by Peter Jones
640
inde †focō tepidum cinerem dīmōuit, et ignēs^
†suscitat ^hesternōs, foliīsque et cortice siccō
†nūtrit, et ad flammās animā prōdūcit anīlī;
†multifidāsque facēs rāmāliaque ārida tēctō
†dētulit et minuit, paruōque admōuit aēnō;
645
†quodque^ suus coniunx riguō collēgerat hortō,
†truncat ^holus foliīs. furcā leuat ille bicornī
†sordida terga suis nigrō pendentia tignō,
seruātōque diū †resecat dē tergore partem^
^exiguam, †^sectamque domat feruentibus undīs.’
650
8.651–78: All is made ready for the feast and the food is served
‘intereā mediās fallunt sermōnibus hōrās,
sentīrīque moram prohibent. erat †alueus^ illīc
†^fāgineus, dūrā clāuō suspēnsus ab ānsā;
is tepidīs implētur aquīs, artūsque †fouendōs
accipit. in mediō^ torus* est dē mollibus †uluīs
655
†*impositus ^lectō, spondā pedibusque salignīs.
uestibus hunc uēlant, quās nōn nisi tempore †festō
†sternere cōnsuērant, sed et haec uīlisque uetusque
uestis erat, lectō nōn †indignanda salignō.
†accubuēre deī. mēnsam succīncta tremēnsque
660
pōnit anus, †mēnsae sed erat pēs tertius impār.
†testa parem fēcit, quae postquam subdita clīuum
sustulit, †aequātam mentae tersēre uirentēs.
pōnitur hīc †bicolor sincērae bāca Mineruae,
conditaque in liquidā †corna autumnālia faece,
665
†intibaque et rādīx et lactis massa coāctī,
†ōuaque nōn ācrī leuiter uersāta fauīllā,
omnia †fictilibus. post haec caelātus^ eōdem*
†sistitur *argentō ^crātēr fabricātaque^ fāgō
†^pōcula, quā caua sunt, flāuentibus ^illita cērīs.
670
parua mora est, †epulāsque focī mīsēre calentēs,
nec longae rūrsus referuntur uīna^ †senectae
dantque †locum mēnsīs paulum ^sēducta secundīs.
hīc †nux, hīc mixta est rūgōsīs cārica palmīs,
†prūnaque et in patulīs redolentia māla canistrīs,
675
et dē †purpureīs collectae uītibus ūuae.
†candidus in mediō fauus est; super omnia, uultūs
accessēre bonī, nec †iners pauperque uoluntās.’
8.679–94: The gods work a miracle and tell the couple to escape impending disaster
‘intereā †totiēns haustum crātēra replērī
†sponte suā, per sēque uident succrēscere uīna.
680
†attonitī nouitāte pauent, manibusque supīnīs
†concipiunt Baucisque precēs timidusque Philēmōn,
et †ueniam dapibus nūllīsque parātibus ōrant.
†ūnicus ānser erat, minimae custōdia uīllae,
quem dīs hospitibus dominī †mactāre parābant.
685
ille celer pennā tardōs aetāte †fatīgat
†ēlūditque diū, tandemque est uīsus ad ipsōs
†cōnfūgisse deōs. superī uetuēre necārī
“dī” que “sumus, †meritāsque luet uīcīnia^ poenās
†^impia” dīxērunt; “uōbīs immūnibus hus^
690
esse ^malī †dabitur. modo uestra relinquite tēcta,
ac nostrōs †comitāte gradūs, et in ardua montis
īte simul!” pārent ambo, †baculīsque leuātī
†nītuntur longō uestīgia pōnere clīuō.’
