Deceived by Venus | Whoever loves, let him come. I want to break Venus's ribs

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by Anonymous / Unidentified Author

Translation © by Grant Hicks

Quisquis amat, veniat, Veneri volo...

Language: Latin

Our translations: ENG

Quisquis amat, veniat, Veneri volo frangere costas
Fustibus et lumbos debilitare deae.
Si [potest]¹ illa mihi tenerum pertundere pectus
[Quit ego non possim caput illa frangere fuste]² ?

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

• J. Novák

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)

Confirmed with Pierre Gusman, Pompeii: the City, Its Life & Art, London: William Heinemann, 1900, Page 202.

¹ Novák: "valet"
² Novák: "quidni ego possim illi frangere fuste caput"

Text Authorship:

by Anonymous / Unidentified Author, no title [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

by Jan Novák (1921 - 1984), "Venere deceptus", from Cantica latina, no. 17 [sung text checked 1 time]

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

ENG English (Grant Hicks) , "Deceived by Venus", copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Grant Hicks [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 4
Word count: 29

Deceived by Venus

Language: English after the Latin

Whoever loves, let him come. I want to break Venus's ribs
with clubs, and to cripple the goddess's loins.
If she [can]¹ pierce my tender breast,
why shouldn't I be able to break her head with a club?

View original text (without footnotes)
¹ Novák: "has the power to"

Text Authorship:

Translation from Latin to English copyright © 2025 by Grant Hicks, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net

Based on:

a text in Latin by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist , no title
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2025-06-02
Line count: 4
Word count: 39