Complete works of lucan, p.109
Complete Works of Lucan, page 109
Cappadocum montana cohors et largus habenae 225
Ponticus ibat eques. sicci sed plurima campi
tetrarchae regesque tenent magnique tyranni
atque omnis Latio quae seruit purpura ferro.
illuc et Libye Numidas et Creta Cydonas
misit, Ityraeis cursus fuit inde sagittis, 230
inde, truces Galli, solitum prodistis in hostem,
illic pugnaces commouit Hiberia caetras.
eripe uictori gentis et sanguine mundi
fuso, Magne, semel totos consume triumphos.
When the soldiers came down, lighted up by the sunbeams facing them, the glitter of their arms flooded all the hills. They were not launched at random upon the plain: the doomed army was stationed according to a definite plan. Lentulus had charge of the left wing with two legions — the first, which was then the most fit for war, and the fourth; the right wing of the host was entrusted to Domitius, that brave but ill-starred warrior. The main strength of the centre was in the close ranks of brave men whom Scipio, their general, had brought from Cilicia; here he was but a combatant but was yet to hold the chief command in Africa. Then by the channel of the Enipeus and the pools of its overflow rode the horsemen of the Cappadocian hills and the riders of Pontus with loose reins. Of the dry ground most was occupied by the tetrarchs and kings and mighty potentates, and all wearers of the purple who bow before the Roman steel. Thither Libya sent Numidians, and Crete her Cydonians; from there the arrows of the Ituraeans took their flight; from there the fierce Gauls went forth against their familiar foe; and there the Spaniards brandished their shields for battle. Let Magnus rob the conqueror of the subject peoples and use up on one day all the means of future triumphs by shedding the blood of all mankind!
illo forte die Caesar statione relicta 235
ad segetum raptus moturus signa repente
conspicit in planos hostem descendere campos,
oblatumque uidet uotis sibi mille petitum
tempus, in extremos quo mitteret omnia casus.
aeger quippe morae flagransque cupidine regni 240
coeperat exiguo tractu ciuilia bella
ut lentum damnare nefas. discrimina postquam
aduentare ducum supremaque proelia uidit
casuram
illa quoque in ferrum rabies promptissima paulum 245
languit, et casus audax spondere secundos
mens stetit in dubio, quam nec sua fata timere
nec Magni sperare sinunt. formidine mersa
prosilit hortando melior fiducia uolgo.
‘o domitor mundi, rerum fortuna mearum, 250
miles, adest totiens optatae copia pugnae.
nil opus est uotis, iam fatum accersite ferro.
in manibus uestris, quantus sit Caesar, habetis.
haec est illa dies mihi quam Rubiconis ad undas
promissam memini, cuius spe mouimus arma, 255
in quam distulimus uetitos remeare triumphos,
[haec eadem est hodie quae pignora quaeque penates
reddat et emerito faciat uos Marte colonos]
haec, fato quae teste probet, quis iustius arma
sumpserit; haec acies uictum factura nocentem est. 260
si pro me patriam ferro flammisque petistis,
nunc pugnate truces gladioque exsoluite culpam:
nulla manus, belli mutato iudice, pura est.
non mihi res agitur, sed, uos ut libera sitis
turba, precor gentes ut ius habeatis in omnes. 265
ipse ego priuatae cupidus me reddere uitae
plebeiaque toga modicum conponere ciuem,
omnia dum uobis liceant, nihil esse recuso.
inuidia regnate mea. nec sanguine multo
spem mundi petitis: Grais delecta iuuentus 270
gymnasiis aderit studioque ignaua palaestrae
et uix arma ferens, aut mixtae dissona turbae
barbaries, non illa tubas, non agmine moto
clamorem latura suum. ciuilia paucae
bella manus facient: pugnae pars magna leuabit 275
his orbem populis Romanumque obteret hostem.
ite per ignauas gentes famosaque regna
et primo ferri motu prosternite mundum;
sitque palam, quas tot duxit Pompeius in urbem
curribus, unius gentes non esse triumphi. 280
Armeniosne mouet Romana potentia cuius
sit ducis, aut emptum minimo uolt sanguine quisquam
barbarus Hesperiis Magnum praeponere rebus?
