Metamorphoses 8.618–724

Met. 8.618sīc ait: "Inmēnsa est fīnemque potentia caelī
nōn habet, et quidquid superī voluēre, perāctum est.

Thus he spoke: "The power of heaven is boundless and has no limit, and whatever the gods above have willed is accomplished.

Note. The speaker is Lelex, an old hero at a banquet, answering a guest who scoffed that the gods could transform people. superī: 'those above', the gods. voluēre: the poetic perfect -ēre = -ērunt.

Met. 8.620Quōque minus dubitēs, tiliae contermina quercus
collibus est Phrygiīs modicō circumdata mūrō.

And so that you may doubt it less, there is an oak beside a linden on the Phrygian hills, surrounded by a low wall.

Note. Quōque = et quō: quō introduces a purpose clause containing a comparative (minus): 'and so that you may doubt less'. contermina takes the dative tiliae, 'next to a linden'. Phrygia is in central Asia Minor.

Met. 8.622Ipse locum vīdī;

I saw the place myself;

Met. 8.622nam mē Pelopēia Pittheus
mīsit in arva, suō quondam regnāta parentī.

for Pittheus sent me to the Pelopian lands, once ruled by his father.

Note. Pelopēia arva: the Peloponnese. regnāta + dative of agent parentī: 'once ruled by his father' (Pelops).

Met. 8.624Haud procul hinc stagnum est, tellūs habitābilis ōlim,
625nunc celebrēs mergīs fulicīsque palūstribus undae.

Not far from there is a pool, once habitable land, now waters crowded with divers and marsh-loving coots.

Note. tellūs habitābilis … undae: two appositions to stagnum, contrasting what the place once was and what it is now: the theme of transformation.

Met. 8.626Iuppiter hūc speciē mortālī cumque parente
vēnit Atlantiadēs positīs cādūcifer ālīs.

Jupiter came here in mortal form, and with his father came the grandson of Atlas, the staff-bearer, his wings laid aside.

Note. Atlantiadēs: 'descendant of Atlas', i.e. Mercury (son of Maia, daughter of Atlas). cādūcifer: 'carrying the cādūceus', the herald's staff. positīs alīs: ablative absolute; the gods disguise themselves as travellers.

Met. 8.628Mīlle domōs adiēre locum requiemque petentēs,
mīlle domōs clausēre serae.

They went to a thousand houses looking for a place to rest; a thousand houses were shut against them with bolts.

Note. Ovid's anaphora (mīlle domōs … mīlle domōs) contrasts many refusals with the one welcome. adiēre, clausēre: perfects in -ēre.

Met. 8.629Tamen ūna recēpit,
630parva quidem, stipulīs et cannā tēcta palūstrī;

Yet one took them in, a small one indeed, roofed with straw and marsh reed;

Note. ūna (domus) recēpit. tēcta: participle of tegō, 'roofed'.

Met. 8.631sed pia Baucis anus parilīque aetāte Philēmōn
illā sunt annīs iūnctī iuvenālibus, illā
cōnsenuēre casā paupertātemque fatendō
effēcēre levem nec inīquā mente ferendō.

but in that cottage godly Baucis, an old woman, and Philemon, of equal age, were joined in their youthful years, in that cottage they grew old, and made their poverty light by admitting it and bearing it with an untroubled mind.

Note. illā … casā is repeated (anaphora) to stress that they spent their whole life in that cottage. parilī aetāte: ablative of description. fatendō, ferendō: ablative gerunds, 'by admitting', 'by bearing'.

Met. 8.635Nec rēfert, dominōs illīc famulōsne requīrās:
tōta domus duo sunt, īdem pārentque iubentque.

It makes no difference whether you look for masters or servants there: the two are the whole household; the same people obey and command.

Note. rēfert: impersonal, 'it matters'. famulōsne: the enclitic -ne introduces the second half of an indirect double question ('masters or servants'). īdem: nominative plural, 'the same people'.

Met. 8.637Ergō ubi caelicolae parvōs tetigēre penātēs
submissōque humilēs intrārunt vertice postēs,
membra senex positō iussit relevāre sedīlī,
640quō superiniēcit textum rude sēdula Baucis.

So when the heaven-dwellers reached the little household and, lowering their heads, entered the humble door, the old man set out a bench and told them to rest their limbs, and over it busy Baucis threw a rough cloth.

Note. caelicolae: the 'heaven-dwellers'. submissō vertice: ablative absolute, 'with head lowered', because the door is so low. intrārunt = intrāvērunt, a syncopated perfect. quō: dative, 'onto which'.

