§3.734Corripit, in dextra tela fuere manu.
He snatches it; in his right hand were the weapons.
§3.735Quid facis, infelix? non est fera, supprime tela!
What are you doing, unhappy man? It is no wild beast, hold back your weapons!
§3.736Me miserum! iaculo fixa puella tuo est.
Ah, wretched me! The girl has been pierced by your javelin.
§3.737'Ei mihi!' conclamat 'fixisti pectus amicum.
"Alas for me!" she cries aloud, "you have pierced a loving breast.
§3.738Hic locus a Cephalo vulnera semper habet.
This place always receives wounds from Cephalus.
I die before my time, but harmed by no rival: This will make you, O earth, light for me when I am laid to rest.
§3.741Nomine suspectas iam spiritus exit in auras: §3.742Labor, eo, cara lumina conde manu!' §3.743Ille sinu dominae morientia corpora maesto §3.744Sustinet, et lacrimis vulnera saeva lavat: §3.745Exit, et incauto paulatim pectore lapsus §3.746Excipitur miseri spiritus ore viri.
Now my breath departs into the suspected breezes of that name: I slip away, I go; close my eyes with your dear hand!" He supports the dying body of his mistress on his sad breast, and washes the cruel wounds with his tears: The spirit departs, and, slipping gradually from her heedless breast, is received by the mouth of her wretched husband.
But let us return to our work: I must proceed with plain facts, so that the weary ship may reach its own harbor.
You wait anxiously for me to lead you to banquets, and you seek my advice in this part too.
Come late, and enter gracefully when the lamp is set: You will come welcome because of the delay; delay is the greatest go-between.
Even if you are plain, you will seem beautiful to those who have drunk, and night itself will grant a hiding place for your defects.
Take food with your fingers: there is something in the gesture of eating: nor smear your whole face with a dirty hand.
§3.757Neve domi praesume dapes, sed desine citra §3.758Quam capis; es paulo quam potes esse minus; §3.759Priamides Helenen avide si spectet edentem, §3.760Oderit, et dicat 'stulta rapina mea est. ' §3.761Aptius est, deceatque magis potare puellas: §3.762Cum Veneris puero non male, Bacche, facis.
Nor feast beforehand at home, but stop short of what you can contain; eat a little less than you are able; If Priam's son should see Helen eating greedily, he would hate her, and say "My plunder was foolish." It is more fitting, and becomes girls more, to drink: O Bacchus, you do not go badly with Venus' boy.
§3.763Hoc quoque, qua patiens caput est, animusque pedesque §3.764Constant: nec, quae sunt singula, bina vide.
This too, as far as the head can bear, and the mind and feet stand firm: nor see double what is single.
Disgraceful is a woman lying soaked in much wine: she is worthy to suffer any kind of intercourse.
Nor is it safe to succumb to sleep when the table is set: many shameful things are wont to happen during sleep.
§3.769Ulteriora pudet docuisse: sed alma Dione §3.770'Praecipue nostrum est, quod pudet' inquit 'opus. ' §3.771Nota sibi sit quaeque: modos a corpore certos §3.772Sumite: non omnes una figura decet.
I am ashamed to teach what lies beyond: but bountiful Dione says, "Precisely that which causes shame is our work." Let each woman know herself: take certain modes from your body: one posture does not suit all.
She who is outstanding in face, let her lie on her back: let them be viewed from behind, whom their own backs please.
Milanion used to bear Atalanta's legs on his shoulders: if they are beautiful, they should be received in this way.
Let a small woman ride as on a horse: because she was very tall, the Theban bride never sat on Hector's horse.
Let a woman to be admired for her long side press the sheets with her knees, with her neck slightly bent back.
§3.781Cui femur est iuvenale, carent quoque pectora menda, §3.782Stet vir, in obliquo fusa sit ipsa toro.
She whose thigh is youthful, and whose breasts are free from blemish, let the man stand, and let her be stretched across the bed.
§3.783Nec tibi turpe puta crinem, ut Phylleïa mater, §3.784Solvere, et effusis colla reflecte comis.
Nor think it disgraceful for you to loosen your hair, like the Phylleian mother, and bend back your neck with disheveled locks.
You too, whose womb Lucina has marked with wrinkles, use the back-turned horse like the swift Parthian.
There are a thousand ways of love; simple and of least labor is when she lies half-reclined on her right side.
§3.789Sed neque Phoebei tripodes nec corniger Ammon §3.790Vera magis vobis, quam mea Musa, canet: §3.791Siqua fides arti, quam longo fecimus usu, §3.792Credite: praestabunt carmina nostra fidem.
But neither Apollo’s tripods nor horned Ammon will sing more truths to you than my Muse: If there is any faith in art, which we have acquired through long experience, believe it: our songs will guarantee that faith.
Let the woman, melted, feel love from her deepest marrow, and let that act delight the two of them equally.
Nor let sweet words and pleasant murmurs cease, nor let naughty words be silent in the midst of play.
You too, to whom nature has denied the sensation of love, feign sweet joys with a false sound.
Unhappy girl, for whom that dull place is numb, which woman and man ought to enjoy alike.
Only, when you feign, take care not to be obvious: create belief by your movement and your very eyes.
§3.803Quam iuvet, et voces et anhelitus arguat oris;
Let both your voice and the panting of your mouth prove how much it delights you; Ah!
§3.804A! pudet, arcanas pars habet ista notas.
I am ashamed, that part has its secret signs.
§3.805Gaudia post Veneris quae poscet munus amantem, §3.806Illa suas nolet pondus habere preces. . . .
She who after the joys of Venus demands a gift from her lover, will not want her own prayers to have weight.
Nor admit the light into your bedchambers through wide-open windows; many things on your body are more fittingly hidden.
The play has an end: it is time to dismount from the swans which have drawn our yoke with their necks.