Chapter XVI: Book III: (xxxvi.) (1)

Meanwhile Jove bids cloud-girt Iris go gather the gods from the whole universe. She, outstripping the breezes in her rainbow flight, calls to the sea-deities, chides the Nymphs for their delay, and summons forth the river-gods from their moist

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ancipites trepidique ruunt, quae causa quietos
excierit, tanto quae res agitanda tumultu.
ut patuit stellata domus, considere iussi,
nec confusus honor: caelestibus ordine sedes
prima datur; tractum proceres tenuere secundum 10
aequorei, placidus Nereus reverendaque Phorci
canities; Glaucum series extrema biformem
accipit et certo mansurum Protea vultu.
nec non et senibus Fluviis concessa sedendi
gloria; plebeio stat cetera more iuventus, 15
mille Amnes. liquidis incumbunt patribus udae
Naides et taciti mirantur sidera Fauni.
Tum gravis ex alto genitor sic orsus Olympo:
“abduxere meas iterum mortalia curas
iam pridem neglecta mihi, Saturnia postquam 20
otia et ignavi senium cognovimus aevi;
sopitosque diu populos torpore paterno
sollicitae placuit stimulis impellere vitae,
incultis ne sponte seges grandesceret arvis,
undaret neu silva favis, neu vina tumerent 25
fontibus et totae fremerent in pocula ripae
(haud equidem invideo--neque enim livescere fas est
vel nocuisse deos--sed, quod dissuasor honesti
luxus et humanas oblimat copia mentes),
provocet ut segnes animos rerumque remotas 30
ingeniosa vias paulatim exploret egestas
utque artes pariat sollertia, nutriat usus.
“Nunc mihi cum magnis instat Natura querellis

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caverns. Out they haste in doubt and fear what this disturbance of their peace may signify or what has caused so great an upheaval. The starry heaven is thrown open and the gods are bidden take their seats as merit, not chance, dictates. The first places are accorded to the heavenly powers, next come the ocean-deities, calm Nereus and grey-haired Phorcus, last twiform Glaucus and Proteus, for once of unvarying shape. The agèd river-gods, too, are privileged to take their seats; the other rivers, a thousand strong, stand as stands the youth of an earthly assembly. Dripping water-nymphs lean on their moist sires and Fauns in silence marvel at the stars.

Then the grave Father from his seat on high Olympus thus began: “Once more the affairs of men have won care from me, affairs long neglected since I looked upon the repose of Saturn’s reign and knew the torpor of that stagnant age, when I had fain urged the race of man, long sunk in lethargy by reason of my sire’s sluggish rule, with the goads of anxious life, whereby their crops should no more grow to maturity of their own accord in the untilled fields nor yet the forest trees drip with honey nor wine flow from springs nor every stream course sounding into cups. ’Twas not that I grudged their blessings--gods may not envy nor hurt--but because luxury is a foe to a godly life, and plenty dulls the mind of men; therefore I bade necessity, invention’s mother, provoke their sluggish spirits and little by little search out the hidden tracks of things; bade industry give birth to civilization and practice nourish it.

“Nature now with ceaseless complaint bids me

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humanum relevare genus, durumque tyrannum
inmitemque vocat regnataque saecula patri 35
commemorat parcumque Iovem se divite clamat,
qui campos horrere situ dumisque repleri
rura velim, nullis exornem fructibus annum.
se iam, quae genetrix mortalibus ante fuisset,
in dirae subito mores transisse novercae; 40
‘quid mentem traxisse polo, quid profuit altum
erexisse caput, pecudum si more pererrant
avia, si frangunt communia pabula glandes?
haecine vita iuvat silvestribus abdita[127] lustris,
indiscreta feris?’ tales cum saepe parentis 45
pertulerim questus, tandem clementior orbi
Chaonio statui gentes avertere victu:
atque adeo Cererem, quae nunc ignara malorum
verberat Idaeos torva cum matre leones,
per mare, per terras avido discurrere luctu 50
decretum, natae donec laetata repertae
indicio tribuat fruges, currusque feratur
nubibus ignotas populis sparsurus aristas
et iuga caerulei subeant Actaea dracones.
quodsi quis Cereri raptorem prodere divum 55
audeat, imperii molem pacemque profundam
obtestor rerum, natus licet ille sororve
vel coniunx fuerit natarumve agminis una,
se licet illa meo conceptam vertice iactet:
sentiet iratum procul aegide, sentiet ictum 60
fulminis et genitum divina sorte pigebit
optabitque mori: tunc vulnere saucius ipsi

[127] _abdita_ ς; Birt reads _addita_, following the other MSS.

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succour the race of man, calls me cruel and implacable tyrant, calls to mind the centuries of my sire’s empery and dubs me miser of her riches, for that I would have the world a wilderness and the land covered with scrub and would beautify the year with no fruits. She complained that she, who was erstwhile the mother of all living things, had suddenly taken upon her the hated guise of a stepmother. ‘Of what avail that man derived his intelligence from above, that he has held up his head to heaven, if he wander like the beasts through trackless places, if with them he crushes acorns for food? Can such a life as this bring him happiness, hid in the forest glades, indistinguishable from the life of animals?’ Since I bore so often such complaints from the lips of mother Nature, at length I took pity on the world and decided to make man to cease from his oak-tree food; wherefore I have decreed that Ceres, who now, ignorant of her loss, lashes the lions of Mount Ida, accompanying her dread mother, should wander over sea and land in anxious grief, until, in her joy at finding the traces of her lost daughter, she grant man the gift of corn and her chariot is borne aloft through the clouds to scatter among the people ears before unknown and the steel-blue serpents submit them to the Attic yoke.[128] But if any of the gods dare inform Ceres who is the ravisher, I swear by the immensity of mine empire, by the firm-stablished peace of the world, be he son or sister, spouse or daughter, vaunt he his birth as from mine own head, he shall feel afar the wrath of mine arms, the thunderbolt’s blow, and be sorry he was born a god and pray for death. Then, sore wounded, he shall be handed

[128] Attic, because Ceres in her wanderings came to Eleusis where
she instructed Triptolemus, son of Celeus, King of Eleusis, in the
art of agriculture.

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tradetur genero, passurus prodita regna,
et sciet an propriae conspirent Tartara causae.
hoc sanctum; mansura fluant hoc ordine fata.” 65
dixit et horrendo concussit sidera motu.
At procul armisoni Cererem sub rupibus antri
securam placidamque diu iam certa peracti
terrebant simulacra mali, noctesque timorem
ingeminant omnique perit Proserpina somno. 70
namque modo adversis invadi viscera telis,
nunc sibi mutatas horret nigrescere vestes,
nunc steriles mediis frondere penatibus ornos.
stabat praeterea luco dilectior omni
laurus, virgineos quondam quae fronde pudica 75
umbrabat thalamos: hanc imo stipite caesam
vidit et incomptos foedari pulvere ramos
quaesivitque nefas. Dryades dixere gementes
Tartarea Furias debellavisse bipenni.
Sed tunc ipsa sui iam non ambagibus ullis 80
nuntia materno facies ingesta sopori:
namque videbatur tenebroso obtecta recessu
carceris et saevis Proserpina vincta catenis,
non qualem Siculis olim mandaverat arvis
nec qualem roseis nuper convallibus Aetnae 85
suspexere deae: squalebat pulchrior auro
caesaries et nox oculorum infecerat ignes
exhaustusque gelu pallet rubor, ille superbi
flammeus oris honos, et non cessura pruinis
membra colorantur picei caligine regni. 90

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over to my son-in-law, Pluto himself, for punishment in those regions he had fain betray. There he shall learn whether Hell is true to her own monarch’s cause. Such is my will; thus let the unchangeable fates fulfil my decree.” He spake and shook the stars with his dread nod.

