255. Corpora earum Deformat macies; tum corpora luce carentum dere 264. Suadebo te incen- Hic jam galbaneos suadebo incendere odores, NOTES. 255. Luce: in the sense of vita. 256. Ducunt. Pliny observes, that the bees accompany the bodies of their dead after the manner of a funeral procession. 257. Illæ connexa: clung together by their feet, they hang, &c. 259. Contracto. Ruæus takes this in the sense of contrahente. He says: Frigore contrahente membra. But it may be taken in its usual acceptation, without any impropriety for the bees may be said to contract, or take cold; and this the poet mentions as one of their diseases. 260. Tractim: in a drawling mannerone after another. 262. Sollicitum: in the sense of turbatum. 263. Rapidus: intense-excessive. Es tuat: roars. 264. Galbaneos: an adj. from galbanum, a strong-scented gum, the smell of which is said to drive away serpents. It is made of the juice of the plant called ferula. The poet here directs the bee-master, when his bees show these symptoms, to burn galbanum around the hives, which will expel the vermin, if any there are; to introduce honey into the hives through reeds, to make up the deficiency of their food, and to use every means to allure them to partake of it. But in many cases, this would be insufficient. He must add to this honey certain medicinal substances, as remedies of their diseases. : 266. Fessas in the sense of languidas, and agreeing with apes, understood. Saporem: juice. 267. Galla: the nut-gall. This possesses very powerful astringent qualities. It was very proper, therefore, to recommend the use of it, to check the looseness to which 255 260 265 270 the bees are subject in the spring, occasioned, says Columella, by their feeding greedily upon spurge after their winter penury. 269. Defruta. Defrutum was a mixture made of new wine, boiled away one half, or one third, into which several sorts of sweet herbs or spices were put. Pinguia: rich; implying that it should be boiled spices. Passos racemos: properly, bunches away, and made thick, and enriched by of grapes hung up to dry in the sun-raisins. Hence by meton. put for the wine made of such grapes-raisin wine. See Geor. ii. 93. 270. Cecropium: Attic, or Athenian; from Cecrops, one of the first kings of Athens. Centaurea: plu. the herb centaury. There are two kinds of centaury, the greater and the less. They have no other similitude than the bitterness of their taste. It is said to have derived its name from Chiron, one of the Centaurs, whom it cured of a wound received by an arrow from Hercules. 271. Amello. Mella, or Mela, a river of Cis-alpine Gaul, on the banks of which the flower here spoken of abounded. Hence, according to Servius, it was called Amellus. Mr. Martyn thinks it the same with the purple Indian star-wort, or Aster Atticus. Cui nomen amello. This construction fre quently occurs in Virgil, and is taken from the Greeks. It is to be taken in the sense in the sense of cui fülus nomini: also, cui of cui amellus nomini: so, cui nomen Iülo, nimen asilo. See Geor. iii. 147. 272. Facilis easy to be found by those who seek for it. 273. Cespite. Cespes, here must mean the root of the plant. Sylvam: in the senso Aureus ipse sed in foliis, quæ plurima circùm Sed si quem proles subitò defecerit omnis, NOTES. of copiam caulium. Fecêre: in the sense of dederunt. 275. Nigra: deep colored. Funduntur: sprout, or shoot up. 276. Nexis: made, or formed of this amellus. 279. Incoque: boil, or simmer. 281. Sed si quem, &c. The poet now proceeds to give an account of the method practised by Aristæus for the recovery of his bees, after all his swarms were lost. Omnis proles: the whole stock, or race. 285. Insincerus: in the sense of putridus. Altiùs: in the sense of longè. It is to be connected with repetens. 236. Expediam: in the sense of narrabo. 287. Gens fortunata: the Egyptians. They are here called happy, or fortunate, on account of the fertility of their country, which is occasioned by the annual inundation of the river Nile. Canopi. Canopus was a city of Egypt, near Alexandria, founded by Alexander the Great, who was born at Pella, in Macedonia. Hence the city Canopus is called Pellaus. The city, by meton. for the inhabitants; who may be put, by synec. for all the Egyptians. 288. Stagnantem: in the sense of inundantem. Agros is understood. 289. Vehitur circûm. During the continuance of the inundation, the inhabitants pass from one part of the country to another in boats, or small barges; here called phaseli. Vehitur agrees with gens. 290. Urget vicinia. The Nile did not touch, or border upon the neighborhood of Persia, properly so called. But we are in formed by Xenophon, that the Persian enpire under Cyrus extended as far west as Egypt. The Nile may therefore be said to press upon the borders of Persia, since the Persians extended their dominions as far as Egypt; which justifies the expression of the poet. Vicinia: plu. of vicinium. The Persians were famous for their skill in archery; hence pharetrata Persidis. 