396. Effuge has terras. Helenus means the lands of Calabria, Apulia, and all the lower part of the peninsula of Italy, which was called Magna Græcia: the whole of which lies not far from Chaonia, in Epirus. After the Trojan war, many of the Greeks were forced on this coast, and formed settlements in various places. Hence this part of the peninsula of Italy took the name of Magna Gracia. It now constitutes a considerable part of the kingdom of Naples. It was washed on the east by the Ionian sea, which Helenus here calls nostri æquoris, because the same sea washed the shores of Epirus. 398. Malis: in the sense of hostilibus. 399. Narycii Locri. The Locrians originally were a people of Phocis, in Achaia. They followed Ajax, the son of Oileus, to the Trojan war: and, after the capture of that city, a colony of them settled in this part of Italy, most probably under the conduct of Evanthes; Ajax having perished on his return home. There they built a city called Narycia or Narycium, probably after the name of Naryx, the city of Ajax. 401. Idomeneus. He was called Lyctius, from Lyctus, a city of Crote. Being expelled from his dominions, he came to Italy, and planted a colony on the promontory of Salentum, then in possession of the Salentini. This peninsula, which extends almost to the coast of Epirus, was formerly called Messapia, and läpygia; hodie, Terra d'Otranto: and its extremity, the cape of St. Mary, or St. Mary de Lucca. Idomeneus either subdued the Salentini; or, which is more probable, expelled them from their country. See verse 122. supra. Obsedit: in the sense of occupat. 402. Philoctete. Philoctetes was the son of Peas, king of Melibœa, a city of Thes 400 405 Slan! 401. Hic est illa parva Petilia subnixa muro Philoctete 406. Ne qua hostilis facies occurrat inter sanctos ignes tenento 408. Socii hunc morem sacrorum, tu ipse teneto hunc 410. Te digressum hine Sicula ore saly, near the foot of mount Ossa. He set fire to the funeral pile of Hercules, at the request of that hero, and received in return his bow and arrows, that had been dipped in the poisonous blood of the Hydra Lernoa. He set out for Troy with the other Greeks, but was abandoned by them in the island of Lemnos, on account of a wound which he had received from a serpent. But it being predicted, that Troy could not be taken without these arrows, the chiefs were obliged to send for him. On his return from Troy, hearing that the Melibeans had revolted, he went to Italy, and founded the city Petilia, or as some say, only fortified it. Subnixa: in the sense of defensa. 404. Solves: you shall pay, or discharge. 405. Velare adopertus: be thou veiledcovered as to your hair, with a purple veil. Simply, cover your head with a purple veil. From this circumstance, it is said, the Romans derived the custom of veiling or covering the head in sacrifice, and other acts of worship. Velare. Heyne takes this actively, the verb memento being understood: remember to veil your locks, covering them, &c. 406. Honore. Ruæus says, cullu. 409. Casti in the sense of pii. Relligione: rites--ceremonies. 410. Admoverit: in the sense of appulerit, vel attulerit. 411. Claustra: the straits of narrow Pelorus shall widen-grow wider. Pelorus is the northern promontory of Sicily: hodie, Capo di Faro. It is separated from Italy by the straits of Messina. As Encas approached, the shores would appear to separate, and grow wider. 412. Lava Tellus. Helenus advisesÆneas, as son as he had approached Sicily so near t: at the straits of Pelorus should appear t view, and plainly to grow wider, it Equora circuitu: dextrum fuge litus et undas. 414. Homines ferunt Hæc loca, vi quondam et vastâ convulsa ruinâ, hæc loca, quondam con- (Tantùm ævi longinqua valet mutare vetustas) vulsa vi, et vastâ ruinâ Dissiluisse ferunt: cùm protinùs utraque tellus Una foret, venit medio vi pontus, et undis Hesperium Siculo latus abscidit, arvaque et urbes Litore diductas angusto interluit æstu. 419, Angustoque astu interluit arva, et urbes diductas, quasque suo li tore 415 Dextrum Scylla latus, lævum implacata Charybdis 429 Obsidet: atque imo barathri ter gurgite vastos Sorbet in abruptum fluctus, rursusque sub auras Erigit alternos, et sidera verberat undâ. 426. Prima facies est At Scyllam cæsis cohibet spelunca latebris, hominis, et illa est virgo Ora exsertantem, et naves in saxa trahentem. cum pulchro pectore, tenùs pube: postrema Prima hominis facies, et pulchro pectore virgo pars est pristis cum im- Pube tenùs: postrema immani corpore pristis, mani corpore, commissa Delphinum caudas utero commissa luporum. quoad caudas Delphi- Præstat Trinacrii metas lustrare Pachyni ûm utero luporum 429. Præstat le ces- Cessantem, longos et circumflectere cursus, santem lustrare metas Quàm semel informem vasto vidisse sub antro NOTES. would then be time to alter his course to the left, and coast down the eastern shore of Sicily, rather than venture through the strait, the passage of which was attended with many difficulties and dangers to those who were not acquainted with it. 415. Longinqua vetustas avi: in the sense of longa duratio temporis polest mutare res tantùm. Ferunt: they report. 416. Cùm utraque tellus: when each land was entirely one-united and formed one contiguous tract. It is supposed that Sicily at first was united to Italy, and rent or torn from it by some convulsion of nature; and there is some ground for such a supposition. Virgil here gives us a full account of the tradition. 417. Pontus: in the sense of fretum. 418. Abscidit: in the sense of separavit. It separated the Italian shore from the Sicilian. 419. Angusto astu: with a narrow strait or current, flows between, &c. meaning the straits of Pelorus, now Messina, which separate Sicily from Italy. Diductas: in the sense of aisjunctas. 420. Scylla-Charybdis. Scylla, is a rock lying in the straits of Messina on the Italian side Charybdis, a dangerous whirlpool opporite to Scylla, on the Sicilian side. These rendered the passage of the straits very dangerous. They were represented by the poets as hideous monsters. Scyila was the daughter of Phorcus, whom Circe is said to have transformed into this monster, because she was her rival. Charybdis is said to have been a rapacious prostitute, who, having stolen the oxen of Hercules, was thunderstruck by Jupiter, and thrown into the sea, where she was changed 425 430 into this devouring whirlpool. See Ecl vi. 74. Implacata: insatiable greedy. Ruæus says, immanis. Obsidet: in the sense of occupat. 421. Atque imo gurgite: and thrice she swallows the vast waves precipitately into the deep gulf of her maw, and again raises them alternate on high, and strikes the stars. Charybdis is represented as a hungry and voracious monster. In abruptum, may be taken adverbially, denoting the rapidity and quickness with which she absorbs the water. Taken as a sub. it conveys no additional idea: it is merely expletive. She is 425. Exsertantem: in the sense of pandentem. It agrees with Scyllam. here represented as a most hideous monster; her upper part down to her waist resembling a human being, while her parts below were a huge Pristis, whose belly resembled that of a wolf, with the tail of a dolphin. 426. Hominis: gen. of homo. It is here used in the sense of humana. Homo properly signifies a man or woman-the human kind. Prima facies: in the sense of superior pars. 428. Commissa: in the sense of conjuncta. It is a part. adj. agreeing with pristis. This is a fish of the whale kind, said to be of great length. Pliny mentions one of them in the Indian sea, to have been two hundred cubits in length. 429. Lustrare: in the sense of circumnavigare. Pachyni. Pachynum is the southern promontory of Sicily. Trinacrii: an adj. from Trinacria, a name of Sicily, froin its triangular figure, or form. Hodie, Cape Passaro. Scyllam, et cæruleis canibus resonantia saxa. Huc ubi delatus Cumæam accesseris urbem, NOTES. 432. Saza: and the rocks resounded with sea-green dogs. This interprets that part of the fable respecting the lower part of the monster resembling dogs, or wolves. The waves, dashing against the rocks in the lower part, caused a hoarse growling noise, which resembled that of a dog, or the howling of a wolf. See Ecl. vi. 74, and En. I. 200. Virgil took this description from the Odyssey of Homer, Lib. xii. 433. Prudentia: in the sense of scientia. 436. Monebo: in the sense of inculcabo. Numen: Ruæus says, divinitatem. 438. Cane: offer vows to Juno. Ruæus says, fer, vel ferto. Dominam: in the sense of reginam. 441. Cumaam: an adj. from Cuma, a city of Campania, but long since destroyed. See Ecl. iv. 4. 