Met. 9.764Pressit ab hīs vōcem.With this she stopped speaking. Met. 9.764Nec lēnius altera virgō
765aestuat, utque celer veniās, Hymenaee, precātur.Nor does the other maiden burn less hotly, and she prays that you come quickly, Hymen. Met. 9.766Quod petit haec, Telethūsa timēns modo tempora differt,
nunc fictō languōre moram trahit, ōmina saepe
vīsaque causātur.What she seeks, Telethusa, afraid, puts off, now delaying the time, now drawing out the delay with feigned illness, often pleading omens and visions. Met. 9.768Sed iam cōnsūmpserat omnem
māteriam fictī, dīlātaque tempora taedae
770īnstiterant, ūnusque diēs restābat.But by now she had used up every pretext for pretence, and the postponed time of the wedding was upon them, and one day remained. Met. 9.770At illa
crīnālem capitī vittam nātaeque sibique
dētrahit et passīs āram complexa capillīs
"Īsi, Paraetonium Mareōticaque arva Pharonque
quae colis et septem dīgestum in cornua Nīlum:
775fer, precor" inquit "opem nostrōque medēre timōrī!Then she pulls the band from her daughter's head and her own, and with loose hair embracing the altar she says, 'Isis, who dwell in Paraetonium and the Mareotic fields and Pharos, and the Nile divided into seven horns: bring help, I pray, and heal our fear!
Met. 9.776Tē, dea, tē quondam tuaque haec īnsignia vīdī
cūnctaque cognōvī, sonitum comitantiaque aera
sīstrōrum, memorīque animō tua iussa notāvī.You, goddess, you I once saw, and these emblems of yours, and I recognised them all, the sound and the accompanying bronze of the sistrums, and with mindful heart I noted your commands. Met. 9.779Quod videt haec lūcem, quod nōn ego pūnior, ecce
780cōnsilium mūnusque tuum est.That this girl sees the light, that I am not punished, look, it is your counsel and your gift. Met. 9.780Miserēre duārum
auxiliōque iuvā!"Pity the two of us and help us with your aid!' Met. 9.781Lacrimae sunt verba secūtae.Tears followed her words. Met. 9.782Vīsa dea est mōvisse suās (et mōverat) ārās,
et templī tremuēre forēs, imitātaque lūnam
cornua fulsērunt, crepuitque sonābile sīstrum.The goddess seemed to have moved her altar (and she had moved it), and the doors of the temple shook, and the horns, imitating the moon, flashed, and the sounding sistrum rattled. Met. 9.785Nōn sēcūra quidem, faustō tamen ōmine laeta
māter abit templō: sequitur comes Īphis euntem,
quam solita est, maiōre gradū, nec candor in ōre
permanet, et vīrēs augentur, et ācrior ipse est
vultus, et incomptīs brevior mēnsūra capillīs,
790plusque vigōris adest, habuit quam fēmina.Not free from care indeed, yet happy in the favourable omen, the mother leaves the temple: Iphis follows her as she goes, at her side, with a longer stride than usual, and the fairness does not remain in her face, and her strength increases, and the very look is fiercer, and the length of her unadorned hair shorter, and there is more vigour than she had as a woman.
Met. 9.790Nam quae
fēmina nūper erās, puer es.For you who were lately a woman are a boy. Met. 9.791Date mūnera templīs
nec timidā gaudēte fidē!Bring offerings to the temples and rejoice with fearless faith! Met. 9.792Dant mūnera templīs,
addunt et titulum;They bring offerings to the temples, and add an inscription too; Met. 9.793titulus breve carmen habēbat:
DŌNA PUER SOLVIT QUAE FĒMINA VŌVERAT ĪPHIS
795Postera lūx radiīs lātum patefēcerat orbem,
cum Venus et Iūnō sociōsque Hymenaeus ad ignēs
conveniunt, potīturque suā puer Īphis Ianthē.the inscription had a short verse: GIFTS IPHIS VOWED AS A WOMAN HE PAID AS A BOY. The next day's light had revealed the wide world with its rays, when Venus and Juno and Hymen come together to the wedding fires, and the boy Iphis wins his Ianthe.