Metamorphoses 4.55–166

Met. 4.55"Pȳramus et Thisbē, iuvenum pulcherrimus alter,
altera, quās oriēns habuit, praelāta puellīs,
contiguās tenuēre domōs, ubi dīcitur altam
coctilibus mūrīs cinxisse Semīramis urbem.

"Pyramus and Thisbe — he the most handsome of young men, she preferred above all the girls the East possessed — lived in houses side by side, where Semiramis is said to have ringed her high city with walls of baked brick.

Note. The tale is told by one of the daughters of Minyas, who refuse to join the worship of Bacchus and pass the time spinning and telling stories; that is why the whole passage stands inside quotation marks. alter … altera: 'the one … the other' — iuvenum pulcherrimus goes with Pyramus, praelata puellis with Thisbe. quas oriens habuit: 'whom the East possessed' (oriens, the rising sun, = the East). tenuere = tenuerunt, the poetic perfect in -ēre. Semiramis, the legendary queen, was said to have built Babylon's walls of baked brick (coctilibus muris).

Met. 4.59Nōtitiam prīmōsque gradūs vīcīnia fēcit:
60tempore crēvit amor.

Being neighbours brought acquaintance and the first steps: with time love grew.

Note. Asyndeton and brevity: two short clauses, then tempore crevit amor. primos gradus: 'the first steps' of love, object of fecit with notitiam. vicinia is the subject: their nearness made them acquainted.

Met. 4.60Taedae quoque iūre coīssent:
sed vetuēre patrēs.

They would have joined in marriage too, by right of the wedding torch: but their fathers forbade it.

Note. taedae … iure: 'by right of the torch', i.e. in lawful marriage — a pine torch led the bride to her new home. coissent is a contrary-to-fact pluperfect subjunctive ('they would have come together'), contracted from coivissent. vetuere = vetuerunt.

Met. 4.61Quod nōn potuēre vetāre,
ex aequō captīs ārdēbant mentibus ambō.

What the fathers could not forbid, both burned with equally captured hearts.

Note. Quod (relative, object of vetare) anticipates the main clause: 'what they could not forbid', namely that both burned with love. ex aequo: 'equally'. captis mentibus: ablative, 'with captured hearts'. ambo: 'both' (the lovers, masculine plural covering a man and a woman).

Met. 4.63Cōnscius omnis abest: nūtū signīsque loquuntur,
quōque magis tegitur, tēctus magis aestuat ignis.

No one shares the secret: they talk by nods and signs, and the more the fire is covered, the more fiercely, covered, it seethes.

Note. Conscius omnis abest: 'every confidant is absent' — no one is in on the secret. quoque = quō + que: quō magis … magis: 'and the more … the more' (ablative of degree). tectus magis aestuat ignis: the hidden fire of love burns hotter — a favourite image of Ovid's.

Met. 4.65Fissus erat tenuī rīmā, quam dūxerat ōlim,
cum fieret pariēs domuī commūnis utrīque.

The wall common to the two houses had been split by a thin crack, which it had developed long ago, when it was being built.

Note. Fissus erat is pluperfect passive of findo; its subject is paries. tenui rima: ablative of means. quam duxerat olim, cum fieret: 'which it had drawn (developed) long ago, when it was being made' — the crack goes back to the wall's construction. domui … utrique: dative with communis, 'shared by both houses'.

Met. 4.67Id vitium nūllī per saecula longa notātum
(quid nōn sentit amor?) prīmī vīdistis amantēs,
et vōcis fēcistis iter;

That flaw, noticed by no one through long ages — what does love not perceive? — you lovers were the first to see, and you made it a path for the voice;

Note. The narrator turns and addresses the lovers directly (apostrophe): amantes is vocative. nulli: dative of agent with the perfect participle notatum. The parenthesis quid non sentit amor? is a rhetorical question. vocis … iter: 'a path for the voice'.

Met. 4.69tūtaeque per illud
70murmure blanditiae minimō trānsīre solēbant.

and safe through it your endearments used to pass in the smallest whisper.

Note. illud = the crack. blanditiae: 'endearments, sweet talk', subject of solebant transire. murmure minimo: ablative of manner. The line is arranged so that the whispers 'cross over' the middle of the verse.

