Amores

Ovid

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.

  1. Thou there, my lovely queen, shall give me laws,
  2. Nor in my absence, to rejoice have cause,
  3. Nor ever shall my services be blam'd
  4. Nor shalt thou of thy servant be asham'd.
  5. My poetry's my purse, my fortun's there,
  6. I have no other way to win the fair;
  7. Nor is that way the worst; the brightest dames
  8. Would in my verse immortalize their names.
  9. My muse the place of an estate supplies,
  10. And none that know her worth, her wealth despise.
  11. Some tempted by Corinna's spreading fame,
  12. In envy rob her, and usurp her name;
  13. What would they give, d'ye think, to be the same ?
  14. But neither could Eurotas, nor the Po,
  15. With poplar shaded, in one channel flew;
  16. By diff'rent, and by distant banks they glide,
  17. Are rivers both, but various in their tide.
  18. There are more beauties, but there's none like thine,
  19. There are more versed, but thou hast only mine;
  20. No other charms can e'er inspire my muse,