Humanitext Reader

Ovid · The Loves §2.9a.1-2.9a.24

Plea to Cupid for Release from Love's Warfare

Passage 26 of 53 · Latin

Summary

The poet complains to Cupid, asking why the god continues to torment a faithful soldier of love instead of conquering new targets, and pleads for his well-deserved retirement.

§2.9a.1O numquam pro re satis indignande Cupido, §2.9a.2O in corde meo desidiose puer — §2.9a.3Quid me, qui miles numquam tua signa reliqui, §2.9a.4Laedis, et in castris vulneror ipse meis?
O Cupid, never to be resented enough in proportion to your conduct, O boy, sluggish in my heart — Why do you hurt me, who as a soldier never left your standards, and why am I myself wounded in my own camp?
§2.9a.5Cur tua fax urit, figit tuus arcus amicos?
Why does your torch burn, why does your bow pierce friends?
§2.9a.6Gloria pugnantes vincere maior erat.
The glory to conquer those who fight back would have been greater.
§2.9a.7Quid? non Haemonius, quem cuspide perculit, heros §2.9a.8Confossum medica postmodo iuvit ope?
What? Did not the Haemonian hero, whom he struck with his spear, help him afterwards with healing aid when he was pierced?
§2.9a.9Venator sequitur fugientia; capta relinquit §2.9a.10Semper et inventis ulteriora petit.
The hunter pursues fleeing things; he leaves behind captured things, and always seeks things further than what has been found.
§2.9a.11Nos tua sentimus, populus tibi deditus, arma; §2.9a.12Pigra reluctanti cessat in hoste manus.
We, a people dedicated to you, feel your weapons; your hand, lazy, ceases against a resisting enemy.
§2.9a.13Quid iuvat in nudis hamata retundere tela
What pleasure does it give to blunt barbed weapons in bare bones?
§2.9a.14Ossibus? ossa mihi nuda relinquit amor.
Love leaves me bare bones.
§2.9a.15Tot sine amore viri, tot sunt sine amore puellae! — §2.9a.16Hinc tibi cum magna laude triumphus eat.
There are so many men without love, so many girls without love! — From here let a triumph go for you with great praise.
§2.9a.17Roma, nisi inmensum vires promosset in orbem, §2.9a.18Stramineis esset nunc quoque tecta casis.
Rome, unless she had extended her strength into the immense world, would even now be covered with straw-roofed cottages.
§2.9a.19Fessus in acceptos miles deducitur agros; §2.9a.20Mittitur in saltus carcere liber equus; §2.9a.21Longaque subductam celant navalia pinum, §2.9a.22Tutaque deposito poscitur ense rudis.
The tired soldier is led off into the fields he received; the horse, freed from the starting gate, is sent into the pastures; and the long shipyards conceal the hauled-up pine ship, and the wooden sword is demanded in safety, the iron sword being laid aside.
§2.9a.23Me quoque, qui totiens merui sub amore puellae, §2.9a.24Defunctum placide vivere tempus erat.
Me too, who have served so many times under the love of a girl, it was time to live peacefully, having finished my service.

Notes

  1. 2.9a.1pro re — The preposition `pro` here means "in proportion to" or "in accordance with," and `res` refers to Cupid's conduct or actions. Thus, "in proportion to your deeds / conduct."
  2. 2.9a.6erat — The indicative imperfect `erat` is used here to express a potential or unfulfilled propriety/obligation in past or present time without a formal conditional clause ("it would have been a greater glory to conquer...").
  3. 2.9a.23merui — The military verb `merere` (or `mereri`) literally means "to earn pay," serving as a shorthand for `stipendia merere` ("to serve as a soldier"). It continues the metaphor of the poet as a soldier of love (*miles amoris*).
  4. 2.9a.24tempus erat — The imperfect `tempus erat` ("it was time") is used to express that the proper time for an action has already arrived or passed, conveying a sense of unfulfilled propriety or a complaint that the peaceful retirement has not yet materialized.

Cite this passage

Ovid, The Loves §2.9a.1-2.9a.24. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0959.phi001.humanitext-lat2:2.9a.1-2.9a.24

Please note the AI-draft status of the translation and the date accessed.

Translation, notes and summary are AI-generated drafts, revised through reader feedback.