- 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-lat2:740-814
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-26
The author discusses the impact of poverty, the necessity of avoiding theaters and love poetry, how to overcome jealousy, and the regulation of diet and wine, concluding his work on the remedies for love.
Hic vomit epotas dira Charybdis aquas.
Here dreadful Charybdis vomits up the swallowed waters.
Sunt quae non possunt aliquo cogente iuberi,
There are things which cannot be commanded by anyone forcing them,
Saepe tamen casu facta iuvare solent.
yet often, having happened by chance, they are wont to help.
Perdat1 opes Phaedra, parces, Neptune, nepoti,
If Phaedra were to lose her wealth, you would spare your grandson, Neptune,
Nec faciet pavidos taurus avitus equos.
nor will the grandfather’s bull make the horses panicked.
Cnosida fecisses inopem, sapienter amasset:
Had you made the daughter of Knossos destitute, she would have loved wisely:
Divitiis alitur luxuriosus amor.
wanton love is nourished by riches.
Cur nemo est, Hecalen, nulla est, quae ceperit Iron?
Why is there no one who took Hecale, no woman who took Irus?
Nempe quod alter egens, altera pauper erat.
Surely because the one was needy, the other was poor.
Non habet, unde suum paupertas pascat amorem:
Poverty does not have the means from which to feed its love:
Non tamen hoc tanti est, pauper ut esse velis.
yet this is not of such value that you would wish to be poor.
At tanti2 tibi sit non indulgere theatris,
But let it be of such great value to you not to indulge in theaters,
Dum bene de vacuo pectore cedat amor.
until love safely departs from your empty breast.
Enervant animos citharae lotosque lyraeque
Citharas and lotus-flutes and lyres enervate the mind,
Et vox et numeris brachia mota suis.
and the voice, and the arms moved to their own rhythms.
Illic adsidue ficti saltantur amantes:
There, simulated lovers are constantly danced:
Quod caveas, actor, quam iuvet, arte docet.
what you should avoid, the actor teaches by his art how pleasing it is.
Eloquar invitus: teneros ne tange poetas!
I shall speak unwillingly: do not touch the tender poets!
Summoveo dotes impius ipse meas.
I myself, impious, remove my own gifts.
Callimachum fugito: non est inimicus Amori:
Flee Callimachus: he is no enemy to Love:
Et cum Callimacho tu quoque, Coë, noces.
and along with Callimachus, you too, O poet of Cos, do harm.
Me certe Sappho meliorem fecit amicae,
Surely Sappho made me more compliant to my mistress,
Nec rigidos mores Teïa Musa dedit.
nor did the Teian Muse impart rigid morals.
Carmina quis potuit tuto legisse Tibulli,
Who could have read the songs of Tibullus safely,
Vel tua, cuius opus Cynthia sola fuit?
or yours, whose sole work was Cynthia?
Quis poterit lecto durus discedere Gallo?
Who, having read Gallus, will be able to depart unmoved?
Et mea nescio quid carmina tale sonant.
And my poems, too, sound some such note.
Quod nisi dux operis vatem frustratur Apollo,
But unless Apollo, the leader of our work, deceives the prophet,
Aemulus est nostri maxima causa mali:
a rival is the greatest cause of our misfortune:
At tu rivalem noli tibi fingere quemquam,
but do not imagine any rival for yourself,
Inque suo solam crede iacere toro.
and believe that she lies alone in her bed.
Acrius Hermionen ideo dilexit Orestes,
Orestes loved Hermione more fiercely for this reason,
Esse quod alterius coeperat illa viri.
because she had begun to belong to another man.
Quid, Menelae, doles? ibas sine coniuge Creten,
Why, Menelaus, do you grieve? You were going to Crete without your wife,
Et poteras nupta lentus abesse tua.
and you were able to be absent from your bride indifferently.
Ut Paris hanc rapuit, nunc demum uxore carere
As soon as Paris snatched her away, now at last you cannot
Non potes: alterius crevit amore tuus.
be without a wife: your love grew because of another’s love.
Hoc et in abducta Briseide flebat Achilles,
Achilles too wept over this in the case of the abducted Briseis,
Illam Plisthenio gaudia ferre viro;
that she was bringing joys to the Plisthenian man;
Nec frustra flebat, mihi credite: fecit Atrides,
nor did he weep in vain, believe me: the son of Atreus did
Quod si non faceret, turpiter esset iners.3
which, if he had not done, he would have been shamefully sluggish.
