Proteus has barely begun to rest, when Aristaeus catches him.
Aristaeus rushes at the old man, binds and holds him. Proteus proceeds to transform himself into a number of shapes, but eventually realizes that he has been subdued. He returns to his original form and addresses Aristaeus, asking who ordered him to approach him and what he wants. Aristaeus replies that, following the orders of the gods, he has come for a prophecy. Proteus prepares to respond.
437 cuius facultās: “a chance at him (Proteus).” The relative pronoun at the beginning of a sentence is most easily rendered in English as a demonstrative or personal pronoun (AG 308f).
437 quoniam = postquam.
437 Aristaeō: dative of advantage (AG 376).
438 vix…membra = vix passus senem compōnere dēfessa membra. Aristaeus gives Proteus almost no time to rest on the rocky ledge before he charges him.
438 passus: a perfect deponent participle < patior, patī, passus.
439 cum…magnō: cum is a preposition with magnō clāmōre, an ablative of manner (AG 412); ruo is intransitive.
439–40 iacentem…occupat: “seizes [Proteus] as he is lying down.”
440 ille = Proteus.
440 suae contrā nōn immemor artis: contrā marks the turn to Proteus, “on the other hand.” nōn immemor is an example of litotes. Verbs and adjectives of remembering and forgetting take a genitive (AG 349a).
441 omnia…in mīrācula rērum: “into all sorts of wondrous forms.” Proteus is famously a shape-shifter, and, just as in the Odyssey, he can turn into wild animals or elements, like fire and water.
443 vērum: “but.”
433 nulla…fallācia: nominative singular feminine.
433 victus: perfect passive participle < vincō, vincere, vīcī, victus.
445 nam: as Mynors eloquently puts it, nam introduces “an impatient question.” Proteus’s language here is strong and his manner is imperious and a little sarcastic. Notice, however, that although Proteus is a seer, he clearly does not know everything, since he does not perceive the presence of Aristaeus and Cyrene. Perhaps this accounts for his crankiness.
445 iuvenum confīdentissime: confīdentissime is a vocative singular masculine; iuvenum is a partitive genitive (AG 346b). The length of confīdentissime seems to convey a mocking tone, using such an elevated and multisyllabic word in addressing Aristaeus.
445 nostrās…domōs:domus is feminine, and domōs agrees with nostrās. The first person plural is often used for the singular. Translate it “my,” or “our” if you think of Proteus as including the seals.
446 ille = Aristaeus.
447 Prōteu: vocative singular < Proteus, Proteī (m) (AG 82).
447 scīs ipse: “you yourself know.”
447 neque…quicquam: “nor is it possible to deceive you in any way” (literally “with respect to anything,” AG 397b). est = potest, a Graecism (compare with Greek ἔστι).
448 tū dēsine velle: “stop wanting (to trick me).”
448 deum: genitive plural for deorum; take with praecepta. This is obviously an exaggeration, since he’s merely referring to what his mother told him, not “the gods.”
449 vēnimus: although Cyrene is hiding in a corner, the use of the 1st person plural is likely just standing in for the singular. vēnimus is perfect, as the scansion shows.
449 quaesītum: supine in the accusative with a verb of motion (vēnimus) to show purpose (AG 509). Take hinc closely with this, “to seek from here” (that is, “from you”).
449 lāssīs rēbus: “in my weary state” (Papillon) or “for our ruined affairs” (Stuart) (dative of reference, AG 376).
450 tantum effātus: supply est. tantum is a neuter singular used as an adverb (AG 214d).
450 ad: “in response to.”
450 multā: ablative singular feminine, modifying vī, taken with either ārdentēs or intorsit.
451 glaucō lūmine: as a sea god, it is fitting that his eyes are gray-green. Either an ablative of cause with ārdentēs or an ablative of quality with oculōs (AG 404a, 415).
452 sīc fātīs ōra resolvit: “so he loosened his mouth [to speak] prophesy,” a rather elevated way to say “he spoke.” Though some commentators take fātīs as an ablative, it is more likely a dative of purpose (AG 382).
