Embedded Files
Metamorphoses 7.100-158
Metamorphoses 7.100-158
postera dēpulerat stellās aurōra micantēs: 100
conveniunt populī sacrum Māvortis in arvum
consistuntque iugis. mediō rēx ipse resēdit
agmine purpureus sceptrōque īnsignis eburnō.
ecce! adamantēīs Vulcānum nāribus efflant
aeripedēs taurī, tactaeque vapōribus herbae 105
ardent; utque solent plēnī resonāre camīnī,
aut ubi terrēnā silicēs fornāce solūtī
concipiunt ignem liquidārum aspergine aquārum,
pectora sīc intus clausās volventia flammās
gutturaque usta sonant. tamen illīs Aesone nātus 110
obvius it. vertēre trucēs venientis ad ōra
terribilēs vultūs praefixaque cornua ferrō,
pulvereumque solum pede pulsāvēre bisūlcō
fūmificīsque locum mūgītibus implēvērunt.
dēriguēre metū Minyae: subit ille, nec ignēs 115
sentit anhēlātōs (tantum medicāmina possunt),
pendulaque audācī mulcet paleāria dextrā,
suppositōsque iugō pondus grave cōgit arātrī
dūcere et īnsuētum ferrō prōscindere campum.
mīrantur Colchī, Minyae clamoribus augent 120
adiiciuntque animōs. galeā tum sūmit aēnā
vīpereōs dentēs et arātōs spargit in agrōs.
sēmina mollit humus validō praetincta venēnō,
et crescunt fiuntque satī nova corpora dentēs.
utque hominis speciem maternā sūmit in alvō 125
perque suōs intus numerōs componitur infāns,
nec nisi mātūrus commūnēs exit in auras,
sīc ubi visceribus gravidae tellūris imāgo
effecta est hominis, fētō cōnsurgit in arvō,
quodque magis mīrum est, simul ēdita concutit arma. 130
quōs ubi vīdērunt praeacūtae cuspidis hastās
in caput Haemonii iuvenis torquere parantes,
dēmīsēre metū vultumque animumque Pelasgī.
ipsa quoque extimuit, quae tūtum fēcerat illum;
utque petī vīdit iuvenem tot ab hostibus ūnum, 135
palluit et subitō sine sanguine frīgida sēdit;
nēve parum valeant ā sē data grāmina, carmen
auxiliāre canit sēcrētāsque advocat artēs.
ille gravem mediōs silicem iaculātus in hostēs
ā sē dēpulsum Martem convertit in ipsōs. 140
terrigenae pereunt per mutua vulnera fratrēs
cīvīlīque cadunt aciē. gratantur Achīvī
victōremque tenent avidīsque amplexibus haerent.
tu quoque victōrem complecti, barbara, vellēs:
obstitit inceptō pudor. at complexa fuissēs 145
sed tē, nē facerēs, tenuit reverentia fāmae.
quod licet, affectū tacitō laetāris agisque
carminibus grātēs et dīs auctōribus hōrum.
pervigilem superest herbīs sōpīre dracōnem,
quī cristā linguīsque tribus praesignis et uncīs 150
dentibus horrendus custōs erat arboris aureae.
hunc postquam sparsit Lēthaeī grāmine sūcī
verbaque ter dīxit placidōs facientia somnōs,
quae mare turbātum, quae concita flūmina sistunt,
somnus in ignōtōs oculōs sibi venit, et aurō 155
herōs Aesonius potitur spoliōque superbus
mūneris auctōrem sēcum, spolia altera, portāns
victor Iōlciacōs tetigit cum coniuge portūs.
_____________________________________________________________________
Notes
Meter: dactylic hexameters
100 posterus, -a, -um: following, next, coming after dēpellō, dēpellere, dēpulī dēpulsum: to drive away, drive off101 Māvors, Māvortis = Mars, Martis populī – plural for singular of the collective noun; = hominēs102 resēdit simply = “sat” agmine mediō expresses location103 insignis, -e: distinguished, marked out, prominent, eminent eburnus = eburneus, “of ivory”104 Vulcānum = ignem, object of efflant adamanteus, -a, -um: of adamant, adamantine, steel-like105 aeripēs, -pedis: “bronze-footed, with feet of bronze”106 caminus, -ī, m.: a furnace, forge ut introduces a simile, answered by sīc in 109: ‘just as … so …’107 fornāx, fornācis, f.: an oven, kiln; here the reference is to a lime-kiln terrēnus, -a, -um: earthen silex, silicis, m.: a pebble-stone, i.e., limestone, used to make quicklime (calcium oxide) for making cement. Word order: aut <ut resonant silicēs> … ubi ignem … incipiunt. (Note the ellipsis.) Splashing water on heated calcium oxide induces a strong chemical reaction, hence ignem incipiunt.108 aspergo, -ginis, f.: a splashing, sprinkling109 clausās flammās : object of the participle volventia (see volvō), with pectora110 guttur, gutturis, n.: the throat, gullet; ustus, -a, -um, from ūrō Aesone nātus, ‘the one born of Aeson’ is Jason illīs, dative with obvius111 it (from eō): “goes” vertēre = vertērunt; trucēs, from trux (gen. trucis), “harsh, savage, grim” venientis, with ōra: “as he approaches”112 vultūs and cornua – accusatives with vertēre praefīgō, praefīgere, praefīxī, praefixum: to attach to the front of, affix113 pulvereus, -a, -um: dusty pulsāvēre = pulsāvērunt bisulcus, -a, -um: cleft in two, forked, cloven114 fūmificus, -a, -um: smoke-producing115 dērigescō, dērigescere, dēriguī: stiffen, become rigid subit, “goes up”, from subeō; note the historical present116 anhēlō, anhēlāre, anhēlāvī, anhēlātum: to breathe out, exhale117 pendulus, -a, -um: hanging paleāria, -ium, n.: dewlaps118 Word order: cōgit <eōs>, suppositōs iugō (dat.), dūcere pondus grave arātrī119 īnsuētus, -a, -um: unaccustomed, unfamiliar prōscindō, prōscindere: to cleave, cut into, break open120 mīrantur (deponent verb): “are amazed”121 adiicio or adicio, adicere, adiēcī, adiectum: to add to, increase; animōs here = “courage” galea, -ae, f.: a helmet; the ablative expresses the source from which 122 vīpereus, -a, -um: of a viper, viprous123 molliō, mollīre, mollīvī, mollītum: to soften sēmen, -minis, n.: seed praetingō, praetingere, praetinxī, praetinctum: to dip in124 fiunt: “become”; satī with dentēs – “sown”125 ut introduces a simile, answered by sīc in 128: ‘just as … so …’ Subject of sūmit is infāns in 127 maternā alvō, i.e. in the womb; alvus, -ī, f. = “belly”126 perque suōs intus numerōs – an essentially Pythagorean notion: numbers are ‘entities’ that regulate the formation of physical processes (such as growth) from within exit – “goes out”, from exeō128 gravidus, -a, -um: swollen, heavy; pregnant; genitive goes with visceribus, itself expressing the place where129 fētus, -a, -um: fruitful, productive; with alvō understand tellūris imāgo hominis subject of both effecta est (‘was produced’) and consurgit consurgō, consurgere, consurrexī, consurrectum: rise up, rise up together 130 quod magis etc. is parenthetical: “and what is more …” Best to take simul ēdita with arma; imāgo hominis subject of concutit referring to the entire crop so born: ‘they strike together their weapons as soon as produced’ concutiō, concutere, concussī, concussum: to strike together131 praeacūtus, -a, -um: foresharpened, pointed; the short ‘a’ of -acūtus is blended with the preceding ‘ae’ by synizesis for metrical reasons cuspis, -pidis, f.: spear head, tip quōs = sed … eōs. Word order: sed ubi Pelasgī vīdērunt eōs parāntēs toquēre in caput …132 toquēre here the sense of ‘throw at’, since throwing spears involved a twisting of the whole torso Haemonius, -a, -um: Thessalian, the Thessalian iuvenis being Jason133 Pelasgī, ‘the Pelasgians’ are the Greeks dēmīsēre = dēmīsērunt; metū expresses cause (‘out of fear’) or manner (‘fearfully’) vultum dēmittere = ‘to lower one’s eyes’; animōs dēmittere = ‘to become discouraged’ – the fusion of the two is an instance of zeugma134 extimescō, extimescere, extimuī: to become frightened; ipsa of course refers to Medea135 tot with hostibus – “by so many enemies”137 nēve = et nē, by poetic license. Out of fear that (nē) her drugs might not be sufficiently (parum) strong, she chanted a carmen auxiliāre: auxiliāris, -e = “helping, auxiliary, supplemental”139 silicem: see 107 above; for saxum iaculor, iaculārī, iaculātus sum (passive forms with active meanings): to throw, hurl; iaculātus = “having thrown”140 dēpulsum, with Martem, itself by metonymy for proelium; see 100 above141 pereunt, from pereō, “perish”142 grātor, grātārī, grātātus sum: to rejoice, congratulate oneself Achīvus, -a, -um: Achaean, i.e. Greek144 complectī (infinitive): “to embrace”; note the sudden apostrophe of Medea, the barbara vellēs: “would have liked” – potential subjunctive, contrary to fact145 complector, complectī, complexus sum (passive forms, active meaning): embrace; complexa fuissēs expresses a past contrary to fact situation at is strongly adversative – ‘and yet you would have …’146 tenuit tē nē facerēs = “kept you from … ”; fāma here is her reputation, her good name147 laetor, laetārī, laetātus sum: to feel joy, rejoice quod licet serves as a limiting adverb: “to the extent that is permitted” affectus, -ūs, m.: affection, mood, feeling grātēs agere = “to perform thanksgiving”; the noun grātēs usually appears only in the nom. & acc. plur.148 dīs auctōribus hōrum (understand factōrum): i.e., to the gods who were the source of these deeds149 pervigilis, -e: ever-wakeful superest, i.e., ‘there remains’150 crista, -ae, f.: a crest uncus, -a, -um: curved, hooked152 Lēthaeus, -a, -um: of Lethe (the river of Forgetfulness in the Underworld), hence of forgetfulness sūcus, -ī, m.: juice153 facientia, present participle with verba154 sistunt, i.e., calm, put to rest155 ignōtōs sibi, “unknown to themselves”, in the sense that they had never known sleep156 Aesonius, “son of Aeson”, i.e., Jason potior, potīrī, potītus sum: to take possess of, obtain, get – the verb takes an ablative complement, here aurō157 spolium, –ī, n.: prize, booty, spoils (originally the hide stripped from an animal as spoils); spoliō is ablative of cause withsuperbus mūneris auctōrem: Medea is the source of his success158 Iōlcianus, -a, -um: of Iolcus; Iōlcianōs with portūs
Jason takes the Fleece,Attic Red-Figure Vase
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse