- 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-lat2:2.17.1-2.17.34
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-28
The poet declares his absolute submission to the beautiful and haughty Corinna, justifying his servitude by invoking divine and mythological precedents. He promises to devote his poetic talent exclusively to her.
Siquis erit, qui turpe putet servire puellae,
If there is anyone who thinks it shameful to serve a girl,
Illo convincar iudice1 turpis ego!
by his judgment let me be proved shameful!
Sim licet2 infamis, dum me moderatius urat,
Let me be disreputable, so long as she burns me more moderately,
Quae Paphon et fluctu pulsa Cythera tenet.
she who rules Paphos and wave-beaten Cythera.
Atque utinam dominae miti quoque praeda fuissem
And would that I had been the prey of a gentle mistress also,
Formosae quoniam praeda futurus eram!
since I was destined to be the prey of a beautiful one!
Dat facies animos. facie violenta Corinna est —
Beauty gives arrogance. Corinna is violent because of her beauty —
Me miserum! cur est tam bene nota sibi?
wretched me! why is she so well known to herself?
Scilicet a speculi sumuntur imagine fastus,
Surely her pride is taken from the reflection in her mirror,
Nec nisi conpositam se prius illa videt!
nor does she see herself before she is fully adorned!
Non, tibi si facies animum dat et omina regni —
No, even if your beauty gives you pride and signs of sovereign rule —
O facies oculos nata tenere meos! —
O face born to hold my eyes! —
Collatum idcirco tibi me contemnere debes;
you ought not on that account to despise me compared to you;
Aptari magnis inferiora licet.
it is permitted for lesser things to be fitted to the great.
Traditur et nymphe mortalis amore Calypso
It is told also that the nymph Calypso, captured by love for a mortal,
Capta recusantem detinuisse virum.
detained the man who refused her.
Creditur aequoream Pthio Nereida regi,3
It is believed that the sea Nereid slept with the Phthian king,
Egeriam iusto concubuisse Numae,
that Egeria slept with the just Numa,
Vulcano Venerem, quamvis incude relicta
and Venus with Vulcan, although, leaving his anvil,
Turpiter obliquo claudicet ille pede.
he limps shamefully with his crooked foot.
Carminis hoc ipsum genus inpar;4 sed tamen apte
This very genre of song is unequal; yet appropriately
Iungitur herous cum breviore modo.
the heroic verse is joined with the shorter measure.
Tu quoque me, mea lux, in quaslibet accipe leges;
You too, my light, receive me on whatever terms you wish;
Te deceat medio iura dedisse foro.
let it become you to dictate laws in the middle of the forum.
Non tibi crimen ero, nec quo laetere remoto;
I shall not be a disgrace to you, nor one whose departure you would rejoice in;
Non erit hic nobis infitiandus amor.
this love of ours will not have to be denied by us.
Sunt mihi pro magno felicia carmina censu,
I have successful poems instead of a great estate,
Et multae per me nomen habere volunt;
and many women wish to have a name through me;
Novi aliquam, quae se circumferat esse Corinnam.
I know a certain woman who boasts that she is Corinna.
Ut fiat, quid non illa dedisse velit?
To make it so, what would she not wish to have given?
Sed neque diversi ripa labuntur eadem
But neither do the cold Eurotas and the poplar-bearing Po,
Frigidus Eurotas populiferque Padus,
flowing in different directions, glide on the same bank,
Nec nisi tu nostris cantabitur ulla libellis;
nor shall any woman but you be sung of in my little books;
Ingenio causas tu dabis una meo.
you alone will provide the causes for my genius.
- 2.17.2illo ... iudice
The phrase 'illo ... iudice' is an ablative absolute ('with him as judge' / 'under his judgment'), where 'illo' refers back to the 'siquis' introduced in the previous line.
- 2.17.3Sim licet
The verb 'licet' acts here as a concessive conjunction, taking the present subjunctive 'sim' to form a concessive clause meaning 'although I am' or 'granted that I may be'.
- 2.17.17aequoream Pthio Nereida regi
The perfect active infinitive 'concubuisse' from line 18 ('Egeriam iusto concubuisse Numae') must be supplied here. 'Aequoream Nereida' serves as the subject accusative, and 'Pthio regi' is the dative of partner governed by the implied infinitive.
- 2.17.21genus inpar
The adjective 'inpar' ('unequal') refers to the structural characteristics of the elegiac couplet, which consists of alternating unequal lines: a hexameter and a shorter pentameter.