---
title: "The Art of Love · Ars Amatoria"
author: "Ovid"
translator: "Perseus Digital Library"
languages: [la, en]
shelf: "Classical Latin"
section: 5 of 6
url: https://scriptura.si/works/ovid-ars-amatoria/5/
cite: "Ovid, tr. Perseus Digital Library, The Art of Love · Ars Amatoria, section 5. Scriptura (scriptura.si), https://scriptura.si/works/ovid-ars-amatoria/5/"
---

# The Art of Love · Ars Amatoria

*Ovid, tr. Perseus Digital Library*

A mock-serious handbook of seduction in Augustan Rome.

> Latin: ed. Rudolf Ehwald, from the Perseus Digital Library (canonical-latinLit, phi0959.phi004, CC BY-SA 4.0).

> English: Perseus Digital Library, from the Perseus Digital Library (phi0959.phi004.perseus-eng2). Notes are not included.

> Rows follow the references the two texts share (line numbers), cut where both reach the end of a sentence.

## 5. Book III · lines 1–414

Source: https://scriptura.si/works/ovid-ars-amatoria/5/ · cite a paragraph as https://scriptura.si/works/ovid-ars-amatoria/5/#p-N

[¶0] The men are arm'd, and for the fight prepare,
And now we must instruct and arm the fair.
Both sexes, well appointed, take the field,
And mighty love determine which shall yield.
Man were ignoble when thus arm'd to show
Unequal force against a naked foe;
No glory from such conquest can be gain'd,
And odds are always by the brave disdain'd.
"But," some exclaim, " what phrensy rules your mind?
Would you increase the craft of womankind?
Teach them new wiles and arts? As well you may
Instruct a snake to bite, or wolf to prey."
But sure too hard a censure they pursue
Who charge on all the failings of a few;
Examine first impartially each fair,
Then, as she merits, or condemn or spare.
If Menelaus, and the king of men,
With justice of their sister-wives complain;
If false Eriphyle forsook her faith,
And for reward procur'd her husband's death;
Penelope was loyal still, and chaste,
Tho' twenty years her lord in absence pass'd.
Reflect how Laodamia's truth was tried,
Who, tho' in bloom of youth and beauty's pride,
To share her husband's fate untimely died.
Think how Alceste's piety was prov'd,
Who lost her life to save the man she lov'd.
Receive me, Capaneus," Evadne cried;
"Nor death itself our nuptials shall divide!
To join thy ashes pleas'd I shall expire;"
She said, and leap'd amidst the fun'ral fire.
Virtue herself a goddess we confess,
Both female in her name and in her dress;
No wonder then, if to her sex inclin'd,
She cultivates with care a female mind.
But these exalted souls exceed the reach
Of that soft art which I pretend to teach.
My tender bark requires a gentle gale,
A little wind will fill a little sail.
Of sportful loves I sing, and shew what ways
The willing nymph must use her bliss to raise,
And how to captivate the man she'd please.
Woman is soft, and of a tender heart,
Apt to receive, and to retain love's dart;
Man has a breast robust, and more secure,
It wounds him not so deep, nor hits so sure.
Men oft are false, and, if you search with care,
You'll find less fraud imputed to the fair.
The faithless Jason from Medea fled
And made Creusa partner of his bed.
Bright Ariadne, on an unknown shore,
Thy absence, perjur'd Theseus, did deplore.
If then the wild inhabitants of air
Forbore her tender lovely limbs to tear,
It was not owing, Theseus, to thy care.
Enquire the cause, and let Demophoon tell
Why Phyllis by a fate untimely fell.
Nine times, in vain, upon the promis'd day,
She sought th' appointed shore, and view'd the sea;
Her fall the fading trees consent to mourn,
And shed their leaves round her lamented urn.
The prince so far for piety renown'd,
To thee, Eliza, was unfaithful found;
To thee forlorn, and languishing with grief,
His sword alone he left, thy last relief.
Ye ruin'd nymphs, shall I the cause impart
Of all your woes? 'Twas want of needful art;
Love, of itself, too quickly will expire,
But powerful art perpetuates desire.

> Latin: Arma dedi Danais in Amazonas; arma supersunt,
Quae tibi dem et turmae, Penthesilea, tuae.
Ite in bella pares; vincant, quibus alma Dione
Faverit et toto qui volat orbe puer.
Non erat armatis aequum concurrere nudas;
Sic etiam vobis vincere turpe, viri.
Dixerit e multis aliquis 'quid virus in angues
Adicis, et rabidae tradis ovile lupae?'
Parcite paucarum diffundere crimen in omnes;
Spectetur meritis quaeque puella suis.
Si minor Atrides Helenen, Helenesque sororem
Quo premat Atrides crimine maior habet,
Si scelere Oeclides Talaioniae Eriphylae
Vivus et in vivis ad Styga venit equis,
Est pia Penelope lustris errante duobus
Et totidem lustris bella gerente viro.
Respice Phylaciden et quae comes isse marito
Fertur et ante annos occubuisse suos.
Fata Pheretiadae coniunx Pagasaea redemit:
Proque viro est uxor funere lata viri.
'Accipe me, Capaneu! cineres miscebimus' inquit
Iphias, in medios desiluitque rogos.
Ipsa quoque et cultu est et nomine femina Virtus:
Non mirum, populo si placet illa suo.
Nec tamen hae mentes nostra poscuntur ab arte:
Conveniunt cumbae vela minora meae.
Nil nisi lascivi per me discuntur amores;
Femina praecipiam quo sit amanda modo.
Femina nec flammas nec saevos excutit arcus;
Parcius haec video tela nocere viris.
Saepe viri fallunt: tenerae non saepe puellae,
Paucaque, si quaeras, crimina fraudis habent.
Phasida iam matrem fallax dimisit Iason:
Venit in Aesonios altera nupta sinus.
Quantum in te, Theseu, volucres Ariadna marinas
Pavit, in ignoto sola relicta loco!
Quaere, novem cur una viae dicantur, et audi
Depositis silvas Phyllida flesse comis.
Et famam pietatis habet, tamen hospes et ensem
Praebuit et causam mortis, Elissa, tuae.
Quid vos perdiderit, dicam? nescistis amare:
Defuit ars vobis; arte perennat amor.

[¶1] Women had yet their ignorance bewail'd,
Had not this art by Venus been reveal'd.
Before my sight the Cyprian goddess shone
And thus she said, "What have poor woman done!
Why is that weak, defenceless sex expos'd;
On ev'ry side, by men well arm'd, inclos'd?
Twice are the men instructed by thy muse,
Nor must she now to teach the sex refuse.
The bard who injur'd Helen in his song,
Recanted after, and redress'd the wrong.
And you, if on my favour you depend,
The cause of woman, while you live, defend."
This said, a myrtle sprig, which berries bore,
She gave me (for a myrtle wreath she wore.)
The gift receiv'd, my sense enlighten'd grew,
And from her presence inspiration drew.
Attend, ye nymphs, by wedlock unconfin'd,
And hear my precepts, while she prompts my mind.
E'en now, in bloom of youth, and beauty's prime,
Beware of coming age, nor waste your time;
Now, while you may, and rip'ning years invite,
Enjoy the seasonable, sweet delight;
For rolling years, like stealing waters, glide,
For hope to stop their ever ebbing tide;
Think not hereafter will the loss repay;
For ev'ry morrow will the taste decay,
And leave less relish than the former day
I've seen the time, when, on that wither'd thorn,
The blooming rose vied with the blushing morn.
With fragrant wreaths I thence have decked my head,
And see how leafless now, and how decay'd!
And you, who now the love-sick youth reject,
Will prove in age, what pains attend neglect.
None, then will press upon your midnight hours,
Nor wake to strew your street with morning flow'rs.
Then nightly knockings at your doors will cease,
Whose noiseless hammer, then, may rest in peace.
Alas, how soon a clear complexion fades!
How soon a wrinkled skin plump flesh invades!
And what avails it, tho' the fair one swears
She from her infancy had some grey hairs?
She grows all hoary in a few more years,
And then the venerable truth appears.
The snake his skin, the deer his horns may cast,
And both renew their youth and vigor past;
But no receipt can human-kind relieve,
Doom'd to decrepit age, without reprieve.
Then crop the flow'r which yet invites your eye,
And which, ungather'd, on its stalk must die.
Besides, the tender sex is form'd to bear,
And frequent births too soon will youth impair;
Continual harvest wears the fruitful field,
And earth itself decays, too often till'd.
Thou didst not, Cynthia, scorn the Latmian swain;
Nor thou, Aurora, Cephalus disdain;
The Paphian Queen, who, for Adonis' fate
So deeply mourn'd, and who laments him yet,
Has not been found inexorable since;
Witness Harmonia, and the Dardan prince.
Then take example, mortals, from above,
And like immortals live, and like 'em love.
Refuse not those delights, which men require,
Nor let your lovers languish with desire.
False tho' they prove, what loss can you sustain?
Thence let a thousand take, 'twill all remain.
Tho' constant use, e'en flint and steel impairs,
What you employ no diminution fears,
Who would, to light a torch, their torch deny?
Or who can dread drinking an ocean dry?
Still women lose, you cry, if men obtain;
What do they lose, that's worthy to retain?
Think not this said to prostrate the sex,
But undeceive whom needless fears perplex.
Thus far the gentle breeze supplies our sail,
Now launch'd to sea we ask a brisker gale.

> Latin: Nunc quoque nescirent: sed me Cytherea docere
Iussit, et ante oculos constitit ipsa meos.
Tum mihi 'Quid miserae' dixit 'meruere puellae?
Traditur armatis vulgus inerme viris.
Illos artifices gemini fecere libelli:
Haec quoque pars monitis erudienda tuis.
Probra Therapnaeae qui dixerat ante maritae,
Mox cecinit laudes prosperiore lyra.
Si bene te novi (cultas ne laede puellas!)
Gratia, dum vives, ista petenda tibi est.'
Dixit, et e myrto (myrto nam vincta capillos
Constiterat) folium granaque pauca dedit;
Sensimus acceptis numen quoque: purior aether
Fulsit, et e toto pectore cessit onus.
Dum facit ingenium, petite hinc praecepta, puellae,
Quas pudor et leges et sua iura sinunt.
Venturae memores iam nunc estote senectae:
Sic nullum vobis tempus abibit iners.
Dum licet, et vernos etiamnum educitis annos,
Ludite: eunt anni more fluentis aquae;
Nec quae praeteriit, iterum revocabitur unda,
Nec quae praeteriit, hora redire potest.
Utendum est aetate: cito pede labitur aetas,
Nec bona tam sequitur, quam bona prima fuit.
Hos ego, qui canent, frutices violaria vidi:
Hac mihi de spina grata corona data est.
Tempus erit, quo tu, quae nunc excludis amantes,
Frigida deserta nocte iacebis anus,
Nec tua frangetur nocturna ianua rixa,
Sparsa nec invenies limina mane rosa.
Quam cito (me miserum!) laxantur corpora rugis,
Et perit in nitido qui fuit ore color.
Quasque fuisse tibi canas a virgine iuras,
Spargentur subito per caput omne comae.
Anguibus exuitur tenui cum pelle vetustas,
Nec faciunt cervos cornua iacta senes:
Nostra sine auxilio fugiunt bona; carpite florem,
Qui, nisi carptus erit, turpiter ipse cadet.
Adde, quod et partus faciunt breviora iuventae
Tempora: continua messe senescit ager.
Latmius Endymion non est tibi, Luna, rubori,
Nec Cephalus roseae praeda pudenda deae.
Ut Veneri, quem luget adhuc, donetur Adonis:
Unde habet Aenean Harmoniamque suos?
Ite per exemplum, genus o mortale, dearum,
Gaudia nec cupidis vestra negate viris.
Ut iam decipiant, quid perditis? omnia constant;
Mille licet sumant, deperit inde nihil.
Conteritur ferrum, silices tenuantur ab usu:
Sufficit et damni pars caret illa metu.
Quis vetet adposito lumen de lumine sumi?
Quisve cavo vastas in mare servet aquas?
Et tamen ulla viro mulier 'non expedit' inquit?
Quid, nisi quam sumes, dic mihi, perdis aquam?
Nec vos prostituit mea vox, sed vana timere
Damna vetat: damnis munera vestra carent.
Sed me flaminibus venti maioris iturum,
Dum sumus in portu, provehat aura levis.

[¶2] And, first, we treat of dress. The well-dress'd vine
Produces plumpest grapes, and richest wine;
And plenteous crops of golden grain are found,
Alone, to grace uncultivated ground.
Beauty's the gift of gods, the sex's pride!
Yet to how many is that gift deny'd?
Art helps a face; a face, tho' heav'nly fair,
May quickly fade for want of needful care.
In ancient days, if women slighted dress,
Then men were ruder too, and lik'd it less.
If Hector's spouse was clad in stubborn stuff,
A soldier's wife became it well enough.
Ajax, to shield his ample breast, provides
Seven lusty bulls, and tans their sturdy hides;
And might not he, d'ye think, be well caress'd,
And yet his wife not elegantly dress'd?
With rude simplicity Rome first was built,
Which now we see adorned, and gilt.
This capitol with that of old compare;
Some other Jove you'd think was worship'd there.
That lofty pile where senates dictate law,
When Tatius reign'd, was poorly thatch'd with straw;
And where Apollo's fane refulgent stands,
Was heretofore a tract of pasture lands.
Let ancient manners other men delight;
But me the modern please, as more polite.
Not that materials now in gold are wrought,
And distant shores for orient pearls are sought;
Not for, that hills exhaust their marble veins,
And structures rise whose bulks the sea retains;
But that the world is civilis'd of late,
And polish'd from the rust of former date.
Let not the nymph with pendants load her ear,
Nor in embroid'ry, or brocade, appear;
Too rich a dress may sometimes check desire,
And cleanliness more animate love's fire,
The hair dispos'd, may gain or lose a grace,
And much become or misbecome the face.
What suits your features of your glass enquire;
For no one rule is fixed for head attire,
A face too long should part and flat the hair.
Lest upward comb'd, the length too much appear:
So Laodamia dress'd. A face too round
Should show the ears, and with a tour be crown'd.
On either shoulder, one, her locks displays;
Adorn'd like Phoebus, when he sings his lays;
Another, all her tresses tie behind;
So dressed, Diana hunts the fearful hind.
Dishevelled locks most graceful are to some;
Others, the binding fillets more become:
Some plait, like spiral shells, their braided hair,
Others, the loose and waving curl prefer.
But to recount the several dresses worn,
Which artfully each several face adorn,
Were endless as to tell the leaves on trees,
The beasts on Alpine hills, or Hybla bees.
Many there are who seem to slight all care,
And with a pleasing negligence ensnare:
Whole mornings, oft in such a dress are spent,
And all is art, that looks like accident.
With such disorder Iole was grac'd,
When great Alcides first the nymph embrac'd.
So Ariadne came to Bacchus' bed,
When with the conqueror from Crete she fled.

> Latin: Ordior a cultu; cultis bene Liber ab uvis
Provenit, et culto stat seges alta solo.
Forma dei munus: forma quota quaeque superbit?
Pars vestrum tali munere magna caret.
Cura dabit faciem; facies neglecta peribit,
Idaliae similis sit licet illa deae.
Corpora si veteres non sic coluere puellae,
Nec veteres cultos sic habuere viros;
Si fuit Andromache tunicas induta valentes,
Quid mirum? duri militis uxor erat.
Scilicet Aiaci coniunx ornata venires,
Cui tegumen septem terga fuere boum?
Simplicitas rudis ante fuit: nunc aurea Roma est,
Et domiti magnas possidet orbis opes.
Aspice quae nunc sunt Capitolia, quaeque fuerunt:
Alterius dices illa fuisse Iovis.
Curia, concilio quae nunc dignissima tanto,
De stipula Tatio regna tenente fuit.
Quae nunc sub Phoebo ducibusque Palatia fulgent,
Quid nisi araturis pascua bubus erant?
Prisca iuvent alios: ego me nunc denique natum
Gratulor: haec aetas moribus apta meis.
Non quia nunc terrae lentum subducitur aurum,
Lectaque diverso litore concha venit:
Nec quia decrescunt effosso marmore montes,
Nec quia caeruleae mole fugantur aquae:
Sed quia cultus adest, nec nostros mansit in annos
Rusticitas, priscis illa superstes avis.
Vos quoque nec caris aures onerate lapillis,
Quos legit in viridi decolor Indus aqua,
Nec prodite graves insuto vestibus auro,
Per quas nos petitis, saepe fugatis, opes.
Munditiis capimur: non sint sine lege capilli:
Admotae formam dantque negantque manus.
Nec genus ornatus unum est: quod quamque decebit
Eligat, et speculum consulate ante suum.
Longa probat facies capitis discrimina puri:
Sic erat ornatis Laodamia comis.
Exiguum summa nodum sibi fronte relinqui,
Ut pateant aures, ora rotunda volunt.
Alterius crines umero iactentur utroque:
Talis es adsumpta, Phoebe canore, lyra.
Altera succinctae religetur more Dianae,
Ut solet, attonitas cum petit illa feras.
Huic decet inflatos laxe iacuisse capillos:
Illa sit adstrictis impedienda comis;
Hanc placet ornari testudine Cyllenea:
Sustineat similes fluctibus illa sinus.
Sed neque ramosa numerabis in ilice glandes,
Nec quot apes Hyblae, nec quot in Alpe ferae,
Nec mihi tot positus numero conprendere fas est:
Adicit ornatus proxima quaeque dies.
Et neglecta decet multas coma; saepe iacere
Hesternam credas; illa repexa modo est.
Ars casum simulat; sic capta vidit ut urbe
Alcides Iolen, 'hanc ego' dixit 'amo.'
Talem te Bacchus Satyris clamantibus euhoe
Sustulit in currus, Cnosi relicta, suos.

[¶3] Nature indulgent to the sex, repays
The losses they sustain by various ways.
Men ill supply those hairs they shed in age,
Lost like autumnal leaves when north winds rage.
Women with juice of herbs gray locks disguise,
And art gives colour which with nature vies;
The well-wove tours they wear, their own art thought,
But only are their own, as what they've bought.
Nor need they blush to buy heads ready dress'd,
And choose at public shops what suits 'em best.
Costly apparel let the fair one fly,
Enrich'd with gold, or with the Tyrian dye,
What folly must in such expense appear,
When more becoming colors are less dear!
One with a die is ting'd of lovely blue,
Such as through air serene the sky we view,
With yellow lustre see another spread,
As if the golden fleece compos'd the thread.
Some of the sea green wave the cast display;
With this the nymphs their beauteous forms array;
And some the saffron hue will well adorn;
Such is the mantle of the blushing morn.
Of myrtle-berries, one, the tincture shows,
In this, of amethysts, the purple glows,
And that more imitates the paler rose.
Nor Thracian cranes forget, whose silv'ry plumes
Give patterns which employ the mimic looms.
Nor almond nor the chesnut dye disclaim,
Nor others which from wax derive their name.
As fields you find, with various flowers o'erspread,
When vineyards bud, and winter's frost is fled;
So various are the colours you may try,
Of which the thirsty wool imbibes the dye.
Try ev'ry one; what best becomes you wear,
For no complexion all alike can bear.
If fair the skin, black may become it best,
In black the lovely fair Briseis dress'd;
If brown the nymph, let her be cloth'd in white,
Andromeda so charm'd the wond'ring sight.
I need not warn you of too powerful smells,
Which sometimes health or kindly heat expels;
Nor from your tender legs to pluck with care
The casual growth of all unseemly hair.
Tho' not to nymphs of Caucasus I sing,
Nor such who taste remote the Mysian spring,
Yet let me warn you that thro' no neglect
You let your teeth disclose the least defect.
You know the use of white to make you fair,
And how with red lost colour to repair;
Imperfect eyebrows you by art can mend,
And skin, when wanting, o'er a scar extend;
Nor need the fair one be asham'd, who tries
By art to add new lustre to her eyes.

