^^rfULF S 4 ObS 0fl3 *Aj^ ■ ^^ • IK .^IkA . ',>', 'Ac', -Ad", 'Is', 'In', 'Ex', 'Os', 'On', 'Quis', 'Qui', 'Hie', 'Jam', 'Nee", 'Ve', 'Ef, 'Qui', 'Turn', 'Tunc', 'Iste', 'Ipse', 'Ille', and whether, and on what occasions, 'Natus' should be spelled with a 'G' prefixed. I neither joke, exaggerate, nor per- vert; such, no less in spirit than in letter, are the discussions which Ph. E. Wagner has thought proper to dignify with the misnomer, Qiiaestiones Viryilianae. Dr. A. Forbiger has inserted into his third edition short notices of, and extracts from, my observations on llic lirst and second Books, as (hey were published in Uie Classical Museum (Lond. 1848); also of my obser- vations on the third, lourlh , fifth and sixth Books, communicated to him orally in Leipzig in 1851. Forbiger's notices of my views being extremely brief, and my views themselves having been greatly altered and enlarged since 1851, no notion whatever either of the nature and scope, or of the particulars of the following work, can be formed from Forbiger's notices. I found For- biger ready to admit new light to shine on his Author, even when he himself was not the point of radiation. No other commentator or editor of Virgil whom I have met, would permit of a new planet's throwing its light on the Virgilian Earth. In 1850 Cardinal Angelo Mai received me in Rome with perfect politeness and as perfect heartlessness; embraced me with both his arms, kissed me on both my cheeks, but, though Head Librarian of the Vatican, stirred no finger on my behalf; afforded me no facili- ties whatever for my investigations. At my first in- terview with him I made him a present of my first Virgilian essay, The first Two Books of the Eneis ren- dered into Blank Iambic, with new Interpretations and Illustrations. Remaining in Rome for some months and hearing no word from him, I wrote him a note to the following effect: "Having become convinced that the book, with whicii i had the honor some lime ago to present your Emi- nence, and for which I have a great value, is to your Eminence of no value at all. I will esteem it an especial favor if your Eminence kindly return it to me, and so restore his strayed child lo the weeping and discon- solate parent. " The ('aniiiial, it seems, either did not understand ilic .joke, or shut his eyes against satire coniinii IVoni SCI uhsciiie :i (jiiarlt'r. and returned iiic llie liook, aec(imp:iiiieUi;h 1 hnvc not specially staled (lie fact exropl al En. II. 6S3. The work is entirely original; all the views put forward (unless where the contrary is expressly slated) exclusively my own; wherever I have at first put forward a view as my own , which I have allerwards discovered to have been previously held by any one else, I have expunged the passage. If any such passages remain unexpunged, it is by such mere accident as must occasionally occur in a work of such extensive research. I have even been careful not to quote ( unless where I have had new matter to bring forward respecting it) any parallel or illustrative passage which has been previously quoted ; and on this account have rarely, if ever, quoted Homer, all the parallelisms of that author having been suffi- ciently pointed out and discussed by preceding ob- servers. These Commentaries, however, are not the sole fruit of my twelve years' labor; I have pari passu trans- ferred the six Books of the Eneis into my native language. That work has been a more Herculean task than even this. Indeed this arose out of that, and may be considered as a mere appendage of that, all these Commentaries having grown out of the searches which 1 found it necessary to make into the meaning of each separate sentence before I could honestly undertake to transfer iho sentence into English. As 1 went on , I found that almost every sentence had been more or less misunderstood, and afforded materials for a separate Commentary. Ileuce the present work. The reader will perhaps think that, the meaning once ascertained, the transference into English followed almost as a nuitter of course; he is greatly mistaken; a full half of the dilliculty remained; viz. to convert that meaning into English poetry; to express myself so thai my sentence should give, first, (he true meaning of Virgil; secondly, ilic wlinlc ..r ihai hue meaning; and thirdly. XllI nothing but that true meaning,; and should, at the same time, be easy, tree, natural and tluent English poetry. No one had ever succeeded in such attempt either in the English or any other language. In every instance either the sentence became not vernacular poelry, or the meaning not Virgil's. I tried and failed, tried and failed, tried and failed, until I was weary, exhausted and despairing. It was not possible to succeed even in a single sentence. I translated, twice over, the whole of the six Books into English Iambic without rhyme. The two first Books of each of these translations I even printed ; I had succeeded tolerably well to express the meaning, but the verse was stifT and un-English, just as Voss's similar translation is stifiT and un-German. The work w^as sure not to be read except by scholars. I was not deterred; I persevered and labored on; tried, like a snake or worm writhing itself out of a hole, to wriggle myself now this way, now that; all in vain; the measure was unyielding, — must have its alternately short and long syllable, — would not be forced to meet Virgil's sense; while, at the same time, Virgil's sense was unyielding. — would not be forced to meet the measure. In this dilemma, I determined at last to change my hand, and to vary the measure — to alter my rythm according to the exigencies of the sense. "The poem," said I to myself, "will be the more agreeable if the rythm be occasionally changed. The chief defect in Virgil's great poem is the monotony inseparable from the uninterrupted succession to each other of ten thousand hexameters; the attention at last wanders involuntarily; the mind roves in search of variety, as the eyes of the spectator soon turn away from the most beautiful picture, tired of its very beauty." I made an infinity of trials, and at last found that I could represent the sense of perhaps two or three pages in succession, in one kind of metre, provided I was then allowed, perhaps for the sake of a single proper imiiie , lo lake a (JiHereiil. J proceedcci in iliis iiiaiiiier liulli willi greater ease and greater success. i round lliis new inetliod answer so well-llial 1 soon began lo vary my measure, even where 1 was not Corced lo il . and merely for the sake of preventing the reader's ear from being- palled by the long conlinuance of any one measure. I was the more encouraged lo adoj)l lliis principle, from having observed the enlivening elfecl of Shakespeare's inlermixlure even of prose with his verse, and the soporific effect of Milton's interminable decasyllabics. Cheered by the first results of this me- thod, I went much further; I abandoned the old mea- sures and set about lo make new; and, alter some trials, fell upon a measure (as far as I know, entirely new and my own invention) which enabled me to con- vey into English the Virgilian sense, with a certainly and precision, and at the same time with an ease and fluency, wholly unattainable in any other measure or combination of measures. 1 have used this measure very much in the course of my translation, but jirin- cipally in the fifth Book, to the liveliness of the subject of which, its liveliness seemed to be peculiarly adapted. The fourth Book alone I have not changed out of the Iambic measure, having translated that Book only twice (both times in Iambic); each of the other Books 1 have translated three, some of them four, times. On account of the great variety and continual change of measure, I have thought il advisable to indicate the rythm by means of accents. It is much to be desired I hat even ordinary poetry were always printed with such helps, without which il is impossible for any one who has not a well practised poetical ear, to know where the ictus of the voice falls, in any measure which deviates, even in the slightest degree, from the accustomed jingle. It will, no doubt, lie said that my woik i» not a translation at all. \Crv well: I liaxc wo objection. XV T have not called il a IranshUion myself, and am not desirous it should be so called. There is nolhinj; so very flattering" in the repulation of translations that I should be anxious to have my work placed in the same category with Ihem. My Six Photographs of the Heroic Times will be found in a volume containing all the poems written by me up to this date, and printed two months ago in Dresden under the title of My Book. 1 am too well aware of the utler neglect with which authors of works of this kind are usually treated by their contemporaries , to suppose that there lives one individual who will trouble himself to inquire who, or what kind of a man, he is who writes these words, and who made this singular voyage; but for the in- formation of the many who are sure, according to the usual fashion of mankind in such cases, to begin, as soon as he is dead, to inquire who and what sort of a man he rvas, I beg to say that most of the important incidents of his life will be found more or less distinctly pictured in the poems which collectively with the Six Photographs of the Heroic Times constitute the volume entitled My Book, and printed this summer in Dresden. Warned by the misfortunes of others that a work like this, is neither of the kind voluntarily demanded by the public, nor of the kind forced on the public by that curse and ruin of literature, the Bookselling Trade, 1 have determined, instead of flinging my work into the barathrum of a publisher's warehouse, to leave a cer- tain number of copies both of this Voyage and of My Book with Mr. KIcmm, Oberbibliolhekar of the Royal Library at Dresden, for gratis distribution to such persons in Germany as he shall think fitting, and to send the remainder home, for similar gratuitous distribution in my own country. Both from Mr. Klemm himself, and from Mr. Lossnilzer. Mr. Manilius, and the other WI (tlficers of the Dresden Lilnary, 1 have mel the most uniform and obliging- allenlion , for vviiich I beg lo re- liirn my best Ihanks. In the Dresden Library and in the com|jany of its enlightened directors and officers, have been spent during a series of years many of my happiest hours. I shall never think of it or them but with pleasure and gratitude. 1 am indebted to Mr. Moritz Lindeniann, author of De prima quae in Convivio Platonico legitur oratione (Programm dea Gymnasiums zu Dresden, 1853), not merely for a most careful correction of the printer's proofs, but for many valuable suggestions, and such a general revision of my MS. as has greatly contributed to its accuracy and perfection. And now — "longarum haec meta viarum" — this is the end of my long voyage, and a happier end than that of the voyage of Eneas; for he, just at the goal, lost his travel's companion — him who was the "le- vamen omnis curae casusque" — while I have still my fellow traveller at my side, only the more endeared to me, as I to her, by the troubles and pleasures we have shared together on the way. Reader, farewell; and should you be inclined to make a similar voyage through the six Books which 1 have left unexplored, the greatest happiness and best help which 1 can wish you, is a similar companion. JAMES JIEMiV. W AIsr.Ml.\LS-S TRASSE, DRESDEN, .luly, 1853. I. 1. ILLE EGO QUI QUONDAM GRACILI MODULATUS AVENA CARMEN ET EGRESSDS SILVIS VICINA COEGI UT OUAMVIS AVIDO PARERENT ARVA COLONO GRATUM OPUS AGRICOLIS AT NUNC HORRENTIA MARTIS ARMA VIRUMQUE CANO Imitated both by Spenser and Millon: "Lo ! 1, the man whose muse whylome did maske, As time her taug-ht, in lowly shcpheard's weeds, Am now enforst a farre unfitter laske, For trumpels storne to chaung^e mine oaten reeds, And sing- of knig-his' and ladies' g-entle deeds." Faerie Qucene, si. •'I who erewhile the happy garden sung." Par. Reg v. I. 4. HORRENTIA MARTIS ARMA VIRUMQUE CANO TROJ^ QUI PRIMUS AB ORIS ITALIAM FATO PROFUGUS LAVINAQUE VENIT LITTORA MULTUM ILLE ET TERRIS JACTATUS ET ALTO VI SUPERUM S^V^ MEMOREM JUNONIS OB IRAM MULTA QUO QUE ET BELLO PASSUS DUM .CONDERET URBEM INFERRETQUE DEOS LATIO "Canto Tarnii pielose, e '1 Capitano, Che '1 gran Sepolcro libero di Cristo: 2 I Mollo o(;h opro col senno, e con la mano, MoHo soini m-l plorioso acqiiisto ; E ill van I'lnrciiiu a lui s" oppose, c in vano S'armo," &c. ..... "0 Musa, til," &c. Tasso. Gems. Lib., I. 1. And such, from Ihe bcginnin;? to Ihe end, is the Gerusalenime Liberala; a modernized copy, even to the single stones, of the Virgilian edillce. IIORRENTIA MARTIS ARMA. — MaRTIS joined with ARMA Is not (as a hasty view has led some commentators to suppose) supererogatory; because anna is not a spe- cific term, corresponding- to the English arms, and, like it, applicable only to martial weapons, but a general term applicable to all kinds of implements, martial, agri- cultural (Gcorg. I. 100), nautical (En. V. 15), culinary (En. I. 181), &c. Martis is, therefore, a proper adjunct to arma, and in the present instance peculiarly proper, because it was incumbent on the poet well to distinguish between the arma, the subject of his pre- sent [)oem , and the arma of which he had treated in that former poem, to which, in the passage before us, he makes direct reference. Having formerly defined the arma of which he was then treating, as those, "qu;i} sint duris agrcstibus — Quels sine nee poluere seri nee surgere messes" (Georg. I. 100) , lie now defines the arma which form his present theme, to be arma Martis (compare: En. I. 549, where bello is added to armis in order to show lliat armis means martial arms): lience, as from every observation which lends to shew Ihe correctness of their did ion, ;m additional argument in favMiir of Ihe authenticity of the four introductory lines of the Kneis. For a fnilher argument, derived from Ihe same source, see C'onuu. En. II. 247. .\ddUional observations on the use of the term arma will be found in Comm. Kn. I'. 15. I 3 Cano. — Nol simply si7i(j , as in Dryden's generally received Iranslulion, bul sing, in (he loud, high, heroic, and oracular style; sound, as on a trumpet; llie poet's present martial sonjj being placed, by the term cano, in the strongest opi)Osilion to ihc peaceful pastoral which he formerly lilted, modulatus. Compare: "Dum lion arlc canora Compacla solitura modulalur arniKlinc carmen." Culex, 98. and and "Vos, Calliope, precor, aspirate canenli." En. IX. 525. "Nee Lalise cecinere tubs, nee Giaia vetuslas." Claud. lU Prob. el Olyb. Cons. V. lOS. also, Jul. Scalig. Poet. III. 26. The true sense seems to have been perceived by Voss in his translation: "Waffen ertont mcin Gesang;" and by Spenser in his imitation quoted above: "For trumpets sterne to chaunge mine oaten reeds." TrOJ^ qui primus AB oris ITALIAM FATO I'ROFUGUS LAVINAQUE VENIT LiTTORA. — The Hcynian and Wagnerian punctua- tion, and Voss's translation, assign fato exckisively to PROFUGUS : "Italiam, fato profugus, Laviniaque venit Littora." "Kam, durch Scliieksal verbannt, gen Italia, and an Lavinums Wogenden Strand." This is incorrect. Fato belongs no less to venit than to PROFUGUS, the two words profugus and venit being intimately united together, so as to form but one idea, that of coming as a refugee; taking refuge. Compare Comment on 'Hmprovida turbat;' En. II. 200. Fate not only drove Eneas from Troy, but (which was princi- pally in Virgil's mind, and formed the subject of his entire poem) brought him to, and planted him in, Italy. 4 I Therefore, falo Itnliam Lavinaqiic litlora vcnil profugus. And so (En. X. 07), "Ilaliam peliil lalis aucloriljus." S/F.VAE MEMOREM JUNONIS OB IRAM. — SfCVUS, tllC GrCCk dtivog^ is as nearly as possible the English fell. DUM CONDERET URBEM INFERRETOUE DEOS LATIO. — Nol found a, or the, citij, and bring the Gods into Latium (Bis die Sladl er griindel', und Troja's Goiter in Lalium (uhrlc ' — Voss.) , bul (latio relating- no less to conderet than to inferret), bring the Gods into Latium, and there found a city. UuRF.M, — sciz. Laviniiim, see I, 268; XII. 193, 194. Unde, — not with Heyne and Thiel, qua ex re, quo factum est; but, as placed beyond all doubt by the exactly corresponding "Alter Alys, genus undo Alii duxerc Lalini," En. V. 56S. and "Silvius Unde genus Longa nostrum dominabilur Alba." En. VI. 763. ex quo Enea, the clause "Mullum ille ct terris jactatus et alto, Vi superum, savfc memorem Junonis ob iram, Mulla quoqiic et belle passus, dum conderol urbcm, Inferretque Deos Latio," being only subsidiary or parenthetic. See Comm. En. III. 571. IV. 484. VI. 84. 741. 882. Genus unde i.atinum. — According to the boast of the Romans, that they were the fruit of the mixture of the Trojan and Latin blood, "«t« 8i] x«i ytyoyoieg "yVjww*' ttyhtu Tf/.vd i^ifuty/Afvu nntai yUtxtviov. Plutarch. Quest. Rom. Ed. Rciskii, p 155: and sec En. XU. 823, 837. I 5 14. INSIGNEM riETATE VIRUM. PiETAs is softness, tenderness and goodness of heart in general, whether in man's relation to heaven and in spi- ritual matters (our piety), or in relation to other men (our brotherly love and charity), in which latter sense it has given origin to the French Pitie and the English Pity. It is constantly opposed to Justitia, the strict right — the observance of the law^ Plus Eneas is therefore not Pious Eneas, but kind, gentlehearted, tender and affectionate Eneas, in his conduct and demeanour, both towards hea- ven and towards his brelhern of mankind: who does both toward the Gods and toward mankind not merely what he is bound to do, but what he is prompted by the kindness of his nature to do. Compare: "Rursus amor patriae ralione valentior omni. Quod tua texuerant scripta, retexit opus; Sive pium vis hoc, sive hoc rauliebrc vocari, Confiteor, misero moUe cor esse raihi." Ovu). Ex Ponto. 1. 3. 29. "Sed si male firma cubarit Et vitium coeli senseril aegra sui. Tunc amor et pietas tua sit manifesta puellae." Ovid. Art. Amat. II. 319. . "Jam legis in Drusum miserabile, Livia, carmen; Unum, qui dicat jam tibi mater, habes. Ncc tua le pietas disteudit amorc duorura." Ovid, ad Liviam. Aug. 3. and especially Virgil himself En. IX. 493. Fig-ite me, si qua est pietas; in me omnia tela Conjicite, Rutuli. and En. II. 536. Dii, si qua est coelo pietas, quae talia curet. See vers. 548 and Comm. & vers. 607 and Gomm. also III. 42 & 75 and Gomm. 6 I 15. TANTiENE ANIMIS C(ELESTIBUS IR^ Oft imilalcd line : — "Ii> licavonly spirits could such perversoness dwell?" Par. Lost, VI. 788. "And ill soft bosoms dwells such mig-hly ra§:e?" Rape of the Lock, L 1'^. "Tanl de fiel cnlrc-t-il dans Taiue des devots?" BoiLEAu, Lulrin, I. 12. Comijure (En. XII. 830): "Es gfcrraana Jovis, Saturnique altera proles. Irarum lantos volvis sub peclorc fluclus." 16. URBS ANTIOUA FUIT ruiT, was once, and is no longer. See Conmienl on "Fuimus Troes, fuit Ilium", II. 325 ; and compare "Cam- pos ubi Troja fuit," III. 11. 23. PIIOGENIEM SED EMM TROJANO A SANGUINE DUCJ AUDIERAT TYRIAS OLIM qMJS. VERTERET ARCES lUNC POPULUM LATE REGEM BELLO(,)UE SUPERBUM VENTURUM EXCIDIO LIBY^E SIC VOLVERE PARCAS 1 iiE third and lourlh of these lines are not as supposed l»y La Ccrda, Ileync and oilier commenlalors. lautolo- Rous (tf the llrsl and second. Iml e.\i)lanalory: ropru.M i 7 LATE REGEM, explaining: that the progeniem which was beini? derived I'lom Ihe Trojan blood, was a great and martial people, (viz. Ihc Romans); and venturum ex- ciDio LiBv.E informing us , that this great and martial people which was being derived from the Trojan blood, for the sake of overturning Carthage ("Tyrias quae ver- teret arces,") would actually perform its mission. Compare "Nunc ag-e, Dardaniam prolem quae delude sequatur Gloria, qui mauoant Itala de g-eutc nepotes." En. VI. 756. where the single Roman people is indicated by the double expression: "Dardaniam prolem," and "Ilala de gente nepotes," exactly as it is indicated in our text by the double expression progeniem trojano a sanguine, and POPULUM late REGEM. QuyE VERTERET, — Not, wMcJi sJioiiM Or slioll overtimi but, for ihe purpose of overturning. Compare "Mitlunt legates qui monerent" (Justin. II. 15), not, who should or shall admonish, but for the purpose of admonishing , for it might happen that those envoys, though sent for the purpose, might not actually admonish. HiNC. — Not ex hac progenie, but ex hoc Trojano sanguine. Compare (vers. 238): "Certe hinc Romanes olim, volventibus annis, Hinc fore ductorcs, revocato a sanguine Teucri," in which passage, not only exactly similar in structure to our text, but actually containing the very promise of which Juno had heard (audierat), "hinc" is explained by "revocato a sanguine Teucri", the counterpart of the Trojano a sanguine of our text. Venturum excidio liby^. — So (Cic. Ep. ad Ait. VIII. 7) "subsidio venturus;" and En. X 214) "Ibant subsidio Troja,'." Also : "Huiic nam fore rcgi Exitio vatesque canuul. " Valer. Flag. /. 28. 8 I LiBY^. — I cannot ag:rec with the commentators, that there is a particular stress in this word; it seems to me lo Ije used lilic the immediately preceding Tyrias arces, merely for variety, and to avoid the repetition of the term "Carthago," already employed at verse 17. Sic volvere parcas. — The Parcse are here said vol- VERE (i. e. volvere vices , make events roll on, or after each other), in the same sense as Jupiter is said lo do so, verse 266, and III. 375. There is no reference what- ever lo their spindle, and Voss's translation (so roll' es die Spindel der Parcen) is wrong. — Compare: "Sic Numina fatis Volvimur, ol luillo Lachesis discrimine savit." Claudia.\, Rayt. Prvscrp. III. 410. 27. VETERISnUE MEMOR SATURNIA BELLI. Veteris. — Not, ancient, Inil long exercised, long accusto- 7ned, inveterate. Compare: "Rursus et in vcterem falo rcvoluta figuram." En. VI. 449. "Vclus operis el laboris." Tacit. Ann. I. 20. "Vetus regnandi." Tacit. Ann. VI. 44. 28. PRIMA OUOD AD TROJAM PRO CARIS CESSER AT ARGIS. Not, wilh llcyne. "prius, olim," hul foremost, as leader or commander. Compare: En. II. 613 ^ Comm. I there- fore beg lo substitute the following, inslead of the trans- I I 9 t lalion I have given of this passage in uiy Metempsycho- sis of the Eneis. Page 3. The inveterate war Which she had been foremost To wage against Troy On behalf of dear Arg-os. 32. ET GENUS mVISUM ET RAPTI GANYMEDIS HONORES Genus invisum. — Genus Electrae sciz. as placed beyond doubt, not merely by the context, but by the direct testi- mony of Ovid. Fasti. VI. 41: "Tunc me poeniteat, posuisse fideliter iras In genus Electrae, Dardaniamque do mum." Rapti. — "Cum contemptu dicitur, ut apud nostrates entfiihrt, quod corrumpendi rationem involvit; magna au- tem est doloris et contemptus conjunctio." — Wagner. There seems to me to be no sufficient grounds for un- derstanding RAPTI to be here used in a contemptuous sense, raptus being the ordinary expression for the sudden & violent removal or carrying off of a person, no matter by what means or for what purpose. Compare Ovid. Ex Ponto I. 9. 1: "Quae mihi de raplo tua venit epistola Celso, Protinus est lacrymis humida facta mcis." where rapto is simply, carried off suddenly or violently; viz. by death. And so in the text, rapti ganymedis is simply, Ga- nymede suddenly or forcibly carried off, viz. by Jupiter, or Jupiter's eagle, see En. V. 254: — quem praepes ab Ida Sublimem pedibus rapuit Jovis armiger uncis. where no contempt can be intended, yet the selfsame expression is used. Id I 34. RELIOUIAS DANAUM ATOUE IMMITIS ACIIILLI So Lyco|)liron; Cassandra; — {apudMeiirs. torn. V. 972) Tov xijoufivvTov TisvxfWf nuXttifiovog. 36. ACTI FATIS "Si fa/is, nulla Junonis invidia esl. Si Junonis invldia faligabanlur quomodo dlcit acti fatis? Sed hoc ipsuni Junonis odium fatale esl. Aj?ebanlur /Y/f/'s Junonis, i. e. volunlate; vel fatis, pro malis, ul III. 182." — Servius. "Non taui quoniam lioc Junonis odium falale erat, ul Servius; sed potius , quoniam hi ii»si Trojanorum errorcs falales erant." — Heyne. Not only these two, but all other commentators and translators, as far as I know, have wholly mistaken the meaning- of this passage, which is not, (hat the Trojans w(?;-6' jactati, fatigati, ov ix^WiWx, harassed, or driven hither and thither by the fates, {actus being never used in the sense assigned to it in such interpretation), but sim|»ly that they were driven onward, or ton-ard Latii/m, by the fates, (acti fatis); while at the sanu' lime they were driven backward, or from Latium , by Juno, (.vrcebat LONGE LATio). The rcsult was, multos per annos erra- itANT MARIA OMNIA ciRCUM : words could uot luorc clearly express the o|)posilion of the forces, between which the Trojans were placed ; an opposition on which hangs the whole action of the poem. The invidia of Juno, con- cerning which Ser\ius (pieries, was manifested l)y her I 11 using- her utmost exertions to prevent the Trojans from arriving at the place toward which tlicy were im|jelled by the fates ; i, e. at which it was fated tliey should arrive. As ACTi FATis here, so "fato i)rofugus venit," verse 6; "sedes ubi fata quietas ostendunt," verse 209; "data fata secutus," verse 386; "fata deum vestras exquirere terras imperils egere suis" (En. VII. 239); "fatisque vocantia regna" (En. V. 656); &c.; through all which expressions runs the one constant idea of the fates calling, forcing, driving (agentia) the Trojans toward Latium. 42. ITALIA TEUCRORUM AVERTERE REGEM JNoT merely, turn away, but turn back, from Italy; make him turn, so as to show his back. So Ovid, of Her- cules in the combat with Achelous forcing- his adver- sary round, and then jumping upon his back: "Impulsumque manu, (certum mihi vera fateri) Protinus avertit; tergoque onerosus inhacsit." Metam. IX. 53. And Virgil himself (En. IV. 389), of Dido turning her back on Eneas as she goes away and leaves him: " — Seque ex oculis avertit et aufert." and, En. VIII. 207, of Cacus driving the oxen from their stable to his cave: "Quatuor a stabulis praestanti corpora tauros Avertit." Not merely turns off from their stable, but drives from their stable in the opposite direction. See Comm. En. I. 572. 12 I 48. ILLUM EXPIRANTKM TRANSFIXO PECTORE FLAMMAS TURBINE CORRiPUIT SCOPULOQUE INFIXIT ACUTO "Turbine. Volubilitale ventorum. Scopulo. Saxo emi- nenli." — Servids. "Hub sie im Wirbel empor, und spiesst' an ein scharfes Gcslcin ihn." Voss. "Ipsiim vero Pallas fulmine pcrcussum procellcC vi scopulo eliam allisil." — Heyne. "Impegil nipi acuta^." — Ru^eus. "Infixit. Inflixit , leclionem quorundam MSS. facile praBtullssem, el quod slalim praecesserit transfixo, unde evadit inconclnna cognaUe dictionis repctitio, el quod eliam, En. X. 303: 'Namque inflicta vadis, dorso dum pendct iniquo;' si Sidon. Apoll. v. 197, haud luerelur vulgalam scrip- lurani : 'Fixusque Capharei Cautibus, inter aquas flanunaiu ruclabat Oileus.'" Wakefield. To which crilicism of Wakelield's, Forbiger adds: "Pra?- lerea eliam aculo scopulo mfigcncU voc. aecomniodatius vidclur quam in/Ugeiidi." And Wagner : "aculo scopulo iiifuji melius." "Erschlug- ihn selbsl mil dem Blilze, und liess sodann seinen Leichnain von den Wcllcn an die Kli|»pen spiessen." Ladewic;. This inlerprelalion and Ihesc crilicisms are founded allo^elher on a false conception of Ihe meaning of Ihe word in/if/<-n' , N\liicli is never lo lix on, bul always eillier lo lix ///. or lo lix nUh, i. e. pierce witJi. Sco- pulo infixit aculo, pierced with a sharp-poinled rock; i. e. hurled a sharp-poinled rock on him, so as to pierce liim through. So (En. All. 121) ..Cornua obnixi infi- I J3 gunt," lix their horns, not ow, hui in; uifix their horns; stick their horns into each other; stick each other with their horns: q. d. Cornibus se nuituo infigunt; "Re- Unquere vero aeiileum in audientium animis, is demum potest, qui non pungit, sed infigil." Pun. Jun. Epist.I.20; and exactly parallel to our text: "Saturnius me sic infixit Jupiter, Jovisque numcn Mulcibri adscivit manus. Hos ille cunoos fabrica crudeli inserens, Perrupil alius: qua miser soUcrtia Transverbcratus, castrum hoc Furiarum incolo." Cicero (translating from Aeschylus) Tuscul. Quaest. II. 10. In confirmation of this view of the passage, I may observe: 1st, that it is easier to imagine a man pierced through with a sharp-pointed rock, than flung on a sharp-pointed rock, so as to remain permanently im- paled on it; and 2ndly, that the accounts given of the transaction, by Quintus Calaber and Seneca, agree as perfectly with this view as they disagree with the opposite: Kai vv Kiv i^i]XvIb xaxov yogov. ft i^^ ug' aiTW, evTS TiUQog [xsyaXoio X(xt LyxflaSoio daicpQMV IluXXug ustguf.i(vi] ^ixiXriv smxa^^uls yt](Sov. 1] Q ST I Kuinui nisv vn uxa(xuroio l\yuvioq, ui&ttloEv nvtiovTog iaa) x&ovog' wg aga Aokqmv Kl^KffxukufJsv avaaia 8vacii.if.wQ0v ovgsog axgtj, vil)o&ev sisginovaa, ^uqvve 8s xagTsgov avSga. anq)i 8s fjiv S^avaToio fif}.ag sxi/yjaai' oh&gog, ycxii] oftcjg 8firidivTa xai ujQvysia sn ttovtu). Quintus Calab. J^IV. 567. And so Seneca; who, having presented us with Ajax clinging to the rock to which he had swum for safety, after his ship had been sunk, and himself struck with lightning, and there uttering violent imprecations against the Deity, adds: 14 I "Plura cum auderet furens, Tridcnte rupem subruit pulsain pater Neptunus, imis exerens undis caput, Solvilque raontem; quem cadens secum tulit: Terraque et igne viclus et pelag-o jacet." Again. 55'^. And so also, beyond doubt, we are to understand Si- donius Apollinaris's — "Fixusque Capharei Cautibus, inter aquas flammani ructabal Oileus." Not, with Wakefield and the other coniuicntators, fixed on the rocks of Caphareus, but, pierced with the rocks of Caphareus, and lying under them. Compare (En. IX. 101) "lixo pulmonc," the pierced lung; "lixo cerebro" (En. XII. 537) the pierced brain; "verubus trcmentia figunt" (En. I. 216), not, fix on the spits, but, slick or l)ierce with the spits; and especially (Ovid. Ihis. 341): "Viscera sic aliquis scopulus tua figat, ut olim, Fixa sub Euboico Graia fuere sinu," — |)ierced and pinned down with a rock, at the bottom of the Euboean gulf. Turbine. Scopulo. — Not two instruments, a jvhirl- 7vind and a rock; but, one single instrument, a whirl- ing rock; scopulo turbineo; in modo turbinis se circum- agenle; as if Virgil had said, Solo affixit ilium correptum et transverberatum scopulo aculo in cum maxima vi ro- lalo: or, more briefly, Turbine scopuli aculi corripuil et infixit. Compare: "Pra;cipUcm scopulo alque intjeulis turbine saxi Excutit cffundilque solo." En. All. 531. " . . . . Stupct obvia leto Tnrba super slanlem, atquc cinissi turbine montis (Uiruilur." Stat. Thch. II. 564. "Idoiu alias turres saxis ct turbine crebro Laxat." Stat. Thcb. X 742. I 15 In all which passages turbo is not a whirlwind, or whirl- ing of the wind; but, the whirl or whirling of the just mentioned stone; as at verse 594 of En. VI. it is also not a wJiirlwind, but the whirl of the just mentioned thunderbolt. So understood, 1st, the passage is according to Virgil's usual manner, the latter part of the line explaining and defining the general statement contained in the for- mer; and, 2ndly, Pallas kills her enemy, uot by the somewhat roundabout and unusual method of first striking him with thunder, and then snatching him up in a whirlwind, and then either dashing him against a sharp rock, and leaving him impaled there, or, as I have shown is undoubtedly the meaning, impaling him with a sharp rock, but by the more compendious and less out-of-the-way method of first striking him with thunder, and then wiiirling a sharp-pointed rock on top of him, so as to impale him. From Milton's imitation of this passage, in his Pa- radise Lost (II. 180), it appears that even he fell into the general ond double error: "Caug-ht in a fiery tempest shall be hurled, Each on his rock transfixed." Caro's translation shows that he had no definite idea whatever of the meaning: "A tale un turbo In preda il die; che per acuti scogli Miserabil ne fe' rapina, e scempio." EXPIRANTEM TRANSFIXO PECTORE FLAMMAS. — Breathing, exhaling out of his mouth, the flames of the thunderbolt which had pierced his breast. Compare Stat. Theb. XI. 1. "Postquam niagnanimus furias virtutis iniquae Consumpsit Caj^aneus, expiravitque receplum Fulmen;" and Ovid. Met. VIII. 356 ; of the Calydonian boar: "Lux micat ex oculis, spiralque e pectore flamma." 10 I 50. AST EGO OU/E DIVUM INCEDO REGINA JOVISQUE ET SOROU ET CONJUX UNA CUM GENTE TOT ANNOS BELLA GERO Incedo. — "Wird besonders von der leierlichen, wiirde- vollen Hallung- im Gauge gebrauchl; vers. 500, von der Dido, 'Regina incessil.' Riihnk. zu Terent. Andr. I. 1. 100. Eun. V. 3, 9. Deshalb der majeslatischen Juno eigenlhumlich, HQaiov (jadiUiv. Also nichl fiir sum, sondern ganz eigenllich." — Thiel. "But I "who walk in awful state above." Dryden. "■Jncedere est ingredi, sed proprie cum quadam pompa et faslu." — Gesner. "Incessus dearum, ini[)riniis Junonls, gravitate sua notus.". — Heyne. And so also Holdsworlh and Rua^us. I think, on the contrary, that incedo, bolh here and elsewhere, expresses only the stepping or walking mo- tion generally; and that the character of the step or walk, if inferable at all, is to be inferred only from the context. Accordingly, "Magnifice incedit" (Liv. II. 6); "Turpc incedcre" (Catull. XXXXII. S); '-Molliler ince- dit" (Ovid, Amor. II. 23); "Passu incedit inerti" (Ovid. Metam. II. 772); "Melius est incessu regem quam im- perium regno claudicare" (Justin, vi. //. 6); "Incessus omnibus. animalibus certus et uniusmodi, et in suo, cui- que, genere" (Plin. X. 38). The emphasis, therefore, is not on incedo, but on re- gina; and the meaning is, / who step, or nalk, queen of the Gods; the dignity of the step being, not expressed by incedo, but inferable from regina. The expression rorres|)onds exactly to "ibit regina" (En. II. 57 S) ; with this dilference only, that "ibil" does not, like incedo, specify motion on foot. I 17 JovisotiE ET soROR ET coNJDX. — Botli Ihc cts are em- phatic. JOVISQUE et SOROR Ct CONJUX. Bella expresses the organized resislance which she meets, and the uncertainty of the issue; and, being pkxced lirst word in the Unc, is emphatic. 56. HIC VASTO REX ^OLUS ANTRO LUCTANTES VENTOS TEMPESTATESQUE SONORAS IMPERIO PREMIT AC VINCLIS ET CARCERE FR^NAT ILLI INDIGNANTES MAGNO CUM MURMURE MONTIS CIRCUM CLAUSTRA FREMUNT CELSA SEDET yEOLUS ARCE SCEPTRA TENENS MOLLITQUE ANIBIOS ET TEMPERAT IRAS m FACIAT MARIA AC TERRAS C(ELUMQUE PROFUNDUM QUIPPE FERANT RAPIDI SECUM VERRANTQUE PER AURAS SED PATER OMNIPOTENS SPELUNCIS ABDIDIT ATRIS HOC METUENS MOLEMQUE ET MONTES INSUPER ALTOS IMPOSUIT REGEMQUE DEDIT QUI FGEDERE CERTO ET PREMERE ET LAXAS SCIRET DARE JUSSUS HABENAS Celsa SEDET ^OLUS ARCE. — "Ccisa In arce, extra antrum, alto in mentis cacumine, infra (vers. 144) auha dicta, seu regia." — Heyne. ^"■Celsa arx est domus regia in cacumine montis in- slructa." — Thiel. • — "Hoch sitzt auf der Zacke bezeptert .iEolus, sanftigt den Geist, und stillt des Zornes Emporung." Voss. "Ed ei lor sopra, realmente adorno Di corona, e di sceUro, in alto assiso, L'ira, e gl' impeli lor niitisa, e molce." Caro, ''''Aiokoii aintivTjg d' ano nstgyjg axijnxQU xegi'CMt'." De BuiGARIS. 3 IS I "Ilig-h in his hall the undaunted monarch stands, And siiakcs his sceptre, and their rage commands." Dryden. Eolus is not represented sittings with his sceptre in his liand, on the top or on a peak of the mountain within which the winds are confined, because such a picture were Ultle short of ridiculous. Neither is he represented sitting on a throne inside, and in the midst of the winds, both because arx cannot well bear such meaning-, and be- cause the actual career, ill-adapted as it was to be the throne-hall of the king, was still less adapted to be the scene of the interview between the king and Juno. Let us see, if, taking the several words of the pas- sage less literally, and therefore (as I think) less pro- saically, we do not obtain a meaning free from all difficulty. ScEPTRA TENENS. — Not actuallij holding his seeptre in his hand, but invested with regal power, in possession of the supreme authority, as (Stat. The!). I. 140)'. — "ut sceptra tenentem "Fcedere pra;cipiti semper novus angeret haires." also (Ovid. Ex Ponto III. 2. 59.) Regna Thoas habuit, Mseotide clarus in ora: Nee fuit Euxinis notior alter aquis. Sceptra tencnle illo, liquidas fecisse per auras, Ncscio quara dicunt Iphigenian iter." And separately, sceptra (as in En. J. 82, 257 ; iT'. 597 ; VII. 252; and innumerable passages, both of Virgil and other writers), not, literally sceptre, but, supreme do- minion; and TENENS (as in verse 143; 11. 505, &c.), not, literally holding in the hand, bijt, possessing. Sedet. — Not, literally sits, but, has his residence, or seat, (the ordinary "Sedem habet") as En. IX. 4, where see Servius. Arce. — Neither the mountain containing the dun- geon of the winds, nor an elevated throne in the dun- geon, but, according to the most common use of the word (compare "Fundanlem arces," En. IV. 260: "Arcem allollcre leclis," En. III. 134: "Quas condidit T 19 arces," Eel. II. 61; "Cum laeeras aries ballislave con- culil arces," Ovid, Met. JI. 500), slroiifj place, strong- hold, burg-, keep, schloss, castle, royal palace; viz. in the immediate vicinity of the mountain and dungeon. MOLLIT ANIMOS ET TEMPERAT IRAS. — ThcSC W'Ords, like SEDET and TENENS, do not refer particularly to any present act of Eolus, to his soothing the winds with his sceptre, or from his throne, but to the general mollifying effect produced on them by their confinement and restraint, under the command of a governor. The words are connected in the sense with the preceding IMPERIO PREMIT AC VINCLIS ET CARCERE FR^NAT , aS if Virgil had said, Premens imperio suo, et fraenans vinclis et carcere, mollit animos, &c. And accordingly we are told (verse 62) , ni faciat , unless they were thus mollified, not by that special and personal conci- liation generally supposed to be expressed by the words, scEPTRA TENENS SEDET MOLLiTQUE , but, by being kept in prison, and under government, they would, in their un- tamed violence, sweep the whole world before them; to prevent which consummation, hoc metuens, the provident Father of all placed them under the mollifying influence of confinement and a governor. Mollio (to soften) is to be carefully distinguished from mulceo and lenio (to soothe) ; the latter being to produce a softening effect by soft measures; mollio, to produce the softening effect by any measures, no matter how severe or rigorous ; in the passage before us, vinclis et carcere. Compare "Dentibus mollitur cibus" (Cicero, Be Nat. Bear. II. 134) "Usque laborantes duni ferrum molliat ig-nis" HoR. Sat. I. IV. 20. The whole passage may be resolved into five parts or clauses: the first of which, hic vasto fr^- NAT, informs us that king Eolus kept the winds con- fined in a strong cave. The second, illi indignantes FREMDNT, morc particular, presents us with the prisoners impatient to get out, and roaring about the fastenings 2U i or enclosing barriers of their prison. The third clause, CELSA niAS, as particular with respect to the governor as the second with respect to the governed, informs us, that he dwells in a strong burg or castle, and that the object and result of his government is the softening or mollifying of the unruly spirits over which he is placed. The fourth clause, ni faciat .... auras, explains the necessity for these precautionary measures of the Eternal Father. And, finally, in the fifth clause, SED PATER .... DEDiT, there is a resume of the mea- sures, followed by the important corollary, qui . . . HA15ENAS (serving as a connecting link between the whole previous description, and the request made by Juno), that the governor had authority to let out his pri- soners as occasion required. In the opinion, that the atw of Eolus was separate and distinct from the cavern of the winds , I am sup- ported by the authority of Quintus Calaber, who de- scribes Eolus as going out of his house to the cavern: — Iy.(TO d'jitolnjv, uvei-Kav oOt ht.%jov (nrrcov Ayxqu nfhi, aivyiqi]aiv uqiiqu^av itfufL niTQijat, xoihi Y.iU tjXJjfVTtt. dofioi d'fy/tiTTCi ntXovtnL Au)).ov IirnoTudao. y.i/fv Ss fiiy fvSov lovxa (Tvv T'ctlnyat, y.ui naiai 8vMxai8fxu. y.ai at fitnfv, OjIOK yld^tiVlXlt] /iavUMV fJTIUl]8tJ0 VnGTM. Avraq ()/' ovx uni&r,(Tf, //oAoiv (5'fXTo(ri/f fuXad^qiiiv, XiQ'Tiv vn' axufiuToiinv oqog fuya ivijJt jqiairt], ei'd-' utfftoi xflitdftvoi Svaij^ffi: iji'lti^oyro, ******** Quint. Calab. XIV. 473. and by that of Ovid, whose palace of Eolus (He- mid. XI. 05). has no one character even in Ihe most remote degree iiidiciiling an identity with the prison of tin; winds. f lii'g to suliiuit liic above, I believe entirely new, cxpiaiialion of the whole passage, in place not only of I 21 the explanations given by previous Virgilian comnien la- tors, but in place of that proposed by myself in the 19"' No. of the Classical Museum & quoted from that Periodical with conditional approbation by Forbiger in his 3"i Edition. Claustra. — Neither, with Caro, the inclosed place, or prison 27*^//(chiostri); nor, with Heyne and Forbiger, the vents or openings (spiracula) ; but , primarily and literally, the locks or other fastenings, and therefore, secondarily, the doors or other harriers by which the passage out was closed (clausum), and made fast. I do not find an instance of claustra used in any other sense. The Italians, indeed, designate a place kept locked, or secured by claustra, chiostri (cloisters); but such appli- cation of the term seems to have been unknown to the classic writers. Therefore, circdm claustra, about the fastenings, i. e. about the fast-closed barriers or gates, in momentary expectation of their being opened. Compare: "Non aliler, nioto quam si pater j^ohis antro Portam iterum saxo premat impcriosus, et omne Claudat iter, jam jam speranlibus sequora venlis." Stat. Theb. J. 246. "Sublexit nox atra polos; jam claustra rig-cntis ^olia pcrcussa sonant, venturaque rauco Ore minatur liienis." Stat. Theh. I. 346. — "Sex rescrata diebus Carceris .<$}olii janua laxa patet." Ovid. Fasti II. 455. Abdidit. — "Verbarg." — Voss. No ; but, stowed awaij, put away in a place apart, or by themselves : first, be- cause the idea of hiding is, notwithstanding the contrary opinion of the lexicographers, foreign from this word, which always means simiAy putting away, apart, (ab-do); compare "abde dome" (Georg III. 96) ; "lateri capulo lenus abdidit ensem" (En. II. 553), &c. &c. ; and se- condly, because it was plainly Jupiter's intention to 22 I put the winds, nol, in a place where they could not be readily seen or found, but, merely in a sale place apart. 73. INCUTE VIM VENTIS SUBMEllSASQUE OBIIUE PUPPES Servius having left his successors their choice betw-een two interpretations of this passage, either to understand VIM to mean strength, and ventis the object to which the strength was to be given ("I venti innaspra." Al- FiERi.), or to understand vim to mean violence,^and ventis to be the instrument by means of which the violence was to be inflicted, viz. on the Trojan fleet, Rua^us, Heyne, Voss and most other commentators have made clioice of the former interpretation ; I very much prefer the latter; first, because I think incutio generally expresses something of aggression or hostility, and therefore although perfectly correct to say inciiie metum, terrorem, iram, into a person or thing, it were less correct to say in- cute VIM, where no violence or harm of any kind is in- tended towards the recipient of lhe?'W. Secondly, because even if the expression were perfectly unobjectionable, yet the two successive attacks, first on the winds in order to drive or as we might say knock (incutere) power into them, and then, with the winds so strengthened, onEneas's fleet in order to sink it, were, as it seems to me at least, if not absolutely awkward, certainly not very ele- gant; thirdly, it is nol probable thalJuno having taken the utmost pains in the two immediately preceding lines to rivet the attention of Eolus upon his prey, would in tlic words iNCHTE VIM VENTIS. abruptly call oil' his allcMlion from it in order to fix it upon the winds, in order to inform him what he had first to do willi them. Iieforc he could be in a fit condition to spring I 23 upon Ihc g-ame. How much more probable that she said: — A nation, wilh whom I am al war, is sailing at this moment on Die Tuscan sea ; attack them with your winds, sink them or scatter them, &c. For all these reasons I give a decided preference to Servius's second interpretation, already justified by him by the authority of Ennius, and confirmed as I think by Ovid's "Improba pugnat hiems, indig:naturque quod ausiin Scribere, se rigidas incutiente minas." Trisi. I. II. 41. If Ovid does not use too bold an expression, when he causes the storm incuiere minas against him, i. e. against the vessel in which he was sailing, how far from bold is it in Virgil to make the storm incutere vim against the fleet of Eneas! 78. OMNES UT TECUM MERITIS PRO TALIBUS ANNOS EXIGAT "Livia sic tecum sociales corapleat annos." Ovid. Trist. IL 161. 82. TU MIHI QUODCUNQUE HOC REGNI TU SCEPTRA JOVEMQUE CONCILIAS TU DAS EPULIS ACCUMBERE DIVUM NIMBORUMQUE FACIS TEMPESTATUMQUE POTENTEM "Tuis in me officiis debeo totum hoc ventorum reg- num." — Wagner. Virg. Br. En. "Du hast^diese Gewalt, du Jupiters Huld uad den Zepter Mir ja verschafft." Voss. 24 I ••These airy king-doms, and this •wide command. Arc all the presciils ol' your bounleous hand." Drydex. No; but Ihc very contrary: this petty domain of mine; lliis domain of mine, such as il is. Compare: "Tu dccus hoc quodcunque lyra, primusque dedisti Noil vulgare loqui, ct famam sperare sepnlchro." Stat. Silv. V. III. 213. Tr, TU, TU. — The second person, generally not ex- pressed al all , repeated here three times , is in the highest degree emphatic. 85. n^C UBI DICTA CA^'^JM CONVERSA CUSPIDE MONTEM IMPULIT IN LATUS "Egrcgie dci et potentia et impeluosum obsequium de- claralur, iino sub ictu monte non (ul olim accipiebam) in latus dimoto , verum latere mentis percusso hasta del, perrupto et sic patei'acto" .... "hastam intor- quet, imniittit, ruptaque rape viam ventis facit qua erumpant." — Heyne. "Ictu sceptri partem mentis in latus versus protru- dit, ut foramine, hiatu facto, omnes venti simul prorum- perc possint." — Forbiger. — "Al cavcrnoso nionte Con lo sccUro d'un urlo il fianco aperse." Caro. — "Hurled against the mountain side His (|nivcring- spear, and all the God applied." Dryde.n. "Zum hoiilen Gebirg' hinwendcnd die Spitze Schlug er die Seit'." Voss. Imi'ULit. — "Contorsit." — Gesner. I 25 To all these interpretations there seem to me to be these two decisive general objections: first, that the cave beinp: |)rovided with claustra (see verse 60, and Cora- mcntj, Uie violent breaking- it open, eilher by pushing the mountain to one side, or by making a breach in its parietes, was uncalled for, and in direct violation of the poetic maxim : "Nee Deus inlersit nisi dignus vindice nodus." Secondly, that it is very unlikely that the poet who de- scribes at such length the forcing open of the door of Priam's palace by Pyrrhus, and of the cave of Cacus by Hercules, would have disposed of Eolus's either removing the whole mountain from its base , or breaking by main force into its cavity, as briefly, in the very same terms, and with no greater emphasis than he might have described the pushing open of a common door. I therefore reject all these explanations, and, follow- ing the strict grammatical construction, understand the meaning to be, Pushed the hollow mountain on the side with his spear turned towards it; i. e. turned his spear towards the hollow mountain's side, and pushed the hollow mountain's side with it. SeeComm. En. II. 131. CuspiDE MONTEM IMPULIT. — Not, flung liis spear against the mountain, because in the few instances which are to be found of impellere used in this sense, the object flung is always put in the accusative, not the ablative. Compare : — "Inquc meos ferrum flammasque penates Impulit." . Ovid, Metam. XII. 551. "Tclum ingens avide, el quanlo non ante lacerlo Impulit." Stat. Theh. VIIL 684. but, simply, and conformably with the ordinary mean- ing of the term, pushed the mountain with his spear. — "Et dextra discedens impulit altam, Hand ignara modi, puppim." En. J. 246. 4 2G I Cavcm montfm. — The Iiollow niounlain, i. e. thai l»arl of the hollow niouiUain where the claustra were, or vvliich iDnned the claustra; this new term being- used, not nicrely for the sake of variety, but. to avoid minute parlicularization. In laths. — Not, sidervaxjs, or to one side, as (Stat. Thclj. IX. SO), "Sese dominumqne retorsil in hitus," l)Ul, on its side, as (En. All. 505), ">Encas llutulum Sucroncm .... excipil in lalus;" takes him on the side; wounds liini in the side, and so, correctly, De Bulgaris: ''Tvye nltvQodsv." The expression, laius mantis occurs again in Georg-. IV. 418. and, as it happens, in connexion with a cave : — "Est spccus ingeiis Exesi latere in monlis;" also in Silius Italicus (IV. 524): "Avulsum raontis volvit latus." CoNVERSA. — Turned towards the mountain: or, as we' would say, willi his spear levelled against the moun- tain. So: — "In me convertitc ferrum." En. LY. 427. "Video P. C. in me omnium veslrum ora alque ocuios esse conversos." — Cic. in Catal. IV. 1. In confirmation of the above analysis, I may ob- serve further : first, that impeUere is the word specially employed both by Virgil himself elsewhere and by oilier Latin writers to express the forcible pushing, or throwing- open, of gales or other barriers. See En. VII. G21 : — "Impulil ipsa manu portas." where observe the exact parallelism, manu portas; cuspide montcm ; also : — "Impulsa! paluerc fores." Sil. Ital. III. 693. andBurmann. ad ]'aler. Place. I. 610. And secondly, that it appears Irdiii ihr lepresciitalions on anciiMil marhles I 27 (see article Circus in Smith's Diet, uf Greek and Ro- man Antiquities) that the carcercs of the circus (of which those of the winds are plainly, as I shall show in Comment on verse 86, an adumbration) were thrown open by forcibly pusliing- from without inwards. If it be objected to the whole of the preceding: in- terpretation , that not only Quintus Calaber (see Com- ment, verse 56), but Statins (Theb. VI. 108), and other Latin poets, represent the cave of the winds as actually broken into, I reply, that in this case, as in so many others, either there were more versions of the story than one, or Virgil's better judgment taught him not to adhere loo closely to what was absurd or preposterous in the one only version. 86. AC VENTI VELUT AGMINE FACTO QUA DATA PORTA RUUNT ET TERRAS TURBINE PERFLANT For the sake of rapidity, Virgil connects the rushing forth of the winds immediately with the push of Eolus's spear: impulit ac venti. An inferior poet would, no doubt, have told us that the effect of the push was to throw open the barriers, and that, on the barriers being thrown Open, the winds immediately rushed forth.* Compare En. II. 259 where Sinon "laxat claustra," undoes the fastenings, and inuuediately "patefactus * This , as I have found since the above commentary was written (in 1852), has been actually done by Alfieri in his translation: "Disse, e coll' asta al suol rivolta, un cavo Masso rcspinse all' un de' canti : appena Schiusa tal porta, impetuosa I'unri Sgorga dei venli la feroce squadra ' ■). //. 1853 . 28 I cqmis" (oltservc the actual opening of the door and how or by whom opened, is passed over sub silenlio for the sake of rapidity) "reddit illos ad auras." Compare idso: — "Atque illam media inter lalia ferro CoUapsam aspiciunt cornitcs." En. IV. 063. and Comni. There can, I think, be little doubt that the whole of this fine picture of the winds indignantly roaring about the claustra of the career in which they are con- fined, and, upon the opening- of those claustra, rushing out, and furiously sweeping over land and sea, was suggested to Virgil by the chariot-races of the Ludi Circcnses, in which the horses, ready yoked, were kept confined, until the moment of starting, within a career, separated only from the spatia of the circus by claustra, for the opening of which the horses used to be seen testifying their impatience by neighing and snorting, and pawing against them with their feet, and on the opening of which they rushed forth (agmine facto)^ two, throe, or four chariots abreast, and swept the spatia with the impetuosity of the whirlwind. In proof of the correctness of this opinion, I beg the reader, first, to observe, that almost all the words of the description, and notably the words luctantes, im- perlo prcmit, framat, fremunt, mollit anlmos, tempcrat has, ferant rapidl secum, verrant per' auras, are suit- able to the manege; secondly, to refer to Val. Flaccus (I. 611), where, in a manifest copy of the scene be- fore us, he will find the winds to be styled, in express terms, horses rushing front the career, "Fundunt se car- cere la'li Thraces d^//«/, Zcphyrusquc," Eneas conscendit, petit, videal, prospicit; aniienta seqiiun- tur, longum pascitur; /Eneas constitil, corripuit; fidus gerebat; -(^neas sternit, miscet, absislit, fundat, aequet, petit, partitur; bonus onerarat, dederat; ^neas dividil, mulcet. And verse 230: Jupiter constilit, defixit; tristior alloquilur; qui regis, terres; ^neas, Trees potuere; cunctus clauditur; qui tenerent; sen- tentia vertit; tortuna insequitur; Antenor potuit. Then again, in It mare, the change to the rapid con- struction, indicative of the change to the rapid action; and finally, the placid construction in the placid and final compostus quiescit. 96. EXTEMPLO ^NEuE SOLVUNTUR FRlGORE MEMBRA Ihe first ground which has been assigned for this ex- treme emotion of Eneas (considered by many as cow- ardly and unworthy of Virgil's hero; see in Sir Wal- ter Scott's edition of the Somers Tracts, vol. XII. p. 10, a Tract entitled, "Verdicts of the learned concerning Virgil's and Homer's Heroic Poems"), is that which is expressed in the following lines of Ronsard's Franciade* (c. 2): "Ha tu devois en la Troyenne guerre Faire couler mon cerveau contre terre, Sans me sauver par une fcinte ainsi, Pour me Irahir a ce cruel souci; J'eusse eu ma part aux tombeaux de mes percs; On je n' atten que ces vagues ameres Pour mon sepulchre." * One of those innumerable, once fashionable, but now forgotten poems, which the poetasters of some two hun(lrerison of the winds and Eolus's rocky king- dom ol Eolia, in which it was contained; also between Eolus's delegated authority over the winds, and his ab- solute niillioiily over the rest of the kingdom. Precisely similar (o tiie absolute clauso carcere in our text, is ihc absolute claiisn Ohjiiipo. \ers. 378. I 53 150. ET VASTAS APERIT SYRTES ET TEMPEKAT /E(JU0R ATOUE ROTIS SUMMAS LEVIBUS PERLABITUR UNDAS "Via ex arenosis vadis facta, ut naves exire possenl; refer ad Ires naves, vv. 110 — 111." — Heyne. "Viam per arenosa vada facit, ut naves expedire se possint." — Wagner, Virff. Br. En. "Le tre, che ne I'arena eran sepolte, Egli slesso le vaste Sirti aprendo, Sollevo col tridenle, ed a se trassele." Caro. "Oeffnet durcli Sand und Walten die Balin." Voss. But the addition of vastas to syrtes shows plainly that the action of aperit is not merely on that part of the Syrtes, where the three ships were imbedded, but on the vast Syrtes, or the Syrtes generally. I therefore take the meaning to be, with Servius , that the God opened the Syrtes, i. e. made them apertas , open or safe for ships, by levelling them where they had been raised into partial inequalities by the storm, and by spreading the water evenly upon tliem, of such depth that vessels could sail over them without danger: the three imbedded ships were thus set afloat again. Vastas aperit syrtes, so understood, harmonizes well with tem- perat ^equor ; for the sea ceased to break on the Syrtes, when they were levelled and deeply covered by the water. It is probable that apertas was the term or- dinarily applied by seafaring men to express the safe state of the Syrtes, or that state in which they were covered by water of depth sufficient for vessels to sail in, that state in which the sailor might enter them, intrarel. Compare : 54 I — "Madidaque cadenle riiadc, Gcetulas intrabit navita Syrtes." Claud, dc Quart. Consul. Honorii. 437. And, exactly parallel to our lexl: "Pandc precor gemino placalum Castore pontum; Tcmperet sequoream dux Cytlierea viam." RuTiL. Itin. I. 155. The same term is applied to the sea itself, both in our own language and in Latin; "Aperto mari navigare" (Pun. Hist. Nat. I. II. 46). The poet, having slated the precise manner in which the God removed the other three ships from the rocks, judiciously avoids a similar particularity of description with respect to those which had been imbedded in the sand, leaving his reader to conclude that the ships were not neglected, when the shoals in which they were imbedded were made open and navigable. The account which Sallust (Bell. Ju- gurth. 80), gives of the Syrtes, goes to confirm this ex- planation: "Duo sunt sinus prope in extrema Africa impares magnitudine, pari natura: quorum proxima terne prwalta sunt; ca'lera, uti fors tulit, alta; alia in tempestate vadosa: nam ubi mare magnum esse et sre- vire coepit ventis, limum arenamque et saxa ingenlia fluctus trahunt; ita facies locorum cum ventis simul mulatur: Syrtes ab tractu nominate'." Sallust's account of the Syrtes, dressed in poetical language, becomes Virgil's, and Virgil's turned into plain prose becomes Sallust's. The historian describes the winds and waves as rendering the Syrtes now vadosas, now altas; while the poet ascribes the same effect to the agency of Eu- rus and Neptune, the former of whom "illidit (naves. viz.) vadis, atque aggere cingit arcna\" i. e. makes the Syrtes vadosas, and dashes the ships upon them; the latter aperit svrtes, i. e. makes the vadosas (the shallow ;iiiil iiiipassal)le, and therefore, closed) a//as ((lec|> and passable, and therefore, open, apertas,) aiiecause , even if secundus could bear such t r)7 meaning elsewhere , it could not well bear it here, where the speed ol' the chariot has been expressed, quite suflicienlly for the occasion, in the immediately precedinc: volans. Neither is secundus currm, currus felix, or currus propitms ; such expressions bearing no intelligible meaning at all. Neither, finally, is currus secundus, currus ohsequens Trojanis , for the reason assigned by Jahn. The erroneousness of these inter- pretations, although, as I have just said, pretty nearly equal, is, however, of two very ditferent kinds, and arises from two perfectly distinct sources: — in the three modern commentators, from a misconception of the sense in which the word is used, not only by Vir- gil himself elsewhere, but by all other Latin writers; in Servius, who, as might be expected from his having lived so near the time of Virgil, and having possessed a vernacular knowledge of the language, perfectly un- derstood the ordinary meaning of the term , from a false application of the term to the context; the very kind of error into which a man of so narrow and contracted a mind as Servius, and so wholly incapable of understanding and appreciating poetical excellence, was likely, notwitlistanding all his knowledge of the language, to fall; and into which he has, in fact, so perpetually fallen. Having said so much of the false interpretations, let us now see if we cannot ascertain what is the true. And first, with respect to the principal word, secundus ; this word has, as far as I can discover, but two mean- ings, either in Virgil or any other Latin writer; first, the primary one of second in rank or order, as in the expressions, secundfe menste: (En. VIII. 283); Haud ulli veterum virtute secundus: (En. A'l. 441); and se- condly, the secondary meaning (immediately derived from and intimately connected with the primary), of seconding, going, or acting along with another, as a second, not principal , actor. This is its meaning in 8 58 f all such expressions as secundus venlus, secundus arnnis, secundus fluclus, secundus clamor, secunda for- luna, secunda; res; wind, river, wave, clamor, fortune, circumstances, seconding you, going along with you: in all which expressions it means exactly the opposite of adversus ; adversus ventus, amnis, fluclus, clamor, adversa fortuna, adversa; res, being, wind, river, wave, clamor, fortune, circumstances, opposing you, going directly the opposite way to tiiat which you are going. And so Cresar (apiid Cicer. ad Attic. X. 8) "'Omnia secundissima nobis, adversissima illis accidisse videntur." Both meanings of secundus flow from its root, sequor; and, accordingly, it is by a compound of its root that Servius correctly renders it in the passage before us, viz. by obsequens; going readily along with you in the direction you wish, seconding you. If, then, secundus is seconding, going readily along with, or according to the will of, and if the will re- ferred to is not that of the Trojans, whose will is it? Evidently ^'eptune's. The chariot is secundus: seconds the will of the driver, goes readily along with him wherever he wishes, ohsequUur. If it be objected that secundus, in such sense, however applicable to the horses, seems somewhat inap|)licable to the insen- sible chariot, I answer: First, that, even in our own language, we apply the terms, fast, slow, going, running, slopping, driving, and innumerable others, indifferently to carriage and horses. Secondly, that in the Iliad, the term horses is so frequently used for chariot, as to have given rise to an opinion (hat the Homeric chiefs fought on horseback; and that there is scarcely one of the ancient writers in which a similar laxity of ex- pression may not be found ; of which perhaps the follow- ing words in a fragment of Alca>us preserved by Hi- merius, will serve as well as any other for an example: ^oxK Tfi ETii TOVTOK c([>ua. fkcwi'eiv {xv>ii'oi Je tjoav I 59 TO aiJ/LLo) d'e t7Ti(Sag tni tojv ct{)uai(ov, tipr^ YMi Tovg xvxvovg eig Y7i^)['io()eovg ntieod-ai. Thirdly, that Pindar's a{)iiaTa neiaixf^hva (Pyth. 11.21), seems to be as nearly as possible the exact counterpart of Virgil's ciirrus secimdus, understood as I have explained it. Fourthly, that the prosaic strictness which forbids the application of secimdus in this sense to currus, must, to be consistent with itself, equally forbid the application to it of dat lora, the reins being, in pro- saic truth, given loose to the horses, not to the chariot. Should any reader, notwithstanding all these arguments, still entertain a doubt as to the meaning of the passage, I beg to refer him to what I think I may be permitted to call Virgil's own commentary on it, in the last line of the first Georgic: "Fertur equis aurig-a, neque audit currus habenas." FlECTIT EQDOS, CURRUQUE VOLANS DAT LORA SECDNDO. By these words, which are nearly a repetition of "Atque rotis summas levibus perlabitur undas," (verse 151), the poet brings his readers back to the point at which he had broken off, and left the direct thread of the narrative, in order to enter upon the simile just now completed. 60 I 1G3. EST IN SECKSSU LONGO LOCUS INSULA PORTUM KKFICIT OBJECTU LATERUM QUIBUS OMNIS AB ALTO FRANGITUR ISQVE SINUS SCINDIT SESE UNDA REDUCTOS IIINC ATQUE HINC VAST^E RUPES GEMINIQUE MINANTUR IN C(ELVM SCOPULI QUORUM SUB VERTICE LATE ^QUORA TUTA SILENT TUM SILVIS SCENA CORUSCIS DESUPER HORRENTIQUE ATRUM NEMUS IMMINET UMBRA FRONTE SUB ADVERSA SCOPULIS PENDENTIBUS ANTRUM INTUS AOU-E PULCES MVOQUE SEDILIA SAXO NYMPUARUM DOMUS Ejst in secesso LONGO LOCUS. — "Siiui secreto." — Sek- vius. ''Sinuoso Libyie liltore." — Heyne. "Tief zuriiek- gezogene Buchl." — Thiel. "Weit ist zuriickgebogen ein Ort." "E di la liingo a la rivicra un seno." Voss. Caro. "Within a long recess there lies a hay." DllYDEN, "There lies a harbour in a long recess." TiiArp. All wrong; for scxessus never means sinus, or any shape or form whatever, but always 7-etreat, retirement, separation, secession (viz. from the crowd, or hurry of business, or resort of men), recess, but only in the sense in which it is used in such exjiressions as recess of Parliament , recess between the Law Terms , not in the sense of retired place. "Ille mcus in urbe, ille in secessu conlubernalis" (Plin. //. Ep. 13). "Pe(is ut libellos tuos in secessu legam" (Plin. ///. Epist. 15). "Carmina secessum scribentis et olia qua;runt." Ovid. Tiist. I. I. 41. Secessu longo, therefore, descrii)es, not the shape of the place, but how it was circumstanced with respect to liiiman intercourse; not thai it was a lony creek or I Gl inlet, but that il was far remote from the resort of men. The deseriplion of the shape of the place begins with the words insula portum efficit. The mistake of the expositors seems to have arisen from their having con- founded secessus with recessus, which, in many jjlaces, and particularly in the following exactly parallel passage of Claudian, has the very sense assigned by the expo- sitors to secessus in our text: "Urhs, Libyam contra, Tyrio fnndata polcnti, Tenditur in longuni Caralis, tenuemque per undas Obvia dimittit fraclurum flaraina collem. Efficitur portus medium mare: tulaque venlis Omnibus, ing-enti mansuescunt stagiia recessu." Bell. Gildon. 520. PoRTUM. — The description of the port is contained in four distinct predications : — First, insula portum EFFiciT OBJECTU LATERUM ; it is a cove sheltered in front by an island. Secondly, nmc atoue hoc vast^ rupes GEMiNiQUE MiNANTUR IN c(ELUM scopuLi ; and lying between two high, steep, threatening-looking, rocky precipices; for this is the entire meaning of this predication, whether, with Heyne, we understand its structure to be VAST^ RUPES GEMINIOUE SCOPULI MINANTUR; Or, aS I analyze the passage, vasia^ rupes sunt, et gemini sco- puli minantur. Thirdly, tum silvis scena coruscis de- super; the clefts and tops of these precipices, thickly set with trees whose branches lean over the water and shimmer in the wind, constitute a woody landscape. Fourthly, fronte sub adversa scopulis pendentibus antrum ; at the far end of the cove, and directly opposite the entrance, a grotto in the face of the rock. Each of these |)redications has its subsidiary: the lirst has quibus omnis AB ALTO FRANGITUR INQUE SINUS SQNDIT SESE UNDA REDUCTOS ; the second has quorum sub vertice late ^quora tuta siijint ; the third, horrentioue atrum nemus imminet umbra; and the fourth. iNTUs Aou.-E DULCES vivoouE SEDiLiA SAxo. The words HINC ATQUE HINC , and FRONTE SUB ADVERSA, aS well aS 02 I iiic (verse 172), and huc (verse 174), reler back past the subsidiaries to the main subject, portum. Tliat this is the real structure and true analysis of the passag^e, appears from the fact, that the flow of the sense re- mains uninterrupted, nolwilhstandinj^ the omission of any, or all of the subsidiaries, as, for want of a belter name, I have termed the helping- or dependent senten- ces. The three principal subsidiaries, quibds omms ab ALTO FRAKGITUR INQUE SINUS SCINDIT SESE UNDA REDUGTOS, yUORUM SUB VERTICE LATE ^OUORA TUTA SILENT, and INTUS AQU^ DULCEs vivoouE sEDiLiA SAxo , are connected toge- ther not merely as dependents on three connected pre- dications, but as together forming one climax: — open sea-shore — sheltered, safe, and quiet haven — still more sheltered, safe, and quiet grotto. Efficit. — Not merely makes ("Che porto un' iso- letta Lo fa" — Caro), but according to the proper force of the word (ef-Wcere), makes completely, effects, ac- complishes, makes a complete port of the locus. Com- pare : Capilolium .... publice gratis .... exajdificari atque efTici potuil. — Cic. in Verr. V. 48, c. 19 (Steph.). Omni opere efTecto : — C^s. B. G. IV. 18. "Qui hoc primus in nostros mores induxit, qui maxime auxil, qui solus effecit" Cic. de Orat. II. 121. QuiBus OMNis ab alto frangitur inoue sinus scindit SESE UNDA REDUCTOs. — "Siuus replicabilcs." — Servius. "Fracta recedit: tribuuntur et alibi sinus et ipsis fluclibus allisis, qui repulsi sinus faciunt, ut Georg. III., 238." — Heyne. "In orbes semper longius recedentes dissol- vitur fluctus." — Wagner. Virg. Br. En. "Vers 165 nehme ich mil Heyne von den gewolbtcn Kriimmungen, in welche gebrochene Wogen sich formen." — Thiel. It is remarkable that, whilst in all these interpretations so much stress is laid on the mere adjunct reductos, no notice whatever is taken of the verb scindit sese, the very word on which, as it appears to me, the whole meaning'^of the passage hinges. We have only lo allow I 6;] sciNDiT SESE ils duG loicc, uiid set aside for the moinenl the deceptive adjunct reductos, in order to perceive that in the words quibus omnis ab alto frangitdr inque SINUS SCINDIT SESE UNDA , Virgil must si)eak, not of the reflux of the wave or sea, or of the form in which the wave or sea recedes from the shore, but of the ad- vance of the sea forwards between the prominences of the island; for how, except by its flowing up be- tween those prominences, is it possible that it should divide itself, or be divided by them: frangitur inoue SINUS SCINDIT SESE. Compare Ovid, Metamorph. XV. 739, where, speaking of the insula Tiberina, he says: "Scinditur in geminas partes circumfluus amnis. Insula nomen habet, lalerumque a parte duorum, Porrig-it sequales media tellure lacerlos;" the sole difference between which view and that given by Virgil is, that here the water is described as divided by the tvhole island, and into two parts only, while in Virgil's view it is described as divided, not by the whole island, but by ils several projections or promon- tories, and therefore into several parts or sinuses. Com- pare also Ovid, Metam. XIV. 51 : "Parvus erat gurg-es curvos sinuatus in arcus ;" where the idea is the same as thai in the lexl, except that Virgil's sinuses are sharply re-entrant, while Ovid's are gently curved. This interpretation, long ago pro- posed by Turnebus, and adopled by Burmann, but for- gotten, it would seem, by modern commentators, is so far from being contradicted or invalidated as to be even confirmed by reductos, which, (first), is not a participle, but an adjective, corresponding exactly to odoratam (En. VII. 13), inaccessos (En. VII. 11), and numerous other adjectives with participial terminations; nay, is so much an adjective, as to be capable of comparison : "ut qui singulis pinxerunt coloribus, alia tamen emi- nentiora, alia reductiora fecerunt" (Quinctil. Instit. XI. Ill 40)\ and (secondly) means, as clearly shown by C.l I the |»;issa;ie jnsl quoted from Quinclilian, slanding back- ward, or in Ihe Ijack-^roiind, in comparison of some- Ihint^ which is more prominent; precisely the idea which the mathematicians express by the term re-entrant. So reducta valle (En. VI. 703), is not a deep or long valley, but a valley standing- back or re-entrant from the plain ; i. e. extending backward from the plain toward the interior between two ranges of hills; not a sunk valley, or one upon which you look down, but one on a level with, and an offset from, the plain, and into which you look from one end. And so also, in the passage before us, the sinuses into which the edge of the sea is divided by the prominences of the island are reducti, re-entrant between those prominences, offsets of the sea; or, as expressed by Livy (Lib. XXVI.) in his description of the port of Carthago Hispanica: in- trorsum retracti. Compare Mela, ITT. 1. "Frons ilia ali- quamdiu rectam ripam habet; dein modico flexu accepto, mox paullulum cminet; turn reducta itenim, ilerumque recta margine jacens, ad promontorium quod Celticum vocamus, exlcndilur." Having differed so widely from the above-quoted commentators (and I am not ashamed to add even from my own earlier opinion, expressed in the Classical Museum No. 10, and quoted by Forbiger in his 3'''^ Edition) in my interpretation of each of the three words, sinds, sciwdit, and redlttos, I am inclined to differ from them, besides, in the interpretation of the word ukda, which I understand to mean here, not flucttis , or a great wave or billow rolling in from the deep, and breaking violently on the island, but the sea, or. if I may so say, the undulanl itself; a sense in which the term is so frequently used, not only by Vir- gil (ex. gr. Oeorg. I. 360, III. 340. ^-c.) , but by all other Latin writers. So understood, unda seems to me to harmonize belter (a) with Ihe present quietude of the sea after the miraculous stilling of the storm , and (b) with the words, scindit sese in sinus reductos, the I 65 re-enlranl sinuses being less [)roperly consliluent parts of individual waves than oi' the sea itself. Nor let it be said that frangitur contradicts this idea, and points to billows breaking with great force, for we find the self- same term used to express the common breaking: of the sea upon the shore in calm weather, in the words: "Qua vada non spirant, nee fracta rcmurmurat iinda." En. J. 291. Sinus therefore, in the passage before us, is applied to the sea in the identical sense in which it is applied to it, not only by Virgil himself elsewhere, and other Latin writers, but in the familiar projier names, Sinus Adriaticus, Sinus Tarentinus, Sinus Saronicus, &c. ; a sense, it will be observed, directly opposite to that in which it is applied to the female breast, the sails of a ship, or the dress ; the term in these latter applications preserving its original meaning of a concavity, hollow, or depression , while in its application to the sea it means a projection corresponding to, and accurately filling up , an opposite concavity or hollow. This re- markable deviation from , or exception to , the original and still general meaning of the word as applied to other objects, has, no doubt, arisen (as in the case of our own bay) from its having been found convenient in practice to extend the application of a term, which ori*nally and in strictness signified only a hollow or sinuosity of the shore, to the arm of the sea filling it up. Compare Vossius's definition of the word in his Etymol. — "Sinus de mari dicitur metaphorice, quia ut in homine sinus est quod brachiis comprehenditur, ita et in mari sinus est maris pars quasi brachiis ierrce interjecta. GraL'cis est xoXnoq; unde Ilali 'golvo' dicunt pro xoXnw." A similar interpretation will, I think, be found to answer for Georg. IV. 420, where the same words occur again, and where the meaning is: a mountainous promontory runs into the sea, presenting on the exposed side a number of inlets, into which 9 66 I the sea beats, and on the sheltered side the cave of Proteus, and a safe roadstead for sliips. Voss and La Cerda understand reddctos sinus of the two inlets or arms by -which the sea communicates round the island with the port behind: an interpretation to which there seems to me to be these tw^o great objections: lirst, that it is wholly inapplicable to the words where they occur again in the fourth Georgic; and secondly, that we cannot doubt that, if such had been his meaning, Virgil would (like Ovid in his description of the Insula Tiberina, above quoted) have added either geminos or duos, to indicate that he spoke of two particular inlets, and not of an indefinite number. The mystification un- der which Caro and Dryden endeavor to conceal their ignorance of their author's meaning amounts almost to nonsense : "Qucsta si sporgc co' suoi fianchi in gnisa, Ch' ogni vento, ogni fluUo, d'og-ni lato Che vi percuola, ritrovando inloppo si frange, o si sparte, o si riversa." "Broke by the jutting land on either side, In double streams the briny waters £^lide." Caro. Dryden. GeMINKJUE MINANTUR IN C(ELUM SCOPULl. — "TaiU alU sunt ut videanlur tcnderc in coehim : minas muroWm, infra IV. 88, muros pra?altos dixit." — Wagner, Mrg. Br. En. "Minanlur (ire or asccnsum) in ccelum : the expression is most poetically beautiful." — Trapp. 'Rise on each side hngc rocks, t-wo o'er the rest Menace the skies." Beresforp. "Vclnf rcspiciat ad f^igantum conatus coelum oppugnan- lium." — Gesner. This is not the meaning: lirst, be- cause it is always directly, and not through the medium of a preposition, that mlnari governs the object threa- tened: compare the numerous examples of the use of I 67 Ihis word adduced by Ihc lexicographers ; and (especially in point, Ihoug-h not adduced by Ihem) Silius Ilalicus's "Saxa minantla coelo" (IV. 2); and Properlius's "Coeloque minanleni Coeum" (III. IX. 47); and secondly, because to have described the scopuli as threatening the sky had been to introduce an idea foreign from, the sub- ject, and distractive of the reader's attention from the main object, the security and privacy of the harbour, to the danger of the sky. I therefore understand MiNANTUR in our text to be taken absolutely, i. e. irrespec- tively of an object, and to mean, rise with a bold, towering, or, if the reader prefer it, threatening aspect. Compare, first, En. VIII. 668, where we have precisely the same predication applied to the identical word scopulus: — "Et te, Catalina, minaci Pendentem scopulo ;" where the meaning can be no other than a threaten- ing-looking, or, as we say, bold, towering cliff. Com- pare, secondly, En. II, 628: — "Ilia usque minatur, Et tremefacta comam concusso verticc nutat;" where the meaning is not (with Gesner and Dryden) minatur casum, but the very opposite: stands boldly; resisting, not yielding to, the attack; as proved by the words ^ usque and donee; still preserves its bold, tower- ing, fearless attitude, until — &c. in confirmation of which interpretation observe that the word nutat, added here by way of explanation , means where it is again similarly employed by Virgil, viz. En. IX. 682, nod in a menacing manner. Compare, thirdly. En. IV. 88 : — "Pendent opera interrupta, minaiquc Murorum ing-entes, ajquataque machina coelo ;" not (with Servius) eminentioe murorum, quas pinnas dicunt, but, the threats of the walls, i. e. the high, towering, threatening-looking walls themselves. And here observe the complementary clause : ?equataque machina 68 I nuiro — the machina, not threatening- the sky (for Vir- gil does not indulge in the exaggerated hyperboles of Siliiis and Slatius) , but — as high as the sky. And finally, compare En. II. 240: — "Mcdifcque minans illabilur urbi;" glides through the midst of the city, minans, i. e. with a bold, towering, threatening mien or aspect. So un- derstood, MiNANTUR in our text is well responded to by TUTA in the next verse but one: — the waters repose in safely under the protection of guards, whose threaten- ing, frowning aspect warns not to come too near; an idea thus somewhat less poetically expressed by Statius: "Qua summas caput Acrocorinlhus in auras Tollit, et alterna geminum mare protegit umbra." Theb. VII. 106. In C(elum is added to minantur in order to express, not the object threatened, but the great height to which the threatening object rises, in the same way as pedes in octo is added to protentus (Georg. I. 171), in order to express the length to which the pole projects; and as in lucem is added to bibit (Mart. I. 29) and to camat (Mart. VII. 29), to express the great length of time Acerra drinks, and the great length of time to which Sertorius prolongs his supper. The reader or reciter, first, in order to show that the action of minantur does not pass to c(ELUM, and, secondly, in order to magnify as much as possible the height to which the scopuli rise, should take advantage of the separation made by the close of the verse between minantur and in ccelum, and, hanging his voice after minantur, throw that particular emphasis on ccglum, for the sake of receiving which the poet has expressly placed it in the beginning of the line : tlius — — "Gcminiquc minantur, In civlum scopuli." I 69 It is not a little remarkable that not only Ruaius, but Heyne, in his exposition of these words, should have entirely omitted the idea contained in minantur ("Duo scopuli eminent ad coelum." — Ru^us. "Duo scopuli eminent." — Heyne), an omission which, if I may be allowed to speculate, arose from the similar omission in the ordinary text of Servius ("minantur, eminent:' — Servius). The credit of the ancient commentator is, however, in this instance (as well, indeed, as in many others) saved by his modern editor. Lion, in whose edition we find the following- words supplied: "et ita est, ut quae eminent, minari videantur." Voss's trans- lation, otherwise correct, is spoiled by the total omission of IN ccELUM, and the conjunction of rupes with minantur. "Links dort drohen und rechts unformliche Klippen und zwiefach Starrende Felsen empor." Voss. In place of Virgil's accurately defined and picturesque drawing, Caro presents us with a vague generalization : "Quinci e quindi alti scogli e rupi altissime;" and desperately reckless Dryden with barely two rows of rocks : "Betwixt two rows of rocks a sylvan scene Appears above, and groves for ever green." the meaning of which let him guess who can. TuTA, safe from the winds; as rightly rendered by the commentators, and established by the quotation from Claudian, at the beginning of this Comment. Scena. — "Inumbralio ei^ici^ scena, ano zi^goxiag; apud antiquos enim theatralis scena parietem non habebat, sed de frondibus umbraculum quserebant. Postea ta- bulata componere coeperunt in modum parietis." — Ser- vius. And so, after him, Forbiger. However true may be the etymological part of this observation, I have two reasons for thinking that immbratio does not represent the meaning of scena in the passage before us: First, 70 I because I do not find the word used in this sense on any occasion by any Latin writer whatever, and se- condly, because Ihe idea of inumbration is expressed unmistakably and fully in the immediately succeeding words: horrentkjue atrum nemus imiMinet umbra. To Wagner's gloss — "Scena quomodo de longo prospectu accipi possit, non exputo; rectius Isidorus in Glossis, hunc ipsum fortasse locum respiciens, scenam interprelatur arhoirum densitatem'' — I make the similar objection ; first, that I am not acquainted with a single instance of such a use of the word elsewhere: and secondly that the addition of silvis to scena is of itself sufTicient to show that, in Virgil's mind at least, scena did not express the idea of trees at all. I therefore understand scena to be here used in its secondary or derived sense, of a scene, i. e, a view or prospect si- milar to that which in theatres used to be, and still is, painted, or otherwise represented, at the back of the stage, viz. on the partition or screen which bounds the view of ihe spectators, and separates the [)ul[)ilum, stage, or proscenium from the part behind the scenes. This background partition or screen, called in the ancient theatres Frons scence ( — "Cujus quadrat! latus est proximum scen«, pni?sciditque curvaturam circina- tionis, ea regione dcsignatur finitlo proscenii, et ab ea regione ad extremam circinationem curvaturaj parallelos iinea designatur, in qua constituitur frons scena\" Vitruv. V. 8.) and for plans of which see Holland's Vilruv. Tab. 36 & 37, being always painted so as to represent some view or prospect in harmony wilh the action of the piece, the term scena, originally no more than the actual tent, arbour, or booth (scene), in which the actors per- formed (See Servius above — for Servius, often as he errs in the application of the fact to Virgil, is generally correct in the fact itself — Vossius. Enjmol. — (!ronov, Diatrib. ad Stat. Silv. IV. III. 21. — and Paid. Lcxic. Vitruv. in voce scena) came afterwards to be applied, I 71 first, to this terminal painting', the never-failing accom- paniment and most conspicuous object of the scena, and then, by a natural transition, to any view or prospect bearing- a resemblance to the views usually represented on this terminal painting. Compare Ausonius: "Nee solos hominum dclectat scena locorum." Musell. 