Tristis ad extremi sacrum caput astitit amnis, Multa querens: atque hâc affatus voce parentem: 320 Ima tenes: quid me præclarâ stirpe Deorum 325 322. Tenes ima loca hujus gurgitis: quid ge nuisti me invisum fatis è præclara stirpe Deorum; si modò Thymbræus Apollo, quem perhibes meum patrem, est meus pater: aut quò est 329 tuus amor nostri pulsus tibi (Si modò, quem perhibes, pater est Thymbræus Apollo) At mater sonitum thalamo sub fluminis alti NOTES. 319. Ad sacrum caput: at the sacred source of the remote river. Aristæus resided in the vale of Tempe. After the loss of his bees, he retired to the source of the river Peneus, in mount Pindus, where his mother had her residence. After her amour with Apollo, it is said that god conveyed her to Africa, where she resided during the period of her gestation and delivery. Her son was brought up by the Seasons, and fed upon ambrosia. 321. Gurgitis: in the sense of fontis. 323. Modò: in the sense of certè. Thymbræus: a name of Apollo, from Thymbra, a town of Troas, where he had a magnificent temple. Perhibes: in the sense of dicis, vel vocas. 327. Custodia: in the sense of cura. 328. Relinquo: in the sense of amitto. Extuderat: had provided, or procured. 329. Felices: in the sense of fœcundas. 331. Molire: in the sense of immitte. 332. Tædia: in the sense of negligentia. 334. Milesia: an adj. from Miletus, a city in the confines of Ionia and Caria. Its wool was held in great estimation among the Romans. 335. Carpebant: in the sense of nebant. Fucata: dyed with a rich sea-green color. Hyali: gen. of hyalus: glass; also a glassy, 335 340 345 or sea-green color; from a Greek word signifying glass. 336. Drymo. The names of the nymphs here mentioned are taken from Homer and Hesiod, and are all of Greek derivation. 337. Effuse in the sense of diffusa: their hair hung loose, and flowing over their snow-white necks. 340. Experta: in the sense of passa. Lucina: child-bearing. The name of the goddess of child-bearing; by meton. taken for child-bearing itself. It is an epithet both of Juno and Diana. 341. Oceanitides: daughters of the ocean. See Ecl. ii. 46. 343. Deiopeia. This nymph is called Asian, because she was of the Asian fen: Asia appellatur quia ex Asia palude. 344. Arethusa. She had been at first a huntress, and one of Diana's train; but afterward changed by her into a fountain nymph. Hence the propriety of sagittis positis. 345. Inter quas: among whom Clymene was relating, &c. Venus, the wife of Vulcan, was taken in adultery with Mars. Her husband cast a net over them, as they were in each other's embrace, and in this situation they were exposed to the laughter of all the gods. The poet calls Vulcan's care dienda Venere 347. Vulcani de custo- Vulcani, Martisque dolos, et dulcia furta, Aque Chao densos Divûm numerabat amores. -348. Nymphæ capte Carmine quo captæ, dum fusis mollia penga sunt 353. Et procul dixit: O soror Cyrene Devolvunt, iterum maternas impulit aures duc, duc illum ad nos: fas est illi Omnia sub magnâ labentia flumina terrâ Et caput, unde altus primùm se erumpit Enipeus, 371. Et unde Erida. Unde pater Tyberinus, et unde Aniena fluenta, nus auratus quoad ge- Saxosùmque sonans Hypanis, Mysusque Caïcus, Et gemina auratus taurino cornua, vultu mina cornua NOTES. inanem, vain, because it had no effect to reclaim his wife, or because it served only to propagate his own disgrace: or rather, because he was unable, with all his care and watchfulness, to prevent her from defiling his bed. Venus was a wanton dame. 346. Dulcia furta. This alludes to the amour of Mars with Venus: stolen embraces-sweet thefts. 347. Chao: from the origin of the world; or from Chaos, who, according to fable, was the first of the gods. Densos: in the sense of frequentes, vel multos. 348. Mollia pensa: the soft yarn. Carmine: song, story, or subject. 351. Ante: before her other sisters. 353. Non frustrà : not in vain alarmed: you are alarmed, and not without reason. 355. Undam: in the sense of fontem.Peneus, the river god, was the father of Cyrene. 360. Inferret gressus: might introduce his foot-steps-might march along a phrase. Flumina: in the sense of aquas. 361. Curvata: rolled or heaped up in the form of a mountain. 362. Misil in the sense of admisit. Eum is understood. 364. Speluncis. There were two opinions among the ancients respecting the origin of rivers. Aristotle considered the sea to be the source: but Plato, whom Virgil here fol 350 355 360 365 370 lows, was of the opinion, that there was, under the earth, a general receptacle or reservoir of water, from which the rivers were all fed. This they called barathrum. By lacus clausos, &c. the poet means this general reservoir of water. 367. Diversa: remote-widely separated. Phasim: Phasis, a noble river of Colchis, rising in the mountains of Armenia, falls into the Euxine sea. It is famous for the expedition of the Argonauts, who entered it after a long and perilous voyage. Lycum: Lycus, the naine of several rivers. It is not certain, which one the poet here intends. 