The Amores or Amours by Ovid




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THE AMORES;

or, AMOURS


By Ovid


Literally Translated into English Prose, with Copious Notes, by Henry T. Riley

1885


BOOK THE FIRST.

AN EPIGRAM ON THE AMOURS.

|We who of late were five books [001] of Naso, are now but three: this
work our author has preferred to the former one. Though it should [002]
now be no pleasure to thee to read us; still, the labour will be less,
the two being removed.




ELEGY I.

_He says that he is compelled by Cupid to write of love instead of
battles and that the Divinity insists on making each second Hexameter
line into a Pentameter._

|I was preparing to write of arms and impetuous warfare in serious
numbers, [003] the subject-matter being suited to the measure. [004] The
second verse was of equal measure with the first; but Cupid is said to
have smiled, and to have abstracted one foot. [005] "Who, cruel boy,
has given thee this right over my lines? We poets are the choir of _the
Muses,_ the Pierian maids, not thine. What if Venus were to seize the
arms of the yellow-haired Minerva, _and_ if the yellow-haired Minerva
were to wave the lighted torches _of Love?_ Who would approve of Ceres
holding her reign in the woods on the mountain ridges, _or_ of the
fields being tilled under the control of the quivered Virgin? Who would
arm Phoebus, graceful with his locks, with the sharp spear, while Mars
is striking the Aonian lyre? Thy sway, O youth, is great, and far too
potent; why, in thy ambition, dost thou attempt a new task? Is that
which is everywhere, thine? Is Heliconian Tempe thine? Is even his own
lyre hardly safe now for Phoebus? When the new page has made a good
beginning in the first line, at that moment does he diminish my
energies. [008] I have no subject fitted for _these_ lighter numbers,
whether youth, or girl with her flowing locks arranged."

_Thus_ was I complaining; when, at once, his quiver loosened, [009] he
selected the arrows made for my destruction; and he stoutly bent upon
his knee the curving bow, and said, "Poet, receive a subject on which to
sing." Ah wretched me! unerring arrows did that youth possess. I
burn; and in my heart, _hitherto_ disengaged, does Love hold sway.
_Henceforth_, in six feet [010] let my work commence; in five let it
close. Farewell, ye ruthless wars, together with your numbers. My Muse,
[011] to eleven feet destined to be attuned, bind with the myrtle of the
sea shore thy temples encircled with their yellow _locks_.




ELEGY II.

_He says, that being taken captive by Love, he allows Cupid to lead him
away in triumph._

|Why shall I say it is, that my bed appears thus hard to me, and that my
clothes rest not upon the couch? The night, too, long as it is, have
I passed without sleep; and why do the weary bones of my restless body
ache? But were I assailed by any flame, I think I should be sensible of
it. Or does _Love_ come unawares and cunningly attack in silent ambush?
'Tis so; his little arrows have pierced my heart; and cruel Love is
tormenting the breast he has seized.

Am I to yield? Or by struggling _against it_, am I to increase this
sudden flame? I must yield; the burden becomes light which is borne
contentedly. I have seen the flames increase when agitated by waving the
torch; and when no one shook it, I have seen them die away. The galled
bulls suffer more blows while at first they refuse the yoke, than
those whom experience of the plough avails. The horse which is unbroken
bruises his mouth with the hard curb; the one that is acquainted with
arms is less sensible of the bit. Love goads more sharply and much
more cruelly those who struggle, than those who agree to endure his
servitude. Lo! I confess it; I am thy new-made prey, O Cupid; I am
extending my conquered hands for thy commands. No war _between us_ is
needed; I entreat for peace and for pardon; and no credit shall I be to
thee, unarmed, conquered by thy arms. Bind thy locks with myrtle; yoke
thy mother's doves; thy stepfather [014] himself will give a chariot
which becomes thee. And in the chariot _so_ given thee, thou shalt
stand, and with thy skill shalt guide the birds _so_ yoked [015], while
the people shout "_Io_ triumphe" [016] aloud. The captured youths and
the captive fair shall be led _in triumph_; this procession shall be
a splendid triumph for thee. I myself, a recent capture, shall bear
my wound _so_ lately made; and with the feelings of a captive shall I
endure thy recent chains. Soundness of Understanding shall-be led along
with hands bound behind his back, Shame as well, and whatever _beside_
is an enemy to the camp of Love. All things shall stand in awe of thee:
towards thee the throng, stretching forth its hands, shall sing "Io
triumphe" with loud voice. Caresses shall be thy attendants, Error too,
and Madness, a troop that ever follows on thy side. With these for thy
soldiers, thou dost overcome both men and Gods; take away from thee
these advantages, _and_ thou wilt be helpless. From highest Olympus thy
joyous mother will applaud thee in thy triumph, and will sprinkle her
roses falling on thy face. While gems bedeck thy wings, _and_ gems thy
hair; in thy golden chariot shalt thou go, resplendent thyself with
gold. [017]

Then too, (if well I know thee) wilt thou influence not a few; then too,
as thou passest by, wilt thou inflict many a wound. Thy arrows (even
shouldst thou thyself desire it) cannot be at rest. A glowing flame
_ever_ injures by the propinquity of its heat. Just such was Bacchus
when the Gangetic land [018] was subdued; thou art the burden of the
birds; he was _that_ of the tigers. Therefore, since I may be some
portion of thy hallowed triumph, forbear, Conqueror, to expend thy
strength on me. Look at the prospering arms of thy kinsman Cæsar; [019]
with the same hand with which he conquers does he shield the conquered.
[020]




ELEGY III.

_He entreats his mistress to return his affection, and shows that he is
deserving of her favour._

|I ask for what is just; let the fair who has so lately captivated me,
either love me, or let her give me a cause why I should always love her.
Alas! too much have I desired; only let her allow herself to be loved;
_and then_ Cytherea will have listened to my prayers so numerous. Accept
one who will be your servant through lengthened years; accept one
who knows how to love with constant attachment. If the great names of
ancient ancestors do not recommend me, or if the Equestrian founder of
my family [021] _fails to do so_; and _if_ no field of mine is renewed
by ploughs innumerable, and each of my parents [022] with frugal spirit
limits my expenditure; still Phoebus and his nine companions and the
discoverer of the vine may do so; and Love _besides_, who presents me
as a gift to you; a fidelity, too that will yield to none, manners above
reproach, ingenuousness without guile, and modesty _ever_ able to blush.

A thousand damsels have no charms for me; I am no rover in affection;
[023] you will for ever be my choice, if you do but believe me. May it
prove my lot to live with you for years as many as the threads of the
Sister _Destinies_ shall grant me, and to die with you sorrowing _for
me_. Grant me yourself as a delightful theme for my verse; worthy of
their matter my lines will flow. Io, frightened by her horns, and she
whom the adulterer deceived in _the shape of_ the bird [024] of the
stream have a name in song; she, too, who, borne over the seas upon the
fictitious bull, held fast the bending horns with her virgin hand. We,
too, together shall be celebrated throughout all the world; and my name
shall ever be united with thy own.




ELEGY IV.

_He instructs his mistress what conduct to-observe in the presence of
her husband at a feast to which he has been invited._

_Your_ husband is about to come to the same banquet [026] as ourselves:
I pray that it may be the last meal [027] for this husband of yours.
And am I then only as a guest to look upon the fair so much beloved? And
shall there be another, to take pleasure in being touched _by you?_
And will you, conveniently placed below, be keeping warm the bosom of
another? [028] _And_ shall he, when he pleases, be placing his hand
upon your neck? Cease to be surprised that the beauteous damsel of Atrax
[029] excited the two-formed men to combat when the wine was placed
_on table_. No wood is my home, and my limbs adhere not to _those of_
a horse; _yet_ I seem to be hardly able to withhold my hands from you.
Learn, however, what must be done by you; and do not give my injunctions
to be borne away by the Eastern gales, nor on the warm winds of the
South.

Come before your husband; and yet, I do not see what can be done, if
you do come first; but still, do come first. [031] When he presses the
couch, with modest air you will be going as his companion, to recline
by him; _then_ secretly touch my foot. [032] Keep your eye on me, and my
nods and the expression of my features; apprehend my secret signs, [033]
and yourself return them. Without utterance will I give expression to
words by my eyebrows; [034] you shall read words traced by my fingers,
words _traced_ in the wine. [035] When the delights of our dalliance
recur to your thoughts, press your blooming cheeks [036] with your
beauteous finger. If there shall be anything, of which you may be making
complaint about me silently in your mind, let your delicate hand reach
from the extremity of your ear. When, my life, I shall either do or say
aught which shall give you delight, let your ring be continually twisted
on your fingers. [037] Take hold of the table with your hand, in the way
in which those who are in prayer [038] take hold _of the altar_, when
you shall be wishing many an evil for your husband, who so well deserves
it. _The cup_ which he has mixed for you, if you are discreet, [039] bid
him drink himself; _then_, in a low voice, do you ask the servant [041]
for what _wine_ you wish. I will at once take the cup which you have put
down; [042] and where you have sipped, on that side will I drink.
If, perchance, he shall give you any morsels, of which he has tasted
beforehand, reject them _thus_ touched by his mouth. [043] And do not
allow him to press your neck, by putting his arms around it; nor recline
your gentle head on his unsightly breast. [044] Let not your bosom, or
your breasts so close at hand, [045] admit his fingers; _and_ especially
allow him to give you no kisses. If you do give him _any_ kisses, I
shall be discovered to be your lover, and I shall say, "Those are my
own," and shall be laying hands upon him.

Still, this I shall _be able to_ see; but what the clothing carefully
conceals, the same will be a cause for me of apprehension full of
doubts. Touch not his thigh with yours, and cross not legs with him, and
do not unite your delicate foot with his uncouth leg. To my misery, I
am apprehensive of many a thing, because many a thing have I done in my
wantonness; and I myself am tormented, through fear of my own precedent.

Oft _by joining hands_ beneath the cloth, [048] have my mistress and
I forestalled our hurried delights. This, I _am sure_, you will not do
_for him_; but that you may not _even_ be supposed to do so, take away
the conscious covering [049] from your bosom. Bid your husband drink
incessantly, but let there be no kisses with your entreaties; and while
he is drinking, if you can, add wine by stealth. [050] If he shall be
soundly laid asleep with dozing and wine, circumstances and opportunity
will give us _fitting_ counsel. When you shall rise to go home, we all
will rise as well; _and_ remember that you walk in the middle rank of
the throng. In that rank you will either find me, or be found _by me_;
_and_ whatever part of me you can there touch, _mind and_ touch.

Ah wretched me! I have given advice to be good for _but_ a few hours;
_then_, at the bidding of night, I am separated from my mistress. At
night her husband will lock her in; I, sad with my gushing tears, will
follow her as far as I may, even to her obdurate door. _And_ now will he
be snatching a kiss; _and_ now not kisses only will he snatch; you will
be compelled to grant him that, which by stealth you grant to me. But
grant him this (you can do so) with a bad grace, and like one acting by
compulsion; let no caresses be heard; and let Venus prove inauspicious.
If my wishes avail, I trust, too, that he will find no satisfaction
therein; but if otherwise, still at least let it have no delights for
you. But, however, whatever luck may attend upon the night, assure me in
positive language to-morrow, that you did not dally with him.




ELEGY V.


_The beauties of Corinna._

|Twas summer time, [051] and the day had passed the hour of noon; _when_ I
threw my limbs to be refreshed on the middle of the couch. A part of the
window [053] was thrown open, the other part shut; the light was such as
the woods are wont to have; just as the twilight glimmers, when Phoebus
is retreating; or _as_ when the night has gone, and still the day is not
risen. Such light should be given to the bashful fair, in which coy
modesty may hope to have concealment.

Behold! Corinna [054] came, clothed in a tunic [055] hanging loose, her
flowing hair [056] covering her white neck.

Beauteous Semiramis [057] is said to have entered her chamber, and Lais,
[058] beloved by many a hero. I drew aside the tunic; in its thinness
[059] it was but a small impediment; still, to be covered with the tunic
did she strive; and, as she struggled as though she was not desirous
to conquer, without difficulty was she overcome, through betrayal
of herself. When, her clothing laid aside, she stood before my eyes,
throughout her whole body nowhere was there a blemish. What shoulders,
what arms I _both_ saw and touched! The contour of her breast, how
formed was it to be pressed! How smooth her stomach beneath her
faultless bosom! How full and how beauteous her sides! How plump with
youthfulness the thigh! _But_ why enlarge on every point? Nothing did I
behold not worthy of praise; and I pressed her person even to my own.

The rest, who knows not? Wearied, we both reclined. May such a midday
often prove my lot.




ELEGY VI.


_He entreats the porter to open to him the door of his mistress's
house._

Porter, fastened (_and_ how unworthily!) with the cruel fetter, [060]
throw open the stubborn door with its turning hinge. What I ask, is but
a trifle; let the door, half-opened, admit me sideways with its narrow
passage. Protracted Love has made my body thin for such an emergency,
and by diminishing my bulk, has rendered my limbs _quite_ supple.'Tis
he who shows me how to go softly amid the watches of the keepers; [062]
'tis he directs my feet that meet no harm. But, at one time, I used
to be afraid of the night and imaginary ghosts; _and_ I used to be
surprised if any one was about to go in the dark: Cupid, with his
graceful mother, laughed, so that I could hear him, and he softly said,
"Thou too wilt become bold." Without delay, love came _upon me_; then,
I feared not spectres that flit by night, [063] or hands uplifted for my
destruction.

I only fear you, _thus_ too tardy; you alone do I court; you hold the
lightning by which you can effect my destruction. Look (and that you may
see, loosen the obdurate bars) how the door has been made wet with my
tears. At all events, 'twas I, who, when, your garment laid aside, you
stood ready for the whip, [064] spoke in your behalf to your mistress
as you were trembling. Does then, (O shocking thought!) the credit which
once prevailed in your behalf, now fail to prevail in my own favour?
Give a return for my kindness; you may _now_ be grateful. As you wish,
[065] the hours of the night pass on; [066] from the door-post [067] strike
away the bar. Strike it away then may you one day be liberated from your
long fetters and may the water of the slave [068] be not for ever drunk
of by you. Hard-hearted porter! you hear me, as I implore in vain; the
door, supported by its hard oaken _posts_, is still unmoved. Let the
protection of a closed gate be of value to cities when besieged; _but_
why, in the midst of peace are you dreading warfare? What would you do
to an enemy, who thus shut out the lover? The hours of the night pass
on; from the door-post strike away the bar.

I am not come attended with soldiers and with arms; I should be alone,
if ruthless Love were not here. Him, even if I should desire it, I can
never send away; first should I be even severed from my limbs. Love
then, and a little wine about my temples, [069] are with me, and the
chaplet falling from off my anointed hair. Who is to dread arms _such_
as these? Who may not go out to face them? The hours of the night pass
on; from the door-post strike away the bar.

Are you delaying? or does sleep (who but ill befriends the lover)
give to the winds my words, as they are repelled from your ear? But, I
remember, when formerly I used to avoid you, you were awake, with the
stars of the midnight. Perhaps, too, your own mistress is now asleep
with you; alas! how much superior _then_ is your fate to my own! And
since 'tis so, pass on to me, ye cruel chains. The hours of the night
pass on; from the door-post strike away the bar.

Am I mistaken? Or did the door-posts creak with the turning hinge, and
did the shaken door give the jarring signal? Yes, I am mistaken; the
door was shaken by the boisterous wind. Ah me! how far away has that
gust borne my hopes! Boreas, if well thou dost keep in mind the ravished
Orithyia, come hither, and with thy blast beat open this relentless
door. 'Tis silence throughout all the City; damp with the glassy dew,
the hours of the night pass on; from the door-post strike away the bar.

Otherwise I, myself, [073] now better prepared _than you_, with my
sword, and with the fire which I am holding in my torch, [074] will
scale this arrogant abode. Night, and lore, and wine, [075] are
persuasive of no moderation; the first is without shame, Bacchus and
Love _are without fear_.

I have expended every method; neither by entreaties nor by threats have
I moved you, O _man, even_ more deaf yourself than your door. It becomes
you not to watch the threshold of the beauteous fair; of the anxieties
of the prison, [076] are you more deserving. And now Lucifer is moving
his wheels beset with rime; and the bird is arousing [077] wretched
_mortals_ to their work. But, chaplet taken from my locks joyous no
longer, be you the livelong night upon this obdurate threshold. You,
when in the morning she shall see you _thus_ exposed, will be a witness
of my time thus thrown away. _Porter_, whatever your disposition, good
bye, and _one day_ experience the pangs of him who is now departing;
sluggish one, and worthless in not admitting the lover, fare you well.
And you, ye cruel door-posts, with your stubborn threshold; and _you,
ye_ doors, equally slaves, [078] hard-hearted blocks of wood, farewell.




ELEGY VII.


_He has beaten his mistress, and endeavours to regain her favour._

|Put my hands in manacles (they are deserving of chains), if any friend
of mine is present, until all my frenzy has departed. For frenzy has
raised my rash arms against my mistress; hurt by my frantic hand, the
fair is weeping. In such case could I have done an injury even to my
dear parents, or have given unmerciful blows to even the hallowed
Gods. Why; did not Ajax, too, [080] the owner of the sevenfold shield,
slaughter the flocks that he had caught along the extended plains?
And did Orestes, the guilty avenger of his father, the punisher of his
mother, dare to ask for weapons against the mystic Goddesses? [081]

And could I then tear her tresses so well arranged; and were not her
displaced locks unbecoming to my mistress? Even thus was she beauteous;
in such guise they say that the daughter of Schoeneus [082] pursued the
wild beasts of Mænalus with her bow. 'Twere more fitting for her face to
be pale from the impress of kisses, and for her neck to bear the marks
of the toying teeth.

In such guise did the Cretan damsel [083] weep, that the South winds, in
their headlong flight, had borne away both the promises and the sails of
the forsworn Theseus. Thus, _too_, chaste Minerva, did Cassandra [084]
fall in thy temple, except that her locks were bound with the fillet.

Who did not say to me, "You madman!" who did not say _to me_, "You
barbarian!" She herself _said_ not a word; her tongue was restrained
by timid apprehensions. But still her silent features pronounced my
censure; by her tears _and_ by her silent lips did she convict me.

First could I wish that my arms had fallen from off my shoulders; to
better purpose could I have parted with a portion of myself. To my own
disadvantage had I the strength of a madman; and for my own punishment
did I stoutly exert my strength. What do I want with you, ye ministers
of death and criminality? Impious hands, submit to the chains, your due.
Should I not have been punished had I struck the humblest Roman [085]
of the multitude? _And_ shall I have a greater privilege against my
mistress? The son of Tydeus has left the worst instance of crime: he was
the first to strike a Goddess, [086] I, the second. But less guilty
was he; by me, she, whom I asserted to be loved _by me_, was injured;
against an enemy the son of Tydeus was infuriate.

Come now, conqueror, prepare your boastful triumphs; bind your locks
with laurel, and pay your vows to Jove, and let the multitude, the
train, that escorts your chariot, shout aloud, "Io _triumphe!_ by
_this_ valiant man has the fair been conquered!" Let the captive, in her
sadness, go before with dishevelled locks, pale all over, if her hurt
cheeks [087] may allow.

In short, if, after the manner of a swelling torrent, I was impelled,
and if impetuous anger did make me its prey; would it not have been
enough to have shouted aloud at the trembling girl, and not to have
thundered out my threats far too severe? Or else, to my own disgrace, to
have torn her tunic from its upper edge down to the middle? Her girdle
should, at the middle [089] have come to its aid. But now, in the
hardness of my heart, I could dare, seizing her hair on her forehead,
to mark her free-born cheeks [090] with my nails. _There_ she stood,
amazed, with her features pale and bloodless, just as the marble is
cut in the Parian mountains. [091] I saw her fainting limbs, and her
palpitating members; just as when the breeze waves the foliage of the
poplars; just as the slender reed quivers with the gentle Zephyr; or,
as when the surface of the waves is skimmed by the warm South wind. Her
tears, too, so long repressed, flowed down her face, just as the water
flows from the snow when heaped up.

Then, for the first time, did I begin to be sensible that I was guilty;
the tears which she was shedding were _as_ my own blood. Yet, thrice
was I ready, suppliantly to throw myself before her feet; thrice did
she repel my dreaded hands. But, _dearest,_ do not you hesitate, (_for_
revenge will lessen your grief) at once to attack my face with your
nails. Spare not my eyes, nor _yet_ my hair; let anger nerve your hands,
weak though they may be.

And that tokens so shocking of my criminality may no longer exist, put
your locks, arranged anew, in their proper order. [092]




ELEGY VIII.


_He curses a certain procuress, whom he overhears instructing his
mistress in the arts of a courtesan._

|There is a certain--(whoever wishes to make acquaintance with a
procuress, let him listen.)--There is a certain old hag, Dipsas by name.
From fact does she derive [094] her name; never in a sober state does
she behold the mother of the swarthy Memnon with her horses of roseate
hue. She knows well the magic arts, and the charms of Ææa, [095] and
by her skill she turns back to its source [096] the flowing stream. She
knows right well what the herbs, what the thrums impelled around the
whirling spinning-wheel, [097] _and_ what the venomous exudation [098]
from the prurient mare can effect. When she wills it, the clouds are
overspread throughout all the sky; when she wills it, the day is bright
with a clear atmosphere.

I have beheld (if I may be believed) the stars dripping with blood:
the face of the moon was empurpled [099] with gore. I believe that she,
transformed, [101] was flying amid the shades of night, and that her
hag's carcase was covered with feathers. _This_ I believe, and such is
the report. A double pupil, too, [102] sparkles in her eyes, and light
proceeds from a twofold eyeball. Forth from the ancient sepulchres she
calls our great grandsires, and their grandsires [103] as well; and with
her long incantations she cleaves the solid ground. She has made it her
occupation to violate the chaste bed; and besides, her tongue is not
"wanting in guilty advocacy. Chance made me the witness of her language;
in such words was she giving her advice; the twofold doors [105]
concealed me.

"You understand, my life, how greatly you yesterday pleased a wealthy
young man; _for_ he stopped short, and stood gazing for some time on
your face. And whom do you not please? Your beauty is inferior to no
one's. _But_ woe is me! your person has not a fitting dress. I _only_
wish you were as well off, as you are distinguished for beauty; if
you became rich, I should not be poor. The adverse star of Mars in
opposition [106] was unfortunate for you; Mars has gone; now Venus is
befriending you with her planet. See now how favourable she is on her
approach; a rich lover is sighing for you, and he makes it his care
[107] what are your requirements. He has good looks, too, that may
compare with your own; if he did not wish to have you at a price, he
were worthy himself to be purchased."

_On this the damsel_ blushed: [108] "Blushing," _said the hag_, "suits a
faircomplexion indeed; but if you _only_ pretend it, 'tis an advantage;
_if_ real, it is wont to be injurious. When, your eyes cast down, [109]
you are looking full upon your bosom, each man must _only_ be looked at
in the proportion in which he offers. Possibly the sluttish Sabine
females, [111] when Tati us was king, were unwilling to be accommodating
to more men _than one_. Now-a-days, Mars employs the bravery _of our
men_ in foreign warfare; [112] but Venus holds sway in the City of her
own Æneas. Enjoy yourselves, my pretty ones; she is chaste, whom nobody
has courted; or else, if coyness does not prevent her, she herself is
the wooer. Dispel these frowns [113] as well, which you are carrying
upon your lofty brow; with those frowns will numerous failings be
removed. Penelope used to try [114] the strength of the young men upon
the bow; the bow that tested _the strength_ of their sides, was made of
horn. Age glides stealthily on, and beguiles us as it flies; just as the
swift river glides onward with its flowing waters. Brass grows bright by
use; good clothes require to be worn; uninhabited buildings grow white
with nasty mould. Unless you entertain _lovers_, beauty _soon_ waxes
old, with no one to enjoy it; and _even_ one or two _lovers_ are not
sufficiently profitable. From many _of them_, gain is more sure, and not
so difficult to be got. An abundant prey falls to the hoary wolves out
of a _whole_ flock.

"See now! what does this poet of yours make you a present of besides his
last verses? You will read many thousands of them by _this_ new lover.
The God himself of poets, graceful in his mantle [116] adorned with
gold, strikes the harmonious strings of the gilded lyre. He that shall
make you presents, let him be to you greater than great Homer; believe
me, it is a noble thing to give. And, if there shall be any one redeemed
at a price for his person [117], do not you despise him; the fault of
having the foot rubbed with chalk [118] is a mere trifle. Neither let
the old-fashioned wax busts about the halls [119] take you in; pack
off with your forefathers, you needy lover. Nay more, should [120] one,
because he is good-looking, ask for a night without a present; _why_,
let him first solicit his own admirer for something to present to you.

"Be less exacting of presents, while you are laying your nets, _for
fear_ lest they should escape you: _once_ caught, tease them at your
own pleasure. Pretended affection, too, is not a bad thing; let him
fancy he is loved; but have you a care that this affection is not all
for nothing. Often refuse your favours; sometimes pretend a head-ache;
and sometimes there will be Isis [121] to afford a pretext. _But_ soon
admit him again; that he may acquire no habits of endurance, and that
his love, so often repulsed, may not begin to flag. Let your door be
deaf to him who entreats, open to him who brings. Let the lover that is
admitted, hear the remarks of him who is excluded. And, as though you
were the first injured, sometimes get in a passion with him when injured
_by you_. His censure, when counterbalanced by your censure, [127] may
wear away. But do you never afford a long duration for anger; prolonged
anger frequently produces hatred. Moreover, let your eyes learn, at
discretion, to shed tears; and let this cause or that cause your cheeks
to be wet. And do not, if you deceive any one, hesitate to be guilty of
perjury; Venus lends _but_ a deaf hearing [128] to deceived _lovers_.

"Let a male servant and a crafty handmaid [129] be trained up to their
parts; who may instruct him what may be conveniently purchased for you.
And let them ask but little for themselves; if they ask a little of
many, [130] very soon, great will be the heap from the gleanings. [131]
Let your sister, and your mother, and your nurse as well, fleece your
admirer. A booty is soon made, that is sought by many hands. When
occasions for asking for presents shall fail you, call attention with a
cake [132] to your birthday Take care that no one loves you in security,
without a rival; love is not very lasting if you remove _all_ rivalry.
Let him perceive the traces of _another_ person on the couch; all your
neck, too, discoloured by the marks of toying. Especially let him see
the presents, which another has sent. If he gives you nothing, the
Sacred Street [133] must be talked about. When you have received many
things, but yet he has not given you every thing, be continually asking
him to lend you something, for you never to return. Let your tongue aid
you, and let it conceal your thoughts; [134] caress him, and prove his
ruin. [135] Beneath the luscious honey cursed poisons lie concealed. If
you observe these precepts, tried by me throughout a long experience; and
if the winds and the breezes do not bear away my words; often will you
bless me while I live; often will you pray, when I am dead, that in
quietude my bones may repose.".

She was in the middle of her speech, when my shadow betrayed me; but my
hands with difficulty refrained from tearing her grey scanty locks, and
her eyes bleared with wine, and her wrinkled cheeks. May the Gods grant
you both no home, [136] and a needy old age; prolonged winters as well,
and everlasting thirst.




ELEGY IX.


_He tells Atticus that like the soldier, the lover ought to be on his
guard and that Love is a species of warfare._

|Every lover is a soldier, and Cupid has a camp of his own; believe me,
Atticus, [138] every lover is a soldier. The age which is fitted for
war, is suited to love as well. For an old man to be a soldier, is
shocking; amorousness in an old man is shocking. The years which [139]
generals require in the valiant soldier, the same does the charming fair
require in her husband. Both _soldier and lover_ pass sleepless nights;
both rest upon the ground. The one watches at the door of his mistress;
but the other _at that_ of his general. [140] Long marches are the duty
of the soldier; send the fair _far_ away, _and_ the lover will boldly
follow her, without a limit _to his endurance_. Over opposing mountains
will he go, and rivers swollen with rains; the accumulating snows will
he pace.

About to plough the waves, he will not reproach the stormy East winds;
nor will he watch for Constellations favourable for scudding over the
waves. Who, except either the soldier or the lover, will submit to both
the chill of the night, and the snows mingled with the heavy showers?
The one is sent as a spy against the hostile foe; the other keeps
his eye on his rival, as though upon an enemy. The one lays siege to
stubborn cities, the other to the threshold of his obdurate mistress:
the one bursts open gates, and the other, doors. [142] Full oft has it
answered to attack the enemy when buried in sleep; and to slaughter an
unarmed multitude with armed hand. Thus did the fierce troops of the
Thracian Rhesus [143] fall; and you, captured steeds, forsook your lord.
Full oft do lovers take advantage of the sleep of husbands, and brandish
their arms against the slumbering foe. To escape the troops of the
sentinels, and the bands of the patrol, is the part _both_ of the
soldier, and of the lover always in misery. Mars is wayward, and Venus
is uncertain; both the conquered rise again, and those fall whom you
would say could never possibly be prostrate.

Whoever, then, has pronounced Love _mere_ slothfulness, let him cease
_to love_: [144] to the discerning mind does Love belong. The mighty
Achilles is inflamed by the captive Briseis. Trojans, while you may,
destroy the Argive resources. Hector used to go to battle _fresh_ from
the embraces of Andromache; and it was his wife who placed his helmet on
his head. The son of Atreus, the first of _all_ the chiefs, on beholding
the daughter of Priam, is said to have been smitten with the dishevelled
locks of the raving _prophetess_. [146] Mars, too, when caught, was
sensible of the chains wrought at the forge; [147] there was no story
better known than his, in all the heavens.

I myself was of slothful habit, and born for a lazy inactivity; [148]
the couch and the shade [149] had enervated my mind. Attentions to the
charming fair gave a fillip to me, in my indolence; and _Love_ commanded
me to serve [150] in his camp. Hence it is that thou seest me active,
and waging the warfare by night. Let him who wishes not to become
slothful, fall in love.




ELEGY X.


_He tells his mistress that she ought not to require presents as a
return for her love._

|Such as she, who, borne away from the Eurotas, [151] in the Phrygian
ships, was the cause of warfare to her two husbands; such as Leda was,
whom her crafty paramour, concealed in his white feathers, deceived
under _the form of_ a fictitious bird; such as Amymone [152] used to
wander in the parched _fields of_ Argos, when the urn was pressing the
locks on the top of her head; such were you; and I was in dread of both
the eagle and the bull with respect to you, and whatever _form besides_
Love has created of the mighty Jove.

Now, all fears are gone, and the disease of my mind is cured; and now no
longer does that form _of yours_ rivet my eyes. Do you inquire why I
am changed? _It is_, because you require presents. This reason does not
allow of your pleasing me. So long as you were disinterested, I was in
love with your mind together with your person; now, _in my estimation_
your appearance is affected by this blemish on your disposition. Love is
both a child and naked; he has years without sordidness, and _he wears_
no clothes, that he may be without concealment. Why do you require the
son of Venus to be prostituted at a price? He has no fold in his dress,
[153] in which to conceal that price. Neither Venus is suited for cruel
arms, nor yet the son of Venus; it befits not such unwarlike Divinities
to serve for pay. The courtesan stands for hire to any one at a certain
price; and with her submissive body, she seeks for wretched pelf. Still,
she curses the tyranny of the avaricious procurer; [154] and she does by
compulsion [155] what you are doing of your own free will.

Take, as an example, the cattle, devoid of reason; it were a shocking
thing for there to be a finer feeling in the brutes. The mare asks no
gift of the horse, nor the cow of the bull; the ram does not woo the
ewe, induced by presents. Woman alone takes pleasure in spoils torn
from the man; she alone lets out her nights; alone is she on sale, to be
hired at a price. She sells, too, _joys_ that delight them both, _and_
which both covet; and she makes it a _matter_ of pay, at what price she
herself is to be gratified. Those joys, which are so equally sweet to
both, why does the one sell, and _why_ the other buy them? Why must that
delight prove a loss to me, to you a gain, for which the female and the
male combine with kindred impulse? Witnesses hired dishonestly, [156]
sell their perjuries; the chest [157] of the commissioned judge [158] is
disgracefully open _for the bribe_.

'Tis a dishonourable thing to defend the wretched criminals with a
tongue that is purchased; [159] 'tis a disgrace for a tribunal to
make great acquisitions. 'Tis a disgrace for a woman to increase
her patrimonial possessions by the profits of her embraces, and to
prostitute her beauty for lucre. Thanks are _justly_ due for things
obtained without purchase; there are no thanks for an intercourse
disgracefully bartered. He who hires, [160] pays all _his due_; the
price _once_ paid, he no longer remains a debtor for your acquiescence.
Cease, ye beauties, to bargain for pay for your favours. Sordid gains
bring no good results. It was not worth her while to bargain for the
Sabine bracelets, [161] in order that the arms should crush the head of
the sacred maiden. The son pierced [163] with the sword those entrails
from which he had sprung, and a simple necklace [164] was the cause of
the punishment.

But yet it is not unbecoming for a present to be asked of the wealthy
man; he has something to give to her who does ask for a present. Pluck
the grapes that hang from the loaded vines; let the fruitful soil of
Alcinous [165] afford the apples. Let the needy man proffer duty, zeal,
and fidelity; what each one possesses, let him bestow it all upon his
mistress. My endowments, too, are in my lines to shig the praises of
those fair who deserve them; she, whom I choose, becomes celebrated
through my skill. Vestments will rend, gems and gold will spoil; the
fame which poesy confers is everlasting.

_Still_ I do not detest giving and revolt at it, but at being asked for
a price. Cease to demand it, _and_ I will give you that which I refuse
you while you ask.




ELEGY XI.


_He begs Nape to deliver his letter to her mistress, and commences by
praising her neatness and dexterity, and the interest she has hitherto
manifested in his behalf._

|Nape, skilled at binding the straggling locks [166] and arranging
them in order, and not deserving to be reckoned [167] among the
female slaves; _known_, too, _by experience_ to be successful in the
contrivances of the stealthy night, and clever in giving the signals;
[168] you who have so oft entreated Corinna, when hesitating, to come to
me; who have been found so often faithful by me in my difficulties; take
and carry these tablets, [169] so well-filled, [170] this morning
to your mistress; and by your diligence dispel _all_ impeding delay.
Neither veins of flint, nor hard iron is in your breast, nor have you a
simplicity greater than that of your _clever_ class. There is no doubt
that you, too, have experienced the bow of Cupid; in my behalf defend
the banner of your service. If _Corinna_ asks what I am doing, you will
say that I am living in expectation of the night. The wax inscribed with
my persuasive hand is carrying the rest.

While I am speaking, time is flying; opportunely give her my tablets,
when she is at leisure; but still, make her read them at once. I bid you
watch her eyes and her forehead as she reads; from the silent features
we may know the future. And _be there_ no delay; when she has read them
through, request her to write a long answer; [172] I hate it, when the
bleached wax is empty, with a margin on every side. Let her write the
lines close as they run, and let the letters traced in the extreme
margin long detain my eyes.

