Book I: Elegy the Ninth: To Pholoe and Marathus

Tibullus (55 BC–19 BC), translated by Theodore Chickering Williams · 1905

fourteeners · rhyming couplets · 82 lines · from The Elegies

The language of a lover's eyes I cannot choose but see;The oracles in tender sighs were never dark to me.

No art of augury I need, nor heart of victims slain,Nor birds of omen singing forth the future's bliss or bane.

Venus herself did round my arm th' enchanted wimple throw,And taught me--Ah! not unchastised!--what wizardry I know.

Deceive me then no more! The god more furiously burnsWhatever wight rebelliously his first commandment spurns.

Fair Pholoe! what profits it to plait thy flowing hair?Why rearrange each lustrous tress with fond, superfluous care?

Why tint that blooming cheek anew? Or give thy fingers, Girl!To slaves who keep the dainty tips a perfect pink and pearl?

Why strain thy sandal-string so hard? or why the daily changeOf mantles, robes, and broideries, of fashions new and strange?

Howe'er thou hurry from thy glass in careless disarray,Thou canst not miss the touch that steals thy lover's heart away!

Thou needst not ask some wicked witch her potion to provide,Brewed of the livid, midnight herbs, to draw him to thy side.

Her magic from a neighbor's field the coming crop can charm,Or stop the viper's lifted sting before it work thee harm.

Such magic would the riding moon from her white chariot spill,Did not the brazen cymbals' sound undo the impious ill!

But fear not thou thy smitten swain of lures and sorcery tell,Thy beauty his enchantment was, without inferior spell.

To touch thy flesh, to taste thy kiss, his freedom did destroy;Thy beauteous body in his arms enslaved the hapless boy.

Proud Pholoe! why so unkind, when thy young lover pleads?Remember Venus can avenge a fair one's heartless deeds!

Nay, nay! no gifts! Go gather them of bald-heads rich and old!Ay! let them buy thy mocking smiles and languid kisses cold!

Better than gold that youthful bloom of his round, ruddy face,And beardless lips that mar not thine, however close th' embrace.

If thou above his shoulders broad thy lily arms entwine,The luxury of monarchs proud is mean compared with thine.

May Venus teach thee how to yield to all thy lover's will,When blushing passion bursts its bounds and bids thy bosom thrill.

Go, meet his dewy, lingering lips in many a breathless kiss!And let his white neck bear away rose-tokens of his bliss!

What comfort, girl, can jewels bring, or gems in priceless store,To her who sleeps and weeps alone, of young love wooed no more?

Too late, alas! for love's return, or fleeting youth's recall,When on thy head relentless age has cast the silvery pall.

Then beauty will be anxious art,--to tinge the changing hair,And hide the record of the years with colors falsely fair.

To pluck the silver forth, and with strange surgery and pain,Half-flay the fading cheek and brow, and bid them bloom again.

O listen, Pholoe! with thee are youth and jocund May:Enjoy to-day! The golden hours are gliding fast away!

Why plague our comely Marathus? Thy chaste severityLet wrinkled wooers feel,--but not, not such a youth as he!

Spare the poor lad! 'tis not some crime his soul is brooding on;'Tis love of thee that makes his eyes so wild and woe-begone!

He suffers! hark! he moans thy loss in many a doleful sigh,And from his eyes the glittering tears flow down and will not dry.

"Why say me nay?" he cries, "Why talk of chaperones severe?I am in love and know the art to trick a listening ear."

"At stolen tryst and rendez-vous my breath is light and low,And I can give a kiss so soft not even the winds may know.

"I creep unheard at dead of night along a marble floor,"Nor foot-fall make, nor tell-tale creak, when I unbar the door.

"What use are all my arts, if still my lady answers nay!"If even to her couch I came, she'd frown and fly away!

"Or when she says she will, 'tis then she doth most treacherous prove,"And keeps me tortured all night long with unrewarded love.

"And while I say 'She comes, she comes!' whatever breathes or stirs,"I think I hear a footstep light of tripping feet like hers!

"Away vain arts of love! false aids to win the fair!"Henceforth a cloak of filthy shag shall be my only wear!

"Her door is shut! She doth deny one moment's interview!"I'll wear my toga loose no more, as happier lovers do."

Have done, dear lad! In vain thy tears! She will not heed thy plea!Redden no more thy bright young eyes to please her cruelty!

I warn thee, Pholoe, when the gods chastise thy naughty pride,No incense burned at holy shrines will turn their wrath aside.

This Marathus himself, erewhile, made mock of lovers' moan,Nor knew how soon the vengeful god would mark him for his own.

He also laughed at sighs and tears, and oft would make delay,And oft a lover's fondest wish would baffle and betray.

But now on beauty's haughty ways he looks in fierce disdain;He scarce may pass a bolted door without a secret pain.

Beware, proud girl, some plague will fall, unless thy pride give way;Thou wilt in vain the gods implore to send thee back this day!

Words in this poem 35

bane v. t.: To be the bane of; to ruin. Fuller.
enchanted a.: Under the power of enchantment; possessed or exercised by enchanters; as, an enchanted castle.
wimple n.: A covering of silk, linen, or other material, for the neck and chin, formerly worn by women as an outdoor protection, and still retained in the dress of nuns. [OE. wimpel, AS. winpel; akin to D. & G. wimpel a pennant, streamer, OHG. wimpal a veil, Icel. vimpill, Dan. & Sw. vimpel a pennant, streamer; of uncertain origi]
wizardry n.: The character or practices o
wight n.: A whit; a bit; a jot. [OE. wight, wiht, a wight, a whit, AS. wiht, wuht, a creature, a thing; skin to D. wicht a child, OS. & OHG. wiht a creature, thing, G. wicht a creature, Icel. v]
commandment n.: An order or injunction given by authority; a command; a charge; a precept; a mandate. [OF. commandement, F. commandement.]
rearrange v. t.: To arrange again; to arrange in a different way.
tress n.: A braid, knot, or curl, of hair; a ringlet. [OE. tresse, OF. trece, F. tresse, LL. tricia, fr. Gr. tri`cha threefold, because a tress is usually formed by interlacing three pieces; akin to trei^s three. Se]
dainty n.: Value; estimation; the gratification or pleasure taken in anything. [OE. deinie, dainte, deintie, deyntee, OF. deintié delicacy, orig., dignity, honor, fr. L. dignitas, fr. dignus worthy. See Deign, and cf. Dignity.]
disarray v. t.: To throw into disorder; to break the array of. [Pref. dis- + array, v.: cf. OF. desarroyer, desarreier.]
spill n.: A bit of wood split off; a splinter. [sq. root170. Cf. Spell a splinter.]
beauteous a.: Full of beauty; beautiful; very handsome. [Mostly poetic] -- Beau"te*ous*ly, adv. --
hapless a.: Without hap or luck; luckless; unfortunate; unlucky; unhappy; as, hapless youth; hapless maid.
unkind a.: Having no race or kindred; childless. [See Kin kindred.]
heartless a.: Without a heart.
beardless a.: Without a beard. Hence: Not having arrived at puberty or manhood; youthful.
entwine v. t.: To twine, twist, or wreathe together or round. [Pref. en- + twine. Cf. Intwine.]
breathless a.: Spent with labor or violent action; out of breath.
priceless a.: Too valuable to admit of being appraised; of inestimable worth; invaluable.
relentless a.: Unmoved by appeals for sympathy or forgiveness; insensible to the distresses of others; destitute of tenderness; unrelenting; unyielding; unpitying; as, a prey to relentless despotism.
fading n.: An Irish dance; also, the burden of a song.
jocund: Merry; cheerful; gay; airy; lively; sportive. [L. jocundus, jucundus, orig., helpful, fr. juvare to help. See Aid.]
tryst v. i.: To mutually agree to meet at a certain place.
unheard a.: Not heard; not perceived by the ear; as, words unheard by those present.
creak v. i.: To make a prolonged sharp grating or ssqueaking sound, as by the friction of hard substances; as, shoes creak. [OE. creken, prob. of imitative origin; cf. E. crack, and. D. kreiken to crackle, chirp.]
unbar v. t.: To remove a bar or bars from; to unbolt; to open; as, to unbar a gate. Heber. [1st pref. un- + bar.]
henceforth adv.: From this time forward; henceforward.
shall v. i.: To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
naughty a.: Having little or nothing.
erewhile adv.: Some time ago; a little while before; heretofore.
vengeful a.: Vindictive; retributive; revengeful.
baffle v. i.: To cause to undergo a disgraceful punishment, as a recreant knight. [Cf. Lowland Scotch bauchle to treat contemptuously, bauch tasteless, abashed, jaded, Icel. bagr uneasy, poor, or bagr, n., struggle, bægja to push, treat harshl]
haughty a.: High; lofty; bold. [OE. hautein, F. hautain, fr. haut high, OF. also halt, fr. L. altus. See Altitude.]
scarce a.: Not plentiful or abundant; in small quantity in proportion to the demand; not easily to be procured; rare; uncommon. [OE. scars, OF. escars, eschars, LL. scarpsus, for L. excerptus, p. p. of excerpere to pick out, and hence to contract, to shorten; ex (see Ex-) + carpere. See C]
beware v. t.: To avoid; to take care of; to have a care for.

Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.

About this text

Book I: Elegy the Ninth: To Pholoe and Marathus is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Elegies, Project Gutenberg ebook #9610, the Theodore Chickering Williams translation; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.

