those who have already been consigned to imprisonment under his charge. In order to do this he ascertains the greater or less enormity of their crimes by questioning, (audit,) and in some cases by torture, (subigit fateri.)— 567. Castigat; inflicts punishment. -Dolos; treacherous deeds.-568, 569. What atonements for crimes committed any one, rejoicing in vain concealment, has postponed in the world above to the too late hour of death.Quae is relative, not interrogative, the antecedent piacula being omitted after fateri. See Gr. § 206, (3).- -Inani; vain; because the secret will be made known after death.- -Piacula; for crimina expianda; crimes to be atoned for.-570. Continuo; forthwith; as soon as Rhadamanthus has awarded the punishment, the criminals are scourged by the furies.- -Accincta; armed.571. Quatit; she lashes or scourges the guilty (sontes) to the gate, which upon her approach stands open to receive them. Her sisters aid her in the work.-572. Angues; her whip is armed with snakes. -Sororum. See above, on 555.-573. Tum demum; then at length; when the scourging has been performed the gate of Tartarus opens wide, and the condemned are thrust in by the furies.-Sacrae; accursed. Comp. iii. 57.- -574. Custodia, for custos, refers to Tisiphone; so also facies, below.577. Tum; then moreover; while these objects are so terrible, at the same time Tartarus itself is frightful on account of its vastness. -578. In praeceps; downwards.- -579. As much as the distance (literally, upward view) to the ethereal Olympus. The depth of Tartarus is twice as great as the distance from earth to heaven.. Coeli is added to dis- Titania pubes; the Titans, sons of Coelus and Terra, who at first with Saturn held sway over the universe, but were at last con ΑΘΗΝΙΩΝ Jupiter destroying the Giants. quered by Jupiter and hurled down to Tartarus by his thunderbolts.581. For the construction of Dejecti, see Gr. § 205, R. 3, (1).- -582. Aloidas; Otus and Ephialtes, the sons of Aloeus, powerful giants who warred against the gods.-583. Rescindere; to cut down or rase; as, for example, the walls and battlements of a city; hence here caelum, as the city and citadel (arx) of the gods.- –585. Dantem poenas; suffering punish ments.- -Salmonea; Salmoneus, the son of Aeolus, brother of Sisyphus, and king of Elis, where he founded the city of Salmonia or Salmone.586. Dum imitatur; even while imitating the lightning and thunder of Jupiter, he was overtaken with his punishment. Jacob thus makes dum refer to the commencement of his sufferings. But Gossrau understands these words to describe his punishment, as consisting in the forced and constant repetition of the action which he had impiously attempted on earth; thus, he suffers punishment while (that is, in) imitating, or being compelled to imitate.588. Urbem; Salmonia.-591. Aere; with bronze; he rode in a bronze chariot over plates of bronze or copper spread upon the ground. -Simularet. Gr. § 264, 8.- -593. Taedis; with pitchy wood; the cause of fumea.—594. Turbine; with the lightning-blast; turbo is here the thunderbolt hurled with force and fury like a tornado.- -Praecipitem adegit; cast him headlong; i. e. down to Tartarus.- -595. Tityon; Tityos was a giant who was slain by the arrows of Apollo and Diana for offering violence to their mother, Latona, and then punished in Tartarus. See Odys. xi. 576-581.- -Alumnum; either for filium, or else to be taken literally, foster-son, according to the myth which said that he was the son of Elara and Jupiter, and concealed in the womb of the earth, in order to escape the jealousy of Juno.-596. Cernere erat; for cerneres or licuit cernere; you could see; Tityos could be seen; literally, there was a beholding Tityos. Comp. viii. 676. Zumpt, § 227, makes est in this phrase equivalent to licet. –598. Immortale; imperishable; because restored day by day. -Fecunda poenis ; fruitful for punishments; his liver daily reproduces itself for tortures ever renewed.- -599. Epulis; dative; for his banquet. 601. Ixiona; Ixion was the father of Pirithoüs and king of the Lapi thae. Sisyphus, Ixion, and Tantalus. -602. -que loses its final vowel here by synapheia.- -603. Gen alibus; festive; at the festive table a Roman was said to gratify his guardian Genius, or attendant spirit; hence the sense of genialibus in the present instance.