Secret Signals at the Feast and Jealousy of the Husband — Ovid, The Loves Book 1 (1.4.1–1.4.70), Latin & English

Vir tuus est epulas nobis aditurus easdem —

Your husband is going to attend the same banquet as us —

Ultima coena tuo sit, precor, illa viro!

may that dinner be the last, I pray, for your husband!

Ergo ego dilectam tantum conviva puellam

Am I then only as a guest to look upon my beloved girl?

Adspiciam? tangi quem iuvet, alter erit,

Will there be another whom it pleases to touch you,

Alteriusque sinus apte subiecta fovebis?

and will you warmly cherish another’s bosom, fittingly close?

Iniciet collo, cum volet, ille manum?

Will he cast his hand upon your neck when he wishes?

Desino mirari, posito quod candida vino

I cease to wonder that the fair daughter of Atrax, when the wine was set,

Atracis ambiguos traxit in arma viros.

dragged the double-formed men into battle.

Nec mihi silva domus, nec equo mea membra cohaerent —

My home is not the forest, nor do my limbs cohere to a horse —

Vix a te videor posse tenere manus!

yet I seem scarcely able to keep my hands off you!

Quae tibi sint facienda tamen cognosce, nec Euris

Learn, however, what must be done by you, nor give my words

Da mea nec tepidis verba ferenda Notis!¹

to the East winds or the warm South winds to carry away!

Ante veni, quam vir — nec quid, si veneris ante,

Come before your husband — nor do I see what can be done

Possit agi video; sed tamen ante veni.

if you come before; but come before anyway.

Cum premet ille torum, vultu comes ipsa modesto

When he presses the couch, you yourself will go as his modest companion

Ibis, ut accumbas — clam mihi tange pedem!

to recline — secretly touch my foot!

Me specta nutusque meos vultumque loquacem;

Look at me, and my nods, and my speaking face;

Excipe furtivas et refer ipsa notas.

catch my secret signs, and return them yourself.

Verba superciliis sine voce loquentia dicam;

I will speak words with my eyebrows, telling without voice;

Verba leges digitis, verba notata mero.

you will read words traced by fingers, words traced in wine.

Cum tibi succurret Veneris lascivia nostrae,

When the playfulness of our love comes to your mind,

Purpureas tenero pollice tange genas.

touch your blushing cheeks with your tender thumb.

Siquid erit, de me tacita quod mente queraris,

If there is anything of which you complain about me in your silent mind,

Pendeat extrema mollis ab aure manus.

let your soft hand hang from the tip of your ear.

Cum tibi, quae faciam, mea lux, dicamve, placebunt,

When what I do or say pleases you, my light,

Versetur digitis anulus usque tuis.

let your ring be turned constantly by your fingers.

Tange manu mensam, tangunt quo more precantes,

Touch the table with your hand in the way that suppliants touch,

Optabis merito cum mala multa viro.

when you wish many evils, as he deserves, upon your husband.

Quod tibi miscuerit, sapias, bibat ipse, iubeto;²

What he mixes for you, be wise, bid him drink it himself;

Tu puerum leviter posce, quod ipsa voles.

ask the slave boy quietly for what you yourself wish.

Quae tu reddideris ego primus pocula sumam,

I will be the first to take the cups you have returned,

Et, qua tu biberis, hac ego parte bibam.

and I will drink from that part where you drank.

Si tibi forte dabit, quod praegustaverit ipse,

If by chance he gives you what he himself has tasted beforehand,

Reice libatos illius ore cibos.

reject the food tasted by his mouth.

Nec premat inpositis sinito tua colla lacertis,³

Nor allow him to press your neck with his arms thrown around you,

Mite nec in rigido pectore pone caput;

nor place your gentle head on his hard breast;

Nec sinus admittat digitos habilesve papillae;

let neither his fingers enter your bosom nor your touchable breasts;

Oscula praecipue nulla dedisse velis!

especially wish to have given him no kisses!

Oscula si dederis, fiam manifestus amator

If you give him kisses, I shall become an open lover,

Et dicam 'mea sunt!' iniciamque manum.

and I will say ‘They are mine!’ and cast my hand upon you.

Haec tamen adspiciam, sed quae bene pallia celant,

Yet these I shall see, but the things which the cloak well conceals,

Illa mihi caeci causa timoris erunt.

those will be to me a cause of blind fear.

Nec femori committe femur nec crure cohaere

Neither join thigh to thigh, nor cling with leg to leg,

Nec tenerum duro cum pede iunge pedem.

nor join your tender foot with his hard foot.

Multa miser timeo, quia feci multa proterve,

Wretchedly I fear many things, because I have done many things boldly,

Exemplique metu torqueor, ecce, mei.

and behold, I am tortured by the fear of my own example.

Saepe mihi dominaeque meae properata voluptas

Often for me and my mistress, a hastened pleasure

Veste sub iniecta dulce peregit opus.

accomplished its sweet work under a covering garment.

Hoc tu non facies; sed, ne fecisse puteris,

This you will not do; but, lest you be thought to have done it,

Conscia de tergo pallia deme tuo.

remove the conscious cloak from your back.

Vir bibat usque roga — precibus tamen oscula desint! —

Ask him to drink constantly — let kisses, however, be absent from your entreaties! —

Dumque bibit, furtim si potes, adde merum.

and while he drinks, if you can, secretly add unmixed wine.

Si bene conpositus somno vinoque iacebit,

If he lies well-disposed in sleep and wine,

Consilium nobis resque locusque dabunt.

the occasion and the place will give us counsel.

Cum surges abitura domum, surgemus et omnes,

When you rise to go home, we all shall rise as well;

In medium turbae fac memor agmen eas.

remember to go into the middle of the crowd’s column.

Agmine me invenies aut invenieris in illo:

In that column you will find me, or you will be found in it:

Quidquid ibi poteris tangere, tange, mei.⁴

whatever of me you can touch there, touch.

Me miserum! monui, paucas quod prosit in horas;

Wretched me! I have advised what will be useful for a few hours;

Separor a domina nocte iubente mea.

I am separated from my mistress by the command of night.

Nocte vir includet, lacrimis ego maestus obortis,

At night her husband will shut her in; I, sad with rising tears,

Qua licet, ad saevas prosequar usque fores.

will follow as far as is allowed, right up to the cruel doors.

Oscula iam sumet, iam non tantum oscula sumet:

Now he will take kisses, now he will take not only kisses:

Quod mihi das furtim, iure coacta dabis.

what you give to me secretly, you will give to him forced by right.

Verum invita dato — potes hoc — similisque coactae;⁵

But give them unwillingly — you can do this — and like one forced;

Blanditiae taceant, sitque maligna Venus.

let endearments be silent, and let Venus be unkind.

Si mea vota valent, illum quoque ne iuvet, opto;

If my prayers have power, I wish that it may not please him either;

Si minus, at certe te iuvet inde nihil.

if less, at least let no pleasure come to you from it.

Sed quaecumque tamen noctem fortuna sequetur,

But whatever fortune follows the night,

Cras mihi constanti voce dedisse nega!

deny to me tomorrow with a constant voice that you gave them!

Syntax notes5 items

1.4.12da mea nec tepidis verba ferenda Notis
The gerundive ferenda agrees with the direct object of dare (mea verba) to express purpose ('give them to be carried away'). It is a poetic idiom meaning that words are scattered by the winds and rendered useless.
1.4.29sapias, bibat ipse, iubeto
sapias is the present subjunctive of sapere, functioning either as a mild jussive ('be wise') or standing for a conditional clause ('if you are wise'). The following bibat is a subjunctive noun clause with ut omitted, serving as the object of the future imperative iubeto ('order him to drink').
1.4.35Nec premat inpositis sinito tua colla lacertis
sinito is the future imperative of sinere ('allow'). It takes a subjunctive noun clause (with ut omitted) introduced by the negative nec and premat ('nor allow him to press...'), expressing a prohibition.
1.4.58Quidquid ibi poteris tangere, tange, mei
mei is the genitive of the personal pronoun ego, functioning as a partitive genitive dependent on the relative pronoun quidquid ('whatever of me you can touch').
1.4.65similisque coactae
similis governs the genitive, and coactae is the genitive feminine singular of the perfect passive participle of cogere ('to force') used substantively. It means 'like one who is forced,' advising the mistress to remain passive to her husband's demands.

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-22) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-21)

2026-09-21 AI review — translation 1

urn:cts:latinLit:phi0959.phi001.humanitext-lat2:1.4.1-1.4.70