Heleno, veneramur Occultas egisse vias subter mare; qui nunc 697. Ut eramus jussi Jussi numina magna loci veneramur: et inde 695 700 Moenia, magnanimum quondam generator equorum. Teque datis linquo ventis, palmosa Selinus: 705 Et vada dura lego saxis Lilybeïa cæcis. 710. Hic, O optime Amitto Anchisen: hic me, pater optime, fessum pater, deseris me fessum Deseris, heu! tantis nequicquam erepte perîclis. NOTES. 696. Arethusa. This was a fountain on the west side of the island of Ortygia. The poets feigned that Alpheus, the river-god, being in love with the nymph Arethusa, rolled his stream from Elis under ground, pasing through the sea, without intermingling with it, and arose up in this fountain, iningling his waters with those of the nymph. What makes this fable the more absurd, is, that the distance between the Peloponnesus and Sicily is not less than 450 miles. Egisse: in the sense of fecisse. Ore: in the sense of fonte Indis: in the sense of aquis. 698, Exsupero: in the sense of prætereo. It is sometimes written, erupero. Helori. Helorus, or Elorus, was a river falling into the sea, a little to the north of the promontory Pachynum. It overflowed its banks like the Nile of Egypt, and rendered the country fertile, through which it passed. Hence the epithet stagnans, gverflowing stagnating. 699. Pachyni. The southern promontory of Sicily was called Pachynum Hodie, Capo Passaro. 701. Camarina. The name of a Take at ine southern part of Sicily, near a ch of the same name, built by the people of Syra cuse. In the time of a plague, which the inhabitants imagined originated from its stagnant waters, they consulted the oracle of Apollo concerning the expediency of draining it. The oracle advised them to let it remain, alleging it would be better to endure its noxious vapors, than to remove it. This explains the words: nunquam concessa moveri fatis; never permitted by the fates to be removed. However, the people made the experiment, and they found the words of the oracle true. For the enemy entered on the ground where the lake stood, and took the city. Hodie, Lago di Camarina. Campi Galai: the plains of Gelas. Geloi: an adj. 710 of Gelas, or Gela, a river not far from Camarina, near the mouth of which stood Gela, once a large (immanis) and respectable city, founded by the Rhodians and Cretans. It was destroyed by the Agrigentini. 702. Dicta cognomine: called after the name of the river. 703. Agragas: a city situated at the mouth of a river of the same name. It was built on the summit of a hill, or mountain: hence called arduus, high. It was one of the largest cities of Sicily. Its horses were celebrated for their performance at the Olympic games. Hence, quondam, &c. once the breeder of generous horses. 705. Selinus: a city whose plains abounded in palm-trees. Hence the epithet palmosa. Datis in the sense of faventibus. 706. Lilybeïa: an adj. from Lilybeum, the western promontory of Sicily. The water tere is said to be shoal to the distance of three miles from the land, and the bottom rocky. Hence legh I coast along the Lilybean shallows, dangerous (dura) with atent rocks. Rueus interprets dura by aspera. In this sense it will allude to the roughness of the sea, occasioned by the rocks lying on the bottom. 707 Ports Drepani. Drepanum (hodie, Trepant city and harbor a few miles to the north of the promontory just mentioned Here Æneas lost his father. He therefore calls it illætabilis ord an injoyous coast. It is said the inhabitants still show his tomb. 708. Actus: in the sense of jactatus. 709. Levamen: in the sense of solatium. 710. Fessum: weary-worn out with toils and misfortunes. 711. Ereple: voc. agreeing with optime pater. In placing the death of Anchises here, Virgil differs from Strabo, who reprosents Eneas as arriving in Italy with his father, and his son Ascanius. Nec vates Helenus, cùm multa horrenda moneret, Sic pater Æneas, intentis omnibus, unus NOTES. 712. Moneret: in the sense of prædiceret. 714. Hic extremus: this line may be taken in two senses: either to mean the end of Anchises' labor, and the termination of his long voyage, or that the death of his father was to Eneas the greatest of all his afflictions, and the end of his voyage toward the Italian coast. Rumus takes it in the former sense; Mr. Davidson in the latter. 715. Deus appulit: a god directed me, departing hence (from the coast and port of Drepanum) to your shores. 717. Unus renarrabat: he alone related the purposes (decrees) of the gods (toward him,) and declared his wanderings. Unus: in the sense of solus. 