Book IV

Book IV, Epistle 1

Receive, Sextus Pompeius, a poem composed by him, who is indebted to thee for his life. If thou dost not forbid thy name to be placed there by me, that will be added as the crowning point to thy deserts. But if thou contractest thy brow, in truth, I shall confess that I have done wrong. Still the cause of my fault is a praiseworthy one; my feelings could not be withheld from being grateful. Let not thy anger, I pray, be heavy against this affectionate mark of attachment. Oh! how often did I appear to myself ungrateful in these my books, because thou wast to be read of in no part of them! O! how often, when I was intending to write another name, has my right hand unconsciously traced thy name on the wax! My very mistake pleased me, in a slip like this; and with difficulty was the blotting out of thy name made with unwilling hand. He must see it at last, said I; though he should complain, I am ashamed that I have not deserved this censure sooner. Give me the stream of Lethe, that takes away the memory, and yet I cannot be forgetful of thee. I entreat thee to permit it to be so, and not to repel my words, as though disdained by thee; and do not consider there to be any ground for censure in my attachment. Let this slight mark of affection repay thy great deserts; but if not, I will be grateful, even against tliv will. Thy kindness was never idle about my welfare; thy chest never denied me its bounteous riches. Now too, thy benevolence, not at all alarmed by the suddenness of my downfall, gives aid to my existence, and will do so.

For what reason, perhaps thou mayst enquire, have I so great confidence in the future? Every one has regard for the work which he has completed. As the Venus, who is wringing her hair dripping with the ocean wave, is the production and the glory of the artist of Cos; as the warlike Goddess stands, formed by the hand of Phidias, the guardian, either in ivory or in bronze, of the Athenian citadel; as Calamis asserts the glory of the horses which he has made; as the heifer of Myron resembles life; so I, Sextus, not the slightest portion of thy works, am esteemed to be the gift and the produce of thy protection.

Book IV, Epistle 2

What thou art reading, O Severus, most illustrious poet of the great kings, comes even from amid the unshorn Getæ. I am ashamed (if only thou wilt allow me to speak the truth), that as yet my books have not mentioned thy name. Yet the affectionate letter, devoid of poetic numbers, has never ceased to be exchanged between us. 'Tis verses alone, signifying my grateful attachment, that have not been sent thee. For why should I send that which thou makest thyself? Who would give honey to Aristæus? wine to Falernian Bacchus? corn to Triptolemus? apples to Alcinous? Thou hast a prolific fancy, and for no one among the cultivators of Helicon does that crop spring up more abundantly. To send verses to such a one as this, would be to heap leaves in the woods. This, Severus, was the cause of my delay. Nor yet does my genius favour me, as formerly; but I plough a dry sea-shore with a barren plough-share. As, forsooth, the slime chokes up the springs in the waters, and the stream, obstructed, is kept back in the fountain stopped up, so have my abilities been destroyed by the slime of my misfortunes; and my verses flow from a less prolific source. Had any one placed Homer himself in this country, even he, believe me, would have become a Getan. Pardon the confession: I have given a loose rein to my pursuits, and few are the letters that are traced by my fingers. That holy inspiration, which fosters the genius of poets, which was once wont to exist in me, is gone. The Muse scarcely attends to her duty; scarcely, when compelled, does she give her tardy hands to the writing tablets when taken up. I have little pleasure in writing, not to say none; and I take no delight in connecting words in poetic numbers. Either it is, because I have derived no advantage thence, inasmuch as 'twas that thing that was the beginning of my woes; or, it is because it is the same thing to dance to time in the dark, as to write verses which you can read to no one. A listener sharpens one's energy; and excellence, when approved of, still increases. Applause, too, gives an immense stimulus. Here, to whom can I recite my writings, except to the yellow-haired Coralli, and the other tribes which the country of the barbarian Danube contains? But what can I do alone? and on what subject can I wear away my wretched hours of idleness, and beguile the day?? For, since neither wine, nor deceiving games of chance, have any charms for me, by means of which time is wont stealthily to pass away in silence; nor, as I could wish, if savage warfare would allow it, does the earth, renewed in its cultivation, amuse me; what remains for me but a cold solace, the Pierian maids, Goddesses who have not deserved well of me. But do thou, by whom the Aonian fountain is drunk of with more success, cherish a pursuit which turns out to thy advantage; and deservedly venerate the rites of the Muses, and send hither some production of thy recent labours, for me to read.

