Nunc humilis Saron fragranti thure vaporat,
Carmelusque suos ad coelum spirat odores!
En vox laetitiae vacuam solatur eremum '
Complanate vias, Deus, en Deus ipse, propinquat!
Vocales resonant colles, Deus, en Deus ipse!
Conclamantque Deum gaudentia saxa propinquum !
En tellus coelis convexis excipit illum
Sidite vos montes, imae consurgite valles ;
Verticibus pronis cultum vos reddite cedri !
Sint scopuli laeves, tumidique recedite fluctus !
Christus adest quem prisci omnes cecinêre Poetae :
Audiat hunc surdus, vosque illum cernite caeci !
Callosis oculos membranis ille resolvet,
Et lucem fundet vacuos in luminis orbes ;
Auribus hic solitas reddet medicamine vires,
Dulcibus et numeris surdos gaudere jubebit.
Mutus cantabit, ponet claudusque bacillum,
Et saliet laetus, salit ut lasciva capella.
Funestos gemitus, lamentaque nesciet orbis,
Atque omni vultu lacrymas siccabit amaras.
Mors adamantaeis vincetur dura catenis,
Et ferus aeternum vulnus rex sentiet Orci.
Ut teneram curam Pastor custodit amicus,
Agros exquirit virides atque aethera purum,
Amissas repetit pecudes, ducitque vagantes,
Illas luce regit, tenebrosâ nocte tuetur :
Lanigeros ovium foetus attollit in ulnis,
Atque manu pascit, calidoque in pectore mulcet ;
Sic homines studiosus alet, curâque fovebit,
Pollicitus genitor venturo temporis aevo.
Amplius haud gentes crudelia bella ciebunt,
Desistentque Duces armatas jungere dextras;
Nor fields with gleaming steel be covered o'er;
The brazen trumpet kindle rage no more;
But useless lances into scythes shall bend,
And the broad falchoin in a plow-share end.
Then palaces shall rise; the joyful son
Shall finish what his short-liv'd sire begun ;
Their vines a shadow to their race shall yield,
And the same hand that sow'd, shall reap
The swain in barren deserts with surprise
See lilies spring, and sudden verdure rise;
And starts, amidst the thirsty wilds to hear
New falls of water murmuring in his ear.
On rifted rocks, the dragon's late abodes,
The green reed trembles, and the bulrush nods.
Waste sandy valleys once perplex'd with thorn,
The spiry fir and shapely box adorn :
To leafless shrubs the flowery palms succeed,
And odorous myrtle to the noisome weed.
Nec campi horrescent virides fulgentibus armis,
Aerea nec saevas accendent cornua pugnas;
Sed vana in falces flectentur spicula curvas,
Quodque fuit gladius formam sibi sumet aratri.
Atria tunc surgent regali splendida pompâ,
Filius atque patris poterit finire laborem.
Dulcia praebebunt natis umbracula vites,
Quaeque manus sevit, manus haec quoque
Agricola attonitus desertis cernit in agris
Undique crescentes herbas et lilia laeta,
Et stupet, insuetus sonitus dum fertur ad aures
Murmure currentis, lapidoso tramite, rivi.
Rupibus in duris nuper quae tecta draconum,
Nunc viridis nutat calamus, juncusque vacillat.
Incultas valles obductas sentibus olim
Nunc abies viridans ornat buxusque decora.
Nudis succedit virgultis florea palma,
Et loca senta prius, fragrans nunc myrtus odorat.
Quamvis digressu veteris confusus amici,
Laudo tamen vacuis quod sedem figere Cumis
Destinet, atque unum civem donare Sibyllae.
Janua Baiarum est, et gratum littus amœni
Secessus. Ego vel Prochytam præpono Suburrae.
Nam quid tam miserum, et tam solum vidimus, ut non
Deterius credas horrere incendia, lapsus
Tectorum assiduos, ac mille pericula sævae
Urbis, et Augusto recitantes mense Poëtas?
Sed dum tota domus rhedâ componitur unâ,
Substitit ad veteres arcus, madidamque Capenam;
Hic ubi nocturnae Numa constituebat amicae.
Nunc sacri fontis nemus, et delubra locantur
Judaeis, quorum cophinus, fœnumque supellex.
Omnis enim populo mercedem pendere jussa est
Arbor, et ejectis mendicat silva Camoenis.
In vallem Ægeriae descendimus, et speluncas
Dissimiles veris. Quanto praestantius esset
Numen aquae, viridi si margine clauderet undas
Herba, nec ingenuum violarent marmora tophum ?
THOUGH much I grieve, to lose a friend I love,
Yet still his choice and purpose I approve,
In quiet Cumae's lone recess to live,
And one pure citizen the Sybil give.
On Baia's road is Cumae's cool retreat,
For rural pleasure, a delightful seat;
And tired with Rome, sincerely I aver,
That to her streets I'd Prochyta prefer.
For what's so vile, or wretched, as the dread
Of ruined buildings, falling on your head;
In this base town, where raging fires prevail,
And numerous dangers constantly assail;
Where scribbling poets stand in every street,
And through all August, aggravate the heat?
And now my friend, preparing to depart,
With all his wealth compressed in one small cart,
At the triumphal arch a moment waits;
Where moist Capena rears her ancient gates.
There, where great Numa and the heavenly maid
Plans for the fame of Rome, in concert laid;
But now the sacred groves and shrines retired
By banished Jews and Mendicants are hired.
Insatiate avarice soils these famed retreats,
And squalid groups usurp the Muses' seats.
Into Egeria's vale we next descend;
Through artificial grots our steps we bend.
How much more beauty would the fountain grace,
Did verdant grass, retain its ancient place,
Nor marble banks restrain a crystal tide,
Contented o'er its shining stones to glide.
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