No More Learning

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.
343
not to both banks !
CLAUDIAN
alter in Aetnaeas casurus sponte favillas
dispergit revocatque deum rursusque receptis
nectit amicitiis quidquid discordia solvit.
corporis hie damnat sensus verumque videri 75 pernegat. hie semper lapsurae pondera terrae conatur rapido caeli fulcire rotatu
accenditque diem praerupti turbine saxi.
ille ferox unoque tegi non passus Olympo
inmensum per inane volat finemque perosus 80 parturit innumeros angusto pectore mundos.
hi vaga collidunt caecis primordia plagis.
numina constituunt alii casusque relegant.
Graiorum obscuras Romanis floribus artes
inradias, vicibus gratis formare loquentes 85 suetus et alterno verum contexere nodo.
quidquid Socratico manavit ab ordine, quidquid
docta Cleantheae sonuerunt atria turbae,
inventum quodcumque tuo, Chrysippe, recessu, quidquid Democritus risit dixitque tacendo 90
Pythagoras, uno se pectore cuncta vetustas
condidit et maior collectis viribus exit.
ornantur veteres et nobiliore magistro
in Latium spretis Academia migrat Athenis,
ut tandem propius discat, quo fine beatum 95 dirigitur, quae norma boni, qui limes honesti ; quaenam membra sui virtus divisa domandis
obiectet vitiis ; quae pars iniusta recidat,
quae vincat ratione metus, quae frenet amores ;
aut quotiens elementa doces semperque fluentis 100
1 Claudian's way of saying that Manlius translates Greek philosophy into clear and elegant Latin, throwing his translation into the form of a dialogue.
344
THE CONSULSHIP OF MANLIUS
fall self-immolated into Etna's fiery crater, reduces God to principles of dispersion and re-collection and binds again in resumed friendship all that discord separates. This philosopher allows no authority to the senses and denies that the truth can be per ceived. Another seeks to explain the suspension of the world in space by the rapid revolution of the sky (whence else the world would fall) and kindles day's fires by the whirl of a rushing rock. That fearless spirit, not content with the covering of but one sky, flies through the limitless void and,
a limit, conceives in one small brain a thousand worlds. Others make wandering atoms clash with blind blows, while others again set up
deities and banish chance.
Thou dost adorn the obscure learning of Greece
with Roman flowers,1 skilled to shape speech in
happy interchange and weave truth's garland with alternate knots. All the lore of Socrates' school, the learning that echoed in Cleanthes' lecture-room, the thoughts of the stoic Chrysippus in his retreat,
all the laughter of Democritus, all that Pythagoras spoke by silence — all the wisdom of the ancients is stored in that one brain whence it issues forth the stronger for its concentration. The ancients gain fresh lustre and, scorning Athens, the Academy migrates to Latium under a nobler master, the more
exactly at last to learn by what end happiness guides its path, what is the rule of the good, the goal of the right ; what division of virtue should be set to combat and overthrow each separate vice, and what part of virtue it is that curbs injustice, that causes reason to triumph over fear, that holds lust in check. How often hast thou taught us the nature
345
scorning
CLAUDIAN
materiae causas : quae vis animaverit astra impuleritque choros ; quo vivat machina motu ; sidera cur septem retro nitantur in ortus obluctata polo ; variisne meatibus idem
arbiter an geminae convertant aethera mentes ; sitne color proprius rerum, lucisne repulsu 106 eludant aciem ; tumidos quae luna recursus
nutriat Oceani ; quo fracta tonitrua vento,
quis trahat imbriferas nubes, quo saxa creentur grandinis ; unde rigor nivibus ; quae flamma per
auras 110 excutiat rutilos tractus aut fulmina velox
torqueat aut tristem figat crinita cometem.
Iam tibi compositam fundaverat ancora puppim, telluris iam certus eras ; fecunda placebant
otia ; nascentes ibant in saecula libri : 115 cum subito liquida cessantem vidit ab aethra
Iustitia et tanto viduatas iudice leges,
continuo frontem limbo velata pudicam
deserit Autumni portas, qua vergit in Austrum Signifer et noctis reparant dispendia Chelae. 120 pax avibus, quacumque volat, rabiemque frementes deposuere ferae ; laetatur terra reverso
numine, quod prisci post tempora perdidit auri.
illa per occultum Ligurum se moenibus infert
et castos levibus plantis ingressa penates 125 invenit aetherios signantem pulvere cursus,
quos pia sollicito deprendit pollice Memphis : 346
THE CONSULSHIP OF MANLIUS
of the elements and the causes of matter's cease less change ; what influence has given life to the stars, moving them in their courses ; what quickens with movement the universal frame. Thou tellest why the seven planets strive backward towards the East, doing battle with the firmament ; whether there is one lawgiver to different movements or two minds govern heaven's revolution ; whether colour is a property of matter or whether objects deceive our sight and owe their colours to reflected light ; how the moon causes the ebb and flow of the tide ; which wind brings about the thunder's crash, which collects the rain clouds and by which the hail stones are formed ; what causes the coldness of snow and what is that flame that ploughs its shining furrow through the sky, hurls the swift thunderbolt, or sets in heaven's dome the tail of the baleful comet.
Already had the anchor stayed thy restful bark,
thou wert minded to go ashore ; fruitful leisure charmed and books were being born for im mortality, when, of a sudden, Justice looked down from the shining heaven and saw thee at thine ease, saw Law, too, deprived of her great interpreter. She stayed not but, wreathing her chaste forehead with a band, left the gates of Autumn where the Standard- bearer dips towards the south and the Scorpion makes
good the losses of the night. Where'er she flies a peace fell upon the birds and howling beasts laid aside their rage. Earth rejoices in the return of a deity lost to her since the waning of the age of gold. Secretly Justice enters the walls of Milan, Liguria's city, and penetrating with light step the holy palace finds Theodorus marking in the sand those heavenly movements which reverent Memphis discovered by
347
already
CLAUDIAN
quae moveant momenta polum, quam certus in astris error, quis tenebras solis causisque meantem defectum indicat numerus, quae linea Phoeben 130 damnet et excluso pallentem fratre relinquat.
ut procul adspexit fulgentia Virginis ora cognovitque deam, vultus veneratus amicos occurrit scriptaeque notas confundit harenae.
Tum sic diva prior : " Manli, sincera bonorum 135 congeries, in quo veteris vestigia recti
et ductos video mores meliore metallo :
iam satis indultum studiis, Musaeque tot annos eripuere mihi. pridem te iura reposcunt :
adgredere et nostro rursum te redde labori 140 nec tibi sufficiat transmissae gloria vitae.
humanum curare genus quis terminus umquam praescripsit ? nullas recipit prudentia metas.
adde quod haec multis potuit contingere sedes,
sed meriti tantum redeunt actusque priores 145 commendat repetitus honos, virtusque reducit
quos fortuna legit. 1 melius magnoque petendum credis in abstrusa rerum ratione morari ?
scilicet illa tui patriam praecepta Platonis
erexere magis, quam qui responsa secutus 150 obruit Eoas classes urbemque carinis
vexit et arsuras Medo subduxit Athenas ?
Spartanis potuit robur praestare Lycurgus
matribus et sexum leges vicere severae
1 Birt regit with the mss. (he suggests nequit); Hein- sius legit
1 Virgo ( = Astraea) was a recognized synonym for the goddess Justice ; see Virg. Ec. iv. 6.
2 i. e. Themistocles. 348
THE CONSULSHIP OF MANLIUS
anxious reckoning. He sought the forces that move the heavens, the fixed (though errant) path of the planets, the calculation, which predicts the over shadowing of the sun and its surely-fixed eclipse, and the line that sentences the moon to be left in darkness by shutting out her brother. Soon as from afar he beheld the shining face of the Maiden 1 and recognized the goddess, reverencing that dear countenance, he hurries to meet her, effacing from the sand the diagrams he had drawn. "
Muses reft from me my pupil. Long has Law de manded thy return to her allegiance. Come, devote thyself once more to my service, and be not content with the glory of thy past. To the service of man kind what boundary ever set the limits ? Wisdom accepts no ends for herself. Then, too, to many has this office fallen, as well it might, but only the worthy return thereto ; reappointment to office is the best commendation of office well held, and virtue brings back him whom chance elects. Deemst thou it a better and a worthier aim to spend thy days in exploring Nature's secret laws ? Dost thou think it was thy Plato's precepts raised his country to glory rather than he 2 who, in obedience to the oracle, sank the Persian fleet, put his city on ship board and saved from the Medes Athens destined for the flames ? Lycurgus could dower the mothers of Sparta with a man's courage and by his austere
The goddess was the first to speak.
Manlius, in whom are gathered all the virtues unalloyed, in whom I see traces of ancient justice and manners moulded of a purer metal, thou hast devoted time enough now to study ; all these years have the
laws correct the weakness of their sex ;
by
for 349
CLAUDIAN
civibus et vetitis ignavo credere muro 155 tutius obiecit nudam Lacedaemona bellis :
at non Pythagorae monitus annique silentes
famosum Oebalii luxum pressere Tarenti.
