Such was Apollo when he slew the livid serpent that
enfolded
and brake down forests in his dying coils.
Claudian - 1922 - Loeb
"
" Dicturum plura parentem equidem, faveant modo numina coeptis,
voce subis :
haec effecta dabo, nec me fratrique tibique
dissimilem populi commissaque regna videbunt. 355 sed cur non potius, verbis quae disseris, usu
experior ? gelidas certe nunc tendis in Alpes.
due tecum comitem ; figant sine nostra tyrannum spicula ; pallescat nostro sine barbarus arcu. Italiamne feram furiis praedonis acerbi 360 subiectam ? patiar Romam servire clienti ?
usque adeone puer ? nec me polluta potestas
nec pia cognati tanget vindicta cruoris ?
per strages equitare libet. da protinus arma.
cur annos obicis ? pugnae cur arguor impar ? aequalis mihi Pyrrhus erat, cum Pergama solus 365 verteret et patri non degeneraret Achilli.
denique si princeps castris haerere nequibo,
vel miles veniam. "
Delibat dulcia nati
oscula miratusque refert : " laudanda petisti ; 370
sed festinus amor. veniet robustior aetas ;
ne propera. necdum decimas emensus aristas adgrederis metuenda viris : vestigia magnae 312
THE FOURTH CONSULSHIP OF HONOFJUS
demand the felling of a forest, be not ashamed to grasp the axe and hew down the oak. If a stagnant marsh must be crossed let thy horse be the first to test the depth of it. Boldly tread the frozen river ; swim the flood. Mounted thyself, ride amid thy squadrons of horse or again stand foot to foot with the infantry. They will advance the'bolder for thy presence, and with thee to witness glorious and glad shall be the fulfilment of their task. "
and said: "All this will I do, so God favour attempts. The peoples and kingdoms committed to my care shall find me not unworthy of thee nor of my brother. But why should I not experience in action what thou has taught in words ? Thou goest to the
necessity
More would he have spoken but Honorius broke in
: take me with thee. Let mine arrows pierce the tyrant's body, and the barbarians pale at my bow. Shall I allow Italy to become the prey of a ruthless bandit ? Rome to serve one who is himself but a servant ? Am I still such a child that neither power profaned nor just revenge for an uncle's blood shall move me ? Fain would I ride through blood.
wintry Alps
my
Quick, give me arms. Why castest thou my youth in my teeth ? Why thinkest me unequal to the
I am as old as was Pyrrhus when alone he Theodosius kissed his son's sweet lips and answered
combat ?
o'erthrew Troy and proved himself no degenerate from his father Achilles. If I may not remain in thy camp as a prince I will come even as a soldier. "
"
Nought have I but praise for thy petition, but this love of glory has bloomed too early. Thy strength will increase with years ; till then be patient. Though thou hast not yet completed ten
him wondering :
summers thou wouldst hansel dangers that a man 313
CLAUDIAN
indolis agnosco. fertur Pellaeus, Eoum
qui domuit Porum, cum prospera saepe Philippi 375 audiret, laetos inter flevisse sodales
nil sibi vincendum patris virtute relinqui.
hos video motus. fas sit promittere patri :
tantus eris. nostro nec debes regna favori,
quae tibi iam natura dedit. sic mollibus olim 380 stridula ducturum pratis examina regem
nascentem venerantur apes et publica mellis
iura petunt traduntque favos ; sic pascua parvus vindicat et necdum firmatis cornibus audax
iam regit armentum vitulus. sed proelia differ 385 in iuvenem patiensque meum cum fratre tuere
me bellante locum. vos impacatus Araxes,
vos celer Euphrates timeat, sit Nilus ubique
vester et emisso quidquid sol imbuit ortu.
si pateant Alpes, habeat si causa secundos 390 iustior eventus, aderis partesque receptas
suscipies, animosa tuas ut Gallia leges
audiat et nostros aequus modereris Hiberos.
tunc ego securus fati laetusque laborum
discedam, vobis utrumque regentibus axem. 395
" Interea Musis animus, dum mollior, instet
et quae mox imitere legat ; nec desinat umquam tecum Graia loqui, tecum Romana vetustas. antiquos evolve duces, adsuesce futurae
1 As is well known, the ancients mistook the sex of the queen bee.
314
THE FOURTH CONSULSHIP OF HONORIUS
I mark the tokens of a noble nature. It is said that Alexander, conqueror of eastern
might fear :
Porus, wept at the constant news of Philip's fortune, telling his companions who rejoiced thereat that his sire's valour left him nought to conquer. In thee I see like spirit. May a father be allowed this
prophecy —" thou shalt be as great " !
my goodwill thou owest the kingdom, for nature has already made it thine. So even from his birth bees reverence the king 1 who is to lead their buzzing swarms through the soft meadows, ask his public laws for the gathering of the honey and entrust to him their combs. So the spirited young heifer claims sovereignty over the grazing-grounds and, though as yet his horns are not grown strong,
It is not to
lords it over the herd. Nay
paigns till thou art a man and while I do battle patiently help thy brother to fulfil my office. Be you two the terror of untamed Araxes and of swift Euphrates ; may Nile throughout all his length belong to you and all the lands upon which the
sun lets fall his beam. Should I force a over the Alps, should success crown the
morning
passage
juster cause, thou shalt come and govern the re covered provinces, whereby fierce Gaul shall obey
thy laws and my native Spain be guided by thy just rule. Then, careless of doom and rejoicing in my labours, I shall quit this mortal life, while you,
my sons, rule either hemisphere.
" Meanwhile cultivate the Muses whilst thou art
yet young ; read of deeds thou soon mayest rival ; never may Greece's story, never may Rome's, cease to speak with thee. Study the lives of the heroes of old to accustom thee for wars that are to be.
315
: postpone
thy
cam
CLAUDIAN
militiae, Latium retro te confer in aevum. 400 libertas quaesita placet ? mirabere Brutum. perfidiam damnas ? Metti satiabere poenis.
triste rigor nimius ? Torquati despice mores,
mors impensa bonum ? Decios venerare ruentes. vel solus quid fortis agat, te ponte soluto 405 oppositus Codes, Muci te flamma docebit ;
quid mora perfringat, Fabius ; quid rebus in artis dux gerat, ostendet Gallorum strage Camillus. discitur hinc nullos meritis obsistere casus :
prorogat aeternam feritas tibi Punica famam, 410 Regule ; successus superant adversa Catonis.
discitur hinc quantum paupertas sobria possit : pauper erat Curius, reges cum vinceret armis, pauper Fabricius, Pyrrhi cum sperneret aurum ; sordida dictator flexit Serranus aratra : 415 lustratae lictore casae fascesque salignis
postibus adfixi ; collectae consule messes
et sulcata diu trabeato rura colono. "
Haec genitor praecepta dabat : velut ille carinae
longaevus rector, variis quem saepe procellis 420 exploravit hiems, ponto iam fessus et annis
alni nato commendat habenas
et casus artesque docet : quo dextra regatur
sidere ; quo fluctus possit moderamine falli ;
quae nota nimborum ; quae fraus infida sereni ; 425
1 The story of the punishment of Mettius Fufetius, the Alban dictator, by the Roman king Tullus Hostilius for his treachery in the war against Fidenae is told by Livy 28. 10) and referred to by Claudian (xv. 254). For Mucius (Scaevola) holding his arm in the flame to show Lars Porsenna how
little he, a Roman, minded bodily pain see Livy ii. 12. 316
aequoreas
(i.
THE FOURTH CONSULSHIP OF HONORIUS
Go back to the Latin age. Admirest thou a fight
for liberty ? Thou wilt admire Brutus. Does
treachery rouse thine indignation ? The punishment of Mettius1 will fill thee with satisfaction. Dost thou hate undue severity ? Abominate Torquatus' savagery. Is it a virtue to die for one's country ? Honour the self-devotion of the Decii. Horatius Codes, facing the foe on the broken bridge, Mucius holding his arm in the flames,2 these shall show thee what, single-handed, brave men can do. Fabius will show thee what overthrow delay can cause ; Camillus and his slaughter of the Gauls what in face of odds a leader can effect. From history thou mayest learn that no ill fortune can master worth ; Punic savagery extends thy fame,
to eternity ; the failure of Cato outdoes success. From history thou mayest learn the power of frugal poverty ; Curius was a poor man when he conquered kings in battle ; Fabricius was poor
when he spurned the gold of Pyrrhus ; Serranus, for all he was dictator, drove the muddy plough. In those days the lictors kept watch at a cottage door, the fasces were hung upon a gateway of wood ; consuls helped to gather in the harvest, and for long years the fields were ploughed by husbandmen who wore the consular robe. "
Such were the precepts of the sire. Even so an aged helmsman oft proved by winter's various storms, aweary now of the sea and his weight of years, commends to his son the rudder of his bark, tells him of dangers and devices —by what art the helms man's hand is guided ; what steerage may elude the wave ; what is a sign of storms ; what the treachery of a cloudless sky, the promise of the
317
Regulus,
CLAUDIAN
quid sol occiduus prodat ; quo saucia vento
decolor iratos attollat Cynthia vultus.
adspice nunc, quacumque micas, seu circulus Austri, magne parens, gelidi seu te meruere Triones,
adspice : completur votum. iam natus adaequat 430 te meritis et, quod magis est optabile, vincit
subnixus Stilichone tuo, quem fratribus ipse
discedens clipeum defensoremque dedisti.
pro nobis nihil ille pati nullumque recusat
discrimen temptare sui, non dura viarum, 435 non incerta maris, Libyae squalentis harenas
audebit superare pedes madidaque cadente
Pleiade Gaetulas intrabit navita Syrtes.
Hunc tamen in primis populos lenire feroces
et Rhenum pacare iubes. volat ille citatis 440 vectus equis nullaque latus stipante caterva,
aspera nubiferas qua Raetia porrigit Alpes,
pergit et hostiles (tanta est fiducia) ripas
incomitatus adit. totum properare per amnem attonitos reges humili cervice videres. 445 ante ducem nostrum flavam sparsere Sygambri caesariem pavidoque orantes murmure Franci procubuere solo : iuratur Honorius absens
imploratque tuum supplex Alamannia nomen. Bastarnae venere truces, venit accola silvae 450
Bructerus Hercyniae latisque paludibus exit Cimber et ingentes Albim liquere Cherusci.
318
THE FOURTH CONSULSHIP OF HONORIUS
setting sun ; what storm-wind frets the Moon so that discoloured she uplifts an angry face. Behold now,'
father, in whatsoever part of heaven thou shinest, be it the southern arch or the cold con stellation of the Plough that has won the honour of thy presence ; see, thy prayer has been answered ; thy son now equals thee in merit, nay, a consumma tion still more to be desired, he surpasseth thee, thanks to the support of thy dear Stilicho whom thou
thyself at thy death didst leave to guard and defend the brothers twain. For us there is nought that Stilicho is not ready to suffer, no danger to himself he is not willing to face, neither hardships of the land nor hazards of the sea. His courage will carry him on foot across the deserts of Libya, at the setting of the rainy Pleiads his ship will pene trate the Gaetulian Syrtes.
