With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, any respectable Latin lover will, of course, be keen to brush up on their relevant sweet talking skills.

Here are are some lines you may wish to rehearse for your Latin wooing and cooing pleasures.

They come from Plautus‘ play Asinaria (‘The Comedy of the Asses‘, translation by Wolfgang de Melo):

Asin. 664:

meus ocellus, mea rosa, mi anime, mea uoluptas

‘apple of my eye, my rose, my soul, my joy’

Asin. 666-8:

dic me igitur tuom passerculum, gallinam, coturnicem,

agnellum, haedillum me tuom dic esse uel uitellum,

prehende auriculis, compara labella cum labellis.

‘Then call me your little sparrow, your hen, your quail; call me your little lamb, your kid, or your little calf; grab me by the ears and put your lips on mine.’

Asin. 691-2:

mi Libane, ocellus aureus, donum decusque amoris,

amabo, faciam quod uoles, (…).

‘My dear Libanus, my golden eye, love’s gift and glory, please, I’ll do what you like, (…).’

Asin. 693-6:

dic igitur med aneticulam, columbam uel catellum,

hirundinem, monerulam, passerculum putillum,

fac proserpentem bestiam me, duplicem ut habeam linguam,

circumda torquem bracchiis, meum collum circumplecte.

‘Then call me your little duck, your dove, your puppy, your swallow, your jackdaw, your teeny-weeny sparrow, turn me into a reptile so that I have a double tongue. Put a chain around me with your arms, embrace my neck.’