baucis et philemon

Iuppiter huc specie mortali cumque parente

venit Atlantiades positis caducifer alis.

Jupiter came here in human form and, with his father, came the wand-bearing but wingless descendant of Atlas

mille domos adiere locum requiemque petentes, mille domos claisere setae; tamen unanrecepit, parva quidem, stipulis et canna tecta palustri,

sed pia Baucis anus parillque aetate Philemon illa sunt annis iuncti iuvenalibus,

They approached 1000 houses, seeking a place to rest: bars shut 1000 houses. However, one took them in. A small one, it is true, covered with stalks and marshy reeds, but the dutiful old woman Baucis and the similarly-aged Philemon were united in their young years in that house.

illa consenuere casa paupertatemque fatendo

effecere levem nec iniqua mente ferendo;

nec refert, dominos illic familosne requiees:

tota somus duo sunt, idem parentque iubentque.

and grew old im that house and, by awknowledging their poverty, and bearing it not with an unfair mind, made it unimportant. And it doesn’t matter whether you look for the master or servants there: the two are the entire house, the same people obey and order.

Doctrina (learning)

• extra information about characters to show off how much they know

• mercury is referred to by the epithet ‘descendant of Atlas’. This is so that Ovid can show off her knowledge that Mercury is the son of Maia, who is the daughter of Atlas.

Homoioteleuton

The repetition of similar sounds to end words or phrases or sentences. (Assonance)

• e.g. ‘fatendo/ferendo’ and is done to pair the words together to show how Baucis and Philemon feel about their poverty.

-que… -que…

Ovid uses words ending -que suffix quite often, in homage to the Greek construction.

• Homer used the Greek version a lot in his poetry, so Ovid was probably trying to get his audience to think of Homeric poetry and consider him just as good.

Casa vs Domus

A casa is a very specific type of house that we might describe as a cottage.

A casa had a low door to let small animals in, but to keep large animals out. Meat was smoked in the rafters, so there would have been a fire burning inside, and probably a hole in the roof to let the smoke out.

Ergo ubi caelicolae parvos tetigere penates

summissoque humiles intrarunt vertice postes,

membra senex posito iussit relevare sedili;

cui superiniecit textum rude sedula Baucis.

Therefore when the heaven dwellers arrived at this humble home,

and with lowered heads entered the low doorpost,

the old man placed a couch for them and invited them to rest their limbs,

upon which ettentive Baucis threw a rough cloth,

inque foco tepidum cinerem dimovit et ignes

suscitat hesternos foliisque et cortice sicco

nutrit et ad flammas anima producit anili

multidasque faces ramaliaque arida tecto

detulit et minuit parvoque admovit aeno,

then she stirred up the warm ashes in the heart, and roused yesterday’s fire, and fed it with leaves and dry bark, and leads (it) forth to flames, with old woman’s breath and brought down splintered torches and dry twigs from the roof

and reduced (them) and moves (them under) a small pot

quodque suus coniunx riguo conlegerat horto,

truncat holus foliis; furca levat ille bicorni

sordida terga suis nigro pendentia tigno

servatoque diu tesecat de tergore partem

exiguam sectamque domat ferventubus undis

and what her own spouse had collected from a well-watered garden,

she strips turnips from its foliage; he lifts down with a two-pronged fork dirty backs of sow hanging from a black rafter, and cuts back a meagre piece from the stored back

and boils-soft the cut (piece) in boiling water.

poetic plutal

• e.g. sordida terga

• a singular subject is meant, but the poet puts a plural instead.

• the plural form is a dactyl- fits the rhythm better.

enclosing order

seperating a noun and the adjective that goes with it.

• E.g. anima producit anili.

• the noun and adjective enclose another word, giving it more attention.

interea medias fallunt sermonibus horas

serintirique moram prohibent. erat alveus illic fagineus dura clavo suspensus ab ansa; is tepidis impletur aquis artusque fovendos accipit. In medio torus est de mollibus ulvus impositus lecto sponda pedibusque salignis.

Meanwhile, they waste the middle hours with conversations to stop the day from ending. There was a bathtub made of beech, syspended from a nail by a solid handle; this is filled with warm water and received limbs which need to be warmed. In the middle of the house is a mattress made from a sedge from rivers placed on a couch on a frame and on willow feet.

vestibus hunc velant, quas non nisi tempore festo

sternere consuerant, sed et haec villisque vetusque.

vestis erat, lecto non indignada saligno. adcubuere dei.

they covered this with cloths, which they were not accustumed to strew except in festive time, but even these blankets were cheap and old,

not unworthy of the willow couch. The gods recline

Litotes

An understatement (e.g. ‘I don’t hate it’)

Ovid used litotes to give his opinion on social things. We see this in ‘non indignanda’ (‘not unworthy’).

