Procurate, viri; et pugnam sperate parati. Intereà vigilum excubiis obsidere portas, 160 165 170 172. Quos pater Æneas dedit esse rectores juvenum, et magistros rerum 175. Exercetque vices 176 quoad id, quod est cuique tuendum. Hæc supèr è vallo prospectant Troës, et armis NOTES. Davidson and Ruæus. Or the meaning may be: prepare yourselves for noble exploits, on the morrow. 158. Procurate: refresh-invigorate. Sperate: in the sense of expectate. 159. Excubiis vigilum: simply, with sentinels or guards. Obsidere: to besiege the gates of the Trojan camp-to block up, &c. 160. Cingere mania: to encompass their walls with fires to give them light in the night, lest the enemy should sally out upon them unobserved; or in despair, leave their city. 162. Sequuntur illos quemque: follow them every one. Quisque is a distributive pronoun. Delecti: fourteen Rutulians were chosen to superintend the watch, and see that due attention was paid, and each one performed his duty. Milite: with soldiers; the same as militibus. The guard amounted then to fourteen hundred men. 164. Variant vices: they shift, or change their tours of duty. They stand guard by turns. 169. Alta: the high places of the walls. Loca or spatia is understood. 170. Jungunt, &c. The same as jungunt propugnacula cum pontibus. They laid bridges from one bulwark or tower to another, for the purpose of ready and easy com a; 179. Et juxta eum 180 comes Euryalus, quo munication. They connected their towers 175. Exercet vices: they perform their watch in turns. Exercet: in the sense of variat. Tuendum: to be attended to-performed-done. Here 176. Nisus erat, &c. Here the poet begins his celebrated episode of the friendship of Nisus and Euryalus. He had in the fourth book considered the force of love. he gives us a specimen of his skill in the power of friendship; and never was any thing more artfully disposed, more noble, more moving, and pathetic, than this piece. It is introduced without any formal introduction. He was speaking of the several posts that were to be defended; and among the rest, was one committed to the care of these two friends. 177. Ida: either the mother of Nisus or mount Ida, which is sometimes called venatrix, because it abounded in game, and was frequented by hunters. Hyrtacides: a noun patronymic, from Hyrtacus, the father of Nisus. 181. Intonsa ora: his beardless fareunshaven face. 182. Bella: in the sense of pugnam. 185. An sua dira cu- Euryale? an sua cuique Deus fit dira cupido? pido fit Deus cuique? 196. Videor mihi posse reperire viam sub illo tumulo ad 201. Meus genitor 185 190 Aut pugnam, aut aliquid jamdudum invadere magnum Obstupuit magno laudum perculsus amore aspicit Te 185. Dira: great, vehement, or ardent. Rumus says, ardens. 187. Agitat: urges-impels. Mihi: in the sense of mea. 189. Rara: here and there-few. cant: in the sense of splendent. Mi 190. Percipe quid dubitem: hear what I am meditating, and what, &c. This first speech is noble and disinterested. Nisus communicates his purposes to his friend; who is struck with the proposal, and takes it ill, that he should think of excluding him from a share of the danger and glory of the enterprise. Dubitem: in the sense of mediter. 193. Certa: the truth-true things. 195. Fama: the glory of the deed, &c. 196. Mania Pallantea: the city of Evander. magnus ovantem 195 200 205 210 203. Sublatum. This alludes to the Roman custom of laying down the child naked upon the ground as soon as born, that the father might take it up, in token of his owning it for his own child. Heyne says, natum et educatum. Nec gessi: nor have I performed such actions in your company, that you should now refuse me as your companion and partner in your hazardous enterprise; nor have I acted so cowardly, &c. 205. Est hic, &c. These two lines are extremely fine. Nisus replies to them in a speech extremely pathetic. He declines the company of Euryalus, chiefly on account of the dangers of the undertaking, his youth and inexperience; and his being inore worthy of a long life. The whole is greatly heightened by the mention of his aged mother. Hic est, est animus: here is, here is a soul, a despiser of life; and which, &c. Lucis: in the sense of vita. 1 aspire, or aim at. 210. Tali discrimine: in such a hazardous enterprise, as he had in contemplation. 