Met. 11.410Intereā frātrisque suī frātremque secūtīs
ānxia prōdigiīs turbātus pectora Cēyx,
cōnsulat ut sacrās, hominum oblectāmina, sortēs,
ad Clarium parat īre deum;Meanwhile Ceyx, troubled and anxious at heart because of his brother's portents and those that followed his brother's, prepares to go to the Clarian god to consult the holy oracles, the comfort of mankind; Met. 11.413nam templa profānus
invia cum Phlegyīs faciēbat Delphica Phorbās.for the impious Phorbas and his Phlegyans were making the Delphic temple impassable. Met. 11.415Cōnsiliī tamen ante suī, fīdissima, certam
tē facit, Alcyonē;Yet first he makes you, most faithful Alcyone, aware of his plan; Met. 11.416cui prōtinus intima frīgus
ossa recēpērunt, buxōque simillimus ōra
pallor obit, lacrimīsque genae maduēre profūsīs.at once a chill seized her to the inmost bones, a pallor most like boxwood spread over her face, and her cheeks grew wet with streaming tears. Met. 11.419Ter cōnāta loquī ter flētibus ōra rigāvit,
420singultūque piās interrumpente querellās
"quae mea culpa tuam," dīxit "cārissime, mentem
vertit?Three times she tried to speak, three times she wet her face with weeping, and, with sobs interrupting her loving complaints, she said: 'What fault of mine, dearest, has turned your mind?
Met. 11.422Ubi est quae cūra meī prior esse solēbat?Where is that care for me which used to come first? Met. 11.423Iam potes Alcyonē sēcūrus abesse relictā?Can you now go away untroubled, leaving Alcyone behind? Met. 11.424Iam via longa placet?Now a long journey pleases you? Met. 11.424Iam sum tibi cārior absēns?Now I am dearer to you when I am absent? Met. 11.425At, putō, per terrās iter est, tantumque dolēbō,
nōn etiam metuam, cūraeque timōre carēbunt.But, I suppose, the journey is by land, and I shall only grieve, not fear as well, and my cares will be free from dread. Met. 11.427Aequora mē terrent et pontī trīstis imāgō:
et lacerās nūper tabulās in lītore vīdī,
et saepe in tumulīs sine corpore nōmina lēgī.It is the seas that frighten me, and the grim face of the deep: just lately I saw shattered planks on the shore, and often I have read names on tombs without bodies. Met. 11.430Nēve tuum fallāx animum fīdūcia tangat,
quod socer Hippotadēs tibi sit, quī carcere fortēs
contineat ventōs et, cum velit, aequora placet!And do not let false confidence touch your mind because your father-in-law is the son of Hippotes, who keeps the strong winds in prison and, when he wishes, calms the seas!
Met. 11.433Cum semel ēmissī tenuērunt aequora ventī,
nīl illīs vetitum est, incommendātaque tellūs
435omnis et omne fretum est.Once the winds are let loose and have taken hold of the seas, nothing is forbidden them, and every land and every sea is left unprotected. Met. 11.435Caelī quoque nūbila vexant
excutiuntque ferī rutilōs concursibus ignēs.They harass the clouds of heaven too, and in their wild clashes strike out red fires. Met. 11.437Quō magis hōs nōvī (nam nōvī et saepe paternā
parvā domō vīdī), magis hōs reor esse timendōs.The better I know them (for I do know them, and as a little girl I often saw them in my father's house), the more I think they are to be feared. Met. 11.439Quod tua sī flectī precibus sententia nūllīs,
440cāre, potest, coniūnx, nimiumque es certus eundī,
mē quoque tolle simul.But if your resolve, dear husband, can be bent by no prayers, and you are too set on going, take me too along with you. Met. 11.441Certē iactābimur ūnā,
nec nisi quae patiar, metuam: pariterque ferēmus,
quidquid erit, pariter super aequora lāta ferēmur."Surely we shall be tossed together, and I shall fear only what I suffer: together we shall bear whatever comes, together we shall be borne over the broad seas.' Met. 11.444Tālibus Aeolidis dictīs lacrimīsque movētur
445sīdereus coniūnx: neque enim minor ignis in ipsō est.By such words and tears of the daughter of Aeolus her starry husband is moved: for no less a fire burns in him.
