Roman poet (43 BC – 17/18 AD)
Publius Ovidius Naso (20 March 43 BC – 17 AD) was a Roman poet, commonly known to the English-speaking world as Ovid. Along with Virgil and Horace, Ovid is one of the three canonical poets of Latin literature, generally considered the greatest master of the elegiac couplet.
From: Wikiquote (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Native Name:
Publius Ovidius Naso
Alternative Names:
P. Ovidius Naso
From Wikidata (CC0)
Iamque opus exegi, quod nec Iovis ira nec ignes
nec poterint ferrum nec edax abolere vetustas.
cum volet, illa dies, quae nil nisi corporis huius
ius habet, incerti spatium mihi finiat aevi:
parte tamen meliore mei super alta perennis
astra ferar, nomenque erit indelibile nostrum,
quaque patet domitis Romana potentia terris,
ore legar populi, perque omnia saecula fama,
siquid haben veri vatum praesagia, vivam.
Perhaps you think that there are sacred groves and cities of the gods along the way, temples displaying all the gifts of wealth? Not so: your path is full of lurking perils as well as images of savage beasts. “And if you hold this course unswervingly, you’ll find the horns of Taurus in your way, 110 the Archer and the gaping jaws of Leo, and Scorpio, whose long and curving arms sweep one way, while the curving arms of Cancer sweep broadly in the opposite direction.
"Through steep, and sheer, and inaccessible,
through difficult and through impossible
places, they track him, and he flees the hunt
he has so often led, longing to cry out
to the pack behind him, "It's me! Actaeon!
Recognize your master!" But the words
betray him and the air resounds with baying.
...torn by their teeth, he makes
a sound no man would make and no stag either,
a cry that echoes through those well-know heights;
and kneeling like a supplicant at prayer,
he turns towards them pleading with his eyes,
as a man would with his hands."