Ovid 33-66 Flashcards
Nos venerem tutam concessaque furta canemus,
Inque meo nullum carmine crimen erit.
Principio, quod amare velis, reperire labora,
Qui nova nunc primum miles in arma venis.
I will sing of safe love and permitted intrigue,
there will be no crime in my poem.
First, strive to find the object you wish to love,
You, who comes now for the first time as new soldiers in this war.
quod- the object of desire
velis- subj.
labora- imperative of laboro
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.
The next task to this is to win over a pleasing girl;
And third, that love endures a long time.
This is the limit, this ground marked by my chariot;
this the winning post my loose reigned wheels will wear down.
ut- takes the subjunctive
duret- subj.
longo tempore- abl. of time
signabitur- fut. pass
nostro…curru- instru. abl
terenda- fut. pass. part. of tero.
admissa- abl. sg. admisso here translates to ‘give loose reign to’
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.
While it is allowed and you able to go here and there with loosen reins,
choose to who you say ‘you alone please me.’
She will not come to you, descending through thin air;
she must be sought, the girl suited to your eyes.
passim- here and there
elige- pres. imperative.
dicas- subj.
places- takes the dat.
Scit bene venator, cervis ubi retia tendat,
Scit bene, qua frendens valle moretur aper;
Aucupibus noti frutices; qui sustinet hamos,
Novit quae multo pisce natentur aquae:
The knows well where to stretch out his nets for the deer,
he knows well where in the valley the boars who gnash their teeth loiter;
the fowler knows the shrubs, he who holds the hook,
knows which waters the fish are swimming;
tendat- present because scit is pres. (sequence of tenses=primary sequence)
noti- ppp of nosco (having already been learnt)
natentur- passive subj.
Tu quoque, materiam longo qui quaeris amori,
Ante frequens quo sit disce puella loco.
Non ego quaerentem vento dare vela iubebo,
Nec tibi, ut invenias, longa terenda via est.
You also, who seeks the matter of long lasting love,
Learn first what places the girl frequents.
I will not order you to put your sails to the wind and search,
nor that you discover a long path by treading.
disce- imperative.
Andromedan Perseus nigris portarit ab Indis,
Raptaque sit Phrygio Graia puella viro,
Tot tibi tamque dabit formosas Roma puellas,
“Haec habet” ut dicas “quicquid in orbe fuit.”
Perseus brought Andomeda from dark India,
the Greek girl was carried off by the Phrygian man,
And Rome will give to you so many beautiful girls, that you say ‘This place holds everything that is in the world.’
tot…‘fuit’- result clause. (r.c are tense by sense)
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.
As many cornfields at Gargara, as many clusters of grapes held at Methymna,
as many fish in the sea, or birds hiding in leaves,
as many stars in the sky, as girls held in your Rome;
The mother of Aenaes established in his city.
quot…tot- are correlatives. ‘as many as’
lit. as many stars in the sky so many girls held in Rome.
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:
Whether you are still captured by the first of growing years,
a true girl will come before your eyes.
Or if you desire a young adult, a thousand will please you.
You will be compelled to not know your desire
(you won’t know which to choose)
iuvenem- while it means young adult, the age range is really 20-40 roughly.
Seu te forte iuvat sera et sapientior aetas,
Hoc quoque, crede mihi, plenius agmen erit.
Or if you favour late and wiser in age,
still more will be the multitude, believe me.
iuvat- impersonal verb, so takes the acc as its subject(doing the action)
sapientior/plenius- comparatives.
