Non Simois tibi, nec Xanthus, nec Dorica castra Tu ne cede malis, sed contra audentior ito, Quam tua te Fortuna sinet. foll., for the particular feature 10. 24. Heyne refers to Il. 7. 329, Tŵv vûv alua κελαινὸν ἐΰῤῥουν ἀμφὶ Σκάμανδρον Ἐσκέδαση ὀξὺς ̓́Αρης. 88.] Serv. is perhaps right in supposing Simois and Xanthus to refer specially to the Tiber and the Numicus, the latter of which, according to the legend, was the scene of Aeneas' death or disappearance. The names may be used without any such reference; but without such a reference they would rather want force. Dorica castra 2. 27. In 10. 60 foll., which Heyne compares, Venus asks that if the Trojans are to suffer a second destruction, they may at least suffer it in the old place, and have Xanthus and Simois near them again. 89.] Defuerint,' the perf. subj. or fut. perf. used instead of the ordinary future for poetical variety or metrical convenience. "They will not have been wanting:' 'you will not say they have been wanting when you look back on the event.' If any special propriety is to be discovered in its use here, we may say that the prophetess throws herself as far as possible into the future, so as to look at part of what is to come as already past. 'Alius Achilles,' Turnus. Heyne comp. Eur. Tro. 614, ἄλλος τις Αἴας, ὡς ἔοικε, δεύτερος Παιδὸς πépηve σîs, and Virg.'s own words, E. 4. 36, 66 Atque iterum ad Troiam magnus mittetur Achilles." For the peculiar sense of 'partus' see on 2.781. Iam' with 'partus,' 'is already provided,' not, as Wagn. thinks, with alius.' Latio,' according to Wagn., is the dat. ; I would rather regard it as the abl., in Latium,' like illic' 2. 783 (not, as Wakef., 'ex Latio'), supplying 'tibi' for 'partus,' is in store for thee.' But it is very doubtful, as the sense may very well be, Latium has her defender ready.' 90.] Natus dea: comp. 10. 75, "Turcui diva Venilia mater." 'Addita' is rightly explained by the num.... later Via prima salutis, editors as simply strengthening 'nec us- 91.] Cum' connects what follows with 92.] This rhetorical interrogation or exclamation, introduced into a categorical sentence, is not Comp. Aesch. Ag. 556, Tí d'où ΣTÉVOVTES, uncommon in Greek. οὐ λαχόντες ἤματος μέρος; ‘Oraveris : the perf. implies that Aeneas will have be unconquered. tried every resource, yet the evil will still 66 93.] of Lavinia. Lavinia was to be the prize Caussa mali tanti" 11. 480, also of this second war, as Helen had been of the first. The parallel is more natural in the mouth of an enemy of the Trojans, like Amata (7. 363), or Turnus (9. 136 foll.); but it has its place here, as the Sibyl's object is to show that the tragedy of Troy is to repeat itself. 95.] Contra' (mala). 'Audentior,' all the bolder for opposition. 96.] For 'quam' Heyne restored 'qua,' the reading of the first Aldine edition, supported by the MSS. of Sen. Ep. 82, as it was not likely that the Sibyl should advise Aeneas to act contrary to his destiny. The objection to giving quam this sense, by connecting it either with audentior' or, as might be proposed, with contra,' seems valid, in spite of Wagn.'s defence, as though a rhetorical writer, like Tac. Hist. 2. 46 (quoted by Cerda), might talk of opposing fortune, the sentiment is not in Virg.'s manner (comp. 5. 710), and would in any case scarcely have been put by him into the mouth of a prophetess. It seems better then with Heins. and Burm. to understand quam' on the Quod minime reris, Graia pandetur ab urbe. 98-123.] Aeneas replied that he was not appalled by the prospect of dangers, but that his errand to the shades was to see his father-an errand towards which he besought her assistance, as similar favours had been vouchsafed to others.' 98. 'Cymaea' E. 4. 4 note. F 99.] Ambages' is applied by Ov. M. 7. 761 to the riddle of the Sphinx, and is more than once used by Tac. in speaking of oracles: see Forc. Remugit' is explained by 'antro,' the cave echoing the scarcely human sounds (comp. 3. 92, where the 'cortina' is said mugire') which the Sibyl utters. 