Ovid – Midas

Metamorphoses 11.106-110, 121-124, 128-129, 131-133

laetus abit gaudetque malō Berecyntius hērōs

pollicitīque fidem tangendō singula temptat

vixque sibi crēdēns nōn altā fronde virentem

īlice dētraxit virgam: virga aurea facta est.

tollit humō saxum: saxum quoque palluit aurō. 110

…

tum vērō, sīve ille suā Cereālia dextrā 121

mūnera contigerat, Cereālia dōna rigēbant,

sīve dapēs avidō convellere dente parābat,

lammina fulva dapēs admōtō dente premēbat.

…

attonitus novitāte malī, dīvesque miserque, 128

effugere optat opēs et, quae modo vōverat, ōdit.

…

ad caelumque manūs et splendida bracchia tollēns 131

“dā veniam, Lēnaee pater! peccāvimus,” inquit,

“sed miserēre, precor, speciōsōque ēripe damnō.”

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Notes
Meter: dactylic hexameters
106 abit = “goes away” malō is ablative with gaudet: “rejoyces in the evil thing” Berecyntius = “Berecynthian”, so called for a mountain range in Phrygia where Midas ruled hērōs (nom.) = “the hero”, i.e., Midas107 pollicitum, -ī, n.: = “promise” fidem < fidēs: “credibility, reliability, trust” tangendō singula = lit. “by touching single things”108 vix = “scarcely” sibi credēns = “believing himself”, i.e., trusting his own eyes nōn altā fronde (abl.) = “from a not-high (= low hanging) branch” virentem = “green”109 virga, -ae, f.: “twig” dētraxit = “drew off, plucked” īlice = “from an oak” facta est = “became”110 tollit = “lifts, picks up” humō (abl.) = “from the ground” palluit = “became pale”; aurō is ablative121 sīve … sīve = “whether … or …” Cereālia … mūnera, “the gifts of Ceres” > “bread”122 contigerat (pluperfect) = “had touched”123 dapēs = “a feast” > “meat; rich food” convellere lit. “tear apart” avidō … dente lit. “with an eager tooth”124 lammina = “a plate, sheeting”; dapēs is predicative: “as his food” premēbat = “was pressing” admōtō dente lit. “with his tooth brought near”128 novitāte (abl. expressing cause, with attonitus) = “astonished by the novelty,( = strangeness)” -que … -que … = “both … and …”129 effugere = “to escape from” opēs from ops: “riches” quae modo vōverat = “what he had just wished for” ōdit = “hates”131 manūs is plural: “hands” bracchia = “arms” tolēns = “lifting, raising”132 Lēnaeus, -a, -um: “Lenaean” (an epithet of Bacchus) peccāvimus = “we have sinned”133 miserēre (imperative, sc. meī) = “Have pity (on me)” precor = “I pray” ēripe (imperative, sc. mē) = “Rescue me from …” speciōsus, -a, -um: “showy; specious; superficially attractive”

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