Ovid: ARS AMATORIA

Siquis in hoc artem populo non novit amandi,
     Hoc legat et lecto carmine doctus amet.
Arte citae veloque rates remoque moventur,
     Arte leves currus: arte regendus amor.
Curribus Automedon lentisque erat aptus habenis,

If anyone in this people does not know the art of loving,
     let him read this, and, the song read, let him, learned, love.
By art the swift ships are moved by sail and by oar,
     by art the light chariots; by art love must be ruled.
Automedon was apt for chariots and for supple reins,

     Tiphys in Haemonia puppe magister erat:
Me Venus artificem tenero praefecit Amori;
     Tiphys et Automedon dicar Amoris ego.
Ille quidem ferus est et qui mihi saepe repugnet:
     Sed puer est, aetas mollis et apta regi.

     Tiphys was master on a Haemonian ship;
Venus appointed me, an artificer, over tender Love;
     I may be called the Tiphys and Automedon of Love.
He indeed is savage and one who often resists me;
     But he is a boy, an age soft and apt to be ruled.

Phillyrides puerum cithara perfecit Achillem,
     Atque animos placida contudit arte feros.
Qui totiens socios, totiens exterruit hostes,
     Creditur annosum pertimuisse senem.
Quas Hector sensurus erat, poscente magistro

Phillyrides perfected the boy Achilles with the cithara,
     And with a placid art he crushed his fierce spirits.
He who so often terrified his allies, so often his enemies,
     Is believed to have feared the aged old man.
The things which Hector was going to feel, with the master demanding

     Verberibus iussas praebuit ille manus.
Aeacidae Chiron, ego sum praeceptor Amoris:
     Saevus uterque puer, natus uterque dea.
Sed tamen et tauri cervix oneratur aratro,
     Frenaque magnanimi dente teruntur equi;

     He proffered the hands ordered for lashes.
Chiron was the preceptor of the Aeacid; I am the preceptor of Love:
     Each boy is savage, each born of a goddess.
But yet the neck of the bull is burdened with the plow,
     and the bits of the magnanimous horse are worn by the tooth;

Et mihi cedet Amor, quamvis mea vulneret arcu
     Pectora, iactatas excutiatque faces.
Quo me fixit Amor, quo me violentius ussit,
     Hoc melior facti vulneris ultor ero:
Non ego, Phoebe, datas a te mihi mentiar artes,

And Love will yield to me too, although he wounds my breast with his bow
     and shakes his brandished torches.
The more Love has fixed me, the more violently he has scorched me,
     by so much the better avenger of the wound he has wrought shall I be:
I will not, Phoebus, lie about the arts granted by you to me,

     Nec nos aeriae voce monemur avis,
Nec mihi sunt visae Clio Cliusque sorores
     Servanti pecudes vallibus, Ascra, tuis:
Usus opus movet hoc: vati parete perito;
     Vera canam: coeptis, mater Amoris, ades!

     Nor are we warned by the voice of the aerial bird,
Nor have Clio and her sisters been seen by me
     as I was keeping flocks in your valleys, Ascra:
Use moves this work: obey a skilled poet;
     I shall sing true things: be present to my undertakings, mother of Love!

Este procul, vittae tenues, insigne pudoris,
     Quaeque tegis medios, instita longa, pedes.
Nos venerem tutam concessaque furta canemus,
     Inque meo nullum carmine crimen erit.
Principio, quod amare velis, reperire labora,

Be far away, slender fillets, insignia of modesty,
     and you, long instita, who cover the middle of the feet.
We shall sing of secure Venus and conceded thefts,
     and in my song there will be no crime.
To begin with, labor to discover what you wish to love,

     Qui nova nunc primum miles in arma venis.
Proximus huic labor est placitam exorare puellam:
     Tertius, ut longo tempore duret amor.
Hic modus, haec nostro signabitur area curru:
     Haec erit admissa meta terenda rota.

     You who now for the first time come as a soldier into new arms.
Next to this the labor is to win over the girl who has pleased you:
     Third, that love may endure for a long time.
This is the mode; this area will be marked out by our chariot:
     This will be the meta to be worn down by the wheel at full run.

Dum licet, et loris passim potes ire solutis,
     Elige cui dicas 'tu mihi sola places.'
Haec tibi non tenues veniet delapsa per auras:
     Quaerenda est oculis apta puella tuis.
Scit bene venator, cervis ubi retia tendat,

While it is permitted, and you can go everywhere with reins loosened,
     Choose to whom you may say 'you alone please me.'
This will not come to you wafted down through thin airs:
     A girl apt for your eyes must be sought.
The hunter knows well where he should stretch his nets for stags,

     Scit bene, qua frendens valle moretur aper;
Aucupibus noti frutices; qui sustinet hamos,
     Novit quae multo pisce natentur aquae:
Tu quoque, materiam longo qui quaeris amori,
     Ante frequens quo sit disce puella loco.

     He knows well in what valley the gnashing boar lingers;
To bird-catchers the shrubs are known; he who bears hooks,
     knows which waters are swum with much fish:
You also, who seek material for a long love,
     first learn in what place the girl is frequent.

Non ego quaerentem vento dare vela iubebo,
     Nec tibi, ut invenias, longa terenda via est.
Andromedan Perseus nigris portarit ab Indis,
     Raptaque sit Phrygio Graia puella viro,
Tot tibi tamque dabit formosas Roma puellas,

I will not bid you, as you seek, to give sails to the wind,
     Nor need you tread a long road in order to find;
Perseus may have carried Andromeda from the black Indians,
     and a Greek girl may have been carried off for a Phrygian man,
So many and so very beautiful girls will Rome give to you,

     'Haec habet' ut dicas 'quicquid in orbe fuit.'
Gargara quot segetes, quot habet Methymna racemos,
     Aequore quot pisces, fronde teguntur aves,
Quot caelum stellas, tot habet tua Roma puellas:
     Mater in Aeneae constitit urbe sui.

     'It has,' so that you may say, 'whatever has been in the world.'
As many sown fields as Gargara has, as many grape-clusters as Methymna has,
     as many fish in the sea, as many birds are covered by foliage,
as many stars as the sky, so many girls your Rome has:
     the Mother has taken her stand in the city of her own Aeneas.

Seu caperis primis et adhuc crescentibus annis,
     Ante oculos veniet vera puella tuos:
Sive cupis iuvenem, iuvenes tibi mille placebunt.
     Cogeris voti nescius esse tui:
Seu te forte iuvat sera et sapientior aetas,

Whether you are captivated by prime and still-crescent years,
     before your eyes the true girl will come:
Or if you desire a young woman, a thousand young women will please you.
     you will be compelled to be unknowing of your own desire:
Or if perhaps a later and more sapient age delights you,

     Hoc quoque, crede mihi, plenius agmen erit.
Tu modo Pompeia lentus spatiare sub umbra,
     Cum sol Herculei terga leonis adit:
Aut ubi muneribus nati sua munera mater
     Addidit, externo marmore dives opus.

     This too, believe me, will be a fuller throng.
Only leisurely stroll under the Pompeian shade,
     When the sun approaches the back of the Herculean lion:
Or where a mother has added her own gifts to her son’s gifts,
     A work rich with foreign marble.

Nec tibi vitetur quae, priscis sparsa tabellis,
     Porticus auctoris Livia nomen habet:
Quaque parare necem miseris patruelibus ausae
     Belides et stricto stat ferus ense pater.
Nec te praetereat Veneri ploratus Adonis,

Nor let it be avoided by you, that which, sprinkled with pristine tablets,
     the Portico bears the name of its author, Livia:
And where the Belids, who dared to prepare death for their wretched paternal cousins,
     and the fierce father stands with a drawn sword.
Nor let the Adonis lamented by Venus pass you by,

     Cultaque Iudaeo septima sacra Syro.
Nec fuge linigerae Memphitica templa iuvencae:
     Multas illa facit, quod fuit ipsa Iovi.
Et fora conveniunt (quis credere possit?) amori:
     Flammaque in arguto saepe reperta foro:

     And the seventh-day sacred rites, cultivated by the Judaean Syrian.
Do not flee the Memphitic temples of the linen-bearing heifer:
     She makes many women, since she herself was for Jove.
And the fora suit love (who could believe it?):
     And a flame has often been found in the noisy forum:

Subdita qua Veneris facto de marmore templo
     Appias expressis aera pulsat aquis,
Illo saepe loco capitur consultus Amori,
     Quique aliis cavit, non cavet ipse sibi:
Illo saepe loco desunt sua verba diserto,

Where, set beneath the temple of Venus made of marble,
     Appias with pressed-out waters beats the bronze,
In that place often the man who has consulted Love is captured,
     and he who was cautious for others does not beware for himself:
In that place often the eloquent man’s own words fail him,

     Resque novae veniunt, causaque agenda sua est.
Hunc Venus e templis, quae sunt confinia, ridet:
     Qui modo patronus, nunc cupit esse cliens.
Sed tu praecipue curvis venare theatris:
     Haec loca sunt voto fertiliora tuo.

     And new affairs come, and one’s own cause must be pled.
Venus laughs at this man from the temples that are adjacent:
     He who just now was a patron now longs to be a client.
But you especially hunt in the curved theaters:
     These places are more fruitful for your vow.

Illic invenies quod ames, quod ludere possis,
     Quodque semel tangas, quodque tenere velis.
Ut redit itque frequens longum formica per agmen,
     Granifero solitum cum vehit ore cibum,
Aut ut apes saltusque suos et olentia nactae

There you will find what you may love, what you can play with,
     And what you may touch once, and what you may wish to hold.
As the ant goes back and forth in throng through a long column,
     when it carries the accustomed food with its grain-bearing mouth,
Or as bees, having found their own glades and the fragrant

     Pascua per flores et thyma summa volant,
Sic ruit ad celebres cultissima femina ludos:
     Copia iudicium saepe morata meum est.
Spectatum veniunt, veniunt spectentur ut ipsae:
     Ille locus casti damna pudoris habet.

