Complete Poetic Works, Volume 7

The world dissolves into mud:
As ice melts in the spring breeze,
When the Etesian winds are released. The Etesian winds are seasonal Mediterranean winds that blow from the north. Here, they symbolize the onset of change and the thawing of rigid structures.
I give no advice with words that achieve anything:
In vain, Gambara, am I a poet for you:
And I waste my flowing rhythms,
And my ivory lute. original: "testudinem eburneam." Ancient lyres were often fashioned from tortoise shells and decorated with ivory.
It pleases the Earth-born to be insane: it pleases them
To be deceived; error is pleasing, and
It is delightful to be foolish at the whim of the fickle Goddess. The "fickle Goddess" refers to Fortune or perhaps Venus, suggesting that humanity prefers its delusions to the truth.
Therefore they are struck in unusual ways,
While you see the Cytherean Cytherean refers to the island of Cythera, the birthplace of Venus. The "Cytherean Charioteer" is Cupid.
Charioteer strike against the wall
The Globe so beloved by Caesars,
And so many heedless ages.
From here, uncertain misfortunes on unstable feet,
And sorrows that are far too stable,
Gather together; a crowd difficult to hide,
And safe from flight,
Destined to stick to the side of their Lord like pitch.
And likewise those cares that feign flight,
But secretly distribute the wounds of wickedness
With a Parthian arrow. The Parthians were famous for the "Parthian shot," where horsemen would shoot arrows backward while retreating. This symbolizes a betrayal or a lingering consequence.
Now Terror groans everywhere in bronze helmets
And Wars groan in military cloaks,
Determined to bring back civil battle lines.
Noble Glory is rare,
Which is not stained with the blood of its own country,
And let Crime call itself a title.
Through paved onyx and the frozen Tagus, The Tagus is a major river in the Iberian Peninsula. Mentioning it alongside expensive onyx suggests that corruption and war reach from the heights of luxury to the ends of the earth.
Crime walks decorated with a collar of honor.
Virtue hangs from a German oak tree,
Fearful deceits entangle stolen hair
With golden spots.
The brightness of simple leisure
Is clothed in shadows; a good Mind along with Faith
Is cast outside the lovely lap
Of prostrate Peace, across the furthest sea.