The Erotic Elegies of Albius Tibullus with the Poems of Sulpicia Arranged As A Sequence Called No Harm To Lovers by Hubert Creekmore (review)

BOOK REVIEW / COMPTES-RENDUS 39 THE EROTIC ELEGIES OF ALBIUS TIBULLUS WITH THE POEMS OF SULPICIA ARRANGED AS A SEQUENCE CALLED NO HARM TO LOVERS translated by Hubert Creekmore, illustrated by Edward Melcarth. New York: Washington Square Press, 1966. Pp. xx, 161. $7.95. Although this handsomely produced edition of the poems cOlDlDonly ascribed to Tibullus or Sulpicia (I: II: III 8-20. IV 2-14 of the co1"pus Tibullianum). containing K. F. Smith's Latin text facing Creekmore's fine translation into English verse, and the latter's elementary introduction, notes and glossary, is intended primarily for those generally interested in literature who may perhaps remember some Latin, I hope to gain forbearance from the Manes of Mr Creekmore for endeavouring to comment merely on its usefulness to the teacher in a high school. The translations themaelves, some revisions of work published between 1950 and 1957, others new, are eminently readable and full of good things for the teacher; they can not, however, be recommended indiscriminately for pupils (Creekmore begins (p. 3) with one of the many examples that substantiate this: 'Let others scrape together a hoard of tawny ~old ••• And daunt approaching foes with the endless toil of war'. The conclusions that those of uncertain gramma r may draw on the syntax of quem labor adsiduu8 vicino terreat haste are not pleasant to contemplate). Splendid and delicate touches abound, especially in the rendering of difficult lines such as (p. 5), 'To sleep serene and wake and doze to raindrop lullabies' for secul"W7I somnos imbre iuvante sequi. and poetic devices, particularly alliteration, are used tastefully and usually in imitation of TibulIus (e.g. p. II, 'With incantations she cracks the ground , c':)njures ghosts from tombs'). Adverse criticism I put forward with considerable hesitation; expressions like (p. 57) 'fagged out', 'outguzzles', (p. 95) 'sloshing' are hardly consistent with Tibullus' purity of diction, Creekmore's use of the (p. xix) 'potentialities of free verse lines' is not always suitable 'to indicate the formal qualities of the poems', and, finally, the terseness and vitality of the poems by Sulpicia must remain notoriously hard to capture in an English translation despite this praiseworthv attempt. The introduction (pp. ix-xx) deals with the life of Tibullus. the themes most common in his poetry, and the history of elegy. Little is said about the character and style of Tibullus, on which subject a good,responsible, but slightly unorthodox, critique by J.P. Elder may be found in Criticat Essays on Roman Litemture : Etegy and Lyric (pp. 65-105), edited by J.P. Sullivan, London, 1962. On Latin elegy in general teachers should find matter of interest in G. Luck, The Latin Love Etegy, London, 1959, and especially in A.A. Day. The Origins of Latin Love-Etegy. Oxford, 1938. A few corrections and modifications should be made in Creekmore's own account: the origins of Roman elegy are much wider than he suggests and include Greek pastoral poetry and new comedy; there is no conclusive evidence that Callimachus 'had been moving toward ••• the subjective-erotic elegy'; Creekmore exaggerates the influence of Parthenius (as far as our present knowledge shows); the statement that Propertius 'wrote only elegies of love' is correct but may grossly mislead anybody who understsnds by it 'wrote only love-elegies'. The notes (pp. 127-146), based upon K.F. Smith's valusble edition, and glossary (}>I" l47-161) contain information readily accessible in dictionaries of classical mythology and antiquities and are mainly sound, despite an occasional failure to 40 BOOK REVIEW I COHPIES-RENOUS observe scholarly caution. However, (pp. 147 and 148) Aeneas did not found Rome and even those who decry pedantry must recoil at the collocation (p. 128) I Anthony ••• Octavianus·. My most important criticism i8 that for general readers and pupils learning LaUn at school the bare recital of a myth or custom 1s not interesting without background information. The latter Creekmore only rarely attempts; for instance , his comments on the paracLausi.thyroon are (p. 128) 'Lovers, for one or another reason, were often locked out; and lovers' quarrels. involving violence to the person and the house, were fairly commonplace both 8S a literary theme and...