211. Adversum: a sub. ir. the sense of periculum. Rapiat me: hurry me-carry me, &c. 213. Sit aliquis, qu mandet me solità nume 215 219. Autem ille Eury b220 alus respondet. Sit, qui me raptum pugnâ, pretiove redemptum, NOTES. 213. Sit qui mandet: may there be some one who will commit me to the solitary earth, snatched from the field of battle, or redeemed with money, &c. 215. Ferat: or may perform the funeral rites to me absent, and honor me with an empty tomb. It was usual among the Romans, when the corpse could not be obtained, to perform the same funeral rites, as if it were present. The tomb was said to be empty, because the corpse was not there. Of such a burial, Nisus here speaks. 217. Ausa: having courage-daring. Ruæus says, audax. 218. Mania Acesta. This was the city which Eneas founded in Sicily, and called after the name of his friend Acestes. Here he left the aged and infirm, and all who were not willing to accompany him into Italy. The mother of Euryalus was among those who braved the dangers of the voyage, and accompanied him, the poet intimates, for the sake of her son. 219. Causas: pretexts-excuses. 221. Excitat vigiles: at the same time, he wakes the watch-those who were to keep watch in turn. 223. Regem: Ascanius here is intended, as beg a prince and heir to the crown. 225 230 235 240 232. Dicunt rem esse magnam 224. Cætera animalia, &c. This is very expressive, and greatly heightens the image. At this time, when all nature was silent, and enjoying repose, the Trojan chiefs were assembled in council upon the state of their affairs. At this moment, they are surprised by Nisus and Euryalus, who demand to be admitted. 227. Regni: government-state. 231. Admittier: by paragoge, for admitti. 232. Pretium mora. He observes that the subject he wished to propose, was of great importance, and would sufficiently compensate for the interruption of their deliberations. 235. Spectentur: in the sense of æstimentur. Ferimus: in the sense of proponimus. 237. Insidiis locum: we have observed a place for our purpose-one fit for the execution of our design. Nos ipsi: we ourselves. 238. In bivio porta: in the forked ways of the gate-where the way before the gate divides into two paths. 239. Ignes interrupti: the fires are dying away; or, only here and there one is burning, the rest having gone out. 240. Uti fortuna: to embrace this oppor tunity. 241. Si permittitis nos Quæsitum Ænean ad mœnia Pallantea, u'i hâc fortuna, vos cer- Mox hic cum spoliis, ingenti cæde peractâ, netis Enean quæsitum Affore cernetis. Nec nos via fallit euntes: Vidimus obscuris primam sub vallibus urbem Venatu assiduo, et totum cognovimus amnem. à nobis ad monia Pallantea, mox affore hìc 245 249 Hic annis gravis, atque animi maturus Alethes : Di patrii, quorum semper sub numine Truja est, Non tamen omnino Teucros delere paratis, Cùm tales animos juvenum, et tam certa tulistis Pectora. Sic memorans, humeros dextrasque tenebat Amborum, et vultum lachrymis atque ora rigabat. 252. Quæ, quæ digna Quæ vobis, quæ digna, viri, pro talibus ausis præmia rear posse solvi Præmia posse rear solvi? pulcherrima primùm vobis, O viri, pro Dî, moresque dabunt vestri: tum cætera reddet Actutùm pius Æneas, atque integer ævi meriti 256. Non unquam fu- Ascanius, meriti tanti non immemor unquam. turus immeinor tanti Immò ego vos, cui solą salus genitore reducto, 257. Ascanius, cui so- Excipit Ascanius, per magnos, Nise, Penates, la salus cst in genitore Assaracique Larem, et canæ penetralia Vestæ, reducto, excipit; immò Obtestor; quæcunque mihi fortuna fidesque est, ego obtestor vos, O Nise In vestris pono gremiis; revocate parentem, 262. Nihil erit triste Reddite conspectum : nihil illo triste recepto. nobis illo recepto. 268. Si verò contigerit mihi victori Bina dabo argento perfecta, atque aspera signis 242. Peractâ: made-done. NOTES. 