章节正文
Sent forth its denizens; on every tree
Dripped from their crimsoned beaks a gory dew.
Oft on the conquerors and their impious arms
Or purple rain of blood, or mouldering flesh
Fell from the lofty heaven; or limbs of men
From weary talons dropped. Yet even so
The peoples passed not all into the maw
Of ravening beast or fowl; the inmost flesh
Scarce did they touch, nor limbs -- thus lay the dead
Scorned by the spoiler; and the Roman host
By sun and length of days, and rain from heaven,
At length was mingled with Emathia's plain.
Ill-starred Thessalia! By what hateful crime
Didst thou offend that thus on thee alone
Was laid such carnage? By what length of years
Shalt thou be cleansed from the curse of war?
When shall the harvest of thy fields arise
Free from their purple stain? And when the share
Cease to upturn the slaughtered hosts of Rome?
First shall the battle onset sound again,
Again shall flow upon thy fated earth
A crimsontorrent. Thus may be o'erthrown
Our sires' memorials; those erected last,
Or those which pierced by ancient roots have spread
Through broken stones their sacred urns abroad.
Thus shall the ploughman of Haemonia gaze
On more abundant ashes, and the rake
Pass o'er more frequent bones. Wert, Thracia, thou.
Our only battlefield, no sailor's hand
Upon thy shore should make his cable fast;
No spade should turn, the husbandman should flee
Thy fields, the resting-place of Roman dead;
No lowing kine should graze, nor shepherd dare
To leave his fleecycharge to browse at will
On fields made fertile by our mouldering dust;
All bare and unexplored thy soil should lie,
As past man's footsteps, parched by cruel suns,
Or palled by snows unmelting! But, ye gods,
Give us to hate the lands which bear the guilt;
Let not all earth be cursed, though not all
Be blameless found.
'Twas thus that Munda's fight
And blood of Mutina, and Leucas' cape,
And sad Pachynus, (30) made Philippi pure.
ENDNOTES:
(1) "It is, methinks, a morning full of fate!
It riseth slowly, as her sullen car
Had all the weight of sleep and death hung at it!"
...
And her sick head is bound about with clouds
As if she threatened night ere noon of day."
-- Ben Jonson, "Catiline", i., 1.
(2) See Book VI., 577.
(3) As to the sun finding fuel in the clouds, see Book I., line
471.
(4) Pompeius triumphed first in 81 B.C. for his victories in
Sicily and Africa, at the age of twenty-four. Sulla at
first objected, but finally yielded and said, "Let him
triumph then in God's name." The triumph for the defeat of
Sertorius was not till 71 B.C., in which year Pompeius was
elected Consul along with Crassus. (Compare Book IX., 709.)
(5) These two lines are taken from Ben Jonson's "Catiline", act
v., scene 6.
(6) The volcanic district of Campania, scene of the fabled
battle of the giants. (See Book IV., 666.)
(7) Henceforth to be the standards of the Emperor.
(8) A lake at the foot of Mount Ossa. Pindus, Ossa, Olympus,
and, above all, Haemus (the Balkans) were at a long distance
from Pharsalia. Comp. Book VI., 677.
(9) Gades (Cadiz) is stated to have been founded by the
Phoenicians about 1000 B.C.
(10) This alludes to the story told by Plutarch ("Caesar", 47)
that, at Patavium, Caius Cornelius, a man reputed for skill
in divination, and a friend of Livy the historian, was
sitting to watch the birds that day. "And first of all (as
Livius says) he discovered the time of the battle, and he
said to those present that the affair was now deciding and
the men were going into action. Looking again, and
observing the signs, he sprang up with enthusiasm and called
out, `You conquer, Caesar.'" (Long's translation.)
(11) The Fontes Aponi were warm springs near Padua. An altar,
inscribed to Apollo Aponus, was found at Ribchester, and is
now at St. John's College, Cambridge. (Wright, "Celt, Roman,
and Saxon", p. 320.)
(12) See Book I., 411, and following lines.
