- 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.phi005.humanitext-lat2:370-443
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-26
The poet defends his work against critics by emphasizing the importance of matching style with genre, and then offers practical remedies to cool down desire, such as meeting another partner beforehand, using unflattering positions, and closely observing physical flaws.
Summa petunt dextra fulmina missa Iovis.
Lightning bolts sent from the right hand of Jove seek the highest summits.
At tu, quicumque es, quem nostra licentia laedit,
But as for you, whoever you are whom our licentiousness offends,
Si sapis, ad numeros exige quidque suos.1
if you are wise, demand each thing according to its own meters.
Fortia Maeonio gaudent pede bella referri;
Brave wars rejoice to be related in Maeonian foot;
Deliciis illic quis locus esse potest?
what place can there be there for playful delights?
Grande sonant tragici; tragicos decet ira cothurnos:
Tragic writers sound grandly; anger becomes tragic buskins:
Usibus e mediis soccus habendus erit.
from the midst of daily practices, the comic sock must be held.
Liber in adversos hostes stringatur iambus,
Let free iambus be drawn against opposing enemies,
Seu celer, extremum seu trahat ille pedem.
whether swift, or whether that one drags its final foot.
Blanda pharetratos Elegia cantet Amores,
Let charming Elegy sing of quiver-bearing Loves,
Et levis arbitrio ludat amica suo.
and let the light mistress play according to her own will.
Callimachi numeris non est dicendus Achilles,
Achilles is not to be spoken of in Callimachus’ numbers,
Cydippe non est oris, Homere, tui.
Cydippe is not of your mouth, Homer.
Quis feret Andromaches peragentem Thaida partes?
Who will bear Thais acting the parts of Andromache?
Peccet, in Andromache Thaida quisquis agat.
Whoever should act Thais in Andromache would err.
Thais in arte mea est; lascivia libera nostra est;
Thais is in my art; our licentiousness is free;
Nil mihi cum vitta; Thais in arte mea est.
I have nothing to do with the headband; Thais is in my art.
Si mea materiae respondet Musa iocosae,
If my Muse responds to playful material,
Vicimus, et falsi criminis acta rea est.2
we have won, and the accusation of false crime is held guilty.
Rumpere, Livor edax: magnum iam nomen habemus;
Burst, greedy Envy: we already have a great name;
Maius erit, tantum quo pede coepit eat.
it will be greater, if only it goes on the same foot with which it began.
Sed nimium properas: vivam modo, plura dolebis;
But you hasten too much: if only I live, you will grieve more;
Et capiunt animi carmina multa mei.
and my mind contains many poems.
Nam iuvat et studium famae mihi crevit honore;
For it pleases, and my zeal for fame has grown with honor;
Principio clivi noster anhelat equus.
at the beginning of the hill our horse is panting.
Tantum se nobis elegi debere fatentur,
Elegies confess that they owe as much to us,
Quantum Vergilio nobile debet epos.
as the noble epic owes to Virgil.
Hactenus invidiae respondimus: attrahe lora
Thus far we have answered envy: pull back the reins
Fortius, et gyro curre, poeta, tuo.
more tightly, and run, poet, in your own circle.
Ergo ubi concubitus et opus iuvenale petetur,
Therefore when intercourse and youthful work are sought,
Et prope promissae tempora noctis erunt,
and the times of the promised night are near,
Gaudia ne dominae, pleno si corpore sumes,
lest the joys of your mistress, if you take them with a full body,
Te capiant, ineas quamlibet ante velim;3
captivate you, I would wish that you enter any girl beforehand;
Quamlibet invenias, in qua tua prima voluptas
find any girl in whom your first pleasure
Desinat: a prima proxima segnis erit.
may end: the next one will be sluggish because of the first.
Sustentata venus gratissima; frigore soles,
Love-making is most pleasing when deferred; suns after cold,
Sole iuvant umbrae, grata fit unda siti.
shades after sun are pleasing, and water becomes pleasing to thirst.
Et pudet, et dicam: venerem quoque iunge figura,
I am both ashamed and I will say it: join also in love-making in that position
Qua minime iungi quamque decere putas.4
in which you think she is least suited to be joined and which least becomes her.
Nec labor efficere est: rarae sibi vera fatentur,
Nor is it a labor to bring this about: rare women confess the truth to themselves,
Et nihil est, quod se dedecuisse putent.
and there is nothing which they think has not become them.
Tunc etiam iubeo totas aperire fenestras,
Then also I command to open all the windows,
Turpiaque admisso membra notare die.
and to note the ugly limbs when the day is admitted.
