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CLARENDON   PRESS   SERIES 


VIRGIL 


OLICS    AND    GEORGICS 


EDITED 


iVITH  INTRODUCTION  AND  NOTES 


BY 


T.  L.  PAPILLON,  M.A. 

FORMERLY  FELLOW  AND  TUTOR  OF  NEW  COLLEGE 


AND 


A.  E.  HAIGH,  M.A. 

LATE   FELLOW  OF   HERTFORD;    CLASSICAL   LECTURER   AT   CORPUS  CHRIST!   AND 
WADHAM   COLLEGES,  OXFORD 


OXFORD 

AT  THE   CLARENDON    PRESS 

1 

?k 

6804 

^  _  .     Price  Two  Shillings  and  Sixpence 

P'^ 

VIRGIL 


BUCOLICS   AND    GEORGIC 


EDITED 


WITH   INTRODUCTION  AND    NOTES 


BY 


T.    L.    PAPILLON,    M.A. 


rORMERLY    FELLOW    AND    TL'TOR    OF    NEW    COLLEGE 


AND 


A.    E.    HAIGH,    M.A. 

I.ATF.   FELLOW   OF    HERTFORD,    AND   CLASSICAL   LECTURER   AT   CORPUS    CHRISTI 
AND   WADHAM   COLLEGES,    OXFORD 


OXFORD 

AT    THE    CLARENDON    PRESS 

1891 


HENRY  FROWDE,   M.A. 

PUBLISHER  TO  THE    UNIVERSITY   OF  OXFORD 

LONDON,    EDINBURGH 

NEW   YORK   AND  TORONTO 


PREFACE         ^'Vi    f 


oJ 


The  text  of  this  edition  (as  of  the  former  edition  published 
by  the  Clarendon  Press  in  1882)  is  based  upon  that  of  Ribbeck 
with  certain  modifications,  particularly  in  matters  of  orthography. 
No  attempt  is  made  to  reproduce  the  variety  of  spelling  found 
in  the  best  MSS.— e.  g.  inpius,  impius,  navis  (n.  plur.)  naves, 
lacrnma  lacrima,  volmcs  vu/nus,  vortex  vertex,  Imquont  linquunt 
lincunt — a  variety  which  it  is  hard  to  believe  that  Virgil  him- 
self would  have  sanctioned.  Where  MSS.  and  inscriptions 
fluctuate  between  different  forms  (e.  g.  -es,  -is,  -els,  in  nom.  plur. 
of  /-  stems),  it  seems  best  for  practical  purposes  to  adhere  to 
the  normal  spelling  of  the  language  in  its  fixed  literary  form  : 
avoiding  on  the  one  hand  the  '  conventional '  spelling  of  the 
Renaissance  Scholars,  with  barbarisms  such  as  coelum,  coena, 
lacryma,  sylva  due  to  the  false  notion  that  Latin  was  derived  from 
Greek ;  nor  claiming,  on  the  other  hand,  either  to  reproduce 
the  text  exactly  as  Virgil  wrote  it  or  to  decide  on  a  priori 
grounds  what  he  ought  to  have  written. 

The  Commentary  has  been  revised  throughout  by  both 
Editors,  and  to  a  considerable  extent  re-written,  with  the 
object  of  making  it  more  generally  useful  to  students  at  the 
Universities  and  in  the  higher  forms  of  schools.  The  Intro- 
duction has  been  abridged  by  Mr.  Papillon  from  that  of  the 
former  edition  :  most  of  the  discussion  upon  the  history  of  the 


4  PREFACE, 

text  and  upon  Latin  orthography  being  omitted  as  being  outside 
the  scope  of  such  an  edition  as  this. 

In  the  preparation  of  the  first  edition  the  books  principally 
used  were  Professor  Conington's  standard  commentary,  com- 
pleted by  Professor  Nettleship ;  the  editions  of  Forbiger, 
Gossrau,  and  Kennedy ;  Professor  Nettleship's  '  Suggestions 
Introductory  to  a  Study  of  the  Aeneid,'  and  Professor  Sellar's 
volume  '  On  the  Roman  Poets  of  the  Augustan  Age.'  In 
revising  the  notes  the  Editors  have  had  the  advantage  of 
consulting  Mr.  Sidgwick's  school  edition,  from  which  they 
have  derived  many  valuable  suggestions.  The  original  Editor 
desires  also  to  repeat  his  special  obligation  to  the  Venerable 
Edwin  Palmer,  D.D.,  Archdeacon  of  Oxford  and  Canon  of 
Christ  Church,  formerly  Fellow  and  Tutor  of  Balliol  College ; 
to  whose  lectures  on  A^irgil  he  looks  back  as  the  foundation 
and  stimulus  of  any  Virgilian  learning  that  he  possesses,  and 
by  the  use  of  whose  MS.  notes  he  was  much  assisted  in 
compiling  the  former  edition. 

