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msgctxt "d61518bcd255aaa8eb1c5a62d9abe801"
msgid "The Very Old Folk"
msgstr ""

msgctxt "70527f0b469f983b3e81b941ea98b66b"
msgid "By H. P. Lovecraft"
msgstr ""

msgctxt "78ae6f0cd191d25147e252dc54768238"
msgid "Thursday"
msgstr ""

msgctxt "bd0a60361d79908b3873f0080656d4ab"
msgid "[November 3, 1927]"
msgstr ""

msgctxt "85203efae5cec3e3d4974feec6a920b1"
msgid "Dear Melmoth:–"
msgstr ""

msgctxt "b130bd047de5c395a1b7eea724a424ea"
msgid ""
". . . So you are busy delving into the shady past of that insufferable young "
"Asiatic Varius Avitus Bassianus? Ugh! There are few persons I loathe more "
"than that cursed little Syrian rat!"
msgstr ""

msgctxt "8421ee48e1e726ea932abc7328d666cd"
msgid ""
"I have myself been carried back to Roman times by my recent perusal of James "
"Rhoades’ Æneid, a translation never before read by me, and more faithful to "
"P. Maro than any other versified version I have ever seen—including that of "
"my late uncle Dr. Clark, which did not attain publication. This Virgilian "
"diversion, together with the spectral thoughts incident to All Hallows’ Eve "
"with its Witch-Sabbaths on the hills, produced in me last Monday night a "
"Roman dream of such supernal clearness and vividness, and such titanic "
"adumbrations of hidden horror, that I verily believe I shall some day employ "
"it in fiction. Roman dreams were no uncommon features of my youth—I used to "
"follow the Divine Julius all over Gallia as a Tribunus Militum o’nights—but "
"I had so long ceased to experience them, that the present one impressed me "
"with extraordinary force."
msgstr ""

msgctxt "6f0eadc87528fda386e8ee66fb3e3e53"
msgid ""
"It was a flaming sunset or late afternoon in the tiny provincial town of "
"Pompelo, at the foot of the Pyrenees in Hispania Citerior. The year must "
"have been in the late republic, for the province was still ruled by a "
"senatorial proconsul instead of a prætorian legate of Augustus, and the day "
"was the first before the Kalends of November. The hills rose scarlet and "
"gold to the north of the little town, and the westering sun shone ruddily "
"and mystically on the crude new stone and plaster buildings of the dusty "
"forum and the wooden walls of the circus some distance to the east. Groups "
"of citizens—broad-browed Roman colonists and coarse-haired Romanised "
"natives, together with obvious hybrids of the two strains, alike clad in "
"cheap woollen togas—and sprinklings of helmeted legionaries and coarse-"
"mantled, black-bearded tribesmen of the circumambient Vascones—all thronged "
"the few paved streets and forum; moved by some vague and ill-defined "
"uneasiness."
msgstr ""

msgctxt "cae93abaea72c94dfc468d7e0a1daff9"
msgid ""
"I myself had just alighted from a litter, which the Illyrian bearers seemed "
"to have brought in some haste from Calagurris, across the Iberus to the "
"southward. It appeared that I was a provincial quæstor named L. Cælius "
"Rufus, and that I had been summoned by the proconsul, P. Scribonius Libo, "
"who had come from Tarraco some days before. The soldiers were the fifth "
"cohort of the XIIth legion, under the military tribune Sex. Asellius; and "
"the legatus of the whole region, Cn. Balbutius, had also come from "
"Calagurris, where the permanent station was."
msgstr ""

msgctxt "e64397f9c4681ee06d8caca9ca282967"
msgid ""
"The cause of the conference was a horror that brooded on the hills. All the "
"townsfolk were frightened, and had begged the presence of a cohort from "
"Calagurris. It was the Terrible Season of the autumn, and the wild people in "
"the mountains were preparing for the frightful ceremonies which only rumour "
"told of in the towns. They were the very old folk who dwelt higher up in the "
"hills and spoke a choppy language which the Vascones could not understand. "
"One seldom saw them; but a few times a year they sent down little yellow, "
"squint-eyed messengers (who looked like Scythians) to trade with the "
"merchants by means of gestures, and every spring and autumn they held the "
"infamous rites on the peaks, their howlings and altar-fires throwing terror "
"into the villages. Always the same—the night before the Kalends of Maius and "
"the night before the Kalends of November. Townsfolk would disappear just "
"before these nights, and would never be heard of again. And there were "
"whispers that the native shepherds and farmers were not ill-disposed toward "
"the very old folk—that more than one thatched hut was vacant before midnight "
"on the two hideous Sabbaths."
msgstr ""

