30 35 40 discentur numeri, culte Tibulle, tui. cum suus ex merito quemque tuetur honos. 38. atque O aque Mueller. 29. Gallus cf. Intr. § 12. — notus cf. Ovid, A. A. 3, 537: Vesper et Eoae novere Lycorida terrae. 30. Lycoris cf. Intr. § 12. 31. cum concessive. silices aratri cf. Lucr. 1, 313: stilicidi casus lapidem cavat, uncus aratri ferreus decrescit vomer. 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, 11; Cat. 29, 19: amnis aurifer Tagus. 35. vilia... vulgus cf. Tib. 3, 3, 19-20. flavus cf. Am. 1, I, 7, n. 36. Castalia: cf. Prop. 3, 3, 13. 37. myrtum: cf. Am. 1, 1, 28, n. 38. multus : we should expect the adverb. Cf. plurimus in Trist. 4, 10, 128. With the whole idea cf. also Am. 1, 3, 25; 2, 1, 5: me legat in sponsi facie non frigida virgo et rudis ignoto tactus amore puer; atque . . . conposuit casus iste poeta meos; Prop. 3, 3, 19. 39. fata cf. Prop. I, 17, II. 40. Cf. Prop. 3, 1, 22. 41. supremus. ignis: i.e. on the funeral pyre. ... 42. parsque mei multa: cf. Hor. Car. 3, 30, 6: non omnis moriar multaque pars mei vitabit Libiti nam. 5 LIBER SECVNDVS 6 Psittacus, eois imitatrix ales ab Indis, occidit: exequias ite frequenter, aves. ite, piae volucres, et plangite pectora pinnis, et rigido teneras ungue notate genas. horrida pro maestis lanietur pluma capillis, pro longa resonent carmina vestra tuba. quod scelus Ismarii quereris, Philomela, tyranni, 2, 6 The death of Corinna's parrot. The rhetorical wealth of elaboration employed by Ovid on this somewhat trifling theme furnishes an excellent commentary on his mind and art when the elegy is compared with the familiar little poem of Catullus on the death of Lesbia's pet sparrow. Ovid must have had Catullus in mind; but the heartfelt simplicity of mourning in the earlier poet was beyond the reach of his imitator. (Yet cf. Martinengo, p. 165; Mart. 1, 7; Statius, Silv. 2, 4.) 1-6: 'Come, all ye birds to mourn Corinna's parrot; 7-10: Philomela, never mind your old complaint; 11-16: all come! but especially you, turtledove, the parrot's dearest friend. 17-24: What gifts and graces you had, parrot! 25-42: It must have been a envy that caused your death, bird so superior to others; but death is always claiming the best. 43-48 So he died, amid Corinna's grief; 49-58: he has entered the bird's paradise; 59-62: and his tomb has a suitable inscription.' 1. imitatrix : cf. V. 37. Indis: cf. Pliny, N. H. 10, 117: India hanc avem mittit, etc. 2. exequias: cf. Prop. 2, 13, 24, n. 3. plangite pectora pinnis : note the onomatopoetic alliteration. 4. Cf. Tib. 1, 1, 68. 5. capillis: tearing the hair was a common expression of human mourning. 7. Ismarii .. tyranni: the Thracian king Tereus, husband of Philomela and father of Itys. He betrayed Procne, his wife's sister, and in revenge Philomela killed Itys. When Tereus pursued the fleeing sisters, all three IO 15 20 25 expleta est annis ista querella suis; alitis in rarae miserum devertere funus: 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. quid iuvat, ut datus es, nostrae placuisse puellae? tu poteras fragiles pinnis hebetare zmaragdos, reddebas blaeso tam bene verba sono! ecce, coturnices inter sua proelia vivunt, 6. 9. devertere Heinsius devertite PR divertite S devertito Mueller. 30 35 40 45 forsitan et fiant inde frequenter anus. illa quidem saeclis vix moritura novem : tristia Phylacidae Thersites funera vidit : 28. fiant: the subjunctive of 'for that SC. very 29. minimo: cibo. The parrot would rather talk than eat. 31. causaque papavera somni: cf. Verg. Georg. 1, 78: Lethaeo perfusa papavera somno. 34. graculus auctor aquae: cf. Prop. 4, 3, 32; but the crow is more common as a messenger of rain; cf. Hor. Car. 3, 17, 12 : aquae nisi fallit augur annosa cornix. 35. invisa Minervae: the crow talked too much, and besides was at enmity with Minerva's favorite, the owl; cf. Met. 2, 535 sqq. ROM. EL. POETS- - 25 36. Cf. v. 34, n. 39. A familiar sentiment; cf. Cat. 3, 13: malae tenebrae Orci, quae omnia bella devoratis. 385 41. Phylacidae: Protesilaus; cf. Her. 13; Cat. 68, 74, n. — Thersites: the hateful figure of Hom. Il. 2, 212 sqq. 42. fratribus: including the cowardly Paris, who brought on all the trouble of the Trojan War. 43. vota: offered during the illness of her parrot. 45. septima: believed by the ancients to be a critical day in certain diseases; Cic. Ad Fam. 16, 9, 3: ne in quartam hebdomada incideres. 50 55 60 et stabat vacuo iam tibi Parca colo, et vivax phoenix, unica semper avis. oscula dat cupido blanda columba mari. ossa tegit tumulus, tumulus pro corpore magnus, 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, 1, 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 My cenae. 56. 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. |