Ovid: HEROIDES

non est
ista Mycenaea littera facta manu.
Pedasis Oenone, Phrygiis celeberrima silvis,
laesa queror de te, si sinis, ipse meo.
Quis deus opposuit nostris sua numina votis?

it is not
that letter made by a Mycenaean hand.
Oenone of Pedasus, most celebrated in the Phrygian woods,
wronged, I complain of you—if you allow—myself with my own hand.
What god has set his divine powers against our vows?

     ne tua permaneam, quod mihi crimen obest?
leniter, e merito quicquid patiare, ferendum est;
     quae venit indignae poena dolenda venit.
Nondum tantus eras, cum te contenta marito
     edita de magno flumine nympha fui.

     Am I not to remain yours? what crime stands in my way?
gently—whatever you suffer deservedly must be borne;
     the penalty that comes to the undeserving comes to be lamented.
you were not yet so great, when I, content with a husband,
     was a nymph begotten from a great river.

qui nunc Priamides (absit reverentia vero)
     servus eras; servo nubere nympha tuli!
saepe greges inter requievimus arbore tecti
     mixtaque cum foliis praebuit herba torum.
saepe super stramen fenoque iacentibus alto
     defensa est humili cana pruina casa.

you who are now a son of Priam (with reverence for the truth set aside)
     you were a servant; I, a nymph, endured to wed a servant!
often among the flocks we rested, roofed by a tree
     and the grass, mixed with leaves, provided a couch.
often, as we lay upon straw and deep hay
     the hoary frost was kept off by a lowly hut.

quis tibi monstrabat saltus venatibus aptos
     et tegeret catulos qua fera rupe suos?
retia saepe comes maculis distincta tetendi,
     saepe citos egi per iuga longa canes.
incisae servant a te mea nomina fagi
     et legor Oenone falce notata tua;
et quantum trunci, tantum mea nomina crescunt;
     crescite et in titulos surgite recta meos!

who was showing you the glades apt for venery
     and on what cliff the wild beast would cover her whelps?
often, as companion, I stretched the nets, maculate with spots,
     often I drove the swift hounds over the long ridges.
incised, the beeches preserve my name by you
     and I am read Oenone, noted by your sickle;
and as much as the trunks, so much do my names grow;
     grow, and rise upright into my titles!

[Populus est, memini, fluviali consita rivo,
     est in qua nostri littera scripta memor.]
popule, vive, precor, quae consita margine ripae
     hoc in rugoso cortice carmen habes:
"cum Paris Oenone poterit spirare relicta,
     ad fontem Xanthi versa recurret aqua."
Xanthe, retro propera versaeque recurrite lymphae!
     sustinet Oenonen deseruisse Paris.
Illa dies fatum miserae mihi dixit, ab illa
     pessima mutati coepit amoris hiems,
qua Venus et Iuno sumptisque decentior armis
     venit in arbitrium nuda Minerva tuum.

[There is a poplar, I remember, planted by a fluvial stream,
     in which a letter, mindful of us, is written.]
poplar, live, I pray, you who, planted on the margin of the bank
     have on this wrinkled bark this song:
"when Paris will be able to breathe with Oenone abandoned,
     to the spring of Xanthus the turned water will run back."
Xanthus, hasten backward, and return, waters being turned!
     Paris can bear to have deserted Oenone.
That day told the fate of wretched me; from that day
     the worst winter of a changed love began,
when Venus and Juno, and Minerva—nude, more becoming with arms assumed—
     came into your arbitration.

attoniti micuere sinus gelidusque cucurrit,
     ut mihi narrasti, dura per ossa tremor.
consului (neque enim modice terrebar) anusque
     longaevosque senes: constitit esse nefas.
Caesa abies sectaeque trabes et classe parata
     caerula ceratas accipit unda rates.

astonished, my bosom quivered and a gelid trembling ran,
     as you narrated to me, through my hard bones.
I consulted (for I was not moderately terrified) old women
     and long-lived elders: it was settled to be an impiety.
The felled fir and the hewn beams, and when the fleet was prepared,
     the cerulean wave received the wax-coated ships.