Met. 8.641Inque focō tepidum cinerem dīmōvit et ignēs
suscitat hesternōs foliīsque et cortice siccō
nūtrit et ad flammās animā prōdūcit anīlī.

And she stirred aside the warm ash on the hearth, wakes up yesterday's fire, feeds it with leaves and dry bark, and coaxes it into flames with an old woman's breath.

Note. The tense shifts from perfect (dīmōvit) to present (suscitat, nūtrit, prōdūcit): the historic present brings the homely scene close. animā anīlī: 'with an old woman's breath'.

Met. 8.644Multifidāsque facēs rāmāliaque ārida tēctō
645dētulit et minuit parvōque admōvit aēnō.

She brought down from the roof finely split kindling and dry twigs, broke them up, and set them under the small bronze pot.

Note. aēnō: dative with admōvit, 'moved (them) up to the bronze pot'.

Met. 8.646Quodque suus coniūnx riguō conlēgerat hortō,
truncat holus foliīs;

She strips of its leaves the cabbage which her husband had gathered in the well-watered garden;

Note. Quodque = et quod: a relative pronoun whose antecedent (holus) comes later. coniūnx here is masculine: 'her husband'.

Met. 8.647furcā levat illa bicornī
sordida terga suis nigrō pendentia tignō
servātōque diū resecat dē tergore partem
650exiguam sectamque domat ferventibus undīs.

with a two-pronged fork he lifts down the smoky side of a pig hanging from the black beam, cuts a small piece from the long-kept back, and softens the cut piece in the boiling water.

Note. illa refers to Baucis, but most editors give this action to Philemon; Ovid's subjects shift quickly in this passage. terga suis: 'the back (bacon) of a pig'. servātō diū … tergore: 'from the long-kept back'.

Met. 8.651Intereā mediās fallunt sermōnibus hōrās
655concutiuntque torum dē mollī flūminis ulvā
impositum lectō spondā pedibusque salignīs.

Meanwhile they pass the hours in between with talk, and shake up a mattress of soft river sedge, set on a couch with a frame and feet of willow.

Note. fallunt hōrās: 'they beguile the hours', pass the time pleasantly. salignīs: 'of willow', a cheap wood.

Met. 8.657Vestibus hunc vēlant, quās nōn nisi tempore fēstō
sternere cōnsuērant: sed et haec vīlisque vetusque
vestis erat, lectō nōn indignanda salignō.

They cover it with cloths which they used to spread only on feast days; but even this cloth was cheap and old, not unworthy of a willow couch.

Note. quās nōn nisi tempore fēstō sternere cōnsuērant: 'which they had been accustomed to spread only at festival time'. lectō … indignanda: gerundive with a dative of agent, 'not to be scorned by a willow couch'.

Met. 8.660Accubuēre deī.

The gods reclined.

Note. Accubuēre: the Romans reclined to eat. A very short sentence after the long ones.

Met. 8.660Mēnsam succīncta tremēnsque
pōnit anus, mēnsae sed erat pēs tertius impār.

The old woman, her skirts tucked up and trembling, sets out the table, but the table's third leg was uneven.

Note. succīncta: 'with her dress tucked up', ready for work. erat pēs tertius impār: one of the three legs was too short.

Met. 8.662Testa parem fēcit.

A potsherd made it level.

Met. 8.662Quae postquam subdita clīvum
sustulit, aequātam mentae tersēre virentēs.

After this, put underneath, had removed the slope, green mint wiped the levelled table.

Note. Quae (testa) subdita: 'the potsherd, placed underneath'. aequātam (mēnsam): 'the levelled table'. Green mint was rubbed on tables to freshen them.

Met. 8.664Pōnitur hīc bicolor sincērae bāca Minervae
665conditaque in liquidā corna autumnālia faece
intibaque et rādīx et lactis massa coāctī
ōvaque nōn ācrī leviter versāta favillā,
omnia fictilibus.

Here is set the two-coloured olive of chaste Minerva, and autumn cornel cherries preserved in liquid wine lees, and endive and radish and a lump of curdled milk, and eggs turned lightly in ashes not too hot, all on earthenware.

Note. bicolor … bāca Minervae: the olive, sacred to Minerva, either green or black. The list of simple country food is a set piece; the dishes are all fictilia, cheap earthenware.

Met. 8.668Post haec caelātus eōdem
sistitur argentō crātēr fabricātaque fāgō
670pōcula, quā cava sunt, flāventibus inlita cērīs.

After these a mixing bowl engraved from the same 'silver' is set down, and cups made of beech wood, coated with yellow wax where they are hollow.

Note. eōdem argentō: an ironic 'from the same silver', i.e. also earthenware. crātēr: the bowl in which wine was mixed with water. quā cava sunt: 'where they are hollow', on the inside.

