- 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-lat2:2.19.1-2.19.60
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-28
The poet gives a strange piece of advice to his mistress's husband, urging him to guard his wife more strictly to provide the obstacles and jealousy necessary to keep love exciting, arguing against the boredom of easy love.
Si tibi non opus est servata, stulte, puella,1
If you have no need, fool, of your girl being guarded,
At mihi fac serves, quo magis ipse velim!2
at least make sure you guard her for me, so that I myself may desire her more!
Quod licet, ingratum est; quod non licet acrius urit.
What is allowed is unpleasant; what is not allowed burns more fiercely.
Ferreus est, siquis, quod sinit alter, amat
He is made of iron, if anyone loves what another permits.
Speremus pariter, pariter metuamus amantes,
Let us as lovers hope equally, let us fear equally,
Et faciat voto rara repulsa locum.
and let an occasional rejection make room for our vows.
Quo mihi fortunam,3 quae numquam fallere curet?
What is the use to me of fortune that never cares to deceive?
Nil ego, quod nullo tempore laedat, amo!
I love nothing that at no time causes pain!
Viderat hoc in me vitium versuta Corinna,
Clever Corinna had seen this flaw in me,
Quaque capi possem, callida norat opem.
and she, cunning, knew the means by which I could be captured.
A, quotiens sani capitis mentita dolores
Ah, how often, feigning headaches when her mind was sound,
Cunctantem tardo iussit abire pede!
she ordered me, as I lingered, to depart with slow step!
A, quotiens finxit culpam, quantumque licebat
Ah, how often she invented a fault, and as much as was permitted to one innocent,
Insonti, speciem praebuit esse nocens!4
presented the appearance of being guilty herself!
Sic ubi vexarat tepidosque refoverat ignis,
Thus when she had vexed and rekindled my lukewarm fire,
Rursus erat votis comis et apta meis.
she was again gentle and accommodating to my desires.
Quas mihi blanditias, quam dulcia verba parabat
What flatteries, what sweet words she would prepare for me!
Oscula, di magni, qualia quotque dabat!
Great gods, what kind of kisses and how many she used to give!
Tu quoque, quae nostros rapuisti nuper ocellos,
You too, who have recently stolen my eyes,
Saepe time simulans, saepe rogata nega;
often pretend to be afraid, and often, when asked, deny me;
Et sine me ante tuos proiectum in limine postis
and let me, cast down before your doorposts on the threshold,
Longa pruinosa frigora nocte pati.
endure long chills in the frosty night.
Sic mihi durat amor longosque adolescit in annos;
Thus my love lasts and grows into long years;
Hoc iuvat; haec animi sunt alimenta mei.
this pleases me; these are the nourishments of my soul.
Pinguis amor nimiumque patens in taedia nobis
A sluggish love and one too easily accessible turns for us into boredom
Vertitur et, stomacho dulcis ut esca, nocet.
and, like sweet food to the stomach, does harm.
Si numquam Danaen habuisset aenea turris,
If the bronze tower had never held Danae,
Non esset Danae de Iove facta parens;
Danae would not have been made a mother by Jove;
Dum servat Iuno mutatam cornibus Io,
While Juno guarded Io, who was changed with horns,
Facta est, quam fuerat, gratior illa Iovi.
she became more pleasing to Jove than she had been before.
Quod licet et facile est quisquis cupit, arbore frondis
Whoever desires what is allowed and easy, let him pluck leaves
Carpat et e magno flumine potet aquam.
from a tree and drink water from a great river.
Siqua volet regnare diu, deludat amantem.
If any woman wishes to rule long, let her delude her lover.
Ei mihi, ne monitis torquear ipse meis!
Ah me, let me not be tortured by my own counsels!
Quidlibet eveniat, nocet indulgentia nobis —
Whatever happens, indulgence hurts us —
Quod sequitur, fugio; quod fugit, ipse sequor.
I flee what follows; what flees, I myself pursue.
At tu, formosae nimium secure puellae,
But you, too secure about your beautiful girl,
Incipe iam prima claudere nocte forem.
begin now to close your door at the first part of the night.
Incipe, quis totiens furtim tua limina pulset,
Begin to ask who knocks so often secretly at your threshold,
Quaerere, quid latrent nocte silente canes,
why the dogs bark in the silent night,
Quas ferat et referat sollers ancilla tabellas,
what tablets the clever maid carries back and forth,
Cur totiens vacuo secubet ipsa toro.
why she herself sleeps so often in an empty bed.
Mordeat ista tuas aliquando cura medullas,
Let that care at last bite into your marrow,
Daque locum nostris materiamque dolis.
and give room and material for our tricks.
Ille potest vacuo furari litore harenas,
That man can steal sands from an empty shore,
Uxorem stulti siquis amare potest.
if anyone can love the wife of a fool.
Iamque ego praemoneo: nisi tu servare puellam
And now I forewarn you: unless you begin to guard
Incipis, incipiet desinere esse mea!
your girl, she will begin to cease being mine!
Multa diuque tuli; speravi saepe futurum,
I have borne much and for a long time; I often hoped it would be,
Cum bene servasses, ut bene verba darem.5
when you had guarded her well, that I might deceive you well.
Lentus es et pateris nulli patienda marito;
You are sluggish and endure what no husband should endure;
At mihi concessi finis amoris erit!
but to me, it will be the end of allowed love!
Scilicet infelix numquam prohibebor adire?
Shall I indeed, wretched, never be forbidden to approach?
Nox mihi sub nullo vindice semper erit?
Will night always be for me with no avenger?
Nil metuam? per nulla traham suspiria somnos?
Shall I fear nothing? Shall I draw sighs through no sleep?
Nil facies, cur te iure perisse velim?
Will you do nothing, why I should rightly wish you to perish?
Quid mihi cum facili, quid cum lenone marito?
What have I to do with an easy husband, what with a pimp-like husband?
Corrumpit vitio gaudia nostra suo.
He ruins our pleasures with his own vice.
Quin alium, quem tanta iuvat patientia, quaeris?
Why not look for another, whom such great patience pleases?
Me tibi rivalem si iuvat esse, veta!
If it pleases you that I be your rival, forbid it!
- 2.19.1servata ... puella
The ablative case is used with the impersonal construction opus est (there is need of). The noun and perfect participle servata puella function like an 'ab urbe condita' construction, meaning 'the guarding of the girl'.
- 2.19.2quo magis ipse velim
A purpose clause introduced by quo (equivalent to ut eo) because of the presence of the comparative magis. The present subjunctive velim expresses the purpose or natural consequence: 'so that I myself might want her more'.
- 2.19.7Quo mihi fortunam
An elliptical rhetorical question where a verb (such as prodest or adfero) is omitted. The accusative fortunam and the dative mihi combine to mean 'Whither/to what purpose is fortune to me?' or 'Of what use is fortune to me?'.
- 2.19.14speciem praebuit esse nocens
The nominative complement nocens is used with the infinitive esse. Since the subject of the main verb praebuit (Corinna) is identical to the implied subject of the infinitive, the complement remains in the nominative rather than the accusative.
- 2.19.50verba darem
An idiomatic Latin expression combining verba and dare, meaning 'to deceive' or 'to cheat'. Here it is used in the imperfect subjunctive in the purpose clause ut ... verba darem.
Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-22) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-21)
- 2026-09-21 AI review — translation 1