An oval face becomes a parting upon
the unadorned head: Laodamia had her hair thus arranged.
the unadorned head: Laodamia had her hair thus arranged.
Ovid - Art of Love
[965] Believe that not a
mortal tells you this, but the Pelasgian oaks of Dodona: my skill has
nothing superior to this to teach you. Does she make a sign to him, do
you put up with it; does she write, don't you touch the tablets; let her
come from whatever place she likes; and wherever she chooses, let her
go. This do husbands allow to their lawful wives; even, too, when thou,
gentle sleep, [966] dost come to thy duty. I confess, that in this art I
myself am not yet perfect. What must I do? I am myself unequal to my
own precepts. And is any one in my presence to be making signs to my
mistress? And am I to endure it? And is not my anger to hurry me away to
any extreme? Her own husband [967] (I remember it well) gave her a kiss;
I complained of kisses being given; my love is brimful of fierceness.
Not once alone has this failing proved an injury to me; he is more
skilful, by whose encouragement other men visit [968] his mistress. But
'tis still better to know nothing of it. Allow stealthy intrigues to lie
concealed, lest the blush of confession should fly in future from her
countenance when detected.
With greater reason then, ye youths, forbear to detect your mistresses.
Let them be guilty; and guilty, let them suppose that they have deceived
you. When detected, the passion increases; when the fortune of the two
is the same, each persists in the cause of the disgrace. There is a
story told, very well known in all the heavens, how Mars and Venus [969]
were caught by the contrivance of Mulciber. Father Mars, distracted by
a frantic passion for Venus, from a terrible warrior, became a lover.
Neither did Venus (for, indeed, no Goddess is there more kind) proved
coy or stubborn to Gradivus. O how many a time is she said, in her
wantonness, to have laughed at the feet of her husband, and at his
hands, hardened with the fire or his handicraft. In the presence of
Mars, mocking him, she imitated her husband, and she was beauteous _even
while so doing_; and many a grace was there combined with her charms.
But they were in the habit of skilfully concealing their early
intercourse; and their frailty was replete with modest propriety.
Through the information of the Sun (who is there that can deceive the
Sun? ), the actions of his wife became known to Vulcan. Thou Sun, what a
bad example thou art setting! Ask a bribe of her; and shouldst thou hold
thy tongue, she has a favour which she may grant to thee.
Around and above the bed, Muleiber disposes the hidden toils; the work,
by its fineness, escapes their eyes. He pretends a journey to Lemnos;
the lovers come, according to the appointment; entangled in the toils,
they both lie naked. He calls the Gods together; the captives afford a
spectacle. People believe that Venus could hardly restrain her tears.
They cannot conceal their faces; they cannot, in fact, veil their
modesty with their hands. Upon this, one says, laughing, [970] "Transfer
to me thy chains, most valiant Mavors, if they are a burden to thee. "
With difficulty, Neptune, at thy entreaty, does he release their
captured bodies. Mars makes for Thrace, [971] and she for Paphos. [972]
This, Vulcan, was done by thee; what before they used to conceal, they
now do more openly, since all modesty is gone. Yet often, foolish one,
dost thou confess that thou didst act unwisely; and they say that thou
hast repented of thy wrath. This I have already forbidden: lo! Dione
forbids you to suffer that detection which she herself endured. And do
you arrange no toils for your rival; and intercept no words written by
the hand in secret. Let the men seek for those, (if, indeed, they think
they ought to be sought for) whom the fire and water render [973] lawful
husbands.
Behold! again do I protest; no sportive subject is here treated of,
but what is permitted by the laws; there is no matron concerned with
my sallies. [974] Who would dare to publish to the profane the rites
of Ceres, [975] and the great mysteries that were established in the
Thracian Samos? 'Tis a small merit to hold one's silence upon matters;
but, on the other hand, 'tis a grievous fault to speak of things on
which we should be silent. O justly does it happen, that the blabbing
Tantalus is thirsting in the midst of the water, the apples on the tree
being caught at by him in vain! Cytherea especially bids her rites to be
concealed. I recommend no talkative person to approach them.
If the mysteries of Venus are not enclosed in chests, [976] and the
hollow cymbals do not resound with frantic blows; although among
ourselves they are celebrated by universal custom, yet it is in such a
manner that among us they demand concealment. Venus herself, as oft
as she lays her garments aside, conceals her groin with the left hand,
[977] a little bent back. The cattle couple in public and promiscuously;
even when this is seen, full oft the fair one turns away her face.
Chambers and doors are provided for our stealthy dalliance; and our
nakedness lies concealed by garments placed over it. And if we do
not require darkness, still we do something of a retired shade, and
something less exposed than open day. In those times, even, when
tiles did not as yet keep out the sun and the shower, but the oak was
affording both shelter and food; in the groves and caves, and not in the
open air, were shared the delights of love. So great was the regard for
modesty, even in a savage race. But now-a-days we give praises to the
exploits of the night; and nothing beyond the power of talking of it, is
purchased at a heavy price. [978] You will, for sooth, be discussing all
the damsels in every quarter, that you may say to every person, "She,
too, has been mine," that none may be wanting for you to point at with
your fingers; and as you touch upon each, there will be a scandalous
tale. But I am complaining of trifles; some pretend things, which, if
true, they would deny, and not declare that there is not a woman from
whom they have not received the last favour. If they cannot meddle with
their persons, so far as they can, they meddle with their names; and,
their persons untouched, their reputation bears the blame.
Go now, odious keeper, and shut the doors of the fair: and add to the
solid door-posts a hundred bars. What safety is there, while the defiler
of character exists, and desires to be thought that he is that which
it has not proved his lot to be? Even my real amours I confess but
with reserve, and my secret intrigues are concealed with sure fidelity.
Especially forbear to censure the blemishes of the fair; to many it
has proved of advantage to conceal them. Her complexion was not made an
objection against Andromeda by him, on whose two feet were the waving
wings. [979] To all others Andromache seemed of larger stature [980]
than was becoming; Hector was the only one who called her of moderate
size. What you endure with impatience, accustom yourself to; and
you will endure it with patience. Length of time makes many things
endurable; but a rising passion catches sight of everything. While the
young branch is uniting within the green bark, [981] whatever breeze
shakes it while now tender, it falls. Soon, hardened in time, the same
tree will stoutly resist the winds, and bear the adopted fruit.
Time itself removes all blemishes from the person; and what was a fault,
in lapse of time ceases so to be. The nostrils that are unaccustomed
to it, are not able to endure the hides of bulls; the odour is not
perceived by those that have been rendered used to it in length of time.
We may palliate faults by names; let her be called swarthy, whose blood
is blacker than the pitch of Illyria. If she has a cast in the eyes,
she is like Venus: if yellow haired, like Minerva. She that is only
half alive through her leanness, let her be grace ful. Whatever woman
is small, say that she is active; her that is gross, call plump; and let
each fault lie concealed in its proximity to some good quality.
And don't you enquire what year she is now passing, nor under what
Consulship [982] she was born; a privilege which the rigid Censor [983]
possesses. And this, especially, if she has passed the bloom of youth,
and her best years [984] are fled, and she now pulls out the whitening
hairs. This age, O youths, or even one more advanced, has its
advantages; this soil will produce its crops, this is worth the sowing.
While strength and years permit, endure labour; soon will bending old
age come with silent foot. Either cleave the ocean with the oars, or
the earth with the plough; or turn your warlike hands to cruel arms;
or devote your strength and your attention to the fair. This, too, is
a kind of warfare; [985] this, too, seeks its advantages. Besides, in
these [986] there is a greater acquaintance with their subject; and
there is long practice, which alone renders skilful. By attention to
dress they repair the ravages of years; and by carefulness they cause
themselves not to appear aged.
```Utque velis, Venerem jungunt per mille figuras.
````Inveniat plures nulla tabella modos.
```Illis sentitur non irritata voluptas:
````Quod juvet, ex aequo fcemina virque ferant.
```Odi concubitus, qui non utrumque resolvunt;
````Hoc est, cur pueri tangar amore minus.
```Odi quae praebet, quia sit praebere necesse;
````Siccaque de lana cogitat ipsa sua.
```Quae datur officio, non est mihi grata voluptas,
````Officium faciat nulla puella mihi.
```Me voces audire juvat sua gaudia fassas:
````Utque morer memet, sustineamque roget.
```Aspiciam dominse victos amends ocellos.
````Langueat; et tangi se vetet ilia diu.
Those advantages has nature given not to early youth, which are wont to
spring up soon after seven times five years [987] have passed. Those who
are in a hurry, let them drink of new wine; for me let the cask, stored
up in the times [988] of ancient Consuls, pour forth the wine of my
ancestors. No plane-tree but a mature one is able to withstand Phoebus;
the shooting grass, [989] too, hurts the tender feet. And could you,
forsooth, have preferred Hermione [990] to Helen? And was Gorge [991]
more attractive than her mother? Whoever you are that wish to enjoy
matured passion, if you only persevere, you will obtain a fitting
reward.
```Conscius ecce duos accepit lectus amantes:
````Ad thalami clausas, Musa, resiste fores.
```Sponte sua, sine te, celoberrima verba loquentur:
````Nec manus in lecto laeva jacebit iners.
```Invenient digiti, quod agant in partibus illis,
````In quibus occulte spicula figit Amor.
```Fecit in Andromache prius hoc fortissimus Hector;
````Nec solum bellis utuis file fuit.
```Fecit et in capta Lyrneside magnus Achilles,
````Cum premeret mollem lassus ab hoste torum.
```Illis, te tangi manibus, Brisei, sinebas,
````Imbutae Phrygia quae nece semper erant.
```An fuit hoc ipsum, quod te lasciva juvaret
````Ad tua victrices membra venire manus?
```Crede mihi, non est Yeneris properanda voluptas:
````Sed sensim tarda prolicienda mora.
