Met. 5.177Vērum ubi virtūtem turbae succumbere vīdit,
"auxilium" Perseus "quoniam sīc cōgitis ipsī"
dīxit "ab hoste petam.But when he saw his valour giving way before the crowd, Perseus said, 'Since you yourselves force me to it, I shall seek help from an enemy. Met. 5.179Vultūs āvertite vestrōs,
180sīquis amīcus adest!"Turn away your faces, if any friend is here!' Met. 5.180et Gorgonis extulit ōra.and he raised up the Gorgon's face. Met. 5.181"Quaere alium, tua quem moveant mīrācula" dīxit
Thescelus;'Find someone else to be moved by your wonders,' said Thescelus; Met. 5.182utque manū iaculum fātāle parābat
mittere, in hōc haesit signum dē marmore gestū.and as he was making ready to throw the deadly javelin with his hand, he stuck fast in that very gesture, a marble statue. Met. 5.184Proximus huic Ampyx animī plēnissima magnī
185pectora Lyncidae gladiō petit;Next to him, Ampyx aims his sword at the breast of Lynceus' descendant, full to the brim with great courage; Met. 5.185inque petendō
dextera dēriguit nec citrā mōta nec ultrā est.and in the aiming his right hand stiffened and moved neither this way nor that.
Met. 5.187At Nīleus, quī sē genitum septemplice Nīlō
ēmentītus erat, clipeō quoque flūmina septem
argentō partim, partim caelāverat aurō,
190"adspice" ait, "Perseu, nostrae prīmordia gentis:
magna ferēs tacitās sōlācia mortis ad umbrās,
ā tantō cecidisse virō": pars ultima vōcis
in mediō suppressa sonō est, adapertaque velle
ōra loquī crēdās, nec sunt ea pervia verbīs.But Nileus, who had falsely claimed to be begotten of the sevenfold Nile, and had also engraved seven streams on his shield, partly in silver, partly in gold, says, 'Behold, Perseus, the origins of our race: you will take great comfort for your death to the silent shades, to have fallen at the hands of so great a man': the last part of his speech was choked in the middle of the sound, and you would think the open mouth wished to speak, but it gives no passage to words. Met. 5.195Increpat hōs "vitiō" que "animī, nōn vīribus" inquit
"Gorgoneīs torpētis" Eryx: "incurrite mēcum
et prōsternite humī iuvenem magica arma moventem!"Eryx rebukes them and says, 'It is from weakness of spirit, not from the Gorgon's power, that you are numb: charge with me and lay low on the ground this youth who wields magic arms!' Met. 5.198Incursūrus erat: tenuit vestīgia tellūs,
inmōtusque silex armātaque mānsit imāgō.He was about to charge: the earth held his footsteps fast, and he remained motionless flint, an armed image.
Met. 5.200Hī tamen ex meritō poenās subiēre;These, however, suffered the punishment they deserved; Met. 5.200sed ūnus
mīles erat Perseī, prō quō dum pugnat, Aconteus,
Gorgone cōnspectā saxō concrēvit obortō.but there was one soldier of Perseus, Aconteus, who, while he fights for him, caught sight of the Gorgon and hardened as stone spread over him. Met. 5.203Quem ratus Astyagēs etiamnum vīvere, longō
ēnse ferit: sonuit tinnītibus ēnsis acūtīs.Astyages, thinking he was still alive, strikes him with his long sword: the sword rang with shrill clangs. Met. 5.205Dum stupet Astyagēs, nātūram trāxit eandem,
marmoreōque manet vultus mīrantis in ōre.While Astyages stands amazed, he took on the same nature, and the look of wonder remains on a marble face. Met. 5.207Nōmina longa mora est mediā dē plēbe virōrum
dīcere: bis centum restābant corpora pugnae,
Gorgone bis centum riguērunt corpora vīsā.It would take long to tell the names of the men from the common ranks: two hundred bodies remained for the fight; two hundred bodies grew stiff at the sight of the Gorgon. Met. 5.210Paenitet iniūstī tunc dēnique Phīnea bellī.Then at last Phineus repents of the unjust war.
