5.29
[1] Haec quirītāns properiter ēmergit ē marī suumque prōtinus aureum thalamum petit et repertō, sīcut audierat, aegrōtō puerō iam inde ā foribus quam maximē boāns: [2] “Honesta,” inquit, “haec et nātālibus nostrīs bonaeque tuae frūgī congruentia, ut prīmum quidem tuae parentis immō dominae praecepta calcārēs, nec sordidīs amōribus inimīcam meam cruciārēs, [3] vērum etiam hōc aetātis puer tuīs licentiōsīs et immātūrīs iungerēs amplexibus, ut ego nurum scīlicet tolerārem inimīcam. [4] Sed utique praesūmis nūgō et corruptor et inamābilis tē solum generōsum nec mē iam per aetātem posse concipere. [5] Velim ergō sciās multō tē meliōrem fīlium alium genitūram, immō, ut contumēliam magis sentiās, aliquem dē meīs adoptātūram vernulīs, eīque dōnātūram istās pinnās et flammās et arcum et ipsās sagittās et omnem meam supellectilem, quam tibi nōn ad hōs ūsūs dederam: [6] nec enim dē patris tuī bonīs ad īnstrūctiōnem istam quicquam concessum est.
Venus goes to Cupid to rebuke him for his relationship with Psyche and his defiance of her orders.
haec: “These things” refers to Cupid’s behavior and relationship with Psyche.
honesta…haec: neuter pl.
nātālibus nostrīs: “Our family origins” or “my birth” (Kenney ad loc.). Dative with congruentia.
frūgī: The “fruit” here is a metaphor for Cupid’s heritage and can be translated as such.
congruentia: supply sunt
ut…calcārēs… cruciārēs…iungerēs: a long substantive clause of result (A&G § 571)
hōc aetātis: “of your age” or “at your time of life” (Kenney ad loc.)
inimīcam…cruciārēs…iungerēs: inimīcam is the direct object of both cruciārēs and iungerēs.
ut…tolerārem: result clause
praesūmis: introduces indirect statement
tē solum generōsum: “…you are the only member of the family able to reproduce” (Kenney ad loc.)
tē: ablative of comparison
patris: Almost certainly refers to Vulcan, whom some mythological sources portray as Cupid’s father. Apuleius is certainly making light of Cupid’s dubious paternity (Kenney ad loc.).
quirīto, -āre: to wail (about), lament
properiter: swiftly
aegrōtus, -a, -um: sick, diseased
boō, -āre: to roar
licentiōsus, -a, -um: promiscuous
amplexus, ūs, m: See 5.18.3
nūgo, ōnis, m: buffoon, worthless person
corruptor, -ōris: seducer
inamābilis, -e: not worthy of love
vernula, ae, m/f.: homeborn slave
supellex, -lectilis, f.: equipment, tools
instructio, ōnis, f.: array
Above: This famous Botticelli painting depicts the birth of Venus. (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
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This 17th-cen. Dutch plate depicts Uranus’ castration—the event that, in many mythological sources, led to Venus’ birth from the sea (Source: Wikimedia Commons).
