![Tibullus](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c9/Tibullus.jpg)
Albius Tibullus ( BC19 BC) was a
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
poet
A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...
and writer of
elegies
An elegy is a poem of serious reflection, and in English literature usually a lament for the dead. However, according to ''The Oxford Handbook of the Elegy'', "for all of its pervasiveness ... the 'elegy' remains remarkably ill defined: sometime ...
. His first and second books of poetry are extant; many other texts attributed to him are of questionable origins.
Little is known about the life of Tibullus. There are only a few references to him by later writers and a short ''Life'' of doubtful authority. Neither his ''
praenomen
The ''praenomen'' (; plural: ''praenomina'') was a personal name chosen by the parents of a Roman child. It was first bestowed on the ''dies lustricus'' (day of lustration), the eighth day after the birth of a girl, or the ninth day after the bi ...
'' nor his birthplace is known, and his gentile name has been questioned. His status was probably that of a Roman ''
eques'' (so the ''Life'' affirms), and he had inherited a considerable estate. Like
Virgil
Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: t ...
,
Horace
Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 – 27 November 8 BC), known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). The rhetorician Quintilian regarded his ' ...
and
Propertius
Sextus Propertius was a Latin elegiac poet of the Augustan age. He was born around 50–45 BC in Assisium and died shortly after 15 BC.
Propertius' surviving work comprises four books of ''Elegies'' ('). He was a friend of the poets Gallus a ...
, he seems to have lost most of it in 41 BC in the confiscations of
Mark Antony
Marcus Antonius (14 January 1 August 30 BC), commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic from a constitutional republic into the autoc ...
and
Octavian
Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pri ...
.
Life
Tibullus's chief friend and patron was
Marcus Valerius Messalla Corvinus
Marcus Valerius Messalla Corvinus (64 BC – AD 8 or c. 12) was a Roman general, author, and patron of literature and art.
Family
Corvinus was the son of the consul in 61 BC, Marcus Valerius Messalla Niger,Syme, R., ''Augustan Aristocracy'', ...
, himself an orator and poet as well as a statesman and a commander. Messalla, like
Gaius Maecenas
Gaius Cilnius Maecenas ( – 8 BC) was a friend and political advisor to Octavian (who later reigned as emperor Augustus). He was also an important patron for the new generation of Augustan poets, including both Horace and Virgil. During the rei ...
, was at the centre of a literary circle in
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
. This circle had no relationship with the court, and the name of Augustus is found nowhere in the writings of Tibullus. About 30 BC Messalla was dispatched by Augustus to
Gaul
Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...
to quell a rising in
Aquitania
Gallia Aquitania ( , ), also known as Aquitaine or Aquitaine Gaul, was a province of the Roman Empire. It lies in present-day southwest France, where it gives its name to the modern region of Aquitaine. It was bordered by the provinces of Gallia ...
and restore order in the country, and Tibullus may have been in his retinue. On a later occasion, probably in 28, he would have accompanied his friend who had been sent on a mission to the East, but he fell sick and had to stay behind in
Corcyra
Corfu (, ) or Kerkyra ( el, Κέρκυρα, Kérkyra, , ; ; la, Corcyra.) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the margin of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The isl ...
. Tibullus had no liking for war, and though his life seems to have been divided between Rome and his country estate, his own preferences were wholly for the country life.
The loss of Tibullus's landed property is attested by himself (i.1, 19), as a farmer "''felicis quondam, nunc pauperis agri''" ("of a once fruitful, now impoverished field"; cf. 41, 42). Its cause is only an inference, though a very probable one. That he was allowed to retain a portion of his estate with the family mansion is clear from ii.4, 53. Tibullus may have been Messalla's ''contubernalis'' in the
Aquitanian War Aquitanian could refer to:
*Aquitanian (stage), a geological age, the first stage of the Miocene Epoch
* Aquitanian language, an ancient language spoken in the region later known as Gascony
* Aquitani (or Aquitanians), were a people living in what ...
(''Vita Tib.'' and Tib. i.7, 9 seq., a poem composed for Messalla's triumph), and may have received ''
dona militaria
As with most other military forces the Roman military adopted an extensive list of decorations for military gallantry and likewise a range of punishments for military transgressions.
Decorations, awards and victory titles
Crowns
*Grass crown ...
'' (''Vita Tib.'').
Tibullus died prematurely, probably in 19, and almost immediately after Virgil. His death made a deep impression in Rome, as is clear from his contemporary,
Domitius Marsus
Domitius Marsus () was a Latin poet, friend of Virgil and Tibullus, and contemporary of Horace. Citations:
*J. A. Weichert, ''Poetarum latinorum vitae et reliquiae'' (1830)
*R. Unger, ''De Dom. Marsi cicuta'' (Friedland, 1861)
He survived Tibull ...
, and from the elegy in which
Ovid
Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the th ...
enshrined the memory of his predecessor.
Extant works
First book of poetry
Tibullus's first book consists of poems written at various times between 30 and 26. His first love, the subject of book i., is called Delia in the poems, but
Apuleius
Apuleius (; also called Lucius Apuleius Madaurensis; c. 124 – after 170) was a Numidian Latin-language prose writer, Platonist philosopher and rhetorician. He lived in the Roman province of Numidia, in the Berber city of Madauros, modern-day ...
reveals that her real name was Plania. As regards her station, it should be noticed that she was not entitled to wear the ''stola'', the dress of Roman matrons (i. 6, 68). Her husband is mentioned as absent (i. 2, 67 seq.). She eludes the custodes placed over her (i. 2, 15 and 6, 7). Tibullus's suit was favoured by Delia's mother, of whom he speaks in very affectionate terms (i. 6, 57 seq.). For Tibullus's illness at Corcyra, see i. 3, I seq., 55 seq. The fifth elegy was written during estrangement (''discidium''), and the sixth after the return of the husband and during Delia's double infidelity. It is impossible to give an exact account of the intimacy. The poems which refer to her are arranged in no chronological order. Sometimes she appears as single, sometimes as married; but we hear nothing either of her marriage or of her husband's death. Yet it is clear that it was the absence of her husband on military service in
Cilicia
Cilicia (); el, Κιλικία, ''Kilikía''; Middle Persian: ''klkyʾy'' (''Klikiyā''); Parthian: ''kylkyʾ'' (''Kilikiyā''); tr, Kilikya). is a geographical region in southern Anatolia in Turkey, extending inland from the northeastern coa ...
which gave Tibullus the opportunity to see her, and he continued to do so when the husband returned. Delia was clever in deception—too clever, as Tibullus saw when he found that he was not the only lover. His entreaties and appeals were of no avail; and after the first book no more is heard of Delia. In addition, several elegies in Book I concern themselves with Tibullus's love for a boy, who is named Marathus.
The Marathus cycle
The three poems centered on Marathus constitute the longest poetic project in Roman literature having homosexual love as theme. The first of these poems, 1.4, begins with an imprecation of the poet to the god
Priapus
In Greek mythology, Priapus (; grc, Πρίαπος, ) is a minor rustic fertility god, protector of livestock, fruit plants, gardens and male genitalia. Priapus is marked by his oversized, permanent erection, which gave rise to the medical term ...
, asking for advice on how to win over beautiful boys. The god advises patience and that the man in love yield to the beloved boy's every whim and perform a series of services if the boy demands it (1.4.15–53). At first the narrator of the poem presents himself as someone who is simply asking for advice from the god on behalf of a friend who fell in love with a boy but whose wife forbids such affairs (1.4.73). He later portrays himself as a teacher in the affairs of love, declaring that the doors of his house are open for other men in love with boys to ask his advice (1.4.78). In the end lines, however, he confesses to loving a boy named Marathus, who tortures him with "love's delay" (1.4.81) and whom the narrator can not conquer with his arts, causing other men to laugh at his lessons (1.4.83).
The cycle is resumed in poem 1.8, in which the narrator learns that Marathus is in love with a girl. The narrator advises the girl to treat Marathus with more leniency than Marathus treated the narrator himself (1.8.49). The narrator accompanies Marathus to the girl's house, carrying a torch to light the path at night, bribes her so that she meets Marathus, and talks the boy up to the girl (this is described in more detail the next poem, 1.9, lines 41–44). This poem can be seen as part of the narrator's efforts to win Marathus' goodwill by performing a series of humiliating tasks for him, exceeding the god's counsel to perform hard physical labors for the lad, by also helping him carry on an affairs with someone else.