flesti discedens. hoc saltim parce negare;
praeterito magis est iste pudendus amor.
et flesti et nostros vidisti flentis ocellos;
miscuimus lacrimas maestus uterque suas.

you wept as you departed. at least refrain from denying this;
that love is the more shameworthy for being past.
and you wept, and you saw my little eyes weeping;
sad, each of us mingled his own tears.

non sic appositis vincitur vitibus ulmus,
ut tua sunt collo bracchia nexa meo.
ah quotiens, cum te vento quererere teneri,
riserunt comites—ille secundus erat.
oscula dimissae quotiens repetita dedisti!

not so is the elm bound by vines set beside it,
as your arms are entwined about my neck.
ah how often, when you complained that you were held by the wind,
your companions laughed—the wind was following.
how many times, dismissed, you gave repeated kisses!

     quam vix sustinuit dicere lingua "vale!"
Aura levis rigido pendentia lintea malo
     suscitat et remis eruta canet aqua.
prosequor infelix oculis abeuntia vela,
     qua licet, et lacrimis umet arena meis,
utque celer venias, virides Nereidas oro—
     scilicet ut venias in mea damna celer.
votis ergo meis, alii rediture, redisti?

     how scarcely did my tongue endure to say “farewell!”
A light breeze stirs the sails hanging from the rigid mast,
     and the water, ploughed up by the oars, will sing.
Unhappy, I follow with my eyes the departing sails,
     so far as I may, and the sand grows damp with my tears;
and that you may come swift, I pray the green Nereids—
     of course, that you may come swift to my hurt.
So then, in answer to my vows, you—destined to return to another—have returned?

     ei mihi, pro dira paelice blanda fui!
Adspicit immensum moles nativa profundum
     (mons fuit), aequoreis illa resistit aquis;
hinc ego vela tuae cognovi prima carinae
     et mihi per fluctus impetus ire fuit.
dum moror, in summa fulsit mihi purpura prora.

     ah me, in place of a dire rival-mistress I was blandishing!
A native mass looks upon the immense deep
     (it was a mountain); that one resists the sea-waters;
from here I first recognized the sails of your keel,
     and for me there was an impetus to go through the waves.
while I linger, purple flashed for me at the summit of the prow.

     pertimui: cultus non erat ille tuus.
fit propior terrasque cita ratis attigit aura:
     femineas vidi corde tremente genas.
non satis id fuerat—quid enim furiosa morabar?—
     haerebat gremio turpis amica tuo!

     I took fright: that attire was not yours.
It draws nearer, and the swift raft touched land by a quick breeze:
     with a trembling heart I saw feminine cheeks.
That had not been enough—indeed, why was I, frenzied, delaying?—
     a shameful mistress was clinging to your lap!

tunc vero rupique sinus et pectora planxi
     et secui madidas ungue rigente genas
implevique sacram querulis ululatibus Iden
     illuc has lacrimas in mea saxa tuli.
sic Helene doleat defectaque coniuge ploret,
     quaeque prior nobis intulit, ipsa ferat!
Nunc tibi conveniunt, quae te per aperta sequantur
     aequora legitimos destituantque viros.

Then indeed I tore my bosom and beat my breast
     and I scored my tear-wet cheeks with a stiffened nail
and I filled sacred Ida with querulous ululations
     thither I brought these tears upon my rocks.
thus may Helen grieve and, bereft of her consort, lament,
     and may she herself bear what she earlier brought on us!
Now those suit you, who follow you over the open waters
     and desert their legitimate husbands.

at cum pauper eras armentaque pastor agebas,
     nulla nisi Oenone pauperis uxor erat.
non ego miror opes, nec me tua regia tangit
     nec de tot Priami dicar ut una nurus,
non tamen ut Priamus nymphae socer esse recuset
     aut Hecubae fuerim dissimulanda nurus.
dignaque sum et cupio fieri matrona potentis;
     sunt mihi quas possint sceptra decere manus.

