Tibullus I.1 Flashcards
divitias alius fulvo sibi congerat auro
et teneat culti iugera magna soli,
quem labor adsiduus vicino terreat hoste,
Martia cui somnos classica pulsa fugent:
May someone else pile up riches for himself in yellow gold
And have great acres of cultivated soil,
Whom constant toil may terrify with an enemy close at hand,
For whom the striking trumpets of Mars drive off sleep:
me mea paupertas vitae traducat inerti,
dum meus adsiduo luceat igne focus.
ipse seram teneras maturo tempore vites
rusticus et facili grandia poma manu:
Let my humble means transfer me to an inactive life,
So long as my hearth glows with constant fire.
Let me myself plant tender vines at the right time,
As a countryman, and great fruits with an effortless hand:
nec Spes destituat, sed frugum semper acervos
praebeat et pleno pinguia musta lacu.
nam veneror, seu stipes habet desertus in agris
seu vetus in trivio florida serta lapis:
Nor let Hope abandon me, but always corn in piles
May it offer, and rich grape juice in a full vat.
For I pray, whether the lonely stump in the fields
Or whether an old stone at the crossroads has garlands of flowers:
et quodcumque mihi pomum novus educat annus
libatum agricolae ponitur ante deum.
flava Ceres, tibi sit nostro de rure corona
spicea quae templi pendeat ante fores;
And whatever fruit the new year rears for me,
It is placed as an offering before the farmer God.
Fair-haired Ceres, from our country estate may there be for you the crown
Of ears of corn, which may hang before the doors of the temple;
pomosisque ruber custos ponatur in hortis
terreat ut saeva falce Priapus aves.
vos quoque, felicis quondam, nunc pauperis agri
custodes, fertis munera vestra, Lares;
And let red-faced Priapus be placed as a guard in the fruitful gardens
To frighten the birds with his cruel sickle.
You also, the Lares, guards of a farm once prosperous,
Now impoverished, you receive your offerings.
tunc vitula innumeros lustrabat caesa iuvencos,
nunc agna exigui est hostia parva soli:
agna cadet vobis, quam circum rustica pubes
clamet: ‘io messes et bona vina date’
At that time a slaughtered calf used to purify countless bullocks,
Now a lamb is the small victim of my meagre soil.
A lamb will fall to you, around which let the rustic youth cry:
“Io! Give crops and good wines.”
iam modo, iam possim contentus vivere parvo
nec semper longae deditus esse viae,
sed Canis aestivos ortus vitare sub umbra
arboris ad rivos praetereuntis aquae.
Now may I just, now may I be able to live satisfied with little
Nor always to be delivered up to the long journey,
But to avoid the summer risings of the Dog-Star under the shadow of a tree,
By brooks of water running by.
nec tamen interdum pudeat tenuisse bidentem
aut stimulo tardos increpuisse boves;
non agnamve sinu pigeat fetumve capellae
desertum oblita matre referre domum
Nor however let it shame me at times to have held a two-pronged mattock
Or to have reprimanded the slow oxen with the goad;
Let it not displease me to carry back home in my lap
Either the lamb or the young of a she-goat, abandoned by a forgetful mother.
at vos exiguo pecori, furesque lupique,
parcite: de magno est praeda petenda grege.
hic ego pastoremque meum lustrare quot annis
et placidam soleo spargere lacte Palem.
But you, you thieves and wolves, spare my meagre flock:
The prize is to be sought from a large herd.
Here I am accustomed to purify my shepherd each year
And to sprinkle peaceful Pales with milk.
adsitis, divi, neu vos e paupere mensa
dona nec e puris spernite fictilibus:
fictilia antiquus primum sibi fecit agrestis
pocula, de facili composuitque luto.
Gods, may you be present, and don’t you scorn
Gifts from a meagre table nor from plain earthenware pots.
The ancient countryman first made for himself earthenware
Cups, and assembled them out of easy clay.
non ego divitias patrum fructusque require
quos tulit antiquo condita messis avo:
parva seges satis est, satis est requiescere lecto
si licet et solito membra levare toro.
I do not seek the wealth of my fathers and the fruits
Which their stored harvest yielded to an ancient ancestor.
A small crop is enough; it is enough to rest on a bed
If I may, and to relieve my limbs on the familiar couch.
quam iuvat immites ventos audire cubantem
et dominam tenero continuisse sinu!
aut, gelidas hibernus aquas cum fuderit Auster,
securum somnos igne iuvante sequi!
How it is a delight to listen to the harsh winds lying in bed
And to have held my mistress tight in my tender breast.
Or whenever the wintry South Wind pours forth its icy waters,
Free of care to seek sleep with the helping fire.
hoc mihi contingat: sit dives iure furorem
qui maris et tristes ferre potest pluvias.
o quantum est auri pereat potiusque smaragdi,
quam fleat ob nostras ulla puella vias.
May this happen to me: let him be rightly rich,
Who is able to endure the sea’s fury and the sad rains.
Oh, however much of gold and emeralds there is, may it perish rather
Than any girl may weep for our travels.
te bellare decet terra, Messalla, marique,
ut domus hostiles praeferat exuvias:
me retinent vinctum formosae vincla puellae,
et sedeo duras ianitor ante fores.
It is right for you to wage war by land, oh Messalla, and by sea,
So that your home may exhibit the spoils of the enemy.
The chains of a beautiful girl hold me bound,
And I sit as a doorkeeper before the stern doors.
non ego laudari curo, mea Delia; tecum
dum modo sim, quaeso segnis inersque vocer.
te spectem, suprema mihi cum venerit hora,
te tenam moriens deficiente manu.
I do not want to be praised, my Delia; provided that
I am with you, I ask that I may be named slow and lazy.
May I look at you, whenever the last hour comes to me,
May I hold you, while dying, with a failing hand.
