mortal; whereas Castor, being the son of Tyndareus, was subject to mortality. Upon the death of Castor, Pollux, from his great affection for him, shared with him his immortality, so that they lived by turns, one day in the world above, another in the world below.-122. Viam, i. e. this way to the lower world, near which we two are.

123. Et mî genus, &c. “My origin also is from Jove supreme, (and why may I not, therefore, do the same?)" i. e. why may I not, as they did, visit the regions below.

124. Arasque tenebat. "And kept clinging to the horns of the altar." Observe the force of the plural, and consult note on iv. 219. The altar referred to must be supposed to have stood in the vestibule or entrance of the sanctuary, corresponding to that usually placed in the pronaos of a temple.-126. Averno. Poetic idiom for in Avernum. 128. Hoc opus, &c. "This is the (true) task, this the (true) difficulty (of the undertaking)." Any one can descend at pleasure to the regions below, for the portals of gloomy Pluto lie constantly open to receive all of mortal birth; the real difficulty consists in returning to the light of day.

131. Tenent media omnia silvæ. "Woods occupy all the space between (the upper and the lower world)." One of the causes of difficulty in returning is the thick forest that intervenes. The poet borrows the idea of this forest from the thick woods surrounding at one time the Lake Avernus.-132. Cocytusque sinu labens, &c. Cocytus was one of the fabled rivers of the lower world. This opposes another barrier to egress from the realms of Pluto. It is rather singular that the poet, when mentioning these obstacles, did not reflect that they formed as serious an impediment to one entering as to one endeavouring to depart from the world of the dead. And, again, if one could make his way through them in entering, what was there to prevent his returning by the same route?

134. Bis Stygios innare lacus. "Of twice floating upon the Stygian lake," i. e. now, as well as after death. Innare, by a Græcism, for innandi. So videre for videndi.-135. Insano labori. "In so wild an undertaking." Heyne makes insanus labor equivalent to magnum ausum, or ardua res. This, however, wants strength.-138. Dictus sacer. "Consecrated." Literally, "called sacred."-Junoni infernæ. "To the Juno of the lower world." Proserpina. So Pluto is called the Stygian Jove, &c.-Omnis lucus. Referring to the forest around the Avernian lake.

140. Operta. "The dark recesses." Supply loca.-141. Auricomos quam quis, &c. "Before that he has plucked from the tree its goldentressed shoot," i. e. the branch with its golden foliage. The term coma (occurring here in auricomos) is often applied poetically to the foliage of trees.-Quis. For aliquis. But as cui for (alicui) is to be supplied with datur, the pronoun quis here obtains the force of ille. Wagner reads qui in this sense : Non datur, nisi ei, qui ante decerpserit."-142. Suum. "As one peculiarly dear."

143. Primo avulso. Supply ramo.-Non deficit, i. e. immediately occupies the place of the former.-145. Alte. High up in the tree, buried amid the thick foliage.-Rite. To be taken with carpe.-147. Te vocant, i. e. if it is fated for thee to visit the lower world.-148. Vincere. "To overcome it," i. e. its resistance to being separated from the parent tree.

149. Jacet exanimum, &c. Alluding to the death of Misenus, mentioned at line 162, seqq.-150. Incestat. "Pollutes." The presence of

a corpse was always thought to have a polluting effect.-151. Pendere, according to Servius, is, properly, "desiderare aliquid audire.” Compare iv. 79, "Pendetque iterum narrantis ab ore."

152. Sedibus hunc, &c. "Restore him first to his proper abode," i. e. to the earth, which is the proper habitation of the dead, and to which we are said to be restored in death, since from it the human race first came into life. Observe the force of the plural in sedibus.— 153. Nigras. Because intended for the deities of the world of darkness.-155. Presso. For compresso.

157. Ingreditur. "Enters (on his way)," i. e. begins to pursue the route to his fleet.-159. Et paribus curis, &c. i. e. and moves on, a prey to equal cares with Eneas.-160. Serebant for disserebant. "They discussed."

