226. Sed omnia viva volare, quæque in nu Quemque sibi tenues nascentem arcessere vitas. 225 Deinde dixere Scilicet huc reddi deinde, ac resoluta referri omnia resoluta scilicet Omnia: nec morti esse locum sed viva volare reddi, ac referri huc Sideris in numerum, atque alto succedere cœlo Si quando sedem augustam, servataque mella Thesauris relines; priùs haustu sparsus aquarum, Ora fove, fumosque manu prætende sequaces. simul Bis gravidos cogunt fœtus, duo tempora messis. Taygete simul os terris ostendit honestum eadem Pleias, et Oceani spretos pede reppulit amnes : Aut eadem sidus fugiens ubi piscis aquosi, merum 231. Sunt duo tempora messis: unum Pleias Taygete 234. Aut ubi Pleias NOTES. 224. Quemque nascentem: that every one, at his birth, derives tender life to himself, from him. Hinc: from hence-from God. 225. Scilicet: in the sense of certè. Huc: hither-to God. Resoluta: in the sense of dissoluta. 226. Nec locum, &c. Virgil here gives the opinions of those philosophers, who rejected the doctrine of a vacuum, and atoms. They maintained that the universe was animated: that God was omnipresent: that all animals received existence from him: that after death they are all returned, and carried back to him: that there is no room for extinction (morti) or loss of existence: that all, volare viva, fly alive into the order of his star, and take their station in high heaven. In other words, all transmigrate into other beings in a perpetual round. This notion was held by many distinguished philosophers of the heathen world. But it was far from the truth. All irrational animals perish at their death. Man alone is immortal. When unassisted reason is employed upon the subject of a future state of existence, it discovers its own weakness. The researches of philosophy serve only to bewilder the mind. All correct information upon that subject must come through the medium of divine revelation. Pythagoras and his followers strenuously maintained this doctrine. The Epicurians maintained the doctrine of a vacuum, and the atomic theory. 228. Si quando, &c. The poet now proceeds to mention the proper seasons for opening the hives. He gives directions how to proceed in the business, and notices the passionate temper of the bees upon such occasions. Augustam. This is the reading of the best editions, and is supported by ancient manuscripts. Ruæus, Davidson, Valpy, and some others, have angustam. But if the poet intended to inform us that the hive was small, he might have saved himself the pains. Besides, augustam is, by no means, an improper epithet. It is exactly in the spirit of poetry. It is well known that the bee-hive is a most exquisite piece of architecure, whether we regard the form of the comb, 295 230 the materials of which it is composed, or the manner of the workmanship. Virgil emphatically calls their hives, Dadala tecta. Verse 179. supra. Heyne reads augustam. 229. Thesauris: in the sense of favis.— Priùs haustu, &c. Commentators do not agree upon this passage; and it must be confessed a difficult one. Davidson follows Servius, who takes sparsus for spargens: making the meaning to be: First hold in your mouth draughts of water, spouting it upon them. Dr. Trapp rejects sparsus for spargens, and thinks sparsus should be retained; thus: Fove ore haustus aquarum, take water in your mouth; then by an ellipsis of the words; projice in modum pluviæ, spout it upon them in the manner of rain, which you cannot do without being wet yourself, sparsus. Heinsius, Ruæus, Heyne, and some others read: Priùs haustu aquarum ora fove. This, however, is not without objections. If we could read haustum or haustus for haustu, the passage would be easier; then ore would be preferable to ora. But whatever difficulties may attend the construction, the meaning is obvious. Heyne takes Fove oru haustu aquarum, in the sense of, tene vel contine aquam haustam ore. Davidson reads haustus, and ore. 230. Fumos: it is customary, at the present day, to drive or force the bees from the hive with smoke. 231. Gravidos fœtus: in the sense of plenos favos. The comb is properly the fœtus or production of the bees. Messis: gathering or taking the honey: here called the harvest. 232. Taygete: one of the Pleiades, here put for the whole, by synec. This, and the three following lines, is a beautiful circumlocution to express the rising and setting of these stars; the former is in the latter part of April, the latter about the end of October, or the beginning of November. See Geor. 1. 