§1Soror Tonantis (hoc enim solum mihi §2nomen relictum est) semper alienum Iovem §3ac templa summi vidua deserui aetheris §4locumque caelo pulsa paelicibus dedi; §5tellus colenda est: paelices caelum tenent,
Sister of the Thunderer (for this is the only name left to me), I have forever abandoned my unfaithful Jupiter and, as a widow, the temples of the highest heaven, and driven from the sky, I have given place to his mistresses; earth must be my dwelling: mistresses hold the heaven.
§6hinc Arctos alta parte glacialis poli §7sublime classes sidus Argolicas agit; §8hinc, qua tepenti vere labatur dies, §9Tyriae per undas vector Europae nitet; §10illinc timendum ratibus ac ponto gregem §11passim vagantes exerunt Atlantides.
Here, the Bear in the high part of the icy pole, a lofty star, guides the Argolic fleets; there, where the day glides away in warm spring, the bearer of Tyrian Europa shines through the waves; yonder, a flock to be feared by ships and sea, the daughters of Atlas, wandering far and wide, show themselves.
§12ferro minax hinc terret Orion deos §13suasque Perseus aureus stellas habet; §14hinc clara gemini signa Tyndaridae micant §15quibusque natis mobilis tellus stetit.
Here, Orion threatening with his sword terrifies the gods, and golden Perseus has his own stars; here the bright constellations of the twin Tyndaridae shine, and those at whose birth the shifting earth stood still.
§16nec ipse tantum Bacchus aut Bacchi parens §17adiere superos: ne qua pars probro vacet, §18mundus puellae serta Gnosiacae gerit,
Nor did Bacchus himself alone or Bacchus' mother ascend to the gods: so that no part may be free from shame, the sky wears the crown of the Gnosian girl.
§19sed vetera sero querimur
But I complain of old grievances too late.
One single, dire, and fierce Theban land, alas! sprinkled with impious daughters-in-law, how often has it made me a stepmother!
§21quotiens novercam fecit! escendat licet §22meumque victrix teneat Alcmene locum, §23pariterque natus astra promissa occupet, §24in cuius ortus mundus impendit diem §25tardusque Eoo Phoebus effulsit mari §26retinere mersum iussus Oceano iubar.
Let him ascend, and let victorious Alcmene hold my place, and let her son likewise seize the promised stars, for whose birth the world spent a whole day, and slow Phoebus shone forth from the Eastern sea, ordered to keep his light submerged in the Ocean.
§27non sic abibunt odia; vivaces aget §28violentus iras animus et saevus dolor §29aeterna bella pace sublata geret.
Not thus shall my hatred depart; a lively anger will my violent mind drive, and fierce grief, with peace removed, will wage eternal wars.
§30Quae bella? quicquid horridum tellus creat §31inimica, quicquid pontus aut aer tulit §32terribile dirum pestilens atrox ferum, §33fractum atque domitum est.
What wars? Whatever dreadful thing the hostile earth creates, whatever the sea or the air has brought terrible, dire, pestilential, atrocious, fierce, has been broken and subdued.
superat et crescit malis §34iraque nostra fruitur; in laudes suas §35mea vertit odia: dum nimis saeva impero, §36patrem probavi, gloriae feci locum,
He overcomes and grows through evils, and enjoys our anger; into his own praises he turns my hatred: while I command too cruel things, I have proved his father, and made a place for his glory.
§37qua Sol reducens quaque deponens diem §38binos propinqua tinguit Aethiopas face, §39indomita virtus colitur et toto deus §40narratur orbe.
Where the Sun, bringing back and where putting down the day, dyes the two Ethiopians with his near torch, his untamed valor is worshipped, and as a god he is spoken of in the whole world.
monstra iam desunt mihi §41minorque labor est Herculi iussa exequi, §42quam mihi iubere: laetus imperia excipit,
Monsters are now lacking to me, and it is a lesser labor for Hercules to perform my orders, than for me to order them: joyfully he receives my commands.
§43quae fera tyranni iura violenta queant
What fierce, violent laws of a tyrant could harm the young man?
§44nocere iuveni? nempe pro telis gerit §45quae timuit et quae fudit: armatus venit §46leone et hydra, nec satis terrae patent:
Indeed, instead of weapons he carries what he feared and what he routed: he comes armed with the lion and the hydra.
Nor are the lands wide enough: behold, he has broken the threshold of the infernal Jupiter, and brings back the rich spoils of the conquered king to the upper world.
§49parum est reverti, foedus umbrarum perit:
It is too little to return: the law of the shades is destroyed.
I myself saw, I saw, the darkness of the underworld scattered, and him, with Dis subdued, boasting of his brotherly spoils to his father.
§52fraterna, cur non Tinctum et oppressum trahit §53ipsum catenis paria sortitum Iovi §54Ereboque capto potitur et retegit Styga?
Why does he not drag him bound and crushed, him who obtained by lot a realm equal to Jupiter's, and having captured Erebus, rule it and lay bare the Styx?
A way back from the deepest shades has been opened, and the sacred secrets of dire death lie in the open.
§57at ille, rupto carcere umbrarum ferox, §58de me triumphat et superbifica manu §59atrum per urbes ducit Argolicas canem.
But he, having broken the prison of the shades, fierce, triumphs over me, and with a proud hand leads the black dog through the Argolic cities.
§60viso labantem Cerbero vidi diem §61pavidumque Solem; me quoque invasit tremor, §62et terna monstri colla devicti intuens §63timui imperasse.
At the sight of Cerberus, I saw the day waver, and the Sun fearful; tremor invaded me too, and looking at the three necks of the conquered monster, I feared to have commanded it.
levia sed nimium queror; §64caelo timendum est, regna ne summa occupet §65qui vicit ima: sceptra praeripiet patri.
But I complain of too light things; heaven must be feared, lest he occupy the highest realms who has conquered the lowest: he will snatch the sceptre from his father.
§66nec in astra lenta veniet ut Bacchus via: §67iter ruina quaeret et vacuo volet §68regnare mundo, robore experto tumet, §69et posse caelum viribus vinci suis §70didicit ferendo; subdidit mundo caput §71nec flexit umeros molis immensae labor §72meliusque collo sedit Herculeo polus.
Nor will he come to the stars by a slow path like Bacchus: he will seek a way through ruin, and will wish to rule over an empty world. He swells with his tested strength, and that heaven can be conquered by his own forces he learned by bearing it; he submitted his head to the sky, nor did the labor of the immense mass bend his shoulders, and the heavens sat better upon the neck of Hercules.
His unmoved neck bore the stars, the sky, and me pressing upon him: he seeks a way to the gods above.
§75Perge ira, perge et magna meditantem opprime, §76congredere, manibus ipsa dilacera tuis: §77quid tanta mandas odia? discedant ferae,
Go on, my anger, go on, and crush him who meditates great things, engage him, tear him apart with your own hands: why do you delegate such great hatred?
§78ipse imperando fessus Eurystheus vacet.
Let the beasts depart, let Eurystheus himself, tired of commanding, be at peace.
§79Titanas ausos rumpere imperium Iovis §80emitte, Siculi verticis laxa specum, §81tellus gigante Doris excusso tremens §82supposita monstri colla terrifici levet — §84sed vicit ista.
Release the Titans who dared to break the rule of Jupiter, loosen the cavern of the Sicilian peak, let the Doric land, trembling as the giant is shaken off, relieve the neck of the terrifying monster placed beneath — but he conquered those.
quaeris Alcidae parem?
Do you seek an equal for Alcides?
§85nemo est nisi ipse: bella iam secum gerat.
There is no one but himself: let him now wage war against himself.