8.695–710: The flood engulfs everything, but their cottage becomes a temple
‘tantum aberant summō, quantum semel īre †sagitta
695
missa potest. flexēre oculōs, et mersa^ †palūde
^cētera †prōspiciunt, tantum sua tēcta manēre.
dumque ea mīrantur, dum †dēflent fāta suōrum,
illa uetus dominīs †etiam casa parua duōbus
uertitur in templum: furcās †subiēre columnae,
700
†strāmina flāuēscunt, aurātaque tēcta uidentur
caelātaeque †forēs, adopertaque marmore tellūs.
tālia tum †placidō Sāturnius ēdidit ōre:
“dīcite, iūste senex, et fēmina coniuge iūstō
digna, quīd optētis.” cum Baucide pauca locūtus,
705
†iūdicium superīs aperit commūne Philēmōn:
“esse †sacerdōtēs dēlūbraque uestra tuērī
poscimus, et, quoniam †concordēs ēgimus annōs,
†auferat hōra duōs eadem, nec coniugis^ umquam
†busta ^meae uideam, neu sim tumulandus ab illā.”’
710
8.711–24: The couple’s prayers are answered; the speaker confirms the story
‘uōta †fidēs sequitur: templī tūtēla fuēre,
dōnec uīta data est. annīs aeuōque solūtī
ante gradūs sacrōs cum stārent forte, locīque
nārrārent cāsūs, †frondēre Philēmona Baucis,
†Baucida cōnspexit senior frondēre Philēmōn.
715
iamque super geminōs crēscente †cacūmine uultūs,
†mūtua, dum licuit, reddēbant dicta, “ualē” que
“ō coniunx” dīxēre simul, simul †abdita^ tēxit
^ōra †frutex. ostendit adhūc Thnēius^ illīc
†^incola dē geminō uīcīnōs corpore truncōs.
720
haec mihī nōn †uānī^ (neque erat, cūr fallere uellent)
nārrāuēre ^senēs; †equidem pendentia uīdī
†serta super rāmōs, ponēnsque recentia dīxī
†“cūra deum dī sunt, et, quī coluēre, coluntur.”’
Learning vocabulary for Passage 14, Baucis and Philemon
an-us ūs 4f. old woman
caelō 1 engrave, emboss
cas-a ae hut
clīu-us ī 2m. slope, incline
crātēr -is 3m. bowl in which wine was mixed
foc-us ī 2m. hearth
foli-um ī 2n. leaf
furc-a ae 1f. (two-pronged) fork; house-support
mēns-a ae 1f. table; course of a meal
salign-us a um of willow
tēct-um ī 2n. roof, house
tepid-us a um warm
Study section
1. Pick out the means by which Ovid characterises Baucis and Philemon (their hut and its contents are also relevant here). How do their characters differ from that of another couple, Deucalion and Pyrrha (passage 1)?
2. Identify some of the comic elements in this story. Some argue that these mock or patronise the couple. What is your view?
3. Does this story ‘re-establish the gods’ power and morality impressively’?
4. We do not know the source of this story. Compare it with the following Jewish tale from the Bible, in which God sends two angels to punish the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah for their evil-doing (c. 2000 BC, when a major earth-quake does seem to have obliterated the area). The translation is from the New Revised Standard version:
The two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gateway of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them, and bowed down with his face to the ground. He said,‘Please, my lords, turn aside to your servant’s house and spend the night, and wash your feet; then you can rise early and go on your way.’ They said, ‘No; we will spend the night in the square.’ But he urged them strongly; so they turned aside to him and entered his house; and he made them a feast, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate. But before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both young and old, all the people to the last man, surrounded the ho
use; and they called to Lot, ‘Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, so that we may know them.’ Lot went out of the door to the men, shut the door after him, and said, ‘I beg you, my brothers, do not act so wickedly. Look, I have two daughters who have not known a man; let me bring them out to you, and do to them as you please; only do nothing to these men, for they have come under the shelter of my roof.’ But they replied, ‘Stand back!’And they said, ‘This fellow came here as an alien, and he would play the judge! Now we will deal worse with you than with them.’ Then they pressed hard against the man Lot, and came near the door to break it down. But the men inside reached out their hands and brought Lot into the house with them, and shut the door. And they struck with blindness the men who were at the door of the house, both small and great, so that they were unable to find the door.
