Book I: Elegy the Tenth: To Venal Beauty

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

iambic pentameter · ABAB · 94 lines · from The Elegies

Why, if my sighs thou wert so soon to scorn,Didst dare on Heaven with perjured promise call?Ah! not unpunished can men be forsworn;Silent and slow the perjurer's doom shall fall.

Ye gods, be merciful! Oh! let it beThat beauteous creatures who for once offendYour powers divine, for once may go scot-free,Escape your scourge, and make some happy end!

'Tis love of gold binds oxen to the plough,And bids their goading driver sweat and chide;The quest of gold allures the ship's frail prowO'er wind-swept seas, where stars the wanderers guide.

By golden gifts my love was made a slave.Oh, that some god a lover's prayer might hear,And sink such gifts in ashes of a grave,Or bid them in swift waters disappear!

But I shall be avenged. Thy lovely graceThe dust of weary exile will impair;Fierce, parching suns will mar thy tender face,And rude winds rough thy curls and clustering hair.

Did I not warn thee never to defileBeauty with gold? For every wise man knowsThat riches only mantle with a smileA thousand sorrows and a host of woes.

If snared by wealth, thou dost at love blaspheme,Venus will frown so on thy guilty deed,'Twere better to be burned or stabbed, I deem,Or lashed with twisted scourge till one should bleed.

Hope not to cover it! That god will comeWho lets not mortal secrets safely hide;That god who bids our slaves be deaf and dumb,Then, in their cups, the scandal publish wide.

This god from men asleep compels the cryThat shouts aloud the thing they last would tell.How oft with tears I told thee this, when IAt thy white feet a shameful suppliant fell!

Then wouldst thou vow that never glittering goldNor jewels rare could turn thine eyes from me,Nor all the wealth Campania's acres hold,Nor full Falernian vintage flowing free.

For oaths like thine I would have sworn the skiesHold not a star, nor crystal streams look clear:While thou wouldst weep, and I, unskilled in lies,Wiped from thy lovely blush the trickling tear.

Why didst thou so? save that thy fancy strayedTo beauty fickle as thine own and light?I let thee go. Myself the torches made,And kept thy secret for a live-long night.

Sometimes I led to sudden rendezvousThe flattered object of thy roving joys.Mad that I was! Till now I never knewHow love like thine ensnares and then destroyes.

With wondering mind I versified thy praise;But now that Muse with blushes I requite.May some swift fire consume my moon-struck lays,Or flooding rivers drown them out of sight!

And thou, O thou whose beauty is a trade,Begone, begone! Thy gains bring cursed ill.And thou, whose gifts my frail and fair betrayed,May thy wife rival thine adulterous skill!

Languid with stolen kisses, may she frown,And chastely to thy lips drop down her veil!May thy proud house be common to the town,And many a gallant at thy bed prevail!

Nor let thy gamesome sister e'er be saidTo drain more wine-cups than her lovers be,Though oft with wine and rose her feast is redTill the bright wheels of morn her revels see!

No one like her to pass a furious nightIn varied vices and voluptuous art!Well did she train thy wife, who fools thee quite,And clasps, with practised passion, to her heart!

Is it for thee she binds her beauteous hair,Or in long toilets combs each dainty tress?For thee, that golden armlet rich and rare,Or Tyrian robes that her soft bosom press?

Nay, not for thee! some lover young and trimCompels her passion to allure his flameBy all the arts of beauty. 'Tis for himShe wastes thy wealth and brings thy house to shame.

I praise her for it. What nice girl could bearThy gouty body and old dotard smile?Yet unto thee did my lost love repair--O Venus! a wild beast were not so vile!

Didst thou make traffic of my fond caress,And with another mock my kiss for gain?Go, weep! Another shall my heart possess,And sway the kingdom where thou once didst reign.

Go, weep! But I shall laugh. At Venus' doorI hang a wreath of palm enwrought with gold;And graven on that garland evermore,Her votaries shall read this story told:

"Tibullus, from a lying love set free,O Goddess, brings his gift, and asks new grace of thee."

