Lament for the Death of His Mistress's Parrot — Ovid, The Loves Book 2 (2.6.1–2.6.62), Latin & English

Psittacus, Eois imitatrix ales ab Indis,

The parrot, the imitating bird from the eastern Indies,

Occidit — exequias ite frequenter, aves!

has died — go in crowds to his funeral, O birds!

Ite, piae volucres, et plangite pectora pinnis

Go, affectionate birds, and beat your breasts with your wings,

Et rigido teneras ungue notate genas;

and mark your tender cheeks with your hard claws;

Horrida pro maestis lanietur pluma capillis,

let your ruffled plumage be torn instead of sorrowful hair,

Pro longa resonent carmina vestra tuba!

let your songs resound instead of the long trumpet!

Quod scelus Ismarii quereris, Philomela, tyranni,¹

As for the crime of the Ismarian tyrant which you lament, Philomela,

Expleta est annis ista querela suis;

that complaint has been fulfilled by its own years;

Alitis in rarae miserum devertere² funus —

turn aside to the wretched funeral of a rare bird —

Magna, sed antiqua est causa doloris Itys.

Itys is a great but ancient cause of grief.

Omnes, quae liquido libratis in aere cursus,

All you who balance your flight in the clear air,

Tu tamen ante alios, turtur amice, dole!

yet you, friendly turtle-dove, grieve before others!

Plena fuit vobis omni concordia vita,

Your whole life was full of complete harmony,

Et stetit ad finem longa tenaxque fides.

and a long and tenacious loyalty stood firm to the end.

Quod fuit Argolico iuvenis Phoceus Orestae,³

What the Phocian youth was to Argive Orestes,

Hoc tibi, dum licuit, psittace, turtur erat.

this to you, parrot, as long as it was permitted, the turtle-dove was.

Quid tamen ista fides, quid rari forma coloris,

Yet what does that loyalty, what does the beauty of your rare color,

Quid vox mutandis ingeniosa sonis,

what does your voice, clever at changing sounds,

Quid iuvat, ut datus es,⁴ nostrae placuisse puellae? —

what does it avail that you pleased our girl since you were given? —

Infelix, avium gloria, nempe iaces!

Unhappy one, the glory of birds, indeed you lie low!

Tu poteras fragiles pinnis hebetare zmaragdos

You were able to dull fragile emeralds with your feathers,

Tincta gerens rubro Punica rostra croco.

wearing a scarlet beak dyed with red saffron.

Non fuit in terris vocum simulantior ales —

There was no bird on earth more imitative of voices —

Reddebas blaeso tam bene verba sono!

you returned words so well with your lisping sound!

Raptus es invidia — non tu fera bella movebas;

You were snatched away by envy — you did not stir up fierce wars;

Garrulus et placidae pacis amator eras.

you were talkative and a lover of gentle peace.

Ecce, coturnices inter sua proelia vivunt;

See, quails live among their battles;

Forsitan et fiunt inde frequenter anus.

and perhaps from that they frequently become old.

Plenus eras minimo, nec prae⁵ sermonis amore

You were satisfied with the very least, nor, because of your love for speech,

In multos poteras ora vacare cibos.

could you free your mouth for much food.

Nux erat esca tibi, causaeque papavera somni,

A nut was your food, poppy seeds the cause of sleep,

Pellebatque sitim simplicis umor aquae.

and the moisture of simple water drove away your thirst.

Vivit edax vultur ducensque per aera gyros

The greedy vulture lives, and the kite drawing circles through the air,

Miluus et pluviae graculus auctor aquae;

and the jackdaw, the herald of rain-water;

Vivit et armiferae cornix invisa Minervae —

the crow, hated by weapon-bearing Minerva, also lives —

Illa quidem saeclis vix moritura novem;

she indeed is scarcely to die for nine generations;

Occidit illa loquax humanae vocis imago,

but that talkative image of the human voice has died,

Psittacus, extremo munus ab orbe datum!

the parrot, a gift given from the end of the earth!

Optima prima fere manibus rapiuntur avaris;

The best are almost always snatched away first by greedy hands;

Inplentur numeris deteriora suis.

the worse are filled with their own numbers.

