sagae thessalae traduction

• As a young man, I set out from Miletus to the Olympic games, since I also wanted to visit the places of this famous province, having travelled through the whole of Thessaly, I arrived at Larissa.


  iuvenis ego Mileto profectus ad spectaculum Olympicum, cum haec etiam loca provinciae clarae visitare cuperem, peragrata tota Thessalia Larissam perveni.
• And, while wandering through the city, since my travelling allowance had diminished, I searched for a remedy for my poverty, I caught sight of an old man in the middle of the forum.


  ac dum urbem perarrans tenuato viatico paupertati meae fomenta quaero, medio in foro senem conspicio.
• He was standing on a stone and was proclaiming in a loud voice, if anyone wanted to guard a dead body, he would receive a large reward.


  insistebat lapidem magnaque voce praedicabat, si quis mortuum custodire vellet, magnum praemium accepturum esse.
• And I said to a someone passing by, "What's this I hear? Are the dead accustomed to running away here?"

  et cuidam praetereunti 'quid hoc' inquam 'audio? hic mortui solent aufugere?
• "Be quiet!" he replied.

  "For you are a boy and a mere foreigner and naturally you don't know that you are in Thessaly, where witches always bite pieces out of the faces of the dead, which they use as supplements for their magic arts."


  'tace,' respondit ille.

  'nam puer et satis peregrinus es, meritoque nescis in Thessalia te esse, ubi sagae ora mortuorum semper demorsicant, quae sunt illis artis magicae supplementa.
• In reply I said "What sort of guard is needed?"


  contra ego 'quali custodela' inquam 'opus est?
• "First of all" he replied, "for the whole night you must stay fully awake with open and unclosing eyes always focused on the corpse, and you must not turn your glance away anywhere, since those very wicked witches creep up secretly, having changed shape into any animal.


  'iam primum' respondit ille 'totam noctem eximie vigilandum est apertis et inconivis oculis semper in cadaver intentis, nec acies usquam devertenda est, cum illae pessimae sagae latenter arrepant, forma in quodvis animal conversa.
• For they take the form of birds and dogs and mice, and indeed even flies."


  nam et aves et canes et mures, immo vero etiam muscas, induunt.
• Having discovered these things I strengthened my spirit and I immediately approached the old man and said "Stop shouting now. A guard is here, ready."


  his cognitis animum meum conmasculo et statim accedens senem 'clamare' inquam 'iam desine.adest custos paratus.
• I had scarcely finished and he immediately led me to a certain home, where he pointed out a woman weeping and dressed in dark clothing.


  vix finieram et statim me perducit ad domum quandam, ubi demonstrat matronam flebilem fuscis vestimentis contectam.
• She got up and led me to the bedroom.

  There she revealed a body wrapped in shining white sheets, with her hand. When she had anxiously pointed out the individual features, she left.


  illa surrexit et ad cubiculum me induxit.

  ibi corpus splendentibus linteis coopertum manu revelavit. ubi singula anxie demonstravit, exiit.
• In this way left alone to the comfort of the corpse, having rubbed my eyes and prepared for guard duty, I was soothing my spirit with songs and stayed awake until the middle of the night.


  sic desolatus ad cadaveris solacium, perfrictis oculis et paratis ad vigiliam, dum animum meum permulcebam cantationibus, usque ad mediam noctem pervigilabam.
• But then my fear was increased more when suddenly a weasel crept in and stood in front of me and fixed his eyes on me.


  tum autem mihi formido cumulatior cum repente introrepens mustela contra me constitit oculosque in me fixit.
• Such great self-confidence in so small an animal disturbed my spirit.


  tanta fiducia in tantulo animali mihi turbavit animum.
• Finally in this way I spoke to it "Go away! Wicked beast, before you quickly experience my strength! Go away!"


  denique sic illi 'abi' inquam 'scelesta bestia, antequam meam vim celeriter experiaris! abi!
• The weasel turned his back and immediately went out of the bedroom.

  Without delay so deep a sleep suddenly overwhelmed me that the god of Delphi himself could not easily, indeed, decide from the tow of us lying down, who was more dead.


  mustela terga vertit et e cubiculo protinus exit.

  sine mora somnus tam profundus me repente demergit, ut ne deus quidem Delphicus ipse facile discernere posset ex duobus nobis iacentibus, quis esset magis mortuus.
• At last at dawn I woke up and in great fear I ran terrified over to the corpse and I brought a lamp near and revealed his face and I inspected everything carefully: nothing was missing.


  tandem prima luce expergitus et magno pavore perterritus cadaver accurro, et admoto lumine revelatoque eius vultu, omnia diligenter inspicio: nihil deest.
• See the wretched wife bursting in weeping: having inspected the corpse, she paid my reward without delay.


  ecce uxor misera flens introrumpit: cadaver inspecto reddit sine mora praemium.
• He said "For the sake of your honour, citizens, for the sake of public duty, help this murdered citizen and punish the vilest deed of this wicked and nefarious woman severely.


