Metamorphoses: Book 12

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. cenotaph
    monument to honor those whose remains are interred elsewhere
    Priam, to whom the story was unknown,
    As dead, deplor'd his metamorphos'd son:
    A cenotaph his name, and title kept,
    And Hector round the tomb, with all his brothers, wept.
  2. unfledged
    (of birds) not yet having developed feathers
    A snake of size immense ascends a tree,
    And, in the leafy summit, spied a nest,
    Which o'er her callow young, a sparrow press'd.
    Eight were the birds unfledged; their mother flew,
    And hover'd round her care; but still in view:
    'Till the fierce reptile first devour'd the brood,
    Then seiz'd the flutt'ring dam, and drunk her blood.
  3. undulate
    increase and decrease in volume or pitch
    Full in the midst of this created space,
    Betwixt Heav'n, Earth, and skies, there stands a place,
    Confining on all three, with triple bound;
    Whence all things, tho' remote, are view'd around;
    And thither bring their undulating sound.
    The palace of loud Fame, her seat of pow'r,
    Plac'd on the summit of a lofty tow'r;
  4. diffuse
    cause to become widely known
    'Tis built of brass, the better to diffuse
    The spreading sounds, and multiply the news:
  5. encompassing
    closely encircling
    Not otherwise th' impatient hero far'd,
    Than as a bull encompass'd with a guard,
    Amid the Circus roars, provok'd from far
    By sight of scarlet, and a sanguine war:
    They quit their ground, his bended horns elude;
    In vain pursuing, and in vain pursu'd:
  6. prowess
    a superior skill learned by study and practice
    The vigour of this arm was never vain:
    And that my wonted prowess I retain,
    Witness these heaps of slaughter on the plain.
    In Latin, "prud" is being brave; in Middle English, it is using your head, "prow," or the head of the ship--Achilles does not doubt his bravery, but he is wondering how, with his vigor and prowess, he can slaughter heaps of soldiers, but he can't hurt Cygnus. Although Cygnus revealed that he is the son of Neptune, as the son of the goddess Thetis and the victor of many wars, Achilles believes that his usual prowess with a spear should be enough to defeat any enemy.
  7. unerring
    always accurate or correct
    The weapon with unerring fury flew,
    At his left shoulder aim'd: nor entrance found;
    But back, as from a rock, with swift rebound
    Harmless return'd:
  8. buffet
    strike against forcefully
    But round his hollow temples and his ears
    His buckler beats: the son of Neptune, stunn'd
    With these repeated buffets, quits his ground;
    A buckler is "armor carried on the arm to intercept blows"--but Achilles is not using his buckler in a defensive way but as a weapon to beat up Cygnus. The buffeting buckler backs Cygnus into a stone, which gives Achilles the opportunity to strangle Cygnus. Cygnus as a human dies, but Neptune immortalizes his son by turning him into a swan.
  9. discourse
    extended verbal expression in speech or writing
    The mellow harp did not their ears employ:
    And mute was all the warlike symphony:
    Discourse, the food of souls, was their delight,
    And pleasing chat prolong'd the summer's night.
  10. bestial
    resembling an animal, especially by being vicious or cruel
    'Twas Eurytus began: his bestial kind
    His crime pursu'd; and each as pleas'd his mind,
    Or her, whom chance presented, took: the feast
    An image of a taken town express'd.
  11. resound
    ring or echo with noise
    The cave resounds with female shrieks; we rise,
    Mad with revenge to make a swift reprise:
  12. chalice
    a bowl-shaped drinking vessel
    Bold Amycus, from the robb'd vestry brings
    The chalices of Heav'n; and holy things
    Of precious weight: a sconce that hung on high,
    With tapers fill'd, to light the sacristy,
    Torn from the cord, with his unhallow'd hand
    He threw amid the Lapythaean band.
    At first, just a goblet, another drinking vessel, was thrown. Then bowls and jars (other "instruments of feast") took flight. But when holy chalices are also used as weapons, the fight turns really brutal and bloody.
  13. ply
    wield vigorously
    Nor Rhoetus then retain'd his joy; but said,
    So by their fellows may our foes be sped;
    Then, with redoubled strokes he plies his head:
    The burning lever not deludes his pains:
    But drives the batter'd skull within the brains.
    The verb "ply" often connects to the rowing of a boat, and when one redoubles his strokes, he is plying the oars to either make the boat go faster or pull it through an opposing wind. But here, Rhoetus is plying a torch to beat a centaur's skull into his brains.
  14. dissuade
    turn away from by persuasion
    And Augur Asbolos, whose art in vain,
    From fight dissuaded the four-footed train,
    Now beat the hoof with Nessus on the plain;
  15. fray
    a noisy fight
    Amid the noise, and tumult of the fray,
    Snoring, and drunk with wine, Aphidas lay.
