6

300

πων,

but he does not mention them at all when he comes to the actual journey of his hero. Virg. conducts Aeneas over the water circumstantially, but from his description we should infer that there is only one river, which, after being called Acheron or Cocytus here, turns out eventually to be Styx, v. 385. Heyne remarks with justice (Excursus 9) that the poet would have found it awkward to have to describe the passage of all three, especially as Styx alone is said to surround the lower world nine times, v. 439. Generally we may say that Virg. found the notion of a single river of death most convenient for poetical purposes, but that he wished as usual to introduce the various points of the legends he followed, and so he employed the names Acheron, Cocytus, and Styx, whenever the river was to be spoken of, with a dim conception of Acheron as emptying itself into Cocytus, and perhaps of Styx, as the most inward of the three, and a clear one of Phlegethon as specially surrounding Tartarus. Plato gives a much more definite description in his Phaedo, pp. 112, 113, speaking of four rivers, Ocean, Acheron, Pyriphlegethon, and Styx, the last of which disappears under the earth and reappears as Cocytus-an attempt apparently to realize the picture in Hom.and later Roman poets, as Heyne observes, Exc. 9, have introduced varieties of their own.

296.] Acheron has here the Platonic characteristics of a marshy slough, combined with those of a rapid river. Caenum' and 'arena' are doubtless the same, as Heyne thinks. Comp. the description of the muddy pool in Catull. 17. 10, "totius ut lacus putidaeque paludis Lividissima maxumeque est profunda vorago,” ib. 25, "Et supinum animum in gravi derelinquere caeno, Ferream ut soleam tenaci in voragine mula." Vorago' is applied to the infernal rivers in the only other passage where it occurs in Virg., 7.

298.] Portitor,' properly a person who collects the portoria, duties on exports-and imports, or tolls (Dict. A. Portorium'); hence a person who receives toll for carrying passengers or goods, and so, as here, a ferryman, a sense which it bears Sen. De Benef. 6. 18, and in various passages of the poets, where, as here, it is applied to Charon. In later Latin it came to be used for a porter: see Forc. We have had the word used of Charon G. 4. 502.

299.] Terribili squalore' is not to be taken with horrendus,' but forms in fact a second epithet. Charon is later than Hom., who employs only the agency of Hermes for transporting the dead to the shades (Od. 24), while the living cross the Ocean river in ships: he appears however in Aristoph. Frogs 180 &c., and was represented by Polygnotus in his paintings in the Lesche of the Cnidians at Delphi.

300.] 'Canities for cani,' as in 9. 612., 10. 844., 12. 611. Stant lumina flamma' like "pulvere caelum Stare vident" 12. 407, comp. by Turn. V. L. 28. 32. 'Stant' expresses the fixedness of the eyes (Donatus), and the mass of the flame (Henry). His eyes are fixed orbs of fire.' The comparison of eyes to fire occurs more than once in Hom., e. g. II. 1. 104, booe δέ οἱ πυρὶ λαμπετόωντι ἔΐκτην. ‘Flammae' is read by many MSS., including Med. (originally), Rom., and Pal. from a correction; but the attributive gen. would be harsh. Some copies have flammea,' which is approved by Heins., and might be scanned by synizesis (comp. 7. 448, "flammea torquens lumina ").

301.] Charon apparently wears a scarf or chlamys, which is twisted round the shoulder (Dict. Ant. Chlamys,' 'Nodus '). Cerda shows that this was a pilot's costume from Plaut. Mil. 4. 4. 41 foll.:

"Facito uti venias ornatu ornatus huc nauclerico,

Nodus' is to be taken strictly, not as implying a 'fibula' or brooch, which would hardly be in keeping with the rest of Charon's trim. Some early correctors read 'nudo,' which Pier. rightly rejects.

302.] Ipse,' without assistance, old as he was. 'Subigit' G. 1. 202, apparently expressing the motion of the pole or oar, pushing up from beneath. Conto' 5.

208. "

Velisque ministrat" 10. 218. It has been a question since the time of Serv. whether velis' is dat. or abl. "Ministrare" is used intransitively with a dat. of the person or thing served, and it also takes an abl. of the instrument of the service-two constructions which are exemplied in "Claudius Vinio fictilibus ministrari iussit," Tac. H. 1. 48. Ministrat velis' then might either be attends to the sails,' or 'manages the ship (understanding 'rati' or 'ratem') by means of the sails.' Either construction would suit the present passage: 10. 218 is in favour of the dat., as there is nothing to suggest 'rati' or 'ratem,' unless we consider 'velis ministrat' to have become an elliptical phrase. On the other hand Tac. Germ. 44 has naves velis ministrantur," which makes strongly for the abl., and Val. F. 3. 38 has "ipse ratem vento stellisque ministrat," evidently imitating either this passage or that in A. 10. Stat. Theb. 7. 752, "Ipse sedens telis pariterque ministrat habenis " (of Apollo sitting in the car with Amphiaraus, like Pallas with Diomed in Il. 5), also an evident imitation of Virg., is rather in favour of the dat., as it could not so well be said that Apollo was ministering either to the car or to Amphiaraus. The result of our examination of these passages,

66

305

which the commentators have collected, seems to be that the question must still be left open.

303.]Ferruginea' (see note on G. 1. 467) seems to denote the murky hue of the infernal boat. It may however merely indicate the ordinary colour of ships (comp. VEдs кνаνожρúрolo II. 15. 693), as Plaut. referred to on v. 301 says as a reason for wearing the ferrugineum pallium' "is colos thalassicu'st." At any rate it is evidently the same with "caeruleam puppim v. 410 below. Subvectat' used like "subvectus" 8. 58, perhaps to express the difficulty of the exertion. Corpora :' see on G. 4. 475, and comp. v. 391 below. Cymba' G. 4. 506.

