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Ovid · Letters from the Black Sea §2.11.1-2.11.28

Letter to Rufus: Constant Friendship and Thanks for Guiding His Wife

Passage 23 of 52 · Latin

Summary

The poet sends a poem from Pontus to his friend Rufus to express his unchanging friendship despite being far apart, and shows deep gratitude for Rufus's noble character and his kind support and guidance to the poet's wife.

§2.11.1Hoc tibi, Rufe, brevi properatum tempore mittit §2.11.2Naso, parum faustae conditor Artis, opus, §2.11.3ut, quamquam longe toto sumus orbe remoti, §2.11.4scire tamen possis nos meminisse tui.
To you, Rufus, this work, hastened in a brief time, sends Naso, the author of too little fortunate "Art," so that, although we are removed far in the whole world, yet you may be able to know that we remember you.
§2.11.5nominis ante mei venient oblivia nobis, §2.11.6pectore quam pietas sit tua pulsa meo: §2.11.7et prius hanc animam vacuas reddemus in auras, §2.11.8quam fiat meriti gratia vana tui.
Forgetfulness of my own name will come to me before your devotion is expelled from my breast: and we shall return this soul to the empty air before the gratitude for your service becomes vain.
§2.11.9grande voco lacrimas meritum, quibus ora rigabas §2.11.10cum mea concreto sicca dolore forent: §2.11.11grande voco meritum maestae solacia mentis, §2.11.12cum pariter nobis illa tibique dares,
I call a great service the tears with which you used to wet my face when my own was dry with frozen grief: I call a great service the consolations of a sad mind, when you gave them equally to us and to yourself.
§2.11.13sponte quidem per seque mea est laudabilis uxor, §2.11.14admonitu melior fit tamen illa tuo.
Of her own accord indeed and through herself my wife is praiseworthy, yet she becomes better by your advice.
§2.11.15namque quod Hermionae Castor fuit, Hector Iuli, §2.11.16hoc ego te laetor coniugis esse meae.
For what Castor was to Hermione, and Hector to Iulus, I rejoice that you are this to my wife.
§2.11.17quae ne dissimilis tibi sit probitate laborat, §2.11.18seque tui vita sanguinis esse probat,
She strives lest she should be unlike you in honesty, and proves by her life that she is of your blood.
§2.11.19ergo quod fuerat stimulis factura sine ullis, §2.11.20plenius auctorem te quoque nancta facit,
Therefore, what she would have done without any spurs, having found you also as a backer, she does more fully.
§2.11.21acer et ad palmae per se cursurus honores, §2.11.22si tamen horteris, fortius ibit equus,
Even a spirited horse, about to run for the joys of the palm by himself, will go more strongly if you nevertheless urge him.
§2.11.23adde quod absentis cura mandata fideli §2.11.24perficis, et nullum ferre gravaris onus.
Add that you perform the things entrusted by an absent man with faithful care, and you are reluctant to bear no burden.
§2.11.25o, referant grates, quoniam non possumus ipsi, §2.11.26di tibi! qui referent, si pia facta vident; §2.11.27sufficiatque diu corpus quoque moribus istis, §2.11.28maxima Fundani gloria, Rufe, soli.
O, may the gods return thanks to you, since we ourselves cannot, the gods! who will return them, if they see pious deeds; and may your body also long suffice for those habits, Rufus, the greatest glory of the Fundanian soil.

Notes

  1. §2.11.1Hoc ... mittit / Naso ... opus — The demonstrative pronoun hoc in line 1 and the noun opus in line 2 are separated by a hyperbaton, enclosing the subject Naso and its appositive phrase conditor ... Artis.
  2. §2.11.5ante ... quam — The adverb ante in line 5 and the conjunction quam in line 6 function correlatively to form a temporal clause meaning "before."
  3. §2.11.15quod Hermionae Castor fuit, Hector Iuli — In line 15, Hermionae is a dative ("to Hermione") and Iuli is a genitive ("of Iulus"), functioning in parallel. The relationship of protective kinsman is implied in both cases: "what Castor was to Hermione, [and what] Hector [was] to Iulus."
  4. §2.11.19fuerat factura — A periphrastic active future conjugation combining the future active participle factura with fuerat (used instead of erat), expressing a past intention: "what she was going to do."
  5. §2.11.27moribus istis — Dative case. It functions as the indirect object of the intransitive verb sufficiat ("to suffice for" or "to be equal to"), expressing a wish that his physical body (corpus) may long endure and remain equal to his noble character (moribus).

Cite this passage

Ovid, Letters from the Black Sea §2.11.1-2.11.28. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0959.phi009.humanitext-lat2:2.11.1-2.11.28

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