Nos patriae fines et dulcia linquimus arva; Nos patriam fugimus: tu, Tityre, lentus in umbra, TITYRUS. O Meliboee, deus nobis haec otia fecit. MELIBOEUS. Non equidem invideo; miror magis: undique totis 5 10 • to used in its technical sense, 'to play over and over the same tune,' practise.' In Val. Max. 1, 3, armorum meditatio signifies military exercise.' As to the commutation of d and 1, cf. 'Odvortús, Ulysses; dángvua, lacryma: so also the Italian cicala = cicada; Spanish cola cauda. In the Sicilian dialect, dd = ll in Italian. Avena, probably the Syrinx, or 'Pandean pipe,' which was variously denominated, according to the material of which it was constructed, whether of cane (arundo), reed (calamus), hemlock (cicuta), or of straw (arena), as in this passage. See SYRINX, in Dr William Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities.-3. Patriae, our hereditary property.-4. Fugimus. This verb fugio signifies either to go,' or 'to be driven into exile;' 'to fly,' or to flee.' Lentus, ' untroubled,' undisturbed.'-5. Amaryllida. The name Amaryllis is also borrowed from Theocritus. She was a shepherdess beloved by Tityrus. 6. Meliboee. This name, Meliboeus, literally signifies herdsman,' being derived from it, it is a care,' and Bous, an ox.' Deus, a god;' by the next verse the meaning is thus limited-for, a deity he shall always be esteemed by me.' Julius Caesar had been placed among the gods during the year 712 A. U. C.; but this honour was not conferred upon Augustus until 725 A. U. c.; cf. Hor. Od. 4, 5, 32. Deities of this stamp were so only on medals, obelisks, temples, and in inscriptions. Otia, security' amid the turmoils of war.-7. Illžus. Here and elsewhere Virgil shortens the penultima of this word; cf. G. 1, 49; 4. 1, 16, &c. So also does he use ipsius, solius, alius.—8. Imbuet, 'shall stain with its blood.' Agnus. The sacrifice offered by the poor to the Lares was a pig; by those in better circumstances, a lamb; and by the rich, a calf or a steer.-9. Meas, which are tended by me.' It is of his master's folds that Tityrus here speaks; cf. nostra, in Ecl. 9, 12, used by Moeris in speaking of the poems of his master. Errare, to browse at large.' Ipsum is the herdsman,' as opposed to boves.10. Ludere, 'to amuse myself;' as Hor., S. 1, 4, 139, uses illudo chartis, I amuse myself with writing. 6 11. Non.... magis, rather do I wonder than envy.' Undique... agris, to such an extent (usque adeo) do agitation and alarm prevail Usque adeo turbatur agris. En, ipse capellas TITYRUS. Urbem, quam dicunt Romam, Meliboee, putavi Sic canibus catulos similes, sic matribus haedos Verum haec tantum alias inter caput extulit urbes, 25 · throughout all the land (undique agris).-12. Turbatur is impersonal. En, ipse, as an example, I myself in despair (aeger),' &c.-13. Hanc, sc. capellam.-15. Silice, though usually masculine, is fem. here, and in Aen. 8, 233. This instance is the only one in which connixa is used in this sense, having brought (them) forth.'-16. Laeva, 'infatuated;" cf. Aen. 2, 54; and Hor. A. P. 301: dexter, as opposed to this meaning, signifies ingenious," sagacious,' 'acute.-17. De coelo tactas, 'blasted by lightning.' Exile was supposed to be portended when an oak was struck by lightning; while the failure of crops was indicated by the blasting of an olive-tree.-18. [Saepe . . . . cornix.] This verse is considered an interpolation, and rejected by recent editors, because praedixit and ilice after praedicere and quercus, are tautological; and because a sinistra cornix was a favourable omen. -19. Sed tamen are emphatic, indicating the return of the conversation to the subject which had been interrupted. Qui. The difference between qui and quis interrogative is, that qui? implies kind, sort, quality; whereas quis? simply asks respecting individuality: thus, qui deus? what kind of god?-quis deus? what god? what is his name or designation? Da. The verb dare, as here, frequently signifies 'to tell,'' declare.' 20. Romam. Before answering the inquiry after the deity, Tityrus must describe the city in which he had seen him. The ancient Latin city of Valentia was called by the Pelasgic name Paun, Roma, which it has retained to the present time.-21. Huic nostrae (sc. urbi); that is, Mantua, about three miles further down the stream than Andes, Virgil's native village.-24. Nôram (= noveram) has its proper meaning here, I knew' (and not I thought,' as some translate it). The sentence, being elliptical, should be rendered: 'I thought (putavi) that our own city should resemble Rome, in a manner similar to that which I knew whelps to resemble,' &c. MELIBOEUS. Et quae tanta fuit Romam tibi causa videndi? TITYRUS. Libertas: quae sera, tamen respexit inertem, Non unquam gravis aere domum mihi dextra redibat. MELIBOEUS. Mirabar, quid maesta deos, Amarylli, vocares; 30 35 27. Et, when it introduces an interrogation, expresses inquisitiveness, emphasis, or indignation. At the end of 28. Libertas, the prospect of freedom or liberty.' five years, industrious slaves might purchase freedom out of their savings. Inertem, when old and feeble,' for Tityrus did not obtain his liberty till advanced in years. With sera, understand quanquam, as tamen requires.-29. Candidior.... cadebat alludes to manumission, for slaves never pruned their beards.-30. Respexit. Tityrus here institutes a comparison between the length of time during which he had been hoping for liberty, and the normal five years which generally elapsed before it was conferred. 31. Postquam must be repeated before Galatea. The use of the present and perfect tenses indicates that the action expressed by the former (habet) followed immediately after that denoted by the latter (reliquit); besides habet may imply that his affections are still enjoyed by Amaryllis.-33. Peculi. On this form of the genitive of neuters in -ium, which form alone Virgil employs, see Gram. § 58, note 2; and Zumpt, Lat. Gram. § 49. The peculium of a slave was such property as his master permitted him to consider as his own: when applied to children, it was whatever they possessed, independently of their fathers.-34. Victima is properly a sacrifice after a victory, and hostia one preceding an engagement, Ov. Fast. 1, 335.— 35. Ingratae urbi, unremunerating city,' since from it he drew not the full value of his cheese and cattle: not, as some say, 'because Galatea consumed his share of the market-money allowed him as peculium ;' that could not have been attributed as a fault to the city. 6 37. Amarylli. Greek appellatives ending in is make the voc. in %.— 38. Sua, its own; that is, the natural fruit, not the produce of grafting. Poma, 'the fruit' (in general). From this allusion, we conclude that the time of the year was July or August when he visited Rome. Tityrus hinc aberat. Ipsae te, Tityre, pinus, 40 TITYRUS. Quid facerem? neque servitio me exire licebat, Hic mihi responsum primus dedit ille petenti : 45 MELIBOEUS. Fortunate senex, ergo tua rura manebunt! 39. Aberat has the last syllable lengthened by the arsis; see METRICAL INDEX. Ipsae pinus, the very pines.' 6 40. Arbusta were spots of ground in which clumps of various kinds of trees were planted at regular distances of about twelve yards; of these the branches were trimmed, and vines, called vites arbustivae, trained around them. 41. Quid facerem? what could I do?-how could I help it?' I was compelled to go, irrespective of her complaints. 42. Praesentes, favouring,' propitious: cf. Hor. Od. 3, 5, 2.— 43. Hic; that is, in Rome." Juvenem, the deus of verse 6, Octavianus, who was at this time about twenty-three years of age: he is styled juvenis even at the age of twenty-seven, G. 1, 500. Quotannis bis senos, &c., in whose favour my altars smoke twelve days every year' -probably once a month, as it was usual on the kalends, nones, or ides of each month to sacrifice to the Lares domestici, among whom Tityrus reckons Octavianus. 45. Primus tandem or demum, at length,' when hope had nearly expired; or lit.: 'he first,' &c.-46. Submittite tauros, breed young oxen:' cf. G. 3, 73, and 159. 47. Ergo tua, thy fields then shall remain (for thee); that is, they shall not be molested by a ruthless soldiery. Wagner would explain tua from the legal formula meum est (as Ecl. 9, 4); and he says that the emphasis should.. be on tua, not on manebunt. This, however, was not possible to a Roman, for tuă here (as měă, 9, 4) is in the thesis of a dactyl. 48. Magna satis, sufficiently extensive' for all your purposes of pasturing. Quamvis junco; this passage alludes to the property of Virgil, and conveys an idea of his moderation and contentment. Andes, the spot where Virgil's farm was situated, is Non insueta graves tentabunt pabula fetas; TITYRUS. Ante leves ergo pascentur in aethere cervi, 50 55 60 considered to be the modern Pietola, which, however, is only two miles from Mantua, whereas Andes was three. -50. Non.... fetas, no unaccustomed food will injure the dams, languid (graves) after yeaning (fetas); others think that graves fetas, taken together, mean 'heavy with young.' The poet simply means, that the dams that require care will not be exposed to such fatigue and privation, as must attend a removal to distant or strange pastures. Insuētă is a trisyllable, the u = w in English.-52. Flumina nota, the Mincius and Eridănus, now respectively the Mincio and the Po; more probably the Mincius only is meant here, with the small streams that watered the poet's farm; the Po is twelve miles distant, and thus too remote to be visited by the shepherd. The Mincius issues from Lake Benācus (Lago di Garda), forms a marsh about three miles from Mantua, and falls into the Po about twelve miles below that city.-53. Frigus opacum, shady coolness; our phrase is cool shade.-54. Hinc tibi, &c.: the construction is-hinc, ab vicino limite, sepes, quae semper Hyblaeis apibus florem salicti depasta (est), saepe suadebit tibi levi (apum) susurro inire somnum; that is, ab ea parte, qua vicinus limes est.-55. Hyblaeis, Sicilian.' The honey produced in the vicinity of Mount Hybla was considered of a very superior quality, the herbage being principally thyme. Florem is an example of what is usually called the Greek accusative, which may appropriately be designated the accusative of limitation. See Gram. $ 259, 2; and Zumpt, Gram. § 458.-57. Canet ad auras, 'will raise his voice, sing aloud.' Others connect ad auras with frondator, 'on high,' referring to the vinedresser's position, as if his enjoying the cool breezes is meant to be expressed. Ad auras, from the earth upwards,' 'in an upward direction from the earth,' as smoke, a funeral pile, a building; while in auras implies no connection whatever with the earth. 58. Tua cura, 'your favourites;' that is, those whose note you delight to hear. With palumbes supply cessabunt.→→ 59. Gemere, 'to coo." The turtle-dove spends only three months in Italy, leaving it in the middle of autumn. It delights especially in elevated situations. 60. Ante leves ergo, &c., sooner, therefore, shall the fleet (leres) stags pasture in the air, &c. Tityrus so warmly feels his obligations |