Am I deceived, or did arms ring out? Indeed, arms rang,
For Mars is coming, and signals his advent with sounds of war.
The Avenger himself descends from the sky to his place of honor,
To his wonder of a temple in the Forum of Augustus.
The god, and so his temple, are mighty: not otherwise
Should Mars be housed in the city of Romulus, his son.
This temple is a worthy place for trophies won from the Giants,
And fitting for Mars to sally off from here to wage his wild wars,
Whether some unholy foe in the East should strike against us,
Or an enemy towards the setting sun calls for subjugation.
The god of War surveys the heights of his lofty temple
And approves that gods unconquered possess the pediment.
He surveys the various weapons that decorate the doorways
And the arms of other lands defeated by his soldiers;
He sees Aeneas, bent by the precious weight of his father,
And the lengthy line of descendents sprung from the noble Julus;
Across stands Romulus, shouldering the arms of a conquered leader,
And the row of Romans above their records of famous deeds.
He sees on the front of the temple the name of Augustus
And the work appears greater still when he reads that name
Augustus vowed it when he was young, and dutifully took up arms:
With great beginnings our Princeps had to begin.