Met. 4.706Ecce velut nāvis praefīxō concita rōstrō
sulcat aquās, iuvenum sūdantibus ācta lacertīs,
sīc fera dīmōtīs inpulsū pectoris undīs
tantum aberat scopulīs, quantum Baleārica tortō
710funda potest plumbō mediī trānsmittere caelī:
cum subitō iuvenis pedibus tellūre repulsā
arduus in nūbēs abiit.Look, as a ship, driven on by its fitted beak, furrows the waters, propelled by the sweating arms of young men, so the beast, parting the waves with the thrust of its breast, was as far from the rocks as a Balearic sling can send its whirled lead through the middle air: when suddenly the youth, pushing off from the earth with his feet, soared high into the clouds. Met. 4.712Ut in aequore summō
umbra virī vīsa est, vīsā fera saevit in umbrā.When the man's shadow was seen on the surface of the sea, the beast rages at the shadow it has seen. Met. 4.714Utque Iovis praepes, vacuō cum vīdit in arvō
715praebentem Phoebō līventia terga dracōnem,
occupat āversum, neu saeva retorqueat ōra,
squāmigerīs avidōs fīgit cervīcibus unguēs,
sīc celerī missus praeceps per ināne volātū
terga ferae pressit dextrōque frementis in armō
720Īnachidēs ferrum curvō tenus abdidit hāmō.And as Jupiter's swift bird, when it has seen in an empty field a serpent offering its livid back to Phoebus, seizes it from behind, and, lest it twist back its savage mouth, fixes its greedy talons in the scaly neck, so, launched headlong through the void in swift flight, the descendant of Inachus pressed down on the back of the beast and, as it roared, buried his sword in its right shoulder up to the curved hook.
Met. 4.721Vulnere laesa gravī modo sē sublīmis in aurās
attollit, modo subdit aquīs, modo mōre ferōcis
versat aprī, quem turba canum circumsona terret.Hurt by the grievous wound, now it raises itself high into the air, now plunges under the water, now turns like a fierce boar terrified by a pack of hounds baying round it. Met. 4.724Ille avidōs morsūs vēlōcibus effūgit alīs
725quāque patet, nunc terga cavīs super obsita conchīs,
nunc laterum costās, nunc quā tenuissima cauda
dēsinit in piscem, falcātō vulnerat ēnse.He escapes its greedy bites on swift wings and, wherever it lies open, he wounds with his curved sword now its back, encrusted with hollow shells, now the ribs of its flanks, now where the tail, at its thinnest, ends in a fish. Met. 4.728Bēlua pūniceō mīxtōs cum sanguine flūctūs
ōre vomit: maduēre gravēs adspergine pennae.The beast vomits from its mouth waves mixed with crimson blood: his wings grew wet and heavy with the spray. Met. 4.730Nec bibulīs ultrā Perseus tālāribus ausus
crēdere, cōnspēxit scopulum, quī vertice summō
stantibus exstat aquīs, operītur ab aequore mōtō.No longer daring to trust his soaked sandals, Perseus caught sight of a rock which with its topmost point stands out when the water is still, and is covered when the sea is stirred.
Met. 4.733Nīxus eō rūpisque tenēns iuga prīma sinistrā
ter quater exēgit repetīta per īlia ferrum.Bracing himself on it and holding the top of the rock with his left hand, three, four times he drove his sword through the creature's flanks, again and again. Met. 4.735Lītora cum plausū clamor superāsque deōrum
inplēvēre domōs: gaudent generumque salūtant
auxiliumque domus servātōremque fatentur
Cassiopē Cēpheusque pater.Shouts and applause filled the shores and the high homes of the gods: Cassiope and Cepheus, the father, rejoice and hail him as son-in-law, and acknowledge him the help and saviour of their house. Met. 4.738Resolūta catēnīs
incēdit virgō, pretiumque et causa labōris.Freed from her chains, the maiden comes forward, both the reward and the cause of his labour. Met. 4.740Ipse manūs haustā victrīcēs abluit undā,
anguiferumque caput dūra nē laedat harēna,
mollit humum foliīs nātāsque sub aequore virgās
sternit et inpōnit Phorcynidos ōra Medūsae.He himself washes his victorious hands with water drawn up, and, so that the hard sand may not harm the snake-bearing head, he softens the ground with leaves, strews twigs born under the sea, and lays upon them the face of Medusa, daughter of Phorcys.
Met. 4.744Virga recēns bibulaque etiamnum vīvā medullā
745vim rapuit mōnstrī tāctūque indūruit huius
percēpitque novum rāmīs et fronde rigōrem.The fresh twig, still alive with absorbent pith, seized the monster's power, hardened at its touch, and took on a new stiffness in branch and leaf. Met. 4.747At pelagī nymphae factum mīrābile temptant
plūribus in virgīs et idem contingere gaudent
sēminaque ex illīs iterant iactāta per undās.But the sea nymphs try the wonderful deed on more twigs, and rejoice that the same thing happens, and from these they propagate seeds, scattering them through the waves. Met. 4.750Nunc quoque curaliīs eadem nātūra remānsit,
dūritiam tāctō capiant ut ab āere, quodque
vīmen in aequore erat, fīat super aequora saxum.Even now the same nature has remained in coral, that it takes on hardness from contact with the air, and what was a pliant stem in the sea becomes stone above the sea. Met. 4.753Dīs tribus ille focōs totidem dē caespite pōnit,
laevum Mercuriō, dextrum tibi, bellica virgō,
755āra Iovis media est.He sets up three altars of turf for three gods, the left for Mercury, the right for you, warrior maiden; the altar of Jupiter is in the middle.
