Book I

Beginning with the earliest race of men,
Even to the latest, I will prophesy
Of all things past, and present, and to come
In the world through the wickedness of men.
And first, God bids me utter how the world
Came into being. And do thou declare,
O crafty mortal — prudently declare,
Lest ever thou disparage my commands —
How the celestial King, who made the world
And all things, said: Let it be, and it was.
For he the earth established, casting it
Round about Tartarus; and he gave forth
The soft sweet light, and raised the heaven on high,
And spread abroad the ocean's blue expanse,
And crowned the pole with hosts of brilliant stars.
And decked the earth with plants, and mixed the sea
With rivers, and the air with vapors fused.
And watery clouds. And then another race
He put forth, fishes in the seas, and gave
Birds to the blowing winds, and to the woods
The shaggy beasts, and crawling dragons vile.
And all things whatsoever now are seen.
These made he by his word, and all was done
Quickly and well. For he as self-produced
Existed sole, and looked from heaven down;
And the world was complete. And then again,
He fashioned afterward a living work,
Man, after his own image, newly formed,
Beautiful, godlike, whom in Paradise
Ambrosial he assigned a dwelling-place,
Where elegant labors might become his care.
But in that verdant field of Paradise
He was alone; discourse he longed to hold.
And much desired another form to see
Like to himself. Then opened God his side
And from it took a bone, and made fair Eve,
His wedded spouse, and in that Paradise
Brought her to dwell with him. On her he gazed,
And a great admiration held his soul,
Being suddenly rejoiced to look upon
A pattern so exact. And with wise words
He answered, words that flowed spontaneously;
For God cares for all things. And neither lust
Obscured their minds, nor from a sense of shame
Were they clothed, but remote from evil hearts,
Even like beasts they walked with limbs exposed.
Then to them also God commandments gave,
And showed them that they must not touch the tree.
But the vile serpent led them off by guile
To meet the doom of death, and to receive
Knowledge of good and evil. But the wife
First became traitress to him; she gave him.
And foolishly persuaded him to sin;
And he, persuaded by the woman's words,
Forgetful of the immortal Maker grew.
And treated plain commandments with despite.
Therefore instead of good received he evil.
According to his deed. And then, the leaves
Of the sweet fig-tree sewing, they prepared
Garments for one another, and concealed
The sexual parts, because they were ashamed.
But on them the Immortal set his wrath.
And forth he cast them from the immortal field.
For it was now appointed unto men
To dwell upon the soil, since he kept not
The word of God, the Immortal, Mighty, High.
Then went they forth upon the fertile globe,
Moistened with tears and sobs, and God himself,
The Immortal, spoke these memorable words:
"Increase and multiply, and work on earth
With skillful hand, that by your toilsome sweat
Ye may receive sufficiency of food."
Thus spoke he; but the author of deceit
Prone on the dusty earth he made to crawl,
And harshly banished; and dire enmity
He sent between them; this to save his head
Is watchful; man his heel; for death is near.
Neighbor of men and poisonous vipers sly.
And then the race was multiplied, as bade
Himself the almighty Ruler, and increased
One nation with another far and wide.
Houses of various sorts they reared aloft,
And cities and their walls they builded well
And wisely. And a long-continuing day
Was given them for the life they loved so much.
For they died not by grievous ills consumed.
But as o'ercome by sleep. Happy the men
Of great soul whom the immortal Saviour loved.
The King most high. But also they transgressed,
And gave themselves to folly; for bold-faced
They mocked their fathers, and their mothers shamed;
Acquaintances they knew not, and they met
Brothers with treason. Then became they vile,
And armed with helmets red with human gore
They also made wars; and upon them fell
The last calamity from heaven sent forth,
And took life's fears away, and Hades then
Received them. Hades it was called where first
Adam arrived when he had tasted death
And earth had covered him on all sides round.
Therefore all earthborn men are said to go
Into the halls of Hades. But all these
Having arrived in Hades have received
Honor, for they to the first race belonged.
But when these he had taken, then again
Of the surviving and most righteous men
Another race he formed, much varied, which displayed
Works pleasing, good, and fair, and high respect,
And thorough wisdom. They brought forward arts
Of all kinds, meeting difficulties with skill.
And one devised to till the land with plows,
Another worked in wood; one sailed the deep.
Another made a study of the stars;
Another practiced augury with birds;
Sorcery and magic arts were others' care;
Others intently practiced other arts,
Watchful inventors, worthy of the name
Because within they held a sleepless mind.
Immense in body, and to look upon
Compact and huge were they, but they went down
Under Tartarean chambers terrible,
Held in strong chains to expiate their crimes
In the Gehenna of burning, quenchless fire.
And after these again appeared a race,
Mighty-souled, third race of perfidious men.
Fearful and many were the evil deeds
They wrought among themselves. And these by war
And carnage and calamity were slain
Continually, having a haughty heart.
And from these afterward another race
Proceeded, late completed, fit for war.
Murderous and rash; of the fourth race were they.
Much blood they shed, nor feared they God or man,
For fierce, excessive passion urged them on,
And impious wickedness. And they by wars,
Carnage, and strife were hurled to Erebus,
Wretched and impious men. Them that survived
The heavenly God himself in wrath removed
Out of his world, and in vast Tartarus
Cast down, beneath the bottom of the earth.
Again thereafter yet another race
Much worse than men he made, for whom no good
Will ever the immortal God prepare,
Since they wrought many evils. For they were
Wanton and violent beyond compare.
Giants perverse, uttering foul blasphemies.
Single among all men, most just and true.
Was Noah, faithful, and to all good works
Attentive. And to him the Lord himself
From heaven spoke these things: "Noah, be thou bold.
And preach repentance to the people all,
That they may all be saved. But they will not
Regard it, having souls devoid of shame.
And all the impious race will I destroy
With mighty floods of waters. But straightway
I bid thee from the non-imbibing root
An indestructible house of wood to build.
I will put understanding in thy heart.
And skill in art, and measurement, and space.
And in all things will I have anxious care
That thou be saved and all that with thee dwell.
Now I am he who is (and in thy heart
Meditate it); I clothe me with the sky
And cast the sea around me; and to me
Earth is a footstool. Round my form I pour
The air, and all around me dance the stars.
Nine letters have I, and four syllables.
Mark me: The first three have two letters each,
The other has the rest, and five are mutes.
Of the whole sum the hundreds are twice eight,
And thrice three tens, with seven. Know who I am
And be not unacquainted with my love."
Thus he spoke, and a mighty trembling seized
Him who heard such things, and then in his mind,
Having prepared each matter, he implored
The people and began with words like these:
"O men, filled with all unbelief and fallen
In madness great, ye will not hide from God
Whate'er ye do, for all things he beholds,
Immortal Saviour, all-surveying. He
Bade me exhort you that ye perish not.
Be sober, cease ye from your wicked deeds,
Nor fiercely fight, nor hold a murderous heart,
Nor moisten many a land with human gore.
Adore, O mortals, the supremely great
And fearless heavenly Maker, the great God,
Imperishable, whose dwelling is the sky;
And him let all entreat, for he is good;
Entreat him for the life of all the world,
Of cities and four-footed beasts and birds.
That unto all he may be merciful.
For when the whole vast world of men shall be
By waters ruined, ye'll wail a dreadful song.
And suddenly to you the ambient air
Will be unsettled, and the wrath of God
Will come from heaven upon you; and be sure
On men the immortal Saviour it will send.
Unless God ye appease, and now repent.
And unto one another be no more
So petulant and wicked and unjust.
But with a holy life be fortified."
But when they heard him each turned up his nose;
They called him mad, a man with frenzy fired.
And then again did Noah sound this strain:
"O cowardly, vile-hearted, wavering men.
Forsaking reverence and loving shame.
Rapacious tyrants, violent transgressors.
Liars, filled with all unbelief, untrue,
Workers of evil, sly adulterers,
Flippant, and pouring slanders forth, the wrath
Of God ye do not fear, and ye are kept
To the fifth generation to atone.
Ye nowise weep, ye monsters, but ye laugh.
Sardonic smiles will ye laugh, let me say,
When God's approaching fearful flood shall come;
When a pure race on earth the wave renews.
Springing perennial from the dry, dead roots;
In one night root and branch becomes unknown.
And cities with their people from the deep
The Earth-shaker scatters and their walls destroys.
And then the whole world of unnumbered men
Shall die. But how will I weep, how lament
In wooden house! How mingle tears with waves!
For if the waters at God's word shall come,
Earth shall swim, hills swim, even air shall swim;
Water shall be all over, and all things
Shall be destroyed by waters. And the winds
Shall stand still, and a second age shall dawn.
O Phrygian, from the lofty water first
To go forth, thou another race of men
Shalt nourish up, as from another new
Beginning, and shalt be a nurse for all."
But when he to that lawless generation
Had vainly spoken thus, then the Most High
Revealed himself, and called again, and said:
"The time has come, O Noah, to make known
Each thing, whatever daily I to thee
Have promised and decreed; to execute
In all the world, because of human guilt,
All things, whatever myriad wrongs were done
By former generations. But do thou
Make haste and enter with thy sons, and wife,
And their wives. Call as many as I bid,
The tribes of beasts and creeping things and birds,
And in the breasts of such as I ordain
To keep alive will I then straight impart
The prompt and willing mind to enter in."
Thus he spoke; and he went and cried aloud.
And then his spouse and sons and their young wives
Entered the house of wood. And then straightway
Went every other thing, even as God willed.
But when the key was fitted to the lid,
Adjusted crosswise in its polished place.
Then was the will of the celestial God
Accomplished. Then he drove the gloomy clouds
Together, and concealed the sun's bright disk.
And moon and stars and circle of the heavens.
Obscuring all things; and loud thunders rolled.
Terror of mortals, and the lightnings flashed;
And all the winds together were aroused.
And all the streams of waters were unloosed.
And from heaven opened mighty cataracts.
And earth's recesses and the tireless deep
Disclosed their myriad waters, and the wide
Illimitable earth was covered o'er.
But that divine house floated with the storm,
And, tossed by many a furious wave and swept
By blast of winds along, rose fearfully.
But still the keel cut through the mass of foam,
While the loud-murmuring waters dashed around.
But when the whole world God had drowned with rains,
In Noah's mind 'twas given to understand
The purpose of the Immortal; and he went
Sufficiently in Nereus. But straightway
The lid he lifted from the polished wall,
Where crosswise it was joined with skillful stays.
And, looking out upon the mighty mass
Of boundless waters, Noah's eyes surveyed
Death all around. Fear seized him, and his heart
Quaked mightily. And then the wind was stayed
A little, for it had toiled many days
To wet the whole world; then it broke apart,
Disclosing, as if pale and stained with blood.
The great and fiery surface of the sky
Hard toil-worn. Noah difficultly held
His courage. And procuring then a dove.
He sent her forth alone to learn if the earth
Appeared yet solid; but with wearied wing
She flew around all things and returned again,
For the great water was not yet assuaged.
For greatly was it filling every place.
But having rested other days, he sent
The dove again, to learn if yet had ceased
The many waters; and she now afar
And went upon the earth, and having paused
To rest a little on the humid ground,
Again to Noah back she came, and bore
An olive-branch, the sign of tidings great.
Then was he full of boldness and great joy,
For earth he hoped to look upon again.
And thereupon another bird, black-winged.
He straight sent forth; and, trusting in his wings,
He promptly flew, and coming to the earth,
Remained there. Then knew Noah that the land
Was very near. But when the ark had tossed
Here and there on the furious waves, controlled
By skill divine, it swam o'er the sea's surge,
And was made fast upon the narrow shore.
There is upon the Phrygian main-land dark
A steep, tall mountain, Ararat by name.
Because thereon all were to be restored;
And in it there is great and strong desire.
There the great river Marsyas draws his streams.
There the ark rested on the lofty height,
The waters ceasing. Then again from heaven
Uttered the holy voice of the great God
This word: "O rescued Noah, faithful, just,
Come boldly forth with thy sons and thy wife
And their three young wives, and fill all the earth,
Increasing, multiplying, rendering justice
One to another, on from age to age,
Until to judgment all the race of men
Comes, for a judgment shall be unto all."
Thus spoke the heavenly voice, and Noah rushed
As from his couch forth boldly on the earth,
And his sons with him, his wife, and their wives,
And creeping things, and birds, and quadrupeds;
And all else from the wooden house went forth
Into one place. And then, most just of men,
Went Noah forth, the eighth, having fulfilled
Upon the waters twice one hundred days
And one; such was the will of the great God.
Then a new age of life again appeared,
First golden, which was now the sixth and best
Since man was first formed; heavenly it was called.
Because in all things it had care toward God.
O prime race of the generation sixth!
O mighty joy which I shall then obtain
When I escape dire ruin, having been
Much tossed with mine espoused, and brothers-in-law,
And husband's father and with husband's mother.
And having suffered with the wives like me.
Now I will sing: a many-colored flower
Shall on the fig-tree bloom, and in mid-time
The royal power and scepter it shall show.
For three kings, great-souled and most just of men,
Shall show the lots and reign full many a year,
Awarding justice unto men, to whom
Labor and amiable deeds are dear.
And earth productive shall show many fruits
Spontaneous, and yield much corn for the race.
And then the nursing fathers, far apart
From cold dire plagues, shall not be growing old
All their days; they will die as cast in sleep,
And pass down to the Acheronian shores.
In Hades' habitations, and down there
Shall they have honor. For they were a race
Of blessed ones, fortunate heroes, whom
The God of Sabaoth gave a noble mind;
And they shall ever in his counsels share.
And blessed shall they be, even though they come
Hades. Then again rose fierce and strong
Another second race of earthborn men,
The Titans. Like in form were each and all,
In aspect, size, and nature; and their speech
Was one, like that which from the earliest race
God formerly implanted in their minds.
But these with haughty heart against the Highest
Took counsel, hastening to destruction on,
And waging war against the starry heaven.
And then would the great ocean's flood have poured
Its maddened waters on them, but the great
Sabaoth checked and held it, though incensed,
For he had promised not to bring again
A deluge on malevolent mankind.
But when the many waters' boundless flood,
Wave rolling here and there on wave, he made
From wrath to cease, the great high-thundering God
In other depths of ocean, less profound,
Marked off the land by harbors and rough shores.
* * * *
And then the Child of the great God to men
Shall come incarnate, being fashioned like
To mortals on the earth. And he shall bear
Four vowels, and the consonants in him
Two times are told; and the whole sum I name:
For eight ones, and as many tens to these.
And yet eight hundred will the name reveal
To men who are given up to unbelief.
Now do thou in thy heart consider Christ,
The Child of the immortal God most high;
He shall fulfill God's law, and not destroy;
His image he shall bear, and teach all things.
To him shall priests come bearing gold and myrrh
And frankincense; for all things will he do.
But when a voice shall come through desert land
Preaching to men, and all, with a loud cry,
Make straight the ways, and cast forth wickedness
Out of the heart, and let men's bodies all
By water be illumined, that, being born
From above, they may never more at all
Turn from the righteous (now, won by the dance,
His head will one of barbarous mind cut off,
And give for a reward), then shall a sign
Suddenly be to men, when, guarded well,
From Egypt's land shall come a beautiful stone,
At which the Hebrews shall be scandalized.
But nations shall be gathered, led by him,
For God who rules on high shall be made known
Through him, and a way in a common light.
For life eternal he'll show men elect.
But for the lawless lasting fire prepare.
And then the sick will he heal, and all men
Worthy of blame, who will show faith in him.
Then shall the blind see, and the lame shall walk,
The deaf shall hearken, and the dumb shall speak.
Demons be cast out, and the dead be raised,
Billows he'll walk, and in the desert place.
From five loaves and a fish of the deep sea,
Will sate five thousand, and what then remains
Will fill twelve baskets for the virgin pure.
And then will Israel, drunken, not perceive,
Nor shall they hear, weighed down by sickly ears.
But when the burning wrath of the Most High
Upon the Hebrews comes, and from them faith
Be taken away, because the heavenly Child
Of God they injured, then will Israel give
With foul lips buffetings and scorn to him.
For food gall, and for drink strong vinegar
Impiously they give, with evil madness stricken
In breast and heart; not seeing with their eyes,
More blind than moles, more terrible than beasts
That crawl envenomed, fettered by deep sleep.
But when he stretches out his blameless hands
And metes out all things, and a crown of thorns
Bears, and they pierce his side with spears —
For which dark night prodigious in midday
Three hours shall come — then shall the temple
Of Solomon disclose great signs to men,
And then shall he in Hades' mansion walk,
And resurrection to the dead proclaim.
But in three days he'll come to light again
And show his form to men, and teach all things,
And in the clouds ascending will depart
Into a heavenly mansion, having left
Unto the world the gospel covenant.
And in his name shall a new sprout bloom forth
Among the nations, guided by great law.
But also after these things have transpired,
Apostles shall be guides; and afterward
Of prophets a cessation there shall be.
But when the Hebrews their ill harvest reap,
Much gold and silver will the Roman king
Plunder from them. And other princes then
Continually will be, as kings expire,
And they will oppress mortals. Great will be
The fall of those men when they shall commence
Unrighteous insolence. But when the temple
Of Solomon on ground divine shall fall,
Hurled down by barbarous men, in brazen mail,
The Hebrews shall be driven from the land,
Wandering afar, and plundered, and much tares
In the wheat will they mingle, and will stand
An evil faction among all mankind.
And all their cities, outraged, will lament
Each other, since an evil work they wrought.
Receiving the great God's wrath in their hearts.