Now, how it comes that we,Whene'er we wish, can step with strides ahead,And how 'tis given to move our limbs about,And what device is wont to push aheadThis the big load of our corporeal frame,I'll say to thee- do thou attend what's said.I say that first some idol-films of walkingInto our mind do fall and smite the mind,As said before. Thereafter will arises;For no one starts to do a thing, beforeThe intellect previsions what it wills;And what it there pre-visioneth dependsOn what that image is. When, therefore, mindDoth so bestir itself that it doth willTo go and step along, it strikes at onceThat energy of soul that's sown aboutIn all the body through the limbs and frame-And this is easy of performance, sinceThe soul is close conjoined with the mind.Next, soul in turn strikes body, and by degreesThus the whole mass is pushed along and moved.Then too the body rarefies, and air,Forsooth as ever of such nimbleness,Comes on and penetrates aboundinglyThrough opened pores, and thus is sprinkled roundUnto all smallest places in our frame.Thus then by these twain factors, severally,Body is borne like ship with oars and wind.Nor yet in these affairs is aught for wonderThat particles so fine can whirl aroundSo great a body and turn this weight of ours;For wind, so tenuous with its subtle body,Yet pushes, driving on the mighty shipOf mighty bulk; one hand directs the same,Whatever its momentum, and one helmWhirls it around, whither ye please; and loads,Many and huge, are moved and hoisted highBy enginery of pulley-blocks and wheels,With but light strain.
Nunc qui fiat uti passus proferre queamus,cum volumus, quareque datum sit membra movereet quae res tantum hoc oneris protrudere nostricorporis insuerit, dicam: tu percipe dicta.dico animo nostro primum simulacra meandiaccidere atque animum pulsare, ut diximus ante.inde voluntas fit; neque enim facere incipit ullamrem quisquam, [quam] mens providit quid velit ante.id quod providet, illius rei constat imago,ergo animus cum sese ita commovet ut velit ireinque gredi, ferit extemplo quae in corpore totoper membra atque artus animai dissita vis est;et facilest factu, quoniam coniuncta tenetur.inde ea proporro corpus ferit, atque ita totapaulatim moles protruditur atque movetur.praeterea tum rarescit quoque corpus et aër,scilicet ut debet qui semper mobilis extat,per patefacta venit penetratque foramina largus,et dispargitur ad partis ita quasque minutascorporis. hic igitur rebus fit utrimque duabus,corpus ut ac navis velis ventoque feratur.nec tamen illud in his rebus mirabile constat,tantula quod tantum corpus corpuscula possuntcontorquere et onus totum convertere nostrum;quippe etenim ventus subtili corpore tenvistrudit agens magnam magno molimine navemet manus una regit quanto vis impete euntematque gubernaclum contorquet quo libet unum,multaque per trocleas et tympana pondere magnocommovet atque levi sustollit machina nisu.
Now, by what modes this sleepPours through our members waters of reposeAnd frees the breast from cares of mind, I'll tellIn verses sweeter than they many are;Even as the swan's slight note is better farThan that dispersed clamour of the cranesAmong the southwind's aery clouds. Do thouGive me sharp ears and a sagacious mind,-That thou mayst not deny the things to beWhereof I'm speaking, nor depart awayWith bosom scorning these the spoken truths,Thyself at fault unable to perceive.Sleep chiefly comes when energy of soulHath now been scattered through the frame, and partExpelled abroad and gone away, and partCrammed back and settling deep within the frame-Whereafter then our loosened members droop.For doubt is none that by the work of soulExist in us this sense, and when by slumberThat sense is thwarted, we are bound to thinkThe soul confounded and expelled abroad-Yet not entirely, else the frame would lieDrenched in the everlasting cold of death.In sooth, where no one part of soul remainedLurking among the members, even as fireLurks buried under many ashes, whenceCould sense amain rekindled be in members,As flame can rise anew from unseen fire?
Nunc quibus ille modis somnus per membra quieteminriget atque animi curas e pectore solvat,suavidicis potius quom multis versibus edam,parvus ut est cycni melior canor, ille gruum quamclamor in aetheriis dispersus nubibus austri.tu mihi da tenuis auris animumque sagacem,ne fieri negites quae dicam posse retroquevera repulsanti discedas pectore dicta,tutemet in culpa cum sis neque cernere possis.Principio somnus fit ubi est distracta per artusvis animae partimque foras eiecta recessitet partim contrusa magis concessit in altum;dissoluuntur enim tum demum membra fluuntque.nam dubium non est, animai quin opera sitsensus hic in nobis, quem cum sopor inpedit esse,tum nobis animam perturbatam esse putandumsteiectamque foras, non omnem; namque iaceretaeterno corpus perfusum frigore leti.quippe ubi nulla latens animai pars remaneretin membris, cinere ut multa latet obrutus ignis,unde reconflari sensus per membra repentepossit, ut ex igni caeco consurgere flamma?
