4. Maior, supply natu. -5. Incertas, fluctuating, trembling. Zephyris motantibus, with the shifting Zephyrs; join with incertas.5, 6. Sub umbras, and the dative antro, stand in coördinate relation to succedimus. Comp. Ae. I, 627.—7. Sparsit. See on E. IV, 52.- -9. Amyntas might as well vie with Apollo as with me. The young singer does not like to be compared with Amyntas as a rival.- -10. Ignis, loves; stories of the love of Phyllis.—10, 11. Phyllis, Alconis, Codri, all pastoral names, having no reference to the historical personages of Greece who bore the same. Alconis is an objective genitive; the others are probably intended to be subjective.

-11. Habes, as in E. III, 52.--13, 14 Immo, etc., nay (not those), but rather these strains which I lately wrote out, and while composing (modulans) marked in turn (first in words and then in musical notes, etc. This interpretation, which is generally adopted, makes alterna refer to the strains (carmina) of alternating poetry and music, noted on the beech one after the other successively, just as Mopsus had composed and performed them. The pipe, of course, did not accompany the voice in our sense, but was used for preludes and interludes.-15. Then talk about Amyntas.- -16-18. Menalcas apologizes for his rash comparison of the two.- -19. Desine with the accusative, as in E. VIII, 62, IX, 66. Puer, a frequent designation of shepherds. So below v. 54. 20-44. A pastoral elegy on the death of the divine shepherd Daphnis, who is intended to represent the murdered Caesar.

-21. Testes Nymphis, supply fuistis. "Ye were witnesses to the Nymphs,' of the tears they shed. 23. Crudelia. The stars are supposed to control human destiny for good or evil. To Venus and her descendants they have been unpropitious in bringing such a fate upon the greatest of the line. Mater refers to Venus, the mother or ancestress of the Julian family.- -24. Non alli, no herdsmen. On those days of mourning all common avocations were forgotten. 25, 26. Nec-nec. These particles repeat separately the general negative contained in nulla, which qualifies both verbs alike. Comp. the Greek form ovdels, OUTE-OUTE. So the negatives in E. IV, 55, 56.- -26. Graminis herbam, the blades of grass. Herba is properly a collective term.- -27,

28. Both the mountains and woods reecho the voices of African lions

mourning thy death.- -27. Poenos, Carthaginian, African, as an epithet. See on E. I, 55, and Ae. V, 312.- -28. Loquuntur, for dicunt. Nature says that the wild beasts moaned by repeating their cries with her own echoes.

31.

-29-31. Daphnis taught men to yoke tigers to the chariot, and to perform the sacred rites of Bacchus. That is, he taught men to domesticate beasts before untamed, so as to till the ground and cultivate the vine. Some understand this to be an allusion to the civil reforms of Caesar; and it may well include his great plans of internal improvement.- 29. Armenias-tigres. According to the myth of Bacchus, that god, when returning from his conquest of India, was drawn in his triumphal chariot by tigers.- -30. Inducere, not for ducere, to lead the dances, but for eigάyew, to introduce.These words describe the thyrsus, or staff carried by the worshipers of Bacchus; a long slender rod (lentas hastas) wreathed with grape-leaves and ivy. Mollibus. Comp. Ae. VII, 390.- -34." (So) art thou all the glory of thy companions.". -35-39. Since the death of Daphnis the fields and gardens have gone to waste; Pales, the goddess of herdsmen, and Apollo (once the herdsman of Admetus) have forsaken the fields. Pales and Apollo are associated again in Ge. III, 1.- -36. Quibus. The antecedent, his, is to be supplied in v. 37, after nascuntur.- -40. "Strow the ground where his ashes lie, with leaves and flowers; plant leafy shade-trees around the (neighboring) fountains." The custom of scattering flowers on the tomb seems to be referred to in spargite-foliis, and that of rearing trees around favorite fountains in inducite umbras.- -45-52. Menalcas is enraptured with the divine song of Mopsus, yet will also modestly make his offering of

praise. 46. Quale agrees with the antecedent instead of sopor, on account of the meter. The second "quale" agrees with restinguere taken substantively; such (or so sweet) as quenching our thirst, etc.- 48. Magistrum, that is, Daphnis.- 49. Alter ab illo, the next to him; for such you have proved yourself by this song.- 50. Quocumque modo, in some fashion, no matter how far short of you. -52. Daphnin takes the Greek ending here on account of the meter. The termination im is usually preferred in words of this class.-53. Tali munere, than such an offering of praise as you now propose.- -54. Puer refers to Daphnis.- -54, 55. Ista carmina, those hymns of yours; such songs or strains as those you now promise; whether precisely the same which Stimicon has heard, or something new and similar.80. Daphnis enters the abode of Olympus above the stars. Because he is thus exalted, joy possesses the world which loved him; the woods and fields, Pan, the herdsmen, the rustic Nymphs, all rejoice; now under his divine influence peace and safety prevail, and as a god we shall worship him for ever. –56. Candidus, divinely fair. Ladewig and some others translate "robed in white." Insuetum, not seen before. Miratur, beholds with wonder.

-56

60, 61. Characteristics of the golden age. 63. Intonsi, unshorn; rough with woods. -64. Deus-Menalca! Thus shout the woods and mountains to Menalcas.- -65. Sis felix. Comp. Ae. I, 330. -65, 66. Four altars are supposed to have been raised at the same time, two to Daphnis and two to Apollo, because the annual rites in honor of Caesar and Apollo were celebrated at the same period, those of Caesar on the 12th of July, and those of Apollo on the 13th. Caesar's birth-day was on the 13th; but, as the Sibylline books were said to prohibit any other ceremonial on the day set apart for the rites of Apollo, the senate decreed that those of Caesar should be celebrated on the 12th.66. Altaria is in apposition with the second duas, and equivalent to " quae sunt altaria." It describes the particular kind of ara, namely, an altar on which victims could be slain. Only fruits or bloodless offerings could be made on the altars of deified men, like Daphnis.

