THE METAMORPHOSES OF PUBLIUS OVIDIUS NASO
THE METAMORPHOSES OF PUBLIUS OVIDIUS NASO
THE METAMORPHOSES OF PUBLIUS OVIDIUS NASO
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228 P. OVIDII <strong>NASO</strong>NIS<br />
Tempera matures visurus longa senectse;<br />
Fatidicus vates, Si se non noverit, inquit.<br />
Vana diu visa est vox auguris. Exitus illam,<br />
Resque probat, letique genus, novitasque furoris<br />
Jamque ter ad quinos unum Cephisius annum 15<br />
Addiderat: poteratque puer, juvenisque videri.<br />
Aspicit hunc, trepidos agitantem in retia cervos,<br />
Vocalis Nymphe ; quce nee reticere loquenti,<br />
Nee prior ipsa loqui didicit, resonabiJis Echo.<br />
Corpus adliuc Echo, non vox erat: et tamen usum 20<br />
Garrula non alium, quain nunc habet, oris habebal;<br />
Reddere de multis ut verba novissima posset.<br />
Fecerat hoc Juno; quia, cum deprendere posset<br />
Sub Jove sffipe suo Nymphas in monte jacentes,<br />
Ilia deam longo prudens sermone tenebat, 25<br />
Dum fugerent Nymphs. Postquam Saturnia sensit;<br />
Hujus, ait, linguae, qua sum delusa, potestas<br />
Parva tibi dabitur, vocisque brevissimus usus:<br />
Requo minas firmat. Tamen hiec in fine loquendi<br />
Ingeminat voces; auditaque verba reportat. 30<br />
Ergo, ubi Narcissum per devia lustra vagantem<br />
Vidit, et incaluit; sequitur vestigia furtim.<br />
Q.u6que magis sequitur; flamma propiore calescit.<br />
Non aliter, quam cum summis circumlita tffidis<br />
Admotam rapiunt vivacia sulphura flammam. 35<br />
O quoties voluit blandis accedere dictis,<br />
Et molles adhibere preces! natura repugnat,<br />
loved by Echo and many other maidens,<br />
whom he slighted. He saw his face in a<br />
fountain, and falling in love wilh his own<br />
image, pined away, and, after death, was<br />
changed into a flower of the same name.<br />
As the Narcissus flourishes near the wa<br />
ter, hence, ho is fabled to be the son of<br />
the river Cephisos.<br />
14. Novilas furoris: the strangeness of<br />
his mad passion.<br />
16. Puerjuvenis. Such was his cge and<br />
his appearance, that he might be regarded<br />
either as a boy or a youth. Or, to consi<br />
der it differently, ho was a boy in beauty,<br />
but a youth in size.<br />
19. Eesonabilis Echo: the resounding<br />
Echo. She was the daughter of Tellus<br />
and Aer, and was remarkable for her lo<br />
quacity. Ausonius makes her the daugh<br />
ter of Air and the Tongue:<br />
Afiris et linguss sum filia, mater inanis<br />
Judicii vocemque sine meme gero.<br />
Extremes pereunte modos a fine reducens,<br />
Ludificnta sequor verba aliena nieis.<br />
Auribus in vestris habito penctrabilis Echo:<br />
Et si vis similem pingere, piuge fionum.<br />
EPIGRAM, xi.<br />
Pliny gives the real cause of the Echo:<br />
Montium flelus, crebrique vertices, et con-<br />
flexa cubito, aut anfracta in humeros juga,<br />
NOTJE.<br />
LIBER III<br />
15. Jnrnque Cephl-<br />
sius addiderat unum<br />
annum ad ter quinos<br />
poteratque videri pu<br />
er, juvenisque.<br />
26. Saturnia post-<br />
quam Bensit hoc, ait;<br />
potestas parvss liujus<br />
linguce qua Bum delu<br />
sa dabitur tihi, usus-<br />
que brevissimua vo-<br />
cia.<br />
37. At natura ejus<br />
rcpucjniit, nee sinit u*<br />
incipiat.<br />
yallium sinus concovi, scindunt iruequaliter<br />
inde resultantem afira; quffi causa etiam voces<br />
multis in locis reciprocas facit.<br />
NATURAL. HISTOR. lib. ii. cap. 44<br />
20. Corpus adhuc: she was yet a body.<br />
She had not been changed to a voice.<br />
22. Verba novissima: the last words.<br />
The confusion of sounds consequent upon<br />
the words following in continuation, pre<br />
vents their being heard distinctly; but the<br />
last words not being thus interrupted, re<br />
turn to us with distinctness. Some echoes<br />
repeat completely. There is an echo at<br />
Rosneath, near Glasgow, that repeats a<br />
tune played with a trumpet, three times,<br />
perfectly and distinctly.<br />
23. Cum deprendere porset : when she<br />
might have caught.<br />
29. Eeque minas Jlrmat: she confirms<br />
her threats by deed.<br />
31. Devia lustra: the pathless forests.<br />