_But_ what need is there for wearying her fingers with holding the pen?
[175] Let the whole of her letter contain this one word, "Come." Then,
I should not delay to crown my victorious tablets with laurel, nor to
place them in the midst of the temple of Venus. Beneath them I would
inscribe "Naso consecrates these faithful servants of his to Venus; but
lately, you were pieces of worthless maple." [176]




ELEGY XII.


_He curses the tablets which he has sent, because his mistress has
written an answer on them, in which she refuses to grant his request._

|Lament my misfortune; my tablets have returned to me with sad
intelligence. Her unlucky letter announces that she cannot _be seen_
to-day. There is something in omens; just now, when she was preparing
to go, Napè stopped short, having struck her foot [178] against the
threshold. When sent out of doors another time, remember to pass the
threshold more carefully, and _like_ a sober woman lift your foot high
_enough._

Away with you; obdurate tablets, fatal bits of board; and you wax, as
well, crammed with the lines of denial. I doubt the Corsican bee [180]
has sent you collected from the blossom of the tall hemlock, beneath its
abominable honey.

Besides, you were red, as though you had been thoroughly dyed in
vermilion; [181] such a colour is exactly that of blood. Useless bits of
board, thrown out in the street, _there_ may you lie; and may the weight
of the wheel crush you, as it passes along. I could even prove that he
who formed you to shape from the tree, had not the hands of innocence.
That tree surely has afforded a gibbet for some wretched neck, _and_ has
supplied the dreadful crosses [182] for the executioner. It has given a
disgusting shelter to the screeching owls; in its branches it has borne
the eggs of the vulture and of the screech-owl. [183] In my madness,
have I entrusted my courtship to these, and have I given soft words to
be _thus_ carried to my mistress?

These tablets would more becomingly hold the prosy summons, [184] which
some judge [185] pronounces, with his sour face.




ELEGY XIII.


_He entreats the morning not to hasten on with its usual speed._

|Now over the Ocean does she come from her aged husband _Tithonus_,
who, with her yellow locks, brings on the day with her frosty chariot.
Whither, Aurora, art thou hastening? Stay; _and_ then may the yearly
bird, with its wonted death, honour the shades [189] of thy Memnon, its
parent. Now do I delight to recline in the soft arms of my mistress;
now, if ever, is she deliciously united to my side. Now, too, slumbers
are sound, and now the moisture is cooling the birds, too, are sweetly
waronng with their little throats. Whither art thou hastening, hated by
the men, detested by the fair? Check thy dewy reins with thy rosy hand.
[190]

Before thy rising, the sailor better observes his Constellations; and
he wanders not in ignorance, in the midst of the waves. On thy approach,
the wayfarer arises, weary though he be; the soldier lays upon his arms
the hands used to bear them. Thou art the first to look upon the tillers
of the fields laden with the two-pronged fork; thou art the first to
summon the lagging oxen to the crooked yoke. 'Tis thou who dost deprive
boys of their sleep, and dost hand them over to their masters; [192],
that their tender hands may suffer the cruel stripes. [193] 'Tis thou,
too, who dost send the man before the vestibule of the attorney, [194]
when about to become bail; [195] that he may submit to the great risks
of a single word.

Thou art no source of pleasure to the pleader, [198] nor yet to the
counsel; for fresh combats each is forced to rise. Thou, when the
labours of the females might have had a pause, dost recal the hand of
the worker in wool to its task.

All _this_ I could endure; but who could allow the fair to arise _thus_
early, except _the man_ who has no mistress of his own? How often have
I wished that night would not make way for thee; and that the stars when
put to flight would not fly from thy countenance. Many a time have I
wished that either the wind would break thy chariot to pieces, or that
thy steed would fall, overtaken by _some_ dense cloud. Remorseless one,
whither dost thou hasten? Inasmuch as thy son was black, such was the
colour of his mother's heart. What if [199] she had not once burned with
passion for Cephalus? Or does she fancy that her escapade was not known?
I _only_ wish it was allowed Tithonus to tell of thee; there would not
be a more coarse tale in _all_ the heavens. While thou art avoiding him,
because he is chilled by length of years, thou dost rise early in the
morning from _the bed of_ the old man to thy odious chariot. But if thou
wast _only_ holding some Cephalus embraced in thy arms; _then_ wouldst
thou be crying out, "Run slowly on, ye horses of the night."

Why should I be punished in my affections, if thy husband does decay
through _length of_ years? Wast thou married to the old fellow by my
contrivance? See how many hours of sleep the Moon gave [201] to the
youth beloved by _her_; and yet her beauty is not inferior to thine. The
parent of the Gods himself, that he might not see thee so often, joined
two nights together [202] for _the attainment of_ his desires.

I had finished my reproaches; you might be sure she heard them; _for_
she blushed'. However, no later than usual did the day arise.




ELEGY XIV.


_His mistress having been in the habit of dyeing her hair with noxious
compositions, she has nearly lost it, becoming almost bald. He reminds
her of his former advice, and entreats her to abstain from the practice,
on which there may be a chance of her recovering it._

|I always used to say; "Do leave off doctoring your hair." [203] _And_
now you have no hair _left_, that you can be dyeing. But, if you had let
it alone, what was more plenteous than it? It used to reach down your
sides, so far as ever [204] they extend. And besides: Was it not so
fine, that you were afraid to dress [205] it; just like the veils [206]
which the swarthy Seres use? Or _like_ the thread which the spider draws
out with her slender legs, when she fastens her light work beneath the
neglected beam? And yet its colour was not black, nor yet was it golden,
but though it was neither, it was a mixture of them both. A _colour_,
such as the tall cedar has in the moist vallies of craggy Ida, when its
bark is stript off.

Besides, it was _quite_ tractable, and falling into a thousand ringlets;
and it was the cause of no trouble to you. Neither the bodkin, [208] nor
the tooth of the comb _ever_ tore it; your tire woman always had a whole
skin. Many a time was it dressed before my eyes; and _yet_, never did
the bodkin [210] seized make wounds in her arms. Many a time too, in the
morning, her locks not yet arranged, was she lying on the purple couch,
with her face half upturned. Then even, unadorned, was she beauteous; as
when the Thracian Bacchanal, in her weariness, throws herself carelessly
upon the green grass. Still, fine as it was, and just like down, what
evils, alas! did her tortured hair endure! How patiently did it submit
itself to the iron and the fire; [211] that the curls might become crisp
with their twisting circlets. "'Tis a shame," I used to cry, "'tis a
shame, to be burning that hair; naturally it is becoming; do, cruel one,
be merciful to your own head. Away with all violence from it; it is not
_hair_ that deserves to be scorched; the very locks instruct [212] the
bodkins when applied."

Those beauteous locks are gone; which Apollo might have longed for,
_and_ which Bacchus might have wished to be on his own head. With them
I might compare those, which naked Dione is painted [213] as once having
held up with her dripping hand. Why are you complaining that hair so
badly treated is gone? Why, silly girl, do you lay down the mirror [214]
with disconsolate hand? You are not seen to advantage by yourself with
eyes accustomed _to your former self._ For you to please, you ought to
be forgetful of your _former_ self.

No enchanted herbs of a rival [215] have done you this injury; no
treacherous hag has been washing you with Itæmonian water. The effects,
too, of no disease have injured you; (far away be all _bad_ omens;
[216]) nor has an envious tongue thinned your abundant locks;'twas your
own self who gave the prepared poison to your head. Now Germany will be
sending [217] for you her captured locks; by the favour of a conquered
race you will be adorned. Ah! how many a time will you have to blush, as
any one admires your hair; and _then_ you will say, "Now I am receiving
praise for a bought commodity! In place of myself, he is now bepraising
some Sygambrian girl [218] unknown to me; still, I remember _the time_
when that glory was my own."

Wretch that I am! with difficulty does she restrain her tears; and she
covers her face with her hand, having her delicate cheeks suffused with
blushes. She is venturing to look at her former locks, _placed_ in her
bosom; a treasure, alas! not fitted for that spot. [219]

Calm your feelings with your features; the loss may still be repaired.
Before long, you will become beauteous with your natural hair.




ELEGY XV.


_He tells the envious that the fame of Poets is immortal, and that
theirs is not a life devoted to idleness._

|Why, gnawing Envy, dost thou blame me for years of slothfulness; and
_why_ dost thou call poesy the employment of an idle mind? _Thou sayest_
that I do not, after the manner of my ancestors, while vigorous years
allow me, seek the prizes of warfare covered with dust; that I do not
make myself acquainted with the prosy law, and that I have not let my
tongue for hire [221] in the disagreeable courts of justice.

The pursuits of which thou art speaking, are perishable; by me,
everlasting fame is sought; that to all time I may be celebrated
throughout the whole world. The Mæonian bard [222] will live, so long as
Tenedos and Ida [223] shall stand; so long as Simois shall roll down to
the sea his rapid waves. The Ascræan, too, [224] will live, so long as
the grape shall swell with its juices; [225] so long as the corn shall
fall, reaped by the curving sickle. The son of Battus [226] will to all
time be sung throughout the whole world; although he is not powerful in
genius, in his skill he shows his might. No mischance will _ever_ come
to the _tragic_ buskin [227] of Sophocles; with the Sun and Moon Aratus
[228] will ever exist. So long as the deceitful slave, [229] the harsh
father, the roguish procuress, and the cozening courtesan shall endure,
Menander will exist. Ennius, [230] without any _art_, and Accius, [231]
with his spirited language, have a name that will perish with no lapse
of time.

What age is to be forgetful of Varro, [232] and the first ship _that
sailed_, and of the golden fleece sought by the chief, the son of Æson?
Then will the verses perish of the sublime Lucretius, [233] when the
same day shall give the world to destruction. Tityrus, [234] and the
harvests, and the arms of Æneas, will be read of, so long as thou, Rome,
[235] shalt be the ruler of the conquered earth. So long as the flames
and the bow shall be the arms of Cupid, thy numbers, polished Tibullus,
[236] will be repeated. Gallus [237] _will be known_ by the West, and
Gallus _known_ by the East, [238] and with Gallus will his Lycoris be
known. Though flint-stones, then, _and_ though the share of the enduring
plough perish by lapse of time, _yet_ poetry is exempt from death.
Let monarchs and the triumphs of monarchs yield to poesy, and let the
wealthy shores of the golden Tagus [239] yield.

Let the vulgar throng admire worthless things; let the yellow-haired
Apollo supply for me cups filled from the Castalian stream; let me bear,
too, on my locks the myrtle that dreads the cold; and let me often be
read by the anxious lover. Envy feeds upon the living; after death it is
at rest, when his own reward protects each according to his merit. Still
then, when the closing fire [240] shall have consumed me, shall I live
on; and a great portion of myself will _ever_ be surviving.





BOOK THE SECOND




ELEGY I.


_He says that he is obliged by Cupid to write of Love instead of the
Wars, of the Giants, upon which subject he had already commenced._

|This work, also, I, Naso, born among the watery Peligni, [301]
have composed, the Poet of my own failings. This work, too, has Love
demanded. Afar hence, be afar hence, ye prudish matrons; you are not a
fitting audience for my wanton lines. Let the maiden that is not cold,
read me in the presence of her betrothed; the inexperienced boy, too,
wounded by a passion hitherto unknown; and may some youth, now wounded
by the bow by which I am, recognise the conscious symptoms of his flame;
and after long wondering, may he exclaim, "Taught by what informant, has
this Poet been composing my own story?"

I was (I remember) venturing to sing of the battles of the heavens,
and Gyges [302] with his hundred hands; and I had sufficient power of
expression; what time the Earth so disgracefully avenged herself, and
lofty Ossa, heaped upon Olympus, bore Pelion headlong downwards. Having
the clouds in my hands, and wielding the lightnings with Jove, which
with success he was to hurl in behalf of his realms of the heavens, my
mistress shut her door against me; the lightnings together with Jove did
I forsake. Jupiter himself disappeared from my thoughts. Pardon me, O
Jove; no aid did thy weapons afford me; the shut door was a more potent
thunderbolt than thine. I forthwith resumed the language of endearment
and trifling Elegies, those weapons of my own; and gentle words
prevailed upon the obdurate door.

Verses bring down [303] the horns of the blood-stained Moon; and they
recall the snow-white steeds of the Sun in his career. Through verses do
serpents burst, their jaws rent asunder, and the water turned back flows
upward to its source. Through verses have doors given way; and by verses
[304] was the bar, inserted in the door-post, although 'twas made of
oak, overcome. Of what use is the swift Achilles celebrated by me? What
can this or that son of Atreus do for me? He, too, who wasted as many of
his years in wandering as in warfare? And the wretched Hector, dragged
by the Hæmonian steeds? But the charms of the beauteous fair being
ofttimes sung, she presents herself to the Poet as the reward of his
verse. This great recompense is given; farewell, then, ye illustrious
names of heroes; your favour is of no use to me. Ye charming fair, turn
your eyes to my lines, which blushing Cupid dictates to me.




ELEGY II.


_He has seen a lady walking in the portico of the temple of Apollo, and
has sent to know if he may wait upon her. She has replied that it is
quite impossible, as the eunuch Bagous is set to watch her. Ovid here
addresses Bagous, and endeavours to persuade him to relax his watch over
the fair; and shows him how he can do so with safety._

|Bagous, [305] with whom is the duty of watching over your mistress,
give me your attention, while I say a few but suitable words to you.
Yesterday morning I saw a young lady walking in that portico which
contains the choir _of the daughters_ of Danaus. [306] At once, as she
pleased me, I sent _to her_, and in my letter I proffered my request;
with trembling hand, she answered me, "I cannot." And to my inquiry, why
she could not, the cause was announced; _namely_, that your surveillance
over your mistress is too strict.

O keeper, if you are wise (believe me _now_), cease to deserve my
hatred; every one wishes him gone, of whom he stands in dread. Her
husband, too, is not in his senses; for who would toil at taking care of
that of which no part is lost, even if you do not watch it? But _still_,
in his madness, let him indulge his passion; and let him believe that
the object is chaste which pleases universally. By your favour, liberty
may by stealth be given to her; that _one day_ she may return to you
what you have given her. Are you ready to be a confidant; the mistress
is obedient to the slave. You fear to be an accomplice; you may shut
your eyes. Does she read a letter by herself; suppose her mother to have
sent it. Does a stranger come; bye and bye let him go, [307] _as though_
an _old_ acquaintance. Should she go to visit a sick female friend, who
is not sick; in your opinion, let her be unwell. If she shall be a long
time at the sacrifice, [308] let not the long waiting tire you; putting
your head on your breast, you can snore away. And don't be enquiring
what can be going on at _the temple of_ the linen-clad Isis; [309] nor
do you stand in any fear _whatever_ of the curving theatres.

An accomplice in the escapade will receive everlasting honour; and what
is less trouble than _merely_ to hold your tongue? He is in favour; he
turns the house [310] upside down _at his pleasure_, and he feels no
stripes; he is omnipotent; the rest, a scrubby lot, are grovelling on.
By him, that the real circumstances may be concealed, false ones are
coined; and both the masters approve [311] of, what one, _and that the
mistress_, Approves of. When the husband has quite contracted his brow,
and has pursed up his wrinkles, the caressing fair makes him become just
as she pleases. But still, let her sometimes contrive some fault against
you even, and let her pretend tears, and call you an executioner. [312]
Do you, on the other hand, making some charge which she may easily
explain; by a feigned accusation remove all suspicion of the truth.
[313] In such case, may your honours, then may your limited savings
[314] increase; _only_ do this, and in a short time you shall be a free
man.

You behold the chains bound around the necks of informers; [315] the
loathsome gaol receives the hearts that are unworthy of belief. In the
midst of water Tantalus is in want of water, and catches at the apples
as they escape him; 'twas his blabbing tongue caused this. [325] While
the keeper appointed by Juno, [326] is watching Io too carefully, he
dies before his time; she becomes a Goddess.

I have seen him wearing fetters on his bruised legs, through whom a
husband was obliged to know of an intrigue. The punishment was less than
his deserts; an unruly tongue was the injury of the two; the husband
was grieved; the female suffered the loss of her character. Believe me;
accusations are pleasing to no husband, and no one do they delight,
even though he should listen to them. If he is indifferent, then you are
wasting your information upon ears that care nothing for it; if he dotes
_on her_, by your officiousness is he made wretched.

Besides, a faux pas, although discovered, is not so easily proved; she
comes _before him_, protected by the prejudices of her judge. Should
even he himself see it, still he himself will believe her as she denies
it; and he will condemn his own eyesight, and will impose upon himself.
Let him _but_ see the tears of his spouse, and he himself will weep, and
he will say, "That blabbing fellow shall be punished." How unequal the
contest in which you embark! if conquered, stripes are ready for you;
_while_ she is reposing in the bosom of the judge.

No crime do we meditate; we meet not for mixing poisons; my hand is
not glittering with the drawn sword. We ask that through you we may be
enabled to love in safety; what can there be more harmless than these
our prayers?




ELEGY III.


_He again addresses Bagous, who has proved obdurate to his request, and
tries to effect his object by sympathising with his unhappy fate._

|Alas! that, [327] neither man nor woman, you are watching your
mistress, and that you cannot experience the mutual transports of love!
He who was the first to mutilate boys, [328] ought himself to have
suffered those wounds which he made. You would be ready to accommodate,
and obliging to those who entreat you, had your own passion been before
inflamed by any fair. You were not born for _managing_ the steed, nor
_are you_ skilful in valorous arms; for your right hand the warlike
spear is not adapted. With these let males meddle; do you resign _all_
manly aspirations; may the standard be borne [329] by you in the cause
of your mistress.

Overwhelm her with your favours; her gratitude may be of use to you. If
you should miss that, what good fortune will there be for you? She has
both beauty, _and_ her years are fitted for dalliance; her charms are
not deserving to fade in listless neglect. Ever watchful though you are
deemed, _still_ she may deceive you; what two persons will, does not
fail of accomplishment. Still, as it is more convenient to try you
with our entreaties, we do implore you, while you have _still_ the
opportunity of conferring your favours to advantage. [330]




ELEGY IV.


_He confesses that he is an universal admirer of the fair sex._

|I would not presume to defend my faulty morals, and to wield deceiving
arms in behalf of my frailties. I confess them, if there is any use
in confessing one's errors; and now, having confessed, I am foolishly
proceeding to my own accusation. I hate _this state_; nor, though I
wish, can I be otherwise than what I hate. Alas! how hard it is to bear
_a lot_ which you wish to lay aside! For strength and self-control fail
me for ruling myself; just like a ship carried along the rapid tide, am
I hurried away.

There is no single style of beauty which inflames my passion; there are
a hundred causes for me always to be in love.

Is there any fair one that casts down her modest eyes? I am on fire; and
that very modesty becomes an ambush against me. Is another one forward;
_then_ I am enchanted, because she is not coy; and her liveliness raises
all my expectations. If another seems to be prudish, and to imitate the
repulsive Sabine dames; [332] I think that she is kindly disposed, but
that she conceals it in her stateliness. [333] Or if you are a learned
fair, you please me, _thus_ endowed with rare acquirements; or if
ignorant, you are charming for your simplicity. Is there one who says
that the lines of Callimachus are uncouth in comparison with mine; at
once she, to whom I am _so_ pleasing, pleases me. Is there even one who
abuses both myself, the Poet, and my lines; I could wish to have her who
so abuses me, upon my knee. Does this one walk leisurely, she enchants
me with her gait; is another uncouth, still, she may become more gentle,
on being more intimate with the other sex.

Because this one sings _so_ sweetly, and modulates her voice [334] with
such extreme case, I could wish to steal a kiss from her as she sings.
Another is running through the complaining strings with active finger;
who could not fall in love with hands so skilled? _And now_, one
pleases by her gestures, and moves her arms to time, [335] and moves her
graceful sides with languishing art _in the dance_; to say nothing about
myself, who am excited on every occasion, put Hippolytus [336] there; he
would become a Priapus. You, because you are so tall, equal the Heroines
of old; [337] and, of large size, you can fill the entire couch as you
lie. Another is active from her shortness; by both I am enchanted; both
tall and short suit my taste. Is one unadorned; it occurs what addition
there might be if she was adorned. Is one decked out; she sets out her
endowments to advantage. The blonde will charm me; the brunette [338]
will charm me _too_; a Venus is pleasing, even of a swarthy colour. Does
black hair fall upon a neck of snow; Leda was sightly, with her raven
locks. Is the hair flaxen; with her saffron locks, Aurora was charming.
To every traditional story does my passion adapt itself. A youthful age
charms me; _an age_ more mature captivates me; the former is superior in
the charms of person, the latter excels in spirit.

In fine, whatever the fair any person approves of in all the City, to
all these does my passion aspire.




ELEGY V.


_He addresses his mistress, whom he has detected acting falsely towards
him._

|Away with thee, quivered Cupid: no passion is of a value so great, that
it should so often be my extreme wish to die. It is my wish to die,
as oft as I call to mind your guilt. Fair one, born, alas! to be a
never-ceasing cause of trouble! It is no tablets rubbed out [339]
that discover your doings; no presents stealthily sent reveal your
criminality. Oh! would that I might so accuse you, that, _after all_,
I could not convict you! Ah wretched me! _and_ why is my case so stare?
Happy _the man_ who boldly dares to defend the object which he loves;
to whom his mistress is able to say, "I have done nothing _wrong_."
Hard-hearted _is he_, and too much does he encourage his own grief, by
whom a blood-stained victory is sought in the conviction of the accused.

To my sorrow, in my sober moments, with the wine on table, [342] I
myself was witness of your criminality, when you thought I was asleep.
I saw you _both_ uttering many an expression by moving your eyebrows;
[343] in your nods there was a considerable amount of language. Your
eyes were not silent, [344] the table, too, traced over with wine;
[345] nor was the language of the fingers wanting; I understood your
discourse, [346] which treated of that which it did not appear to do;
the words, too, preconcerted to stand for certain meanings. And now, the
tables removed, many a guest had gone away; a couple of youths _only_
were _there_ dead drunk. But then I saw you _both_ giving wanton kisses;
I am sure that there was billing enough on your part; such, _in fact_,
as no sister gives to a brother of correct conduct, but _rather such_
as some voluptuous mistress gives to the eager lover; such as we may
suppose that Phoebus did not give to Diana, but that Venus many a time
save to her own _dear_ Mars.

"What are you doing?" I cried out; "whither are you taking those
transports that belong to me? On what belongs to myself, I will lay the
hand of a master, [347] These _delights_ must be in common with you and
me, _and_ with me and you; _but_ why does any third person take a share
in them?"

This did I say; and what, _besides_, sorrow prompted my tongue to say;
but the red blush of shame rose on her conscious features; just as the
sky, streaked by the wife of Tithonus, is tinted with red, or the
maiden when beheld by her new-made husband; [348] just as the roses are
beauteous when mingled among their _encircling_ lilies; or when the
Moon is suffering from the enchantment of her steeds; [349] or the Assyrian
ivory [350] which the Mæonian woman has stained, [351] that from length
of time it may not turn yellow. That complexion _of hers_ was extremely
like to these, or to some one of these; and, as it happened, she never
was more beauteous _than then_. She looked towards the ground; to look
upon the ground, added a charm; sad were her features, in her sorrow was
she graceful. I had been tempted to tear her locks just as they were,
(and nicely dressed they were) and to make an attack upon her tender
cheeks.

When I looked on her face, my strong arms fell powerless; by arms of
her own was my mistress defended. I, who the moment before had been so
savage, _now_, as a suppliant and of my own accord, entreated that she
would give me kisses not inferior _to those given-to my rival_. She
smiled, and with heartiness she gave me her best _kisses_; such as might
have snatched his three-forked bolts from Jove. To my misery I am _now_
tormented, lest that other person received them in equal perfection; and
I hope that those were not of this quality. [352]

Those _kisses,_ too, were far better than those which I taught her; and
she seemed to have learned something new. That they were too delightful,
is a bad sign; that so lovingly were your lips joined to mine, _and_
mine to yours. And yet, it is not at this alone that I am grieved; I do
not only complain that kisses were given; although I do complain as well
that they were given; such could never have been taught but on a closer
acquaintanceship. I know not who is the master that has received a
remuneration so ample.




ELEGY VI.


_He laments the death of the parrot which he had given to Corinna._

|The parrot, the imitative bird [353] sent from the Indians of the East,
is dead; come in flocks to his obsequies, ye birds. Come, affectionate
denizens of air, and beat your breasts with your wings; and with your
hard claws disfigure your delicate features. Let your rough feathers be
torn in place of your sorrowing hair; instead of the long trumpet, [354]
let your songs resound.

Why, Philomela, are you complaining of the cruelty of _Tereus,_ the
Ismarian tyrant? _Surely,_ that grievance is worn out by its _length of_
years. Turn your attention to the sad end of a bird so prized. It is
is a great cause of sorrow, but, _still,_ that so old. All, who poise
yourselves in your career in the liquid air; but you, above the rest,
affectionate turtle-dove, [360] lament him. Throughout life there was a
firm attachment between you, and your prolonged and lasting friendship
endured to the end. What the Phocian youth [361] was to the Argive
Orestes, the same, parrot, was the turtle-dove to you, so long as it was
allowed _by fate._

But what _matters_ that friendship? What the beauty of your rare
plumage? What your voice so ingenious at imitating sounds? What
avails it that _ever_ since you were given, you pleased my mistress?
Unfortunate pride of _all_ birds, you are indeed laid low. With your
feathers you could outvie the green emerald, having your purple beak
tinted with the ruddy saffron. There was no bird on earth more skilled
at imitating sounds; so prettily [362] did you utter words with your
lisping notes.

Through envy, you were snatched away _from us_: you were the cause of
no cruel wars; you were a chatterer, and the lover of peaceful concord.
See, the quails, amid _all_ their battles, [363] live on; perhaps, too,
for that reason, they become old. With a very little you were satisfied;
and, through your love of talking, you could not give time to your mouth
for much food. A nut was your food, and poppies the cause of sleep; and
a drop of pure water used to dispel your thirst. The gluttonous vulture
lives on, the kite, too, that forms its circles in the air, and the
jackdaw, the foreboder [364] of the shower of rain. The crow, too, lives
on, hateful to the armed Minerva; [366] it, indeed, will hardly die
after nine ages. [367] The prattling parrot is dead, the mimic of the
human voice, sent as a gift from the ends of the earth. What is best,
is generally first carried off by greedy hands; what is worthless, fills
its _destined_ numbers. [368] Thersites was the witness of the lamented
death of him from Phylax; and now Hector became ashes, while his
brothers _yet_ lived.

Why should I mention the affectionate prayers of my anxious mistress in
your behalf; prayers borne over the seas by the stormy North wind? The
seventh day was come, [369] that was doomed to give no morrow; and now
stood your Destiny, with her distaff all uncovered. And yet your words
did not die away, in your faltering mouth; as you died, your tongue
cried aloud, "Corinna, farewell!" [370]

At the foot of the Elysian hill [371] a grove, overshaded with dark holm
oaks, and the earth, moist with never-dying grass, is green. If there
is any believing in matters of doubt, that is said to be the abode of
innocent birds, from which obscene ones are expelled. There range far
and wide the guiltless swans; the long-lived Phoenix, too, ever the sole
bird _of its kind. There_ the bird itself of Juno unfolds her feathers;
the gentle dove gives kisses to its loving mate. Received in this home
in the groves, amid these the Parrot attracts the guileless birds by his
words. [372]

A sepulchre covers his bones; a sepulchre small as his body; on which a
little stone has _this_ inscription, well suited to itself: "From this
very tomb [377] I may be judged to have been the favorite of my mistress.
I had a tongue more skilled at talking than other birds."




ELEGY VII.


_He attempts to convince his mistress, who suspects the contrary, that
he is not in love with her handmaid Cypassis._

|Am I then [378] 'to be for ever made the object of accusation by new
charges? Though I should conquer, _yet_ I am tired of entering the
combat so oft. Do I look up to the _very_ top of the marble theatre,
from the multitude, you choose some woman, from whom to receive a cause
of grief. Or does some beauteous fair look on me with inexpressive
features; you find out that there are secret signs on the features. Do
I praise any one; with your nails you attack her ill-starred locks; if
I blame any one, you think I am hiding some fault. If my colour is
healthy, _then I am pronounced_ to be indifferent towards you; if
unhealthy, _then_ I am said to be dying with love for another. But
I _only_ wish I was conscious to myself of some fault; those endure
punishment with equanimity, who are deserving of it. Now you accuse
me without cause; and by believing every thing at random, you yourself
forbid your anger to be of any consequence. See how the long-eared ass,
[379] in his wretched lot, walks leisurely along, _although_ tyrannized
over with everlasting blows.

_And_ lo! a fresh charge; Cypassis, so skilled at tiring, [380] is
blamed for having been the supplanter of her mistress. May the Gods
prove more favourable, than that if I should have any inclination for
a faux pas, a low-born mistress of a despised class should attract me!
What free man would wish to have amorous intercourse with a bondwoman,
and to embrace a body mangled with the whip? [387] Add, _too_, that she
is skilled in arranging your hair, and is a valuable servant to you for
the skill of her hands. And would I, forsooth, ask _such a thing_ of a
servant, who is so faithful to you? _And_ for why? Only that a refusal
might be united to a betrayal? I swear by Venus, and by the bow of the
winged boy, that I am accused of a crime which I never committed.




ELEGY VIII.


_He wonders how Corinna has discovered his intrigue with Cypassis, her
handmaid, and tells the latter how ably he has defended her and himself
to her mistress._

|Cypassis, perfect in arranging the hair in a thousand fashions, but
deserving to adorn the Goddesses alone; discovered, too, by me, in our
delightful intrigue, to be no novice; useful, indeed, to your mistress,
but still more serviceable to myself; who, _I wonder_, was the informant
of our stolen caresses? "Whence was Corinna made acquainted with your
escapade? Is it that I have blushed? Is it that, making a slip in any
expression, I have given any guilty sign of our stealthy amours? And
have I _not_, too, declared that if any one can commit the sin with a
bondwoman, that man must want a sound mind?

The Thessalian was inflamed by the beauty of the captive daughter of
Brises; the slave priestess of Phoebus was beloved by the general from
Mycenæ. I am not greater than the descendant of Tantalus, nor greater
than Achilles; why should I deem that a disgrace to me, which was
becoming for monarchs?

But when she fixed her angry eyes upon you, I saw you blushing all
over your cheeks. But, if, perchance, you remember, with how much more
presence of mind did I myself make oath by the great Godhead of Venus!
Do thou, Goddess, do thou order the warm South winds to bear away over
the Carpathian ocean [388] the perjuries of a mind unsullied. In return
for these services, swarthy Cypassis, [389] give me a sweet reward,
your company to-day. Why refuse me, ungrateful one, and why invent new
apprehensions? 'Tis enough to have laid one of your superiors under an
obligation. But if, in your folly, you refuse me, as the informer, I
will tell what has taken place before; and I myself will be the betrayer
of my own failing. And I will tell Cypassis, in what spots I have met
you, and how often, and in ways how many and what.




ELEGY IX.


_To Cupid._

O Cupid, never angered enough against me, O boy, that hast taken up thy
abode in my heart! why dost thou torment me, who, _thy_ soldier, have
never deserted thy standards? And _why_, in my own camp, am I _thus_
wounded? Why does thy torch burn, thy bow pierce, thy friends? 'Twere a
greater glory to conquer those who war _with thee_. Nay more, did not
the Hæmonian hero, afterwards, relieve him, when wounded, with his
healing aid, whom he had struck with his spear. [390] The hunter follows
_the prey_ that flies, that which is caught he leaves behind; and he is
ever on the search for still more than he has found. We, a multitude
devoted to thee, are _too well_ acquainted with thy arms; _yet_ thy
tardy hand slackens against the foe that resists. Of what use is it to
be blunting thy barbed darts against bare bones? _for_ Love has left my
bones _quite_ bare. Many a man is there free from Love, many a damsel,
too, free from Love; from these, with great glory, may a triumph be
obtained by thee.

Rome, had she not displayed her strength over the boundless earth,
would, even to this day, have been planted thick with cottages of
thatch. [391] The invalid soldier is drafted off to the fields [392]
that he has received; the horse, when free from the race, [393] is sent
into the pastures; the lengthened docks conceal the ship laid up; and
the wand of repose [394] is demanded, the sword laid by. It were
time for me, too, who have served so oft in love for the fair, now
discharged, to be living in quiet.

_And yet_, if any Divinity were to say to me, 'Live on, resigning love
I should decline it; so sweet an evil are the fair. When I am quite
exhausted, and the passion has faded from my mind, I know not by what
perturbation of my wretched feelings I am bewildered. Just as the horse
that is hard of mouth bears his master headlong, as he vainly pulls in
the reins covered with foam; just as a sudden gale, the land now nearly
made, carries out to sea the vessel, as she is entering harbour; so,
many a time, does the uncertain gale of Cupid bear me away, and rosy
Love resumes his well-known weapons. Pierce me, boy; naked am I exposed
to thee, my arms laid aside; hither let thy strength be _directed_:
here thy right hand tells _with effect_. Here, as though bidden, do thy
arrows now spontaneously come; in comparison to myself, their own quiver
is hardly so well known to them.

Wretched is he who endures to rest the whole night, and who calls
slumber a great good. Fool, what is slumber but the image of cold death?
The Fates will give abundance of time for taking rest.

Only let the words of my deceiving mistress beguile me; in hoping,
at least, great joys shall I experience. And sometimes let her use
caresses; sometimes let her find fault; oft may I enjoy _the favour_ of
my mistress; often may I be repulsed. That Mars is one so dubious,
is through thee, his step-son, Cupid; and after thy example does thy
step-father wield his arms. Thou art fickle, and much more wavering
than thy own wings; and thou both dost give and refuse thy joys at thy
uncertain caprice. Still if thou dost listen to me, as I entreat thee,
with thy beauteous mother; hold a sway never to be relinquished in my
heart. May the damsels, a throng too flighty _by far_, be added to thy
realms; then by two peoples wilt thou be revered.




ELEGY X.


_He tells Græcinus how he is in love with two mistresses at the same
time._

|Thou wast wont to tell me, Græcinus [395] (I remember well), 'twas
thou, I am sure, that a person cannot be in love with two females at the
same time. Through thee have I been deceived; through thee have I been
caught without my arms. [396] Lo! to my shame, I am in love with two at
the same moment. Both of them are charming; both most attentive to their
dress; in skill, 'tis a matter of doubt, whether the one or the other is
superior. That one is more beauteous than this; this one, too, is more
beauteous than that; and this one pleases me the most, and that one the
most. The one passion and the other fluctuate, like the skiff, [397]
impelled by the discordant breezes, and keep me distracted. Why,
Erycina, dost thou everlastingly double my pangs? Was not one damsel
sufficient for my anxiety? Why add leaves to the trees, why stars to the
heavens filled _with them?_ Why additional waters to the vast ocean?