In the poem that ends the cycle, 1.9, the narrator discovers that Marathus is in a relationship with a much older married man who buys the young man's affections through expensive gifts. Initially, the narrator asks the gods for compassion towards Marathus (1.9.5–6), who betrayed a promise he had made to the narrator, but soon love yields to bitterness, and he begins to express the desire that the gifts of the rival lover turn to ashes (1.9.11–12) and that the same happen to the poems that the narrator wrote to Marathus to win him over (1.9.48–49), of which he is now ashamed. He turns to the rival, taking revenge on him for having stolen her boyfriend by describing in detail the affair that the rival's wife is herself having with another boy (1.9.54–58 and 65–74). Finally, the poet addresses Marathus, telling him that he will cry when he sees the poet fall in love with another capricious lad (1.9.79–80), but declaring himself, for the moment being, finally released from unfaithful love.
Second book of poetry
About the second book, scholars can only say that in all likelihood it was published before the poet's death in 19 BC. It is very short, containing only 428 verses, and apparently incomplete. In the second book the place of Delia is taken by "Nemesis", which is also a fictitious name. Nemesis (like the Cynthia of
Propertius
Sextus Propertius was a Latin elegiac poet of the Augustan age. He was born around 50–45 BC in Assisium and died shortly after 15 BC.
Propertius' surviving work comprises four books of ''Elegies'' ('). He was a friend of the poets Gallus a ...
) was probably a
courtesan
Courtesan, in modern usage, is a euphemism for a "kept" mistress (lover), mistress or prostitute, particularly one with wealthy, powerful, or influential clients. The term historically referred to a courtier, a person who attended the Royal cour ...
of the higher class; and she had other admirers besides Tibullus. He complains bitterly of his bondage, and of her rapacity and hard-heartedness. In spite of all, however, she seems to have retained her hold on him until his death.
Ovid, writing at the time of Tibullus's death, says: "''Sic Nemesis longum, sic Delia nomen habebunt, / altera cura recens, altera primus amor''." ("Thus Nemesis and Delia will be long remembered: one Tibullus' recent love, the other his first."). Nemesis is the subject of book ii.3, 4, 6. The mention of an Una (ii.6) settles her position. The connection had lasted a year when ii.5 was written (see ver. 109). It is worth noticing that
Martial
Marcus Valerius Martialis (known in English as Martial ; March, between 38 and 41 AD – between 102 and 104 AD) was a Roman poet from Hispania (modern Spain) best known for his twelve books of ''Epigrams'', published in Rome between AD 86 and ...
selects Nemesis as the source of Tibullus's reputation.
Style of writing
Though the character of Tibullus the historical man is unclear, the character of his poetic persona is reflected in his works. He was an amiable man of generous impulses and unselfish disposition, loyal to his friends to the verge of self-sacrifice (as is shown by his leaving Delia to accompany Messalla to Asia), and apparently constant to his mistresses. His tenderness towards them is enhanced by a refinement and delicacy which are rare among the ancients. When treated cruelly by his love, he does not invoke curses upon her head. Instead he goes to her little sister's grave, hung so often with his garlands and wet with his tears, to bemoan his fate. His ideal is a quiet retirement in the country with the loved one at his side. He has no ambition and not even a poet's yearning for immortality. In an age of crude materialism and gross superstition, he was religious in the old Roman way. His clear, finished and yet unaffected style made him a great favourite and placed him, in the judgment of
Quintilian
Marcus Fabius Quintilianus (; 35 – 100 AD) was a Roman educator and rhetorician from Hispania, widely referred to in medieval schools of rhetoric and in Renaissance writing. In English translation, he is usually referred to as Quintilia ...
, ahead of other
elegiac The adjective ''elegiac'' has two possible meanings. First, it can refer to something of, relating to, or involving, an elegy or something that expresses similar mournfulness or sorrow. Second, it can refer more specifically to poetry composed in ...
writers. For natural grace and tenderness, for exquisiteness of feeling and expression, he stands alone. He rarely overloads his lines with
Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...
n learning. However, his range is limited. Tibullus is smoother and more musical, but liable to become monotonous; Propertius, with occasional harshnesses, is more vigorous and varied. In many of Tibullus's poems a symmetrical composition can be traced.
Specimens of Tibullus at his best may be found in i. I, 3, 89–94; 5, 19–36; 9, 45–68; ii. 6. Quintilian says, "''Elegia quoque Graecos provocamus, cuius mihi tersus atque elegans maxime videtur auctor Tibullus; sunt qui Propertium malint; Ovidius utroque lascivior, sicut durior Gallus''." ("In Elegy as well we rival the Greeks; of whom for me the author Tibullus seems the most polished and elegant; there are those who prefer Propertius; Ovid is more wanton than either, just as Gallus is more stern.")
