IO 15 crede mihi, non ulla tuae est medicina figurae : ut veniant hederae sponte sua melius, et volucres nulla dulcius arte canunt. non sic Leucippis succendit Castora Phoebe, non Idae et cupido quondam discordia Phoebo 2. 7. tuae est DV tua est (= tuaest ?) AFN. 9. quos O quot a quo Lachmann. 10. ut Itali et 0. 13. persuadent O persudant V2 collucent praefulgent Baehrens praelucent Hertzberg. 7. medicina figurae: i.e. it cannot be improved upon. 8. nudus Amor: the highest type of beauty, and therefore in need of no artificial adornment. 9. Cf. Matt. 6, 28-29: "Consider the lilies," etc. 10. veniant: 'come,' in the sense of 'shoot,' or 'grow,' is good English; cf. Cent. Dict. s.v. 4; Verg. Georg. 2, II; I, 54. II. antris: here nearly equal to convallibus (C. S.); cf. I, I, II, n. Did Gray have this in mind in the Elegy, 54: "The dark, unfathom'd caves of ocean bear: Full many a flower is born to blush unseen," etc? 12. indociles: antithetic with sciat (C.S.); it here = non doctas, a åtaέ λeyóμevov. Cf. Cic. Acad. 20 25 Eueni patriis filia litoribus, nec Phrygium falso traxit candore maritum avecta externis Hippodamia rotis: sed facies aderat nullis obnoxia gemmis, qualis Apelleis est color in tabulis. non illis studium vulgo conquirere amantes: illis ampla satis forma pudicitia. non ego nunc vereor ne sim tibi vilior istis : 18. Eueni. . . filia: Marpessa, the most beautiful of all the women of her age, was the wife of Idas. Apollo seized and carried her off. Idas pursued him, and Zeus sent Hermes to settle the quarrel. He gave Marpessa her choice between the rivals, and she chose Idas. Her father, disconsolate from her loss, threw himself into the Lycormas River, which thenceforth took his name (C. S.). 19. Phrygium maritum : Pelops, see H. & T. § 130. falso: 'artificial' (C. S.).—traxit: see Lex. s.v. 2, A. I. 20. avecta: i.e. carried back home to Pisa to be the bride of Pelops. externis: a stranger's,' i.e. Pelops's. Cf. 2, 32, 31: Tyndaris externo patriam mutavit amore. Ovid, in his imitative passage (A. A. 2, 8), uses an epithet less harsh: vecta peregrinis Hippodamia rotis. 21. facies: 'beauty'; cf. Ovid, A. A. 3, 105: cura dabit faciem. obnoxia: indebted' (C. S.). the 22. Apelleis . . . tabulis : subjects of Apelles's paintings were usually nude. The natural richness of the complexion (color) was brought out in his portraits, hence the force of the comparison. Aphrodite coming forth from the sea was his masterpiece, and the admiration of all antiquity. Cf. 3, 9, II. 23. non illis studium (sc. erat): the reason follows in v. 24. 24. forma = facies in v. 21.With this whole passage cf. Sen. Cons. ad Helviam, chap. 16, a passage which was evidently an outgrowth of this poem: non te maximum saeculi malum, inpudicitia, in numerum plurium adduxit: non gemmae te, non margaritae flexerunt. faciem coloribus ac lenociniis polluisti: numquam tibi placuit vestis, quae nihil amplius nudaret, cum poneretur; unicum tibi ornamentum pulcherrima et nulli obnoxia aetati forma, maximum decus visa est pudicitia. non 25. non ego nunc vereor: cf. 1, 6, 1; 1, 19, 1. — tibi: 'in your eyes.' Cf. 1, 8, 2. - istis refers to amantes (v. 23), for whom those heroines disdained to prink. 30 uni siqua placet, culta puella sat est; unica nec desit iucundis gratia verbis, omnia quaeque Venus quaeque Minerva probat. his tu semper eris nostrae gratissima vitae, taedia dum miserae sint tibi luxuriae. 6 Non ego nunc Hadriae vereor mare noscere tecum, 26. I.e. let this rather be your conviction. I, 6 The reason why Propertius cannot accept the invitation of Tullus to accompany him to the East. The same Tullus, to whom this first book of Propertius is dedicated, and who appears to have been a most intimate friend, is addressed also in I, I, 9; 14, 20; 22, 1; 3, 22, 2. He is believed to have been a nephew of L. Volcatius Tullus, and had doubtless asked Propertius to go with him to Asia in his uncle's train. As the latter was consul in 33 B.C. and, according to the Lex Pompeia de iure magistratuum, a provincial command could not be assumed till five years after the end of the year of office, the date of his departure for the East, and of this poem, was probably about 27 B.C. The obvious similarity of the theme to that of Tibullus I, I, serves to emphasize the differences between the poets and their loves. 5 cum quo Rhipaeos possim conscendere montes, Tibullus does not wish to leave receive the announcement of such a purpose. These early poems of the Cynthia book suffice to show that Propertius already felt the attachment often a grievous burden, yet one which he could not bring himself to lay down; situation in many respects similar to that existing between Catullus and Lesbia. a 1-6: 'Not the dangers of the deep, but the words of my mistress hold me back, Tullus, from sailing with you. 7-18: Her complaints are unendurable; I would rather give up seeing the wonders of the world than risk them. 19-24: Go! win your spurs; for Cupid has not yet aimed his shafts at you. 25-30: But I am not for deeds of glory. 31-36: Where'er you go, forget not my unlucky star!' I. vereor of the awesome respect the Romans often expressed for the sea. Cf. Hor. Car. 1, 3; Luc. 3, 193 sqq.; Petron. (Baehrens PLM., Vol. 4, p. 94). 2. ducere vela navigare. salo a favorite word with Proper tius; cf. 1, 15, 12; 3, 13, 6; 3, 7, 40. Poetic abl. of place. 3. cum quo . . . possim: 'for with thee I could.'- Rhipaeos : the mention of the extreme regions of cold and heat is frequently paralleled in the poets of this age, e.g. Hor. Car. 1, 22, 17-24. Cf. Cat. II, 1-14. 4. ulterius: the narrowness of the line distinguishing adverb and preposition is well illustrated in this use of the comp. adv. for the positive ultra as a preposition with acc. - domos nonias: i.e. Aethiopia. 5. Cf. Tib. I, 1, 55. 6. mutato Mem colore: per haps the best commentary is I, 15, 39: quis te cogebat multos pallere colores, referring to alternating blushes and pallor. Cf. 1, 18, 17. - saepe belongs to mutato. 7. illa note the eager repetition of the pronoun, in contrast with the personal pronouns with which this short poem abounds. — totis . . . noctibus: duration of time. - argutat: an impatient and not very gallant term. The verb is usually deponent and intransitive, but here has ignes (i.e. amorem) as an object. Cf. Verg. Aen. 4, 2; Ovid, Trist. 4, 10, 45: saepe suos solitus recitare Proper ΙΟ 15 20 et queritur nullos esse relicta deos: ut mihi deducta faciat convicia puppi tu patrui meritas conare anteire secures, 6. 10. ingrato Itali irato 0. 209 17. opposito i e. she may tell her grievance to the wind that blows in her face, perhaps as she gazes after the vanishing ship that bears away her lover. - debita : still due from her lover. 19. tu, like the tua in v. 21 and the tibi in v. 23, serves to emphasize the contrast with me in v. 25. Cf. the thought with Tib. 1, 1, 53-55.― patrui: see introduction to this poem.- meritas: a complimentary epithet. anteire : 'surpass.' '-secures: i.e. the greatness which the official axes symbolized. |