Dividing Passion with a New Love and Feigning Recovery — Ovid, The Cure of Love, lines 444–517, Latin & English

444

Alterius vires subtrahit alter amor.

One love withdraws the strength of the other.

445

Grandia per multos tenuantur flumina rivos,

Great rivers are thinned through many streams,

Saevaque diducto stipite flamma perit.

and the fierce flame perishes when the wood is separated.

Non satis una tenet ceratas ancora puppes,

One anchor does not hold the waxed sterns enough,

Nec satis est liquidis unicus hamus aquis:

nor is a single hook enough in clear waters.

Qui sibi iam pridem solacia bina paravit,

He who has long since prepared two consolations for himself,

450

Iam pridem summa victor in arce fuit.

has long since been a victor on the highest citadel.

At tibi, qui fueris dominae male creditus uni,¹

But as for you, who have been unfortunately entrusted to a single mistress,

Nunc saltem novus est inveniendus amor.

now at least a new love must be found.

Pasiphaës Minos in Procride perdidit ignes:

Minos lost his passion for Pasiphae in Procris;

Cessit ab Idaea coniuge victa prior.

the former wife, conquered, yielded to the Idaean spouse.

455

Amphilochi frater ne Phegida semper amaret,

Lest the brother of Amphilochus should always love the daughter of Phegeus,

Calliroë fecit parte recepta tori.

Callirhoe, received into a share of his bed, brought it about.

Et Parin Oenone summos tenuisset ad annos,

And Oenone would have held Paris to his final years,

Si non Oebalia paelice laesa foret.

if she had not been harmed by the Oebalian mistress.

Coniugis Odrysio placuisset forma tyranno:

The beauty of his wife would have pleased the Odrysian tyrant,

460

Sed melior clausae forma sororis erat.

but the beauty of the imprisoned sister was better.

Quid moror exemplis, quorum me turba fatigat?

Why do I linger on examples, the crowd of which fatigues me?

Successore novo vincitur omnis amor.

All love is conquered by a new successor.

Fortius e multis mater desiderat unum,

A mother grieves for one out of many children more weakly

Quam quem flens clamat² 'tu mihi solus eras.'

than for the one whom, weeping, she cries out: “You were my only one.”

465

Ac ne forte putes nova me tibi condere iura

And lest by chance you think that I am establishing new laws for you

(Atque utinam inventi gloria nostra foret!),

(and would that the glory of the invention were ours!),

Vidit ut Atrides (quid enim non ille videret,

as the son of Atreus saw (for what indeed would he not see,

Cuius in arbitrio Graecia tota fuit?)

under whose judgment all Greece lay?)

Marte suo captam Chryseïda, victor amabat:

the victor loved Chryseis, captured by his own warfare;

470

At senior stulte flebat ubique pater.

but her elderly father foolishly wept everywhere.

Quid lacrimas, odiose senex? bene convenit illis:

Why do you weep, annoying old man? It suits them well;

Officio natam laedis, inepte, tuo.

foolishly, you harm your daughter with your duty.

Quam postquam reddi Calchas, ope tutus Achillis,

After Calchas, safe through the help of Achilles,

Iusserat, et patria est illa recepta domo,

had ordered her to be returned, and she was received by her father’s house,

475

'Est' ait Atrides 'illius proxima forma,

the son of Atreus said: “There is one very close in beauty to her,

Et, si prima sinat syllaba,³ nomen idem:

and, if the first syllable would allow, the same name.

Hanc mihi, si sapiat, per se concedat Achilles:

Let Achilles, if he is wise, yield her to me of his own accord;

Si minus, imperium sentiat ille meum.

if not, let him feel my empire.

Quod siquis vestrum factum hoc incusat, Achivi,

But if any of you, Achaeans, censures this deed,

480

Est aliquid valida sceptra tenere manu.

it is something to hold sceptres with a strong hand.

Nam si rex ego sum, nec mecum dormiat ulla,

For if I am king, and no woman sleeps with me,

In mea Thersites regna, licebit, eat.'

Thersites may go, for all I care, into my kingdom.”

Dixit, et hanc habuit solacia magna prioris,

He spoke, and had her as a great consolation for the former,

Et posita est cura cura repulsa nova.

and the repulsed care was put aside by the new care.

