- 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-lat2:2.10.1-2.10.38
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-28
The poet confesses to his friend Graecinus that, contrary to what was once denied, he is indeed loving two women at the same time, describing his struggle between their charms. He then declares his desire to die from the excessive physical acts of love rather than living a boring, loveless life.
Tu mihi, tu certe, memini,1 Graecine, negabas
You to me, you certainly, I remember, Graecinus, were denying
Uno posse aliquem tempore amare duas.
that anyone could love two women at one time.
Per te ego decipior, per te deprensus inermis —
By you I am deceived, by you caught off guard and unarmed —
Ecce, duas uno tempore turpis amo!
look, to my shame, I love two at one time!
Utraque formosa est, operosae cultibus ambae;
Each is beautiful, both are elaborate in their styling;
Artibus in dubio est2 haec sit an illa prior.
in their skills, it is in doubt whether this one or that one is superior.
Pulchrior hac illa est, haec est quoque pulchrior illa;
That one is more beautiful than this, this one is also more beautiful than that;
Et magis haec nobis, et magis illa placet!
and this one pleases me more, and that one pleases me more!
Erro, velut ventis discordibus acta phaselos,
I wander like a swift boat driven by discordant winds,
Dividuumque tenent alter et alter amor.
and a divided love, this one and that, holds me.
Quid geminas, Erycina, meos sine fine dolores?
Why do you double my griefs without end, Erycina?
Non erat in curas una puella satis?
Was one girl not enough for my cares?
Quid folia arboribus, quid pleno sidera caelo,
Why do you add leaves to the trees, stars to the full sky,
In freta collectas alta quid addis aquas?
why do you add collected waters to the deep seas?
Sed tamen hoc melius, quam si sine amore iacerem —
But yet this is better than if I were lying without love —
Hostibus eveniat vita severa meis!
let a severe life fall to my enemies!
Hostibus eveniat3 viduo dormire cubili
Let it fall to my enemies to sleep in a companionless bed,
Et medio laxe ponere membra toro!
and to lay out their limbs loosely in the middle of the couch!
At mihi saevus amor somnos abrumpat inertes,
But for me, let savage love break off my inactive sleep,
Simque mei lecti non ego solus onus!
and let me not be the sole burden of my bed!
Me mea disperdat nullo prohibente puella —
Let my girl ruin me with no one forbidding —
Si satis una potest, si minus una, duae!
if one is enough, let it be one; if one is too little, let it be two!
Sufficiam — graciles, non sunt sine viribus artus;
I shall suffice — my limbs are slender, but not without strength;
Pondere, non nervis corpora nostra carent;
our bodies lack weight, not sinews;
Et lateri dabit in vires alimenta voluptas.
and pleasure will give nourishment for strength to my loins.
Decepta est opera nulla puella mea;
No girl has been disappointed by my performance;
Saepe ego lascive consumpsi tempora noctis,
often I have spent the hours of the night playfully,
Utilis et forti corpore mane fui.
and in the morning I was useful and of strong body.
Felix, quem Veneris certamina mutua perdunt!
Happy is he whom the mutual contests of Venus ruin!
Di faciant, leti causa sit ista mei!4
May the gods grant that this be the cause of my death!
Induat adversis contraria pectora telis
Let the soldier present his breast to opposing weapons
Miles et aeternum sanguine nomen emat.
and buy an eternal name with his blood.
Quaerat avarus opes et, quae lassarit arando,
Let the greedy man seek wealth, and shipwrecked,
Aequora periuro naufragus ore bibat.
drink with his perjured mouth the seas he has worn out by plowing.
At mihi contingat Veneris languescere motu,
But let it fall to me to grow weak in the movement of Venus,
Cum moriar, medium solvar et inter opus;5
and when I die, let me fade away in the middle of the work;
Atque aliquis nostro lacrimans in funere dicat:
and let someone, weeping at my funeral, say:
'Conveniens vitae mors fuit ista tuae!'
’That death was suited to your life!’
- 2.10.1memini
The verb memini (I remember) is inserted parenthetically into the sentence and does not have a direct syntactic dependency on the main clause.
- 2.10.6in dubio est
An impersonal construction meaning 'it is in doubt', followed by the indirect question clause haec sit an illa prior with the subjunctive present sit acting as the subject.
- 2.10.17eveniat
Present subjunctive expressing a wish. It is used in an impersonal manner with the dative hostibus, with the following infinitives dormire and ponere functioning as its logical subjects.
- 2.10.30Di faciant, leti causa sit ista mei!
The subordinate clause leti causa sit ista mei introduced by Di faciant (may the gods grant) is a noun clause with the conjunction ut omitted, featuring the optative/hortatory subjunctive sit.
- 2.10.36medium solvar et inter opus
The preposition inter is placed between medium and opus (hyperbaton), meaning semantically inter medium opus ('in the middle of the work'). solvar is a passive subjunctive meaning 'to be dissolved' or 'to fade away'.