THE SAME. by Percy Bysshe Shelley: Summary, Meaning & Analysis
These are two incomplete translations by Shelley: the first comes from Virgil's *Eclogue X* and tells the story of Gallus, a lovesick poet whose sorrow is felt by the entire natural world.
The poem
(As revised by Mr. C.D. Locock.) Melodious Arethusa, o’er my verse Shed thou once more the spirit of thy stream: (Two lines missing.) Who denies verse to Gallus? So, when thou Glidest beneath the green and purple gleam Of Syracusan waters, mayest thou flow _5 Unmingled with the bitter Dorian dew! Begin, and whilst the goats are browsing now The soft leaves, in our song let us pursue The melancholy loves of Gallus. List! We sing not to the deaf: the wild woods knew _10 His sufferings, and their echoes answer... Young Naiades, in what far woodlands wild Wandered ye, when unworthy love possessed Our Gallus? Nor where Pindus is up-piled, Nor where Parnassus’ sacred mount, nor where _15 Aonian Aganippe spreads its... (Three lines missing.) The laurels and the myrtle-copses dim, The pine-encircled mountain, Maenalus, The cold crags of Lycaeus weep for him. (Several lines missing.) ‘What madness is this, Gallus? thy heart’s care, _20 Lycoris, mid rude camps and Alpine snow, With willing step pursues another there.’ (Some lines missing.) And Sylvan, crowned with rustic coronals, Came shaking in his speed the budding wands And heavy lilies which he bore: we knew _25 Pan the Arcadian with.... ...and said, ‘Wilt thou not ever cease? Love cares not. The meadows with fresh streams, the bees with thyme, The goats with the green leaves of budding spring _30 Are saturated not—nor Love with tears.’ *** FROM VERGIL’S FOURTH GEORGIC. [VERSES 360 ET SEQ.] [Published by Locock, “Examination”, etc., 1903.] And the cloven waters like a chasm of mountains Stood, and received him in its mighty portal And led him through the deep’s untrampled fountains He went in wonder through the path immortal Of his great Mother and her humid reign _5 And groves profaned not by the step of mortal Which sounded as he passed, and lakes which rain Replenished not girt round by marble caves ‘Wildered by the watery motion of the main Half ‘wildered he beheld the bursting waves _10 Of every stream beneath the mighty earth Phasis and Lycus which the ... sand paves, [And] The chasm where old Enipeus has its birth And father Tyber and Anienas[?] glow And whence Caicus, Mysian stream, comes forth _15 And rock-resounding Hypanis, and thou Eridanus who bearest like empire’s sign Two golden horns upon thy taurine brow Thou than whom none of the streams divine Through garden-fields and meads with fiercer power, _20 Burst in their tumult on the purple brine ***
These are two incomplete translations by Shelley: the first comes from Virgil's *Eclogue X* and tells the story of Gallus, a lovesick poet whose sorrow is felt by the entire natural world. The second is from the *Fourth Georgic*, depicting the hero Aristaeus as he journeys into an underwater realm of rivers. While both pieces are rough drafts with many gaps, they reveal Shelley transforming Virgil's Latin into vibrant, flowing English verse.
Line-by-line
Melodious Arethusa, o'er my verse / Shed thou once more the spirit of thy stream:
Who denies verse to Gallus? So, when thou / Glidest beneath the green and purple gleam
Begin, and whilst the goats are browsing now / The soft leaves, in our song let us pursue
We sing not to the deaf: the wild woods knew / His sufferings, and their echoes answer...
Young Naiades, in what far woodlands wild / Wandered ye, when unworthy love possessed
The laurels and the myrtle-copses dim, / The pine-encircled mountain, Maenalus,
'What madness is this, Gallus? thy heart's care, / Lycoris, mid rude camps and Alpine snow,
And Sylvan, crowned with rustic coronals, / Came shaking in his speed the budding wands
'Wilt thou not ever cease? Love cares not. / The meadows with fresh streams, the bees with thyme,
And the cloven waters like a chasm of mountains / Stood, and received him in its mighty portal
And led him through the deep's untrampled fountains / He went in wonder through the path immortal
Of his great Mother and her humid reign / And groves profaned not by the step of mortal
Which sounded as he passed, and lakes which rain / Replenished not girt round by marble caves
Half 'wildered he beheld the bursting waves / Of every stream beneath the mighty earth
Phasis and Lycus which the ... sand paves, / [And] The chasm where old Enipeus has its birth
And rock-resounding Hypanis, and thou / Eridanus who bearest like empire's sign
Tone & mood
The tone in both fragments is filled with reverence and wonder, with a touch of melancholy in the first piece and awe prevailing in the second. Shelley retains Virgil's notion that the natural world is vibrant and emotional — mourning for Gallus, bidding farewell to Aristaeus — while avoiding sentimentality. The pastoral sections flow with a gentle, almost lullaby-like rhythm, punctuated by strong emotional declarations like Pan's candid remarks about love. The Georgic section transitions into a more grand and Dantesque style, with the terza rima lending it a solemn, processional feel.
