§7.1Forte sub arguta consederat ilice Daphnis, §7.2compulerantque greges Corydon et Thyrsis in unum, §7.3Trhyrsis ovis, Corydon distentas lacte capellas, §7.4ambo florentes aetatibus, Arcades ambo, §7.5et cantare pares, et respondere parati. §7.6Huc mihi, dum teneras defendo a frigore myrtos, §7.7vir gregis ipse caper deerraverat; atque ego Daphnim §7.8aspicio.
By chance Daphnis had sat down under a whispering holm-oak, and Corydon and Thyrsis had driven their herds together, Thyrsis his sheep, Corydon his she-goats distended with milk, both in the flower of their youth, both Arcadians, and equal in singing, and ready to respond. Hither for me, while I was defending my tender myrtles from the cold, the husband of the herd, the goat himself, had strayed; and I catch sight of Daphnis.
Ille ubi me contra videt: “Ocius” inquit §7.9“huc ades, O Meliboee, caper tibi salvus et haedi; §7.10et, si quid cessare potes, requiesce sub umbra. §7.11huc ipsi potum venient per prata iuvenci, §7.12hic viridis tenera praetexit arundine ripas §7.13Mincius, eque sacra resonant examina quercu. ” §7.14Quid facerem? Neque ego Alcippen, nec Phyllida habebam,
When he saw me in turn, he said: "Come hither quickly, O Meliboeus; your goat is safe, and your kids; and, if you can idle at all, rest under the shade. Hither the young bulls themselves will come through the meadows to drink, here the green Mincius fringes the banks with tender reeds, and swarms of bees hum from the sacred oak." What was I to do?
§7.15depulsos a lacte domi quae clauderet agnos, §7.16et certamen erat, Corydon cum Thyrside, magnum. §7.17posthabui tamen illorum mea seria ludo: §7.18alternis igitur contendere versibus ambo §7.19coepere; alternos Musae meminisse volebant. §7.20hos Corydon, illos referebat in ordine Thyrsis. §7.21Nymphae, noster amor, Libethrides, aut mihi carmen, §7.22quale meo Codro, concedite: proxima Phoebi §7.23versibus ille facit; aut, si non possumus omnes, §7.24hic arguta sacra pendebit fistula pinu. §7.25Pastores, hedera crescentem ornate poetam, §7.26Arcades, invidia rumpantur ut ilia Codro; §7.27aut si ultra placitum laudarit, baccare frontem §7.28cingite, ne vati noceat mala lingua futuro. §7.29Saetosi caput hoc apri tibi, Delia, parvus §7.30et ramosa Micon vivacis cornua cervi. §7.31Si proprium hoc fuerit, levi de marmore tota §7.32puniceo stabis suras evincta coturno. §7.33Sinum lactis et haec te liba, Priape, quotannis §7.34exspectare sat est: custos es pauperis horti. §7.35Nunc te marmoreum pro tempore fecimus; at tu, §7.36si fetura gregem suppleverit, aureus esto. §7.37Nerine Galatea, thymo mihi dulcior Hyblae, §7.38candidior cycnis, hedera formosior alba, §7.39cum primum pasti repetent praesepia tauri, §7.40si qua tui Corydonis habet te cura, venito. §7.41Immo ego Sardoniis videar tibi amarior herbis, §7.42horridior rusco, proiecta vilior alga, §7.43si mihi non haec lux toto iam longior anno est. §7.44Ite domum pasti, si quis pudor, ite iuvenci. §7.45Muscosi fontes et somno mollior herba, §7.46et quae vos rara viridis tegit arbutus umbra, §7.47solstitium pecori defendite; iam venit aestas §7.48torrida, iam lento turgent in palmite gemmae. §7.49Hic focus et taedae pingues, hic plurimus ignis §7.50semper, et adsidua postes fuligine nigri; §7.51hic tantum Boreae curamus frigora, quantum §7.52aut numerum lupus, aut torrentia flumina ripas. §7.53Stant et iuniperi, et castaneae hirsutae; §7.54strata iacent passim sua quaque sub arbore poma; §7.55omnia nunc rident: at si formosus Alexis §7.56montibus his abeat, videas et flumina sicca. §7.57Aret ager; vitio moriens sitit aeris herba; §7.58Liber pampineas invidit collibus umbras: §7.59Phyllidis adventu nostrae nemus omne virebit, §7.60Iuppiter et laeto descendet plurimus imbri. §7.61Populus Alcidae gratissima, vitis Iaccho, §7.62formosae myrtus Veneri, sua laurea Phoebo; §7.63Phyllis amat corylos: illas dum Phyllis amabit, §7.64nec myrtus vincet corylos, nec laurea Phoebi. §7.65Fraxinus in silvis pulcherrima, pinus in hortis, §7.66populus in fluviis, abies in montibus altis: §7.67saepius at si me, Lycida formose, revisas, §7.68fraxinus in silvis cedat tibi, pinus in hortis. §7.69Haec memini, et victum frustra contendere Thyrsim: §7.70ex illo Corydon Corydon est tempore nobis.
I had neither Alcippe nor Phyllis to shut in the house the lambs weaned from milk, and there was a great contest, Corydon with Thyrsis. Yet I postponed my serious business for their play: so both began to contend in alternate verses; the Muses wished to remember alternate verses. These Corydon, those Thyrsis recited in order. Nymphs of Libethra, our love, either grant me a song, such as you did to my Codrus: he makes verses next to those of Phoebus; or, if we cannot all do so, here my shrill pipe shall hang on the sacred pine. Shepherds, crown the rising poet with ivy, Arcadians, so that Codrus' sides may burst with envy; or if he praises beyond what is pleasing, bind his forehead with wild nard, lest an evil tongue should harm the future poet. This head of a bristly boar, Delia, young Micon offers to you, and the branching horns of a long-lived stag. If this shall be permanent, you shall stand complete in smooth marble, your calves bound with scarlet buskins. A bowl of milk and these cakes, Priapus, are enough for you to expect each year: you are the guardian of a poor garden. Now we have made you of marble for the time being; but you, if breeding replenishes the herd, shall be of gold. Galatea, daughter of Nereus, sweeter to me than Hybla's thyme, whiter than swans, more beautiful than white ivy, as soon as the well-fed bulls seek their stalls again, if any care for your Corydon possesses you, come. Nay, let me seem to you bitterer than Sardinian herbs, rougher than gorse, viler than cast-up seaweed, if this day is not already longer to me than a whole year. Go home well-fed, if you have any shame, go, young bulls. Mossy springs and grass softer than sleep, and the green arbutus that covers you with its thin shade, ward off the summer heat from the flock; now comes the scorching summer, now the buds swell on the supple vine-shoot. Here is a hearth and rich torches, here plenty of fire always, and doorposts black with constant soot; here we care as much for the cold of Boreas, as the wolf does for the number of sheep, or rushing rivers for their banks. Both junipers and shaggy chestnuts stand; fallen fruits lie scattered everywhere, each under its own tree; now all things smile: but if beautiful Alexis should depart from these mountains, you would see even the rivers dry. The field is parched; the grass thirsts, dying from the air's blight; Bacchus has begrudged his vine-shadows to the hills: at the arrival of our Phyllis every grove will grow green, and Juppiter will descend abundant in joyful rain. The poplar is most pleasing to Alcides, the vine to Iacchus, the myrtle to beautiful Venus, his own laurel to Phoebus; Phyllis loves hazels: as long as Phyllis loves them, neither the myrtle shall surpass the hazels, nor Phoebus' laurel. The ash is most beautiful in the woods, the pine in the gardens, the poplar by the rivers, the fir on the high mountains: but if you, beautiful Lycidas, would visit me more often, the ash in the woods would yield to you, and the pine in the gardens. These things I remember, and that the defeated Thyrsis contended in vain: from that time Corydon is indeed Corydon to us.