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Ovid · Sorrows §1.10.1-1.10.50

Praise for the Ship of Minerva and a Prayer for a Safe Voyage

Passage 12 of 60 · Latin

Summary

The poet praises the swiftness and safety of his ship, named after Minerva, and retraces its journey from Corinth to Samothrace. As he continues by land and his ship by sea, he prays to Minerva and the Dioscuri for a safe passage on their divided journeys to his destination in Tomis.

§1.10.1Est mihi sitque, precor, flavae tutela Minervae, §1.10.2navis et a picta casside nomen habet.
I have, and may I have, I pray, the protection of golden-haired Minerva, and my ship has its name from her painted helmet.
§1.10.3sive opus est velis, minimam bene currit ad auram, §1.10.4sive opus est remo, remige carpit iter.
Whether there is need of sails, she runs well at the slightest breeze, or whether there is need of the oar, she makes her way with the rower.
§1.10.5nec comites volucri contenta est vincere cursu, §1.10.6occupat egressas quamlibet ante rates,
And she is not content to conquer her companions in swift course, she overtakes any ships however far ahead they have started.
§1.10.7et pariter fluctus fert ac salientia longe §1.10.8aequora, nec saevis victa madescit aquis,
And she equally bears the waves and the seas that leap far and wide, nor, conquered, is she soaked by the savage waters.
§1.10.9illa, Corinthiacis primum mihi cognita Cenchreis, §1.10.10fida manet trepidae duxque comesque fugae, §1.10.11perque tot eventus et iniquis concita ventis §1.10.12aequora Palladio numine tuta fuit.
She, first known to me at Corinthian Cenchreae, remains a faithful leader and companion of my anxious flight, and through so many fortunes and seas stirred by hostile winds she was safe by Pallas's divine power.
§1.10.13nunc quoque tuta, precor, vasti secet ostia Ponti, §1.10.14quasque petit, Getici litoris intret aquas.
Now too, safe, I pray, may she cut the mouth of the vast Pontus, and enter the waters of the Getic shore which she seeks.
§1.10.15quae simul Aeoliae mare me deduxit in Helles, §1.10.16et longum tenui limite fecit iter, §1.10.17fleximus in laevum cursus, et ab Hectoris urbe §1.10.18venimus ad portus, Imbria terra, tuos.
And as soon as she brought me into the sea of Aeolian Helle, and made her long journey in a narrow track, we bent our course to the left, and from Hector's city we came to your ports, O Imbrian land.
§1.10.19inde, levi vento Zerynthia litora nacta, §1.10.20Threïciam tetigit fessa carina Samon.
Thence, having reached the Zerynthian shores with a light wind, the weary vessel touched Thracian Samos.
§1.10.21saltus ab hac contra brevis est Tempyra petenti: §1.10.22hac dominum tenus est illa secuta suum.
From here, the passage to Tempyra, which lies opposite to one seeking it, is short; only thus far did she follow her master.
§1.10.23nam mihi Bistonios placuit pede carpere campos: §1.10.24Hellespontiacas illa relegit aquas §1.10.25Dardaniamque petit, auctoris nomen habentem, §1.10.26et te ruricola, Lampsace, tuta deo, §1.10.27quodque per angustas vectae male virginis undas §1.10.28Seston Abydena separat urbe fretum, §1.10.29inque Propontiacis haerentem Cyzicon oris, §1.10.30Cyzicon, Haemoniae nobile gentis opus, §1.10.31quaeque tenent Ponti Byzantia litora fauces:
For it pleased me to travel the Bistonian plains on foot: she retraced the waters of the Hellespont, and seeks Dardania, which has the name of its founder, and you, Lampsacus, safe by your rustic god, and the strait which, through the narrow waters of the poorly carried maiden, separates Sestos from the city Abydos, and Cyzicus, clinging to the Propontid shores, Cyzicus, the noble work of the Haemonian people, and the Byzantine shores which hold the jaws of the Pontus.
§1.10.32hic locus est gemini ianua vasta maris.
This place is the vast gateway of the twin sea.
§1.10.33haec, precor, evincat, propulsaque fortibus Austris §1.10.34transeat instabilis strenua Cyaneas §1.10.35Thyniacosque sinus, et ab his per Apollinis urbem arta §1.10.36sub Anchiali moenia tendat iter.
May she, I pray, overcome these, and driven by strong South winds may she, vigorous, pass the unstable Cyanean rocks, and the Thynian gulfs, and from these, through Apollo's city, direct her course under the narrow walls of Anchialus.
§1.10.37inde Mesembriacos portus et Odeson et arces §1.10.38praetereat dictas nomine, Bacche, tuo, §1.10.39et quos Alcathoi memorant e moenibus ortos §1.10.40sedibus his profugos constituisse Larem, §1.10.41a quibus adveniat Miletida sospes ad urbem, §1.10.42offensi quo me detulit ira dei.
Thence may she pass the Mesembrian ports, and Odessos, and the citadels called by your name, O Bacchus, and those whom they record, sprung from the walls of Alcathous, to have established their Lar in these seats as exiles, from which may she arrive safe at the Milesian city, whither the anger of the offended god has brought me.
§1.10.43haec si contigerint, meritae cadet agna Minervae: §1.10.44non facit ad nostras hostia maior opes.
If these things shall happen, a lamb shall fall to deserving Minerva: a greater victim does not suit our means.
§1.10.45vos quoque, Tyndaridae, quos haec colit insula, fratres, §1.10.46mite precor duplici numen adesse viae!
You too, sons of Tyndareus, brothers whom this island worships, I pray that your gentle divine power be present for our double journey!
§1.10.47altera namque parat Symplegadas ire per artas, §1.10.48scindere Bistonias altera puppis aquas.
For the one prepares to go through the narrow Symplegades, the other ship to cleave the Bistonian waters.
§1.10.49vos facite ut ventos, loca cum diversa petamus, §1.10.50illa suos habeat, nec minus illa suos.
Do you grant that, since we seek different places, that one may have her own winds, and the other no less her own.

Notes

  1. 1.10.1sitque, precor — sit is a present subjunctive of wish (optative subjunctive) in the third person singular ("may it be"). precor ("I pray") is inserted parenthetically to reinforce the expression of the wish.
  2. 1.10.21petenti — Dative singular masculine of the present participle petens ("one who seeks"). It functions as a dative of reference or relation ("for one seeking"), serving as the logical subject of the evaluation.
  3. 1.10.22hac dominum tenus — An example of tmesis, where the adverb hactenus ("thus far") is split by the insertion of the noun dominum. tenus acts as a postposition taking the ablative hac.
  4. 1.10.27vectae male virginis — Genitive singular of the perfect passive participle vectae and the noun virginis ("of the maiden"), referring to Helle (the mythological figure who fell from the ram into the Hellespont). male functions as an adverb meaning "unluckily" or "badly," modifying the participle.
  5. 1.10.46duplici ... viae — Dative of direction or interest governed by the verb adesse ("to be present for," "to aid"). The adjective duplici ("double") is separated from its noun viae ("way/journey") by hyperbaton.

Cite this passage

Ovid, Sorrows §1.10.1-1.10.50. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0959.phi008.humanitext-lat2:1.10.1-1.10.50

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