Albius Tibullus [Tibullus]
55-19 BCE
Trans RMBullard
Latin (Augustan Era/Imperial Era)
I
Divitias alius fulvo sibi congerat auro
[Another man, let him pile up riches in tawny gold,]
Et teneat culti iugera multa soli,
[and let him own many acres of farmland,]
Quem labor adsiduus vicino terreat hoste,
[let constant toil scare the wits out of him when an enemy lies near,]
Martia cui somnos classica pulsa fugent:
[to him flee the ships of war, beaten in his dreams:]
Me mea paupertas vita traducat inerti, 5
[Let my poverty lead me to live an inactive life,]
Dum meus adsiduo luceat igne focus.
[as long as my hearth shines from a constant fire.]
Ipse seram teneras maturo tempore vites
Rusticus et facili grandia poma manu;
[Let me sow tender vines at harvest time, as a farmer, and also great big fruit with a skilled hand;]
Nec spes destituat,
[And don't let my hope fail,]
sed frugum semper acervos
Praebeat et pleno pinguia musta lacu.
[instead always let it yield piles of crops and fat wines in a full lake.]
10
Nam veneror,
[You see, I shall be worshipper,]
seu stipes habet desertus in agris
[whether or not my crop lies deserted in the fields]
Seu vetus in trivio florida serta lapis,
[whether or not the old stone lies in the crossroad, wreathed with flowers,]
Et quodcumque mihi pomum novus educat annus,
[and whatever crop the new year produces for me,]
Libatum agricolae ponitur ante deo.
[the libation of a farmer will be place before the god.]
Flava Ceres, tibi sit nostro de rure corona 15
Spicea,
[You, sandy-haired Ceres, may the crown of corn that grows in my countryside belong to you,]
quae templi pendeat ante fores,
[which hangs before the doors of our temple,]
Pomosisque ruber custos ponatur in hortis,
[and may a ruddy guardian be place in the fruitful gardens,]
Terreat ut saeva falce Priapus aves.
[a Priapus to scare the wits out of birds with his savage blade.]
Vos quoque, felicis quondam, nunc pauperis agri
Custodes, fertis munera vestra, Lares. 20
[You all, too, guardians of a once fortunate--but now improverished--field, bear forth your gifts, you Lares.]
Tunc vitula innumeros lustrabat caesa iuvencos,
[Before, once a calf had been killed, it used to provide countless herds,]
Nunc agna exigui est hostia parva soli.
[now a small sheep is considered a hostile act for my scant soil.]
Agna cadet vobis,
[Let the sheep fall to the ground for you,]
quam circum rustica pubes
Clamet 'io messes et bona vina date'.
[around which let a rustic group of chaps cry "hi-ho reapers, and grant us the good wine!]
Iam modo iam possim contentus vivere parvo 25
[And already might I be now able to live, a happy chap]
Nec semper longae deditus esse viae,
[and not ever dependant upon a long life,]
Sed Canis aestivos ortus vitare sub umbra
Arboris ad rivos praetereuntis aquae.
[but rather my goal being to avoid the hot rise of the Dog Star, beneath the shades of a tree, at the banks of a river passing by.]
Nec tamen interdum pudeat tenuisse bidentem
[Nor still can it do me any shame to have held a cow at some time or another]
Aut stimulo tardos increpuisse boves,
[or to have urged on the slow heifers with a prod,]
30
Non agnamve sinu pigeat
[nor to let a sheep grow fat in my lap,]
fetumve capellae
Desertum oblita matre referre domum.
[or to bring a new born goat back home when its mother has grown forgetful.]
At vos exiguo pecori, furesque lupique,
Parcite:
[But you thieves and wolves, spare my little flock,]
de magno est praeda petenda grege.
[You need to seek your plunde from a large one.]
Hic ego pastoremque meum lustrare quotannis 35
Et placidam soleo spargere lacte Palem.
[Here, I'm used to sending my own shepherd wandering for so many years and sprinkling calm-faced Pales with milk.]
Adsitis, divi,
[May you be present, you gods,]
neu vos e paupere mensa
Dona nec e puris spernite fictilibus.
[don't despise the gifts from a pauper's table or off his simple dishes.]
Fictilia antiquus primum sibi fecit agrestis
Pocula,
[In the beginning, the old countryman once made clay cups for himself,]
de facili conposuitque luto. 40
[and he fashioned them from soft mud.]
