Humanitext Reader

Ovid · Sorrows §2.1.245-2.1.327

Defense of the Audience and Morality of the Art of Love

Passage 17 of 60 · Latin

Summary

Ovid argues that his 'Art of Love' was written only for courtesans and explicitly excluded respectable matrons. He explains that any literature, entertainment, or even sacred temples and myths can be corrupted by a twisted mind, and concludes by expressing regret for not choosing grand epic themes like Troy or the deeds of Rome.

§2.1.245neve, quibus scribam, possis dubitare, libellos, §2.1.246quattuor hos versus e tribus unus habet: §2.1.247este procul, vittae tenues, insigne pudoris, §2.1.248quaeque tegis medios instita longa pedes!
And lest you should be able to doubt for whom I write my books, one of those three [books] contains these four verses: "Keep far away, thin headbands, the emblem of modesty, and you, long flounce that covers the feet to the middle!
§2.1.249nil nisi legitimum concessitque furta canemus, §2.1.250inque meo nullum carmine crimen erit. §2.1.251ecquid ab hac omnes rigide summovimus Arte, §2.1.252quas stola contingi vittaque sumpta vetat?
We shall sing of nothing but what is lawful and permitted unions, and in my song there shall be no crime." Did we not strictly exclude from this 'Art' all those women whom the stola and the assumed fillet forbid to be touched?
§2.1.253at matrona potest alienis artibus uti, quodque §2.1.254trahat, quamvis non doceatur, habet.
But a matron can use arts meant for others, and she has something to draw her, even if she is not taught.
§2.1.255nil igitur matrona legat, quia carmine ab omni §2.1.256ad delinquendum doctior esse potest.
Let a matron therefore read nothing, since from every poem she can become more learned in committing offenses.
§2.1.257quodcumque attigerit, siqua est studiosa sinistri, §2.1.258ad vitium mores instruet inde suos.
Whatever she touches, if any woman is eager for what is bad, she will mold her character from it toward vice.
§2.1.259sumpserit Annales—nihil est hirsutius illis— §2.1.260facta sit unde parens Ilia, nempe leget, §2.1.261sumpserit Aeneadum genetrix ubi prima, requiret, §2.1.262Aeneadum genetrix unde sit alma Venus.
Let her take up the Annals—nothing is more rugged than those— she will surely read how Ilia became a mother, let her take up where she first reads "Mother of the Aeneadae", she will ask whence nurturing Venus is the mother of the Aeneadae.
§2.1.263persequar inferius, modo si licet ordine ferri, §2.1.264posse nocere animis carminis omne genus.
I shall follow up below, if only it is permitted to be carried on in order, that every kind of poem can harm minds.
§2.1.265non tamen idcirco crimen liber omnis habebit: §2.1.266nil prodest, quod non laedere possit idem.
Yet not on that account will every book contain a crime: nothing is useful, which cannot also harm.
§2.1.267igne quid utilius? siquis tamen urere tecta
What is more useful than fire?
§2.1.268comparat, audaces instruit igne manus.
Yet if anyone prepares to burn houses, he arms his bold hands with fire.
§2.1.269eripit interdum, modo dat medicina salutem, §2.1.270quaeque iuvet, monstrat, quaeque sit herba nocens.
Medicine sometimes takes away health, sometimes gives it, and shows which herb is helpful and which is harmful.
§2.1.271et latro et cautus praecingitur ense viator; §2.1.272ille sed insidias, hic sibi portat opem.
Both the robber and the cautious traveler are girt with a sword; but the former carries it for ambush, the latter for help to himself.
§2.1.273discitur innocuas ut agat facundia causas; §2.1.274protegit haec sontes, inmeritosque premit.
Eloquence is learned so that it may plead innocent causes; yet it protects the guilty and oppresses the innocent.
§2.1.275sic igitur carmen, recta si mente legatur, §2.1.276constabit nulli posse nocere meum.
So therefore my song, if it is read with a upright mind, will be proved to be able to harm no one.
§2.1.277at quasdam vitio. quicumque hoc concipit, errat, §2.1.278et nimium scriptis arrogat ille meis.
"But it harms certain women." Whoever conceives this is mistaken, and he attributes too much to my writings.
§2.1.279ut tamen hoc fatear, ludi quoque semina praebent §2.1.280nequitiae: tolli tota theatra iube!
Yet even if I grant this, games also provide the seeds of wickedness: order all theatres to be abolished!
§2.1.281peccandi causam multis quam saepe dederunt. §2.1.282Martia cum durum sternit harena solum!
How often have they given the cause of sinning to many, when the Martian sand covers the hard ground!
§2.1.283tollatur Circus! non tuta licentia Circi est.
Let the Circus be abolished! The freedom of the Circus is not safe.
§2.1.284hic sedet ignoto iuncta puella viro.
Here sits a girl joined to an unknown man.
§2.1.285cum quaedam spatientur in hoc, ut amator eodem §2.1.286conveniat, quare porticus ulla patet.
Since certain women stroll in this place so that a lover may meet in the same place, why is any portico open?
§2.1.287quis locus est templis augustior? haec quoque vitet,
What place is more august than the temples?
§2.1.288in culpam siqua est ingeniosa suam.
Let her avoid these too, if any woman is ingenious for her own fault.
§2.1.289cum steterit Iovis aede, Iovis succurret in aede §2.1.290quam multas matres fecerit ille deus.
When she stands in the temple of Jupiter, in the temple of Jupiter it will occur to her how many mothers that god made.
§2.1.291proxima adoranti Iunonis templa subibit, §2.1.292paelicibus multis hanc doluisse deam.
Adoring, she will enter the nearest temple of Juno, and recall that this goddess grieved because of many mistresses.
§2.1.293Pallade conspecta, natum de crimine virgo §2.1.294sustulerit quare, quaeret, Erichthonium.
At the sight of Pallas, she will ask why the virgin goddess raised Erichthonius, born from a crime.
§2.1.295venerit in magni templum, tua munera, Martis, §2.1.296stat Venus Ultori iuncta, vir ante fores.
If she comes to the temple of great Mars, your gift, Venus stands joined to the Avenger, the husband is before the doors.
§2.1.297Isidis aede sedens, cur hanc Saturnia, quaeret, §2.1.298egerit Ionio Bosphorioque mari.
Sitting in the temple of Isis, she will ask why the daughter of Saturn drove her through the Ionian and Bosphorian seas.
§2.1.299in Venerem Anchises, in Lunam Latmius heros, §2.1.300in Cererem Iasion, qui referatur, erit.
Anchises will be referred to Venus, the Latmian hero to Luna, Iasion to Ceres, to be related.
§2.1.301omnia perversae possunt corrumpere mentes; §2.1.302stant tamen illa suis omnia tuta locis, §2.1.303et procul a scripta solis meretricibus Arte §2.1.304summovet ingenuas pagina prima manus.
Perverted minds can corrupt everything; yet all those things stand safe in their own places, and far from the 'Art' written only for courtesans, the first page removes the hands of freeborn women.
§2.1.305quaecumque erupit, qua non sinit ire sacerdos, §2.1.306protinus huic dempti criminis ipsa rea est.
Whosoever has burst in where the priest does not permit to go, immediately she herself is guilty of the crime which was removed.
§2.1.307nec tamen est facinus versus evolvere mollis; §2.1.308multa licet castae non facienda legant.
Yet it is no crime to turn over soft verses; chaste women may read many things that should not be done.
§2.1.309saepe supercilii nudas matrona severi §2.1.310et veneris stantis ad genus omne videt, §2.1.311corpora Vestales oculi meretricia cernunt, §2.1.312nec domino poenae res ea causa fuit.
Often a matron of severe brow sees naked women and every kind of standing love-making, the eyes of Vestals behold the bodies of courtesans, nor was that matter a cause of punishment to their owner.
§2.1.313at cur in nostra nimia est lascivia Musa, §2.1.314curve meus cuiquam suadet amare liber?
But why is there excessive playfulness in our Muse, or why does my book persuade anyone to love?
§2.1.315nil nisi peccatum manifestaque culpa fatenda est: §2.1.316paenitet ingenii iudiciique mei.
Nothing but sin and manifest fault must be confessed: I repent of my talent and my judgment.
§2.1.317cur non Argolicis potius quae concidit armis §2.1.318vexata est iterum carmine Troia meo?
Why was Troy, which fell rather to Argolic arms, not harassed again by my song?
§2.1.319cur tacui Thebas et vulnera mutua fratrum, §2.1.320et septem portas, sub duce quamque suo?
Why did I keep silent about Thebes and the mutual wounds of brothers, and the seven gates, each under its own leader?
§2.1.321nec mihi materiam bellatrix Roma negabat, §2.1.322et pius est patriae facta referre labor.
Warlike Rome did not deny me material, and it is a pious labor to relate the deeds of the homeland.
§2.1.323denique cum meritis impleveris omnia, Caesar, §2.1.324pars mihi de multis una canenda fuit, §2.1.325utque trahunt oculos radiantia lumina solis, §2.1.326traxissent animum sic tua facta meum.
Finally, when you filled all things with your merits, Caesar, one part out of many was to be sung by me, and as the radiant lights of the sun draw the eyes, so your deeds would have drawn my mind.
§2.1.327arguor iumento, tenuis mihi campus aratur;
I am accused because of a beast of burden, a thin field is plowed by me;

