- 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-lat2:2.11.1-2.11.56
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-28
Faced with Corinna's upcoming voyage, the poet warns of the dangers of the sea and longs for her safe return to him, imagining her sharing her travel adventures.
Prima malas docuit mirantibus aequoris undis1
The pine cut down on the Pelian peak first taught
Peliaco pinus vertice caesa vias,
evil paths to the wondering waves of the sea,
Quae concurrentis inter temeraria cautes
which, reckless among the clashing rocks,
Conspicuam fulvo vellere vexit ovem.
carried the conspicuous sheep with the golden fleece.
O utinam, nequis remo freta longa moveret,
O would that, so that no one might move the distant seas with an oar,
Argo funestas pressa bibisset aquas!
the Argo, crushed, had drunk the fatal waters!
Ecce, fugit notumque torum sociosque Penates
Look, Corinna flees her familiar bed and the friendly Penates,
Fallacisque vias ire Corinna parat.
and prepares to go on treacherous ways.
Quam tibi,2 me miserum, Zephyros Eurosque timebo
How much for you, miserable me, shall I fear the West winds and East winds,
Et gelidum Borean egelidumque Notum!
and the cold North wind and the lukewarm South wind!
Non illic urbes, non tu mirabere silvas;
There you will not admire cities, nor will you admire forests;
Una est iniusti caerula forma maris.
the blue form of the unjust sea is uniform.
Nec medius tenuis conchas pictosque lapillos
Nor does the middle of the deep possess delicate shells or painted pebbles;
Pontus habet; bibuli litoris illa mora est.
those are the amusement of the water-absorbing shore.
Litora marmoreis pedibus signate, puellae;
Mark the shores with your marble feet, girls;
Hactenus est tutum — cetera caeca via est.
thus far is safe — the rest of the way is blind.
Et vobis alii ventorum proelia narrent;
And let others tell you of the battles of the winds,
Quas Scylla infestet, quasve Charybdis aquas;
what waters Scylla infests, or what waters Charybdis;
Et quibus emineant violenta Ceraunia saxis;
and with what rocks the violent Ceraunian mountains stand out,
Quo lateant Syrtes magna minorque sinu.
and in what bay the great and lesser Syrtes lie hidden.
Haec alii referant ad vos; quod quisque loquetur,
Let others report these things to you; whatever each one says,
Credite! credenti nulla procella nocet.
believe it! No tempest harms the believer.
Sero respicitur tellus, ubi fune soluto
Too late is the land looked back upon, when, the cable loosed,
Currit in inmensum panda carina salum;
the curved keel runs into the immense deep;
Navita sollicitus cum ventos horret iniquos
when the anxious sailor dreads the hostile winds
Et prope tam letum, quam prope cernit aquam.
and sees death almost as close as he sees the water.
Quod si concussas Triton exasperet undas,
But if Triton should stir up the shaken waves,
Quam tibi sit toto nullus in ore color!
how there would be no color in your entire face!
Tum generosa voces fecundae sidera Ledae
Then you would call upon the noble stars of fertile Leda
Et 'felix,' dicas 'quem sua terra tenet!'
and say, ‘Happy is he whom his own land holds!’
Tutius est fovisse3 torum, legisse libellos,
It is safer to have kept the bed warm, to have read little books,
Threiciam digitis increpuisse lyram.
and to have struck the Thracian lyre with your fingers.
At, si vana ferunt volucres mea dicta procellae,
But, if the swift tempests carry my empty words away,
Aequa tamen puppi sit Galatea tuae!
yet let Galatea be favorable to your ship!
Vestrum crimen erit talis iactura puellae,
The loss of such a girl will be your crime,
Nereidesque deae Nereidumque pater.
Nereid goddesses and the father of the Nereids.
Vade memor nostri vento reditura secundo;
Go, mindful of us, destined to return with a favorable wind;
Inpleat illa tuos fortior aura sinus!
let that stronger breeze fill your sails!
Tum mare in haec magnus proclinet litora Nereus;
Then let great Nereus tilt the sea toward these shores;
Huc venti spirent, huc agat aestus aquas!
hither let the winds blow, hither let the tide drive the waters!
Ipsa roges, Zephyri veniant in lintea pleni,
May you yourself ask that the West winds come full into the sails,
Ipsa tua moveas turgida vela manu!
may you yourself move the swollen sails with your hand!
Primus ego adspiciam notam de litore puppim,
I shall be the first to see the familiar ship from the shore,
Et dicam: 'nostros advehit illa deos!'
and say: ‘She brings our gods!’
Excipiamque umeris et multa sine ordine carpam
And I shall receive her on my shoulders and snatch many kisses
Oscula. pro reditu victima vota cadet;
without order. The promised victim will fall for your return;
Inque tori formam molles sternentur harenae,
and the soft sands will be spread in the form of a bed,
Et cumulus mensae quilibet esse potest.
and any mound of sand can be a table.
Illic adposito narrabis multa Lyaeo4 —
There, with wine placed nearby, you will tell many things —
Paene sit ut mediis obruta navis aquis;
how the ship was almost overwhelmed in the middle of the waters;
Dumque ad me properas, neque iniquae tempora noctis
and how, while you were hastening to me, you feared neither the hours
Nec te praecipites extimuisse Notos.
of the hostile night nor the precipitous South winds.
Omnia pro veris credam, sint ficta licebit —
I shall believe everything as true, though it be made up —
Cur ego non votis blandiar ipse meis?
why should I not flatter my own wishes?
Haec mihi quamprimum caelo nitidissimus alto
May Lucifer, most brilliant in the high heaven,
Lucifer admisso tempora portet equo!
bring these times to me as soon as possible with his horse at full speed!
- 2.11.1mirantibus aequoris undis
Dative (or ablative absolute) form. It functions as the indirect object of the verb docuit, with the personified interpretation 'taught (evil paths) to the wondering waves of the sea' being standard.
- 2.11.9tibi
Dative form of the pronoun. It is a dative of advantage/interest (dativus commodi), indicating the speaker's concern and anxiety 'for you' or 'on your behalf'.
- 2.11.31fovisse
Perfect infinitive. Here, like legisse and increpuisse, it is used with the force of a present infinitive (fovere, legere, increpare) for metrical convenience in elegiac couplets (poetic perfect infinitive).
- 2.11.49Lyaeo
Ablative form of Lyaeus, an epithet of Bacchus. It is used here metonymically to refer to 'wine' itself.