but when you were poor and as a shepherd you drove the herds,
     there was no wife of the poor man save Oenone.
I do not marvel at opulence, nor does your royal palace touch me,
     nor that I be called one of Priam’s many daughters-in-law,
not, however, so that Priam should refuse to be a father-in-law to a nymph
     or that I should have to be concealed as Hecuba’s daughter-in-law.
I am worthy and I desire to become the matron of a potent man;
     I have hands which scepters can befit.

nec me, faginea quod tecum fronde iacebam,
     despice; purpureo sum magis apta toro.
Denique tutus amor meus est; ibi nulla parantur
     bella nec ultrices advehit unda rates.
Tyndaris infestis fugitiva reposcitur armis;
     hac venit in thalamos dote superba tuos.

nor look down on me, because I lay with you on beech-leaf frondage,
     do not despise; I am more apt for a purple couch.
In short, my love is safe; there no wars are prepared,
     nor does the wave bring in avenging ships.
The Tyndarid, a fugitive, is demanded back with hostile arms;
     with this dowry she came, proud, into your bridal-chamber.

quae si sit Danais reddenda, vel Hectora fratrem,
     vel cum Deiphobo Polydamanta roga;
quid gravis Antenor, Priamus quid suadeat ipse,
     consule, quis aetas longa magistra fuit.
turpe rudimentum, patriae praeponere raptam.
     causa pudenda tua est; iusta vir arma movet.

and if she must be returned to the Danaans, either Hector your brother,
     or ask Polydamas together with Deiphobus;
what grave Antenor, what Priam himself advises,
     consult those for whom long age has been a teacher.
a shameful rudiment, to set the ravished woman before your fatherland.
     your cause is shameful; the husband moves just arms.

Nec tibi, si sapias, fidam promitte Lacaenam,
     quae sit in amplexus tam cito versa tuos.
ut minor Atrides temerati foedera lecti
     clamat et externo laesus amore dolet,
tu quoque clamabis. nulla reparabilis arte
     laesa pudicitia est; deperit illa semel.

Nor, if you are wise, promise yourself a faithful Laconian,
     who has so quickly been turned into your embraces.
just as the younger Atrides cries out the covenants of a defiled bed
     and, wounded by foreign love, grieves,
you too will cry out. Pudicity, once injured, is reparable by no art;
     it perishes once.

ardet amore tui; sic et Menelaon amavit;
     nunc iacet in viduo credulus ille toro.
felix Andromache certo bene nupta marito;
     uxor ad exemplum fratris habenda fui.
tu levior foliis, tum cum sine pondere suci
     mobilibus ventis arida facta volant.

she burns with love of you; thus too she loved Menelaus;
     now that credulous one lies on a widowed couch.
fortunate Andromache, well wedded to a sure husband;
     I ought to have been held as a wife, after the example of your brother.
you are lighter than leaves, when, with the weight of sap gone,
     made arid, they fly in the mobile winds.

et minus est in te quam summa pondus arista,
quae levis adsiduis solibus usta riget.
Hoc tua (nam recolo) quondam germana canebat
sic mihi diffusis vaticinata comis:
"quid facis, Oenone? quid arenae semina mandas?

and there is less weight in you than the weight of the topmost ear of grain,
which, light, scorched by assiduous suns, stands rigid.
This your sister (for I recollect) once was chanting,
thus vaticinating to me with hair spread loose:
"what are you doing, Oenone? why do you commit seeds to the sand?"

non profecturis litora bubus aras!
Graia iuvenca venit, quae te patriamque domumque
perdat! io prohibe!

you plow the shores with oxen that will not set out!
A Graian heifer comes, who may destroy you and your fatherland and your home
— ward her off, io!

Graia iuvenca venit!
dum licet, obscenam ponto demergite puppim!
heu!

