The Last Poems of Ovid | Page 6

it appears from vi 29-38 that he had a considerable reputation as a forensic orator, although some allowance must be made for possible exaggeration in Ovid's description of his close friend. The poem contains six lines on the death of Fabius Maximus, to whom Ovid had addressed _EP_ I ii and III iii; perhaps he and Brutus had been associates.
Five epistles are addressed to Ovid's fellow poets. Cornelius Severus, the recipient of the second poem, was one of the most famous epic poets of the day; he is mentioned by Quintilian (X i 89), and the elder Seneca preserves his lines on the death of Cicero (_Suas_ VI 26), Albinovanus Pedo, the recipient of the tenth epistle, was known as a writer of hexameter verse and of epigram. He served in Germanicus' campaign of AD 15 (Tac _Ann_ I 60 2), and the elder Seneca preserves a fragment of his poem on Germanicus' campaigns (_Suas_ I 15). It might be argued that in addressing him Ovid is once again trying to win Germanicus' favour. But in view of his intimacy with Ovid (mentioned at Sen _Cont_ II 2 12), Albinovanus seems a natural choice to receive one of Ovid's letters. Tuticanus, the recipient of the twelfth and fourteenth poems and author of a _Phaeacid_ based on Homer (mentioned at xii 27 and again in the catalogue of poets at xvi 29), is known only through the _Ex Ponto_; the same is true of Carus, author of a poem on Hercules and, as already mentioned, tutor of the sons of Germanicus.
Vestalis, the recipient of the seventh poem, is in a class separate from the other recipients of Ovid's verse epistles. As _primipilaris_ of the legion stationed in the vicinity, he would of course have been without influence at Rome, but as (apparently) the prefect of the region around Tomis, he presumably had some control over Ovid's circumstances.
The traitorous friend to whom the third poem is addressed was a real person, for Ovid is quite explicit when speaking of their past together and of the friend's perfidy towards him; the same cannot be said of the _inuidus_ to whom is addressed the concluding poem of the book, a defence of Ovid's reputation as a poet.
Cotta Maximus, the younger son of Tibullus' patron Messalla, is prominently mentioned at xvi 41-44 as an unpublished poet of outstanding excellence. He is the recipient of six letters in the earlier books of the _Ex Ponto_. Syme finds it significant that there is no poem in _EP_ IV addressed to Cotta: 'Ovid ... was now concentrating his efforts elsewhere: Germanicus, the friends of Germanicus, Sextus Pompeius ... The tardy tribute may perhaps be interpreted as a veiled reproach' (_HO_ 128). But arguments from silence are dangerous; and Ovid's mention of Cotta seems flattering enough.
It is perhaps safer to postulate a change in Ovid's feelings towards his wife. She is never mentioned in _EP_ IV, although she had been the recipient of some eight earlier letters from exile (_Tr_ I vi, III iii, IV iii, V ii, xi, xiv, _EP_ I iv, III i; _Tr_ V v was written in honour of her birthday). At _EP_ III vii 11-12 Ovid indicates that his wife's efforts on his behalf had not matched his hopes:
nec grauis uxori dicar, quae scilicet in me?quam proba tam timida est experiensque parum.
The fact that Ovid chose not to address any verse epistle to his wife during his final years at Tomis may well reflect a cooling in his attitude towards her.
Differences between _Ex Ponto_ IV and the earlier poetry from exile
The criticism most often made of Ovid's poems from exile is that they are repetitive and therefore monotonous. _EP_ III ix 1-4 shows that the same criticism was made while Ovid was still alive:
Quod sit in his eadem sententia, Brute, libellis,?carmina nescio quem carpere nostra refers:?nil nisi me terra fruar ut propiore rogare,?et quam sim denso cinctus ab hoste loqui.
Ovid does not attempt to deny the criticism, but explains that he wished to obtain the assistance of as many people as possible:
et tamen haec eadem cum sint, non scripsimus isdem,?unaque per plures uox mea temptat opem.
(41-42)
nec liber ut fieret, sed uti sua cuique daretur?littera, propositum curaque nostra fuit.?postmodo collectas utcumque sine ordine iunxi:?hoc opus electum ne mihi forte putes.?da ueniam scriptis, quorum non gloria nobis?causa, sed utilitas officiumque fuit.
(51-56)
Ovid's explanation is reasonable enough, and is confirmed by the speed with which he composed the first three books of the _Ex Ponto_ once he knew that it was safe to name people in his verse. The first three books of the _Ex Ponto_, like the _Tristia_, were written with the single objective of securing Ovid's recall, and this naturally caused a certain repetition of subject-matter.
By the time Ovid wrote the poems that would form the