     Over pastures through flowers and thyme’s summits they fly,
Thus the most cultivated woman rushes to the celebrated games:
     Abundance has often delayed my judgment.
They come to watch; they come that they themselves may be seen:
     That place holds the damages of chaste modesty.

100

Primus sollicitos fecisti, Romule, ludos,
     Cum iuvit viduos rapta Sabina viros.
Tunc neque marmoreo pendebant vela theatro,
     Nec fuerant liquido pulpita rubra croco;
Illic quas tulerant nemorosa Palatia, frondes

You first made the games anxious, Romulus,
     when a seized Sabine pleased widowed men.
Then neither were awnings hanging from a marble theatre,
     nor had the stages been red with liquid saffron;
there the leaves which the wooded Palatine had borne

105

     Simpliciter positae, scena sine arte fuit;
In gradibus sedit populus de caespite factis,
     Qualibet hirsutas fronde tegente comas.
Respiciunt, oculisque notant sibi quisque puellam
     Quam velit, et tacito pectore multa movent.

     Simply set, the scene was without art;
On steps made of sod the populace sat,
     With whatever foliage covering their hirsute locks.
They look back, and with their eyes each marks out for himself a girl
     Whom he wants, and in his silent breast each turns many thoughts.

110

Dumque, rudem praebente modum tibicine Tusco,
     Ludius aequatam ter pede pulsat humum,
In medio plausu (plausus tunc arte carebant)
     Rex populo praedae signa petita dedit.
Protinus exiliunt, animum clamore fatentes,

And while, with a Tuscan flute-player supplying a rough measure,
     the stage-player thrice beats the leveled ground with his foot,
In the midst of applause (applause then lacked art)
     the king gave to the people the desired signals for prey.
At once they leap up, confessing their intent with a shout,

115

     Virginibus cupidas iniciuntque manus.
Ut fugiunt aquilas, timidissima turba, columbae,
     Ut fugit invisos agna novella lupos:
Sic illae timuere viros sine more ruentes;
     Constitit in nulla qui fuit ante color.

     and they lay desirous hands upon the maidens.
As doves, the most timid throng, flee the eagles,
     as the newborn lamb flees the hated wolves:
Thus they feared the men rushing lawlessly;
     in none did the color which had been before remain.

120

Nam timor unus erat, facies non una timoris:
     Pars laniat crines, pars sine mente sedet;
Altera maesta silet, frustra vocat altera matrem:
     Haec queritur, stupet haec; haec manet, illa fugit;
Ducuntur raptae, genialis praeda, puellae,

For there was one fear, not one face of fear:
     Some tear their hair, some sit mindless;
Another, mournful, is silent; another calls her mother in vain:
     This one laments, this one is stupefied; this one stays, that one flees;
The girls, seized, are led away, nuptial prey,

125

     Et potuit multas ipse decere timor.
Siqua repugnarat nimium comitemque negabat,
     Sublatam cupido vir tulit ipse sinu,
Atque ita 'quid teneros lacrimis corrumpis ocellos?
     Quod matri pater est, hoc tibi' dixit 'ero.'

     And fear itself could be becoming to many.
If any woman had resisted too much and was refusing a companion,
     the man carried her, lifted, in his desirous bosom,
and thus: 'why do you spoil your tender little eyes with tears?'
     'What a father is to a mother, this I,' he said, 'will be to you.'

130

Romule, militibus scisti dare commoda solus:
     Haec mihi si dederis commoda, miles ero.
Scilicet ex illo sollemnia more theatra
     Nunc quoque formosis insidiosa manent.
Nec te nobilium fugiat certamen equorum;

Romulus, you alone knew how to give benefits to soldiers:
     If you give me these benefits, I will be a soldier.
Surely from that custom the theaters, solemn by custom,
     even now remain insidious for the beautiful.
Nor let the contest of noble horses escape you;

135

     Multa capax populi commoda Circus habet.
Nil opus est digitis, per quos arcana loquaris,
     Nec tibi per nutus accipienda nota est:
Proximus a domina, nullo prohibente, sedeto,
     Iunge tuum lateri qua potes usque latus;

     The Circus, capacious of people, has many conveniences.
There is no need of fingers, by which you might speak your arcana,
     Nor must a sign be taken by you through nods:
Sit next to your lady, with no one forbidding,
     Join your side to her side as far as you can;

140

Et bene, quod cogit, si nolis, linea iungi,
     Quod tibi tangenda est lege puella loci.
Hic tibi quaeratur socii sermonis origo,
     Et moveant primos publica verba sonos.
Cuius equi veniant, facito, studiose, requiras:

And well, that the line compels you to be joined, if you do not wish,
     that, by the law of the place, the girl must be touched by you.
Here let the origin of companionable conversation be sought by you,
     and let public words set the first sounds in motion.
See to it, eagerly, that you inquire whose horses are coming:

145

     Nec mora, quisquis erit, cui favet illa, fave.
At cum pompa frequens caelestibus ibit eburnis,
     Tu Veneri dominae plaude favente manu;
Utque fit, in gremium pulvis si forte puellae
     Deciderit, digitis excutiendus erit:

     And no delay: whoever he may be whom she favors, favor him.
But when the thronging parade goes with celestial ivories,
     you, applaud Venus the mistress with a favoring hand;
And as happens, if by chance dust falls into the girl’s lap
     it must be shaken off with your fingers:

150

Etsi nullus erit pulvis, tamen excute nullum:
     Quaelibet officio causa sit apta tuo.
Pallia si terra nimium demissa iacebunt,
     Collige, et inmunda sedulus effer humo;
Protinus, officii pretium, patiente puella

Even if there will be no dust, nevertheless brush off the nonexistent:
     Let any cause whatever be apt for your office.
If mantles shall lie too far let down upon the ground,
     Collect them, and sedulously carry them out of the unclean soil;
Straightway, the reward of your office, the girl being patient

155

     Contingent oculis crura videnda tuis.
Respice praeterea, post vos quicumque sedebit,
     Ne premat opposito mollia terga genu.
Parva leves capiunt animos: fuit utile multis
     Pulvinum facili composuisse manu.

     Her legs, to be seen, will meet your eyes.
Look back moreover, at whoever will be sitting behind you,
     lest he press her soft back with an opposing knee.
Small things capture light minds: it has been useful for many
     to have arranged a cushion with a ready hand.

160

Profuit et tenui ventos movisse tabella,
     Et cava sub tenerum scamna dedisse pedem.
Hos aditus Circusque novo praebebit amori,
     Sparsaque sollicito tristis harena foro.
Illa saepe puer Veneris pugnavit harena,

It has also been beneficial to have stirred breezes with a slender tablet,
     and to have given a hollow stool beneath her tender foot.
These approaches both the Circus will offer to a new love,
     and the sad sand strewn on the anxious Forum.
In that arena the Boy of Venus has often fought,

165

     Et qui spectavit vulnera, vulnus habet.
Dum loquitur tangitque manum poscitque libellum
     Et quaerit posito pignore, vincat uter,
Saucius ingemuit telumque volatile sensit,
     Et pars spectati muneris ipse fuit.

     And whoever has beheld the wounds, has a wound.
While he speaks and touches her hand and asks for the booklet
     and, the pledge set down, inquires which of the two will win,
Wounded, he groaned and felt the winged missile,
     and he himself was part of the spectacle he had watched.

170

Quid, modo cum belli navalis imagine Caesar
     Persidas induxit Cecropiasque rates?
Nempe ab utroque mari iuvenes, ab utroque puellae
     Venere, atque ingens orbis in Urbe fuit.
Quis non invenit turba, quod amaret, in illa?

What, when just now with the image of a naval war Caesar
     introduced Persian and Cecropian galleys?
Surely from both seas youths, and from both seas girls,
     came, and a huge world was in the City.
Who did not find in that crowd something to love?

175

     Eheu, quam multos advena torsit amor!
Ecce, parat Caesar domito quod defuit orbi
     Addere: nunc, oriens ultime, noster eris.
Parthe, dabis poenas: Crassi gaudete sepulti,
     Signaque barbaricas non bene passa manus.

     Alas, how many has love as a stranger tormented!
Behold, Caesar prepares to add to the tamed orb what was lacking:
     now, farthest East, you will be ours.
Parthian, you will pay penalties: you Crassi, buried, rejoice,
     and the standards that ill endured barbarian hands.

180

Ultor adest, primisque ducem profitetur in annis,
     Bellaque non puero tractat agenda puer.
Parcite natales timidi numerare deorum:
     Caesaribus virtus contigit ante diem.
Ingenium caeleste suis velocius annis

The Avenger is present, and in his earliest years he professes himself a leader,
     and, a boy, he handles wars not to be prosecuted by a boy.
Cease, you timid, to reckon the natal days of the gods:
     for Caesars, valor comes before its day.
A heavenly genius swifter than its own years

185

     Surgit, et ignavae fert male damna morae.
Parvus erat, manibusque duos Tirynthius angues
     Pressit, et in cunis iam Iove dignus erat.
Nunc quoque qui puer es, quantus tum, Bacche, fuisti,
     Cum timuit thyrsos India victa tuos?

     He rises, and grievously suffers the losses of slothful delay.
He was small, and with his hands the Tirynthian two serpents
     pressed, and in the cradle he was already worthy of Jove.
Even now, though you are a boy, how great then, Bacchus, you were,
     when conquered India feared your thyrsi?

190

Auspiciis annisque patris, puer, arma movebis,
     Et vinces annis auspiciisque patris:
Tale rudimentum tanto sub nomine debes,
     Nunc iuvenum princeps, deinde future senum;
Cum tibi sint fratres, fratres ulciscere laesos:

By the auspices and the years of your father, boy, you will set arms in motion,
     And you will conquer by the years and auspices of your father:
Such a rudiment you owe beneath so great a name,
     Now leader of the youths, then to be of the elders;
Since you have brothers, avenge brothers wronged:

195

     Cumque pater tibi sit, iura tuere patris.
Induit arma tibi genitor patriaeque tuusque:
     Hostis ab invito regna parente rapit;
Tu pia tela feres, sceleratas ille sagittas:
     Stabit pro signis iusque piumque tuis.

