Original
Literary translation
§ 18.1
Per omnēs gentēs praeclārum est Orpheī nōmen ,quī omnium poētārum suāvissimē canēbat .
Orpheus’s name is famous among all peoples; of all poets he sang most sweetly.
Note 18.1
Per omnes gentes contains a feminine accusative plural after per; Orphei is the possessive genitive with nomen. Qui refers to Orpheus (not nomen); omnium poetarum is a partitive genitive with the superlative adverb suavissime.
§ 18.2
Et vōce argūta et lyra canēbat ,quō sonitū omnia per terrās animālia dēlectābantur .
He sang with both a clear voice and a lyre, and every creature on earth was enchanted by that sound.
Note 18.2
Et ... et coordinates two ablatives of means, voce arguta and lyra. Quo sonitu is relative ablative singular masculine modifying sonitu, meaning by which sound; omnia animalia is nominative neuter plural subject of passive imperfect delectabantur.
§ 18.3
Ille lupōs ursōsque saevōsque leōnēs dulcī cantū mulcēbat ;dulcissimum erat eīs cantum dīvīnum audīre .
He soothed wolves, bears, and fierce lions with sweet song; to them hearing his divine music was a delight.
Note 18.3
Dulci cantu is ablative of means. The neuter superlative dulcissimum acts impersonally as predicate for the infinitive phrase cantum divinum audire; divinum and cantum are both accusative masculine singular.
§ 18.4
Propter carminum amōrem flūmina inter rīpās immōta stābant ,nec iam aquae frīgidae ad pontum fluēbant .
Out of love for his songs the rivers stood motionless between their banks, and the cold waters no longer flowed to the sea.
Note 18.4
Propter governs accusative amorem, with dependent genitive carminum. Flumina (neuter plural) agrees with immota and stabant; aquae frigidae (feminine plural) governs fluebant. Ad pontum means toward the sea, not toward a bridge.
§ 18.5
Avēs ,quae in summīs arboribus nīdōs aedificābant ,labōris immemorēs circum Orpheum volābant .
Birds building nests high in trees forgot their work and flew around Orpheus.
Note 18.5
Quae is nominative feminine plural referring to aves, and introduces the clause about building nests. Summis arboribus is ablative of location; laboris is genitive required by immemores, which agrees with aves.
§ 18.6
Omnia flōrum genera sub pedibus eius flōrēbant .
Every kind of flower bloomed beneath his feet.
Note 18.6
Omnia genera is a neuter plural nominative subject of florebant; florum is genitive plural of flos depending on genera. Pedibus is ablative after sub expressing location, and eius means Orpheus’s.
§ 18.7
Uxor erat eī Eurydicē nōmine ,quam maximē amābat .
He had a wife named Eurydice, whom he loved deeply.
Note 18.7
Uxor erat ei is a dative-of-possession construction (literally “a wife was to him”). Eurydice is nominative in apposition to uxor; nomine is ablative of respect. Quam is accusative feminine singular referring to Eurydice.
§ 18.8
Cum eā in prātīs nitidīs lūdere gaudēbat .
He delighted in playing with her in the bright meadows.
Note 18.8
Cum governs ablative ea; pratis nitidis is ablative plural after in indicating a fixed location. Ludere is the present active infinitive dependent on gaudebat.
§ 18.9
Prope Thrāciae ōram poēta uxorque eius bene beātēque vīvēbant .
Near the Thracian coast, the poet and his wife lived well and happily.
Note 18.9
Prope governs accusative oram; Thraciae is genitive of place-name, specifying the Thracian coast. Poeta and uxorque together form the compound nominative subject of vivebant.
§ 18.10
Mox tamen Eurydicē ,misera puella ,morbō trīstī languēscēbat ,et ad īnferōs adhūc iuvenis dēscendit .
But soon Eurydice, poor girl, languished with a grievous illness and went down to the underworld while still young.
Note 18.10
Morbo tristi is ablative of cause or means; misera puella is nominative apposition. Adhuc iuvenis describes Eurydice, nominative feminine singular.
§ 18.11
Diū Orpheus per tōtam ōram sōlus cum lyrā māne sērōque errābat ,et āera cantibus trīstibus implēbat ;nōn iam agrīs fēcundīs ,nōn iam laetīs iuvenum chorīs gaudēbat .
For a long time Orpheus wandered alone along the entire shore, morning and evening, filling the air with sorrowful songs; he no longer rejoiced in fertile fields or cheerful choruses of young men.