169. Compare also Claudian (speaking of the hot springs of Aponus): "Viva coronates astringit scena vapores." Eidyll. n. 45. i. e, not such an artificial, painted enclosure as the Frons scence of the theatre, or the enclosure, similarly ornamented with paintings of scenery, which it was usual to erect about hot baths, but the enclosure formed by the natural slope of the ground, the real liviag landscape itself: and above all, compare Virgil; "Vel scena ut versis discedal frontibus." Georg. III. 24. where the meaning must be: — how the view (i. e. of the landscape or building or other object painted on the Trons scenae) departs from before the eyes of the audience as the Frons scena? turns round and exposes another side, and therefore another picture, i. e. another view, whether of landscape, building, or other object, it matters not. And so, in our text, scena is the view that met the eye on entering this natural harbour; which view is defined by the adjunct silvis to be a view of woods, a woody landscape; that very species of scena or view which we are informed by Vitruvius (ubi supra) was painted ^on that side of the Frons scenae which was turned toward the audience during the represen- tation of the pieces called Satyrw: "Satyricge vero ornan- tur arboribus, speluncis, montibus, reliquisque agresti- bus rebus;" a description, it will be observed, exactly coinciding with the scena or view presented to us by 72 I our author, there being- in it not only woods and moun- tains, but even a cave. Heyne's explanation, "Secnam nove dixit poela de prospectu longo inter silvas, h. e. arbores," shows that Heyne had no clear idea of the meaning; the view being neither long nor through trees (i. e. not being a vista amongst trees), but simply a view of trees. Wagner having, in his Virg. Br. En. made a second attempt to elucidate the passage, has failed even more signally than before: "Mons ille silvosus, qui porlum utrinquc claudebat, in modum scenae theatralis recessisse sinumque efTecisse existimandus est," the shape of the place having been already sufficiently defined by the context; and the word scena, on the only other occasion on which it has been em- ployed by our author in the singular number, having been employed, as I have already shown, not in this, but a totally different signification. Charles Rann Kennedy (Lond. 1849) has fallen into the same error as Wagner: "The scene is girt with woods." Voss is correct: — "Auch die Ansicht schaudernder Wjilder Ragt, und schwarzes Geholz, hoch her mit grauscr Beschatlung:." CoRUSCis. — "Tremula luce per intervalla micantibus, dum vento moventur." — Heyne and W^agner. "BHnzelnde, bei ihrer Bewegung Lichtstrahlen durch- lassende." — TmEL. An error into which these commentators, in common with the lexicographers, have been led by Servius's gloss (ad En. II. 173), "Coruscum alias fulgcns, alias tremulum est." Cornscus is never fulgens; always has the one invariable meaning, whether applied to light or to whatever other object, viz. that of rapid alternate appearance and disappearance. Compare: — "In telis cl liicc coruscus ahcna." En. II. -JTO. Telum coruscat — En. XII. 88. Linguas coruscanl — Ovid, Mel. IV. 493. 1< lumma inter nubes coruscat — Cic. de Oral. I 73 III. 155. 39. In all which instances as well as in every other instance, with which I am acquainted, of the use of this word, the invariable reference is neither to bright- ness, nor the emission of light, but to movement : to the rapid alternate appearance and disappearance of the ob- ject, and that indifferently whether the object be light or any other object. And such is the idea intended to be presented to us by coruscis in our text: that of the alternate appearance and disappearance of the leaves and boughs of the trees from the view of the spectator according as the sunlight does or does not fall upon them, as they move in the wind. Voss's "schaudern- der Walder" expresses the idea of tremulous mo- tion only, not that of alternate appearance and dis- appearance. Fronte sub adversa. — "Frons ; pra^rupla et ardua pars petrse (Felswand), quam etiam nostri poetoe ap- pellant 'des Berges Felsenstirn.'" — Forbiger. Correct perhaps, as a description of the locality, but incorrect as a definition of frons, which is, generally, the front or face of any thing; that part which presents itself first: and, specially and almost technically, the front or face of land looking, toward water — showing a face toward water — or toward other land lower than itself, (the bluff of the Americans), without any reference whatever to the material, whether rock or earth or sand , of which that face consists. Compare Mela (I. 11) speaking of Asia: "Ipsa, ingenti ac perpetua fronte versa ad orientem." .... Post se ingenti fronte ad Hellesponticum frelum intendit." and again (III. 1), speaking of the coast of Portugal: "Frons ilia aliquam- diu rectam ripam habet; dein modico flexu accepto, mox paullulum eminet; turn reducta iterum , iterum- que recta margine jacens, ad promontorium, quod Cel- ticum vocamus, extendilur." And so in our text, fronte, the front or face of the land; adversa, opposite to those entering the harbour; the rockiness of the face of the 10 74 I land being, not implied in the term frons, but deducible perhaps, from the context. The term frons, signitying technically not only the face or front of land looking towards water or lower land, bul also (see Comment on scENA above) the fronting partition or scene in the theatre, i. e. the painted partition behind the actors and looking towards the audience,- was a term particularly suitable to the description of a locality which might be considered, and which it seems as if the author were actually considering, in the double light of a frons ierrce and a froiis scence. The idea contained in frons is wholly omitted both by Voss and Caro: "Grad' cntgegen g^ewandt ist eine gewolbete Felskluft ;" Voss. "D' incontro e di gran massi, c di pendenti Scog-li un' anlro." Caro. ScopuLis PENDENTiBDS ANTRUM. — "In scopulis peudcn- libus antrum." — Thiel. "Caverna est in scopulis suspensis." — Ru^us. On the contrary the meaning is, I think, a cave with hanging rocks, i. e, a cave rocky overhead, a cave with rocks hanging overhead, or in the roof. Compare; "Sunt mihi, pars montis, vivo pendenlia saxo Antra." Ovid. Metam. XIII. SIO. "Fons sacer in medio, spcluncaque pumice pendens." Ovid. Amor. III. 1. 3. "Slructaquc pendonti pumico tccta subit." Ovid, ad Liviam, 252. "Antra vident oculi scabro pendenlia lopho." Ovid. Heroid. AT. 141. Voss has understood the structure, and translates the expression tolerably correctly "Eine gewolbete Fels- kluft." I 75 178. AC PRIMUM SILICI SCINTILLAM EXCUDIT ACHATES SUSCEPITQUE IGNEM FOLIIS ATQUE ARIDA CIRCUM NUTRIMENTA DEDIT RAPUITQUE IN FOMITE FLAMMAM Ihe first part of Servius's Comment on this passage ("kapuitque in FOMITE FLAMMAM, pfme soloecopliancs est; nam cum mulationem verbum significet, ablalivo usus est") is erroneous, lor there is no mutatio, no transference of action, fomite not being a new or different object, but the very object just mentioned under the name NUTRIMENTA, and the meaning being, not transferred to a fomes the lire which he liad kindled in the arida NUTRIMENTA, but gol a flame in the fomes formed of or consisting of the arida nutrimenta ; gol the fomes into flame. And so Servius correctly in the latler part of his note: "rapuit, raptim fecit flammam in fomite, i. e. celerilcr." The four steps or processes necessary to the kindUng of a fire are distinctly specified in the text; first, the striking of a spark (siuci scintillam excudit) ; secondly, the igniting of tinder by means of the spark (suscepit iGNEM FOLiis) ; thirdly, the making of a fomes (arida CIRCUM NUTRIMENTA dedit) ; and fourthly the in- flaming of the fomes by the ignited tinder (rapuit in FOMiTi; flammam). The two former of these processes are united to- gether into one by the que after suscepit, the two latter into one by the que after rapuit, and the former pair connected with, and distinguished from, the latter pair by the conjunction atque. Compare Ovid. Metam. VIII. 641 : "Inde foco tepidum cinerem dimovit; et ig-nes Suscitat heslcrnos ; foliisque et cortice sicco Nutrit ; et ad flammas anima producit anili." a description which corresponds with tiiat in our text as closely as it is possible for the description of tiie 76 I revival of a decayed fire' to correspond with that of the original lighting of a fire, there being in both the same ignition (in the one from a spark, in the other from slumbering embers), tiie same formation o[ di forties, and the same completion of the process by the pro- duction of flame in the fomes. Seneca {Hippol. 962) makes a not very dissimilar use of the verb rapere: "Qui sparsa cilo sidera mundo Ciirsusque vag-os rapis astrorum;" The poet not having thought proper to make any allu- sion, whether direct or indirect, to the method by which Achates rapuit in fomite flammam, the explanations of Wagner (Virg. Br. En.) and Voss — "Celeri vibratione effecit ut fomes ardere inciperet." "'Schwang in dem gUmmenden Reisig die Flam me" — seem as gra- tuitous as unnecessary. 182. EXPEDIUNT FESSI RERUM FRUGESQUE RECEPTAS ET TORRERE PARANT FLAMMIS ET FRANGERE SAXO r Essi RERUM. — "Fatigali casibus." — Ru.£os. "Mattgequallen." — Voss. "Ex calamilalibus et casibus quas subierant (ita res poetis) exhausli." — Heyne. The meaning is, I think, much stronger. Tired of every thing ; of human affairs ; of the world. For res used in this sense, see — "Mersis fer opem, milissima, rebus." Ovid. Mclam. I. 3S0. "Jamque caput rerum Romanam intraverat urbem." Ovid. Mclam XI'. 736. "In rpruni dominos iiioviinns arma Deos." Ovid, ^'.r Potilo. II. 2. 12. I 77 — "Mors ultima linea rerum est." HoR. Epist. I. 16. 79. "Romanos rerum dominos, g-entemque log-atam." En. I. 286. — "Ha;c inlenlala manebat Sors rerum." En. J. 3'J. Compare vers. 466 and Comm. Saxo. — No doubt the quern or ancient mortar; the cava machina of Ovid. "Quodcunque est Cereris solidse cava machina frangat. Fasti VI. 381. 184. iENEAS SCOPULUM INTEREA CONSCENDIT ET OMNEM PROSPECTUM LATE PELAGO PETIT ANTHEA SI QUEM JACTATUM VENTO VIDEAT PHRYGIASQUE BIREMES AUT CAPYN AUT CELSIS IN *>UPPIBUS ARMA CAICI NAVEM IN CONSPECTU NULLAM TRES LITTORE CERVOS PROSPICIT ERRANTES HOS TOTA ARMENTA SEQUUNTUR A TERGO ET LONGUM PER VALLES PASCITUR AGMEN "Up to a hill anon his steps he reared, From whose high top to ken the prospect round, If cottag-e were in view, sheep-cote or herd; But cottage, herd, or sheep-cote none he saw, Only in a bottom saw a pleasant grove, With chaunt of tuneful birds rcsoundiug loud." Par. Reg. b. II. Anthea si QUEM. — "Si forte quem eontm qui amissi videhaniur ut Anthea aut Capyn videat" Wagner. No, but simply aliquem Anthea. The expression is perfectly English ; If by chance he might see any Antheus or any Capys, &c. Compare verse 325 : mearum si quam sororum; i. e. si quam (aliquam) sororem meam. 78 1 216. PARS IN FRUSTA SECANT VERUBUSQUE TREMENTIA FIGUNT LITTORE AEXA LOCANT ALII FLAMMASQUE MIMSTRANT TUM YICTU REVOCANT VIRES FUSIQUE PER HERBAM VERUBUSQUE TREMENTIA FIGUNT. Not, llX the juilks OTl spits; but, slick or pierce Iheni with spils. See Conini. vers. 48. And so, righliy, Ruaeus. Fusi. — Not scattered, but laid at ease. "Tu modo fusus humi lucem aversaris iniquam." Stat. Silv. II. 1. 170. "Forte Venus Densa .... sidereos per gramina fuderat artus Acclinis floruni cumulo." Claud. Epith. Pall, ct Celerince, v. 1. See also Claudian, ibid. vers. 35. There is no distribu- tive power in the sentence except what is feebly pos- sessed by the word per. Compare Fundat humi, verse 197. 220. POSTQUAM EXEMPTA FAISIES EPULIS MENS^QUE REMOTi€ AMISSOS LONGO SOCIOS SERMONE REQUIRUKT SPEMQUE METUMQUE INTER DUBII SEU VIVERE CREDANT SIVE EXTREMA PATI NEC JAM EXAUDIRE VOCATOS PR^CIPUE PIUS .CXEAS NUNC ACRIS ORONTI NUNC AMYCI CASUM GEMIT ET CRUDELIA SECUM FATA LYCI FORTEMQUE CYAN FORTEMQUE CLOANTHUM ET JAM FINIS ERAT QUUM JUPITER ^THERE SUMMO DESPICIENS MARE VELIVOLUM TERRASQUE JACENTES LITTORAQUE ET LATOS POPULOS SIC VERTICE C(EU CONSTITIT ET UBXM DEFIXIT LUMINA REGNIS ATQUE ILLUM TALES JACTANTEM PECTORE CURAS TRISTIOR ET LACRYMIS OCULOS SUFFUSA NITENTES ALLOQUITUR VENUS AmISSOS LONGO SOCIOS SERRTONE REQUIRUNT. — "NOH tam qualis post coenam esse solet, quam potius multis cum I 79 querelis. Vulgari oratione diceres, multa de sociis amissis inter se conqueruntur . Sive extrema pati nec JAM EXAUDiRE vocATOS ; li. e. sivG jam esse mortuos. Etrema pati dicunlur qui crudeli supplicio affecti ani- mam efflant, h. 1. simpliciter, qui moriuntur niorle vio- lenla, flucLibus submersi. Ad prosaicam sublililalem debuisset anlecedere: num exlrcma eos passos esse credant, et jam conclamalos?" — Heyne. "Diversos mores passim confusos videas; alterum solcmnibus sepulcralibus peractis, acclamandi : alterum, conclamandi , si qui morerentur vel mortui essent. Posterior hie intelligendus , nam Manes qui invocaban- lur audientes fingebantur." — Wunderlich. "Hac formula verborum innuunt illos fuisse mortuos." — La Cerda. "I. e. nec jam vivere.'! — Turnebus. "Nec jam exaudire vocatos. Mos conclamandi mor- tuos tangitur- his verbis." — Wagner. Never was clear meaning more completely mis- understood. We have here not an allusion to the con- clamatio, but the conclamatio itself: not indeed the mere formal conclamatio as usually performed in the case of a person known to be actually dead, but the real conclamatio or calling back of the friend who either was missing and it was feared might be dead,, or was lying before them in a state of real or apparent death. And such, however it may have afterwards degenerated, was the Roman conclamatio in its origin; not a mere empty superstitious ceremony, but a valuable civil and social institution, having the double object, first of ascertaining whether the case were one of real or only of apparent death; and secondly, if it were the former, of making the fact public by the testimony of a suffi- cient number of witnesses. "Unde .putatis inventos tardos funerum apparatus? Unde quo.d exequias planc- tibus, ploratu magnoque semper inquietamus uUilatu. quam quod facinus videtur tarn facile credere vel morli? 80 1 Vidimus ijrilur frequenter ad vitam post conclamata suprema rcdeuntes." Quinctil. Declam. MIL 10. And (quoted from TUib^g by De Bulgaris in his note on the passage), "7'otTO 5' tdQoiv o)s /xvrifiong ivyxuvoiTt.; (pdiai;, Kai «)i (I ajiflu(f&ri zig, TiQog Tt,v (fon')jv awdQUfioi." And so, in the passage before us, reouirunt: demand back (seek to recover) their missing friends, in the way in which they are usually demanded back (sought to be recovered) on such occasions; viz. fa) with much discussion and many conjectures where they are and what has become of them (longo sermone) ; fbj with frequent calling on them by name in the hope that they might hear and answer (exaudire vocatos); (cJ with tears and lamentations (pr^cipue pius ^neas gemit). Compare Valer. Flaccus: "Ilium (Hylan sciz.) omnes lacrymis, moestlsque.reposcere votis, Incertique metu, nunc longas liltoic voces Spargere, — Ipse — Stal lacryiiians niagnoque viri cunclalur amore." ///. 601. And Statins fTheb. VJIl. 208): "Talia fatidico peragunt solemnia regi. Ceu flammas, ac dona rogo, tristesque rependant Exsequias, moUiquc animam tellurc rcponant. Fracta dchinc ciinctis, avcrsaquc pcclora bello. Sic forles ^linyas subito cum funcre Tiphys Destiluil, non arma scqui, non ferre videtur Remus aquas, ipsique minus jam ducere venti. Jam fessis gemitu paulalim corda levabal Exhaustus sermone dolor, noxquc addita curas Obruil, el facilis lacrymis irrepcrc soranus." And especially Sil. Ttal. X. 403, where in a line evi- dently formed upon our text, the term requirunt is applied to the funeral lamentation over the actually dead, viz. over those slain in Iho hatlle ot Cannae: I 81 "Interdiim moesto socios claniore icquiriint: Hie Galba, hie Piso, et leto non dignus incrti Qiuio deneiitur ; yravis illie Scajvola bcllo: Hos passim ; at Pauli pariter eeu dira parentis Fata g-enuint." In which passage, as in our text, Reqitmml is not conqueruntur, but require back, seek to get back, demand back, call upon to come back; so Cic. Verr. VII. 70. "Abs te officium timm debitum gcneri et nomini require et flagilo;" and Verr. VII. 142. "Omnes hoc loco cives Romani et qui adsunt et qui ubique sunt vestram severitalem desiderant, veslram fidem implo- rant, vestrum auxiUum requirunt;' and exactly parallel to our texti "Quin potius natam pelag-o terrisque requiris." Claud. Rapt. Pros. III. 315. Et jam finis erat. — "Vel epularum, vel famis, vel malorum. — Servius. ''Longi sermonis ; h. e. querelarum, aut omnino, coence factor. Pomponius Sabinus finem diei interpre- tatur. Fateor nexum vel transilum mihi non videri fe- licissimi inventi." — Heyne. "Sane sermonis hujus; est nota transitionis formula, qua expressit Homericum illud loq oi fj,sv xoiavia ngog aXhjXovg ayoQsvov." — Wagner. No wonder that Heyne interpreting- the preceding passage as he did, should pronounce the connexion awkward. That passage rightly interpreted, the pro- priety, nay the elegance, of the connexion becomes ap- parent. Et jam finis erat: and now their search after and lamentations for their missing friends was at an end, when &c. The lamentations of Jason's friends at Jason's departure are concluded by Valerius Flaccus (I. 350) in the selfsame words. Our heroes' lamentations are not, like those of their Homeric prototypes {Klaiovi^OQi dt xoiOiv tTC)]lvd^e vrjdvuog vnvog. Odyss. 12. 309), continued until night, 11 82 I daylight being' necessary for the fine scene.ininieclialely subsequent: — oulm jupiter yETHEUE summo &c. QuuM Jupiter &c. — For Spenser's imitation of this passage, and of Mercury's descent from heaven, see his Mother Hubbard's Tale, vers. 1225, and seq. The whole of the interview between Jupiter and Venus has been also copied and greatly amplified by Camoens, Lusiad. II. 33. Terrasque jacentes. — Jacentes, although in the strict grammalical construction connecled with terras only, is connecled in the sense with all the objects of de- spiciENS, and is to be understood not of low-lying lands as contradistinguished from highlands or mountains, but of the whole prospect lying (Jaccns) under the eye of Jupiter. Sic vertice coeli constitit. — The nominative to con- STiTiT is not Jupiter (vers. 227), but ille understood, this being that uvay.oLoviyoq so usual to Virgil and of which we have already had so remarkable an in- stance in "Id metuens veterisqnc memor Saturnia belli;" and the sentence begun at ouim jlpiter being broken off at popuLOs, and a new one being begun at sic. Comiiare the exactly corresponding construction, En. VII. 666: "Ipse pedes legumcn lorquons immane Iconis, Terribili impexum sacta cum dcnlibiis albis Indulus capili, sic rogia locla subibat Ilorridiis" itc. where Ipse, like Jupiter in our text, remains absolutely without any corresponding verb, and where a new sen- tence is begun at sic. The structure should therefore lie indicated l>y a pause longer than that usually placed at populos; viz. by a dash, or (as in Alfieri's text and the Baskerville) by a semicolon. I I 83 TniSTIOR ET LACRYMIS OCULOS SUFFUSA NITENTES. — Not (as a mortal might have been drawn) sad and weeping, bill, wilh Uie most scrupulous regard to the divine de- corum (compare Ovid's picture of Ceres lamenting for Proserpine, Fasti. IV. 521: "Dixit, ct ut lacryma;, ncquc ciiim lacrymare Deorum est, Decidit in tepidos lucida guUa sinus.") somewhat sad, almost sad, and almost w^eeping; as nearly in tears as a deity could be. This is the exact force of TRisTiOR — not quite iristis — something less than tristis, as obscurior (En. VII. 205) is not quite obscure, something less than obscure, a little obscure, almost obscure. 248. FONTEM SUPERARE TIMAVI UNDE PER ORA NOVEM MAGNO CUM MURMURE MONTIS IT MARE PRORUPTUM ET PELAGO PREMIT ARVA SONANTI This passage has been hitherto understood in one or other of these two ways. First: it has been supposed to be a description of the river Timavus bursting with immense noise through an embouchure of nine mouths into the sea: "Tanta vi exit in mare ut etiam resonat mons." — Servius. — "Den Quell des Timavus: Wo er, mil dumpfem Getose des Berg-s, neun Schliindcn cnt- rollend, Gelit zu brechen das Meer, und den Schwall an die Felder cmporbraust." Voss. "Where rolling down the steep, Timavus raves And through nine channels disembog-ucs his waves." Dryden. S4 i •II i>roru|iliiiii ill iiuue; i. e. |iroruiui>il in mare, \el eo (lecurril, ubi in mure eHunditiir." — Thiel. So miderstood, the conslruclion must run thus : The fountain of the river Timavus, out of which fountain, it (the river Timavus) runs through nine mouths into the sea. To this inlerprclation I object faj thai fontem timaVi is not (he fountain of the river Timavus, but the fountain Timavus. Compare uubem patavi in the very next line but two; not the city of the place, strong- hold, or colony Patavium , but the city Patavium itself; alsoFousliandusia- (IJoa. Od. III. 13), not the fountain of the river Bandusia , but the fountain Bandusia itself; and (h) that all travellers and geographers, both ancient and modern, are unanimous that the river Timavus never flowed into the sea by more than one mouth. See Mela II. 4. Strabo V. Cluvorius. Ital. Antiq. I. 20. Schlozcr (who was on the spot in the year 1777) Briefwechsel, II. Theil. p. 340. Goltingen 1778. Val- vasor, Ehre des Herzogthums Krain. Fol. Laibach. 1689 B. II. C. 66, & B, IV. C. 44. The other way in which the passage has been un- derstood is as a description of the river Timavus bursting out with immense noise through nine springs; uniting its nine streams together into one flood or body of water so large as to resemble a sea, and then running through a single opening or embouchure into the sea itself: "Hi fontes tribus alveis paulo post delati, mox in unum flumen confluunt, quod vix mille passuum viam emensum uno ostio in marc exit It mare proruptum: ad maris spcciem; magnos fluctus volventis (quod magna aqua; vi prorumpil se, elllinditur; ut Pompon.). — IIevne. "Mare, maris inslar; magnos fluctus volventis." — Wagner. This interpretation is liable to precisely the same grammatical objection as the former, and lo a not very di.stiimilar geographical one, for though with the geo- •• I 85 graphers it assigns nine springs and one embouchure to the river Timavus, it magnifies this river (which was no more, even according to Heyne's own admission, than one thousand yards long) into a sea, and not merely into a sea, but into a roaring' sea deluging all the country round. No wonder that geographers should have looked in vain in Illyria for a river to which the description in the text might be at all applicable ("Qui- bus autem in terris fluvius ille quserendus sit, magna fuit inter viros doctos controversia." Heyne in Excurs. ad locum), and should have at last decided that Vir- gil either had the Po, or, at least, the Brenta, in view, or if the description were really of the river Timavus, indulged on this occasion in a grandiloquence, to say the least of it, very unusual with so discreet a writer. It is however neither in an unusual grandiloquence of Virgil, nor in a transference of the scene from the north-eastern to the western shores of the Adriatic, that the solution of the difficulty is to be sought, but in a totally different interpretation of the passage; in understanding it, not as a description either of the Po, or of the Brenta, or of the Timavus, or of any other river whatever, but of inundations of the sea, taking place occasionally or periodically through the fountain or spring, Timavus, Antenor is described as founding his colony of Patavium far up the Adriatic, not only beyond the kingdom of the Liburni, but beyond that remarkable object, the nine-mouthed fountain Timavus, through which the sea communicating by subterraneous channels, bursts out from time to time with a great noise, and in such quantity as to flood the neighbouring fields. Hence the immediate juxta position of the words IT and MARE, the verb and its subject, corresponding exactly to Claudian's 'It Venus' (Rapt. Pros. II. 12), Va- ler. Flaccus's 'It Sthenelus' (V. 90), and 'It tectis Argoa manus' (III. 3), Slatius's 'It caput' (Theb. II. 34), Lucretius's 86 I ^ 'II ver, el Venus' (V. 736), and Virgil's own 'II comes' (En. VI. 448). Mare it prontptum, liie sea goes burst forth, i. e. bursts forth. Compare (Georg. IV. 368) "Caput unde Enipeus se erumpil", corresponding ahnosl word for word with our text, fontem unde mare it proruptum. Compare also (Sil. III. 51) "Proruptum exundat pelagus." Hence the inundation covers not the shores but arva, the inland cultivated fields. Hence the two noises so accurately distinguished by the opposed expressions MAGNO CUM MURMURE MONTIS and I'ELAGO SONANTI ; the former descriptive of the (jround murmur , or sound of the water rushing through the subterranean passages, and out through their o/-« or apertures ; a sound exactly corresponding to, and expressed by the selfsame words as, that of the winds roaring in the caves under the Eolian mountains (verse 59); the latter descriptive of the resounding of the waves of the flood with which the eruption of the sea through the ora had covered the country. Hence the remarkable appellations nrf/)] d-a- XaTii]Q and a>;r»;o tia/MTTijg, by which the place was known in ancient times (Strabo. Lib. V.), appella- tions preserved and handed down to us in the name Madre del Mare, by which (see Wood on Homer P. 54 and seq.) it was known in the immediate vicinity until vei'y lately. Hence finally the term pelago correspon- ding to Ausonius's cequoreo amnc, and meaning actually sea water , the Fountain Timavus having been actually salt, as testified anciently by Polybius ("7r?y;'«c v/^(.i t Tcoviitiov vdarog' ITiAvftiog (f H()i]xi-: nhiv uiag rag allag ahiV()ovvdaTog.'') and in more recent times by Cluverius, who in the following account, the result of his own personal and careful observation , not only reconciles the a|»parenl dilferonce between the accounts of Strabo and Polybius, but gives a most lucid and ac- curate description, l)0lh of the place itself, and of the phenomenon which I conceive to be the subject o[' the I 87 Virgilian picture. "Ceterum de nalura septem fonlium (Timavi viz.) ila tradentem supra audivimus Slrabonem ; IJyo'aq v/^u t noTiitov vtJaTog' lloXvftiog d^ uQrjxe nhii> fuag xaq allag aluvnov vdarog. Ulrumquc verum est diversi teniporis respectu; qiiippe quum omnis hie tractus inter mare et Frigidiim amnem uniim perpeluumqiie sit saxum ('Hohle Kalkfclsen, die die schonsten und wunderbarsten Grotten bilden.' Schlo- zer; Bricfweclisel , 11. Theil. p. 340, Gottingen, 1778,) innumeris passim altissimisque antris perforatum, cu- niculi quidam a coUe saxeo, qui septem Timavi fon- til)us immincl, ad proximi maris vada pertingunt, per quos incrementum patitur atque decrementum Timavus ex adfluxu refluxuque ejusdem maris; ita ut lenis sine ullo majore strepitu atque mansuetus dulcibus suis aquis per complures fauces defluat amnis ubi mare subsedit ac procul recessit; quam primum vero idem mare sestu suo intumuit, tanto cum impetu prsedictis cuniculis infertur fontibusque Timavi permiscetur, ut ingenti cum fragore ac veluti mugitu saxei mentis per complura ilia spatiosa ora prorumpat, jamque alveo Ti- mavi contineri nequeat, sed adjacentia prata, per quae ad ostium teudit amnis, longe lateque sapius inundet, pelagique in speciem plane contegat Hinc magnum appellavit Timavum Virgilius in Eclog. VIII. — Hinc item cequoreum dixit amnem Ausonius, in carmine de Claris urbibus, ('aequoreo * non plenior amne Tima- vus.') Tanta copia quum fonlilnis Timavi per- misceatur mare, horum omnium aquas salsedine sua inficit, impotabilesque reddit, excepto uno quem omnium * If it be alleged that cequoreus amnis may possibly mean a river resembling the sea in copiousness, not in saltness, i. e. a large river, not a sea or marine river, I beg to say that I am not aware that tequoreus has ever been used in the former sense, while, on the con- trary, its use in the latter is placed beyond doubt by that passage in S8 I mfixinnim npud ipsiini divi Jolmnnis delubruin erum- pere dixi. H(pc quum ipse egomet coram probe exper- tus sim, audacler eos redarguere liceal, qui dulceis per- peluo permanere omnibus fonlibus aquas etiam mari cum maxime ajsluanle, docent." — Ital. Aiitiq. I. 20. I am indebted to Doctor Witlmann, Director of the Neues Lazarelh at Trieste, for the following description and plans of the locality of the Timavus, as it existed in the beginning of the year 1849: "Ich kenne den Timavo aus cigener Anschauung und muss geslehen, dass der Vergleich dessen, was ist, mil dem, was man nach Virgil envartef, ein wenig stark conlrastirt. Wlihrend cr den armen Antenor bei dem FONTOi suPERARE TiMAvi SO saucm Schweiss ver- giessen liissl, fiihrt man jetzl auf der Poststrasse (kaum ein Paar Klafter von den Quellen weg) ganz lustig und bequem iiber dicsen hin , und widirend man sich auf das Drohnen der Gebirge und auf Wassersliirze (a la Nilkataraklen) gefasst macht, hurt man nichts als das Klappern zweier Miihlen, die der ausstromende Fluss ganz fricdlich und genuithlich in Bewegung setzt. the Pharsalia, Lib. VIII. -svliore Lucaii, speaking of the sea water used to extinguish Pompey's funeral pyre, says, — — "Rcsolulaque nondum Ossa Katis, nervis et inustis plena lueduUis, yE^uorea rcstinguit aqua." From wliifh compared with "Acta per iequoreas hpspita navis aquas." Ovid. Fafti I. 340. "Ou« petit asquoreas advena Tybris aquas." "Cum socer rcquoreus, numerosaque lurba sororum Cerlarenl epulis conlinuarc dii's." Claud Epith. Uonor. Augtut. i>- Marin, Prtrf. v. 3. "Quid? quwl ab a;quorca nuntcratur ori|;ine quarlus." Ovid Met. X. 617. and il M«mt certain Uiai Ausonius's aquvrrum atnnem is a sua river; river of sea rvatcr. I 89 "Die Quellen des Flusses liegen, wie gesagt, unge- fiihr 8 bis 10 Schrilte abseils der Poslslrasse ; und bei- Uiufig 9 Fuss iibcr dem Spiegel des Wasserbeckens, welches sie gleich bei der Ausmiindung bilden, ziehl die Strasse bin, welche am Gebirgsabhange angelegt, ungefiihr das nachslebende Profil gibt. "Die Quellen, deren gegenwiirtig sieben sein sollen (auch Sirabo gibt nicht mehr an, so dass vielleicht Virgil mil seiner Zahl neun Unrecht hat) sammeln sich an drei Slellen, wo sie ein durch eine Halbinsel und ein Paar Inselchen durchschniltenes Wasserbecken bil- den. Die Ausmiindung der Quellen soil ungefahr neun Fuss unter dem Meeresspiegel liegen , die Formation des zwischen dem Becken und dem Meere liegenden Terrains (eine Strecke von hochstens Finer italienischen Miglia) schiitzt aber die Quellen gegen die Vermischung mit Seewasser. Das Wasser der Quellen isl nicht ge- salzen; wird aber, da es, wie naliirlich, sehr kalt ist, als fieberverursachend gescheut. Manche behauplen zwar, dass bei ausserordenllich hoher Fluth das Meer- wasser bis zu den Quellen hinauf in den Fluss ein- dringe, die Leute aus den Miihlen haben mir jedoch an Ort und Stelle die Versicherung gegeben , dass dies nicht der Fall ist. "Ich gebe Ihnen nun hier, zur besseren Orientirung, einen beiliiufigen Situation splan der Gegend, 12 90 "Sie konnen also clem Timavo fiiglicli drei Anne zu- geslelien, die sich, nach kaum hiinderl bis hunderlfiinf- zig Klafter langem Laufe, zu Einem Flusse verelnig-en, der wasserreich genug- ist, um ziemlich g:rosse Traha- coli zu Iragen, da in dor That die Barken, welche das Mehl zwischen S. Giovanni und Triest verfiihren, ge- radezu bei den im obigen Plane bezeichneten zwei Miihlcn anlegen und aus- oder einladen konnen. Von einem Auslreten des Flusses zu einem See, ist heul zu Tage keinc Rede mehr. Dageg-en gibt es iiber die Formation der Wiisser jener Gegendcn im Alterthume eine Menge theilweise auf griindliche Forschung basirte Ansichlen, nach welchen einst Wippachfluss und Icongo sich mit dem Timavus vereint und zwischen S. Gio- vanni und Monfalcone einen formlichen See gebildct hiitten, aus welchen nur die jelzigen Bagni di Monfal- cone als Inscl hervorgeragt haben. "Die Benennung Sorgenle e madrc del Mare, welche nach Polyl)ius die alien Bewohncr dem Flusse Timavus gegeben haben soUen , mag vielleichl gcrade in den grosseii Wassermassen ihren Ursprung gehabt haben, I 91 welche nach den obenerwahnten Annahmen sich einst in jener Gegend, unler dem Gesanimlnamen Timavus, vereiniget haben. Heut zu Tage isl diese Benennung Madre del mare den Ortsbewohnern gar nichl mehr be- kannt. Hier haben Sie Alles, was icli iiber den Gegen- sland der Frage wusste, oder jelzl in Erfahmng bringen konnte. Das Beste, was man iiber den Timavus und beziehungsweise iiber die Ausgleichung der Angaben alter Autoren mil dem factischen Bestande des Flusses an Druckschriften besilzt, soil eine Broschure sein, deren Titel mir so angegeben worden ist, wie ich ihn hier (salvo errore ed ommissione) fiir Sie anselze: Indagine suUo stalo del Timavo e delle sue ad- jacenze al principio dell' era Cristiana, dell' Abbate Giuseppe Berini di Ronchi, di Monfalcone. Udine. Pei Fratelli Malliuzzi, 1826, nella Tipografia Pecile." This manifestly accurate and trustworthy description serves to clear up several circumstances in the history of the Timavus which have hitherto been involved in the thickest obscurity. First, it explains at once the reason of the great discrepancy in the accounts which different writers have given of the number of the ora, these ora being, as appears from both the above plans, overflowed, occasionally at least, by their own waters, which when copious form above them one large basin, pond or tarn (in the plan, "Wasserbecken"), partially subdivided by two small islands and a peninsula; and when scanty, several ponds or basins, corresponding each to one or more ora, and entirely separated from each other by the above mentioned peninsula and islands then converted by the lowness of the water into isth- muses. The difficulty of correctly counting the ora at the bottom of this basin or these basins, is sufficiently obvious, and is expressed in the description by the words ''sein sollen'' (should be — are said to be), for Dr. Wiltmann, though on the spot, does not take upon him to say how many in number these ora, being un- 9f I der the water, actually are; in this respect following the example of another visitor to the spot (Schlozer, ubi supra) who having- inlomied us that these ora are holes (Lochcr) in the limestone rock which forms the substratum of this whole district of Carniola, proceeds thus to express himself: "Da nun hier die See immer zunimmt, so fmdet der ganze Timavus beinahe keinen Abfluss mehr, und das Wasser fiingt schon gleich bei seiner Enlslehung an zu stehen, zumal in trocknen Zei- ten, wo nur die untern Locher der Felsen Wasser geben. Es sind der Lochcr mehr als sieben Einige haben eine ungeheurc Tiefe, andre nichl." Secondly, it explains the meaning of Claudian's remarkable expression "numeranlur stagna Timavi" (Paneg. de tert. consulat. Honorii, i;. 120); 'stagna' being the basins or ponds for- med by the springs at their very origin and covering the springs themselves and therefore equivalent to fontes ; as if he had said the fountain-ponds of Timavus (com- pare Claudian's account of the spring or sorgente of the Aponus seen at the bottom of its own basin, i. e. through the pond formed by itself: "Consuluit Natura sibi, nc tola lateret; Admisitque oculos, quo vctat ire calor. Turbidus impulsu vcnti cum sparg-itur aer, Glaucaque fumifcra: terg^a screuat aqua:; Tuuc oninem liquid! valleui mirabere fundi: Tunc vcleres hasl.T, rcgia dona, micanl: tjuas inter, nigrae tcnebris obscurus arena?, Discolor abruplum flumen hiatus ag^it. Aponus, V. 33.); and, 'nwrnaxvL^iwY' are counted, these fountain-heads being not only several, but actually varying in number at different limes, aud so giving rise to a variety of accounts. Thirdly, it shows how easily irruptions of the sea, such as those described in our text, might take place through these ora which existing (as Icstilied by Cluverius, Schlozer, Valvasor and others) in a district full of caverns and subterranean passages, and no more I 93 than a thousand yards distant from the sea, are be- sides nine Austrian feet below the sea level. Fourthly, it explains the greatness of the floods caused by such irruptions, the water being prevented by the height of the intervening ground from flowing ofl" im- mediately and directly into the sea. Let the reader imagine a large marble basin or bath full of water and flowing over, the water being continually supplied by a number of conduits opening into the bath at different points of its bottom: the openings of these conduits will be Virgil's ora; the bath itself (including the ora) will be Virgil's fons , Clau- dian's stagna; the water overflowing the bath and running off, the river Timavus; and an accidental burst- ing of the sea out through the bath by means of sub- terranean communication with the conduits, the inun- dation described in the text. Phenomena more or less similar to that anciently observed in the fountain Ti- mavus are, we are told, still to be observed in its neigh- bourhood. At Monfalcone less than a mile distant are warm springs which are said to rise and fall with the flow and ebb of the sea (Filiasi, Mem. Stor. de' Veneti. cap. XXIX. note, and Plin. //. 106) ; and from the neigh- bouring lake of Czirknitz the waters at certain irregular periods run off suddenly through fissures in its bottom (ora), and after an interval return again as suddenly and with a tremendous noise; "avec un bruit epouvan- lable, semblable a celui du tonnerre." MalteBrun,Livr. 85. The lake, which Dr. Wittmann refers to in the above description as having probably existed in former times in the course of the river Timavus, is laid down in the Carte de Peuttinger (see Malle Brun's Atlas No. 19) and is no doubt the Lacus Timavi of Livy, XXXXI. 5. An account of the respective positions and names of the seven 'ora Timavi' as they existed in the year 1689 will be found in Valvasor ubi supra. Compare the description given by Mela (III. 8) 04 I of the 0* or spring of the Euphrates : "Tigris ut natus est, ila descendens usque in litlora permeat: Euphrates immani ore aperto , non exit tantum, unde oritur, sed et vaste quoque dccidit; nee secal continuo agros, sed late difTusus in stagna, dfu sedentibus aquis piger, el sine alveo patulus, post ubi marginem rupit vere fluvius, acceplisque ripis celer et Tremens, per Armenios et Cappadocas occidenlem petit." Compare also the account which Claudian (Eidijl. VI. 40) gives of the opening or hole, 'hiatus discolor' (Virgil's as), through which the spring or stream which forms the lacus or pond Apo- nus, rises, and which hiatus, hole or os, with the water rising up through it, can be distinctly seen wiien you look down through the clear water of the pond. Com- pare also the account given by Pliny (Ep. VIII. 8) of the fountain Clilumnus: "Hunc (collem) subler fons exit, et exprimitur pluribus venis, sed imparibus, elucta- lusque facit gurgitem , qui lato gremio patescit Fons adhuc, et jam amplissimum flumen , atque etiam navium patiens" &c. That the word os, primarily the human mouth, and secondarily any mouth or opening, is the mouth or opening of a spring or source (the hole through which the waters of the spring issue out of the ground) no less than the mouth opening or embouchure of a river into the sea, appears not only from the above quota- lion from Mela, but from Ovid's "Hi (atnncs sciz.) redeunt, ac fontibus ora relaxant Et defrenato volvuntur acquora cursu." Mctam. I. 2SJ. and "Oiaque qua pollens ope sum fontana rcclusi Sumque rcpcnlinas ejaculatus aquas." /},o/t / ■>-/> from Statius's "Onalis ul)i adversi secretus pahula coeli Nilus el Eoas majjiio bibit ore pruinas, Scindil fonlis opes, septcmque palcnlibus nrvis In mare ferl hicmes. jj f^ yjjj ^^g I 95 and especially from Virgils own Ore, Arelhusa, tuo Siculis confunditur undis. En. Ill 696. where ore must be sorgente, spring, or fountain, Are- lhusa being not a river, but only a spring or fountain on the sea shore, so near the sea as to require the protection of a pier or embankment against the waves: "qui fluctu totus operiretur, nisi munitione ac mole la- pidum a mari disjunctus esset." Cic. in Verr. III. 53. Ed. Em. 252. GENTI NOMEN DEDIT ARMAQUE HXIT TROIA NUNC PLACIDA COMPOSTUS PACE QUIESCIT "Genti NOMEN debit; at quale? dicunt Anlenoridarum : apud poetas utique; non vero vulgare nomen; sed Venetorum nomen" &c. — Heyne. — "Gab Namen dem Volk, und heftete Troja's Riistungen." Voss. "Nomen, Venetorum, ab Henelis Paphlagoniae , An- tenoris comitibus, ut aiunt, ductum." — Wagner, Virg. Br. En. It seems to me however that Virgil so far from leaving us in the dark about the name which Antenor gave his colony, has in the word troia, told us explicitly what that name was : the peculiar position of the word TROiA — at the close of the sentence to which it belongs and at the same time at the beginning of the next line, and separated from the remainder of the line by a pause — enabhng it to embrace in its action not only its own immediate and proper substantive, but the other sub- stantive bound up with it in the same clause. See Com- ment on, ''Aerca cui gradibus surgebant limina, nexseque Acre trabes." En I. 448. 96 I If instead of the poetical and therefore somewhat irregular troia, Virgil had contented himself with the more regular and prosaic Trojte, the meaning would probably have been less easily mistaken. The correctness of the above interpretation seems to be placed beyond doubt by the account handed down to us by Livy (I. 1) that Antenor actually called the first town which he built on his landing in Italy, Troja. The above interpretation being adopted, the inmctua- lion should be genti nomen debit, armaqde fixit, troia. Nunc rLACioA compostus pace ouiescit. — "Nunc pla- cidam mortem obiit: componendi verbum omnia com- plectitur, qu* fiunl mortuis." — Wagner. "E quivi han I'ossa sue pace c riposo." Alfieri. I disagree with this interpretation although sanctio- ned by Handius (ad Stat. Silv. I. pag. 50), Jahn, For- biger and Ladewig. First, for the reason assigned by Peerlkamp: "Venus uti hoc excmplo non potuit, qua? nato suo non placidam mortem, sed felicem vitam op- tarct"; and secondly, because componere is applied both by Virgil himself elsewhere (ex. gr. En. I. 378, 702), and very commonly by other authors, to quiet or peace during life: "Omnia noctis erant placida composla quictc." Varro Atacinus, apud Scncc. Controv. III. 16. "Rcdde diem noclemque niihi; da prondcrc vcslcs Somuiferas, ipsaque oculos componere virg-a." Valeu. Flag. VII. 246. "Tanto impensius in securitatem composilus, neque loco, neque vultu mutato, sed ' utsolilum per illos dies egit." Tacit. Ann. III. 44. "Dum res lirmando Neronis imperio compouuntur." Tacit. Ann. XII. OS. Compare "Placida cum pace quietus," Lucret. VI. 72. To Ilcyne's first objection, "At si de quielis scdiOus, rebus placatis, vita tranquUla agitur, tum fere res compositcv I I I 97 memoranlur, non ipsi Jiom'mes" the passage just quoted from Taciliis afTords a sui'ficienl answer. To his second objection, "Nam (luuiii pacis otiique significationem conlinennt vss. praeeedentes, non polerit iiuic rerum statui idem opponi per nunc, temporum rerumque di- versitatcm quandam indicans," it may 1 think be replied that NUNC serves to contrast the present condition of Antenor not with his own previous condition, but with the present condition of Eneas; and that Venus's mean- ing- is not merely that Antenor formerly established himself there, and now enjoys peace and repose there, but that he formerly established himself there, and is enjoying- peace there now, at this very moment, while Eneas is still an outcast and the sport of every mis- fortune; NUNC TLACIDA COMPOSTUS PACE OUIESCIT; NOS , TUA PROGENIES etc. Compare : "Quam vacet alterius blaiidos audire susiirros MoUiler in tacito liUorc compositam." Propert. Eleg. I. 11. 13. "Contra vetera fratrum odia et certamina , familiae nostrae Penates rile compossuisse." — Tacit. Ann. XV. 2. "Tempus componere genlem." — Sil. Ital. XVII. 359. "Rebelles barbarorum animos pace componi." — Tacit. Ann. Xn\ 39. "At me composita pace fefellit amor." Propert. Eleg. 11. 2. 6; and, precisely parallel to our text: "Neque enim dubito esse amoenissimam [villam] in qua se composuerat homo, felicior ante, cpiam felicisshnus fieret." — Pun. Epist. V. 18; and "Quam tuta possis urbem componere terra." En. III. 387; where 'componere urbem', settle your citij , as in our text COMPOSTUS, settled. 13 98 I 259. VULTU QUO CyELDM TEMPESTATESQDE SEEIENAT See Comment v. 128. Page 46. There is a represenlalion olJiipiler Serenus wilh the inscription "JoviSerenosacr." on an ancient lamp in tlic Passerian Museum. It is stated by Passerius (I know not how truly,) to be the only an- cient representation of Jupiter Serenus in existence. Sec Lucerme Ficliles Muscci Passcrii, Tofn. I. Tab. 33. It is highly probable that the words of the text allude to some such representation of Jui)itcr Serenus actually existing, and well known, in the time of Virgil. On Trajan's Column at Rome there is a figure supposed to repre- sent Jupiter Pluvius ; see Bartoli, Colonna Trajana No. 133. Also one on the Column of M. AureHus Antoninus in the Piazza Colonna in the same city; see BcUorius, Tab. 15. Boissard (Topog. et Antiq. Urb. Ronuc. Pars V. Tab. 24.) gives a representation of a monument (apparently the pedestal of a statue) bearing the in- scription, JOVI SERENO. NUMISIUS ALBINUS. EX VOTO. 279. INDE LUP^ FULVO NUTRICIS TEGMINE L/ETUS "Romulum pro cassidc lupa; exuvias sen lu|)inam pellem gessisse narrat." — Hevne, who quotes Prop. IV. 10. 20. But why spoil the picture by limiting the wolfskin 'tegmen' to the head? why not extend it, as the lynxskin 'legmen', v. 327, to the whole person? Com- pare En. II. 721; V. 37; MI. 600; VIII. 400. Had a ca|) only ;inil nol a general rnxering for (he whole |ier- son been iiiUtuled, it would have been distinctly so staled, as En I'fJ. OSS. I 99 283. QUIN ASPERA JUNO gU/E MARE NUNC TERRASQUE METU CyELUMOUE FATIGAT CONSILIA IN MELIUS REFERET MECUMOUE FOVEBIT ROMANOS RERUM DOMINOS GENTEMOUE TOGATAM See the fulfilmenl of this prophecy, testified by no less authority than that of Juno herself, in Ovid's Fasti, VI. 41—52. ROMANOS RERUM DOMINOS GENTEMOUE TOGATAM. Not merely, the Romans, whose national dress is the 'toga', commanding the world; but the Romans in their robe of peace, the 'toga', commanding the world. Compare: "Me uno togato duce et imperatore." Cicero in Caiil. 11. c. 13. "Quod mihi primum post banc urbem con- ditam togato contigit." In Catil. III. c. 6. "Erepti (estis) sine csede, sine sanguine, sine exercitu, sine di- micatione; togati, me uno togato duce et imperatore, vicistis." In Catil. III. c. 10. "Et ni multitudo toga- torum fuisset, quag Numidas insequentes moenibus pro- hibuit" etc. Sall. Jugurth. c. 21. See Comm. En. VI. 853, 294. VOCABITUR HIC OUOQUE VOTIS ASPERA TUM POSITIS MITESCENT SJECULA BELLIS CANA FIDES ET VESTA REMO CUM FRATRE QUIRINUS JURA DABUNT DIR^ FERRO ET COMPAGIBUS ARCTIS CLAUDENTUR BELLI PORT/E FUROR IMPIUS INTUS SvEVA SEDENS SUPER ARMA ET CENTUM VINCTUS AllENIS POST TERGUM NODIS FREMET HORRIDUS ORE CRUENTO Quooue; — i. e. as well as Eneas himself. See v. 203. CaNA FIDES ET VESTA REMO CUM FRATRE OUIRINUS JURA DABUNT. — The simple meaning is, that men, ceasing 100 I from war, shall live as they did in the good old times, when theij obeyed the precepts of Fides, Vesta, and Re- mits and Romulus (sec below). It is sufficienlly evi- dent from Georg. I. 40S and //. 533, that the deities liere menlioned were specially associated in the Roman my- thology with that primitive epoch of the national history, to which the Romans (sharing a feelings common to all civilised nations that have ever existed) loved to look back as an epoch of |)cacc and innocence; for this reason and no other are they specified as the jrods of the returning- golden age here announced by Jupiter. I am unwilling so far to derogate from the dignity of this sentiment, as to suppose, with Heyne, that it con- tains an allusion to the trivial circumstance of the tem- ples of Fides, Vesta, and Remus and Romulus being seated on the Palatine hill near the palace of Augustus; nor do I think it necessary to discuss the opinion ad- vanced by the late Mr. Seward, and preserved by Hayley in one of the notes to his second Epistle on Epic Poetry, that the meaning is, that civil and criminal justice shall be administered in those temples, that opi- nion being based on the erroneous interpretation of JURA DABUNT, pointed out below. The whole of this enunciation of the fates by Ju- piter is one magnificent strain of adulation of Augustus. A similar adulation, although somewhat more disguised, is plainly to be read in every word of Venus's com- plaint to Jupiter, and in the very circumstance of the interview between the queen of love and beauty and the 'Pater hominumque deumque' ; that interview hav- ing for its sole object the fortunes of Eneas, Augustus's ancestor, and the foundation by him of that great Ro- man empire, of which Augustus was now the absolute master and head. Nor is the adulation of Augustus conhned to those parts of the Eneis, in which, as in (he passages before us, there is reference to hiin by Jiamc or distinct allusion ; it pervades the whole poem I 101 IVoin beginning to end; and could not have been Icasl pleasing to a person of so refined a lasle where it is least direct, and where the praise is bestowed, not upon himself, but upon that famous Goddess-})orn an- cestor, from whom it was his greatest pride and boast that he was descended. Not that I sui)pose, with War- burton and Spencc, either that the character of Au- gustus is adumbrated in that of Eneas, or that the Eneis is a political poem, having for its object to re- concile the Roman nation to the newly settled order of things; on the contrary, I agree with Heyne that there are no sufficient grounds for either of these opi- nions, and that they are each of them totally incon- sistent with the boldness and freedom necessary to a great epic. But, nevertheless, without going so far as Warburton or Spence, I am certainly of opinion tliat Virgil wrote the Eneis in honor of Augustus: that he selected Eneas for his hero, chiefly because, as Au- gustus's reputed ancestor, and the first founder of the Roman empire, his praises would redound more to the honor of, and therefore be more grateful to, Augustus, than those of any other hero with which the heroic age could have furnished him; and still further, that he not only jjurposely abstained from introducing topics which might have been disagreeable to the feelings, or derogatory to the reputation, of Augustus, but also seized every opportunity of giving such tendency and direction to his story, and illustrating it with such allu- sions as he judged would be best received by him, and shed most honor and glory upon his name. Nor let this be called mere adulation : call it rather the heartfelt gratitude of the partial poet towards his mu- nificent friend and patron, and the fulfilment and real- ization of his allegorical i)romise lo build a magnificent temple to him by Mincius' side, 102 1 — "Viridi in campo teniplum do marmore ponam Propter aqiiam, lardis iiif,'ciis ubi llcxibus errat Miiicius, el leiiera prcelcxit arundine ripas. In medio mihi Casar crit, Icniplumquc lencbil." Gcorg. III. 13. Cana fides. — "Can am Ficlem dixit, vel quod in can is hominibus invcnilur, vel quod ei albo panno involula manu sacrificalur." — Servids. "La Candida Fedc." — Caro. I think ratlier, with Nonius, Voss, and Heync, houry ; 'die graucnde': viz. v^illi age. Compare: "Si quid longa Fides canaquc jura valent." Mart. I. 16. 2. — "Priscamque resumunt Canilicm leges." Claud. Quart. Cons. Honor. 505. — "Laxata casside prodit (viz. personified Rome) Caniliem, plenamque traliit rubiginis hastani." Claud. Bell. Gildon. 24. Jura dabunt. — 'Jura dare' is, [iriniarily, to make and impose laws , to perform the function of Ian-giver, and therefore secondarily, to rule: "Cgesar dum magnus . . . victor . . . volenles Per populos dat jura," Georg. IV. 560. "Hospitibus nam te dare jura loquuntur," En. J. 735. See also En. III. 137; V. 758; VITI. 070, etc. ; also "Det pater hie umbra; mollia jura mea;." Pkop. IV. 11. 18. It is surprising that Heyne, having correclly inter- preted JURA dabunt in the passage before us by 'prT- enmt', should afterwards, at line 511, fall inlo the com- mon error, and confound 'jura dare' with jus dicere', the meaning of which is to c.rpound, explain, or lay down what the law is, to perform the office of a judge, to administer justice. "Ea res a Volcnlio. qui Ron^r jus (licit, rcjccta in Galliam est." Cicer. Fam. Epist. XIII, 14. "Appius . . . quam asperrime polerat jus de crc- ditis pecunii>s dicere." Liv. II. 27. "'Ipse jus dixit as- I 103 suliie, cl in noctem nonminqiiani : si |)arum corpore valcret, leclica pro Iribunali coUocala, vcl cliani domi Cubans." — Suet. Aug. c. 33. I think also tliat Heyne conlines jura dabunt wilhin too narrow limits by sub- joining- 'imperio Romano'; and that ho should have used some more comi^rehensive term , such as 'homi- nibus', or 'popuUs', or 'gentihus', which would better harmonize with the wide extent of the term SyECULA, and with the general spirit of the prophecy, that the peace was to be universal, to extend over the whole world. DlR^ FERRO ET COMPAGIBUS ARCTIS CLAUDENTUR BELLI PORT^. — Heyne has set his seal to the following-, which is the universally received, interpretation of this passage: "[belli] porta dira, quia dei diri et abominandi , clau- dilur FERRO ET COMPAGIBUS ARCTIS, seu viuculis , h. e. foribus ferratis." (Excurs. IX. ad En. I.). So also AUieri : "Chiuse, e di bronzo sbarrate le alroci Porte staranno del guerriero Giano." It seems almost incredible that neither Heyne nor any of the other commentators should have perceived that this interpretation is not only inconsistent with the well known meaning- of the word ' compages' , but with the plain and obvious structure of the sentence, and with the fairly presumable intention of Virgil. First, with the well known meaning of ' compages', which is not bolts or other fastenings , but the conjunction or colli- gation of the parts of which a compound object is com- pacted OY put together: as of tht stones or bricks of a wall (LucAN. HI. 491); of the planks of a ship (En. I. 126) or other wooden building, ex, gr. the wooden horse (En. II. 51) ; or of the organs constituting an ani- mal body (Cic. de Senect. c. 21) ; or of the several con- stituent parts of ivhich an empire (Tacit. Hist. IV. 74), or the world itself (Aul. Gell. VI. 1);, consists. This is the only meaning which the word 'compages' has cither 104 I in Iho Latin laiifriinfic, or in the Eiifrlish, into which it has been adopted Ironi the Latin. Secondly, the re- ceived interprelalion is inconsistent with the plain and obvious structure, according- to which ferro et compa- GiDus is connected with dirye, not with claudentur, in the same way as ore cruento at the close of the sen- tence is connected with horridus, not with fremet ; com- pare: "Horridus austris TorqueL" IX. 670. It is im- possible for the reader or reciter to separate ferro et COMPAGIBUS ARCTIS from DIRyE , Or ORE CRUENTO frOUl HOR- RU)us, without making-, at dir^e and horridus, pauses very disagreeable both to the ear and sense. So also, in the sentence "ora modis attollens pallida miris" (v. 354), ' modis miris ' is joined with 'pallida', not with ' attollens ', as is proved by the corresponding sentence, Georg. I. 477 : "Simulacra modis i)allentia miris." See Comm, En. I. 641 and V. 460. Pliny uses dirtE in precisely the same construction (B. V. c. 4): "Sinus vadoso mari dirus." Thirdly, even if it were admitted (which, how- ever, I cannot admit,) that ' compages' \m^\\{, in another situation , mean the bolts or fastenings of a gate, still we must, in justice to the ars poiHica of Virgil, refer it in this situation to the structure of the gate itself, because it would have been highly incorrect and un- poetical to lay so great a stress on the mere circum- stance of the fastenings of the gate being of iron, since it appears not only from the celebrated line of Ennius, quoted by Horace, but from Lucan's "Pax niissa per orbem Ferrea belligeri compescat liinina Jani" (1. GO), and Virgil's own "BefJi ferrates nipil Salurnia postes" (En. VII. 022), that tJie gate itself was iron; it is in- credible that Virgil should have presented us with the minor picture of the iron fastenings, and wholly omitted the greater picture of the iron gate. The structure, therefore, is \^\v.m feuro et compagibus arctis, and these words are the dcscriiitiou of tlie gale itself: kul-e cx- pressint.'^ the cfrect which its appearance produced on I 105 Ihe mind; ferro informing us thai its material was iron; coMPAGinus, that it consisted of several pieces adapted lo each other; and arctis, that those pieces were close- ly joined or compacted together (for, as appears from En. I. 126 , closeness does not form an essential part of the idea expressed by ' cotnpages'). It will further be observed, that the emphasis (which by the received interpretation is thrown upon the fastenings of the gale) is by this mode of rendering the passage, thrown upon CLAUDENTTiR — the really emphatic word, as containing the principal idea, the closing of the temple of Janus in the lime of universal peace. The above interpretation is further confirmed by the point placed in the Medicean MS. between arctis and claudentdr. Exactly parallel to ferro et compagibus arctis, we have (En. II. 627) " ferro crebrisque bipennibus, " for crebris bipennibus ferri. The turn given by Voltaire to this passage, in his application of it to Elizabeth, Queen of England, is as happy as it is truly French: "Quel exemple pour vous, monarques de la terre! Une femme a ferme les portes de la guerre, Et renvoyant chez vous la discorde ct I'horreur, D'un peuple qui I'adore elle a fail le bonheur." Henriade, C. I 304. VOLAT ILLE per AERA MAGNUM remigio alarum — "Down thither prone in flight He speeds, and through Ihe vast ethereal sky Sails between worlds and worlds, with steady wing." Par. Lost, V. 2G6. 14 10(5 306. KT JAM JUSSA FACIT 1>ONUNTOUE FEROCIA P^d-)]xu.'' NoDOouE SINUS collecta fluentes. — "Possis intelli- gere fibulam melius de cingulo accipiemus." — He\tve. "Rectissime Ileyn. non de fibula sed de cingulo capit." — Forbiger. I understand nodo to mean neither 'fibula', nor 'cingulum', but simply a knot tied on the fullness (sinus) of her garment, in such a manner as to prevent it from impeding her speed; the fullness of her garment knotted upon itself. For the manner in which the 'sinus fluentes' are thus put out of the way by means of a knot, see the figure of Diana Succincta in the Mus. Pio Clem. III. Tab. AAXTIII. See, further, Comm. En. VI. 300. 15 114 =1 331. OUAM TE MEMOREM VIRGO NAMOUE IIAUD TIRI VULTUS MORTALES NEC VOX IlOMINEM SONAT DEA CERTE AN PHCEBI SOROR AN NYMPH ARUM SANGUINIS UNA "Wcr bist du, sprich — " ruft cr in ITasl, Starrt an das Wiinder, das cr schaut — "Wcr bist du, unvergleichlich Weib? So -woit der lichle Himmel blaut, Nic sah mein Aug' so holden Leib. Bist du dcr Elfcn eine, sprich, Die lieblich in der Mondnacht Glanz Ilinwchen im Icichten Gcislertanz, Wic? — Oder lebst du so wie ich?" Zedlitz, Waldfmtilcin, 4. Abcnthaier. 339. IIAUD EOUIDEM TALI ME DIGNOR IIONORE Not referring specially I* 'Miilta (ilii ante aras' &c., but generally to the whole of Eneas's s|)eech ascribing divinity to her. 343. GENUS INTRACTABILE RELI.O T am decided by the so similar phrase, 'genus insupe- rubile bello' (Kn. IV. 40) applied to the 'Ga^ula' urbes', to lake part with Ileyne against Wagner, and refer GENUS INTRACTABILE BELLO, not to Carthage , but In llie immediately preceiling 'fines TJbyci'. I 115 353. ILLE SYCH/EUM IMPIUS ANTE ARAS ATOUE AURI C^CUS AMORE CLAM FERRO INCAUTUM SUPERAT SECURUS AMORUM GERMANAE Impius refers , not lo aras , but to the murder of his sister's husband ; and the meaning- is , the unnatural brother-in-law. Compare Ovid, Heroid. VII. 127, of the same murder by the same Pygmalion: "Est etiam frater; cujus manus impia possit Respergi iiostro, sparsa cruore viri. Pone dcos, el quae tangcndo sacra profanas : Non bene cajlesles impia dcxtra colil." See Comm. v. 14. 360. C^ECUMOUE DOMUS SCELUS OMNE RETEXIT So Schiller, Braut von Messina: "Schwarze Verbrechen verbirget dies Haus." 367. portantur avari pygmalionis opes pelago Pygmalionis OPES. — These words have been hitherto understood to mean the treasures of which Pygmalion hoped to obtain possession by the murder of Sicha^us : "quas ille animo et spe jam prasceperat" — Hevne; whose interi)retation has been adopted by succeeding 116 I commentators. This interpretation is undoubtedly in- correct: lor, first, the peculiar and proper meaning of 'opes' is not treasures, but opulence, and the strength and power consequent upon opulence; so "dives opum," En. I. 18; "Trojanas ut opes," En. II. 4; "Has evertil opes," En. II. 603; "opibus juvabo," En. I. 575. Secondly, the possessive pygmalionis cannot without great violence be wrested so as to mean hope of pos- session. Thirdly, supposing the structure to admit of such interpretation, it were unworthy of Virgil, having already employed one sentence in informing us that the ships were seized, and another in informing us that they were loaded with gold, to occupy a third with the statement that the gold sailed. We have only to give to OPES its true signification of opulential substance, and to PYGMALIONIS its proper possessive force, and we have a meaning at once simple and worthy of the author, viz. that the strength and substance of Pygmalion was carried awaij over the sea. That this is the true meaning, is further proved by the very next sentence, "dux femina facti," as well as by "Ulta virum, pcenas inimico a fratre recepi," En. TV. 656. For, what was the deed achieved by a woman? or what was the re- venge which Dido had for her murdered husband? or what was the punishment inflicted upon her lioslile brother? Not surely the running away with a treasure which belonged to her own husband, and which Pyg- malion had never even so much as possessed; but the emasculating Pygmalion's kingdom, by carrying away (along with the treasure) men, ships, and munitions of war, in sufficient quantity to found a great city and a rival empire. Thus it is not indifferently or otiose, that Venus informs Eneas (and Virgil his reader) that the OPES PYGMALIONIS Sailed the deep, but expressly for the purpose of preparing liim for the disi)lay of wealth and l)0\wr ('opes') with which he is greeted at Carthage; and thus again, the 'nodus' which made it necessary I 117 for Venus to appear in person, becomes 'di^nior vin- dice dca'. It may be observed further; first, lluil the term 'veteres' (v. 362) is ahnost by itself sufficient to show that the 'thesauros' did not belong- either to Sichffius or Pygmalion, but were one of those old hoards, of the existence of which no person living was aware, and which it has been from time immemorial the province of ghosts to reveal; and secondly, that opes must be interpreted as I have proposed, in order to afford a plausible pretext for the apprehension expressed (if not felt) by Dido (En. IV. 325) , that Pygmalion would follow her, and make war upon Carthage. Should the reader still entertain misgivings as to the correctness of this interpretation, let him compare the exactly corresponding passage of Suetonius in vita Ccesaris, c. 79: "Fama percrebuit (C. Julium Ciesarem) migraturum Alexandrian! vel Ilium, translatis simui opibus imperii." Also the almost express citation of the passage by Ovid, Heroid. VII. 149: "Hos potius populos in dotem, ambag-e remissa, Accipe, et advectas Pygmalionis opes." 378. ANTE DIEM CLAUSO COMPONET VESPER OLYMPO The allusion is plainly to the ordinary shutting up of a house at the approach of night. Compare: "Et thalamos clausit Nox atra hominumque Deumque." SiL. Ital. XIV. 542.' I find in Pierius: "In codicibus aliquot antiquis non invenuste 'componat' habetur;" which reading, adop- ted by Wagner in his Heynian Virgil, and with much reason oppugned by Forbiger, has been tacitly abandon- ed by Wagner in his Virg. Br. En. 118 I 397. ADSPICE BIS SENOS LyETANTES AGMINE CYGNOS itlTIJERIA QUOS LAPSA PLAGA JOVIS ALES APERTO TURBABAT C^LO NUNC TERRAS ORDINE LONGO AUT CAPERE AUT CAPTAS JAM DESPECTARE VIDENTUR UT REDUCES ILLI LUDUNT STRIDENTIBUS ALIS ET CCETU CINXERE POLUM CANTUSQUE DEDERE HAUD ALITER PUPPESQUE TU^ PUBESQUE TUORUM AUT PORTUM TENET AUT PLENO SUBIT OSTIA VEiO "Capere, eligere, iit (Georg. II. 230): Ante locum ca- pies ociilis. Despectare, i, e. electas jam iiUenlius dcspicere." — Servius. "li l^tantes AGMINE nunc terras partim e longinquo oeulis capcre (s. locum ubi considant designare), par- tim easdem, captas jam, ex propinquo spectare viden- tur (hoc pertlnct ad eos, qui sunt in prinio agmine, illud ad eos, qui in cxtremo); facloque in orbem vo- latu, cum cantu revertunlur." — Wagner, Virg. Br. En. To which interpretation there are these two capital ob- jections: first, that no instance has been produced, nor I think can be found, in wiiich 'capere', simply and without adjunct, signifies oeulis capere, designare; and secondly, that if capere be oeulis designare, captas must be oeulis de'signatas ; and then what kind of sense does despeetare oeulis terras jam oeulis design at as afford? or how could Venus possibly point out, or Eneas possibly observe, a distinction between the fore part o'l the flock of birds, despeetantes terras oeulis, and the hind part, designantes terras oeulis? Another and more generally adopted inlerprelalion ul the passage is that of Burmann and Voss: "Hacd Ai.iTER etc. docent partem modo avium jam lenuisse terrain, partem vero Jam appropinquare et despicerc locum, quem capiant. 'Cap lis' vero est in Mentel. lertiu pro varia icctioiic, ut a m. pr. in Uegio, scd I I IIU CAPTAS rectum est, scilicet jam a prioribus, qui jam dcscenderanl in lerram, ut patcl ex v. 404, aut poutum TENET, AUT PLENO SUBIT OSTIA VELO : SCd SCFUpuluS SUpCI- est, quomodo, si jam pars in terram delala, alia jam despeclare ^-ram el appropinquarc vidolur, polum cin- xerint ccelu, qucm (i. e. caelum, aera) jam deseruisse debent inleilif^i. An liceret solum subslilucre, quod ab aquila lurbalae aves reliquerant, et nunc reduces cingunl ludenles? Sed non addicenlibus libris enexia^ et aliis explicandum relinquo." — Burmann. "Schaue die zweimal sechs in dem Zug- frohlockenden Schwiine, Die, den atherisehen Hohen cntstiirzt, erst Jupiters Adler Wirrt' in entnebeller Lufl; nun crdwarts siehst du ira Heerzug Theils sie gesenkt, theils nahend auf schon gescnkte herabschaun. So wie der Heimkehr jene sich freun mit rauschenden Fliig^cln, Wie sie im Schwarni uraring'ten den Pol, und Gesange des Jubels: So ist dir auch Flotle sowohl, als siimmtliche Jugend, Theils in dem Port, theils naht sie rait schwellendem Segel der Miindung-." Voss. This interpretation is sufficiently condemned by Bur- mann's own objection, "sed scrupulus superest" etc. A third interpretation, proposed by Wagner in his edition of Heyne's Virgil, is as follows : "terras partim capere, partim, qui primi terram attigerant, jam rursus in altum sublati despeclare videntur." In all these modes of understanding the passage (and I believe no other mode has ever been proposed) there seems to me to be this radical error, the assumption that the birds are divided by the conjunctions aut, aut, into two parties. Let us understand these conjunctions as indicating not two distinct parties, but two distinct acts of the whole number of birds, and all difficulty vanishes at once: Behold, says Venus, those twelve swans: how, having escaped their enemy, they alight one after another (ordine longo), and then, rising again on the wing, wheel round and round in circles , singing their song of triumph and looking down as it were 120 I contcmptunushj (sec Comment on despectare helow) on the place of shcllcr for which (hey have tiow no Innyer occasion. As the swans arc not divided into two parlies liy the conjunclions aut, act, v. 400, so neilj^r is Kneas's fleet divided into two parties by the same conjunctions, V. 404, the meaning of v. 404 being, are either entering the harbour, or actually safe in it. Tlie idea of the safety of the fleet would have been equally presented to Eneas, if the swans had been represented merely as alighting or alighted on the ground, and the ships as actually in port, but the picture would have wanted its main beauty, the life and animation bestowed on it by the rejoicing of the birds in airy circles round and round their place of refuge, and by the fleet entering the port in full sail. Nunc opposes the present safe stale of the birds (whether alighting or flying in circles round the place where they had alighted) lo their previous stale of danger: jam opposes their last described act of flying round in circles to their immediately preceding act of alighting, of which it is as it were the completion. As if Venus had said: Those birds which you sec yonder wheeling round in the air over the spot on which a moment ago they took refuge from the eagle, and from which they have, without resting there, this instant arisen in order to give vent to their joy. In the words laetantes agmine Venus describes ihe present slate of Ihe swans, i. e. their state al the mo- ment when she first directs Eneas's atlenlion to them; they are lakt antes agmine, rejoicimj in a body: in the words >CTHERiA viDENTUR shc dcscribcs their [irevious misfortune and escape witnessed both by herself and Eneas; and in the words ut reduces DKDERE returns lo their present slate, viz. (hat already expressed by laetantes agmjne, and which has conti- nued unaltered during the time she has been speaking; 1 121 Ihc words reduces ludunt stridentihus alis, c(etu cinxere POLUM, and cantus dedere, being- but a develoi)emenl of (he idea brieCly expressed in l/etantes agmine. Such inlerruplions (if I may so call Ihem) and rcsnin[tlions of Ihc direct thread of the discourse arc of exLreniely frequent occurrence in Virgil; compare: -'Prospiciens sumnia placidum caput extulit unda Prospi- ciens genilor calociue invectus aperto," v. 131 and 150, and " rotis summas levibus perlabitur undas Flectit equos curruque volans dat lora secundo," v. ^5/ and 160. Capere terras; — as 'capere porlum', Cces. B. G. IV. 36; (observe the force and propriety with which Virgil applies to the swans' arrival at their port, the ground, the very term ordinarily used to express a ship's refuging in port); 'capere Ilaliam', En. IX. 267 ; Humulum capit', En. VI. 754; 'locum capiunt'. En. V. 315 ; and the, if possible, still more exact French pa- rallel, prendre ierre, lo land; with which compare the converse expression of Ovid, Amor. III. 2. 48: "Nil mihi cum pclag-o ; me mca terra capit." ViDENTUR, — although in the strict construction per- taining equally to cai'Ere and despectare , is (according to the style of which Virgil is so fond— see Comment V. 420 — and of which see a most remarkable example En. A'. 13) to be referred in the sense to despectare alone, as if Virgil had said: Eilher alight or seem to look down, for Eneas could see the swans actually alighting, although he could not see them actually look- ing down, but only seeming as if they looked down. Despectare. — "Piso vix Tiberio cedere ; liberos ejus ut multum infra despectare". Tacit. Annal. II. 43. 6. "Despectare omnia lerrena." Ammian. XIV. 11. "At lu, sen rapidum poli per axem Famee curril)us arduis levatus, Qua surg-unl auimse potenliores, Terras despicis, el sepulchra rides." Statius, Silv. II. 7. 107. 16 122 1 I doubt not thai DESPF.cTAnE is llie true reading', partly because 1 have I'ouud it in the only three MSS. which I have myself personally examined respecting the pas- sage, viz. the two Leipzig and the Dresden, but prin- cii)ally because it is (juoled by Donat, ad Terent. Ucaut. II. 3. Reduces, — not reluming, or 07i their way back ("fa- ctoque in orbem volatu, cum cantu revertunlur" — Wagneh), but actually returned; first, because such is the ordinary meaning of the term ("Qu;e tibi poiliccor reduci rebusque secundis," En. IX. 301. "Gratatur reduces," En. V. 40) ; and secondly, because the swans cannot well be supposed to celebrate their escape be- fore they have actually arrived in a place of safely. Et c(etu cinxere polum cantusque dedere; — i. e. ac- cording to the usual manner of swans, flying and sing- ing together: "Seine Stimme liisst er (viz. Cycnus musicus) im hohen Fluge ertonen , und ob sie gleich dem Gak-Gak der Glinse ahnelt, so ist sie doch weit voUer und reiner, und wenn viele zusammen sich horen lassen, klingt es wie ein Glockenspiel, da die Stimme der allern und jiingern, oder mannlichen und weiblichen Vogel hoher oder tiefer ist." Reise in Island, Anno 1820, von Thicnomann (a most intelligent and accurate observer of nature). Zweite Ablh. Zweiter Abschnitt. I beg to say that 1 adhere to my interpretation of the above passage, notwithstanding the objections made to it by one of the most judicious and candid of Virgil's commentators, Forbig:er; see his third Kdilion. 407. IMVINUM VERTICE ODOREM ''(■hiov otV/fj^c ni'tvua," Ilii>polytus recognisinn llie presence of a divinity by llie odor, Krnir. Hippol. 131)1 . 123 415. AT VENUS OBSCURO GRADIENTES AEKE SEPSIT ET MLLTO NEBULv-E CIRCUM DEA FDDIT AMICTU The aiicients believed (correctly) Ihal (he air was without li^ht in itself, i. e. dark, unless illuminated by the sun's or other light. Compare Lucrel. V. 649: "At nox obruil ingcnU caligine terras, Aut ubi dc long-o cursii sol ultima cscli Impulil, alque suos ecflavit languidus ig-ncs, Concussos Here, et lab e facto s aere niiilto;" also Lucret. V. 695: "Aut quia crassior est certis in partibus aer. Sub terris idee tremulum jubar hcesitat Igni, Nee penelrare potest facile, atque emerg-ere ad ortus." CiRCDM DEA FDDIT AMICTU, — Dea explains why Venus was able to envelop them in darkness. Compare Pro- pert. II. I. 10: "Seu cum poscentes somnus declinat ocellos, Invenio causas mille poeta novas;" where 'poeta' explains why Propertius was able to invent so many explanations. See Comm. v. 721. 422. CORRIPUERE VIAM Shortened the way, went fast over the road, proceeded \'> quick. Compare: "Erimus ergo ibi dedicationis die, quem epulo celebrare constitui. Subsistemus fortasse et se- quent!; sed tanto magis viam ipsam corripiemus." Plin. Epist. III. 1. — "Tarda necessitas Leti corripuit gradura." HoR. Od. L 3. 32. 124 427. PARS DUCERE MUROS MOI.IRinUE ARCEM ET iMAXIBUS SUBVOLVERE SAXA PARS OPTARE LOCUM TECTO ET CONCLUDERE SULCO ouLco, fossa; civilas enim , non domus , circumdalur sulco." — Servius. "CoNCLUDERE SULCO, fossam ducere; definire a^dium siluni ac locum fossa facia, in quain fundamonlum immillalur seu crepido. Male de arairo cogilanl." — Heyne. "Fossa facia, qua fundanienla ponanlur." — Wagner, Virg. Br. En. "Sed mirum , quod in ipsa Carlhagine non solum pars ducere murum aggredialur, sed PARS OPTARE LOCUM TECTO ET CONCLUDERE SULCO. Privala3 ilaque aides eodem Etrusco rilu consecranlur. Quod non revera factum, sed de publico ad privalum solum a Virgilio Iranslalum esse credo. — Lersch, Antiq. Virgil, p. 30. "■Durch einen gezogenen Graben den Umfang des kiinf- ligen Hauscs bezeichnen." — Ladewig. The fundamental error in all these explanalions is Ihe assigning of too restricted a sense lo tecto: which here, as 'teclis' in the parallel passage En. III. 134 (where see Comm.), means not a private house as op- posed to the public building, the arx, but building ge- nerally; LOCUM tecto , i. e. locum ccdi/icando , idoneum ad (cdificandum. One pars of Ihe working Tyrians is employed in the actual masonry of the city, the arx and walls being the most imporlant parts and repre- senting the whole; the other pars is employed either in choosing sites whereon to erect further buildings (whether of Ihe arx or i)rivate houses, is not expressed, and makes small dillerence); or in enclosing the whole with a 'sulcus'. In plain prose, some of the Tyrians are employed in the laying nut, others in the actual \ I 125 building:, of the city. The fundamental error corrected, suLco returns lo its proper meanin;;, the plough furrow ; drawn as usual, not round a i)arlicular |)rivale house, but round the whole city, the arx included. So under- stood the sentence is according- to Virgil's usual man- ner, the last words winding up and rounding the whole. Mature consideration has induced me thus to alter the opinion I had previously formed concerning the meaning of this passage, and which, first published in the Classical Museum, has been quoted, and, I am sorry to find, adopted, by Forbiger in the third edition of his excellent work. Optare. — It seems to me by no means certain that this is the correct reading. I find m. Pierius: "In veteribus fere omnibus exemplaribus legi aptare lo- cum. Tovx mil TO aQfio^ELV." A statement strongly confirmed by Burmann: "Aptare etiam omnes fere Heinsio inspecti; et Excerpta nostra, et Grsevianus, Francianus, Pugetianus et Ed. Venet." According to Bottari (whose assertion is confirmed by Ambrogi), 'aptare' has been the original reading of the Roman (No. 3867), and has been altered by a different hand into OPTARE (thus : aptare). I find 'aptare' in the Dresden MS. ; also in the Leipzig No. 35, the 'a' however in the latter having the appearance of being an alteration of the original reading. The other Leipzig MS. (No. 36) has optare; Henry Stephens and Alfleri have 'aptare', the Modena edition of 1475 optare. 