Met. 2.1Rēgia Sōlis erat sublīmibus alta columnīs,
clāra micante aurō flammāsque imitante pyrōpō:
cuius ebur nitidum fastīgia summa tegēbat,
argentī biforēs radiābant lūmine valvae.The palace of the Sun stood high on lofty columns, bright with flashing gold and with fire-bronze that mimicked flames: gleaming ivory covered its topmost gables, and the double doors shone with the light of silver. Met. 2.5Māteriam superābat opus: nam Mulciber illīc
aequora caelārat mediās cingentia terrās,
terrārumque orbem, caelumque quod inminet orbī.The workmanship surpassed the material: for there Mulciber had engraved the seas that encircle the lands in the middle, and the globe of the lands, and the sky that overhangs the globe. Met. 2.8Caeruleōs habet unda deōs, Trītōna canōrum
Prōteaque ambiguum, balaenārumque prementem
10Aegaeōna suīs inmānia terga lacertīs,
Dōridaque et nātās, quārum pars nāre vidētur,
pars in mōle sedēns viridēs siccāre capillōs,
pisce vehī quaedam: faciēs nōn omnibus ūna,
nōn dīversa tamen, quālem decet esse sorōrum.The water holds the sea-blue gods, tuneful Triton and shape-shifting Proteus, and Aegaeon pressing the huge backs of whales with his arms, and Doris and her daughters, some of whom are seen swimming, some sitting on a rock drying their green hair, some riding on fish: they do not all have the same face, yet the faces are not different, but such as sisters ought to have.
Met. 2.15Terra virōs urbēsque gerit silvāsque ferāsque
flūminaque et nymphās et cētera nūmina rūris.The land bears men and cities, woods and wild beasts, rivers and nymphs and the other deities of the countryside. Met. 2.17Haec super imposita est caelī fulgentis imāgō
signaque sex foribus dextrīs totidemque sinistrīs.Above these was set an image of the shining sky, with six signs on the right-hand doors and as many on the left. Met. 2.19Quō simul acclīvī Clymenēia līmite prōlēs
20vēnit et intrāvit dubitātī tēcta parentis,
prōtinus ad patriōs sua fert vestīgia vultūs
cōnsistitque procul: neque enim propiōra ferēbat
lūmina.As soon as Clymene's son came there by the steep path and entered the house of the parent he had doubted, he at once carries his steps towards his father's face and halts at a distance: for he could not bear the light any nearer. Met. 2.23Purpureā vēlātus veste sedēbat
in soliō Phoebus clārīs lūcente smaragdīs.Clothed in a purple robe, Phoebus sat on a throne gleaming with brilliant emeralds. Met. 2.25Ā dextrā laevāque Diēs et Mēnsis et Annus
Saeculaque et positae spatiīs aequālibus Hōrae
Vērque novum stābat cinctum flōrente corōnā,
stābat nūda Aestās et spīcea serta gerēbat,
stābat et Autumnus, calcātīs sordidus ūvīs,
30et glaciālis Hiems, cānōs hirsūta capillōs.To right and left stood Day and Month and Year and the Centuries, and the Hours set at equal intervals; and young Spring stood there, wreathed with a flowering crown, naked Summer stood and wore garlands of corn-ears, Autumn stood too, stained with trodden grapes, and icy Winter, shaggy with white hair.