By what devices this strange state and newMay be occasioned, and by what the soulCan be confounded and the frame grow faint,I will untangle: see to it, thou, that IPour forth my words not unto empty winds.In first place, body on its outer parts-Since these are touched by neighbouring aery gusts-Must there be thumped and strook by blows of airRepeatedly. And therefore almost allAre covered either with hides, or else with shells,Or with the horny callus, or with bark.Yet this same air lashes their inner parts,When creatures draw a breath or blow it out.Wherefore, since body thus is flogged alikeUpon the inside and the out, and blowsCome in upon us through the little poresEven inward to our body's primal partsAnd primal elements, there comes to passBy slow degrees, along our members then,A kind of overthrow; for then confoundedAre those arrangements of the primal germsOf body and of mind. It comes to passThat next a part of soul's expelled abroad,A part retreateth in recesses hid,A part, too, scattered all about the frame,Cannot become united nor engageIn interchange of motion. Nature nowSo hedges off approaches and the paths;And thus the sense, its motions all deranged,Retires down deep within; and since there's naught,As 'twere, to prop the frame, the body weakens,And all the members languish, and the armsAnd eyelids fall, and, as ye lie abed,Even there the houghs will sag and loose their powers.Again, sleep follows after food, becauseThe food produces same result as air,Whilst being scattered round through all the veins;And much the heaviest is that slumber which,Full or fatigued, thou takest; since 'tis thenThat the most bodies disarrange themselves,Bruised by labours hard. And in same wise,This three-fold change: a forcing of the soulDown deeper, more a casting-forth of it,A moving more divided in its partsAnd scattered more.
Sed quibus haec rebus novitas confiat et undeperturbari anima et corpus languescere possit,expediam: tu fac ne ventis verba profundam.Principio externa corpus de parte necessum est,aëriis quoniam vicinum tangitur auris,tundier atque eius crebro pulsarier ictu,proptereaque fere res omnes aut corio suntaut etiam conchis aut callo aut cortice tectae.interiorem etiam partem spirantibus aërverberat hic idem, cum ducitur atque reflatur.quare utrimque secus cum corpus vapulet et cumperveniant plagae per parva foramina nobiscorporis ad primas partis elementaque prima,fit quasi paulatim nobis per membra ruina.conturbantur enim positurae principiorumcorporis atque animi. fit uti pars inde animaieliciatur et introrsum pars abdita cedat,pars etiam distracta per artus non queat esseconiuncta inter se neque motu mutua fungi;inter enim saepit coetus natura viasque.ergo sensus abit mutatis motibus alte.et quoniam non est quasi quod suffulciat artus,debile fit corpus languescuntque omnia membra,bracchia palpebraeque cadunt poplitesque cubantisaepe tamen summittuntur virisque resolvunt.Deinde cibum sequitur somnus, quia, quae facit aër,haec eadem cibus, in venas dum diditur omnis,efficit. et multo sopor ille gravissimus exstat,quem satur aut lassus capias, quia plurima tum secorpora conturbant magno contusa labore.fit ratione eadem coniectus parte animaialtior atque foras eiectus largior eius,et divisior inter se ac distractior intus.
And to whate'er pursuitA man most clings absorbed, or what the affairsOn which we theretofore have tarried much,And mind hath strained upon the more, we seemIn sleep not rarely to go at the same.The lawyers seem to plead and cite decrees,Commanders they to fight and go at frays,Sailors to live in combat with the winds,And we ourselves indeed to make this book,And still to seek the nature of the worldAnd set it down, when once discovered, hereIn these my country's leaves. Thus all pursuits,All arts in general seem in sleeps to mockAnd master the minds of men. And whosoeverDay after day for long to games have givenAttention undivided, still they keep(As oft we note), even when they've ceased to graspThose games with their own senses, open pathsWithin the mind wherethrough the idol-filmsOf just those games can come. And thus it isFor many a day thereafter those appearFloating before the eyes, that even awakeThey think they view the dancers moving roundTheir supple limbs, and catch with both the earsThe liquid song of harp and speaking chords,And view the same assembly on the seats,And manifold bright glories of the stage-So great the influence of pursuit and zest,And of the affairs wherein 'thas been the wontOf men to be engaged-nor only men,But soothly all the animals. Behold,Thou'lt see the sturdy horses, though outstretched,Yet sweating in their sleep, and panting ever,And straining utmost strength, as if for prize,As if, with barriers opened now...And hounds of huntsmen oft in soft reposeYet toss asudden all their legs about,And growl and bark, and with their nostrils sniffThe winds again, again, as though indeedThey'd caught the scented foot-prints of wild beasts,And, even when wakened, often they pursueThe phantom images of stags, as thoughThey did perceive them fleeing on before,Until the illusion's shaken off and dogsCome to themselves again. And fawning breedOf house-bred whelps do feel the sudden urgeTo shake their bodies and start from off the ground,As if beholding stranger-visages.And ever the fiercer be the stock, the moreIn sleep the same is ever bound to rage.But flee the divers tribes of birds and vexWith sudden wings by night the groves of gods,When in their gentle slumbers they have dreamedOf hawks in chase, aswooping on for fight.Again, the minds of mortals which performWith mighty motions mighty enterprises,Often in sleep will do and dare the sameIn manner like. Kings take the towns by storm,Succumb to capture, battle on the field,Raise a wild cry as if their throats were cutEven then and there. And many wrestle onAnd groan with pains, and fill all regions roundWith mighty cries and wild, as if then gnawedBy fangs of panther or of lion fierce.Many amid their slumbers talk aboutTheir mighty enterprises, and have oftenEnough become the proof of their own crimes.Many meet death; many, as if headlongFrom lofty mountains tumbling down to earthWith all their frame, are frenzied in their fright;And after sleep, as if still mad in mind,They scarce come to, confounded as they areBy ferment of their frame. The thirsty man,Likewise, he sits beside delightful springOr river and gulpeth down with gaping throatNigh the whole stream. And oft the innocent young,By sleep o'ermastered, think they lift their dressBy pail or public jordan and then voidThe water filtered down their frame entireAnd drench the Babylonian coverlets,Magnificently bright. Again, those malesInto the surging channels of whose yearsNow first has passed the seed (engenderedWithin their members by the ripened days)Are in their sleep confronted from withoutBy idol-images of some fair form-Tidings of glorious face and lovely bloom,Which stir and goad the regions turgid nowWith seed abundant; so that, as it wereWith all the matter acted duly out,They pour the billows of a potent streamAnd stain their garment.
