Admonuit sacris ratibus depellere tædas. Rauca sonans; revocatque pedem Tiberinus ab alto. Ultrò animos tollit dictis, atque increpat ultrò: NOTES. escape the dangers of the sea, and arrive safe in Italy, he would grant to such, to become nymphs of the sea. This he promises in the most solemn manner, and ratifies it by the usual oath. 109. Tadas: in the sense of flammas. 110. Hic primùm, &c. This implies, that Cybele had before been unknown in Italy: and now made her first appearance in that country, in favor of the Trojans. * Oculis : in the sense of visui. 111. Nimbus: a bright cloud, or cloud of glory, the vehicle of the goddess. Aurora: the east. 112. Idaique chori: her Idman choir. These were the priests of Cybele, the Corybantes, Curetes, or Dactyli. They made a sound about the goddess on their brazen cymbals, as she passed through the sky. Horrenda: awful-inspiring dread. 113. Excidit: in the sense of emittitur. 114. Trepidate: in the sense of properate. 116. Vos ite solutæ: go, ye, free, go, goddesses of the sea. 119. Modo: in the sense of more. De mersis: sunk-immerged. Like dolphins, they dive with their prows or beaks to the bottom of the sea. 121. Reddunt se, &c. The meaning is: 110 112. Ideique chori simul: tum 115 115. Dabitur Turno exurere maria antequàm 120 126 130 has sacras pinus 116. Genitrix Deorum jubet id. 120. Hinc totidem vir ginem facies 130. Ergo maria sunt invia 133. Fatalia responsa Deorum, si qua Phryges jactant præ se 136. Et sunt mihi mea 135 fata contrà illa, nempe oxscindere after they had gone to the bottom, each one came up with a virgin face, and floated down the stream into the sea. 124. Turbatis: affrighted--alarmed. Cunctatur: stopt-delayed. 125. Raucà: an adj. neu. plu., taken as from the deep. an adv. Revocat pedem: recalls his current 127. Tollit animos: he rouses the courage of his men (militum) by his words, and re. bukes their fears. 128. Petunt: in the sense of spectant. 130. Expectant: naves Trojanæ is understood. 131. Altera pars rerum: one part of the world is taken from them, now their ships have left them; namely, the sea; and the land is in our possession. There is no way for them to escape. 133. Arma: by meton. for the men who bear them. Ferunt: bring to our aid. Terrent nil, &c. This whole speech of Turnus, bespeaks him the soldier and intrepid commander. And to turn those very prodigies, which encouraged and animated his enemies, against them, marks his undaunted spirit. He calls them Phrygians by way of contempt. Fata mihi, ferro sceleratam exscindere gentem, Conjuge præreptâ. Nec solos tangit Atridas Iste dolor; solisque licet capere arma Mycenis. 140. Sed dicetur, est Sed periisse semel satis est: peccare fuisset satis eos periisse semel: Antè satis, penitùs modò non genus omne perosos fuisset satis eos peccare Foemineum. Quibus hæc medii fiducia valli, antè, penitùs perosos esse Fossarumque moræ, leti discrimina parva, non modò omne Dant animos. At non viderunt monia Troja, Neptuni fabricata manu, considere in ignes? 146. Sed vos, O leeti Sed vos, ô lecti, ferro quis scindere vallum viri, quis vestrum appa- Apparat, et mecum invadit trepidantia castra ? Non armis mihi Vulcani, non mille carinis Est opus in Teucros: addant se protinùs omnes 150. Ne timeant tene- Etrusci socios: tenebras et inertia furta rat bras 154. Faxo u Palladii, cæsis summæ custodibus arcis, putent esse rem sibi cum Esse putent, decimum quos distulit Hector in annum. Danais Nunc adeò, melior quoniam pars acta diei; NOTES. 138. Conjuge prææreptâ. Lavinia had been promised to Turnus in marriage: and he already considered her as his wife. She was taken (prærepta) from him, and transferred to Æneas. 139. Licetque Mycenis: nor is it lawful for Greece alone to take up arms. It is lawful for us too, in a similar cause. It is plain that the negation is to be continued, in this last member of the sentence. 140. Sed periisse semel, &c. This is a difficuit passage; and it is so rendered by its conciseness. To make the sense, something inust be supplied. There is a note in the Variorum edition upon this place, in these words: Verùm dicent Trojani se luisse jam Helena raptum. Respondet: desiissent ergò peccare: dedicissent odisse potiùs fœminas omnes, quàm vel unam rapere: quod quia in Lavinia faciunt, iterum pereant. Ex quo colligitur, quoties peccaverint, toties eos perire debere. Upon the words penitùs modo non, Dr. Trapp observes, the penitùs should be connected with perosos: and the modo non, he takes in the sense of propemodum, and joins them with omne genus, &c. That they should utterly hate almost the whole female sex. They could not hate all women; their mothers, sisters, and relations, must be excepted. Ruæus makes the first clause an interrogation: which is incorrect. It is a supposed objection, to which peccare fuisset, &c. is the answer. 