Pharsalia: Lines 67-80
sic, cum conpage soluta
saecula tot mundi suprema coegerit hora
antiquum repetens iterum chaos
I’m working on a translation of Lucan’s Pharsalia! If you enjoy this sort of thing, please consider sponsoring my work by becoming a paid subscriber. If you enjoy this sort of epic poetry, you might check out this version of John Brown’s Body, an epic poem about the American Civil War, which I edited and released some time ago. If the rigor of the Latin is a bit too much, you might check out the this set of Latin readers for the Aeneid which I’ve published.
fert animus causas tantarum expromere rerum,
inmensumque aperitur opus, quid in arma furentem
inpulerit populum, quid pacem excusserit orbi.
inuida fatorum series summisque negatum 70
stare diu nimioque graues sub pondere lapsus
nec se Roma ferens. sic, cum conpage soluta
saecula tot mundi suprema coegerit hora
antiquum repetens iterum chaos, [omnia mixtis
sidera sideribus concurrent,] ignea pontum 75
astra petent, tellus extendere litora nolet
excutietque fretum, fratri contraria Phoebe
ibit et obliquum bigas agitare per orbem
indignata diem poscet sibi, totaque discors
machina diuolsi turbabit foedera mundi. 80
Vocabulary
Animus, ī, m.- mind, spirit, intention
Agitō, āre, āvī, ātus- to drive, shake, stir
Aperiō, īre, aperuī, apertus- to open, uncover
Cogō, ere, coēgī, coactus- to collect, gather; force
Dīvellō, ere, dīvellī, dīvulsus- to tear apart, separate
Excutiō, ere, excussī, excussus- to shake off, banish, cast out
Expromō, ere, exprōmpsī, exprōmptus- to bring forth, express
Extendō, ere, extendī, extentus- to stretch out, extend
Ferō, ferre, tulī, lātus- to carry, endure
Indīgnor, ārī, ātus sum- to resent, be indignant
Inpellō, ere, inpulī, inpulsus- to drive, impel
Negō, āre, āvī, ātus- to deny
Poscō, ere, poposcī- to demand, claim
Repetō, ere, īvī, ītus- to return to, repeat
Stō, stāre, stetī, status- to stand, remain
Turbō, āre, āvī, ātus- to disturb, throw into chaos
Antiquus, a, um- ancient, old
Bigae, ārum, f. pl.- two-horse chariot
Causa, ae, f.- cause, reason
Chaos, ī, n.- chaos, void
Conpāgēs, is, f.- structure, framework; binding, joint
Contrārius, a, um- opposite, opposing
Diēs, ēī, m.- day
Discors, discordis- discordant, in conflict
Diū (adv.)- for a long time
Eō, īre, iī or īvī, itus- to go
Fātum, ī, n.- fate, destiny
Foedus, foederis, n.- treaty, pact, bond
Frāter, frātris, m.- brother
Furēns, furentis- raging, furious
Gravis, is, e- heavy, serious
Ignis, is, m.- fire
Immēnsus, a, um- vast, immense
Invidus, a, um- envious, malicious
Iterum (adv.)- again
Lapsus, ūs, m.- fall, slip, collapse
Litus, litorus, n.- shore, beach
Machina, ae, f.- structure, machine, system; scheme
Mixtus, a, um- mixed
Mundus, ī, m.- world, universe
Nimius, a, um- excessive, too great
Obliquus, a, um- slanting, oblique
Omnis, is, e- all, every
Opus, operis, n.- work, task
Orbis, is, m.- circle, sphere, world
Phoebē, ēs, f.- Phoebe (moon goddess)
Pondus, ponderis, n.- weight, burden
Pontus, ī, m.- sea
Populus, ī, m.- people, nation
Saeculum, ī, n.- age, generation, century
Sēriēs, ēī, f.- sequence, succession
Sīdus, sideris, n.- star, constellation
Summus, a, um- highest, greatest
Supremus, a, um- highest, last
Tellus, tellūris, f.- earth, land
Tōtus, a, um- whole, entire
Translation
My mind hastens to reveal the causes of so great things, and the immense work is revealed: what drove the raging people into arms, what cast peace out from the world. The hateful chain of the fates, and to stand for a long time which is denied to the greatest, and the grave fall under a weight too great, and Rome not bearing itself. Thus, with the dissolved bond the ancient hour, returning to chaos, collects so many final ages of the world: all the stars will charge to the stirred up stars; the fiery stars will attack the sea; the earth will not want to extend its shores, and it will cast out the sea; the counterbalancing moon will attack her brother and, having deemed it unworthy to drive her two-horsed chariot through the slanting world will demand the day the for herself, and the whole inharmonious scheme will upset the compact of the divided world.