Can gain render
treachery
welcome ?
Claudian - 1922 - Loeb
That long warlike race, lord of the world, that appointed consuls and kings, whom foreign nations found ever formidable in war, though gentle once they had
105
Scyphax
CLAUDIAN
nunc inhonorus egens perfert miserabile pacis supplicium nulloque palam circumdatus hoste 100 obsessi discrimen habet. per singula letum impendet momenta mihi dubitandaque pauci praescribunt alimenta dies. heu prospera fata !
quid mihi septenos montes turbamque dedistis,
quae parvo non possit ali ? felicior essem 105 angustis opibus ; mallem tolerare Sabinos
et Veios ; brevior duxi securius aevum.
ipsa nocet moles. utinam remeare liceret
ad veteres fines et moenia pauperis Anci.
sufficerent Etrusca mihi Campanaque culta 110
et Quincti Curiique seges, patriaeque petenti rusticus inferret proprias dictator aristas.
" Nunc quid agam ? Libyam Gildo tenet, altera Nilum.
ast ego, quae terras umeris pontumque subegi, deseror : em eritae iam praemia nulla senectae. 115 di, quibus iratis crevi, succurrite tandem,
exorate patrem ; tuque o si sponte per altum
vecta Palatinis mutasti collibus Idam
praelatoque lavas Phrygios Almone leones,
maternis precibus natum iam flecte, Cybebe. 120 sin prohibent Parcae falsisque elusa vetustas auspiciis, alio saltem prosternite casu
et poenae mutate genus. Porsenna reducat Tarquinios ; renovet ferales Allia pugnas ;
me potius saevi manibus permittite Pyrrhi,
1 Doubtless a reference to Cincinnatus.
a Claudian means by " altera " the Eastern Empire.
106
125
THE WAR AGAINST GILDO, I
been subdued, dishonoured now and poverty-stricken,
bends beneath the cruel lash of peace, and though
not openly beleaguered by any foe yet has all the hazard of a siege. Destruction threatens me hourly ; a few days will set a limit to my uncertain
food -supply. Out upon thee, prosperity !
hast thou given me seven hills and such a population as a small supply cannot nourish ? Happier I, had my power been less. Better to have put up with Samnium and Veii ; in narrower bonds I passed securer days. My very magnitude undoes me ; would that I could return to my former boundaries and the walls of poor Ancus. Enough for me then would be the ploughlands of Etruria and Campania, the farms of Cincinnatus and Curius, and at his country's prayer the rustic dictator 1 would bring his home-grown wheat.
if ever of thine own free will thou wert carried over the sea and in exchange for Mount Ida tookest the hills of Rome and didst bathe thy Phrygian lions in Almo's more favoured stream, move now thy son3 with a mother's entreaties. But if the fates forbid and our first founder was misled by augury untrue, o'erwhelm me at least in some different ruin, and change the nature of my punishment. Let Porsenna bring back the Tarquins ; let Allia renew her bloody battle. Let me fall rather into the hands of cruel
Cybele,
3 i. e. Jupiter.
Why
" What am I to do now ? Gildo holds Libya, another 2 Egypt ; while I, who subdued land and sea with my strong arm, am left to perish. Veteran of so many wars, can I claim no reward in mine old age ? Ye gods in whose despite, it seems, I increased, now aid me at the last ; pray Jove for me. And thou,
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CLAUDIAN
me Senonum furiis, Brenni me reddite flammis. cuncta fame leviora mihi. "
Sic fata refusis obticuit lacrimis. mater Cytherea parensque
flet Mavors sanctaeque memor Tritonia Vestae,
nec Cybele sicco nec stabat lumine Iuno. 130
maerent indigetes et si quos Roma recepit
aut dedit ipsa deos. genitor iam corde remitti coeperat et sacrum dextra sedare tumultum,
cum procul insanis quatiens ululatibus axem
et contusa genas mediis adparet in astris 135 Africa : rescissae vestes et spicea passim
serta iacent ; lacero crinales vertice dentes
et fractum pendebat ebur, talique superbas
inrupit clamore fores :
" Quid magne moraris Iuppiter avulso nexu pelagique solutis 140
legibus iratum populis inmittere fratrem ?
mergi prima peto ; veniant praerupta Pachyno aequora, laxatis'subsidant Syrtibus urbes.
si mihi Gildonem nequeunt abducere fata,
me rape Gildoni. felicior illa perustae 145 pars Libyae, nimio quae se munita calore
defendit tantique vacat secura tyranni.
crescat zona rubens ; medius flagrantis Olympi
me quoque limes agat ; melius deserta iacebo vomeris impatiens. pulsis dominentur aristis 150 dipsades et sitiens attollat glaeba cerastas.
quid me temperies iuvit ? quid mitior aether ? Gildoni fecunda fui. iam solis habenae
1 i. e. the Palladium, the image of Pallas ( = M inerva), rescued by Metellus from the burning temple of Vesta, 241 b. c.
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THE WAR AGAINST GILDO, I
Pyrrhus ; abandon me to the fury of the Senones or the flames of Brennus. Welcome all this rather than to starve ! "
So spake she, and upwelling tears choked her voice. Venus, mother of Aeneas, wept, and Mars, father of Romulus and Minerva, mindful of Vesta's sacred charge. 1 Nor Cybele nor Juno stood with dry eyes. The heroes mourn and all the gods whose worship Rome received from without or herself inaugurated.
And now began the heart of Jove to soften. With hand outstretched he was checking the murmurings of the gods when, shaking heaven with distraught cries, Africa, her cheeks torn, appeared in the distance advancing amid the stars. Torn was her raiment, scattered her crown of corn. Her head was wounded and the ivory comb that secured her hair hung loose and broken. She rushed into Heaven's halls shouting thus : " Great Jove, why delayest thou to loose the bonds of sea, to break its decree and hurl thy brother2 in wrath against
May
I be the first to be overwhelmed.
the land ?
Welcome the broken waters from Pachynus' cape ; sink my cities in the freed Syrtes. if so be fate cannot rid me of Gildo, rid Gildo of me. Happier that region of Libya that defends itself by means of its own excessive heat and thus knows not the irksome rule of so savage a tyrant. Let the torrid zone spread. Let the midmost path of the scorching
sky burn me also. Better I lay a desert nor ever suffered the plough. Let the dust-snake lord it in a cornless land and the thirsty earth give birth to nought but vipers. What avails me a healthy climate, a milder air ? My fruitfulness is but for
2 i. e. Neptune.
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CLAUDIAN
bis senas torquent hiemes, cervicibus ex quo
haeret triste iugum. nostris iam luctibus ille 155 consenuit regnumque sibi tot vindicat annos.
atque utinam regnum ! privato iure tenemur
exigui specie fundi, quod Nilus et Atlas
dissidet, occiduis quod Gadibus arida Barce
quodque Paraetonio secedit litore Tingi, 160 hoc sibi transcripsit proprium. pars tertia mundi unius praedonis ager.
" Distantibus idem inter se vitiis cinctus : quodcumque profunda
traxit avaritia, luxu peiore refundit.
instat terribilis vivis, morientibus heres, 165 virginibus raptor, thalamis obscaenus adulter.
nulla quies : oritur praeda cessante libido, divitibusque dies et nox metuenda maritis.
quisquis vel locuples pulchra vel coniuge notus, crimine pulsatur falso ; si crimina desunt, 170 accitus conviva perit. mors nulla refugit
artificem : varios sucos spumasque requirit serpentum virides et adhuc ignota novercis
gramina. si quisquam vultu praesentia damnet liberiusve gemat, dapibus crudelis in ipsis 175
emicat ad nutum stricto mucrone minister.
fixus quisque toro tacita formidine libat
carnifices epulas incertaque pocula pallens
haurit et intentos capiti circumspicit enses.
splendet Tartareo furialis mensa paratu 180 caede madens, atrox gladio, suspecta veneno.
110
1 Tangiers.
THE WAR AGAINST GILDO, I
Gildo. Twelve courses has the sun's chariot run since first I wore this sorry yoke. He has now grown old amid our miseries and these many years have set their seal upon his rule. Rule—would it were rule : a private owner possesses me, as it had been some pelting farm. From Nile to Atlas' mount, from scorched Barce to western Gades, from Tingi 1 to Egypt's coast Gildo has appropriated the land as his own. A third of the world belongs to one robber-chief.
" He is a prey to the most diverse vices : whatsoe'er his bottomless greed has stolen, a yet more insatiable
He is the terror of the living, the heir of the dead, the violator of the unwed, and the foul corrupter of the marriage-bed. He is never
quiet ; when greed is sated lust is rampant ; day is a misery to the rich, night to the married. Is any wealthy or known to possess a beautiful wife, he is overwhelmed by some trumped-up charge. If no charge be brought against him, he is asked to a banquet and there murdered. No form of death but is known to this artist in crime. He investigates the properties of different poisons and serpents' livid venom and knows of deadly herbs un known even to stepmothers. If any condemns what he sees by a look or sighs with too much freedom, at the very festal board out darts some hench man with drawn sword at a nod from his master. Each glued to his seat tastes in silent fear of the deadly banquet ; drains, pale of face, the treacherous cup, and looks around at the weapons that threaten his life. The deadly board is decked in infernal splendour, wet with slaughter, dreadful with fear of sword and suspected poison. When wine has
111
profligacy squanders.
