THE EPISTLES OF OVID. Prime'! Iiy S. Hamilton, Weybridge.THE EPISTLES OF OVID, TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH PROSE, AS NEAR THE ORIGINAL AS THE DIFFERENT IDIOMS OF THE LATIN AND ENGLISH LANGUAGES WILL ALLOW; WITH THE LATIN TEXT AND ORDER OF CONSTRUCTION ON THB SAME PAGE 5 AND CRITICAL, HISTORICAL, GEOGRAPHICAL, AND CLASSICAL NOTES, IN ENGLISH, FROM THE BEST COMMENTATORS BOTH ANCIENT AND MODERNJ BESIDE A VERY GREAT NUMBER OF NOTES ENTIRELY NEW. FOR THE USE OF SCHOOLS AS WELL AS OF PRIVATE GENTLEMEN. THE FIFTH EDITION. LONDON: PRINTED FOR J. NUNN, GREAT-QUEEN-STREET; R. PRIESTLEY, 143, high-holborn; r. lea, greek-street, soho; AND J. RODWELL, NEW-BOND-STREET. 1813,PREFACE. As the reader is here presented with part of Ovid’s works in a new form, he will perhaps expect some notice of the life and writings of that poet. He flourished in the reign of Augustus Caesar, when poetry was much encouraged, and had been carried in many branches to a great degree of per- fection. He was of equestrian rank, bom to a splendid for- tune, and in his youth applied to the study of the law. But, soon quitting that profession for the amusements of poetry, to which his genius naturally led him, and which the taste and manners of that age numbered among the accomplishments of a gentleman, he succeeded so happily, as to distinguish himself eminently at a court abounding in the best models of every species of good writing; nor have even such powerful rivals as Virgil and Horace been able to eclipse his fame, or preclude him from being accounted, by posterity, one of the brightest ornaments of the age in which he lived. I mean not by this to put him on a level with those immortal poets, whose productions were of a higher kind, and in their several ways arrived nearer to the standard of perfection; but to show, that his reputation, though somewhat inferior to theirs, was nevertheless very great, and such as will in all probabi- lity entitle him to that immortality, which he with a becoming confidence challenges as his due, at the end of his Metamor- phoses. And, indeed, as Mr. Dryden judiciously observes, if the imitation of nature be the business of a poet, no author can be compared with ours, especially in the description of the passions. In no part of his works does this appear more evidently than in his writings upon the subject of love; and, as there are few men but some time or other in their lives have had experience of this passion, so I may appeal to al- most all his readers, whether his representations of the various emotions and feelings of the mind, when under the in-vi PREFACE. fluence of it, have not a real foundation in nature and truth. Ovid was himself much addicted to gallantry, and all the fashionable vices of a court; he had thoroughly studied the windings and mazes of the passions in himself, and well at- tended to the language and results of them in others; and hence it is, that his sentiments are, for the most part, such as naturally arise from the passion he describes, and seem so truly to a reader the language of the heart, that he can hardly forbear fancying the poet’s feigned characters to be real. This, therefore, we may lay dowm as a sure criterion of the merit of an author ; for he infallibly succeeds in his descrip- tions, and copies nature truly, when the thoughts are such as seem unavoidably to arise from the circumstances of the person, and leave a conviction upon the mind, that it was impossible for him to think or express himself otherwise than as the poet has represented him in his descriptions. As Ovid is universally allowed to excel in the descrip- tion of the passions, so have his Epistles been always deemed the most perfect of his works. They relate to a subject ex- tremely well suited to his genius, and are finished with so much art and correctness, that it is easy to perceive he be- stowed more labor upon them than upon any other of his com- positions. And this probably arose not more from his own natural inclination, than from an ambition to distinguish him- self in a way of writing which no one had attempted before him. For Ovid, in the third book of his Art of Love, ex- pressly asserts this work to be his own invention : Vel tibi composita cantetur epistola voce: Ignotum hoc aliis ille novavit opus. The first poets among the Latins commonly borrowed from the Greeks, whose manner they imitated, considering them as their masters in learning. But it appears not from their writings, that any of the Grecians ever touched upon this way; and therefore our poet has justly claimed it to himself. Hence, as I have hinted above, there is good reason to be* lieve that this might be one cause of his polishing these Epistles with so great care. And yet I will not pretend to say that they are wholly without faults; for Ovid had a copious and fruitful imagination, and was apt sometimes to yield too much to the redundancy of his fancy; insomuchPREFACE. vii that he is often witty out of season, and at other times lavish of his embellishments. But I shall not here enlarge upon this, having taken .sufficient notice of it in the ensuing work. And now to quit my author, and come to the present trans- lation : the reader will perceive, that it is executed upon the plan of Horace and Virgil, which being the most useful and comprehensive of any I have yet seen, and moreover well re- ceived by the public, 1 thought I could not follow a better. I would only observe with regard to the version, that a little more liberty has been taken, than may perhaps to some ap- pear consistent with the nature of a literal translation. Yet this was unavoidably necessary in the present case, as will be evident, upon a little reflection, to any one acquainted with Ovid’s manner of writing. He deals much in repeti- tions, and often takes a pleasure in running changes upon words, and varying the same sense a hundred ways. This humour is pushed so far, as to be sometimes tedious and dis- tasteful, even in the Latin, and must have appeared quite intolerable