Book IV, Epistle 3

Shall I complain, or shall I hold my peace? Shall I write the charge without the name, or shall I will it to be known to all who thou art? I will not use thy name, lest thou shouldst be graced by my censure; and, lest fame should be obtained by thee, through my verse. So long as my bark was in good condition, with strong keel, thou wast the first to be willing to take a passage by me. Now, because Fortune has contracted her brow, thou withdrawest; at a time when thou knowest that I stand in need of thy aid. Thou feignest ignorance, too, and thou wishest not to seem to have known me; and, when thou hearest my name, thou enquirest, "Who is this Naso? I am he; although thou dost not wish to hear it, who, when almost a boy, was united with thee, then a boy, in early friendship. I am he, who was first accustomed to know thy serious thoughts, and the first to be present at thy joyous sports. I was thy comrade, and thy friend in the most intimate acquaintanceship; I was the only poet, in thy judgment; I am the same one, perfidious man, of whom thou now knowest not whether I am living, or not; about whom 'twas no care of thine to make enquiry. If I have never been dear to thee, then thou confessest to have acted the hypocrite; if thou didst not pretend it, thou wilt be proved to he inconsistent. Tell me now, come, tell me, what offence it is that has thus changed thee; for, unless thy complaint is a just one, mine is just. What thing is it that now forbids thee to be like what thou wast formerly? Dost thou call it a crime, because I began to be unfortunate? If thou didst give me no assistance in reality, and by deeds, yet there might have come from thee a paper inscribed with two or three words. For my part, I hardly believe it; but report says, that thou dost insult me thus prostrate, and art not sparing of thy words. What art thou doing, madman? Why art thou withdrawing tears from thy own wreck, supposing that Fortune should abandon thee? That Goddess confesses how changeable she is on her unsteady wheel, which she ever keeps on its edge, under her wavering foot; she is more fleeting than a leaf or than any breeze. Thy fickleness, thou faithless one, is alone equal to her. All that belongs to man is pendent from a slender thread, and that which was firm falls headlong with a sudden descent. By whom has not the wealth of the rich Croesus been heard of? and yet, as a captive, he received his life from an enemy. He who was but just now dreaded in the city of Syracuse, with difficulty repelled cruel hunger by a lowly employment. Who was greater than he styled "the Great? and yet, in his flight, with imploring voice, he entreated aid of his dependant; and the very man whom the W'hole world obeyed, was rendered more needy than all besides, Marius, the man who was made illustrious by the triumphs over Jugurtha and the Cimbri, under whom, oft as he was Consul, Rome was triumphant, lay concealed in the mud" amid the reeds of the marsh, and endured many things disgraceful to so great a man. The Divine power finds sport in the affairs of men, and the present moment hardly carries certainty. Had any one said to me, "Thou wilt go to the shores of the Euxine, and wilt be in dread, lest thou be wounded by the bow of the Getan; I would have said, Go and drink those potions that cure the mind; and whatever beside is produced in the whole of Anticyra. Yet, this I have endured; and even if I could have defended myself against mortal weapons, I could not, as well, have provided against those of the Gods. Do thou then feel apprehensive, and believe, that that can turn out sad, which, while thou art speaking, seems joyful.

Book IV, Epistle 4

No day is so far surcharged with clouds, borne by the South winds, that the showers flow in torrents without intermission. No spot is so barren, that there is not generally in it some useful plant, mingled with the rough brambles. Misfortune has made nothing so wretched, that pleasure does not diminish the evil by some cessation. Lo! I, deprived of my home, my country, and the sight of my family, am driven in my shipwreck, to the waters of the Getic shores; and yet I have found a cause for relaxing my brow and not remembering my lot.

For while, in my sadness, I was pacing the yellow sands, a wing behind me seemed to make a faint noise. I looked back: there was no person that I could see; yet, these words were caught by my ear — Behold, I, Fame, am come to thee, the messenger of joyful things, having glided along immense tracts through the air. The next year will be auspicious and happy, when Pompeius shall be Consul, than whom no one is dearer to thee. She spoke; and soon as she filled Pontus with the joyous news, the Goddess hurried her steps thence to other nations. But, my cares dispersed amid my recent joy, the intolerable ruggedness of this place was forgotten by me. Therefore, when, Janus with the two heads! thou shalt have unlocked the long year, and December shall have been expelled by the month sacred to thee, the purple of the supreme dignity shall array Pompeius, that he maybe deficient in no one of his honours. I seem already to behold the inmost parts of the house bursting with the multitude, and the people crushed for want of space: and the temple of the Tarpeian abode, for the first time entered by thee, and the Gods readily acceding to thy prayers; the snow-white bulls, too, which the Faliscan grass has fed on its plains, yielding their necks to the unerring axe. And when thou hast begged all the Gods to be propitious to thee, and some most especially; there will be Cæsar along with Jove. The Senate-house will receive thee, and the Senators, convoked according to custom, will give ear to thy words. When, with its eloquent utterance, thy voice shall have gladdened these; and, as it is wont, the day shall have produced its words of congratulation; and thou shalt have given the merited thanks to the Gods above, together with Cæsar, who will afford reason for thee often to do so: then thou shalt return home, the whole Senate accompanying thee; thy house being hardly able to hold the respectful multitude. Ah! wretched am I! that I am not to be seen in that crowd; and that my eyes will not be able to enjoy these things! Although far away, I shall behold thee, so far as I can, in my mind: it will look upon the features of its own Consul. May the Gods cause my name, at some time, to recur to thee, and thee to say — Alas! what is that unfortunate man doing? Should any one bear to me these words of thine, I will confess that my exile will at once become more endurable.

Book IV, Epistle 5

Go, humble Elegiacs, to the learned ear of the Consul, and bear words to be read by a man, honoured by his office. Long is the road, and ye speed onward, with uneven feet; and the earth lies hid, concealed under the wintry snow. After you shall have passed over cold Thrace, and Hæmon capt with clouds, and the waters of the Ionian Sea: in less than ten days you will arrive at the City, the mistress of the world, although you should not make a hurried progress. Then, straightway, let the house of Pompeius be sought by you; none is nearer to the Forum of Augustus. If any one of the multitude should inquire who ye are, and whence: let him, with deceived ear, hear any names you please. For, although it may be safe to confess, as indeed I think it is, undoubtedly a false account causes less fear. You will have no opportunity, too, of seeing the Consul, some one preventing you when you have arrived at the threshold. Either he will be ruling his own Quirites, by pronouncing judgment, when, on high, he shall be seated on the ivory chair, conspicuous with its carvings; or he will be adjusting the revenues of the people by the erected spear, and he will not allow the resources of the great City to be diminished. Or, when the Senators shall have been summoned to the temple built by Julius Cæsar, he will be transacting business worthy of so great a Consul. Or, he will be giving the wonted salutation to Augustus and his son, and will be asking advice on the duties not yet well-known to him. After these, Cæsar Germanicus will occupy all his spare time; to him he pays respect, next after the great Gods. But, when he shall have rested, after the anxieties of these matters, to you will he extend his beneficent hands: and, perhaps, he will enquire what I, your parent, am doing. I wish you to answer him in words like these: He is still living, and to thee, he confesses that he owes the life, which, in the first place, he holds as a gift from the benignant Cæsar. With grateful lips, he is wont to repeat, that thou, when he went into exile, didst point out a safe road through the lands of barbarism that through the anxiety of thy mind it was effected, that he did not make the Bistonian snow warm with his blood. That there were many presents besides added to the preservation of his hfe, that he might not exhaust his own resources. That due thanks may be returned for these kindnesses, he swears that he will be thy property for all future time; for that, first shall the mountains be destitute of the shady tree, and the seas shall have no sailing ships, and the rivers shall again return to their springs, by streams flowing upward; before gratitude for thy kindness can pass away. When you have said these things, entreat him to preserve what is his gift: and so, the purpose of your journey will have been fulfilled.