485

Ergo adsume novas auctore Agamemnone flammas,

Therefore assume new flames with Agamemnon as your guide,

Ut tuus in bivio distineatur amor.

so that your love may be divided at the crossroads.

Quaeris, ubi invenias? artes tu perlege nostras:

Do you ask where to find them? Read through our arts:

Plena puellarum iam tibi navis erit.

now your ship will be full of girls.

Quod siquid praecepta valent mea, siquid Apollo

But if my precepts have any strength, if Apollo

490

Utile mortales perdocet ore meo,

teaches mortals anything useful through my mouth,

Quamvis infelix media torreberis Aetna,

although, unhappy, you will be burned in the midst of Etna,

Frigidior glacie fac videare tuae:

make sure you seem colder than ice to your girl:

Et sanum simula, ne, siquid forte dolebis,

and pretend to be sound, lest, if by chance you grieve at all,

Sentiat; et ride, cum tibi flendus eris.

she should perceive it; and laugh when you should weep for yourself.

495

Non ego te iubeo medias abrumpere curas:

I do not command you to break off your cares in the midst:

Non sunt imperii tam fera iussa mei.

the commands of my empire are not so harsh.

Quod non es, simula, positosque imitare furores:

Pretend to be what you are not, and imitate calmed madnesses:

Sic facies vere, quod meditatus eris.

thus you will do in truth what you will have practiced.

Saepe ego, ne biberem, volui dormire videri:

Often I, lest I should drink, wished to seem to sleep:

500

Dum videor, somno lumina victa dedi:

while I seemed so, I gave my conquered eyes to sleep:

Deceptum risi, qui se simularat amare,⁴

I laughed at the deceived man, who had pretended to love,

In laqueos auceps decideratque suos.

and the fowler had fallen into his own snares.

Intrat amor mentes usu, dediscitur usu:

Love enters minds by habit, and is unlearned by habit:

Qui poterit sanum fingere, sanus erit.

he who will be able to feign sanity, will be sane.

505

Dixerit, ut venias: pacta tibi nocte venito;

Let her say that you should come: come on the agreed night;

Veneris, et fuerit ianua clausa: feres.

you will have come, and the door was closed: endure it.

Nec dic blanditias, nec fac convicia posti,

Neither speak sweet words, nor make reproaches to the doorpost,

Nec latus in duro limine pone tuum.

nor place your side upon the hard threshold.

Postera lux aderit: careant tua verba querellis,

The next day’s light will arrive: let your words be free of complaints,

510

Et nulla in vultu signa dolentis habe.

and have no signs of a grieving person in your countenance.

Iam ponet fastus, cum te languere videbit:

Soon she will put aside her pride, when she sees you languid:

Hoc etiam nostra munus ab arte feres.

this gift also you will carry away from our art.

Te quoque falle tamen, nec sit tibi finis amandi

Yet deceive yourself also, nor let an end of loving

Propositus: frenis saepe repugnat equus.

be set before you: a horse often rebels against the reins.

515

Utilitas lateat; quod non profitebere, fiet:

Let the utility lie hidden; what you do not profess will happen:

Quae nimis apparent retia, vitat avis.

the bird avoids nets that are too visible.

Nec sibi tam placeat, nec te contemnere possit;

Nor let her please herself so much, nor be able to despise you;

Syntax notes4 items

451qui fueris dominae male creditus uni
The subjunctive verb fueris in the relative clause introduced by qui expresses a characteristic or a causal nuance ("you who have unfortunately trusted...").
463Fortius e multis mater desiderat unum, / Quam quem flens clamat
A comparison using the comparative fortius and quam. It indicates that a mother's grief over losing one child among many (unum e multis desiderat) is "not as intense" as her grief over losing an only child (Quam [eum desiderat] quem...).
476si prima sinat syllaba
The present subjunctive sinat in the conditional clause. It means "if the first syllable should allow (i.e., if it were not different)", referring to the fact that the names Chryseis and Briseis are identical except for their first syllables.
501Deceptum risi, qui se simularat amare
Deceptum (perfect participle, masculine accusative singular) is the direct object of risi and serves as the antecedent of the relative pronoun qui. It refers to a man who, while pretending to love, fell in love in earnest and was thus deceived.

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-22)urn:cts:latinLit:phi0959.phi005.humanitext-lat2:444-517