- 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-lat2:2.7.1-2.7.28
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-27
The poet protests against his mistress's constant, jealous accusations and strongly asserts his innocence regarding the new charge of having an affair with her hairdresser maid, Cypassis, by pointing out the maid's low status and the risk of being exposed.
Ergo sufficiam reus in nova crimina semper?
Shall I then always suffice as the accused against new charges?
Ut vincam,1 totiens dimicuisse piget.
Even if I should win, it irks me to have fought so many times.
Sive ego marmorei respexi summa theatri,
Whether I have looked back at the top of the marble theater,
Eligis e multis, unde dolere velis;
you choose from many a one from whom you wish to feel pain;
Candida seu tacito vidit me femina vultu,
or if a fair woman has looked at me with a silent countenance,
In vultu tacitas arguis esse notas.
you declare that there are silent signals in her countenance.
Siquam laudavi, misero petis ungue capillos;
If I have praised any woman, you claw at my wretched hair with your nails;
Si culpo, crimen dissimulare putas.
if I find fault, you think I am trying to conceal a crime.
Sive bonus color est, in te quoque frigidus esse,2
Whether my color is good, I am said to be cold towards you too,
Seu malus, alterius dicor amore mori.
or bad, I am said to be dying of love for another.
Atque ego peccati vellem mihi conscius essem!3
And indeed I wish I were conscious of some sin!
Aequo animo poenam, qui meruere, ferunt;
Those who have deserved punishment bear it with a calm mind;
Nunc temere insimulas credendoque omnia frustra
now you accuse me blindly, and by believing everything in vain,
Ipsa vetas iram pondus habere tuam.
you yourself forbid your own anger to have weight.
Adspice, ut auritus miserandae sortis asellus
Look how the long-eared donkey of a pitiable lot,
Adsiduo domitus verbere lentus eat!
tamed by constant whipping, goes slowly along!
Ecce novum crimen! sollers ornare Cypassis
Look, a new charge! Cypassis, skilled at adorning hair,
Obicitur dominae contemerasse torum.
is accused of having defiled her mistress’s bed.
Di melius,4 quam me, si sit peccasse libido,
May the gods grant better than that, if there should be a desire to sin,
Sordida contemptae sortis amica iuvet!
a low-born mistress of despised rank should please me!
Quis Veneris famulae conubia liber inire
What free man would wish to enter into unions with a handmaid of Venus
Tergaque conplecti verbere secta velit?
and to embrace a back scarred by the whip?
Adde, quod ornandis illa est operata capillis
Add to this, that she is employed in adorning hair
Et tibi perdocta est grata ministra manu —
and is a handmaid pleasing to you for her highly skilled hand —
Scilicet ancillam, quae tam tibi fida, rogarem!
Of course, I would solicit a maid who is so faithful to you!
Quid, nisi ut indicio iuncta repulsa foret?5
What indeed, except that rejection would be accompanied by betrayal?
Per Venerem iuro puerique volatilis arcus,
I swear by Venus and the bow of her winged boy,
Me non admissi criminis esse reum!
that I am accused of a crime I have not committed!
- 2.7.2Ut vincam
The conjunction ut with the present subjunctive vincam expresses concession ("even if I should win"). Although a purpose interpretation ("in order that I win") is grammatically possible, the concessive sense fits the context better, indicating that the act of constant arguing is painful even when victorious.
- 2.7.9in te quoque frigidus esse
This infinitive phrase is part of the nominative-with-infinitive construction governed by dicor ("I am said") in the following line (§2.7.10). It stands in parallel with mori in §2.7.10, structuring the passage as: "I am said to be cold towards you if my color is good, and to be dying of love for another if my color is bad."
- 2.7.11vellem mihi conscius essem
The imperfect subjunctive vellem (from volo) is followed directly, without the conjunction ut, by another imperfect subjunctive essem. This expresses an unfulfilled wish in the present/past ("I wish I were conscious of some sin [though I am not]").
- 2.7.19Di melius
An idiomatic ellipsis of the verb (such as faciant or duint), meaning "May the gods grant better!" used to express strong denial or aversion. The comparative conjunction quam introduces the following clause with the optative/hortative subjunctive iuvet (§2.7.20).
- 2.7.26Quid, nisi ut ... foret
The main verb of the clause (such as sequeretur or accideret meaning "what would follow") is omitted. The entire phrase forms a rhetorical question: "What indeed would happen, except that rejection would be joined with betrayal?"