Was ever lioness wounded with a Gaetulian's spear, or Hyrcan tiger
pursuing
the robber of her young, was ever bruised serpent so fierce ?
Claudian - 1922 - Loeb
An honour that no age has ever yet known, a privilege never yet heard of in times gone by, this has been thine and thine alone — to have had brothers as thy consuls.
The whole world shall tell of thee, the Hours shall
inscribe thy name in various flowers, and age-long annals hand thy fame down through the long centuries.
23
IN RUFINUM LIBER PRIMUS
INCIPIT PRAEFATIO
(II)
Phoebeo domitus Python cum decidit arcu membraque Cirrhaeo fudit anhela iugo,
qui spiris tegeret montes, hauriret hiatu flumina, sanguineis tangeret astra iubis :
iam liber Parnasus erat nexuque soluto 5 coeperat erecta surgere fronde nemus
diu spatiosis tractibus orni securas ventis explicuere comas
concussaeque
et qui vipereo spumavit saepe veneno
Cephisos nitidis purior ibat aquis. 10
omnis " io Paean " regio sonat ; omnia Phoebum rura canunt ; tripodas plenior aura rotat,
auditoque procul Musarum carmine dulci ad Themidis coeunt antra severa dei.
Nunc alio domini telis Pythone perempto 15 convenit ad nostram sacra caterva lyram,
qui stabilem servans Augustis fratribus orbem iustitia pacem, viribus arma regit.
24
THE FIRST BOOK AGAINST RUFINUS PREFACE
(II)
When Python had fallen, laid low by the arrow of Phoebus, his dying limbs outspread o'er Cirrha's heights —Python, whose coils covered whole moun tains, whose maw swallowed rivers and whose
crest touched the stars — then Parnassus was free and the woods, their serpent fetters shaken off, began to grow tall with lofty trees. The moun tain - ashes, long shaken by the dragon's sinuous coils, spread their leaves securely to the breeze, and Cephisus, who had so often foamed with his poisonous venom, now flowed a purer stream with limpid wave. The whole country echoed with the cry,
bloody
" hail, Healer "
fuller wind shakes the tripod, and the gods, hearing the Muses' sweet song from afar off, gather in the
: land every
Phoebus' A praise.
sang
dread caverns of Themis.
A blessed band comes together to hear my song,
now that a second Python has been slain by the weapons of that master of ours who made the rule
of the brother Emperors hold the world
steady, observing justice in peace and showing vigour
in war.
25
LIBER I
(III)
Saepe mihi dubiam traxit sententia mentem curarent superi terras an nullus inesset
rector et incerto fluerent mortalia casu.
nam cum dispositi quaesissem foedera mundi praescriptosque mari fines annisque meatus 5 et lucis noctisque vices : tunc omnia rebar
consilio firmata dei, qui lege moveri
sidera, qui fruges diverso tempore nasci,
qui variam Phoeben alieno iusserit igni
compleri Solemque suo, porrexerit undis 10 litora, tellurem medio libraverit axe.
sed cum res hominum tanta caligine volvi
adspicerem laetosque diu florere nocentes
vexarique pios, rursus labefacta cadebat
relligio causaeque viam non sponte sequebar 16 alterius, vacuo quae currere semina motu
adfirmat magnumque novas per inane figuras
fortuna non arte regi, quae numina sensu
ambiguo vel nulla putat vel nescia nostri.
26
Epicureanism.
BOOK I
(III)
My mind has often wavered between two opinions : have the gods a care for the world or is there no ruler therein and do mortal things drift as dubious chance dictates ? For when I investigated the laws and the ordinances of heaven and observed the sea's appointed limits, the year's fixed cycle and the alternation of light and darkness, then methought everything was ordained according to the direction of a God who had bidden the stars move by fixed laws, plants grow at different seasons, the changing moon fulfil her circle with borrowed light and the sun shine by his own, who spread the shore before the waves and balanced the world in the centre of the firmament. But when I saw the impenetrable mist which surrounds human affairs, the wicked happy and long prosperous and the good discom forted, then in turn my belief in God was weakened and failed, and even against mine own will I embraced the tenets of that other philosophy 1 which teaches that atoms drift in purposeless motion and that new forms throughout the vast void are shaped by chance and not design—that philosophy which believes in
God in an ambiguous sense, or holds that there be no gods, or that they are careless of our doings. At
27
CLAUDIAN
abstulit hunc tandem Rufini poena tumultum 20 absolvitque deos. iara non ad culmina rerum iniustos crevisse queror ; tolluntur in altum,
ut lapsu graviore ruant. vos pandite vati,
Pierides, quo tanta lues eruperit ortu.
Invidiae quondam stimulis incanduit atrox 25
Allecto, placidas late cum cerneret urbes.
protinus infernas ad limina taetra sorores
concilium deforme vocat. glomerantur in unum innumerae pestes Erebi, quascumque sinistro
Nox genuit fetu : nutrix Discordia belli, 30 imperiosa Fames, leto vicina Senectus
impatiensque sui Morbus Livorque secundis
anxius et scisso maerens velamine Luctus
et Timor et caeco praeceps Audacia vultu
et Luxus populator opum, quem semper adhaerens 35 infelix humili gressu comitatur Egestas,
foedaque Avaritiae complexae pectora matris insomnes longo veniunt examine Curae. complentur vario ferrata sedilia coetu
torvaque collectis stipatur curia monstris. 40 Allecto stetit in mediis vulgusque tacere
iussit et obstantes in tergum reppulit angues perque umeros errare dedit. tum corde sub imo inclusam rabidis patefecit vocibus iram :
" Sicine tranquillo produci saecula cursu, 45 sic fortunatas patiemur vivere gentes ?
quae nova corrupit nostros dementia mores ?
quo rabies innata perit ? quid inania prosunt
verbera ? quid facibus nequiquam cingimur atris ? 28
THE FIRST BOOK AGAINST RUFINUS
last Rufinus' fate has dispelled this uncertainty and freed the gods from this imputation. No longer can I complain that the unrighteous man reaches the highest pinnacle of success. He is raised aloft that he may be hurled down in more headlong
ruin. Muses, unfold to your poet whence sprang this grievous pest.
Dire Allecto once kindled with jealous wrath on
seeing widespread peace among the cities of men. Straightway she summons the hideous council of the nether-world sisters to her foul palace gates. Hell's numberless monsters are gathered together, Night's children of ill-omened birth . Discord, mother of war, imperious Hunger, Age, near neighbour to Death ; Disease, whose life is a burden to himself ; Envy that brooks not another's prosperity, woeful Sorrow with rent garments ; Fear and foolhardy Rashness with sightless eyes ; Luxury, destroyer of wealth, to whose side ever clings unhappy Want with humble tread, and the long company of sleep less Cares, hanging round the foul neck of their mother Avarice. The iron seats are filled with all this rout and the grim chamber is thronged with the monstrous crowd. Allecto stood in their midst and called for silence, thrusting behind her back the snaky hair that swept her face and letting it play over her shoulders. Then with mad utterance
she unlocked the anger deep hidden in her heart.
" Shall we allow the centuries to roll on in this even tenour, and man to live thus blessed ? What novel kindliness has corrupted our characters ? Where is our inbred fury ? Of what use the lash with none to* suffer beneath it ? Why this purposeless girdle of smoky torches ? Sluggards, ye,
29
CLAUDIAN
heu nimis ignavae, quas Iuppiter arcet Olympo, 50 Theodosius terris. en aurea nascitur aetas,
en proles antiqua redit. Concordia, Virtus
cumque Fide Pietas alta cervice vagantur insignemque canunt nostra de plebe triumphum.
pro dolor ! ipsa mihi liquidas delapsa per auras 55 Iustitia insultat vitiisque a stirpe recisis
elicit oppressas tenebroso carcere leges.
at nos indecores longo torpebimus aevo
omnibus eiectae regnis ! agnoscite tandem
quid Furias deceat ; consuetas sumite vires 60 conventuque nefas tanto decernite dignum.
iam cupio Stygiis invadere nubibus astra, iam flatu violare diem, laxare profundo frena mari, fluvios ruptis inmittere ripis
et rerum vexare fidem. "
Sic fata cruentum 65 mugiit et totos serpentum erexit hiatus
noxiaque effudit concusso crine venena.
anceps motus erat vulgi. pars maxima bellum indicit superis, pars Ditis iura veretur,
dissensuque alitur rumor : ceu murmurat alti 70 impacata quies pelagi, cum flamine fracto
durat adhuc saevitque tumor dubiumque per aestum lassa recedentis fluitant vestigia venti.
Improba mox surgit tristi de sede Megaera,
quam penes insani fremitus animique profanus 75 error et undantes spumis furialibus irae :
non nisi quaesitum cognata caede cruorem inlicitumve bibit, patrius quem fuderit ensis,
30
THE FIRST BOOK AGAINST RUFINUS
whom Jove has excluded from heaven, Theodosius from earth. Lo ! a golden age begins ; lo ! the old breed of men returns. Peace and Godliness,
Love and Honour hold high their heads throughout the world and sing a proud song of triumph over our conquered folk. Justice herself (oh the pity of
it down - gliding through the limpid air, exults over me and, now that crime has been cut down to the roots, frees law from the dark prison wherein she lay oppressed. Shall we, expelled from every land, lie this long age in shameful torpor Ere it be too late recognize a Fury's duty resume your wonted strength and decree crime worthy of this
Fain would shroud the stars in Stygian darkness, smirch the light of day with our breath, unbridle the ocean deeps, hurl rivers against their shattered banks, and break the bonds of the
universe. "
So spake she with cruel roar and uproused every
gaping serpent mouth as she shook her snaky locks and scattered their baneful poison. Of two minds was the band of her sisters. The greater number was for declaring war upon heaven, yet some respected still the ordinances of Dis and the uproar grew by reason of their dissension, even as the sea's calm not at once restored, but the deep still thunders when, for all the wind be dropped, the swelling tide yet flows, and the last weary winds of the departing storm play o'er the tossing waves.
Thereupon cruel Megaera rose from her funereal seat, mistress she of madness' howlings and impious ill and wrath bathed in fury's foam. No blood her
drink but that flowing from kindred slaughter and forbidden crime, shed by a father's, by a brother's
31
august assembly.
is
Ia
:
?
! ),
CLAUDIAN
quem dederint fratres ; haec terruit Herculis ora
et defensores terrarum polluit arcus, 80 haec Athamanteae direxit spicula dextrae,
haec Agamemnonios inter bacchata penates
alternis lusit iugulis ; hac auspice taedae
Oedipoden matri, natae iunxere Thyesten.
quae tunc horrisonis effatur talia dictis : 85
" Signa quidem, sociae, divos attollere contra
nec fas est nec posse reor ; sed laedere mundum
si libet et populis commune intendere letum.
est mihi prodigium cunctis inmanius hydris,
tigride mobilius feta, violentius Austris 90 acribus, Euripi fulvis incertius undis
Rufinus, quem prima meo de matre cadentem
suscepi gremio. parvus reptavit in isto
saepe sinu teneroque per ardua colla volutus
ubera quaesivit fletu linguisque trisulcis 93 mollia lambentes finxerunt membra cerastae ;
meque etiam tradente dolos artesque nocendi
edidicit : simulare fidem sensusque minaces protegere et blando fraudem praetexere risu,
plenus saevitiae lucrique cupidine fervens. 100 non Tartesiacis illum satiaret harenis
tempestas pretiosa Tagi, non stagna rubentis
aurea Pactoli ; totumque exhauserit Hermum, ardebit maiore siti. quam fallere mentes
doctus et unanimos odiis turbare sodales ! 105 talem progenies hominum si prisca tulisset, Perithoum fugeret Theseus, offensus Orestem desereret Pylades, odisset Castora Pollux.
ipsa quidem fateor vinci rapidoque magistram
1 Athamas, king of Orchomenus, murdered his son Learchus in a fit of madness.
32
THE FIRST BOOK AGAINST RUFINUS
sword. 'Twas she made e'en Hercules afraid and
shame upon that bow that had freed the world of monsters ; she aimed the arrow in Athamas' 1 hand : she took her pleasure in murder after murder, a mad fury in Agamemnon's palace ; beneath her auspices wedlock mated Oedipus with his mother and Thyestes with his daughter. Thus then she speaks with dread-sounding words :
brought
" To raise our standards against the gods, my sisters, is neither right nor, methinks, possible ; but hurt the world we may, if such our wish, and bring an universal destruction upon its inhabitants. I have a monster more savage than the hydra brood, swifter than the mother tigress, fiercer than the south wind's blast, more treacherous than Euripus' yellow flood—Rufinus. I was the first to gather him, a new-born babe, to my bosom. Often did the child nestle in mine embrace and seek breast, his arms thrown about my neck in a flood of infant tears. My snakes shaped his soft limbs licking them with their three-forked tongues. I taught him guile whereby he learnt the arts of injury and deceit, how to conceal the intended
menace and cover his treachery with a smile, full- filled with savagery and hot with lust of gain. Him nor the sands of rich Tagus' flood by Tartessus' town could satisfy nor the golden waters of ruddy
id
Pactolus ; should he drink all Hermus' stream he would parch with the greedier thirst. How skilled
Had that old generation of men produced such an one as he, Theseus had fled Pirithous, Pylades deserted
to deceive and wreck friendships with hate !
Orestes in wrath, Pollux hated Castor. I confess myself his inferior : his quick genius has outstripped
vol.