But still this is better, than if I were languishing without a flame;
may a life of seriousness be the lot of my foes. May it be the lot of
my foes to sleep in the couch of solitude, and to recline their limbs
outstretched in the midst of the bed. But, for me, may cruel Love _ever_
disturb my sluggish slumbers; and may I be not the solitary burden of
my couch. May my mistress, with no one to hinder it, make me die _with
love_, if one is enough to be able to do so; _but_ if one is not enough,
_then_ two. Limbs that are thin, [401] but not without strength, may
suffice; flesh it is, not sinew that my body is in want of. Delight,
too, will give resources for vigour to my sides; through me has no fair
ever been deceived. Often, robust through the hours of delicious night,
have I proved of stalwart body, even in the mom. Happy the man, who
proves the delights of Love? Oh that the Gods would grant that to be the
cause of my end!

Let the soldier arm his breast [402] that faces the opposing darts, and
with his blood let him purchase eternal fame. Let the greedy man seek
wealth; and with forsworn mouth, let the shipwrecked man drink of the
seas which he has wearied with ploughing them. But may it be my lot to
perish in the service of Love: _and_, when I die, may I depart in the
midst of his battles; [403] and may some one say, when weeping at my
funeral rites: "Such was a fitting death for his life."




ELEGY XI.


_He endeavours to dissuade Corinna from her voyage to Baiæ._

|The pine, cut on the heights of Pelion, was the first to teach the
voyage full of danger, as the waves of the ocean wondered: which, boldly
amid the meeting rocks, [404] bore away the ram remarkable for his
yellow fleece. Oh! would that, overwhelmed, the Argo had drunk of the
fatal waves, so that no one might plough the wide main with the oar.

Lo! Corinna flies from both the well-known couch, and the Penates of
her home, and prepares to go upon the deceitful paths _of the ocean_.
Ah wretched me! why, for you, must I dread the Zephyrs, and the Eastern
gales, and the cold Boreas, and the warm wind of the South? There no
cities will you admire, _there_ no groves; _ever_ the same is the azure
appearance of the perfidious main.

The midst of the ocean has no tiny shells, or tinted pebbles; [405] that
is the recreation [406] of the sandy shore. The shore _alone_, ye fair,
should be pressed with your marble feet. Thus far is it safe; the rest
of _that_ path is full of hazard. And let others tell you of the warfare
of the winds: the waves which Scylla infests, or those which Charybdis
_haunts_: from what rocky range the deadly Ceraunia projects: in what
gulf the Syrtes, or in what Malea [407] lies concealed. Of these let
others tell: but do you believe what each of them relates: no storm
injures the person who credits them.

After a length of time _only_ is the land beheld once more, when, the
cable loosened, the curving ship runs out upon the boundless main: where
the anxious sailor dreads the stormy winds, and _sees_ death as near
him, as he sees the waves. What if Triton arouses the agitated waves?
How parts the colour, then, from all your face! Then you may invoke the
gracious stars of the fruitful Leda: [409] and may say, 'Happy she, whom
her own _dry_ land receives!'Tis far more safe to lie snug in the couch,
[410] to read amusing books, [411] _and_ to sound with one's fingers the
Thracian lyre.

But if the headlong gales bear away my unavailing words, still may
Galatea be propitious to your ship. The loss of such a damsel, both ye
Goddesses, daughters of Nereus, and thou, father of the Nereids, would
be a reproach to you. Go, mindful of me, on your way, _soon_ to return
with favouring breezes: may that, a stronger gale, fill your sails.
Then may the mighty Nereus roll the ocean towards this shore: in this
direction may the breezes blow: hither may the tide impel the waves. Do
you yourself entreat, that the Zephyrs may come full upon your canvass:
do you let out the swelling sails with your own hand.

I shall be the first, from the shore, to see the well-known ship, and
I shall exclaim, "'Tis she that carries my Divinities: [412] and I will
receive you in my arms, and will ravish, indiscriminately, many a kiss;
the victim, promised for your return, shall fall; the soft sand shall
be heaped, too, in the form of a couch; and some sand-heap shall be as a
table [413] _for us_. There, with wine placed before us, you shall tell
many a story, how your bark was nearly overwhelmed in the midst of the
waves: and how, while you were hastening to me, you dreaded neither the
hours of the dangerous night, nor yet the stormy Southern gales. Though
they be fictions, [414] _yet_ all will I believe as truth; why should
I not myself encourage what is my own wish? May Lucifer, the most
brilliant in the lofty skies, speedily bring me that day, spurring on
his steed."




ELEGY XII.


_He rejoices in the possession of his mistress, having triumphed over
every obstacle._

|Come, triumphant laurels, around my temples; I am victorious: lo! in my
bosom Corinna is; she, whom her husband, whom a keeper, whom a door _so_
strong, (so many foes!) were watching, that she might by no stratagem
be taken. This victory is deserving of an especial triumph: in which the
prize, such as it is, is _gained_ without bloodshed. Not lowly walls,
not towns surrounded with diminutive trenches, but a _fair_ damsel has
been taken by my contrivance.

When Pergamus fell, conquered in a war of twice five years: [415] out of
so many, how great was the share of renown for the son of Atreus? But
my glory is undivided, and shared in by no soldier: and no other has
the credit of the exploit. Myself the general, myself the troops, I have
attained this end of my desires: I, myself, have been the cavalry, I
the infantry, I, the standard-bearer _too_. Fortune, too, has mingled
no hazard with my feats. Come hither, _then_, thou Triumph, gained by
exertions _entirely_ my own.

And the cause [416] of my warfare is no new one; had not the daughter
of Tyndarus been carried off, there would have been peace between Europe
and Asia. A female disgracefully set the wild Lapithæ and the two-formed
race in arms, when the wine circulated. A female again, [417] good
Latinus, forced the Trojans to engage in ruthless warfare, in thy
realms. 'Twas the females, [421] when even now the City was but new,
that sent against the Romans their fathers-in-law, and gave them cruel
arms. I have beheld the bulls fighting for a snow-white mate: the
heifer, herself the spectator, afforded fresh courage. Me, too, with
many others, but still without bloodshed, has Cupid ordered to bear the
standard in his service.




ELEGY XIII.


_He entreats the aid of Isis and Lucina in behalf of Corinna, in her
labour._

|While Corinna, in her imprudence, is trying to disengage the burden of
her pregnant womb, exhausted, she lies prostrate in danger of her life.
She, in truth, who incurred so great a risk unknown to me, is worthy
of my wrath; but anger falls before apprehension. But yet, by me it was
that she conceived; or so I think. That is often as a fact to me, which
is possible.

Isis, thou who dost [422] inhabit Parætonium, [423] and the genial
fields of Canopus, [424] and Memphis, [425] and palm-bearing Pharos,
[426] and where the rapid. Nile, discharged from its vast bed, rushes
through its seven channels into the ocean waves; by thy 'sistra' [428]
do I entreat thee; by the faces, _too_, of revered Anubis; [429] and
then may the benignant Osiris [430] ever love thy rites, and may the
sluggish serpent [431] ever wreath around thy altars, and may the horned
Apis [432] walk in the procession as thy attendant; turn hither thy
features, [433] and in one have mercy upon two; for to my mistress wilt
thou be giving life, she to me. Full many a time in thy honour has she
sat on thy appointed days, [434] on which [435] the throng of the Galli
[436] wreathe _themselves_ with thy laurels. [437]

Thou, too, who dost have compassion on the females who are in labour,
whose latent burden distends their bodies slowly moving; come,
propitious Ilithyia, [438] and listen to my prayers. She is worthy for
thee to command to become indebted to thee. I, myself, in white array,
will offer frankincense at thy smoking altars; I, myself, will
offer before thy feet the gifts that I have vowed. I will add _this_
inscription too; "Naso, for the preservation of Corinna, _offers
these_." But if, amid apprehensions so great, I may be allowed to give
you advice, let it suffice for you, Corinna, to have struggled in this
_one_ combat.




ELEGY XIV.


_He reproaches his mistress for having attempted to procure abortion._

|Of what use is it for damsels to live at ease, exempt from war, and
not with their bucklers, [439] to have any inclination to follow the
bloodstained troops; if, without warfare, they endure wounds from
weapons of their own, and arm their imprudent hands for their own
destruction? She who was the first to teach how to destroy the tender
embryo, was deserving to perish by those arms of her own. That the
stomach, forsooth, may be without the reproach of wrinkles, the sand
must [440] be lamentably strewed for this struggle of yours.

If the same custom had pleased the matrons of old, through _such_
criminality mankind would have perished; and he would be required, who
should again throw stones [441] on the empty earth, for the second time
the original of our kind. Who would have destroyed the resources
of Priam, if Thetis, the Goddess of the waves, had refused to bear
_Achilles_, her due burden? If Ilia had destroyed [442] the twins in her
swelling womb, the founder of the all-ruling City would have perished.

If Venus had laid violent hands on Æneas in her pregnant womb, the earth
would have been destitute of _its_ Cæsars. You, too, beauteous one,
might have died at the moment you might have been born, if your mother
had tried the same experiment which you have done. I, myself, though
destined as I am, to die a more pleasing death by love, should have
beheld no days, had my mother slain me.

Why do you deprive the loaded vine of its growing grapes? And why pluck
the sour apples with relentless hand? When ripe, let them fall of their
own accord; _once_ put forth, let them grow. Life is no slight reward
for a little waiting. Why pierce [443] your own entrails, by applying
instruments, and _why_ give dreadful poisons to the _yet_ unborn? People
blame the Colchian damsel, stained with the blood of her sons; and they
grieve for Itys, Slaughtered by his own mother. Each mother was cruel;
but each, for sad reasons, took vengeance on her husband, by shedding
their common blood. Tell me what Tereus, or what Jason excites you to
pierce your body with an anxious hand?

This neither the tigers do in their Armenian dens, [444] nor does the
lioness dare to destroy an offspring of her own. But, delicate females
do this, not, however, with impunity; many a time [445] does she die
herself, who kills her _offspring_ in the womb. She dies herself, and,
with her loosened hair, is borne upon the bier; and those whoever only
catch a sight of her, cry "She deserved it." [446] But let these words
vanish in the air of the heavens, and may there be no weight in _these_
presages of mine. Ye forgiving Deities, allow her this once to do wrong
with safety _to herself_; that is enough; let a second transgression
bring _its own_ punishment.




ELEGY XV.


_He addresses a ring which he has presented to his mistress, and envi
its happy lot._

|O ring, [447] about to encircle the finger of the beauteous fair, in
which there is nothing of value but the affection of the giver; go as a
pleasing gift; _and_ receiving you with joyous feelings, may she at once
place you upon her finger. May you serve her as well as she is constant
to me; and nicely fitting, may you embrace her finger in your easy
circle. Happy ring, by my mistress will you be handled. To my sorrow, I
am now envying my own presents.

O! that I could suddenly be changed into my own present, by the arts of
her of Ææa, or of the Carpathian old man! [448] Then could I wish you
to touch the bosom of my mistress, and for her to place her left hand
within her dress. Though light and fitting well, I would escape from
her finger; and loosened by _some_ wondrous contrivance, into her bosom
would I fall. I too, _as well_, that I might be able to seal [449] her
secret tablets, and that the seal, neither sticky nor dry, might not
drag the wax, should first have to touch the lips [450] of the charming
fair. Only I would not seal a note, the cause of grief to myself. Should
I be given, to be put away in her desk, [459] I would refuse to depart,
sticking fast to your fingers with ray contracted circle.

To you, my life, I would never be a cause of disgrace, or a burden
which your delicate fingers would refuse to carry. Wear me, when you
are bathing your limbs in the tepid stream; and put up with the
inconvenience of the water getting beneath the stone. But, I doubt, that
_on seeing you_ naked, my passion would be aroused; and that, a ring, I
should enact the part of the lover. _But_ why wish for impossibilities?
Go, my little gift; let her understand that my constancy is proffered
with you.




ELEGY XVI.


_He enlarges on the beauties of his native place, where he is now
staying; but, notwithstanding the delights of the country, he says that
he cannot feel happy in the absence of his mistress, whom he invites to
visit him._

|Sulmo, [460] the third part of the Pelignian land, [461] _now_ receives
me; a little spot, but salubrious with its flowing streams. Though the
Sun should cleave the earth with his approaching rays, and though the
oppressive Constellation [462] of the Dog of Icarus should shine, the
Pelignian fields are traversed by flowing streams, and the shooting
grass is verdant on the soft ground. The earth is fertile in corn, and
much more fruitful in the grape; the thin soil [463] produces, too, the
olive, that bears its berries. [464] The rivers also trickling amid the
shooting blades, the grassy turfs cover the moistened ground.

But my flame is far away. In one word, I am mistaken; she who excites
my flame is far off; my flame is here. I would not choose, could I be
placed between Pollux and Castor, to be in a portion of the heavens
without yourself. Let them lie with their anxious cares, and let them
be pressed with the heavy weight of the earth, who have measured out
the earth into lengthened tracks. [465] Or else they should have bid
the fair to go as the companions of the youths, if the earth must be
measured out into lengthened tracks. Then, had I, shivering, had to pace
the stormy Alps, [466] the journey would have been pleasant, so that _I
had been_ with my love. With my love, I could venture to rush through
the Libyan quicksands, and to spread my sails to be borne along by the
fitful Southern gales. _Then_, I would not dread the monsters which bark
beneath the thigh of the virgin _Scylla_; nor winding Malea, thy bays;
nor where Charybdis, sated with ships swallowed up, disgorges them, and
sucks up again the water which she has discharged. And if the sway of
the winds prevails, and the waves bear away the Deities about to come
to our aid; do you throw your snow-white arms around my shoulders; with
active body will I support the beauteous burden. The youth who visited
Hero, had often swam across the waves; then, too, would he have crossed
them, but the way was dark.

But without you, although the fields affording employment with their
vines detain me; although the meadows be overflowed by the streams, and
_though_ the husbandman invite the obedient stream [467] into channels,
and the cool air refresh the foliage of the trees, I should not seem
to be among the healthy Peliguians; I _should_ not _seem to be in_ the
place of my birth--my paternal fields; but in Scythia, and among the
fierce Cilicians, [468] and the Britons _painted_ green, [469] and the
rocks which are red with the gore of Prometheus.

The elm loves the vine, [471] the vine forsakes not the elm: why am
I _so_ often torn away from my love? But you used to swear, _both_ by
myself, and by your eyes, my stars, that you would ever be my companion.
The winds and the waves carry away, whither they choose, the empty words
of the fair, more worthless than the falling leaves. Still, if there is
any affectionate regard in you for me _thus_ deserted: _now_ commence
to add deeds to your promises: and forthwith do you, as the nags [472]
whirl your little chaise [473] along, shake the reins over their manes
at full speed. But you, rugged hills, subside, wherever she shall come;
and you paths in the winding vales, be smooth.




ELEGY XVII.


_He says that he is the slave of Corinna, and complains of the tyranny
which she exercises over him._

|If there shall be any one who thinks it inglorious to serve a damsel:
in his opinion I shall be convicted of such baseness. Let me be
disgraced; if only she, who possesses Paphos, and Cythera, beaten by
the waves, torments me with less violence. And would that I had been the
prize, too, of some indulgent mistress; since I was destined to be the
prize of some fair. Beauty begets pride; through her charms Corinna is
disdainful. Ah wretched me! why is she so well known to herself? Pride,
forsooth, is caught from the reflection of the mirror: and _there_ she
sees not herself, unless she is first adorned.

If your beauty gives you a sway not too great over all things, face born
to fascinate my eyes, still, you ought not, on that account, to despise
me comparatively with yourself. That which is inferior must be united
with what is great. The Nymph Calypso, seized with passion for a mortal,
is believed to have detained the hero against his will. It is believed
that the ocean-daughter of Nereus was united to the king of Plithia,
[474] _and_ that Egeria was to the just Numa: that Venus was to Vulcan:
although, his anvil [475] left, he limped with a distorted foot. This
same kind of verse is unequal; but still the heroic is becomingly united
[476] with the shorter measure.

You, too, my life, receive me upon any terms. May it become you to
impose conditions in the midst of your caresses. I will be no disgrace
to you, nor one for you to rejoice at my removal. This affection will
not be one to be disavowed by you. [477] May my cheerful lines be to you
in place of great wealth: even many a fair wishes to gain fame through
me. I know of one who publishes it that she is Corinna. [478] What would
she not be ready to give to be so? But neither do the cool Eurotas, and
the poplar-bearing Padus, far asunder, roll along the same banks; nor
shall any one but yourself be celebrated in my poems. You, alone, shall
afford subject-matter for my genius.




ELEGY XVIII.


_He tells Macer that he ought to write on Love._

|While thou art tracing thy poem onwards [479] to the wrath of Achilles,
and art giving their first arms to the heroes, after taking the oaths;
I, Macer, [480] am reposing in the shade of Venus, unused to toil; and
tender Love attacks me, when about to attempt a mighty subject. Many
a time have I said to my mistress, "At length, away with you:" _and_
forthwith she has seated herself in my lap. Many a time have I said, "I
am ashamed _of myself:" when,_ with difficulty, her tears repressed, she
has said, "Ah wretched me! Now you are ashamed to love." And _then_ she
has thrown her arms around my neck: and has given me a thousand kisses,
which _quite_ overpowered me. I am overcome: and my genius is called
away from the arms it has assumed; and I _forthwith_ sing the exploits
of my home, and my own warfare.

Still did I wield the sceptre: and by my care my Tragedy grew apace;
[481] and for this pursuit I was well prepared. Love smiled both at my
tragic pall, and my coloured buskins, and the sceptre wielded so well
by a private hand. From this pursuit, too, did the influence of my
cruel mistress draw me away, and Love triumphed over the Poet with his
buskins. As I am allowed _to do_, either I teach the art of tender love,
(alas! by my own precepts am I myself tormented:) or I write what was
delivered to Ulysses in the words of Penelope, or thy tears, deserted
Phyllis. What, _too_, Paris and Macareus, and the ungrateful Jason, and
the parent of Hip-polytus, and Hippolytus _himself_ read: and what the
wretched Dido says, brandishing the drawn sword, and what the Lesbian
mistress of the Æolian lyre.

How swiftly did my friend, Sabinus, return [482] from all quarters of
the world, and bring back letters [483] from different spots! The fair
Penelope recognized the seal of Ulysses: the stepmother read what was
written by her own Hippolytus. Then did the dutiful Æneas write an
answer to the afflicted Elissa; and Phyllis, if she only survives, has
something to read. The sad letter came to Hypsipyle from Jason: the
Lesbian damsel, beloved _by Apollo_, may give the lyre that she has
vowed to Phoebus. [484] Nor, Macer, so far as it is safe for a poet
who sings of wars, is beauteous Love unsung of by thee, in the midst of
warfare. Both Paris is there, and the adultress, the far-famed cause of
guilt: and Laodamia, who attends her husband in death. If well I know
thee; thou singest not of wars with greater pleasure than these; and
from thy own camp thou comest back to mine.




ELEGY XIX.


_He tells a husband who does not care for his wife to watch her a
little more carefully._

|If, fool, thou dost not need the fair to be well watched; still have
her watched for my sake: that I may be pleased with her the more. What
one may have is worthless; what one may not have, gives the more edge to
the desires. If a man falls in love with that which another permits him
_to love_, he is a man without feeling. Let us that love, both hope and
fear in equal degree; and let an occasional repulse make room for our
desires.

Why should I _think of_ Fortune, should she never care to deceive me? I
value nothing that does not sometimes cause me pain. The clever Corinna
saw this failing in me; and she cunningly found out the means by which
I might be enthralled. Oh, how many a time, feigning a pain in her head
[485] that was quite well, has she ordered me, as I lingered with tardy
foot, to take my departure! Oh, how many a time has she feigned a fault,
and guilty _herself,_ has made there to be an appearance of innocence,
just as she pleased! When thus she had tormented me and had rekindled
the languid flame, again was she kind and obliging to my wishes. What
caresses, what delightful words did she have ready for me! What kisses,
ye great Gods, and how many, used she to give me!

You, too, who have so lately ravished my eyes, often stand in dread of
treachery, often, when entreated, refuse; and let me, lying prostrate
on the threshold before your door-posts, endure the prolonged cold
throughout the frosty night. Thus is my love made lasting, and it grows
up in lengthened experience; this is for my advantage, this forms food
for my affection. A surfeit of love, [486] and facilities too great,
become a cause of weariness to me, just as sweet food cloys the
appetite. If the brazen tower had never enclosed Danaë, [487] Danaë had
never been made a mother by Jove. While Juno is watching Io 'with her
curving horns, she becomes still more pleasing to Jove than she has been
_before_.

Whoever desires what he may have, and what is easily obtained, let him
pluck leaves from the trees, and take water from the ample stream. If
any damsel wishes long to hold her sway, let her play with her lover.
Alas! that I, myself, am tormented through my own advice. Let _constant_
indulgence be the lot of whom it may, it does injury to me: that which
pursues, _from it_ I fly; that which flies, I ever pursue. But do thou,
too sure of the beauteous fair, begin now at nightfall to close thy
house. Begin to enquire who it is that so often stealthily paces thy
threshold? Why, _too_, the dogs bark [488] in the silent night. Whither
the careful handmaid is carrying, or whence bringing back, the tablets?
Why so oft she lies in her couch apart? Let this anxiety sometimes gnaw
into thy very marrow; and give some scope and some opportunity for my
stratagems.

If one could fall in love with the wife of a fool, that man could rob
the barren sea-shore of its sand. And now I give thee notice; unless
thou begin to watch this fair, she shall begin to cease to be a flame
of mine. I have put up with much, and that for a long time; I have often
hoped that it would come to pass, that I should adroitly deceive thee,
when thou hadst watched her well. Thou art careless, and dost endure
what should be endured by no husband; but an end there shall be of an
amour that is allowed to me. And shall I then, to my sorrow, forsooth,
never be forbidden admission? Will it ever be night for me, with no
one for an avenger? Am I to dread nothing? Shall I heave no sighs in my
sleep? What have I to do with one so easy, what with such a pander of
a husband? By thy own faultiness thou dost mar my joys. Why, then, dost
thou not choose some one else, for so great long-suffering to please? If
it pleases thee for me to be thy rival, forbid me _to be so_.----






BOOK THE THIRD.




ELEGY I.


_The Poet deliberates whether he shall continue to write Elegies, or
whether he shall turn to Tragedy._

|There stands an ancient grove, and one uncut for many a year; 'tis
worthy of belief that a Deity inhabits that spot. In the midst there is
a holy spring, and a grotto arched with pumice; and on every side
the birds pour forth their sweet complaints. Here, as I was walking,
protected by the shade of the trees, I was considering upon what work my
Muse should commence. Elegy came up, having her perfumed hair wreathed;
and, if I mistake not, one of her feet was longer _than the other_.
[501] Her figure was beauteous; her robe of the humblest texture, her
garb that of one in love; the fault of her foot was one cause of her
gracefulness.

Ruthless Tragedy, too, came with her mighty stride; on her scowling brow
were her locks; her pall swept the ground. Her left hand held aloft the
royal sceptre; the Lydian buskin [502] was the high sandal for her feet.
And first she spoke; "And when will there be an end of thy loving? O
Poet, so slow at thy subject matter! Drunken revels [503] tell of thy
wanton course of life; the cross roads, as they divide in their many
ways, tell of it. Many a time does a person point with his finger at the
Poet as he goes along, and say, 'That, that is the man whom cruel Love
torments.' Thou art talked of as the story of the whole City, and
yet thou dost not perceive it; while, all shame laid aside, thou art
boasting of thy feats. 'Twere time to be influenced, touched by a more
mighty inspiration; [505] long enough hast thou delayed; commence a
greater task. By thy subject thou dost cramp thy genius; sing of the
exploits of heroes; then thou wilt say, 'This is the field that is
worthy of my genius.' Thy Muse has sportively indited what the charming
fair may sing; and thy early youth has been passed amidst its own
numbers. Now may I, Roman Tragedy, gain a celebrity by thy means; thy
conceptions will satisfy my requirements."

Thus far _did she speak_; and, supported on her tinted buskins, three or
four times she shook her head with its flowing locks. The other one,
if rightly I remember, smiled with eyes askance. Am I mistaken, or was
there a branch of myrtle in her right hand? "Why, haughty Tragedy," said
she, "dost thou attack me with high-sounding words? And canst thou never
be other than severe? Still, thou thyself hast deigned to be excited in
unequal numbers! [506] Against me hast thou strived, making use of my
own verse. I should not compare heroic measures with my own; thy palaces
quite overwhelm my humble abodes. I am a trifler; and with myself,
Cupid, my care, is a trifler too; I am no more substantial myself than
is my subject-matter. Without myself, the mother of wanton Love were
coy; of that Goddess do I show myself the patroness [507] and the
confidant. The door which thou with thy rigid buskin canst not unlock,
the same is open to my caressing words. And yet I have deserved more
power than thou, by putting up with many a thing that would not have
been endured by thy haughtiness.

"Through me Corinna learned how, deceiving her keeper, to shake the
constancy of the fastened door, [508] and to slip away from her couch,
clad in a loose tunic, [509] and in the night to move her feet without
a stumble. Or how often, cut in _the wood_, [510] have I been hanging
up at her obdurate doors, not fearing to be read by the people as they
passed! I remember besides, how, when sent, I have been concealed in the
bosom of the handmaid, until the strict keeper had taken his
departure. Still further--when thou didst send me as a present on her
birthday [511] --but she tore me to pieces, and barbarously threw me in the
water close by. I was the first to cause the prospering germs of thy
genius to shoot; it has, as my gift, that for which she is now asking
thee."

They had now ceased; on which I began: "By your own selves, I conjure
you both; let my words, as I tremble, be received by unprejudiced ears.
Thou, the one, dost grace me with the sceptre and the lofty buskin;
already, even by thy contact with my lips, have I spoken in mighty
accents. Thou, the other, dost offer a lasting fame to my loves; be
propitious, then, and with the long lines unite the short.

"Do, Tragedy, grant a little respite to the Poet. Thou art an everlasting
task; the time which she demands is but short." Moved by my entreaties,
she gave me leave; let tender Love be sketched with hurried hand,
while still there is time; from behind [514] a more weighty undertaking
presses on.




ELEGY II.


_To his mistress, in whose company he is present at the chariot races in
the Circus Maximus. He describes the race._

|I am not sitting here [515] an admirer of the spirited steeds; [516]
still I pray that he who is your favourite may win. I have come here to
chat with you, and to be seated by you, [517] that the passion which
yea cause may not be unknown to you. You are looking at the race, I _am
looking_ at you; let us each look at what pleases us, and so let us each
feast our eyes. O, happy the driver [518] of the steeds, whoever he
is, that is your favourite; it is then his lot to be the object of your
care; might such be my lot; with ardent zeal to be borne along would I
press over the steeds as they start from the sacred barrier. [519] And
now I would give rein; [520] now with my whip would I lash their backs;
now with my inside wheel would I graze the turning-place. [521] If you
should be seen by me in my course, then I should stop; and the reins,
let go, would fall from my hands.

Ah! how nearly was Pelops [522] falling by the lance of him of Pisa,
while, Hippodamia, he was gazing on thy face! Still did he prove the
conqueror through the favour of his mistress; [523] let us each prove
victor through the favour of his charmer. Why do you shrink away in
vain? [524] The partition forces us to sit close; the Circus has this
advantage [525] in the arrangement of its space. But do you [526] on the
right hand, whoever you are, be accommodating to the fair; she is
being hurt by the pressure of your side. And you as well, [527] who are
looking on behind us; draw in your legs, if you have _any_ decency, and
don't press her back with your hard knees. But your mantle, hanging too
low, is dragging on the ground; gather it up; or see, I am taking it
up [528] in my hands. A disobliging garment you are, who are thus
concealing ancles so pretty; and the more you gaze upon them, the more
disobliging garment you are. Such were the ancles of the fleet Atalanta,
[529] which Milanion longed to touch with his hands. Such are painted
the ancles of the swift Diana, when, herself _still_ bolder, she pursues
the bold beasts of prey. On not seeing them, I am on fire; what would be
the consequence if they _were seen?_ You are heaping flames upon
flames, water upon the sea. From them I suspect that the rest may prove
charming, which is so well hidden, concealed beneath the thin dress.

But, meanwhile, should you like to receive the gentle breeze which
the fan may cause, [530] when waved by my hand? Or is the heat I feel,
rather that of my own passion, and not of the weather, and is the love
of the fair burning my inflamed breast? While I am talking, your white
clothes are sprinkled with the black dust; nasty dust, away from a body
like the snow.

But now the procession [531] is approaching; give good omens both
in words and feelings. The time is come to applaud; the procession
approaches, glistening with gold. First in place is Victory borne [532]
with expanded wings; [533] come hither, Goddess, and grant that this
passion of mine may prove victorious.

"Salute Neptune, [534] you who put too much confidence in the waves; I
have nought to do with the sea; my own dry land engages me. Soldier,
salute thy own Mars; arms I detest [535] Peace delights me, and Love
found in the midst of Peace. Let Phoebus be propitious to the augurs,
Phoebe to the huntsmen; turn, Minerva, towards thyself the hands of the
artisan. [536] Ye husbandmen, arise in honour of Ceres and the youthful
Bacchus; let the boxers [537] render Pollux, the horseman Castor
propitious. Thee, genial Venus, and _the Loves_, the boys so potent
with the bow, do I salute; be propitious, Goddess, to my aspirations.
Inspire, too, kindly feelings in my new mistress; let her permit
herself to be loved." She has assented; and with her nod she has given
a favourable sign. What the Goddess has promised, I entreat yourself to
promise. With the leave of Venus I will say it, you shall be the greater
Goddess. By these many witnesses do I swear to you, and by this array
of the Gods, that for all time you have been sighed for by me. But
your legs have no support; you can, if perchance you like, rest the
extremities of your feet in the lattice work. [538]

Now the Prætor, [539] the Circus emptied, has sent from the even
barriers [540] the chariots with their four steeds, the greatest sight
of all. I see who is your favourite; whoever you wish well to, he will
prove the conqueror. The very horses appear to understand what it is you
wish for. Oh shocking! around the turning-place he goes with a circuit
_far too_ wide. [541] What art thou about? The next is overtaking thee
with his wheel in contact. What, wretched man, art thou about? Thou art
wasting the good wishes of the fair; pull in the reins, I entreat, to
the left, [542] with a strong hand. We have been resting ourselves in a
blockhead; but still, Romans, call him back again, [543] and by waving
the garments, [544] give the signal on every side. See! they are calling
him back; but that the waving of the garments may not disarrange your
hair, [545] you may hide yourself quite down in my bosom.

And now, the barrier [546] unbarred once more, the side posts are open
wide; with the horses at full speed the variegated throng [547] bursts
forth. This time, at all events, [548] do prove victorious, and bound
over the wide expanse; let my wishes, let those of my mistress, meet
with success. The wishes of my mistress are fulfilled; my wishes still
exist. He bears away the palm; [549] the palm is yet to be sought by me.
She smiles, and she gives me a promise of something with her expressive
eye. That is enough for this spot; grant the rest in another place.




ELEGY III.


_He complains of his mistress, whom he has found to be forsworn._

|Go to, believe that the Gods exist; she who had sworn has broken her
faith, and still her beauty remains [550] just as it was before. Not yet
forsworn, flowing locks had she; after she has deceived the Gods, she
has them just as long. Before, she was pale, having her fair complexion
suffused with the blush of the rose; the blush is still beauteous on
her complexion of snow. Her foot was small; still most diminutive is the
size of that foot. Tall was she, and graceful; tall and graceful does
she still remain. Expressive eyes had she, which shone like stars; many
a time through them has the treacherous fair proved false to me. [551]

Even the Gods, forsooth, for ever permit the fair to be forsworn, and
beauty has its divine sway. [552] I remember that of late she swore both
by her own eyes and by mine, and mine felt pain. [553] Tell me, ye
Gods, if with impunity she has proved false to you, why have I suffered,
punishment for the deserts of another? But the virgin daughter of
Cepheus is no reproach, _forsooth_, to you, [554] who was commanded to
die for her mother, so inopportunely beauteous. 'Tis not enough that I
had you for witnesses to no purpose; unpunished, she laughs at even the
Gods together with myself; that by my punishment she may atone for her
perjuries, am I, the deceived, to be the victim of the deceiver? Either
a Divinity is a name without reality, and he is revered in vain, and
influences people with a silly credulity; or else, _if there is any_
God, he is fond of the charming fair, and gives them alone too much
licence to be able to do any thing.

Against us Mavors is girded with the fatal sword; against us the lance
is directed by the invincible hand of Pallas; against us the flexible
bow of Apollo is bent; against us the lofty right hand of Jove wields
the lightnings. The offended Gods of heaven fear to hurt the fair; and
they spontaneously dread those who dread them not. And who, then, would
take care to place the frankincense in his devotion upon the altars? At
least, there ought to be more spirit in men. Jupiter, with his fires,
hurls at the groves [555] and the towers, and yet he forbids his
weapons, thus darted, to strike the perjured female. Many a one has
deserved to be struck. The unfortunate Semele [556] perished by
the flames; that punishment was found for her by her own compliant
disposition. But if she had betaken herself off, on the approach of her
lover, his father would not have had for Bacchus the duties of a mother
to perform.

Why do I complain, and why blame all the heavens? The Gods have eyes as
well as we; the Gods have hearts as well. Were I a Divinity myself,
I would allow a woman with impunity to swear falsely by my Godhead. I
myself would swear that the fair ever swear the truth; and I would not
be pronounced one of the morose Divinities. Still, do you, fair one,
use their favour with more moderation, or, at least, do have some regard
[557] for my eyes.




ELEGY IV.


_He tells a jealous husband, who watches his wife, that the greater his
precautions, the greater are the temptations to sin._

|Cruel husband, by setting a guard over the charming fair, thou
dost avail nothing; by her own feelings must each be kept. If, all
apprehensions removed, any woman is chaste, she, in fact, is chaste; she
who sins not, because she cannot, _still_ sins. [558] However well you
may have guarded the person, the mind is still unchaste; and, unless it
chooses, it cannot be constrained. You cannot confine the mind, should
you lock up every thing; when all is closed, the unchaste one will be
within. The one who can sin, errs less frequently; the very opportunity
makes the impulse to wantonness to be the less powerful. Be persuaded
by me, and leave off instigating to criminality by constraint; by
indulgence thou mayst restrain it much more effectually.

I have sometimes seen the horse, struggling against his reins, rush on
like lightning with his resisting mouth. Soon as ever he felt that rein
was given, he stopped, and the loosened bridle lay upon his flowing
mane. We are ever striving for what is forbidden, and are desiring what
is denied us; even so does the sick man hanker after the water that is
forbidden him. Argus used to carry a hundred eyes in his forehead, a
hundred in his neck; [559] and these Love alone many a time evaded.
Danaë, who, a maid, had been placed in the chamber which was to last
for ever with its stone and its iron, [560] became a mother. Penelope,
although she was without a keeper, amid so many youthful suitors,
remained undefiled.

Whatever is hoarded up, we long for it the more, and the very pains
invite the thief; few care for what another giants.

Not through her beauty is she captivating, but through the fondness
of her husband; people suppose it to be something unusual which has so
captivated thee. Suppose she is not chaste whom her husband is guarding,
but faithless; she is beloved; but this apprehension itself causes
her value, rather than her beauty. Be indignant if thou dost please;
forbidden pleasures delight me: if any woman can only say, "I am
afraid, that woman alone pleases me. Nor yet is it legal [561] to
confine a free-born woman; let these fears harass the bodies of those
from foreign parts. That the keeper, forsooth, may be able to say, 'I
caused it she must be chaste for the credit of thy slave. He is too
much of a churl whom a faithless wife injures, and is not sufficiently
acquainted with the ways of the City; in which Romulus, the son of Ilia,
and Remus, the son of Ilia, both begotten by Mars, were not born without
a crime being committed. Why didst thou choose a beauty for thyself, if
she was not pleasing unless chaste? Those two qualities [562] cannot by
any means be united.'"

If thou art wise, show indulgence to thy spouse, and lay aside thy
morose looks; and assert not the rights of a severe husband. Show
courtesy, too, to the friends thy wife shall find thee, and many a
one will she find. 'Tis thus that great credit accrues at a very small
outlay of labour. Thus wilt thou be able always to take part in the
festivities of the young men, and to see many a thing at home, [563]
which you have not presented to her.




ELEGY V.


_A vision, and its explanation._

|Twas night, and sleep weighed down my wearied eyes. Such a vision as
this terrified my mind.

Beneath a sunny hill, a grove was standing, thick set with holm oaks;
and in its branches lurked full many a bird. A level spot there was
beneath, most verdant with the grassy mead, moistened with the drops of
the gently trickling stream. Beneath the foliage of the trees, I was
seeking shelter from the heat; still, under the foliage of the trees it
was hot. Lo! seeking for the grass mingled with the variegated flowers,
a white cow was standing before my eyes; more white than the snows at
the moment when they have just fallen, which, time has not yet turned
into flowing water. More white than the milk which is white with its
bubbling foam, [564] and at that moment leaves the ewe when milked. [565] A
bull there was, her companion, he, in his happiness, eas her mate; and
with his own one he pressed the tender grass. While he was lying, and
slowly ruminating upon the grass chewed once again; and once again was
feeding on the food eaten by him before; he seemed, as sleep took away
his strength, to lay his horned head upon the ground that supported
it. Hither came a crow, gliding through the air on light wings; and
chattering, took her seat upon the green sward; and thrice with her
annoying beak did she peck at the breast of the snow-white cow; and with
her bill she took away the white hair. Having remained awhile, she left
the spot and the bull; but black envy was in the breast of the cow.
And when she saw the bulls afar browsing upon the pastures (bulls
were browsing afar upon the verdant pastures), thither did she betake
herself, and she mingled among those herds, and sought out a spot of
more fertile grass.

"Come, tell me, whoever thou art, thou interpreter of the dreams of the
night, what (if it has any truth) this vision means." Thus said I: thus
spoke the interpreter of the dreams of the night, as he weighed in his
mind each particular that was seen; "The heat which thou didst wish to
avoid beneath the rustling leaves, but didst but poorly avoid, was that
of Love. The cow is thy mistress; that complexion is suited to the fair.
Thou wast the male, and the bull with the fitting mate. Inasmuch as the
crow pecked at her breast with her sharp beak; an old hag of a procuress
[566] will tempt the affections of thy mistress. In that, after
hesitating long, his heifer left the bull, thou wilt be left to be
chilled in a deserted couch. Envy and the black spots below the front of
her breast, show that she is not free from the reproach of inconstancy."

Thus spoke the interpreter; the blood retreated from my chilled face;
and profound night stood before my eyes.




ELEGY VI.


_He addresses a river which has obstructed his passage while he is going
to his mistress._

|River that hast [567] thy slimy banks planted with reeds, to my
mistress I am hastening; stay thy waters for a moment. No bridges hast
thou, nor yet a hollow boat [568] to carry one over without the stroke
of the oar, by means of the rope thrown across. Thou wast a small
stream, I recollect; and I did not hesitate to pass across thee; and
the surface of thy waves then hardly reached to my ancles. Now, from the
opposite mountain [569] thou dost rush, the snows being melted, and in
thy turbid stream thou dost pour thy muddied waters. What avails it me
thus to have hastened? What to have given so little time to rest? What
to have made the night all one with the day? 569*

If still I must be standing here; if, by no contrivance, thy opposite
banks are granted to be trodden by my foot.

Now do I long for the wings which the hero, the son of Danaë, [570]
possessed, when he bore away the head, thickset with the dreadful
serpents; now do I wish for the chariot, [571] from which the seed of
Ceres first came, thrown upon the uncultivated ground. Of the wondrous
fictions of the ancient poets do I speak; no time has produced, nor does
produce, nor will produce these wonders. Rather, do thou, stream that
dost overflow thy wide banks, flow within thy limits, then for ever
mayst thou run on. Torrent, thou wilt not, believe me, be able to endure
the reproaches, if perchance I should be mentioned as detained by thee
in my love.

Rivers ought rather to aid youths in their loves; rivers themselves have
experienced what love is. Inachus [572] is said to have flowed pale with
love for Melie, [573] the Bithynian Nymph, and to have warmed throughout
his cold fords. Not yet was Troy besieged for twice five years, when,
Xanthus, Neæra attracted thy eyes. Besides; did not enduring love for
the Arcadian maid force Alpheus [574] to run through various lands?
They say, too, that thou, Peneus, didst conceal, in the lands of the
Phthiotians, Creüsa, [575] already betrothed to Xanthus. Why should
I mention Asopus, whom Thebe, beloved by Mars, [576] received, Thebe,
destined to be the parent of five daughters? Should I ask of Achelous,
"Where now are thy horns?" thou wouldst complain that they were broken
away by the wrathful hand of Hercules. [577] Not of such value was
Calydon, [578] nor of such value was the whole of Ætolia; still, of
such value was Deianira alone. The enriching Nile, that flows through
his seven mouths, who so well conceals the native spot [579] of waters
so vast, is said not to have been able to overpower by his stream the
flame that was kindled by Evadne, the daughter of Asopus. [580] Enipeus,
dried up, [581] that he might be enabled to embrace the daughter of
Salmoneus, bade his waters to depart; his waters, so ordered, did
depart.

Nor do I pass thee by, who as thou dost roll amid the hollow rocks,
foaming, dost water the fields of Argive Tibur [582] whom Ilia [583]
captivated, although she was unsightly in her garb, bearing the marks of
her nails on her locks, the marks of her nails on her cheeks. Bewailing
both the crimes of her uncle, and the fault of Mars, she was wandering
along the solitary spots with naked feet. Her the impetuous stream
beheld from his rapid waves, and raised his hoarse mouth from the midst
of his fords, and thus he said: "Why, in sorrow, art thou pacing my
banks, Ilia, the descendant of Laomedon [584] of Ida? Whither have gone
thy vestments? Why wandering thus alone? And why does no white fillet
[585] bind thy hair tied up? Why weepest thou, and why spoil thy eyes
wet with tears? And why beat thy open breast with frenzied hand? That
man has both flints and ore of iron in his breast, who, unconcerned,
beholds the tears on thy delicate face. Ilia, lay aside thy fears; my
palace shall be opened unto thee; the streams, too, shall obey thee;
Ilia, lay aside thy fears. Among a hundred Nymphs or more, thou shalt
hold the sway; for a hundred or more does my stream contain. Only,
descendant of Troy, despise me not, I pray; gifts more abundant than my
promises shalt thou receive."

_Thus_ he said; she casting on the ground her modest eyes, as she wept,
besprinkled her warm breast with her tears. Thrice did she attempt to
fly; thrice did she stop short at the deep waves, as fear deprived her
of the power of running. Still, at last, as with hostile fingers she
tore her hair, with quivering lips she uttered these bitter words; "Oh!
would that my bones had been gathered up, and hidden in the tomb of my
fathers, while yet they could be gathered, belonging to me a virgin! Why
now, am I courted [586] for any nuptials, a Vestal disgraced, and to be
driven from the altars of Ilium? Why do I hesitate? See! by the fingers
of the multitude am I pointed at as unchaste. Let this disgrace be
ended, which marks my features."

Thus far _did she speak_, and before her swollen eyes she extended her
robe; and so, in her despair, did she throw herself [587] into the rapid
waters. The flowing stream is said to have placed his hands beneath her
breast, and to have conferred on her the privilege of his nuptial couch.

'Tis worthy of belief, too, that thou hast been inflamed _with love_ for
some maiden; but the groves and woods conceal thy failings.

While I have been talking, it has become more swollen with its extending
waves, and the deep channel contains not the rushing waters. What,
furious torrent, hast thou against me? Why thus delay our mutual
transports? Why, churlish river, interrupt the journey once commenced?
What if thou didst flow according to some fixed rule, [588] a river of
some note? What if thy fame was mighty throughout the earth? But no name
hast thou collected from the exhausted rivulets; thou hast no springs,
no certain abode hast thou. In place of spring, thou hast rain and
melted snow; resources which the sluggish winter supplies to thee.
Either in muddy guise, in winter time, thou dost speed onward in thy
course; or filled with dust, thou dost pass over the parched ground.
What thirsty traveller has been able to drink of thee then? Who has
said, with grateful lips, "Mayst thou flow on for ever?"

_Onward_ thou dost run, injurious to the flocks, [589] still more
injurious to the fields. Perhaps these _mischiefs may move_ others; my
own evils move me. And, oh shocking! did I in my madness relate to
this stream the loves of the rivers? I am ashamed unworthily to have
pronounced names so great. Gazing on I know not what, could I speak of
the rivers [590] Acheloüs and Inachus, and could I, Nile, talk of thy name?
But for thy deserts, torrent far from clear, I wish that for thee there
may be scorching heat, and winter always dry.




ELEGY VII.



```At non formosa est, at non bene culta puella;

````At, puto, non votis sæpe petita meis.

```Hanc tamen in nullos tenui male languidus usus,

````Sed jacui pigro crimen onusque toro.

```Nec potui cupiens, pariter cupiente puella,

````Inguinis effoeti parte juvante frui.

```Ilia quidem nostro subjecit ebumea collo

````Brachia, Sithonia candidiora nive;

```Osculaque inseruit cupidæ lactantia linguæ,

````Lascivum femori Supposuitque femur;

```Et mihi blanditias dixit, Dominumque vocavit,

````Et quæ præterea publica verba juvant.

```Tacta tamen veluti gelidâ mea membra cicutâ,

````Segnia propositum destituere suum.

```Truncus iners jacui, species, et inutile pondus:

````Nec satis exactum est, corpus an umbra forem,

```Quæ mihi ventura est, (siquidem ventura), senectus,

````Cum desit numeris ipsa juventa suis?

```Ah pudet annorum! quo me juvenemque virumque,

````Nec juvenem, nec me sensit arnica virum.

```Sic flammas aditura pias æterna sacerdos

````Surgit, et a caro fratre verenda soror.

```At nuper bis flava Chlide, ter Candida Pitho,

````Ter Libas officio continuata meo.

```Exigere a nobis angustâ nocte Corinnam,

````Me memini numéros sustinuisse uovem.

```Num mea Thessalico languent tlevota veneno Co

````rpora? num misero carmen et herba nocent?

```Sagave Puniceâ defixit nomina cerâ,

````Et medium tenues in jecur egit acus?

```Carmine læsa Ceres sterüem vanescit in herbam:

````Deficiunt læsæ carmine fontis aquæ:

```Ilicibus glandes, cantataque vitibus uva

````Decidit; et nullo poma movente fluunt.

```Quid vetat et nervos magicas torpere per arteg

````Forsitan impatiens sit latus inde meum.

```Hue pudor accessit: facti pudor ipse nocebat

````Ille fuit vitii causa secunda mei.

```At qualem vidi tantum tetigique puellam,

````Sic etiam tunicâ tangitur ipsa sua.

```Illius ad tactum Pylius juvenescere possit,

````Tithonusque annis fortior esse suis.=

```Hæc mihi contigerat; scd vir non contigit illi.

````Quas nunc concipiam per nova vota preces?

```Credo etiam magnos, quo sum tam turpiter usus,

````Muneris oblati pcenituisse Deos.

```Optabam certe recipi; sum nempe receptus:

````Oscula ferre; tuii: proximus esse; fui.

```Quo mihi fortunæ tantum? quo régna sine usu?

````Quid, nisi possedi dives avarus opes?

```Sic aret mediis taciti vulgator in undis;

````Pomaque, quæ nullo tempore tangat, habet.

```A tenerâ quisquam sic surgit mane puellâ,

```Protinus ut sanctos possit adiré Deos.

```Sed non blanda, puto, non optima perdidit in me

````Oscula, non omni sohcitavit ope.

```Ilia graves potuit quercus, adamantaque durum,

````Surdaque blanditiis saxa movere suis.

```Digna movere fuit certe vivosque virosque;

````Sed neque turn vixi, nec vir, ut ante, fui.

```Quid juvet, ad surdas si cantet Phemius aures?

````Quid miserum Thamyran picta tabeba juvet?7`

```At quæ non tacitâ formavi gaudia mente!

````Quos ego non finxi disposuique modos!

```Nostra tamen jacuere, velut præmortua, membra

````Turpiter, hesternâ languidiora rosâ.

```Quæ nunc ecce rigent intempestiva, valentque;

````Nunc opus exposcunt, mihtiamque suam.

```Quin istic pudibunda jaces, pars pessima nostri?

````Sic sum polhcitis captus et ante tuis.

```Tu dominam falbs; per te deprensus inermis

````Tristia cum magno damna pudore tub.

```Hanc etiam non est mea dedignata puella

````Molbter admotâ sobcitare manu.

```Sed postquam nullas consurgere posse per artes,

````Immemoremque sui procubuisse videt;

```Quid me ludis? ait; quis te, male sane, jubebat

````Invxtum nostro ponere membra toro?

```Aut te trajectis Ææa venefica lanis

````Devovet, aut abo lassus amore venis.

```Nec mora; desiluit tunicâ velata recinctâ:

````Et decuit nudos proripuisse pedes.

```Neve suæ possent intactam scire ministrae,

````Dedecus hoc sumtâ dissimulavit aquâ.




ELEGY VIII.


_He laments that he is not received by his mistress, and complains that
she gives the preference to a wealthy rival._

|And does any one still venerate the liberal arts, or suppose that soft
verses have any merit? Genius once was more precious than gold; but now,
to be possessed of nought is the height of ignorance. After my poems
[591] have proved very pleasing to my mistress, it is not allowed me to
go where it has been allowed my books. When she has much bepraised
me, her door is shut on him who is praised; talented _though I be_, I
disgracefully wander up and down.

Behold! a Knight gorged with blood, lately enriched, his wealth acquired
[592] through his wounds, [593] is preferred before myself. And can you,
my life, enfold him in your charming arms? Can you, my life, rush into
his embrace? If you know it not, that head used to wear a helmet; that
side which is so at your service, was girded with a sword. That left
hand, which thus late [594] the golden ring so badly suits, used to bear
the shield; touch his right, it has been stained with blood. And can
you touch that right hand, by which some person has met his death?
Alas! where is that tenderness of heart of yours? Look at his scars, the
traces of his former fights; whatever he possesses, by that body was it
acquired. [595] Perhaps, too, he will tell how often he has stabbed
a man; covetous one, will you touch the hand that confesses this? I,
unstained, the priest of the Muses and of Phoebus, am he who is singing
his bootless song before your obdurate doors.

Learn, you who are wise, not what we idlers know, but how to follow the
anxious troops, and the ruthless camp; instead of good verses hold sway
over [596] the first rank; through this, Homer, hadst thou wished it,
she might have proved kind to thee. Jupiter, well aware that nothing is
more potent than gold, was himself the reward of the ravished damsel.
[597] So long as the bribe was wanting, the father was obdurate, she
herself prudish, the door-posts bound with brass, the tower made of
iron; but after the knowing seducer resorted to presents, [598] she
herself opened her lap; and, requested to surrender, she did surrender.

But when the aged Saturn held the realms of the heavens, the ground kept
all money deep in its recesses. To the shades below had he removed brass
and silver, and, together with gold, the weight of iron; and no ingots
were there _in those times_. But she used to give what was better, corn
without the crooked plough-share, apples too, and honey found in the
hollow oak. And no one used with sturdy plough to cleave the soil;
with no boundaries [599] did the surveyor mark out the ground. The oars
dipped down did not skim the upturned waves; then was the shore [601]
the limit of the paths of men. Human nature, against thyself hast thou
been so clever; and for thy own destruction too ingenious. To what
purpose surround cities with turreted fortifications? [602] To what
purpose turn hostile hands to arms? What hast thou to do with the sea?
With the earth thou mightst have been content. Why not seek the heavens
[603] as well, for a third realm? To the heavens, too, dost thou aspire,
so far as thou mayst. Quirinus, Liber, and Alcides, and Caesar but
recently, [604] have their temples.

Instead of corn, we dig the solid gold from the earth; the soldier
possesses riches acquired by blood. To the poor is the Senate-house
[605] shut; wealth alone confers honours; [606] hence, the judge so
grave; hence the knight so proud. Let them possess it all; let the field
of Mars [607] and the Forum [608] obey them; let these administer peace
and cruel warfare. Only, in their greediness, let them not tear away my
mistress; and 'tis enough, so they but allow something to belong to the
poor.

But now-a-days, he that is able to give away plenty, rules it _over a
woman_ like a slave, even should she equal the prudish Sabine dames. The
keeper is in my way; with regard to me, [609] she dreads her husband. If
I were to make presents, both of them would entirely disappear from
the house. Oh! if any God is the avenger of the neglected lover, may he
change riches, so ill-gotten, into dust.




ELEGY IX.


_He laments the death of the Poet Tibullus._

|If his mother has lamented Memnon, his mother Achilles, and if sad
deaths influence the great Goddesses; plaintive Elegy, unbind thy
sorrowing tresses; alas! too nearly will thy name be derived from fact!
The Poet of thy own inspiration, [610] Tibullus, thy glory, is burning,
a lifeless body, on the erected pile. [611] Lo! the son of Venus bears
both his quiver inverted, and his bow broken, and his torch without a
flame; behold how wretched with drooping wings he goes: and how he beats
his naked breast with cruel hand. His locks dishevelled about his neck
receive his tears, and his mouth resounds with sobs that convulse his
body. 'Twas thus, beauteous Iulus, they say that thou didst go forth
from thy abode, at the funeral of his brother Æneas. Not less was Venus
afflicted when Tibullus died, than when the cruel boar [612] tore the
groin of the youth.

And yet we Poets are called 'hallowed,' and the care of the Deities;
there are some, too, who believe that we possess inspiration. [613]
Inexorable Death, forsooth, profanes all that is hallowed; upon all she
lays her [614] dusky hands. What availed his father, what, his mother,
for Ismarian Orpheus [615] What, with his songs to have lulled the
astounded wild beasts? The same father is said, in the lofty woods, to
have sung 'Linus! Alas! Linus! Alas! [616] to his reluctant lyre. Add
the son of Mæon, [617] too, by whom, as though an everlasting stream,
the mouths of the poets are refreshed by the waters of Piëria: him, too,
has his last day overwhelmed in black Avernus; his verse alone escapes
the all-consuming pile. The fame of the Trojan toils, the work of
the Poets is lasting, and the slow web woven [618] again through the
stratagem of the night. So shall Nemesis, so Delia, [619] have a lasting
name; the one, his recent choice, the other his first love.

What does sacrifice avail thee? [620] Of what use are now the 'sistra'
of Egypt? What, lying apart [621] in a forsaken bed? When the cruel
Destinies snatch away the good, (pardon the confession) I am tempted to
think that there are no Deities. Live piously; pious _though you be_,
you shall die; attend the sacred worship; _still_ ruthless Death shall
drag the worshipper from the temples to the yawning tomb. [622] Put your
trust in the excellence of your verse; see! Tibullus lies prostrate; of
so much, there hardly remains _enough_ for a little urn to receive.

And, hallowed Poet, have the flames of the pile consumed thee, and have
they not been afraid to feed upon that heart of thine? They could have
burned the golden temples of the holy Gods, that have dared a crime so
great. She turned away her face, who holds the towers of Eryx; [623]
there are some, too, who affirm that she did not withhold her tears. But
still, this is better than if the Phæacian land [624] had buried him a
stranger, in an ignoble spot. Here, [625] at least, a mother pressed his
tearful eyes [626] as he fled, and presented the last gifts [627] to his
ashes; here a sister came to share the grief with her wretched mother,
tearing her unadorned locks. And with thy relatives, both Nemesis and
thy first love [628] joined their kisses; and they left not the pile in
solitude. Delia, as she departed, said, "More fortunately was I beloved
by thee; so long as I was thy flame, thou didst live." To her said
Nemesis: "What dost thou say? Are my sufferings a pain to thee? When
dying, he grasped me with his failing hand." [629]

If, however, aught of us remains, but name and spirit, Tibullus will
exist in the Elysian vales. Go to meet him, learned Catullus, [630]
with thy Calvus, having thy youthful temples bound with ivy. Thou
too, Gallus, (if the accusation of the injury of thy friend is false)
prodigal of thy blood [631] and of thy life.

Of these, thy shade is the companion; if only there is any shade of the
body, polished Tibullus; thou hast swelled the blessed throng. Rest,
bones, I pray, in quiet, in the untouched urn; and may the earth prove
not heavy for thy ashes.




ELEGY X.


_He complains to Ceres that during her rites he is separated from his
mistress._

|The yearly season of the rites of Ceres [632] is come: my mistress
lies apart on a solitary couch. Yellow Ceres, having thy floating locks
crowned with ears of corn, why dost thou interfere with my pleasures by
thy rites? Thee, Goddess, nations speak of as bounteous everywhere: and
no one is less unfavorable to the blessings of mankind.

In former times the uncouth peasants did not parch the corn; and the
threshing floor was a name unknown on earth. But the oaks, the early
oracles, [633] used to bear acorns; these, and the grass of the shooting
sod, were the food of men. Ceres was the first to teach the seed to
swell in the fields, and with the sickle did she cut her coloured locks;
she first forced the bulls to place their necks beneath the yoke; and
she with crooked tooth turned up the fallow ground. Can any one believe
that she takes delight in the tears of lovers, and is duly propitiated
with misery and single-blessedness? Nor yet (although she loves the
fruitful fields) is she a coy one; nor lias she a breast devoid of
love. The Cretans shall be my witnesses; and the Cretans do not feign
everything; the Cretans, a nation proud of having nurtured Jove. [634]
There, he who rules the starry citadel of the world, a little child,
drank milk with tender lips. There is full confidence in the witness;
by its foster-child the witness is recommended I think that Ceres will
confess her frailties, so well known.

The Goddess had beheld Iasius [635] at the foot of Cretan Ida, as he
pierced the backs of the wild beasts with unerring hand. She beheld, and
when her tender marrow caught the flame; on the one side Shame, on the
other Love, inflamed her. Shame was conquered by Love; you might see the
furrows lying dry, and the crops coming up with a very small proportion
of their wheat. [636] When the mattocks stoutly wielded had turned up
the land, and the crooked plough had broken the hard earth, and the
seed had fallen equally scattered over the wide fields; the hopes of the
deceived husbandman were vain.

The Goddess, the guardian of corn, was lingering in the lofty woods;
the wreaths of com had fallen from her flowing locks. Crete alone
was fertile in its fruitful year; all places, whither the Goddess had
betaken herself, were one continued harvest. Ida, the locality itself
for groves, grew white with corn, and the wild boar cropped the ears
in the woods. The law-giving Minos [637] wished for himself many like
years; he wished that the love of Ceres might prove lasting.

Whereas, yellow-haired Goddess, single-blessedness would have been sad
to thee; this am I now compelled by thy rites to endure. Why should I
be sad, when thy daughter has been found again by thee, and rules over
realms, only less than Juno in rank? This festive day calls for both
Venus, and songs, and wine. These gifts is it fitting to bear to the
ruling Gods.




ELEGY XI.


_He tells his mistress that he cannot help loving her._

|Much and long time have I suffered; by your faults is my patience
overcome. Depart from my wearied breast, disgraceful Love. In truth I
have now liberated myself, and I have burst my chains; and I am ashamed
to have borne what it shamed me not to endure. I have conquered; and
Love subdued I have trodden under foot; late have the horns [638] come
upon my head. Have patience, and endure, [639] this pain will one day
avail thee; often has the bitter potion given refreshment to the sick.

And could I then endure, repulsed so oft from thy doors, to lay a
free-born body upon the hard ground? [640] And did I then, like a slave,
keep watch before thy street door, for some stranger I know not whom,
that you were holding in your embrace? And did I behold it, when the
wearied paramour came out of your door, carrying off his jaded and
exhausted sides? Still, this is more endurable than the fact that I was
beheld by him; [641] may that disgrace be the lot of my foes.

When have I not kept close fastened to your side as you walked, [642]
myself your keeper, myself your husband, myself your companion? And,
celebrated by me forsooth, did you please the public: my passion was
the cause of passion in many. Why mention the base perjuries of your
perfidious tongue? and why the Gods forsworn [643] for my destruction?
Why the silent nods of young men at banquets, [644] and words concealed
in signs arranged _beforehand?_ She was reported to me to be ill;
headlong and distracted I ran; I arrived; and, to my rival she was not
ill. [645]

Bearing these things, and others on which I am silent, I have oft
endured them; find another in my stead, who could put up with these
things. Now my ship, crowned with the votive chaplet, listens in safety
to the swelling waves of the ocean. Cease to lavish your blandishments
and the words which once availed; I am not a fool, as once I was. Love
on this side, Hatred on that, are struggling, and are dragging my tender
heart in opposite directions; but Love, I think, still gets the better.
I will hate, [646] if I can; if not, reluctantly will I love; the bull
loves not his yoke; still, that which he hates he bears.

I fly from treachery; your beauty, as I fly, brings me back; I abhor the
failings of your morals; your person I love. Thus, I can neither live
without you, nor yet with you; and I appear to be unacquainted with
my own wishes. I wish that either you were less handsome, or less
unprincipled. So beauteous a form does not suit morals so bad. Your
actions excite hatred; your beauty demands love. Ah wretched me! she is
more potent than her frailties.

O pardon me, by the common rites of our bed, by all the Gods who so
often allow themselves to be deceived by you, and by your beauty, equal
to a great Divinity with me, and by your eyes, which have captivated
my own; whatever you shall be, ever shall you be mine; only do you make
choice whether you will wish me to wish as well to love you, or whether
I am to love you by compulsion. I would rather spread my sails and use
propitious gales; since, though I should refuse, I shall still be forced
to love.




ELEGY XII.


_He complains that he has rendered his mistress so celebrated by his
verses, as to have thereby raised for himself many rivals._

|What day was that, on which, ye birds of no white hue, you sent forth
your ominous notes, ever sad to me in my loves? Or what star must I
consider to be the enemy of my destiny? Or what Deities am I to complain
of, as waging war against me? She, who but lately [647] was called my
own, whom I commenced alone to love, I fear that with many she must be
shared by me.

Am I mistaken? Or has she gained fame by my poems? 'Tis so; by my genius
has she been made public. And justly; for why have I made proclamation
[648] of her charms? Through my fault has the fair been put up for sale.
She pleases, and I the procurer; by my guidance is the lover introduced;
by my hands has her door been opened. Whether verses are of any use,
is matter of doubt; at all events, they have injured me; they have
been envious of my happiness. While Thebes, [649] while Troy, while the
exploits of Caesar existed; Corinna alone warmed my genius. Would that I
had meddled with verses against the will of the Muses; and that Phoebus
had deserted the work commenced! And yet, it is not the custom to listen
to Poets as witnesses; [650] I would have preferred all weight to be
wanting to my words.

Through us, Scylla, who robbed her father of his white hair, bears the
raging dogs [651] beneath her thigh and loins. We have given wings to
the feet, serpents to the hair; the victorious descendant of Abas [652]
is borne upon the winged steed. We, too, have extended Tityus [653] over
the vast space, and have formed the three mouths for the dog bristling
-with snakes. We have described Enceladus, [654] hurling with his
thousand arms; and the heroes captivated by the voice of the two-shaped
damsels. [655] In the Ithacan bags [656] have we enclosed the winds of
Æolus; the treacherous Tantalus thirsts in the middle of the stream. Of
Niobe we have made the rock, of the damsel, the she-bear; the Cecropian
[657] bird sings of Odrysian Itys. Jupiter transforms himself, either
into a bird, or into gold [658] or, as a bull, with the virgin placed upon
him, he cleaves the waves. Why mention Proteus, and the Theban seed,
[659] the teeth? Why that there were bulls, which vomited flames from
their mouths? Why, charioteer, that thy sisters distil amber tears?
[660] Why that they are now Goddesses of the sea, who once were ships?
[661] Why that the light of day fled from the hellish banquet [662] of
Atreus? And why that the hard stones followed the lyre [663] as it was
struck?

The fertile license of the Poets ranges over an immense space; and
it ties not its words to the accuracy of history. So, too, ought
my mistress to have been deemed to be falsely praised; now is your
credulity a mischief to me.




ELEGY XIII.


_He describes the Festival of Juno, as celebrated at Falisci, the native
place of his wife._

As my wife was born at Falisci, so fruitful in apples, we repaired to
the walls that were conquered, Camillus, by thee. [664] The priestesses
were preparing the chaste festival of Juno, with distinguished games,
and the heifer of the country. 'Twas a great remuneration for my stay,
to be acquainted with the ceremony; although a path, difficult from the
ascent, leads the way thither. There stands a grove, ancient, and shaded
with numberless trees; look at it, you must confess that a Divinity
exists in the spot. An altar receives the prayers, and the votive
incense of the pious; an altar made without skill, by ancient hands.

When, from this spot, the pipe has given the signal with its usual note,
the yearly procession moves along the covered paths. [665] Snow-white
heifers [666] are led, as the crowd applauds, which the Faliscan grass
has fed on its own plains; calves, too, not yet threatening with the
forehead to inspire fear; and the pig, a smaller victim, from its lowly
sty; the leader too, of the flock, with his horns bending back over his
hardy temples; the goat alone is odious to the Goddess queen. By her
betrayal, discovered in the lofty woods, [667] she is said to have
desisted from the flight she had commenced. Even now, by the boys,
is she aimed at as a mark; [668] and she is given, as a prize, to
the author of her wound. Where the Goddess is to come, the youths and
bashful girls sweep the roads before her, with garments [669] as they
lie. Their virgin hair is adorned with gold and gems; and the proud
mantle conceals their feet, bedecked with gold. After the Grecian manner
[670] of their ancestors, clad in white garments, they bear the sacred
vessels entrusted to them on their heads, placed beneath. The people
hold religious silence, [671] at the moment when the resplendent
procession comes up; and she herself follows after her priestesses.

Argive is the appearance of the procession; Agamemnon slain, Halesus
[672] fled from both his crime and his father's wealth. And now, an
exile, having wandered over both land and sea, he erected lofty walls
with prospering hand. He taught his own Falisci the rites of Juno.
May they be ever propitious to myself, may they be ever so to her own
people.




ELEGY XIV.


_He entreats his mistress, if she will not be constant, at least, to
conceal her intrigues from him._

|Beauteous since you are, I do not forbid your being frail; but let it
not be a matter of course, that wretched I should know it. Nor does any
severity of mine command you to be quite correct; but it only entreats
you to try to conceal the truth. She is not culpable, whoever can deny
that she has been culpable; and 'tis only the confession of error that
makes a woman disgraced. What madness is it to confess in light of day
what lies concealed in night? And what you do in secret, to say openly
that it is done? The strumpet about to entertain some obscure Roman,
first keeps out the public by fastening up the bar. And will you make
known your frailties to malicious report? And will you make proof of
your own criminality? May your mind be more sound, or, at least, may you
imitate the chaste; and although you are not, let me suppose that you
are chaste. What you do, still do the same; only deny that you do so;
and be not ashamed in public to speak the language of chastity. There is
the occasion which demands wantonness; sate it with every delight; far
thence be all modesty. Soon as you take your departure thence; away at
once with all lasciviousness, and leave your frailties in your chamber=

```Illic nec tunicam tibi sit posuisse rubori,

````Nec femori impositum sustinuisse femur:

```Illic purpureis condatur lingua labellis:

````Inque modos Venerem mille figuret amor;

```Illic nec voces, nec verba juvantia cessent;

````Spondaque lascivâ mobilitate tremat.=

With your garments put on looks that dread accusation; and let modesty
disavow improper pursuits. Deceive the public, deceive me, too; in my
ignorance, let me be mistaken, and allow me to enjoy my silly credulity.

Why do I so often espy letters sent and received? Why one side and the
other [673] tumbled, of your couch? Why do I see your hair disarranged
more than happens in sleep, and your neck bearing the marks of teeth?
The fading itself alone you do not bring before my eyes; if you hesitate
consulting your own reputation, still, spare me. My senses fail me, and
I am expiring, oft as you confess your failings; and the drops flow,
chilled throughout my limbs. Then do I love you; then, in vain, do I
hate what I am forced to love; 673* then I could wish myself to be dead,
but together with you.

No enquiries, for my part, will I make, nor will I try to know what
you shall attempt to conceal; and to me it shall be the same as a false
charge. If, however, you shall be found detected in the midst of your
guilt, and if criminality shall be beheld by my eyes; what has been
plainly seen, do you deny to have been plainly seen; my own eyes shall
give way to your assertions.'Tis an easy conquest for you to vanquish
me, who desire to be vanquished. Let your tongue only be mindful to
say--"I did not do it!" since it is your lot to conquer with two words;
although not by the merit of your cause, still conquer through your
judge.




ELEGY X.


_He tells Venus that he now ceases to write Elegies._

|Seek a new Poet, mother of the tender Loves; here the extreme
turning-place is grazed [674] by my Elegies, which I, a foster-child of
the Pelignian fields, have composed; nor have my sportive lays disgraced
me. _Me, I say, who_, if that is aught, am the heir to my rank, [675]
even through a long line of ancestors, and not lately made a Knight
in the hurly-burly of warfare. Mantua delights in Virgil, Verona in
Catullus; I shall be called the glory of the Pelignian race; which its
own liberties summon to glorious arms, [676] when trembling Rome dreaded
[677] the allied bands. And some stranger will say, as he looks on the
walls of the watery Sulmo, which occupy but a few acres of land, "Small
as you are, I will call you great, who were able to produce a Poet
so great." Beauteous boy, and thou, Amathusian parent [678] of the
beauteous boy, raise your golden standard from my fields. The horned
[679] Lyæus [680] has struck me with a thyrsus more potent; with mighty
steeds must a more extended plain be paced. Unwarlike Elegies, my
sportive [681] Muse, farewell; a work destined to survive long after I
am dead and gone.----





FOOTNOTES BOOK ONE:


[Footnote 001: Were five books.--Ver. 1. From this it is clear, that
the first edition which Ovid gave to the public of his 'Amores' was
in five Books; but that on revising his work, he preferred (praetulit)
these three books to the former five. It is supposed that he rejected
many of those Elegies which were of too free a nature and were likely to
embroil him with the authorities, by reason of their licentiousness.]

