Love and His Mother

Fable by Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian Period 18th century

When the fair Venus, rising from the breast of the seas,
cast her gaze over the deep plain,
she thought at first she was alone in the universe;
but close beside her, Love was born from the wave.
Venus made him a sign, he embraced Venus;
and, recognizing each other though never having seen each other,
both on a dolphin sailed toward the shore.
As they drew near the coast,
Love, whom she was carrying, slipped from her arms,
and shot several arrows crying: Land! Land!
What are you doing, my son? his mother then said to him.
Mama, he answered, I am entering my realm.

Florian

Translation generated by Poésies 123 with assistance from the deepseek-chat artificial-intelligence model.

Text published on Poésies 123: https://www.poesies123.com/en/fable-love-and-his-mother-jean-pierre-claris-de-florian/