To him, however, thy first command is to calm fierce nations and bring peace to the Rhine. On wind-swift steed, no escort clinging to his side,
he crosses the cloud-capped summits of the Raetian Alps, and, so great is his trust in him self, approaches the river unattended. Then
great
thou have seen from source to mouth
mightest
come hastening up Rhine's princes, bending their heads in fearful submission. Before our general the
abased their flaxen locks and the Franks
cast themselves upon the ground and sued with
trembling voice for pardon. Germany swears allegi
ance to the absent Honorius and addresses her sup pliant prayers to him. Fierce Bastarnae were there and the Bructeri who dwell in the Hercynian forest. The Cimbrians left their broad marsh-lands, the tall Cherusci came from the river Elbe. Stilicho listens
319
Sygambri
CLAUDIAN
accipit ille preces varias tardeque rogatus
adnuit et magno pacem pro munere donat.
nobilitant veteres Germanica foedera Drusos, — 455 Marte sed ancipiti, sed multis cladibus empta
quis victum meminit sola formidine Rhenum ?
quod longis alii bellis potuere mereri,
hoc tibi dat Stilichonis iter.
Post otia Galli
limitis hortaris Graias fulcire ruinas. 460
Ionium tegitur velis ventique laborant
tot curvare sinus servaturasque Corinthum
prosequitur facili Neptunus gurgite classes,
et puer, Isthmiaci iam pridem litoris exul,
secura repetit portus cum matre Palaemon. 465 plaustra cruore natant : metitur pellita iuventus : pars morbo, pars ense perit. non lustra Lycaei,
non Erymantheae iam copia sufficit umbrae innumeris exusta rogis, nudataque ferro
sic flagrasse suas laetantur Maenala silvas. 470
excutiat cineres Ephyre, Spartanus et Areas tutior exanguis pedibus proculcet acervos
fessaque pensatis respiret Graecia poenis !
gens, qua non Scythicos diffusior ulla Triones incoluit, cui parvus Athos angustaque Thrace, 475 cum transiret, erat, per te viresque tuorum
fracta ducum lugetque sibi iam rara superstes,
et, quorum turbae spatium vix praebuit orbis,
uno colle latent. sitiens inclusaque vallo
320
1 = Corinth.
THE FOURTH CONSULSHIP OF HONORIUS
to their various prayers, gives tardy assent to their entreaties and of his great bounty bestows upon them peace. A covenant with Germany gave glory to the Drusi of old, but purchased by what uncer tain warfare, by how many disasters ! can.
Who recall the Rhine conquered by terror alone ? That which others were enabled to win by long wars—
this, Honorius, Stilicho's mere march gives thee. Thou biddest Stilicho after restoring peace in Gaul save Greece from ruin. Vessels cover the Ionian sea ; scarce can the wind fill out so many sails. Neptune with favouring currents attends the
fleet that is to save Corinth, and young Palaemon, so long an exile from the shores of his isthmus, returns in safety with his mother to the harbour. The blood of barbarians washes their chariots ; the ranks of skin-clad warriors are mowed down, some by disease, some by the sword. The glades of Lycaeus, the dark and boundless forests of Erymanthus, are not enough to furnish such countless funeral pyres ; Maenalus rejoices that the axe has stripped her of her woods to provide fuel for such a holocaust. Let Ephyre 1 rise from her ashes while Spartan and Arcadian tread under foot the heaps of slain ; let Greece's sufferings be made good and her weary land be allowed to breathe once more. That nation, wider spread than any that dwells in northern Scythia, that found Athos too small and Thrace too narrow when it crossed them, that nation, I say, was conquered by thee and thy captains, and now, in the persons of the few that survive, laments its own overthrow. One hill now shelters a people whose hordes scarce the whole world could once contain. Athirst and hemmed within their rampart they
vol. I y 321
CLAUDIAN
ereptas quaesivit aquas, quas hostibus ante 480 contiguas alio Stilicho deflexerat actu
mirantemque novas ignota per avia valles iusserat averso fluvium migrare meatu.
Obvia quid mirum vinci, cum barbarus ultro
iam cupiat servire tibi ? tua Sarmata discors 485
sacramenta petit ; proiecta pelle Gelonus militat ; in Latios ritus transistis Alani.
ut fortes in Marte viros animisque paratos,
sic iustos in pace legis longumque tueris
electos crebris nec succedentibus urges. 490 iudicibus notis regimur, fruimurque quietis militiaeque bonis, ceu bellatore Quirino,
ceu placido moderante Numa. non inminet ensis, nullae nobilium caedes ; non crimina vulgo
texuntur ; patria maestus non truditur exul ; 495 impia continui cessant augmenta tributi ;
non infelices tabulae ; non hasta refixas
vendit opes ; avida sector non voce citatur,
nec tua privatis crescunt aeraria damnis.
munificus largi, sed non et prodigus, auri. 500 perdurat non empta fides nec pectora merces
adligat ; ipsa suo pro pignore castra laborant ;
te miles nutritor amat.
Quae denique Romae
1 i. e. lists of the proscribed and of their properties put up for sale.
322
THE FOURTH CONSULSHIP OF HONORIUS
in vain for the stolen waters, that, once within our foemen's reach, Stilicho had turned aside in another course, and commanded the stream, that marvelled at its strange channel amid unknown ways, to shift its altered track.
What wonder that the nations barring thy path should fall before thee, since the barbarian of his own choice now seeks to serve thee ? The Sarmatae, ever a prey to internal strife, beg to swear allegiance to thee ; the Geloni cast off their cloaks of hide and fight for thee ; you, O Alans, have adopted the customs of Latium. As thou choosest for war men that are brave and eager for the fray, so thou choosest for the offices of peace men that are just, and once
chosen keepest them long in their charge, not ousting them by ever new successors. We know the magistrates who govern us, and we enjoy the
blessings of peace while we reap the advantages of war, as though we lived at one and the same time in the reign of warlike Romulus and peace- loving Numa. A sword is no longer hung over our heads ; there are no massacres of the great ; gone is the mob of false accusers ; no melancholy exiles are driven from their fatherland. Unholy increase of perpetual taxes is at an end ; there are no accursed lists,1 no auctions of plundered wealth ; the voice of greed summons not the salesman, nor is thy treasury increased by private losses. Thou art liberal with thy money, yet not wasteful of it. The loyalty of thy soldiers is a lasting loyalty, for it is not bought, nor is it gifts that win their love ; the army is anxious for the success of its own child and loves thee who wast its nursling.
And how deep is thy devotion to Rome herself ! 323
sought
CLAUDIAN
cura tibi ! quam fixa manet reverentia patrum ! firmatur senium iuris priscamque resumunt 505
canitiem leges emendanturque vetustae
acceduntque novae. talem sensere Solonem
res Pandioniae ; sic armipotens Lacedaemon despexit muros rigido munita Lycurgo.
quae sub te vel causa brevis vel iudicis error 510 neglegitur ? dubiis quis litibus addere finem
iustior et mersum latebris educere verum ?
quae pietas quantusque rigor tranquillaque magni vis animi nulloque levis terrore moveri
nec nova mirari facilis ! quam docta facultas 515 ingenii linguaeque modus ! responsa verentur
legati, gravibusque latet sub moribus aetas.
Quantus in ore pater radiat ! quam torva voluptas
frontis et augusti maiestas grata pudoris !
iam patrias imples galeas ; iam cornus avita 520 temptatur vibranda tibi ; promittitur ingens
dextra rudimentis Romanaque vota moratur.
quis decor, incedis quotiens clipeatus et auro squameus et rutilus cristis et casside maior !
sic, cum Threicia primum sudaret in hasta, 525 flumina laverunt puerum Rhodopeia Martem.
quae vires iaculis vel, cum Gortynia tendis
spicula, quam felix arcus certique petitor
vulneris et iussum mentiri nescius ictum !
scis, quo more Cydon, qua dirigat arte sagittas 530
324
1 i. e. Athens.
THE FOURTH CONSULSHIP OF HONORIUS
How fixed abides thy reverence for the Senate ! Old customs are preserved, law has recovered its ancient sanctity in the amendment of former statutes and by the addition of new ones. Such an one as thee Pandion's city 1 found in Solon ; even so did warrior Lacedaemon disdain walls, for unyielding Lycurgus gave it defence. What case so petty, what judicial error so slight that it escapes thy notice ? Who with truer justice put an end to dishonest suits and brought forth lurking truth from her hiding-place ? What mercy, yet what firmness ; thine is the quiet strength of a great soul, too firm to be stirred by fear, too stable to be swayed by the attraction of novelty. How stored with
learning thy ready wit, how controlled thy speech ; ambassadors are awe-stricken at thine answers, and
thy grave manners make them forget thy years. How thy father's nobility shines in thy face !
How awful is thy winning brow, how charming the majesty of a blushing emperor! Boy though thou art, thou canst wear thy sire's helmet and brandish thy grandsire's spear. These exercises of thy youth foreshadow vast strength in man hood and convince Rome that the ruler of her prayers is come. How fair art thou in shield and
golden armour girt, with waving plumes and taller by the altitude of a helmet ! So looked the youthful Mars when after the toil and sweat of his first battle he bathed him in Thracian Rhodope's mountain stream. With what vigour thou hurlest the javelin, and, when thou stretchest the Cretan bow, what success attends thy shaft ! Sure is the wound it seeks ; it knows not how to fail the appointed stroke. Thou knowest in what fashion the Cretan,
325
CLAUDIAN
Armenius, refugo quae sit fiducia Partho :
sic Amphioniae pulcher sudore palaestrae
Alcides pharetras Dircaeaque tela solebat praetemptare feris olim domitura Gigantes
et pacem latura polo, semperque cruentus 535 ibat et Alcmenae praedam referebat ovanti ;
caeruleus tali prostratus Apolline Python
implicuit fractis moritura volumina silvis.
Cum vectaris equo simulacraque Martia ludis,
quis mollis sinuare fugas, quis tendere contum 540 acrior aut subitos melior flexisse recursus ?
non te Massagetae, non gens exercita campo Thessala, non ipsi poterunt aequare bimembres ;
vix comites alae, vix te suspensa sequuntur
agmina ferventesque tument post terga dracones. 545 utque tuis primum sonipes calcaribus arsit,
ignescunt patulae nares, non sentit harenas
ungula discussaeque iubae sparguntur in armos ; turbantur phalerae, spumosis morsibus aurum
fumat, anhelantes exundant sanguine gemmae. 550 ipse labor pulvisque decet confusaque motu
caesaries ; vestis radiato murice solem combibit, ingesto crispatur purpura vento.
si dominus legeretur equis, tua posceret ultro
verbera Nereidum stabulis nutritus Arion 555
serviretque tuis contempto Castore frenis 326
THE FOURTH CONSULSHIP OF HONORIUS
with what skill the Armenian, directs his arrows ; in what the retreating Parthian puts his trust. Thus was Alcides, graced with the sweat of the wrestling- ground at Thebes, wont to try his bow and Boeotian arrows on the beasts of the forest ere he turned them against the Giants and so secured peace for heaven. Stains of blood were ever upon him and proud was his mother Alcmena of the spoils he brought back home.
Such was Apollo when he slew the livid serpent that enfolded and brake down forests in his dying coils.
