§283emitte tecum, dirutis qualis iugis §284praeceps citato flumini quaerens iter §285quondam stetisti, scissa cum vasto impetu §286patuere Tempe; pectore impulsus tuo §287huc mons et illuc cessit et rupto aggere §288nova cucurrit Thessalus torrens via: §289talis, parentes liberos patriam petens, §290erumpe rerum terminos tecum efferens, §291et quicquid avida tot per annorum gradus §292abscondit aetas redde et oblitos sui §293lucisque pavidos ante te populos age.
Release yourself, and bring with you, just as from ruined ridges headlong seeking a way for the swift river you once stood, when torn apart with vast force Tempe lay open; pushed by your breast the mountain yielded here and there, and the barrier broken, the Thessalian torrent ran along a new way: even so, seeking parents, children, and homeland, break forth, carrying with you the boundaries of the universe, and whatever greedy age has hidden through the course of so many years, restore, and drive before you the peoples forgetful of themselves and fearful of the light.
Spoils are unworthy of you, if you bring back only what was commanded.
magna sed nimium loquor §296ignara nostrae sortis, unde illum mihi §297quo te tuamque dexteram amplectar diem §298reditusque lentos nec mei memores querar?
But I speak of things too great, ignorant of our fate; whence shall come that day to me on which I may embrace you and your right hand, and complain of your slow returns, unmindful of me?
§299tibi, o deorum ductor, indomiti ferent §300centena tauri colla; tibi, frugum potens, §301secreta reddam sacra: tibi muta fide §302longas Eleusin tacita iactabit faces,
To you, O leader of the gods, untamed bulls will bring a hundred necks; to you, goddess of crops, I shall restore secret sacred rites; to you with silent faith quiet Eleusis will wave long torches.
§303tum restitutas fratribus rebor meis §304animas et ipsum regna moderantem sua §305florere patrem, si qua te maior tenet
Then I shall believe that the souls are restored to my brothers and that my father himself, governing his own kingdom, flourishes.
If any power greater than you holds you enclosed, we follow: either safe defend us all by your return, or drag us all down.
§308trahes nec ullus eriget fractos deus.
You will drag us down, nor will any god raise us up when broken.
§309O socia nostri sanguinis, casta fide §310servans torum natosque magnanimi Herculis, §311meliora mente concipe atque animum excita.
O companion of our blood, preserving with chaste faith the bed and children of high-minded Hercules, conceive better things in your mind and rouse your spirit.
He will surely be present, as he is wont from every labor, greater.
What the deeply wretched wish for, they easily believe.
§314bImmo quod metuunt nimis §315numquam moveri posse nec tolli putant: §316prona est timori semper in peius fides.
Nay, rather, what they fear too much they think can never be moved or removed: faith is always prone to the worse in fear.
Sunk and buried, and moreover oppressed by the whole world, what way does he have to the upper world?
§319Quam tunc habebat, cum per arentem plagam §320et fiuctuantes more turbati maris §321adit harenas bisque discedens fretum §322et bis recurrens, cumque deserta rate §323deprensus haesit Syrtium brevibus vadis §324et puppe fixa maria superavit pedes.
The same way he had then, when through the parched region and sands surging in the manner of a troubled sea he went, and the gulf twice departing and twice returning; and when, with his ship abandoned, caught he stuck in the shallow waters of the Syrtes, and with his ship fixed, he overcame the seas on foot.
§325Iniqua raro maximis virtutibus §326fortuna parcit; nemo se tuto diu §327periculis offerre tam crebris potest: §328quem saepe transit casus, aliquando invenit.
Unjust fortune rarely spares the greatest virtues; no one can safely for long expose himself to such frequent dangers: whom misfortune often passes over, it finds at last.
§329Sed ecce saevus ac minas vultu gerens §330et qualis animo est, talis incessu venit §331aliena dextra sceptra concutiens Lycus.
But lo, cruel and bearing threats in his countenance, and just as he is in mind, such in his gait he comes, Lycus, shaking a scepter held by another's right hand.
§332Vrbis regens opulenta Thebanae loca §333et omne quicquid uberi cingit solo §334obliqua Phocis, quicquid Ismenos rigat, §335quicquid Cithaeron vertice excelso videt, §337non vetera patriae iura possideo domus §338ignavus heres; nobiles non sunt mihi §339avi nec altis inclitum titulis genus.
Ruling the rich regions of the Theban city and everything which crooked Phocis surrounds with fertile soil, whatever Ismenos waters, whatever Cithaeron sees from its lofty summit, I do not possess the old rights of my father's house as a sluggish heir; I have no noble grandfathers nor a race famous for high titles.
§340sed clara virtus: qui genus iactat suum. §341aliena laudat, rapta sed trepida manu §342sceptra obtinentur; omnis in ferro est salus: §343quod civibus tenere te invitis scias.
But bright virtue is mine; he who boasts of his race praises another's; but snatched with a trembling hand the scepter is held; all safety is in iron: which you should know that you hold against the citizens' will.
§344strictus tuetur ensis, alieno in loco §345haut stabile regnum est; una sed nostras potest §346fundare vires iuncta regali face §347thalamisque Megara: ducet e genere inclito §348novitas colorem nostra, non equidem reor §349fore ut recuset ac meos spernat toros; §350quod si impotenti pertinax animo abnuet, §351stat tollere omnem penitus Herculeam domum.
A drawn sword protects; in another's place a kingdom is by no means stable; but one woman can establish our strength, Megara joined by royal torch and marriage: our novelty will derive color from her illustrious race; indeed, I do not think that she will refuse and despise my bed; but if obstinate with uncontrolled mind she refuses, it is determined to utterly destroy the entire house of Hercules.
§352invidia factum ac sermo popularis premet?
Will hatred and popular talk oppress the deed?
§353ars prima regni est posse invidiam pati.
The first art of reigning is to be able to endure hatred.
§354temptemus igitur, fors dedit nobis locum.
Let us try therefore; fortune has given us an opportunity.
§355namque ipsa, tristi vestis obtentu caput §356velata, iuxta praesides adstat deos §357laterique adhaeret verus Alcidae sator.
For she herself, her head veiled with the sad covering of her garment, stands near the protecting gods, and the true father of Alcides clings to her side.
What on earth is that man, the destruction and plague of our race, preparing new? What is he attempting?
§359bO clarum trahens §360a stirpe nomen regia, facilis mea §361parumper aure verba patienti excipe.
O you who draw an illustrious name from a royal stock, easily receive my words for a little while with a patient ear.
§362si aeterna semper odia mortales gerant §363nec coeptus umquam cedat ex animis furor, §364sed arma felix teneat infelix paret, §365nihil relinquent bella; tum vastis ager §366squalebit arvis, subdita tectis face
If mortals should always cherish eternal hatred, and the madness once begun should never depart from their minds, but the fortunate should hold arms and the unfortunate prepare them, wars will leave nothing; then the field will lie neglected with vast lands, and with fire applied to houses...