- Source
- Ovid. P. Ovidius Naso, Volume 1: Amores, Epistulae, Medicamina faciei femineae, Ars amatoria, Remedia amoris. Ehwald, Rudolf; Merkel, Rudolph; editors. Leipzig: B. G. Teubner, 1907.
- Translation
- AI-generated (gemini-3.5-flash) — machine translation; may contain errors
- Languages
- 日本語 · English · 简体中文 · 한국어
- CTS URN
- urn:cts:latinLit:phi0959.phi001.humanitext-lat2:3.13.1-3.13.36
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-28
The narrator visits Falerii, the homeland of his wife, and vividly describes the solemn festival celebrated there in honor of Juno, explaining its mythological and historical origins.
Cum mihi pomiferis coniunx foret orta Faliscis,
Since my wife had arisen from the fruit-bearing Faliscans,
Moenia contigimus victa, Camille, tibi.1
we reached the walls conquered, Camillus, by you.
Casta sacerdotes Iunoni festa parabant
Chaste priestesses were preparing holy feasts for Juno
Et celebres ludos indigenamque bovem;
and famous games and a native cow;
Grande morae pretium ritus cognoscere,2 quamvis
it is a great reward for delay to learn the rites, although
Difficilis clivis huc via praebet iter.
a road difficult with slopes offers a path hither.
Stat vetus et densa praenubilus arbore lucus;
There stands an ancient grove, very dark with dense trees;
Adspice — concedas3 numen inesse loco.
behold — you would grant that a deity is present in the place.
Accipit ara preces votivaque tura piorum —
An altar receives the prayers and votive incense of the pious —
Ara per antiquas facta sine arte manus.
an altar made by ancient, artless hands.
Hinc, ubi praesonuit sollemni tibia cantu,
Hence, when the pipe has sounded before with solemn song,
It per velatas annua pompa vias;
the annual procession goes through the veiled streets;
Ducuntur niveae populo plaudente iuvencae,
snowy heifers are led while the people applaud,
Quas aluit campis herba Falisca suis,
which the Faliscan grass nourished in its own fields,
Et vituli nondum metuenda fronte minaces,
and calves not yet threatening with a forehead to be feared,
Et minor ex humili victima porcus hara,
and a smaller victim, a pig from the humble pen,
Duxque gregis cornu per tempora dura recurvo.
and the leader of the flock with a horn curved over his hard temples.
Invisa est dominae sola capella deae;
Only the she-goat is hated by the mistress goddess;
Illius indicio silvis inventa sub altis
by its betrayal, found under the deep woods,
Dicitur inceptam destituisse fugam.
she is said to have abandoned her begun flight.
Nunc quoque per pueros iaculis incessitur index
Now also, by boys, the betrayer is assailed with javelins,
Et pretium auctori vulneris ipsa datur.
and she herself is given as a reward to the author of the wound.
Qua ventura dea est, iuvenes timidaeque puellae
Where the goddess is to come, young men and timid girls
Praeverrunt latas veste iacente vias.
sweep beforehand the wide streets with trailing garments.
Virginei crines auro gemmaque premuntur,
Maidenly hair is pressed with gold and gems,
Et tegit auratos palla superba pedes;
and a proud robe covers golden feet;
More patrum Graio velatae vestibus albis
veiled in white garments in the Greek custom of their ancestors,
Tradita supposito vertice sacra ferunt.
they carry the handed-down sacred objects on their placed-beneath heads.
Ora favent populi4 tum cum venit aurea pompa,
The mouths of the people keep silence when the golden procession comes,
Ipsa sacerdotes subsequiturque suas.
and she herself follows her own priestesses.
Argiva est pompae facies; Agamemnone caeso5
The appearance of the procession is Argive; Agamemnon having been slain,
Et scelus et patrias fugit Halaesus opes
Halaesus fled both the crime and his father’s wealth,
Iamque pererratis profugus terraque fretoque
and now, a fugitive having wandered over both land and sea,
Moenia felici condidit alta manu.
he founded high walls with a fortunate hand.
Ille suos docuit Iunonia sacra Faliscos.
He taught his own Faliscans the Junonian rites.
Sint mihi, sint populo semper amica suo!
May they be friendly to me, and always to their own people!
- 3.13.2victa, Camille, tibi
tibi is a dative of agent modifying the perfect passive participle victa, meaning "conquered by you (Camillus)". Camillus is the famous general who conquered Falerii in 394 BC.
- 3.13.5Grande morae pretium ritus cognoscere
morae is a genitive indicating the object of the reward or cost. The subject of the clause is the infinitive phrase ritus cognoscere (to learn the rites), making the structure "to learn the rites is a great reward for the delay (of interrupting one's journey)".
- 3.13.8concedas
The present subjunctive second person singular, expressing potential ("you would grant" or "you may concede").
- 3.13.29Ora favent populi
The expression ora favere (or ore favere) is a ritual idiom meaning "to keep holy silence" (literally "to favor with mouths") to avoid ill-omened words during a religious ceremony.
- 3.13.31Agamemnone caeso
An ablative absolute construction consisting of the noun Agamemnone and the perfect passive participle caeso, expressing time or cause ("Agamemnon having been slain").