164. Æoliden. "Son of Eolus." Many commentators suppose that as Misenus played upon a wind instrument, the poet, by a figurative genealogy, makes him the son of the wind-god. Not so, however. Virgil calls him Eolides, as indicating merely his descent from a mortal father, named Eolus, probably the same with the one who is said to have fallen in battle with the Latins. (En. xii. 542, seqq.— Heyne, Excurs. vii. ad Æn. vi.)

165. Ære ciere viros, &c. i. e. in giving the signal with the brazen trumpet to engage. Ciere and accendere, by a Græcism, for in ciendo, in accendendo. According to Servius, when Virgil recited this passage to Augustus, the verse was imperfect, consisting only of the hemistich, are ciere viros. In the presence of Augustus, however, and at the instant, the poet added, Martemque accendere cantu. There appears to have been no essential difference in form between Greek and Roman or Tyrrhenian trumpets. Both were long, straight, bronze tubes, gradually increasing in diameter, and terminating in a bellshaped aperture.

166. Circum. "In company with," or, "in attendance upon."167. Obibat. Observe the use of the imperfect, to denote continued action, between fuerat and addiderat, where the mere fact of an action's having taken place is implied.-Lituo. This instrument was long, and curved at the end. From the similarity of form, the original staff received the same appellation. Virgil indulges in an anachronism here, in making Misenus acquainted with the lituus, since both the lituus and tuba were unknown in Homeric times. He has merely, however, followed in this the custom of the tragic writers. 170. Non inferiora secutus. "Having followed a not inferior leader," i. e. one not inferior to Hector himself. An imitation of the Greek idiom, by which the thing is put for the person; as, for example, τὰ ἥττω for τὸν ἥττονα. Observe the use of concha for lituus, as if, in the flow of composition, the word had escaped unwittingly from the poet, who was thinking at the time of Triton and the shell on which he is always represented blowing.

173. Emulus exceptum Triton, &c. "Triton, jealous of his skill, had taken the hero by surprise," &c.-Triton. A sea-deity, the son of Neptune and Amphitrite, and made by the poets his father's trumpeter. He was represented blowing on a shell.

177. Aram sepulchri. "An altar-shaped funeral pile." The pile was built in the form of an altar, with four equal sides, whence the language of the text. Ovid, in like manner, calls it funeris ara.— (Trist. iii. 13, 21.)

179. Itur. "They go," i. c. itur ab illis.-180. Picea. These, on

account of their resinous nature, would be especially needed for the funeral pile.-182. Scinditur. Is in the singular number, agreeing with the nearer and more important noun; the robur being employed in greater abundance than the fraxinea trabes.-184. Paribus armis. i. e. with tools like those wielded by the rest. This piety towards the dead well becomes the character of Eneas, and the poet dexterously avails himself of it to pave the way for the discovery of the tree containing, amid its foliage, the twig of gold.

185. Ipse has here the force of solus.-Tristi. Referring to his sadness for the loss of Misenus.-186. Aspectans. "Gazing wishfully at." Observe the force of the frequentative.-Et. " And at length." His silent musings are at length succeeded by audible prayer.-187. Si nunc se nobis, &c. "O, if that golden branch on the tree now display itself unto me!" Observe the use of the present subjunctive with si, implying that the branch may or may not be now displaying itself to the view; in other words, not excluding the possibility of such a thing's taking place: on the other hand, si ostenderet would exclude the probability of its now happening. Compare with the use of si in this passage, as indicating a wish, the Greek idiom in the case of ɛi and εἰ γάρ.

