Complaint Against Abstinence during the Festival of Ceres — Ovid, The Loves Book 3 (3.10.1–3.10.48), Latin & English

Annua venerunt Cerealis tempora sacri;

The annual season of the festival of Ceres has come;

Secubat in vacuo sola puella toro.

my girl sleeps alone in an empty bed.

Flava Ceres, tenues spicis redimita capillos,

Golden Ceres, your fine hair wreathed with ears of wheat,

Cur inhibes sacris commoda nostra tuis?

why do you hinder our pleasures with your sacred rites?

Te, dea, munificam gentes, ubi quaeque, loquuntur,

All nations, wherever they are, speak of you, goddess, as bountiful,

Nec minus humanis invidet ulla bonis.¹

nor does any other goddess less envy human happiness.

Ante nec hirsuti torrebant farra coloni,

Before, neither did shaggy farmers parch spelt,

Nec notum terris area nomen erat,

nor was the name of a threshing-floor known on earth,

Sed glandem quercus, oracula prima, ferebant;

but the oaks, the first oracles, bore acorns;

Haec erat et teneri caespitis herba cibus.

these and the grass of the tender turf were food.

Prima Ceres docuit turgescere semen in agris

Ceres first taught the seed to swell in the fields,

Falce coloratas subsecuitque comas;

and cut the colored ears with a sickle;

Prima iugis tauros supponere colla coegit,

she first compelled bulls to submit their necks to the yoke,

Et veterem curvo dente revellit humum.

and turned up the ancient soil with the curved plowshare.

Hanc quisquam lacrimis laetari credit amantum

Does anyone believe that she rejoices in the tears of lovers,

Et bene tormentis secubituque coli?

and is properly worshipped by torment and solitary sleeping?

Nec tamen est, quamvis agros amet illa feraces,

And yet she is not rustic, although she loves fertile fields,

Rustica nec viduum pectus amoris habet.

nor does she have a heart empty of love.

Cretes erunt testes — nec fingunt omnia Cretes.

The Cretans will be witnesses — and the Cretans do not invent everything.

Crete nutrito terra superba Iove.

Crete is a land proud of having nurtured Jupiter.

Illic, sideream mundi qui temperat arcem,

There, he who rules the starry citadel of the world,

Exiguus tenero lac bibit ore puer.

as a tiny boy drank milk with a tender mouth.

Magna fides testi: testis laudatur alumno.²

Great is the credibility of the witness: the witness is praised by her foster-child.

Fassuram Cererem crimina nostra puto.

I think Ceres will confess to our charges against her.

Viderat Iasium Cretaea diva sub Ida

The goddess had seen Iasius under Cretan Ida,

Figentem certa terga ferina manu.

piercing the backs of wild beasts with a steady hand.

Vidit, et ut tenerae flammam rapuere medullae,

She saw him, and as her tender marrow caught the flame of love,

Hinc pudor, ex illa parte trahebat amor.

shame pulled her from this side, love from that.

Victus amore pudor; sulcos arere videres

Shame was conquered by love; you would have seen the furrows dry

Et sata cum minima parte redire sui.

and the crops return with the smallest part of themselves.

Cum bene iactati pulsarant arva ligones,

Although the well-swung hoes had struck the fields,

Ruperat et duram vomer aduncus humum,

and the curved plowshare had broken the hard soil,

Seminaque in latos ierant aequaliter agros,

and the seeds had gone evenly into the wide fields,

Inrita decepti vota colentis erant.

the prayers of the deceived farmer were in vain.

Diva potens frugum silvis cessabat in altis;

The goddess powerful over crops lingered in the deep woods;

Deciderant longae spicea serta comae.

the wreaths of wheat had fallen from her long hair.

Sola fuit Crete fecundo fertilis anno;

Crete alone was fertile in that fruitful year;

Omnia, qua tulerat se dea, messis erat;

wherever the goddess carried herself, all was harvest;

Ipsa, locus nemorum, canebat frugibus Ide,

Ida itself, a place of forests, grew white with crops,

Et ferus in silva farra metebat aper.

and the wild boar harvested spelt in the woods.

Optavit Minos similes sibi legifer annos;

Minos, the lawgiver, wished for similar years for himself;

Optasset, Cereris longus ut esset amor.³

he should have wished that Ceres’ love would be long-lasting.

Quod tibi secubitus tristes, dea flava, fuissent,⁴

Because you had sad times of solitary sleeping, golden goddess,

Hoc cogor sacris nunc ego ferre tuis?

am I now compelled to bear this for your sacred rites?

Cur ego sim tristis, cum sit tibi nata reperta

Why should I be sad, when your daughter has been found

Regnaque quam Iuno sorte minore regat?

and rules a kingdom by a lot only slightly lesser than Juno’s?

Festa dies Veneremque vocat cantusque merumque;

A festive day calls for Venus, song, and unmixed wine;

Haec decet ad dominos munera ferre deos.

these are the gifts that are fitting to bring to our ruling gods.

Syntax notes4 items

3.10.6Nec minus humanis invidet ulla bonis
nec negates ulla (nominative feminine singular, agreeing with an implied dea), meaning 'no goddess'. minus invidet means 'envies less', which collectively forms a litotes: 'no other goddess envies human happiness less than she' (i.e., she is the most supportive and least jealous of human well-being).
3.10.23Magna fides testi: testis laudatur alumno
alumno (the foster-child, referring to the infant Jupiter nurtured in Crete) is an ablative of agent/cause modifying the passive verb laudatur. The syntax expresses that the witness (Crete) derives its high credibility from being praised through the reputation of its illustrious foster-child.
3.10.42Optasset, Cereris longus ut esset amor
optasset (syncopated form of optavisset) is a pluperfect subjunctive expressing a past unfulfilled wish or a past obligation ('he should have wished'). The context implies that Minos should have wished for Ceres' love to last longer (which would have secured perpetual harvests).
3.10.43Quod tibi secubitus tristes, dea flava, fuissent
The pluperfect subjunctive fuissent within the quod-clause introduces a concessive or reported reason ('because, as you might say, you had sad times of solitary sleeping'). This clause stands in correlation with hoc in the following line (Hoc cogor...).

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-22) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-21)

2026-09-21 AI review — translation 1

urn:cts:latinLit:phi0959.phi001.humanitext-lat2:3.10.1-3.10.48