(13) For the contempt here expressed for the Greek gymnastic
schools, see also Tacitus, "Annals", 14, 21. It is well
known that Nero instituted games called Neronia which were
borrowed from the Greeks; and that many of the Roman
citizens despised them as foreign and profligate. Merivale,
chapter liii., cites this passage.
(14) Thus paraphrased by Dean Stanley:
"I tremble not with terror, but with hope,
As the great day reveals its coming scope;
Never in earlier days, our hearts to cheer,
Have such bright gifts of Heaven been brought so near,
Nor ever has been kept the aspiring soul
By space so narrow from so grand a goal."
Inaugural address at St. Andrews. 1873, on the "Study of
Greatness".
(15) That such were Caesar's orders is also attested by Appian.
(16) See Book V., 463.
(17) That is, marked out the new colony with a plough-share.
This was regarded as a religious ceremony, and therefore
performed by the Consul with his toga worn in ancient
fashion.
(18) "Hath Jove no thunder?" -- Ben Jonson, "Catiline", iii., 2.
(19) Compare Book I., line 600.
(20) This act of Crastinus is recorded by Plutarch ("Pompeius",
71), and by Caesar, "Civil War", Book III., 91. Caesar
called him by name and said: "Well, Crastinus, shall we win
today?" "We shall win with glory, Caesar," he replied in a
loud voice, "and to-day you will praise me, living or dead."
-- Durny, "History of Rome", vol. iii., 312. He was placed
in a special tomb after the battle.
(21) See on line 203.
(22) That is, lashes on his team terrified by the Gorgon shield
in the ranks of the enemy.
(23) Plutarch states that Brutus after the battle escaped and
made his way to Larissa, whence he wrote to Caesar. Caesar,
pleased that he was alive, asked him to come to him; and it
was on Brutus' opinion that Caesar determined to hurry to
Egypt as the most probablerefuge of Pompeius. Caesar
entrusted Brutus with the command of Cisalpine Gaul when he
was in Africa.
(24) "He perished, after a career of furious partisanship,
disgraced with cruelty and treachery, on the field of
Pharsalia" (Merivale, "Hist. Romans under the Empire",
chapter lii.). Unless this man had been an ancestor of Nero
it is impossible to suppose that Lucan would have thus
singled him out. But he appears to have been the only
leader who fell. (Compare Book II, lines 534-590, for his
conduct at Corfinium.)
(25) This appears to be the only possible meaning of the text.
But in truth, although Cornelia was not by her husband's
side at his murder, she was present at the scene.
(26) See Book VI., 420.
(27) The whole of this passage is foreign to Caesar's character,
and unfounded in fact. Pompeians perished on the field, and
were taken prisoners. When Caesar passed over the field he
is recorded to have said in pity, "They would have it so;
after all my exploits I should have been condemned to death
had I not thrown myself upon the protection of my soldiers."
-- Plutarch, "Caesar"; Durny, "History of Rome", vol. iii.,
p. 311.
(28) Alluding to the general conflagration in which (by the Stoic
doctrines) all the universe would one day perish.
(29) Wrongly supposed by Lucan to feed on carrion.
(30) Alluding to the naval war waged by Sextus Pompeius after
Caesar's death. He took possession of Sicily, and had
command of the seas, but was ultimately defeated by the
fleet of Octavius under Agrippa in B.C. 36. Pachynus was
the S.E. promontory of the island, but is used in the sense
of Sicily, for this battle took place on the north coast.
BOOK VIII
DEATH OF POMPEIUS.
Now through Alcides'(1) pass and Tempe's groves
Pompeius, aiming for Haemonian glens
And forests lone, urged on his wearied steed
Scarce heeding now the spur; by devious tracks
Seeking to veil the footsteps of his flight:
The rustle of the foliage, and the noise
Of following comrades filled his anxious soul
With terrors, as he fancied at his side
Some ambushed enemy. Fallen from the height
Of former fortunes, still the chieftain knew
His life not worthless; mindful of the fates:
And 'gainst the price he set on Caesar's head,
He measures Caesar's value of his own.
