Met. 4.271Dīxerat, et factum mīrābile cēperat aurēs.She had finished, and the wonderful deed had captured their ears. Met. 4.272Pars fierī potuisse negant, pars omnia vērōs
posse deōs memorant: sed nōn et Bacchus in illīs.Some say it could not have happened, some recall that true gods can do all things: but Bacchus is not among them. Met. 4.274Poscitur Alcithoē, postquam siluēre sorōrēs.Alcithoe is called on, after her sisters fell silent. Met. 4.275Quae radiō stantis percurrēns stāmina tēlae
"vulgātōs taceō" dīxit "pāstōris amōrēs
Daphnidis Īdaeī, quem nymphē paelicis īrā
contulit in saxum (tantus dolor ūrit amantēs).Running the shuttle through the threads of the standing loom, she said: 'I say nothing of the well-known love of Daphnis, the shepherd of Ida, whom a nymph, in anger at her rival, turned to stone (so great is the pain that burns lovers). Met. 4.279Nec loquor, ut quondam nātūrae iūre novātō
280ambiguus fuerit modo vir, modo fēmina Sīthōn.Nor do I tell how once, the law of nature made new, Sithon was of doubtful sex, now a man, now a woman. Met. 4.281Tē quoque, nunc adamās, quondam fīdissime parvō,
Celmi, Iovī, largōque satōs Cūrētas ab imbrī
et Crocon in parvōs versum cum Smīlace flōrēs
praetereō, dulcīque animōs novitāte tenēbō.You too, Celmis, now adamant, once most faithful to Jupiter when he was small, and the Curetes, sprung from an abundant shower, and Crocus, turned into tiny flowers along with Smilax, I pass over, and I shall hold your minds with sweet novelty.
Met. 4.285Unde sit īnfāmis, quārē male fortibus undīs
Salmacis ēnervet tāctōsque remolliat artūs,
discite.Why Salmacis is ill-famed, why with its enfeebling waters it unmans and softens the limbs it touches, learn. Met. 4.287Causa latet, vīs est notissima fontis.The cause is hidden; the power of the spring is very well known. Met. 4.288Mercuriō puerum dīvā Cytherēide nātum
nāidēs Īdaeīs ēnūtrīvēre sub antrīs;A boy born to Mercury and the Cytherean goddess was reared by naiads in the caves of Ida; Met. 4.290cuius erat faciēs, in quā māterque paterque
cognōscī possent;his was a face in which both mother and father could be recognised; Met. 4.291nōmen quoque trāxit ab illīs.his name too he drew from them. Met. 4.292Is tria cum prīmum fēcit quīnquennia, montēs
dēseruit patriōs, Īdāque altrīce relictā
ignōtīs errāre locīs, ignōta vidēre
295flūmina gaudēbat, studiō minuente labōrem.As soon as he had completed three times five years, he left his native mountains and, Ida his nurse abandoned, delighted to wander in unknown places and to see unknown rivers, his eagerness lessening the toil. Met. 4.296Ille etiam Lyciās urbēs Lyciaeque propinquōs
Cāras adit.He even reaches the cities of Lycia and the Carians, neighbours of Lycia.