138. 233. Amnes: in the sense of aquas. 234. Sidus aquosi piscis the constellation of the rainy fish. The Pisces here cannot be meant: for the sun does not enter that sign till some time in February. Probably the Tristior hybernas cœlo descendit in undas. Illis ira modum supra est, læsæque venenum Morsibus inspirant, et spicula cæca relinquunt Affixæ venis, animasque in vulnere ponunt. Sin duram metues hyemem, parcesque futuro, Contusosque animos et res miserabere fractas; At suffire thymo, cerasque recidere inanes Quis dubitet? nam sæpe favos ignotus adedit Stellio, lucifugis congesta cubilia blattis: Immunisque sedens aliena ad pabula fucus, Aut asper crabro imparibus se immiscuit armis : Aut dirum tineæ genus, aut invisa Minervæ In foribus laxos suspendit aranea casses. Quò magis exhaustæ fuerint; hôc acriùs omnes Incumbent generis lapsi sarcire ruinas, Complebuntque foros, et floribus horrea texent. Si verò (quoniam casus apibus quoque nostros Vita tulit) tristi languebunt corpora morbo; Quod jam non dubiis poteris cognoscere signis: Continuò est ægris alius color: horrida vultum NOTES. Dolphin may be intended, as that constellation rises soon after the setting of the Pleiades. 236. Lasa: in the sense of offense. 237. Caca; in the sense of occulta: morsibus: stings. Inspirant: they infuse. 238. Affixa: having affixed themselves. 240. Parces futuro: you should spare their future nourishment, and pity their drooping spirits, and afflicted state. Commentators have embarrassed the sense of this passage. The meaning is plainly this: If you are afraid of a hard winter, and that the bees will not be able to sustain the cold, unless they be well fed, you should spare their honey, their future nourishment, and take none of it from them. 241. At quis dubitet, &c. However you may be disposed to follow my direction in leaving the honey untouched, there is one thing that should not be neglected in any case; and that is, to fumigate the hives, and to cut away the superfluous wax. 243. Stellio. This is a small spotted lizard, called also an eft or swift. It creeps into holes and corners; hence the poet calls it ignotus. Congesta: in the sense of plena. Blattis. The blatta is an insect something like a beetle. Some take it to be the cockroach. They are called lucifugis, because they do not appear in the day, time. 244. Fucus immunis. The Drones are the male bees. They have neither stings, nor those elastic teeth which the laboring bees have for the purpose of collecting honey. Their only business seems to be, to have intercourse with the queen: they may be said to be her husbands: they are several hundred in number in each hive. After they have performed their office, they soon die. Their way of living is very different from the rest: they are exempt from labor, and enjoy a most luxurious fare, being fed with the best of the honey: Immunis sedens ad aliena pabula, may very properly be said of them. 245. Crabro: the hornet, a well known insect. It is larger and stronger than the bee. Hence it is said to engage them with, imparibus armis. 246. Tinea: the moth; an insect very The common reading injurious to clothes. is durum: Heyne, Valpy, and some others, read dirum. 247. Aranea invisa. Arachne, daughter of Idmon, a Lydian, is said to have vied with Minerva in the arts of spinning and weaving. She performed her work to admiration; but being outdone, she hung herself through grief; whereupon the goddess, out of pity, changed her into the spider. Some say she represented on her work several of the crimes of the gods, which so displeased the goddess, that she, in a rage, destroyed it. Hence invisa Minerva. See Ovid Met. Lib. 5. 248. Quò magis. The poet here observes, the more you drain the honey from the bees, the more industrious they will be to repair the loss. By being too full fed, they become idle, and consequently less profitable. He then proceeds to consider the diseases incident to them, and the remedies proper for each. 250. Horrea: in the sense of favos. Texent: they will form, or make. 252. Vita: the state, or condition of life. 255. Corpora earum Deformat macies; tum corpora luce carentum dere 264. Suadebo te incen- Hic jam galbaneos suadebo incendere odores, NOTES. 