No More Learning

Together we caused Thracian Hebrus to run red with Getic blood, together overthrew the squadrons of the Sarmatae, together rested our weary limbs on the snows of
Mount Riphaeus and seared the frozen Danube with our chariot's wheel — come, therefore, since
heaven's halls claim me, do thou take
task ; be thou sole guardian of my children, let thy hand protect my two sons. I adjure thee by
up my 281
CLAUDIAN
per consanguineos thalamos noctemque beatam,
per taedas, quas ipsa tuo regina levavit 153 coniugio sociaque nurum produxit ab aula,
indue mente patrem, crescentes dilige fetus
ut ducis, ut soceri. Iamiam securus ad astra
te custode ferar ; rupta si mole Typhoeus
prosiliat, vinclis Tityos si membra resolvat, 160 si furor Enceladi proiecta mugiat Aetna,
opposito Stilichone cadent. "
Nec plura locutus, sicut erat, liquido signavit tramite nubes
ingrediturque globum Lunae limenque relinquit Arcados et Veneris clementes advolat auras. 165 hinc Phoebi permensus iter flammamque nocentem Gradivi placidumque Iovem ; stetit arce suprema, algenti qua zona riget Saturnia tractu.
machina laxatur caeli rutilaeque patescunt
sponte fores. Arctoa parat convexa Bootes, 170 australes reserat portas succinctus Orion
invitantque novum sidus, pendentque vicissim
quas partes velit ipse sequi, quibus esse sodalis
dignetur stellis aut qua regione morari.
o decus aetherium, terrarum gloria quondam, 175 te tuus Oceanus natali gurgite lassum
excipit et notis Hispania proluit undis.
fortunate parens, primos cum detegis ortus,
adspicis Arcadium ; cum te proclivior urges, occiduum visus remoratur Honorius ignem ; 180
et quocumque vagos flectas sub cardine cursus, 282
THE THIRD CONSULSHIP OF HONORIUS
that marriage that makes thee kin with me, by the night that saw its consummation, by the torch
which at thy wedding-feast the queen carried in her own hand when she led thy bride-elect from out
the imperial palace, take on thee a father's spirit, guard the years of their childhood. Was not their sire thy master and thy wife's father ? Now, now I shall mount untroubled to the stars for thou wilt watch over them. Even should Typhoeus rend away the rocks and leap forth, should Tityus free his captive limbs, should Enceladus, hurling Etna from him, roar in rage — each and all will fall before Stilicho's attack. "
He spake no more but still in human form clove a furrow of light through the clouds ; he passes to Luna's globe, leaves Mercury's threshold and hastens to the gentle airs of Venus. Hence he tra verses Phoebus' path, Mars' baleful fires and Jupiter's quiet quarters, and stands upon the very crown of the sky, cold Saturn's frozen zone. Heaven's fabric opens, unbidden the shining doors swing back. Bootes prepares a place in the vault of the northern sky, sword-girt Orion unbars the portals of the south ;
offer welcome to the new star, uncertain each in turn to what region he will betake himself, what constellation he will grace with his presence, or in what quarter he will elect to shine alone. O glory of heaven as once thou wert of earth, the ocean that laves the shores of the land of thy birth receives thee wearied with thy nightly course, Spain bathes thee in thy natal waves. Happy father, when first thou risest above the horizon thou lookest upon Arcadius, when thou dippest to thy setting the sight of Honorius delays thy westering fires. Through whichever hemisphere thou takest thy wandering
283
they
CLAUDIAN
natorum per regna venis, qui mente serena maturoque regunt iunctas moderamine gentes, saecula qui rursus formant meliore metallo. luget Avarities Stygiis innexa catenis
cumque suo demens expellitur Ambitus auro. non dominantur opes nec corrumpentia sensus dona valent : emitur sola virtute potestas.
Unanimi fratres, quorum mare terraque fatis debetur, quodcumque manus evasit avitas, quod superest patri : vobis iam Mulciber arma praeparat et Sicula Cyclops incude laborat, Brontes innumeris exasperat aegida signis, altum fulminea crispare in casside conum festinat Steropes, nectit thoraca Pyragmon ignifluisque gemit Lipare fumosa cavernis. vobis Ionia virides Neptunus in alga
nutrit equos, qui summa freti per caerula possint ferre viam segetemque levi percurrere motu, nesciat ut spumas nec proterat ungula culmos. iam video Babylona rapi Parthumque coactum non ficta trepidare fuga, iam Bactra teneri legibus et famulis Gangen pallescere ripis
gemmatosque humilem dispergere Persida cultus. ite per extremum Tanaim pigrosque Triones,
ijte per ardentem Libyam, superate vapores solis et arcanos Nili deprendite fontes, Herculeum finem, Bacchi transcurrite metas :
Indus ebur, ramos Panchaia, vellera Seres. 284
vestri iuris erit, quidquid complectitur
vobis Rubra dabunt pretiosas aequora conchas,
axis,
THE THIRD CONSULSHIP OF HONORIUS
journey, thou passest over the domains of sons who with tranquil mind and ripe control rule over allied peoples, who once again fashion the ages from a nobler ore. Avarice is left to weep in
Stygian chains, mad Ambition and his gold banished afar.
Wealth does not hold sway ; sense-corrupting gifts are of no avail ; virtue alone can purchase power.
Brothers twain, with the heart of one, brothers to
whose rule fate has entrusted sea and land, if there
is aught that has escaped your grandsire's conquering hand, aught your father has left unsubdued, even now Vulcan prepares the arms for their subjection and Cyclops labours on the Sicilian anvil. Brontes carves countless figures on the shield, Steropes hastes to bend the lofty peak of the flashing helmet, Pyrag- mon knits the coat of mail, smoky Lipare roars throughout its fire-belching caves. 'Tis for you that Neptune pastures in the sea-weed meadows of the Ionian main green sea-horses who can fly o'er the surface of the blue waters with so light a step that their hoofs are unflecked with foam, and course o'er fields of corn so delicately that the ears do not bend beneath their weight. E'en now I see the sack of Babylon and the Parthian driven to flight that is not feigned, Bactria subjected to the Law, the fearful pallor of the Ganges' servile banks, the humbled Per sian throwing off his gem-encrusted robes. Mount
to Tanais' source, explore the frozen North, traverse sun-scorched Libya, o'ercome the fires of Titan and surprise Nile's hidden spring ; pass the Pillars of Hercules, the bourne, too, whence Bacchus returned ; whatever heaven enfolds shall own your dominion. To you the Red Sea shall give precious shells, India her ivory, Panchaia perfumes, and China silk.
285
PANEGYRICUS
DE QUARTO CONSULATU HONORII AUGUSTI
(VIII. )
Auspiciis iterum sese regalibus annus
induit et nota fruitur iactantior aula,
limina nec passi circum privata morari
exultant reduces Augusto consule fasces,
cernis ut armorum proceres legumque potentes 5 patricios sumant 1 habitus ? et more Gabino
discolor incedit legio positisque parumper bellorum signis sequitur vexilla Quirini.
lictori cedunt aquilae ridetque togatus
miles et in mediis effulget curia castris. 10 ipsa Palatino circumvallata senatu
iam trabeam Bellona gerit parmamque removit
et galeam sacras umeris vectura curules.
nec te laurigeras pudeat, Gradive, secures
pacata gestare manu Latiaque micantem 15 loricam mutare toga, dum ferreus haeret
currus et Eridani ludunt per prata iugales.
Haud indigna coli nec nuper cognita Marti Ulpia progenies et quae diademata mundo
sparsit Hibera domus. nec tantam vilior unda 20 1 sumant B ; Birt reads sumunt, following the other uss.
286
As marking a festival ; see note on vii. 3.
PANEGYRIG ON THE FOURTH CONSULSHIP OF THE EMPEROR HONORIUS (a. d. 398)
(VIII)
Once more the year opens under royal auspices and enjoys in fuller pride its famous prince ; not
to linger around private thresholds the returning fasces rejoice in Caesar's consulship Seest thou how the armed chiefs and mighty judges don the raiment of senators ? and the soldiers step forth in garb of peaceful hue worn Gabine 1 wise, and laying aside for a season the standards of war follow the banner of Quirinus. The eagles give way to the lictors, the smiling soldier wears the toga of peace and the senate-house casts
its brilliance in the midst of the camp. Bellona herself, surrounded by a noble band of senators, puts on the consul's gown and lays by her shield and helmet in order to harness the sacred curule chair to her shoulders. Think it no shame, Gradivus, to bear the laurel-crowned axes in a hand of peace and to
brooking
for the Latin toga while thine iron chariot remains unused and
exchange thy shining breastplate
thy steeds disport them in the pastures of Eridanus.
Not unworthy of reverence nor but acquainted with war is the family of Trajan and that
house which has showered diadems upon the world. No common stream was held worthy
287
Spanish
newly
GLAUDIAN
promeruit gentis seriem : cunabula fovit
Oceanus ; terrae dominos pelagique futuros
inmenso decuit rerum de principe nasci.
hinc processit avus, cui post Arctoa frementi
classica Massylas adnexuit Africa laurus, 25 ille, Caledoniis posuit qui castra pruinis,
qui medios Libyae sub casside pertulit aestus, terribilis Mauro debellatorque Britanni
litoris ac pariter Boreae vastator et Austri.
quid rigor aeternus, caeli quid frigora prosunt 30 ignotumque fretum ? maduerunt Saxone fuso Orcades ; incaluit Pictorum sanguine Thyle ; Scottorum cumulos flevit glacialis Hiverne.
quid calor obsistit forti ? per vasta cucurrit Aethiopum cinxitque novis Atlanta maniplis, 35
virgineum Tritona bibit sparsosque venenis Gorgoneos vidit thalamos et vile virentes
Hesperidum risit, quos ditat fabula, ramos.
arx incensa Iubae, rabies Maurusia ferro
cessit et antiqui penetralia diruta Bocchi. 40
Sed laudes genitor longe transgressus avitas subdidit Oceanum sceptris et margine caeli
clausit opes, quantum distant a Tigride Gades,
inter se Tanais quantum Nilusque relinquunt :
haec tamen innumeris per se quaesita tropaeis, 45
1 Claudian is thinking of such passages in Homer as e. g. II. xiv. 245-246 :
'Qxeavov, Ss ircp yiveais tAvtwci Htvutm,
or perhaps Vergil's Oceanumque patrem rerum (Virg. Oeorg. iv. 382).
288
THE FOURTH CONSULSHIP OF HONORIUS
to water the homeland of so illustrious a race ; Ocean laved their cradle, for it befitted the future lords of earth and sea to have their origin in the great father 1 of all things. Hence came Theodosius, grandfather of Honorius, for whom, exultant after his northern victories, Africa twined fresh laurels won from the Massylae. 'Twas he who pitched his camp amid the snows of Caledonia,2 who never doffed his helmet for all the heat of a Libyan summer, who struck terror into the Moors, brought into subjection the coasts of Britain and with equal success laid waste the north and the south. What avail against him the eternal snows, the frozen air, the uncharted sea ? The Orcades ran red with Saxon slaughter ; Thule was warm with the blood of Picts ; ice-bound Hibernia wept for the heaps of slain Scots. Could heat stay the advance of a courageous general ? No ; he overran the deserts of Ethiopia, invested Atlas with troops strange to him, drank of lake Triton where was born the virgin goddess Minerva, beheld the Gorgon's empoisoned lair, and laughed to see the common verdure of those gardens of the Hesperides which story had clothed with gold. Juba's fortress was burned down, the frenzied valour of the Moor yielded to the sword and the palace of ancient Bocchus was razed to the ground.
