ALBII TIBVLLI ELEGIARVM LIBER PRIMVS I Divitias alius fulvo sibi congerat auro et teneat culti iugera multa soli, I, I 1. 2. multa GPM magna AVY. Written probably in the early part of B.C. 29 (cf. Intr. § 23), perhaps on his country estate at Pedum. This elegy stands at the head of the collection, not chronologically, but as a typical representative of the work of Tibullus, setting forth his tastes and ideals, and serving as a kind of a dedication of Book 1 to Delia, who is here brought forward as the center of his hopes and joys. The poet signifies his preference for living in peaceful retirement on his family estates, enjoying the delights and freedom of rural life rather than encountering the hardships and perils of a soldier, even for the wealth that might be thus acquired. The acme of his hopes, however, is to be found in the continuance of the favor of his beloved Delia till his dying day. Haase, Ribbeck, Baehrens, and others, by their transposition of verses, have wrought havoc with the gentle ebb and flow of the poetic thought so characteristic of Tibullus, which is illustrated in this poem as well as in any. The theme, briefly stated in vv. I-14, is twice repeated in reverse order (15-36, 37-50), and the third time (51-78) the erotic element in his longing for a quiet stay-at-home life is expanded to the end of the elegy. Cf. Vahlen, Monatsber. d. Ber. Akad. 1878, pp. 343 sqq.; Leo, pp. 28 sqq. For a more artificial analysis cf. K. P. H. in PAPA., Vol. 26 (1895), p. viii. For an appreciation of the genuineness of its feeling, cf. Reitzenstein in Hermes 47 (1912), pp. 60-116. 1-14: Let another endure the hardships and risks of a soldier's life for the wealth that he may thus gain but let me rather pass my days in the quiet, humble : quem labor adsiduus vicino terreat hoste, Martia cui somnos classica pulsa fugen country life of my own little farm, thanking the gods for a modest competence.' 15-36: (The previous thought in reverse order), 'To you, rustic divinities of my now humble possessions, will I offer appropriate sacrifices, if only you will let me enjoy them in peace, be my own gardener, my own shepherd, and be undisturbed by either thieves or wolves.' 3750: The same thought expressed for the third time, in the same order as in the previous section. In v. 46 the erotic element is introduced, to be expanded in the last division of the elegy. 51-78: 'Yes, Messalla and his legions shall win their trophies on land and sea; but as for me, let me enjoy my Delia's unfailing love while life endures, and live contented with my little store.' 1. fulvo: cf. 2, 1, 88.-congerat: hort. subj.- auro: abl. instr. 2. culti... soli: the well-tilled farms of other owners were often confiscated and allotted by victorious generals to their soldiers, as by Augustus more than once. The story of the loss and recovery of Vergil's estates near Mantua is well known; it is not impossible that Tibullus may have had some similar experience, to which reference is made in the various passages suggesting that his wealth had been seriously diminished, such as vv. 5, 19-20 and lands were the wealth for which followed their pr man, however, arg 33 (1912), pp. 160 property of Tibull duced from its an tions more proba agance on the part cf. Hor. Sat. 1, Albius aere. iug 2, 3, 42: ut my iugera pascat ove; Fast. 3, 192: iugera tenere soli; K. P Rev., Vol. 9 (1895) indications that hi not now multa, see 3. quem... te garded as subj. of like fugent in the labor adsiduus: the duties of a Roman s camp, including fora peril of an attack, w terreat. 4. somnos: the to the repeated ins experience which t scribes. Cf. v. 27, for the evolution d meaning cf. R. 1097 idea of being a me guishing or summon it came to refer to used, i.e. the trum an expression tran stringed to wind inst 5 me mea paupertas vita traducat inerti, dum meus adsiduo luceat igne focus. ipse seram teneras maturo tempore vites rusticus et facili grandia poma manu: nec Spes destituat, sed frugum semper acervos 5. vita PM vite (= vitae) A. 5. me: for the liberal use of personal pronouns cf. vv. 35, 41, 49, 53, 55, 57, 75, 77; 3, 3; etc. - paupertas: not to be interpreted too literally, but rather as a playful comparison with the divitias of the professional soldier. So Horace in Sat. 1, 6, 71 speaks of his father as macro pauper agello, yet proceeds to tell how this same father was able to give him at Rome an education as good as the sons of rich men enjoyed, and adds: vestem servosque sequentes, in magno ut populo, si qui vidisset, avita ex re praeberi sumptus mihi crederet illos. And Horace says of Tibullus (Ep. 1, 4, 7): di tibi divitias dederunt artemque fruendi. — vita: abl. of the way by which cf. Hirt. B.G. 8, 27: nisi flumine Ligeri. . . copias traduxisset. For a different construction cf. CIL, 6, 12072, 11: ut longum vitae liceat transducere tempus. - traducat: i.e. through life.-inerti: cf. vv. 58, 71. It was on account of the prominence of this thought in this poem (the word does not occur in any other elegy of Tibullus) that Vahlen proposed to read iam modo iners in V. 25. 6. adsiduo .. igne: 'with steady glow'; cf. v. 3. Such repetitions of a word are common enough in Tibullus (cf. previous note). - focus: the hearth fire was essential to every Roman house; indeed, the name for the hearth is often used by metonymy for the home; Ter. Eun. 815: domi focique fac vicissim ut memineris; Hor. Ep. 1, 14, 1: agelli, quem tu fastidis, habitatum quinque focis. The depth of poverty associated with the extinguished hearth fire is indicated in Cat. 23, 1-2 : Furi, cui neque servus neque arca nec cimex neque araneus neque ignis; cf. 2, 1, 22; Verg. Ec. 5, 70; Mart. 10, 47, 4; et passim. 7. ipse: 'with my own hand.' seram: like traducat (v. 5), opt. subj. 8. rusticus belongs to the predicate. facili: due to experience. grandia sturdy,' as contrasted with teneras (v. 7). — poma pomos; cf. Verg. Georg. 2, 426; but in v. 13 it is used in the ordinary sense; the regular pomus occurs in 2, 1, 43. = ΤΟ 15 praebeat et pleno pinguia musta lacu. nam veneror, seu stipes habet desertus in seu vetus in trivio florida serta lapis: et quodcumque mihi pomum novus educat libatum agricolae ponitur ante deo. flava Ceres, tibi sit nostro de rure corona -- 12. florida O florea w. ple in the Forum Holitorium at Rome; cf. Preller, Vol. 2, p. 253. Cf. also 2, 6, 21. - destituat: used absolutely here. - frugum : the product of the grandia poma, as musta is that of the tenerae vites. 10. pinguia: 'rich'; cf. Hor. Sat. 2, 4, 65: pingui mero. — lacu: the trough-like wine vat into which the juice of the grape ran when first pressed out. Cf. 2, 5, 86. II. nam: 'and I have good reason to hope, for' I am faithful in my worship of all the rustic divinities, even the humblest. For this elliptical use of nam, cf. Ter. Ad. 190. stipes . lapis: old tree trunks, stakes, and stones, either plain, or rudely carved, often represented divinities to the Romans, and were worshiped, whether standing by themselves in the fields, or set up at the crossroads. Boundary stones furnish an excellent illustration; for as representatives of the god Terminus they were honored with garlands hung upon them at certain times. Cf. Ovid, Fast. 2, 641 sqq.: Termine, sive lapis, sive es defossus in agro stipes, ab antiquis tu quoque numen habes. te duo diversa domin nant binaque serta liba ferunt; Proj Lucr. 5, 1199, note on the pass Alex. 30; Champne sertus: standing alo with trivio (v. 12). 12. florida: for t florea; cf. 1, 2, 14; hand Vergil, Aen. florea for florida. ar 13. novus . . . recurring harvest tim 14. libatum: 'as offering.'-ante: ad in the collective ser Spes, as well as Ve mona, or Silvanus. 15. flava: the u transferred to the the ripened grain w resents. Cf. Servi Georg. 1, 96: flava ter ar tarum colore tate; Ovid, Fast. 4, spicea: the most app ing; cf. 2, 1, 4; I, Car. Saec. 29-30: fe pecorisque Tellus spic erem corona; Ovid, Baum. Denk. p. 417. 124 |