     And since you have a father, safeguard a father’s rights.
Your begetter dons arms for your fatherland and for you:
     The enemy snatches kingdoms from an unwilling parent;
You will bear pious weapons, he wicked arrows:
     Right and piety will stand before your standards.

200

Vincuntur causa Parthi: vincantur et armis;
     Eoas Latio dux meus addat opes.
Marsque pater Caesarque pater, date numen eunti:
     Nam deus e vobis alter es, alter eris.
Auguror, en, vinces; votivaque carmina reddam,

The Parthians are conquered in the cause; let them be conquered also by arms;
     Let my leader add Eoan wealth to Latium.
And father Mars and father Caesar, grant numen to the one going forth:
     For of you two, one is a god, the other will be.
I augur, lo, you will conquer; and I shall render votive songs,

205

     Et magno nobis ore sonandus eris.
Consistes, aciemque meis hortabere verbis;
     O desint animis ne mea verba tuis!
Tergaque Parthorum Romanaque pectora dicam,
     Telaque, ab averso quae iacit hostis equo.

     And you shall be resounded by us with a great voice.
You will take your stand, and you will encourage the battle line with my words;
     O may my words not be wanting to your spirits!
And I shall speak of the backs of the Parthians and the Roman breasts,
     and the missiles which the enemy hurls from an averted horse.

210

Qui fugis ut vincas, quid victo, Parthe, relinquis?
     Parthe, malum iam nunc Mars tuus omen habet.
Ergo erit illa dies, qua tu, pulcherrime rerum,
     Quattuor in niveis aureus ibis equis.
Ibunt ante duces onerati colla catenis,

You who flee so that you may conquer, what do you leave to the vanquished, Parthian?
     Parthian, even now your Mars holds an evil omen.
Therefore there will be that day, on which you, most fair of things,
     golden, you will go in a chariot with four snow-white horses.
The leaders will go before, their necks burdened with chains,

215

     Ne possint tuti, qua prius, esse fuga.
Spectabunt laeti iuvenes mixtaeque puellae,
     Diffundetque animos omnibus ista dies.
Atque aliqua ex illis cum regum nomina quaeret,
     Quae loca, qui montes, quaeve ferantur aquae,

     So that they may not be able to be safe, as before, by flight.
Glad youths and girls mingled will look on,
     and that day will diffuse spirits to all.
And when some girl from among them asks the names of the kings,
     what places, which mountains, and what waters flow,

220

Omnia responde, nec tantum siqua rogabit;
     Et quae nescieris, ut bene nota refer.
Hic est Euphrates, praecinctus harundine frontem:
     Cui coma dependet caerula, Tigris erit.
Hos facito Armenios; haec est Danaeia Persis:

Answer everything, and not only if some girl asks;
     and even what you do not know, report as if well-known.
This is the Euphrates, with his brow girt with reed:
     he whose cerulean hair hangs down will be the Tigris.
Mark these as Armenians; this is Danaëan Persia:

225

     Urbs in Achaemeniis vallibus ista fuit.
Ille vel ille, duces; et erunt quae nomina dicas,
     Si poteris, vere, si minus, apta tamen.
Dant etiam positis aditum convivia mensis:
     Est aliquid praeter vina, quod inde petas.

     That city was in Achaemenian valleys.
This one or that, leaders; and there will be names for you to say,
     If you can, truly; if not, apt nonetheless.
Banquets too grant access when the tables are set:
     There is something beyond wine that you may seek from there.

230

Saepe illic positi teneris adducta lacertis
     Purpureus Bacchi cornua pressit Amor:
Vinaque cum bibulas sparsere Cupidinis alas,
     Permanet et capto stat gravis ille loco.
Ille quidem pennas velociter excutit udas:

Often there, reclining, with tender arms drawn in,
     rosy Love has pressed the horns of Bacchus:
And when the wines have sprinkled Cupid’s bibulous wings,
     he remains, and, the place captured, he stands heavy there.
He indeed quickly shakes out his wet wings:

235

     Sed tamen et spargi pectus amore nocet.
Vina parant animos faciuntque caloribus aptos:
     Cura fugit multo diluiturque mero.
Tunc veniunt risus, tum pauper cornua sumit,
     Tum dolor et curae rugaque frontis abit.

     But yet for the breast to be sprinkled with love also harms.
Wines prepare the spirits and make them apt for heats:
     Care flees and is diluted by much unmixed wine.
Then laughter comes; then the pauper takes up horns,
     Then pain and cares and the wrinkle of the brow depart.

240

Tunc aperit mentes aevo rarissima nostro
     Simplicitas, artes excutiente deo.
Illic saepe animos iuvenum rapuere puellae,
     Et Venus in vinis ignis in igne fuit.
Hic tu fallaci nimium ne crede lucernae:

Then Simplicity, most rare in our age, opens minds
     the god shaking off the arts.
There often girls have snatched the spirits of youths,
     and in wines Venus was fire upon fire.
Here do not trust too much the fallacious lamp:

245

     Iudicio formae noxque merumque nocent.
Luce deas caeloque Paris spectavit aperto,
     Cum dixit Veneri 'vincis utramque, Venus.'
Nocte latent mendae, vitioque ignoscitur omni,
     Horaque formosam quamlibet illa facit.

     In the judgment of beauty, night and unmixed wine do harm.
By daylight and with the sky open Paris looked upon the goddesses,
     when he said to Venus, 'you conquer both, Venus.'
At night blemishes lie hidden, and every fault is forgiven,
     and that hour makes any woman beautiful.

250

Consule de gemmis, de tincta murice lana,
     Consule de facie corporibusque diem.
Quid tibi femineos coetus venatibus aptos
     Enumerem? numero cedet harena meo.
Quid referam Baias, praetextaque litora velis,

Consult about gems, about wool dyed with murex,
     Consult the day about the face and the bodies.
Why should I enumerate for you female gatherings fit for the hunt?
     The sand will yield to my number.
Why should I recount Baiae, and shores bordered with sails,

255

     Et quae de calido sulpure fumat aqua?
Hinc aliquis vulnus referens in pectore dixit
     'Non haec, ut fama est, unda salubris erat.'
Ecce suburbanae templum nemorale Dianae
     Partaque per gladios regna nocente manu:

     And what water steams with hot sulfur?
From here someone, bearing a wound on his breast, said
     'This water was not, as the rumor goes, salubrious.'
Behold the woodland temple of suburban Diana
     and the realms gained through swords by a noxious hand:

260

Illa, quod est virgo, quod tela Cupidinis odit,
     Multa dedit populo vulnera, multa dabit.
Hactenus, unde legas quod ames, ubi retia ponas,
     Praecipit imparibus vecta Thalea rotis.
Nunc tibi, quae placuit, quas sit capienda per artes,

She, because she is a virgin, because she hates the shafts of Cupid,
     has given many wounds to the people, she will give many.
Thus far, whence you may pick out what you love, where you may set your nets,
     Thalea, borne on unequal wheels, has given precepts.
Now, as for the one who has pleased you, by what arts she is to be captured,

265

     Dicere praecipuae molior artis opus.
Quisquis ubique, viri, dociles advertite mentes,
     Pollicitisque favens, vulgus, adeste meis.
Prima tuae menti veniat fiducia, cunctas
     Posse capi; capies, tu modo tende plagas.

     I set myself to tell the work of the foremost art.
Whoever, wherever, men, turn docile minds,
     and you crowd, favoring my promises, be present.
First let confidence come to your mind, that all
     can be captured; you will capture, only stretch your nets.

270

Vere prius volucres taceant, aestate cicadae,
     Maenalius lepori det sua terga canis,
Femina quam iuveni blande temptata repugnet:
     Haec quoque, quam poteris credere nolle, volet.
Utque viro furtiva venus, sic grata puellae:

Sooner in spring may the birds be silent, in summer the cicadas,
     let the Maenalian hound give its back to the hare,
than a woman, sweetly tempted by a youth, should resist:
     she too, whom you could believe unwilling, will want it.
And as furtive Venus is pleasing to the man, so to the girl:

275

     Vir male dissimulat: tectius illa cupit.
Conveniat maribus, ne quam nos ante rogemus,
     Femina iam partes victa rogantis agat.
Mollibus in pratis admugit femina tauro:
     Femina cornipedi semper adhinnit equo.

     A man dissimulates poorly: she desires more covertly.
Let it be agreed among men, that we not first ask any woman,
     let the woman, once conquered, now play the part of the wooer.
In soft meadows the cow lows to the bull:
     the mare always neighs to the hoof-footed horse.

280

Parcior in nobis nec tam furiosa libido:
     Legitimum finem flamma virilis habet.
Byblida quid referam, vetito quae fratris amore
     Arsit et est laqueo fortiter ulta nefas?
Myrrha patrem, sed non qua filia debet, amavit,

Desire in us is more sparing and not so frenzied:
     the virile flame has a legitimate end.
Why should I recount Byblis, who burned with forbidden love for her brother
     and with a noose bravely avenged the crime?
Myrrha loved her father, but not as a daughter ought,

285

     Et nunc obducto cortice pressa latet:
Illius lacrimis, quas arbore fundit odora,
     Unguimur, et dominae nomina gutta tenet.
Forte sub umbrosis nemorosae vallibus Idae
     Candidus, armenti gloria, taurus erat,

     And now, pressed, she lies hidden with bark drawn over:
By her tears, which the fragrant tree pours forth,
     we are anointed, and the drop keeps the lady’s name.
     By chance beneath the shadowy valleys of wooded Ida
     there was a white bull, the glory of the herd,

290

Signatus tenui media inter cornua nigro:
     Una fuit labes, cetera lactis erant.
Illum Cnosiadesque Cydoneaeque iuvencae
     Optarunt tergo sustinuisse suo.
Pasiphae fieri gaudebat adultera tauri;

Marked with a slender black mark in the middle between the horns:
     There was one blemish; the rest were milk-white.
Him both the Knossian and the Cydonian heifers
     desired to have sustained upon their own back.
Pasiphae rejoiced to become an adulteress of a bull;

295

     Invida formosas oderat illa boves.
Nota cano: non hoc, centum quae sustinet urbes,
     Quamvis sit mendax, Creta negare potest.
Ipsa novas frondes et prata tenerrima tauro
     Fertur inadsueta subsecuisse manu.

