The goddess herself has bidden the nymphs to go to the myrtle grove

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by Anonymous / Unidentified Author

Translation © by Grant Hicks

ipsa nymphas diva luco iussit ire myrteo

Language: Latin

Our translations: ENG

ipsa nymphas diva luco iussit ire myrteo.
it Puer comes puellis ; nec tamen credi potest
esse Amorem feriatum, si sagittas vexerit :
"ite, nymphae, posuit arma, feriatus est Amor !
iussus est inermis ire, nudus ire iussus est,
neu quid arcu, neu sagitta, neu quid igne laederet.
sed tamen, nymphae, cavete, quod Cupido pulcher est :
[totus est in armis]¹ idem, quando nudus est Amor."

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

• G. Lloyd

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)

Confirmed with Catullus, Tibullus, Pervigilium Veneris, Loeb Classical Library 6, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2000, Page 352.

¹ Lloyd: "est in armis totus"

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 George Lloyd (1913 - 1998), no title, 1979-80 [ soprano , tenor, chorus and orchestra ], from Pervigilium Veneris, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]

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

ENG English (Grant Hicks) , copyright © 2026, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this page: Grant Hicks [Guest Editor] , Ferdinando Albeggiani

This text was added to the website: 2005-08-14
Line count: 8
Word count: 63

The goddess herself has bidden the...

Language: English after the Latin

The goddess herself has bidden the nymphs to go to the myrtle grove:
her Son accompanies the maidens; nor yet can it be believed 
that Love is on holiday, if he carries arrows:
"Go, nymphs, he has put down his weapons, Love is on holiday!
He is bidden to go unarmed, he is bidden to go naked,
lest he wound anyone with bow or arrow or fire.
But still be on your guard, nymphs, for Cupid is comely:
And Love is fully armed, even when naked."

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

Translation from Latin to English copyright © 2026 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: 2026-01-26
Line count: 8
Word count: 86