tua dicere facta?
ever come when I may sing your deeds?
en erit ut liceat totum mihi ferre per orbem
Lo, will it be that I am permitted to carry through the whole world
sola Sophocleo tua carmina digna coturno?
your songs alone worthy of the Sophoclean buskin?
A te principium, tibi desinam: accipe iussis
From you is my beginning, in you I shall end: accept the songs
carmina coepta tuis, atque hanc sine tempora circum
begun at your bidding, and permit this ivy to creep around
inter victrices hederam tibi serpere laurus.
your temples amidst your victorious laurels.
Frigida vix caelo noctis decesserat umbra,
Scarcely had the cold shadow of night departed from the sky,
cum ros3 in tenera pecori gratissimus herba;
when the dew on the tender grass is most welcome to the flock;
incumbens tereti Damon sic coepit olivae.
leaning on his smooth olive-staff, Damon thus began:
Nascere, praeque diem veniens age, Lucifer, almum,
”Arise, Lucifer, and coming beforehand bring the genial day,
coniugis indigno Nisae deceptus amore
while, deceived by the unworthy love of my bride Nisa,
dum queror, et divos, quamquam nil testibus illis
I lament, and, though I have profited nothing by having them as witnesses,
profeci, extrema moriens tamen adloquor hora.
yet at my last hour, dying, I address the gods.
Incipe Maenalios mecum, mea tibia, versus.
Begin with me, my pipe, Maenalian verses.
Maenalus argutumque nemus pinosque loquentis
Maenalus always has a whistling grove and speaking pines;
semper habet; semper pastorum ille audit amores,
he always hears the loves of shepherds,
Panaque, qui primus calamos non passus inertis.
and Pan, who first did not allow the reeds to lie idle.
Incipe Maenalios mecum, mea tibia, versus.
Begin with me, my pipe, Maenalian verses.
Mopso Nisa datur: quid non speremus amantes?
Nisa is given to Mopsus: what may we lovers not expect?
Iungentur iam grypes equis, aevoque sequenti
Now griffins will be mated with horses, and in the following age,
cum canibus timidi venient ad pocula dammae.
timid does will come with dogs to drink.
Mopse, novas incide faces: tibi ducitur uxor;
Mopsus, cut new torches: a wife is being led to you;
sparge, marite, nuces: tibi deserit Hesperus Oetam.
scatter the nuts, bridegroom: Hesperus is leaving Oeta for you.
Incipe Maenalios mecum, mea tibia, versus.
Begin with me, my pipe, Maenalian verses.
O digno coniuncta viro, dum despicis omnes,
O you who are joined to a worthy husband, while you despise all others,
dumque tibi est odio mea fistula, dumque capellae,
and while my pipe is your hatred, and my goats,
hirsutumque supercilium promissaque barba,
and my shaggy eyebrow and long beard,
nec curare deum credis mortalia quemquam!
and you believe that no god cares for mortal things!
Incipe Maenalios mecum, mea tibia, versus.
Begin with me, my pipe, Maenalian verses.
Saepibus in nostris parvam te roscida mala—
In our orchards I saw you, a little girl, gathering dewy apples
dux ego vester eram—vidi cum matre legentem.
with your mother—I was your guide.
Alter ab undecimo4 tum me iam acceperat annus;
The year next after the eleventh had already received me then;
iam fragilis poteram ab terra contingere ramos.
already I could reach the fragile branches from the ground.
Ut vidi, ut perii!5 Ut me malus abstulit error!
As I saw, how I was lost! How the evil delusion carried me away!
Incipe Maenalios mecum, mea tibia, versus.
Begin with me, my pipe, Maenalian verses.
Nunc scio, quid sit Amor: duris in cotibus illum
Now I know what Love is: on hard crags
aut Tmaros, aut Rhodope, aut extremi Garamantes,
Tmarus, or Rhodope, or the furthest Garamantes gave him birth,
nec generis nostri puerum nec sanguinis edunt.
a boy not of our race or blood.
Incipe Maenalios mecum, mea tibia, versus.
Begin with me, my pipe, Maenalian verses.
saevus Amor docuit natorum sanguine matrem
Cruel Love taught a mother to defile her hands
commaculare manus; crudelis tu quoque, mater:
with the blood of her children; cruel were you also, mother:
crudelis mater magis, an puer improbus ille?
was the mother more cruel, or was that boy more wicked?
improbus ille puer; crudelis tu quoque, mater.
Wicked was that boy; cruel were you too, mother.
Incipe Maenalios mecum, mea tibia, versus.
Begin with me, my pipe, Maenalian verses.
nunc et ovis ultro fugiat lupus; aurea durae
Now let even the wolf flee from the sheep of his own accord; let hard
mala ferant quercus; narcisso floreat alnus;
oaks bear golden apples; let the alder bloom with narcissus;
pinguia corticibus sudent electra myricae;
let tamarisks sweat rich amber from their bark;
certent et cycnis ululae; sit Tityrus Orpheus,
let owls compete even with swans; let Tityrus be Orpheus,
Orpheus in silvis, inter delphinas Arion.
Orpheus in the woods, Arion among the dolphins.
Incipe Maenalios mecum, mea tibia, versus.
Begin with me, my pipe, Maenalian verses.”
- 8.1Pastorem Musam
The noun 'pastorem' (shepherd) is used adjectivally modifying 'Musam', meaning 'pastoral Muse' or 'pastoral song', a poetic device imitative of Greek usage.
- 8.5Illonis
The word 'Illonis' in the Latin text is a highly typical OCR error for 'Damonis' (D to Il, am to lo, o to o, n to n, i to i, s to s). Based on the parallel in line 1 and standard editions, it is translated as 'of Damon'.
- 8.15cum ros
This is an instance of 'cum inversum' (inverted cum-clause), in which the main clause contains a pluperfect ('decesserat') and the 'cum' clause introduces a sudden subsequent event. The verb (such as 'erat' or 'est') is omitted in the 'cum' clause to emphasize the freshness of the early morning.
- 8.39Alter ab undecimo
Literally 'the second year from the eleventh'. Following the Latin practice of inclusive counting (which counts the starting point), this refers to the year immediately following the eleventh, indicating that the speaker was 'twelve years old'.
- 8.41Ut vidi, ut perii!
The first 'ut' is temporal ('when' / 'as'), whereas the second 'ut' is exclamatory ('how' / 'how utterly'). This expresses the instantaneous and ruinous onset of passion the moment the speaker laid eyes on her.
Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-22) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-21)
- 2026-09-21 AI review — source 1