Amy Murphy
Furman
Apuleius, Metamorphoses 1.1
Amy Murphy /
- Created on 2018-09-07 18:08:00
- Modified on 2018-09-21 18:12:50
- Translated by A. S. Kline
- Aligned by Amy Murphy
Latin
English
At ego tibi sermone isto Milesio varias fabulas conseram auresque tuas benivolas lepido susurro permulceam , modo si papyrum Aegyptiam argutia Nilotici calami inscriptam non spreveris inspicere , figuras fortunasque hominum in alias imagines conversas et in se rursum mutuo nexu refectas , ut mireris . Exordior . Quis ille ? Paucis accipe . Hymettos Attica et Isthmos Ephyraea et Taenaros Spartiaca , glebae felices aeternum libris felicioribus conditae , mea vetus prosapia est : ibi linguam Attidem primis pueritiae stipendiis merui . Mox in urbe Latia advena studiorum , Quiritium indigenam sermonem aerumnabili labore , nullo magistro praeeunte , aggressus excolui . En ecce praefamur veniam , si quid exotici ac forensis sermonis rudis locutor offendero . Iam haec equidem ipsa vocis immutatio desultoriae scientiae stilo quem accessimus respondet . Fabulam Graecanicam incipimus : lector intende ; laetaberis .
Now
!
I’d
like
to
string
together
various
tales
in
the
Milesian
style
,
and
charm
your
kindly
ear
with
seductive
murmurs
,
so
long
as
you’re
ready
to
be
amazed
at
human
forms
and
fortunes
changed
radically
and
then
restored
in
turn
in
mutual
exchange
,
and
don’t
object
to
reading
Egyptian
papyri
,
inscribed
by
a
sly
reed
from
the
Nile
.
I’ll
begin
.
Who
am
I
?
I’ll
tell
you
briefly
.
Hymettus
near
Athens
;
the
Isthmus
of
Corinth
;
and
Spartan
Mount
Taenarus
,
happy
soil
more
happily
buried
forever
in
other
books
,
that’s
my
lineage
.
There
as
a
lad
I
served
in
my
first
campaigns
with
the
Greek
tongue
.
Later
,
in
Rome
,
freshly
come
to
Latin
studies
I
assumed
and
cultivated
the
native
language
,
without
a
teacher
,
and
with
a
heap
of
pains
.
So
there
!
I
beg
your
indulgence
in
advance
if
as
a
crude
performer
in
the
exotic
speech
of
the
Forum
I
offend
.
And
in
truth
the
very
fact
of
a
change
of
voice
will
answer
like
a
circus
rider’s
skill
when
needed
.
We’re
about
to
embark
on
a
Greek
tale
.
Reader
,
attend
:
and
find
delight
.
Apuleius, Metamorphoses 4.28
Amy Murphy /
- Created on 2018-09-24 17:47:41
- Modified on 2018-10-29 22:41:00
- Aligned by Amy Murphy
Latin
English
Erant in quadam civitate rex et regina : hi tres numero filias forma conspicuas habuere , sed maiores quidem natu , quamvis gratissima specie , idonee tamen celebrari posse laudibus humanis credebantur . at vero puellae iunioris tam praecipua , tam praeclara pulchritudo nec exprimi ac ne sufficienter quidem laudari sermonis humani penuria poterat . Multi denique civium et advenae copiosi , quos eximii spectaculi rumor studiosa celebritate congregabat , inaccessae formositatis admiratione stupidi et admoventes oribus suis dexteram priore digito in erectum pollicem residente ut ipsam prorsus deam Venerem venerabantur religiosis adorationibus . Iamque proximas civitates et attiguas regiones fama pervaserat deam , quam caerulum profundum pelagi peperit et ros spumantium fluctuum educavit , iam numinis sui passim tributa venia in mediis conversari populi coetibus , vel certe rursum novo caelestium stillarum germine non maria , sed terras Venerem aliam , virginali flore praeditam , pullulasse .
In
a
certain
city
there
lived
a
king
and
queen
,
who
had
three
daughters
of
surpassing
beauty
.
Though
the
elder
two
were
extremely
pleasing
,
still
it
was
thought
they
were
only
worthy
of
mortal
praise
;
but
the
youngest
girl’s
looks
were
so
delightful
,
so
dazzling
,
no
human
speech
in
its
poverty
could
celebrate
them
,
or
even
rise
to
adequate
description
.
Crowds
of
eager
citizens
,
and
visitors
alike
,
drawn
by
tales
of
this
peerless
vision
,
stood
dumbfounded
,
marvelling
at
her
exceptional
loveliness
,
pressing
thumb
and
forefinger
together
and
touching
them
to
their
lips
,
and
bowing
their
heads
towards
her
in
pious
prayer
as
if
she
were
truly
the
goddess
Venus
.
Soon
the
news
spread
through
neighbouring
cities
,
and
the
lands
beyond
its
borders
,
that
the
goddess
herself
,
born
from
the
blue
depths
of
the
sea
,
emerging
in
spray
from
the
foaming
waves
,
was
now
gracing
the
earth
in
various
places
,
appearing
in
many
a
mortal
gathering
or
,
if
not
that
,
then
earth
not
ocean
had
given
rise
to
a
new
creation
,
a
new
celestial
emanation
,
another
Venus
,
and
as
yet
a
virgin
flower
.
Apuleius, Metamorphoses 4.29
Amy Murphy /
- Created on 2018-10-03 17:34:46
- Modified on 2018-10-29 21:16:46
- Aligned by Amy Murphy
Latin
English
Sic immensum procedit in dies opinio , sic insulas iam proxumas et terrae plusculum provinciasque plurimas fama porrecta pervagatur : iam multi mortalium longis itineribus atque altissimis maris meatibus ad saeculi specimen gloriosum confluebant : Paphon nemo , Cnidon nemo ac ne ipsa quidem Cythera ad conspectum deae Veneris navigabant . Sacra differuntur , templa deformantur , pulvinaria proteruntur , caerimoniae negleguntur ; incoronata simulacra et arae viduae frigido cinere foedatae . Puellae supplicatur , et in humanis vultibus deae tantae numina placantur , et in matutino progressu virginis victimis et epulis Veneris absentis nomen propitiatur , iamque per plateas commeantem populi frequentes floribus sertis et solutis apprecantur . Haec honorum caelestium ad puellae mortalis : cultum immodica translatio verae Veneris vehementer incendit animos , et impatiens indignationis capite quassanti fremens altius , sic secum disserit :
So
daily
more
and
more
increased
this
opinion
,
and
now
was
her
flying
fame
dispersed
into
the
next
islands
and
well
nigh
into
every
part
and
province
of
the
whole
world
.
Whereupon
innumerable
strangers
resorted
from
far
countries
,
adventuring
themselves
by
long
journeys
on
land
and
by
great
travels
on
water
,
to
behold
this
wonder
of
the
age
.
By
occasion
whereof
such
a
contempt
grew
towards
the
goddess
Venus
,
that
no
person
travelled
unto
the
town
Paphos
nor
unto
Cnidos
,
no
nor
to
the
isle
Cythera
to
worship
her
.
Her
liturgies
were
left
out
,
her
temples
defaced
,
her
couches
contemned
,
her
ceremonies
neglected
,
and
her
bare
altars
unswept
and
foul
with
the
ashes
of
old
burnt
sacrifice
.
For
why
,
every
person
honoured
and
worshipped
this
maiden
instead
of
Venus
,
calling
upon
the
divinity
of
that
great
goddess
in
a
human
form
,
and
in
the
morning
at
her
first
coming
abroad
,
offered
unto
her
oblations
,
provided
banquets
,
called
her
by
the
name
of
Venus
which
was
not
Venus
indeed
,
and
in
her
honour
,
as
she
walked
in
the
streets
,
presented
flowers
and
garlands
in
most
reverent
fashion
.
This
sudden
change
and
alteration
of
celestial
honour
unto
the
worship
of
a
mortal
maiden
did
greatly
inflame
and
kindle
the
mind
of
very
Venus
,
who
(
unable
to
temper
her
head
in
raging
sort
)
reasoned
with
herself
in
this
manner
Apuleius, Metamorphoses 4.30
Amy Murphy /
- Created on 2018-10-10 03:00:40
- Modified on 2018-10-29 22:35:06
- Aligned by Amy Murphy
Latin
English
' En rerum naturae prisca parens , en elementorum origo initialis , en orbis totius alma Venus , quae cum mortali puella partiario maiestatis honore tractor et nomen meum caelo conditum terrenis sordibus profanatur ! Nimirum communi numinis piamento vicariae venerationis incertum sustinebo , et imaginem meam circumferet puella moritura . Frustra me pastor ille , cuius iustitiam fidemque magnus comprobavit Iupiter , ob eximiam speciem tantis praetulit deabus . Sed non adeo gaudens ista , quaecumque est , meos honores usurpaverit : iam faxo eam huius etiam ipsius illicitae formositatis paeniteat ' . Et vocat confestim puerum suum pinnatum illum et satis temerarium , qui malis suis moribus contempta disciplina publica , flammis et sagittis armatus per alienas domos nocte discurrens et omnium matrimonia corrumpens impune committit tanta flagitia , et nihil prorsus boni facit .