Met. 4.755Mactātur vacca Minervae,
ālipedī vitulus, taurus tibi, summe deōrum.A cow is sacrificed to Minerva, a calf to the wing-footed god, a bull to you, greatest of the gods. Met. 4.757prōtinus Andromedān et tantī praemia factī
indōtāta rapit: taedās Hymenaeus Amorque
praecutiunt, largīs satiantur odōribus ignēs,
760sertaque dēpendent tēctīs et ubīque lyraeque
tībiaque et cantūs, animī fēlīcia laetī
argūmenta, sonant.Straightaway he carries off Andromeda, the reward of so great a deed, without a dowry: Hymenaeus and Love brandish the torches before them, the fires are sated with abundant fragrances, garlands hang from the roofs, and everywhere lyres and flute and songs, happy proofs of joyful hearts, ring out. Met. 4.762Reserātīs aurea valvīs
ātria tōta patent, pulchrōque īnstrūcta parātū
Cēphēnī procerēs ineunt convīvia rēgis.The doors unbarred, the golden halls lie wholly open, and the nobles of King Cepheus enter the banquet, furnished with fine array. Met. 4.765Postquam epulīs fūnctī generōsī mūnere Bacchī
diffūdēre animōs, cultūsque genusque locōrum
quaerit Lyncidēs mōrēsque animumque virōrum.After they had finished the feast and relaxed their spirits with the gift of noble Bacchus, the descendant of Lynceus asks about the culture and nature of the country, and the customs and character of its men.
Met. 4.769Quae simul ēdocuit, "nunc, ō fortissime," dīxit
770"fāre, precor, Perseu, quantā virtūte quibusque
artibus abstulerīs crīnīta dracōnibus ōra."As soon as one had informed him, he said: 'Now, O bravest Perseus, tell, I pray, with what great courage and by what arts you carried off the head with snakes for hair.' Met. 4.772Narrat Agēnoridēs gelidō sub Atlante iacentem
esse locum solidae tūtum mūnīmine mōlis;The descendant of Agenor tells that there is a place lying beneath cold Atlas, safe within the defence of a solid mass; Met. 4.774cuius in introitū geminās habitāsse sorōrēs
775Phorcidas, ūnīus partītās lūminis ūsum.that at its entrance there had lived twin sisters, daughters of Phorcys, sharing the use of a single eye. Met. 4.776Id sē sollertī fūrtim, dum trāditur, astū
suppositā cēpisse manū perque abdita longē
dēviaque et silvīs horrentia saxa fragōsīs
Gorgoneās tetigisse domōs, passimque per agrōs
780perque viās vīdisse hominum simulācra ferārumque
in silicem ex ipsīs vīsā conversa Medūsā.That he, by skilful cunning, stealthily slipping his hand under it while it was being passed, had taken it, and through remote and trackless rocks bristling with rugged woods had reached the home of the Gorgons, and everywhere through the fields and along the roads had seen the shapes of men and beasts changed from themselves into stone at the sight of Medusa.
Met. 4.782Sē tamen horrendae clipeī, quem laeva gerēbat,
aere repercussō fōrmam adspexisse Medūsae,
dumque gravis somnus colubrāsque ipsamque tenēbat,
785ēripuisse caput collō;That he, however, had looked upon the form of dread Medusa reflected in the bronze of the shield that his left hand bore, and while deep sleep held both the snakes and herself, had torn her head from her neck; Met. 4.785pennīsque fugācem
Pēgason et frātrem mātris dē sanguine nātōs
addidit et longī nōn falsa perīcula cursūs,
quae freta, quās terrās sub sē vīdisset ab altō
et quae iactātīs tetigisset sīdera pennīs.and he added Pegasus, swift on his wings, and his brother, born from their mother's blood, and the not false perils of his long journey, what seas, what lands he had seen beneath him from on high, and what stars he had touched with his beating wings. Met. 4.790Ante exspectātum tacuit tamen.Yet he fell silent before they expected. Met. 4.790Excipit ūnus
ex numerō procerum quaerēns, cūr sōla sorōrum
gesserit alternīs inmixtōs crīnibus anguēs.One of the number of the nobles takes him up, asking why she alone of the sisters wore snakes mingled here and there among her hair.
Met. 4.793Hospes ait: "Quoniam scītāris digna relātū,
accipe quaesītī causam.The stranger said: 'Since you ask about a thing worth telling, hear the cause of what you ask. Met. 4.794Clārissima fōrmā
795multōrumque fuit spēs invidiōsa procōrum
illa: neque in tōtā cōnspectior ūlla capillīs
pars fuit.She was of most famous beauty and the envied hope of many suitors: and in all of her there was no part more striking than her hair. Met. 4.797Invēnī, quī sē vīdisse referret.I have met one who said that he had seen her. Met. 4.798Hanc pelagī rēctor templō vitiāsse Minervae
dīcitur.The ruler of the sea, it is said, violated her in the temple of Minerva. Met. 4.799Āversa est et castōs aegide vultūs
800nāta Iovis tēxit;Jupiter's daughter turned away and covered her chaste face with her aegis; Met. 4.800nēve hoc inpūne fuisset,
Gorgoneum crīnem turpēs mūtāvit in hydrōs.and so that this should not go unpunished, she changed the Gorgon's hair into foul snakes.