Met. 4.604Sed tamen ambōbus versae sōlācia fōrmae
605magna nepōs dederat, quem dēbellāta colēbat
India, quem positīs celebrābat Achāia templīs.But still their grandson had given both of them great consolation for their changed form, he whom conquered India worshipped, whom Achaea honoured with temples raised. Met. 4.607Sōlus Abantiadēs ab orīgine crētus eādem
Acrisius superest, quī moenibus arceat urbis
Argolicae contrāque deum ferat arma genusque
610nōn putet esse Iovis;Only Acrisius, son of Abas, sprung from the same stock, remains to keep him from the walls of the Argive city and to bear arms against the god and to think him not of Jupiter's race; Met. 4.610neque enim Iovis esse putābat
Persea, quem pluviō Danaē concēperat aurō.for neither did he think Perseus was Jupiter's, whom Danae had conceived from a shower of gold. Met. 4.612Mox tamen Acrisium (tanta est praesentia vērī)
tam violāsse deum quam nōn agnōsse nepōtem
paenitet: inpositus iam caelō est alter, at alter
615vīpereī referēns spolium memorābile mōnstrī
āera carpēbat tenerum strīdentibus alīs.Soon, however (so great is the power of truth), Acrisius regrets both having outraged the god and not having acknowledged his grandson: the one has now been set in heaven, while the other, bearing the memorable spoil of the snaky monster, was cleaving the yielding air on whirring wings.
Met. 4.617Cumque super Libycās victor penderet harēnās,
Gorgoneī capitis guttae cecidēre cruentae.And when, victorious, he hung over the Libyan sands, bloody drops fell from the Gorgon's head. Met. 4.619Quās humus exceptās variōs animāvit in anguēs:
620unde frequēns illa est īnfestaque terra colubrīs.The earth received them and brought them to life as snakes of various kinds: hence that land is thick with serpents and infested by them. Met. 4.621Inde per inmēnsum ventīs discordibus āctus
nunc hūc, nunc illūc exemplō nūbis aquōsae
fertur et ex altō sēductās aethere longē
dēspectat terrās tōtumque supervolat orbem.From there, driven through immensity by warring winds, he is borne now here, now there, like a rainy cloud, and from the lofty sky he looks down on the lands far removed below and flies over the whole world. Met. 4.625Ter gelidās Arctōs, ter Cancrī bracchia vīdit:
saepe sub occāsūs, saepe est ablātus in ortūs.Three times he saw the cold Bears, three times the Crab's claws: often he was carried towards the west, often towards the east. Met. 4.627Iamque cadente diē, veritus sē crēdere noctī,
cōnstitit Hesperiō, regnīs Atlantis, in orbe,
exiguamque petit requiem, dum Lūcifer ignēs
630ēvocet Aurōrae, currūs Aurōra diurnōs.And now, as day was falling, fearing to trust himself to the night, he halted in the western world, the realm of Atlas, and seeks a little rest, until Lucifer should call forth the fires of Aurora, and Aurora the chariot of day.
Met. 4.631Hīc hominum cūnctīs ingentī corpore praestāns
Iapetionidēs Atlās fuit.Here was Atlas, son of Iapetus, surpassing all men in his huge body. Met. 4.632Ultima tellūs
rēge sub hōc et pontus erat, quī Sōlis anhēlīs
aequora subdit equīs et fessōs excipit axēs.The furthest land was under this king, and the sea which lays its waters under the Sun's panting horses and receives his weary chariot. Met. 4.635Mīlle gregēs illī totidemque armenta per herbās
errābant, et humum vīcīnia nūlla premēbant.A thousand flocks and as many herds roamed over his grassland, and no neighbours pressed upon his ground. Met. 4.637Arboreae frondēs aurō radiante nitentēs
ex aurō rāmōs, ex aurō pōma tegēbant.Leaves on trees, gleaming with radiant gold, covered golden branches and golden fruit. Met. 4.639"Hospes," ait Perseus illī, "seu glōria tangit
640tē generis magnī, generis mihi Iuppiter auctor;'Stranger,' Perseus says to him, 'if the glory of a great lineage touches you, Jupiter is the author of my lineage; Met. 4.641sīve es mīrātor rērum, mīrābere nostrās.or if you are an admirer of deeds, you will admire mine. Met. 4.642Hospitium requiemque petō."I ask for hospitality and rest.' Met. 4.642Memor ille vetustae
sortis erat: Themis hanc dederat Parnāsia sortem:
"Tempus, Atlā, veniet, tua quō spoliābitur aurō
645arbor, et hunc praedae titulum Iove nātus habēbit."He remembered an ancient oracle: Parnassian Themis had given this oracle: 'A time will come, Atlas, when your tree will be stripped of its gold, and a son of Jupiter will have the glory of this plunder.' Met. 4.646Id metuēns solidīs pōmāria clauserat Atlās
moenibus et vāstō dederat servanda dracōnī
arcēbatque suīs externōs fīnibus omnēs.Fearing this, Atlas had enclosed his orchards with solid walls and given them to a huge dragon to guard, and kept all strangers from his borders.
Met. 4.649Huic quoque "vāde procul, nē longē glōria rērum,
650quam mentīris" ait, "longē tibi Iuppiter absit!"To him too he said: 'Go far away, lest the glory of the deeds you falsely claim be far from you, and far from you Jupiter!' Met. 4.651vimque minīs addit manibusque expellere temptat
cūnctantem et placidīs miscentem fortia dictīs.and he adds force to his threats and tries to drive him out with his hands, as he lingered and mixed bold words with calm ones. Met. 4.653Vīribus īnferior (quis enim pār esset Atlantis
vīribus?) "at quoniam parvī tibi grātia nostra est,
655accipe mūnus!"Inferior in strength (for who could be a match for the strength of Atlas?), 'Well then, since my goodwill means little to you, take this gift!' Met. 4.655ait, laevāque ā parte Medūsae
ipse retrō versus squālentia prōtulit ōra.he says, and, himself turned away, he held out on his left side the foul face of Medusa. Met. 4.657Quantus erat, mōns factus Atlās: nam barba comaeque
in silvās abeunt, iuga sunt umerīque manūsque,
quod caput ante fuit, summō est in monte cacūmen,
660ossa lapis fīunt: tum partēs auctus in omnēs
crēvit in inmēnsum (sīc, dī, statuistis) et omne
cum tot sīderibus caelum requiēvit in illō.As huge as he was, Atlas became a mountain: for his beard and hair pass into forests, his shoulders and hands are ridges, what was his head before is the summit at the mountain's top, his bones become stone: then, enlarged in every part, he grew to immensity (so, gods, you ordained) and the whole sky with all its stars rested upon him.
Met. 4.663Clauserat Hippotadēs aeternō carcere ventōs,
admonitorque operum caelō clārissimus altō
665Lūcifer ortus erat.The son of Hippotes had shut the winds in their everlasting prison, and Lucifer, brightest in high heaven, reminder of work, had risen. Met. 4.665Pennīs ligat ille resūmptīs
parte ab utrāque pedēs tēlōque accingitur uncō
et liquidum mōtīs tālāribus āera findit.He takes up his wings again and binds them on both his feet, girds himself with his hooked weapon, and cleaves the clear air with beating sandals. Met. 4.668Gentibus innumerīs circumque īnfrāque relictīs
Aethiopum populōs Cēpheaque cōnspicit arva.Leaving countless peoples around and below, he catches sight of the peoples of the Ethiopians and the fields of Cepheus. Met. 4.670Illīc inmeritam māternae pendere linguae
Andromedān poenās iniūstus iusserat Ammōn.There unjust Ammon had ordered the innocent Andromeda to pay the penalty for her mother's tongue. Met. 4.672Quam simul ad dūrās religātam bracchia cautēs
vīdit Abantiadēs (nisi quod levis aura capillōs
mōverat et tepidō mānābant lūmina flētū,
675marmoreum ratus esset opus), trahit īnscius ignēs
et stupet et vīsae correptus imāgine fōrmae
paene suās quatere est oblītus in āere pennās.As soon as the descendant of Abas saw her, her arms bound to the hard crags (had not a light breeze stirred her hair and warm tears been flowing from her eyes, he would have thought her a marble statue), he unknowingly catches fire, and is stunned, and, seized by the sight of the beauty he has seen, almost forgot to beat his wings in the air.