'
Behold
I
,
the
original
of
nature
,
the
first
beginning
of
all
the
elements
,
behold
I
,
the
Lady
Venus
of
all
the
world
,
am
now
joined
with
a
mortal
maiden
as
a
partaker
of
my
honour
;
my
name
,
registered
in
the
city
of
heaven
,
is
profaned
and
made
vile
by
terrene
absurdities
.
If
I
shall
suffer
any
mortal
creature
to
present
my
majesty
in
earth
,
and
must
be
content
with
sharing
the
godhead
and
receiving
worship
through
other
,
or
that
any
girl
that
one
day
is
to
die
shall
bear
about
a
false
surmised
shape
of
my
person
,
then
in
vain
did
Paris
that
shepherd
(
in
whose
just
judgement
and
confidence
the
great
Jupiter
had
affiance
)
prefer
me
above
the
other
great
goddesses
for
the
excellency
of
my
beauty
:
but
she
,
whatsoever
she
be
,
shall
not
for
nought
have
usurped
mine
honour
,
but
she
shall
shortly
repent
her
of
her
unlawful
loveliness
'
.
Then
by
and
by
she
called
her
winged
son
Cupid
,
rash
enough
and
hardy
,
who
by
his
evil
manners
,
contemning
all
public
justice
and
law
,
armed
with
fire
and
arrows
,
running
up
and
down
in
the
nights
from
house
to
house
,
and
corrupting
the
lawful
marriages
of
every
person
,
doth
nothing
(
and
yet
he
is
not
punished
)
but
that
which
is
evil
.
Apuleius, Metamorphoses 8.20
Amy Murphy /
- Created on 2018-10-11 16:22:31
- Modified on 2018-10-15 06:38:06
- Aligned by Amy Murphy
Latin
English
English
" Per Fortunas vestrosque Genios , sic ad meae senectutis spatia validi laetique veniatis , decepto seni subsistite meumque parvulum ab inferis ereptum canis meis reddite . Nepos namque meus et itineris huius suavis comes , dum forte passerem incantantem sepiculae consectatur arripere , delapsus in proximam foveam , quae fruticibus imis subpatet , in extremo iam vitae consistit periculo , quippe cum de fletu ac voce ipsius avum sibi saepicule clamitantis vivere illum quidem sentiam , sed per corporis , ut videtis , mei defectam valetudinem opitulari nequeam . At vobis aetatis et robori beneficio facile est subpetiari miserrimo seni puerumque illum novissimum successionis meae atque unicam stirpem sospitem mihi facere . "
‘May Fortune and your guardian spirits smile on you , ’ he sobbed , ‘may you be healthy and happy when you reach my years , only help a wretched old man , save my grandson from death , and spare him to my old grey head . My sweet comrade on this journey , he was trying to catch a sparrow singing in the hedge when he fell into a pit that yawned at its feet , and now he’s doomed to death , though I know he’s alive from his calls to me , and his weeping . I’m too weak to save him , as you see , but your youth and strength could easily aid a poor old man and save the youngest of my line , my only heir . ’
‘I implore you by your Fortunes and your Guardian Spirits , if you hope to reach my age in health and happiness , come to the aid of an old man in his bereavement , rescue my little boy from death and restore him to his white-haired grandfather . My grandson , my darling travelling-companion , was trying to catch a bird that was singing in the hedgerow , and fell into a yawning pit in the bottom of the thicket . Now he is in peril of his life ; I know he is alive , for I can hear him crying and calling " Grandfather " over and over again , but as you see I am too feeble in body to be able to rescue him . But you are young and strong , and it will be no trouble to you to help a poor old man and to restore to me this child , the last of my line and all the family I have left . ’
Apuleius, Metamorphoses 8.21
Amy Murphy /
- Created on 2018-10-11 19:40:01
- Modified on 2018-10-15 04:43:58
- Aligned by Amy Murphy
Latin
English
English
Sic deprecantis suamque canitiem distrahentis totos quidem miseruit . Sed unus prae ceteris et animo fortior et aetate iuvenior et corpore validior , quique solus praeter alios incolumis proelium superius evaserat , exsurgit alacer et percontatus quonam loci puer ille decidisset monstrantem digito non longe frutices horridos senem illum inpigre comitatur . Ac dum pabulo nostro suaque cura refecti sarcinulis quisque sumptis suis viam capessunt , clamore primum nominatim cientes illum iuvenem frequenter inclamant , mox mora diutina commoti mittunt e suis arcessitorem unum , qui requisitum comitem tempestivae viae commonefactum reduceret . At ille modicum commoratum refert sese : buxanti pallore trepidus mira super conservo suo renuntiat : conspicatum se quippe supinato illi et iam ex maxima parte consumpto immanem draconem mandentem insistere nec ullum usquam miserrimum senem comparere illum . Qua re cognita et cum pastoris sermone conlata , qui saevum prorsus hunc illum nec alium locorum inquilinum praeminabatur , pestilenti deserta regione velociori se fuga proripiunt nosque pellunt crebris tundentes fustibus .