Met. 4.297Videt hīc stagnum lūcentis ad īmum
ūsque sōlum lymphae.Here he sees a pool of water shining clear right to the very bottom. Met. 4.298Nōn illīc canna palūstris
nec sterilēs ulvae nec acūtā cuspide iuncī:
300perspicuus līquor est;There are no marsh reeds there, no barren sedge, no sharp-pointed rushes: the water is transparent; Met. 4.300stagnī tamen ultima vīvō
caespite cinguntur semperque virentibus herbīs.yet the edges of the pool are ringed with living turf and with grass that is always green. Met. 4.302Nympha colit, sed nec vēnātibus apta, nec arcūs
flectere quae soleat nec quae contendere cursū,
sōlaque nāiadum celerī nōn nota Diānae.A nymph dwells there, but one not suited to hunting, nor accustomed to bend the bow nor to compete in running, the only one of the naiads not known to swift Diana. Met. 4.305Saepe suās illī fāma est dīxisse sorōrēs:
"Salmaci, vel iaculum vel pictās sūme pharetrās,
et tua cum dūrīs vēnātibus ōtia miscē."It is said that her sisters often told her: 'Salmacis, take up either a javelin or a painted quiver, and mix your leisure with hard hunting.' Met. 4.308Nec iaculum sūmit nec pictās illa pharetrās,
nec sua cum dūrīs vēnātibus ōtia miscet,
310sed modo fonte suō fōrmōsōs perluit artūs,
saepe Cytōriacō dēdūcit pectine crīnēs
et, quid sē deceat, spectātās cōnsulit undās;She takes up neither javelin nor painted quiver, nor mixes her leisure with hard hunting, but now bathes her lovely limbs in her own spring, often draws a comb of Cytorian boxwood through her hair, and consults the waters she gazes into as to what becomes her; Met. 4.313nunc perlūcentī circumdata corpus amictū
mollibus aut foliīs aut mollibus incubat herbīs;now, her body wrapped in a transparent robe, she reclines on soft leaves or soft grass; Met. 4.315saepe lēgit flōrēs.often she gathers flowers.
Met. 4.315Et tunc quoque forte legēbat,
cum puerum vīdit vīsumque optāvit habēre.And then too by chance she was gathering them, when she saw the boy and, having seen him, longed to have him. Met. 4.317Nec tamen ante adiit, etsī properābat adīre,
quam sē conposuit, quam circumspexit amictūs,
et finxit vultum et meruit fōrmōsa vidērī.Yet she did not approach him, though she was eager to approach, before she had composed herself, before she had looked over her clothes, and arranged her face, and deserved to seem beautiful. Met. 4.320Tum sīc orsa loquī: "Puer ō dignissime crēdī
esse deus, seu tū deus es, potes esse Cupīdō,
sīve es mortālis, quī tē genuēre, beātī,
et frāter fēlīx, et fortūnāta profectō,
Sīqua tibi soror est, et quae dedit ūbera nūtrīx:
325sed longē cūnctīs longēque beātior illa,
Sīqua tibi spōnsa est, sīquam dignābere taedā.Then she began to speak thus: 'O boy, most worthy to be believed a god, if you are a god, you may be Cupid, or if you are mortal, blessed are those who begot you, and happy your brother, and fortunate indeed your sister, if you have one, and the nurse who gave you the breast: but far, far more blessed than all is she, if you have a bride, if you will deem anyone worthy of the wedding torch.
Met. 4.327Haec tibi sīve aliqua est, mea sit fūrtīva voluptās,
seu nūlla est, ego sim, thalamumque ineāmus eundem."If you have one, let mine be a stolen pleasure; or if you have none, let me be she, and let us enter the same bridal chamber.' Met. 4.329Nāis ab hīs tacuit.After these words the naiad was silent. Met. 4.329Puerī rubor ōra notāvit
330(nescit enim, quid amor), sed et ērubuisse decēbat.A blush marked the boy's face (for he does not know what love is), but even blushing became him. Met. 4.331Hic color aprīcā pendentibus arbore pōmīs
aut eborī tinctō est, aut sub candōre rubentī,
cum frūstrā resonant aera auxiliāria, lūnae.This is the colour of apples hanging on a sunny tree, or of tinted ivory, or of the moon reddening beneath her whiteness, when the helping bronzes clash in vain. Met. 4.334Poscentī nymphae sine fīne sorōria saltem
335ōscula iamque manūs ad eburnea colla ferentī
"dēsinis?As the nymph begged endlessly for kisses, a sister's at least, and was already reaching her hands to his ivory neck, 'Will you stop? Met. 4.336aut fugiō, tēcumque" ait "ista relinquō."Or I shall run away,' he says, 'and leave all this to you.' Met. 4.337Salmacis extimuit "loca" que "haec tibi lībera trādō,
hospes" ait, simulatque gradū discēdere versō,
tunc quoque respiciēns, fruticumque recondita silvā
340dēlituit, flexūque genū submīsit.Salmacis took fright and, 'I yield this place to you freely, stranger,' she says, and pretends to walk away with her steps turned back, even then looking back, and hid in a thicket of shrubs, concealed, and sank down on bended knee.