  'per fidem vestram' inquit 'cives, per pietatem publicam, perempto civi subsistite et extremum facinus istius feminae nefariae scelestaeque severiter vindicate.
• For this woman, not anyone else, has killed this wretched young man, son of my sister, with poison to please her lover and for the sake of inherited profits."


  haec enim nec ullus alius miserum iuvenem, sororis meae filium, in adulteri gratiam et ob praedam hereditariam extinxit veneno.
• Having poured forth tears and swearing by all the gods, as piously as she could, she denied so great a crime.


  illa, lacrimis effusis quamque sanctissime poterat adiurans cunctos deos, tantum scelus abnuebat.
• Then that old man said: "Let us put the judgement of the truth into divine providence.


  ergo senex ille: 'veritatis arbitrium in divinam providentiam ponamus.
• Zatchlas, a very well known Egyptian prophet is here, who has promised me that for a great reward he will bring back the spirit of this corpse from the dead for a little while and reanimate the body."


  Zatchlas adest Aegyptius propheta notissimus, qui mihi promisit se pro magno praemio spiritum istius cadaveris paulisper ab inferis reducturum esse corpusque animaturum.
• I pushed myself into the crowd and standing on a stone behind the bier itself, I watched everything with curious eyes.

  Now the chest of the corpse was raised, now the spirit of the corpse was filled.


  immitto me turbae et pone ipsum lectulum lapidem insistens omnia curiosis oculis spectabam.

  iam tumore pectus cadaveris extolli, iam spiritu corpus impleri.
• And the corpse got up and spoke: "Why, I beg, have you brought me back to the duties of a short-lived life after drinking from the waters of Lethe and sailing on the Stygian swamp?

  Now cease, I pray, cease and let me go back to my rest."


  et surgit cadaver et profatur: 'cur, oro, me post Lethaea pocula iam Stygiis paludibus innatantem ad momentariae vitae officia reducitis?

  desine iam, precor, desine, ac me in meam quietem permitte.
• These word were heard from the corpse, but the prophet somewhat more forcefully said, "Why do you not tell the people everything about your death?"


  haec vox de corpore audita est, sed propheta aliquanto commotior 'quin narras' inquit 'populo omnia de morte tua?
• He replied from the bier and addressed the people with a deep groan in this way: "Murdered by the wicked arts of my new bride and a victim of a poisoned wine cup, I gave back a bed warm with adultery.


  respondit ille de lectulo et imo cum gemitu populum sic adloquitur: 'malis novae nuptae artibus peremptus et addictus noxio poculo, torum tepentem adultero reddidi.
• I will give you very clear proof of the truth and I will reveal that which absolutely no-one else has discovered or predicted."


  dabo vobis documenta veritatis perlucida, et quod prorsus alius nemo cognoverit vel ominaverit indicabo.
• Then, pointing to me with his finger, he said: "For while this keen witted guard of my corpse was keeping an alert watch on me, certain witches, eager for my remains, having changed their appearance, appeared.


  tunc digito me demonstrans: 'nam cum corporis mei custos hic sagacissimus exsertam vigilam mihi teneret, sagae quaedam exuviis meis inminentes forma mutate apparuerunt.
• When they were not able to elude his determined diligence, they immediately threw a cloud of sleep over him and buried him in a deep rest.


  cum industriam sedulam eius fallere potuissent, postremum iniecta somni nebula eum in profundam quietem sepeliverunt.
• Then they began to wake me up by name and they did not stop until my sluggish joints and cold limbs slowly struggled to obey their magic art.


  tum me nomine excitare coeperunt neque prius desierunt quam dum hebetes artus mei et membra frigida ad artis magicae obsequie segniter nituntur.
• But this man who was alive, and only dead in sleep, by chance had the same name as me.


  hic autem qui vivus erat, et tantum sopore mortuus, idem mecum nomen forte habet.
• Therefore he unwittingly rose in response to his name and, proceeding of his own accord in the manner of a lifeless ghost, he approached the door.


  ad suum nomen igitur ignarus exsurgit, et, in exanimis umbrae modum ultro gradiens, ianuam adit.
• Although the bedroom doors had been locked carefully, his nose and ears were cut off through a certain door hole, he suffered the mutilation of his ears in my place.


  quamquam fores cubiculi diligenter occlusae erant, per quoddam foramen prosectis naso prius ac mox auribus lanienam pro me passus est.
• Then the witches attached wax in the shape of his cut off ears and fitted on a nose similar to the one which had been cut off.


  tum sagae ceram in modum prosectarum formatam aurium ei applicant nasumque similem prosecto comparant.
• And now this wretched man stands here, having earned a reward not of hard work but of mutilation."


  et nunc stat miser hic, praemium non industriae sed lanienase consecutus.
• Terrified by these words, I began to touch my face.

  I grasped my nose with my hand: it came off; I touched my ears: they fell off.


  his dictis perterritus temptare formam incipio.

  manu nasum prehendo: sequitur; aures pertracto: deruunt.
• And while the crowd pointed me out with pointing fingers and nods, I fled dripping with cold sweat, through the feet of those standing around.


  ac dum turba directis digitis et nutibus me denotat, inter pedes circumstantium frigido sudore defluens effugio.
• Afterwards I was not able to return to my homeland, so maimed and so ridiculous, but, having my hair long on both sides, I hid the wounds of my ears and indeed for decency's sake I concealed the disgrace of my nose with this patch.


  nec postea sic debilis ac sic ridiculus ad patriam redire potui, sed capillis hinc inde deiectis aurium vulnera celavi, nasi vero dedecus linteolo isto decenter obtexi.