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Dardana qui Paridis dirêxti tela manusque
Corpus in acidæ magnas obeuntia terras
Tot maria intravi, duce te, penitùsque repôstas
Massylum gentes, prætentaque Syrtibus arva:
Jam tandem Italiæ fugientis prendimus oras.
Hàc Trojana tenus fuerit fortuna secuta.

Vos quoque Pergameæ jam fas est parcere genti,
Dique Deæque omnes, quibus obstitit Ilium, et ingens
Gloria Dardaniæ. Tuque, ô sanctissima vates,
Præscia venturi, da, non indebita posco
Regna meis fatis, Latio considere Teucros,
Errantesque Deos, agitataque numina Trojæ.
Tum Phapo et Trivia solido de marmore templa
Instituam, festosque dies de nomine Phœbi.
Te quoque magna manent regnis penetralia nostris.
Hic ego namque tuas sortes, arcanaque fata
Dicta meæ genti ponam; lectosque sacrabo,
Alma, viros: foliis tantùm ne carmina manda,
Ne turbata volent rapidis ludibria ventis :
Ipsa canas, oro. Finem dedit ore loquendi.
At, Phœbi nondum patiens immanis in antro

NOTES.

Paris, against the body of Achilles. It is said that Achilles was killed by Paris in the temple of Apollo, at Troy.

57. Direxti: for direxisti, by syncope. 59. Penitùs repôstas: far remote. 60. Massylum. The Massyli, a people of Africa, put for the Africans in general, or for the Carthaginians in particular. See Æn. iv. 483. Prætenta: lying before. Arva: the laads-country.

61. Italiæ fugientis: the nearer they approached to Italy, new obstructions arose, which seemed to prevent access to it, as if it fled from them.

62. Hactenus: hitherto-thus far. It is separated by tmesis, for the sake of the verse. Trojano fortuna: id est, adversa fortuna.

64. Dique Deæque omnes, quibus: ye gods and goddesses all, to whom Ilium and the great glory of Troy was offensive, it is just that you too, &c. The deities here meant were Juno, Minerva, and Neptune. Obstitit: invisa sunt, says Heyne.

68. Agitata numina: persecuted deities of Troy.

70. Instituam Phabo: I will build to Phoebus and Diana temples of solid marble, and institute festival days, &c. Here is an allusion to the Ludi Apollinares, which were instituted in the first Punic war, and to the building of a temple to Apollo by Augustus, after his victory over Anthony and Cleopatra, at Actium. Heyne reads templum, after Heinsius. The common reading is templa. Virgil here uses the verb instituam with two nouns, when in strict propriety it can apply to one of them only. We can say, institute festivals, but it is quite another thing to say,

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institute a house or temple. Our language will not admit of this liberty and freedom of expression. See En. vii. 431, and Æn. viii. 410. Some copies have constituam.

71. Te quoque magna: a spacious sanctuary too awaits thee in our realms. This alludes to the shrine or sanctuary in the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus, where the Sibylline books were kept in a stone chest under ground. Fifteen persons, called Quindecemviri, were appointed to take care of them, and to consult them in the affairs of state. They were chosen from the Patricians, and had great influence in public affairs. It was a very easy matter to make these Sibylline books speak what language they pleased.

72. Sortes: in the sense of oracula. Dicta: in the sense of declarata,

74. Ne manda: do not commit, &c. It was the custom of this Sibyl to write her prophetic responses upon the leaves of the palm tree. Before the invention of parchment and paper, there was no better material for writing than the leaves and bark of trees. Alma: O holy prophetess.

