HOME | Phaedrus: Previous Page - Next Page
IV.16. Prometheus (bis)
Parallels: For parallel versions, see Perry 515.
Rogauit alter tribadas et molles mares
quae ratio procreasset, exposuit senex:
"Idem Prometheus, auctor uulgi fictilis
qui, simul offendit ad fortunam, frangitur,
naturae partes ueste quas celat pudor
cum separatim toto finxisset die,
aptare mox ut posset corporibus suis,
ad cenam est inuitatus subito a Libero;
ubi inrigatus multo uenas nectare
sero domum est reuersus titubanti pede.
Tum semisomno corde et errore ebrio
adplicuit uirginale generi masculo,
et masculina membra adposuit feminis.
Ita nunc libido prauo fruitur gaudio."
Here is the poem in a more prose-like word order for easy reading:
Not yet available.
Here is the poem with meter marks:
Not yet available.
Translation:
PROMETHEUS AND BACCHUS
Someone asked Aesop why lesbians and fairies had been created, and old Aesop explained, 'The answer lies once again with Prometheus, the original creator of our common clay (which shatters as soon as it hits a bit of bad luck). All day long, Prometheus had been separately shaping those natural members which Shame conceals beneath our clothes, and when he was about to apply these private parts to the appropriate bodies Bacchus unexpectedly invited him to dinner. Prometheus came home late, unsteady on his feet and with a good deal of heavenly nectar flowing through his veins. With his wits half asleep in a drunken haze he stuck the female genitalia on male bodies and male members on the ladies. This is why modern lust revels in perverted pleasures.'
Illustration:
Not yet available.
Comments (0)
You don't have permission to comment on this page.