[Footnote 002: Though it should.--Ver. 3. Burmann has rightly observed,
that 'ut jam,' in this line, has exactly the force of 'quamvis,'
'although.']

[Footnote 003: In serious numbers.--Ver. 1. By the 'graves numeri,' he
means Heroic or Hexameter verses. It is supposed that he alludes to the
battle of the Giants or the Titans, on which subject he had begun to
write an heroic poem. In these lines Ovid seems to have had in view the
commencement of the first Ode of Anacreon.]

[Footnote 004: Suited to the measure.--Ver. 2. The subject being of a
grave character, and, as such, suited to Heroic measure.]

[Footnote 005: Abstracted one foot.--Ver. 4. He says that every second
line (as is the case in Heroic verse) had as many feet as the first,
namely, six : but that Cupid stole a foot from the Hexameter, and
reduced it to a Pentameter, whereby the Poet was forced to recur to the
Elegiac measure.]

[Footnote 008: Diminish my energies.--Ver. 18. See the Note to the
fourth line.]

[Footnote 009: His quiver loosened.--Ver. 21. The 'pharetra,' or
quiver, filled with arrows, was used by most of the nations that
excelled in archery, among whom were the Scythians, Persians, Lycians,
Thracians, and Cretans. It was made of leather, and was sometimes
adorned with gold or painting. It had a lid, and was suspended by a belt
from the right shoulder. Its usual position was on the left hip, and it
was thus worn by the Scythians and Egyptians. The Cretans, however,
wore it behind the back, and Diana, in her statues, is represented as so
doing. This must have been the method in which Cupid is intended in the
present instance to wear it, as he has to unloose the quiver before he
takes out the arrow. Some Commentators, however, would have 'solutâ' to
refer simply to the act of opening the quiver.]

[Footnote 010: In six feet.--Ver. 27. He says that he must henceforth
write in Hexameters and Pentameters, or, in other words, in the Elegiac
measure.]

[Footnote 011: My Muse.--Ver. 30. The Muse addressed by him would be
Erato, under whose protection were those Poets whose theme was Love. He
bids her wreathe her hair with myrtle, because it was sacred to Venus;
while, on the other hand, laurels would be better adapted to the Heroic
Muse. The myrtle is said to love the moisture and coolness of the
sea-shore.]

[Footnote 014: Thy step-father.--Ver. 24. He calls Mars the step-father
of Cupid, in consequence of his intrigue with Venus.]

[Footnote 015: Birds so yoked.--Ver. 26. These are the doves which were
sacred to Venus and Cupid. By yoking them to the chariot of Mars, the
Poe* wishes to show the skill and power of Cupid.]

[Footnote 016: Io triumphe.--Ver. 25. 'Clamare triumphum,' means 'to
shout Io triumphe,' as the procession moves along. Lactantius speaks
of a poem called 'the Triumph of Cupid,' in which Jupiter and the other
Gods were represented as following him in the triumphal procession.]

[Footnote 017: Thyself with gold.--Ver. 42. The poet Mosehus represents
Cupid as having wings of gold.]

[Footnote 018: The Gangetic land.--Ver. 47. He alludes to the Indian
triumphs of Bacchus, which extended to the river Ganges.]

[Footnote 019: Thy kinsman Cæsar--Ver. 51. Because Augustus, as the
adopted son of Julius Cæsar, was said to be descended from Venus,
through the line of Æneas.]

[Footnote 020: Shield the conquered.--Ver. 52. Although Augustus
had many faults, it must be admitted that he was, like Julius, a most
merciful conqueror, and was generally averse to bloodshed.]

[Footnote 021: Founder of my family. --Ver. 8. See the Life of Ovid
prefixed to the Fasti; and the Second Book of the Tristia.]

[Footnote 022: Each of my parents.--Ver. 10. From this it appears that
this Elegy was composed during the life-time of both of his parents, and
while, probably, he was still dependent on his father.]

[Footnote 023: No rover in affection.--Ver. 15. 'Desuitor,' literally
means 'one who leaps off.' The figure is derived from those equestrians
who rode upon several horses, or guided several chariots, passing from
the one to the other. This sport was very frequently exhibited in
the Roman Circus. Among the Romans, the 'desuitor' generally wore a
'pileus,' or cap of felt. The Numidian, Scythian, and Armenian soldiers,
were said to have been skilled in the same art.]

[Footnote 024: Of the bird.--Ver. 22. He alludes to Leda and Europa.]

[Footnote 026: The same banquet.--Ver. 1. He says that they are about
to meet at 'coena,' at the house of a common friend.]

[Footnote 027: The last meal.--Ver. 2. The 'coena' of the Romans is
usually translated by the word 'supper'; but as being the chief meal of
the day, and being in general, (at least during the Augustan age) taken
at about three o'clock, it really corresponds to our 'dinner.']

[Footnote 028: Warm the bosom of another.--Ver. 5. As each guest while
reclining on the couch at the entertainment, mostly leaned on his left
elbow during the meal, and as two or more persons lay on the same couch,
the head of one person reached to the breast of him who lay above him,
and the lower person was said to lie on the bosom of the other. Among
the Romans, the usual number of persons occupying each couch was three.
Sometimes, however, four occupied one couch; while, among the Greeks,
only two reclined upon it. In this instance, he describes the lady as
occupying the place below her husband, and consequently warming his
breast with her head. For a considerable time after the fashion of
reclining at meals had been introduced into Rome, the Roman ladies sat
at meals while the other sex was recumbent. Indeed, it was generally
considered more becoming for females to be seated, especially if it was
a party where many persons were present. Juvenal, however, represents a
bride as reclining at the marriage supper on the bosom of her husband.
On the present occasion, it is not very likely that the ladies
were particular about the more rigid rules of etiquette. It must be
remembered that before lying down, the shoes or sandals were taken off.]

[Footnote 029: Damsel of Atrax.--Ver. 8. He alludes to the marriage
of Hippodamia to Pirithous, and the battle between the Centaurs and the
Lapithæ, described in the Twelfth-. Book of the Metamorphoses.]

[Footnote 031: Do come first.--Ver. 14. He hardly knows why he asks her
to do so, but still she must come before her husband; perhaps, that
he may have the pleasure of gazing upon her without the chance of
detection; the more especially as she would not recline till her husband
had arrived, and would, till then, probably be seated.]

[Footnote 032: Touch my foot.--Ver. 16. This would show that she had
safely received his letter.]

[Footnote 033: My secret signs.--Ver. 18. See the Note in this Volume,
to the 90th line of the 17th Epistle.]

[Footnote 034: By my eye-brows.--Ver. 19. See the 82nd line of the 17th
Epistle.]

[Footnote 035: Traced in the wine.--Ver. 20. See the 88th line of the
17th Epistle.]

[Footnote 036: Your blooming cheeks.--Ver. 22. Probably by way of check
to his want of caution.]

[Footnote 037: Twisted on your fingers.--Ver. 26. The Sabines were the
first to introduce the practice of wearing rings among the Romans. The
Romans generally wore one ring, at least, and mostly upon the fourth
finger of the left hand. Down to the latest period of the Republic, the
rings were mostly of iron, and answered the'purpose of a signet.
The right of wearing a gold ring remained for several centuries the
exclusive privilege of Senators, Magistrates, and Knights. The emperors
were not very scrupulous on whom they conferred the privilege of wearing
the gold ring, and Severus and Aurelian gave the right to all Roman
soldiers. Vain persons who had the privilege, literally covered their
fingers with rings, so much so, that Quintilian thinks it necessary to
warn the orator not to have them above the middle joint of the fingers.
The rings and the gems set in them, were often of extreme beauty and
value. From Juvenal and Martial we learn that the coxcombs of the
day had rings for both winter and summer wear. They were kept in
'dactyliothecæ,' or ring boxes, where they were ranged in a row.]

[Footnote 038: Who are in prayer.--Ver. 27. It was the custom to
hold the altar while the suppliant was praying to the Deities; he here
directs her, while she is mentally uttering imprecations against her
husband, to fancy that the table is the altar, and to take hold of it
accordingly.]

[Footnote 039: If you are discreet.--Ver. 29. Sapias' is put for 'si
sapias,' 'if you are discreet,' 'if you would act sensibly.']

[Footnote 041: Ask the servant.--Ver. 30. This would be the slave,
whose office it was to mix the wine and water to the taste of the
guests. He was called [oivôxooç] by the Greeks, 'pincerna' by the
Romans.]

[Footnote 042: Which you have put down.--Ver. 31. That is, which she
either puts upon the table, or gives back to the servant, when she has
drunk.]

[Footnote 043: Touched by his mouth.--Ver. 34. This would appear to
refer to some choice morsel picked out of the husband's plate, which, as
a mark of attention, he might present to her.]

[Footnote 044: On his unsightly breast.--Ver. 36. This, from her
position, if she reclined below her husband, she would be almost obliged
to do.]

[Footnote 045: So close at hand.--Ver. 37. A breach of these
injunctions would imply either a very lax state of etiquette at the
Reman parties, or, what is more probable, that the present company was
not of a very select character.]

[Footnote 048: Beneath the cloth.--Ver. 48. 'Vestis' means a covering,
or clothing for anything, as for a couch, or for tapestry. Let us
charitably suppose it here to mean the table cloth; as the passage will
not admit of further examination, and has of necessity been somewhat
modified in the translation.]

[Footnote 049: The conscious covering.--Ver. 50. The 'pallia,' here
mentioned, are clearly the coverlets of the couch which he has before
mentioned in the 41st line; and from this it is evident, that during the
repast the guests were covered with them.]

[Footnote 050: Add wine by stealth.--Ver. 52. To make him fall asleep
the sooner]

[Footnote 051: 'Twas summer time.--Ver. 1. In all hot climates it is
the custom to repose in the middle of the day. This the Spaniards call
the 'siesta.']

[Footnote 053: A part of the window.--Ver. 3. On the 'fenestræ,' or
windows of the ancients, see the Notes to the Pontic Epistles, Book iii.
Ep. iii. 1. 5, and to the Metamorphoses, Book xiv. 1. 752. He means that
one leaf of the window was open, and one shut.]

[Footnote 054: Corinna.--Ver. 9. In the Fourth Book of the Tristia,
Elegy x. 1. GO, he says, 'Corinna, (so called by a fictitious name) the
subject of song through the whole city, had imparted a stimulus to my
geuius.' It has been supposed by some Commentators, that under this name
he meant Julia, either the daughter or the grand-daughter of the emperor
Augustus, but there seems really to be no ground for such a belief;
indeed, the daughter of Augustus had passed middle age, when Ovid was
still in boyhood. It is most probable that Corinna was ouly an ideal
personage, existing in the imagination of the Poet; and that he intended
the name to apply to his favourite mistress for the time being, as,
though he occasionally denies it, still, at other times, he admits that
his passion was of the roving kind. There are two females mentioned in
history of the name of Coriuna. One was a Theban poetess, who excelled
in Lyric composition, and was said to have vanquished Pindar himself in
a Lyric contest; while the other was a native of Thespiæ, in Bceotia.
'The former, who was famous for both her personal charms and her mental
endowments, is supposed to have suggested the use of the name to Ovid.]

[Footnote 055: Clothed in a tunic.--Ver. 9. 'Tunica' was the name of
the under-garment with both sexes among the Romans. When the wearer was
out of doors, or away from home, it was fastened round the waist with a
belt or girdle, but when at home and wishing to be entirely at ease, it
was, as in the present instance, loose or ungirded. Both sexes usually
wore two tunics. In female dress, Varro seems to call the outer tunic
'subucula,' and the 'interior tunica' by the name also of 'indusium.'
The outer tunic was also called 'stola,' and, with the 'palla' completed
the female dress. The 'tunica interior,' or what is here called tunica,'
was a simple shift, and in early times had no sleeves. According to
Nonius, it fitted loosely on the body, and was not girded when the
'stola' or outer tunic was put on. Poor people, who could not afford
to purchase a 'toga,' wore the tunic alone; whence we find the lower
classes called by the name of 'tunicati.']

[Footnote 056: Her flowing hair.--Ver. 10. 'Dividuis,' here means, that
her hair was scattered, flowing over her shoulders and not arranged on
the head in a knot.]

[Footnote 057: Semiramis.--Ver. 11. Semiramis was the wife of Ninus,
king of Babylon, and was famous for her extreme beauty, and the talent
which she displayed as a ruler. She was also as unscrupulous in her
morals as the fair one whom the Poet is now describing.]

[Footnote 058: And Lais.--Ver. 12. There are generally supposed to have
beén two famous courtesans of the name of Lais. The first was carried
captive, when a child, from Sicily, in the second year of the 91st
Olympiad, and being taken to Corinth, became famous throughout Greece
for her extreme beauty, and the high price she put upon her favours.
Many of the richest and most learned men resorted to her, and became
smitten by her charms. The second Lais was the daughter of Alcibiades,
by his mistress, Timandra. When Demosthenes applied for a share of her
favours, she made the extravagant demand of ten thousand drachmae, upon
which, regaining his wisdom (which had certainly forsaken him for a
time) he said that he would not purchase repentance at so high a price.]

[Footnote 059: In its thinness.--Ver. 13. Possibly it was made of Coan
cloth, if Corinna was as extravagant as she was vicious.]

[Footnote 060: The cruel fetter--Ver. 1. Among the Romans, the porter
was frequently bound by a chain to his post, that he might not forsake
it.]

[Footnote 062: Watches of the keepers.--Ver. 7. Properly, the 'excubiæ'
were the military watches that were kept on guard, either by night or
day, while the term 'vigiliæ,' was only applied to the watch by night.
He here alludes to the watch kept by jealous men over their wives.]

[Footnote 063: Spectres that flit by night.--Ver. 13. The dread of the
ghosts of the departed entered largely among the Roman superstitions.
See an account of the Ceremony, in the Fifth Book of the Fasti, 1. 422,
et seq., for driving the ghosts, or Lemures, from the house.]

[Footnote 064: Ready for the whip--Ver. 19. See the Note to the 81st
line of the Epistle of De'ianira to Hercules. Ovid says, that he has
often pleaded for him to his mistress; indeed, the Roman ladies often
showed more cruelty to the slaves, both male and female, than the men
did to the male slaves.]

[Footnote 065: As you wish.--Ver. 28. Of course it would be the
porter's wish that the night should pass quickly on, as he would be
relieved in the morning, and was probably forbidden to sleep during the
night.]

[Footnote 066: Hours of the night pass on.--Ver. 24. This is an
intercalary line, being repeated after each seventh one.]

[Footnote 067: From the door-post.--Ver. 24. The fastenings of the
Roman doors consisted of a bolt placed at the bottom of eacn 'foris,' or
wing of the door, which fell into a socket made in the sill. By way of
additional precaution, at night, the front door was secured by a bar of
wood or iron, here called 'sera,' which ran across, and was inserted in
sockets on each side of the doorway. Hence it was necessary to remove or
strike away the bar, 'excutere seram,' before the door could be opened.]

[Footnote 068: Water of the slave.--Ver. 26. Water was the principal
beverage of the Roman slaves, but they were allowed a small quantity of
wiue, which was increased on the Saturnalia. 'Far,' or 'spelt,' formed
their general sustenance, of which they received one 'libra' daily.
Salt and oil were also allowed them, and sometimes fruit, but seldom
vegetables. Flesh meat seems not to have been given to them.]

[Footnote 069: About my temples.--Ver. 37. 'Circa mea tempora,'
literally, 'around my temples' This-expression is used, because it was
supposed that the vapours of excessive wine affect the brain. He says
that he has only taken a moderate quantity of wine, although the chaplet
falling from off his hair would seem to bespeak the contrary.]

[Footnote 073: Otherwise I myself!--Ver. 57. Heinsius thinks that this
and the following line are spurious.]

[Footnote 074: Holding in my torch--Ver. 58. Torches were usually
carried by the Romans, for their guidance after sunset, and were
generally made of wooden staves or twigs, bound by a rope around them,
in a spiral form, or else by circular bands at equal distances. The
inside of the torch was filled with flax, tow, or dead vegetable
matter, impregnated with pitch, wax, rosin, oil, or other inflammable
substances.]

[Footnote 075: Love and wine.--Ver. 59. He seems, by this, to admit
that he has taken more than a moderate quantity of wine, 'modicum
vinum,' as he says above.]

[Footnote 076: Anxieties of the prison.--Ver. 64. He alludes to the
'ergastulum,' or prison for slaves, that was attached to most of the
Roman farms, whither the refractory slaves were sent from the City to
work in chains. It was mostly under ground, and, was lighted with narrow
windows, too high from the ground to be touched with the hand.
Slaves who had displeased their masters were usually sent there for a
punishment, and those of uncouth habits were kept there. Plutarch says
that they were established, on the conquest of Italy, in consequence
of the number of foreign slaves imported for the cultivation of
the conquered territory. They were finally abolished by the Emperor
Hadrian.]

[Footnote 077: Bird is arousing.--Ver. 66. The cock, whom the poets
universally consider as 'the harbinger of morn.']

[Footnote 078: Equally slaves.--Ver. 74. He called the doors, which
were bivalve or folding-doors, his 'conservæ,' or 'fellow' slaves,' from
the fact of their being obedient to the will of a slave. Plautuâ, in
the Asinaria, act. ii sc. 3, has a similar expression:--'Nolo ego
fores, conservas meas a te verberarier.' 'I won't have my door, my
fellow-slave, thumped by you.']

[Footnote 080: Did not Ajax too.--Ver. 7. Ajax Telamon, on being
refused the arms of Achilles, became mad, and slaughtered a flock
of sheep, fancying that they were the sons of Atreus, and his enemy
Ulysses. His shield, formed of seven ox hides, is celebrated by Homer.]

[Footnote 081: Mystic Goddesses.--Ver. 10. Orestes avenged the death of
his father, Agamemnon, by slaying his own mother, Clytemnestra, together
with her paramour, Ægistheus. He also attempted to attack the Furies,
when they haunted him for the murder of his mother.]

[Footnote 082: Daughter of Schceneus.--Ver. 13. Atalanta, the Arcadian,
or Mae-nalian, was the daughter of Iasius, and was famous for her skill
in the chase. Atalanta, the Boeotian, was the daughter of Schceneus,
and was renowned for her swiftness, and for the race in which she was
outstripped by Hippomenes. The Poet has here mistaken the one for the
other, calling the Arcadian one the daughter of Schoeneus. The story of
the Arcadian Atalanta is told in the Eighth Book of the Metamorphoses,
and that of the daughter of Schceneus, at the end of the Tenth Book of
the same work.]

[Footnote 083: The Cretan damsel.--Ver. 16. Ariadne, the daughter of
Minos, when deserted on the island of Naxos or Cea.]

[Footnote 084: Cassandra.--Ver. 17. Cassandra being a priestess, would
wear the sacred fillets, 'vittse.' She was ravished by Ajax Oileus, in
the temple of Minerva.]

[Footnote 085: The humblest Roman.--Ver. 29. It was not lawful to
strike a freeborn human citizen. See Acts, c. xxii. v. 25. 'And as they
hound him with thongs, Paul said unto the Centurion that stood by, Is it
lawful for you to scourge a man that is a Roman, and uncondemncd?' This
privilege does not seem to have extended to Roman women of free birth.]

[Footnote 086: Strike a Goddess.--Ver. 32. He alludes to the wound
inflicted by Diomedes upon Venus, while protecting her son Æneas.]

[Footnote 087: Her hurt cheeks--Ver. 40. He implies by this, to his
disgrace which has made her cheeks black and blue by his violence.]

[Footnote 089: At the middle.--Ver. 48. He says that he ought to have
been satisfied with tearing her tunic down to the waist, where the
girdle should have stopped short the rent; whereas, in all probability,
he had torn it from the top to the bottom.]

[Footnote 090: Her free-born cheeks.--Ver. 50. It was a common practice
with many of the Romans, to tear and scratch their Slaves on the least
provocation.]

[Footnote 091: The Parian mountains.--Ver. 52. The marble of Paros
was greatly esteemed for its extreme whiteness. Paros was one of the
Cyclades, situate about eighteen miles from the island of Delos.]

[Footnote 092: Their proper order. --Ver 68. 'In statione,' was
originally a military phrase, signifying 'on guard'; from which It came
to be applied to any thing in its place or in proper order.]

[Footnote 094: Does she derive.--Ver. 3. He says that her name,
'Dipsas,' is derived from reality, meaning thereby that she is so called
from the Greek verb [êtxpâui], 'to thirst'; because she was always
thirsty, and never rose sober in the morning.]

[Footnote 095: The charms of Ææa.--Ver. 5. He alludes to the charms of
Circe and Medea. According to Eustathius, Ææa was a city of Colchis.]

[Footnote 096: Turns back to its source.--Ver. 6. This the magicians of
ancient times generally professed to do.]

[Footnote 097: Spinning wheel.--Ver. 8. 'Rhombus,' means a
parallelogram with equal sides, but not having right angles, and hence,
from the resemblance, a spinning wheel, or winder. The 'licia' were the
cords or thrums of the old warp, or the threads of the old web to which
the threads of the new warp were joined. Here, however, the word seems
to mean the threads alone. The spinning-wheel was much used in magical
incantations, not only among the Romans, but among the people of
Northern and Western Europe. It is not improbable that the practice was
founded on the so-called threads of destiny, and it was the province of
the wizard, or sorceress, by his or her charms, to lengthen or shorten
those threads, according as their customers might desire. Indeed, in
some parts of Europe, at the present day, charms, in the shape of forms
of words, are said to exist, which have power over the human life at any
distance from the spot where they are uttered; a kind of superstition
which dispenses with the more cumbrous paraphernalia of the
spinning-wheel. Some Commentators think that the use of the 'licia'
implied that the minds of individuals were to be influenced at the will
of the enchanter, in the same way as the old thrums of the warp are
caught up and held fast by the new threads; this view, however, seems
to dispense with the province of the wheel in the incantation. See
the Second Book of the Fasti, 1. 572. The old woman there mentioned
as performing the rites of the Goddess, Tacita, among her other
proceedings, 'binds the enchantea threads on the dark-coloured
spinning-wheel.']

[Footnote 098: Venomous exudation.--Ver. 8. This was the substance
called 'hippomanes,' which was said to flow from mares when in a
prurient state. Hesiod says, that 'hippomanes' was a herb which produced
madness in the horses that ate of it. Pliny, in his Eighth Book, says
that it is a poisonous excrescence of the size of a fig, and of a black
colour, which grows on the head of the mare, and which the foal at its
birth is in the habit of biting off, which, if it neglects to do, it is
not allowed by its mother to suck. This fictitious substance was said to
be especially used in philtres.]

[Footnote 099: Moon was empurpled.--Ver. 12. If such a thing as a fog
ever exists in Italy, he may very possibly have seen the moon of a deep
red colour.]

[Footnote 101: That she, transformed.--Ver. 13. 'Versam,'
'transformed,' seems here to be a preferable reading to 'vivam,'
'alive.' Burmann, however, thinks that the 'striges' were the ghosts of
dead sorcerers and wizards, and that the Poet means here, that Dipsas
had the power of transforming herself into a 'strix' even while living,
and that consequently 'vivam' is the proper reading. The 'strix' was
a fabulous bird of the owl kind, which was said to suck the blood of
children in the cradle. Seethe Sixth Book of the Fasti, 1. 141, and the
Note to the passage.]

[Footnote 102: A double pupil, too.--Ver. 15. The pupil, or apple
of the eye, is that part through which light is conveyed to the optic
nerve. Some persons, especially females, were said by the ancients to
have a double pupil, which constituted what was called 'the evil eye.'
Pliny the Elder says, in his Seventh Book, that 'all women injure by
their glances, who have a double pupil.' The grammarian, Haephestion,
tells us, in his Fifth Book, that the wife of Candaulcs, king of Lydia,
had a double pupil. Heinsius suggests, that this was possibly the
case with the Ialysian Telchines, mentioned in the Seventh Book of the
Metamorphoses, 1. 365, 'whose eyes corrupting all things by the very
looking upon them, Jupiter, utterly hating, thrust them beneath the
waves of his brother.']

[Footnote 103: And their grandsires.--Ver. 17. One hypercritical
Commentator here makes this remark: 'As though it were any more
difficult to summon forth from the tomb those who have long been dead,
than those who are iust deceased.' He forgot that Ovid had to make up
his line, and that 'antiquis proavos atavosque' made three good feet,
and two-thirds of another.]

[Footnote 105: The twofold doors.--Ver. 20. The doors used by the
ancients were mostly bivalve, or folding doors.]

[Footnote 106: Mars in opposition.--Ver. 29. She is dabbling here in
astrology, and the adverse and favourable aspects of the stars. We
are to suppose that she is the agent of the young man who has seen the
damsel, and she is telling her that the rising star of Venus is about to
bring her good luck.]

[Footnote 107: Makes it his care.--Ver. 32. Burmann thinks that this
line, as it stands at present, is not pure Latin; and, indeed, 'curæ
habet,' 'makes it his care,' seems a very unusual mode of expression.
He suggests another reading--'et, cultæ quod tibi défit, habet,' 'and
he possesses that which is wanting for your being well-dressed,' namely,
money.]

[Footnote 108: The damsel blushed.--Ver. 35. He says that his mistress
blusned at the remark of the old hag, that the young man was worthy to
be purchased by her, if he had not been the first to make an offer. We
must suppose that here the Poet peeped through a chink of the door, as
he was on the other side, listening to the discourse; or he may have
reasonably guessed that she did so, from the remark made in the same
line by the old woman.]

[Footnote 109: Your eyes cast down.--Ver. 37. The old woman seems to be
advising her to pretend modesty, by looking down on her lap, so as not
to give away even a look, until she has seen what is deposited there,
and then only to give gracious glances in proportion to her present. It
was the custom for the young simpletons who lavished their money on the
Roman courtesans, to place their presents in the lap or bosom.]

[Footnote 111: Sabine females.--Ver. 39. The Sabines were noted for
their domestic virtues. The hag hints, that the chastity of the Sabine
women was only the result of their want of good breeding. 'Tatio
régnante' seems to point to the good old times, in the same way as our
old songsters have it, 'When good king Arthur reigned.' Tatius
reigned jointly at Rome with Romulus. See the Fourteenth Book of the
Metamorphoses, 1. 804.]

[Footnote 112: In foreign warfare.--Ver. 41. She says, that they are
now in a more civilized state, than when they were fighting just without
the walls of Rome; now they are solely engaged in foreign conquests, and
Venus reigns in the city of the descendants of her son, Æneas.]

[Footnote 113: Dispel these frowns.--Ver. 45. The damsel has, probably,
frowned here at her last remark, on which she tells her she must
learn to dispense with these frowns, and that when she dispels
them, 'excutit,' so many faults which might otherwise prove to her
disadvantage, will be well got rid of.]

[Footnote 114: Penelope used to try.--Ver. 47. Penelope, in order that
she might escape the importunity of the suitors, proposed that they
should try to bend the bow of Ulysses, promising her hand to him who
should prove successful. The hag, however, says that, with all her
pretended chastity, Penelope only wanted to find out who was the most
stalwart man among her lovers, in order that she might choose him for a
husbaud.]

[Footnote 116: Graceful in his mantle.--Ver. 59. The 'palla' was
especially worn by musicians. She is supposed to refer to the statue
of Apollo, which was erected on the Palatine Hill by Augustus; and
her design seems to be, to shew that poetry and riches are not so
incompatible as the girl may, from her lover's poverty, be led to
imagine.]

[Footnote 117: At a price for his person.--Ver. 63. That is to say,
some rich slave who has bought his own liberty. As many of the Roman
slaves were skilful at various trades and handicrafts, and were probably
allowed the profits of their work after certain hours in the day, it
would be no uncommon thing for a slave, with his earnings, to purchase
his liberty. Some of the slaves practised as physicians, while others
followed the occupation of literary men.]

[Footnote 118: Rubbed with chalk.--Ver. 64. It was the custom to mark
with chalk, 'gypsum,' the feet of such slaves as were newly imported for
sale.]

[Footnote 119: Busts about the halls.--Ver. 65. Instead of
'quinquatria,' which is evidently a corrupt reading, 'circum atria' has
been adopted. She is advising the girl not to be led away by notions
of nobility, founded on the number of 'ceræ,' or waxen busts of their
ancestors, that adorned the 'atria,' or halls of her admirers. See the
Fasti, Book i. line 591, and the Note to the passage; also the Epistle
of Laodamia to Protesilaus, line 152.]

[Footnote 120: Nay, more, should.--Ver. 67. 'Quin' seems to be a
preferable reading to-'quid?']

[Footnote 121: There will be Isis.--Ver. 74. The Roman women celebrated
the festival of Isis for several successive days, and during that period
they care-fully abstained from the society of men.]

[Footnote 127: By your censure.--Ver. 80. When she has offended she is
to pretend a counter grievance, so as to outweigh her faults.]

[Footnote 128: A deaf hearing.--Ver. 86. Literally, 'deaf Godhead.']

[Footnote 129: A crafty handmaid.--Ver. 87. The comedies of Plautus and
Terence show the part which the intriguing slaves and handmaids acted on
such occasions.]

[Footnote 130: A little of many.--Ver. 89. 'Multos,' as suggested by
Heinsius, is preferable to 'multi,' which does not suit the sense.]

[Footnote 131: Heap from the gleanings--Ver. 90. 'Stipula' here means
'gleanings.' She says, that each of the servants must ask for a little,
and those little sums put together will make a decent amount collected
from her lovers. No doubt her meaning is, that the mistress should
pocket the presents thus made to the slaves.]

[Footnote 132: With a cake.--Ver. 94. The old woman tells how, when
she has exhausted all other excuses for getting a present, to have the
birth-day cake by her, and to pretend that it is her birth-day; in
order that her lover may take the hint, and present her with a gift. The
birth-day cake, according to Servius, was made of flour and honey; and
being set on tabic before the guests, the person whose birth-day it was,
ate the first slice, after which the others partook of it, and wished
him happiness and prosperity. Presents, too, were generally made on
birth-days.]

[Footnote 133: The Sacred Street."--Ver. 100. The 'via sacra,'
or' Sacred Street, from the old Senate house at Rome towards the
Amphitheatre, and up the Capitoline hill. For the sale of all kinds of
luxuries, it seems to have had the same rank in Rome that Regent Street
holds in London. The procuress tells her, that if her admirer makes no
presents, she must turn the conversation to the 'Via Sacra;' of course,
asking him such questions as, What is to be bought there? What is the
price of such and such a thing? And then she is to say, that she is in
want of this or that, but unfortunately she has no money, &c.]

[Footnote 134: Conceal your thoughts.--Ver. 103. This expression
resembles the famous one attributed to Machiavelli, that 'speech was
made for the concealment of the thoughts.']

[Footnote 134: Prove his ruin.--Ver. 103. 'Let your lips utter kind
things, but let it be your intention to ruin him outright by your
extravagance.']

[Footnote 135: Grant thee both no home--Ver. 113. The 'Lares,' being
the household Gods, 'nullos Lares,' implies 'no home.']

[Footnote 136: Everlasting thirst.--Ver. 114. In allusion to her
thirsty name; see the Note to the second line.]

[Footnote 138: Atticus.--Ver. 2. It is supposed that this Atticus was
the same person to whom Ovid addresses the Fourth and Seventh Pontic
Epistle in the Second Book. It certainly was not Pomponius Atticus, the
friend of Cicero, who died when the Poet was in his eleventh year.]

[Footnote 139: The years which."--Ver. 5. The age for serving in the
Roman armies, was from the seventeenth up to the forty-sixth year.]

[Footnote 140: Of his general.--Ver. 8. He alludes to the four
night-watches of the Roman army, which succeeded each other every three
hours. Each guard, or watch, consisted of four men, of whom one acted as
sentry, while the others were in readiness, in case of alarm.]

[Footnote 142: The othert doors.--Ver. 20. From the writings of Terence
and Plautus, as well as those of Ovid, we find that the youths of Rome
were not very scrupulous about kicking down the door of an obdurate
mistress.]

[Footnote 143: Thracian Rhesits.--Ver. 23. See the preceding Epistle of
Pénélope to Ulysses, and the speech of Ulysses in the Thirteenth Book of
the Metamorphoses.]

[Footnote 144: Cease to love.--Ver. 32. It is hard to say whether the
word 'Desinat' means 'Let him leave off saying so,' or 'Let him cease to
love': perhaps the latter is the preferable mode of rendering it.]

[Footnote 146: The raving prophetess.--Ver. 38. 'Mænas' literally means
'a raving female,' from the Greek word paivopai, 'to be mad.' He alludes
to Cassandra when inspired with the prophetic spirit.]

[Footnote 147: At the forge.--Ver. 39. When he was detected by means of
the iron net, as related in the Fourth Book of the Metamorphoses.]

[Footnote 148: A lazy inactivity.--Ver. 41. When persons wished to
be at ease in their leisure moments at home, they were in the habit of
loosening the girdle which fastened the tunic; from this circumstance,
the term 'dis-cinctus' is peculiarly applied to a state of indolence.]

[Footnote 149: Couch and the shade.--Ver. 42. 'Lectus et umbra' means
'lying in bed and reclining in the shade.' The shade of foliage would
have peculiar attractions in the cloudless climate of Italy, especially
for persons naturally inclined to be idle.]

[Footnote 150: To serve.--Ver. 44. 'Æra merere' has the same meaning
as 'stipendum merere,' 'to earn the pay of a soldier,' whence it came to
signify 'to sene as a soldier.' The ancient accounts differ materially
as to the pay which the Roman soldiers received.]

[Footnote 151: The Eurotas.--Ver. 1. The Eurotas was the river which
flowed past the walls of Sparta. He is alluding to Helen.]

[Footnote 152: Amymone.--Ver. 5. She was one of the Danaides, and
was carrying water, when she was attacked by a Satyr, and rescued by
Neptune. See the Epistle of Hero to Leander, 1. 131, and the Note to the
passage.]

[Footnote 153: Fold in his dress.--Ver. 18. The 'sinhs' of the 'toga,'
among the men, and of the 'palla,' among the women, which extended in
folds across the breast, was used as a pocket, in which they carried
money, purses, letters, and other articles. When the party was seated,
the 'sinus' would almost correspond in meaning with our word 'lap.']

[Footnote 154: Avaricious procurer.--Ver. 23. 'Leno' was a person who
kept a house for the purposes of prostitution, and who generally robbed
his victims of the profits of their unfortunate calling. This was called
'lenocinium,' and the trade was not forbidden, though the 'lenones' were
considered 'infames,' or 'disgraced,' and thereby lost certain political
rights.]

[Footnote 155: By compulsion.--Ver. 24. Being probably the slave of the
'leno,' he would use force to make her comply with his commands.]

