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nocte tamen quam luce magis: nox grata puellis,
quarum suppositus colla lacertus habet.
aucupor in lecto mendaces caelibe somnos:
dum careo veris, gaudia falsa iuvant.
sed tua cur nobis pallens occurrit imago?
cur venit a verbis multa querella tuis?
excutior somno simulacraque noctis adoro,
nulla caret fumo Thessalis ara meo:

tura damus lacrimamque super, qua sparsa relucet,
ut solet adfuso surgere flamma mero.

115 quando ego, te reducem cupidis amplexa lacertis, languida laetitia solvar ab ipsa mea?

120

quando erit, ut lecto mecum bene iunctus in uno
militiae referas splendida facta tuae ?

quae mihi dum referes, quamvis audire iuvabit,
multa tamen rapies oscula, multa dabis.
semper in his apte narrantia verba resistunt:
promptior est dulci lingua referre mora.

sed cum Troia subit, subeunt ventique fretumque,
spes bona sollicito victa timore cadit.

125 hoc quoque, quod venti prohibent exire carinas,
me movet: invitis ire paratis aquis.

124. sollicito Merkel sollicitae Riese solliciti P.

107. mendaces: because in slumber she sees mendacia somnia, apparently bringing Protesilaus to her side.

III. adoro i.e. to ward off any untoward effect; cf. Pers. 2, 15: Tiberino in gurgite mergis mane caput bis terque, et noctem flumine purgas.

114. Cf. Prop. 4, 3, 60.

116. languida laetitia . . . ab...

mea fainting for very joy.'. solvar: 'sink.' — ipsa : for a similar position of ipsa, cf. Her. 12, 18: et caderet cultu cultor ab ipse suo.

121. his i.e. osculis. - apte : to be taken with resistunt.

123. subit, subeunt : cf. v. 51, n. 125. exire: i.e. from Aulis.

126. invitis . . . aquis: concessive. - paratis, like prohibent (v. 125) and datis (v. 128), and

130

quis velit in patriam vento prohibente reverti?
a patria pelago vela vetante datis !

ipse suam non praebet iter Neptunus ad urbem.

quo ruitis? vestras quisque redite domos! quo ruitis, Danai? ventos audite vetantis!

non subiti casus, numinis ista morast. quid petitur tanto nisi turpis adultera bello? dum licet, Inachiae vertite vela rates! 135 sed quid ago? revoco? revocaminis omen abesto, blandaque conpositas aura secundet aquas. Troasin invideo, quae sic lacrimosa suorum funera conspicient, nec procul hostis erit: ipsa suis manibus forti nova nupta marito

140

inponet galeam barbaraque arma dabit. arma dabit, dumque arma dabit, simul oscula sumet hoc genus officii dulce duobus eritproducetque virum, dabit et mandata reverti, et dicet 'referas ista fac arma Iovi!'

145 ille ferens dominae mandata recentia secum pugnabit caute respicietque domum.

exuet haec reduci clipeum galeamque resolvet

137. Troasin Salmasius Troas P Troadas GV. quae sic vulg. quae si Heinsius (P ?) qui sic V (P?) quamvis Lehrs.

the other present tenses in this passage, pictures Laodamia for the moment imagining herself back at the time of the starting of the expedition.

129. suam . . . urbem: Neptune and Apollo, according to tradition, built the walls of Troy.

134. Inachiae: Argive, Greek; from Inachus, the traditional first king of Argos.

135. She comes to herself, and fears she may have uttered some ill-omened words in so speaking.

137. Troasin: Greek dative plural of Troas. quae sic: even though, as it is, they.' — suorum : whether lovers or husbands.

144. Iovi: cf. v. 50. Ovid makes the Greek Laodamia represent the Trojan wife as thinking in terms of the Roman religion!

150

excipietque suo corpora lassa sinu.

nos sumus incertae; nos anxius omnia cogit,
quae possunt fieri, facta putare timor.
dum tamen arma geres diverso miles in orbe,
quae referat vultus est mihi cera tuos.
illi blanditias, illi tibi debita verba

dicimus, amplexus accipit illa meos.

155 crede mihi, plus est, quam quod videatur, imago: adde sonum cerae Protesilaus erit.