But, far from Sicily, no uncertain suspicions of the loss she had suffered alarmed Ceres, where long she had dwelt peaceful and secure beneath the rocky roof of the cave resounding with arms. Dreams doubled her dread and a vision of Proserpine lost troubled her every sleep. Now she dreams that an enemy’s spear is piercing her body, now (oh horror!) that her raiment is changed and is become black, now that the infecund ash is budding in the midst of her house. Moreover, there stood a laurel, loved above all the grove, that used with maiden leaf to o’ershadow the virgin bower of Proserpine. This she saw hewn down to the roots, its straggling branches fouled with dust, and when she asked the cause of this disaster weeping dryads told her that the Furies had destroyed it with an axe of Hell.

Next her very image appeared in the mother’s dreams, announcing her fate in no uncertain manner. She saw Proserpine shut in the dark confines of a prison-house and bound with cruel chains. Yet not so had she entrusted her to the fields of Sicily, not so had the wondering goddesses beheld her in Etna’s flowery meadows. Foul was now that hair, more beauteous erstwhile than gold; night had dimmed the fire of her eyes and frost banished the roses from her pale cheeks. The gracious flush of her skin and those limbs whose whiteness matched the hoar-frost are alike turned to hell-tinctured

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ergo hanc ut dubio vix tandem agnoscere visu
evaluit: “cuius tot poenae criminis?” inquit
“unde haec informis macies? cui tanta potestas
in me saevitiae? rigidi cur vincula ferri
vix aptanda feris molles meruere lacerti? 95
tu mea, tu proles? an vana fallimur umbra?”
Illa refert: “heu dira parens nataeque peremptae
immemor! heu fulvas animo transgressa leaenas!
tantane te nostri tenuere oblivia? tantum
unica despicior? certe Proserpina nomen 100
dulce tibi, tali quae nunc, ut cernis, hiatu
suppliciis inclusa teror! tu saeva choreis
indulges? Phrygias vel nunc interstrepis urbes?
quodsi non omnem pepulisti pectore matrem,
si tua nata, Ceres, et non me Caspia tigris 105
edidit, his, oro, miseram defende cavernis
inque superna refer, prohibent si fata reverti,
vel tantum visura veni.”
Sic fata trementes
tendere conatur palmas. vis improba ferri
impedit et motae somnum solvere catenae. 110
obriguit visis; gaudet non vera fuisse;
complexu caruisse dolet. penetralibus amens
prosilit et tali compellat voce Cybeben:
“Iam non ulterius Phrygia tellure morabor,
sancta parens: revocat tandem custodia cari 115
pignoris et cunctis obiecti fraudibus anni.

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grain. When, therefore, she was at last able to recognize her daughter, albeit with doubtful gaze, she cried: “What crime hath merited these many punishments? Whence comes this dreadful wasting away? Who hath power to wreak such cruelty upon me? How have thy soft arms deserved fetters of stubborn iron, scarce fitted for beasts? Art thou my daughter or does a vain shadow deceive me?”

Thus she answered: “Cruel mother, forgetful of thy daughter’s fate, more hard of heart than the tawny lioness! Could’st thou be so heedless of me? Didst thou hold me cheap for that I am thy sole daughter? Dear indeed to thee must be the name of Proserpine who now, shut in this vast cavern, as thou seest, am plagued with torment! Hast thou heart to dance, cruel mother? Canst thou revel through the cities of Phrygia? If thou hast not banished the mother from thy breast, if thou, Ceres, art really my mother and ’twas no Hyrcanian tiger gave me birth, save me, I pray thee, from this prison and restore me to the upper world. If the fates forbid my return come thou down at least and visit me.”

So spake she and strove to hold out her trembling hands. The iron’s ruthless strength forbade it, and the clangour of the chains awoke her sleeping mother. Ceres lay stiff with terror at the vision, rejoices that it was not true, but grieves that she cannot embrace her daughter. Maddened with fear she rushes out of the cavern and thus addresses Cybele: “No longer now will I tarry in the land of Phrygia, holy mother; the duty of protecting my dear daughter calls me back after so long an absence, for she is of an age that is exposed to many dangers. I put not

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nec mihi Cyclopum quamvis extructa caminis
culmina fida satis. timeo ne fama latebras
prodiderit leviusque meum Trinacria celet
depositum. terret nimium vulgata locorum 120
nobilitas. aliis sedes obscurior oris
exquirenda mihi; gemitu flammisque propinquis
Enceladi nequeunt umbracula nostra taceri.
somnia quin etiam variis infausta figuris
saepe monent, nullusque dies non triste minatur 125
augurium. quotiens flaventia serta comarum
sponte cadunt! quotiens exundat ab ubere sanguis!
larga vel invito prorumpunt flumina vultu
iniussaeque manus mirantia pectora tundunt.
si buxus inflare velim, ferale gemiscunt; 130
tympana si quatiam, planctus mihi tympana reddunt.
ah vereor, ne quid portendant omina veri!
hae longae nocuere morae!”
“Procul inrita venti
dicta ferant” subicit Cybele; “nec tanta Tonanti
segnities, ut non pro pignore fulmina mittat. 135
i tamen et nullo turbata revertere casu.”
Haec ubi, digreditur templis. sed nulla ruenti
mobilitas: tardos queritur non ire dracones
inmeritasque movens alterno verbere pennas
Sicaniam quaerit, cum necdum absconderit Idam. 140
cuncta pavet speratque nihil. sic aestuat ales,
quae teneros humili fetus commiserit orno
adlatura cibos, et plurima cogitat absens:
ne gracilem ventus decusserit arbore nidum,
ne furtum pateant homini, ne praeda colubris. 145

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complete trust in my palace, though built with iron from the Cyclops’ furnace. I fear lest rumour disclose her hiding-place and Sicily too lightly guard my trust. The fame of that place too widely bruited abroad alarms me; needs must I find elsewhere some obscurer abode. Our retreat must be on all men’s tongues by reason of the groanings of Enceladus and the neighbour flames. Ill-omened dreams, too, with diverse visions often give me pause, and no day passes but brings some inauspicious hap. How often has my crown of golden ears fallen of itself! How often blood flowed from my breast! In mine own despite streams of tears course down my cheeks and unbidden my hands beat my astonished breast. Would I blow up the flute, funereal is the note; do I shake the cymbals, the cymbals echo a sound of mourning. Alas! I fear there is some trouble in these portents. This long sojourn, has wrought me woe.”

“May the wind carry far away thy vain words,” replies Cybele; “not such the Thunderer’s want of care that he would not hurl his bolt in his daughter’s defence. Yet go and return, dismayed by no evil hap.”

This said, Ceres left the temple; but no speed is enough for her haste; she complains that her sluggish dragons scarce move, and, lashing the wings now of this one and now of that (though little they deserved it), she hopes to reach Sicily e’er yet out of sight of Ida. She fears everything and hopes nothing, anxious as the bird that has entrusted its unfledged brood to a low-growing ash and while absent gathering food has many fears lest perchance the wind has blown the fragile nest from the tree, lest her young ones be exposed to the theft of man or the greed of snakes.

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Ut domus excubiis incustodita remotis
et resupinati neglecto cardine postes
flebilis et tacitae species adparuit aulae,
non expectato respectu cladis amictus
conscidit et fractas cum crine avellit aristas. 150
haeserunt lacrimae; nec vox aut spiritus oris
redditur, atque imis vibrat tremor ossa medullis;
succidui titubant gressus; foribusque reclusis,
dum vacuas sedes et desolata pererrat
atria, semirutas confuso stamine telas 155
atque interceptas agnoscit pectinis artes.
divinus perit ille labor, spatiumque relictum
audax sacrilego supplebat aranea textu.
Nec deflet plangitve malum; tantum oscula telae
figit et abrumpit mutas in fila querellas; 160
attritosque manu radios proiectaque pensa
cunctaque virgineo sparsa oblectamina ludo
ceu natam pressat gremio; castumque cubile
desertosque toros et, sicubi sederat olim,
perlegit: attonitus stabulo ceu pastor inani, 165
cui pecus aut rabies Poenorum inopina leonum
aut populatrices infestavere catervae;
serus at ille redit vastataque pascua lustrans
non responsuros ciet imploratque iuvencos.
Atque ibi secreta tectorum in parte iacentem 170
conspicit Electram, natae quae sedula nutrix
Oceani priscas inter notissima Nymphas.
par Cereri pietas; haec post cunabula dulci
ferre sinu summoque Iovi deducere parvam
sueverat et genibus ludentem aptare paternis. 175

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When she saw the gate-keepers fled, the house unguarded, the rusted hinges, the overthrown doorposts, and the miserable state of the silent halls, pausing not to look again at the disaster, she rent her garment and tore away the shattered corn-ears along with her hair. She could not weep nor speak nor breathe and a trembling shook the very marrow of her bones; her faltering steps tottered. She flung open the doors and wandering through the empty rooms and deserted halls, recognized the half-ruined warp with its disordered threads and the work of the loom broken off. The goddess’ labours had come to naught, and what remained to be done, that the bold spider was finishing with her sacrilegious web.

She weeps not nor bewails the ill; only kisses the loom and stifles her dumb complaints amid the threads, clasping to her bosom, as though it had been her child, the spindles her child’s hand had touched, the wool she had cast aside, and all the toys scattered in maiden sport. She scans the virgin bed, the deserted couch, and the chair where Proserpine had sat: even as a herd, whose drove the unexpected fury of an African lion or bands of marauding beasts have attacked, gazes in amaze at the vacant stall, and, too late returned, wanders through the emptied pastures, sadly calling to the unreplying steers.

And there, in the innermost parts of the house, she saw lying Electra, loving nurse of Proserpine, best known among the old Nymphs of Ocean; she who loved Proserpine as did Ceres. ’Twas she who, when Proserpine had left her cradle, would bear her in her loving bosom and bring the little girl to mighty Jove and set her to play on her father’s

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haec comes, haec custos, haec proxima mater haberi.
tunc laceras effusa comas et pulvere cano
sordida sidereae raptus lugebat alumnae.
Hanc adgressa Ceres, postquam suspiria tandem
laxavit frenosque dolor: “quod cernimus” inquit 180
“excidium? cui praeda feror? regnatne maritus
an caelum Titanes habent? quae talia vivo
ausa Tonante manus? rupitne Typhoia cervix
Inarimen? fractane iugi compage Vesevi
Alcyoneus Tyrrhena pedes per stagna cucurrit? 185
an vicina mihi quassatis faucibus Aetna
protulit Enceladum? nostros an forte penates
adpetiit centum Briareia turba lacertis?
heu, ubi nunc es, nata, mihi? quo, mille ministrae,
quo, Cyane? volucres quae vis Sirenas abegit? 190
haecine vestra fides? sic fas aliena tueri
pignora?”
Contremuit nutrix, maerorque pudori
cedit, et adspectus miserae non ferre parentis
emptum morte velit longumque inmota moratur
auctorem dubium certumque expromere funus. 195
vix tamen haec:
“Acies utinam vesana Gigantum
hanc dederit cladem! levius communia tangunt.
sed divae, multoque minus quod rere, sorores
in nostras (nimium!) coniuravere ruinas.
insidias superum, cognatae vulnera cernis 200
invidiae. Phlegra nobis infensior aether.
“Florebat tranquilla domus; nec limina virgo

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knee. She was her companion, her guardian, and could be deemed her second mother. There, with torn and dishevelled hair, all foul with grey dust, she was lamenting the rape of her divine foster-child.

Ceres approached her, and when at length her grief allowed her sighs free rein: “What ruin is here?” she said. “Of what enemy am I become the victim? Does my husband yet rule or do the Titans hold heaven? What hand hath dared this, if the Thunderer be still alive? Have Typhon’s shoulders forced up Inarime or does Alcyoneus course on foot through the Etruscan Sea, having burst the bonds of imprisoning Vesuvius? Or has the neighbouring mountain of Etna oped her jaws and expelled Enceladus? Perchance Briareus with his hundred arms has attacked my house? Ah, my daughter, where art thou now? Whither are fled my thousand servants, whither Cyane? What violence has driven away the winged Sirens? Is this your faith? Is this the way to guard another’s treasure?”

The nurse trembled and her sorrow gave place to shame; fain would she have died could she so escape the gaze of that unhappy mother, and long stayed she motionless, hesitating to disclose the suspected criminal and the all too certain death. Scarce could she thus speak: “Would that the raging band of Giants had wrought this ruin! Easier to bear is a common lot. ’Tis the goddesses, and, though thou wilt scarce credit it, her own sisters, who have conspired to our undoing. Thou seest the devices of gods and wounds inflicted by sisters’ jealousy. Heaven is a more cruel enemy than Hell.

“All quiet was the house, the maiden dared not

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linquere nec virides audebat visere saltus
praeceptis obstricta tuis. telae labor illi;
Sirenes requies. sermonum gratia mecum, 205
mecum somnus erat cautique per atria ludi:
cum subito (dubium quonam monstrante latebras
rescierit) Cytherea venit suspectaque nobis
ne foret, hinc Phoeben comites, hinc Pallada iunxit.
protinus effuso laetam se fingere risu 210
nec semel amplecti nomenque iterare sororis
et dura de matre queri, quae tale recessu
maluerit damnare decus vetitamque dearum
colloquio patriis procul amandaverit astris.
nostra rudis gaudere malis et nectare largo 215
instaurare dapes. nunc arma habitumque Dianae
induitur digitisque attemptat mollibus arcum,
nunc crinita iubis galeam, laudante Minerva,
implet et ingentem clipeum gestare laborat.
“Prima Venus campos Aetnaeaque rura maligno 220
ingerit adflatu. vicinos callida flores
ingeminat meritumque loci velut inscia quaerit
nec credit, quod bruma rosas innoxia servet,
quod gelidi rubeant alieno genuine menses
verna nec iratum timeant virgulta Booten. 225
dum loca miratur, studio dum flagrat eundi,
persuadet; teneris heu lubrica moribus aetas!
quos ego nequidquam planctus, quas inrita fudi

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o’erstep the threshold nor visit the grassy pastures, close bound by thy commands. The loom gave her work, the Sirens with their song relaxation--with me she held pleasant converse, with me she slept; safe delights were hers within the halls. Then suddenly Cytherea came (who showed her the way to our hid abode I know not), and, that she might not rouse our suspicions, she brought with her Diana and Minerva, attending her on either side. Straightway with beaming smiles she put on a pretence of joy, kissed Proserpine many a time, and repeated the name of sister, complaining of that hard-hearted mother who chose to condemn such beauty to imprisonment and complaining that by forbidding her intercourse with the goddesses she had removed her far from her father’s heaven. My unwitting charge rejoiced in these evil words and bade a feast be spread with plentiful nectar. Now she dons Diana’s arms and dress and tries her bow with her soft fingers. Now crowned with horse-hair plumes she puts on the helmet, Minerva commending her, and strives to carry her huge shield.

“Venus was the first with guileful suggestion to mention fields and the vale of Henna. Cunningly she harps upon the nearness of the flowery mead, and as though she knew it not, asks what merits the place boasts, pretending not to believe that a harmless winter allows the roses to bloom, that the cold months are bright with flowers not rightly theirs, and that the spring thickets fear not there Boötes’ wrath. So with her wonderment, her passion to see the spot, she persuades Proserpine. Alas! how easily does youth err with its weak ways! What tears did I not shed to no purpose, what vain

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ore preces! ruit illa tamen confisa sororum
praesidio; famulae longo post ordine Nymphae. 230
“Itur in aeterno vestitos gramine colles
et prima sub luce legunt, cum rore serenus
albet ager sparsosque bibunt violaria sucos.
sed postquam medio sol altior institit axi,
ecce polum nox foeda rapit tremefactaque nutat 235
insula cornipedum pulsu strepituque rotarum.
nosse nec aurigam licuit: seu mortifer ille
seu Mors ipsa fuit. livor permanat in herbas;
deficiunt rivi; squalent rubigine prata
et nihil adflatum vivit: pallere ligustra, 240
expirare rosas, decrescere lilia vidi.
ut rauco reduces tractu detorsit habenas,
nox sua prosequitur currum, lux redditur orbi.
Persephone nusquam. voto rediere peracto
nec mansere deae. mediis invenimus arvis 245
exanimem Cyanen: cervix redimita iacebat
et caligantes marcebant fronte coronae.
adgredimur subito et casus scitamur eriles
(nam propior cladi steterat): quis vultus equorum?
quis regat? illa nihil, tacito sed laesa veneno 250
solvitur in laticem: subrepit crinibus umor;
liquitur in roremque pedes et brachia manant
nostraque mox lambit vestigia perspicuus fons.
discedunt aliae. rapidis Acheloides alis
sublatae Siculi latus obsedere Pelori 255

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entreaties did my lips not utter! Away she flew, trusting to the sisters’ protection; the scattered company of attendant nymphs followed after her.

“They went to the hills clothed with undying grass and gather flowers ’neath the twilight of dawn, when the quiet meads are white with dew and violets drink the scattered moisture. But when the sun had mounted to higher air at noon, behold! murky night hid the sky and the island trembled and shook beneath the beat of horses’ hoofs and the rumble of wheels. Who the charioteer was none might tell--whether he was the harbinger of death or it was Death himself. Gloom spread through the meadows, the rivers stayed their courses, the fields were blighted, nor did aught live, once touched with those horses’ breath. I saw the bryony pale, the roses fade, the lilies wither. When in his roaring course the driver turned back his steeds the night it brought accompanied the chariot and light was restored to the world. Proserpine was nowhere to be seen. Their vows fulfilled, the goddesses had returned and tarried not. We found Cyane half dead amid the fields; there she lay, a garland round her neck and the blackened wreaths faded upon her forehead. At once we approached her and inquired after her mistress’s fortune, for she had been a witness of the disaster. What, we asked, was the aspect of the horses; who their driver? Naught said she, but corrupted with some hidden venom, dissolved into water. Water crept amid her hair; legs and arms melted and flowed away, and soon a clear stream washed our feet. The rest are gone; the Sirens, Achelous’ daughters, rising on rapid wing, have occupied the coast of Sicilian Pelorus, and in wrath

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accensaeque malo iam non impune canoras
in pestem vertere lyras: vox blanda carinas
adligat; audito frenantur carmine remi.
sola domi luctu senium tractura relinquor.”
Haeret adhuc suspensa Ceres et singula demens 260
ceu nondum transacta timet; mox lumina torquens
vultu ad caelicolas furiato pectore fertur.
arduus Hyrcana quatitur sic matre Niphates,
cuius Achaemenio regi ludibria natos
advexit tremebundus eques: fremit illa marito 265
mobilior Zephyro totamque virentibus iram
dispergit maculis timidumque hausura profundo
ore virum vitreae tardatur imagine formae.
Haud aliter toto genetrix bacchatur Olympo
“reddite” vociferans. “non me vagus edidit amnis; 270
non Dryadum de plebe sumus. turrita Cybebe
me quoque Saturno genuit. quo iura deorum,
quo leges cecidere poli? quid vivere recte
proderit? en audet noti Cytherea pudoris
ostentare suos post Lemnia vincula vultus! 275
hos animos bonus ille sopor castumque cubile
praebuit! amplexus hoc promeruere pudici!
nec mirum, si turpe nihil post talia ducit.
quid vos expertes thalami? tantumne relictus

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at this crime now turned their lyres to man’s destruction, tuneful now for ill. Their sweet voices stay ships, but once that song is heard the oars can move no more. I alone am left in the house to drag out an old age of mourning.”

Ceres is still a prey to anxiety; half distraught she fears everything as though all were not yet accomplished. Anon she turns her head and eyes to heaven and with raging breast inveighs against its denizens; even as lofty Niphates shakes to the roaring of the Hyrcan tigress whose cubs the terrified horseman has carried off to be the playthings of Persia’s king. Speedier than the west wind that is her paramour[129] rushes the tigress, anger blazing from her stripes, but just as she is about to engulf the terrified hunter in her capacious maw, she is checked by the mirrored image of her own form[130]: so the mother of Proserpine rages over all Olympus crying: “Give her back; no wandering stream gave me birth; I spring not from the Dryad rabble. Towered Cybele bare me also to Saturn. Where are the ordinances of the gods, where the laws of heaven? What boots it to live a good life? See, Cytherea dares show her face (modest goddess!) even after her Lemnian[131] bondage! ’Tis that chaste sleep and a loverless couch have given her this courage! This is, I suppose, the reward of those maidenly embraces! Small wonder that after such infamy she account nothing disgraceful. Ye goddesses that have known not marriage, is it thus that ye neglect the honour due to virginity?

[129] _marito Zephyro_ (ll. 265, 266) refers to the theory of
impregnation by wind commonly accepted by the ancients (see Arist.
_H.A._ vi. 19; Verg. _Georg._ iii. 275, etc.).

[130] It was supposed that the robbed tigress on being confronted
with a convex mirror supposed the reduced image to be her cub and
contentedly retired with the mirror in her mouth. Another story
makes the tigress vent her anger on an ordinary (not convex) mirror.

[131] A reference to the binding by Hephaestus (to whom Lemnos was
sacred) of Ares and Aphrodite whom he had surprised in adulterous
intercourse. The story is told in Homer (Θ 266 _et sqq._). Statius
(_Silv._ i. 2. 60) uses this very phrase “Lemnia vincula.”

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virginitatis honos? tantum mutata voluntas? 280
iam Veneri iunctae, sociis raptoribus, itis?
o templis Scythiae atque hominem sitientibus aris
utraque digna coli! tanti quae causa furoris?
quam mea vel tenui dicto Proserpina laesit?
scilicet aut caris pepulit te, Delia, silvis 285
aut tibi commissas rapuit, Tritonia, pugnas.
an gravis eloquio? vestros an forte petebat
importuna choros? atqui Trinacria longe,
esset ne vobis oneri, deserta colebat.
quid latuisse iuvat? rabiem livoris acerbi 290
nulla potest placare quies.”
His increpat omnes
vocibus. ast illae (prohibet sententia patris)
aut reticent aut nosse negant responsaque matri
dant lacrimas. quid agat? rursus se victa remittit
inque humiles devecta preces:
“Ignoscite, si quid 295
intumuit pietas, si quid flagrantius actum
quam miseros decuit. supplex miserandaque vestris
advolvor genibus: liceat cognoscere sortem:
hoc tantum liceat--certos habuisse dolores.
scire peto, quae forma mali; quamcumque dedistis 300
fortunam, sit nota: feram fatumque putabo,
non scelus. adspectum, precor, indulgete parenti;
non repetam. quaesita manu securus habeto
quisquis es; adfirmo praedam; desiste vereri.
quodsi nos aliquo praevenit foedere raptor, 305
tu certe, Latona, refer; confessa Diana
forte tibi. nosti quid sit Lucina, quis horror

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Have ye so changed your counsel? Do ye now go allied with Venus and her accomplice ravishers? Worthy each of you to be worshipped in Scythian temples and at altars that lust after human blood. What hath caused such great anger? Which of you has my Proserpine wronged even in her slightest word? Doubtless she drove thee, Delian goddess, from thy loved woods, or deprived thee, Triton-born, of some battle thou hadst joined. Did she plague you with talk? Break rudely upon your dances? Nay, that she might be no burden to you, she dwelt far away in the solitudes of Sicily. What good hath her retirement done her? No peace can still the madness of bitter jealousy.”

Thus she upbraids them all. But they, obedient to the Father’s word, keep silence or say they know nothing, and make tears their answer to the mother’s questionings. What can she do? She ceases, beaten, and in turn descends to humble entreaty. “If a mother’s love swelled too high or if I have done aught more boldly than befitted misery, oh forgive! A suppliant and wretched I fling me at your feet; grant me to learn my doom; grant me at least this much--sure knowledge of my woes. Fain would I know the manner of this ill; whatsoever fortune ye have visited upon me that will I bear and account it fate, not injustice. Grant a parent the sight of her child; I ask her not back. Whosoever thou art, possess in peace what thine hand has taken. The prey is thine, fear not. But if the ravisher has thwarted me, binding you by some oath, yet do thou, at least, Latona, tell me his name; to thee mayhap Diana hath confessed her knowledge. Thou hast known childbirth, the anxiety

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pro genitis et quantus amor, partusque tulisti
tu geminos: haec una mihi. sic crine fruaris
semper Apollineo, sic me felicior aevum 310
mater agas.”
Largis tunc imbribus ora madescunt.
“quid? tantum dignum fleri dignumque taceri?
hei mihi, discedunt omnes. quid vana moraris
ulterius? non bella palam caelestia sentis?
quin potius natam pelago terrisque requiris? 315
accingar lustrare diem, per devia rerum
indefessa ferar. nulla cessabitur hora,
non requies, non somnus erit, dum pignus ademptum
inveniam, gremio quamvis mergatur Hiberae
Tethyos et Rubro iaceat vallata profundo. 320
non Rheni glacies, non me Riphaea tenebunt
frigora; non dubio Syrtis cunctabitur aestu.
stat finem penetrare Noti Boreaeque nivalem
vestigare domum; primo calcabitur Atlas
occasu facibusque meis lucebit Hydaspes. 325
impius errantem videat per rura, per urbes
Iuppiter; extincta satietur paelice Iuno.
insultate mihi, caelo regnate superbi,
ducite praeclarum Cereris de stirpe triumphum!”
Haec fatur notaeque iugis inlabitur Aetnae 330
noctivago taedas informatura labori.
Lucus erat prope flumen Acin, quod candida praefert
saepe mari pulchroque secat Galatea natatu,
densus et innexis Aetnaea cacumina ramis
qua licet usque tegens. illic posuisse cruentam 335

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and love for children; to offspring twain hast thou given birth; this was mine only child. So mayest thou ever enjoy Apollo’s locks, so mayest thou live a happier mother than I.”

Plenteous tears then bedewed her cheeks. She continued: “Why these tears? why this silence? Woe is me; all desert me. Why tarriest thou yet to no purpose? Seest thou not ’tis open war with heaven? were it not better to seek again thy daughter by sea and land? I will gird myself and scour the world, unwearied I will penetrate its every corner, nor ever stay my search, nor rest nor sleep till I find my reft treasure, though she lie whelmed in the Spanish Ocean bed or hedged around in the depths of the Red Sea. Neither ice-bound Rhine nor Alpine frosts shall stay me; the treacherous tides of Syrtes shall not give me pause. My purpose holds to penetrate the fastnesses of the North and to tread the snowy home of Boreas. I will climb Atlas on the brink of the sunset and illumine Hydaspes’ stream with my torches. Let wicked Jove behold me wandering through towns and country, and Juno’s jealousy be sated with her rival’s ruin. Have your sport with me, triumph in heaven, proud gods, celebrate your illustrious victory o’er Ceres’ conquered daughter.”

So spake she and glides down upon Etna’s familiar slopes, there to fashion torches to aid her night-wandering labours.

There was a wood, hard by the stream of Acis, which fair Galatea oft chooses in preference to Ocean and cleaves in swimming with her snowy breast--a wood dense with foliage that closed in Etna’s summit on all sides with interwoven branches. “Tis there that Jove is said to have laid down his

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aegida captivamque pater post proelia praedam
advexisse datur. Phlegraeis silva superbit
exuviis totumque nemus victoria vestit.
hic patuli rictus et prodigiosa Gigantum
tergora dependent, et adhuc crudele minantur 340
adfixae truncis facies, inmaniaque ossa
serpentum passim cumulis exanguibus albent,
et rigidae multo suspirant fulmine pelles;
nullaque non magni iactat se nominis arbor:
haec centumgemini strictos Aegaeonis enses 345
curvata vix fronde levat; liventibus illa
exultat Coei spoliis; haec arma Mimantis
sustinet; hos onerat ramos exutus Ophion.
altior at cunctis abies umbrosaque late
ipsius Enceladi fumantia gestat opima, 350
summi terrigenum regis, caderetque gravata
pondere, ni lassam fulciret proxima quercus.
inde timor numenque loco, nemorisque senectae
parcitur, aetheriisque nefas nocuisse tropaeis.
pascere nullus oves nec robora laedere Cyclops 355
audet et ipse fugit sacra Polyphemus ab umbra.
Non tamen hoc tardata Ceres. accenditur ultro
relligione loci vibratque infesta securim
ipsum etiam feritura Iovem: succidere pinus
aut magis enodes dubitat prosternere cedros 360
exploratque habiles truncos rectique tenorem
stipitis et certo pertemptat brachia nisu.
sic, qui vecturus longinqua per aequora merces
molitur tellure ratem vitamque procellis
obiectare parat, fagos metitur et alnos 365

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bloody shield and set his captured spoil after the battle. The grove glories in trophies from the plain of Phlegra and signs of victory clothe its every tree. Here hang the gaping jaws and monstrous skins of the Giants; affixed to trees their faces still threaten horribly, and heaped up on all sides bleach the huge bones of slaughtered serpents. Their stiffening sloughs smoke with the blow of many a thunderbolt, and every tree boasts some illustrious name. This one scarce supports on its down-bended branches the naked swords of hundred-handed Aegaeon; that glories in the murky trophies of Coeus; this bears up the arms of Mimas; spoiled Ophion weighs down those branches. But higher than all the other trees towers a pine, its shady branches spread wide, and bears the reeking arms of Enceladus himself, all powerful king of the Earth-born giants; it would have fallen beneath the heavy burden did not a neighbouring oak-tree support its wearied weight. Therefore the spot wins awe and sanctity; none touches the aged grove, and ’tis accounted a crime to violate the trophies of the gods. No Cyclops dares pasture there his flock nor hew down the trees, Polyphemus himself flies from the hallowed shade.

Not for that did Ceres stay her steps; the very sanctity of the place inflames her wrath; with angry hand she brandishes her axe, ready to strike Jove himself. She hesitates whether to cut down pines or lay low knotless cedars, scans likely trunks and lofty trees and shakes their branches with vigorous hand. Even so when a man, fain to carry merchandise over distant seas, builds a ship on dry land and makes ready to expose his life to the tempest, he hews down

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et varium rudibus silvis accommodat usum:
quae longa est, tumidis praebebit cornua velis;
quae fortis, clavo potior; quae lenta, favebit
remigio: stagni patiens aptanda carinae.
Tollebant geminae capita inviolata cupressus 370
caespite vicino: quales non rupibus Idae
miratur Simois, quales non divite ripa
lambit Apollinei nemoris nutritor Orontes.
germanas adeo credas; sic frontibus aequis
adstant et socio despectant vertice lucum. 375
hae placuere faces. pernix invadit utramque
cincta sinus, exerta manus, armata bipenni
alternasque ferit totisque obnixa trementes
viribus impellit. pariter traxere ruinam
et pariter posuere comas campoque recumbunt, 380
Faunorum Dryadumque dolor. complectitur ambas,
sicut erant, alteque levat retroque solutis
crinibus ascendit fastigia montis anheli
exuperatque aestus et nulli pervia saxa
atque indignantes vestigia calcat harenas: 385
qualis pestiferas animare ad crimina taxos
torva Megaera ruit, Cadmi seu moenia poscat
sive Thyesteis properet saevire Mycenis:
dant tenebrae manesque locum plantisque resultant
Tartara ferratis, donec Phlegethontis ad undam 390
constitit et plenos excepit lampade fluctus.
Postquam perventum scopuli flagrantis in ora,
protinus arsuras aversa fronte cupressus
faucibus iniecit mediis lateque cavernas
texit et undantem flammarum obstruxit hiatum. 395

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beech and elm and marks the diverse utility of the yet growing forest; the lofty tree he selects as yardarms for the swelling sail; the strong he prefers as a mast; the pliant will make good oars; the waterproof is suitable for the keel.

Two cypresses in the grass hard by raised their inviolate heads to heaven; Simois looks not on such in amaze amid the crags of Ida, nor does Orontes water their like, Orontes that feeds Apollo’s grove and harbours rich cities on his banks. You would know them for sisters for they tower equal in height and look down upon the wood with twin tops. These she would have as torches; she attacks each with vigorous blows, her gown girt back, her arms bared and armed with the axe. First one she strikes, then the other, and rains blows upon their trembling trunks with might and main. Together they crash to the ground, lay their foliage in the dust and lie upon the plain, wept of Fauns and wood-nymphs. She seizes both just as they are, uplifts them and, with hair out-streaming behind her, climbs panting the slopes of the mountain, passes beyond the flames and inaccessible precipices, and treads the lava that brooks no mortal footstep: even as the grim Megaera hastens to kindle yew-trees to light her to crime, speeding her journey to the walls of Cadmus’ city or meaning to work her devilment in Thyestean Mycenae; darkness and the shades give her passage, and Hell rings to her iron tread, till she halts beside Phlegethon’s wave and fires her torch from its brimming waves.

When she had climbed to the mouth of the burning rock, straightway, turning aside her head, she thrust the kindling cypresses into its inmost depths, thus closing in the cavern on all sides and stopping up the

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compresso mons igne tonat claususque laborat
Mulciber: obducti nequeunt exire vapores.
coniferi micuere apices crevitque favillis
Aetna novis: strident admisso sulphure rami.
tum, ne deficerent tantis erroribus, ignes 400
semper inocciduos insopitosque manere
iussit et arcano perfudit robora suco,
quo Phaëthon inrorat equos, quo Luna iuvencos.
Iamque soporiferas nocturna silentia terris
explicuere vices: laniato pectore longas 405
incohat illa vias et sic ingressa profatur:
“Non tales gestare tibi, Proserpina, taedas
sperabam; sed vota mihi communia matrum
et thalami festaeque faces caeloque canendus
ante oculos hymenaeus erat. sic numina fatis 410
volvimur et nullo Lachesis discrimine saevit?
quam nuper sublimis eram quantisque procorum
cingebar studiis! quae non mihi pignus ob unum
cedebat numerosa parens! tu prima voluptas,
tu postrema mihi; per te fecunda ferebar. 415
o decus, o requies, o grata superbia matris,
qua gessi florente deam, qua sospite numquam
inferior Iunone fui: nunc squalida, vilis.
hoc placitum patri. cur autem adscribimus illum
his lacrimis? ego te, fateor, crudelis ademi, 420
quae te deserui solamque instantibus ultro
hostibus exposui. raucis secura fruebar
nimirum thiasis et laeta sonantibus armis

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Page 375

blazing exit of the flames. The mountain thunders with repressed fire and Vulcan is shut in a grievous prison; the enclosed smoke cannot escape. The cone-bearing tops of the cypresses blaze and Etna grows with new ashes; the branches crackle, kindled with the sulphur. Then, lest their long journey should cause them to fail, she bids the flames never die nor sleep and drenches the wood with that secret drug[132] wherewith Phaëthon bedews his steeds and the Moon her bulls.