     Envious, she hated the beautiful cows.
I sing a noted thing: this Crete, which sustains 100 cities,
     although it is mendacious, cannot deny.
She herself is said to have cut fresh fronds and the most tender meadows for the bull
     with an unaccustomed hand.

300

It comes armentis, nec ituram cura moratur
Coniugis, et Minos a bove victus erat.
Quo tibi, Pasiphae, pretiosas sumere vestes?
Ille tuus nullas sentit adulter opes.

She goes with the herds, nor does the care of her consort delay her going
and Minos had been vanquished by a bull.
To what purpose for you, Pasiphae, to take up precious garments?
That adulterer of yours perceives no opulence.

Quid tibi cum speculo, montana armenta petenti?

What have you to do with a mirror, you who are seeking the mountain herds?

305

Quid totiens positas fingis, inepta, comas?
Crede tamen speculo, quod te negat esse iuvencam.
Quam cuperes fronti cornua nata tuae!

Why so often do you fashion the tresses you have set in place, inept one?
Believe, however, the mirror, which denies that you are a heifer.
How you would wish horns had been born upon your front!

Sive placet Minos, nullus quaeratur adulter:
Sive virum mavis fallere, falle viro!

Whether Minos pleases you, let no adulterer be sought:
Or if you prefer to deceive your husband, deceive with a man!

310

In nemus et saltus thalamo regina relicto
     Fertur, ut Aonio concita Baccha deo.
A, quotiens vaccam vultu spectavit iniquo,
     Et dixit 'domino cur placet ista meo?
Aspice, ut ante ipsum teneris exultet in herbis:

Into the grove and glades, with her bedchamber left behind, the queen is borne,
     as a Bacchant, stirred by the Aonian god.
Ah, how many times she viewed the cow with a hostile look,
     and said, 'Why does that one please my lord?'
Look, how before him she exults in the tender grasses:

315

     Nec dubito, quin se stulta decere putet.'
Dixit, et ingenti iamdudum de grege duci
     Iussit et inmeritam sub iuga curva trahi,
Aut cadere ante aras commentaque sacra coegit,
     Et tenuit laeta paelicis exta manu.

     'Nor do I doubt that the foolish one thinks herself becoming.'
She spoke, and ordered her to be led out forthwith from an immense herd,
     She also ordered the undeserving one to be dragged beneath the curved yokes,
Or compelled her to fall before the altars and the contrived sacred rites,
     And, elated, she held the paramour’s entrails in her hand.

320

Paelicibus quotiens placavit numina caesis,
     Atque ait, exta tenens 'ite, placete meo!'
Et modo se Europen fieri, modo postulat Io,
     Altera quod bos est, altera vecta bove.
Hanc tamen implevit, vacca deceptus acerna,

How often she placated the divinities with paramours slain,
     and said, holding the entrails, 'Go, be pleasing to my man!'
And now she asks that she become Europa, now Io,
     since the one is a cow, the other borne by a bull.
Her, nevertheless, he filled, deceived by a maple-wood cow.

325

     Dux gregis, et partu proditus auctor erat.
Cressa Thyesteo si se abstinuisset amore
     (Et quantum est uno posse carere viro?),
Non medium rupisset iter, curruque retorto
     Auroram versis Phoebus adisset equis.

     The leader of the herd, and by the birth betrayed as the author.
If the Cretan woman had kept herself from Thyestean love
     (And how great a matter is it to be able to lack one man?),
he would not have broken the mid course, and, with his chariot turned back,
     Phoebus would have gone to Aurora with his horses reversed.

330

Filia purpureos Niso furata capillos
     Pube premit rabidos inguinibusque canes.
Qui Martem terra, Neptunum effugit in undis,
     Coniugis Atrides victima dira fuit.
Cui non defleta est Ephyraeae flamma Creusae,

The daughter, having stolen Nisus's purple locks,
     presses rabid dogs with her pubes and inguinal parts.
He who escaped Mars on land, Neptune in the waves,
     the Atrides was a dire victim of his spouse.
For whom has not the flame of Ephyraean Creusa been bewailed,

335

Et nece natorum sanguinolenta parens?
Flevit Amyntorides per inania lumina Phoenix:
Hippolytum pavidi diripuistis equi.
Quid fodis inmeritis, Phineu, sua lumina natis?

And a parent blood-stained with the slaughter of her sons?
Phoenix, the son of Amyntor, wept through his sightless eyes:
You fearful horses tore Hippolytus to pieces.
Why do you, Phineus, gouge out the eyes of your undeserving sons?

Poena reversura est in caput ista tuum.

That penalty will revert upon your head.

340

Omnia feminea sunt ista libidine mota;
     Acrior est nostra, plusque furoris habet.
Ergo age, ne dubita cunctas sperare puellas;
     Vix erit e multis, quae neget, una, tibi.
Quae dant quaeque negant, gaudent tamen esse rogatae:

All these things are moved by feminine libido;
     ours is keener, and has more furor.
Therefore come, do not hesitate to hope for all the girls;
     scarcely out of many will there be even one who says no to you.
Those who give and those who deny nevertheless rejoice to have been asked:

345

     Ut iam fallaris, tuta repulsa tua est.
Sed cur fallaris, cum sit nova grata voluptas
     Et capiant animos plus aliena suis?
Fertilior seges est alienis semper in agris,
     Vicinumque pecus grandius uber habet.

     Even if you are foiled, your rebuff is safe.
But why should you be foiled, since new pleasure is welcome,
     and alien things seize minds more than their own?
The crop is always more fertile in alien fields,
     and the neighboring flock has a fuller udder.

350

Sed prius ancillam captandae nosse puellae
     Cura sit: accessus molliet illa tuos.
Proxima consiliis dominae sit ut illa, videto,
     Neve parum tacitis conscia fida iocis.
Hanc tu pollicitis, hanc tu corrumpe rogando:

But first let it be a care to know the handmaid of the girl to be captured;
     she will soften your approaches.
See that she be nearest to her mistress in counsels,
     nor a confidante too little faithful to your silent jests.
This one you with promises, this one you corrupt by entreating:

355

     Quod petis, ex facili, si volet illa, feres.
Illa leget tempus (medici quoque tempora servant)
     Quo facilis dominae mens sit et apta capi.
Mens erit apta capi tum, cum laetissima rerum
     Ut seges in pingui luxuriabit humo.

     What you seek, you will obtain with ease, if she is willing.
She will choose the time (physicians too observe their times)
     when the mistress’s mind is compliant and apt to be taken.
The mind will be apt to be taken then, when it is most gladsome about her affairs,
     as the crop luxuriates in rich soil.

360

Pectora dum gaudent nec sunt adstricta dolore,
     Ipsa patent, blanda tum subit arte Venus.
Tum, cum tristis erat, defensa est Ilios armis:
     Militibus gravidum laeta recepit equum.
Tum quoque temptanda est, cum paelice laesa dolebit:

While hearts rejoice and are not constricted by grief,
     they themselves stand open; then Venus steals in with coaxing art.
Then, when it was sorrowful, Ilium was defended by arms:
     happy, it received the horse gravid with soldiers.
Then too she must be attempted, when, hurt by a rival-mistress, she will grieve:

365

     Tum facies opera, ne sit inulta, tua.
Hanc matutinos pectens ancilla capillos
     Incitet, et velo remigis addat opem,
Et secum tenui suspirans murmure dicat
     'At, puto, non poteras ipsa referre vicem.'

     Then you will take steps, lest your girl be unavenged.
Let a handmaid, combing her morning hair,
     Incite her, and add the aid of a sail to the oarsman,
And to herself, sighing in a thin murmur, let her say
     'But, I suppose, could you not yourself repay in kind?'

370

Tum de te narret, tum persuadentia verba
     Addat, et insano iuret amore mori.
Sed propera, ne vela cadant auraeque residant:
     Ut fragilis glacies, interit ira mora.
Quaeris, an hanc ipsam prosit violare ministram?

Then let her speak about you, then add persuasive words,
     and swear that she is dying of insane love.
But hurry, lest the sails fall and the breezes subside:
     like fragile ice, anger perishes by delay.
Do you ask whether it is advantageous to violate this very maidservant?

375

     Talibus admissis alea grandis inest.
Haec a concubitu fit sedula, tardior illa,
     Haec dominae munus te parat, illa sibi.
Casus in eventu est: licet hic indulgeat ausis,
     Consilium tamen est abstinuisse meum.

     When such things are admitted, a great hazard is present.
This one, after intercourse, becomes diligent; that one slower,
     This one prepares for you the mistress’s gift, that one for herself.
The chance is in the event: though here one may indulge in daring,
     Nevertheless my counsel is to have abstained.

380

Non ego per praeceps et acuta cacumina vadam,
     Nec iuvenum quisquam me duce captus erit.
Si tamen illa tibi, dum dat recipitque tabellas,
     Corpore, non tantum sedulitate placet,
Fac domina potiare prius, comes illa sequatur:

I will not go over precipitous and sharp summits,
     Nor will any of the youths be captured with me as guide.
If, however, that one, for you, while she gives and receives tablets,
     pleases by her body, not only by sedulity,
See that you gain the mistress first; let that one follow as companion:

385

     Non tibi ab ancilla est incipienda venus.
Hoc unum moneo, siquid modo creditur arti,
     Nec mea dicta rapax per mare ventus agit:
Aut non rem temptes aut perfice; tollitur index,
     Cum semel in partem criminis ipsa venit.