Notes

  1. 2.1.259sumpserit — Perfect subjunctive expressing a concession or hypothesis ('suppose she has taken up'). The same usage is found in sumpserit in line 261. It introduces the hypothetical argument that even in a rugged work like the Annals, a reader with improper motives would focus on scandalous mythological stories like Ilia's pregnancy.
  2. 2.1.266nil prodest, quod non laedere possit idem — The antecedent of the relative pronoun quod is nil. The pronoun idem ('the same thing') functions as the subject, expressing the general principle that nothing is useful unless it is also capable of doing harm. This sentence forms the conceptual framework that connects to the subsequent analogies of fire and medicine.
  3. 2.1.277at quasdam vitio — An ellipsis of a verb such as laedit ('harms, corrupts') is to be understood between the accusative quasdam and the ablative vitio. It presents a shortened form of an imaginary opponent's objection ('But it corrupts certain women').
  4. 2.1.308multa licet castae non facienda legant — The conjunction licet introduces a concessive clause with the subjunctive (legant), meaning 'although' or 'it is permitted that'. The phrase non facienda is a gerundive expressing obligation ('things that ought not to be done') acting as the direct object of legant.
  5. 2.1.327arguor iumento — The word iumento ('beast of burden') is an ablative of means or cause. It refers to the accusation that the poet handles a humble theme (campus aratur, a thin field is plowed) instead of a grand chariot of epic poetry, or acts as a metaphorical expression of writing about love. Here, the scale of his poetry is contrasted as a 'thin field'.

Cite this passage

Ovid, Sorrows §2.1.245-2.1.327. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0959.phi008.humanitext-lat2:2.1.245-2.1.327

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