At simul ad metas venit finita voluptas,
But as soon as the finished pleasure comes to its goals,
Lassaque cum tota corpora mente iacent,
and the weary bodies lie together with the whole mind,
Dum piget, et malis nullam tetigisse puellam,5
while it repents you, and you would prefer to have touched no girl,
Tacturusque tibi non videare diu,
and you do not seem to yourself about to touch one for a long time,
Tunc animo signa, quaecumque in corpore menda est,
then mark in your mind whatever blemish is on her body,
Luminaque in vitiis illius usque tene.
and keep your eyes continually on her defects.
Forsitan haec aliquis (nam sunt quoque) parva vocabit,
Perhaps someone will call these things small (for they are also),
Sed, quae non prosunt singula, multa iuvant.
but things which do not help individually, help when they are many.
Parva necat morsu spatiosum vipera taurum:
A small viper kills a spacious bull with its bite:
A cane non magno saepe tenetur aper.
a wild boar is often held by a dog that is not large.
Tu tantum numero pugna, praeceptaque in unum
Do you fight only with number, and draw your precepts
Contrahe: de multis grandis acervus erit.
into one: from many there will be a great heap.
Sed quoniam totidem mores totidemque figurae,
But since there are as many dispositions as there are figures,
Non sunt iudiciis omnia danda meis.
not everything must be granted to my judgments.
Quo tua non possunt offendi pectora facto,
By which deed your heart cannot be offended,
Forsitan hoc alio iudice crimen erit.
perhaps this will be an accusation under another’s judgment.
Ille quod obscenas in aperto corpore partes
That man’s love, because he had seen obscene parts on an exposed body
Viderat, in cursu qui fuit, haesit amor:
while he was in his course, faltered:
Ille quod a Veneris rebus surgente puella
another’s, because he saw shameful signs on the unclean bed
Vidit in inmundo signa pudenda toro.
as the girl was rising from the matters of Venus.
Luditis, o siquos potuerunt ista movere:
You are playing, oh you whom those things could move:
Adflarant tepidae pectora vestra faces.
warm torches had only blown upon your hearts.
Adtrahat ille puer contentos fortius arcus:
Let that boy draw his bent bows more strongly:
Saucia maiorem turba petetis opem.
you wounded crowd will seek greater help.
Quid, qui clam latuit reddente obscena puella,
What of him who lay hidden secretly while the girl was performing obscene things,
Et vidit, quae mos ipse videre vetat?
and saw things which custom itself forbids to see?
Di melius, quam nos moneamus talia quemquam!
May the gods grant better things than that we should advise anyone of such things!
Ut prosint, non sunt expedienda tamen.
Even if they are useful, they are not to be set forth nonetheless.
Hortor et, ut pariter binas habeatis amicas
I also urge that you have two mistresses at the same time
(Fortior est, plures siquis habere potest):
(he is stronger if anyone can have more):
Secta bipertito cum mens discurrit utroque,
when the mind, split in two, runs hither and thither,
- 372ad numeros exige quidque suos
The verb exigo (to measure or adjust) is used here with the preposition ad (according to). The phrase numeros... suos refers to the proper "meters" or "rules" appropriate for each literary genre.
- 388falsi criminis acta rea est
rea is the feminine singular nominative of reus (accused, defendant), referring to the subject Musa (or the poet/poem) being held as the defendant on the charge of false crime (falsi criminis, genitive of charge). acta [est] is the perfect passive of ago (to treat/drive), meaning "the false accusation is treated as guilty" (i.e., defeated in court).
- 401Gaudia ne dominae... Te capiant, ineas quamlibet ante velim
velim is a present subjunctive (1st person singular) expressing a wish. It takes a dependent subjunctive ineas (with ut omitted). The clause ne... capiant is a negative purpose clause ("lest the joys of your mistress captivate you") depending on velim.
- 408Qua minime iungi quamque decere putas
The relative pronouns qua (ablative of manner/means) and quam (accusative feminine singular) both refer to the antecedent figura (position). qua modifies the infinitive iungi, meaning "by which [you are] least joined." quam serves as the accusative subject of the impersonal infinitive decere, meaning "which you think suits [her] best."
- 415Dum piget, et malis nullam tetigisse puellam
The impersonal verb piget (it disgusts/repents) is paired with malis (the 2nd person singular present subjunctive of malle, "you would prefer"). nullam tetigisse puellam (to have touched no girl) functions as the object clause of malis using a perfect infinitive.
Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-22) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-21)
- 2026-09-21 AI review — note 1