Page images
PDF
EPUB

Huc ades, ô Melibœe; caper tibi salvus et hædı;
Et si quid cessare potes, requiesce sub umbrâ.
Huc ipsi potum venient per prata juvenci :
Hic viridis tenerâ prætexit arundine ripas
Mincius, èque sacrâ resonant examina quercu.

9. Caper est salvus 10 tibi, et hædi quoque suni salvi

Quid facerem? neque ego Alcippen, nec Phyllida habeDepulsos à lacte domi, quæ clauderet agnos:

[bam,

Et certamen erat, Corydon cum Thyrside, magnum.
Posthabui tamen illorum mea seria ludo.
Alternis igitur contendere versibus ambo
Cœpêre alternos Musæ meminisse volebant.
Hos Corydon, illos referebat in ordine Thyrsis.

12. Hic viridis Mincius prætexit

16. Corydon certabat cum Thyrside

19. Volebant me me20 minisse alternos versus 20. Corydon referebat

[men,

COR. Nymphæ, noster amor, Libethrides, aut mihi car-
Quale meo Codro, concedite: proxima Phobi
Versibus ille facit: aut si non possumus omnes,
Hic arguta sacrâ pendebit fistula pinu.

TH. Pastores, hederâ crescentem ornate poëtam,
Arcades, invidiâ rumpantur ut ilia Codro.
Aut si ultrà placitum laudârit, baccare frontem
Cingite, ne vati noceat mala lingua futuro.

COR. Setosi caput hoc apri tibi, Delia, parvus
Et ramosa Mycon vivacis cornua cervi.
Si proprium hoc fuerit, levi de marmore tota

NOTES.

10. Quid: temporis is understood, governed by quid: any time—a little time.

11. Potum: to drink: a sup. in um, of the verb poto, put after the verb venient.

12. Præterit: in the sense of tegit. 13. Mincius: a small river rising out of the lake Benacus, and falling into the Po. Hodie, Menzo.

14. Alcippen-Phyllida: the names of two servants; both derived from the Greck. 15. Depulsos à lacte: taken away from the milk: weaned. Domi: at home.

17. Posthabui, &c. I postponed my serious business to their song: to listen to their song. Ludo: in the sense of cantui.

19. Musa volebant: the meaning is, the Muses would have them sing alternate verses. 20. Referebat: in the sense of cantabat. 21. Libethrides: an adj. from Libethra, a fountain in Beotia; others say in Magnesia, over which they presided. Hence they are called Libethrian nymphs. Noster amor : my delight, or love.

22. Concedite: grant such a song to me as ye granted to my Codrus: inspire such a song, &c. Codrus was a poet cotemporary with Virgil, as we learn from Servius, and of superior merit. Proxima: next in excellence to the verses of Apollo. Carmina is understood.

23. Facit: in the sense of componit. 24. Sacra pinu: the pine-tree was sacred to Cybele, the mother of the gods, on account of the transmutation of her darling Atys into that tree. It was a custom, when

25

hos

21. Aut concedite tale carmen mihi, quale concessistis

23. Nos omnes non possumus facere id

27. Cingite meam fron

tem

29. O Delia, parvus 30 Mycon offert tibi hoc caput

any one lay down his art or profession, to hang up and consecrate the instruments which he had used, to the god who presided over that art.

25. Hederá. Poets were crowned sometimes with ivy, at other times, with laurel. These both were evergreens, and designed to denote a lasting fame. Ornate in the sense of coronate. By poetam we are to understand Thyrsis himself.

26. Ilia Codro: the sides to Codrus; the same as Ilia Codri. This construction is frequent with Virgil: the dat. in the sense of the gen.

27. Ultra placitum : beyond my pleasure, or desire, Immoderate praise was thought by the ancients to have in it something of the nature of fascination; and to avert its malignant influence, they wore a garland of baccar, or lady's-glove, as a counter charm. The pron. me is understood.

29. Delia: A name of Diana, from Delos, the place of her birth. Setosi: bristly.

30. Mycon. The swain Mycon is supposed to be Corydon's friend, and to promise these things to Diana in his name.

31. Si hoc fuerit proprium. If this (success which you granted me in hurting) shall be lasting, you shall stand entire in polished marble: I will make you a full-length statue of polished, &c. It was usual to make only the head and neck of a marble statue. Here Corydon promises Diana an entire statue, provided she continued to prosper his pur suits.

32. Tu stabis tota de Puniceo stabis suras evincta cothurno.

levi marmore evincta TH. Sinum lactis, et hæc te liba, Priape, quotannis quoad suras 33. O Priape, sat est Expectare sat est: custos es pauperis horti.

te expectare quotannis Nunc te marmoreum pro tempore fecimus: at tu,

à me

35

Si fœtura gregem suppleverit, aureus esto.

COR. Nerine Galatea, thymo mihi dulcior Hyblæ,
Candidior cycnis, hederâ formosior albâ :
Cùm primùm pasti repetent præsepia tauri,

Si qua tui Corydonis habet te cura, venito.

40

TH. Immò ego Sardois videar tibi amarior herbis,

42. Alga projecta ad Horridior rusco, projectâ vilior algâ ;

litus

Si mihi non hæc lux toto jam longior anno est. 44. Si sit vobis quis Ite domum pasti, si quis pudor, ite juvenci. pudor

COR. Muscosi fontes, et somno mollior herba,
Et quæ vos rarâ viridis tegit arbutus umbrâ,
Solstitium pecori defendite jam venit æstas

NOTES.

foot.

45

32. Puniceo: in the sense of purpureo. a forced laughter; some take it for the Crow See Ecl. 5. 17. Cothurno. The cothurnus was a kind of high-heeled shoe or boot worn when hunting and on the stage, by both sexes. See Geor. 2. 9.

33. Priape: Priapus was the tutelar god of gardens, lakes, &c. He was the son of Venus, by Mercury or Bacchus. The place of his birth was Lampsacus, near the Hellespont, where he was chiefly worshipped. He was usually represented with a human face and the ears of a goat. He held a stick in his hand to drive away birds, a club to drive away thieves, and a scythe to prune the trees. Sinum: in the sense of vas; a kind of vessel swelling out in the middle like a pitcher.

35. Pro tempore: according to the time; in proportion to my present ability. Thyrsis promises him now a marble statue, and if his flocks increase so that he can afford it, he will make him a golden one.

36. Suppleverit: shall enlarge-multiply. 37. Nerine: an adj. from Nereus, a god of the sea. The poet does not here mean that this Galatea was actually the daughter of Nereus; but he merely intends it as a compliment, intimating that she possessed equal charms with her namesake. Hyblæ. Hybla was a mountain in Sicily, abounding in Thyme, and celebrated for its bees, and excellent honey-sweeter than the thyme of Hybla, fairer than the swans, more beautiful than the white ivy. These comparisons are extremely chaste and delicate.

39. Cùm primùm: in the sense of ut primùm.-Cura: regard.

41. Sardois herbis. The herb here spoken of is supposed to be the Holly-bush, of sharp and prickly leaves, and of a very bitter taste. It is called Sardinian, from the island Sardinia, where it grew in great abundance. It is said to have caused a convulsive laughter with grinning. Hence Sardinicus risus,

42. Horridior rusco: rougher than the butcher's broom. This is a prickly shrub or plant.-Vilior: more vile, or worthless.Alga. This was a kind of weed or grass, which grew in great abundance about the island of Crete. When torn from the rocks where it grew, by the violence of the waves, tost about the sea, and then cast upon the shore, it became quite useless: it lost its color, and presented to the eye an unseemly appearance.

43. Lux: in the sense of dies.

44. Pasti: in the sense of saturati.

45. Muscosi fontes: ye cool (mossy) foun-` tains. The epithet muscosi is expressive of coolness, because moss will seldom grow where there is any considerable degree of heat. It grows the best on the banks of rivers that face the north. Also on the north side of trees.-Herba mollior, &c. This charming expression is taken from Theocritus. Ruæus says, dulcis ad somnum, which is not the meaning of the poet. The expression, softer than sleep, is extremely delicate.

46. Viridis arbutus, &c. This is a singular construction. The nom. here seems to be used in the place of the voc. By using the nom. it placed the relative quæ in the third person, and consequently the verb; whereas they should be in the second person sing. O viridis arbute, quæ legis vos rara umbrâ. The vos refers to the fountains and grass mentioned above.

47. Solstitium. This word properly signifies that point in the ecliptic, which coincides with the tropics, or is 23° 28′ from the equator, measured on an arc of the meridian: and the sun being in this point on a particular day in June and December, the word is taken by Synec. for either summer or winter. Again by meton. for heat or cold, according as the sun is either in the

Torrida jam læto turgent in palmite gemmæ.
TH. Hic focus, et tædæ pingues: hic plurimus ignis

Semper, et assiduâ postes fuligine nigri.

Hic tantùm Boreæ curamus frigora, quantùm
Aut numerum lupus, aut torrentia flumina ripas
COR. Stant et juniperi, et castaneæ hirsutæ :
Strata jacent passim sua quâque sub arbore poma:
Omnia nunc rident: at si formosus Alexis
Montibus his abeat, videas et flumina sicca.

TH. Aret ager; vitio moriens sitit aëris herba :
Liber pampineas invidit collibus umbras.
Phyllidis adventu nostræ nemus omne virebit :
Jupiter et læto descendet plurimus imbri.

COR. Populus Alcidæ gratissima, vitis Iaccho :
Formosa myrtus Veneri, sua laurea Phœbo.
Phyllis amat corylos: illas dum Phyllis amabit,
Nec myrtus vincet corylos, nec laurea Phœbi.
TH. Fraxinus in sylvis pulcherrima, pinus in hortis,

NOTES.

sign of Cancer or Capricorn. It is the solstice of Cancer, or the summer solstice, which is here meant. Defendile in the sense of avertite.

48. Palmite: the shoot or branch of the vine-Gemma: the buds, or first appear. ances of the young shoots of trees or shrubs. Lato: fruitful-fertile.

49. Pingues læda: fat pines; or, we may take tæde in a wider sense, implying any fuel, or combustible matter.

50. Fuligine: in the sense of fumo. The cottages of the poor seldom had a chimney. The fire was made directly under an aperture in the roof to discharge the smoke. We may well suppose the interior of the house to be blackened by that vapor.

51. Hic tantùm curamus. The meaning is : : we care nothing for the cold of Boreas. Boreas is the Greek word for the north wind. The poets say he was the son of Astraus and Aurora; or, according to others, of the river Strymon, in Macedonia. He was king of Thrace, and carried away by force Orythia, the daughter of Erictheus, king of Athens, by whom he had two sons, Zetes and Calaïs. He was worshipped as a god.

53. Juniperi. The juniperus was a tree, having sharp and narrow leaves, and bearing a small, round, and odoriferous fruit. Servius understands juniperi and castanea to be the trees which are loaded with their respective fruit. Mr. Davidson takes them for the fruit itself, and considers stant in opposition to strata jacent: the former stand or hang ripening on the boughs, the latter in rich profusion cover the ground under their respective trees. Hirsuta: rough-prickly, in opposition to those that were smooth, mentioned Ecl. i. 82: or it may only mean that they were yet in the shell. See Ecl. x. 76.

49. Hic est focus, et 50 hic suni

55

52. Quantùm aut lupus curat numerum ovium, aut torrentia flumina curant ripas

53. Hic stant et juni

peri

59. Sed omne nemus 60 virebit.

54. Poma jacent, &c. Much hath been said upon the reading of this line. Some read it thus; Poma jacent strata passim, quæque sub sua arbore: apples lie scattered all around, every one under its own tree. Others read it thus: sua poma jacent strata passim, sub quâque arbore: their own apples lie scattered all around under every or each tree. This last, Dr. Trapp is fully persuaded is the correct reading. Heyne reads, quâque.

