The extracts below on the subject of "Love" are taken from a section in the "Cambridge Latin Anthology", Cambridge University Press, (1996).
1. How many kisses? (Catullus: Carmen 7.)
quaeris, quot mihi basiationes
tuae, Lesbia, sint satis superque.
quam magnus numerus Libyssae harenae
lasarpiciferis iacet Cyrenis
oraculum Iovis inter aestuosi
et Batti veteris sacrum sepulcrum;
aut quam sidera multa, cum tacet nox,
furtivos hominum vident amores:
tam te basia multa basiare
vesano satis et super Catullo est,
quae nec pernumerare curiosi
possint nec mala fascinare lingua.
You ask how many of your kisses are enough and more than enough for me. As many as the number of grains of sand in Libya that lie in silphium-bearing Cyrene, between the oracle of sweltering Jupiter and the sacred tomb of old Battus, or as many as the stars that see the secret love-affairs of men, when night is silent, so many kisses are enough and more than enough for mad Catullus to kiss you, (kisses) which neither the inquisitive can count nor (can) an evil spell bewitch.
2. Can she be faithful? (Catullus: Carmen 109.)
iucundum, mea vita, mihi proponis amorem
hunc nostrum inter nos perpetuumque fore.
di magni, facite ut vere promittere possit
atque id sincere dicat et ex animo,
ut liceat nobis tota perducere vita
aeternum hoc sanctae foedus amicitiae.
You declare to me, my life, that this love of ours will be sweet and everlasting between us. Great gods, grant that she can promise truly and let her say it sincerely and from the heart, so that it may be allowed to us that this life-long pact of holy friendship extends through our whole life.
hunc nostrum inter nos perpetuumque fore.
di magni, facite ut vere promittere possit
atque id sincere dicat et ex animo,
ut liceat nobis tota perducere vita
aeternum hoc sanctae foedus amicitiae.
You declare to me, my life, that this love of ours will be sweet and everlasting between us. Great gods, grant that she can promise truly and let her say it sincerely and from the heart, so that it may be allowed to us that this life-long pact of holy friendship extends through our whole life.
3. Conflicting emotions. (Catullus: Carmen 85.)
odi et amo. quare id faciam, fortasse requiris.
nescio, sed fieri sentio et excrucior.
I hate and I love. Perhaps you ask why I do this. I do not know, but I feel (it) is happening and I am being tortured.
4. Contradictions. (Martial: Epigrams XII. 46.)
difficilis facilis, iucundus acerbus es idem:
nec tecum possum vivere nec sine te.
You are likewise awkward (and) easy-going, pleasant (and) harsh: I can neither live with you nor without you.
5. Ovid picks a favourite at the races. (Ovid: Amores III, Carmen 2.)
non ego nobilium sedeo studiosus equorum;
cui tamen ipsa faves, vincat ut ille, precor.
ut loquerer tecum, veni, tecumque sederem,
ne tibi non notus, quem facis, esset amor.
tu cursus spectas, ego te: spectemus uterque
quod iuvat atque oculos pascat uterque suos.
o, cuicumque faves, felix agitator equorum!
ergo illi curae contigit esse tuae?
hoc mihi contingat, sacro de carcere missis
insistam forti mente vehendus equis,
et modo lora dabo, modo verbere terga notabo,
nunc stringam metas interiore rota.
si mihi currenti fueris conspecta, morabor,
deque meis manibus lora remissa fluent.
I am not sitting (here) keen on thoroughbred horses; however, I am praying that the one which you yourself favour may win. I have come to talk with you, and to sit with you, so that the love which you cause (lit. make) should not be unknown (lit. not known) to you. You look at the race, I (look at) you: let each of us look at what pleases (us), and let each of us feast our eyes. O whomever you favour, (may) the driver of the horses be lucky! So, has he had the good luck (lit. has it happened to him) that he is of concern to you? If I should have this good luck (lit. if this should happen to me), I should press on with a resolute mind, carried along by the horses despatched from the sacred starting gate, and I should both slacken the reins and mark their backs with the whip, (and) now I should graze the turning posts with the inner wheel. (But), if you are noticed by me as I race (lit. racing), I should slow down and the slackened reins would drop from my hands.
cui tamen ipsa faves, vincat ut ille, precor.
ut loquerer tecum, veni, tecumque sederem,
ne tibi non notus, quem facis, esset amor.
tu cursus spectas, ego te: spectemus uterque
quod iuvat atque oculos pascat uterque suos.
o, cuicumque faves, felix agitator equorum!
ergo illi curae contigit esse tuae?
hoc mihi contingat, sacro de carcere missis
insistam forti mente vehendus equis,
et modo lora dabo, modo verbere terga notabo,
nunc stringam metas interiore rota.
si mihi currenti fueris conspecta, morabor,
deque meis manibus lora remissa fluent.
