§1Caeci parentis regimen et fessi unicum §2lateris levamen, gnata, quam tanti est mihi §3genuisse vel sic, desere infaustum patrem,
Guide of your blind parent, and the sole relief of his weary side, my daughter—whom to have begotten, even thus, is of such great value to me—abandon your ill-fated father.
§4in recta quid deflectis errantem gradum?
Why do you deflect my wandering steps into the right path?
§5permitte labi; melius inveniam viam, §6quam quaero solus, quae me ab hac vita extrahat §7et hoc nefandi capitis aspectu levet
Allow me to fall; I shall find the way better which I seek alone, the way that may extract me from this life and relieve heaven and earth from the sight of this unspeakable head.
§8caelum atque terras, quantulum hac egi manu?
How little have I accomplished with this hand?
§9non video noxae conscium nostrae diem, §10sed videor, hinc iam solve inhaerentem manum §11et patere caecum qua volet ferri pedem,
I do not see the day that is conscious of our guilt, but I seem to be seen. Release now your clinging hand from here, and suffer my blind foot to be carried wherever it wishes.
§12ibo, ibo qua praerupta protendit iuga §13meus Cithaeron, qua peragrato celer §14per saxa monte iacuit Actaeon suis §15nova praeda canibus, qua per obscurum nemus §16silvamque opacae vallis instinctas deo §17egit sorores mater et gaudens malo §18vibrante fixum praetulit thyrso caput; §19vel qua cucurrit, corpus inrisum trahens, §20Zethi iuvencus, qua per horrentes rubos §21tauri ferocis sanguis ostentat fugas; §22vel qua alta maria vertice inmenso premit §23Inoa rupes, qua scelus fugiens novum §24novumque faciens mater insiluit freto §25mersura natum seque— felices quibus §26fortuna melior tam bonas matres dedit.
I will go, I will go where my Cithaeron extends its rugged ridges, where, after swiftly traversing the mountain through the rocks, Actaeon lay as a new prey for his own hounds; where, through the dark grove and the forest of the shady valley, driven by the god, the mother chased her sisters, and, rejoicing in the disaster, carried before her the fixed head on her vibrating thyrsus; or where, dragging the mocked body, ran Zethus’s bull; where, through the bristling brambles, the blood of the fierce beast shows its flights; or where the Inoan cliff presses upon the deep seas with its immense summit, where, fleeing a new crime and committing a new one, the mother leaped into the sea, about to drown her son and herself—happy are those to whom a better fortune has given such good mothers.
§27est alius istis noster in silvis locus, §28qui me reposcit, hunc petam cursu incito; §29non haesitabit gressus, huc omni duce
There is another place of ours in those woods of yours which demands me back; I will seek this with swift pace; my step will not falter, huc robbed of every guide I will go.
§30spoliatus ibo. quid moror sedes meas?
Why do I delay to reach my proper seat?
§31mortem, Cithaeron, redde et hospitium mihi §32illud meum restitue, ut expirem senex §33ubi debui infans, recipe supplicium vetus.
Give me back death, Cithaeron, and restore to me that hospitality of mine, so that I may expire as an old man where I ought to have as an infant; receive my ancient punishment.
§34semper cruente saeve crudelis ferox, §35cum occidis et cum parcis, olim iam tuum §36est hoc cadaver: perage mandatum patris, §37iam et matris, animus gestit antiqua exsequi
Always bloody, savage, cruel, fierce, whether you kill or whether you spare, long since this corpse has been yours: execute the command of my father, and now also of my mother; my soul yearns to carry out the ancient punishments.
§38supplicia, quid me, nata, pestifero tenes
Why, my daughter, do you hold me bound by a ruinous love?
§39amore vinctum? quid tenes? genitor vocat.
Why do you hold me? My father calls.
§40sequor, sequor, iam parce, sanguineum gerens §41insigne regni Laius rapti furit; §42en ecce, inanes manibus infestis petit §43foditque vultus, nata, genitorem vides?
I follow, I follow, spare me now; bearing the bloody insignia of the stolen kingdom, Laius rages; look, behold, with hostile hands he attacks and digs at my empty face—my daughter, do you see my father?
I see him. At last spit out your hateful breath, my deserting soul, brave only against a part of yourself.
Dismiss the sluggish delays of long punishment and admit death in full.
quid segnis traho §48quod vivo? nullum facere iam possum scelus?
Why do I sluggishly drag out my living? Can I commit no crime now?
I can, miserable as I am, I predict—I depart from being a father, I depart, virgin.
timeo post matrem omnia.
I fear everything after my mother.
§51Vis nulla, genitor, a tuo nostram manum §52corpore resolvet, nemo me comitem tibi §53eripiet umquam.
No force, father, shall release my hand from your body; no one shall ever snatch me away as your companion.
Labdaci claram domum, §54opulenta ferro regna germani petant— §55pars summa magno patris e regno mea est, §56pater ipse.
Let my brothers seek Labdacus’s illustrious house and kingdoms wealthy in iron— the highest part of my father’s great kingdom is mine, my father himself.
non hunc auferet frater mihi §57Thebana rapto sceptra qui regno tenet, §58non hunc catervas alter Argolicas agens; §59non si revulso Iuppiter mundo tonet §60mediumque nostros fulmen in nexus cadat, §61manum hanc remittam.
My brother shall not take him from me, the one who holds the Theban scepter in his snatched kingdom, nor the other leading the Argolic hosts; not even if Jupiter should thunder with the shattered universe and his thunderbolt fall right into our embrace will I let go this hand.
prohibeas, genitor, licet: §62regam abnuentem, dirigam inviti gradum.
You may forbid it, father: I will guide you though you refuse, I will direct your step though you are unwilling.
§63iu plana tendis? vado;
Are you heading for the plains? I go.
praerupta appetis?
Do you seek rugged cliffs?
§64non obsto, sed praecedo;
I do not block you, but go ahead.
Use me as your guide wherever you wish; for the two of us every path is chosen: you cannot perish without me; with me, you can.
Here a high cliff rises with a steep ridge and looks far out over the spaces of the sea below: shall we seek this?
Here a bare rock hangs, here the torn earth gapes with broken jaws: shall we seek this?
Here a rapacious torrent falls and rolls away the worn-out fragments of the fallen mountain: shall we rush into this?
§73in hunc ruamus? dum prior, quo vis eo.
As long as I go first, I go wherever you wish.
I do not plead against it, nor do I urge you; do you wish to be extinguished, and is death, father, your greatest wish?
§76si moreris, antecedo: si vivis, sequor.
If you die, I go before you; if you live, I follow.
§77sed flecte mentem pectus antiquum ad voca §78victasque magno robore aerumnas doma; §79resiste: tantus in malis vinci mori est.
But turn your mind, recall your former courage, and with great strength tame the calamities you once conquered; stand firm: to be conquered in evils is as good as dying.
§80Vnde in nefanda specimen egregium domo?
Whence comes this outstanding exemplar in an unspeakable house?
§81Unde ista generi virgo dissimilis suo?
Whence this maiden so unlike her own race?
§82Fortuna, credis? aliquis est ex me pius?
Fortune, do you believe it? Is anyone from my seed pious?
§83non esset umquam, fata bene novi mea,
It should never have been, I know my fate well.