Note 18.11
Totam oram is accusative after per, solus modifies nominative Orpheus, and aera is the Greek-form accusative of aer (air), the object of implebat. Cantibus tristibus marks the means of filling the air; agris fecundis and laetis iuvenum choris are ablative complements of gaudebat.
§ 18.12
Orpheus tandem ad Mānēs dēscendere cōnstituit ,et saevum Plūtōnis animum cantū dulcī mulcēre .
At last Orpheus resolved to descend among the spirits of the dead and soothe Pluto’s fierce heart with sweet music.
Note 18.12
Ad Manes takes accusative plural, denoting the shades of the dead. Constituit has coordinated complementary infinitives descendere and mulcere. Saevum animum is the direct object of mulcere, Plutonis is a dependent genitive, and cantu dulci is ablative of means.
§ 18.13
“Fortasse ,” inquit ,“Plūtō Persephonēque rēgīna vōce lyrāque meā mulcēbuntur ,et veniam mihi dabunt ;fortasse Eurydicēn ad virum eius remittent .”
“Perhaps,” he said, “Pluto and Queen Persephone will be moved by my voice and lyre and grant me mercy; perhaps they will send Eurydice back to her husband.”
Note 18.13
Pluto Persephoneque regina are joint nominative subjects; mulcebuntur is future passive. Voce, lyraque mea are means; veniam is accusative object of dabunt. Eurydicen retains the Greek accusative ending.
§ 18.14
Itaque ad Mānēs ,in regiōnem tenebrōsam dēscendit ,unde nēmō ad lūcem caelumque unquam ascenderat .
And so he descended among the dead into the shadowy realm, from which no one had ever returned to daylight and the sky.
Note 18.14
Itaque introduces the result of Orpheus’s decision. Both ad Manes and in regionem take the accusative of motion toward a destination. Unde means from where; ascenderat is pluperfect indicative in the relative clause.
§ 18.15
Ibi circum poētam volāvērunt tenuēs umbrae eōrum quī superōs relīquerant .
There the thin shades of those who had left the upper world flew around the poet.
Note 18.15
Umbrae is feminine nominative plural subject of perfect volaverunt. Eorum is possessive or partitive genitive plural referring to those who left the upper world; qui takes the masculine plural as referent of the deceased.
There were many shades.
Note 18.16
Multae is nominative feminine plural modifying umbrae; erant is imperfect third-person plural, describing the many shades.
§ 18.17
Mātrēs senēsque ,puerī puellaeque innūptae ,quōs vulnera īnfēsta morbusque trīstis ad īnferōs miserant ,ad poētam properāvērunt ,et carmine mīrō dēlectātī sunt .
Mothers and old men, boys and unmarried girls, whom deadly wounds and grievous illness had sent below, hurried to the poet and were enchanted by his wonderful song.
Note 18.17
Matres, senes, pueri, and puellae form the nominative subject of properaverunt. Quos is masculine accusative plural relative object of miserant, while vulnera infesta (neuter nominative plural) and morbus tristis are its subjects. Carmine miro is ablative of means; delectati sunt is perfect passive.
§ 18.18
Orpheus per viam tenebrōsam ad rēgiam venit ,ubi Hadēs cum rēgīna in lectō sedēbat ;tum vērō vōce argūta lyraque cecinit ,et ad genua rēgīnae sē prōstrāvit ,et multīs lacrimīs veniam ōrāvit .
Orpheus came along the dark road to the palace, where Hades sat with his queen upon a couch; then he sang with his clear voice and lyre, threw himself at the queen’s knees, and begged for mercy with many tears.
Note 18.18
Per viam and ad regiam govern accusatives. Cum regina and in lecto take ablatives of accompaniment and location. Voce arguta lyraque are ablatives of means; ad genua has accusative plural; reginae is possessive genitive. Veniam is the accusative object of oravit.
§ 18.19
Illa lacrimīs eius cantūque commōta est ,et ,“Ūna condiciōne ,”inquit ,“tibi uxōrīque tuae hoc dōnum dabō .
Moved by his tears and singing, she said: “On one condition I will grant this gift to you and your wife.
Note 18.19
Una condicione: ablative feminine singular of stipulation. Tibi and uxorique tuae are two dative recipients; hoc donum is accusative neuter singular object of the future dabo. Commota est is perfect passive.
§ 18.20
Tū ad superōs statim properā ;illa post tē ad lūcem ascendet .
Go at once to the upper world; she will follow you up into the light.
Note 18.20
Propera is second-person singular present imperative. Ad superos and ad lucem are destinations (accusative), and post te contains the accusative singular pronoun. Ascendet is future indicative.
§ 18.21
Sī autem tū oculōs ad comitem retrō revertēris ,iterum Eurydicē per viam tenebrōsam dēscendet ;iterum circum uxōrem tuam tenebrae fundentur .”
But if you turn your eyes back toward your companion, Eurydice will descend once more along the dark road, and darkness will again close around your wife.”
Note 18.21
Reverteris is the second-person future of deponent revertor in a future-open condition; descendet and fundentur are future indicatives. Oculos is the thing turned toward comitem; tenebrae is plural subject of fundentur.
§ 18.22
Iam Orphēus magnā spē ad superōs ascendēbat ;iam Eurydicē post virum ad lūcem properābat ,iam ad extrēmās tenebrās veniēbat .
Already Orpheus was climbing toward the upper world in great hope; already Eurydice was hurrying after her husband toward the light, already approaching the edge of the darkness.
Note 18.22
Magna spe is ablative of manner or attendant circumstance; post virum expresses movement behind one’s husband. Ad superos, ad lucem, and ad extremas tenebras contain accusatives of direction; ascendebat, properabat, and veniebat are imperfect indicative.
§ 18.23
Orpheus ,verbōrum rēgīnae immemor ,oculōs retrō ad puellam revertit .
Orpheus, forgetting the queen’s words, turned his eyes back toward the girl.
Note 18.23
Verborum reginae combines a genitive plural with a dependent genitive singular (“the queen’s words”), both governed semantically by the adjective immemor, nominative masculine singular with Orpheus. Oculos is accusative plural object of perfect active revertit.
§ 18.24
Tum vērō ex īmīs īnferīs fragor ingēns audītus est .
Then a tremendous crash was heard from the depths of the underworld.
Note 18.24
Ex governs ablative imis inferis (“from the lowest depths of the underworld”). Fragor ingens is nominative masculine singular subject; auditus est is perfect passive indicative, “was heard.”
§ 18.25
Eurydicē ,“Ō Orpheu ,”inquit ,“iterum fāta crūdēlia retrō mē vocant ;per artūs oculōsque meōs somnus profundus funditur .
“O Orpheus,” said Eurydice, “cruel fate calls me back again; deep sleep spreads through my limbs and eyes.
Note 18.25
Orpheu is the Greek vocative of Orpheus. Fata crudelia (nominative neuter plural) governs plural vocant. Somnus profundus is the singular nominative subject of passive present funditur; per artus oculosque meos takes accusative plurals.
Farewell, dearest husband!
Note 18.26
Vir is vocative in direct address to Orpheus; carissime is also vocative masculine singular. Vale is singular present imperative.
§ 18.27
Iterum in noctem tenebrōsam feror .”
Once again I am carried into the dark night.”
Note 18.27
In takes accusative noctem tenebrosam because it expresses movement into the darkness. Feror is first-person singular present passive indicative of fero.
§ 18.28
Dīxit ,et iam tenuis umbra ē manibus virī in tenebrās fūgit .
She spoke, and now her insubstantial shade slipped from her husband’s hands into the darkness.
Note 18.28
Umbra is nominative feminine singular subject of perfect fugit. E manibus requires ablative plural of manus (hands); viri is a dependent genitive singular (the husband’s).
§ 18.29
Haec et alia multa Iūlia ē benignō lūdī magistrō audiēbat .
Julia heard these and many other stories from her kindly schoolmaster.
Note 18.29
Haec et alia multa is accusative neuter plural object of audiebat. Iulia is nominative subject; e benigno ludi magistro marks the person from whom she heard these stories.
§ 18.30
Posteā ,iam adolēscēns ,ad longinquās terrās nāvigāvit et ipsa rēs multās mīrāsque vīdit .
Later, as a young woman, she sailed to distant lands and herself saw many strange and wonderful things.
Note 18.30
Adolescens here is nominative singular feminine describing Iulia (who remains the subject). Res multas mirasque is feminine accusative plural object of vidit.
§ 18.31
Vōs quoque fortasse ad Ītaliam Graeciamque ōlim ipsī nāvigābitis ,et illa loca oculīs vestrīs vidēbitis ,ubi poētae habitābant ,dē quibus haec omnia nārrāvērunt .
Perhaps you too will one day sail to Italy and Greece and see with your own eyes the places where the poets lived—about whom all these things have been told.
Note 18.31
Vos and ipsi are nominative plural; both futures navigabitis and videbitis share that second-person plural subject. Illa loca is accusative neuter plural object of videbitis, and haec omnia is accusative neuter plural object of narraverunt. The passive phrasing in the English renders de quibus ... narraverunt, whose active plural subject is left implicit in the Latin.