     Do not begin your love from the maidservant.
This one thing I admonish, if indeed anything is credited to the Art,
     and let not the rapacious wind drive my words across the sea:
Either do not attempt the affair or carry it through; the informer is removed,
     when once she herself comes into a part of the crime.

390

Non avis utiliter viscatis effugit alis;
     Non bene de laxis cassibus exit aper.
Saucius arrepto piscis teneatur ab hamo:
     Perprime temptatam, nec nisi victor abi.
Tunc neque te prodet communi noxia culpa,

No bird profitably escapes with bird-limed wings;
     Nor does the boar get well out from lax nets.
A fish, wounded, should be held once the hook has seized:
     Press hard the one you have attempted, and do not depart unless as victor.
Then neither will noxious blame, being common, betray you,

395

     Factaque erunt dominae dictaque nota tibi.
Sed bene celetur: bene si celabitur index,
     Notitiae suberit semper amica tuae.
Tempora qui solis operosa colentibus arva,
     Fallitur, et nautis aspicienda putat;

     And the deeds and words of the mistress will be known to you.
But let it be well concealed: if the informer is well concealed,
     a girlfriend will always be within your notice.
He is mistaken who assigns the sun’s times to those cultivating toilsome fields,
     and thinks they are to be looked at by sailors;

400

Nec semper credenda ceres fallacibus arvis,
     Nec semper viridi concava puppis aquae,
Nec teneras semper tutum captare puellas:
     Saepe dato melius tempore fiet idem.
Sive dies suberit natalis, sive Kalendae,

Nor is Ceres always to be trusted on treacherous fields,
     nor is the hollow ship always for the green water,
nor is it always safe to capture tender girls:
     often, with a time granted, the same thing will be done better.
Whether a birthday will come on, or the Kalends,

405

     Quas Venerem Marti continuasse iuvat,
Sive erit ornatus non ut fuit ante sigillis,
     Sed regum positas Circus habebit opes,
Differ opus: tunc tristis hiems, tunc Pliades instant,
     Tunc tener aequorea mergitur Haedus aqua;

     — those that it delights to have joined Venus to Mars,
Or the Circus will be adorned not as it was before with little figurines,
     But the Circus will hold the riches of kings set out,
Defer the work: then gloomy winter, then the Pleiades press on,
     Then the tender Kid is plunged beneath the sea-water;

410

Tunc bene desinitur: tunc siquis creditur alto,
     Vix tenuit lacerae naufraga membra ratis.
Tu licet incipias qua flebilis Allia luce
     Vulneribus Latiis sanguinolenta fluit,
Quaque die redeunt, rebus minus apta gerendis,

Then it is well to cease: then, if anyone is committed to the deep,
     scarcely has the shipwrecked raft held its torn members.
Though you may begin on that day on which the mournful Allia
     flowed bloodstained with Latin wounds,
and on whatever days they return, less apt for managing affairs,

415

     Culta Palaestino septima festa Syro.
Magna superstitio tibi sit natalis amicae:
     Quaque aliquid dandum est, illa sit atra dies.
Cum bene vitaris, tamen auferet; invenit artem
     Femina, qua cupidi carpat amantis opes.

     Let the seventh-day feasts, observed by the Palestinian Syrian, be kept.
Let the birthday of your girlfriend be a great superstition for you:
     And whatever day something must be given, let that day be black.
Even if you avoid her well, nevertheless she will carry it off; a woman has found an art
     by which she plucks the wealth of a desirous lover.

420

Institor ad dominam veniet discinctus emacem,
     Expediet merces teque sedente suas:
Quas illa, inspicias, sapere ut videare, rogabit:
     Oscula deinde dabit; deinde rogabit, emas.
Hoc fore contentam multos iurabit in annos,

Peddler will come to the mistress, ungirded, eager to buy,
     He will lay out his merchandise, with you sitting there:
Which she will ask you to inspect, so that you may seem sapient:
     Then she will give kisses; then she will ask, buy them.
She will swear that with this she will be content for many years,

425

     Nunc opus esse sibi, nunc bene dicet emi.
Si non esse domi, quos des, causabere nummos,
     Littera poscetur++ne didicisse iuvet.
Quid, quasi natali cum poscit munera libo,
     Et, quotiens opus est, nascitur illa, sibi?

     Now she will say there is need for herself, now she will say it is well bought.
If you plead that you do not have at home the coins to give,
     a letter will be demanded++so that having learned may be of use.
What then, when, as on a birthday, the cake asks for gifts,
     and, as often as there is need, she is “born” for herself?

430

Quid, cum mendaci damno maestissima plorat,
     Elapsusque cava fingitur aure lapis?
Multa rogant utenda dari, data reddere nolunt:
     Perdis, et in damno gratia nulla tuo.
Non mihi, sacrilegas meretricum ut persequar artes,

What, when, over a mendacious loss she most sorrowfully weeps,
     and a stone is feigned to have slipped from her hollow ear?
They ask that many things be given to be used, they are unwilling to return what was given:
     you lose, and in your loss there is no gratitude to you.
Not for me, that I should pursue the sacrilegious arts of prostitutes,

435

     Cum totidem linguis sint satis ora decem.
Cera vadum temptet, rasis infusa tabellis:
     Cera tuae primum conscia mentis eat.
Blanditias ferat illa tuas imitataque amantem
     Verba; nec exiguas, quisquis es, adde preces.

     Since ten mouths, with just as many tongues, would suffice.
Let the wax, poured into scraped tablets, test the shallows:
     Let the wax, first, conscious of your mind, go.
Let it carry your blandishments and, imitating a lover,
     words; and, whoever you are, add no meager entreaties.

440

Hectora donavit Priamo prece motus Achilles;
     Flectitur iratus voce rogante deus.
Promittas facito: quid enim promittere laedit?
     Pollicitis dives quilibet esse potest.
Spes tenet in tempus, semel est si credita, longum:

Achilles, moved by a prayer, gave Hector to Priam;
     An angry god is bent by a beseeching voice.
See to it that you promise: for what does it harm to promise?
     By promises anyone can be rich.
Hope holds for a long time, if once credited, for a time long:

445

     Illa quidem fallax, sed tamen apta dea est.
Si dederis aliquid, poteris ratione relinqui:
     Praeteritum tulerit, perdideritque nihil.
At quod non dederis, semper videare daturus:
     Sic dominum sterilis saepe fefellit ager:

     She indeed is deceitful, yet nevertheless a fitting goddess.
If you have given something, you can with reason be left alone:
     he will have borne what is past, and will have lost nothing.
But what you have not given, you will always seem about to give:
     thus a barren field has often deceived its master:

450

Sic, ne perdiderit, non cessat perdere lusor,
     Et revocat cupidas alea saepe manus.
Hoc opus, hic labor est, primo sine munere iungi;
     Ne dederit gratis quae dedit, usque dabit.
Ergo eat et blandis peraretur littera verbis,

Thus, so that he may not have lost, the gambler does not cease to lose,
     And gaming often calls back the eager hands.
This is the work, here is the labor: to be joined at first without a gift;
     Lest she have given gratis what she gave, she will keep giving.
Therefore let a letter go and be composed with blandishing words,

455

     Exploretque animos, primaque temptet iter.
Littera Cydippen pomo perlata fefellit,
     Insciaque est verbis capta puella suis.
Disce bonas artes, moneo, Romana iuventus,
     Non tantum trepidos ut tueare reos;

     And let it explore minds, and first attempt the way.
A letter, carried to Cydippe by an apple, deceived her,
     and the unknowing girl was captured by her own words.
Learn good arts, I warn, Roman youth,
     not only so that you may protect trembling defendants;

460

Quam populus iudexque gravis lectusque senatus,
     Tam dabit eloquio victa puella manus.
Sed lateant vires, nec sis in fronte disertus;
     Effugiant voces verba molesta tuae.
Quis, nisi mentis inops, tenerae declamat amicae?

As much as the people, the grave judge, and the chosen Senate,
     so will the girl, vanquished, yield her hand to eloquence.
But let your strengths lie hidden, and do not be eloquent on your brow;
     let troublesome words flee your voice.
Who, unless bereft of sense, declaims to a tender mistress?

465

     Saepe valens odii littera causa fuit.
Sit tibi credibilis sermo consuetaque verba,
     Blanda tamen, praesens ut videare loqui.
Si non accipiet scriptum, inlectumque remittet,
     Lecturam spera, propositumque tene.

     Often a strong letter has been a cause of hatred.
Let your discourse be credible and your customary words,
     yet coaxing, so that you may seem to speak as though present.
If she will not accept the writing, and will send it back unread,
     hope she will read, and hold to your purpose.

470

Tempore difficiles veniunt ad aratra iuvenci,
     Tempore lenta pati frena docentur equi:
Ferreus adsiduo consumitur anulus usu,
     Interit adsidua vomer aduncus humo.
Quid magis est saxo durum, quid mollius unda?

In time the stubborn bullocks come to the plough,
     in time the horses are taught to endure the supple reins:
an iron ring is consumed by continual use,
     the hooked ploughshare perishes by continual soil.
What is harder than rock, what softer than water?

475

Dura tamen molli saxa cavantur aqua.
Penelopen ipsam, persta modo, tempore vinces:
Capta vides sero Pergama, capta tamen.
Legerit, et nolit rescribere?

Yet hard rocks are excavated by soft water.
Penelope herself—only persevere— with time you will conquer:
You see Pergama captured late, yet captured.
Will she have read it, and be unwilling to write back?

cogere noli:
Tu modo blanditias fac legat usque tuas.

do not compel:
You only make sure she reads your blandishments continually.

480

Quae voluit legisse, volet rescribere lectis:
     Per numeros venient ista gradusque suos.
Forsitan et primo veniet tibi littera tristis,
     Quaeque roget, ne se sollicitare velis.
Quod rogat illa, timet; quod non rogat, optat, ut instes;

She who has wished to read will wish to write back once she has read:
     By the numbers and their own steps these things will come.
Perhaps even at first a sad letter will come to you,
     which even asks that you not wish to trouble her.
What she asks, she fears; what she does not ask, she desires—that you press on;

485

     Insequere, et voti postmodo compos eris.
Interea, sive illa toro resupina feretur,
     Lecticam dominae dissimulanter adi,
Neve aliquis verbis odiosas offerat auris,
     Qua potes ambiguis callidus abde notis.