Silent night had now in her turn visited upon the world her gift of sleep. Ceres, with her wounded breast, starts on her long journey and, as she sets out, speaks as follows: “Little thought I, Proserpine, to carry for thee such torches as these. I had hoped what every mother hopes; marriage and festal torches and a wedding-song to be sung in heaven--such was my expectation. Are we divinities thus the sport of fate? does Lachesis vent her spleen on us as on mankind? How lofty was but now mine estate, surrounded with suitors innumerable for my daughter’s hand! What mother of many children but would have owned her my inferior by reason of my only daughter! Thou wast my first joy and my last; I was called prolific for that I bare thee. Thou wert my glory, my comfort, dear object of a mother’s pride; with thee alive I was goddess indeed, with thee safe I was Juno’s equal. Now am I outcast, beggared. ’Tis the Father’s will. Yet why make Jove answerable for my tears? ’Twas I who so cruelly undid thee, I confess it, for I deserted thee and heedlessly exposed thee to threatening foes. Too deeply was I enmeshed in careless enjoyment of shrill-voiced revel, and, happy amid the din of arms,

[132] A magic drug or herb on which the sun is said to have fed
his horses in order to render them non-inflammable. Ovid tells how
Phaëthon was treated by his father in a like way (_Met._ ii. 122).

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Page 376

iungebam Phrygios, cum tu raperere, leones.
accipe quas merui poenas. en ora fatiscunt 425
vulneribus grandesque rubent in pectore sulci.
immemor en uterus crebro contunditur ictu.
“Qua te parte poli, quo te sub cardine quaeram?
quis monstrator erit? quae me vestigia ducent?
qui currus? ferus ipse quis est? terraene, marisne 430
incola? quae volucrum deprendam signa rotarum?
ibo, ibo quocumque pedes, quocumque iubebit
casus; sic Venerem quaerat deserta Dione.
“Efficietne labor? rursus te, nata, licebit
amplecti? manet ille decor, manet ille genarum 435
fulgor? an infelix talem fortasse videbo,
qualis nocte venis, qualem per somnia vidi?”
Sic ait et prima gressus molitur ab Aetna
exitiique reos flores ipsumque rapinae
detestata locum sequitur dispersa viarum 440
indicia et pleno rimatur lumine campos
inclinatque faces, omnis madet orbita fletu;
omnibus admugit,[133] quocumque it in aequore, sulcis.[134]
adnatat umbra fretis extremaque lucis imago
Italiam Libyamque ferit: clarescit Etruscum 445
litus et accenso resplendent aequore Syrtes.
antra procul Scyllaea petit canibusque reductis
pars stupefacta silet, pars nondum exterrita latrat.

[133] Birt _omnibus admugit. quocumque it in aequore, fulvis adnatat.…_

[134] _sulcis_ ς; _fulvis_ FSV; _silvis_ W.

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I was yoking Phrygian lions whilst thou wast being carried off. Yet see the punishment visited upon me. My face is seared with wounds and long gashes furrow my bloody breast. My womb, forgetful that it gave thee birth, is beaten with continual blows.

“Where under heaven shall I find thee? Beneath what quarter of the sky? Who shall point the way, what path shall lead me? What chariot was it? Who was that cruel ravisher? A denizen of earth or sea? What traces of his wingèd wheels can I discover? Whithersoever my steps lead me or chance direct, thither will I go. Even so may Dione be deserted and seek for Venus!

“Will my labours be successful? Shall I ever again be blest with thine embrace, my daughter? Art thou still fair; still glows the brightness of thy cheeks? Or shall I perchance see thee as thou cam’st in my nightly vision; as I saw thee in my dreams?”

So spake she and from Etna first she drags her steps, and, cursing its guilty flowers and the spot whence Proserpine was ravaged, she follows the straying tracks of the chariot-wheels and examines the fields in the full light of her lowered torch. Every rut is wet with her tears; she weeps at each trace she espies in her wanderings over the plain. She glides a shadow o’er the sea and the farthest ray of her torches’ gleam strikes the coasts of Italy and Libya. The Tuscan shore grows bright and the Syrtes gleam with kindled wave. The light reaches the distant cave of Scylla, of whose dogs some shrink back and are still in dumb amaze, others, not yet horrified into silence, continue to bark.[135]

[135] For the unfinished state of the poem see Introduction, p. xiv.

* * * * *

INDEX OF POEMS

[_The numbers in the right-hand column are those of Gesner’s edition retained by Birt_]

Panegyricus Probini et Olybrii I.

In Rufinum I. praef. II.

In Rufinum I III.

In Rufinum II. praef. IV.

In Rufinum II V.

Bellum Gildonicum I XV.

In Eutropium I XVIII.

In Eutropium II. praef. XIX.

In Eutropium II XX.

Fescennina de nuptiis Honorii I XI.

Fescennina II XII.

Fescennina III XIII.

Fescennina IV XIV.

Epithalamii de nuptiis Honorii praef. IX.

Epithalamium de nuptiis Honorii X.

De tertio consulatu Honorii praef. VI.

De tertio consulatu Honorii VII.

De quarto consulatu Honorii VIII.

Panegyrici Manlii Theodori praef. XVI.

Panegyricus Manlii Theodori XVII.

De consulatu Stilichonis I XXI.

De consulatu Stilichonis II XXII.

De consulatu Stilichonis III. praef. XXIII.

De consulatu Stilichonis III XXIV.

De sexto consulatu Honorii praef. XXVII.

De sexto consulatu Honorii XXVIII.

De bello Gothico praef. XXV.

