The long, scarily-Latin title of this poem can seem daunting, but it is actually just a quotation from the famous Roman poet, Horace. Translated, it means I am not as I was in the reign of good Cynara. In Horace’s poem, the speaker is asking for a respite from love – he says he is too old to be feeling the pull of erotic thoughts anymore. In Dowson’s poem, the subject is the haunting nature of love; despite his best attempts, the speaker cannot forget a woman he once knew.