Dædalus interea Creten longumque perosus
exsilium tactusque loci natalis amore
clausus erat pelago.
Meanwhile Dædalus’ Cretan exile: hates,
And waits to reach his belovēd birthplace,
By having been imprisoned by the sea.
“terra licet” inquit, “et undas
obstruo: at cælum certe patet; ibimus illac.
“Dry lands can and waters bar us” says he,
“Now it’s sure: the open sky; fly there shall we.
omnia possideat, non possidet æra Minos.”
We may take possession of ev’rything,
Not be held in a bronze case by King Minos.”
dixit et ignotas animum dimittit in artes
naturamque novat.
He said and for skills renews his purpose,
And the unknown nat’ral Order of things.
nam ponit in ordine pennas,
a minima cœptas, longam breviore sequenti,
ut clivo crevisse putes.
Now he builds by layers among the wings
With regard to very small beginnings,
From shorter follows long with that sloping,
You might suppose he’s to be determined.
sic rustica quondam
fistula disparibus paulatim surgit avenis.
Thus in the country sometimes grows a reed,
That he matches like pan-pipes: by degrees.
tum lino medias et ceris adligat imas,
atque ita compositas parvo curvamine flectit,
ut veras imitetur aves.
Then in the middle of which he threads flax,
And lastly binds them together with wax;
And so, by having been put together
With an arc: it curves,
Only in so far as it mimics real birds.
puer Icarus una
stabat et ignarus sua se tractare pericla,
ore renidenti modo, quas vaga moverat aura,
captabat plumas, flavam modo pollice ceram
mollibat lusuque suo mirabile patris
impediebat opus.
The boy Icarus (and he) together,
Continued unaware of the dangers
At all, to handle his with mouth smiling,
Which, go’ng far afield, it had changed: the wind
Blew soft feathers he was trying to catch
At the end of his thumb, with yellow wax
Pliant and plays with the work of his fathers’:
So extraordinary, he hinders.
postquam manus ultima cœpto
imposita est, geminas opifex libravit in alas
ipse suum corpus motaque pependit in aura.
When fin’lly ’t is at hand: the beginning,
Embarks, both balanced himself with craftsman’s wings,
His body moves and he hung on in the wind.
instruit et natum, “medio” que, “ut limite curras,
Icare” ait, “moneo, ne, si demissior ibis,
unda gravet pennas, si celsior, ignis adurat.
And he prepares the son: “By the middle”
Even, “Fly that way Icarus,” he says,
“I warn you, not to fly lower, if you will,
The feathers may be weighed-down ’neath the waves,
Should you go higher, you could be burnt: on fire.
inter utrumque vola. ne te spectare Booten
aut Helicen iubeo strictumque Orinis ensem:
me duce carpe viam.”
And you must fly between the two. Not only
That but you are to look at the Big Dipper,
But also the Great Bear: I order you,
Be’ng lightly touched upon, and Orion’s
Sword: I influence you must travel the journey.”
pariter præcepta volandi
tradit et ignotas umeris accommodat alas.
Equally, taken beforehand: flying
Delivers, and by be’ng pardoned
From the upper-arms he adjusts his wings.
inter opus monitusque genæ maduere seniles,
et patriæ tremuere manus.
By having been warned, Icarus makes for
His home where his old people abounded,
And within reach, his lower lip trembled.
dedit oscula nato
non iterum repetenda suo, pennisque levatus
ante volat comitique timet, velut ales, ab alto
quæ tenerum prolem produxit in æra nido,
hortaturque sequi damnosasque erudit artes
et movet ipse suas et nati respicit alas.
Dædalus gave a small kiss to his son,
They’d n’er ’gain return, both the wings: raised them
Before he flew; just as a bird from heav’n
Fears for that young child he’d raised
From the nest: be’ng injured, to following
The guard’an into the air, encouraged,
And taught the techniques to, himself moving,
Looks back, both at his son, and his own wings.
All intellectual property rights reserved to the translator:
Mr. Maxwell Lewis Latham Cert. H.E. (litteræ humaniores)
Arachne (6.1) Ovid Metamorphoses
præbuerat dictis Tritonia talibus aures
carminaque Aonidum iustamque probaverat iram.
By having been mentioned such, had proffered,
Hearing songs of the Muses: Minerva
Had esteemed them, and justified anger.
tum secum “laudare parum est; laudemur et ipsæ
numina nec sperni sine pœna nostra sinamus”
So, with themselves, “’T is not enough to praise,
We may’ve praised and the very divinities
Are to not spurn without our penalty,
We let it be.”
Mæoniæque animum Fatis intendit Arachnes,
quam sibi lanificæ non cedere laudibus artis
audierat.
And Arachne of Mæonia,
Lydia, the slopes of mount’ Tmolus,
Who, for her weaving was from Fated purpose,
Not to yield from fame of her skill they’d heard.
non illa loco neque origine gentis
clara, sed arte fuit.
Not that she’s given away in marriage,
Nor by birth of descent distinguished,
But in the craft, she was skilled.
pater huic Colophonius Idmon
Phocaico bibulas tingebat murice lanas.
The latter’s father: fond of drink, Idmon,
Dyed Phocis’ purple wool in Colophon.
occiderat mater; sed et hæc de plebe suoque
æqua viro fuerat.
The mother had died; but from her father
Equally, the man’d been a commoner.
Lydas tamen illa per urbes
quæsierat studio nomen memorabile, quamvis
orta domo parva parvis habitabat Hypæpis.
However, that all over Lydia
From the cities: study’s application,
Although sprung from a small-town: Hypæpa,
From home, she’d earned a remarkable name.
huius ut adspicerent opus admirabile, sæpe
deseruere sui nymphæ vineta Timoli,
deseruere suas nymphæ Pactolides undas.
Often, the young women of Tmolus
Abandoned the waters of the Pactolus,
Forsook the vineyards, so that they may look
At this: of her astonishing workmanship.
nec factas solum vestes spectare iuvabat;
tum quoque, cum fierent: tantus decor adfuit arti.
Not only to watch tapestries be’ng made
At the time, also they’d help to create
Them, ’t was a delight to come to her aid,
For a beautiful work of art so great.
sive rudem primos lanam glomerabat in orbes,
seu pingebat acu, scires a Pallade doctam.
Whether it was the first coarse unworked wool,
Hooped, rounded off, wound into a ball,
Or ’t was embroidered,
You’d know that she’d been taught by Minerva.
quod tamen ipsa negat, tantaque offensa magistra
“certet” ait “mecum: nihil est, quod victa recusam.”
However, in that, herself refusēd
This, denied it, and by having been so
Greatly offended, the instructress said,
“Could she compete with me? She is nothing!
