Valle locus Clausa toto mihi nullus in orbe     gratior aut studiis aptior ora meis. Valle puer Clausa fueram, iuvenemque reversum     fovit in aprico vallis amena sinu. Valle vir in Clausa meliores dulciter annos     exegi et vitae candida fila meae. Valle senex Clausa supremum ducere tempus     et Clausa cupio, te duce, Valle mori.

No place in all the world is dearer to me or worthier of my affection than the Closed Valley. As a boy I had been in the Closed Valley, and when I returned as a youth, the lovely valley nurtured me in its ripe bosom. As a man I eked out my better years and the white threads of my life, with sweetness, in the Closed Valley. As an old man I desire to pass my last days in the Closed Valley; and in the Closed Valley, in your service, to die.

Impia iamdudum condemno silentia, quod te, o patria, insignem Baccho fluviisque virisque, moribus ingeniisque hominum procerumque senatu, non inter primas memorem, quasi conscius urbis exiguae inmeritas dubitem contingere laudes. non pudor hinc nobis; nec enim mihi barbara Rheni ora nec arctoo domus est glacialis in Haemo: BURDIGALA est natale solum; dementia caeli mitis ubi et riguae larga indulgentia terrae, ver longum brumaeque novo cum sole tepentes aestifluique amnes, quorum iuga vitea subter fervent aequoreos imitata fluenta meatus, …

You, my homeland, left till last? That unseemliness is past! Souls, wines, rivers, famous all, Wit and wisdom, City Hall... Well aware that you are small, Did I fear to overpraise? Being small is no disgrace! Not the cold barbarian Rhine, Not the arctic peaks of Thrace, No such glacial home is mine: Bordeaux is my native place. Temperate the skies and mild, Fertile lands that early smiled, Winters warmed in newborn sun, Springs full-blown, where rivers run Like the seas with foaming tides, Vineyards clinging to their sides...

O Venus regina Cnidi Paphique, sperne dilectam Cypron et vocantis ture te multo Glycerae decoram     transfer in aedem. Fervidus tecum puer et solutis Gratiae zonis properentque Nymphae et parum comis sine te Iuventas     Mercuriusque.

O Venus, you who reign in Paphos and in Cnidus, treat your beloved Cyprus     with disdain: here’s incense! Come, divine Queen! and indulge my Pretty: bring to her lovely shrine,     at a run, Cupid, your hotblood son, Nymphs, Graces soon undone, young friends aroused, the witty     God of Fun.

Aequam memento rebus in arduis servare mentem, non secus in bonis     ab insolenti temperatam     laetitia, moriture Delli, seu maestus omni tempore vixeris               seu te in remoto gramine per dies     festos reclinatum bearis     interiore nota Falerni. Quo pinus ingens albaque populus umbram hospitalem consociare amant                    ramis? Quid obliquo laborat     lympha fugax trepidare rivo? Huc vina et unguenta et nimium brevis flores amoenae ferre iube rosae,     dum res et aetas et Sororum     fila trium patiuntur atra. Cedes coemptis saltibus et domo villaque, flavus quam Tiberis lavit,     cedes, et exstructis in altum     divitiis potietur heres.    Divesne prisco natus ab Inacho nil interest an pauper et infima     de gente sub divo moreris,     victima nil miserantis Orci; omnes eodem cogimur, omnium                versatur urna serius ocius     sors exitura et nos in aeternum     exilium impositura cumbae.

Remember, keep a level mind when things get steep; and in the good times equally tone down your overweening joy: Dooley, you’re bound to die, whether you’ve been a lifelong glum, or, sprawled through merry days on grass remote, you’ve blessed your guts with glass of Mouton from the adytum. Do a pale poplar and a pine give welcome shade, in love combine their branches? Does the fleeting water (nymph, lymph, serpentine)* shudder and strain, where slant walls thwart her? Send out for wines, for oils, perfumes, and roses’ neverlasting blooms! Defy decay! Forestall mischance! No Norns with yarns! Act fast! Advance!   Write off your hoarded hills, your mansion, your glebe with Tiber’s rolled gold sands on. Your stack of wonga’s true possessor is your successor. A plutocrat with pedigree: Blood-Sacrifice! or you could be a destitute, obscure rough sleeper… Slaughtered! Served up to Lord Grim Reaper. One way! We’re forced, coerced, for sooner or l- ater, our fate’s a well-urned funeral that’s sure to dump us down the river. Ferried out! Banned for ever.