We were all filled with pity as he begged us to help and tore at his grey hair . One of the younger men , stouter of heart , and stronger of limb than the others , the only one of us uninjured in the recent battle , leapt up readily and asked where the boy was . The old man pointed with his finger to a clump of bushes , and the youth set off in his company . When we animals had grazed , and the humans had tended their wounds and were refreshed , we all rose with our loads and started down the road . At first they shouted and called the young man’s name repeatedly , then anxious at his delay they sent someone off to find their missing comrade , tell him we were off , and bring him back . Soon the messenger returned , trembling and pale as boxwood , with a strange tale to tell of his friend . He had seen his body he said , lying on its back , almost totally eaten by a vast serpent . The snake was coiled above him as it consumed him , but the poor old man was nowhere to be seen . Hearing this , and matching it to the goat-herd’s earlier remarks , who must have been warning them of none another than this same denizen of the place , they fled from that pestilential region , travelling more swiftly than before , driving us along rapidly with repeated blows of their sticks .
As he uttered this plea and tore his white hair , everybody pitied
him . Then one of them , braver and younger and stronger than the rest , the only one who had come off unscathed from the recent battle , jumped up eagerly and asked where exactly the boy had fallen in . The old man pointed out a thicket not far away , and the volunteer went off briskly with him . After a while , when we animals had grazed and the men had seen to themselves and felt restored , they all began to pack up and get ready to move off . First of all they called the volunteer by name , with loud and repeated shouts ; then alarmed by the prolonged delay they sent a messenger to find him and warn him that it was time to leave , and bring him back . Almost immediately the messenger reappeared , deathly pale and terrified , with dreadful news of his fellow servant . He had found him lying half-eaten , with a monstrous serpent crouched over him and devouring him , and of the poor old man not a sign anywhere . Hearing this and recollecting what the old shepherd had said , they realized that this indeed was the fierce denizen of the region that he had been threatening them with , and at once quitted the pestilential place and fled precipitately , urging us animals on with continual beating .
him . Then one of them , braver and younger and stronger than the rest , the only one who had come off unscathed from the recent battle , jumped up eagerly and asked where exactly the boy had fallen in . The old man pointed out a thicket not far away , and the volunteer went off briskly with him . After a while , when we animals had grazed and the men had seen to themselves and felt restored , they all began to pack up and get ready to move off . First of all they called the volunteer by name , with loud and repeated shouts ; then alarmed by the prolonged delay they sent a messenger to find him and warn him that it was time to leave , and bring him back . Almost immediately the messenger reappeared , deathly pale and terrified , with dreadful news of his fellow servant . He had found him lying half-eaten , with a monstrous serpent crouched over him and devouring him , and of the poor old man not a sign anywhere . Hearing this and recollecting what the old shepherd had said , they realized that this indeed was the fierce denizen of the region that he had been threatening them with , and at once quitted the pestilential place and fled precipitately , urging us animals on with continual beating .
