Theophanies of the Ancients (1708) - Page 10

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The laws of Saturn Saturn is the Roman equivalent of the Greek Titan Cronus; his "laws" here refer to ancient, primordial decrees governing the boundaries between mortals and gods. command thus: Whoever looks upon any of the immortals, unless the God himself wills it, let him look upon them at a great price. original Latin: "Quisquis aliquem immortalium, nisi Deus ipse uelit, conspexerit, mercede conspiciat magna."
For:

He who sees, sins; he who has not seen you, therefore,
Will not desire. The eyes bear the crimes of the deed.
original Latin: "Qui videt, is peccat; qui non te uiderit, ergo / Non cupiet. Facti crimina lumen habet."

as Propertius elegantly comments on this matter in Book II, Elegy 32. Nor did it prevent the unexpected meeting with the Gods from being fatal even to those for whom it happened against their will, especially when they appeared naked. Thus Actaeon A famous hunter in Greek myth who accidentally saw the goddess Diana bathing; she transformed him into a stag, and he was torn apart by his own hounds. fell upon the bathing Diana against his will, and was severely punished, as can be seen in Callimachus’s Hymn on the Bath of Pallas, line 113. Compare also Ovid’s Tristia, Book II, lines 105 and following, as well as the Metamorphoses, Book III, lines 138 and following. In this place, it seems that the epigram of Macedonius Macedonius Consul, a poet of the 6th century AD whose works are preserved in the Greek Anthology. should not be neglected:

* Iliad, Book 3, line 129.

Lest someone see one of the Naiads Water nymphs who presided over fountains, wells, and brooks. naked in my streams,

Or Venus with the beautiful-haired Graces, Goddesses of charm, beauty, and nature; companions to Venus.

Against his will; for the Gods are dangerous when they appear clearly.

For who could contradict the words of Homer?*

Anthology, Book IV, Chapter XIX, Epigram 33.

The text provides a Latin translation of the Greek: "Ne quam Najadum quis meis in aquis nudam, / Vel cum pulcricomis Venerem Gratiis uideat / Non uolens: graues autem Dii, si conspiciuntur manifesti. / Quis enim Homericis contradicat sermonibus?"

Concerning Calydon, who was immediately changed into stone because he saw Diana bathing, even though it was unintentional original Greek: κατ' ἄγνοιαν (kat' agnoian), meaning "through ignorance" or "unwittingly.", see Plutarch in Achelous near the end. Likewise concerning Haliacmon of Tiryns, who, because he saw Jupiter The king of the gods, also known as Jove. lying with Rhea—though unintentional original Greek: κατ' ἄγνοιαν—was seized by a sudden madness, and