Th' immoderate Loves in their career,
Nor glory nor esteem attends,
But when the Cyprian Queen descends
Benignant from her starry sphere.
No Goddess can more justly claim
From man the grateful prayer.
[tr. Wodhull (1782)]

When fierce conflicting passions urge
The breast where love is wont to glow,
What mind can stem the stormy surge
Which rolls the tide of human woe?
The hope of praise, the dread of shame,
Can rouse the tortur’d breast no more;
The wild desire, the guilty flame,
Absorbs each wish it felt before.
But if Affection gently thrills
The soul, by purer dreams possest,
The pleasing balm of mortal ills
In love can sooth the aching breast:
If thus thou comest in disguise,
Fair Venus! from thy native heaven,
What heart, unfeeling, would despise
The sweetest boon the Gods have given?
[tr. Byron (1807)]

When with a wild impetuous sway
The Loves come rushing on the breast,
Each virtuous thought is rent away,
Each breath of fame supprest.
But when, confess'd her gentle reign,
Enchanting Venus deigns t'appear,
Of all the pow'rs of heav'n most dear,
She leads the Graces in her train.
[tr. Potter (1814)]

The wild loves that force eager way
Nor worth nor fame on man confer,
But if come Cypris with meet sway
There is no gracious god like her.
[tr. Webster (1868)]

When in excess and past all limits Love doth come, he brings not glory or repute to man; but if the Cyprian queen in moderate might approach, no goddess is so full of charm as she.
[tr. Coleridge (1891)]

The loves, when they come too impetuously, have given neither good report nor virtue among men, but if Venus come with moderation, no other Goddess is so benign.
[tr. Buckley (1892)]

Love bringeth nor glory nor honour to men when it cometh restraining
Not its unscanted excess: but if Kypris, in measure raining
Her joy, cometh down, there is none other Goddess so winsome as she.
[tr. Way (Loeb) (1894)]

Alas, the Love that falleth like a flood,
Strong-winged and transitory:
Why praise ye him? What beareth he of good
To man, or glory?
Yet Love there is that moves in gentleness,
Heart-filling, sweetest of all powers that bless.
[tr. Murray (1906)]

When love is in excess
It brings a man no honor
Nor any worthiness.
But if in moderation Cypris comes,
There is no other power at all so gracious.
[tr. Warner (1944)]

When the Loves descend in full force they never enhance
Men’s fame or virtue, but if Aphrodite approaches
With reserve, there is no more gracious goddess.
[tr. Podlecki (1989)]

Loves that come to us in excess bring no good name or goodness to men. If Aphrodite comes in moderation, no other goddess brings such happiness.
[tr. Kovacs (Loeb) (1994)]

When passions come upon men in strength beyond due measure, their gift is neither one of glory nor of greatness. But if the Cyprian tempers her visit, no other goddess is so gracious.
[tr. Davie (1996)]

When Aphrodite arrives in the hearts of people, with no fuss and with no exaggerated madness, she is a very enjoyable visitor but, alas, overwhelming lust brings neither honour nor glory to any one.
[tr. Theodoridis (2004)]

Love coming on too strong
does not give glory or virtue
to men. But if Kypris comes in moderation,
no other goddess is so gracious.
[tr. Luschnig (2007)]

Erotic love with too much passion
brings with it no fine reputation,
and nothing virtuous to men.
But if Aphrodite comes in smaller doses,
no other god is so desirable.
[tr. Johnston (2008)]

Excess of passion brings no glory or honour to men.
[ed. Yeroulanos (2016)]

Love that comes in great excess does not grant reputation or excellence; but if Aphrodite comes more gently, there is no other god who gives such great pleasure.
[tr. Ewans (2022)]

When loves come excessive and past all limit, they bring neither good repute nor high ideals [aretē] to men; but if Aphrodite approaches in moderate strength, no goddess is so full of charm as she.
[tr. Coleridge / Ceragioli / Nagy / Hour25]