When mounted on thy horse thou playest the
mimicry of war, who is quicker smoothly to wheel in flight, who to hurl the spear, or more skilled to sweep round in swift return ? There the Massagetae are not
thy peers nor the tribes of Thessaly, well versed though they be in riding, no, nor the very Centaurs themselves. Scarce can the squadrons and flying bands that accompany thee keep pace, while the wind behind thee bellies the fierce dragons on the flags. So soon as the touch of thy spur has fired thy steed, flames start from his swelling nostrils ; his hoof scarce touches the ground and his mane is outspread over his shoulders. His harness rattles and the golden bit grows warm in his foam-flecked mouth. The jewels that stud his quivering bridle are red with blood. The signs of toil, the dust stains, the disorder
of thy hair all do but increase thy beauty. Thy brilliant scarlet cloak drinks in the sunlight as the wind blows its gay . surface into folds. Could horses choose their riders then surely would Arion, full fed in the stables of the Nereids, have prayed for the very whip of such a master, Cyllarus would have had none of Castor, but would have looked
327
CLAUDIAN
Cyllarus et flavum Xanthus sprevisset Achillem.
ipse tibi famulas praeberet Pegasus alas
portaretque libens melioraque pondera passus Bellerophonteas indignaretur habenas. 560 quin etiam velox Aurorae nuntius Aethon,
qui fugat hinnitu stellas roseoque domatur Lucifero, quotiens equitem te cernit ab astris, invidet inque tuis mavult spumare lupatis.
Nunc quoque quos habitus, quantae miracula
pompae
vidimus, Ausonio cum iam succinctus amictu
565
per Ligurum populos solito conspectior ires
atque inter niveas alte veherere cohortes,
obnixisque simul pubes electa lacertis
sidereum gestaret onus. sic numina Memphis 570 in vulgus proferre solet ; penetralibus exit
effigies, brevis illa quidem : sed plurimus infra
liniger imposito suspirat vecte sacerdos
testatus sudore deum ; Nilotica sistris
ripa sonat Phariosque modos Aegyptia ducit 575 tibia ; summissis admugit cornibus Apis.
omnis nobilitas, omnis tua sacra frequentat
Thybridis et Latii suboles ; convenit in unum quidquid in orbe fuit procerum, quibus auctor honoris vel tu vel genitor. numeroso consule consul 580 cingeris et socios gaudes admittere patres.
inlustri te prole Tagus, te Gallia doctis civibus et toto stipavit Roma senatu.
cervicibus aurea sedes
ornatuque novo gravior deus. asperat Indus 585
velamenta lapis pretiosaque fila smaragdis 328
J
portatur. iuvenum
THE FOURTH CONSULSHIP OF HONORIUS
to thy reins for guidance and Xanthus have scorned to bear golden-haired Achilles. Pegasus himself had lent thee his subject wings and been glad to carry thee and, now that a mightier rider bestrode him, had turned in proud disdain from Bellero- phon's bridle. Nay, Aethon, swift messenger of dawn, who routs the stars with his neigh and is driven by rosy Lucifer, seeing thee from heaven as thou ridest by, is filled with envy and would choose rather to hold thy bit in his foaming mouth.
What raiment, too, have we not seen, what miracles of splendour, when, girt with the robe of Italy, thou didst go, still more glorious than thou art wont, through the peoples of Liguria, borne aloft amid thy troops clad in triumphal white and carried upon the shoulders of chosen warriors who so proudly upheld their godlike burden ! 'Tis thus that Egypt brings forth her gods to the public gaze. The image issues from its shrine ; small it is, indeed, yet many a linen-clad priest pants beneath the pole, and by his sweat testifies that he bears a god ; Nile's banks resound to the holy rattles, and Egypt's
drones its native measure ; Apis abases his horns and lows in reply. All the nobles, all whom Tiber and Latium rear, throng thy festival ; gathered in one are all the great ones of the earth that owe their rank either to thee or to thy sire. Many a consular surrounds thee, the consul whose pleasure it is to associate the senate in thy triumph. The nobles of Spain, the wise men of Gaul, and the senators of Rome all throng round thee. On young men's necks is borne thy golden throne, and new adorning adds weight to deity. Jewels of India stud thy vestment, rows of green emeralds enrich
329
pipe
good
CLAUDIAN
ducta virent ; amethystus inest et fulgor Hiberus temperat arcanis hyacinthi caerula flammis.
nec rudis in tali suffecit gratia textu ;
auget acus meritum picturatumque metallis 590 vivit opus : multa remorantur iaspide cultus 1
et variis spirat Nereia baca figuris.
quae tantum potuit digitis mollire rigorem
ambitiosa colus ? vel cuius pectinis arte
traxerunt solidae gemmarum stamina telae ? 595 invia quis calidi scrutatus stagna profundi
Tethyos invasit gremium ? quis divitis algae germina flagrantes inter quaesivit harenas ?
quis iunxit lapides ostro ? quis miscuit ignes
Sidonii Rubrique maris ? tribuere colorem 600 Phoenices, Seres subtegmina, pondus Hydaspes.
hoc si Maeonias cinctu graderere per urbes, in te pampineos transferret Lydia thyrsos,
in te Nysa choros ; dubitassent orgia Bacchi,
cui furerent ; irent blandae sub vincula tigres. 605 talis Erythraeis intextus nebrida gemmis
Liber agit currus et Caspia flectit eburnis
colla iugis : Satyri circum crinemque solutae Maenades adstringunt hederis victricibus Indos ; ebrius hostili velatur palmite Ganges. 610
Auspice mox laetum sonuit clamore tribunal te fastos ineunte quater. sollemnia ludit omina libertas ; deductum Vindice morem
lex celebrat, famulusque iugo laxatus erili
1 Birt vultus ; cod. Ambrosianus cultus
1 Vindex (or Vindicius) was the name of the slave who was granted his liberty by Brutus for giving information of the royalist plot in which Brutus' own sons were implicated. For the story (probably an aetiological myth to explain vindicta, another word for festuca) see Livy ii. 5.
330
THE FOURTH CONSULSHIP OF HONORIUS
the seams ; there gleams the amethyst and the glint of Spanish gold makes the dark-blue sapphire show duller with its hidden fires. Nor in the weaving of such a robe was unadorned beauty enough ; the work of the needle increases its value, thread of gold and silver glows therefrom ; many an agate adorns the embroidered robes, and pearls of Ocean breathe in varied pattern. What bold hand, what distaff had skill enough to render supple elements so hard ? What loom so cunning as to weave jewels into close-textured cloth ? Who, searching out the uncharted pools of hot Eastern seas, despoiled the bosom of Tethys ? Who dared seek o'er burning sands rich growth of coral ? Who could broider precious stones on scarlet and so mingle the shining glories of the Red Sea and of Phoenicia's waters ? Tyre lent her dyes, China her silks, Hydaspes his jewels. Shouldst thou traverse Maeonian cities in such a garb, to thee would Lydia hand over her vine-wreathed thyrsus, to thee Nysa her dances ; the revels of Bacchus would have doubted whence came their madness ; tigers would pass fawning beneath thy yoke. Even such, his fawn-skin en- woven with orient gems, doth the Wine-god drive his car, guiding the necks of Hyrcanian tigers with ivory yoke ; around him satyrs and wild-haired Maenads fetter Indians with triumphant ivy, while drunken Ganges twines his hair with the vine tendril.
Already shouts of joy and of good omen resound about the consul's throne to welcome this thy fourth opening of Rome's year. Liberty enacts her wonted ceremonies ; Law observes the custom dating back to Vindex 1 whereby a slave freed from his master's service is introduced into thy presence and thence
331
CLAUDIAN
ducitur et grato remeat securior ictu. 615 tristis condicio pulsata fronte recedit ;
in civem rubuere genae, tergoque removit
verbera permissi felix iniuria voti.
Prospera Romuleis sperantur tempora rebus
in nomen ventura tuum. praemissa futuris 620 dant exempla fidem : quotiens te cursibus aevi praefecit, totiens accessit laurea patri.
ausi Danuvium quondam transnare Gruthungi
in lintres fregere nemus ; ter mille ruebant
per fluvium plenae cuneis inmanibus alni. 625 dux Odothaeus erat. tantae conamina classis incipiens aetas et primus contudit annus :
summersae sedere rates ; fluitantia numquam
largius Arctoos pavere cadavera pisces ;
corporibus premitur Peuce ; per quinque recurrens ostia barbaricos vix egerit unda cruores, 631 confessusque parens Odothaei regis opima
rettulit exuviasque tibi. civile secundis
conficis auspiciis bellum. tibi debeat orbis
fata Gruthungorum debellatumque tyrannum : 635 Hister sanguineos egit te consule fluctus ;
Alpinos genitor rupit te consule montes.
Sed patriis olim fueras successibus auctor,
nunc eris ipse tuis. semper venere triumphi
cum trabeis sequiturque tuos victoria fasces. 640
1 A reference to the Roman method of manumitting a slave alapa et festuca, i. e. by giving him a slight blow (alapa) with a rod( festuca). See Gaius on vindicatio (iv. 16) and on the whole question R. G. Nisbet in Journal of Roman Studies, viii. Pt. 1.
2 The campaign of Theodosius against Odothaeus, King of the Gruthungi (Zosimus iv. 35 calls him 'O560eos) is thus
332
THE FOURTH CONSULSHIP OF HONORIUS
dismissed—a freeman thanks to that envied stroke. 1 A blow upon the brow and his base condition is gone ; reddened cheeks have made him a citizen, and with the granting of his prayer a happy insult has given his back freedom from the lash.
Prosperity awaits our empire ; thy name is earnest for the fulfilment of our hopes. The past guarantees the future ; each time that thy sire made thee chief magistrate of the year the laurels of victory crowned his arms. Once the Gruthungi, hewing down a forest to make them boats, dared to pass beyond the Danube. Three thousand vessels, each crowded with a barbarous crew, made a dash across the river. Odothaeus was their leader. Thy youth, nay, the first year of thy life, crushed the attempt of that formidable fleet. Its boats filled and sank ; never did the fish of that northern river feed more lavishly on the bodies of men. The island of Peuce was heaped high with corpses. Scarce even through five mouths could the river rid itself of barbarian blood, and thy sire, owning thine influence, gave thanks to thee for the spoils won in person from King Odothaeus. Consul a second time thou didst end civil war by thine auspices. Let the world thank thee for the overthrow of the Gruthungi and the defeat of their king ; thou wast consul when the Danube ran red with their blood, thou wast consul, too, when thy sire crossed the Alps to victory. 2
But thou, once author of thy father's successes, shalt now be author of thine own. Triumph has ever attended thy consulship and victory thy fasces.
dated as 386, the year of Honorius' first consulship
note on viii. 153). Honorius' second consulship (394) saw the defeat of Eugenius.
(see 333
CLAUDIAN
sis, precor, adsiduus consul Mariique relinquas
et senis Augusti numerum. quae gaudia mundo, per tua lanugo cum serpere coeperit ora,
cum tibi protulerit festas nox pronuba taedas !
quae tali devota toro, quae murice fulgens 645 ibit in amplexus tanti regina mariti ?
quaenam tot divis veniet nurus, omnibus arvis
et toto donanda mari ? quantusque feretur
idem per Zephyri metas Hymenaeus et Euri !
o mihi si liceat thalamis intendere carmen 650 conubiale tuis, si te iam dicere patrem !
tempus erit, cum tu trans Rheni cornua victor, Arcadius captae spoliis Babylonis onustus
communem maiore toga signabitis annum ; crinitusque tuo sudabit fasce Suebus, 655 ultima fraternas horrebunt Bactra secures.
Marius was consul seven, Augustus thirteen, times.