77. Nondum patiens, &c. The meaning is this: the Sibyl was not docile and submissive (patiens) to Phœbus, and would not utter oracles according to his will, but resisted him until he had subdued her ferocious temper and formed her to his purposes by force and restraint. Excussisse: the perf. in the sense of the pres. The terms here used are taken from the horse and the rider. The Sibyl is compared to the former; and Apollo, breaking her and rendering her submissive and obedient to him, to the latter

78. Tentans, si possit Bacchatur vates, magnum si pectore possit Excussisse Deum: tantò magis ille fatigat

excussicsc

ricula

86. Sed et volent se non venisse eò.

Os rabidum, fera corda domans, fingitque premendo. 80
Ostia jamque domûs patuere ingentia centum
Sponte suâ, vatisque ferunt responsa per auras:

83. O tu tandem de- O tandem magnis pelagi defuncte perîclis!
functe magnis perîclis Sed terrâ graviora nianent. In regna Lavinî
pelagi! sed graviora pe- Dardanidæ vement, mitte hanc de pectore curam :
Sed non et venisse volent. Bella, horrida bella,
Et Tybrim multo spumantem sanguine cerno.
Non Simoïs tibi, nec Xanthus, nec Dorica castra
89. Alius Achilles par- Defuerint: alius Latio jam partus Achilles,
Natus et ipse Deâ nec Teucris addita Juno
91. Cùm in egenis re- Usquam aberit. Cùm tu supplex in rebus egenis,
bus, quas gentes Italûm, Quas gentes Italûm, aut quas non oraveris urbes ?
aut quas urbes, non tu Causa mali tanti conjux iterum hospita Teucris ;

tus est tibi

supplex oraveris? Con

jux hospita iterum erit Externique iterum thalami.

causa tanti mali Teu- Tu ne cede malis; sed contrà audentior ito, cris; externique thalami Quà tua te fortuna sinet. Via prima salutis,

iterum erunt causa.

Quod minimè reris, Graiâ pandetur ab urbe.
Talibus ex adyto dictis Cumæa Sibylla

NOTES.

The verb excutio is applied to the horse when he throws his rider. 'Immanis: in the sense of immaniter vel vehementer. An adjective closely connected in construction with a verb, is better rendered by its corresponding adverb. Bacchatur: furit in more Baccharum, says Ruæus.

80. Fatigat rabidum os: he curbs-holds in, &c. This alludes to the manner of break. ing and taming horses when they are unruly and impatient of the bit. The rider curbs or holds them in by pulling up the reins. Fingitque: and forms and prepares her for the delivery of his oracles.

82. Ferunt: in the sense of emittunt. 83. Defuncte: voc. O thou, having passed through escaped. Rumus says, Qui evasisti. Periclis: by syn. for periculis.

84. Lavini: by apocope for Lavinii, gen. of Lavinium, a country to the east of the Tyber, so called from the city Lavinium, which Eneas built. See En. i. 2. Some read, regna Latini, which perhaps is the best reading: the kingdom of Latinus. He received Eneas, on his arrival, with hospitality, gave him his daughter in marriage, and was succeeded by him in his kingdom. Heyne prefers Lavini, and observes that it is more in the language of prophecy than Latini.

88. Non Simois tibi: neither Simois, nor Xanthus, nor the Grecian camp, shall be wanting to you, &c. Here the prophetess, to prepare the mind of Æneas to meet the worst, or rather the poet to do honor to his hero in overcoming such powerful opposition, gives a terrible representation of the war in which he was to be engaged in Italy,

85

90

95

comparing it with the Trojan war, both as to its similitude of characters, places, and causes. Xanthus and Simoïs are the Tyber and Numicus; Turnus is Achilles; Lavinia, the daughter of Latinus, is a second Helen.

90. Natus Deâ: Turnus, a brave and warlike prince, the son of the nymph Venilia. Addita: in the sense of inimica. Rumus says infesta; et quasi lateri semper affixa.

91. Cùm: in the sense of tum, says Heyne. Ruæus reads quem, but gives no authority for it; the best copies have cùm. Rebus egenis: in your distress-difficulty.

93. Conjux hospita. As the rape of Helen by Paris, whom she entertained in her palace at Sparta, was the cause of the Trojan war, so shall Lavinia, the daughter of Latinus, who shall receive Æneas under his hospitable roof, be the cause of a second war, by espousing Æneas after she had been promised to Turnus. Thalami: in the sense of nuptiæ.