Sicelides Musae, paulo maiora canamus! non omnes arbusta iuvant humilesque myricae; si canimus silvas, silvae sint consule dignae. ultima Cumaei venit iam carminis aetas; magnus ab integro saeclorum nascitur ordo. iam redit et Virgo, redeunt Saturnia regna; iam nova progenies caelo demittitur alto. tu modo nascenti puero, quo ferrea primum desinet ac toto surget gens aurea mundo, casta fave Lucina: tuus iam regnat Apollo. teque adeo decus hoc aevi, te consule, inibit, Pollio, et incipient magni procedere menses; te duce, si qua manent sceleris vestigia nostri, inrita perpetua solvent formidine terras. ille deum vitam accipiet divisque videbit permixtos heroas, et ipse videbitur illis, pacatumque reget patriis virtutibus orbem. at tibi prima, puer, nullo munuscula cultu errantes hederas passim cum baccare tellus mixtaque ridenti colocasia fundet acantho. ipsae lacte domum referent distenta capellae ubera, nec magnos metuent armenta leones. ipsa tibi blandos fundent cunabula flores. occidet et serpens, et fallax herba veneni occidet; Assyrium vulgo nascetur amomum. at simul heroum laudes et facta parentis iam legere et quae sit poteris cognoscere virtus, molli paulatim flavescet campus arista, incultisque rubens pendebit sentibus uva, et durae quercus sudabunt roscida mella. pauca tamen suberunt priscae vestigia fraudis, quae temptare Thetim ratibus, quae cingere muris oppida, quae iubeant telluri infindere sulcos. alter erit tum Tiphys, et altera quae vehat Argo delectos heroas; erunt etiam altera bella, atque iterum ad Troiam magnus mittetur Achilles. hinc, ubi iam firmata virum te fecerit aetas, cedet et ipse mari vector, nec nautica pinus mutabit merces: omnis feret omnia tellus. non rastros patietur humus, non vinea falcem; robustus quoque iam tauris iuga solvet arator; nec varios discet mentiri lana colores, ipse sed in pratis aries iam suave rubenti murice, iam croceo mutabit vellera luto; sponte sua sandyx pascentes vestiet agnos. 'talia saecla,' suis dixerunt, 'currite', fusis concordes stabili fatorum numine Parcae. adgredere o magnos - aderit iam tempus - honores, cara deum suboles, magnum Iovis incrementum. aspice convexo nutantem pondere mundum, terrasque tractusque maris caelumque profundum; aspice, venturo laetantur ut omnia saeclo. o mihi tam longae maneat pars ultima vitae, spiritus et quantum sat erit tua dicere facta, non me carminibus vincat nec Thracius Orpheus, nec Linus, huic mater quamvis atque huic pater adsit, Orphei Calliopea, Lino formosus Apollo. Pan etiam, Arcadia mecum si iudice certet, Pan etiam Arcadia dicat se iudice victum. incipe, parve puer, risu cognoscere matrem; matri longa decem tulerunt fastidia menses. incipe, parve puer; cui non risere parentes, nec deus hunc mensa, dea nec dignata cubili est.

The Field. Dear Sir: a somewhat larger theme. Trees and mere hedgerows don't appeal to all; Our Country Notes must grace the Capitol. The prophesied 'last age' has now begun: The mighty March of Time resumes from nil. The Virgin and the Days of Old return; A new breed comes among us from on high. Childbirth! The prehistoric Iron Age Will end, the Golden Age worldwide be born. The Sun is King; so, Sister Moon, shine on! In fact this glorious millennium Will come while Ron presides, and under him A pageant of great seasons will remove The final traces of our infamy, And free the globe from unremitting fear. The boy will live a god's life: he will see Heroes at ease with gods, and they'll see him Rule, by his father's gifts, a world at peace. For baby-toys the earth will offer him Nature's profusion, romping ivy-leaves, Acanthus, gipsy lilies, wild woodbine; Goats with their milk will freely wander home, Huge-uddered; herds won't fear great beasts of prey. His cradle will be thick with pretty flowers; Poisonous weeds and snakes will die the death And cinnamon will come up everywhere. He'll read uplifting stories, and the great Deeds of his father; learn of excellence; By then soft fields of corn will just grow gold, Red grapes will hang along neglected paths And solid oaktrees run with honeydew. Few traces will survive of such old frauds As Shipping, Agriculture and Defence; Another helmsman with a chosen crew Will man the Argo; there'll be other wars, A Churchill, an Achilles back at Troy. By his maturity, they'll quit the sea: Pilots and merchant-ships will cease to trade. All countries will produce all types of crop: Ground won't be harrowed, grapevines won't be cut. The sturdy ploughman will unyoke his bulls. Wool won't be taught untruthful colouring: The grazing ram himself will change his pelt To mauve or saffron-yellow, and the lambs, Browsing, will go spontaneously red. 'Roll on such times!' the spinning Fates decree, In concert with Eternal Destiny. Your hour has come: approach your rank and pomp, Dear child of gods, awesome nativity. See the world lurching with its high-curved load, The land, the wide sea, heaven's mighty dome: See them, ecstatic at the age to come. I hope enough of life remains for me, Breath enough to record what you will do: With luck I'll lyrically outperform Both Linus and the Thracian lutenist, Even allowing them parental help, Apollo and the Muse respectively! Yes, Pan can take me on, his Fauns shall judge: His Fauns shall judge, and Pan shall give me best. Smile then dear child, and recognise - your mum! She's had nine months of drawn-out tedium. Smile for your mother, child, and you'll deserve Feasts with the gods, a goddess for your love.