Non ego divitias patrum fructusque requiro,
[Nor do I seek the wealth and fruits of my forefathers' labors,]
Quos tulit antiquo condita messis avo:
[as these are men whom the harvest produced since the time of their ancient founder:]
Parva seges satis est,
[My cornfields are small enough,]
satis requiescere lecto
Si licet et solito membra levare toro.
[if I'm allowed to get enough sleep in my bed, and raise my limbs from the couch I've grown used to.]
Quam iuvat inmites ventos audire cubantem 45
[Just as it gives delight to a man lying in bed to hearing the rustling winds,]
Et dominam tenero continuisse sinu
[and to have clung by her tender bosom,]
Aut, gelidas hibernus aquas cum fuderit Auster,
[or, when the wintry southerlies pour down its freezing rains,]
Securum somnos igne iuvante sequi.
[for him to seek slumber next to a friendly fire.]
Hoc mihi contingat.
[Let this be the case for me.]
Sit dives iure,
[Let he be rightfully wealthy,]
furorem
Qui maris et tristes ferre potest pluvias.
[whoever can stand the fury of the sea, and its gloomy rainstorms.]
50
O quantum est auri pereat potiusque smaragdi,
[Oh, how great the cost it is to die over some gold, or better yet, emeralds,]
Quam fleat ob nostras ulla puella vias.
[than for any girlfriend to weep over my travels.]
Te bellare decet terra, Messalla, marique,
[You are the type to wage war, Messalla, over land and sea,]
Ut domus hostiles praeferat exuvias;
[so that your home can stock up on the spoils of your foe;]
Me retinent vinctum formosae vincla puellae, 55
[The chains of a beautiful lady keep me back, now tied up,]
Et sedeo duras ianitor ante fores.
[and I sit out, like a doorman, before her cruel doorstep.]
Non ego laudari curo, mea Delia;
[Really I care not to be praised, my Delia;]
tecum
Dum modo sim,
[so long as I'm at your side,]
quaeso segnis inersque vocer.
[I ask that I be mocked as a "lazy slacker."]
Te spectem,
[Let me gaze upon you,]
suprema mihi cum venerit hora,
[when the very last hour of my life approaches,]
Te teneam moriens deficiente manu. 60
[and at the point of death, let me hold you with my faltering hand.]
Flebis et arsuro positum me, Delia, lecto,
Tristibus et lacrimis oscula mixta dabis.
[You will cry, Delia, and you will give me kisses mixed with pained tears, as I'm placed upon a funeral bed to be set alit.]
Flebis:
[You will cry:]
non tua sunt duro praecordia ferro
Vincta,
[Your feelings, deep down inside, are not bound by stern iron,]
neque in tenero stat tibi corde silex.
[nor is there stone in your tender heart.]
Illo non iuvenis poterit de funere quisquam 65
Lumina, non virgo, sicca referre domum.
[No young girl anywhere shall've been able to bring her eyes back, completely dry, from a funeral like that.]
Tu manes ne laede meos,
[And really don't you do my ghost offense,]
sed parce solutis
Crinibus et teneris, Delia, parce genis.
[instead, Delia, be gentle to the hairs that have loosend from their place, and be kind to my tender cheeks.]
Interea, dum fata sinunt, iungamus amores:
[And in the meantime, while the fates allow it, let us unite our love:]
Iam veniet tenebris Mors adoperta caput, 70
[Shadowy Death already approaches, rearing his head,]
Iam subrepet iners aetas,
[The sluggish passage of time is already creeping away,]
nec amare decebit,
Dicere nec cano blanditias capite.
[and it will not be considered appropriate to make love, or to speak caressing thoughts, not with a head of gray hair.]
Nunc levis est tractanda Venus,
[Lighthearted Venus must be enjoyed now,]
dum frangere postes
Non pudet
[when it brings no shame to break the doorposts down,]
et rixas inseruisse iuvat.
[and it brings delight to have thrown in some quarrels or two.]
Hic ego dux milesque bonus:
[Really at this point, I'm a good soldier, and general:]
vos, signa tubaeque, 75
Ite procul,
[you battle standards, and war trumpets, get the hell far away from me,]
cupidis volnera ferte viris,
[go bring your wounds to men who want them,]
Ferte et opes:
[and go bring them wealth:]
ego conposito securus acervo
Despiciam dites
[for my part, let me, secure with the harvest I've gathered together, despise the riches,]
despiciamque famem.
[and let me despise its pursuit.]
