Curing Love through Satiety and the Danger of Solitude — Ovid, The Cure of Love, lines 518–588, Latin & English

518

Sume animos, animis cedat ut illa tuis.

Take courage, so that she may yield to your courage.

Ianua forte patet? quamvis revocabere, transi.

Does the door happen to lie open? Although you will be called back, pass by.

520

Est data nox? dubita¹ nocte venire data.

Has a night been granted? Hesitate to come on the granted night.

Posse pati facile est, ubi, si patientia desit,

It is an easy thing to be able to endure, if, should patience be lacking,

Protinus ex facili gaudia ferre licet.

it is permitted to gather joys immediately from what is easy.

Et quisquam praecepta potest mea dura vocare?

And indeed who can call my precepts harsh?

En, etiam partes conciliantis ago.

Look, I even play the part of a reconciler.

525

Nam quoniam variant animi, variabimus artes;

For since minds vary, we shall vary our arts;

Mille mali species, mille salutis erunt.

there will be a thousand forms of the disease, and a thousand of cure.

Corpora vix ferro quaedam sanantur acuto:

Some bodies are scarcely healed by the sharp iron;

Auxilium multis sucus et herba fuit.

for many, juice and herbs have been a help.

Mollior es, neque abire potes, vinctusque teneris,

Are you more soft, and unable to depart, and held bound,

530

Et tua saevus Amor sub pede colla premit?

and does cruel Love press your neck beneath his foot?

Desine luctari: referant tua carbasa venti,

Cease to struggle: let the winds carry your sails,

Quaque vocant fluctus, hac tibi remus eat.

and wherever the waves call, there let your oar go.

Explenda est sitis ista tibi, quo perditus ardes;

That thirst of yours must be quenched, with which you burn, ruined;

Cedimus; e medio iam licet amne bibas:

I yield; now you may drink from the middle of the river:

535

Sed bibe plus etiam, quam quod praecordia poscunt,

but drink even more than what your heart demands,

Gutture fac pleno sumpta redundet aqua.

make sure that the swallowed water overflows from your full throat.

I, fruere usque tua, nullo prohibente, puella:

Go, enjoy your girl continually, with no one forbidding;

Illa tibi noctes auferat, illa dies.

let her take away your nights, let her take away your days.

Taedia quaere mali: faciunt et taedia finem.

Seek satiety of the evil: satiety also brings an end.

540

Iam quoque, cum credes posse carere, mane,

Even now, when you believe you can do without her, remain,

Dum bene te cumules et copia tollat amorem,

until you fill yourself well and abundance takes away your love,

Et fastidita non iuvet esse domo.

and it no longer pleases you to be in the loathed house.

Fit quoque longus amor, quem diffidentia nutrit:

That love also becomes long-lasting which distrust nourishes:

Hunc tu si quaeres ponere, pone metum.

if you seek to lay this aside, lay aside your fear.

545

Qui timet, ut sua sit, ne quis² sibi detrahat illam,

He who fears lest she might not be his own, or lest someone should snatch her away,

Ille Machaonia vix ope sanus erit.

will scarcely be made well even by Machaonian aid.

Plus amat e natis mater plerumque duobus,

A mother usually loves more one of her two children,

Pro cuius reditu, quod gerit arma, timet.

for whose return she fears because he carries arms.

Est prope Collinam templum venerabile portam;

There is a venerable temple near the Colline Gate;

550

Inposuit templo nomina celsus Eryx:

lofty Eryx bestowed its name upon the temple:

Est illic Lethaeus Amor, qui pectora sanat,

there is Lethaean Love there, who heals hearts,

Inque suas gelidam lampadas addit aquam.

and pours cold water onto his own torches.

Illic et iuvenes votis oblivia poscunt,

There both young men ask for forgetfulness with prayers,

Et siqua est duro capta puella viro.

and any girl who has been captured by a harsh man.

555

Is mihi sic dixit (dubito, verusne Cupido,

He said thus to me (I doubt whether it was true Cupid

An somnus fuerit: sed puto, somnus erat)

or a dream: but I think it was a dream):

'O qui sollicitos modo das, modo demis amores,

’O you who now give, now take away anxious loves,

Adice praeceptis hoc quoque, Naso, tuis.

add this also, Naso, to your precepts.

