Ecl. 4.1Sicelidēs Mūsae, paulō maiōra canāmus!Sicilian Muses, let us sing of somewhat greater things! Ecl. 4.2Nōn omnīs arbusta iuvant humilēsque myrīcae;Not everyone delights in orchards and lowly tamarisks; Ecl. 4.3sī canimus silvās, silvae sint cōnsule dignae.if we sing of woods, let the woods be worthy of a consul. Ecl. 4.4Ultima Cūmaeī vēnit iam carminis aetās;Now has come the last age of the Cumaean song; Ecl. 4.5magnus ab integrō saeclōrum nāscitur ōrdō:
iam redit et Virgō, redeunt Sāturnia regna;the great order of the ages is born anew: now the Maiden returns, the reign of Saturn returns; Ecl. 4.7iam nova prōgeniēs caelō dēmittitur altō.now a new generation is sent down from high heaven. Ecl. 4.8Tū modo nāscentī puerō, quō ferrea prīmum
dēsinet ac tōtō surget gēns aurea mundō,
10casta favē Lūcīna: tuus iam regnat Apollo.Only do you, chaste Lucina, favour the boy now being born, under whom the iron race will first cease and a golden race arise throughout the world: now your own Apollo reigns. Ecl. 4.11Tēque adeō decus hoc aevī tē cōnsule inībit,
Polliō, et incipient magnī prōcēdere mēnsēs.And it is in your consulship, yours, Pollio, that this glory of the age will begin, and the great months start on their march.
Ecl. 4.13tē duce, sī qua manent sceleris vestīgia nostrī,
inrīta perpetuā solvent formīdine terrās.under your leadership, any traces of our crime that remain will be made void and free the lands from perpetual fear. Ecl. 4.15ille deum vītam accipiet, dīvīsque vidēbit
permixtōs hērōas, et ipse vidēbitur illīs,
pācātumque reget patriīs virtūtibus orbem.He will receive the life of the gods, and will see heroes mingled with gods, and will himself be seen by them, and will rule a world at peace with his father's virtues. Ecl. 4.18At tibi prīma, puer, nūllō mūnuscula cultū
errantīs hederās passim cum baccare tellūs
20mīxtaque rīdentī colocāsia fundet acanthō.But for you, boy, as her first little gifts, the earth, untilled, will pour out everywhere straying ivy with baccar, and Egyptian beans mingled with smiling acanthus. Ecl. 4.21Ipsae lacte domum referent distenta capellae
ūbera, nec magnōs metuent armenta leōnēs;Of their own accord the she-goats will bring home udders swollen with milk, and the herds will not fear great lions; Ecl. 4.23ipsa tibi blandōs fundent cūnābula flōrēs,
occīdet et serpēns, et fallāx herba venēnī
25occīdet, Assyrium volgō nāscētur amōmum.your very cradle will pour out caressing flowers for you; the serpent too will die, and the treacherous poison-plant will die; Assyrian spice will spring up everywhere.
Ecl. 4.26at simul hērōum laudēs et facta parentis
iam legere et quae sit poteris cognōscere virtūs,
mollī paulātim flāvēscet campus aristā,
incultīsque rubēns pendēbit sentibus ūva,
30et dūrae quercūs sūdābunt rōscida mella
Pauca tamen suberunt prīscae vestīgia fraudis,
quae temptāre Thetim ratibus, quae cingere mūrīs
oppida, quae iubeant tellūrī īnfindere sulcōs:
alter erit tum Tīphys, et altera quae vehat Argō
35dēlēctōs Hērōas;But as soon as you are able to read of the praises of heroes and your father's deeds, and to know what virtue is, the plain will slowly grow golden with the soft ear of corn, the reddening grape will hang from untended brambles, and hard oaks will sweat dewy honey. Yet a few traces of the old wickedness will lurk beneath, to bid men tempt Thetis with ships, gird towns with walls, and cut furrows in the earth: then there will be a second Tiphys, and a second Argo to carry chosen heroes; Ecl. 4.35erunt etiam altera bella,
atque iterum ad Troiam magnus mittētur Achillēs.there will be other wars too, and great Achilles will be sent to Troy once more.
Ecl. 4.37Hinc, ubi iam firmāta virum tē fēcerit aetās,
cēdet et ipse marī vector, nec nautica pīnus
mūtābit mercēs: omnis feret omnia tellūs:
40nōn rāstrōs patiētur humus, nōn vīnea falcem;Next, when strengthening age has made you a man, the trader himself will quit the sea, and the ship of pine will not exchange wares: every land will bear everything: the soil will not suffer the hoe, nor the vineyard the pruning-hook; Ecl. 4.41rōbustus quoque iam taurīs iuga solvet arātor;the sturdy ploughman too will now loose the yoke from his bulls; Ecl. 4.42nec variōs discet mentīrī lāna colōrēs:
ipse sed in prātīs ariēs iam suāve rubentī
mūrice, iam croceō mūtābit vellera lutō;nor will wool learn to counterfeit varied colours: but the ram himself in the meadows will change his fleece, now to sweetly blushing purple, now to saffron yellow; Ecl. 4.45sponte suā sandyx pāscentīs vestiet agnōs.of its own accord scarlet will clothe the grazing lambs. Ecl. 4.46Tālia saecla, suīs dīxērunt, currite, fūsīs
concordēs stabilī fātōrum nūmine Parcae.'Run on, such ages,' said the Fates to their spindles, in harmony with the fixed will of destiny.
Ecl. 4.48Adgredere ō magnōs—aderit iam tempus—honōrēs,
cāra deum subolēs, magnum Iovis incrēmentum!Enter upon your great honours—the time will soon be here—dear offspring of the gods, great increase of Jupiter! Ecl. 4.50Aspice convexō nūtantem pondere mundum,
terrāsque tractūsque maris caelumque profundum!See the world nodding with its vaulted weight, the lands and the expanses of sea and the deep sky! Ecl. 4.52Aspice, ventūrō laetentur ut omnia saeclō!See how all things rejoice in the age to come! Ecl. 4.53Ō mihi tam longae maneat pars ultima vītae,
spīritus et quantum sat erit tua dīcere facta!O may the last part of so long a life remain to me, and as much breath as will suffice to tell your deeds! Ecl. 4.55Nōn mē carminibus vincet nec Thrācius Orpheus,
nec Linus, huic māter quamvīs atque huic pater adsit,
Orpheī Calliopēa, Linō fōrmōsus Apollo,
Pān etiam, Arcadiā mēcum sī iūdice certet,
Pān etiam Arcadiā dīcat sē iūdice victum.Neither Thracian Orpheus nor Linus will defeat me in song, though his mother stand by the one and his father by the other, Calliope by Orpheus, lovely Apollo by Linus; even Pan, if he competed with me with Arcadia as judge, even Pan would declare himself beaten with Arcadia as judge.
Ecl. 4.60Incipe, parve puer, rīsū cognōscere mātrem,
mātrī longa decem tulērunt fastīdia mēnsēs.Begin, little boy, to recognise your mother with a smile: ten months have brought your mother long discomfort. Ecl. 4.62Incipe, parve puer, cui nōn rīsēre parentēs,
nec deus hunc mēnsā, dea nec dignāta cubīlī est.Begin, little boy: one on whom his parents have not smiled, no god has thought worthy of his table, nor goddess of her bed.