Cadmus and the Serpent
Original Latin
Dum spatium victor vīctī cōnsīderat hostis, 95
vōx subitō audīta est; neque erat cognōscere prōmptum,
unde, sed audīta est: 'quid, Agēnore nāte, perēmptum
serpentem spectās? et tū spectābere serpēns.'
ille diū pavidus pariter cum mente colōrem
perdiderat, gelidōque comae terrōre rigēbant: 100
ecce virī fautrīx superās dēlāpsa per aurās
Pallas adest mōtaeque iubet suppōnere terrae
vīpereōs dentēs, populī incrēmenta futūrī.
paret et, ut pressō sulcum patefēcit arātrō,
spargit humī iussōs, mortālia sēmina, dentēs. 105
inde (fidē maius) glaebae coepēre movērī,
prīmaque dē sulcīs aciēs appāruit hastae,
tegmina mox capitum pictō nūtantia cōnō,
mox umerī pectusque onerātaque bracchia tēlīs
exsistunt, crēscitque seges clipeāta virōrum: 110
sīc, ubi tolluntur fēstīs aulaea theātrīs,
surgere signa solent prīmumque ostendere vultūs,
cētera paulātim, placidōque ēducta tenōre
tōta patent īmōque pedēs in margine pōnunt.
Territus hoste novō Cadmus capere arma parābat: 115
'nē cape!' dē populō, quem terra creāverat, ūnus
exclāmat 'nec tē cīvīlibus īnsere bellīs!'
atque ita terrigenīs rigidō dē frātribus ūnum
comminus ēnse ferit, iaculō cadit ēminus ipse;
hunc quoque quī lētō dederat, nōn longius illō 120
vīvit et exspīrat, modo quās accēperat aurās,
exemplōque parī furit omnis turba, suōque
Mārte cadunt subitī per mūtua vulnera frātrēs.
iamque brevis vītae spatium sortīta iuventūs
sanguineam tepidō plangēbant pectore mātrem, 125
quīnque superstitibus, quōrum fuit ūnus Echīōn.
is suā iēcit humō monitū Trītōnidīs arma
frāternaeque fidem pācis petiitque deditque:
hōs operis comitēs habuit Sīdōnius hospes,
cum posuit iussus Phoebēīs sortibus urbem. 130
Vocabulary
94 Flagello, flagellare, flagellavi, flagellatus
flog, whip, lash, scourge; strike repeatedly; thresh/flail; "whip up"
94 Rubor, ruboris M.
redness, blush
95 Spatium, spati(i) N.
space; area/expanse, room; intervening space, gap/interval; length/width
97 Nascor, nasci, natus sum
produced spontaneously, come into existence/being; spring forth, grow; live
101 Superus, supera -um, superior -or -us, supremus -a -um
above, high; higher, upper, of this world; greatest, last, highest
101 Delabor, delabi, delapsus sum
lfall/glide/fly/flow down; fall freely/out of control/prostrate; slip into
102 Jubeo, jubere, jussi, jussus
order/tell/command/direct; enjoin/command; decree/enact; request/ask/bid; pray
104 Patefacio, patefacere, patefeci, patefactus
reveal/uncover/disclose/expose; bring to light; make known/visible; dissect
106 Glaeba, glaebae F
clod/lump of earth/turf; land, soil; hard soil; piece, lump, mass
109 Umerus, umeri M
upper arm, shoulder
109 Margo, marginis F
margin, edge, flange, rim, border; threshold; bank, retaining wall; gunwale
110 Creo, creare, creavi, creatus
create/bring into being/make; procreate; beget/sire; give birth to
119 feriō, ferīre, feriī, ferītūrus
hit, strike; strike a bargain; kill, slay
121 auro, aurare, auravi, auratus
gild, overlay with gold
125 tepidus, tepida, tepidum
moderately warm, tepid
126 Quin
why not, in fact
128 fidus -a -um
faithful
Helpful Notes
98 although spectābere looks like a present active infinitive, it translates as a second-person singular future passive verb, or “you will be watched”.
106 coepere is another verb that looks like a present active infinitive but it actually is a second-person singular present passive verb.
112 while appearing like a present active infinitive sugere translates as “ they are being risen”, while referring to the curtains.
111 the meter of this line is all dactyls
117 the verb exclāmat is enjambed (which is a poetic device used by Ovid to put emphasis on a word).
117 the verb īnsere is imperative. The the imperative mood is the mood of a verb expressing an order or command.
120 the translation of this line can be difficult because hunc and illo typically mean “this” and “that”, which don’t really make sense in the context of the way they are used in the sentence. By “this” and “that” Ovid is really trying to say: “this man” and “that man”.
122 Exemplōque pari translate together as "and by an equal example"
125 By sanguineam mātrem or “the bloody mother”, Ovid is referring to the earth because they are beating the earth and the earth is their mother.
126 superstibus and quīnque translate together as “with 5 survivors”.
127 The word Humō can be either a noun or a verb. The noun is used in this instance and it is in the dative case, although this is identical to the ablative form.
128 Frāternae is an adjective in the genative case and describes pācis which is also in the genitive case.
129 Hospes is in the genitive case.
130 Phoebēīs, refers to the oracle of Apollo.
130 To review who Apollo is in the context of Cadmus' narrative, I will recount what happened before the selected verses. Cadmus, who had been sent to find his sister, knew he would never find her. Cadmus went to Apollo's oracle and asked where he should settle down. The god told him that he would meet a cow that had never borne the weight of a yoke or plough, and that if Cadmus followed the cow to where she lay down, he would found a new city. Cadmus did what Apollo instructed, and everything proceeded as predicted.
107 appāruit is a verb that declines as: appāreō, appārēre, appāruī, appāritum. An alternate form of the verb is adpāruit which thelatinlibrary.com considers to be featured in this line of the text in the place of appāruit. Adpāruit declines as: adpāreō, adpārēre, adpāruī, adpāritum. Both these verbs are third-person singular perfect active indicative, and they also both mean to appear or be visible. The similarities of these verbs means that they make no difference in translation, and therefore can be used interchangeably.
125 plangēbant is a third person plural imperfect verb which translates to they were striking. However thelatinlibrary.com say that the verb is actually supposed to be plangēbat which translates to he/she/it was striking. I believe that plangēbant is the correct word in the context of the text because multiple people are doing the beating in this part of the story.