GLAUDIAN
ut vino calefacta Venus, tum saevior ardet
luxuries, mixtis redolent unguenta coronis :
crinitos inter famulos pubemque canoram
orbatas iubet ire nurus nuperque peremptis 185 adridere viris. Phalarim tormentaque flammae profuit et Siculi mugitus ferre iuvenci
quam tales audire choros. nec damna pudoris
turpia sufficiunt : Mauris clarissima quaeque fastidita datur. media Carthagine ductae 190 barbara Sidoniae subeunt conubia matres ; Aethiopem nobis generum, Nasamona maritum ingerit ; exterret cunabula discolor infans.
his fretus sociis ipso iam principe maior
incedit ; peditum praecurrunt agmina longe ; 195 circumdant equitum turmae regesque clientes,
quos nostris ditat spoliis. proturbat avita quemque domo : veteres detrudit rure colonos. exiliis dispersa feror. numquamne reverti " fas erit errantesque solo iam reddere cives ?
Iret adhuc in verba dolor, ni Iuppiter alto
coepisset solio (voces adamante notabat
200
Atropos et Lachesis iungebat stamina dictis) :
" nec te, Roma, diu nec te patiemur inultam,
Africa. communem prosternet Honorius hostem. 205 pergite securae. vestrum vis nulla tenorem
separat et soli famulabitur Africa Romae. "
Dixit et adflavit Romam meliore iuventa.
continuo redit ille vigor seniique colorem
mutavere comae. solidatam crista resurgens 210
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THE WAR AGAINST GILDO, I
inflamed the passions, his lust rages more savagely ; 'midst the mingled smell of scents and flowers, 'midst curled minions and youthful choirs he bids
the widowed wives whose husbands he but a moment ago has murdered. Better Phalaris and the torments of his furnace, better to listen to the bellowings of the Sicilian bull than to such
as these. Nor is the base sacrifice of their good name enough. When tired of each noblest matron Gildo hands her over to the Moors. Married in Carthage city these Sidonian mothers needs must mate with barbarians. He thrusts upon me an Ethiopian as a son-in-law, a Berber as a husband. The hideous half-breed child affrights its cradle. Thanks to those base allies his state is more regal than that of the emperor himself. Before him goes
a body of foot-soldiers, squadrons of cavalry surround him and client kings whom he enriches with our
go sport
songs
He drives one and all from their ancestral houses and expels husbandmen from farms so long theirs. My people are scattered in exile. Are my citizens never to return from their wanderings to their native soil ? "
She would have spoken further in her grief had not Jove begun from his lofty throne—Atropos wrote down his words in adamant and Lachesis spun them in with her thread—" Neither thou, Rome, nor yet thou, Africa, will we suffer to go long un avenged. Honorius shall disperse your common foe.
Go in peace. No violence shall part your companion ship ; Africa shall serve Rome, and Rome alone. "
He spake and breathed into Rome a youth renewed. Straightway her former strength returned, and her hair put off its grey of eld ; her helmet grew solid,
vol. i i 113
spoils.
CLAUDIAN
erexit galeam clipeique recanduit orbis et levis excussa- micuit rubigine cornus.
Umentes iam noctis equos Lethaeaque Somnus frena regens tacito volvebat sidera curru.
iam duo divorum proceres, maiorque minorque 215 Theodosii, pacem laturi gentibus ibant,
qui Iovis arcanos monitus mandataque ferrent fratribus et geminis sancirent foedera regnis :
sic cum praecipites artem vicere procellae adsiduoque gemens undarum verbere nutat 220 descensura ratis, caeca sub nocte vocati
naufraga Ledaei sustentant vela Lacones.
circulus ut patuit Lunae, secuere meatus
diversos : Italas senior tendebat in oras ;
at pater, intrantem Pontum qua Bosphorus artat, Arcadii thalamis urbique inlapsus Eoae. 226 quem simulac vidit natus (nam clara nitebat
Cynthia), permixto tremuerunt gaudia fletu complexuque fovens, quos non speraverat, artus
" O mihi post Alpes nunc primum reddite," dixit, 230 " unde tuis optatus ades ? da tangere dextram,
qua gentes cecidere ferae. quis tale removit praesidium terris ? ut te mortalia pridem
implorant longeque pium fortemque requirunt ! " Cui pater in tales rupit suspiria voces :
hoc erat ? in fratres medio discordia Mauro nascitur et mundus germanaque dissidet aula ?
1 Theodosius the younger is, of course, Theodosius I. , the Emperor (see Introduction, p. vii). Theodosius the elder was his father. He was an able and trusted general of Valentinian I. , who restored quict in Britain
defeated the Alamanni (370), and crushed the revolt of Firmus, Gildo's brother (see line 333 of this poem) in Africa (? 372-374). His deatli was brought about by Mero- baudes, Gratian's minister (cf. viii. 26-9).
114
(368-370),
" 235
THE WAR AGAINST GILDO, I
upright stood the plumes, the round shield shone
once more, and gone was every trace of rust from
her winged, gleaming spear.
Sleep was now driving the dew-drenched steeds
of night, guiding them with the reins of Lethe and carrying round the stars in her silent course, when the elder and the younger Theodosius,1 chief among the heroes divine, came to bring peace to men. They bore Jove's secret message and mandate to the two brothers and ratified the treaty between the two empires. So when at dead of night the driving tempest has brought the helmsman's skill to nought and the sinking ship groans and shudders at the waves' ceaseless shock, Leda's Spartan-born sons sustain the foundering bark in answer to the
sailors' prayers. At the rise of the full moon the twain parted. The elder directed his steps towards the coasts of Italy, the younger visited the couch of Arcadius, gliding down to that Eastern city where Bosporus narrows the entrance to the Euxine. As soon as the son saw his father (for the moon was shining brightly), he wept, yet trembled for joy, and embracing that form he had little hoped ever to embrace again, said: " O thou restored now to me for the first time since thy triumphs in the Alps,
whence comest thou to thy loving son ? Let me touch that hand that has conquered so many bar barian races ! Who hath robbed the world of such a defender ? How long a while has mankind prayed thine aid, and missed thy goodness and thy might ! "
Sighing, the father made answer : " Was it for this ? Is a Moor become a cause of discord between two brothers ? Does the empire and court of the
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CLAUDIAN
Gildonisne salus tanti sit palma furoris ?
scilicet egregius morum magnoque tuendus
et cuius meritis pietas in fratre recedat ! 240 invito 1 genitore, vide, civile calebat
discidium ; dubio stabant Romana sub ictu ;
quis procul Armenius vel quis Maeotide ripa
rex ignotus agit, qui me non iuvit euntem
auxilio ? fovere Getae, venere Geloni. 245 solus at hie non puppe data, non milite misso subsedit fluitante fide. si signa petisset
obvia, detecto summissius hoste dolerem : restitit in speculis fati turbaque reductus
libravit geminas eventu iudice vires 250 ad rerum momenta cliens seseque daturus
victori ; fortuna simul cum mente pependit.
o si non cupidis essem praereptus ab astris, exemplum sequerer Tulli laniandaque dumis
impia diversis aptarem membra quadrigis. 255 germani nunc usque tui responsa colebat :
en iterum calcat. tali te credere monstro
post patrem fratremque paras ? sed magna rependit inque tuam sortem numerosas transtulit urbes !
ergo fas pretio cedet ? mercede placebit 260 proditio ? taceo, laesi quod transfuga fratris,
quod levis ingenio. quamvis discrimine summo proditor adportet suspensa morte salutem numquam gratus erit. damnamus luce reperta
1 mss. in primo ; Birt suggests invito, Koch infirmo 1 See note on viii. 401.
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THE WAR AGAINST GILDO, I
East quarrel with those of the West ? Can Gildo's salvation be fit guerdon for this mad rivalry ? Great no doubt are his virtues, great should be the price paid to preserve them and such his merits as to banish affection in a brother. Look you, though I, thy sire, willed it not, civil war raged ; the fortunes of Rome stood on a razor's edge. Was there a distant king of Armenia, an unknown monarch by Maeotis' shore but sent aid to mine enterprises ? The Getae gave me succour, the Geloni came to my assistance. Gildo alone sent not a man, not a ship, but waited
the issue in wavering loyalty. Had he sought the confronting host as an open foe my wrath had been less bitter. He stood apart on Fortune's watch- tower and, withdrawn from the throng, weighed this side against that,meaning to let the event decide him, dependent upon the turn things might take and ready to embrace the side of the victor. His fortune hung in the balance as well as his intention. Had I not been hurried to heaven by the impatient stars I would have followed the example of Tullus Hostilius and dragged the impious wretch limb from limb fastened to chariots driven different ways through thorn bushes. 1
Up to this time he has owed obedience to thy brother, now behold he spurns his commands. After thy father's and thy brother's fate art thou ready to trust thyself to such a villain ? Is thine answer that he maketh great return and hath brought over many cities to thine allegiance ? Shall honour, then, give place to utility ?
