Met. 3.521quem nisi templōrum fueris dignātus honōre,
mīlle lacer spargere locīs et sanguine silvās
foedābis mātremque tuam mātrisque sorōrēs.and unless you honour him with temples, torn to pieces you will be scattered in a thousand places and will defile the woods with your blood, and your mother and your mother's sisters. Met. 3.524Ēvenient;It will happen; Met. 3.524neque enim dignābere nūmen honōre,
525mēque sub hīs tenebrīs nimium vīdisse querēris."for you will not honour the god's power, and you will complain that I, under this darkness, saw too much.' Met. 3.526Tālia dīcentem prōturbat Echīone nātus.As he says such things, Echion's son thrusts him away. Met. 3.527Dicta fidēs sequitur, respōnsaque vātis aguntur:
Līber adest, fēstīsque fremunt ululātibus agrī;Fulfilment follows the words, and the prophet's answers come to pass: Liber is here, and the fields roar with festive cries; Met. 3.529turba ruit, mīxtaeque virīs mātrēsque nurūsque
530vulgusque procerēsque ignōta ad sacra feruntur.the crowd rushes out, and, mixed with the men, mothers and young wives, commons and nobles, are swept along to the unknown rites.
Met. 3.531"Quis furor, anguigenae, prōlēs Māvortia, vestrās
attonuit mentēs?"'What madness, snake-born sons, offspring of Mars, has stunned your minds?' Met. 3.532Pentheus ait: "aerane tantum
aere repulsa valent et aduncō tībia cornū
et magicae fraudēs, ut, quōs nōn bellicus ēnsis,
535nōn tuba terruerit, nōn strictīs agmina tēlīs,
fēmineae vōcēs et mōta īnsānia vīnō
obscēnīque gregēs et inānia tympana vincant?says Pentheus: 'Has bronze struck on bronze such power, and the pipe with its curved horn, and magic tricks, that you whom no sword of war, no trumpet, no columns with drawn weapons have terrified, are overcome by women's voices and madness stirred by wine, and obscene herds and empty drums? Met. 3.538Vōsne, senēs, mīrer, quī longa per aequora vectī
hāc Tyron, hāc profugōs posuistis sēde penātēs,
540nunc sinitis sine Mārte capī?Am I to wonder at you, old men, who sailed over long seas and set down Tyre here, here your exiled household gods, and now allow them to be taken without a fight? Met. 3.540Vōsne, ācrior aetās,
ō iuvenēs, propiorque meae, quōs arma tenēre,
nōn thyrsōs, galeāque tegī, nōn fronde, decēbat?or at you, young men, a keener age and nearer my own, whom it befitted to hold arms, not thyrsi, and to be covered with a helmet, not with leaves?
Met. 3.543Este, precor, memorēs, quā sītis stirpe creātī,
illīusque animōs, quī multōs perdidit ūnus,
545sūmite serpentis!Remember, I beg you, from what stock you were created, and take on the spirit of that serpent who alone destroyed many! Met. 3.545Prō fontibus ille lacūque
interiit: at vōs prō fāmā vincite vestrā!He died for his springs and his pool: but you, conquer for your good name! Met. 3.547Ille dedit lētō fortēs, vōs pellite mollēs
et patrium retinēte decus.He gave the brave to death; you, drive off the soft and keep your fathers' honour. Met. 3.548Sī fāta vetābant
stāre diū Thēbās, utinam tormenta virīque
550moenia dīruerent, ferrumque ignisque sonārent!If the fates forbade Thebes to stand long, I would that engines of war and men were pulling down its walls, and iron and fire were roaring! Met. 3.551Essēmus miserī sine crīmine, sorsque querenda,
nōn cēlanda foret, lacrimaeque pudōre carērent.We would be wretched without guilt, and our lot would be one to lament, not to hide, and our tears would be free of shame. Met. 3.553At nunc ā puerō Thēbae capientur inermī,
quem neque bella iuvant nec tēla nec ūsus equōrum,
555sed madidī murrā crīnēs mollēsque corōnae
purpuraque et pictīs intextum vestibus aurum.But now Thebes will be taken by an unarmed boy, whom neither wars delight nor weapons nor the use of horses, but hair dripping with myrrh and soft garlands and purple and gold woven into embroidered clothes.
Met. 3.557Quem quidem ego āctūtum (modo vōs absistite) cōgam
adsūmptumque patrem commentaque sacra fatērī.Him I shall at once (only you stand aside) force to confess that his father is assumed and his rites invented. Met. 3.559An satis Acrisiō est animī contemnere vānum
560nūmen et Argolicās venientī claudere portās,
Penthea terrēbit cum tōtīs advena Thēbīs?Or does Acrisius have spirit enough to scorn the false god and shut the gates of Argos against his coming, and will this newcomer terrify Pentheus, along with all of Thebes? Met. 3.562Īte citī" (famulīs hoc imperat), "īte ducemque
attrahite hūc vinctum!Go quickly' (this he orders his servants), 'go and drag the ringleader here in chains! Met. 3.563iussīs mora segnis abestō."Let there be no sluggish delay in my orders.' Met. 3.564Hunc avus, hunc Athamās, hunc cētera turba suōrum
565corripiunt dictīs frūstrāque inhibēre labōrant.His grandfather, Athamas, and the rest of the crowd of his kin rebuke him with words and struggle in vain to restrain him. Met. 3.566Ācrior admonitū est, inrītāturque retenta
et crēscit rabiēs, remorāminaque ipsa nocēbant.He is fiercer for the warning, and his rage is provoked and grows by being held back, and the very restraints were doing harm.
Met. 3.568Sīc ego torrentem, quā nīl obstābat euntī,
lēnius et modicō strepitū dēcurrere vīdī:
570at quācumque trabēs obstrūctaque saxa tenēbant,
spūmeus et fervēns et ab obice saevior ībat.So I have seen a torrent, where nothing blocked its course, run down more gently and with moderate noise: but wherever beams and piled-up rocks held it back, it went foaming and seething and more savage for the obstacle. Met. 3.572Ecce cruentātī redeunt et, Bacchus ubi esset,
quaerentī dominō Bacchum vīdisse negārunt;Look, they come back bloodied, and to their master's question where Bacchus was, they said they had not seen Bacchus; Met. 3.574"hunc" dīxēre "tamen comitem famulumque sacrōrum
575cēpimus";'but this man,' they said, 'a companion and servant of his rites, we have captured'; Met. 3.575et trādunt manibus post terga ligātīs
sacra deī quondam Tyrrhēnā gente secūtum.and they hand over, his hands tied behind his back, one of Tyrrhenian race who had once followed the god's rites. Met. 3.577Adspicit hunc Pentheus oculīs, quōs īra tremendōs
fēcerat, et quamquam poenae vix tempora differt,
"ō peritūre tuāque aliīs documenta datūre
580morte" ait, "ēde tuum nōmen nōmenque parentum
et patriam, mōrisque novī cūr sacra frequentēs."Pentheus looks at him with eyes that anger had made terrible, and though he scarcely puts off the time of punishment, 'You who are about to die,' he says, 'and by your death to give a lesson to others, declare your name and the names of your parents and your country, and why you attend the rites of a new custom.'