- 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-lat2:1.12.1-1.12.30
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-27
Having received a refusal from Corinna, the poet vents his anger and curses on the tablets, the ill-omened trip of his maid, and the cursed tree from which the tablets were crafted.
Flete meos casus — tristes rediere tabellae
Weep for my misfortunes — the gloomy tablets have returned;
Infelix hodie littera posse negat.
the ill-omened letter denies that she can today.
Omina sunt aliquid; modo cum discedere vellet,
Omens are something; just when she wanted to depart,
Ad limen digitos1 restitit icta Nape.
Nape stood still, having struck her toes against the threshold.
Missa foras iterum limen transire memento
Sent out of doors again, remember to cross the threshold
Cautius atque alte sobria ferre pedem!
more cautiously and to lift your foot high, soberly!
Ite hinc, difficiles, funebria ligna, tabellae,
Go hence, troublesome tablets, funeral wood,
Tuque, negaturis cera referta notis! —
and you, wax filled with notes that will deny!
Quam,2 puto, de longae collectam flore cicutae
Which, I think, gathered from the flower of tall hemlock,
Melle sub infami Corsica misit apis.
the Corsican bee sent under infamous honey.
At tamquam minio penitus medicata rubebas —
Yet you were red, as if thoroughly dyed with cinnabar —
Ille color vere sanguinolentus erat.
that color was truly bloody.
Proiectae triviis iaceatis, inutile lignum,
May you lie cast out at the crossroads, useless wood,
Vosque rotae frangat praetereuntis onus!
and may the weight of a passing wheel crush you!
Illum etiam, qui vos ex arbore vertit in usum,
And even him, who turned you from a tree into this use,
Convincam puras non habuisse manus.
I will prove did not have clean hands.
Praebuit illa arbor misero suspendia collo,
That tree offered hanging for a miserable neck,
Carnifici diras praebuit illa cruces;
it offered dreadful crosses to the executioner;
Illa dedit turpes raucis bubonibus umbras,
It gave ugly shade to hoarse owls,
Vulturis in ramis et strigis ova tulit.
and bore the eggs of the vulture and the screech-owl on its branches.
His ego commisi nostros insanus amores
Did I, insane, entrust our love to these,
Molliaque ad dominam verba ferenda dedi?
and give soft words to be carried to my mistress?
Aptius hae capiant vadimonia garrula cerae,
These waxes would more fitly hold wordy recognizances,
Quas aliquis duro cognitor ore legat;
which some advocate might read with a hard voice;
Inter ephemeridas melius tabulasque iacerent,
they would lie better among account books and ledgers,
In quibus absumptas fleret avarus opes.
in which a miser might weep over spent wealth.
Ergo ego vos rebus duplices3 pro nomine sensi.
Therefore I have found you double in reality, in accordance with your name.
Auspicii numerus non erat ipse boni.
The very number was not of good omen.
Quid precer iratus, nisi vos cariosa senectus
What should I pray in my anger, except that decaying age
Rodat, et inmundo cera sit alba situ?
may gnaw you, and your wax may grow white with filthy mold?
- 1.12.4digitos
Accusative of specification (Greek accusative) modifying icta, indicating the part of the body affected (toes). The phrase means "having struck her toes."
- 1.12.9Quam
Relative pronoun in the feminine accusative singular referring back to cera. The core structure is Corsica apis misit quam... (the Corsican bee sent it [gathered from...]), and melle sub infami means "under/mixed with infamous (poisonous) honey."
- 1.12.27duplices
A wordplay (double meaning) is used here. It refers physically to "two-leaved (tablets)" and metaphorically to "two-faced, deceitful." This double sense is reinforced by pro nomine ("in accordance with your name").