| from FASTI - Book I | JANUARY 3 |
| Ovid (Publius Ovidius Naso) | trans. A. S. Kline |
|
Quid vetat et stellas, ut quaeque oriturque caditque, .... dicere? promissi pars sit et ista mei. felices animae, quibus haec cognoscere primis .... inque domos superas scandere cura fuit! credibile est illos pariter vitiisque locisque .... altius humanis exseruisse caput. non Venus et vinum sublimia pectora fregit .... officiumque fori militiaeve labor; nec levis ambitio perfusaque gloria fuco .... magnarumque fames sollicitavit opum. admovere oculis distantia sidera mentis .... aetheraque ingenio subposuere suo. sic petitur caelum, non ut ferat Ossan Olympus .... summaque Peliacus sidera tangat apex. nos quoque sub ducibus caelum metabimur illis, .... ponemusque suos ad vaga signa dies. Ergo ubi nox aderit venturis tertia Nonis, .... sparsaque caelesti rore madebit humus, octipedis frustra quaerentur bracchia Cancri: .... praeceps occiduas ille subibit aquas. |
What prevents me speaking of the stars, and their rising And setting? That was a part of what I’ve promised. Happy minds that first took the trouble to consider These things, and to climb to the celestial regions! We can be certain that they raised their heads Above the failings and the homes of men, alike. Neither wine nor lust destroyed their noble natures, Nor public business nor military service: They were not seduced by trivial ambitions, Illusions of bright glory, nor hunger for great wealth. They brought the distant stars within our vision, And subjected the heavens to their genius. So we reach the sky: there’s no need for Ossa to be piled On Olympus, or Pelion’s summit touch the highest stars. Following these masters I too will measure out the skies, And attribute the wheeling signs to their proper dates. So, when the third night before the Nones has come, And the earth is drenched, sprinkled with heavenly dew, You’ll search for the claws of the eight-footed Crab in vain: It will plunge headlong beneath the western waves. |
Trans. Copyright © A.S.Kline 2002