Humanitext Reader

Ovid · The Loves §1.12.1-1.12.30

Corinna's Refusal and Curses on the Tablets

Passage 14 of 53 · Latin

Summary

Having received a refusal from Corinna, the poet vents his anger and curses on the tablets, the ill-omened trip of his maid, and the cursed tree from which the tablets were crafted.

§1.12.1Flete meos casus — tristes rediere tabellae §1.12.2Infelix hodie littera posse negat.
Weep for my misfortunes — the gloomy tablets have returned; the ill-omened letter denies that she can today.
§1.12.3Omina sunt aliquid; modo cum discedere vellet, §1.12.4Ad limen digitos restitit icta Nape.
Omens are something; just when she wanted to depart, Nape stood still, having struck her toes against the threshold.
§1.12.5Missa foras iterum limen transire memento §1.12.6Cautius atque alte sobria ferre pedem!
Sent out of doors again, remember to cross the threshold more cautiously and to lift your foot high, soberly!
§1.12.7Ite hinc, difficiles, funebria ligna, tabellae, §1.12.8Tuque, negaturis cera referta notis! —
Go hence, troublesome tablets, funeral wood, and you, wax filled with notes that will deny!
§1.12.9Quam, puto, de longae collectam flore cicutae §1.12.10Melle sub infami Corsica misit apis.
Which, I think, gathered from the flower of tall hemlock, the Corsican bee sent under infamous honey.
§1.12.11At tamquam minio penitus medicata rubebas — §1.12.12Ille color vere sanguinolentus erat.
Yet you were red, as if thoroughly dyed with cinnabar — that color was truly bloody.
§1.12.13Proiectae triviis iaceatis, inutile lignum, §1.12.14Vosque rotae frangat praetereuntis onus!
May you lie cast out at the crossroads, useless wood, and may the weight of a passing wheel crush you!
§1.12.15Illum etiam, qui vos ex arbore vertit in usum, §1.12.16Convincam puras non habuisse manus.
And even him, who turned you from a tree into this use, I will prove did not have clean hands.
§1.12.17Praebuit illa arbor misero suspendia collo, §1.12.18Carnifici diras praebuit illa cruces; §1.12.19Illa dedit turpes raucis bubonibus umbras, §1.12.20Vulturis in ramis et strigis ova tulit.
That tree offered hanging for a miserable neck, it offered dreadful crosses to the executioner; It gave ugly shade to hoarse owls, and bore the eggs of the vulture and the screech-owl on its branches.
§1.12.21His ego commisi nostros insanus amores §1.12.22Molliaque ad dominam verba ferenda dedi?
Did I, insane, entrust our love to these, and give soft words to be carried to my mistress?
§1.12.23Aptius hae capiant vadimonia garrula cerae, §1.12.24Quas aliquis duro cognitor ore legat; §1.12.25Inter ephemeridas melius tabulasque iacerent, §1.12.26In quibus absumptas fleret avarus opes.
These waxes would more fitly hold wordy recognizances, which some advocate might read with a hard voice; they would lie better among account books and ledgers, in which a miser might weep over spent wealth.
§1.12.27Ergo ego vos rebus duplices pro nomine sensi.
Therefore I have found you double in reality, in accordance with your name.
§1.12.28Auspicii numerus non erat ipse boni.
The very number was not of good omen.
§1.12.29Quid precer iratus, nisi vos cariosa senectus §1.12.30Rodat, et inmundo cera sit alba situ?
What should I pray in my anger, except that decaying age may gnaw you, and your wax may grow white with filthy mold?

Notes

  1. 1.12.4digitos — Accusative of specification (Greek accusative) modifying icta, indicating the part of the body affected (toes). The phrase means "having struck her toes."
  2. 1.12.9Quam — Relative pronoun in the feminine accusative singular referring back to cera. The core structure is Corsica apis misit quam... (the Corsican bee sent it [gathered from...]), and melle sub infami means "under/mixed with infamous (poisonous) honey."
  3. 1.12.27duplices — A wordplay (double meaning) is used here. It refers physically to "two-leaved (tablets)" and metaphorically to "two-faced, deceitful." This double sense is reinforced by pro nomine ("in accordance with your name").

Cite this passage

Ovid, The Loves §1.12.1-1.12.30. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0959.phi001.humanitext-lat2:1.12.1-1.12.30

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