```Cum loca repereris, quae tangi fcemina gaudet;
````Non obstet, tangas quo minus ilia, pudor.
```Adspicics oculos tremulo fulgore micantes,
```Ut sol a liquida saepe refulget aqua.
```Accedent questus, accedet amabile murmur,
````Et dulces gemitus, aptaque verba loco.
```Sed neque tu dominam velis majoribus usus
````Desine; nec cursus anteat ilia tuos.
```Ad metam properate simul; turn plena voluptas,
````Cum pariter victi foemina virque jacent.
```Hi tibi servandus tenor est, cum libera dantur
````Otia; furtivum nec timor urget opus.
```Cum mora non tuta est, totis incumbere remis
````Utile, et admisso subdere calcar equo.
There is an end now of my task; grant me the palm, ye grateful youths,
and present the myrtle garlands to my perfumed locks. As great as
was Podalirius [992] among the Greeks in the art of healing, as the
descendant of AEacus with his right hand, as Nestor with his eloquence;
as great as Calchas [993] was in soothsaying, as the son of Telamon was
in arms, as Automedon [994] was in guiding the chariot, so great a Lover
am I. Celebrate me as your bard, ye men, to me repeat my praises; let
my name be sung throughout all the earth. Arms have I given to you;
to Achilles Vulcan gave arms. With the gifts presented to you, prove
victorious, as he proved victorious. But whoever subdues the Amazon
with my weapons, let him inscribe upon his spoil [995] --"Naso was my
preceptor. "
And lo! the charming fair are asking me to give them my precepts. You
then shall be the next care of my song. ----
BOOK THE THIRD.
|With arms against the Amazons I have furnished the Greeks. Arms remain
for me to present, Penthesilea, [1001] to thee and to thy squadrons. Go
to the combat equally prepared; and may those prove the victors, whom
genial Dione [1002] favours, and the Boy who flies over the whole world.
It was not fair for the females unprotected to engage with the men in
arms, and so it would have been disgraceful for you to conquer, ye men.
One of the multitude may say, "Why add venom to the serpent? And
why deliver the sheep-fold to the ravening wolf? Forbear to lay
the culpability of the few upon the many; and let each fair one be
considered according to her own deserts. If the younger son of Atreus
has Helen, and the elder son of Atreus [1003] has the sister of Helen,
to charge with criminality, if the son of Oclus, [1004] through the
wickedness of Eriphyle, daughter of Talaion, alive, and with living
steeds, descended to Styx; there is Penelope constant, while her husband
was wandering for twice five years, and for as many years engaged in
war. Witness the hero from Phylace, [1005] and her who is said to have
descended as the companion of her husband, and to have died before her
destined years. The wife from Pagasae redeemed the son of Pheres [1006]
from death, and in place of [1007] the funeral of her husband, the wife was
carried out. "Receive me, Capaneus; we will mingle our ashes," said the
daughter of Iphis, and she leapt on the midst of the pile. Virtue,
herself, too, is a female, both in dress and name. 'Tis not to be
wondered at, if she favours her own sex.
But still, 'tis not such dispositions as these that are required by my
art. Sails of less magnitude are befitting my skiff. [1008] Nothing but
wanton dalliance is taught by me; in what manner a woman is to be loved,
I purpose to teach. The woman repels neither the flames, nor the cruel
bow; those weapons, I see, make less havoc among the men. Many a time
do the men prove false; not often the charming fair; and, if you make
inquiry, they have but few charges of fraud against them. Jason, the
deceiver, repudiated the Phasian, when now a mother; and into the bosom
of the son of AEson there came another bride. [1009] Ariadne, left alone
in an unknown spot, had fed the sea-birds, so far, Theseus, as thou wast
concerned. Enquire why she is said to have gone on her nine journies,
[1010] and hear how the woods lamented Phyllis, their foliage laid
aside. And Elissa, she has the credit of affection; and still, that
guest of thine, Elissa, afforded both the sword and the cause for thy
destruction. Shall I tell what it was that ruined thee? Thou didst
not know how to love; thou wast wanting in skill; through skill, love
flourishes for ever.
Even still would they have been ignorant, but Cytherea commanded me to
instruct them, and stood, herself, before my eyes. Then to me she said,
"Why have the unfortunate fair deserved this? An unarmed multitude
is handed over to the men in arms. Two treatises [1011] have
rendered them skilful; this side, as well, must be instructed by thy
advice. He who before had uttered [1012] reproaches against the wife
from Therapnae, soon sang her praises to a more fortunate lyre. If well
I know thee, injure not the fair whom thou dost adore; their favour must
be sought by thee so long as thou shalt live. "
Thus she said; and from the myrtle (for she was standing with her locks
wreathed with myrtle) she gave me a leaf and a few berries. Receiving
them, I was sensible of the divine influence as well; the sky shone
with greater brightness, and all care departed from my breast. While
she inspires my genius; hence receive the precepts, ye fair, which
propriety, and the laws, and your own privileges, [1013] allow you. Even
now, be mindful of old age, that one day will come; then will no time
be passed by you in idleness. Disport yourselves, while yet you may, and
while even now you confess to your true years; after the manner of the
flowing stream, do the years pass by. Neither shall the water which has
past by, be ever recalled; nor can the hour which has past, ever return.
You must employ your youthful age; with swift step age is gliding on;
and that which follows, is not so pleasing as that which having passed
was charming. Those brakes, which are withering, I have beheld as beds
of violets; from amid those brambles, has a beauteous chaplet been
gathered for myself.
The time will be, when you, who are now shutting out a lover, will be
lying, an old woman, chilled in the lonely night. No door [1014] of
yours will be broken open in the broils of the night; nor will you find
in the morning your threshold bestrewed with roses. [1015] How soon, ah
me! are our bodies pursed with wrinkles, and that colour which existed
in the beauteous face, fades away! The grey hairs, too, which you might
have sworn that you had had from childhood, will suddenly be sprinkled
over all your head. Old age is thrown off by serpents, together with the
light slough; and the shedding of their horns makes the stags not to be
old. Our advantages fly irretrievably; pluck the flowers then; if they
be not plucked, they will lamentably fade themselves to your sorrow.
Besides, child-bearing makes the hours of youth more short-lived; with
continual crops the soil waxes old.
Endymion of Latmus, O Moon, causes not thee to blush; nor was Cephalus a
prey for the rosy Goddess to be ashamed of. Though Adonis be allowed to
Venus, whom she yet laments; whence had she AEneas and Hermione [1016]
for her children? Follow, O race of mortals, the example of the
Goddesses; and refuse not your endearments to the eager men. Even
should they deceive you, what do you lose? All remains the same. Were
a thousand to partake thereof, nothing is wasted thereby. Iron is worn
away, stones are consumed by use; your persons are proof against all
apprehension of detriment. Who would forbid light to be taken from
another light presented? Or who, on the deep sea, would hoard up the
expanse of waters? "But 'tis not right," you say, "for any woman to
grant favours to a man. " Tell me, what are you losing but the water,
which you may take up again? [1017] Nor are my words urging you to
prostitution; but they are forbidding you to fear evils that do not
exist: your favours are exempt from loss to yourselves.
But while I am in harbour, let a gentle breeze impel me, destined to
sail with the blasts of a stronger gale. I begin with dress: [1018] from
the well-dressed vine Bacchus has birth; and in the well-dressed field
the high corn springs up. Beauty is the gift of the Divinity; how many
a one prides herself on her beauty? Still, a great part [1019] of you
is wanting in such endowments. Care will confer charms; charms neglected
will perish, even though she be like the Idalian Goddess. If the fair of
olden times did not pay such attention to their persons; neither had the
ancients men so well-dressed. If Andromache was clad in a coarse tunic,
what wonder is it? She was the wife of a hardy soldier. And would his
companion, forsooth, come bedecked to Ajax, him whose covering was seven
hides of oxen. Formerly a rustic simplicity existed: now gorgeous Rome
possesses the wealth of the subdued earth. See the Capitol, what it now
is and what it was, you would declare that they belonged to different
Jupiters. The Senate-house, which is now right worthy of an assemblage
so august, when Tatius held the sway, was made of straw. The fields of
the Palatine hill, which are now resplendent in honour of Phoebus [1020]
and our rulers, what were they but pastures for the oxen that ploughed?
Let old times delight others: I congratulate myself that I am born
thus late; this is the age that is suited to my tastes. Not because the
pliable gold is now dug out of the earth, and choice shells [1021] come
here from foreign shores; nor yet because, the marble cut out, mountains
diminish; nor yet because the azure waves are kept out by the moles.
[1022] But because civilization prevails; and because the rude manners
that flourished with our ancient forefathers have not come down to our
days.
But do not you as well load your ears with precious stones, which the
tawny Indian seeks in the green waves. And do not go forth heavily
loaded with clothes embroidered with gold: by the wealth through which
you seek to attract us, you often drive us away. By neatness we are
captivated; let not your hair be without arrangement; the hands applied
to it both give beauty and deny it. The method, too, of adorning is not
a single one; let each choose the one that is becoming it to her, and
let her first consult her mirror.
An oval face becomes a parting upon
the unadorned head: Laodamia had her hair thus arranged. Round features
[1023] require a little knot to be left for them on the top of the head,
so that the ears may be exposed. Let the hair of another he thrown over
either shoulder. In such guise art thou, tuneful Phoebus, thy lyre
being assumed. Let another Lave her hair tied behind after the manner of
well-girt Diana, as she is wont when she hunts the scared wild beasts.
It becomes another to have her floating locks to flow loosely: another
must be bound by fillets over her fastened tresses. Another it delights
to be adorned with the figure of the tortoise [1024] of the Cyllenian
God: let another keep up her curls that resemble the waves. [1025]
But neither will you count the acorns on the branching native oak, nor
how many bees there are in Hybla, nor how many wild beasts on the Alps:
nor am I able to comprehend in numbers so many modes; _each successive
day brings a new fashion_. Even neglected locks are becoming to many;
often would you suppose that they are lying neglected since yesterday;
the very moment before they have been combed afresh. Let art imitate
chance. 'Twas thus that, in the captured city, when Hercules beheld
Iole; "Her," said he, "do I love. " In such guise, deserted fair one of
Gnossus, did Bacchus bear thee away in his chariot, while the Satyrs
shouted Evoe! O how indulgent is nature to your beauty, whose blemishes
can be atoned for in fashions so numerous! We men, to our misfortune,
become bald; and our hair, carried away by time, falls off, like Boreas
shaking down the leaves.
The female stains her grey hair with the herbs from Germany; [1026] and
by art a colour is sought superior to the genuine one. The female walks
along, thickly covered with purchased hair; and for money [1027] she
makes that of others--here comes those of fair complexion: black became
the laughter of Brises.
Nor is she ashamed to buy it openly: we see it being sold
before the eyes of Hercules [1028] and the Virgin throng.
What am I to say on clothing? Gold flounces, [1029] I have no need of
you; nor you, the wool which dost blush twice dipt in Tyrian purple.
Since so many colours can be procured at a lower price, what folly it is
to be carrying a fortune on one's person. [1030] Lo! there is the colour
of the sky, at the time when the sky is without clouds, and the warm
South wind is not summoning the showers of rain. Lo! there is the colour
like to thee, that art said [1031] once to have borne away Phryxus and
Helle from the treachery of Ino. That which resembles the waves, [1032]
has its name, too, from the waves; I could imagine that the Nymphs
are clad in vestments of this colour. Another resembles saffron; in
saffron-coloured garments is the dewy Goddess dressed,when she yokes
her steeds that bear the light of day. Another resembles the Paphian
myrtles; another the purple amethysts, or the white roses, or the
Thracian crane. Neither are there wanting, Amaryllis, [1033] thy
chesnuts, nor yet almonds; and wax [1034] has given its own name to
woollen textures.
As many as the flowers which the renewed earth produces, when in warm
spring the vine puts forth its buds, and sluggish winter retreats; so
many, or still more, shades of dye does the wool imbibe. Choose them by
rule; for every colour will not be suitable to every complexion.
When she was carried off, then, too, was she clothed in a dark garment.
White befits the swarthy; in white, daughter of Cepheus, thou wast
charming; by thee, thus clothed, was Seriphos [1035] trodden.
How nearly was I recommending you that there should be no shocking goat
[1036] in the armpits, and that your legs should not be rough with harsh
hair. But I am not instructing fair ones from the crags of Caucasus,
and who are drinking, Mysian Caicus, of thy waves. Besides; need I to
recommend that idleness should not blacken your teeth, and that your
mouth ought to be washed each morning with water used for the purpose.
You know, too, how to find whiteness in an application of wax; [1037]
she who is blushing with no real blood, is blushing by the aid of art.
With skill do you fill up the bared edges of the eye-brows, [1038] and
the little patch [1039] covers your cheeks in all their genuineness.
'Tis no harm, too, to mark the eyes [1040] slightly with ashes; or
with saffron, produced, beauteous Cydnus, near to thee. I have a little
treatise, [1041] but through the care bestowed, a great work, in which
I have mentioned the various recipes for your beauty. From that as well,
do you seek aid for your diminished charms: my skill is not idle in
behalf of your interests.
But let not your lover discover the boxes exposed upon the table; art,
by its concealment only, gives aid to beauty. Whom would not the paint
disgust, besmeared all over your face, when, through its own weight, it
flows and falls upon your heated bosom? Why is the smell of the oesypum
[1042] so powerful, sent from Athens though it be, an extract drawn
from the filthy fleece of the sheep? Nor would I recommend you in his
presence to apply the mixture of the marrow of the deer, [1043] nor
before him to clean your teeth. These things will give you good looks,
but they will be unbecoming to be seen; there are many things, too,
which, disgusting while being done, add charms when done. The statues
which now bear the name of the laborious Myron, [1044] were once a
sluggish weight and a solid mass. That the ring may be made, the gold is
first beaten; the clothes, that you are wearing, were once dirty wool.
While it was being wrought, it was hard stone; now, as a beautiful
statue, [1045] naked Venus is wringing the moisture from her dripping
locks.
You, too, while you are dressing, let us suppose to be asleep; after the
finishing hand, you will be seen much more apropos. Why is the cause
of the fairness of your complexion known to me? Shut the door of your
chamber, why expose the work half done? It is proper for the men to be
in ignorance of many a thing. The greatest part of things would cause
disgust, if you were not to conceal what is within. Examine the gilded
statues which hang in the decorated theatre; how thin the tinsel that
covers the wood. But it is not permitted the public to approach them
unless completed; neither ought your charms to be heightened unless the
men are at a distance. But I would not forbid you to allow your hair to
be combed in their presence, so that it may be flowing along your back.
Only take care especially on such occasions not to be cross; and do
not many times undo your hair, pulled down, when fastened up. Let your
coiffeuse be with a whole skin. I detest her who tears the face of her
attendant with her nails, and who, seizing the hair-pin, pierces her
arms. [1046] As she touches the head of her mistress, she curses it; and
at the same time, streaming with blood, she is crying over the odious
locks.
The fair one that has but little hair, let her set a watch on her
threshold; or let her always make her toilet in the temple [1047] of the
Good Goddess. I was unexpectedly announced as having paid a visit to
a certain lady; in her confusion, she put on her locks the wrong side
before. May a cause of shame so disgraceful fall to the lot of my foes,
and may that dishonour happen to the Parthian dames. A mutilated animal
is repulsive, the fields without grass are repulsive; and so is a
shrub without foliage, and a head without hair. You have not come to be
instructed by me, Semele, or Leda, thou, too, Sidonian fair, [1048]
who wast borne across the sea upon the fictitious bull; or Helen, whom,
Menelaus, not without reason, thou didst demand to be restored to thee,
and whom, not without reason, thou Trojan ravisher, didst retain. A
multitude comes to be instructed, both pretty and ugly damsels; and the
unsightly are ever more in number than the good-looking. The beauteous
care less for the resources and the precepts of art; they have their own
endowments, charms that are powerful without art. When the sea is calm,
the sailor rests free from care; when it becomes boisterous, he appeals
to his own resources.
Few, however, are the forms free from defect. Conceal your blemishes;
and, so far as you can, hide the imperfections of your person. If you
are short, sit down; that, while standing, you may not appear to be
sitting; and if of a diminutive size, throw yourself upon your couch.
Here, too, that your measure may not be able to be taken as you lie,
take care that your feet are concealed with the clothes [1049] thrown
over them. She who is too thin, let her wear clothes of thick texture;
and let her vestments hang loosely from her shoulders. Let her who is
pale, tint her complexion with purple stripes; [1050] do you that are more
swarthy, have recourse to the aid of the Pharian fish. [1051] Let an
ill-shaped foot be always concealed in a boot of snow-white leather
steeped in alum; and do not unloose their laced sandals from the spindly
legs. For high shoulders, small pads are suitable; [1052] and let the
girth [1053] encircle the bosom that is too prominent. She whose fingers
are dumpy, and whose nails are rough, should mark with but little
gesture whatever is said. She, whose breath is strong smelling, should
never talk with an empty stomach; and she should always stand at a
distance [1054] from her lover's face.
If your teeth are black, or large, or not, growing straight, you will
suffer very great inconvenience from laughing. Who could have supposed
it? The fair take lessons even in laughing; and even in that respect is
gracefulness studied by them. Let your mouth be but moderately open; let
the dimples on either side he but small; and let the extremity of the
lips cover the upper part of the teeth. And do not let your sides be
shaking with prolonged laughter; but let them utter sounds gentle and
feminine, to I know not what degree. Some there are, who distort
their face with an unsightly grin; another, when she is joyous in her
laughter, you would take to be crying. Another makes a harsh noise, and
screams in a disagreeable manner; just as the unsightly she-ass brays by
the rough mill-stone.
To what point does not art proceed? Some study how to weep with grace,
and cry at what time and in what manner they please. Nay, further; when
the letters are deprived of their full sound, and the lisping tongue
becomes contracted with an affected pronunciation; then is grace sought
in an imperfection; to pronounce certain words badly, they learn to be
less able to speak than they really are. To all these points, since they
are of consequence, give attention. Learn how to walk with steps suited
to a female. Even in the gait, there are certain points of gracefulness
not to be disregarded; this both attracts and repels men who are strange
to you. This fair one moves her sides with skill, and with her flowing
tunics catches the breeze, and haughtily moves her extended feet.
Another walks just like the redfaced spouse of some Umbrian [1055]
husband, and, straddling, takes huge strides. But, as in many other
things, let there be a medium here as well; one movement is clownish;
another movement will be too mincing in its gait. But let the lower part
of your shoulders, and the upper part of your arm be bare, to be beheld
from your left hand upwards. This is especially becoming to you, ye of
fair complexion; when I see this, I have always a longing to give a kiss
to the shoulder, where it is exposed.
The Sirens were monsters of the deep, which with their tuneful voices
detained the ships, even though in full career. On hearing them, the son
of Sisyphus [1056] almost released his body from the mast; for the
wax [1057] was melted in the ears of his companions. The voice is an
insinuating quality; let the fair learn how to sing. In place of beauty,
her voice has proved the recommendation of many a woman. And sometimes
let them repeat what they have heard in the marble theatres; and
sometimes the songs attuned to the measures of the Nile. [1058] Neither,
in my way of thinking, ought a clever woman to be ignorant how to hold
the plectrum [1059] in her right hand, the lyre in her left. Orpheus
of Rhodope with his lyre moved rocks, and wild beasts, and the lakes of
Tartarus, and Cerberus the triple dog. At thy singing, most righteous
avenger of thy mother, [1060] the attentive stones built up the walls.
The fish, (the well-known story of the lyre of Arion, [1061] although he
was dumb, is supposed to have been moved by his voice. Learn, too, to
sweep the chords of the festive psaltery [1062] with your two hands;
'tis an instrument suited to amorous lays.
Let the songs of Callimachus [1063] be known to you, let those of the
poet of Cos, [1064] let the Teian Muse too, of the drunken old bard. Let
Sappho, too, be well known; for what is there more exciting than she?
Or than him, through whom [1065] the father is deceived by the tricks
of the crafty Geta? You may, too, have read the poems of the tender
Propertius, [1066] or something of Gallus, or thy works, Tibullus.
[1067] The fleece, too, so bewailed, O Phryxus, of thy sister, shining
with its yellow hair, celebrated by Varro. [1068] The exiled AEneas, as
well, the first origin of lofty Rome, [1069] than which no work exists
in Latium of greater fame.
Perhaps, too, my name will be mingled among these, and my writings will
not be consigned to the waters of Lethe. And people will one day say,
"Read the elegant lines of our master, in which he instructs the two
sides. [1070] Or of his three books, which the title designates as, 'The
Amours,' choose a portion to read with skilful lips, in a languishing
way. Or let his Epistles be repeated by you with well-modulated voice;
this kind of composition, [1071] unknown to others, did he invent. " O
Phoebus, mayst thou so will it; so too, ye benignant Divinities of the
Poets, Bacchus, graceful with thy horns, and you, ye nine Goddesses!
Who can doubt that I should wish the falr one to know how to dance,
that, the wine placed on table, she may move her arms in cadence, when
requested. Masters of posture, [1072] the representations on the stage, are
much valued; so much gracefulness does that pliant art possess. I am
ashamed to advise on trifling points, to understand how to throw a cast
of dice, and, thy value, the cube when thrown. And now let her throw the
three numbers; now let her consider, at which number she can cleverly
enter most conveniently, and which one she must call for. [1073] And,
with her skill, let her play not amiss at the hostilities of the pieces;
[1074] when the single man perishes between his two enemies. How the
warrior, too, [1075] wages the war when caught without his companion;
and how the enemy full oft retreats on the path on which he has begun.
Let the smooth balls, [1076] too, be poured into the open net; and not a
ball must be moved but the one which you shall be lifting up. There is a
kind of game, [1077] distributed into as many lines on a small scale, as
the fleeting year contains months. A little table receives [1078] three
pebbles on each side, on which to bring one's own into a straight line,
is to gain the victory.
Devise a thousand amusements. 'Tis shocking for the fair one not to
know how to play; many a time, while playing, is love commenced. But
the least matter is how to use the throws to advantage; 'tis a task of
greater consequence to lay a restraint on one's manners. While we are
not thinking, and are revealed by our very intentness, and, through the
game, our feelings, laid bare, are exposed; anger arises, a disgraceful
failing, and the greed for gain; quarrels, too, and strife, and, then,
bitter regrets. Recriminations are uttered; the air resounds with the
brawl, and every one for himself invokes the angry Divinities. There
is no trusting [1079] the tables, and, amid vows, new tables are called
for; full oft, too, have I seen cheeks wet with tears. May Jupiter
avert from you indiscretions so unbecoming, you, who have a care to be
pleasing to any lover.
To the fair, has nature, in softer mood, assigned these amusements; with
materials more abundant do the men disport. They have both the flying
ball, [1080] and the javelin, and the hoop, and arms, and the horse
trained to go round the ring. No plain of Mars receives you, nor
does the spring of the Virgin, [1081] so intensely cold; nor does the
Etrurian [1082] river carry you along with its smooth stream. But you
are allowed, and it is to your advantage, to go in the shade of Pompey's
Portico, at the time when the head is heated by the steeds of the
Constellation of the Virgin. [1083] Frequent the Palatium, consecrated
to the laurel-bearing Phoebus;'twas he that overwhelmed in the deep the
ships of Parsetonium. [1084] The memorials, also, which the Bister and
the wife [1085] of our Ruler have erected; his son-in-law [1086]
too, his head encircled with naval honors. Frequent the altars of the
Memphian heifer, [1087] that smoke with frankincense; frequent the three
Theatres, [1088] in conspicuous positions. Let the sand, stained with
the warm blood, have you for spectators; the goal, also, to be passed
with the glowing wheels. [1089]
That which lies hid is unknown; for what is not known there is no
desire. All advantage is lost, when a pretty face is without one to see
it. Were you to excel even Thamyras [1090] and Amcebeus in your singing,
there would be no great regard for your lyre, while unknown. If Apelles
of Cos [1091] had never painted Venus, she would have lain concealed
beneath the ocean waves. What but fame alone is sought by the hallowed
Poets? The sum of all my labours has that crowning object. In former
days, Poets were [1092] the care of rulers and of kings; and the choirs
of old received great rewards. Hallowed was the dignity, and venerable
the name of the Poets; and upon them great riches were often bestowed.
Ennius, born in the mountains of Calabria, was deemed worthy, great
Scipio, to be placed near to thee. [1093] At the present day, the ivy
lies abandoned, without any honor; and the laborious anxiety that toils
for the learned Muses, receives the appellation of idleness.
But be it our study to lie on the watch for fame; who would have known
of Homer, if the Iliad, a never-dying work, had lain concealed? Who
would have known of Danae, if she had been for ever shut up, and if,
till an old woman, she had continued concealed in her tower? The throng,
ye beauteous fair, is advantageous to you; turn your wandering steps
full oft beyond your thresholds. The she-wolf goes on her way to the
many sheep, that she may carry off but one; and the bird of Jove pounces
down upon the many birds. Let the handsome woman, too, present herself
to be seen by the public; out of so many, perhaps there will be one for
her to attract. In all places, let her ever be desirous to please;
and, with all attention, let her have a care for her charms. Chance is
powerful everywhere; let your hook be always hanging ready. In waters
where you least think it, there will be a fish. Many a time do the
hounds wander in vain over the woody mountains; and sometimes the
stag falls in the toils, with no one to pursue him. What was there
for Andromeda, when bound, less to hope for, than that her tears could
possibly charm any one? Many a time, at the funeral of a husband, is
another husband found. To go with the tresses dishevelled, and not to
withhold your lamentations, is becoming.
But avoid those men who make dress and good looks their study; and who
arrange their locks, each in its own position. What they say to you,
they have repeated to a thousand damsels. Their love is roving, and
remains firm in no one spot. What is the woman to do, when the man,
himself, is still more effeminate, and himself perchance may have still
more male admirers?
You will hardly believe me, but still, do believe me; Troy would have
been still remaining, if it had followed the advice of its own Priam.
[1094] There are some men who range about, under a fictitious appearance
of love, and, by means of such introductions, seek disgraceful lucre.
And do not let the locks deceive you, shining much with the liquid nard;
[1095] nor yet the narrow belt, [1096] pressed upon the folds of their
dress. Nor let the robe of finest texture beguile you; nor yet if there
shall be many and many a ring [1097] on their fingers. Perhaps the best
dressed of the number of these may be some thief, [1098] and may be
attracted by a desire for your clothes. "Give me back my property! "
full oft do the plundered fair ones cry; "Give me back my property! " the
whole Forum resounding with their cries. Thou, Venus, [1099] unmoved,
and you, ye Goddesses, [1101] Hear the Appian way, from your temples
blazing with plenteous gold, behold these disputes. There are even
certain names notorious by a reputation that admits of no doubt; those
females who have been deceived by many, share the criminality of
their favorites. Learn, then, from the complaints of others, to have
apprehensions for yourselves; and do not let your door be open to the
knavish man.
Refrain, Cecropian fair, from believing Theseus, [1102] when he swears;
the Gods whom he will make his witnesses, he has made so before. And
no trust is there left for thee, Demophoon, heir to the criminality of
Theseus, since Phyllis has been deceived. If they are lavish of their
promises, in just as many words do you promise them; if they give, do
you, too, give the promised favours. That woman could extinguish the
watchful flames of Vesta, and could bear off the sacred things, daughter
of Inachus, [1103] from thy temples, and could administer to her husband
the aconite, mixed with the pounded hemlock, if on receiving a present
she could deny a favour.
My feelings are prompting me to go too close; check the rein, my Muse:
and be not hurled headlong by the wheels in their full career. Should
lines, written on the tablets made of fir, try the soundings; let a maid
suited for the duty take in the billets that are sent. Examine them; and
collect from the words themselves, whether he only pretends what you are
reading, or whether he entreats anxiously, and with sincerity. And after
a short delay, write an answer: delay ever stimulates those in love, if
it lasts only for a short time.
But neither do you make yourself too cheap to the youth who entreats,
nor yet refuse, with disdainful lips, what he is pressing for. Cause him
both to fear and to hope at the same moment; and oft as you refuse him,
let hopes more assured, and diminished apprehensions arise.
Write your words, ye fair, in a legible hand, but of common parlance,
and such as are usual; the recognized forms of language are most
pleasing. --Ah! how oft has the wavering lover been inflamed by a letter,
and how oft has uncouth language proved detrimental to, a graceful
form! But since, although you are without the honors of the fillet of
chastity, it is still your care to deceive your husbands; [1104] let
the skilled hand of a maid, or of a boy, carry the tablets, and don't
entrust your pledges to some unknown youth. I myself have seen the fair
pale with terror on that account, enduring, in their misery, servitude
to all future time. Perfidious, indeed, is he who retains such pledges:
but still in them he has power equal to the lightnings of AEtna.
