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IO

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iussit et Ascraeum sic habitare nemus,
non ut Pieriae quercus mea verba sequantur,
aut possim Ismaria ducere valle feras,
sed magis ut nostro stupefiat Cynthia versu:

tunc ego sim Inachio notior arte Lino.
non ego sum formae tantum mirator honestae,
nec siqua inlustres femina iactat avos:
me iuvet in gremio doctae legisse puellae,
auribus et puris scripta probasse mea.

habitare

4. Ascraeum nemus: i.e. to practice the poet's art; cf. 2, 10, 25, n.

5. Pieriae: the Thracian Pieria was probably originally referred to, as that belongs to the same general region as Ismaria valle (v. 6). Perhaps Propertius did not know the difference between this district and the more famous Macedonian district of the same name near Mt. Olympus, which was especially associated with the Muses. On poetic geography cf. v. I, n; Tib. 1, 3, 7, n. — sequantur: the legendary effect of the playing and singing of Orpheus. Cf. ducere

feras

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10. femina: the incorporated antecedent of siqua.

II. doctae: cf. I, 7, II, n. That Cynthia possessed all three of the attractions enumerated in vv. 9-11, beauty, rank, and education, we are abundantly assured in other passages. Cf. 3, 20, 7-8: est tibi forma potens, sunt castae Palladis artes, splendidaque a docto fama refulget avo. — legisse: cf. probasse (v. 12), tenuisse, Tib. I, I, 29, n. The object to be supplied is scripta. in the next verse, and Propertius is thinking of reading aloud.

.. mea

12. puris: of literary taste: uncorrupted, undefiled by any un

15

20

haec ubi contigerint, populi confusa valeto fabula: nam domina iudice tutus ero. quae si forte bonas ad pacem verterit aures, possum inimicitias tunc ego ferre Iovis. quandocumque igitur nostros mors claudet ocellos, accipe quae serves funeris acta mei.

nec mea tum longa spatietur imagine pompa,

nec tuba sit fati vana querella mei,

nec mihi tum fulcro sternatur lectus eburno, nec sit in Attalico mórs mea nixa toro.

worthy models of style, unlike the ears of the populus of v. 13.

14. fabula: 'babble,' i.e. 'talk of the town'; cf. Hor. Epod. 11, 8: fabula quanta fui! The personality of Propertius and the peculiarities of his style doubtless aroused contemporary criticism.

15. bonas: kindly' (C. S.). ad pacem: 'with favor'; (C. S.) ; purpose acc.; sc. meam.

16. tunc cf. v. 8, n.

18. accipe the change from the 3d to the 2d person, henceforth maintained throughout the elegy, is an instance of a very common phenomenon in Propertius. Cf. e.g. 1, 3, vv. 8 and 22; Hertzberg, pp. 115, 116. — acta: like the English "programme." A somewhat peculiar use of the past participle for what would be, more accurately, agenda (C. S.).

19. mea: for me.'-longa... imagine collective use for longa serie hominum imagines gerentium. -spatietur: men wearing the wax masks of the ancestors in

noble families, and dressed otherwise to represent them, with their insignia, preceded the bier of a member of such a family. Cf. B. G. Exc. 12, p. 512.

20. tuba: the Twelve Tables permitted as many as ten tubicines at funerals. Cf. Hor. Sat. 1, 6, 42: hic, si plostra ducenta concurrantque foro tria funera magna, sonabit cornua quod vincatque tubas. For details of funeral customs see Tib. 3, 2, 10, n.; Prop. I, 17, 21, n.

21. fulcro. . . eburno: the rich coverings of the lectus funebris hid a large part of it from view, and the legs, being thus the most prominent part of it, were sometimes made of ivory.

22. Attalico: not merely was the name of the Attalidae, kings of Pergamum, proverbial for magnificence, but in particular Attalus III is said by Pliny the elder (N. H. 8, 74, 196) to have invented a new luxury in fabrics, by interweaving threads of gold. Cf. 2, 32, 12:

25

desit odoriferis ordo mihi lancibus, adsint

plebei parvae funeris exequiae.

sat mea sat magna est si tres sint pompa libelli,
quos ego Persephonae maxima dona feram.

25. sat magna est w sit magna O sic magnast Baehrens sit magno Phillimore sed magna est Otto.

porticus, aulaeis nobilis Attalicis. - mors mea = ego mortuus, i.e. as cadaver. Cf. 1, 19, 19, n. Cic. Pro Milone, 32, 86: mortem eius lacerari.

23. odoriferis lancibus: abl. with ordo, a Propertian phrase. Cf. 2, 32, 13: platanis creber pariter surgentibus ordo. The reference is probably to incense, which was burned in the atrium beside the body lying in state, and during the procession. Strangely enough, only here in the three authors, Catullus, Tibullus, and Propertius does the word odorifer occur. mihi, midway between desit and the strongly contrasted adsint, belongs to both.

24. plebei. . . funeris: the exequiae, or funeral rites, of a poor man were conducted in the night, without parade, by persons hired for the purpose (C. S.). Cf. Marquardt u. Mommsen, Vol. 7, p. 343.

parvae. . . exequiae: 'humble ceremonies'; exequiae primarily refers to the procession (exsequor), and that this is especially in the poet's mind may be seen from the following verses.

