No Coan purple can to you restore, Which once by flitting time within The public rolls interred have been. Where has your beauty fled? that hue, ah! where? And grace of movement ? what have you of her, Of her who, love-inspiring, aye Could tear me from myself away? Next after Cinara gifted, was she known For graciousness of face, but fate upon My Cinara bestowed scant strip Of life, intending long to keep Our amorous youth might see to white The Latin superscription of this Ode sufficiently indicates that its real object was the praise of Augustus, to which the part taken by Tiberius, together with Drusus, in the victories over the German tribes, is made subservient. For the circumstances in which it was written, see prefatory note to Ode 4 of this Book. How shall the senate's or the people's care, Nec Coae referunt jam tibi purpurae, Inclusit volucris dies. Quae me surpuerat mihi ? Servatura diu parem Dilapsam in cineres facem. XIV. AD AUGUSTUM. QUAE cura patrum, quaeve Quiritium, Per titulos memoresque fastos U How far thy martial prowess may attain Learnt the Vindelici, from Latian thrall As yet exempt, when latterly amain, Drusus, thine armament imperial Conducting, overthrew once and again The Brenni fleet, Gerauni, restless race, And castles crowning frightful Alpine heights. Anon, inspired by thine auspicious grace, The elder Nero a great battle fights, And to the restless Rhaetians gives chase. Splendid, in sooth, to witness how he smites Those cheerful devotees of liberty With dire destruction on the embattled plain. As lashes the south wind the tameless sea When clouds are cleft by Pleiads' choral chain, So prompt to charge the banded foe is he: So through the fiery conflict spurs amain His eager steeds. Thus ox-shaped Aufid whirls (Stream, that the realm of Puglian Daunus laves), As o'er the cultivated fields he hurls The fearful deluge of his rabid waves. When the mailed bands of those barbarian churls Claudius with his impetuous onslaught cleaves, And mowing van and rear, yet losing none On his own side, with corpses strews the ground, Thou troops and counsels lendest, thou thine own Tutelar gods. For when three lustres round Had fully run from the same day whereon Submissive Alexandria was found Opening to thee her ports and palace lone, Quem legis expertes Latinae Vindelici didicere nuper Quid Marte posses. Milite nam tuo Drusus Genaunos, implacidum genus, Brennosque veloces, et arces Alpibus impositas tremendis Dejecit acer plus vice simplici. Major Neronum mox grave proelium Commisit, immanesque Raetos Auspiciis pepulit secundis : Spectandus in certamine Martio, Devota morti pectora liberae Quantis fatigaret ruinis: Indomitas prope qualis undas Exercet Auster, Pleïadum choro Scindente nubes, impiger hostium Vexare turmas, et frementem Mittere equum medios per ignes. Diluviem meditatur agris. Stravit humum sine clade victor; Te copias te consilium, et tuos Praebente divos. Nam tibi quo die Portus Alexandrea supplex Et vacuam patefecit aulam, Kind fortune gave thy wars a prosperous end, An appropriate epilogue to the Fourth Book, which is supposed to have been compiled and published by desire of Augustus, mainly for the purpose of giving to the world the Odes celebrating the victories of Drusus and Tiberius, and which, on that supposition, could not conclude better than with an address to the Emperor himself recounting the series of successes whereby he had conferred upon the people the blessings of universal peace. Fain had I sung of fights and cities ta’en, Lest my frail bark should take its way |