by Peter Jones
poenās dō: lit. ‘give a penalty to’ (+ dat.), i.e. be punished by (dat.) with (abl.)
580 ferōx ferōc-is*
581 palleō 2 grow pale. Note the ‘apostrophe’
Bybli: voc. of Byblis
repuls-a ae 1f.*
582 obsideō 2 obsēdī obsessum beset, assail
glaciāl-is e*
*frīgus frīgor-is 3n. chill
584 uix : take with ictō . . . āere (i.e. barely audible)
585 meritō deservedly, naturally
quid: here and 586, ‘why?’
586 indici-um ī 2n. disclosure, revelation
quae: refers to uerba 587
cēlō 1 hide
587 cito quickly
588 ante: adverbial use, ‘before that’, ‘first’
ambigu-us a um*
589 praetemptō 1 test, try out in advance
nē nōn sequeretur euntem: supply aura (590) as understood subject, and mē with euntem as object; nē nōn i.e. ‘in case . . . not’; the image here is naval, of testing out a breeze to make sure it is favourable before setting off
590 *uēl-um ī 2n. sail
quālis: indirect question after notāre dēbueram
591 dēcurrō 3*
quae: ‘[I] who . . .’
592 explōrō 1*
linte-um ī 2n. sail
593 scopul-us ī 2m. rock
subuertō 3 subuersī subuersum overwhelm
594 obruor 3 pass.*
ōcean-us ī 2m.*
recurs-us ūs 4m. return, way back
595 quid quod ‘what of the fact that . . . ?’
ōminibus: see 571–2
596 indulgeō 2* (+ dat.)
597 excidō 3* (cēra is subject of both excidit and fēcit)
*cadūc-us a um fallen
598 diēs: i.e. the day on/time at which I sent the tablets
fuerat: mūtanda (599) completes fuerat
600 signaque certa: see 571–2
sān-us a um*
602 praesēns praesent-is*
aperiō 4 reveal
604 plūra . . . quam quae more than what
poteram: note the ind. with possum in a conditional sense ‘I would have been able’; so potuī, 605, 606; RLS2(c)Notes(6)
606 rēiciō 3/4 reject
607 adfūs-us a um prostrate
poscō 3 beg for
609 flectō 3 bend
poterant, potuissent: observe the distinction between ind. and subj. here
mentem: Caunus’, of course
610 forsitan perhaps (+ subj.)
611 adiīt: note heavy -īt. In some perfect verbs, too, the 3rd s. originally scanned heavy. See the note on solēt, 3.184
lēgit: note the long ē
idōne-us a um suitable
612 petiīt: see on adiīt above
uacō 1 be free, undistracted (referring to both hōram and animum)
613 tigris tigrid-is 3f.*
614 rigid-us a um*
silex silic-is 3m./f. flint
solid-us a um*
615 adamas adamant-is 3m. steel
lac lact-is 3n. milk
leaen-a ae 1f. lioness
616 nec taedia . . . manēbit: a promise she will be forced to fulfil (649 ff.)
taedi-um ī 2n. weariness
617 spirit-us ūs 4m.*
618 prīmum . . . fuit: ‘my first choice . . . ’, cf. secundum 619; note fuit ‘would have been’, cf. on possum above, 604–6
619 expugnō 1 succeed in, achieve (the image is one of successful siege warfare)
620 quippe the reason is that, for
ut: here used to mean ‘even supposing that’; cf. 628
621 nōn: remember the nec of 620, ‘it is impossible for him not to . . . ’
aus-um ī 2n. daring deed
622 quia: this means ‘because’. Byblis is reflecting on how Caunus would react if she gave up her approach to him
dēsinō 3 dēsiī give up, stop (sc. wooing him)
uoluisse: sc. to woo and win him
623 temptāsse: i.e. that I was not serious about him
īnsidi-ae ārum 2f. pl. traps, tricks
624 uel certē nōn: the main clause for these two lines is uicta [sc. esse]. . . crēdar, ‘I shall be believed [to have been] conquered’ 625
625 urgeō 2 assault
626 nequeō 4 be unable, be impossible (for someone)
nefand-us a um unspeakable, wicked, evil
627 reserō 1 reveal, lay bare
ut: see 620 above
628 adiciō 3/4 add (i.e. carry on in the same way)
innoxi-us a um guiltless
629 quod: ‘as for what . . . ’
multum in: i.e. there is much [to be gained] in . . . , but paruum in . . .
