THE METAMORPHOSES OF PUBLIUS OVIDIUS NASO

30
P. OVIDII NASONIS
Eurus ad Auroram, Nabatheeaque regna recessit,
Persidaque, et radiis juga subdita matutinis;
Vesper, et occiduo qua littora Sole tepescunt,
Proxima sunt Zephyro: Scythiam septemque Trionem 60
Horrifer invasit Boreas jcontraria tellus
Nubibus assiduis, pluvioque madescit ab Austro.
Hsec super imposuit liquidum et gravitate carentcm
NOT-ffi.
Aurora to Astrxus bare the winds,
Of spirit untamed; east, west, and south, and
north.
Cleaving his rapid course. HESIOD.
Astraus is derived from &rrtp, n star, and
probably means the sun, " the greater
light." As the sun's rays disturb the tem
perature of the air in the morning, and
cause the winds to rise, they are said, with
poetic beauty, to be born of the sun and
the morning.
57. Eurus. The poet describes the four
cardinal winds, east, west, north and south,
and begins with Eurus. This blows from
the equinoctial east, and to the Italians was
dry, serene, pleasant, and healthy.
57. Ad Auroram: to the east, where the
morning rises. By metonymy.
57. Kabaihaa. The Nabathffian king
doms, according to Josephus, comprised
that portion of country lying between the
Euphrates and the Red Sea, and were
reigned over by twelve princes, the sons
of Ishmael, of whom Nabath was the
eldest. Pliny mentions the Nabalhffii in
Arabia Felix.
58. Persida. This is a Greek name of
Persia, a celebrated country of the cast.
It was at first a small country, bounded on
the north by Media, on the east by Caro-
mania, on the south by Sinus Persicus, and
on the west by Susiana. It is thought to
have derived its name from Perses, the son
of Perseus.
58. Eadiif juga: the hills lying under
the rays of the morning; a beautiful peri
phrasis for the eastern mountains.
Where first the sun
Gilds Indian mountains. THOMSON.
59. Vefper. As Aurora was put for the
cast, vespi r is here put for the west.
59. Qua lillora trjtrscunt. This is an
other beautiful periphrasis for the shores
of the west.
Or his setting beams
Flumes on the Atlantic isles. THOMSON.
60. Proximn. Are next to Zcphyrus, the
west wind. This wind is from the equi
noctial west, and with its side winds, is
cloudy and moist, and less healthful. Zc
phyrus presides over fruits and flowers,
and is represented under the form of a
youth, with wings like those of a butterfly,
and having his head crowned with flowers.
CO. Scythia. A country in the north of
Asia, remarkable for the coldness of its
LIBER L
vix obsistitur illis,
cum regant sua fla-
mina quisque diverse
tractu, quin lanicnt
mundum; discordia
fratrum est tanta. Eu
rus recessit ad Auro-
ram, Nabathreaque
62. Madescit assid-
uis nubibus ab pluvi >
Austro. Imposuit
climate, and the rude character of its in
habitants.
Scythiffiqne hyemes atque arida divert
Nubila. GKORGIC iii.197.
GO. Septemlrionem. From seplem, seven,
and triones, ploughing oxen. A constella
tion near the north pole, consisting of seven
stars in the form of a plough. It is here
put for the north. Sometimes it is called
Charles's Wain, from a fancied resem
blance to a wagon.
61. Horrifer Boreas. Boreas is derived
from pcpSii, a vortex; as this wind often
blows with such violence as to cause whirl
winds, it probably had its name from this
circumstance. It produces cold, hail, and
snow. As this wind causes shivering, it
has the epithet horrifer.
Boreas, and Crecas, and Argestas loud,
And Thrascins, rend thcwoods,ond seas upturn.
MILTOH.
62. Pluvio ab Austro. The south wind
passing over the sea is warm and moist,
and often brings rain.
The effusive south
Warms the wide air. and o'er the void of heaven
Breathes the big clouds, with vernal showers
distent. THOMSOK.
Besides the cardinal winds, there are
others which are collateral. They are com
prised in the following lines:
Flat Subsolanxis, Vulturnus ct Kurus ab ortu :
Circius occasum, Zephyrusque Favonius afHant,
Kt media de parte die Notus, Africus, Auster :
Conveniunt Aquilo, Boreas, et Corus ab Arcto.
G3. Super lac : above these; that is,
above the atmosphere and the winds.
64. JEthern: the ether, or fire. It is de
scribed by Cicero as the heaven in which
the fiery bodies run their courses. The
upper air or ether is mythologically called
Jupiter; the atmospheric or lower air,
Juno. Hence Jtmo has been styled, by the
Stoics, both the sister and wife of Jupiter.
As heat and moisture are tho radical prin
ciples of all things, the union of Jupiter
and Juno are said to produce every thing
in nature.
