- 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-lat2:1.5.1-1.5.26
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-27
On a hot summer afternoon, the narrator lies on a couch in a dimly lit room when the beautiful Corinna arrives in a thin tunic, leading to a passionate embrace and physical union.
Aestus erat, mediamque dies exegerat horam;
It was hot, and the day had completed its midday hour;
Adposui medio membra levanda1 toro.
I laid my limbs, to be refreshed, on the middle of the couch.
Pars adaperta fuit, pars altera clausa fenestrae;
One part of the window was open, the other part closed;
Quale fere silvae lumen habere solent,
such a light as the woods are usually wont to have,
Qualia sublucent fugiente crepuscula Phoebo,
such twilight as glimmers when Phoebus is fleeing,
Aut ubi nox abiit, nec tamen orta dies.
or when night has gone, yet the day has not yet arisen.
Illa verecundis lux est praebenda puellis,
That is the light to be offered to modest girls,
Qua timidus latebras speret habere pudor.2
in which timid shame may hope to have a hiding place.
Ecce, Corinna venit, tunica velata recincta,
Behold, Corinna comes, clad in an unbelted tunic,
Candida dividua colla tegente coma3 —
with her parted hair covering her fair neck —
Qualiter in thalamos famosa Semiramis isse
just as the famous Semiramis is said to have gone into her bedchambers,
Dicitur, et multis Lais amata viris.
and Lais, beloved by many men.
Deripui tunicam — nec multum rara nocebat;
I tore off her tunic — nor did its thinness hinder much;
Pugnabat tunica sed tamen illa tegi.
yet she still struggled to be covered by the tunic.
Quae cum ita pugnaret, tamquam quae vincere nollet,4
Since she struggled thus, as one who did not wish to conquer,
Victa est non aegre proditione sua.
she was conquered without difficulty by her own self-betrayal.
Ut stetit ante oculos posito velamine nostros,
When she stood before my eyes, her garment having been cast aside,
In toto nusquam corpore menda fuit.
there was no blemish anywhere in her whole body.
Quos umeros, quales vidi tetigique lacertos!
What shoulders, what arms I saw and touched!
Forma papillarum quam fuit apta premi!
How fit was the shape of her breasts to be pressed!
Quam castigato planus sub pectore venter!
How flat was the belly beneath her well-formed breast!
Quantum et quale latus! quam iuvenale femur!
How great and what a waist! How youthful a thigh!
Singula quid referam? nil non laudabile vidi
Why should I recount each detail? I saw nothing that was not praiseworthy,
Et nudam pressi corpus ad usque meum.
and I pressed her naked body close to mine.
Cetera quis nescit? lassi requievimus ambo.
Who does not know the rest? Tired, we both rested.
Proveniant medii sic mihi saepe dies!
May such midday days turn out for me often!
- 1.5.2membra levanda
The gerundive levanda (to be refreshed/relieved) modifies membra (limbs), expressing the purpose or intention behind the action.
- 1.5.8Qua timidus latebras speret habere pudor
The relative clause introduced by the ablative qua (referring back to lux) uses the subjunctive speret to express characteristic, purpose, or result ("a light in which timid shame might hope...").
- 1.5.10Candida dividua colla tegente coma
An ablative absolute construction formed by the present participle tegente and the noun coma (ablative feminine singular), in which colla (accusative neuter plural) acts as the direct object of the participle.
- 1.5.15tamquam quae vincere nollet
The conjunction tamquam is paired with the imperfect subjunctive nollet to express a counterfactual comparison ("as if she did not wish to conquer"). The relative pronoun quae refers back to Corinna.