Met. 4.71Saepe, ubi cōnstiterant hinc Thisbē, Pȳramus illinc,
inque vicēs fuerat captātus anhēlitus ōris,
"invide" dīcēbant "pariēs, quid amantibus obstās?

Often, when they had taken their places, Thisbe on this side, Pyramus on that, and each had caught the breath of the other's mouth in turn, they would say: "Jealous wall, why do you stand in the way of lovers?

Note. inque vices = et in vices, 'in turn'. captatus fuerat anhelitus oris: 'the breath of the mouth had been caught' — each tried to feel the other's breath through the crack. dicebant: imperfect of repeated action. invide … paries: vocative; the lovers scold the wall as if it were a person (personification).

Met. 4.74quantum erat, ut sinerēs tōtō nōs corpore iungī,
75aut hoc sī nimium est, vel ad ōscula danda patērēs?

How great a thing would it be for you to let us be joined with our whole bodies, or, if this is too much, at least to open for kisses to be given?

Note. quantum erat …?: 'how much would it have been?' — the indicative erat in a rhetorical question where English expects 'would'. ut sineres … aut … pateres: noun clauses in apposition to quantum. ad oscula danda: gerundive of purpose, 'for kisses to be given'. vel: 'at least'.

Met. 4.76Nec sumus ingrātī: tibi nōs dēbēre fatēmur,
quod datus est verbīs ad amīcās trānsitus aurēs."

Nor are we ungrateful: we admit that we owe it to you that a passage has been given to our words to reach friendly ears."

Note. debere fatemur: indirect statement with nos as subject accusative. quod datus est: 'that a passage has been given', explaining what they owe the wall. verbis: dative. amicas … aures: 'friendly ears', the other lover's.

Met. 4.78Tālia dīversā nēquīquam sēde locūtī
sub noctem dīxēre "valē" partīque dedēre
80ōscula quisque suae nōn pervenientia contrā.

Having said such things, in vain, from their separate places, at nightfall they said "Goodbye" and each gave to his own side kisses that did not get through to the other.

Note. Talia … locuti: 'having said such things', deponent participle. nequiquam: 'in vain'. partique … suae: 'each to his own side' of the wall; quisque is in apposition to the subject. pervenientia contra: 'reaching across' — the kisses never arrive.

Met. 4.81Postera nocturnōs aurōra remōverat ignēs,
sōlque pruīnōsās radiīs siccāverat herbās:
ad solitum coiēre locum.

The next dawn had removed the fires of night, and the sun had dried the frosty grass with its rays: they came together at the usual place.

Note. A typical Ovidian 'time of day' marker: dawn removes the stars (nocturnos ignes) and the sun dries the frost. Postera … aurora: 'the next dawn'. coiere = coierunt.

Met. 4.83Tum murmure parvō
multa prius questī, statuunt, ut nocte silentī
85fallere custōdēs foribusque excēdere temptent,
cumque domō exierint, urbis quoque tēcta relinquant;

Then, after first making many complaints in a low murmur, they decide that in the silent night they will try to slip past their guards and go out of doors, and, when they have left home, leave the buildings of the city too;

Note. multa … questi: 'complaining much' (internal accusative with a deponent participle). statuunt ut … temptent: indirect command after 'decide', in the present subjunctive after a historical present. cum … exierint: perfect subjunctive standing for a future perfect in reported plans. foribus: ablative of separation with excedere, 'go out of the doors'.

Met. 4.87nēve sit errandum lātō spatiantibus arvō,
conveniant ad busta Ninī lateantque sub umbrā
arboris.

and, so that they need not wander as they roam the wide countryside, they are to meet at the tomb of Ninus and hide under the shade of the tree.

Note. neve sit errandum: 'and that there should be no wandering' — an impersonal gerundive with the dative of agent spatiantibus ('for them as they stroll'). lato … arvo: ablative of place without a preposition, common in poetry. busta Nini: the tomb of Ninus, legendary king of Assyria and husband of Semiramis.

Met. 4.89Arbor ibi, niveīs ūberrima pōmīs
90ardua mōrus, erat, gelidō contermina fontī.

There was a tree there, a tall mulberry, laden with snow-white fruit, next to a cool spring.

