Tibullus 1.1 Flashcards
Divitias alius fulvo sibi congerat auro
Et teneat culti iugera multa soli,
May someone else assemble wealth of gleaming gold
And hold vast plots of cultivated land,
Quem labor adsiduus vicino terreat hoste,
Martia cui somnos classica pulsa fugent:
One who would fear the constant toil of lurking foes,
(whom the constant toil terrifies with the enemy being nearby)
One whose sleep flees when Mars’ trumpets blare.
Me mea paupertas vita traducat inerti,
Dum meus adsiduo luceat igne focus.
May poverty provide me with an idle life
While steady fire burns within my hearth.
Ipse seram teneras maturo tempore vites
Rusticus et facili grandia poma manu;
In season may I plant tall fruit-trees and tender vines
Myself- and with a farmhand’s skillful touch.
Nec spes destituat, sed frugum semper acervos
Praebeat et pleno pinguia musta lacu.
May Hope not disappoint, but always send stacked crops
And fill my vats with juice from bursting grapes
Nam veneror, seu stipes habet desertus in agris
Seu vetus in trivio florida serta lapis,
Because I pray by lonely tree-stumps in the fields
Or weathered stone at crossroads decked with flowers,
Et quodcumque mihi pomum novus educat annus,
Libatum agricolae ponitur ante deo.
And whatever fruit the new year produces for me is offered
As a gift before the farmer-god.
Flava Ceres, tibi sit nostro de rure corona
Spicea, quae templi pendeat ante fores,
Upon the temple threshold, golden Ceres, may
My farm-grown corn husk crown which may hang,
Pomosisque ruber custos ponatur in hortis,
Terreat ut saeva falce Priapus aves.
And red Priapus be on guard in fruitful gardens.
So his vicious scythe may scare off birds.
Vos quoque, felicis quondam, nunc pauperis agri
Custodes, fertis munera vestra, Lares.
You, Lares, also take in gifts as guardians
Of threadbare land that once was prosperous.
Tunc vitula innumeros lustrabat caesa iuvencos,
Nunc agna exigui est hostia parva soli.
Back then a slaughtered calf would bless vast herds; today’s
Small victim is a lamb from meagre soil
Agna cadet vobis, quam circum rustica pubes
Clamet ‘io messes et bona vina date’.
The lamb will die for you; around her country boys
Will cry, ‘O give us crops and vintage wine!’
Iam modo iam possim contentus vivere parvo
Nec semper longae deditus esse viae,
If only I could live with little, happy now
At last, and not be given to long trips,
Sed Canis aestivos ortus vitare sub umbra
Arboris ad rivos praetereuntis aquae.
But shun the rising Dog Star’s heat in shade beneath
A tree beside the ripples of a brook
Nec tamen interdum pudeat tenuisse bidentem
Aut stimulo tardos increpuisse boves,
And never feel ashamed to wield a hoe at times
Or scold reluctant cattle with a prod
Non agnamve sinu pigeat fetumve capellae
Desertum oblita matre referre domum.
Or carry home a cradled baby goat or lamb
Abandoned by an inattentive mother.
At vos exiguo pecori, furesque lupique,
Parcite: de magno est praeda petenda grege.
But all you wolves and robbers, spare my meagre flock?
Pursue your plunder from some massive herd!
Hic ego pastoremque meum lustrare quotannis
Et placidam soleo spargere lacte Palem.
I purify my shepherd in this place each year
And sprinkle gentle Pales with some milk.
Adsitis, divi, neu vos e paupere mensa
Dona nec e puris spernite fictilibus.
Gods, be with me, and never scorn whats offered from
A humble table or clean earthenware
Fictilia antiquus primum sibi fecit agrestis
Pocula, de facili conposuitque luto.
An old-time countryman first fashioned for himself
Some earthen cups he made from pliant clay
Non ego divitias patrum fructusque requiro,
Quos tulit antiquo condita messis avo:
I do not miss my father’s wealth or profits built
From yields that my old grandfather had saved.
Parva seges satis est, satis requiescere lecto
Si licet et solito membra levare toro.
A small crop is enough; it is enough to rest
If it is allowed in bed, and loll upon familiar sheets
Quam iuvat inmites ventos audire cubantem
Et dominam tenero continuisse sinu
How sweet it is while lying down to hear fierce winds
And hold a mistress with a tender grasp!
Aut, gelidas hibernus aquas cum fuderit Auster,
Securum somnos igne iuvante sequi.
Or when cold Austral windsare spreading sleet, what joy
To slumber safely with the fire’s help!
Hoc mihi contingat. Sit dives iure, furorem
Qui maris et tristes ferre potest pluvias.
Let this befall me: May wealth be earned by one
Who bears grim rain and seas that froth and foam.
O quantum est auri pereat potiusque smaragdi,
Quam fleat ob nostras ulla puella vias.
O how much better that our gold and gems be lost
Than any girl be crying on account of our journeys!
Te bellare decet terra, Messalla, marique,
Ut domus hostiles praeferat exuvias;
Mesalla, it is right you fight on land and sea
So spoils of war may decorate your home!
Me retinent vinctum formosae vincla puellae,
Et sedeo duras ianitor ante fores.
Chains of a gorgeous girl restrain me, and I linger
Like a doorman at her stubborn door.
Non ego laudari curo, mea Delia; tecum
Dum modo sim, quaeso segnis inersque vocer.
I want no praise, my Delia, if I am with you,
I’m asking to be labelled weak and dull.
Te spectem, suprema mihi cum venerit hora,
Te teneam moriens deficiente manu.
May I behold you when my final hour comes;
As I die, let me hold you as hands fail.
Flebis et arsuro positum me, Delia, lecto,
Tristibus et lacrimis oscula mixta dabis.
Delia, when flames engulf my bier weep for me,
And then you’ll mix your kisses with sad tears.
Flebis: non tua sunt duro praecordia ferro
Vincta, neque in tenero stat tibi corde silex.
You’ll weep, for stubborn iron doesn’t wrap your breast,
Nor is there flint inside your tender heart.
Illo non iuvenis poterit de funere quisquam
Lumina, non virgo, sicca referre domum.
Nobody, neither man nor maiden, could return
Home from that funeral and be dry-eyed.
Tu manes ne laede meos, sed parce solutis
Crinibus et teneris, Delia, parce genis.
Do not do damage to my spirit! Delia, spare
Your unbound hair and spare your tender cheeks.
Interea, dum fata sinunt, iungamus amores:
Iam veniet tenebris Mors adoperta caput,
Meanwhile, while fate allows, lets join in love:
Soon death comes with his dark shrouded head,
Iam subrepet iners aetas, nec amare decebit,
Dicere nec cano blanditias capite.
Soon weakened age steals on, and love’s not fitting
Nor speaking flatteries when your hair is white.
Nunc levis est tractanda Venus, dum frangere postes
Non pudet et rixas inseruisse iuvat.
Now’s the time for sweet love, while there’s no shame
In breaking doors down, while its joy to pick a fight.
Hic ego dux milesque bonus: vos, signa tubaeque,
Ite procul, cupidis volnera ferte viris,
Here I’m both a general and a brave soldier: away
Standards and trumpets, bear wounds to greedy men,
Ferte et opes: ego conposito securus acervo
Despiciam dites despiciamque famem.
And take them wealth: I safe with my gathered store
Will despise their riches, and despise all hunger too.