crīmina: i.e. further wrongdoing (she has done so much already)
630 discordi-a ae 1f.*
631 cum whereas, though
piget (impersonal) it irks, pains
temptāsse: contrast the tense with temptāre
libet (impersonal) it brings pleasure
632 committit: sc. ‘herself’
repellō 3*
633 fīnis abest: i.e. there was no end to what Byblis tried to do or say
634 peregrīn-us a um foreign
moen-ia ium 3n. pl. walls
635 Mīlētida: Greek acc. s. of Mīlētis, ‘daughter of Miletus’ i.e. Byblis
636 *dēficiō 3/4 dēfēcī fail in, lose control of (+ abl.); fade out, come to an end
ferunt: Ovid in ‘historical’ mode again
637 dēripiō 3/4 dēripuī pull X (acc.) down from (ā) Y
furibund-us a um*
638 dēmēns dēment-is*
inconcess-us a um forbidden
639 sīquidem since (this clause provides the evidence that she is now mad)
inuīs-us a um hated
penāt-ēs -um 3m. pl. household gods
640 profug-us a um exiled
641 utque: introducing a simile
tuō: refers to the ‘offspring of Semele’ (Bacchus) (apostrophe)
prōl-ēs is 3f. offspring
Semelēi-us a um of Semele (mother of Bacchus)
thyrs-us ī 2m. thyrsus (a wand carried by worshippers of Bacchus)
642 Ismari-us a um from Mount. Ismarus in Thrace (the scene of Bacchic orgies)
celebrō 1 throng, crowd into
trienni-um ī 2n. two-yearly festival/rites (Romans counted inclusively)
bacch-ae ārum 1f. pl. female Bacchic revellers, Bacchae
643 Byblida: Greek acc. s. of Byblis (take after nōn aliter)
aliter otherwise
ululō 1 shriek, howl
644 Būbas-is Būbasid-is (female) from Bubassus (a town in Caria, South-Western Turkey)
nur-us ūs 4f. young woman
645 Cāras: Greek acc. pl. of Cāres, Carians
armifer -a um*
Lelegas: Greek acc. pl. of Leleges, a Carian people
Lyci-a ae 1f. Lycia (an area south east of Caria)
pererrō 1*
646 Cragon: Greek acc. s. of Cragos, a town/mountain range in Lycia
Limyrēn: Greek acc. s. of Limyrē, a town/mountain range in Lycia
Xanth-us ī 2m. Xanthus (a river and town in Lycia)
647 quōque . . . iugō: ‘and what ridge’, ‘and the ridge where’
Chimaer-a ae 1f. Chimaera, a fabled monster (his constituent body parts are now described)
partibus: i.e. of its body
648 le-a ae 1f. lioness
649 lassāt-us a um exhausted
650 concidō 3*
651 Bybli: voc. of Byblis
frōns frond-is 3f. leaf
652 Lelegēis Lelegēid-is (woman) of the Leleges
uln-a ae 1f. arms
653 ut: how (introducing an indirect question)
medeor 2 dep. cure (+ dat.)
654 praecipiō 3/4 instruct
surd-us a um deaf
adhibeō 2 offer
solāci-um ī 2n. comfort, re
lief, consolation
655 mūt-us a um*
ungu-is is 3m. finger-nail
656 ūmectō 1 moisten
grāmen grāmin-is 3n. grass
rīu-us ī 2m. river, stream
657 Nāidas: Greek acc. pl., Naiads (acc. and inf. after ferunt)
hīs: (abl.) i.e. her tears
uēn-a ae 1f. water-course, channel
ārēscō 3 dry up
658 subpōnō 3 place X (acc.) under Y (abl.)
