30 35 discentur numeri, culte Tibulle, tui. et sua cum Gallo nota Lycoris erit. depereant aevo, carmina morte carent. cedant carminibus reges regumque triumphi, cedat et auriferi ripa benigna Tagi. vilia miretur vulgus; mihi flavus Apollo pocula Castalia plena ministret aqua, sustineamque coma metuentem frigora myrtum atque ita sollicito multus amante legar. pascitur in vivis Livor, post fata quiescit, cum suus ex merito quemque tuetur honos. ergo etiam cum me supremus adederit ignis, 40 vivam, parsque mei multa superstes erit. 38. atque o aque Mueller. 29. Gallus : cf. Intr. § 12. — notus : cf. Ovid, 4. A. 3, 537: Vesper et Eoae novere Lycorida terrae. 30. Lycoris : cf. Intr. $ 12. aratri : cf. Lucr. I, 313 : stilicidi casus lapidem cavat, uncus aratri ferreus decrescit Vomer. 36. Castalia : cf. Prop. 3, 3, 37. myrtum : cf. Am. I, 1, 28, n. we should expect 39. fata : cf. Prop. I, 17, 41. supremus . ignis : i.e. on 42. parsque mei multa : cf. Hor. Car. 3, 30, 6: non omnis moriar multaque pars mei vitabit Libitiпат. . 32. Cf. Prop. 3, 2, 26. 34. auriferi ... Tagi: the goldbearing stream of the West, in Spain, corresponding to the Pactolus in the East; cf. Prop. 1, 14, II; Cat. 29, 19: amnis aurifer Tagus. 35. vilia . . . vulgus : cf. Tib. 3, 3, 19-20. -— flavus : cf. Am. 1, I, 7, n. II. 1 LIBER SECVNDVS 6 Psittacus, eois imitatrix ales ab Indis, occidit : exequias ite frequenter, aves. et rigido teneras ungue notate genas. pro longa resonent carmina vestra tuba. 5 a 2, 6 envy that caused your death, bird so superior to others; but The death of Corinna's parrot. death is always claiming the best. The rhetorical wealth of elabora 43-48: So he died, amid Corinna's tion employed by Ovid on this grief; 49-58: he has entered the somewhat trifling theme furnishes bird's paradise; 59–62: and his an excellent commentary on his tomb has a suitable inscription.' mind and art when the elegy is 1. imitatrix : cf. v. 37. compared with the familiar little Indis: cf. Pliny, N. H. 10, 117: poem of Catullus on the death of India hanc avem mittit, etc. Lesbia's pet sparrow. Ovid must 2. exequias : cf. Prop. 2, 13, have had Catullus in mind; but 24, n. the heartfelt simplicity of mourn 3. plangite pectora pinnis : note ing in the earlier poet was beyond the onomatopoetic alliteration. the reach of his imitator. (Yet 4. Cf. Tib. I, I, 68. cf. Martinengo, p. 165; Mart. 1, 5. capillis : tearing the hair 7; Statius, Silv. 2, 4.) common expression of 1-6: ‘Come, all ye birds to. human mourning. mourn Corinna's parrot; 7-10: 7. Ismarii ... tyranni: the Philomela, never mind your old Thracian king Tereus, husband complaint; 11-16: all come! but of Philomela and father of Itys. especially you, turtledove, the He betrayed Procne, his wife's parrot's dearest friend. 17–24: sister, and in revenge Philomela What gifts and graces you had, killed Itys. When Tereus purparrot! 25-42: It must have been sued the fleeing sisters, all three was a Іо 15 expleta est annis ista querella suis; alitis in rarae miserum devertere furus: magna, set antiqua est causa doloris Itys. omnes, quae liquido libratis in aere cursus, tu tamen ante alios, turtur amice, dole. plena fuit vobis omni concordia vita, et stetit ad finem longa tenaxque fides. quod fuit Argolico iuvenis Phoceus Orestae, hoc tibi, dum licuit, psittace, turtur erat. quid tamen ista fides, quid rari forma coloris, quid vox mutandis ingeniosa sonis, infelix, avium gloria, nempe iaces ! tincta gerens rubro Punica rostra croco. reddebas blaeso tam bene verba sono! raptus es invidia : non tu fera bella movebas; 20 25 garrulus et placidae pacis amator eras. ecce, coturnices inter sua proelia vivunt, 6. 