[Footnote 156: Hired dishonestly.--Ver. 37. The evidence of witnesses
was taken by the Praetor, and was called 'jusjurandum in judicio,'
whereas the evidence of parties themselves was termed 'jusjurandum in
jure.' It was given on oath by such as the Praetor or other judge chose
to call, or as either party might propose for examination.]

[Footnote 157: The chest.--Ver. 38. The 'area' here means the strong
box, or chest, in which the Romans were accustomed to place their money;
they were generally made of, or bound with, iron or other metal.]

[Footnote 158: Commissioned judge.--Ver. 38. The 'judices selecti' were
the 'cen-tumviri,' a body of one hundred and five officers, whose duty
it was to assist the Praetor in questions where the right to property
was litigated. In the Second Book of the Tristia, 1. 93, we are informed
that the Poet himself filled the office of a 'judex selectus.']

[Footnote 159: That is purchased.--Ver. 39. Among the Romans, the
'patroni' defended their 'clientes' gratuitously, and it would have been
deemed disgraceful for them to take a fee or present.]

[Footnote 160: He who hires.--Ver. 45. The 'conductor' was properly the
person who hired the services, or the property of another, for a fixed
price. The word sometimes means 'a contractor,' or the person with
whom the bargain by the former party is made. See the public contract
mentioned in the Fasti, Book v. 1. 293.]

[Footnote 161: The Sabine bracelets.--Ver. 49. He alludes to the fate
of the Vestal virgin Tarpeia. See the Fasti, Book i. 1. 261, and Note;
also the Translation of the Metamorphoses, p. 516.]

[Footnote 163: The son pierced.--Ver. 52. Alcmæon killed his mother
Eriphyle, for having betrayed his father Amphiaraus. See the Second Book
of the Fasti, 1. 43, and the Third Book of the Pontic Epistles, Ep. i.
1. 52, and the Notes to the passages.]

[Footnote 164: A simple necklace.--Ver. 52. See the Epistle of Deianira
to Hercules, and the Tenth Book of the Metamorphoses 1. 113, with the
Note to the passage.]

[Footnote 165: Soil of Alcinoiis.--Ver. 56. The fertile gardens
of Alcinoiis, king of the Phæacians, are celebrated by Homer in the
Odyssey.]

[Footnote 166: The straggling locks.--Ver. 1. The duty of dressing
the hair of the Roman ladies was divided among several slaves, who were
called by the general terms of 'cosmetæ,' and 'omatrices.' It was the
province of one to curl the hair with a hot iron, called 'calamistrum,'
which was hollow, and was heated in wood ashes by a slave who, from
'cinis,' 'ashes,' was called 'ciniflo.' The duty of the 'psecas' came
next, whose place it was to anoint the hair. Then came that of the
'ornatrix,' who parted the curls with a comb or bodkin; this seems to
have been the province of Napè.]

[Footnote 167: To be reckoned.--Ver. 2. The Nymphs of the groves were
called [Footnote vanâtai ]; and perhaps from them Nape received her
name, as it is evidently of Greek origin. One of the dogs of Actæon is
called by the same name, in the Metamorphoses, Book iii. 1. 214.]

[Footnote 168: Giving the signale.--Ver. 4. 'Notis' may mean here,
either 'hints,]

'signs,' 'signals.' or 'letters.' In Nizard's French translation it is
rendered 'missives.']

[Footnote 169: Carry these tablets.--Ver. 7. On the wax tablets,
see the Note to the Pontic Epistles, Book ii. El. 9.1. 69, and the
Metamorphoses, Book ix. 1. 521, with the Note.]

[Footnote 170: So well filled.--Ver. 7. 'Peraratas' literally means
'ploughed over'; which term is properly applied to the action of the
'stylus,' in ploughing through the wax upon the tablets. Suetonius
relates that Julius Caesar, when he was murdered in the Senate House,
pierced the arm af the assassin Cassius with his 'stylus.']

[Footnote 172: A long answer.--Ver. 19. She is to write at once, on
having read his letter through. This she could do the more readily, as
she could use the same tablets, smoothing the wax with the broad end of
the 'graphium,' or 'stylus.']

[Footnote 175: Holding the pen.--Ver. 23. 'Graphium' was the Greek name
for the 'stylus,' or pen used for writing on the wax tablets. It was
generally of iron or copper, but sometimes of gold. The case in which it
was kept was called 'graphiarium,' or 'graphiaria theca.']

[Footnote 176: Of worthless maple.--Ver. 28. He calls the wood of the
tablets 'vile,' in comparison with their great services to him: for,
according to Pliny, Book xvi. c. 15, maple was the most valued wood
for tablets, next to 'citrus,' cedar, or citron wood. It was also more
useful than citron, because it could be cut into leaves, or laminae, of
a larger size than citron would admit of.]

[Footnote 178: Struck her foot.--Ver. 4. This is mentioned as a bad
omen by Laodamia, in her Epistle to Protesilaüs, 1. 88. So in the Tenth
Book of the Metamorphoses, in the shocking story of Cinyras and Myrrha;
Three times was she recalled by the presage of her foot stumbling.']

[Footnote 180: The Corsican lee.--Ver. 10. From Pliny, Book xvi., we
learn that the honey of Corsica was of a bitter taste, in consequence of
the box-trees and yews, with which the isle abounded, and which latter,
according to him, were poisonous. From Diodorus Siculus we learn that
there were many turpentine trees on the island; this would not tend to
improve the flavour of the honey.]

[Footnote 181: Dyed in vermilion.--Ver. 11. 'Minium,' 'red lead,'
or 'vermilion,' was discovered by Callias, an Athenian, according to
Theophrastus. It was sometimes mixed with the wax used for tablets:
probably not the best, but that which was naturally of a bad colour.
This censure of the tablets is a good illustration of the grapes being
sour. In the last Elegy, before he has received his repulse, he declares
the wax to be 'splen-dida,' 'of brilliaut whiteness through bleaching;'
now, on the other hand, he finds, most ominously, that it is as red as
blood.]

[Footnote 182: Dreadful crosses.--Ver. 18. See the First Book of the
Pontic Epistlea, Ep. vi. 1. 38, and the Note to the passage.]

[Footnote 183: The screech-owl.--Ver. 20. 'Strix' here means a
screech-owl; and not the fabulous bird referred to under that name, in
the Sixth Book of the Fasti, and the thirteenth line of the Eighth Elegy
of this Book.]

[Footnote 184: The prosy summons.--Ver. 23. 'Vadimonium legere'
probably means, 'to call a man on his bail' or 'recognizances.' When the
Praetor had granted an action, the plaintiff required the defendant to
give security for his appearance on the day named. The defendant, on
finding a surety, was said 'vades dare,' or 'vadimonium facere': and the
'vas,' or surety, was said 'spondere.' The plaintiff, if satisfied with
the surety, was said 'vadari reum,' 'to let the defendant go on his
sureties.']

[Footnote 185: Some judge.--Ver. 24. Some Commentators think that
the word 'cognitor' here means, the attorney, or procurator of the
plaintiff, who might, in his absence, carry on the cause for him. In
that case they would translate 'duro,' 'shameless,' or 'impudent.' But
another meaning of the word 'cognitor' is 'a judge,' or 'commissioner,'
and such seems to be the meaning here, in which case 'duras' will mean
'severe,' or 'sour;' 'as,' according to one Commentator, 'judges are
wont to be.' Much better would they lie amid diaries and day-books, [186]
over which the avaricious huncks might lament his squandered substance.
And have I then in reality as well as in name found you full of
duplicity? [187] The very number _of you_ was not one of good omen. What,
in my anger, ought I to pray, but that an old age of rottenness may
consume you, and that your wax may be white with nasty mould?]

[Footnote 186: And day-books.--Ver. 25. Seneca, at the end of his 19th
Epistle, calls a Calendar by the name of 'Ephemeris,' while a day-book
is meant by the term as used by Ausonius. The word here seems to mean
a 'diary;' while 'tabula' is perhaps a 'day-book,' in which current
expenses are set down, and over which the miser weeps, as the record of
past extravagance.]

[Footnote 187: Full of duplicity.--Ver. 27. The word 'duplex' means
either 'double,' or 'deceitful,' according to the context. He plays on
this twofold meaning, and says that double though they might be, still
truly deceitful they were; and that the two leaves of the tablets were
of no good omen to him. Two-leaved tablets were technically called
'diptycha.']

[Footnote 189: Honour the shades.--Ver. 4. 'Parento' means 'to
celebrate the funeral obsequies of one's parents.' Both the Romans and
the Greeks were accustomed to visit the tombs of their relatives
at certain times, and to offer sacrifices, called 'inferiæ,' or
'parentalia.' The souls of the departed were regarded by the Romans as
Gods, and the oblations to them consisted of milk, wine, victims, or
wreaths of flowers. The Poet here refers to the birds which arose from
the funeral pile of Memnon, and wera said to revisit it annually. See
the Thirteenth Book of the Metamorphoses.]

[Footnote 190: Moisture is cooling.--Ver. 7. 'Humor' seems to mean the
dew, or the dampness of the night, which would tend, in a hot climate,
to modify the sultriness of the atmosphere. One Commentator thinks that
the word means the humours of the brain.]

[Footnote 192: To their masters.--Ver. 17. The schools at Rome were
mostly kept by manumitted slaves; and we learn from the Fasti, Book iii.
1. 829, that people were not very particular about paying them.]

[Footnote 193: The cruel stripes.--Ver. 18. The punishment here
mentioned was generally inflicted on the hands of the Roman school-boys,
with a 'ferula,' or stalk of giant-fennel, as we learn from Juvenal,
Satire 1.]

[Footnote 194: The attorney.--Ver. 19. The business of the
'jurisconsultus' was to expound and give opinions on the law, much like
the chamber counsel of the present day. They were also known by the name
of 'juris periti,' or 'consulti' only. Cicero gives this definition of
the duty of a 'consultus.']

'He is à person who has such a knowledge of the laws and customs which
prevail in a state, as to be able to advise, and secure a person in
his dealings. They advised their clients gratuitously, either in public
places, or at their own houses. They also drew up wills and contracts,
as in the present instance.]

[Footnote 195: To become bail.--Ver. 19. This passage has given much
trouble to the Commentators, but it has been well explained by Burmann,
whose ideas on the subject are here adopted. The word 'sponsum' has
been generally looked upon here as a noun substantive, whereas it is the
active supine of the verb 'spondeo,' 'to become bail' or 'security.' The
meaning then is, that some rise early, that they may go and become bail
for a friend, and thereby incur risk and inconvenience, through uttering
a single word, 'spondeo,' 'I become security,' which was the formula
used. The obligation was coutracted orally, and for the purpose of
evidencing it, witnesses were necessary; for this reason the
undertaking was given, as in the present instance, in the presence of a
'jurisconsultus.']

[Footnote 198: To the pleader.--Ver. 21. 'Causidicus' was the person
who pleads the cause of his client in court before the Prætor or other
judges.]

[Footnote 199: What if.--Ver. 33. Heinsius and other Commentators think
that this line and the next are spurious. The story of Cephalus
and Procris is related at the close of the Seventh Book of the
Metamorphoses.]

[Footnote 201: The Moon gave.--Ver. 43. Ovid says that Diana sent the
sleep upon Endymion, whereas it was Jupiter who did so, as a punishment
for his passion for Juno; he alludes to the youthfulness of the favorite
of Diana, antithetically to the old age of Tithonus, the husband of
Aurora.]

[Footnote 202: Two nights together.--Ver. 46. When he slept with
Acmena, under the form of her husband Amphion.]

[Footnote 203: Doctoring your hair.--Ver. 1. Among the ancient Greeks,
black hair was the most frequent, but that of a blonde colour was most
valued. It was not uncommon with them to dye it when turning grey, so as
to make it a black or blonde colour, according to the requirement of the
case. Blonde hair was much esteemed by the Romans, and the ladies were
in the habit of washing their hair with a composition to make it of this
colour. This was called 'spuma caustica,' or, 'caustic soap,' wich was
first used by the Gauls and Germans; from its name, it was probably the
substance which had been used inthe present instance.]

[Footnote 204: So far as ever.--Ver. 4. By this he means as low as her
ancles.]

[Footnote 205: Afraid to dress.--Ver. 5. He means to say, that it was
so fine that she did not dare to curl it, for fear of injuring it.]

[Footnote 206: Just like the veils.--Ver. 6. Burmann thinks that
'fila,' 'threads,' is better here than 'vela,' and that it is the
correct reading. The swarthy Seres here mentioned, were perhaps the
Chinese, who probably began to import their silks into Rome about this
period. The mode of producing silk does not seem to have been known to
Virgil, who speaks, in the Second Book of the Georgies, of the Seres
combing it off the leaves of trees. Pliny also, in his Sixth Book, gives
the same account. Ovid, however, seems to refer to silkworms under the
name of 'agrestes tineæ,' in the Fifteenth Book of the Metamorphoses, 1.
372.]

[Footnote 208: Neither the bodkin.--Ver. 15. This was the
'discerniculum,' a 'bodkin,' which was used in parting the hair.]

[Footnote 210: Bid the bodkin.--Ver. 18. The 'acus' here mentioned, was
probably the 'discemicirium,' and not the 'crinale,' or hair-pin that
was worn in the hair; as the latter was worn when the hair was bound up
at the back of the head; whereas, judging from the length of the hair
of his mistress, she most probably wore it in ringlets. He says that
he never saw her snatch up the bodkin and stick it in the arm of the
'ornatrix.']

[Footnote 211: Iron and the fire.--Ver. 25. He alludes to the
unnecessary application of the curling-iron to hair which naturally
curled so well.]

[Footnote 212: The very locks instruct.--Ver. 30. Because they
naturally assume as advantageous an appearance as the bodkin could
possibly give them, when arranged with the utmost skill.]

[Footnote 213: Dione is painted.--Ver. 34. Pliny, book xxxv. c. 4,
mentions a painting, by Apelles, in which Venus was represented as
rising from the sea. It was placed, by Augustus, in the temple of Julius
Caesar; and the lower part having become decayed, no one could be found
of sufficient ability to repair it.]

[Footnote 214: Lay down the mirror.--Ver. 16. The mirror was usually
held by the 'ornatrix,' while her mistress arranged her hair.]

[Footnote 215: Herbs of a rival.--Ver. 39. No person would be more
likely than the 'pellex,' or concubine, to resort to charms and drugs,
for the purpose of destroying the good looks of the married woman whose
husband she wishes to retain.]

[Footnote 216: All bad omens.--Ver. 41. So superstitious were the
Romans, that the very mention of death, or disease, was deemed ominous
of ill.]

[Footnote 217: Germany will be sending.--Ver 45. Germany having been
lately conquered by the arms of Augustus, he says that she must wear
false hair, taken from the German captives. It was the custom to cut
short the locks of the captives, and the German women were famed for the
beauty of their hair.]

[Footnote 218: Sygambrian girl.--Ver. 49. The Sygambri were a people of
Ger many, living on the banks of the rivers Lippe and Weser.]

[Footnote 219: For that spot.--Ver. 53. She carries a lock of the hair,
which had fallen off, in her bosom.]

[Footnote 221: My tongue for hire.--Ver. 6. Although the 'patronus
pleaded the cause of the 'cliens,' without reward, still, by the use of
the word 'pros-tituisse,' Ovid implies that the services of the advocate
were often sold at a price. It must be remembered, that Ovid had been
educated for the Roman bar, which he had left in disgust.]

[Footnote 222: Mæonian bard.--Ver. 9. Strabo says, that Homer was a
native of Smyrna, which was a city of Maeonia, a province of Phrygia.
But Plutarch says, that he was called 'Maeonius,' from Maeon, a king of
Lydia, who adopted him as his son.]

[Footnote 223: Tenedos and Ida.--Ver. 10. Tenedos, Ida, and Simois,
were the scenes of some portions of the Homeric narrative. The first was
near Troy, in sight of it, as Virgil says--'est in conspectu Tenedos.']

[Footnote 224: The Ascræan, tool--Ver. 11. Hesiod of Ascræa, in
Boeotia, wrote chieflv upon agricultural subjects. See the Pontic
Epistles, Book iv. ep. xiv. 1. 38.]

[Footnote 225: With its juices.--Ver. 11. The 'mustum' was the pure
jidcc of the grape before it was boiled down and became 'sapa,'
or 'defrutum.' See the Fasti, Book iv. 1. 779, and the Note to the
passage.]

[Footnote 226: The son of Battus.--Ver. 13. As to the poet Callimachus,
the son of Battus, see the Tristia, Book ii. 1. 367, and the Ibis, 1.
55.]

[Footnote 227: To the tragic buskin.--Ver. 15. On the 'cothurnus,' or
'buskin,' see the Tristia, Book ii. 1. 393, and the Note to the passage.
Sophocles was one of the most famous of the Athenian Tragedians. He is
supposed to have composed more than one hundred and twenty tragedies, of
which only seven are remaining.]

[Footnote 228: Aratus.--Ver. 16. Aratus was a Greek poet, a native of
Cilicia, in Asia Minor. He wrote some astronomical poems, of which one,
called 'Phænomena,' still exists. His style is condemned by Quintilian,
although it is here praised by Ovid. His 'Phænomena' was translated into
Latin by Cicero, Germanicus Caesar, and Sextus Avienus.]

[Footnote 229: The deceitful slave.--Ver. 17. Although the plays of
Menander have perished, we can judge from Terence and Plautus, how well
he depicted the craftiness of the slave, the severity of the father, the
dishonesty of the procuress, and the wheedling ways of the courtesan.
Four of the plays of Terence are translations from Menander. See the
Tristia, Book ii. 1. 369, and the Note to the passage.]

[Footnote 230: Ennius.--Ver. 19. Quintus Ennius was a Latin poet, a
Calabrian by birth. He flourished about 408 years before Christ. The
few fragments of his works that remain, show the ruggedness and uncouth
nature of his style. He wrote the Annals of Italy in heroic verse.]

[Footnote 231: Accius.--Ver. 19. See the Second Book of the Tristia, 1.
359, and the Note to the passage.]

[Footnote 232: Of Varro.--Ver. 21. He refers to Publius Terentius Varro
Attacinus, who wrote on the Argonautic expedition. See the Tristia, Book
ii. 1. 439, and the Pontic Epistles, Book iv. Ep. xvi. 1. 21.]

[Footnote 233: Lucretius.--Ver. 23. Titus Lucretius Carus is referred
to, whose noble poem on the Epicurean philosophy is still in existence
(translated in Bohn's Classical Library). See the Tristia, Book ii. 1.
261 and 426, and the Notes to those passages.]

[Footnote 234: Tityrus.--Ver. 25. Under this name he alludes to Virgil,
who introduces himself under the name of Tityrus, in his first Eclogue,
See the Pontic Epistles, *Boek iv. Ep. xvi. 1. 33.]

[Footnote 235: So long as thou, Rome.--Ver. 26. His prophecy has been
surpassed by the event. Rome is no longer the 'caput urbis,' but the
works of Virgil are still read by all civilized nations.]

[Footnote 236: Polished Tibullus.--Ver. 28. Albius Tibullus was a Roman
poet of Equestrian rank, famous for the beauty of his compositions.
He was born in the same year as Ovid, but died at an early age. Ovid
mentions him in the Tristia, Book ii. 1. 447 and 463, Book iv. Ep. x.
1. 52, and Book v. Ep. i. 1. 18. In the Third Book of the Amores, El. 9,
will be found his Lament on the death of Tibullus.]

[Footnote 237: Gallus --Ver. 29. Cornelius Gallus was a Roman poet of
considerable merit. See the Tristia, Book ii 1. 445, and the Note to the
passage, and the Amores, Book iii. El. 1.]

[Footnote 238: By the East.--Ver. 29. Gallus was the Roman governor of
Egypt, which was an Eastern province of Rome.]

[Footnote 239: The golden Tagus.--Ver. 34. Pliny and other authors
make mention of the golden sands of the Tagus, which flowed through the
province of Lusitania, now Portugal.]

[Footnote 240: The closing fire.--Ver. 41. Pliny says that the ancient
Romans buried the dead; but in consequence of the bones being disturbed
by continual warfare, they adopted the system of burning them.]




FOOTNOTES BOOK TWO:


[Footnote 301: The watery Peligni.--Ver. 1. In the Fourth Book of
the Fasti, 1. 81, and the Fourth Book of the Tristia, 1. x. El. 3, he
mentions Sulmo, a town of the Peligni, as the place of his birth. It was
noted for its many streams or rivulets.]

[Footnote 302: And Gyges.--Ver. 12. This giant was more generally
called Gyas. He and his hundred-handed brothers, Briareus and Cæus, were
the sons of Coelus and Terra.]

[Footnote 303: Verses bring down.--Ver. 23. He alludes to the power of
magic spells, and attributes their efficacy to their being couched
in poetic measures; from which circumstance they received the name of
'carmina.']

[Footnote 304: And by verses.--Ver. 28. He means to say that in the
same manner as magic spells have brought down the moon, arrested the
sun, and turned back rivers towards their source, so have his Elegiac
strains been as wonderfully successful in softening the obduracy of his
mistress.]

[Footnote 305: Bagous.--Ver. 1. The name Bagoas, or, as it is here
Latinized. Bagous, is said to have signified, in the Persian language,
'an eunuch.' It was probably of Chaldæan origin, having that meaning.
As among the Eastern nations of the present day, the more jealous of the
Romans confided the care of their wives or mistresses to eunuch slaves,
who were purchased at a very large price.]

[Footnote 306: Daughters of Danaus.--Ver. 4. The portico under the
temple of Apollo, on the Palatine Hill, was adorned with the statues of
Danaus, the son of Belus, and his forty-nine guilty daughters. It was
built by Augustus, on a spot adjoining to his palace. Ovid mentions
these statues in the Third Elegy of the Third Book of the Tristia, 1.
10.]

[Footnote 307: Let him go.--Ver. 20. 'Eat' seems here to mean 'let
him go away' from the house; but Nisard's translation renders it 'qu'il
entre,' 'let him come in.']

[Footnote 308: At the sacrifice.--Ver. 23. It is hard to say what 'si
faciet tarde' means: it perhaps applies to the rites of Isis, mentioned
in the 25th line.]

If she shall be slow in her sacrifice.']

[Footnote 309: Linen-clad Isis.--Ver. 25. Seethe 74th line of the
Eighth Elegy of the preceding Book, and the Note to the passage; and the
Pontic Epistles, Book i. line 51, and the Note. The temple of Isis,
at Rome, was in the Campus Martius, or Field of Mars, near the sheep
market. It was noted for the intrigues and assignations of which it was
the scene.]

[Footnote 310: He turns the house.--Ver. 29. As the Delphin Editor
says, 'Il peut renverser la maison,' 'he can turn the house upside
down.']

[Footnote 311: The masters approve..--Ver. 30. He means to say that the
eunuch and his mistress will be able to do just as they please.]

[Footnote 312: An executioner.--Ver. 36. To blind the husband, by
pretending harshness on the part of Bagous.]

[Footnote 313: Of the truth.--Ver. 38 This line is corrupt, and there
are about ten various readings. The meaning, however, is clear; he is,
by making false charges, to lead the husband away from a suspicion of
the truth; and to put him, as we say, in common parlance, on the wrong
scent.]

[Footnote 314: Your limited savings.--Ver. 39. 'Peculium,' here means
the stock of money which a slave, with the consent of his master, laid
up for his own, 'his savings.' The slaves of the Romans being not only
employed in domestic offices and the labours of the field, but as agents
or factors for their masters, in the management of business, and as
mechanics and artisans in various trades, great profits were made
through them. As they were often entrusted with a large amount of
property, and considerable temptations were presented to their honesty,
it became the practice to allow the slave to consider a part of
his gains, perhaps a per centage, as his own; this was termed his
'peculium.' According to the strict letter of the law, the 'peculium'
was the property of the master, but, by usage, it was looked upon as the
property of the slave. It was sometimes agreed upon between the
master and slave, that the latter should purchase his liberty with
his 'peculium,' when it amounted to a certain sum. If the slave was
manumitted by the owner in his lifetime, his 'peculium' was considered
to be given him, with his liberty, unless it was expressly retained.]

[Footnote 315: Necks of informers.--Ver. 41. He probably alludes to
informers who have given false evidence. He warns Bagous of their fate,
intending to imply that both his mistress and himself will deny all, if
he should attempt to criminate them.]

[Footnote 325: Tongue caused this.--Ver. 44. According to one account,
his punishment was inflicted for revealing the secrets of the Gods.]

[Footnote 326: Appointed by Juno.--Ver. 45. This was Argus, whose fate
is related at the end of the First Book of the Metamorphoses.]

[Footnote 327: Alas! that.--Ver. 1. He is again addressing Bagous, and
begins in a strain of sympathy, since his last letter has proved of no
avail with the obdurate eunuch.]

[Footnote 328: Mutilate Joys --Ver. 3. According to most accounts,
Semiramis was the first who put in practice this abominable custom.]

[Footnote 329: Standard be borne.--Ver. 10. He means, that he is bound,
with his mistress to follow the standard of Cupid, and not of Mars.]

[Footnote 330: Favours to advantage.--Ver. 13. 'Ponere' here means,
literally, 'to put out at interest.' He tells the eunuch that he has
now the opportunity of conferring obligations, which will bring him in à
good interest by way of return.]

[Footnote 332: Sabine dames.--Ver. 15. Juvenal, in his Tenth Satire, 1.
293, mentions the Sabine women as examples of prudence and chastity.]

[Footnote 333: In her stateliness.--Ver. 16. Burmann would have 'ex
alto' to mean 'ex alto pectore,' 'from the depths of her breast.' In
such case the phrase will correspond with our expression, 'to dissemble
deeply,' 'to be a deep dissembler.']

[Footnote 334: Modulates her voice.--Ver. 25. Perhaps 'flectere vocem'
means what we technically call, in the musical art, 'to quaver.']

[Footnote 335: Her arms to time.--Ver. 29. Dancing was, in general,
discouraged among the Romans. That here referred to was probably the
pantomimic dance, in which, while all parts of the body were called into
action, the gestures of the arms and hands were especially used, whence
the expressions 'manus loquacissimi,' 'digiti clamosi,' 'expressive
hands,' or 'fingers.' During the Republic, and the earlier periods of
the Empire, women never appeared on the stage, but they frequently acted
at the parties of the great. As it was deemed disgraceful for a free man
to dance, the practice at Rome was probably confined to slaves, and the
lowest class of the citizens. See the Fasti, Book iii. 1. 536, and the
Note to the passage.]

[Footnote 336: Hippolytus.--Ver. 32. Hippolytus was an example of
chastity, while Priapus was the very ideal of lustfulness.]

[Footnote 337: Heroines of old.--Ver. 33. He supposes the women of
the Heroic ages to have been of extremely tall stature. Andromache was
remarkable for her height.]

[Footnote 338: The brunette.--Ver. 39. 'Flava,' when coupled with
a female name, generally signifies 'having the hair of a flaxen,' or
'golden colour'; here, however, it seems to allude to the complexion,
though it would be difficult to say what tint is meant. Perhaps an
American would have no difficulty in translating it 'a yellow girl.' In
the 43rd line, he makes reference to the hair of a 'flaxen,' or 'golden
colour.']

[Footnote 339: Tablets rubbed out.--Ver. 5. If 'deletæ' is the correct
reading here, it must mean 'no tablets from which in a hurry you 'have
rubbed off the writing.' 'Non interceptæ' has been suggested, and it
would certainly better suit the sense. 'No intercepted tablets have,
&c.']

[Footnote 342: The wine on table.--Ver. 14. The wine was probably on
this occasion placed on the table, after the 'coena,' or dinner. The
Poet, his mistress, and his acquaintance, were, probably, reclining
on their respective couches; he probably, pretended to fall asleep to
watch, their conduct, which may have previously excited his suspicions.]

[Footnote 343: Moving your eyebrows.--Ver. 15. See the Note to the 19th
line of the Fourth Elegy of the preceding Book.]

[Footnote 344: Were not silent.--Ver. 17. See the Note to the 20th line
of the same Elegy.]

[Footnote 345: Traced over with wine.--Ver. 18. See the 22nd and 26th
lines of the same Elegy.]

[Footnote 346: Your discourse.--Ver. 19. He seems to mean that they
were pretending to be talking on a different subject from that about
which they were really discoursing, but that he understood their hidden
meaning. See a similar instance mentioned in the Epistle of Paris to
Helen, 1. 241.]

[Footnote 347: Hand of a master.--Ver. 30. He asserts the same right
over her favours, that the master (dominus) does over the services of
the slave.]

[Footnote 348: New-made husband.--Ter. 36. Perhaps this refers to
the moment of taking off the bridal veil, or 'flammeum,' when she has
entered her husband's house.]

[Footnote 349: Of her steeds.--Ver. 38. When the moon appeared red,
probably through a fog, it was supposed that she was being subjected to
the spells of witches and enchanters.]

[Footnote 350: Assyrian ivory.--Ver. 40. As Assyria adjoined India,
the word 'Assyrium' is here used by poetical licence, as really meaning
'Indian.']

[Footnote 351: Woman has stained.--Ver. 40. From this we learn that it
was the custom of the Lydians to tint ivory of a pink colour, that it
might not turn yellow with age.]

[Footnote 352: Of this quality.--Ver. 54. 'Nota,' here mentioned, is
literally the mark which was put upon the 'amphorae,' or 'cadi,' the
'casks' of the ancients, to denote the kind, age, or quality of the
wine. Hence the word figuratively means, as in the present instance,
'sort,' or 'quality.' Our word 'brand' has a similar meaning. The finer
kinds of wine were drawn off from the 'dolia,' or large vessels, in
which they were kept into the 'amphoræ,' which were made of earthenware
or glass, and the mouth of the vessel was stopped tight by a plug of
wood or cork, which was made impervious to the atmosphere by being
rubbed over with pitch, clay, or a composition of gypsum. On the
outside, the title of the wine was painted, the date of the vintage
being denoted by the names of the Consuls then in office: and when the
vessels were of glass, small tickets, called 'pittacia,' were suspended
from them, stating to a similar effect. For a full account of
the ancient wines, see Dr. Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman
Antiquities.]

[Footnote 353: The imitative bird.--Ver. 1. Statius, in his Second
Book, calls the parrot 'Humanæ sollers imitator linguæ,' 'the clever
imitator of the human voice.']

[Footnote 354: The long trumpet.--Ver. 6. We learn from Aulus Gellius,
that the trumpeters at funerals were called 'siticines.' They headed
the funeral procession, playing mournful strains on the long trumpet,
'tuba,' here mentioned. These were probably in addition to the
'tibicines,' or 'pipers,' whose number was limited to ten by Appius
Claudius, the Censor. See the Sixth Book of the Fasti, 1. 653.]

[Footnote 360: Affectionate turtle-dove.--Ver. 12. This turtle-dove and
the parrot had been brought up in the same cage together. He probably
refers to these birds in the thirty-eighth line of the Epistle of Sappho
to Phaon where he mentions the turtle-dove as being black. This Elegy is
remarkable for its simplicity and pathetic beauty, and can hardly fail
to remind the reader of Cowper's Elegies, on the death of the bullfinch,
and that of his pet hare.]

[Footnote 361: The Phocian youth.--Ver. 15. He alludes to the
friendship of Orestes and Pylades the Phocian, the son of Strophius.]

[Footnote 362: So prettily.--Ver. 24. 'Bene' means here, 'prettily,' or
'cleverly,' rather than 'distinctly,' which would be inconsistent with
the signification of blæsus.]

[Footnote 363: All their battles --Ver. 27. Aristotle, in the Eighth
Chapter of the Ninth Book of his History of Animals, describes quails
or ortolans, and partridges, as being of quarrelsome habits, and much at
war among themselves.]

[Footnote 364: The foreboder.--Ver. 34. Festus Avienus, in his
Prognostics, mentions the jackdaw as foreboding rain by its chattering.]

[Footnote 366: Armed Minerva.--Ver. 35. See the story of the Nymph
Coronis, in the Second Book of the Metamorphoses.]

[Footnote 367: After nine ages.--Ver. 36. Pliny makes the life of the
crow to last for a period of three hundred years.]

[Footnote 368: Destined numbers.--Ver. 40. 'Numeri' means here, the
similar. parts of one whole: 'the allotted portions of human life.']

[Footnote 369: Seventh day was come.--Ver. 45. Hippocrates, in his
Aphorisms, mentions the seventh, fourteenth, and twentieth, as the
critical days in a malady. Ovid may here possibly allude to the seventh
day of fasting, which was supposed to terminate the existence of the
person so doing.]

[Footnote 370: Corinna, farewell.--Ver. 48. It may have said 'Corinna;'
but Ovid must excuse us if we decline to believe that it said 'vale,'
'farewell,' also; unless, indeed, it had been in the habit of saying so
before; this, perhaps, may have been the case, as it had probably often
heard the Poet say 'vale' to his mistress.]

[Footnote 371: The Elysian hill.--Ver. 49. He kindly imagines a place
for the souls of the birds that are blessed.]

[Footnote 372: By his words.--Ver. 58. His calling around him, in
human accents, the other birds in the Elysian fields, is ingeniously and
beautifully imagined.]

[Footnote 377: This very tomb.--Ver. 61. This and the following line
are considered by Heinsius to be spurious, and, indeed, the next line
hardly looks like the composition of Ovid.]

[Footnote 378: Am I then.--Ver. 1. 'Ergo' here is very expressive. 'Am
I always then to be made the subject of fresh charges?']

[Footnote 379: Long-eared ass.--Ver. 15. Perhaps the only holiday that
the patient ass got throughout the year, was in the month of June,
when the festival of Vesta was celebrated, and to which Goddess he had
rendered an important service. See the Sixth Book of the Fasti, 1. 311,
et seq.]

[Footnote 380: Skilled at tiring.--Ver. 17. She was the 'ornatrix,'
or 'tiring woman' of Corinna. As slaves very often received their names
from articles of dress, Cypassis was probably so called from the
garment called 'cypassis,' which was worn by women and men of effeminate
character, and extended downwards to the ancles.]

[Footnote 387: With the whip.--Ver. 22. From this we see that the whip
was applied to the female slaves, as well as the males.]

[Footnote 388: Carpathian ocean..--Ver. 20. See the Metamorphoses, Book
xi.]

1. 249, and the Note to this passage.]

[Footnote 389: Swarthy Cypassis.--Ver. 22. From this expression, she
was probably a native of Egypt or Syria.]

[Footnote 390: With his spear.--Ver. 7. He alludes to the cure of
Telephus by the aid of the spear of Achilles, which had previously
wounded him.]

[Footnote 391: Cottages of thatch.--Ver. 18. In the First Book of the
Fasti, 1.199, he speaks of the time when 'a little cottage received
Quiriuus, the begotten of Mars, and the sedge of the stream afforded him
a scanty couch.' The straw-thatched cottage of Romulus was preserved at
Rome for many centuries. See the Fasti, Book iii. 1. 184, and the Note
to the passage.]