Can gain render treachery welcome ? I make no mention of his cruel betrayal of thy brother ; of his fickle nature ; were a traitor to bring safety even when at peril's height death threatened, never shall he win gratitude. When our life is saved
117
C^AUDIAN
perfidiam nec nos patimur committere tali. 265 hoc genus emptori cives cum moenibus offert,
hoc vendit patriam. plerique in tempus abusi
mox odere tamen : tenuit sic Graia Philippus
oppida ; Pellaeo libertas concidit auro.
Romani scelerum semper sprevere ministros. 270 noxia pollicitum domino miscere venena
Fabricius regi nudata fraude remisit,
infesto quem Marte petit, bellumque negavit
per famuli patrare nefas, ductosque Camillus
trans murum pueros obsessae reddidit urbi. 275
" Traduntur poenis alii, cum proelia tollunt ;
hie manet ut moveat ? quod respuit alter in hostem, suscipis in fratrem ? longi pro dedecus aevi !
cui placet, australes Gildo condonat habenas
tantaque mutatos sequitur provincia mores. 280 quaslibet ad partes animus nutaverit aneeps, transfundit secum Libyam refluumque malignus commodat imperium. Mauri fuit Africa munus. tollite Massylas fraudes, removete bilingues
insidias et verba soli spirantia virum. 285
ne consanguineis certetur comminus armis,
ne, precor. haec trucibus Thebis, haec digna Myeenis ;
in Mauros hoc crimen eat.
molitur Stilicho ? quando non ille iubenti
" Quid noster iniquum
THE. WAR AGAINST GILDO, I
we condemn the treachery nor brook to entrust ourselves to such protection. 'Tis this sort that offers for purchase cities and their inhabitants, that sells its fatherland. Most make use of such for the moment but soon learn to hate them. 'Twas
thus that Philip held the cities of Greece ; liberty fell before the attack of Macedonian gold. Rome has ever despised the ministers of guilt. Fabricius,
discovering the plot, sent back to King Pyrrhus the slave who had promised to mingle deadly poison for his lord; fierce war raged between them, but Fabricius refused to end it by means of the
treachery of a slave. Camillus, too, gave back to the beleaguered city the boys brought to his camp from out the walls.
" These were consigned to punishment for seeking to put an end to wars. Is Gildo to five that he may kindle them ? Takest thou such measures
against thy brother as another would disdain to take against an enemy ? O shame for unending ages ! Gildo entrusts the governance of the south
to whom he will ; the great province of Africa obeys a tyrant's whim. To whichever side his fickle mind inclines, he carries Libya over with him and malignantly subjects it to a rule shifting as the tide. Africa was the gift of the Moor. Away with the trickery of the Massyli, their treacherous
wiles and their words that breathe forth the poison of their land. Let not brother wage war on brother, I pray. That were worthy of cruel Thebes and Mycenae ; let that accusation be levelled against the Moors.
"What wrong is Stilicho devising
? when did he fail in his obedience ? than him what more loyal
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CLAUDIAN
ut sileam varios mecum quos gesserit actus, quae vidi post fata, loquar. cum divus abirem,
res incompositas (fateor) tumidasque reliqui. stringebat vetitos etiamnum exercitus enses
Alpinis odiis, alternaque iurgia victi 295 victoresque dabant. vix haec amentia nostris
excubiis, nedum puero rectore quiesset.
heu quantum timui vobis, quid libera tanti
militis auderet moles, cum patre remoto
ferveret iam laeta novis ! dissensus acerbus 300 et gravior consensus erat. tunc ipse paterna successit pietate mihi tenerumque rudemque
fovit et in veros eduxit principis annos,
Rufinumque tibi, quem tu tremuisse fateris,
depulit. hunc solum memorem solumque fidelem 305 experior. volui si quid, dum vita maneret,
aut visus voluisse, gerit ; venerabilis illi
ceu praesens numenque vocor. si tanta recusas,
at soceri reverere faces, at respice fratris
conubium pignusque meae regale Serenae. 310 debueras etiam fraternis obvius ire
hostibus, ille tuis. quae gens, quis Rhenus et Hister vos opibus iunctos conspirantesque tulisset ?
sed tantum permitte, cadat. nil poscimus ultra.
ille licet sese praetentis Syrtibus armet 315 oppositoque Atlante tegat, licet arva referta anguibus et solis medios obiecerit aestus :
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THE WAR AGAINST GILDO, I
I will not mention the various brave deeds he did while yet with me ; of those only I will tell which I saw after my death. When I was raised to heaven disorder — I admit it— and tumult did I leave behind me. The army was still drawing the forbidden sword in that Alpine war,
and conquerors and conquered gave alternate cause for dissension. Scarce could this madness have been
calmed by my vigilance, much less by a boy's rule. Ah, how I feared for you what the uncontrolled might of such vast armies might dare, when, your sire removed, there came the fevered delight in change ! Dangerous was discord, more dangerous still unanimity. 'Twas then that Stilicho took my place in paternal love for thee, tended thine immature youth, and brought thee to the years and estate of an emperor. 'Twas he drove back Rufinus whom thou didst confess thou fearedst. Gratitude and loyalty I find in him alone. Did I want or seem to want aught, while yet I lived he accomplished it. Now I am dead he
supporter have we ?
worships me as worthy of veneration and an ever
present helper. If the thought of his goodness move thee not, at least show respect to thy brother's
father-in-law :
the royal espousal of my niece Serena. Thou oughtest to face thy brother's foes, he thine. Could any nation, could the combined forces of Rhine and Danube have stood against you twain allied ?
protecting Syrtes and rely for safety on the inter vening ocean ; though he think to be defended by
reason of his serpent-infested country and the fierce 121
Enough
bring about but the defeat of Gildo
I ask
bethink thee of Honorius' marriage,
: nought else. Though he entrench himself behind the
!
CLAUDIAN
novi consilium, novi Stilichonis in omnes aequalem casus animum : penetrabit harenas, inveniet virtute viam. "
" Sic divus et inde 320
Talia dum longo secum sermone retexunt, 325 Hesperiam pervenit avus castumque cubile
iussis, genitor, parebitur ultro.
sic natus :
amplector praecepta libens, nec carior alter cognato Stilichone mihi. commissa profanus ille luat ; redeat iam tutior Africa fratri. "
ingreditur, Tyrio quo fusus Honorius ostro carpebat teneros Maria cum coniuge somnos. adsistit capiti ; tunc sic per somnia fatur :
" Tantane devictos tenuit fiducia Mauros, 330
care nepos ? iterum post me coniurat in arma
progenies vesana Iubae bellumque resumit
victoris cum stirpe sui ? Firmumne iacentem
obliti Libyam nostro sudore receptam
rursus habent ? ausus Latio contendere Gildo 335
germani nec fata timet ? nunc ire profecto,
nunc vellem notosque senex ostendere vultus :
nonne meam fugiet Maurus cum viderit umbram ? quid dubitas ? exsurge toris, invade rebellem, captivum mihi redde meum. desiste morari. 340 hoc generi fatale tuo : dum sanguis in orbe
noster erit, semper pallebit regia Bocchi.
iungantur spoliis Firmi Gildonis opima ;
1 Firmus, brother of Gildo, had, during the reign of Valentinian, risen against the oppressive government of Romanus, count of Africa, and had been defeated by
Theodosius the elder. 122
THE WAR AGAINST GILDO, I
sun's mid-day heat, yet well I know Stilicho's in genuity—that mind of his equal to any emergency. He will force his way through the desert, his own greatness will lead him. "
Thus spake the dead emperor, whereon thus the son answered : " Right willingly, father, will I fulfil thy commands : ever ready am I to welcome thy behests. None is dearer to me than my kinsman Stilicho. Let the impious Gildo atone for his wrongs, and Africa be restored to my brother still safer than before. "
While father and son thus debated in long converse, Theodosius the grandfather made his way to Italy and entered the chaste bedchamber where on his couch of Tyrian purple Honorius lay in sweet sleep by the side of his wife Maria. At his head he stood and thus spake to him in a dream. " What rash confidence is this, dear grandson, that fills the conquered Moors ? Does the mad race descended from Juba, the people whom I subdued, once more conspire to oppose Rome's power and recommence the war with its conqueror's grandson ? Have they
forgotten the defeat of Firmus 1 ? Do they think to repossess Libya won back by the sweat of battle ? Dares Gildo strive with Rome ? Does he not fear his brother's fate. Fain would I go myself, old
I be, and show him the face he knows but too well. Will not the Moor flee my very shade, should he behold it ? Why delayest thou ? Up from thy bed ; attack the rebel ; give me back my prisoner ; waste no more time. 'Tis Fate's gift to thy family. While yet the race of Theodosius treads the earth the palace of Bocchus shall go in fear. Let the spoils of Gildo be added to those of Firmus ;
though
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CLAUDIAN
exornet geminos Maurusia laurea currus :
una domus totiens una de gente triumphet. 345 di bene, quod tantis interlabentibus annis
servati Firmusque mihi fraterque nepoti. "
dixit et adflatus vicino sole refugit.