> Latin: O quantum indulget vestro natura decori,
Quarum sunt multis damna pianda modis!
Nos male detegimur, raptique aetate capilli,
Ut Borea frondes excutiente, cadunt.
Femina canitiem Germanis inficit herbis,
Et melior vero quaeritur arte color:
Femina procedit densissima crinibus emptis,
Proque suis alios efficit aere suos.
Nec rubor est emisse; palam venire videmus
Herculis ante oculos virgineumque chorum.
Quid de veste loquar? Nec vos, segmenta, requiro
Nec te, quae Tyrio murice, lana, rubes.
Cum tot prodierint pretio leviore colores,
Quis furor est census corpore ferre suos!
Aëris, ecce, color, tum cum sine nubibus aër,
Nec tepidus pluvias concitat auster aquas:
Ecce, tibi similis, quae quondam Phrixon et Hellen
Diceris Inois eripuisse dolis;
Hic undas imitatur, habet quoque nomen ab undis:
Crediderim nymphas hac ego veste tegi.
Ille crocum simulat: croceo velatur amictu,
Roscida luciferos cum dea iungit equos:
Hic Paphias myrtos, hic purpureas amethystos,
Albentesve rosas, Threïciamve gruem;
Nec glandes, Amarylli, tuae, nec amygdala desunt;
Et sua velleribus nomina cera dedit.
Quot nova terra parit flores, cum vere tepenti
Vitis agit gemmas pigraque fugit hiemps,
Lana tot aut plures sucos bibit; elige certos:
Nam non conveniens omnibus omnis erit.
Pulla decent niveas: Briseïda pulla decebant:
Cum rapta est, pulla tum quoque veste fuit.
Alba decent fuscas: albis, Cepheï, placebas:
Sic tibi vestitae pressa Seriphos erat.
Quam paene admonui, ne trux caper iret in alas,
Neve forent duris aspera crura pilis!
Sed non Caucasea doceo de rupe puellas,
Quaeque bibant undas, Myse Caice, tuas.
Quid si praecipiam ne fuscet inertia dentes,
Oraque suscepta mane laventur aqua?
Scitis et inducta candorem quaerere creta:
Sanguine quae vero non rubet, arte rubet.
Arte supercilii confinia nuda repletis,
Parvaque sinceras velat aluta genas.
Nec pudor est oculos tenui signare favilla,
Vel prope te nato, lucide Cydne, croco.

[¶4] A little book I've made, but with great care,
How to preserve the face, and how repair.
In that, the nymphs by time or chance annoy'd,
May see what pains to please 'em I've employ'd,
But still beware that from your lover's eye
You keep conceal'd the med'cines you apply:
Tho' art assists, yet must that art be hid,
Lest whom it would invite it should forbid.
Who would not take offence to see a face
All daub'd and dripping with the melted grease?
And tho' your unguents bear th' Athenian name,
The wool's unsav'ry scent is still the same.
Marrow of stags, nor your pomatums try,
Nor clean your furry teeth when men are by;
For many things, when done, afford delight,
Which yet, while doing, may offend the sight.
E'en Myro's statues, which for art surpass
All others, once were but a shapeless mass;
Rude was that gold which now in rings is worn,
As once the robe you wear was wool unshorn;
Think, how that stone rough in the quarry grew,
Which now a perfect Venus shews to view.
While we suppose you sleep, repair your face,
Lock'd from observers, in some secret place;
Add the last hand before yourselves you show,
Your need of art why should your lover know?
For many things when most conceal'd are best,
And few of strict enquiry bear the test.
Those figures which in theatres are seen,
Gilded without, are common wood within.
But no spectators are allow'd to pry
Till all is finished which allures the eye.
Yet, I must own, it oft affords delight
To have the fair one comb her hair in sight;
To view the flowing honours of her head
Fall on her neck, and o'er her shoulders spread.
But let her look that she with care avoid
All fretful humours while she's so employ'd;
Let her not still undo, with peevish haste,
All that her woman does, who does her best.
I hate a vixen that her maid assails,
And scratches with her bodkin or her nails;
While the poor girl in blood and tears must mourn,
And her heart curses what her hands adorn,
Let her who has no hair, or has but some,
Plant sentinels before her dressing-room;
Or in the fane of the good goddess dress,
Where all the male kind are debarr'd access.
'Tis said that I (but 'tis a tale devis'd)
A lady at her toilet once surpris'd,
Who starting, snatch'd in haste the tour she wore,
And in her hurry placed the hinder part before.
But on our foes fall ev'ry such disgrace,
Or barb'rous beauties of the Parthian race.
Ungraceful 'tis to see without a horn
The lofty hart whom branches best adorn,
A leafless tree, or an unverdant mead,
And as ungraceful is a hairless head.
But think not these instructions are design'd
For first-rate beauties of the finish'd kind;
Not to a Semele, or a Leda bright,
Nor an Europa, these my rules I write;
Nor the fair Helen do I teach, whose charms
Stirr'd up Atrides and all Greece to arms;
Thee to regain well was that war begun,
And Paris well defended what he won:
What lover or what husband would not fight
In such a cause, where both are in the right?

> Latin: Est mihi, quo dixi vestrae medicamina formae,
Parvus, sed cura grande, libellus, opus;
Hinc quoque praesidium laesae petitote figurae;
Non est pro vestris ars mea rebus iners.
Non tamen expositas mensa deprendat amator
Pyxidas: ars faciem dissimulata iuvat.
Quem non offendat toto faex inlita vultu,
Cum fluit in tepidos pondere lapsa sinus?
Oesypa quid redolent? quamvis mittatur Athenis
Demptus ab inmundo vellere sucus ovis.
Nec coram mixtas cervae sumpsisse medullas,
Nec coram dentes defricuisse probem;
Ista dabunt formam, sed erunt deformia visu:
Multaque, dum fiunt, turpia, facta placent;
Quae nunc nomen habent operosi signa Myronis
Pondus iners quondam duraque massa fuit;
Anulus ut fiat, primo conliditur aurum;
Quas geritis vestis, sordida lana fuit;
Cum fieret, lapis asper erat: nunc, nobile signum,
Nuda Venus madidas exprimit imbre comas.
Tu quoque dum coleris, nos te dormire putemus;
Aptius a summa conspiciere manu.
Cur mihi nota tuo causa est candoris in ore?
Claude forem thalami! quid rude prodis opus?
Multa viros nescire decet; pars maxima rerum
Offendat, si non interiora tegas.
Aurea quae splendent ornato signa theatro,
Inspice, contemnes: brattea ligna tegit;
Sed neque ad illa licet populo, nisi facta, venire,
Nec nisi summotis forma paranda viris.
At non pectendos coram praebere capillos,
Ut iaceant fusi per tua terga, veto.
Illo praecipue ne sis morosa caveto
Tempore, nec lapsas saepe resolve comas.
Tuta sit ornatrix; odi, quae sauciat ora
Unguibus et rapta brachia figit acu.
Devovet, ut tangit, dominae caput illa, simulque
Plorat in invisas sanguinolenta comas.
Quae male crinita est, custodem in limine ponat,
Orneturve Bonae semper in aede deae.
Dictus eram subito cuidam venisse puellae:
Turbida perversas induit illa comas.
Hostibus eveniat tam foedi causa pudoris,
Inque nurus Parthas dedecus illud eat.
Turpe pecus mutilum, turpis sine gramine campus,
Et sine fronde frutex, et sine crine caput.
Non mihi venistis, Semele Ledeve, docendae,
Perque fretum falso, Sidoni, vecta bove,
Aut Helene, quam non stulte, Menelaë, reposcis,
Tu quoque non stulte, Troice raptor, habes;
Turba docenda venit, pulchrae turpesque puellae:
Pluraque sunt semper deteriora bonis.

[¶5] The crowd I teach, some homely and some fair,
But of the former sort the larger share.
The handsome least require the help of art,
Rich in themselves, and pleas'd with nature's part.
When calm the sea, at ease the pilot lies,
But all his skill exerts when storms arise.
Faults in your person or your face correct;
And few are seen that have not some defect.
The nymph too short her seat should seldom quit,
Lest when she stands she may be thought to sit;
And when extended on her couch she lies,
Let length of petticoats conceal her size.
The lean of thick wrought stuff her clothes should choose,
And fuller made than what the plumper use.
If pale, let her the crimson juice apply;
If swarthy, to the Pharian varnish fly.
A leg too lank tight garters still must wear,
Nor should an ill-shap'd foot be ever bare.
Round shoulders, bolster'd, will appear the least;
And lacing straight confines too full a breast.
Whose fingers are too fat, and nails too coarse,
Should always shun much gesture in discourse;
And you whose breath is touch'd, this caution take,
Nor fasting, nor too near another, speak.
Let not the nymph with laughter much abound,
Whose teeth are black, uneven, or unsound.
You'd hardly think how much on this depends,
And how a laugh or spoils a face or mends.
Gape not too wide, lest you disclose your gums,
And lose the dimple which the cheek becomes.
Nor let your sides too long concussions shake,
Lest you the softness of the sex forsake:
In some, distortions quite the face disguise;
Another laughs, that you would think she cries.
In one, too hoarse a voice we hear betray'd;
Another's is as harsh as if she bray'd.
What cannot art attain! Many, with ease,
Have learn'd to weep, both when and how they please.
Others thro' affectation lisp; and find
In imperfection charms to catch mankind.
Neglect no means which may promote your end;
Now learn what way of walking recommends.
Too masculine a motion shocks the sight;
But female grace allures with strange delight.
One has an artful swing and jut behind,
Which helps her coats to catch the swelling wind;
Swell'd with the wanton wind, they loosely flow,
And ev'ry step and graceful motion show.
Another, like an Umbrian's sturdy spouse,
Strides all the space her petticoats allows.
Between extremes, in this, a mean adjust,
Nor show too nice a gait, nor too robust.
If snowy white your neck, you still should wear
That, and the shoulder of the left arm bare;
Such sights ne'er fail to fire my am'rous heart,
And make me pant to kiss the naked part.

> Latin: Formosae non artis opem praeceptaque quaerunt:
Est illis sua dos, forma sine arte potens;
Cum mare compositum est, securus navita cessat:
Cum tumet, auxiliis adsidet ille suis.
Rara tamen mendo facies caret: occule mendas,
Quaque potes vitium corporis abde tui.
Si brevis es, sedeas, ne stans videare sedere:
Inque tuo iaceas quantulacumque toro;
Hic quoque, ne possit fieri mensura cubantis,
Iniecta lateant fac tibi veste pedes.
Quae nimium gracilis, pleno velamina filo
Sumat, et ex umeris laxus amictus eat.
Pallida purpureis spargat sua corpora virgis,
Nigrior ad Pharii confuge piscis opem.
Pes malus in nivea semper celetur aluta:
Arida nec vinclis crura resolve suis.
Conveniunt tenues scapulis analemptrides altis:
Angustum circa fascia pectus eat.
Exiguo signet gestu, quodcumque loquetur,
Cui digiti pingues et scaber unguis erit.
Cui gravis oris odor numquam ieiuna loquatur,
Et semper spatio distet ab ore viri.
Si niger aut ingens aut non erit ordine natus
Dens tibi, ridendo maxima damna feres.
Quis credat? discunt etiam ridere puellae,
Quaeritur aque illis hac quoque parte decor.
Sint modici rictus, parvaeque utrimque lacunae,
Et summos dentes ima labella tegant.
Nec sua perpetuo contendant ilia risu,
Sed leve nescio quid femineumque sonent.
Est, quae perverso distorqueat ora cachinno:
Risu concussa est altera, flere putes.
Illa sonat raucum quiddam atque inamabile ridet,
Ut rudit a scabra turpis asella mola.
Quo non ars penetrat? discunt lacrimare decenter,
Quoque volunt plorant tempore, quoque modo.
Quid, cum legitima fraudatur littera voce,
Blaesaque fit iusso lingua coacta sono?
In vitio decor est: quaerunt male reddere verba;
Discunt posse minus, quam potuere, loqui.
Omnibus his, quoniam prosunt, inpendite curam:
Discite femineo corpora ferre gradu.
Est et in incessu pars non temnenda decoris:
Allicit ignotos ille fugatque viros.
Haec movet arte latus, tunicisque fluentibus auras
Accipit, expensos fertque superba pedes:
Illa velut coniunx Umbri rubicunda mariti
Ambulat, ingentes varica fertque gradus.
Sed sit, ut in multis, modus hic quoque: rusticus alter
Motus, concesso mollior alter erit.
Pars umeri tamen ima tui, pars summa lacerti
Nuda sit, a laeva conspicienda manu.
Hoc vos praecipue, niveae, decet: hoc ubi vidi,
Oscula ferre umero, qua patet usque, libet.

[¶6] Sirens, tho' monsters of the stormy main,
Can ships, when under sail, with songs detain:
Scarce could Ulysses by his friends be bound,
When first he listen'd to the charming sound,
Singing insinuates, learn all ye maids;
Oft when a face forbids, a voice persuades.
Whether on theatres loud strains we hear,
Or in Ruelles some soft Egyptian air.
Well shall she sing, of whom I make my choice,
And with her lute accompany her voice.
The rocks were stirr'd, the beasts to listen staid
When on his lyre melodious Orpheus play'd,
Even Cerberus and hell that sound obey'd,
And stones officious were thy walls to raise.
0, Thebes, attracted by Amphion's lays.
The dolphin, dumb itself, thy voice admir'd,
And was, Arion, by thy songs inspir'd.
Of sweet Callimachus the works rehearse,
And real Philetas and Anacreon's verse,
Terentian plays may much the mind improve;
But softest Sappho best instructs to love.
Propertius, Gallus, and Tibullus read,
And let Varronian verse to these succeed.
Then mighty Maro's work with care peruse;
Of all the Latians boards the noblest muse,
Even I, 'tis possible, in after-days,
May 'scape oblivion, and be nam'd with these.
My labour'd lines, some readers may approve,
Since I've instructed either sex in love.
Whatever book you read of this soft art,
Read with a lover's voice and lover's heart.
Tender epistles too, by me are fram'd,
A work before unthought of, and unnam'd.
Such was your sacred will, 0, tuneful nine!
Such thine Apollo, and Lycreus, thine!
Still unaccomplish'd may the maid be thought,
Who gracefully to dance was never taught:
That active dancing may to love engage,
Witness the well-kept dancers of the stage.

> Latin: Monstra maris Sirenes erant, quae voce canora
Quamlibet admissas detinuere rates.
His sua Sisyphides auditis paene resolvit
Corpora, nam sociis inlita cera fuit.
Res est blanda canor: discant cantare puellae:
Pro facie multis vox sua lena fuit.
Et modo marmoreis referant audita theatris,
Et modo Niliacis carmina lusa modis.
Nec plectrum dextra, citharam tenuisse sinistra
Nesciat arbitrio femina docta meo.
Saxa ferasque lyra movit Rhodopeïus Orpheus,
Tartareosque lacus tergeminumque canem.
Saxa tuo cantu, vindex iustissime matris,
Fecerunt muros officiosa novos.
Quamvis mutus erat, voci favisse putatur
Piscis, Arioniae fabula nota lyrae.
Disce etiam duplici genialia nablia palma
Verrere: conveniunt dulcibus illa iocis.
Sit tibi Callimachi, sit Coi nota poetae,
Sit quoque vinosi Teïa Musa senis;
Nota sit et Sappho (quid enim lascivius illa?),
Cuive pater vafri luditur arte Getae.
Et teneri possis carmen legisse Properti,
Sive aliquid Galli, sive, Tibulle, tuum:
Dictaque Varroni fulvis insignia villis
Vellera, germanae, Phrixe, querenda tuae:
Et profugum Aenean, altae primordia Romae,
Quo nullum Latio clarius extat opus.
Forsitan et nostrum nomen miscebitur istis,
Nec mea Lethaeis scripta dabuntur aquis:
Atque aliquis dicet 'nostri lege culta magistri
Carmina, quis partes instruit ille duas:
Deve tribus libris, titulus quos signat Amorum,
Elige, quod docili molliter ore legas:
Vel tibi composita cantetur Epistola voce:
Ignotum hoc aliis ille novavit opus.'
O ita, Phoebe, velis! ita vos, pia numina vatum,
Insignis cornu Bacche, novemque deae!
Quis dubitet, quin scire velim saltare puellam,
Ut moveat posito brachia iussa mero?
Artifices lateris, scenae spectacula, amantur:
Tantum mobilitas illa decoris habet.

