THE METAMORPHOSES OF PUBLIUS OVIDIUS NASO

298 P. OVIDII N ASONIS LIBER IV.
IIIic immeritam maternoe pendere linguae
Andromedam poeuas injustus jusserat Ammon.
Q,uam simul ad duras religatam brach'a cautes
Vidit Abantiades ; nisi quod levis aura capillos
Moverat, et trepido manabant lumina fletu;
Marmoreum ratus esset opus. Trahit inscius ignes;
Et stupet; et, visas correptus imagine formas,
Pene suas quatere est oblitus in aere pennas.
Ut stetit, O, dixit, non istis digna catenis,
Sed quibus inter se cupidi junguntur amantes:
Pande requirenti nomen terraeque tuumque ;
Et cur vincla geras. Primo silet ilia, nee audet
Adspcctare virum virgo; manibusque modestos
Celasset vultus, si non religata fuisset.
Lumina, quod potuit, lacrymis implevit obortis.
Saepius instanti, sua ne delicta fateri
Nolle videretur, nomen terreeque suumque,
Quantaque maternas fuerit fiducia formae,
Indicat; et, nondum memoratis omnibus, unda
8. MaterntB lingua!. Cnssiope, the mo
ther of Andromeda, had boasted that she
was fairer than the Nereids; wherefore,
they sent a sea-monster to ravage the coast
of Ethiopia.
9. Amman. A name of Jupiter, who was
worshipped in Libya under this appellation,
which signifies sandy. While traversing
these sandy deserts, Bacchus and liis army
suffered much from thirst, when Jupiier
appeared in the form of a ram, nnd showed
them a fountain of water. Hence, Bac
chus built a temple in the place to his fa
ther, whom he designated Jupiier Ammon,
and placed in the temple the image of that
god with the head of a ram. The ruins of
the temple are still seen in the Oasis of
Siwah.
No more the Augur stands in snowy shroud,
To \vntch each ni tin vt in and roiling cloud;
Nor superstition ill dim twt ight weaves
.Her wizard song among Dodona'9 leaves;
Phcebus is dumb, and votaries crowd no
more
The Delphian mountain nnd the Deliaa shore;
Aud lone, and still, tl e Lib in Ammon stands,
His utterance stifled by the desert sands.
N. C. BROOKS.
10. Quam vidit. Perseus sow Androm
eda bound to a rock.
He saw upon the golden sand
Of thi1 sea-shore, a rnniden stand,
Before whose feet the expiring; wavta
Flung their last tribute with a sigh—
As, in the Kast, exhausted slaves
Lay down the tar-brought gift, and die.— MOOKE.
With agoniz ng nir,
In all the desolation of despair,
She fitood; her lianda to heaven uplift and claspt.
MONTGOMERY.
NOTJE.
10
15
18. Fande mitu re
quirenti nomenque
tuum, terreeque, et
OA cur geras vincla
25
13. Marmoreum opus: n work of mar
ble ; a statue.
18. Nomen terras: the name of your
country.
20. Adspectare. I have substituted this
word for appellare, which is properly the
reading; for appellare signifies to accost;
whereas, if the virgin spoke, it would have
been in reply. Besides, we are just told
she is silent, silet. What an interest is
given by the poet. She is not only silent,
but through modesty cannot even look
upon Perseus. Lucian specially refers to
the modesty of Andromeda, as represent
ed in a picture which he saw:
On the right hand «» you enter the hall, a
lr=nsaclion r pre nl d hi h t le Grecian
and E nopian ustone 1 y qual claim i.—Per
seus, when returning from In_ Bie ht against the
Gorgon?, kills the sea-roonsler by the way, sets
Andromeda free, and soon after marries and
takes her along with him to Argos Remark
how much 'h= -ti"t h— here e~l ibiled 'n small
space. Sham and fa re b aut fully ex
pressed in the attitude of the virgin, a. she looks
down from the rock to observe the youthful hero
engaged in fight for love of her, and how diffi
cult it proves to him to subdue the monster,
making up to him with h's impenetrate -cales,
prickly points, and wid apm jaw P r us
with his left hand holds before him the head of
Medusa, wbile he makes a powerful stroke at
him wiih the sword in his right; already the
monster is turned into stone on the side thai he
had turned toward the Gorgon whilst th~ other
3 et show igns of life 1 y t le b ood 1 1 ush s
from the wound n had received from Hie cimelar
of the hero.—ENCOMIUM ON A MAGNIFICENT HALL.
