Lines 1-10 Translation

'Pyramus et Thisbe, iuvenum pulcherrimus alter, altera, quas Oriens habuit, praelata puellis,

Pyramus and Thisbe, one the most beautiful of young men, the other preferred to all the girls whom the East held,

contiguas tenuere domos, ubi dicitur altam coctilibus muris cinxisse Semiramis urbem

lived in neighbouring homes, where Semiramis is said to have surrounded the towering city with mud-brick walls.

notitiam primosque gradus vicinia fecit,

Their nearness formed the first steps of their acquaintance,

tempore crevit amor; taedae quoque iure coissent,

In time, their love grew; and they would have come together in lawful marriage,

sed vetuere patres: quod non potuere vetare,

ex aequo captis ardebant mentibus ambo.

they were both on fire, their hearts captivated equally.

conscius omnis abest; nutu signisque loquuntur, quoque magis tegitur, tectus magis aestuat ignis.

Everyone aware is absent; they speak with a nod and signs, and the more it is hidden, the more the hidden fire blazes