[¶7] Of some odd trifles I'm asham'd to tell,
Tho' it becomes the sex to trifle well;
To raffle prettily, or slur a die,
Implies both cunning and dexterity;
Nor is't amiss at chess to be expert,
For games most thoughtful, sometimes most divert.
Learn ev'ry game, you'll find it prove of use;
Parties begun at play may love produce:
But easier 'tis to learn how bets to lay,
Than how to keep your temper while you play.
Unguarded then, each breast is open laid,
And while the head's intent, the heart's betray'd.
Then base desire of gain, then rage appears,
Quarrels and brawls arise, and anxious fears;
Then clamours and revilings reach the sky,
While losing gamsters all the gods defy.
They grieve, and curse, and storm, nay weep at last.
Good Jove avert such shameful faults as these,
From ev'ry nymph whose heart's inclin'd to please
Soft recreations fit the female kind;
Nature, for men, has rougher sports design'd:
To wield the sword and hurl the pointed spear;
To stop or turn the steed in full career.
Tho' martial fields ill suit your tender frames,
Nor may you swim in Tiber's rapid streams;
Yet when Sol's burning wheels from Leo drive,
And at the glowing Virgin's sign arrive,
'Tis both allow'd and fit you should repair,
To pleasant walks, and breathe refreshing air.
To Pompey's gardens, or the shady groves
Which Caesar honours, and which Phoebus loves:
Phoebus, who sunk the proud Egyptian fleet,
And made Augustus' victory complete.
Or seek those shades, where monuments of fame
Are raised to Livia's or Octavia's name;
Or where Agrippa first adorn'd the ground,
When he with naval victory was crown'd.
To Isis' fine, to theatres resort;
And in the circus see the noble sport.
In ev'ry public place, by turns be shown;
In vain you're fair while you remain unknown.
Should you in singing, Thamyras transcend;
Your voice unheard, who will your skill commend!
Had not Appelles drawn the sea-born queen,
Her beauties still beneath the waves had been.
Poets inspir'd write only for a name,
And think their labours well repay'd with fame.
In former days, I own, the poets were
Of gods and king the most peculiar care:
Majestic awe was in the name allow'd,
And they with rich possessions were endowed
Ennius with honours was by Scipio grac'd,
And next his own the poets statue plac'd.
But now their ivy crowns bear no esteem,
And all their learning's thought an idle dream.
Still there's a pleasure that proceeds from praise:
What could the high renown of Homer raise,
But that he sung his Iliad's deathless lays?

> Latin: Parva monere pudet, talorum dicere iactus
Ut sciat, et vires, tessera missa, tuas:
Et modo tres iactet numeros, modo cogitet, apte
Quam subeat partem callida, quamque vocet.
Cautaque non stulte latronum proelia ludat,
Unus cum gemino calculus hoste perit,
Bellatorque sua prensus sine compare bellat,
Aemulus et coeptum saepe recurrit iter.
Reticuloque pilae leves fundantur aperto,
Nec, nisi quam tolles, ulla movenda pila est.
Est genus, in totidem tenui ratione redactum
Scriptula, quot menses lubricus annus habet:
Parva tabella capit ternos utrimque lapillos,
In qua vicisse est continuasse suos.
Mille facesse iocos; turpe est nescire puellam
Ludere: ludendo saepe paratur amor.
Sed minimus labor est sapienter iactibus uti:
Maius opus mores composuisse suos.
Tum sumus incauti, studioque aperimur in ipso,
Nudaque per lusus pectora nostra patent;
Ira subit, deforme malum, lucrique cupido,
Iurgiaque et rixae sollicitusque dolor:
Crimina dicuntur, resonat clamoribus aether,
Invocat iratos et sibi quisque deos:
Nulla fides, tabulaeque novae per vota petuntur;
Et lacrimis vidi saepe madere genas.
Iuppiter a vobis tam turpia crimina pellat,
In quibus est ulli cura placere viro.
Hos ignava iocos tribuit natura puellis;
Materia ludunt uberiore viri.
Sunt illis celeresque pilae iaculumque trochique
Armaque et in gyros ire coactus equus.
Nec vos Campus habet, nec vos gelidissima Virgo,
Nec Tuscus placida devehit amnis aqua.
At licet et prodest Pompeias ire per umbras,
Virginis aetheriis cum caput ardet equis;
Visite laurigero sacrata Palatia Phoebo:
Ille Paraetonicas mersit in alta rates;
Quaeque soror coniunxque ducis monimenta pararunt,
Navalique gener cinctus honore caput;
Visite turicremas vaccae Memphitidos aras,
Visite conspicuis terna theatra locis;
Spectentur tepido maculosae sanguine harenae,
Metaque ferventi circueunda rota.
Quod latet, ignotum est: ignoti nulla cupido:
Fructus abest, facies cum bona teste caret.
Tu licet et Thamyram superes et Amoebea cantu,
Non erit ignotae gratia magna lyrae.
Si Venerem Cous nusquam posuisset Apelles,
Mersa sub aequoreis illa lateret aquis.
Quid petitur sacris, nisi tantum fama, poetis?
Hoc votum nostri summa laboris habet.
Cura deum fuerant olim regumque poetae:
Praemiaque antiqui magna tulere chori.
Sanctaque maiestas et erat venerabile nomen
Vatibus, et largae saepe dabantur opes.
Ennius emeruit, Calabris in montibus ortus,
Contiguus poni, Scipio magne, tibi.
Nunc ederae sine honore iacent, operataque doctis
Cura vigil Musis nomen inertis habet.
Sed famae vigilare iuvat: quis nosset Homerum,
Ilias aeternum si latuisset opus?