ABSTRACT
Propertius begins his poetic career by explicitly introducing Cynthia, the first word of the first elegy, and by implicitly defining his poetic choices in terms of his predecessors in elegy and amatory poetry. Propertius' ability to address personal feeling and traditional form was facilitated by the ease with which the poet's mistress in Latin could stand both for the poet's passion and for his verse. Propertius begins in mocking triumph. He then adopts the tone of a praeceptor amoris, or "teacher of love," as he outlines the further course of Ponticus' passion. Propertius' poetry, both in general and sometimes specifically, reflects the new pressures and realities of Augustus' regime. Propertius describes his poetic choices, first in terms of what he cannot write and then in terms of his aspirations and his passion. Propertius celebrates the repeal of a law that would have required him to get married to someone other than Cynthia and to produce children.