Ad mala quisque animum referat sua, ponet amorem;

Let each turn his mind to his own troubles; he will lay aside love;

560

Omnibus illa deus plusve minusve dedit.

the god has given those to everyone, more or less.

Qui Puteal Ianumque timet celeresque Kalendas,

He who fears the Puteal and Janus and the swift Kalends,

Torqueat³ hunc aeris mutua summa sui;

let the total sum of his borrowed money torture him;

Cui durus pater est, ut voto cetera cedant,

he who has a harsh father, though all other things yield to his wish,

Huic pater ante oculos durus habendus erit;

must keep his harsh father before his eyes;

565

Hic male dotata pauper cum coniuge vivit,

this poor man who lives with a poorly dowered wife,

Uxorem fato credat obesse suo.

let him believe that his wife stands in the way of his fortune.

Est tibi rure bono generosae fertilis uvae

Do you have a vineyard fertile with noble grapes

Vinea? ne nascens usta sit uva, time.

in a good countryside? Fear lest the budding grape be parched.

Ille habet in reditu navim: mare semper iniquum

That man has a ship on its return: let him always think of the hostile sea

570

Cogitet et damno litora foeda suo.

and the shores filthy with his own loss.

Filius hunc miles, te filia nubilis angat;

Let a soldier son torment this man, a marriageable daughter torment you;

Et quis non causas mille doloris habet?

and who does not have a thousand causes of grief?

Ut posses odisse tuam, Pari, funera fratrum

So that you might be able to hate your girl, Paris, the deaths of your brothers

Debueras oculis substituisse tuis.'

you ought to have substituted before your eyes.’

575

Plura loquebatur: placidum puerilis imago

He was speaking more: the boyish image abandoned

Destituit somnum, si modo somnus erat.

my peaceful sleep, if indeed it was a sleep.

Quid faciam? media navem Palinurus⁴ in unda

What should I do? Palinurus abandons the ship in the midst of the waves;

Deserit; ignotas cogor inire vias.

I am forced to enter unknown ways.

Quisquis amas, loca sola nocent, loca sola caveto!

Whoever you are that loves, lonely places are harmful, beware of lonely places!

580

Quo fugis? in populo tutior esse potes.

Where do you flee? You can be safer in a crowd.

Non tibi secretis (augent secreta furores)

You have no need of secret places (secrecy increases madness);

Est opus: auxilio turba futura tibi est.

the crowd will be a help to you.

Tristis eris, si solus eris, dominaeque relictae

You will be sad if you are alone, and the face of your abandoned mistress

Ante oculos facies stabit, ut ipsa, tuos.

will stand before your eyes, just like herself.

585

Tristior idcirco nox est quam tempora Phoebi;

For this reason, night is sadder than the times of Phoebus;

Quae relevet luctus, turba sodalis abest.

the friendly crowd, which might relieve your griefs, is absent.

Nec fuge conloquium, nec sit tibi ianua clausa,

Neither flee conversation, nor let your door be closed,

Nec tenebris vultus flebilis abde tuos.

nor hide your weeping face in the darkness.

Syntax notes4 items

520dubita
Not used here as a verb of fearing, but as a second-person singular present imperative meaning 'hesitate' or 'delay.' The poet advises delaying or showing reluctance even when an assignation is granted, in order to cool down the relationship.
545timet, ut sua sit, ne quis
Two noun clauses introduced by the verb of fearing timet. According to the rules of classical Latin grammar for verbs of fearing, ut sua sit expresses a negative fear ('fears that she might not be his own'), while ne quis... expresses a positive fear ('fears lest someone snatch her away').
562Torqueat
A present subjunctive (third-person singular) expressing a wish or command ('let it torture/worry'). The subject is mutua summa sui aeris (the total sum of his borrowed money). This hortatory or iussive subjunctive construction is mirrored by angat in §571.
577Palinurus
A metaphorical reference invoking the name of Aeneas's helmsman, Palinurus. Here it signifies that Amor has finished giving his advice and departed (abandoning the helm), meaning the poet himself must now retake the steering wheel and navigate unknown paths to continue his instruction.

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-22)urn:cts:latinLit:phi0959.phi005.humanitext-lat2:518-588