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 and Virgil and, with them, had as his patron Maecenas and, through Maecenas, the emperor Augustus. Although Propertius was not as renowned in his own time as other Latin elegists, he is today regarded by scholars as a major poet. Wikipedia
“Absence makes the heart grow fonder.”
Semper in absentes felicior aestus amantes.
II, xxxiii, 43.
Elegies
“Let each man have the wit to go his own way.”
Unus quisque sua noverit ire via.
II, xxv, 38.
Elegies
“O like Venus attended by a thousand tender Cupids, setting foot upon the sea that gave her birth.”
Aut patrio qualis ponit vestigia ponto
Mille Venus teneris cincta Cupidinibus.
II, ii, 9-10.
Elegies
“Let no one be willing to speak ill of the absent.”
Absenti nemo non nocuisse velit.
II, xix, 32.
Elegies
“Woever he was who first depicted Amor as a boy, don’t you think it was a wonderful touch? He was the first to see that lovers live without sense.”
Quicumque ille fuit, puerum qui pinxit Amorem
nonne putas miras hunc habuisse manus?
is primum vidit sine sensu vivere amantes
II, xii, 1-3; translation by A. S. Kline
Elegies
“Love is naked, and loves not beauty gained by artifice.”
Nudus Amor formam non amat artificem.
I, ii, 8; translation by G.P. Goold
Elegies
“He errs that seeks to set a term to the frenzy of love; true love hath no bound.”
Errat, qui finem vesani quaerit amoris:
verus amor nullum novit habere modum
II, xv, 29; translation by H.E. Butler
Elegies
“What though strength fails? Boldness is certain to win praise. In mighty enterprises, it is enough to have had the determination.”
Quod si deficiant vires, audacia certe
Laus erit: in magnis et voluisse sat est.
Variant translation: Even if strength fail, boldness at least will deserve praise: in great endeavors even to have had the will is enough.
II, x, 5.
Elegies
“Let each man pass his days in that wherein his skill is greatest.”
Qua pote quisque, in ea conterat arte diem.
II, i, 46.
Elegies
“The sailor tells of winds, the ploughman of bulls,
the soldier counts his wounds, the shepherd his sheep.”
Navita de ventis, de tauris narrat arator,
Enumerat miles vulnera, pastor oves.
II, i, 43–4.
Elegies
“Make way, you Roman writers, make way, Greeks!
Something greater than the Iliad is born.”
Cedite Romani scriptores, cedite Grai!
Nescio quid maius nascitur Iliade.
Of Virgil’s Aeneid.
II, xxxiv, 65.
Elegies
“I am climbing a difficult road; but the glory gives me strength.”
Magnum iter ascendo; sed dat mihi gloria vires
IV. 10. 3
Elegies
“There is something beyond the grave; death does not end all, and the pale ghost escapes from the vanquished pyre.”
Sunt aliquid Manes: letum non omnia finit,
Luridaque evictos effugit umbra rogos.
IV, vii, 1.
Elegies
“Nudus Amor formam non amat artificem.”
Love is naked, and loves not beauty gained by artifice.
I, ii, 8; translation by G.P. Goold
Elegies
