By Sextus Propertius
Those ardent, even obsessed, poems approximately erotic ardour are one of the brightest jewels within the crown of Latin literature. Written via Propertius, Rome's maximum poet of affection, who used to be born round 50 b.c., a latest of Ovid, those elegies inform of Propertius' tormented courting with a lady he calls "Cynthia." Their connection used to be occasionally completely satisfied, extra usually agonizing, yet because the poet got here to acknowledge, it went past delight or disgrace to turn into the defining occasion of his lifestyles. even if it was once Propertius' particular goal, those elegies expand our principles of wish, and of the human situation itself.
Read Online or Download Propertius in Love: The Elegies (A Joan Palevsky Book in Classical Literature) PDF
Similar nonfiction_3 books
Night of Ghosts and Lightning (Planet Builders, No. 2)
E-book through Tallis, Robyn
Extra info for Propertius in Love: The Elegies (A Joan Palevsky Book in Classical Literature)
Example text
If only the winds could hear my prayers to blow onshore where I often stand with my fists clenched and declaim to the world 17 how thoughtless, how mindlessly cruel you are to me. But never mind what you surely deserve; I wish you luck, and hope that lovely Galatea, the sea-nymph, may bless your voyage. I trust that your oarsmen will clear Epirus’ headland and you will reach Illyria’s harbor 20 safe and sound. 8b She’ll stay! She has promised she’s not going anywhere. Envy bursts like a bubble. We win!
My soul is starved for her kisses. My ear thirsts for her whispers. It’s not the way it was when we pleased each other, defying Envy itself. It’s as if some god had decided I was in need of a little refresher course in human pain. Or is it some herb from Prometheus’ peaks 10 that Medea kept in her kit to interfere with lovers? Whatever it is, I’m sadly diminished. Distance changes a woman’s heart, and the great strength of our passion is undermined. I spend my nights alone, morose and full of self-pity.
That night—how earthily unearthly— I’ll remember as long as I live: I watched you make love as if from a great height, and your humping and pumping, gasping and groaning seemed endearing. The hour was late, and I was half asleep. The blushing moon was setting, but there you were, Gallus, my trusting friend, locked in embrace with that girl, and as you moved, I was moved by the way you let me share in your intimate pleasure. I offer, beyond my discrete silence, this small reward of the skills I’ve acquired in long and difficult years 10 in my mistress’ demanding school.