[Footnote 392: Off to the fields.--Ver. 19. The 'emeriti,' or veterans
of the Roman legions, who had served their full time, received a regular
discharge, which was called 'missio,' together with a bounty, either in
money, or an allotment of land. Virgil was deprived of his property near
Mantua, by the officers of Augustus; and in his first Eclogue, under
the name of Tityrus, he relates how he obtained restitution of it on
applying to the Emperor.]

[Footnote 393: Free from the race.--Ver. 20. Literally, 'the starting
place.']

[Footnote 394: Wand of repose--Ver. 22. For an account of the 'rudis,'
and the privilege it conferred, see the Tristia, Book, iv, El. 8. 1.
24.]

[Footnote 395: Græcinus.--Ver. 1. He addresses three of his Pontic
Epistles, namely, the Sixth of the First Book, the Sixth of the Second
Book, and the Ninth of the Fourth Book, to his friend Græcinus. In the
latter Epistle, he congratulates him upon his being Consul elect.]

[Footnote 396: Without my arms.--Ver. 3. 'Inermis,' may be rendered,
'off my guard.']

[Footnote 397: Like the skiff.--Ver. 10. 'Pliaselos' is perhaps here
used as a general name for a boat or skiff; but the vessel which was
particularly so called, was long and narrow, and probably received its
name from its resemblance to a kidney-bean, which was called 'ptaselus.'
The 'phaseli' were chiefly used by the Egyptians, and were of various
sizes, from that of a mere boat to a vessel suited for a long voyage.
Appian mentions them as being a medium between ships of war and merchant
vessels. Being built for speed, they were more noted for their swiftness
than for their strength. Juvenal, Sat. xv, 1. 127, speaks of them as
being made of clay; but, of course, that can only refer to 'pha-seli' of
the smallest kind.]

[Footnote 401: That are thin.--Ver 23. The Poet was of slender figure.]

[Footnote 402: Arm his breast --Ver. 31. He alludes to the 'lorica,' or
cuirass, which was worn by the soldiers.]

[Footnote 403: Of his battles.--Ver. 36. He probably was thinking at
this moment of the deaths of Cornelius Gallus, and T. Haterius, of the
Equcstriai order, whose singular end is mentioned by Valerius Maximus,
11. ix c. 12, s. 8, and by Pliny the Elder, B. vii., c. 53.]

[Footnote 404: The meeting rocks.--Ver 3. See the 121st line of the
Epistle of Medea to Jason, and the Note to the passage.]

[Footnote 405: Tinted pebbles.--Ver. 13. The 'picti lapilli' are
probably camelians, which are found on the sea shore, and are of various
tints.]

[Footnote 406: The recreation.--Ver. 14. 'Mora,' 'delay,' is put here
for that which causes the delay. 'That is a pleasure which belongs to
the shore.']

[Footnote 407: In what Malea.--Ver. 20. Propertius and Virgil also
couple Malea, the dangerous promontory on the South of Laconia, with the
Syrtes or quicksands of the Libyan coast.]

[Footnote 409: Stars of the fruitful Leda.--Ver. 29. Commentators are
divided upon the exact meaning of this line. Some think that it refers
to the Constellations of Castor and Pollux, which were considered to be
favourable to mariners; and which Horace mentions in the first line
of his Third Ode, B. i., 'Sic fratres Helenae, lucida sidera,' 'The
brothers of Helen, those brilliant stars.' Others think that it refers
to the luminous appearances which were seen to settle on the masts
of ships, and were called by the name of Castor and Pollux; they were
thought to be of good omen when both appeared, but unlucky when seen
singly.]

[Footnote 410: In the couch.--Ver. 31. 'Torus' most probably means, in
this place a sofa, on which the ladies would recline while reading.]

[Footnote 411: Amusing books.--Ver. 31. By using the diminutive
'libellus' here, he probably means some light work, such as a bit of
court scandal, of a love poem.]

[Footnote 412: My Divinities.--Ver. 44. See the Second Epistle, 1. 126,
and the Note to the passage.]

[Footnote 413: As a table.--Ver. 48. This denotes his impatience to
entertain her once again, and to hear the narrative of her adventures.]

[Footnote 414: Though they be fictions.--Ver. 53. He gives a sly hit
here at the tales of travellers.]

[Footnote 415: Twice five years.--Ver. 9. Or the 'lustrum' of the
Romans, see the Fasti, Book iii. 1. 166, and the Tristia, Book iv. El.
10.]

[Footnote 416: And the cause.--Ver. 17. This passage is evidently
misunderstood in Nisard's translation, 'Je ne serai pas non plus la caus
d'une nouvelle guerre,' 'I will never more be the cause of a new war.']

[Footnote 417: A female again.--Ver. 22. He alludes to the war in
Latium, between Æneas and Turnus, for the hand of Lavinia, the daughter
of Latinus and Amata. See the narrative in the Fourteenth book of the
Metamorphoses.]

[Footnote 421: 'Twas the females--Ver. 23. The rape of the Sabines, by
the contrivance of Romulus, is here alluded to. The narrative will
be found in the Third Book of the Fasti, 1. 203, et seq. It has been
suggested, but apparently without any good grounds, that Tarpeia is here
alluded to.]

[Footnote 422: Thou who dost.--Ver. 7. Io was said to be worshipped
under the name of Isis.]

[Footnote 423: Parætonium.--Ver. 7. This city was situate at the
Canopic mouth of the Nile, at the Western extremity of Egypt, adjoining
to Libya. According to Strabo, its former name was Ammonia. It
still preserves its ancient name in a great degree, as it is called
al-Baretoun.]

[Footnote 424: Fields of Canopus.--Ver. 7. Canopus was a city at one
of the mouths of the Nile, now called Aboukir. The epithet
'genialis,' seems to have been well deserved, as it was famous for its
voluptuousness. Strabo tells us that there was a temple there dedicated
to Serapis, to which multitudes resorted by the canal from Alexandria.
He says that the canal was filled, night and day, with men and women
dancing and playing music on board the vessels, with the greatest
licentiousness. The place was situate on an island of the Nile, and
was about fifteen miles distant from Alexandria. Ovid gives a similar
description of Alexandria, in the Tristia, Book i. El. ii. 1. 79. See
the Note to the passage.]

[Footnote 425: Memphis.--Ver. 8. Memphis was a city situate on the
North of Egypt, on the banks of the Nile. It was said to have been built
by Osirit.]

[Footnote 426: Pharos.--Ver. 8. See the Metamorphoses, Book ix. 1. 772,
and Book xv. 1. 287, with the Notes to the passages.]

[Footnote 428: By thy sistra. --Ver. 11. For an account of the mystic
'sistra' of Isis, see the Pontic Epistles, Book i. El. i. 1. 38, and the
Note.]

[Footnote 429: Anubis. --Ver. 11. For an account of Anuhis, the Deity
with the dog's head, see the Metamorphoses, Book ix. 1. 689, and the
Note.]

[Footnote 430: Osiris.--Ver. 12. See the Metamorphoses, Book ix. 1.
692, and the Note to the passage.]

[Footnote 431: The sluggish serpent.--Ver. 13. Macrobius tells us, that
the Egyptians accompanied the statue of Serapis with that of an animal
with three heads, the middle one that of a lion, the one to the right,
of a dog, and that to the left, of a ravenous wolf; and that a serpent
was represented encircling it in its folds, with its head below the
right hand of the statue of the Deity. To this the Poet possibly
alludes, or else to the asp, which was common in the North of Egypt, and
perhaps, was looked upon as sacred. If so, it is probable that the word
'pigra,' 'sluggish,' refers to the drowsy effect produced by the sting
of the asp, which was generally mortal. This, indeed, seems the more
likely, from the fact of the asp being clearly referred to, in company
with these Deities, in the Ninth Book of the Metamorphoses, 1. 93; which
see, with the Note to the passage.]

[Footnote 432: The horned Apis.--Ver. 14. See the Ninth Book of the
Metamorphoses, 1. 691, and the Note to the passage.]

[Footnote 433: Thy features.--Ver. 15. Isis is here addressed, as
being supposed to be the same Deity as Diana Lucina, who was invoked by
pregnant and parturient women. Thus Isis appears to Telethusa, a Cretan
woman, in her pregnancy, in the Ninth Book of the Metamorphoses, 1. 665,
et seq.]

[Footnote 434: Thy appointed days.--Ver. 17. Votaries who were
worshipping in the temples of the Deities sat there for a considerable
time, especially when they attended for the purpose of sacrifice. In
the First Book of the Pontic Epistles, Ep. i. 1. 50, Ovid says, 'I have
beheld one who confessed that he had offended the Divinity of Isis,
clothed in linen, sitting before he altars of Isis.']

[Footnote 435: On which.--Ver. 18. 'Queis' seems a preferable reading
to 'qua.']

[Footnote 436: The Galli.--Ver. 18. Some suppose that Isis and Cybele
were the same Divinity, and that the Galli, or priests of Cybele,
attended the rites of their Goddess under the name of Isis. It seems
clear, from the present passage, that the priests of Cybele, who were
called Galli, did perform the rites of Isis, but there is abundant proof
that these were considered as distinct Deities. In imitation of the
Corybantes, the original priests of Cybele, they performed her rites
to the sound of pipes and tambourines, and ran to and fro in a frenzied
manner.]

[Footnote 437: With thy laurels.--Ver. 18. See the Note to the 692nd
line of the Ninth Book of the Metamorphoses. While celebrating the
search for the limbs of Osiris, the priests uttered lamentations,
accompanied with the sound of the 'sistra'; but when they had found the
body, they wore wreaths of laurel, and uttered cries, signifying their
joy.]

[Footnote 438: Ilithyia.--Ver. 21. As to the Goddess Ilithyia, see the
Ninth Book of the Metamorphoses, 1. 283, and the Note to the passage.]

[Footnote 439: With their bucklers.--Ver. 2. Armed with 'peltæ,' or
bucklers, like the Amazons.]

[Footnote 440: The sand must.--Ver. 8. This figure is derived from the
gladiatorial fights of the amphitheatre, where the spot on which they
fought was strewed with sand, both for the purpose of giving a firm
footing to the gladiators, and of soaking up the blood that was shed.]

[Footnote 441: Again throw stones.--Ver. 12. He alludes to Deucalion
and Pyr-rha. See the First Book of the Metamorphoses.]

[Footnote 442: Ilia had destroyed.--Ver. 16. Romulus was her son. See
her story, related at the beginning of the Third Book of the Fasti.]

[Footnote 443: Why pierce.--Ver. 27. He alludes to the sharp
instruments which she had used for the purpose of procuring abortion:
a practice which Canace tells Macareus that her nurse had resorted to.
Epistle xi. 1. 40--43.]

[Footnote 444: Armenian dens.--Ver. 35. See the Metamorphoses, Book
viii. 1. 126, and the Note to the passage.]

[Footnote 445: Many a time.--Ver. 38. He seems here to speak of this
practice as being frequently resorted to.]

[Footnote 446: She deserved it.--Ver. 40. From this, it would seem that
the practice was considered censurable; but, perhaps it was one of those
cases whose heinousness is never fully discovered till it has brought
about its own punishment.]

[Footnote 447: O ring.--Ver. 1. On the rings in use among the ancients,
see the note to the First Book of the Aruores, El. iv., 1. 26. See also
the subject of the seventh Elegy of the First Book of the Tristia.]

[Footnote 448: Carpathian old man.--Ver. 10. For some account of
Proteus, who is here referred to, see the First Book of the Fasti, 1.
363, and the Note.]

[Footnote 449: Be able to seal--Ver. 15. From this, it appears to have
been a signet ring.]

[Footnote 450: Touch the lips.--Ver. 17. See the Tristia, Book v., El.
iv. 1 5, and the Note to the passage.]

[Footnote 459: In her desk.--Ver. 19. 'Loculi' used in the plural,
as in the present instance, signified a receptacle with compartments,
similar, perhaps, to our writing desks; a small box, coffer, casket, or
cabinet of wood or ivory, for keeping money or jewels.]

[Footnote 460: Sulmo.--Ver. 1. See the Note to the first line of the
First Elegy of this Book.]

[Footnote 461: Pelignian land.--Ver. 1. From Pliny the Elder, we learn
that the Peligni were divided into three tribes, the Corfinienses, the
Superequani, and the Sulmonenses.]

[Footnote 462: Constellation.--Ver. 4. He alludes to the heat attending
the Dog star, see the Fasti, Book iv., 1. 939, and the Note to the
passage.]

[Footnote 463: The thin soil.--Ver. 8. 'Rarus ager' means, a 'thin' or
'loose' soil, which was well suited for the cultivation of the grape.]

[Footnote 464: That bears its berries.--Ver. 8. In Nisard's
translation, the words 'bacciferam Pallada,' which mean the olive, are
rendered 'L'amande Caere Pallas,' 'the almond dear to Pallas.']

[Footnote 465: Lengthened tracks.--Ver. 16. To the Delphin Editor this
seems a silly expression.]

[Footnote 466: The stormy Alps.--Ver. 19. See the Metamorphoses, Book
ii. 1. 226, and the Note to the passage.]

[Footnote 467: The obedient stream.--Ver. 35. This was a method of
irrigation in agriculture, much resorted to by the ancients.]

[Footnote 468: Fierce Cilicians --Ver. 39. The people of the interior
of Cilicia, in Asia Minor, were of rude and savage manners while those
on the coast had been engaged in piracy, until it had been effectually
suppressed by Pompey.]

[Footnote 469: Britons painted green.--Ver. 39. The Britons may be
called 'virides,' from their island being surrounded by the sea; or,
more probably, from the colour with which they were in the habit of
staining their bodies. Cæsar says, in the Fifth Book of the Gallic war,
'The Britons stain themselves with woad, 'vitrum,' or 'glastum,'
which produces a blue colour: and thus they become of a more dreadful
appearance in battle.' The conquest of Britain, by Cæsar, is alluded to
in the Fifteenth Book of the Metamorphoses, 1. 752.]

[Footnote 471: Loves the vine.--Ver. 41. The custom of training vines
by the side of the elm, has been alluded to in a previous Note. See also
the Metamorphoses, Book xiv. 1. 663, and the Note to the passage.]

[Footnote 472: As the nags.--Ver. 49. The 'manni' were used by the
Romans for much the same purpose as our coach-horses; and were probably
more noted for their fleetness than their strength; They were a small
breed, originally imported from Gaul, and the possession of them was
supposed to indicate the possession of considerable wealth. As the
'esseda' was a small vehicle, and probably of light structure, we must
not be surprised at Corinna being in the habit of driving for herself.
The distance from Rome to Sulmo was about ninety miles: and the journey,
from his expressions in the fifty-first and fifty-second lines, must
have been over hill and dale.]

[Footnote 473: Your little chaise.--Ver. 49. For an account of the
'essedum,' or 'esseda,' see the Pontic Epistles, Book ii. Ep. 10, 1. 34,
and the Note to the passage.]

[Footnote 474: King of Pkthia.--Ver. 17.] He alludes to the marriage of
Thetis, the sea Goddess, to Peleus, the king of Phthia, in Thessaly.]

[Footnote 475: His anvil.--Ver. 19. It is a somewhat curious fact,
that the anvils of the ancients exactly resembled in form and every
particular those used at the present day.]

[Footnote 476: Becomingly united.--Ver. 22. He says, that in the
Elegiac measure the Pentameter, or line of five feet, is not unhappily
matched with the Hexameter, or heroic line of six feet.]

[Footnote 477: Disavowed by you.--Ver. 26. 'Voids' seems more agreable
to the sense of the passage, than 'nobis.' 'to be denied by us;' as,
from the context, there was no fear of his declining her affection.]

[Footnote 478: That she is Corinna.--Ver. 29. This clearly proves that
Corinna was not a real name; it probably was not given by the Poet to
any one of his female acquaintances in particular.]

[Footnote 479: Thy poem onwards.--Ver. 1. Macer translated the Iliad of
Homer into Latin verse, and composed an additional poem, commencing
at the beginning of the Trojan war, and coming down to the wrath of
Achilles, with which Homer begins.]

[Footnote 480: I, Macer.--Ver. 3. Æmilius Macer is often mentioned
by Ovid in his works. In the Tristia, Book iv. Ep. 10,1.41, he says,
'Macer, when stricken in years, many a time repeated to me his poem on
birds, and each serpent that is deadly, each herb that is curative.' The
Tenth Epistle of the Second Book of Pontic Epistles is also addressed to
him, in which Ovid alludes to his work on the Trojan war, and the time
when they visited Asia Minor and Sicily together. He speaks of him in
the Sixteenth Epistle of the Fourth Book, as being then dead. Macer was
a native of Verona, and was the intimate friend of Virgil, Ovid, and
Tibullus. Some suppose that the poet who wrote on natural history, was
not the same with him who wrote on the Trojan war; and, indeed, it does
not seem likely, that he who was an old man in the youth of Ovid, should
be the same person to whom he writes from Pontus, when about fifty-six
years of age. The bard of Ilium died in Asia.]

[Footnote 481: Tragedy grew apace.--Ver. 13. He alludes to his tragedy
of Medea, which no longer exists. Quintilian thus speaks of it: 'The
Medea of Ovid seems to me to prove how much he was capable of, if he had
only preferred to curb his genius, rather than indulge it.']

[Footnote 482: Sabinus return.--Ver. 27. He represents his friend,
Sabinus, here in the character of a 'tabellarius,' or 'letter carrier,'
going with extreme speed (celer) to the various parts of the earth, and
bringing back the answers of Ulysses to Penelope, Hippolytus to Phaedra,
Æneas to Dido, Demophoôn to Phyllis, Jason to Hypsipyle, and Phaon to
Sappho. All these works of Sabinus have perished, except the Epistle of
Ulysses to Penelope, and Demophoôn to Phyllis. His Epistle from Paris
to Oenonc, is not here mentioned. See the Pontic Epistles, Book iv. Ep.
xvi. 1. 13, and the Note to the passage.]

[Footnote 483: Bring back letters.--Ver. 28. As the ancients had
no establishment corresponding to our posts, they employed special
messengers called 'tabellarii,' for the conveyance of their letters.]

[Footnote 484: Vowed to Phobus.--Ver. 34. Sappho says in her Epistle,
that if Phaon should refuse to return, she will dedicate her lyre to
Phobus, and throw herself from the Leucadian rock. This, he tells her,
she may now-do, as by his answer Phaon declines to return.]

[Footnote 485: Pain in her head.--Ver. 11. She pretended a head-ache,
when nothing wras the matter with her; in order that too much
familiarity, in the end, might not breed contempt.]

[Footnote 486: A surfeit of love.--Ver. 25. 'l'inguis amor' seems here
to mear a satisfied 'ora 'pampered passion;' one that meets with no
repulse.]

[Footnote 487: Enclosed Danaë.--Ver. 27. See the Metamorphoses, Book
iv., 1.]

[Footnote 488: The dogs bark.--Ver. 40. The women of loose character,
among the Romans, were much in the habit of keeping dogs, for the
protection of their houses.]




FOOTNOTES BOOK THREE:

[Footnote 501: Than the other.--Ver. 8. 'He alludes to the unequal
lines of the Elegiac measure, which consists of Hexameters and
Pentameters. In personifying Elegy, he might have omitted this remark,
as it does not add to the attractions of a lady, to have one foot longer
than the other; he says, however, that it added to her gracefulness.]

[Footnote 502: The Lydian buskin.--Ver. 14. As Lydia was said to
have sent colonists to Etruria, some Commentators think that the word
'Lydius' here means 'Etrurian and that the first actors at Rome were
Etrurians. But, as the Romans derived their notions of tragedy from the
Greeks, we may conclude that Lydia in Asia Minor is here referred
to; for we learn from Herodotus and other historians, that the Greeks
borrowed largely from the Lydians.]

[Footnote 503: Drunken revels.--Ver. 17. He probably alludes to the
Fourth Elegy of the First, and the Fifth Elegy of the Second Book of the
'Amores.']

[Footnote 505: Mighty inspiration.--Ver. 23. The 'thyrsus' was said to
have been first used by the troops of Bacchus, in his Indian expedition,
when, to deceive the Indians, they concealed the points of their spears
amid leaves of the vine and ivy. Similar weapons were used by his
devotees when worshipping him, which they brandished to and fro. To be
touched with the thyrsus of Bacchus, meant 'to be inspired with poetic
frenzy.' See the Notes to the Metamorphoses, Book iii. 1. 542.]

[Footnote 506: In unequal numbers.--Ver. 37. Some have supposed, that
allusion is made to the Tragedy of Medea, which Ovid had composed, and
that it had been written in Elegiac measure. This, however, does not
seem to be the meaning of the passage. Elegy justly asks Tragedy, why,
if she has such a dislike to Elegiac verses, she has been talking in
them? which she has done, from the 15th line to the 30th.]

[Footnote 507: Myself the patroness.--Ver. 44. She certainly does
not give herself a very high character in giving herself the title of
'lena.']

[Footnote 508: The fastened door.--Ver. 50. He alludes, probably, to
one of the Elegies which he rejected, when he cut down the five books to
three.]

[Footnote 509: In a hose tunic.--Ver. 51. He may possibly allude to the
Fifth Elegy of the First Book, as the words 'tunicâ velata recinctâ,' as
applied to Corinna, are there found. But there he mentions midday as the
time when Corinna came to him, whereas he seems here to allude to the
middle of the night.]

[Footnote 510: Cut in the wood.--Ver. 53. He alludes to the custom of
lovers carving inscriptions on the doors of their obdurate mistresses:
this we learn from Plautus to have been done in Elegiac strains, and
sometimes with charcoal. 'Implentur meæ fores clegiarum carbonibus.' 'My
doors are filled with the coal-black marks of elegies.']

[Footnote 511: On her birthday.--Ver. 57. She is telling Ovid what she
has put up with for his sake; and she reminds him how, when he sent to
his mistress some complimentary lines on her birthday, she tore them
up and threw them in the water. Horace mentions 'the flames, or the
Adriatic sea,' as the end of verses that displeased. Athenseus, Book
xiii. c. 5, relates a somewhat similai story. Diphilus the poet was in
the habit of sending his verses to his mistress Gnathæna. One day she
was mixing him a cup of wine and snow-water, on which he observed, how
cold her well must be; to which she answered, yes, for it was there that
she used to throw his compositions.]

[Footnote 514: From behind.--Ver. 70. It is not known, for certain, to
what he refers in this line. Some think that he refers to the succeeding
Elegies in this Book, which are, in general, longer than the former
ones, while others suppose that he refers to his Metamorphoses, which he
then contemplated writing. Burmann, however, is not satisfied with this
explanation, and thinks that, in his more mature years, he contemplated
the composition of Tragedy, after having devoted his youth to lighter
snbjects; and that he did not compose, or even contemplate the
composition of his Metamorphoses, until many years afterwards.]

[Footnote 515: I am not sitting here.--Ver. 1. He is here alluding to
the Circen-sian games, which were celebrating in the Circus Maximus, or
greatest Circus, at Rome, at different times in the year. Some account
is given of the Circus Maximus in the Note to 1. 392. of the Second Book
of the Fasti. The 'Magni,' or Great Circensian games, took place on the
Fourth of the Ides of April. The buildings of the Circus were burnt in
the conflagration of Rome, in Nero's reign; and it was not restored
till the days of Trajan, who rebuilt it with more than its former
magnificence, and made it capable, according to some authors, of
accommodating 385,000 persons. The Poet says, that he takes no
particular interest himself in the race, but hopes that the horse may
win which is her favourite.]

[Footnote 516: The spirited steeds.--Ver. 2. The usual number of
chariots in each race was four. The charioteers were divided into four
companies, or 'fac-tiones,' each distinguished by a colour, representing
the season of the year. These colours were green for the spring, red for
the summer, azure for the autumn, and white for the winter. Originally,
but two chariots started in each race; but Domitian increased the number
to six, appointing two new companies of charioteers, the golden and the
purple; however the number was still, more usually, restricted to four.
The greatest interest was shewn by all classes, and by both sexes, in
the race. Lists of the horses were circulated, with their names and
colours; the names also of the charioteers were given, and bets were
extensively made, (see the Art of Love, Book i. 1. 167, 168,) and
sometimes disputes and violent contests arose.]

[Footnote 517: To be seated by you.--Ver. 3. The men and women sat
together when viewing the contests of the Circus, and not in separate
parts of the building, as at the theatres.]

[Footnote 518: Happy the driver.--Ver. 7. He addresses the charioteer.]

[Footnote 519: The sacred barrier.--Ver. 9. For an account of the
'career,' or 'starting-place,' see the Notes to the Tristia, Book v. El.
ix. 1. 29. It is called 'sacer,' because the whole of the Circus Maximus
was sacred to Consus, who is supposed by some to have been the same
Deity as Neptune. The games commenced with sacrifices to the Deities.]

[Footnote 520: I would give rein.--Ver. 11. The charioteer was wont
to stand within the reins, having them thrown round his back. Leaning
backwards, he thereby threw his full weight against the horses, when
he wished to check them at full speed. This practice, however, was
dangerous, and by it the death of Hippolytus was caused. In the
Fifteenth Book of the Metamorphoses,1. 524, he says, 'I struggled,
with unavailing hand, to guide the bridle covered with white foam, and
throwing myself "backwards, I pulled back the loosened reins.' To avoid
the danger of this practice, the charioteer carried a hooked knife at
his waist, for the purpose of cutting the reins on an emergency.]

[Footnote 521: The turning-place.--Ver. 12. For an account of the
'meta.'see the Tristia, Book iv. El. viii.l. 35. Of course, thpse who
kept as close to the 'meta' as possible, would lose the least distance
in turning round it.]

[Footnote 522: How nearly was Pelops.--Ver. 15. In his race with
Onomaüs, king of Pisa, in Arcadia, for the hand of his daughter,
Hippodamia, when Pelops conquered his adversary by bribing his
charioteer, Myrtilus.]

[Footnote 523: Of his mistress.--Ver. 17. He here seems to imply that
it was Hippodamia who bribed Myrtilus.]

[Footnote 524: Shrink away in vain.--Ver. 19. She shrinks from him, and
seems to think that he is sitting too close, but he tells her that the
'linea' forces them to squeeze. This 'linea' is supposed to have been
either cord, or a groove, drawn across the seats at regular intervals,
so as to mark out room for a certain number of spectators between each
two 'lineæ.']

[Footnote 525: Has this advantage.--Ver. 20. He congratulates himsdf on
the construction of the place, so aptly giving him an excuse for sitting
close to his mistress.]

[Footnote 526: But do you --Ver. 21. He is pretending to be very
anxious for her comfort, and is begging the person on the other side not
to squeeze so close against his mistress.]

[Footnote 527: And you as well.--Ver. 23. As in the theatres, the
seats, which were called 'gradas,' 'sedilia,' or 'subsellia,' were
arranged round the course of the Circus, in ascending tiers; the lowest
being, very probably, almost flush with the ground. There were, perhaps,
no backs to the seats, or, at the best, only a slight railing of wood.
The knees consequently of those in the back row would be level, and in
juxta-position with the backs of those in front. He is here telling the
person who is sitting behind, to be good enough to keep his knees to
himself, and not to hurt the lady's back by pressing against her.]

[Footnote 528: I am taking it up.--Ver. 26. He is here showing off his
politeness, and will not give her the trouble of gathering up her dress.
Even in those days, the ladies seem to have had no objection to their
dresses doing the work of the scavenger's broom.]

[Footnote 529: The fleet Atalanta.--Ver. 29. Some suppose that the
Arcadian Atalanta, the daughter of Iasius, was beloved by a youth of the
name of Milanion. According to Apollodorus, who evidently confounds
the Arcadian with the Boeotian Atalanta, Milanion was another name of
Hippo-menes, who conquered the latter in the foot race, as mentioned
in the Tenth Book of the Metamorphoses. See the Translation of the
Metamorphoses, p. 375. From this and another passage of Ovid, we have
reason to suppose that Atalanta was, by tradition, famous for the beauty
of her ancles.]

[Footnote 530: The fan may cause.--Ver. 38. Instead of the word
'tabella,' 'flabella' has been suggested here; but as the first syllable
is long, such a reading would occasion a violation of the laws of metre,
and 'tabella' is probably correct. It has, however, the same meaning
here as 'flabella it signifying what we should call 'a fan;' in fact,
the 'flabellum' was a 'tabella,' or thin board, edged with peacocks'
feathers, or those of other birds, and sometimes with variegated pieces
of cloth. These were generally waved by female slaves, who were called
'flabelliferæ'; or else by eunuchs or young boys. They were used to cool
the atmosphere, to drive away gnats and flies, and to promote sleep.
We here see a gentleman offering to fan a lady, as a compliment; and it
must have been especially grateful amid the dust and heat of the Roman
Circus. That which was especially intended for the purpose of driving
away flies, was called 'muscarium.' The use of fans was not confined
to females; as we learn from Suetonius, that the Emperor Augustus had
a slave to fan him during his sleep. The fan was also sometimes made of
linen, extended upon a light frame, and sometimes of the two wings of a
bird, joined back to back, and attached to a handle.]

[Footnote 531: Now the procession.--Ver. 34 All this time they have
been waiting for the ceremony to commence. The 'Pompa,' or procession,
now opens the performance. In this all those who were about to exhibit
in the race took a part. The statues of the Gods were borne on wooden
platforms on the shoulders of men, or on wheels, according as they
were light or heavy. The procession moved from the Capitol, through the
Forum, to the Circus Maximus, and was also attended by the officers of
state. Musicians and dancers preceded the statues of the Gods. See the
Fasti, Book iv. 1. 391, and the Note to the passage.]

[Footnote 532: Victory borne.--Ver. 45. On the wooden platform, which
was called 'ferculum,' or 'thensa,' according as it was small or large.]

[Footnote 533: With expanded wings.--Ver. 45. Victory was always
represented with expanded wings, on account of her inconstancy and
volatility.]

[Footnote 534: Salute Neptune.--Ver. 47. 'Plaudite Neptuno' is
equivalent, in our common parlance, to 'Give a cheer for Neptune.' He
is addressing the sailors who may be present: but he declines to have
anything to do with the sea himself.]

[Footnote 535: Arms I detest.--Ver. 49. Like his contemporary, Horace,
Ovid was no lover of war.]

[Footnote 536: Of the artisan.--Ver. 52. We learn from the Fasti, Book
iii. 1.815, that Minerva was especially venerated as the patroness of
handicrafts.]

[Footnote 537: Let the boxers.--Ver. 54. Boxing was one of the earliest
athletic games practised by the Greeks. Apollo and Hercules, as well as
Pollux, are celebrated by the poets for excelling in this exercise.
It formed a portion of the Olympic contests; while boys fought in the
Nemean and Isthmian games. Concerning the 'cæstus' used by pugilists,
see the Fasti, Book ii. 1. 367, and the Note to the passage. The method
in fighting most practised was to remain on the defensive, and thus to
wear out the opponent by continual efforts. To inflict blows, without
receiving any in return on the body, was the great point of merit. The
right arm was chiefly used for attack, while the office of the left was
to protect the body. Teeth were often knocked out, and the ears were
much disfigured. The boxers, by the rules of the game, were not allowed
to take hold of each other, nor to trip up their antagonist. In Italy
boxing seems to have been practised from early times by the people of
Etruria. It continued to be one of the popular games during the period
of the Republic as well as of the Empire.]

[Footnote 538: In the lattice work.--Ver. 64. The 'cancelli' were
lattice work, which probably fkirted the outer edge of each wide
'præcinctio,' or passage,that ran along in front of the seats, at
certain intervals. As the knees would not there be so cramped, these
seats would be considered the most desirable. It is clear that Ovid and
the lady have had the good fortune to secure front seats, with the feet
resting either on the lowest 'præcinctio', or the 'præcinctio' of a set
of seats higher up. Stools, of course, could not be used, as they would
be in the way of passers-by. He perceives, as the seat is high, that she
has some difficulty in touching the ground with her feet, and naturally
concludes that her legs must ache; on which he tells her, if it will
give her ease, to rest the tips of her feet on the lattice work railing
which was opposite, and which, if they were on an upper 'præcinctio,'
ran along the edge of it: or if they were on the very lowest tier,
skirted the edge of the 'podium' which formed the basis of that tier.
This she might do, if the 'præcinctio' was not more than a yard wide,
and if the 'cancelli' were as much as a foot in height.]

[Footnote 539: Now the Prcetor.--Ver. 65. The course is now clear
of the procession, and the Prætor gives the signal for the start, the
'carceres' being first opened. This was sometimes given by sound of
trumpet, or more frequently by letting fall a napkin; at least, after
the time of Nero, who is said, on one occasion, while taking a meal, to
have heard the shouts of the people who were impatient for the race to
begin, on which he threw down his napkin as the signal.]

[Footnote 540: The even harriers.--Ver. 66. From this description we
should be apt to think that the start was effected at the instant when
the 'carceres' were opened. This was not the case: for after coming out
of the-carceres,' the chariots were ranged abreast before a white line,
which was held by men whose office it was to do, and who were called
'moratores.' When all were ready, and the signal had been given, the
white line was thrown down, and the race commenced, which was seven
times round the course. The 'career' is called 'æquum,' because they
were in a straight line, and each chariot was ranged in front of the
door of its 'career.']

[Footnote 541: Circuit far too wide.--Ver. 69. The charioteer, whom the
lady favours, is going too wide of the 'meta,' or turning-place, and so
loses ground, while the next overtakes him.]

[Footnote 542: To the left.--Ver. 72. He tells him to guide the horses
to the left, so as to keep closer to the 'meta,' and not to lose so much
ground by going wide of it.]

[Footnote 543: Call him back again.--Ver. 73. He, by accident, lets
drop the observation, that they have been interesting themselves for
a blockhead. But he immediately checks himself, and, anxious that the
favourite may yet distinguish himself, trusts that the spectators
will call him back. Crispinus, the Delphin Editor, thinks, that by the
calling back, it is meant that it was a false start, and that the race
was to be run over again. Bur-mann, however, is not of that opinion;
but supposes, that if any chariot did not go well, or the horses seemed
jaded, it was the custom to call the driver back from the present race,
that with new horses he might join in the next race. This, from the
sequel, seems the most rational mode of explanation here.]

[Footnote 544: Waving the garments.--Ver. 74. The signal for stopping
was given by the men rising and shaking and waving their outer garments,
or 'togae,' and probably calling the charioteer by name.]

[Footnote 545: Disarrange your hair.--Ver. 75. He is afraid lest her
neighbours, in their vehemence should discommode her hair, and tells
her, in joke, that she may creep into the bosom of his own 'toga.']

[Footnote 546: And now the barrier.--Ver. 77. The first race we are to
suppose finished, and the second begins similarly to the first. There
were generally twenty-five of these 'missus,' or races in a day.]

[Footnote 547: The variegated throng.--Ver. 78. See the Note to the
second line.]

[Footnote 548: At all events.--Ver. 79. He addresses the favourite, who
has again started in this race.]