334
THE FOURTH CONSULSHIP OF HONORIUS
Heaven grant thou mayest be our perpetual consul and outnumber Marius 1 and old Augustus. Happy universe that shall see the first down creep over thy cheeks, and the wedding-night that shall lead forth for thee the festal torches. Who shall be consecrated to such a couch ; who, glorious in purple, shall pass, a queen, to the embraces of such a husband ? What bride shall come to be the daughter of so many gods, dowered with every land and the whole sea ? How gloriously shall the nuptial song be borne at once to farthest East and West ! O may
it be mine to sing thy marriage-hymn, mine pre
to hail thee father !
when, thou victorious beyond the mouths of the
Rhine, and thy brother Arcadius laden with the spoil of captured Babylon, ye shall endow the year
with yet more glorious majesty ; when the long haired Suebian shall bear the arms of Rome and the distant Bactrian tremble beneath the rule of thyself and thy brother.
sently
The time will come
335
PANEGYRICUS
DICTUS MANLIO THEODORO CONSULI
PRAEFATIO
(XVI. )
Audebisne, precor, tantae subiecta catervae, inter tot proceres, nostra Thalia, loqui ?
nec te fama vetat, vero quam celsius auctam vel servasse labor vel minuisse pudor ?
an tibi continuis crevit fiducia castris 5 totaque iam vatis pectora miles habet ?
culmina Romani maiestatemque senatus et, quibus exultat Gallia, cerne viros.
omnibus audimur terris mundique per aures
ibimus. ah nimius consulis urget amor ! 10
Iuppiter, ut perhibent, spatium cum discere vellet naturae regni nescius ipse sui,
armigeros utrimque duos aequalibus alis misit ab Eois Occiduisque plagis.
Parnasus geminos fertur iunxisse volatus ; 15 contulit alternas Pythius axis aves.
Princeps non aquilis terras cognoscere curat ; certius in vobis aestimat imperium.
hoc ego concilio collectum metior orbem ;
hoc video coetu quidquid ubique micat. 20
1 See Introduction, p. xv. Judging from this poem Manlius started by being an advocatus in the praetorian prefect's court, was then praeses of some district in Africa,
then governor (consularis) of Macedonia, next recalled to
Rome as Gratian's magister epistularum, then 336
comes
PANEGYRIC ON THE CONSULSHIP OF FL. MANLIUS THEODORUS 1 (a. d. 399)
PREFACE
(XVI)
Wilt dare to sing, my Muse, when so great, so august an assembly shall be thy critic ? Does not
Tis
thine own renown forbid thee ?
thou deservest ; how hard then to enhance, how disgraceful to diminish it ! Or has thine assurance grown through ever dwelling in the camp, and does the soldier now wholly possess the poet's breast ? Behold the flower of the Roman senate, the majesty, the pride, the heroes of Gaul. The whole earth is my audience, my song shall sound in the ears of all the world. Alack ! Love for our consul
greater
now than
constrains too strongly. Jove, 'tis said, when he would fain learn its extent (for he knew not the bounds of his own empire) sent forth two eagles of equal flight from the East and from the West. On Parnassus, as they tell, their twin flights met ; the Delphic heaven brought together the one bird and the other. Our Emperor needs no eagles to teach him the magnitude of his domains ; yourselves are preceptors more convincing. 'Tis this assembly that gives to me the measure of the universe ; here I see gathered all the brilliance of the world.
sacrarum largitionum ( = ecclesiastical treasurer) and after that praetorian prefect of Gaul (11. 50-53).
vol. i z
337
PANEGYRICUS
(XVII. )
Ipsa quidem Virtus pretium sibi, solaque late Fortunae secura nitet nec fascibus ullis
erigitur plausuve petit clarescere vulgi.
nil opis externae cupiens, nil indiga laudis,
divitiis animosa suis inmotaque cunctis 5 casibus ex alta mortalia despicit arce.
attamen invitam blande vestigat et ultro
ambit honor : docuit totiens a rure profectus
lictor et in mediis consul quaesitus aratris.
te quoque naturae sacris mundique vacantem, 10 emeritum pridem desudatisque remotum
iudiciis eadem rursum complexa potestas
evehit et reducem notis imponit habenis.
accedunt trabeae : nil iam, Theodore, relictum,
quo virtus animo crescat vel splendor honori. 1 15 culmen utrumque tenes : talem te protinus anni
formavere rudes, et dignum vita curuli
traxit iter primaeque senes cessere iuventae. iam tum canities animi, iam dulce loquendi
338
1 honori conject. Birt ; honore eodd.
PANEGYRIC
(XVII)
Virtue is its own reward ; alone with its far-flung- splendour it mocks at Fortune ; no honours raise it higher nor does it seek glory from the mob's applause. External wealth cannot arouse its desires, it asks no praise but makes its boast of self-contained riches, and unmoved by all chances it looks down upon the world from a lofty citadel. Yet in its own despite importunate honours pursue it, and offer themselves unsought ; that the lictor coming from the farm hath ofttimes proved and a consul sought for even at the plough. Thou, too, who wert at leisure to study the mysteries of nature and the heavens, thou who hadst served thy time and retired from the law courts where thou hadst toiled so long, art once more enfolded by a like dignity, which, raising thee aloft, sets in thy returning hands the familiar rein. The consulship now is thine, Theodorus, nor is there now aught left to add to thy virtues or to the glory of thy name. Thou art now at the summit of both ; from thine earliest
years thy character was thus formed, the whole course of thy life was worthy of the curule chair ; thy earliest youth outrivalled age. Even then thy mind was hoar, thy pleasant talk weighty, thy
339
CLAUDIAN
pondus et attonitas sermo qui duceret aures. 20 mox undare foro victrix opulentia linguae
tutarique reos. ipsa haec amplissima sedes
orantem stupuit, bis laudatura regentem.
hinc te pars Libyae moderantem iura probavit,
quae nunc tota probat ; longi sed pignus amoris 25
exiguae peperere morae populumque clientem publica mansuris testantur vocibus aera.
inde tibi Macetum tellus et credita Pellae
moenia, quae famulus quondam ditavit Hydaspes ; tantaque commissae revocasti gaudia genti 30 mitibus arbitriis, quantum bellante Philippo
floruit aut nigri cecidit cum regia Pori.
Sed non ulterius te praebuit urbibus aula :
maluit esse suum ; terris edicta daturus,
supplicibus responsa venis. oracula regis 35
eloquio crevere tuo, nec dignius umquam
maiestas meminit sese Romana locutam.
hinc sacrae mandantur opes orbisque tributa
possessi, quidquid fluviis evolvitur auri,
quidquid luce procul venas rimata sequaces 40 abdita pallentis fodit sollertia Bessi.
Ac velut exertus lentandis navita tonsis
praeficitur lateri custos ; hinc ardua prorae
temperat et fluctus tempestatesque futuras
edocet ; adsiduo cum Dorida vicerit usu, 45 iam clavum totamque subit torquere carinam :
340
THE CONSULSHIP OF MANLIUS
converse the admiration and delight of all that heard it. The wealth of thy triumphant eloquence soon overflowed the forum and brought safety to the accused. Yea, this most august assembly was astonied at thy pleading, as it was twice to applaud
thy governance. Next, a part of Libya approved the administration which it now in its entirety enjoys ; but thy brief stay won for thee a pledge of perpetual love, and public statues bear witness with enduring eloquence that thou wert a nation's guardian. Macedonia was next committed to thy care and the walls of Pella, enriched once
by conquered Hydaspes. The mildness of thy rule brought to the country entrusted to thee such joy as it once knew under warlike Philip or when the empire of Indian
Porus fell to Alexander's arms.
But Rome could not spare thy services longer to
the provinces ; she chose rather to have thee for her own ; thou comest to give edicts to the world, to make reply to suppliants. A monarch's utterance has won dignity from thine eloquence, never can the majesty of Rome recall when she spoke more worthily. After this the offerings and wealth of the world, the tribute of the empire, is entrusted to thy care ; the gold washed down by the rivers and that dug out of deep Thracian mines by the skill of pale-faced Bessi who track the hidden seams —all is thine.
As a sailor skilled in wielding the oar is at first set in charge of but a side of the vessel, then, when he can manage the lofty prow and is able, thanks to his long experience of the sea, to know beforehand what storms and tempests the vessel is like to encounter, he has charge of the helm and is entrusted with the
341
CLAUDIAN
sic cum clara diu mentis documenta dedisses,
non te parte sui, sed in omni corpore sumpsit imperium cunctaque dedit tellure regendos
rector es. Hispana tibi Germanaque Tethys 50 paruit et nostro diducta Britannia mundo,
diversoque tuas coluerunt gurgite voces
lentus Arar Rhodanusque ferox et dives Hiberus.
o quotiens doluit Rhenus, qua barbarus ibat,
quod te non geminis frueretur iudice ripis ! 55 unius fit cura viri, quodcumque rubescit
occasu, quodcumque dies devexior ambit.
Tam celer adsiduos explevit cursus honores ;
una potestatum spatiis interfuit aetas
totque gradus fati iuvenilibus intulit annis. 60
Postquam parta quies et summum nacta cacumen iam secura petit privatum gloria portum,
ingenii redeunt fructus aliique labores,
et vitae pars nulla perit : quodcumque recedit
litibus, incumbit studiis, animusque vicissim 65 aut curam imponit populis aut otia Musis,
omnia Cecropiae relegis secreta senectae
discutiens, quid quisque novum mandaverit aevo quantaque diversae producant agmina sectae.
Namque aliis princeps rerum disponitur aer ; 70 hic confidit aquis ; hic procreat omnia flammis.
1 Claudian refers to the early Ionian philosophers. Anaximenes believed that air was the first principle of all things, Thales said water, Heraclitus fire. 1. 72 refers to Empedocles who postulated the four elements and two principles, love and hate, which respectively made and unmade the universe out of the elements. The "hie" of 1. 75 may be Democritus or it may refer to the Sceptic, Pyrrho. The "hie" of 1. 76 is Anaxagoras, the friend of Pericles. "Tile" (79) may be taken to refer to Leucippus, the first of the atomic philosophers; he postulated infinite
342
THE CONSULSHIP OF MANLIUS
direction of the entire ship ; so when thou hadst long given illustrious proofs of thy character, the empire of Rome summoned thee to govern not a part but the whole of itself, and set thee as ruler over all the rulers of the world. The seas of Spain, the German ocean obeyed thee and Britain, so far removed from our continent. - Rivers of all lands observed thy statutes, slow flowing Saone, swift Rhone, and Ebro rich in gold. How often did the Rhine, in those districts where the barbarians dwell, lament that the blessings of thy rule extended
All the lands the setting sun bathes in its rays, all that its last brilliance illumines
are entrusted to the charge of one man.
So swiftly did thy career fill office after office ;
a single period of life was enough for the round of
dignities and gave to thy youthful years every step on fortune's ladder.
When repose was earned and now, after reaching the highest place, glory, laying care aside, seeks refuge in a private life, genius again wins reward from other tasks. No part of life is lost : all that is withdrawn from the law courts is devoted to the study, and thy mind in turn either bestows its efforts on the State or its leisure on the Muses. Once more thou readest the secrets of ancient Athens, examining the discoveries with which each sage has enriched posterity and noting what hosts of disciples the varying schools produce.
