Met. 10.306grātulor huic terrae, quod abest regiōnibus illīs,
quae tantum genuēre nefās.I congratulate this land, that it lies far from those regions which gave birth to such an outrage. Met. 10.307Sit dīves amōmō
cinnamaque costumque suum sūdātaque lignō
tūra ferat flōrēsque aliōs Panchāia tellūs,
310dum ferat et murram: tantī nova nōn fuit arbor.Let the Panchaean land be rich in amomum, let it bear its cinnamon and its costus and incense sweated from the wood and other flowers, so long as it bears the myrrh-tree too: the new tree was not worth so much. Met. 10.311Ipse negat nocuisse tibi sua tēla Cupīdō,
Myrrha, facēsque suās ā crīmine vindicat istō.Cupid himself denies that his arrows harmed you, Myrrha, and clears his torches of that crime. Met. 10.313Stīpite tē Stygiō tumidīsque adflāvit echidnīs
ē tribus ūna soror.One of the three sisters breathed on you with a Stygian brand and swollen vipers. Met. 10.314Scelus est ōdisse parentem:
315hic amor est odiō maius scelus.It is a crime to hate a parent: this love is a greater crime than hatred. Met. 10.315Undique lēctī
tē cupiunt procerēs, tōtōque oriente iuventūs
ad thalamī certāmen adest.Chosen nobles desire you from every side, and the youth of the whole East is here to contend for your bed.
Met. 10.317Ex omnibus ūnum
ēlige, Myrrha, virum: dum nē sit in omnibus ūnus.Out of them all choose one man, Myrrha: so long as the one man is not among them all. Met. 10.319Illa quidem sentit foedōque repugnat amōrī
320et sēcum "quō mente feror?She indeed is aware of it and fights against her foul love, and says to herself, 'Where is my mind carrying me? Met. 10.320quid mōlior?"What am I attempting?' Met. 10.320inquit:
"dī, precor, et pietās sacrātaque iūra parentum,
hoc prohibēte nefās scelerīque resistite nostrō, —
sī tamen hoc scelus est.she says: 'Gods, I pray, and duty and the sacred rights of parents, forbid this outrage and stand in the way of my crime — if indeed this is a crime. Met. 10.323Sed enim damnāre negātur
hanc venerem pietās, coeuntque animālia nūllō
325cētera dēlictō.But duty, it is said, does not condemn this love, and other animals mate without any wrong. Met. 10.325Nec habētur turpe iuvencae
ferre patrem tergō, fit equō sua fīlia coniūnx,
quāsque creāvit init pecudēs caper, ipsaque, cuius
sēmine concepta est, ex illō concipit āles.Nor is it held shameful for a heifer to bear her father on her back; his own daughter becomes a horse's mate, the goat goes in to the flocks he has fathered, and the bird herself conceives by him from whose seed she was conceived.
Met. 10.329Fēlīcēs, quibus ista licent!Happy are they to whom such things are allowed! Met. 10.329Hūmāna malignās
330cūra dedit lēgēs, et quod nātūra remittit,
invida iūra negant.Human care has made spiteful laws, and what nature allows, jealous rules forbid. Met. 10.331Gentēs tamen esse feruntur,
in quibus et nātō genetrīx et nāta parentī
iungitur, ut pietās geminātō crēscat amōre.Yet there are said to be peoples among whom both mother is joined with son and daughter with father, so that duty grows with doubled love. Met. 10.334Mē miseram, quod nōn nāscī mihi contigit illīc,
335fortūnāque locī laedor!Wretched me, that it was not my lot to be born there, and I am harmed by the chance of place! Met. 10.335— Quid in ista revolvor?— Why do I keep turning to such thoughts? Met. 10.336Spēs interdictae discēdite!Forbidden hopes, be gone! Met. 10.336Dignus amārī
ille, sed ut pater, est.He is worthy to be loved, but as a father. Met. 10.337— Ergō sī fīlia magnī
nōn essem Cinyrae, Cinyrae concumbere possem;— So if I were not the daughter of great Cinyras, I could lie with Cinyras; Met. 10.339nunc quia iam meus est, nōn est meus, ipsaque damnō
340est mihi proximitās: aliēna potentior essem.as it is, because he is already mine, he is not mine, and my very nearness is my loss: as a stranger I should have more power.