718. Quievit: he rested-he went to rest. Segrais observes that the second and third books may be recited in two hours. The story did not appear long to Dido and the guests: for he ceased, intentis omnibus, and at midnight too, nor will they appear long to any reader of taste and judgment. QUESTIONS. How did Æneas employ his time during his residence at Antandros? How many ships had he when he set sail? At what time of the year did he set sail? How long probably after the capture of the city? To what place did he direct his course? What city did he found in Thrace? What did he call the name of it? What did he call his followers from this circumstance? Did he soon abandon the idea of remain ing in Thrace? Why did he thus abandon it? Who was Polyddas? How came he by s death?, Who were the founders of the Trojan race? Of what country were they natives? From Crete, to what country was he directed to sail? How did he receive this instruction? In what sea are the Strophades? Did she give to Æneas any intimation of suffering and want, before he should find a permanent settlement? How was this prediction accomplished? From these islands, which way did he di From Thrace, to what place did Æneas rect his course? direct his course? Where is Delos situated? Of what cluster of islands is it one? Who was at that time king of the island? What is the fable or story respecting it? From what Greek word is the name derived? What is the signification of that word? Did he consult the oracle of Apollo at this place concerning the land destined to him? What answer did he receive? How did his father Anchises interpret that answer? From Delos, to what place did he sail? What prevented him from making a setdement in Crete? What did he call the city, which he there founded? Why did Eneas go to Crete? At what places did he land? For what was this coast celebrated? Between whom was the battle fought? From Actium, to what part of Epirus did he proceed? What surprising news did he hear on entering the port? Was the meeting of his friends very interesting as well as unexpected? What does Dr. Trapp observe of it? How was Andromache employed at that time? What effect had the sight of Æneas and the Trojans upon her? Leaving Epirus, what sea did he first pass over? How many miles is Italy from Epirus in that place? What was the name of the promontory, where he landed? What course did he then take? Why did he not pass through the strait of Messina? Where does this strait lie? What is the navigation of it-safe or dangerous? What renders it dangerous? Why is Sicily sometimes called Trinacria? What are the names of its three promontories? Where did Æneas first land on this island? Was there an eruption at that time? Is this very far from the true cause? Who was at that time their king? How large was their eye said to be? What was their employment according to the poets? Who had been upon this coast a short time before the arrival of Eneas? To what place was Ulysses bound? What did he do to Polyphemus? Why did he thus punish him? From whom did Eneas receive this account of the Cyclops? How many of these giants were there then on the island? Who was Achemenides? On what part of Sicily did Æneas afterward land? What is the name of the port? What loss befel him here? Does this close the account, which Eneas gave to Dido at her request? When does the poem open? Where was Æneas at that time? LIBER QUARTUS. THIS book opens with the love of Dido for Æneas, and her conference with her sister Anna upon the subject. Juno perceiving her passion, conceived the plan of forming a connexion between them. To effect this the easier, she endeavors to draw Venus over to her views. In the mean time, Æneas and Dido prepare to go on a party of hunting; and while in the chase, Juno raises a violent tempest. The thunder rends the skies, and torrents of rain fall. The party seek shelter wherever they can. Through a device of Juno, Eneas and Dido repair to the same cave, where the goddess consecrates their nuptials. Fame immediately spread the news abroad; and it reached the ears of Iarbas, king of the Getuli, the reputed son of Jupiter Ammon. He had formerly proposed a match with Dido, who rejected his offers. As soon as he heard that she was married to a stranger, he was transported to rage, mingled with grief. In this state of mind he made complaint to his father, who, taking pity on him, sends Mercury to dissolve the match, and to order Æneas to prepare to leave Carthage for Italy. In obedience to his commands, he privately makes the necessary preparations for setting sail. Dido perceiving his movements, endeavors to dissuade him from his purpose, in the tenderest and most affectionate strain; but it had no influence over him. Being warned a second time, he weighs anchor in haste, and the love-sick Queen beholds him leaving her coast. The sight wrung her soul, and drew from her lips the most severe reproofs and bitter imprecations. She enjoins it upon her people to revenge the injury done to her, and to pursue his descendants with irreconcilable hatred. Having ordered a funeral pile to be erected, she ascends it, and with her own hand puts an end to her existence. The nature of the subject renders this book highly interesting; and it is considered one of the finest in the Æneid. At regina, gravi jamdudum saucia cura, NOTES. 