" Quis vero insignem tanto sub principe curam respuat ? aut quando meritis maiora patebunt 160 praemia ? quis demens adeo qui iungere sensus cum Stilichone neget ? similem quae protulit aetas consilio vel Marte virum ? nunc Brutus amaret vivere sub regno, tali succumberet aulae
Fabricius, cuperent ipsi servire Catones. 165 nonne vides, ut nostra soror dementia tristes obtundat gladios fratresque amplexa serenos adsurgat Pietas, fractis ut lugeat armis
Perfidia et laceris morientes crinibus hydri
lambant invalido Furiarum vincla veneno ? 170 exultat cum Pace Fides, iam sidera cunctae liquimus et placidas inter discurrimus urbes. nobiscum, Theodore, redi. "
" Subit ille loquentem agrestem dudum me, diva, reverti
talibus :
cogis et infectum longi rubigine ruris 175 ad tua signa vocas. nam quae mihi cura tot annis altera quam duras sulcis mollire novales,
nosse soli vires, nemori quae commoda rupes,
quis felix oleae tractus, quae glaeba faveret
frugibus et quales tegeret vindemia colles ? 180 terribiles rursum lituos veteranus adibo
et desueta vetus temptabo caerula vector ?
350
THE CONSULSHIP OF MANLIUS
bidding his fellow-citizens to put a coward's trust in walls, he set Lacedemon to face wars more securely in her nakedness ; but all the teaching of Pyth agoras and his years of silence never crushed the
infamous licentiousness ofSparta's colony Tarentum. "Besides, beneath such an emperor, who could
refuse office ? Was ever merit more richly re warded ? Who is so insensate as not to wish to meet Stilicho in council ? Has ever any age produced his equal in prudence or in bravery ? Now would Brutus love to live under a king ; to such a court Fabricius would yield, the Catos themselves long to give service. Seest thou not how my sister
blunts the cruel sword of war ; how Piety rises to embrace the two noble brothers ; how Treason laments her broken weapons and the snakes, writhing in death upon the Furies' wounded heads, lick their chains with enfeebled venom ? Peace and loyalty are triumphant. All the host of heaven leaves the stars and wanders from peaceful city to peaceful city. Return thou with"us, Theodorus. "
Then Theodorus made answer : From my long accustomed fields, goddess, thou urgest me to return, summoning to thy standard one grown rusty in the distant countryside.
What else has been my care all these years but to break up the stubborn fallow-land into furrows, to know the nature of the soil, the rocky land suitable to the growth of trees, the country where the olive will flourish, the fields that will yield rich harvests of grain or the hills which my vineyards may clothe ? I have served my time ; am I to hearken once more
to the dreadful trumpet ? Is the old helmsman again to brave the seas whose lore he has forgotten ?
351
Mercy
GLAUDIAN
collectamque diu et certis utcumque locatam sedibus in dubium patiar deponere famam ?
nec me, quid valeat natura fortior usus, 185 praeterit aut quantum neglectae defluat arti.
desidis aurigae non audit verbera currus,
nec manus agnoscit quem non exercuit arcum.
esse sed iniustum fateor quodcumque negatur iustitiae. tu prima hominem silvestribus antris 190 elicis et foedo deterges saecula victu.
te propter colimus leges animosque ferarum exuimus. nitidis quisquis te sensibus hausit,
inruet intrepidus flammis, hiberna secabit
aequora, confertos hostes superabit inermis. 195 ille vel Aethiopum pluviis solabitur aestus ;
illum trans Scythiam vernus comitabitur aer. "
Sic fatus tradente dea suscepit habenas
quattuor ingenti iuris temone refusas.