33
my
CLAUDIAN
praevenit ingenio ; nec plus sermone morabor : 110 solus habet scelerum quidquid possedimus omnes. hunc ego, si vestrae res est accommoda turbae, regalem ad summi producam principis aulam.
sit licet ipse Numa gravior, sit denique Minos,
cedet et insidiis nostri flectetur alumni. " 115
Orantem sequitur clamor cunctaeque profanas porrexere manus inventaque tristia laudant.
illa ubi caeruleo vestes conexuit angue
nodavitque adamante comas, Phlegethonta sonorum poscit et ambusto flagrantis ab aggere ripae 120 ingentem piceo succendit gurgite pinum
pigraque veloces per Tartara concutit alas. Est locus extremum pandit qua Gallia litus
Oceani praetentus aquis, ubi fertur Ulixes
sanguine libato populum movisse silentem. 125 illic umbrarum tenui stridore volantum
flebilis auditur questus ; simulacra coloni
pallida defunctasque vident migrare figuras.
hinc dea prosiluit Phoebique egressa serenos
infecit radios ululatuque aethera rupit 130 terrifico : sentit ferale Britannia murmur
et Senonum quatit arva fragor revolutaque Tethys substitit et Rhenus proiecta torpuit urna.
tunc in canitiem mutatis sponte colubris
longaevum mentita senem rugisque seueras 135
persulcata genas et ficto languida passu invadit muros Elusae, notissima dudum
1 Their territory lay some sixty miles S. E. of Paris. Its chief town was Agedincum (mod. Sens).
2 Elusa (the modern Eauze in the Department of Gers) was the birthplace of Rufinus (c/. Zosim. iv. 51. 1).
34
THE FIRST BOOK AGAINST RUFINUS
his preceptress : in a word (that I waste not your time further) all the wickedness that is ours in common is his alone. Him will I introduce, if the plan commend itself to you, to the kingly palace of the emperor of the world. Be he wiser than Numa, be he Minos' self, needs must he yield and succumb to the treachery of my foster child. "
A shout followed her words : all stretched forth their impious hands and applauded the awful plot. When Megaera had gathered together her dress with the black serpent that girdled her, and bound her hair with combs of steel, she approached the sounding stream of Phlegethon, and seizing a tall
pine-tree from the scorched summit of the flaming bank kindled it in the pitchy flood, then plied her swift wings o'er sluggish Tartarus.
There is a place where Gaul stretches her further most shore spread out before the waves of Ocean : 'tis there that Ulysses is said to have called up the silent ghosts with a libation of blood. There is heard the mournful weeping of the spirits of the
dead as they flit by with faint sound of wings, and the inhabitants see the pale ghosts pass and the shades of the dead. 'Twas from here the goddess leapt forth, dimmed the sun's fair beams and clave the sky with horrid howlings. Britain felt the deadly sound, the noise shook the
country of the Senones,1 Tethys stayed her tide, and Rhine
let fall his urn and shrank his stream. Thereupon, in the guise of an old man, her serpent locks changed at her desire to snowy hair, her dread cheeks fur rowed with many a wrinkle and feigning weariness in her gait she enters the walls of Elusa,2 in search of the house she had long known so well. Long
35
CLAUDIAN
tecta petens, oculisque diu liventibus haesit peiorem mirata virum, tum talia fatur :
" Otia te, Rufine, iuvant frustraque iuventae 140 consumis florem patriis inglorius arvis ?
heu nescis quid fata tibi, quid sidera debent,
quid Fortuna parat : toto dominabere mundo,
si parere velis ! artus ne sperne seniles !
namque mihi magicae vires aevique futuri 145 praescius ardor inest ; novi quo Thessala cantu eripiat lunare iubar, quid signa sagacis
Aegypti valeant, qua gens Chaldaea vocatis
imperet arte deis, nec me latuere fluentes
arboribus suci funestarumque potestas 150
herbarum, quidquid letali gramine pollens Caucasus et Scythicae vernant in crimina1 rupes, quas legit Medea ferox et callida Circe.
saepius horrendos manes sacrisque litavi nocturnis Hecaten et condita funera traxi carminibus victura meis, multosque canendo, quamvis Parcarum restarent fila, peremi.
ire vagas quercus et fulmen stare coegi
versaque non prono curvavi flumina lapsu
in fontes reditura suos. ne vana locutum
me fortasse putes, mutatos cerne penates. " dixerat, et niveae (mirum ! ) coepere columnae ditari subitoque trabes lucere metallo.
Inlecebris capitur nimiumque elatus avaro pascitur aspectu. sic rex ad prima tumebat
155
160
165
1 gramina E : other codd. gramine. Birt. conjectures toxica, Heinsius carmina. / take Postdate's crimina
36
THE FIRST BOOK AGAINST RUFINUS
she stood and gazed with jealous eyes, marvelling at a man worse than herself; then spake she thus : " Does ease content thee, Rufinus ? Wastest thou
in vain the flower of thy youth inglorious thus in thy father's fields ? Thou knowest not what fate and the stars owe thee, what fortune makes ready. So thou wilt obey me thou shalt be lord of the whole world. Despise not an old man's feeble limbs : I have the gift of magic and the fire of prophecy is
within me. I have learned the incantations where with Thessalian witches pull down the bright moon, I know the meaning of the wise Egyptians' runes, the art whereby the Chaldeans impose their will upon the subject gods, the various saps that flow within trees and the power of deadly herbs ; all those that grow on Caucasus rich in poisonous plants, or, to man's bane, clothe the crags of Scythia ; herbs such as cruel Medea gathered and curious Circe. Often in nocturnal rites have I sought to
propitiate the dread ghosts and Hecate, and recalled
the shades of buried men to live again by my magic :
many, too, has my wizardry brought to destruction
the Fates had yet somewhat of their life's thread to spin. I have caused oaks to walk and the thunderbolt to stay his course, aye, and made rivers reverse their course and flow backwards to their fount. Lest thou perchance think these be but idle boasts behold the change of thine own house. " At these words the white pillars, to his amazement, began to turn into gold and the beams of a sudden to shine with metal.
His senses are captured by the bait, and, thrilled beyond measure, he feasts his greedy eyes on the
So Midas, king of Lydia, swelled at first 37
though
sight.
CLAUDIAN
Maeonius, pulchro cum verteret omnia tactu ;
sed postquam riguisse dapes fulvamque revinctos
in glaciem vidit latices, tum munus acerbum
sensit et inviso votum damnavit in auro.
ergo animi victus " sequimur quocumque vocabis, 170 seu tu vir seu numen " ait, patriaque relicta
Eoas Furiae iussu tendebat ad arces
instabilesque olim Symplegadas et freta remis
inclita Thessalicis, celsa qua Bosphorus urbe
splendet et Odrysiis Asiam discriminat oris. 175
Ut longum permensus iter ductusque maligno stamine fatorum claram subrepsit in aulam,
ilicet ambitio nasci, discedere rectum,
venum cuncta dari ; profert arcana, clientes
fallit et ambitos a principe vendit honores. 180 ingeminat crimen, commoti pectoris ignem
nutrit et exiguum stimulando vulnus acerbat.
ac velut innumeros amnes accedere Nereus
nescit et undantem quamvis hinc hauriat Histrum, hinc bibat aestivum septeno gurgite Nilum, 185 par semper similisque manet : sic fluctibus auri
expleri calor ille nequit. cuicumque monile contextum gemmis aut praedia culta fuissent,
Rufino populandus erat, dominoque parabat
exitium fecundus ager ; metuenda colonis 190 fertilitas : laribus pellit, detrudit avitis
38
THE FIRST BOOK AGAINST RUFINUS
with pride when he found he could transform every thing he touched to gold : but when he beheld his food grow rigid and his drink harden into golden ice then he understood that this gift was a bane and
in his loathing for the gold cursed his prayer. Thus Rufinus, overcome, cried out : " Whithersoever thou summonest me I follow, be thou man or god. " Then at the Fury's bidding he left his fatherland and approached the cities of the East, threading the once
and the seas renowned for the voyage of the Argo, ship of Thessaly, till he came to where, beneath its high-walled town, the gleaming
Bosporus separates Asia from the Thracian coast. When he had completed this long journey and, led by the evil thread of the fates, had won his way into the far-famed palace, then did ambition
come to birth and right was no more. Everything had its price. He betrayed secrets, deceived dependents, and sold honours that had been wheedled from the emperor. He followed up one crime with another, heaping fuel on the in flamed mind and probing and embittering the erst while trivial wound. And yet, as Nereus knows no addition from the infinitude of rivers that flow into him and though here he drains Danube's wave and there Nile's summer flood with its sevenfold mouth,
ever remains his same and constant self, so Rufinus' thirst knew no abatement for all the streams of gold that flowed in upon him. Had any a necklace studded with jewels or a fertile demesne he was sure prey for Rufinus : a rich property assured the ruin of its own possessor :
the husbandman's bane. He drives them from their homes, expels them from the lands their sires had
floating Symplegades
straightway
yet
fertility was 39
CLAUDIAN
finibus ; aut aufert vivis aut occupat heres.
congestae cumulantur opes orbisque ruinas
accipit una domus : populi servire coacti
plenaque privato succumbunt oppida regno. 195
Quo, vesane, ruis ? teneas utrumque licebit Oceanum, laxet rutilos tibi Lydia fontes,
iungatur solium Croesi Cyrique tiara :
numquam dives eris, numquam satiabere quaestu. semper inops quicumque cupit. contentus honesto Fabricius parvo spernebat munera regum 201 sudabatque gravi consul Serranus aratro
et casa pugnaces Curios angusta tegebat.
haec mihi paupertas opulentior, haec mihi tecta culminibus maiora tuis. ibi quaerit inanes 205 luxuries nocitura cibos ; hie donat inemptas
terra dapes. rapiunt Tyrios ibi vellera sucos
et picturatae saturantur murice vestes ;
hie radiant flores et prati viva voluptas
ingenio variata suo. fulgentibus illic 210 surgunt strata toris ; hie mollis panditur herba sollicitum curis non abruptura soporem.
turba salutantum latas ibi perstrepit aedes ;
hie avium cantus, labentis murmura rivi.
vivitur exiguo melius ; natura beatis 215 omnibus esse dedit, si quis cognoverit uti.
haec si nota forent, frueremur simplice cultu,
classica non gemerent, non stridula fraxinus iret,
nee ventus quateret puppes nec machina muros.
40
THE FIRST BOOK AGAINST RUFINUS
left them, either wresting them from the living owners or fastening upon them as an inheritor. Massed riches are piled up and a single house receives the plunder of a world ; whole peoples are forced into slavery, and thronging cities bow
beneath the tyranny of a private man.
Madman, what shall be the end ? Though thou
possess either Ocean, though Lydia pour forth for thee her golden waters, though thou join Croesus' throne to Cyrus' crown, yet shalt thou never be rich nor ever contented with thy booty. The greedy man is always poor. Fabricius, happy in his honour able poverty, despised the gifts of monarchs ; the consul Serranus sweated at his heavy plough and a small cottage gave shelter to the warlike Curii. To my mind such poverty as this is richer than thy wealth, such a home greater than thy palaces. There pernicious luxury seeks for the food that
satisfieth not ; here the earth provides a banquet for which is nought to pay. With thee wool absorbs the dyes of Tyre ; thy patterned clothes are stained with purple ; here are bright flowers and the meadow's breathing charm which owes its varied hues but to itself. There are beds piled on glittering bedsteads ; here stretches the soft grass, that breaks not sleep with anxious cares. There a crowd of clients dins through the spacious halls, here is song of birds and the murmur of the gliding stream. A frugal life is best. Nature has given the opportunity of happi ness to all, knew they but how to use it. Had we
realized this we should now have been
a simple life, no trumpets would be sounding, no whistling spear would speed, no ship be buffeted by
the wind, no siege-engine overthrow battlements.
41
enjoying
CLAUDIAN
Crescebat scelerata sitis praedaeque recentis 220 incestus flagrabat amor, nullusque petendi
cogendive pudor : crebris periuria nectit blanditiis ; sociat perituro foedere dextras.
si semel e tantis poscenti quisque negasset,
effera praetumido quatiebat corda furore. 225 quae sic Gaetuli iaculo percussa leaena
aut Hyrcana premens raptorem belua partus
aut serpens calcata furit ? iurata deorum
maiestas teritur ; nusquam reverentia mensae.
non coniunx, non ipse simul, non pignora caesa 230 sufficiunt odiis ; non extinxisse propinquos,
non notos egisse sat est ; exscindere cives
funditus et nomen gentis delere labor at.
nec celeri perimit leto ; crudelibus ante
suppliciis fruitur ; cruciatus, vincla, tenebras 235 dilato mucrone parat. pro saevior ense
parcendi rabies concessaque vita dolori !
mors adeone parum est ? causis fallacibus instat, arguit attonitos se iudice. cetera segnis,
ad facinus velox, penitus regione remotas 240 impiger ire vias : non illum Sirius ardens
brumave Riphaeo stridens Aquilone retardat.
effera torquebant avidae praecordia curae,
effugeret ne quis gladios neu perderet ullum Augusto miserante nefas. non flectitur annis, 245 non aetate labat : iuvenum rorantia colla
ante patrum vultus stricta cecidere securi ;
42
THE FIRST BOOK AGAINST RUFINUS
Still grew Rufinus' wicked greed, and his impious passion for new-won wealth blazed yet fiercer ; no feeling . of shame kept him from demanding and extorting money. He combines perjury with cease less cajolery, ratifying with a hand-clasp the bond he
purposes to break. Should any dare to refuse his demand for one thing out of so many, his fierce heart would be stirred with swelling wrath.