Cite as: Tibullus, Book I: Elegy the Ninth: To Pholoe and Marathus, in The Elegies (1905), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #9610, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/tibullus-elegies/book-i-elegy-the-ninth-to-pholoe-and-marathus.html, id L14421.

Form and metre

Book I: Elegy the Ninth: To Pholoe and Marathus is 82 lines in 41 stanzas of 2 lines each. It is in rhyming couplets, 95% of the lines. The metre is fourteeners, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 13.8 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending.

See other poems in rhyming couplets, other poems in fourteeners.

Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.

Rhyme words, stanza by stanza

The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.

1 AA see^A · me^A
2 AA slain^A · bane^A
3 AA throw^A · know^A
4 AA burns^A · spurns^A
5 AA hair^A · care^A
6 AA girl^A · pearl^A
7 AA change^A · strange^A
8 AA disarray^A · away^A
9 AA provide^A · side^A
10 AA charm^A · harm^A
11 AA spill^A · ill^A
12 AA tell^A · spell^A
13 AA destroy^A · boy^A
14 AA pleads^A · deeds^A
15 AA old^A · cold^A
16 AA face^A · embrace^A
17 AA entwine^A · thine^A
18 AA will^A · thrill^A
19 AA kiss^A · bliss^A
20 AA store^A · more^A
21 AA recall^A · pall^A
22 AA hair^A · fair^A
23 AA pain^A · again^A
24 AA may^A · away^A
26 AA on^A · begone^A
27 AA sigh^A · dry^A
28 AA severe^A · ear^A
29 AA low^A · know^A
30 AA floor^A · door^A
31 AA nay^A · away^A
32 AA prove^A · love^A
33 AA stirs^A · hers^A
34 AA fair^A · wear^A
35 AA interview^A · do^A
37 AA pride^A · aside^A
38 AA moan^A · own^A
39 AA delay^A · betray^A
40 AA disdain^A · pain^A
41 AA way^A · day^A

Scansion, line by line

Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against fourteeners. How this is done.

