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Ovid · Letters from the Black Sea §1.2.1-1.2.77

Appeal to Maximus: Hardships in Tomis and Plea for Intercession

Passage 2 of 52 · Latin

Summary

Ovid appeals to Maximus, describing the harsh realities of his exile in Tomis and humbly begging him to intercede for Augustus's clemency.

§1.2.1Maxime, qui tanti mensuram nominis imples, §1.2.2et geminas animi nobilitate genus, §1.2.3qui nasci ut posses, quamvis cecidere trecenti, §1.2.4non omnes Fabios abstulit una dies, §1.2.5forsitan haec a quo mittatur epistula quaeras, §1.2.6quisque loquar tecum, certior esse velis,
Maximus, you who fill the measure of so great a name, and double your lineage by the nobility of your mind, so that you could be born, although three hundred fell, a single day did not carry off all the Fabii, perhaps you may ask by whom this letter is sent, and wish to be more certain who it is that speaks with you.
§1.2.7ei mihi, quid faciam? vereor ne nomine lecto §1.2.8durus et aversa cetera mente legas.
Ah me, what shall I do? I fear lest, when the name is read, you will read the rest with a harsh and averted mind.
§1.2.9videris.
That is for you to decide.
audebo tibi me scripsisse fateri §1.2.11qui, cum me poena dignum graviore fuisse §1.2.12confitear, possum vix graviora pati.
I will dare to confess that I have written to you, I who, though I confess that I have been worthy of a heavier punishment, can scarcely endure heavier sufferings.
§1.2.13hostibus in mediis interque pericula versor, §1.2.14tamquam cum patria pax sit adempta mihi:
I live in the midst of enemies and among dangers, as if peace had been taken from me along with my country.
§1.2.15qui, mortis saevo geminent ut vulnere causas, §1.2.16omnia vipereo spicula felle linunt.
They, so that they may double the causes of death with a cruel wound, smear all their darts with viper's gall.
§1.2.17his eques instructus perterrita moenia lustrat §1.2.18more lupi clausas circumeuntis oves:
Equipped with these, the horseman patrols the terrified walls in the manner of a wolf going around the closed sheepfold.
§1.2.19et semel intentus nervo levis arcus equino §1.2.20vincula semper habens inresoluta manet.
And the light bow, once drawn by the horse-hair string, remains with its bonds always unresolved.
§1.2.21tecta rigent fixis veluti velata sagittis, §1.2.22portaque vix firma summovet arma sera.
The roofs are stiff, as if veiled with fixed arrows, and the gate with its strong bar scarcely wards off their weapons.
§1.2.23adde loci faciem nec fronde nec arbore tecti, §1.2.24et quod iners hiemi continuatur hiems.
Add the aspect of the place, covered with neither leaf nor tree, and that inactive winter is joined to winter.
§1.2.25hic me pugnantem cum frigore cumque sagittis §1.2.26eumque meo fato quarta fatigat hiems,
Here, as I fight with the cold and with the arrows, and with my fate, a fourth winter fatigues me.
§1.2.27fine carent lacrimae, nisi cum stupor obstitit illis: §1.2.28et similis morti pectora torpor habet,
Tears lack an end, except when stupor has blocked them; and a torpor like death possesses my breast.
§1.2.29felicem Nioben, quamvis tot funera vidit, §1.2.30quae posuit sensum saxea facta malis!
Happy Niobe, although she saw so many deaths, who lost her feeling when made stone by her misfortunes!
§1.2.31vos quoque felices, quarum clamantia fratrem §1.2.32cortice velavit populus ora novo!
You too are happy, whose mouths, crying for your brother, the poplar veiled with new bark!
§1.2.33ille ego sum, lignum qui non admittar in ullum: §1.2.34ille ego sum, frustra qui lapis esse velim.
I am that man who shall not be admitted into any wood; I am that man who in vain would wish to be a stone.
§1.2.35ipsa Medusa oculis veniat licet obvia nostris, §1.2.36amittet vires ipsa Medusa suas.
Though Medusa herself should come before our eyes, Medusa herself will lose her power.
§1.2.37vivimus ut numquam sensu careamus amaro, §1.2.38et gravior longa fit mea poena mora.
I live so that I may never lack bitter feeling, and my punishment becomes heavier by long delay.
§1.2.39sic inconsumptum Tityi semperque renascens §1.2.40non perit, ut possit saepe perire, iecur.
Thus the unconsumed and ever-reborn liver of Tityus does not perish, so that it may be able to perish often.
§1.2.41at, puto, cum requies medicinaque publica curae §1.2.42somnus adest, solitis nox venit orba malis,
But, I suppose, when sleep, the rest and common medicine for care, is present, the night comes bereft of its accustomed evils.
§1.2.43somnia me terrent veros imitantia casus, §1.2.44et vigilant sensus in mea damna mei.
Dreams terrify me, imitating true disasters, and my senses are awake to my own ruin.
§1.2.45aut ego Sarmaticas videor vitare sagittas, §1.2.46aut dare captivas ad fera vincla manus, §1.2.47aut ubi decipior melioris imagine somni, §1.2.48aspicio patriae tecta relicta meae.
Either I seem to avoid Sarmatian arrows, or to offer captive hands to cruel chains, or, when I am deceived by the image of a better sleep, I behold the abandoned roofs of my country.
§1.2.49et modo vobiscum, quos sum veneratus, amici, §1.2.50et modo cum cara coniuge multa loquor.
And now with you, friends whom I have revered, and now with my dear wife, I speak many things.
§1.2.51sic ubi percepta est brevis et non vera voluptas, §1.2.52peior ab admonitu fit status iste boni.
Thus, when a brief and unreal pleasure has been felt, that state of mine becomes worse from the remembrance of the good.
§1.2.53sive dies igitur caput hoc miserabile cernit, §1.2.54sive pruinosi Noctis aguntur equi, §1.2.55sic mea perpetuis liquefiunt pectora curis, §1.2.56ignibus admotis ut nova cera solet,
Therefore, whether the day beholds this miserable head, or the frosty horses of Night are driven, so my breast melts with perpetual cares, as new wax is wont to do when fires are brought near.
§1.2.57saepe precor mortem, mortem quoque deprecor idem, §1.2.58ne mea Sarmaticum contegat ossa solum,
Often I pray for death, and yet I, the same man, deprecate death, lest the Sarmatian soil should cover my bones.
§1.2.59cum subit Augusti quae sit clementia, credo §1.2.60mollia naufragiis litora posse dari.
When the clemency of Augustus comes to mind, I believe that gentle shores can be granted to shipwrecked men.
§1.2.61cum video quam sint mea fata tenacia, frangor, §1.2.62spesque levis magno victa timore cadit,
When I see how tenacious my fates are, I am broken, and my light hope, conquered by great fear, falls.
§1.2.63nec tamen ulterius quicquam sperove precorve, §1.2.64quam male mutato posse carere loco.
Yet I neither hope nor pray for anything further than to be able to be free from this badly changed place.
§1.2.65aut hoc, aut nihil est, pro me temptare modeste §1.2.66gratia quod salvo vestra pudore queat.
Either this, or it is nothing, which your favor, with your shame preserved, can modestly attempt for me.
§1.2.67suscipe, Romanae facundia, Maxime, linguae, §1.2.68difficilis causae inite patrocinium.
Undertake, Maximus, eloquence of the Roman tongue, enter upon the defense of a difficult cause.
§1.2.69est mala, confiteor, sed te bona fiet agente, §1.2.70lenia pro misera fac modo verba fuga.
It is a bad cause, I confess, but it will become good under your advocacy; only make gentle words on behalf of my miserable flight.
§1.2.71nescit enim Caesar, quamvis deus omnia norit, §1.2.72ultimus hic qua sit condicione locus,
For Caesar, although as a god he knows all things, does not know in what condition this most distant place is.
§1.2.73magna tenent illud numen molimina rerum: §1.2.74haec est caelesti pectore cura minor.
Great undertakings of state occupy that divinity; this care is a minor one for his heavenly breast.
§1.2.75nec vacat, in qua sint positi regione Tomitae, §1.2.76quaerere, finitimo vix loca nota Getae, §1.2.77aut quid Sauromatae faciant, quid Iazyges acres
Nor has he leisure to ask in what region the Tomitae are placed, a place scarcely known to the neighboring Geta, or what the Sauromatae are doing, or the fierce Iazyges.