Was ever lioness wounded with a Gaetulian's spear, or Hyrcan tiger pursuing the robber of her young, was ever bruised serpent so fierce ? He swears by the majesty of the gods and tramples on his oath. He reverences not the laws of hospitality. To kill a wife and her husband with her and her children sates not his anger ; 'tis not enough to slaughter relations and drive friends into exile ; he strives to destroy every citizen of Rome and to blot out the very name of our race. Nor does he even slay with a swift death ; ere that he enjoys the infliction of cruel torture ; the rack, the chain, the lightless cell, these he sets before the final blow. Why, this remission is more savage, more madly cruel, than the sword —this grant of life that agony may accom
pany it
Is death not enough for him ? With
!
treacherous charges he attacks ; dazed wretches find him at once accuser and judge. Slow to all else he is swift to crime and tireless to visit the ends of the earth in its pursuit. Neither the Dog-star's heat nor the wintry blasts of the Thracian north wind detain him. Feverish anxiety torments his cruel heart lest any escape his sword, or an emperor's pardon lose him an opportunity for injury. Neither
nor youth can move his pity : before their father's eyes his bloody axe severs boys' heads 43
age
CLAUDIAN
ibat grandaevus nato moriente superstes
post trabeas exul. quis prodere tanta relatu ' funera, quis caedes possit deflere nefandas ? 250 quid tale inmanes umquam gessisse feruntur
vel Sinis Isthmiaca pinu vel rupe profunda
Sciron vel Phalaris tauro vel carcere Sulla ?
o mites Diomedis equi ! Busiridis arae
clementes ! iam Cinna pius, iam Spartace segnis 253 Rufino collatus eris !
Deiecerat omnes occultis odiis terror tacitique sepultos
verentur.
at non magnanimi virtus Stilichonis eodem
suspirant gemitus indignarique
fracta metu ; solus medio sed turbine rerum 260 contra letiferos rictus contraque rapacem
movit tela feram, volucris non praepete cursu
vectus equi, non Pegaseis adiutus habenis.
hie cunctis optata quies, hie sola pericli
turris erat clipeusque trucem porrectus in hostem,
hie profugis sedes adversaque signa furori, 266 servandis hie castra bonis.
Hucusque minatus haerebat retroque fuga cedebat inerti :
haud secus hiberno tumidus cum vertice torrens
saxa rotat volvitque nemus pontesque revellit, 270 frangitur obiectu scopuli quaerensque meatum spumat et inlisa montem circumtonat unda.
Qua dignum te laude feram, qui paene ruenti 44
THE FIRST BOOK AGAINST RUFINUS
from their bodies ; an aged man, once a consul, survived the murder of his son but to be driven into exile. Who can bring himself to tell of so many murders, who can adequately mourn such impious slaughter ? Do men tell that cruel Sinis of Corinth e'er wrought such wickedness with his pine-tree, or Sciron with his precipitous rock, or Phalaris with his brazen bull, or Sulla with his prison ? O gentle horses of Diomede ! O pitiful altars of' Busiris ! Henceforth, compared with Rufinus thou, Ginna, shalt be loving, and thou, Spartacus, a sluggard.
All were a prey to terror, for men knew not where
next his hidden hatred would break forth,
sob in silence for the tears they dare not shed and fear to show their indignation. Yet is not the spirit of great-hearted Stilicho broken by this same fear. Alone amid the general calamity he took arms against this monster of greed and his devouring maw, though not borne on the swift course of any winged steed nor aided by Pegasus' reins. In him all found the quiet they longed for, he was their one defence in danger, their shield out-held against the fierce foe, the exile's sanctuary, standard con fronting the madness of Rufinus, fortress for the protection of the good.
Thus far Rufinus advanced his threats and stayed ; then fell back in coward flight : even as a torrent swollen with winter rains rolls down great stones in its course, overwhelms woods, tears away bridges, yet is broken by a jutting rock, and, seeking a
foams and thunders about the cliff with shattered waves.
way through,
How can I praise thee worthily, thou who sus- 45
they
CLAUDIAN
lapsuroque tuos umeros obieceris orbi ?
te nobis trepidae sidus ceu dulce carinae 275
ostendere dei, geminis quae lassa procellis tunditur et victo trahitur iam caeca magistro. Inachius Rubro perhibetur in aequore Perseus Neptuni domuisse pecus, sed tutior alis :
te non penna vehit ; rigida cum Gorgone Perseus :
tu non vipereo defensus crine Medusae ; 281
illum vilis amor suspensae virginis egit :
te Romana salus. taceat superata vetustas, Herculeos conferre tuis iam desinat actus.
una Cleonaeum pascebat silva leonem ; 285 Arcadiae saltum vastabat dentibus unum
saevus aper, tuque o compressa matre rebellans
non ultra Libyae fines, Antaee, nocebas,
solaque fulmineo resonabat Creta iuvenco Lernaeamque virens obsederat hydra paludem. 290 hoc monstrum non una palus, non una tremebat
insula, sed Latia quidquid dicione subactum
vivit, et a primis Ganges horrebat Hiberis.
hoc neque Geryon triplex nec turbidus Orci
ianitor aequabit nec si concurrat in unum 295 vis hydrae Scyllaeque fames et flamma Chimaerae.
Certamen sublime diu, sed moribus impar virtutum scelerumque fuit. iugulare minatur :
tu prohibes ; ditem spoliat : tu reddis egenti ;
eruit : instauras ; accendit proelia : vincis. 300 4-6
THE FIRST BOOK AGAINST RUFINUS
tainedst with thy shoulders the tottering world in its threatened fall ? The gods gave thee to us as they show a welcome star to frightened mariners whose weary bark is buffeted with storms of wind and wave and drifts with blind course now that her steersman is beaten. Perseus, descendant of Inachus, is said to have overcome Neptune's monsters in the Red Sea, but he was helped by his wings ; no wing bore thee aloft : Perseus was armed with the Gorgons' head that turneth all to stone ; the
locks of Medusa protected not thee. His motive was but the love of a chained girl, thine the salvation of Rome. The days of old are surpassed ;
let them keep silence and cease to compare Hercules' labours with thine. 'Twas but one wood that sheltered the lion of Cleonae, the savage boar's tusks laid waste a single Arcadian vale, and thou, rebel Antaeus, holding thy mother earth in thine embrace, didst no hurt beyond the borders of Africa. Crete alone re-echoed to the bellowings of the fire- breathing bull, and the green hydra beleaguered no more than Lerna's lake. But this monster Rufinus terrified not one lake nor one island : whatsoever lives beneath the Roman rule, from distant Spain to Ganges' stream, was in fear of him. Neither
triple Geryon nor Hell's fierce janitor can vie with him nor could the conjoined terrors of powerful Hydra, ravenous Scylhi, and fiery Chimaera.
Long hung the contest in suspense, but the struggle betwixt vice and virtue was ill-matched in character. Rufinus threatens slaughter, thou stayest his hand ; he robs the rich, thou givest back to the poor ; he overthrows, thou restorest ; he sets wars afoot, thou winnest them. As a pestilence, growing from day
47
snaky
CLAUDIAN
ac velut infecto morbus crudescere caelo incipiens primos pecudum depascitur artus,
mox populos urbesque rapit ventisque perustis corruptos Stygiam pestem desudat in amnes :
sic avidus praedo iam non per singula saevit. 305 sed sceptris inferre minas omnique perempto
milite Romanas ardet prosternere vires,
iamque Getas Histrumque movet Scythiamque
receptat
auxilio traditque suas hostilibus armis
mixtis descendit Sarmata Dacis 310 et qui cornipedes in pocula vulnerat audax
Massagetes caesamque bibens Maeotin Alanus membraque qui ferro gaudet pinxisse Gelonus, Rufino collecta manus. vetat ille domari
innectitque moras et congrua tempora differt. 315 nam tua cum Geticas stravisset dextra catervas,
ulta ducis socii letum, parsque una maneret
debilior facilisque capi, tunc impius ille
proditor imperii coniuratusque Getarum
distulit instantes eluso principe pugnas 320 Hunorum laturus opem, quos adfore bello
norat et invisis mox se coniungere castris.
Est genus extremos Scythiae vergentis in ortus trans gelidum Tanain, quo non famosius ullum
Arctos alit. turpes habitus obscaenaque visu 325 corpora ; mens duro numquam cessura labori ; praeda cibus, vitanda Ceres frontemque secari
1 Here and throughout his poems Claudian refers to the Visigoths as the Getae.
a Cf. Introduction, p. x. 48
relliquias.
THE FIRST BOOK AGAINST RUFINUS
to day by reason of the infected air, fastens first
upon the bodies of animals but soon sweeps
away and cities, and when the winds blow hot
peoples
spreads its hellish poison to the polluted streams, so the ambitious rebel marks down no private prey, but hurls his eager threats at kings, and seeks to destroy Rome's army and overthrow her might. Now he stirs up the Getae1 and the tribes on Danube's banks, allies himself with Scythia and exposes what few his cruelties have spared to the sword of the enemy. There march against us a mixed horde of Sarmatians and Dacians, the Massagetes who cruelly wound their horses that they may drink their blood, the Alans who break the ice and drink the waters of Maeotis' lake, and the Geloni who tattoo their limbs : these form Rufinus' army. And he brooks not their defeat ; he frames delays and postpones the fitting season for battle. For when thy right hand, Stilicho, had scattered the Getic bands and avenged the death of thy brother general, when one section of Rufinus' army was thus weakened and made an easy prey, then that foul traitor, that conspirator with the Getae, tricked the emperor and put off the instant day of battle, meaning to ally himself with the Huns, whom he knew would fight and quickly join the enemies of Rome. 2
VOL.
49
IE
These Huns are a tribe who live on the extreme eastern borders of Scythia, beyond frozen Tanais ; most infamous of all the children of the north. Hideous to look upon are their faces and loathsome their bodies, but indefatigable is their spirit. The chase supplies their food ; bread they will not eat. They love to slash their faces and hold it a
CLAUDIAN
ludus et occisos pulchrum iurare parentes. nee plus nubigenas duplex natura biformes
cognatis aptavit equis ; acerrima nullo 330 ordine mobilitas insperatique recursus.
Quos tamen impavidus contra spumantis ad Hebri tendis aquas, sic ante tubas aciemque precatus :
" Mavors, nubifero seu tu procumbis in Haemo
seu te cana gelu Rhodope seu remige Medo 335 sollicitatus Athos seu caligantia nigris
ilicibus Pangaea tenent, accingere mecum
et Thracas defende tuos si laetior adsit
gloria, vestita spoliis donabere quercu. "
Audiit illa pater scopulisque nivalibus Haemi 340
surgit et hortatur celeres clamore ministros :
" fer galeam, Bellona, mihi nexusque rotarum
tende, Pavor. frenet rapidos Formido iugales. festinas urgete manus. meus ecce paratur
ad bellum Stilicho, qui me de more tropaeis 345 ditat et hostiles suspendit in arbore cristas. communes semper litui, communia nobis
signa canunt iunctoque sequor tentoria curru. "
sic fatus campo insiluit lateque fugatas
hinc Stilicho turmas, illinc Gradivus agebat 350 et clipeis et mole pares ; stat cassis utrique
sidereis hirsuta iubis loricaque cursu
aestuat et largo saturatur vulnere cornus.
Acrior interea voto multisque Megaera
luxuriata malis maestam deprendit in arce 355 50
THE FIRST BOOK AGAINST RUFINUS
righteous act to swear by their murdered parents. Their double nature fitted not better the twi-formed Centaurs to the horses that were parts of them. Disorderly, but of incredible swiftness, they often return to the fight when little expected.
Fearless, however, against such forces, thou, Stilicho, approachest the waters of foaming Hebrus and thus prayest "ere the trumpets sound and the fight begins : Mars, whether thou reclinest on cloud-capped Haemus, or frost-white Rhodope holdeth thee, or Athos, severed to give passage to the Persian fleet, or Pangaeus, gloomy with dark holm-oaks, gird thyself at my side and defend
thine own land of Thrace. If victory smile on us, thy meed shall be an oak stump adorned with spoils. "
The Father heard his prayer and rose from the snowy peaks of Haemus shouting commands to his speedy servants : " Bellona, bring my helmet ; fasten me, Panic, the wheels upon my chariot ; harness my swift horses, Fear. Hasten : speed on your
work. See, my Stilicho makes him ready for war ; Stilicho whose habit it is to load me with rich trophies and hang upon the oak the plumed helmets of his enemies. For us together the trumpets ever sound the call to battle ; yoking my chariot I follow where soever he pitch his camp. " So spake he and leapt upon the plain, and on this side Stilicho scattered the enemy bands in broadcast flight and on that Mars ; alike the twain in accoutrement and stature. The helmets of either tower with bristling crests, their
breastplates flash as they speed along and their spears take their fill of widely dealt wounds.
Meanwhile Megaera, more eager now she has got her way, and revelling in this widespread 51
CLAUDIAN
Iustitiam diroque prior sic ore lacessit :
" en tibi prisca quies renovataque saecula rursus,
ut rebare, vigent ? en nostra potentia cessit
nec locus est usquam Furiis ? hue lumina flecte. adspice barbaricis iaceant quot moenia flammis, 360 quas mihi Rufinus strages quantumque cruoris praebeat et quantis epulentur caedibus hydri.
linque homines sortemque meam, pete sidera ; notis Autumni te redde plagis, qua vergit in Austrum
Signifer ; aestivo sedes vicina Leoni 365 iam pridem gelidaeque vacant confinia Librae. " atque utinam per magna sequi convexa liceret !