142. Quibus hæc fiducia: to whom this confidence of an intervening rampart, &c. give courage. The meaning of the passage is this: let them not presume on their forti 140 145 150 157 fications and ramparts, that these will save them from death, since their former treache ry was punished, when they were guarded by much stronger munitions, even those walls which were built by the hand of Nep tune. Parva discrimina lethi: a small space, or feeble partition between them and death. Medii: intervening-between them and us. 144. Al: this is the reading of H.yne, and Valpy. The common reading is un. 147. Trepidantia castra: trembling-in terror and consternation, now their leader is absent. 148. Non armis opus est: either that he needed not arms made by Vulcan, such as Achilles had; or that he would not use his own sword, which was also the workmanship of the god of fire. See En. xii. 90. 151. Palladii, &c. Here is an allusion to the exploit of Diomede and Ulysses, who privately entered the temple of Minerva in Troy, and stole the Palladium, having slain the guards. Hence, inertia furta: such cowardly and unmanly conduct, Turnus disdains. 153. Luce palàm: I am resolved to surround, &c. Turnus promises the Trojans fair play, that he will not have recourse to those stratagems and arts, which the Greeks employed when before Troy. This bespeaks a manly and dignified spirit; one, truly becoming the hero. Luce palàm: openlyin the day. 154. Faxo: I will do or cause that, &c. 157. Rebus benè gestis. These words are to be taken absolutely. Things being favorably begun. This is the sense given by Procurate, viri; et pugnam sperate parati. Intereà vigilum excubiis obsidere portas, Hæc supèr è vallo prospectant Troës, et armis Excubat, exercetque vices, quod cuique tuendum est. NOTES. Davidson and Ruæus. Or the meaning may be: prepare yourselves for noble exploits, on the morrow. munication. 172. Quos pater Æneas dedit esse rectores juvenum, et magistros rerum 175. Exercetque vices 176 quoad id, quod est cuique tuendum. 179. Et juxta eum 180 comes Euryalus, quo They connected their towers or ramparts together by means of bridges. 172. Adversa: in the sense of res adversa. 158. Procurate: refresh-invigorate. Spe- Vocarent: should require-demand. rate: in the sense of expectate. 159. Excubiis vigilum: simply, with sentinels or guards. Obsidere: to besiege the gates of the Trojan camp-to block up, &c. 160. Cingere mania: to encompass their walls with fires to give them light in the night, lest the enemy should sally out upon them unobserved; or in despair, leave their city. 162. Sequuntur illos quemque: follow them every one. Quisque is a distributive pronoun. Delecti: fourteen Rutulians were chosen to superintend the watch, and see that due attention was paid, and each one performed his duty. Milite: with soldiers; the same as militibus. The guard amounted then to fourteen hundred men. 164. Variant vices: they shift, or change their tours of duty. They stand guard by turns. 169. Alta: the high places of the walls. Loca or spatia is understood. 170. Jungunt, &c. The same as jungunt propugnacula cum pontibus. They laid bridges from one bulwark or tower to another, for the purpose of ready and easy com 173. Dedit: appointed. 175. Exercet vices: they perform their Exercet: in the sense of watch in turns. variat. Tuendum: to be attended to-per formed-done. Here 176. Nisus erat, &c. Here the poet begins his celebrated episode of the friendship of Nisus and Euryalus. He had in the fourth book considered the force of love. he gives us a specimen of his skill in the power of friendship; and never was any thing more artfully disposed, more noble, more moving, and pathetic, than this piece. It is introduced without any formal introduction. He was speaking of the several posts that were to be defended; and among the rest, was one committed to the care of these two friends. 177. Ida: either the mother of Nisus · or mount Ida, which is sometimes called venatrix, because it abounded in game, and was frequented by hunters. Hyrtacides: a noun patronymic, from Hyrtacus, the father of Nisus. 181. Intonsa ora: his beardless faceunshaven face. 182. Bella: in the sense of pugnam. 185. An sua dirá cupido fit Deus cuique ? 