When
I posted Boethius’ poem `O, stelliferi conditor orbis’ I promised to publish
Fortuna’s answer. Here it is: it has the same metre (acatalectic anapaestic
dimeter, but don’t worry), the same number of lines and the same subject: it is
an antiphon to the first poem. Whereas Boethius burst out into complains at the
end of his poem, asking the maker of the universe why, if the universe is so
orderly arranged, it is a mess on Earth, Philosphia comes to a different
conclusion: as the universe is perfect and has love as its guiding force, so
life is perfect too, as she explains in the prose section following this poem.
There is no bad fortune: it either serves to reward or exercise good men or to
punish or improve bad men.
Remember,
this poem was not written at leisure at some desk by a philosopher playing with
his ideas, but by a man waiting to be executed…
si
uis celsi iura Tonantis
pura
sollers cernere mente,
aspice
summi culmina caeli;
illic
iusto foedere rerum
ueterem
seruant sidera pacem. 5
non
sol rutilo concitus igne
gelidum
Phoebes impedit axem
nec
quae summo uertice mundi
flectit
rapidos Ursa meatus
numquam
occiduo lota profundo 10
cetera
cernens sidera mergi
cupit
Oceano tinguere flammas;
semper
uicibus temporis aequis
Vesper
seras nuntiat umbras
reuehitque
diem Lucifer almum. 15
sic
aeternos reficit cursus
alternus
amor, sic astrigeris
bellum
discors exsulat oris.
haec
concordia temperat aequis
elementa
modis, ut pugnantia 20
uicibus
cedant humida siccis
iungantque
fidem frigora flammis,
pendulus
ignis surgat in altum
terraeque
graues pondere sidant.
his
de causis uere tepenti 25
spirat
florifer annus odores,
aestas
cererem feruida siccat,
remeat
pomis grauis autumnus,
hiemem
defluus inrigat imber.
haec
temperies alit ac profert 30
quicquid
uitam spirat in orbe;
eadem
rapiens condit et aufert
obitu
mergens orta supremo.
sedet
interea conditor altus
rerumque
regens flectit habenas, 35
rex
et dominus, fons et origo,
lex
et sapiens arbiter aequi,
et
quae motu concitat ire
sistit
retrahens ac uaga firmat;
nam
nisi rectos reuocans itus 40
flexos iterum cogat in orbes,
quae
nunc stabilis continet ordo
dissaepta
suo fonte fatiscant.
hic
est cunctis communis amor
repetuntque
boni fine teneri, 45
quia
non aliter durare queant
nisi
conuerso rursus amore
refluant
causae quae dedit esse.
celsus:
high
Tonans:
Jupiter
pura mente
sollers:
skilful, clever. Predicate by vis: if
you, who are sollers, want etc.
cerno crevi cretum:
perceive, see
culmen, inis
(n): top, summit
illic:
there
foedus, foederis
(n): contract, agreement
iusto foedere…veterem
pacem: these words imply that universe is
essentially good, like the Romans made treaties with other peoples to secure
peace.
rutilus:
red
rutilo igne:
Mars. The course of this planet is above the sun and so the idea was that this
planet urges the sun. Not all translators agree, for instance the one I have
copied below, on this and translate: `the sun with its ruddy fire’ or something
like.
concitus:
roused (from concio). i.e in the
morning
gelidus:
cold
Phoebes:
Greek genitive. Phoebe is the moon.
axis, axis (m):
axis, fixed point of rotation, but here also used of the rotation itself.
nec quae summo uertice
mundi flectit rapidos Ursa meatus = nec Ursa, quae summo uertice mundi flectit
rapidos meatus, etc
nec
with cupit
vertex, verticis
(m): highest top
summo uertice mundi:
the Pole star. The ablative is here used as a locative: at,
Ursa:
the Great Bear
meatus, – us
(m): course, motion
(in) occiduo
profundo: the Great Bear never goes down in the western ocean, nor anywhere
else for that matter.
lota
ppp of lavo: to wash. This verb has
3 ppp’s: lavatum, lautum and lotum.
mergo mersi mersum:
to sink, immerse
lota
and mergi the passive forms are used
as the stars do not follow their own course, bur are ordered to do so iusto
foedere.
tinguo
is a less common form for tingo – tinxi
– tinctus: to wet, dip
vicis
(f): change alternation ( the nom. does not occur, as well as some other
cases.)
aequus:
fair, equal (within this context one can also think of `predictable’. Night
will never drastically change its coming from one day to the other. Again due
to the iustum foedus.
Vesper:
the evening star, Venus
serus:
late
Lucifer:
the Morningstar
almus:
nourishing
reficio –feci -fectum:
renew
alternus:
mutual
astriger,
astrigeri: starry
exsulo
(1): to be banished
haec
with elementa
tempero
(1): to regulate
modus:
measure
pugnantia humida
(elementa): pugnantia
because the wet periods are fighting with the dry periods, as a commentary on
internet says – but this contradicts the concordia
– or pugnantia for expressing heavy
rains?
cedo cessi cessum:
to give way to
siccus:
dry
iungo fidem:
cf Seneca Thyestes 481-2: cum
mari uentus fidem foedusque iungent.
Fides is here more or less equal to foedus. So iungo fidem = iungo foedus:
to conclude an agreement.
frigus, -oris
(n): coldness
pendulus:
hanging
pendulus ignis:
in ancient cosmology fire was put between air and ether.
surgo surrexi surrectum:
to rise
pondus, ponderis
(n) weight
sido sidi:
to sink down
ver, veris
(n): spring
tepeo:
to be moderately warm
spiro
(1): to breath
florifer:
bearing flowers
aestas, -atis
(f): summer
ceres, -eris
(f): harvest
fervidus:
glowing
sicco
(1): to make dry
remeo
(1): to come back
pomum:
a fruit
gravis:
loaded
defluus:
falling down
imber, imbris
(m): heavy rain
temperies
(m): proper measure
alo alui al(i)tum:
to nourish
profero –ferre –tuli
-latum: to bring forth, produce
orbis, orbis
(m): world
eadem:
acc.!
rapio:
to seize (subject: Concordia)
condo –didi –ditum:
to establish
aufero:
to remove
obitus, -us
(m): death
mergo mersi mersum:
bury
orior ortus sum:
to rise, to be born
conditor –oris
(m): maker, founder
habena:
rein
aequum:
justice
quae:
the planets
concito
(1): to urge
sisto sisti sistum:
to cause to stand
retraho –traxi,
-tractum: to withdraw
vagus:
wandering
itus itus
(m): course
flexos orbes:
turning circles
cogo coegi coactum:
to force
ordo ordinis
(m): order
dissaepio –saepsi
–saeptum: to separate
fons, fontis
(m): source
fatisco
(3): to fall apart
cunctus
= omnis
communis:
predicate: the love common to
repetuntque boni fine
teneri: `and all seek to be held by the limit
of the good i.e’they have good as a common goal
duro
(1):to endure
queo quivi quitum:
to be able to
nisi conuerso rursus
amore / refluant causae quae dedit esse.
`Unless, when love returns back again (to itself), they flow back to that cause,
which gave (them) their existence.’ The idea is that when the divine principle amor returns back to itself and comes to
rest, all things should flow back too to that cause (amor), through which they exist. The cosmology here is Aristotelian.
There
are many translations and most are in verse too, which means that they do not
reflect the original in detail. This prose translation is fairly well, but now
and then the interpretation differs from mine.
Translation
W.V. Cooper, New York, 1900.
"If
thou wouldst diligently behold with unsullied mind the
laws
of the God of thunder upon high, look to the highest point
of
heaven above. There, by a fair and equal compact, do the
stars
keep their ancient peace. The sun is hurried on by its
whirl
of fire, but impedes not the moon's cool orb. The Bear
turns
its rushing course around the highest pole of the universe,
and
dips not in the western depths, and though it sees
the
other constellations sink, it never seeks to quench its
flames
in the ocean stream. In just divisions of time does the
evening
star foretell the coming of the late shadows, and, as
Lucifer,
brings back again the warming light of day. Thus
does
the interchanging bond of love bring round their neverfailing
courses;
and strife is for ever an exile from the starry
realms.
This unity rules by fair limits the elements, so that
wet
yields to dry, its opposite, and it faithfully joins cold to
heat.
Floating fire rises up on high, and matter by its weight
sinks
down. From these same causes in warm spring the
flowering
season breathes its scents ; then the hot summer dries
the
grain; then with its burden of fruits comes autumn again,
and
winter's falling rain gives moisture. This mingling of seasons
nourishes
and brings forth all on earth that has the breath
of
life; and again snatches them away and hides them, whelming
in
death all that has arisen. Meanwhile the Creator sits
on
high, rules all and guides, King and Lord, fount and source
of
all, Law itself and wise judge of justice. He restrains all that
stirs
nature to motion, holds it back, and makes firm all that
would
stray. If He were not to recall them to their true paths,
and
set them again upon the circles of their courses, they
would
be torn from their source and so would perish. This
is
the common bond of love; all seek thus to be restrained by
the
limit of the good. In no other manner can they endure if
this
bond of love be not turned round again, and if the causes,
which
He has set, return not again.
(Philosophy
shews that all fortune is good.)
"Do
you see now," she continued, "what follows upon all
that
we have said?"
"What
is it? "I asked.
"That
all fortune is plainly good," she answered.
"How
can that be?" said I.
"Consider
this," she said: "all fortune, whether pleasant
or
difficult, is due to this cause; it is for the sake of rewarding
the
good or exercising their virtue, and of punishing and correcting
bad
men: therefore it is plain that all this fortune
which
is allowed to be just or expedient, must be good."