At iuvenem stimutis inmanibus aemula virtus exacuit ; iam puppe vehi, iam stagna secare 350 fervet et absentes invadere cuspide Mauros.
tum iubet acciri socerum dextramque vocato
conserit et, quae sit potior sententia, quaerit :
" Per somnos mihi, sancte pater, iam saepe futura panduntur multaeque canunt praesagia noctes. 355
namque procul Libycos venatu cingere saltus
et iuga rimari canibus Gaetula videbar.
maerebat regio saevi vastata leonis
incursu ; pecudum strages passimque iuvenci semineces et adhuc infecta mapalia tabo 360 sparsaque sanguineis pastorum funera campis. adgredior latebras monstri mirumque relatu conspicio : dilapsus honos, cervice minaces
defluxere iubae ; fractos inglorius armos
supposuit, servile gemens ; iniectaque vincla 365 unguibus et subitae collo sonuere catenae,
nunc etiam paribus secum certare tropaeis
hortator me cogit avus. quonam usque remoti cunctamur ? decuit pridem complere biremes
et pelagi superare moras, transmittere primus 370 ipse paro ; quaecumque meo gens barbara nutu stringitur, adveniat : Germania cuncta feratur
124
1 i. e. Stilicho.
THE WAR AGAINST GILDO, I
let the bays of Mauretania deck chariots twain and one house triumph thus many times over one race. Thanks be to the gods who have interposed so many years between the sacrifice of Firmus to my arms and that of Firmus' brother to those of my grand son. " He spake, then fled, as he felt the breath of the approaching dawn.
Then emulous courage roused the emperor with insistent goad. He burns to set sail, to cleave the main, to assail with the spear the distant Moors. So he summons his father-in-law 1 and clasping his hand asks what course of action he advises. " Full often, reverend sire, is the future revealed to me in dreams ; many a night brings prophecy. Methought I surrounded in hunting the distant glades of Africa and scoured the Gaetulian mountains with
my hounds. The district was distressed by reason of the incursions of a ravening Hon. On all sides were
slaughtered
beasts and mangled heifers, and still
their homesteads ran red with blood, and corpses of
I approached the beast's cave and saw a sight wonderful to relate. Gone was that noble form, drooping on the neck the threatening mane ; there he crouched, defeated, humbled, with slavish moans ; fetters were upon his paws and a chain clanked of a sudden on his neck. Now, too, my grand- sire eagerly urges me to rival his triumphs with my own. Why, he asked, did I delay and hesitate so long ? Already my ships should have been manned
and the sea's threatened opposition overcome. I myself am ready to cross in the first vessel. Let every foreign nation that is bound beneath my rule come to our aid. Let all Germany be transported and
125
many a shepherd lay weltering in the bloody fields.
CLAUDIAN
navibus et socia comitentur classe Sygambri.
pallida translatum iam sentiat Africa Rhenum. 374
an patiar tot probra sedens iuvenisque relinquam
quae tenui rexique puer ? bis noster ad Alpes
alterius genitor defensum regna cucurrit. "
nos praedae faciles insultandique iacemus ? Finierat. Stilicho contra cui talia reddit :
" adversine tubam princeps dignabere Mauri ? 380 auferet ignavus clari solacia leti,
te bellante mori ? decernet Honorius inde,
hinc Gildo ? prius astra Chaos miscebit Averno. vindictam mandasse sat est ; plus nominis horror quam tuus ensis aget. minuit praesentia famam. 385 qui stetit aequatur campo, collataque nescit maiestatem acies. sed quod magis utile factu
atque hosti gravius (sensus adverte) docebo.
est illi patribus, sed non et moribus isdem
Mascezel, fugiens qui dira piacula fratris 390 spesque suas vitamque tuo commisit asylo.
hunc ubi temptatis frustra mactare nequivit
insidiis, patrias in pignora contulit iras
et, quos ipse sinu parvos gestaverat, una
occidit iuvenes inhumataque corpora vulgo 395 dispulit et tumulo cognatas arcuit umbras naturamque simul fratremque hominemque cruentus exuit et tenuem caesis invidit harenam.
hoc facinus refugo damnavit sole Mycenas
avertitque diem ; sceleri sed reddidit Atreus 400
THE WAR AGAINST GILDO, I
the Sygambri come with allied fleet. Let trembling Africa now have experience of the dwellers on Rhine's banks. Or shall I sit here and submit to such disgrace ? Shall I relinquish, now that I am a man, what I ruled and governed as a boy ? Twice my father hurried to the Alps to defend another's realm. Am I to be an easy prey, an object of scorn? "
Wilt
thou, an emperor, deign to challenge a Moor to fight ? Is that coward to have the consolation of death in battle at thy hand ? Shall Honorius fight on our side and Gildo on the other ? Ere that, chaos
shall plunge the stars into Hell. 'Tis enough to command his punishment. Thy name shall strike
terror into him than thy sword. Presence
will minish awe ; he who stands in the lists admits
He ended and Stilicho thus made answer : "
greater
equality, and struggling hosts regard not majesty.
Listen and I will' tell thee something at once more
profitable for thyself and of more effect against the
Gildo has a brother of like descent but unlike in character, Mascezel, who, avoiding the evil courses of his brother, has entrusted his hopes and his life to thy keeping. When Gildo, after many vain attempts, found no means to kill Mascezel, he turned his anger from the father to the children and slew those whom himself had nursed as infants in his arms ; then cast aside their unburied bodies and refused sepulchre to the shades of those that had been his
kin. The bloody tyrant stifled all natural feelings, forgot he was a brother, forgot he was a man, and begrudged the slain a handful of dust. 'Twas a like deed brought its ill repute upon Mycenae, that put the sun to rout and turned back the day. But while Atreus paid back crime for crime and had excuse
127
enemy.
CLAUDIAN
crimen et infandas excusat coniuge mensas. hie odium, non poena fuit. te perdita iura, te pater ultorem, te nudi pulvere manes,
te pietas polluta rogat ; si flentibus aram
et proprium miseris numen statuistis, Athenae, 405 si Pandionias planctu traxere phalanges
Inachides belloque rogos meruere maritis,
si maesto squalore comae lacrimisque senatum
in Numidas pulsus solio commovit Adherbal :
hunc quoque nunc Gildo, tanto quem funere mersit, hunc doleat venisse ducem seseque minorem 411 supplicibus sciat esse tuis. quem sede fugavit,
hunc praeceps fugiat, fregit quem clade, tremiscat
agnoscatque suum, trahitur dum victima, fratrem. " Haec ubi sederunt genero, notissima Marti 415
robora, praecipuos electa pube maniplos
di^ponit portuque rates instaurat Etrusco.
Herculeam suus Alcides Ioviamque cohortem
rex ducit superum, premitur nec signifer ullo pondere : festinant adeo vexilla moved. 420 Nervius insequitur meritusque vocabula Felix dictaque ab Augusto legio nomenque probantes invicti clipeoque animosi teste Leones.
Dictis ante tamen princeps confirmat ituros
1 A reference to the support given by Theseus, King of Athens, to Adrastus, King of Argos, when the Thebans had refused to allow the burial of the Argives slain at Thebes ;
of. Eur. Supplices.
2 Orosius (vii. 36. 6) says Mascezel only had 5000 men.
The legion may have been leg. viii. Augusta. The other names are those of various numeri (the unit of the post- Diocletianic army).
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THE WAR AGAINST GILDO, I
for the bloody banquet in the unfaithfulness of his
wife, Gildo's motive was hatred, not
Violated rights, the sorrowing father, the unburied dead, the unnatural crime all call upon thee as
If thou, Athens, didst dedicate an altar to the sorrowing and ordain to those that mourn a special deity, if the women of Argos won to their aid the Athenian phalanx by their tears and bought burial for their slain lords at the price of war ; 1 if Adherbal, driven from his throne, roused the Senate against the Numidians by the sad appeal of unkempt locks and by his tears, then let Gildo be sorry that now this man also whom he has crushed by so many murders is come into the field against him, and let him learn that he must bow before thy suppliants. Let Gildo flee headlong before him whom he put to flight and fear him whom he o'erwhelmed with the murder of his children. As he is being dragged off to the slaughter let him recognize his brother's hand. "
When this advice had been accepted by his son- in-law, Stilicho made ready for war the most famous regiments in the army, selecting therefrom special companies of picked men ; he further prepared the fleet in the harbours of Etruria. Alcides himself commands the Herculean cohort ; the king of the gods leads the Jovian. No standard-bearer feels the
weight of his eagle, so readily do the very standards press forward. The Nervian cohort follows and the Felix, well deserving its name, the legion, too, named after Augustus, that well called The Un- conquered, and the brave regiment of the Lion 2 to whose name their shields bear witness.
But before they start the emperor, standing upon a platform of earth, heartens them with his words :
vol. i k 129
avenger.
vengeance.
CLAUDIAN
aggere conspicuus ; stat circumfusa iuventus 425 nixa hastis pronasque ferox accommodat aures :
" Gildonem domitura manus, promissa minasque tempus agi. si quid pro me doluistis, in armis ostentate mihi ; iusto magnoque triumpho
civiles abolete notas ; sciat orbis Eous 430 sitque palam Gallos causa, non robore vinci.
nec vos, barbariem quamvis collegerit omnem, terreat. an Mauri fremitum raucosque repulsus umbonum et vestros passuri comminus enses ?
non contra clipeis tectos gladiisque micantes 435 ibitis : in solis longe fiducia telis.
exarmatus erit, cum missile torserit, hostis.
dextra movet iaculum, praetentat pallia laeva ;
cetera nudus eques. sonipes ignarus habenae ;
virga regit. non ulla fides, non agminis ordo : 440
arma oneri, fuga praesidio.
