The Latin text top left is borrowed from a poem by the Greek poet Theocritus. The translation is: As the child Cupid stole honey from a hive/ A bee stung the thief on his finger/ So a brief love does to us/ That we strive for pain, combined with grief. The text is a commentary on the painting’s symbolism. Venus teaches Amor (or Cupid) a lesson by telling him that his arrows of love sting just like the bee, and that he now feels what he inflicts on others.
Press A for more information about the Latin text on the top left of the painting, press B for information about the dragon above Amor, or press C for more information about Lucas Cranach.