Met. 11.446Sed neque prōpositōs pelagī dīmittere cursūs,
nec vult Alcyonēn in partem adhibēre perīclī,
multaque respondit timidum sōlantia pectus.But he is unwilling either to give up his planned voyage over the sea or to bring Alcyone to share the danger, and he gave many answers to comfort her fearful heart. Met. 11.449Nōn tamen idcircō causam probat;Not for that, though, does she approve his reason; Met. 11.449addidit illīs
450hoc quoque lēnīmen, quō sōlō flexit amantem:
"Longa quidem est nōbīs omnis mora: sed tibi iūrō
per patriōs ignēs, sī mē modo fāta remittant,
ante reversūrum, quam lūna bis impleat orbem."he added to them this soothing word as well, with which alone he swayed his loving wife: 'Every delay is long to us indeed; but I swear to you by my father's fires, if only the fates send me back, that I shall return before the moon twice fills her disc.' Met. 11.454Hīs ubi prōmissīs spēs est admōta recursūs,
455prōtinus ēductam nāvālibus aequore tingī
armārīque suīs pīnum iubet armāmentīs.When by these promises hope of his return was brought near, at once he orders the pine ship to be drawn out of the dockyard, launched on the sea and fitted with its tackle.
Met. 11.457Quā rūrsus vīsā, velutī praesāga futūrī,
horruit Alcyonē lacrimāsque ēmīsit obortās
amplexūsque dedit, trīstīque miserrima tandem
460ōre "valē" dīxit conlapsaque corpore tōtō est.Seeing it again, as if foreseeing the future, Alcyone shuddered and let fall the welling tears and gave him embraces, and at last, most wretched, with sorrowful lips she said 'Farewell' and collapsed with her whole body. Met. 11.461Ast iuvenēs, quaerente morās Cēyce, redūcunt
ōrdinibus geminīs ad fortia pectora remōs
aequālīque ictū scindunt freta.But the young men, while Ceyx seeks delays, draw back the oars in double rows to their strong chests and cleave the sea with even strokes. Met. 11.463Sustulit illa
ūmentēs oculōs, stantemque in puppe relictā
465concussāque manū dantem sibi signa marītum
prīma videt redditque notās;She raised her moist eyes and, left behind, is the first to see her husband standing on the stern and making signs to her with waving hand, and she returns the signals; Met. 11.466ubi terra recessit
longius atque oculī nequeunt cognōscere vultūs,
dum licet, īnsequitur fugientem lūmine pīnum.when the land drew farther away and her eyes could no longer recognise his face, while she can, she follows the fleeing ship with her gaze.
Met. 11.469Haec quoque ut haud poterat, spatiō submōta, vidērī,
470vēla tamen spectat summō fluitantia mālō;When this too, carried off by the distance, could no longer be seen, still she watches the sails fluttering from the top of the mast; Met. 11.471ut nec vēla videt, vacuum petit ānxia lectum
sēque torō pōnit;when she no longer sees even the sails, she anxiously seeks her empty bed and lays herself on the couch; Met. 11.472renovat lectusque locusque
Alcyonae lacrimās et, quae pars, admonet, absit.the bed and the place renew Alcyone's tears and remind her what part of her is absent. Met. 11.474Portibus exierant, et mōverat aura rudentēs:
475obvertit laterī pendentēs nāvita remōs
cornuaque in summā locat arbore tōtaque mālō
carbasa dēdūcit venientēsque accipit aurās.They had left the harbour, and the breeze had stirred the rigging: the sailor turns the hanging oars to the ship's side, sets the yard-arms at the top of the mast, lets down the whole canvas from the mast and catches the coming breezes. Met. 11.478Aut minus, aut certē medium nōn amplius aequor
puppe secābātur, longēque erat utraque tellūs,
480cum mare sub noctem tumidīs albēscere coepit
flūctibus et praeceps spīrāre valentius eurus.The ship was cutting through less than half, or certainly not more than half, of the sea, and both lands were far away, when towards night the sea began to whiten with swelling waves and the headlong east wind to blow more strongly.