For some hold that air 1 is the first beginning of all things, others that water is, others again derive the sum of things from fire. Another, destined to
space. "Hi" (82) = Democritus, Epicurus, and other atomists. " Alii " (83) are the Platonists.
" Dicturum plura parentem equidem, faveant modo numina coeptis,
voce subis :
haec effecta dabo, nec me fratrique tibique
dissimilem populi commissaque regna videbunt. 355 sed cur non potius, verbis quae disseris, usu
experior ? gelidas certe nunc tendis in Alpes.
due tecum comitem ; figant sine nostra tyrannum spicula ; pallescat nostro sine barbarus arcu. Italiamne feram furiis praedonis acerbi 360 subiectam ? patiar Romam servire clienti ?
usque adeone puer ? nec me polluta potestas
nec pia cognati tanget vindicta cruoris ?
per strages equitare libet. da protinus arma.
cur annos obicis ? pugnae cur arguor impar ? aequalis mihi Pyrrhus erat, cum Pergama solus 365 verteret et patri non degeneraret Achilli.
denique si princeps castris haerere nequibo,
vel miles veniam. "
Delibat dulcia nati
oscula miratusque refert : " laudanda petisti ; 370
sed festinus amor. veniet robustior aetas ;
ne propera. necdum decimas emensus aristas adgrederis metuenda viris : vestigia magnae 312
THE FOURTH CONSULSHIP OF HONOFJUS
demand the felling of a forest, be not ashamed to grasp the axe and hew down the oak. If a stagnant marsh must be crossed let thy horse be the first to test the depth of it. Boldly tread the frozen river ; swim the flood. Mounted thyself, ride amid thy squadrons of horse or again stand foot to foot with the infantry. They will advance the'bolder for thy presence, and with thee to witness glorious and glad shall be the fulfilment of their task. "
and said: "All this will I do, so God favour attempts. The peoples and kingdoms committed to my care shall find me not unworthy of thee nor of my brother. But why should I not experience in action what thou has taught in words ? Thou goest to the
necessity
More would he have spoken but Honorius broke in
: take me with thee. Let mine arrows pierce the tyrant's body, and the barbarians pale at my bow. Shall I allow Italy to become the prey of a ruthless bandit ? Rome to serve one who is himself but a servant ? Am I still such a child that neither power profaned nor just revenge for an uncle's blood shall move me ? Fain would I ride through blood.
wintry Alps
my
Quick, give me arms. Why castest thou my youth in my teeth ? Why thinkest me unequal to the
I am as old as was Pyrrhus when alone he Theodosius kissed his son's sweet lips and answered
combat ?
o'erthrew Troy and proved himself no degenerate from his father Achilles. If I may not remain in thy camp as a prince I will come even as a soldier. "
"
Nought have I but praise for thy petition, but this love of glory has bloomed too early. Thy strength will increase with years ; till then be patient. Though thou hast not yet completed ten
him wondering :
summers thou wouldst hansel dangers that a man 313
CLAUDIAN
indolis agnosco. fertur Pellaeus, Eoum
qui domuit Porum, cum prospera saepe Philippi 375 audiret, laetos inter flevisse sodales
nil sibi vincendum patris virtute relinqui.
hos video motus. fas sit promittere patri :
tantus eris. nostro nec debes regna favori,
quae tibi iam natura dedit. sic mollibus olim 380 stridula ducturum pratis examina regem
nascentem venerantur apes et publica mellis
iura petunt traduntque favos ; sic pascua parvus vindicat et necdum firmatis cornibus audax
iam regit armentum vitulus. sed proelia differ 385 in iuvenem patiensque meum cum fratre tuere
me bellante locum. vos impacatus Araxes,
vos celer Euphrates timeat, sit Nilus ubique
vester et emisso quidquid sol imbuit ortu.
si pateant Alpes, habeat si causa secundos 390 iustior eventus, aderis partesque receptas
suscipies, animosa tuas ut Gallia leges
audiat et nostros aequus modereris Hiberos.
tunc ego securus fati laetusque laborum
discedam, vobis utrumque regentibus axem. 395
" Interea Musis animus, dum mollior, instet
et quae mox imitere legat ; nec desinat umquam tecum Graia loqui, tecum Romana vetustas. antiquos evolve duces, adsuesce futurae
1 As is well known, the ancients mistook the sex of the queen bee.
314
THE FOURTH CONSULSHIP OF HONORIUS
I mark the tokens of a noble nature. It is said that Alexander, conqueror of eastern
might fear :
Porus, wept at the constant news of Philip's fortune, telling his companions who rejoiced thereat that his sire's valour left him nought to conquer. In thee I see like spirit. May a father be allowed this
prophecy —" thou shalt be as great " !
my goodwill thou owest the kingdom, for nature has already made it thine. So even from his birth bees reverence the king 1 who is to lead their buzzing swarms through the soft meadows, ask his public laws for the gathering of the honey and entrust to him their combs. So the spirited young heifer claims sovereignty over the grazing-grounds and, though as yet his horns are not grown strong,
It is not to
lords it over the herd. Nay
paigns till thou art a man and while I do battle patiently help thy brother to fulfil my office. Be you two the terror of untamed Araxes and of swift Euphrates ; may Nile throughout all his length belong to you and all the lands upon which the
sun lets fall his beam. Should I force a over the Alps, should success crown the
morning
passage
juster cause, thou shalt come and govern the re covered provinces, whereby fierce Gaul shall obey
thy laws and my native Spain be guided by thy just rule. Then, careless of doom and rejoicing in my labours, I shall quit this mortal life, while you,
my sons, rule either hemisphere.
" Meanwhile cultivate the Muses whilst thou art
yet young ; read of deeds thou soon mayest rival ; never may Greece's story, never may Rome's, cease to speak with thee. Study the lives of the heroes of old to accustom thee for wars that are to be.
315
: postpone
thy
cam
CLAUDIAN
militiae, Latium retro te confer in aevum. 400 libertas quaesita placet ? mirabere Brutum. perfidiam damnas ? Metti satiabere poenis.
triste rigor nimius ? Torquati despice mores,
mors impensa bonum ? Decios venerare ruentes. vel solus quid fortis agat, te ponte soluto 405 oppositus Codes, Muci te flamma docebit ;
quid mora perfringat, Fabius ; quid rebus in artis dux gerat, ostendet Gallorum strage Camillus. discitur hinc nullos meritis obsistere casus :
prorogat aeternam feritas tibi Punica famam, 410 Regule ; successus superant adversa Catonis.
discitur hinc quantum paupertas sobria possit : pauper erat Curius, reges cum vinceret armis, pauper Fabricius, Pyrrhi cum sperneret aurum ; sordida dictator flexit Serranus aratra : 415 lustratae lictore casae fascesque salignis
postibus adfixi ; collectae consule messes
et sulcata diu trabeato rura colono. "
Haec genitor praecepta dabat : velut ille carinae
longaevus rector, variis quem saepe procellis 420 exploravit hiems, ponto iam fessus et annis
alni nato commendat habenas
et casus artesque docet : quo dextra regatur
sidere ; quo fluctus possit moderamine falli ;
quae nota nimborum ; quae fraus infida sereni ; 425
1 The story of the punishment of Mettius Fufetius, the Alban dictator, by the Roman king Tullus Hostilius for his treachery in the war against Fidenae is told by Livy 28. 10) and referred to by Claudian (xv. 254). For Mucius (Scaevola) holding his arm in the flame to show Lars Porsenna how
little he, a Roman, minded bodily pain see Livy ii. 12. 316
aequoreas
(i.
THE FOURTH CONSULSHIP OF HONORIUS
Go back to the Latin age. Admirest thou a fight
for liberty ? Thou wilt admire Brutus. Does
treachery rouse thine indignation ? The punishment of Mettius1 will fill thee with satisfaction. Dost thou hate undue severity ? Abominate Torquatus' savagery. Is it a virtue to die for one's country ? Honour the self-devotion of the Decii. Horatius Codes, facing the foe on the broken bridge, Mucius holding his arm in the flames,2 these shall show thee what, single-handed, brave men can do. Fabius will show thee what overthrow delay can cause ; Camillus and his slaughter of the Gauls what in face of odds a leader can effect. From history thou mayest learn that no ill fortune can master worth ; Punic savagery extends thy fame,
to eternity ; the failure of Cato outdoes success. From history thou mayest learn the power of frugal poverty ; Curius was a poor man when he conquered kings in battle ; Fabricius was poor
when he spurned the gold of Pyrrhus ; Serranus, for all he was dictator, drove the muddy plough. In those days the lictors kept watch at a cottage door, the fasces were hung upon a gateway of wood ; consuls helped to gather in the harvest, and for long years the fields were ploughed by husbandmen who wore the consular robe. "
Such were the precepts of the sire. Even so an aged helmsman oft proved by winter's various storms, aweary now of the sea and his weight of years, commends to his son the rudder of his bark, tells him of dangers and devices —by what art the helms man's hand is guided ; what steerage may elude the wave ; what is a sign of storms ; what the treachery of a cloudless sky, the promise of the
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Regulus,
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quid sol occiduus prodat ; quo saucia vento
decolor iratos attollat Cynthia vultus.
adspice nunc, quacumque micas, seu circulus Austri, magne parens, gelidi seu te meruere Triones,
adspice : completur votum. iam natus adaequat 430 te meritis et, quod magis est optabile, vincit
subnixus Stilichone tuo, quem fratribus ipse
discedens clipeum defensoremque dedisti.
pro nobis nihil ille pati nullumque recusat
discrimen temptare sui, non dura viarum, 435 non incerta maris, Libyae squalentis harenas
audebit superare pedes madidaque cadente
Pleiade Gaetulas intrabit navita Syrtes.
Hunc tamen in primis populos lenire feroces
et Rhenum pacare iubes. volat ille citatis 440 vectus equis nullaque latus stipante caterva,
aspera nubiferas qua Raetia porrigit Alpes,
pergit et hostiles (tanta est fiducia) ripas
incomitatus adit. totum properare per amnem attonitos reges humili cervice videres. 445 ante ducem nostrum flavam sparsere Sygambri caesariem pavidoque orantes murmure Franci procubuere solo : iuratur Honorius absens
imploratque tuum supplex Alamannia nomen. Bastarnae venere truces, venit accola silvae 450
Bructerus Hercyniae latisque paludibus exit Cimber et ingentes Albim liquere Cherusci.
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setting sun ; what storm-wind frets the Moon so that discoloured she uplifts an angry face. Behold now,'
father, in whatsoever part of heaven thou shinest, be it the southern arch or the cold con stellation of the Plough that has won the honour of thy presence ; see, thy prayer has been answered ; thy son now equals thee in merit, nay, a consumma tion still more to be desired, he surpasseth thee, thanks to the support of thy dear Stilicho whom thou
thyself at thy death didst leave to guard and defend the brothers twain. For us there is nought that Stilicho is not ready to suffer, no danger to himself he is not willing to face, neither hardships of the land nor hazards of the sea. His courage will carry him on foot across the deserts of Libya, at the setting of the rainy Pleiads his ship will pene trate the Gaetulian Syrtes.
