§627nec si totus serviat Hebrus §628ruraque dives iungat Hydaspes §629intraque suos currere fines §630spectet toto flumine Gangen: §631avidis, avidis natura parum est.
nor if the whole Hebrus should serve him, and wealthy Hydaspes should join his fields, and he should see Ganges run within its own boundaries with all its stream: to the greedy, to the greedy, nature is too little.
§632colit hic reges regumque lares, §633non ut presso vomere semper §634numquam cesset curvus arator §635vel mille secent arva coloni: §636solas optat quas ponat opes.
This man courts kings and the homes of kings, not so that, with the pressed plowshare, the bent plowman may never cease, or a thousand husbandmen furrow his fields: he only desires wealth which he may store up.
§637colit hic reges, calcet ut omnes §638perdatque aliquos nullumque levet: §639tantum ut noceat, cupit esse potens,
This man courts kings that he may trample on everyone, destroy some, and lift up none: only that he may do harm, he desires to be powerful.
It is rare that a man is happy and at the same time old: how small a fraction dies at the time of fate?
Those whom Cynthia saw happy, the rising day saw wretched.
§644Caespes Tyrio mollior ostro §645solet inpavidos ducere somnos; §646aurea rumpunt tecta quietem §647vigilesque trahit purpura noctes,
Turf, softer than Tyrian purple, is wont to bring fearless sleep; golden roofs break quiet, and purple drags out sleepless nights.
§648o si pateant pectora ditum!
Oh, if only the breasts of the rich lay open!
What great fears does lofty fortune stir within!
§651pulsante fretum lenior unda est;
The Bruttian wave, when Corus beats the sea, is gentler.
§652pectora pauper secura gerit.
The poor man bears a secure breast.
§653tenet e patula pocula fago, §654sed non trepida tenet illa manu; §655carpit faciles vilesque cibos, §656sed non strictos respicit enses: §657aurea miscet pocula sanguis.
He holds cups of wide-spreading beech, but he does not hold them with a trembling hand; he crops easy and cheap foods, but he does not look back at drawn swords: blood mixes golden cups.
§658coniunx modico nupta marito §659non disposito clara monili §660gestat pelagi dona rubentis, §661nec gemmiferas detrahit aures §662lapis Eoa lectus in unda, §663nec Sidonio mollis aeno §664repetita bibit lana rubores, §665nec Maeonia distinguit acu §666quae Phoebeis subditus euris §667legit Eois Ser arboribus.
The wife married to a humble husband does not, bright with arranged necklace, wear the gifts of the red sea; nor does a stone gathered in the Eastern wave weigh down her gem-bearing ears; nor does soft wool, dyed again and again in Sidonian bronze, drink red hues; nor does she embroider with Maeonian needle what the Seres, situated under Phoebus' eastern winds, gather from Eastern trees.
§668quaelibet herbae tinxere colus §669quas indoctae nevere manus: §670sed non dubios fovet illa toros.
Herbs of any kind have dyed the distaffs which untaught hands have spun: but she cherishes an undivided marriage-bed.
§671sequitur dira lampade Erinys §672quarum populi coluere diem, §673nec sibi felix pauper habetur §674nisi felices cecidisse videt.
The Fury follows with dire torch those whose wedding day the peoples have celebrated; nor does the poor man think himself happy unless he sees the fortunate fallen.
§675Quisquis medium defugit iter §676stabili numquam tramite currit: §677dum petit unum praebere diem §678patrioque puer constitit axe §679nec per solitum decurrit iter, §680sed Phoebeis ignota petens §681sidera flammis errante rota, §682secum pariter perdidit orbem.
Whoever flees the middle way never runs on a stable path: while the boy seeks to provide a single day and stood on his father's chariot, and does not run down the accustomed path, but seeking stars unknown to Phoebus' flames with wandering wheel, he destroyed the world together with himself.
