Enduring the Cure and Rejecting Magic — Ovid, The Cure of Love, lines 226–298, Latin & English

226

Esse;¹ sed ut valeas, multa dolenda feres.

So it is; but that you may be well, you will bear many painful things.

Saepe bibi sucos, quamvis invitus, amaros

Often being sick I drank bitter juices, although unwilling,

Aeger, et oranti mensa negata mihi.²

and the table was denied to me as I pleaded.

Ut corpus redimas, ferrum patieris et ignes,

To redeem your body, you will endure iron and fires,

230

Arida nec sitiens ora levabis aqua:

nor will you, being thirsty, relieve your dry mouth with water:

Ut valeas animo, quicquam tolerare negabis?

That you may be well in mind, will you refuse to tolerate anything?

At pretium pars haec corpore maius habet.

Yet this part has a greater value than the body.

Sed tamen est artis tristissima ianua nostrae,

But yet very sad is the door of our art,

Et labor est unus tempora prima pati.

and the only labor is to endure the first times.

235

Aspicis, ut prensos urant iuga prima iuvencos,

Do you see how the first yokes gall the captured young bulls,

Et nova velocem cingula laedat equum?

and the new girth hurts the swift horse?

Forsitan a laribus patriis exire pigebit:

Perhaps it will grieve you to depart from your ancestral hearths:

Sed tamen exibis: deinde redire voles;

but yet you will depart; then you will wish to return;

Nec te Lar patrius, sed amor revocabit amicae,

And not your ancestral hearth, but the love of your mistress will recall you,

240

Praetendens culpae splendida verba tuae.

holding out splendid words for your fault.

Cum semel exieris, centum solatia curae

Once you have departed, the countryside, companions,

Et rus et comites et via longa dabit.

and the long journey will give a hundred solaces to your care.

Nec satis esse putes discedere; lentus abesto,

Nor should you think it enough to depart; remain away long,

Dum perdat vires sitque sine igne cinis.

until it loses its strength and the ash is without fire.

245

Quod nisi³ firmata properaris mente reverti,

But unless you hasten to return with a strengthened mind,

Inferet arma tibi saeva rebellis Amor.

rebellious Love will bring cruel arms against you.

Quidquid et afueris, avidus sitiensque redibis,

And however long you have been absent, you will return greedy and thirsty,

Et spatium damno cesserit omne tuo.

and all that time will have turned to your loss.

Viderit, Haemoniae siquis mala pabula terrae

Let him see to it, if anyone thinks that the harmful herbs of the Haemonian land

250

Et magicas artes posse iuvare putat.

and magic arts can help.

Ista veneficii vetus est via; noster Apollo

That is the old way of sorcery; our Apollo

Innocuam sacro carmine monstrat opem.

shows harmless aid with his sacred song.

Me duce non tumulo prodire iubebitur umbra,

With me as guide, the shade will not be ordered to go forth from the tomb,

Non anus infami carmine rumpet humum;

nor will an old woman break the ground with an infamous spell;

255

Non seges ex aliis alios transibit in agros,

The crop will not pass from some fields into others,

Nec subito Phoebi pallidus orbis erit.

nor will the disc of Phoebus suddenly become pale.

Ut solet, aequoreas ibit Tiberinus in undas:

As is its custom, Tiberinus will go into the sea waves;

Ut solet, in niveis Luna vehetur equis.

as is her custom, the Moon will be carried on snowy horses.

Nulla recantatas deponent pectora curas,

No hearts will lay down their cares through chanted spells,

260

Nec fugiet vivo sulpure victus amor.

nor will conquered love flee because of live sulfur.

Quid te Phasiacae iuverunt gramina terrae,

How did the herbs of the Phasian land help you, Colchian woman,

Cum cuperes patria, Colchi, manere domo?

when you desired to remain in your father’s house?

Quid tibi profuerunt, Circe, Perseïdes herbae,

What did the herbs of Perseis profit you, Circe,

Cum sua Neritias abstulit aura rates?

when a favorable breeze carried away the Neritian ships?

265

Omnia fecisti, ne callidus hospes abiret:

You did everything lest your clever guest should depart;

Ille dedit certae lintea plena fugae.

he gave full sails to a certain flight.

Omnia fecisti, ne te ferus ureret ignis:

You did everything lest a fierce fire should burn you;

Longus in invito pectore sedit amor.

a long love sat in your unwilling breast.

