Devotion to Public Affairs and Traveling Afar — Ovid, The Cure of Love, lines 151–225, Latin & English

151

Sunt fora, sunt leges, sunt, quos tuearis,¹ amici:

There are courts, there are laws, there are friends whom you should protect:

Vade per urbanae splendida castra togae.

go through the splendid camps of the urban toga.

Vel tu sanguinei iuvenalia munera Martis

Or do you undertake the youthful duties of bloodstained Mars:

Suspice: deliciae iam tibi terga dabunt.

pleasures will soon turn their backs on you and flee.

155

Ecce, fugax Parthus, magni nova causa triumphi,

Behold, the fleeing Parthian, the new cause of a great triumph,

Iam videt in campis Caesaris arma suis:

now sees the arms of Caesar in his own plains:

Vince Cupidineas pariter Parthasque sagittas,

conquer equally the Cupid’s arrows and the Parthian ones,

Et refer ad patrios bina tropaea deos.

and bring back two trophies to your native gods.

Ut semel Aetola Venus est a cuspide laesa,

Once Venus was wounded by the Aetolian spear,

160

Mandat amatori bella gerenda suo.

she commands her lover to wage wars.

Quaeritur, Aegisthus quare sit factus adulter?

It is asked, why Aegisthus became an adulterer?

In promptu causa est: desidiosus erat.

The cause is obvious: he was idle.

Pugnabant alii tardis apud Ilion armis:

Others were fighting at Ilion with slow-moving arms:

Transtulerat vires Graecia tota suas.

all Greece had transferred its strength there.

165

Sive operam bellis vellet dare, nulla gerebat:

Whether he wished to give effort to wars, none was waged there:

Sive foro, vacuum litibus Argos erat.

or to the court, Argos was empty of lawsuits.

Quod potuit, ne nil illic ageretur,² amavit.

What he could do, lest nothing be done there, he loved.

Sic venit ille puer, sic puer ille manet.

Thus that boy comes, thus that boy remains.

Rura quoque oblectant animos studiumque colendi:

The countryside also delights the mind and the zeal of cultivating:

170

Quaelibet huic curae cedere cura potest.

any care can yield to this care.

Colla iube domitos oneri supponere tauros,

Command the tamed bulls to place their necks under the burden,

Sauciet ut duram vomer aduncus humum:

so that the curved ploughshare may wound the hard earth:

Obrue versata Cerialia semina terra,

bury the seeds of Ceres in the turned earth,

Quae tibi cum multo faenore reddat ager.³

which the field may return to you with much interest.

175

Aspice curvatos pomorum pondere ramos,

Look at the branches bent by the weight of fruits,

Ut sua, quod peperit, vix ferat arbor onus;

how the tree can scarcely bear its own burden which it brought forth;

Aspice labentes iucundo murmure rivos;

look at the gliding streams with a pleasant murmur;

Aspice tondentes fertile gramen oves.

look at the sheep shearing the fertile grass.

Ecce, petunt rupes praeruptaque saxa capellae:

Behold, the young she-goats seek the cliffs and steep rocks:

180

Iam referent haedis ubera plena suis;

soon they will bring back full udders to their kids;

Pastor inaequali modulatur harundine carmen,

the shepherd plays a song on his unequal reed,

Nec desunt comites, sedula turba, canes;

nor are companions, the diligent crowd of dogs, lacking;

Parte sonant alia silvae mugitibus altae,

in another part, the deep woods resound with lowing,

Et queritur vitulum mater abesse suum.

and the mother laments that her calf is absent.

185

Quid, cum suppositos fugiunt examina fumos,

What about when the swarms flee the smoke placed beneath them,

Ut relevent dempti vimina curva favi?

so that the removed honeycombs may relieve the curved twigs?

Poma dat autumnus: formosa est messibus aestas:

Autumn gives fruits: summer is beautiful with harvests:

Ver praebet flores: igne levatur hiems.

spring provides flowers: winter is eased by fire.

Temporibus certis maturam rusticus uvam

At certain times the rustic picks the ripe grape,

190

Deligit, et nudo sub pede musta fluunt;

and the new wine flows under his bare foot;

Temporibus certis desectas alligat herbas,

at certain times he binds the cut grass,

Et tonsam raro pectine verrit humum.

and sweeps the shorn ground with a thin rake.