-605. Furiarum maxima; Allecto or Megaera.608. Invisi fratres; instances of hatred to brothers are presented in Atreus, Thyestes, Eteocles, and Polynices.609. Pulsatus parens; one of the laws of the XII. tables said, Qui patrem pulsaverit, manus ei praecidantur; another, Patronus si clienti fraudem fecerit, sacer esto. It was natural to infer that what was regarded as so criminal by the early Romans should be severely punished also in Tartarus.- -610. Qui soli, etc.; who reposed alone in their accumulated wealth; imparting none even to their relatives (suis.)————————613. Impia; the civil wars are thus designated. Horace, O. 2, 1, 30, also says impia praelia of the battles of the civil wars. There is no reproach against Augustus implied, as his enemies are considered the movers of these wars, and he only as the defender of the country.- -Dominorum fallere dextras; to violate their pledges to their masters; the right hands of masters; because the right hand of a master is grasped when a promise of fidelity is made. -615. Poenam; supply exspectant.-Forma fortunave; what kind (of crime), or what circumstances (of life), have plunged the men (in woe.)618. Theseus was chained to a rock in Tartarus on account of the attempt mentioned above in 397.-Phlegyas, the father of Ixion, had set fire to the temple of Apollo at Delphi, and in Tartarus was condemned to a punishment similar to that of Tantalus.- -622. Fixit-refixit; put up and took down; established and annulled; Roman laws were engraved on bronze tables and fastened on the walls of the Capitol. Marc Antony is an example of such a reckless ruler as is here pointed out.- -626. Comprendere; to sum up, or embrace, in description. For the subjunctive present here, see on i. 58. She could mention but few of their crimes and penalties. 628-683. Aeneas deposits the golden bough at the entrance of Pluto's palace and passes on to the right, into the Elysian fields. Here he sees the shades of various classes of men engaged in the pursuits and pleasures in which they delighted when living. Among these is the ancient bard Musaeus, who by the request of the Sibyl points out the way to the place where the shade of Anchises dwells. 629. Susceptum perfice munus; finish the offering you have undertaken; i. e. the gift of the golden branch.- 630. Cyclopum educta caminis; built by the forges of the Cyclops. The house of Pluto is of iron wrought by the Cyclops, or workmen of Vulcan.- 631. Adverso fornice portas; the gates under the archway opposite; opposite to us. The gate opens at the end of an arched vestibule in front of the palace.- -632. Haec dona; for the singular; this gift. Praecepta; the (divine) instructions.viarum. See on i. 310.634. Corripiant. See on i. 418.- -Spatium medium; the space between them and the palace.-635. Aditum; the vestibule. Here, as at the entrance of a temple, there is a vase of holy water with which the devotee must purify himself.- -636. In limine; he suspends the branch on the door-post.- -637. Divae; to the goddess Pro -633. Opaca serpine. 638. Devenere locos. Comp. i. 365.—Amoena; this adjective is properly applied to objects pleasing to the eye; hence to scenery.640, 641. Hic-purpureo; here a more expanded atmosphere (than that of the gloomy regions just left by Aeneas) and (one) of glowing light clothes the fields. Others supply vestit campos after aether; thus, a freer air clothes the fields and clothes the fields with glowing light. So Anthon and Ladewig. For the final syllable of aether, see Gr. § 299, 2, exc. 3.-Norunt; they (the shades) enjoy.- -642. Palaestris; on the grassy turf; grounds suitable for athletic sports.- -644. Plaudunt choreas; beat the dances.645. Sacerdos; Orpheus, the most famous bard of the heroic period, is also called here priest, because the Grecian orgies and mysteries were first celebrated by him.646. Obloquitur; sounds in response; he accompanies with his lyre either the songs of others, mentioned in the above passage, or, what is more probable, his own. The verse may be rendered, sounds responsive in numbers the seven varying notes. The lyre of seven strings, furnishing seven open notes, is here assigned to him, though that number of strings was not used until a much later period. Some with Wagner make numeris in the dative case, and refer it to the rhythms or measures both of the singers and dancers; as if Orpheus were accompanying, or rather leading them with his instrument. But Virgil would more naturally conceive of Orpheus as Horace (O. 2, 13, 25 sq.) does of Sappho and Alcaeus, as playing in response to their own voices, while the shades gather round to listen.- -647. Digitis, pectine; he touches the strings with his fingers to produce a soft sound, and with the plectrum when louder notes are required.-649. Melioribus annis; in the better times; the ages before Laomedon and Priam.-650. Dardanus and Ilus were the most illustrious kings and founders of Trojan cities; Assaracus was the great-grandfather of Aeneas. See i. 284.651. Inanes; unsubstantial.—653. Gratia; fondness; literally, acceptableness.Curruum; pronounced here currûm.- -657. Vescentes; banqueting.- -658, 659. Unde—amnis; whence the full stream of the Eridanus rolls through the forest (into the world) above. Virgil, in G. iv. 366–373, makes Hades the source of the great rivers on earth; from thence, he says, bursts forth the Eridanus, than which no other stream more violent flows forth through the fertile fields into the purple sea. Superne is either upward or from above; if we take the latter meaning here, as some do, the ideas seem confused. Eridanus is put by Virgil for the Po.- -660. Passi; who have suffered; for the construction, see above on 581.- -667. Musaeum; Musaeus was a contemporary of Orpheus, and like him was revered as one who had made use of poetry and music as means of redeeming men from barbarism. Homer could not be introduced here, as he flourished subsequently to the age of Aeneas, though so many centuries before Virgil.668. Suspicit; looks up to.- -670. Illius ergo; for his sake.- -673. Certa; fixed, definite.- -674. Riparum toros; the turfy couches of the shores.-Recentia rivis; fresh with brooks; watered by fertilizing streams, and therefore always green.- -675. Si fert, etc.; if the desire in your heart so directs. -676. Jagam; summit, or height.- -678. Ostentat; Musaeus from the top of the hill shows them the pathway, and they descend on the other side, while he returns to his companions.-Dehine. See on i. 256.- -679. Penitus; far down (in the valley.)—680. Ituras; destined to go.- -681. Studio recolens; considering earnestly.— -682. Forte; it so happened that he was just at this time tracing out the destinies of his descendants. 683. Manus; deeds. 684-751. Anchises receives Aeneas with an affectionate greeting, and first converses with him on the nature and condition of the innumerable spirits which are seen flitting about the river Lethe. 685. Palmas utrasque. Comp. v. 233. The plural of uterque is sometimes used for the singular when we speak of two objects naturally connected, especially where we use the word "pair."- -686. Genis; for de genis. -687. Tandem; at length; after being long expected.Expectata parenti; expected, looked for, by thy father. As if he had said, I have long hoped that your filial piety would impel you to make this visit. In some editions spectata, proved, well tried, is substituted for exspectata.———688. Iter durum; the difficult passage; the horrors and toils of the descent. 690. The shade of Anchises had warned Aeneas when in Sicily to seek this interview. See v. 731 sqq.- -691. Tempora dinumerans; counting the days. -Cura; my anxious hope; my expectation mingled with doubt.- -692. Terras; governed by per, which in prose would stand before it rather than before aequora. Comp. ii. 654.- -694. Ne quid; lest in any respect.696. Tendere adegit; for the infinit. instead of the subj. with ut, see Gr. 278, n. 4, b.; Z. § 616; comp. vii. 113.- -697. Stant classes; my ships are moored. Comp. iii. 277.- -Tyrrheno. See i. 67.Da jungere; grant (me) to join my right hand with thine; for the infinitive after dare, see on i. 66.698. Amplexu. See above, on 465.- -700-702. See the same verses, ii. 792-794-703. In valle reducta; in the secluded valley; not another valley, but the same in which Aeneas found his father; termed, in 679, convalle; a vale completely shut in by hills, and thus separated from the other parts of Elysium. Aeneas is at once struck with amazement at the multitude of spirits flitting about the banks of Lethe, which winds through this valley. Anchises had been engaged in contemplating these. See above, 679 sqq.- 704. Virgulta sonantia silvae; the rustling shrubbery of the forest. Forbiger prefers the reading silvis, Wagner silva; and the latter understands the words to mean, the young trees rustling with their woody growth. Nemus is the glade watered by the Lethe and diversified by clusters of young trees scattered here and there on either side of the river. -705. Praenatat; flows before, or along; followed by the accusative, like praefluit, Hor. O. 4, 14, 26. See Gr. § 233, R. 1; Z. § 386, note.706. Gentes; races.] -Populi; nations.- -70%. Ac velut; ac, followed by velut, serves to introduce a comparison; i. 148, ii. 626.- 709. Fundantar: |