Yet, as he rode, the features of the chief
Made known his ruin. Many as they sought
The camp Pharsalian, ere yet was spread
News of the battle, met the chief, amazed,
And wondered at the whirl of human things:
Nor held disaster sure, though Magnus' self
Told of his ruin. Every witness seen
Brought peril on his flight: 'twere better far
Safe in a name obscure, through all the world
To wander; but his ancient fame forbad.
Too long had great Pompeius from the height
Of human greatness, envied of mankind,
Looked on all others; nor for him henceforth
Could life be lowly. The honours of his youth
Too early thrust upon him, and the deeds
Which brought him triumph in the Sullan days,
His conquering navy and the Pontic war,
Made heavier now the burden of defeat,
And crushed his pondering soul. So length of days
Drags down the haughty spirit, and life prolonged
When power has perished. Fortune's latest hour,
Be the last hour of life! Nor let the wretch
Live on disgraced by memories of fame!
But for the boon of death, who'd dare the sea
Of prosperous chance?
Upon the ocean marge
By red Peneus blushing from the fray,
Borne in a sloop, to lightest wind and wave
Scarce equal, he, whose countless oars yet smote
Upon Coreyra's isle and Leucas point,
Lord of Cilicia and Liburnian lands,
Crept trembling to the sea. He bids them steer
Dripped from their crimsoned beaks a gory dew.
Oft on the conquerors and their impious arms
Or purple rain of blood, or mouldering flesh
Fell from the lofty heaven; or limbs of men
From weary talons dropped. Yet even so
The peoples passed not all into the maw
Of ravening beast or fowl; the inmost flesh
Scarce did they touch, nor limbs -- thus lay the dead
Scorned by the spoiler; and the Roman host
By sun and length of days, and rain from heaven,
At length was mingled with Emathia's plain.
Ill-starred Thessalia! By what hateful crime
Didst thou offend that thus on thee alone
Was laid such carnage? By what length of years
Shalt thou be cleansed from the curse of war?
When shall the harvest of thy fields arise
Free from their purple stain? And when the share
Cease to upturn the slaughtered hosts of Rome?
First shall the battle onset sound again,
Again shall flow upon thy fated earth
A crimsontorrent. Thus may be o'erthrown
Our sires' memorials; those erected last,
Or those which pierced by ancient roots have spread
Through broken stones their sacred urns abroad.
Thus shall the ploughman of Haemonia gaze
On more abundant ashes, and the rake
Pass o'er more frequent bones. Wert, Thracia, thou.
Our only battlefield, no sailor's hand
Upon thy shore should make his cable fast;
No spade should turn, the husbandman should flee
Thy fields, the resting-place of Roman dead;
No lowing kine should graze, nor shepherd dare
To leave his fleecycharge to browse at will
On fields made fertile by our mouldering dust;
All bare and unexplored thy soil should lie,
As past man's footsteps, parched by cruel suns,
Or palled by snows unmelting! But, ye gods,
Give us to hate the lands which bear the guilt;
Let not all earth be cursed, though not all
Be blameless found.
'Twas thus that Munda's fight
And blood of Mutina, and Leucas' cape,
And sad Pachynus, (30) made Philippi pure.
ENDNOTES:
(1) "It is, methinks, a morning full of fate!
It riseth slowly, as her sullen car
Had all the weight of sleep and death hung at it!"
...
And her sick head is bound about with clouds
As if she threatened night ere noon of day."
-- Ben Jonson, "Catiline", i., 1.
(2) See Book VI., 577.
(3) As to the sun finding fuel in the clouds, see Book I., line
471.
(4) Pompeius triumphed first in 81 B.C. for his victories in
Sicily and Africa, at the age of twenty-four. Sulla at
first objected, but finally yielded and said, "Let him
triumph then in God's name." The triumph for the defeat of
Sertorius was not till 71 B.C., in which year Pompeius was
elected Consul along with Crassus. (Compare Book IX., 709.)
