Art of Love - Couverture rigide

Ovid

Couverture rigide

ISBN 10 : 0253103916 ISBN 13 : 9780253103918

Editeur : Indiana University Press, 2011

Synopsis

Book by Ovid Humphries Rolfe

A propos du livre

Extrait

The Art of Love

Liber Primus Siquis in hoc artem populo non novit amandi,

Hoc legat et lecto carmine doctus amet.

Arte citae veloque rates remoque moventur,

Arte leves currus: arte regendus amor.

Curribus Automedon lentisque erat aptus habenis,5

Tiphys in Haemonia puppe magister erat:

Me Venus artificem tenero praefecit Amori;

Tiphys et Automedon dicar Amoris ego.

Ille quidem ferus est et qui mihi saepe repugnet:

Sed puer est, aetas mollis et apta regi.10

Phillyrides puerum cithara perfecit Achillem,

Atque animos placida contudit arte feros.

Qui totiens socios, totiens exterruit hostes,

Creditur annosum pertimuisse senem.

Quas Hector sensurus erat, poscente magistro15

Verberibus iussas praebuit ille manus.

Book One If any Roman knows nothing about love-making, please

Read this poem and graduate in expertise.

Ships and chariots with sails, oars, wheels, reins,

Speed through technique and control, and the same obtains

For love. As Automedon was Achilles' charioteer

And Tiphys earned the right to steer

The Argo on Jason's expedition,

So I am appointed by Venus as the technician

Of her art-my name will live on

As Love's Tiphys, Love's Automedon.

Love often fights against me, for he's wild,

Yet he's also controllable, for he's still a child.

Chiron made Achilles expert with the lyre,

His cool tuition quenched youth's primitive fire,

So that the boy who later became

A terror to friends and foes alike stood tame

In front of his aged teacher, so they say,

And the hand that Hector would feel one day

Was held out meekly to be rapped

Aeacidae Chiron, ego sum praeceptor Amoris:

Saevus uterque puer, natus uterque dea.

Sed tamen et tauri cervix oneratur aratro,

Frenaque magnanimi dente teruntur equi;20

Et mihi cedet Amor, quamvis mea vulneret arcu

Pectora, iactatas excutiatque faces.

Quo me fixit Amor, quo me violentius ussit,

Hoc melior facti vulneris ultor ero:

Non ego, Phoebe, datas a te mihi mentiar artes,25

Nec nos aëriae voce monemur avis,

Nec mihi sunt visae Clio Cliusque sorores

Servanti pecudes vallibus, Ascra, tuis:

Usus opus movet hoc: vati parete perito;

Vera canam: coeptis, mater Amoris, ades!30

Este procul, vittae tenues, insigne pudoris,

Quaeque tegis medios, instita longa, pedes.

Nos venerem tutam concessaque furta canemus,

Inque meo nullum carmine crimen erit.

Principio, quod amare velis, reperire labora,35

Qui nova nunc primum miles in arma venis.

Proximus huic labor est placitam exorare puellam:

Tertius, ut longo tempore duret amor.

Hic modus, haec nostro signabitur area curru:

Haec erit admissa meta terenda rota.40

Dum licet, et loris passim potes ire solutis,

Elige cui dicas "tu mihi sola places."

Haec tibi non tenues veniet delapsa per auras:

Quaerenda est oculis apta puella tuis.

Scit bene venator, cervis ubi retia tendat,45

Scit bene, qua frendens valle moretur aper;

Aucupibus noti frutices; qui sustinet hamos,

Novit quae multo pisce natentur aquae:

At his schoolmaster's bidding. Achilles was the apt

Pupil of Chiron, Love is mine-

Wild boys both, and both born of divine

Mothers; yet the heavy plough will make

Even the bull's neck docile, and the friskiest colt will take

The bit in his teeth. Love shall be tamed under my hand,

Though his arrows riddle me, though his flaming brand

Is waved in my face. The worse the wounds, the fiercer the burn,

The prompter I'll be to punish him in return.

I won't pretend that I'm inspired by you, Apollo:

The hoot of an owl, the flight of a swallow,

Have taught me nothing; awake or asleep,

I never had a vision of the Muses tending sheep

In pastoral valleys. This poem springs

From experience. Listen, your poet sings

Of what he knows, he tells no lies.

Venus, mother of Love, assist my enterprise!

But you with headbands and ankle-length robes, staid matrons,

Stay well clear-you are not my patrons.

My theme is safe and licit love, stolen joys which women'll

Condone; I'll mention nothing criminal.

Your first job, then, love's volunteer recruit,

Is to find the object of your pursuit;

Next comes the work of wooing and winning; and, last, ensuring

That the love you've won is enduring.

These are the limits of the ground my wheeled

Chariot will rapidly cover, my chosen field.

While you're still unharnessed and can wander fancy-free,

Pick a girl and tell her, "You're the only girl for me."

A mistress, though, doesn't float down from the sky:

You have to seek out the one who's caught your eye.

A hunter has to work,

Know where to spread his stag-nets, in which glens boars lurk,

A fowler's familiar with copses, fishermen learn

Which streams are the most rewarding, and you, if you yearn

Tu quoque, materiam longo qui quaeris amori,

Ante frequens quo sit disce puella loco.50

Non ego quaerentem vento dare vela iubebo,

Nec tibi, ut invenias, longa terenda via est.

Andromedan Perseus nigris portarit ab Indis,

Raptaque sit Phrygio Graia puella viro,

Tot tibi tamque dabit formosas Roma puellas,55

"Haec habet" ut dicas "quicquid in orbe fuit."

Gargara quot segetes, quot habet Methymna racemos,

Aequore quot pisces, fronde teguntur aves,

Quot caelum stellas, tot habet tua Roma puellas:

Mater in Aeneae constitit urbe sui.60

Seu caperis primis et adhuc crescentibus annis,

Ante oculos veniet vera puella tuos:

Sive cupis iuvenem, iuvenes tibi mille placebunt.

Cogeris voti nescius esse tui:

Seu te forte iuvat sera et sapientior aetas,65

Hoc quoque, crede mihi, plenius agmen erit.

Tu modo Pompeia lentus spatiare sub umbra,

Cum sol Herculei terga leonis adit:

Aut ubi muneribus nati sua munera mater

Addidit, externo marmore dives opus.70

Nec tibi vitetur quae, priscis sparsa tabellis,

Porticus auctoris Livia nomen habet:

Quaque parare necem miseris patruelibus ausae

Belides et stricto stat ferus ense pater.

Nec te praetereat Veneri ploratus Adonis,75

Cultaque Iudaeo septima sacra Syro.

For a long-term affair, won't have one till you've found

The places where girls are thick on the ground.

Though Perseus brought back Andromeda from the Syrian coast

And Paris stole Helen from his foreign host,

You can achieve your ambition

More easily. I'm not recommending an expedition

Overseas or a gruelling march; look nearer home

And you'll say, "The prettiest girls in the world are in Rome"-

They're thicker than wheatsheaves on Gargara, grapes in Lesbos, birds in the trees,

Stars in the sky, fish in the seas,

For Venus is a strong presence

In the city her son founded. If you fancy adolescents,

One stunner out of plenty

Will emerge and dazzle you; if you like them over twenty,

The range of available talent is so rich

That your only problem will be which;

And if you prefer mature, experienced women,

Believe me, they're as common

As blackberries. When the sun's on the back of Hercules'

Lion, in high summer, just stroll at your ease

Down Pompey's shady colonnade,

Or Octavia's (which she made

More beautiful, when her son died,

With rich marblework on the outside),

Or the one that's named

After its founder, Livia, famed

For its antique paintings. Don't forget to go

To the Danaids' portico

Where the fifty sculptured virgins meditate

Their luckless cousins' fate-

The multiple murder planned

By their fierce father Belus (here shown sword in hand).

And don't miss the shrine where Venus weeps

For Adonis, the synagogue where Syrian Jewry keeps

Nec fuge linigerae Memphitica templa iuvencae:

Multas illa facit, quod fuit ipsa Iovi.

Et fora conveniunt (quis credere possit?) amori:

Flammaque in arguto saepe reperta foro:80

Subdita qua Veneris facto de marmore templo

Appias expressis aëra pulsat aquis,

Illo saepe loco capitur consultus Amori,

Quique aliis cavit, non cavet ipse sibi:

Illo saepe loco desunt sua verba diserto,85

Resque novae veniunt, causaque agenda sua est.

Hunc Venus e templis, quae sunt confinia, ridet:

Qui modo patronus, nunc cupit esse cliens.

Sed tu praecipue curvis venare theatris:

Haec loca sunt voto fertiliora tuo.90

Illic invenies quod ames, quod ludere possis,

Quodque semel tangas, quodque tenere velis.

Ut redit itque frequens longum formica per agmen,

Granifero solitum cum vehit ore cibum,

Aut ut apes saltusque suos et olentia nactae95

Pascua per flores et thyma summa volant,

Sic ruit ad celebres cultissima femina ludos:

Copia iudicium saepe morata meum est.

Spectatum veniunt, veniunt spectentur ut ipsae:

Ille locus casti damna pudoris habet.100

Primus sollicitos fecisti, Romule, ludos,

Cum iuvit viduos rapta Sabina viros.

Tunc neque marmoreo pendebant vela theatro,

Nec fuerant liquido pulpita rubra croco;

Illic quas tulerant nemorosa Palatia, frondes105

The sabbath sacred, or the Memphian temple

Of the linen-clad heifer Io, whose example

Has taught many a courtesan

To offer her body to a man

As she did hers to Jove.

The law-courts, too, are fertile grounds for love,

Believe it or not-yes, desire

From dry forensic tinder can catch fire.

There where the Appian nymph tosses her water-jets

High from beneath the marble shrine, Venus's nets

Trap even lawyers. The man who knows how to lend

His eloquence to defend others can't defend

Himself, words fail him, he has to look after

A new case now-his own. Meanwhile the goddess's laughter

Tinkles from her nearby temple at the sight

Of the advocate turned client overnight.

Above all, comb the curved theatre-that's the place

Richest in spoils of the sexual chase.

There you'll find someone to love, or a playmate, there

You can opt for one night or a solid affair.

As ants in column bustle up and down their lanes,

Jaws clutching their wheat-grains,

As bees in their fragrant glades and pastures hover

Above flowers and thyme and clover,

Our smart women swarm to the games in such numbers my vision

And judgment blur-often I lose my powers of decision.

They come to see and be seen;

Modesty, chastity mean

Nothing there. Romulus, it was all your fault,

It was your games that first featured rape and assault-

Those Sabine women and sex-hungry men.

The theatre had no marble seats or awnings then,

Nor was the stage red-dyed

With sweet-smelling saffron; the Palatine woods supplied

A backdrop of greenery,

Simpliciter positae, scena sine arte fuit;

In gradibus sedit populus de caespite factis,

Qualibet hirsutas fronde tegente comas.

Respiciunt, oculisque notant sibi quisque puellam

Quam velit, et tacito pectore multa movent.110

Dumque, rudem praebente modum tibicine Tusco,

Ludius aequatam ter pede pulsat humum,

In medio plausu (plausus tunc arte carebant)

Rex populo praedae signa petita dedit.

Protinus exiliunt, animum clamore fatentes,115

Virginibus cupidas iniciuntque manus.

Ut fugiunt aquilas, timidissima turba, columbae,

Ut fugit invisos agna novella lupos:

Sic illae timuere viros sine more ruentes;

Constitit in nulla qui fuit ante color.120

Nam timor unus erat, facies non una timoris:

Pars laniat crines, pars sine mente sedet;

Altera maesta silet, frustra vocat altera matrem:

Haec queritur, stupet haec; haec manet, illa fugit;

Ducuntur raptae, genialis praeda, puellae,125

Et potuit multas ipse decere timor.

Siqua repugnarat nimium comitemque negabat,

Sublatam cupido vir tulit ipse sinu,

Atque ita "quid teneros lacrimis corrumpis ocellos?

Quod matri pater est, hoc tibi" dixit "ero."130

Romule, militibus scisti dare commoda solus.

Haec mihi si dederis commoda, miles ero.

Scilicet ex illo sollemnia more theatra

Nunc quoque formosis insidiosa manent.

Nec te nobilium fugiat certamen equorum;135

Multa capax populi commoda Circus habet.

And nature without artifice the scenery;

Shaggy-headed, the spectators sat

On tiered turf seats, any old leaves as a hat

To shade the sun. Alert, each man

Brooded silently and formed his plan,

Having marked with a glance his selected girl.

Then, to the skirl

Of Etruscan flutes, the dancers' feet

Stamped the smooth floor in the triple beat

Until amid loud hoorays

(Applause was pretty crude in the old days)

The king gave the sign they were waiting for

And the Rape began. Up they sprang with a lustful roar

And grabbed the virgins. As eagles scatter a flock

Of timid doves or wolves scare lambs, so the shock

Of this wild male charge spread panic. Colour drained

From every girl's face; a common terror reigned,

Though its features varied. Some sat there numb

With fear, some tore their hair; one girl, struck dumb,

Simply wept, another

Called ineffectually for her mother;

They shrieked or stared, they froze or fled.

And so, as plunder of the marriage-bed,

They were carried away, and I dare say their alarm

Gave some of them a piquant extra charm.

A girl who struggled and wouldn't co-operate

Was hoisted up and hauled off by her new mate

With "Why spoil those tender eyes with tears? Never mind,

I'll be as kind to you as your father was kind

To your mother." Romulus, you found the right reward

For soldiers-for that I'll enlist myself, with a sword!

Since then time-honoured custom has made our Roman

Theatres danger spots for pretty women.

And don't miss the chariot races: the big Circus

Offers lots of chances for smart workers.

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;140

Et bene, quod cogit, si nolis, linea iungi,

Quod tibi tangenda est lege puella loci.

Hic tibi quaeratur socii sermonis origo,

Et moveant primos publica verba sonos.

Cuius equi veniant, facito, studiose, requiras:145

Nec mora, quisquis erit, cui favet illa, fave.

At cum pompa frequens caelestibus ibit eburnis,

Tu Veneri dominae plaude favente manu;

Utque fit, in gremium pulvis si forte puellae

Deciderit, digitis excutiendus erit:150

Etsi nullus erit pulvis, tamen excute nullum:

Quaelibet officio causa sit apta tuo.

Pallia si terra nimium demissa iacebunt,

Collige, et inmunda sedulus effer humo;

Protinus, officii pretium, pa...

Biographie de l'auteur

James Michie studied classics at Trinity College, Oxford. His other translations include Horace’s Odes and Martial’s Epigrams (both available as Modern Library Paperback Classics). His Collected Poems was awarded the Hawthornden Prize.

David Malouf is the author of fourteen books, including An Imaginary Life and the international bestseller The Great World. His work has been awarded the Commonwealth Writers Prize, among other accolades. He lives in Tuscany and Australia.

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Indiana University Press
• Date d'édition: 2011
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 0253103916
• ISBN 13: 9780253103918
• Reliure: Relié
• Nombre de pages: 208
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible
• Personne responsable: non disponible