Met. 3.1Iamque deus positā fallācis imāgine taurī
sē cōnfessus erat Dictaeaque rūra tenēbat,
cum pater ignārus Cadmō perquīrere raptam
imperat et poenam, sī nōn invēnerit, addit
5exilium, factō pius et scelerātus eōdem.And now the god had laid aside the likeness of the deceiving bull and confessed himself, and was holding the fields of Dicte, when her father, knowing nothing, orders Cadmus to search out the stolen girl, and adds exile as his penalty if he does not find her, dutiful and wicked in one and the same act. Met. 3.6Orbe pererrātō (quis enim dēprendere possit
fūrta Iovis?) profugus patriamque īramque parentis
vītat Agēnoridēs Phoebīque ōrācula supplex
cōnsulit et, quae sit tellūs habitanda, requīrit.Having wandered the whole world (for who could detect the thefts of Jupiter?), Agenor's son, a fugitive, shuns both his country and his father's anger, and as a suppliant consults the oracle of Phoebus and asks what land he should dwell in. Met. 3.10"Bōs tibi" Phoebus ait "sōlīs occurret in arvīs,
nūllum passa iugum curvīque inmūnis arātrī.'A cow will meet you,' says Phoebus, 'in lonely fields, one that has borne no yoke and is free of the curved plough.
Met. 3.12Hāc duce carpe viās et quā requiēverit herbā
moenia fac condās, Boeōtiaque illa vocātō."With her as your guide take your way, and where she has rested on the grass, see that you found walls, and call them Boeotian.' Met. 3.14Vix bene Castaliō Cadmus dēscenderat antrō,
15incustōdītam lentē videt īre iuvencam
nūllum servitiī signum cervīce gerentem.Scarcely had Cadmus come down from the Castalian cave when he sees a heifer walking slowly, unguarded, bearing on her neck no sign of servitude. Met. 3.17Subsequitur pressōque legit vestīgia gressū,
auctōremque viae Phoebum taciturnus adōrat.He follows behind and traces her footprints with measured step, and silently worships Phoebus, the author of his path. Met. 3.19Iam vada Cēphīsī Panopēsque ēvāserat arva:
20bōs stetit et tollēns speciōsam cornibus altīs
ad caelum frontem mūgītibus impulit aurās,
atque ita, respiciēns comitēs sua terga sequentēs,
prōcubuit tenerāque latus submīsit in herbā.Now he had passed the shallows of Cephisus and the fields of Panope: the cow halted, and lifting to the sky her brow, handsome with its tall horns, she struck the air with lowing, and then, looking back at the companions following behind her, she lay down and sank her flank into the tender grass.
Met. 3.24Cadmus agit grātēs peregrīnaeque ōscula terrae
25fīgit et ignōtōs montēs agrōsque salūtat.Cadmus gives thanks, plants kisses on the foreign earth, and greets the unknown mountains and fields. Met. 3.26Sacra Iovī factūrus erat.He was about to offer sacrifice to Jupiter. Met. 3.26Iubet īre ministrōs
et petere ē vīvīs lībandās fontibus undās.He orders his attendants to go and fetch water for libation from running springs. Met. 3.28Silva vetus stābat, nūlla violāta secūrī,
et specus in mediō, virgīs ac vīmine dēnsus,
30efficiēns humilem lapidum compāgibus arcum,
ūberibus fēcundus aquīs, ubi conditus antrō
Mārtius anguis erat, cristīs praesignis et aurō;There stood an ancient wood, violated by no axe, and in its midst a cave, thick with brushwood and osiers, making a low arch with its joined stones, rich in abundant waters; hidden in the cave was the serpent of Mars, conspicuous with crests and gold; Met. 3.33igne micant oculī, corpus tumet omne venēnīs,
trēs vibrant linguae, triplicī stant ōrdine dentēs.his eyes flash with fire, his whole body swells with venom, three tongues flicker, his teeth stand in a triple row. Met. 3.35Quem postquam Tyriā lūcum dē gente profectī
īnfaustō tetigēre gradū, dēmissaque in undās
urna dedit sonitum, longō caput extulit antrō
caeruleus serpēns horrendaque sībila mīsit.When the men who had set out from the Tyrian race had reached this grove with ill-omened step, and the urn let down into the waters made a sound, the dark-blue serpent thrust his head out from the long cave and sent forth dreadful hisses.
Met. 3.39Efflūxēre urnae manibus sanguisque relīquit
40corpus, et attonitōs subitus tremor occupat artūs.The urns slipped from their hands, the blood left their bodies, and a sudden trembling seizes their stunned limbs. Met. 3.41Ille volūbilibus squāmōsōs nexibus orbēs
torquet et inmēnsōs saltū sinuātur in arcūs,
ac mediā plūs parte levēs ērēctus in aurās
dēspicit omne nemus, tantōque est corpore, quantō
45sī tōtum spectēs, geminās quī sēparat arctōs.He twists his scaly coils in rolling knots and with a leap curves himself into huge arches, and, raised up more than half his length into the light air, looks down on the whole grove, and is of a body as great as, if you saw him whole, the Serpent that separates the twin Bears. Met. 3.46Nec mora, Phoenīcas, sīve illī tēla parābant,
sīve fugam, sīve ipse timor prohibēbat utrumque,
occupat: hōs morsū, longīs complexibus illōs,
hōs necat adflātū fūnestī tābe venēnī.Without delay he falls upon the Phoenicians, whether they were preparing weapons or flight, or whether fear itself was preventing both: some he kills with his bite, some with his long embraces, some with the breath of his deadly poison's corruption.