100.] Wrapping truth in mystery.' Cerda comp. Eur. Or. 891, Kaλоîs KaкOÙя Móyous éxloowy, which Virg. may have had in his mind, though the reading there is not certain, Valckenaer conjecturing Kaλws, which Porson adopts. Ea' has the force of adeo:' see on E. 1. 54. The reference is not, as Wagn. thinks, specially to obscuris vera involvens,' but generally to the whole description of the Sibyl's ecstasy, which is ascribed to the agency of Apollo. 101.] ' Shakes the reins so as to make her feel the bit (comp. Eur. Iph. A. 151, σeîe xaλivoús), and plies the goad.' We need not supply eos' to 'stimulos,' as in cases like this the construction of the second clause is not always formally as similated to that of the first. See on G. 2. 208. "Stimulos sub pectore vertit" 9. 718. Vertit' need merely indicate the 100 105 direction of the goad to the part wounded: but it may also imply the continual change of direction, the weapon being turned hither and thither. The whole description is simply one of prophetic excitement. Apollo tames her and breaks her in (v. 79), but he also lashes her to fury. 102.] Aeneas waits for a calm, that she may be able to listen to him. Rabida ora' v. 80. 103.] Aeneas' meaning appears to be not, as Heyne explains it, that he has heard what is to happen to him from his father or Helenus, but that he has prepared himself for every possible form of danger by his own reflections, so that the passage is strictly parallel to Ter. Phorm. 2. 1. 11 foll., quoted by Cerda (see Mr. Parry's note), and to Eur. Thes. fr. 392 Nauck, referred to by Cic. _Tusc. 3. 11 along with the passage from Ter. 101.] 'Laborum facies' like "scelerum facies" below v. 560, G. 1. 506. Like 'species,' the sense of appearance passes into that of type or variety. 'Surgere' of a new thing emerging 1. 582. 105.] For praecepi' many MSS. give percepi.' 'Peragere' of mentally going over a thing, like 'exigere' 4. 476. 106.] 'Quando' as in v. 50. Inferni ianua regis' like "ianua Ditis" below v. 127. 107.] Quando hic dicitur'"quando hic est quae dicitur." Comp. Soph. Trach. 638, ἔνθ ̓ Ἑλλάνων ἀγοραὶ Πυλάτιδες καλέονται (καλεῦνται Herm., κλέονται Musgrave). Refuso' must here be taken in the sense of overflowing, as it was the overflow of the river that formed the 'palus Acherusia.' The river is apparently looked upon as imbibing the water which forms its current and disgorging it when there is too much. It matters Ire ad conspectum cari genitoris et ora , re little whether Acheronte refuso' is taken 112.] "Maria omnia vecti" 1. 524, the usual way in which the Trojans speak of their wanderings. Maria' is connected with ferebat' by a kind of zeugma. There is however nothing tautologous in 'pelagi minas' after 'maria,' as the sense is that he sailed on every sea and bore all the dangers of wind and wave. 113.] Med. and one other MS. give caelique minas pelagique." 114.] Anchises exceeded the destiny of old age by encountering what old men in general do not encounter. 115.] Pal. a m. p., Rom., and Gud. omit 'et.' 116.] Dabat seems to show that the injunction was given more than once, so that we must suppose the reference to be not to Anchises' appearance 5. 731 foll., but to directions given while he was alive. VOL. 11. 110 115 120 118.] Nec-nequiquam' as in G. 1. 96., 4. 38. The promotion you have received from Hecate is no empty honour.' The Sibyl was priestess of Diana, who is called Hecate in her functions in the world below, 4. 450 note. Lucis' is explained by vv. 130, 138, 238 &c. below. Avernis' adj., as in G. 4. 493. V. 119.] Si potuit' has been variously taken as an unfinished sentence, as a protasis to 'et mi genus ab Iove summo 123, and as following 'guatique patrisque miserere' v. 117. The first explanation is perhaps nearest the truth; but the sentence does not strike us as unfinished, for the appeal which really forms the apodosis is implicitly contained in the context. others have been able to obtain this favour, why should not I, whose claims are as great?' The story is of course that told at the end of Georgic 4. Med., Rom., and Gud. a m. p. have 'accersere:' see the lexicons. If 120.] Fretus' 4. 