Met. 10.341Īre libet procul hinc patriaeque relinquere fīnēs,
dum scelus effugiam.I want to go far from here and leave the borders of my country, so long as I escape crime. Met. 10.342Retinet malus ardor amantem,
ut praesēns spectem Cinyram tangamque loquarque
ōsculaque admoveam, sī nīl concēditur ultrā.A wicked passion holds me back as I love, so that I may see Cinyras face to face, and touch him and speak to him and kiss him, if nothing more is granted. Met. 10.345Ultrā autem spectāre aliquid potes, impia virgō?But can you look for anything more, impious girl? Met. 10.346Et quot cōnfundās et iūra et nōmina, sentīs!And you feel how many laws and names you are confounding! Met. 10.347Tūne eris et mātris paelex et adultera patris?Will you be both your mother's rival and your father's mistress? Met. 10.348Tūne soror nātī genetrīxque vocābere frātris?Will you be called sister of your son and mother of your brother? Met. 10.349Nec metuēs ātrō crīnītās angue sorōrēs,
350quās facibus saevīs oculōs atque ōra petentēs
noxia corda vident?And will you not fear the sisters with black snakes for hair, whom guilty hearts see thrusting cruel torches at eyes and faces?
Met. 10.351At tū, dum corpore nōn es
passa nefās, animō nē concipe, nēve potentis
concubitū vetitō nātūrae pollue foedus.But you, while you have not suffered the outrage in your body, do not conceive it in your mind, nor defile the covenant of mighty nature with a forbidden union. Met. 10.354Velle putā: rēs ipsa vetat.Suppose you were willing: the thing itself forbids it. Met. 10.354Pius ille memorque est
355mōris — et ō vellem similis furor esset in illō!"He is dutiful and mindful of right custom — and oh, how I wish there were a like madness in him!' Met. 10.356Dīxerat, at Cinyrās, quem cōpia digna procōrum,
quid faciat, dubitāre facit, scītātur ab ipsā
nōminibus dictīs, cuius velit esse marītī.She had spoken, but Cinyras, whom a worthy abundance of suitors makes uncertain what to do, names them and asks her herself whose wife she wishes to be. Met. 10.359Illa silet prīmō, patriīsque in vultibus haerēns
360aestuat et tepidō suffundit lūmina rōre.She is silent at first, and, fixing her eyes on her father's face, she burns and floods her eyes with warm dew.
Met. 10.361Virgineī Cinyrās haec crēdēns esse timōris,
flēre vetat siccatque genās atque ōscula iungit.Cinyras, believing this to be maidenly fear, tells her not to weep, dries her cheeks and kisses her. Met. 10.363Myrrha datīs nimium gaudet: cōnsultaque, quālem
optet habēre virum, "similem tibi" dīxit.Myrrha rejoices too much at what is given: and when asked what kind of husband she would wish to have, she said, 'One like you.' Met. 10.364At ille
365nōn intellēctam vōcem conlaudat et "estō
tam pia semper" ait.But he praises her words, not understanding them, and says, 'Always be so dutiful.' Met. 10.366Pietātis nōmine dictō
dēmīsit vultūs sceleris sibi cōnscia virgō.At the word duty the girl, conscious of her crime, lowered her eyes. Met. 10.368Noctis erat medium, cūrāsque et corpora somnus
solverat.It was the middle of the night, and sleep had loosened cares and bodies. Met. 10.369At virgō Cinyrēia pervigil ignī
370carpitur indomitō furiōsaque vōta retractat.But Cinyras' daughter, wide awake, is consumed by an unconquerable fire and goes back over her mad desires. Met. 10.371Et modo dēspērat, modo vult temptāre, pudetque
et cupit, et, quid agat, nōn invenit.And now she despairs, now she wishes to try, and she is ashamed and desires, and cannot find what to do.
