The Amores; or, Amours: Literally Translated into English Prose, with Copious NotesOvid
General
The Amores; or, Amours: Literally Translated into English Prose, with Copious Notes
Ovid
Latin poetry -- Adaptations; Latin poetry -- Translations into English
[Footnote 638: Late have the horns.--Ver. 6. This figure is derived
from the horns, the weapons of the bull. 'At length I have assumed the
weapons of defence.' It is rendered in a singular manner in Nisard's
Translation, 'Trop tard, helas 1 J'ai connu l'outrage fait a mon front.'
'Too late, alas! I have known the outrage done to my forehead.'!!!]
[Footnote 639: Have patience and endure.--Ver. 7. He addresses himself,
recommending fortitude as his only cure.]
[Footnote 640: The hard ground.--Ver. 10. At the door of his mistress;
a practice which seems to have been very prevalent with the Roman
lovers.]
[Footnote 641: I was beheld by him.--Ver. 15. As, of courser, his rival
would only laugh at him for his folly, and very deservedly.]
[Footnote 642: As you walked.--Ver. 17. By the use of the word
'spatiantis,' he alludes to her walks under the Porticos of Rome, which
were much frequented as places for exercise, sheltered from the heat.]
[Footnote 643: The Gods forsworn.--Ver. 22. This forms the subject of
the Third Elegy of the present Book.]
[Footnote 644: Young mem at banquets.--Ver. 23. See the Fifth Elegy of
the Second Book of the Amores.]
[Footnote 645: She was not ill.--Ver. 26. When he arrived, he found his
rival in her company.]
[Footnote 646: I will hate.--Ver. 35. This and the next line are
considered by Heinsius and other Commentators to be spurious.]
[Footnote 647: She who but lately.--Ver. 5. Commentators are at a
loss to know whether he is here referring to Corinna, or to his other
mistress, to whom he alludes in the Tenth Elegy of the Second Book,
when he confesses that he is in love with two mistresses. If Corinna was
anything more than an ideal personage, it is probable that she is not
meant here, as he made it a point not to discover to the world who was
meant under that name; whereas, the mistress here mentioned has been
recommended to the notice of the Roman youths by his poems.]
[Footnote 648: Made proclamation.--Ver. 9. He says that, unconsciously,
he has been doing the duties of the 'præco' or 'crier,' in recommending
his mistress to the public. The 'præco,' among the Romans, was employed
in sales by auction, to advertise the time, place, and conditions of
sale, and very probably to recommend and praise the property offered
for sale. These officers also did the duty of the auctioneer, so far
as calling out the biddings, but the property was knocked down by the
'magister auctionum.' The 'præcones' were also employed to keep silence
in the public assemblies, to pronounce the votes of the centuries, to
summon the plaintiff and defendant upon trials, to proclaim the victors
in the public games, to invite the people to attend public funerals,
to recite the laws that were enacted, and, when goods were lost, to cry
them and search for them. The office of a 'præco' was, in the time of
Cicero, looked upon as rather disreputable.]
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