prima Padum Thybrimque ligat crebisque micantem urbibus Italiam ; Numidas 1 Poenosque secunda 201 temperat ; Illyrico se tertia porrigit orbi ;
ultima Sardiniam, Cyrnum trifidamque retentat Sicaniam et quidquid Tyrrhena tunditur unda
vel gemit Ionia. nec te tot lumina rerum 205 aut tantum turbavit onus ; sed ut altus Olympi
vertex, qui spatio ventos hiemesque relinquit, perpetuum nulla temeratus nube serenum
celsior exurgit pluviis auditque ruentes
1 Numidas Heinsius ; Birt fLydos
352
THE CONSULSHIP OF MANLIUS
My fame has long been gathered in and where it is 'tis in safe custody ; am I to suffer its being put to the hazard ? Full well do I realize that habit is a stronger force than nature, nor am I ignorant of the rapidity with which we forget an art that we have ceased to exercise. The whip of an unprac tised charioteer is powerless to urge on his horses ; the hand that is unaccustomed thereto cannot bend the bow. And yet it were unjust, I admit, to refuse aught to Justice. Thou first didst draw man from his woodland cave and free the human race from its foul manner of life. Thanks to thee we
practise law and have put off the temper of wild beasts. Whosoever has drunk of thee with pure heart
will rush fearless through flames, will sail the
seas, and overcome unarmed the densest company of foemen. Justice is to the just as rain to temper even the heat of Ethiopia, a breath of spring to journey with him across the deserts of Scythia. "
So spake he and took from the goddess' hand the four reins that lay stretched along the huge pole of Justice's car. The first harnesses the rivers Po and Tiber and Italy with all her glittering towns ; the second guides Numidia and Carthage ; the third runs out across the land of Illyria ; the last holds Sardinia, Corsica, three-cornered Sicily and the coasts beaten by the Tyrrhenian wave or that echo to the Ionian. The splendour and magnitude of the under taking troubled thee not one whit ; but as the lofty summit of Olympus, far removed from the winds and tempests of the lower air, its eternal bright serene untroubled by any cloud, is lifted above the rain storms and hears the hurricane rushing
vol. i 2 a 353
wintry
CLAUDIAN
sub pedibus nimbos et rauca tonitrua calcat : 210
sic patiens animus per tanta negotia liber
emergit similisque sui, iustique tenorem flectere non odium cogit, non gratia suadet.
nam spretas quis opes intactaque pectora lucro commemoret ? fuerint aliis haec forte decora : 215 nulla potest laus esse tibi, quae crimina purget. servat inoffensam divina modestia vocem :
temperiem servant oculi ; nec lumina fervor
asperat aut rabidas suffundit sanguine venas,
nullaque mutati tempestas proditur oris. 220 quin etiam sontes expulsa corrigis ira
et placidus delicta domas ; nec dentibus umquam
instrepis horrendum, fremitu nec verbera poscis. Qui fruitur poena, ferus est, legumque videtur
vindictam praestare sibi ; cum viscera felle 225 Canduerint, ardet stimulis ferturque nocendi prodigus, ignarus causae : dis proximus ille,
quem ratio, non ira movet, qui facta rependens consilio punire potest. mucrone cruento
se iactent alii, studeant feritate timeri addictoque hominum cumulent aeraria censu.
lene fluit Nilus, sed cunctis amnibus extat utilior nullo confessus murmure vires ;
acrior ac rapidus tacitas praetermeat ingens Danuvius ripas ; eadem dementia sani gurgitis inmensum deducit in ostia Gangen.
torrentes inmane fremant lassisque minentur 354
230
235
THE CONSULSHIP OF MANLIUS
beneath its feet while it treads upon the thunder's roar ; so thy patient mind, unfettered by cares so manifold, rises high above them ; thou art ever the same, no hatred can compel thee, no affection induce thee, to swerve from the path of justice. For why should any speak of riches scorned and a heart unallured by gain ? These might perhaps be virtues in others : absence of vice is no praise to bestow on thee. The calm of a god banishes
from thy voice ; the spirit of moderation shines from thine eyes ; passion never inflames that glance or fills with blood the angry veins ; never is a tempest heralded on thy changed coun tenance. Nay, thou punishest the very criminals without show of anger and checkest their evil-doing with unruffled calm. Never dost thou gnash with thy teeth upon them nor shout orders for them to be chastised.
He is a savage who delights in punishment and seems to make the vengeance of the laws his own ; when his heart is inflamed with the poison of wrath he is goaded by fury and rushes on knowing nothing of the cause and eager only to do hurt. But he whom reason, not anger, animates is a peer of the gods, he who, weighing the guilt, can with delibera
tion balance the punishment. Let others boast them of their bloody swords and wish to be feared for their ferocity, while they fill their treasuries with the goods of the condemned. Gently flows the Nile, yet is it more beneficent than all rivers for all that no sound reveals its power. More swiftly the broad Danube glides between its quiet banks. Huge Ganges flows down to its mouths with gently moving
current. Let torrents roar horribly, threaten weary 355
anger
CLAUDIAN
pontibus et volvant spumoso vertice silvas :
pax maiora decet ; peragit tranquilla potestas,
quod violenta nequit, mandataque fortius urget 240 imperiosa quies.
