Propertius: Elegies: Book 1

by Propertius, W.A. Camps (Editor)

Propertius, though his works are small in volume, is one of the foremost poets of the Augustan age, and his writing has a certain appeal to modern tastes (witness the admiration of Ezra Pound). Book I is especially suitable for the reader wanting a representative selection of Propertius' poetry. It stands on its own, having appeared in the first place as a separate collection; it reflects a distinct phase of the poet's activity (and of his emotional development); and it is the book which made his reputation. This edition is designed for the pocket of the university student, but it should find a wider audience among classicists of all ages. The introduction provides the necessary historical and critical background and relates Book I to the rest of the elegies; the notes are helpful and to the point; and the text has a reasonable minimum of apparatus. There are no modern editions of this size and scope.

Genres: Poetry, Classics, Literature, Ancient

495 pages, Paperback

First published July 28, 1977

About the author

Sextus Aurelius Propertius was a Latin elegiac poet who was born around 50–45 BCE in Mevania (though other cities of Umbria also claim this dignity—Hespillus, Ameria, Perusia, Assisium) and died shortly after 15 BCE.

Propertius' surviving work comprises four books of Elegies. He was friends with the poets Gallus and Virgil, and had with them as his patron Maecenas, and through Maecenas, the emperor Augustus.

Reviews

[Emma Ann]

[UPDATE] Reread for comps. I liked it much better this time around—I don’t know why. Propertius, as a love elegist, is going for that same concise and deceptively-simple style as his precursor Catullus. This edition also has useful notes and commentary, although beginners/undergrads might wish for more grammar support.

***

[DEC ’22] Non mihi placuit.

[James Carrigy · Rating 4 out of 5]

8/10

Favourite Poems: Natural beauty, Cynthia's dangerous attractions, Further to i. 10, A house-door complains, It is not death he fears, The poet's birthplace and his loss.

Elegies for the horny and the dispossessed.

[Lucy]

Got bored, he really put his best poems at the beginning. Catullus is more fun

[Raven Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

i so do not need to cry over this! ……🥲