Line	Syl.	Stress
The language of a lover's eyes I cannot choose but see;	14	·/˘··/˘··/˘···
The oracles in tender sighs were never dark to me.	12	·/˘·/˘··/···
No art of augury I need, nor heart of victims slain,	14	···/˘˘·····/˘·
Nor birds of omen singing forth the future's bliss or bane.	14	···/˘/˘··/˘···
Venus herself did round my arm th' enchanted wimple throw,	14	/˘˘/····˘/˘/˘·
And taught me--Ah! not unchastised!--what wizardry I know.	13	·········/˘··
Deceive me then no more! The god more furiously burns	12	˘/·······/˘·
Whatever wight rebelliously his first commandment spurns.	14	·/˘·······˘/˘·
Fair Pholoe! what profits it to plait thy flowing hair?	12	····/˘····/·
Why rearrange each lustrous tress with fond, superfluous care?	14	··˘/·/˘···/˘··
Why tint that blooming cheek anew? Or give thy fingers, Girl!	14	···/˘·˘/···/˘·
To slaves who keep the dainty tips a perfect pink and pearl?	14	·····/˘··/····
Why strain thy sandal-string so hard? or why the daily change	14	···/˘······/˘·
Of mantles, robes, and broideries, of fashions new and strange?	13	·/˘·····/˘···
Howe'er thou hurry from thy glass in careless disarray,	14	···/˘····/˘·˘/
Thou canst not miss the touch that steals thy lover's heart away!	14	·········/˘·˘/
Thou needst not ask some wicked witch her potion to provide,	14	·····/˘··/˘·˘/
Brewed of the livid, midnight herbs, to draw him to thy side.	14	···/˘/········
Her magic from a neighbor's field the coming crop can charm,	14	·/˘··/˘··/˘···
Or stop the viper's lifted sting before it work thee harm.	13	···//˘·······
Such magic would the riding moon from her white chariot spill,	14	·/˘··/˘····/˘·
Did not the brazen cymbals' sound undo the impious ill!	15	···/˘/˘·˘/·˘/˘·
But fear not thou thy smitten swain of lures and sorcery tell,	14	·····/˘····/˘·
Thy beauty his enchantment was, without inferior spell.	14	·/˘·˘/˘···˘/˘·
To touch thy flesh, to taste thy kiss, his freedom did destroy;	14	·········/˘·˘/
Thy beauteous body in his arms enslaved the hapless boy.	15	·/˘˘/˘···˘/·/˘·
Proud Pholoe! why so unkind, when thy young lover pleads?	13	·····˘/···/˘·
Remember Venus can avenge a fair one's heartless deeds!	14	˘/˘/˘·˘/···/˘·
Nay, nay! no gifts! Go gather them of bald-heads rich and old!	14	·····/˘·······
Ay! let them buy thy mocking smiles and languid kisses cold!	14	·····/˘··/˘/˘·
Better than gold that youthful bloom of his round, ruddy face,	14	/˘···/˘····/˘·
And beardless lips that mar not thine, however close th' embrace.	14	·/˘······/˘·˘/
If thou above his shoulders broad thy lily arms entwine,	14	·····/˘··/˘·˘/
The luxury of monarchs proud is mean compared with thine.	13	·/˘·/····˘/··
May Venus teach thee how to yield to all thy lover's will,	14	·/˘········/˘·
When blushing passion bursts its bounds and bids thy bosom thrill.	14	·/˘/˘······/˘·
Go, meet his dewy, lingering lips in many a breathless kiss!	14	···/˘/˘··/·/˘·
And let his white neck bear away rose-tokens of his bliss!	14	······˘/·/˘···
What comfort, girl, can jewels bring, or gems in priceless store,	14	·/˘··/˘····/˘·
To her who sleeps and weeps alone, of young love wooed no more?	14	······˘/······
Too late, alas! for love's return, or fleeting youth's recall,	14	··˘/··˘/·/˘·˘/
When on thy head relentless age has cast the silvery pall.	14	····˘/˘····/˘·
Then beauty will be anxious art,--to tinge the changing hair,	14	·/˘··/˘····/˘·
And hide the record of the years with colors falsely fair.	14	···/˘····/˘/˘·
To pluck the silver forth, and with strange surgery and pain,	13	···/˘····/˘··
Half-flay the fading cheek and brow, and bid them bloom again.	14	···/˘·······˘/
O listen, Pholoe! with thee are youth and jocund May:	13	·/˘·······/˘·
Enjoy to-day! The golden hours are gliding fast away!	14	˘/···/˘/·/˘·˘/
Why plague our comely Marathus? Thy chaste severity	13	··//˘·····˘/˘
Let wrinkled wooers feel,--but not, not such a youth as he!	13	·/˘··········
Spare the poor lad! 'tis not some crime his soul is brooding on;	14	···········/˘·
'Tis love of thee that makes his eyes so wild and woe-begone!	14	············˘/
He suffers! hark! he moans thy loss in many a doleful sigh,	14	·/˘······/·/˘·
And from his eyes the glittering tears flow down and will not dry.	14	·····/˘·······
"Why say me nay?" he cries, "Why talk of chaperones severe?	14	·········/˘·˘/
I am in love and know the art to trick a listening ear."	14	···········/˘·
"At stolen tryst and rendez-vous my breath is light and low,	14	·/˘···········
And I can give a kiss so soft not even the winds may know.	14	·········/····
"I creep unheard at dead of night along a marble floor,	14	··˘/····˘/·/˘·
"Nor foot-fall make, nor tell-tale creak, when I unbar the door.	14	··········˘/··
"What use are all my arts, if still my lady answers nay!	14	·········/˘/˘·
"If even to her couch I came, she'd frown and fly away!	13	·/·········˘/
"Or when she says she will, 'tis then she doth most treacherous prove,	14	···········/˘·
"And keeps me tortured all night long with unrewarded love.	14	···/˘·········
"And while I say 'She comes, she comes!' whatever breathes or stirs,	14	·········/˘···
"I think I hear a footstep light of tripping feet like hers!	14	·····/···/˘···
"Away vain arts of love! false aids to win the fair!	12	˘/··········
"Henceforth a cloak of filthy shag shall be my only wear!	14	//···/˘····/˘·
"Her door is shut! She doth deny one moment's interview!	14	······˘/·/˘/˘·
"I'll wear my toga loose no more, as happier lovers do."	14	···/˘····/˘/˘·
Have done, dear lad! In vain thy tears! She will not heed thy plea!	14	··············
Redden no more thy bright young eyes to please her cruelty!	13	/˘·········/˘
I warn thee, Pholoe, when the gods chastise thy naughty pride,	14	········˘/·/˘·
No incense burned at holy shrines will turn their wrath aside.	14	·/···/˘·····˘/
This Marathus himself, erewhile, made mock of lovers' moan,	16	····˘/·······/˘·
Nor knew how soon the vengeful god would mark him for his own.	14	·····/˘·······
He also laughed at sighs and tears, and oft would make delay,	14	·/˘·········˘/
And oft a lover's fondest wish would baffle and betray.	14	···/˘/˘··/˘·˘/
But now on beauty's haughty ways he looks in fierce disdain;	14	···/˘/˘·····˘/
He scarce may pass a bolted door without a secret pain.	14	·····/˘····/˘·
Beware, proud girl, some plague will fall, unless thy pride give way;	14	˘/············
Thou wilt in vain the gods implore to send thee back this day!	14	······˘/······

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