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I.18. Mulier Parturiens
Parallels: For parallel versions, see Perry 479.
Nemo libenter recolit qui laesit locum.
Instante partu mulier actis mensibus
humi iacebat, flebilis gemitus ciens.
Vir est hortatus, corpus lecto reciperet,
onus naturae melius quo deponeret.
"Minime" inquit "illo posse confido loco
malum finiri quo conceptum est initio".
Here is the poem in a more prose-like word order for easy reading:
Nemo libenter recolit locum qui laesit.
Mensibus actis, partu instante
mulier iacebat humi,
ciens flebilis gemitus.
Vir hortatus est, reciperet corpus lecto,
quo melius deponeret onus naturae.
Mulier inquit:
"Minime confido
malum posse finiri
illo loco
quo conceptum est initio."
Here is the poem with meter marks:
Nemo ~ liben~ter rec'~lit qui ~ laesit ~ locum.
Instan~te par~tu mul~jer ac~tis men~sibus
humi ~ iace~bat, fle~bilis ~ gem'tus ~ ciens.
Vir est ~ horta~tus, cor~pus lec~to rec'~peret,
onus ~ natu~rae mel~jus quo ~ depo~neret.
"Min'm(e)" in~quit "il~lo pos~se con~fido ~ loco
malum ~ fini~ri quo ~ concep~t(um) est in'~tio".
Translation:
No one gladly revisits a place which did him harm. The months had passed and birth was imminent; the woman was lying on the ground, uttering pathetic moans. Her husband urged her to take herself to bed where she would be better able to deliver nature's burden. The woman said: "I have no faith at all that a bad business can be brought to a conclusion in the place where it was originally conceived."
[This translation is meant as a help in understanding the story, not as a "crib" for the Latin. I have not hesitated to change the syntax to make it flow more smoothly in English, altering the verb tense consistently to narrative past tense, etc.]
Illustration:
Here is an illustration of a pregnant woman on the floor:
