Eclogues of Virgil (1908)/Eclogue 8
ECLOGUE VIII.
THE SORCERESS.
Now let me tell of the two shepherds' muse,
Damon the first—Alphesibœus next:
The gazing heifers wondered at their strife
Unmindful of rich pasture, while their song
Hushed the fierce lynx; the rivers stayed their course.
Of these two shepherds I will sing the lay.
Will that day ever dawn, Oh, Pollio, when
I may aspire to tell of thy great deeds?
Of broad Timavus dost thou climb the rocks
Or sailest by the shores of the Illyrian sea?
Ah! when may I to the whole world make known
Thy verse, which can with Sophocles compare?
Thou didst inspire me first—with thee I end.
Accept the songs begun at thy command,
And let the ivy round thy brow be twined
Amidst the laurels of thy victories.
Hardly had night's cold shadow left the sky
When the dew-laden grass tempts most the flocks,
Damon began—leaning on olive staff.
"Now, Lucifer, arise! Before the dawn!
"Be herald to the all-restoring day!
"While I, deceived by Nisa's treach'rous love,
"Must still lament, and in my dying hour
"To all the gods appeal, altho' no gain,
"As yet, has from their witness, come to me.
"O flute, with me sing songs of Arcady!
"The pine-grown mount, Arcadian Mœnalus
"Listens to shepherds' loves, echoes their lays
"And Pan's, who first piped on the vocal reeds,
"Nisa is given to Mopsus, what may we
"Hope for, as lovers? Noble steeds may now
"Be yoked with griffins fierce; in times to come
"The timid does with dogs will learn to drink.
"Mopsus, make torches for thy coming wife,
"Scatter the nuts, oh bridegroom, for thy sake
"The evening star is rising from the hill—
"O flute, with me sing songs of Arcady!
"O thou, who wedded to a worthy mate
"Despising all the rest, dost scorn my pipe
"And all my flock of she-goats, and dost hate
"My shaggy beard and eyebrows, nor dost own
"That the gods care, for hopes of mortal men.
"O flute, with me sing songs of Arcady!
"When, thou, a child, didst in our orchard stray
"And with thy mother, gather'dst dewy fruit
"I was your guide, and hardly had began
"The twelfth year of my age, but could just bend
"The slender boughs to earth, then saw I thee
"Then was I lost, by fatal error borne!
"O flute, with me sing songs of Arcady!
"Alas! now know I what is Love! a boy
"Not of our race or blood, but born on rocks
"Of Rhodopé, or Ismarus, or the race
"Of distant Garamantes—such is he.
"O flute, with me sing songs of Arcady!
"Fierce love has made a mother stain her hands
"With her own children's blood—fierce mother too
"Was she more cruel, or the boy more vile?
"A cruel mother, and an impious boy.
"O flute, with me sing songs of Arcady!
"Now let the wolf be coward of the sheep,
"Let golden apples be the hard oak's fruit,
"With sweet Narcissus may the alder bloom,
"May richest amber ooze from tamarisks,
"Owls vie with swans, and Tityrus in the woods
"Orpheus shall seem—Arion, dolphin led.
"For me now all is at an end, as though
"The deep sea covered me: farewell, ye woods,
"Headlong from yonder mountain-top I leap
"Into the waves: this dying gift receive,
"Now, my flute cease to sing Arcadian strains!"
These songs were sung by Damon—Muses, tell
What answer made Alphesibœus then?
We are not all sufficient for all things.
Alphesibœus."Bring water forth; then round these altars twine
"The sacrificial billet—burn thereon
"Rich vervain and the strength of frankincense,
"So I may seek by magic rites to turn
"My love's sound mind; only the charm I lack.
"Bring Daphnis, O my songs, bring Daphnis home.
"For charms have power to draw the moon from Heav'n,
"By charms, the enchantress changed Ulysses' crew
"And, as men say, cold-blooded snakes can be
"Lured to their death, by songs, in the green meads.
"Bring Daphnis, O my songs, bring Daphnis home!
"First, I wind round thine image triple threads
"Of three-fold hues, and three times lead it round
"The altars. Gods unequal numbers love!
"Now, Amaryllis, tie the three-hued knots
"And say the while, 'I tie fair Venus' bands.'
"Bring Daphnis, O my songs, bring Daphnis home!
"As one same fire makes hard the clay, and yet
"Softens the wax, so love may Daphnis melt.
"Sprinkle the meal! quick! burn the laurel twigs
"With blazing tar. As Daphnis me consumes
"So may he pine with love, and I not care.
"May he go wand'ring thro' the woods and groves
"As do the unquiet heifers by the brooks,
"Forgetting when night falls, to seek their home
"That he may suffer so, is my desire.
"Bring Daphnis, O my songs, bring Daphnis home!
"Long since the false one left as pledge with me
"His cast-off garments—dear—for they were his.
"I to the earth commit them—by the gate,
"These pledges should bring Daphnis to my side,
"Bring Daphnis, O my songs, bring Daphnis home!
"Mœris himself gave me these herbs, and these
"Most poisonous plants, gather'd in Pontus, where
"They grow in plenty—by their magic power
"Oft have I seen Mœris become a wolf
"Hiding in woods, and from deep graves call forth
"The shrinking ghosts, then charm the growing crops
"From the sown fields, to other grounds transferred.
"Bring Daphnis, O my songs, bring Daphnis home!
"Bring ashes, Amaryllis, out of doors,
"Throw o'er thy head into the running brook.
"Look not behind thee! I will now attach
"Daphnis with these—he scorns both gods and charms!
"Bring Daphnis, O my songs, bring Daphnis home.
"Look how the ashes of themselves have clothed
"With flickering flames the altars whilst I wait!
"A lucky omen—tho' I know not what—
"And in the doorway, hear how Hylas barks.
"May we believe, or do all lovers dream?
"Now cease, my songs, for from the town at last.
My Daphnis comes!