Four books of verse letters from exile to friends and patrons in Rome. More controlled than the Tristia, but the loneliness and the pleading are the same. Augustus never relented.
Start ReadingLetters from exile, Book 1. Ovid writes from Tomis on the Black Sea to friends in Rome — begging for help, describing the cold, the hostile locals, and his despair.
Letters from exile, Book 2. More appeals to patrons and friends. Ovid's health declines. He composes in the barbarian tongue. He cannot stop writing.
Letters from exile, Book 3. Ovid's tone darkens. Some friends have abandoned him. He addresses those who remain loyal and those who might intercede with Augustus.
Letters from exile, Book 4. The final book, addressed to Sextus Pompeius and others. Ovid has made a kind of peace with exile, but longing for Rome never fades.