Ovid — Paris to Helen
Heroïdes 16.53-72
est locus in mediīs nemorōsae vallibus Īdae
dēvius et piceīs īlicibusque frequēns,
quī nec ovis placidae nec amantis saxa capellae 55
nec patulō tardae carpitur ōre bovis.
hinc ego Dardaniae mūrōs excelsaque tecta
et freta prōspiciēns arbore nixus eram —
ecce! pedum pulsū vīsa est mihi terra movērī —
vēra loquar vērī vix habitūra fidem — 60
constitit ante oculōs actus velōcibus alīs
Atlantis magnī Plēionēsque nepōs —
fas vīdisse fuit, fas sit mihi vīsa referre! —
inque deī digitīs aurea virga fuit;
trēsque simul dīvae, Venus et cum Pallade Iūnō, 65
grāminibus tenerōs imposuēre pedēs.
obstipuī, gelidusque comās ērexerat horror,
cum mihi “pōne metum!” nuntius āles ait,
“arbiter es formae; certāmina siste deārum,
vincere quae formā digna sit ūna duās!” 70
nēve recūsārem, verbīs Iovis imperat et sē
prōtinus aetheriā tollit in astra viā.
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NotesThis poem pretends to be a letter written by Paris to Helen, in which he tries to persuade her to elope with him. Here he recounts the epiphany he experienced.
Meter: elegiac couplets
53 nemorōsus, -a, -um = “well wooded” Īda (gen. Īdae) is the mountain near Troy54 dēvius = “out of the way, untrodden, unfrequented” picea, -ae f. = “pine” īlex, īlicis, f. = “oak” frequēns = “crowded”55 quī = “which”, referring to the locus carpitur (passive voice) = “is grazed” nec ovis … nec capellae … : the genitives depend on ōre understood: “by the mouths of …” capella, -ae, f.: “kid”, a young goat amantis saxa adjective phrase with capella = “fond of rocks”, i.e, rock-climbing56 patulus, -a, -um = “broad, wide”, with ōre bovis < bōs57 Dardania, -ae = “Dardania”, i.e., Troy, so called for Dardanus, ancestor of the Trojan kings58 prōspiciēns = “looking out upon” freta refers to the narrows of the Dardanelles arbore nixus eram = “I had reclined upon a tree”59 vīsa est = “seemed” mōvērī = “to be moved, shaken” pulsū (abl.) = “by the beat”; pedum, gen. pl. of pēs60 vēra loquar = “I shall speak true things” vix habitūra fidem vērī = “hardly likely to have the trustworthiness of truth”61 cōnstitit from cōnsisto: “stood” actus = “compelled, driven”, nominative with the subject of constitit62 Atlās, Atlantis = “Atlas” Plēionēs is a Greek genitive: “of Pleionē”; the grandson of Atlas and Pleione is Mercury63 fas fuit = “it was permitted”; vīdisse = “to have seen” fas sit = “May it be permitted …!”; vīsa referre = “to relate the things seen”65 dīva, -ae = dea, -ae: “goddess” Pallās, Palladis = “Pallas”, a title of Minerva 66 imposuēre = imposuērunt from impōnō67 obstipuī = “I was dumbfounded/amazed” gelidus, -a, -um = “chilly, cold” ērexerat (pluperf.) = “had raised up”68 cum … ait = “when the … said” ‘pōne metum’ = “lay aside your fear”69 siste (imperative) = “settle”70 quae digna sit = “which is worthy … ” formā vincere is literally to defeat them in her beauty, i.e. to surpass them …71 nēve recūsārem = “And lest I refuse” imperat (understand mihi): “he orders (me)”; verbīs Iovis – “with the …”72 sē tollit i.e., he rose up aetherius, -a, -um = “heavenly”