But thy father's fame far surpassed that of thy grandsire : he subdued Ocean to his governance and set the sky for border to his kingdom, ruling from Gades to the Tigris, and all that lies 'twixt Tanais and Nile ; yet all these lands won by count less triumphs of his own, he gained them not by gift
vol. i
2 Cf. note on xv. 216.
u 289
CLAUDIAN
non generis dono, non ambitione potitus.
digna legi virtus. ultro se purpura supplex
obtulit et solus meruit regnare rogatus.
nam cum barbaries penitus commota gementem inrueret Rhodopen et mixto turbine gentes 50
iam deserta suas in nos transfunderet Arctos, Danuvii totae vomerent cum proelia ripae,
cum Geticis ingens premeretur Mysia plaustris flavaque Bistonios operirent agmina campos,
omnibus adflictis et vel labentibus ictu 55 vel prope casuris : unus tot funera contra
restitit extinxitque faces agrisque colonos
reddidit et leti rapuit de faucibus urbes.
nulla relicta foret Romani nominis umbra,
ni pater ille tuus iamiam ruitura subisset 60
pondera turbatamque ratem certaque levasset naufragium commune manu : velut ordine rupto
cum procul insanae traherent Phaethonta
quadrigae saeviretque dies terramque et stagna propinqui
haurirent radii, solito cum murmur e torvis 65 sol occurrit equis ; qui postquam rursus eriles agnovere sonos, rediit meliore magistro
machina concentusque poli, currusque recepit imperium flammaeque modum.
Sic traditus ille servatusque Oriens. at non pars altera rerum 70
tradita : bis possessa manu, bis parta periclis. per varium gemini scelus erupere tyranni tractibus occiduis : hunc saeva Britannia fudit ;
290
THE FOURTH CONSULSHIP OF HONORIUS
of birth or from lust of power. It was his own merit secured his election. Unsought the purple begged his acceptance of itself ; he alone when asked to rule was worthy to do so. For when unrest at home drove barbarian hordes over unhappy Rhodope and the now deserted north had poured its tribes in wild confusion across our borders, when all the banks of Danube poured forth battles and broad Mysia rang beneath the chariots of the Getae, when flaxen-haired hordes covered the plains of Thrace and amid this universal ruin all was either prostrate or tottering to its fall, one man alone withstood the tide of disaster, quenched the flames, restored to the husbandmen their fields and snatched the cities from the very jaws of destruction. No shadow of Rome's name had survived had not thy sire borne up the tottering mass, succoured the storm-tossed bark and with sure hand averted universal ship wreck. As when the maddened coursers broke from their path and carried Phaethon far astray, when day's heat grew fierce and the sun's rays, brought near to earth, dried up both land and sea, Phoebus checked his fierce horses with his wonted voice ; for they knew once more their master's tones, and with a happier guide heaven's harmonious order was restored ; for now the chariot again accepted govern ment and its fires control.
Thus was the East entrusted to him and thus was its salvation assured ; but the other half of the world was not so entrusted : twice was the West gained by valour, twice won by dangers. In those lands of the sunset by manifold crime there arose to power tyrants twain : wild Britain produced
one (Maximus), the other (Eugenius) was chosen 291
CLAUDIAN
hunc sibi Germanus famulum delegerat exul :
ausus uterque nefas, domini respersus uterque 75 insontis kigulo. novitas audere priori
suadebat cautumque dabant exempla sequentem. hie nova moliri praeceps, hie quaerere tuta
providus ; hie fusis, collectis viribus ille ;
hie vagus excurrens, hie intra claustra reductus. 80 dissimiles, sed morte pares. evadere neutri
dedecus aut mixtis licuit procumbere teUs.
amissa specie, raptis insignibus ambo
in vultus rediere suos manibusque revinctis
oblati gladiis summittunt colla paratis 85 et vitam veniamque rogant. pro damna pudoris ! qui modo tam densas nutu movere cohortes,
in quos iam dubius sese libraverat orbis,
non hostes victore cadunt, sed iudice sontes ;
damnat voce reos, petiit quos Marte tyrannos. 90 amborum periere duces : hie sponte carina
decidit in fluctus, illum suus abstulit ensis ;
hunc Alpes, hunc pontus habet. solacia caesis fratribus haec ultor tribuit : necis auctor uterque labitur ; Augustas par victima mitigat umbras. 95 has dedit inferias tumulis, iuvenumque duorum purpureos merito placavit sanguine manes.
Illi iustitiam confirmavere triumphi,
1 Maximus was responsible for the murder of the Emperor Gratian, Eugenius for that of Valentinian II. See Intro duction, p. viii.
292
THE FOURTH CONSULSHIP OF HONORIUS
as a tool by a Frankish outlaw (Arbogast). Both dared monstrous guilt ; both stained their hands with an innocent emperor's 1 blood. Sudden elevation inspired Maximus with audacity, his failure taught his successor caution. Maximus was quick to arm rebellion, Eugenius careful to attempt only what was safe. The one o'erran the country, spreading his forces in all directions, the other kept his troops together and himself secure behind a rampart. Different were they, but in their deaths alike. To neither was it granted to escape an ignominious end and to fall in the thick of the fight. Gone was their glory, their weapons were reft from them and they reduced to their former state ; their arms were bound behind their backs and they stretched forth their necks to the sword's imminent stroke, begging for pardon and for life. What a fall did pride there suffer ! They who but lately had moved such
countless cohorts with but a nod, into whose palm
a wavering world had hung ready to drop, fall not as warriors at a victor's hand but as malefactors before a judge ; he sentences with his voice as criminals those whom he assailed in war as tyrants. With both perished their lieutenants :
Andragathius hurled himself from his ship into the waves, Arbo
gast took his life with his own sword ; the Alps mark the tomb of the one, the sea of the other. This solace at least the avenger afforded to those mur dered brothers that both the authors of their deaths themselves were slain ; two victims went to appease those royal ghosts. Such was Theodosius' oblation at their tomb and with the blood of the guilty he appeased the shades of the two young emperors.