in a literal translation. For this reason I found it requisite in some cases to retrench the poet’s expressions, and in others, where there was a too frequent repetition of the same word in the original, to vary it in the translation, where the idiom and frame of our language would not bear a literal version; by which means I have been enabled to pre- serve, in some measure, the vivacity of the poet, and that art and ingenuity of expression, for which he is so justly ad- mired. And yet I flatter myself, I have no where so far re- ceded from my author, but that, with the help of the Ordo and Notes, he may be as easily understood, as from the most scrupulous and servile translation. As for the Notes, beside those which are geographical and classical, I have added many critical remarks, tending to illustrate the poetical beauties and faults of the author. This was a thing greatly wanted; nor has it hitherto been at- tempted upon this part of Ovid’s works, most of the commen- tators employing themselves wholly on the surface, serving only to help out a school-boy in the construing part; or, if they go out of their way, as Mr. Addison well observes, it is only to mark out the Gnomce of the author (as they call them), his moral sayings and sententious observations, whichviii PREFACE. are generally the heaviest pieces of a poet, distinguished from the rest by Italian characters. The best of Ovid’s expositors is Crispinus*, who wrote for the use of the Dauphin, and has very well shewn the meaning of the author, but seldom reflects on his beauties or imperfections; for in most places he rather acts the geographer than the critic ; and, instead of pointing out the fineness of the description, only tells you in what part of the world the place is situated. But as it is the aim of the following work, not only to illustrate the meaning of the ori- ginal, but also to form the taste of the young reader, by mak- ing him attend to the beauties and defects of the author, con- sidered under the character of a poet, I have endeavoured to point out these impartially, without the usual prejudices of a translator. It is the way of, most critics, to praise all they meet with indifferently in some of the ancient poets, and scarcely any thing in others ; nor can it be denied, that many of the authors they explain are of a character that will go near to justify the practice. But Ovid, as the above-named writer justly observes, is confessed to have a mixture of both kinds, to have something of the best and worst poets, and by consequence to be the fairest subject for criticism. It was this consideration that determined me to dwell more particularly upon those parts of his works that seemed to lie most open to the animadversions of a critic; and, as I have taken pleasure in pointing out the fine and natural strokes in a description, or where there was any remarkable liveliness of fancy or happiness of expression ; so I have not scrupled to censure our poet, where I thought he contravened the rules of his art, or suffered himself to be carried too far by an affectation of w-it and ornament. If some of my observa- tions seem too obvious, let it be considered, that I write chiefly for those who still require instruction; and, if others are thought studied, and seem to ascribe more to the poet than he ever intended, I shall only say, that, where real beauties appear in any work, it would be an injustice to the author, not to suppose them to have been introduced by design. * M. Crepin, called Helvetius, because he was a native of Switzerland.P. OVIDII NASONIS EPISTOLiE HEROIDUM. EPISTOLA I. PENELOPE ULYSSI. Hanc tua Penelope lento tibi mittit, Ulysse. Nil mihi rescribas attamen : ipse veni. Trt>ja jacet, certti Danais invisa puellis: Vix Priamus tanti, tota-que Troja, fuit. ORDO. O Ulysse, tua Penelope mittit hanc epistolam tibi lento. At- tamen rescribas nil mihi: sedtu ipse veni. Troja, certfe invisa puellis Danais, jacet: Priamus, totaque Troja, vix fuit tanti. TRANSLATION. Dear Ulysses, your Penelope sends this epistle to you, so slow in your re- turn home; write not any answer, but come yourself. Troy is no more, that city so justly odious to the Grecian dames: scarcely were Priam and all his kingdom worth such a mighty stir. Oh, how I wish that the infamous adul- NOTES. This epistle is supposed to be addressed by Pe- nelope to her husband Ulysses, upon occasion of his long absence from her after the reduction of Troy. This war had been first kindled by the perfidy of Paris, who, 'being sent into Greece by his father Priam upon some embassy, carried off Helen, the4wife of Menelaus king of Sparta. The Greeks, having in vain applied for redress, determined to right themselves by force of arms. Ulysses, unwilling to embark in this expedition, counterfeited madness; but, being discovered by the artifice of Palamedes, he went with the rest of the Greeks to Troy, where his valor and pru- dence eminently contributed to the overthrow of that city. The Grecian fleet, in its return, was overtaken by a storm, which widely dispersed the ships. Many of them were driven upon unknown coasts; and the fugitives were involved in severe distress. Among others, U lysses wandered through different regions and climes for above ten years, exposed to numberless hazards, and unable in all that time to regain his own country. Penelope, whom he had married i^fore his departure for Troy, ignorant of the cause of his absence, but very solicitous for his Teturn, writes this epistle, in which she chides him for his long stay, and, by the most persuasive arguments, urges him to come home to his wife and family, as Troy was now overthrown, and he could frame no rea- sonable excuse for his absence. 1. Penelope; daughter of Icarius, who, during tlie long absence of her husband, preserved an in- violable chastity, and resisted the earnest im- portunities of a multitude of lovers, who were constantly soliciting her to a compliance. At last her husband returning, delivered her from this tedious persecution. Ulysse. Ulysses was the son of Laertes and Anticlea, and king of Ithaca and Dulichium. He was famous for his valor and prudence, his extraordinary sagacity and cunning; and is pro- posed by Homer as a model for all princes and rulers. 