Propertius, Sextus, Elegiae

in me tardus Amor non ullas cogitat artes,

In my case slow Love devises no arts,

nec meminit notas, ut prius, ire vias.

and does not remember to go by the familiar paths, as before.

at vos, deductae quibus est pellacia lunae

But you, who have the trick of drawing down the moon

et labor in magicis sacra piare focis,

and the task of performing rites on magic hearths,

en agedum dominae mentem convertite nostrae,

come now, turn the mind of my mistress,

et facite illa meo palleat ore magis!

and make her grow paler than my face!

tunc ego crediderim Manes et sidera vobis

Then I would believe that you can lead ghosts and stars

posse Cytinaeis ducere carminibus.

with Cytinaean spells.

aut vos, qui sero lapsum revocatis, amici,

Or you, friends, who too late call back one who has fallen,

quaerite non sani pectoris auxilia.

seek aid for a heart that is not sane.

nequiquam perfusa meis unguenta capillis,

In vain was perfume poured on my hair,

ibat et expenso planta morata gradu.

and [in vain] my foot went lingering with measured step.

non hic herba valet, non hic nocturna Cytaeis,

Here no herb avails, no Cytaean witch of the night,

non Perimedaeae gramina cocta manus;

no grasses cooked by Perimede’s hand;

nam cui non ego sum fallaci praemia vati?

for to what lying seer am I not a source of gain?

quae mea non decies somnia versat anus?

what old woman does not turn over my dreams ten times?

quippe ubi nec causas nec apertos cernimus ictus,

For where we see neither causes nor open blows,

unde tamen veniant tot mala caeca via est;

the way by which so many ills nevertheless come is hidden;

non eget hic medicis, non lectis mollibus aeger,

this sick man needs no doctors, no soft beds,

huic nullum caeli tempus et aura nocet;

no season of the sky or breeze harms him;

ambulat—et subito mirantur funus amici!

he walks about — and suddenly his friends marvel at his funeral!

sic est incautum, quidquid habetur amor.

So unforeseeable is whatever is called love.

nunc, utcumque potes, fato gere saucia morem:

Now, as best you can, wounded one, bow to fate:

et deus et durus vertitur ipse dies.

both god and the hard day itself are turning.

DEFICIVNT magico torti sub carmine rhombi,

The rhombi [magic wheels] whirled to the magic chant fail,

et iacet exstincto laurus adusta foco;

and the laurel lies scorched on the dead hearth;

et iam Luna negat totiens descendere caelo,

and now the Moon refuses to come down from the sky so often,

nigraque funestum concinit omen avis.

and a black bird sings a deadly omen.

una ratis fati nostros portabit amores

One boat of fate will carry our loves,

caerula ad infernos velificata lacus.

with dusky sail, to the lakes below.

gaudet me vacuo solam tabescere lecto?

Does he rejoice that I waste away alone in an empty bed?

si placet, insultet, Lygdame, morte mea.

If he likes, let him trample on my death, Lygdamus.

non me moribus illa, sed herbis improba vicit

Not by her character but by herbs has that wicked woman beaten me:

staminea rhombi ducitur ille rota.

he is drawn along by the threaded wheel of the rhombus [magic wheel].

illum turgentis sanie portenta rubetae

Him the monstrous things of the toad swollen with venom

et lecta exsuctis anguibus ossa trahunt,

and bones gathered from dried-up snakes drag [to her],

et strigis inventae per busta iacentia plumae,

and screech-owl feathers found among fallen tombs,

cinctaque funesto lanea vitta toro.

and a woollen fillet bound round a funeral bed.

si non vana canunt mea somnia, Lygdame, testor,

If my dreams do not sing in vain, Lygdamus, I swear it,

poena erit ante meos sera sed ampla pedes;

punishment will lie before my feet, late but full;

sacra diesque canam et cognomina prisca locorum:

I shall sing of rites and days and the ancient names of places:

has meus ad metas sudet oportet equus.

towards these turning-posts my horse must sweat.

quo ruis imprudens, uage, dicere fata, Properti?

Where are you rushing, heedless, to tell fates, wandering Propertius?

non sunt a dextro condita fila colo.

The threads were not spun from a favourable distaff.

accersis lacrimas cantans, auersus Apollo:

By singing you summon tears; Apollo is turned away:

poscis ab inuita uerba pigenda lyra.

you demand from an unwilling lyre words you will regret.

certa feram certis auctoribus, aut ego uates

I will bring sure things from sure authorities, or I am a seer

nescius aerata signa mouere pila.

who does not know how to move the signs on the bronze sphere.

me creat Archytae suboles Babylonius Orops

Babylonian Orops, offspring of Archytas, begot me,

Horon, et a proauo ducta Conone domus.