Note. uberrima pomis: superlative of the adjective ūber, 'very rich in fruit'. morus is the mulberry tree (feminine, like most tree names); its fruit is mōrum. gelido … fonti: dative with contermina, 'next to'. Notice the white fruit: the story will explain why mulberries are now dark.

Met. 4.91Pacta placent.

The plan is agreed.

Note. Pacta placent: two words make a whole sentence. pactum is 'what has been agreed'.

Met. 4.91Et lūx, tardē discēdere vīsa,
praecipitātur aquīs, et aquīs nox exit ab īsdem.

And the daylight, which seemed slow to depart, plunges into the waters, and night comes out of the same waters.

Note. lux … visa: 'the daylight, which had seemed (visa) to leave slowly'. The sun sets into the Ocean and night rises from the same waters (isdem = iisdem) — a poetic picture of the world's edges. Note the chiasmus praecipitatur aquis, et aquis nox exit.

Met. 4.93Callida per tenebrās versātō cardine Thisbē
ēgreditur fallitque suōs, adopertaque vultum
95pervenit ad tumulum, dictāque sub arbore sēdit.

Cleverly, turning the door on its hinge in the darkness, Thisbe goes out and escapes her family's notice, and, her face veiled, reaches the tomb and sat down under the tree they had named.

Note. versato cardine: ablative absolute — Roman doors turned on pivots (cardo) set in sockets, not on side hinges. fallit suos: 'escapes the notice of her family'. adoperta vultum: 'veiled as to her face', a Greek-style accusative of respect with a passive participle. Note the shift from present tenses to the perfect sedit.

Met. 4.96Audācem faciēbat amor.

Love was making her bold.

Note. A one-line comment by the narrator: love made her bold. Audacem agrees with an understood eam.

Met. 4.96Venit ecce recentī
caede leaena boum spūmantēs oblita rictūs,
dēpositūra sitim vīcīnī fontis in undā.

Look, there comes a lioness, her foaming jaws smeared with the fresh blood of slaughtered cattle, about to quench her thirst in the water of the nearby spring.

Note. Venit ecce: the present tense and ecce make the scene vivid. caede … boum: 'with the slaughter of cattle'; boum is the genitive plural of bos. spumantes oblita rictus: 'smeared on her foaming jaws' — oblita is a passive participle with an accusative of the part affected. depositura: future participle of purpose, 'to slake'.

Met. 4.99Quam procul ad lūnae radiōs Babylōnia Thisbē
100vīdit et obscūrum timidō pede fūgit in antrum,
dumque fugit, tergō vēlāmina lāpsa relīquit.

Babylonian Thisbe saw her from far off by the rays of the moon and fled with frightened foot into a dark cave, and as she flees she left behind her veil, which had slipped from her back.

Note. Quam: connecting relative, 'and when Babylonian Thisbe saw her'. The first fugit is perfect (fūgit — the meter demands a long first syllable in the fifth foot); the second, after dum, is present (fŭgit). tergo: ablative of separation, 'from her back'. velamina: poetic plural, one veil.

Met. 4.102Ut lea saeva sitim multā conpescuit undā,
dum redit in silvās, inventōs forte sine ipsā
ōre cruentātō tenuēs laniāvit amictūs.

When the savage lioness had quenched her thirst with plenty of water, as she returns to the woods she tore with bloodied mouth the thin garment, which she happened to find without its owner.

Note. Ut: 'when'. lea is a poetic word for leaena. inventos … sine ipsa … amictus: 'the garment found without its owner' (ipsa = Thisbe). amictus is a poetic plural. ore cruentato: ablative of means — the bloody mouth explains the bloodstains Pyramus will see.

Met. 4.105Sērius ēgressus vestīgia vīdit in altō
pulvere certa ferae tōtōque expalluit ōre
Pȳramus: ut vērō vestem quoque sanguine tinctam
repperit, "ūna duōs" inquit "nox perdet amantēs.

Coming out later, Pyramus saw in the deep dust the unmistakable tracks of the beast and went pale in his whole face: and when he also found the clothing stained with blood, he said: "One night will destroy two lovers.

