commentator, why true dreams are made to pass through the horn gate, and false ones through that of ivory, the most plausible appears to be this, namely, that horn is a fit emblem of truth, as being transparent and pervious to the sight; whereas ivory is impenetrable to the vision.

896. Sed. "But (through this)."-897. Ubi. Standing near the beginning of the sentence, this adverb has here the force of ibi. Some MSS. read ibi at once.-898. Portáque emittit eburnâ. The commentators make a great difficulty here, being unable clearly to discover why Virgil dismisses Eneas and the Sibyl by the ivory gate, this being the one through which false dreams pass to the upper world. The answer is a very simple one. Neither of the gates in question was made for the egress of mortals, and, therefore, the poet might cause the hero and his companion to leave the lower world by whichever one he pleased.

899. Viam secat. "Moves with rapid steps." Compare the Greek Téμvεiv ódóv.-900. Tum se ad Caietæ, &c. Caieta was a town and harbour of Latium, lying some distance to the north-west of Cumæ. -Recto limite. Equivalent here to rectá riâ. We have read limite, with Heyne, instead of litore, as Wagner, and others before him, give it. The presence of litore in the succeeding line favours the change, since Virgil could hardly have used the same word a second time after so short an interval.

BOOK SEVENTH.

1. Tu quoque, &c., i. e. thou, too, as well as Misenus and Palinurus. (Compare vi. 234, 381.) According to the poetic legend, Æneas buried his nurse on this part of the Italian coast, and the promontory, harbour, and city of Caieta were called after her name. For the true etymology, however, consult Anthon's Class. Dict.-Litoribus nostris. Referring to the shores of Italy, since it is the poet that speaks.-2. Eternam. The promontory, port, and city of Gaeta still retain enough of the ancient name to fulfil this poetic prediction.

3. Et nunc servat honos, &c. "And still even now thy honoured memory preserves its abiding-place," i. e. still lingers around this spot. Sedem is generally regarded here as equivalent to sepulcrum ; but the meaning which we have assigned it seems preferable.—Ossaque nomen, &c. "And thy name marks (the spot where) thy remains (lie interred) in great Hesperia, if that be any title to renown," i. e. the name of the promontory, port, and city stand in place of a monumental inscription.-4. Si qua est ea gloria. Equivalent, in fact, to quæ est magna gloria.

7. Tendit iter velis, i. e. sails onward with a fair wind.-8. Aspirant auræ, &c. "The breezes freshen towards the approach of night." So Heyne and Binet.-9. Tremulo sub lumine. The epithet tremulo beautifully describes the moonbeams dancing upon the top of the

water.

10. Proxima Circaa, &c. Circe was fabled to have inhabited an island on the Italian coast, above Caieta. This island was afterwards

connected with the continent by accumulations of sand, and became the promontory of Circeii.-11. Dices. Virgil appears to have had in view here the description which Homer gives of the wealth and splendor of Circe's abode. (Od. x. 210, seqq.; 314, seqq.; 348, seqq.) -Inaccessos. "That ought not to be approached." Equivalent to inaccedendos. The groves were full of danger to those who entered, on account of the transformations which all underwent who tasted the cup of Circe.-Solis filia. Circe was a daughter of the sun-god, according to both Homer and Hesiod.-12. Resonat. For resonare facit.

Tectisque superbis. According to Homer, the palace of Circe was in the centre of the grove.-13. Urit odoratum, &c. "Burns the fragrant juniper for a nocturnal light," i. e. to give light during the night season, while she plies the loom. On such occasions the wood was placed in a sort of brazier, called sometimes ignitabulum.—Cedrum. The cedrus of the Romans, and redpog of the Greeks, was, according to the best botanical authorities, a species of juniper.-14. Arguto tenues, &c. The epithet arguto refers to the sound made by the shuttle in passing. Trapp : "While, through the slender web [ Her whistling shuttle flies along the loom."