To him, however, thy first command is to calm fierce nations and bring peace to the Rhine. On wind-swift steed, no escort clinging to his side,
he crosses the cloud-capped summits of the Raetian Alps, and, so great is his trust in him self, approaches the river unattended. Then
great
thou have seen from source to mouth
mightest
come hastening up Rhine's princes, bending their heads in fearful submission. Before our general the
abased their flaxen locks and the Franks
cast themselves upon the ground and sued with
trembling voice for pardon. Germany swears allegi
ance to the absent Honorius and addresses her sup pliant prayers to him. Fierce Bastarnae were there and the Bructeri who dwell in the Hercynian forest. The Cimbrians left their broad marsh-lands, the tall Cherusci came from the river Elbe. Stilicho listens
319
Sygambri
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accipit ille preces varias tardeque rogatus
adnuit et magno pacem pro munere donat.
nobilitant veteres Germanica foedera Drusos, — 455 Marte sed ancipiti, sed multis cladibus empta
quis victum meminit sola formidine Rhenum ?
quod longis alii bellis potuere mereri,
hoc tibi dat Stilichonis iter.
Post otia Galli
limitis hortaris Graias fulcire ruinas. 460
Ionium tegitur velis ventique laborant
tot curvare sinus servaturasque Corinthum
prosequitur facili Neptunus gurgite classes,
et puer, Isthmiaci iam pridem litoris exul,
secura repetit portus cum matre Palaemon. 465 plaustra cruore natant : metitur pellita iuventus : pars morbo, pars ense perit. non lustra Lycaei,
non Erymantheae iam copia sufficit umbrae innumeris exusta rogis, nudataque ferro
sic flagrasse suas laetantur Maenala silvas. 470
excutiat cineres Ephyre, Spartanus et Areas tutior exanguis pedibus proculcet acervos
fessaque pensatis respiret Graecia poenis !
gens, qua non Scythicos diffusior ulla Triones incoluit, cui parvus Athos angustaque Thrace, 475 cum transiret, erat, per te viresque tuorum
fracta ducum lugetque sibi iam rara superstes,
et, quorum turbae spatium vix praebuit orbis,
uno colle latent. sitiens inclusaque vallo
320
1 = Corinth.
THE FOURTH CONSULSHIP OF HONORIUS
to their various prayers, gives tardy assent to their entreaties and of his great bounty bestows upon them peace. A covenant with Germany gave glory to the Drusi of old, but purchased by what uncer tain warfare, by how many disasters ! can.
Who recall the Rhine conquered by terror alone ? That which others were enabled to win by long wars—
this, Honorius, Stilicho's mere march gives thee. Thou biddest Stilicho after restoring peace in Gaul save Greece from ruin. Vessels cover the Ionian sea ; scarce can the wind fill out so many sails. Neptune with favouring currents attends the
fleet that is to save Corinth, and young Palaemon, so long an exile from the shores of his isthmus, returns in safety with his mother to the harbour. The blood of barbarians washes their chariots ; the ranks of skin-clad warriors are mowed down, some by disease, some by the sword. The glades of Lycaeus, the dark and boundless forests of Erymanthus, are not enough to furnish such countless funeral pyres ; Maenalus rejoices that the axe has stripped her of her woods to provide fuel for such a holocaust. Let Ephyre 1 rise from her ashes while Spartan and Arcadian tread under foot the heaps of slain ; let Greece's sufferings be made good and her weary land be allowed to breathe once more. That nation, wider spread than any that dwells in northern Scythia, that found Athos too small and Thrace too narrow when it crossed them, that nation, I say, was conquered by thee and thy captains, and now, in the persons of the few that survive, laments its own overthrow. One hill now shelters a people whose hordes scarce the whole world could once contain. Athirst and hemmed within their rampart they
vol. I y 321
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ereptas quaesivit aquas, quas hostibus ante 480 contiguas alio Stilicho deflexerat actu
mirantemque novas ignota per avia valles iusserat averso fluvium migrare meatu.
Obvia quid mirum vinci, cum barbarus ultro
iam cupiat servire tibi ? tua Sarmata discors 485
sacramenta petit ; proiecta pelle Gelonus militat ; in Latios ritus transistis Alani.
ut fortes in Marte viros animisque paratos,
sic iustos in pace legis longumque tueris
electos crebris nec succedentibus urges. 490 iudicibus notis regimur, fruimurque quietis militiaeque bonis, ceu bellatore Quirino,
ceu placido moderante Numa. non inminet ensis, nullae nobilium caedes ; non crimina vulgo
texuntur ; patria maestus non truditur exul ; 495 impia continui cessant augmenta tributi ;
non infelices tabulae ; non hasta refixas
vendit opes ; avida sector non voce citatur,
nec tua privatis crescunt aeraria damnis.
munificus largi, sed non et prodigus, auri. 500 perdurat non empta fides nec pectora merces
adligat ; ipsa suo pro pignore castra laborant ;
te miles nutritor amat.
Quae denique Romae
1 i. e. lists of the proscribed and of their properties put up for sale.
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THE FOURTH CONSULSHIP OF HONORIUS
in vain for the stolen waters, that, once within our foemen's reach, Stilicho had turned aside in another course, and commanded the stream, that marvelled at its strange channel amid unknown ways, to shift its altered track.
What wonder that the nations barring thy path should fall before thee, since the barbarian of his own choice now seeks to serve thee ? The Sarmatae, ever a prey to internal strife, beg to swear allegiance to thee ; the Geloni cast off their cloaks of hide and fight for thee ; you, O Alans, have adopted the customs of Latium. As thou choosest for war men that are brave and eager for the fray, so thou choosest for the offices of peace men that are just, and once
chosen keepest them long in their charge, not ousting them by ever new successors. We know the magistrates who govern us, and we enjoy the
blessings of peace while we reap the advantages of war, as though we lived at one and the same time in the reign of warlike Romulus and peace- loving Numa. A sword is no longer hung over our heads ; there are no massacres of the great ; gone is the mob of false accusers ; no melancholy exiles are driven from their fatherland. Unholy increase of perpetual taxes is at an end ; there are no accursed lists,1 no auctions of plundered wealth ; the voice of greed summons not the salesman, nor is thy treasury increased by private losses. Thou art liberal with thy money, yet not wasteful of it. The loyalty of thy soldiers is a lasting loyalty, for it is not bought, nor is it gifts that win their love ; the army is anxious for the success of its own child and loves thee who wast its nursling.
And how deep is thy devotion to Rome herself ! 323
sought
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cura tibi ! quam fixa manet reverentia patrum ! firmatur senium iuris priscamque resumunt 505
canitiem leges emendanturque vetustae
acceduntque novae. talem sensere Solonem
res Pandioniae ; sic armipotens Lacedaemon despexit muros rigido munita Lycurgo.
quae sub te vel causa brevis vel iudicis error 510 neglegitur ? dubiis quis litibus addere finem
iustior et mersum latebris educere verum ?
quae pietas quantusque rigor tranquillaque magni vis animi nulloque levis terrore moveri
nec nova mirari facilis ! quam docta facultas 515 ingenii linguaeque modus ! responsa verentur
legati, gravibusque latet sub moribus aetas.
Quantus in ore pater radiat ! quam torva voluptas
frontis et augusti maiestas grata pudoris !
iam patrias imples galeas ; iam cornus avita 520 temptatur vibranda tibi ; promittitur ingens
dextra rudimentis Romanaque vota moratur.
quis decor, incedis quotiens clipeatus et auro squameus et rutilus cristis et casside maior !
sic, cum Threicia primum sudaret in hasta, 525 flumina laverunt puerum Rhodopeia Martem.
quae vires iaculis vel, cum Gortynia tendis
spicula, quam felix arcus certique petitor
vulneris et iussum mentiri nescius ictum !
scis, quo more Cydon, qua dirigat arte sagittas 530
324
1 i. e. Athens.
THE FOURTH CONSULSHIP OF HONORIUS
How fixed abides thy reverence for the Senate ! Old customs are preserved, law has recovered its ancient sanctity in the amendment of former statutes and by the addition of new ones. Such an one as thee Pandion's city 1 found in Solon ; even so did warrior Lacedaemon disdain walls, for unyielding Lycurgus gave it defence. What case so petty, what judicial error so slight that it escapes thy notice ? Who with truer justice put an end to dishonest suits and brought forth lurking truth from her hiding-place ? What mercy, yet what firmness ; thine is the quiet strength of a great soul, too firm to be stirred by fear, too stable to be swayed by the attraction of novelty. How stored with
learning thy ready wit, how controlled thy speech ; ambassadors are awe-stricken at thine answers, and
thy grave manners make them forget thy years. How thy father's nobility shines in thy face !
How awful is thy winning brow, how charming the majesty of a blushing emperor! Boy though thou art, thou canst wear thy sire's helmet and brandish thy grandsire's spear. These exercises of thy youth foreshadow vast strength in man hood and convince Rome that the ruler of her prayers is come. How fair art thou in shield and
golden armour girt, with waving plumes and taller by the altitude of a helmet ! So looked the youthful Mars when after the toil and sweat of his first battle he bathed him in Thracian Rhodope's mountain stream. With what vigour thou hurlest the javelin, and, when thou stretchest the Cretan bow, what success attends thy shaft ! Sure is the wound it seeks ; it knows not how to fail the appointed stroke. Thou knowest in what fashion the Cretan,
325
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Armenius, refugo quae sit fiducia Partho :
sic Amphioniae pulcher sudore palaestrae
Alcides pharetras Dircaeaque tela solebat praetemptare feris olim domitura Gigantes
et pacem latura polo, semperque cruentus 535 ibat et Alcmenae praedam referebat ovanti ;
caeruleus tali prostratus Apolline Python
implicuit fractis moritura volumina silvis.
Cum vectaris equo simulacraque Martia ludis,
quis mollis sinuare fugas, quis tendere contum 540 acrior aut subitos melior flexisse recursus ?
non te Massagetae, non gens exercita campo Thessala, non ipsi poterunt aequare bimembres ;
vix comites alae, vix te suspensa sequuntur
agmina ferventesque tument post terga dracones. 545 utque tuis primum sonipes calcaribus arsit,
ignescunt patulae nares, non sentit harenas
ungula discussaeque iubae sparguntur in armos ; turbantur phalerae, spumosis morsibus aurum
fumat, anhelantes exundant sanguine gemmae. 550 ipse labor pulvisque decet confusaque motu
caesaries ; vestis radiato murice solem combibit, ingesto crispatur purpura vento.
si dominus legeretur equis, tua posceret ultro
verbera Nereidum stabulis nutritus Arion 555
serviretque tuis contempto Castore frenis 326
THE FOURTH CONSULSHIP OF HONORIUS
with what skill the Armenian, directs his arrows ; in what the retreating Parthian puts his trust. Thus was Alcides, graced with the sweat of the wrestling- ground at Thebes, wont to try his bow and Boeotian arrows on the beasts of the forest ere he turned them against the Giants and so secured peace for heaven. Stains of blood were ever upon him and proud was his mother Alcmena of the spoils he brought back home.
Such was Apollo when he slew the livid serpent that enfolded and brake down forests in his dying coils.