160

hanc specto teneoque sinu pro coniuge vero, ut, tamquam possit verba referre, queror. per reditus corpusque tuum, mea numina, iuro perque pares animi coniugiique faces perque, quod ut videam canis albere capillis, quod tecum possis ipse referre, caput, me tibi venturam comitem, quocumque vocaris, sive-quod heu! timeo, sive superstes eris. 165 ultima mandato claudetur epistula parvo: si tibi cura mei, sit tibi cura tui! 161-162. bracketed by Postgate. 152. cera: wax likenesses of lovers are referred to in Rem. Am. 723: si potes, et ceras remove.

158. Cf. Prop. 4, 11, 83.

159. numina: i.e. reditus corpusque tuum; cf. Fast. 2, 842: perque tuos Manes, qui mihi numen

erunt.

162. quod tecum vulg. mox tutum Riese.

161. perque: to be taken with caput. — ut videam: optative.

:

162. ipse in person,' rather than have his ashes brought home by some kind friend.

164. sive: Laodamia avoids speaking the ill-omened word referring to death.

5

TRISTIVM

LIBER PRIMVS

3

Cum subit illius tristissima noctis imago, qua mihi supremum tempus in urbe fuit, cum repeto noctem, qua tot mihi cara reliqui, labitur ex oculis nunc quoque gutta meis. iam prope lux aderat, qua me discedere Caesar

TRISTIA, 1, 3

Cf.

Ovid's last night in Rome. Intr. § 38. This is one of the most pathetic pictures Ovid has left us, designed, indeed, to move Augustus to relent, yet true to life in its details.

1-4: 'The thought of that night moves me to tears. 5-12: Though the time had arrived, I was too dazed to act or plan. 13-26: At length, trying to collect myself, I spoke farewells; it seemed like a funeral, or the fall of Troy. 27-46: As it grew late, I addressed the gods; my wife, too, with sobs and disheveled locks, offered many vain petitions. 4768 Night hastened. Often I essayed to go, yet multiplied excuses for delay. Why hurry from Rome to Scythia? Every moment with my dear ones is precious. 6976: But amid my tears and goodbyes up rose the daystar, and I

tore myself away. 77-90: Loud was the wailing of my loved ones. My wife would fain have accompanied me; but I went like one going alone to his own obsequies. 91-102: They say she swooned, then reviving cried unto the gods and mourned as for the dead. She longed to die; but may she rather live for me!'

1. subit: the thought is commonly completed by animum or a similar word; cf. Met. 7, 170: animum subiit Aeeta relictus.

2. in urbe from the city' no Roman could bear long to be separated; cf. Intr. § 38; Cic. Ad Att. 5, II, I: non dici potest quam flagrem desiderio urbis.

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IO

15

20

finibus extremae iusserat Ausoniae.

nec spatium fuerat, nec mens satis apta parandi:
torpuerant longa pectora nostra mora.

non mihi servorum, comites non cura legendi,

non aptae profugo vestis opisve fuit.

non aliter stupui, quam qui Iovis ignibus ictus
vivit et est vitae nescius ipse suae.

ut tamen hanc animi nubem dolor ipse removit,
ut tandem sensus convaluere mei,
adloquor extremum maestos abiturus amicos,
qui modo de multis unus et alter erant.
uxor amans flentem flens acrius ipsa tenebat,
imbre per indignas usque cadente genas.
nata procul Libycis aberat diversa sub oris:
non poterat fati certior esse mei.

quocumque adspiceres, luctus gemitusque sonabant,

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niae = finibus extremis Ausoniae.

Residence at Tomi would remove the poet entirely from the western land' of promise.

7. parandi depends upon spatium.

8. longa. mora: not to be taken absolutely, of course (cf. v. 7); but from the time the news of the decree of banishment reached him on the island of Elba till the day of his actual departure from Rome there had been little enough time for actual preparations, but all too much opportunity for brooding over his fate.

9. Note the careless inconsistency of construction, in harmony with the mood of the writer at the

time. As the sentence against Ovid was only relegatio, he might take with him what or whom he pleased.

13. animi nubem: i.e. the torpor of v. 8.

15. extremum: 'for the last time.'

16. modo belongs with multis ; cf. Hor. Car. 1, 35, 26: diffugiunt cadis cum faece siccatis amici, ferre iugum pariter dolosi.

17. uxor: cf. 4, 10, 73, n. 18. imbre: cf. Cat. 68, 56, n. 19. nata: cf. 4, 10, 75, n. This daughter's second husband was Cornelius Fidus, who was at this time proconsul in Africa.

21. adspiceres: cf. H. 602, 3 and 4.

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