- 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-lat2:3.7.1-3.7.84
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-28
Ovid laments a humiliating experience of sexual impotence during an encounter with a beautiful and willing mistress. He attributes his failure to possible magic spells or psychological shame, contrasting this sudden dysfunction with his past prowess, and chides his body for regaining its vigor only after the lady has departed in embarrassment.
At non formosa est, at non bene culta puella,
But the girl is not unbeautiful, but she is not poorly groomed,
At, puto, non votis saepe petita meis!
and, I think, she was not often sought by my vows (indeed, she was)!
Hanc tamen in nullos tenui male languidus1 usus,
Yet I held her, weakly languid, having no fruitful use of her,
Sed iacui pigro crimen onusque toro;
but lay on the sluggish bed, a disgrace and a burden;
Nec potui cupiens, pariter cupiente puella,
nor was I able, though desiring, and the girl desiring equally,
Inguinis effeti parte iuvante frui.
to enjoy the pleasure-giving part of my exhausted groin.
Illa quidem nostro subiecit eburnea collo
She indeed placed her ivory arms beneath my neck,
Bracchia Sithonia candidiora nive,
arms whiter than Sithonian snow,
Osculaque inseruit cupida luctantia lingua
and planted kisses with a longing, struggling tongue,
Lascivum femori supposuitque femur,
and placed her playful thigh beneath my thigh,
Et mihi blanditias dixit dominumque vocavit,
and spoke sweet words to me and called me her lord,
Et quae praeterea publica verba iuvant.
and those other common words that please.
Tacta tamen veluti gelida mea membra cicuta2
Yet my limbs, as if touched by cold hemlock,
Segnia propositum destituere meum;
sluggishly failed my purpose;
Truncus iners iacui, species et inutile pondus,
I lay like an inert trunk, a mere appearance and a useless weight,
Et non exactum, corpus an umbra forem.3
and it was not clear whether I was a body or a shadow.
Quae mihi ventura est, siquidem ventura, senectus,
What old age is to come to me, if indeed it is to come,
Cum desit numeris ipsa iuventa suis?
when youth itself is lacking in its own functions?
A, pudet annorum: quo me iuvenemque virumque?
Ah, I am ashamed of my years: to what purpose am I a youth and a man?
Nec iuvenem nec me sensit amica virum!
My mistress felt me to be neither a youth nor a man!
Sic flammas aditura pias aeterna sacerdos
Thus the eternal priestess, about to approach the sacred flames,
Surgit et a caro fratre verenda soror.
rises, and the reverend sister from her dear brother.
At nuper bis flava Chlide, ter candida Pitho,
Yet recently golden Chlide twice, fair Pitho thrice,
Ter Libas officio continuata meo est;
and Libas thrice was kept joined in my service;
Exigere a nobis angusta nocte Corinnam
I remember that I sustained nine times
Me memini numeros sustinuisse novem.
the number of nine times, as demanded by Corinna.
Num mea Thessalico languent devota veneno
Are my limbs languishing, cursed by Thessalian poison?
Corpora? num misero carmen et herba nocent,
Do a spell and an herb harm wretched me?
Sagave poenicea defixit nomina cera
Or has a witch pierced my name in reddish wax
Et medium tenuis in iecur egit acus?
and driven a thin needle into the middle of my liver?
Carmine laesa Ceres sterilem vanescit in herbam,
Ceres, harmed by a spell, vanishes into sterile grass;
Deficiunt laesi carmine fontis aquae,
by a spell, harmed waters of a fountain fail;
Ilicibus glandes cantataque vitibus uva
acorns from holm-oaks and grapes from enchanted vines
Decidit, et nullo poma movente fluunt.
fall down, and fruits drop though no one shakes them.
Quid vetat et nervos magicas torpere per artes?
What prevents my sinews too from becoming numb through magic arts?
Forsitan inpatiens fit latus inde meum.
Perhaps my loin becomes incapable from that.
Huc pudor accessit: facti pudor ipse nocebat;
To this, shame was added: the very shame of the occurrence was doing harm;
Ille fuit vitii causa secunda mei.
that was the second cause of my failing.
At qualem vidi tantum tetigique puellam!
But what a girl I saw and only touched!
Sic etiam tunica tangitur illa sua.
Thus even by her own tunic is she touched.
Illius ad tactum Pylius iuvenescere possit
At her touch, the Pylian elder might become young again,
Tithonosque annis fortior esse suis.
and Tithonus become stronger than his years.
Haec mihi contigerat; sed vir non contigit illi.
She had fallen to my lot; but a man did not fall to her lot.
Quas nunc concipiam per nova vota preces?
What prayers shall I now conceive through new vows?