33. Quonue magis- sequitur: and the<br />
more she follows) him.<br />
34. Summis tasdis : on the ends of torches.<br />
35. Vivaria /ulphura. It will be seen<br />
that brimstone matches were an early in<br />
vention.<br />
36. Blandis dictis: with seductive words;<br />
with soft accents.<br />
37. Natura repugnat. Her nature re-<br />
FABULA V. METAMORPHOSED N. 229<br />
Nee sinit incipiat; sed, quod sinit, ilia parata est<br />
Expcctare sonos, ad quos sua verba remittat.<br />
Forte puer, comitum seductus ab agmine fido, 40<br />
Dixerat, Ecquis adest ? Et, Adest, responderat Echo.<br />
Hie stupet: utque aciem partes divisit in omnes;<br />
Voce, Veni, clarnat magna: vocat ilia vocantem.<br />
Respicit, et nullo rursus veniente, Quid, inquit,<br />
Me fugis ? Et totidem, qnot dixit verba, recepit.<br />
Perstat; jtt alterna? deceptus imagine vocis;<br />
Hue coeamus, ait: nullique libentiits unquam<br />
Responsura sono, Coeamus rettulit Echo.<br />
Et verbis favet ipsa suis; egressaque sylvis<br />
Ibat, ut injiceret sperato brachia collo.<br />
Ille fugit; fugiensque, Manus complexibus aufer:<br />
Ante, ait, emoriar, quam sit tibi copia nostri:<br />
Rettulit ilia nihil, nisi, Sit tibi copia nostri.<br />
Spreta latet sylvis; pudibundaque frondibus. ora<br />
Protegit; et solis ex illo vivit in antris.<br />
Sed tamen heeret amor; crescitque dolore repulsas.<br />
Attenuant vigiles corpus miserabile curie:<br />
Adducitque cutem macies; et in ae'ra succus<br />
Corporis omnis abit. Vox tantum, atque ossa supersunt,<br />
Vox manet: ossa ferunt lapidis traxisse figuram. CO<br />
NOT^E.<br />
gists her inclination. Nature formed wo<br />
man to be wooed, not to woo; and this<br />
causes her to be retiring in her manners.<br />
Besides this innate rnoaesty and reserve,<br />
there was a personal inability in the case<br />
of Echo to court her lover. She could not<br />
speak any thing of herself, but merely re<br />
peat the last words that she heard.<br />
40. Puer. Narcissus.<br />
42. Aciem divisit: directed his sight;<br />
cast his'Eye. .<br />
43. Vocal vocantem. Echo cries, Veni!<br />
45. Rtcepit: received; heard again.<br />
46. Imagine: with the echo. This re<br />
flection ofsound may be figuratively called<br />
its imape, for it corresponds in sound to the<br />
reflection in sight, of an object from a mir<br />
ror ; both reflections being more weak and<br />
faint than the original which produced them.<br />
Simul et jocosa<br />
Redderct laudes vaticani<br />
Mentis irnngo. HORAT. lib. i. ode 20.<br />
Who was Echo ?<br />
What did Juno do to her ? Why ?<br />
Who was Tiresias ? Who Narcissus ?<br />
Why was he fabled to be the son of the<br />
river Cephisos ?<br />
With whom did Echo fall in love ?<br />
Was her passion reciprocated ?<br />
What effect had th« repulse of Narcissus ?<br />
45<br />
50<br />
55<br />
51. Ille fugit, fugi-<br />
ensque ait; aufer ma-<br />
nus complex ib us,<br />
emoriar antequam sit<br />
tibi copia nostri.<br />
Recinet jocosa nomcn imago.<br />
HOBAT. lib. i. ode 12.<br />
Saxa sonant, vocisque offensa resnltat imago.<br />
VIRGIL, Georgic iv. 50.<br />
49. Verbis favet: she favors her words.<br />
She goes to join Narcissus.<br />
54. Sprfta: despised. Such is the con<br />
stitution of man's nature, that he is gene<br />
rally pleased with the coyness of a maiden,<br />
rather than her forwardness.<br />
55. Solis in anlris: in lonely caverns.<br />
The cavities of thes~e are particularly cal<br />
culated to produce the echo.<br />
56. Ddlare repulsce: with the pain of re<br />
pulse ; with the pain of rejection by Nar<br />
cissus.<br />
58. Adducit cutem: shrivels up the skin.<br />
60. Vox ma?iet: her voice only remains.<br />
60. Ossa ferunt. Her bones were<br />
changed into stone. This is said, because<br />
the repercussion ofsound from rocks is the<br />
most forcible and clear.<br />
QU.^STIONES.<br />
Where did she hide afterwards ?<br />
What became of her eventually ?<br />
How must we interpret this Fable ?<br />
Why is Echo fabled to pine away?<br />
Why does she repeat only the last<br />
words ?<br />
Why are her bones said to be changed<br />
into stone ?<br />
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