(5) These two lines are taken from Ben Jonson's "Catiline", act
v., scene 6.
(6) The volcanic district of Campania, scene of the fabled
battle of the giants. (See Book IV., 666.)
(7) Henceforth to be the standards of the Emperor.
(8) A lake at the foot of Mount Ossa. Pindus, Ossa, Olympus,
and, above all, Haemus (the Balkans) were at a long distance
from Pharsalia. Comp. Book VI., 677.
(9) Gades (Cadiz) is stated to have been founded by the
Phoenicians about 1000 B.C.
(10) This alludes to the story told by Plutarch ("Caesar", 47)
that, at Patavium, Caius Cornelius, a man reputed for skill
in divination, and a friend of Livy the historian, was
sitting to watch the birds that day. "And first of all (as
Livius says) he discovered the time of the battle, and he
said to those present that the affair was now deciding and
the men were going into action. Looking again, and
observing the signs, he sprang up with enthusiasm and called
out, `You conquer, Caesar.'" (Long's translation.)
(11) The Fontes Aponi were warm springs near Padua. An altar,
inscribed to Apollo Aponus, was found at Ribchester, and is
now at St. John's College, Cambridge. (Wright, "Celt, Roman,
and Saxon", p. 320.)
(12) See Book I., 411, and following lines.
(13) For the contempt here expressed for the Greek gymnastic
schools, see also Tacitus, "Annals", 14, 21. It is well
known that Nero instituted games called Neronia which were
borrowed from the Greeks; and that many of the Roman
citizens despised them as foreign and profligate. Merivale,
chapter liii., cites this passage.
(14) Thus paraphrased by Dean Stanley:
"I tremble not with terror, but with hope,
As the great day reveals its coming scope;
Never in earlier days, our hearts to cheer,
Have such bright gifts of Heaven been brought so near,
Nor ever has been kept the aspiring soul
By space so narrow from so grand a goal."
Inaugural address at St. Andrews. 1873, on the "Study of
Greatness".
(15) That such were Caesar's orders is also attested by Appian.
(16) See Book V., 463.
(17) That is, marked out the new colony with a plough-share.
This was regarded as a religious ceremony, and therefore
performed by the Consul with his toga worn in ancient
fashion.
(18) "Hath Jove no thunder?" -- Ben Jonson, "Catiline", iii., 2.
(19) Compare Book I., line 600.
(20) This act of Crastinus is recorded by Plutarch ("Pompeius",
71), and by Caesar, "Civil War", Book III., 91. Caesar
called him by name and said: "Well, Crastinus, shall we win
today?" "We shall win with glory, Caesar," he replied in a
loud voice, "and to-day you will praise me, living or dead."
-- Durny, "History of Rome", vol. iii., 312. He was placed
in a special tomb after the battle.
(21) See on line 203.
(22) That is, lashes on his team terrified by the Gorgon shield
in the ranks of the enemy.
(23) Plutarch states that Brutus after the battle escaped and
made his way to Larissa, whence he wrote to Caesar. Caesar,
pleased that he was alive, asked him to come to him; and it
was on Brutus' opinion that Caesar determined to hurry to
Egypt as the most probablerefuge of Pompeius. Caesar
entrusted Brutus with the command of Cisalpine Gaul when he
was in Africa.
(24) "He perished, after a career of furious partisanship,
disgraced with cruelty and treachery, on the field of
Pharsalia" (Merivale, "Hist. Romans under the Empire",
chapter lii.). Unless this man had been an ancestor of Nero
it is impossible to suppose that Lucan would have thus
singled him out. But he appears to have been the only
leader who fell. (Compare Book II, lines 534-590, for his
conduct at Corfinium.)
(25) This appears to be the only possible meaning of the text.
But in truth, although Cornelia was not by her husband's
side at his murder, she was present at the scene.
(26) See Book VI., 420.