Met. 11.482"Ardua iamdūdum dēmittite cornua" rēctor
clāmat "et antemnīs tōtum subnectite vēlum."'Lower the lofty yards at once,' the captain shouts, 'and lash the whole sail to the yards.' Met. 11.484Hic iubet: impediunt adversae iussa procellae,
485nec sinit audīrī vōcem fragor aequoris ūllam.He gives orders: the opposing gales hinder the orders, and the roar of the sea lets no voice be heard. Met. 11.486Sponte tamen properant aliī subdūcere remōs,
pars mūnīre latus, pars ventīs vēla negāre.Yet of their own accord some hasten to draw in the oars, some to protect the sides, some to deny the sails to the winds. Met. 11.488Ēgerit hic flūctūs aequorque refundit in aequor,
hic rapit antemnās.This man bails out the water and pours sea back into sea, this one snatches down the yards. Met. 11.489Quae dum sine lēge geruntur,
490aspera crēscit hiems, omnīque ē parte ferōcēs
bella gerunt ventī fretaque indignantia miscent.While these things are done without order, the harsh storm grows, and from every side the fierce winds wage war and churn up the angry waters. Met. 11.492Ipse pavet nec sē, quī sit status, ipse fatētur
scīre ratis rēctor, nec, quid iubeatve velitve:
tanta malī mōlēs tantōque potentior arte est.The ship's captain himself is afraid, and he himself admits he does not know what state they are in, nor what to order or wish: so great is the mass of trouble, and so much stronger than his skill.
Met. 11.495Quippe sonant clamōre virī, strīdōre rudentēs,
undārum incursū gravis unda, tonitribus aethēr.For the men resound with shouting, the rigging with creaking, the heavy sea with the onrush of waves, the sky with thunder. Met. 11.497Flūctibus ērigitur caelumque aequāre vidētur
pontus et inductās adspergine tangere nūbēs;The sea is lifted up in waves and seems to equal the sky and to touch the overhanging clouds with its spray; Met. 11.499et modo, cum fulvās ex īmō vertit harēnās,
500concolor est illīs, Stygia modo nigrior unda,
sternitur interdum spūmīsque sonantibus albet.and now, when it churns up the tawny sand from the bottom, it is the same colour as the sand, now blacker than the Stygian wave; at times it is laid flat and whitens with roaring foam. Met. 11.502Ipsa quoque hīs agitur vicibus Trachīnia puppis,
et nunc sublīmis velutī dē vertice montis
dēspicere in vallēs īmumque Acheronta vidētur,
505nunc, ubi dēmissam curvum circumstetit aequor,
suspicere īnfernō summum dē gurgite caelum.The Trachinian ship herself too is driven by these changes, and now, raised high as from a mountain-top, she seems to look down into the valleys and deepest Acheron, now, when she has sunk and the curving sea stands round her, to look up at the highest heaven from the infernal gulf.
Met. 11.507Saepe dat ingentem flūctū latus icta fragōrem
nec levius pulsāta sonat, quam ferreus ōlim
cum lacerās ariēs ballistave concutit arcēs.Often, struck on her side by a wave, she gives a huge crash, and sounds no more lightly when battered than when an iron ram or a ballista at times shakes a shattered citadel. Met. 11.510Utque solent sūmptīs incursū vīribus īre
pectore in arma ferī prōtentaque tēla leōnēs,
sīc ubi sē ventīs admīserat unda coortīs,
ībat in arma ratis multōque erat altior illīs.And as fierce lions, gathering strength from their charge, are wont to go breast-first against arms and levelled spears, so, whenever the wave had given itself to the rising winds, it went against the ship's defences and was far higher than they. Met. 11.514Iamque labant cuneī, spoliātaque tegmine cērae
515rīma patet praebetque viam lētālibus undīs.And now the wedges loosen, and, stripped of its covering of wax, a crack gapes and offers a way to the deadly waters. Met. 11.516Ecce cadunt largī resolūtīs nūbibus imbrēs,
inque fretum crēdās tōtum dēscendere caelum,
inque plagās caelī tumefactum adscendere pontum.See, heavy rains fall from the loosened clouds, and you would think the whole sky was coming down into the sea, and the swollen sea rising up into the regions of the sky.
Met. 11.519Vēla madent nimbīs, et cum caelestibus undīs
520aequoreae miscentur aquae;The sails are soaked with rain, and the waters of the sea mingle with the waters of heaven; Met. 11.520caret ignibus aethēr,
caecaque nox premitur tenebrīs hiemisque suīsque.the sky lacks its fires, and the blind night is weighed down by the darkness of the storm and by its own. Met. 11.522Discutiunt tamen hās praebentque micantia lūmen
fulmina: fulmineīs ārdēscunt ignibus ignēs.Yet flashing lightning bolts scatter this darkness and give light: fires flare up with the fires of the lightning. Met. 11.524Dat quoque iam saltūs intrā cava texta carīnae
525flūctus;Now too the wave leaps inside the hollow framework of the hull; Met. 11.525et ut mīles, numerō praestantior omnī,
cum saepe adsiluit dēfēnsae moenibus urbis,
spē potītur tandem laudisque accēnsus amōre
inter mīlle virōs mūrum tamen occupat ūnus,
sīc, ubi pulsārunt noviēns latera ardua flūctūs,
530vastius īnsurgēns decimae ruit impetus undae;and as a soldier, finer than all the rest, when he has often assaulted the walls of a defended city, at last achieves his hope and, fired by love of glory, alone among a thousand men still seizes the wall, so, when the waves have battered the high sides nine times, the onset of the tenth wave rushes in, rising more hugely; Met. 11.531nec prius absistit fessam oppugnāre carīnam,
quam velut in captae dēscendat moenia nāvis.nor does it cease attacking the weary ship until it comes down, as it were, within the walls of the captured vessel.
Met. 11.533Pars igitur temptābat adhūc invādere pīnum,
pars maris intus erat.So part of the sea was still trying to invade the ship, part was already inside. Met. 11.534Trepidant haud segnius omnēs,
535quam solet urbs, aliīs mūrum fodientibus extrā
atque aliīs mūrum, trepidāre, tenentibus intus.All are in panic, no less than a city is wont to panic when some are undermining the wall outside and others hold the wall within. Met. 11.537Dēficit ars animīque cadunt, totidemque videntur,
quot veniunt flūctūs, ruere atque inrumpere mortēs.Skill fails and spirits sink, and as many deaths seem to rush and break in as there are waves coming. Met. 11.539Nōn tenet hic lacrimās, stupet hic, vocat ille beātōs,
540fūnera quōs maneant: hic vōtīs nūmen adōrat
bracchiaque ad caelum, quod nōn videt, inrita tollēns
poscit opem, subeunt illī frāterque parēnsque,
huic cum pignoribus domus et quodcumque relictum est.This one cannot hold back his tears, this one is stunned, that one calls those blessed whom funeral rites await; this one worships a god with vows and, raising his arms in vain to the sky he cannot see, begs for help; to that one come thoughts of brother and parent, to this one his home with his children, and whatever he has left behind.
Met. 11.544Alcyonē Cēyca movet, Cēycis in ōre
545nūlla nisi Alcyonē est;Alcyone moves Ceyx; on Ceyx's lips there is no one but Alcyone; Met. 11.545et cum dēsīderet ūnam,
gaudet abesse tamen.and though he longs for her alone, yet he is glad she is absent. Met. 11.546Patriae quoque vellet ad ōrās
respicere inque domum suprēmōs vertere vultūs,
vērum ubi sit, nescit;He would like, too, to look back towards the shores of his homeland and turn his last gaze towards his home, but he does not know where it is; Met. 11.548tantā vertīgine pontus
fervet, et inducta piceīs ē nūbibus umbra
550omne latet caelum, duplicātaque noctis imāgō est.with such a whirl the sea boils, and in the shadow drawn over it from pitch-black clouds the whole sky is hidden, and the face of night is doubled. Met. 11.551Frangitur incursū nimbōsī turbinis arbor,
frangitur et regimen, spoliīsque animōsa superstes
unda, velut victrīx, sinuātaque dēspicit undās,
nec levius, quam sīquis Athōn Pindumve revulsōs
555sēde suā tōtōs in apertum ēverterit aequor,
praecipitāta cadit pariterque et pondere et ictū
mergit in īma ratem;The mast is broken by the onslaught of a rain-laden whirlwind, the rudder is broken too, and the wave, standing proudly over its spoils, like a victor, arches itself and looks down on the waves, and no less heavily than if someone had torn Athos or Pindus whole from their places and overturned them into the open sea, it falls headlong, and with weight and blow together sinks the ship to the depths; Met. 11.557cum quā pars magna virōrum,
gurgite pressa gravī neque in āera reddita, fātō
fūncta suō est: aliī partēs et membra carīnae
560trunca tenent: tenet ipse manū, quā scēptra solēbat,
fragmina nāvigiī Cēyx socerumque patremque
invocat heu!with it a great part of the men, overwhelmed by the heavy flood and never given back to the air, met their fate: others cling to pieces and broken parts of the ship: Ceyx himself holds fragments of the vessel with the hand that used to hold the sceptre, and calls on his father-in-law and his father, alas!