Note. Serius: 'rather late', comparative adverb of sērō. vestigia … certa ferae: 'clear tracks of a wild beast'. toto … ore: 'in his whole face'. ut vero: 'but when'. Pyramus' first words are a neat paradox: una … duos … nox perdet amantes, with 'one' and 'two' set side by side.

Met. 4.109Ē quibus illa fuit longā dignissima vītā,
110nostra nocēns anima est: ego tē, miseranda, perēmī,
in loca plēna metūs quī iussī nocte venīrēs,
nec prior hūc vēnī.

Of the two, she was the most deserving of a long life; it is my soul that is guilty: I have killed you, poor girl, I who told you to come by night to places full of terror, and did not come here first myself.

Note. E quibus: 'of whom', partitive with dignissima. longa … vita: ablative with dignus. nostra nocens anima est: 'it is my life that is guilty'. miseranda: gerundive used as an adjective, vocative, 'pitiable one'. qui iussi … venires: 'I who told you to come' — iubeo with a plain subjunctive instead of the usual infinitive.

Met. 4.112Nostrum dīvellite corpus,
et scelerāta ferō cōnsūmite viscera morsū,
ō quīcumque sub hāc habitātis rūpe, leōnēs.

Tear my body apart and devour my guilty flesh with savage bite, O all you lions who live under this rock.

Note. divellite, consumite: plural imperatives addressed to the lions. fero … morsu: 'with savage bite' (ferus, not fero 'carry'). quicumque … habitatis: the relative clause addresses 'whatever lions you are'. Ovid lets Pyramus talk like a hero of tragedy.

Met. 4.115Sed timidī est optāre necem."

But it is a coward's way to pray for death."

Note. timidi est: genitive of characteristic, 'it is the mark of a coward' to pray for death rather than act. The quotation closes here.

Met. 4.115Vēlāmina Thisbēs
tollit et ad pactae sēcum fert arboris umbram;

He picks up Thisbe's veil and carries it with him to the shade of the agreed tree;

Note. Thisbes: Greek genitive in -ēs. pactae … arboris: 'the agreed tree' — pactus, from the deponent paciscor, is used here with a passive meaning.

Met. 4.117utque dedit nōtae lacrimās, dedit ōscula vestī,
"accipe nunc" inquit "nostrī quoque sanguinis haustūs!"

and when he had given tears and kisses to the familiar garment, he said, "Now receive a draught of my blood too!"

Note. ut: 'when'. notae … vesti: dative, 'to the garment he knew'. haustus: poetic plural, 'draughts' of blood — Pyramus offers the veil a drink, a grim echo of the lioness drinking at the spring.

Met. 4.119quōque erat accīnctus, dēmīsit in īlia ferrum,
120nec mora, ferventī moriēns ē vulnere trāxit.

And the sword he was girded with he plunged into his side, and without delay, dying, drew it out of the burning wound.

Note. quoque = quō + que, 'and the sword with which he was girded' — the antecedent ferrum comes later, inside the main clause. nec mora: 'and without delay'. moriens: deponent present participle. Ovid's narration is swift and bare at the moment of death.

Met. 4.121Ut iacuit resupīnus humō: cruor ēmicat altē,
nōn aliter quam cum vitiātō fistula plumbō
scinditur et tenuī strīdente forāmine longās
ēiaculātur aquās atque ictibus āera rumpit.

As he lay on his back on the ground, the blood leaps high, just as when a pipe of flawed lead splits and through the thin hissing hole shoots out long jets of water and breaks through the air with its spurts.

Note. A famous and startling simile: the blood spurts like water from a burst lead pipe. vitiato … plumbo: ablative, 'when the lead is flawed'. non aliter quam cum: 'just as when'. aera: Greek accusative of āēr. ictibus: 'with its jets', literally 'blows'. Readers have argued for centuries over whether the comparison is grotesque, ironic or simply vivid.

Met. 4.125Arboreī fētūs adspergine caedis in ātram
vertuntur faciem, madefactaque sanguine rādīx
purpureō tingit pendentia mōra colōre.

The fruit of the tree, sprinkled with the slaughter, turns dark in appearance, and the root, soaked with blood, colours the hanging mulberries a deep purple.

