Here are the simple ways to woo and seduce a woman just by being where she is and looking presentable, as the Roman poet Ovid advised Roman men in parts 13 and 14 of his “Ars Amatoria.”

In the second century A.D., the Roman poet Ovid created a trilogy of poems titled “Ars Amatoria.” Three books capture the magnificence and splendor of the Roman upper class. Affluent people in that ancient society enjoyed luxurious pursuits of life and sensuality. They took pleasure in entertainment and passing the time by engaging in sexual affairs and the adventures of Cupid’s arrows of amor. The art of making love was held in the highest regard in the cultural norms of ancient Roman society of that time.

Ovid’s poetry about love is full of sage and captivating advice for both men and women on how to find and keep a loved one. The first two books of Ovid’s poems went into great detail about how to meet, flirt with, and make love to a woman.

“Ars Amatoria,” originally written in Latin in the second century A.D., was translated into English as “The Art of Love.” The books became popular among the educated upper classes of other countries in the centuries that followed. Successive generations of readers and love experts have acknowledged these works as essential cultural reading.

Currently, the two versions of “The Art of Love” texts are available on the internet. The earlier one was created in 1885, while the more recent one was made in 2001. Henry Riley (1816–1878), an English antiquary and renowned translator of antique literature, took Ovid’s poems and rewrote them in literal prose during the 19th century. His translations were based on the books’ original forms of poetry. It was first released to the public in 1885 and was reprinted in 2014.

The poet and translator of classical Roman poems into English, Anthony Kline, adapted the poetry of Ovid’s “Ars Amatoria” for the English-speaking audience. In 2001, it was published on the World Wide Web.

In spite of the fact that contemporary people live in a different era and in a different kind of society than ancient Romans did, I believe that they will still find it fascinating and interesting to read these books. Because of this, I have published a number of articles that include passages taken from these books. A great deal of the advice given by Ovid about how to love remains relevant in today’s world and modern cultures. Ovid’s smart suggestions can be of assistance to contemporary men and women and to scholars exploring modern love. Consequently, I’ve quoted a few pieces of Ovid’s amazing books, translated by Anthony Kline, in the articles on this website. They’re speaking about … “What Is His Task” (Part 1), “How to Find Her” (Part 2), “Search for Love While Walking” (Part 3), “Search for Love while at the Theatre” (Part 4), “Search for Love at the Races or Circus” (Part 5), “Triumphs that Are Good to Attract a Woman” (Part 6), “Search for Love around the Dinner-Table and on the Beach” (Parts 7 and 8), “How to Win Her” (Part 9), “How to Know the Maid” (Part 10), “How to Be Attentive to Her” (Part 11), and “How to Make Promises of Love to Her” (Part 12).

Here is Part 13, Teaching a Roman Man How to Please and Attract a Woman Just by Being Where She Is.

“Meanwhile, if she’s being carried, reclining on her bed,

secretly approach your lady’s litter,

and to avoid offering your words to odious ears,

hide what you can with skill and ambiguous gestures.

If she’s wandering at leisure in the spacious Colonnade,

you join here there also, lingering, as a friend:

now make as if to lead the way, now drop behind,

now go on quickly, and now take it slow:

don’t be ashamed to slip amongst the columns,

a while, then move along side by side:

don’t let her sit all beautiful in the theatre row without you:

what you’ll look at is the way she holds her arms.

Gaze at her, to admire her is fine:

and to speak with gestures and with glances.

And applaud, the man who dances the girl’s part:

and favour anyone who plays a lover.

When she rises, rise: while she’s sitting, sit: pass the time at your lady’s whim.”

Kline, A. S. (2001). Translation of Ovid’s Ars Amatoria: The Art of Love.

I think these beautiful verses and pieces of smart advice from the Roman poet Ovid can be helpful for modern men no less than for the Roman men of the past.

Here is Part 14, Teaching a Roman Man How to Entice and Seduce a Woman by Looking Presentable

“Don’t delight in curling your hair with tongs,

don’t smooth your legs with sharp pumice stone.

Leave that to those who celebrate Cybele the Mother,

howling wildly in the Phrygian manner.

Male beauty’s better for neglect: Theseus

carried off Ariadne, without a single pin in his hair.

Phaedra loved Hippolytus: he was unsophisticated:

Adonis was dear to the goddess, and fit for the woods.

Neatness pleases, a body tanned from exercise:

a well fitting and spotless toga’s good:

no stiff shoe-thongs, your buckles free of rust,

no sloppy feet for you, swimming in loose hide:

don’t mar your neat hair with an evil haircut:

let an expert hand trim your head and beard.

And no long nails, and make sure they’re dirt-free:

and no hairs please, sprouting from your nostrils.

No bad breath exhaled from unwholesome mouth:

don’t offend the nose like a herdsman or his flock.

Leave the rest for impudent women to do, or whoever’s the sort of man who needs a man.”

Kline, A. S. (2001). Translation of Ovid’s Ars Amatoria: The Art of Love.

How wonderful these verses are, aren’t they? Once again, I believe these wonderful verses and sage pieces of advice from the Roman poet Ovid can be helpful for contemporary men in the same way that they were helpful for Roman men in the past.