Diva refert : " non ulterius bacchabere demens. iam poenas tuus iste dabit, iam debitus ultor inminet, et, terras qui nunc ipsumque fatigat 370 aethera, non vili moriens condetur harena.
iamque aderit laeto promissus Honorius aevo
nec forti genitore minor nec fratre corusco,
qui subiget Medos, qui cuspide proteret Indos.
sub iuga venturi reges ; calcabitur asper 375
Phasis equo pontemque pati cogetur Araxes,
tuque simul gravibus ferri religata catenis
expellere die debellatasque draconum
tonsa comas imo barathri claudere recessu.
tum tellus communis erit, tum limite nullo 380
52
THE FIRST BOOK AGAINST RUFINUS
comes upon Justice sad at heart in her palace, and thus provokes her with horrid utterance : " Is this that old reign of peace ; this the return of that golden age thou fondly hopedst had come to pass ? Is our power gone, and no place now left
calamity,
for the Furies ? Turn thine eyes this way. See how many cities the barbarians' fires have laid low, how vast a slaughter, how much blood Rufinus hath procured for me, and on what
widespread death my serpents gorge themselves. Leave thou the world of men ; that lot is mine. Mount to the stars, return to that well-known tract of Autumn
sky where the Standard-bearer dips towards the south. The space next to the summer constella tion of the Lion, the neighbourhood of the winter Balance has long been empty. And would I could
now follow thee through the dome of heaven. "
The goddess made answer : " Thou shalt rage no
further, mad that thou art. Now shalt thy creature receive his due, the destined avenger hangs over him, and he who now wearies land and the very sky shall die, though no handful of dust shall cover his corpse. Soon shall come Honorius, promised of old to this fortunate age, brave as his father Theo- dosius, brilliant as his brother Arcadius ; he shall
subdue the Medes and overthrow the Indians with his spear. Kings shall pass under his yoke, frozen Phasis shall bear his horses' hooves, and Araxes submit perforce to be bridged by him. Then too shalt thou be bound with heavy chains of iron and cast out from the light of day and imprisoned in the nethermost pit, thy snaky locks overcome and shorn from thy head. Then the world shall be owned by all in common, no field marked off from another
53
CLAUDIAN
discernetur ager ; nec vomere sulcus adunco
findetur : subitis messor gaudebit aristis.
rorabunt querceta favis ; stagnantia passim
vina fluent oleique lacus ; nec murice tinctis velleribus quaeretur honos, sed sponte rubebunt 385 attonito pastore greges pontumque per omnem ridebunt virides gemmis nascentibus algae. "
54
THE FIRST BOOK AGAINST RUFINUS
by any dividing boundary, no furrow cleft with bended ploughshare ; for the husbandman shall rejoice in corn that springs untended. Oak groves shall drip with honey, streams of wine well up on every side, lakes of oil abound. No price shall be asked for fleeces dyed scarlet, but of themselves shall the flocks grow red to the astonishment of the shepherd, and in every sea the green seaweed will laugh with flashing jewels. "
55
IN RUFINUM LIBER SECUNDUS INCIPIT PRAEFATIO
(IV)
Pandite defensum reduces Helicona sorores, pandite ; permissis iam licet ire choris :
nulla per Aonios hostilis bucina campos carmina mugitu deteriore vetat.
tu quoque securis pulsa formidine Delphis 5 floribus ultorem, Delie, cinge tuum.
nullus Castalios latices et praescia fati flumina polluto barbarus ore bibit.
Alpheus late rubuit Siculumque per aequor sanguineas belli rettulit unda notas 10
agnovitque novos absens Arethusa triumphos et Geticam sensit teste cruore necem.
Inmensis, Stilicho, succedant otia curis et nostrae patiens corda remitte lyrae,
nec pudeat longos interrupisse labores 15 et tenuem Musis constituisse moram.
fertur et indomitus tandem post proelia Mavors lassa per Odrysias fundere membra nives
oblitusque sui posita clementior hasta
Pieriis aures pacificare modis. 20
1 A reference to Stilicho's campaign against Alaric in the Peloponnese in 397 (see Introduction, p. x).
56
THE SECOND BOOK AGAINST RUFINUS PREFACE
(IV)
Return, ye Muses, and throw open rescued
Helicon ; now again may your company gather there. Nowhere now in Italy does the hostile trumpet forbid song with its viler bray. Do thou too, Delian Apollo, now that Delphi is safe and fear has been dispelled, wreath thy avenger's head with flowers. No savage foe sets profane lips to Castalia's spring or those prophetic streams. Alpheus' 1 flood ran all his length red with slaughter and the waves bore the bloody marks of war across the Sicilian sea ; whereby Arethusa, though herself not present, recognized the triumphs freshly won and knew of the slaughter of the Getae, to which that blood bore witness.
Let peace, Stilicho, succeed these age-long labours and ease thine heart by graciously listening to my song. Think it no shame to interrupt thy long toil and to consecrate a few moments to the Muses. Even
Mars is said to have stretched his tired limbs on the snowy Thracian plain when at last the battle was ended, and, unmindful of his wonted fierceness, to have laid aside his spear in gentler mood, soothing his ear with the Muses' melody.
57
unwearying
LIBER II
(V)
lam post edomitas Alpes defensaque regna Hesperiae merita complexus sede parentem
auctior adiecto fulgebat sidere mundus,
iamque tuis, Stilicho, Romana potentia curis
et rerum commissus apex, tibi credita fratrum 5 utraque maiestas geminaeque exercitus aulae. Rufinus (neque enim patiuntur saeva quietem crimina pollutaeque negant arescere fauces)
infandis iterum terras accendere bellis
incohat et solito pacem vexare tumultu. 10 haec etiam secum : " quanam ratione tuebor
spem vitae fragilem ? qua tot depellere fluctus
arte queam ? premor hinc odiis, hinc milite cingor. heu quid agam ? non arma mihi, non principis ullus auxiliatur amor. matura pericula surgunt 15 undique et impositi radiant cervicibus enses.
quid restat, nisi cuncta novo confundere luctu insontesque meae populos miscere ruinae ?
everso iuvat orbe mori ; solacia leto
1 Theodosius died in January 395, not long after his defeat of Eugenius at the Frigidus River (near Aquileia), September 5-6, 394 (see Introduction, p. ix).
58
BOOK II
(V)
After the subjugation of the Alpine tribes and the salvation of the kingdoms of Italy the heavens welcomed the Emperor Theodosius 1 to the place of honour due to his worth, and so shone the brighter by the addition of another star. Then was the power of Rome entrusted to thy care, Stilicho ; in thy hands was placed the governance of the world. The brothers' twin majesty and the armies of either royal court were given into thy charge. But Rufinus (for cruelty and crime brook not peace, and a tainted mouth will not forgo its draughts of blood), Rufinus, I say, began once more to inflame the world with wicked wars and to disturb peace with accustomed sedition. Thus to himself : " How shall I assure my slender hopes of survival ? By what means beat back the rising storm ? On all sides are hate and the threat of arms. What am I to do ? No help can I find in soldier's weapon or emperor's favour. Instant dangers ring me round and a gleaming sword hangs above my head. What is left but to plunge the world into fresh troubles and draw down innocent peoples in my ruin ? Gladly will I perish if the world does too ; general destruction shall console me for
59
CLAUDIAN
exitium commune dabit nec territus ante 20 discedam : cum luce simul linquenda potestas. "
Haec fatus, ventis veluti si frena resolvat
Aeolus, abrupto gentes sic obice fudit
laxavitque viam bellis et, nequa maneret
inmunis regio, cladem divisit in orbem 25 disposuitque nefas. alii per terga ferocis
Danuvii solidata ruunt expertaque remos frangunt stagna rotis ; alii per Caspia claustra
Armeniasque nives inopino tramite ducti
invadunt Orientis opes. iam pascua fumant 30
Cappadocum volucrumque parens Argaeus equorum, iam rubet altus Halys nec se defendit iniquo
monte Cilix. Syriae tractus vastantur amoeni adsuetumque choris et laeta plebe canorum
proterit imbellem sonipes hostilis Orontem. 35 hinc planctus Asiae ; Geticis Europa catervis ludibrio praedaeque datur frondentis ad usque Dalmatiae fines : omnis quae mobile Ponti
aequor et Adriacas tellus interiacet undas
squalet inops pecudum, nullis habitata colonis, 40 instar anhelantis Libyae, quae torrida semper
solibus humano nescit mansuescere cultu.
Thessalus ardet ager ; reticet pastore fugato
Pelion ; Emathias ignis populatur aristas.
nam plaga Pannoniae miserandaque moenia Thracum arvaque Mysorum iam nulli flebile damnum, 46 sed cursus sollemnis erat campusque furori expositus, sensumque malis detraxerat usus.
eheu quam brevibus pereunt ingentia fatis !
60
THE SECOND BOOK AGAINST RUFINUS
mine own death, nor will I die (for I am no coward) till I have accomplished this. I will not lay down my power before my life. "
So spake he, and as if Aeolus unchained the winds so he, breaking their bonds, let loose the nations, clearing the way for war ; and, that no land should be free therefrom, apportioned ruin throughout the world, parcelling out destruction. Some pour
across the frozen surface of swift-flowing Danube and break with the chariot wheel what erstwhile knew but the oar ; others invade the wealthy East, led through the Caspian Gates and over the Armenian snows by a newly-discovered pass. The fields of Cappadocia reek with slaughter ; Argaeus, father of swift horses, is laid waste. Halys' deep waters run red and the Cilician cannot defend himself in his precipitous mountains. The pleasant plains of Syria are devastated, and the enemy's cavalry thunders along the banks of Orontes, home hitherto of the dance and of a happy people's song. Hence comes mourning to Asia, while Europe is left to be the sport and prey of Getic hordes even to the borders
of fertile Dalmatia. All that tract of land lying between the stormy Euxine and the Adriatic is laid waste and plundered, no inhabitants dwell there ;
'tis like torrid Africa whose sun-scorched plains never grow kindlier through human tillage. Thessaly is afire ; Pelion silent, his shepherds put to flight ; flames bring destruction on Macedonia's crops.
For Pannonia's plain, the Thracians' helpless cities, the fields of Mysia were ruined but now none wept ; year by year came the invader, unsheltered was the
from havoc and custom had robbed suffering of its sting. Alas, in how swift ruin perish 61
countryside
CLAUDIAN
imperium tanto quaesitum sanguine, tanto 50 servatum, quod mille ducum peperere labores,
quod tantis Romana manus contexuit annis,
proditor unus iners angusto tempore vertit.
Urbs etiam, magnae quae ducitur aemula Romae et Calchedonias contra despectat harenas, 55 iam non finitimo Martis terrore movetur,
sed propius lucere faces et rauca sonare
cornua vibratisque peti fastigia telis
adspicit. hi vigili muros statione tueri,
hi iunctis properant portus munire carinis. 60 obsessa tamen ille ferus laetatur in urbe
exultatque malis summaeque ex culmine turris
impia vicini cernit spectacula campi :
vinctas ire nurus, nunc in vada proxima mergi seminecem, hunc subito percussum vulnere labi 65 dum fugit, hunc animam portis efflare sub ipsis ;
nec canos prodesse seni puerique cruore
maternos undare sinus, inmensa voluptas
et risus plerumque subit ; dolor afficit unus,
quod feriat non ipse manu. videt omnia late 70 exceptis incensa suis et crimine tanto
luxuriat carumque sibi non abnuit hostem ; iactabatque ultro, quod soli castra paterent
sermonumque foret vicibus permissa potestas.
egregii quotiens exisset foederis auctor, 75 stipatur sociis, circumque armata clientum
62
1 Constantinople.
THE SECOND BOOK AGAINST RUFINUS
even the greatest things ! An empire won and kept at the expense of so much bloodshed, born from the toils of countless leaders, knit together through so many years by Roman hands, one coward traitor overthrew in the twinkling of an eye.
That city,1 too, called of men the rival of great Rome, that looks across to Chalcedon's strand, is stricken now with terror at no neighbouring war ; nearer home it observes the flash of torches, the trumpet's call, and its own roofs the target for an enemy's artillery. Some guard the walls with watchful outposts, others hasten to fortify the harbour with a chain of ships. But fierce Rufinus is full of joy in the leaguered city and exults in its misfortunes, gazing at the awful spectacle of the surrounding country from the summit of a lofty tower. He watches the procession of women in chains, sees one poor half-dead wretch drowned in the water hard by, another, stricken as he fled, sink down beneath the sudden wound, another breathe out his life at the tower's very gates ; he rejoices that no respect is shown to grey hairs and that mother's breasts are drenched with their children's blood. Great is his pleasure thereat ; from time to time he laughs and knows but one regret—that it is not his own hand that strikes. He sees the whole countryside (except for his own lands) ablaze, and has joy of his great wickedness, making no secret of the fact that the city's foes are his friends. It is his boast, moreover, that to him alone the enemy
camp opened its gates, and that there was allowed right of parley between them. Whene'er he issued forth to arrange some wondrous truce his companions thronged him round and an armed band of depen
63
CLAUDIAN
agmina privatis ibant famulantia signis ;
ipse inter medios, ne qua de parte relinquat barbariem, revocat fulvas in pectora pelles
frenaque et inmanes pharetras arcusque sonoros 80 adsimulat mentemque palam proclamat amictu,
nec pudet Ausonios currus et iura regentem
sumere deformes ritus vestemque Getarum ; insignemque habitum Latii mutare coactae
maerent captivae pellito iudice leges. 85
Quis populi tum vultus erat ! quae murmura furtim ! (nam miseris ne flere quidem aut lenire dolorem
colloquiis impune licet) : " quonam usque feremus exitiale iugum ? durae quis terminus umquam
sortis erit ? quis nos funesto turbine rerum 90 aut tantis solvet lacrimis, quos barbarus illinc,
hinc Rufinus agit, quibus arva fretumque negatur ? magna quidem per rura lues, sed maior oberrat
intra tecta timor. tandem succurre ruenti
heu patriae, Stilicho ! dilecta hie pignora certe, 95 hie domus, hie thalamis primum genialibus omen,
hie tibi felices erexit regia taedas.
inscribe thy name in various flowers, and age-long annals hand thy fame down through the long centuries.
