Original text (Latin)
What a woman says to her ardent lover should be written in wind and running water.
To whom am I to present my pretty new book, freshly smoothed off with dry pumice stone?
It is difficult at once to relinquish a long-cherished love.
What woman says to fond lover should be written on air or the swift water.
Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind,
And therefore is wing'd Cupid painted blind.
To fear love is to fear life, and those who fear life are already three parts dead.
Not for the body, but for the heart; companion and company are needed.
Love seldom haunts the breast where learning lies,
And Venus sets ere Mercury can rise.
Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Catullus (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.