Met. 12.536Haec inter Lapithās et sēmihominēs Centaurōs
proelia Tlēpolemus Pyliō referente dolōrem
praeteritī Alcīdae tacitō nōn pertulit ōre
atque ait: "Herculeae mīrum est oblīvia laudis
540ācta tibi, senior!As the Pylian told of these battles between the Lapiths and the half-human Centaurs, Tlepolemus could not bear, with a silent mouth, his pain at Alcides being passed over, and says: 'It is strange, old man, that you have forgotten the glory of Hercules! Met. 12.540Certē mihi saepe referre
nūbigenās domitōs ā sē pater esse solēbat."Certainly my father used often to tell me that the cloud-born ones had been tamed by him.' Met. 12.542Trīstis ad haec Pylius: "Quid mē meminisse malōrum
cōgis et obductōs oculīs rescindere lūctūs
inque tuum genitōrem odium offēnsāsque fatērī?Sadly the Pylian replied to this: 'Why do you force me to remember wrongs, and to tear open griefs long scarred over, and to confess my hatred and grievances against your father? Met. 12.545Ille quidem maiōra fidē, dī!He indeed, ye gods, achieved things beyond belief, Met. 12.545gessit et orbem
inplēvit meritīs, quod māllem posse negāre:
sed neque Dēiphobum nec Polydamanta nec ipsum
Hectora laudāmus—quis enim laudāverit hostem?and filled the world with his services, which I would rather be able to deny: but we do not praise Deiphobus, nor Polydamas, nor Hector himself — for who would praise an enemy?
Met. 12.549Ille tuus genitor Messēnia moenia quondam
550strāvit et inmeritās urbēs Ēlimque Pylumque
dīruit inque meōs ferrum flammamque penātīs
inpulit, utque aliōs taceam, quōs ille perēmit,
bis sex Nēlīdae fuimus, cōnspecta iuventūs:
bis sex Herculeīs cecidērunt mē minus ūnō
555vīribus;That father of yours once laid low the walls of Messene, and destroyed innocent cities, Elis and Pylos, and drove sword and flame into my own home, and, to say nothing of others whom he killed, we were twice six sons of Neleus, a conspicuous band of youth: twice six fell, all but me alone, to the might of Hercules; Met. 12.555atque aliōs vincī potuisse ferendum est:
mīra Periclymenī mors est, cui posse figūrās
sūmere, quās vellet, rūrsusque repōnere sūmptās
Neptūnus dederat, Nēleī sanguinis auctor.and that the others could be conquered must be borne: but strange was the death of Periclymenus, to whom Neptune, founder of the blood of Neleus, had given the power to take whatever shapes he wished and to put them off again once taken. Met. 12.559Hic ubi nēquīquam est fōrmās variātus in omnēs,
560vertitur in faciem volucris, quae fulmina curvīs
ferre solet pedibus Dīvum grātissima rēgī;When he had changed in vain into every form, he is turned into the shape of the bird that carries thunderbolts in its curved feet, the most beloved of the king of the gods; Met. 12.562Vīribus ūsus avis pennīs rōstrōque reduncō
hāmātīsque virī laniāverat unguibus ōra:
tendit in hunc nimium certōs Tīrynthius arcūs
565atque inter nūbēs sublīmia membra ferentem
pendentemque ferit, laterī quā iungitur ala;using the strength of a bird, with wings and hooked beak and curved talons he had torn the hero's face: the Tirynthian bends against him his all too unerring bow, and strikes him as he carries his limbs aloft among the clouds and hangs there, where the wing joins the side; Met. 12.567nec grave vulnus erat sed ruptī vulnere nervī
dēficiunt mōtumque negant vīrēsque volandī.nor was the wound serious, but the sinews, severed by the wound, fail and deny him movement and the strength to fly.
Met. 12.569Dēcidit in terram, nōn concipientibus aurās
570īnfirmīs pennīs, et quā levis haeserat alae,
corporis adfīxī pressa est gravitāte sagitta
perque latus summum iugulō est exācta sinistrō.He fell to earth, his weakened wings no longer catching the air, and the arrow, which had stuck lightly in the wing, was driven in by the weight of the body pinned to it, and was forced through the top of his side and out at the left of his throat. Met. 12.573Nunc videor dēbēre tuī praecōnia rēbus
Herculis, ō Rhodiae rēctor pulcherrime classis?Now do I seem bound to proclaim the deeds of your Hercules, most handsome commander of the Rhodian fleet? Met. 12.575Nec tamen ulterius, quam fortia facta silendō
ulcīscor frātrēs: solida est mihi grātia tēcum."Yet I avenge my brothers no further than by keeping silent about his brave deeds: my friendship with you is firm.' Met. 12.577Haec postquam dulcī Nēlēius ēdidit ōre,
ā sermōne senis repetītō mūnere Bacchī
surrēxēre torīs: nox est data cētera somnō.After the son of Neleus had uttered this with his sweet voice, the gift of Bacchus was passed round again after the old man's talk, and they rose from their couches: the rest of the night was given to sleep.