Vertere tu poteras homines in mille figuras,

You were able to turn men into a thousand shapes;

270

Non poteras animi vertere iura tui.

you were not able to turn the laws of your own mind.

Diceris his etiam, cum iam discedere vellet,

You are said also, when he already wished to depart,

Dulichium verbis detinuisse⁴ ducem:

to have detained the Dulichian leader with these words:

'Non ego, quod primo, memini, sperare solebam,

’I do not now pray, that you should wish to be my husband,

Iam precor, ut coniunx tu meus esse velis;

which at first, I remember, I was accustomed to hope;

275

Et tamen, ut coniunx essem tua, digna videbar,

And yet, I seemed worthy to be your wife,

Quod dea, quod magni filia Solis eram.

because I was a goddess, because I was the daughter of the great Sun.

Ne properes, oro; spatium pro munere posco:

Do not hasten, I pray; I ask for time instead of a gift:

Quid minus optari per mea vota potest?

what less can be hoped for through my prayers?

Et freta mota vides, et debes illa timere:

And you see the seas are stirred, and you ought to fear them:

280

Utilior velis postmodo ventus erit.

later a more useful wind will be for your sails.

Quae tibi causa fugae? non hic nova Troia resurgit,

What is your cause of flight? No new Troy rises here,

Non aliquis socios rursus ad arma vocat.

no one calls companions back to arms.

Hic amor et pax est, in qua male vulneror una,

Here is love and peace, in which I alone am badly wounded,

Tutaque sub regno terra futura tuo est.'

and the land is destined to be safe under your reign.’

285

Illa loquebatur, navem solvebat Ulixes:

She was speaking, Ulysses was untying his ship:

Inrita cum velis verba tulere noti.

the south winds carried away her empty words together with the sails.

Ardet et adsuetas Circe decurrit ad artes,

Circe burns and runs to her accustomed arts,

Nec tamen est illis adtenuatus amor.

yet love was not diminished by them.

Ergo quisquis opem nostra tibi poscis ab arte,

Therefore, whoever you are that ask for aid for yourself from our art,

290

Deme veneficiis carminibusque fidem.

take away your faith in sorceries and spells.

Si te causa potens domina retinebit in Urbe,

If a powerful cause detains you in the mistress’s City,

Accipe, consilium quod sit in Urbe meum.

receive what my counsel is in the City.

Optimus ille sui vindex, laedentia pectus

The best champion of himself is he who has broken the bonds

Vincula qui rupit, dedoluitque semel.

hurting his breast, and has ceased to grieve once and for all.

295

Sed cui tantum animi est, illum mirabor et ipse,

But if anyone has so much spirit, I myself will admire him,

Et dicam 'monitis non eget iste meis.'

and will say, ‘that man does not need my warnings.’

Tu mihi, qui, quod amas, aegre dediscis amare,

You, who with difficulty unlearn to love what you love,

Nec potes, et velles posse, docendus eris.⁵

and are not able, yet wish you were able, will have to be taught by me.

Syntax notes5 items

226Esse
The infinitive Esse continues the construction from the preceding line (§225: dura fatemur), forming an accusative-and-infinitive clause with an implied subject accusative praecepta governed by fatemur ('we confess that they are harsh').
228oranti mihi
The dative singular present active participle oranti (from orare, to plead) modifies the dative pronoun mihi. It functions as the indirect object to the passive verb negata [est] ('was denied to me as I pleaded/begged').
245Quod nisi
The pronoun Quod is a linking relative (relative connection) in the neuter accusative, which, when combined with nisi, means 'and unless' or 'but if not'. It connects the new sentence logically to the preceding context rather than referring to a specific noun.
271Diceris detinuisse
A personal construction of the passive verb of saying (diceris instead of the impersonal dicitur te...). With the perfect active infinitive detinuisse, it translates as 'you are said to have detained' (referring to Circe as the subject).
297Tu mihi docendus eris
A passive periphrastic construction indicating obligation or necessity, composed of the gerundive docendus and the future form eris. The pronoun mihi is a dative of agent ('you will have to be taught by me'). The subject Tu is heavily modified by the relative clause starting with qui in lines 297-298.

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-22) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-21)

2026-09-21 AI review — translation 1

urn:cts:latinLit:phi0959.phi005.humanitext-lat2:226-298