Subscribe: by Email | in Reader

The Amores: Book 1, Poem #3 -- Ovid

Guest poem sent in by Kerri
(Poem #1389) The Amores: Book 1, Poem #3
 Fair's fair now, Venus. This girl's got me hooked. All I'm asking from her
 Is love - or at least some future hope for my own
 Eternal devotion. No, even that's too much--hell, just let me love her!
 (Listen, Venus: I've asked you so often now.)
 Say yes, pet. I'd be your slave for years, for a lifetime.
 Say yes--unswerving fidelity's my strong suit.
 I may not have top-drawer connections, I can't produce blue-blooded
 Ancestors to impress you, my father's plain middle-class,
 And there aren't any squads of ploughmen to deal with my broad acres -
 My parents are both pretty thrifty, and need to be.
 What have I got on my side, then?  Poetic genius, sweetheart,
 Divine inspiration. And love. I'm yours to command -
 Unswerving faithfulness, morals above suspicion
 Naked simplicity, a born-to-the-purple blush.
 I don't chase thousands of girls, I'm no sexual circus-rider;
 Honestly, all I want is to look after you
 Till death do us part, have the two of us living together
 All my time, and know you'll cry for me when I'm gone.
 Besides, when you give me yourself, what you'll be providing
 Is creative material. My art will rise to the theme
 And immortalise you. Look, why do you think we remember
 The swan-upping of Leda, or Io's life as a cow,
 Or poor virgin Europa whisked off overseas, clutching
 That so-called bull by the - horn?  Through poems, of course.
 So you and I, love, will enjoy that same world-wide publicity,
 And our names will be linked, forever, with the gods.
-- Ovid
        (trans. from the Latin by Peter Green)

Hard to believe he was born in 43 BC, huh?  Such a wonderful,
irreverent, naughty, brilliant poet, bursting with passion and
self-confidence. For me, this poem has an exuberance which is
unstifled by the intervening years. So many great writers over the
centuries have been influenced by Ovid's works, and upon reading this,
it's apparent why. I just love this poem - it always makes me laugh
with sheer delight.

Kerri

[Latin original]

Iusta precor: quae me nuper praedata puella est,
    aut amet aut faciat, cur ego semper amem!
a, nimium volui—tantum patiatur amari;
    audierit nostras tot Cytherea preces!
Accipe, per longos tibi qui deserviat annos;
    accipe, qui pura norit amare fide!
si me non veterum commendant magna parentum
    nomina, si nostri sanguinis auctor eques,
nec meus innumeris renovatur campus aratris,
    temperat et sumptus parcus uterque parens—
at Phoebus comitesque novem vitisque repertor
    hac faciunt, et me qui tibi donat, Amor,
et nulli cessura fides, sine crimine mores
    nudaque simplicitas purpureusque pudor.
non mihi mille placent, non sum desultor amoris:
    tu mihi, siqua fides, cura perennis eris.
tecum, quos dederint annos mihi fila sororum,
    vivere contingat teque dolente mori!
te mihi materiem felicem in carmina praebe—
    provenient causa carmina digna sua.
carmine nomen habent exterrita cornibus Io
    et quam fluminea lusit adulter ave,
quaeque super pontum simulato vecta iuvenco
    virginea tenuit cornua vara manu.
nos quoque per totum pariter cantabimur orbem,
    iunctaque semper erunt nomina nostra tuis.

        -- [broken link] http://www.gmu.edu/departments/fld/CLASSICS/ovid.amor1.html

[Links]

A more literal translation:
http://www.tkline.freeserve.co.uk/Webworks/Website/AmoresBkI.htm#_TocPeter Green deserves at least some of the credit for the delightful irreverence
of the first translation.

A biography of Ovid:
 http://en2.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ovid

And of Peter Green (scroll to the bottom)
  [broken link] http://www.biserbalkanski.com/book_details.asp?book_id=15

Ovid FAQ:
  http://www.jiffycomp.com/smr/rob/faq/ovid_faq.php3

15 comments: ( or Leave a comment )

Unknown said...

I have been reading your posts regularly. I need to say that you are doing a fantastic job. Please keep up the great work.taxis in w2 | stansted to w2 | w2 minicabs

Unknown said...

I have been away since months from the internet, I just love reading these types of top quality blogs, Thanks for sharing.minicabs in w2 | cab w2 | mirza maqbool

GED or High School Diploma Online said...

This post is very motivating to read this article I would like to thank you for the efforts you had made for writing this remarkable post.

High School Diploma Program said...

Very intresting post i have got here keep it up.

bocahganteng said...

good
Beli Obat Herbal Kanker Payudara
Beli Obat Herbal Kanker Payudara Harga Murah
Beli Obat Herbal Kanker Payudara Yang Manjur
Beli Obat Herbal Kanker Payudara Stadium 2
Beli Obat Herbal Atasi Kanker Payudara
Artikel Obat Herbal Kanker Payudara
Artikel Obat Herbal Untuk Penyakit Kanker Payudara
Artikel Obat Herbal Kanker Payudara Jinak
Artikel Obat Herbal Kanker Payudara Parah
Artikel Obat Herbal Denature Buat Kanker Payudara
Harga Obat Kutil Kelamin Herbal De Nature
Harga Obat Kutil Kelamin Herbal Merk De Nature
Harga Obat Benjolan Kutil Kelamin Herbal De Nature
Harga Obat Infeksi Kutil Kelamin Herbal De Nature
Harga Obat Bintil Kutil Kelamin Herbal De Nature
Pusat Obat Kutil Kelamin Herbal De Nature
Pusat Obat Kutil Kelamin Herbal De Nature Asli
Pusat Obat Kutil Kelamin Kondiloma Herbal De Nature
Pusat Obat Kutil Kelamin Lelaki Herbal De Nature
Pusat Obat Kutil Kelamin Jengger Ayam Herbal De Nature
Resep Obat Kutil Kelamin Herbal De Nature
Resep Obat Kutil Kelamin Wanita Herbal De Nature
Resep Pengobatan Kutil Kelamin Herbal De Nature
Resep Obat Ampuh Atasi Kutil Kelamin Herbal De Nature
Cari Resep Obat Kutil Kelamin Herbal De Nature
Kumpulan Obat Kutil Kelamin Herbal De Nature
Kumpulan Obat Penyakit Kutil Kelamin Herbal De Nature
Kumpulan Obat Kutil Kelamin Pria Herbal De Nature
Kumpulan Obat Kutil Kelamin Herbal De Nature Mujarab
Kumpulan Obat Kutil Kelamin Herbal De Nature Asli
Cari Obat Kutil Kelamin Herbal De Nature
Cari Obat Perontok Kutil Kelamin Herbal De Nature
Cari Obat Salep Kutil Kelamin Herbal De Nature
Cari Obat Bintil Kutil Kelamin Herbal De Nature
Cari Obat Tuntaskan Kutil Kelamin Herbal De Nature

Venom said...

very good article nice information here i like to visit the website again Immagini Buon Inizio Anno Scolastico

Mohamed Abdellatif said...

النمل الأبيض أو الأرضة هو نوع من أنواع الحشرات، وهو ليس كالنمل العادي المعروف، فالصدر والبطن لديه متصلان ببعضهما مباشرة، وليس له خصر، وهو من الحشرات الكانسة، ويتسم بحياته السرية، ويتغذى بشكلٍ أساسيّ على السيليولوز، ويعيش في مستعمرات تتنوع فيها الطوائف التي تختلف في بنيتها ووظيفة كلٍّ منها، وللنمل الأبيض الكثير من الأضرار عند انتشاره في المنزل أو في الحديقة المنزلية، لذلك يجب على سكان المنزل التخلص منه بسرعة عن طريق اتباع بعض الطرق والخطوات الفعالة للقضاء عليه.[١]

شركة مكافحة النمل الابيض بالقصيم
شركة مكافحة النمل الابيض بابها
شركة مكافحة النمل الابيض بحائل
شركة مكافحة النمل الابيض بالقطيف

Ideal Assignment Help said...

Get My Assignment Help Service in Australian Students. We’ve a qualified and extremely experienced team of educational writing professionals that makes us stand incomparable from our peers. With their subject experience and wonderful writing skills, they need so far helped many students registered in varied universities across Australia to beat assignment writing.

alicetaylor said...

The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Amores, or Amours, by Ovid This eBook is for ... We who of late were five books 001 of Naso, are now but three: this work our author

click on here

bansal tirkey said...

We have actual scenarios that cause your purpose to double or treble. An escort maidservant is your partner for every action you want to do with them, similar to the Escorts Service in Chanakyapuri do. For your convenience, Eager for any of this young lady’s room, then you will be meeting with an independent, and clever young Escorts Service in Chanakyapuri committed to suit you an incredible social and suggestive experienceThe availability of Top Escorts Service in Chanakyapuri and other forms of Escorts, such as those associated with VIPs, makes it a popular choice amongst those who cannot afford their companion. Escorts Service in Chanakyapuri For Booking of Escorts Service in Chanakyapuri Delhi. Each and every detail that I have narrated here about my bodily assets is fully authentic and reliable We attempt the best Prostitutes in Chanakyapuri to be capable it give you the best assistance from our Escorts Service in Chanakyapuri. We have each sort of the young lady that can give you harmony and body love when you will invest enough energy with that young lady. But at the end of the day, human behavior is unpredictable and often goes against the tenets of probity and established norms. In this article, we will be delving a bit deep into the world of Escorts Service in Chanakyapuri

Post a Comment