430. jura magistratusque legunt SANGTUMOUE senatum The unjust stigma affixed by Heyne to this line has been very [iroperly removed by Wagner. It is quite according 12(3 I 10 Virgil's usual manner to introduce such , if I may so say, parenthetic passages. See Comments Eri, I. 4; 111. 571; IF. 484; VI. 83 and 739. I have myself found the Une in the following MSS.: the Gudian , the Pclrarchian, the KIoslcr-Neuburg. three Gothan (Nos. 54, 56 and 236), three Vienna (Nos. 113, 114, 115), also in the two Leipzig and In the Dresden. It is also acknowledged by Servius, and is (according to Foggini) in the Medicean, and (according to Bollari) in the Va- tican Fragment. It has also been adopted by both the Stephenses and both the Heinsii , as well as by Bur- niann, Aml)r.ogi, Brunck, Jahn and Forbiger, and is in Allieri's text and the Baskerville. 435. CUM GKNTIS ADULTOS EDUCUNT FETUS Addltos; — having undergone their transformations, and assumed the perfect or adult insect-form, that of Mmago' Gentis; — because "sola; communes gnalos ...habenl." Georg. IV. 153. EFFOPERE LOCO SIGNUM QUOD REGIA JUNO MONSTRARAT CAPUT ACRIS EQUl SIC NAM FORE BELLO EGREGIAM ET FACILEM VICTU PER SPECULA GENTEM Caput acris eoui. — See a representation on an ancient Roman lamp in the Passerian Collection, of a war-horse's head transfixed with a spear; set down by Passerius (Lucernoi Ficlilen, Tom. 11. Tab. 27) as an emblem of the conquest of Carthage. See iUso Ursini (Virg. Collai.J: I I 127 "cliam iii)ud mo argcnleiim numisma Pnnicis lillcris nolaluni, in ciijiis altera parte cqui cai)ul, cl palma per- cussa est." Facilem victu. — Ladewig's arguments are not suffi- cient to induce me to derive victu with iiim from 'vinco', and to take the expression facilem victu as epexegetic of BELLO EGREGiAM. The description of Carthage in the text seems to me to be exactly parallel to the de- scription of Carthage at the outset of the poem, facilem victu being equivalent to 'dives opum', and bello egre- GiAM to 'studiis asperrima belli'. In reply to the ar- gument of Ladewig, "Auch ist das Pferd nicht Symbol derFruchlbarkeitund derFiille," I quote (with DeBulgaris) "/tijtoc ysionyog r ayathog jt(>«r£()og r aixuijrrigj' It appears from Ammian (XXII. 16) that, when Di- nocrates was building the walls of Alexandria, the fu- ture richness and abundance of that city was prognos- ticated by an omen: "Qui cum ampla moenia fundaret et pulchra, penuria calcis ad momentum parum repertae, omnes ambitus lineales farina respersit, quod civitatem post hgec alimentorum uberi copia circumfluere fortuito monstravit." 450. HlC TEMPLUM JUNONI INGENS SIDONIA DIPO CONDEBAT DONIS OPULENTUM ET NUMINE PIV^ ^REA GUI GRADIBUS SURGEBANT LIMINA NIX^QUE ^RE TRABES FORIBUS CARDO STRIDEBAT AHENIS DoNis OPULENTUM ET NUMINE Div^. — Not, enHched with gifts because of, or through the influence of, the 'numen. Divae' ("Potentia Numinis templum donis ditavit, liinc ipsum Divae numine oj)ulentum dicitur" — Wagner), but, rich in votive offerings and the 'nmnen Divae' ; the votive offerings together with the 'numen Divae' 128 I conslitulin? llic riches of the temple. Compare: "Man- tua dives avis," En. X. 201. NiXvEouE yERE TRADES. — Ileync, adheriiii? to the vul- p:ar reading 'n ex op que', thus explains this passage: "Nexa}que liniinibus (adjunctie et impositiv liinini) trabes (pastes) surgebanl (erant ex) a^re/' On which Wunder- lich observes: "Durum est, jungere surgehant (ere. Nam, ul omittam duplicem structuram Umina surgunt gradihus , et trahes surgunt cere, ea est collocatio ver- borum ut nexcc cere conjungatur audienti. Videtur nectere aliquid aliqua, vel ex aliqua materia, — nam utraque constructio bona est, — esse fahricari aliquid de materia; ita ut nexus cere pro (creus dicatur." The critique on Heyne's gloss is correct and well judged; not so the proposed interpretation, for 'nexae acre', if equivalent to 'aereus', had better been omitted, as embarrassing the construction, without conveying any. meaning not already conveyed by ^rea, the action of which is as riiii and [)crfect on trades as on li.mixa. Voss's interpretation, — "mid gedicgfcnc Pfosteii Strcblen mil Erz;" founded on the same analysis of the structure as Wun- derlich's, is liable to the same objection. La Cerda's is the ordinary meaning, door-posts bound or jointed together n-ith fastenings of brass, and is summarily and justly rejected by Ileyne, as wholly unworthy of the picture : "At hoc pro reliqua templi magnilicentia quam esset jejunum!" La Cerda's words declare his distress. and the dirficully he is at lo make anything out of Ihc passage: "Trades; ubi ha'? Rel'ero ad portas templi, vel polius ad posies porlarum. (|ui ex Irabibus illigatis innexisque aire. Vel lu mihi indica , ubi essent h;e trabes? nam si ad reliquum ()|(i(icium templi referas, vix credam, cum Pocta lantum occupalus sit in oniando limine." To these explanations, as well as to all those which have yet been offered, or, so far as I see. can T 129 he offered, of the received reading: , there is, besides, this capital general objection, that they all so limit Virgil's description as to make it the description, not of a temple, or the facade or portal of a temple, but of a mere door; the sum total of the sense contained in the two lines being, that there were steps up to the door; the sill, posts, and valves of which tvere of brass. I therefore unite with Catron in rejecting- the common reading, as incapable of affording any good sense, and in adopting the reading of the Vatican Fragment (see Botlari) and of those other manuscripts referred to by Servius ("Mulli nix^ legunt, non nexae") and Bur- mann, nixvEoue. This reading being adopted, the passage becomes disembarrassed of all difficulty, the con- struction clear, and the meaning harmonious to the context, and worthy of Virgil. Limina is not merely the threshold, but the whole solum or ground in front of and adjoining the door; trabes (literally, the great beams, travi, of the roof, and particularly the archi- traves, architravi: "Trabes supra columnas et paratatas et antas ponuntur." Vitruv. IV. 2. And again, IV. 7: "Egeque trabes compactiles ponantur, ut tantam habeanl crassitudinem, quantte summse columns erit hypotra- chelium") is the roof itself — nor let it be objected, that the object expressed by trabes must be wooden, for we have (Hor. Carm. II. 18.3) 'trabes' of marble: •'Non trabes Hymettiae premunt columnas;" compare Pliny, Lib. XXXVI. 8; and (Claudian. de Rapt. Proserp. 1.242) 'trabes' actually of brass: "Trabibus solidatur aenis culmen ;" — ^rea surgebant is the common predi- cate of limina and trabes: nix.«: ^re (leaning on brass , i. e. brazen columns — the precise position of the 'trabes' as described by Vitruvius — ) the special predicate of trabes; the emphatic words are .«rea and ^re; the structure is, 'cui limina trabesque aere nixae, surgebant aerea'; and the picture presented i^ that of the whole facade of the temple, consisting IT 130 I of Ihc brazen 'Uminn\ the brazen roof -beams or architraves (i. c. brazen, roof: ^^coi/ ooofpov )^a).xovv. Pausan. '■pMYdy.c^ cap. \) ^\\\}\)()v{c<\ on brazen columns, and the brazen folding or valved doors, all elevaled on a flight of steps. If farther confirmation of the reading mx^que be required, it will be found in the exactly corresponding 'premunt' of Horace, just quoted; in the 'incunibunt' of Statins in his description of the temple of i\Iars, manifestly a copy of Virgil's temple of Juno: "Ferrca com|)ag-o lalerum ; fcrro arcta tcrunlur Liinina; I'eiralis incunibunt tecla columnis." Thcb. VII. 43; in Avienus's "Teinpla Sinopa?i Jovis aslant nixa columnis." Descriplio Tcrrw, 370; in Ovid's "Templa niancnt hodie, vastis innixa columnis; Pcrque quatcr donos ilur in ilia gradus." Ex Ponlo in. 2. 40: and in Statius's "Pendent innnmcris faslig-ia nixa columnis." SHv. 1. 2. 152. An exact parallel for the expression, 'terefc siirgebant trabes', is tiupplied by Virgil himself (Georg. III. 29): — "Navali surgcnlcs jere columnas." in addition to all which, 1 may observe, that the omission of columns in the description of so great and magnificenl a temple would have been, to say the least of il, very singular ;ind reuinrkaltle. TuAUES {the great beams of the roof, as, indepen- dently of Ihe preceding argument, is sufficiently clear from llie etymuhtgieal tree alone, trabes, travi, archi- fravi , architraves) is here used for Ihe whole roof, in the same way as its sinj;ular 'Irabs" is so ol'len used for llic whole ship: ex. gr. Va\. IV. 5(H;; III. lUI ; Pkus. V. Ill; llou. farm. I. 1. 13; Arc. I 131 Conclusive as the above arguments seem to be, I must not conceal from tlie reader Ihal 'n ex aequo' is according- to Koggini llie reading of tlie Mcdicean MS. It is also tlie reading of both the Ileinsii, and of Burmann, although from Burniann's note it would appear that Nix^ouE was the reading- which he had himself intended for his text. I have also found either 'n ex ae- quo' or 'nexae' in all the MSS. which I have myself personally examined wilh respect to Ihis passage; viz. 'nexaeque' in eight Vienna MSS. (Nos. 113. 114. 115. 116. 117. 118. 120. 121), two Munich (Nos. 18059, 21562), two Ambrosian (viz. the Petrarchian, and No. 79), the Kloster-Neuburg, and both the Leipzig^; and 'nexae' in the Gudian, in No. 523 of Munich, and in the Dresden. It is remarkable that Pierius, no less than Ambrogi, is entirely silent as to the reading of this verse: from which silence I would infer that 'n e x aequo' was the only reading known to either; an inference which seems placed beyond doubt as to Pierius at least, by his quo- tation of 'nexae a.'re trabes' in the course of his ob- servations on ' auratasque trabes', En. II. 448. In his third Edition Forbiger has adopted nix^, de- cided thereto (as it would appear from his note) by my arguments in favor of that reading, published in the Classical Museum (No. XX). Lend. July, 1848. 466. SUNT LACRYM^E RERUM Herum; — human affairs, the world; as shown by the subscqueni "morlalia." See Coram, v. IS2. 132 I 474. I'lUMO yU.E I'RODITA SOMNU rvrtlDES MULTA VASTABAT C^EDE CRUENTUS Wagner seems lo me lo err in connecting tlie words PRiMO SOMNO with VASTABAT, and understanding- them to specify simply the time of Tydides's invasion of tlie camp: "Quem Rhesus prima nocte, |)Ostcpiam ad Trojam venil, capiebal." — Virg. Br. En. Tlie words are, I thinlt, connected with prodita, and express the instrument or agent by wliich the camp was betrayed. Compare: "Ipso tacitam se pondereprodit," Georg.II.253 ; and (Schiller, Braut von Messina): — "Dcs Meers ring-sumgebendc Welle, Sie verrath uns dcm kiihnen Corsarcn, Dcr die Kiiste verwegen durchkreuzt." Primo somno, — not the sleep of the first night, h\\{ the beginning, or first part, of sleep ; fust, because this latter is the meaning of the words both in Pha'drus (III. 10. 31): "Sopita primo qurc nil somno senserat ;" and Silius (IX. 90): "Eccc sub advcntum noctis primumquc soporem ;" and (probably) Proper!. I. 3. 3: "Qualis ct accubuil primo Ccpheia somno, Libera jam diiris caiilibus, Andromeda;" and of the exactly corresponding phrase 'prima quies ' in Virgil himself (II. 26S). Secondly, because, so un- derstood, the sense is not only stronger, but more fully ex)>lanalory of the subsequent "priusquam Paimla gu- stassent" &c., viz. in the early part of the night before they had time to taste ttc. Thirdly, because the fact that the slaughter of Uhesus had taken place on the I 133 first night after his arrival at Troy, was so well known as not to require express specification. The construction is, 'cruenlus niulla Cci.'dc'; not, 'vaslabat nuilta ciede'. See Conim. v. 294. Page 103. 478. PARTE ALIA FUGIENS AMISSIS TROILUS ARMIS INFELIX PUER ATQUE IMPAR CONGRESSUS ACHILLI FERTUR EQUIS CURRUQUE H^RET RESUPINUS INANI LORA TENENS TAMEN HUIC CERVIXQUE COM^QUE TRAHUNTUR PER TERRAM ET VERSA PULVIS INSCRIBITUR HASTA Compare Hippolytus dragged by his runaway horses and chariot, Eurip. Hippol. 1236 ; also the fabricated story which the messenger tells Clytemnestra of the death of Orestes, Sophocl. Electra, 748. Millinghen (Pelntures de Vases Grecs , Planche 17) gives us a representation, from a Greek vase, of the sepulchral monument of Troilus, authenticated by the inscription of his name upon the ov)]Xij, and states that it is the only known artistic memorial of Troilus in existence. 483. INTEREA AD TEMPLUM NGN MQUJE PALLADIS IB ANT CRINIBUS ILIADES PASSIS PEPLUMQUE FEREBANT SUPPLICITER TRISTES ET TUNS^ PECTORA PALMIS DIVA SOLO Fixes OCULOS AVERSA TENEBAT rleyne removes the comma placed by preceding edi- tors after ferebant, and adds in a note: "Nescio an melius su])pliciter ferebant jungas." Wagner restores the comma with the observation : '^surPLicixER TRiSTEs; ita jungendum, ut sit sup plica n turn modo 134 I I r isles, ul in suninio reruni discrimine." Heyne is, I lliiiik, nearer the Irulii liian Warner, bul slill falls in my opinion far short of a correct understanding- of the passage. Suppliciteu belongs, as it seems to me, neither to tristes, nor to ferebant, but to the whole of the two verses immediately i)receding; it, especially to the two verbs ibant and ferebam, but above all to ibant; as if Virgil had written, lUades ihani siippliciter ad icmplum; i. e. crinibus passis , pephtm ferentes, tristes et tunscc pectora palmis. Suppliciter is the em- phatic word of the whole sentence, and hence its [)0- sition at the beginning of the verse, and its separa- tion from both the preceding and the subsequent word by a pause; see Comm. En. IT. 240. All the predicates, CRINIBUS passis, peplum FEREBANT ( for this is uo uiorc Ihan a predicate, and equivalent to 'peplum ferenles'), tristes, and TUNSyE pectora, are only explanatory or pictorial of suppliciter. The i)unctuation should therefore be : intere\ an templu.m xo.n aeyu.^e palladis \v.\st ckimlius iludes passis, peplumque ferebant, suppliciter; tristes, et tlws^e pectora palmis. As IBAiNT so (V. 522): suppliciter; -'Ibaiil Oraiiles veiiiaiu;" and (En. II. 254): -Ihal Liltora nola poleiis.'" On the other hand suppliciter and tristes are thrown together by the position of llie point (viz. after, and not before, tristes) both in Ihc iMedicean. and in ihe Vatican Fragm. (see Foggini and BoUari ). Bul as 1 have already observed (Comm. /'. 122), small is the stress wjiich can be laid on the punctuation of lliese MSS. I 135 which seems lo have been performed nearly at random ; al least wholly at the arbilremcnl of Ihc scribe. So much for the structure, and precise meaning-; for the general picture, compare: "Anlea slolala; ibant nudis pedibus in clivum, |)assis capillis, menlibus puris, et Jovem atjuam exorabanl." Petuon. p. 161. 487. TER CIRCUM ILIACOS RAPTAVERAT irECTORA MUROS EXANIMUMQIIE AURO CORPUS VENDEE AT ACHILLES Had killed Hector by draoglng him round the 7valh' of Troy, and was now selling the dead body. See Comment on 'tumentes'. En. II. 273. 498. H^C DUM DARDANIO .ENE^E MIRANDA VIDENTUR DUM STUPET OBTUTUQUE H^RET DEFIXUS IN UNO "Sed video totum Ic in ilia hcerere tabula quae Trojns halosin ostendit." Petron. p. 324. Dardanio ^NE^. — Observe the delicate propriety with which the term Dardan is applied to Eneas, at the mo- ment when, by the sudden presenlalion to him, in a strange land, ofhis own and his country's history, his mind is filled with, and overwhelmed by, Dardan recollections. 500. REGINA AD TEMPLUM FORINIA PULCHERRIMA DIDO INCESSIT Our author, according to his wont (see Comments En. II. 18 and 49), especially on occasions when he wishes 130 I lo be more llian usually impressive, presents us, lirsl, wilh the sin^'le principal idea, and allerwards adds those wliicli arc necessary lor explanation or embellish- ment. The queen comes to the temple; she is of ex- quisite beauty; and her name is Dido. Regina contains the principal idea, because it is the queen, as queen, whom Eneas is expecting and recognizes ; it is, there- fore, placed first: pulcherrima follows next, because the queen's beauty was almost of necessity the im- mediately succeeding idea in Eneas's mind; and the name, dido, is placed last, as of least importance, and serving only to identify, and connect with the nar- rative of Venus. Regina ad templum &c. — Parallel, but (as usual in Shakespeare, and to his great honor) without imitation: — "The rich stream Of lords and ladies, having: brought the queen To a prepared place in the choir, fell off A distance from her, while her grace sat down To rcsl a while, some half an hour or so, In a rich chair of state, opposing: freely The beauty of her person to the people." Henry VIII. Act IV, sc. 1. 504. IT.I.A PHARETRAM FERT HUMERO GRADIENSQUE DEA SUPEREWIXET OMNES LATONvE TACITUM PERTENTANT GAUDIA PECTUS Although I have found the reading 'Deas' in the only four MSS. I have myself personally examined respecting this passage, viz. the Gudian, the Dresden, and the two Leipzig, I IccI nevertheless |>erfeclly satisfied that Virgil wrote dea; first, because of the better sense. Se- condly, because such exactly is his usual style: compare : I I 137 "At Venus obscaro gradientes acre sepsit Et multo nebula' circum dca fiidit amictu." vers. 415. "At Venus Ascanio placidam per membra quietem Irrig-at, et fotum gremio dea tollit in altos Idalise lucos." vers. 695. Thirdly, because there is a peculiar propriety in the connexion of dea with gradiens, the step or gait being one of the most distinguishing attributes of a Goddess; compare: "Et vera incessu patuit dea." vers. 409; (where it will be observed that our author is as little careful not to break Alvarez's head as he is in our text). Fourthly, because the original reading of the Medicean, as appears from Foggini, has been 'Deas upereminet', altered afterwards in red ink into 'Deas supereminet'. Fifthly, because Pierius informs us that dea is the reading of the Roman and several other ancient MSS. Pierius's words are: "In Romano codice et nonnullis aliis antiquis legere est DEA SUPEREMINET OMNES , Ut DEA sit YMT S^O'/fjV. Nam ipse locus syllabam omnlno communem reddit; cajterum hoc in medio sit." Sixthly, because (see Heyne, V. L.) DEA is the reading of the oldest Golhan. Seventhly, because Bersmann although himself adopting 'deas', adds in the margin "dea veteres libri, ut propter in- cisum 'a' producatur." Eighthly, because it was to be expected that the scribes should, on account of the difficulty presented by the long 'a' in the nominative case, alter dea into 'deas', and not at all lo be expected that they should alter Meas' into dea. LaTON^ TACITUM PERTENTANT GAUDIA PECTUS. "These growing thoughts my mother soon perceiving: inly rejoiced." Pur. Reg. I. 227. 18 138 507. TALIS ERAT DIBO TALEM SE LJETX FEREBAT PER MEDIOS INSTANS OPERI REGNISQUE FUTURIS TUM FORIBUS DIV^ MEDIA TESTUDINE TEMPO SEPTA ARMIS SOLIOQUE ALTE SUBNIXA RESEDIT "Instans prrecipuc foribus; et hoc loco dislinj^uendum est; magno enim studio et labore templorum lores fiebant, quas quibusdam insignibant liistoriis " &c. — Servius. An interpretation which, I should think, re- quires no comment. "Man stosst bei foribus und media testudine an. Im Vorigen ist gesagt , was sie ausserhalh des Tempels that: nun lolgt tum, darauf; foribus div^, im Inncrn. inncrhalb, hineingegangen; media testudine, mitten inne des Tempelgewolbes." — TmEL. Scholars will, I think, require the production of some authority for the use of FOuiBus in the sense of HnnerJialb, im Innern', before they accept an interpretation which assigns to this word a sense diametrically opposed to its ordinary prima facie sense of 'ad januam'. "Media testudine templi; h. e. medio templo Latino usu, quatenus intra fores conscderat In templis sena- lum cogi, ad fores tribunalia poni, nolus Romanoriim mos, ad qiiem poeta hoc refinxit." — Heyne. "Sub tecto templi testudinato in parte foribus propin- qua resedit Media testudine idem est quod sub templo." — Wagner, Virg. Br. En. If Dido sat, according to the view of these critics, inside the temple, and near its door, first, she must have sat either squeezed up in one of the corners on cither hand, or else immediately within the entrance and therefore in the way of those entering; and either with her back to them, in which case no more awk- ward and ungraceful position could have been chosen, or with iier face to them, in which case the principal I 139 standing-room must have been behind her. And, se- condly, in this position she could have been elevated only by the height of her seat or throne, which, unless so high as to have required for its ascent a flight of steps or a ladder, could not have afforded a sufficient elevation above the crowd. Let us therefore consider whether, adhering strictly to the words of the text, it is not i)erfeclly clear that Virgil has placed Dido not only in an entirely different part of the temple, but in a position at once convenient, conspicuous, and dig- nified. And, first, we must carefully distinguish between the Cell a and the Temple: the former peculiarly the residence of the Deity (whose image it contained), and, except on particular occasions, accessible to the priests only; the latter no more than the enclosure surround- ing- the former, sometimes roofed, and sometimes not (in the present instance roofed), and serving for the reception and accommodation of the people who came to worship outside the C e 1 1 a. ''To jtisv xcooiov, 8V ([) d-EQantvoaEV zovg d-tovg, leQov y,ai vecog (the Roman 'Templum', and Jewish Court of the Tabernacle), Evd^a ds xad'id'Qvoaev . arjxog, zefievog" (the Roman Cella, and Jewish Tabernacle, oxip'og), Pollux, I. 1; this latter the first house or covered residence of the Deity of which we have any record. The Cella was not only the principal object, that on which all the other objects in the temple and the temple itself depended, but at the same time the most conspicuous, occupying the further end of the nave in such a man- ner that its facade or entrance was directly opposite the entrance of the temple, and (not being immediately under the central opening of the roof, but a little fur- ther than it from the temple entrance) was illuminated by the light streaming down from the roof. Such was the conspicuous situation of the Cella, elevated above the floor of the temple, and approached by a flight of 140 I steps, the landing-place of wliich, sometimes adorned with columns in the manner of a portico, afforded a noble entrance to the Cclla , visible from all pans of the temjde, and even from the outside throug:h the temple-door, and at the same time a convenient, ele- vated platform or tribunal, from which the priest could address the multitude assembled in the area of the temple, and expound to them the mysteries of their religion. The entrance into the Cella from the temple was usually provided with grated iron doors, aflbrding a view of the interior even while they remained shut; and a curtain (velum) , for the purpose of excluding the view occasionally, and of protecting the interior of the Cella, and especially the image of the Deity usually placed in a niche at the far end of it, from the weather, as well in those temples which were entirely hypa?- Ihral, as in those which, being roofed, had a central opening in the roof for the admission of light and air. All these particulars can be made out satisfactorily, either froiu the descriptions given us by ancient writers, or from the still existing remains of the buildings themselves. Particularly to our present purpose is that passage of Pausanias , where, speaking of the temple of Jupiter at Olympia, he informs us that the statue of the God was nearly under the middle of the roof of the temple, and that a portico elevated above the floor of the temple led to it: ''.hog i^t aya).- fiarog xava fitaov 7Ttnon]UEvoii fiaXiara tov aevov ("Signo Jovis imminet lacunaris vertex" — Sieuelis). Eoiiy/.ariL (Te yml tviog tov raov yjoi'cg' y.ai gioul Tt Evdoi> vTit.[)(ooi, xai TTQonodog di avrwv em lo ayaXaa tan" — Pausan. IDAaxiov A. c. X. Compare Servius (ad Georg. III. 16): "Quod autem dicit 'in medio', ejus lem[)lum fore signilicat. Nam ei semper sacratus numini locus est, cujus simulachrum in medio collocatur; alia enim tantum ad oriiatum perlinenl." 1 141 In the temple of Bacchus in Pompeii arc still to be seen, in a state of considerable perfection, the ele- vated Cella, the flight of steps leading to it, and the landing-place, which latter Fumagalli considers to be the tribunal described by Vilruvius. See, for a represen- tation of the building, as well as for that of the temple of Isis in Pompeii, in which there are also the elevated Cella ;, flight of steps, and landing-place (converted by pillars into a portico), Fumagalh's Pompeia, 1 vol. fol. Firenze, 1830. That it was on this landing-place Dido's throne was placed seems to me to admit of no manner of doubt: first, because we are informed it was placed foribus DiVyE, at the door of the Goddess, i. e. of the Cella which the Goddess inhabited , where her image was kept; and media testudine templi, under the 7mddle of the vaulted roof of the temple. And secondly, be- cause the temple offered no site for the throne at all comparable with this, where it was in a good light, where it was conspicuous from all parts, where it was removed from, and elevated above, the crowd, and where, without encroaching on the private domain of the God- dess, it was within the halo of her sanctity, and almost under her very shadow. With this whole description of the reception of Ilioneus and the Trojan ambassadors by Dido in the temple of Juno, compare the exactly parallel description (En. Vll. 168) of the reception of the same Ilioneus and his companions by Lalinus in the temple of Picus. SoLiOQUE alte suBNixA. — 'Subuili' (eQeideod'ai) , to take or derive support out of something placed under- neath; to lean upon, to rest upon (without including the idea of repose). And so Gesner, correctly, "/w re tanquam basi niti." Subnixa operates, not (as gratuitously and most unpoetically supposed by HeyneJ on 'scabello', understood, but (as placed beyond all doubt by Clau- dian's exactly parallel 142 I "Csesariem tunc forte Venus subnixa corusco Fingebat solio." Epith. Honor, et Marice, v. 99) on SOLIO, expressed. Compare: "Parva Philoclelae sub- nixa Pelilia niuro," En. Ill, 402; "Subnixa; nubibus allis," Ciris, 195; "Cubilo subnixa," Ciris, 348. The structure, therefore, is, 'resedit loribus divie septa armis subnixaque alte solio'. The expression has been borrowed by Hericus, Vita S. Germani, Lib. VI: "Nunc libi, nunc meritas laudes sacramus, lesu, Subnixus solio fleclis qui cuncla palerno." 522. QUID VENIANT CUNCTIS NAM LECTI NAVIBUS IBANT I have myself personally ascertained that cunctis is the reading of the Leipzig MS. No. 35; also of thePelrarchian; the 's' however in the latter appearing not to have existed in the orginal MS., but to have been added by Petrarch's own hand. It is also, as appears from Bol- tari, the reading of the Vatican Fragment, the 's' being here added as in the Pclrarchian MS. by a corrector. Cunctis also affords a better sense than 'cuncti'; for, first, the first ol)ject of Eneas's wonder would naturally be, not (with Wagner), "quod ita cuncti venirent," but that they came or were there at all ; and secondly, the very next word lecti shows, as plainly as words can show any thing, that they came not cuncti, but the very opposite, lecti. For all these reasons I think that Wagner has done wrong in returning to the reading 'cuncti', adopted Ijy Daniel Ileinsius from the Mediccan , and already rejected by Nicholas Heinsius. A full slop should be placed after veniant, as in the two above first mentioned MSS. , Donatus's quotation I 143 of the passage (ad Terenl. Adelph. 111.3), H. Stephens and N. Heinsius. Although (as I have myself personally ascertained) the reading in the Gudian is now 'Cuncti nam Iccti', it is perfectly plain from the manifest either erasure or decay of the parchment, and the room left for a letter both after 'cuncti' and after 'lecti', that the original reading has been cunctis and 'lee t is', of which however the latter must be assumed to have been a mere lapse of the transcriber. In Pierius I find the following: "In Romano Codice et Mediceo (observe, not the Laurentian Medicean quoted above, but the Roman Medicean) 'cuncti' nominative casu legitur;" which reading 1 have myself personally found in the Leipzig MS. No. 36. 526. NOVAM GUI CONDERE JUPITER URBEM JUSTITIAQUE DEDIT GENTES FRENARE SUPERBAS These words refer to the two occupations in which Ilioneus and the Trojans have just seen Dido engaged: NOVAM GUI CONDERE JUPITER URBEM to "opcrumque lal)orcm Parlibus a^quabat justis" etc. (v. 511); justitiaque dedit etc. to "Jura dabat, legesque viris" (Ibid.). 541. SUPERANTE SALO Salo — the sea in the neighbourhood of the shore — the offing. Compare : "In salo navem tenuit in an- coris." Nep. Them. VIII. 7; where see the Annot. of 144 I Brcmi. Sec also Lamb. Bos. Exer. Compare also En. II. 209. where the Icrm is again applied to the sea near the shore. 548. QUO JUSTIOR ALTER NEC PIETATE FUIT NEC BELLO MAJOR ET ARMIS OUEM SI FATA VIRUM SERVANT SI VESCITUR AURA ^THERIA NEQUE ADHUC CRUDELIBUS OCCUBAT I'MBRIS NON METUS OFFICIO NEC TE CERTASSE PRIOREM PCENITEAT SUNT ET SICUI.IS REGIONIBUS URBES ARMAQUE TROJANOQUE A SANGUINE CLARUS ACESTES 'Pielas', the tender feelings (see Comm. v. 14), is here as elsewhere opposed to 'justilia', the observance of (he strict right, or law. Compare: "Pyrrhus Achillidcs, animosus imagine patris, Inclusaiu contra j usque piumque tenet." Ovid. Jlcroid. VIII. 3. Si VESCITUR AURA /ETHEIUA. — "Haucht jener des Aethers Niihrende Luft." Voss. "In hoc iilroque loco (viz. here, and En. III. 339) Wagner (Qua'st. Virg. IX. p. 409) arhilraUir Singula- rem aura ob soni elcgantiam esse posituni, (iiuun liic superior versus el inferior claudalur Ablalivo Pluralis, ARMIS — uMBRis, ilHc auleni anlecedentis versus exlre- iniini vocabulum sil oris. Alibi cnini, ubi ublished by Lamarline in his Histoire desGirojidins, Liv. 44. ch. VIII: "Les prisonniers de la Concicrgerie, loin de m'injurier comme le peuplc dans les rues, ont I'air do me plaindre. Le malheur rend cmiip.iiissanl. C'est ma tlerniei'c re- flexion. i 157 640. MUNERA LAETITIAMOUE DEI The sense of this line (as of 538, 564 and, I believe, of all those which Virgil has left incomplete) is perfect, although the verse is not; munera LAETiTiAMyuE dei, i. e. Munera laeta Dei; the particular god intended being sufficiently indicated, (a) by the word 'laetitia' (see 'laetitiac Bacchus dator', v. 738. Jiovvaov yavoq, EuRiP. Cycl. V. 414; (^ovQvog yai'og, Eurip. Bacchid. r. 261 and 3S2 ; oia /Jitovvaog dtox avd\)aaL /aona, Hesiod, Shield of Hercules, v. 400); and (h) by the obvious necessity (observed by La Cerda and others) that wine should form a part of Dido's presents. I therefore adhere, with Forbiger, to the ordinary reading, and reject with him, as afTording a much in- ferior sense, the reading 'dii', proposed by A. Gellius, and adopted by Heyne, Brunck, Jahn, Wagner, and Thiol. Compare En. IX. 337, where Virgil again applies to Bacchus the term 'Deus' without any distinguishing adjunct: "Membra Deo victus;" also, Ovid. Art. Am. II. 85, where there is a similar application of the term 'Deus', without distinguishing adjunct, to Phoebus : — "cera Deo propiore Liquescit;" also, En. III. 177: — "munera libo Intemerata focis," where 'munera inte- merala' is the poetic equivalent for inerum vinum ; also, Georg. Ill 526: "Bacchi Munera;" but, above all, the identical expression of our text in the Letter of Crates to Lysis preserved in the Epistolae Mut. Graecan. Aurel. Allobr. 1606. Fob: "Oniog av rove do)i)OV tov ihtov (vinum sciz.) fii^ avifiaLovzL eig xacpahjv aoLyevrjrat. I have myself personally ascertained that dei is the reading of the Gudian, of the Kloster-Neuburg MS., of two MSS. in the Ambrosian Library (the Petrarchian , and No. 79), of three in the Munich Library (Nos. 18059, 21562, and 305) and of the six principal in the Vienna Library 158 1 (Nos. 113. 115. 117. 118.120.121), ot the two Leipzi;;, and of the Dresden. I have also found it in both the Heinsii. ll is also, as appears from P'og:f,Mni, the readinjj of the Mcdicean, in which, however, Ihe reading- has been originally 'De', the final 'i' having- been after- wards added in red ink. Finally, in support of this reading we have Ihe weighty testimony of Pierius : '"LiUMii ego quoque sub judice reliclurus eram, nisi exem|)laria fere omnia velustiora reclamassenl, dei legcndum esse alteslanlia." 641. UEGALl SPLENDIDA Ll'XU INSTRUrrOll The structure is 'splendida regali luxu', not 'instruitur regali luxu'; as in vers. 475, 'cruenlus mulla caede', not 'vaslabat mulla caede'. See also Comment on "dirae ferro et compagibus arctis," v. 297. 662. CUI'IDO It is only, as a|ipears from Claudian's beautiful Kpi- Ihalamium of llonurius and Maria (v. 73), in accordance with the strictest mythological etiquclte, that the son of Venus, the great God of Love, himself ("quanlus Deus", V. 723), should be employed for the ruin of Dido: "Mille pharelrali hulunl in margine fralrcs, Ore pares, similes habilu, yens mollis Amorum. HosNjmpha' pariiint: ilium (sciz. Ciipidinem) Venus aiirea solum Edidil. Hie Puos cacluuKjue ct sidera coinu Tcmperal, el summos dignatur fijjere rejjcs; Hi plebcm feriunl." I 159 m'3. DONISQUE FURENTEM INCENDAT REGINAM ATQUE OSSIBUS IMPLICET IGNEM and 716. PRAECIPUE INFELIX PESTI DEVOTA FUTURAE EXPLERI MENTEM NEQUIT ARDESCITQUE TUENDO PHOENISSA ET PARITER PUERO DONISQUE MOVETUR \ There was perhaps more meaning in Eneas's presents than may appear at first sight to the reader. There is reason to think that the double crown was peculiarly the bride's crown ; compare Turneb. Advers. XXIX. 4, and (quoted there from Donatus) Valerius's "Ipsa suani duplicem Cythereacoronam;" also Gesner in voce 'villa'. It is certain loo that the saffron color was sacred to Hymen, and the saffron colored veil peculiarly the bride's veil: "Pars infecta croco velaniina lulea Serum Pandite, Sidoniasque solo prosternite vestes." Claud. EpUh. Honor, et Mar. 211. See also Catull. in Xupt. JuUae et Manlii, Ovid, Martial, Festus, and numerous other writers. Also Claudian, of Proserpine's putting on a garland of flowers: "Nunc social flores, sesequc ignara coronal, Augurium fatale tori." Be Rapt. Pros. 11. 140. Nothing could have been more suitable for Vcnus's purpose, or more likely to produce the effects described in the text, Ihan such suggestive presents conveyed from Eneas to Dido by the hands of Love himself. Kill I H66. ET SUB NOCTEM CURA RECURSAT ^ot, as erronpoiisly understood by ^Vordsworth. "The calm of night is powerless lo remove These cares," Ijut her cares, liowever they may have been dissipated by the light and cheerfulness of the day, return (as usually happens with persons whose minds arc un- easy) tvith the darkness and stillness of returning night, and prevefit her from sleeping. Compare: "Quos jam mcnlo dies, quam saeva insomnia curis Prospicio." Val. Flacc. I. 329. "Talia dicenli curarum maxima nulrix Nox intorvenit." 0%iD. yiet. nil. 81. "Noxque ruit, soli venicns non mills amanti. Ergo ubi, cuiiclalis cxUcmo in limine plantis, Contigit aegra toros, el mens incensa lenebris, Vertere tunc varios per longa insomnia qucstus, Nee pereal quo scire modo." Vai.. Flacc. VII. 3. (of Medea;) and above all Vir^'il himself, En. IJ'. 520: "At non infelix animi Phoenissa, ncc unqiiam Solviliir in somnos, ociilisve aiit pectore noclcm Accipit: ingcminanl curae." 66S. NATE MEAE VIRES MEA MAGNA POTENTIA SOLUS NAIE PATRIS SUMMI QUI TELA TVPHOEA TEMMS W^agner, following N. Heinsius, and followed by For- biger and Ladewl}; , has rpmo\ed from the Heyninn I 161 text the comma placed between potentia and solds, and connects the two words together so as to obtain the following- sense: "Quanlumvis magna habeatur vis ac potentia mea, tamen luo solius nuniine nilitur; nulla est sine te." I not merely replace the pause, but use a semicolon instead of a comma in order to separate the two words more completely; First and chiefly, because I think we thus obtain a better sense; son, who aloxe settest at nought the supreme Father's weapons Tiji)hoean. Secondly, because solus is weak coming- in at the end of a verse and sentence, to which it seems tacked like an after-thought, while it is extremely strong and emphatic, placed at the commencement of a new sen- tence, and prefixed to an entire verse. Thirdly, because it is so separated from the pre- ceding, and connected with the succeeding, sentence by the actual punctuation both of the Medicean and the Vatic. Fragment; see Foggini and Bottari. Fourthly, because such seems to have been the only punctuation known to Servius, whose words are these: "solus, nate; id est, qui solus contemnis Jovis fulmina, qu;e diis ca^teris solent esse terrori." For all these reasons I join Daniel Heinsius, Bur- mann, Fabricius, the Baskerville text and Alfieri, in separating solus from the preceding, and attaching- it to the succeeding, clause. It -was, I have no doubt, the weight of the authority of the Gudian, in -which , as I have ascertained by personal examination, there is a semicolon placed after solus, and no pause at all between solus and potentia, which induced N. Heinsius to separate solus from the succeeding context, and connect it with the preceding. Nate me.-e vires &c. — Compare Venus's similar per- suasion of Cupid to wound Medea witli the love of Jason: ^^Ei d' ays fioL 7iQO(pQiov,'' &c. — Apollon. Rhod. III. 131. See also (in Gorius, iMus. Florent. 21 162 I Tom. II. Tab. 16, Fig. 1.) a representation, taken from a gem, ol' Cupid breakinij Jupiter's thunder-bolls across his knee. 697. UBI MOLLIS AMARACUS ILLDM FLORIBUS ET DULCI ASPIRANS COMPLECTITUR UJIURA /A MARACUS, — specially selected by the poet as sacred to Hymen. See Calull. in A'lipt. JuVuc el Manlii , v. 0: "Cingc (Hymen sciz.) tempora floribus Suaveolentis amaraci." 701. CUM VENIT AULAEIS JAM SE REGINA SUPERBIS AUREA COMPOSUIT SPONDA MEDIAMQUE LOCAVIT AuLAEis. — "Sunt vestes stragulae, spondae et torn in- jeclae." — Heyne, approved by Ladewig:. 1 think rather (with La Cerda and Alcialus, Parerg. XII. 10) hangings over head; both because 1 find no instance of 'aulaea' used in the sense thus assigned to it by Heyne, and because otherwise the queen were not sufficiently distinguished from the guests, who are described (vv. 704. 712) as reclining on cushions ornamented with crimson embroidei-y. CoMPOsuiT. — Sealed herself in a becoming position, and adjusted her dress. Compare: "Idem, quum Graeco pallio amictus inlrasset (carent enim togac jure, quibus aqua el igni interdictum est), poslcpiam se composuil, circumspexilque habilum suum." Plin. Epist. IV. 11. "Leviter consurgeniliiiii. luin m componenda toga paullum est commorandum." Qhnct. II. '^. 156. I 163 Mediam locavit. — To avoid loo great minuteness our author states merely that Dido placed herself mediam, i. e. on the middle 'leclus' (corresponding exactly to our head of the table), but as there was a middle place, as well as side places, on the middle 'leclus', it is to be understood that Dido occupied, not only the middle 'leclus', but the middle place of the middle 'leclus'. As it appears clearly from the separate entrances (v. 703 and 711) and separate applauses (v. 7'51) of the Trojans and Tyrians, that the two parlies sat, to a certain degree, separate and distinct from each other, and as we have just seen that Dido occupied the centre place of the 'medius leclus' (i. e. the centre place at the head of the table), it follows almost certainly that her guests, the Trojans, occupied the 'imus leclus', i. e. that side of the length of the table which was on her right hand, while her own people, the Tyrians, occupied the (opposite) 'summus lectus ', or that side of the length of the table which was on her left. Also that Eneas and the simulated Ascanius were placed on Dido's right on the second seat of the 'medius lectus', at the head of the table, having Dido on their left hand, and on their right the right hand corner of the table, and then all along Ihe right side of the table the re- mainder of the Trojan party. The principal Tyrian nobles would naturally occupy the corresponding place on Dido's left. For a plan of the Triclinium see Doe- ring ad Hor. Sat. II. 8. See also Le Palais de Scaurus XIX, and Plut. Symp. VIII. 7. As usual in Virgil's sentences, the first placed verb comes last in the order of time: 'mediam locavit, et sese composuit'. 104 I 707. ORMNE LONGO In all the MSS. which I have myself personally exa- mined respecting this passage, viz. the Gndlan, the Pe- trarchian, the Klosler-Neiilmrg-, the Dresden, tlie two Leipzig-, and Nos. 113. 115. 116 in the Royal Library at Vienna, I have found the reading to be longo. Longo is, besides, the only reading recognised either by Ser- viiis or Donatus, and is moreover, if Foggini is to be relied on , the reading of the Mcdicean. I find longo also in the younger Heinsius, although in his note (see Burmann) he informs us that the authority of Charisius inclines him in favor of 'Ion gam', contrary to all his MSS. In the elder Ileinsius I find 'longam', which has been adof)ted l)y Wagner, who, although accustomed to hold himself bound by the single unsupported au- thority of the Medicean , has on the present occasion most unaccountably and, as it were, for the mere pur- pose of showing his independance, rebelled against that aulliority where it is (with one solitary and veiy doubtful exception) backed by the entire host of Vir- gilian MSS. 709. r.\RES AETATE .MIMSTRI It is neither indiHerenlly nor accidentally that Virgil assigns to Dido a number of attendants all of one age. It a|)pears from the following passage of Tacitus (An- nal. XV. OU) that etitjucllf did not permit persons of private rank to be waited on by such attendants: "Ju- betque praevenire conatus consulis ; occupare velut I 105 arcein ejus; oppriinere dclcctam jiivenlulem; quia Vcstinus imminentes f'oro aedes, decoraque servilia el pari aetale habebal. " 721. HAEC OCULIS HAEC PECTORE TOTO HAERET ET INTEKDDM GREMIO FOVET INSCIA DIDO INSIDEAT OUANTUS MISERAE DEUS "Thai the word dido, after reginam and haec, is clumsy, and halh a bad effect, will be acknowledged I believe by every poet. I should rather thus: Inscia quantus, Insideat quantus miserae Deus." — Jortin, Philol. Tracts. On the contrary, the insertion ofDido's name in this position not only gives additional pathos to the passage, but is according to Virgil's manner: — "Donee regina sacerdos Marie gravis g-eminam partu dabit Ilia prolem." En. I. 277. "Quos hominum ex facie dea saeva potentibus herbis Induerat Circe in vultus ac terg-a ferarum." En. VII. 19. See also En. I. 500 and 695; II. 403; also the se- paration of 'Delius' from 'Apollo' (En. III. 162); of 'llhacus' from ' Ulysses ' (111.628); of'Saturnia' from •Jovis conjux' (IV. 91); of 'Deus' from 'Somnus' (V. 841); and the junction of the separated appella- tives with separate verbs. The proposed repetition of QUANTUS would havc only operated to withdraw the attention from the principal personage, for the purpose of fixing it on one which performs only a secondary part. Akin to this criticism of the learned Jortin on inscia DiDO is that of Steevens, the celebrated editor of Shake- speaie, on lOG I "At Venus oliscuro gradicntes ai'-rc sepsil, El luullu nebulae circum dea fudil aniiclu." En. I. 415: "Had Virgil lived lo have revised his Eneid, he would liardly have permilled both of these lines lo have re- mained in his Icxl. The awkward repetition of the nominative case in the second of them seems lo decide veiy strongly against it." — Sleevens's Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, Act IV. sc. 1, note. Hard indeed is the destiny of authors! transcendent excellence, clearness, and beauty of style are as !>urely accounted awkwardness, clumsiness, and error, by the judges who sit on our critical bench, as, two centuries ago, superior physical knowledge, or even singular blame- lessness of life, was received in our criminal courts as proof incontrovertible of communication with the Father of evil. 740. DIXIT ET IN MENSAM LATICUM LIBAVIT HOXOREM It is remarkable that, allhough in mensam is the reading of the Medicean, and the only reading recognised either by Servius or Donatus, yet in the only three MSS. which I have myself personally examined, viz. the two Lei|)zig and the Dresden, as well as in the Modena Ed. of 1475, I have found 'immensum', con- cerning the antiquity of which reading we have further the testimony of Pierius: "In oblongo codice, (piem Pomponii Laeli delicias fuisse dicunt , 'Im men sum' legitur; idem in Longobardico el aliquot aliis perve- tuslis." Maillaire informs us that the Venice Ed. of 1472 reads 'immensum laticis'. and the IMilan of 1474, 'im mensam lalicum'. The reading 'immen- sum' no doubt arose from the accidental corruption I 167 ot IN MENSAM iiilo 'i 111 111 c H s a 111 ' , aiid llic subsequent inlenlional change of the latter into 'i mm en sum', in order to make it agree with iionorem. 744. CITHARA CRINITUS lOPAS PERSONAT AURATA DOCUIT QUAE MAXIMUS ATLAS IllC CANIT ERRANTEM LUXAM SOLISQUE LABORES Although the Medicean reads 'quern' (which has been adopted by Nich. Heinsius, Jahn and Wakefield), I think Virgil must have written ouae, first and principally for the reason assigned by Wagner, "Sed ilia iopas cithara PERSONAT flagilant accusativum objecti: ea, quae docuit." Secondly, because from Pierius's words, "In Romano Codice, et quibusdam aliis legere est 'docuit queni maximus atlans'," I he plain conclusion is that the majority of Pierius's MSS. read quae. Thirdly, because Donalus gives us the express gloss, "Non turpia aut ob- scoena, sed venientia ex philosophiae fonte, quae docuerat Atlas maximus." Fourthly, because I find quae in the Modena Ed. of 1475, and Mailtaire testifies that quae is the reading both of the Venice Ed. of 1472 and the Milan Ed. of 1474. I have myself personally consul- ted only three MSS., viz. Leipzig 35, Leipzig 36, and the Dresden. In the first I have found quae, in the second q. and in the third 'quem'. This is one of the numerous instances in which I prefer the much calumniated Daniel Heinsius (who here reads quae) to the scarcely less overrated Nicholas. See Prefatory Remarks. Hic CANIT ERRANTEM LUNAM &c . — The calui and philosophical subject of lopas's song contrasts finely with the subsequent romantic and exciting narrative of Eneas. In this respect, as in so many others, Virgil 168 I lias improved upon his inasler, who, making- his minstrel sing, and his hero lell , similarly ntmanlic slorics, loses Ihe advantage of conlrasl. See (Jdyss. Books nil. IX. SoLisnuE LABORES. — "Defcclus soils." — Heyne, and so Wagner ad Georg. II. 418. I think not, but simply the toils (divrnal and annual revolutions) of the sun; for we have in Silius Italicus, XIV, 348: — "Atque una pclagi lunacquc labores," where the adjoined 'pelagi' shews that 'labores' cannot by possibility mean eclipses or any thing- else but toils. EURANTEM LUNAM SOLISQUE LABORES, i. C. lahoTCS errantis lunae et solis. 749. omi) TANTUM OCEANO PROPERENT SE TINGERE SOLES IHBERNI VEL QUAE TARDIS MORA NOCTIBUS OBSTET INGEMINANT PLAUSUM TV (ill TROESQUE SEOUUNTUR "Tardis, non longis, sed aestivis, i. e. tarde venien- tibus." — Servius. "Cur dierum spalia dccrescant ac crcseant per diversas anni vices." — Heyne. "Cur aestate breviores siiit noctes." — Wagner. — "What cause delays The summer nig^hls, and shortens winter days." Drvden. Before I accept this interpretation, I beg to be in- formed where in the whole passage there is any men- tion of summer, or of any season ONce|)l winter. If I am told in reply that there is indeed no direct men- tion of summer, bnt that summer is to be inferred from the expression tardis noctujus , which can only mean slowly coming on, or late, nights, I ask again why I 169 may not tardis noctibus (as in Ovid . Ep. ex Pont. II. 4. 25: "Longa dies cilius bruniali sidere, noxque Tardior hiberna solstitialis erit;") mean the slowly moving, slowly departing, nights of Ihe just mentioned winter, and whether it is not much more simple and natural, and accordant with the usual Virgilian construction, to refer these words to the sub- ject in the sentence of which they form a part, than to suppose, and bring- from a distance, a subject to which to refer them? But then lam asked, What is to be done with obstet? can it mean any thing else than impediment to the coming on of the nights in summer? Certainly, and much more simply, impediment to the departure or setting, or plunging in ocean, of the nights of winter; the hiatus after the word being supplied (like the subject of tardis noctibus) from the former part of the sentence, thus: obstet — quominus eae quoque, praecipitantes caelo (compare En. II. 8), se lingant oceano. We have thus this plain and connected meaning of the whole passage: Why ihe winter suns are in such haste, and the winter nights so slow, to plunge into the ocean, or in plain prose, why the winter days are so short and the winter nights so long: NOCTIBUS being opposed to soles, tardis to pro- perent, and tingere oceano and msERNi common (accord- ing to the usage of Virgil and the best Latin writers) to both clauses of the sentence. The ancients, and particularly the poets, always pictured the night as following the course of the sun or day; rising like him out of the ocean in the east. En. II. 250, traversing like him the whole sky, E7i. ¥.835, and setting like him in the ocean in the west, En. II. 8. Compare Comments En. //. 250; IV. 246. Also: 22 17U and: "Dum loquor, Hespeiio positas in liftore motas Huniida nox telig-it." Ovid, MeUtm. II. 142; "Sed cur rcpentc noclis acstivac vices Hiberna longa spalia producunt mora? Aut quid cadenles detinet Stellas polo ? Phocbum nioramur: redde jam mundo diem." Seneca, Again. 53; and "Oscula congerimus properata, sine ordinc, raplim; Et querimur parvas noctibus esse moras." Ovu), Heroid. XVIIL 113; and exactly parallel lo our lexl: "Proptorea nodes hibcrno tempore longae Cessanl, dum veniat radiatum insigne diei." Llcret. V. 698; and: — "Brumamquc moranlcm Noctibus" — AusoN. Precat. Cons. Design, v. 49. INGEMIN.4NT PLAUSUM. — Simply, repeat applause — applaud, and then applaud again. Compare Ovid (Metam. 111. 368), of Echo: — "Tamen haec in fine loquendi Ingeminat voces, auditaque verba reporlal." The applause is begun by the Tyrians, and only taken up by the Trojans, the Tyrians being at home and the Trojans their guests, and it being customary in entertainments (as appears from Pelron. P. 124: "Damus omnes jdausum a I'amilia inceplum") thai the a|i|dause slioiild be commenced by the household. See Comm. vers. 701. I 171 756. NUNC OUANTUS ACHILLES "Qiiam mag:nus corporis viribas et animi virUile." — Heyne. I think, not; because such a question bears no resemblance to the other questions asked by Dido, all of which concerned particularities about which a woman was likely to be curious, and which were ca- pable of being answered in a few words, whereas the question, "quam magnus Achilles corporis viribus et animi virtute?" was too comprehensive to be answered in less than an Achilleis. The question, I think, relates solely to the great stature for which Achilles was remarkable; see Lycophron (Cassandra, v. 860): ^'Jlfv&fir rov iivum]xvv Ainxov tqitov Kid JuiQidog, nQrj(ni]^cc dix'iov ^iaxi,g." and Philostratus in Heroicis: ^^VTH:Q(pvJ]g dt to oioiia ecpaivsTO, av^rjdsig r« Qaov i] va noog zaig nijyaig devdoaj" quoted by Meursius ad Lycophron Cassandr., Oper. Tom. V. Col. 990. Also Quintus Calaber (III. 60) describing Achilles wounded by Apollo: "/2w uq' (cprj, y.ai maroi ofiov vicptsaaiv itvx&t]- II((ju d' ecr(nt[.t{vog, atvysgov n^osijxs ^iXifivov, Kai s -d^owg ovrrjas xutu aqtv^ov. aupa 8' avLui Jvaur vno •/.Qa8u]v. o 8' avsTganti' tj'vTE nvQ/og." Also the account given by the same author (III. 709) of the vastness of the funeral pyre required to burn the corpse of Achilles. Also Horat. Cann. IV. 6. 9: "lUe (Achilles sciz.), mordaci velut icta ferro Pinus, aut impulsa cupressus Euro, Procidit late, posuitque collum in Pulvere Teucro." So understood the question is in the most perfect harmony with the context. 172 I Compare Valer. Fiacc. V. 209: — "Qiiaiii magiius Enipcus El pater aurato quaiilus jatcl Inachus aiilro;" also En. II. 502: — '•Coiifcssa dcani, qualisque viilcri Caelicolis el ([ u a n I a sold;" also Prop. II. 7. 51 : — "El lanli corpus Achillei, Maximaquo in parva susliilil ossa manu ; also Polyphemus recommending- himself to Galalea: "Aspicc, sim quanlus. Noii esl hoc corpore major Jupiter in caclo." Ovid, Mclum. Mil. S42; also "Tanlus in arma palet," En. XI. 644. ■ '- iaa g i - "' II. 1. CONTICUERE OMNES INTENTIOUE ORA TENEBANT — "Sieh, wie mit lauscheiulem Muud Und we'll geofTuetem Auge die Horer alle passen. " WiELAND. Oberon I. 8. 3. INFANDUM REGINA JUBES RENOVARE POLOREM — "Immania vuhiera, rector Intcgrarc jubes, Furias, et Lemnon. et arctis Arma inserta toris debellatosque pudendo Ense mares. " Stat. Theh. V. 20. Dante's charming- lines, — — " Nessun raaggior dolore, Che ricordarsi del tempo felice Nella miseria. e cio sa '1 tuo dottore. Ma s' a coiiosccr la prima radice Del nostro amor tu hai cotanto affetto, Faro come coliii clie piange e dice. " Inferno, V. 121. are a translation of, and, if I may venture so to say, an improvement on , the introductory verses of the Se- cond Book of the Eneis. The poet, who imagines him- A 2 n self visiting the infernal regions in the company, and under the guidance, of the shade of Virgil, meets Fran- eesca di Rimini, and inquires of her in terms parallel to Dido's inquiry of Eneas, (1. 757.) — "Ma (limnii; al tempo de* doici sospiri, A che, e come coucedette cimore, Che conosceste i dubbiosi dcbiri?" To which he replies in the above-quoted lines, "Nessun maggior dolore, E cio su '1 tuo dottore." 'L tuo dottore, viz. Virgil, who was standing by at the very moment in the capacity of Dante's guide and instructor, and who knew well how great a pain it is to remember in affliction times of past prosperity, having himself so pathetically expressed that sentiment in his famous commencement of the Second Book of the Eneis, iNFANDUM REGiNA jiBKs &c,. Frauccsca tlicu procBcds, almost in the identical terms of Eneas's reply to Dido, — " Ma s' a couoscer la prima radice Del nostro amor tu liai cotaulo afTeUo, (Sed si tantus amor lasus cogiioscere nostros, !kc.y Faro come colui die piange e dice. " 1 will do as Eneas did, and weeping tell you the whole story: (Quis talia fando temperet a lacrymis Inci- piam.) It seems unaccountable that the plain reference to Virgil's shade in the words "e cio sa '1 tuo dottore," (see no less than two applications of the term dotlore to Virgil in the 21st Canto of the Purgatory; and com- pare the exactly corresponding reference to Cato in the exactly corresponding words, "Come sa chi per lei vita liliuta," Purgat. 1. 72.), and to the Virgilian iNFANor.M re- GiNA JUBEs laying about the temples of lidus, foreshowed him ihc father of aline of kings? — or Ihe rin i hustra comprensa imago of the for ever lost Creusa? ^VIlich of all ihese passages should have been It d omitted , to make room for the additional matter required by the imperial critic? What reader will consent to give up one, even one , of these most precious pearls, these cons|)icuoas stars in, perhaps, the most brilliant coronet that ever graced a poet's brow? And even if the reader's assent were gained ; if he were content with less of Eneas, and more of the other Homeric Trojans; with less of the romance, and more of the art, of war; would such an account have been equally interesting- to the assembled guests and tlie love-caught queen? How coldly would a story in which Eneas played a subordinate part have fallen upon Dido's ear? How would not her thought have wandered from the thing told, to the teller? There was but one way to guard against the double danger, that Dido would forget the story in thinking of Eneas, and that the reader would forget Eneas in thinking of the story; and Virgil adopted that way — he made Eneas speak of himself — ouaeoue ipse miserrima vidi , et QUORUM PARS MAGNA FUi. With what effcct he spoke, we learn in the beginning of the fourth book — haerent in- Fixi pectore vultus verbaque, and Dido herself testifies ; HEU, QUIBUS ILLE JACTATUS FATIS! nUAE BELLA EXHAUSTA canebat! Or, in the words of another great master of the human heart, — • — "His story being done, She gave him for his pains a world of sighs: She swore, — iu faith, 'twas strange, 'twas passing strange; 'Twas pitiful, 'twas wondrous pitiful; She wish'd she had not heard it; yet she wish'd That heaven had made her such a man; she tliauk'd him, And bade him, if he had a friend that lov'd her. He should but teach him how to tell his story, And that would woo her." But let us suppose that the modern commander is right, and the great ancient poet and philosopher wrong: that the error lies not in Napoleon's total misconception, not only of Virgil's general scope and design, but of his meaning in the plainest passages (as, for instance, in B 10 n the account of the silnation of Anchiscs' house, and of the number of men contained in the horse); let us sup- pose, 1 say, that the error lies not in Napoleon's miscon- ception of the poet, but in the poet's ignorance of heroic warfare; and that the episode does, indeed, sin against military tactiriely, sclecled to instruct or assist them in building^ the horse ; because, in the heathen niylholo^^y, every work of remarkable in- genuity {e.g. the building of the ship Argo, Valer. flacc. Argon. L. I.; the construction of the firbl flute, Mart. VIU. 51) was ascribed to Pallas, as the inventress of the arts. Sectaque intexunt abiete costas. — The erroneous- ness of Turnebus's exposition of these words, "Statu- mina tabulas connexuru intus intexunt ei operi" and the correctness of Heyne's observation "tantum ad declara- tionem ulteriorem xov aediflcant" seems to me to be pla- ced Ijcyond all doubt by the subsequent, "(luuni jam hie trabibus conlextus acernis staret equus," {v. 112) quoted by Heyne. 18. HUC DELECTA VIRUM SORTITI CORPORA FL RTIM INCLUDUNT CAECO LATERI PENITUSQUE CAVERNAS INGENTES UTERUMQLE ARMATO JMILITE CONPLENT Let not the too prosaic reader, interpreting- this sentence according- to its literal structure , suppose it to mean that, besides the delecta virum corpora, which were inclosed in the hollow sides of the horse, the vast ca- verns of its womb were lillcd with armed soldiers; or, in other words, that a considerable vacancy, remaining after the selected chiefs were inclosed, was lilled up with a large body of common soldiers. On the contrary, the latter clause of the sentence is only explanatory of the former; armato milite informing us that the dei.ecta vi- RUM CORPORA wcrc amicd warriors ; cavernas ingentes UTERUMouE, tiuit by CAECO LATERI was mcant tlio whole interior cavity , or chamber, of the statue; and conplent, II 15 thai the cavity was completely filled by the persons who were inclosed. The correctness of this explanation cannot be doubted; first, because it renders a passage, which, as commonly understood, is sufliciently prosaic and mediocre, highly poetical. Secondly, because it is according to Virgil's usual habit (see Comm. En. I. 500; II. 51) of presenting in the first clause of his sentence no more than the sketch, or skeleton, of bis idea, and then, in the subsequent clause, filling it up and clothing- it with flesh and life; and thirdly, because it afterwards appears {v. 260 et seq.) that the horse contained only nine persons. 1 may add, that I understand the words delecta virum soRTiTi CORPORA to bc equivalent to delecta ipsorum sortid corpora, because sortiti is predicated of ductores Ba- naum, and we find at v. 260 et seq, that the delecta CORPORA were of the number of those wlio were properly comprehended under the term ductores Danaum. Error being fruitful of error, the received erroneous interpretation of this passage has produced the Emperor Napoleon's erroneous criticism (see his essay quoted in Comm. V. 5) that the wooden horse, containing so great a number of men, could not have been brought up to the walls of Troy in so short a space of time as is implied in the account given by Virgil. "En supposant," says the Emperor, "que ce cheval contint seulement cent guerriers, il devail etre d'un poids enorme, et il n'est pas probable qu'il ait pu etre mene du bord de la mer sous les murs d'llion en un jour, ayant surtout deux ri- vieres a traverser." The objection falls to the ground with the erroneous interpretation on which it is founded. See Comm. En. 11. 299. 16 n 23. ST ATI ^^Eine lihede, a porLu probe distingiicnda'' Forbiger, correctly. Compare Veil. Pal. II. 72. "ExiiialciiKiue leni- peslalem fuyicnlibiis slatio pro porLii forcl. " 30. CLASSIBUS HIC LOCUS HIC ACIES CERTARE SOLEBANT PARS STUPET INNUPTAE DONUM EXITIALE MINERVAE ET MOLEM MIRANTUR EOUI PRIMUSQUE THYMOETES DUCI INTRA MUROS HORTATUR ET ARCE LOCARI SIVE DOLO SEU JAM TROJAE SIC FATA FEREBANT Classibus mc locus. — In lliis passag-e Virg-il, accor- ding to his custom, (see Comm. En. I. 500; II. IS and 51) presents us first (v. 27 and 28) with tlie g-cneral idea, the deserted appearance of the phices lately occupied by the Greeks ; and then (f. 29 and 30) supplies the par- ticulars, in the words of the Trojans pointing- out to each other the various localities. The reader, however, must not be misled by the words CLASSIBUS HIC LOCUS to suppose that there was a place set apart for the ships. Innumerable passages in the Iliad, and especially the account of the battle at the ships, {Iliad. Xlll.) render it perfectly clear that, the ships being drawn up on the shore, the tents were erected beside and amongst them; the ships and tents of one nation forming one groui), those of another nation another group, and those of a third nation a third group; and so on, along the entire line of shore occupied by the encampment, classibus mcanij therefore , not the ships, as co)i/ra-disliii{/ui!fhc'd /'torn (he tents, hul the ships taken toyellicr with I heir dependencies, (he tents; or in n It other words, it means (he Grecian encampment, called classes by Virgil, and ai vtjsg by Homer, I'rom its most important and, especially from a distance, most con- spicuous part, (he ships. Not only Dryden and such like translators, but even Allien ("Qui, titte Eran I'ancore lor") renders classibus Hic LOCUS, "here the navy rode," with what under- standing- of the Iliad, or of ancient naval expeditions^ (see En. III. 71 ; IX. 69 and 70) or of the Grecian encamp- ment and mode of warfare at Troy, and especially of the battle at the ships, let the reader judge. DoNUM ExrriALE MiNERVAE. — " Nou quod ipsa dedit, sed quod ei oblatum est." Servius. "Stupor oritur ex dono .... quis non stupeat Minervae innuptae dari in donum machinam foetam armis, praegnantem , gravidam." La Cerda. "Donum oblatum Minervae." Wagner. (Virg-. Br. En, Ed. 1845.) "Donum perniciosum Graecis consi- lio suasuque Minervae Trojanis oblatum." Wagner. (Virg-. Br. En. Ed. 1849.) "Prius cum Heynio, Wagnero (Virg-. Br. En. Ed. 1845) et Tliielio interpretatus sum: quod oblatum, destinatum erat Minervae .... Quum tamen hoc posterius demum comperiant Trojani (infra v. J 83) et quum additum sit epitheton exitiale, nescio an rectius cum Wagnero in editione minore (Ed. 1849) explices: donum perniciosum a Graecis consilio Minervae {v. 15) Trojanis oblatum." Forbiger. Ed. tert* — "Altvi, la mole Deir enorme cavallo , in fatal voto Alia casta Minerva pretto, stanno Stupefatti ammirando." \lfieri Forbiger's well founded objection to the inter- pretation "quod Minervae oblatum est" is unfortunately equally applicable to his own interpretation, for the Tro- jans were at the present moment quite as ignorant that the horse was a gift "a (iraecis consilio Minervae Tro- janis oblatum," as that it was a gift "oblatum Minervae," The difficulty is surmounted and a good and satisfactory c 18 II meaning- obtained by understanding J)on»jm minervaf. to be apidied to the horse in tlie same general sense as "dona Cereris" to bread, "dona Lyaci" to wine, "dona Vene- ris" to venereal enjoyments — and to mean neither a gift presented specially to the Trojans by Minerva nor a gift presented by the Greeks to the Trojans according: to the advice of Minerva, but simply a work of art, presented, no matter to whom, by the inventress and patroness of the arts; a work so wonderful as to have required for its construction the artistical skill of Minerva; and so precisely {r. l')V. "Divina Palladis arte aedificant,'' and Horn. Odyss. Vlli. 493. rov Ensiog snonjasv aw J^ypt]. Compare: Operum baud ignara Minervae. En. V. 284. The meaning seems to have been understood by Schiller: "Mit Staunt'ii weilt dcr ilberrasclite Blick Beim Wwiderbuu des ungcheuvcn Rosses." ExrriALE. — The Trojans looking- at the horse recog- nise it as DONUM MLNERVAE in the sense just explained, Init do not regard it as exitiam-. This epithet is added by Eneas, from his own after -accjuired knowledge, as at r. 237 the epithets "fatalis machina" and "foeta armis." SEU JAM laOJAE SIC FATA FEREBANT. JAM; nOIV Ut last, after so man;/ years of obstinate defence. 43. AUT ULLA PFTATIS DONA CARERE DOMS DANAUM Admirably Iranslaled by Schiller: "Kill grii'i-hisi lies Ccsclu'iik niul kcin Bctnig; vorborgcuT' Such masleily touches , promissory of the lnlui-o splendor of Schiller's genius, occur every now and then in ills Freie Uehersetzimg of Ihe 2tl and llh books of the f'Jne/'s; which is. however, on the whole, an inle- rior production, cNJiicing nol merely immaturity of poetical II 19 power, hut a considerable want of perception of the delicacies of Virgil's expressions, and even some igno- rance of the Latin language. 49. OniDOljID ID EST TIMEO DANAOS ET DONA FERENTES SIC FATUS VALIDIS INGENTEM VIRIBES HASTAM IN LATUS INOUE FERI CURVAM CONPAGIBUS ALVUM CONTORSIT STETIT ILLA TREMENS UTEROQUE RECUSSO INSONUERE CAVAE GEMITUMQUE DEDERE CAVERNAE TiMEO DANAOS ET DONA FERENTES. — In this SO Oft- quoted sentiment there is nothing new except its appli- cation to the Danai: Ex&qcov adojQa dtJOQa jcul ovy. ovy]- Giucc was a proverb even in the days of Sophocles. See Aj'ax FhujeUlf. 673. Validis INGENTEM viRiBus. — The great size of the spear, and the force with which it is hurled, are not matters of indifference, but absolutely necessary to the production, on the huge mass of which the horse con- sisted, of the considerable effect described by the words UTEROQUE RECUSSO INSONUERE CAVAE GEMITUMOUE DEDERE CAVERNAE. Of the five terms most frequently used by Virgil to express the casting of a spear, viz. jacio, conjicio, lor- qiieo, intorqiieo and contorqueo, the two first are the weakest and signify: jacio, simply to throw; conjicio, to throw with the collected force of the individual, which, however, need not be great, for the term is ai)plied, V. 545, to Priam throwing- his imhelle telutu sine ictv. The three latter signify to hurl; torqueo, simply to hurl; intorquco, to hurl forcibly: contorqiieo, with all the collected strength of a powerfully strong man; con, when applied in composition to the act of one, being no less intensive than when applied to that of a number of individuals; 20 n in the former case, indicating that the act is the result of the whole collected power of Ihe one, in the latter that it is the result of the collected power of the several in- divkliKtls concerned. Jmpel/o, although interpreted by Heyne in his gloss on En. I. V. 86 inlorqueo, mmiflo, is neither there, nor anywhere else (except under the particular circumstances mentioned in Comm. En. I. 85), used in that sense, but always in the sense oi pushing ; either physically pushing, as En. I. 86; VII. 621; VIII. 239 «fec.; or metaphorically pushing, as En. I. 15; II. 55, 520 &c. In latus iNguE feri curvam compagibus alvum. — in ALVUM is not, as maintained by Tliiel, and after him by Forbiger, into the ahms; first, because there is much harshness in interpreting the in before alvum so very difTerently from the in before latus, of which it is the mere repetition. Secondly, because the word recusso, v. 52, implies that the interior of the horse was only concussed, not perforated. Thirdly, because the expression ferro foe- dare, V. 55, almost expresses that the interior had not been previously foedata ferro. Fourthly, because the words tergo iniorserit, v. 231, limit the lesion made by the cuspis, V. 230, to the tergiim, a term never applied except to the exterior of the ])ody. For all these reasons I re- ject Thiol's interpretation, and understanding- (with Wag- ner) Q\m to bo taken epexegetically (see Comm. En. 1. 500 ; II. 1 8) render the passage, agaitist that part of the side, which was the alvvs or belli/. Thus the precise position of the wound is determined to have been in the hinder part ol' the side, corresponding to the cavity of the belly, not of tlic chest; and in the lateral part of the l)elly, not the under part. Vii-gil chooses this position for the wound, with great propriety, because the portion of the horse's side corresponding to the belly, being nnich larger than that corres|»onding to the chest, not only afTorded a better mark to Laocoon, but was precisely the part where the enclosed persons were (jrincipally situated, II 21 Compare (E?i. VII. 499): "Perque uterum sonitu perqne ilia vcnit arundo;" through that part of the uterus (belly), which was the ilm (loin or flank). Insonuere cavae gemitumoue dedere cavernae. — Not cavae cavernae insonuere, but cavernae insonuere cavae: QUE is epexegetic, and the meaning- is, not that the hol- low caverns both sounded and groaned, but that the caverns sounded hollow, and their hollow sound was like a groan. That such is the structure, is shown not only by the better sense thus obtained, but by the point which, as appears from Fogg'ini, is placed after cavae in the Me- dicean. This point, correctly preserved, in the shape of a comma, by D. Heinsius and La Cerda, has been, as I think, incorrectly, removed by N. Heinsius, whose ex- ample has been followed by Burmann and, I believe, all the modern editors. See Comm. En. 11. 552, 60. HOC IPSUM UT STRUERET TR0JAM(}UE ArERIRET ACHIVIS "And open Troye's gates unto the Greeks." Surrey. Not literally oj)en the gates of Troy, but procure an entrance for the Greeks into Troy ; ttiake Troy accessible to them. Compare: — "Apei'it si nulla viam vis." E7i. X. 864. "Theseos ad niuros, ut Pallada flecteret, ibat, Supplicibusque piis faciles aperiret Atlienas." Statius. Theh. XII. 293. Also — " Caelestc reportat Palladium, ac nostris apeiit mala Pergama falls." SiL. Ital. XIII. 49. 22 II 65. ACCIPE NUNC DANAUM INSIDIAS ET CniMINE AD TJNO DISCE OMNES NAMQUE UT CONSPECTU IN MEDIO TURBATUS INERMIS CONSTITIT Danaum INSIDIAS. — These words are plainly repealed from Dido's request to Eneas, En. I. 75S. Inermis. — As arma means not merely weapons, whether offensive or defensive, but all kinds and means of offence or defence, so its compound inermis means not merely willioui weapons, but without any means of offence or de- fence; helpless, defenceless. The latter is the sense in -which 1 think it is used in the passage before us; be- cause, first, it is not to be supposed that Virgil, having told us that Sinon was a prisoner, with liis hands bound behind his back, would think it necessary to inform us almost instantly afterwards that he was unarmed or with- out weapons. And, secondly, because, even if Sinon had not been bound, weapons could have been of no avail to him against the agmina by whom he was surrounded, and therefore the want of them made no veal dilVercnce in his condition, and could not have been assigned, even by poetical implication, as a reason for his emotion or conduct. It is in this strong- sense of utterly without means of offence or defence, and not in its literal sense of weaponless, that i/iermis is to be understood also En. I. 491. '• Tciidi'iitcnuiiU' maiHis Priamiini toiispoxil iinTiin's;" because, although it might have contributed to the pallios of the picturt', to have represented a i/ouuy warrior's hands as stretcheil out weujionless, it could have had no such c'lfect to have so represented the hands of I'liain, who was so old as tti be unable to wield weapons, and was equally inermis i lielptess and defenceless), wlu'ther he had arms in bis hands or not. Sec En. II. 5(lib r)l(> it n 23 et seq. And compare Tacit. Ann. VI. 31. "Et senectu- tem Tiberii iit incrmeni dcspicicns." The same meaning- loilows inertnis into the Italian: "I scmplici rauciulli, e i vccclii iiicrmi, E'l volyo dellc (ionuc sbigi^oUile." Gems. Libtr. ill. 2. 75. MEMORET QUAE SIT FIDUCIA CAPTO ILLE IIAEC DEPOSITA TANDEM FORMIDINE FATUR CUNCTA EQUIDEM TIRI REX FUERIT OUODCUMQUE FATEBOR VERA INQLIT NEQUE ME ARGOLICA DE GENTE NEGABO HOC PRlxMUM NEC SI MISERUM FORTUNA SINONEM FINXIT VANUM ETIAM MENDACEMQUE IMPROBA FINGET Quae sit fiducia capto. — "Qua fiducia ultro se cap- tivum obtulerit; nam fidens animi se ultro obtulerat (cf. V. 59 et seq.)" Forbiger. 1 think, however, that there is no particular emphasis either on fiducia or capto. That capto is merely the prisoner, and quae sit fiducia, the ordinary incjuiry made by judges or persons in authority, what is the defence set up, what is the defendant's case, on what does the accused rely. — quae sit fiducia capto is thus the full explanation of the immediately preceding quidve ferat, what has he to say for himself? Ii.LE HAEC DEPOSITA tandem FORMIDINE FATUR. — I Can- nol agree with the Leydcn octavo Edition of 1680, the younger Heinsius, and Burmann, in enclosing this verse between crotchets, and still less with Brunck in expunging it entirely, on the ground that it attributes fear to Sinon, whom Virgil but a few lines previously has represented as FIDENS ANIMI, ATouE PARATus &c. and must therefore be supposititious. Neither do I plead in its defence, with Heyne and some other commentators, that Sinon first 24 n pretends to be agitated with fear (turbatus), and then pretends to lay his fear aside, — "Fingit Sinon et hoe, quasi deposucrit formidineni." Heyne; on the contrary, I tiiink that Virgil, having represented Sinon as entering upon the execution of his plot with boldness and confi- dence, represents him as really tlrbatus {agitated and frightened), when he comes to be actually confronted with the danger, and then as really recovering from his agitation when he finds that the immediate danger is over, and that the Trojans, instead of putting him to death instantly on the spot, are willing to hear what he has to say. Turbatus means really agitated, and deposita for.mi- DiNE, really recovering self-possession, because, first, if Virgil had intended to express by these words only si- mulated emotion, it cannot be doubted that he would have afforded some clue by which his intention might have been discovered; but he has not only not afforded any such clue, but has actually assigned sufficient cause for real emotion; Sinon is turbatus, because he stands iNERMis in the midst of the phrygia agmina ; and, deposita FORMIDINE FATUR, bCCaUSC CONVERSI ANIMI, CO.MPRESSUS ET OMNis IMPETUS. Sccoudly, if the words mean only simu- lated emotion, then Virgil represents Sinon as of such heroic constancy and resolution as to look upon instant violent death without blenching; which is to hold him up, for so far at least, as an object of respect, and even of admiration, to Eneas's hearers as well as to Virgil's readers, and thus to contradict the intention (evidenced by the terms dolis, arte, insidiis, crimine, scelerum tan- torum, perjnri), of representing liim as a mean -minded man entering upon a dishonorable and dangerous enter- prise, with an audacious confidence (fioens animi, atoue PARATUS Ac.) in his own cunning and duplicity. Thirdly, it is altogether unlikely that Virgil should here employ to express simulated, the vci-y same words which he employs, En. III. 012, in ;i similar context and similar circumstances, to express real emotion. Fourthly, there 11 25 is u perfect liiirmony between fidens animi atouf. para- Tus on him as Diomcde and Ulysses executed upon Dohin under similar circumstances. Accordingly, the first words which he puts into the mouth of Sinon are a thrilling exclamation of despair, a piteous cry for mercy, hki ! oi ae nunc tellus &c. This has the effect of slaying the uplifted sword, of averting the first II 27 and instant dang:er, compressus et omnis impetus; they en- courage him to speak, to tell who he is, and why he should not meet the captive's doom ; Sinon respires, re- covers his self-possession, and endeavoring to make good his ground, and strengthen the favourable impres- sion produced by his first words, says, that he was the friend of that Palamedes, of whose unjust condemnation and death they might have heard, and the principal cause of which was the opposition given by him to the under- taking of the war against Troy; and that he had not, like the other Greeks, come to the war out of hostility to the Trojans, or even voluntarily, but had, when a mere boy (and therefore irresponsible), been sent by his father, who was so poor as not otherwise to be able to provide for his son. He then enters upon an account of his quarrel with, and persecution by, Ulysses, their most dreaded and implacable enemy; but, perceiving that they begin to take an interest in what he is saying, sud- denly stops short, and artfully begs of them to put him out of pain at once, as he knew that, no matter how great or undeserved his sufferings had been, they could have no pity or forgiveness for one, who was guilty of the crime of being a Greek. The Trojan curiosity is in- flamed, and they insist to know the sequel. He proceeds pavitans, (whether because he had not yet entirely re- covered from his first alarm, or whether alarmed afresh by the vehemence and impatience of the Trojans, or whether from both these causes conjointly,) and relates how, by the villanous concert of the priest Calchas with Ulysses, he was selected to be offered up as a victim to appease the ofTended Gods ; how he escaped from the altar, and lay hid during the night (the preceding night,) in a morass; and then lamenting that his escape from death by the hands of the Greeks had only led him to death by the hands of the Trojans, and that he was never more to see his country, home, or relatives, concludes with a pathetic adjuration, in the name of the Gods 28 11 above, and of inviolable faith, that they would yet pity such unexampled, such undeserved misery, and spare his life. His tears, his agony of fear, the plausibility of his story, their sympathy with the object of the hatred and persecution of the Greeks and of Ulysses, prevail; they grant him his life; and so closes the lirsl act of the in- terlude of Sinon. In nothing is the admirable judgment of Virgil more remarkable, than in the skill with which he has all this while kept the wooden horse, as it were, in abeyance. No act has been done, no word uttered, which could excite in the Trojan mind, or in the mind of the reader, ignorant of the sequel, the slightest suspicion tiial Sinon has any thing whatsoever to do with the horse, or the horse with Sinon. So careful is the poet to avoid every, even the slightest, ground for a suspicion, which would have been fatal to the entire plot, that it is from a dis- tance, and by the agency of the Trojans themselves, he brings Sinon into the vicinage of the horse; and that, in the whole course of the long history which Sinon gives of himself, and which the reader will observe is now concluded, the horse is never so much as mentioned, or even alluded to, except once, and then so artfully (as it were only for the purpose of fixing a date,) that the mention which is made, while it stimulates the Trojans to (piestion him on the subject, seems less remarkable than absolute silence would have been, inasnuich as it proves that Sinon does not de industria eschew all notice of an object, which must have attracted his attention, and of the purport of which he could not but be sup- posed to have some knowledge. In the second act of the interlude, or that part which commences with v. 152, we lind Sinon totally changed; "now more bold, The tempter .... New part puts on;" his life secure, guaranteed by the Kiiii; hiiiiself, he is no longer the abject, cringing, hesitating, trembling wretch, but the successful and exulting villain, lie ktndly and II 29 boldly invokes the Gods to witness his abjuration of the Greeks and acceptance of the Trojan covenant; and makes his revelation of the important secret which is to be the rich reward of the Trojan clemency, not, as he had pleaded for his life, in broken passag-es, leaving' off at one place and conmiencing at another, but uno ienore, explaining- in uninterrupted sequence, the absence of the Greeks; their intended return; the ol)ject for which they built the horse; and why they built it of so large di- mensions; the evil consequences to the Trojans if they offered it any injury, and to the Greeks if it were re- ceived into the city, &c.; the impostor is fully credited, the generous, unwary, and fate- devoted Trojans are caught in the toils so delicately woven and so noiselessly drawn around them, and the curtain falls. If the reader happen to be one of those critics, who think the story of the wooden horse deficient in verisi- militude, he will receive with the g^reater favor an in- terpretation which tends to increase the verisimilitude, by representing- the falsehood and cunning- of Sinon as united, not with that quality with which falsehood and cunning- are so inconsistent, and so rarely united, heroic fortitude, but with their very compatible and nearly allied quality, audacity. It is impossible to leave this subject without remarking how favorably to Trojan faith and generosity, (as might be expected, Virgil being the poeta and Eneas the nar- rator,) the conduct of the Trojans towards Sinon contrasts with that of the Greeks towards Dolon. Ulysses and Diomede encourage Dolon, and tell him not to think of death, on which ambiguous pledge he tells the whole truth; they reward him by coolly cutting off his head, as the last word of his revelation passes his lips; Sinon tells the Trojans a tissue of lies, and not only has his Ufe spared, but is treated with kindness and hospitality. That most rigid and terrific of all the dispensers of tlie so-called divine retributive justice, Dante, (see In/'er7io, 30 n XXX. 46 et seq.) punishes Sinon in iiell with an eternal sweatings fever, in company (according to the great poet's usual eccentric manner of grouping his characters,) on the one side with Potiphar's wife, whom he punishes with a similar fever, and on the other with a famous coiner of base money at Brescia, wiiom he torments with a never-dying thirst and dropsy, and between whom and Sinon ensues a contention in none of the gentlest billingsgate, which of the two is the greater sinner. FuERiT ouoDcuNouE. — " Quicuncjuc me sequatur even- tus." Servius. "Quicquid evenerit, niihi(iue exinde acci- derit." Heyne. " Quodcimque referendum ad cuncia.'' Wagner. Arguing against which interpretation of Wagner, and in favour of that of Servius and Heyne, Siipfle*) says: "Auch haben schon die Alten, wie Phaedrus im Prologe zum drilten Buche, die Worte anders und wohl richtiger gefasst, niimlich: was auch daraus werden mag, wie es mir auch ergchen mag (wenn ich in Allem, euch die Wahrheit sage).'' I agree entirely with Wagner, and think the meaning is , / will confess all whatever it may have been , whatever there may have been in it. The words are not less obscure in the quotation and application made of them by Phaedrus, (see the two-column note on them in Schwalie's edition) than in Sinon's original use of them: a notable proof of the almost hopeless obscurity of the Latin language; an obscurity arising from its brevity, and especially, as it seems to me, from its almost constant omission of pronouns and pi'onominal adjectives. I am, however, inclined to think that in Phaedrus's quotation the words "Quodcunque fuerit" stand in apposition to "Librum exarabo tertinm," and that the meaning of them there as in Sinon's original use of them, is such as it is, good or bad, of whatever *) Virgilii opcni: mil AiiDU'ikungcn ziir Eiicide versehcii von Karl Fr. Siipfle. Karlsnilic 1812. II 31 kmd it may hirn out to he. As if Phacdrus had said: But now as to this third book of mine, ye shall, as Sinon told King Priam, hear the whole of it such as it is, be it good or be it bad. See Comm. I. 82. FORTUNA . . . FINXIT . . . IMPROBA FINGET. SCC Comm. En. II. 552. 