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A review by kassiani
Metamorphoses: A New Translation by Ovid
March 2025 read : mostly for the Eurydice and Orpheus myth
Comparing three different contemporary translations.
Book X: Orpheus and Eurydice (lines 70-90)
« here Orpheus, afraid
that she would fail him, and desiring
a glimpse of his beloved, turned to look:
at once she slipped back to the underworld,
and he, because he wanted to embrace her,
or be embraced by her, stretched out his arms—
but seized on nothing, that unlucky man,
unless it was the abnegating air.
And she now, who must die a second death,
did not find fault with him, for what indeed
could he be faulted for, but his constancy? »
(...)
Book XI: lines 80-90
« The shade of Orpheus now fled below,
and recognized all he had seen before;
and as he searched through the Elysian Fields,
he came upon his lost Eurydice,
and passionately threw his arms about her;
here now they walk together, side by side,
or now he follows as she goes before,
or he precedes, and she goes after him;
and now there is no longer any danger
when Orpheus looks on Eurydice. »
Book VIII: lines 260-330 Icarus
« when the boy audaciously began to play
and driven by desire for the sky,
deserts his leader and seeks altitude.
The sun’s consuming rays, much nearer now,
soften the fragrant wax that bound his wings
until it melts.
He agitates his arms,
but without wings, they cannot grip the air,
and with his father’s name on them, his lips
are taken under by the deep blue sea
that bears his name, even to the present.
And his unlucky father, now no more
a father, cries out, “Icarus, where are you,
where, in what region, shall I look for you?”
And then he saw the feathers on the waves
and cursed his arts; he built his son a tomb
in the land that takes its name from Icarus. »
Book III : lines 410-440 the Judgment of Tiresias
Book IV : Pyramus and Thisbe (lines 80-230)
Ancient Romeo and Juliet, under a mulberry tree
Book XV : The poet of the future (lines 1100-1120)
My work is finished now: no wrath of Jove
nor sword nor fire nor futurity
is capable of laying waste to it.
Let that day come then, when it wishes to,
which only has my body in its power,
and put an end to my uncertain years;
no matter, for in spirit I will be
borne up to soar beyond the distant stars,
immortal in the name I leave behind;
wherever Roman governance extends
over the subject nations of the world,
my words will be upon the people’s lips,
and if there is truth in poets’ prophesies,
then in my fame forever I will live. »
Comparing three different contemporary translations.
Book X: Orpheus and Eurydice (lines 70-90)
« here Orpheus, afraid
that she would fail him, and desiring
a glimpse of his beloved, turned to look:
at once she slipped back to the underworld,
and he, because he wanted to embrace her,
or be embraced by her, stretched out his arms—
but seized on nothing, that unlucky man,
unless it was the abnegating air.
And she now, who must die a second death,
did not find fault with him, for what indeed
could he be faulted for, but his constancy? »
(...)
Book XI: lines 80-90
« The shade of Orpheus now fled below,
and recognized all he had seen before;
and as he searched through the Elysian Fields,
he came upon his lost Eurydice,
and passionately threw his arms about her;
here now they walk together, side by side,
or now he follows as she goes before,
or he precedes, and she goes after him;
and now there is no longer any danger
when Orpheus looks on Eurydice. »
Book VIII: lines 260-330 Icarus
« when the boy audaciously began to play
and driven by desire for the sky,
deserts his leader and seeks altitude.
The sun’s consuming rays, much nearer now,
soften the fragrant wax that bound his wings
until it melts.
He agitates his arms,
but without wings, they cannot grip the air,
and with his father’s name on them, his lips
are taken under by the deep blue sea
that bears his name, even to the present.
And his unlucky father, now no more
a father, cries out, “Icarus, where are you,
where, in what region, shall I look for you?”
And then he saw the feathers on the waves
and cursed his arts; he built his son a tomb
in the land that takes its name from Icarus. »
Book III : lines 410-440 the Judgment of Tiresias
Book IV : Pyramus and Thisbe (lines 80-230)
Ancient Romeo and Juliet, under a mulberry tree
Book XV : The poet of the future (lines 1100-1120)
My work is finished now: no wrath of Jove
nor sword nor fire nor futurity
is capable of laying waste to it.
Let that day come then, when it wishes to,
which only has my body in its power,
and put an end to my uncertain years;
no matter, for in spirit I will be
borne up to soar beyond the distant stars,
immortal in the name I leave behind;
wherever Roman governance extends
over the subject nations of the world,
my words will be upon the people’s lips,
and if there is truth in poets’ prophesies,
then in my fame forever I will live. »