Met. 6.151cēdere caelitibus verbīsque minōribus ūtī.to give way to the gods and to use humbler words. Met. 6.152Multa dabant animōs: sed enim nec coniugis artēs
nec genus ambōrum magnīque potentia regnī
sīc placuēre illī, quamvīs ea cūncta placērent,
155ut sua prōgeniēs;Many things gave her pride: but neither her husband's arts nor the lineage of them both and the power of a great kingdom pleased her so much, though all of these did please her, as her own offspring; Met. 6.155et fēlīcissima mātrum
dicta foret Niobē, sī nōn sibi vīsa fuisset.and Niobe would have been called the happiest of mothers, had she not seemed so to herself. Met. 6.157Nam sata Tīresiā ventūrī praescia Mantō
per mediās fuerat dīvīnō concita mōtū
vāticināta viās: "Ismēnidēs, īte frequentēs
160et date Lātōnae Lātōnigenīsque duōbus
cum prece tūra piā laurōque innectite crīnem.For Manto, daughter of Tiresias, foreknowing what was to come, roused by a divine impulse, had prophesied through the middle of the streets: 'Women of Ismenus, go in crowds and give incense with holy prayer to Latona and Latona's two children, and twine your hair with laurel.
Met. 6.162Ōre meō Lātōna iubet."Latona commands it through my mouth.' Met. 6.162Pārētur, et omnēs
Thēbaidēs iussīs sua tempora frondibus ōrnant
tūraque dant sānctīs et verba precantia flammīs.They obey, and all the Theban women adorn their temples with leaves as ordered, and give incense and words of prayer to the holy flames. Met. 6.165Ecce venit comitum Niobē celeberrimā turbā,
vestibus intextō Phrygiīs spectābilis aurō,
et, quantum īra sinit, fōrmōsa: movēnsque decōrō
cum capite inmissōs umerum per utrumque capillōs
cōnstitit;Look, Niobe comes, thronged by a great crowd of attendants, conspicuous in Phrygian robes woven with gold, and beautiful, as far as anger allows: and tossing with her graceful head the hair let loose over both her shoulders, she stopped; Met. 6.169utque oculōs circumtulit alta superbōs,
170"Quis furor, audītōs" inquit "praepōnere vīsīs
caelestēs?and when, standing tall, she had cast her proud eyes around, 'What madness is this,' she said, 'to prefer gods you have heard of to those you see? Met. 6.171aut cūr colitur Lātōna per ārās,
nūmen adhūc sine tūre meum est?or why is Latona worshipped at altars, while my godhead is still without incense?
Met. 6.172mihi Tantalus auctor,
cui licuit sōlī superōrum tangere mēnsās,
Plēiadum soror est genetrīx mea, maximus Atlās
175est avus, aetherium quī fert cervīcibus axem;My father is Tantalus, who alone was allowed to touch the tables of the gods; my mother is a sister of the Pleiades; my grandfather is mightiest Atlas, who bears the heavenly axis on his neck; Met. 6.176Iuppiter alter avus socerō quoque glōrior illō.Jupiter is my other grandfather; I boast of him as my father-in-law too. Met. 6.177Mē gentēs metuunt Phrygiae, mē rēgia Cadmī
sub dominā est, fidibusque meī commissa marītī
moenia cum populīs ā mēque virōque reguntur.The Phrygian peoples fear me, Cadmus' palace is under me as its mistress, and the walls joined together by my husband's lyre, together with their peoples, are ruled by me and my husband. Met. 6.180In quamcumque domus advertī lūmina partem,
inmēnsae spectantur opēs.To whatever part of the house I have turned my eyes, immense wealth is seen. Met. 6.181Accēdit eōdem
digna dea faciēs.Add to this a face worthy of a goddess. Met. 6.182Hūc nātās adice septem
et totidem iuvenēs et mox generōsque nurūsque.To this add seven daughters and as many young men, and soon sons-in-law and daughters-in-law.