Et quo quisque fere studio devinctus adhaeretaut quibus in rebus multum sumus ante moratiatque in ea ratione fuit contenta magis mens,in somnis eadem plerumque videmur obire:causidici causas agere et componere leges,induperatores pugnare ac proelia obire,nautae contractum cum ventis degere bellum,nos agere hoc autem et naturam quaerere rerumsemper et inventam patriis exponere chartis.cetera sic studia atque artes plerumque videnturin somnis animos hominum frustrata tenere.et qui cumque dies multos ex ordine ludisadsiduas dederunt operas, plerumque videmus,cum iam destiterunt ea sensibus usurpare,relicuas tamen esse vias in mente patentis,qua possint eadem rerum simulacra venire;per multos itaque illa dies eadem obversanturante oculos, etiam vigilantes ut videanturcernere saltantis et mollia membra moventiset citharae liquidum carmen chordasque loquentisauribus accipere et consessum cernere eundemscenaique simul varios splendere decores.usque adeo magni refert studium atque voluntas,et quibus in rebus consuerint esse operatinon homines solum sed vero animalia cuncta.quippe videbis equos fortis, cum membra iacebunt,in somnis sudare tamen spirareque semperet quasi de palma summas contendere virisaut quasi carceribus patefactis [edere voces]venantumque canes in molli saepe quieteiactant crura tamen subito vocisque repentemittunt et crebro redducunt naribus auras.ut vestigia si teneant inventa ferarum,expergefactique secuntur inania saepecervorum simulacra, fugae quasi dedita cernant,donec discussis redeant erroribus ad se.at consueta domi catulorum blanda propagodiscutere et corpus de terra corripere instant,[iactant crura tamen subito vocisque repente][mittunt et crebro redducunt naribus auras][ut vestigia si teneant inventa ferarum][expergefactique secuntur inania saepe]proinde quasi ignotas facies atque ora tuantur.et quo quaeque magis sunt aspera seminiorum,tam magis in somnis eadem saevire necessust.at variae fugiunt volucres pinnisque repentesollicitant divom nocturno tempore lucos,accipitres somno in leni si proelia pugnasedere sunt persectantes visaeque volantes.porro hominum mentes, magnis quae motibus eduntmagna, itidem saepe in somnis faciuntque geruntque,reges expugnant, capiuntur, proelia miscent,tollunt clamorem, quasi si iugulentur ibidem.multi depugnant gemitusque doloribus eduntet quasi pantherae morsu saevive leonismandantur, magnis clamoribus omnia complent.multi de magnis per somnum rebus loquunturindicioque sui facti persaepe fuere.multi mortem obeunt. multi, de montibus altisut quasi praecipitent ad terram corpore toto,exterruntur et ex somno quasi mentibus captivix ad se redeunt permoti corporis aestu.flumen item sitiens aut fontem propter amoenumadsidet et totum prope faucibus occupat amnem.puri saepe lacum propter si ac dolia curtasomno devincti credunt se extollere vestem,totius umorem saccatum corporis fundunt,cum Babylonica magnifico splendore rigantur.tum quibus aetatis freta primitus insinuatursemen, ubi ipsa dies membris matura creavit,conveniunt simulacra foris e corpore quoque,nuntia praeclari voltus pulchrique coloris,qui ciet inritans loca turgida semine multo,ut quasi transactis saepe omnibus rebus profundantfluminis ingentis fluctus vestemque cruentent.
And as said before,That seed is roused in us when once ripe ageHas made our body strong...As divers causes give to divers thingsImpulse and irritation, so one forceIn human kind rouses the human seedTo spurt from man. As soon as ever it issues,Forced from its first abodes, it passes downIn the whole body through the limbs and frame,Meeting in certain regions of our thews,And stirs amain the genitals of man.The goaded regions swell with seed, and thenComes the delight to dart the same at whatThe mad desire so yearns, and body seeksThat object, whence the mind by love is pierced.For well-nigh each man falleth toward his wound,And our blood spurts even toward the spot from whenceThe stroke wherewith we are strook, and if indeedThe foe be close, the red jet reaches him.Thus, one who gets a stroke from Venus' shafts-Whether a boy with limbs effeminateAssault him, or a woman darting loveFrom all her body- that one strains to getEven to the thing whereby he's hit, and longsTo join with it and cast into its frameThe fluid drawn even from within its own.For the mute craving doth presage delight.
Sollicitatur id [in] nobis, quod diximus ante,semen, adulta aetas cum primum roborat artus.namque alias aliud res commovet atque lacessit;ex homine humanum semen ciet una hominis vis.quod simul atque suis eiectum sedibus exit,per membra atque artus decedit corpore toto,in loca conveniens nervorum certa cietquecontinuo partis genitalis corporis ipsas.inritata tument loca semine fitque voluntaseicere id quo se contendit dira lubido,[incitat inritans loca turgida semine multo]idque petit corpus, mens unde est saucia amore;namque omnes plerumque cadunt in vulnus et illamemicat in partem sanguis, unde icimur ictu,et si comminus est, hostem ruber occupat umor.sic igitur Veneris qui telis accipit ictus,sive puer membris muliebribus hunc iaculaturseu mulier toto iactans e corpore amorem,unde feritur, eo tendit gestitque coireet iacere umorem in corpus de corpore ductum;namque voluptatem praesagit muta cupido.
This craving 'tis that's Venus unto us:From this, engender all the lures of love,From this, O first hath into human heartsTrickled that drop of joyance which ere longIs by chill care succeeded. Since, indeed,Though she thou lovest now be far away,Yet idol-images of her are nearAnd the sweet name is floating in thy ear.But it behooves to flee those images;And scare afar whatever feeds thy love;And turn elsewhere thy mind; and vent the sperm,Within thee gathered, into sundry bodies,Nor, with thy thoughts still busied with one love,Keep it for one delight, and so store upCare for thyself and pain inevitable.For, lo, the ulcer just by nourishingGrows to more life with deep inveteracy,And day by day the fury swells aflame,And the woe waxes heavier day by day-Unless thou dost destroy even by new blowsThe former wounds of love, and curest themWhile yet they're fresh, by wandering freely roundAfter the freely-wandering Venus, orCanst lead elsewhere the tumults of thy mind.
Haec Venus est nobis; hinc autemst nomen Amoris,hinc illaec primum Veneris dulcedinis in corstillavit gutta et successit frigida cura;nam si abest quod ames, praesto simulacra tamen suntillius et nomen dulce obversatur ad auris.sed fugitare decet simulacra et pabula amorisabsterrere sibi atque alio convertere mentemet iacere umorem coniectum in corpora quaequenec retinere semel conversum unius amoreet servare sibi curam certumque dolorem;ulcus enim vivescit et inveterascit alendoinque dies gliscit furor atque aerumna gravescit,si non prima novis conturbes volnera plagisvolgivagaque vagus Venere ante recentia curesaut alio possis animi traducere motus.
Nor doth that man who keeps away from loveYet lack the fruits of Venus; rather takesThose pleasures which are free of penalties.For the delights of Venus, verily,Are more unmixed for mortals sane-of-soulThan for those sick-at-heart with love-pining.Yea, in the very moment of possessing,Surges the heat of lovers to and fro,Restive, uncertain; and they cannot fixOn what to first enjoy with eyes and hands.The parts they sought for, those they squeeze so tight,And pain the creature's body, close their teethOften against her lips, and smite with kissMouth into mouth,- because this same delightIs not unmixed; and underneath are stingsWhich goad a man to hurt the very thing,Whate'er it be, from whence arise for himThose germs of madness. But with gentle touchVenus subdues the pangs in midst of love,And the admixture of a fondling joyDoth curb the bites of passion. For they hopeThat by the very body whence they caughtThe heats of love their flames can be put out.But nature protests 'tis all quite otherwise;For this same love it is the one sole thingOf which, the more we have, the fiercer burnsThe breast with fell desire. For food and drinkAre taken within our members; and, since theyCan stop up certain parts, thus, easilyDesire of water is glutted and of bread.But, lo, from human face and lovely bloomNaught penetrates our frame to be enjoyedSave flimsy idol-images and vain-A sorry hope which oft the winds disperse.As when the thirsty man in slumber seeksTo drink, and water ne'er is granted himWherewith to quench the heat within his members,But after idols of the liquids strivesAnd toils in vain, and thirsts even whilst he gulpsIn middle of the torrent, thus in loveVenus deludes with idol-imagesThe lovers. Nor they cannot sate their lustBy merely gazing on the bodies, norThey cannot with their palms and fingers rubAught from each tender limb, the while they strayUncertain over all the body. Then,At last, with members intertwined, when theyEnjoy the flower of their age, when nowTheir bodies have sweet presage of keen joys,And Venus is about to sow the fieldsOf woman, greedily their frames they lock,And mingle the slaver of their mouths, and breatheInto each other, pressing teeth on mouths-Yet to no purpose, since they're powerlessTo rub off aught, or penetrate and passWith body entire into body- for oftThey seem to strive and struggle thus to do;So eagerly they cling in Venus' bonds,Whilst melt away their members, overcomeBy violence of delight. But when at lastLust, gathered in the thews, hath spent itself,There come a brief pause in the raging heat-But then a madness just the same returnsAnd that old fury visits them again,When once again they seek and crave to reachThey know not what, all powerless to findThe artifice to subjugate the bane.In such uncertain state they waste awayWith unseen wound.
Nec Veneris fructu caret is qui vitat amorem,sed potius quae sunt sine poena commoda sumit;nam certe purast sanis magis inde voluptasquam miseris; etenim potiundi tempore in ipsofluctuat incertis erroribus ardor amantumnec constat quid primum oculis manibusque fruantur.quod petiere, premunt arte faciuntque doloremcorporis et dentes inlidunt saepe labellisosculaque adfigunt, quia non est pura voluptaset stimuli subsunt, qui instigant laedere id ipsum,quod cumque est, rabies unde illaec germina surgunt.sed leviter poenas frangit Venus inter amoremblandaque refrenat morsus admixta voluptas.namque in eo spes est, unde est ardoris origo,restingui quoque posse ab eodem corpore flammam.quod fieri contra totum natura repugnat;unaque res haec est, cuius quam plurima habemus,tam magis ardescit dira cuppedine pectus.nam cibus atque umor membris adsumitur intus;quae quoniam certas possunt obsidere partis,hoc facile expletur laticum frugumque cupido.ex hominis vero facie pulchroque colorenil datur in corpus praeter simulacra fruendumtenvia; quae vento spes raptast saepe misella.ut bibere in somnis sitiens quom quaerit et umornon datur, ardorem qui membris stinguere possit,sed laticum simulacra petit frustraque laboratin medioque sitit torrenti flumine potans,sic in amore Venus simulacris ludit amantis,nec satiare queunt spectando corpora coramnec manibus quicquam teneris abradere membrispossunt errantes incerti corpore toto.denique cum membris conlatis flore fruunturaetatis, iam cum praesagit gaudia corpusatque in eost Venus ut muliebria conserat arva,adfigunt avide corpus iunguntque salivasoris et inspirant pressantes dentibus ora,ne quiquam, quoniam nihil inde abradere possuntnec penetrare et abire in corpus corpore toto;nam facere inter dum velle et certare videntur.usque adeo cupide in Veneris compagibus haerent,membra voluptatis dum vi labefacta liquescunt.tandem ubi se erupit nervis coniecta cupido,parva fit ardoris violenti pausa parumper.inde redit rabies eadem et furor ille revisit,cum sibi quod cupiant ipsi contingere quaerunt,nec reperire malum id possunt quae machina vincat.usque adeo incerti tabescunt volnere caeco.
To which be added too,They squander powers and with the travail wane;Be added too, they spend their futile yearsUnder another's beck and call; their dutiesNeglected languish and their honest nameReeleth sick, sick; and meantime their estatesAre lost in Babylonian tapestries;And unguents and dainty Sicyonian shoesLaugh on her feet; and (as ye may be sure)Big emeralds of green light are set in gold;And rich sea-purple dress by constant wearGrows shabby and all soaked with Venus' sweat;And the well-earned ancestral propertyBecometh head-bands, coifs, and many a timeThe cloaks, or garments AlidensianOr of the Cean isle. And banquets, setWith rarest cloth and viands, are prepared-And games of chance, and many a drinking cup,And unguents, crowns and garlands. All in vain,Since from amid the well-spring of delightsBubbles some drop of bitter to tormentAmong the very flowers- when haply mindGnaws into self, now stricken with remorseFor slothful years and ruin in baudels,Or else because she's left him all in doubtBy launching some sly word, which still like fireLives wildly, cleaving to his eager heart;Or else because he thinks she darts her eyesToo much about and gazes at another,-And in her face sees traces of a laugh.
Adde quod absumunt viris pereuntque labore,adde quod alterius sub nutu degitur aetas,languent officia atque aegrotat fama vacillans.labitur interea res et Babylonia fiuntunguenta et pulchra in pedibus Sicyonia rident,scilicet et grandes viridi cum luce zmaragdiauro includuntur teriturque thalassina vestisadsidue et Veneris sudorem exercita potat.et bene parta patrum fiunt anademata, mitrae,inter dum in pallam atque Alidensia Ciaque vertunt.eximia veste et victu convivia, ludi,pocula crebra, unguenta, coronae, serta parantur,ne quiquam, quoniam medio de fonte leporumsurgit amari aliquid, quod in ipsis floribus angat,aut cum conscius ipse animus se forte remordetdesidiose agere aetatem lustrisque perire,aut quod in ambiguo verbum iaculata reliquit,quod cupido adfixum cordi vivescit ut ignis,aut nimium iactare oculos aliumve tueriquod putat in voltuque videt vestigia risus.
These ills are found in prospering love and true;But in crossed love and helpless there be suchAs through shut eyelids thou canst still take in-Uncounted ills; so that 'tis better farTo watch beforehand, in the way I've shown,And guard against enticements. For to shunA fall into the hunting-snares of loveIs not so hard, as to get out again,When tangled in the very nets, and burstThe stoutly-knotted cords of Aphrodite.Yet even when there enmeshed with tangled feet,Still canst thou scape the danger-lest indeedThou standest in the way of thine own good,And overlookest first all blemishesOf mind and body of thy much preferred,Desirable dame. For so men do,Eyeless with passion, and assign to themGraces not theirs in fact. And thus we seeCreatures in many a wise crooked and uglyThe prosperous sweethearts in a high esteem;And lovers gird each other and adviseTo placate Venus, since their friends are smitWith a base passion- miserable dupesWho seldom mark their own worst bane of all.The black-skinned girl is "tawny like the honey";The filthy and the fetid's "negligee";The cat-eyed she's "a little Pallas," she;The sinewy and wizened's "a gazelle";The pudgy and the pigmy is "piquant,One of the Graces sure"; the big and bulkyO she's "an Admiration, imposante";The stuttering and tongue-tied "sweetly lisps";The mute girl's "modest"; and the garrulous,The spiteful spit-fire, is "a sparkling wit";And she who scarcely lives for scrawninessBecomes "a slender darling"; "delicate"Is she who's nearly dead of coughing-fit;The pursy female with protuberant breastsShe is "like Ceres when the goddess gaveYoung Bacchus suck"; the pug-nosed lady-love"A Satyress, a feminine Silenus";The blubber-lipped is "all one luscious kiss"-A weary while it were to tell the whole.But let her face possess what charm ye will,Let Venus' glory rise from all her limbs,-Forsooth there still are others; and forsoothWe lived before without her; and forsoothShe does the same things- and we know she does-All, as the ugly creature, and she scents,Yes she, her wretched self with vile perfumes;Whom even her handmaids flee and giggle atBehind her back. But he, the lover, in tearsBecause shut out, covers her threshold o'erOften with flowers and garlands, and anointsHer haughty door-posts with the marjoram,And prints, poor fellow, kisses on the doors-Admitted at last, if haply but one whiffGot to him on approaching, he would seekDecent excuses to go out forthwith;And his lament, long pondered, then would fallDown at his heels; and there he'd damn himselfFor his fatuity, observing howHe had assigned to that same lady more-Than it is proper to concede to mortals.And these our Venuses are 'ware of this.Wherefore the more are they at pains to hideAll the-behind-the-scenes of life from thoseWhom they desire to keep in bonds of love-In vain, since ne'ertheless thou canst by thoughtDrag all the matter forth into the lightAnd well search out the cause of all these smiles;And if of graceful mind she be and kind,Do thou, in thy turn, overlook the same,And thus allow for poor mortality.
Atque in amore mala haec proprio summeque secundoinveniuntur; in adverso vero atque inopi sunt,prendere quae possis oculorum lumine operto.innumerabilia; ut melius vigilare sit ante,qua docui ratione, cavereque, ne inliciaris.nam vitare, plagas in amoris ne iaciamur,non ita difficile est quam captum retibus ipsisexire et validos Veneris perrumpere nodos.et tamen implicitus quoque possis inque pedituseffugere infestum, nisi tute tibi obvius obsteset praetermittas animi vitia omnia primumaut quae corporis sunt eius, quam praepetis ac vis.nam faciunt homines plerumque cupidine caeciet tribuunt ea quae non sunt his commoda vere.multimodis igitur pravas turpisque videmusesse in deliciis summoque in honore vigere.atque alios alii inrident Veneremque suadentut placent, quoniam foedo adflictentur amore,nec sua respiciunt miseri mala maxima saepe.nigra melichrus est, inmunda et fetida acosmos,caesia Palladium, nervosa et lignea dorcas,parvula, pumilio, chariton mia, tota merum sal,magna atque inmanis cataplexis plenaque honoris.balba loqui non quit, traulizi, muta pudens est;at flagrans, odiosa, loquacula Lampadium fit.ischnon eromenion tum fit, cum vivere non quitprae macie; rhadine verost iam mortua tussi.at nimia et mammosa Ceres est ipsa ab Iaccho,simula Silena ac Saturast, labeosa philema.cetera de genere hoc longum est si dicere coner.sed tamen esto iam quantovis oris honore,cui Veneris membris vis omnibus exoriatur;nempe aliae quoque sunt; nempe hac sine viximus ante;nempe eadem facit et scimus facere omnia turpiet miseram taetris se suffit odoribus ipsa,quam famulae longe fugitant furtimque cachinnant.at lacrimans exclusus amator limina saepefloribus et sertis operit postisque superbosunguit amaracino et foribus miser oscula figit;quem si iam ammissum venientem offenderit aurauna modo, causas abeundi quaerat honestaset meditata diu cadat alte sumpta querellastultitiaque ibi se damnet, tribuisse quod illiplus videat quam mortali concedere par est.nec Veneres nostras hoc fallit; quo magis ipsaeomnia summo opere hos vitae poscaenia celant,quos retinere volunt adstrictosque esse in amore,ne quiquam, quoniam tu animo tamen omnia possisprotrahere in lucem atque omnis inquirere risuset, si bello animost et non odiosa, vicissimpraetermittere [et] humanis concedere rebus.
