Metamorphoses: Book 9

by Ovid
Ovid's Metamorphoses features myths and stories of change, mutation, and transformation. Learn these words from the translation by John Dryden here.

Here are links to our lists for the book: Book 1, Book 2, Book 3, Book 4, Book 5, Book 6, Book 7, Book 8, Book 9, Book 10, Book 11, Book 12, Book 13, Book 14
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. maim
    injure or wound seriously and leave permanent disfiguration
    Theseus requests the God to tell his woes,
    Whence his maim'd brow, and whence his groans arose
  2. defy
    resist or confront with resistance
    Safe in my bulk, immovable I stand.
    So when loud storms break high, and foam and roar
    Against some mole that stretches from the shore;
    The firm foundation lasting tempests braves,
    Defies the warring winds, and driving waves.
  3. extol
    praise, glorify, or honor
    Believe my tale; nor do I, boastful, aim
    By feign'd narration to extol my fame.
  4. augmented
    added to or made greater in amount or number or strength
    Art thou proportion'd to the Hydra's length,
    Who by his wounds receiv'd augmented strength?
    He rais'd a hundred hissing heads in air;
    When one I lopt, up-sprung a dreadful pair.
  5. quell
    suppress or crush completely
    By his wounds fertile, and with slaughter strong,
    Singly I quell'd him, and stretch'd dead along.
  6. precarious
    not secure; beset with difficulties
    What canst thou do, a form precarious, prone,
    To rouse my rage with terrors not thy own?
    Hercules insults Achelous/Neptune with the adjective "precarious"--although Neptune tries to scare him by transforming into a snake, Hercules smiles because not only did he kill snakes as a baby but he also recently killed the Hydra. So Neptune tries changing into a bull, but this form is more precarious ("fraught with danger") for him, because Hercules manages to grab hold of his neck and break off his horn.
  7. fortitude
    strength of mind that enables one to endure adversity
    the rising flame
    Sudden dissolves the subtle pois'nous juice,
    Which taints his blood, and all his nerves bedews.
    With wonted fortitude he bore the smart,
    And not a groan confess'd his burning heart.
    The description is of Hercules, so the "wonted fortitude" is not just the strength of his mind but also the more commonly used strength of his body. But even Hercules' fortitude does not last for long against the poisonous blood of the Hydra.
  8. livid
    discolored by coagulation of blood beneath the skin
    As the red iron hisses in the flood,
    So boils the venom in his curdling blood.
    Now with the greedy flame his entrails glow,
    And livid sweats down all his body flow;
    The cracking nerves burnt up are burst in twain,
    The lurking venom melts his swimming brain.
  9. rancor
    a feeling of deep and bitter anger and ill-will
    Then, lifting both his hands aloft, he cries,
    Glut thy revenge, dread Empress of the skies;
    Sate with my death the rancour of thy heart,
    Look down with pleasure, and enjoy my smart.
    The irony is that, unlike what Hercules believes here, his suffering is not caused by Juno's rancor, but by his wife's love. Upon hearing a rumor that Hercules was in love with another woman, Deianira sends him Nessus's vest, because the centaur, right before he died from Hercules' arrow, rancorously lied about the vest having magical powers that could "rouse declining love."
  10. valiant
    having or showing heroism or courage
    The female partner of the Thunderer's reign
    Fatigu'd, at length suspends her harsh commands,
    Yet no fatigue hath slack'd these valiant hands.
    Despite being in extreme pain, Hercules recites all the valiant feats of his life, including slaying the horses that fed on human flesh and driving away the birds that ate men and beasts. Although some of his acts were less about being a hero than about fulfilling the desires of a greedy king, Hercules indefatigably completes them, which makes him seem stronger than Juno, who got tired of simply commanding others to harass Hercules.
  11. incessant
    uninterrupted in time and indefinitely long continuing
    Seven days and nights amidst incessant throes,
    Fatigu'd with ills I lay, nor knew repose;
    When lifting high my hands, in shrieks I pray'd,
    Implor'd the Gods, and call'd Lucina's aid.
  12. vex
    disturb, especially by minor irritations
    Galanthis' laughter vex'd the Pow'r deceiv'd.
    Fame says, the Goddess dragg'd the laughing maid
    Fast by the hair; in vain her force essay'd
    Her grov'ling body from the ground to rear;
    Chang'd to fore-feet her shrinking arms appear:
  13. encroach
    advance beyond the usual limit
    Her stiff'ning feet were rooted to the ground:
    In vain to free her fasten'd feet she strove,
    And as she struggles only moves above;
    She feels th' encroaching bark around her grow,
