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Heroïdes 4.1-16; 53-64; 109-122
Heroïdes 4.1-16; 53-64; 109-122
quam nisi tū dederis, caritūra est ipsa, salūtem
mittit Amazoniō Cressa puella virō.
perlege, quodcumque est — quid epistula lecta nocēbit?
tē quoque in hāc aliquid quod iuvet esse potest;
hīs arcāna nōtīs terrā pelagōque feruntur. 5
īnspicit acceptās hostis ab hoste nōtās.
ter tēcum cōnāta loquī ter inūtilis haesit
lingua, ter in prīmō restitit ōre sonus.
quā licet et sequitur, pudor est miscendus amōrī;
dīcere quae puduit, scrībere iussit Amor. 10
quidquid Amor iussit, nōn est contemnere tūtum;
regnat et in dominōs iūs habet ille deōs.
ille mihī prīmō dubitantī scrībere dixit:
“scrībe! dabit victās ferreus ille manūs.”
adsit et, ut nostrās avidō fovet igne medullās, 15
fīgat sīc animōs in mea vota tuōs!
…
forsitan hunc generis fātō reddāmus amōrem,
et Venus ex tōtā gente tribūta petat.
Iuppiter Eurōpēn — prīma est ea gentis orīgo — 55
dīlexit, taurō dissimulante deum.
Pāsiphaē mater, dēceptō subdita taurō,
ēnixa est uterō crīmen onusque suō.
perfidus Aegidēs, dūcentia fīla secūtus,
curva meae fūgit tecta sorōris ope. 60
ēn, ego nunc, nē forte parum Minōia credar,
in sociās lēgēs ultima gentis eō!
hōc quoque fātāle est: placuit domus ūna duābus;
mē tua forma capit, capta parente soror.
…
tempore abest aberitque diū Neptūnius hērōs;
illum Pirithöī dētinet ōra suī. 110
praeposuit Thēseus — nisi sī manifesta negāmus —
Pirithöum Phaedrae Pirithöumque tibi.
sōla nec haec ad nōs iniūria vēnit ab illō;
in magnīs laesī rēbus uterque sumus.
ossa meī fratris clāvā perfracta trinōdī 115
sparsit humī; soror est praeda relicta ferīs.
prīma secūrigerās inter virtūte puellās
tē peperit, nātī digna vigōre parēns;
sī quaerās, ubi sit — Thēseus latus ense perēgit,
nec tantō māter pignore tūta fuit. 120
at nē nupta quidem taedāque accepta iugālī —
cūr, nisi nē caperēs regna paterna nothus?
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Notes Meter: elegiac couplets
1 The greeting is given in the third person. The Cressa (“Cretan”) puella is PhaedraHippolytus is Amazonius (“Amazonian”) because his mother was the Amazon warrior Hippolyta.The conceit of the opening line depends on the ambiguity of salūs – both ‘health’ and ‘greeting’.She sends a greeting, but if he does not give his greeting (quam), she will not have (caritūra, from careō)good health.3 epistula lecta: equivalent to a gerund phrase – “reading a letter”4 Word order: in hāc aliquid potest esse quod tē adiuvet; the subjunctive characterizes: “something to …”5 arcānus, -a, -um: hidden, private, secret. The thought it that secrets are routinely communicated through the medium of writing. 6 I.e., even in war enemies read one another’s secret communications.7 conāta: “having tried”9 quā licet et sequitur: the clause modifies the entire sentence – “as is permitted …”; sequitur, as a natural course, i.e., ‘as is natural’11 I.e., nōn est tūtum contemnere quicquid …12 habet iūs in + accus. = “holds sway over …”14 I.e., he will surrender15 adsit expresses a wish; understand Amor.ut is correlative with sīc in 16: “just as … so …”nostrās = meās16 in vota mea = “in accordance with my prayers”53 reddāmus i.e., as a penaltyfātō (ablative) is adverbial: “by fate”; the genitive with amōrem, “the passion of my family”57 subdō, subdere, subdidī, subditum: to put under, lay under58 ēnītor, ēnītī, ēnixus sum here = bear, give birth (literally ‘to exert oneself’)crīmen = “reproach”59 Aegidēs, ‘son of Aegeus’, is Theseusfīla is plural for singular; dūcentia participle of dūcō 60 curva tecta is the labyrinth61 parum Mīnōia (understand esse): “no less a daughter of Minos”62 The sociae legēs gentis are the common laws of the clan or family; eō + in & accusative means ‘come under’ them63 I.e., both sisters loved men of the same household109 Neptūnius hērōs is Theseus, whose presumptive father is Neptune111 nisi sī = “unless”; manifesta, i.e., “the obvious”114 Notice the use of the masculine gender to generalize115 perfringo, perfringere, perfrēgī, perfractum: to break to bits, crush, smash upclāva, -ae, f.: a club, cudgel. trinōdus, -a, -um: triple-knobbed, having three knobs116 humī is locative: “on the ground”117 secūriger, -a, -um: ax-wielding; virtūte modifies prīma. virginēs secūrigerae are Amazons118 vigor, -ōris, m.: liveliness, activity, vitalityThe conceit is intended as a compliment of Hippolytus: ‘a parent worthy of her son in …’120 The pignus or guarantee of her safety should have been her being mother of his child122 nisi nē: “except that you might not …” – purpose clausenothus, -ī, m., is a Greek term for an illegitimate son, a bastard
Paul Peter Rubens, Hippolytus
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