[Footnote 549: Bears away the palm.--Ver. 82. The favourite charioteer
is now victorious, and the Poet hopes that he himself may gain the palm
in like manner. The victor descended from his car at the end of the
race, and ascended the 'spina,' where he received his reward, which was
generally a considerable sum of money. For an account of the 'spina,'
see the Metamorphoses, Book x. l. 106, and the Note to the passage.]

[Footnote 550: Her beauty remains.--Ver. 2. She has not been punished
with ugliness, as a judgment for her treachery.]

[Footnote 551: Proved false to me.--Ver. 10. Tibullus has a similar
passage, 'Et si perque suos fallax juravit ocellos 'and if with her eyes
the deceitful damsel is forsworn.']

[Footnote 552: Its divine sway.--Ver. 12. 'Numen' here means a power
equal to that of the Divinities, and which puts it on a level with
them.]

[Footnote 553: Mine felt pain.--Ver. 14. When the damsel swore by them,
his eyes smarted, as though conscious of her perjury.]

[Footnote 554: Forsooth to you.--Ver. 17. He says that surely it was
enough for the Gods to punish Andromeda, the daughter of Cepheus, for
the sins of her mother, without making him to suffer misery for the
perjury of his mistress. Cassiope, the mother of Andromeda, having dared
to compare her own beauty with that of the Nereids, her daughter was, by
the command of Jupiter, exposed to a sea-monster, which was afterwards
slain by Perseus. See the Metamorphoses, Book iv. 1. 670.]

[Footnote 555: Hurls at the groves.--Ver. 35. A place which had been
struck by lightning was called 'bidental,' and was held sacred ever
afterwards. The same veneration was also paid to a place where any
person who had been killed by lightning was buried. Priests collected
the earth that had been torn up by lightning, and everything that had
been scorched, and buried it in the ground with lamentations. The spot
was then consecrated by sacrificing a two-year-old sheep, which being
called 'bidens,' gave its name to the place. An altar was also erected
there, and it was not allowable thenceforth to tread on the spot, or
to touch it, or even look at it. When the altar had fallen to decay, it
might be renovated, but to remove its boundaries was deemed sacrilege.
Madness was supposed to ensue on committing such an offence; and Seneca
mentions a belief, that wine which had been struck by lightning, would
produce death or madness in those who drank it.]

[Footnote 556: Unfortunate Semele.--Ver. 37. See the fate of Semele,
related in the Third Book of the Metamorphoses.]

[Footnote 557: Have some regard.--Ver. 49. Or, in other words. 'Don't
sweat any more by my eyes.']

[Footnote 558: Because she cannot, stilt sews.--Ver. 4. It is not a
little singular that a heathen poet should enunciate the moral doctrine
of the New Testament, that it is the thought, and not the action, that
of necessity constitutes the sin.]

[Footnote 559: A hundred in his neck.--Ver. 18. In the First Book of
the Metamorphoses, he assigns to Argus only one hundred eyes; here,
however, he uses a poet's license, prohably for the sake of filling up
the line.]

[Footnote 560: Its stone and its iron.--Ver. 21. From Pausanias and
Lucian we learn that the chamber of Danaë was under ground, and was
lined with copper and iron.]

[Footnote 561: Nor yet is it legal.--Ver. 33. He tells him that he
ought not to inflict loss of liberty on a free-born woman, a punishment
that was only suited to a slave.]

[Footnote 562: Those two qualities.--Ver. 42. He says, the wish being
probably the father to the thought, that beauty and chastity cannot
possibly exist together.]

[Footnote 563: Many a thing at home.--Ver. 48. He tells him that he
will grow quite rich with the presents which his wife will then receive
from her admirers.]

[Footnote 564: Its bubbling foam..--Ver. 13. He alludes to the noise
which the milk makes at the moment when it touches that in the pail.]

[Footnote 565: Ewe when milked.--Ver. 14. Probably the milk of ewes was
used for making cheese, as is sometimes the case in this country.]

[Footnote 566: Hag of a procuress.--Ver. 40. We have been already
introduced to one amiable specimen of this class in the Eighth Elegy of
the First Book.]

[Footnote 567: River that hast.--Ver. 1. Ciofanus has this interesting
Note:--'This river is that which flows near the walls of Sulmo, and,
which, at the present day we call 'Vella.' In the early spring, when the
snows melt, and sometimes, at the beginning of autumn, it swells to a
wonderful degree with the rains, so that it becomes quite impassable.
Ovid lived not far from the Fountain of Love, at the foot of the
Moronian hill, and had a house there, of which considerable vestiges
still remain, and are called 'la botteghe d'Ovidio.' Wishing to go
thence to the town of Sulmo, where his mistress was living, this river
was an obstruction to his passage.']

[Footnote 568: A hollow boat.--Ver. 4. 'Cymba' was a name given to
small boats used on rivers or lakes. He here alludes to a ferry-boat,
which was not rowed over; but a chain or rope extending from one side of
the stream to the other, the boatman passed across by running his hands
along the rope.]

[Footnote 569: The opposite mountain.--Ver. 7. The mountain of Soracte
was near the Flaminian way, in the territory of the Falisci, and may
possibly be the one here alluded to. Ciofanus says that its name is now
'Majella,-and that it is equal in height to the loftiest mountains of
Italy, and capped with eternal snow. *All one with the day.--Ver. 10.
He means to say that he has risen early in the morning for the purpose
of proceeding on his journey.]

[Footnote 570: The son of Danaë.--Ver. 13. Mercury was said to have
lent to Perseus his winged shoes, 'talaria,' when he slew Medusa with
her viperous locks.]

[Footnote 571: Wish for the chariot.--Ver. 15. Ceres was said to have
sent Trip-tolemus in her chariot, drawn by winged dragons, to introduce
agriculture among mankind. See the Fourth Book of the Fasti, 1. 558.]

[Footnote 572: Inachus.--Ver. 25. Inachus was a river of Argolis, in
Peloponnesus.]

[Footnote 573: Love for Melie.--Ver. 25. Melie was a Nymph beloved by
Neptune, to whom she bore Amycus, king of Bebrycia, or Bithynia, in Asia
Minor, whence her present appellation.]

[Footnote 574: Alpheus.--Ver 29. See the story of Alpheus and Arethusa,
in the Fifth Book of the Metamorphoses, 1. 576.]

[Footnote 575: Creüsa.--Ver. 31. Creüsa was a Naïad, the mother of
Hypseas, king of the Lapithae, by Peneus, a river of Thessaly. Xanthus
was a rivulet near Troy. Of Creüsa being promised to Xanthus nothing
whatever is known.]

[Footnote 576: The be beloved by Mars.--Ver. 33. Pindar, in his Sixth
Olympic Ode, says that Metope, the daughter of Ladon, was the mother of
live daughters, by Asopus, a river of Boeotia. Their names were Corcyra,
Ægina, Salamis, Thebe, and Harpinna. Ovid, in calling her Thebe,
probably follows some other writer. She is called 'Martia,' because she
was beloved by Mars, to whom she bore Evadne.]

[Footnote 577: Hand of Hercules.--Ver. 36. For the contest of Hercules
and Achelous for the hand of Deianira, see the beginning of the Ninth
Book of the Metamorphoses.]

[Footnote 578: Calydon.--Ver. 37. Aeneus, the father of Meleager and
Dei'anira, reigned over Ætolia, of which Calydon was the chief city.]

[Footnote 579: The native spot.--Ver. 40; He alludes to the fact of the
source or native country of the Nile being then, as it probably still
is, quite unknown.]

[Footnote 580: Daughter of Asopus.--Ver. 41. Evadne is called
'Asopide,' from her mother being the wife of Asopus. See the Note on
line 33 above.]

[Footnote 581: Enipeus dried up.--Ver. 43. Probably the true reading
here is 'fictus,' 'the false Enipeus.' Tyro was the daughter of
Salmoneus, king of Pisa, in Elis. She being much enamoured of the river
Enipeus, Neptune is said to have assumed his form, and to have been, by
her, the father of Pelias and Neleus.']

[Footnote 582: Argive Tibur,--Ver. 46. Tibur was a town beautifully
situate in the neighbourhood of Home; it was said to have been founded
by three Argive brothers, Tyburtus, Catillus, and Coras.]

[Footnote 583: Whom Ilia.--Ver. 47. Ilia was said to have been buried
alive, by the orders of Amulius, on the banks of the river Tiber; or,
according to some, to have been thrown into that river, on which she is
said to have become the wife of the river, and was deified. Acron, an
ancient historian, wrote to the effect that her ashes were interred on
the banks of the Anio; and that river overflowing, carried them to
the bed of the Tiber, whence arose the story of her nuptials with the
latter. According to one account, she was not put to death, but was
imprisoned, having been spared by Amulius at the entreaty of his
daughter, who was of the same age as herself, and at length regained her
liberty.]

[Footnote 584: Descendant of Laomedon.--Ver. 54. She was supposed to
be descended from Laomedon, through Ascanius, the son of Creüsa, the
granddaughter of Laomedon.]

[Footnote 585: No white fillet.--Ver. 56. The fillet with which the
Vestals bound their hair.]

[Footnote 586: Am I courted.--Ver. 75. The Vestais were released from
their duties, and were allowed to marry if they chose, after they had
served for thirty years. The first ten years were passed in learning
their duties, the next ten in performing them, and the last ten in
instructing the novices.]

[Footnote 587: Did she throw herself.--Ver. 80. The Poet follows the
account which represented her as drowning herself.]

[Footnote 588: To some fixed rule.--Ver. 89. 'Legitimum' means
'according to fixed laws so that it might be depended upon, 'in a steady
manner.']

[Footnote 589: Injurious to the flocks.--Ver. 99. It would be
'damnosus' in many ways, especially from its sweeping away the cattle
and the produce of the land. Its waters, too, being turbid, would be
unpalatable to the thirsty traveller, and unwholesome from the melted
snow, which would be likely to produce goitre, or swellings in the
throat.]

[Footnote 590: Could I speak of the rivers.--Ver. 103. He apologizes to
the Acheloüs, Inachus, and Nile, for presuming to mention their names,
in addressing such a turbid, contemptible stream.]

[Footnote 591: After my poems.--Ver. 5. He refers to his lighter works;
such, perhaps, as the previous books of his Amores. This explains
the nature of the 'libelli,' which he refers to in his address to his
mistress, in the Second Book of the Amores, El. xi. 1. 31.]

[Footnote 592: His wealth acquired.--Ver. 9. 'Censu.' For the
explanation of this word, see the Fasti, B. i. 1. 217, and the Note to
the passage.]

[Footnote 593: Through his wounds.--Ver. 9. In battle, either by giving
wounds, or receiving them.]

[Footnote 594: Which thus late.--Ver. 15. By 4 serum,'he means that
his position, as a man of respectable station, has only been recently
acquired, and has not descended to him through a long line of
ancestors.]

[Footnote 595: Was it acquired.--Ver. 20. This was really much to
the merit of his rival; but most of the higher classes of the Romans
affected to despise anything like gain by means of bodily exertion; and
the Poet has extended this feeling even to the rewards of merit as a
soldier.]

[Footnote 596: Hold sway over.--Ver. 27. He here plays upon the two
meanings of the word 'deducere.' 'Deducere carmen' is 'to compose
poetry'; 'deducere primum pilum' means 'to form' or 'command the first
troop of the Triarii.' These were the veteran soldiers of the Roman
army, and the 'Primipilus' (which office is here alluded to) being the
first Centurion of the first maniple of them, was the chief Centurion of
the legion, holding an office somewhat similar to our senior captains.
Under the Empire this office was very lucrative. See the Note to the
49th line of the Seventh Epistle, in the-Fourth Book of the Pontic
Epistles.]

[Footnote 597: The ravished damsel.--Ver. 30. He alludes to Danaë.]

[Footnote 598: Resorted to presents.--Ver. 33. He seems to allude to
the real meaning of the story of Danaë, which, no doubt, had reference
to the corrupting influence of money.]

[Footnote 599: With no boundaries.--Ver. 42. The 'limes' was a line
or boundary, between pieces of land belonging to different persons, and
consisted of a path, or ditch, or a row of stones. The 'ager limitatus'
was the public land marked out by 'limites,' for the purposes of
allotment to the citizens. On apportioning the land, a line, which was
called 'limes,' was drawn through a given point from East to West, which
was called 'decumanus,' and another line was drawn from North to South.
The distance at which the 'limites' were to be drawn depended on the
magnitude of the squares or 'centuriæ,' as they were called, into which
it was purposed to divide the tract.]

[Footnote 601: Then was the shore.--Ver. 44. Because they had not as
yet learnt the art of navigation.]

[Footnote 602: Turreted fortifications.--Ver. 47. Among the ancients
the fortifications of cities were strengthened by towers, which were
placed at intervals on the walls; they were also generally used at the
gates of towns.]

[Footnote 603: Why not seek the heavens.--Ver. 50. With what indignation
would he not have spoken of a balloon, as being nothing less than a
downright attempt to scale the 'tertia régna!']

[Footnote 604: Ciesar but recently.--Ver. 52. See the end of the
Fifteenth Book of the Metamorphoses, and the Fasti, Book iii. 1. 704.]

[Footnote 605: The Senate-house.--Ver. 55. 'Curia'was the name of the
place where the Senate held its meetings, such as the 'curia Hostilia,'
* Julia,' Marcelli,' and others. Hence arose the custom of calling the
Senate itself, in the various Roman towns, by the name of 'curia,' but
not the Senate of Rome. He here means to say, that poverty excluded a
man from the Senate-house, and that wealth alone was the qualification
for the honours of the state.]

[Footnote 606: Wealth alone confers honours --Ver. 55. The same
expression occurs in the Fasti, Book i. 1. '217, where a similar
complaint is made on the worldly-mindedness of the age.]

[Footnote 607: The Field of Mars.--Ver. 57. The 'comitia,' or meetings
for the elections of the magistrates, were held on the 'Campus Martius'
or field of Mars. See the Notes to the Fasti, Book i. 1. 53.]

[Footnote 608: And the Forum. --Ver. 57. The 'Fora' were of two kinds
at Rome; some being market-places, where all kinds of goods were exposed
for sale, while others were solely courts of justice. Among the latter
is the one here mentioned, which was simply called 'Forum,' so long as
it was the only one of its kind existing at Rome, and, indeed, after
that period, as in the present instance. At a later period of the
Republic, and under the Empire, when other 'fora,' for judicial
purposes, were erected, this Forum' was distinguished by the epithets
'vetus,' 'old,' or 'magnum, 'great.' It was situate between the
Capitoline and Palatine hills, and was originally a swamp or marsh,
which was filled up hy Romulus or Tatius. It was chiefly used for
judicial proceedings, and is supposed to have been surrounded with
the hankers' shops or offices, 'argentaria.' Gladiatorial games were
occasionally held there, and sometimes prisoners of war, and faithless
legionary soldiers, were there put to death. A second 'Forum,' for
judicial purposes, was erected hy Julius Caesar, and was called hy his
name. It was adorned with a splendid temple of Venus Genitrix. A third
was built hy Augustus, and was called 'Forum Augusts' It was adorned
with a temple of Mars, and the statues of the most distinguished men
of the republic. Having suffered severely from fire, this Forum was
restored by the Emperor Hadrian. It is mentioned in the Fourth Book of
the Pontic Epistles, Ep. xv. 1. 16. See the Fasti, Book iii. 1. 704.]

[Footnote 609: With regard to me.--Ver. 63. He says that because he is
poor she makes excuses, and pretends that she is afraid of her husband
and those whom he has set to watch her.]

[Footnote 610: Of thy own inspiration.--Ver. 5. Burmann remarks, that
the word 'opus' is especially applied to the sacred rites of the Gods;
literally 'the priest of thy rites.']

[Footnote 611: The erected pile--Ver. 6. Among the Romans the corpse
was burnt on a pile of wood, which was called 'pyra,' or 'rogus.'
According to Servius, it was called by the former name before, and hy
the latter after, it was lighted, but this distinction is not observed
by the Latin writers.]

It was in the form of an altar with four equal sides, but it varied in
height and the mode of decoration, according to the circumstances of the
deceased. On the pile the body was placed with the couch on which it had
been carried; and frankincense, ointments, locks of hair, and garlands,
were thrown upon it. Even ornaments, clothes, and dishes of food were
sometimes used for the same purpose. This was done not only by the
family of the deceased, but by such persons as joined the funeral
procession.]

[Footnote 612: The cruel boar.--Ver. 16. He alludes to the death of
Adonis, by the tusk of a boar, which pierced his thigh. See the Tenth
Book of the Metamorphoses, l. 716.]

[Footnote 613: We possess inspiration.--Ver. 17. In the Sixth Book of
the Fasti, 1. 6, he says. 'There is a Deity within us (Poets): under
his guidance we glow with inspiration; this poetic fervour contains the
impregnating. particles of the mind of the Divinity.']

[Footnote 614: She lays her.--Ver. 20. It must be remembered that,
whereas we personify Death as of the masculine gender; the Romans
represented the grim tyrant as being a female. It is a curious fact
that we find Death very rarely represented as a skeleton on the Roman
monuments. The skeleton of a child has, in one instance, been found
represented on one of the tombs of Pompeii. The head of a horse was
one of the most common modes of representing death, as it signified
departure.]

[Footnote 615: Ismarian Orpheus.--Ver. 21. Apollo and the Muse Calliope
were the parents of Orpheus, who met with a cruel death. See the
beginning of the Eleventh Book of the Metamorphoses.]

[Footnote 616: Linus! Alas!--Ver. 23. 'Ælinon' was said to have been
the exclamation of Apollo, on the death of his son, the poet Linus. The
word is derived from the Greek, 'di Aivôç,' 'Alas! Linus.' A certain
poetic measure was called by this name; but we learn from Athenaeus,
that it was not always confined to pathetic subjects. There appear to
have been two persons of the name of Linus. One was a Theban, the son of
Apollo, and the instructor of Orpheus and Hercules, while the other was
the son of an Argive princess, by Apollo, who, according to Statius, was
torn to pieces in his infancy by dogs.]

[Footnote 617: The son of Mæon. --Ver. 25. See the Note to the ninth
line of the Fifteenth Elegy of the First Book of the Amores.]

[Footnote 618: Slow web woven.--Ver. 30. The web of Penelope.]

[Footnote 619: Nemesis, so Delia.--Ver. 31. Nemesis and Delia were the
names of damsels whose charms were celebrated by Tibullus.]

[Footnote 620: Sacrifice avail thee.--Ver. 33. He alludes to two lines
in the]

First Elegy of Tibullus.]

'Quid tua nunc Isis mihi Delia? quid mihi prosunt]

Ilia tuâ toties sera repuisa manu.']

What have I now to do, Delia, with your Isis? what avail me those sistra
so often shaken by your hand?']

[Footnote 621: What lying apart.--Ver. 34. During the festival of Isis,
all intercourse with men was forbidden to the female devotees.]

[Footnote 622: The yawning tomb.--Ver. 38. The place where a person was
burnt was called 'bustum,' if he was afterwards buried on the same spot,
and 'ustrina,' or 'ustrinum,' if he was buried at a different place. See
the Notes to the Fasti, B. ii. 1. 531.]

[Footnote 623: The towers of Eryx--Ver. 45. He alludes to Venus, who
had a splendid temple on Mount Eryx, in Sicily.]

[Footnote 624: The Phæacian land.--Ver. 47. The Phæacians were the
ancient people of Corcyra, now the isle of Corfu. Tibullus had attended
Messala thither, and falling ill, was unable to accompany his patron on
his return to Rome, on which he addressed to him the First Elegy of his
Third Book, in which he expressed a hope that he might not die among
the Phæacians. To this Elegy Ovid here refers. Tibullus afterwards
recovered, and died at Rome. When he penned this line, Ovid little
thought that his own bones would one day rest in a much more ignoble
spot than Corcyra, and one much more repulsive to the habits of
civilization.]

[Footnote 625: Here.--Ver. 49. 1 Hie'here seems to be the preferable
reading; alluding to Rome, in contradistinction to Corcyra.]

[Footnote 626: His tearful eyes.--Ver. 49. He alludes to the custom of
the nearest relative closing the eyes of the dying person.]

[Footnote 627: The last gifts.--Ver. 50. The perfumes and other
offerings which were thrown on the burning pile, are here alluded to.
Tibullus says, in the same Elegy--]

'Non soror Assyrios cineri quæ dedat odores,]

Et Heat effusis ante sepulchra comis']

'No sister have I here to present to my ashes the Assyrian perfumes,
and to weep before my tomb with dishevelled locks.' To this passage Ovid
makes reference in the next two lines.]

[Footnote 628: Thy first love.--Ver. 53. 'Prior;' his former love was
Delia, who was forsaken by him for Nemesis. They are both represented
here as attending his obsequies. Tibullus says, in the First Elegy of
the First Book, addressing Delia:--]

1 Te spectem, suprema mihi cum venerit hora,]

Te teneam moriens, déficiente manu.]

Flebis et arsuro positum me, Delia, lecto,]

Tristibus et lacrymis oscula mista dabis.']

May I look upon you when my last hour comes, when dying, may I hold you
with my failing hand. Delia, you will lament me, too, when placed on my
bier, doomed to the pile, and will give me kisses mingled with the tears
of grief.' To these lines Ovid evidently here refers. It would appear
from the present passage, that it was the custom to give the last kiss
when the body was laid on the funeral pile.]

[Footnote 629: With his failing hand.--Ver. 58. Nemesis here alludes
to the above line, and tells Delia, that she, herself, alone engaged his
affection, as it was she alone who held his hand when he died.]

[Footnote 630: Learned Catullus.--Ver. 62. Catullus was a Roman poet, a
native of Verona. Calvus was also a Roman poet of great merit. The poems
of Catullus and Calvus were set to music by Hermogenes, Tigellius, and
Demetrius, who were famous composers. See the Tristia, Book ii. lines
427 and 431, and the Notes to the passages.]

[Footnote 631: Prodigal of thy blood.--Ver. 64. He alludes to the fact
of Gallus having killed himself, and to his having been suspected
of treason against Augustus, from whom he had received many marks of
kindness Ovid seems to hint, in the Tristia, Book ii. 1. 446, that the
fault of Gallus was his having divulged the secrets of Augustus, when
he was in a state o* inebriety. Some writers say, that when Governor of
Egypt, he caused his name and exploits to be inscribed on the Pyramids,
and that this constituted his crime. Others again, suppose that he was
guilty of extortion in Egypt, and that he especially harassed the people
of Thebea with his exactions. Some of the Commentators think that under
the name 'amicus,' Augustus is not here referred to, inasmuch as it
woulc seem to bespeak a familiar acquaintanceship, which is not known
to have existed. Scaliger thinks that it must refer to some
misunderstanding which had taken place between Gallus and Tibullus, in
which the former was accused of having deceived his friend.]

[Footnote 632: The rites of Ceres--Ver. 1. This festival of Ceres
occurred on the Fifth of the Ides of April, being the 12th day of that
month. See the Fasti, Book iv. 1. 393. White garments, were worn at this
festival, and woollen robes of dark colour were prohibited. The worship
was conducted solely by females, and all intercourse with men was
forbidden, who were not allowed to approach the altars of the Goddess.]

[Footnote 633: The oaks, the early oracles.--Ver. 9. On the oaks, the
oracles of Dodona, see the Translation of the Metamorphoses, pages 253
and 467.]

[Footnote 634: Having nurtured Jove.--Ver. 20. See an account of the
education of Jupiter, by the Curetes, in Crete, in the Fourth Book of
the Fasti, L 499, et seq.]

[Footnote 635: Beheld Jasius.--Ver. 25. Iasius, or Iasion, was,
according to most accounts, the son of Jupiter and Electra, and enjoyed
the favour of Ceres, by whom he was the father of Plutus. According
to the Scholiast on Theocritus, he was the son of Minos, and the Nymph
Phronia. According to Apollodorus, he was struck dead by the bolts of
Jupiter, for offering violence to Ceres. He was also said by some to
be the husband of Cybele. He is supposed to have been a successful
husbandman when agriculture was but little known; which circumstance is
thought to have given rise to the story of his familiarity with Ceres.
Ovid repeats this charge against the chastity of Ceres, in the Tristia,
Book ii. 1. 300. See the Note to the passage.]

[Footnote 636: Proportion of their wheat.--Ver. 30. With less corn than
had been originally sown.]

[Footnote 637: The law-giving Mims.--Ver. 41. Minos is said to have
been the first who gave laws to the Cretans.]

[Footnote 638: Late have the horns.--Ver. 6. This figure is derived
from the horns, the weapons of the bull. 'At length I have assumed the
weapons of defence.' It is rendered in a singular manner in Nisard's
Translation, 'Trop tard, helas 1 J'ai connu l'outrage fait a mon front.'
'Too late, alas! I have known the outrage done to my forehead.'!!!]

[Footnote 639: Have patience and endure.--Ver. 7. He addresses himself,
recommending fortitude as his only cure.]

[Footnote 640: The hard ground.--Ver. 10. At the door of his mistress;
a practice which seems to have been very prevalent with the Roman
lovers.]

[Footnote 641: I was beheld by him.--Ver. 15. As, of courser, his rival
would only laugh at him for his folly, and very deservedly.]

[Footnote 642: As you walked.--Ver. 17. By the use of the word
'spatiantis,' he alludes to her walks under the Porticos of Rome, which
were much frequented as places for exercise, sheltered from the heat.]

[Footnote 643: The Gods forsworn.--Ver. 22. This forms the subject of
the Third Elegy of the present Book.]

[Footnote 644: Young mem at banquets.--Ver. 23. See the Fifth Elegy of
the Second Book of the Amores.]

[Footnote 645: She was not ill.--Ver. 26. When he arrived, he found his
rival in her company.]

[Footnote 646: I will hate.--Ver. 35. This and the next line are
considered by Heinsius and other Commentators to be spurious.]

[Footnote 647: She who but lately.--Ver. 5. Commentators are at a
loss to know whether he is here referring to Corinna, or to his other
mistress, to whom he alludes in the Tenth Elegy of the Second Book,
when he confesses that he is in love with two mistresses. If Corinna was
anything more than an ideal personage, it is probable that she is not
meant here, as he made it a point not to discover to the world who was
meant under that name; whereas, the mistress here mentioned has been
recommended to the notice of the Roman youths by his poems.]

[Footnote 648: Made proclamation.--Ver. 9. He says that, unconsciously,
he has been doing the duties of the 'præco' or 'crier,' in recommending
his mistress to the public. The 'præco,' among the Romans, was employed
in sales by auction, to advertise the time, place, and conditions of
sale, and very probably to recommend and praise the property offered
for sale. These officers also did the duty of the auctioneer, so far
as calling out the biddings, but the property was knocked down by the
'magister auctionum.' The 'præcones' were also employed to keep silence
in the public assemblies, to pronounce the votes of the centuries, to
summon the plaintiff and defendant upon trials, to proclaim the victors
in the public games, to invite the people to attend public funerals,
to recite the laws that were enacted, and, when goods were lost, to cry
them and search for them. The office of a 'præco' was, in the time of
Cicero, looked upon as rather disreputable.]

[Footnote 649: Thebes.--Ver. 15. He speaks of the Theban war, the
Trojan war, and the exploits of Caesar, as being good subjects for Epic
poetry; but he says that he had neglected them, and had wasted his time
in singing in praise of Corinna. This, however, may be said in reproof
of his general habits of indolence, and not as necessarily implying that
Corinna is the cause of his present complaint. The Roman poet Statius
afterwards chose the Theban war as his subject.]

[Footnote 650: Poets as witnesses.--Ver. 19. That is, 'to rely
implicitly on the testimony of poets.' The word 'poetas' requires a
semicolon after it, and not a comma.]

[Footnote 651: The raging dogs.--Ver. 21. He here falls into his usual
mistake of confounding Scylla, the daughter of Nisus, with Scylla, the
Nymph, the rival of Circe, in the affections of Glaucus. See the Note
to 1. 33 of the First Epistle of Sabinus, and the Eighth and Fourteenth
Books of the Metamorphoses.]

[Footnote 652: Descendant of Abas.--Ver. 24. In the Fourth Book of the
Metamorphoses he relates the rescue of Andromeda from the sea monster,
by Perseus, the descendant of Abas, and clearly implies that he used
the services of the winged horse Pegasus on that occasion. It has been
suggested by some Commentators, that he here refers to Bellerophon; but
that hero was not a descendant of Abas, and, singularly enough, he is
not on any occasion mentioned or referred to by Ovid.]

[Footnote 653: Extended Tityus.--Ver. 25. Tityus was a giant, the son
of Jupiter and Elara. Offering violence to Latona, he was pierced by the
darts of Apollo and hurled to the Infernal Regions, where his liver was
doomed to feed a vulture, without being consumed.]

[Footnote 654: Enceladus.--Ver. 27. He was the son of Titan and Terra,
and joining in the war against the Gods, he was struck by lightning,
and thrown beneath Mount Ætna. See the Pontic Epistles, Book ii. Ep.ii.
1.11.]

[Footnote 655: The-two-shaped damsels.--Ver. 28. He evidently alludes
to the Sirens, with their two shapes, and not to Circe, as some have
imagined.]

[Footnote 656: The Ithacan bags.--Ver. 29. Æolus gave Ulysses
favourable wind* sewn up in a leather bag, to aid him in his return to
Ithaca. See tha Metamorphoses, Book xiv. 1. 223]

[Footnote 657: The Cecropian bird.--Ver. 32. He calls Philomela the
daughter of Pandion, king of Athens, 'Cecropis ales Cc crops having been
the first king of Athens. Her story is told in the Sixth Book of the
Metamorphoses.]

[Footnote 658: A bird, or into gold.--Ver. 33. He alludes to the
transformation of Jupiter into a swan, a shower of gold, and a bull; in
the cases of Leda, Danaë, and Europa.]

[Footnote 659: The Theban seed.--Ver. 35. He alludes to the dragon's
teeth sown by Cadmus. See the Third Book of the Metamorphoses.]

[Footnote 660: Distil amber tears.--Ver. 37. Reference is made to the
transformation of the sisters of Phaeton into poplars that distilled
amber. See the Second Book of the Metamorphoses, 1. 364.]

[Footnote 661: Who once were ships.--Ver. 38. He alludes to the ships
of Æneas, which, when set on fire by Turnus, were changed into sea
Nymphs.]

[Footnote 662: The hellish banquet.--Ver. 39. Reference is made to the
revenge of Atreus, who killed the children of Thyestes, and set them
on table before their father, on which occasion the Sun is said to have
hidden his face.]

[Footnote 663: Stonesfollowed the lyre.--Ver. 40. Amphion is said to
have raised the walls of Thebes by the sound of his lyre.]

[Footnote 664: Camillus, by thee.--Ver. 2. Marcus Furius Camillus, the
Roman general, took the city of Falisci.]

[Footnote 665: The covered paths.--Ver. 12. The pipers, or flute
players, led the procession, while the ground was covered with carpets
or tapestry.]

[Footnote 666: Snow-white heifers.--Ver. 14. Pliny the Elder, in his
Second Book, says, 'The river Clitumnus, in the state of Falisci, makes
those cattle white that drink of its waters.']

[Footnote 667: In the lofty woods.--Ver. 20. It is not known to what
occasion this refers. Juno is stated to have concealed herself on two
occasions; once before her marriage, when she fled from the pursuit of
Jupiter, who assumed the form of a cuckoo, that he might deceive her;
and again, when, through fear of the giants, the Gods took refuge in
Egypt and Libya. Perhaps the former occasion is here referred to.]

[Footnote 668: As a mark.--Ver. 21. This is similar to the alleged
origin of the custom of throwing sticks at cocks on Shrove Tuesday. The
Saxons being about to rise in rebellion against their Norman oppressors,
the conspiracy is said to have been discovered through the inopportune
crowing of a cock, in revenge for which the whole race of chanticleers
were for centuries submitted to this cruel punishment.]

[Footnote 669: With garments.--Ver. 24. As 'vestis' was a general name
for a covering of any kind, it may refer to the carpets which appear to
be mentioned in the twelfth line, or it may mean, that the youths and
damsels threw their own garments in the path of the procession.]

[Footnote 670: After the Grecian manner.--Ver. 27. Falisci was said to
have been a Grecian colony.]

[Footnote 671: Hold religious silence.--Ver. 29. 'Favere linguis' seems
here to mean, 'to keep religious silence as to the general meaning of
the term, see the Fasti, Book i. 1. 71.]

[Footnote 672: Halesus.--Ver. 33. Halesus is said to have been the son
of Agamemnon, by a concubine. Alarmed at the tragic death of his father,
and of the murderers, Ægisthus and Clytemnestra, he fled to Italy, where
he founded the city of Phalesus, which title, with the addition of
one letter, was given to it after his name. Phalesus afterwards became
corrupted, to 'Faliscus,' or 'Falisci.']

[Footnote 673: One side and the other.--Ver. 32. For the 'torus
exterior' and 'interior,' and the construction of the beds of the
ancients, see the Note to the Eighth Book of the Metamorphoses, 1.
659. * Forced to love.--Ver. 39. This passage seems to be hopelessly
corrupt.]

[Footnote 674: Turning-place is grazed.--Ver. 2. On rounding the 'meta'
in the chariot race, from which the present figure is derived, see the
Note to the 69th line of the Second Elegy of this Book.]

[Footnote 675: Heir to my rank.--Ver. 5. See the Tristia, Book ii. 1.
112, where he enlarges upon the rank and circumstances of his family.]

[Footnote 676: To glorious arms.--Ver. 9. He alludes to the Social
war which was commenced in the year of the City 659, by the Marsi, the
Peligni, and the Picentes, for the purpose of obtaining equal rights
and privileges with the Roman citizens. He calls them 'arma honesta,'
because wielded in defence of their liberties.]

[Footnote 677: Rome dreaded.--Ver. 10. The Romans were so alarmed, that
they vowed to celebrate games in honour of Jupiter, if their arms should
prove successful.]

[Footnote 678: Amathusian parent.--Ver. 15. Venus was worshipped
especially at Amathus, a city of Cyprus; it is mentioned by Ovid as
abounding in metals. See the Metamorphoses, Book x. 1. 220 and 531, B.
III.]

[Footnote 679: The homed.--Ver. 17. In addition to the reasons already
mentioned for Bacchus being represented as horned, it is said, by some,
that it arose from the fact, of wine being drunk from horns in the
early ages. It has been suggested, that it had a figurative meaning, and
implied the violence of those who are overtaken with wine.]

[Footnote 680: Lyæus.--Ver. 17. For the meaning of the word Lyæus, see
the Metamorphoses, Book iv. 1. 11, and the Note to the passage.]

[Footnote 681: My sportive.--Ver. 19. Genialis; the Genii were the
Deities of pure, unadorned nature. See the Fasti, Book iii. 1. 58, and
the Note to the passage. 'Genialis,' consequently, 'voluptuous,' or
'pleasing to the impulses of nature.']










End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Amores, or Amours, by Ovid

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