(27) The whole of this passage is foreign to Caesar's character,
and unfounded in fact. Pompeians perished on the field, and
were taken prisoners. When Caesar passed over the field he
is recorded to have said in pity, "They would have it so;
after all my exploits I should have been condemned to death
had I not thrown myself upon the protection of my soldiers."
-- Plutarch, "Caesar"; Durny, "History of Rome", vol. iii.,
p. 311.
(28) Alluding to the general conflagration in which (by the Stoic
doctrines) all the universe would one day perish.
(29) Wrongly supposed by Lucan to feed on carrion.
(30) Alluding to the naval war waged by Sextus Pompeius after
Caesar's death. He took possession of Sicily, and had
command of the seas, but was ultimately defeated by the
fleet of Octavius under Agrippa in B.C. 36. Pachynus was
the S.E. promontory of the island, but is used in the sense
of Sicily, for this battle took place on the north coast.
BOOK VIII
DEATH OF POMPEIUS.
Now through Alcides'(1) pass and Tempe's groves
Pompeius, aiming for Haemonian glens
And forests lone, urged on his wearied steed
Scarce heeding now the spur; by devious tracks
Seeking to veil the footsteps of his flight:
The rustle of the foliage, and the noise
Of following comrades filled his anxious soul
With terrors, as he fancied at his side
Some ambushed enemy. Fallen from the height
Of former fortunes, still the chieftain knew
His life not worthless; mindful of the fates:
And 'gainst the price he set on Caesar's head,
He measures Caesar's value of his own.
Yet, as he rode, the features of the chief
Made known his ruin. Many as they sought
The camp Pharsalian, ere yet was spread
News of the battle, met the chief, amazed,
And wondered at the whirl of human things:
Nor held disaster sure, though Magnus' self
Told of his ruin. Every witness seen
Brought peril on his flight: 'twere better far
Safe in a name obscure, through all the world
To wander; but his ancient fame forbad.
Too long had great Pompeius from the height
Of human greatness, envied of mankind,
Looked on all others; nor for him henceforth
Could life be lowly. The honours of his youth
Too early thrust upon him, and the deeds
Which brought him triumph in the Sullan days,
His conquering navy and the Pontic war,
Made heavier now the burden of defeat,
And crushed his pondering soul. So length of days
Drags down the haughty spirit, and life prolonged
When power has perished. Fortune's latest hour,
Be the last hour of life! Nor let the wretch
Live on disgraced by memories of fame!
But for the boon of death, who'd dare the sea
Of prosperous chance?
Upon the ocean marge
By red Peneus blushing from the fray,
Borne in a sloop, to lightest wind and wave
