Lament on a False Mistress's Unfading Beauty — Ovid, The Loves Book 3 (3.3.1–3.3.48), Latin & English

Esse deos, i,¹ crede — fidem iurata fefellit,

’Go, believe that there are gods — she swore an oath and broke her faith,

Et facies illi, quae fuit ante, manet!

and her face remains to her as it was before!

Quam longos habuit nondum periura capillos,

As long hair as she had when not yet perjured,

Tam longos, postquam numina laesit, habet.

so long she has after she offended the divine powers.

Candida candorem roseo suffusa² rubore

Before, she was fair, her white complexion infused with rosy blush —

Ante fuit — niveo lucet in ore rubor.

now the blush shines in her snow-white face.

Pes erat exiguus — pedis est artissima forma.

Her foot was tiny — the shape of her foot is most slender.

Longa decensque fuit — longa decensque manet.

She was tall and graceful — tall and graceful she remains.

Argutos habuit — radiant ut sidus ocelli,

Bright eyes she had — her lovely eyes shine like a star,

Per quos mentita est perfida saepe mihi.

through which that treacherous girl often lied to me.

Scilicet aeterni falsum iurare puellis

Of course, the eternal gods also allow girls to swear falsely,

Di quoque concedunt, formaque numen habet.

and beauty holds divine power.

Perque suos illam nuper iurasse recordor

And I remember that she recently swore by her own eyes

Perque meos oculos: en doluere mei!

and by my eyes: look, mine have hurt!

Dicite, di, si vos inpune fefellerat illa,

Tell me, gods, if she had deceived you with impunity,

Alterius meriti cur ego damna tuli?

why did I bear the losses of another’s desert?

An non invidiae vobis³ Cepheia virgo est,

Or is the Cepheid maiden not a cause of reproach to you,

Pro male formosa iussa parente mori?

ordered to die for her ill-speaking parent?

Non satis est, quod vos habui sine pondere testis,

Is it not enough that I had you as witnesses of no weight,

Et mecum lusos ridet inulta deos?

and that she, unpunished, laughs at the gods mocked along with me?

Ut sua per nostram redimat periuria poenam,

So that she may redeem her perjury through my punishment,

Victima deceptus decipientis ero?

shall I, deceived, be the victim of the deceiver?

Aut sine re nomen deus est frustraque timetur

Either ‘god’ is a name without substance, and is feared in vain,

Et stulta populos credulitate movet;

and moves peoples with foolish credulity;

Aut, siquis deus est, teneras amat ille puellas

or, if there is any god, he loves tender girls,

Et nimium solas omnia posse iubet.

and bids them alone to have too much power in all things.

Nobis fatifero Mavors accingitur ense;

Against us Mavors is girt with a death-bringing sword;

Nos petit invicta Palladis hasta manu.

the spear of Pallas attacks us with invincible hand.

Nobis flexibiles curvantur Apollinis arcus;

For us the flexible bows of Apollo are bent;

In nos alta Iovis dextera fulmen habet.

against us the high right hand of Jupiter holds the thunderbolt.

Formosas superi metuunt offendere laesi⁴

The gods above, though offended, fear to offend beautiful women,

Atque ultro, quae se non timuere, timent.

and on the contrary they fear those who have not feared them.

Et quisquam pia tura focis inponere curat?

And does anyone care to place pious incense on the altars?

Certe plus animi debet inesse viris!

Surely more spirit ought to be in men!

Iuppiter igne suo lucos iaculatur et arces

Jupiter strikes groves and citadels with his fire,

Missaque periuras tela ferire vetat.

and forbids his hurled weapons to strike perjured women.

Tot meruere peti — Semele miserabilis arsit!

So many deserved to be attacked — miserable Semele burned!

Officio est illi poena reperta suo;

Punishment was found for her due to her compliance;

At si venturo se subduxisset amanti,

But if she had withdrawn herself from her coming lover,

Non pater in Baccho matris haberet⁵ opus.

the father would not have the mother’s task in Bacchus.

Quid queror et toto facio convicia caelo?

Why do I complain and hurl reproaches at the whole sky?

Di quoque habent oculos, di quoque pectus habent!

The gods too have eyes, the gods too have a heart!

Si deus ipse forem, numen sine fraude liceret

If I myself were a god, a woman would be allowed without harm

Femina mendaci falleret ore meum;

to deceive my divinity with her lying mouth;

Ipse ego iurarem verum iurare puellas

I myself would swear that girls swear the truth,

Et non de tetricis dicerer esse deus.

and I would not be said to be a god of the gloomy ones.

Tu tamen illorum moderatius utere dono —

But you, girl, use their gift more moderately —

Aut oculis certe parce, puella, meis!

or at least spare, girl, my eyes!’

Syntax notes5 items

3.3.1i
Present imperative second-person singular of the verb ire (to go). Here it is used not in its literal sense of motion, but as a hortatory or indignant particle accompanying crede ("go on, believe").
3.3.5candorem roseo suffusa
A construction of the accusative of specification (Greek accusative) where the perfect passive participle suffusa takes the accusative candorem ("infused as to her whiteness with rosy blush").
3.3.17invidiae vobis
A double dative construction. vobis is the dative of reference ("for you"), and invidiae is the dative of purpose or tendency ("a source of reproach/scandal").
3.3.31laesi
Perfect participle agreeing with the subject superi (the gods above), functioning here with a concessive force ("although they have been offended/injured").
3.3.39subduxisset... haberet
A mixed counterfactual conditional sentence. The protasis uses the pluperfect subjunctive (subduxisset) to express a past counterfactual, while the apodosis uses the imperfect subjunctive (haberet) to express a present or ongoing counterfactual state.

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-22)urn:cts:latinLit:phi0959.phi001.humanitext-lat2:3.3.1-3.3.48