THE METAMORPHOSES OF PUBLIUS OVIDIUS NASO

168
P. OVIDII NASONIS
Pulchrior in tola quam Larisscea Coronis,
Non fuit Hoemonia. Placuit tibi, Delphice, certe,
Dum vel casta fuit, vel inobservata: sed ales
Sensit adulterium Phoebeius ; utque latentem
Detegeret culpam non exorabilis index,
Ad dominum tendebat iter; quern garula motis
Consequitur pennis, scitetur ut omnia, cornix:
Auditaque vice causa, Non utilc carpis,
Inquit, iter; ne sperne mese prsesagia linguse.
Quid fuerim, quid simque, vide, meritumque require
Invenies nocuisse fidem. Nam tempore quodam
Pallas Erichthonium, prolem sine matre creatam,
Clauserat Actseo texta de vimine cista;
12. Larisscsa Coronis : Coronis of La-
rissa, a city of Thessaly. This is to dis
tinguish her from Coronis of Phocis,
changed into a crow.
13. Delphice. He here apostrophizes
Apollo, v»ho was called Delphicus, be
cause he had a celebrated oracle at Delphi.
14. Ales Phoebeius: the bird of Apollo.
The raven is said to be sacred to Apollo,
because in augury it is most relied on;
for its voice is the most distinct and intel
ligible of all the birds.
15. Adulterium. The adultery of Coro
nis wilh Ischys.
16. Ul. detegeret: that he might disclose.
16. Non exorabilis index: the inexorable
informer. The raven could not be prevail
ed on by Coronis to conceal the fact of her
adultery, nor by the crow to abandon the
purpose of his journey.
17. A d dominnm: to his master, Apollo.
17. Molis pennis: with flapping wings.
18. Scitetur ut omnia: to pry into every
thing.
20. Prasagia: the presages; the predic
tions.
21. Quid fuerim: what I was. She was
the principal attendant of Minerva.
22. Nam tempore. Cornix, the crow,
who was formerly Coronis, the daughter
of Coroneus, now relates the reason ol her
being expelled from the society of Mt-
nerva.
23. Pallas. A name of Minerva, de
rived from iraXXm, to brandish, because she
carries a spear in her hand.
23. Erichttonium. When Vulcan at
tempted to offer violence to Minerva, and
defiled the ground, Erichthonius was pro
duced as the offspring of his passion, and
fabled to be half human and half serpent.
Minerva enclosed him in a basket, and
gave him in charge to the three daughters
of Ceerops, with orders not to open. Erich
thonius is of Greek derivation, and means
a contention of the soil, and doubtless has
reference to some civil dissension. We
NOTJE.
LIBER IL
12. Non fait in tot&
Hscmoiiia pitella pul-
chrior quam Coronis
Larissxa.
15
20
21. Vide quid file
rim, qnidqiie sim, re-
quireque meritum, in*
venies fidcin nocuiese
milii.
may, therefore, as in the case of Ceerops,
consider Erichlhonius not a real personage,
but a personification of the people. Vulcan
attempts to violate Athena; that is, the
artisan population of the city attempt to
seize the government, but cannot effect the
purpose. the seed fells upon the earth,
and Erichthonius is produced; that is, the
nnieans unite with some of the country
people, and form a powerful party, who
assume the government. As the chief
leaders woula probably belong to the city,
and the countrymen be their followers;
hence the head and upper parts of Erich
thonius are said to be human, while his
feet are serpents; that is, " children of the
earth."
24. De vimine: of osiers. This may
adumbrate the citadel of Athens, as stated
in the Explicatio; or -it may refer to a
guard of soldiers, defended by shields
made of twigs, like those in use among
the Germans, as described by Caesar.
These might figuratively be called a basket,
just as the wooden walls of Athens ad
vised by the oracle, were understood to be
ships.
25. Gemino Cecrope. Cecrops was said
to be the founder of Athens. He is repre-
sdnted by some as a native of Attica, and
by others as an Egyptian, who led a colo
ny from Sais, and settled Attica. He was
said to be half man and half serpent; either
because he had two languages, the Egyp
tian and the Greek; or lieeause being a
native of Atlica, he was fabled to have the
feet of a serpent, on account of his autoch
thonous or indigenous nature; for in He
rodotus i. 78, the explanation of the ser
pents devoured by the horses at Sardis is,
" that the snake is a child of the earth."
