SOURCE: "Chapter VII, Part II" in A Romantic Interpretation of Propertius: Vincenzo Padula, translated by Paola Valeri Tomaszuk, L. U. Japadre L'Aquila, 1971, pp. 73-82.

In the following excerpt from a work first published in 1871, Padula discusses Propertius's passionate love for Cynthia and asserts that it brought forth a new kind of love poetry.

… First of all we must realize that the love that made [Propertius] burn for Cynthia—from now on I shall call her thus—was of a very passionate kind. He wanted her alone²⁶, lived for her alone. War is near, young men are arming. Does he care? He stays in Rome and says: "My battles, hard battles, I wage only with my lady." (III, 5) Someone driven by desire of gain loses his life in the waves? He exclaims: "Cruel Aquilo, you shall never see sail of mine: let me lie hidden before my lady's door...