- 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-lat2:1.15.1-1.15.42
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-27
The poet responds to the accusations of "Envy" who charges him with laziness, asserting his pursuit of immortal fame through poetry rather than conventional careers in the military or law. He reviews the immortal legacy of great Greek and Roman poets, declaring that his own work will likewise survive death and grant him eternal life.
Quid mihi Livor edax, ignavos obicis annos,
Why, devouring Envy, do you charge me with lazy years,
Ingeniique vocas carmen inertis opus;
and call my song the work of a listless mind;
Non me more patrum, dum strenua sustinet aetas,
demanding that I, while vigorous age supports me, in the manner of our fathers,
Praemia militiae pulverulenta sequi,1
should pursue the dusty rewards of military service,
Nec me verbosas leges ediscere nec me
or that I should not learn wordy laws, nor
Ingrato vocem prostituisse foro?
prostitute my voice in the ungrateful forum?
Mortale est, quod quaeris, opus. mihi fama perennis
What you seek is a mortal work. For me, everlasting fame
Quaeritur, in toto semper ut orbe canar.
is sought, so that I may be sung of always in the whole world.
Vivet Maeonides, Tenedos dum stabit et Ide,
Maeonides will live as long as Tenedos and Ida shall stand,
Dum rapidas Simois in mare volvet aquas;
and as long as Simois shall roll his rapid waters into the sea;
Vivet et Ascraeus, dum mustis uva tumebit,
the Ascraean also will live, as long as the grape shall swell with must,
Dum cadet incurva falce resecta Ceres.
and as long as Ceres, cut down by the curved sickle, shall fall.
Battiades semper toto cantabitur orbe;
Battiades will always be sung of in the whole world;
Quamvis ingenio non valet,2 arte valet.
though he is not strong in genius, he is strong in art.
Nulla Sophocleo veniet iactura cothurno;
No loss will come to the Sophoclean buskin;
Cum sole et luna semper Aratus erit;
Aratus will remain forever with the sun and moon;
Dum fallax servus, durus pater, inproba lena
As long as the deceitful slave, the harsh father, the wicked bawd
Vivent et meretrix blanda, Menandros erit;
and the coaxing courtesan shall live, Menander will exist;
Ennius arte carens animosique Accius oris
Ennius, lacking in art, and Accius of the spirited voice,
Casurum nullo tempore nomen habent.
possess a name that will perish at no time.
Varronem primamque ratem quae nesciet aetas,
What age will not know Varro and the first ship,
Aureaque Aesonio terga petita duci?
and the golden fleece sought by the Aesonian leader?
Carmina sublimis tunc sunt peritura Lucreti,
The songs of sublime Lucretius are destined to perish only then,
Exitio terras cum dabit una dies;
when a single day shall give the earth over to destruction;
Tityrus et segetes Aeneiaque arma legentur,
Tityrus and the crops and the arms of Aeneas will be read,
Roma triumphati dum caput orbis erit;
as long as Rome shall be the capital of the triumphed-over world;
Donec erunt ignes arcusque Cupidinis arma,
As long as the fires and bows are the weapons of Cupid,
Discentur numeri, culte Tibulle, tui;
your measures, elegant Tibullus, will be learned;
Gallus et Hesperiis et Gallus notus Eois,
Gallus will be known to the Western and Gallus to the Eastern peoples,
Et sua cum Gallo nota Lycoris erit.
and his own Lycoris will be known along with Gallus.
Ergo, cum silices, cum dens patientis aratri
Therefore, though flints and the share of the patient plow
Depereant aevo, carmina morte carent.
perish with time, songs are free from death.
Cedant carminibus reges regumque triumphi,
Let kings and the triumphs of kings yield to songs,
Cedat et auriferi ripa benigna Tagi!
and let the bountiful bank of gold-bearing Tagus yield also!
Vilia miretur vulgus; mihi flavus Apollo3
Let the common crowd admire cheap things; but to me let golden-haired Apollo
Pocula Castalia plena ministret aqua,
serve cups filled with Castalian water,
Sustineamque coma metuentem frigora myrtum,
and may I wear on my hair the myrtle that fears the cold,
Atque a sollicito multus amante legar!
and be read much by anxious lovers!
Pascitur in vivis Livor; post fata quiescit,
Envy feeds upon the living; after death it rests,
Cum suus ex merito quemque tuetur honos.
when each man’s own honor protects him according to his merit.
Ergo etiam cum me supremus adederit ignis,
Therefore, even when the final fire shall have consumed me,
Vivam, parsque mei multa superstes erit.
I shall live, and a great part of me will survive.
- 1.15.3Non me more patrum... sequi
The infinitive phrases spanning 1.15.3 to 1.15.6 (sequi, ediscere, prostituisse) function as direct object clauses (accusative with infinitive) governed by the verb obicis (to charge/accuse) in 1.15.1. The structure expresses the charges of "Envy" against the poet for not pursuing traditional Roman civic duties such as military service and forensic oratory.
- 1.15.14Quamvis ingenio non valet, arte valet
The conjunction quamvis, which introduces a concessive clause, normally requires the subjunctive mood in classical prose, but in poets like Ovid, it is frequently used with the indicative (here, valet) to state a fact. This expresses the traditional literary judgment on Callimachus, who was deemed to lack raw genius (ingenium) but to excel in poetic craftsmanship (ars).
- 1.15.35vulgus; mihi flavus Apollo
The series of verbs from 1.15.35 to 1.15.38 (miretur, ministret, sustineam, legar) are all in the present subjunctive, serving as jussive or optative subjunctives to express wishes or commands. The dative mihi (to/for me) goes with the verb ministret (serve/provide), contrasting the poet's high artistic aspirations with the cheap desires of the common crowd (vulgus).