105
Scyphax
CLAUDIAN
nunc inhonorus egens perfert miserabile pacis supplicium nulloque palam circumdatus hoste 100 obsessi discrimen habet. per singula letum impendet momenta mihi dubitandaque pauci praescribunt alimenta dies. heu prospera fata !
quid mihi septenos montes turbamque dedistis,
quae parvo non possit ali ? felicior essem 105 angustis opibus ; mallem tolerare Sabinos
et Veios ; brevior duxi securius aevum.
ipsa nocet moles. utinam remeare liceret
ad veteres fines et moenia pauperis Anci.
sufficerent Etrusca mihi Campanaque culta 110
et Quincti Curiique seges, patriaeque petenti rusticus inferret proprias dictator aristas.
" Nunc quid agam ? Libyam Gildo tenet, altera Nilum.
ast ego, quae terras umeris pontumque subegi, deseror : em eritae iam praemia nulla senectae. 115 di, quibus iratis crevi, succurrite tandem,
exorate patrem ; tuque o si sponte per altum
vecta Palatinis mutasti collibus Idam
praelatoque lavas Phrygios Almone leones,
maternis precibus natum iam flecte, Cybebe. 120 sin prohibent Parcae falsisque elusa vetustas auspiciis, alio saltem prosternite casu
et poenae mutate genus. Porsenna reducat Tarquinios ; renovet ferales Allia pugnas ;
me potius saevi manibus permittite Pyrrhi,
1 Doubtless a reference to Cincinnatus.
a Claudian means by " altera " the Eastern Empire.
106
125
THE WAR AGAINST GILDO, I
been subdued, dishonoured now and poverty-stricken,
bends beneath the cruel lash of peace, and though
not openly beleaguered by any foe yet has all the hazard of a siege. Destruction threatens me hourly ; a few days will set a limit to my uncertain
food -supply. Out upon thee, prosperity !
hast thou given me seven hills and such a population as a small supply cannot nourish ? Happier I, had my power been less. Better to have put up with Samnium and Veii ; in narrower bonds I passed securer days. My very magnitude undoes me ; would that I could return to my former boundaries and the walls of poor Ancus. Enough for me then would be the ploughlands of Etruria and Campania, the farms of Cincinnatus and Curius, and at his country's prayer the rustic dictator 1 would bring his home-grown wheat.
if ever of thine own free will thou wert carried over the sea and in exchange for Mount Ida tookest the hills of Rome and didst bathe thy Phrygian lions in Almo's more favoured stream, move now thy son3 with a mother's entreaties. But if the fates forbid and our first founder was misled by augury untrue, o'erwhelm me at least in some different ruin, and change the nature of my punishment. Let Porsenna bring back the Tarquins ; let Allia renew her bloody battle. Let me fall rather into the hands of cruel
Cybele,
3 i. e. Jupiter.
Why
" What am I to do now ? Gildo holds Libya, another 2 Egypt ; while I, who subdued land and sea with my strong arm, am left to perish. Veteran of so many wars, can I claim no reward in mine old age ? Ye gods in whose despite, it seems, I increased, now aid me at the last ; pray Jove for me. And thou,
107
CLAUDIAN
me Senonum furiis, Brenni me reddite flammis. cuncta fame leviora mihi. "
Sic fata refusis obticuit lacrimis. mater Cytherea parensque
flet Mavors sanctaeque memor Tritonia Vestae,
nec Cybele sicco nec stabat lumine Iuno. 130
maerent indigetes et si quos Roma recepit
aut dedit ipsa deos. genitor iam corde remitti coeperat et sacrum dextra sedare tumultum,
cum procul insanis quatiens ululatibus axem
et contusa genas mediis adparet in astris 135 Africa : rescissae vestes et spicea passim
serta iacent ; lacero crinales vertice dentes
et fractum pendebat ebur, talique superbas
inrupit clamore fores :
" Quid magne moraris Iuppiter avulso nexu pelagique solutis 140
legibus iratum populis inmittere fratrem ?
mergi prima peto ; veniant praerupta Pachyno aequora, laxatis'subsidant Syrtibus urbes.
si mihi Gildonem nequeunt abducere fata,
me rape Gildoni. felicior illa perustae 145 pars Libyae, nimio quae se munita calore
defendit tantique vacat secura tyranni.
crescat zona rubens ; medius flagrantis Olympi
me quoque limes agat ; melius deserta iacebo vomeris impatiens. pulsis dominentur aristis 150 dipsades et sitiens attollat glaeba cerastas.
quid me temperies iuvit ? quid mitior aether ? Gildoni fecunda fui. iam solis habenae
1 i. e. the Palladium, the image of Pallas ( = M inerva), rescued by Metellus from the burning temple of Vesta, 241 b. c.
108
THE WAR AGAINST GILDO, I
Pyrrhus ; abandon me to the fury of the Senones or the flames of Brennus. Welcome all this rather than to starve ! "
So spake she, and upwelling tears choked her voice. Venus, mother of Aeneas, wept, and Mars, father of Romulus and Minerva, mindful of Vesta's sacred charge. 1 Nor Cybele nor Juno stood with dry eyes. The heroes mourn and all the gods whose worship Rome received from without or herself inaugurated.
And now began the heart of Jove to soften. With hand outstretched he was checking the murmurings of the gods when, shaking heaven with distraught cries, Africa, her cheeks torn, appeared in the distance advancing amid the stars. Torn was her raiment, scattered her crown of corn. Her head was wounded and the ivory comb that secured her hair hung loose and broken. She rushed into Heaven's halls shouting thus : " Great Jove, why delayest thou to loose the bonds of sea, to break its decree and hurl thy brother2 in wrath against
May
I be the first to be overwhelmed.
the land ?
Welcome the broken waters from Pachynus' cape ; sink my cities in the freed Syrtes. if so be fate cannot rid me of Gildo, rid Gildo of me. Happier that region of Libya that defends itself by means of its own excessive heat and thus knows not the irksome rule of so savage a tyrant. Let the torrid zone spread. Let the midmost path of the scorching
sky burn me also. Better I lay a desert nor ever suffered the plough. Let the dust-snake lord it in a cornless land and the thirsty earth give birth to nought but vipers. What avails me a healthy climate, a milder air ? My fruitfulness is but for
2 i. e. Neptune.
109
CLAUDIAN
bis senas torquent hiemes, cervicibus ex quo
haeret triste iugum. nostris iam luctibus ille 155 consenuit regnumque sibi tot vindicat annos.
atque utinam regnum ! privato iure tenemur
exigui specie fundi, quod Nilus et Atlas
dissidet, occiduis quod Gadibus arida Barce
quodque Paraetonio secedit litore Tingi, 160 hoc sibi transcripsit proprium. pars tertia mundi unius praedonis ager.
" Distantibus idem inter se vitiis cinctus : quodcumque profunda
traxit avaritia, luxu peiore refundit.
instat terribilis vivis, morientibus heres, 165 virginibus raptor, thalamis obscaenus adulter.
nulla quies : oritur praeda cessante libido, divitibusque dies et nox metuenda maritis.
quisquis vel locuples pulchra vel coniuge notus, crimine pulsatur falso ; si crimina desunt, 170 accitus conviva perit. mors nulla refugit
artificem : varios sucos spumasque requirit serpentum virides et adhuc ignota novercis
gramina. si quisquam vultu praesentia damnet liberiusve gemat, dapibus crudelis in ipsis 175
emicat ad nutum stricto mucrone minister.
fixus quisque toro tacita formidine libat
carnifices epulas incertaque pocula pallens
haurit et intentos capiti circumspicit enses.
splendet Tartareo furialis mensa paratu 180 caede madens, atrox gladio, suspecta veneno.
110
1 Tangiers.
THE WAR AGAINST GILDO, I
Gildo. Twelve courses has the sun's chariot run since first I wore this sorry yoke. He has now grown old amid our miseries and these many years have set their seal upon his rule. Rule—would it were rule : a private owner possesses me, as it had been some pelting farm. From Nile to Atlas' mount, from scorched Barce to western Gades, from Tingi 1 to Egypt's coast Gildo has appropriated the land as his own. A third of the world belongs to one robber-chief.
" He is a prey to the most diverse vices : whatsoe'er his bottomless greed has stolen, a yet more insatiable
He is the terror of the living, the heir of the dead, the violator of the unwed, and the foul corrupter of the marriage-bed. He is never
quiet ; when greed is sated lust is rampant ; day is a misery to the rich, night to the married. Is any wealthy or known to possess a beautiful wife, he is overwhelmed by some trumped-up charge. If no charge be brought against him, he is asked to a banquet and there murdered. No form of death but is known to this artist in crime. He investigates the properties of different poisons and serpents' livid venom and knows of deadly herbs un known even to stepmothers. If any condemns what he sees by a look or sighs with too much freedom, at the very festal board out darts some hench man with drawn sword at a nod from his master. Each glued to his seat tastes in silent fear of the deadly banquet ; drains, pale of face, the treacherous cup, and looks around at the weapons that threaten his life. The deadly board is decked in infernal splendour, wet with slaughter, dreadful with fear of sword and suspected poison. When wine has
111
profligacy squanders.
