Roman Elegies XX

Strength, generosity, courage become a man, Ah, but deepest reticence becomes him more. Discretion, conqueror of cities, ruler of men, Beloved goddess who led me safely through life, What a fate is mine! The laughing Muse, and Amor, That rogue, both are unlocking my sealed mouth. Ah, already the King’s shame’s harder to hide! Neither a crown nor a Phrygian cap can conceal Midas’ long ears: his closest servant has seen, And at once the secret weighs heavily on his breast. He’d gladly bury it deep, and so find release: But Earth refuses to guard such secrets as these. Reeds spring up, and rustle and lisp in the wind: ‘Midas, Midas the King, he’s grown long ears!’ Now too I’m finding it harder to keep a sweet secret: Ah, how quickly the heart’s fullness flows from the lips! There’s no friend I can trust: she might scold me: No man either: he might be a dangerous rival. And I’m not solitary enough, or so full of youth, As to confide in the woods or the echoing cliffs. Hexameter, and Pentameter, I’ll tell it to you, How she delights me by day and enchants me by night. Pursued by hosts of men, she avoids the snares The impudent bold, and the secretly cunning, lay: Cleverly, daintily, she slips by, knowing the path Where her eagerly listening lover waits for her. Stay, Luna, she comes! Don’t let the neighbours see: Rustle, breeze, in the trees! So no one hears her step. And you grow and bloom, my beloved songs, And sway in the gentlest breath of the loving air, Reveal to the Romans, like those gossiping reeds, The lovely secret at last of this happy pair.