Customer Reviews

Ovid: Tristia. Ex Ponto. (Loeb Classical Library, No. 151) (Vol 6) (English and Latin Edition)

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The top writer in one of the most powerful empires the world has ever known was mysteriously banished from the capital city by the mighty emperor Augustus himself for scandalous reasons ordered to be kept secret by Augustus and still secret to this day. This wonderful book contains the voice of this great exiled poet as he laments and expresses his personal feelings on his fate, never revealing the "secret", but offering us tantalizing clues as if he longs for someone someday to discover the forbidden truth of the Emperor's wrath. These two works, "Tristia," and "Letters from the Black Sea," have been largely ignored through the ages, left standing in the shadows of the famous "Metamorphoses" and Ovid's love poems. For those who wish to read the personal poetry, the "diary," of an exiled poet, this book is an absolute treasure. After reading this book, the reader can not help but feel as if he or she has now come to know Ovid on a friendly, intimate level. This book is a must for the serious lover of great literature.

In antique Latin literature, writings composed by great men in exile evolved, over time, into the consolation genre. In utilizing this method, the author usually addressed his far away loved ones with soft elegaic poems or epistles intended to be therapeutic to both the sender and recipient. At times, this genre could even take on a sarcastic and vituperative tone. Enemies, rivals, and unfaithful friends or lovers, were commonly exposed to the exiled author's wrath. Some major figures in this tradition were illustrious men like Cicero, Seneca and Boethius. Within the scope of this epoch, Ovid plays no minor role. For the Tristia and the Pontic Epistles influenced many subsequent Latin authors, while continuing to be widely read and highly regarded throughout the Middle Ages. For certain, in the most unanimously favoured book of the Middle Ages, the Consolation of Philosophy, significant traces of Ovidian influence are quite apparent in the prose and poetry portions of Boethius' work. So the overall value of this collection of letters should not be taken lightly. But the high-standing of the Tristia and Ex Ponto within the tradition of Latin literature is not the works only claim to merit. From this volume, we learn much about Ovid's character, while we are left with a sufficient impression about his place of exile. Also, his short autobiography is invaluable: it furnishes much material about his life and family history that otherwise would have been lost. Other historical content will be of use to the historian. For the poet, there are some pointers on how poetry should be written, and there are some helpful first-hand allusions about great poets like Ennius Statius, Virgil, Tibullus and Propertius. The poems themselves are very good and enjoyable to read; the only draw-back to them is the subject-matter, which becomes redundant and almost pathetic if read in large doses. However, this was not a fault, but rather a matter of Ovid's condition. He adjusts his Muse to fit his situation. In exile, he writes consolatory poems. Ovid himself points this out many times in these epistles. This volume is highly recommended. The Tristia and the Pontic Epistles will help students of the liberal studies cultivate many virtues of character, taste, and literary style, which will later prove to be beneficial to all facets of society.

Exiled to the Black Sea for a "carmen et error" Ovid produced these poems, addressed to his friends, his wife, his enemies, and Augustus. The general consensus has been that while Ovid's style and technical prowess are as brilliant as ever in these late works, they suffer from monotonous and depressing subject matter. Ovid complains about the cold and the barbarity of his surroundings, bemoans his fate, and makes abject and fulsome pleas for leniency to the princeps.

Such a view, in my opinion, disserves Ovid, particularly in light of his demonstrated talent and wit in the rest of his work. In the midst of a truly touching description of his last night in Rome, when describing the farewells of his household, he exclaims that he has (or wishes he had -- the Latin is ambiguous) "hearts joined with the faith of Theseus." (I.iii.66). While the reference is most obviously to the friendship of Theseus and Pirithous, it is not possible that the author of the Heroides would be unaware of the other loyalty associated with Theseus: his faithlessness to Ariadne. Thus the moving scene of Ovid's parting with his devoted wife takes on a darker irony in addition to its apparent emotional quality.

Similarly, Ovid's often embarrassingly overdone protestations of Augustus' greatness and mercy cannot be read completely unironically. Even the arguments ostensibly addressed directly to Caesar should not be seen as entirely earnest personal pleas. These are not private letters, or legal arguments, and there is no reason to think that they were even sent directly to be read by Augustus. Ovid was writing for a wider audience of intellectuals in Rome, among whom figured speech was expected and valued much more than direct statement. Just because Ovid claims to have lost his inspiriation and wit in his despondancy does not mean that we are supposed to read him at his word in this or in anything else. With this understanding, Ovid's poems from the edge of civilization are revealed to be clever, even humorous, and diverting in spite of their monothematic and tragic cast.