Remedia Amoris (also known asLove's Remedy orThe Cure for Love;c. 2 AD) is an 814-line poem inLatin byRoman poetOvid. In this companion poem toThe Art of Love, Ovid offers advice and strategies to avoid being hurt bylove feelings, or to fall out of love, with astoic overtone.
Ovid's goal was to provide, for men and women alike, advice on how to escape safely from an unhappy love affair – emotional bondage – without falling into the tragic ends of such legendary figures asDido orMedea.[2]
Among the techniques he suggested were keeping busy; travelling; avoiding wine and love poetry; and concentrating on the beloved's defects rather than their strong points.[3]
Alexander Neckam in the Middle Ages thought thatDe Remedio Amoris wasthe most important book of Ovid's for scholars to read.[4]
Victorian views, seen for example in the work ofOskar Seyffert, generally adjudgedThe Cure for Love to be "as frivolous as it is original and elaborate...and no less offensive in substance and tone".[5]
The 20th century generally took a more positive view,H. J. Rose calling Ovid's instructions both frank and ingenious;[6] while from a different disciplineEric Berne commended their continuing (metropolitan) practicality.[7]