Idem praedurus iniquas accepisse preces, rursus, quae digna petitu,
largior et facilis ; nec quae comitatur honores,
ausa tuam leviter temptare superbia mentem.
frons privata manet nec se meruisse fatetur, 245 quae crevisse putat ; rigidi sed plena pudoris
elucet gravitas fastu iucunda remoto.
quae non seditio, quae non insania vulgi
te viso lenita cadat ? quae dissona ritu
barbaries, medii quam non reverentia frangat ? 250 vel quis non sitiens sermonis mella politi
deserat Orpheos blanda testudine cantus ?
qualem te legimus teneri primordia mundi
scribentem aut partes animae, per singula talem cernimus et similes agnoscit pagina mores. 255
Nec dilata tuis Augusto iudice merces
officiis, illumque habitum, quo iungitur aulae
curia, qui socio proceres cum principe nectit,
quem quater ipse gerit, perfecto detulit anno deposuitque suas te succedente curules. 260 crescant virtutes fecundaque floreat aetas.
ingeniis patuit campus certusque merenti
stat favor : ornatur propriis industria donis.
surgite sopitae, quas obruit ambitus, artes.
nil licet invidiae, Stilicho dum prospicit orbi 265
1 i. e. Manlius modestly regards his honours as a natural growth, not as the reward of merit.
356
THE CONSULSHIP OF MANLIUS
bridges, and sweep down forests in their foaming
whirl ; 'tis repose befits the greater ; quiet authority accomplishes what violence cannot, and that mandate compels more which comes from a commanding calm.
" Thou art as deaf to the prayers of injustice as thou art generous and attentive where the demand is just. Pride, that ever accompanies office, has not so much as dared to touch thy mind. Thy look is a private citizen's nor allows that it has deserved what it thinks to have but grown 1 ; but full of stately modesty shines forth a gravity that charms because
is banished. What sedition, what madness
of the crowd could see thee and not sink down
appeased ? What country so barbarous, so foreign
in its customs, as not to bow in reverence before
mediation ? Who that desires the honied
charm of polished eloquence would not desert the
lyre-accompanied song of tuneful Orpheus ? In
every activity we see thee as we see thee in thy
books, describing the creation of the newly-fashioned earth or the parts of the soul ; we recognize thy character in thy pages.
The Emperor has not been slow in rewarding thy merit. The robe that links Senate-house and palace, that unites nobles with their prince — the robe that he himself has four times worn, he hath at the year's end handed on to thee, and left his own curule chair that thou mightest follow him.
Grow, ye virtues ; be this an age of prosperity The path of glory lies open to the wise ; merit is sure of its reward ; industry dowered with the gifts it deserves. Arts, rise from the slumber into which depraved ambition had forced you ! Envy cannot hold up her head while Stilicho and his godlike
357
pride
thy
!
sidereusque gener.
CLAUDIAN
non hic violata curulis, turpia non Latios incestant nomina fastos ;
fortibus haec concessa viris solisque gerenda patribus et Romae numquam latura pudorem.
Nuntia votorum celeri iam Fama volatu 270 moverat Aonios audito consule lucos.
concinuit felix Helicon fluxitque Aganippe
largior et docti riserunt floribus amnes.
Uranie redimita comas, qua saepe magistra
Manlius igniferos radio descripserat axes, 275 sic alias hortata deas : " patimurne, sorores,
optato procul esse die nec limina nostri
consulis et semper dilectas visimus aedes ?
notior est Helicone1 domus. gestare curules
et fasces subiisse libet. miracula plebi 280 colligite et claris nomen celebrate theatris.
" Tu Iovis aequorei summersam fluctibus aulam oratum volucres, Erato, iam perge quadrigas,
a quibus haud umquam palmam rapturus Arion. inlustret circum sonipes, quicumque superbo 285 perstrepit hinnitu Baetin, qui splendida potat
stagna Tagi madidoque iubas adspergitur auro.
" Calliope, liquidas Alciden posce palaestras : cuncta Palaemoniis manus explorata coronis
adsit et Eleo pubes laudata Tonanti. 290
" Tu iuga Taygeti frondosaque Maenala, Clio, i Triviae supplex ; non aspernata rogantem amphitheatrali faveat Latonia pompae.
1 codd. have Stilichone ; Birt obelizes the line ; it is only found in V ; Helicone Qevartius.