  16. sunder
    break apart or in two, using violence
    Yet not in vain th' enormous weight was cast;
    Which Crantor's body sunder'd at the waist:
  17. ashen
    made of the wood of a timber tree of the olive family
    Thy sire, with grieving eyes, beheld his Fate;
    And cried, Not long, lov'd Crantor, shalt thou wait
    Thy vow'd revenge. At once he said, and threw
    His ashen-spear; which quiver'd, as it flew;
    With all his force, and all his soul applied;
    "Ashen" also means "anemic looking from illness or emotion"--although this would not describe the spear, it could describe Peleus, who had just seen his beloved squire split into two. So an ashen Peleus is throwing his ashen spear; as it flies through the air, the spear quivers from both the physical force of the throw as well as the grieving and vengeful emotions of the thrower.
  18. brawny
    possessing physical strength and weight; rugged and powerful
    Add but a horse's head and neck; and he,
    O Castor, was a courser worthy thee.
    So was his back proportion'd for the seat:
    So rose his brawny chest; so swiftly mov'd his feet.
    Coal-black his colour, but like jet it shone;
    His legs, and flowing tail were white alone.
  19. stifle
    smother or suppress
    And while her hand the streaming blood oppos'd,
    Join'd face to face, his lips with hers she clos'd.
    Stifled with kisses, a sweet death he dies;
  20. forbear
    refrain from doing
    I forbear to tell
    By Periphantas how Pyretus fell;
    The centaur by the knight: nor will I stay
    On Amphix, or what deaths he dealt that day:
  21. intersperse
    place between or among
    In years retaining still his youthful might,
    Though his black hairs were interspersed with white,
    Betwixt th' embattled ranks began to prance,
    Proud of his helm, and Macedonian lance;
  22. impassive
    having or revealing little emotion or sensibility
    Th' impassive knight stood idle, to deride
    His rage, and offer'd oft his naked side;
  23. intolerable
    incapable of being put up with
    Press'd with the burden, Caeneus pants for breath;
    And on his shoulders bears the wooden death.
    To heave th' intolerable weight he tries;
    At length it rose above his mouth and eyes:
    Yet still he heaves; and, struggling with despair,
    Shakes all aside, and gains a gulp of air:
  24. oblivion
    total forgetfulness
    My former woes in long oblivion drown'd,
    I wou'd have lost; but you renew the wound:
    Better to pass him o'er, than to relate
    The cause I have your mighty sire to hate.
  25. endue
    give qualities or abilities to
    Chang'd to the bird, that bears the bolt of Jove:
    The new-dissembled eagle, now endued
    With beak, and pounces, Hercules pursu'd,
    And cuff'd his manly cheeks, and tore his face;
  26. weariness
    temporary loss of strength and energy from hard work
    Thus with a flowing tongue old Nestor spoke:
    Then, to full bowls each other they provoke:
    At length, with weariness, and wine oppress'd,
    They rise from table; and withdraw to rest.
  27. penetrable
    admitting of penetration or passage into or through
    O, could I meet him! But I wish too late:
    To prove my trident is not in his Fate!
    But let him try (for that's allow'd) thy dart,
    And pierce his only penetrable part.
  28. recreant
    lacking even the rudiments of courage; abjectly fearful
    And found out Paris, lurking where he stood,
    And stain'd his arrows with plebeian blood:
    Phoebus to him alone the God confess'd,
    Then to the recreant knight, he thus address'd.
    Dost thou not blush, to spend thy shafts in vain
    On a degenerate, and ignoble train?
    Paris could be considered a "recreant knight" because 1) he's lurking in a corner shooting arrows at the enemy instead of fighting them face to face; 2) he betrayed his country when he took Helen ("recreant" also means "having deserted a cause or principle"). But Phoebus convinces Paris to raise his status by targeting Achilles, whose blood, unlike the random soldiers, is not "plebeian," "degenerate," and "ignoble" (synonyms that focus on the soldiers' low class).
  29. foremost
    ranking above all others
    Thus fell the foremost of the Grecian name;
    And he, the base adulterer, boasts the fame.
    A spectacle to glad the Trojan train;
    And please old Priam, after Hector slain.
  30. sustain
    be the physical support of
    His buckler owns its former lord; and brings
    New cause of strife, betwixt contending kings;
    Who worthi'st after him, his sword to wield,
    Or wear his armour, or sustain his shield.
Created on Tue Jun 18 14:16:18 EDT 2013 (updated Mon Apr 08 17:16:26 EDT 2019)

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