Because I’d refuse to be defeated.”
Pallas anum simulat falsosque in tempora canos
addit et infirmos, baculo quos sustinet, artus.
In time, Minerva’s impersonation
Of a feeble grey-haired frail old woman,
And add to that a walking stick: deceit,
She’d narrowly support herself upright.
tum sic orsa loqui: “non omnia grandior ætas
quæ fugiamus, habet: series venit usus ab annis.
consilium ne sperne meum.
Next, as matters are, she began to say,
“Not everything that has an older age,
May pass us swiftly by: vanish away,
Sewing comes from years of experience.
You’re not to reject my piece of advice.
tibi fama petatur
inter mortales faciendæ maxima lanæ:
cede Deæ veniamque tuis, temeraria, dictis
supplice voce roga: veniam dabit illa roganti.”
For you among mortals, of producing
The greatest of all wool-working, spinning,
You’ll humbly ask the goddess’ forgiveness,
And your rash words spoken with thoughtlessness,
It may pass, that she’ll permit you to ask.”
adspicit hanc torvis inceptaque fila relinquit,
vixque manum retinens confessaque vultibus iram
talibus obscuram resecuta est Pallada dictis:
With a fierce stare she looks her in the face,
And the woolen threads she starts to forsake,
With a hand held back, her eyes acknowledged,
A look of anger,
Such a dark answer ’t is; Minerva said:
“mentis inops langaque venis confectat senecta;
“A disposition of poor character,
You’ve come to be worn out with old age;
et nimium vixisse diu nocet.
And the long lasting injury harmēd,
Fame too great to be rememberēd.
audiat istas,
siqua tibi nurus est, siqua est tibi filia, voces;
If anyone ’t is yours, a young womans’,
Whoever ’t is, you young lady, she says,
Of counsel quite sufficient for me and mine;
consilii satis est in me mihi. neve monendo
profecisse putes, eadem est sententia nobis.
And not count on advance warning; the same
Also goes for us in a judgement.
cur non ipsa venit?
Why has not she herself: Pallas come?
cur hæc certamina vitat?”
Why is it that she avoids this contest?”
tum Dea “venit” ait, formamque removit anilem
Palladaque exhibuit.
Then the goddess Minerva said, “She’s come”,
Presents herself: removed the elder form.
venerantur numina nymphæ
Mygdonidesque nurus: sola est non territa virgo.
Nymphs, by having honoured divinities,
Daughters of Corœbus: Mygdonidēs,
The girl’s the only one not scared is she;
sed tamen erubuit subitusque invita notavit
ora rubor rursusque evanuit, ut solet ær
purpureus fieri, cum primum aurora movetur,
et breve post tempus candescere solis ab ortu.
But all the same, she was feeling ashamed,
And by having entered ’gainst her will,
Was disgraced, blushed, and in return again,
The redness may’ve passed away, as usual,
The red mist;
By having to compose herself: cool off,
As soon as dawn breaks, be’ng set in motion
And after a short time, to be white-hot,
Since the rising of Apollo: the sun.
perstat in incepto stolidæque cupidine palmæ
in sua Fata ruit neque enim Iove nata recusat,
nec monet ulterius, nec iam certamina differt.
To begin with Arachne persisted,
And by longing for a stolid vict’ry,
The prize: the palm, in her downfall Fated,
Not for Jupiter’s daughter, declinēd,
Neither more farther be she warnēd,
Nor now delay the contest: rivalry.
haud mora, constituunt diversis partibus ambæ
et gracili geminas intendunt stamine telas
(tela iugo iuncta est, stamen secernit harundo);
inseritur medium radiis subtemen acutis,
quod digiti expediunt, atque inter stamina ductum
percusso paviunt insecti pectine dentes.
Both organised by sides, without delay,
By having been faced a different way,
And with slender thread the twin looms turnēd,
(The yarn-beam ’t is attached to the cross-beam,
A comb separated the distaff’s thread);
With pointed shuttles put in ’midst the weft,
That fingers disentangle, and yet
Between the warps, wool, having been spun,
Piercēd, they strike the comb’s teeth notchēd.
utraque festinant cinctæque ad pectora vestes
bracchia docta movent, studio fallente laborem.
They each hurriēd, and the selvedges:
By having gone around the tapestries,
With enthusiasm their arms movēd,
To disappoint hardship being provēd.
illic et Tyrium quæ purpura sensit ænum
texitur et tenues parvi discriminibus umbræ,
qualis ab imbre solet percussis solibus arcus
inficere ingenti longum curvamine cælum:
in quo diversi niteant cum mille colores,
transitus ipse tamen spectantia lumina fallit;
usque adeo quod tangit idem est, tamen ultima distant.
Yonder, both in purple which’s Tyrian,
’T is perceived copper by being woven,
And fine, slight, of distinction to shadow,
Such as from after show’rs usually do,
From sunlight, by be’ng stuck through: a rainbow
To stain in the great vast vaulting heaven:
’Midst which gleams with thousands of diff’rent hues,
Precisely a transition, ne’ertheless
By beholding it, it deceives the eyes;
Continu’sly so ’cause its touch: ’t is likewise,
However furthest are the distances.
illic et lentum filis inmittitur aurum
et vetus in tela deducitur argumentum.
There both the pliant gold threads be’ng put in,
And on the old loom a subject to spin.
Cecropia Pallas scopulum Mavortis in arce
pingit et antiquam de terræ nomine litem.
Minerva embroidered a peak: Mars’s,
On the summit of the Acropolis,
Concerning the country’s name in account,
And an ancient matter in dispute.
bis sex cælestes medio Iove sedibus altis
augusta gravitate sedent; sua quemque Deorum
inscribit facies: Iovis est regalis imago.
Six goddess’, six gods, so heavenly,
With heavens’ weight sits ’midst Jove’s majesty;
That her, of the gods, marks a character,
’T is a likeness of Regal Jupiter.
stare Deum pelagi longoque ferire tridente
aspera saxa facit, medioque e vulnere saxi
exsiluisse fretum, quo pignore vindicet urbem;
To continue, the god of the ocean:
To strike rugged rocks with a long trident,
Makes a hole ’midst rock and sea,
Where with stake, may lay claim to the city;
at sibi dat clipeum, dat acutæ cuspidis hastam,
dat galeam capiti, defenditur ægide pectus,
percussamque sua simulat de cuspide terram
edere cum bacis fetum canentis olivæ;
mirarique Deos: operis Victoria finis.