83. QUEM FALSA SUB PRODITIONE PELASGI INSONTEM INFANDO INDICIO QL'IA BELLA VETABAT DEMISERE NEC! NUNC CASSUM LUMINE LUGENT ILLI ME COMITEM ET CONSANGUINITATE PRGPINQUUM PAUPER IN ARMA PATER PRLAIIS HUC MISIT AB ANNIS Falsa sub proditione pelasgi. — ''Falsa sub proditione; h. e. sub falso crimine proditionis.'''' Servius; followed by Heyne, and all the other commentators and trans- lators. To this interpretation I object, First, that no authority has been adduced, to show that prodifw may be used for crimen proditionis ; the act committed, for the charge founded, upon the commission of the act. Secondly, that if Virgil had intended to say that the Pelasgi had condemned Palamedes, on or by means of a false charge of treason , he would more probably have used the words falsa proditione, in the same manner as INFANDO INDICIO, without a preposition; or if he had used a preposition, it would have been per ^ not sub. Thirdly, that Virgil could scarcely have been guilty of the fade tautology, falsa, insontem. Fourthly, that this interpretation represents the whole Greek nation at Troy (pelasgi) as conspiring against Palamedes; which is {a) contrary to all verisimilitude 5 Qf) deprives infando indicio of its force, because, if all 32 It wore conspiring ag^alnst Palaniedcs, it was of small consequence how "infandoiis" the information or informer was; or, indeed, whether there were any information or informer at alJ; and (c) contradicts the statement {V. 90) that it was through the machinations of Ulysses, that Palamedes' condemnation was accomplished. Rejecting, for all these reasons, the received inter- pretation, I render falsa sub proditione, during, or at the time of, a false or feigned treason; i. e. when there was an alarm (whether of accidental or concerted origin it matters not,) of treason in the Grecian camp. The words being so interpreted, the meaning of the passage is, not that the Pelasgi brought a false charge of treason against Palamedes, and condemned him, althowjh ijino- cent; but that the Pelasgi condemned Palamedes on an infandous information, which, being brought against him at a time when there was an alarm of treason in the camp, was on that account the more readily credited. In support of this interpretation , I beg to observe, First, that it restores to i'ROditio its simple, gram- matical signilication. Secondly, that the use of sub in the sense of during, or at the time of, is familiar to every scholar; thus sub node; sub somno ; sub profectione ; sub adrentu, r^^'/ tlie Greeks {for thou Shalt from henceforward he ours) and answer me truly these questions. Wagner, in his Edition of Heyne, F 42 II returns to the punctuation of the elder Heinslus and observes in liis note: "Comma post eris ponendum, et quae sequuntur hunc in modum accipienda: ac proinde edissere;" thus separating- the two similar verbs, and connecting the two dissimilar. 154. VOS AETERNI IGNES ET NON VIOLABILE VESTRUM TESTOR NUMEN AIT VOS ARAE ENSESQUE NEFANDI gUOS FUGI VITTAEQUE DEUM QUAS HOSTIA GESSI FAS MIHI GRAJORDM SACRATA RESOLVERE JURA FAS ODISSE VIROS ATQUE OMNIA FERRE SUB AURAS SI QUA TEGUNT TENEOR PATRIAE NEC LEGIBUS ULLIS TU MODO PROMISSIS MANEAS SERVATAQUE SERVES TROJA FIDEM SI VERA FERAM SI MAGNA REPENDAM VoS AETERNI IGNES ET NON VIOLABILE VESTRUM TESTOR NUMEN AIT. — ''Caelum lioc ct conscia sidera tester." En. IX. 429. " Caelum ipsum stellaeque caeligenae omnisque siderea compago Aether vocatur: non, ut quidam putant, quod Ignitus sit et incensus {naQci xov ai^SLv), sed quod cursibus rapidis semper rotetur, naQa xov uev d-setv. Elementum non unum ex quatuor, quae nota sunt cunctis, sed longe aliud, numcro quintum, ordine prinuim, genere divinum et inviolab/ie.'" Apul. de Mundo, cap. I. Vos ARAE ENSEsouE NEFANi^i. — "Nequc ullis adpetitus insidiis est, neque devotus hostiae; donique sic do om- nibus jurat, ut, per ea quae non fuerimt dans sacra- mentum, careat objurgatore." Anliq. Interpr. (ap. Moium). See the similarly equivocating oath of Andromache, Senec. Trond. 604. II 43 Fas mihi. — The subsequent teneor points out the structure; fa$ est, not fas sit; i. e. testor fas mihi esse et me teneri. Servataque serves. — A common saying-, as appears from Patron. P. 155. "Serva me, servabo te." 169. FLUERE AC RETRO SUBLAPSA REFERRl "Fluere; dff/luere, dilabi; retro sublapsa referri; pro prosaico, retr-o ferri, labi; de mole, quae in allnm erat invecta."" Heyne. Both explanations wrong-, because no example has been, nor I think can be, produced oi finer e used in the sense of diffluere, dilabi; or otherwise than as signifying to flow like the water in a river; and be- cause "retro sublapsa referri," where it occurs before {Georg. 1. 200), is thus explained by Heyne himself: "Non aliter quam is retro sublapsus refertur qui navi- gium agit atque ilium in praeceps prono rapit alveus amni;" an explanation which, even although it had not been, almost totidem verbis, Virgil's own, would have been established beyond the possibility of doubt by the nearly parallel passage of Lucretius, IV. 422. "Denique ubi in medio nobis equus acer obhaesit Flumine, et in rapldas amnis despexinius iindas, Stantis eqiii corpus transvorsum ferre videtur Vis, et in advorsum flumen contrudere raptim ; Et quocunque oculos trajecimus, omnia ferri Et fluere adsimili nobis ratione videntur." The entire sense of the words fluere ac retro sub- lapsa referri is therefore expressed by the single English verb ebb. 44 11 178. OMINA NI REPETANT AHGIS NUMENOUE REDUCANT QUOD PELAGO ET CLRVIS SECUM AVEXERE CARlNlS As far as my own personal search has extended, ad- vexere is the readhi^ only of one MS., viz. one in the Royal Library at Vienna, No. 113 in EndHcher's Catalogue. It has, however, been adopted by Dan. Heinsius and La Cerda, as also by Alfieri from the Baskerville text. On the other hand I have myself personally ascertained that avexere is the reading of the oldest Gudian, of No. 1 1 6, 1 J 7, 121 (Endlicher's Catal.) in the Vienna Library, of No. 18059 in the Munich Library, and of the Klostcr Neuburg- MS.; it is also the reading, as it appears from Foggini, of the Mediceun, and as it appears from Bottari, of the Vatican Fragment: also of N. Heinsius and Burmann; and has been adopted both by Jaeck and Brunck after examina- tion of several MSS. 1 have found adduxere in No. 120 (Endlichei's Catal.) in the Vienna Library, and vexere in No. US in the same Library. Taking- it for granted, then, that avexere is the true reading, what is the sense? "Nimirum Palladium, quod secum avexere, rcducere debent." Burmann. "Cum ipso Palladio aveclo revertendum." Heyne. "Numen, de simulachro ut v. 183." Wagner. "Indanio i Grcci String-er d' llio le niiua, ove novcllL Angurj ill 'Argo non ricerciiin pria, Ove iiou plachiii la furata Diva, Sn i li-gui loro a forza tratla." Alfieiu. "Wenn sie niclit das versohnte Bild aus Crlcclu'iihuid nach Troja ziinicklirachlcii." Ladowiu:. The objection to which interpretation seems to me to be insuperable, viz. thai uiimcn everywhere else, whore it occurs, not only in \irgil, Iml in all other wi-iters. II 45 signifies precisely the opposite; viz. either the actual deity, or the spirit, will, sanction, blcssinfj, or authority of the deity, as opposed to the substantial image or statue. This is true even of the passage cited by Wag- ner in proof of his contrary opinion, "Numine laeso" (v. 183) being (to me at least) clearly spoken, not of the statue, but of the spirit, divinity, or will of Pallas of- fended by the violence offered to her statue. See Comm. V. 182. I, therefore, think it certain that nu men is here spoken, not of the Palladium, but as so often elsewhere, of the divine spirit of Pallas and particularly of her grace, good -will and blessing, and that the meaning is: sail back hither tvilh the same good -will and approbation of the Goddess with which theij have now sailed for Greece ■ — obtain her autliority for coming back, even as they have now departed and sailed away in obedience to her orders. And such precisely is the use made of the word by Sinon himself on both the other occasions on which he has used it, V. 123 and v. 183 where see Comment. Compare also Eneas's setting out with his party in the disguise of Greeks, 'baud numine ^lostro' (v. 396), ivithout the blessing and good-rvill of our own accustomed Gods; and his sailing into the Sicilian port with the numen Divum {En.Y. 56), expressly explained in the selfsame line to mean nothing more than the mens Bivutn; also: "Egc- ■ji£p,ipa ds 601 (piloxYiq cog alri&oiq rrjv J6xlr]7ti,ada vrja, 7] TtQoad'eg ^Eta tou aXiov STttar^^tov xai vyiSirjv.^ STtst xata dac}iovu tm oi/rt LatiodQo^rjKS (prospero numine vela fecit)." Epistolae Graecanicae. Aurel. Allobrog. 1606. Fol. p. 323. '' UarQidog sa^ev TtoQQCorsQco aw dat^uovt." Ibid. p. 133. In the same way as numen is here spoken of as an object which can be carried with persons making a voyage, so it is spoken of {En. I. 451 where see Comm.), as constituting along with the 'dona' the opulence of a temple, — "'Douis opulentuni et muniiu' Divae." 46 II 182. ITA DIGERIT OMINA CALCHAS HANC PRO PALLADIO MONITI PRO NUMINE LAESO EFFIGIEM STATUERE NEFAS QUAE TRISTE PIARET Ita is emphatic and may be supposed to be accompanied by a significant action of the speaker. Omina, not the omens (viz. the omens which Calchas has just interpreted), but 07nens generally: this is the way in which Calchas explains omens — this is what comes of his interpretation of omens; he does not interpret omens for nothing, or to no purpose; in con- sequence of his omen -interpreting you will, before you know what you are about, have the Greeks on your backs again (improvisi adcrunt) with new and recruited forces (arma) and the recovered favor of the Gods (Deos comites — numen reductum): ita digerit omina CALCHAS. Digerit — analyses. Germ.: setzt auseinander. NuMiNE — "signo numinis." Heyne, and so Wagner, and (quoted by Wagner) Wunderlich (ad Tibull.). No ; but plainly , the divine jvill — sanction — 7najesly — of the Deity, offended by the violence offered to the Palladium; compare "numine laeso" Eri. 1. 12; also Tibull. I. 3. 79. "Et Danai proles Venei'is quae numina lacsit." See also Comm. v. 178. 193. ULTRO ASIAM MAGNO PELOPEA AD MOENIA BELLO VENTURAM "Jam satis valida civitate ut nun solum arcere bollum, scd ultro etiam inferrc posset." Liv. III. 8. Ed. Bipont. II 47 197. QUOS NEOUE TYDIDES NEC LARISSAEUS ACHILLES NON ANNI DOMUERE DECEM NON MILLE CARINAE Quern nou mille simul turmis, nee Caesare toto Auferret Foituna locum, victoribus unus Eripuit , vetuitque capi." Luc. VI. 140. 199. HIC ALIUD MAJUS MISERIS MULTOQUE TREMENDUM OBJICITUR MAGIS .\TOUE IMPROVIUA PECTORA TURBAT This prodig^y is not merely ominous, but typical, of the destruction about to come upon Troy. The twin ser- pents prefigure the Grecian armament; which, like them, comes from Tenedos (where, as must not be forgotten, it is lying concealed at the very moment of the prodigy); like them, crosses the tranquil deep; like them, lands; and, going up straight (probably over the very same ground) to the city, slaughters the sur- prised and unresisting Trojans (prefigured by Laocoon's sons), and overturns the religion and drives out the Gods (prefigured by the priest Laocoon). Even in the most minute particulars the type is perfect: the serpents come abreast towards the shore, like ships sailing to- gether {Argiva phalanx instructis navibus ibat Littora petens) ; with flaming eyes raised above the waves by the whole length of the neck and breast (Jlammas qiimn regia piippis Exiuleraf) , and with the hinder part floating and curling along on the surface of the water (the hinder vessels of the fleet following the lead of the foremost); and, when their work is done {the Trojans slaughtered, or, with their Gods, driven 48 H out of. the city'), take possession of the citadel, under the protection of Pallas [Jam summas arces Tn'tonia, respice, Pallas InsecUt ddess of debate." Pope's lluni, XIX. 125. Arva. — There is no occasion *to suppose, with Heyne, that arva is used ''pro lillori;"\ because, inter- 11 51 preted literally it afTords a better meaning-, viz. the fields, or cnUivaled plain inside the heach, where it is probable the 'solennis ara' stood, at such a distance from the actual shore as to be in no danger from the violence of the sea during stormy weather. Compare: "Pelago prcmit arva sonanti," En. I. 250 and Comm. 213. ET PRIMUM PARVA DUORUM CORPORA NATORUM SERPENS AMPLEXUS UTERQUE IMPLICAT ET MISEROS MORSU DEPASCITUR ARTUS POST IPSUM AUXILIO SUBEUNTEM AC TELA FERENTEM CORRIPIUNT SPIRISQUE LIGANT INGENTIBUS Primum .... POST. — There is a most material discre- pancy between the account given by Virgil, and the view presented by the sculptor, of the death of Laocoon and his two sons. According to the former, the serpents first (PRIMUM) kill the two sons, and afterwards (post) seize (corripiunt) the father, subeuntem ac tela ferentem, and kill him also; while, according to the latter, the serpents are twined about and kill the father and the two sons s i m u 1 1 a n e o u s 1 y. Virgil's is the more natural and probable account, because it was more easy for the serpents to conquer Laocoon's powerful strength (see V. 50) with the whole of their united force and folds, than with such part only of their force and folds as was not employed upon the sons. There is even some difficulty in understanding (nor does an examina- tion of the sculpture tend much to diminish the difficulty), how two serpents, already twined about, and encum- bered with the bodies of two persons, even although those bodies were small (parva), could seize, and squeeze to death , a third person , possessed of more than ordi- nary strength, and armed. 52 n The sculptor, if heliad had the choice, would, doubt- less, no less than the poet, have represented the killing; of Laocoon to have been subsequent to the killing of the sons; but his art failed him; sculpture could not re- present successive acts; the chisel could lix no more than a sing-le instant of fleeting time: driven, therefore, by necessity, he places the three persons simultaneously in the folds of the serpents, and his (so much admired) group becomes, in consequence, complicated and almost incomprehensible, and appears in the most disadvanta- g-eous contrast with the simple and natural narrative of Virgil. Such is the infinite inferiority of sculpture (and of painting) to poetry. The sculptor (or painter) labours day and night, and for years together, on one object; and, in the end, his work, representing but an instant of time, fails to present to the mind as many ideas as the poet supplies in half a dozen lines, the work perhaps of half an hour. Spiris. — ' Spirae' are not merely coila. but sjriral coils — tending upwards, like those of a corkscrew held point- upward. Sec Georg. II. 153 and 154; where Virgil in- forms us, almost in express terms, that a snake is in orbs ('orbes'), while coiled upon the ground, but in spires ('spirae'), when he raises himself with a motion twisting upwards. The same distinction is observable in the pas- sage before us, where the serpents are said to be in orbs while on the water, and in spires when folded round Laocoon. A right understanding of this word is the more necessary, because it is the only word in the description, except "superant capite et cervicibus altis", which shows that the poet so far agrees with the sculptor, as to re- present Laocoon and the serpents twined about him as forming an erect group. AN'ith a similar correct preci- sion, our own Milton a[)i)lies the term spires to the coils of the sei'pent when erect, or raised upright. U 53 "Not with indented wave Prone on the ground, as since, but on his rear, Willi burnished neck of verdant gokl, erect Amidst his circling spires." Par. Lost, IX. 490. 223. QUALES MUGITUS FUGIT CUM SAUCIUS ARAM TAURUS ET INCERTAM EXCUSSIT CERVICE SECURIM "Qual e quel tore che si slaccia in quella Ch' ha ricevuto gia '1 colpo mortale, Che gir non sa, ma qua e la saltella; Vid' io lo Minotauro far cotale." Dante, Inferno, XII. 22. "Non altrimenti il toro va saltando Qualora il mortal colpo ha ricevuto , E dentro la foresta alto mugghiando Ricerca il cacciator che 1' ha feruto." Boccaccio, iji Filostrato. 228. TUM VERO TREMEFACTA NOVUS TER PECTORA CUNCTIS INSINUAT PAVOR The words tum vero contrast this novus payor — the PAYOR produced by the punishment of Laocoon ■ — with their former terror, Yiz. that produced by the sight of the serpents themselYes. The sight of the serpents had frightened them, "Diffugimus visu exsangues" {v. 212), but the punishment of Laocoon smote their consciences — filled them with religious awe and terror; — they saw in it the visible finger of the olfended Deity: tum vero tre- 54 11 MEFACTA. — then indeed they are thoroughly fri;,^htened, and this thorough frightening produces the efl'ect which their previous fright (viz. at the siglit of the serpents) had failed to do — causes them to cry out with one ac- cord, that the horse must be admitted into tlie city. "Duccudiiiii iid sedes simulachrum , oraiidaque Divae Numina conclaniant." See Comm. Efi. 11. 105; 111. 47; IV. 396. 449. 571. 230. SACRUM QUI CUSPIDE ROBUR LAESERIT ET TERGO SCELERATAM INTORSERIT nASTAM "Is it he? quoth ono. Is this tlie man? By him who died on cross , With his cruel bow lie laid full low The liarmless albatross." Coleridge, Ancient Mwhicr. 236. STUPEA VINCULA COLLO INTENDUNT Intendunt colic malorum vincula nautae." AusoN. Mosell. 42. 240. ILLA SUBIT MEDIAEOUE MINANS II.LABITUR URBI MiNANS. — By an error of which none but a French critic could be guilty, Boileau understands this extremely common metapiior literally. "11 (viz. Virgil) nc se con- 11 55 tente pas de preter de la colere a cet arbre (probably referring: to and similarly misunderstanding v. 53), mais il lui fait faire des menaces a ces laboureurs." Be/lex. Critiques, XL Compare En. I. 166 and Comm. 242. IPSO IN LIMINE rORTAE Our autbor having- expressly informed us (v. 234), that the walls were divided for the admission of the horse, PORTA must be , not the gate of the city, but the opening or entrance made by the division of the walls. Those commentators who understand porta to mean the gate of the city, are reduced to the forlorn extremity of construing 'dividimus muros' not divide the walls, but enlarge the opening of the gate; and of understanding 'scandit muros' to be no more than a poetical form of expression for entering the enlarged gate. " Scandit mu- ros, h. e. transcendit; major imago, quam si portam intrat, quae, murorum impositorum et attingentium parte dejecta, erat latior facta." Heyne. 246. TUNC ETIAM FATIS APERIT CASSANDRA FUTURIS ORA DEI JUSSU NON UNQUAM CREDITA TEUCRIS That CREDITA is predicated, not of Cassandra, but (as in Ovid. Metam.l^. 74 — "Primus quoque talibus ora Docta quidem solvit, sed non et credit a, verbis"), of ora, is proved, not only by the stronger poetical sense of the passage so interpreted, but by the emphatic position of ORA, closing the sentence to which it belongs, and at the same time beginning a new line. 56 n I do not know whether it has been observed by any commentator, but I think that a very sMg-ht examination of Virg-ifs style is sufficient to show, that his emphatic words are ahiiost invariably placed at, or as near to as possible, the beginninjj of the line; that where an in- crease of emi)hasis is required, the emphatic word is separated from the immediately succeedinij context by a pause in the sense, which allows the mind of the reader, or voice of the reciter, to dwell on the word with a long-er emphasis; that, where the word is required to be still more emphatic, it is not only placed at the begin- ning of the line, and separated from the succeeding con- text by a pause, but is made to stand at the end of its own sentence, and at the greatest possible distance from the words in that sentence to wliich it is most inmie- diately related, as or a, in the passage before us; 'Julius', En. I. 292; 'Phoenissa', En. I. 718; 'crudelis'. En. IV. 311 ; and that when a maximum of emphasis is required, the word thus placed emphatically at the beginning of the line, and with a pause immediately following, is a repetition or reduplication of a word which has already been used in the preceding sentence, as 'lumina', v. 406: and 1 be- lieve it will still farther be found, that, whenever it is possible, not only the reduplicated word, but its original also, is placed in the emphatic position at the beginning- of the line; thus 'Nate, nate', Eii. I. 668 and 669; 'Me, me'. En. IV. 351 and 354; 'Nos, nos', Bucol. 1. 3 and 4. In confirmation of the above opinion, that the begin- ning of the line is, in Virgil's writings, the seat of the emphasis , I may observe that the nominative pronouns (which it is well known are, in Latin, never expressed unless they are emphatic,) are, with few or no excep- tions, found at the beginning of lines. From these princi()les may be derived a double ar- gument in favour of the authenticity of the four disputed lines at the commencement of the Eucis: first, that the emphatic pronouns 'ille ego' are, according to Virgil's n 57 custom, placed in the emphatic position at the commen- cement or the line; and, secondly, that the words -arma vii-um({ue' are considerably more emphatic towards the close of the sentence, and in connection with 'at nunc horrentia Martis ' (and, I may add, contrasted — 'cano' with 'modiilatus' — 'anna' with 'silvis' and 'arva' — 'virum' with 'colono') than without connection and con- trast, and contrary to Virgil's habitual 'molle atque face- tum,' abruptly at the commencement of the sentence and poem. Having been thus led to speak incidentally of the four introductory lines of the Eneis , I shall perhaps be exaused if 1 add, that I entirely dissent from the judgment pronounced on those lines by some of Virgil's most iinpoetical poetical commentators, and especially by t)ryden; and that 1 regard those lines (to write which Virgil seems to have taken up the very pen which he had laid down after writing the last eight lines of the last Georgic) as not only worthy of Virgil , but as afiording (especially in the fine poetical figure, 'coegi arva ut parerent,') the most abundant evidence that they were written by no other hand. See Comm. En. 1. 4. 250. RUIT OCEANO NOX In as much as the ancients always represented night as following the course of the sun, i. e. as rising in the east, traversing the sky, and descending or setting in the west (see Stat. Theh. it. 61; Virg. Etu II. 8; 111. 512), the words ruit oceano nox, applied to the com- mencement of night, are to be understood, not as pre- senting us with the ordinary English image, of night falling on the ocean, but as presenting us with the di- rectly reverse image, of personified night rising (rushing) u 5S rr from the ocean. So Dante, pliilosophically and lollowiny the ancient model: "Gift era '1 sole all' orizzonte giunto, Lo ciii meridian ccrchio coverciiia ' Jerusalem col suo piu alto puiito: E la nolle cli' opposita a liii ccrcliia, Uscia di Gangc fuor." // Purgat. \\. 1. And Slielley (Proffieihcns Unbound, Act. 1. sc. 1): "And yel to nic welcome is day and niglit; Whether one breaks the hoarfrost of the morn, Or stain-y, dim. and slow tlie other climbs The leaden -coloured East." If it be doubted that 'mere' can express motion njiwards toward the sky, 1 beg- to refer to Georff. 11. 308: — "Ruit atram Ad caelum picca crassus caligine nubem;" and to En. X. 256 where tlie rising of the day is de scribed by the very same term: — "Revoluta ruebat Malura jam luce dies noctcmque fugarai." See also Comm. En. T. 749. s 252. ■ FUSI PER MOENIA TEVCRI CONTICUERE "Dispersi per urbem." Forbiger. No; fusi is, hot dhpersi, but, as rightly interpreted by Forbiger himself at En. 1. 218, ^'prosirad; hhujestrecki.'''' 255. TAtlTAE rF.n AMKA SH-FXTIA LINAK The silence (I. e. silent linici ot'ihe night was favorable lo the descent of the (jrecians, there lieing no one in llie way II 59 to observe their motions. The moon is called tacit, be- cause sJie does tiol (ell — does not blab — sai/s nothing about tvJiat she sees. In other words, and connecting- the two terms silentia and tacitae, nobody sees them but the moon, and she does not tell what she sees — does not betray. Compare: — "Jam Delia furtim Nescio quem tacita callida node lovet." TlBULL. I. 6. 6. Also : "Cardine tunc tacito vertere posse fores." TiBULL. I. 6. 12. That SILENTIA LUNAE docs not mean the 'interlunium', but the time when the moon was actually shining-, appears from Stat. Theb. II. 5S : "Inde per Arcturiun mcdiaeque silentia Iiinae Arva super populosquc meat." 256. FLAMMAS QUL'M REGIA PUPPIS EXTULERAT "Lumina in navibus singula rostratae, bina onerariae haberent: in praetoria nave insigne nocturnum trium lu- minum fore." Livy, XXIX. 25. "Ecce uovam Piiamo , facibus de puppe levalis, Fert Bcllona nuium." Stat. Achill. I. 33. 'Effero' being tlie verb employed in Roman military tactics (see Liv. X. 19; XL. 28) to express the raising of the standard, and the carrying it forward out of the camp agtiinst the enemy, there can, I think, be little doubt that there is here a tacit comparison of the per- sonified REGIA PUPPIS raising its signal flame, and followed by the 'Argiva phalanx in.structis navibus,' to the standard-bearer of an army raising the standard, and followed by the soldiers to battle. 0(> II The practice of the admirars ship currying a light by night for the guidance of the other vessels of the fleet, having come down to more modern times, is thus humorously alluded to by Shakespeare, Henry IV. Part I. Act. III. se. 3. — Falstaff (to Bardolph):— "Thou art our admiral, thou bearest the lantern in the poop — but 'tis in the nose of thee." 259. LAXAT CLAISTUA SI.\ON ILLOS PATEFACTUS AD AUHA^ HEDDI'f EQUUS Compare: "Impulit in latus: ac venti" <&c., En. I. 86 and Comment. Claustra. — 'Claustrum;' that by which any thing is shut either in or out; a shutter; a barrier: it is, therefore, applied to the moveable pieces (of whatever material), which closed the vents of Eolus's cave. En. I. 60 (see Comm. En. I. 85); to the high lands on each side, which appeared to close in the straits of Pelorus, En. 111. 411; to the valve or valves of a door or gate, by which the passage through the door or gate is closed, En. II. 491 ; to mountains, closing or barring the passage from one country into another. Tacit. Hist III. 2; and there- fore, metaphorically, to the barriers which the laws oppose to the commission of crime, Quintil. XIII. 10; which Nature opposes to the investigation of her secrets, Lucret. 1. 71 . een dragged at Achil- les' chariot -wheels. The comiiui therefore, placed after BIGIS Ity the more correct judgment of the older editors and removed by lleyne, should b« replaced. 1 need scarcely point out to tlie reader, that the words UT ouoNDAM, although uUended only to illustrate the meaning- of raptatus bigis, present us also with a na- tural and philosophical explanation, why Eneas, in his dream, saw Hector quasi raptatus iucis; viz. because' of the strong impression made upon his mind by the sight of Hector after he had been actually drag-g-ed by the 'biga' of Achilles. Chateaubriand {Genie du Christianisme, part JI. livre 5. c. 1 J ) , instituting a parallel between this dream of Eneas and that in which Athalie (Racine, Aihalie, II. 5) sees her mother Jesabel, observes: "Quel Hector paroit au pre- mier moment devant Enee, tel il se montre a la fm. Mais la pompe, mais I'eclat empruntc de Jesabel 'pour reparer des ans I'irreparable outrage' suivi tout a coup, non d'une forme entiere, mais " de lambeaux affrpux Que des chieiis devorans se disputoient enlr'enx," est une sorte de changement d'etat, de peripetie, qui donne au songe de Racine une beaute qui manque a celui de Virgile. Enfin cette ombre d'une mere qui se baisse vers le lit de sa fille, comme pour s'y cacher, et qui se transforme tout a coup 'en os et en chairs meurtris,' est une de ces beautes vagues, de ces cir- constances terribles , de la vraie nature du fantome." In reply to which criticism I shall perhaps be permitted to observe: first, that the absence from Eneas's dream of a 'peripetie,' similar to that which has been so much and so justly admired in the dream of Athalie, so far from being a defect, is rather new evidence of that su- perior poetical judgment which informed Virgil , that the proper place for such a 'peripetie' was not in the warning, exhorting, encouraging dream of Eneas, but exactly where the poet has placed it, in the horrifying dream of Turnus: "Talibus Alecto dietis exarsit in iras" &c. En. VII. 445. 04 It 11 was witli this similar dream of Tiirnus — witli that Calybe clianging^ into the furious Alecto hissint,- with all her hydras; or with the similar dream of Eteoeles — with thai Tiresias converted into the ominous Laius baring his divided throat, and deluging- his grandson's sleep with blood ("undanti perfundit vulnere somnum," Stat. Theb. II. 124), not with the totally dissimilar Hector of the totally dissimilar dream of Eneas, that Chateau- briand might have correctly compared theJesabel of Atha- lie. But lest it should be imagined that I use this plea of dissimilarity as a mere pretext for eschewing a compa- rison from which my favorite Virgil might perhaps issue with tarnished laurels, I beg to add, secondly, that I prefer Eneas's dream to Athalie's, («) on account of its greater simplicity ; the former consisting of a single view or scene, with but a single actor, while the latter is complicated of two scenes, each with its separate actor: and those scenes so far distinct and independent of each other, that Chateaubriand in his parallel has (whether disingenuously or through mere error 1 will not pretend to say,) assumed and treated one of them as the whole dream, and compared Eneas's dream with that one, with- out making any, even the least, reference or allusion to the other, {h) Because the role assigned to Hector (viz. that of announcing to Eneas the capture of the city and his own immediate personal danger; of urging, and thereby justifying, his flight; of conveying to him the first information that it was he who was to take charge of the 'sacra' of Troy, and establish for them a new and great settlement beyond the sea — that settlement no less than the beginning of that Roman empire whose founda- tion was the subject and key of the whole poem — and finally of actually committing those 'sacra' into his hands,) confers upon Hector the dignity and importance of a real character— of one of the poet's actual dramatis personae; while Jesabcl, whose part rises little, if at all, beyond the production of a certain amount of terror, is a mere II 05 ph:intoin , siil)si(liary to, ;uul making- way for, the child Joas; who, as lliat |)ersonage of the dream on wliich the whole plot and future incidents of the fliama liing-e, mainly attracts and lixes on himself the interest. cc)Eneas's dream is to be preferred to Athalie's, hecause the former is interwoven with, and forms part of, the naj'rative; the latter stands separate from it, and is only explana- tory, or, at the most, casual. The sailing" of the am- bushed fleet from Tenedos, Sinon's opening- the 'claustra' of the wooden horse, the descent of the chiefs into the city, the throwing wide the gates to ihe whole Grecian army, Eneas's seeing Hector in a dream, receiving from him the 'sacra' of Troy, waking and hearing the himult, taking arms &c. are so many mutually dependent and connected parts of the same history, related m one even, uninterrupted tenor by the same narrator, and received by the audience with the same undoubtii]g faith; while on the other hand even Athalie herself does not credit her own dream until she has dreamt it twice over, and even then, when she com.es to relate it, thinks it neces- sary to warn her hearers, in verbiage sufficiently French and tedious, against taking so bizarre an assemblage of objects of different kinds, for the work of chance: '•l)e tant d'objets divers le bizarre assemblage Peut-etre du hazard vous paroit uu ouvrage; Moi-nieme quelque temps, honteiise de ma peur, Jc I'ai pris pour I'ellet d'une sombre vapeur. Jlais de cc souvenir mou Ame possedcc A deux fois en dormant revu la nieme idee ; Deux fois mes Iristes yeux se sont vu letracer" rossion. bnl of a dowiiriyhl confusion of ideas, in as much as Athalie liaviny^ made no mention of the real Jesabel, but only of that .losabel whicli appeared to her in the dream, the 'son ombre' intended by Racine to refer to the real Jesabel, must of necessity be referred by the audience or reader to the Jesabel of the dream, and be understood as meaning- the shade of that appa- rition; or, in other words, although Racine undoubtedly wished his audience to understand that the figure which stooped down to embrace Athalie, was no other than the apparition which had just spoken to her; yet as the only correlative in the whole context for the word '^son' is the preceding 'elle\ the sense which he has actually expressed is, that the figure which stooped down to embrace Athalie, was not that figure wliich had just spoken to her, but only the shade of that figure, i. e. the shade of a shade: a confusion of ideas, or, to use •the milder term, an inaccuracy of expression , for which we in vain seek a parallel even in the least correct of the Latin authors. TuMENTES. — Dead liinbs do not swell in consequence of violence: either, therefore, Virgil means, that the swelling of Hector's feet was the result of putrefaction ; or lie applies the adjunct tumentes in ignorance of the physiological truth; or aware of the truth, falsely, for the sake of clfect; or else, he means that both the swelling, and the violence which produced it, were anterior to death. It is highly improbable that he means that the swelling was the consequence of putrefaction ; because, although he might not have felt himself bound by the authority of Homer, who e\()ressly states {I/iad, XXIII, XXIV.) tliat Apollo prevL'iited putrefaction from taking place in the cor|)se of Hector, yet no poetical advantage was to be gained by suggesting the idea of putrefaction, in as much as that idea was not only revoltiim- in itself, but, by rf-moving our thought so innch tlit> further from 1 11 67 the living-, sentient Hector, directly tended to diminish that sympathy with him, which it was the sole object of the description to excite. II is still less likely that Virgil, aware of the phy- siological truth, applied the term falsely, for the sake of clfect; the unworthy supposition is contradicted by every thing- which is known, or has ever been heard, of Virgil. The conclusion, therefore, is inevitable, either that Virgil applied the term tumentes in ignorance of the phy- siological truth , that violence inflicted on dead limbs will not cause them to swell; or that the non -Homeric nar- rative (see Heyne, Excurs. XVIII. ad En. I.) which he certainly must have followed, when describing Hector as having- been drag-ged round the walls of Troy (and not, as in the lUad, from Troy to the Grecian tents, and round the tomb of Patroclus), represented Achilles as having- bored Hector's feet and dragged him after his chariot before he was yet dead. Nor let the reader, living- in times when man has some bowels of compassion for brother man, reject with horror the imputation to Achilles of so atrocious cruelty; let him rather call to mind the boring of the feet of Oedipus, of the feet and hands of malefactors on the cross, the slitting of noses and cropping of ears,- the burnings at the stake, and breakings on the wheel , not so very long since discon- tinued in Christian countries. This. latter explanation of the difficulty involved in the word tumentes, derives no small confirmation from the words in which Virgil {En. I. 487) has described the dragging of Hector round the walls of Troy: "Ter eirL-iiiu Iliacos raptaverat Hector;i miiros, - Exauiiuuniqtie auro corpus veiulebat Acliilles." There must be some good reason (see Connn. v. 552) why in these lines, 'exanimum corpus' is not applied, as might have been expected, to 'raptaverat', but solely to 'vendebat'; and such good reasonis at once suggested OS II by the e\|)hu)atioii just g-iven of the word iumentks; Achilles (l^a^s round the lliiiii walls Hectoi' (not Hec- tor's 'exanuiium corpus', Hector behij^- yet ahvc); and havui^ thus deprived liim of life, sells his corpse ('exanimum corpus') for g-old. Compare: " Hzig Gcpayaq [isv E-iizoQog T(JOxr]lutovs KavtiSov, oiKTQros t' Jliov nvQOVfisvov j" quoted by Hesselius in his note on the following verses of the Andromache of Ennius: "Vidi, vidcreque passa sum aegemnie, Cuirii Hnclorem quadiijugo raptarier." If its disciefjancy from the Homeric narrative raise any considerable obstacle in the mind of the reader against the reception of this explanation, 1 beg to refer him for a discrepancy, not merely with an isolated passage, but with a very large and important part of the story of the Iliad, to I'Airipides's Helen, who never even so much as saw Troy. [Since the above Comment was written and published (in The firsl two hooks of the Eneis rendered into English Blank Iambic , Lond. J 845), 1 have fallen accidentally upon the following passage in the Ajax of Sophocles, V. 1040 (ed. Eton. 1786): '"'' EyiTcaQ fiiv , CO drj zov5' sSaQVid^r] nuQCi ZoaGTTjQi TiQiOxfeig mniY.tov t^ avrvycov , EHvanziz' aitv eaz' antipv'^ev §iov." Although these lines, proving the existence of an account of Hector's having been dragged alive after Achilles's chariot, convert almost into certainty the argument which in that Comment I have presented only as a proba- bility, I have yet allowed the Comment to remain unaltered, in order to exemplify tlie importance and necessity of a closer examination than is usual, of the apparently trivial or supposed well -understood expres- sions of our auilioi'. Still more lak-ly (.laniiary 1^,");;) I have found the following additional evidence that some writers did I II (39 describe Hector as having been c]rag'?ed alive after the chariot of Achilles. It is in the account given by Q. Cur- tius (IV. 2S) of Alexander the Great having caused Betis to be fastened aUve to a chariot, and so dragged to death: "Per talos cnim spirantis lora trajectasunt reli- gatumque ad eurruin traxcre circa urbem equi; gloriante rege, Achillem, a quo genus ipse dediiceret, iniitatum se esse poena in hostem capienda." J. H.] 274. HEU MIHI QU ALIS ER AT OUANITM MUTATUS AB ILLO HECTORE Ori REDIT EXLVIAS INDUTUS ACHILLI VEL DANAUM PIIRVCIOS JACULATUS PUPPIBUS IGNES Compare that most touching lamentation in that most pathetic perhaps of all the ancient dramas, the Electro, ol Sophocles, V. 1132: ".si cpilratov ^vr]^isi0v'" &g. It may perhaps interest the curious in such matters to be informed, that at P. 305 of the third volume of a copy of Clarendon's History of the Rebellion, preserved in Marsh's library in Dublin, may be seen, amongst numerous other autograph annotations of Dean Swift, the words quantum mutatus written by the Dean in pencil on the margin, opposite to the following words of Cla- rendon: "The Duke (viz. of York) was full of spirit and courage, and naturally loved designs, and desired to engage himself in some action that might improve and advance the low condition of the King his brother" (Charles the First). 70 II 279. FLENS irSE "Non minus (luani ille." Forbiger, correctly; compare Ovid. Ex Ponto 1. 4. 53: "Et nanare nieos fleuti flens ipse labores." 287. NEC ME OUAERENTEM VANA MORATUR Does not delay me hy amwering my foolish inquiries. " Quaesieiaiu mullis; nou niultis ille nioratiis, Coiilulit in versus sic sua verba duos." Ovid. Fust. 1. IGl. "Noil faciei longiis fabula nostra moras." ■ Ovid. Fmi. 11. 248. 296. M AMBUS VITTAS VESTAMQUE TOTENTEM AETERNUMyUE ADVTI.S EFFERT PENETRALIBUS ICNEM Not really, but only in appearance. Compare: "Dixit el admota pariter fatalia visus Tradcie tcrga nianu." Val. Ki.a< c. V. 2V2. of Phrixu.s, in the vision, appearing to put IIm? golden fleece into Jason's hands. II 71 298. DIVERSO HJCTU •Diversus' indicates difference, not of kind or quality, but of situation. Ttiver.sus liictus': woe in a quarter of the city at some distance from the house of Anchises. By this single word thus happily placed at the commence- ment of the new action, not only is the reader carried at once out of the retired house in which Eneas is sleeping, into the midst of the sacking und burning of the city, but time allowed for the numerous events de- scribed by Panthens {v. 325 and seq.) to occur before Eneas is awakened by the noise. 299. QUAMQUAM SECRETA PARENTIS ANCniSAE DOMUS ARBORIBUSQUE OBTECTA RECESSH' One of the objections made by Napoleon (see his Note sur le deuxieme livre de fEneide, quoted in Conim. on V. 5) to Virgil's account of the taking of Troy, is, that it was impossible for Eneas, "dans ce peu dheures et malgre les combats,"'' to have made numerous journeys {l)hisieurs voyages) to the house of Anchises, situated ^'■daiis un hois a une demi-lieue de Troyes.'" This criti- cism is doubly erroneous; because, first, the house of Anchises was not half a league's distance, nor any dis- tance, from Troy, Init in Troy itself, as evidenced by the account (v. 730. 753) of Eneas's flight from Anchi- ses' house, out of Troy, through the gate of the city; and, secondly, because Eneas visits the house only twice, and, on one of these occasions (as if Virgil had been careful to guard against any demur being made to so many as even two visits to a house situated, as he here 72 n iiirornis us, in a I'einulc part ol tlie town) is niifafu- lously expedited by a yoddcss. 1 know not whetlier it will be rei,Mi(lc(i as an exte- nuation, and not rather as an aggravation , of Napoleon's error, that he has here (as in the other parts of his critique,) depended wholly on Deiille's very incorrect translation : "Deja le luuil afTrcux (quoique loin de la ville Mon pere cut sa iltnin'iirc an fond d uii hois tianqiiillc)." It was, at least, incumbent on him, before he sent for- ward to the world, under the sanction of his illustrious name, a condemnation of the second book of the Eneis, both in the general and in the detail, to have taken ordinary pains to ascertain VirgiTs true meaning; and to have assured himself that he was not fulminating his condemnation against errors, the greater part of which had no existence excejH in the false medium thiough which alone (as sufliciently evidenced both by his own words and his quotations) he liad any acquaintance with Virgil. 302. SUMMI FASTIGIA TECTI Fastigia TECTI ; i. e. Icctum p.isti(jatnm; a sloping or ridged roof, such as is commonly used throughout Europe at the present day. That this is the meaning of the term, is placed beyond doubt by the passage in which Livy describes the 'lestudo": "scutis super capita densalis, stantibus priinis, secundis submissioribus, tei'tiis magis et quartis, postremis etiani genu nisis, fastigatam, sicut tecta aedifieiorum sunt, testudinem facie- bant." XJ.IV. U. ri 73 :{09. MANIKKSTA FIDF.S The expression is preserved in the Italian: "In prova della prima parte si puo addurre .... queste parole del Convito, che ne fanno manifesta fede." Comment, ol" Biagioli on Dante, Infern. II. 98. 322. QUO UES si;m3Ia loco pantheu quam prendimus arcem On more mature consideration I am Inclined to surrender the interpretation which I formerly proposed of this passage (see Class. Museum, XXIV. from which Journal it has been quoted by Forbiger into his third Edition) and to adopt the following: nuo res summa loco? in what conduion is our all — the main chance — ■ thai on which everything hinges — and therefore (by implication) the State, 'salus suprema publica'? Compare Forbiger in ioc. and C. Nepos in Eumen. IX. 2: "Hie omnibus titubantibus et de rebus summis desperantibus." Also: "Periculum sum- mae rerum facere." Li v. XXXI II. 8. And: " Committendum rerumsummam indiscrimen utcunque ratus." Liv.XXXlII.7. QuAM PRENDIMUS ARCEM? — Literally: if we throw ourselves into the '■arx\ what kind of an '■arx' shall we find it to he? is the '■arx' any longer defensible? Prendimus. — Nearly as in Caesar, B. C. 111. J 12. "lis autem invitis, a cjuibus Pharos tenctur, non potest esse propter angustias navibus introitus in portum. Hoc tum veritus Caesar, hostibus in pugna occupatis, militibusque ex- positis, Pharon prehendit, atque ibi praesidium posuit." Eneas uses the present tense (prendimus), because he is actually (see v. 315) on his way to the 'arx' at the moment when he meets Pantheus. 74 II 325. FTJIMUS TROES FLIT ILIUM The full force of these expressions will he perceived by those readers only who bear in mind, that among the Romans the death of an invidual was, not unfrequently, announced to his friends by the word 'fuit'; see (in Wernsdorf's Poeiae Latini Minores)r Mollibus ex oculis aliquis tibi procidet humor, Cum dicar sul)ila voce, luisse, tibi. Elcgia incei'ti aucioris de Maecaiat. Murib. So also Plautus, Trvc. I. 2. 93: "Ilorresco misera, nieniio quoties fit pai'tionis: Ita paeue tibi I'nit Plitoiiesiiim." and Psevd. I. 3. 17: — "B. Quia est qui moram obcupato molestam obtuiit? C. Qui tibi sospitalis fuit. B. Mortuus est. qui fuit ; qui est, vivos est ;" where there is a i)lay upon this meaning- of the word. Compare also Cicero's announcement of the execution of the Catilinarian conspirators: "vixerunt;" and (Schiller, Mar. Stuart, Act IV. sc. 11): — "Jeue hat gelebt, Wcnn ich dies Blatt aus mciucu Hiiaden gebe." Charlotte Corday in hcM- letter to Barbaroux, written on the eve of her execution and preserved in Lamartine's Histoire dcs Girondins (Liv.44, c.30), refers to this Roman mode of expression: "C'est demain a huit heures que Ton me juge. Probablement a midi j'aurai vecu, pour parler le langage Remain." So also Manzoni, of Napoleon: "Ei fu: siccome immobile Dato il mortal sospiro Stetle la spoglia immemore Uiba di laulo spiro , Cosi peicossa, nltonita La terra al uuuzio sta." // Cinque Magyio. From the l.atin 'fuit' used in the above sense, come botli the Italian In' and the French 'feu', defuncl , as is II . 75 placed beyond all doubt by the plural 'furent': "Les notaires de quelques Provinces disent encore, au pluriel, furent, en parlant de deux personnes conjointes et decedees." Trevoux; and to the same effect Furetiere. Corresponding- to this use of the past tenses of the verb •sum', emphatically, to express death, i. e. the cessation of existence, was the use of its present tense to express life, i. e. the continuance of existence: "Estis io Superi, nee iuexorabile Clotho "Volvit opus." Stat. Silv. I. 4. "Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not {ovk elGl):' Matth. II. 18. And of its future tense, to express future exis- tence, i. e. existence after death: "Nee enim dum ero, angar ulla re, cum omni vacem culpa: et si non ero, sensu omnino carebo." Cicer. ad Fam. VI. 3. 331. MILLI.\ OUOT MAGNIS UMQUAM VENERE MYCENIS Not only the authenticity, but the precise reading, of this verse is sufficiently defended against Heyne's "lotum versum abesse malim," by Ausonius's quotation of it 'ipsissimis Uteris' in his Perioch. XX. Iliad. I have myself found 'umquam' in the oldest Gudian (No. 70), and 'unquam' in the Leipzig, No. 35 (Nau- mann); while in the Leipzig, No. 36 (Naumann), and in the Dresden, 1 have found 'nunquam'. Bersmann, although he has adopted 'nunquam', informs us that in his MS. (the Camerarian) it is 'unquam'. In Daniel Heinsius 1 find 'numquam', which has l)ecn deservedly rejected by Nicholas Heinsius, and 'umqiuim' adopted instead. 70 II 334. VIX ITUMI PROELIA TENTANT PORTAIUM VIGILES "Die Posteu tier ersten Nachtwache." Ladewig. 1 think Forbiger is more near the truth: "In primo urbis introitu constitiiti." Primi is the emphatic word, and not vigiles; which latter is only added in order to explain what primi or persons nearest the ene?ny are meant. Compare v. 494 : "Fit via vi : runipunt aditiis, priniosque tiucidaui." Also: "DiscuiTunt alii ad portas, primosque tnicidaiit." En. XU. 577. And: "Iiiipeliis in eosdem factus, et, primis caesis, cae- teri in fugam dissipati sunt." Liv. XXXIII. 10. 348. JUVENES FORTISSLMA IRLSTHA PECTOKA SI VU15IS AUDENTEM EXTREMA CIPIDO CERTA SEQUl QUAE SIT REBUS FORTUNA VIDETIS EXCESSERE OMNES ADYTIS ARISQUE RELICT! S DI OUIBUS IMPERIUM HOC STETERAT SCCCURRITIS URRI INCENSAE MORIAMUR ET IN MEDIA ARMA RUAMUS The elder Hcinsius incloses all the words from si, the young^er all from quae sit, as far as steterat inclusive, in a parenthesis. Both, I think, incorrectly, and to the great detriment of the sense. It seems to me as phun as possible that excessere omnes and succuuuitis urbi INCENSAE are parts of one and the same description, viz. of the city deserted by its Gods and on lire. No com- mentatoi' or ('dilor should have found any difficulty in tlie passage, which is one of the clearest. 11 77 869. PLURIMA MORTIS IMAGO Notliiiis afraid of what tliysclf tlidst make, Strange images of death." Macbeth, I. 3. 390. DOLUS AN VIRTUS ■Das ist das Beste, was zum Zieie fiilirt; Uud was gelungea ist, das ist auch rechtlich.-" Werner, die Sdhtie des Thales, Tli. II. A. 1. sc. 6. 391. ARMA DABUNT II'SI If, as hitherto supposed, ipsi mean the persons wliom Choroebus and his party are despoiling of their arms ("DieTodten werden Waffen geben''— Schiller), the sen- tence ARMA DABUNT IPSI Is a mere tautology, the same meaning being contained in the preceding ' mutemus cly- peos' <$;c.; for, let us exchange arms with these ^jersons, and these i)ersons shall supply us with arms, are plainly but different ways of saying- the same thing. I there- fore refer ipsi to the Danai; the enemy generally; and understand Choroebus's meaning to run thus: Let vs change shields ^-c. with these dead fellows here, and, by so doing, compel the Danai, the invaders themselves (iPsi), to furnish us with arms. The passage, being: so interpreted, there is, first, no tautology; and, secondly, ii'si lias its proper, cmi)haU<' foici'. 78 II The sentiment contained in arma dabunt ipsi is fa- miliar to us in the English proverbial expression , furnish a rod to whip himself. 392. CLIPEIOUE INSIGNE DECORUM Insigne, — the ensign or device on (he shield. Compare: — "Clipeoquc insigne pakMiiiim Centum ungaos cinctumque gcrit serpcntibus Hydnim." En.\\\. G57. "At Ipvcm . clipcum subiatis cornibus lo Auro insignibat, jam setis obsita, jam bos, Argumcntum ingcns, et eustos virginig Argus, Caclataque amneiii fuiidens pater Inaclius urna." En. \\\. 789. — ''Clipei noa euarrabile textum." En. Vlll. ()25. "Christus purpurcum gemniauti toxUis in auro Signabat labarum, clipeorum insignia Ciiristus Scripserat." Prudent. contt\ Syimn. I. 187. 396. HAUD NUMINE NOSTRO I think that the structure is, not (with Forbiger and Heyne) numinc — baud nostro i. e. numine averso, non propi/io, but, baud — numine nostro. and that the meaning is, not with our ' numcn\ i. e. nilkoul our 'numen\; our ' numcn" nut accompanying us ; forsaken l/g our ' numcn\ Com|)are exactly paralii-l (AV/. V. 5G): "llaud cquidem sine mculc rcor, sini.' luunint' Divuiii;" ri 79 not witJiovt , i. e. with, the 'numcn' of the Gods. Also (£•;?. VIII. C27): ••Ilaud vatum ignarus, venturique inscius aevi;" not only, Jiot ignorant of, but well skilled in, the future. There cannot, I think, be a doubt but that .numine is here to be understood precisely as in the correspon- ding- passage above quoted from the fifth book, and that Servius's second explanation ("Aut quia in scutis Grae- coruni Neptunus, in Trojanorum fuerat Minerva depicta") is as unfounded , as it is unworthy of Virgil. See Comm. V. 178. The reading in the oldest Gudian being, as I have as- certained by personal examination, 'nomine', a u has been placed over the o by a second hand, thus: 'nomine'. 401. CONDUNTUR 'Condo' is (strictly), not merely to hide, but, the force of 'do' being preserved in its compound (see Comm. £n. I. 56), to put or j^^iinge into a place so as to hide. Hence it is sometimes even joined with a preposition governing the accusative: "Sol quoque et exoriens, et cum se condet in iindas. " Georg. I. 438. "Ista, mi Lucili, condenda in animum sunt, ut con- "^emnas voluptatem, ex plurium assensione venientem." Senec. Epist. 7. 80 TI 400. M'MINA NAM TENERAS ARCEUANT VINCULA PALMAS Tlic translators understand the words vincula arcf.bant to be equivalent to 'vincula lig-aljant', and to mean no more than that chains hound her hands: "Her oyea, for fast her tender wrists were bound. " SURRliY. — "Rilde fetters bound lier tender hands." Beresford. " Clie ind€gni lacci alia regal donzella Ambe avvincon le niani." Alkieri. On the contrary, the idea of binding does not extend ^yond the word vincula; and arcebant has its own proper force oi hhidcring, keeping away: bonds (vincula) hindered, kepi off (arcebant) her hands, viz. so that she could not extend them towards heaven. Our autlior had probably before his eyes his favorite model : AXlC avtici^co c', 03 yirQov, zcov amv TCKQog Tlnvovon yovatcov (x^tQi 6' ovk t^tazi fioi Tfjg cr]s la^soiyai cpunxvtjg ytveiudog) EURIP. Audrom. 573. Our text has been imitated by St. Hieronynuis in his marvellous Mulier septies perciissu : "Oculis, quos tantuni tortor alligare non potuit, suspexit ad coeium." Episi. T. ad Innocent. %. 3. Also by Ovid {Metam. I. 731): 1, "Quos potuit solos lollens ad sidera vultus;" and {Metam. IV. 081): -^ " .Manibn»(jiie modesios • Celasset \ulnis, si non religala fuis.scl. Lumina, quod potuit, laerimis implevil ohortis." 11 ^ 81 TUI^^NAI f'.F.MIin ATOUE EREPTAK. VIRGINIS IRA Heyne's interpretation, "irn propter ereptani virginem," is proved to be correct, not only by the appropriate sense which it affords , but by our author's use elsewhere ol' a similar structure, e. g. 'Mortis fraternae ira', Eiu IX. 736; 'Grajarum errore jubarum', v. 412 above; 'vete- rum errore locoruur, III. 181; 'ereptae amore conjugis', III. 330; also, 'lacrymae rerum', 1.466; and ' lacrymas Creusae', II. 784. For numerous examples of the use of this g-enitive by other authors, see Dederich on Dictys Cretens. V. 4. Gemitu ATOUE IRA. — Prosaice, an angnj groan; groaning with anger. Ira is the feeling ; gemitu, the sound (and, as appears not only from En. VII. 15, where the " two words are again found united, 'gemitus iraeque leo- num', but from En. II. 53 ; 111. 555, the loud sound or roar) by which the feeling was expressed. I adversi rupto-ceu quondam turbine venti confligunt zephvrusque notusque et laetus eois eurus eouis stridunt silvae saevitque tridenti spumeus atoue imo nereus ciet aequora fundo [compare Aeschyl. Prom. Vinct. (v. 1080, Ed. Blomfield), rometheus speaking: AyQicov avf/^av x^ova d' fx nv&fxfvcav Jvtats Qt-'iai? nvtv/xa Kgadaivoi, Kv^a 88 TTOVTOv TQax^t Qodiat £/vy;^cocfitv, tcov z ovquvkov AozQcov diodovg." t S2 n Also Dante, Inferno, V. 29: "Che niuyy;liia, come fa mar per tempesta, Se da coiilrari veuti e conibaiiuto." Also Sir Walter Scott in his fine Lyric, tlie Pibrocli of Donald Dim: "Come as the winds come When forests are rended, Come as the waves come When navies are stranded." SaEVITQUE TRIDENTI SPIMFJS ATOUE IMG NEREUS CIET AEguoRA FUNDO. — Tlic struclurc is, not 'sinnneus Nereus saevit Iridenti', but 'Nereus saevit tridenti spumeus', and the meaning- is, prodiii,< > t yrc.it deal of froth in the operation of stirring up the sea from the bottom with his trident. Compare En. XI. 624: " Qiialis uhi iilirnio procurrens gm-gite pontus Nimc HI it ad terra.■^. scopulosque superjacit undam Spumnis, extrcmaiiKiur sinu perfiindit arenani:" where, as in our text, 'spumous' is placed in the em- phatic position, and separated, by a pause, from the sequel. In confirmation of the above interpretation 1 may add that there is (see Foggini) a point placed after spumeus in the Medicean (see however Comments v. 420 and En. 1. 122), that 1 have myself found a 'similar point in the Dresden, and that the comma after siimeus, omitted by modern editors, is to be found in the best old Editions (wnth the exception of IT. Stephens), viz. in the Modena Edition of 14757in those of the two Ilcinsli. in Burmann, Brunck, Amhrogi, La Cerda and Borsmann, also in Al- fieri and the Baskerville. In the Vatican Fragment (see Boltari) the whole passage is wanting, and, in the Ko man, not only the whole pas>;i-,(\ hut almost the whole of the second Book. n 83 420. ILLI ETIAM SI QUOS OBSCURA NOCTE PER UMBRAM FUDIMUS INSIDIIS TOTAQUE AGITAVIMUS URBE APPARENT PRIMI CLIPEOS MENTITAQUE TELA AGNOSCUNT ATQUE ORA SONO DISCORDIA SIGNANT ^ 1 find in Pierius: "In codicibus aliquot antiquis, eodeni menibro legas apparent primi; disjunctini inde, clipeos MENTITAQUE TELA ADGNOSCUNT. DonatUS mavult PRIMI clipeos." jWTjt.^ii^' The Medicean, alt ffm sight, appears to sanction the junction of primi with clipeos, a point being- interposed in that MS. (see Foggini) between apparent and primi; but, as I have had occasion to remark elsewhere (Comm. En. 1. 122), little is to be concluded from the punctuation either of that or any other ancient MS., the punctuation depending entirely on the arbitrement of their illiterate scribes; and least of all can any conclusion be drawn from the punctuation of the Medicean in the passage before us, the scribe having thought proper to place a point not only after apparent, but also after urbe and after clipeos, Ora sono discordia signant. — Signant, remark (compare En. V. 317), ora, our speech (compare: "Quod tanta erat commendatio oris atque orationis, ut nemo ei dicendo posset resistere." Nep. in Alcib. I. 2, where see Bremi's Annot. ; also : "Ego enim dabo vobis os \pxo[ia\ et sapientiam." Evang. sec. Luc. XXI. 15), discordia sono, ^^agreeing in sound, viz. with our assumed appearance of Greeks, or perhaps simply, sounding differently from the Greek; Contrast Sii. Ital. XVII. 444 : — "AccL'ndimt iras viiltusqne vironim Annorumque habitus iioti, et vox consona liugnae." 84 II 432. ^ii^ NEC TELA NEC ULLAS VITAVISSE VICES DANAUM Oil further consideration 1 am induced to withdraw the in- terpretation assigned by nie to these words in the Classical Museum, No. XXIV, and quoted by Forbiger in his third Edition. 'Vices', 1 now think, corresponds exactly with our turns, the French tours, and tlie German Wendimgcn. Eneas braved, not only all the weapons, but all the turns, all tlie mililary manoeuvres of the Danai: and such appears to be the precise meaning of the word in the passages quoted by Forbiger: 'Belli tentare vices', Stat. Theh. X. 749. 'Belli vices novisse', Sil. III. 13. 'Martis vices', Claud. IV. Cons. Honor. 2S2; neither vi- cissitudes nor jierils, but evolutions {^tours', Fr.), tactics. And so Ovid. Metam. XIV. 35: — "Spenientem spcrne, seqiienli Reclde vices;" return his tactics, pay him tit for tat. Compare also Cul. V. 209: — " Aoei'bas Cuyoi' ailiro vtics." For a curious, I cannot say successful, attempt to con- nect the ancient Latin 'vix, vicis', with the met, of the Eleusinian Mysteries, and derive both from the 'Pakscha' of the Brahmins, see Wilford in the Memoirs of tlie Asiatic Society, vol. V, and Ouvarofl", Etudes de Phitoloyie. St. Petersburg. I S43. II 85 453. LIMEN ERAT CAECAEQUE FORES ET PERVIUS USUS TECTORUM mXER SE PRIAMI POSTESQUE RELICTI A TERGO "Posies relicti a tergo, h. e. porta, quae a tergo erat, opposita illi, quae est in aedium fronte." Heyne. No: A TERGO belongs, not specially to relicti, but to the whole sentence; thus: 'A tergo (aedium viz.) erat li- men, caecaeque fores, et pervius usus tectorum'; i. e. at the rear of the house there mas an entrance through a secret door: postesque relicti, and this door, in the jn'e- seni confusion, was deserted — no longer frequented. Postes relicti. — Compare: "Nihil rerum mortalium tam instabile ac fluxum est, quam fama potentiac non sua vi nixa. Statim relictum Agrippinae limen. Nemo solari, nemo adire". Tacit. Annal. XIII. 19. Also: "Sedesque astare relictas," En. III. 123. A TERGO limen ERAT . HcU. ff'ild. -KW.), expresses in this case rather the weakness than the strength of the stroke; as if Virgil had said: made llie sludcl ring , btil ?vas unable to penetrate. U, lOJ 552. DEXTRAQUE CORUSCUM EXTULIT AC LATERI CAPULO TENUS ABDIDIT ENSEM Ensem belongs to both verbs, coruscum only to extulit. ExTULiT (ensem) coruscum, bccausc the very act of raising and florishing the sword made it flash; abdidit ensem (no longer coruscum), because the very act of plunging it (or stowing it away, see Comm. En. I, 56) into the side, caused it to cease to flash. If it be not mere supererogation to refer to instances of a similar beautiful accuracy of language in a writer, whose language is always super -eminently accurate, I would here refer the reader to the special apposition of 'bellatrix' to 'aurea cingula', and of 'virgo' to 'viris', E7i. I, 497; to the junction of 'Fortuna' with the two verbs 'finxit' and 'flnget', and of 'improba' with the latter only, En. II, 80; to the similar junction of 'inter- clusit' and 'terruit' with 'illos', and of 'terruit' alone with ' euntes ', En. il , 110; and to the precise ' intorserit hastam', 'laeserit cuspide', En. II, 230; also to Comm. V. 270 and v. 689. 554. HAEC FINIS PRIAMI FATORUM HIC EXITUS ILLUM sorte -tulit trojam incensam et prolapsa videntem pergama tot quondam populis terrisque superbum regnatorem asiae jacet ingens littore truncus avulsumque humeris caput et sine nomine corpus So Ammianus Marcellinus (XIV. 11) flnely, of Constantius Gallus Caesar: — "Cervice abscissa, ereptaque vultus et (*apitis dignitate, cadaver relictum est informe, pauflo ante urbibus et provinciis lormidutum." 102 II Sine nomine corpus. — "Post totum lg:nobiIitatis elo- gium, cadiicae in origiiicm tcrrani , et cadaveiis nonien; et tie isto quoque noniiiiu puriturac, in nullum incle jam nomen, in omnis jam vocabuli mortem." Tertull, de resurr. carnis, IV. The same thought has been beautifully expanded by Bossuet; Oraison funebr. dc Mad. Ilenrictte Anne d'Angle- terre: "La voila, malgre ce grand coeur, cette Prin- cesse si admiree et si cherie; ki voila telle que la mort nous I'a faite; encore ce reste tel quel va-t-il disparoitre (etiam periere ruinae) . . . La mort ne nous laisse pas assez de corps pour occuper quelque place; et on ne voit la que les tombeaux qui fasscnt quelque figure. Notre chair change bientot de nature; notre corps prend un autre nom; meme celui de cadavre, dit Tcrtullian, ne lui demeure pas longtemps: il devient un je ne scais quoi, qui n'a plus dc nom en aucune langue; tant il est vrai que tout meurt en lui, jusqu'a ces termes funebres par lesquels on exprimoit ses malheureux restes." 571. ILLA SIBI INFESTOS EVERSA OB PERGAMA TEUCROS ET POENAS DANAUM ET DESERTI CONJLGIS IRAS PRAEMETUENS Praemetuens, — "Fiirchtcte." Voss. "Tcmendo." Caro. "Dreads." Drydon. All omitting the prae, the force of which is, that her fear anticipated the anger — that she fled without waiting to sec whether her fear were well founded or not. Compare: "Ovom ioL;al)at ccrvus modiimi tritici, Lupu sponsorc. At ilia, praenielueiis ilolum" \:c. Phaei'K. 1. 10. 3. 11 103 574. ATOUE ARTS INVfSA SEDEBAT Invisa, — "Unbenierkt." Ladewig. No; but, as always elsewhere in Virgil, 'od/osa\ the hateful one, and there- fore ' praenietuens ' {v. 573) not without reason. That this is the true import of the word, seems to be placed beyond doubt by v. 601: "Tyndaridis facies invisa La- caenae." 583. NAMOUE ETSI NULLUM MEMORABILE NOMEN FEMINEA IN POENA EST NEC HABET VICTORIA LAUDEM EXSTINXISSE NEFAS TAMEN ET SUMSISSE MERENTIS LAUDABOR POENAS ANIMUMOtlE EXPLESSE JUVABIT ULTRICIS FLAMMAE. ET CINERES SATIASSE MEORUM In the exact coincidence of the sentiments here expressed by Eneas, with those expressed by Aruns when medi- tating the death of Camilla {Eji. XI. 790 and seq.), Bur- mann and Heyne might have found a strong- additional argument for the authenticity of this fine passage con- cerning Helen. The reader will, however, observe that the poet, although he has assigned similar sentiments to his hero and the coward Aruns while meditating- similar acts, has been careful to draw a sufficiently broad distinction between the actual conduct of the one and that of the other. The hero is immediately diverted from, and relin(iuishes, his hasty purpose; the coward persists in, and coolly executes, his deliberately formed plan. 104 n 591. CONFESSA DEAM Jocularly imitated by Pctronius: "Modo Bromium, inter- dum Lyaeum, Euhyunuiue confcssus." P. 143. 608. HIC UBI DISJECTAS MOLES AVULSAQUE SAXIS SAXA VIDES MIXTOQUE UNDANTEM PULVERE FUMUM NEPTUNUS MUROS MAGNOQUE EMOTA TRIDENTI FUNDAMENTA QUATIT TOTAMQUE A SEDIBUS URBEM ERUIT HIC JUNO SCAEAS SAEVISSIMA PORTAS PRIMA TENET SOCIUMOUE FURENS A NAVIBUS AGMEN FERRO ACCINCTA VOCAT JAM SUMMAS ARCES TRITONIA RESPICE PALLAS INSEDIT LIMBO EFFULGENS ET GORGONE SAEVA IPSE PATER DANAIS ANIMOS VIRESOUE SECUNDAS SUFFICIT IPSE DEOS IN DARDANA SUSCITAT ARMA With this fine picture of the Gods giving their personal help towards the destruction of a city, compare the his- torical narrative: "Adjicitur miraculum, velut numino oblatum; nam cuncta extra, tectis tenus, sole illustria fuere: quod moenibus cingebatur, ita repente atra nube coopertum, fulguribusque discretum est, ut, quasi in- fensantibus Deis, exitio tradi crederetur." Taut. Ann. XIll. 41. Independently of the defence, of which Virgil's ac- count of the taking of Troy is otherwise capable (see Comm. V. 5), the poet, calling in the hostile Gods, and even Jupiter himself, to aid in the taking and destruction of the city, already (y. 351) deserted by its own Gods, seems to be invulnerably armed against the assaults of those critics, who, with Napoleon at their head (see li 105 Coniiii. V. 5), insist tliat iiis whole narrative is unstratet,^ic- al, incredible, impossible. Prima. — The ptincijn/l personaffe, the leader, the mover of the whole mutter >, 'princeps\ As Juno, although thus expressly stated to be the leader, the mover of the whole matter (i. e. of the destruction of the city), is yet not mentioned lirst in order, but placed in the middle between Neptune and Pallas ^ so Machaon {v. 263), also stated to be the 'primus', the mover of the whole mat- ter, the principal actor, or taking- the principal part among- those enclosed in the wooden horse, is not men- tioned first in order, but seventh, or nearly last. The same term 'prima', in the same sense and jn a very similar connection, is applied to the same Juno, Eru I. 27: — "Veterisque menior Salurnia belli. Prima cjuod ad Trojani pro caris gesserat Argis." It is in the same sense also that the same term is applied to Eneas himself, En. I. 5: — "'Trojae qui primus ab oris Italiam fato profugus Lavinaque venit Littora ; " the principal mover, principal actor, (Germ. 'Urhebcr',) of the emigration from Troy to Italy; an interpretation perfectly consistent, first, with the fact that Antenor arrived in Italy prior in point of time to Eneas, because Eneas though the 'primus', the 'Urheber', the mover of the whole emigration, and the person who set the example to Antenor, yet, just because he was the prin- cipal personage, the principal mover, had special ob- stacles thrown in his way (these very obstacles being- themselves the subject of the poem) which delayed his arrival in Italy until after the arrival of Antenor and those others, who, in undertaking the emigration, had only imitated him, and followed his example; and secondly, this interpretation meets with no contradiction from the words 'Lavinaque littora', the force of the word 'primus' lOG n being enllrcly spent on 'Trojae ab oris Ualiam'; of which words 'Lavinaquc littora' arc but the complement, added for the sole purpose of iiiformuig the reader in wliat precise spot this 'primus', 'princeps', or prime mover of the Trojan emig-ration to Italy, had actually settled; as if Virgil had said: Qui profugus ah oris Trojae venit prmnis ad Italiam, ibiqne in Lavino littore consedii. Arces PALLAS iNSEDiT. — It is witli pccuUar propriety that Pallas is represented as taking- possession of the 'arx', the 'arx' having been her invention, and always (not alone at Troy, but elsewhere) her selected abode. Compare: — "Pallas, qnas condidit arces, Ipsa colat." Ed. II. 01. "Et Paudionias quae cuspide proti'git arces." Claud, de Rapt. Pros. II. 10. "Diva . . . rctiiieiis in summis urbibus arces." Catull. LXIV. 8. Respice, — not merely look, or see, but look behind ihcc ; ' a s p i c e ' (v. 604), look here before thee, 'respice', look there behind thee. Observe also the effective posi- tion of the word immediately before the object to which it points, PALLAS ; and immediately after the words ex- citing expectation, jam summas arces tritonia. See Comm. i\ 203. Limbo effulgens et gorgone saeva. — I have myself personally examined only five MSS. with respect to this passage, viz. the oldest Gudian (No. 70), the two Leip- zig, the Dresden, and No. 113 (Endlicher's Catal.) in the royal Library at Vienna, but in the whole five I have found 'nlmbo', which (see Foggini) is also the reading of the Mediccan, and has been adopted without hesita- tion or exception, so far as 1 know, by all the editors and commentators. The explanation which the elder commentators have given us of this word, is halo ("nube divina", Servius, La Cerda), against which the objection of Forliigcr: "hie voc. nimbi significatus non II 107 nisi caclcnlis Latlnitatis," seems to me to be conclu- sive. Tiie more modern explanation of the word is that adopted by Ueyne from Pomponius Sabinus: "nubes obscura qua iiki cingitur;" the effulgence of such obscure 'nubes' being- ascribed by Heyne to its reflexion of Pallas's aegis, "fulgcntem aegidem tenet, a qua relu- cet nimbus," and by Wagner to its reflexion of the flames of the burning city, "nimbus igitur iile, quem ut iratae deae atrum fuisse consentaneum est, fulgebat et rutilabat ab incendii flammis," an interpretation whicii has been adopted, and approved of, by Forbiger. 1 object, first, that 'nimbus' is never 'nubes', but always that combination of darkness, heavy rain (or hail), wind, thunder and lightning, called in Germany Gewilicr, and in Italy temporale, but for which the English language possesses no more appropriate appellation tlian thunder- storm. See {En. V. 317): "Effiisi uiiiibo similes," — poured out, surely not like a cloud, but like a thunder- storm, a sudden shower of heavy rain. — " Toto souuei'iuit aetliere nimbi." En. II. 113. Not, clouds resounded over the whole sky, but thunder- storms resounded. — '•Iiiseqiiitur commixta graiuUuc nimbus." En. ly. lot. Not, a cloud mixed with hail, or a hail cloud, follows, but a hailstorm , a shower of hail , follows. "His ego nigrantoni commixta graiidiiie iiimbuiii Desupcr infundam." En. IV. 120. Not, / ivill pour a cloud mixed with hail on them, but a hailstorm on them. Secondly, that there appears n(^ reason, and no reason has ever been assigned, why Pallas should have a 'nim- bus' (whether understood to mean a cloud, or a storm) lOS II about her on this occusion. Such appendage had been equally useless, cither for the purpose of inspiring- ter- ror, or for the purpose of concealment, she being (in common with the other Gods introduced on the occasion, and who, it will be observed, had no 'nimbi') invisible to all human eyes except those of Eneas alone, from which Venus had miraculously taken away 'omnem nU' bem quae mortales hebetat visus,' and so rendered them capable of seeing the invisible. Thirdly, that Pallas could not correctly be represented as 'effulgcns nimbo', whether the word be understood to mean (according to Heyne's erroneous definition of it) ^mthes obscura\ or (according to that which 1 have shown is its only true inteipretation), Gewitier, teniporale, Ihim- dersTiomer, thunderstorm, unless we admit the propriety of the expression (in the former case) effulgent with darkness, and (in the latter) effulgent with the obscure cloak in which Gods were used sometimes for particular purposes to wrap themselves up, and hide themselves fi'om observation; compare ' — "Venus, obscuro faciem circumdala nimbo." En. Xir. 410. ' — "Agens liiemeiii, nimbo succincta per auras." En. X. 031. Despairing therefore of obtaining any good sense from the reading 'nimbo', 1 look (as in the case of the unintelligible, received reading 'nexaeque', En. I. 452) for a difTerent reading, and being informed by Scrvius that "alii limbo Icgunt, ut i^En. IV, 137): Sidoniam piclo chlaniydem circumdata liml)0;" and finding that informa- tion confirmed by Heyne ("limbo, Moret. Sec. pro var. Lect."), 1 adopt r.iMBo , and thus at once obtain, not merely an intelligible, but an admirable, sense: Pallas c/fulgent, neither with a dark cloud illuminated by her aegis or by the llamcs of the l)urnin.i;' city, nor with a dark thunderstorm, imt trilli her '■limbiis'' ov '• instita\ and her (Jonjon. Pallas is said to be cirulgent with the II , 109 V 'limbus', this part being the most splendid of the whole female dress; see the 'limbus' of Dido, quoted by Ser- vius above, and especially the 'limbus' of the dress put by Thetis (Stat. Achill. I. 325) on Achilles when she disguised hini as a female, for the court of Lycoinedes: "Aspicit ambignum genltrix, cogitque volentem, lanectitque sinus; tunc colla rigentia mollit, Siinimittitque graves humeros, et fortia laxat Brachia, et impexos certo domat oriliac crines, Ac sua dilccta ccrvice monilia transfert, Et picturato cohibet vestigia limbo ;" where it will be observed that the whole female dress of Achilles is placed before the eye of the reader by the 'monilia' (representing the upper part), and the embroi- dered 'limbus' (representing the lower), just as in our text the whole costume of Pallas is represented by the (efTulgent) Gorgon above, and the effulgent 'limbus' below. If it was proper for Statins thus to put forward the 'monilia' and 'limbus' as representatives of the whole of Achilles's petticoats, it was still more proper for Virgil to use a similar representation in the case of Pallas, that Goddess being remarkable for wearing (pace Deae dictum sit!) petticoats so long as to acquire the appellation of 'talares', i. e. of coming down quite to her heels. See almost all her numerous statues, and especially Sidonius Apollinaris's description.: "Squamcus ad mediam thorax non pervenit alvum Post chalybcm pendente peplo , tegit extima limbi Circite palla pedes, qui cum sub vcste moventur, Crispato rigidae crepitant in syrmate rugae." Panegyr. v. 2400. I need not point out to the reader either the neces- sity there was, that Pallas although invisible to all human eyes, should yet wear clothes, or the propriety with which those clothes, when she is rendered visible to Eneas, are described to have been of a splendor suitable to the Goddess (see below), and to the attitude in which kli no It she is represented , viz. that of sUuuling: mistress of tiie conquered citadel. Similar to the cfrulgcncc of Pallas"s 'liinbiis' in our text is that of licr 'palla' in Claudian, dc Rapt. Prus. 11. 25 : — "Tantuni stridciitia colla Gorgonos oblcnlu pallac fulgeutis iuumbrat." and elsewhere I find a similar effulgence ascribed to other parts of the Goddess's equipment; thus (Claudian. dc llapl. Pros. II. 22G) her spear is so Ijright as to il- luminate the chariot of Dis : — "Libraliir in ictum Fraxiiius, et iiigros illuininat obvia ciutus;" her chariot (Auson. Pcrioch. XVII. Odyss.) casts a red light over the sky: "Jam caelum roseis riitilal Tritonia bigis;" and (Claud. Gujant. 91) a similar light is cast by her Gorgon: — "Trilouia Virgo Prosilit, ostendens nUila cum Gorgone pectus." To LIMBO EFFULGENS ET GORGONE SAEVA thuS UUdcrstOOd as descriptive of the splendor of the Goddess's dress, wc have an exact parallel in — " ipsique iu puppibus auro Ductorcs longe cfFulgcnt ostrotiuc decori." En. V. 132. It would ai)i)car Irom llic very ancient and reniarkablc statue of Minerva Polias, now in the Augusteum of Dres- den, that the battle of the Giants described by Euripides {Ilecidf. 46G), and by the Author of Ciris (r. 29), as em- broidered on the 'peplum' of Pallas, was not spread over the whole 'peplum', but confined to a 'clavus' (lim- bus?), stripe, or border, represented on the statue as descending down the front of the person from the waist to the feet. For a view of this very striking statue, as well as for a separate view and description of the 'cla- vus', stripe, or border, descending down the front of its 'peplum', sec Becker, Aiujus(. Lresd. Tab. IX and X. II 111 Miiller {Minerva Polias, pag'. 