Propertius' four books of love-elegies (c. 32-12 BC) were produced during the heyday of Augustan literature. His poetry has been noted by modern critics for its striking forms of expression, sometimes tortured syntax, sudden transitions and abstruse allusiveness. Much of this "difficulty," Hubbard argues, may stem as much from the many impenetrable corruptions in our surviving, comparatively late manuscripts as from Propertius himself. For ancient critics, in contrast with the modern, read him as polished, elegant and amusing. This book presents a Propertius along these latter lines. The...