Translating Metamorphoses 6.23
A Narrative Approach
Metamorphoses 6.23 opens with Jupiter who, having finished a prior thought (sic fatus), commands (for) Mercury — the accusative subject of the infinitive convocare (and pronuntiare) — to gather all the gods right away (protinus) for a meeting (ad contionem). While the opening clause is straight forward, the syntactical arrangement of the second half of Jupiter’s command is considerably more complicated. In addition to calling all the gods together, Jupiter orders Mercury to announce what will happen if the gods do not attend the meeting. This takes the form of a conditional within an indirect statement, setting up an unusual pairing of protasis and apodosis, the structure of which is: si qui…defuisset…decem milium nummum conventum iri. The protasis is relatively easy to identify, si + the pluperfect subjunctive is only found in one kind of conditional: Past Contrary-to-Fact. The apodosis, however, presents a challenge. Normally, we would expect to find the active periphrastic (e.g. futurum) paired, in this case, with fuisse to retain the past tense of the conditional. However, Apuleius has instead chosen a passive verb, iri, which further complicates an already complicated conditional. Because the verb is passive, the future active participle cannot stand in for it. Instead, the passive infinitive is paired with the accusative of the supine, conventum (see: Lewis & Short, 2.B.5).
The translation of the conditional therefore reads: “Jupiter orders for Mercury…to announce that if anyone (qui for aliqui) of the gods had been absent from the meeting (coetu = abl. of separation), that 100 thousand sestertii would have been summoned in punishment.” A further challenge to a translation that is both sensible and faithful is that it is not clear why Jupiter’s conditional-within-a-command takes the form of a Past Contrary-to-Fact. The meeting is about to happen, so we would expect Jupiter to use a Future More Vivid rather than a Past Contrary-to-Fact. Seeming to lack a good formal reason for this decision we must consider that perhaps Time is experienced differently for the gods. There is something jarring about the king of the gods having uncertainty about the future.
The next sentence begins, like the first, referring back to the previous thought, this time with a connecting relative quo. The quo is doing further syntactical work as well, pointing to theatro, thereby identifying the subject of the ablative absolute, which together are complemented by the present ablative participle completo. The untangling of ablatives isn’t over, however, as the sentence begins with five consecutive ablatives surrounding statim. Our next ablative pair metu caelesti is an ablative of cause, explaining why “this” was done immediately — because of the divine fear. Thus our ablative clause reads: “And with the theatre having been filled because of divine fear…” Next up is a far more straightforward main clause with its verb (enuntiat) punctuating the clause: “outstretched Jupiter, sitting on his his lofty throne, announces the following…”
Jupiter’s speech begins with an allusion to the Roman senate, recalling Cicero’s vocative address — and undoubtedly many others’ — to his fellow patres conscripti. “Having been elected/conscripted gods,” Jupiter begins, leaving one to wonder by whom the gods have been elected or conscripted — Apuleius? Homer? — and then a possible answer: Musarum albo, “on/by the register of the Muses.” Addressing his fellow gods in the vocative he says, “assuredly you all know how I raised (quod…alumnatus sim) this (damn) youth by means of my own hands, the hot attacks of whose first youth I have estimated are having to be tamed by means of this certain bridle.”
Jupiter completes his first speech with an apparent justification for bequeathing immortality on Psyche: “(I estimate that) he has been defamed enough by means of daily tales on account of his adulteries and all (every sort of) seductions: Every opportunity (for adultery and seduction) is having to be taken away and the luxury of boyishness is having to be bound by means of these marriage shackles. He has selected and a girl and taken from her her virginity: let him hold, possess, (and) having embraced Psyche let him always be delighted by means of his love(s) (for her).” His use of the hortatory subjunctive (though it could be just as readily interpreted as optative) and use of the plural amoribus perhaps reveal some doubt about the permanency of the nuptials on the part of Jupiter.
Then having turned (collata facie) to face Venus, he addresses her by way of two negative commands (nec…contristere, nec…metuas), assuring her that : “‘And you daughter,’ he says, ‘Do not be saddened in any way and do not fear for your so great lineage and reputation (statu is either a form of variatio or is standing in for statui as we have seen elsewhere) because of this mortal marriage. Now I will bring it about that you agree that the nuptials are not unequal but legitimate and in the manner of civil law.” Having thus assuaged (or attempted to assuage) Venus’s fears, Jupiter “orders for Mercury and Psyche to be summoned and to be led into heaven. With a cup of abrosia having been extended, ‘Take (it),” he says, “Psyche and be immortal (esto immortalis).” Now Jupiter, who exhorted, or perhaps even pleaded with Cupid earlier, speaks plainly and asserts the perpetuity of the bonds of the marriage to Psyche: “And Cupid will never depart from your bond, but these perpetual/unbroken nuptials will be to you (both).”
Cue the feast!
