Page images
PDF
EPUB

Litora tum patriæ lachrymans, portusque relinquo, Et campos, ubi Troja fuit: feror exul in altum, Cum sociis, natoque, Penatibus, et magnis Dîs. Terra procul vastis colitur Mavortia campis, 14. Quam Thraces Thraces arant, acri quondam regnata Lycurgo: Hospitium antiquum Trojæ, sociique Penates, 15. Fuit antiquum Dum fortuna fuit. Feror huc, et litore curvo hospitium Troja, cujus Moenia prima loco, fatis ingressus iniquis :

arant

que Penates erant socii

nostris, dum fortuna fuit

nobis

22. Quo summo erant cornea virgulta, et myrtus horrida densis

neadasque meo nomen de nomine fingo.
Sacra Dionææ matri, Divisque ferebam
Auspicibus cœptorum operum: superoque nitentem
Calicolûm regi mactabam in litore taurum.
Fortè fuit juxtà tumulus, quo cornea summo

NOTES.

10. Lachrymans. The shedding of tears is an indication of compassion and humanity. It is not inconsistent with true fortitude and greatness of mind, and no way unbecoming a hero. But there is no necessity of understanding it here, and in various other passages where it occurs, as if Æneas actually shed tears. Ruæus takes it in the sense of lugens, grieving at the idea of leaving his native country, and at the prospect of the dangers which were before him. 12. Magnis Dis. The great gods were Jupiter, Juno, Mars, Pallas, Mercury, and Apollo; sometimes called the Dii majorum gentium. The Penates were domestic gods, without any particular name. The images

of all these gods Eneas took with him into Italy, and introduced their worship, as we are told, into Latium, after he was settled in that kingdom. Some take the Magnis Dis to be the same with the Penatibus. See Geor. ii. 505. and En. ii. 717.

13. Mavortia terra: a martial land. Thrace is so called, because said to be the birthplace of Mars. This was a very extensive country, bounded on the east by the Euxine sea, south by the Propontis, Hellespont, and gean sea, and on the West by Macedonia. Colitur: in the sense of habitatur. Procul. This word sometimes signifies near, in view, as if pro oculis, as in Ecl. vi. 16. In this sense it may be taken here; for Thrace was only a short distance from the port where Æneas set sail. But it may have reference to Carthage, the place where he then was; and then it may be taken in its usual acceptation.

14. Acri Lycurgo: warlike Lycurgus. He was the son of Dryas. Being offended at Bacchus, it is said, he banished him and his votaries from his kingdom; and ordered all the vines to be destroyed in his dominions. For which impiety the god deprived him of his sight. Regnata, refers to terra: governed, or ruled.

15. Hospitium: an ancient retreat of Troy, and its gods were our friends, while fortune was with us.

10

15

20

There had been a long and friendly alliance between the two countries, by virtue of which the Thracians gave a hospitable reception to all strangers from Troy; and the Trojans, in turn, repaid the kindness by civilities to the Thracians. This hospitality was sometimes between whole nations, between one city and another, and sometimes between particular families. Polymnestor, king of Thrace, married Ilione, the daughter of Priam. By these means the two nations became related in their respective heads: and their gods might be said to be allied, confederate, and friends, in consequence of it.

17. Prima mania: I place my first walls. The city which Æneas first founded, we are told, he called Anos. It was not far from the mouth of the Hebrus, on the shore of the Egean sea. The tomb of Polydorus was near this place. Ingressus: having entered upon the business with fates unkind

against the will and purposes of the gods, who directed him to the land of Dardanus.

18. Fingo Eneadas: I call the inhabitants Encada, a name derived from my name. Fingo: in the sense of voco.

19. Dionaœ an adj. from Dione, the mother of Venus. Matri: to his mother, Venus. Sacra: in the sense of sacrificia. And ferebam: in the sense of offerebam.

