_Nurse:_ Thou need'st not fear for them; the kingdom stands 435 In prosperous estate, and all thy house Rejoices in the blessings of the gods. But Oh, do thou with greater kindness look Upon thy fortune. For my heart is vexed And anxious for thy sake; for thou thyself With grievous sufferings dost bruise thy soul. If fate compels it, one may be forgiven 440 For wretchedness; but if, of his own will, A man prefers to live in misery, Brings tortures on himself, then he deserves To lose those gifts he knows not how to use. Be mindful of thy youth; relax thy mind. Lift high the blazing torch on festal nights; Let Bacchus free thee from thy weighty cares; 445 Enjoy this time which speeds so swiftly by. Now is the time when love comes easily, And smiles on youth. Come, let thy soul rejoice. Why dost thou lie upon a lonely couch? Dissolve in pleasures that grim mood of thine, And snatch the passing joys;[20] let loose the reins. 450 Forbid that these, the best days of thy life, Should vanish unenjoyed. Its proper hue Has God allotted to each time of life, And leads from step to step the age of man. So joy becomes the young, a face severe The agéd. Why dost thou restrain thyself, And strangle at their birth the joys of life? That crop rewards the farmer's labor most 455 Which in the young and tender sprouting-time Runs riot in the fields. With lofty top That tree will overspread the neighboring grove, Which no begrudging hand cuts back or prunes. So do our inborn powers a richer fruit Of praise and glory bear, if liberty, Unchecked and boundless, feed the noble soul. 460 Thou, harsh, uncouth, and ignorant of life, Dost spend thy youth to joy and love unknown. Think'st thou that this is man's allotted task, To suffer hardships, curb the rushing steeds, And fight like savage beasts in bloody war? 465 When he beheld the boundless greed of death, The mighty father of the world ordained A means by which the race might be renewed. Suppose the power of Venus over men Should cease, who doth supply and still renew 470 The stream of life, then would this lovely world Become a foul, unsightly thing indeed: The sea would bear no fish within its waves, The woods no beasts of prey, the air no birds; But through its empty space the winds alone Would rove. How various the forms of death 475 That seize and feed upon our mortal race: The wrecking sea, the sword, and treachery! But say that these are lacking: still we fall Of our own gravity to gloomy Styx. Suppose our youth should choose a mateless life, And live in childless state: then all this world Of teeming life which thou dost see, would live This generation only, and would fall 480