23
IN RUFINUM LIBER PRIMUS
INCIPIT PRAEFATIO
(II)
Phoebeo domitus Python cum decidit arcu membraque Cirrhaeo fudit anhela iugo,
qui spiris tegeret montes, hauriret hiatu flumina, sanguineis tangeret astra iubis :
iam liber Parnasus erat nexuque soluto 5 coeperat erecta surgere fronde nemus
diu spatiosis tractibus orni securas ventis explicuere comas
concussaeque
et qui vipereo spumavit saepe veneno
Cephisos nitidis purior ibat aquis. 10
omnis " io Paean " regio sonat ; omnia Phoebum rura canunt ; tripodas plenior aura rotat,
auditoque procul Musarum carmine dulci ad Themidis coeunt antra severa dei.
Nunc alio domini telis Pythone perempto 15 convenit ad nostram sacra caterva lyram,
qui stabilem servans Augustis fratribus orbem iustitia pacem, viribus arma regit.
24
THE FIRST BOOK AGAINST RUFINUS PREFACE
(II)
When Python had fallen, laid low by the arrow of Phoebus, his dying limbs outspread o'er Cirrha's heights —Python, whose coils covered whole moun tains, whose maw swallowed rivers and whose
crest touched the stars — then Parnassus was free and the woods, their serpent fetters shaken off, began to grow tall with lofty trees. The moun tain - ashes, long shaken by the dragon's sinuous coils, spread their leaves securely to the breeze, and Cephisus, who had so often foamed with his poisonous venom, now flowed a purer stream with limpid wave. The whole country echoed with the cry,
bloody
" hail, Healer "
fuller wind shakes the tripod, and the gods, hearing the Muses' sweet song from afar off, gather in the
: land every
Phoebus' A praise.
sang
dread caverns of Themis.
A blessed band comes together to hear my song,
now that a second Python has been slain by the weapons of that master of ours who made the rule
of the brother Emperors hold the world
steady, observing justice in peace and showing vigour
in war.
25
LIBER I
(III)
Saepe mihi dubiam traxit sententia mentem curarent superi terras an nullus inesset
rector et incerto fluerent mortalia casu.
nam cum dispositi quaesissem foedera mundi praescriptosque mari fines annisque meatus 5 et lucis noctisque vices : tunc omnia rebar
consilio firmata dei, qui lege moveri
sidera, qui fruges diverso tempore nasci,
qui variam Phoeben alieno iusserit igni
compleri Solemque suo, porrexerit undis 10 litora, tellurem medio libraverit axe.
sed cum res hominum tanta caligine volvi
adspicerem laetosque diu florere nocentes
vexarique pios, rursus labefacta cadebat
relligio causaeque viam non sponte sequebar 16 alterius, vacuo quae currere semina motu
adfirmat magnumque novas per inane figuras
fortuna non arte regi, quae numina sensu
ambiguo vel nulla putat vel nescia nostri.
26
Epicureanism.
BOOK I
(III)
My mind has often wavered between two opinions : have the gods a care for the world or is there no ruler therein and do mortal things drift as dubious chance dictates ? For when I investigated the laws and the ordinances of heaven and observed the sea's appointed limits, the year's fixed cycle and the alternation of light and darkness, then methought everything was ordained according to the direction of a God who had bidden the stars move by fixed laws, plants grow at different seasons, the changing moon fulfil her circle with borrowed light and the sun shine by his own, who spread the shore before the waves and balanced the world in the centre of the firmament. But when I saw the impenetrable mist which surrounds human affairs, the wicked happy and long prosperous and the good discom forted, then in turn my belief in God was weakened and failed, and even against mine own will I embraced the tenets of that other philosophy 1 which teaches that atoms drift in purposeless motion and that new forms throughout the vast void are shaped by chance and not design—that philosophy which believes in
God in an ambiguous sense, or holds that there be no gods, or that they are careless of our doings. At
27
CLAUDIAN
abstulit hunc tandem Rufini poena tumultum 20 absolvitque deos. iara non ad culmina rerum iniustos crevisse queror ; tolluntur in altum,
ut lapsu graviore ruant. vos pandite vati,
Pierides, quo tanta lues eruperit ortu.
Invidiae quondam stimulis incanduit atrox 25
Allecto, placidas late cum cerneret urbes.
protinus infernas ad limina taetra sorores
concilium deforme vocat. glomerantur in unum innumerae pestes Erebi, quascumque sinistro
Nox genuit fetu : nutrix Discordia belli, 30 imperiosa Fames, leto vicina Senectus
impatiensque sui Morbus Livorque secundis
anxius et scisso maerens velamine Luctus
et Timor et caeco praeceps Audacia vultu
et Luxus populator opum, quem semper adhaerens 35 infelix humili gressu comitatur Egestas,
foedaque Avaritiae complexae pectora matris insomnes longo veniunt examine Curae. complentur vario ferrata sedilia coetu
torvaque collectis stipatur curia monstris. 40 Allecto stetit in mediis vulgusque tacere
iussit et obstantes in tergum reppulit angues perque umeros errare dedit. tum corde sub imo inclusam rabidis patefecit vocibus iram :
" Sicine tranquillo produci saecula cursu, 45 sic fortunatas patiemur vivere gentes ?
quae nova corrupit nostros dementia mores ?
quo rabies innata perit ? quid inania prosunt
verbera ? quid facibus nequiquam cingimur atris ? 28
THE FIRST BOOK AGAINST RUFINUS
last Rufinus' fate has dispelled this uncertainty and freed the gods from this imputation. No longer can I complain that the unrighteous man reaches the highest pinnacle of success. He is raised aloft that he may be hurled down in more headlong
ruin. Muses, unfold to your poet whence sprang this grievous pest.
Dire Allecto once kindled with jealous wrath on
seeing widespread peace among the cities of men. Straightway she summons the hideous council of the nether-world sisters to her foul palace gates. Hell's numberless monsters are gathered together, Night's children of ill-omened birth . Discord, mother of war, imperious Hunger, Age, near neighbour to Death ; Disease, whose life is a burden to himself ; Envy that brooks not another's prosperity, woeful Sorrow with rent garments ; Fear and foolhardy Rashness with sightless eyes ; Luxury, destroyer of wealth, to whose side ever clings unhappy Want with humble tread, and the long company of sleep less Cares, hanging round the foul neck of their mother Avarice. The iron seats are filled with all this rout and the grim chamber is thronged with the monstrous crowd. Allecto stood in their midst and called for silence, thrusting behind her back the snaky hair that swept her face and letting it play over her shoulders. Then with mad utterance
she unlocked the anger deep hidden in her heart.
" Shall we allow the centuries to roll on in this even tenour, and man to live thus blessed ? What novel kindliness has corrupted our characters ? Where is our inbred fury ? Of what use the lash with none to* suffer beneath it ? Why this purposeless girdle of smoky torches ? Sluggards, ye,
29
CLAUDIAN
heu nimis ignavae, quas Iuppiter arcet Olympo, 50 Theodosius terris. en aurea nascitur aetas,
en proles antiqua redit. Concordia, Virtus
cumque Fide Pietas alta cervice vagantur insignemque canunt nostra de plebe triumphum.
pro dolor ! ipsa mihi liquidas delapsa per auras 55 Iustitia insultat vitiisque a stirpe recisis
elicit oppressas tenebroso carcere leges.
at nos indecores longo torpebimus aevo
omnibus eiectae regnis ! agnoscite tandem
quid Furias deceat ; consuetas sumite vires 60 conventuque nefas tanto decernite dignum.
iam cupio Stygiis invadere nubibus astra, iam flatu violare diem, laxare profundo frena mari, fluvios ruptis inmittere ripis
et rerum vexare fidem. "
Sic fata cruentum 65 mugiit et totos serpentum erexit hiatus
noxiaque effudit concusso crine venena.
anceps motus erat vulgi. pars maxima bellum indicit superis, pars Ditis iura veretur,
dissensuque alitur rumor : ceu murmurat alti 70 impacata quies pelagi, cum flamine fracto
durat adhuc saevitque tumor dubiumque per aestum lassa recedentis fluitant vestigia venti.
Improba mox surgit tristi de sede Megaera,
quam penes insani fremitus animique profanus 75 error et undantes spumis furialibus irae :
non nisi quaesitum cognata caede cruorem inlicitumve bibit, patrius quem fuderit ensis,
30
THE FIRST BOOK AGAINST RUFINUS
whom Jove has excluded from heaven, Theodosius from earth. Lo ! a golden age begins ; lo ! the old breed of men returns. Peace and Godliness,
Love and Honour hold high their heads throughout the world and sing a proud song of triumph over our conquered folk. Justice herself (oh the pity of
it down - gliding through the limpid air, exults over me and, now that crime has been cut down to the roots, frees law from the dark prison wherein she lay oppressed. Shall we, expelled from every land, lie this long age in shameful torpor Ere it be too late recognize a Fury's duty resume your wonted strength and decree crime worthy of this
Fain would shroud the stars in Stygian darkness, smirch the light of day with our breath, unbridle the ocean deeps, hurl rivers against their shattered banks, and break the bonds of the
universe. "
So spake she with cruel roar and uproused every
gaping serpent mouth as she shook her snaky locks and scattered their baneful poison. Of two minds was the band of her sisters. The greater number was for declaring war upon heaven, yet some respected still the ordinances of Dis and the uproar grew by reason of their dissension, even as the sea's calm not at once restored, but the deep still thunders when, for all the wind be dropped, the swelling tide yet flows, and the last weary winds of the departing storm play o'er the tossing waves.
Thereupon cruel Megaera rose from her funereal seat, mistress she of madness' howlings and impious ill and wrath bathed in fury's foam. No blood her
drink but that flowing from kindred slaughter and forbidden crime, shed by a father's, by a brother's
31
august assembly.
is
Ia
:
?
! ),
CLAUDIAN
quem dederint fratres ; haec terruit Herculis ora
et defensores terrarum polluit arcus, 80 haec Athamanteae direxit spicula dextrae,
haec Agamemnonios inter bacchata penates
alternis lusit iugulis ; hac auspice taedae
Oedipoden matri, natae iunxere Thyesten.
quae tunc horrisonis effatur talia dictis : 85
" Signa quidem, sociae, divos attollere contra
nec fas est nec posse reor ; sed laedere mundum
si libet et populis commune intendere letum.
est mihi prodigium cunctis inmanius hydris,
tigride mobilius feta, violentius Austris 90 acribus, Euripi fulvis incertius undis
Rufinus, quem prima meo de matre cadentem
suscepi gremio. parvus reptavit in isto
saepe sinu teneroque per ardua colla volutus
ubera quaesivit fletu linguisque trisulcis 93 mollia lambentes finxerunt membra cerastae ;
meque etiam tradente dolos artesque nocendi
edidicit : simulare fidem sensusque minaces protegere et blando fraudem praetexere risu,
plenus saevitiae lucrique cupidine fervens. 100 non Tartesiacis illum satiaret harenis
tempestas pretiosa Tagi, non stagna rubentis
aurea Pactoli ; totumque exhauserit Hermum, ardebit maiore siti. quam fallere mentes
doctus et unanimos odiis turbare sodales ! 105 talem progenies hominum si prisca tulisset, Perithoum fugeret Theseus, offensus Orestem desereret Pylades, odisset Castora Pollux.
ipsa quidem fateor vinci rapidoque magistram
1 Athamas, king of Orchomenus, murdered his son Learchus in a fit of madness.
32
THE FIRST BOOK AGAINST RUFINUS
sword. 'Twas she made e'en Hercules afraid and
shame upon that bow that had freed the world of monsters ; she aimed the arrow in Athamas' 1 hand : she took her pleasure in murder after murder, a mad fury in Agamemnon's palace ; beneath her auspices wedlock mated Oedipus with his mother and Thyestes with his daughter. Thus then she speaks with dread-sounding words :
brought
" To raise our standards against the gods, my sisters, is neither right nor, methinks, possible ; but hurt the world we may, if such our wish, and bring an universal destruction upon its inhabitants. I have a monster more savage than the hydra brood, swifter than the mother tigress, fiercer than the south wind's blast, more treacherous than Euripus' yellow flood—Rufinus. I was the first to gather him, a new-born babe, to my bosom. Often did the child nestle in mine embrace and seek breast, his arms thrown about my neck in a flood of infant tears. My snakes shaped his soft limbs licking them with their three-forked tongues. I taught him guile whereby he learnt the arts of injury and deceit, how to conceal the intended
menace and cover his treachery with a smile, full- filled with savagery and hot with lust of gain. Him nor the sands of rich Tagus' flood by Tartessus' town could satisfy nor the golden waters of ruddy
id
Pactolus ; should he drink all Hermus' stream he would parch with the greedier thirst. How skilled
Had that old generation of men produced such an one as he, Theseus had fled Pirithous, Pylades deserted
to deceive and wreck friendships with hate !
Orestes in wrath, Pollux hated Castor. I confess myself his inferior : his quick genius has outstripped
vol.
