But whether he was banished justly or unjustly, his lot was pitiable. Past the age of fifty-the air of joyous Rome his very life—past the time when men are able easily to adapt themselves to new surroundings, he found exile well-nigh unendurable. Tomi had been recently colonized, and was frequently attacked by hostile tribes, so that it was in constant danger and unrest. The few Romans there were rough and uncultured, the natives uncouth barbarians, the climate severe, all comforts lacking.

As verse had been the spontaneous expression of the poet's joys, so now it became the vehicle and solace of his troubles. He addressed many poems to his friends at Rome, begging them to use their influence in securing his pardon. His wretched plight even touched the natives, who in their rude way did him kindnesses. He in return composed a poem for them in their own language, which pleased them greatly. long as Augustus lived, the poet was buoyed up by some hope of recall. But when the implacable Tiberius came to the throne, even this hope faded away. For nearly three years still the poet lived on in sadness; then died, in 17 A. D., and was buried near Tomi.

So

The character of Ovid was not one of great strength, nor one of great weakness. Fond of pleasure, he yet knew when to check indulgence and retain his self-control. His nature was sensitive, yet not so intense as to be carried away by passion or sympathy into self-forgetfulness. Whether in love or in anger, he was always himself. He was a kind-hearted, affable Roman gentleman.

Ovid has been criticised for the spirit in which he bore his exile. His ceaseless complaints of his hard lot, his adulation of Augustus, even though inspired by hope of pardon, and his constant supplication of friends to intercede for him, have

often been condemned as unmanly. He was certainly not of heroic mould. If he had been, his poetry would have lacked that ease and grace which distinguish him above every other Roman poet. We should remember, too, that the Poems of Exile were written at intervals, during a period of eight or nine years; and hence, being received at Rome at different times, must have produced a far different impression from that left upon us, who have them all together and may read the whole collection at a sitting. They were composed also fully as much to relieve the poet's own feelings as to move his friends. In laudation of Augustus, he simply conformed to the fashion of the time. If Vergil and Horace could sing of the Emperor as a god upon earth, Ovid certainly should not be brought to task for fulsome praise at a time when his very life hung trembling in the Emperor's power. Though we may not admire Ovid in exile, we can well understand how, torn from his home, his wife, and all earth held dear, condemned to languish in an inhospitable clime without a single congenial companion, he pined away, and finally died broken-hearted.

ii. THE WORKS OF OVID.

THE works of Ovid now extant may best be considered in three groups, Love-poems, Mythological poems, and Poems of Exile. The love-poems were written in the earlier period of his life, the mythological poems in middle life, the poems of exile when the poet was languishing at Tomi. (

I. LOVE-POEMS.

Amores, 'Loves.' In three books, containing in all fortynine miscellaneous short poems, chiefly of an amatory char

acter.

Epistulae, or Heroides, Epistles.' A collection of fictitious love-letters in elegiac verse, supposed to have been written by personages of the heroic age to their absent lovers. Twenty-one of these epistles are extant, of which certainly one, and perhaps six, were composed not by Ovid himself, but by some imitator. Among the best-known epistles are those of Penelope to Ulysses, Dido to Aeneas, Ariadne to Theseus, and Medea to Iason.

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A frag

De Medicamine Faciei, On Face-cosmetics.' mentary poem of a hundred lines, addressed to the ladies and recommending certain preparations for beautifying the complexion.

Ars Amatoria, 'Art of Love.'

In three books, discussing ways of winning and retaining the affections.

Remedia Amoris, Love-cures.' A treatise on the best means of conquering an unreciprocated affection. This poem and the preceding reflect the luxury and vice of the time, and are ill-suited to modern taste.

2. MYTHOLOGICAL POEMS.

Fasti, 'Calendar.' In six books, one for each month, from January to June inclusive. Among the Romans all holidays, and many other days, were associated with traditions connected with the founding or history or religious observances of the City. In his 'Calendar' Ovid treats the days of each month in their order, relating the myths and legends suggested by them, and introducing some astronomical knowledge. The subject, ordinarily far from interesting, under the poet's hands becomes full of spirit and attractiveness. It is probable that Ovid intended to carry the 'Calendar' through the remaining months of the year, but was prevented by his banishment. The poem as it stands received its final revision at Tomi. Parts of it are unexcelled, in literary finish, by any of the poet's other works. The explanations given in regard to early Roman rites and legends are of prime importance to students of Roman history or antiquities.

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Metamorphoses, Transformations.' In fifteen books. This poem is the best known of Ovid's works, and, despite some blemishes of style, deservedly ranks as a masterpiece. The poet had scarcely finished it when the sentence of banishment fell upon him, and in a fit of desperation he burned the manuscript. Fortunately some of his friends had copies, so that the poem was not lost to the world.

The purpose of the Metamorphoses is to set forth the changes of form which were related as having taken place, through supernatural agencies, from the beginning of the world down to the poet's own time. The poem opens with the evolution of the world from primal chaos. It closes with the apotheosis of Julius Cæsar, the fabled transformation of

that greatest of all the Romans into a star. Between these two limits the poet has woven into a continuous and pleasing narrative, in a kind of chronological order, two hundred and sixteen stories of change. Though having gathered his material from all sources, he has so skilfully inwrought the whole that the connection between the different tales rarely appears forced. Thirteen of the fifteen books treat chiefly of the Grecian myths, the remaining two of the Italian. Taken as a whole, the Metamorphoses is a fairly complete compendium of the ancient mythology. Apart from its literary charm, it is of great value as throwing light upon many peculiar notions of the Greeks and Romans.

3. POEMS OF EXILE.

Tristia, 'Sorrows.' In five books, containing an extended appeal to Augustus for a less intolerable place of exile, and forty-nine shorter poems, pervaded by melancholy reflections and presenting in many lights the hardships and wretchedness of the poet's life at Tomi.

Ibis, Ibis.' So named from an Egyptian wading-bird noted for its uncleanness. This enigmatical poem is an invective directed against some enemy, whose name is withheld, but who appears to have made an effort to ruin Ovid's reputation at Rome after he was banished. It calls down upon the head of the offender all the curses known to the language of mythology as well as of passion. to have borrowed both the idea and the title of the poem from the Greek poet Callimachus.

Ovid appears

Epistulae ex Ponto, Letters from Pontus,' or 'Letters from the Black Sea.' In four books, containing forty-six letters addressed to acquaintances and relatives at Rome, imploring