255. Luce: in the sense of vita. 256. Ducunt. Pliny observes, that the bees accompany the bodies of their dead after the manner of a funeral procession. 257. Illæ connexa: clung together by their feet, they hang, &c. 259. Contracto. Ruæus takes this in the sense of contrahente. He says: Frigore contrahente membra. But it may be taken in its usual acceptation, without any impropriety: for the bees may be said to contract, or take cold; and this the poet mentions as one of their diseases. 260. Tractim: in a drawling mannerone after another. 262. Sollicitum: in the sense of turbatum. 263. Rapidus: intense-excessive. Es tuat: roars. 264. Galbancos: an adj. from galbanum, a strong-scented gum, the smell of which is said to drive away serpents. It is made of the juice of the plant called ferula. The poet here directs the bee-master, when his bees show these symptoms, to burn galbanum around the hives, which will expel the vermin, if any there are; to introduce honey into the hives through reeds, to make up the deficiency of their food, and to use every means to allure them to partake But in many cases, this would be insufficient. He must add to this honey certain medicinal substances, as remedies of of it. their diseases. 266. Fessas: in the sense of languidas, and agreeing with apes, understood. Saporem: juice. 267. Galla: the nut-gall. This possesses very powerful astringent qualities. It was very proper, therefore, to recommend the use of it, to check the looseness to which 255 260 265 270 the bees are subject in the spring, occasioned, says Columella, by their feeding greedily upon spurge after their winter penury. 269. Defruta. Defrutum was a mixture made of new wine, boiled away one half, or one third, into which several sorts of sweet herbs or spices were put. Pinguia: rich; implying that it should be boiled away, and made thick, and enriched by spices. Passos racemos: properly, bunches of grapes hung up to dry in the sun-raisins. Hence by meton. put for the wine made of such grapes-raisin wine. Geor. ii. 93. See 270. Cecropium: Attic, or Athenian; from Cecrops, one of the first kings of Athens. Centaurea: plu. the herb centaury. There are two kinds of centaury, the greater and the less. They have no other similitudo than the bitterness of their taste. It is said to have derived its name from Chiron, one of the Centaurs, whom it cured of a wound received by an arrow from Hercules. 271. Amello. Mella, or Mela, a river of Cis-alpine Gaul, on the banks of which the according to Servius, it was called Amellus. flower here spoken of abounded. Hence, Mr. Martyn thinks it the same with the purple Indian star-wort, or Aster Atticus. Cui nomen amello. This construction frequently occurs in Virgil, and is taken from the Greeks. It is to be taken in the sense in the sense of cui lülus nomini: also, cui of cui amellus nomini: so, cui nomen Iülo, nomen asilo. See Geor. iii. 147. 272. Facilis: easy to be found by those who seek for it. 273. Cespite. Cespes, here must mean the root of the plant. Sylvam: in the senso Aureus ipse sed in foliis, quæ plurima circùm Sed si quem proles subitò defecerit omnis, NOTES. of copiam caulium. Fecêre: in the sense of dederunt. 275. Nigra: deep colored. Funduntur: sprout, or shoot up. 276. Nexis: made, or formed of this amellus. 279. Incoque: boil, or simmer. 281. Sed si quem, &c. The poet now proceeds to give an account of the method practised by Aristaus for the recovery of his bees, after all his swarms were lost. Omnis proles: the whole stock, or race. 285. Insincerus: in the sense of putridus. Altius: in the sense of longè. It is to be connected with repetens. 286. Expediam: in the sense of narrabo. 287. Gens fortunata: the Egyptians. They are here called happy, or fortunate, on account of the fertility of their country, which is occasioned by the annual inundation of the river Nile. Canopi. Canopus was a city of Egypt, near Alexandria, founded by Alexander the Great, who was born at Pella, in Macedonia. Hence the city Canopus is called Pelleus. The city, by meton. for the inhabitants; who may be put, by synec. for all the Egyptians. 288. Stagnantem: in the sense of inundantem. Agros is understood. 