Book IV, Epistle 6

The Epistle, which thou art reading, Brutus, comes to thee from those regions in which it would not be thy wish for Naso to be. But that which thou wouldst not wish, my wretched destiny has willed. Ah me! it is more powerful than are thy desires! An Olympiad of five years has been spent by me in Scythia; time is now passing into the period of a second lustrum. For stubborn Fortune still persists, and insidiously opposes her spiteful foot to my wishes. Thou hadst resolved, Maximus, the light of the Fabian house, to speak to the Divinity of Augustus, with suppliant voice, in my behalf. Thou didst die, before thou hadst preferred thy entreaties, and I believe, Maximus, that I was the cause of thy death; not such was my value. I now dread to entrust my safety to any one. Aid itself perished with thy death, Augustus had begun to pardon my fault, committed through deception: he has abandoned my hopes, and the earth at the same moment. And yet, Brutus, I, placed here far away, have placed before thee, a poem, such as I could, on the newly-made inhabitant of the heavens. May that act of piety, be favourable to me; and may there be a limit now to my woes, and may the anger of that holy family be moderated. I could swear for certain, that thou too, Brutus, known to me by no uncertain signs, prayest the same thing. For, whereas thou hast ever shown me sincere affection, still did that affection wax stronger in the hour of adversity. Whoever had beheld thy tears and mine together, would have supposed that both of us were about to undergo punishment. Nature produced thee kind to the wretched, and gave not a more benignant heart to any one, Brutus, than to thee. So that, if any one were ignorant what is thy power in the warfare of the courts, he could hardly suppose that the accused are pursued to conviction by thy lips. In truth, it belongs to the same person, although there appears to be a discrepancy, to be gentle to the suppliant, to be terrible to the guilty. When the vindication of the rigid law has been undertaken by thee, each of thy words has, as it were, venom infused. May it be the lot of thy enemies to find how impetuous thou art in warfare, and to feel the weapons of thy tongue. These are sharpened by thee with a care so imperceptible, that all deny that thy genius belongs to that body of thine. But if thou seeest any one crushed by cruel Fortune, no woman is more pitying than are thy feelings. This I especially was sensible of; when a great part of my acquaintances denied all knowledge of me. I shall be forgetful of them, but never forgetful of you, my friends, who have anxiously alleviated my misfortunes. And first shall the Danube (too close to me, alas!) turn its course from the Euxine sea to its source; and, as though the days of the feast of Thyestes had returned, the chariot of the sun be driven towards the Eastern waves; before any one of you, who have mourned me thus torn away, can prove that I, in my ingratitude, have not remembered him.

Book IV, Epistle 7

Since, Vestalis, thou hast been sent to the waves of the Euxine, that thou mayst dispense justice in regions situate under the Pole, thou beholdest, thyself being present, in what kind of a land I am placed; and thou wilt be a witness that I am not accustomed to make idle complaints. Young man, sprung from the Alpine kings, by thy aid undoubted confidence will be given to my words. Thou thyself seeest, no doubt, that Pontus is hardened with frosts; thou thyself behold est the wine frozen with hard ice; thou thyself beholdest how the lazygian herdsman leads his laden waggons over the midst of the waters. Thou seeest, too, the poison hurled beneath the barbed steel, and the arrow bearing a double cause of death. And would that this portion had been only beheld by thee, and that it had not, too, been known by thee in personal combat I Thou didst aspire to the office of a Chief Centurion, through many a danger; an honour which of late deservedly fell to thy lot. Although this dignity be abounding for thee in plenteous advantages, yet valour itself will be the first in rank. This the Danube cannot deny, whose waters thy right hand once made red with Getic blood. This Ægypsus cannot deny, which, retaken, when thou didst enter it, was sensible that there was no advantage in the natural resources of the place; for that city was even with the clouds, on the top of a mountain ridge, and it is doubtful whether it was better defended by position or art. The savage enemy had taken it from the Sithonian king, and, victorious, possessed the intercepted wealth; until Vitellius' bore his standards, carried along the waves of the stream, among the Getæ, his soldiers having landed. But, most valiant descendant of the ancient Daunus, an impulse came on thee to go against the opposing enemy. There was no delay. Conspicuous afar, in glittering arms, thou takest care that deeds of bravery shall not he concealed; and, with rapid strides, thou advancest against both steel and the fortified place and the stones, more numerous than the hail of midwinter. Neither the multitude of javelins, hurled upon thee, nor yet the darts which are reeking with the blood of the viper, stop thee; the arrows with their coloured feathers bristle on thy helmet, and hardly is any part of thy shield without a wound; nor does thy body fortunately escape all blows, but pain is inferior to the love of glory. In such manner, at Troy, Ajax is said in defence of the Grecian ships to have warded off the torches hurled by Hector. When thou hadst now approached nearer, and the combat was hand to hand, and the fight could be waged with the fierce sword at close quarters; 'tis difficult to say what thy courage there performed, and how many thou didst put to death, and whom, and in what manner. Thou, victorious, didst tread upon heaps made by thy sword; and many a Getan was under thy foot placed upon him. The next in rank fights after the example of the Chief Centurion; and the soldiers both give and receive many a wound; but thy valour as much outshines the others, as Pegasus did in speed the swift horses, Ægypsus is taken; and, Vestalis, thy exploits have been attested in my verse to future time.

