The third poem
Poem iii, addressed to an unidentified friend who had proved faithless, is a well-crafted but not particularly original warning that Fortune is a changeable goddess, and his friend might well find find himself one day in Ovid's position. The familiar examples of Croesus, Pompey, and Marius are used; as the last and therefore most important example Ovid uses his own catastrophe. The device recalls the Ibis, where Ovid's final curse is to wish his enemy's exile to Tomis.
Poem xvi
The concluding poem of the book is a defence of Ovid's poetry. The poem's argument is that poets generally become famous only after their death, but that Ovid gained his reputation while still alive. The greater part of the poem is a catalogue of Ovid's contemporary poets, the argument being that even in such company he was illustrious.
As elsewhere he equates his exile with death; the defence of his poetry therefore includes only the poetry that he wrote before his exile.
TEXTUAL INTRODUCTION
The Manuscripts
The manuscript authority for the text of the fourth book of the Ex Ponto is significantly poorer than for the earlier books because of the absence of A, Hamburgensis scrin. 52 F. This ninth-century manuscript has been recognized since the time of Heinsius as the most important witness for the text of the Ex Ponto; it breaks off, however, at III ii 67.
The manuscript authorities for the fourth book can be placed in three categories. The fragmentary G is from a different tradition than the other manuscripts. B and C are closely related, and offer the best witness to the main tradition. The other manuscripts I have collated are more greatly affected by contamination and interpolation; of them M and F show some independence, while no subclassification can be made of H, I, L, or T.