OCR GCSE Latin - Verse Literature - Baucis et Philemon (Ovid) - Lines 64-76 - Translation and Style

‘esse sacerdotes dulubraque vestra tueri

poscimus, et quoniam concordes egimus annos,

‘We ask to be priests and to guard your shrine, and since we have spent the years in harmony’

auferat hora duos eadem, nec coniugus umquam

busta meae videam neu sim tumulandus ab illa.’

‘may the same our take away the two of us, and neither may I ever see the grave of my wife, nor may I have to be buried by her.’

vota fides sequitur; templi tutela fuere,

donec vita data est. (next section)

Fulfilment followed the prayers; they were the guardian of the temple, as long as life was given (to them).

___________________annis aevoque soluti

ante gradus sacros cum starent forte locique

narrarentcases, frondere Philemona Baucis,

When, weakened by their years and time, they were standing by chance in front of the sacred steps (of the temple) and were relating the events of hte place, Baucis noticed Philemon growing leaves

Baucida conspexit senior frondere Philemon.

and the aged Philemon noticed Baucis growing leaves.

iamque super geminos crescente cacumine vultus

mutua, dum licuit, reddebant dicta ‘vale’ que

‘o coniunx’ dixere simul, simul abdita texit

ora frutex.

And now, as a treetop grew over their two faces, they exchanged words with each other, while they could, and at the same time said, ‘Farewell, O spouse’, and at the same time a shrub hid and covered their faces.

‘esse sacerdotes delubraque…tueri’ line 64

‘to be priests and to guard your shrine’ - chiasmus - juxtaposes priests and shrine - they will be there all the time

line 64/65

enjambment - emphasises verb - poscimus (ask) - confident - they know what they want

‘concordes…annos’ line 65

‘years in harmony’ - enclosing word order - peaceful years enclose B+P (egimus = we have spent)

‘auferat’ line 66

‘take away’ - euphemistic - doesn’t want to think about it; emphasises actions

‘hora…eadem’ line 66

‘the same hour’ - enclosing word order of ‘two’ - emphasises need to die at same time

‘coniugis…meae’ line 66/7

‘of my wife’ - enclosing word order - ‘busta’ has been postponed - emphatic; emphasises togetherness

‘tumulandus’ line 67

‘I have to be buried by her’ - gerundive - feel obligation

‘illa’ line 67

‘her’ - emphatic pronoun - composition - by her - anticipates her pain

‘vota fides sequitur;’ line 68

‘Fulfilment followed their prayers’ - impersonal phrase - mysterious, fickle, unsure as to what Gods actually did

‘fides…templi tutela fu