Scarce equal, he, whose countless oars yet smote
Upon Coreyra's isle and Leucas point,
Lord of Cilicia and Liburnian lands,
Crept trembling to the sea. He bids them steer
- purple [´pə:pl]
n.紫色 a.紫(红)的 (初中英语单词) - offend [ə´fend] v.犯错误；违犯；犯罪 (初中英语单词)
- harvest [´hɑ:vist] n.&v.收获；收割 (初中英语单词)
- sacred [´seikrid] a.神圣的；庄严的 (初中英语单词)
- abundant [ə´bʌndənt] a.丰富的；充分的 (初中英语单词)
- frequent [´fri:kwənt] a.常见的，频繁的 (初中英语单词)
- shepherd [´ʃepəd] n.牧羊人 vt.带领 (初中英语单词)
- charge [tʃɑ:dʒ] v.收费；冲锋 n.费用 (初中英语单词)
- triumph [´traiəmf] n.胜利 vi.得胜，战胜 (初中英语单词)
- henceforth [´hens´fɔ:θ] ad.今后；从今以后 (初中英语单词)
- sprang [spræŋ] spring 的过去式 (初中英语单词)
- enthusiasm [in´θju:ziæzəm] n.热心；狂热；爱好 (初中英语单词)
- conquer [´kɔŋkə] v.征服；克服；抑制 (初中英语单词)
- apollo [ə´pɔləu] n.阿波罗 (初中英语单词)
- terror [´terə] n.恐怖；惊骇 (初中英语单词)
- ceremony [´seriməni] n.典礼；礼仪；客气 (初中英语单词)
- probable [´prɔbəbəl] a.大概的n.很可能的事 (初中英语单词)
- refuge [´refju:dʒ] v.&n.避难(所)；庇护 (初中英语单词)
- career [kə´riə] n.经历；生涯；职业 (初中英语单词)
- furious [´fjuəriəs] a.狂怒的；猛烈的 (初中英语单词)
- ancestor [´ænsəstə] n.祖宗，祖先 (初中英语单词)
- protection [prə´tekʃən] n.警戒；护照；通行证 (初中英语单词)
- supposed [sə´pəuzd] a.想象的；假定的 (初中英语单词)
- rustle [´rʌsl] v.&n.(使)沙沙作响 (初中英语单词)
- anxious [´æŋkʃəs] a.担忧的；渴望的 (初中英语单词)
- disaster [di´zɑ:stə] n.灾难，不幸 (初中英语单词)
- witness [´witnis] n.见证人 vt.目击 (初中英语单词)
- flight [flait] n.逃走；飞行；班机 (初中英语单词)
- wander [´wɔndə, ´wɑ:n:dər] v.徘徊；流浪 (初中英语单词)
- thrust [θrʌst] v.&n.猛推；冲；刺；挤进 (初中英语单词)
- prosperous [´prɔspərəs] a.繁荣的；顺利的 (初中英语单词)
- crimson [´krimzən] a.&n.深(紫)红(的) (高中英语单词)
- torrent [´tɔrənt] n.奔流，激流，洪流；迸发 (高中英语单词)
- fertile [´fə:tail] a.肥沃的；有繁殖力的 (高中英语单词)
- methinks [mi´θiŋks] vi.据我看来 (高中英语单词)
- sullen [´sʌlən] a.不高兴的 (高中英语单词)
- finding [´faindiŋ] n.发现物；判断；结果 (高中英语单词)
- consul [´kɔnsəl] n.领事；执政官 (高中英语单词)
- historian [his´tɔ:riən] n.历史学家 (高中英语单词)
- cambridge [´keimbridʒ] n.剑桥 (高中英语单词)
- contempt [kən´tempt] n.轻蔑；受辱；不顾 (高中英语单词)
- caesar [´si:zə] n.凯撒；暴君；独裁者 (高中英语单词)
- cruelty [´kru:əlti] n.残忍；残酷行为 (高中英语单词)
- treachery [´tretʃəri] n.背叛；背信弃义 (高中英语单词)
- universe [´ju:nivə:s] n.天地；全人类；银河系 (高中英语单词)
- foliage [´fəuli-idʒ] n.叶子，簇叶 (高中英语单词)
- worthless [´wə:θləs] a.无价值的 (高中英语单词)
- greatness [´greitnis] n.巨大；高尚；卓越 (高中英语单词)
- haughty [´hɔ:ti] a.傲慢的，高傲的 (高中英语单词)
- countless [´kauntlis] a.无数的 (高中英语单词)
- hateful [´heitfəl] a.可恨的，可憎的 (英语四级单词)
- volcanic [vɔl´kænik] a.(象)火山的；爆发的 (英语四级单词)
- whence [wens] ad.从何处；从那里 (英语四级单词)
- sicily [´sisili] n.西西里(岛) (英语四级单词)
- ultimately [´ʌltimitli] ad.最后，最终 (英语四级单词)
- impious [´impiəs] a.不敬的；不孝的 (英语六级单词)
- ploughman [´plaumən] n.庄稼汉 =plowman (英语六级单词)
- battlefield [´bætlfi:ld] n.战场 (英语六级单词)
- fleecy [´fli:si] a.羊毛似的 (英语六级单词)
- browse [brauz] vi.浏览 n.放牧 (英语六级单词)
- blameless [´bleimlis] a.无可责难的 (英语六级单词)
- chieftain [´tʃi:ftən] n.(强盗)首领；族长 (英语六级单词)
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