Unde ruunt totidem voces, responsa Sibyllae. Delphi approaching the adytum' in the 44.] Ruunt' expresses the general practice through these doors the responses of the Sibyl are habitually communicated. 45.] Limen,' sc. 'antri;' whether identical with any of these doors we are not told. The Sibyl goes into the cave (comp. v. 77); Aeneas and the Trojans remain outside. Poscere fata' is explained by what follows, v. 52. The sacrifices had been performed, but prayer was still necessary to obtain the response, and this was the time for prayer, the god having already manifested himself. The words seem to mean to ask Apollo for oracles,' 'fata' being used as in 1. 382 &c. Comp. G. 3. 456, meliora deos sedet omina poscens," and possibly A. 3. 456, where however see note. Elsewhere, as in 7. 272 &c., the fates themselves are said 'poscere.' Tempus poscere" 9. 12. For the construction see on G. 1. 213. 66 64 47.] Ante fores' like 'ad limen.' 'Unus''idem,' with which it is not unfrequently joined: see Forc. The sense is not that her countenance and colour keep changing, but that they are different from what they were before. 48.] Comptae: Heyne remarks that her hair would be already unbound, as the sacrifice had been made (see on 3. 370), so that Virg. must here mean that the hair stood on end or was tossed about. But we need not press the poet so closely. Unbound or dishevelled hair was usual when a priest or prophet approached the gods and Virg. has chosen to represent the hair of the Sibyl as becoming disordered at this particular point of the story. 49.] Rabie' with 'tument.' " As the forms of the gods and of the dead were supposed to be larger than those of ordinary humanity (see on 2. 773), so the Sibyl 6 45 50 seems to increase in stature under the Her bosom heaves and swells, her stature Videri' might be regarded as a historical infinitive, with Serv. and some of the early editors: but Heyne rightly constructs it with maior,' as if it were a translation of μείζων εἰσιδεῖν. Wagn. comp. "niveus videri" Hor. 4 Od. 2. 59, "lubricus adspici" Id. 1 Od. 19. 7. Some notion equivalent to facta est' must of course be supplied from the context. 50.] Sonare' of a person speaking loudly, 12. 529. With the expression generally comp. 1. 328, "haud tibi voltus Mortalis, nec vox hominem sonat." Quando' is causal rather than temporal, so that Heyne's suggestion, adopted by Jahn, to place a period at 'sonans,' and connect adflata est' with what follows, would be no improvement. With the position of 'quando' comp. 10. 366, "aspera quis natura loci dimittere quando Suasit equos." Serv. explains adflata' "nondum deo plena, sed adflata vicinitate numinis;" but adflare' and 'adflatus' (subst.) are terms regularly used of divine inspiration (see Forc.), like è inveîv and its cognates. 51.] With 'propiore' comp. the use of 'praesens,' 'adesse,' of divine favour, and the cognate 'propitius.' 'Cessas in vota' is a variety for the more ordinary use of cessare' with the abl., as in Cic. Sen. 5, neque unquam in suo studio atque opere cessavit." Forb. comp. “audere in proelia' 2. 347. We should expect the construction 'in' with acc. after a verb signifying tendency to promote an object rather than the reverse: but the explanation doubtless Tros, ait, Aenea? cessas? neque enim ante dehiscent is that the absence of such a tendency is 52.] Enim' gives the reason why he 53.] The earlier commentators, following Serv., were satisfied with making 'attonitae'='facientis attonitos.' Later editors, who see that both on poetical and grammatical grounds it is to be understood strictly, the house being conceived of and endowed with human feelings, are still divided as to the force which should be given to it, Heyne and Wagn. referring it to the effect of the sudden opening of the doors, Henry to the spell-bound silence which prevents the opening, while Forb. after Süpfl understands it generally of the condition of the cave as possessed by the god. On the whole Henry's interpretation seems to give the most consistent and poetical picture. He compares a similar application of the word in Lucan 2. 21, "Sic funere primo Attonitae tacuere domus, cum corpora nondum Conclamata iacent." The Sibyl, in describing the feelings of the 'domus,' is in effect describing her own. The effect of the inspiration is to bewilder and confound her, so that she cannot at first master herself sufficiently to speak; and so now after a hurried injunction to Aeneas she relapses into her stormy silence. 