442. Divinos lacus. The lakes of Avernus and Lucrinus are here called divine, probably on account of their nearness to the cave of the Sibyl. The lake Avernus, (plu. Averna,) was formerly surrounded with high woods, which occasioned a very noxious atmosphere; so that it is said no bird could fly over it without being suffocated. Hence it derived its name. From the noxious quality of its waters, the poets feigned it to be the mouth of hell. See En. vi. 126. 443. Insanam vatem: the inspired prophetess. 434. Si qua fides est 435 habenda ei vati; si Apol lo 435. Prædicam tibi unum, unumque pro omnibus, et repetens illud iterumque iterum440 que monebo te 445 450 455 450. Curat prendere folia volitantia cavo saxo, nec cat, vel aperit. Mandat: in the sense of inscribit. Notas: her characters. Nomina: words-prophecies. Varro informs us, that the prophecies of the Sibyl were written on the leaves of the palm-tree. 445. Carmina. fies a verse or song. 446. Digerit in numerum: she places in measure she arranges in poetic numbers. Seclusa: a part. of secludor: laid by themselves in her cave. 449. Janua: the door being open, hath deranged. Saxo: for antro. 451. Revocare: in the sense of restituere. 452. Inconsulti: without receiving ad vice-unadvised. Homines is understood 453. Ne qua disperdia moræ : let no ex pense of delay be to you of so much value, (importance,) but that you go to the prophetess, &c. 455. Secundos sinus: prosperous sails full sails. Sinus is properly the middle, or belly of the sail; here put for the whole sail. The expression implies that the wind be fair for prosecuting their voyage. It would be better to read this and the preceding line as a parenthesis. Vi: in the sense of ve 444. Canit: here, in the sense of expli- hementer. 456. Poscasque pre- Quin,adeas vatem, precibusque oracula poscas cibus ut ipsa canat ora- Ipsa canat, vocemque volens atque ora resolvat. cula, volensque resolvat Illa tibi Italiæ populos, venturaque bella, vocem 458. Illa expediet tibi Et quo quemque modo fugiasque ferasque laborem, populos Italiæ Expediet; cursusque dabit venerata secundos. 460. Illa venerata da- Hæc sunt, quæ nostrâ liceat te voce moneri. bit Vade, age, et ingentem factis fer ad æthera Trojam. 460 465 470 Remigium supplet: socios simul instruit armis. Anchises, fieret vento mora ne qua ferenti. 478. Necesse est ut Quem Phabi interpres multo compellat honore : præterlabare hanc prox- Conjugio Anchisa Veneris dignate superbo, imam partem Italice pe- Cura Deûm, bis Pergameis erepte ruinis, Ecce tibi Ausoniæ tellus: hanc arripe velis. Et tamen hanc pelago præterlabare necesse est. Ausoniæ pars illa procul, quam pandit Apollo. NOTES. lago 479. Illa pars Ausoniæ est procul, quam Apollo pandit tibi 457. Canat: reveal-disclose-declare. 460. Expediet: in the sense of explicabit. 463. Postquàm in the sense of cum. 464. Dehinc in the sense of deinde. Gravia auro: heavy with gold and ivory. ivory is the tooth of the elephant, cut and polished. 465. Stipat: stows, or crowds in his ships a great mass of silver. Carinis: properly, the keels; here taken for the ships, by synec. 466. Dodonæos lebetas: Dodonean kettles -kettles made of Dodonean brass. Dodona was a city of Epirus, whose brass was much celebrated. Here Jupiter had a very celebrated temple. The manner of delivering the oracles in this temple, we are told, was by a certain number of brass kettles suspended, so as to touch each other; and any motion communicated to any one of them, would be given to the rest. From the sounds thus emitted, the meaning of the oracle was gathered by the priests. 467. Loricam. The Lorica was a coat of armour, which covered the body down as far as the waist. It was at first made of leathern thongs, whence it derived its name. It was afterwards made of thin plates (lamina) of iron, linked together with hooks or rings. These plates were sometimes single, sometimes double, and triple. The one here mentioned was of the latter form. Hamis auroque: for aureis hamis, by hend. The meaning is, that this coat of armour was of triple fold or consisting of three 475 plates (trilicem) of iron, fastened (consertam) together with gold rings, or hooks. 468. Conum. Whatever has the form of the fruit of the pine may be called conus, a cone. This form is round, and diminishing to the top. Hence it is taken for that part of the helmet, which rises at the top, and supports the crest, or plume. All these accusatives are governed by the verb stipat. 469. Sua dona: there are also for my father his own gifts-gifts suitable to his dignity. Arma Neoptolemi. The coat of mail, the helmet, and the crest, had belonged to Pyrrhus; at whose death, they fell to Helenus, as his successor. Sua: in the sense of propria vel apta. 470. Duces: pilots to direct their course. 471. Remigium: in the sense of remiges. 473. Ferenti: blowing fair. Ruæus says, faventi. Interpres in the sense of vates. 475. Anchisa: O Anchises, honored with the exalted bed (embrace) of Venus, the care, &c. 476. Erepte: agreeing with Anchisa. He was twice saved from the ruins of Troy: first when it was taken by Hercules, and a second time, when destroyed by the Greeks. 477. Arripe hanc: take possession of it with your ships-direct your course to it. Velis in the sense of navibus; so says Ruæus. 478. Præterlabare: in the sense of naviges ultrà. 479. Pandil: in the sense of ostendit ENEIS. LIB. III. Vade, ait, & felix nati pietate :. quid ultrà Et Phrygiam Ascanio chlamydem; nec cedit honori: Textilibusque onerat donis, ac talia fatur: 485 Accipe et hæc, manuum tibi quæ monumenta mearum Hos ego digrediens lachrymis affabar obortis : NOTES. 481. Provehor: in the sense of procedo. Austros here is taken for wind in general, the species for the genus. 482. Nec minùs: likewise Andromache, sad at our departure, brings garments wrought (embroidered) with a thread of gold. Heyne conjectures these vestments were wrought with the needle; and accordingly takes subtemine auri, for a thread of gold. He also takes picturatas in the sense of pictas. Her presents of the loom textilibus denis, are mentioned, verse 435, and are different from these. 484. Chlamydem. The Chlamys was properly a military garment, a cassock, which the general wore over his corslet. It was embroidered with needlework, of which the Phrygians were the inventors. Nec cedit honori: nor does she fall below her dignity. Nec malè respondet ejus dignitati, says Ruæus. Scaurus explains the word thus: non cedit Heleno liberalitate et munificentia, taking honori for honore in the abl. Servius says, Tanta dat munera, quanta merebatur Ascanius: nor is her bounty disproportionate to the merit and quality of its object. 485. Oneral textilibus donis: and she loads him with woven presents-presents, the production of her loom. It was usual for women of the highest rank to be engaged in the works of the loom, as appears from the story of Penelope, the wife of Ulysses. 436. Puer, accipe et hæc: O boy, take even these, which, &c. Monumenta: memorials. Et, here is plainly in the sense of etiam, aut quoque. 487. Longum: lasting continuing long. 489. O sola imago: O thou, the only image of my Astyanax, remaining to me! Super, here is plainly in the sense of super 489. O tu qui es sola 490 imago mei Astyanactis super mihi 493. Vivite felices, vos, quibus 491. Vocamur ex aliis 495 fatis in alia fata. Quies parta est vobis stes, vel supervivens. Rumus says, Quæ restat. Heyne, que superes, in the 2d pers. Astyanax was the son of Hector and Andromache. His name is compounded of two Greek words, and signifies the king of a city. After the destruction of Troy, the Greeks were delayed for some time from returning home by contrary winds. In the mean time, Chalcas, their augur and prophet, declared that Astyanax must be put to death. For if he lived, he would prove a greater hero than his father, and would avenge his country. Whereupon Ulysses, having discovered where his mother had hid him, killed him, by throwing him from the wall. -490. Sic ille ferebat: just so he moved his eyes, just so his hands, just so his countenance he had just such eyes-just such hands, &c. This reflection of Andromache is extremely delicate and moving. It is the voice of nature. She immediately adds: Et nunc, &c. This suggests the delight she would have felt to have seen Iülus, and Astyanax together, engaged in friendship, and fond of the same pursuits. It may be observed, that while Helenus gives presents to Anchises and Æneas, Andromache is entirely taken up with Ascanius, and the recollection of her lost Astyanax. She confines her gifts to him alone. 491. Et nunc pubesceret: and now he would be of equal age with thee, if he had lived. 492. Obortis: gushing from my eyes. 494. Nos vocamur ex aliis in: we are called from one series of calamities to another. 496. Cedentia: a part. agreeing with arva: retreating, or fleeing backward. It implies an impatience on the part of Æneas to arrive at, and take possession of his dos |