-67, 68. Bina, duos. Both signify "two annually.". 69. In primis, above all, especially. Multo Baccho. Comp. Ge. II, 190.- -70. Messis, by metonomy for aestas.- -71. Nectar, in apposition with vina. Wine from the Greek islands was not imported into Italy until about B. c. 54; hence, novum. 72, 73. The song and dance shall accompany the festival. -74, 75. Haec, etc. These honors shall be thine both at the feast of the vintage, when we give thanks to Bacchus and the attendant Nymphs, and at the ceremonial of blessing the fields, when we lead the victims round the fields and sacrifice to Ceres. The latter rites are called the ambarvalia. See Ge. I, 339-45.

-76-78. See on E. I, 60, and comp. Ae. I, 609.- -80. Damnabis-votis, you also (like other gods) shall hold (men) bound by vows; that is, by pledges of sacrifice made to you as to other deities in time of trial. See on Ae. V, 237.- -81-84. If Menalcas was charmed with the hymn of Mopsus, so is the latter with that of his friend. What present can he make him meet for such lofty strains?- -85-89. They exchange gifts in token of mutual esteem.- -85. Ante, first; before you have made up your mind.86, 87. In the person of Menalcas, Vergil quotes words from the first verses of his second and third Eclogues, to indicate that he had used this pipe in composing and singing them.- -87. Haec docuit, this taught me, this me the melody for, or inspired me with "Formosum Corydon," etc.This herdsman's staff, so prized by me that I would not give it even to the lovely Antigenes, I give to thee.- -90. Paribus nodis, with knots equally distributed. It was a staff made, perhaps, of a slender thorn sapling, with knots distributed quite equally along its length, and shaved down and polished. Aere. The pedum had a bronze or copper pike at one end bound on by a ring of the same metal.

gave

-88.

ECLOGUE VI.

THIS poem is dedicated to Varus, who probably succeeded Pollio in the government of Cisalpine Gaul, and who, according to some early authorities, had been a fellow-pupil of Vergil under Syro. While our poet gracefully declines to undertake the task, to which he had probably been urged by Varus, of composing an epic on the late wars (tristia bella), including the exploits of Varus himself, he entertains him with this Eclogue, which describes the artifice by which two shepherds, Chromis and Mnasylus, aided by the Nymph Aegle, entrap the god Silenus, and compel him to give them an exhibition of his skill in song. The god sings to them of the origin of the world, and of various traditions of mythology.

The system of cosmogony with which he begins is that of Epicurus, which Vergil and Varus had learned from Syro.

1. Prima, not "the first who," but "at the first" ; at the beginning of my career as a poet. Comp. primus, Ae. I, 1. My Muse, Thalia, preferred pastoral (Syracusan, Sicilian) poetry. My talent was only for rustic themes.

-3-5.

2. Thalia may be used strictly as the Muse of pastoral poetry, over which she presides as well as over comedy; or it may be taken, as the names of other Muses are sometimes used, to signify Muse in general.When I assumed to sing of kings and wars, or to compose epics, Apollo plucked my ear, as if to say: "Do you hear? this is no task for you. Your proper themes are lowly rustic scenes and characters." This mode of declining the request of his friend reminds us of the similar apology of Horace at a later period for not undertaking to sing of the achievements of Agrippa. O. I, 6. Deductum, reduced, hence, slender, humble; the opposite of amplum, grand, heroic.- 6. Super-erunt, separated by tmesis; there will remain (besides me), there will not be wanting those who, etc. 8. Musam, by metonomy for song.- -9. Non iniussa cano, for I sing the songs or things commanded by Apollo. Siquis repeated, expresses the longing of the poet for success. -10, 11. If any in the love of pastoral song shall read my verses, he shall find thy name, Varus, often repeated there, and thus to him my lowly tamarisks (myricae), and all the wood shall sing of Varus.Quae sibi praescripsit, which has inscribed upon itself, which is inscribed with.

-12.

14. Pueri, probably shepherds; perhaps youthful fauns or satyrs. 15. Ut semper. Comp. E. I, 54.-16. Procul, off, away, out of place, distant from their proper position on his head. Procul is a relative term, meaning distant only with reference to the ordinary or natural connection of objects. The garlands were lying apart, having but just (tantum, just now, that moment) slipped down from his head.- -17. Gravis, heavy for his languid hand, which in the helplessness of sleep hardly retained its hold of the wellworn handle. Join ansa as an ablative of manner with pendebat. We may also understand e manu.— -18. Spe luserat. Comp. Ae. I, 352.- -19. It seems to have been a common belief of the ancients that beings possessed of the gift of prophecy could be forced to make revelations when entrapped and bound. Comp. Ge. IV, 396. The myth concerning Midas and Silenus is an illustration, and also the account which Homer gives in Ods. IV, 414 sqq., of Proteus bound by Menelaus. Ex vincula sertis. A similar displacement of a preposition occurs in E. IX, 36.- -20. The youths, already somewhat daunted by the audacity of their undertaking, are reassured by the appearance of Aegle. This is the usual interpretation; but the meaning may be that her sudden appearance at first frightens them as though she would oppose their proceedings, though, as it turns out, she comes to join in the frolic. Timidis, in this case, would be proleptic. Supervenit with the connective, que is equivalent to superveniens.- -21. Aegle. The repetition of a word with the mention of some additional attribute or circumstance is a