Explorare labor; mihi jussa capessere fas est. Hæc ubi dicta, cavum conversâ cuspide montem Una Eurusque Notusque ruunt, creberque procellis "It Tuus-explorare labor. is thy task to inquire and see." 77 Mihi jussa capessere, &c. "It is incumbent on me to execute thy commands." Fas est is equivalent here to officium meum est a Diis mihi injunctum. 80 85 90 "They 84 Incubuere mari. descended with violence upon the sea. The verb is incumbere, not incubare, as in l. 89, the former denoting more of action, the latter of rest. The image in the text is derived from the 78 Tu mihi, quodcumque, &c. | downward and constantly-acting "Thou procurest for me whatever pressure of some heavy body of sovereignty I here enjoy." upon another. More literally, "whatever of sovereignty this may be." We have here a legend borrowed from the earliest schools of philosophy. Juno typifies the Air; and Æolus owes to her all his power, since the air, when aroused, produces the winds. Sceptra Jovemque. "My sceptre, and the favour of Jove." Sceptra in the plural seems here to convey the idea of a sceptre requiring a stout hand to wield, or, in other words, to be wielded over tumultuous subjects. 82 Velut agmine facto. "As if formed in column of march." Observe the force of agmen. 83 Porta. "Egress, an outlet." 85 Ruunt. "Upturn." Observe the active usage of ruo in this passage, as a neuter in verse 83. [See 1. 35.] Creber procellis. Frequent in rainy blasts," i. e. abounding in rain-squalls. "Procella," says Servius, est vis venti cum pluviâ." 66 87 Stridor rudentum. whistling of the cordage." "The 89 Ponto nox incubat atra. "Darkest night sits brooding on the deep." 90 Poli. "The whole heavens." Observe the force of poli in the plural number, as referring to the heavens on all sides. Ignibus. "Lightnings." Extemplo Æneæ solvuntur frigore membra; Non potuisse, tuâque animam hanc effundere dextrâ! 92 Solvuntur frigore. "Are relaxed with chilling terror.' Virgil here represents his hero as influenced by fear, but it was the fear of perishing by shipwreck, and, what was still more dreadful, of being thus deprived of the rites of sepulture. 95 100 absolutely, to denote strong emotion. (Compare note on 1. 37.) 99 Jacet. "Lies slain." The mind of the hero is occupied merely with the idea of Hector's death, and his thoughts carry him back to the moment when the latter still remained on the 94 Refert. "He utters." battle-field, and had not as yet 96 Oppetere, for mortem oppe-received the rites of sepulture. tere, "to encounter death." Quis Achilles is called acides, as contigit, "unto whom it hap- having been the grandson of pened, whose lot it was." acus. tingit generally carries with it the idea of good fortune. Quis is for quibus. Compare, as regards the commencement of this passage, the language of the Odyssey (ν. 306), τρισμάκαρες Δαναοὶ καὶ τετράκις, οἳ τότ ̓ ὄλοντο Τροίῃ ἐν εὐρείῃ. Con 0 Danaúm fortissime, &c. Eneas styles Diomede here the bravest of the Greeks, since, having engaged with him in conflict, he was only saved from death by the intervention of his mother Venus. (Il. v. 239, seqq.) 97 Mene occumbere non potuisse! "That I could not have fallen !" The accusative with the infinitive is here employed Ingens. "Vast of size," a translation of the Homeric_Teλópios. Sarpedon, son of Jove, and King of Lycia, was slain by Patroclus. 100 Simoïs, a river of Troas, rising in Mount Ida, and falling into the Xanthus or Scamander. 102 Talia jactanti. "While thus earnestly exclaiming," Literally, "to him earnestly uttering such things." Stridens Aquilone procella, &c. "A blast roaring from the north strikes full against the sail." More literally, "coming full in front, strikes the sail." The blast came in the direction of the prow, or right a-head. Franguntur remi; tum prora avertit, et undis Dat latus; insequitur cumulo præruptus aquæ mons. 105 Dorsum immane mari summo. Tres Eurus ab alto 110 104 Tum prora avertit. Thereupon the prow turns away." Supply sese. Et undis dat latus. The vessel is now broadside to the wind, the prow having swung around. 105 Insequitur cumulo, &c. "A mountain-surge, curling precipice-like, follows in one mass." More literally, "a precipitous mountain of water follows thereupon in one heap." 106 Hi summo in fluctu, &c. Heyne makes this passage refer merely to the ship of Æneas, which while pitching amid the waves, would have one part, the prow, for example, raised on high along with those of the mariners who kept clinging to it, while the other portion, or the stern, would be in a downward direction. Wunderlich, Wagner, and other commentators, however, apply the words to different vessels of the fleet, some elevated on high, others far down, with the waves towering above them. This latter is the more correct opinion. Hi. "These." His. "Unto those." Referring to the crews of different vessels. (Consult preceding note.) 107 Terram aperit. "Discloses the bottom." Poetically said, of course. The meaning is, that they could fancy they almost saw the bottom amid the yawning billows. Furit astus arenis. "The boiling waters rage with intermingled sand," i. e., are mixed with sand washed up from the bottom. 108 Tres. Supply naves. Torquet. Equivalent to torquens impellit. 109 Saxa, vocant Itali, &c. "Rocks, which, lying in the midst of the waves, the Italian mariners term altars, a vast ridge, on a level with the surface of the sea." The reference is supposed to be to two small rocky islands, called Ægimuri, lying in the sea over against Carthage, and at no great distance from it. The origin of the name are, given to them by the Italians, is not easy to ascertain. It arose, probably, from their resemblance to the top of an altar, as they appeared just above the waves. Servius, however, says that they were so termed because the Romans and Carthaginians made a treaty there. But Heyne thinks that he confounds the Ægimuri with the gates Insulæ, off Lilybæum in Sicily. The same critic also regards the entire line Saxa, vocant Itali, &c., as spurious. 111 In brevia et syrtes urguet. "Drives upon shoals and quick Illiditque vadis, atque aggere cingit arena. Arma virûm, tabulæque, et Troïa gaza per undas. sands." There is no allusion here to the Syrtes of ancient geography: the reference is a general one. 113 Lycios. The Lycians were among the allies of the Trojans, coming not, however, from Lycia properly so called, but from a part of Troas, around Zelea, inhabited by Lycian colonists. After their leader, Pandarus, had been slain by Diomede, they followed the fortunes of Æneas. 114 Ipsius ante oculos. "Before the eyes of Æneas himself." Ingens a vertice pontus. "A vast ocean-wave from above." A vertice is here equivalent to desuper. 118 Rari. "Here and there.' 99 Gurgite. "The roaring abyss." According to etymologists, gurges, in its primitive meaning, has always reference to the roar of waters. 119 Arma. Shields, for example, as Heyne remarks, made of osiers and covered over with 115 120 125 skins, and hence capable of float- 123 Imbrem. Put for aquam maris, in which usage Virgil follows Ennius and Lucretius, and in which succeeding poets, Statius for example, imitate Virgil. Inimicum. For exitiosum. 125 Emissam. "Sent forth." Et imis stagna refusa vadis. "And the deep calm waters of Ocean to have been thrown upward from the lowest depths." By stagna (literally, "standing waters") are here meant the depths of ocean, that remain undisturbed except in the most violent storms. 127 Placidum caput. There is no contradiction between this and the graviter commotus, since Neptune, though incensed against the winds, was peaceful and benignant towards the Trojans. Besides this, the "placidum ca Disjectam Æneæ toto videt æquore classem, Fluctibus oppressos Troas cœlique ruinâ : Nec latuere doli fratrem Junonis et iræ. 130 Eurum ad se Zephyrumque vocat; dehinc talia fatur: Tantane vos generis tenuit fiducia vestri? Jam cœlum terramque meo sine numine, Venti, Miscere, et tantas audetis tollere moles? Quos ego-sed motos præstat componere fluctus. put" was an habitual characteristic of the sea-god. 129 Cœlique ruinâ. A strong, but singular expression. The reference appears to be to the rushing down of the rain and wind, or, in other words, to the violent warfare of the elements, as if the heavens themselves were descending. 130 Fratrem. Neptune and Juno were both children of Saturn. 135 140 leaves the sentence unfinished, deeming it better to turn his attention to the checking of the tempest. Post is used here adverbially. 138 Non illi imperium pelagi, &c. Neptune was a god of the first class, and possessed absolute authority over his watery realms, being as independent there as Jove was in his own dominions of the sky. This empire of Ocean had fallen to his share, the world having been divided in this way between the three brothers, Jupiter, Neptune, and Pluto. Eolus, therefore, an inferior deity, was wrong in "With-acting as he had done. His control over the winds was regulated by fixed laws (certo fœdere), and he was to let loose the winds only when ordered (jussus) so to do, 132 Tantane vos generis, &c. The winds, according to Hesiod (Theog., 378), were the offspring of Astræus, one of the Titans, and Aurora. 133 Meo sine numine. out my authority." 134 Tantas tollere moles. "To raise such mountain-waves." 135 Quos ego-! "Whom I-!" The sentence is abruptly broken off, and the sea-god checks his wrath. Grammarians term this an aposiopēsis, and make ulciscar to be understood. Nothing, however, is in fact understood. The god was going to say, "Whom I will severely punish," but stops short, and 139 Immania saxa. Referring to the rocky island of Æolia. 140 Vestras, Eure, domos. "The abodes, Eurus, of you and yours," i. e., of you and your fellow winds. Observe the use of vestras, the plural possessive; not tuas, which would have meant the abode of Eurus alone. |