I am not sitting (here) keen on thoroughbred horses; however, I am praying that the one which you yourself favour may win. I have come to talk with you, and to sit with you, so that the love which you cause (lit. make) should not be unknown (lit. not known) to you. You look at the race, I (look at) you: let each of us look at what pleases (us), and let each of us feast our eyes. O whomever you favour, (may) the driver of the horses be lucky! So, has he had the good luck (lit. has it happened to him) that he is of concern to you? If I should have this good luck (lit. if this should happen to me), I should press on with a resolute mind, carried along by the horses despatched from the sacred starting gate, and I should both slacken the reins and mark their backs with the whip, (and) now I should graze the turning posts with the inner wheel. (But), if you are noticed by me as I race (lit. racing), I should slow down and the slackened reins would drop from my hands.
6. Pyrrha. (Horace: Odes I, Carmen 5.)
quis multa gracilis te puer in rosa
perfusus liquidis urget odoribus
grato, Pyrrha, sub antro?
cui flavam religas comam.
simplex munditiis? heu quotiens fidem
mutatosque deos flebit et aspera
nigris aequora ventis
emirabitur insolens,
qui nunc te fruitur credulus aurea,
qui semper vacuam, semper amabilem
sperat, nescius aurae
fallacis. miseris quibus
intemptata nites. me tabula sacer
votiva paries indicat uvida
suspendisse potenti
vestimenta maris deo.
Which slender boy, drenched in liquid perfume, makes love to you, Pyrrha, amid many a rose deep inside a welcoming cave? For whom do you, simple in elegance, tie up that blonde hair? Alas! how often he will weep at the (broken) promise and the changeable gods, and, inexperienced (as he is), he will wonder at the sea (made) rough by black winds, (he) who now credulously enjoys you, golden (in your love), (he) who, unaware of the treacherous breeze, hopes (you) will be ever available, ever lovable. (They are) wretched to whom you sparkle, untried. The sacred wall with votive tablet declares that I have hung up my wet clothing to the god with power over the sea (i.e. Neptune).
perfusus liquidis urget odoribus
grato, Pyrrha, sub antro?
cui flavam religas comam.
simplex munditiis? heu quotiens fidem
mutatosque deos flebit et aspera
nigris aequora ventis
emirabitur insolens,
qui nunc te fruitur credulus aurea,
qui semper vacuam, semper amabilem
sperat, nescius aurae
fallacis. miseris quibus
intemptata nites. me tabula sacer
votiva paries indicat uvida
suspendisse potenti
vestimenta maris deo.
Which slender boy, drenched in liquid perfume, makes love to you, Pyrrha, amid many a rose deep inside a welcoming cave? For whom do you, simple in elegance, tie up that blonde hair? Alas! how often he will weep at the (broken) promise and the changeable gods, and, inexperienced (as he is), he will wonder at the sea (made) rough by black winds, (he) who now credulously enjoys you, golden (in your love), (he) who, unaware of the treacherous breeze, hopes (you) will be ever available, ever lovable. (They are) wretched to whom you sparkle, untried. The sacred wall with votive tablet declares that I have hung up my wet clothing to the god with power over the sea (i.e. Neptune).
7. Alcyone fears for her husband Ceyx who has to go on a journey. (Ovid: Metamorphoses XI, lines 415-424; 427-429; 439-443.)
consilii tamen ante sui, fidissima, certam
te facit, Alcyone; cui protinus intima frigus
ossa receperunt, buxoque simillimus ora
pallor obit, lacrimisque genae maduere profusis.
ter conata loqui, ter fletibus ora rigavit,
singultuque pias interrumpente querellas
"quae meas culpa tuam" dixit "carissime, mentem
vertit? ubi est, quae cura mei prior esse solebat?
iam potes Alcyone securus abesse relicta?
iam via longa placet? iam sum carior absens?
aequora me terrent et ponti tristis imago!
et laceras nuper tabulas in litore vidi,
et saepe in tumulis sine corpore nomina legi.
quod tua si flecti precibus sententia nullis,
care potest, coniunx, nimiumque es certus eundi,
me quoque tolle simul! certe iactabimur una,
nec nisi quae patiar, metuam; pariterque feremus,
quidquid erit, pariter super aequo lata feremur."
Before (he sails), however, he makes you aware of his plan, most faithful Alcyone; immediately her innermost bones received a chill, and a pallor similar to boxwood covered her face, and her cheeks became wet, the tears pouring down. Three times she tried to speak, (but) three times her face was wet with tears, and with sobbing interrupting her loving protests, she said, "What fault of mine has changed your mind, dearest? Where is that concern for me which used to be first? Are you now able to be away, untroubled, Alcyone having been abandoned? Does the long journey now please (you)? Am I now dearer to you (when) absent? The waves and the vision of the sad sea terrify me! and recently I have seen planks on the shore, and often I have read names on tombs without a body. But if, dear husband, your intention can be influenced by no prayers, and you are absolutely set on going, take me together (with you) also! At least, we shall be tossed about together, and I shall not fear except that which I shall suffer; and together we shall endure whatever will be, (and) together we shall be carried over the wide seas.
8. Love will not let the poet sleep. (Petronius: Poem 26.)
lecto compositus vix prima silentia noctis
carpebam et somno lumina victa dabam,
cum me saevus Amor prensat sursumque capillis
excitat et lacerum pervigilare iubet.
"tu famulus meus" inquit "ames cum mille puellas,
solus, io, solus, dure, iacere potes?"
exsilio et pedibus nudis tunicaque soluta
omne iter impedio, nullum iter expedio.
nunc propero, nunc ire piget, rursumque redire
paenitet, et pudor est stare via media.
ecce tacent voces hominum strepitusque viarum
et volucrem cantus turbaque fida canum:
solus ego ex cunctis paveo somnumque torumque,
et sequor imperium, magne Cupido, tuum.
Only just settled in my bed, I was beginning to enjoy the first silence of the night and was giving up my conquered eyes to sleep, when savage Love grabs hold of me and raises (me) up by the hair and orders (me), shattered (as I am), to stay awake. "Can you, my slave," he says, "although you love a thousand girls, lie alone, yes, alone, (you) hard-hearted one?" I jump up, and with bare feet and loose tunic, I start down (lit. block) each road and find my way by none (lit. free no way). Now I hurry, now it vexes me to go, and again I repent (lit. it repents [me]) to return, and it is a shame to stand in the middle of the road. Behold, the voices of men and the noises of the streets are quiet, as are (lit. and) the songs of birds and the faithful pack of dogs: I, alone out of all (of these), dread both sleep and bed, and follow your command, great Cupid.
consilii tamen ante sui, fidissima, certam
te facit, Alcyone; cui protinus intima frigus
ossa receperunt, buxoque simillimus ora
pallor obit, lacrimisque genae maduere profusis.
ter conata loqui, ter fletibus ora rigavit,
singultuque pias interrumpente querellas
"quae meas culpa tuam" dixit "carissime, mentem
vertit? ubi est, quae cura mei prior esse solebat?
iam potes Alcyone securus abesse relicta?
iam via longa placet? iam sum carior absens?
aequora me terrent et ponti tristis imago!
et laceras nuper tabulas in litore vidi,
et saepe in tumulis sine corpore nomina legi.
quod tua si flecti precibus sententia nullis,
care potest, coniunx, nimiumque es certus eundi,
me quoque tolle simul! certe iactabimur una,
nec nisi quae patiar, metuam; pariterque feremus,
quidquid erit, pariter super aequo lata feremur."
Before (he sails), however, he makes you aware of his plan, most faithful Alcyone; immediately her innermost bones received a chill, and a pallor similar to boxwood covered her face, and her cheeks became wet, the tears pouring down. Three times she tried to speak, (but) three times her face was wet with tears, and with sobbing interrupting her loving protests, she said, "What fault of mine has changed your mind, dearest? Where is that concern for me which used to be first? Are you now able to be away, untroubled, Alcyone having been abandoned? Does the long journey now please (you)? Am I now dearer to you (when) absent? The waves and the vision of the sad sea terrify me! and recently I have seen planks on the shore, and often I have read names on tombs without a body. But if, dear husband, your intention can be influenced by no prayers, and you are absolutely set on going, take me together (with you) also! At least, we shall be tossed about together, and I shall not fear except that which I shall suffer; and together we shall endure whatever will be, (and) together we shall be carried over the wide seas.
8. Love will not let the poet sleep. (Petronius: Poem 26.)
lecto compositus vix prima silentia noctis
carpebam et somno lumina victa dabam,
cum me saevus Amor prensat sursumque capillis
excitat et lacerum pervigilare iubet.
"tu famulus meus" inquit "ames cum mille puellas,
solus, io, solus, dure, iacere potes?"
exsilio et pedibus nudis tunicaque soluta
omne iter impedio, nullum iter expedio.
nunc propero, nunc ire piget, rursumque redire
paenitet, et pudor est stare via media.
ecce tacent voces hominum strepitusque viarum
et volucrem cantus turbaque fida canum:
solus ego ex cunctis paveo somnumque torumque,
et sequor imperium, magne Cupido, tuum.
Only just settled in my bed, I was beginning to enjoy the first silence of the night and was giving up my conquered eyes to sleep, when savage Love grabs hold of me and raises (me) up by the hair and orders (me), shattered (as I am), to stay awake. "Can you, my slave," he says, "although you love a thousand girls, lie alone, yes, alone, (you) hard-hearted one?" I jump up, and with bare feet and loose tunic, I start down (lit. block) each road and find my way by none (lit. free no way). Now I hurry, now it vexes me to go, and again I repent (lit. it repents [me]) to return, and it is a shame to stand in the middle of the road. Behold, the voices of men and the noises of the streets are quiet, as are (lit. and) the songs of birds and the faithful pack of dogs: I, alone out of all (of these), dread both sleep and bed, and follow your command, great Cupid.
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