Romanos odere omnes, dominosque grauantur,
quos nouere, magis. sed me fortuna meorum 285
commisit manibus, quarum me Gallia testem
tot fecit bellis. cuius non militis ensem
agnoscam? caelumque tremens cum lancea transit
dicere non fallar quo sit uibrata lacerto.
quod si, signa ducem numquam fallentia uestrum, 290
conspicio faciesque truces oculosque minaces,
uicistis. uideor fluuios spectare cruoris
calcatosque simul reges sparsumque senatus
corpus et inmensa populos in caede natantis.
sed mea fata moror, qui uos in tela furentis 295
uocibus his teneo. ueniam date bella trahenti:
spe trepido; haud umquam uidi tam magna daturos
tam prope me superos; camporum limite paruo
absumus a uotis. ego sum cui Marte peracto
quae populi regesque tenent donare licebit. 300
quone poli motu, quo caeli sidere uerso
Thessalicae tantum, superi, permittitis orae?
aut merces hodie bellorum aut poena parata.
Caesareas spectate cruces, spectate catenas,
et caput hoc positum rostris effusaque membra 305
Saeptorumque nefas et clausi proelia Campi.
cum duce Sullano gerimus ciuilia bella.
uestri cura mouet; nam me secura manebit
sors quaesita manu: fodientem uiscera cernet
me mea qui nondum uicto respexerit hoste. 310
di, quorum curas abduxit ab aethere tellus
Romanusque labor, uincat quicumque necesse
non putat in uictos saeuum destringere ferrum
quique suos ciues, quod signa aduersa tulerunt,
non credit fecisse nefas. Pompeius in arto 315
agmina uestra loco uetita uirtute moueri
cum tenuit, quanto satiauit sanguine ferrum!
uos tamen hoc oro, iuuenes, ne caedere quisquam
hostis terga uelit: ciuis qui fugerit esto.
sed, dum tela micant, non uos pietatis imago 320
ulla nec aduersa conspecti fronte parentes
commoueant; uoltus gladio turbate uerendos.
siue quis infesto cognata in pectora ferro
ibit, seu nullum uiolarit uolnere pignus,
ignoti iugulum tamquam scelus inputet hostis. 325
sternite iam uallum fossasque inplete ruina,
exeat ut plenis acies non sparsa maniplis.
parcite ne castris: uallo tendetis in illo
unde acies peritura uenit.’ uix cuncta locuto
Caesare quemque suum munus trahit, armaque raptim 330
sumpta Ceresque uiris. capiunt praesagia belli
calcatisque ruunt castris; stant ordine nullo,
arte ducis nulla, permittuntque omnia fatis.
si totidem Magni soceros totidemque petentis
urbis regna suae funesto in Marte locasses, 335
non tam praecipiti ruerent in proelia cursu.
It happened on that day that Caesar had left his position, and was about to march his men to plunder the cornfields, when suddenly he saw his enemy come down to the level plains. Before him lay the opportunity he had prayed for a thousand times — the opportunity of staking all his fortunes on a final cast. For sick of delay and burning with desire for a regal throne, he had begun to loathe the short space of the civil war as a crime which took too long in the doing. But when he saw that the ordeal of the rivals and the decisive battle was drawing near, and when he perceived that the crash which fate must bring was nodding to its fall, even that wild desire for instant slaughter waxed faint for a time; his heart, ever ready to vouch for victory, hesitated now: how was fear possible, when he viewed his own career? how was hope, when he thought of Pompey’s? Fear sank down, and boldness sprang forth — a better means for inspiriting his men: “Soldiers, who have conquered the world, and on whom my destiny depends, behold the chance of battle you have so often prayed for. Prayer is no longer needed; with your swords you must now summon fate. The greatness of Caesar is yours to determine. That day has come, which, as I remember, you promised me by the waters of the Rubicon, the day which encouraged us to take up arms, the day to which we postponed the triumphant return denied us; and this day must decide, on the evidence of destiny, which of the two combatants had justice on his side: this battle will pronounce the guilt of him who loses it. If in defence of me you have attacked your native land with fire and sword, fight fiercely to-day and use your swords to clear your guilt. Not one of you has guiltless hands, if I be no longer the judge of war. It is not my fortunes that are at stake: my prayer is for you — that you, for your freedom’s sake, may bear rule over all nations. My own desire is to return to private life, to wear the people’s dress, and to play the part of an ordinary citizen; but provided you are all-powerful, I am willing to accept any position; yours be the kingly power, mine the discredit! Nor will the world you hope to win cost you much bloodshed: you will meet an army enlisted from the training-schools of Greece, enfeebled by the practice