Met. 11.562frūstrā.in vain. Met. 11.562Sed plūrima nantis in ōre
Alcyonē coniūnx: illam meminitque refertque,
illīus ante oculōs ut agant sua corpora flūctūs,
565optat et exanimis manibus tumulētur amīcīs.But most often on the swimmer's lips is his wife Alcyone: he remembers her and repeats her name, he prays that the waves may carry his body before her eyes and that, lifeless, he may be buried by loving hands. Met. 11.566Dum natat, absentem, quotiēns sinit hīscere flūctus,
nōminat Alcyonēn ipsīsque inmurmurat undīs.While he swims, as often as the waves let him open his mouth, he names the absent Alcyone and murmurs it to the very waves. Met. 11.568Ecce super mediōs flūctūs niger arcus aquārum
frangitur et rupta mersum caput obruit unda.See, over the middle of the waves a black arch of water breaks, and the head is overwhelmed and sunk beneath the bursting wave. Met. 11.570Lūcifer obscūrus nec quem cognōscere possēs
illā lūce fuit, quoniamque excēdere caelō
nōn licuit, dēnsīs tēxit sua nūbibus ōra.Lucifer was dim that morning, so that you could not have recognised him, and since he was not allowed to leave the sky, he covered his face with thick clouds.
Met. 11.573Aeolis intereā tantōrum ignāra malōrum
dīnumerat noctēs, et iam, quās induat ille
575festīnat vestēs, iam quās, ubi vēnerit ille,
ipsa gerat, reditūsque sibi prōmittit inānēs.Meanwhile the daughter of Aeolus, unaware of such disasters, counts the nights, and now hastens to make the clothes he will put on, now those she herself will wear when he comes, and promises herself a return that will never be. Met. 11.577Omnibus illa quidem superīs pia tūra ferēbat,
ante tamen cūnctōs Iūnōnis templa colēbat
prōque virō, quī nūllus erat, veniēbat ad ārās
580utque foret sōspes coniūnx suus utque redīret,
optābat, nūllamque sibi praeferret;She indeed brought pious incense to all the gods above, but before them all she worshipped at the temple of Juno, and came to the altars for a husband who no longer existed, and prayed that her husband might be safe and might return, and that he might prefer no other woman to her; Met. 11.581at illī
hoc dē tot vōtīs poterat contingere sōlum.but of so many prayers only this one could be granted to her. Met. 11.583At dea nōn ultrā prō fūnctō morte rogārī
sustinet;But the goddess cannot bear to be entreated any longer on behalf of one who is dead; Met. 11.584utque manūs fūnestās arceat ārīs,
585"Īrī, meae" dīxit "fīdissima nūntia vōcis,
vīse sopōriferam Somnī vēlōciter aulam
exstīnctīque iubē Cēycis imāgine mittat
somnia ad Alcyonēn vērōs narrantia cāsūs."and to keep the hands of mourning from her altars, she said: 'Iris, most faithful messenger of my voice, go swiftly to the sleep-bringing hall of Sleep and bid him send to Alcyone dreams in the likeness of dead Ceyx, telling the true story of what befell him.' Met. 11.589Dīxerat: induitur vēlāmina mīlle colōrum
590Īris, et arcuātō caelum curvāmine signāns
tēcta petit iussī sub nūbe latentia rēgis.She had spoken: Iris puts on her robes of a thousand colours and, marking the sky with her arching curve, seeks the dwelling of the king she was bidden to, hidden beneath a cloud.