Interea totiens haustum esse cratera replero sponte suanper seque visent succrescere vina.

Meanwhile they see that as often the wine bowl has been drained it is refilled of its own accord and that by themselves the wines increase.

attoniti novitate pavent manibusque supinis concipiunt Baucisque preces timidusque Philemon et veniam dapibus nullisque paratibus orant.

astonished by the novelty are afraid and with their hands reaching upwards. Both Baucis and fearful Philemon take up prayers and they beg forgiveness for their lack of feasts and their lack of preparations.

unicus anser erat, minimae custodia villae: quem dis hospitibus domini mactare parabant;

there was a single goose, the guardian of the smallest farmhouse of a goose which to the masters were preparing to sacrificially slaughter for their guests the gods;

ille celer penna tardos aetate fatigat eluditque diu tandemque est visus ad ipsos confugisse deos.

that goose, swift of wing, is tiring the slow from age ones and it escapes them for a long time and finally it seemed to have fled to the gods themselves.

superi vetuere necati “di” que “sumus, meritasque luey vicinia poenas impia” dixerunt “vobis immunibusbhuius esse mali dabitur. Modp vestta relinuite tecta ac nostros comitate gradus et in ardua montis ite simul!”

The gods forbate it to be killed and they said “We are gods, and the irreligious neighbourhood will suffer the punishments it deseves. It will be granted to you exempt from this destruction. Just leave your home and accompany our steps and go together with us to the steep parts of the mountain.”

Wine bowls

• roman wine was very thick and very sweet, more than roman wine → had to be watered down in a wine bowl.

• This wine bowl refills itself every time Jupiter and Mercury drain it.

  • Baucis and Philemon would not have been able to provide enough wine to keep the gods satisfied otherwise due to their poverty.

parent ambo baculisque levati nituntur longo vestigia ponere clivo tantum aberant summo, quantum semel ire sagitta missa potest

both obey and, supported by walking sticks, they strive to place their footsteps on the long slope. They were as far from the summit as an arrow, once shot, can go.

Flexere oculos et mersa (essa) palude cetera prospiciunt tantum sua tecta manere

They turned their eyes and they see the rest of the houses submerged by a madsh, and only their house remains.

dumque ea mirantur, dum deflent fata suorum, illa vetus, dominis etiam casa parva duobus vertitur in templum

And while they were amazed by these things, while they were weeping for the fates of their friends, their old house (too small even for two owners) is turned into a temple.

furcas subiere columnae. stramina flavescunt aurataque tecta videntur caelataeque fores, adopertaque mormore tellus.

Colums replaced the poles, the straw became yellow and the roof seemed golden, and the doorways seemed engraved, and the earth seemed covered in marble.

talia tum placido Saturnius edidit ore: “dicite, iuste senex et femina coniuge iusto digna, quid optetis!”

The son of Saturn said the following with a calm expression: “Honest old man and woman worthy of an honest husband, tell me what you want”

cum Baucide pauca locutus iudicium superis aperit commune Philemon:

Having spoken a few words with Baucis, Philemon revealed their joint decision to the gods:

“esse sacerdotes delubraque vestta tueri poscimus, et quoniam concordes egimus annos, auferat hora duos eadem, nec conuiugis umquam busta meae videam neu sim tumulandus ab illa.”

“We ask to be priests and to guard your shrine and, since we have spent years in harmony, may we both be taken at the same hour, may I never have to see my wife’s tomb and may I never have to be buried by her.”

vota fides sequitur: templi tutela fuere, donec vita data est; annis aevoque soluti, ante gradus sacros cum starent forte locique.

Fulfillment followed their prayers; they were guardians of the temple, as long as life was given to them. When, weakened by years and by time, they were standing by chance in front of the sacred steps

narrarent casus, frondere Philemona Baucis, Baucida conspexit senior frondere Philemon.

they were telling the story of the place, Baucis noted Philemon growing leaves, the old Philemon noticed that Baucis was sprouting leaves.

iamque super geminos crescente cacumine, vultus mutua, dum licuit, reddenant dicta “vale” que “o coniunx” dixere simul, simul abidita texit ora frutex.

And now, as a treetop grew over their twin faces, they exchanged words while they could and they said at the same time “Goodbye, my spouse” and at the same time a shrub hid and covered their faces.