§683medium caeli dum sulcat iter, §684tenuit placitas Daedalus oras §685nullique dedit nomina ponto; §686sed dum volucres vincere veras §687Icarus audet §688patriasque puer despicit alas §689Phoeboque volat proxumus ipsi, §690dedit ignoto nomina ponto: §691male pensantur magna ruinis.
While Daedalus furrows the middle path of the sky, he held the pleasant shores and gave his name to no sea; but while Icarus dares to conquer real birds, and the boy looks down on his father's wings and flies closest to Phoebus himself, he gave his name to an unknown sea: great things are poorly compensated by ruins.
Let another sound out happy and great; let no crowd call me powerful.
§694stringat tenuis litora puppis §695nec magna meas aura phaselos §696iubeat medium scindere pontum: §697transit tutos Fortuna sinus §698medioque rates quaerit in alto, §699quarum feriunt sipara nubes.
Let my slender boat graze the shores, nor let a great breeze order my skiffs to cut the mid-sea: Fortune passes by safe bays and seeks ships in the deep mid-ocean whose topsails strike the clouds.
§700Sed quid pavido territa vultu, §701qualis Baccho saucia maenas, §702fert in medium regina gradum?
But why with terrified face, like a maenad wounded by Bacchus, does the queen direct her step into our midst?
§703quae te rursus fortuna rotat?
What fortune rotates you again?
Pitiful one, tell us: though you yourself deny it, your face speaks whatever you hide.
§706Vagus per artus errat excussos tremor, §707erectus horret crinis, impulsis adhuc §708stat terror animis et cor attonitum salit §709pavidumque trepidis palpitat venis iecur, §710ut fractus austro pontus etiamnum tumet, §711quamvis quiescat languidis ventis dies, §712ita mens adhuc vexatur excusso metu.
A wandering tremor roams through my shaken limbs, my hair stands on end, terror still stands in my shocked mind, and my astounded heart leaps, and my frightened liver throbs in trembling veins: as the sea, broken by the South wind, still swells even though the day is quiet with languid winds, so my mind is still vexed by the shaken-off fear.
Assuredly, once a god has begun to oppress the happy, he presses them hard; great things have such endings.
§715Quis tam impotens, miseranda, te casus rotat?
What so uncontrollable a misfortune, O pitiful one, rotates you?
§716Vt missa palla est tabe Nessea inlita §717thalamisque maerens intuli gressum meis, §718nescio quid animus timuit, an fraudem struit?
As soon as the robe, smeared with the Nessian gore, was sent, and I, mourning, brought my steps into my chamber, my mind feared I know not what: is he contriving a fraud?
§719libet experiri, solibus dirus ferum §720flammisque Nessus sanguinem ostendi arcuit: §721hic ipse fraudes esse praemonuit dolus.
I wanted to test it: the dire Nessus forbade the wild blood to be shown to the sun's rays and flames: this very trick warned beforehand that there was fraud.
And by chance, his radiance sprinkled by no cloud, burning Titan was loosening a hot day.
§724vix ora solvi patitur etiam nunc timor.
Even now fear scarcely allows me to open my mouth.
§725medios in ignes solis eieci pavens §726quo tincta fuerat palla vestisque inlita; §727abiectus horret villus et perdit comam §728† tepefactus astris vix quoque est. monstrum elocor.
Terrified, I threw into the midst of the sun's fires the wool with which the robe had been dyed and the garment smeared; the thrown-away wool stands on end and loses its hair, and was scarcely even warmed by the stars — I speak of a marvel.
§729nives ut Eurus solvit aut tepidus Notus, §730quas vere primo lucidus perdit Mimans, §731utque evolutos frangit Ionio salo §732opposita fluctus Leucas et lassus tumor
As the East wind or the warm South wind melts the snows which bright Mimans loses in early spring, and as confronting Leucas breaks the waves rolled out in the Ionian sea, and the weary swelling...