25. sat mea sat: cf. Tib. I, I, 43, n. tres libelli: the

perverted wisdom of scholars has based partly upon these words the confusion still existing in the numbering of the poems in the Propertius collection. For the various interpretations that may be put upon this expression see Intr. § 34. It is sufficient here to remark that the question whether libellus be taken in the sense of a poem or a book of poems makes no difficulty. poet is not looking for immediate dissolution, and if at this time he had not completed three books of collected poems, he might thus express his hope to do so. The lover's despondency in this elegy must be compared with his elation in the next one to show that it is rather moods than mathematics with which we are dealing here.

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26. Persephonae . . dona: Postgate suggests that Propertius may have in mind Aeneas and the golden branch, Verg. Aen. 6, 142.

- maxima: elegies excel all other gifts in the honor they carry, as well to the queen of the underworld as to the queen of the poet's heart. Literary modesty does not characterize Propertius.

30

35

tu vero nudum pectus lacerata sequeris,
nec fueris nomen lassa vocare meum,
osculaque in gelidis pones suprema labellis,
cum dabitur Syrio munere plenus onyx.
deinde, ubi suppositus cinerem me fecerit ardor,
accipiat manes parvula testa meos,

et sit in exiguo laurus super addita busto,

quae tegat extincti funeris umbra locum.

et duo sint versus, 'qui nunc iacet horrida pulvis,
unius hic quondam servus Amoris erat.'

27. tu vero: instead of the stately procession referred to in vv. 19 sqq., Propertius expects Cynthia; and that will be a greater joy to him. nudum. . . lacerata : one of the many forms of outward mourning; cf. Tib. 1, 1, 67–68, n. Tibullus thinks less of self and more of his ladylove.

28. fueris fut. perf., to correspond with sequeris, expressing confident expectation. vocare: the infinitive with lassus is entirely Propertian. See Draeger, 434, d. It is found here and in 2, 15, 46; 2, 33, 26. The gerund would be

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spiritual is common in Roman epitaphs, e.g. CIL. 6, 10969: sede sub hac parva titulo parvoque tenetur parva anima; cf. Tib. 3, 2, 22, n.; Verg. Aen. 4, 427: nec patris Anchisae cineres manesve revelli.

33. laurus: not the funereal cypress which Horace speaks of, Car. 2, 14, 23 (praeter invisas cupressos), but the poet's badge of immortality (C. S.). On the "ecstatic and maddening power" of laurel, cf. Farnell, Cults of the Greek States, Vol. 4, p. 188, a. busto tomb.'

34. extincti funeris: cf. Serv. on Aen. 2. 539: funeris est iam ardens cadaver. -umbra: epexegetical with quae, which is practically rendered equivalent to

cuius.

35. duo . . . versus : incomplete, and so better fitted for this passage than to stand alone as an epitaph.

36. unius. . . Amoris: but cf. I, I, n.

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45

nec minus haec nostri notescet fama sepulcri,
quam fuerant Phthii busta cruenta viri.
tu quoque si quando venies ad fata, memento,
hoc iter ad lapides cana veni memores.
interea cave sis nos adspernata sepultos:

non nihil ad verum conscia terra sapit.
atque utinam primis animam me ponere cunis
iussisset quaevis de tribus una soror!
nam quo tam dubiae servetur spiritus horae ?
Nestoris est visus post tria saecla cinis.

37. haec ... fama: i.e. the fame that shall rise from my unique devotion to Cynthia.

38. fuerant: SC. nota from notescet. The plup. for the imp. is a favorite use of Propertius. Cf. 1, 12, 11; the nota to be supplied does not check Propertius from indulging his mannerism. - Phthii. viri: Achilles.

cruenta: referring to the death of Polyxena, beloved of Achilles, at his tomb. It would help the comparison here to assume that the poet is thinking of the version of the story in which Polyxena committed suicide at the grave of her lover; then the emphasis will fall on the fact that his constancy to Cynthia, though expressed only in elegies, will make him as famous as Polyxena became by giving her life in a more spectacular way for her lover.

39. si quando: the poet gallantly puts off the evil day to a remote future.

40. hoc iter: Propertius hopes Cynthia's tomb will be near his

Own.

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cana: in hoary age.' memores: 'that ever call to mind'; probably the poet is thinking both of the ordinary function of a tombstone and of the undying memory of Cynthia connected with his

own.

41. sis . adspernata: the present tense is the usual construction; but for the poet's fondness for tenses of completed action, cf. 38, n.; I, 17, I, n. - sepultos : the ashes may be said to be 'buried in the tomb.

V.

42. Not all unconscious is the clay; it has some notion of the truth.'. verum: the end toward which the dull earth is groping.

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43. atque adversative. ponere = deponere.

44. tribus: sc. Parcis.

45. quo: 'to what end?'horae duration;' genitive.

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46. Nestoris: the proverbial old man of wisdom and experience; yet even he would better have died earlier.tria saecla: cf. Hom. l. 1, 250 sqq.

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