192. Sedere. 66 Lighted."-193. Maternas ares. The dove was sacred to Venus. So, also, the eagle was sacred to Jupiter; the peacock to Juno; the owl to Minerva; the cock to Mars, &c.-194. 0, si qua via est. "If any way there be." Mark the use of the indicacative with si, as indicating his secret belief that there really was some path, that was now to be pointed out to him.-195. Ubi pinguem, &c. "(To the spot) where the rich bough casts its shade upon the fertile soil." Opacat humum is a mere poetic phrase, and its meaning must not be pressed too closely. The idea to be conveyed is simply this: "where the golden bough is."

197. Vestigia pressit. "He checked his footsteps," i. e. stood still. In taking auguries, after the prayer, the observer, says Servius, either stood or sat down.-198. Quae signa ferant. "What indications they may give."-199. Pascentes illæ tantum, &c. "They, feeding all the while, kept moving onward only so far in their flight, as the eyes of those following could mark them by their ken."-Prodire. Historical infinitive, for prodibant.

201. Graveolentis. "Noisome." To be pronounced, in scanning, grav'olentis.-203. Sedibus optatis. "In the wished-for seats," i. e. the place which they had long desired to reach. Wagner thinks that optatis refers rather to the circumstance of this being the spot where the desired branch was to be found by Æneas.-204. Discolor unde auri, &c. "Whence the splendour of the gold, differing in hue from that of the tree itself, shone forth through the branches." The branch was golden, and, consequently, yellow of hue; the tree itself was green. Hence the force of discolor.

205. Quale solet silvis, &c. "Just as in the woods the mistletoe, which its own tree produces not, is wont to bloom with new foliage amid the winter cold, and to encircle the tapering trunks with its yellow shoots." The mistletoe is a parasitical plant, twining itself around various trees, and growing at their expense; for the roots insinuate their fibres into the woody substance of these trees, and the plant lives entirely on their sap, since its own stem and leaves are incapable of absorbing moisture.-Brumali frigore. The mistletoe blooms in the winter season.-206. Quod non sua seminat arbos. The

seeds from which the mistletoe springs are deposited on trees by birds, especially by the large or missel thrush, with whom its berries are a favourite food.-Sua arbos. The tree around which it twines.207. Et croceo foetu, &c. The leaves of the mistletoe are green in winter, but its stalk and shoots are of a yellow or saffron hue. Hence the golden twig amid the green leaves of the tree is compared to the winter garb assumed by the mistletoe.

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209. Talis erat species, &c. "Such was the appearance of the gold sprouting forth on the dark-hued holm-tree; so did the metallic leaf tinkle in the gentle wind." Bractea is properly any thin leaf or plate of metal; here, however, of gold.-211. Cunctantem. Seeming (to him) to delay." It appeared merely to delay to the impatient and eager Æneas. Any actual delay on the part of the twig would have falsified the words of the sibyl, at line 146.

213. Et cineri ingrato. "To his senseless ashes." Literally, "ungrateful ashes," because not aware of the kind and pious offices that were rendered, and therefore making no return.-214. Pinguem tædis, &c. "Resinous with pines and cleft oak," i. e. of resinous pine and cleft oak.-215. Ingentem pyram. The longer and higher the funeral pile, the greater the mark of respect to the memory of the deceased. The student will note the description of the funeral solemnities here given, as it forms a summary of the principal rites of the Romans on such occasions.

Cui frondibus atris, &c. "Its sides they intertwine with boughs of dark foliage," i. e. with boughs of yew, pine, and such other trees as are suited, by their sombre foliage, for funeral solemnities. The sides of the funeral pile, among the Romans, were, by a law of the twelve tables, to be left rough and unpolished. They were, frequently, however, as in the present instance, covered with dark leaves.-216. Et ferales ante cupressos, &c. "And place in front funeral cypressés." Many commentators imagine that trees are here meant, and that they were planted before the pile. It is more probable, however, that, by cupressos in the text, we must understand merely logs of cypress, placed on the front part of the pile. These, while burning, would counteract by their odour the unpleasant effluvia from the dead body. The cypress, too, on another account, is a fit tree for funeral solemnities, since, when once cut, it never grows again.

