but he had the idea of it in his mind when he wrote _Am._ iii. 12,
21-40. At the time of his banishment the poem had been written, but
not revised. He committed his MS. to the flames, but copies were in
the hands of friends; _Tr._ i. 7, 13-16,

'Carmina mutatas hominum dicentia formas,
infelix domini quod fuga rupit opus.
Haec ego discedens, sicut bene multa meorum,
ipse mea posui maestus in igne manu.

Quae quoniam non sunt penitus sublata, sed extant, (l. 23)
pluribus exemplis scripta fuisse reor.

Ablatum mediis opus est incudibus illud, (l. 29)
defuit et scriptis ultima lima meis.'

The poem consists of a collection of stories of the transformation of
human beings into animals. Cf. i. 1,

'In nova fert animus mutatas dicere formas
corpora.'

The idea, title, and much of the subject-matter was borrowed from the
Alexandrians, _e.g._ the +Metamorphoseis+ of Parthenius, the
+Heteroioumena+ of Nicander.

8. In the _Fasti_, in six Books, Ovid furnishes a poetical calendar of
the Roman year. Each month has a Book allotted to it, and he speaks of
having written twelve Books; _Tr._ ii. 549,

'Sex ego Fastorum scripsi totidemque libellos,
cumque suo finem mense volumen habet.
Idque tuo nuper scriptum sub nomine, Caesar,
et tibi sacratum sors mea rupit opus.'

Probably the second six Books were never completed; but there are
references to portions of them, _e.g._ iii. 57,

'Vester honos veniet, cum Larentalia dicam;
acceptus Geniis illa December habet.'

The _Fasti_ had been written side by side with the _Metam._ and
interrupted at the sixth Book by Ovid's banishment. During his exile
he added some passages, but found that his Muse was fit only for
melancholy themes; iv. 81,

'Sulmonis gelidi--patriae, Germanice, nostrae--
me miserum, Scythico quam procul illa solo est!'

i. 540,

'Felix, exilium cui locus ille fuit!'

The design is stated at the outset, i. 1-8,

'Tempora cum causis Latium digesta per annum
lapsaque sub terras ortaque signa canam ...
Sacra recognosces annalibus eruta priscis,
et quo sit merito quaeque notata dies.'

The work is thus a medley of religion, history, and astrology, and in
its explanations of customs may be compared to the +Aitia+ of
Callimachus. For information about religious rites, and for
derivations of names (_e.g._ _Agnalia_, i. 317-332), he would have
recourse to Varro; for histor