1 Claudian is thinking of Eutropius, Manlius' eastern colleague.
358
THE CONSULSHIP OF MANLIUS
son-in-law direct the state. Here is no pollution
of the consul's office, no shameful names
the Latin fasti ; here the consulship is an honour reserved for the brave, given only to senators,
never a source of scandal to Rome's city. 1
Now had Fame, announcing our good fortune, winged her way to Aonia whose groves she stirred
with the tidings of the new consul. Helicon raised a hymn of praise, Aganippe flowed with waters more abundant, the streams of song laughed with
flowers. Then Urania, her hair wreath-crowned,
Urania whose hand had oft directed Manlius' com
" Do thou, Erato, go visit the palace of Neptune beneath the sea and beg for four swift coursers such that even Arion could not snatch the prize from them. Let the Circus be graced by every steed to whose proud neighing Baetis re-echoes, who drinks of Tagus' shining pools and sprinkles his mane with its liquid gold.
" Calliope, ask thou of Alcides the oil of the
wrestling-ground. Let all the company proved in the games at Elis follow thee and the athletes who have won fame with Olympian Jove.
" Fly, Clio, to Taygetus' heights and leafy Maenalus and beg Diana not to spurn thy petition but help the amphitheatre's pomp. Let the goddess herself
disgrace
pass in marking out the starry spheres, thus addressed the other Muses : " Sisters, can we bear to be absent this longed-for day ? Shall we not visit our consul's door and the house we have always loved ? Better known to us is it than Helicon ; gladly we draw the curule chair and bear the fasces. Bring marvels for the people's delight and make known his name in the famed theatres.
359
CLAUDIAN
audaces legat ipsa viros, qui colla ferarum
arte ligent certoque premant venabula nisu. 295 ipsa truces fetus captivaque ducat ab antris
prodigia et caedis sitientem differat arcum. conveniant ursi, magna quos mole ruentes
torva Lycaoniis Helice miretur ab astris,
perfossique rudant populo pallente leones, 300 quales Mygdonio curru frenare Cybebe
optet et Herculei mallent fregisse lacerti.
obvia fulminei properent ad vulnera pardi
semine permixto geniti, cum forte leaenae
nobiliorem uterum viridis corrupit adulter ; 305
maculis patres referunt et robore matres. quidquid monstriferis nutrit Gaetulia campis,
Alpina quidquid tegitur nive, Gallica siquid
silva tenet, iaceat largo ditescat harena
sanguine consumant totos spectacula montes. 310
" Nec molles egeant nostra dulcedine ludi qui laetis risum salibus movisse facetus,
qui nutu manibusque loquax, cui tibia flatu,
cui plectro pulsanda chelys, qui pulpita socco personat aut alte graditur maiore cothurno, 315 et qui magna levi detrudens murmura tactu
innumeras voces segetis moderatus aenae
intonet erranti digito penitusque trabali
vecte laborantes in carmina concitet undas,
vel qui more avium sese iaculentur in auras 320
Helice = the Great Bear so does the phrase " Lycaon's stars," for Lycaon was the father of Callisto who was trans formed by the jealous Juno into a bear and as such trans lated by Jupiter to the sky. Claudian means that he wants the Great Bear to observe this assemblage of earthly bears.
The hydraulus or water organ was known in Cicero's day Tusc. iii. 8. 43). illustrated by a picce of sculpture in the Museum at Aries (see Grove, Diet. of Music, under " Organ ").
360
(
21
b,i
1
;
It
is ;
;
:
THE CONSULSHIP OF MANLIUS
choose out brave hunters cunningly to lasso the necks
of wild animals and to drive home the
spear with unfailing stroke. With her own hand let her lead forth from their caverns fierce beasts and captive monsters, laying aside her bloodthirsty bow. Let bears be gathered together, whereat, as they charge with mighty bulk, Helice may gaze in wonder
from Lycaon's stars. 1 Let smitten lions roar till the people turn pale, lions such as Cybele would be fain to harness to her Mygdonian chariot or Hercules strangle in his mighty arms. May leopards, lightning-swift, hasten to meet the spear's wound, beasts that are born of an adulterous union what time the spotted sire did violence to the nobler lion's mate : of such beasts their markings recall the sire, their courage the dam. Whatsoever is nourished by the fields of Gaetulia rich in monsters, whatsoever lurks beneath Alpine snows or in Gallic woods, let it fall before the spear. Let large streams of blood enrich the arena and the spectacle leave whole mountains desolate.
hunting-
" Nor let gentler games lack the delights we bring : let the clown be there to move the people's laughter with his happy wit, the mime whose language is in his nod and in the movements of his hands, the musician whose breath rouses the flute and whose finger stirs the lyre, the slippered comedian to whose voice the theatre re-echoes, the tragedian towering on his loftier buskin ; him too whose light touch can elicit loud music from those pipes of bronze that sound a thousand diverse notes beneath his wander
ing fingers and who by means of a lever stirs to song the labouring water. 2 Let us see acrobats who hurl themselves through the air like birds and build
861
CLAUDIAN
corporaque aedificent celeri crescentia nexu, quorum compositam puer amentatus in arcem emicet et vinctu plantae vel cruribus haerens pendula librato figat vestigia saltu.
mobile ponderibus descendat pegma reductis 325
inque chori speciem spargentes ardua flammas scaena rotet varios et fingat Mulciber orbis
per tabulas impune vagus pictaeque citato
ludant igne trabes et non permissa morari
fida per innocuas errent incendia turres. 330 lascivi subito confligant aequore lembi
stagnaque remigibus spument inmissa canoris.
" Consul per populos idemque gravissimus auctor eloquii, duplici vita subnixus in aevum
procedat pariter libris fastisque legendus. 335 accipiat patris exemplum tribuatque nepoti
filius et coeptis ne desit fascibus heres.
decurrat trabeata domus tradatque secures
mutua posteritas servatoque ordine fati
Manlia continuo numeretur consule proles. " 340
1 We do not hear of Claudian's hopes coming true. This son was, however, proconsul of Africa (Augustine, Contra
Crescon. iii. 6-2).
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THE CONSULSHIP OF MANLIUS
pyramids that grow with swift entwining of their bodies, to the summit of which pyramid rushes a boy fastened by a thong, a boy who, attached there by the foot or leg, executes a step-dance suspended in the air. Let the counterweights be removed and the mobile crane descend, lowering on
to the lofty stage men who, wheeling chorus-wise, scatter flames ; let Vulcan forge balls of fire to roll innocuously across the boards, let the flames appear to play about the sham beams of the scenery and a tame conflagration, never allowed to rest, wander among the untouched towers. Let ships meet in mimic warfare on an improvised ocean and the flooded waters be lashed to foam by singing oarsmen.
" As consul at once and stateliest master, upborne by a twofold fame, let Manlius go forth among the peoples, read in his own books and in our calendars. May the sire's example be followed by the son 1 and handed on to a grandson, nor these first fasces ever lack succession. May his race pass on purple- clad, may the generations, each to each, hand on the axes, and obedient to the ordinance of fate, Manlius after Manlius add one more consul to the tale. "
36a
DE CONSULATU STILICHONIS LIBER I.
(XXI. )
Continuant superi pleno Romana favore
gaudia successusque novis successibus augent : conubii necdum festivos regia cantus
sopierat, cecinit fuso Gildone triumphos,
et calidis thalami successit laurea sertis, 5 sumeret ut pariter princeps nomenque mariti victorisque decus ; Libyae post proelia crimen concidit Eoum, rursusque Oriente subacto
consule defensae surgunt Stilichone secures.
ordine vota meant. equidem si carmen in unum 10
tantarum sperem cumulos advolvere rerum, promptius imponam glaciali Pelion Ossae.
si partem tacuisse velim, quodcumque relinquam maius erit. veteres actus primamque iuventam prosequar ? ad sese mentem praesentia ducunt. 15 narrem iustitiam ? resplendet gloria Martis.
armati referam vires ? plus egit inermis.
quod floret Latium, Latio quod reddita servit
Africa, vicinum quod nescit Hiberia Maurum,
364
ON STILICHO'S CONSULSHIP BOOK I
(XXI)
Ceaseless are the blessings the gods shower with full bounty upon Rome, crowning success with new successes. Scarce had the happy songs of marriage ceased to echo in the palace when the defeat of Gildo brought material for a hymn of triumph. Hard upon the garlands of passionate love followed the crown of laurel, so that the emperor won alike the name of husband and the fame of conqueror.
After the war in Africa eastern sedition waned ; *. the Orient once more was laid low and, guarded . by the consul Stilicho, the axes rose in triumph.
greater.
Am I to tell of his justice ? His military outshines it. Shall I mention his prowess in war ? He has done more in peace. Shall I relate how Latium flourishes, how Africa has returned to her
allegiance
and service, how Spain knows no more 365
(a. d. 400)
In due order are vows fulfilled. Should I hope to roll into one poem all my lofty themes, more easily should I pile Pelion on frozen Ossa. Were I silent anent a part, what I leave unsung will prove the
Am I to recall his deeds of old and earliest manhood ? His present deeds lure away my mind.
glory
CLAUDIAN
tuta quod imbellem miratur Gallia Rhenum, 20 aut gelidam Thracen decertatosque labores
Hebro teste canam ? magnum mini panditur aequor ipsaque Pierios lassant proclivia currus
laudibus innumeris.
