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Ovid · Metamorphoses I

Metamorphoses 1.65–88

Stars, creatures and the first man

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Met. 1.65horrifer invāsit Boreās: contrāria tellūs
nūbibus adsiduīs pluviāque madēscit ab Austrō.
bristling Boreas invaded: the land opposite is drenched with constant clouds and rain from Auster.
Met. 1.67Haec super inposuit liquidum et gravitāte carentem
aethera nec quicquam terrēnae faecis habentem.
Above all this he set the clear aether, lacking weight and having nothing of the dregs of earth.
Met. 1.69Vix ita līmitibus dissaepserat omnia certīs,
70cum, quae pressa diū massā latuēre sub illā,
sīdera coepērunt tōtō effervēscere caelō.
Scarcely had he thus fenced everything off with fixed boundaries when the stars, which had long lain hidden, pressed down under that mass, began to blaze out all over the sky.
Met. 1.72Neu regiō foret ūlla suīs animālibus orba,
astra tenent caeleste sōlum fōrmaeque deōrum,
cessērunt nitidīs habitandae piscibus undae,
75terra ferās cēpit, volucrēs agitābilis āēr.
And so that no region should be bereft of its own living creatures, the stars and the forms of the gods occupy the floor of heaven, the waters yielded to the shining fish to inhabit, the earth received wild beasts, the mobile air the birds.
Met. 1.76Sānctius hīs animal mentisque capācius altae
dēerat adhūc et quod dominārī in cētera posset.
A creature more holy than these and more capable of lofty thought was still lacking, one that could hold dominion over the rest.

Met. 1.78Nātus homō est, sīve hunc dīvīnō sēmine fēcit
ille opifex rērum, mundī meliōris orīgō,
80sīve recēns tellūs sēductaque nūper ab altō
aethere cognātī retinēbat sēmina caelī;
Man was born, whether that craftsman of things, the source of a better world, made him from divine seed, or the earth, new and only lately parted from the high aether, still kept seeds of its kindred sky;
Met. 1.82quam satus Iapetō mīxtam pluviālibus undīs
finxit in effigiem moderantum cūncta deōrum.
this earth the son of Iapetus mixed with rain water and moulded into the likeness of the gods who govern all things.
Met. 1.84Prōnaque cum spectent animālia cētera terram,
85ōs hominī sublīme dedit, caelumque vidēre
iussit et ērēctōs ad sīdera tollere vultūs.
And while the other animals, bent forward, look at the earth, he gave man a face held high, and ordered him to look at the sky and to lift his countenance upright to the stars.
Met. 1.87Sīc, modo quae fuerat rudis et sine imāgine, tellūs
induit ignōtās hominum conversa figūrās.
So the earth, which had lately been rough and without form, was transformed and put on the unknown shapes of men.

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Grammar in this passage: gerunds and gerundives ×1