A Greek heifer comes!
while it is permitted, sink the obscene stern/ship in the sea!
alas!

quantum Phrygii sanguinis illa vehit!"
dixerat; in cursu famulae rapuere furentem,
     at mihi flaventes diriguere comae.
ah, nimium miserae vates mihi vera fuisti;
     possidet en saltus Graia iuvenca meos!
sit facie quamvis insignis, adultera certe est;
     deseruit socios hospite capta deos.

“how much Phrygian blood she carries!”
she had spoken; in mid-course the handmaids seized the raging woman,
     but for me my blond locks went rigid.
ah, all too true a prophetess for wretched me you were;
     behold, the Greek heifer possesses my glades!
though she be distinguished in face, yet she is surely an adulteress;
     she has deserted her allied gods, captivated by a guest.

illam de patria Theseus, nisi nomine fallor,
nescioquis Theseus abstulit ante sua.
a iuvene, et cupido, credatur reddita virgo?
unde hoc compererim tam bene quaeris?

That one from her fatherland Theseus, unless I am deceived by the name,
some Theseus or other carried off before she was his own.
From a youth, and desirous, is the virgin to be credited as returned?
Do you ask whence I have found this out so well?

amo!
vim licet appelles et culpam nomine veles;
     quae totiens rapta est, praebuit ipsa rapi.
at manet Oenone fallenti casta marito—
     et poteras falli legibus ipse tuis:
Me Satyri celeres (silvis ego tecta latebam)
     quaesierunt rapido, turba proterva, pede
cornigerumque caput pinu praecinctus acuta
     Faunus, in immensis qua tumet Ida iugis.

I love!
though you may call it force and veil the culpability with a name;
     she who has so often been rapt, proffered herself to be rapt.
but Oenone remains chaste to her deceiving husband—
     and you yourself could be deceived by your own laws:
Me the swift Satyrs (I was hidden, covered, in the woods)
     sought with rapid foot, a wanton, insolent crowd,
and Faunus, girt with sharp pine about his horn-bearing head,
     where Ida swells in its immense ridges.

me fide conspicuus Troiae munitor amavit;
     ille meae spolium virginitatis habet.
id quoque luctando; rupi tamen ungue capillos
     oraque sunt digitis aspera facta meis.
nec pretium stupri gemmas aurumque poposci;
     turpiter ingenuum munera corpus emunt.

me the defender of Troy, conspicuous for loyalty, loved;
     he holds the spoil of my virginity.
that too after struggling; yet with my nail I tore his hair,
     and his face was made rough by my fingers.
nor did I demand as the price of the defilement gems and gold;
     shamefully, gifts purchase a freeborn body.

Ipse ratus dignam medicas mihi tradidit artes
admisitque meas ad sua dona manus.
quaecumque herba potens ad opem radixque medendi
utilis in toto nascitur orbe, mea est.
me miseram, quod amor non est medicabilis herbis!

He himself, judging me worthy, handed down to me the medical arts
and admitted my hands to his gifts.
whatever herb potent for aid and the root of healing
useful that grows in the whole orb, is mine.
wretched me, that love is not medicable by herbs!

     deficior prudens artis ab arte mea.
ipse repertor opis vaccas pavisse Pheraeas
     fertur et e nostro saucius igne fuit.
Quod nec graminibus tellus fecunda creandis
     nec deus, auxilium tu mihi ferre potes.

     Prudent in the art, I am defeated by my own art.
He himself, the discoverer of aid, is said to have pastured the Pheraean cows
     and was wounded by our fire as well.
Since neither the earth, fecund for creating grasses,
     nor the god, can bring aid, you can bring aid to me.

et potes et merui. dignae miserere puellae!
non ego cum Danais arma cruenta fero.

both you can and I have merited. pity the worthy girl!
I do not bear bloody arms with the Danaans.

sed tua sum tecumque fui puerilibus annis
et tua, quod superest temporis, esse precor.

but i am yours, and with you i was in childish years
and i pray to be yours for the time that remains.