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Ovid · Ibis §566-644

Further Curses and the Promise of a Named Accusation

Passage 8 of 8 · Latin

Summary

The author draws on various tragic and miserable deaths from mythology and history to lay further harsh curses upon his enemy. He concludes by stating that these curses are a temporary offering in a hastily written book, promising a more severe, named attack in the proper epic meter in the future.

§566Per facinus soror est cui sua facta parens.
(like him) whose sister, through a crime, became his own parent.
§567Ossibus inque tuis teli genus haereat illud, §568Traditur Icarii quo cecidisse gener.
And may that kind of weapon cling in your bones, by which it is handed down that the son-in-law of Icarius fell.
§569Utque loquax in equo est elisum guttur acerno, §570Sic tibi claudatur pollice vocis iter.
And as inside the maple horse the talkative throat was crushed, so may the way of your voice be closed by a thumb.
§571Aut ut Anaxarchus, pila minuaris in alta, §572Ictaque pro solitis frugibus ossa sonent.
Or like Anaxarchus, may you be ground down in a deep mortar, and may your struck bones resound instead of the usual grain.
§573Utque patrem Psamathes, condat te Phoebus in ima §574Tartara, quod natae fecerat ille suae. §575Inque tuos ea pestis eat, quam dextra Coroebi §576Vicit, opem miseris Argolisinque tulit.
And as Psamathe's father did to his own daughter, may Phoebus hide you in deepest Tartarus; and may that plague go upon your kin, which the right hand of Coroebus conquered and brought help to the miserable Argive women.
§577Utque nepos Aethrae, Veneris moriturus ob iram, §578Exul ab altonitis excutiaris equis.
And as the grandson of Aethra, about to die because of Venus' anger, was shaken out as an exile from his terrified horses, (so may you be).
§579Propter opes magnas ut perdidit hospes alumnum, §580Perdat ob exiguas te tuus hospes opes.
As the host destroyed his ward because of great wealth, so may your host destroy you because of scanty wealth.
§581Utque ferunt caesos sex cum Damasichthone fratres, §582Intereat tecum sic genus omne tuum.
And as they say six brothers were slain along with Damasichthon, so may all your race perish with you.
§583Addidit ut fidicen miseris sua funera natis, §584Sic tibi sint vitae taedia iusta tuae.
As the lyre-player added his own death to his miserable children, so may there be a just loathing of your life for you.
§585Utve soror Pelopis, saxo dureris oborto, §586Et laesus lingua Battus ab ipse sua.
Or like Pelops' sister, may you grow hard with the stone that rises, and Battus himself harmed by his own tongue.
§587Aera si misso liquidum iaculabere disco, §588Quo puer Oebalides, ictus ab orbe cadas.
If you throw a discus into the clear air, may you fall struck by the disc, like the Oebalian boy.
§589Siqua per alternos pulsabitur unda lacertos, §590Omnis Abydena sit tibi peior aqua.
If any wave is beaten by your alternating arms, let every water be worse for you than the Abydene water.
§591Comicus ut mediis periit, dum nabat, in undis, §592Et tua sic Stygius strangulet ora liquor.
As the comic poet perished in the midst of the waves while swimming, so may the Stygian liquid strangle your mouth.
§593Aut ubi ventosum superaris naufragus aequor, §594Contacta pereas, ut Palinurus, humo.
Or when, shipwrecked, you have overcome the windy sea, may you perish when the ground is touched, like Palinurus.
§595Utque cothurnatum vatem tutela Dianae, §596Dilaniet vigilum te quoque turba canum.
And as Diana's protection tore the cothurnated poet, so may a crowd of watchful dogs tear you also.
§597Aut ut Trinacrius, salias super ora gigantis, §598Plurima qua flammas Sicanis Aetna vomit.
Or like the Trinacrian, may you leap upon the face of the giant, where Sicanian Aetna vomits most flames.
§599Diripiantque tuos insanis unguibus artus §600Strymoniae matres, Orpheos esse ratae.
And may the Strymonian mothers tear your limbs with mad claws, having thought you to be Orpheus.
§601Natus ut Althaeae flammis absentibus arsit, §602Sic tuus ardescat stipitis igne rogus.
As the son of Althaea burned though the flames were absent, so may your funeral pyre burn by the fire of the log.
§603Ut nova Phasiaca comprensa est nupta corona, §604Utque pater nuptae, cumque parente domus; §605Ut cruor Herculeos abiit diffusus in artus; §606Corpora pestiferum sic tua virus edat.
As the new bride was enveloped by the Phasian crown, and as the father of the bride, and the house along with the parent; as the blood poured out spread into the Herculean limbs; so may a pestilential poison consume your body.
§607— Qua sua Penthaliden proles est ulta Lycurgum, §608Haec maneat teli te quoque plaga novi.
— May this blow of a new weapon, with which its own offspring avenged Lycurgus upon the Penthalid, await you also.
§609Utque Milo robur diducere fissile temptes, §610Nec possis captas inde referre manus.