As ihe Athenians wore the golden cicada
in their hair, as a symbol of their autoch-
thonia, and as Cecrops is by metathesis
*p«oi//, a name of the cicada, it is most pro
bable he was a native. Wordsworth in
his " Greece Pictorial, Descripiive, and
KABULA VII. METAMORPHOSEON.
Virginibusque tribns gemino de Cecrope natis 25
Hanc legem dederat, sua ne secreta viderent.
Abdita fronde levi densa speculabar ulmo,
Quid facerent. Commissa, dues sine fraude tuentur,
Pandrosos atque Herse; timidas vocat una sorores
Agraulos, nodosque manu diducit, at intus 30
Infantemque vident, apporrectumque draconem.
Acta deal refero; pro quo mihi gratia talis
Redditur, ut dicar tutela pulsa Minervse;
Et ponar post noctis avem. Mea pcena volucres
Admonuisse potest, ne voce pericula quserant: 35
At puto non ultro nee quicquam tale rogantem
Me petiit; ipsa licet hoc a Pallade quadras
Quam vis irata est: non hoc irata negabit.
Nam me Phocai'ca clarus tellure Coroneus
(Nota loquor) genuit: fueramque ego regia virgo; 40
Divitibusque precis (ne me contemne) petebar.
Forma mihi nocuit; nam dum per littora lenris
Passibus, ut soleo, summa spatiarer arena,
Vidit, et incaluit pelagi Deus; utque precando
Historical," does not consider Cecrops as
an individual, but as a personification of
the Athenian people.
25. Natis . the daughters of Cecrops.
Their names were Herse, which signifies
dew ; Pandrosos, all-dewy ; and Agraulos,
living-in'the-country. If we consider Ce
crops (cicada) a personification of the Athe
nian people, since the cicada is said to feed
upon dew in the country, we readily per
ceive why his daughters bore the names
attributed to them ; lor as dew is abundant
in mountainous places, Herse would repre
sent the hiountain party; Pandrosos, all-
dewy, the maritime party, and Agraulos
those living in the country. These three
identical parlies were known in the dissen
sions of the people in the days of Solon.
26. Ne secreta. Minerva had ordered
them not to pry into its secret contents.
27. Abdita fronde: concealed by the
leaves.
28. Commissa: what had been commit
ted to them; their charge.
30. Nodos deducit: unties the knots.
31. A pporreclum draconem: a dragon
laid beside him. As the extremities of
Erichlhonius were a dragon, they thought
they saw an infant and a dragon lying
together.
32. A cta refero: I report their deeds.
33. Tulela. pvlsa: expelled from the pro
tection of Minerva. Perhaps some inha
bitant of Corona was the bearer of trea
sonable correspondence, and hence was
expelled from Athens. Or it may be be
cause crows are aaid not to come near
Athens.
22
NOT^E.
169
27. Egoabditafron.
oe levi speculabar
quid fucerem ab den
se ulmo.
32. Refero acla Deae;
Pro quo talis gratia
redditur mihi, ut dicar
pulea tutelft Minerva-,
et ppnar post avem
llocus.
39. Nam Coroneus
clarus tellure 1'hocoi-
cfl (loquor note) genuit
rce, egoque fuernin re
gia virgo, pelebarque
(ne contemne me) di-
vitibus procis.
KBI et Athenrcis in montibus, areis in ipso
Venice, Palladia ad lemplum Tritonidos alma?,
Quo nunquam pennis appellunl corpora raucEB
Cornices, non cum fumant allaria donis.
LUCHETIUS.
34. Noctis avem: the bird of night; the
night-owl.
35. Ne voce. The punishment of Coro
nis ought to be a warning to the birds, not
to incur danger by a tattling disposition.
36. A t puto: but I suppose; but may
2! This is a gentle irony, and is in
tended to obviate a tacit objection, that
Minerva had repulsed her perhaps be
cause Cornix had not at any time been
very acceptable to her, or been selected as
a companion without solicitation.
39. Fliocaica tellure: in the land of
Phocis.
39. Coroneus. A king of Phocis. As
Coroneus founded the city of Coronea,
and called it after his own name, he is
said with poetical beauty to be the father
of Coronis or Coronea.
41. Petebar: I was courted; I was
sought in marriage. This may be said as
a natural embellishment of the story; or.
considering the maiden as a city, it may
refer to alliances proposed by different
cities or slates.
43. Dum spatiarer : while I was walk
ing.
44. Incaluit: was inflamed with love of
me. The interpretation by which we
consider the virgin pursued Uy Neptune,
as the city of Coronea threalened with in
undation from the sea, or Copaic lake, is
illustrated by an incident in the history of
P