When mounted on thy horse thou playest the
mimicry of war, who is quicker smoothly to wheel in flight, who to hurl the spear, or more skilled to sweep round in swift return ? There the Massagetae are not
thy peers nor the tribes of Thessaly, well versed though they be in riding, no, nor the very Centaurs themselves. Scarce can the squadrons and flying bands that accompany thee keep pace, while the wind behind thee bellies the fierce dragons on the flags. So soon as the touch of thy spur has fired thy steed, flames start from his swelling nostrils ; his hoof scarce touches the ground and his mane is outspread over his shoulders. His harness rattles and the golden bit grows warm in his foam-flecked mouth. The jewels that stud his quivering bridle are red with blood. The signs of toil, the dust stains, the disorder
of thy hair all do but increase thy beauty. Thy brilliant scarlet cloak drinks in the sunlight as the wind blows its gay . surface into folds. Could horses choose their riders then surely would Arion, full fed in the stables of the Nereids, have prayed for the very whip of such a master, Cyllarus would have had none of Castor, but would have looked
327
CLAUDIAN
Cyllarus et flavum Xanthus sprevisset Achillem.
ipse tibi famulas praeberet Pegasus alas
portaretque libens melioraque pondera passus Bellerophonteas indignaretur habenas. 560 quin etiam velox Aurorae nuntius Aethon,
qui fugat hinnitu stellas roseoque domatur Lucifero, quotiens equitem te cernit ab astris, invidet inque tuis mavult spumare lupatis.
Nunc quoque quos habitus, quantae miracula
pompae
vidimus, Ausonio cum iam succinctus amictu
565
per Ligurum populos solito conspectior ires
atque inter niveas alte veherere cohortes,
obnixisque simul pubes electa lacertis
sidereum gestaret onus. sic numina Memphis 570 in vulgus proferre solet ; penetralibus exit
effigies, brevis illa quidem : sed plurimus infra
liniger imposito suspirat vecte sacerdos
testatus sudore deum ; Nilotica sistris
ripa sonat Phariosque modos Aegyptia ducit 575 tibia ; summissis admugit cornibus Apis.
omnis nobilitas, omnis tua sacra frequentat
Thybridis et Latii suboles ; convenit in unum quidquid in orbe fuit procerum, quibus auctor honoris vel tu vel genitor. numeroso consule consul 580 cingeris et socios gaudes admittere patres.
inlustri te prole Tagus, te Gallia doctis civibus et toto stipavit Roma senatu.
cervicibus aurea sedes
ornatuque novo gravior deus. asperat Indus 585
velamenta lapis pretiosaque fila smaragdis 328
J
portatur. iuvenum
THE FOURTH CONSULSHIP OF HONORIUS
to thy reins for guidance and Xanthus have scorned to bear golden-haired Achilles. Pegasus himself had lent thee his subject wings and been glad to carry thee and, now that a mightier rider bestrode him, had turned in proud disdain from Bellero- phon's bridle. Nay, Aethon, swift messenger of dawn, who routs the stars with his neigh and is driven by rosy Lucifer, seeing thee from heaven as thou ridest by, is filled with envy and would choose rather to hold thy bit in his foaming mouth.
What raiment, too, have we not seen, what miracles of splendour, when, girt with the robe of Italy, thou didst go, still more glorious than thou art wont, through the peoples of Liguria, borne aloft amid thy troops clad in triumphal white and carried upon the shoulders of chosen warriors who so proudly upheld their godlike burden ! 'Tis thus that Egypt brings forth her gods to the public gaze. The image issues from its shrine ; small it is, indeed, yet many a linen-clad priest pants beneath the pole, and by his sweat testifies that he bears a god ; Nile's banks resound to the holy rattles, and Egypt's
drones its native measure ; Apis abases his horns and lows in reply. All the nobles, all whom Tiber and Latium rear, throng thy festival ; gathered in one are all the great ones of the earth that owe their rank either to thee or to thy sire. Many a consular surrounds thee, the consul whose pleasure it is to associate the senate in thy triumph. The nobles of Spain, the wise men of Gaul, and the senators of Rome all throng round thee. On young men's necks is borne thy golden throne, and new adorning adds weight to deity. Jewels of India stud thy vestment, rows of green emeralds enrich
329
pipe
good
CLAUDIAN
ducta virent ; amethystus inest et fulgor Hiberus temperat arcanis hyacinthi caerula flammis.
nec rudis in tali suffecit gratia textu ;
auget acus meritum picturatumque metallis 590 vivit opus : multa remorantur iaspide cultus 1
et variis spirat Nereia baca figuris.
quae tantum potuit digitis mollire rigorem
ambitiosa colus ? vel cuius pectinis arte
traxerunt solidae gemmarum stamina telae ? 595 invia quis calidi scrutatus stagna profundi
Tethyos invasit gremium ? quis divitis algae germina flagrantes inter quaesivit harenas ?
quis iunxit lapides ostro ? quis miscuit ignes
Sidonii Rubrique maris ? tribuere colorem 600 Phoenices, Seres subtegmina, pondus Hydaspes.
hoc si Maeonias cinctu graderere per urbes, in te pampineos transferret Lydia thyrsos,
in te Nysa choros ; dubitassent orgia Bacchi,
cui furerent ; irent blandae sub vincula tigres. 605 talis Erythraeis intextus nebrida gemmis
Liber agit currus et Caspia flectit eburnis
colla iugis : Satyri circum crinemque solutae Maenades adstringunt hederis victricibus Indos ; ebrius hostili velatur palmite Ganges. 610
Auspice mox laetum sonuit clamore tribunal te fastos ineunte quater. sollemnia ludit omina libertas ; deductum Vindice morem
lex celebrat, famulusque iugo laxatus erili
1 Birt vultus ; cod. Ambrosianus cultus
1 Vindex (or Vindicius) was the name of the slave who was granted his liberty by Brutus for giving information of the royalist plot in which Brutus' own sons were implicated. For the story (probably an aetiological myth to explain vindicta, another word for festuca) see Livy ii. 5.
330
THE FOURTH CONSULSHIP OF HONORIUS
the seams ; there gleams the amethyst and the glint of Spanish gold makes the dark-blue sapphire show duller with its hidden fires. Nor in the weaving of such a robe was unadorned beauty enough ; the work of the needle increases its value, thread of gold and silver glows therefrom ; many an agate adorns the embroidered robes, and pearls of Ocean breathe in varied pattern. What bold hand, what distaff had skill enough to render supple elements so hard ? What loom so cunning as to weave jewels into close-textured cloth ? Who, searching out the uncharted pools of hot Eastern seas, despoiled the bosom of Tethys ? Who dared seek o'er burning sands rich growth of coral ? Who could broider precious stones on scarlet and so mingle the shining glories of the Red Sea and of Phoenicia's waters ? Tyre lent her dyes, China her silks, Hydaspes his jewels. Shouldst thou traverse Maeonian cities in such a garb, to thee would Lydia hand over her vine-wreathed thyrsus, to thee Nysa her dances ; the revels of Bacchus would have doubted whence came their madness ; tigers would pass fawning beneath thy yoke. Even such, his fawn-skin en- woven with orient gems, doth the Wine-god drive his car, guiding the necks of Hyrcanian tigers with ivory yoke ; around him satyrs and wild-haired Maenads fetter Indians with triumphant ivy, while drunken Ganges twines his hair with the vine tendril.
Already shouts of joy and of good omen resound about the consul's throne to welcome this thy fourth opening of Rome's year. Liberty enacts her wonted ceremonies ; Law observes the custom dating back to Vindex 1 whereby a slave freed from his master's service is introduced into thy presence and thence
331
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ducitur et grato remeat securior ictu. 615 tristis condicio pulsata fronte recedit ;
in civem rubuere genae, tergoque removit
verbera permissi felix iniuria voti.
Prospera Romuleis sperantur tempora rebus
in nomen ventura tuum. praemissa futuris 620 dant exempla fidem : quotiens te cursibus aevi praefecit, totiens accessit laurea patri.
ausi Danuvium quondam transnare Gruthungi
in lintres fregere nemus ; ter mille ruebant
per fluvium plenae cuneis inmanibus alni. 625 dux Odothaeus erat. tantae conamina classis incipiens aetas et primus contudit annus :
summersae sedere rates ; fluitantia numquam
largius Arctoos pavere cadavera pisces ;
corporibus premitur Peuce ; per quinque recurrens ostia barbaricos vix egerit unda cruores, 631 confessusque parens Odothaei regis opima
rettulit exuviasque tibi. civile secundis
conficis auspiciis bellum. tibi debeat orbis
fata Gruthungorum debellatumque tyrannum : 635 Hister sanguineos egit te consule fluctus ;
Alpinos genitor rupit te consule montes.
Sed patriis olim fueras successibus auctor,
nunc eris ipse tuis. semper venere triumphi
cum trabeis sequiturque tuos victoria fasces. 640
1 A reference to the Roman method of manumitting a slave alapa et festuca, i. e. by giving him a slight blow (alapa) with a rod( festuca). See Gaius on vindicatio (iv. 16) and on the whole question R. G. Nisbet in Journal of Roman Studies, viii. Pt. 1.
2 The campaign of Theodosius against Odothaeus, King of the Gruthungi (Zosimus iv. 35 calls him 'O560eos) is thus
332
THE FOURTH CONSULSHIP OF HONORIUS
dismissed—a freeman thanks to that envied stroke. 1 A blow upon the brow and his base condition is gone ; reddened cheeks have made him a citizen, and with the granting of his prayer a happy insult has given his back freedom from the lash.
Prosperity awaits our empire ; thy name is earnest for the fulfilment of our hopes. The past guarantees the future ; each time that thy sire made thee chief magistrate of the year the laurels of victory crowned his arms. Once the Gruthungi, hewing down a forest to make them boats, dared to pass beyond the Danube. Three thousand vessels, each crowded with a barbarous crew, made a dash across the river. Odothaeus was their leader. Thy youth, nay, the first year of thy life, crushed the attempt of that formidable fleet. Its boats filled and sank ; never did the fish of that northern river feed more lavishly on the bodies of men. The island of Peuce was heaped high with corpses. Scarce even through five mouths could the river rid itself of barbarian blood, and thy sire, owning thine influence, gave thanks to thee for the spoils won in person from King Odothaeus. Consul a second time thou didst end civil war by thine auspices. Let the world thank thee for the overthrow of the Gruthungi and the defeat of their king ; thou wast consul when the Danube ran red with their blood, thou wast consul, too, when thy sire crossed the Alps to victory. 2
But thou, once author of thy father's successes, shalt now be author of thine own. Triumph has ever attended thy consulship and victory thy fasces.
dated as 386, the year of Honorius' first consulship
note on viii. 153). Honorius' second consulship (394) saw the defeat of Eugenius.
(see 333
CLAUDIAN
sis, precor, adsiduus consul Mariique relinquas
et senis Augusti numerum. quae gaudia mundo, per tua lanugo cum serpere coeperit ora,
cum tibi protulerit festas nox pronuba taedas !
quae tali devota toro, quae murice fulgens 645 ibit in amplexus tanti regina mariti ?
quaenam tot divis veniet nurus, omnibus arvis
et toto donanda mari ? quantusque feretur
idem per Zephyri metas Hymenaeus et Euri !
o mihi si liceat thalamis intendere carmen 650 conubiale tuis, si te iam dicere patrem !
tempus erit, cum tu trans Rheni cornua victor, Arcadius captae spoliis Babylonis onustus
communem maiore toga signabitis annum ; crinitusque tuo sudabit fasce Suebus, 655 ultima fraternas horrebunt Bactra secures.
Marius was consul seven, Augustus thirteen, times.
