THE METAMORPHOSES OF PUBLIUS OVIDIUS NASO

'P. OVIDII N ASONIS
146
At pater omnipotens superos testatus, et ipsum,
Q.UI dederat cuirus, nisi opem ferat, omnia fato
Interitura gravi; summam petit arduus arcem;
Unde solet latis nubes inducere terris;
Unde movet tonitrus, vibrataque fulmina jactat.
Sed neque, quas posset terris inducere, nubes,
Tune habuit: nee, quos ccelo dimitteret, imbres.
Intonat, et dextra libratum fulmen ab aure
Misit in aurigam; pariterque, animaque rotisque
Expulit, et stevis compescuit i^nibus ignes.
Consternantur equi: ct salm in contrana facto
Colla jugo excutiunt, abruptaque lora relinquunt.
Illic frffina jacent, illic temone revulsus
Axis ; in hac radii fractarum parte rotarum :
Sparsaque sunt late laceri vestigia currus.
At Phaethon, rutilos flamma populante capillos,
Volvitur in pneccps, longoque per aera tractu
Fertur ; ut interdum dc ccelo Stella sereno,
Etsi non cccidit, potuit cecidisse videri.
Quern procul a patria diverse maximus orbe
Excipit Eridanus, spumantiaque abluit ora.
NOTJE.
151. Propioraque manibus: nearer to the
manes ; nearer the infernal shades.
152. Pater omnipotens: Jupiter, who
possesses all power.
152. Te'statvs: having attested; having
called to witness. Thus Virgil:
Vos ceterni ignefl, et non yiolabile vestrum,
Tester nuinen. ^EHBID ii.
152. Ipsum qui dederats Apollo. *In
the dialogue between Jupiter and Apollo,
Luciau gives an account of this:
JTJPITEH What have you done, you wickedest
of all tlic Titans ? The whole earth is nearly de
near it. anu me UIIMTI ia i?«i.. B .. . ~, __
cause he kept at too great a'distance from it. In
short, he lias thrown al into confus on and ruinP
and had I not in time perce ved what was going
forward, and flashed h.m down from the chariot
with my thunderbolt, there would not have been
a bone remaining of the whole human race;
such a sober coachman have you Gent out "with
your chariot! DIALOGUES OF THE DEITIES.
154. Summam: the highest eminence.
154. Petit arduus: aloft he mounts to.
155. Latin terris: o'er the broad earth.
156. Fulmina jactat: he hurls the bran
dished ihunderbolts.
159. Intonat: he thunders; sends the
thunderbolt.
1 fiO. Pariterque: and at once ; alike.
100. Hotisque: and the wheels; by syn
ecdoche for the chariot.
161. Compffcuit: restrained; extin>
guished.
162. Consternantur equi: the horses are
affrighted
155
160
165
LIBER li.
urn os in se, antraque
propiota manibus.
157. Sed neque lunc
habuit nubes, quas
posset inducere ter-
ris; nee imbres, quos
dimiiteret ccelo. In-
toimt et rnisit fulrnen
Jibratum ab dextra
aure, in aurigam
Phaiithonta.
167. At Phaethon,
fiamma pppulante TU-
tilos capillos, volvi-
tur in prreceps; fcr-
turque per a£ra longo
I7Q tracln, ut imerdum
Stella de ccelo serene,
qua, etsi non cecidit,
potuit videri cecidisse.
162. In contraria: across; opposite.
163. Colla excutiunt: shake their necks
from the yoke. This expression indicates
the great ease with which they freed them
selves.
164. Temone revulsus: torn away from
the tongue.
166. Vestigia: traces; fragments.
166. Lacericurrus: of the shattered cha
riot.
167. Populante: spoiling; destroying.
168. Volvitur in pneceps: falls head
long.
His blood fell on the earth ; his hands,
His feet, rolled whirling; like Ixion's wheel,
And to the ground hie naming body fell.
ElKlrlDEs's PHCEKISSJB.
168. Longoque traclu: with a long
train.
169. Stella. Stars do not fall; what are
imagined to be shooting stars, are only
meteors traversing the heavens.
171. Procul a patria : afar from his-coun-
try, JEtliiopia. It was a melancholy ag
gravation ot Phaethon's death, that even
his bones could not rest in his own
country.
AVeep not for the dead, but for him that goeth
away from his country, for he shall return no
more. ISAIAH.
O thou, to whom I owe my birth, and thou,
My sister, in my native earth entomb me.
And pacify the exasperated state
Be this, al least, of my paternal soil
My portion, though the royal seat be lost.
EinirlDES
172. Eridanus: The Po, called also the
Padus.
f AEULA II MBTAMORTHOSEON.
What were the names of the horses of
the sun ?
Was Phaethon able to curb them?
Did they preserve the track of the sun?
Whither did they run?
What affrighted Phaethon and caused
him to let falfthe reins 1
At what is the moon surprised ?
What is meant by the horses of the sun
running lower than hers ?
What happens to the clouds 1
What happens to the earth ?
Were any cities destroyed 1
What happened to the fountains ?
What is said of the color of the Ethio
pians ?
How was the Nile afiected ?
Who presented a special appeal to Ju
piter f
QU.ESTIONES.
147
What did Jupiter resolve to do f
What did he afterwards do 1
Where did Phaethon fall ?
How may this Fable be interpreted »
Do ancient writers record an early partial
conflagration of the world?
To what does St. Chrysostom refer it ?
What other Biblical occurrences more
probably gave rise to the Fable ?
What does Plutarch say of Phaethon ?
What account of him does Lucian give f
Interpreted physically, what does Phae-
thon mean ?
How is he the son of Phcabus and Cly
mene?
Why is he said to be struck with light*
ning?
Does Ovid describe, in the Fable, the di
urnal, or the annual course of the sun?