- 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-lat2:664-739
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-26
The poet advises parting peacefully without lawsuits, comparing the mistress with other beauties to diminish her appeal, and avoiding her letters, portraits, and memorable places to prevent the passion from reviving.
Horrebant saevis omnia verba minis.
All words were bristling with cruel threats.
Iamque vadaturus1 'lectica prodeat' inquit;
And now, about to summon her to court, he said: ‘Let her come forth from the litter.’
Prodierat: visa coniuge mutus erat.
She had come forth: at the sight of his mistress, he was mute.
Et manus et manibus duplices cecidere tabellae,
Both his hands fell, and from his hands the double tablets fell,
Venit in amplexus, atque 'ita vincis' ait.
he came into her embraces, and said: ‘Thus you win.’
Tutius est aptumque magis discedere pace,
It is safer and more fitting to depart in peace,
Nec petere a thalamis litigiosa fora.
and not to seek litigious forums from the bedchamber.
Munera quae dederas, habeat sine lite, iubeto:
Command that she keep the gifts you had given, without lawsuit:
Esse solent magno damna minora bono.
losses are wont to be smaller than a great good.
Quod si vos aliquis casus conducet in unum,
But if some chance brings you together into one place,
Mente memor tota quae damus arma, tene.
hold fast, mindful with your whole heart, the weapons which we give.
Nunc opus est armis; hic, o fortissime, pugna:
Now there is need of weapons; here, O most brave one, fight:
Vincenda est telo Penthesilea tuo.
Penthesilea must be conquered by your weapon.
Nunc tibi rivalis, nunc durum limen amanti,
Now let a rival, now a hard threshold to the lover,
Nunc subeant2 mediis inrita verba deis.
now fruitless words sworn in the presence of the gods come to your mind.
Nec compone comas, quia sis venturus ad illam,
Do not arrange your hair because you are about to go to her,
Nec toga sit laxo conspicienda sinu.
nor let your toga with loose fold be conspicuous.
Nulla sit, ut placeas alienae cura puellae;
Let there be no care to please a girl who is now another’s;
Iam facito e multis una sit illa tibi.
make sure now that she is to you one out of many.
Sed quid praecipue nostris conatibus obstet
But what chiefly stands in the way of our endeavors
Eloquar, exemplo quemque docente suo.
I will declare, with his own example teaching everyone.
Desinimus tarde, quia nos speramus amari:
We cease to love slowly because we hope to be loved:
Dum sibi quisque placet, credula turba sumus.
while each one pleases himself, we are a credulous crowd.
At tu nec voces (quid enim fallacius illis?)
But do you neither believe her words (for what is more deceitful than they?),
Crede, nec aeternos pondus habere deos.
nor believe that the eternal gods have weight.
Neve puellarum lacrimis moveare, caveto:
And take care lest you be moved by the tears of girls:
Ut flerent, oculos erudiere suos.
they have instructed their eyes to weep.
Artibus innumeris mens oppugnatur amantum,
The mind of lovers is assaulted by innumerable arts,
Ut lapis aequoreis undique pulsus aquis.
like a stone beaten on all sides by sea waters.
Nec causas aperi, quare divortia malis:
Nor open the reasons why you prefer separation:
Nec dic, quid doleas: clam tamen usque dole.
nor say what you grieve at: nevertheless grieve secretly all the while.
Nec peccata refer, ne diluat: ipse favebis,
Nor relate her faults, lest she explain them away: you yourself will favor her,
Ut melior causa causa sit illa tua.
so that her cause may be better than yours.
Qui silet, est firmus; qui dicit multa puellae
He who is silent is firm; he who speaks many
Probra, satisfieri postulat ille sibi.
reproaches to a girl, demands that satisfaction be made to him.
Non ego Dulichio furari more sagittas,
I would not dare to steal arrows in the Dulichian manner,
Nec raptas ausim tinguere in amne faces:
nor dare to dip snatched torches in the river:
Nec nos purpureas pueri resecabimus alas,
nor shall we cut back the purple wings of the boy,
Nec sacer arte mea laxior arcus erit.
nor will the sacred bow be looser by my art.
Consilium est, quodcumque cano: parete canenti,
Whatever I sing is advice: obey the singer,
Tuque, favens coeptis, Phoebe saluber, ades.
and you, O healing Phoebus, favoring our undertakings, be present.
Phoebus adest: sonuere lyrae, sonuere pharetrae;
Phoebus is present: the lyres sounded, the quivers sounded;
Signa deum nosco per sua: Phoebus adest.
I recognize the signs of the god by his own: Phoebus is present.
Confer Amyclaeis medicatum vellus aënis
Compare the fleece dyed in Amyclaean cauldrons
Murice cum Tyrio; turpius illud erit:
with Tyrian purple; the former will be more ugly:
Vos quoque formosis vestras conferte puellas;
do you also compare your girls with beautiful ones;
Incipiet dominae quemque pudere3 suae:
each one will begin to be ashamed of his own mistress:
Utraque formosae Paridi potuere videri,
Each of the two could seem beautiful to Paris,
Sed sibi conlatam vicit utramque Venus.
but Venus conquered each of them compared to herself.
Nec solam faciem, mores quoque confer et artes:
Nor compare the face alone, compare also manners and arts:
Tantum iudicio ne tuus obsit amor.
only let not your love hinder your judgment.
Exiguum est, quod deinde canam; sed profuit illud
It is a small thing that I shall sing next; but that small thing
Exiguum multis: in quibus ipse fui.
profited many: among whom I myself was.
Scripta cave relegas blandae servata puellae:
Take care lest you reread the letters preserved of the coaxing girl:
Constantes animos scripta relecta movent.
reread letters move constant minds.
Omnia pone feros (pones invitus) in ignes,
Put them all into fierce fires (you will put them unwillingly),
Et dic 'ardoris sit rogus iste mei.'
and say: ‘Let that be the pyre of my passion.’
Thestias4 absentem succendit stipite natum:
The daughter of Thestius burned her absent son with a brand:
Tu timide flammae perfida verba dabis?
will you, timidly, give her treacherous words to the flame?
Si potes, et ceras remove: quid imagine muta
If you can, remove also the wax images: why are you worn away
Carperis? hoc periit Laodamia modo.
by a silent image? In this manner Laodamia perished.
Et loca saepe nocent; fugito loca conscia vestri
And places often harm; flee the places conscious of your
Concubitus; causas illa doloris habent.
lying together; they hold the causes of grief.
'Hic fuit, hic cubuit; thalamo dormivimus illo:
’Here she was, here she lay; we slept in that bedchamber:
Hic mihi lasciva gaudia nocte dedit.'
here she gave me wanton joys in the playful night.’
Admonitu refricatur amor, vulnusque novatum
Love is rubbed again by reminding, and the renewed wound
Scinditur: infirmis culpa pusilla nocet.
is torn open: a tiny fault harms the weak.
Ut, paene extinctum cinerem si sulpure tangas,
Just as, if you touch almost extinguished ashes with sulfur,
Vivet et e minimo maximus ignis erit,
it will live and from the smallest there will be a very great fire,
Sic, nisi vitaris quidquid renovabit amorem,
so, unless you avoid whatever will renew love,
Flamma redardescet, quae modo nulla fuit.
the flame will burn again, which just now was none.
Argolides cuperent fugisse Capherea puppes,
Argive ships would wish to have fled Caphereus,
Teque, senex, luctus ignibus ulte tuos.
and you, O old man, who avenged your griefs with fires.
Praeterita cautus Niseïde navita gaudet:
The cautious sailor rejoices when the daughter of Nisus has been passed:
Tu loca, quae nimium grata fuere, cave.
do you avoid the places which were too pleasing.
Haec tibi sint Syrtes: haec Acroceraunia vita:5
Let these be Syrtes to you: shun these Acroceraunia.
- 665vadaturus
Future active participle of vador (to bind to appearance in court, summon), expressing the man's immediate intention to take legal action against his mistress.
- 678subeant
Subjunctive of wish or exhortation, meaning "let them come to mind." It governs three subjects: rivalis (rival), limen (threshold), and verba (fruitless words), advising the lover to actively recall painful memories to break the love.
- 710pudere
Infinitive of the impersonal verb pudet (to shame). The person who feels shame is expressed in the accusative quemque (each one), while the cause of the shame is in the genitive suae dominae (of his own mistress).
- 721Thestias
A patronymic of Greek origin meaning "daughter of Thestius," referring to Althaea. She burned the brand (stipite) on which her son Meleager's life depended, causing his death. This famous myth is used here to urge the lover to destroy letters (treacherous words).
- 739vita
The singular present imperative of the first-conjugation verb vito (to avoid, shun), not the noun vita (life). It parallels cave (avoid) in the preceding line, commanding the reader to "shun" the dangerous cliffs of Acroceraunia.