Book IV, Epistle 8

Suillius, graced by studious pursuits, thy letter arrived here safe, late, but still pleasing to me. In it, thou sayest that if affectionate esteem can soften the Gods above by entreaties, thou wilt give me assistance. Though hitherto thou hast availed nothing, I am indebted for thy friendly disposition; and I call it a kindness to have the wish to aid. May only this anxiety of thine last to a late period; and may thy affection be not worn out by my misfortunes. The links of connexion make a certain tie between us; and that they may ever remain unbroken, is my prayer. For she who is thy wife, the same is almost my daughter: and she who calls thee son-in-law, calls me husband. Wretched am I, if thou contractest thy brow when thou readest these lines, and art ashamed to be my connexion! But thou wilt be able to find here nothing deserving of shame, except Fortune, who proved blind for me. Shouldst thou trace my pedigree; we shall be found to be Knights, from the earliest stock, even through unnumbered ancestors. Shouldst thou wish to enquire what is my character; take away my mistake from wretched me, and it is free from blemish. Only do thou, if thou shalt have a hope that anything can be done by entreaty, implore the Deities, with suppliant voice, whom thou dost venerate. Thy Gods are the youthful Cæsar; appease thy own Divinities; assuredly no altar is better known to thee than this. It never suffers the entreaties of its worshippers to be in vain; hence seek relief for my fortunes. Should it aid me with a breeze ever so small, my sunk bark will rise again from the midst of the waves. Then will I offer the solemn frankincense in the burning flames, and I will testify how great is the power of the Gods. But I will not erect to thee, Germanicus, a temple of Parian marble. This downfall has diminished my property; let thy own family and rich cities erect temples to thee; Naso will show his gratitude with his verses, which are his wealth. I confess, indeed, that but small gifts are returned for large ones, when I give but words in return for my deliverance granted to me. But he is abundantly grateful, who gives the most he can; affection thereby reaches its limits. The frankincense which the poor man offers to the Gods out of the little censer, is not less availing than that which is offered out of a broad charger. The sucking lamb, too, just as much as the victim fed on the Fahscan pasturage, when slain, stains with its blood the Tarpeian altars. And indeed, nothing is more pleasing to men of regal dignity than gratitude expressed through the verse of poets. Verses perform the heralding of your praises, and they provide that the fame of your actions be not fleeting. By verse is valour made immortal; and, free from death, it obtains the notice of late posterity. Decaying age consumes both iron and stone; and no one thing has greater power than time. Writings survive the length of years; through writings hast thou known of Agamemnon, and who bore arms against him, or who, with him. Who, without verse, could have known of Thebes and the seven chiefs, and of what took place after these things, and what before? The Gods, too, (if I may be allowed to say so,) exist through poetry; and majesty so great has need of the voice of one to celebrate it.

'Tis thus we know that Chaos, when divided, derived its parts from that original mass of early nature; thus, that the Giants aspiring to the realms of heaven were hurled to Styx by the storm-bearing fires of the Avenger. 'Twas thus that the victorious Bacchus received glory from the conquest of the Indians; Alcides, from the taking of Œchalia; and lately, in some degree, verse hallowed thy grand sire, whom his virtues added to the number of the stars. If then, there is any life at all still remaining in my genius, it shall all be at thy service. Thyself a poet, thou canst not despise the homage of a poet; according to thy own judgment, that pursuit has its worth; and had not so great an influence invited thee to loftier objects, thou wouldst have been the especial glory of the Pierian maids. But it was more glorious to afford us a subject-matter, than verses; and yet thou canst not entirely abandon them. For at one time thou art waging war; at another, thou art fitting thy words into measure, and what is a business to others, the same is a sport to thee. And as Apollo is slow at neither the lyre, nor the bow, but either string comes in contact with his sacred hands; so art thou defective in neither the arts of the scholar nor those of the Prince; but the Muse is united with Jove in thy intellect. And inasmuch as she has not removed me from that stream, which the hollowed hoof of the Gorgon steed has formed, may she aid me, and may she give me assistance in performing the rites that are common to us, and in applying my hand to the same pursuits; in order that I may, at length, escape from the shores too much exposed to the Coralli clad in hides, and from the cruel Getæ; and, if my country is shut against wretched me, that I may be located in any place, that is less distant from the Ausonian City; from which I may be able to sing thy new-born praises, and to relate thy great exploits, with the least possible delay.

Implore for one who is almost thy step-father, dear Suillius, that this prayer may influence the Divinities of the heavens.

Book IV, Epistle 9

Naso sends thee this salutation, Græcinus, from the Euxine waves, from a spot whence it is permitted him, not whence he delights, to do so. And may the Gods grant that, thus sent, it may arrive on that morn, which shall be the first to present thee with the twice six fasces. And since without me, thou, as Consul, wilt approach the Capitol, and I shall not be a portion of thy retinue; let my letter act the part of its master, and perform the duty of thy friend on the day appointed. Had I been born under better destinies, and had my chariot sped onward with unbroken wheel, my tongue would have performed the duty of saluting thee, which now my hand discharges, by means of my writing. Congratulating thee, I would have given thee kisses with complimentary words; and that honour would not have less been mine than thy own. On that day (I confess it) I should have been so proud, that hardly any house could have contained my pride. And while the body of the venerable Senate attended at thy side, I, of Equestrian rank, should have been seen going before the feet of the Consul. And although I could wish ever to be close to thee, I should have rejoiced not to have had my place at thy side. And I should not have been complaining, even if I had been squeezed by the crowd; but it would then have been a pleasure to me to be pressed by the populace. I should have beheld, in my joy, how lengthened was the train of the procession, and how dense a crowd occupied the long road. And that thou mayst the better know how trifling matters influence me, I should have looked to see what kind of purple clothed thee. I should also have observed the wrought statues on the curule chair, and all the sculptured work of the Numidian tusk. And when thou shouldst have been escorted to the Tarpeian heights, until the devoted victim should fall by thy order, the great God, who dwells in the midst of the temple, should have heard me in secret giving him thanks. I would also have offered frankincense, with a mind three or four times more bounteous than the charger containing it, overjoyed by the honours of thy dignity. Here should I have been numbered among thy friends then present: if only my destinies had auspiciously given me permission to be in the City: and that pleasure which now is conceived by my mind, could then have been enjoyed by my eyes. It seemed not thus to the inhabitants of heaven, and perhaps, with justice; for what can it avail me to deny the cause of my punishment? And yet I will use my mental powers, which alone are not banished from the spot, and so will I behold thy Consular robe and thy Fasces. They only shall behold thee, dispensing justice to the people, and shall feign to be present in thy places of privacy. At one moment, they shall behold thee setting up to auction, under the spear, the revenues of a long lustrum, and letting out each thing with a scrupulous fidelity; at another time, eloquently speaking in the midst of the Senate, discussing what the public welfare requires; at another time, decreeing thanks to the Gods above, on account of the Cæsars, and striking the white necks of the choice bulls.

