Met. 1.240-52 – The Sentencing of Humanity
“OCCIDIT UNA DOMUS, SED NON DOMUS UNA PERIRE
DIGNA FUIT; QUA TERRA PATET, FERA REGNAT ERINYS.
IN FACINUS IURASSE PUTES; DENT OCIUS OMNES
QUAS MERUERE PATI (SIC STAT SENTENTIA) POENAS.”
DICTA IOVIS PARS VOCE PROBANT STIMULOSQUE FREMENTI
ADICIUNT, ALII PARTES ADSENSIBUS IMPLENT.
EST TAMEN HUMANI GENERIS IACTURA DOLORI
OMNIBUS, ET QUAE SIT TERRAE MORTALIBUS ORBAE
FORMA FUTURA ROGANT, QUIS SIT LATURUS IN ARAS
TURA, FERISNE PARET POPULANDAS TRADERE TERRAS.
TALIA QUERENTES (SIBI ENIM FORE CETERA CURAE)
REX SUPERUM TREPIDARE VETAT SUBOLEMQUE PRIORI
DISSIMILEM POPULO PROMITTIT ORIGINE MIRA.
“ONE HOUSE HAS FALLEN, BUT MANY MORE
DESERVE TO; WILD MADNESS REIGNS OVER THE WHOLE EARTH.
YOU WOULD THINK THEY WERE SWORN TO SIN; LET THEM ALL QUICKLY PAY
THE PENALTY THEY DESERVE TO SUFFER (THIS IS MY OPINION ON THE MATTER).”
SOME APPROVED OF JUPITER’S WORDS VOCALLY AND ADDED THEIR SUPPORT TO HIS ANGER,
AND THE OTHERS FILLED OUT THE AGREEMENT.
NEVERTHELESS, THE COMING FALL OF THE HUMAN RACE WAS PAINFUL
TO ALL, AND THEY ASKED WHAT THE WORLD WOULD BE LIKE
WITHOUT MORTALS, WHO MIGHT BRING INCENSE TO THEIR ALTARS,
AND WHETHER JUPITER PLANNED TO GIVE THE WORLD OVER TO BE POPULATED BY WILD ANIMALS.
TO THOSE ASKING SUCH THINGS (INDEED, HE HAD WORRIED ABOUT THEM HIMSELF)
THE KING OF THE GODS FORBADE THEIR FEAR AND PROMISED A RACE,
UNLIKE THE FORMER PEOPLE, [WOULD COME FROM] AN ASTONISHING ORIGIN.
Wait, did I say the comic would be back on 5 January? I clearly meant 26 January…
Okay, okay, I didn’t get this done nearly on time. Christmas was a blast, but ended up being a lot busier than I thought! Anyway, we are back on with updates and ready for the next chapter in the universe’s epic journey to Ovid’s day! We rejoin the plot as Jupiter is concluding the council, and decides to wipe humanity from the face of the Earth. The gods agree, although there is lingering doubt. While Ovid is vague about who the parties are, I had to be specific. I decided the voice of dissent should come from Juno (from whom we haven’t heard before), since she is probably the one most likely to get away with questioning Jupiter, and because she basically hates his guts (fair enough, considering she has to be married to that philanderer for all eternity). Hers is not really any kind of open revolt, but rather a very pragmatic concern: what will happen to the Earth if humanity is destroyed? Here, Ovid begins to introduce a theme that will run throughout the poem, the importance of human beings. ‘Man’ is the measure of all things; even though the gods can squash us like bugs, they still depend on us in turn. The poem makes it clearer than I managed in the comic how much this concern weighs on the minds of the gods, how painfully evident it is to them.
Jupiter promises a new, miraculous race will be born. But, what kind of punishment does he have in store? What will this new humanity look like? Tune in next week to find out!
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