33
my
CLAUDIAN
praevenit ingenio ; nec plus sermone morabor : 110 solus habet scelerum quidquid possedimus omnes. hunc ego, si vestrae res est accommoda turbae, regalem ad summi producam principis aulam.
sit licet ipse Numa gravior, sit denique Minos,
cedet et insidiis nostri flectetur alumni. " 115
Orantem sequitur clamor cunctaeque profanas porrexere manus inventaque tristia laudant.
illa ubi caeruleo vestes conexuit angue
nodavitque adamante comas, Phlegethonta sonorum poscit et ambusto flagrantis ab aggere ripae 120 ingentem piceo succendit gurgite pinum
pigraque veloces per Tartara concutit alas. Est locus extremum pandit qua Gallia litus
Oceani praetentus aquis, ubi fertur Ulixes
sanguine libato populum movisse silentem. 125 illic umbrarum tenui stridore volantum
flebilis auditur questus ; simulacra coloni
pallida defunctasque vident migrare figuras.
hinc dea prosiluit Phoebique egressa serenos
infecit radios ululatuque aethera rupit 130 terrifico : sentit ferale Britannia murmur
et Senonum quatit arva fragor revolutaque Tethys substitit et Rhenus proiecta torpuit urna.
tunc in canitiem mutatis sponte colubris
longaevum mentita senem rugisque seueras 135
persulcata genas et ficto languida passu invadit muros Elusae, notissima dudum
1 Their territory lay some sixty miles S. E. of Paris. Its chief town was Agedincum (mod. Sens).
2 Elusa (the modern Eauze in the Department of Gers) was the birthplace of Rufinus (c/. Zosim. iv. 51. 1).
34
THE FIRST BOOK AGAINST RUFINUS
his preceptress : in a word (that I waste not your time further) all the wickedness that is ours in common is his alone. Him will I introduce, if the plan commend itself to you, to the kingly palace of the emperor of the world. Be he wiser than Numa, be he Minos' self, needs must he yield and succumb to the treachery of my foster child. "
A shout followed her words : all stretched forth their impious hands and applauded the awful plot. When Megaera had gathered together her dress with the black serpent that girdled her, and bound her hair with combs of steel, she approached the sounding stream of Phlegethon, and seizing a tall
pine-tree from the scorched summit of the flaming bank kindled it in the pitchy flood, then plied her swift wings o'er sluggish Tartarus.
There is a place where Gaul stretches her further most shore spread out before the waves of Ocean : 'tis there that Ulysses is said to have called up the silent ghosts with a libation of blood. There is heard the mournful weeping of the spirits of the
dead as they flit by with faint sound of wings, and the inhabitants see the pale ghosts pass and the shades of the dead. 'Twas from here the goddess leapt forth, dimmed the sun's fair beams and clave the sky with horrid howlings. Britain felt the deadly sound, the noise shook the
country of the Senones,1 Tethys stayed her tide, and Rhine
let fall his urn and shrank his stream. Thereupon, in the guise of an old man, her serpent locks changed at her desire to snowy hair, her dread cheeks fur rowed with many a wrinkle and feigning weariness in her gait she enters the walls of Elusa,2 in search of the house she had long known so well. Long
35
CLAUDIAN
tecta petens, oculisque diu liventibus haesit peiorem mirata virum, tum talia fatur :
" Otia te, Rufine, iuvant frustraque iuventae 140 consumis florem patriis inglorius arvis ?
heu nescis quid fata tibi, quid sidera debent,
quid Fortuna parat : toto dominabere mundo,
si parere velis ! artus ne sperne seniles !
namque mihi magicae vires aevique futuri 145 praescius ardor inest ; novi quo Thessala cantu eripiat lunare iubar, quid signa sagacis
Aegypti valeant, qua gens Chaldaea vocatis
imperet arte deis, nec me latuere fluentes
arboribus suci funestarumque potestas 150
herbarum, quidquid letali gramine pollens Caucasus et Scythicae vernant in crimina1 rupes, quas legit Medea ferox et callida Circe.
saepius horrendos manes sacrisque litavi nocturnis Hecaten et condita funera traxi carminibus victura meis, multosque canendo, quamvis Parcarum restarent fila, peremi.
ire vagas quercus et fulmen stare coegi
versaque non prono curvavi flumina lapsu
in fontes reditura suos. ne vana locutum
me fortasse putes, mutatos cerne penates. " dixerat, et niveae (mirum ! ) coepere columnae ditari subitoque trabes lucere metallo.
Inlecebris capitur nimiumque elatus avaro pascitur aspectu. sic rex ad prima tumebat
155
160
165
1 gramina E : other codd. gramine. Birt. conjectures toxica, Heinsius carmina. / take Postdate's crimina
36
THE FIRST BOOK AGAINST RUFINUS
she stood and gazed with jealous eyes, marvelling at a man worse than herself; then spake she thus : " Does ease content thee, Rufinus ? Wastest thou
in vain the flower of thy youth inglorious thus in thy father's fields ? Thou knowest not what fate and the stars owe thee, what fortune makes ready. So thou wilt obey me thou shalt be lord of the whole world. Despise not an old man's feeble limbs : I have the gift of magic and the fire of prophecy is
within me. I have learned the incantations where with Thessalian witches pull down the bright moon, I know the meaning of the wise Egyptians' runes, the art whereby the Chaldeans impose their will upon the subject gods, the various saps that flow within trees and the power of deadly herbs ; all those that grow on Caucasus rich in poisonous plants, or, to man's bane, clothe the crags of Scythia ; herbs such as cruel Medea gathered and curious Circe. Often in nocturnal rites have I sought to
propitiate the dread ghosts and Hecate, and recalled
the shades of buried men to live again by my magic :
many, too, has my wizardry brought to destruction
the Fates had yet somewhat of their life's thread to spin. I have caused oaks to walk and the thunderbolt to stay his course, aye, and made rivers reverse their course and flow backwards to their fount. Lest thou perchance think these be but idle boasts behold the change of thine own house. " At these words the white pillars, to his amazement, began to turn into gold and the beams of a sudden to shine with metal.
His senses are captured by the bait, and, thrilled beyond measure, he feasts his greedy eyes on the
So Midas, king of Lydia, swelled at first 37
though
sight.
CLAUDIAN
Maeonius, pulchro cum verteret omnia tactu ;
sed postquam riguisse dapes fulvamque revinctos
in glaciem vidit latices, tum munus acerbum
sensit et inviso votum damnavit in auro.
ergo animi victus " sequimur quocumque vocabis, 170 seu tu vir seu numen " ait, patriaque relicta
Eoas Furiae iussu tendebat ad arces
instabilesque olim Symplegadas et freta remis
inclita Thessalicis, celsa qua Bosphorus urbe
splendet et Odrysiis Asiam discriminat oris. 175
Ut longum permensus iter ductusque maligno stamine fatorum claram subrepsit in aulam,
ilicet ambitio nasci, discedere rectum,
venum cuncta dari ; profert arcana, clientes
fallit et ambitos a principe vendit honores. 180 ingeminat crimen, commoti pectoris ignem
nutrit et exiguum stimulando vulnus acerbat.
ac velut innumeros amnes accedere Nereus
nescit et undantem quamvis hinc hauriat Histrum, hinc bibat aestivum septeno gurgite Nilum, 185 par semper similisque manet : sic fluctibus auri
expleri calor ille nequit. cuicumque monile contextum gemmis aut praedia culta fuissent,
Rufino populandus erat, dominoque parabat
exitium fecundus ager ; metuenda colonis 190 fertilitas : laribus pellit, detrudit avitis
38
THE FIRST BOOK AGAINST RUFINUS
with pride when he found he could transform every thing he touched to gold : but when he beheld his food grow rigid and his drink harden into golden ice then he understood that this gift was a bane and
in his loathing for the gold cursed his prayer. Thus Rufinus, overcome, cried out : " Whithersoever thou summonest me I follow, be thou man or god. " Then at the Fury's bidding he left his fatherland and approached the cities of the East, threading the once
and the seas renowned for the voyage of the Argo, ship of Thessaly, till he came to where, beneath its high-walled town, the gleaming
Bosporus separates Asia from the Thracian coast. When he had completed this long journey and, led by the evil thread of the fates, had won his way into the far-famed palace, then did ambition
come to birth and right was no more. Everything had its price. He betrayed secrets, deceived dependents, and sold honours that had been wheedled from the emperor. He followed up one crime with another, heaping fuel on the in flamed mind and probing and embittering the erst while trivial wound. And yet, as Nereus knows no addition from the infinitude of rivers that flow into him and though here he drains Danube's wave and there Nile's summer flood with its sevenfold mouth,
ever remains his same and constant self, so Rufinus' thirst knew no abatement for all the streams of gold that flowed in upon him. Had any a necklace studded with jewels or a fertile demesne he was sure prey for Rufinus : a rich property assured the ruin of its own possessor :
the husbandman's bane. He drives them from their homes, expels them from the lands their sires had
floating Symplegades
straightway
yet
fertility was 39
CLAUDIAN
finibus ; aut aufert vivis aut occupat heres.
congestae cumulantur opes orbisque ruinas
accipit una domus : populi servire coacti
plenaque privato succumbunt oppida regno. 195
Quo, vesane, ruis ? teneas utrumque licebit Oceanum, laxet rutilos tibi Lydia fontes,
iungatur solium Croesi Cyrique tiara :
numquam dives eris, numquam satiabere quaestu. semper inops quicumque cupit. contentus honesto Fabricius parvo spernebat munera regum 201 sudabatque gravi consul Serranus aratro
et casa pugnaces Curios angusta tegebat.
haec mihi paupertas opulentior, haec mihi tecta culminibus maiora tuis. ibi quaerit inanes 205 luxuries nocitura cibos ; hie donat inemptas
terra dapes. rapiunt Tyrios ibi vellera sucos
et picturatae saturantur murice vestes ;
hie radiant flores et prati viva voluptas
ingenio variata suo. fulgentibus illic 210 surgunt strata toris ; hie mollis panditur herba sollicitum curis non abruptura soporem.
turba salutantum latas ibi perstrepit aedes ;
hie avium cantus, labentis murmura rivi.
vivitur exiguo melius ; natura beatis 215 omnibus esse dedit, si quis cognoverit uti.
haec si nota forent, frueremur simplice cultu,
classica non gemerent, non stridula fraxinus iret,
nee ventus quateret puppes nec machina muros.
40
THE FIRST BOOK AGAINST RUFINUS
left them, either wresting them from the living owners or fastening upon them as an inheritor. Massed riches are piled up and a single house receives the plunder of a world ; whole peoples are forced into slavery, and thronging cities bow
beneath the tyranny of a private man.
Madman, what shall be the end ? Though thou
possess either Ocean, though Lydia pour forth for thee her golden waters, though thou join Croesus' throne to Cyrus' crown, yet shalt thou never be rich nor ever contented with thy booty. The greedy man is always poor. Fabricius, happy in his honour able poverty, despised the gifts of monarchs ; the consul Serranus sweated at his heavy plough and a small cottage gave shelter to the warlike Curii. To my mind such poverty as this is richer than thy wealth, such a home greater than thy palaces. There pernicious luxury seeks for the food that
satisfieth not ; here the earth provides a banquet for which is nought to pay. With thee wool absorbs the dyes of Tyre ; thy patterned clothes are stained with purple ; here are bright flowers and the meadow's breathing charm which owes its varied hues but to itself. There are beds piled on glittering bedsteads ; here stretches the soft grass, that breaks not sleep with anxious cares. There a crowd of clients dins through the spacious halls, here is song of birds and the murmur of the gliding stream. A frugal life is best. Nature has given the opportunity of happi ness to all, knew they but how to use it. Had we
realized this we should now have been
a simple life, no trumpets would be sounding, no whistling spear would speed, no ship be buffeted by
the wind, no siege-engine overthrow battlements.
41
enjoying
CLAUDIAN
Crescebat scelerata sitis praedaeque recentis 220 incestus flagrabat amor, nullusque petendi
cogendive pudor : crebris periuria nectit blanditiis ; sociat perituro foedere dextras.
si semel e tantis poscenti quisque negasset,
effera praetumido quatiebat corda furore. 225 quae sic Gaetuli iaculo percussa leaena
aut Hyrcana premens raptorem belua partus
aut serpens calcata furit ? iurata deorum
maiestas teritur ; nusquam reverentia mensae.
non coniunx, non ipse simul, non pignora caesa 230 sufficiunt odiis ; non extinxisse propinquos,
non notos egisse sat est ; exscindere cives
funditus et nomen gentis delere labor at.
nec celeri perimit leto ; crudelibus ante
suppliciis fruitur ; cruciatus, vincla, tenebras 235 dilato mucrone parat. pro saevior ense
parcendi rabies concessaque vita dolori !
mors adeone parum est ? causis fallacibus instat, arguit attonitos se iudice. cetera segnis,
ad facinus velox, penitus regione remotas 240 impiger ire vias : non illum Sirius ardens
brumave Riphaeo stridens Aquilone retardat.
effera torquebant avidae praecordia curae,
effugeret ne quis gladios neu perderet ullum Augusto miserante nefas. non flectitur annis, 245 non aetate labat : iuvenum rorantia colla
ante patrum vultus stricta cecidere securi ;
42
THE FIRST BOOK AGAINST RUFINUS
Still grew Rufinus' wicked greed, and his impious passion for new-won wealth blazed yet fiercer ; no feeling . of shame kept him from demanding and extorting money. He combines perjury with cease less cajolery, ratifying with a hand-clasp the bond he
purposes to break. Should any dare to refuse his demand for one thing out of so many, his fierce heart would be stirred with swelling wrath.
