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Madly in love with Marlowe (still)

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Edited by Maxwell Lewis Latham, Tuesday, 2 July 2013, 17:08
Young oxen newly yoked are beaten more,
Than oxen which have drawn the plough before... [...]
And rough jades' mouths with stubborn bits are torn.
But managed horses' heads are lightly borne.
Unwilling lovers, love doth more torment,
Than such as in their bondage feel content.
Lo! I confess, I am thy captive I,
And hold my conquered hands for thee to tie.
What need'st thou war? I sue to thee for grace:
With arms to conquer armless men is base.
Yoke Venus' Doves, put myrtle on thy hair... [...]
The people thee applauding, thou shalt stand,
Guiding the harmless pigeons with thy hand.
Young men and women shalt thou lead as thrall,
So will thy triumph seem magnifical;
I, lately caught, will have a new-made wound,
And captive-like be manacled and bound.
Good meaning, Shame, and such as seek Love's wrack
Shall follow thee, their hands tied at their back...

Marlowe's translation of Ovidius' Amorēs, Elegia II: Quod primo amore correptus..., ll.14-15, 18-23 & 25-32.

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