293. Amnis: the river Nile. It rises in Abyssinia, in the mountains of the Moon, in about the lat. 11° N. and runs in a northerly direction; and, after receiving a number of tributary streams, it falls into the Mediterranean sea in seven different chan The nels, or mouths, in lat. 32 N. forming the obsiruuntur lem solvuntur huic perempto. 303. Sic linquunt vi loco Exiguus primùm, atque ipsos contractus ad usus 295 Eligitur locus: hunc angustique imbrice tecti Parietibusque premunt arctis; et quatuor addunt Quatuor à ventis obliquâ luce fenestras. 300 Tum vitulus, bimâ curvans jam cornua fronte, 300. Geminæ nares Quæritur: huic geminæ nares, et spiritus oris Multa reluctanti obstruitur; plagisque perempto 301. Visceraque tunsa Tunsa per integram solvuntur viscera pellem. plagis per integram pel- Sic positum in clauso linquunt: et ramea costis Subjiciunt fragmenta, thymum, casiasque recentes. Hoc geritur, Zephyris primùm impellentibus undas, 305 tulum positum in clauso Antè novis rubeant quàm prata coloribus, antè Garrula quàni tignis nidum suspendat hirundo. Intereà teneris tepefactus in ossibus humor Estuat et visenda modis animalia miris, Trunca pedum primò, mox et stridentia pennis Miscentur, tenuemque magis, magis aëra carpunt : 312. Donec erupêre Donec, ut æstivis effusus nubibus imber, tam dense, ut Erupêre: aut, ut nervo pulsante sagittæ, 313. Aut tam densè, Prima leves ineunt si quando prælia Parthi. ut sagittæ 306. Coloribus florum 310 Quis Deus hanc, Musæ, quis nobis extudit artem? 315 NOTES. 296. Hunc premunt: they contract this (still more) by a narrow roof and confined walls-walls close together. Imbrex is properly the gutter-tile of the roof, to carry off the water. Hence it may be taken for the roof itself. Imbrice angusti tecti: with the covering of a narrow roof. 297. Parietibus: parietes, properly the walls of a house: muri, the walls of a city. Premunt: in the sense of contrahunt. 299. Bima: in the sense of bienni. 301. Multa: in the sense of multùm, in imitation of the Greeks. 302. Viscera tunsa, &c. The meaning is: that the entrails of the animal, as he lay dead, being beaten with blows, are broken in pieces, the hide remaining entire. Viscera, is properly the whole animal within the hide, as well the flesh as the entrails. Perempto: in the sense of interfecto. 305. Geritur: in the sense of agitur. Zephyris. The zephyrs begin to blow, in that climate, early in the month of February, according to Pliny. Impellentibus: in the sense of agitantibus. 307. Antequam hirundo. The time of the swallow's coming is said by Columella, to be in the latter part of February, in that climate; with us it is much later. 309. Estuat: ferments. Trunca: destitute of wanting. Miscentur: mingleswarm. Carpunt: in the sense of tentant. 312. Erupêre: in the sense of evolaverunt. Nervo pulsante: (flew) from the whizzing string. Nervo: the string or cord of the bow. The Parthians were expert archers, and usually commenced the fight by a flight of arrows. 314. Si quando: in the sense of quando. 315. Extudit: in the sense of invenit. 316. Ingressus: acc. plu. in the sense of originem. 317. Aristœus. He is said to have been the son of Apollo and the nymph Cyrene, the daughter of the river god Peneus, and born in the deserts of Lybia. He married the daughter of Cadmus, by the name of Antonoë, by whom he had Acteon. Being enamoured with Eurydice, the wife of Orpheus, he pursued her into the fields, where a snake, laying in the grass unobserved, bit her; of which wound she died. Whereupon, the gods were angry, and, by way of punishment, destroyed his bees. In this calamity, he applied to his mother, who directed him to apply to the river god Proteus. He directed him to appease the manes of Eurydice by the sacrifice of four bulls, and four heifers. It is said that he travelled over various countries, teaching men the cultivation of the olive, and the use of bees. He visited Arcadia; hence he is called Arcadius magister apum. He received divine honors, and was worshipped as a demi-god. Tempe: neu. plu. a pleasant valley of Thessaly, through which the river Peneus flows. Hence the epithet Penean. Tristis ad extremi sacrum caput astitit amnis, Multa querens: atque hâc affatus voce parentem : 320 Ima tenes quid me præclarâ stirpe Deorum 325 (Si modò, quem perhibes, pater est Thymbræus Apollo) At mater sonitum thalamo sub fluminis alti NOTES. 319. Ad sacrum caput: at the sacred source of the remote river. Aristaus resided in the vale of Tempe. After the loss of his bees, he retired to the source of the river Peneus, in mount Pindus, where his mother had her residence. After her amour with Apollo, it is said that god conveyed her to Africa, where she resided during the period of her gestation and delivery. Her son was brought up by the Seasons, and fed upon ambrosia. 