choose out brave hunters cunningly to lasso the necks of wild animals and to drive home the hunting-spear with unfailing stroke. With her own hand let her lead forth from their caverns fierce beasts and captive monsters, laying aside her bloodthirsty bow. Let bears be gathered together, whereat, as they charge with mighty bulk, Helice may gaze in wonder from Lycaon’s stars.[181] Let smitten lions roar till the people turn pale, lions such as Cybele would be fain to harness to her Mygdonian chariot or Hercules strangle in his mighty arms. May leopards, lightning-swift, hasten to meet the spear’s wound, beasts that are born of an adulterous union what time the spotted sire did violence to the nobler lion’s mate: of such beasts their markings recall the sire, their courage the dam. Whatsoever is nourished by the fields of Gaetulia rich in monsters, whatsoever lurks beneath Alpine snows or in Gallic woods, let it fall before the spear. Let large streams of blood enrich the arena and the spectacle leave whole mountains desolate.
“Nor let gentler games lack the delights we bring: let the clown be there to move the people’s laughter with his happy wit, the mime whose language is in his nod and in the movements of his hands, the musician whose breath rouses the flute and whose finger stirs the lyre, the slippered comedian to whose voice the theatre re-echoes, the tragedian towering on his loftier buskin; him too whose light touch can elicit loud music from those pipes of bronze that sound a thousand diverse notes beneath his wandering fingers and who by means of a lever stirs to song the labouring water.[182] Let us see acrobats who hurl themselves through the air like birds and build
[181] Helice = the Great Bear; so does the phrase “Lycaon’s stars,” for Lycaon was the father of Callisto who was transformed by the jealous Juno into a bear and as such translated by Jupiter to the sky. Claudian means that he wants the Great Bear to observe this assemblage of earthly bears.
[182] The _hydraulus_ or water organ was known in Cicero’s day (_Tusc._ iii. 18.43). It is illustrated by a piece of sculpture in the Museum at Arles (see Grove, _Dict. of Music_, under “Organ” ).
corporaque aedificent celeri crescentia nexu, quorum compositam puer amentatus in arcem emicet et vinctu plantae vel cruribus hacrens pendula librato figat vestigia saltu. mobile ponderibus descendat pegma reductis 325 inque chori speciem spargentes ardua flammas scaena rotet varios et fingat Mulciber orbis per tabulas impune vagus pictaeque citato ludant igne trabes et non permissa morari fida per innocuas errent incendia turres. 330 lascivi subito confligant aequore lembi stagnaque remigibus spument inmissa canoris. “Consul per populos idemque gravissimus auctor eloquii, duplici vita subnixus in aevum procedat pariter libris fastisque legendus. 335 accipiat patris exemplum tribuatque nepoti filius et coeptis ne desit fascibus heres. decurrat trabeata domus tradatque secures mutua postcritas servatoque ordine fati Manlia continuo numeretur consule proles.” 340