1. Regina. Dido, sometimes called Eliza, was a Tyrian princess. Josephus informs us her father's name was Metginus. He obtained his information from the records of the Tyrians and Theophilus of Antioch calls him Metten. Her grandfather was Badezorus, and her great grandfather was Ithobalus, called in Scripture Ethbaal, whose daughter Jezebel was married to Ahab, king of Israel. Virgil, however, makes the name Vulnus alit venis, et cæco carpitur igni. NOTES. of her father to be Belus. En. i. 625. Marollius has given a list of the kings of Tyre, and makes Belus an abbreviation of Ithobalus, the father of Pygmalion and Dido; but he follows fabulous and traditionary accounts, which should always be received with caution. Among other things, what renders his account doubtful, is, that he brings Dido upon the stage of action more than a hundred years before the destruction of Troy. After the death of his father, Pygmalion ascended the throne. He was an avaricious prince, and stopped at nothing by which he could increase his riches. He conceived the plan of murdering Acerbas, or Sicharbas, the beloved husband of his sister. Virgil calls him Sichæus, softening the name to make it flow more easily into his verse. Sichæus was the richest of all the Tyrians. Pygmalion coveted his treasures; but there was no way to possess them while he was living. He therefore formed the purpose of taking away his life. He came upon him unexpectedly, and slew him while he was performing his devotions before the altar. This atrocious deed, the base prince had the address to conceal, for some time, from his sister. At length the whole matter was laid open to Dido by the ghost of her deceased husband, and she was admonished to flee her country. Having collected what treasure she could on so sudden an emergency, and seizing some vessels that were then ready for sea, she set sail, accompanied by many of her countrymen: and, after a long and tedious voyage, she arrived in Africa. It appears to have been her purpose to join her countrymen, who, many years before, under Xorus and Carchedon, had formed a settlement, to which they gave the name of Utica, about 15 miles from the place where Tunis now stands. This place was afterward rendered famous by the death of the second Cato, who was hence called Cato, Ulicensis. Dido met with a welcome reception, and was desired to build a city on the spot where she landed. For this purpose, she purchased a tract of country of the natives, many of whom joined her, together with some from Utica. She called her city Cutharda or Carthage, which, in the Phænician and Hebrew languages, signifies a new city. It stood about 700 years, and was destroyed by the Romans under Scipio, in the year of Rome 603, and before Christ 145. See Rollin's An. His. lib. ii. ch. 1. There are some who say that Dido, on her arrival in Africa, found Carthage already built, and that she only fortified it, and added a tower or citades, which she called Byrsa. This word is evidently from the Hebrew Bosra, which means a fortification, or fortified place. The Greeks, mistaking the meaning, or overlooking it, supposed, from the similarity of the words, that it was the same with their Byrsa, which means a bull's hide. Virgil followed the received opinion. See En. i. 367. It has been the general opinion that Virgil, in making Æneas and Dido cotemporary, is guilty of an anachronism. Bochart is positive of this, and says that all the ancient chronologers of any credit, place the destruction of Troy, at least 60 years before the reign of Saul, king of Israel; and the time of Dido's building Byrsa, the fortress of Carthage, at least 200 years after it, making 260 years to intervene between the destruction of Troy, and the building of Byrsa. In this case, the destruction of Troy will be 1160 years before the Christian era. Sir Isaac Newton, however, in his chronology, has brought it down nearly 300 years; and thus makes Eneas and Dido cotemporary. However the case may be, it was undoubtedly a received opinion among the Romans, that they were cotemporary, and this was sufficient for the poet; and even if he knew otherwise, he acted prudently in following the general opinion, since it contributed so much to the embellishment of his poem. Jamdudum: a long while. Servius explains it by nimiùm, or vehementiùs. Though it were only a short time since Eneas came to Carthage, yet, with respect to Dido's passion, and the impatience of her love, it might be said to be a long time. Rumus says, solicitudine. Cura: 2. Alii vulnus: she nourishes a wound in her veins, and is consumed by the secret fire of love. This is said in allusion to Cupid's arrow and torch; the former to wound, and the latter to inflame. Caco igni. Valpy says, a conecaled passion." 66 3. Multa viri virtus: the many virtues of the hero, and the many honors of his race, recur to her mind. By his father, Æneas descended from the royal family of Troy; and, by Venus his mother, from Jove himself. 6. Phobed Lampade: with the lamp of Phœbus, that is, with the sun. By Tapinosis. Polo: in the sense of cœlo. 8. Malè sana regina Cùm sic unanimem alloquitur malè sana sororem . alloquitur Anna soror, quæ me suspensam insomnia terrent ! 10. Quis novus hospes Quis novus hic nostris successit sedibus hospes! 10 hic successit Quem sese ore ferens! quàm forti pectore et armis! 12. Eum esse genus Credo equidem, nec vana fides, genus esse Deorum. Deorum Degeneres animos timor arguit. Heu, quibus ille Jactatus fatis! quæ bella exhausta canebat! Si mihi non animo fixum immotumque sederet, 16. Ne vellem sociare Ne cui me vinclo vellem sociare jugali, me cui in jugali vinclo, Postquàm primus amor deceptam morte fefellit; postquàm meus primus Si non pertæsum thalami tædæque fuisset ; amor fefellit me 24. Sed optem vel Hric uni forsan potui succumbere culpæ. ima tellus dehiscat mihi, Anna, fatebor enim, miseri post fata Sichæi vel pater omnipotens adi- Conjugis, et sparsos fraternâ cæde penates, gat me fulmine ad um- Solus hic inflexit sensus, animumque labantem bras, pallentes umbras Impulit agnosco veteris vestigia flammæ. Erebi, profundamque noctem, priùsquàm, O Sed mihi vel tellus optem priùs ima dehiscat, 15 20 pudor, ego violo te Vel pater omnipotens adigat me fulmine ad umbras, 25 NOTES. 14. Canebat: in the sense of narrabat. 15. Sederet: in the sense of maneret. 16. Sociare: to connect myself in marriage with any one. 8. Male sana: the love-sick queen address- tum signifies, sometimes, as in this place ed her concordant sister. Unanimem, here, distress-misfortunes-calamities. is very emphatical. It implies that there was such a harmony and agreement subsisting between them, that they both seemed to be animated with the same soul: (of unus and animus.) Malè sana: Malè, here, has the force of non. The queen was so in love with Æneas, that she disregarded the sober dictates of reason, and her better judgment. Valpy says, "with disturbed mind." Insomnia: dreams. Suspensam: in the sense of solicitam. 11. Quem sese ferens ore: what an illustrious person, showing himself (to be) by his countenance ! of how great fortitude and prowess! The Quam forti pectore et armis, is an elliptical expression. It is thus filled: Quàm forti pectore est ille; et quàm fortibus armis. The preposition è, or ex, being still understood, governing the ablative cases. By the forti pectore, we are to understand his fortitude in undergoing hardships, and supporting misfortunes: and by the armis, his courage and prowess in arms. 13. Timor arguit: fear shows a base and ignoble mind. As fear argues a base and ignoble mind, so courage and valor bespeak a noble and divine original. The poet has filled the speech of Dido with these abrupt half sentences, and made her speak incoherently, on purpose to show the confusion and perturbation of her mind. 14. Exhausta: drawn out-endured to the last. Not only begun, but accomplished, and with resolution brought to an end. Here is plainly an allusion to the draining of some cup to the very last dregs. A partifrom exhaurio. Fatis. The word fa 17. Primus amor: after my first love de ceived me, disappointed by the death of my husband. She had pictured to herself an uninterrupted course of conjugal felicity, of which she was disappointed by the death of her husband. This led her to enter into the resolution of never forming a second connexion. 18. Si non perlæsum fuisset: if I had not been weary (displeased) with the marriage bed, and nuptial torch, perhaps, &c. Tada. It was a custom among the Romans to carry a torch before the newly married wife, when she was conducted to the house of her hus band. Hence it is often put for the nuptials themselves. 19. Potui: I might yield to this one fault. Potui: in the sense of potuissem. Second marriages were considered disreputable among the Roman women, as show. ing a want of respect for the memory of the deceased, and as conveying a suspicion of incontinency. But culpa is sometimes taken simply for the indulgence of the passion of love, however innocent. 21. Fraternâ cæde. Sichæus was murder ed, by her brother, at the altar. Hence the murder is called fraternal. Fata: in the sense of mortem. See note 1. supra. 22. Inflexit sensus: he alone hath changed my inclinations, and mado an impression upon my wavering mind. |