56. Videas et, &c. You would even see the rivers dry. The word et here is emphatical.

57. Vitio aëris : by the infection of the air; or, the excessive heat of the air. Sitit: is parched.

58. Liber. A name of Bacchus. See Ecl. v. 69. Invidit: hath refused the shadows of the vine to our hills. The meaning is: the vine does not flourish upon our hills.

60. Jupiter: the air-condensed vapor. Lato imbri: in fertilizing showers.

61. Alcido: Hercules, called also Alcides, from Alcaus, his grand-father. The populus was sacred to him. It is said he wore a crown of white poplar leaves when he descended to the infernal regions.

62. Myrtus. The myrtle tree was sacred to Venus, on account of the delicacy of its odor, or because it flourishes best on the margin of the sea, out of the foam of which she is said to have sprung.

The

61. Iaccho: a name of Bacchus. vine was sacred to him, because, it is said, he was the inventor of wine; or at least taught men the cultivation of the vine.

62. Laurea. The laurel tree was sacred to Apollo, on account of his beloved Daphne, who was changed into a laurel; therefore it is called sua, his own.

65. Fraxinus: the ash-tree.

Populus in fluviis, abies in montibus altis:
Sæpiùs at si me, Lycida formose, revisas;
Fraxinus in sylvis cedat tibi, pinus in hortis.

66

ME. Hæc memini, et victum frustrà contendere Thyrsin. Ex illo Corydon, Corydon est tempore nobis.

NOTES.

70. Ex illo tempore: from that time, Corydon, Corydon is the one for me. Heyne observes, this line is unworthy of Virgil. It

70

is in imitation of Theocritus, Idyl. viii. 92, but far inferior to the original.

[blocks in formation]

THIS pastoral consists of two parts: the first is taken chiefly from the third Idyl of Theocritus: the latter from the second Idyl. The shepherd Damon bewails the loss of his mistress, Nisa, and is much grieved at the success of Mopsus, who had succeeded in obtaining her for a wife. Alphesibous relates the charms, or incantations of some enchantress, who endeavored, by magic arts, to make Daphnis in love with her. Pharmaceutria, the title of this Eclogue, is the same with the Latin Venefica, and signifies a sorceress. This Eclogue was written in the year of Rome 715, when L. Marcus Censorinus, and C. Calvisius Sabinus, were consuls. It is not certain to whom it was inscribed, whether to Augustus or Pollio; most commentators are in favor of the latter.

1. Dicemus musam pastorum Damonis et Alphesibæi, quos cer

PASTORUM Musam, Damonis et Alphesibai, Immemor herbarum quos est mirata juvenca, tantes Juvenca imme- Certantes, quorum stupefactæ carmine lynces, mor herbarum mirata Et mutata suos requiêrunt flumina cursus.

NOTES.

1. Musam: in the sense of carmen. 4. Mutata flumina, &c. This line may be read in two ways. The first and easiest is given in the ordo; the other is, mutata flumina requiêrunt suos cursus. In this case, requiesco must be taken actively, and mutala, in the sense of turbata, as Rumus interprets it. But Virgil never uses that verb

in an active sense in any part of his works; and as he is fond of imitating the Greeks, it is better to suppose that he follows them in the present instance, than that he deviates here from his uniform practice in the use of the verb. Beside, if we take requiesco actively, we must take mutata out of its usual acceptation.

Damonis Musam dicemus et Alphesibai.
Tu mihi, seu magni superas jam saxa Timavi;
Sive oram Illyrici legis æquoris: en erit unquam
Ille dies, mihi cùm liceat tua dicere facta !
En erit, ut liceat totum mihi ferre per orbem
Sola Sophocleo tua carmina digna cothurno!
A te principium: tibi desinet: accipe jussis
Carmina cœpta tuis, atque hanc sine tempora circùm
Inter victrices hederam tibi serpere lauros.
Frigida vix cœlo noctis decesserat umbra,
Cùm ros in tenerâ pecori gratissimus herbâ est :
Incumbens tereti Damon sic cœpit olivæ.

5 est; quorum carmine lynces stupefactæ sunt; et flumina mutata quoad suos cursus requiêrunt: dicemus, inquam, musam 6. Tu, Ŏ Pollio, fave 10 mihi, seu

15

8. En ille dies erit, cùm liceat mihi

11. Principium meorum laborum erat à te: meus labor desinet tibi 12. Sine hanc hederam serpere

17. O Lucifer, nas. cere, præveniensque age [mum: almum diem: dum ego deceptus indigno amore

DA. Nascere, præque diem veniens age, Lucifer, alConjugis indigno Nisa deceptus amore Dum queror, et divos (quanquam nil testibus illis Profeci) extremâ moriens tamen alloquor horâ.

NOTES.

5. Dicemus: in the sense of narrabimus. 6. Tu mihi, &c. It is generally thought that the poet addresses himself to Pollio, who, about this time, returned to Rome in triumph, having overcome the Partheni, a people of Illyricum. The verb fave, or adsis, must be supplied, to make the sense complete. Ellipses of this kind are frequent, particularly among the poets. Timavi. See Æn. i. 244.

7. Sive legis, &c. Whether you coast along the shore of the Illyrian sea. Illyricum was a very extensive country lying on the right of the Adriatic sea, or gulf of Venice, including the ancient Liburnia and Dalmatia. Equoris. Equor properly signifies any plain or level surface, whether land or water. Erit: in the sense of aderit. 10. Cothurno. The cothurnus was properly a high-heeled shoe, worn by the tragedians to make them appear taller; by meton. put for tragedy, or the tragic style. Sophocleo: an adj. from Sophocles, an Athenian, the prince of tragic poetry. He was cotemporary with Pericles. Tua carmina sola, &c. Your verses alone worthy of the buskin-worthy of being introduced upon the stage. The cothurnus is here called Sophoclean, because Sophocles introduced it upon the stage. Pollio was not only a statesman, but a poet, and a distinguished writer of tragedy. See Ecl. iv. 12.

11. Principium, &c. This line is elliptical. The ellipsis is supplied in the ordo: the beginning of my labors was from thee; my labors shall end with thee. From this circumstance, some have been led to think that the poet alludes to Augustus, and not to Pollio. He wrote his first Eclogue, it is. true, to compliment the generosity of his prince, and the Æneid to flatter his vanity. But we are to remember, it was through the interest and friendship of Pollio, that he re

20

covered his lands, and so had an occasion given him for writing; and further, that poets promise many things, which they do not perform.

The

12. Sine hanc, &c. Permit this ivy to creep around thy temples amidst thy victorious laurels-permit me to crown thee with ivy, while others crown thee with laurel. This is a very delicate verse. poet here entreats his patron to permit his ivy to entwine about his temples among his victorious laurels; in other words, to accept these his verses, in the midst of his victories. The poetic crown was originally made of ivy exclusively, afterwards, sometimes it was made of laurel: but the triumphal crown was always made of laurel. Victrices lauros: alluding to the triumph with which he was honored for his victory over the Partheni.

16. Tereti oliva: leaning against a tapering olive, Damon thus began.

17. Præveniens. The parts of the verb are separated for the sake of the verse, by Tmesis. This figure is frequent among the poets. Lucifer: the morning star, or Venus. It is called Lucifer when going before the sun; Hesperus, when following after him. There is a fitness and propriety in Damon's calling upon the star, or planet Venus to arise, as if to listen to his complaint, since it was a love affair. Age: in the sense of advehe.

18. Conjugis. Conjux here is a betrothed or expected wife. Indigno amore: may mean immoderate love; or a love ill-requited—a love of which Nisa was unworthy.

20. Profeci: I have gained, or profited nothing. Illis testibus. It would seem that Nisa had pledged her faith to Damon, and called the gods to witness it; yet she violated her promises.

« PreviousContinue »