Customer Reviews

Propertius, Elegies (Loeb Classical Library No. 18)

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This edition is the best, although I have it on good source that Oxford will be publishing a Propertius even better than this sometime in the next year. Propertius' poetry has the most modern feel of any Latin poet; read him and understand why Pound et al. loved him so.

This book contains the first book of poetry by Propertius with commentary in the back to help the reader with difficult grammar, ambiguous meaning, or other problems common within latin poetry.
Poetry: Propertius was an Augustan age poet, an elegist following somewhat in the footsteps of Catullus. He was a romantic, and most of his poetry either praises or complains about his girlfriend, Cynthia. Since he is a little less dirty than Catullus, he is slightly more suitable for serious study in the classroom, and I enjoyed his poetry very much. Latin students who enjoy Catullus or Horace would enjoy Propertius.
Commentary: Excellent. Propertius uses references to mythology that can be very obscure, but the notes delight in giving the background to the reader. I found the notes extremely helpful in my translation work and appreciated the depth of explanation for the ambiguous passages.
If you want to read Roman poetry, Propertius in particular, I highly reccommend this book.

The elegies of Propertius were written during the peaceful and progressive age of Augustus. This Golden Age was the hallmark of Latin literature; it was an age where poets enjoyed idyllic leisure and generous funding for their works. Propertius belonged to the elite class of poets who wrote at the behest, and under the patronage of, the magnanimous Maecenus. Propertius thrived in this company of poets which comprised of masters like Horace and Virgil. Others too of his time were Tibullus, Catallus, and Ovid. For this reason, he is not as well known today as he should; he will always linger in their shadows, but majestically and with the piercing light of respect. The Elegies of Propertius are divided into four books according to their subject matter. Throughout the work, Propertius is primarily occupied with love poetry--with his more than likely fictitious mistress, Cynthia. At times he moves to different themes but his muse invariably takes him back to the "service of Venus." It would be detrimental for anyone who enjoys Latin poetry to pass this gem-of-a-volume up. Even for the lover of contemporary poetry, the Elegies contain strikingly modern elements agreeable to modern tastes; and this updated edition is rid of the linguistic archaisms found in the earlier Loeb editions. This is a must have for all poetry lovers.