    By slow degrees, and cover all below:
  14. hapless
    unfortunate and deserving pity
    Teach him, when first his infant voice shall frame
    Imperfect words, and lisp his mother's name,
    To hail this tree, and say with weeping eyes,
    Within this plant my hapless parent lies;
  15. prescient
    perceiving the significance of events before they occur
    When Themis thus with prescient voice had spoke,
    Among the Gods a various murmur broke;
    Dissension rose in each immortal breast,
    That one should grant, what was denied the rest.
  16. dismal
    causing dejection
    Let the sad fate of wretched Byblis prove
    A dismal warning to unlawful love;
    One birth gave being to the hapless pair,
    But more was Caunus than a sister's care;
    "Dismal" and "sad" are synonyms, and so are "wretched" and "hapless"--all four adjectives in the example sentence set the mood for a story about an unrequited incestuous love that forces an ashamed brother to run away and a weeping sister to transform into a fountain.
  17. depraved
    deviating from what is considered moral or right or proper
    But love (too soon from piety declin'd)
    Insensibly depraved her yielding mind.
    Dress'd she appears, with nicest art adorn'd,
    And ev'ry youth, but her lov'd brother, scorn'd;
  18. prerogative
    a right reserved exclusively by a person or group
    Hear me, ye Gods! I must have friends in Heav'n,
    For Jove himself was to a sister giv'n:
    But what are their prerogatives above,
    To the short liberties of human love?
  19. afflicted
    grievously affected especially by disease
    Yet cruel Caunus might himself deny,
    No pity take of an afflicted maid
    (For love's sweet game must be by couples play'd).
  20. sprightly
    full of spirit and vitality
    Where Nature kindly summons let us go,
    Our sprightly years no bounds in love shou'd know,
    Shou'd feel no check of guilt, and fear no ill;
    Lovers, and Gods act all things at their will:
  21. divulge
    make known to the public information previously kept secret
    Hence, hence, he cried, thou pander to her lust,
    Bear hence the triumph of thy impious trust:
    Thy instant death will but divulge her shame,
    Or thy life's blood shou'd quench the guilty flame.
  22. irksome
    tedious or irritating
    Perhaps, my careless page might be in fault,
    And in a luckless hour the fatal message brought;
    Business, and worldly thoughts might fill his breast,
    Sometimes ev'n love itself may be an irksome guest:
  23. vouchsafe
    grant in a condescending manner
    If Heav'n, said Lygdus, will vouchsafe to hear,
    I have but two petitions to prefer;
    Short pains for thee, for me a son and heir.
  24. pule
    cry weakly or softly
    Weak puling things, unable to sustain
    Their share of labour, and their bread to gain.
    If, therefore, thou a creature shalt produce,
    Of so great charges, and so little use
    (Bear witness, Heav'n, with what reluctancy),
    Her hapless innocence I doom to die.
  25. persist
    refuse to stop
    Yet Telethusa still persists, to find
    Fit arguments to move a father's mind;
    T' extend his wishes to a larger scope,
    And in one vessel not confine his hope.
  26. repose
    put or confide something in a person or thing
    Delude with art thy husband's dire decree:
    When danger calls, repose thy trust on me:
    And know thou hast not serv'd a thankless deity.
  27. defraud
    deprive of by deceit
    Why com'st thou, Juno, to these barren rites,
    To bless a bed defrauded of delights?
    But why shou'd Hymen lift his torch on high,
    To see two brides in cold embraces lie?
    Hymen is a god who presides over weddings, and Juno is the goddess associated with marriage, fertility, and childbirth. Thus, two women in love would not please these gods, because they cannot marry, would be "barren" ("not bearing offspring"), and their bed would be defrauded of the delights that a heterosexual union could produce.
  28. recourse
    something or someone turned to for assistance or security
    Then Telethusa had recourse to pray'r,
    She, and her daughter with dishevel'd hair;
    Trembling with fear, great Isis they ador'd,
    Embrac'd her altar, and her aid implor'd.
  29. latent
    potentially existing but not presently evident or realized
    Her sparkling eyes with manly vigour shone,
    Big was her voice, audacious was her tone.
    The latent parts, at length reveal'd, began
    To shoot, and spread, and burnish into man.
  30. votive
    dedicated in fulfillment of a vow
    Their gifts the parents to the temple bear:
    The votive tables this inscription wear;
    Iphis the man, has to the Goddess paid
    The vows, that Iphis offer'd when a maid.
Created on Tue Jun 18 13:29:16 EDT 2013 (updated Mon Apr 08 17:15:35 EDT 2019)

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