321. Gurgitis: in the sense of fontis. 323. Modò: in the sense of certè. Thymbræus: a name of Apollo, from Thymbra, a town of Troas, where he had a magnificent temple. Perhibes: in the sense of dicis, vel vocas. 327. Custodia: in the sense of cura. 328. Relinquo: in the sense of amitto. Extuderat: had provided, or procured. 329. Felices: in the sense of fœcundas. 331. Molire: in the sense of immitte. 332. Tœdia: in the sense of negligentia. 334. Milesia: an adj. from Miletus, a city in the confines of Ionia and Caria. Its wool was held in great estimation among the Romans. 335. Carpebant: in the sense of nebant. Fucata: dyed with a rich sea-green color. Hyali: gen. of hyalus: glass; also a glassy, bræus Apollo, quem perhibes meum patrem, est meus pater: aut quò es 329 tuus amor nostri pulsus tibi 335 340 345 or sea-green color; from a Greek word signifying glass. 336. Drymo. The names of the nymphs here mentioned are taken from Homer and Hesiod, and are all of Greek derivation. 337. Effusa: in the sense of diffusœ: their hair hung loose, and flowing over their snow-white necks. 340. Experta: in the sense of passa. Lucina: child-bearing. The name of the goddess of child-bearing; by meton. taken for child-bearing itself. It is an epithet both of Juno and Diana. 341. Oceanitides: daughters of the ocean. See Ecl. ii. 46. 343. Deiopeia. This nymph is called Asian, because she was of the Asian fen: Asia appellatur quia ex Asia palude. 344. Arethusa. She had been at first a huntress, and one of Diana's train; but afterward changed by her into a fountain nymph. Hence the propriety of sagittis positis. 345. Inter quas: among whom Clymene was relating, &c. Venus, the wife of Vulcan, was taken in adultery with Mars. Her husband cast a net over them, as they were in each other's embrace, and in this situation they were exposed to the laughter of all the gods. The poet calls Vulcan's care 347. Vulcani de custo- Vulcani, Martisque dolos, et dulcia furta, dienda Venere Aque Chao densos Divûm numerabat amores. 348. Nymphæ captæ Carmine quo captæ, dum fusis mollia penca sunt Devolvunt, iterum maternas impulit aures 353. Et procul dixit: Et procul: O, gemitu non frustrà exterrita tanto, 371. Et unde Erida nus auratus quoad ge- Saxosùmque sonans Hypanis, Mysusque Caïcus, Et gemina auratus taurino cornua, vultu mina cornua NOTES. inanem, vain, because it had no effect to reclaim his wife, or because it served only to propagate his own disgrace: or rather, because he was unable, with all his care and watchfulness, to prevent her from defiling his bed. Venus was a wanton dame. 346. Dulcia furta. This alludes to the amour of Mars with Venus: stolen embraces-sweet thefts. 347. Chao: from the origin of the world; or from Chaos, who, according to fable, was the first of the gods. Densos: in the sense of frequentes, vel multos. 348. Mollia pensa: the soft yarn. Carmine: song, story, or subject. 351. Ante: before her other sisters. 353. Non frustrà: not in vain alarmed: you are alarmed, and not without reason. 355. Undam: in the sense of fontem.Peneus, the river god, was the father of Cyrene. 360. Inferret gressus: might introduce his foot-steps-might march along a phrase. Flumina: in the sense of aquas. 361. Curvata: rolled or heaped up in the form of a mountain. 362. Misit: in the sense of admisit. Eum is understood. 364. Speluncis. There were two opinions among the ancients respecting the origin of rivers. Aristotle considered the sea to be the source: but Plato, whom Virgil here fol 350 355. 360 365 370 lows, was of the opinion, that there was, under the earth, a general receptacle or reservoir of water, from which the rivers were all fed. This they called barathrum. By lacus clausos, &c. the poet means this general reservoir of water. 367. Diversa: remote-widely separated. Phasim: Phasis, a noble river of Colchis, rising in the mountains of Armenia, falls into the Euxine sea. It is famous for the expedition of the Argonauts, who entered it after a long and perilous voyage. Lycum: Lycus, the name of several rivers. It is not certain, which one the poet here intends. 368. Caput: the source, whence, &c. Enipeus is a river of Thessaly, watering the plains of Pharsalia, and falling into the river Peneus. 369. Tyberinus: the river Tyber in Italy. It is called by way of eminence pater. It falls into the Tuscan sea. Aniena: an adj. from Anio, the name of a small river in Italy. 370. Hypanis: a river of the ancient Sarmatia, uniting with the Borysthenes or Neiper, and with it, flows into the Euxine sea. Hodie, Bog. Saxosum: an adj. of the neu. gen. used adverbially-among the rocks. Caicus: a river of Mysia major in the Lesser Asia. It falls into the Egean sea, nearly opposite to Mitylene on the Island of Lesbos. Hence the epithet Mysus. |