Witnessing a Lover's Infidelity and Yielding to Her Beauty — Ovid, The Loves Book 2 (2.5.1–2.5.62), Latin & English

Nullus amor tanti est¹ — abeas, pharetrate Cupido! —

No love is of such value — away with you, quivered Cupid! —

Ut mihi sint totiens maxima vota mori.

that my greatest wish should so often be to die.

Vota mori mea sunt, cum te peccasse recordor,

To die is my wish, when I remember that you have sinned,

O mihi perpetuum nata puella malum!

O girl born to be my everlasting ruin!

Non male deletae nudant tua facta tabellae,

It is not that poorly erased tablets expose your deeds,

Nec data furtive munera crimen habent.

nor do secretly given gifts hold the charge.

O utinam arguerem sic, ut non vincere possem!

Oh, would that I were bringing my accusation in such a way that I could not win!

Me miserum! quare tam bona causa mea est?

Wretched me! Why is my case so strong?

Felix, qui quod amat defendere fortiter audet,

Happy is he who dares to defend bravely what he loves,

Cui sua 'non feci!' dicere amica potest.

to whom his mistress can say, “I did not do it!”

Ferreus est nimiumque suo favet ille dolori,

He is made of iron and favors his own pain too much,

Cui petitur victa palma cruenta rea.²

for whom a bloody palm is sought from a defeated female defendant.

Ipse miser vidi, cum me dormire putares,

I myself, wretched, saw, when you thought I was sleeping,

Sobrius adposito crimina vestra mero.

sober, though the wine was served, your criminal acts.

Multa supercilio vidi vibrante loquentes;

I saw you speaking many things with trembling eyebrows;

Nutibus in vestris pars bona vocis erat.

in your nods was a good part of your voice.

Non oculi tacuere tui, conscriptaque vino

Your eyes were not silent, and the table was written over with wine,

Mensa, nec in digitis littera nulla fuit.

nor was there no letter traced by your fingers.

Sermonem agnovi, quod non videatur, agentem

I recognized a conversation dealing with what should not be seen,

Verbaque pro certis iussa valere notis.

and words ordered to stand for specific signs.

Iamque frequens ierat mensa conviva relicta;

And now many a guest had left the table and departed;

Conpositi iuvenes unus et alter erant.

one or two youths were asleep.

Inproba tum vero iungentes oscula vidi —

Then indeed I saw you joining shameless kisses —

Illa mihi lingua nexa fuisse liquet —

it is clear to me that those were woven with tongues —

Qualia non fratri tulerit germana severo,

such as a sister would not give to a stern brother,

Sed tulerit cupido mollis amica viro;

but a gentle mistress would give to her passionate lover;

Qualia credibile est non Phoebo ferre Dianam,

such as it is unbelievable that Diana gives to Phoebus,

Sed Venerem Marti saepe tulisse suo.

but Venus is believed to have often given to her Mars.

'Quid facis?' exclamo, 'quo nunc mea gaudia differs?

”What are you doing?” I cry out, “where now do you delay my joys?

Iniciam dominas in mea iura manus!³

I shall lay my sovereign hands upon you by my own right!

Haec tibi sunt mecum, mihi sunt communia tecum —

These blessings of yours are shared between you and me, and mine with you —

In bona cur quisquam tertius ista venit?'

why does any third party enter into that property of ours?”

Haec ego, quaeque dolor linguae dictavit; at illi

Thus I spoke, and whatever pain dictated to my tongue; but upon her

Conscia purpureus venit in ora pudor,

conscious face came a crimson blush,

Quale coloratum Tithoni coniuge caelum

just as the sky, colored by Tithonus’ wife, grows red,

Subrubet, aut sponso visa puella novo;

or a girl seen by her new betrothed;

Quale rosae fulgent inter sua lilia mixtae,

just as roses shine mixed among their lilies,

Aut ubi cantatis Luna laborat equis,

or when the Moon struggles with her horses under a spell,

Aut quod, ne longis flavescere possit ab annis,

or as the Assyrian ivory which, lest it should grow yellow from long years,

Maeonis Assyrium femina tinxit ebur.

a Maeonian woman has dyed.

Hic erat aut alicui color ille simillimus horum,

Her color was this, or very like one of these,

Et numquam visu pulchrior illa fuit.

and she was never more beautiful to look upon.

Spectabat terram — terram spectare decebat;

She was looking at the ground — it was fitting to look at the ground;

Maesta erat in vultu — maesta decenter erat.

she was sad in her countenance — she was decently sad.

Sicut erant, et erant culti, laniare capillos

Just as they were, and they were well-groomed, I felt an impulse to tear her hair

Et fuit in teneras impetus ire genas —

and to fly at her tender cheeks —

Ut faciem vidi, fortes cecidere lacerti;

but when I saw her face, my strong arms fell;

Defensa est armis nostra puella suis.

our girl was defended by her own weapons.

Qui modo saevus eram, supplex ultroque rogavi,

I, who just now was savage, became a suppliant and of my own accord asked

Oscula ne nobis deteriora daret.

that she would not give me worse kisses.

Risit et ex animo dedit optima — qualia possent

She smiled and from her heart gave the best — such as could

Excutere irato tela trisulca Iovi;

shake the three-forked lightning from the hands of angry Jupiter;

Torqueor infelix, ne tam bona senserit alter,⁴

I am tormented, wretched man, lest the other should have felt them so good,

Et volo non ex hac illa fuisse nota.

and I wish those had not been of this very quality.

Haec quoque, quam docui, multo meliora fuerunt,

These too were much better than those I taught her,

Et quiddam visa est addidicisse novi.

and she seemed to have learned something new besides.

Quod nimium placuere, malum est, quod tota labellis

That they pleased too much is the evil, that your whole tongue

Lingua tua est nostris, nostra recepta tuis.

was received by my lips, and mine by yours.

Nec tamen hoc unum doleo — non oscula tantum

Yet I do not grieve for this alone — I do not complain only

Iuncta queror, quamvis haec quoque iuncta queror;

of kisses joined, though I complain of these joined ones too;

Illa nisi in lecto nusquam potuere doceri.

those could never have been taught except in bed.

Nescio quis pretium grande magister habet.

Some teacher or other is holding a grand reward.

Syntax notes4 items

2.5.1tanti est
Genitive of value meaning "is of such worth." It sets up the following ut-clause (§2.5.2) as a consecutive (result) clause: "no love is of such value that my greatest wish should be..."
2.5.12cui petitur victa palma cruenta rea
The relative pronoun cui (dative of agent with the passive verb petitur) refers back to ille (§2.5.11). The phrase victa rea function as an ablative absolute (or ablative of separation), meaning "once the female defendant has been defeated."
2.5.30Iniciam dominas in mea iura manus
The phrase "manus inicere in..." (to lay hands upon) is a legal term from Roman law referring to "manus iniectio" (a formal claim of ownership or arrest). Here, it is used metaphorically for the poet asserting his exclusive right over his mistress.
2.5.53ne tam bona senserit alter
A ne-clause following the verb torqueor ("I am tormented"). Functioning like a clause after a verb of fearing, it expresses the poet's anxious suspicion: "lest another should have experienced them [the kisses] so good."

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-22)urn:cts:latinLit:phi0959.phi001.humanitext-lat2:2.5.1-2.5.62