Ovid 1 Flashcards
quaerenda est oculis apta puella tuis.
A girl must be sought who is suitable for your eyes.
scit bene venator, cervis ubi retia tendat,
The hunter well knows where to stretch out nets for stags,
scit bene, qua frendens valle moretur aper;
He well knows in which valley the boar waits gnashing its teeth;
aucupibus noti frutices; qui sustinet hamos,
Shrubs are well known to bird catchers; the man who holds fish hooks,
novit quae multo pisce natentur aquae:
Knows which waters teem with many a fish:
tu quoque, materiam longo qui quaeris amori,
You too, who seek subject matter for a long love,
ante frequens quo sit disce piella loco.
Learn first in which place is many a girl.
non ego quaerentem vento dare vela iubebo,
i am not going to order the seeker to expose his sails to the wind,
nec tibi, ut invenias, longa terenda via est.
And you must not tread a long road in order to find her.
Andromedan Perseus nigris portarit ab Indis,
Perseus may have carried Andromeda to dark India,
raptaque sit Phrygio Graia puella viro,
And the Greek girl was seized by a Trojan man,
tot tibi tamque dabit formosas Roma puellas,
Rome will give you so many and such beautiful girls,
‘haec habet’ ut dicas ‘quicquid in orbe fuit.’
That you say ‘This has whatever there was in the world.’