Apuleius, Metamorphoses 8.22
Amy Murphy /
- Created on 2018-10-11 19:41:17
- Modified on 2018-10-15 06:38:13
- Aligned by Amy Murphy
Latin
English
English
Celerrime denique longo itinere confecto pagum quendam accedimus ibique totam perquiescimus noctem . Ibi coeptum facinus oppido memorabile narrare cupio . Servus quidam , cui cunctam familiae tutelam dominus permiserat , suus quique possessionem maximam illam , in quam deverteramus , vilicabat , habens ex eodem famulitio conservam coniugam , liberae cuiusdam extrariaeque mulieris flagrabat cupidine . Quo dolore paelicatus uxor eius instricta cunctas mariti rationes et quicquid horreo reconditum continebatur admoto combussit igne . Nec tali damno tori sui contumeliam vindicasse contenta , iam contra sua saeviens viscera laqueum sibi nectit , infantulumque , quem de eodem marito iam dudum susceperat , eodem funiculo nectit seque per altissimum puteum adpendicem parvulum trahens praecipitat . Quam mortem dominus eorum aegerrime sustinens adreptum servulum , qui causam tanti sceleris luxurie sua praestiterat , nudum ac totum melle perlitum firmiter alligavit arbori ficulneae , cuius in ipso carioso stipite inhabitantium formicarum nidificia bulliebant et ultro citro commeabant multiiuga scaturrigine . Quae simul dulcem ac mellitum corporis nidorem persentiscunt , parvis quidem sed numerosis et continuis morsiunculis penitus inhaerentes , per longi temporis cruciatum ita , carnibus atque ipsis visceribus adesis , homine consumpto membra nudarunt , ut ossa tantum viduata pulpis nitore nimio candentia funestae cohaererent arbori .
After a long day moving at breakneck pace , we came to a village where we stayed the night , a place where a noteworthy crime had been committed which I’ll relate . A servant , whose master had made him steward of his entire estate , had previously acted as bailiff therefore of the large holding where we had stopped for the night . He was married to a servant in the same household , but burned with love for a freedwoman , who lived outside his master’s estate . Angered by her husband’s disloyalty , the wife set fire to his store-room and all his accounts , destroying both utterly . Not content with this act as revenge for the insult to her marriage , she turned her bitter rage against her own flesh . Tying a rope round her own neck and that of the child she’d just borne her husband , she hurled herself into a deep well , dragging the infant with her . Their master , horrified at their deaths , had the servant , whose infidelity had provoked the dreadful tragedy , arrested , stripped naked and smeared with honey , and tied to a rotting fig-tree inside whose trunk lived a colony of nesting ants that marched in and out in their myriad streams . Detecting the sweet sugary scent on his body , they quickly fastened their tiny jaws in his skin , wounding him deeply with endlessly repeated bites , until after interminable torment , he died . His flesh and his innards were totally consumed and his body stripped to the bare bones which , gleaming a brilliant white , were left tied to the tree .
. So after a long stage at top speed we came to a village where we rested for the night . At this place there had been perpetrated a deed that was so memorable that I propose to put it on record . It concerned a certain slave to whom his master had confided the whole management of his household and who was the steward of the large estate where we had stopped . He had as his consort another slave from the household , but he was madly in love with somebody else , a free woman who was not a member of the family . His wife was so enraged by his infidelity that she made a bonfire of all her husband’s account-books and the entire contents of the barns and storehouses . Then , not thinking this enough of a revenge for the affront to her marriage-bed , she turned her fury against her own flesh and blood : passing a noose around her neck , with the same rope she tied to herself the little boy that she had had by her husband , and threw herself down a deep well , dragging the child down with her . Their master , greatly upset by her death , arrested the slave whose lust had been the cause of such a crime , had him stripped naked and smeared all over with honey and lashed tightly to a fig-tree . This had in its hollow trunk an ants’ nest , swarming and seething with their multitudinous comings and goings . Directly they sensed the sweet honeyed scent of the man’s body they battened on it with their tiny jaws , nibbling endlessly away in their thousands until after many days of torture they had devoured him completely , entrails and all , leaving his bones bare ; only his gleaming white skeleton , stripped of flesh , was left fastened to the fatal tree .
