The fourth poem is a description of how Fama came to Ovid and told him of Pompeius' election to the consulship; Ovid then pictures the joyous scene of the accession. At the end of the poem he indirectly asks for Pompeius' assistance, praying that at some point he may remember him in exile. The device of having Fama report Pompeius' accession to the consulship serves to emphasize the importance of the event and raise the tone of the poem. Ovid had earlier used Fama as the formal addressee of _EP_ II i, which described his reaction to the news of Germanicus' triumph. In the fifth poem Ovid achieves a similar effect through the device of addressing the poem itself, giving it directions on where it will find Pompeius and what consular duties he might be performing[6]. Only in the concluding distich does Ovid direct the poem to ask for his assistance. [Footnote 6: Ovid had used a similar technique in _Tr_ I i, where he gives his book instructions for its voyage to Rome, including directions on how it should approach Augustus.] The fifteenth poem contains Ovid's most forceful appeal for Pompeius' assistance. It is interesting to observe the techniques Ovid uses to avoid offending Pompeius. The first part of the poem is a metaphorical description of how Ovid is as much Pompeius' property as his many estates or his house in Rome. This leads to Ovid's request: atque utinam possis, et detur amicius aruum, remque tuam ponas in meliore loco! quod quoniam in dis est, tempta lenire precando numina perpetua quae pietate colis. (21-24) He then attempts to compensate for the boldness of his request. First he says that his appeal is unnecessary: nec dubitans oro; sed flumine saepe secundo augetur remis cursus euntis aquae. (27-38) Then he apologizes for making such constant requests: et pudet et metuo semperque eademque precari ne subeant animo taedia iusta tuo (29-30) He ends the poem with a return to the topic of the benefits Pompeius has already rendered him. The letter to Suillius addressing Germanicus No poem in the fourth book of the _Ex Ponto_ is addressed to a member of the imperial family, but the greater part of IV viii, nominally addressed to Suillius, is in fact directed to his patron Germanicus. Suillius' family ties with Ovid and his influential position would have made it natural for Ovid to address him in the earlier books of the _Ex Ponto_ or even in the _Tristia_; and it is clear from the opening of the poem that Suillius must have distanced himself from Ovid: Littera sera quidem, studiis exculte Suilli, huc tua peruenit, sed mihi grata tamen