Met. 2.31Inde locō medius rērum novitāte paventem
Sōl oculīs iuvenem, quibus adspicit omnia, vīdit "quae" que "viae tibi causa?Then from his place in the middle the Sun, with the eyes with which he sees all things, saw the youth trembling at the strangeness of it all, and 'What is the reason for your journey? Met. 2.33quid hāc" ait "arce petīstī,
prōgeniēs, Phaethōn, haud īnfitianda parentī?"What have you sought in this citadel,' he says, 'Phaethon, my offspring, a son not to be disowned by your parent?' Met. 2.35Ille refert "ō lūx inmēnsī pūblica mundī,
Phoebe pater, sī dās ūsum mihi nōminis huius
nec falsa Clymenē culpam sub imāgine cēlat,
pignera dā, genitor, per quae tua vēra prōpāgō
crēdar, et hunc animīs errōrem dētrahe nostrīs."He replies: 'O light shared by all the boundless world, Phoebus, father, if you grant me the use of that name, and Clymene is not hiding a fault behind a false pretence, give me proofs, my begetter, by which I may be believed your true offspring, and take this uncertainty from my mind.' Met. 2.40Dīxerat: at genitor circum caput omne micantēs
dēposuit radiōs propiusque accēdere iussit;He had spoken: but his father laid aside the flashing rays all around his head and told him to come nearer; Met. 2.42amplexūque datō "nec tū meus esse negārī
dignus es, et Clymenē vērōs" ait "ēdidit ortūs.and, embracing him, 'You do not deserve to be disowned as mine,' he said, 'and Clymene has told you your true birth.
Met. 2.44Quōque minus dubitēs, quodvīs pete mūnus, ut illud
45mē tribuente ferās.And so that you may doubt the less, ask for any gift you please, so that you may receive it from my giving. Met. 2.45Prōmissīs testis adestō
dīs iūranda palūs, oculīs incognita nostrīs."Let the marsh by which the gods must swear be witness to my promise, though my eyes have never seen it.' Met. 2.47Vix bene dēsierat, currūs rogat ille paternōs
inque diem ālipedum iūs et moderāmen equōrum.Scarcely had he finished when the boy asks for his father's chariot, and for the right to guide the wing-footed horses for a day. Met. 2.49Paenituit iūrāsse patrem.The father regretted having sworn. Met. 2.49Quī terque quaterque
50concutiēns inlūstre caput "temerāria" dīxit
vōx mea facta tuā est.Shaking his radiant head three and four times, he said, 'My words have been made rash by yours. Met. 2.51Utinam prōmissa licēret
nōn dare!Would that I were allowed not to grant what I promised! Met. 2.52cōnfiteor, sōlum hoc tibi, nāte, negārem.I confess, this alone, my son, I would refuse you.
Met. 2.53Dissuādēre licet.I may at least dissuade you. Met. 2.53Nōn est tua tūta voluntās.What you wish for is not safe. Met. 2.54Magna petis, Phaethōn, et quae nec vīribus istīs
55mūnera conveniant nec tam puerīlibus annīs.You ask for great things, Phaethon, gifts that suit neither that strength of yours nor years so boyish. Met. 2.56Sors tua mortālis, nōn est mortāle quod optās.Your lot is mortal, but what you long for is not mortal. Met. 2.57Plūs etiam, quam quod superīs contingere possit,
nescius adfectās.In your ignorance you aim at even more than the gods above can attain. Met. 2.58Placeat sibi quisque licēbit,
nōn tamen igniferō quisquam cōnsistere in axe
60mē valet exceptō.Each of them may be pleased with himself as much as he likes, yet no one but I has the power to stand on the fire-bearing axle. Met. 2.60Vāstī quoque rēctor Olympī,
quī fera terribilī iaculātur fulmina dextrā,
nōn agat hōs currūs: et quid Iove maius habēmus?Even the ruler of vast Olympus, who hurls savage thunderbolts with his terrible right hand, could not drive this chariot: and what have we greater than Jupiter?
Met. 2.63Ardua prīma via est et quā vix māne recentēs
ēnītantur equī: mediō est altissima caelō,
65unde mare et terrās ipsī mihi saepe vidēre
fit timor, et pavidā trepidat formīdine pectus.The first part of the road is steep, so that even horses fresh in the morning can scarcely struggle up it; in mid-heaven it is highest, from where even I myself am often afraid to look down on sea and lands, and my heart trembles with anxious dread. Met. 2.67Ultima prōna via est et eget moderāmine certō:
tunc etiam quae mē subiectīs excipit undīs,
nē ferar in praeceps, Tēthys solet ipsa verērī.The last part of the road slopes downward and needs a sure control: then even Tethys herself, who receives me in her waters below, often fears that I may be carried headlong. Met. 2.70Adde quod adsiduā rapitur vertīgine caelum
sīderaque alta trahit celerīque volūmine torquet.Besides, the sky is swept round in constant rotation, and drags the lofty stars with it and whirls them in swift revolution. Met. 2.72Nītor in adversum, nec mē, quī cētera, vincit
impetus, et rapidō contrārius ēvehor orbī.I strive against it, and the force that overcomes everything else does not overcome me, and I drive out against the rapidly turning sphere.
Met. 2.74Finge datōs currūs: quid agēs?Imagine the chariot given to you: what will you do? Met. 2.74poterisne rotātīs
75obvius īre polīs, nē tē citus auferat axis?Will you be able to go against the turning poles, so that the swift axis does not sweep you away? Met. 2.76Forsitan et lūcōs illīc urbēsque deōrum
concipiās animō dēlūbraque dītia dōnīs
esse?Perhaps you imagine that there are groves there, and cities of the gods, and shrines rich with gifts? Met. 2.78per īnsidiās iter est fōrmāsque ferārum.The way lies through ambushes and the shapes of wild beasts. Met. 2.79Utque viam teneās nūllōque errōre trahāris,
80per tamen adversī gradiēris cornua taurī
Haemoniōsque arcūs violentīque ōra leōnis
saevaque circuitū curvantem bracchia longō
scorpion atque aliter curvantem bracchia cancrum.And even if you keep to the road and are drawn aside by no straying, still you will make your way through the horns of the hostile Bull, and the Haemonian bow, and the jaws of the raging Lion, and the Scorpion curving his cruel arms in a long sweep, and the Crab curving his arms the other way.
Met. 2.84Nec tibi quadrupedēs animōsōs ignibus illīs,
85quōs in pectore habent, quōs ōre et nāribus efflant,
in prōmptū regere est: vix mē patiuntur, ubi ācrēs
incaluēre animī, cervīxque repugnat habēnīs.Nor is it easy for you to control the horses, spirited with those fires which they have in their breasts and breathe out from mouth and nostrils: they scarcely tolerate me when their fierce spirits have grown hot, and their necks fight against the reins. Met. 2.88At tū, fūnestī nē sim tibi mūneris auctor,
nāte, cavē, dum rēsque sinit, tua corrige vōta.But you, my son, beware that I am not the giver of a deadly gift to you, and while circumstances allow, correct your prayer. Met. 2.90Scīlicet ut nostrō genitum tē sanguine crēdās,
pignera certa petis?No doubt you seek sure proofs, so that you may believe you are born of my blood? Met. 2.91dō pignera certa timendō
et patriō pater esse metū probor.I give sure proofs by fearing, and am proved a father by a father's fear. Met. 2.92Adspice vultūs
ecce meōs;Look, see my face; Met. 2.93utinamque oculōs in pectora possēs
īnserere et patriās intus dēprendere cūrās!and would that you could put your eyes into my breast and catch a father's anxieties within!
Met. 2.95Dēnique quidquid habet dīves, circumspice, mundus,
ēque tot ac tantīs caelī terraeque marisque
posce bonīs aliquid: nūllam patiēre repulsam.Lastly, look around at whatever the rich world holds, and from so many and such great goods of sky and earth and sea ask for something: you will suffer no refusal. Met. 2.98Dēprecor hoc ūnum, quod vērō nōmine poena,
nōn honor est: poenam, Phaethōn, prō mūnere poscis.This one thing I beg you to give up, which by its true name is a punishment, not an honour: a punishment, Phaethon, is what you ask for as a gift. Met. 2.100Quid mea colla tenēs blandīs, ignāre, lacertīs?Why do you clasp my neck with coaxing arms, you foolish boy? Met. 2.101nē dubitā, dabitur (Stygiās iūrāvimus undās)
quodcumque optāris: sed tū sapientius optā."Do not doubt, whatever you wish for will be given (we have sworn by the Stygian waters): but wish more wisely.'