Met. 8.671Parva mora est, epulāsque focī mīsēre calentēs,
nec longae rūrsus referuntur vīna senectae
dantque locum mēnsīs paulum sēducta secundīs.

There is a short wait, and the hearth sent the warm dishes, and wine of no great age is brought back again and, set a little aside, makes room for the second course.

Note. nec longae … vīna senectae: 'wine of no long age', a genitive of description; their wine was young and cheap. mēnsīs secundīs: dative, 'to the second tables', i.e. dessert.

Met. 8.674Hīc nux, hīc mīxta est rūgōsīs cārica palmīs
675prūnaque et in patulīs redolentia mala canistrīs
et dē purpureīs conlēctae vītibus ūvae.

Here are nuts, here wrinkled dried figs mixed with dates, and plums, and fragrant apples in wide baskets, and grapes gathered from purple vines.

Note. cārica: a dried fig, named from Caria in Asia Minor. palmīs: dates.

Met. 8.677Candidus in mediō favus est.

In the middle is a white honeycomb.

Met. 8.677Super omnia vultūs
accessēre bonī nec iners pauperque voluntās.

Above all, there were kind faces and a goodwill neither idle nor poor.

Note. vultūs bonī: 'kind faces'. nec iners pauperque voluntās: their willingness was 'neither idle nor poor', though their means were poor.

Met. 8.679Intereā totiēns haustum crātēra replērī
680sponte suā per sēque vident succrēscere vīna:
attonitī novitāte pavent manibusque supīnīs
concipiunt Baucisque precēs timidusque Philēmōn
et veniam dapibus nūllīsque parātibus ōrant.

Meanwhile they see the mixing bowl, though drained so often, refill of its own accord and the wine rise up by itself: astonished by the strange event they are afraid, and with hands upturned Baucis and timid Philemon offer prayers and beg pardon for the meal and the lack of preparations.

Note. The miracle: the wine bowl refills itself. vident + accusative and infinitive (crātēra replērī, vīna succrēscere). manibus supīnīs: 'with upturned hands', the gesture of prayer.

Met. 8.684Ūnicus ānser erat, minimae custōdia vīllae:
685quem dīs hospitibus dominī mactāre parābant.

There was a single goose, the guardian of the tiny farm, which the masters were getting ready to sacrifice to their divine guests.

Note. dīs hospitibus: 'for the divine guests', dative. Killing their only goose would be their greatest sacrifice.

Met. 8.686Ille celer pennā tardōs aetāte fatīgat
ēlūditque diū tandemque est vīsus ad ipsōs
cōnfūgisse deōs.

Swift on its wings, it wears out the old people, slow with age, and escapes them for a long time, and at last it seemed to take refuge with the gods themselves.

Note. celer pennā: ablative of respect, 'swift of wing'. tardōs aetāte: 'slow with age'. est vīsus cōnfūgisse: 'it seemed to have fled for refuge'.

Met. 8.688Superī vetuēre necārī
"dī"que "sumus, meritāsque luet vīcīnia poenās
690impia" dīxērunt;

The gods forbade it to be killed and said, "We are gods, and this wicked neighbourhood will pay the penalty it has earned;

Note. dī … sumus: 'we are gods' (dī = deī). luet … poenās: 'will pay the penalty'. vīcīnia: 'neighbourhood', here the neighbours who refused them.

Met. 8.690"vōbīs inmūnibus huius
esse malī dabitur.

you will be granted to be free of this evil.

Note. vōbīs … inmūnibus … esse … dabitur: 'it will be granted to you to be free'; the predicate adjective inmūnibus agrees with the dative vōbīs.

Met. 8.691Modo vestra relinquite tēcta
ac nostrōs comitāte gradūs et in ardua montis
īte simul."

Only leave your house and come along with our steps, and go together up to the heights of the mountain."

Note. comitāte: imperative of the active form comitō (usually the deponent comitor). in ardua montis: 'onto the heights of the mountain'.

Met. 8.693Pārent ambō baculīsque levātī
nītuntur longō vestīgia pōnere clīvō.

They both obey and, supported by their sticks, struggle to set their feet on the long slope.

Met. 8.695Tantum aberant summō, quantum semel īre sagitta
missa potest: flexēre oculōs et mersa palūde
cētera prōspiciunt, tantum sua tēcta manēre.

They were as far from the top as an arrow can go when shot once: they turned their eyes and see everything else sunk in a marsh, only their own house remaining.

Note. Tantum … quantum: 'as far … as'. mersa palūde: 'sunk in a marsh'. prōspiciunt + accusative and infinitive (cētera mersa, tēcta manēre).

Met. 8.698Dumque ea mīrantur, dum dēflent fāta suōrum,
illa vetus, dominīs etiam casa parva duōbus
700vertitur in templum: furcās subiēre columnae,
strāmina flāvēscunt, aurātaque tēcta videntur
caelātaeque forēs adopertaque marmore tellūs.

And while they wonder at this, while they weep for the fate of their people, that old cottage, small even for its two owners, is turned into a temple: columns took the place of the forked props, the thatch turns yellow and the roof seems golden, and the doors carved, and the ground covered in marble.

Note. The cottage becomes a temple: each humble feature turns grand. furcās subiēre columnae: 'columns came in under (took the place of) the forked props'.

Met. 8.703Tālia tum placidō Sāturnius ēdidit ōre:
"Dīcite, iūste senex et fēmina coniuge iūstō
705digna, quid optētis."

Then the son of Saturn spoke these words with a calm face: "Tell us, just old man and woman worthy of a just husband, what you would wish for."

Note. Sāturnius: 'son of Saturn', Jupiter. iūste senex et fēmina … digna: vocatives. quid optētis: indirect question, 'what you wish for'.

Met. 8.705Cum Baucide pauca locūtus
iūdicium superīs aperit commūne Philēmōn:
"Esse sacerdōtēs dēlūbraque vestra tuērī
poscimus;

After a few words with Baucis, Philemon discloses their joint decision to the gods: "We ask to be your priests and to guard your shrine;

Note. superīs: dative, 'to the gods'. Esse sacerdōtēs … poscimus: 'we ask to be priests'.

Met. 8.708et quoniam concordēs ēgimus annōs,
auferat hōra duōs eadem, nē coniugis umquam
710busta meae videam neu sim tumulandus ab illā."

and since we have spent our years in harmony, let the same hour take us both, so that I may never see my wife's tomb, nor have to be buried by her."

Note. auferat: jussive subjunctive, 'let the same hour carry off'. nē … videam neu sim tumulandus: negative purpose; tumulandus sim is a passive periphrastic, 'I should have to be buried'.

Met. 8.711Vōta fidēs sequitur.

Fulfilment follows their prayers.

Note. Vōta fidēs sequitur: 'fulfilment follows the prayers'. fidēs here means 'faithful performance'.

Met. 8.711Templī tūtēla fuēre,
dōnec vīta data est.

They were the guardians of the temple as long as life was granted.

Note. tūtēla: 'guardianship', used of the people themselves: 'they were the guardians'.

Met. 8.712Annīs aevōque solūtī
ante gradūs sacrōs cum stārent forte locīque
narrārent cāsūs, frondēre Philēmona Baucis,
715Baucida cōnspexit senior frondēre Philēmōn
Iamque super geminōs crēscente cacūmine vultūs
mūtua, dum licuit reddēbant dicta "valē"que
"ō coniūnx" dīxēre simul, simul abdita tēxit
ōra frutex.

Worn out by years and age, as they happened to be standing before the sacred steps and telling the story of the place, Baucis saw Philemon putting out leaves, and old Philemon saw Baucis putting out leaves, and as the treetop grew over their two faces, they spoke to each other while they could, and said together, "Farewell, my dear," and together the foliage covered and hid their faces.

Note. The mutual transformation is told in balanced, mirrored phrases (frondēre Philēmona Baucis, / Baucida … frondēre Philēmōn). Philēmona, Baucida: Greek accusatives. dum licuit: 'while it was possible'. valē: 'farewell'.

Met. 8.719Ostendit adhūc Thȳnēius illīc
720incola dē geminō vīcīnōs corpore truncōs.

To this day the Bithynian who lives there points out the neighbouring trunks grown from their two bodies.

Note. Thȳnēius incola: 'a Bithynian native' of the region (north-western Asia Minor). Ovid often ends a tale by pointing to something still visible.

Met. 8.721Haec mihi nōn vānī (neque erat cūr fallere vellent)
narrāvēre senēs: equidem pendentia vīdī
serta super rāmōs, pōnēnsque recentia dīxī
"cūra deum dī sint, et quī coluēre colantur.""

Trustworthy old men told me this (and there was no reason why they should want to deceive me): I myself saw garlands hanging on the branches, and laying fresh ones I said, 'Let those cared for by the gods be gods, and let those who worshipped be worshipped.'"

Note. vānī: 'liars, untrustworthy'. cūr fallere vellent: relative clause of characteristic, 'reason why they should wish to deceive'. cūra deum (= deōrum) dī sint: 'let those cared for by the gods be gods'; colantur: jussive subjunctive. The double quotation mark closes both Lelex's quoted words and his story.