T.  L.  P. 
A.  E.  H. 


LIFE    AND    POEMS    OF    VIRGIL^ 


I.  PuBLius  Vergilius  Maro  was  bom  Oct.  15th,  b.c.  70,  at 
Andes,  a  '  pagus '  or  country  district  near  Mantua  and  the  river 
IMincius,  whose  green  banks  and  slow  windings  are  recalled  with 
affectionate  memory  in  the  Eclogues  and  Georgics.  His  parents 
were  of  obscure  social  position  :  but,  like  those  of  Horace,  were 
able  to  appreciate  their  son's  talent,  and  give  him  the  best  education 
then  obtainable.  At  twelve  years  old  he  was  sent  to  Cremona  : 
and  at  sixteen,  on  assuming  the  '  toga  virilis,'  went  to  Alediolanum 
(Milan)  for  one  year,  removing  thence  to  Rome  in  53  B.C.  ;  where 
he  studied  rhetoric  under  Epidius,  and  philosophy  under  Siron,  a 
celebrated  teacher  of  Epicureanism.  In  one  of  the  collection  of 
short  poems  known  as  'Catalepton'  {ra  Kara  Xenrov,  'minor  poems') 
or  Catalecta  {KnTaXtKra,  'selections'),  perhaps  composed  during  his 
stay  at  Rome,  Virgil  expresses  his  preference  for  philosophy  over 
rhetoric : 

Ite  hinc,  inanes,  ite,  rhetorum  ampullae, 

Infiata  rore  non  Achaico  verba, 

Et  vos,  Stiloque,  Tarquitique,  Varroque, 

Scholasticorum  natio 

Nos  ad  beatos  vela  mittimus  portus, 

Magni  petentes  docta  dicta  Sironis  -. 

Traces  of  the  poet's  early  taste  for  philosophy,  here  first  expressed, 
appear  in  a  few  well-known  passages  of  his  later  poems,  e.g.  the 
song  of  Silenus  in  Eel.  vi ;  the  references  to  didactic  poetry  in  G.  ii. 
477  sqq. ;  the  song  of  lopas,  Aen.  i.  742-6  ;  and  the  exposition  of 
the  '  Anima  Mundi,'  Aen.  vi.  724  sqq. ;  as  also  in  his  admiration 
for  and  intimate  acquaintance  v^'ith  the  writings  of  Lucretius. 

'  In  this  edition  the  English  spelling  '  Virgil '  is  retained  in  preference 
to  the  less  familiar  '  Vergil,'  used  by  some  modern  editors.  The  Latin 
form  of  the  poet's  name  is  '  Vergilius' :  but  the  Anglicised  form  'Virgil' 
Las  (like  'Horace,'  '  Livy,'  'Athens'  &c.)  the  sanction  of  long  usage,  .ind 
is  as  legitimate  for  us  as  '  \'irgilio  '  for  Italians,  or  '  Virgilc '  for  Frenchmen. 

'■^  Catal.  \ii. 


6  LIFE  AND  POEMS  OF  VIRGIL. 

2.  It  is  uncertain  how  long  Virgil  remained  at  Rome.  His  stay 
there  may  have  been  interrupted  by  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  War 
in  49  B.C. ;  and  he  is  said  (though  on  no  certain  authority)  to  have 
studied  at  Neapolis  (Naples)  under  one  Parthenius.  In  B.C.  43  we 
find  him  at  Mantua,  engaged  upon  the  Eclogues.  In  41  B.C.  he 
was  ejected  from  his  paternal  farm  by  one  of  the  soldiers  to  whom 
the  Triumvirs  Antonius,  Octavianus,  and  Lepidus  had  assigned 
grants  of  land  in  Cisalpine  Gaul.  To  this  trouble  Eclogues  i  and 
ix  refer.  Eel.  i  speaks  of  a  journey  to  Rome  and  restitution  of  the 
farm ;  Eel.  ix  only  alludes  to  ejection  from  it.  If  therefore  Eel.  i 
is  the  earlier  poem,  it  is  necessary  to  suppose  that  he  was  a  second 
time  turned  out,  and  that  Eel.  ix  refers  to  this  second  ejection. 
But  probably  Eel.  ix,  containing  a  complaint  of  injury,  was  written 
earlier  than  Eel.  i,  expressing  gratitude  for  the  redress  of  the  injury. 
Eel.  iv  and  viii  are  complimentary  to  Pollio  and  Callus,  two  friends 
who,  holding  important  offices  in  the  district,  had  backed  the  poet's 
application  to  Octavianus  for  the  restitution  of  his  farm;  and 
Eel.  vi  was  perhaps  a  mark  of  gratitude  to  Varus,  who  had  also 
assisted  him.  Eel.  v,  which  alludes  to  the  apotheosis  of  Julius 
Caesar,  may  have  been  written  43-41  B.C. ;  and  it  must  be  later 
than  Eel.  ii  and  iii,  which  are  alluded  to  in  it  (II.  86-7).  Tradition 
connects  Eel.  ii  with  Pollio,  and  Eel.  iii  speaks  of  him  (1.  84)  as  en- 
couraging the  poet :  and  one  or  both  of  these  poems  may  have  been 
written  in  43  B.C.,  the  year  of  Pollio's  term  of  office  as  '  legatus '  in 
Cisalpine  Gaul.  Eel.  ix  (according  to  the  view  just  given)  was  written 
in  41  B.C. ;  Eel.  i,  iv,  and  perhaps  vi,  in  40  B.C.,  after  the  restitution 
of  Virgil's  farm  ;  and  Eel.  viii  in  39  B.C.,  the  year  of  Pollio's  return 
in  triumph  from  Illyria;  Eel.  x,  written  about  38-37  B.C.  when 
Agrippa  was  commanding  an  expedition  across  the  Rhine  into 
Gaul,  being  the  last  of  the  series.  The  composition  of  the  Eclogues 
thus  falls  between  the  years  43  and  ^7  B.C. ;  their  order  (excluding 
Eel.  vii,  which  gives  no  indication  of  date)  being  presumably  ii,  iii, 
v,  ix,  i,  iv,  vi,  viii,  x. 