But for herself makes a round shield, bronze,
She gives a shaft: sharp tip of the trident,
A helm’ to the head, be’ng protected from
The breast, ægis: Medusa’s face inset,
And by having been struck, represented
Her from out of the earth, the trident’s tips,
Celebrates with berries brought, eats olives;
And to the gods’ amazement: of work she
Ended it, with the goddess: Victory.
ut tamen exemplis intellegat æmula laudis,
quod pretium speret pro tam furialibus ausis,
quattuor in partes certamina quattuor addit,
clara colore suo, brevibus distincta sigillis.
However, consid’ring how with patterns
Her rival might realize, of esteem,
In that, worth she hopes for, in proportion,
By daring: attempted so much fury,
By having been adorned into four parts,
Determined, she adds bright lustre to hers’,
Minerva weaves four small little figures.
Threiciam Rhodopen habet angulus unus et Hæmum
(nunc gelidi montes, mortalia corpora quondam!)
nomina summorum sibi qui tribuere Deorum.
On one corner she has the Thrac’an Rhodrop’
And Hæmus (at present: icy mountains
Who were afore mortals: of bod’ly form)
Fame of the high’st reaches: of the gods,
That for itself to attribute: adorn.
altera Pygmææ Fatum miserabile matris
pars habet: hanc Iuno victam certamine iussit
esse gruem populisque suis indicere bella.
The other side has a Pygmy Princess,
The pitiable Doom of a mother,
This: Juno prevailing in a contest,
Tells of her change into a crane, and her
People to declare war ’pon them they were;
pinxit et Antigonen ausam contendere quondam
cum magni consorte Iovis, quam Regia Iuno
in volucrem vertit;
And embroidered Antigonē’s tale told,
With the noble consort of Jupiter,
Who’d once dared contend with much Regal Juno,
And how she had turned her into a bird.
nec profuit Ilion illi
Laomedonve pater, sumptis quin candida pennis
ipsa sibi plaudat crepitante ciconia rostro.
She had not been of use to Ilus, nor
Laodemon, who was the father of her,
Without applause, assumed with white feathers
Into the form of a chattering stork,
Herself: with the bill stitched together.
qui superest solus, Cinyran habet angulus orbum;
isque gradus templi natarum membra suarum,
amplectens saxoque iacens lacrimare videtur.
Cyprus’ Cinyras a corner contains,
Who, made childless, he alone remains,
And that in position of the quarter,
Divided of his belovēd daughters,
Be’ng seen to weep, and cast on a boulder.
circuit extremas oleis pacalibus oras
(is modus est) operisque sua facit arbore finem.
She had surrounded the last selvedges
With olives: peace (sacrēd to Minerva;
that is the end) and of the artistry,
Makes hers with an olive-tree border.
Mæonis elusam designat imagine tauri
Europam: verum taurum, freta vera putares.
The Lydian Arachne depicted
Fair Europa, having been deceivēd
By Jupiter in the shape of a bull,
A lifelike bull, seas you may believe true.
ipsa videbatur terras spectare relictas
et comites clamare suas tactumque vereri
adsilentis aquæ timidasque reducere plantas.
By herself she appeared to look at
The dry land, her companions, and cried out,
And touching the waters with fearful feet,
Afraid to marry again as they’d leap.
fecit et Asterien aquila luctante teneri,
fecit olorinis Ledam recubare sub alis;
And she was making Asteria with
Whom Jove’s eagle to keep hold of was strug’ling,
She made Leda, that lay beneath swan’s wings;
addidit, ut satyri celatus imagine pulchram
Iuppiter implerit gemino Nycteida fetu,
Amphitryon fuerit, cum [te] Tirynthis, cepit,
aureus ut Danæn, Asopida luserit ignis,
Mnemosynen pastor, varius Deoida serpens.
Arachne added to that Jupiter,
By depicting Him as a satyr,
Having been kept ignorant of He
Would impregnate comely Antiope,
Bearing two twin sons (raised by a goatherd
Amphion and Zethus the shepherd)
Amphitr’o will have been with Alcmena,
Appeared as gold: made love to Danaë,
Ægina’s firebrand, Mnemosyne,
A spotted serpent with Proserpina.
te quoque mutatum torvo, Neptune, iuvenco
virgine in Æolia posuit.
You too Neptune, to a wild bullock changed,
With a girl amidst Æolus she’d made.
tu visus Enipeus
gignis Aloidas, aries Bisaltida fallis;
You seemed to see a river in Thessaly,
Enipeus which flows to Peneus,
That begetting the four sons of Æolus,
Neptune as a ram deceives Theophanē;
et te flava comas frugam mitissima mater
sensit equum, sensit volucrem crinita colubris
mater equi volucris, sensit delphina Melantho.
And you saw the most mildest mother
Of the fruits of the earth with golden hair,
Astride a fleeting steed was Demeter;
You perceived with snakes for hair: Medusa,
From whose head sprung the winged horse: Pegasus;
Melantho, to a dolphin changed by Bacchus.
omnibus his faciemque suam faciemque locorum
reddidit.
All kinds of form and shape, and hers were these:
Representative of localities.
est illic agrestis imagine Phœbus,
utque modo accipitris pennas, modo terga leonis
gesserit, ut pastor Macareida luserit Issen;
That in the likeness of a countryman,
He is Apollo, the sun: Phœbus,
So that way with wings: as a bird of prey,
And he had worn the hide of a lion,
To a shepherd’s form with Issa did play,
(So sporting in the dalliance of love)
The daughter of Lesbos’ King Macreus;
Liber ut Erigonen falsa deceperit uva,
ut Saturnus equo geminum Chirona crearit.
How Erigone being mistaken,
Beguiled by Bacchus whom taught making wine;
How in the shape of an equine: Saturn
With Philya begot the twin-formed Chiron.
ultima pars telæ, tenui circumdata limbo,
nexilibus flores hederis habet intertextos.
Lastly of the cloth on her loom: woven,
Put round the side makes selvedges so fine,
Tied together flowers, ivy: intertwined.
non illud Pallas, non illus carpere Livor
possit opus.
Not having it, Minerva from Envy,
Could not let the other to card the work.
doluit successu flava virago
et rupit pictas cælestia crimina, vestes.
For the turn out, the blond heroine: sore,
That which pictured the god’s crimes: the tapestry,
She in pieces tore.
utque Cytoriaco radium de monte tenebat,
ter quater Idmoniæ frontem percussit Arachnes.
When she grasped the shuttle, from a mountain
In Cytoras (boxwood) and touched her thrice
On the brow, she used restraint in her strikes,
The fourth time: beat Arachne of Idmon.
non tulit infelix laqueoque animosa ligavit
guttura.
Not showing her unhappiness, proud,
And with a noose about her neck she bound.
pendentem Pallas miserata levavit
atque ita “vive quidem, pende tamen, improba.”
As she hung down, Minerva pitied her,
Accordingly: averted the danger,
“You’ll surely stay alive, nevertheless”
And yet, “But for your presumptuousness”
dixit: “lexque eadem pœnæ, ne sis secura futuri,
dicta tuo generi serisque nepotibus esto.”
Then she says, “The principle and likewise: penalty,
In future so careless, you will not be,
Be’ng settled for you, your descendants
’T is too late for them and your grandchildren.”
post ea discedens sucis Hecateidos herbæ
sparsit;
Next she departs with Hecatē’s potions,
Scatters them ’pon the grass so it moistens.
et extemplo tristi medicamine tactæ
defluxere comæ, cum quis et naris et aures,
fitque caput minimum, toto quoque corpore parva est:
in latere exiles digiti pro cruribus hærent,
cetera venter habet: de quo tamen illa remittit
stamen et antiquas exercet aranea telas.
With the offensive smelling drug derived from
crocifolius tragopogon,
And immed’ately, having been sprinkled
With it, becomes very little is she,
The head and the ears and of the nostrils,
All of her, also a tiny body,
Arachne’s thin fingers: instead of legs,
Stick to her sides, in proportion to the rest,
That and a stomach is all she has left;
And for that she keeps busy: her former threads,
She produces all the same spider webs.
Translated by Mr. Maxwell Lewis Latham Cert. H.E. (litteræ humaniores), all intellectual property rights reserved.
carminaque Aonidum iustamque probaverat iram.
By having been mentioned such, had proffered,
Hearing songs of the Muses: Minerva
Had esteemed them, and justified anger.
tum secum “laudare parum est; laudemur et ipsæ
numina nec sperni sine pœna nostra sinamus”
So, with themselves, “’T is not enough to praise,
We may’ve praised and the very divinities
Are to not spurn without our penalty,
We let it be.”
Mæoniæque animum Fatis intendit Arachnes,
quam sibi lanificæ non cedere laudibus artis
audierat.
And Arachne of Mæonia,
Lydia, the slopes of mount’ Tmolus,
Who, for her weaving was from Fated purpose,
Not to yield from fame of her skill they’d heard.
non illa loco neque origine gentis
clara, sed arte fuit.
Not that she’s given away in marriage,
Nor by birth of descent distinguished,
But in the craft, she was skilled.
pater huic Colophonius Idmon
Phocaico bibulas tingebat murice lanas.
The latter’s father: fond of drink, Idmon,
Dyed Phocis’ purple wool in Colophon.
occiderat mater; sed et hæc de plebe suoque
æqua viro fuerat.
The mother had died; but from her father
Equally, the man’d been a commoner.
Lydas tamen illa per urbes
quæsierat studio nomen memorabile, quamvis
orta domo parva parvis habitabat Hypæpis.
However, that all over Lydia
From the cities: study’s application,
Although sprung from a small-town: Hypæpa,
From home, she’d earned a remarkable name.
huius ut adspicerent opus admirabile, sæpe
deseruere sui nymphæ vineta Timoli,
deseruere suas nymphæ Pactolides undas.
Often, the young women of Tmolus
Abandoned the waters of the Pactolus,
Forsook the vineyards, so that they may look
At this: of her astonishing workmanship.
nec factas solum vestes spectare iuvabat;
tum quoque, cum fierent: tantus decor adfuit arti.
Not only to watch tapestries be’ng made
At the time, also they’d help to create
Them, ’t was a delight to come to her aid,
For a beautiful work of art so great.
sive rudem primos lanam glomerabat in orbes,
seu pingebat acu, scires a Pallade doctam.
Whether it was the first coarse unworked wool,
Hooped, rounded off, wound into a ball,
Or ’t was embroidered,
You’d know that she’d been taught by Minerva.
quod tamen ipsa negat, tantaque offensa magistra
“certet” ait “mecum: nihil est, quod victa recusam.”
However, in that, herself refusēd
This, denied it, and by having been so
Greatly offended, the instructress said,
“Could she compete with me? She is nothing!
Because I’d refuse to be defeated.”
Pallas anum simulat falsosque in tempora canos
addit et infirmos, baculo quos sustinet, artus.
In time, Minerva’s impersonation
Of a feeble grey-haired frail old woman,
And add to that a walking stick: deceit,
She’d narrowly support herself upright.
tum sic orsa loqui: “non omnia grandior ætas
quæ fugiamus, habet: series venit usus ab annis.
consilium ne sperne meum.
Next, as matters are, she began to say,
“Not everything that has an older age,
May pass us swiftly by: vanish away,
Sewing comes from years of experience.
You’re not to reject my piece of advice.
tibi fama petatur
inter mortales faciendæ maxima lanæ:
cede Deæ veniamque tuis, temeraria, dictis
supplice voce roga: veniam dabit illa roganti.”
For you among mortals, of producing
The greatest of all wool-working, spinning,
You’ll humbly ask the goddess’ forgiveness,
And your rash words spoken with thoughtlessness,
It may pass, that she’ll permit you to ask.”
adspicit hanc torvis inceptaque fila relinquit,
vixque manum retinens confessaque vultibus iram
talibus obscuram resecuta est Pallada dictis:
With a fierce stare she looks her in the face,
And the woolen threads she starts to forsake,
With a hand held back, her eyes acknowledged,
A look of anger,
Such a dark answer ’t is; Minerva said:
“mentis inops langaque venis confectat senecta;
“A disposition of poor character,
You’ve come to be worn out with old age;
et nimium vixisse diu nocet.
And the long lasting injury harmēd,
Fame too great to be rememberēd.
audiat istas,
siqua tibi nurus est, siqua est tibi filia, voces;
If anyone ’t is yours, a young womans’,
Whoever ’t is, you young lady, she says,
Of counsel quite sufficient for me and mine;
consilii satis est in me mihi. neve monendo
profecisse putes, eadem est sententia nobis.
And not count on advance warning; the same
Also goes for us in a judgement.
cur non ipsa venit?
Why has not she herself: Pallas come?
cur hæc certamina vitat?”
Why is it that she avoids this contest?”
tum Dea “venit” ait, formamque removit anilem
Palladaque exhibuit.
Then the goddess Minerva said, “She’s come”,
Presents herself: removed the elder form.
venerantur numina nymphæ
Mygdonidesque nurus: sola est non territa virgo.
Nymphs, by having honoured divinities,
Daughters of Corœbus: Mygdonidēs,
The girl’s the only one not scared is she;
sed tamen erubuit subitusque invita notavit
ora rubor rursusque evanuit, ut solet ær
purpureus fieri, cum primum aurora movetur,
et breve post tempus candescere solis ab ortu.
But all the same, she was feeling ashamed,
And by having entered ’gainst her will,
Was disgraced, blushed, and in return again,
The redness may’ve passed away, as usual,
The red mist;
By having to compose herself: cool off,
As soon as dawn breaks, be’ng set in motion
And after a short time, to be white-hot,
Since the rising of Apollo: the sun.
perstat in incepto stolidæque cupidine palmæ
in sua Fata ruit neque enim Iove nata recusat,
nec monet ulterius, nec iam certamina differt.
To begin with Arachne persisted,
And by longing for a stolid vict’ry,
The prize: the palm, in her downfall Fated,
Not for Jupiter’s daughter, declinēd,
Neither more farther be she warnēd,
Nor now delay the contest: rivalry.
haud mora, constituunt diversis partibus ambæ
et gracili geminas intendunt stamine telas
(tela iugo iuncta est, stamen secernit harundo);
inseritur medium radiis subtemen acutis,
quod digiti expediunt, atque inter stamina ductum
percusso paviunt insecti pectine dentes.
Both organised by sides, without delay,
By having been faced a different way,
And with slender thread the twin looms turnēd,
(The yarn-beam ’t is attached to the cross-beam,
A comb separated the distaff’s thread);
With pointed shuttles put in ’midst the weft,
That fingers disentangle, and yet
Between the warps, wool, having been spun,
Piercēd, they strike the comb’s teeth notchēd.
utraque festinant cinctæque ad pectora vestes
bracchia docta movent, studio fallente laborem.
They each hurriēd, and the selvedges:
By having gone around the tapestries,
With enthusiasm their arms movēd,
To disappoint hardship being provēd.
illic et Tyrium quæ purpura sensit ænum
texitur et tenues parvi discriminibus umbræ,
qualis ab imbre solet percussis solibus arcus
inficere ingenti longum curvamine cælum:
in quo diversi niteant cum mille colores,
transitus ipse tamen spectantia lumina fallit;
usque adeo quod tangit idem est, tamen ultima distant.
Yonder, both in purple which’s Tyrian,
’T is perceived copper by being woven,
And fine, slight, of distinction to shadow,
Such as from after show’rs usually do,
From sunlight, by be’ng stuck through: a rainbow
To stain in the great vast vaulting heaven:
’Midst which gleams with thousands of diff’rent hues,
Precisely a transition, ne’ertheless
By beholding it, it deceives the eyes;
Continu’sly so ’cause its touch: ’t is likewise,
However furthest are the distances.
illic et lentum filis inmittitur aurum
et vetus in tela deducitur argumentum.
There both the pliant gold threads be’ng put in,
And on the old loom a subject to spin.
Cecropia Pallas scopulum Mavortis in arce
pingit et antiquam de terræ nomine litem.
Minerva embroidered a peak: Mars’s,
On the summit of the Acropolis,
Concerning the country’s name in account,
And an ancient matter in dispute.
bis sex cælestes medio Iove sedibus altis
augusta gravitate sedent; sua quemque Deorum
inscribit facies: Iovis est regalis imago.
Six goddess’, six gods, so heavenly,
With heavens’ weight sits ’midst Jove’s majesty;
That her, of the gods, marks a character,
’T is a likeness of Regal Jupiter.
stare Deum pelagi longoque ferire tridente
aspera saxa facit, medioque e vulnere saxi
exsiluisse fretum, quo pignore vindicet urbem;
To continue, the god of the ocean:
To strike rugged rocks with a long trident,
Makes a hole ’midst rock and sea,
Where with stake, may lay claim to the city;
at sibi dat clipeum, dat acutæ cuspidis hastam,
dat galeam capiti, defenditur ægide pectus,
percussamque sua simulat de cuspide terram
edere cum bacis fetum canentis olivæ;
mirarique Deos: operis Victoria finis.
But for herself makes a round shield, bronze,
She gives a shaft: sharp tip of the trident,
A helm’ to the head, be’ng protected from
The breast, ægis: Medusa’s face inset,
And by having been struck, represented
Her from out of the earth, the trident’s tips,
Celebrates with berries brought, eats olives;
And to the gods’ amazement: of work she
Ended it, with the goddess: Victory.
ut tamen exemplis intellegat æmula laudis,
quod pretium speret pro tam furialibus ausis,
quattuor in partes certamina quattuor addit,
clara colore suo, brevibus distincta sigillis.
However, consid’ring how with patterns
Her rival might realize, of esteem,
In that, worth she hopes for, in proportion,
By daring: attempted so much fury,
By having been adorned into four parts,
Determined, she adds bright lustre to hers’,
Minerva weaves four small little figures.
Threiciam Rhodopen habet angulus unus et Hæmum
(nunc gelidi montes, mortalia corpora quondam!)
nomina summorum sibi qui tribuere Deorum.
On one corner she has the Thrac’an Rhodrop’
And Hæmus (at present: icy mountains
Who were afore mortals: of bod’ly form)
Fame of the high’st reaches: of the gods,
That for itself to attribute: adorn.
altera Pygmææ Fatum miserabile matris
pars habet: hanc Iuno victam certamine iussit
esse gruem populisque suis indicere bella.
The other side has a Pygmy Princess,
The pitiable Doom of a mother,
This: Juno prevailing in a contest,
Tells of her change into a crane, and her
People to declare war ’pon them they were;
pinxit et Antigonen ausam contendere quondam
cum magni consorte Iovis, quam Regia Iuno
in volucrem vertit;
And embroidered Antigonē’s tale told,
With the noble consort of Jupiter,
Who’d once dared contend with much Regal Juno,
And how she had turned her into a bird.
nec profuit Ilion illi
Laomedonve pater, sumptis quin candida pennis
ipsa sibi plaudat crepitante ciconia rostro.
She had not been of use to Ilus, nor
Laodemon, who was the father of her,
Without applause, assumed with white feathers
Into the form of a chattering stork,
Herself: with the bill stitched together.
qui superest solus, Cinyran habet angulus orbum;
isque gradus templi natarum membra suarum,
amplectens saxoque iacens lacrimare videtur.
Cyprus’ Cinyras a corner contains,
Who, made childless, he alone remains,
And that in position of the quarter,
Divided of his belovēd daughters,
Be’ng seen to weep, and cast on a boulder.
circuit extremas oleis pacalibus oras
(is modus est) operisque sua facit arbore finem.
She had surrounded the last selvedges
With olives: peace (sacrēd to Minerva;
that is the end) and of the artistry,
Makes hers with an olive-tree border.
Mæonis elusam designat imagine tauri
Europam: verum taurum, freta vera putares.
The Lydian Arachne depicted
Fair Europa, having been deceivēd
By Jupiter in the shape of a bull,
A lifelike bull, seas you may believe true.
ipsa videbatur terras spectare relictas
et comites clamare suas tactumque vereri
adsilentis aquæ timidasque reducere plantas.
By herself she appeared to look at
The dry land, her companions, and cried out,
And touching the waters with fearful feet,
Afraid to marry again as they’d leap.
fecit et Asterien aquila luctante teneri,
fecit olorinis Ledam recubare sub alis;
And she was making Asteria with
Whom Jove’s eagle to keep hold of was strug’ling,
She made Leda, that lay beneath swan’s wings;
addidit, ut satyri celatus imagine pulchram
Iuppiter implerit gemino Nycteida fetu,
Amphitryon fuerit, cum [te] Tirynthis, cepit,
aureus ut Danæn, Asopida luserit ignis,
Mnemosynen pastor, varius Deoida serpens.
Arachne added to that Jupiter,
By depicting Him as a satyr,
Having been kept ignorant of He
Would impregnate comely Antiope,
Bearing two twin sons (raised by a goatherd
Amphion and Zethus the shepherd)
Amphitr’o will have been with Alcmena,
Appeared as gold: made love to Danaë,
Ægina’s firebrand, Mnemosyne,
A spotted serpent with Proserpina.
te quoque mutatum torvo, Neptune, iuvenco
virgine in Æolia posuit.
You too Neptune, to a wild bullock changed,
With a girl amidst Æolus she’d made.
tu visus Enipeus
gignis Aloidas, aries Bisaltida fallis;
You seemed to see a river in Thessaly,
Enipeus which flows to Peneus,
That begetting the four sons of Æolus,
Neptune as a ram deceives Theophanē;
et te flava comas frugam mitissima mater
sensit equum, sensit volucrem crinita colubris
mater equi volucris, sensit delphina Melantho.
And you saw the most mildest mother
Of the fruits of the earth with golden hair,
Astride a fleeting steed was Demeter;
You perceived with snakes for hair: Medusa,
From whose head sprung the winged horse: Pegasus;
Melantho, to a dolphin changed by Bacchus.
omnibus his faciemque suam faciemque locorum
reddidit.
All kinds of form and shape, and hers were these:
Representative of localities.
est illic agrestis imagine Phœbus,
utque modo accipitris pennas, modo terga leonis
gesserit, ut pastor Macareida luserit Issen;
That in the likeness of a countryman,
He is Apollo, the sun: Phœbus,
So that way with wings: as a bird of prey,
And he had worn the hide of a lion,
To a shepherd’s form with Issa did play,
(So sporting in the dalliance of love)
The daughter of Lesbos’ King Macreus;
Liber ut Erigonen falsa deceperit uva,
ut Saturnus equo geminum Chirona crearit.
How Erigone being mistaken,
Beguiled by Bacchus whom taught making wine;
How in the shape of an equine: Saturn
With Philya begot the twin-formed Chiron.
ultima pars telæ, tenui circumdata limbo,
nexilibus flores hederis habet intertextos.
Lastly of the cloth on her loom: woven,
Put round the side makes selvedges so fine,
Tied together flowers, ivy: intertwined.
non illud Pallas, non illus carpere Livor
possit opus.
Not having it, Minerva from Envy,
Could not let the other to card the work.
doluit successu flava virago
et rupit pictas cælestia crimina, vestes.
For the turn out, the blond heroine: sore,
That which pictured the god’s crimes: the tapestry,
She in pieces tore.
utque Cytoriaco radium de monte tenebat,
ter quater Idmoniæ frontem percussit Arachnes.
When she grasped the shuttle, from a mountain
In Cytoras (boxwood) and touched her thrice
On the brow, she used restraint in her strikes,
The fourth time: beat Arachne of Idmon.
non tulit infelix laqueoque animosa ligavit
guttura.
Not showing her unhappiness, proud,
And with a noose about her neck she bound.
pendentem Pallas miserata levavit
atque ita “vive quidem, pende tamen, improba.”
As she hung down, Minerva pitied her,
Accordingly: averted the danger,
“You’ll surely stay alive, nevertheless”
And yet, “But for your presumptuousness”
dixit: “lexque eadem pœnæ, ne sis secura futuri,
dicta tuo generi serisque nepotibus esto.”
Then she says, “The principle and likewise: penalty,
In future so careless, you will not be,
Be’ng settled for you, your descendants
’T is too late for them and your grandchildren.”
post ea discedens sucis Hecateidos herbæ
sparsit;
Next she departs with Hecatē’s potions,
Scatters them ’pon the grass so it moistens.
et extemplo tristi medicamine tactæ
defluxere comæ, cum quis et naris et aures,
fitque caput minimum, toto quoque corpore parva est:
in latere exiles digiti pro cruribus hærent,
cetera venter habet: de quo tamen illa remittit
stamen et antiquas exercet aranea telas.
With the offensive smelling drug derived from
crocifolius tragopogon,
And immed’ately, having been sprinkled
With it, becomes very little is she,
The head and the ears and of the nostrils,
All of her, also a tiny body,
Arachne’s thin fingers: instead of legs,
Stick to her sides, in proportion to the rest,
That and a stomach is all she has left;
And for that she keeps busy: her former threads,
She produces all the same spider webs.
Translated by Mr. Maxwell Lewis Latham Cert. H.E. (litteræ humaniores), all intellectual property rights reserved.
Callisto
at pater omnipotens ingentia mœnia cæli
circuit et ne quid labefactum viribus ignis
corruat explorat. quæ postquam firma suique
roboris esse videt terras hominumque labores
perspicit. Arcadiæ tamen est impensior illi
cura suæ: fontes et nondum audentia labi
flumina restituit dat terræ gramina, frondes
arboribus, læsasque iubet revirescere silvas.
dum redit itque frequens, in virgine Nonacrina
hæsit et accepti caluere sub ossibus ignes.
non erat huius opus lanam mollire trahendo
nec positu variare comas; ubi fibula vestem,
vitta cœrcuerat neglectos alba capillos,
et modo leve manu iaculum, modo sumpserat arcum,
miles erat Phœbes: nec Mænalon attigit ulla
gratior hac Triviæ. sed nulla potentia longa est.
vulteris medio spatium sol altus habebat,
cum subit illa nemus, quod nulla ceciderat ætas.
exuit hic umero pharetram lentosque retendit
arcus, inque solo, quod texerat herba, iacebat
et pictam posito pharentram cirvice premebat.
