Apuleius, Metamorphoses, 4.33
Christian Mancino /
- Created on 2021-11-19 15:25:52
- Modified on 2021-11-19 16:26:45
- Translated by A.S. Kline [2013] (left) vs. S. Ruden [2011] (right)
- Aligned by Christian Mancino
English
Latin
English
The king , blessed till now , on hearing this utterance of sacred prophecy went slowly home in sadness and told his wife the oracle’s dark saying . They moaned , they wept , they wailed for many a day . But the dire and fatal hour soon approached . The scene was set for the poor girl’s dark wedding . The flames of the wedding torches grew dim with black smoky ash ; the tune of hymen’s flute sounded in plaintive Lydian mode , and the marriage- hymn’s cheerful song fell to a mournful wail . The bride-to-be wiped tears away with her flame-red bridal veil ;
Rex , olim beatus , affatu sanctae vaticinationis accepto pigens tristisque retro domum pergit suaeque coniugi praecepta sortis enodat infaustae . Maeretur , fletur , lamentatur diebus plusculis : sed dirae sortis iam urget taeter effectus , iam feralium nuptiarum miserrimae virgini choragium struitur , iam taedae lumen atrae fuliginis cinere marcescit , et sonus tibiae zygiae mutatur in querulum Lydii modum , cantusque laetus hymenaei lugubri finitur ululatu , et puella nuptura deterget lacrimas ipso suo flammeo .
The king ( who used to be a contented man ) , after hearing the sacred prophecy addressed to him , returned home sluggishly with his wretched news and imparted to his spouse the orders contained in the unpropitious answer . There was mourning , there was crying , there was lamentation for quite a few days . But the frightful oracle demanded grisly enactment . The props for the nuptial obsequies of the sorrowing virgin were arranged , the flame of the ritual torches withered into cruddy smoke and ashes , the sound of the pipes traditionally played at marriages changed to a plaintive Lydian measure , the joyful wedding song trailed off in dismal howling , and the betrothed wiped her tears with her own bridal veil .