     Pursue, and afterward you will be in possession of your wish.
Meanwhile, whether she will be borne resupine on the couch,
     discreetly approach the lady’s litter,
and let no one, with words, offer odious ears,
     in whatever way you can, cleverly hide by ambiguous signs.

490

Seu pedibus vacuis illi spatiosa teretur
     Porticus, hic socias tu quoque iunge moras:
Et modo praecedas facito, modo terga sequaris,
     Et modo festines, et modo lentus eas:
Nec tibi de mediis aliquot transire columnas

Whether for her with unoccupied feet the spacious Portico is being trodden,
     here do you too join companion delays:
And now see to it you go before, now follow behind her back,
     and now make haste, and now go slow:
nor let it be for you to traverse across some of the middle columns

495

     Sit pudor, aut lateri continuasse latus;
Nec sine te curvo sedeat speciosa theatro:
     Quod spectes, umeris adferet illa suis.
Illam respicias, illam mirere licebit:
     Multa supercilio, multa loquare notis.

     Let it be a point of modesty to have kept your side contiguous with her side;
Nor let the beautiful one sit in the curved theater without you:
     What you are to watch, she will bring to her own shoulders.
You may look at her, you may marvel at her:
     Many things by the eyebrow, many you may speak by signals.

500

Et plaudas, aliquam mimo saltante puellam:
     Et faveas illi, quisquis agatur amans.
Cum surgit, surges; donec sedet illa, sedebis;
     Arbitrio dominae tempora perde tuae.
Sed tibi nec ferro placeat torquere capillos,

And applaud, some girl dancing in a mime:
     And show favor to him, whoever is acted as the lover.
When she rises, you will rise; as long as she sits, you will sit;
     At your mistress’s arbitration, waste your time.
But let it not please you to twist your hair with iron,

505

     Nec tua mordaci pumice crura teras.
Ista iube faciant, quorum Cybeleia mater
     Concinitur Phrygiis exululata modis.
Forma viros neglecta decet; Minoida Theseus
     Abstulit, a nulla tempora comptus acu.                510
Hippolytum Phaedra, nec erat bene cultus, amavit;
     Cura deae silvis aptus Adonis erat.

     Nor should you rub your legs with mordacious pumice.
Bid those do such things, whose Cybeleian Mother
     is sung, howled out, in Phrygian modes.
Neglected beauty befits men; Theseus carried off Minos’s daughter,
     his temples arranged by no pin.                510
Phaedra loved Hippolytus, and he was not well groomed;
     Adonis, the care of the goddess, was apt for the woods.

Munditie placeant, fuscentur corpora Campo:
Sit bene conveniens et sine labe toga:
Lingula ne rigeat, careant rubigine dentes,

Let cleanliness be pleasing; let bodies be browned in the Campus:
Let the toga be well-fitting and without stain:
Let the shoe-tongue not be stiff; let the teeth lack rust,

515

     Nec vagus in laxa pes tibi pelle natet:
Nec male deformet rigidos tonsura capillos:
     Sit coma, sit trita barba resecta manu.
Et nihil emineant, et sint sine sordibus ungues:
     Inque cava nullus stet tibi nare pilus.

     Nor let your foot, wandering, swim in a loose leather shoe:
Nor let a bad tonsure deform your rigid locks:
     Let the hair be neat, let the beard be cut back by a practiced hand.
And let the nails not protrude at all, and let them be without filth:
     And in the hollow of your nostril let no hair stand.

520

Nec male odorati sit tristis anhelitus oris:
     Nec laedat naris virque paterque gregis.
Cetera lascivae faciant, concede, puellae,
     Et siquis male vir quaerit habere virum.
Ecce, suum vatem Liber vocat; hic quoque amantes

Nor let the breath of your mouth be ill-odored and grim:
     Nor let the man and father of the flock injure the nostrils.
Let the rest be done—allow it—by wanton girls,
     and by any male who, badly a man, seeks to have a man.
Behold, Liber calls his own bard; here too lovers

525

     Adiuvat, et flammae, qua calet ipse, favet.
Cnosis in ignotis amens errabat harenis,
     Qua brevis aequoreis Dia feritur aquis.
Utque erat e somno tunica velata recincta,
     Nuda pedem, croceas inreligata comas,

     He helps, and he favors the flame with which he himself is hot.
Mad, she was wandering on Cnossian unknown sands,
     where little Dia is smitten by the sea-borne waters.
And just as she was from sleep, veiled with an ungirded tunic,
     bare-foot, with saffron locks unbound,

530

Thesea crudelem surdas clamabat ad undas,
     Indigno teneras imbre rigante genas.
Clamabat, flebatque simul, sed utrumque decebat;
     Non facta est lacrimis turpior illa suis.
Iamque iterum tundens mollissima pectora palmis

She was crying out 'cruel Theseus' to the deaf waves,
     with an unworthy rain wetting her tender cheeks.
She was crying out and weeping at the same time, but both were becoming;
     she was not made uglier by her own tears.
And now again, beating her very soft breasts with her palms

535

     'Perfidus ille abiit; quid mihi fiet?' ait.
'Quid mihi fiet?' ait: sonuerunt cymbala toto
     Litore, et adtonita tympana pulsa manu.
Excidit illa metu, rupitque novissima verba;
     Nullus in exanimi corpore sanguis erat.

     'That perfidious one has departed; what will become of me?' she said.
'What will become of me?' she said: the cymbals resounded along the whole
     shore, and the tympana, struck by a dazed hand.
She fell away in fear, and broke off her very last words;
     there was no blood in the lifeless body.

540

Ecce Mimallonides sparsis in terga capillis:
     Ecce leves satyri, praevia turba dei:
Ebrius, ecce, senex pando Silenus asello
     Vix sedet, et pressas continet ante iubas.
Dum sequitur Bacchas, Bacchae fugiuntque petuntque

Behold the Mimallonids, with hair scattered upon their backs:
     Behold the nimble satyrs, the forerunning throng of the god:
Drunken, behold, the old man Silenus on a bow-backed little ass
     He scarcely sits, and holds the pressed-down mane in front.
While he follows the Bacchae, the Bacchae both flee and seek

545

     Quadrupedem ferula dum malus urget eques,
In caput aurito cecidit delapsus asello:
     Clamarunt satyri 'surge age, surge, pater.'
Iam deus in curru, quem summum texerat uvis,
     Tigribus adiunctis aurea lora dabat:

     While the bad rider drives the quadruped with a ferule,
Down-slipped, he fell on his head from the long-eared little ass:
     The satyrs shouted, 'Up, come on, up, father.'
Already the god in his chariot, whose top he had covered with grapes,
     with tigers yoked, was giving the golden reins:

550

Et color et Theseus et vox abiere puellae:
     Terque fugam petiit, terque retenta metu est.
Horruit, ut graciles, agitat quas ventus, aristae,
     Ut levis in madida canna palude tremit.
Cui deus 'en, adsum tibi cura fidelior' inquit:

And both her color and Theseus, and her voice, departed from the girl:
     Thrice she sought flight, and thrice she was held back by fear.
She shuddered, as slender ears of grain, which the wind agitates,
     as a light reed trembles in the sodden marsh.
To whom the god said, 'Lo, I am present for you, a more faithful care':

555

     'Pone metum: Bacchi, Cnosias, uxor eris.
Munus habe caelum; caelo spectabere sidus;
     Saepe reges dubiam Cressa Corona ratem.'
Dixit, et e curru, ne tigres illa timeret,
     Desilit; inposito cessit harena pede:

     'Put down fear: Cnossian, you will be the wife of Bacchus.
Have the sky as a gift; in the sky you will be looked upon as a star;
     Often will kings, in a doubtful ship, look to the Cretan Crown.'
He said, and from the chariot, lest she fear the tigers,
     he leapt down; the sand yielded to the foot set down:

560

Implicitamque sinu (neque enim pugnare valebat)
     Abstulit; in facili est omnia posse deo.
Pars 'Hymenaee' canunt, pars clamant 'Euhion, euhoe!'
     Sic coeunt sacro nupta deusque toro.
Ergo ubi contigerint positi tibi munera Bacchi,

And her enfolded in his bosom (for indeed she was not able to fight)
     he carried off; it is easy for a god to be able to do all things.
Some sing 'Hymenaeus,' some cry 'Euhion, euhoe!'
     Thus the bride and the god join on the sacred couch.
Therefore, when the gifts of Bacchus, set down, shall have come to you,

565

     Atque erit in socii femina parte tori,
Nycteliumque patrem nocturnaque sacra precare,
     Ne iubeant capiti vina nocere tuo.
Hic tibi multa licet sermone latentia tecto
     Dicere, quae dici sentiat illa sibi:

     And the woman will be on the partner’s side of the bed,
and pray to the Nyctelian father and the nocturnal sacra,
     lest they bid the wines to harm your head.
Here you may say many things hidden, with veiled speech,
     things which she may feel are being said to herself:

570

Blanditiasque leves tenui perscribere vino,
     Ut dominam in mensa se legat illa tuam:
Atque oculos oculis spectare fatentibus ignem:
     Saepe tacens vocem verbaque vultus habet.
Fac primus rapias illius tacta labellis

And to write out light blandishments with thin wine,
     so that she may read herself your mistress upon the table:
And to gaze with eyes at eyes confessing the fire:
     often, silent, the countenance has a voice and words.
See to it that you are first to snatch up what has been touched by her little lips

575

     Pocula, quaque bibet parte puella, bibas:
Et quemcumque cibum digitis libaverit illa,
     Tu pete, dumque petis, sit tibi tacta manus.
Sint etiam tua vota, viro placuisse puellae:
     Utilior vobis factus amicus erit.