Words in this poem 27

didst: , the 2d pers. sing. imp. of Do.
perjured a.: Guilty of perjury; having sworn falsely; forsworn.
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,]
beauteous a.: Full of beauty; beautiful; very handsome. [Mostly poetic] -- Beau"te*ous*ly, adv. --
scourge n.: A lash; a strap or cord; especially, a lash used to inflict pain or punishment; an instrument of punishment or discipline; a whip. [F. escourgée, fr. L. excoriata (sc. scutica) a stripped off (lash or whip), fr. excoriate to strip, to skin. See Excoriate.]
parching a.: Scorching; burning; drying.
wealth n.: Weal; welfare; prosperity; good. [OE. welthe, from wele; cf. D. weelde luxury. See Weal prosperity.]
blaspheme v. t.: To speak of, or address, with impious irreverence; to revile impiously (anything sacred); as, to blaspheme the Holy Spirit. [OE. blasfem, L. blasphemare, fr. Gr. : cf. F. blasphémer. See Blame, v.]
deem v. t.: To decide; to judge; to sentence; to condemn. [OE. demen to judge, condemn, AS. d, fr. d doom; akin to OFries. d, OS. ad, D. doemen, OHG. tuommen, Icel. dæma, Sw. dömma, Dan. dömme, Goth. d. See Doom, n., an]
scandal n.: Offense caused or experienced; reproach or reprobation called forth by what is regarded as wrong, criminal, heinous, or flagrant: opprobrium or disgrace. [F. scandale, fr. L. scandalum, Gr. scandle, OF. escandle. See Slander.]
aloud adv.: With a loud voice, or great noise; loudly; audibly. [Pref. a- + loud.]
suppliant a.: Asking earnestly and submissively; entreating; beseeching; supplicating. [F., p.pr. of supplier to entreat, L. supplicare. See Supplicate, and cf. Supplicant.]
falernian a.: Of or pertaining to Mount Falernus, in Italy; as, Falernianwine.
rendezvous n.: A place appointed for a meeting, or at which persons customarily meet.
flooding n.: The filling or covering with water or other fluid; overflow; inundation; the filling anything to excess.
cursed a.: Deserving a curse; execrable; hateful; detestable; abominable.
adulterous a.: Guilty of, or given to, adultery; pertaining to adultery; illicit.
chastely adv.: In a chaste manner; with purity.
gamesome a.: Gay; sportive; playful; frolicsome; merry.
morn n.: The first part of the day; the morning; -- used chiefly in poetry. [OE. morwen, morgen, AS. morgen; akin to D. morgen, OS. morgan, G. morgen, Icel. morginn, morgunn, Sw. morgon, Dan. morgen, Goth. maúrgins. Cf. Morrow, Morning.]
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.]
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]
armlet n.: A small arm; as, an armlet of the sea. Johnson. [Arm + -let.]
tyrian a.: Of or pertaining to Tyre or its people.
caress n.: An act of endearment; any act or expression of affection; an embracing, or touching, with tenderness. [F. caresse, It. carezza, LL. caritia dearness, fr. L. carus dear. See Charity.]
graven p. p.: Carved. Graven image, an idol; an object of worship carved from wood, stone, etc.
evermore adv.: During eternity; always; forever; for an indefinite period; at all times; -- often used substantively with for.

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

About this text

Book I: Elegy the Tenth: To Venal Beauty 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 Tenth: To Venal Beauty, in The Elegies (1905), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #9610, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/tibullus-elegies/book-i-elegy-the-tenth-to-venal-beauty.html, id L14422.

Form and metre

Book I: Elegy the Tenth: To Venal Beauty is 94 lines in 24 stanzas. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 23 of its 24 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.1 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 24% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.

See other poems in iambic pentameter.

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 ABAB scorn^A · call^B · forsworn^A · fall^B
2 ABAB be^A · offend^B · free^A · end^B
3 ABAB plough^A · chide^B · prow^A · guide^B
4 ABAB slave^A · hear^B · grave^A · disappear^B
5 ABAB grace^A · impair^B · face^A · hair^B
6 ABAB defile^A · knows^B · smile^A · woes^B
7 ABAB blaspheme^A · deed^B · deem^A · bleed^B
8 ABAB come^A · hide^B · dumb^A · wide^B
9 ABAB cry^A · tell^B · i^A · fell^B
10 ABAB gold^A · me^B · hold^A · free^B
11 ABAB skies^A · clear^B · lies^A · tear^B
12 ABAB strayed^A · light^B · made^A · night^B
13 ABAB rendezvous^A · joys^B · knew^A · destroyes^B
14 ABAB praise^A · requite^B · lays^A · sight^B
15 ABAB trade^A · ill^B · betrayed^A · skill^B
16 ABAB frown^A · veil^B · town^A · prevail^B
17 ABAB said^A · be^B · red^A · see^B
18 ABAB night^A · art^B · quite^A · heart^B
19 ABAB hair^A · tress^B · rare^A · press^B
20 ABAB trim^A · flame^B · him^A · shame^B
21 ABAB bear^A · smile^B · repair^A · vile^B
22 ABAB caress^A · gain^B · possess^A · reign^B
23 ABAB door^A · gold^B · evermore^A · told^B
24 AA free^A · thee^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 iambic pentameter. How this is done.

Line	Syl.	Stress
Why, if my sighs thou wert so soon to scorn,	10	··········
Didst dare on Heaven with perjured promise call?	10	···/·/˘/˘·
Ah! not unpunished can men be forsworn;	10	··˘/˘····/
Silent and slow the perjurer's doom shall fall.	10	/˘···/˘···
Ye gods, be merciful! Oh! let it be	10	···/˘˘····
That beauteous creatures who for once offend	11	·/˘˘/˘···˘/
Your powers divine, for once may go scot-free,	10	·/˘/······
Escape your scourge, and make some happy end!	10	˘/·····/˘·
'Tis love of gold binds oxen to the plough,	10	·····/˘···
And bids their goading driver sweat and chide;	10	···/˘/˘···
The quest of gold allures the ship's frail prow	10	····˘/····
O'er wind-swept seas, where stars the wanderers guide.	10	·······/˘·
By golden gifts my love was made a slave.	10	·/˘·······
Oh, that some god a lover's prayer might hear,	10	·····/˘···
And sink such gifts in ashes of a grave,	10	·····/˘···
Or bid them in swift waters disappear!	10	·····/˘·˘/
But I shall be avenged. Thy lovely grace	10	····˘/·/˘·
The dust of weary exile will impair;	10	···/˘/··˘/
Fierce, parching suns will mar thy tender face,	10	·/˘····/˘·
And rude winds rough thy curls and clustering hair.	10	·······/˘·
Did I not warn thee never to defile	10	·····/˘·˘/
Beauty with gold? For every wise man knows	10	/˘···/˘···
That riches only mantle with a smile	10	·/˘/˘/˘···
A thousand sorrows and a host of woes.	10	·/˘/˘·····
If snared by wealth, thou dost at love blaspheme,	10	········˘/
Venus will frown so on thy guilty deed,	10	/˘·····/˘·
'Twere better to be burned or stabbed, I deem,	10	·/˘·······
Or lashed with twisted scourge till one should bleed.	10	···/˘·····
Hope not to cover it! That god will come	10	···/˘·····
Who lets not mortal secrets safely hide;	10	···/˘/˘/˘·
That god who bids our slaves be deaf and dumb,	10	····/·····
Then, in their cups, the scandal publish wide.	10	·····/˘/˘·
This god from men asleep compels the cry	10	····˘/˘/··
That shouts aloud the thing they last would tell.	10	··˘/······
How oft with tears I told thee this, when I	10	··········
At thy white feet a shameful suppliant fell!	11	·····/˘/˘˘·
Then wouldst thou vow that never glittering gold	10	·····//˘˘·
Nor jewels rare could turn thine eyes from me,	10	·/˘·······
Nor all the wealth Campania's acres hold,	10	·······/˘·
Nor full Falernian vintage flowing free.	10	··˘/˘˘/˘/·
For oaths like thine I would have sworn the skies	10	··········
Hold not a star, nor crystal streams look clear:	10	·····/˘···
While thou wouldst weep, and I, unskilled in lies,	10	······˘/··
Wiped from thy lovely blush the trickling tear.	10	···/˘··/˘·
Why didst thou so? save that thy fancy strayed	10	·······/˘·
To beauty fickle as thine own and light?	10	·/˘/˘·····
I let thee go. Myself the torches made,	10	·····/·/˘·
And kept thy secret for a live-long night.	10	···/˘·····
Sometimes I led to sudden rendezvous	10	˘/···/˘/˘·
The flattered object of thy roving joys.	10	·/˘/˘··/˘·
Mad that I was! Till now I never knew	10	·······/˘·
How love like thine ensnares and then destroyes.	10	····˘/··˘/
With wondering mind I versified thy praise;	10	·/˘˘······
But now that Muse with blushes I requite.	10	·····/˘·/˘
May some swift fire consume my moon-struck lays,	10	···/˘/····
Or flooding rivers drown them out of sight!	10	·/˘/˘·····
And thou, O thou whose beauty is a trade,	10	·····/˘···
Begone, begone! Thy gains bring cursed ill.	10	˘/˘/····˘·
And thou, whose gifts my frail and fair betrayed,	10	········˘/
May thy wife rival thine adulterous skill!	10	···/˘·˘/˘·
Languid with stolen kisses, may she frown,	10	/˘·/˘/˘···
And chastely to thy lips drop down her veil!	10	·/˘·······
May thy proud house be common to the town,	10	·····/˘···
And many a gallant at thy bed prevail!	10	·/·/˘···˘/
Nor let thy gamesome sister e'er be said	10	···/˘/˘···
To drain more wine-cups than her lovers be,	10	·······/˘·
Though oft with wine and rose her feast is red	10	··········
Till the bright wheels of morn her revels see!	10	·······/˘·
No one like her to pass a furious night	10	·······/˘·
In varied vices and voluptuous art!	10	·/˘/˘·˘/˘·
Well did she train thy wife, who fools thee quite,	10	··········
And clasps, with practised passion, to her heart!	10	·····/˘···
Is it for thee she binds her beauteous hair,	11	·······/˘˘·
Or in long toilets combs each dainty tress?	10	···/˘··/˘·
For thee, that golden armlet rich and rare,	10	···/˘/˘···
Or Tyrian robes that her soft bosom press?	11	·/˘˘····/˘·
Nay, not for thee! some lover young and trim	10	·····/˘···
Compels her passion to allure his flame	10	˘/·/˘·˘/··
By all the arts of beauty. 'Tis for him	10	·····/˘···
She wastes thy wealth and brings thy house to shame.	10	··········
I praise her for it. What nice girl could bear	10	··········
Thy gouty body and old dotard smile?	10	·/˘/˘··/˘·
Yet unto thee did my lost love repair--	10	········˘/
O Venus! a wild beast were not so vile!	10	·/˘·······
Didst thou make traffic of my fond caress,	10	···/˘···˘/
And with another mock my kiss for gain?	10	··˘/˘·····
Go, weep! Another shall my heart possess,	10	··˘/˘···˘/
And sway the kingdom where thou once didst reign.	10	···/˘·····
Go, weep! But I shall laugh. At Venus' door	10	·······/˘·
I hang a wreath of palm enwrought with gold;	10	··········
And graven on that garland evermore,	10	·/˘··/˘/˘·
Her votaries shall read this story told:	9	······/˘·
"Tibullus, from a lying love set free,	10	·····/˘···
O Goddess, brings his gift, and asks new grace of thee."	12	·/˘·········

The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.

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