GLAUDIAN
ut vino calefacta Venus, tum saevior ardet
luxuries, mixtis redolent unguenta coronis :
crinitos inter famulos pubemque canoram
orbatas iubet ire nurus nuperque peremptis 185 adridere viris. Phalarim tormentaque flammae profuit et Siculi mugitus ferre iuvenci
quam tales audire choros. nec damna pudoris
turpia sufficiunt : Mauris clarissima quaeque fastidita datur. media Carthagine ductae 190 barbara Sidoniae subeunt conubia matres ; Aethiopem nobis generum, Nasamona maritum ingerit ; exterret cunabula discolor infans.
his fretus sociis ipso iam principe maior
incedit ; peditum praecurrunt agmina longe ; 195 circumdant equitum turmae regesque clientes,
quos nostris ditat spoliis. proturbat avita quemque domo : veteres detrudit rure colonos. exiliis dispersa feror. numquamne reverti " fas erit errantesque solo iam reddere cives ?
Iret adhuc in verba dolor, ni Iuppiter alto
coepisset solio (voces adamante notabat
200
Atropos et Lachesis iungebat stamina dictis) :
" nec te, Roma, diu nec te patiemur inultam,
Africa. communem prosternet Honorius hostem. 205 pergite securae. vestrum vis nulla tenorem
separat et soli famulabitur Africa Romae. "
Dixit et adflavit Romam meliore iuventa.
continuo redit ille vigor seniique colorem
mutavere comae. solidatam crista resurgens 210
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THE WAR AGAINST GILDO, I
inflamed the passions, his lust rages more savagely ; 'midst the mingled smell of scents and flowers, 'midst curled minions and youthful choirs he bids
the widowed wives whose husbands he but a moment ago has murdered. Better Phalaris and the torments of his furnace, better to listen to the bellowings of the Sicilian bull than to such
as these. Nor is the base sacrifice of their good name enough. When tired of each noblest matron Gildo hands her over to the Moors. Married in Carthage city these Sidonian mothers needs must mate with barbarians. He thrusts upon me an Ethiopian as a son-in-law, a Berber as a husband. The hideous half-breed child affrights its cradle. Thanks to those base allies his state is more regal than that of the emperor himself. Before him goes
a body of foot-soldiers, squadrons of cavalry surround him and client kings whom he enriches with our
go sport
songs
He drives one and all from their ancestral houses and expels husbandmen from farms so long theirs. My people are scattered in exile. Are my citizens never to return from their wanderings to their native soil ? "
She would have spoken further in her grief had not Jove begun from his lofty throne—Atropos wrote down his words in adamant and Lachesis spun them in with her thread—" Neither thou, Rome, nor yet thou, Africa, will we suffer to go long un avenged. Honorius shall disperse your common foe.
Go in peace. No violence shall part your companion ship ; Africa shall serve Rome, and Rome alone. "
He spake and breathed into Rome a youth renewed. Straightway her former strength returned, and her hair put off its grey of eld ; her helmet grew solid,
vol. i i 113
spoils.
CLAUDIAN
erexit galeam clipeique recanduit orbis et levis excussa- micuit rubigine cornus.
Umentes iam noctis equos Lethaeaque Somnus frena regens tacito volvebat sidera curru.
iam duo divorum proceres, maiorque minorque 215 Theodosii, pacem laturi gentibus ibant,
qui Iovis arcanos monitus mandataque ferrent fratribus et geminis sancirent foedera regnis :
sic cum praecipites artem vicere procellae adsiduoque gemens undarum verbere nutat 220 descensura ratis, caeca sub nocte vocati
naufraga Ledaei sustentant vela Lacones.
circulus ut patuit Lunae, secuere meatus
diversos : Italas senior tendebat in oras ;
at pater, intrantem Pontum qua Bosphorus artat, Arcadii thalamis urbique inlapsus Eoae. 226 quem simulac vidit natus (nam clara nitebat
Cynthia), permixto tremuerunt gaudia fletu complexuque fovens, quos non speraverat, artus
" O mihi post Alpes nunc primum reddite," dixit, 230 " unde tuis optatus ades ? da tangere dextram,
qua gentes cecidere ferae. quis tale removit praesidium terris ? ut te mortalia pridem
implorant longeque pium fortemque requirunt ! " Cui pater in tales rupit suspiria voces :
hoc erat ? in fratres medio discordia Mauro nascitur et mundus germanaque dissidet aula ?
1 Theodosius the younger is, of course, Theodosius I. , the Emperor (see Introduction, p. vii). Theodosius the elder was his father. He was an able and trusted general of Valentinian I. , who restored quict in Britain
defeated the Alamanni (370), and crushed the revolt of Firmus, Gildo's brother (see line 333 of this poem) in Africa (? 372-374). His deatli was brought about by Mero- baudes, Gratian's minister (cf. viii. 26-9).
114
(368-370),
" 235
THE WAR AGAINST GILDO, I
upright stood the plumes, the round shield shone
once more, and gone was every trace of rust from
her winged, gleaming spear.
Sleep was now driving the dew-drenched steeds
of night, guiding them with the reins of Lethe and carrying round the stars in her silent course, when the elder and the younger Theodosius,1 chief among the heroes divine, came to bring peace to men. They bore Jove's secret message and mandate to the two brothers and ratified the treaty between the two empires. So when at dead of night the driving tempest has brought the helmsman's skill to nought and the sinking ship groans and shudders at the waves' ceaseless shock, Leda's Spartan-born sons sustain the foundering bark in answer to the
sailors' prayers. At the rise of the full moon the twain parted. The elder directed his steps towards the coasts of Italy, the younger visited the couch of Arcadius, gliding down to that Eastern city where Bosporus narrows the entrance to the Euxine. As soon as the son saw his father (for the moon was shining brightly), he wept, yet trembled for joy, and embracing that form he had little hoped ever to embrace again, said: " O thou restored now to me for the first time since thy triumphs in the Alps,
whence comest thou to thy loving son ? Let me touch that hand that has conquered so many bar barian races ! Who hath robbed the world of such a defender ? How long a while has mankind prayed thine aid, and missed thy goodness and thy might ! "
Sighing, the father made answer : " Was it for this ? Is a Moor become a cause of discord between two brothers ? Does the empire and court of the
115
CLAUDIAN
Gildonisne salus tanti sit palma furoris ?
scilicet egregius morum magnoque tuendus
et cuius meritis pietas in fratre recedat ! 240 invito 1 genitore, vide, civile calebat
discidium ; dubio stabant Romana sub ictu ;
quis procul Armenius vel quis Maeotide ripa
rex ignotus agit, qui me non iuvit euntem
auxilio ? fovere Getae, venere Geloni. 245 solus at hie non puppe data, non milite misso subsedit fluitante fide. si signa petisset
obvia, detecto summissius hoste dolerem : restitit in speculis fati turbaque reductus
libravit geminas eventu iudice vires 250 ad rerum momenta cliens seseque daturus
victori ; fortuna simul cum mente pependit.
o si non cupidis essem praereptus ab astris, exemplum sequerer Tulli laniandaque dumis
impia diversis aptarem membra quadrigis. 255 germani nunc usque tui responsa colebat :
en iterum calcat. tali te credere monstro
post patrem fratremque paras ? sed magna rependit inque tuam sortem numerosas transtulit urbes !
ergo fas pretio cedet ? mercede placebit 260 proditio ? taceo, laesi quod transfuga fratris,
quod levis ingenio. quamvis discrimine summo proditor adportet suspensa morte salutem numquam gratus erit. damnamus luce reperta
1 mss. in primo ; Birt suggests invito, Koch infirmo 1 See note on viii. 401.
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THE WAR AGAINST GILDO, I
East quarrel with those of the West ? Can Gildo's salvation be fit guerdon for this mad rivalry ? Great no doubt are his virtues, great should be the price paid to preserve them and such his merits as to banish affection in a brother. Look you, though I, thy sire, willed it not, civil war raged ; the fortunes of Rome stood on a razor's edge. Was there a distant king of Armenia, an unknown monarch by Maeotis' shore but sent aid to mine enterprises ? The Getae gave me succour, the Geloni came to my assistance. Gildo alone sent not a man, not a ship, but waited
the issue in wavering loyalty. Had he sought the confronting host as an open foe my wrath had been less bitter. He stood apart on Fortune's watch- tower and, withdrawn from the throng, weighed this side against that,meaning to let the event decide him, dependent upon the turn things might take and ready to embrace the side of the victor. His fortune hung in the balance as well as his intention. Had I not been hurried to heaven by the impatient stars I would have followed the example of Tullus Hostilius and dragged the impious wretch limb from limb fastened to chariots driven different ways through thorn bushes. 1
Up to this time he has owed obedience to thy brother, now behold he spurns his commands. After thy father's and thy brother's fate art thou ready to trust thyself to such a villain ? Is thine answer that he maketh great return and hath brought over many cities to thine allegiance ? Shall honour, then, give place to utility ?