Met. 6.184Quaerite nunc, habeat quam nostra superbia causam,
185nesciō quōque audēte satam Tītānida Coeō
Lātōnam praeferre mihi, cui maxima quondam
exiguam sēdem paritūrae terra negāvit.Ask now what cause our pride has, and dare to prefer to me Latona, the Titaness born of some Coeus or other, to whom once, when she was about to give birth, the great earth refused a tiny resting place. Met. 6.188Nec caelō nec humō nec aquīs dea vestra recepta est:
exsul erat mundī, dōnec miserāta vagantem
190"hospita tū terrīs errās, ego" dīxit "in undīs"
īnstabilemque locum Dēlos dedit.Neither by sky nor by land nor by waters was your goddess received: she was an exile from the world, until Delos, pitying the wanderer, said, "You roam the lands a stranger, I the waves," and gave her an unstable place. Met. 6.191Illa duōrum
facta parēns: uterī pars haec est septima nostrī.She became the mother of two: that is the seventh part of what my womb has borne. Met. 6.193Sum fēlīx: quis enim neget hoc?I am fortunate: for who would deny this? Met. 6.193fēlīxque manēbō:
hoc quoque quis dubitet?and fortunate I shall remain: who would doubt this too?
Met. 6.194tūtam mē cōpia fēcit,
195Maior sum, quam cui possit Fortūna nocēre,
multaque ut ēripiat, multō mihi plūra relinquet.Abundance has made me safe. I am greater than one whom Fortune could harm, and though she should snatch away much, she will leave me far more. Met. 6.197Excessēre metum mea iam bona.My blessings have now passed beyond fear. Met. 6.197Fingite dēmī
huic aliquid populō nātōrum posse meōrum,
nōn tamen ad numerum redigar spoliāta duōrum,
200Lātōnae turbam: quā quantum distat ab orbā?Suppose something could be taken from this host of my children: yet, despoiled, I shall not be reduced to the number of two, Latona's crowd: how far is she, with that, from childless? Met. 6.201Īte, satis, properē īte, sacrī est laurumque capillīs
pōnite."Go, enough of the rite, go quickly, and take the laurel from your hair.' Met. 6.202Dēpōnunt et sacra īnfecta relinquunt,
quodque licet tacitō venerantur murmure nūmen.They take it off and leave the rites unfinished, and venerate the godhead, as far as they may, with a silent murmur. Met. 6.204Indignāta dea est summōque in vertice Cynthī
205tālibus est dictīs geminā cum prōle locūta:
"Ēn ego vestra parēns, vōbīs animōsa creātīs,
et nisi Iūnōnī nūllī cessūra deārum,
an dea sim dubitor perque omnia saecula cultīs
arceor, ō nātī, nisi vōs succurritis, ārīs.The goddess was indignant, and on the topmost peak of Cynthus spoke with these words to her twin offspring: 'See, I, your mother, proud to have borne you, and ready to yield to none of the goddesses but Juno, am doubted whether I am a goddess, and I am barred, O children, unless you come to my aid, from altars worshipped through all the ages.
Met. 6.210Nec dolor hic sōlus: dīrō convīcia factō
Tantalis adiēcit vōsque est postpōnere nātīs
ausa suīs, et mē, quod in ipsam reccidat, orbam,
dīxit et exhibuit linguam scelerāta paternam."Nor is this my only grief: Tantalus' daughter has added insults to her dreadful deed, and dared to rank you below her own children, and called me childless (may it fall back on her own head!), and, wicked woman, has displayed her father's tongue.' Met. 6.214Adiectūra precēs erat hīs Lātōna relātīs:
215"dēsine!"Latona was about to add prayers to this account: 'Stop!' Met. 6.215Phoebus ait: "poenae mora longa querella est."says Phoebus: 'a long complaint only delays the punishment.' Met. 6.216Dīxit idem Phoebē: celerīque per āera lāpsū
contigerant tēctī Cadmēida nūbibus arcem.Phoebe said the same: and with a swift glide through the air, hidden in clouds, they had reached the citadel of Cadmus' city.