5 ΤΟ 15 non me more patrum, dum strenua sustinet aetas, nec me verbosas leges ediscere, nec me ingrato vocem prostituisse foro? mortale est, quod quaeris, opus; mihi fama perennis vivet Maeonides, Tenedos dum stabit et Ide, 12. Ceres arista. 13. Battiades = Callimachus; cf. Cat. 65, 16, n. 14. A most acute characterization of the weakness of Callimachus and the other Alexandrians; cf. Intr. § 7. 15. Sophocleo: Sophocles, chronologically the middle one of the great group of authors of Greek tragedy, may well typify this remarkable branch of Greek literature. cothurno i.e. tragedy. 16. Aratus: an astronomical poet from Soli in Cilicia, who flourished in the third century B.C., and wrote Φαινόμενα καὶ Διοσημεῖα, a work much used by Roman authors, e.g. by Cicero, fragments of whose Aratea still survive. 17. fallax servus : with this group of representative characters 20 25 vivent et meretrix blanda, Menandros erit. Ennius arte carens animosique Accius oris casurum nullo tempore nomen habent. Varronem primamque ratem quae nesciet aetas aureaque Aesonio terga petita duci? carmina sublimis tunc sunt peritura Lucreti, exitio terras cum dabit una dies. Tityrus et segetes Aeneiaque arma legentur, Roma triumphati dum caput orbis erit. donec erunt ignes arcusque Cupidinis arma, 15. 19. Accius S Actius P. PS. 25. segetes (restored by Bentley) o fruges from the New Attic Comedy, described in the apt series of individual epithets, cf. the more complete list of stock characters found in Quint. 11, 3, 74 and 178; Apul. Flor. 3, 16. 18. Menandros: the most celebrated of the writers of the New Comedy. 19. Ennius: the father of Roman poetry' properly heads this part of the list of poets; cf. Prop. 3, 3, 6. arte carens: Ovid repeats this judgment in Trist. 2, 424: Ennius ingenio maximus, arte rudis; cf. Hor. A. P. 259: Enni magno cum pondere versus aut operae celeris nimium curaque carentis aut ignoratae . . . artis; Prop. 4, 1, 61.—animosique Accius oris: Accius was the last and probably the most finished of the great Roman writers of tragedy; with this reference to his sublime manner cf. Hor. Ep. 2, I, 55: aufert Pacuvius docti famam senis, Accius alti. 21. Varronem: Varro Atacinus, whose works included an imitation of a Greek epic on the Argonautic expedition; cf. Intr. § 12. 22. Aesonio: here used as a patronymic. 24. dabit una dies: the words of Lucretius himself in 5, 95. Cf. Ovid, Trist. 2, 426: casurumque triplex vaticinatur opus; Prop. 3, 5, 31, n. 25. Tityrus: the opening word of the Eclogues of Vergil. segetes i.e. the Georgics, treating of this and similar themes. arma: the first word of the Aeneid. 26. triumphati: i.e. victi, as commonly. dum caput. . . erit: cf. Hor. Car. 3, 30, 8: dum Capitolium scandet cum tacita virgine pontifex, dicar. = 27. ignes Prop. 2, 12, 9. arcus: cf. 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, 4. 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. I, 14, II; 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. 1, 17, II. 40. Cf. Prop. 3, 1, 22. 41. supremus. the funeral pyre. ignis i.e. on 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 envy that caused your death, -a 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 ΙΟ 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. 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, 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. |