And like Milo, may you attempt to pull apart the splitting oak, and be unable to withdraw your trapped hands from it.
§611Muneribusque tuis laedaris, ut Icarus, in quem §612Intulit armatas ebria turba manus.
And may you be harmed by your own gifts, like Icarus, against whom a drunken crowd brought armed hands.
§613Quodque dolore necis patriae pia filia fecit, §614Vincula per laquei fac tibi guttur eat.
And what the pious daughter did out of grief for her father's death, make it so that your throat goes through the bonds of a noose.
§615Obstructoque famem patiaris limine tecti, §616Ut legem poenae cui dedit ipsa parens.
And may you suffer hunger, with the threshold of your house blocked, like him to whom his mother herself gave the law of punishment.
§617Illius exemplo violes simulacra Minervae, §618Aulidis a portu qui leve vertit iter.
Following his example, may you violate the statues of Minerva, who lightly turned his course from the port of Aulis.
§619Naupliadaeve modo poenas pro crimine falso §620Morte luas, nec te non meruisse iuvet.
Or like the son of Nauplius, pay the penalty for a false crime by death, and may it not help you that you did not deserve it.
§621— Aethalon ut vita spoliavit Isindius hospes, §622Quem memor a sacris nunc quoque pellit Ion: §623Utque Melanthea tenebris a caede latentem §624Prodidit officio luminis ipsa parens: §625Sic tua coniectis fodiantur pectora telis, §626Sic precor auxiliis impediare tuis.
— As the Isindian host despoiled Aethalas of life, whom the mindful Ionian even now excludes from the sacred rites: and as his mother herself, by the service of a light, betrayed him who was hiding in the darkness after the slaughter of Melanthius: so may your breast be pierced by thrown weapons, so I pray you be hindered by your own helps.
§627Qualis equos pacto, quos fortis agebat Achilles, §628Acta Phrygi timido, nox tibi talis eat.
Such a night as was led for the timid Phrygian under the agreement of the horses which brave Achilles drove, let such a night pass for you.
§629Nec tu quam Rhesus somno meliore quiescas, §630Quam comites Rhesi tum necis, ante viae; §631Quam quos cum Rutulo morti Ramnete dederunt §632Impiger Hyrtacides Hyrtacidaeque comes.
And may you rest in no better sleep than Rhesus, than the companions of Rhesus then of death, before of the road; than those whom, along with the Rutulian Ramnes, to death gave the active son of Hyrtacus and the companion of the son of Hyrtacus.
§633Cliniadaeve modo circumdatus ignibus atris §634Membra feras Stygiae semicremata neci.
Or like the son of Clinias, surrounded by dark fires, may you bear your half-burned limbs to Stygian death.
§635Utque Remo muros auso transire recentes, §636Noxia sint capiti rustica tela tuo.
And like Remus who dared to cross the recent walls, may rustic weapons be harmful to your head.
§637Denique Sarmaticas inter Geticasque sagittas §638His precor ut vivas et moriare locis.
Finally, among Sarmatian and Getic arrows, I pray that you may live and die in these places.
§639Haec tibi tantisper subito sint missa libello,, §640Inmemores ne nos esse querare tui.
These things have been sent to you meanwhile in a sudden book, lest you complain that we are unmindful of you.
§641Pauca quidem, fateor: sed di dent plura rogatis, §642Multiplicentque suo vota favore mea.
Few indeed, I confess: but may the gods grant more than what is asked, and may they multiply my vows with their favor.
§643Postmodo plura leges et nomen habentia verum, §644Et pede quo debent acria bella geri.
Soon you will read more, and things bearing your true name, and in the foot in which fierce wars ought to be waged.

Notes

  1. 566cui sua facta parens — The relative dative `cui` functions here as a dative of reference or possession. With the ellipsis of `est` with the predicate `parens`, it translates as 'for whom (in whose case) his own sister became his parent.'
  2. 607proles est ulta Lycurgum — The subject of `ulta est` (perfect of the deponent verb `ulciscor`) is `proles` (offspring), taking `Lycurgum` as the direct object, with the Greek accusative form `Penthaliden` indicating the beneficiary or the lineage on whose behalf the vengeance was executed.
  3. 627Qualis equos pacto — The relative clause beginning with `Qualis` modifies the main clause `nox tibi talis eat`. `acta` is a perfect participle (feminine singular nominative) modifying `nox` (or `Qualis`), and `pacto` is an ablative of agreement/condition meaning 'under the agreement or promise of.'
  4. 643pede quo — The word `pede` (ablative of `pes`, foot) is used metonymically for 'poetic meter.' With the relative clause `quo debent acria bella geri`, it metaphorically signals the poet's future transition from the present elegiac couplet to the dactylic hexameter, which is the traditional meter for epic warfare and aggressive satire.

Cite this passage

Ovid, Ibis §566-644. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0959.phi010.humanitext-lat2:566-644

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