Met. 10.372Utque secūrī
saucia trabs ingēns, ubi plaga novissima restat,
quō cadat, in dubiō est omnīque ā parte timētur:
375sīc animus variō labefactus vulnere nūtat
hūc levis atque illūc mōmentaque sūmit utrōque.And as a huge tree-trunk wounded by the axe, when the last blow remains, is uncertain where it will fall and is feared on every side: so her mind, weakened by varied wounds, sways lightly this way and that and takes impulse from either side. Met. 10.377Nec modus aut requiēs, nisi mors, reperītur amōris.And no limit or rest for her love is found, except death. Met. 10.378Mors placet.Death appeals. Met. 10.378Ērigitur laqueōque innectere faucēs
dēstinat et zōnā summō dē poste revīnctā
380"cāre valē Cinyra causamque intellege mortis!"She rises and resolves to bind her throat in a noose, and, tying her girdle to the top of a door-post, 'Farewell, dear Cinyras, and understand the cause of my death!' Met. 10.381dīxit et aptābat pallentī vincula collō.she said, and was fitting the noose to her pale neck. Met. 10.382Murmura verbōrum fīdās nūtrīcis ad aurēs
pervēnisse ferunt līmen servantis alumnae.They say the murmur of her words reached the faithful ears of her nurse, who was guarding the threshold of her foster-child.
Met. 10.384Surgit anus reseratque forēs, mortisque parātae
385īnstrūmenta vidēns spatiō conclāmat eōdem
sēque ferit scinditque sinūs ēreptaque collō
vincula dīlaniat.The old woman rises and unbars the door, and seeing the instruments of the death prepared, she cries out in the same moment, strikes herself, tears her clothes, and snatches the noose from her neck and rips it to pieces. Met. 10.387Tum dēnique flēre vacāvit,
tum dare complexūs laqueīque requīrere causam.Then at last there was time to weep, then to embrace her and ask the cause of the noose. Met. 10.389Mūta silet virgō terramque inmōta tuētur
390et dēprēnsa dolet tardae cōnāmina mortis.The girl is silent, mute, and gazes motionless at the ground, and, caught, grieves at her attempt at a death too slow. Met. 10.391Īnstat anus cānōsque suōs et inānia nūdāns
ūbera per cūnās alimentaque prīma precātur,
ut sibi committat, quidquid dolet.The old woman presses on, and baring her white hairs and her empty breasts, begs her by her cradle and her first nourishment to entrust to her whatever grieves her.
Met. 10.393Illa rogantem
āversāta gemit.She turns away from her pleading and groans. Met. 10.394Certa est exquīrere nūtrīx
395nec sōlam spondēre fidem: "dīc" inquit "opemque
mē sine ferre tibi;The nurse is determined to find out, and not to promise loyalty only: 'Tell me,' she says, 'and let me bring you help; Met. 10.396nōn est mea pigra senectūs.my old age is not sluggish. Met. 10.397Seu furor est, habeō, quae carmine sānet et herbīs,
sīve aliquis nocuit, magicō lūstrābere rītū,
īra deum sīve est, sacrīs plācābilis īra.If it is madness, I have a woman who can heal it with charms and herbs; if someone has harmed you, you will be purified by a magic rite; if it is the anger of the gods, anger can be appeased by sacrifice. Met. 10.400Quid rear ulterius ?What more should I think? Met. 10.400Certē fortūna domusque
sōspes et in cursū est, vīvit genetrīxque paterque."Surely your fortune and house are safe and prospering; your mother and father are alive.' Met. 10.402Myrrha, patre audītō, suspīria dūxit ab īmō
pectore.Myrrha, hearing the word father, drew sighs from deep in her breast.