Credo etiam magnos, quo sum tam turpiter usus,
I believe that even the great gods regretted the gift
Muneris oblati paenituisse deos.
they had offered.
Optabam certe recipi — sum nempe receptus;
I was certainly wishing to be admitted — indeed, I was admitted;
Oscula ferre — tuli; proximus esse — fui.
to take kisses — I took them; to be closest — I was.
Quo mihi fortunae tantum? quo regna sine usu?
To what purpose have I such great fortune? To what purpose kingdoms without use?
Quid, nisi possedi dives avarus opes?
What did I do, except possess wealth like a greedy rich man?
Sic aret mediis taciti vulgator in undis
Thus the betrayer of the silent secret dries in the midst of waters,
Pomaque, quae nullo tempore tangat, habet.
and has fruits which he may touch at no time.
A tenera quisquam sic surgit mane puella,
Does anyone rise thus in the morning from a tender girl,
Protinus ut sanctos possit adire deos?
so that he could immediately go to the sacred gods?
Sed, puto, non blande, non optima perdidit in me
But, I think, she did not waste kisses on me without charm,
Oscula; non omni sollicitavit ope!
nor did she fail to woo me with all her power!
Illa graves potuit quercus adamantaque durum
She could have moved heavy oaks and hard adamant
Surdaque blanditiis saxa movere suis.
and rocks deaf to her blandishments.
Digna movere fuit certe vivosque virosque;
She was certainly worthy to move living men and heroes;
Sed neque tum vixi nec vir, ut ante, fui.
but neither did I live then, nor was I a man as before.
Quid iuvet, ad surdas si cantet Phemius aures?
What would it please, if Phemius should sing to deaf ears?
Quid miserum Thamyran picta tabella iuvat?
What does a painted tablet help wretched Thamyras?
At quae non tacita formavi gaudia mente!
Yet what joys did I not shape in my silent mind!
Quos ego non finxi disposuique modos!
What ways did I not imagine and arrange!
Nostra tamen iacuere velut praemortua membra
Yet my limbs lay as if dead before their time,
Turpiter hesterna languidiora rosa —
more shamefully withered than a yesterday’s rose —
Quae nunc, ecce, vigent intempestiva valentque,
which now, look, thrive out of season and are strong,
Nunc opus exposcunt militiamque suam.
now they demand work and their own warfare.
Quin istic pudibunda iaces, pars pessima nostri?
Why do you not lie there in shame, worst part of me?
Sic sum pollicitis captus et ante tuis.
Thus have I been deceived by your promises before too.
Tu dominum fallis; per te deprensus inermis
You deceive your master; through you, caught unarmed,
Tristia cum magno damna pudore tuli.
I have suffered sad losses with great shame.
Hanc etiam non est mea dedignata puella
Even this part my girl did not disdain
Molliter admota sollicitare manu;
to arouse with her gently applied hand;
Sed postquam nullas consurgere posse per artes
but after she saw that it could rise by no skills,
Inmemoremque sui procubuisse videt,
and that it lay collapsed, unmindful of itself,
'Quid me ludis?' ait, 'quis te, male sane, iubebat
she said: ‘Why do you mock me? Who, madman, was ordering you
Invitum nostro ponere membra toro?
unwillingly to place your limbs on our bed?
Aut te traiectis Aeaea venefica lanis
Either the Aeaean witch curses you with crossed wools,
Devovet, aut alio lassus amore venis.'
or you come exhausted by another love.’
Nec mora, desiluit tunica velata soluta —
Without delay, she leapt out, covered only by her loosened tunic —
Et decuit nudos proripuisse pedes!4 —
and it became her to have rushed away with bare feet! —
Neve suae possent intactam scire ministrae,
and so that her maids could not know she was untouched,
Dedecus hoc sumpta dissimulavit aqua.
she concealed this disgrace by taking water.
- 3.7.3male languidus
The adverb male modifies the adjective languidus, intensifying its negative connotation to mean 'miserably languid' or 'woefully weak'.
- 3.7.13Tacta... cicuta
tacta is a perfect passive participle agreeing with mea membra (neuter plural nominative). cicuta is an ablative of instrument ('by hemlock'), conveying the passive sense 'as if touched by cold hemlock'.
- 3.7.16corpus an umbra forem
An indirect question introduced by the participle phrase non exactum ('not determined/clear'), featuring the imperfect subjunctive forem (an alternative form of essem).
- 3.7.82Et decuit nudos proripuisse pedes!
An impersonal construction where the verb decuit ('it was fitting/becoming') takes the perfect infinitive proripuisse ('to have rushed away'). The perfect infinitive is frequently used in elegiac poetry with the force of a present infinitive.