Iuppiter ut vidit fessam et custode vacantem,
“hoc certe furtum coniunx mea nesciet” inquit,
“aut si rescierit sunt o sunt iurgia tanti.”
protinus induitur faciem cultumque Dianæ
atque ait: “O comitum, virgo, pars una mearum,
in quibus es venata iugis?” de cæspite virgo
se levat et “salve numen, me indice”, dixit
“audiat ipse licet maius Iove.” ridet et audit,
et sibi præferri se gaudet et oscula iungit
nec moderata satis nec sic a virgine danda.
qua venata foret silva, narrare parantem
impedit amplexu, nec se sine crimine prodit.
illa quidem contra, quantum modo femina possit
(adspiceres utinam, Saturnia: mitior esses!)
illa quidem pugnat: sed quem superare puella,
quisve Iovem poterat? superum petit æthera victor
Iuppiter: huic odio nemus est et conscia silva.
unde pedum referns pæne est oblita pharetram
tollere cum telis et quem suspenderat arcum.
ecce, suo comitata choro Dictynna per altum
Mænalon ingrediens et cæde superba ferarum
adspicit hanc visamque vocat: clamata refugit,
et timuit primo, ne Iuppiter esset in illa.
sed postquam pariter nymphas incedere vidit,
sensit abesse dolos numerumque accessit ad harum.
heu quam difficile est crimen non prodere vultu!
vix oculos attollit humo, nec, ut ante solebant,
iuncta Deæ lateri, nec, tot est agmine prima,
sed silet et læsi dat signa rubore pudoris;
et nisi quod virgo est poterat sentire Diana
mille notis culpam; nymphæ sensisse feruntur.
orbe resurgebat lunaria cornua nono,
cum Dea venatu, fraternis linguida flammis,
nacta nemus gelidum, de quo cum murmure labens
ibat et attritas versabat rivus harenas.
ut loca laudavit summas pede contigit undas:
his quoque laudatis, “procul est” ait “arbiter omnis;
nuda superfasis tingamus corpora lymphis.”
Parrhasis erubuit. cunctæ velamina ponunt: …
Then the Almighty Father’s immense walls
Of Heaven encircled, and how with force,
Lightning, fire, He causes to flow forth,
May not undermine them and so down-fall.
Which when firm and of His own hardness due,
Thinks to the earth and man’s works: sees it through.
However, for Arcadia ’t is greater,
With love of her: springs and not yet hearing
Streams to flow, of soil grasses renewed bring
With trees in leaf, by having been broken
And are ordered to grow green again: woodlands.
Until He returns and goes frequently
Among, with an Arcadian maiden,
He was attached, and by having received
’Neath the very souls: pursued with passion.
This one’s work wasn’t to soft wool spinning,
Nor to change dresses or hair arranging;
By a latchet with which to clasp her clothes,
In a white chaplet, unkempt hairs enclosed,
Only lightly armed with fist and jav’lin,
Or sometimes she had taken up the bow,
She’d been - was - a soldier of Diana,
Not for Arcadian mount Mænala, no,
To touch any in this way’s more pleasing,
To Diana;
But ’t is to no avail, hope: far-reaching.
Further midday sun’s rays shone, ’t was held high;
She goes to that grove for no hewn lifetime.
From on the ground, and should’ring the quiver,
She slowly drew the bow and released it,
That she lay flat in the grass concealēd,
Sank her neck on the quiver embroided.
With the watcher: Jupiter, had time for,
And her, having become exhausted,
“This intrigue my wife’ll not know”, he said,
“Of course; or, if she shall have perceivēd,
They’re to quarrel, oh, they’re quarrels so great.”
Forthwith He assumed to Diana’s form
And by having been well-dressed and adorned,
He said, “Oh follower, one of my retinue,
A virgin, who joins in the hunt with you?”
Just after, the virgin from in the sod,
Arose and said, “Well met Divine power,
By my testimony it may be told,
’T is permitted: greater than Jupiter
Himself, art thou.” He laughed, and to Himself,
Glad, He hurried past to kiss her sweet mouth,
Mated, not only quite restrained - fairly,
But also giving by the young lady.
By whom, having been hunted may’ve piercēd
The woods, prepared in embrace encirclēd,
Himself, not without reproach: went ahead.
That Callisto fought as much as - ’t is true
Only a female might be able to,
(By Saturn! Would that gentler you may see!)
That she in-fact fought, struggled, disagreed,
But what young girl can surmount to conquer,
Or whom has the power but Jupiter?
Jupiter, he goes to Heaven above
The victor: for this place its conscious of
Ill-will, from the forest woods and the grove.
Whence she goes back as she almost forgot,
Checked, to take her quiver, bow and arrows.
Behold! Diana with her troupe company
All over mount Mænalon’s heights proceed,
And by the slaughtering of wild beasts proud
Caught sight of this Nymph whom seemed right: called loud,
And initially she fled in fear,
That she may not be among Jupiter.
Yet when she saw nymphs to strut together,
She felt clear of deceits, and a number
Of these nymphs came near to - and added - her.
Alas! What awkwardness ’t is guilt to hide,
To not betray looks: ’specially in the eyes!
With the eye hardly being raised to the ground,
As ’t is not how it used to be, before
Enjoined of the goddess’ body around;
Nor is it the ent’re moved to the fore,
But be still, both the cause of injury,
Marks a sense of shame, disgrace, from modesty,
And ’t is unless that maiden could feel remorse,
Diana,
A thousand faults known from the Nymph flowed forth.
With the hornēd moon in its ninth cycle,
By the rising of Luna’s orb again,
While the goddess hunts, the brothers’ faint passion;
A frozen forest: they happen upon,
Whither down from came a roaring, then fade,
It proceeded and being worn away,
A stream wound down to the sandy sea-shore.
Since places of the gods, summits he praised,
He touched the shepherd’s crook, streams, surging waves,
This also, too, by being praisēd: laud,
“ ’T is far” says she, arbiter who sees all,
Naked bodies, spread bathing in waters.
Grew red: Parrhasius the painter,
They put off their garments all together: …
Translated by Maxwell Lewis Latham, all rights reserved.
circuit et ne quid labefactum viribus ignis
corruat explorat. quæ postquam firma suique
roboris esse videt terras hominumque labores
perspicit. Arcadiæ tamen est impensior illi
cura suæ: fontes et nondum audentia labi
flumina restituit dat terræ gramina, frondes
arboribus, læsasque iubet revirescere silvas.
dum redit itque frequens, in virgine Nonacrina
hæsit et accepti caluere sub ossibus ignes.
non erat huius opus lanam mollire trahendo
nec positu variare comas; ubi fibula vestem,
vitta cœrcuerat neglectos alba capillos,
et modo leve manu iaculum, modo sumpserat arcum,
miles erat Phœbes: nec Mænalon attigit ulla
gratior hac Triviæ. sed nulla potentia longa est.
vulteris medio spatium sol altus habebat,
cum subit illa nemus, quod nulla ceciderat ætas.
exuit hic umero pharetram lentosque retendit
arcus, inque solo, quod texerat herba, iacebat
et pictam posito pharentram cirvice premebat.