659 ut: introducing a simile
secō 1 secuī sectum cut
pice-us a um of pitch
cortex cortic-is 3m. bark
gutt-a ae 1f. drop, drip
660 tenāx tenāc-is clinging (a golden line)
grauid-us a um pregnant, fertile
*mānō 1 ooze, drip, flow
bitūmen bitūmen-is 3n. tar
661 aduent-us ūs 4m. arrival
spīrō blow, breathe
lēne gently
Fauōni-us ī 2m. West wind
662 sōle . . . unda: take in order unda quae . . . remollēscit sōle
remollēscō melt
663 cōnsūmō 3*
Phoebēi-us a um grandchild of Phoebus/Apollo. Compare Arethusa (passage 10, 5.636), who like-wise ‘dissolves’ into a stream
664 uall-is is 3f. valley
665 īlex īlic-is 3f. holm-oak, ilex
Notes
517–29: At the moment, Byblis has done nothing wrong: she is merely harbouring terrible feelings and thoughts. So her mind is in turmoil about the action she has decided to take because she knows her desires will have dreadful consequences; even now that she has made up her mind (she thinks), she acknowledges her feelings are madness (519–20). Such self-contradictions are meat and drink to Ovid. The trembling hand that takes up the tablet (521) cannot decide what to write (522–7 – a marvellous evocation of a stalled brain: might it be significant that ferrum [522] can also mean ‘sword’?), because her outrageous audācia (determination to tell all) clashes with her pudor (her desire to keep it all secret, 527), a moment dramatised by her inability to write to Caunus as soror (528). The wax tablet is a mess of deletions (529) before she finally starts. The whole passage is a fine example of Ovid’s power of depicting a mental state – in this case, a mind in turmoil – by its physical manifestations, naturally whetting our appetite for what Byblis will eventually say.
530–46: Roman letters always begin with a formulaic greeting, a common one being ‘The sender [nom.] to the recipient [dat.] SPD’ = salūtem plūrimam dat ‘gives very much salūs’, where salūs means ‘good luck, good health’ (cf. saluē ‘hullo, greetings’). Here the sender is an amāns, who turns out to be female (habitūra, 530), sending a salūtem (531) which she immediately says she cannot expect to enjoy herself unless the recipient of the letter reciprocates it (530). She is after something – but what? She goes on to admit that pudor prevents her from naming herself (531), but lets her name emerge after all (533) in a convoluted expression of her desire to do no such thing unless her hopes are met (534). Not that the name tells the recipient of the letter anything – yet: Caunus may be surrounded by legions of girls named Byblis willing him into their arms. But at all events, this is a strange beginning to a letter: the recipient will surely wonder what the problem is with the sender. It immediately emerges: her wounded heart (535, cf. 540, 543–4), expressed in terms of a number of physical symptoms of inner feelings culminating in excessively physical actions (embraces, kisses) – and the forbidden word, sorōria, finally emerging (535–9, cf. 528). The truth is now out for Caunus. At once, Byblis offers the classic defence: she admits she has been wounded (i.e. by love) and is mad (540–2) and claims she has done all she can to fight back against it, but to no avail (543–5; note the self-pitying īnfēlīx 544). Under compulsion therefore (cogor: it is always someone else’s fault), she can only, timidly (appealing to the masculine in him), beg Caunus’ help (546). This is the argument of self-pitying exploitation: ‘I can’t help what I am doing: therefore you must.’
547–63: Having boxed the wholly innocent Caunus into a corner, Byblis turns the guilt screw – it’s now all your responsibility (not mine), and my fate is in your hands (547–8). That sounds threatening, so she hastens to assure Caunus that she is doing all this as a friend, who just wishes to be bound (note the helpless passive, as if it is none of her doing) by closer ties (548–50). Byblis dismisses arguments about right and wrong: they are for old men to argue about (551–2), she says, while we are of an age for rash adventure (553), and are prepared to believe anything is permitted, especially since this is the example the gods set (554–5: it tells us all we need to know about Byblis’ state of mind that at 542 she called on the gods to witness her heroic struggle against her feelings, and at 555 cites them as justification for yielding to them!). She dismisses arguments about conventional proprieties: strict fathers, desire for fame, or fear cannot stop us, since we (note the use of ‘we’ and ‘our’ throughout: Caunus is automatically assumed to be a willing partner) make physical contact anyway, and can therefore go all the way without attracting suspicion (558–61). Finally, she appeals for pity (561–2) and ends with a threat (563). The whole brilliant speech is straightforward blackmail: in what other terms can Byblis couch it?
564–73: At once Ovid tell us this packed epistle (the last line squeezed into the margin) will not work (nēquīquam, 564) – or is Ovid telling us what Byblis feels? (The same question can be asked of sua crīmina, 566.) Physical symptoms again indicate emotional state (567 and pudibunda 568); and for a second time Byblis has difficulty in articulating her relationship with her brother in terms of a sibling (570, cf. 528). An omen accompanies her handing over of the tablets. She knows it is an omen. She ignores it (571–2). latentia uerba surely has a double meaning – the words are indeed hidden inside the tablets, but they also carry a secret (573), which is about to be revealed.