Nor sighs the woman always with feigned love,Who links her body round man's body lockedAnd holds him fast, making his kisses wetWith lips sucked into lips; for oft she actsEven from desire, and, seeking mutual joys,Incites him there to run love's race-course through.Nor otherwise can cattle, birds, wild beasts,And sheep and mares submit unto the males,Except that their own nature is in heat,And burns abounding and with gladness takesOnce more the Venus of the mounting males.And seest thou not how those whom mutual pleasureHath bound are tortured in their common bonds?How often in the cross-roads dogs that pantTo get apart strain eagerly asunderWith utmost might?- When all the while they're fastIn the stout links of Venus. But they'd ne'erSo pull, except they knew those mutual joys-So powerful to cast them unto snaresAnd hold them bound. Wherefore again, again,Even as I say, there is a joint delight.
Nec mulier semper ficto suspirat amore,quae conplexa viri corpus cum corpore iungitet tenet adsuctis umectans oscula labris;nam facit ex animo saepe et communia quaerensgaudia sollicitat spatium decurrere amoris.nec ratione alia volucres armenta feraequeet pecudes et equae maribus subsidere possent,si non, ipsa quod illarum subat, ardet abundansnatura et Venerem salientum laeta retractat.nonne vides etiam quos mutua saepe voluptasvinxit, ut in vinclis communibus excrucientur,in triviis cum saepe canes discedere aventisdivorsi cupide summis ex viribus tendunt,quom interea validis Veneris compagibus haerent?quod facerent numquam, nisi mutua gaudia nossent,quae iacere in fraudem possent vinctosque tenere.quare etiam atque etiam, ut dico, est communis voluptas.
And when perchance, in mingling seed with his,The female hath o'erpowered the force of maleAnd by a sudden fling hath seized it fast,Then are the offspring, more from mothers' seed,More like their mothers; as, from fathers' seed,They're like to fathers. But whom seest to bePartakers of each shape, one equal blendOf parents' features, these are generateFrom fathers' body and from mothers' blood,When mutual and harmonious heat hath dashedTogether seeds, aroused along their framesBy Venus' goads, and neither of the twainMastereth or is mastered. Happens tooThat sometimes offspring can to being comeIn likeness of their grandsires, and bring backOften the shapes of grandsires' sires, becauseTheir parents in their bodies oft retainConcealed many primal germs, commixedIn many modes, which, starting with the stock,Sire handeth down to son, himself a sire;Whence Venus by a variable chanceEngenders shapes, and diversely brings backAncestral features, voices too, and hair.A female generation rises forthFrom seed paternal, and from mother's bodyExist created males: since sex proceedsNo more from singleness of seed than facesOr bodies or limbs of ours: for every birthIs from a twofold seed; and what's createdHath, of that parent which it is more like,More than its equal share; as thou canst mark,-Whether the breed be male or female stock.
Et commiscendo quom semine forte virilemfemina vim vicit subita vi corripuitque,tum similes matrum materno semine fiunt,ut patribus patrio. sed quos utriusque figuraeesse vides, iuxtim miscentes vulta parentum,corpore de patrio et materno sanguine crescunt,semina cum Veneris stimulis excita per artusobvia conflixit conspirans mutuus ardor,et neque utrum superavit eorum nec superatumst.fit quoque ut inter dum similes existere avorumpossint et referant proavorum saepe figuras,propterea quia multa modis primordia multismixta suo celant in corpore saepe parentis,quae patribus patres tradunt a stirpe profecta.inde Venus varia producit sorte figuras,maiorumque refert voltus vocesque comasque;quandoquidem nihilo magis haec [de] semine certofiunt quam facies et corpora membraque nobis.et muliebre oritur patrio de semine saeclummaternoque mares existunt corpore creti;semper enim partus duplici de semine constat,atque utri similest magis id quod cumque creatur,eius habet plus parte aequa; quod cernere possis,sive virum suboles sivest muliebris origo.