Turn paler omnipotcns frecundis imbribus rether
Conjugis ingremium teetse descendit, et omnes
Magnus alit, magno commixtus eorpoie, foctua
VIBGIL.
I.ostly, when father Ether kindly pours
On fertile mother Earth his seminal showers.
CBBECH'S LUCBKTIIT&
FABULA I.
METAMORPHOSED N.
/Ethera, nee quicquarn terrena fbecis habentem.
Vix ea limitibue dissepserat omnia certis :
Cum, qua? pressa diu massa latuere sub ilia,
Sidera ceeperunt toto efiervescere ccelo.
KOTJE.
65. CrrlhlimitSrus: fixed boundaries.
66. Ulasta: that mass. Chaos under
which the stars lay.
67. Sidera. Sidui is a constellation con
sisting of many stars. The poet here is
speaking of stars in general.
A constellation is but one,
ThougL 'tis a train of stars. DRYDEN.
67. Effervescent to glow through all the
heavens.
The myriad stars
Glaw in the deep blue heaven, and the moon
Pours from her beamy urn a silver tide
Of living rays upon the slumbering earth.
SCRIPTURAL AVTHOLOGY.
The stare which lay obscured under
Chaos, now begin to shine forth. Hesiod,
in like manner, speaks of the stars as last
formed.
Last Lucifer
Sprang radiant from the dawn-appearing morn,
And all the glittering stars that gird the heaven,
UESIOD.
How shajl I then attempt to sing of Him
Whose single smile has, from Hie first of time,
Filled, overflowing, all those lamps of heaven
That beam for ever through the boundless sky.
THOMSON.
Aratus, in speaking of the formation of
the stars, uses language very similar to'
that of Moses.
Auros yap TOye rijjia r' If ci-poi-ai Jrropifc.
ARATUS.
EiHtaivciv evcAcvircr iltepxapivov r' dp6roto.
IDEM.
And God said, let there be lights in the firma
ment ;. and let them be for signs, and for seasons.
GEXESIS.
Nothing in creation is so well calculated
to fill the mind with sublime ideas, and lift
What is the subject of Fable I ?
What is said of the account of the crea
tion given by Ovid ?
What was Chaos?
Who was Titan ? who were the Titans f
Who was Phrebe ?
Who was Amphitrite f
In what state were the elements in
Chaos ?
In reducing the elements to order, what
was the first act of the deity ? what the
second >. the third ?
What place did the fiery principle, or
OBthcr occupy?
What is next to the aether ?
What figure was given to the earth ?
QU^STIONES.
31
liquidum JEthern, et
_ caremem gravitate,
DO nee habentcin quicquam
terreaoe Hjecifl,
super htcc. Vix dis
sepserat omnia ea
the soul to God, us the contemplation tf
the starry heavens; truly,.the heavens de
clare the glory of God, and the finnamerrl
showeth his handiwork.
With radiant finger Coutemplation points
To yon blue concave, swelled by breath divine,
Where, one by one, the living eyes of heav'n
Awake, quick kindling o'er the lace of ether
One boundless blaze; ten thousand trembling
fires,
And dancing lustres, where th' unsteady eye,
Restless and dazzled, wanders unconfined
O'er all this field of glories: spacious field,
And worthy of the Master ! he whose hand,
With hieroglyphics elder than the Nile
Inscribed the mystic tablet, hung on high
To public gaze ; and said, Adore, O man,
The finger of thy God 1 From what pure wells
Of milky light, what soft o'erflowing urn,
Are all these lamps so filled? these friendly
lumps,
For ever streaming o'er the azure deep,
To point our path, and light us to our home.
How soft they slide along their lucid spheres!
And, silent as the foot of time, fulfil
Their destined courses. Nature's self is hushed,
And, but a scattered leaf, which rustles thro'
The th ck-wove foliage, not a sound is heard
To break the midnight air : the' the rais'd ear,
Intensely list'niiig, drinks in ev'ry breath.
How deep the silence, yet how loud the praise!
But are they silent all? or is there not
A tongue in ev'ry star that talks with man.
And woos him to be wise ? nor woos in vaiu:
This dead of midnight is the noon of thought.
And wipdom mounts her zenith with the stars.
At this still hour the self-collected soul
Turns inward, and beholds a stranger there
Of high descent, and more than mortal rank;
An embryo God; a spark of fire divine,
Which must burn on for ages, when the sun
(Fair transitory crea'ture of a day!)
1 las closed his golden eye, and, wrapt in shades.
Forgets his wonted journey thro' the east.
BARBAULD.
How many zones are there, and how
disposed ?
What is said of the torrid zone ?
Did all the ancients hold this opinion ?
How many winds are mentioned ?
Why are they called the sons of Aetraus
and Aurora?
What are their names, and their re
gions ?
Who was Aurora ? why does it signify
the east ?
Where is Nnbaihiea ? why so called ?
By what figure is Septeratrionem di
vided ?
What part of the material creation was
last formed ?