81-86.Ovid similarly calls Vestalis as his witness at vii 3-4 'aspicis en praesens quali iaceamus in aruo, / nec me testis eris falsa solere queri'.
81. INCOMMODA.The word is not found elsewhere in Ovid, and is not used in verse, except for satire (HorAP169; Juvenal XIII 21). It is particularly common in Caesar.
81. CAELI= 'climate', as commonly (TrIII iii 7, Prop II xxviii 5, CicAttXI xxii 2).
82. QVAM VICINO TERREAR HOSTE ROGA.An imitation of Tib I i 3 'quem labor assiduusuicino terreat hoste'.
83. SINTNE LITAE TENVES SERPENTIS FELLE SAGITTAE.Similar descriptions of poisoned arrows atTrIV i 77 'imbuta ... tela uenenis',TrIV i 84,TrIII x 64,TrV vii 16 'tela ... uipereo lurida felle',EPI ii 16 'omnia uipereo spicula felle linunt',EPIII i 26, andEPIII iii 106.
84. FIAT AN HVMANVM VICTIMA DIRA CAPVT.Human sacrifice similarly mentioned atTrIV iv 61-62 'illi quos audis hominum gaudere cruore, / paene sub eiusdem sideris axe iacent'.
85. MENTIAR.Professor J. N. Grant points out to me the asyndeton followingquaere ... sintne. Compare the similar problem at iv 31-32.
85. AN COEAT DVRATVS FRIGORE PONTVS.Similar wording at vii 7 'ipse uides certe glacie concrescere Pontum',TrII 196 'maris astricto quae coit unda gelu', andTrIII x 37.
86. IVGERA MVLTA FRETI.According toTLLVII.2 629 7-8 this is the unique instance ofiugerumbeing applied to water. The transferredsense is natural enough in view of the poets' application to the sea of such words ascampusandarua.
89. NON SVMVS ... ODIO.Basically a prose use; but compareMetII 438 'huic odio nemus est',FastVI 558,EPII i 4 'iam minus hic odio est quam fuit ante locus', andEclVIII 33 'tibi est odio mea fistula'.
Owen's second edition has the misprint 'necsumus hic odio', reproduced by Wheeler. The error was induced bynecat the start of the pentameter.
90. NEC CVM FORTVNA MENS QVOQVE VERSA MEA EST.For Ovid's use of syllepsis, see at vi 16spem nostram terras deseruitque simul(p 234). For the sentiment of this line, compare SenMed176 'Fortuna opes auferre, non animum potest', where Costa cites Accius 619-20 Ribbeck2'nam si a me regnum Fortuna atque opes / eripere quiuit, at uirtutem non quiit', SenBenIV 10 5, SenEpXXXVI 6, and Euripides fr. 1066 Nauck.
91. ILLA QVIES ANIMO.Animois locative; or perhapsinshould be supplied from the following line: for the joining of a noun with a following preposition already with a complement, see Clausen on Persius I 131 'abaco numeros et secto in puluere metas'. I readanimo(found in one of Heinsius' Vatican manuscripts) because of the parallel structure it gives with the followingin ore, but ANIMI (BCMFHILT) is possible enough:OLD quies7 citesquies animiat Celsus III 18 5.
91. QVAM TV LAVDARE SOLEBAS.The same phrase atHerXV 193 'haec sunt illa [scpectora], Phaon,quae tu laudare solebas'. For the persistence of Ovid's old habits, compareEPI x 29-30 (he remains a moderate drinker, as formerly).
93-94. SIC EGO SVM LONGE, SIC HIC, VBI BARBARVS HOSTIS / VT FERA PLVS VALEANT LEGIBVS ARMA, FACITis clearly corrupt, as will be seen from Wheeler's 'Such is my bearing in this far land, where the barbarian foe causes cruel arms to have more power than law' and André's 'Je vis au loin, ici, où un ennemi barbare donne aux armes cruelles plus de force qu'aux lois'. Merkel ejected the distich, which seems the best solution; it is not necessary to the poem's structure, and the iteratedfacit utin unrelated clauses at 94 and 97 is suspicious. Also, as Professor R. J. Tarrant notes, theutin 94 makes one expect thatutin 95 will be correlative, when it in fact continues the thought of 93 (or rather of 91-92, after 93-94 are excised).
Heinsius thought 93 alone to be suspect; if so, the meaning lying behind the text is probably something like 'What I once was at Rome, I still am here'.
93-94. HIC, VBI BARBARVS HOSTIS, / VT FERA PLVS VALEANT LEGIBVS ARMA FACIT.Similar statements atTrV vii 47-48 'non metuunt leges, sed cedit uiribus aequum, / uictaque pugnaci iura sub ense iacent' andTrV x 43-44; see also Ottolex3.
93. BARBARVS HOSTIS.The same phrase atTrIII x 54,TrIV i 82, andEPII vii 70.
95. RE ... NVLLAMHILREM NVLLAMBCFT. The verbquerican take a direct object, or be constructed withde+ ablative, but not both; this would in effect give the verb two objects.Re ... nullaremoves this difficulty and is obviously prone to corruption, the true objectde nobisbeing postponed to the following line.
96. FEMINA ... VIRVE PVERVE= 'anyone'; compareTrIII vii 29-30 'pone, Perilla, metum: tantummodofemina nulla / neue uira scriptis discat amare tuis', and Ovid's use offemina uirque'everyone' atMetVI 314-15 'femina uirquetiment cultuque impensiusomnes... uenerantur numina',RA814,TrI iii 23, andTrII 6. The repeateduinuiruewould not have offended the Romans: compare for instanceTrIII vii 30 'neue uir',AmI viii 97 'uiri uideat toto uestigia lecto', andMetXII 204 'poteratque uiri uox illa uideri'; conscious alliteration atAmIII vii 59 'uiuosque uirosque' andMetXIII 386 'inuictumque uirum uicit'.
98. HAEC QVONIAM TELLVS TESTIFICANDA MIHI EST.Similar phrasing atIbis27-28 (of Augustus) 'faciet quoque forsitan idem /terrasit ut propiortestificanda mihi'.
100. RESPECTV ... SVI.'Out of consideration for themselves'.Respectuselsewhere in Ovid only atTrI iii 99-100 (of his wife afterhis departure) '[narratur ...] uoluisse mali [Madvig: moricodd] moriendo ponere sensus, /respectutamen non periissemei'.Respectusis found in Phaedrus, Martial, and Juvenal, but not in Virgil, Horace, or Propertius.
101. NEC MIHI CREDIDERISin its absolute use here seems colloquial: elsewhere Ovid usesnec ... credideristo introduce a dependent clause (TrV xiv 43;EPI viii 29).
101. EXTANT DECRETA QVIBVS NOS / LAVDAT ET IMMVNES PVBLICA CERA FACIT.The same honour described in greater detail at xiv 51-56.
101. EXTANT('there exist') is somewhat more forceful than the nearly equivalentsunt: compare xiv 44 'extatadhuc nemo saucius ore meo', CicPlanc2 'uideo ... hoc in numero neminem ... cuius nonextetin me summum meritum', and CicDiuI 71.
102. PVBLICA CERA=tabulae publicae, 'public records', for which compare CicArch8 &Fl40, and Livy XXVI 36 11. The same metonymy at Val Max II x 1, wheretabulaeandceraare used as synonyms, and at HorEpI vi 62 'Caerite cera', where commentators cite Aulus Gellius' mention oftabulae Caerites(XVI 13).
103. QVAER. J. TarrantHAECL, probante HeinsioETBCMFHIT.Quaeconnects withidemin the following line and provides a more satisfactory sense thanet, which would make the sentence mean that Ovid did not consider the decrees something to boast of.Quae quamquamis preferable tohaec quamquamsince it connects better with the preceding line and is obviously more prone to corruption; but for a similar corruption ofhaeccompare Prop II xxiii 1 'fuit indocti haec [uaret] semita uulgi'. ForquaeProfessor Tarrant citesEPIII v 9-10 'quae quamquamlingua mihi sunt properante per horas / lecta satis multas, pauca fuisse queror' andEPIII viii 23-24 'quae quamquammisisse pudet ... tu tamen haec quaeso consule missa boni'.
103. QVAMQVAM ... SITGQVAMQVAM ... ESTBCMFHILT. For the subjunctive Luck comparesMetXIV 465 'admonitu quamquam luctus renouentur amari' andMetXV 244-45 'quae[scelementa]quamquamspatio distent, tamen omnia fiunt / ex ipsis'; in the first passage a few manuscripts and in the second the majority offer the indicative. Ovid usually has the indicative followingquamquam; butsitshould be taken as the correct reading here in view ofG's early date.
105. NEC PIETAS IGNOTA MEA EST.At xiii 19-38 Ovid describes an instance of hispietas, the reciting to the Getes of a poem in Getic on Tiberius.
105-10.The figures of the imperial family had been a gift of Cotta Maximus, for whichEPII viii was a letter of thanks. For a discussion of Ovid's treatment of the imperial family, particularly in the poems of exile, see K. Scott "Emperor Worship in Ovid",TAPALXI [1930] 43-69.
106. CAESARIS.Augustus, as is made clear by the next line.
107. NATVSQVE PIVS.Tiberius; see at viii 63auum(p 277). For Tiberius' piety to Augustus' memory compare TacAnnIV 37 4 (AD 25; Tiberius speaking) 'cum diuus Augustus sibi atque urbi Romae templum apud Pergamum sisti non prohibuisset,qui omnia facta dictaque eius uice legis obseruem, placitum iam exemplum ... secutus sum'.
107. CONIVNXQVE SACERDOS.Livia, priestess of the deified Augustus; Germanicus was hisflamen. For the language compare Vell Pat II 75 3 'Liuia ... genere, probitate, forma Romanarum eminentissima, quam posteaconiugemAugusti uidimus, quam transgressi ad deossacerdotemac filiam'.
108. FACTO ... DEO.See at viii 63quem uirtus addidit astris(p 277).
109. VTERQVE NEPOTVM.Germanicus and Drusus.
111. PRECANTIA VERBA=preces. The same phrase atMetVI 164, IX 159, and XIV 365.
112. EOO ... AB ORBE.The same phrase atFastIII 466 & V 557.
113-14.Williams suggested deleting this distich: 'The distance betweenTotaandPontica terra, the use oflicet=if, andPontica terraimmediately followed byPontica tellus, point to an interpolation'.
The hyperbaton oftota ... Pontica terraseems standard enough. Wheeler translateslicet quaerasas 'you are free to inquire', which may be right; however, the phrase does indeed seem awkward, andlicetmay be an intrusive gloss that has displaceduelim: compareHerIV 18 'fama—uelim quaeras—crimine nostra uacat'. The repetition ofPontica terraandPontica ... tellusis a very strong argument for deleting one of the two distichs. However, 115-16 seems more likely to be the interpolation in view of the difficulties discussed in the next note.
115. ORA.Ehwald (KB65) read ARA (B), citing DessauILS154 14-15 'ara(m) numini Augusto pecunia nostra faciendam curauimus;ludos/ ex idibus Augustis diebus sex p(ecunia) n(ostra) faciendos curauimus'; but thearaandludiare clearly separate items in the inscription, which does not support the phrasingara natalem ludis celebrare.
Even withora, 115-16 read rather oddly: the notion of an individual conductingludiis strange, and the singulardeiseems rather vague after the collectivehisof 111. If the distich is excised (as Professor R. J. Tarrant suggests) 113-14 round out the paragraph that began with 105 (note the correspondence ofuidet hospita terrain 105 withtestis Pontica terrain 114), and 117 introduceshospitesas a second class of witnesses.
118. LONGA.Not 'distant' (Wheeler) but 'long'; compareMetXIII 407 'longus in angustum qua clauditur Hellespontus'.Longusmeaning 'distant' is extremely rare:OLD longus6 cites only Silius VI 628'remeans longis ... oris' and ps-QuintilianDecl320 6 'longas terras ... peragraui' (Lewis and Short add Justinus 18 1 'longa a domo militia'). The normal Latin words for 'distant' werelonginquusandlonge(ancestor of Frenchloin).
119. ISin its various forms occurs only seven times inEPIV: the other occurrences are of feminine singulareaat i 17, viii 27 & xiv 11, ofeiusat xv 6 (its only occurrence in theEx Ponto), of accusativeidat i 19, and of accusative neuter pluraleaat x 35.
The elegiac poets avoided the use ofis, preferringhic,ille, andiste. The singular nominative forms were the only ones used relatively freely by Ovid (about forty instances of each); Tibullus and Propertius avoided even these (Platnauer 116; Axelson 70-71).
119. QVO LAEVVS FVERAT SVB PRAESIDE PONTVS.See at 75praefuit his ... locis modo Flaccus(p 308).
119. LAEVVS ... PONTVS=Euxini litora laeua(TrIV i 60). A similar brachylogy atEPI iv 31 'iunctior Haemonia estPontoquam Romasinistro[Burman: sit Histrocodd]'.
119. PRAESIDE.This seems to be the first instance ofpraeses'governor' in Latin. It is found in prose from Tacitus and Suetonius on: Trajan even uses it in his official correspondence (PlinyEpX xliv).
119. FVERAT.See at vi 12nec fueram tanti(p 230).
121. AVDIERIT.Probably a perfect subjunctive 'may have heard', although possibly an epistolary future perfect indicative ('when you receive this, your brother will perhaps [forsitan] have heard'). For the perfect subjunctive compareMetX 560-62'forsitan audierisaliquam certamine cursus / ueloces superasse uiros'.
121. FORTVNA EST IMPAR ANIMO.Similar phrasing atTrV v 46-47 (on his wife's birthday) 'at non sunt ista gaudia nata die, / sed labor et curaefortunaque moribus impar'; but note the different sense offortuna.
121. FORTVNA.'My means' (Wheeler). The sense is rare but classical;OLD fortuna12 cites among other passages CicFamXIV 4 2 'periculum fortunarum ['possessions'] et capitis sui' and CaesBGV 43 4.
122. CARPO ... OPES.For the sense ofcarposee at viii 32carpsit opes ... meas(p 266).
126. ILLVMCMFHILTB2ILLIB1. Either accusative or dative would be acceptable enough withlatere. The earliest instances from verse given byTLLVII.2 997 49 are Lucretius III 280 for the dative andAenI 130 for the accusative. I retain the accusative because it is the reading of most manuscripts, includingB's close relativeC. There are similar variants involving the object oflatereatFastV 361: the accusative given by most manuscripts is generally read in preference to the dative.
127-29. TV ... TV.For the anaphora oftuin hymns or solemn prayer, see the passages collected by Nisbet and Hubbard at HorCarmI x 9 and by Tarrant at SenAg311.
127. SVPERIS ASCITE.Asciscereis generally used of admission to the citizenship or to the Senate: for parallels to the metaphorical use here, see Tarrant at SenAg812-13 'tuus ille bis seno meruit labore /adlegi caelomagnus Alcides'.
128.CausalVT['ex ueteribus' Naugerius] seems an appropriate correction for the manuscripts' lame ET.
129-30. NOSTRAS ... PRECES.The hyperbaton adds elevation and dignity to the prayer.
129-30. INTER CONVEXA ... SIDERA=inter sidera conuexi caeli; the hypallage adds further to the elevation of the passage. Forconuexacompare Festus (58 Muller; 51 Lindsay) 'conuexum est ex omni parte declinatum,qualis est natura caeli, quod ex omni parte ad terram uersum declinatum est',MetI 26 'ignesconuexiuis et sine ponderecaeli',EclIV 50, and CicArat560 (314). In particular compareAenI 607-8, which Ovid is clearly imitating: 'dum montibus umbrae / lustrabunt,conuexapolus dumsiderapascet'. There is some question as to whetherconuexashould there be taken withsidera, or as the object oflustrabunt: Ovid clearly took it withsidera.
130. SOLLICITO QVAS DAMVS ORE PRECES.For the general wording compareTrIII viii 20 'tum quoquesollicita mente roganduserit' andEPIII i 148 'nil nisisollicitaesint tua uerbapreces': forsollicito ... orecomparesollicita uoceatMetX 639 & XIV 706.
131. PERVENIANT ISTVC.CompareEPII ii 95 'si tamen haec audis et uox meaperuenit istuc[=Romam]'.
131-32. CARMINA ... QVAE DE TE MISI CAELITE FACTA NOVO.Ovid also mentions his poems on Augustus' apotheosis at vi 17-18, viii 63-64 & xiii 25-26.
133-34. NEC TV / IMMERITO NOMEN MITE PARENTIS HABES.'Et ce n'est pas sans raison que tu portes le doux nom de Père' (André) must be correct as against Wheeler's 'for not undeservedly hast thou the gracious name of "Father"', sincenec, although it can meanet ... nonorsed ... non, cannot meannam ... non; the proof of this is the frequent occurrence ofneque enim.
The litotesnon (haud, nec) immeritois common enough in Latin: see the many examples atTLLVII.1 457 26 ff. But in the four instances given ofnec immerito, it never serves to introduce a new phrase as here. At PlautusSt28 'decetnequeidimmeritoeueniet' it introduces a second verb which amplifies the preceding one, while it modifies preceding verbs at TerAd615 'tanta nunc suspicio de me inciditnequeea immerito', Val Max IV vii 1 'inimicus patriae fuisse Ti. Gracchus existimatus est,nec immerito, quia potentiam suam salutieius praetulerat', and Quintilian X i 104 'habet amatores—nec immerito—Cremuti libertas'. One would expect a clause of causation to followauguror his igitur flecti tua numina, and I think it possible that Ovid wrote NAM TV / E MERITO (Professor C. P. Jones suggests EX MERITO). Both the corruption frome meritoand the subsequent interpolation ofnecwould be easy enough. Fore(x) merito, compare vii 16 'contigitex meritoqui tibi nuper honor'.
133. NEC TV.The elegiac poets admitted a monosyllabic ending to the hexameter if it was preceded by another monosyllable closely linked to it in sense: see Platnauer 13. For true monosyllabic endings, see at ii 47Aonius fons.
134. NOMEN MITE PARENTIS=nomen parentis, quod significat te mitem esse. AtTrI i 73 andEPII viii 51 members of the imperial family are calledmitissima numina. There is another instance of hypallage withnomen mite(a different sense ofmitisbeing used) atFastV 64 'nomenet aetatismite[codd: riteRiese] senatus erat', 'the very name of senate signified a ripe old age' (Frazer).
134. PARENTIS=patris patriae. For the title compareRes Gestae35 (the final achievement listed by Augustus) 'tertium decimum consulatum cum gerebam, senatus et equester ordo populusque Romanus uniuersus appellauit mepatrem patriae, idque in uestibulo aedium mearum inscribendum esse et in curia et in foro Aug. sub quadrigis quaemihi ex s.c. positae sunt decreuit'. Suetonius describes the conferring of the title atAug58.
The poem is the only one in theEx Pontoaddressed to Albinovanus. Considering the elder Seneca's express testimony that Albinovanus was a close friend of Ovid (see at 4 [pp 327-28]), this is rather surprising; perhaps Albinovanus, an associate of Germanicus (TacAnnI 60 2), had, like some of Ovid's other friends, asked not to be mentioned in his verse.
The poem begins with the statement that Ovid is now in his sixth year of exile; unlike flint and iron, he is not touched by the passing of time (1-8). He says that his tribulations are like those of Ulysses, but more severe; there follows a comparison of his experiences with those of Ulysses (9-30). He then describes the bleakness of the climate, and how the sea freezes over in winter (31-34). He has heard that his accounts are not believed at Rome, and will therefore explain the reasons for the sea's freezing over (35-38). At Tomis the north wind prevails, and the salinity of the sea is reduced by the influx of many large rivers (which are listed in a catalogue); the sea's freezing is caused by these two factors (39-64). He is telling all this to Albinovanus to pass the time; Albinovanus is writing poetry as well, about Theseus, who is an example for him to follow (65-82). Ovid does not wish to imply that Albinovanus is not already doing everything possible to assist him (83-84).
The poem combines with remarkable ease a number of quite disparate subjects, and is in this sense reminiscent of Tibullus. Most of thesubjects had been used previously in the poetry of exile; in particular, seeTrI v 57-84 for an extended comparison of the trials of Ulysses and those of Ovid. The disquisition on the reasons for the Euxine's freezing over is, however, new. It seems to have been drawn from a geographical or physical treatise which has left its mark elsewhere in Latin literature: see at 37-38 (p 340-42).
1. CIMMERIOBritish Library Harley 2607 (Tarrant)CVMERIOM1IN ETIAM MEMORICIN **********B1IN HEMONIOHITPIN EVXINOFINEXINOB2cBISTONIOLM2ulMany centuries had passed since the Cimmerians had inhabited Scythia; even Herodotus, who tells the story of their departure, seems to regard the event as belonging to the distant past (IV 11-12). Homer was vaguely aware of the nation: atOdXI 13-19 (imitated atPan Mess64-66), he speaks of the 'Κιμμερίων ἀνδρῶν ... πόλις' by the stream of Ocean, which never receives sunlight.
ForCimmerioBurman compared ClaudianCons StilI 129 'nunc prope Cimmerii tendebat litoraPonti'; see as wellIn EutrI 249 'extraCimmerias, Taurorum claustra, paludes'.
1. BIS TERTIA ... AESTAS.The poem is therefore dated to the summer of 14. For Ovid's mentions of the length of his exile, see at vi 5quinquennis(p 227).
3. ECQVOS ... ECQVODLaurentianus 36 2, saec xvET QVOS ... ET QVODBCMFHILT. The same corruption is found in certain manuscripts atMetIII 442-45 (Narcissus speaking) '"ecquis, io siluae, crudelius"inquit "amauit? ...ecquem... qui sic tabuerit longo meministis in aeuo?"' and commonly. Other instances ofecquisin emotionally heightened questions atFastIV 488,TrI vi 11,EPIII i 3, andHerXXI 106.
3. SILICES ... FERRVM.See at viii 49tabida consumit ferrum lapidemque uetustas(p 270).
4. ALBINOVANE.Albinovanus Pedo[21]and Ovid seem to have been close friends. Ovid mentions him again at xvi 6 'sidereusque Pedo', and he was the source of the famous anecdote in the elder Seneca (ContII 2 12) of how Ovid chose as the three lines in his poems he most wished to retain the same three verses a group of his friends most wished to remove.
He was a famous raconteur: the younger Seneca calls Pedofabulator elegantissimusatEpCXXII 15-16 when repeating one of his anecdotes.
At the time this poem was written, Albinovanus was engaged on aTheseid(71). Quintilian perhaps had this poem in mind when he included a rather slighting mention of Albinovanus in his catalogue of epic poets at X i 90: 'Rabirius ac Pedo non indigni cognitione, si uacet'. He may, however, have been thinking of Albinovanus' poemon Germanicus' campaigns, of which the elder Seneca preserves some twenty-three hexameters (SuasI 15; commentary by V. Bongi,Istituto Lombardo di scienze e lett. Rendiconti [Classe di Lettere]ser. 3 13 [1949], 28-48. Norden and others have attributed MorelIncert46 'ingenia immansueta suoque simillima caelo' to the same poem). Martial several times mentions Albinovanus as a writer of epigrams (II lxxvii 5, V v 5 & X xx (xix) 10); this fits well with the younger Seneca's description of Albinovanus asfabulator elegantissimus.
AtAnnI 60 2, Tacitus mentions Pedo as 'praefectus finibus Frisiorum' in Germanicus' campaign of 15.
5-6. LAPIDEM ... ANVLVS ... VOMER.See at viii 49tabida consumit ferrum lapidemque uetustas(p 270), and compareAAI 473-76 'ferreus assiduo consumituranulususu, / interit assiduauomeraduncus humo. / quid magis est saxo durum, quid mollius unda? / dura tamen molli saxa cauantur aqua'.
6. ATTERITVRHeinsius. Korn and Riese printed the manuscripts' ET TERITVR, for which Riese citedTrI iv 9-10 'pinea texta sonant pulsu [Rothmaler: pulsicodd], stridore rudentes, / ingemitetnostris ipsa carina malis' andTrIII iv 57-58 'ante oculos errant domus, urbsque et forma locorum, / acceduntquesuis singula facta locis', but these are extended descriptions of single events, not lists of separate examples.
Elsewhere in Ovid, the only form found ofatterereisattritus: this circumstance perhaps contributed to the corruption of the present passage.
6. ATTERITVR PRESSA VOMER ADVNCVS HVMO.Professor R. J. Tarrant points out to me the hypallage in this passage.Pressusis to be taken twice, withuomerand withhumo: the earth ispressed downas the plough ispressedinto it.
7. TEMPVS EDAX.The same phrase atMetXV 234; compare as welledax ... uetustasatMetXV 872.
7. PRAETER NOS.AtEPII vii 39-45, Ovid (with a series of images parallel to that of the present passage) says that he is in fact being worn away by the hardships he is enduring: 'ut ... caducis / percussu crebrosaxacauantur aquis, / sic ego continuo Fortunae uulneror ictu ... nec magis assiduouomertenuatur ab usu, / nec magis est curuis Appia trita rotis, / pectora quam mea sunt serie calcata malorum'.
8. PERDITIPERDETBCMFHLT. The tense is made probable by the precedingcauat ... consumitur ... atteriturand the followingcessat; compare as wellTrIV vi 17-18 'cuncta potest... uetustas / praeter quam curas attenuare meas'. Third conjugation verbs in the third person are for obvious reasons peculiarly apt to corruption of tense and mood. The alteration from present to future is rather lesscommon than the inverse corruption, for an instance of which see at xii 18reddet(p 378).
8. CESSAT DVRITIA MORS QVOQVE VICTA MEA.Death does not conquer Ovid, but is conquered by him. Professor E. Fantham points out to me the baroque inversion in the phrase, citing as a parallel SenTr1171-75, where Hecuba says that death fears her and flees her.
Riese placed a question mark at the end of the line, but since in 7 Ovid asserts unambiguously that time does not affect him, there seems no reason to make the following line a question. In his poems from exile Ovid often expresses his wish to die; seeTrIII viii 39-40 'tantus amor necis est querar ut cum Caesaris ira / quod non offensas uindicet ense suas',TrIII xiii 5-6, IV vi 49-50, and V ix 37-38.
9. EXEMPLVM EST ANIMI NIMIVM PATIENTIS VLIXES.Ovid frequently compares his trials in exile to those undergone by Ulysses. The longest instance of this isTrI v 57-84; compare as wellTrIII xi 61-62 'crede mihi, si sit nobis collatus Vlixes, / Neptuni minor est quam Iouis ira fuit',TrV v 1-4, andEPI iii 33-34, II vii 59-60 & III vi 19-20.
Ulysses' voyage was a favourite subject of the Latin poets. For a surviving example, see Prop III xii 23-36. An indication of the subject's popularity is the fact thatPan Mess45-49 'nam seu diuersi fremat inconstantia uulgi, / non alius sedare queat; seuiudicis ira / sit placanda, tuis poterit mitescere uerbis. / non Pylos aut Ithace tantos genuisse feruntur / Nestora uel paruae magnum decus urbis Vlixem' is followed not by a description of Ulysses' eloquence, as would have been appropriate, but by a narrative of his travels (52-81): this illogical sequence was no doubt induced by the poet's familiarity with similar descriptions of Ulysses' voyage in the poetry of his time.
Professor E. Fantham cites Seneca's use of Ulysses as anexemplum patientiaeat SenDialII 2 1, where Hercules is compared to Ulysses.
9. EXEMPLVM EST.Professor R. J. Tarrant points out to me the unusual baldness of the phrase. In Ovid's earlier verseexemplumhas an instructional or minatory overtone (AAIII 686,MetIX 454). The flatter use ofexemplumseems to be typical of the poetry of exile: compareEPIII i 44 'coniugis exemplum diceris esse bonae', andTrI v 21, IV iii 72 & IV iv 71.
9. NIMIVM PATIENTIS= πολύτλας (IlVIII 97,OdV 171, et saep.). The sense ofnimiumseen here is not generally found in poetry, or even in literary prose; the instances cited byOLD nimium22 are all from comedy, Cato, and the letters of Cicero.
10. DVO LVSTRA.Compare xvi 13-14 'Vlixem / errantem saeuo perduo lustramari' andAAIII 15-16 'est pia Penelopelustriserranteduobus/ et totidem lustris bella gerente uiro'.
11. SOLLICITI ... FATIis based on such phrases assollicita uita(Prop II vii 1) andsollicitissima aetas(SenBreu Vit16 1). Similar phrasing atTrIV x 116 'nec mesollicitaetaedialucishabent'.
11. PLACIDAE SAEPE FVERE MORAE.Compare Prop III xii 23-24 'Postumus alter erit miranda coniuge Vlixes: / non illilongaetot nocueremorae'.
13. SEX ANNIS.According to Homer (OdVII 261), Ulysses left Calypso in the eighth year of his stay on her island. André points out that HyginusFabCXXV 16 has Ulysses on the island for one year only; for other estimates of the length of Ulysses' stay, see Roscher III 627. Ovid was probably influenced by thebis ... tertiaof the poem's opening.Cimmerioin 1 furnishes another connection with Ulysses (OdXI 14; quoted at 1).
13. FOVISSE.CompareOdV 118-120 (Calypso speaking) 'Σχέτλιοί ἐστε, θεοί, ζηλήμονες ἔξοχον ἄλλων, / οἵ τε θεαῖς ἀγάασθε παρ' ἀνδράσιν εὐνάζεσθαι / ἀμφαδίην, ἤν τίς τε φίλον ποισετ' ἀκοίτην'.
13. CALYPSOBCMILT. Lenz and André print CALYPSON (FH). Roman poets followed the Greek declension of feminine proper nouns ending in -ω; comparePan Mess77 'fecunda Atlantidos aruaCalypsus[uarcalipsos]'. The accusatives of such nouns are of the same form as the nominative. See for exampleAenIV 383-84 'et nomineDido/ saepe uocaturum' andAenVII 324-25 'luctificamAllectodirarum ab sede dearum /infernisque ciet tenebris', cited by Charisius 63 (Keil); neither he nor Servius shows knowledge of an accusative in-on. Scribes, however, found the declension puzzling; and it is common to find the pseudo-accusative in-onoffered by some manuscripts whenever the true form in-ooccurs; this has happened atHerVI 65 'ultimus e sociis sacram conscendis inArgo',HerVII 7 'certus es ire tamen miseramque relinquereDido[edd: Didoncodd]',HerXII 9 'cur umquam Colchi Magnetida uidimusArgo',AmII ii 45 'dum nimium seruat custos IunoniusIo',AmII xix 29 'dum seruat Iuno mutatam cornibusIo', and Prop I xx 17-18 'namque ferunt olim Pagasae naualibusArgo[edd: Argoncodd] / egressam longe Phasidos isse uiam'. Modern editors often print the spurious form, even atAAI 323 'et modo se Europen fieri, modo postulatIo', where all manuscripts offer the correct reading.
For a full discussion of this and the inverse corruption (for instance ofIasontoIaso), see Goold 12-14.
14. AEQVOREAEQVE.CompareAmII xvii 17-18 'credituraequoreamPthio Nereida regi, / Egeriam iusto concubuisse Numae' andAAII 123-24 'non formosus erat, sed erat facundus Vlixes, / et tamenaequoreastorsit amore deas'. Merkel's AEAEAEQVE is ingenious but unnecessary.
15. HIPPOTADES=Aeolus. The same patronymic atMetIV 663, XI 431, XIV 86, XIV 224 & XV 707.
15. QVI DAT PRO MVNERE VENTOS.CompareMetXIV 223-26 'Aeolon ille refert Tusco regnare profundo, / Aeolon Hippotaden, cohibentem carcereuentos; / quos bouis inclusos tergo,memorabile munus, / Dulichium sumpsisse ducem' andOdX 19-26.
17. NEC BENE CANTANTES LABOR EST AVDISSE PVELLAS.The description is intentionally prosaic. For the Homeric account of the Sirens seeOdXII 37-54 & 153-200.
17. AVDISSEFAVDIREBCMHILT.Audirecannot stand, as the present tense conflicts withfuitin the following line. Forest audisserepresentingfuit audire, compareMetIX 5-6 (Achelous hesitates before recounting his wrestling-match with Hercules) 'referam tamen ordine: nec tam / turpefuit uinciquamcontendisse decorum est'.
18. NEC DEGVSTANTI LOTOS AMARA FVIT.SeeOdIX 82-104 for Homer's account of the Lotus-eaters.
18. NEC ... AMARA=et dulcis. CompareOdIX 94 'λωτοῖο ... μελιηδέα καρπόν'.
18. DEGVSTANTI.The verb is extremely rare in the sense 'taste, sample'; this is the only instance of the meaning found in poetry, although a transferred use is found at Lucretius II 191-92 'ignes ... celeri flammadegustanttigna trabesque' andAenXII 375-76 'lancea ... summumdegustatuulnere corpus'.
Ovid uses the somewhat more commongustarein a similar context atTrIV i 31-32 'sic noua Dulichio lotosgustatapalato / illo quo nocuit grata sapore fuit'.
21. VRBEM LAESTRYGONOS= 'Λάμου αἰπὺ πτολίεθρον, / Τηλέπυλον Λαιστρυγονίην' (OdX 81-82) or 'Lami ueterem Laestrygonos ... urbem' (MetXIV 233), where the crews of all the ships but Ulysses' own were killed and eaten; accounts of this atOdX 76-132 andMetXIV 233-42. Ovid refers again to the episode atEPII ix 41 'quis non Antiphaten Laestrygona deuouet?'.
21. LAESTRYGONOSBCLE(-I-)STRYGONISMFHILT.Laestrygonos= Λαιστρυγόνος (OdX 106). AtMetXIV 233 (cited above) all manuscripts offerLaestrygonis; the Greek genitive should probably be read as here.
22. GENTIBVS OBLIQVA QVAS OBIT HISTER AQVA.Similar wording at ii 37-38 'hic mea cui recitem nisi flauis scripta Corallis, / quasque alias gentes barbarus Hister obit?'.
22. OBLIQVAapparently refers to the swirling of a river's eddies. The sense 'winding' generally given the word would fit atMetIX 17-18 (Achelous to the father of Deianira) 'dominum me cernis aquarum / cursibusobliquisinter tua regna fluentum', but not atMetVIII 550-53 (Achelous to Theseus) '"succede meis" ait "Inclite, tectis, / Cecropide, nec te committe rapacibus undis: / ferre trabes solidasobliquaqueuoluere magno / murmure saxa solent"' orHerVI 87 'illa refrenat aquasobliquaqueflumina sistit'. AtMetI 39 'fluminaqueobliquiscinxit decliuia ripis',obliquisshould be taken withflumina, anddecliuiawithripis; or possibly both adjectives should be taken with both nouns.
23. VINCET.Likesuperare,uincerehas the twin meanings of 'surpass' and 'defeat'.
23. CYCLOPS.The same pairing of the Laestrygonians and Polyphemus atEPII ii 113-114 (to Messalinus; he should address Augustus on Ovid's behalf) 'nec tamen Aetnaeus uasto Polyphemus in antro / accipiet uoces Antiphatesue tuas'.
23. FERITATEgoes withuincet: 'will surpass in savagery'. I once thought PIETATE (BCIac) was the correct reading, connecting the word withsaeuumand taking it as a reference to human sacrifice; but this seems strained and obscure.Pietatemay be an intrusion from ecclesiastical Latin; Professor R. J. Tarrant suggests that it is possibly an anticipation of the followingPiacchen.
23. PIACCHENBPIAECHENC. See the critical apparatus for the other forms offered by the manuscripts. As the king's name is not elsewhere recorded, its true form must remain in doubt.
24. QVI QVOTA TERRORIS PARS SOLET ESSE MEI.With Burman, Weber, and Wheeler I take the line as a statement: compareEPII x 31 'etquota parshaec sunt rerum quas uidimus ambo' (cited by Williams), wherequota, as here, takes the meaning 'how small' from context. Most editors take it as a question, for which compareAmII xii 9-10 'Pergama cum caderent bello superata bilustri, / ex tot in Atridispars quotalaudis erat?'.
25-27. SCYLLA ... CHARYBDIN.Ovid gives similar descriptions of Scylla atAmIII xii 21-22 andEPIII i 122, of Charybdis atAmII xvi 25-26, and of Scylla and Charybdis atHerXII 123-26 andMetXIII 730-33. All such descriptions in Latin poetry of course derive ultimately fromOdXII 73-110.
25. QVOD LATRET AB INGVINE MONSTRIS.Professor R. J. Tarrant points out to me Ovid's imitation here ofEclVI 74-75 'Scyllam ... candida succinctam latrantibus inguina monstris'; theratesandnautaeof Ovid's line 26 are in lines 76 and 77 of the Virgilian passage.
25. QVOD.'Granted that'. Bömer atMetVII 705 claims that the only passage where this is the necessary meaning ofquodisPriapeaVI 1 'quod sum ligneus ... Priapus ... prendam te tamen', but it seems to be the meaning required at Lucretius II 532-35 'namquodrara uides magis esse animalia quaedam / fecundamque minus naturam cernis in illis, / at regione locoque alio terrisque remotis / multa licet genere esse in eo numerumque repleri'.
All six instances of the idiom cited by theOLD(quod6c) are from poetry. In the two instances already cited,quodis followed by the indicative, as is the case at Prop III ii 11-16.Quodin this sense followed by the subjunctive seems to be an Ovidian idiom; it is used by him atHerIV 157-61 'quodmihisitgenitor, qui possidet aequora, Minos, / quodueniantproaui fulmina torta manu, / quodsitauus radiis frontem uallatus acutis, / purpureo tepidum qui mouet axediem— / nobilitas sub amore iacet!' andMetVII 704-7 'liceat mihi uera referre / pace deae: quodsitroseo spectabilis ore, / quodteneatlucis,teneatconfinia noctis, / nectareis quodalaturaquis, ego Procrin amabam', and by an imitator of Ovid atHerXVIII 41.
26. HENIOCHAE NAVTIS PLVS NOCVERE RATES.The Heniochi lived on the eastern shore of the Euxine and were, as Ovid indicates, known as pirates (Strabo XI 2 12-13).
27. INFESTIS ... ACHAEIS.Mela includes the Achaei and the Heniochi in his list of 'ferae incultaeque gentes uasto mari adsidentes' (I 110). The two nations are grouped together by Strabo (XII 2 12) and Pliny (NHVI 30).
28. EPOTVM ... VOMAT.Professor R. J. Tarrant cites the verbal similarity at (pseudo-Ovidian)AmIII v 18 'iterumpasto pasciturante cibo'.
28. EPOTVMBET POTVMCEPOTETMFHILT.Epotetis supported byHerXII 125 'quaeque uomit totidem fluctus totidemque resorbet' and Od XII 105-6 'τρὶς μὲν γάρ τ' ἀνίησιν ἐπ' ἤματι, τρὶς δ' ἀναροιβδεῖ / δεινόν'. Professor A. Dalzell points out in particular 'τρὶς ... τρὶς' parallelingter ... terin the present passage. But atRA740 Ovid wrote 'hic uomit epotas [uarret potat; hic potat; optatas; acceptas; aequoreas] dira Charybdis aquas'; and the corruption toepotetseems much more probable than the inverse. Ovid elsewhere uses only the perfect participle ofepotare.
29. LICENTIVS ERRANT.Ovid is clearly imitatingAenVII 557-58 (Juno to Allecto) 'te super aetheriaserrare licentiusauras / haud pater ille uelit, summi regnator Olympi', apparently the only other instance oflicentiusin classical verse.
31-32act as a bridge to the next major section of the poem, and do not in themselves contribute to what has been said.
31. INFRONDESis ahapax legomenon.
32. HIC FRETA VEL PEDITI PERVIA REDDIT HIEMPS.Other mentions of the sea's freezing at vii 7,TrII 196, III x 35-50 & V x 2, andEPIII i 15-16 (to the Pontus) 'tu glacie freta uincta tenes, et in aequore piscis / inclusus tecta saepe natauit aqua'.
Parts of the Black Sea do in fact freeze: 'In winter, spurs of the Siberian anticyclone (clear, dry, high-pressure air mass) create a strong current of cold air, and the northwestern Black Sea cools down considerably, with regular ice formation' (article on "Black Sea",Encyclopaedia Britannica, Macropaedia vol. 2, pp. 1096-98 [Chicago: 1974]).
32. HIEMPS.For the last one hundred years, the spelling given in editions of Latin texts has generally beenhiems(some exceptions are Palmer'sHeroides, the Paravia Virgil, and Reynolds' editions of Seneca), but the spelling in the ancient manuscripts of Virgil is invariablyhiemps. Munro's argument for this spelling seemsunanswerable: 'obeying the almost unanimous testimony of our own [i.e.OandQof Lucretius] and other good mss. we cannot but giveumerusumorand the like: alsohiemps. I have heard it asked what then is the genitive ofhiemps; to which the best reply perhaps would be what is the perfect ofsumoor the supine ofemo. The Latins wrotehiemps, as they wroteemptumsumpsisumptumand a hundred such forms, because they dislikedmandsortto come together without the intervention of apsound; and our mss. all attest this:temptolikewise is the only true form, which the Italians in the 15th century rejected fortento' (Lucretius ed. 4 vol. 1 p. 33).
33-34. VT, QVA REMVS ITER PVLSIS MODO FECERAT VNDIS, / SICCVS CONTEMPTA NAVE VIATOR EAT.Ovid has in mind Virgil's description of the freezing of a Scythian river (GIII 360-62) 'concrescunt subitae currenti in flumine crustae, / undaque iam tergo ferratos sustinet orbis, / puppibus illa prius, patulis nunc hospita plaustris'.
35. QVI VENIVNT ISTINC VIX VOS EA CREDERE DICVNT; / QVAM MISER EST QVI FERT ASPERIORA FIDE.For Ovid's fear that his accounts of what he has undergone will not be believed, see vii 3-4 andTrI v 49-50, III x 35-36 & IV i 65-66. In particular, see ix 85-86 'mentiar, an coeat duratus frigore Pontus, / et teneat glacies iugera multa freti'.
37-38. NEC TE CAVSAS NESCIRE SINEMVS / HORRIDA SARMATICVM CVR MARE DVRET HIEMPS.Ovid's principal explanation of the freezing of the Euxine, the low salinity of the water, is found in four other Latinauthors. At IV 718-28, Valerius Flaccus offers a catalogue of rivers similar to that of Ovid, and, like Ovid, gives the cold winter winds as a subsidiary reason for the freezing. It is quite possible that Ovid is Valerius' source; but this is very unlikely to be the case for MacrobiusSatVII xii 28-38 (cited by Burman). The passage is a discussion of why, although oil congeals, wine and vinegar do not. Wine does not freeze because it contains elements of fire; this is why Homer called it αἴθοπα οἶνον. Vinegar does not freeze because it is so bitter; it is like seawater, which because of its bitterness does not congeal. 'nam quod Herodotus historiarum scriptor contra omnium ferme qui haec quaesiuerunt opinionem scripsit [IV 28], mare Bosporicum, quod et Cimmerium appellat, earumque partium mare omne, quod Scythicum dicitur, id gelu constringi et consistere, aliter est quam putatur'. It is not the seawater that freezes, but the layer of fresh water above it, which comes from the rivers that flow into the Euxine. Macrobius goes on to explain that there is an outflow of fresh water to the Mediterranean and an influx of seawater, with perfect correctness: theEncyclopaedia Britannicaarticle cited at 32 notes that 'Flows in the Bosporus are complex, with surface Black Sea water going out and deep, saltier water coming in from the Sea of Marmara*.
There can be very little doubt, given the identity of the explanations and the similarity of language, that Ovid and Macrobius were drawing on a common source. The same source is reflected atGellius XVII viii 8-16. Here Taurus the philosopher asks Gellius why oil often congeals, but wine does not. Gellius answers that wine is fiery by nature, which is why Homer called it αἴθοπα οἶνον. Taurus responds that wine is indeed known to have fire in it, for it warms the body when drunk; yet vinegar, in spite of its cooling effects, never freezes; perhaps things which are light and smooth are more prone to freezing. It is also worth asking why fresh water freezes, but seawater does not. 'tametsi Herodotus ... historiae scriptor contra omnium ferme qui haec quaesiuerunt opinionem scribit mare Bosporicum, quod Cimmerium appellatur, earumque partium mare omne quod Scythicum dicitur, gelu stringi et consistere'. No explanation for the freezing-over is given.[22]
Ammianus Marcellinus XXII 8 48 gives the same two explanations for the Euxine's freezing as Ovid: 'quicquid autem eiusdem Pontici sinus Aquilone caeditur et pruinis, ita perstringitur gelu ut nec amnium cursus subteruolui credantur, nec per infidum et labile solum gressus hominis possit uel iumenti firmari, quod uitium numquam mare sincerum, sed permixtum aquis amnicis temptat'. At XXII 8 46 he once again mentions the sweetness of the Euxine's waters.
Lucan describes the freezing of the Euxine (V 436-41), but gives no explanation of the cause.
39. PLAVSTRI PRAEBENTIA FORMAM ... SIDERA.The Great Bear. Other mentions of the constellation atMetX 446-47 'inter ... triones / flexerat obliquo plaustrum temone Bootes',TrIII iv b 1-2 (47-48), III x 3-4 & V iii 7-8, andEPI v 73-74. Compare as well GermanicusAratea24-26 'axem Cretaeae dextra laeuaque tuentur / siue Arctoe seu Romani cognominis Vrsae / Plaustraue [Grotius:-quecodd], quae facie [scripsi (datiuum)[23]: faciescodd] stellarum proxima uerae [Barth: ueraueluerocodd]',HerXVIII 152, SenAg66-68, and Lucan V 23 'Hyperboreae plaustrum glaciale sub Vrsae'.
Praebentia formamis elevated diction: Professor R. J. Tarrant cites Lucretius V 581-83 'luna ... claram speciem certamquefiguram/praebet'.
40. PERPETVVMM2ulPRAECIPVVMBCM1FHILT.Praecipuumcould be defended byEPIII i 13-14 (to the Pontus) 'nec tibi pampineas autumnus porrigit uuas, / cuncta sed immodicum tempora frigus habet', butpraecipuusin fact always seems to have the notion of 'outstanding' or 'superior', which does not seem appropriate to the present passage. ForperpetuumcompareTrIII ii 7-8 'plurima sed pelago terraque pericula passum /ustus abassiduofrigore Pontus habet',TrIII x 14 '[niuem ...] indurat Boreasperpetuamquefacit',TrV ii 65-66 'me ... cruciatnumquam sine frigorecaelum, / glaebaque canentisemperobusta gelu',EPI iii 49-50 'orbis in extremi iaceo desertus harenis, / fert ubiperpetuasobruta terra niues', andEPII vii 72 'frigoreperpetuoSarmatis ora riget'.
41. HINC ORITVR BOREAS.CompareTrIII xi 7-8 'barbara me tellus et inhospita litora Ponti / cumque suoBoreaMaenalis ursa uidet' andIbis11-12 'ille relegatum gelidosAquilonis ad ortus/ non sinit exilio delituisse meo'.
41. DOMESTICVS.The word is rare in verse; Ovid uses it as a substantive at iii 15 'ille ego conuictor densoquedomesticususu'. Here Ovid may be recalling the language ofMetVI 685-86 (of Boreas) 'ira, / quae solita est illi nimiumquedomesticauento'.
42. VIRES.Merkel proposed MORES, citing VirgilGI 50-52 'at prius ignotum ferro quam scindimus aequor, / uentos et uarium caeli praedisceremorem/ cura sit' and StatiusSilIII ii 87 'quos tibi currenti praeceps gerat Hadriamores'. The second passage is not to the point, since it means 'what sort of obedience to your wishes do you expect from the Adriatic as you make your voyage'. In any case, Professor R. J. Tarrant points out to me the poor logic of Merkel's proposed text: Ovid is deriving thenatura locifrom its surroundings; he should not now be saying that Boreas gets hismoresfrom the area.The reading of the manuscripts seems acceptable enough if one accepts Meynke'spoloforloco('he gathers strength from the nearby North Pole'). Forsumit uirescompareMetVIII 882 (Achelous speaking) 'armenti modo duxuiresin cornuasumo',MetXI 510-11 'ut ... solentsumptisincursuuiribusire ... feri ... leones' and HorEpI xviii 85 'neglecta solent incendiasumere uires'. Professor R. J. Tarrant compares such phrases assumere iras(MetII 175),animos(MetIII 544-45), andcornua(AAI 239,TrIV ix 27).
42. POLOMeynkeLOCOcodd. The pointlessness oflocois made clear enough by Wheeler's 'and he takes on strength from a place nearer to him'. Meynke'spoloremoves the difficulty, answers well to the following 'at Notus,aduersotepidum qui spirat abaxe', and is supported by the language ofMetII 173 'quaequepoloposita est glacialiproximaSerpens', andFastIV 575-76 (of Ceres) 'errat et in caelo liquidique immunia ponti / adloquitur gelidoproximasignapolo'. For the corruption, compare the common misreading oflocumforsolum.
43. ADVERSO ... AB AXE.Ovid here seeks a contrast withpoloin the previous line; but clearly he means only that the south wind comes from the opposite direction, not that it originates at the South Pole.
Bentley conjectured AVERSO foraduerso, and the two words are obviously prone to interchange: compareTrI iii 45 (of Ovid's wife,after his departure) 'multaque in auersos [Heinsius: aduersoscodd] effudit uerba Penates' and the variations among the manuscripts at VirgilGI 218 'auerso ... astro',AenXII 647 'auersa uoluntas', and SenTr1123 'auersa cingit campus' (on which see Housman 1076). Butaduerso'opposite' seems to have the sense required here.
43. TEPIDVM QVI SPIRAT.For the construction compareMetIX 661 'sub aduentuspirantis leneFauoni' and AvienusDescr Orb847 'uel qualeneNotusspirat'. The trivialized TEPIDVS QVI SPIRAT is found inMH2c.Tepidus Notusoccurs four times in Ovid (AmI iv 12, I vii 56 & II viii 20, andTrIII xii [xiii] 42).
44. LANGVIDIORQVE VENIT.CompareEPII i 1-2 'Huc quoque Caesarei peruenit fama triumphi, /languidaquo fessi uix uenitaura Noti'.
46. AB AMNE.Similar instrumental uses ofabatHerX 138 'tunicas lacrimis sicutab imbregraues',AAIII 545 'ingenium placida molliturab arte',MetI 65-66 'contraria tellus / nubibus assiduis pluuiaque madescit ab Austro',MetIV 162-63 'pectus ... adhuca caedetepebat', andFastV 323 'caelum nigrescitab Austris'.
47-58.For the lengthy catalogue, typical of Ovid, compare the listing of Actaeon's dogs atMetIII 206-25 (in particular at 217 'et Dromas et Canache Sticteque et Tigris et Alce') and the catalogue of trees that came to listen to Orpheus sing (MetX 90-107).
47. LYCVS.A number of rivers had this name in the ancient world. Ovid presumably means the Paphlagonian Lycus referred to by Virgil atGIV 366-67 'omnia sub magna labentia flumina terra / spectabat diuersa locis, Phasimque Lycumque ...'.
47. SAGARIS.The modern Sakarya; it flows into the Black Sea about 125 kilometres east of Istanbul. It is mentioned at PlinyNHVI 1 4 'Sangaris fluuius ex inclutis. oritur in Phrygia, accipit uastos amnes ... idem Sagiarius plerisque dictus'.
47. PENIVSQVE.The 'flumen et oppidum Penius' are mentioned at PlinyNHVI 14 as being in the region of the Caucasus on the Euxine coast; nearby were 'multis nominibus Heniochorum gentes'. The river seems not to be mentioned elsewhere in ancient literature.
47. HYPANISQVE.The modern Bug empties into the Black Sea about 50 kilometres east of Odessa. It is mentioned again by Ovid atMetXV 285-86 'quid? non et Scythicis Hypanis de montibus ortus, / qui fuerat dulcis, salibus uitiatur amaris?' and VirgilGIV 370 'saxosumque sonans Hypanis'.
47. CALESQVE.Isaac Vossius made this correction for the manuscripts' CATESQVE (Ihas CHARESQVE) on the basis of 'Eustathio Scholiis in Periegeten'. Heinsius aptly cited a description of the occasionally violent flow of the river at Thucydides IV 75 2.
As indicated by this passage, the modern Alapli flows into the Black Sea near Ereğli, about 200 kilometres east of Istanbul.
48. CREBRO VERTICE TORTVS HALYS.An imitation ofAenVII 566-67 'fragosus / dat sonitum saxis ettorto uerticetorrens'.Tortuswhen used of water generally refers to the disturbance caused by rowing (FastV 644; Catullus LXIV 13;AenIII 208).
48. HALYS.The modern Kizil Irmak flows into the Black Sea about 600 kilometres east of Istanbul. André compares Apollonius' description of the river (II 366-67) 'ῥοαὶ Ἅλυος ποταμοῖο / δεινὸν ἐρεύγονται'.
49-50.The three rivers mentioned in these lines are all named for their swiftness.
49. PARTHENIVSQVE RAPAX.The modern Bartin flows into the Black Sea about 280 kilometres east of Istanbul and about 240 kilometres west of Sinop. It is in fact a very calm river: this information was available to Ovid from Apollonius II 936-37 'Παρθενίοιο ῥοὰς ἁλιμυρήεντος, / πρηυτάτου ποταμοῦ' (cited by André).
49. VOLVENS SAXA.Similar phrasing atMetVIII 552-53 '[undae ...] ferre trabes solidas obliquaqueuolueremagno / murmuresaxasolent'.
49. CINAPSESBCCINAPSISLTYNAPSESHCINASPESFITNIPHATESM. Editors read CYNAPSES; but since the river is not otherwise known,restoration is dangerous.M's reading looks like an interpolation from Lucan III 245 'Armeniusque tenensuoluentem saxaNiphaten' (cited by Micyllus).
50. NVLLO TARDIOR=uelocior omni; André mistranslates 'le plus lent des fleuves'. CompareTrI v 1 'O mihi post nullos umquam [uarullos numquam] memorande sodales' andEPI iii 65-66 'Zmyrna uirum tenuit, non Pontus et hostica tellus, / paeneminus nulloZmyrna petenda loco'.
50. TYRAS.The modern Dnestr flows into the Black Sea about fifty miles south of Odessa; near its mouth is the city of Ovidiopol. The river is briefly mentioned at PlinyNHIV 82 & 93, and at Mela II 7, where it is called the 'Tyra'; this however seems to be a scribal error induced by the followingseparat.
51. THERMODON.The modern Terme flows into the Black Sea about 100 kilometres southeast of the mouth of the Kizil Irmak (Halys). It was conventional to mention the Amazons in connection with the river (MetXII 611,AenXI 659-60, Prop III xiv 13-14, Ammianus Marcellinus XXII 8 17). Professor E. Fantham suggests to me that Ovid may here be providing Albinovanus with material for the part of hisTheseiddealing with Theseus' expedition against the Amazons.
Ovid also mentions the Thermodon atMetI 248-49 (the story of Phaethon) 'arsit et Euphrates Babylonius, arsit Orontes / Thermodonque citus Gangesque et Phasis et Hister'. As in the present distich, theThermodon and Phasis, both prominent in mythology, are mentioned together.
51. TVRMAEBCMTVRBAEFHILT. There is a similar variation among the manuscripts atAAIII l-2 'Arma dedi Danais in Amazonas; arma supersunt / quae tibi dem etturmae, Penthesilea, tuae'. From other descriptions of the Amazons, the Auctor Electorum Etonensium aptly compares Val Fl IV 603 (cateruas) and 607 (turma); compare as well StatiusSilI vi 56 (turmas). It is possible thatturmashould be read at Prop III xiv 13-14 'qualis Amazonidum nudatis bellica mammis / Thermodontiacisturbalauatur aquis'; but this would makebellicaredundant.
53. BORYSTHENIO ... AMNE=Bory̅sthĕnē. The river is the modern Dnepr, which flows into the Black Sea about 120 kilometres east of Odessa, about 50 kilometres east of the mouth of the Bug (Hypanis). For the metrical device here employed, compare Prop II vii 17-18 'hinc etenim tantum meruit mea gloria nomen, / gloria ad hibernos lataBorysthenidas', AvienusDescr Orb448 'indeBorystheniiuis sesefluminiseffert' & 721 'oraBorystheniiquafluminisin mare uergunt'.
53. LIQVIDISSIMVSis not found elsewhere in Ovid.
53. DIRAPSES.The river is not mentioned elsewhere.
54. MELANTHVS.The modern Melet Irmak flows into the Black Sea about 25 kilometres west of Trabzon (Trapezus). It is mentioned in passing at PlinyNHVI 11.
55-56. QVIQVE DVAS TERRAS, ASIAM CADMIQVE SOROREM, / SEPARAT ET CVRSVS INTER VTRAMQVE FACIT.The Tanais (Don) is named as the border between Europe and Asia by Pliny (NHIV 78) and Avienus (Descr Orb28 & 861). Compare as well Lucan III 272-76 'qua uertice lapsus / Riphaeo Tanais diuersi nomina mundi / imposuit ripis Asiaeque et terminus idem / Europae, mediae dirimens confinia terrae, / nunc hunc, nunc illum, qua flectitur, ampliat orbem'.
Vibius Sequester (Geog Lat min[Riese] p. 212) has an entry 'Hypanis Scythiae qui, ut ait Gallus "uno tellures diuidit amne duas": Asiam enim ab Europa separat'. The Hypanis cannot be the river Ovid is here referring to, for it has already been mentioned in 47; but, as Lenz saw, the line from Gallus could well have been in Ovid's mind as he wrote this passage. Professor R. J. Tarrant notes that the extraordinaryCadmique sororemcould well be a borrowing from the earlier poet.
57-58. INTER MAXIMVS OMNES / CEDERE DANVVIVS SE TIBI, NILE, NEGAT.A similar conjunction atTrIII x 27-28 'ipse, papyrifero qui non angustior amne, / miscetur uasto multa per ora freto'. Herodotus compares the courses of the Nile and the Danube, concluding 'οὕτω τὸν Νεῖλον δοκέω διὰ πάσης τῆς Λιβύης διεξιόντα ἐξισοῦσθαι τῷ Ἴστρῳ' (II 34), referring to the length of the rivers, however, rather than their volume of discharge. AtNQIII 22 Seneca mentions the belief of some that because of their large size and the fact that their sources were both unknown the Nile and the Danube must both havebeen formed at the creation of the world, unlike other rivers. At IV 1 1-2 he argues against those who equated the two rivers, pointing out that the source of the Danube was known to be in Germany, and that the two rivers flood at different times of the year.
59. COPIA TOT LATICVM QVAS AVGET ADVLTERAT AQVAS.The comparative freshness of the waters of the Black Sea was well known in antiquity. Besides the passages cited at 37-38, see Polybius IV 42 3 and PhilostratusImagI 13 7.
61-62. QVIN ETIAM, STAGNO SIMILIS PIGRAEQVE PALVDI, / CAERVLEVS VIX EST DILVITVRQVE COLOR.Ovid's drinking water was, on the other hand, rather brackish: 'est in aqua dulci non inuidiosa uoluptas: / aequoreo bibitur cum sale mixta palus' (EPII vii 73-74).
63. INNATAT VNDA FRETO DVLCIS.Similar wording at MacrobiusSatVII 12 32 'superficies maris, cui dulces aquaeinnatant, congelascit'.
64. PONDVSB1CMFHTNOMENILB2. Wakefield conjectured MOMEN on the basis of Lucretius VI 473-74 'quo magis ad nubis augendas multa uidentur / posse quoque e salso consurgere momine ponti'. Butpondusseems appropriate to the context in a way thatmomen'heaving' does not.Nomen habe(n)tis a frequent line-ending in Ovid, occurring some twenty-five times (once inHerXVI).Proprium nomenoccurs in Ovid atFastV 191-92 (Ovid is addressing Flora) 'ipsa doce quae sis. hominum sententia fallax: / optima tuproprii nominisauctoreris' andEPI viii 13-14 'Caspius Aegissos, de se si credimus ipsis, / condidit etproprio nominedixit opus'. The phrase would have been very familiar to the scribes from grammatical treatises ('proper noun'). A combination of these circumstances no doubt induced the error.
Professor A. Dalzell suggests to me thatmomenis perhaps correct, the notion being that the salt water keeps moving, and so does not freeze.Ponduswould then be a (mistaken) gloss that has displacedmomenfrom the text;nomenwould be a simple misreading ofmomen.
66. CERTIS ... MODIS.'Metre'; compareFastIII 388 'adcertosuerba canendamodos', Tib II i 51-52 'agricola ... primum ... cantauitcertorustica uerbapede' and Manilius III 35 'pedibus... iungerecertis'.
67. DETINVI ... TEMPVS, CVRASQVE FEFELLIexcerpta PolitianiDETINVI ... TEMPVS CVRAMQVE FEFELLILTDETINVI ... CVRAS TEMPVSQVE FEFELLIBCMFHI.Tempus fallere'make time pass unnoticed' is perfectly acceptable Latin; compareTrIII iii 11-12 'non qui labentia tarde /temporanarrandofallatamicus adest',HerI 9-10 'nec mihi quaerenti spatiosamfallere noctem/ lassaret uiduas pendula tela manus',MetVIII 651 'interea mediasfalluntsermonibushoras',TrIV x 112-14 'tristia ... carmine fata leuo. / quod quamuis nemo est cuius referatur ad aures, / sic tamen absumodecipioque diem', andHerXIX 37-38 'tortaque uersato ducentes stamina fuso / feminea tardasfallimusartemoras'. The difficulty with the manuscript reading in the present passage is thatdetinui curasis without parallel. Heinsius therefore accepted Politian's reading, citing in its supportMetI 682-83 'sedit Atlantiades et euntem multa loquendo /detinuitsermonediem'. The Auctor Electorum Etonensium objected thatdetinui tempuswas inappropriate: 'poeta tempus detinere noluit, quod scilicet per se morari atque haerere uidebatur inuisum'. He conjectured DISTINVI CVRAS and Burman DIMINVI CVRAS, which he later found in one of his manuscripts. Butdetinerehere can have the same meaning 'occupy, keep busy' as it has at theMetamorphosespassage, where A. G. Lee cites the present passage (with Politian's reading) andTrV vii 39 'detineo studiis animumfalloque dolores'.
The interchange of adjoining metrically and grammatically equivalent substantives is very common.
67-68. "DETINVI" DICAM "TEMPVS, CVRASQVE FEFELLI; / HVNC FRVCTVM PRAESENS ATTVLIT HORA MIHI".The thought of the passage also at ii 39-40 & 45 'quid nisi Pierides, solacia frigida, restant',TrV i 33-34 'tot mala pertulimus, quorum medicina quiesque / nulla nisi in studio est Pieridumque mora', andEPI v 53-55 'magis utile nil est / artibus his, quae nil utilitatis habent. / consequor ex illis casus obliuia nostri'.
69. ABFVIMVS SOLITO ... DOLORE.Compare CicFamIV iii 2 'a multis et magnis molestiis abes'; I have found no parallel from verse.
71. CVM THESEA CARMINE LAVDES.See at 4Albinouane(p 327).
71. THESEA.For Theseus as the type of loyalty, compareTrI iii 66 'o mihi Thesea pectora iuncta fide!', I v 19-20, I ix 31-32, V iv 25-26 (Ovid's letter speaking) 'teque Menoetiaden, te qui comitatus Oresten, / te uocatAegidenEuryalumque suum', andEPII iii 43, II vi 26 & III ii 33-34 'occidit et Theseus et qui comitauit Oresten; / sed tamen in laudes uiuit uterque suas'. From other authors, OttoTheseuscites Prop II i 37-38, Martial VII xxiv 3-4 & X xi 1-2, ClaudianRufI 107, AusoniusEpistXXV 34, Apollinaris SidoniusEpIII xiii 10,CarmV 288 &CarmXXIV 29. Professor R. J. Tarrant notes that in Bion fr. 12 (Gow) there is a pairing of Theseus/Pirithous and Orestes/Pylades similar to what we find in Ovid.