CYPARISSUS
Latin Text
Adfuit huic turbae metas imitata cupressus,
nunc arbor, puer ante deo dilectus ab illo,
qui citharam nervis et nervis temperat arcum.
namque sacer nymphis Carthaea tenentibus arva
ingens cervus erat, lateque patentibus altas 110
ipse suo capiti praebebat cornibus umbras.
cornua fulgebant auro, demissaque in armos
pendebant tereti gemmata monilia collo.
bulla super frontem parvis argentea loris
vincta movebatur; parilesque ex aere nitebant 115
auribus e geminis circum cava tempora bacae;
isque metu vacuus naturalique pavore
deposito celebrare domos mulcendaque colla
quamlibet ignotis manibus praebere solebat.
sed tamen ante alios, Ceae pulcherrime gentis, 120
gratus erat, Cyparisse, tibi: tu pabula cervum
ad nova, tu liquidi ducebas fontis ad undam,
tu modo texebas varios per cornua flores,
nunc eques in tergo residens huc laetus et illuc
mollia purpureis frenabas ora capistris. 125
Aestus erat mediusque dies, solisque vapore
concava litorei fervebant bracchia Cancri:
fessus in herbosa posuit sua corpora terra
cervus et arborea frigus ducebat ab umbra.
hunc puer inprudens iaculo Cyparissus acuto 130
fixit et, ut saevo morientem vulnere vidit,
velle mori statuit. quae non solacia Phoebus
dixit et, ut leviter pro materiaque doleret,
admonuit! gemit ille tamen munusque supremum
hoc petit a superis, ut tempore lugeat omni. 135
iamque per inmensos egesto sanguine fletus
in viridem verti coeperunt membra colorem,
et, modo qui nivea pendebant fronte capilli,
horrida caesaries fieri sumptoque rigore
sidereum gracili spectare cacumine caelum. 140
ingemuit tristisque deus 'lugebere nobis
lugebisque alios aderisque dolentibus' inquit.
English Translation
A cypress tree, shaped like a turning post, stood amongst this crowd–
Now a tree, formerly a boy beloved by that god,
Who bends the lyre with strings and bow with strings.
For there was a huge stag, sacred to the nymphs who held the Carthaean fields
And with widely spreading horns,
He himself was providing high shade to his own head.
His horns were shining with gold, and lowered upon his shoulders,
Jeweled necklaces hung from his smooth neck
A silver locket bound from atop its forehead from small leather straps was moving,
And matching pearls of bronze were glittering
On its ears from either side around the hollow temples
Free from fear, with its natural timidity having been set aside,
It used to visit houses and offer its neck to be stroked
By whatever unfamiliar hands.
But before all others, most beautiful youth of the Cean people
It was dear to you, Cyparissus
You used to lead the stag to fresh pastures,
You used to lead it to the water of a clear spring,
Sometimes you wove many-colored flowers through its antlers
Now, riding joyful on its back like a horseman,
You restrained its gentle mouth by a halter here
With maroon reins.
It was midday and the burning heat of the sun was strong,
And the curved arms of the shore-dwelling Crab
Were burning with the sun’s vapor.
The stag, tired, laid its body down upon the grassy earth
And was considering the coolness from the shade of a tree.
This stag the boy Cyparissus, unknowingly,
Pierced with a sharp javelin
When he saw it dying from the cruel wound
He resolved that he wished to die.
What consolations did Phoebus not speak
He urged him to grieve lightly and in proportion to the matter.
Yet he continued to groan, and asks this final gift
From the gods: that he might mourn for all time
And now, after immeasurable weeping,
And with his blood drained away,
His limbs began to be turned green colored
And the hair that just now was hanging from his white forehead
Became a bristling mass of foliage,
And, with it stiffening,
The slender crown of his head began to look up toward the starry sky.
The sad god groaned and said:
“You will be mourned by us,
And you will mourn others,
And you will stand among those who grieve.”
Notes
Vocab Notes:
106 meta, metae f turning post in a circus
107 diligo, diligere, dilexi, dilectus to love, hold dear, value/esteem
108 cithara, citharae f lyre
108 nervus, nervi m string
109 arvum arvi n field
109 namque for indeed, for and in fact
110 cervus cervi m stag/deer
110 pateo, patere, patui to spread open, be open, extend
111 cornu, cornus, n horn, hoof
112 fulgeo, fulgere, fulsi to flash, shine, glitter, glow
112 armus, armi m forequarter, shoulder, side, flank
113 teres, teretis smooth, tapering
113 monile, monilis n necklace, collar
114 lorum lori n leather strap
115 niteo nitere nitui to shine, glitter
116 tempus temporis n temple (make sure you don’t translate it as time!)
118 celebro celebrare celebravi celebratus to frequent, visit often
118 mulceo mulcere mulsi mulsus to sooth, stroke
119 ignotus, -a, -um unknown, unfamiliar
120 gens, gentis f people, tribe
121 pabulum, i n pasture, food
125 capistrum i n halter, bridle
126 aestus, aestus m heat
130 figo, figere, fixi, fixus to pierce
131 saevus -a -um cruel
132 solacium i n consolation
135 superi superorum m the gods
139 caesaries caesariei f hair
140 sidereus -a -um starry
Grammar Notes:
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106 - metas imitata cupressus
Although the phrase uses a perfect participle modifying cupressus, translating it literally (“a cypress tree having imitated turning posts”) sounds unnatural, so it works better to infer that Ovid is referring to the shape of the cypress tree and how it is reminiscent of a turning post in a Roman race track
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107 - puer ante deo dilectus ab illo
Here, make sure you take ab illo as an ablative of agent to indicate that Apollo was the one who had loved Cypressus, but deo as a dative of reference instead
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108 - 109 - qui citharam nervis et nervis temperat arcum
Make sure you understand that nervis refers to two different things here, although both are associated with Apollo (strings of lyre vs strings of bow)
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109 - 110 - nymphis…tenentibus arva
Here, try to incorporate the ablative absolute into the rest of the sentence to help it sound less mechanical
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110-112 - ipse suo capiti praebebat cornibus umbras
Translate the phrase suo capiti as a dative of reference rather than an indirect object
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116 - 118 - metu vacuus naturalique pavore deposito
Also metu vacuus and pavore deposito are separate constructions, they have very similar meanings, meaning it’s better to try to combine them into one while translating
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118 - 119 - celebrare domos…praebere solebat
Make sure you translate this as a pattern of behavior rather than a one time event (use of solebat)
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120 - 121 - gratus erat…tibi
Not an indirect object here, gratus erat takes a dative so it should translate more like “pleasing to you”
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121 - 123 - tu…tu…tu
When translating to english, keep the repetition to keep the anaphora/tone
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123 - 125 - nunc eques…residens…frenabas
Residens modifies tu and shouldn’t be translated as a new clause, try to merge it with the main idea
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129 - frigus ducebat ab umbra
Although ducebat literally means was leading, it acts as an idiom in this case, more like “was drawing” and in whole the idea should be something like “he was enjoying the coolness from the shade”
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131 - 132 - ut…vidit…velle mori statuit
Ut here means “when”, not purpose. The velle mori is an indirect statement.
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132 - 134 - quae non solacia Phoebus dixit
This is a rhetorical question, make sure you translate it so that the question sounds rhetorical in english rather than literal
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136 - egesto sanguine
This is an ablative absolute with an implied verb, translate it as its own clause with the verb “having been drained”
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141 - 142 - lugebare nobis… lugebisque alios aderisque dolentibus
Here, lugebere is future passive, while aderis takes a dative separately