Notes

  1. 1.2.3ut posses — "ut posses" is a subjunctive of purpose in the second person singular, forming an adverbial clause embedded within the relative clause beginning with "qui" ("so that you could be born"). The antecedent of the relative pronoun "qui" is "Maxime" in line 1, and the main subject of the sentence is "una dies" in line 4.
  2. 1.2.9videris — The second-person singular future perfect indicative (or perfect subjunctive) of the verb "video." It is used idiomatically here in an independent clause to mean "that is for you to see/decide" or "I leave it to your judgment."
  3. 1.2.26eumque — In the manuscript tradition, this word is widely understood as a corruption of "cumque" (and with). It is most naturally interpreted as completing a threefold parallel structure with "cum": "cum frigore cumque sagittis cumque meo fato" (with the cold, and with the arrows, and with my fate).
  4. 1.2.41puto — A parenthetical verb meaning "I suppose" or "I think," used here with an ironic or rhetorical tone to introduce the thought that sleep should normally bring relief from sufferings, which the subsequent lines immediately contradict.
  5. 1.2.66salvo pudore — An ablative absolute composed of the noun "pudor" and the adjective "salvus," functioning adverbially to mean "with (your) shame preserved" or "without loss of honor," showing the speaker's consideration not to place an undue burden on his friends.

Cite this passage

Ovid, Letters from the Black Sea §1.2.1-1.2.77. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0959.phi009.humanitext-lat2:1.2.1-1.2.77

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