Ovid: Selected Works, with Notes and Vocabulary - Ovid

and fourth years has not been seriously questioned, although the same requirement for supplementary rapid reading has been made. This requirement has generally been met by selections from Ovid, whose poems, on account of their attractive interest and clear, easy style, are especially adapted to the needs of this grade.

Notwithstanding this progress, there still remains much to be desired in the study of Roman life and literature as such. The study of the Latin language needs to be vivified, on the one hand, by a knowledge of the life and manners of those who used it in their daily intercourse, and, on the other, by a larger acquaintance with the literature which grew out of this life, and which has been preserved to us. It is granted that these studies should not and cannot displace the study of the technique of the language in the early part of the course; but when it is remembered that a large percentage of secondary school pupils end their formal studies with graduation from these schools, it is plain that such a course should include a clear view, at least in the large, of Roman life and letters. This can be gained, without too great encroachment upon purely linguistic work, if the teacher seizes such opportunities for instruction in Roman life as present themselves in the class work itself; and if, in connection with each author studied, some attention is paid to the style and contents of his works as literature and to their place in the great body of Roman letters.

As to the works of Ovid, the writer is under the strong impression that they deserve a much larger place in the secondary curriculum than they have yet received. They abound in those old world stories of myth and tradition of which all literatures since their time are full, and ignorance of which makes many a page even of our own literature meaningless to the reader. These poems abound also in pictures of the poet's own life and the manners of his day, in allusion to his contemporaries, and pictures of his surroundings both in Italy and in the bleak land of his exile ; they contain also a formal account of Roman festivals arranged in the order of their occurrence, with the traditional origin and meaning of these, - all told with an elegance of diction and a

racy style that make the reading attractive and delightful to the student.

Any edition of selections from the works of an author is unsatisfactory, for it is possible for the student to read these without any knowledge, or at least a very hazy and insufficient one, of the setting of the selections and the contents and character of the whole work. And yet it would be manifestly impossible to present the complete works of Ovid as a text-book. The present edition strives to obviate this difficulty by two means. Selection is made from all the different works of the poet, with a preliminary note upon the character and contents of each work and a statement of the setting of each selection; in the case of the Metamorphoses, not only does an analysis in English precede the different selections, but all omitted parts are given in epitome, each in its proper place. The student has in his hands, therefore, a recapitulation of the whole series of stories, and is enabled to see, as would not be possible under another arrangement, how the poet has skillfully connected the long array of stories, reaching from the creation down to his own time.

The poetic form of Ovid's work is presented from the standpoint of the beginner, so that if these selections be taken up in the third or even the second year an easy introduction may be obtained to this important subject. On the other hand, the presentation is made full enough to be of profit to the advanced student who may desire to make a more intensive study of Ovid's poetic form.

The notes aim to give abundant assistance to the student in translation and syntax of more difficult passages, to give such explanation as is necessary of historical and archæological references, and to show by quotations from English literature something of the wide influence which Ovid has had upon the world of letters since his time. An attempt has also been made to trace the progress of the more important stories through their earlier presentations by the Greek authors, their Roman restatements, and their later revival by the English poets. Much of this material may be considered as in advance of the needs of the younger

pupils of the secondary school, and as more pertinent to the uses of the college student. The writer, while conscious of this, is still of the opinion that young students often have a clearer insight and a larger appreciation than is usually credited to them; while, on the other hand, more advanced students may be led by these suggestions to further investigation along the same lines.

The vocabulary has been especially prepared for this edition, and contains both the literal meanings of the words and their various tropical meanings found in these selections. The indicated derivations will also be found helpful to the understanding of the words.

The illustrations are nearly all from ancient classical sources, and have been selected by the writer especially for this work from the galleries of Italy. Especial attention of the student is called. to the mythological stories in stone as seen in the sarcophagi, showing how powerfully these stories took possession of the sculptor as well as the poet.

The writer takes this opportunity to express his obligation to Miss Eleanor Sherwin, formerly reader in Latin in the University of Chicago, for valuable assistance in the notes and vocabulary.

FRANK J. MILLER.

NOTE ON HEROIDES

SELECTION FROM HEROIDES (X. Ariadne to Theseus)

NOTE ON AMORES.

SELECTIONS FROM AMORES:

The poet's introduction to amatory verse (I, 1)
His impassioned wooing (I, III)

Immortality of the poet's fame (I, xv)

An elegy on a dead parrot (II, vi) .

To Corinna upon the dangers of a voyage at sea (II, x1)
To a swollen river which has stopped his journey (III, vi)

The poet's farewell to the loves (III, xv)

NOTE ON ARS AMATORIA

SELECTIONS FROM ARS AMATORIA:

The poet is master of the art of love

The story of the rape of the Sabine women

A warning against jealousy; the story of Procris and Cephalus NOTE ON REMEDIA AMORIS .

SELECTIONS FROM REMEDIA AMORIS

NOTES ON TRAGEDY

NOTE ON FASTI

SELECTIONS FROM FASTI:

January: dedication to Germanicus; history, functions, and attributes of Janus

February: the derivation of the word; the setting of the Dolphin,
and the story of Arion.

March: sacred to Mars; March once the first month of the year;
the fatal Ides

April: sacred to Venus; derivation of the word; the shepherd's
prayer to Pales

May the story of Chiron and Hercules.

June: the feast and worship of Vesta, her temple and name NOTE ON METAMORPHOSES

SELECTIONS FROM METAMORPHOSES :

The golden age and degeneration of man

The battle of Hercules and Acheloüs

Perseus slays his enemies with the Gorgon's head

The rape of Proserpina, and Ceres' wanderings in search of her

Arethusa is changed into a fountain

The Emathides are changed into magpies

The impious pride of Niobe, and the destruction of her children
Jason wins the golden fleece through the aid of Medea
Medea renews the youth of Jason's father by her magic arts
Daedalus and Icarus

Philemon and Baucis, a proof of the prosperity of the righteous

The death and apotheosis of Hercules