Incluso la diosa del amor
lucha por sus hijos, pese
a su vanidad; Eneas prosperó
más que otros héroes; incluso el ascendente camino de vuelta
del infierno se le hizo sencillo. Y el sacrificio del amor,
menos doloroso que para los otros héroes.
Tenía la mente clara; mientras soportaba el sacrificio,
veía sus efectos prácticos. Tenía la mente clara,
y esa claridad lo hizo inasequible a la desesperación,
mientras el dolor volvía más humano un corazón
que, de otro modo, podría haber parecido inmutable. Y la belleza
corría por sus venas: no necesitaba
más. Dejó para otras visiones
los mundos del arte y la ciencia, esos caminos que sólo
al sufrimiento conducen, y en cambio congregó
a las diversas poblaciones de la tierra
en un imperio, una concepción
de la justicia mediante la sumisión, una intención de "perdonar a los humildes
y aplastar a los orgullosos"; subjetivo,
necesariamente, como lo son necesariamente los juicios.
La belleza corría por sus venas; no necesitaba más.
Eso y su gusto por los imperios:
eso es lo que puede comprobarse.
THE GOLDEN BOUGH
EVEN the goddess of love
fights for her children, her vanity
notwithstanding: more than other heroes.
Aeneas flourished; even the road back upward from hell
was simplified. And the sacrifice of love
less painful than for the other heroes.
His mind was clear: even as he endured sacrifice,
he saw its practical purpose. His mind was clear,
and in its clarity, fortified against despair,
even as grief made more human a heart
that might otherwise have seemed immutable. And beauty
ran in his veins: he had no need
for more it. He conceded to other visions
the worlds of art and science, those paths that lead
only to torment, and instead gathered
the diverse populations of earth
into an empire, a conception
of justice through submission, an intention «to spare the humble and to crush the pround»: subjective,
necessarily, as judgments necessarily are.
Beauty ran in his veins; he had no need for more of it.
That and his taste for empire:
that much can be verified.
EVEN the goddess of love
fights for her children, her vanity
notwithstanding: more than other heroes.
Aeneas flourished; even the road back upward from hell
was simplified. And the sacrifice of love
less painful than for the other heroes.
His mind was clear: even as he endured sacrifice,
he saw its practical purpose. His mind was clear,
and in its clarity, fortified against despair,
even as grief made more human a heart
that might otherwise have seemed immutable. And beauty
ran in his veins: he had no need
for more it. He conceded to other visions
the worlds of art and science, those paths that lead
only to torment, and instead gathered
the diverse populations of earth
into an empire, a conception
of justice through submission, an intention «to spare the humble and to crush the pround»: subjective,
necessarily, as judgments necessarily are.
Beauty ran in his veins; he had no need for more of it.
That and his taste for empire:
that much can be verified.
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