- 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-lat2:3.11a.1-3.11a.32
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-28
The poet, unable to bear his mistress's infidelity and humiliating treatment any longer, resolves to free himself from his shameful love. Recalling the indignities he suffered and her betrayals, he declares that he will no longer be deceived by her flatteries.
Multa diuque tuli; vitiis patientia victa est;
I have borne much and for a long time; my patience has been conquered by your vices;
Cede fatigato pectore, turpis amor!
depart from my weary heart, shameful love!
Scilicet adserui iam me1 fugique catenas,
To be sure, I have now claimed my freedom and escaped my chains,
Et quae non puduit ferre, tulisse pudet.
and what I was not ashamed to bear, I am now ashamed to have borne.
Vicimus et domitum pedibus calcamus amorem;
We have conquered, and we tread underfoot a subdued love;
Venerunt capiti cornua2 sera meo.
horns have come at last to my head.
Perfer et obdura! dolor hic tibi proderit olim;
Endure and hold out! this pain will benefit you one day;
Saepe tulit lassis sucus amarus opem.
often a bitter juice has brought aid to the weary.
Ergo ego sustinui,3 foribus tam saepe repulsus,
Did I then endure, so often shut out from your doors,
Ingenuum dura ponere corpus humo?
to lay my free-born body on the hard ground?
Ergo ego nescio cui, quem tu conplexa tenebas,
Did I then, for some nameless rival whom you held embraced,
Excubui clausam servus ut ante domum?
keep watch before the closed house like a slave?
Vidi, cum foribus lassus prodiret amator,
I saw when the exhausted lover came out of the doors,
Invalidum referens emeritumque latus;
dragging back his weak and worn-out body;
Hoc tamen est levius, quam quod sum visus ab illo —
yet this is lighter than that I was seen by him —
Eveniat nostris hostibus ille pudor!
may that shame happen to our enemies!
Quando ego non fixus lateri patienter adhaesi,
When did I not patiently cling fixed to your side,
Ipse tuus custos, ipse vir, ipse comes?
myself your guard, myself your husband, myself your companion?
Scilicet et populo per me comitata placebas;
To be sure, accompanied by me, you pleased the public too;
Causa fuit multis noster amoris amor.4
our love was the cause of love for many.
Turpia quid referam vanae mendacia linguae
Why should I recall the shameful lies of your empty tongue
Et periuratos in mea damna deos?
and the gods falsely sworn to my ruin?
Quid iuvenum tacitos inter convivia nutus
Why the silent nods of young men during banquets,
Verbaque conpositis dissimulata notis?
and words disguised under prearranged codes?
Dicta erat aegra mihi — praeceps amensque cucurri;
I was told you were ill — headlong and frantic I ran;
Veni, et rivali non erat aegra meo!5
I arrived, and you were not ill for my rival!
His et quae taceo duravi saepe ferendis;
I have often hardened myself by bearing these things and those I keep silent;
Quaere alium pro me, qui queat ista pati.
seek another in my place who can endure such things.
Iam mea votiva puppis redimita corona
Already my ship, wreathed with a votive garland,
Lenta tumescentes aequoris audit aquas.
undisturbed hears the swelling waters of the sea.
Desine blanditias et verba, potentia quondam,
Cease to waste flatteries and words, once powerful —
Perdere — non ego nunc stultus, ut ante fui!
I am not now foolish as I was before!
- 3.11a.3adserui iam me
A metaphor from the Roman legal process of a liberty suit (vindicatio in libertatem), in which one claims someone's status as a free person (asserere aliquem in libertatem). Here, the poet asserts his own freedom from the slavery of love.
- 3.11a.6cornua
"Horns" (cornua) serve as a symbol of courage, strength, or self-respect, like a bull prepared to fight. It metaphorically expresses that the poet, after long submission, has finally found the strength to resist.
- 3.11a.9Ergo ego sustinui
The structures starting with "Ergo ego..." in lines 9-10 and 11-12 function as rhetorical questions filled with indignant self-reproach, looking back at his past blind submission as an unbelievable folly.
- 3.11a.20Causa fuit multis noster amoris amor
The subject is noster amor ("our love"). multis is the dative of reference ("for many people"), and amoris is the genitive modifying causa ("the cause of love"), creating a wordplay on the root of amor.
- 3.11a.26rivali non erat aegra meo
A bitter contrast revealing the mistress's duplicity; while she claimed to be too ill to see the poet, she was healthy enough to welcome his rival (rivalis).
Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-22) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-21)
- 2026-09-21 AI review — translation 1