244. Primam urbem: the front of the houses, or the skirts of the city Pallanteum. Perhaps, simply, the suburbs of the city. 246. Animi: understanding-judgment. 247. Numine: in the sense of potestate. 248. Non tamen, &c. The word tamen shows that there is an ellipsis here of licet ad tempus irascamini, or of some others of the like import: ye were angry with us for a time, yet ye determine not to destroy, &c. 249. Tulistis: ye have produced or granted. Pectora: courage-resolution. 252. Talibus ausis: for such an enterprise, or bold undertaking. Heyne reads, istis laudibus; and Valpy after him. The common reading is talibus ausis. 253. Pulcherrima: in the sense of optima. 254. Mores vestri: your virtues. Cætera: præmia is understood. 255. Integer ævi. Dr. Trapp thinks this refers to the future manhood of Ascanius. This, too, is the opinion of the Variorum edition. Others take it for the present state of his youth-mature in age. 255 260 265 270 263. Signis: figures-carved work. 264. Arisba deviclâ. Most interpreters understand by this that Arisba was taken by the Trojans. But Catrou thinks it was one of those cities taken by the Greeks in the first nine years of the war; and that these cups were saved by Eneas from the hands of the Greeks, when they plundered the town. Pliny inforins us that Arisha was a city of Troas, and part of the kingdom of Priam. 267. Sceptris: in the sense of imperio vel regno, by meton. 268. Ducere sortem: to draw lots for the booty-to divide the booty by lot. 271. Excipiam: I will exempt from the lot-I will reserve. Prætereà bis sex genitor lectissima matrum 274. Insuper his, ge 275 nilor dabit id campi quod 280 285 Seu pacem, seu bella geram, tibi maxima rerum Spondeo digna tuis ingentibus omnia cœptis. NOTES. 272. Bis sex lectissima corpora: twelve most choice matrons, and as many captives of men, &c. Sua: in the sense of propria: it should be taken after arma. The arins peculiar to (that belonged to) them all. Corpora matrum: simply, matrons-women. 274. Insuper his: in addition to these beside these. Some copies have insuper, id campi quod, &c. The sense will be the same either way. We are not to understand the kingdom of Latinus; but his own private lands and possessions. 275. Propioribus spatiis. By this we are to understand that Ascanius and Euryalus were nearly of the same age. Davidson renders the words: "in the nearer stages of life." 280. Contra: in the sense of ad. 282. Arguerit: shall show me unequal to. Ruæus says, ostendet degenerem. Tantùm fortuna secunda: only let fortune fall prosperous, and not adverse. This is the reading of Heinsius, Ruæus, and Davidson.Heyne reads, tantum: fortuna, secunda aut adversa, cadat, which scarcely makes sense. The pointing, too, tends to obscure it. Valpy, who follows Heyne, sensible of the difficulty attending this reading, conjectures the passage was left by the poet in an unfinished state. 290 295 275. Verò accipio te, venerande puer, 285. Quam miseram excedentem mecum non Ilia tellus 288. Nox, et tua dextra sunt testis, quòd 283. Super: above-more than. 284. Genitrix, &c. The meaning is, that neither the land of Troy, nor the city of Acestes, could prevent or induce his mother from following the fortunes of her son through all dangers. This reply of Euryalus is very pathetic. It speaks a dutiful and affectionate son. 286. Excedentem: from going with mefrom accompanying me in all our dangers. 288. Inque salutatam: this is for insalutatamque, by tmesis: not bidden farewell. Nox et tua dextera, &c. This picture of filial piety is admirably drawn. 290. Relicta: bereaved-disconsolate. 292. Dederunt: in the sense of effuderunt. Percussâ. This is the reading of Heyne. Some copies have perculsa, from the verb percello. The sense is the same with either. 294. Imago patriæ pietatis, &c. The Trojans were moved at this image, or pattern of piety toward a parent; but in an especial manner it touched the heart of young Ascanius; who consoles the anxious youth, assuring him that his mother should not want a friend while he had life-that he would immediately take her for his mother, and load her with honors. 299. Manet: awaits-is due. Partum: |