3. Troja; a celebrated city of Asia Minor, so called from Tros, one of its kings. It was for- merly called Teucria from Teucer, and Dardania from Dardanus. The Greeks, after a siege of ten years, utterly destroyed it. Danais. The Greeks were called Danai from Dan&us king of the Argives in Peloponnesus. 4. Priamvs; the son of Laomedon, and king of Troy at the time of the Grecian expedition. Tanti totaque Troja fuit. Commentators dif- fer as to the meaning of this passage. The most general opinion will have it thus: Tota jactura, quarn Priamus ceeterique Trojani acccperunt, non fuit tanti, quanti mea, quod te marito ol helium Trojanum carui. The reader will see, however, that I have given a different turn to it in the transla- tion.2 P. OVIDII NASONIS EPIST. I. o utinam adulter tunc esset o utinam tunc, cilm Lacedeemona classe petebat, „ 0brut'1? !nsani.s Suiter aquis ! 6 non jacuissem frigida deserto Non ego deserto jacuissem frigida lecto, lecto, necreiicta quererer dies Nec quererer tardos ire relicta dies; ire tardos; nec tela pendula las- vr^_• ,• r n , met viduas manus milii quae- Nec mihl> quaerenti spatiosam fallere noctem, renti fallere noctem spatiosam. Lassaret viduas pendula tela manus. 10 Quando ego non timui pencuia Quando ego non timul graviora pericula veris? irraviora veris ? Amor est res tj , 0.. ... . 9 . r plena solicit! timoris. Fingebam Kes est SOllCltl plena timOHS amor. Troas violentos ituros in te: In te fingebam violentos Troas ituros: semper erana pallida in nomine Nomine in Hectoreo pallida semper eram. Antilochum victum fidsse ab kivequis Antilochum narrabat ab Hectore victum; Hectore, Antiiochus erat causa Antilochus nostri causa timoris erat: 16 nostn tnnons. Sive qmsnarra- gjve Mencetiaden falsis cecidisse sub armis: vat Mencetiaden cecidisse sub T'l u , . 1 falsis armis, flebam clolos posse ICb&m SUCCCSSU pOSSC CcirCTC GOlOS* carere successu. Tiepolemus SanguineTlepolemus Lyciam tepefecerat hastam; tepefecerat hastam Lyciam san- Tlepolemi leto cura novata mea est. 20 gume; mea cura novata est le- 1 tho Tlepolemi. TRANSLATION. terer, when he sailed for Lacedaemon with his fleet, had been swallowed up by the raging seas! I had not then lain cold in a solitary bed, nor thus for- lorn complained of the tedious days ; the pendulous web would not then have tired my tender hands, while by such means I sought to elude the lingering nights. How often has my apprehension magnified your dangers f Love is a passion full of anxiety ancl fear. I often fancied you to myself assaulted by furious Trojans; and on hearing the name of Hector always turned pale. If any one informed me that Antilochus had been slain by that hero, the fate of Antilochus proved the cause of fresh disquiet to me; or, if informed that Pa- troclus had fallen in counterfeit armour, I lamented that this stratagem shoiiltl fail of success. Tlepolemus had stained the Lycian spear with his blood ; my anxiety was renewed by the catastrophe of Tlepolemus. In fine, as often as NOTES. 5. Lacedeemona; Lacedaemon, the most re- markable city of Peloponnesus, called also Sparta, where Menelaus reigned. It derived its name from Lacedaemon, the son of Jupiter andTaygete. 6. Adulter; Paris, the son of Priam, who car- ried off Helen the wife of Menelaus; which gave rise to the Trojan war. Her resentment would not suffer her to call him by his proper name, but suggested.one, which, while it sufficiently distinguished him, reproached him at the same time with his crime. 10. Lassaret viduas pendula tela manus. It is related of Penelope, that, being greatly impor- tuned by her lovers, some of whom threatened to carry her away by force, she begged a respite till she had finished the web she had in hand; and that, to lengthen out the time, she undid in the night what she had woven in the day. Hence arose the proverb, Penelopes telam texere, to do mid undo. 14. Hectoreo. Hector, the son of Priam, was the most valiant of all the Trojans. It was by his bravery chiefly that Troy held out so long against the Greeks. 15. Antilochum. He was the son of Nestor, and not slain by Hector, as is here said, hut by Memnon. We may easily conceive that a wo- man, ignorant of the minute circumstances of war, and taking things by report, might mistake one person for anoiner. 17. Mencctiadem; Patroclus, the son of Me- ncetius, greatly beloved by Achilles. This hero, offended at Agamemnon, who had unjustly taken his captive Briscis from him, retired from the Grecian camp. Patroclus, appearing in his friend’s armour to terrify the Trojans, was slain by Hector. Hence he is said to have fallen sub falsis armis. 19. Tlepolemus, the son of Hercules and Astyoelie, slain by Sarpedou king of Lycia, a country between Cavia and Patnphylia.PENELOPE ULYSSI. 3 Denique, quisquis erat castris jugulatus Achivis, Frigidius glacie pectus amantis erat. Sed bene consuluit casto Deus aequus amori: Versa est in cinerem sospite Troja viro. Argolici rediere duces; altaria fumant; 25 Ponitur ad patrios barbara praeda Deos. Grata ferunt Nymphae pro salvis dona maritis: llli victa suis Tro'ia fata canunt. Mirantur justi-que senes trepidae-que puellae : Narrantis conjux pendet ab ore viri. 30 Atque aliquis posits monstrat fera praelia mens£l; Pingit et exiguo Pergama tota mero. Hac ibat Simois; hie est Sige'ia tellus; Hie steterat Priami regia celsa senis. Illic rEacides, illic tendebat Ulysses; 35 Hie lacer admissos terruit Hector equos. Omnia namque tuo senior, te quaerere misso, Retulerat nato Nestor : at ille mihi. TRANSLATION. Denique quisquis erat jugulatus castris Achivis, pectus amantis erat frigidius glacie. Sed Deus aequus bene consuluit casto amori: Troja versa est in cine- rem viro sospite. Argolici duces rediere: altaria fumant: prreda barbara ponitur ad Deos pa- trios. . Nymplue ferunt grata dona