Then the men said to Lot, ‘Have you anyone else here? Sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or anyone you have in the city – bring them out of the place. For we are about to destroy this place, because the outcry against its people has become great before the LORD, and the LORD has sent us to destroy it.’ So Lot went out and said to his sons-in-law, who were to marry his daughters, ‘Up, get out of this place; for the LORD is about to destroy the city.’ But he seemed to his sons-in-law to be jesting.
When morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, ‘Get up, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or else you will be consumed in the punishment of the city.’ But he lingered; so the men seized him and his wife and his two daughters by the hand, the LORD being merciful to him, and they brought him out and left him outside the city. When they had brought them outside, they said, ‘Flee for your life; do not look back or stop anywhere in the Plain; flee to the hills, or else you will be consumed.’And Lot said to them, ‘Oh, no, my lords; your servant has found favour with you, and you have shown me great kindness in saving my life; but I cannot flee to the hills, for fear the disaster will overtake me and I die. Look, that city is near enough to flee to, and it is a little one. Let me escape there – is it not a little one? – and my life will be saved!’ He said to him,‘Very well, I grant you this favour too, and will not overthrow the city of which you have spoken. Hurry, escape there, for I can do nothing until you arrive there.’. . .
Then the LORD rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulphur and fire from the LORD out of heaven; and he overthrew those cities, and all the Plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. But Lot’s wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.
Genesis 19.1–26
If there are enough similarities between this story and Ovid’s tale, would that demonstrate that Ovid’s tale is of Jewish origin?
Vocabulary and grammar
626 hūc: i.e. the marshy land in the Phrygian hills where the couple once lived
speci-ēs ēī 5f. disguise (here abl. of description, RLL(f)3(i), W40)
parente: i.e. his father Jupiter
627 Atlantiadēs: Greek nom., ‘grandson of Atlas’, i.e. Mercury (Hermes), god of heralds
cādūcifer ī 2m. staff-bearer. The cādūceum was the staff carried by heralds as a token of peace. Mercury is not carrying it here, because he is disguised as a human; but cādūcifer is still his official title. Wittily, Ovid sets positīs ālīs – the part of his gear Mercury has dispensed with – on either side of the word
628 requi-ēs ēī 5f. rest
629 ser-a ae 1f. bolt, bar
630 stipul-a ae 1f. straw
cann-a ae 1f. reed
palūstr-is e from the marsh
631 *an-us ūs 4f. old woman
paril-is e equal, like
632 illā . . . illā . . . casā: the grand rhetorical repetitions amusingly describe – a little cottage
iuuenāl-is e youthful
633 cōnsenēscō 3 grow old together
*cas-a ae 1f. hut. This is the word used of Romulus’ cottage which was preserved on the Palatine hill in Rome: Baucis and Philemon are ‘good old Romans’
paupertās paupertāt-is 3f. poverty
fateor 2 dep. admit
634 leuem: i.e. their poverty
nec: introduces the second reason for their ability to endure poverty
inīqu-us a um resentful
635 rēfert it matters (whether + subj., impersonal verb, RLF2)
famul-us ī 2m. slave
636 pāreō 2 obey
637 caelicol-a ae 1m. heaven-dweller. This is a grand, dignified term for the gods, in contrast to the humble surroundings
penāt-ēs um 3m. household gods
638 submiss-us a um lowered. 638 is a sonorous golden line, describing the gods’ entrance into the little hut
humil-is e humble, lowly, poor
uertex uertic-is 3m. head
post-is is 3f. door-post
639 releuō 1 rest
sedīl-e is 3n. seat
640 superiniciō 3/4 superiniēcī throw X (acc.) over Y (dat.)