Those triumphs stablished Justice on her throne 293
CLAUDIAN
docuere deos. hinc saecula discant indomitum nihil esse pio tutumve nocenti : 100 nuntius ipse sui longas incognitus egit
praevento rumore vias, inopinus utrumque
perculit et clausos montes, ut plana, reliquit.
extruite inmanes scopulos, attollite turres,
cingite vos fluviis, vastas opponite silvas, 105 Garganum Alpinis Appenninumque nivalem permixtis sociate iugis et rupibus Haemum
addite Caucasiis, involvite Pelion Ossae :
non dabitis murum sceleri. qui vindicet, ibit : omnia subsident meliori pervia causae. 110
Nec tamen oblitus civem cedentibus atrox partibus infremuit ; non insultare iacenti malebat : mitis precibus, pietatis abundans,
poenae parous erat ; paci non intulit iram ;
post acies odiis idem qui terminus armis. 115 profuit hoc vincente capi, multosque subactos prospera1 laturae commendavere catenae.
magnarum largitor opum, largitor honorum
pronus et in melius gaudens converter e fata.
hinc amor, hinc validum devoto milite robur. 120 hinc natis mansura fides.
Hoc nobilis ortu nasceris aequaeva cum maiestate creatus
nullaque privatae passus contagia sortis.
omnibus acceptis ultro te regia solum
protulit et patrio felix adolescis in ostro, 125
1 Birt, with the mss. , aspera ; / return to the prospera of the edit. princeps.
praesentes
1 i. e. by winning first the pity and then the favour of Theodosius.
2 " Only," because Arcadius was born before Theodosius became emperor.
294
THE FOURTH CONSULSHIP OF HONORIUS
and taught that heaven gives help. From them let the ages learn that righteousness need fear no foe and guilt expect no safety. Himself his own messenger, outstripping the rumour of his approach, Theodosius traversed those long journeys undetected by his enemies. Suddenly he fell on both, passing over entrenched mountains as if they were a plain. Build up monstrous rocks, raise towers, surround yourselves with rivers, set limitless forests to protect you, put Garganus and the snowy Apennines upon
the summits of the Alps that all form one vast moun tain barrier, plant Haemus on the crags of Caucasus, roll Pelion on Ossa, yet will ye not gain security for guilt. The avenger will come ; for the better cause all things shall sink to make a path.
Yet never did Theodosius forget that he and the vanquished were fellow-citizens, nor was his anger implacable against those who yielded. Not his the choice to exult over the fallen. His ears were open to prayers, his clemency unbounded, his vengeance restrained. His anger did not survive
the war to darken the days of peace ; the day that set an end to the combat set an end to his wrath. Capture by such a victor was a gain ; and many a conquered foe did their chains commend to future fortune. 1 As liberal of money as of honours he was ever bent to redress the injuries of fate.
Hence the love, the fortitude, the devotion of his troops ; hence their abiding loyalty to his sons.
Child of so noble a sire, thy kingly state was coeval with thy birth nor ever knewest thou the soilure of a private lot. To thee all things came unsought ; thee only 2 did a palace rear ; thy happy growth was in ancestral purple, and thy limbs, never
295
CLAUDIAN
membraque vestitu numquam violata profano
in sacros cecidere sinus. Hispania patrem
auriferis eduxit aquis, te gaudet alumno
Bosphorus. Hesperio de limine surgit origo,
sed nutrix Aurora tibi ; pro pignore tanto 130 certatur, geminus civem te vindicat axis.
Herculis et Bromii sustentat gloria Thebas,
haesit Apollineo Delos Latonia partu
Cretaque se iactat tenero reptata Tonanti ;
sed melior Delo, Dictaeis clarior oris 135 quae dedit hoc numen regio ; non litora nostro sufficerent angusta deo. nec inhospita Cynthi
saxa tuos artus duro laesere cubili :
adclinis genetrix auro, circumflua gemmis
in Tyrios enixa toros ; ululata verendis 140 aula puerperiis. quae tunc documenta futuri ?
quae voces avium ? quanti per inane volatus ?
qui vatum discursus erat ? tibi corniger Hammon
et dudum taciti rupere silentia Delphi,
te Persae cecinere magi, te sensit Etruscus 145 augur et inspectis Babylonius horruit astris,
Chaldaei stupuere senes Cumanaque rursus
intonuit rupes, rabidae delubra Sibyllae.
nec te progenitum Cybeleius aere sonoro
lustravit Corybas : exercitus undique fulgens 150 adstitit ; ambitur signis augustior infans,
sentit adorantes galeas, redditque ferocem
vagitum lituus.
