Aminta

Still among the courts, and among crowns and scepters,
And there she wants me to employ all my efforts;
And she only allows the rabble of my ministers,
My younger brothers, to dwell among the woods
And ply their weapons in crude breasts. I, who am no child,
Even if I have a boyish face and manners,
Wish to dispose of myself as it pleases me;
For it was to me, and not to her, that was granted by fate
The omnipotent torch and the golden bow.
Therefore, often hiding and fleeing,
I shall receive in the woods and in the houses
Of the common people, not the commands which she has no power to give me,
But rather prayers, which carry weight from an importunate mother.
She follows me, promising to whoever points me out to her
Either sweet kisses, or something else more dear,
As if I were not good at giving in exchange
To those who are silent about me, to those who hide me from her,
Either sweet kisses, or something else more dear.
This I know for certain at least, that my kisses
Will always be dearer to the maidens,
If I, who am Love, understand love;
Wherefore she often searches for me in vain,
For no one wishes to reveal me, and they remain silent:
But, to remain even more hidden, so that she
Cannot find me by my attributes,
I have laid down my wings, my quiver, and my bow: