Κάλχας μικρὸς ἔην, λεπτός, λευκός, δασυχαίτης, εὐσχήμων, σίμος, στειναύχην, ξανθογένειος. This he may have borrowed from Dares Phrygius, whose work, as we now have it, abounds in notices of the sort. But he is probably original when he says that he cannot tell what was the precise occasion on which Ulysses fell temporarily into the hands of the Trojans, his attention to the incident having been distracted by the cruel treatment he received from "the crafty wife of Isaac," or when he censures Tryphiodorus for talking of the horse as crowned with flowers when it was the depth of winter, and professes that he, Tzetzes, had been taught by Orpheus never to tell a falsehood. But it is an insult to Virgil even to mention such absurdities in connexion with the Second Book of the Aeneid. A curious critique of Virgil's narrative from a military point of view by Napoleon I. may be found in an abridged form in the Classical Museum, vol. i. pp. 205 foll. It is needless to say that the story does not stand a test which it was never meant to stand: much of the Emperor's censure however falls really, not on Virgil, but on the legend which, as we have seen, he necessarily followed. CONTICUERE omnes, intentique ora tenebant. 1, 2.] Aeneas begins thus.' 1.] Ora tenere is not, as in G. 4. 483, equivalent to "linguam continere," but means to hold the countenance in attention,' as in 7. 250 (where observe the epithet "defixa," and comp. 6. 156), 8. 520. Intenti' then must be taken adverbially as part of the predicate, like "defixi" in the passage last referred to. Silent attention is however the general notion and it is probable that Virg. did not carefully distinguish the two senses of 'ora.' See 1. 256, “oscula libavit." 5 as it is in telling about sorrow once felt that the renewal of the pain consists. Häckermann, followed by Ladewig, Haupt, and Ribbeck, ingeniously puts a period after dolorem,' so as to connect ut. .. fui' with 'quis talia fando,' v. 6, the sentence thus created being a sort of expansion of v. 3, 'fando' answering to 'infandum:' but this, though rhetorically effective, would be hardly in Virg.'s manner, while it would detract from the propriety of the clause quaeque . . fui,' if indeed it would not lead us rather to expect viderim . . . fuerim.' I am glad to see that Wagn. (Lectt. Vergg. p. 415) defends the old pointing on similar grounds. ... Lamentabile' is used proleptically. How the power of Troy and its empire met with piteous overthrow from the Danaans.' 5.] Quaeque et quorum,' &c., also epexegetical of 'dolorem,' which is first explained generally, then limited, as Henry remarks, to the scenes which Aeneas witnessed and those in which he took an active part-his personal narrative. Myrmidonum Dolopumve aut duri miles Ulixi Fracti bello fatisque repulsi Ductores Danaum, tot iam labentibus annis, 'Fando,' in the course of speaking, v. 81. Wagn. aptly refers to Livy 8. 17., 21. 34, for instances of this use of the gerund in prose, illustrating it also by an imitation of this passage in Sil. 2. 651, "quis tristia fata piorum Inperet evolvens lacrimis ?" which shows that it is equivalent to the present participle. 7.]' Myrmidonum Dolopumve,' not constructed with miles.' The Myrmidons and Dolopes (I1. 9. 484) were the soldiers of Achilles, the greatest, and Neoptolemus, the most savage, enemy of Troy. So the epithet 'duri' is intended to mark the soldier by the general, perhaps with a reference to his Homeric title πολύτλας : see on 3. 94. 8.] Et iam,' an additional reason for declining the task: imitated from Od. 11. 330, where Ulysses breaks off in the middle of his narrative with a similar excuse. 9.] Praecipitat' is hurrying down the steep of the sky, midnight being past. Possibly also it denotes the fall of the dew, being connected with humida,' as "ruit" is with "imbriferum," G. 1. 313. For the intrans. use of the verb comp. Cic. de Orat. 3. 55, 209, "sol praccipitans me admonuit." 10.] Od. 11. 380. 'Amor,' as in 6. 133, where it is immediately explained by "cupido." For the construction, see on G. 1. 213. 11.] 'Supremum laborem,' its destruction, as "dies supremus " is the day of death, and "sors suprema" (5. 190) the final doom. Claud. Eutrop. 2. 289, "Phrygiae casus venisse supremos." Labor' by itself means no more than róvos or uóxeos in Greek, sorrow or suffering, 1. 597., 2. 362., 4. 78., 9. 202. To hear the brief tale of Troy's last agony.' 12.] Muretus thinks this passage imitated from Cic. Phil. 14. 3, "refugit animus, P. C., eaque formidat dicere." It is 66 10 15 itself imitated by Sen. Ag. 417, “refugit loqui Mens aegra tantis atque inhorrescit malis," which seems to show, as Wund. thinks, that 'refugit' as well as 'horret' goes with 'meminisse.' The perf. seems best explained as expressing the instantaneous and instinctive action of the feeling. Prof. Munro comp. Sen. H. F. 1200, 'quid hoc? manus refugit: hic errat scelus," where however the structure of the sentence makes the tense more explicable. Weidner thinks 'horret' is a sort of perf. of" horrescit," and so explains its combination with refugit,' appealing ingeniously to Sen. Ag. 1. c., where 'inhorrescit is coupled with 'refugit,' the pres. He explains 'refugit' on the analogy of dédoika &c., a single past act leading to a continuing state. 13-39.] 'Despairing of reducing Troy by siege, the Greeks feign departure, having first built a wooden horse, which they fill with armed men, and leave behind them as a pretended offering to Pallas. We pour out of the town, and question what should be done with the horse, some being for taking it in, others for destroying it.' 13.] Incipiam' appears rightly understood by Henry, I will essay,' rather than I will begin.' E. 5. 10, G. 1. 5, Lucr. 1. 55. So the ordinary sense of " inceptum." 'Fracti,' nearly the same as "fessi," v. 109, but stronger. Repulsi,' beaten back from the attack on Troy. 14.] Ductores Danaum,' Luer, 1. 86. Labentibus,' the present, is to be distinguished from "lapsis," though the stress falls as much on tot' and 'iam.' Now that the flying years had begun to number so many.' 15.] Instar montis,' with reference to the height rather than to the bulk. So 9. 674, "abietibus iuvenes patriis et montibus aequos," and Od. 9. 191., 10. 113, where the Cyclops and the queen of the Lacstry. Aedificant, sectaque intexunt abiete costas; Est in conspectu Tenedos, notissima fama gonians are compared to mountains. Comp. 16.] Aedificant' and 'intexunt' are both terms of ship-building. Catull. 62 (64). 9, "Ipsa (Pallas) levi fecit volitantem flamine currum, Pinea coniungens inflexae texta carinae," which Virg. perhaps had in his mind. See further on 11. 326. Even 'costa' is used in speaking of a ship, Pers. 6. 31. Lucr. 5. 1297 has "in equi conscendere costas." Intexunt' form by interlacing, 6. 315., 10. 785, abiete' being instr. abl. But for these parallels, 'secta abiete' might be, as has been suggested to me, material abl. with 'costas,' 'intexunt' meaning interweave with the horse. 'Intexunt' has nearly the force of "intertexunt," as "insere" G. 2. 302 of "intersere." 17.] 'Votum,' to Pallas, as explained v. 183. Serv. quotes from Attius (Deiph. fr. 1), "Minervae donum armipotenti hoc abeuntes Danai dicant," which he says was the inscription on the horse; and so Hyginus (fab. 108), " In equo scripserunt; Danai Minervae dono dant." Pallas is sent down, II. 2. 156, to prevent the Greeks from departing. The custom of making vows for a safe return is largely illustrated by Cerda. Taubmann quotes an epigram. matic expression from Petronius, "in voto latent (Danai)." Ea fama vagatur:' the emphasis is on 'ea' rather than on 'vaga. tur. Such is the story they spread,' not the story spreads far and wide.' So "fama volat," 3. 121. 1. 54, and not unlike the double acc. in Greek, TÚTTW σE Kepaλýv. 'Delecta virum corpora: Od. 4. 272, law evi ¿eory iv' ἐνήμεθα πάντες ἄριστοι Αργείων. Thus sortiti' must mean simply 'having picked out,' as in G. 3. 71, unless we suppose a sortitios to have taken place among the delecti,' so as to assign to some their places in the horse, while others, such as Agamemnon and Diomede, remained to organize the forces at Tenedos. Delecti' is the epithet of the chieftains at Aulis, Lucr. 1. 86. In Od. 8. 495, Ulysses is the main agent in putting the warriors into the horse, which he enters himself. Corpora,' periphrastic, like déuas, 5. 318., 6. 22, 391., 7. 650., 10. 430, though in each case there is of course a special significance in the word, as here to suggest the notion of occupying space. 19, 20.] Henry seems right in taking the latter part of the sentence as simply explanatory of the former, the armato. milite' being identical with the delecta corpora,' but it is not so certain that these are summed up in the nine who come out of the horse in v. 260, as vv. 328, 401, would lead us to suppose that the number was larger, even if we do not suppose Virg. to be in agreement with Hom., who in Ød. 4. 287, mentions one, Anticlus, not included in Virg.'s list. 'Penitus' goes with 'conplent.' 21.] Notissima fama,' as Wagn. remarks, is said rather by the poet than by the hero (comp. 3. 704), though in Hom.'s time (Il. 1. 38) the island is famous for a temple of Apollo Smintheus. 22.] 'Dives opum,' 1. 14. 23.] The island is said to be a ‘sinus,' a bay, forming a doubtful roadstead, being all for which it was then remarkable. Male fida,' opposed to "statio tutissima," G. 4. 421. Forb. rightly distinguishes 'statio' from "portus," and Henry appo sitely refers to Vell. Pat. 2. 72, "Exitialemque tempestatem fugientibus statio pro portu foret." Huc se provecti deserto in litore condunt. Nos abiisse rati et vento petiisse Mycenas. Ergo omnis longo solvit se Teucria luctu. Panduntur portae; iuvat ire et Dorica castra Desertosque videre locos litusque relictum. Hic Dolopum manus, hic saevus tendebat Achilles; Classibus hic locus; hic acie certare solebant. Pars stupet innuptae donum exitiale Minervae Et molem mirantur equi; primusque Thymoetes Duci intra muros hortatur et arce locari, Sive dolo, seu iam Troiae sic fata ferebant. 24.] Huc' may be taken with 'condunt,' as Forb. (G. 1. 442, "conditus in nubem "), but it had perhaps better go with provecti,' as otherwise we should have expected 'in litus.' 'Deserto in litore' shows that the change in the fortunes of Tenedos had already begun. 25.] Wagn. is hardly right in explaining vento petere' here and v. 180 to mean no more than "navibus petere." In 1. 307., 4. 46, 381, where similar expressions are used, the meaning evidently is that the person is supposed to be driven by the winds: here the notion seems to be that of dependence on the winds, though we are meant to infer that the winds are favourable. Thus Heyne's interpretation "vento secundo" is virtually true. In 3. 563 the addition of 'remis' makes the case somewhat different. 26.] From Eur. Tro. 524, where the Trojans address each other fr', ŵ nenavμένοι πόνων. 27.] Panduntur portae,' as a sign of peace. Hor. 3 Od. 5. 23, A. P. 199. Cerda. Dorica castra :' see on v. 462. 28.] Nearly repeated 5. 612. 29.] This and the next verse express in an objective form what is said or thought by the parties of Trojans. Comp. 7. 150 foll., where however the discoveries of the reconnoitrers are put in oratio obliqua. Dolopum:' note on v. 7. Tendebat,' pitched his tent, 8. 605, a military word, whence "tentorium." For the implied anachronism see on 1. 469. 25 30 rected, Canon., and others, and given as an alternative by Serv. 31.] Donum Minervae,' "non quod ipsa dedit, sed quod ei oblatum est." Serv., rightly, as is shown by the parallel v. 189, and by the passage from Attius quoted on v. 17, from which Virg. doubtless took the words. The epithet innuptae,' which is rather in the Homeric style than appropriate to anything in the context, makes it likely that he was referring also to Eur. Tro. 536, xápiv ă(vyos àẞPOTOrúλov, which according to the ordinary interpretation is understood in precisely the same way, though Hermann questions the applicability of ἀβροτοπώλου to the goddess, and supposes ἄζυξ ἀβροτόπωλος to be the horse. The offering was made to Minerva as one of the tutelary deities of Troy, whom the Greeks had outraged, and as such it was virtually an offering to Troy and the Trojans-a consideration which reconciles the present passage with those where it is spoken of as a gift to the Trojans (vv. 36, 44, 49), and accounts for the epithet 'exitiale.' That some such object was pretended before Sinon came forward to develope the story we have seen in v. 17. 'Minervae seems still to be the gen., as in Cic. Verr. 2. 3. 80, "civium Romanorum dona," presents made to Roman citizens (referred to by Gossrau). 32.] Molem equi,' v. 150 below. Thymoetes is one of the old men sitting on the wall, Il. 3. 146. Diodorus Siculus, 3. 87, makes him son of Laomedon. 33.] In Hom. (Od. 8. 504) the Trojans first drag the horse to the citadel (which in Virg. does not happen till v. 245), and then deliberate as here what to do with it, the party of Thymoetes being represented by the words ἢ ἐάᾳν μέγ' ἄγαλμα θεῶν θελκτήριον εἶναι. 34.] Dolo' because, according to the legend mentioned by Serv., and a scholiast At Capys, et quorum melior sententia menti, on Lycophron, Thymoetes had a grudge against Priam, who in consequence of an oracle that a child born on a certain day would be the ruin of Troy, put to death an illegitimate son of his own by Cilla, wife of Thymoetes, not Paris, who had the same birthday. Iam,' now at last,' as Henry takes it. Sic ferebant' seems to mean 'were setting that way:' see on 11. 345. So apparently Cic. Pis. 2. 5, “quod ita existimabam tempora reip. ferre." Virg. may have thought of II. 2. 834, Kĥpes yàp ἄγον μέλανος θανάτοιο. τὸ φέρον is the Greek synonyme for Fate. 35.] Capys, a companion of Aeneas, 9. 576., 10. 145. "Quae sit dubiae sententia is 37.] It may be doubted from the word 'praecipitare' whether Virg. meant to translate Od. 8. 508, †) KAтà TEтрάwv Baλée ἐρύσαντας ἐπ' ἄκρης. Subiectisque the reading of the MSS. Heyne introduced subiectisve,' on a warrant from Servius. Wagn. (Q. V. 34. 1) adduces other instances where 'que' couples notions which though not strictly compatible with each other have some point in common, as here burning and sinking are two modes of destroying the horse, and so are distinguished from any plan of examining it. 38.] Od. 8. 507, where the three propositions debated are breaking open the horse (diaTunai, stronger than 'terebrare'), casting it from a precipice, and accepting it as a peace-offering to the gods. Temptare' here is simply to search, with no notion of danger, as Forb. thinks, whatever it may have elsewhere. 'Cavas latebras,' a translation of Koîλov Aóxov, Od. 4. 277., 8. 515. 39.] Scinditur in studia contraria' implies that they take opposite sides, appa rently those of Thymoetes and Capys, with warmth, studia' being almost an anticipation of Tacitus' use of the word in the sense of factions, "Ultio senatum in studia diduxerat," Hist. 4. 6. The line is doubtless meant, as it is generally quoted, to characterize a mob contemptuously; but it points as much to party spirit as to giddiness. 40-56.] 'Laocoon warmly denounces the horse as a Greek stratagem, and hurls his spear at it.' 40.] Primus ante omnis' is not said, as Heyne thinks, with reference to 'magna comitante caterva,' which would be jejune. The meaning is, at this juncture Laocoon, followed by a large number, plunges into the arena and takes the lead. Thymoetes had been called "primus" v. 32, as having first made himself heard. 41.] Ab arce' Pergamus, which overlooked the shore. Heyne. 44.] Has this been your experience of Ulysses?' who is mentioned not as actually having been a principal in the scheme, which the Trojans could not have known, but as the natural author of fraud, "hortator scelerum Aeolides," 6.529. 45.] The two cases put in this and the two following lines are that the horse is a receptacle of soldiers, and that it is a means of scaling the walls. In the former case it would be fatal if admitted within the city, in the latter even if left outside. There is not the slightest reason to suppose with Ribbeck that v. 45 and vv. 46, 47 were left as alternatives by Virg., who would |
