Met. 3.582Ille metū vacuus "nōmen mihi" dīxit "Acoetēs,
patria Maeonia est, humilī dē plēbe parentēs.He, free of fear, said, 'My name is Acoetes, my country is Maeonia, my parents were of humble stock. Met. 3.584Nōn mihi quae dūrī colerent pater arva iuvencī,
585lānigerōsve gregēs, nōn ūlla armenta relīquit;My father did not leave me fields for hard-working bullocks to till, or woolly flocks, or any herds; Met. 3.586pauper et ipse fuit, līnōque solēbat et hāmīs
dēcipere et calamō salientēs dūcere piscēs.he too was poor, and used to trick leaping fish with line and hooks and draw them in with his rod. Met. 3.588Ars illī sua cēnsus erat.His craft was his wealth. Met. 3.588Cum trāderet artem,
"accipe quās habeō, studiī successor et hērēs,"
590dīxit "opēs."When he handed on his craft, he said, "Take the riches I have, successor and heir to my pursuit." Met. 3.590Moriēnsque mihi nīl ille relīquit
praeter aquās: ūnum hoc possum appellāre paternum.And dying he left me nothing but the waters: this one thing I can call my inheritance. Met. 3.592Mox ego, nē scopulīs haerērem semper in īsdem,
addidicī regimen dextrā moderante carīnae
flectere et Ōleniae sīdus pluviāle capellae
595Tāygetēnque hyadasque oculīs arctonque notāvī
ventōrumque domōs et portūs puppibus aptōs.Soon, so as not to cling always to the same rocks, I learned in addition to steer a ship's course with a guiding right hand, and I marked with my eyes the rainy star of the Olenian She-goat, and Taygete and the Hyades and the Bear, and the homes of the winds and the harbours suited to ships.
Met. 3.597Forte petēns Dēlum Chīae tellūris ad ōrās
applicor et dextrīs addūcor lītora remīs,
dōque levēs saltūs ūdaeque inmittor harēnae.By chance, making for Delos, I am brought to the shores of the land of Chios and drawn to the beach by the oars on the right, and I make a light leap and land upon the wet sand. Met. 3.600Nox ubi cōnsūmpta est (aurōra rubēscere prīma
coeperat), exsurgō, laticēsque īnferre recentēs
admoneō mōnstrōque viam, quae dūcat ad undās.When the night was spent (dawn had begun first to redden), I rise and tell them to bring fresh water and show the way that leads to the spring. Met. 3.603Ipse, quid aura mihi tumulō prōmittat ab altō
prōspiciō comitēsque vocō repetōque carīnam.I myself look out from a high mound to see what the breeze promises me, and call my comrades and go back to the ship. Met. 3.605"Adsumus ēn!""Here we are!" Met. 3.605inquit sociōrum prīmus Opheltēs,
utque putat, praedam dēsertō nactus in agrō,
virgineā puerum dūcit per lītora fōrmā.says Opheltes, first of my comrades, and, having found as he thinks a prize in a deserted field, he leads along the shore a boy of girlish beauty.
Met. 3.608Ille merō somnōque gravis titubāre vidētur
vixque sequī.The boy, heavy with wine and sleep, seems to stagger and to follow with difficulty. Met. 3.609Spectō cultum faciemque gradumque:
610nīl ibi quod crēdī posset mortāle vidēbam.I look at his dress, his face, his step: I saw nothing there that could be thought mortal. Met. 3.611Et sēnsī et dīxī sociīs: "Quod nūmen in istō
corpore sit, dubitō;I both felt it and said to my comrades: "What god is in that body I am not sure; Met. 3.612sed corpore nūmen in istō est.but in that body there is a god. Met. 3.613Quisquis es, ō faveās nostrīsque labōribus adsīs.Whoever you are, oh, be gracious and assist our labours. Met. 3.614Hīs quoque dēs veniam."Grant pardon to these men too." Met. 3.614— "Prō nōbīs mitte precārī"
615Dictys ait, quō nōn alius cōnscendere summās
ōcior antemnās prēnsōque rudente relābī.— "Stop praying for us," says Dictys, than whom no other was swifter at climbing to the top of the yards and sliding down again, gripping a rope. Met. 3.617Hoc Libys, hoc flāvus, prōrae tūtēla, Melanthus,
hoc probat Alcimedōn, et quī requiemque modumque
vōce dabat remīs, animōrum hortātor Epōpeus,
620hoc omnēs aliī: praedae tam caeca cupīdō est.Libys approves this, so does fair-haired Melanthus, guardian of the prow, so does Alcimedon, and Epopeus, who with his voice gave rest and rhythm to the oars, the rouser of their spirits, so do all the rest: so blind is the greed for plunder.