Met. 4.340At ille,
scīlicet ut vacuīs et inobservātus in herbīs,
hūc it et hinc illūc, et in adlūdentibus undīs
summa pedum tālōque tenus vestīgia tingit;But he, as if, of course, unobserved and alone on the empty grass, walks here and from here to there, and in the playful waves dips the tips of his feet and then his feet up to the ankle; Met. 4.344nec mora, temperiē blandārum captus aquārum
345mollia dē tenerō vēlāmina corpore pōnit.and without delay, captivated by the mildness of the caressing waters, he takes the soft garments from his tender body. Met. 4.346Tum vērō placuit, nūdaeque cupīdine fōrmae
Salmacis exārsit: flagrant quoque lūmina nymphae,
nōn aliter quam cum pūrō nitidissimus orbe
oppositā speculī referitur imāgine Phoebus.Then indeed he pleased her, and Salmacis was set ablaze with desire for his naked form: the nymph's eyes blaze too, just as when Phoebus, brightest with his clear disc, is reflected by the image of a mirror set opposite. Met. 4.350Vixque moram patitur, vix iam sua gaudia differt,
iam cupit amplectī, iam sē male continet āmēns.She can scarcely bear delay, scarcely now put off her joys; now she longs to embrace him, now, frantic, she can barely restrain herself.
Met. 4.352Ille cavīs vēlōx adplausō corpore palmīs
dēsilit in laticēs, alternaque bracchia dūcēns
in liquidīs trānslūcet aquīs, ut eburnea sīquis
355signa tegat clārō vel candida līlia vitrō.He, slapping his body with hollow palms, leaps swiftly into the water and, drawing his arms in alternate strokes, gleams through the clear water, as if someone were to encase ivory figures or white lilies in clear glass. Met. 4.356"Vīcimus et meus est!"'I have won, and he is mine!' Met. 4.356exclāmat nāis et omnī
veste procul iactā mediīs inmittitur undīs,
pugnantemque tenet luctantiaque ōscula carpit,
subiectatque manūs invītaque pectora tangit,
360et nunc hāc iuvenī, nunc circumfunditur illāc;the naiad cries, and flinging all her clothing far away, she throws herself into the midst of the waters, and holds him as he struggles, and snatches kisses as he fights, and slips her hands beneath him and touches his unwilling breast, and pours herself around the youth now on this side, now on that; Met. 4.361dēnique nītentem contrā ēlābīque volentem
inplicat, ut serpēns, quam rēgia sustinet āles
sublīmemque rapit: pendēns caput illa pedēsque
adligat et caudā spatiantēs inplicat alās:
365utvē solent hederae longōs intexere truncōs,
utque sub aequoribus dēprēnsum polypus hostem
continet, ex omnī dīmissīs parte flagellīs.at last, as he strains against her and wants to slip away, she entwines him, like a serpent which the royal bird grips and snatches aloft: as it hangs, it binds the bird's head and feet and entwines the spreading wings with its tail; or as ivy is wont to weave itself around tall trunks, and as the octopus holds an enemy caught beneath the sea, its tentacles sent out on every side.
Met. 4.368Perstat Atlantiadēs, spērātaque gaudia nymphae
dēnegat.The descendant of Atlas holds firm, and denies the nymph the joys she hoped for. Met. 4.369Illa premit, commissaque corpore tōtō
370sīcut inhaerēbat, "pugnēs licet, inprobe" dīxit,
"nōn tamen effugiēs.She presses on, and, clinging just as she was, joined to him with her whole body, said: 'You may fight, wicked boy, but you will not escape. Met. 4.371Ita dī iubeātis!So may you gods ordain! Met. 4.371et istum
nūlla diēs ā mē nec mē dīdūcat ab istō."and may no day part him from me, or me from him.'