15. Exaudiri. "Were distinctly heard." The historical infinitive, taking the place of the imperfect.-Ira. "The angry cries."-18. Sævire. "Were raging." Historical infinitive again.-Formæ magnorum luporum. "Wolves of vast size."-19. Potentibus herbis. "By potent herbs," i. e. by the juices of magic herbs which she had mixed together in her cup. Compare Milton's Comus :

"My mother Circe with her Syrens three,

Culling their potent herbs and baleful drugs."

-20. Induerat in vultus, &c. "Had transformed into the visages and bodies of wild beasts." Induo carries with it the idea of clothing or arraying one in any garb or covering. Circe here clothes them with the form of animals. The cup of Circe is a type of the degrading effects of sensuality.

21. Quæ monstra talia. "So monstrous a fate as this," i. e. so unnatural a change.-24. Præter vada fervida, i. e. past the island, which projected like a promontory, and around the point of which the waves were always more or less agitated.

26. Lutea. "The saffron-hued." Equivalent to crocea. Compare the Homeric Koокóжεπλоç, as applied to Aurora.-27. Posuere. "Became stilled." Supply sese.-28. Et in lento luctantur, &c. “And the oars struggle in the placid marble of the deep." Marmor is here applied to the sea, not with any reference to solidity, but as indicating a bright and polished surface. This usage comes into the Latin from the Greek. Homer calls the bright sea, shining beneath the rays of the sun, papuapény üλa. Hence, also, we have, in a similar sense, in other writers, πόντος μάρμαρος and τὰ μάρμαρα πόντου. From this the Latin poets made marmora pelagi, as Catullus, for example, because μáρμарoç πέтTpos, i. e. λεvкós ("white"), is in Latin marmor.

Tonsa. Agreeing with arbores understood, and referring properly to branches of trees shorn of their foliage, &c.; and then to oars.

29. Ingentem lucum. Virgil makes the banks of the Tiber, near its mouth, to have been covered at this early period with thick woods; and historical accounts would seem to confirm the accuracy of this

description. In the territory of Laurentum, moreover, where Æneas landed, there was, in more ancient times, a dense growth of baytrees (laurus), whence both the territory and city derived their name.-30. Hunc inter. "Between this," i. e. with the grove on either side.-32. Varia. "Of varied plumage."-36. Fluvio succedit opaco. Æneas enters the mouth of the stream, and disembarks in the territory of Laurentum.

37. Nunc age, qui reges, &c. A new invocation here takes place, on the important occasion of the arrival of Æneas in Italy.-Erato. The muse of amatory poetry, here invoked by the poet, in allusion, probably, to the union of Æneas and Lavinia, on which turns the denouement of the poem.-Qui reges. Latinus, Turnus, and Mezentius. Quæ tempora rerum. "What complexion of the times." This alludes to the public relations between the different communities; while status points to the state of things in each particular one.-43. Tyrrhenamque manum. "And the Tuscan bands." Alluding to the story of Mezentius.-45. Majus opus moveo. "I enter upon a greater task."-Virgil, after having imitated the Odyssey in the first six books of his poem, announces that he intends to raise his strains. He is now to take the Iliad for his model.

47. Hunc Fauno, &c. The race of Latinus is carried back by the poet to Saturn its founder, who reigned in Latium during the golden age. From Saturn came Picus; from Picus, Faunus.-Genitum. Supply fuisse.-48. Pater. Supply erat.-49. Te refert. "Cites thee." -Tu sanguinis ultimus auctor. "Thou art the remotest author of his line."-51. Primâque oriens, &c. "But one (son), just rising into life, was snatched away in the first (bloom of) youth."-52. Observe the force of the imperfect in sercabat. She was expected to preserve, being as yet merely heiress to the throne.

