Humanitext Reader

Ovid · Letters from the Black Sea §1.10.1-1.10.44

Letter to Flaccus: Physical Decline in Exile and Prayer

Passage 11 of 52 · Latin

Summary

The poet Naso describes his physical decline, loss of appetite, and sleeplessness in exile to his friend Flaccus, thanking him and his brother for their support and asking them to pray to the gods for a mitigation of Caesar's anger.

§1.10.1Naso suo profugus mittit tibi, Flacce, salutem, §1.10.2mittere rem siquis, qua caret ipse, potest,
The exiled Naso sends you greeting, Flaccus, in his own name, if anyone can send a thing which he himself lacks.
§1.10.3longus enim curis vitiatum corpus amans §1.10.4non patitur vires languor habere suas.
For a long languor, loving a body ruined by cares, does not allow its limbs to have their strength.
§1.10.5nec dolor ullus adest, nec febribus uror anhelis, §1.10.6et peragit soliti vena tenoris iter.
Neither is any pain present, nor am I burned by panting fevers, and my pulse completes the journey of its accustomed course.
§1.10.7os hebes est positaeque movent fastidia mensae, §1.10.8et queror, invisi cum venit hora cibi.
My taste is dull, and the set tables arouse loathing, and I complain when the hour of hated food arrives.
§1.10.9quod mare, quod tellus, adpone quod educat aër, §1.10.10nil ibi, quod nobis esuriatur, erit.
Serve what the sea, what the land, what the air produces, there will be nothing there that is hungered for by me.
§1.10.11nectar et ambrosiam, latices epulasque deorum, §1.10.12det mihi formosa nava Iuventa manu, §1.10.13non tamen exacuet torpens sapor ille palatum, §1.10.14stabit et in stomacho pondus inerte diu.
Though active Youth with her beautiful hand should give me nectar and ambrosia, the liquids and feasts of the gods, yet that numbing taste will not sharpen my sluggish palate, and it will stand for a long time as a heavy weight in my inactive stomach.
§1.10.15haec ego non ausim, cum sint verissima, cuivis §1.10.16scribere, delicias ne mala nostra vocet, §1.10.17scilicet is status est, ea rerum forma mearum, §1.10.18deliciis etiam possit ut esse locus!
I would not dare to write these things, though they are most true, to anyone, lest he should call my misfortunes 'luxuries,' doubtless such is my status, such the shape of my affairs, that there could even be room for luxuries!
§1.10.19delicias illi precor has contingere, siquis §1.10.20ne mihi sit levior Caesaris ira timet.
I pray that these 'luxuries' fall to the lot of him, if there is anyone who fears lest Caesar's anger be lighter on me.
§1.10.21is quoque, qui gracili cibus est in corpore, somnus, §1.10.22non alit officio corpus inane suo.
Even that sleep, which is food to a slender body, does not nourish my empty body with its service.
§1.10.23sed vigilo vigilantque mei sine fine dolores, §1.10.24quorum materiam dat locus ipse mihi.
But I am awake, and my pains are awake without end, of which the place itself gives me the material.
§1.10.25vix igitur possis visos agnoscere vultus, §1.10.26quoque ierit quaeras qui fuit ante color,
Therefore, you could scarcely recognize my face if seen, and you would ask where the color has gone which was there before.
§1.10.27parvus in exiles sucus mihi pervenit artus, §1.10.28membraque sunt cera pallidiora nova.
Little juice reaches my thin limbs, and my limbs are paler than fresh wax.
§1.10.29non haec inmodico contraxi damna Lyaeo: §1.10.30scis mihi quam solae paene bibantur aquae,
I did not contract these damages through immoderate wine: you know how water alone is almost drunk by me.
§1.10.31non epulis oneror: quarum si tangar amore, §1.10.32est tamen in Geticis copia nulla locis,
I am not burdened with feasts: even if I were touched by love of them, yet there is no supply in the Getic lands.
§1.10.33nec vires adimit Veneris damnosa voluptas: §1.10.34non solet in maestos illa venire toros.
Nor does the damaging pleasure of Venus take away my strength: she is not accustomed to come to mournful beds.
§1.10.35unda locusque nocent et causa valentior istis, §1.10.36anxietas animi, quae mihi semper adest.
The water and the place do harm, and a cause more powerful than those, anxiety of mind, which is always present with me.
§1.10.37haec nisi tu pariter simili cum fratre levares, §1.10.38vix mens tristitiae nostra tulisset onus.
Unless you, along with your similar brother, were likewise to lighten these, scarcely would my mind have borne the burden of sadness.
§1.10.39vos estis fracto tellus non dura phaselo, §1.10.40quamque negant multi, vos mihi fertis opem.
You are a not-hard land to a shattered bark, and you bring me the aid which many deny.
§1.10.41ferte, precor, semper, quia semper egebimus illa, §1.10.42Caesaris offensum dum mihi numen erit.
Bring it, I pray, always, because we shall always lack it, as long as Caesar's offended divinity shall be mine.
§1.10.43qui meritam nobis minuat, non finiat, iram, §1.10.44suppliciter vestros quisque rogate deos.
Each of you, suppliantly pray to your gods for someone to lessen, not end, the deserved anger toward us.

Notes

  1. 1.10.1salutem — The wordplay on "salutem mittere" functions both as "to send greetings" and "to send health," which the exiled and ill Naso himself lacks.
  2. 1.10.15non ausim — Perfect subjunctive 1st person singular, functioning as a potential subjunctive to express a hesitant assertion ("I would not dare").
  3. 1.10.19ne mihi sit levior — A fearing clause introduced by "ne" after the verb "timet," expressing the hostile opponent's fear "lest Caesar's anger become lighter on me" (i.e., that Ovid might be forgiven).
  4. 1.10.37nisi tu pariter simili cum fratre levares, vix mens tristitiae nostra tulisset onus — A mixed conditional sentence where the protasis (levares) is in the imperfect subjunctive (present counterfactual) and the apodosis (tulisset) is in the pluperfect subjunctive (past counterfactual). It implies that without the brothers' ongoing support, Ovid's mind would have succumbed in the past.
  5. 1.10.43qui meritam nobis minuat — A relative clause of purpose or characteristic using the present subjunctive "minuat," serving as the object or modifier for "rogate deos" (pray to the gods [for someone] who might lessen the anger).

Cite this passage

Ovid, Letters from the Black Sea §1.10.1-1.10.44. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0959.phi009.humanitext-lat2:1.10.1-1.10.44

Please note the AI-draft status of the translation and the date accessed.

Translation, notes and summary are AI-generated drafts, revised through reader feedback.