Latin vocabulary for this passage (120 words)
horrifer, -era, -erumdreadful, terrifying; bristling, freezing
invādō, -ere, -vāsī, -vāsusgo into, attack, seize; come upon
contrārius, -a, -umopposite, facing
tellūs, -ūris f.earth, land (poetic)
nūbēs, -is, f.cloud
assiduus, -a, -umconstant, unremitting
pluvia, -ae f.rain
que, enclitic conj.and
madēscō, -ere, maduībecome wet, grow moist
ā, ab (prep. + abl.)away from, from; by (ā only before consonants)
auster, -trī m.the south wind
hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron.this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter
super (prep. + acc. or abl.; also adv.)over, above, on top of; upon; about, concerning
impōnō, -pōnere, -posuī, -positusplace or lay upon, impose; embark
liquidus, -a, -umliquid, flowing; clear
et, conj.and; et ... et, both ... and
gravitās, -ātis f.weight, heaviness; dignity, seriousness
careō, -ēre, -uībe without, lack (+ abl.)
aethēr, -eris m. (acc. aethera)the upper air, the sky
neque or nec, conj.and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not
quisquam, quicquam, indef. pron.any one, anything
terrēnus, -a, -umof earth, earthen
faex, faecis f.dregs, lees (of wine)
habeō, -ēre, -uī, -itushave, hold; consider
vix, adv.with difficulty, scarcely, hardly, barely
ita, adv.in this manner, thus, so; ita ut, as
līmes, -itis m.path, track; boundary
dissaepiō, -īre, -saepsī, -saeptusseparate, divide off
omnis, -eall, every
certus, -a, -umdetermined, fixed, certain; certiōrem facere, to make more certain, inform
cum, conj.when, while, after; since; although
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.who, which
premō, premere, pressī, pressuspress, check, restrain
diū, adv.for a long time, a long time or while, long; comp
massa, -ae f.lump, mass
lateō, -ēre, -uīlie hid, be concealed
sub, prep. with acc. and abl.under; sub vesperum, towards evening
ille, illa, illud, dem. pron.that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc
sīdus, -eris n.star, constellation
coepī, coepisse, coeptus (used in tenses of completed action)have begun, began
tōtus, -a, -umall the, the whole or entire
effervēscō, -fervēscere, -ferbuīboil up or over, boil
caelum, -ī, n.heaven, sky
neusee nēve
regiō, -ōnis, f.direction; country, region
sum, esse, fuī, futūrusbe
ūllus, -a, -umany
suus, -a, -umhis, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their
animal, -ālis n.living creature, animal
orbus, -a, -umbereaved, orphaned, childless
astrum, -ī n.star; (pl.) the heavens
teneō, -ēre, -uī, -tushold, keep; hold back, restrain, stop
caelestis, -eheavenly; pl. as noun: the gods
sōlum (adv.); solum, -ī n.only (nōn sōlum … sed etiam: not only … but also); ground, soil
fōrma, -ae, f.form, appearance; beauty
deus, -ī, m.god
cēdō, -ere, cessī, cessumgo, withdraw, give way
nitidus, -a, -umshining, sleek, well-groomed
habitō, -āre, -āvī, -ātusdwell, inhabit
piscis, -is m.fish
unda, -ae, f.wave
terra, -ae, f.land, earth
fera, -ae, f.wild animal, beast
capiō, capere, cēpī, captustake, catch, seize; receive, suffer; adopt
volucris, -is, f.bird
agitābilis, -eeasily moved, mobile
āēr, āeris, m.air
sānctus, -a, -umconsecrated, sacred
mēns, mentis f.mind, spirit
capāx, -ācisroomy, spacious; capable (of: gen.)
altus, -a, -umhigh, deep; altum, -ī, n., the deep
dēsum, deesse, dēfuībe lacking, fail
adhūc, adv.to this point, up to this time, yet, still
dominor, -ārī, -ātus sumbe master, rule
in, prep. with acc. and abl.with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
cēterī, -ae, -a, plur. adj.the other, the remaining, the rest of
possum, posse, potuībe able, have power, can
nāscor, -ī, nātus sumbe born; rise, begin
homō, hominis, m.man
sīve or seu, conj.or if; sīve ... sīve, whether ... or
dīvīnus, -a, -umdivine, of the gods
sēmen, sēminis n.seed
faciō, facere, fēcī, factusmake, do; iter facere, see iter
opifex, -ficis m.workman, craftsman
rēs, reī, f.thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really
mundus, -ī m.world, universe
bonus, -a, -umgood
orīgō, -inis f.origin, beginning, source; ancestry
recēns, -entisrecent, fresh
sēdūcō, -ere, -dūxī, -ductuslead astray, deceive
nūper, adv.newly, lately, recently
cognātus, -ī m.kinsman, relative
retineō, -tinēre, -tinuī, -tentushold or keep back, keep, restrain; hold fast
serō, serere, sēvī, satussow, plant
misceō, miscēre, miscuī, mīxtusmix, mingle
pluviālis, -erainy, rain-bringing
fingō, fingere, finxī, fictusinvent, make up
effigiēs, -ēī f.likeness, form, appearance
moderor, -ārī, -ātus sumcontrol, manage, check
cūnctus, -a, -umall, the whole
prōnus, -a, -umleaning forward; inclined, prone (to)
spectō, -āre, -āvī, -ātuslook at or on
ōs, ōris, n.mouth
sublīmis, -ehigh, lofty; in sublīme: up on high
dō, dare, dedī, datusgive
videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsussee; pass., seem
iubeō, iubēre, iussī, iussusbid, order, command
ērēctus, -a, -umupright, erect
ad, prep. with acc.to, toward; at, near; for
tollō, tollere, sustulī, sublātuslift, raise; take away, remove; ancorās tollere, to weigh anchor
vultus, -ūs m.face, expression
sīc, adv.so, thus
modo, adv.only
rudis, -eraw, rough; (of cloth) new, unshrunk
sine, prep. with abl.without
imāgō, -inis f.likeness, image, portrait
induō, induere, induī, indūtusput on; clothe
ignōtus, -a, -umunknown
convertō, -vertere, -vertī, -versusturn round, turn, change; in fugam convertere, to put to flight
figūra, -ae, f.form, shape, figure
Ovid, Metamorphoses I. Latin text: H. Magnus, Die Metamorphosen des P. Ovidius Naso (Gotha, 1892), public domain; digital text from the Perseus Digital Library, CC BY-SA. Word analysis: drafted by our own tagger (trained on the hand-checked texts on this site), with every doubtful word checked by hand. English translation and section titles: written for this app, each checked against the Latin by a second reader.