Propertius 1.1 Flashcards
Cynthia prima suis miserum me cepit ocellis,
contactum nullis ante cupidinibus.
Cynthia was the first. She caught me with her eyes, a fool
Who had never before been touched by desires.
tum mihi constantis deiecit lumina fastus
et caput impositis pressit Amor pedibus,
donec me docuit castas odisse puellas
improbus, et nullo vivere consilio.
Love cast down my look of constant pride,
And he pressed on my head with his feet,
Until he taught me to despise chaste girls,
Perversely, and to live without plan.
ei mihi, iam toto furor hic non deficit anno,
cum tamen adversos cogor habere deos.
Already, it’s been a whole year that the frenzy hasn’t stopped,
When, for all that, the gods are against me.
Milanion nullos fugiendo, Tulle, labores
saevitiam durae contudit Iasidos.
It wasn’t by running away from difficulty, Tullus,
That Milanion crushed the hard Iasid’s savagery.
nam modo Partheniis amens errabat in antris,
rursus in hirsutas ibat et ille feras;
ille etiam Hylaei percussus vulnere rami
saucius Arcadiis rupibus ingemuit.
He wandered mad in Parthenian caves,
Face to face with hairy beasts.
One time, shocked by a wound from Hylaeus’ stick,
He groaned in pain on the Arcadian cliffs.
ergo velocem potuit domuisse puellam:
tantum in amore fides et benefacta valent.
That’s how he was able to dominate that swift girl:
So much are prayers and exploits worth in love.
in me tardus Amor non ullas cogitat artes,
nec meminit notas, ut prius, ire vias.
But in me Love is slow, does not stimulate any art,
And he forgets to go on ways he used to know.
at vos, deductae quibus est pellacia lunae
et labor in magicis sacra piare focis,
en agedum dominae mentem convertite nostrae,
et facite illa meo palleat ore magis!
You who do that trick with the moon,
Who perform rites on magic altars,
Change my mistress’ mind,
Make her face paler than my own!
tunc ego crediderim vobis et sidera et amnis
posse Cytaeines ducere carminibus.
Then I’ll believe in you, that you can lead stars
And streams from their paths with Cytinean songs.
et vos, qui sero lapsum revocatis, amici,
quaerite non sani pectoris auxilia.
But you, who call me too late as I slip away, friends,
Get help for the insane.
fortiter et ferrum saevos patiemur et ignis,
sit modo libertas quae velit ira loqui.
Bravely will I endure knife and savage fires,
Just let me say whatever I want in my rage.
ferte per extremas gentis et ferte per undas,
qua non ulla meum femina norit iter:
Take me to exotic peoples, across the waves,
Where no woman may know my path.
vos remanete, quibus facili deus annuit aure,
sitis et in tuto semper amore pares.
You stay, to whom the god has easily consented;
May you be equal always, in a safe love.
in me nostra Venus noctes exercet amaras,
et nullo vacuus tempore defit Amor.
On me old Venus works bitter nights,
And Love is at no time absent.
hoc, moneo, vitate malum: sua quemque moretur
cura, neque assueto mutet amore locum.
Avoid this evil, I’m warning you. Let each one linger with his
Sweetheart and not change place from an accustomed love.