245 note. Comp. Orph. Arg. 42 (quoted by Heyne), Taívapov ἡνίκ ̓ ἔβην σκοτίην ὁδὸν Αϊδος είσω, Ημετέρῃ πίσυνος κιθάρῃ, δι' ἔρωτ ̓ ἀλόχοιο, doubtless an imitation of the present passage and of G. 4. 467. Ff Si fratrem Pollux alterna morte redemit, Itque reditque viam totiens-quid Thesea magnum, Cum sic orsa loqui vates: Sate sanguine divom, 121.] The story was that Pollux was allowed to impart his immortality to Castor and share his brother's mortality in return, the two dying according to one account on alternate days, according to another for alternate periods of six months. In Hom. (II. 3. 243) both are mortal. 122.] Ire viam' 4. 468. Gell. 10. 16 tells us that Hyginus censured Virg. for introducing Theseus, who was detained in the shades, as we shall see below v. 618. Serv. meets the objection in a good note: "Durum exemplum. Unde nec immoratus est in eo. Dicit autem inferos debere patere pietati, qui patuerunt infanda cupienti:" and Heyne remarks that the point of the appeal lies simply in the fact that Theseus was one of those who were allowed to go down to the shades alive. Theseus and Hercules are referred to below v. 392. It is difficult to say whether 'magnum' belongs to 'Thesea,' as Wagn. thinks, following the old editors, or to 'Alciden,' as Heins. and Heyne take it. There is more point in giving the epithet to the person named last: Hercules, who returned in triumph, seems to deserve it better than Theseus, who was kept below and the epithet is bestowed on Hercules elsewhere in Virg., 5, 414, "magnum Alciden," 8. 103, "Amphitryoniadae magno." On the other hand Thesea magnum' is supported by "Cissea durum," which ends a verse similarly 10. 317; and we must remember that in an ancient poet punctuation is regulated rather by the ear than by the eye. On the whole then it seems safest to follow Wagn. 123.] "Genus ab Iove summo" 1. 380. 124-155,] The Sibyl tells him in reply that for a living man to go down to the shades and return is difficult, but that it may be done by those who succeed in plucking a golden branch from a tree in the neighbouring forest, to be presented as an offering to Proserpine. Meantime she informs him that one of his comrades is lying unburied, and bids him look to the funeral.' 124. 4. 219 note. 125 125. "Sate gente deum" 8. 36. See on v. 322 below. Serv. rather ingeniously remarks, "Unde Aeneas desiit, inde haec sumpsit exordia." 6 126.] Anchisiade' Med. (first reading), Pal., Rom., Anchisiada' Med. (second reading). For the reasons for preferring the former, see on 3. 475. Averno' Med., Pal. a m. p., Averni' Pal. a m. s., Rom., Gud. Serv. mentions both. The dat. (see on E. 2. 30) is more likely to have been altered into the gen. than vice versa, as the construction of a local case with a verbal noun might create a difficulty. It is paralleled however by a passage given in Forc. Descensus' from Hirt. B. G. 8. 40, "Erat oppidanis difficilis et praeruptus eo descensus." Some MSS., including a correction in Med., have 'est' after 'Averno' or ' Averni.' The sentiment apparently is the common one that the path to death is easily trodden, and in fact must be trodden by all, but can rarely if ever be retraced. Aesch. expresses it in his way, Pers. 689, where the shade of Darius says of Katà xlovòs Beol Λαβεῖν ἀμείνους εἰσὶν ἢ μεθιέναι. Cerda quotes a Greek epigram, els 'Atony návreσo! karaíßaois. Virg. makes use of the thought for his purpose here, though it does not seem very suitable. The difficulty is for a living man to make the journey; this, as we find afterwards, can only be surmounted by obtaining a passport of a particular kind (vv. 136 foll., 391 foll.): but when it has once been surmounted, the return does not appear to be less easy than any other part of the journey at least we do not find that Aeneas had any obstacle to overcome (v. 898). Seneca, as his manner is, enforces the same truth in the same way, apropos of Hercules' descent, Herc. F. 675 foll. : 127.] The expression may remind us, whether it was intended to do so or not, of the Greek notion of Hades as a landlord who entertained all comers, as shown by such epithets as Toλúčevos Aesch. Supp. 157 &c. Heyne compares a passage from Varro quoted by Macr. Sat. 1. 