Ovid, Metamorphoses 4.96-104 Just before he was exiled by the ...
Ovid, Metamorphoses 4.96-104 Just before he was exiled by the ...
Ovid, Metamorphoses 4.96-104 Just before he was exiled by the ...
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<strong>Ovid</strong>, <strong>Metamorphoses</strong> <strong>4.96</strong>-<strong>104</strong><br />
<strong>Just</strong> <strong>before</strong> <strong>he</strong> <strong>was</strong> <strong>exiled</strong> <strong>by</strong> t<strong>he</strong> emperor Augustus, <strong>Ovid</strong> (43 BCE-17 CE)<br />
completed his idiosyncratic and elaborately structured epic poem,<br />
<strong>Metamorphoses</strong>, featuring classical and Near Eastern myths that involve a change<br />
of form. In this passage, t<strong>he</strong> ill-starred lovers Pyramus and Thisbe, who know<br />
each ot<strong>he</strong>r only through a crack in t<strong>he</strong> shared wall between t<strong>he</strong>ir parents' houses<br />
(t<strong>he</strong> parents have forbidden t<strong>he</strong>m to marry: cf. Romeo and Juliet), have arranged<br />
to secretly meet outside t<strong>he</strong> city. Thisbe's chance encounter with t<strong>he</strong> lioness <strong>he</strong>re<br />
sets in motion t<strong>he</strong> tragic events leading to t<strong>he</strong>ir suicides.<br />
venit ecce recenti<br />
caede leaena boum spumantes oblita rictus,<br />
depositura sitim vicini fontis in unda;<br />
quam procul ad lunae radios Ba<strong>by</strong>lonia Thisbe<br />
vidit et obscurum timido pede fugit in antrum,<br />
dumque fugit, tergo velamina lapsa reliquit.<br />
ut lea saeva sitim multa conpescuit unda,<br />
dum redit in silvas, inventos forte sine ipsa<br />
ore cruentato tenues laniavit amictus.<br />
VOCABULARY<br />
ecce – “look!”<br />
recens, recentis – recent, fresh<br />
caedis, caedis, f. – slaughter, murder<br />
leaena, leaenae, f. – lioness<br />
bos, bovis, c. – cow<br />
spumo, spumare, spumavi, spumatus-a-um – to foam, froth<br />
oblino, oblinere, oblevi, oblitus-a-um – to smear, foul<br />
rictus, rictus, m. – jaw(s), mouth<br />
depono, deponere, deposui, depositus-a-um – put down, put aside<br />
sitis, sitis, f. – thirst<br />
vicinus-a-um – neighboring, near<strong>by</strong><br />
fons, fontis, m. – spring, fountain<br />
unda, undae, f. – wave<br />
procul (adv.) – far off, from far away<br />
luna, lunae, f. – moon<br />
radius, radii, m. – ray, beam<br />
Ba<strong>by</strong>lonius-a-um – Ba<strong>by</strong>lonian<br />
obscurus-a-um – dark, dim, shadowy<br />
timidus-a-um – timid, cowardly, fearful<br />
pes, pedis, m. – foot<br />
antrum, antri, n. – cave<br />
tergum, tergi, n. – back<br />
velamen, velaminis n. – covering, cloak<br />
labor, labi, lapsus-a-um – slip, fall<br />
ut (conj.) – as, w<strong>he</strong>n
lea, leae, f. – lioness<br />
saevus-a-um – savage, fierce, wild<br />
conpesco, conpescere, conpescui, --- – c<strong>he</strong>ck, quench, confine<br />
redeo, redire, redivi, reditum – return, go back<br />
invenio, invenire, inveni, inventus-a-um – find, discover<br />
forte (adv.) – <strong>by</strong> chance<br />
cruentatus-a-um – bloodstained, bloody<br />
tenuis, tenue – thin, fine, delicate<br />
lanio, laniare, laniavi, laniatus-a-um – tear, mangle, mutilate<br />
amictus, amictus, m. – garment, cloak<br />
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