Horos, and my house is descended from my forefather Conon.

di mihi sunt testes non degenerasse propinquos,

The gods are my witnesses that I have not disgraced my kin,

inque meis libris nil prius esse fide.

and that in my books nothing comes before good faith.

nunc pretium fecere deos et (fallitur auro

Now they have made a profit of the gods, and (by gold is deceived

Iuppiter) obliquae signa iterata rotae

Jupiter) of the repeated signs of the slanting wheel,

felicesque Iouis stellas Martisque rapaces

and the lucky stars of Jupiter and the rapacious ones of Mars,

et graue Saturni sidus in omne caput;

and the star of Saturn, heavy on every head;

quid moueant Pisces animosaque signa Leonis,

what the Fishes portend, and the bold sign of the Lion,

lotus et Hesperia quid Capricornus aqua.

and Capricorn, bathed in the western water.

dicam: “Troia cades, et Troica Roma, resurges;”

I shall say: “Troy, you will fall, and, Trojan Rome, you will rise again”;

et maris et terrae longa sepulcra canam.

and I shall sing of the long graves of sea and land.

dixi ego, cum geminos produceret Arria natos

I said, when Arria was sending out her twin sons

(illa dabat natis arma uetante deo):

(she was giving her sons arms, though a god forbade):

non posse ad patrios sua pila referre Penatis:

that they could not bring their spears back to their fathers’ Penates;

nempe meam firmant nunc duo busta fidem.

and indeed two tombs now confirm my credit.

quippe Lupercus, equi dum saucia protegit ora,

For Lupercus, while shielding his horse’s wounded face,

heu sibi prolapso non bene cauit equo;

alas, took poor care of himself when the horse fell;

Gallus at, in castris dum credita signa tuetur,

and Gallus, while guarding in camp the standards entrusted to him,

concidit ante aquilae rostra cruenta suae:

fell before the bloody beak of his eagle:

fatales pueri, duo funera matris auarae!

fated boys, two deaths for a greedy mother!

uera, sed inuito, contigit ista fides.

True, but against my will, that prophecy was borne out.

idem ego, cum Cinarae traheret Lucina dolores,

I too, when Lucina was drawing out Cinara’s pains,

et facerent uteri pondera lenta moram,

and the slow burden of her womb was causing delay,

Iunonis facito uotum impetrabile dixi:

said: make a vow to Juno that will be granted;

illa parit: libris est data palma meis!

she gave birth: the palm was awarded to my books!

hoc neque harenosum Libyae Iouis explicat antrum,

This neither the sandy cave of Libyan Jove explains,

aut sibi commissos fibra locuta deos,

nor the entrail that speaks of the gods entrusted to it,

aut si quis motas cornicis senserit alas,

nor anyone who has noted the moving wings of a crow,

umbraue quae magicis mortua prodit aquis:

nor the shade of the dead that rises from magic waters:

aspicienda uia est caeli uerusque per astra

you must watch the path of the sky, and through the stars the true

trames, et ab zonis quinque petenda fides.

track, and seek certainty from the five zones.

exemplum graue erit Calchas: namque Aulide it

Calchas will be a weighty example: for at Aulis he

ille bene haerentis ad pia saxa ratis;

[loosed] the ships that clung so well to the holy rocks;

nec sedeant cineri Manes, et Cerberus ultor

and may your Manes find no rest on your ashes, and may avenging Cerberus

turpia ieiuno terreat ossa sono!

terrify your foul bones with hungry howling!

docta uel Hippolytum Veneri mollire negantem,

She was skilled to soften even Hippolytus as he refused Venus,

concordique toro pessima semper auis,

and was always the worst bird of omen for a harmonious bed;

Penelopen quoque neglecto rumore mariti

even Penelope, ignoring the report of her husband,

nubere lasciuo cogeret Antinoo.

she would force to marry lustful Antinous.

illa uelit, poterit magnes non ducere ferrum,

Should she wish it, the magnet will not be able to draw iron,

et uolucris nidis esse nouerca suis.

and a bird will be a stepmother to its own nestlings.

quippe et, Collinas ad fossam mouerit herbas,

Indeed, if she brought Colline herbs to the trench,

stantia currenti diluerentur aqua:

solid things would melt away in running water:

audax cantatae leges imponere lunae

bold to impose laws on the enchanted moon

et sua nocturno fallere terga lupo,

and to disguise her body as a nocturnal wolf,

posset ut intentos astu caecare maritos,

so that by cunning she might blind watchful husbands,

cornicum immeritas eruit ungue genas;

she dug out with her nail the innocent eyes of crows;

consuluitque striges nostro de sanguine, et in me

and she consulted screech owls about my blood, and against me

hippomanes fetae semina legit equae.

gathered hippomanes, the seed of a pregnant mare.

exorabat opus uerbis, ceu blanda perure

She would win her task with pleading words, as though coaxing … could burn through,

saxosamque ferat sedula culpa uiam:

and busy wrongdoing cut a stony road: