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Ponendis in mille modos perfecta capillis,

Comere sed solas digna, Cypassi, deas,

Et mihi iucundo non rustica cognita furto,

Apta quidem dominae, sed magis apta mihi —

Quis fuit inter nos sociati corporis index?

Sensit concubitus unde Corinna tuos?

Num tamen erubui? num, verbo lapsus in ullo,

Furtivae Veneris conscia signa dedi?

Quid, quod in ancilla siquis delinquere possit,

Illum ego contendi mente carere bona?

Thessalus ancillae facie Briseidos arsit;

Serva Mycenaeo Phoebas amata duci.

Nec sum ego Tantalide maior, nec maior Achille;

Quod decuit reges, cur mihi turpe putem?

Ut tamen iratos in te defixit ocellos,

Vidi te totis erubuisse genis;

At quanto, si forte refers, praesentior ipse

Per Veneris feci numina magna fidem!

Tu, dea, tu iubeas animi periuria puri

Carpathium tepidos per mare ferre Notos!

Pro quibus officiis pretium mihi dulce repende

Concubitus hodie, fusca Cypassi, tuos!

Quid renuis fingisque novos, ingrata, timores?

Unum est e dominis emeruisse satis.

Quod si stulta negas, index anteacta fatebor,

Et veniam culpae proditor ipse meae,

Quoque loco tecum fuerim, quotiensque, Cypassi,

Narrabo dominae, quotque quibusque modis!

Amores. P. Ovidius Naso. Leipzig. 1907.

Sponsored by Perseus Project, Tufts University.

Funding provided by Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education.

Current edition Perseus

Amores (Ovid. P. Ovidius Naso, Volume 1: Amores, Epistulae, Medicamina faciei femineae, Ars amatoria, Remedia amoris. Ehwald, Rudolf; Merkel, Rudolph; editors. Leipzig: B. G. Teubner, 1907.)

Translations (1)

Amores Perseus (Ovid. Ovid's Art of Love (in three Books), the Remedy of Love, the Art of Beauty, the Court of Love, the History of Love, and Amours. Dryden, John, et al., translator. New York: Calvin Blanchard, 1855.) — 2.8 focus

Elegy VIII: To Corinna's Chambermaid. By the same hand.

Dear, skilful Betty , who dost far excel

My lady's other maids in dressing well;

Dear Betty, fit to be preferred above

To Juno 's chamber, or the queen of love;

Genteel, well-bred, not rustically coy,

Not easy to deny desired joy;

Thro' whose soft eyes still secret wishes shine,

Fit for thy mistress' use, but more for mine;

Who, Betty , did the fatal secret see?

Who told Corinna you were kind to me!

Yet when she chid me for my kind embrace,

Did any guilty blush spread o'er my face!

Did I betray thee, maid, or could she spy

The least confession in my conscious eye !

Not that I think it a disgrace to prove

Stol'n sweets, or make a chambermaid my love;

Achilles wanton'd in Briseis' arms,

Atrides bow'd to fair Cassandra 's charms:

Sure I am less than these,-then what can bring

Disgrace to me, that so became a king !

But when she look'd on you, poor harmless maid,

You blush'd, and all the kind intrigue betray'd;

Yet still I vow'd, I made a stout defence,

I swore, and look'd as bold as innocence;

"Damme,—egad!" all that, and—"let me die!"'

Kind Venus , do not hear my perjury;

Kind Venus , stop thy ears when lovers lie.

Now, Betty , how will you my oaths requite?

Come, pr'ythee let's compound for more delight;

Faith, I am easy, and but ask a night.

What! start at the proposal? how! deny

Pretend fond fears of a discovery ?

Refuse, lest some sad chance the thing betray ?

Is this your kind, your damn'd obliging way ?

Well, deny on; I'll lie, I'll swear no more;

Corinna now shall know thou art a whore.

I'll tell, since you my fair address forbid,

How often, when, and where, and what we did!

P. Ovidius Naso Amores 2.8

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Current edition Perseus

Elegy VIII: To Corinna's Chambermaid. By the same hand.

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