218. Frigentis. "Of him lying cold in death." The washing of the corpse with warm water, the subsequent anointing of it, the keeping of it eight days in the house before burning, and the bidding farewell in a loud tone of voice at the funeral pile, were all, in reality, so many precautions, says Pliny, against premature interment, where a party was not actually dead, but only in a state of suspended animation.-221. Purpureasque super, &c. His best attire is now thrown over the deceased.

223. Et subjectam more parentum, &c. "And with averted look, after the manner of their fathers, they held the torch placed beneath." This turning away of the face was done "ominis causa," and the act of firing the pile was performed by the nearest relation. -224. Facem. On ancient monuments, the torch appears to be formed of wooden staves or twigs, either bound by a rope drawn round them in a spiral form, or surrounded by circular bands at equal distances. The inside of the torch may be supposed to have been filled with flax, tow, or other vegetable fibres, the whole being

abundantly impregnated with pitch, rosin, wax, oil, and other inflammable substances.

224. Congesta cremantur, &c. These and various other articles, such as ornaments, vestments, &c. were accustomed to be thrown into the fire as the flames began to rise.-225. Dapes. Some commentators, following Homer (I. xxiii. 168), make this term signify "the fat of animals." Others understand by it "dishes of food." We prefer following Heyne, according to whom it means pieces of the flesh of different animals (oxen, swine, sheep, &c.) thrown into the flames as portions of so many victims.

228. Cado aheno. "In a brazen urn." Brazen, or rather, bronze, funeral urns were not so frequently employed as those of marble, alabaster, or baked clay. Still, however, they are sometimes found even in modern times. The funeral urns were most commonly square or round. Those preserved at the present day have usually an inscription or epitaph upon them, beginning with the letters D.M.S. or only D.M. that is, Dis Manibus Sacrum, followed by the name of the deceased, with the length of his life, &c.

228. Idem ter socios, &c. "The same individual thrice carried the limpid water around his companions." Put for tulit undam circa socios. So circumdare oppidum castris, or circumdare castra oppido. Corynæus, on this occasion, carries the lustral water round in a vessel, and sprinkles the company with it by means of a branch of olive.-230. Felicis oliva. "Of prolific olive." The domestic olive is meant, as opposed to the oleaster or wild olive, which is unproductive, and therefore termed infelix. 231. Dixitque novissima verba. "And pronounced the last farewell." This consisted in pronouncing vale, "farewell," three times.

233. Suaque arma viro, &c. "And places thereon for the man the instruments of his calling," &c. He was both oarsman and trumpeter. In Homeric times the warriors themselves handled the oar. The implements of a person's calling were in early times placed upon his tomb, as in the present case. As, however, they were liable to injury from exposure, the custom afterward arose of representing them in stone or marble.-234. Misenus. This is the Misenum promontorium, now Cape Miseno, still retaining the name of the warrior, supposing the origin of that name to be true (which, however, is not the case), and forming the upper extremity of the Bay of Naples.— 236. He has obtained the golden bough, and is now prepared to act.

It may not be amiss, before leaving this part of the poem, to enumerate briefly the different steps taken in the interment of the dead, as they are alluded to in the text: 1. The corpse is washed with warm water, and then anointed. 2. A dirge is sung. 3. The body is laid upon the bier. 4. The most valuable raiment of the deceased is placed upon the corpse. 5. The bier is then placed upon the top of the funeral pile. 6. This funeral pile, which has meanwhile been erecting, is of an altar-shape, and is constructed of resinous woods, oak, cypress logs, &c. 7. The pile is set fire to by the nearest relative, whose face is turned away at the time. 8. When the flames begin to rise, various perfumes are thrown into the fire, pieces of the flesh of victims, bowls of oil, ornaments, vestments, and other things supposed to be agreeable to the deceased. 9. The pile being burned down, the embers are soaked with wine, and the bones and ashes of the deceased are gathered by the nearest relatives and placed in an urn. 10. All present are then thrice