Can gain render treachery welcome ? I make no mention of his cruel betrayal of thy brother ; of his fickle nature ; were a traitor to bring safety even when at peril's height death threatened, never shall he win gratitude. When our life is saved
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perfidiam nec nos patimur committere tali. 265 hoc genus emptori cives cum moenibus offert,
hoc vendit patriam. plerique in tempus abusi
mox odere tamen : tenuit sic Graia Philippus
oppida ; Pellaeo libertas concidit auro.
Romani scelerum semper sprevere ministros. 270 noxia pollicitum domino miscere venena
Fabricius regi nudata fraude remisit,
infesto quem Marte petit, bellumque negavit
per famuli patrare nefas, ductosque Camillus
trans murum pueros obsessae reddidit urbi. 275
" Traduntur poenis alii, cum proelia tollunt ;
hie manet ut moveat ? quod respuit alter in hostem, suscipis in fratrem ? longi pro dedecus aevi !
cui placet, australes Gildo condonat habenas
tantaque mutatos sequitur provincia mores. 280 quaslibet ad partes animus nutaverit aneeps, transfundit secum Libyam refluumque malignus commodat imperium. Mauri fuit Africa munus. tollite Massylas fraudes, removete bilingues
insidias et verba soli spirantia virum. 285
ne consanguineis certetur comminus armis,
ne, precor. haec trucibus Thebis, haec digna Myeenis ;
in Mauros hoc crimen eat.
molitur Stilicho ? quando non ille iubenti
" Quid noster iniquum
THE. WAR AGAINST GILDO, I
we condemn the treachery nor brook to entrust ourselves to such protection. 'Tis this sort that offers for purchase cities and their inhabitants, that sells its fatherland. Most make use of such for the moment but soon learn to hate them. 'Twas
thus that Philip held the cities of Greece ; liberty fell before the attack of Macedonian gold. Rome has ever despised the ministers of guilt. Fabricius,
discovering the plot, sent back to King Pyrrhus the slave who had promised to mingle deadly poison for his lord; fierce war raged between them, but Fabricius refused to end it by means of the
treachery of a slave. Camillus, too, gave back to the beleaguered city the boys brought to his camp from out the walls.
" These were consigned to punishment for seeking to put an end to wars. Is Gildo to five that he may kindle them ? Takest thou such measures
against thy brother as another would disdain to take against an enemy ? O shame for unending ages ! Gildo entrusts the governance of the south
to whom he will ; the great province of Africa obeys a tyrant's whim. To whichever side his fickle mind inclines, he carries Libya over with him and malignantly subjects it to a rule shifting as the tide. Africa was the gift of the Moor. Away with the trickery of the Massyli, their treacherous
wiles and their words that breathe forth the poison of their land. Let not brother wage war on brother, I pray. That were worthy of cruel Thebes and Mycenae ; let that accusation be levelled against the Moors.
"What wrong is Stilicho devising
? when did he fail in his obedience ? than him what more loyal
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ut sileam varios mecum quos gesserit actus, quae vidi post fata, loquar. cum divus abirem,
res incompositas (fateor) tumidasque reliqui. stringebat vetitos etiamnum exercitus enses
Alpinis odiis, alternaque iurgia victi 295 victoresque dabant. vix haec amentia nostris
excubiis, nedum puero rectore quiesset.
heu quantum timui vobis, quid libera tanti
militis auderet moles, cum patre remoto
ferveret iam laeta novis ! dissensus acerbus 300 et gravior consensus erat. tunc ipse paterna successit pietate mihi tenerumque rudemque
fovit et in veros eduxit principis annos,
Rufinumque tibi, quem tu tremuisse fateris,
depulit. hunc solum memorem solumque fidelem 305 experior. volui si quid, dum vita maneret,
aut visus voluisse, gerit ; venerabilis illi
ceu praesens numenque vocor. si tanta recusas,
at soceri reverere faces, at respice fratris
conubium pignusque meae regale Serenae. 310 debueras etiam fraternis obvius ire
hostibus, ille tuis. quae gens, quis Rhenus et Hister vos opibus iunctos conspirantesque tulisset ?
sed tantum permitte, cadat. nil poscimus ultra.
ille licet sese praetentis Syrtibus armet 315 oppositoque Atlante tegat, licet arva referta anguibus et solis medios obiecerit aestus :
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THE WAR AGAINST GILDO, I
I will not mention the various brave deeds he did while yet with me ; of those only I will tell which I saw after my death. When I was raised to heaven disorder — I admit it— and tumult did I leave behind me. The army was still drawing the forbidden sword in that Alpine war,
and conquerors and conquered gave alternate cause for dissension. Scarce could this madness have been
calmed by my vigilance, much less by a boy's rule. Ah, how I feared for you what the uncontrolled might of such vast armies might dare, when, your sire removed, there came the fevered delight in change ! Dangerous was discord, more dangerous still unanimity. 'Twas then that Stilicho took my place in paternal love for thee, tended thine immature youth, and brought thee to the years and estate of an emperor. 'Twas he drove back Rufinus whom thou didst confess thou fearedst. Gratitude and loyalty I find in him alone. Did I want or seem to want aught, while yet I lived he accomplished it. Now I am dead he
supporter have we ?
worships me as worthy of veneration and an ever
present helper. If the thought of his goodness move thee not, at least show respect to thy brother's
father-in-law :
the royal espousal of my niece Serena. Thou oughtest to face thy brother's foes, he thine. Could any nation, could the combined forces of Rhine and Danube have stood against you twain allied ?
protecting Syrtes and rely for safety on the inter vening ocean ; though he think to be defended by
reason of his serpent-infested country and the fierce 121
Enough
bring about but the defeat of Gildo
I ask
bethink thee of Honorius' marriage,
: nought else. Though he entrench himself behind the
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novi consilium, novi Stilichonis in omnes aequalem casus animum : penetrabit harenas, inveniet virtute viam. "
" Sic divus et inde 320
Talia dum longo secum sermone retexunt, 325 Hesperiam pervenit avus castumque cubile
iussis, genitor, parebitur ultro.
sic natus :
amplector praecepta libens, nec carior alter cognato Stilichone mihi. commissa profanus ille luat ; redeat iam tutior Africa fratri. "
ingreditur, Tyrio quo fusus Honorius ostro carpebat teneros Maria cum coniuge somnos. adsistit capiti ; tunc sic per somnia fatur :
" Tantane devictos tenuit fiducia Mauros, 330
care nepos ? iterum post me coniurat in arma
progenies vesana Iubae bellumque resumit
victoris cum stirpe sui ? Firmumne iacentem
obliti Libyam nostro sudore receptam
rursus habent ? ausus Latio contendere Gildo 335
germani nec fata timet ? nunc ire profecto,
nunc vellem notosque senex ostendere vultus :
nonne meam fugiet Maurus cum viderit umbram ? quid dubitas ? exsurge toris, invade rebellem, captivum mihi redde meum. desiste morari. 340 hoc generi fatale tuo : dum sanguis in orbe
noster erit, semper pallebit regia Bocchi.
iungantur spoliis Firmi Gildonis opima ;
1 Firmus, brother of Gildo, had, during the reign of Valentinian, risen against the oppressive government of Romanus, count of Africa, and had been defeated by
Theodosius the elder. 122
THE WAR AGAINST GILDO, I
sun's mid-day heat, yet well I know Stilicho's in genuity—that mind of his equal to any emergency. He will force his way through the desert, his own greatness will lead him. "
Thus spake the dead emperor, whereon thus the son answered : " Right willingly, father, will I fulfil thy commands : ever ready am I to welcome thy behests. None is dearer to me than my kinsman Stilicho. Let the impious Gildo atone for his wrongs, and Africa be restored to my brother still safer than before. "
While father and son thus debated in long converse, Theodosius the grandfather made his way to Italy and entered the chaste bedchamber where on his couch of Tyrian purple Honorius lay in sweet sleep by the side of his wife Maria. At his head he stood and thus spake to him in a dream. " What rash confidence is this, dear grandson, that fills the conquered Moors ? Does the mad race descended from Juba, the people whom I subdued, once more conspire to oppose Rome's power and recommence the war with its conqueror's grandson ? Have they
forgotten the defeat of Firmus 1 ? Do they think to repossess Libya won back by the sweat of battle ? Dares Gildo strive with Rome ? Does he not fear his brother's fate. Fain would I go myself, old
I be, and show him the face he knows but too well. Will not the Moor flee my very shade, should he behold it ? Why delayest thou ? Up from thy bed ; attack the rebel ; give me back my prisoner ; waste no more time. 'Tis Fate's gift to thy family. While yet the race of Theodosius treads the earth the palace of Bocchus shall go in fear. Let the spoils of Gildo be added to those of Firmus ;
though
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exornet geminos Maurusia laurea currus :
una domus totiens una de gente triumphet. 345 di bene, quod tantis interlabentibus annis
servati Firmusque mihi fraterque nepoti. "
dixit et adflatus vicino sole refugit.