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Heaven grant thou mayest be our perpetual consul and outnumber Marius 1 and old Augustus. Happy universe that shall see the first down creep over thy cheeks, and the wedding-night that shall lead forth for thee the festal torches. Who shall be consecrated to such a couch ; who, glorious in purple, shall pass, a queen, to the embraces of such a husband ? What bride shall come to be the daughter of so many gods, dowered with every land and the whole sea ? How gloriously shall the nuptial song be borne at once to farthest East and West ! O may
it be mine to sing thy marriage-hymn, mine pre
to hail thee father !
when, thou victorious beyond the mouths of the
Rhine, and thy brother Arcadius laden with the spoil of captured Babylon, ye shall endow the year
with yet more glorious majesty ; when the long haired Suebian shall bear the arms of Rome and the distant Bactrian tremble beneath the rule of thyself and thy brother.
sently
The time will come
335
PANEGYRICUS
DICTUS MANLIO THEODORO CONSULI
PRAEFATIO
(XVI. )
Audebisne, precor, tantae subiecta catervae, inter tot proceres, nostra Thalia, loqui ?
nec te fama vetat, vero quam celsius auctam vel servasse labor vel minuisse pudor ?
an tibi continuis crevit fiducia castris 5 totaque iam vatis pectora miles habet ?
culmina Romani maiestatemque senatus et, quibus exultat Gallia, cerne viros.
omnibus audimur terris mundique per aures
ibimus. ah nimius consulis urget amor ! 10
Iuppiter, ut perhibent, spatium cum discere vellet naturae regni nescius ipse sui,
armigeros utrimque duos aequalibus alis misit ab Eois Occiduisque plagis.
Parnasus geminos fertur iunxisse volatus ; 15 contulit alternas Pythius axis aves.
Princeps non aquilis terras cognoscere curat ; certius in vobis aestimat imperium.
hoc ego concilio collectum metior orbem ;
hoc video coetu quidquid ubique micat. 20
1 See Introduction, p. xv. Judging from this poem Manlius started by being an advocatus in the praetorian prefect's court, was then praeses of some district in Africa,
then governor (consularis) of Macedonia, next recalled to
Rome as Gratian's magister epistularum, then 336
comes
PANEGYRIC ON THE CONSULSHIP OF FL. MANLIUS THEODORUS 1 (a. d. 399)
PREFACE
(XVI)
Wilt dare to sing, my Muse, when so great, so august an assembly shall be thy critic ? Does not
Tis
thine own renown forbid thee ?
thou deservest ; how hard then to enhance, how disgraceful to diminish it ! Or has thine assurance grown through ever dwelling in the camp, and does the soldier now wholly possess the poet's breast ? Behold the flower of the Roman senate, the majesty, the pride, the heroes of Gaul. The whole earth is my audience, my song shall sound in the ears of all the world. Alack ! Love for our consul
greater
now than
constrains too strongly. Jove, 'tis said, when he would fain learn its extent (for he knew not the bounds of his own empire) sent forth two eagles of equal flight from the East and from the West. On Parnassus, as they tell, their twin flights met ; the Delphic heaven brought together the one bird and the other. Our Emperor needs no eagles to teach him the magnitude of his domains ; yourselves are preceptors more convincing. 'Tis this assembly that gives to me the measure of the universe ; here I see gathered all the brilliance of the world.
sacrarum largitionum ( = ecclesiastical treasurer) and after that praetorian prefect of Gaul (11. 50-53).
vol. i z
337
PANEGYRICUS
(XVII. )
Ipsa quidem Virtus pretium sibi, solaque late Fortunae secura nitet nec fascibus ullis
erigitur plausuve petit clarescere vulgi.
nil opis externae cupiens, nil indiga laudis,
divitiis animosa suis inmotaque cunctis 5 casibus ex alta mortalia despicit arce.
attamen invitam blande vestigat et ultro
ambit honor : docuit totiens a rure profectus
lictor et in mediis consul quaesitus aratris.
te quoque naturae sacris mundique vacantem, 10 emeritum pridem desudatisque remotum
iudiciis eadem rursum complexa potestas
evehit et reducem notis imponit habenis.
accedunt trabeae : nil iam, Theodore, relictum,
quo virtus animo crescat vel splendor honori. 1 15 culmen utrumque tenes : talem te protinus anni
formavere rudes, et dignum vita curuli
traxit iter primaeque senes cessere iuventae. iam tum canities animi, iam dulce loquendi
338
1 honori conject. Birt ; honore eodd.
PANEGYRIC
(XVII)
Virtue is its own reward ; alone with its far-flung- splendour it mocks at Fortune ; no honours raise it higher nor does it seek glory from the mob's applause. External wealth cannot arouse its desires, it asks no praise but makes its boast of self-contained riches, and unmoved by all chances it looks down upon the world from a lofty citadel. Yet in its own despite importunate honours pursue it, and offer themselves unsought ; that the lictor coming from the farm hath ofttimes proved and a consul sought for even at the plough. Thou, too, who wert at leisure to study the mysteries of nature and the heavens, thou who hadst served thy time and retired from the law courts where thou hadst toiled so long, art once more enfolded by a like dignity, which, raising thee aloft, sets in thy returning hands the familiar rein. The consulship now is thine, Theodorus, nor is there now aught left to add to thy virtues or to the glory of thy name. Thou art now at the summit of both ; from thine earliest
years thy character was thus formed, the whole course of thy life was worthy of the curule chair ; thy earliest youth outrivalled age. Even then thy mind was hoar, thy pleasant talk weighty, thy
339
CLAUDIAN
pondus et attonitas sermo qui duceret aures. 20 mox undare foro victrix opulentia linguae
tutarique reos. ipsa haec amplissima sedes
orantem stupuit, bis laudatura regentem.
hinc te pars Libyae moderantem iura probavit,
quae nunc tota probat ; longi sed pignus amoris 25
exiguae peperere morae populumque clientem publica mansuris testantur vocibus aera.
inde tibi Macetum tellus et credita Pellae
moenia, quae famulus quondam ditavit Hydaspes ; tantaque commissae revocasti gaudia genti 30 mitibus arbitriis, quantum bellante Philippo
floruit aut nigri cecidit cum regia Pori.
Sed non ulterius te praebuit urbibus aula :
maluit esse suum ; terris edicta daturus,
supplicibus responsa venis. oracula regis 35
eloquio crevere tuo, nec dignius umquam
maiestas meminit sese Romana locutam.
hinc sacrae mandantur opes orbisque tributa
possessi, quidquid fluviis evolvitur auri,
quidquid luce procul venas rimata sequaces 40 abdita pallentis fodit sollertia Bessi.
Ac velut exertus lentandis navita tonsis
praeficitur lateri custos ; hinc ardua prorae
temperat et fluctus tempestatesque futuras
edocet ; adsiduo cum Dorida vicerit usu, 45 iam clavum totamque subit torquere carinam :
340
THE CONSULSHIP OF MANLIUS
converse the admiration and delight of all that heard it. The wealth of thy triumphant eloquence soon overflowed the forum and brought safety to the accused. Yea, this most august assembly was astonied at thy pleading, as it was twice to applaud
thy governance. Next, a part of Libya approved the administration which it now in its entirety enjoys ; but thy brief stay won for thee a pledge of perpetual love, and public statues bear witness with enduring eloquence that thou wert a nation's guardian. Macedonia was next committed to thy care and the walls of Pella, enriched once
by conquered Hydaspes. The mildness of thy rule brought to the country entrusted to thee such joy as it once knew under warlike Philip or when the empire of Indian
Porus fell to Alexander's arms.
But Rome could not spare thy services longer to
the provinces ; she chose rather to have thee for her own ; thou comest to give edicts to the world, to make reply to suppliants. A monarch's utterance has won dignity from thine eloquence, never can the majesty of Rome recall when she spoke more worthily. After this the offerings and wealth of the world, the tribute of the empire, is entrusted to thy care ; the gold washed down by the rivers and that dug out of deep Thracian mines by the skill of pale-faced Bessi who track the hidden seams —all is thine.
As a sailor skilled in wielding the oar is at first set in charge of but a side of the vessel, then, when he can manage the lofty prow and is able, thanks to his long experience of the sea, to know beforehand what storms and tempests the vessel is like to encounter, he has charge of the helm and is entrusted with the
341
CLAUDIAN
sic cum clara diu mentis documenta dedisses,
non te parte sui, sed in omni corpore sumpsit imperium cunctaque dedit tellure regendos
rector es. Hispana tibi Germanaque Tethys 50 paruit et nostro diducta Britannia mundo,
diversoque tuas coluerunt gurgite voces
lentus Arar Rhodanusque ferox et dives Hiberus.
o quotiens doluit Rhenus, qua barbarus ibat,
quod te non geminis frueretur iudice ripis ! 55 unius fit cura viri, quodcumque rubescit
occasu, quodcumque dies devexior ambit.
Tam celer adsiduos explevit cursus honores ;
una potestatum spatiis interfuit aetas
totque gradus fati iuvenilibus intulit annis. 60
Postquam parta quies et summum nacta cacumen iam secura petit privatum gloria portum,
ingenii redeunt fructus aliique labores,
et vitae pars nulla perit : quodcumque recedit
litibus, incumbit studiis, animusque vicissim 65 aut curam imponit populis aut otia Musis,
omnia Cecropiae relegis secreta senectae
discutiens, quid quisque novum mandaverit aevo quantaque diversae producant agmina sectae.
Namque aliis princeps rerum disponitur aer ; 70 hic confidit aquis ; hic procreat omnia flammis.
1 Claudian refers to the early Ionian philosophers. Anaximenes believed that air was the first principle of all things, Thales said water, Heraclitus fire. 1. 72 refers to Empedocles who postulated the four elements and two principles, love and hate, which respectively made and unmade the universe out of the elements. The "hie" of 1. 75 may be Democritus or it may refer to the Sceptic, Pyrrho. The "hie" of 1. 76 is Anaxagoras, the friend of Pericles. "Tile" (79) may be taken to refer to Leucippus, the first of the atomic philosophers; he postulated infinite
342
THE CONSULSHIP OF MANLIUS
direction of the entire ship ; so when thou hadst long given illustrious proofs of thy character, the empire of Rome summoned thee to govern not a part but the whole of itself, and set thee as ruler over all the rulers of the world. The seas of Spain, the German ocean obeyed thee and Britain, so far removed from our continent. - Rivers of all lands observed thy statutes, slow flowing Saone, swift Rhone, and Ebro rich in gold. How often did the Rhine, in those districts where the barbarians dwell, lament that the blessings of thy rule extended
All the lands the setting sun bathes in its rays, all that its last brilliance illumines
are entrusted to the charge of one man.
So swiftly did thy career fill office after office ;
a single period of life was enough for the round of
dignities and gave to thy youthful years every step on fortune's ladder.
When repose was earned and now, after reaching the highest place, glory, laying care aside, seeks refuge in a private life, genius again wins reward from other tasks. No part of life is lost : all that is withdrawn from the law courts is devoted to the study, and thy mind in turn either bestows its efforts on the State or its leisure on the Muses. Once more thou readest the secrets of ancient Athens, examining the discoveries with which each sage has enriched posterity and noting what hosts of disciples the varying schools produce.
For some hold that air 1 is the first beginning of all things, others that water is, others again derive the sum of things from fire. Another, destined to
space. "Hi" (82) = Democritus, Epicurus, and other atomists. " Alii " (83) are the Platonists.