20. Auspicibus: the favorers or patrons of our work begun. It is put in apposition with Divis.

21. Mactabam: I was sacrificing a shining bull to the high king of the gods.

Servius tells us that a bull was one of those animals forbidden to be offered in sacrifice to Jove; and thinks Virgil, designedly, makes Æneas offer here an unlawful sacrifice, in order to introduce the inanspicious omen that followed. But La Cerda assures us, upon the best authority, that it was usual to sacrifice bulls to Jupiter, as well as to the other gods. Nitentem. Ruæus says, pinguem: and Heyne, candidum.

22. Tumulus: a rising ground, or hillock. Quo summo: on whose top. Cornea: an

[blocks in formation]

adj. of the corneil tree. Densis hastilibus. The long and tapering branches of a tree may not improperly be called hastilia, spears. There is a peculiar propriety in the use of the word here, as being the spears with which the body of Polydorus had been transfixed; and had sprung up into a thick body of trees or shrubs. Horrida: awful. Ruæus says, aspera.

24. Sylvam: in the sense, here, of ramos vel ramum.

26. Monstrum: in the sense of prodigium. 27. Arbos: a shrub, bush, or small tree. Solo: from the earth.

28. Huic in the sense of ex hâc. Liquuntur : in the sense of defluunt. Atro sanguine: in the sense of atri sanguinis. The prep. e or ex is understood.

29. Horror: in the sense of tremor. Mihi: in the sense of mea.

30. Sanguis gelidus: my blood, chilled through fear, collects together-ceases to flow in its regular course.

Vi

32. Insequor: I proceed to tear up. men lentum: a limber, or pliant shoot or shrub.

34. Venerabar Nymphas. These rustic nymphs, to whom Eneas here prays, were probably the Hamadryades, whose destiny was connected with that of some particular trees, with which they lived and died. Eneas might consider this horrid omen, as an indication of their displeasure, for his offering to violate those pledges of their existence. Movens: in the sense of volvens. 35. Gradivum patrem: Mars.

We are

told that Gradivus was an epithet, or name, of Mars in time of war, as Quirinus was

[blocks in formation]

in time of peace. Its derivation is uncertain. Geticis: an adj. from Getæ, a people bordering upon the Ister, or Danube; here put for Thracian, on account of the vicinity of the two countries: or, because Thrace was thought to extend, indefinitely, to the North.

36. Secundarent. Two omens were required for confirmation: if the first happened to be unlucky, and the second prosperous, the latter destroyed the former, and was termed omen secundum; and hence secundo, to prosper. Eneas, therefore, wished to have the omen repeated, that the bad or unlucky import of it might be removed, or taken away. Visus vision, acc. plu. Le

varent in the sense of averterent.

37. Tertia hastilia: a third shrub or tree.

Nixu: in the sense of vi.

38. Aggredior: I attempt, or try to pull up, &c. He exerted himself to eradicate it, with his knees upon the ground, that he might have the greater purchase, or power. Adversæ : : opposite, right against his knees, 40. Reddita: in the sense of emissa ex eo. 42. Parce scelerare: forbear to pollute your pious hands. It was the law of the Twelve Tables, and, indeed, it is the voice of humanity, that no injury be done to the dead: defuncti injuriâ ne afficiantur. The ghost of Polydorus, therefore, calls out to Eneas: parce jam sepulto: let me alone: leave me, at least, to my rest in the grave.

43. Externum non. Polydorus was the son of Priam, and the brother of Creusa, the wife of Eneas. He was therefore not stranger or foreigner, in the truest sens the word, to Eneas. Cicero makes hi

hìc

Heu! fuge crudeles terras, fuge litus avarum,

45

45. Ferrea seges te- Nam Polydorus ego: hìc confixum ferrea texit lorum texit me confixum Telorum seges, et jaculis increvit acutis. Tum verò ancipiti mentem formidine pressus Obstupui, steteruntque comæ, et vox faucibus hæsit. 49. Quondam infelix Hunc Polydorum auri quondam cum pondere magno Priamus furtim mandâ- Infelix Priamus furtim mandârat alendum

47. Pressus quoad mentem ancipiti

rat hunc Polydorum Threïcio regi; cùm jam diffideret armis
Threicio regi alendum,
magno pondere

cum

auri

Dardaniæ, cingique urbem obsidione videret. Ille, ut opes fractæ Teucrûm, et fortuna recessit, 53. Ille, nempe Polym- Res Agamemnonias victriciaque arma secutus, nestor, ut opes Teucrúm Fas omne abrumpit, Polydorum obtruncat, et auro Vi potitur. Quid non mortalia pectora cogis, Auri sacra fames! Postquam pavor ossa reliquit, Delectos populi ad proceres, primùmque parentem,

fractæ sunt

sententia de iis.

60. Est idem animus omnibus excedere

50

55

60

59. Quæ sit eorum Monstra Deûm refero; et, quæ sit sententia, posco.
Omnibus idem animus, sceleratâ excedere terrâ,
Linquere pollutum hospitium, et dare classibus Austros.
Ergò instauramus Polydoro funus, et ingens
Aggeritur tumulo tellus: stant manibus aræ,
Cœruleis mœstæ vittis atrâque cupresso:

NOTES.

son of Ilione, the daughter of Priam, and wife of Polymnestor, king of Thrace. Tulit: produced, or bore. Stipite: the body, or trunk.

45. Ferrea seges. To understand this passage, we may suppose that these darts were thrown in upon the body of Polydorus as he lay in the grave; which they pierced: and, taking root in that place, sprang up, and grew in the form of sharp pointed javelins, forming a shade over the tomb. Heyne says: excreverunt in arbores unde jacula petuntur.

46. Increvit aculis: grew up into sharp javelins into trees like sharp javelins.

47. Pressus: in the sense of percussus. Ancipiti: dubia, says Ruæus.

50. Mandârat: in the sense of miserat. 51. Diffideret: in the sense of desperaret. Dardania: in the sense of Troja. See Æn. i. 1.

53. Opes Teucrûm: the power of the Trojans was broken. Ut in the sense of quando.

54. Res Agamemnonias: embracing (secutus) the Grecian cause, and their victorious arms, he breaks every sacred obligation. Agamemnon was captain general of the Grecian forces in the expedition against Troy. His interest, therefore, is the general interest of the Greeks. Fas: properly a divine, or sacred law. By the murder of Polydorus, he broke through the ties of consanguinity, hospitality, and friendship; which are considered of a sacred nature.

57. Sacra fames auri: O cursed desire of

gold, what dost thou not force the hearts of men to perpetrate! The word sacer signifies, usually, sacred, holy: here, accursed, execrable. The word facere or perpetrare, is to be supplied. Heyne says, ad quid: to what, &c.

59. Monstra Deûm: the prodigies of the gods. Primùm: in the sense of præcipuè. Heyne says, primo loco

61. Hospilium: in the sense of locum Dare austros classibus: to give the winds to the fleet. In the sense of dare vela ventis. Auster, is here taken for the wind in general: the species for the genus. The south wind would have been against him, going from Thrace to Delos.

62. Instauramus funus: we perform the funeral rites to Polydorus. He had not been buried with the usual solemnities, a matter which the ancients considered of great moment. These rites were called justa. Without them, they thought the soul wandered 100 years without any rest. Virgil here gives a full account of the funeral rites performed by the Romans, at the interment of the dead.

63. Ingens tellus: a huge pile of earth is thrown up for the tomb. Aræ stant manibus. It appears that two altars were consecrated to the Manes. See 305, infra, also, Ecl. v. 66. By manibus here, we are to understand the soul or spirit of Polydorus.

64. Mæstæ: mournful-dressed in mourning. These fillets were of a deep purple or violet color-a color between blue and black. Rumus says, tristes.

Et circùm Iliades crinem de more solutæ.
Inferimus tepido spumantia cymbia lacte,
Sanguinis et sacri pateras: animamque sepulchro
Condimus, et magnâ supremùm voce ciemus.

Inde ubi prima fides pelago, placataque venti
Dant maria, et lenis crépitans vocat Auster in altum ;
Deducunt socii naves, et litora complent.
Provehimur portu, terræque urbesque recedunt.
Sacra mari colitur medio gratissima tellus
Nereïdum matri et Neptuno Ægæo:
Quam pius Arcitenens oras et litora circum
Errantem, Mycone celsâ Gyaroque revinxit ;

NOTES.

65. Solutæ crinem: loose as to their hair -having their hair loose or dishevelled. See Ecl. i. 55.

66. Inferimus cymbia: we offer bowls foaming with warm milk, and goblets of the consecrated blood. From the verb infero, is formed inferia, sacrifices for the dead, which consisted in pouring into or upon the grave, milk and the blood of a victim slain, as here mentioned.

67. Condimus animam: we place, or bury the soul in the grave. Ruæus says, claudimus animam.

It was a prevailing opinion among the Romans and Greeks, that the soul could not rest without burial; for this reason, they were so anxious about funeral rites. Hence conditorium came to signify a burial-place. Et supremum and lastly, we call upon him with a loud voice. This they did, to call the soul to its place of its rest, and to take the last farewell, by pronouncing the word vale, three times. Ciemus: in the sense of conclamamus. See En. i. 219.

69. Fides: confidence-security. Placata: in the sense of quieta, vel tranquilla. It agrees with maria.

70. Auster: properly the south wind; here taken for wind in general. Crepitans: murmuring rustling-blowing gently.

73. Gratissima tellus. The island Delos is meant, the birth-place of Apollo and Diana. Matri Nereidum: to Doris, the wife of Nereus, and mother of fifty sea-nymphs, called Nereïdes. Colitur: in the sense of incolitur, vel habitatur.

74. Egao. That part of the Mediterranean sea, lying between. Asia on the east, and the Morea, Attica, and Thessaly on the west, was called the Egean sea; from Egeus, the father of Theseus, who threw himself into it, and was drowned, expecting that his son, who had undertaken to fight the Minotaur, was slain.

The fable is this: it was agreed between the father and son, that if he subdued the monster, and returned victorious, he should hang out a white flag, or have white sails:

[blocks in formation]

but if he should fail in the attempt, the ship should return with black sails.

Theseus, on his return, forgot to hang out the white flag, through grief for his beloved Ariadne, whom Bacchus had ravished from him. The father, who was expecting him with impatience, as soon as he, from the top of a high rock, saw the ship in mourning, threw himself into the sea, supposing his son to have been slain. Egeus was king of Athens.

The islands in the southern part of this sea were called Sporades, from a Greek word which signifies, to scatter, or sow; because they lay as if scattered or sown, without order or regularity. The islands farther north were called Cyclades, from a Greek word signifying a circle, because they lay around Delos in the form of a circle. Hodie, the Archipelago.

Neptune is here called Egean, because he was supposed to have his residence in the Egean sea.

75. Arcitenens. This was an epithet of Apollo; also a name of Apollo, as in this place; compounded of arcus and tcneo. He is here called pius, because, it is said, that as soon as he was born, he slew the serpent Python, which Juno sent to persecute his mother Latona. Pierius would read priùs, instead of pius, connecting it with errantem. He assures us that it is found in several ancient copies.

Delos is a small island in the Ægean sea in lat. 37° 30′ north, having Mycone on the north-east, Gyarus and Naxus on the east and south, and Rhena on the west.

The fable is this: Juno being angry at her husband for loving Latona, resolved she should have no place to bring forth in peace. Jupiter directed her to Delos, which was then a floating or wandering island, as a place of safe retreat. Apollo, after his birth, fixed and rendered it immoveable, for the residence of his mother. Its original name was Ortygia. This was changed into the name Delos, which, in the Greek, signifies apparent, or brought to view, it having been

Immotamque coli dedit, et contemnere ventos. 78. Hæc placidissima Huc feror: hæc fessos tuto placidissima portu insula accipit nos Accipit. Egressi veneramur Apollinis urbem.