text-um ī 2n. cloth
rud-is e rough
sēdul-us a um busy
641 *foc-us ī 2m. hearth
*tepid-us a um warm
dīmoueō 2 dīmōuī move around
642 suscitō 1 stir up
hestern-us a um yesterday’s
*foli-um ī 2n. leaf
cortex cortic-is 3m. bark
sicc-us a um dry
643 nūtrio 4 feed
prōdūcō 3 help on [the ashes] ad
anīl-is e old woman’s
644 multifid-us a um split
fax fac-is 3f. kindling
rāmāl-ia ium 3n. pl. twigs
ārid-us a um dry
*tēct-um ī 2n. roof, house
645 dēferō dēferre dētulī bring down from (abl.)
minuō 3 minuī chop up
admoueō 2 admōuī put X (acc.) under Y (dat.)
aēn-us ī 2m. bronze pot
646 quodque: ‘and the holus quod . . .’
rigu-us a um well-watered
hort-us ī 2m. garden
647 truncō 1 strip X (acc.) of its Y (abl.)
holus holer-is 3n. cabbage
*furc-a ae 1f. (two-pronged) fork, house support
bicorn-is e with two prongs
648 sordid-us a um grimy
sūs su-is 3m./f. pig, sow
tign-um ī 2n. beam. Meat was smoked in order to help it dry out and thus preserve it, since bacteria can live only in liquids. Smoking also flavoured the meat
649 resecō 1 cut off
tergore: = tergō
650 sect-us a um cut, sliced
domō 1 soften, cook
ferueō 2 bubble, boil
652 alue-us ī 2m. tub
653 fāgine-us a um of beechwood (a water-resistant wood)
clāu-us ī 2m. nail
suspēns-us a um hung (suspendō)
āns-a ae 1f. handle
654 foueō 2 soothe
655 ulu-a ae 1f. sedge (marsh grass)
656 impōnō 3 imposuī impositum place over
spond-a ae 1f. bed-frame
*salign-us a um of willow (a cheap wood)
657 fest-us a um of (religious) holidays
658 sternō 3 spread
cōnsuēscō 3 cōnsuēuī be accustomed
uīl-is e cheap
659 indignor 1 dep. be unworthy of
660 accumbō 3 accubuī recline
succīnct-us a um girt up (succingō)
tremēns trement-is trembling
661 *mēns-a ae 1f. table; course of a meal
impār -is unequal. A three-legged table can stand securely, however rough the ground, but only if its three legs are of equal length
662 test-a ae 1f. piece of pot
subdit-us a um placed under (subdō)
*clīu-us ī 2m. slope, incline
663 aequāt-us a um levelled (aequō)
ment-a ae 1f. mint
tergeō 2 tersī wipe off, clean
uireō 2 be green
664 bicolor -
is of two colours (i.e. green and black and therefore not ripe; bicolor is a politely epic way of putting it)
sincēr-us a um unblemished
bāc-a ae 1f. berry
Mineruae: her bāca was the olive. The phrase sincērae . . . Mineruae is a grandly epic way of saying ‘olive’, perhaps incongruously amusing in the humble setting
665 corn-um ī 2n. wild cherry
autumnāl-is e of autumn
faex faec-is 3f. the lees of wine
666 intib-um ī 2n. chicory, endive
rādīx rādīc-is 3f. radish
lac lact-is 3n. milk
mass-a ae 1f. lump
coāct-us a um curdled (i.e. cheese)
667 ōu-um ī 2n. egg. ab ōuō usque ad māla, lit. ‘from egg right up to apples’ (675), ‘from start to finish’, was a proverb drawn from the courses of a typical Roman meal – which this is
uersō 1 turn
fauīll-a ae 1f. ash
668 fictil-e is 3n. earthenware (here ‘in earthenware’)
*caelō 1 engrave, emboss
669 sistō 3 place, set down
argent-um ī 2n. silver. Note the Ovidian irony – the dishes were in fact all made of pottery, which (unlike silver) was not usually engraved. Silver would have been on show only in wealthy house-holds
*crātēr -is 3m. bowl in which wine was mixed
fabricāt-us a um made of (+ abl.)
fāg-us ī 2f. beechwood