Met. 4.678Ut stetit, "ō" dīxit "nōn istīs digna catēnīs,
sed quibus inter sē cupidī iunguntur amantēs,
680pande requīrentī nōmen terraeque tuumque,
et cūr vincla gerās."When he alighted, he said: 'O you who are worthy not of these chains, but of those by which eager lovers are joined to one another, reveal to one who asks the name of your land and your own, and why you wear chains.' Met. 4.681Prīmō silet illa, nec audet
adpellāre virum virgō;At first she is silent, and does not dare, a maiden, to address a man; Met. 4.682manibusque modestōs
cēlāsset vultūs, sī nōn religāta fuisset:
lūmina, quod potuit, lacrimīs inplēvit obortīs.and she would have hidden her modest face with her hands, had she not been bound: her eyes, as much as she could, she filled with welling tears. Met. 4.685Saepius īnstantī, sua nē dēlicta fatērī
nōlle vidērētur, nōmen terraeque suumque,
quantaque māternae fuerit fīdūcia fōrmae,
indicat.As he pressed her again and again, so as not to seem unwilling to confess some wrongdoing of her own, she tells him the name of her land and her own, and how great her mother's confidence in her beauty had been.
Met. 4.688Et nōndum memorātīs omnibus unda
īnsonuit, veniēnsque inmēnsō bēlua pontō
690inminet et lātum sub pectore possidet aequor.And before she had told it all, the water roared, and a monster, coming from the boundless sea, looms up and covers the broad surface beneath its breast. Met. 4.691Conclāmat virgō: genitor lūgubris et ūnā
māter adest, ambō miserī, sed iūstius illa.The maiden shrieks: her grieving father and with him her mother are there, both wretched, but she more justly. Met. 4.693Nec sēcum auxilium, sed dignōs tempore flētūs
plangōremque ferunt vinctōque in corpore adhaerent,
695cum sīc hospes ait: "Lacrimārum longa manēre
tempora vōs poterunt: ad opem brevis hōra ferendam est.They bring no help with them, but only weeping and beating of breasts fitting the occasion, and they cling to the bound body, when the stranger speaks thus: 'Long times for tears will be able to remain for you: for bringing help the hour is short. Met. 4.697Hanc ego sī peterem Perseus Iove nātus et illā,
quam clausam inplēvit fēcundō Iuppiter aurō,
Gorgonis anguicomae Perseus superātor et alīs
700āeriās ausus iactātīs īre per aurās,
praeferrer cūnctīs certē gener.If I were to ask for her, I, Perseus, son of Jupiter and of her whom Jupiter filled with fertile gold while she was shut away, Perseus, conqueror of the snake-haired Gorgon, who dared to go through the airy breezes on beating wings, I would surely be preferred to all as a son-in-law.
Met. 4.701Addere tantīs
dōtibus et meritum, faveant modo nūmina, temptō:
ut mea sit servāta meā virtūte, pacīscor."To such great endowments I try to add merit too, if only the gods favour me: I make this bargain, that she be mine if saved by my courage.' Met. 4.704Accipiunt lēgem (quis enim dubitāret?) et ōrant
705prōmittuntque super regnum dōtāle parentēs.The parents accept the terms (for who would hesitate?) and beg him, and promise a kingdom as dowry besides.