Eclogues

Virgil

Vergil. The Poems of Vergil. Rhoades, James, translator. London: Oxford University Press, 1921.

this glorious age, O Pollio, shall begin,

and the months enter on their mighty march.

Under thy guidance, whatso tracks remain

of our old wickedness, once done away,

shall free the earth from never-ceasing fear.

He shall receive the life of gods, and see

heroes with gods commingling, and himself

be seen of them, and with his father's worth

reign o'er a world at peace. For thee, O boy,

first shall the earth, untilled, pour freely forth

her childish gifts, the gadding ivy-spray

with foxglove and Egyptian bean-flower mixed,

and laughing-eyed acanthus. Of themselves,

untended, will the she-goats then bring home

their udders swollen with milk, while flocks afield

shall of the monstrous lion have no fear.

Thy very cradle shall pour forth for thee

caressing flowers. The serpent too shall die,

die shall the treacherous poison-plant, and far

and wide Assyrian spices spring. But soon