Met. 10.403Nec nūtrīx etiamnum concipit ūllum
mente nefās, aliquemque tamen praesentit amōrem;Not even now does the nurse conceive any outrage in her mind, yet she senses some love; Met. 10.405prōpositīque tenāx, quodcumque est, ōrat, ut ipsī
indicet, et gremiō lacrimantem tollit anīlī
atque ita complectēns īnfirmīs membra lacertīs
"sēnsimus," inquit "amās!and holding to her purpose, she begs her to reveal to her whatever it is, and lifts her, weeping, onto her aged lap, and so embracing her limbs in her weak arms, says, 'I have perceived it: you are in love! Met. 10.408sed et hīc mea (pōne timōrem)
sēdulitās erit apta tibi, nec sentiet umquam
410hoc pater."but in this too my zeal (put away your fear) will serve you, and your father will never know of it.' Met. 10.410Exsiluit gremiō furibunda torumque
ōre premēns "discēde, precor, miserōque pudōrī
parce!"She leapt from her lap in frenzy, and pressing her face into the couch, 'Go away, I beg you, and spare my wretched shame!' Met. 10.412ait.she says. Met. 10.412Īnstantī "discēde, aut dēsine" dīxit
"quaerere, quid doleam: scelus est, quod scīre labōrās."When the nurse pressed her, she said, 'Go away, or stop asking what grieves me: it is a crime that you are striving to know.' Met. 10.414Horret anus tremulāsque manūs annīsque metūque
415tendit et ante pedēs supplex prōcumbit alumnae
et modo blandītur, modo, sī nōn cōnscia fīat,
terret;The old woman shudders, and stretches out hands trembling with years and fear, and falls as a suppliant at her foster-child's feet, and now coaxes her, now, if she is not let into the secret, frightens her; Met. 10.417et indicium laqueī coeptaeque minātur
mortis et officium commissō spondet amōrī.and she threatens to reveal the noose and the attempted death, and promises her services to the love once it is confided.
Met. 10.419Extulit illa caput lacrimīsque implēvit obortīs
420pectora nūtrīcis;She raised her head and filled her nurse's breast with welling tears; Met. 10.420cōnātaque saepe fatērī
saepe tenet vōcem, pudibundaque vestibus ōra
tēxit et "ō" dīxit "fēlīcem coniuge mātrem!"and often trying to confess, she often checks her voice, and covered her ashamed face with her clothes, and said, 'O mother, happy in your husband!' Met. 10.423Hāctenus, et gemuit.That far, and she groaned. Met. 10.423Gelidus nūtrīcis in artūs
ossaque (sēnsit enim) penetrat tremor, albaque tōtō
425vertice cānitiēs rigidīs stetit hirta capillīs.A chill tremor runs through the nurse's limbs and bones (for she understood), and her white hair stood on end over her whole head, bristling and stiff. Met. 10.426Multaque, ut excuteret dīrōs, sī posset, amōrēs,
addidit: at virgō scit sē nōn falsa monērī,
certa morī tamen est, sī nōn potiātur amōre.And she added much, to drive out, if she could, the dreadful love: but the girl knows she is being given no false advice, yet she is resolved to die if she cannot have her love. Met. 10.429"Vīve," ait haec "potiēre tuō" — et, nōn ausa "parente"
430dīcere, conticuit prōmissaque nūmine firmat.'Live,' says the nurse, 'you shall have your —' and, not daring to say 'father', she fell silent, and confirms her promise by the gods.
Met. 10.431Fēsta piae Cereris celebrābant annua mātrēs
illa, quibus niveā vēlātae corpora veste
prīmitiās frūgum dant spīcea serta suārum
perque novem noctēs venerem tāctūsque virīlēs
435in vetitīs numerant.Married women were celebrating the yearly festival of kindly Ceres, at which, their bodies veiled in snow-white robes, they offer garlands of wheat-ears as the first-fruits of their crops, and for nine nights count love and the touch of a man among forbidden things. Met. 10.435Turba Cenchrēis in illā
rēgis adest coniūnx, arcānaque sacra frequentat.In that throng is Cenchreis, the king's wife, and she attends the secret rites. Met. 10.437Ergō lēgitimā vacuus dum coniuge lectus,
nacta gravem vīnō Cinyram male sēdula nūtrīx,
nōmine mentītō vērōs expōnit amōrēs
440et faciem laudat.So, while the bed was empty of its lawful wife, the nurse, wickedly zealous, finding Cinyras heavy with wine, reveals a true love under a false name and praises the girl's looks. Met. 10.440Quaesītīs virginis annīs
"pār" ait "est Myrrhae."When he asked the girl's age, she said, 'The same as Myrrha's.' Met. 10.441Quam postquam addūcere iussa est
utque domum rediit, "gaudē mea" dīxit "alumna:
vīcimus."When she had been told to bring her, and had returned home, she said, 'Rejoice, my foster-child: we have won.' Met. 10.443Īnfēlīx nōn tōtō pectore sentit
laetitiam virgō, praesāgaque pectora maerent;The unhappy girl does not feel joy in all her heart, and her foreboding breast grieves; Met. 10.445sed tamen et gaudet: tanta est discordia mentis.but yet she rejoices too: so great is the discord in her mind.
