Plea to a Swollen River and the Poet's Curse — Ovid, The Loves Book 3 (3.6.1–3.6.106), Latin & English

Amnis harundinibus limosas obsite¹ ripas,

River, with muddy banks covered in reeds,

Ad dominam propero — siste parumper aquas!

I am hurrying to my mistress — stop your waters for a little while!

Nec tibi sunt pontes nec quae² sine remigis ictu

You have no bridges, nor is there any concave boat which,

Concava traiecto cumba rudente vehat.

with a rope thrown across, might carry one without the stroke of an oarsman.

Parvus eras, memini, nec te transire refugi,

You were small, I remember, and I did not shrink from crossing you,

Summaque vix talos contigit unda meos.

and the top of the water barely touched my ankles.

Nunc ruis adposito nivibus de monte solutis

Now you rush, because of the snow dissolved from the adjacent mountain,

Et turpi crassas gurgite volvis aquas.

and you roll thick waters in a filthy whirlpool.

Quid properasse iuvat, quid parca dedisse quieti

What does it help to have hurried, what to have given only small periods of time to rest,

Tempora, quid nocti conseruisse diem,

what to have joined day to night,

Si tamen hic standum est, si non datur artibus ullis

if yet I must stand here, if by no skills is it granted

Ulterior nostro ripa premenda pedi?

for the opposite bank to be trodden by our feet?

Nunc ego, quas³ habuit pinnas Danaeius heros,

Now I wish for the wings which the hero, son of Danae, had

Terribili densum cum tulit angue caput,

when he carried the head thick with terrible snakes,

Nunc opto currum, de quo Cerealia primum

now I wish for the chariot from which the seeds of Ceres

Semina venerunt in rude missa solum.

first came, sent into the rough ground.

Prodigiosa loquor veterum mendacia vatum;

I speak of the marvelous lies of the ancient poets;

Nec tulit haec umquam nec feret ulla dies.

no day has ever brought these, nor ever will.

Tu potius, ripis effuse capacibus amnis —

Rather you, river poured out over your spacious banks —

Sic aeternus eas — labere fine tuo!

— may you flow thus eternally — glide within your own boundary!

Non eris invidiae,⁴ torrens, mihi crede, ferendae,

You will not be the object of unbearable hatred, believe me, torrent,

Si dicar per te forte retentus amans.

if I am said to be by chance a lover held back through you.

Flumina deberent iuvenes in amore iuvare;

Rivers ought to help young men in love;

Flumina senserunt ipsa, quid esset amor.

rivers themselves have felt what love is.

Inachus in Melie Bithynide pallidus isse

Inachus is said to have walked pale for Bithynian Melie

Dicitur et gelidis incaluisse vadis.

and to have grown warm in his cold shallows.

Nondum Troia fuit lustris obsessa duobus,

Troy was not yet besieged for ten years,

Cum rapuit vultus, Xanthe, Neaera tuos.

when Neaera snatched away your heart, Xanthus.

Quid? non Alpheon diversis currere terris

What? did not a certain love for an Arcadian maiden compel Alpheus

Virginis Arcadiae certus adegit amor?

to flow through different lands?

Te quoque promissam Xutho, Penee, Creusam

They say that you too, Peneus, hid Creusa,

Pthiotum terris occuluisse ferunt.

who was promised to Xuthus, in the lands of the Phthians.

Quid referam Asopon, quem cepit Martia Thebe,

Why should I mention Asopus, whom Martian Thebe captured,

Natarum Thebe quinque futura parens?

Thebe, destined to be the parent of his five daughters?

Cornua si tua nunc ubi sint, Acheloe, requiram,

If I should ask now where your horns are, Achelous,

Herculis irata fracta querere manu;

you will complain that they were broken by the angry hand of Hercules;

Nec tanti Calydon nec tota Aetolia tanti,

Calydon was not worth so much, nor all Aetolia worth so much,

Una tamen tanti Deianira fuit.

yet Deianira alone was worth so much.

Ille fluens dives septena per ostia Nilus,

That rich Nile flowing through seven mouths,

Qui patriam tantae tam bene celat aquae,

who hides so well the source of such great water,

Fertur in Euanthe collectam Asopide flammam

is said not to have been able to overcome with his whirlpools

Vincere gurgitibus non potuisse suis.

the flame conceived for Euanthe, daughter of Asopus.