16, from Sed revocare gradum superasque evadere ad auras, which it appears that on days when funeral offerings were made it was said that "mundus patet," which Varro explains "deorum tristium atque inferum quasi ianua patet." The infernal gods were conceived of as dark: thus Ov. M. 4. 438 (quoted by Forb.) has "nigri Ditis," Hor. 2 Od. 13. 21 "furvae Proserpinae." 128.] Revocare gradum' like "revocat pedem" 9. 125. With the whole line comp. G. 4. 485, "Iamque pedem referens casus evaserat omnis, Redditaque Eurydice superas veniebat ad auras." Evadere ad' 2. 458. 129.] Aequus' here implies kindness rather than justice, the feeling spoken of being expressly one of partiality. Serv., who is mystical in his interpretation of the whole of this passage, says that three classes of men are here pointed out as exceptions to the general rule that none can return from the shades, those who are born under a propitious star, those who are prudent, and those who are religious, the last being indicated by 'Dis geniti.' 130.] Evexit ad aethera virtus' seems to denote actual or potential beatification, not mere renown, in spite of the distinction between 'ad' and 'in' laid down by Wagn. Q. V. 10. So "sublimemque feres ad sidera caeli Magnanimum Aenean" 1. 259, which Wagn. admits to refer to deification. With the general thought comp. Hor. 3 Od. 3. 9 foll., ib. 2. 21 foll., though perhaps the last, to which Forb. refers, belongs rather to Wagn.'s view of the passage. A Roman poet however, it should be recollected, would not discriminate the literal and metaphorical senses as sharply as we do. 131.] "Dis geniti" v. 394 below. In the spirit of the heroic time Virg. restricts the privilege to demigods, as even where it is earned by virtue, only demigods are supposed to be capable of virtue so exalted. Tenent' &c.: Virg.'s meaning is that between the place where they are now standing and the shades a pathless forest and 130 135 the river Cocytus intervene. Possibly, as Peerlkamp thinks, he may have intended to make the forest easier of entrance than of exit: but in the subsequent description the forest is not made an obstacle at all: Aeneas goes through it under the guidance of the Sibyl without a hint of difficulty, and the only real bar is the passage of the river, which the possession of the bough enables him to overcome. But Virg. was thinking of Hom.'s lines about the difficulty of approaching his Hades, Od. 11. 157: μέσσῳ γὰρ μεγάλοι ποταμοὶ καὶ δεινὰ ῥέεθρα, Ὠκεανὸς μὲν πρῶτα, τὸν οὔπως ἔστι περῆσαι, πεζὸν ἐόντ', ἢν μή τις ἔχῃ εὐεργέα νῆα. 132.] The form Cocytos' is restored by Wagn. from Med.; with Ribbeck however I prefer the Latin form from Rom., Pal., &c. See on G. 2. 487. Sinu' expresses the winding of the stream that surrounds the shades. 'Circumvenit,' the reading of all Ribbeck's MSS., was restored by Heins. for circumfluit.' It is used similarly in Tac. A. 2. 6, "Rhenus uno alveo continuus aut modicas insulas circumveniens." 133.] Comp. 2. 10, 349, and for the con. struction cupido innare,' note on G. 1, 213. Wagn. and Ribb. omit 'est' after 'cupido,' from Pal. and a correction in Med. 134.] From Circe's exclamation Od. 12. 21, σχέτλιοι, οἳ ζώοντες ὑπήλθετε δώμ' 'Αΐδας, Δισθανέες, ὅτε τ ̓ ἄλλοι ἅπαξ θνήσε Kovo' &v@pwmot. Innare' of sailing on, v. 369 below. Lacus:' see on v, 323. 135.] Insano' seems to express that the toil is excessive and objectless-the same feeling which is indicated by Circe's XÉTÀIOL. Quid tantum insano iuvat indulgere dolori?" 2. 776. Possibly here we may be meant to understand tantum' from v. 133; but there is no necessity, as the feeling it would convey is expressed by insano.' |