of the wrestling-ground, and scarce able to carry the weight of their arms; or else barbarians with disordered ranks and discordant tongues, who will not endure the sound of the trumpet or even the noise of their own march. Few of you will lift their hands against Romans: most of the fighting will rid the world of inferior races and crush underfoot the enemies of Rome. Make your way through these cowardly nations and kingdoms of evil fame; lay a whole world low with the first stroke of the steel; reveal to all that the peoples who so often followed Pompey’s triumphal car to Rome are not material enough for even a single triumph. Do the Armenians care which among rivals has power at Rome? Or would any barbarian give a drop of his blood in order to set Magnus over Italy? They hate all Romans and resent their domination; but they hate most the Romans they know. But me Fortune has entrusted to the hands of my own soldiers; and full many a war in Gaul made me the witness of their prowess. I shall know again the sword of every fighter; and when the lance flies quivering through the sky, I shall make no mistake in naming the arm that hurled it. But if I see those tokens that never play your leader false — fierce countenances and threatening eyes — then victory is yours. Methinks I see rivers of blood, kings trodden under foot together, mangled bodies of senators, and whole nations weltering in unlimited carnage. But I delay the course of my destiny, when these words of mine detain you — you who are frantic for the fray. Pardon me for putting off the battle; my hopes unsettle me; never have I seen the gods so near me and ready to give so much; only a little strip of land divides us from all we pray for. I am the man, who, when the fighting is over, will have power to give away all that now belongs to nations and kings. What shift has taken place in the sky, what star in heaven has suffered change, that the gods grant such a privilege to Thessaly? To-day either the reward or the penalty of war is before us. Picture to yourselves the cross and the chains in store for Caesar, my head stuck upon the Rostrum and my limbs unburied; think of the crime of the Saepta and the battle fought in the enclosed Campus: the general, against whom we carry on civil war, is Sulla’s pupil. My anxiety is for you; I — shall win safety for myself by suicide; if any man looks back before the foe is beaten, he will see me stabbing my own vitals. Ye gods, whose attention has been drawn away from heaven by the agony of Rome on earth, give victory to him who does not feel bound to draw the ruthless sword against beaten men, and does not believe that his fellow citizens committed a crime by fighting against him. When Pompey held fast your ranks in a narrow space where your valour had no power to move, he glutted his sword with rivers of blood. But this is my prayer to you, soldiers: none of you must smite a foe in the back, and every fugitive must pass for a countryman. But while their weapons glitter, no thought of natural affection, no sight of your sires in the front rank of the foe, must weaken your purpose; mangle with the sword the faces that demand reverence. If any man smite the breast of a kinsman with ruthless steel, let him claim credit for his crime; or, if his blow does violence to no tie of kinship, still let him claim credit for the death of an unknown foe, as if it were a crime. Level the rampart without delay and fill up the trench with the wreckage, that the army may pass out with full ranks and in solid formation. Be not careful of your camp; you will find quarters behind the rampart from which the doomed army is coming.” Almost before Caesar had ceased to speak, each went to his appointed task; in haste they armed and took food. Accepting the omen of victory, they tread down the fortifications and rush on, with no ordered ranks, no tactics on their leader’s part; they leave all to destiny. Had each man drawn up on the fatal field been the kinsman of Magnus, and each been ambitious to reign over his country, they could not have rushed with such headlong speed to the fray.
uidit ut hostiles in rectum exire cateruas
Pompeius nullasque moras permittere bello
sed superis placuisse diem, stat corde gelato
attonitus; tantoque duci sic arma timere 340
omen erat. premit inde metus, totumque per agmen
sublimi praeuectus equo ‘quem flagitat’ inquit
‘uestra diem uirtus, finis ciuilibus armis,
quem quaesistis, adest. totas effundite uires:
extremum ferri superest opus, unaque gentis 345
hora trahit. quisquis patriam carosque penates,
qui subolem ac thalamos desertaque pignora quaerit,
ense petat: medio posuit deus omnia campo.
