P. Ovidius Naso, Metamorphoses
Arthur Golding, Ed.

As Caeyx of his brothers chaunce this wondrous story seth,
Commes ronning thither all in haste and almost out of breth
Anaetor the Phocayan who was Pelyes herdman. Hee
Sayd: Pelye Pelye, I doo bring sad tydings unto thee.
Declare it man (quoth Peleus) what ever that it bee.
King Ceyx at his fearefull woordes did stand in dowtfull stowne.
This noonetyde (quoth the herdman) Iche did drive your cattell downe
To zea, and zum a them did zit uppon the yellow zand
And looked on the large mayne poole of water neere at hand.
Zum roayled zoftly up and downe, and zum a them did zwim
And bare their jolly horned heades aboove the water trim.
A Church stondes neere the zea not deckt with gold nor marble stone
But made of wood, and hid with trees that dreeping hang theron.
A visherman that zat and dryde hiz netts uppo the zhore
Did tell'z that Nereus and his Nymphes did haunt the place of yore,
And how that thay beene Goddes a zea. There butts a plot vorgrowne
With zallow trees uppon the zame, the which is overblowne
With tydes, and is a marsh. From thence a woolf, an orped wyght,
With hideous noyse of rustling made the groundes neere hand afryght.
Anon he commes mee buskling out bezmeared all his chappes
With blood daubaken and with vome as veerce as thunder clappes.
Hiz eyen did glaster red as vyre, and though he raged zore
Vor vamin and vor madnesse bothe, yit raged he much more
In madnesse. Vor hee cared not his hunger vor to zlake,
Or i'the death of oxen twoo or three an end to make.
But wounded all the herd and made a havocke of them all,
And zum of us too, in devence did happen vor to vail,
In daunger of his deadly chappes, and lost our lyves. The zhore
And zea is staynd with blood, and all the ven is on a rore.
Delay breedes losse. The cace denyes now dowting vor to stond,
Whyle owght remaynes let all of us take weapon in our hond.
Let's arme our zelves, and let uz altogither on him vall.
The herdman hilld his peace. The losse movde Peleus not at all.
But calling his offence to mynde, he thought that Neryes daughter,
The chyldlesse Ladye Psamathe, determynd with that slaughter
To keepe an Obit to her sonne whom hee before had killd.
Immediatly uppon this newes the king of Trachin willd
His men to arme them, and to take their weapons in theyr hand,
And he addrest himself to bee the leader of the band.
His wyfe, Alcyone, by the noyse admonisht of the same,
In dressing of her head, before shee had it brought in frame,
Cast downe her heare, and ronning foorth caught Ceyx fast about
The necke, desyring him with teares to send his folk without
Himself, and in the lyfe of him to save the lyves of twayne.
O Princesse, cease your godly feare (quoth Peleus then agayne).
Your offer dooth deserve great thanks. I mynd not warre to make
Ageinst straunge monsters. I as now another way must take.
The seagods must bee pacifyde. There was a Castle hye,
And in the same a lofty towre whose toppe dooth face the skye,
A joyfull mark for maryners to guyde theyr vessells by.
To this same Turret up they went, and there with syghes behilld
The Oxen lying every where stark dead uppon the feelde
And eeke the cruell stroygood with his bluddy mouth and heare.
Then Peleus stretching foorth his handes to Seaward, prayd in feare
To watrish Psamath that she would her sore displeasure stay,
And help him. She no whit relents to that that he did pray.
But Thetis for hir husband made such earnest sute, that shee
Obteynd his pardon. For anon the woolfe (who would not bee
Revoked from the slaughter for the sweetenesse of the blood)
Persisted sharpe and eager still, untill that as he stood
Fast byghting on a Bullocks necke, shee turnd him intoo stone
As well in substance as in hew, the name of woolf alone
Reserved. For although in shape hee seemed still yit one,
The verry colour of the stone beewrayd him to bee none,
And that he was not to bee feard. How be it froward fate
Permitts not Peleus in that land to have a setled state.
He wandreth like an outlaw to the Magnets. There at last
Acastus the Thessalien purgd him of his murther past.