And would that, when thou shalt have already prayed for things of more consequence, thou wouldst entreat that the wrath of the Deity against me be appeased! May, at these words, the sacred fire shoot upwards from the laden altar, and may the pointed flame, in its brilliancy, give a good omen to thy prayers. Meanwhile, in so far as I may, that I may not ever be in querulous mood, I will celebrate here, too, the festive day on thy Consulship. Another cause of joy, and one that yields not to the first — thy brother shall be thy successor in an honour so great. For, as thy rule, Græcinus, is finished on the last day of December, he commences it on the day of Janus; and, such is the affection between you, you will share your joys alternately, thou in the Consular dignity of thy brother, he in thine. Thus thou wilt have become twice Consul, and twice Consul, he: and in thy family will be beheld a twofold honour: which, great though it is, and though Rome sprung from Mars, beholds no sway more lofty than that: of the supreme Consul; yet the dignity of the giver amplifies this honour, and a thing that is given partakes of the majesty of him who confers it. May it, then, be granted thy brother Flaccus, and thyself, to enjoy such marks of the good opinion of Augustus at all times. But when you shall have leisure, from the care of affairs more connected with yourselves, I entreat you, add your prayers to mine. And if the breeze shall at all swell the sail, loosen the ropes, "that my bark may take its departure from the Stygian waters. Flaccus was lately the governor of these regions, Græcinus; and, under his rule, the savage banks of the Danube were in safety. He kept the Mysian nations in constant peace; he, by hi sword, alarmed the Getæ that trust in the bow. By prompt valour he recovered Trosmis, that had been taken, and tinted the Danube with barbarian blood. Inquire of him, what is the aspect of this spot? and what are the miseries of a Scythian climate? and by how near an enemy I am kept in alarm? whether or not the slender arrows are dipt in the venom of the serpent? or whether human lives are not the sad victims? whether I tell an untruth, or the hardened ocean freezes with the cold, and the ice extends many hundred yards" out to sea? When he has told thee these things, inquire of him what is said of me, and ask in what manner I spend my tedious time. I am not hated here, nor, in truth, do I deserve to be; and my disposition has not changed together with my fortune. That peace of mind remains, which thou wast wont to praise, that former modest demeanour, as usual, on my countenance. Thus am I far away, thus am I here, where a barbarian enemy causes cruel arms to have more power than laws; whereas no woman, man or boy, Græcinus, for now so many years, can have any ground of complaint against me. This is the cause, why the people of Tomi wish me well, and assist me, since this land can testify in my favour. They prefer that I should depart, because they see that I wish it; yet, in regard to themselves, they wish me to be here. And shouldst thou not beheve me; there are decrees in existence in which the public records praise me, and make me exempt from impost. Although this boasting is not befitting the unfortunate, the neighbouring towns grant me the same privileges.

My piety, too, is not unknown; this stranger land sees a shrine of Cæsar existing in my house. Together with him, stand his affectionate son, and his wife as his priestess; Deities not less than him who has lately been consecrated a God. And that no part of the family may be wanting, each of his grandsons stands there, the one, next to the side of his grandmother, the other, to that of his father. As oft as the day arises from the Eastern quarter, so often do I offer suppliant words to these, together with frankincense. The whole of the Pontic land, attesting my dutifulness, shouldst thou enquire, will say that I do not invent this. The Pontic land knows that I celebrate the birth-day of the Divinity with sports as worthy as I can, in this country. And not less is my duty, in this respect, known to strangers, if at any time the extensive Propontis has sent any persons to these seas. Thy brother also, under whose government were the districts of Pontus on the left, may, perhaps, have heard of these things. My fortune is not equal to my heart, and in such duties, though poor, I willingly expend my little property. Nor do I, far removed from the City, present these things to your eyes; but I am content with silent acts of piety. And yet these things will some day reach the ears of Cæsar; there is nothing which passes throughout the whole world concealed from him. Doubtless thou knowest of this, and beholdest it, Cæsar, summoned to the Gods above! since now the earth is exposed to thy eyes. Placed among the stars fixed in the arch of the sky, thou hearest my prayers, which I utter with anxious lips. Perhaps, too, those verses may arrive thither, which I have sent, about thee, newly made an inhabitant of heaven. I divine that, by means of these, thy Divinity will be appeased; and, not undeservedly, dost thou bear the benign name of Father.

Book IV, Epistle 10

The sixth summer is being passed by me, here, on the Cimmerian shore, to be spent among the Getæ, wrapped in skins. And dost thou, my dearest Albinovanus, compare flint stones, or iron, to my hardships? The drop hollows out the stone; the ring is worn by use, and the curving ploughshare is rubbed away by the pressure of the earth. Will, then, devouring Time consume everything except me? Even death, overcome by my hardships, is tardy in its approach. Ulysses is an instance of a mind extremely patient; he who was tost on the fitful ocean during ten years; but yet he did not endure the whole of that term, full of the anxieties of his destiny; there were frequently pauses of quietude. Was it a hard thing for him, during six years, to embrace the beauteous Calypso, and to share the bed of a Goddess of the Sea?? The son of Hippotas entertained him; he who gave him the winds as his gift, that a serviceable breeze might bend his impelled sails. It was no hardship to listen to the Sirens, damsels that sang so well, and the lotus was not bitter to him that tasted it. I would buy the potions that cause forgetfulness of one's country, at the price of half my life, were they but saleable; nor couldst thou ever compare the city of the Læstrygon, to the nations which the Danube passes with its winding stream. The Cyclop, too, will not surpass Phyaces in cruelty; how large a part of my dread is he wont to form! Although Scylla is lurking, with fierce monsters, downward from her amputated groin; the ships of the Heniochi do more injury to mariners; and thou canst not compare Charybdis with the hostile Achæi, although she thrice vomits forth the brine that she has thrice sucked up. Although these roam more at large, on the coasts on the righthand side of the Euxine Sea, still they do not allow this side to be free from anxiety. Here are fields without trees, here are arrows dipped in venom, here the winter makes the sea passable even on foot; so that the traveller, despising the ship, may go with dry feet, where the oar had lately made a path by impelling the waves. Those who come from your parts, say that you hardly believe these things. How wretched is he, who endures things more dreadful than can be believed! Yet, do believe me, and I will not allow thee to remain ignorant of the reasons why the cold winter hardens the Sarmatian Sea. The Constellation that bears the form of a wain, and that brings extreme cold, is near to us. In these parts Boreas arises; he is familiar with these coasts, and he derives his strength from a neighbouring region; but the South Wind, which breathes warmly from the opposite pole, is far away, and comes but seldom and faint. Besides, here mingle the rivers with the inclosed Euxine Sea, and the ocean loses its power, from the multitude of streams. Hither do the Lycus, the Sagaris, the Penius, the Hypanis, and the Crates flow onwards to the sea, and the Halys, whirling with many a pool; and the rapid Parthenius, and the Cynapes, carrying along rocks, rolls on, and the Tyras, that is more sluggish than no other river. And thou, Thermodon, well known to the female squadrons, and thou too, Phasis, once sought by the men of Greece. The most pellucid Dryaspes, too, with the stream of the Borysthenes, and the Melanthus silently pacing on his quiet way; the river, too, which separates the two lands, Asia and the sister of Cadmus, and makes his path between them both; and innumerable others, the greatest among all which, the Danube, denies that he yields the palm to thee, O Nilus. Such an abundance of streams, taints the waters which they increase; and permit not the sea to retain its strength of current. Moreover, just like a standing pool, and a sluggish swamp, it is of colour hardly azure, and its native hue is modified. Fresh water swims on the surface of the deep, and is lighter than the sea water; which derives its peculiar weight from the admixture of salt.

Should any one inquire why these things are told to Pedo, and what is the use of mentioning them in measured numbers; I will tell them, I have worn away the time and I have beguiled my cares; this advantage has the present hour brought to me. While I have been writing these things, I was far removed from my usual sorrows; and I was not sensible that I was in the midst of the Getæ. But thou, I doubt not, when in thy verse thou art praising Theseus, dost defend the reputation of thy subject, and thou dost imitate the hero of whom thou art singing. He certainly forbids friendship to be the waiter upon times of prosperity. Although he is an hero, mighty in his exploits, and is celebrated by thee, in language in which he ought to be sung, yet in him there is something worthy to be imitated by us, and any one can be a Theseus in attachment. Foes have not to be subdued by thee, with the sword and with the club, by reason of whom the Isthmus of Corinth was hardly passable by any one; but affection must be shewn, not a difficult matter to him who is willing. What labour is it not to have violated sincere attachment. Thou must not suppose that these things have been said with complaining tongue to thee, who remainest throughout constant to thy friend.

Book IV, Epistle 11

Gallio! the fault will be hardly excusable by me, that thou hast not received praise in my verse; for thou, too, (as I remember), with thy tears didst foment my wounds, that were made by the celestial spear; and, would that, afflicted by the loss of thy friend thus snatched away, thou hadst felt no reason besides, why thou shouldst grieve! It pleased not thus the Gods, who, in their cruelty did not think it wrong to deprive thee of thy chaste wife. For a letter lately came to me, the messenger of woe, and thy loss was read of by me with tears. But I would not dare, in my folly, to console so wise a man, and repeat to thee the well-known sayings of the learned; I suppose, too, that thy grief has terminated by this, through the very length of time, if not on principle. While thy letter was arriving, while mine, returning, is passing over so many seas and lands, a whole year passes away. To offer consolation, is the duty of a certain space of time; so long as grief is in full career, and while the afflicted seeks relief; but, when length of time has lulled the wounds of the mind, he who unseasonably foments them, renews them.

Besides, (and may this omen be a true one for thee!) thou mayst by this time be happy in a new marriage.

Book IV, Epistle 12

It is caused by the nature of thy name, that thou art not named, my friend, in my books. But I would deem no one worthy of honour sooner than that; if only my verses are any honour. The law of poetical measure, and the nature of the name, impede this act of duty; and there is no way for thee to take a place in my numbers. For I am ashamed so to distribute thy name into two lines, that the first one may end, and the second, begin with it. I should be ashamed, too, if, in the part of the wordy where a stress is laid on the syllable, I should pronounce thy name short, and call thee Tuticanus? and thou canst not be introduced in a line under the form of Tuticanus; so that the first syllable be made short out of a long one. Or, suppose the syllable is made long, which is now pronounced short; and the second syllable is long with an extended pause. If, by these blemishes I should dare to spoil thy name, I should be laughed at, and I should deservedly be denied to be the possessor of judgment. This was the cause of my deferring this tribute, which my resources shall now pay with the addition of interest. And under an indication of some sort, I vill celebrate thee; I will send thee my verses, oh thou that wast known when almost a boy to me when almost a boy as well; and that hast been beloved by me not less than as a brother by a brother through a series of years, as long as we both of us have lived. Thou wast my kind adviser, thou wast my guardian and my companion, while I guided the reins but newly assumed with inexperienced hand. Often, under thy criticism, have I corrected my works; often, by my recommendation, was an alteration made by thee; when the Pierian maid instructed thee to write the Phaeacian poem, worthy of even Mæonian paper. This even course, this unison, commenced in early youth, continued unimpaired until our hair was grey. And if these things move thee not, I could believe that thy breast is of hard iron, or enclosed in infrangible adamant.