Certe ego fecissem, nec sum sapientior illo:
Certainly I would have done it, nor am I wiser than he:
Invidiae fructus maximus ille fuit.
that was the greatest fruit of jealousy.
Nam sibi quod numquam tactam Briseida iurat
For when he swears that Briseis was never touched by him,
Per sceptrum, sceptrum non putat esse deos.4
by the sceptre, he does not think the sceptre is gods.
Di faciant, possis dominae transire relictae
May the gods grant that you can pass by the threshold
Limina, proposito sufficiantque pedes.
of the abandoned mistress, and that your feet may suffice for your purpose.
Et poteris; modo velle tene: nunc fortiter ire,
And you will be able; only hold on to the will: now to go bravely,
Nunc opus est celeri subdere calcar equo.
now there is need to apply the spur to the swift horse.
Illo Lotophagos, illo Sirenas in antro
Think that the Lotophagi are in that cave, the Sirens in that one;
Esse puta; remis adice vela tuis.
add sails to your oars.
Hunc quoque, quo quondam nimium rivale dolebas,
This man too, by whom as a rival you once grieved too much,
Vellem desineres hostis habere loco.
I would wish you would cease to hold in the place of an enemy.
At certe, quamvis odio remanente, saluta;
But certainly, although hatred remains, greet him;
Oscula cum poteris iam dare, sanus eris.
when you are able now to give kisses, you will be sound.
Ecce, cibos etiam, medicinae fungar ut omni
Behold, I will also give foods—that I may perform every office
Munere, quos fugias quosque sequare, dabo.
of medicine—which you should avoid and which you should pursue.
Daunius, an Libycis bulbus tibi missus ab oris,
Whether a Daunian bulb is sent to you, or one from Libyan shores,
An veniat Megaris, noxius omnis erit.
or whether it comes from Megara, every bulb will be harmful.
Nec minus erucas aptum vitare salaces,
Nor is it less fitting to avoid lustful rockets,
Et quicquid Veneri corpora nostra parat.
and whatever prepares our bodies for Venus.
Utilius sumas acuentes lumina rutas,
It is more useful to take rues that sharpen the eyes,
Et quidquid Veneri corpora nostra negat.
and whatever denies our bodies to Venus.
Quid tibi praecipiam de Bacchi munere, quaeris?
Do you ask what I would prescribe for you concerning the gift of Bacchus?
Spe brevius monitis expediere meis.
Swifter than expectation, you will be set free by my advice.
Vina parant animum Veneri, nisi plurima sumas
Wines prepare the mind for Venus, unless you take very much
Et stupeant multo corda sepulta mero.
and the heart buried in much unmixed wine is benumbed.
Nutritur vento, vento restinguitur ignis:
Fire is nourished by the wind, and by the wind it is extinguished:
Lenis alit flammas, grandior aura necat.
a gentle breeze nourishes the flames, a greater wind kills them.
Aut nulla ebrietas, aut tanta sit, ut tibi curas
Let there be either no drunkenness, or so much that it snatches away
Eripiat; siqua est inter utrumque, nocet.
your cares; if there is any between the two, it harms.
Hoc opus exegi: fessae date serta carinae;
I have completed this work: give garlands to the tired keel;
Contigimus portus, quo mihi cursus erat.
we have reached the port, whither my course was.
Postmodo reddetis sacro pia vota poetae,
Afterwards you will render pious vows to the sacred poet,
Carmine sanati femina virque meo.
woman and man healed by my song.
- 743Perdat
Present subjunctive expressing concession or hypothesis ("If Phaedra were to lose..."). It shares a counterfactual nuance with fecisses in §745, but here it is combined with the future indicative parces.
- 751tanti
Genitive of value ("of such great value"). Combined with the present subjunctive sit, it acts as a command ("let it be of such value to you"), taking the infinitive phrase non indulgere as its virtual subject.
- 780quod si non faceret, turpiter esset iners
The relative pronoun quod (referring to the action of making love to Briseis, implied by fecit) is placed before the si-clause, forming a counterfactual conditional sentence (faceret... esset) in the past. It ironically explains that Agamemnon did indeed sleep with her.
- 784sceptrum non putat esse deos
Accusative with infinitive construction ("he does not think the sceptre is gods"). Since the sceptre itself is not a deity, it suggests that Agamemnon feels free to swear falsely by it (having actually touched Briseis) without fearing divine punishment.