Apuleius, Metamorphoses 2.29
Amy Murphy /
- Created on 2018-10-22 20:42:39
- Modified on 2018-11-12 02:25:12
- Aligned by Amy Murphy
Latin
English
Immitto me turbae socium et pone ipsum lectulum editiorem quendam lapidem insistens cuncta curiosis oculis arbitrabar . Iam tumore pectus extolli , iam salebris vena pulsari , iam spiritu corpus impleri ; et adsurgit cadaver et profatur adulescens : " Quid , oro , me post Lethea pocula iam Stygiis paludibus innatantem ad momentariae vitae reducitis officia ? Desine iam , precor , desine ac me in meam quietem permitte . " Haec audita vox de corpore , sed aliquanto propheta commotior : " Quin refers " ait " populo singula tuaeque mortis illuminas arcana ? An non putas devotionibus meis posse Diras invocari , posse tibi membra lassa torqueri ? " Suscipit ille de lectulo et imo cum gemitu populum sic adorat : " Malis novae nuptae peremptus artibus et addictus noxio poculo torum tepentem adultero mancipavi . " Tunc uxor egregia capit praesentem audaciam et mente sacrilega coarguenti marito resistens altercat . Populus aestuat diversa tendentes , hi pessimam feminam viventem statim cum corpore mariti sepeliendam , alii mendacio cadaveris fidem non habendam .
Now
,
I’d
thrust
my
way
through
the
crowd
,
and
standing
on
a
fairly
tall
stone
right
behind
the
bier
,
I
was
watching
everything
with
curious
eyes
.
The
corpse’s
chest
swelled
and
filled
,
then
the
major
arteries
and
veins
pulsated
,
the
lungs
began
to
breathe
,
the
body
rose
,
and
now
the
dead
man
spoke
:
"
Why
do
you
bring
me
back
to
life
an
instant
,
when
I
was
close
to
drinking
Lethe’s
draught
,
and
about
to
swim
the
Stygian
Lake
?
Desist
,
I
beg
you
,
desist
,
and
let
me
return
to
rest
.
"
Such were the corpse’s words , but the seer replied excitedly : " No , tell these people everything , and illuminate the mystery of your death . Or know that I’ll invoke the avenging Furies with my curse , and your weary flesh will end in torment ! " The dead man answered from his bier , after a deep groan , speaking to the crowd : " Through the evil arts of my new bride , murdered by a cup of poison , I yielded my still warm marriage bed to an adulterer . " At this the brazen wife , showing amazing presence of mind , began to defend herself by arguing blasphemously with the husband . The crowd swayed to and fro , pulled in opposite directions . Some said the dreadful woman should be buried alive at once , alongside the corpse , others that a corpse’s utterances were hardly to be trusted .
Such were the corpse’s words , but the seer replied excitedly : " No , tell these people everything , and illuminate the mystery of your death . Or know that I’ll invoke the avenging Furies with my curse , and your weary flesh will end in torment ! " The dead man answered from his bier , after a deep groan , speaking to the crowd : " Through the evil arts of my new bride , murdered by a cup of poison , I yielded my still warm marriage bed to an adulterer . " At this the brazen wife , showing amazing presence of mind , began to defend herself by arguing blasphemously with the husband . The crowd swayed to and fro , pulled in opposite directions . Some said the dreadful woman should be buried alive at once , alongside the corpse , others that a corpse’s utterances were hardly to be trusted .
Apuleius, Metamorphoses 6.09
Amy Murphy /
- Created on 2018-10-22 20:45:03
- Aligned by Amy Murphy
Latin
English
et audaciter in capillos eius inmissa manu trahebat eam nequaquam renitentem . Quam ubi primum inductam oblatamque sibi conspexit Venus , latissimum cachinnum extollit et qualem solent furenter irati , caputque quatiens et ascalpens aurem dexteram : " Tandem " inquit " dignata es socrum tuam salutare ? An potius maritum , qui tuo vulnere periclitatur , intervisere venisti ? Sed esto secura , iam enim excipiam te ut bonam nurum condecet " ; et : " Vbi sunt " inquit " Sollicitudo atque Tristities ancillae meae ? " Quibus intro vocatis torquendam tradidit eam . At illae sequentes erile praeceptum Psychen misellam flagellis afflictam et ceteris tormentis excruciatam iterum dominae conspectui reddunt . Tunc rursus sublato risu Venus : " Et ecce " inquit " nobis turgidi ventris sui lenocinio commovet miserationem , unde me praeclara subole aviam beatam scilicet faciat . Felix velo ego quae ipso aetatis meae flore vocabor avia et vilis ancillae filius nepos Veneris audiet . Quanquam inepta ego quae frustra filium dicam ; impares enim nuptiae et praeterea in villa sine testibus et patre non consentiente factae legitimae non possunt videri ac per hoc spurius iste nascetur , si tamen partum omnino perferre te patiemur . "
With
that
she
seized
her
tight
by
the
hair
and
dragged
her
inside
.