96. Quà: the common reading is quàm, but of this it is difficult to make sense. It' is not probable that the Sibyl could advise Eneas to proceed with more courage or boldness than prudence dictated, or his fortune permitted. To preserve the reading of quàm, Mr. Davidson renders the words quàm tua, &c., "The more that fortune shall oppose you;" giving to the verb sinet a turn which it will by no means bear. Heyne reads quà, taking it in the sense of qua via et ratione, vel quantùm per fatum licebit. Heinsius and Burmannus read quàm, which they take in the sense of quantum.

97. Graia urbe: this was the city Pallanteum, where Evander reigned. See Lib. 8.

Horrendas canit ambages, antroque remugit,
Obscuris vera involvens: ea fræna furenti
Concutit, et stimulos sub pectore vertit Apollo.

100

05

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110 hi ire ad

Ut primùm cessit furor, et rabida ora quiêrunt;
Incipit Æneas heros: Non ulla laborum,
O virgo, nova mî facies inopinave surgit :
Omnia præcepi, atque animo mecum ante percgi.
Unum oro; quando hìc inferni janua regis
Dicitur, et tenebrosa palus Acheronte refuso ;'
Ire ad conspectum chari genitoris, et ora
Contingat; doceas iter, et sacra ostia pandas.
Illum ego per flammas et mille sequentia tela
Eripui his humeris, medioque ex hoste recepi :
Ille meum comitatus iter, maria omnia mecum,
At que omnes pelagique minas cœlique ferebat
Inwalidus, vires ultra sortemque senectæ.
Quin, ut te supplex peterem, et tua limina adirem,
Idem orans mandata dabat. Natique patrisque,
Alma, precor, miserere: potes namque omnia; nec te
Nequicquam lucis Hecate præfecit Avernis.
Si potuit Manes arcessere conjugis Orpheus,
Threiciâ fretus citharâ fidibusque canoris÷
Si fratrem Pollux alternâ morte redemit,

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est meum iter; et invalidus ferebat omnia maria mecum, atque omnes 115 minas pelagique cœlique, ultra

120

Itque reditque viam toties. quid Thesea, magnum
Quid memorem Alciden? et mî genus ab Jove summo.
Talibus orabat dictis, arasque tenebat.

NOTES.

99. Canit horrendas: she delivers her awful predictions. Ambages: (ex ambi, et ago) mysteries, says Valpy.

100. Ea fræna furenti: Apollo shakes those reins over her, raging, (inspired,) and turns his spurs under her breast. The metaphor of the horse and the rider, is still continued.

104. Mi: by apocope for mihi. Eneas speaks like a man long accustomed to the calamities and misfortunes (laborum) of life, and so well fortified in his mind to meet every vicissitude of things, that no form of toil and suffering could arise, new and unexpected.

195. Præcepi: I have anticipated all things -I have received information of all those difficulties before.

107. Tenebrosa palus: the gloomy lake, (arising) from the overflowing of Acheron. The lake here is Avernus, which was fabled to arise from the overflowing of the river Acheron, a fabulous river of the infernal regions. See Geor. iv. 4.

111. Eripui: in the sense of sustuli. 114. Sortem: state-condition.

119. Si Orpheus potuit: if Orpheus could call back the ghost of his wife, relying upon, &c. See the story of his descent to hell. Geor. iv. 454.

121. Si Pollux redemit : if Pollux redeem

115. Quin, idem Anchises orans dabat mandata mihi, ut

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ed his brother by an alternate death, &c. Castor and Pollux were twin brothers of Leda, the wife of Tyndarus, king of Sparta. Jupiter being the father of Pollux, he was immortal, while Castor, being only the son of Tyndarus, was subject to mortality. Upon the death of Castor, his brother, out of the great love he bore to him, obtained of Jupiter leave to share with him his immortality; whereupon they lived, by turns, one day in heaven and one in hell.

122. Thesea: a Greek acc. He was the son of Ægeus, king of Athens. He and Pirithous are fabled to have made a descent to hell for the purpose of liberating Proserpina, but were seized by Pluto, who gave Pirithous to Cerberus to be devoured, while Theseus he bound in chains, where he remained till he was set at liberty by Hercules.

See 28, supra.

123. Alciden: Hercules, so called from Alceus, his grandfather. He was the son of Jupiter and Alcmene. He is said to have descended to the infernal regions, and to have carried off Cerberus in spite of Pluto himself. Mi for mihi, by apocope, and in the sense of meum. Mi genus: my descent also is from Jove supreme. Eneas descended from Dardanus, the son of Jove. He was also the son of Venus, the daughter of the same god. Et: in the sense of etiam

Tunc sic orsa loqui vates: Sate sanguine Divûm, 125
Tros Anchisiade, facilis descensus Averni :

Noctes atque dies patet atri janua Ditis:

Sed revocare gradum, superasque evadere ad auras,
Hoc opus, hic labor est. Pauci, quos æquus amavit
Jupiter, aut ardens evexit ad æthera virtus,

130

131. Geniti Dis, tuere efficere id

V

po- Dîs geniti, potuere. Tenent media omnia sylvæ,
Cocytusque sinu labens circumfluit atro.

Quòd si tantus amor menti, si tanta cupido est,
Bis Stygios innare lacus, bis nigra videre
Tartara; et insano juvat indulgere labori :

135

136. Accipe ea, sunt peragenda priùs.

quæ Accipe quæ peragenda priùs. Latet arbore opacâ,
tibi Aureus et foliis et lento vimine ramus,

140. Non datur

140

Junoni infernæ dictus sacer: hunc tegit omnis Lucus, et obscuris claudunt convallibus umbræ. su- Sed non antè datur telluris operta subire,

bire operta loca telluris Auricomos quàm quis decerpserit arbore fœtus.
antè quàm quis

Hoc sibi pulchra suum ferri Proserpina munus
Instituit. Primo avulso, non deficit alter
Aureus; et simili frondescit virga metallo.

145. Ergò vestiga ra- Ergò altè vestiga oculis, et ritè repertum

mum oculis altè, et ma- Carpe manu: namque ipse volens facilisque sequetur, nu ritè carpe eum reper- Si te fata vocant; aliter non viribus ullis

tum

147. Vocant te ad in Vincere, nec duro poteris convellere ferro. feros.

Prætereà jacet exanimum tibi corpus amici, Heu nescis! totamque incestat funere classem; Dum consulta petis, nostroque in limine pendes. Sedibus hunc refer antè suis, et conde sepulchro 153. Deinde duc ad Duc nigras pecudes: ea prima piacula sunto. aram nigras Sic demùm lucos Stygios, regna invia vivis

NOTES.

128. Revocare gradum: to return—to retrace your steps; a phrase. Superas auras: to this upper world-the upper regions of light; they are so called in reference to the regions below.

132. Cocytusque: and Cocytus gliding along with its gloomy stream, flows around them. Cocytus, a river in Campania in Italy, but by the poets feigned to be a river in hell. Sinu: in the sense of flexu.

134. Innare: in the sense of navigare. Insano: vast-mighty. Ruæus says, vano. 135. Accipe: in the sense of audi, vel

disce.

137. Ramus aureus: a bough, golden both in its leaves and limber twig, &c. lies concealed in a shady tree. This is considered by some a mere fiction of the poet, but probably it is founded on some historical fact, or refers to some fabulous tradition, which it is not easy to find out. Servius thinks it alludes to a tree in the midst of the sacred grove of Diana, not far from Aritia, a city of Latium, where, if a fugitive came for sanctuary, and could pluck a branch from the tree, he was permitted to fight a single

145

150

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says, uno.

144. Frondescit: in the sense of pullulat. Virga: in the sense of ramus. When one bough was plucked, another immediately shot forth of the same form, shape, and color.

146. Sequetur: will follow-will yield to you, if, &c.

148. Avellere: in the sense of ampulare vel cædere..

150. Incestat: defiles. Funere: in the sense of cadavere. Consulta: advicecounsel.

151. Pendes: in the sense of hæres. 152. Suis sedibus: to his own proper place-to the earth.

Aspicies. Dixit; pressoque obmutuit ore.
Eneas most defixus lumina vultu
Ingreditur, linquens antrum; cæcosque volutat
Eventus animo secum: cui fidus Achates

155

160

It comes, et paribus curis vestigia figit.
Multa inter sese vario sermone serebant,
Quem socium exanimem vates, quod corpus humandum
Diceret. Atque illi Misenum in litore sicco
Ut venêre, vident indignâ morte peremptum
Misenum Eoliden, quo non præstantior alter
Ere ciereros, Martemque accendere cantu.
Hectoris hic magni fuerat comes.

Hectora circum

Et lituo pugnas insignis obibat et hastâ.
Postquam illum victor vitâ spoliavit Achilles,
Dardanio Æneæ scse fortissimus heros
Addiderat socium, non inferiora secutus.

Sed tum, fortè cavâ dum personat æquora conchâ,
Demens, et cantur vocat in certamina Divos,
Emulus exceptum Triton, si credere dignum est,
Inter saxa virum spumosa immerserat undâ.
Ergò omnes magno circùm clamore fremebant ;
Præcipuè pius Æneas. Tum jussa SibyHæ,
Haud mora, festinant flentes aramque sepulchri
Congerere arboribus, cœloque educere certant

Itur in antiquam sylvam, stabula alta ferarum
Procumbunt picea: sonat icta securibus ilex:
Fraxineæque trabes, cuneis et fissile robur
Scinditur: advolvunt ingentes montibus ornos.
Necnon Æneas opera inter talia primus
Hortatur socios, paribusque accingitur armis.

Atque hæc ipse suo tristi cum cordé volutat, Aspectans sylvam immensam, et sic ore precatur :

NOTES.

156. Defixus lumina: a Grecism. Or, in the sense of figens oculos in terram, says Ruæus. 160. Serebant mullq: they made many conjectures they talked much, &c.

164. Æoliden. Misenus is here called the son of Eolus, the fabulous god of the winds; because he excelled in blowing upon wind instruments. Præstantior: more expert. The verb erat is understood.

165. Martemque accendere cantu. This hemistich Virgil is said to have added in the mere heat of fancy, while he was reciting the book before Augustus; having left the line imperfect at first. Ere: with his brazen trumpet. Any thing made of brass may be called æs.

167. Lituo. The lituus was a trumpet not so straight as the tuba, nor so crooked as the cornua. It was used, for the most part, by the cavalry. Obibat pugnas: simply, he fought.

170. Inferiora: in the sense of inferiorem ducem.

171. Personal æquora: he makes the sea resound, &c. Concha. Shell trumpets were

161. Quem socium rates diceret esse éxanimem, quod corpus hu mandum esse

165

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in use at first; before those instruments came to be made of brass.

172. Vocat: he challenges the gods to a trial of music.

173. Triton æmulus: Triton envious (jealous of his fame) drowned in the foaming waves the man taken by surprise among the rocks. Triton was the son of Neptune and Amphitrite. He was half man and half fish; and was Neptune's trumpeter.

175. Fremebant: in the sense of lamenlabantur.

177. Aramque sepulchri: the funeral pile, so called because built in the form of an altar. Ingentem pyram, says Heyne.

130. Sonat: in the sense of procumbit. Trabes: for arbores. Fissile robur : the fissile oak. 183. Primus: chief in command-captain of the company.

184. Accingiturque, &c.: and is arrayed with equal arms. By armis, we are to understand the axes, and other implements for cutting and preparing wood for the funeral pile of Misenus.

186. Ore. This is the common reading;

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