23. Sua ne delifta. Lest Persous mav
think she is confined there on account at
her own crimes, she gives him the relation
of her mother's presumption, and the pe
nalty wh ch was inflicted.
FABTJLA VII.
METAMORPHOSED N.
Insonuit; veniensque immense bellua ponto
Eminet; et latuin sub pectore possidet aequor.
Conclamat virgo: genitor lugubris, et amens
Mater adest; ambo miseri, sed justius ilia ; 30
Nee secum auxilium, sed dignos tempore fietus,
Plangoremque ferunt; vinctoque in corpore adhaerent.
Cum sic hospes ait: Lacrvmarum Jonpa manere
Tempora vos poterunt; ad opem brevis hora lerendam est. pore.
Hanc ego si peterem, Perseus Jove natus et ilia, 35
Quam clausam implevit foecundo Jupiter auro,
Gorgonis anguicomae Perseus superator, et alis
./Ethercas ausus jactatis ire per auras :
Praeferrer cunctis certe gener. Addere tantis
Dotibus et meritum, faveant modo numina, tento : 40
Ut mea sit, servata mea virtute, paciscor.
Accipiunt legem, quis enim dubitaret ? et orant,
1* I'LfJ ItiJMJ'
Promittuntque super regnum dotale, parentes.
Ecce ! velut navis, prsefixo concita rostro,
Sulcat aquas, juvenum sudantibus acta lacertis : 45
Sic fera, dimotis impulsu pectoris undis,
Tantum aberat scopulis, quantum Balearica torto
Funda potest plumbo medii transmittere coeli:
Cum subitfi, juvenis, pedibus tellure repulsa,
Arduus in nubes abiit: ut in asquore summo 50
Umbra viri visa est, visam fera ssvit in umbram.
30. Justius ilia. The mother is said to
be more deservedly miserable, because she
had been the occasion of the exposure of
her daughter to the monster.
34. Brevis hora; the time is short. As
the monster is fast advancing, on account
of the shortness of the time and the urgen
cy of the occasion, Perseus briefly recounts
his origin and exploits.
35. Jlanc si peterem : if I ask her in
marriage.
35. Ilia. Danae, the daughter of Acri-
sius.
36. Quam clausam: whom shut up.
Hence Horace:
Inclusam Danagn turris aheiiea;
RolmstiECjue fores, et yigilum ennum
Trisies exculiiiB. inuuierant satis
Noclurnis ak ululteris.—LIB. iii. Od. xvi.
36. Fcecundo auro: with fecundating
gold. So Horace:
Ciistodem pavidnm Jupiter ct Venus
Ruussenl: fore enim tutum iter et patens
Converse in prelinm deo.—LIB. iii. Od. xvi.
41. Paciscor : I stipulate.
44. Vdut navis. This simile is lively
and expressive. It presents a clear idea
of the size and force of the monster.
47. Torto plumbo: with leaden ball
whirled round.
50. Arduus in nubes aliit; mounts up
Vito the air. This appears to have been
NOT^E.
299
31. Nee feruni auz
ilium iecum, ecd plan-
gorem, fletusque dig
nos lempore; adhre-
rentque in vincto cor
4-1. Ecce velut na
vis conciiii, acta su-
danlibiifi lacertis ju-
venum, sulcat aquai
pnEfi-xo rostro
copied by Spenser, in the fight with tbo
dragon:
Then with his waving winp" di~played wide,
Himsc'f upright lie "i ed f om ll ground,
And wit i trong fli ht d_d forcibly divide
The yielding air, which nigli too feeble found
Her flitting pans and elements unsound,
To bear so great a weight.—FAERIE QUEENE.
51. Viri. Of Perseus. We give a de
scription of the destruction of the monster
by Perseus, which we wrote as a cchool
exercise. As it was inspired by the text,
it may not be altogether inappropriate,
though a juvenile production:
Entranced in wo, fair Cassiope's child,
The victim of a mother's wanton hoast,
Beheld the rugged crags that reared their wild
And threatening heads above the stormy coast
And as she gazed upon the sea before,
In mockery t ough her bosom stole n host
Of pie ant n emories, while with angry roar
The death-denouncing waves broke on the roclcy
shore.
The ample treasure of her raven locks
In darksome beauty streaming on ihe wind,
Upon a pedestal of blackened rocks
Like Parian statue stood the maid, confined
By chains which marred the tender wrists ther
bound:
The thoughts of home came thronging on her
mind,—
Her bosom heaved, her eyes in tears were
drownedf
And grief burst from her lips in sorrow's plain
tive sound.