وو

304.] "Iam senior" 5. 179. 'Senior' with Virg., as Forb. remarks, is not the same as senex.' In its technical sense among the Romans it was applied to those who were between forty-five and sixty, Gell. 10. 28, referred to by Forb. Cruda senectus' is a translation of wudv ynpas, which occurs Od. 15. 357, Hes. Works 705, though apparently in a different sense of untimely (or perhaps cruel) old age. There is however a compound wuoyépwv applied to Ulysses II. 23. 791, and this is doubtless what Virg. meant to represent here, crudus' meaning fresh, with the blood still in the veins, opposed to dried up and withered-i. q. 'viridis' in short.

Viridis' is elsewhere applied to youth, as in 5. 295, so that its connexion with 'senectus' is a kind of oxymoron. Serv. remarks of 'deo' "Td atriov: ideo cruda et viridis, quia in deo."

305.] Huc' may be explained by 'ad ripas' (see on E. 1. 54), or it may refer to the boat. 'Effusa' qualifies 'ruebat.'

306.] This and the two next lines are repeated from G. 4. 475-477, where see notes. For magnanimum' see on 3. 704.

309.] "Quam multa" G. 4. 473, where the simile resembles the second of the two now before us. The comparison to falling leaves is apparently from Apoll. R. 4. 216,

320

but it is very doubtful. "Mota tumultu" 8. 371.

319.] Quo discrimine:' what constitutes the distinction, according to which some are rejected, others admitted.

320.] "Hae linquunt:' repulsae scilicet, non transeuntes," Serv. 'Remis verrunt 3. 668. Here they are said to do what Charon does for them. Livida' of turbid water Catull. 17. 11, quoted on v. 296 above. Pal. has 'vertunt:' comp. 3. 668., 5. 141 note.

321.] Comp. v. 398. Longaeva :' the legend was that the Sibyl obtained from Apollo the boon of as many years of life as the grains of sand she happened to be holding in her hand.

322.] Some have supposed a contrast between Anchisa generate' and 'deum certissima proles' but vv. 125, 126 above are rather against this. Deum certissima proles' like "cara deum suboles" E. 4. 49, where deum' appears to be used generally, as we should say offspring of heaven.' This interpretation has been questioned in both passages by Mr. Munro (Journal of Classical and Sacred Philology, vol. 4, pp. 290 foll.), who prefers explaining the words as equivalent to "divina proles" or "suboles" (as in Lucr. 4. 1232, where "virum suboles must "virilis "), the genitive indicating the quality of the issue, not its parentage. In the present passage the sense strongly favours, if it does not absolutely require the ordinary interpretation, as the point seems to be that Aeneas is one of the class of "Dis geniti" vv. 131, 394 (comp. v. 123), rather than that his own quality is godlike. Ascanius is called "Dis genite et geniture deos" 9. 642: Aeneas is called sate gente deum" 8. 36, where " gente deum" apparently must = "dis." Aeneas was in fact sprung from more gods than one, from Venus, and hence from Jupiter, not to mention Saturn and Caelus. So Soph. Ant. 986 has beŵv maîs of Cleopatra the daughter of Boreas. "Genus deorum" 4. 12, "deum gens 10. 228, both said of Aeneas, are in the

same category with the present line, and must be ruled by the interpretation given to it. Certissima,' because there were pretenders to the honour, as even mythology itself admitted, doubts about parentage forming the staple of some of the mythological stories, such as that of Phaethon. So Aristaeus in the passage referred to above, G. 4. 322, affects to doubt his own descent when in trouble. Thus Hercules 8. 301 is called "vera Iovis proles," having justified himself by his actions.

323.] This that you see is the pool of Cocytus.' So 1. 338, "Punica regna vides, Tyrios et Agenoris urbem." Cocytus and Styx are mentioned almost as if they were the same river: see on v. 296 above. The infernal rivers were supposed to form or flow into lakes or marshes (v. 107, Plato Phaedo, pp. 112, 113), so they are spoken of as if lakes or marshes themselves, being turbid and sluggish. So "Stygios lacus " v. 134 above.

324.] Cuius,' of Styx. Kal rd KATELβόμενον Στυγὸς ὕδωρ, ὅς τε μέγιστος Ορκος δεινότατός τε πέλει μακάρεσσι θεοῖσιν 11. 15. 37, Od. 5. 185: comp. II. 2. 755., 14. 271. So Jupiter swears by the Styx 9. 104., 10. 113. 'Iurare' with acc. v. 351 below. Iurare et fallere' to be taken closely together, i. q. "iuratum numen fallere" or "peierare." Comp. the wellknown passage of St. Paul, Rom. 6. 17, χάρις δὲ τῷ Θεῷ ὅτι ἦτε δοῦλοι τῆς ἁμαρ τίας, ὑπηκούσατε δὲ ἐκ καρδίας εἰς ὃν παρεδόθητε τύπον διδαχῆς.

325.] The belief that only those who had been buried could be received among the shades is as old as Hom., Il. 23. 71 foll.: comp. the story of Elpenor Od. 11, who however does not appear to have been prevented, like Patroclus, from crossing the river, though he is the first to meet Ulysses. Patroclus is kept off, not by Charon, who, as has been remarked above, was unknown to Hom., but by the other ghosts. Heyne remarks on the humane character of the superstition, which was likely to have its effect on savage tribes.