Book XI (XIII)

Marching against the Assyrians, a new Mars,
Who will stretch out to the deep silver stream
Of the Euphrates, having thither sent
A little warlike force . . . [through ignorance]
For, by his friend abandoned, he shall fall
Amid the ranks, struck by the burning iron.
Then will a purple-loving warrior rule.
Appearing out of Syria, fear of Mars,
And by his son, a Caesar, will persuade
The whole world. Both their names will be obtained
If upon one and twenty there are placed
Five hundred. But when these shall rule in war,
And enact laws, there shall be, but not long,
Respite from war. But when unto a flock
A wolf makes oath against the white-toothed dogs,
Then will he spoil and hurt the woolly sheep,
And cast them down, in spite of all his oaths.
And then of lawless and perfidious kings
There shall be strife in wars, and terribly
Shall the Syrians be destroyed, and Indians,
Armenians, Arabs, Persians, Babylonians,
Through mighty conflict shall destroy each other.
But when a Roman Mars shall overthrow
The Germans, having in a dreadful war
Triumphed upon the ocean, then will be
Among the Persian men of insolence
A war of many years; but victory
Shall not be theirs. For as a fish swims not
Upon the summit of a lofty rock
Many ridged, windy, inaccessible,
Nor does a tortoise fly, nor eagle swim
In water, so the Persians in that day
From victory shall be far, while the fond nurse
Of the Italians in the plain of Nile
Reposing, and beside the sacred wave.
Shall send the appointed lot to seven-hilled Rome.
These things shall pass, but while the name of Rome
Shall numbers hold of calculable time,
So many years by voluntary act
Will the great noble city of the king
Of Macedonia measure out the grain.
Another toilsome song will I now sing
Unto the Alexandrians, by the strife
Of shameful men destroyed. Those who were strong
Aforetime, being then weak, will wish
For peace, because of leaders' wickedness.
And the wrath of the mighty God shall come
On the Assyrians, and a mountain stream
Shall utterly destroy them, as it comes
And injures Caesar's city of the moon.
The Pyramus will irrigate the city
Of Mopsus; then shall the Aegeans fall
Because of battle among mighty men.
O wretched Antioch, thee heavy war
Will not leave; an Assyrian war shall press
Around thee, for within thy palaces
Shall dwell a chief of men, who will fight all
The arrow-hurling Persians, having been
Himself born of the Romans' royal power.
Now, cities of Arabia, deck yourselves
With temples and with stadia for the race.
And with broad markets, and with splendid wealth,
With images, gold, silver, ivory;
And of all thou, especially, O Bostra,
City of Philip, that thou mayest come
Into great sorrow; for the laughing forms
Of the zodiacal circle. Ram, and Bull,
And Twins, will not assist thee; nor with these
Whatever stars are visible in heaven
Determining the hours. O wretched one,
That, having trusted many, afterward
That very man should what is thine pollute!
Now to war-loving Alexandrians
Will I proceed to sing most dreadful wars.
And surely many people will be slain
When cities perish, and opposing states
Wrangle and fight about an odious feud.
And around these will horrid Mars rush on
And stir up war. And then one of great soul
Along with his own mighty son shall fall
By moans of the treachery of the older king.
And after him another great-souled man
And skilled in war, shall rule strong verdant Rome,
Proceeding from the Dacians, of the number
Three hundred, also of the letter four.
Many will he destroy: and then all brothers
And friends will the king slay, even kings being killed.
Then also on the former king's account
Will thefts and murders suddenly occur.
Then when a very crafty man shall come,
A robber, out of Syria appearing,
Ignoble Roman, also craftily
A race of Cappadocians will approach,
And fall in siege, insatiable of war.
Then, Tyana and Mazaca, shall be
Thy conquest; thou shalt be in servitude
And bear a heavy yoke upon thy neck.
And Syria shall mourn for men destroyed;
Nor will the moon her holy city save,
When he first out of Syria, sore beset.