Met. 5.211Sed quid agat?But what is he to do? Met. 5.211simulācra videt dīversa figūrīs
agnōscitque suōs et nōmine quemque vocātum
poscit opem, crēdēnsque parum sibi proxima tangit
corpora: marmor erant.he sees statues in various postures and recognises his own men, and, calling each by name, begs for help, and, scarcely trusting himself, touches the bodies nearest him: they were marble. Met. 5.214Āvertitur, atque ita supplex
215cōnfessāsque manūs oblīquaque bracchia tendēns,
"vincis" ait, "Perseu.He turns away, and so, a suppliant, stretching out hands that confess defeat and arms held sideways, he says, 'You win, Perseus. Met. 5.216Removē tua mōnstra tuaeque
saxificōs vultūs, quaecumque ea, tolle Medūsae,
tolle, precor.Remove your monster, take away the petrifying face of your Medusa, whoever she may be, take it away, I beg you. Met. 5.218Nōn nōs odium regnīque cupīdō
compulit ad bellum: prō coniuge mōvimus arma.It was not hatred nor desire for the kingdom that drove me to war: I took up arms for a bride. Met. 5.220Causa fuit meritīs melior tua, tempore nostra.Your cause was better in merit, ours in time.
Met. 5.221Nōn cessisse piget.I regret that I did not give way. Met. 5.221Nihil, ō fortissime, praeter
hanc animam concēde mihi: tua cētera suntō."Grant me nothing, bravest of men, except this life: let the rest be yours.' Met. 5.223Tālia dīcentī neque eum, quem vōce rogābat
respicere audentī "quod" ait, "timidissime Phīneu,
225et possum tribuisse et magnum est mūnus inertī,
(pōne metum) tribuam: nūllō violābere ferrō.As he said this, not daring to look at the one he entreated with his voice, Perseus said, 'What I can bestow, most cowardly Phineus, and what is a great gift to a coward, I shall bestow (put away your fear): you shall be harmed by no sword. Met. 5.227Quīn etiam mānsūra dabō monimenta per aevum,
inque domō socerī semper spectābere nostrī,
ut mea sē spōnsī sōlētur imāgine coniūnx?"Indeed I shall give you a monument to last through the ages, and in the house of my father-in-law you will always be gazed upon, so that my wife may console herself with the image of her betrothed.' Met. 5.230Dīxit et in partem Phorcynida trānstulit illam,
ad quam sē trepidō Phīneus obverterat ōre.He spoke, and moved the daughter of Phorcys to the side towards which Phineus had turned his trembling face.
Met. 5.232Tunc quoque cōnantī sua vertere lūmina cervīx
dēriguit, saxōque oculōrum indūruit ūmor.Then too, as he tried to turn his eyes away, his neck stiffened, and the moisture of his eyes hardened into stone. Met. 5.234Sed tamen ōs timidum vultusque in marmore supplex
235submissaeque manūs faciēsque obnoxia mānsit.But still the timid face and the suppliant look in the marble, the lowered hands and the cringing expression remained. Met. 5.236Victor Abantiadēs patriōs cum coniuge mūrōs
intrat et inmeritī vindex ultorque parentis
adgreditur Proetum: nam frātre per arma fugātō
Acrisionēās Proetus possēderat arcēs.Victorious, Abas' descendant enters his ancestral walls with his wife, and as champion and avenger of his undeserving grandfather he attacks Proetus: for, having routed his brother by force of arms, Proetus had seized the citadel of Acrisius. Met. 5.240Sed nec ope armōrum, nec, quam male cēperat, arce
torvā colubriferī superāvit lūmina mōnstrī.But neither by the help of arms nor by the citadel he had wrongfully seized did he overcome the grim eyes of the snake-bearing monster. Met. 5.242Tē tamen, ō parvae rēctor, Polydecta, Serīphī,
nec iuvenis virtūs per tot spectāta labōrēs
nec mala mollierant, sed inexōrābile dūrus
245exercēs odium, nec inīquā fīnis in īrā est.You, however, Polydectes, ruler of little Seriphos, neither the young man's valour, proved through so many labours, nor his sufferings had softened, but, hard-hearted, you persist in an inexorable hatred, and there is no end to your unjust anger.
Met. 5.246Dētrectās etiam laudem fictamque Medūsae
arguis esse necem.You even disparage his glory and claim that Medusa's death is a fiction. Met. 5.247"Dabimus tibi pignera vērī.'I shall give you pledges of the truth. Met. 5.248Parcite lūminibus!"Spare your eyes!' Met. 5.248Perseus ait ōraque rēgis
ōre Medūsaeō silicem sine sanguine fēcit.says Perseus, and with Medusa's face he made the king's face bloodless stone.