msgctxt "88564487ac431984cebeb2198bea5992"
msgid ""
"This year the horror was very great, for the people knew that the wrath of "
"the very old folk was upon Pompelo. Three months previously five of the "
"little squint-eyed traders had come down from the hills, and in a market "
"brawl three of them had been killed. The remaining two had gone back "
"wordlessly to their mountains—and this autumn not a single villager had "
"disappeared. There was menace in this immunity. It was not like the very old "
"folk to spare their victims at the Sabbath. It was too good to be normal, "
"and the villagers were afraid."
msgstr ""

msgctxt "22241a290ce6be9fa6d27c26a3c605be"
msgid ""
"For many nights there had been a hollow drumming on the hills, and at last "
"the ædile Tib. Annæus Stilpo (half native in blood) had sent to Balbutius at "
"Calagurris for a cohort to stamp out the Sabbath on the terrible night. "
"Balbutius had carelessly refused, on the ground that the villagers' fears "
"were empty, and that the loathsome rites of hill folk were of no concern to "
"the Roman People unless our own citizens were menaced. I, however, who "
"seemed to be a close friend of Balbutius, had disagreed with him; averring "
"that I had studied deeply in the black forbidden lore, and that I believed "
"the very old folk capable of visiting almost any nameless doom upon the "
"town, which after all was a Roman settlement and contained a great number of "
"our citizens. The complaining ædile's own mother Helvia was a pure Roman, "
"the daughter of M. Helvius Cinna, who had come over with Scipio's army. "
"Accordingly I had sent a slave—a nimble little Greek called Antipater—to the "
"proconsul with letters, and Scribonius had heeded my plea and ordered "
"Balbutius to send his fifth cohort, under Asellius, to Pompelo; entering the "
"hills at dusk on the eve of November's Kalends and stamping out whatever "
"nameless orgies he might find—bringing such prisoners as he might take to "
"Tarraco for the next proprætor's court. Balbutius, however, had protested, "
"so that more correspondence had ensued. I had written so much to the "
"proconsul that he had become gravely interested, and had resolved to make a "
"personal inquiry into the horror."
msgstr ""

msgctxt "f8596ec1110a1ea254d15344bbe4f480"
msgid ""
"He had at length proceeded to Pompelo with his lictors and attendants; there "
"hearing enough rumours to be greatly impressed and disturbed, and standing "
"firmly by his order for the Sabbath's extirpation. Desirous of conferring "
"with one who had studied the subject, he ordered me to accompany Asellius' "
"cohort—and Balbutius had also come along to press his adverse advice, for he "
"honestly believed that drastic military action would stir up a dangerous "
"sentiment of unrest amongst the Vascones both tribal and settled."
msgstr ""

msgctxt "ef6f421ba10292c0c86cb25b5920140a"
msgid ""
"So here we all were in the mystic sunset of the autumn hills—old Scribonius "
"Libo in his toga prætexta, the golden light glancing on his shiny bald head "
"and wrinkled hawk face, Balbutius with his gleaming helmet and breastplate, "
"blue-shaven lips compressed in conscientiously dogged opposition, young "
"Asellius with his polished greaves and superior sneer, and the curious "
"throng of townsfolk, legionaries, tribesmen, peasants, lictors, slaves, and "
"attendants. I myself seemed to wear a common toga, and to have no especially "
"distinguishing characteristic. And everywhere horror brooded. The town and "
"country folk scarcely dared speak aloud, and the men of Libo's entourage, "
"who had been there nearly a week, seemed to have caught something of the "
"nameless dread. Old Scribonius himself looked very grave, and the sharp "
"voices of us later comers seemed to hold something of curious "
"inappropriateness, as in a place of death or the temple of some mystic god."
msgstr ""