289. Vehitur circûm. During the continuance of the inundation, the inhabitants pass from one part of the country to another in boats, or small barges; here called phaseli. Vehitur agrees with gens. 290. Urgel vicinia. The Nile did not touch, or border upon the neighborhood of Persia, properly so called. But we are in formed by Xenophon, that the Persian empire under Cyrus extended as far west as Egypt. The Nile may therefore be said to press upon the borders of Persia, since the Persians extended their dominions as far as Egypt; which justifies the expression of the poet. Vicinia: plu. of vicinium. The Persians were famous for their skill in archery; hence pharetratæ Persidis. 293. Amnis: the river Nile. It rises in Abyssinia, in the mountains of the Moon, in about the lat. 11° N. and runs in a north The erly direction; and, after receiving a num obstruuntur Exiguus primùm, atque ipsos contractus ad usus 300. Geminæ nares Quæritur: huic geminæ nares, et spiritus oris Multa reluctanti obstruitur; plagisque perempto 301. Visceraque tunsa Tunsa per integram solvuntur viscera pellem. plagis per integram pel- Sic positum in clauso linquunt: et ramea costis Subjiciunt fragmenta, thymum, casiasque recentes. lem solvuntur huic perempto. 295 300 303. Sic linquunt vi- Hoc geritur, Zephyris primùm impellentibus undas, 305 tulum positum in clauso Antè novis rubeant quàm prata coloribus, antè loco 306. Coloribus florum tam dense, ut Garrula quàm tignis nidum suspendat hirundo. Intereà teneris tepefactus in ossibus humor Estuat et visenda modis animalia miris, : Trunca pedum primò, mox et stridentia pennis 312. Donec erupêre Donec, ut æstivis effusus nubibus imber, Erupêre: aut, ut nervo pulsante sagittæ, 313. Aut tam densè, Prima leves ineunt si quando prælia Parthi. ut sagittæ 310 Quis Deus hanc, Musæ, quis nobis extudit artem? 315 Pastor Aristæus, fugiens Peneïa Tempe, NOTES. 296. Hunc premunt: they contract this (still more) by a narrow roof and confined walls-walls close together. Imbrex is properly the gutter-tile of the roof, to carry off the water. Hence it may be taken for the roof itself. Imbrice angusti tecti: with the covering of a narrow roof. 297. Parietibus: parietes, properly the walls of a house: muri, the walls of a city. Premunt: in the sense of contrahunt. 299. Bima: in the sense of bienni. 301. Multa in the sense of multùm, in imitation of the Greeks. 302. Viscera tunsa, &c. The meaning is: that the entrails of the animal, as he lay dead, being beaten with blows, are broken in pieces, the hide remaining entire. Viscera, is properly the whole animal within the hide, as well the flesh as the entrails. Perempto: in the sense of interfecto. 305. Geritur: in the sense of agitur. Zephyris. The zephyrs begin to blow, in that climate, early in the month of February, according to Pliny. Impellentibus: in the sense of agitantibus. 307. Antequam hirundo. The time of the swallow's coming is said by Columella, to be in the latter part of February, in that climate; with us it is much later. 309. Estuat: ferments. Trunca: destitute of wanting. Miscentur: mingleswarm. Carpunt: in the sense of tentant. 312. Erupêre: in the sense of evolaverunt. Nervo pulsante: (flew) from the whizzing string. Nervo: the string or cord of the bow. The Parthians were expert archers, and usually commenced the fight by a flight of arrows. 314. Si quando: in the sense of quando. 315. Extudit: in the sense of invenit. 316. Ingressus: acc. plu. in the sense of originem. 317. Aristaus. He is said to have been the son of Apollo and the nymph Cyrene, the daughter of the river god Peneus, and born in the deserts of Lybia. He married the daughter of Cadmus, by the name of Antonoë, by whom he had Acteon. Being enamoured with Eurydice, the wife of Orpheus, he pursued her into the fields, where a snake, laying in the grass unobserved, bit her; of which wound she died. Whereupon, the gods were angry, and, by way of punishment, destroyed his bees. In this calamity, he applied to his mother, who directed him to apply to the river god Proteus. He directed him to appease the manes of Eurydice by the sacrifice of four bulls, and four heifers. It is said that he travelled over various countries, teaching men the cultivation of the olive, and the use of bees. He visited Arcadia; hence he is called Arcadius magister apum. He received divine honors, and was worshipped as a demi-god. Tempe: neu. plu. a pleasant valley of Thessaly, through which the river Peneus flows. Hence the epithet Penean. |