| 1 | extrémá . . . nocte: "very late at night, just before dawn". |
| 2 | manus: "hand" or "group, band"? Probably both (a silly pun). |
| 3 | nescio quot: equivalent to an adjective: "I don't know how many" = "lots". |
| turba minúta: in apposition to puerí, despite the difference in number. | |
| 5 | retinére: "to hold back" or just "to hold". |
| 6 | vísa est: "was seen" or "seemed"? Difficult to say. |
| 7 | fuerant: Propertius sometimes uses the pluperfect for the imperfect. |
| 8 | nóstis: = nóvistis. |
| 12 | intereat: another silly pun: interíre (inter + íre) means both "to go in the middle" and "to die". |
| 13 | nón meritum: strengthened for immeritum. |
| tótás . . . in hórás: "for hours and hours", "to all hours of the night". | |
| exspectat: not "expect", but "wait for". | |
| 14 | nescio quás . . . forés: as in line 3, "I don't know what doors" is contemptuous for "some door or other". forés is from foris, foris, F, "door, gate". Some scholars think the reading should be forís,. This is an adverb meaning "out of doors, outside". In that case, the line would mean "you are seeking I don't know whom [fem.pl.] outdoors [= away from home]". Forís, could also be the ablative plural of forum: "you are seeking I don't know whom [fem.pl] in the marketplaces": that would make it clear that the women referred to are prostitutes. |
| 16 | solverit: "loosen", here "untie". |
| móverit: here perhaps "stir", "rouse". | |
| 17 | Arabum dé grámine: grámen = "herb": most Roman perfumes came from Arabia. |
| 20 | mandátam . . . domum: highly compressed for "the house to which we were ordered to bring him". |
| 21 | ita: "as follows". |
| mí: shortened form of mihi. | |
| 22 | í nunc: this could be a promise, but the same phrase is very often used in threats: "go ahead (make my day)". |
| noctés: what kind of accusative? | |
| domí: a nice example of the locative. | |
| 23 | voluí: here = "I decided". |
| 24 | vísere . . . sí: not "see if", that is, "see whether", but "visit, if . . . " |
| 25 | nón . . . umquam: stronger than numquam (like "not ever" compared to "never". |
| 26 | neque: if et can mean "even", then neque (= et nón) can mean "not even". |
| 27 | hinc: presumably "from this same room". |
| castae . . . Vestae: women would go to the Temple of Vesta if they had bad dreams. | |
| narrátum: a nice example of the accusative supine, expressing purpose. | |
| 28 | neu . . . néve: variation for metrical or stylistic effect. |
| nocitúra forent: a periphrastic construction (forent is an alternative form of essent), "which would be likely to cause harm". | |
| 30 | quantum: what kind of accusative? |
| 32 | comparatio compendiosa: "do you think I am like your habits?", meaning "do you think my habits are like yours?". |
| 33 | facilis: as in English, "easy", when used of a woman's sexual morals, is very rude. |
| 34 | sí quis: don't forget that quis means aliquis after sí. |
| vérior: again, as in English, "true" can mean "faithful to one's beloved". | |
| 35 | nón ulla: again strengthened for nulla. |
| 36 | The word order is confusing: take as nec signa duós iacuisse volutantís, "nor signs that two have lain here rolling around". |
| 37 | aspice ut: = "look how". |
| 38 | spíritus: here not "breath", but a genteel word for "odor". |
| nótus: probably "as we (being adults) both know". | |
| 40 | pedem: accusative of respect, "supported (with respect to her foot) by . . . ". |
| 42 | ex illó: = ex illo tempore, "since that time". |
| félix: once more, as in English, "lucky" can mean "successful in love" - "this is my lucky night". |