§907fraterque quisquis incolit caelum meus §908non ex noverca frater, huc appellite §909greges opimos; quicquid ludorum seges §910Arabesque odoris quicquid arboribus legunt §911conferte in aras, pinguis exundet vapor, §912populea nostras arbor exornet comas, §913te ramus oleae fronde gentili tegat, §914Theseu; Tonantem nostra adorabit manus, §915tu conditores urbis et silvestria §916trucis antra Zethi.
And whichever of my brothers inhabits the heavens, not a brother born of my stepmother, drive hither the fat herds; whatever the Lydian fields harvest, and whatever incense the Arabians gather from their trees, heap upon the altars, let the rich vapor overflow, let the poplar tree adorn our hair, and let the olive branch cover you with its native foliage, O Theseus; our hand will worship the Thunderer, while you worship the founders of the city and the wild caves of fierce Zethus.
nobilis Dircen aquae §917laremque regis advenae Tyrium coles.
You shall honor Dirce of the noble water and the Tyrian Lar of the foreign king.
Cast incense onto the flames, Amphitryon: My son, first purify your hands dripping with bloody slaughter and enemies' blood.
§920Vtinam cruore capitis invisi deis §921libare possem: gratior nullus liquor §922tinxisset aras; victima haut ulla amplior §923potest magisque opima mactari Iovi, §924quam rex iniquus,
Hercules: I wish I could pour a libation with the blood of that head hated by the gods; no more pleasing liquid would have stained the altars; no victim can be slain larger or richer for Jupiter than an unjust king.
§924bFiniat genitor tuos §925opta labores, detur aliquando otium §926quiesque fessis, §926bIpse concipiam preces §927Iove meque dignas, stet suo caelum loco §928tellusque et aequor; astra inoffensos agant §929aeterna cursus, alta pax gentes alat: §930ferrum omne teneat raris innocui labor §931ensesque lateant, nulla tempestas fretum §932violenta turbet, nullus irato Iove §933exiliat ignis, nullus hiberna nive §934nutritus agros amnis eversos trahat.
Amphitryon: Let your father put an end to your labors; let some leisure and rest be granted at last to the weary, Hercules: I myself shall conceive prayers worthy of Jupiter and of me: let the sky remain in its proper place, and the earth and the sea; let the eternal stars pursue their courses without hindrance, and deep peace nourish the nations; let all iron be kept for harmless agricultural labor, and let swords lie hidden; let no violent tempest disturb the sea, let no fire leap forth from an angry Jupiter, let no river nourished by winter snow sweep away the overturned fields.
§935venena cessent, nulla nocituro gravis §936suco tumescat herba, non saevi ac truces §937regnent tyranni; si quod etiamnum est scelus §938latura tellus, properet, et si quod parat §939monstrum, meum sit. — sed quid hoc? medium diem
Let poisons cease, let no herb swell heavy with harmful juice; let no cruel and fierce tyrants rule; if the earth is still to produce any wickedness, let it hasten; and if it prepares any monster, let it be mine.— But what is this?
§940cinxere tenebrae.
Darkness has surrounded the midday.
Phoebus obscuro meat §941sine nube vultu, quis diem retro fugat
Phoebus travels with an obscured face, yet without a cloud; who drives the day backward and forces it to its rising?
§942agitque in ortus? unde nox atram caput
Whence does an unknown night protrude its black head?
§943ignota profert? unde tot stellae polum
Whence do so many stars fill the sky by day?
§944implent diurnae? primus en noster labor §945caeli refulget parte non minima leo §946iraque totus fervet et morsus parat.
Behold, the Lion, my first labor, shines in no small part of the sky, and glows all over with anger and prepares to bite.
§947iam rapiet aliquod sidus: ingenti minax §948stat' ore et ignes efflat et rutila iubam §949cervice iactans quicquid autumnus gravis §950hiemsque gelido frigida spatio refert §951uno impetu transiliet et verni petet §952frangetque tauri colla.