But, first, may war and frosts, which two evils Pontus so hateful to me possesses, cease from off this land, and may Boreas become warm, and the South wind intensely cold, and may my lot become more endurable; before thy feelings are hardened against thy ruined companion. May this burden not be added to my woes; and it is not added. Only do thou, by the Gods of heaven, of whom he is the most unwavering, under whose rule thy honours have continually increased, effect by defending me, an exile, with constant attachment, that the desired breeze desert not my bark. Dost thou ask, what I would recommend? May I die, if I am not almost unable to say; if only, the person who is dead can die again, I neither know what to do, nor what to wish, or not to wish; and my own interests are not well ascertained by me. Believe me, prudence is the first thing to forsake the distressed, and common sense and judgment take flight together with prosperity. Do thou thyself, I pray, consider in what respect I can be assisted, and through what channel thou canst make a passage to the attainment of my desires.

Book IV, Epistle 13

O thou, not to be numbered among my wavering acquaintances, hail thou who art called Carus, a thing which thou really art. The colour which this letter bears, and the composition of my verse, can be at once a sign to thee from what quarter thou receivest this salutation; not that my composition ift wonderful, but neither is it, assuredly, common-place; but, of whatever nature it is, it is evident that it is mine. Thou, too, thyself, though thou shouldst tear off the superscription from the top of the paper, I still seem able to pronounce what is thy composition. Placed among ever so many works, thou art recognized, and thou wilt be found, through indications which have been remarked.

The strength which we know to be worthy of Hercules, and equal to the might of him of whom thou art singing, betrays its author; my Muse, too, betrayed by her peculiar qualities, may perhaps be remarkable through her own blemishes. As much did his ugly shape hinder Thersites from lying concealed, as Nireus was conspicuous for his beauteous one; and it will not be right for thee to be surprised, if the verses are faulty, which I, now become almost a Getic poet, compose.

Ah! I am ashamed to own it; I have composed a work in the Getic language, and barbarian words have been arranged into my measures. I have given satisfaction, too; congratulate me! I have begun to have the reputation of a poet among the savage Getæ. Dost thou enquire what was my subject? I have sung the praises of Cæsar. My new attempt was aided by the inspiration of the Divinity; for I have shewn that the body of our father Augustus was mortal; that his spirit has departed to the aethereal abodes; that he who, by compulsion, has assumed the reins of empire, often refused by him, is equal to his father; that thou, Livia, art the Vesta of chaste matrons; and that it is a matter of doubt whether thou art more worthy of thy son, or of thy husband; that there are two youths, the firm supports of their father, who have given sure indications of their disposition. When I read through these verses, written not in the song of my country, and the last page came to my hands, all moved both their heads and their full quivers, and there was a prolonged applause in the mouths of the Getæ; and one said, Since thou writest these things about Cæsar, thou oughtst to be restored by the command of Cæsar. He, indeed, said so; but now, Carus, the sixth winter beholds, me removed under the snowy pole.

My verses avail me not; once did my verses injure me, and they were the first cause of so wretched a banishment; but do thou, by the common ties of our sacred pursuits, by the name of friendship not despised by thee, aid me; then may Germanicus afford a subject-matter for the scope of thy genius, the foe being captive in Latian chains. May the youths prosper, the common anxiety of the Gods, whom, it is thy great honour to have had entrusted to thee to educate; do thou give all the influence that thou canst to my preservation, which will not be achieved, except by a change of my place of exile.

Book IV, Epistle 14

These lines are sent to thee, whom I lately complained of as not having a name suited to my measure.

In them, thou wilt find nothing to give thee pleasure, except that I am still pretty well; even health is hateful to me, and my most earnest wish is, forsooth, to depart some way or other from these regions. I have no anxiety but to leave this land; for any one will be more pleasing than this which I behold. Send my sails into the midst of the Syrtes, into the midst of Charybdis, so that I may depart from my present locality. Styx, even, if there is such a thing, will be a good exchange for the Danube; and if there is anything besides that the world contains lower than Styx.

The tilled field less dreads weeds, the swallow less dreads the winter, than Naso does the places adjacent to the Getæ, the worshippers of Mars. The people of Tomi are angry with me, on account of such expressions, and the public displeasure has been excited by my lines. Shall I, then, never cease to receive injury through my verses, and shall I be everlastingly punished by an imprudent disposition? Why do I delay cutting off my fingers, that I may not write? and why, in my madness, do I still adhere to the weapons which have been my ruin? Again I turn to the wonted rocks, and to those waves, in which my shipwrecked bark was dashed. But, I have done nothing; it is no fault of mine, ye people of Tomi, whom I esteem, although I utterly hate your place.

Let any one examine the records of my labours; my letters have made no complaints about you. I complain of the cold, and of incursions to be dreaded on every side, and that the fortifications are shaken by the enemy. I have uttered charges, most truthful, against the locality, not against the people: even you yourselves often condemn your own soil.