9. devertere Heinsius devertite PR divertite S devertito Mueller. were metamorphosed into birds; 17. sqq.: a typical consolatio ; cf. Cat. 65, 14, n. cf. Prop. 3, 18, 11 sqq. — fides : i.e. 11. libratis .. cursus : “poise to Corinna. yourselves '; cf. Verg. Georg. 4, 19. ut datus es : from the 196: sese per inania nubila moment you became hers.' librant. 21. hebetare : by contrast. 12. turtur amice: cf. Pliny, 22. Punica : cf. Prop. 3, 3, N. H. 10, 207: amici pavones et 32, n. columbae, turtures et psittaci. 23. Cf. v. 1. 15. iuvenis Phoceus : Pylades, 26. garrulus : i.e. a mere talker, whose friendship with Orestes was as contrasted with a fighter. as celebrated as that of Damon 27. coturnices : notoriously quarand Pythias. relsome birds. 30 35 forsitan et fiant inde frequenter anus. in multos poteras ora vacare cibos. pellebatque sitim simplicis umor aquae. miluus et pluviae graculus auctor aquae; vivit et armiferae cornix invisa Minervae, illa quidem saeclis vix moritura novem : occidit illa loquax humanae vocis imago, psittacus, extremo munus ab orbe datum. inplentur numeris deteriora suis. iamque cinis, vivis fratribus, Hector erat. vota procelloso per mare rapta noto ? septima lux venit, non exhibitura sequentem, 40 45 that very 28. fiant: the subjunctive of 36. Cf. v. 34, n. modesty adds a sly thrust to the 39. A familiar sentiment; cf. irony. — inde : for Cat. 3, 13: malae tenebrae Orci, reason.' quae omnia bella devoratis. 29. minimo: cibo. The 41. Phylacidae : Protesilaus ; cf. parrot would rather talk than eat. Her. 13; Cat. 68, 74, n. — Ther 31. causa que papavera somni: sites: the hateful figure of Hom. cf. Verg. Georg. 1, 78: Lethaeo Il. 2, 212 sqq. perfusa papavera somno. 42. fratribus : including the 34. graculus auctor aquae: cf. cowardly Paris, who brought on Prop. 4, 3, 32; but the crow is all the trouble of the Trojan War. more common as a messenger of 43. vota : offered during the illrain ; cf. Hor. Car. 3, 17, 12 : aquae ness of her parrot. nisi fallit augur annosa cornix. 45. septima: believed by the 35. invisa Minervae: the crow ancients to be a critical day in talked too much, and besides was certain diseases; Cic. Ad Fam. at enmity with Minerva's favorite, 16, 9, 3: ne in quartam hebdomada the owl; cf. Met. 2, 535 sqq. incideres. ROM. EL. POETS — 25 385 50 et stabat. vacuo iam tibi Parca colo, clamavit moriens lingua ‘Corinna, vale!' udaque perpetuo gramine terra viret. siqua fides dubiis, volucrum locus ille piarum dicitur, obscenae quo prohibentur aves. illic innocui late pascuntur olores, et vivax phoenix, unica semper avis. explicat ipsa suas ales Iunonia pinnas, oscula dat cupido blanda columba mari. convertit volucres in sua verba pias. quo lapis exiguus par sibi carmen habet : ora fuere mihi plus ave docta loqui.' 46. Parca: Clotho, the emptiness of whose spindle signifies that the thread of life has run out. 49 sqq.: an ideal scene in bird paradise. The poet's imagination is helped by the memory of his boyhood home; cf. 2, 16, 5 sqq. 51. siqua fides dubiis : sc. est. For the thought cf. Cat. 96, i, n. 52. obscenae : “ill-boding'; cf. Verg. Aen. 12, 875: ne me terrete timentem, obscenae volucres. 53. olores. poetic for cygni. 54. vivax phoenix: which, according to mythology, rose again from its own ashes ; cf. the poems on this subject by Claudian and Lactantius. 55. ales Iunonia : the peacock ; cf. A. A. 1, 627: laudatas ostendit avis Iunonia pinnas. Pausanias (2, 17, 6) tells of the golden peacock in the Hera temple at Mycenae. 5 6. Cf. Cat. 68, 125-127; Prop. 2, 15, 27: exemplo iunctae tibi sint in amore columbae. 59. pro corpore magnus : 'correspondingly small.' 60. Cf. Prop. 2, 1, 72: breve in exiguo marmore nomen ero. 61. colligor: it may be inferred.' — ex ipso ... sepulcro : i.e. the very existence of a tomb is a mark of unusual affection. 62. plus ave: i.e. like human beings. |