TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE by Ovid

Editor's note

This opening block is just some editorial housekeeping. The transcriber clarifies two typographic conventions used in the digital text: a caret symbol indicates superscript letters (like in old abbreviations such as *sculpt* shortened to *sculp^t*), and asterisks highlight words that were originally printed in Blackletter — the bold Gothic typeface often found in medieval manuscripts and early printed books. This lets us know we're looking at a digitized version of a much older physical object.

Editor's note

A row of spaced asterisks serves as a common editorial divider, indicating a break between sections. In the original book, this space probably represented a full-page illustration placed between chapters. The asterisks now take on the visual role that a physical page turn used to fulfill.

Editor's note

This places us directly within Ovid's *Metamorphoses*: Book 3, page 105 of the 1807 edition. Book 3 features the tale of Narcissus and Echo. The bracketed word *[Illustration]* indicates that the original page included an engraved image — something a plain-text eBook can't replicate.

Editor's note

These are the credits for the illustration. Richard Westall (R.A. = Royal Academician) was the artist behind the image — *del^l* is an abbreviation of the Latin *delineavit*, which translates to 'he drew it.' Edward Scriven was the engraver who carved the image onto a metal plate for printing — *sculp^t* is short for *sculpsit*, meaning 'he engraved it.' This type of dual credit was common in illustrated books during the Romantic era.

Editor's note

These three lines come directly from the translated *Metamorphoses*, illustrating the moment Narcissus first sees his reflection and falls in love with it. The phrase 'Caught by the image' conveys how he becomes trapped — he is imprisoned by his own appearance. The term 'Unbody'd form' is crucial here: the reflection lacks any physical substance, yet Narcissus perceives it as real. The line 'A substance thinks / The shadow' turns the logic on its head — he mistakes something insubstantial (like a shadow or a mirror-image) for something solid and real. Ovid's message is that self-love arises from a deep misunderstanding of the line between illusion and reality.