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Lectitō › Ovid › Metamorphoses, Book 8 › Metamorphoses 8.241–259

Ovid · Metamorphoses VIII

Metamorphoses 8.241–259

Daedalus and his nephew Perdix

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Met. 8.241Namque huic trādiderat, fātōrum ignāra, docendam
prōgeniem germāna suam, nātālibus āctīs
bis puerum senis, animī ad praecepta capācis.
For his sister, ignorant of fate, had handed over her son to him to be taught, a boy who had completed twice six birthdays, with a mind quick to take instruction.
Met. 8.244Ille etiam mediō spīnās in pisce notātās
245trāxit in exemplum ferrōque incīdit acūtō
perpetuōs dentēs et serrae repperit ūsum.
He also took as a pattern the spines marked in the middle of a fish, and cut continuous teeth in sharp iron, and discovered the use of the saw.
Met. 8.247Prīmus et ex ūnō duo ferrea bracchia nōdō
vinxit, ut aequālī spatiō distantibus illīs
altera pars stāret, pars altera dūceret orbem.
He was the first, too, to bind two iron arms together from a single joint, so that, while they stood an equal distance apart, one part would stand still and the other draw a circle.
Met. 8.250Daedalus invīdit sacrāque ex arce Minervae
praecipitem mīsit, lāpsum mentītus.
Daedalus was jealous, and threw him headlong from Minerva's sacred citadel, pretending he had slipped.

Met. 8.251At illum
quae favet ingeniīs excēpit Pallas avemque
reddidit et mediō vēlāvit in āere pennīs.
But Pallas, who favours talent, caught him and turned him into a bird, and clothed him in feathers in mid-air.
Met. 8.254Sed vigor ingeniī quondam vēlōcis in alās
255inque pedēs abiit: nōmen quod et ante remānsit.
But the vigour of his once swift mind passed into his wings and his feet: the name he had before remained too.
Met. 8.256Nōn tamen haec altē volucris sua corpora tollit,
nec facit in rāmīs altōque cacūmine nīdōs:
propter humum volitat pōnitque in saepibus ōva
antīquīque memor metuit sublīmia cāsūs.
Yet this bird does not lift its body high, nor make its nest in branches and lofty treetops: it flutters near the ground and lays its eggs in hedges, and, mindful of its old fall, it fears high places.

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Grammar in this passage: gerunds and gerundives ×1, ablative absolute ×2, indirect statement ×1, purpose clauses ×1