     Cups—drink from the very part from which the girl will drink:
And whatever food she has tasted with her fingers,
     you seek it, and while you seek, let her hand be touched by you.
Let your prayers also be that the girl has pleased her man:
     A friend, once made, will be more useful to you both.

580

Huic, si sorte bibes, sortem concede priorem:
     Huic detur capiti missa corona tuo.
Sive erit inferior, seu par, prior omnia sumat:
     Nec dubites illi verba secunda loqui.
Tuta frequensque via est, per amici fallere nomen:

To her, if you drink by lot, grant the prior lot:
     Let the crown, sent from your own head, be given to her head.
Whether she be inferior, or equal, let her take everything first:
     Nor hesitate to speak seconding words to her.
It is a safe and frequent way, to deceive under the name of a friend:

585

     Tuta frequensque licet sit via, crimen habet.
Inde procurator nimium quoque multa procurat,
     Et sibi mandatis plura videnda putat.
Certa tibi a nobis dabitur mensura bibendi:
     Officium praestent mensque pedesque suum.

     Though the way be safe and frequent, it has a crime.
From that, the procurator also procures too many things excessively,
     and he thinks more are to be looked into by himself than were mandated.
A fixed measure of drinking will be given to you by us:
     let both mind and feet render their proper duty.

590

Iurgia praecipue vino stimulata caveto,
     Et nimium faciles ad fera bella manus.
Occidit Eurytion stulte data vina bibendo;
     Aptior est dulci mensa merumque ioco.
Si vox est, canta: si mollia brachia, salta:

Beware especially of quarrels stimulated by wine,
     and hands too easily ready for savage war.
Eurytion perished by drinking wine foolishly given;
     the table and pure, unmixed wine are apter for sweet jest.
If you have a voice, sing; if soft arms, dance:

595

     Et quacumque potes dote placere, place.
Ebrietas ut vera nocet, sic ficta iuvabit:
     Fac titubet blaeso subdola lingua sono,
Ut, quicquid facias dicasve protervius aequo,
     Credatur nimium causa fuisse merum.

     And by whatever endowment you can please, please.
Ebriety, as when true it harms, so when feigned will help:
     See to it that the sly tongue totters with a lisping sound,
So that, whatever you do or say more forward than is fair,
     it may be believed that too much pure wine was the cause.

600

Et bene dic dominae, bene, cum quo dormiat illa;
     Sed, male sit, tacita mente precare, viro.
At cum discedet mensa conviva remota,
     Ipsa tibi accessus turba locumque dabit.
Insere te turbae, leviterque admotus eunti

And speak well of the lady—well—of the one with whom she sleeps;
     But “may it go ill,” pray with a silent mind, for the husband.
But when the table is withdrawn and the guest dismissed,
     the crowd itself will give you access and a place.
Insert yourself into the crowd, and, lightly, being close as she goes

605

     Velle latus digitis, et pede tange pedem.
Conloquii iam tempus adest; fuge rustice longe
     Hinc pudor; audentem Forsque Venusque iuvat.
Non tua sub nostras veniat facundia leges:
     Fac tantum cupias, sponte disertus eris.

     Be willing to touch her side with your fingers, and touch foot with foot.
The time for colloquy is now at hand; let rustic bashfulness flee far away
     from here; Fortune and Venus favor the daring.
Let not your eloquence come under our laws:
     Only see that you desire; you will be eloquent of your own accord.

610

Est tibi agendus amans, imitandaque vulnera verbis;
     Haec tibi quaeratur qualibet arte fides.
Nec credi labor est: sibi quaeque videtur amanda;
     Pessima sit, nulli non sua forma placet.
Saepe tamen vere coepit simulator amare,

You must act the lover, and the wounds must be imitated with words;
     let this credence be sought for yourself by any art whatsoever.
Nor is it a labor to be believed: each woman seems to herself lovable;
     let her be the worst, yet to none does her own form fail to please.
Often, however, the feigner begins to love truly,

615

     Saepe, quod incipiens finxerat esse, fuit.
Quo magis, o, faciles imitantibus este, puellae:
     Fiet amor verus, qui modo falsus erat.
Blanditiis animum furtim deprendere nunc sit,
     Ut pendens liquida ripa subestur aqua.

     Often what, at the outset, he had feigned to be, he became.
Wherefore, O girls, be all the more accommodating to those who imitate:
     Love will become true, which just now was false.
Now let it be to ensnare the mind stealthily with blandishments,
     as an overhanging bank is undermined by liquid water.

620

Nec faciem, nec te pigeat laudare capillos
     Et teretes digitos exiguumque pedem:
Delectant etiam castas praeconia formae;
     Virginibus curae grataque forma sua est.
Nam cur in Phrygiis Iunonem et Pallada silvis

Let it not trouble you to praise the face, nor the hair
     and the well-turned fingers and the exiguous foot:
Praises of form delight even the chaste;
     for maidens their own form is a care and is pleasing.
For why in the Phrygian woods Juno and Pallas

625

     Nunc quoque iudicium non tenuisse pudet?
Laudatas ostendit avis Iunonia pinnas:
     Si tacitus spectes, illa recondit opes.
Quadrupedes inter rapidi certamina cursus
     Depexaeque iubae plausaque colla iuvant.

     Even now too, are you not ashamed to have not held to your judgment?
The Juno-bird displays its praised feathers:
     If you look on in silence, it hides its riches.
Among quadrupeds, the swift contests of running
     the combed manes and the applauded necks delight.

630

Nec timide promitte: trahunt promissa puellas;
     Pollicito testes quoslibet adde deos.
Iuppiter ex alto periuria ridet amantum,
     Et iubet Aeolios inrita ferre notos.
Per Styga Iunoni falsum iurare solebat

Nor promise timidly: promises draw girls;
     To your promise add as witnesses whatever gods you please.
Jupiter from on high laughs at the perjuries of lovers,
     and bids the Aeolian winds to carry them off as nullities.
By the Styx he was accustomed to swear falsely to Juno

635

     Iuppiter; exemplo nunc favet ipse suo.
Expedit esse deos, et, ut expedit, esse putemus;
     Dentur in antiquos tura merumque focos;
Nec secura quies illos similisque sopori
     Detinet; innocue vivite: numen adest;

     Jupiter; now by his own example he himself favors.
It is expedient that there be gods, and, as it is expedient, let us suppose them to be;
     Let incense and pure wine be given upon the ancient hearths;
Nor does a carefree repose, similar to sleep,
     Detain them; live innocently: the divinity is present;

640

Reddite depositum; pietas sua foedera servet:
     Fraus absit; vacuas caedis habete manus.
Ludite, si sapitis, solas impune puellas:
     Hac minus est una fraude tuenda fides.
Fallite fallentes: ex magna parte profanum

Give back the deposit; let piety keep its own covenants:
     Let fraud be absent; keep your hands void of homicide.
Play, if you are wise, with girls alone, with impunity:
     In this one fraud faith is less in need of guarding.
Deceive the deceivers: for the most part profane

645

     Sunt genus: in laqueos quos posuere, cadant.
Dicitur Aegyptos caruisse iuvantibus arva
     Imbribus, atque annos sicca fuisse novem,
Cum Thrasius Busirin adit, monstratque piari
     Hospitis adfuso sanguine posse Iovem.

     There is a kind: into the snares which they have set, let them fall.
It is said the fields of Egypt lacked helping showers,
     and were dry for nine years,
when Thrasius goes to Busiris, and shows that Jove can be propitiated
     by the poured-out blood of a guest.

650

Illi Busiris 'fies Iovis hostia primus,'
     Inquit 'et Aegypto tu dabis hospes aquam.'
Et Phalaris tauro violenti membra Perilli
     Torruit: infelix inbuit auctor opus.
Iustus uterque fuit: neque enim lex aequior ulla est,

To him Busiris said, 'You shall be Jove’s victim first,'
'and you, guest, shall give water to Egypt.'
And Phalaris in the violent bull roasted the limbs of Perillus;
the unlucky author inaugurated his work.
Each was just: for no law is more equitable than

655

     Quam necis artifices arte perire sua.
Ergo ut periuras merito periuria fallant,
     Exemplo doleat femina laesa suo.
Et lacrimae prosunt: lacrimis adamanta movebis:
     Fac madidas videat, si potes, illa genas.

     Than that the artisans of murder perish by their own art.
Therefore, that perjuries may deservedly cheat the perjured,
     let the woman injured grieve by her own example.
And tears are of use: with tears you will move adamants:
     Make it so that she, if you can, sees those wet cheeks.

660

Si lacrimae (neque enim veniunt in tempore semper)
     Deficient, uda lumina tange manu.
Quis sapiens blandis non misceat oscula verbis?
     Illa licet non det, non data sume tamen.
Pugnabit primo fortassis, et 'improbe' dicet:

If tears (for indeed they do not always come at the right time)
     should fail, touch your moist eyes with your hand.
What wise man would not mix kisses with blandishing words?
     Though she may not give them, nevertheless take what is not given.
She will perhaps fight at first, and say, 'improper!'

665

     Pugnando vinci se tamen illa volet.
Tantum ne noceant teneris male rapta labellis,
     Neve queri possit dura fuisse, cave.
Oscula qui sumpsit, si non et cetera sumet,
     Haec quoque, quae data sunt, perdere dignus erit.

     Yet by fighting she will want to be conquered.
Only let not ill-snatched kisses harm her tender little lips,
     and beware lest she be able to complain that you were harsh.
He who has taken kisses, if he does not take the rest as well,
     will be worthy to lose these too, which have been given.

670

Quantum defuerat pleno post oscula voto?
     Ei mihi, rusticitas, non pudor ille fuit.
Vim licet appelles: grata est vis ista puellis:
     Quod iuvat, invitae saepe dedisse volunt.
Quaecumque est veneris subita violata rapina,

How much was lacking to the full vow after the kisses?
     Alas for me, it was rusticity, not modesty.
You may call it force: that force is pleasing to girls:
     What delights, they often wish, though unwilling, to have given.
Whatever woman is violated by the sudden rapine of Venus,

675

     Gaudet, et inprobitas muneris instar habet.
At quae cum posset cogi, non tacta recessit,
     Ut simulet vultu gaudia, tristis erit.
Vim passa est Phoebe: vis est allata sorori;
     Et gratus raptae raptor uterque fuit.