In my opinion deceit is allowable, for the purpose of repelling deceit;
and the laws permit us to take up arms against the armed. One hand
should be accustomed to write in numerous styles. Perdition to those,
through whom this advice must be given by me! Nor is it safe to write,
except when the wax is quite smoothed over; so that the same tablet may
not contain two hands. [1105] Let your lover be always styled a female
when you write; in your billets let that be "she," which really is "he. "
But I wish to turn my attention from trifles to things of more
consequence, and with swelling canvass to expand my filling sails. It
conduces to good looks to restrain habits of anger.
mortal tells you this, but the Pelasgian oaks of Dodona: my skill has
nothing superior to this to teach you. Does she make a sign to him, do
you put up with it; does she write, don't you touch the tablets; let her
come from whatever place she likes; and wherever she chooses, let her
go. This do husbands allow to their lawful wives; even, too, when thou,
gentle sleep, [966] dost come to thy duty. I confess, that in this art I
myself am not yet perfect. What must I do? I am myself unequal to my
own precepts. And is any one in my presence to be making signs to my
mistress? And am I to endure it? And is not my anger to hurry me away to
any extreme? Her own husband [967] (I remember it well) gave her a kiss;
I complained of kisses being given; my love is brimful of fierceness.
Not once alone has this failing proved an injury to me; he is more
skilful, by whose encouragement other men visit [968] his mistress. But
'tis still better to know nothing of it. Allow stealthy intrigues to lie
concealed, lest the blush of confession should fly in future from her
countenance when detected.
With greater reason then, ye youths, forbear to detect your mistresses.
Let them be guilty; and guilty, let them suppose that they have deceived
you. When detected, the passion increases; when the fortune of the two
is the same, each persists in the cause of the disgrace. There is a
story told, very well known in all the heavens, how Mars and Venus [969]
were caught by the contrivance of Mulciber. Father Mars, distracted by
a frantic passion for Venus, from a terrible warrior, became a lover.
Neither did Venus (for, indeed, no Goddess is there more kind) proved
coy or stubborn to Gradivus. O how many a time is she said, in her
wantonness, to have laughed at the feet of her husband, and at his
hands, hardened with the fire or his handicraft. In the presence of
Mars, mocking him, she imitated her husband, and she was beauteous _even
while so doing_; and many a grace was there combined with her charms.
But they were in the habit of skilfully concealing their early
intercourse; and their frailty was replete with modest propriety.
Through the information of the Sun (who is there that can deceive the
Sun? ), the actions of his wife became known to Vulcan. Thou Sun, what a
bad example thou art setting! Ask a bribe of her; and shouldst thou hold
thy tongue, she has a favour which she may grant to thee.
Around and above the bed, Muleiber disposes the hidden toils; the work,
by its fineness, escapes their eyes. He pretends a journey to Lemnos;
the lovers come, according to the appointment; entangled in the toils,
they both lie naked. He calls the Gods together; the captives afford a
spectacle. People believe that Venus could hardly restrain her tears.
They cannot conceal their faces; they cannot, in fact, veil their
modesty with their hands. Upon this, one says, laughing, [970] "Transfer
to me thy chains, most valiant Mavors, if they are a burden to thee. "
With difficulty, Neptune, at thy entreaty, does he release their
captured bodies. Mars makes for Thrace, [971] and she for Paphos. [972]
This, Vulcan, was done by thee; what before they used to conceal, they
now do more openly, since all modesty is gone. Yet often, foolish one,
dost thou confess that thou didst act unwisely; and they say that thou
hast repented of thy wrath. This I have already forbidden: lo! Dione
forbids you to suffer that detection which she herself endured. And do
you arrange no toils for your rival; and intercept no words written by
the hand in secret. Let the men seek for those, (if, indeed, they think
they ought to be sought for) whom the fire and water render [973] lawful
husbands.
Behold! again do I protest; no sportive subject is here treated of,
but what is permitted by the laws; there is no matron concerned with
my sallies. [974] Who would dare to publish to the profane the rites
of Ceres, [975] and the great mysteries that were established in the
Thracian Samos? 'Tis a small merit to hold one's silence upon matters;
but, on the other hand, 'tis a grievous fault to speak of things on
which we should be silent. O justly does it happen, that the blabbing
Tantalus is thirsting in the midst of the water, the apples on the tree
being caught at by him in vain! Cytherea especially bids her rites to be
concealed. I recommend no talkative person to approach them.
If the mysteries of Venus are not enclosed in chests, [976] and the
hollow cymbals do not resound with frantic blows; although among
ourselves they are celebrated by universal custom, yet it is in such a
manner that among us they demand concealment. Venus herself, as oft
as she lays her garments aside, conceals her groin with the left hand,
[977] a little bent back. The cattle couple in public and promiscuously;
even when this is seen, full oft the fair one turns away her face.
Chambers and doors are provided for our stealthy dalliance; and our
nakedness lies concealed by garments placed over it. And if we do
not require darkness, still we do something of a retired shade, and
something less exposed than open day. In those times, even, when
tiles did not as yet keep out the sun and the shower, but the oak was
affording both shelter and food; in the groves and caves, and not in the
open air, were shared the delights of love. So great was the regard for
modesty, even in a savage race. But now-a-days we give praises to the
exploits of the night; and nothing beyond the power of talking of it, is
purchased at a heavy price. [978] You will, for sooth, be discussing all
the damsels in every quarter, that you may say to every person, "She,
too, has been mine," that none may be wanting for you to point at with
your fingers; and as you touch upon each, there will be a scandalous
tale. But I am complaining of trifles; some pretend things, which, if
true, they would deny, and not declare that there is not a woman from
whom they have not received the last favour. If they cannot meddle with
their persons, so far as they can, they meddle with their names; and,
their persons untouched, their reputation bears the blame.
Go now, odious keeper, and shut the doors of the fair: and add to the
solid door-posts a hundred bars. What safety is there, while the defiler
of character exists, and desires to be thought that he is that which
it has not proved his lot to be? Even my real amours I confess but
with reserve, and my secret intrigues are concealed with sure fidelity.
Especially forbear to censure the blemishes of the fair; to many it
has proved of advantage to conceal them. Her complexion was not made an
objection against Andromeda by him, on whose two feet were the waving
wings. [979] To all others Andromache seemed of larger stature [980]
than was becoming; Hector was the only one who called her of moderate
size. What you endure with impatience, accustom yourself to; and
you will endure it with patience. Length of time makes many things
endurable; but a rising passion catches sight of everything. While the
young branch is uniting within the green bark, [981] whatever breeze
shakes it while now tender, it falls. Soon, hardened in time, the same
tree will stoutly resist the winds, and bear the adopted fruit.
Time itself removes all blemishes from the person; and what was a fault,
in lapse of time ceases so to be. The nostrils that are unaccustomed
to it, are not able to endure the hides of bulls; the odour is not
perceived by those that have been rendered used to it in length of time.
We may palliate faults by names; let her be called swarthy, whose blood
is blacker than the pitch of Illyria. If she has a cast in the eyes,
she is like Venus: if yellow haired, like Minerva. She that is only
half alive through her leanness, let her be grace ful. Whatever woman
is small, say that she is active; her that is gross, call plump; and let
each fault lie concealed in its proximity to some good quality.
And don't you enquire what year she is now passing, nor under what
Consulship [982] she was born; a privilege which the rigid Censor [983]
possesses. And this, especially, if she has passed the bloom of youth,
and her best years [984] are fled, and she now pulls out the whitening
hairs. This age, O youths, or even one more advanced, has its
advantages; this soil will produce its crops, this is worth the sowing.
While strength and years permit, endure labour; soon will bending old
age come with silent foot. Either cleave the ocean with the oars, or
the earth with the plough; or turn your warlike hands to cruel arms;
or devote your strength and your attention to the fair. This, too, is
a kind of warfare; [985] this, too, seeks its advantages. Besides, in
these [986] there is a greater acquaintance with their subject; and
there is long practice, which alone renders skilful. By attention to
dress they repair the ravages of years; and by carefulness they cause
themselves not to appear aged.
```Utque velis, Venerem jungunt per mille figuras.
````Inveniat plures nulla tabella modos.
```Illis sentitur non irritata voluptas:
````Quod juvet, ex aequo fcemina virque ferant.
```Odi concubitus, qui non utrumque resolvunt;
````Hoc est, cur pueri tangar amore minus.
```Odi quae praebet, quia sit praebere necesse;
````Siccaque de lana cogitat ipsa sua.
```Quae datur officio, non est mihi grata voluptas,
````Officium faciat nulla puella mihi.
```Me voces audire juvat sua gaudia fassas:
````Utque morer memet, sustineamque roget.
```Aspiciam dominse victos amends ocellos.
````Langueat; et tangi se vetet ilia diu.
Those advantages has nature given not to early youth, which are wont to
spring up soon after seven times five years [987] have passed. Those who
are in a hurry, let them drink of new wine; for me let the cask, stored
up in the times [988] of ancient Consuls, pour forth the wine of my
ancestors. No plane-tree but a mature one is able to withstand Phoebus;
the shooting grass, [989] too, hurts the tender feet. And could you,
forsooth, have preferred Hermione [990] to Helen? And was Gorge [991]
more attractive than her mother? Whoever you are that wish to enjoy
matured passion, if you only persevere, you will obtain a fitting
reward.
```Conscius ecce duos accepit lectus amantes:
````Ad thalami clausas, Musa, resiste fores.
```Sponte sua, sine te, celoberrima verba loquentur:
````Nec manus in lecto laeva jacebit iners.
```Invenient digiti, quod agant in partibus illis,
````In quibus occulte spicula figit Amor.
```Fecit in Andromache prius hoc fortissimus Hector;
````Nec solum bellis utuis file fuit.
```Fecit et in capta Lyrneside magnus Achilles,
````Cum premeret mollem lassus ab hoste torum.
```Illis, te tangi manibus, Brisei, sinebas,
````Imbutae Phrygia quae nece semper erant.
```An fuit hoc ipsum, quod te lasciva juvaret
````Ad tua victrices membra venire manus?
```Crede mihi, non est Yeneris properanda voluptas:
````Sed sensim tarda prolicienda mora.
```Cum loca repereris, quae tangi fcemina gaudet;
````Non obstet, tangas quo minus ilia, pudor.
```Adspicics oculos tremulo fulgore micantes,
```Ut sol a liquida saepe refulget aqua.
```Accedent questus, accedet amabile murmur,
````Et dulces gemitus, aptaque verba loco.
```Sed neque tu dominam velis majoribus usus
````Desine; nec cursus anteat ilia tuos.
```Ad metam properate simul; turn plena voluptas,
````Cum pariter victi foemina virque jacent.
```Hi tibi servandus tenor est, cum libera dantur
````Otia; furtivum nec timor urget opus.
```Cum mora non tuta est, totis incumbere remis
````Utile, et admisso subdere calcar equo.
There is an end now of my task; grant me the palm, ye grateful youths,
and present the myrtle garlands to my perfumed locks. As great as
was Podalirius [992] among the Greeks in the art of healing, as the
descendant of AEacus with his right hand, as Nestor with his eloquence;
as great as Calchas [993] was in soothsaying, as the son of Telamon was
in arms, as Automedon [994] was in guiding the chariot, so great a Lover
am I. Celebrate me as your bard, ye men, to me repeat my praises; let
my name be sung throughout all the earth. Arms have I given to you;
to Achilles Vulcan gave arms. With the gifts presented to you, prove
victorious, as he proved victorious. But whoever subdues the Amazon
with my weapons, let him inscribe upon his spoil [995] --"Naso was my
preceptor. "
And lo! the charming fair are asking me to give them my precepts. You
then shall be the next care of my song. ----
BOOK THE THIRD.
|With arms against the Amazons I have furnished the Greeks. Arms remain
for me to present, Penthesilea, [1001] to thee and to thy squadrons. Go
to the combat equally prepared; and may those prove the victors, whom
genial Dione [1002] favours, and the Boy who flies over the whole world.
It was not fair for the females unprotected to engage with the men in
arms, and so it would have been disgraceful for you to conquer, ye men.
One of the multitude may say, "Why add venom to the serpent? And
why deliver the sheep-fold to the ravening wolf? Forbear to lay
the culpability of the few upon the many; and let each fair one be
considered according to her own deserts. If the younger son of Atreus
has Helen, and the elder son of Atreus [1003] has the sister of Helen,
to charge with criminality, if the son of Oclus, [1004] through the
wickedness of Eriphyle, daughter of Talaion, alive, and with living
steeds, descended to Styx; there is Penelope constant, while her husband
was wandering for twice five years, and for as many years engaged in
war. Witness the hero from Phylace, [1005] and her who is said to have
descended as the companion of her husband, and to have died before her
destined years. The wife from Pagasae redeemed the son of Pheres [1006]
from death, and in place of [1007] the funeral of her husband, the wife was
carried out. "Receive me, Capaneus; we will mingle our ashes," said the
daughter of Iphis, and she leapt on the midst of the pile. Virtue,
herself, too, is a female, both in dress and name. 'Tis not to be
wondered at, if she favours her own sex.
But still, 'tis not such dispositions as these that are required by my
art. Sails of less magnitude are befitting my skiff. [1008] Nothing but
wanton dalliance is taught by me; in what manner a woman is to be loved,
I purpose to teach. The woman repels neither the flames, nor the cruel
bow; those weapons, I see, make less havoc among the men. Many a time
do the men prove false; not often the charming fair; and, if you make
inquiry, they have but few charges of fraud against them. Jason, the
deceiver, repudiated the Phasian, when now a mother; and into the bosom
of the son of AEson there came another bride. [1009] Ariadne, left alone
in an unknown spot, had fed the sea-birds, so far, Theseus, as thou wast
concerned. Enquire why she is said to have gone on her nine journies,
[1010] and hear how the woods lamented Phyllis, their foliage laid
aside. And Elissa, she has the credit of affection; and still, that
guest of thine, Elissa, afforded both the sword and the cause for thy
destruction. Shall I tell what it was that ruined thee? Thou didst
not know how to love; thou wast wanting in skill; through skill, love
flourishes for ever.
Even still would they have been ignorant, but Cytherea commanded me to
instruct them, and stood, herself, before my eyes. Then to me she said,
"Why have the unfortunate fair deserved this? An unarmed multitude
is handed over to the men in arms. Two treatises [1011] have
rendered them skilful; this side, as well, must be instructed by thy
advice. He who before had uttered [1012] reproaches against the wife
from Therapnae, soon sang her praises to a more fortunate lyre. If well
I know thee, injure not the fair whom thou dost adore; their favour must
be sought by thee so long as thou shalt live. "
Thus she said; and from the myrtle (for she was standing with her locks
wreathed with myrtle) she gave me a leaf and a few berries. Receiving
them, I was sensible of the divine influence as well; the sky shone
with greater brightness, and all care departed from my breast. While
she inspires my genius; hence receive the precepts, ye fair, which
propriety, and the laws, and your own privileges, [1013] allow you. Even
now, be mindful of old age, that one day will come; then will no time
be passed by you in idleness. Disport yourselves, while yet you may, and
while even now you confess to your true years; after the manner of the
flowing stream, do the years pass by. Neither shall the water which has
past by, be ever recalled; nor can the hour which has past, ever return.
You must employ your youthful age; with swift step age is gliding on;
and that which follows, is not so pleasing as that which having passed
was charming. Those brakes, which are withering, I have beheld as beds
of violets; from amid those brambles, has a beauteous chaplet been
gathered for myself.
The time will be, when you, who are now shutting out a lover, will be
lying, an old woman, chilled in the lonely night. No door [1014] of
yours will be broken open in the broils of the night; nor will you find
in the morning your threshold bestrewed with roses. [1015] How soon, ah
me! are our bodies pursed with wrinkles, and that colour which existed
in the beauteous face, fades away! The grey hairs, too, which you might
have sworn that you had had from childhood, will suddenly be sprinkled
over all your head. Old age is thrown off by serpents, together with the
light slough; and the shedding of their horns makes the stags not to be
old. Our advantages fly irretrievably; pluck the flowers then; if they
be not plucked, they will lamentably fade themselves to your sorrow.
Besides, child-bearing makes the hours of youth more short-lived; with
continual crops the soil waxes old.
Endymion of Latmus, O Moon, causes not thee to blush; nor was Cephalus a
prey for the rosy Goddess to be ashamed of. Though Adonis be allowed to
Venus, whom she yet laments; whence had she AEneas and Hermione [1016]
for her children? Follow, O race of mortals, the example of the
Goddesses; and refuse not your endearments to the eager men. Even
should they deceive you, what do you lose? All remains the same. Were
a thousand to partake thereof, nothing is wasted thereby. Iron is worn
away, stones are consumed by use; your persons are proof against all
apprehension of detriment. Who would forbid light to be taken from
another light presented? Or who, on the deep sea, would hoard up the
expanse of waters? "But 'tis not right," you say, "for any woman to
grant favours to a man. " Tell me, what are you losing but the water,
which you may take up again? [1017] Nor are my words urging you to
prostitution; but they are forbidding you to fear evils that do not
exist: your favours are exempt from loss to yourselves.
But while I am in harbour, let a gentle breeze impel me, destined to
sail with the blasts of a stronger gale. I begin with dress: [1018] from
the well-dressed vine Bacchus has birth; and in the well-dressed field
the high corn springs up. Beauty is the gift of the Divinity; how many
a one prides herself on her beauty? Still, a great part [1019] of you
is wanting in such endowments. Care will confer charms; charms neglected
will perish, even though she be like the Idalian Goddess. If the fair of
olden times did not pay such attention to their persons; neither had the
ancients men so well-dressed. If Andromache was clad in a coarse tunic,
what wonder is it? She was the wife of a hardy soldier. And would his
companion, forsooth, come bedecked to Ajax, him whose covering was seven
hides of oxen. Formerly a rustic simplicity existed: now gorgeous Rome
possesses the wealth of the subdued earth. See the Capitol, what it now
is and what it was, you would declare that they belonged to different
Jupiters. The Senate-house, which is now right worthy of an assemblage
so august, when Tatius held the sway, was made of straw. The fields of
the Palatine hill, which are now resplendent in honour of Phoebus [1020]
and our rulers, what were they but pastures for the oxen that ploughed?
Let old times delight others: I congratulate myself that I am born
thus late; this is the age that is suited to my tastes. Not because the
pliable gold is now dug out of the earth, and choice shells [1021] come
here from foreign shores; nor yet because, the marble cut out, mountains
diminish; nor yet because the azure waves are kept out by the moles.
[1022] But because civilization prevails; and because the rude manners
that flourished with our ancient forefathers have not come down to our
days.
But do not you as well load your ears with precious stones, which the
tawny Indian seeks in the green waves. And do not go forth heavily
loaded with clothes embroidered with gold: by the wealth through which
you seek to attract us, you often drive us away. By neatness we are
captivated; let not your hair be without arrangement; the hands applied
to it both give beauty and deny it. The method, too, of adorning is not
a single one; let each choose the one that is becoming it to her, and
let her first consult her mirror.
An oval face becomes a parting upon
the unadorned head: Laodamia had her hair thus arranged. Round features
[1023] require a little knot to be left for them on the top of the head,
so that the ears may be exposed. Let the hair of another he thrown over
either shoulder. In such guise art thou, tuneful Phoebus, thy lyre
being assumed. Let another Lave her hair tied behind after the manner of
well-girt Diana, as she is wont when she hunts the scared wild beasts.
It becomes another to have her floating locks to flow loosely: another
must be bound by fillets over her fastened tresses. Another it delights
to be adorned with the figure of the tortoise [1024] of the Cyllenian
God: let another keep up her curls that resemble the waves. [1025]
But neither will you count the acorns on the branching native oak, nor
how many bees there are in Hybla, nor how many wild beasts on the Alps:
nor am I able to comprehend in numbers so many modes; _each successive
day brings a new fashion_. Even neglected locks are becoming to many;
often would you suppose that they are lying neglected since yesterday;
the very moment before they have been combed afresh. Let art imitate
chance. 'Twas thus that, in the captured city, when Hercules beheld
Iole; "Her," said he, "do I love. " In such guise, deserted fair one of
Gnossus, did Bacchus bear thee away in his chariot, while the Satyrs
shouted Evoe! O how indulgent is nature to your beauty, whose blemishes
can be atoned for in fashions so numerous! We men, to our misfortune,
become bald; and our hair, carried away by time, falls off, like Boreas
shaking down the leaves.
The female stains her grey hair with the herbs from Germany; [1026] and
by art a colour is sought superior to the genuine one. The female walks
along, thickly covered with purchased hair; and for money [1027] she
makes that of others--here comes those of fair complexion: black became
the laughter of Brises.
Nor is she ashamed to buy it openly: we see it being sold
before the eyes of Hercules [1028] and the Virgin throng.
What am I to say on clothing? Gold flounces, [1029] I have no need of
you; nor you, the wool which dost blush twice dipt in Tyrian purple.
Since so many colours can be procured at a lower price, what folly it is
to be carrying a fortune on one's person. [1030] Lo! there is the colour
of the sky, at the time when the sky is without clouds, and the warm
South wind is not summoning the showers of rain. Lo! there is the colour
like to thee, that art said [1031] once to have borne away Phryxus and
Helle from the treachery of Ino. That which resembles the waves, [1032]
has its name, too, from the waves; I could imagine that the Nymphs
are clad in vestments of this colour. Another resembles saffron; in
saffron-coloured garments is the dewy Goddess dressed,when she yokes
her steeds that bear the light of day. Another resembles the Paphian
myrtles; another the purple amethysts, or the white roses, or the
Thracian crane. Neither are there wanting, Amaryllis, [1033] thy
chesnuts, nor yet almonds; and wax [1034] has given its own name to
woollen textures.
As many as the flowers which the renewed earth produces, when in warm
spring the vine puts forth its buds, and sluggish winter retreats; so
many, or still more, shades of dye does the wool imbibe. Choose them by
rule; for every colour will not be suitable to every complexion.
When she was carried off, then, too, was she clothed in a dark garment.
White befits the swarthy; in white, daughter of Cepheus, thou wast
charming; by thee, thus clothed, was Seriphos [1035] trodden.
How nearly was I recommending you that there should be no shocking goat
[1036] in the armpits, and that your legs should not be rough with harsh
hair. But I am not instructing fair ones from the crags of Caucasus,
and who are drinking, Mysian Caicus, of thy waves. Besides; need I to
recommend that idleness should not blacken your teeth, and that your
mouth ought to be washed each morning with water used for the purpose.
You know, too, how to find whiteness in an application of wax; [1037]
she who is blushing with no real blood, is blushing by the aid of art.
With skill do you fill up the bared edges of the eye-brows, [1038] and
the little patch [1039] covers your cheeks in all their genuineness.
'Tis no harm, too, to mark the eyes [1040] slightly with ashes; or
with saffron, produced, beauteous Cydnus, near to thee. I have a little
treatise, [1041] but through the care bestowed, a great work, in which
I have mentioned the various recipes for your beauty. From that as well,
do you seek aid for your diminished charms: my skill is not idle in
behalf of your interests.
But let not your lover discover the boxes exposed upon the table; art,
by its concealment only, gives aid to beauty. Whom would not the paint
disgust, besmeared all over your face, when, through its own weight, it
flows and falls upon your heated bosom? Why is the smell of the oesypum
[1042] so powerful, sent from Athens though it be, an extract drawn
from the filthy fleece of the sheep? Nor would I recommend you in his
presence to apply the mixture of the marrow of the deer, [1043] nor
before him to clean your teeth. These things will give you good looks,
but they will be unbecoming to be seen; there are many things, too,
which, disgusting while being done, add charms when done. The statues
which now bear the name of the laborious Myron, [1044] were once a
sluggish weight and a solid mass. That the ring may be made, the gold is
first beaten; the clothes, that you are wearing, were once dirty wool.
While it was being wrought, it was hard stone; now, as a beautiful
statue, [1045] naked Venus is wringing the moisture from her dripping
locks.
You, too, while you are dressing, let us suppose to be asleep; after the
finishing hand, you will be seen much more apropos. Why is the cause
of the fairness of your complexion known to me? Shut the door of your
chamber, why expose the work half done? It is proper for the men to be
in ignorance of many a thing. The greatest part of things would cause
disgust, if you were not to conceal what is within. Examine the gilded
statues which hang in the decorated theatre; how thin the tinsel that
covers the wood. But it is not permitted the public to approach them
unless completed; neither ought your charms to be heightened unless the
men are at a distance. But I would not forbid you to allow your hair to
be combed in their presence, so that it may be flowing along your back.
Only take care especially on such occasions not to be cross; and do
not many times undo your hair, pulled down, when fastened up. Let your
coiffeuse be with a whole skin. I detest her who tears the face of her
attendant with her nails, and who, seizing the hair-pin, pierces her
arms. [1046] As she touches the head of her mistress, she curses it; and
at the same time, streaming with blood, she is crying over the odious
locks.
The fair one that has but little hair, let her set a watch on her
threshold; or let her always make her toilet in the temple [1047] of the
Good Goddess. I was unexpectedly announced as having paid a visit to
a certain lady; in her confusion, she put on her locks the wrong side
before. May a cause of shame so disgraceful fall to the lot of my foes,
and may that dishonour happen to the Parthian dames. A mutilated animal
is repulsive, the fields without grass are repulsive; and so is a
shrub without foliage, and a head without hair. You have not come to be
instructed by me, Semele, or Leda, thou, too, Sidonian fair, [1048]
who wast borne across the sea upon the fictitious bull; or Helen, whom,
Menelaus, not without reason, thou didst demand to be restored to thee,
and whom, not without reason, thou Trojan ravisher, didst retain. A
multitude comes to be instructed, both pretty and ugly damsels; and the
unsightly are ever more in number than the good-looking. The beauteous
care less for the resources and the precepts of art; they have their own
endowments, charms that are powerful without art. When the sea is calm,
the sailor rests free from care; when it becomes boisterous, he appeals
to his own resources.
Few, however, are the forms free from defect. Conceal your blemishes;
and, so far as you can, hide the imperfections of your person. If you
are short, sit down; that, while standing, you may not appear to be
sitting; and if of a diminutive size, throw yourself upon your couch.
Here, too, that your measure may not be able to be taken as you lie,
take care that your feet are concealed with the clothes [1049] thrown
over them. She who is too thin, let her wear clothes of thick texture;
and let her vestments hang loosely from her shoulders. Let her who is
pale, tint her complexion with purple stripes; [1050] do you that are more
swarthy, have recourse to the aid of the Pharian fish. [1051] Let an
ill-shaped foot be always concealed in a boot of snow-white leather
steeped in alum; and do not unloose their laced sandals from the spindly
legs. For high shoulders, small pads are suitable; [1052] and let the
girth [1053] encircle the bosom that is too prominent. She whose fingers
are dumpy, and whose nails are rough, should mark with but little
gesture whatever is said. She, whose breath is strong smelling, should
never talk with an empty stomach; and she should always stand at a
distance [1054] from her lover's face.
If your teeth are black, or large, or not, growing straight, you will
suffer very great inconvenience from laughing. Who could have supposed
it? The fair take lessons even in laughing; and even in that respect is
gracefulness studied by them. Let your mouth be but moderately open; let
the dimples on either side he but small; and let the extremity of the
lips cover the upper part of the teeth. And do not let your sides be
shaking with prolonged laughter; but let them utter sounds gentle and
feminine, to I know not what degree. Some there are, who distort
their face with an unsightly grin; another, when she is joyous in her
laughter, you would take to be crying. Another makes a harsh noise, and
screams in a disagreeable manner; just as the unsightly she-ass brays by
the rough mill-stone.
To what point does not art proceed? Some study how to weep with grace,
and cry at what time and in what manner they please. Nay, further; when
the letters are deprived of their full sound, and the lisping tongue
becomes contracted with an affected pronunciation; then is grace sought
in an imperfection; to pronounce certain words badly, they learn to be
less able to speak than they really are. To all these points, since they
are of consequence, give attention. Learn how to walk with steps suited
to a female. Even in the gait, there are certain points of gracefulness
not to be disregarded; this both attracts and repels men who are strange
to you. This fair one moves her sides with skill, and with her flowing
tunics catches the breeze, and haughtily moves her extended feet.
Another walks just like the redfaced spouse of some Umbrian [1055]
husband, and, straddling, takes huge strides. But, as in many other
things, let there be a medium here as well; one movement is clownish;
another movement will be too mincing in its gait. But let the lower part
of your shoulders, and the upper part of your arm be bare, to be beheld
from your left hand upwards. This is especially becoming to you, ye of
fair complexion; when I see this, I have always a longing to give a kiss
to the shoulder, where it is exposed.
The Sirens were monsters of the deep, which with their tuneful voices
detained the ships, even though in full career. On hearing them, the son
of Sisyphus [1056] almost released his body from the mast; for the
wax [1057] was melted in the ears of his companions. The voice is an
insinuating quality; let the fair learn how to sing. In place of beauty,
her voice has proved the recommendation of many a woman. And sometimes
let them repeat what they have heard in the marble theatres; and
sometimes the songs attuned to the measures of the Nile. [1058] Neither,
in my way of thinking, ought a clever woman to be ignorant how to hold
the plectrum [1059] in her right hand, the lyre in her left. Orpheus
of Rhodope with his lyre moved rocks, and wild beasts, and the lakes of
Tartarus, and Cerberus the triple dog. At thy singing, most righteous
avenger of thy mother, [1060] the attentive stones built up the walls.
The fish, (the well-known story of the lyre of Arion, [1061] although he
was dumb, is supposed to have been moved by his voice. Learn, too, to
sweep the chords of the festive psaltery [1062] with your two hands;
'tis an instrument suited to amorous lays.
