AD LESBIAM, CAT. EP. 73. <br /> <br />Dicebas quondam, solum to nosse Catullum, <br /> Lesbia, nec prae me velle tenere Jovem; <br />Dilexi tum te, non tantum ut vulgus amicam, <br /> Sed pater ut gnatos diligit et generos. <br />Nunc te cognovi, quare et impensius uror, <br /> Multo mi tamen es vilior et levior. <br />Qui potis est inquis, quod amantem injuria talis <br /> Cogat amare magis, sed bene velle minus? <br />Odi et amo; quare id faciam, fortasse requiris; <br /> Nescio; sed fieri sentio, et excrucior. <br /> <br /> ENGLISHED. <br /> <br />That me alone you lov'd, you once did say, <br />Nor should I to the king of gods give way. <br />Then I lov'd thee not as a common dear, <br />But as a father doth his children chear. <br />Now thee I know, more bitterly I smart; <br />Yet thou to me more light and cheaper art. <br />What pow'r is this? that such a wrong should press <br />Me to love more, yet wish thee well much lesse. <br />I hate and love; would'st thou the reason know? <br />I know not; but I burn, and feel it so.<br /><br />Richard Lovelace<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/ad-lesbiam-cat-ep-73/