     She rejoices, and the wantonness has the value of a gift.
But she who, though she could be compelled, withdrew untouched,
     To feign joys in her face, will be sad.
Phoebe suffered force: force was brought to the sister;
     And each ravisher was pleasing to the ravished one.

680

Fabula nota quidem, sed non indigna referri,
     Scyrias Haemonio iuncta puella viro.
Iam dea laudatae dederat mala praemia formae
     Colle sub Idaeo vincere digna duas:
Iam nurus ad Priamum diverso venerat orbe,

A tale indeed well-known, but not unworthy to be retold,
     the Scyrian maiden joined to the Haemonian man.
Already the goddess had given the evil prizes of the lauded beauty
     beneath the Idaean hill, worthy to conquer two:
Already the daughter-in-law had come to Priam from a different world,

685

     Graiaque in Iliacis moenibus uxor erat:
Iurabant omnes in laesi verba mariti:
     Nam dolor unius publica causa fuit.
Turpe, nisi hoc matris precibus tribuisset, Achilles
     Veste virum longa dissimulatus erat.

     And a Greek wife was within the Iliac walls:
All were swearing to the words of the wronged husband:
     For the grief of one was a public cause.
Shameful, unless he had attributed this to his mother’s prayers, Achilles
     had dissimulated the man with a long garment.

690

Quid facis, Aeacide? non sunt tua munera lanae;
Tu titulos alia Palladis arte petas.
Quid tibi cum calathis?

What are you doing, Aeacid? The duties of wool are not yours;
You should seek titles by another art of Pallas.
What have you to do with baskets?

clipeo manus apta ferendo est:
Pensa quid in dextra, qua cadet Hector, habes?
Reice succinctos operoso stamine fusos!

Your hand is apt for bearing a shield:
Weigh what you have in the right hand, by which Hector will fall?
Cast away the spindles girded with operose thread!

695

     Quassanda est ista Pelias hasta manu.
Forte erat in thalamo virgo regalis eodem;
     Haec illum stupro comperit esse virum.
Viribus illa quidem victa est, ita credere oportet:
     Sed voluit vinci viribus illa tamen.

     That Pelian spear must be shaken by that hand.
By chance there was in the same bedchamber a regal virgin;
     She discovered him to be a man by rape.
She indeed was conquered by force; so one ought to believe:
     But she nevertheless wished to be conquered by force.

700

Saepe 'mane!' dixit, cum iam properaret Achilles;
Fortia nam posita sumpserat arma colo.
Vis ubi nunc illa est? Quid blanda voce moraris
Auctorem stupri, Deidamia, tui?

Often she said, "Stay!", when Achilles was already hastening;
For he had taken up the brave arms laid aside for the distaff.
Where is that force now? Why with a coaxing voice do you delay
the author of your defilement, Deidamia?

Scilicet ut pudor est quaedam coepisse priorem,

Surely, since there is a certain shame for a woman to have begun first,

705

     Sic alio gratum est incipiente pati.
A! nimia est iuveni propriae fiducia formae,
     Expectat siquis, dum prior illa roget.
Vir prior accedat, vir verba precantia dicat:
     Excipiet blandas comiter illa preces.

     Thus it is gratifying to the other to yield when another initiates.
Ah! too excessive is the youth’s confidence in his own form,
     if someone waits until she asks first.
Let the man come forward first, let the man speak precatory words:
     she will courteously receive the blandishing pleas.

710

Ut potiare, roga: tantum cupit illa rogari;
     Da causam voti principiumque tui.
Iuppiter ad veteres supplex heroidas ibat:
     Corrupit magnum nulla puella Iovem.
Si tamen a precibus tumidos accedere fastus

That you may possess her, ask: she so much desires to be asked;
     Provide the cause of your vow and its beginning.
Jupiter used to go as a suppliant to the ancient heroines:
     No girl ever corrupted great Jove.
If, however, swollen haughtiness should approach prayers

715

     Senseris, incepto parce referque pedem.
Quod refugit, multae cupiunt: odere quod instat;
     Lenius instando taedia tolle tui.
Nec semper veneris spes est profitenda roganti:
     Intret amicitiae nomine tectus amor.                720
Hoc aditu vidi tetricae data verba puellae:
     Qui fuerat cultor, factus amator erat.

     If you sense it, spare the attempt and draw back your foot.
What flees, many desire; they hate what presses on;
     More gently, by pressing on, take away the tedium of you.
Nor is the hope of Venus always to be professed by the asker:
     Let love enter, covered under the name of friendship.                720
By this approach I have seen a grim girl deceived by words:
     He who had been a devotee was made a lover.

Candidus in nauta turpis color, aequoris unda
Debet et a radiis sideris esse niger:
Turpis et agricolae, qui vomere semper adunco

A fair complexion in a sailor is unsightly; from the wave of the sea
he ought to be black, and from the rays of the star:
Unsightly too for the farmer, who always with the curved ploughshare

725

     Et gravibus rastris sub Iove versat humum.
Et tibi, Palladiae petitur cui fama coronae,
     Candida si fuerint corpora, turpis eris.
Palleat omnis amans: hic est color aptus amanti;
     Hoc decet, hoc stulti non valuisse putant.

     And with heavy rakes he turns the ground under Jove.
And you, who seek the fame of the Palladian crown,
     if your bodies are white, you will be ugly.
Let every lover grow pale: this is the color apt for a lover;
     this befits; this the foolish think shows no strength.

730

Pallidus in Side silvis errabat Orion,
     Pallidus in lenta naide Daphnis erat.
Arguat et macies animum: nec turpe putaris
     Palliolum nitidis inposuisse comis.
Attenuant iuvenum vigilatae corpora noctes

Pale in Side’s woods Orion was wandering,
     Pale was Daphnis with a pliant naiad.
Let even leanness argue the spirit; nor would you deem it shameful
     to have imposed a little mantle upon shining locks.
Wakeful nights attenuate the bodies of youths

735

     Curaque et in magno qui fit amore dolor.
Ut voto potiare tuo, miserabilis esto,
     Ut qui te videat, dicere possit 'amas.'
Conquerar, an moneam mixtum fas omne nefasque?
     Nomen amicitia est, nomen inane fides.

     And care, and the pain that arises in great love.
To obtain your vow, be miserable,
     So that whoever sees you may be able to say, 'you are in love.'
Shall I complain, or shall I warn that all right and wrong are mingled?
     Friendship is a name; faith is an empty name.

740

Ei mihi, non tutum est, quod ames, laudare sodali;
     Cum tibi laudanti credidit, ipse subit.
At non Actorides lectum temeravit Achillis:
     Quantum ad Pirithoum, Phaedra pudica fuit.
Hermionam Pylades quo Pallada Phoebus, amabat,

Ah me, it is not safe to praise to a sodalis what you love;
     When, as you laud, she has trusted you, he himself slips in.
But the Actorid did not defile Achilles’ couch:
     As far as Pirithous is concerned, Phaedra was modest.
Pylades loved Hermione as Phoebus loved Pallas,

745

     Quodque tibi geminus, Tyndari, Castor, erat.
Siquis idem sperat, laturas poma myricas
     Speret, et e medio flumine mella petat.
Nil nisi turpe iuvat: curae sua cuique voluptas:
     Haec quoque ab alterius grata dolore venit.

     And that you, Tyndaris, had Castor the twin.
If anyone hopes the same, let him hope tamarisks will bear apples
     and let him seek honey from the middle of the river.
Nothing unless shameful delights: to each one his own pleasure is a care:
     this too comes pleasing from another’s pain.

750

Heu facinus! non est hostis metuendus amanti;
     Quos credis fidos, effuge, tutus eris.
Cognatum fratremque cave carumque sodalem:
     Praebebit veros haec tibi turba metus.
Finiturus eram, sed sunt diversa puellis

Alas, outrage! an enemy is not to be feared by a lover;
     Those whom you believe faithful, flee, you will be safe.
Beware a cognate and a brother and a dear companion:
     This crowd will supply to you true fears.
I was going to finish, but things are different for girls

755

     Pectora: mille animos excipe mille modis.
Nec tellus eadem parit omnia; vitibus illa
     Convenit, haec oleis; hac bene farra virent.
Pectoribus mores tot sunt, quot in ore figurae;
     Qui sapit, innumeris moribus aptus erit,

     Hearts: meet a thousand dispositions in a thousand ways.
Nor does the same earth produce all things; that one suits vines,
     this one olives; on this one spelt thrives well.
In hearts there are as many characters as there are figures in the face;
     He who is wise will be apt to innumerable characters,

760

Utque leves Proteus modo se tenuabit in undas,
     Nunc leo, nunc arbor, nunc erit hirtus aper.
Hi iaculo pisces, illi capiuntur ab hamis:
     Hos cava contento retia fune trahunt.
Nec tibi conveniet cunctos modus unus ad annos:

And just as lithe Proteus will now make himself thin into the waves,
     Now a lion, now a tree, now he will be a bristly boar.
These are taken by the javelin, those are caught by hooks:
     These hollow nets draw with a taut rope.
Nor will one method suit you for all years:

765

     Longius insidias cerva videbit anus.
Si doctus videare rudi, petulansve pudenti,
     Diffidet miserae protinus illa sibi.
Inde fit, ut quae se timuit committere honesto,
     Vilis ad amplexus inferioris eat.

     An old doe will see snares from farther off.
If you seem learned to the rude, or petulant to the modest,
     she immediately distrusts her wretched self.
Hence it happens that she who feared to commit herself to an honorable man,
     goes to the cheap embraces of a lesser man.

770

Pars superat coepti, pars est exhausta laboris.
Hic teneat nostras ancora iacta rates.

Part of the undertaking remains, part of the labor is exhausted.
Here let the anchor, once cast, hold our ships.