msgctxt "87e324c85d3f5722a8c27fc3bbe2a973"
msgid ""
"We entered the prætorium and held grave converse. Balbutius pressed his "
"objections, and was sustained by Asellius, who appeared to hold all the "
"natives in extreme contempt while at the same time deeming it inadvisable to "
"excite them. Both soldiers maintained that we could better afford to "
"antagonise the minority of colonists and civilised natives by inaction, than "
"to antagonise a probable majority of tribesmen and cottagers by stamping out "
"the dread rites."
msgstr ""

msgctxt "fd4ba87d68fb898f24605f59891a4975"
msgid ""
"I, on the other hand, renewed my demand for action, and offered to accompany "
"the cohort on any expedition it might undertake. I pointed out that the "
"barbarous Vascones were at best turbulent and uncertain, so that skirmishes "
"with them were inevitable sooner or later whichever course we might take; "
"that they had not in the past proved dangerous adversaries to our legions, "
"and that it would ill become the representatives of the Roman People to "
"suffer barbarians to interfere with a course which the justice and prestige "
"of the Republic demanded. That, on the other hand, the successful "
"administration of a province depended primarily upon the safety and good-"
"will of the civilised element in whose hands the local machinery of commerce "
"and prosperity reposed, and in whose veins a large mixture of our own "
"Italian blood coursed. These, though in numbers they might form a minority, "
"were the stable element whose constancy might be relied on, and whose "
"cooperation would most firmly bind the province to the Imperium of the "
"Senate and the Roman People. It was at once a duty and an advantage to "
"afford them the protection due to Roman citizens; even (and here I shot a "
"sarcastic look at Balbutius and Asellius) at the expense of a little trouble "
"and activity, and of a slight interruption of the draught-playing and cock-"
"fighting at the camp in Calagurris. That the danger to the town and "
"inhabitants of Pompelo was a real one, I could not from my studies doubt. I "
"had read many scrolls out of Syria and Ægyptus, and the cryptic towns of "
"Etruria, and had talked at length with the bloodthirsty priest of Diana "
"Aricina in his temple in the woods bordering Lacus Nemorensis. There were "
"shocking dooms that might be called out of the hills on the Sabbaths; dooms "
"which ought not to exist within the territories of the Roman People; and to "
"permit orgies of the kind known to prevail at Sabbaths would be but little "
"in consonance with the customs of those whose forefathers, A. Postumius "
"being consul, had executed so many Roman citizens for the practice of the "
"Bacchanalia—a matter kept ever in memory by the Senatus Consultum de "
"Bacchanalibus, graven upon bronze and set open to every eye. Checked in "
"time, before the progress of the rites might evoke anything with which the "
"iron of a Roman pilum might not be able to deal, the Sabbath would not be "
"too much for the powers of a single cohort. Only participants need be "
"apprehended, and the sparing of a great number of mere spectators would "
"considerably lessen the resentment which any of the sympathising country "
"folk might feel. In short, both principle and policy demanded stern action; "
"and I could not doubt but that Publius Scribonius, bearing in mind the "
"dignity and obligations of the Roman People, would adhere to his plan of "
"despatching the cohort, me accompanying, despite such objections as "
"Balbutius and Asellius—speaking indeed more like provincials than "
"Romans—might see fit to offer and multiply."
msgstr ""