Tristia Phylacidae Thersites funera vidit,

Thersites saw the sad funeral of the man of Phylace,

Iamque cinis vivis fratribus Hector erat.

and Hector was already ashes while his brothers were alive.

Quid referam timidae pro te pia vota puellae⁶ —

Why should I recall the pious prayers of the fearful girl for you —

Vota procelloso per mare rapta Noto?

prayers snatched away over the sea by the stormy South Wind?

Septima lux venit non exhibitura sequentem,

The seventh day came, not about to show a following one,

Et stabat vacuo iam tibi Parca colo.

and Fate already stood for you with an empty spindle.

Nec tamen ignavo stupuerunt verba palato;

Yet words did not fail in your powerless palate;

Clamavit moriens lingua: 'Corinna, vale!'

your dying tongue cried out: “Corinna, farewell!”

Colle sub Elysio nigra nemus ilice frondet,

Beneath the Elysian hill, a grove of dark holm-oak is in leaf,

Udaque perpetuo gramine terra viret.

and the moist earth is green with everlasting grass.

Siqua fides dubiis, volucrum locus ille piarum

If there is any trust in doubtful matters, that place is said to be of affectionate birds,

Dicitur, obscenae quo prohibentur aves.

from which ill-omened birds are barred.

Illic innocui late pascuntur olores

There harmless swans feed far and wide,

Et vivax phoenix, unica semper avis;

and the long-lived phoenix, always a unique bird;

Explicat ipsa suas ales Iunonia pinnas,

Juno’s bird herself unfolds her feathers,

Oscula dat cupido blanda columba mari.

the gentle dove gives kisses to her eager mate.

Psittacus has inter nemorali sede receptus

Received among these in a woodland home,

Convertit volucres in sua verba pias.

the parrot draws the affectionate birds to his own words.

Ossa tegit tumulus — tumulus pro corpore magnus —

A mound covers his bones — a mound large in proportion to his body —

Quo lapis exiguus par sibi carmen habet:

where a tiny stone has a poem fitting for itself:

Colligor ex ipso dominae placuisse sepulcro.⁷

”I am gathered from this very tomb to have pleased my mistress.

Ora fuere mihi plus ave docta loqui.

My mouth was skilled in speaking more than a bird’s.”

Syntax notes7 items

2.6.7Quod scelus Ismarii quereris, Philomela, tyranni,
A noun clause introduced by the relative pronoun quod, where the antecedent scelus is attracted into the relative clause. This entire structure serves to define or stand in apposition to the main subject ista querela.
2.6.9devertere
Second-person singular passive (middle) imperative of deverto. Although identical in form to the present active infinitive, it functions here as an imperative meaning "turn yourself aside/divert your grief to..."
2.6.15Quod fuit Argolico iuvenis Phoceus Orestae,
A correlative structure "Quod... hoc...". The relative pronoun quod in the relative clause serves as a neuter pronoun meaning "that which...", picked up by hoc in the main clause. "Phoceus iuvenis" (the Phocian youth, Pylades) is the subject, and "Orestae" is a dative of reference.
2.6.19ut datus es
The conjunction ut followed by the indicative (datus es), which here carries a temporal meaning "from the time when" or "ever since you were given."
2.6.29prae
A preposition taking the ablative (here the ablative amore) to indicate cause, meaning "because of" or "on account of." It is typically used in negative or limiting contexts, explaining why the parrot could not empty its mouth for food.
2.6.43pia vota puellae
"puellae" is a genitive of possession modifying "vota" ("the girl's vows/prayers"). "vota" is the direct object of "referam" (deliberative subjunctive, "why should I recall...?").
2.6.61Colligor ex ipso dominae placuisse sepulcro
A personal construction where the passive verb "colligor" (I am inferred) is completed by the infinitive "placuisse" (to have pleased). It translates to "I am inferred, from the tomb itself, to have pleased my mistress."

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-22)urn:cts:latinLit:phi0959.phi001.humanitext-lat2:2.6.1-2.6.62