Amores 1.12

Flēte meōs cāsūs: trīstēs rediēre tabellae;

īnfēlix hodiē littera posse negat.

ōmina sunt aliquid: modo cum discēdere vellet,

ad līmen digitōs restitit īcta Napē.

5

missa forās iterum līmen trānsīre mementō

cautius atque altē sobria ferre pedem.

īte hinc, difficilēs, fūnebria ligna, tabellae,

tūque negātūrīs cēra referta notīs,

quam, puto, dē longae collectam flōre cicūtae

melle sub infāmī Corsica mīsit apis.10

at tamquam miniō penitus medicāta rubēbās:

ille color vērē sanguinulentus erat.

prōiectae triviīs iaceātis, inūtile lignum,

vōsque rotae frangat praetereuntis onus.

illum etiam, quī vōs ex arbore vertit in ūsum,15

convincam pūrās nōn habuisse manūs.

praebuit illa arbor miserō suspendia collō,

carnificī dīrās praebuit illa crucēs;

illa dedit turpēs raucīs būbōnibus umbrās,

volturis in rāmīs et strigis ōva tulit.20

hīs ego commīsī nostrōs insānus amōrēs

molliaque ad dominam verba ferenda dedī?

aptius hae capiant vadimōnia garrula cērae,

quās aliquis dūrō cognitor ōre legat;

inter ephēmeridas melius tabulāsque iacērent,25

in quibus absumptās flēret avārus opēs.

ergō ego vōs rēbus duplicēs prō nōmine sēnsī:

auspiciī numerus nōn erat ipse bonī.

quid precer īrātus, nisi vōs cariōsa senectūs

rōdat, et immundō cēra sit alba sitū?30

1.12: Shooting Messengers

This poem, as we have said, forms a pair with Amores 1.11. In the first poem we learned about the tabellae the poet sent to his girl, and in this one we learn that he has failed. [full essay]

1–2: trīstēs: "unhappy in their outcome," "grim," because they have failed in their mission. The tabellae are personified with this modifier. rediēre = rediērunt, perfect tense. infēlix: "ill-fated"; again, this adjective personifies the littera. littera: singular for plural. posse negat: "says that she cannot" (meet).

3–4: aliquid: "something important"; the omens mean something and must be given due consideration. modo: "only recently, just now." discēdere vellet = discessūra esset. digitōs ... īcta: "having been struck with respect to her toes," i.e., having stubbed her toe.

5–6: mementō: ‘remember to’; future imperative, regular with this verb.

7–8: hinc: "hence, from here"; adverb. difficilēs: difficilis can be used of persons (here of a personified object) to mean "difficult, obstinate." fūnēbria ligna: vocative, in apposition to difficilēs ... tabellae. negātūrīs ... notīs: ablative of means with referta; the future active participle negātūrīs indicates intention ("intending to deny").

9–10: puto: from the time of Ovid onwards a final ō of a verb is often shortened, as here, for metrical convenience; see AG §604g, and Raven, Latin Metre, p. 13. longae ... cicūtae: cicūta, -ae, f. "hemlock," a long stalked plant which produced a poison that was often used in ancient times to execute criminals. melle sub infāmī = sub infāmī melle. Honey imported from Corsica was notoriously bitter. The honeycomb (from which the wax came) settled "at the bottom of the notorious honey."

11–12: tamquam ... medicāta: "as if deeply dyed with cinnabar." minium, -(i)ī, n. "cinnabar" (sulphide of mercury, which produces a bright red pigment). ille color: the wax on a writing tablet was usually black or deep red. sanguinulentus: the ill-omened nature of the wax is obvious from this descriptor.

13–14: triviīs: "in crossroads," "in the gutter." iaceātis: hortatory subjunctive (AG §439). inūtile lignum: vocative. vōs: the 2nd person plural pronoun refers back to the plural addressee tabellae (line 7). onus: "weight" of a cart or other passing vehicle.

15–16: illum: accusative subject of the infinitive habuisse (16) in an indirect statement. vōs vertit in ūsum: "converted you into an object of use" (Barsby). vertō can mean "transform" or "undergo physical change." Here in the perfect tense. convincam: "I will prove that," governing an indirect statement. The tone is legalistic. pūrās ... manūs: "clean hands," i.e., the craftsman himself must have done something to bring this "bad mojo" to the wood of the tabellae.

17–18: illa arbor: names of trees in Latin are feminine, regardless of the noun’s declension. praebuit: "supplied" (wood for). suspendia > suspendium, -(i)ī, n. "the act of hanging oneself, a hanging," here "gallows"; plural for singular (unless miserō ... collō is singular for plural). dīrās ... crucēs: "terrifying crosses" for "crucifixion."

19–20: būbōnibus > būbō, -ōnis m./f. "owl"; specifically the horned or eagle owl, a bird of ill omen. voltur: "vulture," also a bird of ill omen. strigis: "screech owl," also ill-omened.

21–22: hīs: i.e. hīs tabellīs; dative indirect object with commīsī. insānus: adjective used adverbially: "was I insane enough to?" ferenda: gerundive expressing purpose or intention, "words to be delivered."

23–25: aptius ... /melius ... : comparative degree adverbs; the narrator suggests ways in which the tabellae could be used "more appropriately" and "better" than as a love missive.

23–24: capiant: "would contain"; potential subjunctive. The present subjunctive means that the reference is to the future (AG §447.3). vadimōnia: "guarantees"; the vadimōnium was a written agreement to appear in court for trial, and (like many legal documents) was typically written on wax tablets. garrula > garrulus -a -um, "talkative, chatty, babbling." Legal documents such as vadimōnia typically seemed wordy. cērae: = tabellae. dūrō ... ōre: ablative of manner; "with an unfeeling expression." cognitor: "attorney, learned counsel." legat: perhaps a relative clause of characteristic (AG §535).

25–26: ephēmeridas > ephēmeris, -idis or -idōs, f., Greek accusative plural; "day-book, account-book." tabulāsque: tabula is regularly used in plural to mean "account-books, ledgers." A tabulārium was the room in a Roman home where the owner’s account-books were kept. iacērent: potential subjunctive; the imperfect subjunctive means that the reference is to present (AG §447.3). flēret: "would be weeping over" (+ acc.), another relative clause of characteristic. Wax tablets are well-attested in business contexts, esepcially from Pompeii, where a famous set of 153 tablets was found documenting the business affairs of the banker Lucius Caecilius Iucundus. A fresco from the House of Julia Felix at Pompeii uses tabellae to symbolize wealth, along with piles of money and a sealed papyrus scroll (perhaps a will?). Note that here there are several tabellae bound together.

27–28: ergo ... sēnsī: "And so, I have realized (sēnsī) that you are ‘double’ in fact (rēbus) as well as in name." Wax tablets were typically bound in pairs, with the wax surface on the inner surfaces of the two tablets for protection. duplex, duplicis adj. has precisely the same double meaning as our "two-faced." auspiciī ... bonī: "was not of good omen"; genitive of quality (AG §345). numerus ... ipse = duo.

29–30: nisi = nisi ut. cariōsa > cariōsus, -a, -um, "decayed," though the original meaning of "rotten" (used of wood etc.) is also important. senectūs: the tabellae are personified as going through the ravages of old age. alba: white (with age). sitū > situs, sitūs, m. "neglect" or "physical deterioration."

tabella -ae f.: flat board, tablet; (pl.) writing tablet

infēlix -īcīs: ill-fated

ōmen -inis n.: omen, augury

digitus -ī m.: finger; toe

resistō -ere -stitī: stand still, halt, stop short

īciō īcere īcī ictum: strike

Napē -ēs f.: Nape ('wooded glen' in Greek)

forās: outside, out of doors5

cautus -a -um: cautious, careful, prudent

sōbrius -a -um: sober, moderate

fūnebris -e: funereal

lignum -ī n.: wood

cēra -ae f.: wax; writing tablet coated with wax; wax bust or figure

refertus -a -um: crammed, bursting with

nota -ae f.: sign, writing

cicūta -ae f.: hemlock

mel mellis n.: honey

infāmis -e: notorious, disreputable

Corsicus -a -um: Corsican

apis -is f.: bee10

minium -ī n.: cinnabar

penitus: adv. utterly, deeply

medicō -āre: treat, medicate (with); dye (with)

rubeō -ēre: redden, blush

sanguinulentus -a -um: accompanied by bloodshed; blood-red

prōiciō -icere iēci -iectum: cast forth, throw out, fling to the ground

trivium -ī n.: (often pl.) a crossroads, gutter

inūtilis -e: useless, unserviceable

rota -ae f.: wheel

praetereō -īre -iī -itum: go by, pass by

convincō -vincere -vīcī -victum: overcome; prove; convict16

pūrus -a -um: clean, pure, innocent

suspendium -ī n.: act of hanging oneself, a hanging; gallows

collum -ī n. : neck

carnifex -icis m.: executioner; butcher

dīrus -a -um: fearful, dire

crux -ucis f.: a cross

raucus -a -um: harsh-sounding, noisy

būbō -ōnis m.: owl

vultur (volt-) vulturis m.: vulture

rāmus -ī m.: branch

strix -gis f.: screech owl

ōvum -ī n.: egg20

insānus -a -um: mad, insane, senseless

vadimōnium -ī n.: guarantee

garrulus -a -um: talkative, chatty, babbling

cognitor: attorney, learned counsel

ephēmeris -idis f.: day-book, account-book

tabula -ae f.: account-book, ledger25

ābsūmō -sūmere -sūmpsī -sūmptum: take away; use up, consume, waste

avārus -a -um: greedy, miserly

duplex -icis: double, folded; deceitful, duplicitous

auspicium -ī n.: omen, sign

cariōsus -a -um: decayed, rotten

senectūs -ūtis f.: old age

rōdō rōdere rōsī rōsum: gnaw, eat away, erode

immundus -a -um: unclean, foul

situs -ūs m.: neglect; physcial deterioration30

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Suggested Citation

William Turpin. Ovid: Amores Book 1. Carlisle, Pennsylvania: Dickinson College Commentaries, 2012. ISBN: 978-1-947822-00-9. https://dcc.dickinson.edu/ovid-amores/amores-1-12