msgctxt "be0f6b2ff6ec936d18e204ead76050aa"
msgid ""
"The slanting sun was now very low, and the whole hushed town seemed draped "
"in an unreal and malign glamour. Then P. Scribonius the proconsul signified "
"his approval of my words, and stationed me with the cohort in the "
"provisional capacity of a centurio primipilus; Balbutius and Asellius "
"assenting, the former with better grace than the latter. As twilight fell on "
"the wild autumnal slopes, a measured, hideous beating of strange drums "
"floated down from afar in terrible rhythm. Some few of the legionarii shewed "
"timidity, but sharp commands brought them into line, and the whole cohort "
"was soon drawn up on the open plain east of the circus. Libo himself, as "
"well as Balbutius, insisted on accompanying the cohort; but great difficulty "
"was suffered in getting a native guide to point out the paths up the "
"mountain. Finally a young man named Vercellius, the son of pure Roman "
"parents, agreed to take us at least past the foothills. We began to march in "
"the new dusk, with the thin silver sickle of a young moon trembling over the "
"woods on our left. That which disquieted us most was the fact that the "
"Sabbath was to be held at all. Reports of the coming cohort must have "
"reached the hills, and even the lack of a final decision could not make the "
"rumour less alarming—yet there were the sinister drums as of yore, as if the "
"celebrants had some peculiar reason to be indifferent whether or not the "
"forces of the Roman People marched against them. The sound grew louder as we "
"entered a rising gap in the hills, steep wooded banks enclosing us narrowly "
"on either side, and displaying curiously fantastic tree-trunks in the light "
"of our bobbing torches. All were afoot save Libo, Balbutius, Asellius, two "
"or three of the centuriones, and myself, and at length the way became so "
"steep and narrow that those who had horses were forced to leave them; a "
"squad of ten men being left to guard them, though robber bands were not "
"likely to be abroad on such a night of terror. Once in a while it seemed as "
"though we detected a skulking form in the woods nearby, and after a half-"
"hour's climb the steepness and narrowness of the way made the advance of so "
"great a body of men—over 300, all told—exceedingly cumbrous and difficult. "
"Then with utter and horrifying suddenness we heard a frightful sound from "
"below. It was from the tethered horses—they had screamed, not neighed, but "
"screamed... and there was no light down there, nor the sound of any human "
"thing, to shew why they had done so. At the same moment bonfires blazed out "
"on all the peaks ahead, so that terror seemed to lurk equally well before "
"and behind us. Looking for the youth Vercellius, our guide, we found only a "
"crumpled heap weltering in a pool of blood. In his hand was a short sword "
"snatched from the belt of D. Vibulanus, a subcenturio, and on his face was "
"such a look of terror that the stoutest veterans turned pale at the sight. "
"He had killed himself when the horses screamed... he, who had been born and "
"lived all his life in that region, and knew what men whispered about the "
"hills. All the torches now began to dim, and the cries of frightened "
"legionaries mingled with the unceasing screams of the tethered horses. The "
"air grew perceptibly colder, more suddenly so than is usual at November's "
"brink, and seemed stirred by terrible undulations which I could not help "
"connecting with the beating of huge wings. The whole cohort now remained at "
"a standstill, and as the torches faded I watched what I thought were "
"fantastic shadows outlined in the sky by the spectral luminosity of the Via "
"Lactea as it flowed through Perseus, Cassiopeia, Cepheus, and Cygnus. Then "
"suddenly all the stars were blotted from the sky—even bright Deneb and Vega "
"ahead, and the lone Altair and Fomalhaut behind us. And as the torches died "
"out altogether, there remained above the stricken and shrieking cohort only "
"the noxious and horrible altar-flames on the towering peaks; hellish and "
"red, and now silhouetting the mad, leaping, and colossal forms of such "
"nameless beasts as had never a Phrygian priest or Campanian grandam "
"whispered of in the wildest of furtive tales. And above the nighted "
"screaming of men and horses that dæmonic drumming rose to louder pitch, "
"whilst an ice-cold wind of shocking sentience and deliberateness swept down "
"from those forbidden heights and coiled about each man separately, till all "
"the cohort was struggling and screaming in the dark, as if acting out the "
"fate of Laocoön and his sons. Only old Scribonius Libo seemed resigned. He "
"uttered words amidst the screaming, and they echo still in my ears. “Malitia "
"vetus—malitia vetus est . . . venit . . . tandem venit . . .”"
msgstr ""

msgctxt "eec9d415d3e24d9ffe150f03abd057dd"
msgid ""
"And then I waked. It was the most vivid dream in years, drawing upon wells "
"of the subconscious long untouched and forgotten. Of the fate of that cohort "
"no record exists, but the town at least was saved—for encyclopædias tell of "
"the survival of Pompelo to this day, under the modern Spanish name of "
"Pompelona. . . ."
msgstr ""

msgctxt "168e0c62a3c98db3d6b274a66448ad42"
msgid "Yrs for Gothick Supremacy–"
msgstr ""

msgctxt "68936c4f3bf7a593c1614bb9672a574d"
msgid "C · IVLIVS · VERVS · MAXIMINVS."
msgstr ""