2G) informs us, if I under- stand hini right, tliat there is a similar band, or stripe, on the 'pcpla' of all the very ancient statues of the Minerva Polias: "Insignis maxime clavus quid am •sive limes caeteris aliquanto latior de medio c()r|)ore decurrens, qui etiam apud populos Asiae maxime decorus habebatur." Saeva is predicated not (according- to Servius's second interpretation) of Pallas, but (according to his first inter- pretation) of the Gorgon; first, because the picture is thus more concentrated, and secondly, because 'saeva' (the C;reek dsLvrj) is precisely tiie term applied to the Gorgon both by Hesiod and Homer: " TJav 8s fJLixacpQivov aixB KCiQr] Sslvoio TielcoQOv Sail. I/ercul. 223. •'£v Si T£ rOQytt.7] HfCpaXr] BsIVOLO TtirXcOQOV diivrj re OfitQdvrj zs, z/iog rsQas cctyioxoio.'''' Iliad, V. 741. 626. AC VELUTI SDMMIS ANTIOUAM IN MONTIBUS ORNUM CUM FERRO ACCISAM CREBRISQUE BIPENNIBUS INSTANT ERUERE AGRICOLAE CERTATlM ILLA USQUE MINATUR ET TREMEFACTA COMAM CONCUSSO VERTICE NUTAT VULNERIBUS DONEC PAULATIM EVICTA SUPREMUM CONGEMUIT TRAXITQUE JUGIS AVULSA RUINAM Minatur; — not threatens to fall ("cader minaccia" — Alfieri), but the very contrary, threatens with violence those who are endeavoring to make her fall; warns those who are endeavoring to make her fall, that she will use violence — attack them in her turn — ■ if they do not immediatehj desist. This is not only the only sense of the verb 'minari' used intransitively, but the only sense in which the simile is at all applicable to Troy. 112 n MiNATun ET . . . VERTicE NUTAT. — Threatens tviih the nod of her leafy head as a warrior tlircdtens willi the nod of his plumes. Compare En. IX. 077; "Ipsi iiitus dexlra ac laeva pro tnrribus adstant Armali fcrro, ct crislis capita aha conisci: Quales acriae liquentia Aumiaa ciicum, Sivc Padi lipis , Athesim seu piopler amoeuuni , Consurgiint gcminac quercus, inlonsaque caelo AltoUuiit capita, et sublimi verlice nutani." See Comm. En. 1. 163. Congemuit; — not merely groaned, but groaned loudly; as it were with all its force collected into one last effort. See Comm. v. 49. AvuLSA. — "Evulsa." Ruaeus. — "Und schmeUernd, den Holm entroUet, hlnabkracht." Voss. — "E dal sjuo giogo al fine coil parte del giogo si diveglic, si scoscende." Caro. No, but 'avulsa, traxit ruinam ju^is', i. e. '/W, in jugis\- torn away with ropes from the stump where the axe had nearly (hut not entirely) cut it through, fell there on the mountain. Avulsa, 'funibus' sciz. Compare: — " Labefactaque tandem Ictibiis innumeris, adductaque fuiiibns arbor Coi'ruit, et raultam prostravit pondere silvam." Ovid. Metain. VI IT. 774. Thus the cadence (cracked, broken and limping-, if the structure be CONGEMUIT, TRAXITQUE, JUGIS AVULSA, RUINAM) becomes fluent and sonorous: CONGEMUIT, TRAXITOUE JUGIS, AVULSA, RUINAM; tlie ictus falling full upon vul. It 113 644. SIC O SIC rOSITUM AFFATI DISCEDITE CORPUS PosiTUM, — the English laid out: — "Toroqiie Mortua compouar, positaeque det oscula ft-ater." Ovid. Metam. IX. 502. Compare Alcmiede taking- leave'of Jason: — "Et dulci jam nunc preme luniina dextra." Val. Flacc. I. 335. 648. EX OUO ME DIVUM PATER ATQUE HOMINUM REX FULMINIS AFFLAVIT VENTIS ET CONTIGIT IGNI The ancients believed that thunder was produced by the collision of cloiids driven against each other by opposite winds; compare: — "Caeli quoque nubila vexant Excutiuntque (yenti sciz.) feris rutilos concuisibus ignes." Ovid. Metam. XI. 435. The same doctrine will be found laid down at consi- derable length by Lucretius. 653. FATOQUE URGENTI INCUMBERE Not (with Voss), "Gegen das eindringende Schicksal an- streben," but the very opposite, add his weight to thai of the superincumbent Fate. Compare: "Sed Marium una civitas publico, multique privati, reum peregerunt; in Classicuni tota provincia incubuit." Pun. Epist. III. 9- p Ill tt Also: "M propi.' unuiii niaxiine inclinatis rebus incubuit." Liv. 111. 10. Ed. Bip. "Incumbe in iras, tcque languentem excita." Senec. Medea, 902. "Tollitc signa duces, fatorum impellite cursum." LUCAN. V. 41. — " Sua quisque ac publica fata Praecipitare cupit." Luc AN. VII. 51. And, more prosaically, Petron. p. 353 (Ed. Hadrian, Amstel. 1069): "Ne moricntes vellet occidcre." I 661. PATET ISTI JANUA LETO So Pliny {Episi. I. IS): "Ilia januam faniae patefecit;" and Terent. {Heaiit. 111. 1. 72): "Quantam fenestram ad nequitiam patefeceris ! " 671. CLIPEOQUE SINISTRAM INSERTABAM APTANS Insertabam. — This word is peculiarly appropriate, the strap or handle of the shield, through which the arm was passed, being (as we are informed by Gael. Rhod. ad locum) technically denominated 'insertorium'. II 115 683. N.\MQUE MANUS INTER MAESTORUMOUE ORA PARENTUM ECCE LEVIS SUMMO DE VERTICE VISUS lULI FUNDERE LUMEN APEX TACTUQUE INNOXIA MOLLES LAMBERE FLAMMA COMAS ET CIRCUM TEMPORA PASCI "Apex propric clicitur in siimmo flaminis pilco virga Janata, hoc est, in cujus extremitate modica lana est: quod primiim constat apiid Albam Ascanium statuisse. Modo aiitem sumniitateni pilei intelligimiis." Servins. "Lev em apiceni cum Servio de pileo Ascanii, qui ut pueri erat levis, capio." Burmann. I object to this interpretation, first, tiiat levis seems not to be a very well chosen epithet for a cap; se- condly, tliat if lulus wore a cap, out of the top of which the flame arose (summo de vertice), the cap would, until itself consumed, have protected lulus's hair from the fire; at least would have prevented the by-standers from observing- what effect the fire had on the hair; unless we imagine, contrary to all verisimilitude, that the flame des- cending along the sides of the cap, spread from thence to the ringlets about lulus's temples or on the back of his neck; thirdly, that the first thing to have been done in case of the fire being seated in lulus's cap, plainly was to have pulled off the cap, not to have poured wa- ter on it, and accordingly nothing can be more ridiculous than the figure made by lulus in the picture in the Va- tic. Fragm., where two attendants are represented pouring water on the cap on the top of lulus's head. La Cerda is, 1 believe, the first who, deserting Ser- vius's interpretation, understands apex to be spoken of the flame itself: "Dicitur ignis ille apex, turn quia in capite, turn quia instar apicis acuminatus ex natura ig- nis." In which interpretation La Cerda has been followed by Heyne, Wagner {Virg. Br. En.) and Forbiger. This interpretation seems liable to no less formidable 116 a objections llian the former; for, first, the term 'apex' although of frequent occurence in Virg^il, never even so much as once occurs in this sense. Secondly, apex being understood to mean a tong^ue or cone of fire, becomes llie essential part of the prodigy, and should therefore, according to Virgil's usual method, and to pro- duce a suitable impression on the mind of the hearer or reader, be placed in the emphatic position at the be- ginning of the line, exactly where we find fundere lu- men, words, according to this interpretation , imemphatic and unimportant , and a mere appendage to apex. Thirdly, the distinction between fundere lumen apex, and lambere flamma comas, is not sufficiently defined, lambere comas being almost as fit a predicate for apex as for flamma , and fundere lumen quite as fit for flamma as for APEX. Rejecting both interpretations therefore, I understand APEX to mean the tip -top, and taken in connexion with lULi , the tip -top of lulus. This tip -top of lulus, consisting of soft, light hair, is called levis; the light whicli it appears to shed (visus fvxdere lumen apex) being the essential part of the prodigy, is with the stric- test propriety placed in the emphatic position at the be- ginning of the line, where in order to render it still more emphatic, it is pointed to by the whole of the im- mediately preceding verse: ecce levis summo de ver- TICE visus IULI — FUNDERE LUMEN APEX; tllC APEX lULi being a light tuft of hair on the crown of lulus's head, is correctly and naturally said to pour its light from the crown of the head, summo de vertice; and finally, the distinction between tlie two wonders, fundere lumen APEX, and lamrere flamma comas, is well preserved, the object which was naturally not luminous, shedding light, and the object which should naturally consume the hair, only licking it without injuring it, Tliis interpretation, while it thus ha|)pily blends all the parts of the descrijHion into one harmonious wliole, has n 117 the further advantage of assigning: to apex a sense in which it has been used by Virgil elsewliere; compare (^En. X. 270): "Ardet apex capiti, cristisque a vertice flamma Funditur ; " where light is described as proceeding from the tip -top of Eneas in almost the same terms as in our text from the tip -top of lulus, the difference being that Eneas having his helmet on at the time, his 'apex' or tip-top is not a tuft of hair, but the crest of his helmet. Com- pare also {Ciris, 499): "Turn qua se medium capitis discrimen agebat Ecce repente, velut patrios imitatus lionores, Puniceam concussit apex in vertice cristam;" where 'apex' is the projecting peak oy point {the pro- minent tuft of feathers'), 'in vertice', on the crown of the Urd's head. Compare also {En. XII. 492): — "Apicem tamen incita summuni Hasta tulit, summasque excussit vertice cristas;" the spear carried away Eneas' s 'apex\ i. e. (his helmet being on at the time) the extreme, highest point of his helmet; the. crest. In every one of which instances it will be observed that 'apex' is, as in our text, the iip- iop, point or prominence, higher than, and rising out of, the 'vertex' itself. The APEX of our text is therefore the highest lock ov tuft of hair on the 'vertex' of lulus's head; which if any reader should still doubt, I beg to refer him to the explicit testimony of Claudian {de Quarto Consulat. Honor. 192) to that effect: — "Ventura potestas Claruit Ascanio , subita cum luce comariim Innocuus flagraret apex, Phrygioqiie volutus Vertice, fatalis redimiret tenipora candor;" where the sense can be no other than: the 'apex" of Ascanius's hair showed like blazing fire, yet without being injured. 118 11 If it be not supercrog-ation to add further evidence, that it was Ascanius's hair, and not Ascanius's cap, which seemed to burn, reference may be made to the original from whence Virgil borrowed his prodigy, namely tlie apparent burning-, not of the cap, but of the head, of Servius Tullius: "Puero dormienti, cui Scrvio Tullio nomen fuit, caput arsisse ferunt, multorum in conspectu. Plurimo igitur clamore indc ad tantae rei miraculum orto excitos reges; et quum quidam familia- rium aquam ad restinguendum ferret, ab regina rcten- tum." LivY, I. 39. I cannot refuse myself the pleasure of informing my readers that the above very new and, as it seems to me, very true explanation of this difficult passage w-as sug- gested to me by one, whose zealous assistance and co- operation has all along, not only lightened, but rendered delightful to me, the otherwise almost intolerable labor of this work, I mean my beloved daughter Katharine Olivia Henry. I 689. JUPITER OMNIPOTENS PRECIBUS Sl FLECTERIS VUAS ASPICE NOS HOC TANTUM ET SI PIETATE MERE-MUR DA DEINDE AUGURIUM PATER ATQUE HAEC OMINA FIRMA Observe the words jupiter omnipotens (expressive of the power to relieve, even in so desperate an extremity) joined to all the verbs in the sentence; the word pater (movimj to exert that p07ver) joined only to the imme- diate prayer of the petition, da deinde auxilium, atque HAEC O.MINA FIRMA. ScC CoUim. V. 552. AspicE Nos; HOC tantum: This punctuation, which is that of Nich. lleinsius, renders aspice nos, already empha- tic by its i)Osition at the beginning of the line, still more emphatic by the sudden i)ause which separates it from the U 119 subsequent words ; see Conim. v. 24G. Wagner removes the pause, and connects hoc tantum closely with aspice nos : which arrangement — while it has the effect, first, of di- minishing as far as in an editor's power the emphasis of the emphatic words aspice nos; and, secondly, of sub- stituting for a simple, pathetic, passionate exclamation, one bound up with a cool, phlegmatic, lawyerlike con- dition or limitation — is directly opposed to Virgil's usual manner which, as we have so often seen, is first to pre- sent us fully and boldly with the main thought — the grand conception — and then to modify, limit, soften down, adapt, or explain, afterwards. And so precisely, on the present occasion, we have first the short, strong, emphatic aspice nos, and then, after a pause, hoc tan- tum : do but so much and I am sure of all the rest. For my opinion of the punctuation of the Medicean, on which Wagner here as well as in numerous other places has laid so much stress, see Comments En. I. 122; II. 420. Should, however, the reader, influenced by a respect similar to Wagner's for the punctuation of the Medicean, hesitate to separate words which have been united by the punctuation of that MS., I beg to refer him for a neutralisation of the Medicean punctuation, to the exactly opposite punctuation (aspice nos. hoc tantum.) of the Vatican Fragment (Bottari), a MS. of at least equal antiquity and equal authority with the Medicean. Hoc TANTUM. — • '•Sed tantum permitte cadat: nil poscimus ultra." Claud. Bell. Gild. 314. hi 120 n 093. ET DE CAELO LAPSA PER UMBRAS STELLA FACEM DUCENS MULTA CUM LUCE CUCURRIT KaL idov , o aarijQ, ov sidov ev tt] avatoh]^ TtQorjysv ccvtovg, sojg sX&av eOtrj anavco ov rjv to naidiov. Matth. II. 9. In Sawiders's News -Letter, of July 25, 1844, there is, in an extract from a letter, the following account of a meteor, seen almost on the same spot, and presenting precisely the same appearances as that seen by Eneas: "Constantinople, July 3. — On Sunday last, five minutes before sunset, we had a splendid sight here. The atmosphere was hazy, but without cloud. Thermo- meter about 90°. An immense meteor, like a gigantic Congreve rocket, darted , with a rushing noise, from east to west. Its lightning course was marked by a streak of fire, and, after a passage of some forty or fifty de- grees , it burst like a bombshell , but without detonation ; lighting up the hemisphere with the brilliancy of the noon -day sun. On its disappearance, a white vapour remained in its track, and was visible for nearly half an hour. Everybody thought it was just before his eyes, but it was seen by persons twelve and fifteen miles to the northward, in the same apparent position, and posi- tively the self- same phenomenon. Many of the vulgar look upon it as a very bad omen , whilst others attribute it to the warm weather, which continues. The thermo- meter stands, at this moment, at 91° in the shade, and in the coolest spot could be selected." n 121 G95. ILLAM SUMMA SUPER LACENXEM CULMlNA TECTI CERNIMUS IDAEA CLARAM SE CONDERE SILVA SIGNANTEMQUE VIAS TUM LONGO LIMITE SULCUS - DAT LUCEM ET LATE CIRCUM LOCA SULFURE FUMANt Wagner {Virg. Br. En.) and Forbig-er, understanding the structure to be 'clarani signanlenique vias se condere', have removed the pause placed by the two Stephenses, the two Heinsii and Heyne, after silva. The pause should undoubtedly be replaced, signantem being- con- nected by QUE, not with its unlrlie claram, but with its like LABENTEM, and it being Virgil's usual method, thus to connect a concluding or winding up clause, not with the immediately preceding clause, but with one more remote. See Comments v. 148; III. 571 ; IV. 484; V. 525. LiMiTE, — track or path. Contiguous properties being anciently, as still very generally on the continent of Europe, separated from each other, not by a fence, but merely by a narrow intermediate space, along which (in order not to trespass on the ground on either side) it was usual for those who had business in the neighbour- hood, to walk, the term 'limes', primarily signifying a boundary or limit, came by a natural and unavoidable transition to signify, a path, way, or track. Compare: — "Quoties amissus eunti Limes?" Stat. Theb. XII. 240. how often the way or path lost. 122 11 703. VESTROOUE IN NUMINE TROJA EST "In tua, inquit, pater carissimc, in tiia sumus custodia." Petron. p. 354. (Ed. Hadr. Amst. 10G9.) 713. EST URRE ECRESSIS TUMULUS TEMrLUMQUE VETUSTUM DESERTAE CERERIS "Ciijus tcmplum crat dcscrtum vetustale vcl belli dc- cennalis tempore." Ileync. No; Wagner's explanation is the correct one: "desertae, quod templum liabiiit in loco int'requcnti." The truth of this interpretation (rested by Wagner solely on the context, and the similar use made of the term 'desertus' by other authors) seems to be established by the testimony of Vitruvius , that religion required that the temples of Ceres should be built out- side the walls and in lonely situations: "Item Cereri. extra urbem loco, quo non semper homines, nisi per sacrificiuni, necesse habeant adire;" in order, no doubt, (see the Emperor Julian's Letter to Libanius, Epist. Mut. Graecan. p. 148,) to pay Ceres the especial compliment, that her worship should be apart from all secular con- cerns, not performed en passant. The temple of Ceres outside Troy was therefore a fit place for the unobserved rendezvous of Eneas and his party; as in real history the temple of Ceres outside Rome was a fit place for Piso (the intended successor to the empire) to wait unobserved until the conspirators should have despatched Nero: "Inlcrim Piso apud aedem Cerei'is op|>eriretur, undo cum Praefectus Fenius et cacteii accitum fcneiil in casti-^" Tacit. Annul. XV. 53. 11 1 2:3 725. FERIMUR PER OPACA LOCORUM Opaca; — not dark, but only shadij; not so dark but that one could sec the way. Compare TMin. Epist. VII. 21 : "Cu- bicula obductis vclis opaca, nee tanien obscura, facio." Also Plin. Epist. VIII. 8: "Modicus collis assurgit, anti- qua cupresso nemorosus et opacus." 738. IlEU MISERO CONJUX FATO NE EREPTA CREUSA SUBSTITIT ERRAVITNE VIA SEU LASSA RESEDIT INCERTUM "Excusationes istae ad triplex caput reducuntur; aut ad Deos et fata, quae eripuerunt; aut ad Aeneani, qui uon potuit animadvertere; aut ad Creusam, quae disparuit subsistens, errans, sedens prae lassitudine." La Cerda. "Conjux mihi misero erepta Creusa fatone substitit, an crravit de via, an lassa resedit." Heyne; approved of both by Wunderlich and Forbiger. "Musste sie nach dem Willen des Schicksals stehen blei- ben, urn von den Feinden getodtet zu werden." Ladewig. I agree, however, entirely with Servius: "Fato erepta Creusa, substititne erravitne via." Eneas is certain of one thing and of one thing only, viz. that Creusa was MISERO FATO EREPTA. H w it happened that she was mi- sero FATO EREPTA, was entirely unknown to him — re- mained wrapt in obscurity; it might have been that she had stopped short, being afraid to go on, or that she had missed her way, or that she had grown weary, and sat down to rest. lie could not tell, in which of these three possible ways it had happened; but certain it was tliat she had been misero fato erepta. Misero fato erepta; — "mihi misero erepta fato." Heyne, Wunderlich, De Bulgaris, Forbiger. 1 have two 124 11 reasons, however, for thinking that misf.ro certainly be- longs to FATO, and not to 'mihi' understood: First, the personal pronoun is usually expressed when 'miser' is applied to the speaker in the third case; compare: — "Heu! heu! quid volui misero mihi?" Ed. 11. 58. — "Aiit quid jam miscro mihi denique restat." En. II. 70. — "lieu I nunc misero mihi demum Exitium infelix." En. X. 849. seeing that our author has thought it necessary to supply the personal pronoun to 'misero' in these instances, in which there was no ambiguity to be apprehended from its omission, and yet has not supplied it in our text where there was the ambiguity arising from the near vicinity of fato, I conclude that there is no pronoun at all to be supplied, and that the adjective really belongs (as at first sight it appears to do) to the substantive expressed; compare, only three lines preceding, *'Hic mihi nescio qnod trepido male numen amicum Confusam e r i p u i t mcntem." And secondly, fato erepta, without the addition of MISERO, means died a nattiral death (see Livy, III. 50: "Quod ad se attineat, uxorem sibi fato ereptam;" also En. IV. 696 and Comm.); with the addition of mi- sero, fato EREPTA means died a violent death; compare: — "Miseri post fata Sychaci." En. IV. 20. — "Crudelia sccum Fata Lyci." En. I. 225. •— "Pcrlbat . . miscra ante diem subitoque accensa furore." En. IV. GOO. In furtiier support of this interpretation and the conse- quent junction of ne, in the structure, with substitit and not with FATO, I may add that ne stands, as I have had it printed in the text (apart from fato, and quite as an II 125 independent word), both in the Medicean (according to Foggiiii) and, as I have myself personally ascertained, in the Leipzig No. 35 and in tiic Dresden. The only other MSS. I have examined respecting the passage, are the Leipzig Ts'o. 36 which has 'fatone', and the Gudian (No. 70) which has miaccountably 'fa tone a erepta', from which single instance let the uninitiated reader imagine to himself with what myriads of gross errors even the best MSS. abomid, and how almost hopeless a task it is to grope among them for the truth. The printed separation of ne from fato, adopted by several of the ancient editors and, amongst others, byR. Stephens and Ambrogi, as well as by the Modena Ed. of J 475, and fully justified by Servius (see above), is quite necessary to prevent readers from being misled by the mechanical arrangement into a false understanding of the passag-e. This, perhaps, is the proper place to observe, that there seems to be no ground whatever for the charge which has so frequently been brought against Eneas, that he deserted, or at least neglected, his wife. It was ne- cessary to divide the party, in order the better to escape observation by the Greeks ; and not only the greater im- becility of, but stronger natural tie to, the father and the child, rendered it imperative to bestow the first and chief care on them. If Encas's direction that Creusa should keep, not merely behind, but far behind ("longe servet vestigia conjux"), excite animadversion, I beg to suggest, that it was indispensable that the se- paration should be to some considerable distance, not merely in order to ensure its being efTectual for the pur- pose above mentioned, but in order to afTord Creusa herself the chance of escape, in case of the miscarriage of those who led the way. With this account of Eneas's loss of Creusa compare (iothe's not less charming de- scription of Epimetheus's loss of Pandora, in his un- finished dramatic piece entitled Pandora. 12G n 755. SIMUL IPSA SII.ENTIA TERRENT So Tacitus, not less finely of Vitcllius: "In palatiuni rcgrcditur, vastum dcscrtiunquc .... tcrrct solitudo et taccntes loci." Hist. HI. 84. "Es schreckt inali selbst das vvesenlosc Schweigen." ScHiLLiCR, Brant von Messina. 756. SI FORTE rEDEM SI FORTE TULISSET Sivc, quod lieu tiiiico ! sive siiperstcs cris." Ovid. IJaoid. XIII. IGl. 759. EXSUPERANT FLAMMAE FURIT AESTUS AD AURAS "Die Flammc prasseliid scliou zum llinimcl schliii;." Schiller, Williclm Tdl, -\ci V. 769. IMPLEVI CLAMORE VIAS MAESTUSOUE CREUSAM KEiJIjIUOlJAM INGEMINANS ITERUMOUE ITEUU.MOUE Voi.WI Compare Orpheus callinsj on Eurydice in (lie (Jcori^ic, and I'opc's fine imitation: " Enryd'ui' the woods , Eurydice the Hoods, Eiirvdice iho rocks and hollow niountaiiis niiij;." ourth 11 127 781. £t tf.rram hesperiam venies ugi lydius arva inter opima virum i-eni fluit agmine tvbris ili.ic res laetae regnumoue et regia conjux parta tibi lacrymas dilectae pelle creusae UbI lydius ARVA «$:C. "Wo jetzt die Muotta zwischen Wieseii rinnt." Schiller, Wilhelm Tell, Act II. Arva opima. — "Terra fertilis." Donatus. "Fruitful fields." Surrey. No; 'opimus' is not fruUful, but in prime condilion; in that condition sciz., of whicli fruitful- ness is the consequence. Land is 'opima' (m i)rime condition , or of the best quality) , before it bears , and even before the seed is put into it; it is not fruitful, until it bears. 'Opimus' has precisely the same meaning when applied to animals; viz., in prime condition; not, as incorrectly stated by Gesner, Forcellini, and all lexico- graphers , fat; fatness being only one of the qualities necessary to entitle an animal to be styled 'opimus'. This primitive sense of 'opimus' (to which its meanings in the expressions 'spolia opima', 'opima facundia' prpjj>)ialc is: m "Nulla relicta foret Romani nominis umbra, Ni pater illc tuus jaiujain ruitura subissct Pondera, turbalamque ratem, ccrlaquc Icvassct Nanfraijium commune manu." Claud, dc IV. Consul. Honor. 59. 42. PARCE PIAS SCELERARE MANUS NON ME TIBI TROJA EXTERNUM TULIT Let not ijoiir tender and compassionate hands do an act fit only for brutal hands, viz. disturb the grave of a fellow countryman and relative. See Comments En. I. 14; in. 15. 47. TUM \'ERO ANCIPITI MENTEM FORMIDINE PRESSUS Ancipiti. — "Duplici una, quod sepulchrum laeserat: altera, quod metuere coeperat laesum ipsum." Servius. "Von zwiefaclier Furcht, veranlasst durcli das ge- sehene Blut und die vernommenen Worle des Polydo- rus." Ladewig. "Terror ben altro, a un tal parlar, ni' invade Ed i sensi c la mente." Alfieri. This is wholly erroneous; Eneas had but one fear, viz. that occasioned by the whole prodigy — by the blood and words taken all together — and this fear made him 'anceps'; not know which of two courses he should take; whether persist in his intention of settling in Thrace, or obey the warning voice and blood, and withdraw from that country at once. Thus 'anceps', ) in hesilathui hchvcen Itvo cnirses , lie applies lo n coiiiicil or Cliiels for advice (v. 5SJ: "Delectos populi ad proceres primumquc parentem Monsira Ueum rcfero, et quae sit scnlenlia posco." TuM VERO. — The effect on Eneas's mind is accurately proportioned to the cause — increases with the increase oi' the prodigy. The drops ol blood lill him with horror: — "Mihi frigidus horror Membra quatit, gelidiisqtic coit formidinc sanguis;" but do not deter him Ironi his [purpose; on the con- trary, excite his curiosity , make him desire to probe the matter furlher ; not so the warning- voice; that produces the full effect — makes him not only desist from vio- lating the tomb furlher, but makes him doubtful whether he ought not altogether to abandon his project of settling in Thrace. The emphatic words tum vero point to this complete effect. Compare: "Turn vero tremefacla novus per peclora cunclis Insinuat pavor." En. II. 22S; where sec Comm. See also Comments En. II. 105; IV. 396, 449, 571. 56. QUID NON MORTALIA TECTOIU COGIS AURI SACRA FAMES .11 Dante, unaccountably mistaking the biiior reprehension of avarice for an eulogy of thrift, thus paraphrases this passage, "Porchc non roggi lu, o sacra faino Dell' oro, rappetilo de' iiiorlali?" Purgul. XJII 40. in 5 i. e. why J sacred love of {/oM , moclerateM thou not our appetite? or, in other words, Would that we had such a proper estimate of the value of money as might restrain the lavish expenditure attendant on the indul- gence of sensual and luxurious appetites; consequent- ly — as might restrain the appetites themselves. This gross misconception, not to say perversion, of his favorite author's meaning- in one of his plainest and least mistakable passages, proving, as it does beyond all doubt, that Dante's, like our own Shakespeare's, knowledge of the Latin language and therefore of Classical literature generally, was wholly incommensu- rate with his poetical genius, affords a striking ex- emplilicalion of the truth (so consolatory to the humble, and in these days so much despised, scholar and critic) "Non omnia possumus omnes." 63. STANT MANIBUS ARAE CAERULEIS MAESTAE VITUS ATRAQUE CUPRESSO ET CIRCUM ILIADES CRINEM DE MORE SOLUTAE INFERIMUS TEPIDO SPUMANTIA CYMBIA LACTE In Africa "pultes et panis el merum" were brought to the tombs of the martyrs e^en in the times of St. Augustin and St. Ambrose. The custom was omitted by the latter, "quia ilia quasi parentaUa superslitioni gentilium essent simillima." See St. August. Confess. 6. 2. Throughout continental Europe at the present day, the making of wreaths and garlands for tombs gives employment to a vast number of persons, those wreaths and garlands being periodically renewed during a long series of years by tlie afTeclion of relatives or friends, or even of strangers. The fresh wreath still 2 6 III hanp:s on the ancient inonumonl ol' Abclard and Heloise in the cemetery ol" Pcre la Chaise at Paris. 75. PIUS AUCITENENS PiDS, — compassionate and affectionate towards the island on account of its having been his own birth place. See En. 1. 14 and Comm., and ///. 42 and Comni. 79. EGRESSI VENERAMUR APOLLINIS URliEiM 'Venerari', nooQv.vvtiv., see Nep. in Conon. III. 3. The particular form of the adoration (which it will be ob- served is repeated on arriving at the temple itself, see V. 84) is perhaps now not to be ascertained. 92. MUniRE ADYTFR CORTINA RECLUSIS For information concerning Ihc cortina see Cynlhius Cenetcnsis and La Cerda. The word is preserved in the Italian; see Dizionario (Mia Lingua Italiana, U- vorno 1838; also Poesie di Giovanni Fantoni ; fra (jVi Arcadi, Lahindo ; Italia. 1823. 3 Tom.: "Lascia di Dolfo la vocal corlina Fcbo chc lavi il biondo crin ncl Xanto, Reca salute alia g-cntil Ncrina Padre del canto." Ode ad Apollo, per inalattia di Kei'ina. 'Cortina' is no doubt the root of our English curtain. 116. MODO JUPITER ADSIT Sciz. in his capacity of God of the weather; compare Gear (J. 11. 419: 'Et jam maluris mclucndus Jupiter uvis." 123. SEDESQDE ASTARE RELICTAS The Structure is not 'sedes astare relictas', nor the meaning-, the seats stand abandoned, but the structure is 'sedes relictas astare', and the meaning, the seats abandoned (sciz. by the enemy, as stated in the preceding clause) 'rise and amuse, the reader. 148. EFFIGIES SACRAE DIVUM PIIRYGIIOUE PENATES QUOS MECUM AB TROJA MEDIISQUE EX IGNIBUS I'RBIS EXTULERAM VISI ANTE OCULOS ASTARE JACENTIS IN SOMNIS MULTO MANIFESTI LUMIXE QUA SE PLENA PER INSERTAS FlINDEBAT LUNA FENESTRAS Conhrmalory of the interpretation that effigies and pnRYGii PENATES are spoken of the one object, viz. the slatues of the Gods Penates, which Kneas had with him in his ship, is that passage of Ovid (ex Ponlo II. S. 57) where the poet describes himself as worshipping the imprints of Augustus's family on coins sent to him from Rome, and where there is a similar Endiadys in the case of this same term 'efligies': "Felices illi, qui iion simulacra, sed ipsos, Quique Deum coram corpora vera vident. Quod quoniani nobis iiividit iiiutilo latum, (Juos dedit ars volis el'lig-iemquo colo." Jacentis in SOMNIS. — Souic editors, and amongst others Heyne in his last edition (1793), read 'insom- nis', on the ground that Eneas himself informs us (v. 173 J that he had not been asleep. That this con- m 13 elusion is deduced from a false premiss, and thai Uie words, "Nee sopor iHud erat." mean, not that was not sleep, bul that was not the effect of sleep, i. e. 7vas not a mere dream, but a supernatural revelation made during sleep, appears clearly on a comparison of this vision with the vision (En. VIII. 26 & seq.) in which Eneas saw the God Tiberinus, and concerning which we are clearly and expressly told, lirst, that Eneas saw that vision during his sleep, "Procubuit seramque dedil per membra quietem," v. 30; and "Nox Aenean somnusque reliquit," v. 67 (the former of which expres- sions corresponds exactly with jacentis in somivis in the passage before us); and, secondly, that it was not the effect of sleep, i. e. was not a mere dream; "Ne vana putes haec fingere somnum" (v. 42), words as nearly as possible equivalent to "Nee sopor illud eral." Compare also in the sixth Eclogue (v. 14): "Silenum somno jacentem." See Comm. En. III. 173. In somnis is the reading (see Foggini) of the Medi- cean, and (see Bollari) of the Vatican Fragm. Also of the Modena Ed. of 1475, the two Heinsii, Ihe two Stephenses, Burmanu, La Cerda, Brunch, and Jahn. In the MSS. which I have consulted I have found it difficult to determine whether in somnis or 'in somnis' was intended; it is however plainly the latter in the Vienna MS. No. 116, and in the Petrarchian. Insertas. — To Servius's first interpretation of this term, "clathralas," I object that it seems wholly arbi- trary; totally unsupported by any argument. To his second interpretation, "non seiatas, ut sit quasi insera- tas, i. e.non clausas," I object that insertas cannot be ad- milted to be the contraction of 'inseratas', first, until it is shown thai 'inseratus' was a real word and not one merely supposed or invented by Servius for the explanation of our text; secondly, until it is shown thai 'inseratus', if il had really existed, would, according fo the genius of the Latin language, have been contracted 3 14 in inio 'inscrtiis', and not rallicr into -insmlns'; and thirdly, until it is shown lluil windows were usually Inslened, like doors, with 'serae'. Neither can I admit the hypallaf?e adopted by La Cerda and Forcellini Ironi the third interpretation proposed by Servius, "quasi lu- niine suo Luna inserueral," (a) such interpretation being- forced and unnatural, and (b) the insertion ol the moonlight through the windows being already sul- liciently expressed in the words se fundebat per. Re- jecting therefore all these interpretations I adopt with Heyne and Wagner the commonly received structure, 'inserlas parieli', but think at the same time that the remarkable word insertas is not with Heyne and Wagner merely equivalent to "facias", or "(juae sunt in pariete", but has a special reference to the particular kind of window spoken of; which was, neither (with Heyne and Wagner) a mere hole or vacancy left in the wall, nor yet, like our modern windows, a sash thrown across such hole or vacancy, but an actual barrel-sha|ted tube (or drum open at both ends) which was veritably in- serted into the wall, and which, projecting on the outside, protected the apartment from the weather, while it admitted the light and air. Such a window, corresponding exactly to the modern louvers on our roofs, while it is the most suitable which can be imagined for the temporary liut or baraque of a leader of an expedition in the heroic times, agrees perfeclly wiih the two remarkable expressions of our text: lirst, il is ' inserta', actually inserted in the wall, (n- sloping roof; and secondly, through it as Ihrough a lube, canal, or conduit, the III II moon se fundebat. Compare (Georg. II 1.509 ): "I'rofuil inseito lalices infiindere corrm Lenaeos." where 'inserto eornu' corres|)onds exactly to the in- sertas fenestras, and 'iid'iindere laticcs' to (he sf. rnx- DEBAT of our text. Insertae fenestrae. — Anglice, louvers. Ill 15 173. NEC SOPOR ILLIID EKAT JSur nits Ihat deep; i. c. that was not the e/f'ecl of sleep, a mere dream, fiction or imagination in sleep; compare En. VI 11. 42: "Ne vaiia piites liaec fingrcrc somnum;" and 8 la I. Theb. V. 135: — "Nudo stabal Venus cnsc; videri Clara mihi, s o m n o s q u c super;" i. c. 7npre clear and plain than mere sleep could present her to me. Horn. Odijss.v. 547: "ovx ovaQ aXX vnaQ todXov" {''non somnium hoc est, in qui I Dea ad somnian- teni, sed res vera bona." Damm, in voce vna^); also Slal. Theb. X. 205: — "Vanae nee monstra quietis, Nee somno comperla loquor;" and Sil. Ital. III. 198: — "Neque enim sopor ille, ncc altac Vis aderat noctis ; virgaque fugante tenebras Miscuerat luceni somno Deus." See Comm. on "Jacenlis in somnis," v. 150. Strange that St. Jerome in the description which he has given us of his having been snatched up into heaven, and there, before the judgment seat of God, flogged with stripes on account of his addiction to the vain literature of the heathen, should, at the very mo- ment that he relates his solemn renunciation of that literature in the actual visible presence of the Almighty, not only use this heathen argument of Eneas, but even Eneas's very words, to prove that what he saw and heard on that occasion, was not a mere idle dream, but a veritable, heavenly vision. The I'ollowing is the passage, full of interest and instruction not only for those who do, but for those who do not , believe that it is inconsistent with the christian character and pro- 16 HI fession to study with delighl those ancient heathen aulhors, whose sayings and admonitions even St. Paul himself did not disdain to mix up with his own in his Epistles to the Christian churches : "Interim paranlur exequiae, el vilalis animae calor, loto i'rig:escenle jam corpore, in solo tanlum tepente pectusculo palpi- labal; quum subito, raptus in spirilu, ad tribunal judicis pertrahor Interrogatus de conditions, Christia- num me esse respondi. Et ille, qui praesidebat, 'Men- tiris', ail; 'Ciceronianus es, non Christianus; ubi enim thesaurus luus, ibi cor tuum'. Illico obmului, ct inter verbera (nam caedi me jusserat) conscientiae magis igne lorquebar Clamare autem coepi, et ejulans dicere, 'i\Iiserere mei, Domine, miserere mei'. Haec vox inter flagella resonabal. Tandem ad Prae- sidenlis genua provoluti qui asliterant, precabantur, ul veniam Iribuerel adolescenliae .... exaclurus deinde crucialum , si gentilium litlerarum libros aliquando legissem. Ego, qui in tanlo constrictus articulo vellem eliam majora promiltere, dejerare coepi, et nomen ejus obtestans dicere, 'Domine, si unquam habuero codices seculares, si legero, te negavi'. In haec sacramenti verba dimissus, reverlor ad superos; el miranlibus cunctis, oculos aperio, tanto lacrymarum imbre per- fusos, ul eliam incredulis lidem lacerem ex dolore. Nee vero sopor ille luerat, aul vana somnia, quibus saepe deludimur. Testis est tribunal illud, ante quod jacui; testis judicium trisle, cjuod tinmi ; ita mihi iiunquam contingal in lalem inciderc (juaestionem; livenles habuisse scapulas, plagas sensisse poslsomnum, el lanto deliinc studio divina legisse, quanlo non antea morlalia Icgeram." Hieron, A^/a/. -177// (ad Euslochium). See concluding Cojnmcnt En. 11'. IH 17 181. SEQUE NOVO VETERUM DECEPTUM ERRORE LOCORUM Heyne, folFowed by all the modern commenlalors, re- jects the vuljjar interpretation of this passage (deceived by a new, i. e. another or second envr respecting the old places) on the ground that 'novus' cannot here mean anothei- or second, in as much as Anchises had made no previous, error respecting: the place where the oracle of Apollo had ordered him to settle : "antea non erraveral Eneas (Anchises Qu.?) in inlerpretando ApoUi- nis oraculo de antiqua matre et prima tellure exqui- renda." Forbiger. In reply I beg to observe that this objection is altogether of the objectors' own creation, exists nowhere but in their own minds; for Anchises does not say that he has made a new mistake in the interpretation of the oracle , but that he has made a new mistake about the old jjlaces (novo veterum deceptum ERRORE locorum), referring, as I think is clearly shown by the subsequent "Hanc quo que deserimus sedem" (v. 190), to the unfortunate landing in Thrace (v. 13 (feseq. ), of which there can be no doubt that he, the adviser of all the other movements of the expedition, was the adviser, even if the fact had not been so plainly implied in the words, "Anchises dare fatis vela jubebal" (v. 9), followed immediately by the informa- tion that they proceeded directly, and in the first place, to Thrace. Contrast the simplicity of the vulgar and obvious interpretation, thus exi)lained, with the suljllety of the far- sought and unnecessary substitutions of the commentators: "'Novus' opponitur tanlum ' veteribus locis', quatenus ab eo seriore aevo erratum est circa haec loca inlerprelanda." Heyne. "Sic solent a poelis jungi contraria, ut alterum alterius illustrandi gratia ad- jiciatur; ut apud Soph. 'i2 zs-Kva Kadfiov voi) nakai vta T{)oa)tj.' " Wagner. "Ornalum in poeta lubens agnosco, sed non incptum. Pro novo scribamus suo, etc." 18 Hi Peerlkiim|>. See also Valpy's Classical Journal (Sepi. 1813) lor some jusl observations by Professor Moor ol (Ikisi^ow on Pearce's ill-judged censure of Virg^il for the use of this epilhcl ("Prae niniio studio jjroferendi anlitlieti scripsit novo, nullo opinor sensu; novo enini vETEiiuM respondet, sed nihil senlenliae addit; inio puerilibus illani ingeniis, quam virilibus, a|>tiorem efncit." Pearce, ad Longin. de Sublm.), as also for a new ami ingenious, but, as it seems to me, very erroneous, in- terpretation of the passage by the same Professor. I beg the reader, doubtful of the foregoing expla- nation, to observe its perfect accordance with the gra- dation of expression , "Ouo Phoebus vocct errantes jubeal(iue reverli" (v. 101), applied to the Trojans aflei- llieir lirsl or former error, sciz. the landing in Thrace, and (v. 145): "Quam fcssis flncm rebus feral; undc laborura Tentare auxilium jubeat; quo vertere cursus;" spoken of them, when, after this new or second error, sciz. their landing in Crete, they are hopeless and de- spairing. See next Commcnl. The correctness of the above interpretation seems to be further established by the use made by Propertius of the identical words 'novus error', to express a new or second error, i. o. an error similar to one which had preceded: "Quae tibi sit fclix, quoniam novus incidit error; Et quotcunque voles, una sit ista libi." Prop. I. 13. 35. Compare also (En. II. 228, where see Connn.) "novus pavor," a new, i. e. second fear. 1§2. ILIACIS EXEIICITE FAllS The epithet EXEiicrrE is here i)eculiarly proper, Enoas's Irouldcs and cmbarassmenls having jusl been Iwice m I 'J unnecessarily increaseil by two so considerable errors of Anchises; sec Conim. v. ISl. Compare Anchiscs's application of the same term to Kneas when he addresses him on Ihe occasion of the new and unexpeclcd trouble of the burning- of his ships by the women, En. V. 72ij. 220. LAETA BOUM PASSIM CAMPIS ARMENIA VIDEMUS CAI-IUGENUMQUE PECUS NULLO CUSTODE PER HERBAS Compare: "Lucus ibi, frequenti silva et proceris abietis arboribus septus, laela in medio pascua habuit, ubi omnis generis sacrum Deae (Laciniae Junoni sciz.) pas- cebalur pecus sine ullo pa store; separalimque egressi cujusque generis greges nocte remeabant ad slabuhi, nunquam insidiis ferarum, non fraude violati hominum," LivY, XXIV. 3. 286. AERE CAVO CLYPEUM MAGNI GESTAMEN ABANTIS POSTIBUS ADVERSIS FIGO ET REM CARMINE SIGNO Uavo. — It appears from the following passage of Am- niian that shields were sometimes so hollowed out, i. e. adapted to protect the body not only in front, but on the sides, that they could on an emergency be used somewMiat in the manner of boats : "Et miratur historia Rhodaiium arma et loricam retinente Sertorio transna- tatum; cum eo momento turbati quidam milites, verili- que ne remanerent post signum ereclum, s cutis quae pa tula sunt el incurva proni firmius adhaerentes, eaque licet imperite regendo, per voraginosum amneni velocilalem comitati sunt naviuni." Ammian. XXTV. 6. Rem carmine signo ; — i.e. with a verse inscribed on the shield itself. See Hildebrand ad Apul. Mctam. 77. 5. 20 III 297. ET PATRIO ANBROiMACIIKN ITERUM fKSSISSE MARITO 'Ccssisse*, as used here, does not al all involve the idea of submission or inferiority; is simply equivalent to passed to — fell to — became the property of; com- pare "Cedat Lavinia," En. XIL 17, let Lavinht pass to /rim — become his ; "Morte Neoptolemi regnorum red- dila cessit Pars Heicno," v. 332, passed to Helemis — became Helemis's. "Uti Luni dividua pars dolis posteriori filio, reliqua prioribus, cederet." Apul. de Marjia, 91. 317. HEU ODIS TE CASUS UEJECTAM .CONJUGE TANTO EXCil'IT AUT OUAE DIGNA SATIS FORTrNA REVISIT HECTORIS ANDROMACHEN PYRRHIN CONNUBIA SERVAS Andromachen is the reading of the Vatican Frai^iuient (see BoUari); and appears from the words of Servius ("Si Andromache, sequenlibus junge; si andromachen, superioribus") to have been a reading well known and acknowledged in his lime. It is also staled by Pierius to be the reading of several of the MSS. whicii he examined in Rome ("sunt qui el andromachen leganl"). and by Ileyne (who however does not himself adopt it) lo be thai of two Leyden and of one Hamburg MS. I have myself also found it in one of the Ambrosiaii MSS. (No. 79). I prefer this reading for two reasons; first, for that assigned by l.adewig (by whom alone among modern editors this reading has been adoi)ted), viz. that the ordinary reading 'Hectoris Andromache Pyrrhin' c n n ri Ij i a s e r v a s ' ? causes Eneas lo cast a reproacli on Andromache, which the whole drift of his address shows il was not his wish or intention lo do. And se- condlv, because. Iho words iiectoius andiiomachen being Ill 21 thus assif^-ned to llic clause quae dign\ satis fortuna REVISIT, that clause is uiade i>erfcelly lo correspoud and answer lo the clause qvis te casus dejectam conjuge TANTO EXCIPIT? the HECTORIS ANDROMACHEN Ol' lllC OUC clause being the conjuge tanto of the other. "We have thus the sentence constructed according to Virgil's usual method, the concluding or winding up words, PYRRHiN connubia servas , not being connected with the immediately preceding clause, but with the whole pre- ceding sense, that whole preceding sense being made up of the first or principal clause (ouis te casus .... excipit), explained and completed by the usual subsi- diary or parenthetic addition of a second (quae digna SATIS andromachen). Ih other words, the two questions, contained in the two first clauses, are redu- cible to one single one: In what condition do I find Hectors wife? and this question is again put in the concluding clause, in the slightly altered form, Is she still the handmaid of Pyrrhus? See Comm. En. III. 571. IV. 483. VI. S3, 739. In the intermediate or pa- renthetic clause, QUAE digna satis andromachen, Eneas plainly refers to the report he had just heard of Andromache's new and incredible good fortune, the particular specification of which is with great propriety left to Andromache herself. Alfieri, following the Baskerville, has endeavored by a change in the punctuation lo extract a good sense out of the ordinary reading, 'Hecloris, Andromache, Pyrrhin' connubia servas'? — "Di Ettorre ancora, di Pirro, sei tu?" This interpretation is liable to the double objection, that it is reproachful to Andromache, and that it asks the absurd question, "are you still married to Hector?" If Virgil had written, not connubia, but 'fidem', then indeed Alfieri might not have been so far wrong. Having examined, besides the above mentioned 4 22 m Anihrosinn. five other MSS., viz. the Pelrnrchian, Giulian, Drosdcn, and the two Leipzig;;-. 1 have found in the whole live 'Andromache'. 330. AST ILLUM F.REPTAE MAGNO INFLAMMATUS AMORE CONJUGIS ET SCELERUM FURIIS AGITATUS ORESTES EXCIPIT INCAUTUM PATRIASQUE OBTRUNCAT AU ARAS Iwo causes, operaling- loj^elher, impel Oresles lo kill Pyrrhus. First, he is in a suitable frame of mind , in consequence of the cfTecl produced on him by his pre- vious murder of liis mother: scelerum furhs agitatus; and next, he is specially provoked to the act by the carrying off by Pyrrhus of his beloved spouse: ereptae MAGNO INFLAMMATUS AMORE CONJUGIS. That lllis is ihc [JrC- cise meaning', is declared by Ausonius: "ImpLus ante aras qucm fraude peremit Oresles. Quid mirum? caesa jam genelrice furens." Epitaph. Heroum, I.Y. Incautum, — sciz. because he was patrias ad aras, in Other words, 'in pene(ralibus suis', or more simply ' do?ni suae', at home. Compare: "Domi suae impara- lum confodere" (Ciceronem sciz.). Sallust. Catil. 2S. So En. I. 353: "ante aras," i. c. xaz f^ox>p', ante aras patrias ; in pcnclraUhus ; where also 'incautum' is applied in the same manner, and for the same reason, as in our text. 377. PAUCA Tini E MULTIS QUO Tl'TIOR HOSPITA LUSTRES AEQUORA ET AUSONIO POSSIS CONSIDERE PORTl' EX PERI AM DICTIS llie commentators err doul)ly wilh respect lo this passage; lirst mis;inler|»rolin£,' iIk^ word hospita . and Ill 23 l.hcn. to justify llie niisintcrprelation, applying- die Icrni ollierwise Ihun as inlcnded by llelenus. "Naviganlibus aniica, quae navitranlos lulos ac salvos reiuillunl." Heyue. "Iin Ciegensatz des unsicheni (• inhospilae') Wegs um Unlcr-Ilalien." Voss. Now HOSPiTA is not hospitable; nor does it apply exclusively to the way round Sicily as contradistin- guished from that round 'Unter-Italien ', i. e. through the straits separating Italy from Sicily. First, it is not hospitable; (a) because in other places (I think I might safely say, in all other places) Virgil uses the term not in this, its derived or secondary, sense, but in its primilive sense of receiving- in the manner of a host or inn (compare Dante's "Ahi! serva Italia, di dolore ostello." Purgat. VI. 76) without the least reference to the quality (i. e. the fjoodness or badness, hospi- tality or inhospitality) of the reception. See vers. 539: — "Bellum, o terra hospila, portas;" also Stat. Silv. V. J. 252: — "Manes placidos local hospite cymba;" and Claud. Ei)ith. Honor. Aug. et Mariae. Praef. v. 2: "Nee caperet tautos hospita terra Dcos;" and exactly parallel to our text: "Erg-o eg-o nunc rudis Adriaci vchar aequoris hospcs." Prop. III. 20. 17. Compare also: — "Stupet liospita belli Unda viros, claraque armorura incendilur umbra." Stat. Theb. IX. 228. (b) Even if Virgil have elsewhere used the term 'hospita' in the sense of hospitable, he has not so used it here ; because, if the seas were hospitable ("quae naviganles tutos ac salvos remittunt"), Helenus's directions (quo lutius luslrarenlur) were wholly unnecessary, (c) That the seas were in point of Jact not hospitable, but, on the conUary, in a high degree inhospitable, is proved 24 III by Eneas's subsequent experience; see the storm in the lirst Book. Secondly, even admitlin;? that hospita may in the passa^^e before us mean hospitable , still it cannot apply exclusively to the way round Sicily, in contradistinction to the way through the straits, for, if it do, the meaning- of Helenus's words, pacca tibi e MULTIS QUO TUTIOR HOSPITA LUSTRES AEO€0RA .... EXPEDIAM DiCTis, can only be: / will give you such directions as will enable you safely to navigate that course, where- as in point of fact Helenus gives no directions whatever how or in w^hat way that course is to be navigated, but only that it is to be navigated, and the other, i, e, the dangerous course through the straits, to be avoided. Let us now see whether interpreting uospita in the sense in which it is used by Virgil at vers. 539, we cannot extract from the passage a meaning, not only consistent with the directions actually given by Helenus, but at the same time compatible with the veracity of the oracle (for it must be borne in mind that Helenus is nothing less than the mouthpiece of the oracle of Apollo; v. 433). "I will give you," he says, "a few directions which will enable you to traverse wilh greater safety (tutior lustres) the seas on which you are about to enter (hospita aeouora); the seas which are to receive you; which lie between this and your journey's end." Thus understood the words of Helenus are (first) not only in perfect harmony wilh the directions which he actually gives (v. 410 and seq.), directions which amount simply to a warning not to lake the course through tlie Sicilian straits (which course being the shortest, was on that account the most likely to have been taken by Eneas), but to make the circuit of Sicily; and (secondly) in no degree im- pair the credit of the (ir;icie, the declaration being, not llial (he way round Sicily^was hospitable, "sicher" absolutely safe, but that it could be travelled more Ill 25 safely (tutioi!), willi less clangor Ihan Ihe other. Goss- rau's inlerprelalion "ignola, fremdc Meere," is consistent with the real character ol' Ihe seas, bnl not conform- able to the Virgilian use of the word in other places. Servius's 'vicina' agrees neither with the character of the seas, nor with the Virgilian use of the word, nor with the context. As HOSPiTA AEQUORA in Iho tcxt is simply tJic host sea, so the correlative "hospita navis" (Ovid. Fasll, I. 340) is the guest ship. CoNsiDERE PORTU. — CoN-siDEUE, not merely with Voss "ruhen," but settle finaUy and completely. Com- pare Valerius Flaccus (I. 4) of the Argo : — "Flanimifero tandem consedit Olympo." 381. PRINCIPIO ITALIAM QUAM TU JAM RERE PROPINQUAM VICINOSOUE IGNARE PARAS INVADERE PORTUS LONGA PROCUL LONGIS VIA PIVIDIT INVIA TERRIS ANTE ET TRINACRIA LENTANDUS REMUS IN UNDA ET SALIS AUSONII LUSTRANDUM NAVIBUS AEQUOR INFERNIQUE LACUS AEAEAEQUE INSULA CIRCAE QUAM TUTA POSSIS URBEM COMPONERE TERRA SIGNA TIBI DICAM TU CONDITA MENTE TENETO Lentandus. — "Flectendus est ... . Quidam lentau- dus nove verbum fictum putant, sed in Annalibus legitur: 'Confricati, oleo lentati, paratique ad arma'." Servius. "Agendus, sed exquisitius; curvatur enim et flectitur vi undarum et nisu remigis quoniam enim lent a quae sunt, facile flecti possunt, hinc lentus pro flexiiis, et lentare, flecterc." Heyne. This is, as it seems to me, all cither incorrect in thought, or incorrectly expressed. 'Lentare' is, not 26 Ui 'fleclere', to bend, biii 'flexilem faccrc', to render capable of being bent; to make an object supple, so that it will yield or bend without breaking. Tlie rool is 'lenlus'. 'Lonliis' (the opposite oT 'ri;:?idus') is bending, pliant, plastic, supple, yielding to force without breaking : 'Icnluni vimcn', pliant withe, (En. III. 31); Meiilo ar- g-enlo ', ductile silver, (En. VII. 634); 'lento marmore' (En. VII. 28) not, with Forbiger, "tranquillo, ventis inimolo," but pliable by the oar; that is not broken by the oar, but gives with it. From this rool come 'len- teseo ', to grow 'lentus', — "Hand unquam in nianibus (terra sciz.) j aetata fatiscit, Scd picis in morcm ad digitos Icnloscil liabendo." Georg. II. 249; and ' ientarc ', to make 'lenlus'; to render that which was previously rigid and would break rather than yield, pliable; see, quoted above by Servius from Ennius's Annals: "conl'ricati, oleo lenlali," rubbed with oil and so made supple; also : "Ncc modus, aut arciis Icntarc, ant Hinderc glandes, Aut torrcrc sudcs, galcasque altollere conis." Stat. Achill. I 430; not, as hitherto understood, 'ciirvate areas', bend bows, but ' facer e arcus flexiles', make wood supple and f\t for bows , i. e. make bows so that ivhen they are drawn they shall bend, not break. And accordingly in our text, ante trinacria lentandus remus in unda, not your oar must be bent in the Trinacrian waters before you reach Italy (which would only signiliy , you must pass through the Trinacrian walers before you reach Italy), but your oars are to be rendered supple by rowing in the Trinacrian waters before you reach Italy ; i. e. you have a long, long voyage to make; your^oars yvili get good practice tltcre — become . as we say in English, "well seasoned." Calulhis's — "Lentos incurvans gurgpilc remos." Kpilh. Pel. cl Thct. JSJ. m 27 cited by Forbig-er as parallel to our text, is therefore not parallel, the meaning- ol' our text being-, make your previously rigid oars 'lentos' by much use of them in a long voyage, while CaluUus's meaning is, bend your supple, or pliant, oars; row with so much force as to bend your pliant oars — , your oars which having pre- viously been 'lentati', or made 'lenti' , will now not break, but may safely he pulled with the utmost violence. 393. IS LOCUS URBIS ERIT The oracle appoints the place where the white sow is found, as the site of Eneas's new city (viz. his se- cond Troy), because the Latin word 'Troja' (Ital, Troja, Fr. Truie) signified a sow. Compare (En, VII. 112 and seq.) the similarly trivial solution of the oracle referred to in the very next words of Helenus: "Nee tu" &c. On such puerilities turned, and (alas, that I sliouM have to say it!) still turn oracles. 402. PARVA PHILOCTETAE SUBNIXA PETILIA MURO "Cincta muro modico. Alii, quia imposita est excelso muro, ut Coelius historicus ait." Servius. "A Philoctete, Herculis comite, condita (hoc enim est SUBNIXA muro)." Heyne. No; the reference is to the great strength of the little city : the little Petilia — subnixa , relying on the strong wall by which it was able to defend itself against all assaults. Compare Liv. XXIII. 30: "Pe- 28 III tilia, i\Ii(|nol post nicnsil)iis qunm coopta oppiip:nari enU, alj Uiinilcone, praeleclo Hanniljalis, cxpuf^nala esl. Miillo san^Hiine ac vulneribus ea Pot-nis vicloria slelit; ncc ulla nia^is vis obsessos, qiiain fames, expup^navil Nee anletiuam vires ad standum in iimris I'e- rendaque arnia deeraiU, expiignali sunt." Our text is a passing- conipiinienl lo this gallant defence made by the little city. SuDKiXA — rehj'uifj on; compare Sil. Hal. II. 397: — "Galeamque coruscis Subnixara ciistis;" and VIII. 245: "Subnixus rapto plebeji muaeris oslro Sacvil jam rostris Vano." For an exaclly similar use of 'nili' see Avienus, he- script. Orh. Terra e, 3 : — "Per terras qua priscis inclyla muris Oppida nituntur." Petilia, — as we would say in English , Littletown or LMeton: "Petilia a Pelilus, quod exile et parvum est [Petit, Fr. Qu.?] ut a Rutilo, Pxulilius." Turnebus, Advers. 38. 28. See also Vossius, Elijm. in voce. Parva. — In this instance, as in numerous others, the character of the place, as expressed by its proper name, is repeated by Virgil in his descriptive adjective. Compare: "Oui Tetricac horreiilcs rupcs monlemquc Severum." En. VII. 713. \n like manner our own Rogers, of the Flamingo: "What clarion winds along the yellow strands? Far ill llie deep the giant fisher stands Folding his wings of flame." Ill 29 410. AST UBI DIGRESSUM SICULAE TK ADMOVERIT ORAE VENTUS ET ANGUSTI RARESCENT CLAUSTRA PELORI As 'rarus' (the Eiig-lish thin and the opposite of 'den- sus') properly expresses the slate of a body whose particles lie not closely compacted, but at some dis- tance from each other, the expression ubi rarescent CLAUSTRA PELORI nicans, ivhen the harriers of Pelorus after having ajypeared to you for some time (viz. so long- as they were seen sideways and not in front, or from directly opposite) to he dense or close together, shall hcgin to grow rare, i. e. to shew that they stand at some distance from each other , or that there is an interval between them: or, in other words, wJien you shall have proceeded so far round Italy as to be able to see that it is not continuous with Sicily, but separated by a strait. "Ea est enim procul inspi- cientibus natura loci (claustroriim Pelori sciz.), ut sinum maris, non Iransitum putes; quo cum accesseris, dis- cedere ac sejungi promontoria, quae anlea juncta fue- rant, arbitrere." Justin. IV. 1. (With which compare Valer. Flaccus's description of the Dardanelles: — "Dirimiquc procul non acquore visa Coeperat a gcmina discedcre Sestus Abydo." I. 284.) hardly could more precise description be given of the point at which Eneas was to turn southward. Compare : "Rarior hinc tellus, alque ingens undique caelmn Rursus, et incipiens alium prospeelus in orbem." Valer. Flacc. II. 028; the lands more thinly (widely) scattered: more sea between them. 5 30 m "Cumquf snpei" raros focni flammaiilis accrvos Trajicit iminuiidos cbria lurha pedes."' Pkop. IV. 4. 77. "Frig-idior porro in pulcis aeslale fit humor, Raroscil (juia terra calore, et semina si qua Forte vaporis habct properc dimillil in auras." UCRET. VI. S41, (where 'rarcscil' corresponds to "pulrem," En. VIII. 59GJ the component particles of the soil grow looser, more separate from each other. Compare also: "rari nanles" (En. I. 122); "raris vocibus" (En. III. 314), not fen-, 1)11 1 at intervals from each other; or, as in the lexl, showing intervals between. Also: "Cold is so rare as vei->' readily and without the leasl opposition to trans- mit the magnetic effluvia, and easily to admit quick- silver into its pores and to let water pass through it." Newton. — "So oag-crly the fiend O'er bog or steep, lliron!,'h strait, roug:h, dense or rare. With head, hands, wings, or feet, pursues his way." Milton. Claustra; — not the .^traits or actual pa.'^sage , but (literally) the closers, shutters 'or barriers, i. e. the ap- proximating headlands between which the vert/ narrow passage, channel, or gut, technically called 'strait', is left. See Comment on 'Claustra', En. I. 00. 414. HAEC LOCA VI QUONDAM ET VASTA CONVULSA Rl'INA In this and llie loUowing verses there seems to he an allusion to the origin of the name Hhegium. as in 'parva', vers. 402, lliere is to the name Petilia. See Slraho Lil». \ 1. and Diod. Sicul. IV. S5. Ill 31 452. INCONSULTI ABEUNT Heyne seems to me to err in interpreting inconsulti, "Quibus consnltum non est, responsuni non est;" first, because there is no example of its use in tliat sense; and secondly, because the inass the night on a desolate shore. Sortiti remos, divided the oars (i. e. by implication, the tents) among us, in the same way as (En. J\ 756) "sorlitus domos," di- vided the houses. The 'sortilio remorum' for the purpose of rowing look place only once, viz. at first setting out; and was not repealed at the nightly halts of the expedition, each rower retaining the same oar, 'suus remus', during the entire voyage. See Ap. llhod. I. 392 — 5. and En. VJ. 233. 519. CASTRA MOVEMUS Forbiger untlerstands the expression literally. I think it is no more than the ordinary metaphorical expression for setting out, decamping. Compare: — "Cum ccrea rcges Caslra movent." Claud. Rapt. Pros. II. 125. Ill 35 520. TENTAMUSOUE VIAM ET VELORUM PANDIMUS ALAS Velorum pandimus alas. — Not (with Heyne) "extrenias velorum paries, lacinias, angulos," because il is not usual to expand the sails lo the uttermost immediately at first setting out; but, metaphorically (as "fulmin^s ocior alls," En. V. 319; "alis allapsa sagitla, " En. IX. 578), sails as swift as tvings. Compare, exactly parallel lo our text: "Nee te quod classis centenis remigat alis Terreat." Prop. IY. 6. 47. The same figure (that of young- birds attempting to fly) is preserved in both clauses of our text; as if Virgil had said, 'pandimus alas et tcnlamus volare'. 522. CUM PROCUL OBSCUROS COLLES HUMILEMQUE VIDEMUS ITALIAM Obscuros, — dimly seen ; scarcely distinguishable. "Du- bios monies," Lucan. III. 7. Compare: "Obscuram (Didonem), qualem prime qui surgerc mense Aut videt, aut vidissc putat per nubila lunam." En. VI. 453; where see Comment. 531. TEMPLUMODE APPARET IN ARCE MINERVAE Not 'lemplum IVlinervae', but 'Arce Minervae', the name ot the place being Arx Minervae : "Oppidum vul- 36 in p:ari appellationc Castro, quod anliquimi illud est Castrum Minervae, sive Arx Mincrvae, cl Minerviuin." Cluver. Ilal. Anfiq. Lib. IV. The Arx Minervae is set down in Pcutinger's Charta, 'Castra Mincrve'. 533. TORTUS AB EUROO FLUCTU CURVATUS IN ARCUM OUJECTAE SALSA SPUMANT ASPERGINE CAUTES IPSE LATET GEMINO DEMITTUNT BRACHIA MURO TURRITI SCOPULI REFUGITOUE AB LITTORE TEMPLUM There is a considerable affinity between this picture and that with which we are presented in the first Book (v. 163) "insula portum" &c., the subject of each being a natural harbour at the foot of high, rocky clitls, and sheltered in front, in this case by a ledge of rocks, in that, by an island. The great distinctive difference between the two pictures is, that in the one before us the cliffs are at the far or landward side of the har- bour and are crowned by a temple, while in that of the first Book they are seaward, at each side of the harbour's entrance; so that the view in the former case is of a high, rocky hill, the top of which, crowned with a temple, retreats backwards or from the shore, and the lower parts of which advance forwards on each side of the harbour so as to hold (as il were) or embrace it between two arms ( gemino demittum bracuia MURO ), while in the latter case the view is of two tall cliffs, one on each side of the harbour's entrance, which, be- coming lower on the landward side, run round the harbour so as to form its landward boundary, in the [cerpendicular face of which, directly opposite the en- trance, and of course low down near tlio water's edge, is the grotto of the nymphs. Ill 37 549. CORNUA VELATARUM OBVKRTIMUS ANTRNNARUM GRAJUC.ENUMOUF, DOMOS SUSPECT An UE LINOUIMUS ARVA "Obvertimus, sciz. pelago; nam si e sequ. versu do- mibus G. , h. e. lillori, lum polius essel avert ere vela, antennas." Heyne. Exactly what Heyne says is not the meaning;, is the meaning-: We turn cornua antennarum towards the DOMOS GRAJUGENUM and the suspecta arva. And why is this the meaning? because then the figure contained in the word cornua is maintained, and the picture ren- dered complete and worthy of Virgil; rve turn our horns towards the enemy and so make our retreat; retreat facing the enemy with our horns. This is un- doubtedly the meaning- of the passage; first, because ' obvertere ' and ' vertere ' are the very terms used to express turning- the horns against an enemy, facing with the horns: "Nimisque cg-o ilium hominem metuo et forniido male, Ne malus item erga me sit, ut erga ilium fuit. Ne in re secunda nunc mihi obvorlat cornua." Pl.\ut. Pseud. IV. 3. 3. "Superest ea pars epistolae , quae similiter pro me scripta in memetipsum vertit cornua." Apul. de Magia 81; and secondly, because the horns of the 'antennae', and indeed the whole 'antennae', are necessarily, when the vessel sets sail, turned, not like the prows toward the sea, but exactly the opposite way, i, e. toward the land, such being the effect of the fair wind (i. e. of the wind blowing from the land), viz. to force or belly out the sails toward the sea, and of course cause the retaining- 'antennae' and their horns to point exactly in the same proportion toward land. This effect of the fair wind is to be seen as plainly as possible in the 38 m view which the Vnlicnn Fraiiiii. (soo noiiori. p. 92) gives of Eneas saihng: from Carthage. 551. HINC .SINUS IIEIU I'LKI SI VKMA EST FAMA TARENT) CERNITUU "Hence we behold the bay that bears the name Of })roud Tareiilum, proud to share the fame Of Hercules, lliuugrh by a dubious claim." Wordsworth. No; the slrucUire is iiol 'liinc ccrnitur sinus Tarenli', for Ihe Bay of Tarenliun could nol be seen from the port oC Caslruni IMinervae, but hinc, a/'/er leaving this place or 7iext after leaving this place, sinus tarenti cer- NiTUK, the Bay of Tarentum is seen by us. 555. ET f.EMlTUM INGENTEM PELAGI PULSATAQUE SAXA AUPIMUS LONf.E FRACTASQUE AP I.ITTORA VOCES EXSULTANTQUE VADA ATQUE AESTU MISCEXTLR A REX A E Ihc grandest descri|)lion willi which I am acquainted of perhaps the grandest oljject in nature, the roaring of an agitated sea. The third Book of the Eneis, lavishly interspersed with these fine descriptive sketches of natural objects and scenery, affords rest and re- freshment to Ihc reader's mind between the intensely, almost i)ainfuliy, concentrated dramatic actions of the second and fourlii Books. A similar eflect is produced by the inler|iosilion of the Ludi n\' ihc lil'lh Hook be- tween the fourth and sixth. The cEMiTUM iNGENTKM I'ELAf.i is icrmcd by a li\ing Ill 39 |)oel (1847) in a fine line, and with a happy extension of the ordinary nielai>hor, — "i'huilo chf inaiida la ttoeca del mar." See Canli Lirici di G. Prafi (of Riva on the Laj^o di Garda in the Italian Tyrol). Milano, 1843. Fractasoue ad LiTTORA VOCES. — The slructurc is not 'fractas ad littora', but 'voces ad littora'; the voices or sounds were not broken on, or against, the sJiore, imt there were at the shore broken sounds. Compare: — "Vox AudUur fraclos sonitus imilata lubarum." Georg IV. 71. "Hie lurpis Cybelcs el fracla voce loquendi Liberlas." Juv. II. 111. •'Mars eniinus conspicalus nupiias lenero cum adniira- tionis obtutu lani^uidiore f'ractlor voce laudavil , pro- I'undaque visus est Iraxisse suspiria." Maiit. capell; IX. 889. 571. SED HORRIFICIS JUXTA TONAT AETNA RUINIS INTERDUMOUE ATRUM PRORUMPIT AD AETHERA NUBEM TURBINE FUMANTEM PICEO ET CANDENTE FA VILLA ATTOLLITQUE GLOBOS FLAMMARUM ET SIDERA LAMBFr INTERDUM SCOPULOS AVULSAOUE VISCERA MONTIS ERIGIT ERUCTANS LKIUEFACTAQUE SAXA SUB .\URAS CUM GEMITU GLOMERAT FUNDOQUE EXAESTUAT IMO FAMA EST ENCELADI SEMIUSTUM FULMINE CORPUS URGERI MOLE IIAC INGENTEMOUE INSUPER AETNA.M IMPOSITAM RUPTIS FLAMMAM EXSPIRARE CAMINIS ET FESSUM OUOTIES MUTET LATUS INTREMERE OMNEM MURMURE TRINACRIAM ET CAELUM SUBTEXERE FUMO Glomerat, — not forms into a ball, as shown by Ovid's tinding- it necessary to add "in orbes' to 'glomerat' in order to express that idea: 40 III "Sive rudem primos lanani gloincrabat in oibes." Ovid. Mctam. VI. 19; Ijiit iJirows up rapidly one after the other, so rapidly that the objects thrown up seem to he added to each other so as to foiiii one body , the essenlial no lion of 'glonierare' being to form into one by successive addi- tion. Compare "giomerare mantim l)Cllo," En. II. 315, nol to form a round band, bul to form a band by successive additions. FuNDOouE EXAESTUAT iMO. — Thcsc woi'ds conslilutc the grand winding up, Ihe complelion of the piclare, caiTying the reader back beyond the two divisions iNTERDUM and iNTERDUM, lo the commencing statement, HORRIFICIS JUXTA TONAT AETNA RUIMS. And SUCh is ihc way in wliich Virgil's most elaborate sentences are usually wrought, the last clause, though in strict grammar connected only with the clause immediately preceding, having yet a connexion in the sense with the outsetting statement, or thesis, and so winding up and rounding the whole. In like manner caelum sdb- TEXERE FUMO, vcfs. 582, though in grammatical strictness connected only with intremere omnem murmure trinacriam. refers back past that clause, lo aetnam ruptis exspirare CAMiNis, with which, and not with intremere omnem mur- mure trinacriam, it would have been [daced in connexion by an English writer, who instead of saying that En- celadus's flames burst out through Etna, and, as often as he turned, all Trinacria shook and sent up a cloud of smoke, would have said, "Ihe flames and smoke proceeding from [he body of luiceladus burst out through Etna, and every liiiu* he turned, the whole island shook." In other words, an English writer would liave been sure that his readers would have understood him literally if he had said, "Etna threw out Ihe fire, and all Trinacria threw out the smoke." It will be observed that in bolh the passages not only the sense, but the grammar, remains perfect, if, all the m 41 intermediate and lilling-ui) parts being left out, the con- cluding is subjoined immediately to the commencing clause : .... IIOURIKICIS JUXTA TONAT AETNA HUINIS FUMlOQUE EXAESTUAT IMO. AETNAM IMPOSITAM lUl'TIS FLAMMAM EXSPIRARE CAMINIS ET CAELUM SUBTEXERE I-UiMO. Compare the exactly similar structure, En. V. 820: "Sultsidunl undae, lumidiimque sub axe lonanli Stcrnitur aequor aquis, fugiunt vasto aethere nimbi;" where the sense and grammar are both complete, the intermediate filling-up clause being left out: "Subsidunt undae fug-iunt vasto aethere nimbi." See also Comm. En. I. 483; III. 317; IV. 483. ~ InSUPER AETNAM IMPOSITAM RUPTIS I'LAMMAM EXSPIRARE CAMINIS. — The sense is, not that Etna in its present form (i. c. hollowed out and having a passage through it by which the fire, which was consuming Enceladus, might escape) was placed on the top of Enceladus, but that Etna, while it was still a solid mountain, was placed on the lop of Enceladus, and that the flames proceeding from him burst a passage through it, rumpebant caminos ; burst out and flamed through the sides of the mountain as the fire sometimes bursts and breaks out through the sides of a stove. The image is the more correct, in as much- as the eruptions of Etna, as well as of other vulcanoes , are apt not to follow the track of previous eruptions, but to make new openings for themselves through the solid sides of the mountain. Caelum subtexere. — Goethe has applied the same idea figuratively with great effect: "Seit der Zeit ist mir's als ware der Himmel mit einem schwarzen Flor iiberzogen." Egmont, Act IV. 12 111 585. NAM NKQUE ERANT ASTRORUM ICNES NEC LUCIDUS AETHRA SIltEREA POI.US OBSCURO SED NUBILA CAEI.O ET (.UNAM IN NIMBO NOX INTEAIPESTA TENEBAT Nox iNTEMPESTA — pFCcisely the 'iVi'l KavovXag ol Apollonius Ixhodius: "Aviiy.ii 6h K()t]Tutov vjTfQ ftf/a htiT/iux &foiTits A"r| £(/0(5f(, JT/V TffQ T£ KlX10v).n8lt Xty.hj(TXOV(Tl, jVvxt' oXotif 01/ uarou duiT/nnr, oi'x ufiicnyui Miivi'ii;. Oi'ijuro&tr 8f fiehtv /uoi;, iji ng uD.i, Jl<)bt()Ei vxoTiii i^it'XUTMV unuvvu ^fiifOooii: Apoll. linoi). IV. I(;!j4. 606. SI I'EHEO HOMIXUM MAMBL'S PK1UIS8E JL'VABIT "Sal se bealiim, qui nianu socia volens occunibeiel. Apul. Metam. IV. 2. 619. IPSE ARDl'US ALTAUUE PUI.SAT S1I»ERA HI TALEM TERRIS AVERTITE PESTEM NEC VI SU EACILIS NEC DICTU AFEABILIS ULLI Ar.TAouE PUI.SAT sipERA. — "Taiiiiil alia aslra." Riiacns. "Sii. llal.XVll.651 : 'Tangens Tirynlhius aslra'." Wagner. — "Ill clu- lol capo Tocca Ic stcllc." C.\R(l. Ill 4:{ - "Er scllist hochrag'cnd beriihrct Ilohcs Gostirn." Voss. And Dryden, more poclicnl, Inil not less incorrecl. : "Our monstrous hosl, of more than human size, Erects liis head, and stares within the skies." The idea is much stronger: so hill that he knocks, hits, thumps, or humps the stars (sciz. with liis hend) as he walks. Compare: "Quod si me lyricis valibus inseres Sublimi fcriam sidera vertice." IIoR. Carm. I. 1. 35. The notion of hitting, knocking, or thumping is insepa- rable from 'pulsare'. Nec visu iwcilis, NEC nicTu AFFABiLis ULLi. — Com- pare Ovid, Met. XIII. 760, speaking of the same Po- lyphemus : — "Visus ab hospite nuUo Impune;" and Pliny, Paneg. 48, speaking; of Domitian: "Ad haec ipse occursu quoque visuque lerribilis — non adire quisquam, non alloqui audebat." 637. ARGOLICI CLIPEI AUT PHOEBEAE LAMPADIS INSTAR As large, round, and glaring, as an Argolic shield or the sun. Besides the citations of La Cerda, com- pare Ammian, XXIV. 2: "Continentem occupant arcem. cujus medietas in sublime consurgens, tereti ambitu Argolici scuti speciem oslendebat, nisi quod a septenlrione id quod rotunditati deerat, in Euphralis 44 in fhienfa projectae cautes eminenlius tuebanlur." From wliich passage il appears lurllicr llial the dislinclion drawn by La Cerda and the coninienlalors between •clypeus' and 'scutum' was not very strictly observed ))V the Latin writers. 646. CUM VITAM IN SlLMS l.MKK UKSERTA FKHARUM LUSTKA l>U.MOSgU£ TKAHO VASTOSQUE AU UUl'E CYCLOPAS PROSI'ICIO Ab rupe belongs to cyclopas, not to prospicio: First, because the poet has placed it in closer con- nexion with the Cormer than the latter; jammed in, as it were, between vastos and cyclopas, so that il cannot be separated from them without violence. Compare En. '/. 297 , where from the mere position of the words it might be inferred that the structure is, not as hitherto universally supposed 'claudenlur ferro et compagibus arctis', but ' dirae ferro el compagibus arctis'. Secondly, because joined to cyclopas it enhances vASTOS, and so improves the picture; whereas joined to PROSPicio il weakens vastos without strengthening PROspicio, and therefore deteriorates the picture. Thirdly, because, as correctly observed by Ileyne. who might have confirmed his observation from Homer. Odyss. IX. 113: ".'/AA ()//' vii'>,htn' oi)fotr raiovai xn^iijvn," the Cyclops arc described (vv. 044, 05ii, 075) as fre- quenting the heights. I lalled manu, for which greal and manifest improve- ment, I think Virgil's admirers should be grateful to him. Lumen. — Not, as at vers. 635. (lie cijc, but, as En. II. 85 (where see Comm.), t/ic Uyhl of day. 684. contra JUSSA MONENT IlELENI SCYLLAM ATQUE I'll ARYBDIM INTER UTRAMOUE VIAM LETl DISCRLMINE PARVO M TENEANT CURSUS CERTl'M EST PARE I.INTEA RETRO 1 think Ibis passage is lo be liius unravelled: 't\)ntra. Heleni jussa niduciii ni (ne) teneanl cursus inter Scyllam alque Charybdim. iiirain(|U(' (el Scyllam el C'harybdim). viam leli, discrimine parvo , i. e. \iam pro|te letalem. non mulluni a leto dislanlcm. Igilur consilium capiuni redeiindi, sci/.. ('ycb)pas \ersiis'. \\'lii!e tiie Tntjans arc in Ihe \ery act of lleeing in trepidation Irom llic Cyclops, i. e. out of Ihe port. Ihey find thai the wind Ill 47 will ceilainly carry lliem up the slrails; but that way they dare not lake; therefore they determine to jmt back and lace the lesser danger from which they were ttecini;-. But behold, the wind veers on the inslant and carries them away clear of bolh danglers, and in the very direction ol their voyage, (a) Utramoue, viam leti niscRiMiNE PARVO is our author's usual parenthetic or subsidiary clause, descriptive of Scylla and Charyb- dis, and lillinf^^ up and completing-, but not necessary to. the sense, which is perfect the clause being- omitted: 'Jussa Heleni monent ne teneant cursus inter Scyllam atqiie Charybdim'. (h) Vi.vm leti discrimine PAR\ 0, the way of death all but a little, almost certain- l[l the way of death; precisely the 'iviU-r} nanai(^anig oleth)ov' of Apollonius Rhodius speaking' of the self- same dangerous navigation: — "-//./.' fXi rr,u Afiff', o&i TitQ JVT&tj ye ■JiaQ(a(iu(ni mafx oXfO(Jov." Apoll. Rhod. IV. 83 J. Comi)are the same Apollonius, IV. 1510: "OuS oaaoy injxviof eg A'iSu yr/rfiui oif-w.:." Also, — "Tenui discrimine Icli Esse suos.'" En. A'. 51 1. — "Leti discriinina parva." £n. I J. 143. (e) ViAM refers, not to the journey or passage of the Trojans inter scyllam atoue charybdim, but is applied to LETI in the same way as 'janua ' to ' lelo ', En. II. 661 ; as if Virgil had said: 'Utramque (sciz. Scyllam atque Charybdim), jannam leti discrimine parvo', almost the sure door (way) to death. ^^/^Servius's observation, "An tiqui jN'i pro ne ponebant, qua particula plenus est Plan- tus," and the recognition by Donatus (ad Terent. Eun. III. 3) of Ni in this very passage ("Ni ne significat, et Ne non. Ni i)ro ne Virgiliiis, leti discrimine tarvo 48 III Ni teneant" ) are, I think, more than a sufficient answer to those who make a difficully about ni used in the sense of 'ne'. Vir?,il seems to have used the ancient form on this occasion (as he has elsewhere used 'olli' for 'illi') lor the sake of the more agreeable sound — to avoid the alliteration 'ne-te-ne-'. 'Ne' is the read- ing; of the Gudian (a manu prima). The reader, even although he decide against this interpretation, and applaud Wagner for having cast the whole three lines out of the text as incapable of any good sense, will at least excuse me for an attempt to preserve to Virgil three entire verses; to the |)icture, the view of the Trojans putting out of port and imme- diately putting back again; and to the context, the ne- cessary connecting link between "Praecipites metus acer agil secundis," and "Eccc autem Boreas" etc. The three lines being cast out, 'autem' becomes in- correct, and 'ecce autem' doubly so, because then the wind from the direction of the straits agrees with the 'inceptum' of the Trojans, which was to leave port and flee away; the three lines being preserved, 'ecce autem' becomes not only correct, but necessary in order to explain how it happened that they did not sail, as they had determined, directly back into port (CERTUM EST DARE LINTEA RETRO ) . but, Oil tllC COUtrary, |)roceeded immediately on their direct voyage forward : "Vivo practcrvehor" d-c. Teneant cursus, — sim|»ly sfeer , sail, hold their voyage; compare: "Hue cursum Iliacas vcnlo tenuissc carinas." En. ]]'. 46. So, "Fugam lenuisse," Kn. III. 2S3, simply, fled. Dare lintea retro. — simply, to put back, viz. into the port which they were upon the point of leaving. The diiriciilly, which all the commentators have lound in this passage, seems in me to have arisen Irom their understanding viam to be spoken of the Ill 49 journey of Ihc Trojans; of the way past Scylla, or past Charybdis. ''Jussa Heleni moncnt, nc vela leneanl cur- sus inter ulranuiue viam, videlicet inter Scyllam alque Charybdin, parvo leli discrimine." La Cerda. "Viam inter (per) Scyllam el Charybdim niranicpie (i. e. sive viam per Scyllam, sive per Charybdim elegeris) parvo discrimine esse viam leli, nisi in tempore cursus teneanl." Jahn. "Utramque viam inter Scyllam alque Charybdim, sive dextrum lilliis legentes Scyllae, sive sinistro littori propius navigantes Charybdi appropinquarimus, parvo discrimine leli esse." Forbiger. "Doch -warnt Helenus Wort, dass Scylla hindurch und Charybdis Beiderlei Wcg- hinfiilir' auf des Todes angrcnzendem Raiide, Wenn man nicht haltc den Lauf." Voss. And so the Baskerville punctuation of the passage: "Contra jussa monent Heleni, Scyllam alqiic Charj'bdim, Inter ulramque viam, leti discrimine parvo, Ni teneant cursns;" Viam being- joined with leti and not with utramoue, and understood in the sense of 'janua leli', En. 11.661 ; 'via mortis', Georg. III. 482; 'via salutis', En. VI. 96, and the clause utramoue viam leti discrimine parvo being- recognised as parenthetic, or subsidiary to the prece- ding clause, and Ihe following punctuation being- adop- ted, the whole passage becomes at once clear and in- telligible: CONTRA, JUSSA MONENT HELENI SCYLLAM ATQUE CHARYBDIM INTER (UTRAMQUE, VIAM LETI DISCRIMINE PARVo) NI TENEANT CURSUS t CERTUM EST DARE LINTEA RETRO. I agree with both the Heinsii, and almost all the modern editors in rejecting- the reading- of the Vatican Fragm. 