Note. This is the 'metamorphosis' of the tale: the mulberries turn dark. Arborei fetus: 'the tree's fruit' (fetus, 4th declension). adspergine caedis: 'by the spray of the slaughter'. pendentia mora: 'the hanging mulberries' (mōrum, neuter plural). The root draws up the blood and colours the fruit purple.

Met. 4.128Ecce metū nōndum positō, nē fallat amantem,
illa redit iuvenemque oculīs animōque requīrit,
130quantaque vītārit narrāre perīcula gestit.

Look, her fear not yet set aside, so as not to disappoint her lover, she returns and searches for the young man with her eyes and her heart, and is eager to tell what great dangers she has escaped.

Note. metu nondum posito: ablative absolute. ne fallat amantem: purpose clause, 'so as not to disappoint her lover'. oculis animoque requirit: 'looks for him with eyes and mind'. quanta … vitarit … pericula: indirect question depending on narrare; vitarit = vitaverit.

Met. 4.131Utque locum et vīsa cognōscit in arbore fōrmam,
sīc facit incertam pōmī color: haeret, an haec sit.

And though she recognizes the place and the shape of the tree she had seen, still the colour of the fruit makes her unsure: she hesitates whether this is it.

Note. Ut … sic: 'though … still', a concessive use of the comparison. visa … in arbore: 'in the tree she had seen' — she recognizes the shape but not the colour of the fruit. an haec sit: indirect question, 'whether this is it'.

Met. 4.133Dum dubitat, tremebunda videt pulsāre cruentum
membra solum, retrōque pedem tulit, ōraque buxō
135pallidiōra gerēns exhorruit aequoris īnstar,
quod tremit, exiguā cum summum stringitur aurā.

While she wavers, trembling, she sees limbs twitching on the bloodstained ground, and she stepped back, and, her face paler than boxwood, she shuddered like the sea that trembles when its surface is ruffled by a slight breeze.

Note. tremebunda: 'trembling'. videt pulsare … membra solum: 'sees limbs beating the ground' — membra is the subject of the infinitive, solum (short o, 'soil') its object. retro … pedem tulit: 'she stepped back'. buxo pallidiora: ablative of comparison, 'paler than boxwood', which is a pale yellow. aequoris instar: 'like the sea' (instar + genitive). summum: 'the surface'.

Met. 4.137Sed postquam remorāta suōs cognōvit amōrēs,
percutit indignōs clārō plangōre lacertōs,
et laniāta comās amplexaque corpus amātum
140vulnera supplēvit lacrimīs flētumque cruōrī
miscuit et gelidīs in vultibus ōscula fīgēns
"Pȳrame" clāmāvit "quis tē mihi cāsus adēmit?

But after she paused and recognized her own love, she strikes her undeserving arms with loud blows, and tearing her hair and embracing the beloved body she filled his wounds with tears and mingled her weeping with his blood, and fixing kisses on his cold face she cried, "Pyramus, what chance has taken you from me?

Note. A long sentence of grief. remorata: 'having paused'. suos … amores: 'her love', i.e. Pyramus (poetic plural). indignos … lacertos: her arms do not deserve the blows of mourning. laniata comas: 'tearing her hair' (accusative of respect with a middle participle). fletum … cruori miscuit: 'mingled her weeping with his blood'. quis … casus: 'what chance', interrogative adjective.

Met. 4.143Pȳrame, respondē: tua tē cārissima Thisbē
nōminat: exaudī vultūsque attolle iacentēs!"

Pyramus, answer: it is your dearest Thisbe calling your name: listen, and lift up your drooping face!"

Note. Pyrame: Greek-style vocative. Thisbe names herself as the one calling; nominat: 'calls by name'. vultus … iacentes: 'your drooping face' (poetic plural).

Met. 4.145Ad nōmen Thisbēs oculōs iam morte gravātōs
Pȳramus ērēxit, vīsāque recondidit illā.

At Thisbe's name Pyramus raised his eyes, already heavy with death, and, when he had seen her, closed them again.

Note. visaque … illa: ablative absolute, 'when she had been seen'. recondidit: 'closed again' (his eyes). Pyramus dies after one look — compare Orpheus and Eurydice in Book 10.

