Verse
Metamorphoses
Book 10, Line 20 by Henry T. Riley (English)
“When Pygmalion saw these women spending their lives in criminal pursuits, shocked at the vices which Nature had so plentifully imparted to the female disposition, he lived a single life without a wife, and for a long time was without a partner of his bed. In the meantime, he ingeniously carved a statue of snow-white ivory with wondrous skill; and gave it a beauty with which no woman can be born; and then conceived a passion for his own workmanship. The appearance was that of a real virgin, whom you might suppose to be alive, and if modesty did not hinder her, to be desirous to move; so much did art lie concealed under his skill. Pygmalion admires it; and entertains, within his breast, a flame for this fictitious body.
MetamorphosesOvidHenry T. RileyEnglishVerse permalinkRead in Book 10
Book 10, Line 20ProseID metamorphoses-riley-en-prose-10-20