THE METAMORPHOSES OF PUBLIUS OVIDIUS NASO

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P. OVIDII N ASONIS
Tendit; et ilia suo toties cum pcctore juncta
Indevitato trajecit pectora telo. 15
Icta dedit gemitum, tracloque e vulnere ferro,
Candida puniceo perfudit membra cruore:
Hactenus: et pariter vitam cum sanguine fudit:
Corpus inane animiE frigus lethale secutum est.
Pcenitet heu sero pcEnas crudelis amantem: 20
que, qu&d audierit, qu&d sic exarserit, odit;
'it avem, per quam crimen, causamque dolendi
bcire coactus erat: nervumque, arcumque, manumque,
Odit; cumque manu, temeraria tela, sagittas:
Collapsamque fovet; seraque ope vincere fata 25
Nititur; et medicas exercet inaniter artes.
Quas postquam frustra tentata, rogumque parari
Sensit, et arsuros supremis ignibus artus,
Turn vero gemitus (neque enim ccelestia tingi
Ora decet lacrymis) alto de corde petitos 30
Edidit: baud aliter, quam cum spectante juvenca,
Lactentis vituli, dextra libratus ab aure,
Tcmpora discussit claro cava malleus ictu.
15. Indevitato telo: with unerring wea
pon.
16. Ida: being wounded; from the verb
ico.
16. Deilit gemitum: she uttered a groan.
19. Inane animus: void of life.
20. Amantem: the lover, viz. Apollo.
21. Sic exarserit: that he had been so
enraged.
22. Crimen. The infidelity of Coronis.
25. Collapsam fovet: he presses her to
his bosom, after she had fallen.
25. Vincere fata: to conquer fate; to
recover her from death.
27. Eogum: the funeral pile. This was
constructed of wood, in the form of an
altar, with four equal sides. The sides of
the pile were rough and unpolished, but
were frequently covered with leaves. On
the top of the pile the corpse was laid,
with the couch on which it was carried.
The nearest relative set fire to it with his
face averted.
29. Neque decet. Ovid, in his FASTI,
lib. iv., expresses the same sentiment:
Neque cnim lucrymare deorum est.
Other writers have thought differently,
and have presented us wilh instances in
which tears have added to the comeliness
and interest of the celestial countenance;
as when Venus intercedes with Jupiter for
./Eneas, or laments the untimely fate of
Adonis; or when Apollo mourned for
Bion. The height of the sublime of tears
ip reached in the Scriptures, where God
head sanctifies sorrow and friendship,
when, at the tomb of Lazarus, '' Jesus
wept."
NOT7E.
LIBER II.
12. Utque animus
fervebat ab tumida
iru, capil urma assue-
ta; tenditque arcnm
nexum ft cornibus:
et trajecit indevitato
telo, ilia pectora toties
juncta cum »uo pec-
tore.
27. Quffi podlquam
sensit tentata fruBtra,
rogumque parari, et
artus arsuros supre
mis ignibus; turn vero
edidit gerrtitus petitos
de alto pectore.
Atque ilium tales jactantem pectore curas,
Tristior, et lacrymis oculos Buffusa niteutes,
Mloqttititr Venus. JEsmv i. 227.
Thus Cypris wailed ; but, dead, Adonis lies;
For every gout of blood that fell from him.
She drops a tear; sweet flowers each dew sup
plies
Roses his blood, her tears ancmonies.
BION'S LAMEST FOB ADOXIS.
Apollo wept, I wis
For thee, sweet Bion! and, in mourniug weed,
The brotherhood of Fauns, anil nil the Satyr
breed. MOSCHUS'S LAMEMT FOR Bios.
30. Lacrymis: with tears. Similar to
this is the lamentation of Herod over Ma-
riamne, after lie had slain her. The ac
count is given in Josephus.
31. Ilaud aliter. It is not a very dig
nified account of Apollo, that, when he
saw the dead form of his mistress before
him, his immortal godship uttered a cry
like the dam of a sucking calf when she
sees it slaughtered before her eyes. By
ron, in the following, is more happy:
What cleaves the silent air
So madly shrilt, so passing wild ?
That, as a mother's o'er h er child
Done to death by sudden 6fol0,
To the sky these accents go,
Like a soul's in endless wo. PARISIXA xviii.
31. Juvenca. A young cow that has
had her first calf.
35. Injusta justa: the unjust funeral
ceremonies. These obsequies are called
justa, because they are the last offices due
to the dead. They are here called iniusta,
as Coronis died before her time, ana by a
violent death. There is an Oxymoron in
the use of these words.
FAEULA VIII. METAMORPHOSE ON.
Ut tamen ingratos in pectora fudit odores;
Et dedit amplexus, injustaque justa peregit: '35
Non lulit in cineres labi sua Phoebus eosdcm
Seniina: sed natum flammis uteroque pnrentis
Eripuit; geminique tulit Chironis in antrum.
Spcrantemque sibi non falste prsemia linguas,
Inter aves albas vetuit considers corvum. 40
36. Non tulit: did not suffer: did not
permit.
37. Sua semina: his offspring, viz. the
unborn child of Coronis.
37. Nntum. His son, TEsculapius.
38. Chironis. The most celebrated of
the Centaurs, and the son of Saturn and
Plitlyra. To escape discovery by Rhea,
Saturn transformed himself into a steed,
and Fliilyra into a mare; hence their off
spring, Chiron, was half man and half
horse. He was skilled in surgery, the
medical arts generally, and in music. Ho
mer praises nis justice, and hence he is
NOT7E.
QU^STIONES.
Into what was Nyctimcne chanced?
Why?
Why is vice assimilated to the owl ?
What suggested the idea of the trans
formation ?
Did the warning of the Crow deter the
Raven from going to Apollo ?
What effect did the disclosure of the
adultery of Coronts produce upon the god ?
What did he do in his passion ?
Did lie repent of his rashness immedi
ately after ?
What did he dp with his son ?
Who was Chiron? What arts did he
practise ?
175
34. Tamen Phoebus
ut fudit ingratos odo
res in pectora; et de
dit amplcxus, peregit'
que justa injusla, non
tulit Bua semina labi
in cosdem cineres.
said to be the eon of Saturn, who reigned
in the golden age. His mother's name,
Philyra, a lover-of-tlie-lyre, explains his
skill in music.
39. Speranlem prccmiai expecting a re
ward. The crow looked for a reward in
consequence of his fidelity to Apollo, in
reporting the conduct of Coronis.
40. Albas aves : the white birds. He
changed him to a different color to black.
This color figuratively expresses dislike
and hatefulness. Things unlucky were
said to be marked with coal.
What punishment did Apollo inflict on
the Raven? ,
How do you explain the love of Apollo
for Coronis ?
How do you explain her destruction by
the arrows of the god ?
What similar instance is given ?
Was Chiron a real, or an ideal personage ?
Where was his cave ?
What circumstances connected with the
locality and character of his residence ex
plain his fabled accomplishments ?
Is Thessaly still rich in botanical plants ?
Is it still celebrated for masters of the
healing art ?