54.] Dura iron as was the nature of the Trojan warriors, they trembled in every limb. "Gelidusque per ima cucurrit Ossa tremor" 2. 120. 55.] Heins. restored 'fundit' for 'fudit,' the old reading, found in none of Ribbeck's MSS. 56-76.] Aeneas invokes Apollo as the 55 60 patron of Troy and his own guide in his wanderings, praying of him, of the gods who have hitherto opposed Troy, and of the Sibyl herself, that he may at last be allowed to settle in Latium, and promising a temple to Apollo and Diana. He begs the Sibyl not to write but speak her oracle.' 56.] "O sola infandos Troiae miserata labores" 1. 597. 57.] Dardana' in prose would be constructed with Paridis' rather than with 'tela:' but it is in any case emphatic, as its position shows. Achilles, the greatest enemy of Troy, had been destroyed by Apollo, and not only this, but destroyed through the instrumentality of a Trojan. The joint agency of Apollo and Paris in the death of Achilles was part of the Homeric tradition, II. 22. 359, other stories making Paris the sole agent (Dict. M. 'Achilles'). In Ov. M. 12. 580 foll. Apollo, at the instance of Neptune, appears to Paris, encourages him to shoot at Achilles rather than at meaner foes, and guides his aim. Direxti:' see on 5. 786. With tela manusque,' which may be called a species of hendiadys, the notion being a single one, the hand fixing the arrow or the arrow fixed by the hand, comp. Aesch. Ag. 111, ξὺν δορὶ καὶ χερὶ πράκτορι. 58.] Obire' of surrounding, Ov. M. 5. 51, chlamydem quam limbus obibat aureus," Forc. So A. 10. 482. 59.] Tot' is probably to be explained from the context, and especially from v. 62. 'So many seas as I have entered, it is time that I should rest.' Intravi' implies that the seas were previously unknown to him, "hospita aequora," as they are called 3. 373. 'Duce te' need not mean that Apollo showed the way, but merely that he prompted them to sail till they should reach Italy. Comp. "me duce" 10. 92. Repostas' 3. 364 note. Penitus' is only an extension of the same notion, so that the two words="longe remotas." 60.] Massylum gentis 4. 132, 483. Iam tandem Italiae fugientis prendimus oras; Syrtibus' is not dat. but abl., the expression being i. q. "arva quibus (dat.) Syrtes praetentae sunt." Comp. "praetexit nomine culpam" 4. 172. 61.] On a comparison of 3. 496., 5. 629, it may be doubted whether 'fugientis' is gen. sing., or, as Wagn. suggests, acc. pl. Perhaps it is more like Virg. to separate the noun from its epithet.Fugientes' is said to be the reading of eight MSS. examined by Burm. Prendimus' may be either present or perf., but the former seems rhetorically preferable. The word is meant to be graphic, expressing a physical grasp of a thing which had nearly slipped away. Comp. 12. 775, "teloque sequi, quem prendere cursu Non poterat.' Wagn. (ed. mi.) seems right in exchanging the period usually placed after 'oras' for a semicolon, so as to make v. 62 a kind of apodosis. See on v. 59. 62.] Hac' separated from tenus,' as in 5. 603. Troiana fortuna' is said bitterly, Troy's usual fortune.' Gossrau comp. Hor. 3 Od. 3. 61, "Troiae renascens alite lugubri Fortuna tristi clade iterabitur." Fuerit,' the perf. subj. used as a past opt. or imperative. Let ill-fortune have followed us up to this point, but let her do so no longer.' The use is not quite the same as that of 'fuit' 2. 325, as here the force of the past is partially given by 'hactenus.' 63.] Wagn. would write Pergamiae: see on 3. 133. A few MSS. have parcite,' which Wakef. adopts. 64.] Dique deaeque omnes" G. 1. 21. 'Obstare is here used of that which creates dislike, without any reference to active opposition. So Sil. 17. 550 (quoted by Forb.), "tantumne obstat mea gloria divis?" an obvious imitation of Virg., Pers. 5. 163, "an siccis dedecus obstem Cognatis?" "Ilium et ingens Gloria Teucrorum" 2. 325. 66.] Praescius' with gen. is found also 65 in Val. Flaccus and Tac. (see Forc.), on the analogy of conscius,' inscius,' 'nescius,' &c. 'Da:' for the sense see 3. 85 (note), for the construction 5. 689. Some editions make the parenthesis to end with 'posco,' which Heyne rightly rejects. · 67.] It is extremely difficult to say whether fatis' is the dat., as Burm. thinks, or the abl., as Peerlkamp and Forb. contend. Either expression would be Virgilian (comp. 7. 