The Muse of Hesiod, the old man that was devoted to agriculture, dared to show us why his own Ascra should always be shunned. But he who wrote was born in that land; and yet Ascra was not exasperated against her own poet. Who loved his country better than the sagacious Ulysses? And yet, by his showing, the ruggedness of the place has become known. Scepsius did not attack places, but manners, in his bitter remarks, and Rome herself vas accused. And yet she bore these false charges with equanimity, and an abusive tongue was no injury to its owner. But an unskilful interpreter excites the wrath of the people against me, and calls on my lines to answer a fresh charge. Would that I were as fortunate, as I am pure in my heart. No man is yet in existence that has been wounded by my tongue. Besides, had I been blacker even than Illyrian pitch, the friendly multitude should not have been slandered by me. My exile, kindly entertained by you, people of Tomi, shows that men of such gentle manners are Greeks. The Peligni, my people, and Sulmo, my native place, could not have been more affectionate to me, in my misfortune. That honour was lately conferred by you on me, which you would scarcely grant to any one flourishing and prosperous. As yet, I am the only one that is exempt from impost in your country; except those who have these privileges by law. My temples have been wreathed with a sacred garland, which the public favour bestowed on me, reluctant to accept it. As pleasing, therefore, as the land of Delos was to Latona, which alone afforded her a place of safety, in her wanderings; so dear to me is Tomi; which, in its hospitality, remains faithful up to the present moment to me banished from my country. Oh! that the Gods would only grant, that it might but afford a hope of tranquil peace, and that it could be further off from the freezing pole.

Book IV, Epistle 15

If there is still any one in existence not unforgetful of me, or who enquires what I, Naso, sent afar, am doing; let him know that I owe my life to the Cæsars, my safety to Sextus Pompeius. After the Gods above, he shall be the first in my esteem. For, though I should embrace all the season of my wretched life no one part of it is without his kindnesses. These are as many in number as the crimson grains under the thin rind of the pomegranate, that blush in the beds of a fertile garden; as the ears of standing corn that Africa, the grapes that the land of Tmolus, the olives that Sicyon, the honeycomb that Hybla produces. I confess it; you may attest it; sign it, ye Quirites. There is no need for the authority of the laws; I myself say so. Put me too, but a trifling matter, among thy patrimonial possessions; let me be a part, however small, of thy property. As much as Trinacria is thine, and Macedonia, the land that was ruled over by Philip; as much as thy house, that adjoins the Forum of Augustus; as much as thy Campania, thy country domain, is pleasing to the eyes of its owner, and the rest which thou possessest, Sextus, either as left to thee or bought; so much am I thy property; by reason of which melancholy gift thou canst not say that thou possessest nothing in Pontus. And, oh! that thou didst not, and that a more genial soil were granted me; and, that thou wouldst hold thy property on a preferable spot! And since it rests with the Gods, attempt to soothe the Divinities, whom thou worshippest with unceasing veneration: for, it is hard to discover, whether thou art more a proof of my mistake, or its consolation. And I do not entreat thee in uncertainty: but often, the speed of the flowing water, as we go along with the stream, is increased by rowing. I am ashamed, and I dread to be always making the same entreaties, lest a justified tedium should take possession of thy feelings. But what shall I do? Desire is a thing that knows no bounds. Pardon, kind friend, my failing. Often, when I wish to write something else, I glide into that subject: my very letters of themselves ask for another place of exile.

But whether thy favour is to have effect, or whether cruel Destiny bids me die under the freezing pole; I shall ever recall to mind thy unforgotten services; and my country shall hear that I am thine. Each other country besides, that is situate under this sky, shall hear of it, if only my song travels beyond the savage Getæ; and shall know that thou wast the cause and the guardian of my safety, and that I am thine, less only the coin and the balance.

Book IV, Epistle 16

Thou envious man, why dost thou pull to pieces the verses of Naso, who is no more? Death is not wont to injure genius. Greater fame, too, arises when we are no more; and I had reputation even when I was numbered with the living. When Marsus was existing, and Rabirius, with his nervous language, and Macer, the bard of Ilium, and Pedo the poet of the stars, and Carus, who, by his Hercules, would have offended Juno, had he not now been the son-in-law of Juno; and Severus, who gave a regal poem to Latium, and either Priscus, with their elegant poems on Numa. And thou, Montanus, who excellest either in unequal or equal measures, and who hast a celebrity in two kinds of verse. Sabinus, too, who bade Ulysses, the wanderer for ten years ever the raging seas, write an answer to Penelope; and who left his Trœzene and his work upon the Days unfinished, by reason of his premature death. Largus, too, who is called by the epithet belonging to his genius, he who brought the Phrygian sage to the Gallic plains. Camberinus as well, who sings of Troy subdued by Hercules; the Etrurian also, who derives his reputation from his Phyllis. The poet, too, of the sail-covered sea, for whom you might suppose that the azure Deities had composed his verses. He, too, who sang the Libyan armies and the Roman battles; and Marcus, skilled in every kind of composition; and the Trinacrian, author of his song on Perseus, and Lupus, the author of the return home of the descendant of Tantalus, and of the daughter of Tyndarus. Tuticanus, too, who translated the Mæonian song of Alcinous the Phoenician, and together with him, thou too, Rufus, the performer on the Pindaric lyre. The Muse, too, that is supported on the tragic buskins of Turranius; and thy Muse, Melissus, sportive with the sock of comedy. While Varus' and Gracchus were describing the fierce boastings of their Tyrants, Proculus was following the wanton path of Callimachus. There was Tityrus, too, who was feeding his sheep on his paternal pastures, and Gratius' was giving proper weapons to the hunter. Fontanus sang of the Naiads, beloved by the Satyrs, and Capella included his words in unequal measures. And though there were others, the names of all of whom 'twould take a long time to recount, whose verses the public possesses; and there were other young men, whom I have no right to mention by name, as their labours are as yet unpublished; still I could not venture, Cotta, to pass thee in silence in the throng. Thou light of the Pierian maids, thou guardian of the bar; to whom the highest nobility of the blood on both sides has given the Cottæ as the maternal, the Messalæ as the paternal ancestors. If I may be allowed to say so, my Muse was one of illustrious name, and was one that was read even amid authors so great. Therefore, Envy, cease to defame one removed from his country, and do not, inhuman man, scatter my ashes. I have lost everything. Life alone is left, that it may afford matter for my woes and the power of feeling them. Of what use is it to plunge the sword into the lifeless limbs? By this time, a fresh wound can find no place unhurt in me for its infliction.