At iuvenem stimutis inmanibus aemula virtus exacuit ; iam puppe vehi, iam stagna secare 350 fervet et absentes invadere cuspide Mauros.
tum iubet acciri socerum dextramque vocato
conserit et, quae sit potior sententia, quaerit :
" Per somnos mihi, sancte pater, iam saepe futura panduntur multaeque canunt praesagia noctes. 355
namque procul Libycos venatu cingere saltus
et iuga rimari canibus Gaetula videbar.
maerebat regio saevi vastata leonis
incursu ; pecudum strages passimque iuvenci semineces et adhuc infecta mapalia tabo 360 sparsaque sanguineis pastorum funera campis. adgredior latebras monstri mirumque relatu conspicio : dilapsus honos, cervice minaces
defluxere iubae ; fractos inglorius armos
supposuit, servile gemens ; iniectaque vincla 365 unguibus et subitae collo sonuere catenae,
nunc etiam paribus secum certare tropaeis
hortator me cogit avus. quonam usque remoti cunctamur ? decuit pridem complere biremes
et pelagi superare moras, transmittere primus 370 ipse paro ; quaecumque meo gens barbara nutu stringitur, adveniat : Germania cuncta feratur
124
1 i. e. Stilicho.
THE WAR AGAINST GILDO, I
let the bays of Mauretania deck chariots twain and one house triumph thus many times over one race. Thanks be to the gods who have interposed so many years between the sacrifice of Firmus to my arms and that of Firmus' brother to those of my grand son. " He spake, then fled, as he felt the breath of the approaching dawn.
Then emulous courage roused the emperor with insistent goad. He burns to set sail, to cleave the main, to assail with the spear the distant Moors. So he summons his father-in-law 1 and clasping his hand asks what course of action he advises. " Full often, reverend sire, is the future revealed to me in dreams ; many a night brings prophecy. Methought I surrounded in hunting the distant glades of Africa and scoured the Gaetulian mountains with
my hounds. The district was distressed by reason of the incursions of a ravening Hon. On all sides were
slaughtered
beasts and mangled heifers, and still
their homesteads ran red with blood, and corpses of
I approached the beast's cave and saw a sight wonderful to relate. Gone was that noble form, drooping on the neck the threatening mane ; there he crouched, defeated, humbled, with slavish moans ; fetters were upon his paws and a chain clanked of a sudden on his neck. Now, too, my grand- sire eagerly urges me to rival his triumphs with my own. Why, he asked, did I delay and hesitate so long ? Already my ships should have been manned
and the sea's threatened opposition overcome. I myself am ready to cross in the first vessel. Let every foreign nation that is bound beneath my rule come to our aid. Let all Germany be transported and
125
many a shepherd lay weltering in the bloody fields.
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navibus et socia comitentur classe Sygambri.
pallida translatum iam sentiat Africa Rhenum. 374
an patiar tot probra sedens iuvenisque relinquam
quae tenui rexique puer ? bis noster ad Alpes
alterius genitor defensum regna cucurrit. "
nos praedae faciles insultandique iacemus ? Finierat. Stilicho contra cui talia reddit :
" adversine tubam princeps dignabere Mauri ? 380 auferet ignavus clari solacia leti,
te bellante mori ? decernet Honorius inde,
hinc Gildo ? prius astra Chaos miscebit Averno. vindictam mandasse sat est ; plus nominis horror quam tuus ensis aget. minuit praesentia famam. 385 qui stetit aequatur campo, collataque nescit maiestatem acies. sed quod magis utile factu
atque hosti gravius (sensus adverte) docebo.
est illi patribus, sed non et moribus isdem
Mascezel, fugiens qui dira piacula fratris 390 spesque suas vitamque tuo commisit asylo.
hunc ubi temptatis frustra mactare nequivit
insidiis, patrias in pignora contulit iras
et, quos ipse sinu parvos gestaverat, una
occidit iuvenes inhumataque corpora vulgo 395 dispulit et tumulo cognatas arcuit umbras naturamque simul fratremque hominemque cruentus exuit et tenuem caesis invidit harenam.
hoc facinus refugo damnavit sole Mycenas
avertitque diem ; sceleri sed reddidit Atreus 400
THE WAR AGAINST GILDO, I
the Sygambri come with allied fleet. Let trembling Africa now have experience of the dwellers on Rhine's banks. Or shall I sit here and submit to such disgrace ? Shall I relinquish, now that I am a man, what I ruled and governed as a boy ? Twice my father hurried to the Alps to defend another's realm. Am I to be an easy prey, an object of scorn? "
Wilt
thou, an emperor, deign to challenge a Moor to fight ? Is that coward to have the consolation of death in battle at thy hand ? Shall Honorius fight on our side and Gildo on the other ? Ere that, chaos
shall plunge the stars into Hell. 'Tis enough to command his punishment. Thy name shall strike
terror into him than thy sword. Presence
will minish awe ; he who stands in the lists admits
He ended and Stilicho thus made answer : "
greater
equality, and struggling hosts regard not majesty.
Listen and I will' tell thee something at once more
profitable for thyself and of more effect against the
Gildo has a brother of like descent but unlike in character, Mascezel, who, avoiding the evil courses of his brother, has entrusted his hopes and his life to thy keeping. When Gildo, after many vain attempts, found no means to kill Mascezel, he turned his anger from the father to the children and slew those whom himself had nursed as infants in his arms ; then cast aside their unburied bodies and refused sepulchre to the shades of those that had been his
kin. The bloody tyrant stifled all natural feelings, forgot he was a brother, forgot he was a man, and begrudged the slain a handful of dust. 'Twas a like deed brought its ill repute upon Mycenae, that put the sun to rout and turned back the day. But while Atreus paid back crime for crime and had excuse
127
enemy.
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crimen et infandas excusat coniuge mensas. hie odium, non poena fuit. te perdita iura, te pater ultorem, te nudi pulvere manes,
te pietas polluta rogat ; si flentibus aram
et proprium miseris numen statuistis, Athenae, 405 si Pandionias planctu traxere phalanges
Inachides belloque rogos meruere maritis,
si maesto squalore comae lacrimisque senatum
in Numidas pulsus solio commovit Adherbal :
hunc quoque nunc Gildo, tanto quem funere mersit, hunc doleat venisse ducem seseque minorem 411 supplicibus sciat esse tuis. quem sede fugavit,
hunc praeceps fugiat, fregit quem clade, tremiscat
agnoscatque suum, trahitur dum victima, fratrem. " Haec ubi sederunt genero, notissima Marti 415
robora, praecipuos electa pube maniplos
di^ponit portuque rates instaurat Etrusco.
Herculeam suus Alcides Ioviamque cohortem
rex ducit superum, premitur nec signifer ullo pondere : festinant adeo vexilla moved. 420 Nervius insequitur meritusque vocabula Felix dictaque ab Augusto legio nomenque probantes invicti clipeoque animosi teste Leones.
Dictis ante tamen princeps confirmat ituros
1 A reference to the support given by Theseus, King of Athens, to Adrastus, King of Argos, when the Thebans had refused to allow the burial of the Argives slain at Thebes ;
of. Eur. Supplices.
2 Orosius (vii. 36. 6) says Mascezel only had 5000 men.
The legion may have been leg. viii. Augusta. The other names are those of various numeri (the unit of the post- Diocletianic army).
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THE WAR AGAINST GILDO, I
for the bloody banquet in the unfaithfulness of his
wife, Gildo's motive was hatred, not
Violated rights, the sorrowing father, the unburied dead, the unnatural crime all call upon thee as
If thou, Athens, didst dedicate an altar to the sorrowing and ordain to those that mourn a special deity, if the women of Argos won to their aid the Athenian phalanx by their tears and bought burial for their slain lords at the price of war ; 1 if Adherbal, driven from his throne, roused the Senate against the Numidians by the sad appeal of unkempt locks and by his tears, then let Gildo be sorry that now this man also whom he has crushed by so many murders is come into the field against him, and let him learn that he must bow before thy suppliants. Let Gildo flee headlong before him whom he put to flight and fear him whom he o'erwhelmed with the murder of his children. As he is being dragged off to the slaughter let him recognize his brother's hand. "
When this advice had been accepted by his son- in-law, Stilicho made ready for war the most famous regiments in the army, selecting therefrom special companies of picked men ; he further prepared the fleet in the harbours of Etruria. Alcides himself commands the Herculean cohort ; the king of the gods leads the Jovian. No standard-bearer feels the
weight of his eagle, so readily do the very standards press forward. The Nervian cohort follows and the Felix, well deserving its name, the legion, too, named after Augustus, that well called The Un- conquered, and the brave regiment of the Lion 2 to whose name their shields bear witness.
But before they start the emperor, standing upon a platform of earth, heartens them with his words :
vol. i k 129
avenger.
vengeance.
CLAUDIAN
aggere conspicuus ; stat circumfusa iuventus 425 nixa hastis pronasque ferox accommodat aures :
" Gildonem domitura manus, promissa minasque tempus agi. si quid pro me doluistis, in armis ostentate mihi ; iusto magnoque triumpho
civiles abolete notas ; sciat orbis Eous 430 sitque palam Gallos causa, non robore vinci.
nec vos, barbariem quamvis collegerit omnem, terreat. an Mauri fremitum raucosque repulsus umbonum et vestros passuri comminus enses ?
non contra clipeis tectos gladiisque micantes 435 ibitis : in solis longe fiducia telis.
exarmatus erit, cum missile torserit, hostis.
dextra movet iaculum, praetentat pallia laeva ;
cetera nudus eques. sonipes ignarus habenae ;
virga regit. non ulla fides, non agminis ordo : 440
arma oneri, fuga praesidio.