A fondness for reading changes the inevitable dull hours of our life into exquisite hours of delight.
[E.g. (1900)]

To love to read is to exchange hours of ennui for hours of delight.
[E.g. (1936)]

To love to read is to make an exchange of the inevitable hours of boredom in one's life, for some delightful hours.
[tr. Clark (2012)]

Philosophie contends not against naturall delights, so that due measure be joined therewith; and alloweth the moderation, not the shunning of them.
[tr. Florio (1603)]

Philosophy does not contend against natural Pleasures, provided they be moderate: and only preaches Moderation, not a total Abstinence.
[tr. Cotton (1686)]

Philosophy does not contend against natural pleasures, provided they be moderate, and only preaches moderation, not a total abstinence.
[tr. Cotton/Hazlitt (1877)]

Philosophy does not at all contend against natural pleasures, provided due measure be kept; and it preaches moderation in them, not avoidance.
[tr. Ives (1925)]

Philosophy does not contend against natural pleasures, provided that measure is observed, and it preaches moderation in them, not flight.
[tr. Zeitlin (1934)]

Philosophy does not strive against natural pleasures, provided that measure goes with them; she preaches moderation in them, not flight.
[tr. Frame (1943)]

He who allows his happiness to depend too much on reason, who submits his pleasures to examination, and desires enjoyments only of the most refined nature, too often ends by not having any at all.
[tr. De Finod (1884)]

The man who makes his happiness too subject to his reason, who submits it to examination, who, as it were, quibbles with his enjoyment and recognizes only fastidious pleasures, will finish by having none at all. He is as one who makes his mattress smaller and smaller with assiduous carding until he ends by sleeping on the wood.
[tr. Mathers (1926)]

One who wishes to make his happiness too much dependent on his reason, who examines his happiness closely, and who so to say quibbles with his enjoyments, ends by no longer having any. He is one who, by dint of having his mattress carded, sees it dwindle, and finishes by sleeping on the bare boards.
[tr. Pearson (1973)]

Someone who wants his happiness to be too supported by reason, who examines it, who so to say quibbles over what he enjoys, and only allows himself pleasures that have delicacy, ends by not having any. He is a man who, because he wants his mattress to fit perfectly on his bed, continuously has to make it smaller, and ends up sleeping on the floor.
[tr. Siniscalchi (1994)]

Anyone who relies too heavily on reason to achieve happiness, who analyses it, who so to speak quibbles over his enjoyment and can accept only refined pleasures, ends up not having any at all. He's like a man who wants to get rid of all the lumps in his mattress and eventually ends up sleeping on bare boards because he's made it too small.
[tr. Parmée (2003), ¶ 135]

They who by love are caught, and fix their love
On virtuous objects; to complete their bliss,
Can need no new accession of delight.
[tr. Wodhall (1809)]

When it befalls poor mortal men to love,
Should they find worthy objects for their loving,
There is no fuller joy on earth to long for.
[Source]

Aphrodite has many shades:
She can please or aggrieve men completely.
[tr. @sentantiq (2015)]

And what is the good of carrying out a project, when the project itself gives me pleasure enough?
[tr. Hamburger (1946)]

And what good is it to carry out plans, since planning itself is a sufficient delight?
[tr. Kaplan (1989)]

And what good would it do to execute such plans, since planning is in itself sufficient enjoyment?
[tr. Waldrop (2009)]

What good is it to accomplish projects, when the project itself is enjoyment enough?
[Various]

Many things that serve for pleasure, ought not to be peculiar. One enjoys more of what is another's, than of what belongs to himself. The first day is for the Master, and all the rest for Strangers. One doubly enjoys what belongs to others, that's to say, not only without fear of loss, but also with the pleasure of Novelty. Privation makes every thing better.
[Flesher ed. (1685), §263]

Many things of Taste one should not possess oneself. One enjoys them better if another's than if one's own. The owner has the good of them the first day, for all the rest of the time they are for others. You take a double enjoyment in other men's property, being without fear of spoiling it and with the pleasure of novelty. Everything tastes better for having been without it.
[tr. Jacobs (1892)]

Many of the things that bring delight should not be owned. They are more enjoyed if another's, than if yours; the first day they give pleasure to the owner, but in all the rest to the others: what belongs to another rejoices doubly, because without the risk of going stale, and with the satisfaction of freshness; everything tastes better after fasting.
[tr. Fischer (1937)]

• "A sensible man takes pleasure in what he has instead of pining for what he has not." [tr. Bakewell (1907)]
• "The right-minded man is he who is not grieved by what he has not, but enjoys what he has." [tr. Freeman (1948)]
• "A man of sound judgement is not grieved by what he does not possess but rejoices in what he does possess." [tr. Barnes (1987)]
• "A sensible man does not grieve for what he has not, but enjoys what he has." [Source]

That human life must be a kind of mistake is sufficiently clear from the fact that man is a compound of needs, which are difficult to satisfy; moreover, if they are satisfied, all he is granted is a state of painlessness, in which he can only give himself up to boredom. This is a precise proof that existence in itself has no value, since boredom is merely the feeling of the emptiness of life. If, for instance, life, the longing for which constitutes our very being, had in itself any positive and real value, boredom could not exist; mere existence in itself would supply us with everything, and therefore satisfy us. But our existence would not be a joyous thing unless we were striving after something; distance and obstacles to be overcome then represent our aim as something that would satisfy us -- an illusion which vanishes when our aim has been attained; or when we are engaged in something that is of a purely intellectual nature, when, in reality, we have retired from the world, so that we may observe it from the outside, like spectators at a theatre. Even sensual pleasure itself is nothing but a continual striving, which ceases directly its aim is attained. As soon as we are not engaged in one of these two ways, but thrown back on existence itself, we are convinced of the emptiness and worthlessness of it; and this it is we call boredom. That innate and ineradicable craving for what is out of the common proves how glad we are to have the natural and tedious course of things interrupted.
[tr. Dircks]

That human existence must be some kind of error, is sufficiently clear from the simple observation that man is a concretion of needs and wants. Their satisfaction is hard to attain and yet affords him nothing but a painless state in which he is still abandoned to boredom. This, then, is a positive proof that, in itself, existence has no value; for boredom is just that feeling of its emptiness. Thus if life, in the craving for which our very essence and existence consist, had a positive value and in itself a real intrinsic worth, there could not possibly be any boredom. On the contrary, mere existence in itself would necessarily fill our hearts and satisfy us. Now we take no delight in our existence except in striving for something when the distance and obstacles make us think that the goal will be satisfactory, an illusion that vanishes when it is reached; or else in a purely intellectual occupation where we really step out of life in order to contemplate it from without, like spectators in the boxes. Even sensual pleasure itself consists in a constant striving and ceases as soon as its goal is attained. Now whenever we are not striving for something or are not intellectually occupied, but are thrown back on existence itself, its worthlessness and vanity are brought home to us; and this is what is meant by boredom. Even our inherent and ineradicable tendency to run after what is strange and extraordinary shows how glad we are to see an interruption in the natural course of things which is so tedious.
[tr. Payne (1974)]

Thus, generally speaking, Loathing borders upon the most pleasing Sensations.
[tr. Guthrie (1755)]

Thus, generally speaking, satiety borders upon the most pleasing sensations.
[Source (1808)]

In all other things, loathing still borders upon the most exquisite delights.
[tr. Watson (1860)]

The extremes of gratification and disgust are separated by the finest line of demarcation.
[tr. Calvert (1870)]

In everything we do, all our keenest pleasures end in satiety.
[ed. Harbottle (1906)]

In everything else, then, the greatest pleasure borders on aversion.
[tr. May/Wisse (2001)]