3.  In  some  difficulty  connected  with  his  farm,  Virgil  had  been 
assisted  by  C.  Cilnius  Jvlaecenas,  the  famous  patron  of  his  later 
years,    in   compliment   to  whom,    and  at  whose   suggestion  \    he 

^  G.  iii.  40-1 : 

Interea  Dryadum  silvas  saltiisque  sequamur 
Intactos,  tua,  Maecenas,  haud  moUia  iussa. 


LIFE  AND  POEMS  OF  VIRGIL.  7 

undertook  the '  Georgics,'  an  agricultural  poem  based  on  the  didactic 
poetry  of  Hesiod,  Nicander  and  Aratus,  as  the  Eclogues  upon  the 
pastoral  poetry  of  Theocritus.  The  Georgics  were  read  by  Virgil 
and  Maecenas  to  Augustus  on  his  return  from  the  East  in  29  B.C. : 
and  if,  as  Suetonius  tells  us,  Virgil  was  engaged  upon  them  for 
seven  years,  he  began  them  in  36  B.C.,  a  date  intrinsically  probable 
from  the  completion  of  the  Eclogues  in  ■^^'j  B.C.,  and  incidentally 
confirmed  by  the  allusion  in  G.  ii.  161  to  the  Julian  harbour  con- 
structed in  that  year.  At  the  end  of  G.  iv  Virgil  himself  states 
that  much  of  them  was  written  at  Naples  ;  and  from  G.  iii.  10  it  has 
been  inferred  that  he  had  visited  Greece  :  though  the  words  '  Aonio 
deducam  vertice  Musas'  need  not  imply  more  than  'Ascraeumque 
cano  Romana  per  oppida  carmen '  (G.  ii.  176) — i.e.,  the  imitation 
and  adaptation  of  Greek  models.  The  only  recorded  visit  of  Virgil 
to  Greece  is  that  at  the  end  of  his  life  :  but  there  is  some  difficulty 
in  connecting  with  this  the  ode  (i.  3)  in  which  Horace  speaks  of  the 
visit  of  his  friend  Vergilius  to  Attica,  and  an  earlier  visit  is  at  any 
rate  possible. 

4.  The  remaining  ten  years  of  Virgil's  life  (29-19  B.C.)  were  devoted 
to  the  '  Aeneid,'  the  most  enduring  monument  not  only  of  his  own 
fame,  but  of  the  fortunes  of  Rome  ;  the  epic  of  the  Roman  empire  ; 
the  sacred  book  of  the  Roman  religion,  as  summed  up  in  the  con- 
ception of  'Fortuna  Urbis,'  with  its  visible  embodiment  in  the 
person  of  the  Emperor;  the  expression  of  all  the  varied  beliefs  of 
the  time — national,  religious,  historical,  mythological ;  the  '  Gesta 
Populi  Romani,'  as  some  called  it  on  its  first  appearance.  Ten  or 
twelve  years  before,  as  we  learn  from  Eel.  \\.  3-5,  Virgil  had 
thought  of  singing  *  reges  et  proelia ' ;  but  the  idea  of  an  epic  poem 
did  not  probably  take  definite  shape  in  his  mind  before  29  B.C.,  in 
which  year  he  writes  (G.  iii.  46-48)  that  he  intends  to  celebrate 
Caesar's  exploits.  In  the  year  26  B.C.,  Augustus,  then  absent  on 
a  campaign  in  Spain,  wrote  to  ask  for  a  sight  of  the  first  draft  of 
the  poem  or  of  selected  passages  from  it :  Virgil  replied  ^  that 
he  had  not  yet  completed  anything  worthy  of  his  great  undertaking 
or  of  the  Emperor's  ears  :  but  three  or  four  years  after  he  consented 
to  read  three  books  (Aen.  iv,  vi  and  another)  to  the  Emperor,  the 
date  being  approximately  determined  by  the  death  B.C.  23  of  the  young 

*  Tlie  jjoet's  reply,  or  what  purports  to  be  such,  is  preserved  by  Macro- 
bins,  Sat.  i.  24.  II. 


8  LIFE  AND  POEMS  OF  VIRGIL. 

Marcellus,  to  whose  memory  the  famous  passage  vi.  S60-886  was  in- 
serted. According  to  Suetonius,  Virgil  first  drafted  the  story  in  prose, 
and  then  wrote  different  parts  of  it  in  no  certain  order,  as  the  fancy 
took  him  :  the  division  into  twelve  books  being  part  of  his  original 
plan.  Internal  evidence  bears  out  this  statement :  thus  e.g.  Book  ix, 
where  Nisus  and  Euryalus  are  introduced  as  though  for  the  first  time, 
was  perhaps  written  before  Book  v,  where  they  take  a  prominent  part 
in  the  games  ^  Books  iv  and  vi,  as  has  been  stated,  were  in  a  finished 
state  about  23  B.C.  Book  iii  was  perhaps  written  before  Book  ii, 
or  at  any  rate  before  Creusa's  prophecy  (ii.  775  sqq.)  which  is  un- 
noticed in  Book  iii.  The  poet  never  lived  to  carry  out  his  intended 
revision  and  correction  of  the  whole  epic  :  and  the  wonder  is  not 
that  inconsistencies  are  found  in  it,  but  that  the  story  is,  on  the 
whole,  so  consistently  and  harmoniously  worked  out. 

5.  In  the  year  19  B.C.  Virgil,  then  in  his  51st  year,  set  out  to 
travel  in  Greece  and  Asia,  intending  to  devote  three  years  to  the  com- 
pletion and  correction  of  the  Aeneid.  At  Athens  he  met  Augustus 
returning  from  the  East  and  decided  to  go  back  with  the  Emperor 
to  Rome  :  but  was  taken  ill  at  Megara  and  died  at  Brundisium  on 
Sept.  2 1  St.  His  ashes  were  taken  to  Naples  and  buried  in  a  tomb 
on  the  way  to  Puteoli,  upon  which  was  inscribed  the  pithy  but  com- 
prehensive epitaph  : 

Mantua  me  genuit,  Calabri  rapuerc,  tenet  nunc 
Parthenope ;  cecini  pascua,  rura,  duces. 

He  is  said  to  have  acquired,  from  imperial  and  other  benefactions, 
a  considerable  fortune  :  half  of  which  he  left  to  his  half-brother,  a 
cjuarter  to  Augustus,  and  a  twelfth  to  Maecenas  and  each  of  his 
friends  Varius  and  Tucca.  To  the  two  latter,  as  literary  executors,  he 
left  all  his  writings  on  the  understanding  that  they  should  publish 
nothing  which  he  had  not  already  published.  Fortunately  for 
literature,  they  saw  that  the  truest  friendship  would  be  shown  in  dis- 
regarding such  requests,  and  proceeded  to  edit  the  Aeneid  with 
only  such  corrections  as  were  absolutely  necessary,  leaving  un- 
finished lines  and  inconsistencies  of  detail  exactly  as  they  found 
them.  In  what  they  did  and  in  what  they  left  undone,  they  were 
faithful  to  their  friend's  m.emory.  Nor  is  the  tradition  improbable 
that  they  acted  under  the  instructions,  or  at  least  with  the  sanction, 

^  Aen.  i.\.  i^6-it3i  ;  v.  294-361. 


LIFE  AND  POEMS  OF  VIRGIL.  9 

of  the  Emperor  himself:  for  besides  the  friendly  interest  which  he 
is  known  to  have  taken  in  Virgil  and  his  work,  Augustus  was  fully 
capable  of  discerning  the  merits  of  that  work  and  its  probable 
value  as  a  testimony  to  his  own  renown.  Policy,  no  less  than 
literary  taste,  would  determine  so  shrewd  a  ruler  to  encourage 
such  '  vates  sacri '  as  Virgil  and  Horace. 

6.  The  poetical  reputation  accorded  to  Virgil  was  immediate 
and  lasting.  The  friendly  prediction  of  Propertius  written  while 
the  Aeneid  was  in  progress — 

Cedite  Romani  scriptores,  cedite  Graii ; 
Nescio  quid  maius  nascitur  Iliade — 

hardly  outdid  the  estimate  actually  formed  of  it  upon  its  appear- 
ance. From  all  literary  circles  in  Rome,  and  particularly  from 
poets,  Virgil  won  immediate  and  unstinting  appreciation.  Ovid 
writes  of  him — 

Tityrus  et  fruges  Aeneiaque  anna  legentur, 
Roma  triumphati  durti  caput  oibis  erit : 

and  later  Roman  poets,  with  the  exception  perhaps  of  Lucan,  paid 
him  the  sincere  flattery  of  undisguised  imitation.  Juvenal  has  many 
references  to  familiar  passages  in  the  Aeneid  :  Martial,  among  other 
tributes  of  admiration,  says  that  Virgil  might  have  surpassed 
Horace  in  lyric  and  Varius  in  dramatic  poetry:  and  Pliny  the 
younger  tells  us  that  among  the  busts,  etc.  possessed  by  the  poet 
Silius  Italicus  were  those — 'Vergilii  ante  omnes,  cuius  natalem 
religiosius  quam  sui  celebravit,  Neapoli  maxime,  ubi  monumentum 
eius  adire  ut  templum  solebat.'  But  perhaps  the  greatest  testi- 
monies of  literary  genius  to  his  influence  are  the  frequent  imitation 
of  his  style  in  the  language  of  Tacitus,  and  the  homage  paid  by 
Dante,  as  by  a  disciple  to  his  master.  His  writings  soon  became, 
and  continued  into  the  Middle  Ages  to  be,  the  great  text-book  of 
education :  and,  together  with  the  events  of  his  life,  supplied 
material  for  lectures,  essays  and  comments  to  a  long  series  of 
grammarians  and  collectors  of  literary  gossip  like  Aulus  Geliius 
and  Macrobius.  His  name  in  due  course  became  the  centre  of 
various  popular  traditions  :  some  of  which  represented  him  as  an 
enchanter  or  magician,  others  as  a  Christian  teacher.  The  associ- 
ation of  his  name  with  magic  powers  may  ha\-e  been  suggested 
partly  by  Eel.  viii  (Pharmaceutria),  pardy  by  the  account  of  the 


lo  LIFE  AND  POEMS  OF  VIRGIL. 

world  below  in  Aen.  vi,  partly  by  his  mother's  name  Magia :  and 
perhaps  led  to  the  peculiar  mode  of  divination  known  as  the  'Sortes 
Virgilianae ' — i.e.,  opening  the  poems  at  random  to  find  some  omen 
for  the  future.  The  other  class  of  traditions  originated  in  the 
supposed  connection  of  Eel.  iv  ('the  Messianic  Eclogue')  with 
prophecies  of  Christ,  which  took  a  strong  hold  on  the  imagination 
of  Christendom,  and  may  have  contributed  to  Dante's  selection  of 
Virgil  as  a  guide  through  the  '  Inferno '  and  '  Purgatorio.' 

7.  For  questions  affecting  the  literary  criticism  of  Virgil's  poetry, 
the  student  is  referred  to  Professor  Sellar's  volume  on  '  The  Roman 
Poets  of  the  Augustan  Age,'  Professor  Nettleship's  '  Suggestions 
Introductory  to  a  Study  of  the  Aeneid,'  and  the  Introductions  in 
Professor  Conington's  edition.  A  word  may  here  be  said  on  two 
points  which  are  often  insisted  upon  in  disparagement  of  Virgil's 
fame.  Want  of  originality  is  the  commonest,  as  it  is  the  easiest, 
charge.  The  borrowed  element  lies  upon  the  surface.  The 
Eclogues  reflect,  or  rather  reproduce  Theocritus  ;  the  Georgics  are,  , 
as  Virgil  himself  calls  them,  Ascraeuvi  carmen,  a  reminiscence  of 
Hesiod ;  and  the  Aeneid  is  full  of  imitations  of  Homer,  which  to 
modern  taste  seem  crude  and  inartistic.  But  the  ideas  of  Virgil's 
own  time  were  different.  Imitation  of  Greek  models  was  character- 
istic of  all  Roman  literature.  And  as  the  only  great  presentment 
of  heroic  times  open  to  Virgil  was  that  of  the  Homeric  poems,  it 
would  have  seemed  impossible  for  him  to  cast  his  epic  in  any  other 
mould  than  that  of  the  Iliad  and  Odyssey.  *  To  reproduce  their 
form  in  Roman  outline,  use  their  details,  absorb  their  spirit,  surpass 
if  possible  their  effect,  would  be  his  first  and  most  natural  ambition ;' 
as  indeed  he  himself  expresses  it  (G.  iii.  10) — • 

Primus  ego  in  patriam  mecum,  modo  vita  supersit, 
Aonio  rediens  dcducam  vcrtice  Musas. 

So  Horace  lays  down  his  canon  of  success  in  poetry — 

Vos  exemplaria  Graeca 
Nocturna  versate  manu,  versate  diuma  : 

and  estimates  in  language  not  unlike  Virgil's  his  own  title  to  poetic 
fame — • 

Dicar  ...  ex  humili  potens 
Princeps  Aeolium  carmen  ad  Itaios 
Deduxisse  modos.     (Od,  iii.  30.   10.) 


LIFE  AND  POEMS  OF  VIRGIL.  ll 

We  see  from  Horace  that  increased  familiarity  with  Greek 
masterpieces  made  Roman  critics  of  the  Augustan  age  depreciate 
their  own  early  literature  :  and  similarly,  the  great  advance  of 
Greek  scholarship  in  modern  times  has  led  recent  critics  to  dis- 
parage Virgil's  claim  to  rank  among  the  great  poets  of  the  world. 
But  the  unbroken  ascendency  of  eighteen  centuries,  and  the 
unquestioning  homage  paid  by  scholars,  critics,  poets,  orators  and 
statesmen  to  the  '  chastest  poet  and  royalest,  Virgilius  Maro,  that  to 
the  memory  of  man  is  known,'  are  facts  that  cannot  be  gainsaid : 
and  a  poet  whose  genius  could  absorb  the  admiration  of  Dante, 
and  whose  influence  probably  helped  more  than  any  other  to  infoma 
the  poetical  spirit  and  verse  of  Milton,  must  have  had  wider  and 
more  solid  qualities  than  mere  technical  skill  in  versification — 
something  more  than  the  dignity  of  expression,  exquisite  rhythm, 
and  delicate  tenderness  of  handHng,  which  all  recognise. 

8.  Virgil  has  also,  in  common  with  Horace,  incurred  the  reproach 
of  undue  servility  and  court-flattery.  From  a  modern  point  of 
view,  no  doubt,  the  language  which  each  poet  uses  about  Augustus 
is  open  to  such  criticism  :  but  if  we  go  back  to  the  literary  con- 
ditions and  ideas  of  their  time,  we  see  that  it  expresses  a  genuine 
popular  sentiment  for  the  Emperor  as  the  visible  impersonation  and 
representative  of  the  fortunes  of  Rome.  Feelings  of  Greek  hero- 
worship,  of  Eastern  monarchical  sentiment,  and  of  revived  national 
enthusiasm  for  the  'Imperium  Romanum,'  centred  in  Augustus  as 
the  restorer  of  peace  and  order  after  civil  war  and  bloodshed,  and 
as  the  upholder  of  the  old  Roman  customs  and  religion  against  the 
threatened  inroad  of  Eastern  barbarism  with  Antony  and  his 
'  Aegyptia  coniunx.'  From  this  point  of  view  the  opening  lines  of 
cJcorg.  i  and  iii,  and  similar  passages,  however  repugnant  to 
modern  taste,  are  neither  unnatural  nor  derogatory  to  Virgil's  poetic 
fame.  Right  or  wrong,  they  express  the  thoughts  not  of  a  courtier, 
but  of  a  nation  ;  and  the  poet  by  whom  those  thoughts  are  'married 
to  immortal  verse'  deserves,  if  ever  poet  did,  the  name  of 
'  national.' 

9.  The  text  of  Virgil's  poems  rests  upon  a  greater  variety  of  MSS. 
than  almost  any  other  ancient  writings  with  the  exception  of  the 
New  Testament.  The  'uncial'  or  'capital'  MSS.  of  the  4lh  and 
5th  centuries  A.D,  are  the  oldest  extant  specimens  of  writing  (as 
distinguished  from  letters  cut  on  stone),  except  a  few  fragments,  e.g., 
of  papyrus  from  Herculaneum.    And  while  comparatively  few  Latin 


I  a  LIFE  AND  POEMS  OF  VIRGIL. 

authors  are  represented  by  even  one  MS.  of  so  early  a  date,  and 
some  of  the  most  important  (e.g.  Horace,  Lucretius,  Caesar)  by 
nothing  earlier  than  the  8th  or  9th  century  A.D.,  of  Virgil  there  are 
four  more  or  less  complete  MSS.  and  three  sets  of  fragments  that 
can  be  assigned  to  the  4th  and  5th  century  ^  The  four  great  MSS. 
are — 

1 .  '  Vatican '  (F.),  in  the  Vatican  Library  at  Rome  :  4th  century  : 
contains  portions  of  G.  iii,  iv,  and  Aen.  i-viii. 

2.  '  Medicean '  (M.),  in  the  Laurentian  Library  at  Florence : 
5th  century  :  contains  Eel.  from  vi.  48,  Georg.  and  Aen. 

3.  'Palatine'  (P.),  in  the  Vatican  Library  at  Rome,  formerly  in 
the  Palatine  Library  at  Heidelberg :  4th  century  :  contains  Eel., 
Georg.  and  Aen.,  with  33  leaves  out  of  280  wanting. 

4.  '  Roman '  (R.),  in  the  Vatican  Library  :  4th  century  :  contains 
Eel.,  Georg.  and  Aen.,  with  76  leaves  out  of  309  wanting. 

The  following  are  fragments  : 

5.  'St.  Gall  Palimpsest'  (G.),  in  the  Library  of  St.  Gall  (Switzer- 
land) :  4th  century :  10  leaves  containing  portions  of  G.  iv,  and 
Aen.  i,  iii,  iv. 

6.  '  Verona  Palimpsest '  (V.),  in  the  Chapter  Library  at  Verona  : 
4th  or  5th  century;  51  leaves  containing  about  1320  lines. 

7.  'Berlin  Palimpsest'  (A.),  4th  century:  7  leaves,  partly  at 
Rome,  partly  at  Berlin,  containing  G.  i.  41-280,  iii.  181-220. 

Besides  these  leading  authorities,  there  is  a  great  number  of  later 
'cursive'  MSS.,  from  the  9th  century  onwards  (the  Bodleian  Li- 
brary alone  has  45),  of  little  independent  value.  Incidental  testi- 
mony to  the  text  of  particular  passages  is  given  by  the  remarks  of 
ancient  commentators  that  have  been  preserved  to  us,  e.g.,  Donatus 
(4th  century),  the  teacher  of  St.  Jerome,  celebrated  for  his  com- 
mentary on  Terence  and  for  a  hand-book  of  grammar  (Donatircgulae) 
widely  used  in  the  Middle  Ages;  and  Servius  (end  of  4th  cent.),  whose 
commentary  embodies  many  results  of  early  Virgilian  learning. 
Imitations  by  later  poets  (Statius,  Silius  Italicus,  Claudian,  etc.) 
and  quotations  by  writers  such  as  Pliny,  Ouintilian  or  Seneca,  and 

'  A  description  of  these  MSS.,  with  a  critical  estimate  of  their  relative 
peculiarities  and  value,  is  given  in  Ribbeck's  Prolegomena,  chs.  xi-xiii, 
pp.  21S-320;  facsimiles  of  the  writing  being  appended  to  the  Index. 
Photographic  facsimiles  of  single  leaves  may  be  found  in  the  collection 
published  by  the  Palaeographical  Society,  and  that  of  Zangemeistcr  and 
Wattenbach  (Ileidelbers/j . 


LIFE  AND  POEMS  OF  VIRGIL.  13 

lexicographers  such  as  Verrius  Flaccus,  Aulus  Gellius,  and  Macrobius, 
sometimes  give  corroborative  evidence  to  Virgil's  meaning  and  even 
to  his  text.  But  as  they  may  have  misunderstood  the  former  and 
were  careless  of  exactness  in  the  latter,  their  testimony  is  of  no 
great  value.  Since  the  invention  of  printing  numberless  editions 
of  Virgil  have  appeared,  from  the  '  Editio  Princeps '  at  Rome  in 
1469  :  the  first  English  edition  (from  the  press  of  Wynkin  de 
Worde)  bearing  date  1512.  Of  recent  commentaries  on  Virgil,  the 
standard  work  of  Professor  Conington,  completed  by  Professor 
Nettleship,  is  too  well  known  to  require  praise :  while  to  the 
critical  edition  of  Ribbeck,  whatever  be  its  faults  of  over-suspicious- 
ness  of  the  received  text,  and  over-confidence  in  the  author's  own 
critical  sagacity  to  correct  and  amend,  Virgilian  students  owe  the 
possession  of  a  more  complete  '  apparatus  criticus '  than  has 
hitherto  been  at  their  disposal. 

THE    VIRGILIAN    HEXAMETER'. 

1.  The  Latin  Hexameter,  first  adapted  from  the  Greek  by  En- 
nius,  and  gradually  improved  by  a  series  of  more  or  less  known 
poets,  reached  its  highest  and  final  perfection  with  Virgil;  all 
subsequent  poets  being  content  to  follow  as  nearly  as  might  be 
the  Virgilian  model.  The  characteristic  features  of  that  model 
are  best  seen  in  contrast  with  the  previous  efforts  of  the  chief 
poets  that  employed  this  metre — viz.  Ennius,  Lucretius,  and 
Catullus. 

2.  The  Hexameter  is  in  technical  language  a  '  Dactylic  Hexa- 
meter Catalectic,'  the  last  foot  losing  its  final  syllable:  and  con- 
sists therefore  of  five  dactyls  and  a  trochee  (— v^).     Each  dactyl 

^  For  fuller  information  on  points  noticed  in  this  section,  the  following 
nnthorities  may  be  consulted.  On  the  Hexameter  of  Ennius,  Crattwell, 
'Hist,  of  Roman  Literature,'  Book  I.  ch.  vi.  pp.  71-73;  Wordsworth, 
•  Fragments  and  Specimens  of  Early  Latin,'  Notes,  §  5  to  ch.  iv.  pp.  585, 
586 ;  on  that  of  Catullus,  Ellis,  in  '  Prolegomena,'  pp.  xix  sqq. ;  on  that 
of  Lucretius,  Munro,  Introd.  to  Notes  H.  pp.  102-107  (first  ed.)  ;  on  that 
of  Virgil,  Wagner,  '  Quaest.  Virg.'  xi,  xii,  xiii ;  Gossrau,  '  Excursus  de 
Hexametro  Virgilii,'  pp.  624-646;  Nettleship,  '  Excursus '  to  Aen.  xii  in 
Conington's  edition  '  On  the  Lengthening  of  Short  Final  Syllables  in 
Virgil ; '  Kennedy,  Appendix  C  on  '  Virgilian  Prosody : '  and  on  the  Latin 
Hexameter  in  general,  Public  School  Latin  Grammar,  §§  225,  226. 


14  LIFE  AND  POEMS  OF  VIRGIL. 

{—\j\j)  is  equivalent  to  a  spondee  ( ),  for  \j\j=—\  and  in  the 

first  four  feet,  dactyls  and  spondees  are  used  indifferently,  the 
former  being  more  numerous  in  Greek,  the  latter  in  Latin.  The 
fifth  foot  is  almost  always  a  dactyl,  perhaps  to  mark  clearly  the 
dactylic  character  of  the  verse.  The  last  foot  may  be  trochee  or 
spondee,  the  quantity  of  the  final  syllable  being  indifferent  (except 
where,  as  in  Greek  anapaests,  the  scansion  runs  on  from  verse  to 
verse  by  '  synaphea ') :  but  it  is  probable  that  Latin  poets,  from 
Ennius  downwards,  regarded  it  as  a  real  spondee.  The  rhythm 
and  harmony  of  a  hexameter  verse  depend  mainly  upon  '  Cae- 
sura \'  i.e.  the  coincidence  somewhere  in  the  second,  third,  fourth 
or  fifth  feet  of  the  end  of  a  word  with  the  middle  of  a  foot :  and 
the  metrical  effect  of  a  series  of  hexameter  verses  depends  on  the 
judicious  variation  (i)  of  caesura,  (2)  of  the  proportion  of  dactyls 
and  spondees,  (3)  of  the  place  in  the  verse  at  which  the  pauses  in 
sense  occur,  (4)  on  the  cadence  of  the  verse  in  the  last  two  feet. 
It  is  in  the  care  bestowed  on  these  points  that  Virgil's  rhythm  is 
chiefly  distinguished  from  that  of  Ennius  and  Lucretius.  In  the 
fifth  and  sixth  feet  he  employs,  as  a  rule,  only  two  varieties  of 
rhythm,  (i)  the  fifth  foot  (dactyl)  contained  in  one  word  and  end- 
ing with  it — '  volvere  |  Parcas ; '  (2)  caesura  between  the  short 
syllables  of  the  dactyl — 'saevique  |  dolores.'  All  other  closing 
rhythms  are  with  him  exceptional,  sometimes  in  imitation  of 
Greek  rhythm  (e.g.  hymeneaos,  cyparlssis,  Laodamla),  sometimes 
for  special  effect  (e.g.  '  quadriipedantum '  Aen.  xi.  614,  'pudeat 
sola  neve '  G.  i.  80,  '  procumbit  hiiml  bos  ; '  or  spondaic  endings, 
as  '  abscondantur '  G.  i.  226,  '  purpureo  narclsso '  Eel.  v.  38). 