causa iubet melior superos sperare secundos:
ipsi tela regent per uiscera Caesaris, ipsi 350
Romanas sancire uolent hoc sanguine leges.
si socero dare regna meo mundumque pararent,
praecipitare meam fatis potuere senectam:
non iratorum populis urbique deorum est
Pompeium seruare ducem. quae uincere possent 355
omnia contulimus. subiere pericula clari
sponte uiri sacraque antiquus imagine miles.
si Curios his fata darent reducesque Camillos
temporibus Deciosque caput fatale uouentis,
hinc starent. primo gentes oriente coactae 360
innumeraeque urbes, quantas in proelia numquam,
exciuere manus. toto simul utimur orbe.
quidquid signiferi conprensum limite caeli
sub Noton et Borean hominum sumus, arma mouemus.
nonne superfusis collectum cornibus hostem 365
in medium dabimus? paucas uictoria dextras
exigit, at plures tantum clamore cateruae
bella gerent: Caesar nostris non sufficit armis.
credite pendentes e summis moenibus urbis
crinibus effusis hortari in proelia matres; 370
credite grandaeuum uetitumque aetate senatum
arma sequi sacros pedibus prosternere canos
atque ipsam domini metuentem occurrere Romam;
credite qui nunc est populus populumque futurum
permixtas adferre preces: haec libera nasci, 375
haec uolt turba mori. siquis post pignora tanta
Pompeio locus est, cum prole et coniuge supplex,
imperii salua si maiestate liceret,
uoluerer ante pedes. Magnus, nisi uincitis, exul,
ludibrium soceri, uester pudor, ultima fata 380
deprecor ac turpes extremi cardinis annos,
ne discam seruire senex.’ tam maesta locuti
uoce ducis flagrant animi, Romanaque uirtus
erigitur, placuitque mori, si uera timeret.
When Pompey saw the hostile army sally forth directly opposite him, to force on a battle without delay, and realised that this was the day fixed by Heaven, he stood appalled with frozen blood; and to so great a general it was an evil omen that he should thus dread a conflict. But soon he suppressed his fears and rode all along the line on his tall warhorse. “Behold the day,” he said, “which your courage demands; behold the welcome end of the civil war. Put forth your whole strength; there remains but one last effort of arms; a single hour is dragging all nations into conflict. If any man yearns for his country and loved home, for wife and children and dear ones left behind, he must strike to gain them: Heaven has set all the prizes in the open field. Our better cause bids us expect the favour of the gods: they themselves will guide our weapons through Caesar’s heart, they themselves will wish to ratify the Roman constitution by his blood. If they intended to give my kinsman rule over the world, it was in their power to hurry this grey head into the grave; and, since they have preserved my life to command the army, surely they are not wrath with the nations ‘ and with Rome. We have brought together all that could make victory secure. Famous men have volunteered to face the danger; and our army has the august aspect of past times. A Curius and a Camillus, and the Decii who devoted their lives to death, if destiny restored them to our age and brought them back to earth, would stand on our side. The nations of the far East and countless cities have gathered together, and summoned to battle such hordes as were never seen before; the whole world is at our disposal at one time. Our force includes every man, up to the verge of South and North, who lives enclosed within the bound of the Zodiac. Shall we not shut in the whole hostile army, outflanking them with our wings? Victory requires but a handful of combatants: shouting is the only service that most of our squadrons will perform: Caesar’s force is too small for ours to deal with. Imagine that the matrons of Rome are hanging over the topmost walls of the city with dishevelled hair, and urging you to battle; imagine that aged senators, whose years prevent them from following the camp, lay at your feet their venerable grey hairs, and that Rome herself, in her fear of a master, comes to meet you. Imagine that both generations, the present and the future, address their joint entreaties to you: the one would fain be born, and the other die, in freedom. If after such solemn appeals there is room for my own name, then, together with my wife and sons, on my knees I would grovel at your feet, if I could do it without sullying the dignity of my command. Unless you conquer, I, Magnus, am an exile, scorned by my kinsman and a disgrace to you, and I pray to escape that utmost misery — shame in the closing years of life, and learning in old age to bear the yoke.” Thus mournful was his speech; and his voice kindled their courage till Roman valour rose high; and they resolved to die, if his fears proved true.
