§3.10.1Siquis adhuc istic meminit Nasonis adempti, §3.10.2et superest sine me nomen in urbe meum, §3.10.3suppositum stellis numquam tangentibus aequor §3.10.4me sciat In media vivere barbaria.
If there is anyone there who still remembers the banished Naso, and my name still survives in the city without me, let him know that, situated under the stars that never touch the sea, I am living in the midst of barbarism.
The Sauromatae surround me, a wild tribe, and the Bessi and Getae; how unworthy are these names of my talent!
§3.10.7dum tamen aura tepet, medio defendimur Histro: §3.10.8ille suis liquidus bella repellit aquis,
Yet, as long as the air is warm, we are defended by the intervening Hister; he, with his flowing waters, repels wars.
§3.10.9at cum tristis hiems squalentia protulit ora, §3.10.10terraque marmoreo est candida facta gelu, §3.10.11dum prohibet Boreas et nix habitare sub Arcto, §3.10.12tum patet has gentes axe tremente premi.
But when gloomy winter has brought forth its squalid face, and the earth has been made white with marble-like frost, while Boreas and the snow prevent habitation under the Great Bear, then it is clear that these tribes are oppressed by a trembling sky.
§3.10.13nix iacet, et iactam ne sol pluviaeque resolvant, §3.10.14indurat Boreas perpetuamque facit.
The snow lies deep, and lest the sun and rains should melt what has fallen, Boreas hardens it and makes it perpetual.
Therefore, before the previous snow has melted, another arrives, and in many places it is accustomed to remain for two years.
§3.10.17tantaque commoti vis est Aquilonis, ut altas §3.10.18aequet humo turres tectaque rapta ferat.
And so great is the power of the stirred-up Aquilo that it makes high towers level with the ground and carries away swept-off roofs.
With skins and stitched trousers they ward off the harsh cold, and of the whole body, only the face is exposed.
§3.10.21saepe sonant moti glacie pendente capilli, §3.10.22et nitet inducto candida barba gelu; §3.10.23nudaque consistunt, formam servantia testae, §3.10.24vina, nec hausta meri, sed data frusta bibunt.
Often the hair, when moved, rustles with hanging ice, and the white beard shines with the frost that has been drawn over it; and the wine stands bare, retaining the shape of the jar, and they do not drink drawn pure wine, but they drink given pieces.
§3.10.25quid loquar, ut vincti concrescant frigore rivi, §3.10.26deque lacu fragiles effodiantur aquae?
Why should I speak of how the streams are bound and freeze with cold, and fragile water is dug out of the lake?
§3.10.27ipse, papyrifero qui non angustior amne §3.10.28miscetur vasto multa per ora freto, §3.10.29caeruleos ventis latices durantibus, Hister §3.10.30congelat et tectis in mare serpit aquis; §3.10.31quaque rates ierant, pedibus nunc itur, et undas §3.10.32frigore concretas ungula pulsat equi; §3.10.33perque novos pontes, subter labentibus undis, §3.10.34ducunt Sarmatici barbara plaustra boves.
The Hister itself, which is no narrower than the papyrus-bearing river, and mingles through many mouths with the vast sea, as the winds harden its blue waters, freezes and creeps into the sea with its waters covered; and where ships had gone, people now go on foot, and the hoof of the horse beats waves hardened by the cold; and across new bridges, with waves gliding underneath, the Sarmatian oxen draw their barbarian wagons.
§3.10.35vix equidem credar, sed, cum sint praemia falsi §3.10.36nulla, ratam debet testis habere fidem:
Indeed, I shall scarcely be believed; but, since there are no rewards for falsehood, a witness ought to have established trust.
§3.10.37vidimus ingentem glacie consistere pontum, §3.10.38lubricaque inmotas testa premebat aquas, §3.10.39nec vidisse sat est; durum calcavimus aequor, §3.10.40undaque non udo sub pede summa fuit.
We have seen the vast sea stand still with ice, and a slippery shell covered the motionless waters; nor is it enough to have seen it; we have walked upon the hard sea, and the surface of the wave was under our dry feet.
§3.10.41si tibi tale fretum quondam, Leandre, fuisset, §3.10.42non foret augustae mors tua crimen aquae.
If you, Leander, had once had such a sea, your death would not have been the crime of that narrow water.
§3.10.43tum neque se pandi possunt delphines in auras §3.10.44tollere; conantes dura coërcet hiems; §3.10.45et quamvis Boreas iactatis insonet alis, §3.10.46fluctus in obsesso gurgite nullus erit; §3.10.47inclusaeque gelu stabunt in marmore puppes, §3.10.48nec poterit rigidas findere remus aquas.
Then neither can the dolphins raise themselves into the open air; the harsh winter constrains them when they try; and although Boreas may resound with his beaten wings, there will be no wave in the besieged abyss; and the ships, shut in by the ice, will stand still as if on marble, nor will the oar be able to cleave the frozen waters.
We have seen fish stick bound fast in the ice, but some of them even then were still alive.
§3.10.51sive igitur nimii Boreae vis saeva marinas, §3.10.52sive redundatas flumine cogit aquas, §3.10.53protinus aequato siccis Aquilonibus Histro §3.10.54invehitur celeri barbarus hostis equo; §3.10.55hostis equo pollens longeque volante sagitta §3.10.56vicinam late depopulatur humum.
Whether, therefore, the savage force of excessive Boreas congeals the marine waters, or the waters overflowed from the river, immediately, when the Hister is made level by the dry Aquilo, the barbarian enemy rides in on his swift horse; the enemy, strong in his horse and far-flying arrow, depopulates the neighboring land far and wide.
§3.10.57diffugiunt alii, nullisque tuentibus agros §3.10.58incustoditae diripiuntur opes, §3.10.59ruris opes parvae, pecus et stridentia plaustra, §3.10.60et quas divitias incola pauper habet.
Some flee in different directions, and since no one defends the fields, the unguarded possessions are plundered, the small wealth of the countryside, the cattle and creaking wagons, and whatever riches the poor inhabitant possesses.
§3.10.61pars agitur vinctis post tergum capta lacertis, §3.10.62respiciens frustra rura Laremque suum: §3.10.63pars cadit hamatis misere confixa sagittis. §3.10.64nam volucri ferro tinctile virus inest.
Part is driven away captive with arms bound behind their backs, looking back in vain at their fields and their Lar; part falls miserably pierced by barbed arrows; for there is a smeared poison on the swift iron.
§3.10.65quae nequeunt secum ferre aut abducere, perdunt, §3.10.66et cremat insontes hostica flamma casas.
What they cannot carry with them or lead away, they destroy, and the hostile flame burns the innocent cottages.
§3.10.67tunc quoque, cum pax est, trepidant formidine belli, §3.10.68nec quisquam presso vomere sulcat humum, §3.10.69aut videt aut metuit locus hic, quem non videt, hostem; §3.10.70cessat iners rigido terra relicta situ.
Even then, when there is peace, they tremble with the fear of war, nor does anyone furrow the ground with a pressed plowshare; this place either sees the enemy or fears the one it does not see; the abandoned land lies idle, left in a stiff and neglected state.
§3.10.71non hic pampinea dulcis latet uva sub umbra, §3.10.72nec cumulant altos fervida musta lacus.
Here the sweet grape does not hide under the shade of vine-leaves, nor do warm musts fill the deep vats to overflowing.
§3.10.73poma negat regio, nec haberet Acontius in quo §3.10.74scriberet hic dominae verba legenda suae.
The region denies fruits; nor would Acontius have anything on which to write words for his mistress to read.
You would see naked plains without foliage, without trees; alas, a place not to be visited by a happy man!