Iuppiter ut vidit fessam et custode vacantem,
“hoc certe furtum coniunx mea nesciet” inquit,
“aut si rescierit sunt o sunt iurgia tanti.”
protinus induitur faciem cultumque Dianæ
atque ait: “O comitum, virgo, pars una mearum,
in quibus es venata iugis?” de cæspite virgo
se levat et “salve numen, me indice”, dixit
“audiat ipse licet maius Iove.” ridet et audit,
et sibi præferri se gaudet et oscula iungit
nec moderata satis nec sic a virgine danda.
qua venata foret silva, narrare parantem
impedit amplexu, nec se sine crimine prodit.
illa quidem contra, quantum modo femina possit
(adspiceres utinam, Saturnia: mitior esses!)
illa quidem pugnat: sed quem superare puella,
quisve Iovem poterat? superum petit æthera victor
Iuppiter: huic odio nemus est et conscia silva.
unde pedum referns pæne est oblita pharetram
tollere cum telis et quem suspenderat arcum.
ecce, suo comitata choro Dictynna per altum
Mænalon ingrediens et cæde superba ferarum
adspicit hanc visamque vocat: clamata refugit,
et timuit primo, ne Iuppiter esset in illa.
sed postquam pariter nymphas incedere vidit,
sensit abesse dolos numerumque accessit ad harum.
heu quam difficile est crimen non prodere vultu!
vix oculos attollit humo, nec, ut ante solebant,
iuncta Deæ lateri, nec, tot est agmine prima,
sed silet et læsi dat signa rubore pudoris;
et nisi quod virgo est poterat sentire Diana
mille notis culpam; nymphæ sensisse feruntur.
orbe resurgebat lunaria cornua nono,
cum Dea venatu, fraternis linguida flammis,
nacta nemus gelidum, de quo cum murmure labens
ibat et attritas versabat rivus harenas.
ut loca laudavit summas pede contigit undas:
his quoque laudatis, “procul est” ait “arbiter omnis;
nuda superfasis tingamus corpora lymphis.”
Parrhasis erubuit. cunctæ velamina ponunt: …
Then the Almighty Father’s immense walls
Of Heaven encircled, and how with force,
Lightning, fire, He causes to flow forth,
May not undermine them and so down-fall.
Which when firm and of His own hardness due,
Thinks to the earth and man’s works: sees it through.
However, for Arcadia ’t is greater,
With love of her: springs and not yet hearing
Streams to flow, of soil grasses renewed bring
With trees in leaf, by having been broken
And are ordered to grow green again: woodlands.
Until He returns and goes frequently
Among, with an Arcadian maiden,
He was attached, and by having received
’Neath the very souls: pursued with passion.
This one’s work wasn’t to soft wool spinning,
Nor to change dresses or hair arranging;
By a latchet with which to clasp her clothes,
In a white chaplet, unkempt hairs enclosed,
Only lightly armed with fist and jav’lin,
Or sometimes she had taken up the bow,
She’d been - was - a soldier of Diana,
Not for Arcadian mount Mænala, no,
To touch any in this way’s more pleasing,
To Diana;
But ’t is to no avail, hope: far-reaching.
Further midday sun’s rays shone, ’t was held high;
She goes to that grove for no hewn lifetime.
From on the ground, and should’ring the quiver,
She slowly drew the bow and released it,
That she lay flat in the grass concealēd,
Sank her neck on the quiver embroided.
With the watcher: Jupiter, had time for,
And her, having become exhausted,
“This intrigue my wife’ll not know”, he said,
“Of course; or, if she shall have perceivēd,
They’re to quarrel, oh, they’re quarrels so great.”
Forthwith He assumed to Diana’s form
And by having been well-dressed and adorned,
He said, “Oh follower, one of my retinue,
A virgin, who joins in the hunt with you?”
Just after, the virgin from in the sod,
Arose and said, “Well met Divine power,
By my testimony it may be told,
’T is permitted: greater than Jupiter
Himself, art thou.” He laughed, and to Himself,
Glad, He hurried past to kiss her sweet mouth,
Mated, not only quite restrained - fairly,
But also giving by the young lady.
By whom, having been hunted may’ve piercēd
The woods, prepared in embrace encirclēd,
Himself, not without reproach: went ahead.
That Callisto fought as much as - ’t is true
Only a female might be able to,
(By Saturn! Would that gentler you may see!)
That she in-fact fought, struggled, disagreed,
But what young girl can surmount to conquer,
Or whom has the power but Jupiter?
Jupiter, he goes to Heaven above
The victor: for this place its conscious of
Ill-will, from the forest woods and the grove.
Whence she goes back as she almost forgot,
Checked, to take her quiver, bow and arrows.
Behold! Diana with her troupe company
All over mount Mænalon’s heights proceed,
And by the slaughtering of wild beasts proud
Caught sight of this Nymph whom seemed right: called loud,
And initially she fled in fear,
That she may not be among Jupiter.
Yet when she saw nymphs to strut together,
She felt clear of deceits, and a number
Of these nymphs came near to - and added - her.
Alas! What awkwardness ’t is guilt to hide,
To not betray looks: ’specially in the eyes!
With the eye hardly being raised to the ground,
As ’t is not how it used to be, before
Enjoined of the goddess’ body around;
Nor is it the ent’re moved to the fore,
But be still, both the cause of injury,
Marks a sense of shame, disgrace, from modesty,
And ’t is unless that maiden could feel remorse,
Diana,
A thousand faults known from the Nymph flowed forth.
With the hornēd moon in its ninth cycle,
By the rising of Luna’s orb again,
While the goddess hunts, the brothers’ faint passion;
A frozen forest: they happen upon,
Whither down from came a roaring, then fade,
It proceeded and being worn away,
A stream wound down to the sandy sea-shore.
Since places of the gods, summits he praised,
He touched the shepherd’s crook, streams, surging waves,
This also, too, by being praisēd: laud,
“ ’T is far” says she, arbiter who sees all,
Naked bodies, spread bathing in waters.
Grew red: Parrhasius the painter,
They put off their garments all together: …
Translated by Maxwell Lewis Latham, all rights reserved.
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