Was ever lioness wounded with a Gaetulian's spear, or Hyrcan tiger pursuing the robber of her young, was ever bruised serpent so fierce ? He swears by the majesty of the gods and tramples on his oath. He reverences not the laws of hospitality. To kill a wife and her husband with her and her children sates not his anger ; 'tis not enough to slaughter relations and drive friends into exile ; he strives to destroy every citizen of Rome and to blot out the very name of our race. Nor does he even slay with a swift death ; ere that he enjoys the infliction of cruel torture ; the rack, the chain, the lightless cell, these he sets before the final blow. Why, this remission is more savage, more madly cruel, than the sword —this grant of life that agony may accom
pany it
Is death not enough for him ? With
!
treacherous charges he attacks ; dazed wretches find him at once accuser and judge. Slow to all else he is swift to crime and tireless to visit the ends of the earth in its pursuit. Neither the Dog-star's heat nor the wintry blasts of the Thracian north wind detain him. Feverish anxiety torments his cruel heart lest any escape his sword, or an emperor's pardon lose him an opportunity for injury. Neither
nor youth can move his pity : before their father's eyes his bloody axe severs boys' heads 43
age
CLAUDIAN
ibat grandaevus nato moriente superstes
post trabeas exul. quis prodere tanta relatu ' funera, quis caedes possit deflere nefandas ? 250 quid tale inmanes umquam gessisse feruntur
vel Sinis Isthmiaca pinu vel rupe profunda
Sciron vel Phalaris tauro vel carcere Sulla ?
o mites Diomedis equi ! Busiridis arae
clementes ! iam Cinna pius, iam Spartace segnis 253 Rufino collatus eris !
Deiecerat omnes occultis odiis terror tacitique sepultos
verentur.
at non magnanimi virtus Stilichonis eodem
suspirant gemitus indignarique
fracta metu ; solus medio sed turbine rerum 260 contra letiferos rictus contraque rapacem
movit tela feram, volucris non praepete cursu
vectus equi, non Pegaseis adiutus habenis.
hie cunctis optata quies, hie sola pericli
turris erat clipeusque trucem porrectus in hostem,
hie profugis sedes adversaque signa furori, 266 servandis hie castra bonis.
Hucusque minatus haerebat retroque fuga cedebat inerti :
haud secus hiberno tumidus cum vertice torrens
saxa rotat volvitque nemus pontesque revellit, 270 frangitur obiectu scopuli quaerensque meatum spumat et inlisa montem circumtonat unda.
Qua dignum te laude feram, qui paene ruenti 44
THE FIRST BOOK AGAINST RUFINUS
from their bodies ; an aged man, once a consul, survived the murder of his son but to be driven into exile. Who can bring himself to tell of so many murders, who can adequately mourn such impious slaughter ? Do men tell that cruel Sinis of Corinth e'er wrought such wickedness with his pine-tree, or Sciron with his precipitous rock, or Phalaris with his brazen bull, or Sulla with his prison ? O gentle horses of Diomede ! O pitiful altars of' Busiris ! Henceforth, compared with Rufinus thou, Ginna, shalt be loving, and thou, Spartacus, a sluggard.
All were a prey to terror, for men knew not where
next his hidden hatred would break forth,
sob in silence for the tears they dare not shed and fear to show their indignation. Yet is not the spirit of great-hearted Stilicho broken by this same fear. Alone amid the general calamity he took arms against this monster of greed and his devouring maw, though not borne on the swift course of any winged steed nor aided by Pegasus' reins. In him all found the quiet they longed for, he was their one defence in danger, their shield out-held against the fierce foe, the exile's sanctuary, standard con fronting the madness of Rufinus, fortress for the protection of the good.
Thus far Rufinus advanced his threats and stayed ; then fell back in coward flight : even as a torrent swollen with winter rains rolls down great stones in its course, overwhelms woods, tears away bridges, yet is broken by a jutting rock, and, seeking a
foams and thunders about the cliff with shattered waves.
way through,
How can I praise thee worthily, thou who sus- 45
they
CLAUDIAN
lapsuroque tuos umeros obieceris orbi ?
te nobis trepidae sidus ceu dulce carinae 275
ostendere dei, geminis quae lassa procellis tunditur et victo trahitur iam caeca magistro. Inachius Rubro perhibetur in aequore Perseus Neptuni domuisse pecus, sed tutior alis :
te non penna vehit ; rigida cum Gorgone Perseus :
tu non vipereo defensus crine Medusae ; 281
illum vilis amor suspensae virginis egit :
te Romana salus. taceat superata vetustas, Herculeos conferre tuis iam desinat actus.
una Cleonaeum pascebat silva leonem ; 285 Arcadiae saltum vastabat dentibus unum
saevus aper, tuque o compressa matre rebellans
non ultra Libyae fines, Antaee, nocebas,
solaque fulmineo resonabat Creta iuvenco Lernaeamque virens obsederat hydra paludem. 290 hoc monstrum non una palus, non una tremebat
insula, sed Latia quidquid dicione subactum
vivit, et a primis Ganges horrebat Hiberis.
hoc neque Geryon triplex nec turbidus Orci
ianitor aequabit nec si concurrat in unum 295 vis hydrae Scyllaeque fames et flamma Chimaerae.
Certamen sublime diu, sed moribus impar virtutum scelerumque fuit. iugulare minatur :
tu prohibes ; ditem spoliat : tu reddis egenti ;
eruit : instauras ; accendit proelia : vincis. 300 4-6
THE FIRST BOOK AGAINST RUFINUS
tainedst with thy shoulders the tottering world in its threatened fall ? The gods gave thee to us as they show a welcome star to frightened mariners whose weary bark is buffeted with storms of wind and wave and drifts with blind course now that her steersman is beaten. Perseus, descendant of Inachus, is said to have overcome Neptune's monsters in the Red Sea, but he was helped by his wings ; no wing bore thee aloft : Perseus was armed with the Gorgons' head that turneth all to stone ; the
locks of Medusa protected not thee. His motive was but the love of a chained girl, thine the salvation of Rome. The days of old are surpassed ;
let them keep silence and cease to compare Hercules' labours with thine. 'Twas but one wood that sheltered the lion of Cleonae, the savage boar's tusks laid waste a single Arcadian vale, and thou, rebel Antaeus, holding thy mother earth in thine embrace, didst no hurt beyond the borders of Africa. Crete alone re-echoed to the bellowings of the fire- breathing bull, and the green hydra beleaguered no more than Lerna's lake. But this monster Rufinus terrified not one lake nor one island : whatsoever lives beneath the Roman rule, from distant Spain to Ganges' stream, was in fear of him. Neither
triple Geryon nor Hell's fierce janitor can vie with him nor could the conjoined terrors of powerful Hydra, ravenous Scylhi, and fiery Chimaera.
Long hung the contest in suspense, but the struggle betwixt vice and virtue was ill-matched in character. Rufinus threatens slaughter, thou stayest his hand ; he robs the rich, thou givest back to the poor ; he overthrows, thou restorest ; he sets wars afoot, thou winnest them. As a pestilence, growing from day
47
snaky
CLAUDIAN
ac velut infecto morbus crudescere caelo incipiens primos pecudum depascitur artus,
mox populos urbesque rapit ventisque perustis corruptos Stygiam pestem desudat in amnes :
sic avidus praedo iam non per singula saevit. 305 sed sceptris inferre minas omnique perempto
milite Romanas ardet prosternere vires,
iamque Getas Histrumque movet Scythiamque
receptat
auxilio traditque suas hostilibus armis
mixtis descendit Sarmata Dacis 310 et qui cornipedes in pocula vulnerat audax
Massagetes caesamque bibens Maeotin Alanus membraque qui ferro gaudet pinxisse Gelonus, Rufino collecta manus. vetat ille domari
innectitque moras et congrua tempora differt. 315 nam tua cum Geticas stravisset dextra catervas,
ulta ducis socii letum, parsque una maneret
debilior facilisque capi, tunc impius ille
proditor imperii coniuratusque Getarum
distulit instantes eluso principe pugnas 320 Hunorum laturus opem, quos adfore bello
norat et invisis mox se coniungere castris.
Est genus extremos Scythiae vergentis in ortus trans gelidum Tanain, quo non famosius ullum
Arctos alit. turpes habitus obscaenaque visu 325 corpora ; mens duro numquam cessura labori ; praeda cibus, vitanda Ceres frontemque secari
1 Here and throughout his poems Claudian refers to the Visigoths as the Getae.
a Cf. Introduction, p. x. 48
relliquias.
THE FIRST BOOK AGAINST RUFINUS
to day by reason of the infected air, fastens first
upon the bodies of animals but soon sweeps
away and cities, and when the winds blow hot
peoples
spreads its hellish poison to the polluted streams, so the ambitious rebel marks down no private prey, but hurls his eager threats at kings, and seeks to destroy Rome's army and overthrow her might. Now he stirs up the Getae1 and the tribes on Danube's banks, allies himself with Scythia and exposes what few his cruelties have spared to the sword of the enemy. There march against us a mixed horde of Sarmatians and Dacians, the Massagetes who cruelly wound their horses that they may drink their blood, the Alans who break the ice and drink the waters of Maeotis' lake, and the Geloni who tattoo their limbs : these form Rufinus' army. And he brooks not their defeat ; he frames delays and postpones the fitting season for battle. For when thy right hand, Stilicho, had scattered the Getic bands and avenged the death of thy brother general, when one section of Rufinus' army was thus weakened and made an easy prey, then that foul traitor, that conspirator with the Getae, tricked the emperor and put off the instant day of battle, meaning to ally himself with the Huns, whom he knew would fight and quickly join the enemies of Rome. 2
VOL.
49
IE
These Huns are a tribe who live on the extreme eastern borders of Scythia, beyond frozen Tanais ; most infamous of all the children of the north. Hideous to look upon are their faces and loathsome their bodies, but indefatigable is their spirit. The chase supplies their food ; bread they will not eat. They love to slash their faces and hold it a
CLAUDIAN
ludus et occisos pulchrum iurare parentes. nee plus nubigenas duplex natura biformes
cognatis aptavit equis ; acerrima nullo 330 ordine mobilitas insperatique recursus.
Quos tamen impavidus contra spumantis ad Hebri tendis aquas, sic ante tubas aciemque precatus :
" Mavors, nubifero seu tu procumbis in Haemo
seu te cana gelu Rhodope seu remige Medo 335 sollicitatus Athos seu caligantia nigris
ilicibus Pangaea tenent, accingere mecum
et Thracas defende tuos si laetior adsit
gloria, vestita spoliis donabere quercu. "
Audiit illa pater scopulisque nivalibus Haemi 340
surgit et hortatur celeres clamore ministros :
" fer galeam, Bellona, mihi nexusque rotarum
tende, Pavor. frenet rapidos Formido iugales. festinas urgete manus. meus ecce paratur
ad bellum Stilicho, qui me de more tropaeis 345 ditat et hostiles suspendit in arbore cristas. communes semper litui, communia nobis
signa canunt iunctoque sequor tentoria curru. "
sic fatus campo insiluit lateque fugatas
hinc Stilicho turmas, illinc Gradivus agebat 350 et clipeis et mole pares ; stat cassis utrique
sidereis hirsuta iubis loricaque cursu
aestuat et largo saturatur vulnere cornus.
Acrior interea voto multisque Megaera
luxuriata malis maestam deprendit in arce 355 50
THE FIRST BOOK AGAINST RUFINUS
righteous act to swear by their murdered parents. Their double nature fitted not better the twi-formed Centaurs to the horses that were parts of them. Disorderly, but of incredible swiftness, they often return to the fight when little expected.
Fearless, however, against such forces, thou, Stilicho, approachest the waters of foaming Hebrus and thus prayest "ere the trumpets sound and the fight begins : Mars, whether thou reclinest on cloud-capped Haemus, or frost-white Rhodope holdeth thee, or Athos, severed to give passage to the Persian fleet, or Pangaeus, gloomy with dark holm-oaks, gird thyself at my side and defend
thine own land of Thrace. If victory smile on us, thy meed shall be an oak stump adorned with spoils. "
The Father heard his prayer and rose from the snowy peaks of Haemus shouting commands to his speedy servants : " Bellona, bring my helmet ; fasten me, Panic, the wheels upon my chariot ; harness my swift horses, Fear. Hasten : speed on your
work. See, my Stilicho makes him ready for war ; Stilicho whose habit it is to load me with rich trophies and hang upon the oak the plumed helmets of his enemies. For us together the trumpets ever sound the call to battle ; yoking my chariot I follow where soever he pitch his camp. " So spake he and leapt upon the plain, and on this side Stilicho scattered the enemy bands in broadcast flight and on that Mars ; alike the twain in accoutrement and stature. The helmets of either tower with bristling crests, their
breastplates flash as they speed along and their spears take their fill of widely dealt wounds.
Meanwhile Megaera, more eager now she has got her way, and revelling in this widespread 51
CLAUDIAN
Iustitiam diroque prior sic ore lacessit :
" en tibi prisca quies renovataque saecula rursus,
ut rebare, vigent ? en nostra potentia cessit
nec locus est usquam Furiis ? hue lumina flecte. adspice barbaricis iaceant quot moenia flammis, 360 quas mihi Rufinus strages quantumque cruoris praebeat et quantis epulentur caedibus hydri.
linque homines sortemque meam, pete sidera ; notis Autumni te redde plagis, qua vergit in Austrum
Signifer ; aestivo sedes vicina Leoni 365 iam pridem gelidaeque vacant confinia Librae. " atque utinam per magna sequi convexa liceret !
