| ETSI PERQUE SUOS FALLAX ... | A LOVER'S COMPLAINT |
| Ovid - (from Heroides I) | tr. Arthur McHugh |
Etsi perque suos fallax iuravit ocellos Junonemque suam perque suam Venerem, nulla fides inerit: peruria ridet amantum Iuppiter et ventos irrita ferre iubet. Quam vellem tecum longas requiescere noctes et tecum longas pervigilare dies, perfida, nec merito nobis inimca rependens, perfida, sed, quamvis perfida, cara tamen. | Even though she swears by her eyes and by those deities of hers, Juno and Venus, you can't believe a deceitful woman: Jupiter laughs at lovers' worthless oaths and orders the wind to carry them off ... How I would like to spend long wakeful nights and long easy days with you, unfaithful as you are rejecting me for no reason as you do - unfaithful yes, but - though unfaithful - still dear. |
Trans. Copyright © Arthur McHugh 2008