De bello Gothico XXVI.

c. m. I.: Ad Stilichonem XIII.

c. m. II.: Descriptio portus Smyrnensis LXXXV.

c. m. III.: Ad Aeternalem LXXXI.

c. m. IV.: Descriptio armenti LIV.

c. m. V.: Est in conspectu l.l. LXXXVI.

c. m. VI.: Rimanti telum ira facit LXXVIII.

c. m. VII.: De quadriga marmorea LXXXVII.

c. m. VIII.: De Polycaste et Perdicca LXIX.

c. m. IX.: De hystrice XLV.

c. m. X.: De birro castoreo XCII.

c. m. XI.: In sepulchrum speciosae XCI.

c. m. XII.: De balneis Quintianis LXXXIV.

c. m. XIII.: In podagrum LXXIX.

c. m. XIV.: Ad Maximum LXXXII.

c. m. XV.: De paupere amante LXXXIX.

c. m. XVI.: De eodem XC.

c. m. XVII.: De piis fratribus L.

c. m. XVIII.: De mulabus Gallicis LI.

c. m. XIX.: Ad Gennadium XLIII.

c. m. XX.: De sene Veronensi LII.

c. m. XXI.: De Theodoro et Hadriano LXXX.

c. m. XXII.: Deprecatio ad Hadrianum XXXIX.

c. m. XXIII.: Deprecatio in Alethium LXXIV.

c. m. XXIV.: De locusta LXXXIII.

c. m. XXV.: Epithalamium Palladii XXX., XXXI.

c. m. XXVI.: Aponus XLIX.

c. m. XXVII.: Phoenix XLIV.

c. m. XXVIII.: Nilus XLVII.

c. m. XXIX.: Magnes XLVIII.

c. m. XXX.: Laus Serenae XXIX.

c. m. XXXI.: Epistula ad Serenam XL.

c. m. XXXII.: De Salvatore XCV.

c. m. XXXIII.-XXXIX.: De crystallo LVI-LXII.

c. m. XL.: Epistula ad Olybrium XLI.

c. m. XLI.: Ad Probinum XLII.

c. m. XLII.: De apro et leone LIII.

c. m. XLIII.: In Curetium LXXV.

c. m. XLIV.: In eundem Curetium LXXVI.

c. m. XLV.: De concha LV.

c. m. XLVI.: De chlamyde et frenis LXXII.

c. m. XLVII.: De equo dono dato LXXIII.

c. m. XLVIII.: De zona equi regii LXX.

c. m. XLIX.: De torpedine XLVI.

c. m. L.: In Iacobum LXXVII.

c. m. LI.: In sphaeram Archimedis LXVIII.

c. m. LII.: Gigantomachia XXXVII.

De raptu Proserpinae I. praef. XXXII.

De raptu Proserpinae I. XXXIII.

De raptu Proserpinae II. praef. XXXIV.

De raptu Proserpinae II. XXXV.

De raptu Proserpinae III. XXXVI.

INDEX OF PROPER NAMES

[c. m. = _Carmina minora_]

Abundantius, xviii. 154

Academia, xvii. 94

Achaemenius, x. 224; xxxvi. 264

Acheloides = the Sirens, xxxvi. 254

Acheloius, c. m. 30. 174

Acheron, xxxiii. 87, 227

Acheronteus, xxxv. 351

Achilles, v. 180; xi. 7; ix. 19; x. 16; vii. 60; viii. 367, 557; xxi. 99,
268; c. m. 22. 13; 46. 2

Achilleus, c. m. 22. 46

Achivus, xx. 214; xxviii. 440; xxvi. 564; c. m. 46. 7; v. 425; x. 179

Acis, xxxvi. 332

Actaeon, v. 419

Actaeus = Attic, xxxvi. 54

Actius, xxvi. 185

Addua, xxviii. 195, 458, 488

Adherbal, xv. 409

Adonis, xi. 16

Adriacus, v. 39

Aeacides, Pyrrhus, xxvi. 125

Aeacus, v. 456

Aeëtes, xxvi. 3

Aegaeon, the giant, xxxii. 46; xxxvi. 345

Aegaeus, xx. 246; x. 133; xxi. 287;
_subst._ = Aegean sea: i. 190; xx. 333; x. 162; c. m. 28. 38; 52. 117

Aegyptius, xv. 61; xviii. 312; xx. 252; viii. 575

Aegyptus, iii. 148; xxvi. 57; c. m. 27. 89; 28. 5

Aelius, a family, xxviii. 420; c. m. 30. 56;
_cf._ Traianus, Ulpius

Aemilius Paullus, xxviii. 439;
Paullus, xxiv. 33; xxvi. 126

Aeneas, xxi. 98; c. m. 17. 38

Aeolius, xxvi. 224

Aeolus, v. 23; vii. 97; c. m. 22. 35; xxxiii. 74

Aeternalis, c. m. 3. title

Aether, c. m. 52. 61

Aethiops, xv. 192; xviii. 179; viii. 35; xvii. 196; xxi. 180, 253, 351;
xxiv. 337; c. m. 23. 1; 25. 62; 28. 16

Aethon, steed of dawn, viii. 561; xxxiii. 284 (?);
one of the Loves, c. m. 25. 140

Aetna, vii. 161; xxvii. 18; c. m. 17. 4, 33; xxxiii. 153, 154, 190; xxxv.
8; xxxvi. 186, 330, 399, 438

Aetnaeus, xvii. 72; xxxiii. 160; xxxvi. 334

Afer, xv. 84, 510

Africa, i. 60; xv. 136, 205, 207, 283, 324, 374, 453; viii. 25; xxi. 19,
275; xxii. 257, 392; xxiv. 105; xxviii. 367

Agamemnonius, iii. 82; xv. 484

Aganippe, xvii. 272; c. m. 31. 61

Aganippeus, c. m. 30. 8

Agaue, xx. 364

Aiax, xx. 386

Alamanni, xxiv. 17

Alamannia, viii. 449; xxi. 234

Alanus, xxvi. 583; iii. 312; v. 271; viii. 487; xxi. 109; xxviii. 224;
xxvi. 581

Alaricus, xxviii. 105, 154, 180, 223; xxvi. 431, 492, 546, 623

Alastor, xxxiii. 286

Albis, x. 278; viii. 452; xxi. 226

Alcides, xv. 418; viii. 533; xvii. 288; c. m. 22. 15; 30. 174; xxxiv. 9

Alcinous, c. m. 30. 142

Alcmena, viii. 536

Alcyoneus, a giant, xxxvi. 185

Alethius, c. m. 23. title

Alexander the Great, xxi. 268.
See Pellaeus and Porus.

Allecto, iii. 26, 41; xxxiii. 280

Allia, xv. 124

Almon, xv. 119

Aloeus, a giant, xxvi. 68

Aloidae, xxvi. 74

Alpheus, iv. 9; xxi. 186; xxxv. 61; xv. 483; xxvi. 575

Alpinus, i. 255; v. 304; xv. 295; xii. 9; vii. 99; viii. 106, 637; xvii.
308; xxi. 317; xxiv. 241; xxvi. 363, 563; c. m. 35. 1; xxxv. 176

Alpis, i. 74, 105; v. 1, 124, 389; xv. 82, 230, 376; xviii. 432; xx. 505;
x. 185; vii. 89; viii. 93, 357, 390, 442; xxii. 411; xxiv. 285, 307;
xxviii. 266, 442; xxvi. 194, 198, 261, 283, 471, 532, 547, 641; c. m.
22. 37; 50. 3

Amazon, xviii. 240; xi. 32; xxxv. 62

Amazonius, xviii. 499; xx. 264; xxxiv. 37

Ambitio, xxii. 114

Ambitus, vii. 186

Amniadae, i. 9