Nor do the powers divine grudge any manThe fruits of his seed-sowing, so that neverHe be called "father" by sweet children his,And end his days in sterile love forever.What many men suppose; and gloomilyThey sprinkle the altars with abundant blood,And make the high platforms odorous with burnt gifts,To render big by plenteous seed their wives-And plague in vain godheads and sacred lots.For sterile are these men by seed too thick,Or else by far too watery and thin.Because the thin is powerless to cleaveFast to the proper places, straightawayIt trickles from them, and, returned again,Retires abortively. And then since seedMore gross and solid than will suit is spentBy some men, either it flies not forth amainWith spurt prolonged enough, or else it failsTo enter suitably the proper places,Or, having entered, the seed is weakly mixedWith seed of the woman: harmonies of VenusAre seen to matter vastly here; and someImpregnate some more readily, and from someSome women conceive more readily and becomePregnant. And many women, sterile beforeIn several marriage-beds, have yet thereafterObtained the mates from whom they could conceiveThe baby-boys, and with sweet progenyGrow rich. And even for husbands (whose own wives,Although of fertile wombs, have borne for themNo babies in the house) are also foundConcordant natures so that they at lastCan bulwark their old age with goodly sons.A matter of great moment 'tis in truth,That seeds may mingle readily with seedsSuited for procreation, and that thickShould mix with fluid seeds, with thick the fluid.And in this business 'tis of some importUpon what diet life is nourished:For some foods thicken seeds within our members,And others thin them out and waste away.And in what modes the fond delight itselfIs carried on- this too importeth vastly.For commonly 'tis thought that wives conceiveMore readily in manner of wild-beasts,After the custom of the four-foot breeds,Because so postured, with the breasts beneathAnd buttocks then upreared, the seeds can takeTheir proper places. Nor is need the leastFor wives to use the motions of blandishment;For thus the woman hinders and resistsHer own conception, if too joyouslyHerself she treats the Venus of the manWith haunches heaving, and with all her bosomNow yielding like the billows of the sea-Aye, from the ploughshare's even course and trackShe throws the furrow, and from proper placesDeflects the spurt of seed. And courtesansAre thuswise wont to move for their own ends,To keep from pregnancy and lying in,And all the while to render Venus moreA pleasure for the men- the which meseemsOur wives have never need of.
Nec divina satum genitalem numina cuiquamabsterrent, pater a gnatis ne dulcibus umquamappelletur et ut sterili Venere exigat aevom;quod plerumque putant et multo sanguine maesticonspergunt aras adolentque altaria donis,ut gravidas reddant uxores semine largo;ne quiquam divom numen sortisque fatigant;nam steriles nimium crasso sunt semine partim,et liquido praeter iustum tenuique vicissim.tenve locis quia non potis est adfigere adhaesum,liquitur extemplo et revocatum cedit abortu.crassius hinc porro quoniam concretius aequomittitur, aut non tam prolixo provolat ictuaut penetrare locos aeque nequit aut penetratumaegre admiscetur muliebri semine semen.nam multum harmoniae Veneris differre videntur.atque alias alii complent magis ex aliisquesuccipiunt aliae pondus magis inque gravescunt.et multae steriles Hymenaeis ante fueruntpluribus et nactae post sunt tamen unde puellossuscipere et partu possent ditescere dulci.et quibus ante domi fecundae saepe nequissentuxoris parere, inventast illis quoque comparnatura, ut possent gnatis munire senectam.usque adeo magni refert, ut semina possintseminibus commisceri genitaliter aptacrassaque conveniant liquidis et liquida crassis.atque in eo refert quo victu vita colatur;namque aliis rebus concrescunt semina membrisatque aliis extenvantur tabentque vicissim.et quibus ipsa modis tractetur blanda voluptas.id quoque permagni refert; nam more ferarumquadrupedumque magis ritu plerumque putanturconcipere uxores, quia sic loca sumere possuntpectoribus positis sublatis semina lumbis.nec molles opus sunt motus uxoribus hilum.nam mulier prohibet se concipere atque repugnat,clunibus ipsa viri Venerem si laeta retractatatque exossato ciet omni pectore fluctus;eicit enim sulcum recta regione viaquevomeris atque locis avertit seminis ictum.idque sua causa consuerunt scorta moveri,ne complerentur crebro gravidaeque iacerent,et simul ipsa viris Venus ut concinnior esset;coniugibus quod nil nostris opus esse videtur.
Sometimes tooIt happens- and through no divinityNor arrows of Venus- that a sorry chitOf scanty grace will be beloved by man;For sometimes she herself by very deeds,By her complying ways, and tidy habits,Will easily accustom thee to passWith her thy life-time- and, moreover, lo,Long habitude can gender human love,Even as an object smitten o'er and o'erBy blows, however lightly, yet at lastIs overcome and wavers. Seest thou not,Besides, how drops of water falling downAgainst the stones at last bore through the stones?
Nec divinitus inter dum Venerisque sagittisdeteriore fit ut forma muliercula ametur;nam facit ipsa suis inter dum femina factismorigerisque modis et munde corpore culto,ut facile insuescat secum [te] degere vitam.quod super est, consuetudo concinnat amorem;nam leviter quamvis quod crebro tunditur ictu,vincitur in longo spatio tamen atque labascit.nonne vides etiam guttas in saxa cadentisumoris longo in spatio pertundere saxa?