Met. 10.446Tempus erat, quō cūncta silent, interque triōnēs
flexerat oblīquō plaustrum tēmōne Boōtēs:
ad facinus vēnit illa suum.It was the hour when all things are silent, and among the Triones Bootes had turned his wain with its slanting pole: she comes to her crime. Met. 10.448Fugit aurea caelō
lūna, tegunt nigrae latitantia sīdera nūbēs:
450nox caret igne suō.The golden moon flees from the sky, black clouds cover the hiding stars: night lacks its own fires. Met. 10.450Prīmus tegis, Īcare, vultūs
Ērigonēque piō sacrāta parentis amōre.You, Icarus, are the first to hide your face, and Erigone, made sacred by her dutiful love for her father. Met. 10.452Ter pedis offēnsī signō est revocāta, ter ōmen
fūnereus būbō lētālī carmine fēcit:
it tamen, et tenebrae minuunt noxque ātra pudōrem;Three times she was called back by the omen of a stumbling foot, three times the funereal owl gave an omen with its deadly song: yet she goes, and the darkness and black night lessen her shame; Met. 10.455nūtrīcisque manum laevā tenet, altera mōtū
caecum iter explōrat.she holds the nurse's hand with her left, and with the other, groping, explores the blind way.
Met. 10.456Thalamī iam līmina tangit,
iamque forēs aperit, iam dūcitur intus: at illī
poplite succiduō genua intremuēre, fugitque
et color et sanguis, animusque relinquit euntem.Now she reaches the threshold of the chamber, now opens the doors, now is led inside: but her knees trembled and gave way beneath her, and both colour and blood fled, and her spirit leaves her as she goes. Met. 10.460Quōque suō propior scelerī est, magis horret, et ausī
paenitet, et vellet nōn cognita posse revertī.And the nearer she is to her crime, the more she shudders, and she repents of her daring, and would wish to be able to turn back unrecognised. Met. 10.462Cūnctantem longaevā manū dēdūcit et altō
admōtam lectō cum trāderet "accipe," dīxit
"ista tua est, Cinyra" dēvōtaque corpora iūnxit.As she hesitates, the aged woman leads her by the hand, and as she brought her to the high bed and handed her over, said, 'Take her, Cinyras, she is yours,' and joined the accursed bodies. Met. 10.465Accipit obscēnō genitor sua viscera lectō
virgineōsque metūs levat hortāturque timentem.The father receives his own flesh in the obscene bed, and soothes her girlish fears and encourages her as she trembles.
Met. 10.467Forsitan aetātis quoque nōmine "fīlia" dīxit,
dīxit et illa "pater," scelerī nē nōmina dēsint.Perhaps, because of her age too, he said 'daughter', and she said 'father', so that names might not be missing from the crime. Met. 10.469Plēna patris thalamīs excēdit et impia dīrō
470sēmina fert uterō conceptaque crīmina portat.Full of her father, she leaves the chamber and carries impious seed in her dreadful womb, and bears the crime she has conceived. Met. 10.471Postera nox facinus geminat.The next night doubles the outrage. Met. 10.471Nec fīnis in illā est:
cum tandem Cinyrās, avidus cognōscere amantem
post tot concubitūs, inlātō lūmine vīdit
et scelus et nātam, verbīsque dolōre retentīs
475pendentī nitidum vāgīnā dēripit ēnsem.Nor is that the end: when at last Cinyras, eager to know his lover after so many unions, brought in a light and saw both the crime and his daughter, his words held back by grief, he snatches his gleaming sword from the scabbard hanging by him. Met. 10.476Myrrha fūgit, tenebrīsque et caecae mūnere noctis
intercepta necī est: lātōsque vagāta per agrōs
palmiferōs Arabas Panchaeaque rūra relīquit;Myrrha flees, and by the darkness and the gift of blind night is rescued from death: and wandering through the broad fields she left behind the palm-bearing Arabs and the Panchaean countryside; Met. 10.479perque novem errāvit redeuntis cornua lūnae,
480cum tandem terrā requiēvit fessa Sabaeā;and she roamed through nine horns of the returning moon, when at last, weary, she rested in the Sabaean land; Met. 10.481vixque uterī portābat onus.and she could scarcely carry the burden of her womb.