Symbols & metaphors
- Arethusa's stream — The freshwater spring of Arethusa in Syracuse has long stood as a symbol of genuine poetic inspiration. Calling upon her is a way to request that the poem flows clearly and authentically, free from the influence of competing traditions or lesser intentions.
- Weeping mountains and woods — Maenalus, Lycaeus, the laurels, and the pine forests all mourn for Gallus. The sorrow of nature reflects our own, implying that the pain of love is so deep that it resonates in the physical world, causing even stone and tree to grieve.
- Alpine snow and military camps — The cold, harsh military landscape where Lycoris has gone contrasts sharply with the warm pastoral world. It embodies the indifference of the beloved and the cruelty of a love that drags someone away from their true home.
- Lilies and budding wands — Sylvanus arrives with spring flowers and flowering rods, which represent natural abundance and renewal. Their presence next to Gallus's grief creates an ironic contrast: the world continues to bloom even when a heart is broken.
- The cloven sea / underwater portal — The parting of the waters to welcome Aristaeus serves as a threshold symbol: it marks the transition from the mortal realm to the divine. The 'mighty portal' sets the stage for this descent as an initiation, a journey into concealed wisdom.
- Eridanus's golden horns — The bull-horned river god represents an age-old symbol of nature's mighty sovereignty. Gold embodies divinity and power. This image tops the river catalogue, hinting that the natural world has its own hierarchy and its own rulers.
Historical context
Shelley translated fragments of Virgil throughout his life, mainly as personal exercises instead of completed works. These two pieces — one from *Eclogue X* and another from the *Fourth Georgic* — were edited and published posthumously by C.D. Locock in 1903, well after Shelley drowned in 1822. *Eclogue X* serves as Virgil's farewell to pastoral poetry, expressing sadness for his friend and fellow poet Cornelius Gallus, who succumbed to a damaging love. The *Fourth Georgic* recounts the myth of Aristaeus, a beekeeper who loses his bees and ventures into the underwater realm of his mother Cyrene to discover the cause. Shelley appreciated Virgil's mix of vivid natural imagery, mythological richness, and emotional clarity — all qualities he sought in his own original writing during that same time. The terza rima in the Georgic fragment reflects Shelley's use of the same form in *The Triumph of Life*, his own unfinished final poem.
FAQ
Gaius Cornelius Gallus was a genuine Roman poet and soldier, and a close friend of Virgil. He fell in love with a woman he referred to as Lycoris in his poems, but she reportedly left him for another soldier. Virgil penned *Eclogue X* as a poetic sympathy card, with the entire pastoral world mourning alongside his friend. Shelley translates that poem, so the grief originates in Virgil's world first, followed by Shelley's translation.
These are working drafts that Shelley never completed or intended for publication. After his death, scholars reconstructed what they could from his notebooks. Some pages were damaged, and some lines were left unwritten. The gaps marked in the text reflect honest admissions by the editor Locock that the manuscript stops at those points.
Arethusa was a nymph who became a freshwater spring on the island of Ortygia in Syracuse, Sicily. In Virgil's pastoral poems, set against a Sicilian backdrop, referencing Arethusa helps ground the poem in that tradition. This approach is also a common classical technique: invoking a divine figure related to your theme is a typical way to start.
Pan is telling Gallus — and really anyone who's ever shed tears over love — that tears can't truly alleviate grief, just like water doesn't keep a meadow lush forever or thyme doesn't fully satisfy a bee. Nature is never 'full'; it always craves more. Love operates in the same way. This isn't a message of hope, but it's a truthful one: grief is a natural hunger, not a puzzle to be fixed.
Terza rima is the interlocking rhyme scheme that Dante employed in the *Divine Comedy* (ABA BCB CDC, and so forth). Shelley also utilized this scheme in several of his poems, such as *Ode to the West Wind* and the unfinished *Triumph of Life*. For a journey into an underworld — which is precisely what Aristaeus's journey represents — this form feels fitting. It also propels the verse forward with a sense of inevitability, reminiscent of walking down a long corridor.
Virgil's *Georgics* consists of four lengthy poems focused on farming. The fourth poem specifically addresses beekeeping, but it concludes with two myths: one about Aristaeus, who loses his bees and must venture to his mother Cyrene's underwater realm to discover the cause, and another about Orpheus and Eurydice, which explains the fate of his bees. Shelley's fragment only includes the descent into Cyrene's kingdom, halting just before the Orpheus story starts.
It is both. Shelley is translating Virgil, but translation is never neutral—every word choice reflects a creative decision. The terza rima structure, the vivid imagery such as 'untrampled fountains' and 'empire's sign', and the emotional tone are all distinctly Shelley's. Imagine Shelley reading Virgil aloud, using his own voice.
Both pieces are Shelley's translations of Virgil, both are incomplete, and both were published together by Locock using the same manuscript sources. Thematically, they resonate with each other: the first explores a mortal consumed by love within a natural world that mourns for him; the second depicts a mortal entering a supernatural realm that welcomes him with awe. Both works place a human being at the mercy of greater forces beyond his control.