Tibullus: Elegies I

by Tibullus, Paul Murgatroyd (Editor)

This edition of Book I of Tibullus' Elegies (first century BC) includes introduction, the Latin text and notes on the text. The editor gives particular attention to philological matters and questions of nuance in Tibullus' language.

Genres: Classics, Poetry

352 pages, Paperback

First published September 30, 1995

About the author

Albius Tibullus (c. 55 BC – 19 BC) was a Latin poet and writer of elegies. His first and second books of poetry are extant; many other texts attributed to him are of questionable origins.

Tibullus's chief friend and patron was Marcus Valerius Messalla Corvinus, himself an orator and poet as well as a statesman and a commander. Messalla, like Gaius Maecenas, was at the centre of a literary circle in Rome. This circle had no relationship with the court, and the name of Augustus is found nowhere in the writings of Tibullus. About 30 BC Messalla was dispatched by Augustus to Gaul to quell a rising in Aquitania and restore order in the country, and Tibullus may have been in his retinue. On a later occasion, probably in 28, he would have accompanied his friend who had been sent on a mission to the East, but he fell sick and had to stay behind in Corcyra. Tibullus had no liking for war, and though his life seems to have been divided between Rome and his country estate, his own preferences were wholly for the country life.

The loss of Tibullus's landed property is attested by himself (i. I, 19 seq.), "Felicis quondam, nunc pauperis agri" ("Fields of one once prosperous, now impoverished" ;cf. 41, 42). Its cause is only an inference, though a very probable one. That he was allowed to retain a portion of his estate with the family mansion is clear from ii. 4, 53. Tibullus may have been Messalla's contubernalis in the Aquitanian War (Vita Tib. and Tib. i. 7, 9 seq., a poem composed for Messalla's triumph), and may have received militaria dona (Vita Tib.).

Tibullus died prematurely, probably in 19,[1] and almost immediately after Virgil. His death made a deep impression in Rome, as we learn from his contemporary, Domitius Marsus, and from the elegy in which Ovid (Amores, iii. 9) enshrined the memory of his predecessor.

Reviews

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

My rating is more reflective of the quality of the edition than how much I actually liked the poems. Turns out love elegy really doesn't captivate me. My friend and I working on our graduate summer reading lists together much preferred Horace's odes to Tibullus' elegies. Tibullus' persona doesn't seem to have a sense of humor about himself or the situation(s), which I assume is indicative of love elegy. I also preferred Horace's varied metrical style - in elegy you only have the elegaic couplet and it starts to bore.

As for Murgatroyd's commentary, it's excellent. Murgatroyd's scholarship is very deliberate and methodical. The intended audience seems to be advanced undergraduate students and above, but less advanced students will still get a lot out of this edition. My one small quibble is the lack of a metrical introduction to Tibullus. As I said before, the meter is simple but I would have appreciated a learned opinion on Tibullus' metrical practice. Historical background on ancient writers is much easier to find than focused metrical analysis.

[Annelinde · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nou ik heb dit boek niet gelezen hoor alleen elegie 1.1(en misschien een beetje .3 geoefend met vertalen geloof ik maar weet niet zeker)
Puik heur ik wens hem z'n cottagecore droom van harte toe

[max]

I first encountered Tibullus as an undergraduate. I had read Vergil, but only Vergil among the Latin poets. I was immediately impressed by the elegance of his elegiac couplets and the pastoral topics he frequently dwells upon. His style is marked by careful attention to sound qualities (assonance, for example), and a lucid clarity not unlike that found in the elegiacs of Ovid. Although the transitions from one idea to the next in some of his poems are somewhat difficult to follow, he is one of the best Latin poets whose rightful place next to contemporaries such as Vergil, Horace, Propertius and Ovid cannot be questioned.