Met. 3.621"Nōn tamen hanc sacrō violārī pondere pīnum
perpetiar" dīxī: "pars hīc mihi maxima iūris";"Yet I will not allow this pine to be violated by a sacred cargo," I said: "here my share of authority is the greatest"; Met. 3.623inque aditū obsistō.and I block the gangway. Met. 3.623Furit audācissimus omnī
dē numerō Lycabās, quī Tuscā pulsus ab urbe
625exsilium dīrā poenam prō caede luēbat.Lycabas, the boldest of the whole number, rages, who, driven from a Tuscan city, was paying exile as the penalty for a dreadful murder. Met. 3.626Is mihi, dum restō, iuvenālī guttura pugnō
rūpit et excussum mīsisset in aequora, sī nōn
haesissem, quamvīs āmēns, in fūne retentus.While I stand firm, he smashed my throat with his young fist, and would have knocked me out and sent me into the sea, if I had not clung on, though senseless, held by a rope. Met. 3.629Impia turba probat factum.The impious crew approves the deed. Met. 3.629Tum dēnique Bacchus
630(Bacchus enim fuerat), velutī clamōre solūtus
sit sopor āque merō redeant in pectora sēnsūs,
"quid facitis?Then at last Bacchus (for it had been Bacchus), as if his sleep had been broken by the shouting and his senses were returning to his breast from the wine, says, "What are you doing?
Met. 3.632Quis clamor?"What is this shouting? Met. 3.632ait "quā, dīcite, nautae,
hūc ope pervēnī?By what means, tell me, sailors, have I come here? Met. 3.633quō mē dēferre parātis?"Where are you getting ready to take me?" Met. 3.634"Pōne metum", Prōreus "et quōs contingere portūs
635ēde velīs" dīxit: "terrā sistere petītā.""Put away fear," said Proreus, "and say what harbour you would like to reach: you will be set down on the land you seek." Met. 3.635— "Naxon" ait Līber "cursūs advertite vestrōs.— "Turn your course to Naxos," says Liber. Met. 3.637Illa mihi domus est, vōbīs erit hospita tellūs.""That is my home, it will be a hospitable land for you." Met. 3.638Per mare fallācēs perque omnia nūmina iūrant
sīc fore, mēque iubent pictae dare vēla carīnae.The deceivers swear by the sea and by all the gods that it will be so, and tell me to set sail on the painted ship. Met. 3.640Dextera Naxos erat.Naxos was on the right. Met. 3.640Dextrā mihi lintea dantī
"quid facis, ō dēmēns?As I was setting the sails to the right, "What are you doing, madman?
Met. 3.641Quis tē furor—?"What madness has you—?" Met. 3.641inquit Opheltēs.says Opheltes. Met. 3.642Prō sē quisque timet: "laevam pete" maxima nūtū
pars mihi significat, pars quid velit aure susurrat.Each fears for himself: "Make for the left," most of them signal to me with a nod, some whisper in my ear what they want. Met. 3.644Obstipuī "capiat" que "aliquis moderāmina" dīxī
645mēque ministeriō scelerisque artisque remōvī.I was stunned and said, "Let someone take the helm," and removed myself from the service of crime and of my craft. Met. 3.646Increpor ā cūnctīs, tōtumque inmurmurat agmen.I am rebuked by all, and the whole company mutters. Met. 3.647Ē quibus Aethaliōn "tē scīlicet omnis in ūnō
nostra salūs posita est" ait, et subit ipse meumque
explet opus, Naxōque petit dīversa relicta.Of them Aethalion said, "So all our safety is placed in you alone, I suppose," and he comes up himself and does my work, and leaving Naxos behind makes for the opposite way. Met. 3.650Tum deus inlūdēns, tamquam modo dēnique fraudem
sēnserit, ē puppī pontum prōspectat aduncā
et flentī similis "nōn haec mihi lītora, nautae,
prōmīsistis" ait, "nōn haec mihi terra rogāta est.Then the god, mocking them, as if he had only just at last perceived the trick, looks out at the sea from the curved stern and, like one weeping, says, "These are not the shores you promised me, sailors, this is not the land I asked for.
Met. 3.654Quō meruī poenam factō?By what deed have I deserved punishment? Met. 3.654quae glōria vestra est,
655sī puerum iuvenēs, sī multī fallitis ūnum?"What glory is it to you, if you young men deceive a boy, if many deceive one?" Met. 3.656Iamdūdum flēbam: lacrimās manus impia nostrās
rīdet et impellit properantibus aequora remīs.I had long been weeping: the impious band laughs at our tears and drives the waters with hurrying oars. Met. 3.658Per tibi nunc ipsum (nec enim praesentior illō
est deus) adiūrō, tam mē tibi vēra referre,
660quam vērī maiōra fidē: stetit aequore puppis
haud aliter quam sī siccum nāvāle tenēret.I swear to you now by the god himself (for there is no god more present than he) that I report to you things as true as they are beyond belief: the ship stood still on the sea, just as if it were held in a dry dock. Met. 3.662Illī admīrantēs remōrum in verbere perstant
vēlaque dēdūcunt gemināque ope currere temptant.They, amazed, persist in the beating of the oars and let down the sails and try to run on with double power.
Met. 3.664Impediunt hederae remōs nexūque recurvō
665serpunt et gravidīs distinguunt vēla corymbīs.Ivy hampers the oars, creeps on with curling tendrils, and adorns the sails with heavy clusters. Met. 3.666Ipse racēmiferīs frontem circumdatus ūvīs
pampineīs agitat vēlātam frondibus hastam.He himself, his forehead wreathed with bunches of grapes, shakes a spear veiled in vine leaves. Met. 3.668Quem circā tigrēs simulācraque inānia lyncum
pictārumque iacent fera corpora panthērārum.Around him lie tigers and phantom shapes of lynxes, and the wild bodies of spotted panthers. Met. 3.670Exsiluēre virī, sīve hoc īnsānia fēcit,
sīve timor, prīmusque Medōn nigrēscere coepit
corpore et expressō spīnae curvāmine flectī.The men leapt overboard, whether madness did this or fear, and Medon first began to grow dark in body and to be bent with his spine pressed out in a curve. Met. 3.673Incipit huic Lycabās: "In quae mīrācula" dīxit
"verteris?"Lycabas begins to say to him, "Into what monster are you being turned?" Met. 3.674et lātī rictūs et panda loquentī
675nāris erat, squāmamque cutis dūrāta trahēbat.and as he spoke his jaws were wide and his nostrils curved, and his hardened skin was taking on scales.
Met. 3.676At Libys obstantēs dum vult obvertere remōs,
in spatium resilīre manūs breve vīdit et illās
iam nōn esse manūs, iam pinnās posse vocārī.But Libys, while he wants to turn the resisting oars, saw his hands shrink back into a small space, and that they were no longer hands, and could now be called fins. Met. 3.679Alter, ad intortōs cupiēns dare bracchia fūnēs,
680bracchia nōn habuit, truncōque repandus in undās
corpore dēsiluit: falcāta novissima cauda est,
quālia dīmidiae sinuantur cornua lūnae.Another, wanting to put his arms to the twisted ropes, had no arms, and, arched with a limbless body, leapt down into the waves: the end of his tail is sickle-shaped, just as the horns of the half-moon curve. Met. 3.683Undique dant saltūs multāque adspergine rōrant
ēmerguntque iterum redeuntque sub aequora rūrsus
685inque chorī lūdunt speciem lascīvaque iactant
corpora et acceptum patulīs mare nāribus efflant.On all sides they leap and splash with much spray, and surface again and go back under the water once more, and play in the semblance of a dance, and toss their frisky bodies, and blow out through wide nostrils the sea they have taken in.
Met. 3.687Dē modo vīgintī (tot enim ratis illa ferēbat)
restābam sōlus.Of the twenty just now (for that was how many that ship carried) I alone remained. Met. 3.688Pavidum gelidumque trementī
corpore vixque meum firmat deus "excute" dīcēns
690"corde metum Diamque tenē."As I was frightened and chilled, my body trembling and hardly myself, the god steadies me, saying, "Shake fear from your heart and make for Dia." Met. 3.690Dēlātus in illam
accessī sacrīs Bacchēaque sacra frequentō."Carried down to it, I joined his rites, and I attend the Bacchic rites.'