"What slim youngster, his hair dripping with fragrant oil,
Makes hot love to you now, Pyrrha, ensconced in a
Snug cave curtained with roses?
Who lays claim to that casually chic blonde hair in a braid?" (1.5)
"Others can praise in their verse Mitylene, Rhodes and its glories
Great Ephesus, high-walled, twin harboured Corinth,
Bacchus's home town Thebes, or Delphi, haunt of Apollos
Or Tempe up in Thessaly." (1.7)
"Thou son of Saturn, father and protector
Of humankind, to thee Fate has entrusted
Care of great Caesar; govern, then, while Caesar
Holds the lieutenancy." (1.12)
"Chloe, you will not venture near,
Just like a lost young mountain deer
Seeking her frantic dam; for her each
Gust in the trees is a needless fear" (1.23)
"When somebody as dear as he is dead,
Grief must be huge and uninhibted.
Melpomene, to whom, God-given, belong
Lyre and clear voice, teach me a funeral song.
So, now Quintilius sleeps the sleep which men
Never recover from; and who knows when
Honour, Good Faith and naked Truth will find
His parallel again among mankind?" (1.24)
"To each his life-work. Let the Calenian
Prune back his vines. Let merchants with moneybags
Swill out pure gold cups the wines they
Buy on the profits from Tyre and Sidon" (1.31)
"Guard Caesar bound for Britain at the world's end,
Guard our young swarm of warriors on the wing now
To spread the fear of Rome
Into Arabia and the Red Sea coasts" (1.35)
Trans. James Michie.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment