THE ART OF LOVE

OVID – “The Erotic Poems” (Penguin Classics, 1982)

Continuing my exploration of Roman literature I thought I’d tackle one of the great poets of the period, Ovid (Publius Ovidius Naso), 43 BC – 17 or 18 AD, most famous for his lengthy ‘Metamorphoses.’

To be honest, I’ve never been a great fan of poetry: perhaps put off by forced readings of such horrors as Walter de la Mare at school, which somehow served to cancel out the appeal of Milton and Chaucer.

But, having thoroughly enjoyed Martial‘s epigrams, and given the promising title of Ovid‘s tome, I thought it high time to overcome my prejudice and dive in.

The book consists of three main parts which deal with elegies to Ovid‘s mysterious mistress Corinna, the practical aspects of acquiring love (by which we mean ways of seducing women),  and how to dispense with it once things have turned sour.

It has to be said from the start that the title is slightly misleading for the modern reader in that the term ‘erotic‘ is employed in its classical sense (relating to love), and thus anyone expecting accounts of kinky perversion is likely to be disappointed. The book is not a sex manual, either.

However, it is both frank and practical, and while the technical details of the bedchamber are largely left to the imagination, it provides explicit instruction on how to get, keep and ultimately dispose of romantic conquests.

Again, the modern reader will struck by the fact that human beings have not changed : much of the advice contained within the poems still holds true today, and aside from the frequent allusions to Greek and Roman mythology (of which some knowledge is required for a full understanding), it contains essentially the same tips as any modern material on the subject you can find on the Internet.

Not only are the contents pertinent and interesting, the translation of Peter Green is particularly fine, resulting in a smooth, fluent read, rich and yet not overly-intimidating in its vocabulary. Thorough explanatory notes are provided to help with the Roman contexts (although unlike Loeb editions, one is forced to turn to appendices rather than have them as more easily accessible footnotes), and the overall effect is of an eminently pleasurable read, even for those who feel poetry is not for them (there are no rhyming couplets here).

A fine work, and I look forward to tackling ‘Metamorphoses‘ in the near future.

More of my book reviews can be found here.

PLATONIC LOVE

Plato – The Symposium (Penguin Classics, 1999)

The last time I attempted any Plato was twenty-six years ago when I read ‘The Republic‘ and didn’t really understand it at all. From this and subsequent explorations I came to the conclusion that philosophy just wasn’t for me, although with the recent discovery of Marcus Aurelius I can now amend that statement to ‘some kinds of philosophy are not for me.’

To my mind, it either has to be practical and directly relevant to everyday life and experience, else it is merely an empty and worthless intellectual exercise.

Plato giving us the finger...

Anyway, I decided that it was time to give Plato a try again: perhaps in the intervening years my wisdom had grown such that I could appreciate the master, and being a very brief tome, The Symposium seemed to be a good place to start.

The basic premise of the work is simple: a bunch of friends get together one evening to drink and someone suggests that they all give a speech in praise of love. The whole event is of course staged so that after a few people expound their ideas, the mighty Socrates sweeps in and astounds everyone with his insight, demolishing everyone else with a few pithy observations.

Socrates - what does an ugly bastard like this know about love?

However, one thing needs to be pointed out to the potential reader of this book: the love they are talking about is mainly the homoerotic type prevalent in 4th century BC Greece (it would take the Romans to romanticise male-female relations). In this model older men take on younger lovers who, in return for their bodily favours, receive knowledge and wisdom.

Women hadn't been invented yet in 4th century BC Greece, so...

Typically, I found Socrates‘ speech uninteresting and academic, and exactly the kind of pointless inquiry that doesn’t really shed any light on real human experience. Socrates seems to deviate from the expected themes of the topic and instead equates the highest love with wisdom. Probably not the exciting fare most casual readers are after, I would suppose.

Aristophanes - flippant, but more fun than Socrates

The tale I enjoyed the most, and made the greatest impression on me, was that of Aristophanes, whose amusing and flippant creation myth was most likely included as comic relief. I’d wager, however, that for the average modern reader this particular tale is the highlight of the book.

So, once more I find that I do not get much out of Plato: perhaps I’m missing the point, but anyone hoping for great insights into the age-old subject of love, or indeed anything even remotely germane to to the real world, should look elsewhere for enlightenment.

More of my book reviews can be found here.