have had experience of the potency of his weapons.  And, in order that thou mayest understand in a few words the power of the deity, I tell thee that, while everything succumbs to nature, and nothing can ever be emancipated from her dominion, Nature herself is but the servant of Love.  When he commands, ancient hatreds perish, and angry moods, be they old or new, give place to his fires; and lastly, his sway has such far-reaching influence that even stepmothers become gracious to their stepchildren, a thing which it is a marvel to behold.  Therefore what seekest thou?  Why dost thou hesitate?  Why dost thou rashly avoid him?  When so many gods, when so many men, when so many animals, have been vanquished by him, art ashamed to be vanquished by him also?  In good sooth, thou weenest not what thou art doing.  If thou fearest to be blamed for thy obedience to him, a blame so unmerited never can be thy portion.  Greater sins than thou canst commit have been committed by thousands far greater than thou, and these sins would plead as thy excuse, shouldst thou pursue that course which others have pursued—­others who far excel thee.  Thou wilt have sinned but a little, seeing that thou hadst far less power of resistance than those aforementioned.  But if my words move thee not, and thou wouldst still wish to withstand the god, bethink thee that thy power falls far short of that of Jove, and that in judgment thou canst not equal Phoebus, nor in wealth Juno, nor me in beauty; and yet, we all have been conquered.  Thou art greatly deceived, and I fear me that thou must perish in the end, if thou persist in thy changed purpose.  Let that which has erstwhile sufficed for the whole world, suffice for thee, nor try to render thyself cold-hearted, by saying:  ’I have a husband, and the holy laws and the vowed faith forbid me this’; for bootless are such reasonings against the puissance of this god.  He discards the laws of others scornfully, as thinking them of no account, and ordains his own.  Pasiphae? had a husband, and Phaedra, and I, too, even though I have loved.  And it is these same husbands who most frequently fall in love with others, albeit they have wives of their own:  witness Jason and Theseus and valiant Hector and Ulysses.  Therefore to men we do no wrong if we apply to them the same laws that they apply to others; for to them no privilege has been granted which is not accorded to us withal.  Banish, then, thy foolish thoughts, and, in all security, go on loving him whom thou hadst already begun to love.  In good sooth, if thou refusest to own the power of mighty Love, it behooves thee to fly; but whither canst thou fly?  Knowest thou of any retreat where he will not follow and overtake thee?  He has in all places equal puissance.  Go wheresoever thou wilt, never canst thou pass across the borders of his realms, and within these realms vain it is for mortals to try to hide themselves when he would smite them.  But let it comfort thee to know, young woman, that no such odious passion shall trouble