lines 55-101 Flashcards
“Pyramus et Thisbē, iuvenum pulcherrimus alter,
altera, quās Oriēns habuit, praelāta puellīs
contiguās tenuēre domōs, ubi dīcitur altam
coctilibus mūrīs cinxisse Semīramis urbem.
“Pyramus and Thisbe, the former the most handsome of young men, The latter, preferred to all the girls whom the Orient held, occupied adjoining homes, where Semiramis is said to have surrounded the high city with walls of baked brick.
nōtitiam prīmōsque gradūs vīcīnia fēcit,
tempore crēvit amor; taedae quōque iūre coissent,
sed vetuēre patrēs; quod nōn potuēre vetāre,
ex aequō captīs ārdēbant mentibus ambō.
Proximity caused acquaintance and first approaches,
love grew with time; They would have come together with the law of the [wedding] torch, but their fathers forbade [it]; both were burning equally with captured minds, which they [their fathers] were not able to forbid.
cōnscius omnis abest; nūtū signīsque loquuntur,
quōque magis tegitur, tēctus magis aestuat ignis.
Every accomplice is absent, with nods and signs they speak The more it is concealed, the more the fire having been concealed burns.
fissus erat tenuī rīmā, quam dūxerat ōlim,
cum fieret, pariēs domuī commūnis utrīque.
[There was] a wall [which] had been split by a slender crack, which the wall had shaped a long time ago,
when it was made, for each common house.
id vitium nūllī per saecula longa notātum—
quid nōn sentit amor? — prīmī vīdistis amantēs
et vōcis fēcistis iter, tūtaeque per illud
murmure blanditiae minimō trānsīre solēbant.
That defect, was noticed by no one through long ages — what does love not notice? — you lovers first saw,
and made the passage of [your] voice, and through that
flatteries were accustomed to pass safe with the smallest murmur.
saepe, ubi cōnstiterant hinc Thisbē, Pyramus illinc,
inque vicēs fuerat captātus anhēlitus ōris,
‘invide’ dīcēbant ‘pariēs, quid amantibus obstās?
often, when they stood, Thisbe on one side, Pyramus on the other side, and in turn had inhaled the breath of each other’s mouth, they would say, ‘O envious wall, why do you block lovers?
quantum erat, ut sinerēs tōtō nōs corpore iungī,
aut, hoc sī nimium est, vel ad oscula danda patērēs?
how great it would be if you let us be joined in whole body, Or, if this is too much, if you rather lay open for kisses to be given?
nec sumus ingrātī: tibi nōs dēbēre fatēmur,
quod datus est verbīs ad amīcas trānsitus auris.’
But we are not ungrateful: we confess that we owe you
for giving [our] words a passage to friendly ears.’
tālia dīversā nequīquam sēde locūtī
sub noctem dixēre ‘valē’ partīque dedēre
oscula quisque suae nōn pervenientia contrā.
Having said such things in vain from [their] separate place at nightfall they said farewell and gave to [their respective] side a kiss, neither of which reached the opposite [side].
postera nocturnōs aurōra remōverat ignēs,
sōlque pruīnōsās radiīs siccāverat herbās:
ad solitum coiēre locum. tum murmure parvō
multa prius questī, statuunt ut nocte silentī
fallere custōdēs foribusque excēdere temptent,
The following dawn had removed the nocturnal stars[2],
and the sun with its beams had dried the frosty grass:
they met at the usual place. Then, having with low murmur bemoaned many things, they resolved that in the silent night they would deceive their guardians and try to cross the gates,
cumque domō exierint, urbis quoque tēcta relinquant,
nēve sit errandum lātō spatiāntibus arvō,
conveniant ad būsta Ninī lateāntque sub umbrā
arboris: arbor ibī niveīs ūberrima pōmīs,
ardua mōrus, erat, gelidō contermina fontī.
and that after leaving the house, they would leave the buildings[3] of the city as well, and that, lest they might get lost wandering in the open fields, they would meet at the tomb of Ninus and hide under the shade
of a tree: a tree, overladen with snow-white fruit,
a towering mulberry was there, next to a cool fountain.
pacta placent; et lūx, tardē discēdere vīsa,
praecipitātur aquīs, et aquīs nox exit ab isdem.
The plans please [them]; and light, that seemed to depart late, is thrown upon the waters, and night rises from the same waters.
Callida per tenebrās versātō cardine Thisbē
ēgreditur fallitque suōs adopertaque vultum
pervenit ad tumulum dictāque sub arbore sēdit.
With the hinge having been turned, crafty Thisbe sets out through the darkness and deceives her own [people] and, having veiled her face, comes to the tomb and sat under the aforesaid tree.
audācem faciēbat amor. venit ecce recēntī
caede leaena boum spumantis oblita rictus
depositura sitim vicini fontis in unda;
Love was making [her] brave. Behold a lioness comes, whose foaming jaws were smeared by the recent slaughter of cattle, about to quench her thirst in the waters of the nearby fountain
quam procul ad lunae radios Babylonia Thisbe
vidit et obscurum timido pede fugit in antrum,
dumque fugit, tergo velamina lapsa reliquit.
whom from afar, against the rays of the moon, Babylonian Thisbe saw and fled with a timid foot into a dark cave, and while she flees, she left her veil, having fallen from her back.