Shall flee the Romans through Euphrates' streams.
No longer like the Romans, but the fierce
Dart-hurling Persians, then the Italian lord
Broken will fall, struck by the burning iron,
Having left his world; his children perish too.
But when a Gallic king shall govern Rome,
Then also to the Romans there shall come
Unstable nations, — to the walls of Rome
Mars the destroyer with his bastard son.
Then also shall come famines, pestilence,
And wasting thunder-bolts, and dreadful wars,
And tumults of the cities suddenly,
And the Syrians shall be terribly destroyed.
For on them shall come wrath of the Most High.
And straightway there shall be a rising up
Of the inventive Persians, and conjoined
With Persians shall the Syrians overthrow
The Romans; but, controlled by the decree
Of power divine, they shall not conquer laws.
Alas! how many will flee from the East
With their goods unto men of other tongues!
Alas! the dark blood of how many men
The land shall drink! For this shall be the time
In which the living will with their own mouths
Call the dead happy. Beautiful to die,
They will exclaim, and it will flee from them.
Now over thee, O wretched Syria,
I weep in sorrow, for to thee shall come
A dreadful blow from arrow-hurling men,
Which thou didst hope would never come to thee.
Also the fugitive of Rome shall come,
Lifting on high his spear, and, passing through
Euphrates with his many myriads.
He will burn thee, and all things ill-dispose.
O wretched Antioch, thee they no more
Will call a city, when beneath the spears
Thou shalt fall down by thine own lack of sense;
And having spoiled and stripped thee of all things.
They leave thee coverless, without a house,
And whoso sees thee will at once lament.
And thou, O Hierapolis, shalt be
A triumph; thou, Bercea, too; weep ye
At Chalcis for the children newly slain.
Alas, alas, how many shall abide
By high Mount Cassius, by Amanus, too;
As many also as the Lycus laves.
And Marsyas and silvery Pyramus.
For even to Asia's borders they will take
The spoil, strip cities, and all idols take away,
And cast down temples to the nursing earth.
And then to Gallia and Pannonia,
Mysians and Bithynians there shall be
A mighty sorrow, when the soldier comes.
O Lycians, Lycians, there will come a wolf
To lick thy blood, whenever Samnians come
With city-wasting Mars, and Carpians
Draw near to fight with the Ausonians.
And then by his own shameless recklessness
A bastard son will put the king to death,
And he himself for his impiety
Will straightway perish. After him again
Will yet another rule, whose name presents
The first of letters; quickly shall he fall
By mighty Mars, struck by the burning iron.
And yet again the world shall be confused,
Men perishing by pestilence and war.
And the Persians shall again force on the toil
Of warfare, maddened by the Ausonians.
And then there shall a flight of Romans be.
But then shall come a priest, the last of all
Sent by the sun, from Syria appearing,
And he will all things by deceit effect.
And then shall be a city of the sun.
And around it [the Persians] will endure
The fearful menaces of the Phenicians.
But when two leaders, warlike men, shall rule
The mighty Romans, one of whom shall have
The number seventy, one the number three.
Then the proud bull that digs the earth with hoofs,
And raises up the dust with double horns,
Shall do the dark-skinned reptile many ills,
Which draws a trailing furrow with his scales,
And he himself shall perish. After him
Shall come another, beautiful-horned stag,
Hungry upon the mountains, craving strong
To feed upon the venom-shedding beasts.
Then shall a fierce and dreadful lion come.
Sent from the sun, and breathing plenteous flame.
And then with much and shameless recklessness
Will he destroy the rapid, well-horned stag,
And the huge beast so venomous and dread
That sends forth many a cry, and the he-goat.
Bow-legged, and renown will follow him.
And he himself, obtaining all by lot,
Uninjured and insatiable, shall rule
The Romans, and the Persians shall be weak.
But thou, O Prince, King of the world, God, end
The song of my words, and give charming song.