Siccus ut amplecti Salmonida posset Enipeus,

So that dry Enipeus could embrace Salmonis,

Cedere iussit aquam; iussa recessit aqua.

he ordered his water to yield; ordered, the water receded.

Nec te praetereo, qui per cava saxa volutans

Nor do I pass over you, who rolling through hollow rocks

Tiburis Argei pomifera arva rigas,

irrigate the fruit-bearing fields of Argive Tibur,

Ilia cui placuit, quamvis erat horrida cultu,

whom Ilia pleased, although she was unkempt in her attire,

Ungue notata comas,⁵ ungue notata genas.

her hair marked by her nails, her cheeks marked by her nails.

Illa gemens patruique nefas delictaque Martis

She, lamenting the crime of her uncle and the sins of Mars,

Errabat nudo per loca sola pede.

was wandering with bare feet through lonely places.

Hanc Anien rapidis animosus vidit ab undis

High-spirited Anio saw her from his rapid waves

Raucaque de mediis sustulit ora vadis

and raised his hoarse face from the middle of the shallows

Atque ita 'quid nostras' dixit 'teris anxia ripas,

and spoke thus: ‘Why do you tread our banks in anxiety,

Ilia, ab Idaeo Laumedonte genus?

Ilia, lineage from Idaean Laomedon?

Quo cultus abiere tui? quid sola vagaris,

Whither have your adornments gone? why do you wander alone,

Vitta nec evinctas inpedit alba comas?

nor does the white fillet bind your bound hair?

Quid fles et madidos lacrimis corrumpis ocellos

Why do you weep and ruin your eyes wet with tears

Pectoraque insana plangis aperta manu?

and beat your bare breast with a frantic hand?

Ille habet et silices et vivum in pectore ferrum,

He has both flints and living iron in his breast,

Qui tenero lacrimas lentus in ore videt.

who unmoved sees tears on a tender face.

Ilia, pone metus! tibi regia nostra patebit,

Ilia, lay aside your fears! our palace will open to you,

Teque colent amnes. Ilia, pone metus!

and the rivers will worship you. Ilia, lay aside your fears!

Tu centum aut plures inter dominabere nymphas;

You will rule among a hundred or more nymphs;

Nam centum aut plures flumina nostra tenent.

for a hundred or more hold our waters.

Ne me sperne, precor, tantum, Troiana propago;

Only do not despise me, I pray, Trojan offspring;

Munera promissis uberiora feres.'

you will receive gifts richer than my promises.’

Dixerat. illa oculos in humum deiecta modestos

He had spoken. She, casting her modest eyes to the ground,

Spargebat teneros flebilis imbre sinus.

was wet with a shower of tears on her tender breast.

Ter molita fugam ter ad altas restitit undas,

Thrice she attempted flight, thrice she stopped by the deep waters,

Currendi vires eripiente metu.

fear taking away her strength for running.

Sera tamen scindens inimico pollice crinem

Yet late, tearing her hair with a hostile hand,

Edidit indignos ore tremente sonos:

she uttered unworthy words from her trembling mouth:

'O utinam mea lecta forent⁶ patrioque sepulcro

’O would that my bones had been gathered and laid

Condita, cum poterant virginis ossa legi!

in my father’s tomb, when they could be gathered as those of a virgin!

Cur, modo Vestalis, taedas invitor ad ullas

Why, just now a Vestal, am I invited to any marriage torches,

Turpis et Iliacis infitianda focis?

shameful and to be rejected by the Trojan hearths?

Quid moror et digitis designor adultera vulgi?

Why do I delay and am pointed out by the fingers of the crowd as an adulteress?

Desint famosus quae notet ora pudor!'

May the shameful modesty that marks my face be gone!’

Hactenus, et vestem tumidis praetendit ocellis

Thus far she spoke, and held her robe before her tear-swollen eyes,

Atque ita se in rapidas perdita misit aquas.

and thus, ruined, threw herself into the rapid waters.

Supposuisse manus ad pectora lubricus amnis

The slippery river is said to have placed his hands beneath her breast

Dicitur et socii iura dedisse tori.

and to have given her the rights of a shared bed.

Te quoque credibile est aliqua caluisse puella;

It is believable that you too have grown warm for some girl;

Sed nemora et silvae crimina vestra tegunt.

but groves and forests conceal your crimes.

Dum loquor, increvit latis spatiosior undis,

While I speak, the river has grown wider with broad waves,

Nec capit admissas alveus altus aquas.

nor does the deep channel hold the admitted waters.

Quid mecum, furiose, tibi?⁷ quid mutua differs

What have I to do with you, mad river? why do you delay our mutual

Gaudia? quid coeptum, rustice, rumpis iter?

joys? why, rustic, do you break off the journey I have begun?

Quid? si legitimum flueres, si nobile flumen,

What? if you were flowing as a legitimate, a noble river,

Si tibi per terras maxima fama foret —

if you had the greatest fame throughout the lands —

Nomen habes nullum, rivis collecte caducis,

you have no name, collected from transient streams,

Nec tibi sunt fontes nec tibi certa domus!

nor do you have sources, nor a fixed home!

Fontis habes instar pluviamque nivesque solutas,

In place of a source you have rain and melted snow,

Quas tibi divitias pigra ministrat hiemps;

which wealth sluggish winter administers to you;

Aut lutulentus agis brumali tempore cursus,

either you lead a muddy course in wintertime,

Aut premis arentem pulverulentus humum.

or you press the dry ground, covered with dust.

Quis te tum potuit sitiens haurire viator?

What thirsty traveler then was able to draw water from you to drink?

Quis dixit grata voce 'perennis eas'?

Who said with a grateful voice “may you flow eternally”?

Damnosus pecori curris, damnosior agris.

You flow damaging to the flock, more damaging to the fields.

100

Forsitan haec alios; me mea damna movent.

Perhaps these things trouble others; my own losses move me.

Huic ego, vae! demens narrabam fluminum amores!

Ah, madman that I am, I was telling the loves of rivers to this one!

Iactasse indigne nomina tanta pudet.

I am ashamed to have boastfully spoken of such great names in vain.

Nescio quem hunc spectans Acheloon et Inachon amnem

Looking at this river, I know not what, I could recall Achelous and Inachus,

Et potui nomen, Nile, referre tuum!

and, Nile, I could even mention your name!

105

At tibi pro meritis, opto, non candide⁸ torrens,

But to you, in return for your deserts, I pray, unfriendly torrent,

Sint rapidi soles siccaque semper hiemps!

may there be burning suns and a dry winter always!

Syntax notes8 items

3.6.1obsite
An adjective in the vocative case, modifying the vocative noun amnis. The following ripas is an accusative of specification (or Greek accusative), meaning 'covered (with reeds) with respect to its banks.'
3.6.3quae
Relative pronoun in the feminine nominative singular, with cumba as its antecedent. The verb vehat in the relative clause is in the present subjunctive, expressing characteristic or result ('such as to carry').
3.6.13quas
A proleptic construction in which the antecedent noun pinnas is drawn into the relative clause introduced by quas. It functions as the object of the transitive verb opto in the main clause.
3.6.21invidiae
Functions as a dative of purpose (or dative of tendency), which, combined with the gerundive ferendae, means 'to be an object of unbearable hatred (or resentment).'
3.6.48comas
An accusative of specification (Greek accusative) accompanying the perfect passive participle notata. It means 'marked with nails with respect to her hair (comas)' and 'with respect to her cheeks (genas).'
3.6.73lecta forent
Used with utinam to express an unaccomplishable (contrary-to-fact) wish in the past, in the pluperfect subjunctive (forent is an alternative form of essent).
3.6.87Quid mecum, furiose, tibi?
An elliptical form of the idiomatic expression 'what have I to do with you?' (quid tibi est mecum?), in which the copula est is omitted.
3.6.105non candide
A negation of the adjective candidus (white / kind, fair). It plays on a double meaning: the physical state of being 'not white (muddy, turbid)' and the moral quality of being 'unkind, unfriendly' for not helping the traveler.

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-22)urn:cts:latinLit:phi0959.phi001.humanitext-lat2:3.6.1-3.6.106