120, "fatis mihi debita tellus," with 11. 759 "fatis debitus Arruns "), and either would yield an appropriate sense, as the fates may be represented either as satisfying the requirements of others, or as having their own require ments satisfied (comp. the passages where the fates are said poscere,' 4. 614 &c.). Where the fates are identified with an individual, as here by the possessive pronoun 'meis,' they assume as it were a subordinate position (comp. 7. 293, "fatis contraria nostris Fata Phrygum"), and so may be regard ed not as causing events, but as demanding their fulfilment from some other power. The question then is whether the Sibyl is here regarded as the person through whom a demand is made on destiny, or on whom the destinies of private persons make their demand. On the whole I think it must be left open, as there seems nothing in the context, in the nature of the case, or in parallel passages to incline the scale either way, though Val. F. 5. 508 (quoted by Forb.), "Non aliena peto terrisve indebita nostris," looks as if that author understood fatis' as dative. 'Considere' 4. 349, where as here the names of Italy and the Trojans are contrasted, by way of emphasis. Rom. has consistere.' 68.] Agitata' as in 12. 803, "terris agitare vel undis Troianos potuisti." With the general sense Forb. compares Ilioneus' language 7. 229. 69.]"Ut solet, miscet historiam. Nam hoc templum in Palatio ab Augusto factum Instituam, festosque dies de nomine Phoebi. est: sed quia Augustus cohaeret Iulio, qui ab Aenea ducebat originem, vult ergo Augustum parentum vota solvisse." Serv. The temple was built in honour of Apollo (Suet. Oct. 29), but it appears from the description in Prop. 3. 23. 15 that the statue of the god stood between statues of Latona and Diana. Templum' was restored by Heins. from Med. and Rom. for "templa' (Pal., Gud. &c.). Henry prefers the latter, but in the parallel instances he quotes the plural is put for the sing. for the metre, which could not be pleaded here and the change seems due to some copyist who supposed two temples to be intended. "Templum de marmore" 4. 457, G. 3. 13. 70.] Instituam' is connected with 'templum' and 'dies' by a kind of zeugma, not unlike "moresque viris et moenia ponet" 1. 264. Instituere aras' occurs Val. F. 3. 426. Rom. has 'constituam,' which would suit templum,' but not 'dies.' The festi dies' are the ludi Apollinares instituted by Augustus. 71.] It might appear at first sight as if Aeneas were promising the Sibyl a temple: but the reference is doubtless to the honours paid by the Romans to the Sibylline books, which were first placed in the Capitol, and afterwards deposited by Augustus under the base of the statue of his Palatine Apollo. The latter is of course especially alluded to. In Ov. M. 14. 128, to which Heyne refers, Aeneas promises the Sibyl a temple in so many words; but she expressly declines the offer, as not being a goddess. 'Penetralia' may possibly point to the secrecy of the place where the books were laid up: but it is often used rather vaguely, and in Sil. 13. 62 it seems to stand for a moveable shrine, if not for the statue of a deity. Manere of a thing in the future 7. 319 &c. 72.] Hic,' i. e. 'regnis nostris.' "Tuas sortes arcanaque fata" refers of course to 70 75 the Sibylline books, which were entrusted to the charge of 'lecti viri,' at first two, then ten, afterwards fifteen or more. Sortes' of oracles 4. 346. 73.] Dicta meae genti:' the oracles had not as yet been uttered, but are conceived of as uttered at the time to which Aeneas looks forward, so that it is in fact an invitation to the Sibyl to utter them. Ponam' is used much as in 1. 264, of setting up permanently. 74.] Alma' is specially applied to goddesses, 1. 618., 10. 215, 220 &c., a sort of equivalent to the Greek Tóτvia, and so is applied as a complimentary appellation to the Sibyl here and v. 117. Tantum,' as Forb. remarks, is frequently used in adjurations, as in 8. 78. The request here made formed part of the advice of Helenus, 3.456. Foliis mandat" 3. 444. 75.] Comp. 3. 448 foll. 76. 3. 457. "Pausam facit ore loquendi " is quoted from Lucilius by Non. v. 'pausa.' 'Ore' with 'loquendi,' as in 1. 614 &c.; it might however go with finem dedit.' Some critics have thought the hemistich spurious: but there is nothing un-Virgilian about it, and it is apparently found in all the MSS. 77-97.] 