Ipse potes riguis plantam deponere in hortis,

You yourself can plant a shoot in watered gardens,

Ipse potes rivos ducere lenis aquae.

you yourself can lead streams of gentle water.

195

Venerit insitio; fac ramum ramus adoptet,

Let the grafting time come; make sure branch adopts branch,

Stetque peregrinis arbor operta comis.

and let the tree stand covered with foreign leaves.

Cum semel haec animum coepit mulcere voluptas,

Once this pleasure has begun to soothe the mind,

Debilibus pinnis inritus exit Amor.

Amor departs in vain with weak wings.

Vel tu venandi studium cole: saepe recessit

Or do you cultivate the zeal of hunting: often has Venus

200

Turpiter a Phoebi victa sorore Venus.

retreated basely, conquered by the sister of Phoebus.

Nunc leporem pronum catulo sectare sagaci,

Now pursue the downward-running hare with a sagacious hound,

Nunc tua frondosis retia tende iugis,

now stretch your nets on leafy ridges,

Aut pavidos terre varia formidine cervos,

either terrify the fearful deer with various fears,

Aut cadat adversa cuspide fossus aper.

or let the boar fall pierced by an opposing spear.

205

Nocte fatigatum somnus, non cura puellae,

At night, sleep, not the care of a girl, receives you

Excipit et pingui membra quiete levat.

when fatigued, and relieves your limbs with deep rest.

Lenius est studium, studium tamen, alite capta

It is a gentler zeal, yet a zeal, when a bird is captured,

Aut lino aut calamis praemia parva sequi,

to pursue small rewards either with a net or with reeds,

Vel, quae piscis edax avido male devoret ore,

or to hide the curved bronze under small baits,

210

Abdere sub parvis aera recurva cibis.

which the greedy fish may miserably devour with its eager mouth.

Aut his aut aliis, donec dediscis amare,

Either by these or by other means, until you unlearn to love,

Ipse tibi furtim decipiendus eris.⁴

you yourself will have to deceive yourself secretly.

Tu tantum quamvis firmis retinebere vinclis,

Even though you will be held by however firm bonds, you only

I procul, et longas carpere perge vias;

go far away, and proceed to travel long ways;

215

Flebis, et occurret desertae nomen amicae,

you will weep, and the name of your deserted mistress will occur to you,

Stabit et in media pes tibi saepe via:

and your foot will often stop in the middle of the way:

Sed quanto minus ire voles, magis ire memento;

but the less you wish to go, the more remember to go;

Perfer, et invitos currere coge pedes.

endure, and compel your unwilling feet to run.

Nec pluvias opta, nec te peregrina morentur

Neither wish for rains, nor let foreign Sabbaths delay you,

220

Sabbata, nec damnis Allia nota suis.

nor Allia known for its disasters.

Nec quot transieris et quot tibi, quaere, supersint

Do not ask how many miles you have passed and how many remain for you;

Milia; nec, maneas ut prope, finge moras:

nor, so that you may remain near, feign delays:

Tempora nec numera, nec crebro respice Romam,

neither count the times, nor look back frequently at Rome,

Sed fuge: tutus adhuc Parthus ab hoste fuga est.

but flee: the Parthian is still safe from the enemy by flight.

225

Dura aliquis praecepta vocet mea; dura fatemur

Someone may call my precepts harsh; we confess they are harsh.

Syntax notes4 items

151quos tuearis
The present subjunctive (second person singular) in a relative clause modifying the antecedent amici. It expresses characteristic (suitability), carrying a nuance of obligation or fitness ("whom you ought to/can protect").
167ne nil illic ageretur
A purpose clause with double negation (ne and nil [= nihil]), representing a strong positive meaning ("lest nothing be done" = "so that something might be done"). The imperfect subjunctive (ageretur) is used in accordance with the historical tense of the main verb (amavit).
174Quae tibi cum multo faenore reddat ager
A relative clause introduced by the relative pronoun Quae, referring back to the antecedent Cerialia semina. The verb reddat is in the present subjunctive to express a result or purpose ("such that/so that the field may return them to you with much interest").
212tibi decipiendus eris
A passive periphrastic conjugation of obligation/necessity consisting of the gerundive decipiendus and the auxiliary verb eris (second person singular future). The dative tibi is a dative of agent, expressing a reflexive obligation: "you must deceive yourself (distract yourself) by your own efforts."

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-22)urn:cts:latinLit:phi0959.phi005.humanitext-lat2:151-225