Diva refert : " non ulterius bacchabere demens. iam poenas tuus iste dabit, iam debitus ultor inminet, et, terras qui nunc ipsumque fatigat 370 aethera, non vili moriens condetur harena.
iamque aderit laeto promissus Honorius aevo
nec forti genitore minor nec fratre corusco,
qui subiget Medos, qui cuspide proteret Indos.
sub iuga venturi reges ; calcabitur asper 375
Phasis equo pontemque pati cogetur Araxes,
tuque simul gravibus ferri religata catenis
expellere die debellatasque draconum
tonsa comas imo barathri claudere recessu.
tum tellus communis erit, tum limite nullo 380
52
THE FIRST BOOK AGAINST RUFINUS
comes upon Justice sad at heart in her palace, and thus provokes her with horrid utterance : " Is this that old reign of peace ; this the return of that golden age thou fondly hopedst had come to pass ? Is our power gone, and no place now left
calamity,
for the Furies ? Turn thine eyes this way. See how many cities the barbarians' fires have laid low, how vast a slaughter, how much blood Rufinus hath procured for me, and on what
widespread death my serpents gorge themselves. Leave thou the world of men ; that lot is mine. Mount to the stars, return to that well-known tract of Autumn
sky where the Standard-bearer dips towards the south. The space next to the summer constella tion of the Lion, the neighbourhood of the winter Balance has long been empty. And would I could
now follow thee through the dome of heaven. "
The goddess made answer : " Thou shalt rage no
further, mad that thou art. Now shalt thy creature receive his due, the destined avenger hangs over him, and he who now wearies land and the very sky shall die, though no handful of dust shall cover his corpse. Soon shall come Honorius, promised of old to this fortunate age, brave as his father Theo- dosius, brilliant as his brother Arcadius ; he shall
subdue the Medes and overthrow the Indians with his spear. Kings shall pass under his yoke, frozen Phasis shall bear his horses' hooves, and Araxes submit perforce to be bridged by him. Then too shalt thou be bound with heavy chains of iron and cast out from the light of day and imprisoned in the nethermost pit, thy snaky locks overcome and shorn from thy head. Then the world shall be owned by all in common, no field marked off from another
53
CLAUDIAN
discernetur ager ; nec vomere sulcus adunco
findetur : subitis messor gaudebit aristis.
rorabunt querceta favis ; stagnantia passim
vina fluent oleique lacus ; nec murice tinctis velleribus quaeretur honos, sed sponte rubebunt 385 attonito pastore greges pontumque per omnem ridebunt virides gemmis nascentibus algae. "
54
THE FIRST BOOK AGAINST RUFINUS
by any dividing boundary, no furrow cleft with bended ploughshare ; for the husbandman shall rejoice in corn that springs untended. Oak groves shall drip with honey, streams of wine well up on every side, lakes of oil abound. No price shall be asked for fleeces dyed scarlet, but of themselves shall the flocks grow red to the astonishment of the shepherd, and in every sea the green seaweed will laugh with flashing jewels. "
55
IN RUFINUM LIBER SECUNDUS INCIPIT PRAEFATIO
(IV)
Pandite defensum reduces Helicona sorores, pandite ; permissis iam licet ire choris :
nulla per Aonios hostilis bucina campos carmina mugitu deteriore vetat.
tu quoque securis pulsa formidine Delphis 5 floribus ultorem, Delie, cinge tuum.
nullus Castalios latices et praescia fati flumina polluto barbarus ore bibit.
Alpheus late rubuit Siculumque per aequor sanguineas belli rettulit unda notas 10
agnovitque novos absens Arethusa triumphos et Geticam sensit teste cruore necem.
Inmensis, Stilicho, succedant otia curis et nostrae patiens corda remitte lyrae,
nec pudeat longos interrupisse labores 15 et tenuem Musis constituisse moram.
fertur et indomitus tandem post proelia Mavors lassa per Odrysias fundere membra nives
oblitusque sui posita clementior hasta
Pieriis aures pacificare modis. 20
1 A reference to Stilicho's campaign against Alaric in the Peloponnese in 397 (see Introduction, p. x).
56
THE SECOND BOOK AGAINST RUFINUS PREFACE
(IV)
Return, ye Muses, and throw open rescued
Helicon ; now again may your company gather there. Nowhere now in Italy does the hostile trumpet forbid song with its viler bray. Do thou too, Delian Apollo, now that Delphi is safe and fear has been dispelled, wreath thy avenger's head with flowers. No savage foe sets profane lips to Castalia's spring or those prophetic streams. Alpheus' 1 flood ran all his length red with slaughter and the waves bore the bloody marks of war across the Sicilian sea ; whereby Arethusa, though herself not present, recognized the triumphs freshly won and knew of the slaughter of the Getae, to which that blood bore witness.
Let peace, Stilicho, succeed these age-long labours and ease thine heart by graciously listening to my song. Think it no shame to interrupt thy long toil and to consecrate a few moments to the Muses. Even
Mars is said to have stretched his tired limbs on the snowy Thracian plain when at last the battle was ended, and, unmindful of his wonted fierceness, to have laid aside his spear in gentler mood, soothing his ear with the Muses' melody.
57
unwearying
LIBER II
(V)
lam post edomitas Alpes defensaque regna Hesperiae merita complexus sede parentem
auctior adiecto fulgebat sidere mundus,
iamque tuis, Stilicho, Romana potentia curis
et rerum commissus apex, tibi credita fratrum 5 utraque maiestas geminaeque exercitus aulae. Rufinus (neque enim patiuntur saeva quietem crimina pollutaeque negant arescere fauces)
infandis iterum terras accendere bellis
incohat et solito pacem vexare tumultu. 10 haec etiam secum : " quanam ratione tuebor
spem vitae fragilem ? qua tot depellere fluctus
arte queam ? premor hinc odiis, hinc milite cingor. heu quid agam ? non arma mihi, non principis ullus auxiliatur amor. matura pericula surgunt 15 undique et impositi radiant cervicibus enses.
quid restat, nisi cuncta novo confundere luctu insontesque meae populos miscere ruinae ?
everso iuvat orbe mori ; solacia leto
1 Theodosius died in January 395, not long after his defeat of Eugenius at the Frigidus River (near Aquileia), September 5-6, 394 (see Introduction, p. ix).
58
BOOK II
(V)
After the subjugation of the Alpine tribes and the salvation of the kingdoms of Italy the heavens welcomed the Emperor Theodosius 1 to the place of honour due to his worth, and so shone the brighter by the addition of another star. Then was the power of Rome entrusted to thy care, Stilicho ; in thy hands was placed the governance of the world. The brothers' twin majesty and the armies of either royal court were given into thy charge. But Rufinus (for cruelty and crime brook not peace, and a tainted mouth will not forgo its draughts of blood), Rufinus, I say, began once more to inflame the world with wicked wars and to disturb peace with accustomed sedition. Thus to himself : " How shall I assure my slender hopes of survival ? By what means beat back the rising storm ? On all sides are hate and the threat of arms. What am I to do ? No help can I find in soldier's weapon or emperor's favour. Instant dangers ring me round and a gleaming sword hangs above my head. What is left but to plunge the world into fresh troubles and draw down innocent peoples in my ruin ? Gladly will I perish if the world does too ; general destruction shall console me for
59
CLAUDIAN
exitium commune dabit nec territus ante 20 discedam : cum luce simul linquenda potestas. "
Haec fatus, ventis veluti si frena resolvat
Aeolus, abrupto gentes sic obice fudit
laxavitque viam bellis et, nequa maneret
inmunis regio, cladem divisit in orbem 25 disposuitque nefas. alii per terga ferocis
Danuvii solidata ruunt expertaque remos frangunt stagna rotis ; alii per Caspia claustra
Armeniasque nives inopino tramite ducti
invadunt Orientis opes. iam pascua fumant 30
Cappadocum volucrumque parens Argaeus equorum, iam rubet altus Halys nec se defendit iniquo
monte Cilix. Syriae tractus vastantur amoeni adsuetumque choris et laeta plebe canorum
proterit imbellem sonipes hostilis Orontem. 35 hinc planctus Asiae ; Geticis Europa catervis ludibrio praedaeque datur frondentis ad usque Dalmatiae fines : omnis quae mobile Ponti
aequor et Adriacas tellus interiacet undas
squalet inops pecudum, nullis habitata colonis, 40 instar anhelantis Libyae, quae torrida semper
solibus humano nescit mansuescere cultu.
Thessalus ardet ager ; reticet pastore fugato
Pelion ; Emathias ignis populatur aristas.
nam plaga Pannoniae miserandaque moenia Thracum arvaque Mysorum iam nulli flebile damnum, 46 sed cursus sollemnis erat campusque furori expositus, sensumque malis detraxerat usus.
eheu quam brevibus pereunt ingentia fatis !
60
THE SECOND BOOK AGAINST RUFINUS
mine own death, nor will I die (for I am no coward) till I have accomplished this. I will not lay down my power before my life. "
So spake he, and as if Aeolus unchained the winds so he, breaking their bonds, let loose the nations, clearing the way for war ; and, that no land should be free therefrom, apportioned ruin throughout the world, parcelling out destruction. Some pour
across the frozen surface of swift-flowing Danube and break with the chariot wheel what erstwhile knew but the oar ; others invade the wealthy East, led through the Caspian Gates and over the Armenian snows by a newly-discovered pass. The fields of Cappadocia reek with slaughter ; Argaeus, father of swift horses, is laid waste. Halys' deep waters run red and the Cilician cannot defend himself in his precipitous mountains. The pleasant plains of Syria are devastated, and the enemy's cavalry thunders along the banks of Orontes, home hitherto of the dance and of a happy people's song. Hence comes mourning to Asia, while Europe is left to be the sport and prey of Getic hordes even to the borders
of fertile Dalmatia. All that tract of land lying between the stormy Euxine and the Adriatic is laid waste and plundered, no inhabitants dwell there ;
'tis like torrid Africa whose sun-scorched plains never grow kindlier through human tillage. Thessaly is afire ; Pelion silent, his shepherds put to flight ; flames bring destruction on Macedonia's crops.
For Pannonia's plain, the Thracians' helpless cities, the fields of Mysia were ruined but now none wept ; year by year came the invader, unsheltered was the
from havoc and custom had robbed suffering of its sting. Alas, in how swift ruin perish 61
countryside
CLAUDIAN
imperium tanto quaesitum sanguine, tanto 50 servatum, quod mille ducum peperere labores,
quod tantis Romana manus contexuit annis,
proditor unus iners angusto tempore vertit.
Urbs etiam, magnae quae ducitur aemula Romae et Calchedonias contra despectat harenas, 55 iam non finitimo Martis terrore movetur,
sed propius lucere faces et rauca sonare
cornua vibratisque peti fastigia telis
adspicit. hi vigili muros statione tueri,
hi iunctis properant portus munire carinis. 60 obsessa tamen ille ferus laetatur in urbe
exultatque malis summaeque ex culmine turris
impia vicini cernit spectacula campi :
vinctas ire nurus, nunc in vada proxima mergi seminecem, hunc subito percussum vulnere labi 65 dum fugit, hunc animam portis efflare sub ipsis ;
nec canos prodesse seni puerique cruore
maternos undare sinus, inmensa voluptas
et risus plerumque subit ; dolor afficit unus,
quod feriat non ipse manu. videt omnia late 70 exceptis incensa suis et crimine tanto
luxuriat carumque sibi non abnuit hostem ; iactabatque ultro, quod soli castra paterent
sermonumque foret vicibus permissa potestas.
egregii quotiens exisset foederis auctor, 75 stipatur sociis, circumque armata clientum
62
1 Constantinople.
THE SECOND BOOK AGAINST RUFINUS
even the greatest things ! An empire won and kept at the expense of so much bloodshed, born from the toils of countless leaders, knit together through so many years by Roman hands, one coward traitor overthrew in the twinkling of an eye.
That city,1 too, called of men the rival of great Rome, that looks across to Chalcedon's strand, is stricken now with terror at no neighbouring war ; nearer home it observes the flash of torches, the trumpet's call, and its own roofs the target for an enemy's artillery. Some guard the walls with watchful outposts, others hasten to fortify the harbour with a chain of ships. But fierce Rufinus is full of joy in the leaguered city and exults in its misfortunes, gazing at the awful spectacle of the surrounding country from the summit of a lofty tower. He watches the procession of women in chains, sees one poor half-dead wretch drowned in the water hard by, another, stricken as he fled, sink down beneath the sudden wound, another breathe out his life at the tower's very gates ; he rejoices that no respect is shown to grey hairs and that mother's breasts are drenched with their children's blood. Great is his pleasure thereat ; from time to time he laughs and knows but one regret—that it is not his own hand that strikes. He sees the whole countryside (except for his own lands) ablaze, and has joy of his great wickedness, making no secret of the fact that the city's foes are his friends. It is his boast, moreover, that to him alone the enemy
camp opened its gates, and that there was allowed right of parley between them. Whene'er he issued forth to arrange some wondrous truce his companions thronged him round and an armed band of depen
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agmina privatis ibant famulantia signis ;
ipse inter medios, ne qua de parte relinquat barbariem, revocat fulvas in pectora pelles
frenaque et inmanes pharetras arcusque sonoros 80 adsimulat mentemque palam proclamat amictu,
nec pudet Ausonios currus et iura regentem
sumere deformes ritus vestemque Getarum ; insignemque habitum Latii mutare coactae
maerent captivae pellito iudice leges. 85
Quis populi tum vultus erat ! quae murmura furtim ! (nam miseris ne flere quidem aut lenire dolorem
colloquiis impune licet) : " quonam usque feremus exitiale iugum ? durae quis terminus umquam
sortis erit ? quis nos funesto turbine rerum 90 aut tantis solvet lacrimis, quos barbarus illinc,
hinc Rufinus agit, quibus arva fretumque negatur ? magna quidem per rura lues, sed maior oberrat
intra tecta timor. tandem succurre ruenti
heu patriae, Stilicho ! dilecta hie pignora certe, 95 hie domus, hie thalamis primum genialibus omen,
hie tibi felices erexit regia taedas.