Latin vocabulary for this passage (104 words)
namque, conj.for
hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron.this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter
trādō, -dere, -didī, -ditusgive across, over, or up, deliver; hand down, relate, report
fātum, -ī, n.destiny, fate
ignārus, -a, -umignorant
doceo, -ēre, -uī, -tusteach, explain
prōgeniēs, -ēī f.offspring, descendants
germāna, -ae f.sister
suus, -a, -umhis, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their
nātālis, -eof birth (diēs nātālis: birthday)
agō, agere, ēgī, āctusdrive; do; pass, lead; grātiās agere, see grātia
bis (adv.)twice
puer, puerī, m.boy
senex, senis, m.old man
animus, -ī, m.mind; heart; spirit, courage
ad, prep. with acc.to, toward; at, near; for
praeceptum, -ī n.instruction, order
capāx, -ācisroomy, spacious; capable (of: gen.)
ille, illa, illud, dem. pron.that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc
etiam, adv.and now, also, too, even
medius, -a, -ummid, middle
spīna, -ae f.thorn, thornbush
in, prep. with acc. and abl.with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
piscis, -is m.fish
notō, -āre, -āvī, -ātusmark, note; single out
trahō, trahere, trāxī, trāctusdraw, drag
exemplum, -ī n.example, precedent
ferrum, -ī n.iron; iron point, sword
que, enclitic conj.and
incīdō, -ere, -cīdī, -cīsuscut into, cut through
acūtus, -a, -umsharp, pointed
perpetuus, -a, -umcontinuous, perpetual; in perpetuum, for all time, forever
dēns, dentis, m.tooth
et, conj.and; et ... et, both ... and
serra, -ae f.a saw
reperiō, reperīre, repperī, repertusfind, discover
ūsus, -ūs, m.use; experience
prīmus, -a, -umfirst, foremost
ex, ē (prep. + abl.)out of, from; of (ē only before consonants)
ūnus, -a, -umone; only, alone
duo, -ae, -o, plur. adj.two
ferreus, -a, -umof iron, iron
bracchium, -ī, n.arm
nōdus, -ī m.knot; knob, joint
vinciō, vincīre, vinxī, vinctusbind
ut, conj.as; when; that; ita ut, as
aequālis, -eequal; of the same age
spatium, -ī, n.space, interval; space of time, time
distō, -ārestand apart, be distant
alter, -era, -erumone or the other (of two); another, second
pars, partis, f.part, side, direction
stō, stāre, stetī, statusstand
dūcō, dūcere, dūxī, ductuslead; make, dig; with or without in mātrimōnium, marry
orbis, -is, m.circle; orbis terrae or terrārum, circle of the earth or lands, earth, world
invideō, -ēre, invīdī, invīsum (+ dat.)envy, be jealous of
sacer, sacra, sacrumsacred, holy
arx, arcis f.citadel, stronghold
praeceps, -cipitisheadlong
mittō, mittere, mīsī, missussend
lāpsus, -ūs m.gliding, sliding movement; a fall
mentior, -īrī, -ītus sumlie, tell a lie
at, conj.but
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.who, which
faveō, -ēre, fāvī, fautum (+ dat.)favour, support
ingenium, -ī n.natural ability, talent, cleverness; character
excipiō, -cipere, -cēpī, -ceptustake out or up, receive, welcome, entertain
avis, -is, f.bird
reddō, -dere, -didī, -ditusgive back, return, restore; render
vēlō, -āre, -āvī, -ātusveil, cover
āēr, āeris, m.air
penna, -ae f.feather; (pl.) wings
sed, conj.but
vigor, -ōris m.vigour, energy, liveliness
quondam (adv.)once, formerly, at one time
vēlōx, vēlōcisswift, fast
ala, -ae, f.wing
pēs, pedis, m.foot
abeō, -īre, -iī, -itūrusgo away, depart
nōmen, -minis, n.name (that by which one is known)
ante, prep, with acc. and adv.before
remaneō, -ēre, -mānsīstay behind, remain
nōn, adv.not
tamen, adv.however, yet, nevertheless
altē (adv.)high; deep
volucris, -is, f.bird
corpus, corporis, n.body
tollō, tollere, sustulī, sublātuslift, raise; take away, remove; ancorās tollere, to weigh anchor
neque or nec, conj.and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not
faciō, facere, fēcī, factusmake, do; iter facere, see iter
rāmus, -ī, m.branch, bough
altus, -a, -umhigh, deep; altum, -ī, n., the deep
cacūmen, -minis n.top, tip, point
nīdus, -ī m.nest
propter, prep. with acc.on account of, because of
humus, -ī f.ground, earth; humī: on the ground
volitō, -āre, -āvīfly about; flit, swagger about
pōnō, pōnere, posuī, positusplace, put; pōnī with in and abl., to be placed in, rest or depend on
saepēs, -is f.hedge
ōvum, -ī n.egg
antīquus, -a, -umancient
memor, -orismindful, remembering (+ gen.)
metuō, -ere, metuīfear, be afraid of
sublīmis, -ehigh, lofty; in sublīme: up on high
cāsus, -ūs, m.fall; chance, accident
Ovid, Metamorphoses VIII. Latin text: H. Magnus, Die Metamorphosen des P. Ovidius Naso (Gotha, 1892), public domain; digital text from the Perseus Digital Library, CC BY-SA. Word analysis: drafted by our own tagger (trained on the hand-checked texts on this site), with every doubtful word checked by hand. English translation and section titles: written for this app, each checked against the Latin by a second reader.