Preposterous Propertius

Abstract This chapter examines in Propertius a phenomenon of temporal or conceptual reversal, where the poet’s Latin, if the transmitted text is regarded as reliable, seems to put the ‘cart before the horse’ in one way or another—i.e. is ‘preposterous’ sensu stricto. The analysis takes a maximal approach in assembling more and less palpable instances of Propertius’ preposterous Latin, starting from cases of inverted clausal co-ordination (the hysteron proteron) and scaling up to effects of reversal on the wider level of narrative. The discussion highlights the role to be played by, and the balance to be struck between, both textual and literary criticism: some cases of hysteron proteron and related phenomena may indicate where the text of Propertius calls for emendation; but others may be related to the elegist’s back-to-front or head-over-heels view of the world. For ease of reference, an appendix to the chapter lists sequentially all the examples discussed.