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Ovid · Letters from the Black Sea §4.1.1-4.1.36

Gratitude and Appeal for Protection to Sextus Pompey

Passage 36 of 52 · Latin

Summary

The poet addresses his patron Sextus Pompey, apologizing for taking the liberty of naming him in his poetry but asserting that his gratitude cannot be restrained. He begs Pompey to protect him, comparing the poet to a masterpiece that a great artist naturally defends.

§4.1.1Accipe, Pompei, deductum carmen ab illo, §4.1.2debitor est vitae qui tibi, Sexte, suae. §4.1.3qui seu non prohibes a me tua nomina poni,
Accept, Pompey, the poem spun out by him, who owes his life to you, Sextus.
§4.1.4accedet meritis haec quoque summa tuis: §4.1.5sive trahis vultus, equidem peccasse fatebor, §4.1.6delicti tamen est causa probanda mei.
Who, whether you do not forbid your name to be placed by me, this also will be added to the sum of your merits: or whether you frown, I will indeed confess that I have sinned, yet the cause of my transgression must be approved.
§4.1.7non potuit mea mens, quin esset grata, teneri.
My mind could not be held back from being grateful.
§4.1.8sit precor officio non gravis ira pio.
May your anger not be heavy upon my dutiful devotion, I pray.
§4.1.9o, quotiens ego sum libris mihi visus in istis §4.1.10impius, in nullo quod legerere loco!
Oh, how many times have I seemed to myself in these books impious, because you were read in no place!
§4.1.11o, quotiens, alii cum vellem scribere, nomen §4.1.12rettulit in ceras inscia dextra tuum!
Oh, how many times, when I wished to write to another, did my unwitting right hand bring back your name upon the wax!
§4.1.13ipse mihi placuit mendis in talibus error, §4.1.14et vix invita facta litura manu est,
The error itself in such mistakes pleased me, and the erasure was made by a scarcely willing hand.
§4.1.15"viderit! ad summam "dixi "licet ipse queratur!
"Let him see to it!" I said, "in short, he may complain himself!
§4.1.16hanc pudet offensam non meruisse prius. " §4.1.17da mihi, siquid ea est, hebetantem pectora Lethen.
I am ashamed not to have deserved this offense earlier." Give me Lethe that dulls the heart, if indeed there is any such thing.
§4.1.18oblitus potero non tamen esse tui.
Yet I will not be able to be forgetful of you.
§4.1.19idque sinas oro, nec fastidita repellas §4.1.20verba, nec officio crimen inesse putes,
And I pray that you permit this, nor reject my words in distaste, nor think that there is a crime in my duty.
§4.1.21et levis haec meritis referatur gratia tantis: §4.1.22si minus, invito te quoque gratus ero.
And may this light gratitude be returned for such great merits; if not, I will be grateful even against your will.
§4.1.23numquam pigra fuit nostris tua gratia rebus, §4.1.24nec mihi munificas arca negavit opes.
Your favor was never slow in my affairs, nor did the strongbox deny me generous wealth.
§4.1.25nunc quoque nil subitis clementia territa fatis §4.1.26auxilium vitae fertque feretque meae.
Now too, your clemency, not at all terrified by sudden fates, brings and will bring help to my life.
§4.1.27unde rogas forsan fiducia tanta futuri
Perhaps you ask whence such great confidence of the future comes to me?
§4.1.28sit mihi? quod fecit, quisque tuetur opus.
Everyone protects the work which he has made.
§4.1.29ut Venus artificis labor est et gloria Coi, §4.1.30aequoreo madidas quae premit imbre comas: §4.1.31arcis ut Actaeae vel eburna vel aerea custos §4.1.32bellica Phidiaca stat dea facta manu: §4.1.33vindicat ut Calamis laudem, quos fecit, equorum: §4.1.34ut similis verae vacca Myronis opus: §4.1.35sic ego pars rerum non ultima, Sexte, tuarum §4.1.36tutelaeque feror munus opusque tuae.
As Venus is the labor and glory of the Coan artist, she who squeezes her hair wet with sea-spray; as the defender of the Actaean citadel, whether of ivory or bronze, stands, the warlike goddess made by Phidias' hand; as Calamis claims praise for the horses which he made; as the cow, like a real one, is the work of Myron: so I, a not insignificant part of your affairs, Sextus, am said to be the gift and work of your protection.

Notes

  1. 4.1.2qui tibi, Sexte, suae — The relative pronoun `qui` refers back to `illo` (that man, i.e., the poet himself) in the previous line. Although the antecedent is a third-person demonstrative, the relative clause contains the second-person pronoun `tibi` addressed to Sextus, emphasizing their personal relationship of obligation.
  2. 4.1.3qui seu non prohibes — The relative pronoun `qui` at the beginning of the clause refers to the poet himself and serves as the subject for the entire double conditional structure set up by `seu...` (§4.1.3–4) and `sive...` (§4.1.5–6). Although the main verb of the first conditional branch is `fatebor` (§4.1.5), the nominative case of `qui` controls the initial syntax.
  3. 4.1.7quin esset grata — A `quin` clause following the passive of a verb of ability/restraint accompanied by a negative (`non potuit... teneri`, "could not be held back"). The `quin` introduces the imperfect subjunctive `esset` in accordance with the sequence of tenses, forming a double negative meaning "from being grateful."
  4. 4.1.10legerere — A poetic shortened form of `legereris` (imperfect passive subjunctive, second person singular). The subjunctive is used because the `quod` clause introduces a subjective cause ("on the ground that/because you were being read").
  5. 4.1.15viderit — An idiomatic use of the third-person singular perfect subjunctive (or future perfect indicative) expressing concession or resignation: "let him look to it!" or "let him see to it himself!"
  6. 4.1.16pudet — The syntax of the impersonal verb `pudet` ("to be ashamed"). The person who feels ashamed (the accusative `me`) is omitted from context, and the cause of shame is expressed as the subject by the infinitive phrase `non meruisse...` ("not to have incurred this offense earlier").
  7. 4.1.36feror — The passive verb `feror` is used here in the sense of "I am said/reported to be" rather than "I am carried," taking the nominative complements `munus opusque` (the gift and work) to complete the copulative-like meaning.

Cite this passage

Ovid, Letters from the Black Sea §4.1.1-4.1.36. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0959.phi009.humanitext-lat2:4.1.1-4.1.36

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