Let the songs of Callimachus [1063] be known to you, let those of the
poet of Cos, [1064] let the Teian Muse too, of the drunken old bard. Let
Sappho, too, be well known; for what is there more exciting than she?
Or than him, through whom [1065] the father is deceived by the tricks
of the crafty Geta? You may, too, have read the poems of the tender
Propertius, [1066] or something of Gallus, or thy works, Tibullus.
[1067] The fleece, too, so bewailed, O Phryxus, of thy sister, shining
with its yellow hair, celebrated by Varro. [1068] The exiled AEneas, as
well, the first origin of lofty Rome, [1069] than which no work exists
in Latium of greater fame.
Perhaps, too, my name will be mingled among these, and my writings will
not be consigned to the waters of Lethe. And people will one day say,
"Read the elegant lines of our master, in which he instructs the two
sides. [1070] Or of his three books, which the title designates as, 'The
Amours,' choose a portion to read with skilful lips, in a languishing
way. Or let his Epistles be repeated by you with well-modulated voice;
this kind of composition, [1071] unknown to others, did he invent. " O
Phoebus, mayst thou so will it; so too, ye benignant Divinities of the
Poets, Bacchus, graceful with thy horns, and you, ye nine Goddesses!
Who can doubt that I should wish the falr one to know how to dance,
that, the wine placed on table, she may move her arms in cadence, when
requested. Masters of posture, [1072] the representations on the stage, are
much valued; so much gracefulness does that pliant art possess. I am
ashamed to advise on trifling points, to understand how to throw a cast
of dice, and, thy value, the cube when thrown. And now let her throw the
three numbers; now let her consider, at which number she can cleverly
enter most conveniently, and which one she must call for. [1073] And,
with her skill, let her play not amiss at the hostilities of the pieces;
[1074] when the single man perishes between his two enemies. How the
warrior, too, [1075] wages the war when caught without his companion;
and how the enemy full oft retreats on the path on which he has begun.
Let the smooth balls, [1076] too, be poured into the open net; and not a
ball must be moved but the one which you shall be lifting up. There is a
kind of game, [1077] distributed into as many lines on a small scale, as
the fleeting year contains months. A little table receives [1078] three
pebbles on each side, on which to bring one's own into a straight line,
is to gain the victory.
Devise a thousand amusements. 'Tis shocking for the fair one not to
know how to play; many a time, while playing, is love commenced. But
the least matter is how to use the throws to advantage; 'tis a task of
greater consequence to lay a restraint on one's manners. While we are
not thinking, and are revealed by our very intentness, and, through the
game, our feelings, laid bare, are exposed; anger arises, a disgraceful
failing, and the greed for gain; quarrels, too, and strife, and, then,
bitter regrets. Recriminations are uttered; the air resounds with the
brawl, and every one for himself invokes the angry Divinities. There
is no trusting [1079] the tables, and, amid vows, new tables are called
for; full oft, too, have I seen cheeks wet with tears. May Jupiter
avert from you indiscretions so unbecoming, you, who have a care to be
pleasing to any lover.
To the fair, has nature, in softer mood, assigned these amusements; with
materials more abundant do the men disport. They have both the flying
ball, [1080] and the javelin, and the hoop, and arms, and the horse
trained to go round the ring. No plain of Mars receives you, nor
does the spring of the Virgin, [1081] so intensely cold; nor does the
Etrurian [1082] river carry you along with its smooth stream. But you
are allowed, and it is to your advantage, to go in the shade of Pompey's
Portico, at the time when the head is heated by the steeds of the
Constellation of the Virgin. [1083] Frequent the Palatium, consecrated
to the laurel-bearing Phoebus;'twas he that overwhelmed in the deep the
ships of Parsetonium. [1084] The memorials, also, which the Bister and
the wife [1085] of our Ruler have erected; his son-in-law [1086]
too, his head encircled with naval honors. Frequent the altars of the
Memphian heifer, [1087] that smoke with frankincense; frequent the three
Theatres, [1088] in conspicuous positions. Let the sand, stained with
the warm blood, have you for spectators; the goal, also, to be passed
with the glowing wheels. [1089]
That which lies hid is unknown; for what is not known there is no
desire. All advantage is lost, when a pretty face is without one to see
it. Were you to excel even Thamyras [1090] and Amcebeus in your singing,
there would be no great regard for your lyre, while unknown. If Apelles
of Cos [1091] had never painted Venus, she would have lain concealed
beneath the ocean waves. What but fame alone is sought by the hallowed
Poets? The sum of all my labours has that crowning object. In former
days, Poets were [1092] the care of rulers and of kings; and the choirs
of old received great rewards. Hallowed was the dignity, and venerable
the name of the Poets; and upon them great riches were often bestowed.
Ennius, born in the mountains of Calabria, was deemed worthy, great
Scipio, to be placed near to thee. [1093] At the present day, the ivy
lies abandoned, without any honor; and the laborious anxiety that toils
for the learned Muses, receives the appellation of idleness.
But be it our study to lie on the watch for fame; who would have known
of Homer, if the Iliad, a never-dying work, had lain concealed? Who
would have known of Danae, if she had been for ever shut up, and if,
till an old woman, she had continued concealed in her tower? The throng,
ye beauteous fair, is advantageous to you; turn your wandering steps
full oft beyond your thresholds. The she-wolf goes on her way to the
many sheep, that she may carry off but one; and the bird of Jove pounces
down upon the many birds. Let the handsome woman, too, present herself
to be seen by the public; out of so many, perhaps there will be one for
her to attract. In all places, let her ever be desirous to please;
and, with all attention, let her have a care for her charms. Chance is
powerful everywhere; let your hook be always hanging ready. In waters
where you least think it, there will be a fish. Many a time do the
hounds wander in vain over the woody mountains; and sometimes the
stag falls in the toils, with no one to pursue him. What was there
for Andromeda, when bound, less to hope for, than that her tears could
possibly charm any one? Many a time, at the funeral of a husband, is
another husband found. To go with the tresses dishevelled, and not to
withhold your lamentations, is becoming.
But avoid those men who make dress and good looks their study; and who
arrange their locks, each in its own position. What they say to you,
they have repeated to a thousand damsels. Their love is roving, and
remains firm in no one spot. What is the woman to do, when the man,
himself, is still more effeminate, and himself perchance may have still
more male admirers?
You will hardly believe me, but still, do believe me; Troy would have
been still remaining, if it had followed the advice of its own Priam.
[1094] There are some men who range about, under a fictitious appearance
of love, and, by means of such introductions, seek disgraceful lucre.
And do not let the locks deceive you, shining much with the liquid nard;
[1095] nor yet the narrow belt, [1096] pressed upon the folds of their
dress. Nor let the robe of finest texture beguile you; nor yet if there
shall be many and many a ring [1097] on their fingers. Perhaps the best
dressed of the number of these may be some thief, [1098] and may be
attracted by a desire for your clothes. "Give me back my property! "
full oft do the plundered fair ones cry; "Give me back my property! " the
whole Forum resounding with their cries. Thou, Venus, [1099] unmoved,
and you, ye Goddesses, [1101] Hear the Appian way, from your temples
blazing with plenteous gold, behold these disputes. There are even
certain names notorious by a reputation that admits of no doubt; those
females who have been deceived by many, share the criminality of
their favorites. Learn, then, from the complaints of others, to have
apprehensions for yourselves; and do not let your door be open to the
knavish man.
Refrain, Cecropian fair, from believing Theseus, [1102] when he swears;
the Gods whom he will make his witnesses, he has made so before. And
no trust is there left for thee, Demophoon, heir to the criminality of
Theseus, since Phyllis has been deceived. If they are lavish of their
promises, in just as many words do you promise them; if they give, do
you, too, give the promised favours. That woman could extinguish the
watchful flames of Vesta, and could bear off the sacred things, daughter
of Inachus, [1103] from thy temples, and could administer to her husband
the aconite, mixed with the pounded hemlock, if on receiving a present
she could deny a favour.
My feelings are prompting me to go too close; check the rein, my Muse:
and be not hurled headlong by the wheels in their full career. Should
lines, written on the tablets made of fir, try the soundings; let a maid
suited for the duty take in the billets that are sent. Examine them; and
collect from the words themselves, whether he only pretends what you are
reading, or whether he entreats anxiously, and with sincerity. And after
a short delay, write an answer: delay ever stimulates those in love, if
it lasts only for a short time.
But neither do you make yourself too cheap to the youth who entreats,
nor yet refuse, with disdainful lips, what he is pressing for. Cause him
both to fear and to hope at the same moment; and oft as you refuse him,
let hopes more assured, and diminished apprehensions arise.
Write your words, ye fair, in a legible hand, but of common parlance,
and such as are usual; the recognized forms of language are most
pleasing. --Ah! how oft has the wavering lover been inflamed by a letter,
and how oft has uncouth language proved detrimental to, a graceful
form! But since, although you are without the honors of the fillet of
chastity, it is still your care to deceive your husbands; [1104] let
the skilled hand of a maid, or of a boy, carry the tablets, and don't
entrust your pledges to some unknown youth. I myself have seen the fair
pale with terror on that account, enduring, in their misery, servitude
to all future time. Perfidious, indeed, is he who retains such pledges:
but still in them he has power equal to the lightnings of AEtna.
In my opinion deceit is allowable, for the purpose of repelling deceit;
and the laws permit us to take up arms against the armed. One hand
should be accustomed to write in numerous styles. Perdition to those,
through whom this advice must be given by me! Nor is it safe to write,
except when the wax is quite smoothed over; so that the same tablet may
not contain two hands. [1105] Let your lover be always styled a female
when you write; in your billets let that be "she," which really is "he. "
But I wish to turn my attention from trifles to things of more
consequence, and with swelling canvass to expand my filling sails. It
conduces to good looks to restrain habits of anger.
