- Source
- Ovid. P. Ovidius Naso, Volume 1: Amores, Epistulae, Medicamina faciei femineae, Ars amatoria, Remedia amoris. Ehwald, Rudolf; Merkel, Rudolph; editors. Leipzig: B. G. Teubner, 1907.
- Translation
- AI-generated (gemini-3.5-flash) — machine translation; may contain errors
- Languages
- 日本語 · English · 简体中文 · 한국어
- CTS URN
- urn:cts:latinLit:phi0959.phi001.humanitext-lat2:1.11.1-1.11.28
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-27
The poet addresses Corinna's maid Nape, asking her to deliver a love letter written on wax tablets promptly and instructing her to watch Corinna's reaction and request a full reply.
Colligere incertos et in ordine ponere crines
To gather straying hair and arrange it in order
Docta neque ancillas inter habenda1 Nape,
skilled, and not to be numbered among ordinary maidservants, Nape,
Inque ministeriis furtivae cognita noctis
and known in the service of the secret night
Utilis et dandis ingeniosa notis2
as useful, and clever in giving signals,
Saepe venire ad me dubitantem hortata Corinnam,
who often urged Corinna to come to me when she was hesitating,
Saepe laboranti fida reperta mihi —
and who was often found faithful to me in my trouble —
Accipe et ad dominam peraratas mane tabellas
receive this morning the inscribed tablets and to your mistress
Perfer et obstantes sedula pelle moras!
carry them, and diligently banish all standing delays!
Nec silicum venae nec durum in pectore ferrum,
You have no veins of flint nor hard iron in your breast,
Nec tibi simplicitas ordine maior3 adest.
nor do you possess a simplicity greater than your class.
Credibile est et te sensisse Cupidinis arcus —
It is believable that you too have felt Cupid’s bows —
In me militiae signa tuere4 tuae!
defend the standards of your own warfare in my cause!
Si quaeret quid agam, spe noctis vivere dices;
If she asks how I am doing, you will say that I live on the hope of the night;
Cetera fert blanda cera notata manu.
the rest is carried by the wax marked by my coaxing hand.
Dum loquor, hora fugit. vacuae bene redde tabellas,
While I speak, the hour flies. Deliver the tablets safely when she is at leisure,
Verum continuo fac tamen illa legat.
but make sure that she reads them immediately.
Adspicias oculos mando frontemque legentis;
I command you to watch her eyes and her brow as she reads;
Et tacito vultu scire futura licet.
even from a silent face one may know the future.
Nec mora, perlectis rescribat multa, iubeto;
And without delay, bid her write back much when she has read it through;
Odi, cum late splendida cera vacat.
I hate it when the bright wax is widely empty.
Conprimat ordinibus versus, oculosque moretur
Let her compress the lines close together, and let the letters traced
Margine in extremo littera rasa meos.
at the very margin delay my eyes.
Quid digitos opus est graphio lassare tenendo?
What need is there to tire her fingers by holding the stylus?
Hoc habeat scriptum tota tabella 'veni!'
Let the whole tablet have just this written: ‘Come!’
Non ego victrices lauro redimire tabellas
I would not hesitate to crown the victorious tablets with laurel,
Nec Veneris media ponere in aede morer.
nor to place them in the midst of Venus’s temple.
Subscribam: 'Veneri fidas sibi Naso ministras
I will write beneath: ‘To Venus, Naso dedicates these handmaids faithful to him,
Dedicat, at nuper vile fuistis acer.5'
though recently you were but cheap maple wood.’
- 1.11.2habenda
Gerundive (future passive participle) in the nominative feminine singular, agreeing with Nape (addressed in the second person). Together with neque... inter habenda, it means 'not to be counted among ordinary maidservants,' highlighting her exceptional capability.
- 1.11.4dandis ... notis
Dative or ablative of the gerundive construction, depending on the adjective ingeniosa ('clever, skilled at/in'). Here, notae refers to secret signals or messages.
- 1.11.10ordine maior
The noun ordine is an ablative of comparison (or specification) modifying the comparative maior ('greater'). The phrase ordine maior means 'greater than ordinary measure' or 'extraordinary,' qualifying the subject simplicitas ('simplicity, ignorance'). It implies a complimentary double negative: 'you are not simple-minded.'
- 1.11.12tuere
Present imperative second-person singular of the deponent verb tueor, tueri (the form ending in -re instead of -ris). It has an active meaning: 'defend, watch over.' Combined with in me... tuae, it means 'in my interest, defend the standards of your own warfare.'
- 1.11.28vile fuistis acer
The main verb fuistis is second-person plural, referring to the plural tablets (tabellas, in apposition with ministras in line 27). However, its complement vile acer ('cheap maple') is in the singular. This shift in number occurs because the multiple tablets are conceived collectively as originating from a single piece of maple wood.