'The Sibyl still struggles with the god at last the doors fly open, and she finds voice. She tells him that his perils on land will be as great as those on sea; that another Iliad is opening; but that he must not despair, as deliverance will dawn from an unlooked-for quarter.' 77.] Phoebi patiens' as the horse is said lituos pati," "verbera pati" G. 3. 183, 208. Inmanis' qualifies bacchatur,' as if it had been inmane' (comp. G. 4. 370), like "spirans inmane" 7. 510. 66 78.] Si possit' 9. 512. 'Pectore excussisse' 5. 679 note. Here, as Forb. remarks, the metaphor is brought out more definitely, being that of a horse trying to throw its rider. Excussisse deum; tanto magis ille fatigat Os rabidum, fera corda domans, fingitque premendo. 80 79.] The perf. inf. is used like the Greek aorist, where a prose writer would have used the present: Madv. § 407, obs. 2. Wagn. remarks that it is much commoner in the elegiac poets than in Virg. The reason is doubtless to be found in the exigencies of the pentameter. Fatigat,' plies her till she is weary and gives in, the special reference here being to the use of the bit. 80.] Os' is meant to remind us at once of the mouth of the horse and the tongue of the Sibyl. The object of 'fingit' is the Sibyl herself, not 'os or 'corda: comp. Hor. 1 Ep. 2. 64, "Fingit equum tenera docilem cervice magister," and G. 2. 407, "Persequitur vitem attondens, fingitque putando," where see note. Premendo,' as it was by restraint that Apollo gained the victory. 81.] See on v. 43. The doors are sup posed to fly open simultaneously with the opening of the Sibyl's mouth. Iamque' placed as in 3. 588. Patuere,' the perf. of instantaneous action, G. 1. 49 &c. Aeneas is in the temple, the Sibyl in the 'adytum,' the cavern beyond, and the sound of the prophecy is carried to him through the open doors; but the hundred passages form a picture which, as I have observed on v. 43, is hard to realize, and which scarcely seems appropriate to the circumstances of the narrative. 83.] The address is not unlike "O passi graviora" 1. 199. The Sibyl tells him that one class of perils is over, but that another, and a more grievous one, is at hand. The old pointing is doubtless right, the Sibyl's address in this line being in fact an announcement, which is followed by another announcement, 'sed terrae' &c., as against Forb. and Henry, who would throwsed-manent' into a parenthesis. 84.] Terrae' Med., Pal., terra' Rom. The former is the more difficult reading, and as such is, I think, rightly restored 85 by Wagn. There is however still considerable doubt about the interpretation of it, as it may be either a possessive gen. or a locative gen. or dat. The former is sufficiently supported by 10. 57, "Totque maris vastaeque exhausta pericula terrae," 1. 598 "terraeque marisque Omnibus exhaustos iam casibus:" the latter has the analogy of 'humi' in its favour, and is defended by such passages as 10. 555., 11. 87, G. 2. 290, and by 'Cretae' 3. 162. The passage itself is perhaps rather in favour of the locative, as there would be a slight harshness in the omission of 'pericula' if it is intended to be closely constructed with 'terrae.' Yet it would be too hazardous to argue from the passages referred to that Virg. regarded terrae' as an actual locative like 'humi' or 'Cretae,' as the ordinary sense of the dative can be traced more or less clearly in all three. The etymological history of a case is one thing, the manner in which it is likely to have been employed by a poet at a time when that history was forgotten or ignored, another. I think then that Wagn. and Forb. are right in their second thoughts, in regarding 'terrae' as a possessive gen. For Lavini' Serv. mentions a variant 'Latini:' but the prophetess, as Heyne remarks, sees the future in the present, and calls the kingdom from the city which is to be built (1. 258). 85.] There is the same kind of emphatic contrast in Dardanidae' as in v. 67 above. Mitte hanc de pectore curam' is not a purely poetical expression, as animo miserat" is quoted from Livy 30.3. 'Mittere' is more commonly used alone, as 1. 203. 66 curam ex 86.] They shall reach Latium, but they shall not also be glad that they have reached it.' "They shall not wish that they had come' is another way of saying they shall wish that they had not come." "Horrida bella " 7. 41. 87.] For the general sense comp. 8. 538 |