196. Videor mihi posse reperire viam sub illo tumulo ad 201. Meus genitor 185 190 Euryale? an sua cuique Deus fit dira cupido? Obstupuit magno laudum perculsus amore latum Sed si quis (quæ multa vides discrimine tali) NOTES. 135. Dira: great, vehement, or ardent. Rumus says, ardens. 187. Agilat: urges-impels. Mihi: in the sense of mea. 189. Rara: here and there-few. Micant: in the sense of splendent. 190. Percipe quid dubitem: hear what I am meditating, and what, &c. This first speech is noble and disinterested. Nisus communicates his purposes to his friend; who is struck with the proposal, and takes it ill, that he should think of excluding him from a share of the danger and glory of the enterprise. Dubitem: in the sense of mediter. 193. Certa: the truth-true things. 195. Fama: the glory of the deed, &c. 196. Mœnia Pallantea: the city of Evan der. 197. Laudum : in the sense of gloriæ. 199. Rebus: enterprises-undertakings. 200. Fugis: refuse-reject. 202. Inter labores Troja. This intimates that he was about seventeen years of age. For Æneas' wanderings had continued seven years, and the Trojan war ten years. This made him just the age when youth among the Romans began to bear arms. It also agrees with what is said verse 181, supra, of his just beginning to have a beard. 195 200 203 210 203. Sublatum. This alludes to the Roman custom of laying down the child naked upon the ground as soon as born, that the father might take it up, in token of his owning it for his own child. Heyne says, natum et educatum. Nec gessi: nor have I performed such actions in your company, that you should now refuse me as your companion and partner in your hazardous enterprise; nor have I acted so cowardly, &c. 205. Est hic, &c. These two lines are extremely fine. Nisus replies to them in a speech extremely pathetic. He declines the company of Euryalus, chiefly on account of the dangers of the undertaking, his youth and inexperience; and his being more worthy of a long life. The whole is greatly heightened by the mention of his aged mother. Hic est, est animus: here is, here is a soul, a despiser of life; and which, &c. Lucis: in the sense of vita. aspire, or aim at. 210. Tali discrimine: in such a hazardous enterprise, as he had in contemplation. 211. Adversum: a sub. in the sense of periculum. Rapiat me: hurry me-carry me, &c. Sit, qui me raptum pugnâ, pretiove redemptum, NOTES. 213. Sit qui mandet: may there be some one who will commit me to the solitary earth, snatched from the field of battle, or redeemed with money, &c. 215. Ferat: or may perform the funeral rites to me absent, and honor me with an empty tomb. It was usual among the Romans, when the corpse could not be obtained, to perform the same funeral rites, as if it were present. The tomb was said to be empty, because the corpse was not there. Of such a burial, Nisus here speaks. 217. Ausa: having courage-daring. Rueus says, audax. 218. Mania Acesta. This was the city which Eneas founded in Sicily, and called after the name of his friend Acestes. Here he left the aged and infirm, and all who were not willing to accompany him into Italy. The mother of Euryalus was among those who braved the dangers of the voyage, and accompanied him, the poet intimates, for the sake of her son. 219. Causas: pretexts-excuses. 221. Excitat vigiles: at the same time, he wakes the watch-those who were to keep watch in turn. 223. Regem: Ascanius here is intended, as being a prince and heir to the crown. 213. Sit aliquis, qu mandet me solitâ humo 215 219. Autem ille Eury220 alus respondet. 225 230 235 240 232. Dicunt rem esse magnam 224. Cætera animalia, &c. This is very expressive, and greatly heightens the image. At this time, when all nature was silent, and enjoying repose, the Trojan chiefs were assembled in council upon the state of their affairs. At this moment, they are surprised by Nisus and Euryalus, who demand to be admitted. 227. Regni: government-state. 231. Admillier: by paragoge, for admitti. 232. Pretium mora. He observes that the subject he wished to propose, was of great importance, and would sufficiently compensate for the interruption of their deliberations. 235. Spectentur: in the sense of æstimentur. Ferimus: in the sense of proponimus. 237. Insidiis locum: we have observed a place for our purpose-one fit for the execution of our design. Nos ipsi: we ourselves. 238. In bivio porta: in the forked ways of the gate where the way before the gate divides into two paths. 239. Ignes interrupti: the fires are dying away; or, only here and there one is burning, the rest having gone out. 240. Uti fortund: to embrace this oppor tunity. |