Andie Moore
Wellington Girls' College
Translation (A Day at the Races) from Latin into English of Ars Amatoria by Ovid
Translation (A Day at the Races) from Latin into English of Ars Amatoria by Ovid
A Day at the Races
Ovid, Ars Amatoria, Book I, ll. 135-170 Don’t ignore the celebrated horse races; The public’s open course has many opportunities. There’s no need for fingers to signal secrets with, Nor for you to make out through nods that she understands: Nothing’s stopping you, sit next to your girl, Press your side constantly to hers as you can; And what a good thing it is for you that the seats force you to touch, whether you like it or not, Because the girl is bound by the nature of the seats. Now look for an icebreaker with your partner, And open your first conversation with small talk. Make an earnest enquiry whose horses are passing: Without delay favour who she favours, whoever it is. But when the crowded parade of the ivory gods passes by, Clap hard for your Lady Venus, And if by chance a speck of dust should fall on your girl’s lap, as it may, Brush it away with your fingers: Even if there is no speck of dust, brush away that nothing all the same: Let anything be a good enough excuse for your attention to her. If her cloak touches the ground, after it’s slipped down too far, Pick it up, and rescue it with care from the dirty ground. Immediately your reward for this service, with the girl’s permission, Is that you inevitably catch sight of her legs. Also, check out whoever is sitting behind you, In case he digs his knee into her delicate back. Trivial things captivate the airheads: it’s been useful for many To fix a cushion with a helping hand. It’s been profitable both to fan a breeze with a booklet And to place a hollow foot stool under tender feet. Both this circus provides an opportunity for new love, And the scattered sand of the anxious and unhappy forum. The boy of Venus often fought on that sand, And he who watched the wounds, received a wound himself. While he talks, and touches a hand, and buys a program, And asks which of two will win in a placed bet, He groaned, wounded, and felt the swift arrow, And was himself a part of the spectacle he watched. |
Ars Amatoria – Ovid
Book I, ll. 135-170 nec te nobilium fugiat certamen equorum: multa capax populi commoda Circus habet. nil opus est digitis per quos arcana loquaris, nec tibi per nutus accipienda nota est; proximus a domina nullo prohibente sedeto; iunge tuum lateri qua potes usque latus. et bene, quod cogit, si nolis, linea iungi, quod tibi tangenda est lege puella loci. hic tibi quaeratur socii sermonis origo, et moueant primos publica uerba sonos: cuius equi ueniant facito studiose requiras, nec mora, quisquis erit cui fauet illa, faue. at cum pompa frequens caelestibus ibit eburnis, tu Veneri dominae plaude fauente manu; utque fit, in gremium puluis si forte puellae deciderit, digitis excutiendus erit; etsi nullus erit puluis, tamen excute nullum: quaelibet officio causa sit apta tuo; pallia si terra nimium demissa iacebunt, collige et inmunda sedulus effer humo: protinus, officii pretium, patiente puella contingent oculis crura uidenda tuis. respice praeterea, post uos quicumque sedebit, ne premat opposito mollia terga genu. parua leuis capiunt animos: fuit utile multis puluinum facili composuisse manu; profuit et tenui uentos mouisse tabella et caua sub tenerum scamna dedisse pedem. hos aditus Circusque nouo praebebit amori sparsaque sollicito tristis harena foro. illa saepe puer Veneris pugnauit harena et, qui spectauit uulnera, uulnus habet: dum loquitur tangitque manum poscitque libellum et quaerit posito pignore, uincat uter, saucius ingemuit telumque uolatile sensit et pars spectati muneris ipse fuit. |