The
unresisting
Psyche
was
thrust
into
Venus’
presence
.
The
goddess
burst
into
savage
laughter
as
women
do
when
deeply
enraged
,
beating
her
round
the
head
and
dragging
her
about
by
the
ear
,
crying
:
"
So
you
deign
to
call
on
your
mother-in-law
at
last
,
do
you
?
Or
are
you
here
to
visit
that
husband
of
yours
,
laid
low
by
your
own
hand
?
Don’t
you
worry
,
I’ll
entertain
you
as
a
fine
daughter-in-law
deserves
.
Where
are
those
attendants
of
mine
,
Anxiety
and
Sorrow
?
"
When
they
entered
she
handed
the
girl
over
to
them
for
punishment
.
At
the
goddess’s
command
they
flogged
poor
Psyche
and
tortured
her
in
other
ways
,
then
returned
her
to
their
mistress’s
sight
.
Then
Venus
screeched
with
laughter
again
:
"
Look
at
her
,
"
she
cried
,
"
trying
to
stir
my
pity
with
that
offering
,
that
swollen
belly
of
hers
!
No
doubt
she
thinks
its
illustrious
origin
might
gladden
its
grandmother’s
heart
.
Indeed
what
joy
,
in
the
very
flower
of
my
youth
,
to
be
known
as
a
grandmother
,
with
the
offspring
of
a
lowly
servant
as
Venus’
own
grandson
!
But
how
foolish
of
me
to
call
it
such
:
since
this
‘marriage’
of
mortal
and
god
took
place
in
some
country
villa
,
with
nary
a
witness
,
without
the
father’s
consent
.
It
was
not
done
within
the
law
,
and
your
child
too
will
be
illegitimate
,
if
indeed
I
allow
the
birth
at
all
.
"
Apuleius, Metamorphoses 4.32
Amy Murphy /
- Created on 2018-10-29 19:09:05
- Modified on 2018-11-02 16:44:01
- Aligned by Amy Murphy
Latin
English
Interea Psyche cum sua sibi perspicua pulchritudine nullum decoris sui fructum percipit . Spectatur ab omnibus , laudatur ab omnibus , nec quisquam , non rex , non regius , nec de plebe saltem cupiens eius nuptiarum petitor accedit : mirantur quidem divinam speciem , sed ut simulacrum fabre politum mirantur omnes . Olim duae maiores sorores , quarum temperatam formositatem nulli diffamarant populi , procis regibus desponsae iam beatas nuptias adeptae sed Psyche virgo vidua domi residens deflet desertam suam solitudinem , aegra corporis , animi saucia , et quamvis gentibus totis complacitam odit in se suam formositatem . Sic infortunatissimae filiae miserrimus pater , suspectatis caelestibus odiis et irae superum metuens , dei Milesii vetustissimum percontatur oraculum et a tanto numine precibus et victimis ingratae virgini petit nuptias et maritum . Sed Apollo , quamquam Graecus et Ionicus , propter Milesiae conditorem sic Latina sorte respondit
Psyche
,
for
all
her
conspicuous
beauty
,
reaped
no
profit
from
her
charms
.
Gazed
at
by
all
,
praised
by
all
,
no
one
,
neither
prince
nor
commoner
,
wishing
to
marry
her
,
sought
her
hand
.
They
admired
her
divine
beauty
of
course
,
but
as
we
admire
a
perfectly
finished
statue
.
Her
two
elder
sisters
,
whose
plainer
looks
had
never
been
trumpeted
through
the
world
,
were
soon
engaged
to
royal
suitors
and
so
made
excellent
marriages
,
but
Psyche
was
left
at
home
,
a
virgin
,
single
,
weeping
in
lonely
solitude
,
ill
in
body
and
sore
at
heart
,
hating
that
beauty
of
form
the
world
found
so
pleasing
.
So
the
wretched
girl’s
unhappy
father
,
suspecting
divine
hostility
,
fearing
the
gods’
anger
,
consulted
the
ancient
Miletian
oracle
of
Apollo
at
Didyma
.
With
prayer
and
sacrifice
he
asked
the
mighty
god
for
a
man
to
marry
the
unfortunate
girl
.
Apollo
,
though
Greek
and
Ionian
too
,
favoured
the
author
of
this
Miletian
tale
with
a
reply
in
Latin
: