Ovid begins the poem by expressing his pleasure at receiving, at last, a letter from Suillius, saying he hopes that Suillius does not feel ashamed of being related to him by marriage (1-20). He then asks him to address Germanicus on his behalf (21-26). In 27-30 he says how grateful he will be if Germanicus assists him; at 31 he begins to address Germanicus directly in a tripartite defence of poetry. The first part (31-42) builds on 34 'Naso suis opibus, _carmine_, gratus erit': Ovid is now poor, but can still offer Germanicus his poetry. The second section (43-66) builds on 43-44 'nec tamen officio uatum per _carmina_ facto / principibus res est aptior ulla uiris', and explains how verse brings immortality to great men and their deeds. The third section (67-78) offers culminating evidence for the value of poetry: Germanicus is himself a poet. Ovid moves from this to a final plea that Germanicus help his fellow-poet: once removed from Tomis, he will praise him in verse (79-88). In the final distich of the poem, he asks Suillius to assist his prayer. The structure of the poem is similar to that of _Tr_ V ii. In that poem Ovid addresses his wife for the first thirty-eight lines, telling her of his misery and asking her to approach Augustus on his behalf. In the six lines that follow, he asks himself what he will do if she fails him; he answers that he will make his own direct approach to Augustus. The final thirty-four lines are his prayer to Augustus, in which he describes the hardships he endures at Tomis and begs for a mitigation of his punishment. It is remarkable that in both poems direct addresses to members of the imperial family should be disguised in this way: it seems probable that _Tr_ II, Ovid's long defence of his conduct, had been received by Augustus with hostility, and that he was thenceforth more circumspect. =1-2. SERA QVIDEM ... GRATA TAMEN.= _Tamen_ goes with _grata_, balancing _quidem_. For instances of the separate _serus tamen_ idiom ('it is late in happening, but it does in fact happen') see Nisbet and Hubbard at Hor _Carm_ I xv 19. =1. SERA QVIDEM.= It seems that in spite of his being a close relative of Ovid, Suillius, like Sextus Pompeius (see the introduction to i), had been reluctant to be openly associated with him. =1. STVDIIS EXCVLTE.= 'Refined'. _Studiis_ adds little to the force of _exculte_: the same idiom at Quintilian XII ii 1 'mores ante omnia oratori _studiis_ erunt _excolendi_' and Cic _Tusc_ I 4 'ergo in Graecia musici floruerunt, discebantque id omnes, nec qui nesciebat satis _excultus doctrina_ putabatur'.