79. Egressi navibus

veneramur

82. Occurrit nobis

mum

Rex Anius, rex idem hominum Phœbique sacerdos, 80
Vittis et sacrâ redimitus tempora lauro

Occurrit, veterem Anchisen agnoscit amicum.
Jungimus hospitio dextras, et tecta subimus.
85. Et sic dixi: 0 Templa Dei saxo venerabar structa vetusto ;
Thymbræe Apollo, da Da propriam, Thymbræe, domum, da mœnia fessis,
nobis fessis propriam do- Et genus, et mansuram urbem: serva altera Troja
Pergama, relliquias Danaûm atque immitis Achillei.
Quem sequimur? quòve ire jubes? ubi ponere sedes?
Da, pater, augurium, atque animis illabere nostris.
Vix ea fatus eram: tremere omnia visa repentè,
Liminaque, laurusque Dei: totusque moveri
91. Totusque mons Mons circùm, et mugire adytis cortina reclusis.
Submissi petimus terram, et vox fertur ad aures :
Dardanidæ duri, quæ vos à stirpe parentum

88. Quòve jubes nos ire? ubi jubes nos ponere nostras sedes?

90. Repentè omnia visa sunt tremere

visus est moveri

94. Eadem tellus, quæ tulit vos à prima stirpe

NOTES.

hidden before under the waves. This part of the fable some explain, by saying that Apollo here gave out his oracles plain and intelligible, but in every other place, in terms dark and obscure. See Ecl. iv. 10.

77. Deditque: and rendered it fixed to be inhabited, and to condemn the winds. This alludes to the story of its having been a wandering island, and driven about by the winds, till fixed by Apollo for the residence of his mother. Hence it became sacred to her.

80. Idem rex hominum. It was a custom among many nations to unite in the same person the offices of king and priest. Anius was both king, and priest of Apollo.

81. Redimitus: bound as to his temples with fillets, and the sacred laurel. The laurel was sacred to Apollo. Hence the propriety of his priest being bound with it: and the propriety of the epithet sacra.

83. Subimus tecta: we come under his roof-we enter his palace. But tecta here may mean the temple mentioned below: the word tectum properly signifying any covered building. Or tecta may be taken for the buildings of the city in general. The meaning then will be; we enter the city.

84. Structa vetusto saxo: built of ancient stone, or rock. Macrobius informs us that, when the temple at Delphi, and the temples built to Apollo in other places, were destroyed in any way whatever, his temple at Delos continued to stand unimpaired; and consequently retained its ancient or original stone. Whatever ravages the island had suffered, the sanctity of the temple preserved it from violation. Venerabar: I worshipped-I offered prayers. It is said that the altar of Apollo at Delos was never stained with the

85

90

blood of victims; but only honored with prayers, and other simple rites of ancient worship.

85. Thymbræe. Thymbræus was an epithet of Apollo, derived, as we are told by Strabo, from Thymbra, a place near Troy, where he had a famous temple. Propriam: fixed, lasting.

86. Genus: offspring-posterity. Ruæus says, familias. Mansuram: permanent, to remain.

87. Pergama: neu. plu. properly the fort or citadel of Troy; often used for the whole city. Altera Pergama. Simply, the other Troy-the city which Æneas prayed Apollo to grant to him, and his followers, the remains of the Greeks, and of cruel Achilles. 89. Augurium: a sign, or omen.

91. Laurus. Either the laurel, with which the image of the god was crowned; or rather the laurel tree, which was placed at the entrance of the temple. It was an opinion among the ancients that the gods gave signs of their approach, by causing the earth to move and shake. To this the poet here alludes. The laurel was sacred to Apollo.

92. Cortina. The covering of the tripod, whence the priest delivered responses. Hence by meton. the oracle itself. Adytis. The sanctuary, or inner part of the temple, where Reclusis: in the sense of the Oracle was. apertis. Mons. This was mount Cynthus, on which the temple was built: whence Apollo was sometimes called Cynthius, and Diana, Cynthia. Mugire: in the sense of

sonare.

94. Dardanida: the same as Trojani. Servius observes that the Trojans might

« PreviousContinue »