Met. 10.481Tum nescia vōtī
atque inter mortisque metūs et taedia vītae
est tālēs complexa precēs: "Ō sīqua patētis
nūmina cōnfessīs, meruī nec trīste recūsō
485supplicium.Then, not knowing what to pray for, and between fear of death and weariness of life, she framed such prayers as these: 'O gods, if any of you are open to those who confess, I have deserved it and do not refuse a sad punishment. Met. 10.485Sed nē violem vīvōsque superstes
mortuaque exstīnctōs, ambōbus pellite regnīs
mūtātaeque mihi vītamque necemque negāte."But so that I do not, surviving, defile the living, or, dead, the dead, drive me out of both realms, and change me, and deny me both life and death.' Met. 10.488Nūmen cōnfessīs aliquod patet: ultima certē
vōta suōs habuēre deōs.Some godhead is open to those who confess: certainly her last prayers found their gods. Met. 10.489Nam crūra loquentis
490terra supervēnit, ruptōsque oblīqua per unguēs
porrigitur rādīx, longī firmāmina truncī;For as she speaks, earth comes over her legs, and through her bursting nails a slanting root stretches out, the support of a long trunk; Met. 10.492ossaque rōbur agunt, mediāque manente medullā
sanguis it in sūcōs, in magnōs bracchia rāmōs,
in parvōs digitī, dūrātur cortice pellis.her bones grow into hard wood, and while the marrow remains in the middle, her blood turns into sap, her arms into large branches, her fingers into small ones, her skin hardens into bark.
Met. 10.495Iamque gravem crēscēns uterum perstrīnxerat arbor
pectoraque obruerat collumque operīre parābat,
nōn tulit illa moram venientīque obvia lignō
subsēdit mersitque suōs in cortice vultūs.And now the growing tree had bound her heavy womb, and buried her breast, and was preparing to cover her neck; she did not endure the delay, and sinking down to meet the coming wood, plunged her face in the bark. Met. 10.499Quae quamquam āmīsit veterēs cum corpore sēnsūs,
500flet tamen, et tepidae mānant ex arbore guttae.Though she has lost her former feelings along with her body, she weeps nonetheless, and warm drops flow from the tree. Met. 10.501Est honor et lacrimīs, stillātaque rōbore murra
nōmen erīle tenet nūllōque tacēbitur aevō.There is honour even in those tears, and the myrrh distilled from the trunk keeps its mistress's name and will be silent in no age. Met. 10.503At male conceptus sub rōbore crēverat īnfāns
quaerēbatque viam, quā sē genetrīce relictā
505exsereret: mediā gravidus tumet arbore venter.But the child, ill-conceived, had grown beneath the wood and was seeking a way by which to leave its mother and come forth: the pregnant belly swells in the middle of the tree.
Met. 10.506Tendit onus mātrem: neque habent sua verba dolōrēs,
nec Lūcīna potest parientis vōce vocārī.The burden strains the mother: and her pains have no words, nor can Lucina be called with the voice of one giving birth. Met. 10.508Nītentī tamen est similis curvātaque crēbrōs
dat gemitūs arbor lacrimīsque cadentibus ūmet.Yet the tree is like one straining, and, bending, gives frequent groans and is wet with falling tears. Met. 10.510Cōnstitit ad rāmōs mītis Lūcīna dolentēs
admōvitque manūs et verba puerpera dīxit.Gentle Lucina stood by the suffering branches, and laid her hands on them, and spoke the words of childbirth. Met. 10.512Arbor agit rīmās et fissa cortice vīvum
reddit onus, vāgitque puer;The tree splits, and through the cleft bark it yields its living burden, and the boy wails; Met. 10.513quem mollibus herbīs
nāidēs impositum lacrimīs ūnxēre parentis.the naiads laid him on soft grass and anointed him with his mother's tears. Met. 10.515Laudāret faciem Līvor quoque.Even Envy would have praised his beauty. Met. 10.515Quālia namque
corpora nūdōrum tabulā pinguntur Amōrum,
tālis erat: sed, nē faciat discrīmina cultus,
aut huic adde levēs, aut illī dēme pharetrās.For such as are the bodies of naked Cupids painted on a panel, such was he: but, so that dress may make no difference, either give him light quivers or take theirs away.