pro maritis salvis: illi ma- rili canunt fata Tioia victa suis fatis. Justique senes puellaeque trepidae mirantur: conjux pen- det ab ore viri narrantis. Atque aliquis posit & mens& monstrat fera praelia, et pingit tota Per- gama exiguo mero. Simois, in- quit, ibat hac, hie est tellus Si- geia: hie regia celsa senis Pria- mi steterat. jEacides tendebat illic, Ulysses illic; hie lacer Hector terruit equos admissos. Namque senior Nestor retulerat omnia tuo nato misso quaerere te: at illeretulit mihi. any fell in the Grecian camp, my fond heart was chilled with icy fear. But the righteous gods had regard to my chaste flame ; my husband lives, and Troy is reduced to ashes. The Grecian chiefs have returned; our altars smoke ; and the spoils of the barbarians are offered up to our gods. The matrons pre- sent grateful gifts for the safe return of their husbands; they in their turn sing the fate of Troy, constrained to yield to their better fortune. The good old men and timorous maids are stricken with admiration ; and the eager wife hangs upon her husband’s tongue as he relates. Some, ordering a table to. be brought, describe upon it the fierce battles in which they were engaged, and with a little wine trace out the whole of Troy. This way, they say, flowed Simois; here is the Sigaean field; here stood the lofty palace of old Priam. There was the tent of Achilles; yonder that of Ulysses; here mangled Hector frightened the foaming horses; for old Nestor related all to your son, whom I sent to enquire after you ; and he again to me. He told me likewise, that NOTES. 25. Argolici; the Grecian chiefs, so called from Argolis, a region of Peloponnesus. 26. Barbara preeda ; that is, the spoils taken from the Trojans; for the Greeks looked upon all other nations as barbarous. 28. Tro'ia fata. As every thing that happens is by the order and decree of Fate, the poets have sometimes taken the liberty of using the word fata for the things done by Fate, as in the passage now before us. By Fate the ancients understood a suc- cession of events which must unavoidably take place, and which gave rise always the one to the other. Thus the whole train of events that pre- ceded and occasioned the destruction of Troy, were said to be the Trojan Fates. 32. Pergama, properly the towers ,and citadel of Troy; here taken for the whole city. 33. Simois, a river of Troas that ran into the Scamander, and filled all the neighbouring ground with marshes. Sigeia tellus. The Trojan fields are so called from Sigeum, a promontory of Troas, where Achilles, Patroclus, Antilochus, 8cc. had their sepulchres. 35. /Eacides; Achilles, the,son ofPeleus, and grandson of Aiacus. 36. Lacer Hector. This refers to Achilles’ be- haviour to Hector after he had slain him. He fastened the body to his chariot, and dragged it thrice round the walls of Troy. 38. Nestor; king of Pylos, and son of Neleus. B 24 P. OVIDII NASONIS EP1ST. I. Et retulit Rhesumciue Dolona- que caesos ferro; utque hie sit proclitus somno, ille dolo. O nimium tiimimnque oblite tuo- rum, ausus es tangere Thracia eastra nocturnodolo; adjutusque ab lino, mactare tot virus simul. At sine dubio eras bene cautus, et ante memor mei. Sinus mi- cuere metu usque dum dictus es ivisse victor per amicum agmen Ismariis equis. Sed quid pro- dest mihi Ilios disjecta vestris lacertis, et solum quod ante fuit mums, si maneo qualis mane- bam Troja durante, virque abest milii carendus dempto fine? Pergama qua; victor incola arat captivo hove diruta sunt aliis, restant mihi uni. Jam seges est ubi Troja fuit; humusque, pinguis Phrygio sanguine, luxu- riat resecanda falce. Retulit et ferro Rhesum-que Dolona-que caesos; Ut-que sit hie somno proditus, ille dolo. 40 Ausus es, 6 nimium nimiiim-que oblite tuorum, Thracia nocturno tangere castra dolo ; Tot-que simul mactare viros, adjutus ab uno. , At bene cautus eras, et memor ant£ mei. Usque metu micuere sinus, dum victor amicum Dictus es Ismariis tsse per agmen equis. 46 Sed mihi quid prodest vestris disjecta lacertis Ilios, et, murus quod fuit ante, solum, Si maneo, qualis Troj& durante manebam, Vir-que mihi demto fine carendus abest? 50 Diruta sunt aliis, uni mihi Pergama restant, Incola' captivo quae bove victor arat. Jam seges est, ubi Troja fuit; resecanda-que falce Luxuriat, Phrygio sanguine pinguis, humus. TRANSLATION. Rhesus and Dolon had been slain; how the one was surprised in his sleep, the other betrayed by guile. You also, my dear husband, alas! too, too for- getful of your family at home, adventured to enter the Thracian camp by stratagem in the night, and, assisted by Diomedes alone, to kill so great a number of men. No doubt you were wonderfully cautious, and did not for-* get your Penelope before the dangerous attempt. My heart never ceased beating till I heard how you rode victorious through the army of your friends upon Thracian horses. But what does it avail me that Troy has fallen by your hands, and that the spot, where formerly its walls stood, is now a level plain, if I still continue forlorn as when Troy flourished, and my husband is absent never to return ? Troy remains to me alone; to others it is destroyed, and the victorious inhabitant tills it with the captive ox. Now corn grows where once Troy stood; and the ground, fattened by Phrygian blood, pro- duces a rich crop that tempts the hand of the reaper. The half-buried bones NOTES. He was particularly remarkable for his great age, being almost three hundred years old at the siege of Troy. By his long acquaintance with life and mankind, he arrived at the most consummate wisdom and experience. 39. Rhesus; the son of Eioneus, and king of the Thracians. Coming to the assistance of Priam in the night, he was obliged to piten his camp without the city. Ulysses, hearing of it, went with Diomedes, -and, surprising the guards (who, after the fatigue of their march, had fallen asleep), slew Rhesus, and carried off the horses white as snow, and compared to the wind for fleetness, be- fore they tasted the Trojan pastures, or drank of the Xanthus. Dolonuque. Dolon was a Trojan by birth, the son of Eumedes. He was sent by Hector as a spy into the Grecian camp; and the horses of Achilles were promised to him, as a reward for eventual success. When he was discovered by Diomedes and Ulysses, they offered to spare his life, if he would reveal the counsels and schemes of the Trojans. He consented; and the hemes treacherously slew him. 46. Ismariis equis; Thracian horses, from Ismarus, a mountain of Thrace. 54. Phrygio sanguine; Phrygian or Trojan blood-; for Troy was a city of Phrygia Minor, or Troas.PENELOPE ULYSSI. b Semisepulta virtim curvis feriuntur aratris 55 Ossa: ruinosas occulit herba domos. Victor abes; nec scire mibi, quae causa morandi, Aut iu quo lateas ferreus orbe, licet. Quisquis ad baec vertit peregrinam litora puppim, llle mihi de te multa rogatus abit. 60 Quam-que tibi reddat, si te modo viderit usquam, Traditur huic digitis charta notata meis. Nos Pylon, antiqui Neleia Nestoris arva, Misimus: ineerta est fama remissa Pylo: Misimus et Sparten. Sparte quoque nescia veri, Quas habitas terras, aut ubi lentus abes. 66 Utilius starent etiam nunc moenia Phcebi. Irascor votis heu levis ipsa meis ! Scirem ubi pugnares, et tantbm bella timerem ; Et mea cum multis juncta querela foret. *J0 Quid timeam ignoro; timeo tamen omnia demens, Et patet in curas area lata meas. Quaecunque aequor babet, quaecunque pericula tellus, Tam longae causas suspicor esse morse. TRANSLATION. Semisepulta ossa virorum feriun- tur curvis aratris; herba occu- lit ruinosas domos. Quamvis victor abes, nec licet mibi scire quae sit causa morandi, aut in quo orbe tu ferreus lateas. Quis- quis vertit peregrinam puppim ad baec litora, ille abit rogatus multa mihi de te. Chartaque notata meis digitis traditur huic, quam reddat tibi, si modo vide- rit te usquam. Nos misimus, ad Pylon, arva Neleia antiqui'Ne- storis: inrerta fama remissa est nobis Pylo: et misimus ad Sparten. Sparte quoque nescia erat veri; quas terras habitas, aut ubi tu lentus abes. Mcenia Phoebi etiam nunc starent utilius pro me. Heu levis ipsa irascor meis votis! Scirem ubi pugna- res, et timerem tantura bella; et mea querela juncta foret cum multis. Nunc ignoro quid ti- meam, tamen deraens timeo om- nia, et area lata patet in meas curas. Quaecunque pericula aequor babet, quaecunque tellus, suspicor ea esse causas tarn longae morae. of heroes are ploughed up by the crooked share ; and rising grass covers the ruins of the houses. Though victorious, you are still absent; nor can I pos- sibly know the cause of your long stay, or in what corner of the world my cruel Ulysses lurks. Whatever stranger touches upon these coasts, is sure to be teized with a thousand questions about you; and, when he departs, is charged with a letter to deliver to you, in whatever region of the world he may chance to see you. We sent to Pylos, the Neleian kingdom of old Ne- stor; but we thence received no account beside uncertain report. We sent likewise to Sparta ; but Sparfh, being equally ignorant of the truth, left us uncertain what lands you might be wandering over, or where you could make so long a stay. It would be better for me, if the walls of Troy were still standing. Alas ! unstable and unhappy, I am offended at my own wishes. I should know in what part of the world you fought, and dread only the dan- gers of war; nor should I be without companions to join in my complaint. Now I know not what to fear most. I am apt to fancy you exposed to every kind of hazard, and find myself bewildered in a wide field of care. Whatever dangers arise either from sea or land, these I suspect may be the causes of so NOTES. 63. Pylon. Telemachus, without bis mother’s Neleia arva; the same as Pylos; because knowlege, went to Pylos, to make inquiries re- there Neleus the father of Nestor reigned, specting his father. There were three cities of 65. Sparten ,• Sparta or Lacedaemon, where this name in Peloponnesus. It is uncertain which Menelaus reigned. of them belonged to Nestor; most are of opinion 67. Mcenia Phcebi; Troy. It is related that that his capital was situated between the others, Apollo and Neptune assisted in building the walls to the south of the river Alpheus. of Troy, on the promise of a reward from Lao-6 P. OV1DII NASONIS EPIST. I. Dum ego stultemeditor haec, tu potes esse captus peregrino amore (quae est vestra libido). Forsi- tan et etiam narres quam rustica conjox sit tibi; quae tantum non sinat lanas esse rudes. Fallar, et hoc crimen vanescat in tenues auras : neve liber revertendi ve- lis abesse. Icarius pater mens cogit me discedere viduo lecto, et usque iucrepat immensas mo- ras. Licet usque increpet: sum tua; oporlet dicar tua: ego Pe- nelope ero semper conjux Ulys- sis. Ille tamen paler frangitur mea pietale precibusque pudicis, et ipse temperat vires suas. Proci Dulichii Samiique, et quos alta Zacyntbos tulit, turba luxu- riosa, ruunt in me, regnantque in tua auk nullis prohibentibus. Opes turn, nostra viscera, dilani- Haec ego dum stult£ meditor (quae vestra libido est), 75 Esse peregrino captus amore potes. Forsitan et narres, quam sit tibi rustica conjux, Quae tantum lanas non sinat esse rudes. Fallar; et hoc crimen tenues vanescat in auras; Ne-ve, revertendi liber, abesse velis. 80 Me pater Icarius viduo discedere lecto Cogit, et immensas increpat usque moras. Increpet usque licet: tua sum; tua dicar opor- tet. Penelope conjux semper Ulyssis ero. Ille tamen pietate me& precibus-que pudicis 85 Frangitur, et vires temperat ipse suas. Dulichii, Samiique, et quos tulit alta Zacynthos, Turba ruunt in me luxuriosa, proci; Inque tu& regnant, nullis prohibentibus, aul&: Viscera nostra, tuse dilaniantur opes. 90 TRANSLATION. long a delay. While I thus fondly revolve these things within myself, you, it is possible, are the slave of some foreign beauty (such is the inconstancy of nian)i Perhaps too you divert her by telling what a homely wife you have, who minds only the spindle and the distaff. But I may be deceived, and this imaginary crime may vanish into mere air and conceit; nor can I persuade myself, that, if free to return, you would be absent from me. My father Icarius urges me to leave this widowed state, and never ceases chiding me for my continued delays. Let him chide on; I am yours, and must be called yours : Penelope will ever remain the wife of Ulysses. He at length is softened by my piety and chaste prayers, and forbears to use his authority. A dissipated set of wooers from Dulichium, Samos, and lofty Zacynthos, teize me without intermission. They reign uncontrolled in your palace, and devour your wealth, our very life and support. Why should I mention Pisander, Polybus, ugly NOTES. medon; but that, after the work was finished, he return, importuned her incessantly to give refused to adhere to his word. over all thoughts of him, and marry Euiy- 76. Peregrino amore. Penelope here only in- machus, whom he favored beyond every other timates the suspicions that were sometimes apt to suitor. rise in her mind. As she was ignorant of what 87. Dulichii; Dulichium, an island to the had happened to Ulysses since his departure from west of Peloponnesus. It belonged to Ulysses, Troy, we can in no wise suppose that she al- and made a part of his kingdom, ludes here to Calypso and Circe, as some have Samii. Samos was a name common to diverse injudiciously imagined. islands; but it is here meant of one adjacent to 81. Icarius. Penelope was the daughter of Ithaca, called more frequently Cephalenia. In Icarius and Polycaste. Her father, concluding it there was a city named Same, from Ulysses’ long absence that he would never Zacynthos; an island south of Cephalenia.PENELOPE ULYSSI. t Quid tibi Pisandrum, Polybum-que, Medonta-que dirum, Eurymachi-que avidas Antino'i-que manus, Atque alios referam, quos omnes turpiter absens Ipse tuo partis sanguine rebus alis ? Irus egens, pecoris-que Melanthius actor edendi, Ultimus accedunt in tua damna pudor. 96 Tres sumus imbelles numero; sine viribus uxor, Laertes-que senex, Telemaclius-que puer. Ille per insidias pene est mihi nuper ademtus, Dum parat invitis omnibus ire Pylon. 100 Dl, precor, hoc jubeant, ut, euntibus ordinp fatis, Ille meos oculos comprimat, ille tuos. Hoc faciunt custos-que bourn longaeva-que ma- trix; Tertius, immundae cura fidelis Iiaraj. Sed neque Laertes, ut qui sit inutilis armis, 105 Hostibus in mediis regna tenere valet. Quid referam tibi Pisandrum,Po- lybumque, Medontaque dirum, omnes ipse lu absens turpiter alis rebus partis tuo sanguine ? Irus egens, Melantbiusque actor pecoris edendi, accedunt uld- mus pudor in tua damna, Su- mus numero tres imbelles; ukob sine viribus, Laertesque senex, Telemachusque puer. Ille nu- per pene est ademtus mihi per insidias, dum, omnibus invitis, parat ire Pylon. Precor Dii ju- beant hoc, ut, fatis euntibus or- dine, ille comprimat meos ocu- los, ille comprimat etiam tuos. Custosque bourn, nutrixque lon- gaeva, el tertius, cura fidelis im- mundiE harm, faciunt hoc. Sed neque Laertes, ut qui sit inutilis armis, valet tenere regna in hos- tibus mediis. manusque avidas Eurymachi, Antinoique, atque alios; quos TRANSLATION. Medon, and covetous Eurymachus and Antinoiis, beside many others, who all in your absence live upon the means gained at the hazard of your life ? Indi- gent Irus, and your goat-herd Melanthius, serve to finish your disgrace. We are only three in number, unable to defend ourselves; your wife weak and helpless, Laertes an old man, and Telemachus a child. That beloved boy we were lately in danger of losing, as, against all our wills, he prepared to go in quest of you to Pylos. May the gods grant, that by the order of fate he may be appointed to close my eyes; to close also yours. The neat-herd, swine-herd, and aged nurse, all join in this prayer. Laertes, now unfit for arms, is unable to maintain your right against such a crowd of enemies. Telemachus, it is NOTES. 91. Quid tibi Pisandrum. Here she names stigation of Pallas, who assumed the character of a few of her lovers, to excite his indignation, and Mentor, went privately to Sparta and Pylos in hasten his return to deliver her from their perse- quest of his father, informing none but his nurse cution. of his intention. 95. Irus; an indigent wretch of Ithaca, of a 103. Custosque bourn; Philetius, the neat-herd, prodigious size but no strength, whom Ulysses Longcevaque nubrix; Euryclea, the daughter of slew in fight. Pisenor. CuraJidelis; the faithful Eumaeus. Melanthius. This man had the care ofUlysses’ 105. Sed neque Laertes. She still continues sheep, and was killed with the other suitors. to use the most persuasive arguments for his re- 98. Laertes; the commonly reputed father of turn. She lays before him the many inconve- Ulysses, though some pretend that he was the niences arising from his absence, all of which he son of Sisyphus. For, while his mother Anticlea could easily redress. Lafe'rtes was old, and unfit was on the way to La€rtes, she was ravished by for arms; Telemachus young, and standing in need Sisyphus; of which rape Ulysses was born. Ajax of the attention and instructions of a father. Her reproaches him with this in the 13th book of the lovers were numerous, and threatened to use force: Metamorphoses. it was only from him therefore that relief could be 100. Invitis omnibus. Telemachus, at the in- expected.8 P. OVIDII NASONIS EPIST. I. Fortior aetas veniet Telemacho modo vivat: nunc ilia preesens eelas erat tuenda auxiliis patris. Nec vires sunt mihi pellere ini- inicos tectis. Tu portus et ara tuis venias citius. Est tibi, pre- corque ut sit, natus qui erudien- dus erat mollibus annis in artes patrias. Respice Laertem, ut jam condas sua lumina: ille sustinet diem extremum fati. Ego certe, quae te discedente fueram puella, protinus ut redeas, videbor facta anus. Telemacho veniet (vivat modd) fortior aetas: Nunc erat auxiliis ilia tuenda patris. Nec mihi sunt vires inimicos pellere tectis. Tu citius venias, portus et ara tuis! 110 Est tibi, sit-que precor, natus, qui mollibus annis In patrias artes erudiendus erat. Respice Laerten, ut jam sua lumina condas: Extremum fati sustinet ille diem. Certe ego, quae fueram te discedente puella, 115 Protinus ut redeas, facta videbor anus. TRANSLATION. true, if spared, will arrive at a more vigorous age; but at present he requires his father's protection. Nor can it be supposed that I am able to drive away this hostile crowd. Come therefore speedily, you who are our only defence and sanctuary! You have (whom Heaven preserve) a son, whose tender years should have been formed to his father's virtue and prudence. Think of Laertes, and that it is your duty to close his eyes; he now languishes on the verge of dissolution. Surely I, who, when you left me, was but a girl, when you re- turn must appear old and decayed. NOTES. 