56. Avis atavisque potens, i. e. powerful in a long line of ancestry. Turnus was descended from Pilumnus, a son of Jupiter, who married Danaë, daughter of Acrisius, king of Argos, when, banished from her father's palace, she came into Italy with an Argive colony. Turnus was the son of Daunus, king of Apulia, by Venilia, the sister of Amata, queen of Latinus.-Quem regia conjux, &c. "Whom the royal spouse (of Latinus) strove to have connected as her son-in-law (with her line)." With adjungi supply sibi.

59. Tecti medio. "In the centre of the palace." Virgil here speaks in accordance with Roman customs, and makes the palace of Latinus to have had an impluvium, or open space in the centre. As the Romans frequently planted trees in this central court, so here we find a bay-tree growing in the impluvium of the palace of Latinus. In penetralibus altis. "In a deeply-retired court."-60. Sacra comam. "Of sacred foliage." The whole tree was sacred, and the foliage, of course, untouched. Hence sacra comam is equivalent to frondibus intactis.-Metu. "With (religious) veneration.”—63. Laurentesque ab eá, &c. By colonis are meant the natives of the surrounding country, who belonged to the stock of the aborigines. The poet makes them to have been called Laurentes from the single laurus found here. The more common account says that the country, city, and people were styled Laurentum, Laurentes, &c., from the dense woods of bay-trees that covered the face of the land.

66. Obsedere. "Beset." From obsīdo. This verb denotes, not so much a settling on the top of the tree, as a swarming around it. A part only settle on it at last, the remainder hanging down from it

like a cluster of grapes, an appearance expressed in Greek by the adverb ẞorpudóv.-Pedibus per mutua nexis. "With their feet linked one to another."-67. Ramo frondente pependit. "According to Pliny (H. N. ix. 17), bees swarming and settling on a bay-tree were a bad omen. They were also thought to afford a sinister presage when appearing in any sacred place, or on the tent of a commander.

69. Et partes petere, &c. "And a host froin the same parts (whence came the bees), seeking the same parts (unto which they winged their way), and ruling as masters from the very summit of our citadel." As the Trojans were to come from the Lower or Tuscan Sea, the bees must be supposed to have arrived from that same quarter. On the other hand, the allusion in partes easdem is to the summit of the tree; and as the bees took possession of, and hung down from the top of this, so the Trojans were to bear sway from the very citadel of Laurentum.-70. Dominarier. Old form for dominari.

71. Castis adolet dum, &c. "While the virgin Lavinia kindles up the altars with the hallowed brands." Adoleo properly carries with it the idea of rising, ascending, or heaping up. Hence the meaning properly is, Icauses the flames to arise from the brands on the altar."-74. Ornatum. "As to her attire." The accusative of nearer definition, in imitation of the Greek.—77. Vulcanum. Metonymy, for ignem..

78. Ferri. "Was regarded (by the soothsayers)." Historical infinitive for ferebatur.-80. Ipsam. "That the princess herself." Lavinia is here put in opposition to the nation at large, as indicated by populo.-81. Oracula Fauni, &c. "Goes to the hallowed oracle of Faunus, his prophetic sire." Observe the force of the plural in oracula.-82. Lucosque sub altâ, &c. The oracle of Faunus was in a thick grove below the springs or fountain of Albunea, which last were on the hill of Tibur, or Tivoli, and likewise surrounded by dense woods. The springs of Albunea were the largest of the sources whence were formed the Albulae Aqua, and the name Albunea, as well as that of Albulæ Aquæ, has reference to the whitish colour of the water, which is of a sulphureous character, and emits a noisome stench. According to Bonstetten, the Acqua solforata d'Altieri now answers to the ancient Albunea. The Albulae Aquae flow into the Anio.-Altâ Albuneâ. According to Cluver, the fountain of Albunea is of unknown depth.