368. Caput: the source, whence, &c. Enipeus is a river of Thessaly, watering the plains of Pharsalia, and falling into the river Peneus. 369. Tyberinus: the river Tyber in Italy. It is called by way of eminence pater. It falls into the Tuscan sea. Aniena: an adj. from Anio, the name of a small river in Italy. 370. Hypanis: a river of the ancient Sarmatia, uniting with the Borysthenes or Neiper, and with it, flows into the Euxine sea. Hodie, Bog. Saxosum: an adj. of the neu. gen. used adverbially-among the rocks. Caicus: a river of Mysia major in the Lesser Asia. It falls into the Egean sea, nearly opposite to Mitylene on the Island of Lesbos. Hence the epithet Mysus. Eridanus, quo non alius per pinguia culta NOTES. 372. Eridanus: the river Po. This is the largest river of Italy. There is a seeming difficulty in reconciling what is here said of this river with matter of fact. We are told the Po is not a rapid river. It flows the greater part of its course through a level and highly cultivated country. This taken into consideration, no other river perhaps, under the same circumstances, flows with greater rapidity. We are not to understand the poet as speaking absolutely, but comparatively. It falls into the Adriatic sea, or gulf of Venice. Taurino vultu. The form of a bull is often, by the poets, given to rivers, from their roaring and rapid course: the noise which they make, bearing some resemblance to the bellowing of that animal. They are also called cornuli, or horned, from the double banks or channels, into which they divide themselves or perhaps from the circumstance of their being sometimes formed by the union of two streams or smaller rivers. As for example, the river Ohio is formed by the union of the rivers Alleghany and Monongahela. Hercules is said to have broken off one of the horns of Acheloüs. It is thus explained. That hero reduced the river to one channel or stream. The dried part or broken horn of the river was converted into fruitful fields and gardens. This gave rise to the fable of the cornucopiæ, or horn of plenty. This was given to the nymphs, and by them presented to the Goddess of Plenty. The verb erumpit is to be supplied with each of the preceding nominatives. 374. Pendentia: vaulted, or arched with pumice stone. Ruæus says; structa impendente pumice. Perventum est: imp. verb, used in the sense of pervenit. 375. Inanes: vain, says Servius, because they were excited by a calamity easy to be removed. 376. Dant: in the sense of ferunt. Liquidos fontes: in the sense of puras aquas. This water was brought for the use of Aristæus; manibus may therefore refer to his hands-for washing his hands: or it may refer to the hands of the nymphs who brought it-in their hands. 377. Mantilia: towels. It would seem they were made of some shaggy or nappy cloth, which was sometimes shorn for the greater smoothness and delicacy. Our napkins were probably of the same sort formerly, the word seeming to be derived from nap. Tonsis villis: the shag or nap being cut off. 379. Panchais: an adj. from Panchæa, a region of Arabia, abounding in frankincense. Ara: the altars burn with Arabian frankincense. 380. Carchesia. The carchesium was a large oblong bowl or goblet, flatted about the middle, having handles reaching quite to the bottom. Mæonii: an adj. from Maonia, the ancient name of Lydia in Asia Minor. It abounded in vines. Bacchi: for vini. 383. Servanı: in the sense of præsident. 334. Perfundit: she sprinkled-wet. Ardentem Vestam: the flaming fire: See Æn. 1. 292. Neclare: for vino. Nectar was properly the best and purest wine, such as they assigned to the use of the gods. 385. Subjecta. This Rumus takes in the sense of supposita; with what propriety, however, does not appear. The meaning plainly is: that when the wine was poured upon the fire, a flame arose, or blazed, and shone bright, as high as the roof of the house. Subjicio, from which subjecta is derived, signifies to rise, or mount up. See Ecl. x. 74, and Æn. xii. 288. It is here used in the sense of surgens. 387. Carpathio: an adj. from Carpathus, an island in the Mediterranean sea, between Cœruleus Proteus, magnum qui piscibus æquor, Et juncto bipedum curru metitur equorum. Hic nunc Emathiæ portus, patriamque revisit Pallenen; hunc et nymphæ veneramur, et ipse Grandævus Nereus: novit namque omnia vates, 393. Quæ sint præsen- Quæ sint, quæ fuerint, quæ mox ventura trahantur. tia, quæ fuerint præle- Quippe ita Neptuno visum est: immania cujus rita, et Armenta, et turpes pascit sub gurgite phocas. 390 395 400. Circùm hæc vin- Tende: doli circùm hæc demum frangentur inanes. 400 401. Ego ipsa ducam Ipsa ego te, medios cùm Sol accenderit æstus, cula te in secreta senis, quò Cùm sitiunt herbæ, et pecori jam gratior umbra est, 402. Gratior pecori In secreta senis ducam, quò fessus ab undis quàm herba Se recipit; facilè ut somno aggrediare jacentem. 405 Illum correptum Verùm ubi correptum manibus, vinclisque tenebis; 405 113. Qualem videris Donec talis erit, mutato corpore, qualem NOTES. Rhodes and Crete, whence the neighboring sea was called Carpathian. It is now called Scarpanto. Neptuni: Neptunus, the god of the sea, by meton. put here for the sea itself, according to Ruæus. That commentator takes gurgile in the sense of sinu; but it is better to take it in the sense of mari, and Neptuni in its usual acceptation. Vates Neptuni: the prophet of Neptune. For Proteus, it is said, received from that god the gift of prophecy. 388. Proteus: a sea-god. According to fable, he was the son of Oceanus and Tethys, and received the gift of prophecy from Neptune. He was very difficult of access, and when consulted, he frequently eluded the answers by transforming himself into various shapes, and so making his escape. Homer makes him an Egyptian, and Herodotus, a king of Egypt. Sir Isaac Newton, finding him cotemporary with Amenophis, or Memnon, conjectures he was only a viceroy to that prince, and governed some part of Lower Egypt in his absence. Proteus is represented as drawn in a car by marine horses; that is, their fore part resembling the horse, their hinder a fish. They would consequently have only two feet, and those before. Hence bipedum equorum. 410 389. Metitur: he measures, or rides over. Juncto: yoked, or harnessed; alluding to his marine horses, that were harnessed in his car. 391. Pallenen: Pallene, a peninsula of Macedonia, whose original name was Emathia. 393. Trahantur. There is a great propriety in the use of this word, according to the heathen notion of fate. Future events are said to be drawn, (trahi,) because, in that series, or chain of causes and effects, they so follow that one may be said to draw the other. 395. Turpes: in the sense of immanes. 399. Flectes: in the sense of vinces. 400. Tende: apply rigid force and chains to him, when seized. Doli: tricks-stratagems. 406. Ora: in the sense of forma. Eludent. Illudent is the common reading. Pierius found in the Roman manuscript ludent; in the Lombard, Medicean, and most of the ancient manuscripts, eludent which is the reading of Heyne. 408. Draco: a serpent, or snake. 410. Excidet: will escape. Dilapsus. dissolved into water, &c. 412. Contende: in the sense of constringe. 414. Tegeret: in the sense of clauderet Hæc ait: et liquidum ambrosiæ diffudit odorem, 415 419. Quò plurima un 420 da cogitur. Atque habilis membris venit vigor. Est specus ingens Hic juvenem in latebris aversum à lumine Nympha 425 430 435 437. Quoniam facul tas capiendi cujus oblata 439. Ruit in eum cum 440 Ignemque, horribilemque feram, fluviumque liquentem. est Aristo; vix NOTES. Somno incepto: at the beginning of his droughts: hence the propriety of the epi. sleep. 415. Ambrosia. Ambrosia was the food of the gods, and nectar their drink. But the two are often confounded, as here, liquidus odor is said of ambrosia. Liquidum odorem: a pure fragrancy, or perfume. 416. Perduxit: in the sense of perunxit. Pierius found perfudit in the Roman MS. 417. Aura: in the sense of odor. Illi: the dat. in the sense of illius. This use of the dat. case is frequent with Virgil. Compositis: in the sense of unctis. 419. Exesi: in the sense of excavati. 421. Olim: in the sense of aliquando. Deprensis caught, or overtaken in a storm. 423. Aversum: in the sense of remotum. 424. Resistit: in the sense of remanet. Obscura: in the sense of occulta. 425. Sirius: a star of the first magnitude in the mouth of the dog. It rises about the time the sun enters the sign Leo, which takes place in the latter part of July, causing what we call the dog-days. Torrens pres. part. in the sense of comburens. Indos. This word is here used for the inhabitants of any warm climate. Such countries are subject to long and excessive thet sitientes. 426. Igneus Sol: the fiery sun had completed (drawn out) half his course. This is a circumlocution to denote the middle of the day. Hauserat: in the sense of cu currerat. The 428. Coquebant: in the sense of siccabant. Faucibus: in the sense of alveis. 431. Amarum: the bitter spray. sea-water is bitter as well as salt. 432. Diversa: dispersed, or scattered along the shore. 433. Stabuli: in the sense of armenti, by meton. 435. Auditis. Some read auditi, to agree with agni: but the sense leads to auditis: the bleating of the lambs being heard. Mr. Davidson observes, that auditis is found in the Roman, Medicean, and Cambridge manuscripts. Heyne reads auditis. 437. Facultas: an opportunity was presented. 439. Manicis: in the sense of vinculis. Some manuscripts read vinculis. 441. Miracula: in the sense of prodigia, wonderful shapes, says Valpy. 442. Liquentem: in the sense of fluenlem. |