115. Certe ego. Here she endeavours to move her, her bloom and beauty began to fade; so that his compassion from a regard to herself. He had she must appear, at the time of his return, very married her when young, and, soon after marriage, different from what she was. ‘ Hasten then, my left her. She had languished out the flower of her dear Ulysses, before all the remains of what for- life in his absence; now age was growing upon merly recommended me to you are lost.’PHYLLIS DEMOPHOONTI. 9 EPISTOLA II. * PHYLLIS DEMOPHOONTI. Hospita, Demophoon, tua te Rhodopeia Phyllis Ultra promissum tempus abesse queror. Cornua'cum Lunae pleno serael orbe colssent, Litoribus nostris anchora pacta tua est. Luna quater latuit; toto quater orbe recrevit; 5 Nec vehit Actaeas Sithonis unda rates. Tempora si numeres, bene quae nuqieramus am antes, Non venit ante suum nostra querela diem. Spes quoque lenta fuit: tard&, quae credita laedunt, Credimus: invite nunc et amante nocent. 10 ORDO. O Demophoon, ego Rhodo- peia Phyllis, tua hospita, queror te abesse ultra 4empus promis- sum. Anchora tua pacta est nostris litoribus, cum cornua Lunae semel coivissent pleno oroe. Luna latuit quater, re- crevit quater toto orbe; nec Sithonis unda vehit Actaeas rates. Si numeres tempora, quae nos amantes bene numeramus, nos- tra querela non venit ante suum diem. Spes quoque fuit lenta: tardfe credimus ea, qute credita laedunt; et nunc nocent amante invita. TRANSLATION. O Demophoon, Phyllis, your Thracian hostess, complains of your absence be- yond the promised time. You engaged to drop anchor on our coast, when the moon should have completed her orb. Already she hath four times waned, four times renewed her full orb; and your Athenian ships do not yet stem the Thracian tide. If you reckon time in the minute manner we lovers do, this complaint will not appear to have come before its day. Hope forsook me slowly too: we are unwilling to believe what may be injurious; but now I feel it, and, in spite even of love and myself, must believe. Often have I-lied to NOTES. DemophoOn, the son of Theseus king of Athens and Phaedra, as he was returning from the Trojan war, being attacked by a tempest, was obliged to put into Thrace, at that time governed by Phyllis, the daughter of Lycurgus. He met with a very hospitable reception from her, and after some time was admitted to share her bed. But hearing of the death of Mnestheus, who, after the expul- sion of Theseus, had taken possession of the go- vernment at Athens, and urged by a desire of rule, he resolved to sail for Athens, promising Phyllis that he would return in a month. But, when he had reached that city, he forgot his promise. Phyllis, therefore, after an absence of four months, wrote to him the above epistle, complaining of his breach of faith, and threatening herself with a violent death if he continued to neglect her. 1. Rhodopeia Phyllis; Phyllis of Thrace, in which was a mountain named Rhodope. Some relate that Rhodope, a queen of Thrace, for her contempt of the immortal gods, was changed into this mountain, and that thence it had its name. Others say that she was only buried in it. 3. Cornua aim Luna. She here puts him in mind of the promised time of his.return, when the horns of the moon, both increasing and decreasing, should have completed their round; i. e. after one month. 6. Actaeas; that is, Atticas, Athenienses, nave? Demophoontis; from the Greek word axrr\ \ade\ the snore; because Attica is a region on the coast, much beaten by the waves. Sithonis unda; the waves that beat the Thracian coast. We learn from Gellius, that Sithon was an ancient name of Thrace; whence the frequent use of Sithonis and Sithonius among the poets, in speaking of that kingdpm. Thus Horace calls the snow of Thrace, Sitkonia nix. 9. Spes quoque lenta fuit. The sentiment, in this passage, is extremely natural. Ovid had a genius turned to affairs of love; and indeed it was in these points chiefly that he excelled. How un- willing are we to believe the contrary to what we wish! how ready to form a thousand excuses in behalf of those whom we are desirous of finding innocent!10 P. OVIJD1I NASONIS EPIST. If. Saepe fui mendax milii pro te; saepe putavi notos procellosos re- ferre alba vela. Devovi Thesea, quia nollet dimittere te; nec ille forsitan tenuit cursus tuos. In- terdum timid ne, dum tendis ad vada Hebri, puppis naufraga mersa foret cana aqua. Saepe supplex deveuerata sum Deos focis thuricreinis, et petivi prece ut tu, O scelerate, valeres1.' Saepe videns ventos faventes ccelo pela- goque, ego ipsa dixi mild, Cerle ille, si valet, venit. Denique, amor metis fidus finxit quicquid obstaf properantibus; et fui in- geniosa ad causas excogitandas. At tu lentus abes; nec numina jurata reducunt te, nec redis motus nostro amore. O Demo- phoon, dedisti et verba et vela ventis: ego queror vela carere redita, verba fide. Die mihi, quid feci, nisi quod amavi non sapienter? potui demcruisse te meo crimine. Saepe fui mendax pro te mihi; saepe putavi Alba procellosos vela referre Notos. Thesea devovi, quia te dimittere nollet; Nec tenuit cursus forsitan ille tuos. Interdum timui, ne, dum vada tendis ad Hebri, 15 Mersa foret can& naufraga puppis aqufl. Saepe Deos supplex, ut tu, scelerate, valeres, Sum prece thuricremis devenerata focis. Saepe videns ventos coelo pelago-que faventes, Ipsa mihi dixi; Si valet, ille venit. 20 Denique fidus amor, quicquid properantibus ob- stat, Finxit; et ad causas ingeniosa fui. At tu lentus abes: nec te jurata reducunt Numina; nec nostro motus amore redis. Demophoon, ventis et verba et vela dedisti: 25 Vela queror reditu, verba carere fide. Die mihi, quid feci, nisi non sapienter amavi ? Crimine te potui demeruisse meo. TRANSLATION. myself for your sake; often flattered myself that the raging south winds would drive hither your swelling sails. In my resentment I have cursed Theseus, imagining that he would not suffer you to depart; yet he perhaps was no cause of your stay. Sometimes 1 dreaded that, in making towards the shallows of Hebrus, your ship might have been swallowed up by the foaming deep. Oft before the altars with offerings of incense have I, in a suppliant manner, im- plored the gods for your safety, O perfidious man! Oft seeing the winds favorable, the heaveti serene, and the sea calm; Surely, said I to myself, if alive, he will come. In fine, my indulgent love represented to me all the obstacles that might prevent a speedy return; and I became ingenious at finding out excuses for you. But still you linger: the gods whom you invoked have not restored you to me; nor, moved by a sense of my love, do you return. O De- mophoon, you have given both your words and sails to the winds. Your sails, alas! have failed to bring you back, and your words were insincere. What have I done, unless perhaps I have loved you to excess ? But surely this crime might have rather endeared me to you. My only fault is, to have loved and NOTES. ID. Thesea ; Theseus the father of Demo- 25. Demophoon. Some think that this word phoon, whom she suspected as the cause of his expresses the indignation and resentment of long absence. Phyllis: but, if we consider it more nearly, we 15. Hebri s' a river which separates thePeantes shall find, that it implies rather softness, and a and Dblonci, people of Thrace, from each other, strong inward tenderness. It begins a mournful It also touches upon the territories of the Ciconae. expostulation with him for disappointing her, and 18. Thuricremis focis; apui aras uli thura giving so much trouble to one who regarded him cremaniur; before the altars on which incense with the greatest sincerity, and whose only crime was offered to the gods. was an unbounded love.PHYLLIS DEMOPHOONTI. 11 Unum in me scelus est, quod te, scelerate, recepi: Sed scelus hoc meriti pondus et instar habet. 30 Jura, fides, ubi nunc, commissa-que dextera dextroe, Qui-que erat in falso plurimus ore Deus? Promissus socios ubi nunc Hymenaeus in annos, Qui mihi conjugii sponsor et obses erat ? Per mare, quod totum ventis agitatur et undis; 35 Per quod saepe ieras, per quod iturus eras; Per-que tuum mihi jur&sti (nisi fictus et ille est), Concita qui ventis aequora mulcet, avum; Per Venerem, nimium-que mihi facientia tela, Altera tela arcus, altera tela laces; 40 Junonem-que, toris quae praesidet alma maritis, Et per taediferae mystica sacra Deae. Hoc unum scelus est in me, quod recepi te, O scelerate j sed hoc scelus habet pondus et est instar meriti. Ubi nunc sunt jura, fides, dexteraque commissa dex- trae, plurimusque Deus qui erat in falso ore? Ubi nunc Hymenaeus promissus in socios annos, qui erat mihi obses et sponsor conjugii ? Juravisti mihi per mare, quod totum agi- tatur ventis et undis; per quod saepe ieras, per quod eras iturus; perque tuum avum (nisi et ille fictus est) qui mulcet aequora concita ventis; per Venerem, telaque nimium facientia mihi; per arcus altera tela, per faces tela altera; perque Junonem, quae alma praesidet toris maritis, et per sacra mystica trediferae Deae. TRANSLATION. entertained you, faithless man: yet this fault with you ought to be a merit. Where is now your honor ? where are your oaths, and plighted troth ? where are the many gods who dwelt on your perjured tongue ? Where is now your matrimonial vow of constancy, which was to me the pledge and security of my pleasing conjugal hopes? You swore by the tempest-beaten main, which be- fore you had often crossed, and on which you were again to hazard yourself; you swore too by your grandsire (if he also is not falsely called so) who soothes the boisterous waves; by Venus doubly armed with her torch and bow, too successful, alas ! with both against me; by Juno, who presides over the marriage- bed, and the sacred mysteries of the torch-bearing goddess. If each of these NOTES. 30. Sed scelus hoc. The sentiments here ex- pressed are so uatural and tender, that the reader feels a sensible concern for Phyllis, and cannot forbear pitying her hard fate. This *16 the true art of writing, to interest the reader in the story; to set liis passions at work, and make him in a manner feel what is described or represented. When writings produce this effect, it is a sign that they are the productions of a masterly hand. 33. Hynerueus ; the Bon of Bacchus and Venus, and god of marriage. The meaning of the passage is this: * Where is now your regard for that conjugal tie by which you engaged for an union of our years never to be broken ? It was to this that I, too credulous, trusted, innocently believing that you knew not how to deceive.* 40. Altera tela, &c. The repetition of tela seems superfluous, and has a bad effect. Some copies have Leila, arcus, faces. The arrow and torch were by the ancients looked upon as the darts of Cupid; for he was not only said to strike with the arrow, but also to kindle love with the torch, to inflame the heart. The same weapons are also sometimes ascribed to Venus. 41. Junonemque. Juno was the daughter of Saturn, and sister and wife of Jupiter. She pre- sided over the marriage bed; whence she was sometimes called Pronuba. She was also called Lucina, as having the care of women in child-bed, and assisting at the birth; quod infantes in lucent prof erat. Thu^ Terence, in his Andria, has these expressions; Juno Lucina, fer opem; servame, oLsecro. 42. Et per ttediferce mystica sacra De