Ovid 263-302 Flashcards
Hactenus, unde legas quod ames, ubi retia ponas,
Praecipit imparibus vecta Thalea rotis.
Nunc tibi, quae placuit, quas sit capienda per artes,
Dicere praecipuae molior artis opus.
So far, carried by uneven wheels, Thalia has taught you,
from where you should choose, what you should love, where you should place your nets.
Now I undertake the work of particular skill, to tell you
what pleases her and through which arts she will be captured.
‘unde legas’ -from where
‘quod ames’
‘imparibus rotis’ - uneven wheels
vecta- imp. (you are carried by uneven wheels)
‘praecipuae…artis’
molior- I undertake (+arte 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.
Attend, men, whoever and wherever you are, with teachable minds,
and common folk, be at hand and favourable to my pledge.
Let confidence come to your mind first,
All women are able to be taken, spread only your nets and you will catch.
vulgus- common people
pollicitis meis- my pledge
cunctas- all, whole (in the fem pl so all women)
capi- inf. pass.
capies- fut 2nd person
tende- imp.
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.
Birds would first be silent in the spring, or cicadas in the summer,
or a dog of Maenalius flee the hare,
than a woman, flatteringly wooed, resist a man,
even she, who you are able to believe to be unwilling, will wish it.
vere- abl of ver ‘spring’
aestate- abl summer
det…terga- construction: tergum do- turn tail, flee
Utque viro furtiva venus, sic grata puellae:
Vir male dissimulat: tectius illa cupit.
Conveniat maribus, ne quam nos ante rogemus,
Femina iam partes victa rogantis agat.
and as secret love is to a man, so is it pleasing to a girl,
A man hide badly, she conceals desire better.
It could be agreed by men that we don’t ask before her,
then the women, already won, would lead the asking.
grata- governs vir and puella
tectius- comp, concealing (better concealing)
conveniat- jussive subj.
con….agat- neg purpose clause.
Mollibus in pratis admugit femina tauro:
Femina cornipedi semper adhinnit equo.
Parcior in nobis nec tam furiosa libido:
Legitimum finem flamma virilis habet.
In the pleasant meadow, the female lows to the bull.
the mare always whinnies to the hoofed horse.
In us, desire is not so full of madness,
The flame of men has lawful boundaries.
parcior- comp of parcus (little, trifle)
Byblida quid referam, vetito quae fratris amore
Arsit et est laqueo fortiter ulta nefas?
Myrrha patrem, sed non qua filia debet, amavit,
Et nunc obducto cortice pressa latet:
Why should I tell of Byblia, who burned with forbidden love for her brother, and bravely punished her sins with a noose?
Myrrha loved her father, but not the way a daughter ought,
and now is concealed, compressed by enveloping bark.
alta- ppp of ulciscor ‘I avenge’
debeo- I owe/ought
Illius lacrimis, quas arbore fundit odora,
Unguimur, et dominae nomina gutta tenet.
Forte sub umbrosis nemorosae vallibus Idae
Candidus, armenti gloria, taurus erat,
with those tears, which pour from the fragrant wood,
we are anointed, and the drop holds the name of its mistress.
by chance, in the shady valleys of woody Ida,
a white bull, the glory of the herd, was.
Signatus tenui media inter cornua nigro:
Una fuit labes, cetera lactis erant.
Illum Cnosiadesque Cydoneaeque iuvencae
Optarunt tergo sustinuisse suo.
Marked out by slight black spot in the middle of his horns,
it was the one blemish, the rest was white.
The heifers of Cnosos and Crete,
chose him to carry on their backs.
iuvencae- young (fem)
sustinuisse- inf.
Pasiphaë fieri gaudebat adultera tauri;
Invida formosas oderat illa boves.
Nota cano: non hoc, centum quae sustinet urbes,
Quamvis sit mendax, Creta negare potest.
Pasiphae delighted to become the lover of the bull,
Envious, she hated the beautiful cows.
I sing the well known tale, Crete, who holds 100 cities,
is unable to deny this, although she is a liar,
fieri- inf. of fio
quamvis- although
non….negare- take as saying the same
Ipsa novas frondes et prata tenerrima tauro
Fertur inadsueta subsecuisse manu.
It comes armentis, nec ituram cura moratur
Coniugis, et Minos a bove victus erat.
New leaves and the softest meadow grass was brought to the bull,
cut by her own unaccustomed hand.
She goes as companion with the herd, nor does care for her husband
delay her going, and Minos was conquered by a bull.
it- pres. of eo
ituram- fut. par. of eo