Etenim mortalibus ex quo tellus coepta coli, numquam sincera bonorum 25
sors ulli concessa viro. quem vultus honestat, dedecorant mores ; animus quem pulchrior ornat, corpus destituit. bellis insignior ille,
sed pacem foedat vitiis. hic publica felix,
sed privata minus, partitum ; singula quemque 30 nobilitant : hunc forma decens, hunc robur in armis, hunc rigor, hunc pietas, illum sollertia iuris,
hunc suboles castique tori, sparguntur in omnes,
in te mixta fluunt ; et quae divisa beatos
efficiunt, collecta tenes. 35
Ne facta revolvam militiamque patris, cuius producere famam,
si nihil egisset clarum nec fida Valenti
dextera duxisset rutilantes crinibus alas,
sufficeret natus Stilicho : mens ardua semper
a puero, tenerisque etiam fulgebat in annis 40 fortunae maioris honos. erectus et acer
nil breve moliri, nullis haerere potentum
liminibus fatisque loqui iam digna futuris.
iam tum conspicuus, iam tum venerabilis ibas spondebatque ducem celsi nitor igneus oris 45
1 We know really nothing of Stilicho's parentage save that the family was a Vandal one : Vandalorum genere editus, Oros. vii. 38.
366
ON STILICHO'S CONSULSHIP, I
the Moor as her neighbour, how Gaul has now nought to fear from a disarmed Germany ? Or shall I sing of wintry Thrace and those fierce struggles whereof Hebrus was witness ? Limitless is the expanse that opens before me and even on the slopes of Helicon this weight of praise retards my muse's chariot.
For truly since man inhabited this globe never has one mortal been granted all earth's blessings without alloy. This man's face is fair but his char acter is evil ; another has a beauteous soul but an ugly body. One is renowned in war but makes peace hideous with his vices. This man is happy in his public but unhappy in his private life. Each takes a part ; each owes his fame to some one gift, to bodily beauty, to martial prowess, to strength, to uprightness of life, to knowledge of law, to his offspring and a virtuous wife. To all men else blessings come scattered, to thee they flow com mingled, and gifts that separately make happy are all together thine.
I will not unfold the tale of thy sire's 1 warlike deeds. Had he done nothing of note, had he in loyalty to Valens never led to battle those yellow- haired companies, yet to be the father of Stilicho would have spread abroad his fame. Ever from thy cradle did thy soul aspire, and in the tender years of childhood shone forth the signs of loftier estate. Lofty in spirit and eager, nothing paltry didst thou essay ; never didst thou haunt any rich man's doorstep ; thy speech was such as to befit thy future dignities. A mark wert thou even then for all eyes, even then an object of reverence ; the fiery brightness of thy noble countenance, the very mould
367
CLAUDIAN
membrorumque modus, qualem nec carmina fingunt semideis. quacumque alte gradereris in urbe,
cedentes spatiis adsurgentesque videbas
quamvis miles adhuc. taciti suffragia vulgi
iam tibi detulerant, quidquid mox debuit aula. 50
Vix primaevus eras, pacis cum mitteris auctor Assyriae ; tanta foedus cum gente ferire
commissum iuveni. Tigrim transgressus et altum Euphraten Babylona petis. stupuere severi Parthorum proceres, et plebs pharetrata videndi 55 flagravit studio, defixaeque hospite pulchro
Persides arcanum suspiravere calorem.
turis odoratae cumulis et messe Sabaea pacem conciliant arae ; penetralibus ignem
sacratum rapuere adytis rituque iuvencos 60 Chaldaeo stravere magi, rex ipse micantem
inclinat dextra pateram secretaque Beli
et vaga testatur volventem sidera Mithram.
si quando sociis tecum venatibus ibant,
quis Stilichone prior ferro penetrare leones 65
comminus aut longe virgatas figere tigres ? flectenti faciles cessit tibi Medus habenas ; torquebas refugum Parthis mirantibus arcum.
Nubilis interea maturae virginis aetas
urgebat patrias suspenso principe curas, 70 quem simul imperioque ducem nataeque maritum prospiceret ; dubius toto quaerebat ab axe
dignum coniugio generum thalamisque Serenae.
1 By Assyria Claudian means Persia. He refers to the dispatch of Stilicho in 387 as ambassador to the court of Sapor III.