Soon he will snatch some constellation: threatening with his huge mouth, he breathes out fire, and shaking the mane on his red neck, whatever heavy autumn and icy winter bring back in their cold season, he will leap over with a single bound, and seek the Taurus of spring and break his neck.
§952bQuod subitum hoc malum est?
Amphitryon: What sudden evil is this?
Whither, my son, do you turn your sharp gaze this way and that, and see a false heaven with your troubled, dim sight?
§955Perdomita tellus, tumida cesserunt freta, §956inferna nostros regna sensere impetus: §957immune caelum est, dignus Alcide labor.
Hercules: The earth is thoroughly subdued, the swollen seas have yielded, and the infernal kingdoms have felt our assault: heaven alone is unconquered, a labor worthy of Alcides.
I shall be carried aloft into the high spaces of the world, let the ether be sought: my father promises the stars.
§960quid, si negaret? non capit terra Herculem
What if he should refuse?
The earth does not hold Hercules, and at last restores him to the gods above; behold, of their own accord the whole assembly of the gods calls me and opens the gates, with only one forbidding.
§963una vetante. recipis et reseras polum?
Will you receive me and open the heavens?
§964an contumacis ianuam mundi traho?
Or do I drag down the gate of the stubborn world?
§965dubitatur etiam? vincla Saturno exuam
Is there still hesitation?
§966contraque patris impii regnum impotens §967avum resolvam; bella Titanes parent, §968me duce furentes; saxa cum silvis feram §969rapiamque dextra plena Centauris iuga.
I shall strip the chains from Saturn, and against the powerless reign of my impious father I shall release my grandfather; let the Titans prepare war, raging under my leadership; I shall carry rocks along with forests and snatch whole ridges filled with Centaurs with my right hand.
§970iam monte gemino limitem ad superos agam: §971videat sub Ossa Pelion Chiron suum, §972in caelum Olympus tertio positus gradu §973perveniet aut mittetur, §973bInfandos procul §974averte sensus; pectoris sani parum §975magni tamen compesce dementem impetum.
Now with a double mountain I shall build a path to the gods above: let Pelion see its Chiron beneath Ossa, Olympus, placed on the third step, will reach the sky or be hurled down, Amphitryon: Turn away far these unspeakable thoughts; check the mad impulse, however great, of a mind that is far from sane.
§976Quid hoc? Gigantes arma pestiferi movent.
Hercules: What is this? The destructive Giants are moving their arms.
Tityos has fled the shades, and bearing his torn and empty breast, how close he has stood to heaven!
Cithaeron totters, high Pellene trembles, and Tempe is withered.
rapuit hic Pindi iuga, §981hic rapuit Oeten, saevit horrendum Mimans.
This one has snatched the ridges of Pindus, that one has snatched Oeta, and Mimans rages horribly.
§982flammifera Erinys verbere excusso sonat §983rogisque adustas propius ac propius sudes §984in ora tendit; saeva Tisiphone, caput §985serpentibus vallata, post raptum canem §986portam vacantem clausit opposita face.
The fire-bearing Erinys sounds with her shaken whip, and holds torches scorched by funeral pyres closer and closer to my face; fierce Tisiphone, her head fortified with snakes, after the dog was taken away, has closed the empty gate with her torch held against it.
§987sed ecce proles regis inimici latet. §988Lyci nefandum semen: inviso patri §989haec dextra iam vos reddet, excutiat levis §990nervus sagittas, tela sic mitti decet §991Herculea, §991bQuo se caecus impegit furor?
But look, the offspring of the hostile king lies hidden, the unspeakable seed of Lycus: to your hated father this right hand of mine will now return you; let the light bowstring shoot its arrows; thus it is fitting for the weapons of Hercules to be sent, Amphitryon: Whither has blind madness driven itself?
§992vastum coactis flexit arcum cornibus
He has bent his vast bow, its horns forced together.