Met. 4.147Quae postquam vestemque suam cognōvit et ēnse
vīdit ebur vacuum, "tua tē manus" inquit "amorque
perdidit, īnfēlīx.

When she recognized her own clothing and saw the ivory sheath empty of its sword, she said, "Your own hand and your love have destroyed you, unhappy boy.

Note. Quae: connecting relative, 'and she'. ense … vacuum: 'empty of its sword'. ebur: the ivory sheath or scabbard. tua te manus … amorque perdidit: two subjects with a singular verb, as often in Latin. infelix: vocative.

Met. 4.149Est et mihi fortis in ūnum
150hoc manus, est et amor: dabit hic in vulnera vīrēs.

I too have a hand brave for this one thing; I have love too: this will give me strength for the wound.

Note. in unum hoc: 'for this one thing'. Est et mihi … est et amor: 'I too have a hand … I too have love' — dative of possession, with et meaning 'also'. hic: this love. in vulnera: 'for the wound'.

Met. 4.151Persequar exstīnctum lētīque miserrima dīcar
causa comesque tuī;

I will follow you in death and be called the most wretched cause and companion of your death;

Note. Persequar exstinctum: 'I will follow you in death'. leti … causa comesque tui: 'cause and companion of your death' — tui is the genitive of tu. miserrima is nominative, describing Thisbe.

Met. 4.152quīque ā mē morte revellī
heu sōlā poterās, poteris nec morte revellī.

and you, who, alas, could be torn from me by death alone, will not be torn from me even by death.

Note. quique = qui + que, referring to Pyramus. sola … morte: 'by death alone'. Another neat paradox: you could be torn away only by death, and you will not be torn away even by death. revelli: present passive infinitive.

Met. 4.154Hoc tamen ambōrum verbīs estōte rogātī,
155ō multum miserī meus illīusque parentēs,
ut quōs certus amor, quōs hōra novissima iūnxit,
conpōnī tumulō nōn invideātis eōdem.

Yet be asked this by the words of us both, O most wretched parents, mine and his: that you do not begrudge those whom true love and their last hour have joined to be laid together in the same tomb.

Note. estote rogati: future imperative of sum, 'be asked'. multum miseri: 'most wretched'. meus illiusque parentes: 'my father and his parents' — meus is vocative. ut … non invideatis: indirect request depending on rogati. componi: 'to be laid to rest'. tumulo … eodem: ablative of place.

Met. 4.158At tū quae rāmīs arbor miserābile corpus
nunc tegis ūnīus, mox es tēctūra duōrum,
160signa tenē caedis pullōsque et lūctibus aptōs
semper habē fētūs, geminī monimenta cruōris."

But you, tree, who now cover with your branches the pitiful body of one, and soon will cover the bodies of two, keep the marks of our death and always bear dark fruit fitted for mourning, a memorial of the blood of two."

Note. At tu … arbor: Thisbe now addresses the tree (vocative). es tectura: active periphrastic, 'are going to cover'. unius … duorum: genitives depending on corpus, understood again with duorum. pullos … fetus: 'dark fruit', suited to mourning (luctibus). gemini … cruoris: 'of a double bloodshed'.

Met. 4.162Dīxit, et aptātō pectus mūcrōne sub īmum
incubuit ferrō, quod adhūc ā caede tepēbat.

She spoke, and, fitting the point beneath her breast, she fell on the sword, which was still warm from his death.

Note. aptato … mucrone: ablative absolute, 'fitting the sword-point'. sub imum pectus: 'below the bottom of her breast'. incubuit ferro: 'fell on the sword' (dative). quod: the sword, still warm from his blood.

Met. 4.164Vōta tamen tetigēre deōs, tetigēre parentēs:
165nam color in pōmō est, ubi permātūruit, āter,
quodque rogīs superest, ūnā requiēscit in urnā."

Yet her prayers moved the gods, moved the parents: for the colour of the fruit, when it has fully ripened, is black, and what remains from the pyres rests in a single urn."

Note. The prayers come true: the mulberries ripen dark, and the parents bury the two together. tetigere = tetigerunt, repeated (anaphora) for emphasis. quod rogis superest: 'what is left over from the pyres', the ashes. The quotation of the Minyad's story ends here.