574–84: Caunus’ reaction is predictable (574–6) – he does not even need to read the whole thing (575) – and his threat to ‘shoot the messenger’ is withdrawn only because of his sense of pudor (578). That is all we need to know about him to realise that Byblis will never get her way. Byblis’ physical reaction on hearing the news briefly freezes her (581–2: note the apostrophe), but when she gathers herself, her old madness returns (583).
585–600: She now regrets her haste in committing herself to a written message in which all was revealed (cf. 564, 573); before that, she now thinks, she should have tested Caunus out face to face ambiguīs dictīs (588), and gauged the wind before launching out on the high seas (589–92) and finding herself shipwrecked (593–4). This nautical image may sit strangely in the mouth of a woman; but Byblis is no ordinary woman, and she is now in full (male) ‘heroic’ mode (compare e.g. the ‘masculinised’ figure of Medea in Euripides’ Medea). Besides, she goes on, she was warned by the omen not to go ahead (595–600, cf. 571–2); not that the omen meant she was wrong, only that she had chosen the wrong day (598–9)! This is significant: Byblis is not repenting of what she hoped to achieve (she cannot believe her uoluntās should have been changed), but rather lamenting over the bad timing that led to her failure. In this sense alone, she admits she had been male sāna (600): but her failure to think straight related not to the wrong she knew she was doing but her inability to achieve it.
601–12: Summarising her unsuccessful tactics (601–2), she fantasises about what would have happened had she spoken to Caunus face to face (fantasy, because of the evidence of 574–9 and because she admits her feeling are furōrēs). She imagines that her tears, looks (603), words (604), embraces (605), threats to commit suicide and self-prostration (606–7) would have succeeded as a package, whereas individual elements of it might not (608–9). When Byblis wonders if the slave was to blame for not handing over the tablets at a suitable moment (610–12, cf. 572–3), it is clear she has taken delusion and excuses to new heights.
613–19: But the past is past; now she must lo
ok to the future. She argues that, since Caunus is not a wild animal or entirely inanimate, i.e. congenitally unsusceptible to human charms (613–15), she must continue to hammer away at him while life remains in her (616–17). She obviously does not know her man: he is congenitally unsusceptible to her charms by the very fact that he is human and her desires so non-human. Repeating the point that it would have been better not to have started the way she did (i.e. with the letter), she affirms she now has no option but to go on and win through. Note expugnāre, an image taken from laying siege to and storming a town – the ‘heroic’ Byblis again (cf. the nautical image at 589–92).
620–9: But what will Caunus make of all this? Surely, she thinks, he will admire her (male heroic?) daring (620–1); but if she gives up now, he will assume she was not really serious, but merely overcome by lust rather than by the god who is responsible for her feelings (622–5)! She has a high opinion of the persuasive power of her ‘sincerity’ if she thinks Caunus would be moved by that argument (he could not care less whether she was moved by a god or not: he just wants her to stop). But Byblis is desperate. She realises she is trapped, since she knows she has done wrong already (626), her wishes are now out in the open (627) and therefore she is (already) guilty whatever she does (628). So, having committed all the crīmina she has, she may as well plough on and at least hope to have her wishes fulfilled (629) – which would, of course, add another crīmen, incest. But Byblis is not thinking straight.
630–40: Indeed, she is hardly thinking at all, as Ovid makes clear: discordia mentis says it all (630), as she decides the only thing to do now is what she regrets having done in the past (631). So if there was once a moral issue at stake for her, there is no longer. There is a simply a tactical issue – how do I get my way, at whatever cost? Abandoning all restraint, the īnfēlīx girl (a touch of sympathy here) willingly lays herself open to a life of permanent rejection (631–2; for repellī, cf. repulsā 581), with the result that Caunus leaves Miletus for foreign parts (633–4: he founds, as one would, the town of Caunus, on the south-west coast of modern Turkey). At this, Byblis goes into the equivalent of mourning, ripping her clothes, beating her arms (635–7). Now openly deranged and freely admitting to her feelings (638–9), she too abandons Miletus and sets out after the brother she has effectively driven into exile (profugī, 640).
641–8: She is like a maddened bacchant as she wanders howling across Asia (641–4), first going south to Bubassus (644), then north through Caria to the Leleges (645), then back to the south coast again (further east) into Lycia (645) and the three towns/mountains/rivers there (646–8) before (apparently) winding up again with the Leleges. This is a crazed itinerary indeed; to be pedantic, about 700 miles (if the Leleges are as far north as the Troad).