83. Nemorum quæ maxima, &c. "Which, greatest of the foreststreams, resounds with its sacred fountain, and, buried in shade, exhales a noisome stench," i. e. a noxious, mephitic gas, produced by the sulphureous character of the soil. This passage has given rise to much discussion. Heyne at first explained nemorum by a reference to the Greek idiom, "through the grove," like karà, or dià Tou äλoove, for iv äλout. Afterward, however, he proposes the following, which we have adopted: “Albunea (aqua), quæ, maxima (aquarum) nemorum, sonat sacro fonte." Bonstetten, following Probus, makes Albunea here the name of a forest, not of a fountain, an explanation which Wagner thinks removes the whole difficulty. But what meaning are we then to attach to lucos sub altâ Albuneâ (silvá)?

85. Enotria tellus. Put for Italy in general. Consult note on i. 532.-88. Incubuit. Referring to the priest. This lying down in temples for the purpose of obtaining responses was termed incubatio, Lykoiμnois. Heyne makes the priest and the individual consulting

the oracle both lie down in the temple. Latinus lies down in the temple, because in him the functions of king and priest were combined.-91. Atque imis Acheronta, &c. "And addresses the deities and manes of the lower world, in the furthest depths of Avernus.” Acheron here stands for the deities and manes of the world below, and Avernus for the lower world itself, of which it formed one of the

entrances.

94. Tergo. For tergoribus.-96. Connubiis natam sociare Latinis, i. e. in wedlock to a Latin. Connubiis, the plural for the singular, as more solemn. So thalamis for thalamo, and generi for gener.—97. Thalamis neu crede paratis, i. e. and reject the nuptial arrangements already made for the union of thy daughter with Turnus. This prince, although a Rutulian, belonged to the great Latin race, and hence was excluded by the words of the oracle from the hand of Lavinia.—98. Externi generi. "A foreign son-in-law."-Sanguine. "By his descendants.-100. Recurrens. "At his rising and setting."-101. Oceanum utrumque. The Eastern and Western oceans. A flattering allusion to the extent of the Roman power under Augustus, who, while in the East, had received ambassadors from the banks of the Indus.

103. Premit. Equivalent to celat.-106. Gramineo ab aggere. "To the grassy bank (of the Tiber)." The preposition ab refers, literally, to the bank as the quarter whence the firm hold proceeded.

109. Et adorea liba, &c. "And place along the grass wheaten cakes beneath the viands (so Jove suggested), and heap up with wild fruits the Cereal base," i. e. the wheaten base, in allusion to Ceres, the goddess of husbandry. These cakes were made of wheaten flour, with honey and oil, and were generally used on sacred occasions. They were circular, and marked off into four quarters by a cross drawn on the surface.-110. Jupiter ille. Literally, "that Jupiter," i. e. who had been their guide and counsellor in all their wanderings. -111. Solum. So termed, because on this the food was laid.

112. Ut vertere morsus, &c. "When a scantiness of food drove them to turn their bites against the small-sized cake," &c.-114. Violare. When meat was placed before a person at table on cakes or bread, used as plates with us, to eat this bread or cake was deemed inauspicious. That violare here has some such reference to sacred things and their violation, appears plain from the presence of audacibus in the succeeding clause.-Orbem. The whole surface of the round cake.-115. Crusti fatalis. The cake is called "fated," because it indicated their fortunes.-Quadris. "Quarters." Consult note on line 109.

117. Nec plura alludens. "Nor joking further unto (those around)." Observe the force of ad in composition.-Ea rox. "This (casual) remark."-118. Tulit finem. "Announced the termination."-119. Ac stupefactus numine pressit. "And astounded at the (strange) fulfilment of the prediction, mused (for a moment upon it)." Heyne explains pressit by "checked his son. This, however, cannot be the meaning of the poet, since Ascanius had already checked himself, as is shown by the words nec plura alludens. It is better, therefore, with Wagner, to supply animo after pressit, making the full expression to be vocem animo pressit, as we have explained it.

121. O fidi Troja Penates. They had predicted unto him, in the dream mentioned in a previous book, that he should reach Italy in the course of his wanderings. (Compare iii. 163, seqq.)-123. Repeto.