Questionable attributions
Some of the genuine poems of Tibullus have been lost. On the other hand, much of the work attributed to him is that of others. Only the first and second books can uncontroversially claim his authorship. In both books occur poems which give evidence of internal disorder; but scholars cannot agree upon the remedies to be applied.
Third book of poetry
The third book, which contains 290 verses, is by a much inferior hand. The writer calls himself
Lygdamus
Lygdamus was a Roman poet who wrote in Classical Latin. Six of his elegies, addressed to a girl named Neaera, are preserved in the ''Appendix Tibulliana'' alongside the apocryphal works of Tibullus. He belonged to the literary circle around Marcus ...
and the love that he sings of Neaera. He has little poetical power, and his style is meagre and ''jejune''. He has a good many reminiscences and imitations of Tibullus, Propertius and Ovid, and they are not always happy. It is unknown when his poems were added to the genuine poems of Tibullus.
Fourth book of poetry
The separation of the fourth book from the third has no ancient authority. It dates from the revival of letters, and is due to the Italian scholars of the 15th century. The fourth book consists of poems of very different quality. The first is a composition in 211 hexameters on the achievements of Messalla, and is very poor. The author is unknown; but he was certainly not Tibullus. The poem itself was written in 31, the year of Messalla's consulship.
The next eleven poems relate to the loves of Sulpicia and Cerinthus.
Sulpicia
Sulpicia was the author, in the first century BCE, of six short poems (some 40 lines in all) written in Latin which were published as part of the corpus of Albius Tibullus's poetry (poems 3.13-18). She is one of the few female poets of ancient Rom ...
was a Roman lady of high station and, according to
Moritz Haupt
Moriz or Moritz Haupt (27 July 1808 – 5 February 1874), was a German philologist.
Biography
He was born at Zittau, Lusatia, Saxony. His early education was mainly conducted by his father, Ernst Friedrich Haupt, burgomaster of Zittau, a man of ...
's conjecture, the daughter of Valeria, Messalla's sister. The ''Sulpicia'' elegies divide into two groups. The first comprises iv. 2–6, containing ninety-four lines, in which the theme of the attachment is worked up into five graceful poems. The second, iv. 7–12, consists of Sulpicia's own letters. They are very short, only forty lines in all; but they have a unique interest as being the only love poems by a Roman woman that have survived. Their frank and passionate outpourings are reminiscent of
Catullus
Gaius Valerius Catullus (; 84 - 54 BCE), often referred to simply as Catullus (, ), was a Latin poet of the late Roman Republic who wrote chiefly in the neoteric style of poetry, focusing on personal life rather than classical heroes. His s ...
. The style and metrical handling was originally understood to be that of a novice, or a male poet appropriating female form. Later analysis has concluded that Sulpicia is an adept poet with a very high level of skill, playing upon gender norms in the celebration of her erotic relationship and play upon her "fama" as a poet and a woman of high status. The thirteenth poem (twenty-four lines) claims to be by Tibullus; but it is hardly more than a ''
cento
The Middle East Treaty Organization (METO), also known as the Baghdad Pact and subsequently known as the Central Treaty Organization (CENTO), was a military alliance of the Cold War. It was formed in 24 February 1955 by Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Turk ...
'' from Tibullus and Propertius. The fourteenth is a four-line epigram with nothing to determine its authorship. Last of all comes the epigram or fragment of Domitius Marsus already referred to.
Some scholars attribute iii. 8-12 - iv. 2–6 to Tibullus himself; but the style is different, and the validity of this attribution is uncertain. The direct ascription of iii. 19 – iv. 13 (verse 13, "''nunc licet e caelo mittatur amica Tibullo''" – "Now grant that a lover be sent from heaven to Tibullus") to Tibullus probably led to its inclusion in the collection and later on to the addition of the third book to the two genuine ones. For the evidence against the ascription, see Postgate.
To sum up: the third and fourth books appear in the oldest tradition as a single book, and they comprise pieces by different authors in different styles, none of which can be assigned to Tibullus with any certainty. The natural conclusion is that a collection of scattered compositions, relating to Messalla and the members of his circle, was added as an appendix to the genuine relics of Tibullus. When this "Messalla collection" was made cannot be exactly determined; but it was definitely not till after the death of Tibullus, 19 BC, and perhaps as late as the late 1st century AD. Besides the foregoing, two pieces in the collection called ''Priapea'' (one an epigram and the other a longer piece in iambics) have been attributed to Tibullus; but there is little external and no internal evidence of his authorship.
Charisius quotes part of a
hexameter
Hexameter is a metrical line of verses consisting of six feet (a "foot" here is the pulse, or major accent, of words in an English line of poetry; in Greek and Latin a "foot" is not an accent, but describes various combinations of syllables). It w ...
which is not found in the extant poems of Tibullus.
The Vita Tibulli
The value of the short ''Vita Tibulli'', found at the end of the Ambrosian, Vatican and inferior manuscripts, has been much discussed. There is little in it that we could not infer from Tibullus himself and from what Horace says about Albius, though it is possible that its compiler may have taken some of his statements from Suetonius's book ''De Poetis''. It is another moot question of some importance whether our poet should be identified with the Albius of Horace, as is done by the Horatian commentator
Pomponius Porphyrion Pomponius Porphyrion (or Porphyrio) was a Latin grammarian and commentator on Horace.
Biography
He was possibly a native of Africa, and flourished during the 2nd century A.D. (according to some, much later).
Works
His ''scholia'' on Horace, which ...
(AD 200–250) in his ''Scholia''. Porphyrio's view was examined by Postgate.
Manuscripts
The best manuscript of Tibullus is the ''Ambrosianus'' (A), which has been dated , whose earliest known owner was the humanist
Coluccio Salutati
Coluccio Salutati (16 February 1331 – 4 May 1406) was an Italian humanist and notary, and one of the most important political and cultural leaders of Renaissance Florence; as chancellor of the Republic and its most prominent voice, he was effec ...
. Two early 15th-century manuscripts are Paris lat. 7989 (written in
Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...
in 1423) and the Vatican MS. Ottob. lat. 1202 (also written in Florence, 1426). These form only a small share of the over 100 Renaissance manuscripts. There are also a number of extracts from Tibullus in ''Florilegium Gallicum'', an anthology from various Latin writers collected in the mid-twelfth century, and a few extracts in the ''Excerpta frisingensia'', preserved in a manuscript now at
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
. Also excerpts from the lost ''Fragmentum cuiacianum'', made by
Scaliger
The Della Scala family, whose members were known as Scaligeri () or Scaligers (; from the Latinized ''de Scalis''), was the ruling family of Verona and mainland Veneto (except for Venice) from 1262 to 1387, for a total of 125 years.
History
Wh ...
, and now in the library at
Leiden
Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wit ...
are of importance for their independence of A. It contained the part from 3.4.65 to the end, useful as fragments go as the other manuscripts lack 3.4.65. The ''Codex cuiacianus'', a late manuscript containing Catullus, Tibullus and Propertius, is still extant.
Editions
Tibullus was first printed with Catullus, Propertius, and the ''Silvae'' of
Statius
Publius Papinius Statius (Greek: Πόπλιος Παπίνιος Στάτιος; ; ) was a Greco-Roman poet of the 1st century CE. His surviving Latin poetry includes an epic in twelve books, the ''Thebaid''; a collection of occasional poetry, ...
by
Vindelinus de Spira The brothers Johann and Wendelin of Speyer (also known as de Speier and by their Italian names of Giovanni and Vindelino da Spira) were German printers in Venice from 1468 to 1477.
They were among the first of those who came to Italy from Mainz, a ...
(Venice, 1472), and separately by
Florentius de Argentina, probably in the same year. Amongst other editions are those by
Scaliger
The Della Scala family, whose members were known as Scaligeri () or Scaligers (; from the Latinized ''de Scalis''), was the ruling family of Verona and mainland Veneto (except for Venice) from 1262 to 1387, for a total of 125 years.
History
Wh ...
(with Catullus and Propertius, 1577, etc.),
Broukhusius (1708),
Vulpius (1749),
Heyne (1817, 4th ed. by
Wunderlich, with supplement by Dissen, 1819),
Huschke (1819),
Lachmann (1829),
Dissen (1835). Among more modern editions
Emil Baehrens Paul Heinrich Emil Baehrens (24 September 1848, in Bayenthal – 26 September 1888, in Groningen) was a German classical scholar.
After completing his studies he became ''Privatdozent'' at Jena. In 1877 he was appointed ordinary professor at the Un ...
(1878, the first of the modern critical editions) has outlived his contemporaries
Lucian Müller Lucian Müller (17 March 1836 – 24 April 1898) was a German classical scholar.
Life
Müller was born in Merseburg in the Province of Saxony. After studying at the universities of Berlin and Halle, he lived for five years in the Netherlands, wo ...
(1870),
Heinrich Dittrich (1881),
Edward Hiller (1885) and
John Percival Postgate
John Percival Postgate, FBA (24 October 1853 – 15 July 1926) was an English classicist and professor of Latin at the University of Liverpool from 1909 to 1920. He was a member of the Postgate family.
Born in Birmingham, the son of John ...
(1905).
Guy Lee
Arthur Guy Lee (5 November 1918 – 31 July 2005), known informally as Guy Lee, was a British Classical scholar and poet. He was particularly notable as a Latinist for his work on the Roman poets Ovid, Propertius, and Catullus; he also transl ...
's edition and translation of books 1-2 (Cambridge, 1975) is based on a fresh collation of A. Of the commentaries Heyne's and Huschke's are still of value. The greater part of the poems are included in Postgate's ''Selections'' (with English notes, 1903). A history of later contributions is given in
Augustin Cartault's ''A propos du corpus Tibullianum'' (1906; not quite complete); see also his ''Tibulle et les auteurs du Corpus Tibullianum'' (Paris, 1909).
For further information see the accounts in
Teuffel
Wilhelm Siegmund Teuffel (; September 27, 1820March 8, 1878), German classical scholar, was born at Ludwigsburg in the Kingdom of Württemberg. In 1849 he was appointed extraordinary, in 1857 ordinary professor in the university of Tübingen, whic ...
's ''History of Roman Literature'' (translated by Warr),
Martin Schanz
Martin Schanz (12 June 1842 – 15 December 1914) was a German classicist and Plato scholar. He was a Dozent and Professor at the University of Würzburg from 1867 to 1912, and is especially known for his history of Roman literature and his groun ...
's ''Geschichte der romischen Litteratur'', and
F. Marx's article s.v. "Albius", in
Pauly-Wissowa's ''Realencyclopädie.''
Critiques
Scholar Francis Cairns regards Tibullus as "a good poet but not a great one"; Dorothea Wender similarly calls him a minor poet but argues there is "grace and polish and symmetry" to his work.
References
Citations
Bibliography
*
* . &
Further reading
* Bowditch, P. L. "Tibullus and Egypt: A Postcolonial Reading of Elegy 1.7." ''Arethusa'', 44 (2011), pp. 89–122.
* Bright, D. F. ''Haec mihi Fingebam: Tibullus and his World''. Leiden: Brill, 1978.
* Cairns, Francis. ''Tibullus: A Hellenistic Poet at Rome''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1979.
* Damer, E. Z. "Gender Reversals and Intertextuality in Tibullus", ''
Classical World
Classical antiquity (also the classical era, classical period or classical age) is the period of cultural history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD centred on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ...
'' 107 (2014), pp. 493–514.
* Gaisser, J. H. 'Amor, rura and militia in Three Elegies of Tibullus: 1.1, 1.5, 1.10", ''
Latomus'' 42 (1983), pp. 58–72.
* Houghton, L. B. T. "Tibullus' Elegiac Underworld", ''
Classical Quarterly
The Classical Association is a British learned society in the field of classics, aimed at developing classical study and promoting its importance in education.
Constitution
The association was founded on 19 December 1903, and its objects are de ...
'', 57 (2007), pp. 153–165.
* James, S. ''Learned Girls and Male Persuasion: Gender and Reading in Roman Love Elegy''. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2003.
* Miller, P. A. ''Subjecting Verses: Latin Love Elegy and the Emergence of the Real''. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2004.
* Nikoloutsos, K. "From Tomb to Womb: Tibullus 1.1 and the Discourse of Masculinity in Post-Civil war Rome", ''Scholia: Natal Studies in Classical Antiquity'', 20 (2011), pp. 52–71.
* Wray, David. "What Poets Do: Tibullus on 'Easy' Hands", ''
Classical Philology
Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...
'', 98 (2003), pp. 217–250.
External links
Works by Tibullus at Perseus Digital Libraryat
The Latin Library
The Latin Library is a website that collects public domain Latin texts. It is run by William L. Carey, adjunct professor of Latin and Roman Law at George Mason University. The texts have been drawn from different sources, are not intended for rese ...
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Selections from Tibullus– translated, with an Introduction, Notes, and Glossary by Jon Corelis
{{Authority control
55 BC births
19 BC deaths
Golden Age Latin writers
1st-century BC Roman poets
Elegiac poets
Albii
LGBT poets
LGBT people from Italy
LGBT history in Italy
Ancient LGBT people
Bisexual writers