The poem is the longest in the book, and combines several almost unrelated sections dealing with a number of subjects. The first section of the poem, the celebration of Graecinus' nomination to the consulship, is very heavily indebted to IV iv, Ovid's first poem on Sextus Pompeius' election to the consulship. The section detailing Flaccus' presence near Tomis owes something to IV vii, the letter to Vestalis. The description of Ovid's reputation in Tomis is new, and shows a softening of his attitude towards his fellow-townsmen, but the description of his piety to the imperial family owes much to III ii, a letter of thanks to Cotta for the gift of images of the members of the family. The poem's discursiveness and large number of derived elements suggest a hasty composition. =1. GRAECINE.= Graecinus became a _frater Arualis_ in 21 (_CIL_ VI 2023); the C. Pomponius Graecinus of _CIL_ XI 5809 (Iguvium) seems not to have survived to enter the Senate (Syme _HO_ 74-75). Graecinus is not mentioned in literary sources apart from Ovid, but his brother Flaccus was rather more famous: see at 75 (p 308). =3. DI FACIANT= looks like a colloquial expression. Other instances at iv 47-48 '_di faciant_ aliquo subeat tibi tempore nostrum / nomen', _Tr_ V xiii 17, and Prop II ix 24. =3. AVRORAM= here is virtually equivalent to _diem_; it is not found elsewhere in the poetry of exile, but compare _Fast_ I 461 & II 267-68 'tertia post idus nudos aurora Lupercos / aspicit'. =3. OCCVRRAT.= 'Arrive', as commonly: compare Cic _Phil_ I 9, Livy XXXVII 50 7 '_ad comitiorum tempus occurrere_ non posse', and Pliny _Ep_ VI xxxiv 3 'uellem Africanae [_sc_ pantherae] quas coemeras plurimas _ad praefinitum diem occurrissent_'. =4. BIS SENOS= = _duodecim_, metrically difficult because of its initial three consecutive short vowels. Roman poets avoid using the usual names for numbers above _nouem_, with the obvious exceptions of _centum_ and _mille_; sometimes, as here, metrical exigencies left them with no alternative. For _bis seni_ (_sex_) Tarrant at Sen _Ag_ 812 _bis seno ... labore_ cites Ennius _Ann_ 323 Vahlen2, _Ecl_ I 43, _Aen_ I 393, Prop II xx 7, _Met_ VIII 243, _Fast_ I 28, Sen _Tro_ 386 & _Oed_ 251, and from Greek Callimachus _Aetia_ I fr. 23 19 Pfeiffer. =6. TVRBAE.= Compare iv 27 'cernere iam uideor rumpi paene atria _turba_'. =7. IN DOMINI SVBEAT PARTES.= _Partes_ = 'function'; see at ii 27 _uix uenit ad partes ... Musa_ (p 170). For _subeat_ 'undertake' compare Quintilian X i 71 'declamatoribus ... necesse est secundum condicionem controuersiarum plures _subire personas_' and the passages cited at _OLD subeo_ 7b.