- 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-lat2:1.13.1-1.13.48
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-27
The poet addresses the Dawn (Aurora), pleading with her to delay the sunrise so he can remain with his mistress, and reproaches her by listing the hardships her arrival brings to various groups of people.
Iam super oceanum venit a seniore marito
Already over the ocean comes from her older husband
Flava pruinoso quae vehit axe diem.
she of the golden hair, who brings the day on her frosty axle.
'Quo properas, Aurora? mane! — sic1 Memnonis umbris
’Whither do you hasten, Aurora? Stay! — so to Memnon’s shades
Annua sollemni caede parentet avis!
may the annual bird pay parentalia with solemn slaughter!
Nunc iuvat in teneris dominae iacuisse lacertis;
Now it is a pleasure to lie in the tender arms of my mistress;
Si quando, lateri nunc bene iuncta meo est.
now, if ever, she is closely joined to my side.
Nunc etiam somni pingues et frigidus aer,
Now even sleep is heavy, and the air is cool,
Et liquidum tenui gutture cantat avis.
and the bird sings clear from its slender throat.
Quo properas, ingrata viris, ingrata puellis?
Whither do you hasten, unwelcome to men, unwelcome to girls?
Roscida purpurea supprime lora manu!
Hold back the dewy reins with your rosy hand!
Ante tuos ortus melius sua sidera servat
Before your rising, the sailor keeps better watch of his stars,
Navita nec media nescius errat aqua;
nor does he wander ignorant in the middle of the sea;
Te surgit quamvis lassus veniente viator,
at your coming, the traveler rises, however weary,
Et miles saevas aptat ad arma manus.
and the soldier fits his fierce hands to arms.
Prima2 bidente vides oneratos arva colentes;
You are the first to see the fields-cultivators burdened with the two-pronged hoe;
Prima vocas tardos sub iuga panda boves.
you are the first to call the slow oxen under the curved yoke.
Tu pueros somno fraudas tradisque magistris,
You deprive boys of sleep and hand them over to teachers,
Ut subeant tenerae verbera saeva manus;
that their tender hands may undergo fierce beatings;
Atque vades sponsum3 stultos ante Atria mittis,
and you send foolish guarantors to stand surety before the Courts,
Unius ut verbi grandia damna ferant.
that they may bear the great losses of a single word.
Nec tu consulto, nec tu iucunda diserto;
You are not pleasing to the lawyer, nor to the orator;
Cogitur ad lites surgere uterque novas.
each is compelled to rise for new lawsuits.
Tu, cum feminei possint cessare labores,
You, when women’s labors could be at rest,
Lanificam revocas ad sua pensa manum.
recall the wool-working hand to its tasks.
Omnia perpeterer — sed surgere4 mane puellas,
I would endure all — but that girls should rise in the morning,
Quis nisi cui non est ulla puella ferat?
who could bear, except one who has no girl?
Optavi quotiens, ne nox tibi cedere vellet,
How often have I wished that the night would not yield to you,
Ne fugerent vultus sidera mota tuos!
that the stars, set in motion, would not flee from your face!
Optavi quotiens, aut ventus frangeret axem,
How often have I wished either that the wind would shatter your axle,
Aut caderet spissa nube retentus equus!
or that your horse would fall, held back by a thick cloud!
Invida, quo properas? quod erat tibi filius ater,
Envious one, whither do you hasten? That you had a black son,
Materni fuerat pectoris ille color.
that was the color of his mother’s heart.
Tithono vellem5 de te narrare liceret;
I wish it were permitted for Tithonus to tell of you;
Fabula non caelo turpior ulla foret.
no story in heaven would be more shameful.
Illum dum refugis, longo quia grandior aevo,
While you flee from him, because he is older by a long age,
Surgis ad invisas a sene6 mane rotas.
you rise in the morning from the old man to your hated wheels.
At si, quem mavis, Cephalum conplexa teneres,
But if you held Cephalus, whom you prefer, in your embrace,
Clamares: "lente currite, noctis equi!"
you would cry: “Run slowly, horses of the night!”
Cur ego plectar amans, si vir tibi marcet ab annis?
Why should I, in love, be punished, if your husband is withered with years?
Num me nupsisti conciliante seni?
Did you marry the old man with me acting as matchmaker?
Adspice, quot somnos iuveni donarit amato
Look how many sleeps the Moon has given to her beloved youth!
Luna! — neque illius forma secunda tuae.
And her beauty is not second to yours.
Ipse deum genitor, ne te tam saepe videret,
The father of the gods himself, lest he should see you so often,
Commisit noctes in sua vota duas.'
joined two nights together for his own desires.’
Iurgia finieram. scires audisse: rubebat —
I had ended my complaints. You would know she had heard: she blushed —
Nec tamen adsueto tardius orta dies!
yet the day did not rise any later than usual!
- 1.13.3sic
The adverb sic functions here conditionally as "on this condition (if you stay)," establishing the premise for the subsequent present subjunctive parentet expressing a wish.
- 1.13.15Prima
The adjective primus in the feminine singular nominative, agreeing with the subject (Aurora), used adverbially to mean "you are the first to..."
- 1.13.19sponsum
The supine in the accusative of the verb spondeo (to promise/guarantee), used with the verb of motion mittis to express purpose ("to stand surety").
- 1.13.25surgere
The infinitive introducing the accusative-and-infinitive clause surgere mane puellas (that girls rise in the morning). The entire clause serves as the object of the main verb ferat in the following line ("who could bear that girls rise...").
- 1.13.35vellem
The imperfect subjunctive of volo, expressing an unrealizable wish in the present. Combined with the imperfect subjunctive liceret in the dependent clause, it means "I wish it were permitted..."
- 1.13.38a sene
The prepositional phrase a sene ("from the old man") is juxtaposed with the adverb mane ("in the morning") and modifies the main verb surgis, meaning "you rise in the morning from the side of the old man." It denotes the point of origin or separation.