Met. 3.50Fēcerat exiguās iam sōl altissimus umbrās:
quae mora sit sociīs, mīrātur Agēnore nātus,
vestīgatque virōs.The sun at its highest had now made the shadows short: Agenor's son wonders what is delaying his companions, and tracks the men. Met. 3.52Tegimen dērepta leōnī
pellis erat, tēlum splendentī lancea ferrō
et iaculum, tēlōque animus praestantior omnī.His covering was a hide stripped from a lion, his weapon a lance with gleaming iron and a javelin, and a spirit more excellent than any weapon. Met. 3.55Ut nemus intrāvit lētātaque corpora vīdit
victōremque suprā spatiōsī corporis hostem
trīstia sanguineā lambentem vulnera linguā,
"aut ultor vestrae, fīdissima corpora, mortis,
aut comes" inquit "erō."When he entered the grove and saw the slain bodies, and above them the victorious enemy of vast body licking their grim wounds with bloody tongue, 'Most faithful bodies,' he says, 'I shall be either the avenger of your death or its companion.' Met. 3.59Dīxit, dextrāque molārem
60sustulit et magnum magnō cōnāmine mīsit.He spoke, and with his right hand he lifted a millstone and hurled it, huge, with a huge effort.
Met. 3.61Illīus impulsū cum turribus ardua celsīs
moenia mōta forent: serpēns sine vulnere mānsit
lōrīcaeque modō squāmīs dēfēnsus et ātrae
dūritiā pellis validōs cute reppulit ictūs.By its impact high walls with lofty towers would have been shaken: the serpent remained unwounded, and, defended by his scales as by a breastplate and by the hardness of his black hide, he drove back the strong blows with his skin. Met. 3.65At nōn dūritia iaculum quoque vīcit eādem:
quod mediō lentae spīnae curvāmine fīxum
cōnstitit et tōtum dēscendit in īlia ferrum.But that same hardness did not overcome the javelin as well: it stood fixed in the middle of the curve of his supple spine, and the whole iron went down into his guts. Met. 3.68Ille dolōre ferōx caput in sua terga retorsit
vulneraque adspexit fīxumque hastīle momordit
70idque, ubi vī multā partem labefēcit in omnem,
vix tergō ēripuit;He, fierce with pain, twisted his head back towards his own back, looked at the wound, bit the shaft fixed in it, and when with great force he had loosened it in every direction, he scarcely tore it from his back; Met. 3.71ferrum tamen ossibus haesit.yet the iron stuck in his bones.
Met. 3.72Tum vērō, postquam solitās accessit ad īrās
causa recēns, plēnīs tumuērunt guttura vēnīs,
spūmaque pestiferōs circumfluit albida rictūs,
75terraque rāsa sonat squāmīs, quīque hālitus exit
ōre niger Stygiō, vitiātās īnficit aurās.Then indeed, after a fresh cause was added to his usual anger, his throat swelled with full veins, white foam flows around his pestilent jaws, the earth scraped by his scales resounds, and the black breath that comes from his Stygian mouth infects and taints the air. Met. 3.77Ipse modo inmēnsum spīrīs facientibus orbem
cingitur, interdum longā trabe rēctior adstat
impete nunc vāstō ceu concitus imbribus amnis
80fertur et obstantēs prōturbat pectore silvās.Now he coils himself into a vast circle with his spirals, now he stands straighter than a long beam, now with huge momentum he is borne along like a river roused by rains, and drives the woods in his way before him with his breast. Met. 3.81Cēdit Agēnoridēs paulum spoliōque leōnis
sustinet incursūs īnstantiaque ōra retardat
cuspide praetentā.Agenor's son gives ground a little, takes the onslaught on the lion's spoil, and holds back the pressing jaws with his spear-point held out before him.
Met. 3.83Furit ille et inānia dūrō
vulnera dat ferrō fīgitque in acūmine dentēs.The serpent rages and deals vain wounds to the hard iron and fixes his teeth on its point. Met. 3.85Iamque venēniferō sanguis mānāre palātō
coeperat et viridēs adspergine tinxerat herbās:
sed leve vulnus erat, quia sē retrahēbat ab ictū
laesaque colla dabat retrō plagamque sedēre
cēdendō arcēbat nec longius īre sinēbat,
90dōnec Agēnoridēs coniectum in guttura ferrum
ūsque sequēns pressit, dum retrō quercus euntī
obstitit, et fīxa est pariter cum rōbore cervīx.And now blood had begun to flow from his venom-bearing palate and had stained the green grass with its spray: but the wound was slight, because he kept drawing himself back from the blow, gave his wounded neck backwards, and by retreating prevented the stroke from settling and did not let it go further, until Agenor's son, following up all the way, pressed the iron driven into his throat, until an oak blocked him as he went back, and his neck was pinned together with the wood. Met. 3.93Pondere serpentis curvāta est arbor et īmā
parte flagellārī gemuit sua rōbora caudae.The tree was bent by the serpent's weight, and groaned that its timber was lashed by the end of his tail.