'movent', although I have myself found it in three of the Vienna (viz. 116. 117. 118), in two of the Gotha (viz. 54 & 236), and in No. 18059 of the Munich MSS. I have found monent in the Gudian, Petrarchian. Ambrosian (Nos. 79 and 107), Vienna (Nos. 113. 1J5. 120. 121), Munich (Nos. 21562 and 305), Gotha No. 55, 50 ni Leipzig: (No. 35, a man. sec, and No. 36), Dresden, and Kiosler-Neiiburg-. What sense it is |)ossiljle to make out of the reading 'movent', I conless mysell" unable to discover. GOG. OllE ARETHUSA TUO SICULIS CONI'UNDITUK UNDIS In Older lo understand this |)assage, il must be borne in mind that Arelhusa is, not a river, but a spring, sorgente, or welling- fountain, on the very edge of the sea, so near the sea that, if it were not protected by an embanivment, il would be entirely covered and overwhelmed by it. See not only the ancient Geo- graphers and modern travellers, but Cicero in Verrem III. 53 (Ed, Ernesti): "Qui fluctu lotus operiretur, nisi munilione ac mole lapidum a mari disjunclus esset." Hence Virgil's expression. 'Qui nunc Siculis undis confundilur ore tuo , Arelhusa': passes out through thy fountain, Arethusa, and immediately mixes nith the sea. OuE ARETuusA TUO. — Not, tht'ough thy fountain, river Arethusa , but through thy fountain, nymph Arethusa, i. e. through the fountain Arethusa. Com- pare (En. I. 250): "Unde per ora novom magno cum inunniirc niontis Il mare proruptum ;" where see Comment. Alfieri seems wliollv lo ]i;i\e misunderstood liie passage : — "Sg:orgaiid(> I'oiida Elia Nel scno stesso, osccnt," En. II. 130, with a retrospect to the previously commilled crime; "rdcruni Ihalamo siralisque rq)onunl," En. IV. 392, (with a re- trospect to 'suscipiunt famulae'), render up, give up what they had received. So also : "Tu pias laetis ani- mas rqionis sedibus," Hon. Od. I. 10. 17 , willi a re- trospect to his having received the souls in charge. "Finibus Alticis rt^ddas incolumem," Hok. Od. I. 3. 6, also with a retrospect to the charge it had received. "Vox r^-ddiia fcrtur ad aures," En. III. 40, with a re- trospect to the investigations of Eneas, "^t'dduntur Salio honores," En. V. 347, with a retrospect to the honors having been merited and duly earned by Sa- lius, &c. &c. Similar to the Latin 'renarro' is the Italian ridico : "Ch'io ridica Di quel campo ogni duce ed ogni schiera." Tasso, Gerus. Lib. I. 36. "lo non so ben ridir com' i' v' enlrai. Dante, Inferno, I. 10. QuiEviT, — is not "narrare desiit" (Wagner), be- cause so unterstood it were (as correctly observed by Wunderlich) a mere tautology of coNTicurr ; neither is it (as Burmann and Wunderlich, endeavoring to avoid the tautology, have interpreted il,) "somno se tradidil," because il is wholly incredible that so skilled a master of the [toetic art would have called upon his reader to imagine llif breaking up of this great entertainment, and the departure of the guests and of Kneas himself, as having taken place in the narrow interval, or. lo speak more correctly, in the no interval . between the words FACTO nir tinf, ami nini;\rr, vvIumi he had close at hand (sciz. in the space between the two Books, or, as il were, in the pause between the two acts of Ill 53 his drama) the exactly suitable place and opportunity for such ellipsis. I reject therefore both inlerpretalions, and under- stand QuiEViT in its strictly literal sense of hecoming quiet or still. Conticuit, he ivhisted or became silent; FACTOouE Hic FINE, and having here brought his narra- tive to a close, ouievit, became still. In the passage so understood there is not only no tautology, but each of the three expressions of which it consists, has its own distinct and api)ropriate meaning, conticuit signi- fying- his becoming silent, facto fine the conclusion of his narration, ouievit the cessation of his action. Com- pare Stat. Theb. IV. 404: — "Sic fata g-elatis Vullibus, et Baccho jam deniigranle, quicvil;" where the words 'gelatis vullibus', and 'Baccho demi- grante' sufficiently shew that 'quievit ' means, rested not merely from speaking, but from energ etic action. Compare En. VI. 226: "Flamma quievit," the flame rested from action, ceased to jjlay ; also Li v. III. 58 (Ed. Bipont.) : " Manesque Virginiae , mortuae quam vivae felicioris, per tot domes ad petendas poenas va- gati, nullo relicto sonte , tandem quieverunt;" at last rested entirely , became perfectly quiet. So also En. VII. 298: "Odiis aut exsaturata quievi;" ceased entirely from doing any thing ; and Ilor. Ep. ad Pi- son. 379: "Ludcre qui nescit, campeslribus abstinet armis, Indoctiisque pilae discive trochivc quiescit;" abstains from the game, remains quiet. So also the substantive 'quies' (whether signifying- the quiet of sleep, or the quiet of death) is always cessation, not from speech only, but from all action. Between this last verse of the third Book and the first verse of the second Book there is a parallelism S 54 III which seems worthy of observation; there, at the be- j^imiiiii; ol'Eneas's narration, all the company not merely ''conticnere," but "intcnti ora lenebant;" here, at the close of the narration , Eneas himself nol merely con- TICUIT, but, FACTO HIC FINE, QUIEVIT. m IV. Of all the pictures which it has been the delight of eniinenl artists to sketch after the model of the 'Infelix Phoenissa', perhaps the loveliest is the Sofonisba of Trissino; the loveliest in the simple dignity of the style, in the unaffected pathos of the sentiments, in the ten- derness, resolution and devotion of the unfortunate heroine, and, perhaps not least, in the absence of the wearying- monotony of rhyme, the tragedy of Trissino being, I believe, the first example in modern languages (certainly the lirst of any consideration) of poetry without rhyme. The Sofonisba of Alfieri (also in blank verse, but, like all Alfieri's productions, wholly destitute of pathos) is not cast at all in the mould of Dido. In the Oeuvres et meslanges poetiques d'Estienne Jodelle, sieur de Lymodin, published at Paris in 15S3 (and of which a copy, the only one I have ever seen, is preserved with great care in the Bibliolheque du Roi at Paris), is a tragedy entitled Didon se sacrifiant, Tragedie d'Estienne Jodelle, Parisien. This tragedy, on the model of the ancient drama, and with choruses, is written in so truly poetic a spirit as to be well worthy of republication, notwithstanding that it is dis- figured by such misapprehensions of Virgil's meaning as the following : — "qu' alors il ne jouisse De regne ny de vie, ains mourant a grande peine Au millieu de ses jours, ne soit en quel que areine Qu' enterre a d e mi." ("Mediaque inliumatus arena," Z'M./r.tf^i^.; The reader will perhaps not be displeased if I pre- sent him with a more favorable specimen of the style 1 IV of this antique and almost forgotten , French poet and drauialisl : "Lcs dieux ne furcnt oncq tcs parens, ny ta mere Ne fut oiicq celle la, que le tiers ciel temperc, Lc plus hcnin des cicux; ny oncq (traistre mcntcur) Lc grand Dardan ne fut dc Ion lig-nage autcur; Le dur mont dc Caucase, horrible de froidures, (0 cruel!) t'eng-endra de ses veines plus dures; Des tigresses, je crois, tu as suce le lait, Voyez si sculemenl, mes pleurs, ma voix, mon deuil Onl peu la moindre larmc arracher de son ceil? Voyez s'il a sa face ou sa parole esmeue? Voyez si seulement il a flechi sa veuo? Voyez s'il a pilie de cetle pauvre amante?" <$rc. There is also in the French language another tra- gedy entitled Didon; published by Lefranc in 1734, and preserved in the Repertoire General du Theatre Francais, vol.30. Paris, 1S22. This work, wholly made up of badly translated 'discerpta membra' of the fourth Book of the Eneis, is remarkable, if for nothing else, at least for the astounding instance it affords of that French sentimentality which finds Shakespeare and Milton (and, as it would seem, even Virgil himself) "un peu trop forts," and dreads nothing so much as the leaving too strong an impression on the mind of the reader. It is in the concluding lines, in which the dying Dido, with her terrible curse of Eneas still qui- vering on her lips ("Sol, qui terrarum flanimis" etc. all which the dramatist formally translates and puts forward as his own; see Comment En. 1.06), is made to turn round and apostrophise the hero as follows: "El toi dont j'ai trouble' la liaute deslince, Toi qui ne ui'cnleuds plus, adieu mon cher Enee! Ne crains point ma coli're — ellc expire avcc raoi ; El mes derniers soupirs soul encore pour loi. [EUc mcurl.J Lefranc's tragedy has however been thought worthy of a Iranskition into Italian. m 2. VULNUS ALIT VENIS ET CAECO CARPITUR IGNl VuLNUs iGNi. — Not, a wound and a fire, but the wound and the fire of which the reader has heard before. En. I. 064, 677, 716 &c. Carpitur IGNI. — Is fjraduaUij gnawed away, wasted, or consumed, hxj the fire. So Lucan (VIII. 777), speaking- of the tedious consumption of the corpse of Pompey the Great in a weak and insufficient funeral fire: "Carpitur, et lentuni destillat Mag-nus in ig-nem, Tabe fovens bustum." This force of gradually, by successive steps, hit by bit, will, I think, be found to adhere closely to 'carpere' in all its various applications. 'Carpere vitales auras', to breathe — to consume the air by successive respira- tions; 'Carpere viam', to consume the road, viz. by successive steps; 'Carpere somnos', to sleep, to con- sume sleep, viz. by continuing- to sleep on from moment to moment; 'Carpere pensum', to consume one's task, i. e. to make it less and less every moment by gra- dually performing or going through it; 'Carpere her- bam', to graze, \. e. to crop the grass mouthful by mouthful. Similar to Virgil's vulnus alit venis et caeco carpitur IGNI is Guarini's — "Arde Myrtillo, Ma in chiuso foco, e si consuma c lace." Pastor Fidu, I. 2. Also Lamartine's — "Mori ame isolce Comiiie uii foyer sans air sc devoranl en nioi." Jucdifu. 9. QUAE ME SUSPENSAM INSOMNIA TERRENT Insomnia, not wakefulness , because mere wakefulness had nol juslilied llie energy of the exclamalion, bul dreams, visions in sleep; first, because dreams or vi- sions in sleep are frequently of such a nature as to produce both terror (terrent), and doubt and anxiety about the i)ropriety of ccrlain conduct (suspensam); secondly, because this is the sense in which it has been used by Virgil elsewhere, see En. VI. SOI . Com- pare Tacit. Annal. XI. 4: '"Illud hand ambigitur, quali- cunque insomnio ipsi fratrique perniciem illalam;" and Ammian, XXIII. 3: "Hie Juliani (juiescentis animus, agitatus i n s o m n i i s , eventurum triste aliquid praesagie- bat," And thirdly, because in the original after which Virgil has [)ahited the whole picture, it is expressly Ol'iil{)Oi: "zifjAv; fyMV, oiop fie (3u()fig ((fojSrjffin' nmQoi. zJiiSiu, /.itj j.nyij xiixoy tjds xflsv&og IliiMMv. ntfji f(oi ^firoi q>^grsg ijf^eO^oirai." Ai'OLL. Riioi). 111. G3(». A right understanding of this word, placed in this prominent position at the commencement of the Book, and forming (he subject of Dido's lirst passionate ex- clamalion to her sister, is essential to the right under- standing of almost the whole of the subsequent Drama. A decided color, if I may so say, is thrown on the picture by this lirst stroke of Ihe pencil, and carefully maintained through the whole, even to the last linish. Ill tills tdiirth Hook of the Eneis as in I?iirger's Leonora, the lirst words are the key to Ihe whole piece. As "Lcnorc tiilir urn's Moryoiuulli Einj)or ;uis scliwcn'ii 'rriiimion," so Dido alter a similar night ( |)r()bably ;dlor the ;ippcar- ancc of her deceased husband to her in her sleep.) IVI 5 flies early in the morning- lo her sister with the ex- clamation, QUAE ME SUSI'ENSAM INSOMNIA TERRENT , ivhut friglitful dreams I have had! — / am so distracted I don't know what to do. As , immediately following Leonora's dreadful drenms, and without other connection than thai best of all connections, immediate sequence, comes her exclamation, "Bist untrcu, Wilhclm, oder todt? Wie lang-e -willst du silumen?" SO, immediately following- Dido's exclamation of horror at her dreams, comes, without other introduction, or con- nection, their subject matter: "Quis novushic hospes" &c. The vehemence of Dido's expressions all through her address to her sister, and especially her tremendous oath or adjuration, "Sed mihi vel tellus" etc., are thus Satisfactorily explained. In her distress and agitation between (suspensam) the impulses of her passion on the one hand, and the terrific (terrent) warnings of her dreams on the other, and fearing that the strength of her passion might overcome both her o-vN'n sense of propriety and the warnings conveyed to lier from the dead, or on the part of the dead, through her dreams, she endeavors to strengthen the weakness of her re- solution to obey the warnings and conquer her passion, by an oath expressed in the strongest language which it was possible even for Virgil to put into her mouth — and .then, the next moment, (her passion con- quering both her resolution and her oath) bursts into tears. The answer of Anna, "Id cinereni aut Manes credis curare scpiiltos?" goes to confirm the above views; there being in these words, as I think, besides their plain and acknowledged meaning, a special reference to the frightful dreams which Dido had understood to manifest the displeasure of the 'Manes' at her new afTeclion. As if Anna had 6 IV said : — "Go on with your purpose, and don'l mind the dreams which you erroneously supi>ose the offen- ded Manes to have sent you. Can you indeed be- lieve thai your new love is any allair of theirs? that a former husband , once he is dead and buried, cares whether his widow marries again or not?" 1 am the more inclined to think that there is a reference in the word 'Manes' to the insomnia of Dido, on account of the express connection of 'insomnia' (always, as far as 1 know, used by the Romans in a bad sense, com- pare : "Excicciit rabidam truculcnla insomnia mcntcm." SiL. Ital. X. 358) with 'Manes' by Virgil himself, En. VI. S97, from which it appears that it was the special province of the IManes to send 'insomnia'. Compare also Dido's threat (vers. 384 & seq.) that, when she is dead and with the 'Manes', she will haunt Eneas 'ignibus atris'. As here in the lirst scene, so all through, Dido's part in the drama is deeply tinged with the line coloring of superstition. Following the advice of her sister, she proceeds immediately to the temples of the Gods, and seeks there for favorable omens to neutralise the bad omens of the insomnia: "Principio delubra adeunl" &c. ; later, she threatens Eneas that her ghost will haunt him after her death; anil still later, when she has taken the resolution to kill herself, she sees the sanc- tified wine turn into blood, hears the ominous hooting of the owl, the voice of her dead husband calling to her oiil ol' the private chapel she had consecrated to his memory in her palace, and again has her fright- ful visions — dreams that Kneas is pursuing her. and that, alone and deserted of all. she is wandering through deserts in search of her Tyrians; and finally, when she has actually prepared her funeral pyre, has recourse to the various magical incantations enumerated at vers. 510. rv 7 A further confirmalion of the above explanation, viz. that Dido, in the words ouae me suspensam insomnia TERRENT, refers to her dead hushand having appeared to her in lier sleep and warned her not to have any thing to do with Eneas , may be found in Tacit. Ann. I. 65, where that writer, having informed us that the Roman General, Cecina, had been terrified by a dream, "Ducemque lerruit dira quies" (words corresponding exactly with Dido's quae me suspensam insomnia terrent), proceeds immediately with the explanation: "nam Quinc- tilium Varum sanguine oblitum et paludibus emer- sum, cernere et audire visus est vclut vocantem" &c. Compare also (vers. 351) the accouRt given by Eneas himself of the frequent terrific warnings he had had from his father Anchlses in his dreams: ".Me palris Ancliisae, quoties liumeiitibus umbris Nox opent terras, quolies astra ignea surgunl, Admonet in somnis et lurbida lerret imago;" and observe the exact parallelism, "in somnis turbida terret imago" — insomnia terrent. •22. solus HlC INFLEXIT SENSUS AM.MIMOUE LABANTEM niPULlT Labantem niPULiT. — "Inipulit, ul labaret." Forbiger. "hiipuljt, ut jam labet." Wagner, Virg. Br. En. I think not; but much more simi^ly and naturally, 'impulit animum jam labantem, i. e. invalidum, parum firmum'. Compare: "Tiirrim in praecipiti stantem summisque sub a^tra Eductam lectis, unde omnis Troja videri Et Danaum solitae naves el Achaia castra, Ag-gressi ferro circuni, qua siimma lab antes 2 IV Junclmas (abiilala dabaiil, cotivcllimns allis Soclilms i m ji ii 1 i lu ii s(|iu'." En. II. 4C,(t: also : — "Agil ipse fiiiciiltMii III siuiiiiis fcrus Aeneas." En. n: 465: not, surely, 'agil ui final'; luil 'a^il jam lurenlem. i. c. I'liriosam '. Impllit. — lligliiy eniitlialic, owiiif;- lo ils position. See Commenls En. IT. 240 ; If. 274. The same ob- servation applies lo 'Abstulil', vers. 29; 'Reppulit', vers. 21 I; 'Exstruis', vers. 267, and all similarly placed words throughout the whole poem. 27. AMK I'LiIUMl (JUAM TE VIOLO ALT TUA JURA RESOLVO Compare (r. 552): "\on servala lidcs" etc. and (v. 596): "Nunc te lacta impia tangunl;" where see Comment. The chapter of Meursius (0pp. Tom. V. Col. 51) in which he shows fjom the aulhorily of Festus, Propcr- liiis, Valerius Maximus, and Plutarch (ho might have added Virgil), and from inscriptions on tombs, that an)ong the Romans, "Honestae matronae. et cpiibus pu- dicitiae gloria curae erat, semel tantum viro nubebant," is well worlhy the altenlion of those who discern in the morality of modern civilisation no blemish; in liiai of ancient, no excellence. Tv^'o years ago, when travelling with a vetturale from Rome lo Florence, I happened lo see in the hands of a Lyonnese gentleman who was in the same carriage, a litlle volun)e of poems written not long previously by a frenchman of humble raidv, I believe a working baker of Lyons. In tuie oi Ihe poems of the unprc- IV 9 Icndinj;- lillle volume I found llie sentiment which Vir- gil here ascribes to Dido, and wiiicli does so mucli honor to ancient Roman moralily, expressed with such sweetness and simidicily tliat 1 look the trouble to copy the poem; and am sure few of my readers will be offended if I here present it to them entire, in as much as, having neglected to take the name oi the author, I am unable to refer them to the work itself; and even if I were able, it is not probable that il could 1)0 had except in Lyons : C N F 1 D E N C E. LA JEUNE FEMME. Quelle secrete injure aurais-lu done recue Y Pourquoi cette paleur ct ce Irisle maiiilien? CeUe larnie, qui tonibo et craint d'etre aiiercue, Me cache quclquc chose, cl cela n'cst pas bieii. LA JEUNE VEUVE. 11 est au loud de Fame, 6 ma douce compagne, Des peiiies qu'on ne peut avouer qu'a Dieu seul, Qu'il faut que le myslcre a jamais accompagne, Et qu'on doit cmpoiter sous son dernier linceul. LA JEUNE FEMME. Cepcndanl, 6 ma soeur, car le nociid qui nous lie .Me perrnet envcrs toi d'uscr d'un nom si cher, Parle, tu me connais: dans le sein d'une amic Le chagrin, que Ton verse, en devitMil nioins amer. LA JEUxNE VEUVE. Oh! mon Dieu! je croyais dans nion ame oublieuse, Que la mort nous laissait rcprendrc noire foi .... Mais lion, non: mes avcux te rcndraient malheureuse, Ma sopur; mon amiliA n'cst plus dii^ne de toi. LA JEUNE FEM.AIE. Achcve, ma lendresse implore cellc epreuve. LA JEUNE \EUVE. Ces jours done, dans le soil de ses enivreiiieuls Je quillai pour le hal mes vetemenls de veuve. Et j'y parus le front orne de diainants; 10 IV Et le soir, de retour, j'elais devant nia glace, Et mes yeux me disaienl que j'elais belle encor; Mais, 6 terreur! soudain mon image s'efface, E( je vois apparailre uae tele de mort! Et son front dopouilli- reprcnd sa chevelure, Ses yeux vides et crcux rallument leur flambeau^ La chair couvre la joue et refait la figure .... Je recunnus les traits d'un epoux au tombeau, Et dans son ironiquc et funebre dcboire Sa levre m'adressa de terribles discours, Que tu n'entendras point . . mais si tu veux m'en croire. Gardens la foi jurce a nos premiers amours. Compare the bitter terms of reproach in which the shade of a husband met by Dante in Purgatory com- plains of his wife's marrying after his death: "Non credo che la sua madre piu m'ami, Poscia che trasmuto le bianche bende, Le quai convien che misera ancor branii. Per lei, assai di lieve si comprcndc Qiianto in fcmmina fuoco d'amor dura, Se rocchio o'l tatto spesso no'l raccende." J>i{r(j(il. VJIl. 73. Compare also the noble sentiment of Bolligcr (die Aldo- brandinische Hochzeit, p. 14): "Das was unsere Sprachc so bedeutend aussprichl, als die ihr vielfach ver- schwislerte griechische (viz. in the word yauog), die Hochzeit, gehort zu dem Cyclus rein menschlicher Hundlungen, und ist das hiichsle Fest, was im giiick- lichsten und unbescholtensten Fall jeder Mensch nur einnial feicrl." And Statius, Epicedion in patrem suum, Silv. V. 3. 230: "Nee solum larga memel pietale fovebas; Talis ot in tlialamos: una tibi cocrnila laoda Connubia, nniis amor." And Proper!. IV. 11. 36: "In lapidc huic uni nupla fuisse logar." IV 11 30. SIC EFl'ATA SINUM LACRYMIS IMPLEVIT OBORTIS SiNUM, — pectoris Bidonis. Peerlkamp refers sinum lo Anna, not lo Dido ("credo sinum sororis, in quo sinu caput et vultum reponebal"); contrary lo the general principle that an object is lo be referred to the nearest person , when there is neither adjunct nor other clear indication to refer it to the more remote; compare: "Vullum lacrymis atque ora rigabat" (En. IX. 251), where 'vultus' and 'ora' arc those of Alethes, not of Nisus and Euryalus. "Lacrymae volvuntur inanes" (En. IV. 449), where 'lacrymae' are the tears of Eneas, not of Dido (see Comm. v. 449); and "Nunc te facta impia tangunt" (En. IV. 596), where the 'facta impia' are those of Dido, not of Eneas (see Comm. v. 596). The examples just quoted are sufficient to shew that the Latin language, verifying the Horaiian maxim, "brevis esse laboro, obscurus fio," loses in clearness what it gains in strength and brevity, by its frequent omission of the possessive pronouns. The German language by its similar omission of the possessive pronouns gains and loses in the same manner; see Gothe's Iphigenia in Tauris, the plot of which turns on the ambiguity of the expression "Die Schwester," which, applied by the oracle of Apollo to Oresles's sister, is understood by Orestes of Apollo's own sister. In support of the above interpretation, and against that of Peerlkamp, the following further examples may be adduced. Hypsipyle, speaking of herself (Ovid. He- roid. VI. 70): "Hue feror; et lacrymis osque siniisque madenl." Ovid (Heroid. VIII 62) of Medea : "Perque sinum lacrymae fluminis iiislar eunl;" and (TrisL V. 4. 39): 12 IV "Verba solet, vultumqnc tuiim, geniitiisquo rcferre, El tc fleiile siios inmiaduisso sinus;" also (Fasti, IV. 521): "Dixit; ol ut lacryniac (ncquc cniin lacrymare Deonim est) Dccidit in tepidos lucida g'ulla sinus;" and abo\ e all, llie original after which Virgil has, even lo Ihe inosl minule particulars, painted his Dido, Apol- lonius's Medea, weeping by herself in secret, where there was no bosom to be wel by her tears, but her own : — "Aft'f 8t xuXTTorg AXX>)/.Tov duxgruivi." Apoll. Rhod. 111. 804. 82. I'EPxPETUA MAERENS CARPERE JUVENTA 1 he meaning goes hand in hand with the graninialical slnicture: 'niaerens car|)cre per|)etua juvenia'. jiiiiing, be preyed on bij perpetual ijouth, i. e. perpetual celi- bacy. The received inler|trelalion, "per lolam juvon- lutem tuam maerore car|)eris" (Forbiger, Wagner, Ladewig), is trebly faulty; lirst, as subsliluling a com- mon-place and prosaic, for a new and |'>oelical, idea; secondly, as placing the gist of (he thou;ihl in maerens. and not, as recjuired l)y the whole conlexl, in juventa; thirdly, as destroying the connexion between this line and the next: be preyed upon by perpetual youth so as not to know sweet children ^'C, and breaking up this single question into the two dissimilar and unconnecled (piestions: slialt thou be preyed upon by sorrow duriny thy ivholc youth'/ and shall thou not know sweet chil- dren? (j-c. The correct inlerpretalitm |)oints out the cor- rect punctuation, \i/.. a comma instead of (he note of inlerro;;ation usuajlv placed al .iinenta. m 13 Vir{;irs terpetua cahpehf. juventa is surpassed only by our own Sliakespeare's ■'Willu'iiiiff on tlio virgin Ihoni." 38. I'I.A( ITdM". KTIAM I'lCNAKIS AiMOllI "Al In lie piigna cnm lali conjiigo, viigo." Catull. Carm. LXII 59. 52. DUM PELAGO DESAEVIT IIYEMS ET AOUOSUS ORION gUASSATAEOUE RATES DUM NON TRACTABILE CAELUM Ills DICTIS INCENSUM ANLMUM INFLAMMAVIT AMORE SPEMOUE DEDIT DUBIAE MENTI SOLVITQUE PUDOREM i'RINClPIO DELUBRA ADEUNT PACEMODE PER ARAS EXOUIRUNT MACTANT LECTAS DE MORE BIDENTES LEGIFERAE CERERI PUOEBOOUE PATRIQUE LVAEO JUNONI ANTE OMNES GUI VINCLA JUGALIA CURAE IPSA TENENS DEXTRA PATERABI PULCHERRIMA DIDO CANDENTIS VACCAE MEDIA INTER CORNUA FUNDIT AUT ANTE ORA DEUM PINGUES SPATIATUR AD ARAS Desaevit. — The de in desaevit has llie I'orec of our English mvcnj ; marks conlbmation with reckless vehe- mence. Ddm pelago desaevit hyems, ivhllst the rvinter rages away on the sea. So (En. X. 569): "Sic lolo Aeneas desaevit in aequore victor," rages away over the whole plain; w^here the expression 'loto aequore' shows (he allusion to the raging away of a storm over the sea-level. So also En. II. 215: "Miseros morsu depascitur artus," feeds away on the wretched limbs. 14 IV En. XL 59: "llaec iibi dcflevil," n-hen he had nept away. Ovid, Fasli, I]'.755: "Dum de^randinal;" w/?//;?^ // hails away. A similar force will be found lo exist II) Ihc verbs 'deliligare', 'deproeliare' and some others. SOLVITOUE PUDOllEM. "Cras pudoreni, qui lalcbal vcste tcclus li^'^nea, Uuico munita nodo non pavebit solvere." Pervigilium Veneris, (Prislitio nilori reslil. Lips. 1852) v. 21. — ". /»/ •/(t(i 01 tun' (i(f Hitlfiov.: Iitth' aiSoi^." Ai>ni,i.. RiioD. III. 1068. BiDENTES, — "BiDENTES aulcm diclae sunt quasi bien- nes ; Sunt eliani in ovibus duo cniinentiores den- ies inler oclo, qui non nisi circa binialum apparent: nee in omnibus, sed in his quae sunt aplae sacriliciis inveniunlur." Servius. And so Forbiger ad loc. and Gesner in voce. The observation is highly incorrect; the fact being-, as I have satisfied myself by observation, that the sheep, until it has attained the age of one year, has a set of eight primary, or milk, teeth; when the age of one year has been attained, the two central of these eight teeth drop out, and are replaced by the firiit two teeth of the second or permanent set, which being- very large and conspicuous amidst the six remaining milk teelh (originally much smaller, and now greatly dimi- nished by use and absorption) the animal at first sig;ht appears to have only two teeth (sheep never having: any teeth ;il all in the upper jaw); hence the appella- tion 'Bidens'. This condition of the teeth continues daring the whole of the second year, at the end of which, i. e. when the sheep is two years old complete, two more of the milk teeth drop, and are replaced by two large permanent teeth exactly similar lo, and one on each side of, the two first; so that from the com- pletion of the second year till the beginning of the third the sheep appears to have a set of lour large Wi 15 leclli, rtiid is no lonj^cr 'bidcns'. 'Bidens' therefore is not 'biennis', but simply 'bi-dens'; i. e. a sheep with two leeth, or, in olher words, a sheep in the se- cond year of its age; (hat is to say, at some period between end of firsl, and end of second, year. Legiferae cereri phoeboque patrioue lvaeo. — Not only Juno, Venus and Hymen (see Comm. vers. 125) were concerned in matrimonial alliances, but Ceres and Bacchus ("sine Cerere el Baccho frif^et Venus"), and even Apollo : "Nee Ceres nee Bacctius absiinl, nee poctarum Deus." Pci-vigil. Veneris, 43. "At piocul 111 StcUac Ihalaiiios sensere parari Lalous vatum paler, ct Scmelcius Evan, Hic movct Ortygia, inovet hie rapida agmina Nysa; Huic Lycii monies, g-elidaeque umbracula Thymbrae, El, Parnasse, sonas; illi Pangaea resultant, Ismaraquo, et quondam genialis liltora Naxi." Stat. Silv. I. 2. 219. '■'■ Ano'Lkiovn (paoi fitra rag luyalag vmag, ag nh]T-- nou rijv Xv()av jjoaio, y.ai xava naozadtov ijp^aai ficlog yajLirpjov.'' Himer. Otaf. I. 3. Spatiatur ad aras. — — "Sparsis Medea capillis Bacchanluni riln flagrantes cirenil aras." Ovio. Met. I'll. 2o7. IV 05. lIEtl VATtJM ICNARAE MENTF.S OUll) VOTA FimENTEM OUID DELlini'.A JIVANT EST MOLLES KLAMMA MEDULLAS INTEREA ET TACITUM VIMT SUB TECTORE VL'LNUS Ihesc words cast no reproach either upon soothsaying- generally, or upon the soothsayers engaged on this special occasion, their simple meaning being, that Dido's soothsayers little knew the slate of Dido's mind — Ihat she was beyond all help — that hers was no case lor sacrifice, or propitiation of the Gods — that their art was thrown away upon her. Est molles flamma me- dullas INT ERE a; so little good is she likely to derive from sacrificing, that, even while she is sacrificing, the internal flame is consuming her. And so Servius: "Non saccrdotes vituperal, quasi nescios futurorum; sed vim amanlis exprimil, et inde vituperat sacerdotes. Ignarae igilur amoris reginae." And So also Apuleius, in his manifest imilalion (Metam. X. 3. Edit. Hildebr.): "Hcu medicorum ignarae menles ! Quid venae pulsus, ((uid caloris inlemperanlia, quid fatigalus anhelitus, et utrimquesccus jactatae crebriter laterum mutuae vicissi- tudines? Dii boni! Guam facilis, licet non artifici me- dico, cuivis lamen docto , venereae cupidinis compre- hensio, cum videas" assages, as in our text, the great height dl" Ihc 'machina' is insisted (Hi, height above the c'liciiiy being in ancient sieges the ((ualily most requisite in all ciigines whether of olTcnce or del'encc. IV 21 103. LICKAT I'UKYGIO SEIUIHK MARITO lioi'AI.ESoUE TIIAK TVRIOS I'KllMITTKliK JiKXTllAK "Vide an i-ERMiTTiiRE DEXTRAE TUAE sil, : lulelac LlUlC peniiiLlere, ut dotales ad inuriUiiii pcrliueal." Wuii- dcrlicli. Wundeiiich is ri^^hl; but was preceded Ijy H. SLephens, in liie margin ol' whose Edition, ojtposile lo DEXTRAE, 1 lind '/'tdei'. Permittere is the usual Lerni lor handing over into the safe keeping of another — transferring lo another the power, authority, or jurisdic- tion over — an object; compare: "Servus quidam, cui cnnclam lamiliae tutelam dominus permiserat siius." Ai'LL. Met. VIII. 22, where see Hildebrand. 121. DUM TREPIDANT ALAE SALTUSQUE INDAGINE CINGUNT 1 agree witli Servius and Ladewig against Heyne, Wagner, ;uul Forbiger, that alae are the 'equites' and not the 'pinnae', or Federlappen; and interpret Silius's l»arallcl — "Subiloque cxteirila nimbo Occtillaul alao venaiiluiu corpora silvis." SiL. Ital, II. 418, not. with Forbiger, "Vcnantes lalebanl post alas in- daginum,'' but simply, and, as I think, nccording- to the plain construction, 'alae venantum occultant corpora (sua), i. e. equites venatores occultant se'. Scoppa (in Gruter's Thesaurus, I. 625) informs us, on the authorily of an ancient fragment, that there were four species of huntsmen: '-Investigatores, Indicatores, Insidiatores, 22 IV et Alali, (|ni cqtio feras in casses urgent." Comi.aro Sil. Hal. 11. 84: — "SeJ viig-iiic dcnsior ala est." The lenn is preserved in Kalian; see Manzoni's Pro- mcssi Spoai, Cap. IV.: "Con {;li occlii a lerra, col padre compa?:no al fianco , passo la porta di quella casa, attraverso il corlile tra una folia che lo squadrava con una curiosila poco ceremoniosa, sali le scale, e di mezzo air ultra folia sig:norile die fece ala al suo passaggio, seguito da cento sguardi, giunse" &c. Also Ibid. Cap. X.: "Si smonto fra due ale di popolo che i servi facevano stare indictro." 125. ADEnO ET TUA SI MUU CERTA VOLUNTAS CONNUBIO JUNGAM STAUILI ruOnUAMOUE DICABO HIC HVMENAEUS ERIT "Hic HYMENAEus ERIT, i. c. hac crunl nuptiae." Servius. "Dort sei das brautliche Fesl." Voss. "Hymenaeus hier die solemnia nuptiarum , die Art und Weise der Verbindung." Thiel. But first, Virgil, where he uses 'Hymenaeus' in this sense elsewhere, invariably puts il in the plural number; and secondly, hymenaeus in this sense is a mere tautology of the preceding line. I therefore understand HYMENAEUS hcrc to uican siriclly ami |)roperly the deity Uijincn; as if Venus had said: 'aderimus ego et Hy- menaeus'. Compare Ovid, Metam. VI. 42S: — "Noil promilia Jiiiio. Nfiii Hjinoiiaons adest :" Heroir/. \ I. V.Y. "Non eg^o sum fiirlo tilii cog-nila: pronuba Juno AH'iiil, o\ scrti< tcmpnra viiiclii<: HynuMi " W 23 Metam. LY. 101: "Pronuba quid Juno, f|iiid ad haoc, Ilymenaee, voiiitis Sacra ;" and, above all, Metam. IX. 795: "Postera lux radiis latum palefecerat orbcm, Cum Venus, et Juno, sociosquc llymenacus ad ig-nes Conveniunt, potiturquc sua puer Iphis lanthe." The lluee deilies whose sanclion, as appears from this last passage, was necessary lo conslitule a perfect marriage, arc thus Ijroughl lo sanction the marriage ol' Eneas and Dido; viz. Juno and Hymen by their actual presence, and Venus by her certa voluntas, jjledged to Juno. 128. ATOUE POLIS RISIT CYTHEREA REPERTIS Not, with Servius and Burmann, "dolis Junonis, qiios Venus videbal, deprehendebat;" but, with Heyne and Forbiger, "quos Juno excogitaverat, struxerat." Com- pare (exactly parallel): "lUic epulante Britannico, quia cibos potusque ejus delectus ex minislris gustu explo- rabat, nc omitteretur institutum, aut utriusque morte proderctur scelus, talis dolus repertus est." Tacit. Ann. XIII. 10. 132. OJJOllA CANUM VIS "Canes robusli." Heyne. "Voc. MS et magnum numerum et robur caniim indicat." Forbiger. ■ Ko: what kind of 'vis' is meant, is clearly pointed out by ODORA. Odora CANUM VIS, literally the smelling 4 24 IV liilcnt or inal'mcl of dor/s — dogs having the smelling lalcnl — keen-scented dogs; i. e. hounds. Jugdhundc. So in IJorace, Epod. VJ. 5: "Nam, qnalis aul Molnssus. nut fulvns Lacoii, Aniica vis pastoribus ;" 'vis' is sliown by I he context nol lo be the talent of smelling, 'vis odoratns ', \m\ the talent — energy — of fujhting, i. c. strength and courage: that this is the "vis' meant, is shown by the species of dogs mentioned, the Molossus and Lacon , bulldog and masti/f, whose 'vis', innate energy of strength and courage, is 'arnica pastori- bus', sciz. because I>y means of lliosc qualities the sheep are protected from the wolves. In like manner, Petron. p. 321: "Lapidnm virgultorumque vis", the ])roperties of stones and shruhs. 143. OUALIS Um mnERNAM LYCIAM XANTIIIOUF. FLUF.NTA DESKRIT AC I>ELUM MATERNAM INVISIT APOLLO INSTAURATQUE CHOROS MIXTIOUE ALTARLV CIRCUM CRETESOUE DRYOPESOCE FREMUNT I'ICTIOUE AGATUYnsi ll'Sr. JIT.IS CVNTHI GRADITUR MOLLInl E FLrEXTEM FRONDE I'REMIT CRINEM FINGP:NS ATOUE IMl'LU AT AURO TELA SONANT HUMERIS UAUD ILLO SEGNIOR IBAT AENEAS TANTUM EGREGIO DECLS ENITET ORE Not only is the hero of the Eneis modelled after the hero of the Argonaulics (see Comm. En. III. 10.), bul he is made the subject of the selfsame comparisons: "Oioq S' fx rijoio di'iodfo.; ftaiv AnoXXuw zitllor Hv iiyn&tr,i\ ijf KX(t()in>, ■>) oyt JIvOoi, II ^Ivy.iiiv iv()nto' fJTt Jttr&oio (totjui, 7'otoc ((}•(% nlri&vv Sijuov xifv (sciz. 7»;(/(»i)." Apoll. I{iioi>. I. .'<(•'. IV 25 HiBERNAM. — "Non di^nxi'ifitQnVy scil nr/[uiit()o\> (ul vocal Arislol. Polit. VII.), i. c. aplam liicnianlihus, ila eniin regionis est ingeniuiii." Lemairc, al'lcr Scrviiis. 1 lliink however, willi Ileync, thai iiiuernam is here neither dvaxuiu:{)ov, nor tvxi'ifiiniov, does not direclly express either the clemency, or inclemency, of the Lycian winter or of the Lycian climate, bnt sim|)ly that Lycia was the winter residence of Apollo; nl/i hi- bemabat. Of this use of 'hibernus' we have numerous exam()les: "Sol aut ignis hibernus." Cic. ^6' 6'^«6'cA A'//'. "Hibernum cubiculum." Cic. Ep. ad. Q. Fr. I. 3. 1. "Ili- berna pira." Plin. XXXXVI. 26. "Hibernus calceatus feminarum." Id. ib. c. S. "Iliberni agni." Id. VIll. 47. Not the sun, lire, chamber, jtears, shoeing, lambs, having the chai^acier of winter, but the sun, fire, cham- ber &c. in or for the time of winter; so, in English, winter clothing , winter provisions , winter quar- ters &c. ; and so, in the text, jiibernam lyciam; nut wintry (having the character of winter) Lycia, liul winter (the adjective winter, i. e. of winter, belonging to the season of winter) Lycia; as if Virgil had said, 'hiberna sua in Lycia'. Accordingly Servius: "Constat Apollinem sex mensibus hiemalibus apud Palaram, Lyciae civitatem, dare responsa." In which statement however Servius can hardly be perfectly correct, for if Apollo spent one half the year in Lycia and the other half in Delos, when was he to be found in his famous shrine at Delphi? It is much more probable that having spent the winter in Lycia he paid only a pas- sing visit to 'nuiternam Delon ', on his way to spend the summer at Delphi; and accordingly Avienus represents the festivities at Delos in honor of Apollo as taking place early in the spring, 'vere novo ' : "Omnes fatidico ciiranl solcnnia Phoobo. Nam cum verc novo Icllus so dura rolaxal, Culmiiiibusquo cavis blandum slro[)il ales Ilinniilo, 2G IV Gciis dovota choros ay^ilat, [craliluquej sacralo Luduiit festa die, visit sacra numen alumnum " Dcscript. Orb. Terrae, 705. Compare the accouiu which Virgil here gives us of Ihe rejoicings with which Aj)olIo was greeted al Delos on his arrival there in the spring, after having passed Ihe winter in Lycia, wilh the account given us by Himcrius (Orat. XIV. 10), after Alcaeus, of his festal reception at Delphi in summer on his return from his visit to the Hyperboreans; an account, not only full of beauty in itself, but highly illustrative of the passage before us, and for which, whether it be genuine Alcaic or not, no less than for the numerous other charming frag- ments, of his own as well as of other authors, which he has handed down lo us , I gladly render Himcrius the humble tribute of my thanks; and to my thanks would add my recommendation of the line old rheto- rician (easily accessible since the publication of his works at Gottingen by Wernsdorf in 1790) to the atten- tion of scholars, if I did not feel how little likely to be of much efTect such recommendation from one less known In the literary world than even Himcrius himself. Implicat auro. — It appears from Callinuichus (Ihjmn. in Apoll. 32) that golden dress and ornaments specially belonged to Apollo : "-Y^i'fffw 10) 'nolXoivi TO, t' fvSviov, ij x' eJiinoiJTiig, II T£ Af^^j TO, t' «fjU,UM TO ulvHTlOV, 1] H (fK^ST^tj- X(jvaia xui ra nfdiku. noXvxQVffog yuQ AnoXlun; Ktti T£ nolvxxeavo?." See also in La Ccrda numerous citations lo the same ellecl. IV 27 160. INTK.aKA MAGNO MISCERI MURMURK CAELUM INCIPIT INSEOUITUR COM MIXTA GRANDINE NIMBUS ET TYHII COMITES PASSIM ET TROJANA JU\ ENTUS DARDANIUSOUE NEPOS VENERIS DIVERSA I'ER AGROS TECTA METU PETIERE RUUNT DE MONTIliUS AMNES SPELUNCAM DIDO DUX ET TROJANUS EANDEM DEVENIUNT I'RIMA ET TELLUS ET PRONUBA JUNO DANT SIGNUM FULSERE IGNES ET CONSCIUS AETHEIl CONNUBIIS SUMMOnUE ULULARUNT VERTICE NYMPHAE § I. Ihe Storm not. only is the immediate occasional cause of the union between Eneas and Dido, and hides it from the eyes of the company present, but is emble- matical of it. There is a union taking- place at the same time between Eneas and Dido and between the air and the earth. Compare: "Turn pater omnipotens foecundis inibribus Aether Conjiigis in greinium laetae desccndil, et omnes Magnus alit, magno commixtus corpore, foetus." Gcor/j. II. 3^5. — "Ipsum in connubia tcrrae Aethera, cum pluviis rarescunt nubila, solvo" (Venus sciz.). Stat. S/lv. I. 3. ISo. "Cras crit, quo primus Aclher copulavit nupiias, Ul pater totum bcaret vernus annum nubibus. hi sinum niaritus imber fluxit alniae conjugis, Unde fetus alerct omnes mixta magno corpore." Pervigilium Veneris, do. § 11- The union of Dido and Eneas is plainly modelled after that of Medea and Jason. Both are brought about specially by Juno herself; both take place in a cave, and the Nymphs officiate at both : ^'AvJovvj^i xovoij Oahifiijiov et'ivop twrif Apt^oj (p ijyuOso) JblvS-a tot' s(TTO^S(Jav ItXT^uv ^tyiv toio d' vingO^f 28 IV X(jvtxt()v atyhjfv xo)ag (inXov, ncpQa nfloirn 7'j|(/»/«/t," o ym^oc xui uoidtfioi;. uyO^fa St mft yvu^xti aftfifyoiitfiii Ifixoig fii notxU.tt Y.ahiou j:f.;- .li 5' uiitUK xo^vifui: JlItXiTifiov u/Jif^nfioirn- v/t 8' eaitv tx mdtojt' uXaijiSfi;. (d^jcj? yutt uvu/ JI(j)j Ziivu.: axoaig, li]tooij/ aj/tO/^oi/ i\'ra- (pidiov." Apoli.. RnoD. IV. 808); compare Himer. Oraf. in Severum Conniib.: '''■Anrtio) rig da.da ^ityaljiv.' and Claudian, dc Rapt. Proserp. 11. 230: — "Nirabis Hymenacus liiulcis Intonat, ct testes firinant connubia flammae." . and the Nymi)hs (also i)ersonaIly present,) raise, not « melancholy cry or howl, but, as is perfectly plain from the manner in \vhich both Ovid ( Heroid. III. 95, Dido herself speaking) and Statins (Silv. III. 1. 75), refer to our text and quote the word 'ululare' from it, the nuptial huzza. Compare Ovid, Heroid. II. Ill: "Pronuba Tisiphone thalamis ululavit in illis;" (where, the ill omen being solely in the word 'Tisi- phone', -ululare' corresponds, as in our text, to the German jauchzen.) — "Laetis ululare triumphis." LucAN. VI. 2G1. "Liber adest, fesUsque fremunt ululalibus agri." Ovid. Metam. III. 528. — "Jam gaudia niagnac Teslanlur voces, viclorque ululalus aderral Auribus." ^, ^^ Stat. Theb. lA. 17/. and Virgil himself, En. XI. 662: — "Mag-noque ululanle tumullu Ferainea exultant lunatis agmina pellis." Nor let it be objected that it seems somewhat unusual for the Nymphs to be thus brought to rejoice and huzza at a marriage; for not only they, but the Nereids and even wild Pan himself, are brought by Himerius to the wedding of Severus : '')]yuyov d' av tx fitv J&rjvaiv Tag Muvaug rag Ni^Q}iid'ag dt tx vov ytirorog, 5 32 IV viififfcov re ;foooi'C xai .d{)vado)v }]xo) ycct 2!aTVQovc nxionovrag yju llava ox^u'Zovia xai navTa tov Jio- vvaov thiaaov tvrfv&fi'^ onov ra dowueva .Alia Tiov noi nc/od-tvon' , nov d8 i]id-tMV /ooo/; Yuiv TMv loimov nmmyionovaiv oi loyoi. Ativstio til; Sada fuyuhjv. o de Tig ij^eiTO. otdtj de f/^tTO) Tu nv}inaviay IIimer. Orai. in Severum Connuhialis,20. And Apollonius (see § II. above) represents Juno as brinjiinii- for the especial honor of Jason, ^^bpova y.vdat- I'ovoa,' not only (he Nymphs of the mountains, but those of the rivers and of the woods, to officiate at his union with INIedea. SuMMO VERTICE. — Thcsc words compared with the corresponding- words of Ai)oIlonius (from whom, sec § II. above, the whole scene is very exactly copied), "^t d'oQcOQ xo(ji'(fag MtliTijiov aficftveuovro," seem to determine the Nymphs spoken of, lo be, not the Hama- dryads (who are separately mentioned by Apollonius) but the Oreads or mountain Nymphs: 'L//t titv ooai axoTiiag ootior laxov.' Apollon. Riiod. I. 1226. § VII. So far all has been pros|)erous. The marriage planned and desired by Juno for the benelil of Dido and Carthage, has been solemnised in the imme- diate presence of herself and Tellus, the nuptial torch kindled by Ether himself, the nuptial huzza raised by the Nymphs, Venus so far from placing any impediment in the way, actually consenting, and (at vers. 125) giving, as ii were, her proxy to Juno; but all is insuHicienl; Juno's intentions are, as Venus (vers. 128) well knew they would be, all frustrated; Ihe Fates are more powerful than she; what she intended as the first step towards the aggrandizement of Dido and con- sequently of the Carthaginian empire, is. as we are in- lurmed in the very next line . the iirsl sle|) towards Dido's ruin ; IV 33 "Ille dies primus leti primusque malorum." the report of what has happened spreads far and near; larbas becomes jealous, complains to Jupiter; Mercury is sent down, Eneas hurried oil" to Ilaly, and unfortunate and betrayed Dido (betrayed, observe, not by Juno, who is herself disappointed and frustrated, but by Venus and Eneas) kills herself in despair. 178. IRA IRRrrATA DEORUM '' Xow jLievt] J II.' Apoll. Rhod. II. 40. For the struc- ture see Comments En. II. 413; III. 181. 206. JUPITER OMNK^OTENS GUI NUNC MAURUSIA PICTIS GENS EPULATA TORIS LENAEUM LIBAT HONOREM ASPICIS HAEC AN TE GENITOR CUM FULMINA TOROUES NEQUIDQUAM HORREMUS Observe the emphasis in nunc: now and never before: thy worship having, until introduced by me (see v. 199), been unknown to the Maunisian nation!' Compare: "Cui nunc cog-nomen lulo," En. I. 271 ; and Peerlkamp's note on that passage. Genitor. — Observe Virgil's usual correctness: lar- bas, the son of Jupiter (see v. 198) , addresses Jupiter not (as Anchises En. II. 691) with the ordinary term 'pater', a term so vague and general as to be appli- cable by any junior or inferior, to any senior or superior (see En. II. 2), but with the proper and distinctive appellation 'genitor' ("o yePi/ijoag nartjQy' Soph. Eiectr. 1432). 34 IV 21(). J»Hr tiJWAEONIA MENTUM MITHA CRINKMOTJE MADENTEM SUBNEXUS "Crinciii iinguciiLatQm subnixum el suljligaliiin habens; aiil 'suljnixus', liducia elalus." Servius. "'Sub nix US'. Salmasius, ad Solinum, p. 392, sub- nexus, [jerperam." N. Hcins. in Burniann. "'Subnixus'. Sic membranae noslrae." Brunck. "Haljens subnixum, i. c. subiigaluni nienUim" anl fasciae, quae subler menlum colligari solebanl; itaque 'menlum crinemquc mad en tern subnixus', i. q. milra subiigaluni habens menlum" &c. Wagner. "Leidens Cod. subnexus .... sed allcram leclionem 'subnixus* recte defendunl Heynius, et Gronov. in fiia/r. Stat. c. 54. p. 543." Jahn. Perhaps in llie wliole annals of criticism there is no instance of an equal number of scliolars agreeing, not merely to accept a solecism from the IVISS., but to defend il by argument, while there was at hand a reading not only wholly unobjectionable with respect to grammar, but affording a better, clearer, and stronger sense, and at the same time abundantly confirmed by the use of Ihe author in other places. 'Subnixus', having an active signification, cannot by any possibi- lity exist in connexion with mentum; ;uu1 Virgil nuisl have written not 'subnixus', but. as found in the Leyden .\1S., subnexus; a reading, besides, prelcrablc lo 'subnixus' (supposing 'subnixus' possible) for m 35 these two additional reasons; first, as presenting the idea of subl/f/a/ion, or dj/nf/ undernealh, an idea not at all expressed by 'subnixus', as is sunicienlly shown by Silius's "galeanique eoruscis subnixam crislis," where the helmet (which is below) is re|)resented as 'sub- nixa' on the crests (which are above); and secondly, as the precise word which our author has elsewhere used on two very similar occasions: — "Fusos cervix cui lactea crincs Accipit, ct molli subncctens circulus auro." En. A'. 137. "Ac priiuum laxos tenui de viminc circlos Cervici subnecto." Gcorg. III. 166. Compare Statius, Silv. V. 3. 115: — "Spccieque comani siibiicxus utraquc;" and especially Lucian, Dial. Beor. XVIII. 1 : ^^ MiT{)a ai'adtd'tfitpog xijv zofiijv. 1 do not hesitate therefore here, as I have not he- sitated at En. I. 452 (where there is the precisely op- posite scriptural error) and at En. II. 016, to discard from the text a reading, which, although recommended by the vast majority both of MSS. and of editors, bears a manifest falsehood on its forehead, and to ado[)t a reading to which there is no other objection than the slender support attbrded it either by MS. or printed authority, no MS., so far as I know, being in its favor, except the single Leyden one quoted by Heyne, and no editions except the Baskerville and that of Ruaeus. 237. NAVIGET This imperative placed first in the verse, and separa- ted from both preceding and subsequent context by a 36 IV complete pause, and therefore conslitiUini; in itself an entire sentence, is in the highest de^^ree emphatic; see Comments En. II. 240; IV. 274. 242. TDM VIRGAM CAl'lT nAC ANIMAS ILLE EV OCAT ORCO PALLENTES ALIAS SUB TARTARA TRISTIA MITTIT 1»AT SO-MNOS ADIMiryUE ET LUftUNA MORTE RESIGNAT § 1- Dat somnos adimitoue. — The intimate connexion be- tween these words and the immediately succeeding LUMiNA MORTE RESIGNAT will appear more evident if we bear in mind that the coming on of sleep at night and the wak- ing in the morning were in ancient times sup|tosed to be so much under the direction and control of Mercury, that not only were libations made to that deity just before going to bed, but it was usual to have Enuweg or little images of him (corresponding to the little cru- cifixes which are so generally throughout Christendom hung on or near the bed) either affixed to, or carved on, some part of the bed, in order that they might be the last objocl beheld by the closing eyes at night, and the first which should salute the opening eyes in the morning. See Schol. ad Horn. Odf/ss. w. JOS. Hence appears how even stronger than I have staled in the following section of this Comment, is the paral- lelism of the one function of IMercury with the other, the closing of the sleeper's eyes at night mi the sleep- ing couch and the opening of them in the morning, with the closing of the dead man's eyes on the death- bed and the opening of them eight days after on the 'lectus funeralis". Statins, T/icb. II. 50, makes a most poetical use of the empire assigned by the ancients to Mercury over sleep : l^ 37 , ,,i:, — "Sopor obvius illi (sciz. Mercnrio) Noclis agcbal ci|uos, Irepulusquc assury^il honori Nuiniiiis, cl recto decodit iiinitc caeli." § n. LuMiNA MORTE RESiGNAT. — "Claudil, |>erUirljal." Ser- vius. An inteiprelalion which we cannot enlerlain for one momenl, in as much as it is in direct opposition to the constant use of the word, which is never ' cUiu- dere', but always 'aperire'. Forcellini, following- a second interpretation of Ser- vius: ''resolvere oculos, labefacta eorum structura. " Equally inadmissible as Servius's first interpretation, (a) because equally opposed to the constant use of 'resignare', and (h) because lumina morte resignat were then but a repetition of, and much weaker form of ex- pression for, SUB tartara tristia mittit. Burmann, unable to unravel, would cut the knot, and following- two MSS. of very inferior authority, substi- tute 'limina' for LiiMiNA, thus giving- us a fade repeti- tion either of sub tartara tristia mittit, or of evocat ORCO, or of both; and, not content himself with his own proposition , ingenuously subjoins: "Qui melius se ex hoc loco expedient, illi lubens accesserim." Jahn (and Ladewig also) follows Servius , with only a very slight deviation, "Mihi placet ratio, oculos morte clau- dit, ut hujus versus sententia sit, virga ilia dot somnum et mortem, resignat enim poeta propter praecedens admit scripsisse videtur. adimit oculis somnum, et denuo eos (alio tempore) morte occludit," and is an- swered by the same argument. d "Equidem malim Hemistichium abesse, et lumina morte resignat; quocunque te interpretalione verlas, senten- tia est a loco aliena." Heyne. "Hanc esse persuasum habeo sentciitiam: lumina aperit jamjam se claudentia ; ut Mercurius dicatur in vilam revocare jam morientes." Wagner. AndsoVoss: "Vom Tode, vom Todesschlummer enlsiegelt; d. i. die schon 38 W Slcrbcnden in's Lebcn ziiriickfiihrt , nicht die Geslor- bencn. Es isl Sleig:erung des vorheri?ehendcn somnos ADiMiT." To wliich exitosilion , besides Ihe strong ob- jection raised by Wagner himself, "nihil tale a caeleris scriptoribus (de Mercurio sciz.) tradilur," there is the no trilling obstacle, that it represents Mercury as opening the eyes before they are closed. From all these embroilments it is pleasant to turn to whal, to me at least, appears an unobjectionable in- terpretation, first, I believe, proposed by Turnebus (Ad- vcrs. Lib. XXIV.) and afterwards adopted by that line old Spanish commentator, La Cerda, whose admirable Virgil lies as much neglected in modern studios as an Irish publication in a London bookseller's shop, and no doubt for the same reason, viz. that so eloquently ex- l)ressed nearly two thousand years ago in the question, "What good thing can come out of Galilee?" La Cerda's words are brief: "Aperil lumina in rogo; in quo allu- sum ad morem Romanorum." This interpretation, iirsl, preserves to resignat its ordinary, well elablished sig- nification of opening, unsealing ; compare "testamenta resignat" (Hor. Epist. I. 7. 9) unseals the (()reviously sealed, 'signata') wills. Secondly, assigns to Mercury no new, unheard-of office, the opening of the dead man's eyes on the pile (probably done originally with the intention that he should be able to see his way to Hades) being naturally placed under the auspices of, or ascribed to, the ifyxoiroujiog himself; nay, forming the first and most indispensable sle[) to be taken by him in the discharge of his office. Thirdly, avoids all repetition. Fourthly, makes allusion to a rile which the Romans regarded as of great importance and so- lemnity: "Morientibus illos (oculos) operire rursus(|ue in rogo palefacere, Ouirilium magno rilu sacrum est; ila more condito, ut neque ab homine supremum eos speclari fas sit, el caelo non ostendi." Plln. XI. 37. in solemn funerals therefore the dead nuui's eyes re- IV 39 niained closed for seven entire days, being- closed al the lime of death by the hand of one of the family, and opened by the same band when the body was laid on the pile on the eighth day afterwards: "Octavo incendebalur, nono sepcliebatur." Ser\\ ad En. V. 64. And so Becker, in his excellent romance of Gallus, Oder Romische Scenen aus dcr Zeit Augusts (2"'^ Ed. 3 Tom. Leipzig, 1849): "Nachdem die Freundschaft dieser Pflicht sich entledigt hatte, selzte der Zug sich wieder in Bewegung, urn nach dem Grabmale zu ge- langen , das Gallus an der Appischen Strasse sich er- richtet hatte. Dort war von Irocknen Kieferstammen, mit Laubgewinden und Teppiclien behangen, der Schei- terhaufen errichtet, urn welchen rings Cypressen ge- pflanzl waren. Die Triiger h-oben den Lectiis hinaiif, und aus zahlreichen Alabastern g-ossen Andere kost- liche Oele liber den Leichnam aus, wLihrend Kriinze und Weihrauch, als die letzten Gaben der Liebe, von den Anwesenden hinauf geworfen wurden. Dann offnete C h r e s i m u s dem T o d t e n die A u g e n , w e I c h e dieselbe treue Hand zugedriickt hatte (viz. at the time of death eight days previously), dass sie aufwiirts zum Himmel schaueten, ergrifF unter lautem Klagegesange der Anwesenden und dem Schalle der Horner und Floten die brennende Fackel, und hielt sie mit abwiirts gewendetem Gesicht unter den Scheiter- haufen, dass die den innern Raum fiillenden trockenen Binsen mit heller Flamme emporprasselten." 'Signare', and its diminutive 'sigillare' ( "ut signare aulem anulo claudei^e es\., ita et sigillare quoque pro eodem ; nam sigillum ex si/jno diminutivum, ul ligiUum e,y.Ugno, iigillum ex tigno." Salmasius de modo Usur. p. 455. Ed. Elzev.) being the very words used by the Romans to express the operation of closing (sealing) the dead man's eyes ("Hae pressant in tabe comas, hae lumina sign ant," Statius Theb. III. 129; "Lex Moenia est in pielate, ne filii patribus luce clara sigillcnt oculos." 40 IV Varho; in liis lost treatise cnlillcd Gemini, qiioled hy Nonius Marcellus Lib. II. 785), Virgil could not possilily have chosen a more proper, clear, or forcililc word to ex- press Ihe unclosing (unsealing) of them than 'resignare'. Further still, the allusion to this ceremony could not have been more appropriately placed than imme- diately after the reference to Mercury's corresponding function of taking away sleep; the taking away of sleep involving the idea of opening the sleeper's eyes, and the idea of opening the sleeper's eyes suggest- ing that of the well known op(!ning of the dead man's eyes, performed by, or under the auspices of, the same deity; by a reference to which very remark- able and striking rile, the previous account of the ollice or function of ipv/onoujiog is completed, and forcibly presented, not merely to the imagination, but (in the case of a Roman at least) almost to the very sight. Nor let it be said that Mercury's dominion oversleep is thus made to be thrust in awkwardly between two parts of the oflice of wvyono^noQ^ such postlocations, if I may use the expression, of pari of a preceding idea being (whether in our view graceful or not) of ex- ceedingly common occurence in all parts of the writings of Virgil. See Comments En. 1. 483 ; III. 317, 571 ; IV. 4S3. From 'signare' through its diminutive 'sigillare' come the French sceller and desceller (spelled also dcs- sillcr and deciller), and our seal and nnseal: all of them, words applied either literally or metaphorically to the eyes: "(Ju' uu rayou ilo clarlr vinl dcsillcr Ics yoiix." VoLiAiKE, Jlcnriade, cli. 1. In conlirmalion of the above interpretation 1 may add that Lucan, in his allusion (I'hars. V. 2S0) to the Roman rile of closing the eyes of the recently dead, makes the same use of 'mors' fur ' murtuus' as Virgil in uur text : "Alcjiie oculos iiiorli clausiirain quaL'icrc doxlraiu." rv 41 245. ii.r.A 1 ukths agit ventos et torbida tranat NUUILA "Illa FPiETDS AGIT VENTOS, i. 6. niiiiia celcrilalc perse- ((iiilur, el pacne occiipnl praevenilqiie." Donat. ad Tor. Aclel2)h. HI. 2. "Ul scssor agil cquiini quo vcliilur, ila Mcrcurius ven- tos agit, idquc auxilio virgae, quasi illa ul Ireuo ule- relur ad venlos moderandos." La Cerda. "Agit ante se, quis dubilel? dum volaUi per auras fer- lur." Heyne. "Agit ventos erkliirl Herr Heyne mil 'quis dubilel?' ihm voranzuwelien. Wozu das? Hal denn der Erkliirer vergessen, dass er nur eben vorher (v. 223) den Wind in die Fliigel, also nichl voran, zu liauchen be- slimnil? agit, ^r Irelht, was kann es wohl anders sein, ajs, er bewegl sie diircli die magische Kraft des Slabcs, ihm nachzuwelien?" Voss. Mythol. Br. No. 58. "Cosi aimato il bel Dio, gia fendc a volo Le nubi; e I'aure flagellando, e giunto A vista" &c. Alfieri. Let us see if a belter sense than any of Ihesc cau- nol be made oul of Ihe passage. 'Agere' is io make to move (hence 'agilare', ils frequenlative , is to make to move frequently or much, to agitate). The agent causing Ihe motion may be either in, upon, before, behind, above, below, beside, or in any other conceivable position, with respect lo the object put into motion. Thus — "As'lt ipse furenfem hi somnis ferus Aeneas." En. IV. 465; Eneas, behind, drives ov makes to move on, Dido, before. "Slridenlcm fundani .... Ipse tor adducta circiim caput cgit habcna." En. lA'. 560; 42 IV made to move about his head, himself standing steady; swung about his head. — "Capilolia ad alia Victor agel currum." En. VI. 837; make his chariot move to the Capitol, liimself being in the cliariot. "Velocem Mncslhcus agit acri remig-e Pristin." En. V. 116; makes the ship move on, himself being in the shii»; re- gulates the motions of the ship, commands the ship. "Princeps anlc omnes dcnsum Palinurus agebat Agmen." En. V. S33; Palinurus, before the squadron, tnade the squadron, be- hind him, ?nove on; regulated the motions of the squa- dron, led the squadron. — "Gubernator sese I^alinurus agcbaU" En. ri. 337; Palinurus was moving himself , regulating his own mo- lions, moving on. "Ecce, Sabinorum prisco de sanguine magnum Agmen agens Clausus, magnique ipse agminis inslar." En. VII. 700; "IIos super advcnit Volsca de gente Camilla, Agmen agens equilum, ct (lorenles aere calervas." En. VH. S03: "Parte alia ventis el dis Agrippa secundis Arduus agmen agens." En. VIII. 6S2. "Lalus vero dextnim Sernpinn agebal." Ammian. XVI. 12. Clausus, Camilla, Agrippa, Serapion (how silualed with respect to Ihcir Iroops, is nni specified) made their troops move on; regulated at pleasure the motion of their troops. And so Mercury in our text (how situated Willi respect to the winds, is not specified, but Icll to the reader's inuii^inalion,) made the winds move on, re- gulated the motion of the winds; caused the winds to IV 43 move in such manner and such direction as most faci- litated his descent to Libya: 'vocal (see v. 223) el ngil venlos; f'relus virga', using his rod in the same manner as a prince or chieftain his sceptre, or a field-marshal his truncheon, either as engine or symbol of authority, or both. The reason why Ihe commenlalors have found Ihis exlremely simple sentence, agit ventos, so uninlclligiljle, is thai there is in modern languages no word corres- ponding to 'agere'; no word which expresses the causing to move on, or the regulating the motions of, an object, without at the same time limiting the mover to some certain position with respect to the object moved. I agree entirely with Forbiger and Ladcwig and Jalm (who has however printed it otherwise in his text) against Wunderlich, that the parenthesis ends at 're- signat', and that the narrative, dropped at 'capit', is resumed, not at 'jamque', but at illa. 246. JAMOUE VOLANS APICEM ET LATERA ARDUA CERWrr ATLANTIS DURI CAELUM QUI VERTICE FULCIT ATLANTIS CINCTUM ASSIDUE CUI NUBIBUS ATRIS riNlFERUM CAPUT ET VENTO PULSATUR ET I31BRI NIX HUJIEROS INFUSA TEGIT TUM FLUMINA MENTO PRAECIPITANT SENIS ET GLACIE RIGET UORRIDA RARRA This is not a personification of the mountain Atlas, but a description of the transformed king Atlas — of Ihe the mountain under its former human character. There- fore (vers. 258) "Matcnio venicns ab avo Cyllcnia proles," not from Mount Atlas , but from the man Atlas, Mer- cury's grandfather. Compare Ovid's account of the 44 IV Iransformnlion . corresponding: almost word for word Willi our lex I: "Qnanlus oral, mons faclus Alias: jam barba coniaoquo III silvas abouiit: jiiga suiil hunioriquo nianusque. Quod caput auto fiiit, sumnio est in niunlc cacumcn; Ossa lapis fiuni. Turn partes auctus in omiies Crevit in immcnsuni (sic Di statnistis) ct omnc Cum tol sideribus caelum roquiovil in illo." Melam. IV. 657 cf- scq. The poetical description agrees \\\\\\ the historical : "Atlas mons e media arenarum consurgit vaslitate; ct eductus in viciniam hmaris circiili, ullra niibila caput condit: qua ad occanum extenditur, cui a se nomen dedil, manat fontibus, ncmoribiis inhorrescil, rupiijus asperatur, squalet jejunio, humo nuda nee hcrbida vertex semper nivalis .... apex Perseo et Ilerculi per- vius, caetcris inaccessus: ita fidcm ararum inscriptio palam facit." Solinus, Polijhisior, XXIV. Jamou& volans &c. — We are indebted to Voss (My- thologische Briefe, Tom. I. Letter 27 ) ior Ihe best an- sw^er which has yet been given to the question, why Mercury should take this apparently very indirect route from Heaven to Carthage. There were three openings or gates aflbrding communication between the resi- dence of the Gods on the heavenly Olympus, and the earth; one in the zenith, immediately above the Thcs- salian Olympus; one in the east; and one in the west; not to speak of a fourth gate toward the north, mentioned only by Statins (Theb. VII. 35) and probably Slatius's own invention. From the gate in the zenith or 'vertex caeli', Jupiter takes his survey of the world (En. I. 220; X. 1) , lets down his golden chain (IIom. U. 0) and hulls liis iliimder (Genrrj. III. 261; Ovm. Met. I. 175). The |)assage lo and from Ihe earlli through this gate being inconveniently steep and per- pendicidar, though Ihe shorlesl and most ilirccl, a preference was usually given lo the eastern or wesleru gate, which, being near 4he horizon, aflorded an easy IV 45 and convenient passag,e to Ihe nearest projecting east- erly or westerly points (mountain tops) of the earth's surface. Through the eastern gale Sol and Nox, wilh their respective trains, ascended daily out of the ocean into Heaven, and through the western descended daily out of Heaven into the ocean (Compare En. I. 749, and Comm.). Through the eastern gate Eros descended from Heaven to Colchis (Apoll. Rhod. III. 159). And through the western gate, as it may be fairly presumed, Mercury now descends upon Atlas, not only the nearest elevation to that gale, but lying directly in the way between it and Carthage. To render this explanation complete, it is only necessary to add, first, that even supposing the descent by the Thessalian Olympus had been equally gradual and sloping, it would still have been much less suitable than the descent by Atlas for a messenger whose business lay not in Europe, but in x\lrica; and secondly, that il is scarcely possible to imagine a more appropriate stepping-stone between heaven and earth than the heaven-supporting Atlas. 274. ASCANIUM SUUGENTEM ET SI'ES HKr.EDIS lULI UESl'ICE GUI REGNU.\1 ITALIAE ItOlVlANAOUE TELLUS DEUENTUR. Respice and debentur are both highly emphatic: parti- cularly DEBEJSTUR, the first word of a verse and at the same time the last word of Mercury's speech, and followed by a complete pause. We may suppose both words, especially the last and parting word, accom- panied by a significant action: are his righlful due and must be his. See Comments En. II. 246 ; IV. 22, 237. 4G IV 298. OMMA TllTA TIMF.NS Not, fearing what nas aclually safe, hut fear in ff because evert/ (hiny seemed to he safe, according- lo the maxim llial a reverse is apt lo come at the very moment when every thing- seems most secure. See the story of Po- lycrates's ring, Herodot. Thalia; also tlie exclamation of Philip of Macedon when he received three joyful ac- counts in one day: "/2 da.ifxov^ utroiov xi vovvoig avTid'eg aXaiTCDfia." Plutarch. Consol. ad ApoUon. c. V. Compare also Seneca (Troad. 262): — "Melucntem Deos Nimiuin faventes;" also the refleclion of Cliiniene (Corneille, Cid, I. 2), when inlonned that her lather had given his entire approbation to her marriage with Don Rodrigue : "II sembic toutefois que mon anie troiiblee Refuse celle joie, et s'eu trouve accablee;" also Schiller's "Daruni in deinen fiuhliclien Tag:en Furchle des Ungliiclvs tuckisclie Nahe;" of which fine passage see the whole (Brant von Mes- sina, near the end). This interpretation of ommia ti:ta TiMENS and that which I have given (see Comm. verse 419) of "llunc ego si i»olui tanlum sperare doloreni, Et pcrferre, soror, potero;" are conlirmalory of each other. 305 — 330. niSSIMULARE ETIAM SPERASTI CiC. Not only the genri-al idi'a. luil uiosi of ihc parlicniars. of this line scene are taken Irum (he tlialogue l)etwcH'n IV 47 Medea and Jason in Ihe fourth Book of the Argo- naulics. See Conimcnls En. III. 10; IV. 143. Il is perhaps not unworthy of renuirk that while Virgil here (as in his other imitations with scarcely a single exception) greatly improves ui)on and surpasses his original, those who have recopied Ironi Virgil fall short, not only oi' the improved model with which he has fur- nished them, but even of the original itself; com|)are Tasso's tedious, spiritless and unnatural dialogue of Ar- mida and Rinaldo , in the 16"' C. of Gerusalemme Li- ber at a. 307. NEC TE NOSTER AMOK NEC TE DATA DEXTEUA QUONDAM NEC MORITURA TENET CRUDELI FUNEUE DU)0 OUIN ETIAM niBERNO MOLIRIS SIDERE CLASSEM ET MEIUIS PROPERAS AQUILONIBUS IRE PER ALTUM CRUDELIS Data dextera. — Pledged to Dido, as Jason's to Medea: "iZ, )iv8u, xui /f<"' TJUQuaxiSiH' i]o(iQi /not /Jf'iiTegijV." Apollon. Riiod. IV. 99. Crudelis. — This word, compared with the same word En. I. 411, aflbrds a striking example of the emphasis acquired to a word by its position at the end of a sentence and at the same time at the 1)6- ginning of a verse. See vv. 237 , 275, 276, and Com- ments; also Comm. En. II. 246. Not only the word itself, but its very position, at the end of the sentence to which it belongs and at the beginning of a verse, is borrowed from Apollon. Rhod. IV. 389: — "Main yuu ^nyuv ijhnc oQxny ]yi]lfsg." 48 IV 314. PKR EGO HAS LACRYMAS DEXTRAMyUE TUAM TK yUANDO Al.IUn Mllil JAM MISERAK NIIIM. IPSA REI.IOll PER CONNUBIA NOSTRA PER INCEI>TOS HYMENAKOS SI BENE QUID DE TE MERUI FUIT AUT TIRI QUIDQUAM DULCE MEUM MISERERE DOMUS LABENTIS ET ISTAM ORO SI QUIS ADHUC PRECIBUS LOCUS EXUE MENTEM — "And upon my knees I cliarm you by my once commended beauty, By all your vows of love, and lliat great vow Whicli did incorporate and make us one, Thai you unfold to me" &c. Shakespeare, Jul. Cues. II. 1. (Portia to Brutus). 321. TE PROPTER EUNDEM EXSTINCTUS PlIOOR ET QUA SOLA SIDERA ADIBAM FAMA PRIOR GUI ME MORIBUNDAM DESERIS IIOSPES HOC SOLUM NOMEN QUONIAM DE CONJUGE RESTAT "liilinmsi aliam non habiiisscin dignilalein." Wagner. No; bill quam solam habiii: which sole access ;ul SIDERA (i. e. to a place of honor in heaven), being- now closed against lier, there is nolliing left lor her but to die (cui ME MORIBUNDAM DESERIS?). So (Ell. JX. 641) "Sic ilur ad astra." Compare Juvenal speaking of Hercules and Eneas: "Alter aquis, alter llanimis ad sidera missus." Sat. .17. 03. Also "Sed jam alter (i. e. Julius Caesar) operibus suis aditum sibi ad caelum inslruxeral." Valer. Max. 1. 7. 2. HOSI'ES HOC SOLUM NOMEN yUONIAM DE CONJUGE RESTAT. — "Soror Tonanlis (hoc enini solum milii Women relictiim est) semper alienum Jovem Ac tcmpla sununi vidua deserui aclhcris." Seneca, Ilcrcul. Fur. I. 1. IV 49 327. SAMEM SI QUA MIHI DE TE SUSCEPTA FUISSET ANTE FUGAM SUBOLES SI QUIS INlflll PARVULUS AULA LUOERET AENEAS QUI TE TANTUM ORE REFERRET NON EOUIDEM OMXINO CAPTA AC T>ESERTA VIDKRKU DIXERAT ILLE JOVIS ISIONITIS IMMOTA TENE13AT LUMINA Nicholas Heinsiiis, followed by Heyne, Wagner, For- biger, and most modern editors, has adopted the reading- ol" the Medicean, 'tarn en'. The sense so obtained can be no other than this: "I wish I had had by thee some httle Eneas, whose resemblance to thee might sometimes remind me of thee — ^' tarn en', after all; nolwith- standing all that has happened" As much as to say: "Even shouldst thou go away as thou hast threatened, the recollection of thee will always be dear to me." To (his sense I object, first, that it expresses more tenderness and afTection than is consistent with the highly reproachful, upbraiding- character of the rest of the speech, and especially with the ei)ithet perfide (v. 305), and the capta of the immediately succeeding line. Secondly, that it is tautologous, the resemblance to Eneas being sufficiently and unmistakably expressed in the words parvulus aeneas in the very same line. Thirdly, that te derives an inappropriate emphasis from being thus placed as first syllable of the dactyl 'te tamen'. For all these reasons I prefer the reading TAKTUM, and the sense, sotne little Eneas, oui te tantum ORE REFERRET , who might reseuihle thee osly in his features; Dido's wish not being that slie might have a tittle Eneas who would resemble his father in his features, but (the words oui te tantum ore refeuret being entirely limitative) a little Eneas who would not resemble his father in his mind. This sense is not only in the most perfect harmony with the rest of 50 IV Dido's speech , but seems lo be required hy the strongly reproachful expressions perfide and capta , the former of which placed at the beginning-, and the latter at the end, of the speech, shows that Dido's feeling remains Ihc same all through, and that there is none of that softening or relenting in it, which would be expressed by 'la men'. Compare, exactly ]jarallel. En. AIL 348: "Nomine avum refcrcns, animo manibusquc parcntem;" like his grandsire only in name. It appears from Servius's gloss, "Aut illud dicil, optarem filium similem vultui, non moribus tuis," that he was well acquainted with the reading tantum, which is that adoi)ted by most of the ancient editors. Maittaire lestities that it is the readini;- of the Milan Edition of 1474, and I have myself found it in the Modena Ed. of 1475, the Paris Ed. of 1600, both the Stephenses, Bersmann, Daniel Heinsius, La Cerda, and the Basker- ville. Pierius's MSS. seem to have been pretty equally divided between the two readings. I have myself per- sonally consulted only the Gudian, the two Leipzig, and the Dresden, respecting the passage; in the latter only I have found tantum, in the three former 'tarn en', Immota tenebat lu.mina. — Chateaubriand should have better understood these words, than to found on them a charge against Eneas of meanness of spirit, and a comparison very disadvantageous lo him with Bouillon rejecting the seductions of Armida: "11 lienl les yeux baisses (immota tenebat lu.mina), il cache son trouble dire. Ce n'est pas de eel air que lo capilaiuc Chretien re- pousse les adresses d'Armide." Genie du Christianisme. Immota lumina does not mean les j/ei/.v Oaisses, but (as inlcrprclod by Dido herself, vers. 3G9) steadfastly fixed; they are neither cast down in shame ('dejecta', 'de- missa'), nor turned away ('aversa'), but sinqtly (as they should bo, luieas's |)uiposc remaining unchanged.) immota, Knnioved. The same wonl is applied in the s.imc IV 51 sense to Enoas's mind, vers. 440. In lliis instance, as in so many others, the fanit is nol in Vii't;il, l»ul in the commentator; not in llie sun, I»ut in Uic eye ol' llic observer. 356. NUNC F.TIAM INTEP.PRES DIVUM JOVE MISSUS AB IPSO TESroR UTRUMOUE CAPUT CELERES MANDATA PER AURAS DETUUT n'SE liEUM MANIFESTO IN I.UMINE \ Htl INTRANTEM MUROS VOCEMOUE HIS AURIBUS IIAUSI "Es isl des Ilimmols sichlbailichc Fiigung-." Schiller, Lie Piccolomini, Acl I, sc. 3. That it is the commandment of the Deity, is, in the mouth of the moralist, what the cannon is in the hands of princes, the 'ultima ratio', the last and neverfaiiing- justilication of whatever act is ulterly irreconcilable with the principles of justice, with the best feeling-s of the human heart; "vatem et insontes deos praetendunt." Compare with Eneas's defence of his perfidious aban- donment of the woman whose alTeclions he has gained, and whose honor he has betrayed, Charles the Ninth's justification to himself of his not retaining his friend and favorite, Marsiilac , Conte de Rochefaucould, to sleep at the Louvre on the night of the St. Bartholomew, but allowing him to go home to his hotel through the streets of Paris, although he knew he would certainly be murdered on the way: "Je vois bien que Dieu veut ([u'il perisse." (Palissot's notes to the Henriade, C. II.). Compare also St. Augustin's defence of his deception and desertion of his mother (Confess. V. 14. 15) on this selfsame Carthaginian shore, from whence, by a singular coincidence, he was sailing for the selfsame Italy. However the ingenuous heart may reject the excuses of all three, and refuse to be a party to this 52 IV shining of the onus of an iniquity, from Ihe shoulders or the peri)elrator lo those of the jjerpetnitor's God. still Encas's excuse is the best, for he sees and hears tlie present and commanding: Deity, while the others witliout so much as an incjuiry — "Dine luinc ardorcm nientibus addunl, Euryale, an sua cuique Deus lit dira libido?" assume al once their own strong inclinations, their own mere volitions, lo he commandments from Heaven. 362. TALIA DICENTEM JAMDUDUM AVERSA TUETIUI HUG ILLUC VOLVENS OCULOS TOTUMOUE PEREflRAT LU.MINIBUS TACITIS ET SIC ACCEKSA I'llOKATUR Ihis passage is usually interpreted, looks at /u'm, roll- ing her eyes hither and thither , and wanders him all over with slle?it eyes: "Ma gia a tai deUi, in lorvi sguardi incerli, Ferocemente tacita lo guarda Da capo a pie, d'ira infiammata. Dido." ALFlEni. A little examination, however, affords a sense more exact and more worthy of Virgil. 'Oculus' signifu^s the orf/afi , the ball or orb of the eye, considered alj- stracledly from its function; 'lumen' (as its primary and etymological meaning shows) the llyht , i. e. the luminous or illuminating part of the eye , the sight viso." Tassoni , La Secchia Jiapita, A'. 50), and, more exactly still, to ils own Italian deriva- livc, lume ("vive faville uscian de duo' bei lumi." Petr. Sonn. 'J20). Sucli being the respective meanings of IV 53 the Iwo words, Pidn is dcscril)cd wilh srcnl accuracy, lirsl, as rollini;- her eycl>alls hither and lliillier while slic looks al Eneas, and secondly, as wandering him all over wilh her vision. The second clause of the sentence is thus su|i|)lemenlary to the first, and the whole meaning- is: ' iuetur et pererrat totum hnninihus iacilis (lumine tacito) oculorum , qiios volvebal hue et illue'. It were easy to show by numerous examples that the best Latin writers frequently (not always) make this (lislinclion between 'oculos' and 'lumina'. Ex gr. : "Al si tantiila pars oculi media ilia pcresa est, Incohimis quamvis alioque splendidus orbis, Occidil extemplo lumen (the sight is lost) tenebraeque se- quuntur." LUCRET. III. 414. See, in the same author, IV. 823. 1137; and especially that fine passage, VI. 1177. Also (Corn. Nepos, Timol. IV. 1): "Sine ullo morbo lumina o culorum amisit," the light or sight of the eyes. Also (Ovid. Meta?n. XIII. 561): — "Dig-ilos in perfida lumina condit, Expilatque g-enis oculos. Also Mctam. A'lV. 200): "Inanem luminis orbem." Also (Catull. Epigr. 49): "Gemina tegunlur Lumina node," where it is 'lumina' (not 'oculi'), because it is the sigJit (not the eyeballs) that is covered wilh nighl; and (En. II. 210): "Oculos suffecli," because il is the balls (not the sight) that are suffused wilh blood. See also Shakespeare's "There is no speculation (i. e. no 'lumen', or observing vision) in those eyes." LuMiNiBus TACiTis. — "Ipsa lacila." Servius. "Servii explicatio sequentibus (accensa profatur) refutatur satis. Ego explicarem, non blandis aut amatoriis, sed flammeis et falentibus ignem." Burmann. "Slicre Augen ; quibus nullus inesl sensus." Gossrau. "Oculi lacili ad dicen- dum non pertinent, sed sunt qui iram abdunt." Wagner. I hold the inlerjirelalion of Servius (adopted also 54 IV by TIeync) to be the true one; first, on account of the more |)oelic meaning;; secondly, on acconnl of Seneca's "Tacilo locnm roslro pererral" (Thyeal. 500), wliere 'tacilo', applied to the snout of a hound tracing: his game by the scent, can only mean 'ipse canis tacens'. To which add: "Tacila immurmural aure", Stat. Theb. 1. 532. Thirdly, on account of the addition to tuetur of JAMDUDUM and DiCENTEM, woids wliich express as clearly as possible that Dido eyes Eneas over, not (as Burmann thought) during her own reply, but during the latter part of Eneas's speech: She regards him with a silent scowl until he has finished , and then accensa PROFATUR, And fourthly, on account of the almost ex- press commentary on the passage, afforded by Statius's "Dejecil macstos exloniplo Ismcnius heros In terram viiltas, tacitequc ad Tydca laesum Obliquarc oculos, lum longa silentia niovit" Theb. I 673. A similar form of expression is usual in other lan- guages, thus: "Doch viel bedeutend fragi ihr stummer Blick." Schiller, Maria Stuart, A. I. sc. 8. "On cut dit (pi'il entendait sa chanson dans ses yeux." Victor Hugo, Notre Dame de Paris. B. IX. c. 4. 365. NEC TUil DIVA PARENS GENERIS NEC |IARI»ANIS AUtTOi; l'ER|-n»E SEI» KURIS GENUIT IE CAUTIBUS UORRENS CAUCASUS 1 ERiiuE .... CAUCASUS. — Scc Comment on Crudelis', vers. 311, and Comm. En. II. 246. W 55 376. FIEU FURIIS INCENSA FEHOR See Comni. En. II. 131 ; and observe besides thai ' fero ' is the verb appropriated to the carrying; of tire, or of a burning- object. See vers. 593; also Ovid, de Nar- cisso (Met. III. 464): "Flamnias moveoque feroque." 384. SEOUAR ATRIS IGNIBUS ABSENS ET CUM FRIGIDA MORS ANIMA SEDUXERIT ARTUS OMNIBUS UMBRA LOCIS ADERO "Prosequar to abeuntem absens fumo flammisque rogi mei lanquam malo omine; cf. v. 661 ei seq." Wagner, Virg. Br. En. But, first, the word absens, properly applicable only to a living person, and plainly opposed to the subse- quent ET CUM FRIGIDA MORS &c., shows that Dido spcalis of something which is to happen not after her death, but during her life; and secondly, it is hardly con- ceivable that Dido should thus particularly indicate the peculiar manner of her death, not only before its manner had been determined on, but even before she had taken the resolution of dying; see v. 475. I there- fore understand the atris ignibus with which Dido threatens to pursue Eneas, to be , not the /ires of her funeral pyre, but the fires or torches of the Furies; those fires with which Clytemnestra pursues Orestes ("Armatam iacibus matrem" v. 472), those fires which in the ancient mythology so aptly figure the stings of a guilty conscience; and I lake the meaning of the whole passage to be: seouar abseks, /, absent, will 8 56 IV fnJlow (whilst I am yet ative , the recollection of me will pursue you) ignibus atuis, with dark .smouldering fires (the stints ol' an evil conscience); precisely Ovid's "Fing:e ag'c te rapido (niilhiin sit in omine pondus) Turbine deprendi; quid libi iiiciilis eril? Protinus occurrent falsae perjuria linguae, El Phrygia Dido fraude coacta mori." ncroid. TIL Go: ET CUM FRiGiDA MORS &c. and wTien I am dead, my spectre will haunt you, sciz. (the idea being- supplied from the foregoing seouar atris ignibus absens) with the same smouldering lires. The iininedialely preceding ' pia nu- mina', and the remarkable similarily between Dido's ignibus atris and the "taedas atro luniine funiantes" which Aleclo thrust into the breast of Turnus (En. VII. 456), seem to place it beyond doubt that in this his commencing sketch of the terrible in Dido, Virgil had in his mind those same avenging Furies, and that same famous pursuit of Orestes by Clytemnestra, which he draws at full shortly afterwards, vers. 471 and sequel. Our author has here, as in so many other places, improved upon his original, for while Medea threatens that her Furies will pursue Jason, — "fx St (Tt nrxTQi/g AvTix ffiut y thtatiuv Jlqivvviq." Apoll. Rhod. IV. 3S5, Dido threatens that she will herself become his pursu- ing Fury; herself (i. e. the recollection of her) hunt him every where with firebrands: seouar atris ignibus absens. IV 57 396. JUSSA TAMEN DIVUM EXSEQUITUR CLASSKIMQUE RKVISIT TUM VERO TEUCRI INCUMBUNT ET I.ITTORE CEI.SAS DEDUCUNT TOTO NAVES NATAT UNCTA CARINA FRONDENTKSQUE FERUNT RAMOS ET ROBORA SILVIS INFARRICATA FUGAE STUDIO MIGRANTES CERNAS TOTAOUE EX URBE RUENTES Classem revisit; — re, again; sciz. after his Ions;- ne- glect and absence. TuM VERO. — Then indeed, and, by implication, 7iot till then. The reference is to the orders previously given (vers. 289) to prepare for sailing, which orders the crews did not seriously set about executing until Eneas himself made his appearance among them. See Com- ments En. II. 105, 228; III. 47; IV. 449, 571; V. 659. Alfieri, misunderstanding the two words tum vero. represents Eneas as finding the Trojans, when he ar- rives among them, already engaged in performing those acts which Virgil describes them as performing only in consequence of his arrival among them: — "un Dio, Che severo lo incalza, e sping-e, e sforza Suoi passi la, dove le navi eccelse Varando stanno gli operosi Teucri.. Le spahiiale carene g-alleg-gianti, E le nuove ali dei trascelti remi, E, onor de' boschi, Ic novelle anlenne, Presla og-ni cosa Enea trova al far vela." A translation very much in the reckless style of our own Dryden. It must not be forgotten, however, in any comparison of Alfieri's translation of the Eneis with Dryden's, that Alfieri's so far as it was revised by him (viz. as far as the 656 line of the third Book) is very superior to the above specimen, while Dryden's translation is, from beginning to end, uniformly coarse and reckless, and, except in the story, has little more 58 IV resemblance lo the Eneis, Ihan Ihc Davideis has to Paradise Lost. FnoNDENTESouE FERDNT RAMOS, — I Can hardly doubl thai RAMOS ( for the MS. aiilhorily for which see N. Heinsius's and Burmann's Notes) , and not 're- mos', is the true reading. Not that I understand (with Peerlkamp) ramos lo be intended specifically for oars, and robora for masts, but because, first, the expression 'frond en tes remos' seems to me to he an expression savoring* more of Valerius Flaccus or Statins, lhan of Virgil, while the expression fron- DENTEs RAMOS is uot ouly simple and natural , but of common occurence with our author, see En. III. 2p; VII. 67, 135; and secondly, because by understanding FRONDENTES RAMOS and ROBORA INFABRICATA aS the COm- mon Endiadys, we have the excellent sense, imwrought (uncarpentered) trees, hearing their leafy branches — rvith their leaves and branches. Compare Georg. II. 303—308, where 'robora', 'frondes', and 'ramos' are, as I think they are in our text, all predicated of the one tree. Of all the numerous editors of Virgil, whom I am in the habit of consulting, I find the reading ramos adopted only by the too much neglected La Cerda. In the three only MSS. which I have myself personally examined respecting the passage, viz. the two Leipzig and the Dresden, I find 'remos'. MiGRANTES CERNAS. — In Order to perceive the per- fect beauty and correctness of this simile the reader must bear in mind that, as appears from the use of the verb 'cernere', to discern or distinguish from a distance by means of the sight (compare Venus point- ing out to Eneas the distant towers of Carthage, "ubi nunc ingenlia cernis Moenia," &c. En. I. 369; and, "Ego Catuli Cumanani ex hoe loco regioneni \ideo, I^ompeianum non cerno; nei|ui! t|uid(juam inlerjec- luni est, (juod obslet; sed inlcndi longius acies non IV 59 potest." Cic. IV. Acad. c. 25), and from Ihe still more precise, "prospiceres iirce ex summa" (vers. 410), the view is supposed to be taken from a considerable distance. So seen from a considerable distance, the crowds of Trojans hurrying backwards and forwards, and carrying to the ships the various provisions and equipments necessary for their speedy departure and long- voyage, could not be compared to any other natural object so correctly and beautifully as to a swarm of ants, "cum populant" &c. Compare Sanct. Basil, in Hexaemeron. Homil. VI. c. 9. Edit. Garnier, 1839: " Et nozs. ano axQ(oi>Hag fityuXiig Titdiov tixhg nolv ve xai viiviov, rpaxa jjlev ool t(x)v (3owv xavrxpav}] ra 'Qtvyij; nifkixoL drj ot aiiortiotq avioi) ei fii] avQiUf/MV tlvu gov TiaQEOXOv (pav- zaaiav." 408, yUIS TIBI TUNC DIDO CERNENTI TALIA SENSUS i^ gUOSVE DABAS GEMITUS CUM LITTORA FERVERE LATE- PROSPICERES ARCE EX SUMMA TOTUMQUE VIDERES MISCERI ANTE OCULOS TANTIS CLAMORIBUS AEQUOR "JSv dr], Tfxvov, noittv fi' uvuffjaciv doxetc, KVTOV ^t-%)lOiV , tl VTTi'OV (TTIjVUL TOTS', noi' sxdaxQvaai ; noi' unninta^ni xity.u ; OQbiVTH fifv rave, «c fj^wJ* svuvcttoXovv, naaag j5fj5a)T«c, nvdon d' ovdsv' h'tottov, ovx ovTig nQXfiTfifv, ov8' ovTig voaov xufivovTi avXla(5oLTO. Soph. P/iHocL 276. 60 IV 415. NE nUID INEXPERTUM FRUSTRA MORITl'UA RELINOUAT Frustra. — "Servius ila accipil, ul frustra ex poelae jucliciosil: ul omnia experialur, sed frustra! Scilicet turbabat ilia vox, cum quaererelur de verborum ordine. Alii jun^unt frustra moritura, sc. si quidquam intenlalum reliquisset Saltern melior locus icf FRUSTRA in structura exputari nequit." Heyne. "Brevitatem et poelicam dicendi rationem nola pro vul- gari, ne, si quid inexpertiim relinquat, frustra moriatur. Verba a cogitatione Didus pendent." Wunderlich. In Wunderlich's words lies the whole secret of the constant [mal-mlerpretation of Virgil — poetic bre- vity: he might have omitted brevity and said simply poetry; for a man of a prosaic, matter- of- fact mind may clearly understand and perfectly explain Tacitus, but let none but a poet ever hope to comprehend, much less successfully expound, Virgil. He will never be able to see the wood for the number of trees. The best comment on Virgil's ne quid inexpertum FRUSTRA MORITURA RELINQUAT, is Unintentionally supplied us by a poet of no mean order, who speaking of the noblest of her sex, perhaps the most poetic -minded woman that ever lived, uses these words: "Elle (Char- lotte de Corday) ctudia les choses, les hommes, les circonstances, pour que son courage ne fiit pas Irompe, et que son sang ne fut pas vain." Lamartjne, Hist, dcs Girondins, Livr. 44. c. I' III. IV 01 419. HUNC ECO SI rOTUl TANTUM SrERAUE DOLOHEM KT PERFEURE SOIlOIl POTERO This is spoken in coniormily with the maxim Ihal il is easier lo bear an expected , than an unexpected , loss : "Nur halb ist der Vcrlust des schonsten Gliicks, Weiiii wir auf den Besitz nicht sicher zahlten." Goethe, Tasso, Ad. III. sc. 2. The reader has already had in the words "omnia tuki limens, " vers. 298 (where see Comm.), an inkling- that Dido had, irom the very first, a misgiving- that her feli- city with Eneas was too great to be of long continuance. PoTui and poteuo are opposed to each other; have been able (viz. in the midst of my happiness) to expect this pain — will be able to endure the pain itself. PeRFERRE POTERO. "Ich kaiin auch das verschmerzcn." Schiller, Maria Sluart, Act. I. sc. 2. 435. EXTREMAM HANG ORO VENIAM MISERERE SORORIS OUAM Mini CUM DEDERIT CUMULATA MORTE REMITTAM "Locus intricatissimus , et ab omnibus vexalus variis conjecturis." Burmann. "Mihi quidem fateor nondum videri expeditum liunc locum, ac vereor ne in desperatis habendus sit." Wagner. "Haec nemo unquam inlellexit, neque inlelliget." Peerl- kamp. As failure can be no disgrace where all have either failed or despaired, I shall hazard a solution of Ihis famous Virgilian 'nodus', adopting as of greatest au- thority the reading of the Medicean MS. which, without the punctuation, is as follows: 62 IV EXTREMAM HANC ORO VENIAM MISERERE SORORIS niAM .'NIIIII rilM DEDEtilT CL'.MULATA MoIlTE ItE.MITTAM and which 1 thus interpret: / entreat of him this last indulgence — pity thy sister — wltich when he shall have granted me, I will remit (cease to trouble him with my love) in accumulated death, i. e. in a condition worse than death. ExTREMAM HAN'C ORO VENIAM. — Thcse wofds are plainly the repetition, at the close of Dido's petition to Eneas ("expectel dolcre"), of the prefatory words of that petition , " exlremum hoc miserae del munus amanti;" Dido herein following the ordinary for- mula in which a favor is asked : "I have a favor to beg of you ; it is so and so ... . I entreat you to grant me this favor." So Dido commences with the request: Let him grant me this last favor; then explains in the words, "Expectel dolere," what Ihe favor is; and concludes with a repetition of her request, extre- MAM HANG ORO VENIAM. Thosc who Understand these words as spoken of Dido's request to her sister lo bear her petition to Eneas, seem not lo have observed (a) that Ihcre is no good reason wliy the term extremam should be applied lo llial request, especially as Dido has just declared that it is her intention to live, and thai her object in pressing P^neas lo stay is that she may have lime lo reconcile and accomodate herself to her misfor- tune, (h) Thai even although there were some good reason why Dido's recjuesl to her sister should be called extre- mam, this designation of that request in almost the precise terms in which the petiliun to Eneas had just been designated , were an exhibition of extreme poverty in the poet, (c) That the great and undue earnestness, with which, according lo this interpretation. Dido presses her retjiiesl on her sister, implies a doulil of licj' sister's willingness to oblige her in so sm.ili a mailer, a doubt wholly inconsistent with tiu' ailacliincnl wiiich we are informed subsisted between the two IV 03 sislers. (r1) Thai it never could have been Ihe inlenliou of VU'gil lliiis lo withdraw llie reader's atlenUon diirinin the whole of Ihe two last lines of Dido's speech, from the main j^isl and object of tiie s|)eecli , sciz. llie jjcti- tion to Kneas, in order to fix it upon the comparatively unimportant and secondary object, the request lo her sister, (e) That the lerminalion of Dido's petition to Eneas at the word 'dolere ' without al least the ordinary .concluding words of a petition, "this is my request, I beg- this favor," and especially without any greater inducement held out lo Eneas than the prospect of fine weather, were abrupt and inartilicial in the poet, and unnatural and unpersiivisive in Dido. Rkauttam — means, not (as hitherto understood by the commentoLors) / )vill repay ; (a) because it were undignified and unbecoming in Dido thus lo propose lo buy the favor she sought, whether at the hands of. Eneas or of her sister; and (b) be9ause the words (juuM DKDERiT rcquirc that the ad expressed by remitt.\m should l)e performed either at, or not very long' after, the lime ^f/o/ dederit, and not, as those who construe REMiTTAM trausitively are compelled lo understand , al the necessarily remote (see vers. 434) period of Dido's death; but it means / will remit, i. e. cease to trouble him; a dignified senUment, suitable lo Dido's present situation , in harmony with the i)rayer of her petition, and an answer in express Iprms lo the concluding words of Eneas's immediately preceding speech, "Desine meque tuis iacenckMe toque querelis." as if she had said: Let him but grant me this last in- dulgence and I will do what he has required; i. e. 'de- sinam queri *. CuMULATA MORTE. — lu llicse words Dido describes the condition in which she shall be after slie shall have entirely renounced Eneas: sciz. as a condition oJ accumulated death, i. e. ol misery worse than death. This metapjliorical use of Lhc term wliich usually de- 9 04 IV <;iirnatos actual denlh, to express a slate of extreme and hopeless misery', is common not only in Latin, hut I l)elieve in all lant;iiag:es. See, "Tot liinera passis." En. J. 2.'i0'. "Lonfraque animam sul» iiiorle tenebal." Stat. 77n'//. f. 48 (of the Jdindness of Oedipus): and asiain, of the same: — "Saovoqiic c limine profert Mortem imporfcclam." Thch. XI. oSl. — "^V uti' '^i)i, 7] (V ^/o; »/'i7»/ Tiithtt Soi'H. Antigon. 565. See also F.vungel. Matth. VIII. 22, and IV. 16: also Shakespeare, Richard III. Act 1. sc. 2: "They (sciz. your eyes) kill me with a living death;" and Burmann ad Ovid. Il/in. 16. 'Cumulala' is added to 'mors ', not merely to heighten the expression , but to [dace iT beyond doubt that 'mors' is taken, not in its literal, but in its metaphorical, sense. In the second of the two passages just quoted from Statins, 'mors', used in the same sense, has the exactly correspondinii; adjunct, 'imperfecta'. "Mors imperfecta," a slate of misery almost equal to death; 'mors cumulala', a slate of misery exceeding death. So in Romeo and Juliet (Ac4 III. sc. 2): — "Romeo is banished ; There is no end, no limit, measure. l>ound. In that word's death." The expression "iiiorlc rcniillore' occurs twice in Sil. Ital. (XIV. 537: XIll. 731): — "Vi.\ morte inci-pta remittit." "Si stiidinm, et saevam cotjnosccre .-\inilcaris nmbram, lUa est, cerne procul, oiii frons nee morto remissa irarum scrvat rabiem. ' The inlerprclalion remain^ unalu-red cxcui allliou;;h we should so far forsake the ^nidaiice <»f the .Vledicean t IV er> MS. as, with Mcinsius, to i'ead 'dcdcris' iiislcml oC DEDEiuT : 1 be 66 IV . The Vionna MS. No. 121 has 'dederis cuniu- Jalam', hu! in the case of this MS. 1 neg:lecled to note llie remainder ol' Ihe line. Pierins f^ives lillle inlornialion a))Oul this passa'^e; his words are: "'Cumulatam inorte re I in qu am', in Mediceo, in Poreio , et antiquis aliis codicibus, ke- MrrTA.M lcj;iliir." Fron) wliich it would appear that he had iiol noticed the reading- cumulata al all. .11 Ij'Ki !'fi)-. y\U:n(y<'i- I udJ biiiiol 449. MF.NS I.M.MOTA .M.\NKT LACRTMAK VOLVUiSTOR ' I^A NKS TUM VKRO INTELIX F.\T1S KXTKRRITA DIHO iVIOUTKAl ORAT '" I lake part with Thiel and Voss against Siiitflr, in understanding lackymae not of Dido and Anna, but of Eneas; iirsl, Ijecause otherwise the word^ lacrymae voLvtJNTOR iNANEs sccm to bc a mere lilling np of the line, the i(h'a contained in them l)eing already fully expressed in the preceding mkns immota manet, and "nuUis ille movelur flelibus'." Secondly, because the leaves forced from the oak by the lilasts of the winds ("Conslerniinl Icrram concusso sii[)ite IVondes ")' seem to point to the unavailing tears wrung from Enea;^ by the importunate distress of his supplicants. Thirdly, because (se6 Comment, i'. 30) the object, in the' aly- sence of an adjunct expressly referring it to the more remote person, seems • genernlly rclerribkv: to -ilhe nearer. Fourthly faud I think, conclnsively); because we find, on a precisely similar occasion, Ihe same ex- pression applied t(i similar unavailing- tears of pily. /in. A. 464: "Amiiit .Mciib's ju\oticin, ni;if,'^iiiimi|iic siil> imo • iirtJc picriiil gciiiilimi, laci yinas(jiii' i-irui^iil .iiWip^," Couipaic also Ku. \ 1. 4(iS ajuJ C'oiiini€n(.' > m G7 Triri VKRO infemx fatis Ex:Tii;nn]TA nine moi-.ti-.m oiiatIj V^ The mere re|jt)rl ol Eneas's pre|jaialions loi- sliilin^- had l»ul her into a liny (vers. 298 — 300); Ihe certainly that ho would sail makes her pray for dealh : tum vEno (i. e. when she had in vain Iried every means lo dissuade him) >iortem orat. See Comments An. II. 10:>, 22S: HI. 47; IV. 306, oil; V. .005. . H •:I7'jH [ihi .''\U''.n\'ii\ . / i-jiiltMg Iji ill ')U\v.AM;nvY\ >fi ll i!.f JoilJ ••' '(!(:*) vtiW hr,i! \'M\'^}ilf loii :' »iliiy oyiriJ ■ ^^5^^- >j«(w no .*^A(. /; ) iiuiit MULTAOUK PRAKTEREA VATUM PRARmCTA PRIORUM !(,||.il TERRIBIf.l WOMTU HOIiRIFICA.M 1^ Jj-odJ 'jdl Of the two readings priorum and 'pioru m'. ' both ;nf which are acknowled?,ed both by Servius and Pierius, I ^ive a decided preference to prioijum; iirst , be- cause the epithet ' pius 'apphed to 'vales' En. VI. 662, is applied to dates' meaning- yjotYi-, not lo 'vales 'meaning: prophets. Secondly, because such epithet, meaning, as it always does, tender-hearted, ffentle,{see Conun. En. I. 14), were peculiarly inapplicable to prophets who horrilied Dido with terrific admonitions, terribii.i monitu noRHincANT. Thirdly, because priorum is on the contrary peculiarly appropriate, it being- plainly Virgil's inten- tion to picture Dido as agitated not only by the teiror produced by present |)rodigies, but besides (praeterjea) by the recollection of foregone prodigies ' and ;the pror- phetic denunciations founded on, them ali!,;Ui:e; time. Fourthly, because in the only four MSS. which I have examined respecting the passage, vi2. the Gudian, the two Leipzig and the Dresdenj,.,,! 'have found PRIORUM, the reading- (as ajipears from Botlari) of Ih^ Vatican Fragment, and (as stated by Maitlaire) bolh of Ihe Venice Ed. of 1472 and of the Milan Ed.,ofJ474, ajid which I have myself found in the Modcna Ed. of 1475. also in Faliricius, Daniel [leinsins, iiolh the Steplienscsi, the, Paris Ed. of .1000, And)rogJ , La Cer.d/i , Brunck, 6S IV Wakefield, and Jahn. Nicholas Heinsius, relying as usual with undue conlidenee on the Mcdicean, and deceived (see his note in Burinann) by the appli- cation of the term 'pius' to the totally dissimilar •vates' of the sixth Book, was the lirsl to adopt 'pio- lum', and his example has been followed by Burmann. Heyne, Warner, ForlW^er, and most modern editors. It is remarkalile that neither N. Heinsius, nor Heyne. nor Warner, has had the candor to stale that the Gu- dian (a MS. on which all those three critics are in the habit of relying with almost implicit confidence) gives the most direct contradiction to their reading of the passage before us. The reason probably was that the Gudian here contradicts their still more favored Me- dicean. 471. AUT AGAMEMNONIUS SCENIS AGriATUS ORESTKS ARMATAM FACIBUS MATREM ET SERl'ENTIRUS ATRIS CUM FUGIT ULTRICESOUE SEDENT IN LIMINE DIRAE My first view of the meaning of this passage is to be found in Forbiger's third Edition. The commenl which I had written in support of that view, I think it belter to suppress; because, lirsl, my inability to produce an exact parallel for the use of 'scenae' in the sense of scenes present to the brain onlij , i. e. visions; and se-* condly, Ausonius's use (Epigr. 11) of the two words 'scenae' and 'agitare' in the very sense in which they are conunonly interpreted in the passage liefore us, compel me, at least for \\w present, to acquiesce in that common interpretation. ' ScEMs is the reading of all llic IVISS. wbicli I have myself personally consnlled rcspcclinL; Ihc passau(\ \ i/.. six of the Vienna MSS. ( Nos. li:^ 11(>. 117. lis. 120 IV 69 & 121), the Klosler-Neubnrp:, the Pelrnrchian, the Gu- dian, the Dresden, and llie two Leipzig. I lind the same readini;- in Uie Modena Edition of 1475 and all the old editions with wliich 1 am acquainted. Pierius alone appears to have found a different reading? in some of his MSS. His words are: "In antiquis aliquot co- dicibus 'Furiis agitatus' legilur. ut rem vero prox- imiorem I'aciat , nam quae in scenis represcntantur, fa- bulosa esse solent. Verum e^o crediderim 'furiis' ex paraphrasi desumptuni, el scenis inde legilima lec- tione expuncta, adulterinam suppositam. agitatus n. non lantum pertinet ad furias, quae omnino subinlelli- guntur, verum eliam ad fabulae actionem, ((uae fre- quenter s. recitari consueril." In limine. — The peculiar and proper seal of Ihe Furies. Compare (En. VI. 279): — "Mortiferumque adverse in limine belluni, Ferreique Eumenidum thalami;" and vers. 555 : "Tisiphoneqiic sedens, palla succincta cruenta, Vcstibulum exsomnis servat n(Jl-tesque diesque; also vers. 574 : — "Cernis, custodia quails Vestibulo sedeat? facies quae limina servet?" also En. VII. 341: "Exin Gorg-oneLs Alecto infecta veiicnis Principio Latium, et Laurentis iocta lyranni Celsa petit, tacituinque obsedit limen Amatae." and Ovid, Metam. IV. 453: "Carceris ante fores clausas adatnante sedebanl, Deque suis atros pectebant crinibus ang-ues. Quam simul ag-norunt inter caliginis umbras, Surrexerc deae: sedes scelerata vocatur." Sec Commenls En. J I. 563 and 574. 7(1 IV -iiJ • 475. M>, L HiW M-TRi'-VlTorK MORI •'■ • '"■•'•' ||r- ' MHii;*- : I; Dkcrevit, — irrevocably delermined, ns l>y a dociee ol a ■court of jiislice. Contrast: "morlem ui:al,'!'-»'.;'^J/. -/iri(| <• . . -Ill ,"inli . ivA-ivA iii'jiMiiiii -'j'li (wiiiii-'tl 'ilidJ ifxrAX f'l , mi,i|(iii(Hr'»l> i^(;,iii(r,i(;i| /h „ JUNC MUn MASSYLAK.r.ENXI^, jyip^STR^TA ,a,\p^^^p^,f ,,„^^jj ilKSfEUIDL'M TEMPU CUSTOiJ: J-jl^L'IjASgUl^, ];|{At'0N7|, , , , ^^^^^^ (JUAJ: DABAT ET ^ACJJUS SEllVABAT ,LN vmBORji^I^AMpip, . j, .. SPARGENS IIUAIIDA MELLA SOPGBWERU.Myi'E I'A PAVER, •i(il "hi Ii.Mv Cni. — . - ■ ._ i: f\ IllM Mini :\IASSYI,A1. C.KNTIS .MONSTRATA SACERDOS. — KU.l -/«o v/i<) TD'cc vcioaTi yvvaiYM aTto anaoTLOv diavaau I'vxuno xai tij noi' Ihoji' dci^n, xa( ov del lr/ova}j marti^m', aU idtii' (og f/;6ff)/." r'Lv/.'doa Msi'ard'ncK in Epist. Mut. Graecan. Spargens. — "Spargeljat in via mella el papaver, (juibus advcnicnlos al) liorln arccrel cl poina Hesperiduin servarol." Jahn. Tliis inlerpiclalioii, o[ which Wai^iirr, witli less Ihaii his nsnal sat^acily, observes, "Praechirc,, si me] el pa- paver huuc ail nsuni adliibiiissc veteres ipsoriim ve- tenmi lestimoniis, piobassel y-if doctissinius," and which 1 1 will be observed enlirely lakes away IVi)ni the dragon the guardianship nl Ihe Ircc, is founded upon an er- roneous view of Ihe conslrnclion of the whole inissagc, which consists, not of two independent slatemcnts or propositions, kpui.as iiauat and iia.mos seuVahat. io tlic laller of which Iho winding up or concluding clause, si'ARCENs 11. M. s. o. 1'., especially belongs, but of one |)ro- posilioii only. nAiiAT Ei'Ui.As, o\ which Ihi' second, appar- IV 71 enlly independent, proposition, servabat ramos, is only a parenthetic explanation, and to which the concluding clause, spargens h. m. s. o. p., looks back as it were, over the parenthesis; thus in plain prose: 'Quae spargens h. ni. s. q. p. dabat epulas draconi, atque ita (i. e. per draco- neni) servabat ramos.' This structure is entirely accord- ing to Virgil's usual method, see Comments En. III. 317, 571 ; VI. 83, 739. The structure being established, the question next arises, what is the force of the word SPARGENS? Does it mean (as in Pelronius, p. 275: "Quid- quid enim a nobis acceperat de coena, latranti [cani sciz.] sparserat") throwing to Mm bit by bit, piecemeal? or does it mean (as in the same Petronius. p. 101, "GHres melle et papavere sparsos") sprinkling ' meV and 'papaver' on his food; making his food' epulae' , i. e. a feast, by sprinkling on it 'meV and 'papaver'? I adopt the latter view, because it is not likely thai Virgil would so soon afler using the expression 'dare epulas', have used the similar expression 'spargere mel et papaver' — would have said gave a feast, and Ihen explained his meaning by saying gave 'meV and 'papaver'. We obtain, I think, a much beller sense by understanding our au- thor to say DABAT EPULAS, gove a feast, i. e. according to the proper force of the word epulas (compare "ri- matur epulis," En. VI. 599), a treat, dainties, delicacies, and then by the word spargens to explain h o w the treat was given, what constituted the treat, wherein the 'epulae' consisted; viz. in 'mel' and 'papaver' sprinkled upon the food. The above views being adopted, soporiferum becomes merely descriptive of the poppy, not at all expressive of an effect intended to be produced on the dragon; and thus the difficulty felt by Servius ("Incongrue videtur positum,. ut soporifera species pervigili delur draconi"), as well as by Jahu and some other commentators, is at once and wholly got rid of. For an instance in which even much more stress is laid, and by Virgil himself too, on the sopo- 10 72 IV rilic propcrJics of the poppy in a case in which yel lliose pro|icrlies arc not ul ail called inlo action, see Oeory. I. 7S: "llrunt Lclhaeo perfusa papavora soimio;" hurti the 'papaver somniferum' ; as in our text sprinkle the "papaver somniferum' on the food, it will perhaps be said : "All this reasonin{^ is very plausible, but how do we know thai ihe Romans considered 'niel' and 'papaver' sprinkled upon food, lo be a greal delicacy"/" I reply; from many statements of their writers lo liial effect; Irom the second of the above quoted passages of Petronius; from the same author's "Omnia dictii factaque quasi papavere et sesamo sparsa;" from Pliny, Aat. Hist. XIX. 8. 53; from Horace, Epist. ad Pison. 375 &c. But it will be rejoined: "The 'papaver' is extremely nauseous and bitter, and, besides, narcolic and poisonous ; it is impossible it could ever have been used in the manner you suppose; there is some mistake about the meaning- of those passages; it must have been some other idant, perhaps some other poppy, and not the 'papaver somniferum', of which the l{o- mans were so fond, and of which they considered the flavor so sweet and delicate, as lo use llie phrase, sprinkled with ' mel' and 'papaver' , or (even leaving out Ihe 'mel' as only the vehicle) sprinkled with 'pa- paver', when they wished lo express the very highest degree of luscious sweetness ( "Omnia dicta factaque quasi papavere el sesamo sparsa." Petuon. p. 5.)." I answer; by no means, there is no mistake al all about the mailer; il was this very ' papaver somniferum ', and no other, which conslituled Ihe Roman delicacy; Pliny's testimony lo Ihis effccl is conclusive: ''Papaveris salivi Iria genera. Candidum (our 'papaver sonmiferum'), cujus semen loslum in secumla monsa cum melle apud anliquos dabalur " ll was, then, our bitter, poi- sonous, narcolic pO|)py which the Romans used in their enlerlainmenls, and which liie Massylian priestess gave IV 7.) as the most dainty delicacy to llio dragon; luil observe, it was its seeds, which, as most lillle children of the present day know, and as the reader may satisfy him- self by a simple experiment, not only are not nauseons and bitter, but have a very delicate, sweet flavor, and, as any chemist can inform him, are perfectly esculent, and contain none of the narcotic and poisonous pro- perties with which the rest of the plant abounds. We have thus an explanation of the whole matter; the Massy- lian priestess gave the dragon, not a soporific, but a sweet; the sweetest sweet known before the discovery of sugar; and the dragon, for the sake of obtaining the delicious treat, remained in the garden, and, being excessively herce towards every person except his benefactress, no one else dared approach the tree. The services of the dra- gon being thus incidental, not intentional, it is not the dragon, but the priestess who is described as the guar- dian of the tree, qvae servabat in arbore ramos ; and the story acquires a degree of verisimilitude which is quite wanting in those accounts which represent the dragon as watching the tree. It will be observed in further confirmation of the above interpretation that on none of the occasions on which our author produces sleep by means of drugs, is the 'papaper' si)ecifically mentioned; see En. V. 854; VI. 420. Of all the Vir- gihan expositors, none, as far as 1 know, except old Gawin Douglas, suppose poppy seeds to be meant by the word papaver, and he, going into the opposite extreme from those who would administer a narcotic dose to the watch," feels himself under the necessity of attributing to them an exhilarating property, and giving them to the dragon in order to keep him awake and make him lively: "Strynkland to him the wak hony swelc And slepcrye chesbowe scde to walkcn his sprelc." 74 IV 490. MUGIRE VIDEBIS SUB PEPIBUS TERRAM ET DESCENDERE MONTIBUS ORNOS TESTOR CARA DEOS ET TE GERMANA TUUMQUE PULCE CAPUT MAGICAS INVITAM ACCINGIER ARTIS TU SECRETA PYRAM TECTO INTERIORE SUB AURAS ERIGE ET ARMA VIRI THALAMO QUAE FIXA RELIQUIT IMPIUS ViDEBis — you shall see, ijourself; you shall have ocular demonstration of her power. Compare the concluding- words of Ihe citation from the letter of Glycera to Me- nander, Comm. v. 483. Impius, — unfeeling , to leave his arms liung up in my very chamber. See Comm. En. I. 14. The position of the word at the beginning of the verse, and al the close of the clause to which it belongs, renders it em- phatic; see Comm. En. II. 246. 504. AT REGINA PYRA PENETRALI IN SEDE SUB AURAS ERECTA INGENTl TAEDIS ATQUE ILICE SECTA I adopt Wakefield's punctuation (erecta, ikgexti) as afibrding by far the most elegant structure and mosl poetical sense, and add to the examples which he has adduced in support of it, the precise parallel from our author himself: — "Pinguem tacdis ef roborc secto Inffentem struxere Pyram." En. VI. 214; and Seneca's "Est procul ab urbc hicus, ilicibvis niger." Oedip. 530. Compare "Cervus cornibus ingons," En. VII. 483, and see Comments En. I. 294; V. 2, 387. Taedis. — Not torches , but the wood of the Taeda IV 75 tree, the Pinus Taeda of Pliny (XVI. 19), the Pinus Mugho, Torche-pin, or Pin-suif, of modern naturalists. Ilice secta. — Billets, a/td«xic;, of ilex: '' Kui tfieXios TO okoxavvio^a xai tntb^ipitv em Tag 0^1- daxag." H IJaX. Jiad-. BaaiX. y. 18. 33, 520. AEQUO FOEDEHE The "lao) Cvyc/' of Theocritus (Idyll. AIL 15). ^^AkXr^lovg d' sq)cXrjauv laat ^vyo). 1] ga tot' ijuuv Xqvanoi naXai av8()tg, ot' avTfcpdrja' o (pikf}&sig." and "pari jugo" of Martial (IV. 13. 8). 522. NOX ERAT ET PLACIDUM CARPEBANT FESSA SOPOREM CORPORA PER TERRAS SILVAEOUE ET SAEVA QUIERANT AEQDORA CUM MEDIO VOLVUNTUR SIDERA LAPSU CUM TACET OMNIS AGER PECUDES PICTAEQUE VOLUCRES QUAEQUE LACUS LATE LIQUIDOS QUAEQOE ASPERA DUMIS RURA TENENT SOMNO POSITAE SUB NOCTE SILENTI LENIBANT CURAS ET CORDA OBLITA LABORUM AT NON INFELIX ANIMI PHOENISSA NEC UNQUAM SOLVITUR IN SOMNOS OCULISVE AUT PECTORE NOCTEM ACCIPIT INGEMINANT CURAE RURSUSOUE RESURGENS SAEVIT AMOR MAGNOQUE IRARUM FLUCTUAT AESTU In the Gerusalemme Liherata (less an original poem than a splendid adaptation of the Eneis to the times of the crusades) we have the following almost exact copy of this fine painting, itself a copy of Apollon. Rhodius's "iVi'^ iiev f-neiT " (Jryon. III. 144) or (see Heyne ad En. VIII. 26) of Alcman's fragment, "jEi;- dovoiv d'oQEOiv xo()V(faL th xai (faQayyeg" &c. : 76 IV "Era la nolle, allor ch' alto riposo Han I'onde e i venli, e parca muto il uioiido. Gli animal lassi, c quel che 'I mare ondoso, de' liquid! laghi alherg-a 11 fondo, E chi si jjiace in tana o in mandra ascoso. E i piiiti aufj'oUi, nel obblio profoado, Sotlo il silenzio do' secrcli orrori, Sopian gli afTanni, e raddolciano i cuori. Ma ne '1 campo fedel" &c. Gerusulcmme LiberuUi, II. 96. The celebrated French minister Turgol (not perhaps g'enerally known to have been a translator ol" the fourth Book of the Eneis) has thus spiritedly and not unfaith- fully rendered the same passage into French hexame- ters, more agrcable, to my ear at least, than the weary- ing sing-song of DeHlle's rhyming Heroic: "Dos long-temps la null dans les cieux poursuivoit sa carricre ; Les champs, les solitaires forets, tout se laisoil: el les vents Suspendoient Icur haleine ; un calme profond reg-noil sur I'onde; Tons les astres brilloicnl dans leur tranquilie majesle. Les habitants dcs airs, des bois, des plaines el des caux, Plonges dans le sommeil, reparoient leurs forces epuisees; Les mortels oublioient Icurs soins cnisans. Tout reposoit Dans la nalure: et Didon veilloil dans les pleurs. I.a nnilpaisiblo Dans son coeur ne desccndra jamais : le sommeil fuil de ses ycux : Ses ennuis la devorenl: I'amour, la fiirour, le dcsespoir Dans leur flux cl reflux orageux foul rouler sa itensoe." 537. ILIACAS ir.ITTm CLASSES ATQUE ULTIMA lEUCRUM JUSSA SEOUAll Viz. following Medea's example (.\roi.L. Rhod. IV. 81 and seq.), wliich if not present in Dido's, was at least present in Virgil's mind when he wrote these words. IV 77 551. NON LKUIT TIIALAMI EXI'ERTEM SI^E CfllMINE \ ITAM UEOEUE MORK KEKAK TALES NEC TANGEUE CURAS The coinnipnUitors connecling more ferae wilh tiiai.ami EXPERTEM luive bceii obliged either, wilh Peerlkamp, lo pill an aLominalion inlo Ihe moulh of Dido ("Cur mihi non liciiil vivere sine nialrinionio el cum quohbet con- cunibere?") or, wilh Servius, lo seek for a wild animal which after Ihe dealh of ils first male remains ever after in obstinate widowhood. We have only to connect MORE FERAE, not wilh THALAMl EXPERTEM, but wilh VITAM DEGERE, and all difficulty is got rid ol al once: 'Non licuil me experlem thalami, vilarn dcgere more ferae;' not, to live unmarried like a wild animal, but con- tinuing unmarried, live like a wild animal; ex. gr. like a deer thai lives free and untamed in the forest; in other words: continue unmarried, and not lose my freedom by submitting lo the i)Ower of a man; by placing my neck under the matrimonial yoke. Compare the use made by Lucretius and Ovid of the corresponding ex- pressions, 'vita similis ferae', and 'vila more ferarum': "Mullaque per caelum soils volventia luslra Volg-ivago vilani tractabant more ferarum." LucRET. V. 929. "Vita ferae similis, nuUos agitata per usus." Ovid. Fasii, II. 291. Compare also Seneca's application of the term 'efleralus ' to the chaste Hippolytus : — "Silvarum incola Ille efferatus, castus, intactus, rudis." Hippol. 923; also the application of the terms 'fera' and 'selvatica ', by the Italians, to express a coy chastity: "Bella fera e genlil mi punse il seno." Della Casa, Son. XII. 78 IV "Tempo vorra ancor forsc Ch' al usato sog-g-iorno Torni la fera bella e mansueta." Petr. Sotin. Part. I. cam. 27. "Donna piu selvalica di Penelope." Leopardi, Dialoyo di Malamhruno c di Farfarello (Opere, 2 Tom. Firenze, 1845). Dido's expressions thus understood stand in the finest contrast witii vv. 5S and 59, above. It is as if siie said: How much happier, if I had continued expers thahuiii et sine crimine, vitam degens more ferae, 'efl'erata' and 'selvalica,' not submilling lo the institu- tions of Lcgifera Ceres , not bowing- my neck to the 'vincla jugalia' of Juno! Compare Maximian, Eleg. (in Wernsdorf's Poelae Latini Minores): "Sed mihi dulce mag-is rcsohito vivcre collo Nullaquc conjugii vincula grata pati." SiNi-: CRIMINE — is epexegelic of tiialami exi'Ertem ; see, for a similar use of the term, Maximian; Eleg. IV. 51: "Et nunc infelix tota est sine crimine vita;" and Ovid, Heroid. XX. 7 : "Conjugium pactamquc fidcm, non crimina posco; Debilus ut conjiix, non ut adulter, amo." and especially, Ovid, Metam. I. 478: "Multi illam polierc; ilia avcrsata petcntos, Impatiens e.xpersquc viri, ncmorum avia lustrat, Nee quid Hymen, quid Amor, quid sint connubia, curat. Saepe pater dixit: Gcnerum mihi, lilia, debes. Saepe pater dixit : Debes mihi, nata, nepotes. Ilia, velul crimen, taedas exosa jugalcs, i'ulclira verecundo sufTunditur ora rubore; Inque patris blandis hacrens cervicc lacertis, Da mihi perpatua, genilor carissime, dixit, Virginitale I'rui." than which passage there could bo no better touiinen- tary on our text. IV 79 560. NATE DEA POTES HOC SUB CASU DUCERE SOMNOS elC. Lei the curious reader compare the Fool's anounccmenl to William the Conqueror, of the conspiracy of his barons : "U gies Willanic ? Por kei dors ?" &c. Roman de Rou, 8S16. 563. ILLA DOLOS DIRUMOUE NEFAS IN PECTORE VERSAT CERTA MORI VARIOOUE IRARUM FLUCTUAT AESTU Certa MORI is added , not in order to inform Eneas of Dido's intended suicide, but to magnify the danger to him from a woman , who , being determined to die, would not be prevented by regard for self-preservation from attempting any act no matter how reckless and desperate. 569. VARIUM ET MUTADILE SEMPER FEMINA 1 he oft repeated calumny : "Mobilior ventls, o femina!" — Calpurn. Ed. III. 10. "Elle floUe, elle liesite, en un mot elle est femme." Racine, Athalie. "Souvent femme varie ; Bien fol est qui s'y fie." Quatrain attributed to Francois I. king of Franco. 11 80 IV — "Even to vice Thoy are not constant, but are changfinjj still One vice, but of a minute old, for one Not half so old as that." Cymheline, Act II. Women, as compared with men, are not variable and mutable, but the very contrary; and Dido in par- ticular was unchang;eably and devotedly attached to Eneas, whom, if she did not pursue with fire and sword, it was not that his inconstancy did not so deserve, but that her magnanimity disdained, and her still- subsisting passion forbade. 571. TUM VERO AENEAS SUBITIS EXTEURITUS UMBRIS ClC. TuM vEuo. — After the first appearance of Mercury to him (v, 265), Eneas is desirous to go, and maUen preparations : "Ardet abire fuga, dulccsque excedere ten as," but still hesitates : "Hcu, quid agat? quo nunc reginam ambirc furentem Audeat alFatu?" &c. thoroughly frightened by Ihc second vision, tum veuo, he actually goes, cannot be off fast enough: CORIUPIT E SOMNO CORPUS, SOCIOSQUE FATIGAT : PRAECIPITES VIGILATE VIRI, ET CONSIDITE TRANSTRIS ; SOLVITE VELA ClTl VAGlNAyUE ERIPIT ENSEM FlILMIKEUM, STRICTOQl'E FERIT RETISACII.A FERRO. • If t LITTOUA DESERUEItE ; LA I'ET SUl! CLASSU'.IS AEyUOR ; ANMXl TORgUENT SPUMAS, ET CAERULA VERRl'NT. See Comments En. 11. 105, 22S ; 111. 47; 11'. 390, 449; V. 059. IV 81 SUBITIS EXTERRITDS UMURIS, UmHRTS. Ow Visiotl tvhtck Eneas has just seen; lor wc are warned, lirst, by all just poetical sentiment, and secondly, by the exactly parallel expression of Virg^il's faithl'ul imiUUor, "Sagun- tinis somnos exterritus umbris" (Sil. II. 704), not to fall (with Heyne, whom, in this as well as numerous other instances, the other commentators, ex. gr. Thiel and Forbiger, have but loo trustingly followed) into the gross error of referring umbris to the natural (and therefore not terrifying) darkness which ensued on Ihe disappearance of the vision. Compare Petronius (p. 308), translating from Epicurus: "Somnia, quae mentes ludunt volitanlibus umbris;" not, with darkness, but ivith flittino shades, visions. See also En. f'l. S04 ; also "Quo somnio exterritus," Justin. I. 9. A 586. REGINA E SPECULIS UT PRIMUM ALBESCERE LUCEM ,i'.IJUlVIDIT ET AEOUATIS CLASSEM PROCEDERE VELIS LITTORAOUE ET VACUOS SENSIT SINE REMIGE PORTUS TERQUE QUATEROUE MANU PECTUS PERCUSSA DECORUM FLAVENTESOUE ABSCISSA COMAS PRO JUPITER IBIT HIC AIT ET NOSTRIS ILLUSERIT ADVENA REGNIS OPECULis. — Not specially a watch tower, but ge- nerally any high situation from which a view might be had; a look-out. Compare En. X. 454: ,\ — "Ulque Ico, specula cum vidil ab alia Stare procul campis meditanlcm in proolia lauruin." This high look-out was probably in the present in- stance, as at V. 410, a window in the arx or royal castle on the top of the hill. Abscissa. — Fea (ad Georg. II. 23) observes (and truly, I think) with respect to 'abscindo' as distinguished 82 IV from 'abscido": "'Abscido' si|2:nifica separate, di- videre un corpo col taglio ; da 'abs' e 'caedo': 'Ab- scindo' da 'abs' e 'scindo', strapparlo , squarciarlo, dividerlo con tutt' altra forza." So, En. V. 685: — "Humeris abscindere vestem." Advena — properly newcomer, but here, by impli- calion, interloper, intruder. Compare Justin, II. 5: "Quippe conjuges eorum longa expectallone virorum fessae, nee jam teneri bello, sed delelos ratae, servis ad cuslodiam peeorum relictis nubunt; qui reverses cum victoria dominos, velut advenas, armati finibus prohibenl;" and (Just. II. 6): "Soli enim (Alhenienses sciz.) praelerquam ineremento, eliam origine gloriantur; quippe non advenae, neque passim collecta populi col- luvies originem urbi dedit; sed eodem innali solo, quod incolunl, et quae illis sedes, eadem origo est." No more contumelious term could have been applied to Eneas: this homeless adventurer, who goes about thrusting himself into other people's territories in search of a place to settle in. Compare the similar contemptuous application of the same term to Eneas by Tolumnius, En. XII. 261. 596. INFELIX DIDO NUNC TE FACTA IMPIA TANGUNT TUM DECUIT CUM SCEPTRA DAB AS Eneas's sole act of 'impietas' (see Comm. En. I. 14.) being his |)resent desertion of Dido, by which it was impossible she could have been affected at Ihc time she admilled him to a share in her sceptre (tum de- cuiT, sciz. faclis impiis langi , cum sceptra dabas), it follows irresistibly that facta impia means, not as seems to have been taken for granted I»y nil commentators, the 'impietas' of Eneas ("perlidia Aencac" — Wagner) IV 83 but (hat of Dido herself, sciz. in the violalion of her vow to Sichaeus; see v. 24 and seq. also vv. 322, 547, 552. The nunc is emphatic, and Ihe meaning of the whole passage as follows: Art thou sensible of the ' im- pietas' of thy conduct only now at last when suffering from its consequences? It had better become thee to have been so when thou wert taking the first step. The FACTA iMPiA with which Dido reproaches herself are precisely the ^ xaxag fuvoivag' with which her prototype, Medea, reproaches herself, the only difference being that the facta impia of Dido were towards her deceased husband, the ^ xavMi fisvoivai' of Medea to- wards her father: "£7r«i TO TCQCDTOV (XUff&rjV "Afmluxir], &to&iv ds aaxug rivvaau /.uvoirag." Apoll. Rhod. IV. 412. Compare Cornelia's self-accusation, and application to herself of the selfsame term 'impia', when she first meets Pompey after his infortunate battle at Pharsalia: "0 thalamis indigne meis, hoc juris habebat In tantuni fortuna caput! cur impia nupsi, Si miserum factura fui." LucAN. VIII. 95. also "Impia quid dubitas Deianira mori ? " Ovid. Eeroid. IX. 146, 152, 158, 164. See Comment vers, 30. TuM DECUiT cum sceptra dabas. — Couiparc i>i. X ^4 ; "Turn decuit mctuisse luis." — Tangunt. — Compare E71. I. 466, and — "Cura mei si te pia tan git, Orestc," OviP, Ileroid. VIII 15. A similar use of the verb to touch is familiar in English. The Greeks used Q-iyyavw in the same sense : ''d-iyya- vti otd-tv Todt. EuPxiP. Nippol. 310. 84 IV 600. NON POTITF ABREPTUM DIVELLERF. CORPUS "I'll tear her iili to pieces." Olhcllo, Act. III. sc. 3. 608. TUIJUE HARUM INTERPRES CURARUM ET CONSCIA JUNO Interpres, media ct concilialrix Alii, testis, judex, arbilra " Servius. Not only Servius's own examples ("Quae tibi Condiiio nova el luculenla I'erlur per me inlerpretem." Plaut. Miles, IV. 1. 5. "Quod le praesente islic egi, teque inlerprele." Pladt. Curctil. III. 64), but still moreAmmian's derivative, Mnterpretium ' ("Verum quoniam denis modiis singulis solidis indigen- libus venumdalis, emerat ipse Iricenos, inlcrprclii com- pendium ad Principis aerarium misil." XXVIII. 1), shows that the former of these meanings is the true one, and that interpres not only here, but at v. 356, III. 359, and generally elsewhere, is used, not in the restricted sense of its English derivative, interpreler , but in Ihe much wider sense of the English agent , and French com- missaire, commissionaire. 622. TUM \0S O TVRII STIRl'EM ET GENUS OMNE EUTUKUM EXERCETE ODHS Compare Lucan, Vltarsal. \ lU. 2ii3 am fraudis Didus', see v. 075) in se transferat, ac si ipsa in culpa essel." P.S. Since the above Comment was written , I have met in Silius Italicus an expression applied to Anna which seems to prove that that early student and coi)yist of Virgil understood crudelis as 1 do: — "Divis inimica sibique (Virgil's crudelis) Quod sc non dcdcrat comitcm in suprema sorori." VIII. (15. Comi)are the parallel passage of Ihe same author (XUl. 655): — "Nam cur Ulla fdcro adeo, quiluis a tc saevus abesseni, Momenta?" also the application to herself of the epithet 'dura' by Tunius's sister, En. XII. S73. Also Macduff's "And / nuisl bo from Ihcnce!" Mucbelh, Act. IV. sr. 3. IV [Ki 691. OCULISQUE ERRANTIBUS ALTO QUAESIVIT CAELO LUCEM INGEMUITQUE REPERTA TUM JUNO OMNIPOTENS LONGUM MISERATA DOLOREM DIFFICILESOUE GBITUS IRIM DEMISIT OLVMPO QUAE LUCTANTEM ANIMAM NEXOSOUE RESOLVERET ARTUS NAM QUIA NEC FATO MERITA NEC MORTE PERIBAT SED MISERA ANTE DIEM SUBITOQUE ACCENSA FURORE NONDUM ILLI FLAVUM PROSERPINA VERTICE CRINEM ABSTULERAT STYGIOQUE CAPUT DAMNAVERAT ORCO ERGO IRIS CROCEIS PER CAELUM ROSCIDA PENNIS MILLE TRAHENS VARIOS ADVERSO SOLE COLORES DEVOLAT ET SUPRA CAPUT ASTITIT HUNC EGO DITI SACRUM JUSSA FERO TEOUE ISTO CORPORE SOLVO SIC AIT ET DEXTRA CRINEM SECAT § I- The ancients (incorrectly, I think) believed the light to Ije the last object regarded by the expiring person; compare (besides the examples cited by Forbiger) Stat. Theb. J III. 650: — "lUam unam neg-lecto luaiine caeli, Aspicit et vultu non exsalialiir amato." and Silv. V. 1. 113: — "Ilhim aegris circumdat fortiter idnis Immotas obvcrsa gcnas; nee sole supremo Lumina, sed duici mavull satiare marito." in both which instances the exception proves the rule. Also Eurip. Alcest. 204. The opinion is oc- casionally repeated by more modern writers , and amongst others by Ugo Foscolo, in his beautilul verses entitled Del Sepolchri: — "Gli occhi del uoni cercan morendo II sole, e iulli I'ullirao sospiro Mandano i pelti alia fuggente luce;" and is perhaps alluded to by Gray in those well known lines of his Elegy in a Country Churchyard: i)4 IV "For who, to dumb forgctfiilness a prey, This pleasing, anxious being- e'er resigned, Lclt the wunu precincts of the cheerful day, Nor cast one longing, lingering look behind?" Compare En. X. 80S: — "Contra Tyrrhenus, ut auras Suspiciens hausit caelum, mentemquc recepit." §11. LucTANTEM — Sfrugglbig: sciz. lo escape from its connexion wilh the body (compare "Luclanles venlos;" E71. I. 57), dying slowly; compare Ovid, Ibis, 125: "Luctalusque diu cruciatos spiritus artus Descrat; el longa lorqucat ante mora." A somewlial similar Ihought is thus more lengthily expressed by Goelhe: " Ich slerbe, slerbe, iind kanii nichl erslerben; und in dem liirchlerlichen Slreil des Lebens und Todes sind die Qualen der Holle." Gotz von BerUchingen, Act V. Compare also Shirley, Edward the Black Prince, Act V. sc. 3: "Death I have caught: his shaft is in my heart; It tugs with nature. When sliall I get free?" § HI. Nec fato MERITA NEC MORTE, — neither by a natural death (dealh in the natural course of events), nor by a inerited or earned death (death brought upon her by any act of her own ; either in mere consequence, or as a punishment): "Decessit Corellius Ilul'us; et quidem sponte, quod dolorem meum exulceral : est enim lucluosissimum genus mortis, quae non ex na- tura, nec fatalis, videlur." Pun. Epist. I. 12. "Habuil el alios mullos ex variis matrimoniis regio more sus- ceptos, (|ui parlim lato, parlim lerro ])eriere." Justin. IX. 8. "Neque plus hominum lerrum et arma, quam naluralis fatorum conditio raperel." Justin. II. 2. "Si falo concederem, Justus mihi dolor etiam advorsus Deos essel, quod me parentibus. lil)eris, patriae, intra juvenlani praematnvo oxiin rn|iorenl. nunc scolerc Pi- IV 95 sonis el Plancinae inferceplus ullinias preces peclo- ribus veslris relinquo." Words of the dying Germanicus, ap. Tacit. Aunal. II. 71. "At quicumque nefas ausi, prohibeute Deoruni Nuinine, pollueraiil Ponlificale caput, Mode jaccnl merita." Ovid. Fasti, III 705. '•Morlein oninibus ex nalura aequalem , oblivione apud posteros vel gloria dislingui. Ac, si nocenteni inno- centemque idem exilus maneat, acrioris viri esse, merilo perire." Tacit. Hist. I. 21. — "Et si fata fuissent Ut caderem, moiiiisse nianu." En. IL 133.. See Comment En. II. 738. § IV. MiSERA ANTE DIEM anSWCl'S lO NEC FATO ; llOt blj (l natural death, but before her time; subito accensa FDRORE answers to merita nec morte; tiot by the hand of another and in consequence of her previous conduct, Init voluntarily and by her own hand, in a fit of fury. § V. Nondum illi flavum etc. Dextra crinem secat. — Com- pare: "lEQog yuQ oviohiani, el vocatur Horlensius. Ille vero liber nuitavil afteclum nieum el ad teipsum Domine miitavit pieces meas, el voUi ac desideria mea I'ecil alia. Vi- luil niihi repenle oiiinis vana spes, el inimortalitalem sapienliae concupiscebam aestu cordis incredibili, el surgere coeperam iil ad te redirem Quomodo ardebam, Deus mens, quomodo ardebam revolare a lerrenis ad le; el nesciebam quid ageres mecum" elc. Si. AuGL'STiN. Confess. III. 1 — 7. Go now, reader, and wilh a rich and noble lord (rich and noble still, for riches and nobilily are nol the treasures which ulili- tarianism and purilanism throw away) fling thy classical library into the lake. See Comm. on "Nee sopor illud erat," En. III. 173. ?1 V. Le cinquieme livre de I'Eneide me semble le plus parfait." Montaigne, Essais, II. 10. The reader will be at no loss for the etiology of this, at first sight, somewhat strang-e opinion, if he reflect, first, that Montaigne was a Frenchman and therefore, as may be presumed, imbued with his nation's taste (a taste which the French probably inherited from the Romans themselves) for public exhibitions; and secondly, that the celebrated ^5- sais from which I have quoted the above criticism, every where afford sufficient evidence that their author was a man wholly devoid of the elevation and tender- ness of sentiment necessary for the perception and due appreciation of the nobler, grander and more pathetic parts of Virgil's writings. 1. INTEREA medium AENEAS JAM CLASSE TENEBAT CERTUS ITER FLUCTUSQUE ATROS AQUILONE SECABAT §. I. Certus. — "Servius minus probabiliter explicat: idneris sui certus, persistens in consitio proficiscendi in Italiam; ut igitur sit i. q. IV. 554, "certus eundi". Quod, quum A Aeneas jam in medio sit itinere, minus quadrare perspi- ciens, rectius Wag:ner interpretatur: ad cerium locum tendens; recto, non erratico itinere cursum intetidens, coll. "certa hasta", "certa sagitta", et "certa pompa" ap. Tibull. III. 1. 3." Forbiger. 1 agree with Servius against botii Wagner and For- biger, and have no doubt that tlie meaning is cerlain, sure, determined; not. liowever, determmcd on going ("eundi"), he being already on the way ("in medio iti- nere"), but determined on pursuing it is voyage; certus TENEBAT ITER, was pursuiug Ms voyage fvilh a resolved, steady, determined will. 1 am oi" this opinion for the following reasons: First, because such is always the meaning of 'cer- tus', even in the very instances quoted by Wagner; "certa hasta," "certa sagitta," being, not the spear or arrow which goes '■recto itinere'' to the mark, l>ut the spear or arrow which goes certainly, surely, determinedly, to the mark. See En. VI II. 39 and seq. for 'certus' used in this (its only) sense, no less than four times within the space of eleven lines; and a little farther on (viz. at vers. 57), the very idea which Wagner has as- cribed to CERTUS in our text, (viz. that of straight or di- rect), expressed by its proper term, 'rectus'. Secondly, because Eneas's first, immediate and pressing object was to sail; to leave Dido and Carthage, in obe- dience to the command of Jupiter, conveyed in the single word "Naviget". Thirdly, because certus so understood refers back to the whole of the latter end of the preceding Book, oc- cupied with the vain efforts of Dido and Juno to make him stay; to make him waver in his resolution of going; to make him 'incertus'. Fourthly, because certus so understood is finely op- posed l)0th to fluctus atros aquilone secabat, and moe- NiA respiciens .... PUfUNT; as if Virgil had said, pur- suing his voyage steadily and without nuivering, (dihough V s ihe sea was black with the blasts of winter (see §. II. below) and allhouyh it was evident that something ter- rible had just happened in Carthage. §. II. AguiLONE. — "Simplicitcr pro vcnto." Heync, Ruaeus. — "Uud scluiitt die gedimkelte P'lutli in der Kiiiiluug." Voss. No; AQuiLONE is not merely the wind, hut specifically the unfavorable , tvinter tvind, Aquilo; see not only Dido's reproach {En. IV. 310), "Et mcdiis properas Aquilonibus ire per altum," and her prayer {En. IV. 430), "Expectet facilemque fugam ventosque ferentes," but the account in the first Book (verses 106, 395) of Eneas's shipwreck, effected by these 'Aquilones'. Also En. III. 285: **Et glacialis hyems Aquilonibus asperat undas." Still further; the structure is not, with Voss, 'seca- bat Aquilone', but 'atros Aquilone'; First, because Eneas could not properly be said to cut his way with a wind which, as we have just seen, was unfavorable to him. Secondly, because there should be some reason assigned why the waves were 'atri'. Thirdly, because we are expressly informed by Gellius (II. 30) that the effect of Aquilo is to render the waves 'atri': "Austris spirantibus mare fieri glaucum et caeruleum, Aquilonibus obscurius atriusque." Fourtlily, because we have thus a natural prelude and introduction to the squall at vers. 10. Fifthly, because, as we have already seen {En. 1.^97 and Comm.), the connexion of the ablative substantive with the adjec- tive, in preference to the verb, is of common occurrence in Virgil. Sixthly, because we have at vers. 696, the exactly corresponding expression, "densis nigerrimus Austris" ; and lastly (and leastly), because the passage has been so understood, not only by each of the three an- cient commentators, Donatus, Servius, and Pomponius Sabinus, but by H. Stephens, V 20. IN NUBEM COGITUR AER According- to the Physical Philosophy of the Romans, clouds and mists consisted of condensed air. See Cic. de Nat. Deor. II. 39: "Exinde mari iinilimus aer die et nocte distinguitur: isque turn fusus et extenuatus sublime fertur; tum autem concretus, in nubcs cogitur." 71. ORE FAVETE OMNES ET tINGITE TEMPORA RAMIS §. I. Ore FAVETE. — "Evg)rjfiEtt£ (i. q. "favete Unguis", Bor, Od. III. 1. 2), formula satis nota, qua ante sacra insti- tuenda omnes a sacerdote silere et attendere jubentur." Forbiger. The identity of the Latin with the Greek formula is indeed unquestionable, but that very identity serves to prove, not that the meaning is ^silete, attendite\ but the contrary; for, first, evcpy]^ia being found in the very same sentence with Ciyr] and connected to it by the conjunc- tion xat {'^ evcpri^iav avscTts nat Otytjv GtQarc),'' Eunir. Jphig. in Aulid. 1564) must mean something- difTerent from GLyy]. Secondly, the etymology of EVfpy]^SLV informs us intelligibly ^ough that it does not mean to be silent, but on the contrary to speak well i. e. 'verba bona, fausta" (the 'bona verba quaeso' of the comedians). Thirdly, Eschylus confirms this interpretation almost by an actual definition : '■'■ Evcprjfiov rjfictQ ov ■jt^tmi nct-nayyfXui rkooear/ fiiaivsiv." Ayam. 045. These arguments show, 1 think, suflicicntly clearly, V 5 throug-h the medium of its acknowledged synonyme, svcprjfistts , that ore favete is not 'si/efe et attcndile\ but 'bona verba dici(e\ If a more direct proof be re- quired, it will, I think, be found in the following pas- sage of Ovid {Fasti, I. 7]): "Prospera lux oritur: Unguis animisque favete; Nunc dicenda bona sunt bona verba die." With which compare (Ovid, ex Ponto, II. 5. 19): "Tu tamen hie structos inter fera proelia versus Et legis , et iectos ore favente probas," So also the corresponding English phrase, "Keep a good tongue in your head" {'' Exo^a x sv(pr}^ov (pQovQut ayad'ov,'" Eurip. Ion, 98), means, not to be silent, but to speak only fitting things — neither contradict, nor mock, nor curse: ("Male nominatis Parcite verbis." Hor, Od. III. 14. 11). Should I be required to reconcile the coexistence in the same sentence of two apparently so inconsistent commands as svcpi^^siv, interpreted as I have interpreted it, and Giyav (see Eurip, quoted §. I. above), I beg to observe that these apparently inconsistent com- mands are really subordinary to each other, the meaning being-, not be absolutely and wholly silent, and at the same time speak good words, but cease {be silent from) your idle irreverent, lewd conversations, and speak only what is fitting to the occasion. A similar double command is frequently found in the Bible, particularly with respect to the sabbath day which the Jews were required to keep holy; holy in act, not merely by abstaining from evil acts, but by performing good acts ; holy in word, not merely by abstaining from idle or irreverent speaking-, but by speaking words suited to the solemnity of the doy: "Eav a7to6xQ8rprjg xov noda Gov ano xav 6a^- j3o;rtov, xov ^y] noieiv xa d-rjlri^ata 6ov sv xr] ri^sga xy] ayitt, nat KaXsGEig xa Ga^^axa xQvcpsQa, ayia xa Q^ea- ovx aQstg xov Tcoda 6ov en SQya, ovds kakt]6sis loyov £v OQyr} sx xov Gxoiiaxog Oov." H Tlak. zJiad: iiGaiag, LVUl. 13. §. II. Ore favete. — Favor with your mouths; use your mouths so as to further what I am about. If llie speaker is engaged in lamentation, 'ore favete' thus becomes equivalent to mourn with me; compare Ovid, Ibis, 95: "Ilium ego devoveo, quern mens intelligit, Ibin; Qui se scit factis has merulsse preces. Nulla mora est iu me; pcragara rata vota sacerdos: Quisquis ades sacris , ore lavete, meis; Quisquis ades sacris, higubria dicite verba, Et fletn madidis Ibin adite geuis." If, on the contrary, the speaker is (as Eneas on the pre- sent occasion) engaged in rejoicings, 'ore favete' is (as sufficiently shown from the quotations above from Ovid's Fasti and ex Ponto) equivalent to rejoice with me; signify with your voices that you participate in my feelings. Compare: "Inferior miles hastis feriendo clypoos, sonitu assurgens ingenti, uno propemodum ore dictis favebat et coeptis." Ajlmian. XX. 5. 80. SALVE SANCTE PARENS ITERUM SALVETE RECEPTI NEQUIDQUAM CINERES ANIMAEQUE UMBRAEQUE PATERNAE NON LICUIT FINES ITALOS FATALIAQDE ARVA NEC TECUM AUSONIUM QUICUNQUE EST OUAEREUE TVRUIM "Jam apud veteres ambiguam fuisse horum verborum interpunctioncm, discitur a Servio, qui post iterum distinguendum esse ait, ut est in Mediceo ct apud Scholiast. A. Mali: recte puto ; verbum kecepti enim indicat, respici hie ad id, tc. B 10 V That such is really the use and effect of the epithet LONG.v will readily appear on suppressing the term and reading the passage without it; sulcant vaoa salsa CAKiNA. Compare En. X. 197, where the same term is applied to the keel of a vessel with the same happy effect; that of suggesting the idea not merely of a long keel, but of a large and stately vessel. Compare also the similiar use, by another faithful observer of nature, of the same 'epitheton otiosum'(!): "The long keel trembles and the timbers groan." Falconer, Shipwreck, c. III. Although nautical men of the present day invariably connect the idea of speed with length of keel ("The length of fast ships must be great, 200 feet of keel being requisite to insure with least power a speed of 18 miles an hour, 300 feet of keel to attain 23 miles an hour," etc. See a paper read by Mr. Scott Russell in the Royal Institution, June 2. 1848, and quoted in the Alheneum of June 24) it is unne- cessary to claim a knowledge of this relation for Virgil, the more obvious relation between length of keel and size and stateliness of vessel, affording a suffi- cient answer to the charge brought against him, that in applying the term longa to a vessel's keel he was guilty of a truism. A strong confirmation of the views just expressed is afforded by the following passage which I met acci- dentally in C. Nepos, years after the above was written, and which shows that vessels of war, i. e. the largest, finest, and most stately vessels, were specially and technically denominated 'longae' by the ancients; no doubt because proportionally longer than transports, or merchant vessels. Speaking of the fleet with which Xerxes invaded Greece, Cornelius says: "Hujus enini classis mille et ducentarum navium longarum fuit, quam duo millia onerariarum scquebantur." Themist. II. T); where see Bremi's Annot. So also the same author V 11 in Dion, V. 3: "Impeiiuin muniliim quingentls longis naviljus,'' i. c, ships of war; and Justin, II. 4: "Eo igitur profectus long is noveni navibus, comitante prin- cipiini Graeciae juventute, inopinantes aggredilur." So also Caesar {de Bell. Gall. IV. 22) opposes "naves lou- gas" to "onerarias". Compare also: '•^JxvXav . . . exafiipa TtQog v^K'^ xata(jx£vat,ovta (iol vavg OtQoyyvlas iisv- t)]xovra^ nai fiaxQag dcaxoOLas'^ Epist. Bruli ad Bilhyn. in the Ej)isi. Mut. Graecan. 210. AT LAETUS MNESTHEUS SUCCESSUOUE ACRIOR IPSO AGMINE REMORUM CELERI VENTISOTJE VOCATIS PRONA PETIT MARIA ET PELAGO DECURRIT APERTO QUALIS SPELUNCA SUBITO COMMOTA COLUMBA CUI DOMUS ET DULCES LATEBROSO IN PUMICE NIDI FERTUR IN ARVA VOLANS PLAUSUMQUE EXTERRITA PENNIS DAT TECTO INGENTEM MOX AERE LAPSA QUIETO RADIT ITER LIQUIDUM CELEBES NEQUE COMMOVET ALAS SIC MNESTHEUS SIC IPSA FUGA SECAT ULTIMA PRISTIS AEQUORA SIC ILLAM FEET IMPETUS IPSE VOLANTEM §. L Prona MARIA. — 'Pronus', declivis in anteriorem partem; sloping downwards and forwards and therefore (in the case of a fluid) flowing downwards and forwards. Com- pare Georg. I. 203: "Atque ilium in praeceps pro no rapit alveus arani;" and En. VIII. 548: — "Pars caetera prona * Fertur aqua;" carried down with the descending stream, or current of the river. Lucan, IV. 429: " Jamque relabenti crescebant littora ponto ; Missa ratis prono defertur lapsa profundo;" 12 V carried down from the shore torvards the deep mth the cbbiiKj tide. Also Claudian , in Eulrup. II. 2b :^ "Pro mis ct in geminas nutavit Bospliorus urbes;" the tide flowing in opposite directions at the same time. And Lucan, VI. 473, of a river preternaturally flowing^ upwards or towards its source: — "Aninisque cucurrit Non qua pronus erat." And SO in the passage before us, Mnestheus, having reached and rounded the goal, seeks, on his return, to avail himself of the fall in the water towards the land, i. e. of the current or tide setting in shoreward. This inter- pretation of I'RONA is doubly confirmed; («) by the verb i>£cuRRiT (corresponding- exactly to 'f/efertur' in the first of the two passages above quoted from Lucan), and (J)) by the immediately succeeding simile (oualis si'E- LUNCA etc.), in which the pigeon is described as flying, not upwards nor horizontally, but from her nest in the rock downwards towards the fields: FERTUR IN ARVA VOLANS MOX AERE LAPSA QUIETO RADIX ITER LIQUIDUM, CELERES NEQUE COMMOVET ALAS; plainly a description of that downward flight of a bird, in which no flapping- of the wings is required or used. Compare Dante's exactly similiar description of the down- ward flying of pigeons from the upper air toward the nest {Inferno, V. 82): " Quali colombc dal dcsio cliiamate Con I'ali apeite e ferme al dolce nido Volan per I'acr dal voler porlate"; and Biagioli's commentary: "'Con Pali aperte e ferme;' tale si e Tatto dcgli augelli volanli d'alto in basso." Ileync's explanation of this passage ("prona %iauia, in (juibus cursus pronus ac celer sine im|)edimcnto fit; idem aperto pelago) is doubly unhappy; first, because to explain '|)ronus' by 'pronus' is a mere blinking of the difficulty; secondly, l)ecause (see si. HI. below) V n APERTO PELAGo iiieans something- totally different from PIIUNA MARIA. Any renuiining- doubt which the reader may entertain eoiiccrning the interpretation of prona in the text, must, 1 should think, disappear before the following examples: Ovid, Ileroid. XVUl. 121: "Hoc quoque si crodas; ad tc via prona videtur; A tc cum redco, clivus iucrtis aquae." where 'clivus' and 'inertis' being- the opposite of 'prona', 'prona' is plainly not merely down hill, but also ru7i- niny ; i. e. flowing down toward the shore. "Nee redit in fontes unda supiiia suos." Ovid. Medic. Faciei, 40; where the term 'supina', the opposite of 'prona', is applied to water flowing preternaturally upwards; and, Avienus, Descript. Orh. Terrae , 197: "Hinc arctas inter fauces atque obvia saxa Thracius angustas discludit Bosphorus oras ; Nam vicina sibi stunt littora, tcrraquc parci Faucibus oris liiat, prona sinus evomit unda;" i. e. the level of the strait being higher than that of the sea, the former pours a downrvard stream of mater ("prona unda") into the latter^ §. II. Prona maria .... pelago aperto ultima AEouoRA. — The course which the ships had to run (sciz, from the shore to the goal, and this having been turned, see vers. 231, back again to the shore) was, we may presume (the race being one of oars and not of sails), performed in as direct a line as. possible. The terms prona maria, pelago aperto , ultima aeouora, indicate therefore not any new parts of the sea, but the very part over which the vessels had passed mv their way outward, considered now in relation to their return, and called 'pronum' as incUning downwards in the dircctiDU of the shore (see §. I. above), 'apertum' as being free 14 V from obstruction (see below), and 'ultimum' ;\s forming the last part of the course. Pelago ai'Erto. — Not, the open sea in the sense of the sea far out from land, or farther out than the goal, but, as sufffciently proved Ijy the sequel, and especially by ultima aequora and "ipso in fine" (vers. 225), the sea between the goal and the land, called 'aper- tum' (see Comment on "Aperit Syrtes", En. \. 150), be- cause unobstructed either by the goal itself or by the competing- ships; that pari of the sea sciz. which for the very same reason is, at vers. 171, called 'tuta'. §. III. Cui DOMUS ET DULCES MDi. — "DuLCES, proptcr Ubcros." Wagner. Near, but not exactly, the truth: nidi is (metaphori- cally of course) the Uiberi' ; the young themselves; first, because otherwise it were a mere repetition of do.mus; secondly, because it is used in this sense not only by other writers, but by Virgil himself elsewhere: "Queruli nidi", Seneca, Here. Fur. 148. "Nidis loquacibus", £>«. Xll. 475. "Dulcem nidis imniitibus escam", Georg. IV. 17, "Implumes nidos", Claud, de Tert. Cons. Honor. Praef. vers. 5. See also Nonius Marcellus, in voc. Thirdly, because mention of the young is required to complete and vivify the picture, and render the dove's extreme terror natural. Statius's — "Cui circum stagna Carysti Et domus, et conjiix, et amantes littora uali." Theb. VII. 718. is nearly parallel. Mox aere lapsa quieto radit iter liquidum celeres NEgUE COMMOVET ALAS SIC MNESTHEUS ier notarum praepetum Sollers niiuister, advola;" " Sentire tarn velox niilii Vellem dedisset mens niea, Ouam pracpetis dcxtrae fiiga Tu mc loqueutom praeveuis." 21 268. JAMOUE ADEO nONATI OMNES OPIBUSOUE SUPERBI PUNICEIS IBANT EVINCTI TEMPORA TAENIIS SuPERBi IBANT. — Tlic identical phrase is preserved in the Italian: "lo andrei sempre superbo di mostrarvi a dito." Come si diviene Pittore (Translated by Gar from the Flemish of Constance). "Le ornasti il cria, che ben puote ir' superba Del gran figlio la madre." Carlo Bottari, Fragment by Louisa Grace (in the Mo- mimenti del Giardino Puccini, Pistoja, 1846). Taeniis. — See Museo Pio-Clementino, Tom. VI. Tab. XII and XlII, for busts of Hercules with such Taeniae; also for the observations of Visconti thereon. 317. SIMUL ULTIMA SIGNANT Compare Lucian (J)e non temere credendo calmnniae): '"'• KccKSi yuQ o ^Bv ccyad'os dgofisvg trjg v07ih]yyog sv&vg xatajisGovGrjg yiovov tov ngoGca £(pis^svog xcci Siavoiav vTtotsivag TtQog to teq^cc." 323. EURYALUMQUE HELYMUS SEQUITUR QUO DEINDE SUB IPSO ECCE VOLAT CALCEMQUE TERIT JAM CALCE DIORES INCUMBENS HUMERO SPATIA ET SI PLURA SUPERSINT TRANSEAT ELAPSUS PRIOR AMBIGUUMQUE RELINQUAT §. I. Calcemque TERIT JAM CALCE. — The VirgiUan student who happens to be familiar with the very common and even 22 V vulgar use in English, ul tlie word 'heel' for the word 'foot' (sec Launcelot Gobbo, in The Merchant of Venice, II. 2) will smile at the coil which the commentators have made about these words. The "valde dura ratio" (Heyne) which Burmann follows, occupies nearly an entire column of his quarto page, and Peerlkamp having ingenuously confessed that it is impossible to understand how Diores could with his heel have trod upon the heel of Helymus, who was before him, proceeds with the most sober sadness to aver that he trod on him with his toes: "Intellectu diflicile est, quomodo Diores calce calcem Helymi triverit. Trivit calcem Helymi digitis pedis." In support of which incontrovertible proposition, the matter-of-fact commentator has un- accountably omitted to quote the matter-of-fact poet: — "liistat non segnius acer Hesperos, ac prima stnngit vestigia planta Progressae calcis." SiL. ITAL. XVI. 401. Poets, beware how ye use figures of speech; they are dangerous, and wuU infallibly cut your fingers. What will not future commentators say of Thomson's "These as they roll, almighty Father, these Ai'C but the varied (iod?" What has not been already said of "This is my body; this is my blood"? what millions of human lives have not been sacrificed to that one figure? From hence- forward for ever let no fugitive presume to take to his heels, far less fly; let no maiden, if she be wise, bestow her hand on her lover; or should she be content to do with one hand for the rest of her life, let her at least not part with her heart; for how exist one single day without the central organ of the circulation, indispensable every moment for forwarding a fresh supply of arterial blood through the arteries, and receiving the old worn-out blood back from the veins. V 23 §. II. Incumbens iiumero. — St. Aiigustiii has made a very lio|)|iy ligiirativc application of this idea: "Et ccce tu iinniinens dorso liigitivorum tuorum Dciis ultionum, et fons inisericordiarum siiiiul." Confess. IV. 7. §. III. Amdiguumque relinquat. — "Ambiguumque Heinsius con- sensu Ubrorum recepit, quod et pars Pierianomm habe- bat; ratio tamen et res respuit. Nam si transiisset so- ciuni, res non amljigua jam fuisset, uter prior essct. Verius alii editi et scripti 'ambig-uumve'." Heyne. The fault is not in the manuscripts, but in Heyne who did not understand them. Ambiguum relinquat is not a separate event, a second possible consequence of the premiss spatia si plura supersint, such minute subdivi- sion of consequences being, first, mere trifling and little- ness, and secondly, not according to Virgil's usual me- thod; but it is, according to Virgil's usual method, a heightening {Steiganmg) of the single consequence: Diores would not only pass Helymns hy, transeat elapsus PRIOR, hut leave him completely behind — distance him, relinquat; 'relinqui' being, as clearly appears from Statius, Theb. VI. 344 and 309: — "Par et concordia voti, Vincere vel solo cupiuiit a fratre relinqui." — " SUipiiere relicta Nubila , certantes Eui'iqiie Notique sequimtuv." the proper, technical term for being left completely behind, distanced in the race. Ambiguum — not that would be a?nhiguous when so entirely left behind and distanced in the supposed longer race, but that is now in the actual state of the race ambiguous; to whom Diores has come so very close, as to render him {Helymus) ambiguous; i. e. doubtful which is actually foremost — actually the winner. See in Statius's description of the discus -throwing, the dis- f 24 V tinction mnde by him between overpassing: by so small a space as to leave it doubtful whether one has actually passed by or only come up to (Statius's "dubia junctave meta;" Virgil's ambiguum), and quite distancing and leaving behind, (Statius's "longe super aemula sig'na consedit ; " Virgil's relinquat) : — "Nee dubia junctave Menesthca victum Transabiit meta: longe super aemula signa Consedit." Theb. VI. 712. Ambiguum thus becomes the descriptive predicate so often (I may say always where possible) used by Virgil instead of the personal pronoun of prose and prosaic poets. Wagner {Qitaesi. Virg. XXXVl. 1), although adopting Heyne's reading 've', denies the correctness of Heyne's statement: '"Ambiguumve relinquat'. Sic Codices Heins., non, ut Heynius refert, ambiguumque." In this observation as in so many others Wagner is verbally correct, but, as appears to me at least, substantially wrong. Heinsius does indeed say (see his note in Bur- mann), "'Ambiguumve' codices nostri omnes", and his Leyden Edition of 1671 has 'ambiguumve', but both appear to have been accidental (perhaps typographical) errors; for first, his Utrecht Edition of 1704 has ambi- guumque; and secondly, the general, almost the universal, reading of the MSS. is actually ambiguumque, as 1 think 1 may safely state on my own experience, having- found that reading- in every one of eight MSS. which I consulted expressly concerning this passage, one of those eight being the Gudian, the very MS. on which, above all others, Heinsius was accustomed to rely. The other seven MSS. consulted by me, and in every one of which I found ambiguumque , were Nos. J 1 5 , 110 and 1 1 7 in the Royal Library at Vienna, the Klostcr-Neuburg, the two Leipzig and the Dresden. I have also found ambi- guumque both in the Modena Va\. of I 175 and in Rob. Stephens; it is also the reading of La Cerda and Burmann; V 25 and Bersmann, though himself adopthig- 'ambiguumve', informs us that amiuguumoue is the reading" of his MS. Ambigdiimoue is also (see Foggini) the reading of the Me- diccan. II. Stephens defends 'amhiguumve' in a long-, and, as it seems to me, entirely erroneous disputation, and tins reading has been adopted by D. Heinsius. 334. NON TAMEN EURYALI NON ILLE OBLITUS AMORUM For some just remarks on Virgil's frequent use of the negation ("les tours negatifs") see Chateaubriand, Genie (III ChristianistJie, II. 2. 10. 355. TRIMAM MERUI QUI LAUDE CORONAM NI ME QUAE SALIUM FORTUNA INIMICA TUUSSET "Me a primo pracmio abstulisset, abduxisset." Heyne. "Ferre h. 1. lusum fortunae significat." Wagner. 1 dissent from both explications, and think 'ferre' is used here, exactly as in En. II. 600 ("Jam flammae tu- lerint") and En. IV. 679 ("Idem ambas ferro dolor, nt- que eadem hora tulisset"), in the sense of the common English expressions, make away with, make short work of; settle; finish; undo <^c. For a similar use of the same word see {En. II. 554): — "Hie exitus ilium Sorte tulit." 2G V 387. IIIC GRAVIS ENTELLUM DICTIS CASTIGAT ACESTES "Gravis, der Wiirdigc. Ein Tadel, dcr von eincm 'vir gravis' ausgeht, hat weit mchr Gewicht, als eine 'gravis castigatio hominis aliciijus': darum ist der hier gewahlte Ausdruck starker als wenn es hiesse, 'graviter castigat'." Ladewig. This observation, abstractedly correct, is misplaced lierc. The construction is, not 'gravis Acestcs castigat Enlelluni dictis', but 'Acestes castigat Entclluni gravis dictis', i. e. gravibiis dictis; compare (vers. 274) "(Jravis ictu," i, e. gravi iciu, and see Comments En. I. 294; V. 1 (§. II.); IV. 504. R 391. xjbi nunc nobis deus ille magister nequidquam memoratus eryx "Ubi nunc est ilia gloria, quod magistro usus es Eryce, qucm olim nobis jaclabas?" Wagner, Virg. Br. En. I tWnk however that the structure is, not 'memora- tus nobis', but 'ubi nunc nobis deus ille Eryx, nequid- quam memoratus magistcr'; nobis being the dative ethic, and MAGISTER neouidouam memoratus a parenthetic clause: rvher-e 7iow is thai God of ours Eryx , vainly vaunted of by thee (or perhaps even by us) as thy teacher? Both the sense and the structure are rendci-ed perfectly plain by two connnas, one placed after ille, the other after memoratus. Exactly similar to nobis in our text is 'vobis', vers. 646: "Non Beroe vobis, non haec Rhoetcia, mntres, Est Doiycli conjux." V 27 400. NEC DONA MOUOR ^'Plausuni uoii nioror." AusoN. Ckilun. 16. 466. NON VIRES ALIAS CONVERSAOUE NUMINA SENTIS CEDE DEO "Vires alias, quam putaveras hujus homiuis esse, h. e. tiiis majores." Hcyne. "Vires alias, des Entellus." Ladewig-. "Vires alias, sciz. tibi esse quam ante." Voss. Neither interpretation pleases me. I tliink the meaning is declared by the immediately added conversa numina, CEDE DEO, to be Do you not perceive that the strength against which you are contending, is not that of Entellus, but VIRES ALIAS, qultc different strength, anotlwr or se- cond strength, viz. that of the Gods. To have said to Dares: "Do you not perceive that the strength of Entel- lus is quite different (either from what it had been before, or from yours, i. e. greater than yours)," or "Do you not perceive that your own strength is less than it was before," had been to reprove, not to comfort and soothe him ("mulcens dictis," v. 464). 481. STERNITUR EXANIMISOUE TREMENS PROCUMBIT HUMI BOS , '. ; t ■ Not a mere poetical exaggeration; a similar feat being- recorded of Caesar Borgia: "Der schonste Mann; so 28 V stark, dass er iin Stiergefcchl den Kopl' dcs Slicrs aut einen Schlag^ herunterlueb." Ranke, Die liomischen Pdpstc, B. 1. c. 2. 487. INGENTIQUE MANU MALUM DE NAVE SERESTI ERIGIT "Magna multitudine." Servius. I think not; first, because the erection of the mast would not require a great body of persons, still less a very greats which is the signification of ingenti placed first word in the verse; see Comm. En. II. 246. Secondly, because not only is the epithet 'ingens' elsewhere ap- plied to the person of Eneas iEn. VI. 413), but Eneas is specially declared to have worked with his own hands at the felling of trees, and such like labor; see Eti. VI. 184. Compare Statins, Theb. VI. 701: "Ilia nianu magna, et miiltiim fclicior exit, Nee partem exiguam Circi tiausvecla qiiievit." 517. DECIDIT EXANIMIS VITAMOUE RELIQUIT IN ASTRIS ExANiMis, not lifeless y for then vitam reliouit becomes tautologous; but ivifhoiit sense and voli/ion, either from the physical, or (see "audiit exanimis," En. IV. 072; "exaninies magistri," En. V. 669) from the mental, effect of the wound, or, as is most likely, from both united. For IV remarkable instance of 'exanimis' used, by an e(|uivoque, in these its two different senses at once, see Seneca, Troad. 604: "Uatusquc tiunulo ilebita exanimis tulit," V 29 In order that Andromache may be able to swear tliese words with a sale conscience, 'exanimis' must mean in her own mind no more than frighlencd almost (u death, whilst in Ulysses' ears it means, as she intends it should mean, actually dead. 522. HIC OCULIS SUBITUM OBJICITUR MAGNOQUE FUTURUM AUGURIO MONSTRUM DOCUIT POST EXrrUS INGENS SERAOUE TERRIFICI CECINERUNT OMINA VATES NAMQUE VOLANS LIOUIDIS IN NUBIRUS ARSIT ARUNDO SIGNAVITQUE VIAM FLAMMIS TENUESQUE RECESSri' CONSUMTA IN VENTOS §. I. Hic OCULIS &c. — Our author meaning to express, not thai the object now presented to the eyes was held by the actual beholders to be monstrous, but thai an object was now presented to the eyes which was afterwards (i. e. by future generations) looked upon as monstrous, says, not 'hie oculis monstrum objicitur, magnoque futurum augu- rio', but Hic oeuLis objicitur magnoque futuruivi augurio monstrum; the latter being tantamount to 'hic oculis ob- jicitur id quod apiid posteros erit (vel a posteris exisii- mabitur fuisse) monstrum augurio magno\ DocuiT, — sciz. id verum fuisse monstrum et mali ominis, quod a parentibus false acceptum erat veluti boni ominis. SeRAQUE TERRIFICI CECINERUNT OMINA VATES. The omens which the seers afterwards drew from the ol)ject now presented to the eyes of the Trojans, were sera, late; or more strictly, too late ("Serum dicitur quidquid tardius fit, quam solet, decet, exspectatur, metuitur" — Gesner), because not drawn until after the seers had been taught by the event: docuit rosT exitus ingens. That the seers here spoken of are not contemporary, but 30 V future seers prophesyiii!? alter the event, and therelore tliat Wagner's explanation (" V^alcs, omen illud interpre- tantes , a]il.\ is the reading both of the Venice Ed. of 1472 and of the Milan of 1474. Nich. Heinsius, as usual preferring (with Wag- ner) the authority of the Medicean to all other, has • templum'. 77. AT PHOEBI NONDUM PATIENS IMMANIS IN ANTRH BACCHATUR VATES MAGNUM SI PECTORE POSSIT EXCUSSISSE DEUM TANTO MAGIS ILLE FATIGAT OS RABIDUM FERA CORDA DOMANS FINGITQUE PREMENDO FiNGiTQUE pnEMENDO. — " Dura prius argilla, cera, digitis premitur, subigitur ct fingilur atque ita ad for- mani componitur." Peerlkamp. Allogelhor erroneous; first, because Sibylla was not patient and plastic like potter's clay, or wax, bnl resistant and rebellious; and secondly, because il i> perfectly plain, from vv. 100. 101 . and t02 , that the \ VI 13 image is that, ol" a wild horse nnflerp:oing the mane?:e; and so, correctly, Uic oilier coininenlalors. 83. TANDEM MAGNIS PELAGI DEFUNCTE PEUICLIS SED TERRAE GRAVIORA MANENT IN REGXA I.WIM DARDANIDAE VENIENT MITTE HANC DE PECTORE CL'RAM SED NGN ET VENISSE VOLENT The words sed terrae graviora manent (as wholly parenthetic as mitte hang de pectore curam in the next line, and "non indebita posco regna nieis fatis," vers. 66) express an idea suggested by the just preceding- pelagi, but not forming a part of the current thought, which passes from periclis to in regna lavini dardanidae ve- nient. The period at manent, which I find in all the edi- tions down to Ladewig, should therefore be removed, as splitting the body into two exactly in the middle, leaving the head and shoulders on the left hand , and the tail on the right; i. e. leaving on the left hand, thou n-ho hast gone Ihrough the sea's great perils, hut land's greater perils yet await thee; and leaving on the right hand. The Dardanidae shall come into the Lavinian realms. Nothing has contributed more to the complete misunderstanding and consequent misrepresentation of our author than the ignorance manifested by Virgil's best commentators of this, the usual, structure of his sentences. See Comments En. I. 4; III. 571; V. 522 (§11), 659; VI 739. Terrae. — I have no doubt at all that this, which I have myself found in the Leipzig MS. No. 36, is the correct reading. I have examined only two other MSS. respecting the passage . viz. the Leipzig No. 35 , and the Dresden. The former has 'terra', the latter 3 14 VI 'terris'. In the Dresden copy of the Modena Edition the 'a' of 'terra' has been altered into 'ai' by the same ancient hand wliich has made numerous g^losses and corrections throug:h the whole of the volume. Nicholas Heinsius also has adopted terrae in place ol the 'terra' of Daniel Heinsius. 90. NEC TEUCRIS .\DD1TA JUNO rSOL'AM ABERIT Compare Schiller, Maria Stuart, Act H^, where Eli- zabeth, speaking- of Mary, says: "Sie isi die Furie meincs Lebens; mir Ein Plagegcist, voni Schicksal angeheftet." This sense is however solely derivable from the con- text, not at all contained in audita, a word employed indifferently whether the meaning intended to be con- veyed is good or bad: •'Salve, vera Jovis proles, deciis add lie divis." En. nil. 301; which single instance is to me sufficient to prove the incorrectness of the whole of Heyne's disputation on the passage, and how erroneously the addita of our text is rendered by Macrobius, "affixa, et per hoc infcsla," and by Servius, "inimica." Compare Slatius, Theb. I. 22: — "Tuque o Laliae decus addite faniae." Vi 15 167. ET LITUO PUGNAS INSIGNIS OBIBAT ET HASTA Volkcr, der kiihne Spielinann, also genannl well er fiedeln konnle and feclilen niit gleicher Meislerschafl." Kriemhilde's Rache, von Alfred Reumont. 186. SIC ORE PRECATUR Pierius says: "In Rom. cod. legere est 'voce', in Longobardico, ore." Either reading affording an equally good sense, I have adopted ore, which I have myself found in the Leipzig No. 36. The following is Ser- vius's opinion of the third reading 'forte': "Vacat 'forte'; et est versus de his, qui tibicines vocan- tur, quibus additur aliquid ad solam metri sustenta- tionem Nee enini possumus intelligere eum for- tuitu rogasse." This opinion, instead of preventing Wagner from ousting out of the Heynian text the ex- cellent reading 'voce' and substituting for it the un- meaning, and worse than unmeaning, 'forte', has been used by him as a means of bastardising the ousted reading: "Apparet hoc Servii judicium causam aliis exstitisse, ut experirentur, qua ralione emendarent versum; hinc alii ore, alii 'voce' substitucrunt." It is fortunate that we have the testimony of Pierius (quo- ted above) that these readings emanate from MSS. of equal authority with Servius himself. I find either ore or 'voce' in H. Stephens, the Paris Ed. of 1600, La Cerda, Bersmann, Burmann, Nich. Heinsius and Brunck. 'Eorte' is the reading of the Medicean (sec Foggini), and on the authority of 16 VI Ihal MS. and of its recognition In Ihc very severe cri- ticism of Servius quoted above , has been adopted by Wayner, Forbiger and several oilier modern commen- tators. I have myself also found it in the Modena Ed. of 1475 and the only two MSS. (excepting the Leipzig No. 3()) which I have examined respecting the passage, \ iz. Ihe Leipzig 35 , and the Dresden. It is also the reading of Dan. Ileinsius, and of Uob. Stephens. 202. TOLLUNT SE CELEBES LIQUIDUMQUE PER A ERA LAPSAE SEDIBUS OPTATIS GEMINAE SUPER ARBORE SIDUNT DISCOLOR UNDE AURI PER RAMOS AURA REFULSIT Geminae, and not 'gem in a', is the correct reading; tirsl, because it is according to Virgil's custom thus to repeat his subject just before the verb; see Comm. En. I. 504. Secondly, because the repetition of (he sub- ject in Ihe word geminae places the picture of the two birds perched on the tree, vividly before the eyes. Thirdly, because the double nature of the tree is suffi- ciently described in the following line. Fourthly, be- cause on every one of the forty other occasions on which Virgil uses this word, it means, wo\. of two diffe- rent fiatures, but twins, two in number. Thus "geniinum solcm" (En. IV. 470) is two suns ; "geminum honorcm" (En. V. 365) two prizes; "geminam prolem" (En. I. 278) two o/fsprinr/s, two children; "gemino muro" (En. III. 535) two walls ; &c. &c, Fillhly, because the words 'gemina arbore', where Ihey occur in Statins, Tlieb. X. 841: — "Gemina latiis arboic chisiis Acrium sibi portal ilor," iiiciiM , not one tree of two different natures, but two distinct trees; \iz. the pair of trees, which form the VI IT two upright sides or i)0}es of a ladder. Sixthly, be- cause Pieriiis informs us, "In Longobardico geminae le- gilur, ul sit de columbis." Sevcnlhly, I hnd in the Dresden copy of the Modena Edition of 1475 c.eminae written in, in the same ancient hand I have before spoken of, over 'gemina', the reading of the Edition. Eighthly, because we are informed by Mailtaire that ge- MiNAE is the reading of the Venice Ed. of 1472. Ninthly, because I have myself found geminae in the Leipzig MS. No. 36; also in Burmann and La Cerda, who de- fend the reading in their notes; also in Brunck. The other Leipzig MS. (No, 35) has 'gemina'; and the Dresden, 'gemina sub'. 214. PRINCIPIO PINGUEM TAEDIS ET ROBORE SECTO INGENTEM STRUXERE PYRAM I entirely agree with Wakefield that this passage is to be thus punctuated : PRINCIPIO, PINGUEM TAEDIS, ET UOIidKE SECTO INGENTEM, STUUXERE PYRAM. Sec Comment En. IV. 504. 242. UNDE LOCUM GRAII DIXERUNT NOMINE AVERNUM QUATUOR HIC PRIMUM NIGRANTES TERGA JUVENCOS CONSTITUIT FRONTIQUE INVERGIT VINA SACERDOS ET SUMMAS CARPENS MEDIA INTER CORNUA SETAS IGNIBUS IMPONIT SACRIS LIBAMINA PRIMA The first of these verses has been marked with a stigma as spurious by most of the modern editors, and summarily ejected out of the text by others (ex. gr. by Brunck and Wagner). I think however that it is 18 - VI g-enuine; first and principally, because it is according lo Virgil's usual habit thus to explain the origin of names of places; compare En. I. 113 and 536; III. 702; V. 718; VI. 234 and 381; VII. 1; &c. &c. Se- condly, because Pierius (see below) found it in all the MSS. examined by him. Thirdly, because I have myself found it in the following: the Gudian, the Dres- den, No. 36 of the Leipzig, No. 56 of the Gotha, and the Petrarchian; also in Nos. 113 and 115 of the Vienna MSS., in which two latter, however, it has been written in, in a later hand. The verse is entirely absent from the Leipzig No. 35. AvERNUM. — I have myself found this reading in the Dresden, No. 36 of the Leipzig, the Petrarchian, and Nos. 113 and 115 of the Vienna (see above). Bottari informs us that it is the reading of the Roman , and Pierius says expressly: "Inolevit his temporibus con- sueludo, ut 'Aornum' scribatur eliam a litteratis viris. Sed enim in anliquis codicibus omnibus, quotquot habui, AVERNUM notatum observavi." I find avernum also in the Modena Edition of 1475. 'Aornon', the reading of Daniel Heinsius, I have never seen in any MS.; 'Aor- num', the reading of Nicholas Heinsius, I have found only in the Gudian. Hic, — That it was usual to offer sacrifices at the lake of Avernus, appears from Livy, XXIV. 12 (of Hanni- bal): "Cum cetero exercitu ad lacum Averni per speciem sacrificandi, re ipsa ut tentarct Puteolos, quodque ibi praesidii erat, descendit." LiBAMiNA PRIMA. — Compare Statins, TJteb. 77. 193: "Al genitor, sceplrique decus, cullusque Tonantis Injicit ipse rogis, terg-oque el peclore fusam Caesaiiein fcrro miniiil, soctisqiio jacontis Obnubit loiniia ora coniis, ac talia llelii Verba pio miscens: Alio tibi, pcrrulc, pacln, Jnppiler, hunc erinem voli reus ante dicaiam. Si paritor viridos nati libarc dcdisscs Ad Uia leiupla geiias;" VI 19 and Slalius, Theb. II. 253: — "Hie more parentum lasides, thalamis ubi casta aduloseerct actas, Virg-iacas lib a re comas, primosque solebant Excusare toros." 260. INVADE VIAM 'Jn-xadere viam' (exactly tlie opposite of V-vadere viam', En. II. 131; and see Comm. En. II. 458) is to enter upon a journey, set out. 269. PERQUE DOMOS DITIS VACUAS ET INANIA REGNA QUALE PER INCERTAM LUNAM SUB LUCE MALIGNA ' EST ITER IN SILVIS UBI CAELUM CONDIDIT UMBRA JUPITER ET REBUS NOX ABSTUIJT ATRA COLOREM VESTIBULUM ANTE IPSUM PRIMISQUE IN FAUCIBUS ORCI LUCTUS ET ULTRICES POSUERE CUBILIA CURAE "0 ye interminable, gloomy realms Of swimming- shadows and enormous shapes." Byron, Cain, II. 2. Incertam LUNAM. — "Nubilo caelo." Heyne. "Ciijiis lux nubibus incerla et dubia reddilur, quae modo splendet, modo nubibus obscuratur." Forbiger. No : first, because without some limitative or quali- fying- adjunct the general and indefinite term incertam cannot be taken in this special sense, the supposed parallel, "incertos caeca caligine soles " (En. III. 203), not being- parallel at all, in as much as in that passage 'soles' means, not suns, but days, and 'incertos', not clouded, but, as determined by the adjunct 'caeca ca- ligine', literally uncertain, i. e. uncertain whether days or nights. And secondly, because the light by which M VI Eneas and the Sibyl were walklns:, was, not sometimes bright and sure, and sometimes dim, but always dim and unsure. 1 llicrel'ore understand incertam in our texl to be used in its ordinary general sense of uncertain, unsure, not to be depended on, and to express generally the characler of the moon, or moonlight, as compared with that of the sun, or daylight. Compare: "But westering- Sol bids us make haste, And not our precious minutes waste In too contomplalivo a gaze On various Nature's wondrous ways, When on night quarters we should think And something get to eat and drink; And hints that though his sister Di May do for lovers to swear by. She 's not to be depended on By two who, by themselves alone, Travel on foot a land unknown." My Journey, My Book, Dresden, 1853. Our author having thus, according to his usual custom (see Comments En. I. 48, 500; V. 157, and 323, § III), commenced \\\\\\ the general statement quale per in- certam LDNAM, proceeds inmedialely to limit and define, informing us in the words sub luce maligna est iter in siLvis that the moonlight of which he speaks is not such light as the moon shows in the open country, but the insufficient, unfavorable light (maligna) which she affords to travellers in a wood. To Servius's reading, 'inceptam,' I object, first, with the editors and com- mentators, that the MS. authority on which it rests (and for which see the notes of Nich. Heinsius and Burmann) is much inferior lo thai of the Medicean. and Vatican Fragment, both (•! which read incertam; and secondly, that travellers by night in a wood during tlie new moon, have not even so much as the dim light which Virgil allows Eneas and the Sibyl. Imt arc in total darkness. VI 21 Of the three only MSS. which I have myself per- sonally examined, I have found incertam in two (viz. the two Leipzig), 'incoeplam' in one (viz. the Dresden). I should therefore myself, in my Six Pho1o(jraphs of the Heroic Times, have inlcr|>retcd this passage, not, according to the reading of Servius, By the cioscent moon's Iwilighl, but, according to that of the Vatican Fragment and Me- dicean, By the moon's unsure twilig-ht, The ' luna ' spoken of here, as well as at vers. 454, being plainly the material moon, not the Goddess Luna, the word in both places should be spelled with a small initial letter, not, as most unaccountably both by Heyne and Wagner (by the latter even in his Virg. Br. En.), with a capital. Vestibulum ante ii'SUM &c. — Compare (En. VII. 177) ■ "Quin etiani vcterum effigies ex ordine avorum Antiqua e cedro; Ilalusque, palerque Sabinus Vitisator, curvam servans sub imagine falcem, Saturnusque scnex, Janique bifrontis imago Vestibule astabant." 282. IN MEDIO RAMOS ANNOSAQUE BRACmA PANDIT ULMUS OPACA INGENS QDAM SEDEM SOMNIA VULGO VANA TENERE FERDNT FOLIISQUE SUB OMNIBUS HAERENT SoMNiA — must be understood to be in the form of birds; compare Silius Ilalicus, XIIL 595: "Dextra vasta comas nemorosaque brachia fundil „ Taxus, Cocyli rigua frondosior unda. Hie dirae volucrcs, pastusque cadavere vullur, Et multus bubo, ac sparsis strix sanguine pennis, Harpyiacque fovent nidos, alque omnibus haerent Condensae ioliis: saevit stridoribus arbor." 22 VI 300. STANT LUMINA FLAMMA SORDIDUS EX HUMERIS NOOO DEPENDET AMICTUS "Flamma slat (est) in oculis." Heyne. No; the meaning is inlinilely stronger; Jiis eyes are a mass of fire. Compare: — "Jam pulvere caelum Sture vident;" En. J. 407. the sky is thick with dust; is one cloud of dust, one mass of dust. "Vides ut alta stet nive candidum Soracte;" HoR. Carm. I. 9. 1. how Soracte is one mass of deep, white snow. "Verbreilele das Geriiclit, Wien slehe in Flamnien." AUgemeine Zeitung, Nov. 1. 1848 ; not (as Ileyne's inter- pretation of our text would lead us lo understand the words) there were flames in Vienna, Init Vienna was on fire, was one ?nass of fire. With this idea of fulness or quantity, is combined, I have no doubt, the primary idea of Ihe term, viz. that of immobility; compare: "Sunt avidae volucres, non qnao Pliiiicia mcnsis GiiUura fraudabant, scd genus inde trahunl: Grande caput, stanles oculi, rostra apla rapinae." Ovid. Fasli, VI. 131. "Stal niin(|Mam facics." — LucAN. V. 214. I do not at all doubt but flamma, Ihe corrected read- ing of the Medicean (see Foggini), and the reading of the Modena Edition of 1475, the two Slephcnses, Dan. Ileinsius, Bersmann, La Cerda, and the Paris Edition of 1600, is correct. Nich. Heinsius's note (in Burmann) in support of flamma, is richer and fuller than Nich. VI 23 Ileinsius's notes usually are; it is therefore the more surprising- that his own edilion (at least that of Utrecht 1704, the only one to which I have access at present) has 'flamniae', which reading- I have found in the four only MSS. I have myself personally examined, viz. the Gudian, the Dresden, and the two Leipzig-. NoDo. — Tied, in a slovenly manner, in a knot over his shoulder; not fastened with a clasp or button, as usual with those who were careful about their personal appearance. See Comment En. I. SIS. 429. ABSTULIT .\TRA DIES ET FUNERE MERSIT ACERBO See Murcl. Var. Led. Select, (a Kraft, Lipsiae, 1830) Lib. XUL. c. 2. 431. NEC VERO HAE SINE SORTE DATAE SINE JUDICE 8EDES UUAESITOR MINOS URNAM MOVET ILLE SILENTUM CONCILIUMOUE VOCAT VITASOUE ET CRIMINA DISCIT Ihese three wholly and plainly parenthetic lines afford a good instance of that remarkable peculiarity of Vir- gil's style to which I have had occasion so frequently elsewhere to call the reader's attention; see Comments En. L 4; ILL 571 ; IV. 484; V. 522 (§11.) and 659; VI. S3, 739. n VI 438. FATA OBSTANT TRISTIQUE PALUS INAMABILIS UNDA ALLIGAT Ms. authority is nearly equally divided (see Heyne, V. L.J between the two readings fata obstart and 'Fas obslat'. I prefer fata obstant; first and prin- cipally because Virgil, allliough elsewhere using the word ' fas ' twenty two times, has never even so much as once used it as forbidding , prohihilimj , or opposing ; always on the contrary in the sense o[ permitting. Se- condly, because he uses the precise expression "Fata obstant," En. IV. 440. Thirdly, because the verse of the Medicean containing the reading 'Fas obstat', is in other parts manifestly incorrect, and is besides marked with stigmas (see Foggini). Fourthly, because Pierius, although informing us that the Roman JIS. and Servius both have 'Fas', himself cites and adopts the reading received in his time, fata obstant. Fifthly, because, having myself personally examined only three Virgilian MSS. respecting (he passage, I have in two of them, viz. the Dresden and No, 35 of the Leipzig, found fata obstant, and in the third, viz. No. 36 of the Leipzig, 'fatum obstat'. Sixthly, because in the Dresden MS. of Servius I have found fata obstant, which is also the reading of the Modena Ed. of 1475, Bcrsmann, the two Stephenses, Fabricius, the Paris Ed. of 1600, Daniel Ileinsius and La Cenla. Inamabh.is — is to be preferred to 'innabilis'; first, on account of the more poetic sense. Secondly, because it is the only reading recognised eilhor by Servius, or Donatus, or P(unponius Sabinus. Thirdly, because Pierius Icsliiies thus sliongly in its favor: "Inamabu^is unda suiil ot ijui legant 'innabilis', a No, nas; (puul in veleribus exemplaribus non me- miiii me Icgerc." Fourthly, on account of the parallels adduced by N. Ileinsius in his ncle (see Burniann). 'Innabilis' however is nol wholly without aulhoriiy. I have myself found il in the two Dresden MSS. , viz. both in the Virgil and in the Servius, and il has been adopted both by Bersmann (who however informs us that his MS. reads inamabilis) and by La Cerda, who has not been able to adduce any sufficient argument in its favor. 447. HIS LAODAMIA IT COMES ET JUVENIS OUONDAM NUNC FEMINA CAENEUS RDRSDS ET IN VETEREM FATO REVOLUTA FIGURAM I have found caeneus in all the MSS. which I have myself personally examined , viz. the Petrarchian , the Gudian , the Dresden, and the two Leipzig-; and it is certain from the silence both of Pierius and Heinsius that neither of those diligent investigators found any other reading. The meaning afforded by this reading seems to me nol only unobjectionable, but excellent: here was also the youth Ceneus restored to his primi- tive female sex. Those critics who, objecting with I3ninck, Heyne, Peerlkamp, Jahn and Ladewig to the application of the feminine predicate revoldta to the masculine noun caeneus, substilule Caen is lor caeneus, nol only substitute a purely conjectural reading for one in which the MSS. lire unanimous, but deprive the passage of its whole pith and marrow, which consists in this very application of the feminme adjective to the masculine name formerly owned by the now remetamorphosed female, and in placing this remetamorphosed female (the quondam juvenis caeneus), under her masculine name, in the company of the other females enumerated. I find CAENEUS also in Ihe Modena Ed. of 1475, and in all the old editions. 'Caen is' makes its first ap- pearance in Brunck , who says "caeneus revoluta, foedus soloccismus." In the Dresden MS. of Servius I find: Nunc femina ceneus; Coeneus virgo full, quae &c., the ' i ' having been placed over the u by some gram- marian to whom the feminine predicate attached to the masculine name, was as great an abomination as it was to Brunck. Compare Ovid, Mefom. IV. 279: "Ncc loquor, ut quondam naturae jure novate Ambiguus fuerit modo vir, modo femina, Seython." 451. QUAM TROIUS HERDS UT PRIMUM JUXTA STETIT AGNOVITQUE PER UMBRAM OBSCURAM QUALEM PRIMO QUI SURGERE MENSE AUT VIDET AUT VIDISSE PUTAT PER NUBILA LUNAM DEMISIT LACRYMAS DULCIQUE AFFATUS AMORE EST Ihe error into which the Medicean MS. has led all the ancient edilors, and Wagner among the modern, is, not that of reading umbram, but that of connecting UMBRAM with OBSCURAM by mcaus of a pause placed after the latter. Placing the pause before, instead of after, obscuram, the latter word becomes referrible to Dido equally whether we read (with the Medicean) UMBRAM, or (with the Leyden and other MSS. (|UOted by N. lleinsius) 'umbras', and the question raised by the commentators as to the reading (whether umbras or 'umbram') ceases to be of any importance. That ob- scuram certainly belongs to Dido, even although we should follow the Medicean so far as to read umbram, is 1 think sufficiently proved by this single argumenl. VI VI viz. thai the predicate of a substantive which closes a verse is never placed by Virgil lirsl word in the following- line and separated from the sequel by a pause, unless (as in the case of 'cxiguam', v. 493), for the purpose of expressing a very strong emphasis (see Comm. En. II. 246); and a very strong emphasis on oBscuRAM, considered as the predicate of umdram, would express such a degree of darkness as would not only have prevented Eneas from seeing Dido, OUALEM &c., but would have been quite inconsistent with the explicit statement (at v. 270) that there was a degree of light present, resembling moonlight in a wood. Having myself personally examined only three MSS. respecting the passage, viz. the two Leipzig and the Dresden, I have found umbram in the Leipzig No. 35, and the Dresden; 'umbras' in the Leipzig No. 36. Obscuram — dimly seen, scarcely distinguishable; see Comment En. III. 522. 467. TALIBUS AENEAS ARDENTEM ET TORVA TUENTEM LENIBAT DICTIS ANIMUM LACRYMASyUE CIEBAT ILLA SOLO FIXOS OCULOS AVERSA TENEBAT NEC MAGIS INCEPTO VULTUM SERMONE MOVETUR QUAM SI DURA SILEX AUT STET MARPESIA CAUTES "Duncan (leeched and Duncan prayed; Ha, ha, the wooing: o'l! Meg was deaf as Ailsa Craig-; Ha, ha, the wooing- o'l!" Burns. Lacrymasoue cncBAT. — "Er suchtc ihr Thriinen zu enllocken als Zeichen der eingetretenen weicheren Stimmung." Ladewig, and so Peerlkamp. 26 VI Nothing could be furlher from the meaning, or less poclical. Lacuvmas ciebat is simply wi'i)l; see vers. 476. and Comments En. IV. 30 and 449. All. INDE DATUM MOLITUR ITER 'Datum ; simpl. accipe, qua via palct, ducit." Ileyne. "Viam palcntem ac se quasi offerentem progredienli." Wagner. Virg. Br. En. Both wrong; the meaning being (as vers. 537; III. 255, 501; IV. 225; VIl 313) 'datum a fails'; and so, rightly, Voss. Compare Terent. Heaut. II. 3: "Datur modo: fruere dum licet;" and Tcrenl. Ewi. III. 1: — "Est istuc datum Profecto, ut grata mihi sint (iiiac facio omnia;" where Donatus: "Fato decretoque concessum." 535. nosEis aurora OUADRIGIS JAM MEDIUM AETHERIO CURSU TRAJECERAT AXEM According lo the poets, Aurora performed the same diurnal journey as Phoebus, rising Hke him in the East, traversing the whole sky, and sinking in the West. See Voss , Myihol. Briefc, Band II Brief 46. Also Voss, Beitriigc zum Comm. der Ilias, II. 4S. VI 29 542. AT LAF.VA MALORUM EXERCET POENAS ET AI> IMPIA TARTAHA MITTIT As we would say in English, Ihe penal road, or the convict's road; \. e. the road from the court house to Ihe jail. So, in Venice, The Bridg;e of Sighs, celebra- ted by Lord Byron. 546. MELIORIBUS UTERE FATIS Usus Caesar virtute et fortuna sua Perusiani cxpug- navit." Vell. Pat. II. 74. 559. CONSTITIT AENEAS STREPITUMOUE EXTERRITUS HAUSIT With his usual inordinate confidence in the Medicean MS. Wagner has been here, as so often elsewhere, but too forward in correcting- the Heynian text. Stre- piTUMouE EXTERRITUS HAUSIT is lo bc preferred to 'stre- pi tuque exterritus haesit'; first, because the pic- lure of Eneas listening wilh horror to the sound is finer than that of Eneas only horrified and not Hstening:; compare Statius, Silv. II. 7. 116 : "Sen mag-na sacer ct superbiis umbra Nescis Tartaron, et procul nocentum Audis verbcra." Secondly, because the sound was not a sudden crash, over at once, but a mixed sound, all the component 5 m v[ parls of which are minutely described by our author, and which continued and was heard by Eneas so long as he was in the neighbourhood ; and thirdly, because strepitum iiausit is Ihc reading recognised by Servius. I have myself examined only three MSS. with re- spect to the passage, viz, the two Leipzig and the Dresden, but in the whole three I have found strepitum HAUSiT. I (iiiii the same reading in the Modena Edition of 1475, both the Stephenses, Bersmann, the Paris Edi- tion of 1600, Fabricius, Burmann, and both the Heinsii. 563. NULLI FAS CASTO SCELERATUM INSISTERE LIMEN ScELERATUM. — "Sccleribus conlaminatum, adeoque im- purum, inceslum." Heync. No; hulpar excellence sceleratum ("sedes scelerata," (JviD. Met. IV. 456) , because the seat of the Furies. See Comm. En. IV. 471. 566. GNOSIUS HAEC RHADAMANTHUS HABET DURISSIMA REGNA The meaning is, not that Bhaflamanthus dwelt or had his criminal court in Tartarus, because we shall see, at vers. 573, that it was necessary that the gales of Tartarus should be opened for the admission of cri- minals coming from his judgment seal, but the meaning is that he tras the supreme lord or ruler over this In- fernal bridenell, dwelling, no doubt, in a castle or 'arx' in the neighbourhood, just as we have seen (Comm. VI 31 En. I. 56) thai Eolus, the ruler of the 'career' of the winds, did not reside amongst his prisoners, but ruled them from his castle or 'arx' in the vicinity. Any doubl, which may have lingered in the reader's mind of the correctness of the opinion expressed in the Comment just referred to, viz. that the 'arx' of Eolus was outside the 'career' of the winds, will probably vanish on his observing- the parallelism be- tween the two rulers and the two 'carceres': — "Hie vasto rex Aeolus antro Luclanles ventos tcmpestatesque sonoras hnperio premit, ac vinelis ct carcere frcnal." En. 1. o6. GNOSIUS HAEC RHADAWANTHUS HABET DURISSIMA REGNA, CASTIGATQUE AUDITQUE DOLOS &C. 574. CERNIS CUSTODIA QUALIS VESTIBULO SEDEAT FACIES QUAE LIMINA SERVET QUINQUAGINTA ATRIS IMMANIS HIATIBUS HYDRA SAEVIOR INTUS HABET SEDEM TUM TARTARUS IPSE BIS PATET IN PRAECEPS TANTUM TENDITQUE SUB UMBRAS QUANTUS AD AETHERIUM CAELI SUSPECTUS OLYMPUM JNothing- can be worse or more prosaic than the new elucidation of this passage proposed by Siipfle, and adopted by Ladewig; viz. that the line quinquaginta HYDRA is the answer to the question cernis .... servet, that a new sentence begins at saevior, and that Virgil represents the gate of Tartarus as watched outside by one Hydra and inside by another. No; the custodu which sits in the vestibule, the facies which watches the door, is the 'ultrix Tisiphone' herself, in her bloody 'palla', and armed with her snaky lash (see vv. 555, 510; also Comm. v. 503; 11 .471); and the Steigenmg, 3< VI the three degrees oJ' horror arc: outside, Tisiphone; inside, the enormous Hydra ^^apinp: with its lil'ly }i:allets; and, immedialely beyond, the ahyss of Tartarus itself, TARTARUS IPSE. 618. PHLEGYASQUE MISERRIMUS OMNES ADMONET ET MAGNA TESTATUR VOCE PER UMBRAS Dante also has his Phlegyas, caHing too, though in a somewhat difrerenl manner: "Corda non pinsc niai da se saclta, Che si corresse via per Taere siiella, Com' i' vidi una nave piccioletta Venir per I'acqua verso noi in (juella, Solto '1 governo d'un sol galeolo, Che gridava: 'or se' giunta, anima fella?' 'Flegias, Flegias, tu gridi a voto,' i Disse lo alio signore, 'a qiicsta volta: Pill non ci avrai, se non passando il loto.'" Inferno, Vlll. 13. 620. OlSCITK JUSTITIAM MONITI ET NON TE.MNERE DIVOS ■'l.criiel gewarnl rechi Ihiin, und uicht missachteii die Giitler.' Voss. — "II retto Impnratc a conoseere piM- prova, E a riverir s'i Hci." Al-FIKIII. This, lilie most literal translalious, does not give the real meaning of the passage, which is not Be jusl in your dealings with men, and respectful lonu(rd (he Gods, hut Be just in your dealings wifk wen, and do not sup' m 33 pose that ye can ivith impunilij disobey the comnuDuI of the Gods to that effect, viz. the command lo be just; the only virtue enjoined by the line bein^ thai ol" justice. The meaning' of the passag:e once understood, we see the propriety of the expression non temnehf. : set not at naught the divine commandment to be just. Compare En. I. 546 , where Ilioneus having de- manded justice of Dido — having required her to deal with him and the Trojans according to the immutable principles of justice — reminds her of the sanction of the Gods, and warns her not to despise that sanction ; ' non temnere Divos' : "Si g-enus humaniim el mortalia tcmnitis arma, At speratc deos mcraoies fandi atque nefandi." Also Apollon. Rhod. IV. 1098, where Alciaous ex- presses almost in the very terms of our text his fear of the divine retribution if he should be guilty of an act of injustice: ^'Aq7]ti], y-ui xf>' aw Tfi'Xicnv e^sXacnxtfii KoXxovi, riQonaai qsQWV xuqiv, iiviKU y.ovQrjS. Ak).a /lio? diidoixc. Siy.TiV i&fiav unaani." Compare also (above, vers. 565): "Ipsa deum poenas docuit, perque omnia diixit. Gnosius haec Rhadamanthus habct dmissima regiia. Castig-atquc auditquc dolos, subigilqiie fateri, Quae qiiis apud soperos, furto laetalus inani, Distulit in seram commissa piacula mortem;" where precisely the same doctrine is conveyed in some- what different terms, 'furto laetatus inani' informing us that, however we may contemn human retribution, whatever success we may have in escaping punishment among men ('apud superos'), the retribution of the Gods is 'non contemnenda'; we shall certainly have to undergo after death the 'poenas deum', for not hav- ing hearkened in time to the divine precept Be just. The above interpretation is fully confirmed by the position of our text, viz. in the middle, as it were, of 34 m an assize calendar of culprits, who have vioialed the laws, sinned against the eternal principles ol justice, and so have drawn down upon themselves the threatened vengeance of the Gods, in the very middle of such a calendar stands our text, on one side "Hie quibus invisi fralres" &c., on the other "Vendidit hie auro patriam" &c. I do not flatter myself that the right understanding of its meaning will tend to increase the admiration in which this famous text has been ,so long held. The extreme of human admiration is generally bestowed on objects which are either not at all or only half under- stood. See last three lines of Comment Ln. II. 521. 648. Hie GENDS ANTIQUUM TEUCRI PULCHERRIMA PROLES That the structure is 'genus Teucri ', not 'proles Teucri', is shown by the i)oint placed after teucri in the Medicean, and still more by the parallel : "Hie genus antiquum Terrac, Titania pubcs." vers. 5S0. 658. INTER OKORATUM LAURI NEMUS UM)E SUl'ERNE I'LURIMUS ERIDANI PER SII,\ AM VOLMTUR AMMS "Eridaiius sui'Erne, h. e. ex ediliore loco, volvitur, venil." Heyne. — "Wo von dor Hollo VoUgedranj;! duicli dcii Wald dcs Eridanns Slioni sich liorabwalzl." Vnss. VI 38 "SuPERNE zeigl an. class der Lorbeerhain auf eincni Berg-abhang-e liegl." Siipfle. "Der l.orbeerbain lag- also aiil" cinem Bergabliangc." Ladcwig. "SuPERNE, ex altiore loco. Lauri nemus igilur in colli leviler edito quaerendum." Forbiger. No; as 'inferne', the adverbial form of the adjective 'infernus', is never from below upwards, but always simply beloiv, at the under part, so 'superne', the ad- verbial form of the adjective 'supernus', is never fro7n above downwards, but always aloft, above, at the upper part. Compare : — "Ut turpiter atrum Dosinat in piscem raiilier formosa superne." HoR. Eirist. ad Pis. 3. — "Album mulor in alitem Superne." HoR. Carm. II. 20. 10. "Argenlum superne innatal, ut oleum aquis." Plin, N. N. XXXIII. 6. In loose writing indeed 'superne' can mean ' sur- sum', as our own aloft can mean upwards: "Solum enim hoc genus superne tendit, non , ut cetera, in terram." Plin. H. N. XIX. 5 ; but I am not acquainted with even so much as one single instance in which it bears the sense assigned to it in our text not only by all the commentators, but by all the lexicographers. Superne rightly understood, the true interpretation of the passage follows as a matter of course: unde, fro7n which laurel grove, i. e. rising or taking its spring out of which laurel grove, the Eridanus rolls, plurimus, in a great body of water, per silvam, through the wood, superne, above in the world ("ad superos" — Servius). Or shortly and simply (plurimus per silvam volvitur being merely a description of Eridanus as it was known above in the world) the laurel grove where Eridanus (that mighty Italian river) has its spring. 36 VI Thus we have an explnnalion al once simple and in perfect conformity wiili ilic cosmology of the ancienls: ".Miilla(|uo sill) lerg-d lorriii lluniina Iccla Vulvcrc vi fluclus, subinersaquo saxa pulandum est." LucRET. VI. 540; and especially of Virgil himself, who informs us that Aristeus , when he descended under ground, saw the sources of many of the great rivers of the world, and amongst others Ihat of this very Eridanus: "Omnia sub magna labcntia fluniina terra Spcctabal divcrsa locis, Phasinique Lyciinique, Et caput, unde altus primuiii sc crunipil Enipcus, Unde paler Tibcrinus, et unde Aniena fluenta, Saxosusque sonans Hypanis, Mysusque Caicus, Et g-emina auraius laurino cornua vultu Eridanus, quo non alius per piuguia culta In mare purpureuni violcntior effluit aranis." Georg. IV. 366; where observe the exact parallelism to our text: The Eridanus rises deep vndcr ground, 'sub magna terra', and then, above around, flows 'quo non alius violenlior per pinguia culta in mare pur|)urcum ' ; and : The Eridanus rises in a laurel grove in the underworld , and then suPERNE, above ground, in the norld above, rLURiMus per siLVAM VOLVITUR. Who Can doubt that the two views are of one and the same object, seen only under dilTerent lights? 677. CAMPOSnUE NITENTES Literally sleek and glossy (as cattle from good feeding and caring, vers. 654); the opposite of 'horridus*. There is no corresponding term applicable lo land m in the English language. VI :i7 687. VENTSTI TANDEM TUAOUE EXSPECTATA rARPINTI VICIT ITEIl DURUM PIKTAS 1 the argumenls advanced by Wagner against tlic reading of the two Heinsii and Burmann, as well as of most printed editions, 'spectata', and in lavor of the reading of the great majority of MSS. exspectata, I may add that I have found that reading in two of the only three MSS. which I have myself personally examined respecting the passage, viz. in both the Leipzig. In the third MS. which I have examined, viz. the Dresden, the reading is 'exoptata'. I find also EXSPECTATA in the Modena Edition of 1475, in Bersmann, the Paris Ed. of 1600. and both the Stephenses. In the Dresden copy of Henry Stephens EXSPECTATA has been altered into 'spec lata' by the hand of Taubmann, to whom the book formerly be- longed. Pierius having taken no notice of the passage, and EXSPECTATA being the undoubted reading of the Vatican Fragment (see Bottari), it may be presumed almost to a certainty that Pierius found that reading in all the MSS. examined by him. 727. MAGMI SK (T)Rl'ORK. MISCRT I 'Per totum mundum didila est anima mundi." Heyne. That the words magno corpore mean, not the 'mun- dus', universe, or Welt a II , but simply the Earth, is shown , not merely by the use of the term in the Per- vigilium Veneris, 55 : "In siniim mnritas imbor fliixit almao conjug-'is, (Jride fetus aleret omnes mixta magno onrpore;" 6 ab >'Vi bill liy our author's own use of it. Georg. II. 325: "1(1111 paU-r oiiinipolens fecuridis inibribus Aether Coiijugis ill groDiiiiiu laelae desceiidit, et omnes 'Majj'^ruis alit, magno comniixtus corpore, fetus." 733. HINC METOUNT CUPIUNTOUE DOLENT GAUDENTQUE NEQUE AURAS BESPICIUNT CLAUSAE TENEBHIS ET CARCERE CAECO § I- Auras. — "Lucem." Ileyne. Wagner. The reader, who, taking the trouble to cast his eye over the Heynian Index, shall have observed that in no one of the other ninety lour instances in which it has been used by Virgil, does the word 'aurae' bear the meaning of ' lux ' , will hartlly require to be inlormed by Hie how little likely it is that 'lux' should be the correct inteipretalion of aurae in the passage before us. From the slightest examination of those ninety four instances it is perfectly clear thai (omitting the mela- phorical " Populares aurae" of En. J'l. 817) Virgil never uses the word 'aurae' except in one or other of the two following senses, or, to speak more accu- rately, in one or other of the two following varieties of the same general sense; either, lirst, to express those airs which we feel blowing upon us, the gentler cur- rents of that atmosphere by which we are immediately surrounded; or, secondly, those remoter parts of the same atmosphere, which, high above our heads, and beyond our reach or touch, and made known to us only by our sense of sight, wc denominate l/ie sky. in the former of these senses the word is to be under- stood in all such expressions as the following: "Cre- brescunt optatae aurae," En. III. 530 ; "Vocal carbasus ( VI 39 auras," En. IV. 417 ; "Zephyii lepentibus uuris," Geary. II. 330; &c. &c. Examples of its use in the latter sense are: "Omnia ferre sub auras," En. II. 158; "Furil aestus ad auras," En. II. 759; "Sub auras erigit fluclus," En. III. 422 ; "Saxa sub auras glomeral," En. III. 576; "Assurgere in auras," Georg. III. 109; "Auras suspicions ," En. X. 898. Often, but by no means always, when 'aurae' is used in this second sense, an adjective is added in order to give I'orce and clearness: "Auras aetherias," Georg. II. 291; "Superas auras," En. V. 427; "Aerias auras," En. V. 520, not, surely, aerial air, or aerial light, but aerial sky. It is in this, its second, sense, that aurae is used in the passage before us. The souls, sliut up in the dark prison of the body, lose their fine perception , become brutalized, and cease to look back to, or have any re- gard for, their celestial origin, the 'caelum', sky, or * aurae' ('superae aurae'), from whence they originally came. The German Lvft (whence our English lift, the sky) corresponds to the Latin 'aurae', not merely in the first of these significations, but, as appears from the following example, in the second also : "Es diinkte ihm, als schaut' er unsern Erdball Gloich einer iingelienrcn griinen Kug-el, Die zwischen Meer und Luft gehiuig-el war." Werner, Die Sohne des TImles, Thcil II. Prulog. This double Virgilian use of the word 'aurae' once clearly established , we immediately perceive the true meaning of that generally misunderstood passage in the first Eclogue (v. 57), "Canet frondator ad auras;" not will sing to the air , which were as much as to say, rvill sing to no purpose, will throw away his song (see "partem volucres dispersit in auras," En. XI. 795 ; where 'volucres ' is added to show that 'auras ' is used in the former of the two senses given above), but will sing to the sky , his only company — will sing alone, or, as correctly rendered by Een, da se. 40 VI § "• Respiciunt, the reading of Uie Palatine (Heyne) and re- cognised by Donatus {i\d Tar en[. Andr. V. 4. 34), is lo be found in almost all (he old editions, and has been found by myself in Fabricius, Bersmann, both the Sle- phonses, the Paris Edition of 1600, La Cerda, and Da- niel Ileinsius. For this reading N. Heinsius has sub- stituted 'Dispiciunt'; and this substitution, of which Heyne says "'Dispiciunt' praeclare Heins. restituit," has been adopted by most modern editors. I object to it, first, that the word 'dispicere' is not elsewhere to be found in Virgil. Secondly, that the memorandum I have of the reading of the Gudian (the principal foundation of Ileinsiiis's substitution) is to the following efTect: "Respiciunt; but the reading seems to have been originally 'despiciiin t' and to have been altered into RESPICIUNT." Heinsius therefore, if my memorandum be correct, made his emendation neither from the present reading of the MS,, nor from that which appeared lo me, on personal examination, to have been the original reading. Thirdly, that the meaning afforded by 'di- spiciunt' ("proi)rie dicitur de iis, qui caeci fuerant, aul in tenebris versanles primiim videnl lucem" — Wagner) is inappropriate, the (as I think) plain drift and intention of Virgil, as shown by the whole context, being to say, not cannot distinctly see (distinguish), but do not care to see, have acquired a disinclination to see; precisely the meaning contained in the vulgar reading respiciunt, rejected by N. Heinsius: neoue auras RESPICIUNT, )io longer look towards, or care for, those 'aurae', that sky (see § I. al)ove), from which they ori- ginally came. Compare, En. IV. 236: "Ncc proloni Ansoiiiam el baviiiia rcspicit arva." I have myself examined, besides the Gudian, only three other MSS. respecting this passage, viz. the Leip- zig No. 35, the Leipzig No. 8(i. and the Dresden ; in the first alone I have found 'dispiciunt', in the se- VI 41 cond and third 'despiciunl'. In Pierius I find: "In anliquis uninibiis codicibus quos viderim, eodeni cx- eniplo le^ilur, 'neque auras despiciunl'; alicubi eliam resi'iciunt habelur." Still I'urlher, 'despiciunl' (nol 'dispiciun I') is Ihe reading-, as appears from Foggini, of Ihe Medicean, and, as appears from Bollari, of the Vatican B'ragment. In the Modena Edition of 1475 I find 'Suspiciun r, which (see Maillaire) is also Ihe reading of Ihe Milan Ed. of 1474. 737. I'ENITUSOUE NECESSE EST MUI.TA DIU CONCRETA MODIS IKOLESCERE MIRIS I reject Fea's conjecture, 'abolescere', and adhere to the vulgar reading and inlerprelalion ; first, because of the excellent sense thus obtained; secondly, because both reading and interpretation are confirmed both by Claudian in his account of the condemnation of the shade of Rufinus by Rhadamanlhus: — "En, pectus inustac Deformant luaculae, viliisque inolevil imago." In Ru/inuin, II. 501; and by Silius (VIII. 582): "Nunc Silaiiis quos nulrit aquis, quo gurgite tradunl Durilicm lapiduni mersis inolescerc ramis." Thirdly, because neither Pierius nor N. Heinsius gives us even a hint of his having found any other reading; and fourthly, because in the only five MSS. I have my- self personally examined, viz. the Petrarchian, Klosler- Neuburg, Dresden, and two Leipzig, I have found in- OLESCERE. The 'mollescere' of the Casanata MS. quot- ed byFea has evidently arisen from the in of inolescere being mistaken for m; I find the same error in the Modena Ed. of 1475. 48 Vf 739. KRGO EXKRCKNIUR POENIS VETKRUMyUE MALDUUM SUPPLICIA EXI'ENDUNT ALIAE PANDUNTUR INANES SLSPENSAE AD VENTOS ALUS SUB GURGITE VASTl) INFECTUM El.UITUR SCELUS AUT EXURITLR IGNI OUISOUE SUOS PATIMUR MANES EXINDE PER AMPLUM MITTIMUR EI.YSIUM ET PAUCI LAETA ARVA TENEiMUS DONEC LONGA DIES PERFECTO TEMPORIS ORBE CONCRETAM EXEMIT LABEM PURUMQUE RELINQUIT AETHERIL'M SENSUM ATQUE AURAI SIMPLICIS IGNEM The insuperable difficulties which the commentators have found in this passage (and for a detailed account of which see Heyne and Forbiger ad loc.) have arisen, as it appears to me, principally from their having read the whole passage uno tenore, and not perceiv-ed that the two lines from quisoue as far as tenemus are inler- calatory, inserted for the purpose of explaining, on the spot and in the very middle of the sentence, a difTiculty which has just presented itself, and the explanation of which would have been deferred by any other writer till the sentence had been completed. The difficulty is this; if the souls of the dead required such purification, how did it happen that not only Anchises himself, but the other Trojan heroes, dead so short time, were al- ready in possession of Elysium? This difficulty is ex- plained in the two parenthetic lines ouisoue .... tene- mus : As there are different degrees of impurity amoiuj 7nen, so there are different degrees of purification re- quired after death ; the more pure requiring a less, the less pure a greater, degree; therefore you see me and your other Trojan friends here in Elysium already. Tiiis explanation given, the account of the i)urificalion, broken olT at ExuRiTuii iGM , is resumed in (he words donec LONGA i>iES&c. ; the purification hy water, air, or fire, goes on until such time as the earthly stains arc thoroughly V! 48 purged out ^c. We have, llius not only a liappy re- concilialion of the Iwo, al first sight discordant and con- tradictory, facts (the necessity of the purgation described in the preceding versos, and the actual presence of An- chises and the other Trojan heroes, so soon after their deaths, in the Elysian tields), but we have the sentence constructed after Virgil's usual manner (see Comments En. L 4; III. 317, 571; IV. 483; V. 522 (§ II) and 659 ; VI. 83); and still further, we get rid of the pal- pable absurdity of the doctrine embraced by Fea and Thiel , and indeed necessarily flowing from the con- junction of DONEc with the immediately preceding clause, viz. that Elysium served the purpose of a second Pur- gatory. The inlercalatory nature of the two lines in question, even if such inlercalalion had not been accord- ing to Virgil's usual habit, is rendered sufTicienlly clear by the sudden introduction of the first person with those lines, the carrying on of that person through them, and the sudden dropping of it at their termination. A further proof, if further proof were wanting, of the en- tirely intercalatory nature of these hnes, is unwittingly supplied by the commentators themselves, some of whom (Heyne, for instance) think that the text would be better without them, and others of whom (Brunck, for instance) actually remove them out of their position in order to place them after vers. 747. The genius of modern languages not permitting so considerable a parenthesis in the middle of a sentence, I have found it absolutely necessary in my translation of the passage (see, among my poems. Six Photographs of the He- roic Times) to adopt with respect to the English, the plan which Brunck has thought it necessary to adopt with respect to the Latin, and transferring the paren- thetic lines to the end of the sentence, embody Ihem with the context. Inanes. — "Ein gewohnliches Beiwort des Windes." Ladewig; and so, as appears from their citations, il 44 Vi has been understood both by Warner (Virfj. Br. En.) and Forbiger. I disag:ree, and, relerring- llie epillicl to ALiAE, understand the sense to be, are hung up inanes, to the winds , i. c. are hung up for the winds to blow through their unsubstantial forms. Panduntl'u suspensae ad ventos. — La Cerda's argu- ments convince me of the correctness of his shrewd guess that these words are periphrastic of crucifixion. 7G3. SILVIUS ALBANUM NO.MEN TUA POSTUMA PROLES OUEM TIBI LONGAEVO SERUM LAVINIA CONJUX EDUCET SILVIS REGEM REGUMOUE PARENTEM IBegotten in your old age (longaevo), and therefore too late (serum), and born after your death (postuma). 780. VIDEN UT GEMINAE STANT VERTICE CRISTAE ET PATER IPSE SUO SUPERUM JAM SIGNAT HONORE Anchises points out Romulus already wearing the double-crested helmet (geminae vertice cristae), the honor or mark of distinction (honore) which he is to wear in the upper world, i. e. on earth (superdm), and with which honor he is already (jam) stamped (signat) by the Father himself (U'Se pater), i, e. Jupiter. The two clauses thus form one connected thought, the se- cond clause being explanatory of the first. Pater ipse — not (with Servius) Mars, but, as Virgil's 'Pater ipse' always is when wiihoul adjunct, Jupiter : "ipse paler, incdiu iiiniljoriuu in node, corusoa Fulniina molitur dcxtra." Ccinu. J. -i^S. I VI 45 "Ipse pater statuit, quid menstrua luna monerol." Geory. 1. -i')'!. "Ipso pater Danais animos vircsquc sccundas Sufiicit." J'.n. I J. a 17. SuPERUM — is not, with Donalus, La Cerda, Voss, Heyne, and Forbiger, Ihe abl)revialion for 'supcrorum', and dependent on ipse pater; first, because it is distinctly separated from ipse pater by tlie intervening suo; and secondly, because signat requires it for object. It is the accusative of Ihe adjective 'superus', and means, not (with Servius) 'deum', but in the upper world, i. e. (the speaker being- in the under-world) on earth, become a man, an inhabitant of earth. Honore — is not (with Wagner) "ea dignilale oris, quae in ipso Jove exsplendescit;" first, because Virgil had too good taste to pay Romulus an extravagant compliment, wholly unwarranted even by any tradition that Romulus's personal appearance was of such ex- traordinary dignity; and secondly, because the term 'signare' points plainly, not to any general dignity of the whole appearance, but to some special mark or stamp, and what 'special mark or stamp more probable than that just mentioned, the geminae cristae, by which periphrasis the poet has, for the sake of greater eflect, thought proper to designate the helmet always worn l)y Romulus: "ipsa galea perpetuum, quantum memini, Romuli insigne." Heyne. Compare the application of this very term ' honos ', to the purple crest on the crown of the head of Minos, "Turn qua se medium capitis discrimen ag-ebal, Ecce rcpenle, veliit patrios imilalus honores, Puniceam concussil apex in veiticc crislam." Ciris, 498; and for proof that it was as perfectly consistent with religious etiquette among the ancients, as the 'Rex Dei gratia' witnesses it to be among the moderns, to re- 7 40 VI present human and earthly honors as special gifts ut the supreme Deity, compare the exactly parallel "Queni paler ipse dcuni sceplri donavit honore." Ciris, 268. I think ii probable, though I am not in a condition categorically to prove the facts, first, that a double- crested helmet was an ensign , or peculiar equipment, of Mars; compare Valer. Maximus, I. 6: "Cognitum pa- riter atque creditum est, Martem palrem tunc populo suo adfuisse. Inter caetera hujusce rei manifcsta in- dicia galea quoque duabus distincla pinnis, qua cae- leste caput tectum fuerat, argumentum praebuil." And secondly, that Romulus, as his son, wore a similar hel- met; whence a peculiar propriety in the term 'Mavor- tius', vers. 778. 782. EN HUJUS NATE AUSPICIIS ILLA INCLYTA ROMA nirERlUM TERRIS ANIMOS AEQUABIT OI.YMPO SEVTEMOUE UNA SISJ MURO CIRCUMDABIT ARCES FELIX PROLE VIRUM OUALIS BERFCYXTIA MATER INVEHITUR CURRU PHRYGIAS TURRITA PER URBES LAETA DEUM PARTU CENTUM COMPLEXA NEPOTES OMNES CAELICOLAS OMNES SUPERA ALTA TENENTES Byron, in one of Ihe happiest of his passages, gives us the reverse of this fine simile; also applied to Rome: "0 Rome! my country! cily of the soul! The orphans of the heart must turn to thee, T.ono mother of dead empires I and control In Ihcir sliul breasts their pelly misery. Tlic Niohe of nations ! there she stands riiildloss and crowiiioss, in lier voiceless woe; An oniply nrii wiliiiii lier wilht rcit liands. Whose holy dust was scattered long- ago."' (■hil<1c II n ml, I a Hhintn. //'. 7S .»• 7'J. VI 47 Pity, that Lord Byron was not equal lo sustain tliis unusually line image. The very next line spoils il all by the confusion which it makes between the real urn of which it speaks and the figurative urn of the lines immediately preceding: "The Scipios' tomb contains no ashes now ; The very sepulcrcs lie Icnanllcss Of their heroic dwellers: dost thou flow, Old Tyber, throug-h a marble wilderness? Rise, with thy yellow waves, and mantle her distress!" otherwise the comparison of Rome, in her present de- solate slate, to Niobe, is quite equal to Virgil's com- parison of her, in her palmy slate, lo Cybele. His previous comparison (Stanza 2 of same Canto) of Ve- nice to the turret- crowned Cybele is one of a different kind: "She looks a sea Cybele, fresh from ocean, Rising- with her tiara of proud towers At airy distance with majestic motion, A ruler of the -waters and their powers : And such she was:' — her daughters had their dowers From spoils of nations, and the exhauslless East Poured in her lap all gems in sparkling- showers: In purple was she robed, and of her feast Monarchs partook, and deemed their dignity increased;" the resemblance in the case of this comparison being only between the domes of Venice and the turret crown of the Goddess, and not extending-, as in the case of Virgil's, to the children of the Goddess and the nations affiliated to the city. Byron's idea was borrowed, as he himself informs us, from Sabellicus, de Venetae Urbis situ narratio (Taur. 1527), Lib. I. fol. 202: "Quo fit, ul, qui supcrne urbem conlempletur, turritam lellu- ris imaginem medio oceano figuratam se pulct in- s[)icere. " 48 VI 811. PRIMAM QUI LEGIBUS URDEM FUND A BIT "Prinium dare leges urbi." Wagner. I think, rather 'qui per leges Romam reddel urbem ; qui aedificabit urbem supra legibus quasi supra fun- dam en to'; who will by means of laws make, as it were, a new city; compare Justin, II. 7: "Sed civilati (Alhcnis sciz.) nullae tunc leges erant; quia libido regum pro legibus habebatur. Legitur ilaque Solon .... qui velut novam civitatem legibus conderet." Wagner has however, I think, done well in rejecting Heyne's reading 'primus' and substituting pri.mam; to his arguments in favor of which reading I can add that I have found it in the three only MSS. which I have myself personally examined respecting the passage, viz. the two Leipzig and the Dresden; also that Bers- mann informs us that it is the reading of his MS. The passage seems to have been present to the recollection of Calpurnius, when he wrote the following lines (Eclog. I. 65): "Altera regna Numae, qui primus ovanlia caede Agfmina, Roiuulcis et adhuc ardeniia easlris I'acis opus docuit, jussitque sileulibus ariuis Inter sacra tubas, non inter bclla, sonare." 813. CUI KEINDE SURIBIT OTIA OUI KL'MI'ET I'ATUIAK HESIDESOUE MOVKBrr TULLUS IN AKMA VIROS ET JAM DESUETA TRUUMriUS AGMINA. Observe the tine efTect, first, of the poslponemcnt <•! the name until after Ihe introductory cui movebit. m 49 and then of its position in the hcffinning- of the new line and in close connexion with in arma. You almost see Tullus calling- out the soldiers, you almost hear their rallying- cry — " Tullus ! Tullus ! " See Conim. En. II. 246. 817. rOPULARIBUS AURIS "Quem neque periculi tempestas neque honoris aura potuit . . . . de suo cursu .... demovere." Cic. Sext. 47. extr. 844. PARVOQUE POTENTEM FABRICIUM ''Reich in der Armuth. Bezeichnung des Geniigsamen." Ladewig. "Qui etiam in parva re domestica ob parsimoniam et continentiam dives est," Forbiger. I have no doubt however that the true meaning is poiverfnl on a little; possessed of small means but great power. This meaning is not only stronger, but harmonises better both with the history of Fabricius, and the peculiar force of the word 'potens', which, like our English powerful, expresses, not what the per- son is in himself, or absolutely considered, but what he is in relation to others. Compare ^^n. /. ^^6^ .• "Mea magna potentia;" by means of whom I am able to command the world. "Hoc maxime convenire in Alci- biadem videbatur, quod el potentior el major, quam privatus, existimabatur: multos enim liberalilate de- 50 m vinxeral, plures eliain opera lorensi siios reddiderul. " Nep. Alciff. III. 4; where see Bremi's Annot. "Habet bone ac pudice educlani, ignarani arlis merctiiciat'. Mea est potens, procax, niai,'«iilica, siiiuitluosa, iiobilis." Ter. HcatU. II. 1. l-i; where Perlet: "Pol ens, amalori i/nperans." Also "Sic le Diva polcns Cypri." HoR. Od. I. 3. 1; and En. I. 84. 850. CAELIOUE MEATUS DESCKIBENT RADIO ET SURGENTIA SIDERA DICENT "Caf:li meatus, h. e. siderum ciirsus." Heyne. I think not, the stars being- specifically mentioned in the next line; but the 'Circuli', or great heavenlij Circles, thus enumerated by Germanicus Caesar in his Aratea: "Lacteus, Tropicus Cancri, Tropicus Capricorni, Aequinoctialis, Zodiacus." That these Circles are the MEATUS CAELi of Virgil, is further rendered probable, first, by the remarkable circumstance that Germ. Caesar, after the description of these Circles, passes immediately to the description of the 'orienlia et occidentia' ('sidera'), just as in our text Virgil passes from the caeli meatus .to the surgentia sidera; secondly, by the fact that one of these 'Circuli' (viz. Zodiacus) is actually denominated by the same Germanicus, 'via solis' : "Una via est solis hissonis hicida signis." Fi-ayni. 111. 1: and thirdly, by Ihe application of the term 're-meare' liy the same author lo the annual re-turn of the sun to that pond in Ids circle, from whence he had set out: — "Namqiio anno solom r<^nieare vidobis. Movprit nridi- suos ctiiiiis |)^r sitriia volantcs." Vkujih. ///. VI 51 Compare Apoll. Uhod. ot Ihe Circles on the armill.iry sphere : ■"Xoi'iTfn nn- 01 /.v/.h'. Tfifv/HTnt." Artjoii. III. /■??. 853. PACISOUE IMPONERE MOREM "Pacis praeferrem, cujus mos est, ul stipendia el Iri- bula imponantur viclis gentibus et provinciis el ila pax concilielur, liberatis ab regie et alieno jure." Burmann. "Leges pacis ponere, ferre, ut Aen. I. 264 (268) : 'mo- resque viris el moenia ponet'." Heyne, V. L. The former of these interpretations is wholly erro- neous ; the jailer an approach , a distant approach to the truth; a pale, meagre shadow of the strong and manly original. 'Imponere' is not 'ponere, ferre', nor does the sentence correspond to " moresque viris et moenia ponet." And first, 'imponere' is not 'ponere, ferre', because it is always and invariably to m-pose, to place or set one thing over another thing; and ge- nerally in such a manner that the former commands the latter, dominates. So — ■ "lias legos aeternaqne foedera certis Imposiiit Natiira locis." Gconj. I. 00. — "Dominumquc potentem hiiposuit." En. VI. 621. — "Imponent montibus arces." En. VI. 774. "Quodque virum toll properans imponere mundo." Li CAN. III. 393. "Quibus rebus eflectum est, ul . . . . Philippus regnum Macedoniae. Graeciae el Asiae cervieibus, velui 52 VI ju}::um serviluUs, imponercl." Justin. VI. 9. And so in Ihe passage before us, impose morem pacis upon the conquered nations ('debellalis populis ' ) ; set morem pacis ('vclul jugum') upon them; in plain prose, compel them to cultivate the arts of peace. Secondly, the words quoted by Heyne from the first Book, " mores- que viris et moenia ponet," are not parallel; (a) be- cause 'mores' in that context may, and most probably does, comprehend 'mores belli' (compare "Mos erat Hesperio in Lalio" &c. En. VII. 601) as well as 'mores pacis'; i. e. means t?ie entire manners of the nation; (b) because Ihose 'mores' were not imposed upon conquered nations, but laid down for his own people, and therefore (c) use made, not of the strong 'im- ponere', implying compulsion, but of 'ponere', a term so mild as to be equally applicable to 'mores' and 'moenia'. The Ilalians preserve in their imporre the Latin term in its original sense: "Sul quale (sciz. seggio) e assise il Papa in contegno composto insiemc di dignita e di bonla in atto di stendere il braccio dcstro , e nella mossa d' imporre, consigliare , e proteggere; azione che il Milizia nelle sue leltere paragona a quella maestosa del IVIarco Aurelio." Nibby, Roma Moderna, Part. I. p. 116. In the three only MSS. which I have myself per- sonally examined, viz. the Leipzig 35, the Leipzig 36, and the Dresden, I have found pacis , the s being how- ever in the first mentioned a correction. Pacis is also, as we arc informed by Maillaire, the reading of the Venice Ed. of 1472, and has been adopted by Daniel Heinsius, Robert Stephens, and Burmann. On the con- trary, the Modena Ed. of 1475, Henry Stephens, N. Hein- sius and Bcrsmann have 'paci'; the latter however i-'^ming us that his MS. has pacis. Pierius says: \;ique imponere morem'. In Longobardico \isdam aliis codicibus vetustis pacis legilur, .... VI 53 quam leclionem Servius agnoscil." All which considered, PACis seeins to nie, notwilhslanding Ihc contrary autho- rity of the by far too much esteemed Medicean, to be undoubtedly the (rue readin;;-. Between our text so read and understood , and the "Roraanos rerura dominos genlemque logalam" of the first Book, there is an exact parallelism, the fundamental idea of both passages being that of the Romans commanding the whole world in peace. See Comment En. I. 2S3. 858. HIC REM ROMANAM MAGNO TURBANTE TUMULTO SISTET EQUES STERNET POENOS GALLUMOUE REBELLEM Heyne's two Comments, "eques, ad majorem dignitatem pro beUator, dux.'" "Alii distinguunt post sistet EQUES ; nil referl," and Voss's translation, "Der wird das Romische Heil in dem Sturm des grossen Tumulics Halten zu Ross, uiid den Poeacr zerstreun" &c., not only show how little those scholars understood the passage, but make nonsense of it; eoues belongs to STERNET only, and with it expresses the compound idea ride over. Compare (Prop. IV. 3. 38) " currat eques," ride; and see Comm. En. II. 199. Marcellus , eoues STERNET poENOS, Will tread the enemy under his horse's hoofs, and, by so doing, sistet rem romanam , firmly re-establish the tottering Roman State. Sistet is opposed to STERNET, and is rendered emphatic by its position, viz. in the beginning of the line and followed by a sudden pause; see Comm. En. II. 246. 54 VI 866. OUIS STREPITUS CIltCA COMITUM OUANTUM INSTAR IN irSft There are two opinions concerning llie meaning of in STAR in Ihis passage: Firsl, thai of Servius, which has been adopted by Poni- poniiis Sabinus, Wagner, Forbiger, and Voss: "Instar; SiniiliUido." Servius. "Quantum instar; quanta siini- litudo." Sabinus. "Instar, simililudo cum illo ipso Claudio Marcello quinquies Consule." Wagner (J\ Br. En.); and lo Ihe same effecl, Forbiger and Voss. The other, Ihal ofDonatus, adopted by Heyne: "Phicet inihi instar ejus, h. e. corporis i'orma; sed cur tenebrae caput ejus fuscaverint, nosse cupio." Donalus. "Veri- similc lit, nove h. 1. instar positum esse pro exempio magnae dignitatis, specie augusta corporis." Heyne. I am hardy enough not only to disagree with both opinions, but lo think that 'instar' never has either of the two meanings thus assigned to it, but always and in every instance, Ihe one, single meaning, amounl: "Inslar montis cquuin." En. IT. lo: not, ahorse like a moimtain, hwV n horse Ihe amoiini of a mountain, i. e. equal to — equivalent to — a mountain. "Insulsissimus est homo, ncc sapit pucri inslar Bimuli." Catull. XVII. 12; not li];e a two-year-old child, bnl the amount of a Iwo-xjear-old child; as much as a two-year-old child ; equal to — equivalent to — a t no-year-old child. "Ilaslaquo Icrribili surgens i»(M- luibila gyro Inslar liabol silvac." Ci.Ai n. Rapl. I'ros. U. 21: 111)1 like a noiid, Iml l/ic a in a u a t af a nood : cqui- ¥1 56 valeni lo a wood, or, as is vulgarly said in English, as good as a mood. "Ciijus (eqiii sciz.) inslar pro aede Veneris Genilricis postea dedicavit." Sueton. Jul Caes. 61; i. e. a stalue, not merely like or of the same form, bul of the same size, as the horse; a counter]) art of the horse. "Scd scelus hoc meriti pondus et instar habet." Ovid. Hcroid. II. 30; not a crime like a merit] but a crime ivhich counts as a merit, which has the weight and value (amount, 'Werth', 'Gehalt') of a merit. "Cujiis viri magnitudo miiltoriim voluminum inslar ex- igit." Vell. Paterc. II. 29; requires, not the likeness of many volumes, but the amount of many volumes. "Ambitus terrae totius, quae nobis videtur immensa, ad mag-nitudinem universitatis instar brevis obtinet puncti." Ammian. XV. 1. The precise meaning of 'instar' in the last of which passages, and, by consequence, in all the others (viz. that it signifies simply amount) seems to me to be placed beyond doubt by Macrobius's "Physici terram ad magnitudinem clrci, per quem volvitur sol, puncti moduni obtinere docuere." Somn. Scip. I. 16; the meaning remaining unaltered in Ammian, if you substi- tute 'moduni' for 'instar', and in Macrobius, if you sub- stitute -instar' for 'modum'. And such precisely is the meaning of instar in our text: ocantdm instar in IPSO, what an amount in himself! how much in him I '•• The error into which lexicographers and commen- tators have fallen, of understanding 'inslar' to mean 'similitudo', \ms, I think, plainly arisen from the acci- dental circumstance that generally lo the word 'inslar' (amount) was added (as in all Ihc above cited ex- amples) a genitive expressive of the greatness of the amouni; such form of expression nol being usual in modern languages, cx|)osilors fell naUirally inlo the 56 VI error ol (iiiderstnnding- 'inslar' lo mean, nol (he ahso- lute amount (German Gehalt) of the object spoken of, but its similitude or proportion to some other object. On the contrary, and as I lliink the above quoted ex- ami»les sufllcienlly show, 'instar' is always and in itself the absolute amount, 'GehaW, 'modus', of the object spoken of, and is totally devoid of comparative force, unless when, as in the above cited examples, an object (in the genitive) is placed beside it, with which to compare the 'instar' of the subject spoken of; and accordingly in our text, there being- no genitive, no object of comparison, instar is simply amount (Ge- halt): QUANTUM INSTAR IN IPSO, how great an amount in himself! horu much in him! 879. HEU PIETAS HEU PRISCA FIDES INVICTAOUE BELLO I>EXTERA NON ILLI SE OUISOUAM IMPUNE TULISSET OBVIUS ARMATO SEU CUM PEDES IRET IN HOSTEM SEU SPUMANTIS EQUI FODERET CALCARIBUS ARMOS Not spoken of the virtues actually possessed by Mar- cellus, but of the virtues he would have exhibited, had he lived; as if Virgil had said: mourn for the loss in the bud, of a floner which, if sufl'ercd to grow, would have been so lovely. The words from non illi as far as ARMOS are but an amplification, or filling up, of the idea already shortly set before the reader in llie three cmpiuUic words invicta bello dexteiia. m 57 883. HEU MISFRANDE PUER SI QUA FATA ASPERA RUMPAS TU MARCELI.US ERIS MANIBUS lh\TK I.II.IA I'I.ENIS PURPUREOS SPARGAM FLORES ANIMAMQUE NEPOTIS HIS SALTEM ACCUMULEM DONIS ET FUNGAR INANI MUNERE HeU MISERANDE PUER si qua FATA ASPERA RUMPAS TU MAR- CELLUS ERIS. — "Si QUA via ac ralione FATA rumpas, tarn durum falum effugere libi liceal, tu ad M. Marcelli, b. Punico II. clan, nomen ac gloriam es pervenlurus." Heyne, "Vide, an in fine vs. 883 rectius posueris exclaniandi signuni, ut hoc dical poela: ulinam rumpas aliquo modo fata aspera! Sic efficielur, ut nomen Marcelli, — non jam illius, qui bello Punico secundo magnas res g-essit, sed ipsius fllii Octaviae — hie demum posilum singularem habeat vim ad miserationem movendam." Wagner. Each critic is half right and half wrong; Wagner is right that the person meant by marcellus is the sou of Octavia , but wro»g that si qua fata aspera rumpas is an exclamation. Heyne is right that the words si QUA fata aspera rumpas exprcss the condition on which the lad will become Marcellus, viz. if he does not die prematurely, but wrong that marcellus means a Mar- cellus, a second Marcellus, and not properly Marcellus, the son of Octavia. The whole meaning is certainly and beyond doubt: Ah! boij to he pitied, only live and thou shall be the gentle knight, the man of steHing worth and honesty, the invincible rvarrior; in one word, thou shall he Marcellus. The gist of the passage is that the 'puer', the young son of Octavia, would be only (see Comm. En. I. 560) the 'spes Marcelli', t?ie promise of Marcellus, not be really Marcellus , not de- serve to be called Marcellus, until grown up; bul he 58 VI was lalod iinl lo g:row up; was not lo ln-cnli lliroiij;li his FATA ASPKRA, aiid llierefore Aiicliiscs (in iinai^inalion ) throws flowers upon his lonib; observe, nol on Mar- cc^llus's lomb, ])ul upon Ihe lomb nepotis, of Anchises' descendant, the young- son of Oclavia. MaNIBL'S date LILIA PLEMS PURPUUEOS SPARGAM FI.ORES &C. ""Will) roses and llic lily buds, ^V nymphs, her grave adorn. And weeping- tell, thus swecl she was, liuis early Irom us torn." Allan llamsay's beautiliil Ode sacral (o Ihc meiiion/ of Antic, Duchess uf Ilamilluii. 898. MIS UlU TUM KATUM ANCHISES UNAODE SIBYLI.AM PROSEUUITUR DICTIS PORTAQUE EMITTIT EBURNA ILLE VIAM SECAT AD NAVES SOCIOSOUE REVISIT TUM SE AD CAJETAE RECTO FERT LITTORE POUTl.M "Quae postquam multa pcrpessus nocte Cupido Efi'ugit, pulsa landem caligine at)nini Evolal ad superos, porlaque evadiL eburna." The words 'pulsa landem caligine sonini' in this plain imitation of our author by the learned and ele- gant Ausonius (Cupid. Cruc. 101), leave no doubt on my mind thai Virgil means lo describe , in the words of our text, nol alone Eneas's return from the under- worltl. Imi, al the same lime, his awaking oiil of the dream in which only (as thi' pod would now al last intimate) his visit lo the under-world had licen paid. Nolwilhstanding the strong reprobation, with which this termination of Ihe sixth Bo(d\ id' the Kneis has been xisiicd by Jlcyne. and others whose opinions have weight willi Ihc public. I IhinU il impossible lo imagine any (Icnoncinenl nM)rc simple, natural, and VI 59 (even in Virgil's own time and belorc il liad hcconic eJassieal I'roni his use of il) classical and poetical. LiTTORE. — In this instance as in some few others I justify Wagner's deviation from the Ileynian reading. LiTTORE is to be preferred to Mi mite', first, because required in order to show that the journey from Cuma to Cajeta was made (as the following verse , no less than the necessity of the case, shows it was made) by sea (recto littore, rUjM along the shore, coastwise, i. e. coasting); and secondly, because it is not only the reading (according to Foggini) of the Medicean, and (according to Boltari) of the Vatican Fragment, but is recognised besides both by Servius {sidAen.IIl.lOJ and Donalus, the former however alone understanding the passage correctly, the latter, by some egregious blunder, supposing that Eneas walked along the shore all the way to Cajeta, and only there at last met his fleet. I have myself examined only the two Leipzig and the Dresden MSS. respecting the passage. In both the former I have found littore, in the latter 'limite'. Littore is also the reading of the Modena Ed. of 1475, of both the Heinsii, both the Stephenses, and Bersmann; also jaf Burmann and La Cerda. The silence of Pierius shows that he found no variety of reading. Compare, En.VIIl.57 : "Ripis et recto flumine;'" straight along the river's hank. ADDENDA ET CORRIGENDA. L p. 1. Line 3 from bottom, complete the verse by adding: genus unde latinum I. p. 2. Line 3 from bottom, instead oi 247, read 240. I. [). 2. Dele the two last lines. 1. |). 4. Line 7 lioni bollom, instead oi 4S4. VI. S4. 741. SS2, read 483; VI. 83, 739. I. [J. 5. After line 3 from bottom, add: and Stalius's personified Pielas Saevum .... Jovcm, Parcasque noccntcs Vocifcrans, scseque polls, ct luce rclicta Desccnsuram Erebo, et Stygios jam malle Penates: 'Quid nic', ail, 'ul sacvis aiumantum, ac saepe Deorum Obstaturam aniniis, princeps nalura, crcabas?' Theb. XL 462. I. p. 9. First line, instead of Melempsycliosis of the Encis, read Six Photogr-aphs of the Heroic Times, I. p. 16. Line 6 from bottom, instead of stej) , or walk, read stej), walk, or go, \. p. 16. Line 3 from bottom, substitute a period for the semicolon ; and dele tlie whole of the subse- quent clause. L p. 20. Line 3 from bottom, after Period add: For an additional argument that the arx of Eolus was outside the career of the winds, see Comm. En. VI. 566. I. p. 26. Line 13 from bottom, instead of Catal, read Calil. I. p. 32. Line 19 from top, instead oi 313, read 311. I. p. 67. Line 15 from top, instead of Catalina, read Calilina, I. p. 110. Line 7 from bottom, instead oi d6S, read 56J . I. p. 111. After line 11 from bottom, add: P. S. No light is thrown upon the word 'cris- pare' by Ammian's use of it, XIV. 2, in connexion with 'tela'; XX. 4, in connexion with 'niissilia'; and XXVII. 10, in connexion willi 'haslas'. In each of the three places the sense is equally good whether with his editors, .1. A. Wagner and Kriurdt, we understand il to mean ' vibrare ,' or. as I have venlnred to explain it in (lur text, (n grasp ; hold /'irmly grasped in ihe hinui. 01 I. |i. 12'5. Allei' lusl line iiiscrl Itic r()llo\\iiit; : 423. JAMCJDK ASCENDKHANT Of.LKM OUi PLURIMUS UHBI IMMINET ADVERSASOUE ASl'ECTAT DESUPKR ARCES lhT(jni> 7iu(} nvTi'iv Ilulludui^, xann/iioi' I'l/K Tijtrdf, I'liov KvJT()ido^ :iaxhiiTaTo." EuRip. Hippol. 29. "4^au^i^)a dia to y.al/.og cQaadeiaa avzov rove fitv anaXd'oviog UQ T{)oiLijva id^vaaio uqov A(pQo- diTi]Q 7ta(>a Tip' AxQORohv^ oihp iji' xadociav rtjv Tooili-jvaJ' DiOD. SicuL. IV. 62. T. p. 125. Line 6 from bottom, instead of 'Alfieri', read 'the Baskerville'. [Note. Alfleri wrote his Trans- lation of the Eneis on the margin of a Baskerville's Virgil, which, happily, is still preserved in the Lau- rentian Library, in Florence. Having seen and examined the volume when 1 was in Florence in 1850, and ob- served that it contained many corrections of the text in the handwriting of Alfieri (ex. gr. at vers. 436 ot the fourth Book, the 'dederis' of the Baskerville text has been altered into 'dederit', and the note "i. e. Enea" appended in the margin), I took it for granted that the text affixed side by side to Alfieri's Trans- lation (in his Opere, Brescia, 1809), was this Basker- villian text so corrected by Alfieri himself, and have accordingly, in the earlier part of these Commentaries spoken of an "Alfieri's text" as distinct and separate from the Baskervillian. It was not long however be- fore I discovered my error, and observed that the text affixed to Alfieri's Translation is not the Baskervillian so corrected by Alfieri, but the original Baskervillian. I have therefore to request my readers to consider the lext which in the early part of these Commentaries, 9 02 1 speak of as Alfleri's and dislinci from Ihe Baskerville, lo be neither more nor less tliau lliu Baskerville ilsell, and lo excuse an error inlo which I have heen led by Allieri's editors themselves, who, publishing- his Trans- lation after his death, have, I know not whether to say ignorantly or negligently, but certainly very in- juriously to the Translator, affixed to liis Translation a text often materially dillerent from that from which he translated; as, for instance, in the passage already cited, and at vers. 429 of Book I, where, while Alfieri himself translates from 'op tare', his affixed text has 'ap tare']. I. p. 137. Line 5 from bottom, after Period add: Ninthly, because it is 'Dea supereminel omnes' in the exactly corresponding passage of Ovid (Mel am. III. 178): "Sicut erant, viso nudae sua pectora Nymphae Pcrcussero viro, subilisque uliilalibus omne Implevcre neiiius. circuinfusaeque Dianam Corporibus tcxere suis. Tamen altior illis Ipsa Dea est, colloque tonus superemiiiet omnes." I. p. 147. Line 6 from bottom, after Period add: Thai such precisely is the meaning of the emphatic (see Comm. En. II. 246) armaque, seems to me to be placed beyond doubt by the corresponding passage in the address of Jason to Aeetes, of which Ilioneus's address to Dido is a copy: — "Kia Ss roi iiS)] JI(jo(p(Jovti; Etyfv AQii'i ^ui)V unojitjui vi(.ioi^i]r, £iT ovv 2'uv(Ju^utiTUs yi hhtifui, fiTS rtr alXor .Jiijjuv aipoiirstjoitfir vnu •jxiiJiTrioiin dnuuaaiti." Apollon. Rium. ill. 392. I. p. 150. Top line, de/c the words enclosed in parenthesis; and after line 19 from top, add: The form of expression has been borroweil by Sla- tins, T/irh. J. 683: 63 •'Nee sic rivcisum Faiiia Myccnis Volvil iter;" (t road so entirely turned aniiij from Mijcenae. I. p. 163. Last line, aCler Period add: Compare TAV?. II. 567): "Caslig-atque auditque dolos, subig:ilquc faleri ," where the order of lime is exactly the reverse of the order of slatemenl. See (below, in these Addenda) Comment on that passage. I. p. 168. Line 12 from lop, after toils, add: also in Statins (Theb. HI. 2): "Node sub ancipiti, quamvis hiimeiilibus aslris Longns ad Auroram superct labor." II. p. 41. Line 5 from bottom, instead of 484. VI. 84, 741 and 882, read 483; V. 522 (§11); VL 83, 739. 11. p. 55. After line 8 from top, add: (compare ''Hunc neque divisis cepissenl Pergama muros." Stat. Silv. I. 1. 11). n. p. 75. Line 11 from top, instead of I. 4. read I. 4. 1. 11. p. 109. Line 18 from lop, after Period add: See also the use made by Apollonius Rhodius (IV. 940) of the exactly corresponding Greek term, n^Qa., to ex- press Ihe whole skirt, or pelticoat part, of llie female dress : "AiTiy. uvaa/ojiisiai Isvxoig sm yoivtxac ni'^ttg." and the confirmatory statement of Nonius, that the term 'limbus ' was applied not merely to the sewed-on border, but to the garment itself on which the border was sewed: "Limbus, muliebre veslimentum quod purpuram in imo habel." 11. p. 110. After line 19 from top, insert: Nay, she is even represented by Apollon. Rhodius (IV. 1309) as issuing naa^paivovoa out of the head of Jupiter: — "Ai noz' A&i]i'r,r, ll>toi or' fx JiaTQog xiqaXt/^; f^ogf TTUfKfuirnvau, Ai'TojXfviit TQiit>uo>: i. Cupido Cfuci Affixua, 50 FURTHER ADDENDA. II. p. no. Afler line 2 from top, add: That LIMBO in the text means the whole Peplum of Pallas (the sewed -on stripe being- put by the usual Synechdoche for the whole dress) is further shown by that passage of Statins in which Apollo Musagetes is described as putting off (as soon as he has done playing on the lyre) the embroidered Minibus', i. e. the gown with embroidered border, which he had worn while playing: "Duinque chelyn lauro, textumque illustre coronae Subligat, el picto discingit pectora limbo." Theb. VI. 366; where 'limbo' is, not iJie sewed - on border, but the whole dress or gown; first, because it was not the border, but the whole dress which Apollo put ofT; and secondly, because the term ' discingere', where else- where used, applies not to the border, or 'limbus' pro- perly so called, but to the whole dress , as shown by the Roman proverb, "Discincla vestis, discinctus ani- mus," quoted by Desprez, ad Hor. Epod. I. 34. Any doubt which may remain on the reader's mind that limbo in the text, is the whole female dress, skirt or petticoat of Pallas, will I think disappear on a comparison of the above passage of the Thebaid, in which Apollo is described as putting the 'limbus' off his chest, with the passage in the Achilleis quoted in my Commentary above, in which the Minibus' is described as confining the step of Achilles when Thetis has dressed him in petticoats. The embroidered 'lim- bus' which Apollo undoes from about his breast, and 10 7(1 the embroidered 'limbus' which confined Ihe freedom of Achilles's step, can be nothing- else but the whole female skirt or petticoat. III. p. 26. Line 14 from bottom, instead of make wood supple and fit for bows , read make bows supple, Page 65, of the Addenda. After line 8 from bot- tom, add: Ancient Bas - reUefs and statues often represent Cupid and other personages in the act 'lentandi arcum'; See Mus. Capitolin. III. 4; also Clarac, Musee de Sculpture, Tom. III. Tab. 281, 2S2. In order to perform this act, the bow (previously unstrung) is held firmly in the left hand by the middle, with the convexity toward the [terson; one horn of the bow is then caught with the right hand and drawn forcibly backwards towards the person ; the bow having been thus rendered nearly straight, the right hand is gra- dually relaxed and the bow allowed to return to its bowed condition. By the frequent repetition of this manoeuvre the bow 'lentatur', is made supple, and fit for use. 'Lentare arcum' and 'flectere arcum' there- fore, so far from being, as supposed by the commen- tators and lexicographers, synonimous terms, or both ex- pressive of the act of bending the bow, are terms diametrically opposed to each other; 'flectere arcum' being to strain the bow in the direction of its curve, to shoot Ti'ith the bow; 'lentare arcum' to strain the bow tn the opposite direction, i. e. against its curve, and then allow it to return by its natural spring to its bent position ; the cfTect of the frequent repetition of such manoeuvre being to supple the bow. At this hour on this same evening Last year I was gay and happy, Here along this grassy roadside Sauntering with my newly wedded. # Underfoot the springy daisy, t Overhead the tall elm branches, On this roadside we were walking t And this hawthorn hedge admiring. Rich it was as now with blossoms, And as now gilt with the slant beams Of yon slowly setting May sun, And the dew as now was falling. D > On this spot, where now I'm standin Arm in arm we stood and listened To the trilling of the blackbird; t In the same bush now he 's trilling And these swallows, that have since then Seen far lands and seas and cities, Past us to and fro that evening Smooth and swift as now were gliding. Hawthorn hedge and setting May sun, Trilling blackbird, gliding swallows, Dewy roadside, elms and daisies, All are here as on that evening; Biit my newly wedded 's lying In her coffin, in the churchyard, Where 1 'd rather be beside her Than here wandering: broken hearted. Waisenhaus-Strasse, DRESDEN, July 10, 1853. Fear not Death; Death 's biit a ci|)her: A mere blank, a non-existence; When thou diest thou but returnest To the state in which thou layest Unobstructed, unmolested , All the past eternal ages. While all things that lived were suffering. Fear to live; it 's Life that suffers; All things round are Life's tormentors; Living, suffering, biit two different Words expressive of the same thing; 1 and Thou but thmgs that suffer Till we 're 1 and TIkhi no longer; Death an end to I and Thou puts, And with 1 and Thou to suffering. Thou that diest, fear to die not; Not even Life thou losest, dying; To have lost, thou nuist survive Death; Loss belongs but to the living. Waisenhaus-Strassf. nilKSDEN. Julv :U. \Ay^. ' ■ A i '.'Nfvr ( i.imA.^m ^Jk UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY BERKELEY Return to desk from which borrowed. This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. 1 -a uEG aO 1947 RECD UD I m 8-64 -9 P«« PM2(| I ^'§t§ flARIl 1-3PW' \ U 25 1975 7 9 UH;Cia. MIIR27T5 OCT 2 1 1970 2 9 ' M *1 'J ^ nijJmf \^C\\'^ ^1^ v9 Wm ¥ ., S^ ' ^:m^ %i^ A^ m^ ■|iP*^J** $ ^.10P*