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Muscipula Amoris [34]


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Muscipula Amoris.translation
XXXIV.
Cat.
Ah! quoties falsæ nos lædit imaginis error:
Mus sibi dum fingit prandia, carcer adest.
Et vorat, & capitur, nec erit mihi dicere promptum,
Quid prius eueniat, num sapor, anne dolor?
Mus peccator homo est, quisquis mala gaudia carpit,
Corpore, quod pectus mordeat intus habet.
Pæna voluptatis comes est, dolor ipsa voluptas;
Impurus numquam gaudia pura tulit. translation

Plaut1.
AMoris artes eloquar, quemadmodum expe-
diant? numquam Amor quempiam nisi cu-
pidum hominem postulat in plagas conijcere: cu-
pit, eos consectatur, subdolè blanditur, ab re con-
sulit, blandiloquentulus Harpago.translation

Ouid.
Carpitque. & carpitur vna,
Suppliciumque sui est. translation


Fit spolians spolium. translation

Qui chasse au parcq d'Amour a bien dessein de prendre
Mais las! va prisonnier, sans penser de s'y rendre.

Attrappe de l'Amour.
XXXIV.
Il seroit bon pour toy, que tu vins pour apprendre,
Mais ie crains qu' en effect, cest pour te laisser prendre
Sans auoir plus des sens que n'ont eu ces souris.
Garde toy de l'Amour, garde toy de sa forçe,
Car si tu veux l'appas, si tu mords à l'amorçe,
Tu n'en prendras iamais, que tu, n'en sois repris.

No passes alma adelante
Si no quieres que tu enpresa
Se remate en quedar presa.

Gheuangen wort van dat hy jaecht/
Een/ die te groote liefde draecht/

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Translations

Mousetrap of love.
Ah, how often does not the mistake of believing a false image hurt us!
While the mouse believes there is a meal for him, a prison is waiting.
He eats. And he is caught. I would not find it easy to say what happened first: was it the pain, or was it the taste? Sinful man is the mouse:, whoever reaps evil joys has something inside his body such as to bite his breast. Punishment is the mate of lust, lust itself is pain. Someone unclean never carries pure joys.

I'll begin by exposing the arts of love and their procedure: love never hopes to have anyone come dashing into his nets except men of loose desires: it is those that he himself desires, those he dogs. He gives them sly, disastrous counsel, he is wheedle-tongued and predacious2
It catches3 and at the same time it is caught itself. It is its own punishment.
While gathering spoils it becomes spoils itself.

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Literature


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    Sources and parallels



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    Iconclass

    Cupid points at a mouse in a mouse trap; a girl gestures defensively in the direction of the trap

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    Comments

    commentary

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    Notes

    1
    Plaut. Trin. 235-238.
    2
    The translation is from the Loeb ed. P. Nixon. The text and the division in verses of the Loeb edition is:
    Amoris artes eloquar, quem ad modum expediant.
    numquam Amor quemquam nisi cupidum hominem
    postulat se in plagas conicere:
    eos cupit, eos consectatur,
    subdole ab re consulit,
    blandiloquentulus harpago ...
    3
    'It catches ...': i.e., love.