296
Vitam tibi contulit idem
THE FOURTH CONSULSHIP OF HONORIUS
outraged by garb profane, were laid upon a hal lowed lap. Spain with its rivers of gold gave birth to thy sire ; Bosporus boasts thee among its children. The West is the cradle of thy race but the East was thine own nurse ; rivals are they for so dear a pledge, either hemisphere claims thee as its citizen. The fame of Hercules and Bacchus has immortalized Thebes ; when Latona gave birth to Apollo in Delos that island stayed its errant course ; it is Crete's boast that over its fields the infant Thunderer crawled. But the land that brought divine Honorius to birth is a greater than Delos, a more famous than
Crete. Such narrow shores would not suffice our god. Nor did the bleak rocks of Cynthus hurt thy body with their rough bed ; on couch of gold, clothed in jewelled raiment, thy mother gave birth to thee amid Tyrian purples ; a palace rang with
joy at that royal deliverance. What presages were there not then of future prosperity ? what songs of birds, what flights of good omen in the heavens ? What was the hurrying to and fro of seers ? Horned Ammon and Delphi so long dumb at length broke their silence ; Persian magi prophesied thy triumphs ; Tuscan augurs felt thine influence ; seers of Babylon beheld the stars and trembled ; amazement seized the Chaldaean priests ; the rock of Cumae, shrine
of raging Sibyl, thundered once again. Cybele's corybants surrounded not thy cradle with the clatter of their brazen shields ; a shining host stood by thee on every side. Standards of war hedged in the royal babe who marked the bowed helmets of the worshipping soldiery while the trumpet's blare answered his warlike cries.
The day that gave thee birth gave thee a kingdom ; 297
CLAUDIAN
imperiumque dies ; inter cunabula consul
proveheris, signas posito modo nomine fastos 155 donaturque tibi, qui te produxerat, annus.
ipsa Quirinali parvum te cinxit amictu
mater et ad primas docuit reptare curules.
uberibus Sanctis inmortalique dearum
crescis adoratus gremio : tibi saepe Diana 160
Maenalios arcus venatricesque pharetras
suspendit, puerile decus ; tu saepe Minervae
lusisti clipeo fulvamque impune pererrans
aegida tractasti blandos interritus angues ;
saepe tuas etiam tum gaudente marito 165 velavit regina comas festinaque voti
praesumptum diadema dedit, tum lenibus ulnis
sustulit et magno porrexit ad oscula patri.
nec dilatus honos : mutatur principe Caesar ;
protinus aequaris fratri. 170 Non certius umquam
hortati superi, nullis praesentior aether
adfuit ominibus. tenebris involverat atra
lumen hiems densosque Notus collegerat imbres.
sed mox, cum solita miles te voce levasset,
nubila dissolvit Phoebus pariterque dabantur 175 sceptra tibi mundoque dies : caligine liber Bosphorus adversam patitur Calchedona cerni.
nec tantum vicina nitent, sed tota repulsis
nubibus exuitur Thrace, Pangaea renident insuetosque palus radios Maeotia vibrat. 180
1 Honorius, who was born Sept. 9, 384, was made consul for 386.
2 Arcadius was made Augustus Jan. 16 (? 19), 383 : Honorius not till Nov. 20, 393. Both succeeded to the throne Jan. 17, 395.
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THE FOURTH CONSULSHIP OF HONORIUS
in thy cradle thou wast raised to the consulship. 1 With the name so recently bestowed upon thee thou dowerest the fasti and the year wherein thou wert born is consecrated to thee. Thy mother herself wrapped thy small form in the consular robe and directed thy first steps to the curule chair. Nourished at a goddess' breasts, honoured with the embraces of im mortal arms thou grewest to maturity. Oft to grace thy boyish form Diana hung upon thy shoulders her Maenalian bow and huntress' quiver ; oft thou didst sport with Minerva's shield and, crawling unharmed over her glittering aegis, didst caress its friendly
serpents with fearless hand. Often even in those early days thy mother beneath thy sire's happy gaze crowned thy tender locks and, anticipating the answer to her prayers, gave thee the diadem that was to be thine hereafter ; then raising thee in her gentle arms she held thee up to receive thy mighty father's kiss. Nor was that honour long in coming ; thou, then Caesar, didst become emperor and wert straightway made equal with thy brother. 2
Never was the encouragement of the gods more sure, never did heaven attend with more favouring omens. Black tempest had shrouded the light in darkness and the south wind gathered thick rain- clouds, when of a sudden, so soon as the soldiers had borne thee aloft with customary shout, Phoebus scattered the clouds and at the same moment was given to thee the sceptre, to the world light.
Bos porus, freed from clouds, permits a sight of Chalcedon on the farther shore ; nor is it only the vicinity of Byzantium that is bathed in brightness ; the clouds are driven back and all Thrace is cleared ; Pangaeus shows afar and lake Maeotis makes quiver the rays he
299
CLAUDIAN
nec Boreas nimbos aut sol ardentior egit :
imperii lux illa fuit ; praesagus obibat
cuncta nitor risitque tuo natura sereno.
visa etiam medio populis mirantibus audax
stella die, dubitanda nihil nec crine retuso 185 languida, sed quantus numeratur nocte Bootes, emicuitque plagis alieni temporis hospes
ignis et agnosci potuit, cum luna lateret :
sive parens Augusta fuit, seu forte reluxit
divi sidus avi, seu te properantibus astris 190 cernere sol patiens caelum commune remisit.
adparet quid signa ferant. ventura potestas
claruit Ascanio, subita cum luce comarum
innocuus flagraret apex Phrygioque volutus
vertice fatalis redimiret tempora candor. 195 at tua caelestes inlustrant omina flammae.
talis ab Idaeis primaevus Iuppiter antris
possessi stetit arce poli famulosque recepit
natura tradente deos ; lanugine nondum
vernabant vultus nec adhuc per colla fluebant 200 moturae convexa comae ; tum scindere nubes discebat fulmenque rudi torquere lacerto.
Laetior augurio genitor natisque superbus iam paribus duplici fultus consorte redibat
splendebatque pio complexus pignora curru. 205 haud aliter summo gemini cum patre Lacones, progenies Ledaea, sedent : in utroque relucet
frater, utroque soror ; simili chlamys effluit auro ;
1 Virgil mentions the portent (Am. ii. 682). 300
THE FOURTH CONSULSHIP OF HONORIUS
rarely sees. 'Tis not Boreas nor yet Phoebus' warmer breath that has put the mists to flight. That light was an emperor's star. A prophetic radiance was over all things, and with thy brightness Nature laughed. Even at midday did a wondering people gaze upon a bold star ('twas clear to behold) — no dulled nor stunted beams but bright as Bootes' nightly lamp. At a strange hour its brilliance lit up the sky and its fires could be clearly seen though the moon lay hid. May be it was the mother's star or the return of thy grandsire's now become a god, or may be the generous sun agreed to share the heavens with all the stars that hasted to behold thee. The meaning of those signs is now unmistakable. Clear was the prophecy of Ascanius' coming power when an aureole crowned his locks, yet harmed them not, and when the fires of fate encircled his head and played about his temples. 1 Thy future the very fires of heaven foretell. So the young Jove, issuing from the caves
of Ida, stood upon the summit of the conquered sky and received the homage of the gods whom Nature handed to his charge. The bloom of youth had not yet clothed his cheeks nor flowed there o'er his neck the curls whose stirrings were to shake the
world. He was yet learning how to cleave the clouds and hurl the thunderbolt with unpractised hand.
Gladdened by that augury and proud of his now equal sons the sire returned, upstayed on the two princes and lovingly embracing his children in glittering car. Even so the Spartan twins, the sons of Leda, sit with highest Jove ; in each his brother is mirrored, in each their sister ; round each alike flows a golden dress, and star-crowned are the 301
Queen
CLAUDIAN
stellati pariter crines. iuvat ipse Tonantem
error et ambiguae placet ignorantia matri ; 210 Eurotas proprios discernere nescit alumnos.
" Si tibi Parthorum solium Fortuna dedisset,
care puer, terrisque procul venerandus Eois 215 barbarus Arsacio consurgeret ore tiaras :
sufficeret sublime genus luxuque fluentem
deside nobilitas posset te sola tueri.
altera Romanae longe rectoribus aulae
condicio. virtute decet, non sanguine niti. 220 maior et utilior fato coniuncta potenti,
vile latens virtus, quid enim ? submersa tenebris proderit obscuro veluti sine remige puppis
vel lyra quae reticet vel qui non tenditur arcus.
semet et incertos animi placaverit aestus,
inveniet ; longis illuc ambagibus itur.
disce orbi, quod quisque sibi. cum conderet artus nostros, aetheriis miscens terrena, Prometheus, sinceram patri mentem furatus Olympo 230 continuit claustris indignantemque revinxit
et, cum non aliter possent mortalia fingi,
adiunxit geminas. illae cum corpore lapsae intereunt, haec sola manet bustoque superstes
evolat. hanc alta capitis fundavit in arce 235 mandatricem operum prospecturamque labori ;
1 Claudian here follows the Platonic psychology which divides the soul into rb iTndvu-qriicbv, rb dvpoeiSh, the two (" geminas ") baser elements, and rb Xoyiariicbv (the " haec "
of I. 234). 302
Ut domus excepit reduces, ibi talia tecum pro rerum stabili fertur dicione locutus :
" Hanc tamen haud quisquam, qui non agnoverit ante 225
THE FOURTH CONSULSHIP OF HONORIUS
locks of both. The Thunderer rejoices in his very uncertainty, and to their hesitating mother her ignorance brings delight ; Eurotas cannot make distinction between his own nurslings.
When all had returned to the palace, Theodosius, anxious for the world's just governance, is said to have addressed thee in these terms :
" Had fortune, my dear son, given thee the throne of Parthia, hadst thou been a descendant of the Arsacid house and did the tiara, adored by Eastern lands afar, tower upon thy forehead, thy long lineage would be enough, and thy birth alone would protect thee, though wantoning in idle luxury. Very different is the state of Rome's emperor. 'Tis merit, not blood, must be his support. Virtue hidden hath no value, united with power 'tis both more effective and more useful. Nay, o'erwhelmed in darkness it will no more advantage its obscure possessor than a vessel with no oars, a silent lyre, an unstrung bow.
"Yet virtue none shall find that has not first learned to know himself and stilled the uncertain waves of passion within him. Long and winding is the path that leads thereto. What each man learns in his own interests learn thou in the interests of the world. When Prometheus mixed earthly and
elements and so formed human kind, he stole man's spirit pure from his own heavenly home, held it imprisoned and bound despite its outcries, and since humanity could be formed in no other way he added two more souls. 1 These fail and perish with the body ; the first alone remains, survives the pyre and flies away. This soul he stationed in
the lofty fastness of the brain to control and over see the work and labours of the body. The other 303
heavenly
CLAUDIAN
illas inferius collo praeceptaque summae
passuras dominae digna statione locavit.
quippe opifex veritus confundere sacra profanis distribuit partes animae sedesque removit. 240 iram sanguinei regio sub pectore cordis
protegit imbutam flammis avidamque nocendi praecipitemque sui. rabie succensa tumescit, contrahitur tepefacta metu. cumque omnia secum duceret et requiem membris vesana negaret, 245 invenit pubnonis opem madidumque furenti
praebuit, ut tumidae ruerent in mollia fibrae.
at sibi cuncta petens, nil conlatura cupido
in iecur et tractus imos compulsa recessit,
quae, velut inmanis reserat dum belua rictus, 250 expleri pascique nequit : nunc verbere curas
torquet avaritiae, stimulis nunc flagrat amorum, nunc gaudet, nunc maesta dolet satiataque rursus
exoritur caesaque redit pollentius hydra.
" Hos igitur potuit si quis sedare tumultus, 255
inconcussa dabit purae sacraria menti.
tu licet extremos late dominere per Indos,
te Medus, te mollis Arabs, te Seres adorent :
si metuis, si prava cupis, si duceris ira,
servitii patiere iugum ; tolerabis iniquas 260 interius leges. tunc omnia iure tenebis,
cum poteris rex esse tui. proclivior usus
in peiora datur suadetque licentia luxum inlecebrisque effrena favet. tum vivere caste
304
THE FOURTH CONSULSHIP OF HONORIUS
two he set below the neck in a place befitting their functions, where it is their part to obey the com mands of the directing soul. Doubtless our creator, fearing to mix the heavenly with the mortal, placed the different souls in different parts and kept their dwelling-places distinct. Near to the heart whence springs our blood there is within the breast a place where fiery anger lurks, eager to hurt and uncon trolled. This cavity swells when heated by rage
and contracts when cooled by fear. Then, since
anger swept everything away with it and in its fury gave the limbs no rest, Prometheus invented the lungs to aid the body and applied their humidity to the raging of anger to soothe our wrath-swollen flesh. Lust, that asks for everything and gives nought, was driven down into the liver and of neces sity occupied the lowest room. Like a beast, open ing its capacious jaws, lust can never be full fed nor satisfied ; it is a prey now to the cruel lash of sleep less avarice, now to the fiery goads of love ; is
swayed now by joy, now by misery, and is no sooner fed than fain to be fed again, returning with more insistence than the oft-beheaded hydra.
" Can any assuage this tumult he will assure an inviolable sanctuary for a spotless soul. Thou mayest hold sway o'er farthest India, be obeyed by
Mede, unwarlike Arab or Chinese, yet, if thou
fearest, hast evil desires, art
thou wilt bear the yoke of slavery ; within thyself thou wilt be a slave to tyrannical rule. When thou canst be king over thyself then shalt thou hold rightful rule over the world. The easier way often trod leads to worse ; liberty begets licence and, when uncontrolled, leads to vice. Then is a chaste
vol. i x 305
swayed by anger,
CLAUDIAN
asperius, cum prompta Venus ; tum durius irae 265 consulitur, cum poena patet. sed comprime motus nec tibi quid liceat, sed quid fecisse decebit
occurrat, mentemque domet respectus honesti.
" Hoc te praeterea crebro sermone monebo,
ut te totius medio telluris in ore 270 vivere cognoscas, cunctis tua gentibus esse
facta palam nec posse dari regalibus usquam secretum vitiis ; nam lux altissima fati
occultum nihil esse sinit, latebrasque per omnes intrat et abstrusos explorat fama recessus. 275
" Sis pius in primis ; nam cum vincamur in omni munere, sola deos aequat dementia nobis,
neu dubie suspectus agas neu falsus amicis rumorumve avidus : qui talia curat, inanes
horrebit strepitus nulla non anxius hora. 280 non sic excubiae, non circumstantia pila
quam tutatur amor. non extorquebis amari ; hoc alterna fides, hoc simplex gratia donat.
nonne vides, operum quod se pulcherrimus ipse mundus amore liget, nec vi conexa per aevum 285 conspirent elementa sibi ? quod limite Phoebus contentus medio, contentus litore pontus
et, qui perpetuo terras ambitque vehitque,
nec premat incumbens oneri nec cesserit aer ?
qui terret, plus ipse timet ; sors ista tyrannis 290 convenit ; invideant claris fortesque trucident,
306
THE FOURTH CONSULSHIP OF HONORIUS
life harder when love is at call ; then is it a sterner
task to govern anger when vengeance is to hand. Yet master thine emotions and ponder not what thou mightest do but what thou oughtest to do,
and let regard for duty control thy mind.
" Of this too I cannot warn thee too often : remem
ber that thou livest in the sight of the whole world, to all peoples are thy deeds known ; the vices of monarchs cannot anywhere remain hid. The splen dour of their lofty station allows nought to be con cealed ; fame penetrates every hiding-place and discovers the inmost secrets of the heart.
" Above all fail not in loving-kindness ; for though we be surpassed in every virtue yet mercy alone makes us equal with the gods. Let thine actions be
open and give no grounds for suspicion, be loyal to thy friends nor lend an ear to rumours. He who attends to such will quake at every idle whisper and know no moment's peace. Neither watch nor guard nor yet a hedge of spears can secure thee safety ; only thy people's love can do that. Love thou canst not extort ; it is the gift of mutual faith and honest goodwill. Seest thou not how the fair frame of the very universe binds itself together by love, and how the elements, not united by violence, are for ever at harmony among themselves ? Dost thou not mark how that Phoebus is content not to outstep the limits of his path, nor the sea those of his kingdom, and how the air, which in its eternal embrace encircles and upholds the world, presses not upon us with too heavy a weight nor yet yields to the burden which itself sustains ? Whoso causes terror is himself more fearful ; such doom befits tyrants. Let them be jealous of another's fame, murder the
307
CLAUDIAN
muniti gladiis vivant saeptique venenis,
ancipites habeant arces trepidique minentur :
tu civem patremque geras, tu consule cunctis,
non tibi, nec tua te moveant, sed publica vota. 295
" In commune iubes si quid censesque tenendum, primus iussa subi : tunc observantior aequi
fit populus nec ferre negat, cum viderit ipsum auctorem par ere sibi. componitur orbis
regis ad exemplum, nec sic inflectere sensus humanos edicta valent quam vita regentis : mobile mutatur semper cum principe vulgus.
" His tamen effectis neu fastidire minores
neu pete praescriptos homini transcendere fines,
. 300
inquinat egregios adiuncta superbia mores.
non tibi tradidimus dociles servire Sabaeos, Armeniae dominum non te praefecimus orae,
nec damus Assyriam, tenuit quam femina, gentem. Romani, qui cuncta diu rexere, regendi,
qui nec Tarquinii fastus nec iura tulere 310 Caesaris. annales veterum delicta loquuntur : haerebunt maculae. quis non per saecula damnat Caesareae portenta domus ? quem dira Neronis funera, quem rupes Caprearum taetra latebit
incesto possessa seni ? victura feretur 315 gloria Traiani, non tam quod Tigride victo
nostra triumphati fuerint provincia Parthi,
alta quod invectus fractis Capitolia Dacis,
308
1 i. e. Tiberius.
305
THE FOURTH CONSULSHIP OF HONORIUS
brave, live hedged about with swords and" fenced with poisons, dwelling in a citadel that is ever exposed to danger, and threaten to conceal their fears. Do thou, my son, be at once a citizen and a father, consider not thyself but all men, nor let thine own desires stir thee but thy people's.
" Ifthou make any law or establish any custom for the general good, be the first to submit thyself thereto ; then does a people show more regard for.
justice nor refuse submission when it has seen theuj author obedient to his own laws. The world shapes j itself after its ruler's pattern, nor can edicts sway men's minds so much as their monarch's life ; the unstable crowd ever changes along with the prince.
" Nor is this all : show no scorn of thine inferiors nor seek to overstep the limits established for man kind. Pride joined thereto defaces the fairest character. They are not submissive Sabaeans whom I have handed over to thy rule, nor have I made
thee lord of Armenia ;
accustomed to a woman's rule. Thou must govern Romans who have long governed the world, Romans who brooked not Tarquin's pride nor Caesar's tyranny. History still tells of our ancestors' ill deeds ; the stain will never be wiped away. So long as the world lasts the monstrous excesses of the Julian house will stand condemned. Will any not have heard of Nero's murders or how Capri's
foul cliffs were owned by an aged lecher 1 ? The fame of Trajan will never die, not so much because,
thanks to his victories on the Tigris,
Parthia became a Roman province, not because he brake the might of Dacia and led their chiefs in triumph up the slope of the Capitol, but because
309
I give thee not
Assyria,
conquered
CLAUDIAN
quam patriae quod mitis erat. ne desine tales,
nate, sequi.
" Si bella canant, prius agmina duris exerce studiis et saevo praestrue Marti. 321
non brumae requies, non hibernacula segnes
enervent torpore manus. ponenda salubri
castra loco ; praebenda vigil custodia vallo.
disce, ubi denseri cuneos, ubi cornua tendi 325 aequius aut iterum flecti ; quae montibus aptae, quae campis acies, quae fraudi commoda vallis,
quae via difficilis. fidit si moenibus hostis, tum tibi murali libretur machina pulsu ;
saxa rota ; praeceps aries protectaque portas 330 testudo feriat ; ruat emersura iuventus
effossi per operta soli, si longa moretur
obsidio, tum vota cave secura remittas
inclusumve putes ; multis damnosa fuere
gaudia ; dispersi pereunt somnove soluti ; 335 saepius incautae nocuit victoria turbae.
neu tibi regificis tentoria larga redundent
deliciis, neve imbelles ad signa ministros
luxuries armata trahat. neu flantibus Austris
neu pluviis cedas, neu defensura calorem 340 aurea summoveant rapidos umbracula soles,
inventis utere cibis. solabere partes
aequali sudore tuas : si collis iniquus,
1 A well-known Roman method of attack by which the troops advanced to the point of attack in close formation, each man holding his shield above his head. The protection thus afforded to the assaulting band was likened to the
shell of the tortoise {testudo). 310
THE FOURTH CONSULSHIP OF HONORIUS
he was kindly to his country. Fail not to make such as he thine example, my son.
" Should war threaten, see first that thy soldiers are exercised in the practices of war and prepare them for the rigours of service. The ease of winter months spent in winter quarters must not weaken
nor unnerve their hands. Establish thy camps in healthy places and see that watchful sentries guard the ramparts. Learn how to know when to mass your troops and when it is better to extend them or face them round ; study the formations suitable for mountain warfare and those for fighting on the plain. Learn to recognize what valleys may conceal an ambush and what routes will prove difficult. If thine enemy trusts in his walls to defend him then let thy catapults hurl stones at his battlements ; fling rocks thereat and let the swinging ram and shield-protected testudo1 shake his gates. Your
troops should undermine the walls and issuing from this tunnel should rush into the town. Should a long siege delay thee, then take care thou unbend not thy purpose in security or count thine enemy thy prisoner. Many ere this have found premature triumph their undoing, scattered or asleep they have been cut to pieces ; indeed victory itself has not seldom been the ruin of careless troops. Not for thee let spacious tents o'erflow with princely delights nor luxury don arms and drag to the standards her unwarlike train. Though the storm winds blow and the rain descends yield not to them and use not cloth of gold to guard thee from the sun's fierce rays. Eat such food as thou canst find. It will be a solace to thy soldiers that thy toil is as heavy as theirs ; be the first to mount the arduous hill and, should
311
CLAUDIAN
primus ini ; silvam si caedere provocat usus,
sumpta ne pudeat quercum stravisse bipenni. 345 calcatur si pigra palus, tuus ante profundum pertemptet sonipes. fluvios tu protere cursu haerentes glacie, liquidos tu scinde natatu.
nunc eques in medias equitum te consere turmas ; nunc pedes adsistas pediti. tum promptius ibunt
te socio, tum conspicuus gratusque geretur 351 sub te teste labor. "
" 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
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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.