3.  A  purely  dactylic  line,  common  enough  in  Greek  (e.g.  Iliad 
i-  I3>  25,  31,  32,  34,  54,  and  so  on  in  like  proportion),  is  compara- 
tively rare  in  Virgil's  epic  poetry  ;  such  a  line  as  '  Ouadrupedante 
putrem  sonitu  quatit  ungula  campum'  (Aen.  viii.  596,  cp.  G.  iii. 
201)  being  a  conscious  imitation  of  the  sound  of  galloping,  and 
its  jerky  movement  being  foreign  to  the  stately  march  of  epic 
rhythm.     The  greater  length  of  many  Greek  words,  with  a  greater 

^  Caesura  is  technically  called  {a)  '  Trihemimeral '  (after  three  ■^/xifj.epeis 

or  half-feet)  after  i|  feet;  {l>)  '  Penthemimeral '  after  2|  feet;  (c)  '  Heph- 

themimeral '  after  2,^  feet ;  (d)  '  Ennehemimeral '  after  4^  feet :  e.g. 

(«)       (6)  (c)  (rf) 

'  Hinc  popiuum  |  late  |  regem  )  belloque  |  superbum. 

The  most  important  caesura  is  (d),  which  is  sufificient  to  make  a  verse 

harmonious — e.g.  '  Illius  immensae  |  ruperunt  horrea  messes.' 


LIFE  AND  POEMS  OF  VIRGIL.  15 

abundance  of  long  compounds,  prevented  the  Homeric  hexameter 
from  moving  too  rapidly  or  jerkily — e.g.  Iliad  i.  87  ELi;^o/i€j/of  An- 
vaoi(n  dfoirponias  dvacpaii^fis  :  but  in  Virgil  the  rapid  movement  is 
almost  always  checked  and  rhythm,  as  it  were,  collected  and 
steadied  by  a  spondaic  fourth  foot— e.g.  Aen.  i.  45  '  Turbine  corri- 
puit  scopuloque  infixit  acuto.'  The  spondaic  fourth  foot  is  indeed 
specially  characteristic  of  Virgil's  epic  rhythm,  as  the  dactylic 
fourth  foot  ending  a  word  ('Bucolic  caesura')  is  of  his  Eclogues 
in  imitation  of  Theocritus :  and  wherever,  for  the  sake  of  variety, 
the  fourth  foot  is  dactylic,  one  or  more  of  the  preceding  feet  is 
spondaic  to  restore  the  balance.  The  student  can  verify  this  for 
himself  on  any  page  of  the  Aeneid. 

It  thus  seems  that  Virgil,  in  adapting  the  Homeric  hexameter 
to  the  Latin  language,  realised  that  its  dactylic  rhythm  must  be 
modified  by  a  large  admixture  of  '  spondei  stabiles,'  as  Horace 
calls  them  (A.  P.  256).  A  considerable  majority  of  his  verses 
have  at  least  three  spondees  (including  the  last  foot) ;  and  the 
proportion  of  fifteen  such  lines  in  Aen.  i.  1-20  to  nine  in  Iliad  i. 
1-20  may  be  taken  as  a  rough  measure  of  the  extent  to  which  he 
carried  out  this  modification  of  Homeric  rhythm.  A  spondee  in 
the  first  foot,  contained  in  a  single  word  and  followed  by  a  pause 
in  sense,  is  almost  the  only  circumstance  under  which  he  seems 
to  shrink  from  spondaic  rhythm  in  the  first  four  feet:  and  the 
somewhat  slow  and  ponderous  movement  thus  given  to  the  verse 
at  starting  is  reserved,  as  a  rule,  for  the  special  expression  of 
solemnity  or  emotion  (see  e.g.  Eel.  v.  21  ;  Aen.  iv.  185,  vi.  213). 

4.  The  hexameters  of  Ennius  are  a  first  experiment  to  reproduce, 
in  a  rough  unpolished  material,  the  rhythm  of  Homer.  The  con- 
ditions under  which  the  metre  could  be  adapted  to  Roman  usage 
had  yet  to  be  discovered:  caesura,  cadence,  proportion — all  the 
niceties  of  rhythm  which  combine  to  form  the  charm  of  Virgil's 
verse — were  to  him  unknown.  The  rude  and  tentative  imitation 
of  a  great  model  by  a  vigorous  and  powerful  hand  struck  out 
indeed  here  and  there  a  line  which  Virgil  did  not  disdain  to 
borrow  (e.g.  'Tuque  pater  Tiberine  tuo  cum  flumine  sancto'),  or  a 
passage  of  grave  solemnity,  as  the  lament  for  Romulus — 

'  o  Romule,  Romule  die, 
Qualem  te  patriae  cvistodem  di  genuerunt ! 
O  pater  o  genitor  o  sanguen  dis  oriundum, 
Tu  produxisti  nos  intra  luminis  oras'  (Enn.  Ann.  1 15-118) — 


l6  LIFE  AND  POEMS  OF  VIRGIL. 

but  it  also  produced  much  that  was  harsh  and  abhorrent  to  the 
cuhure  of  after  years  (see  Hor,  A.  P.  258  sqq.),  and  much  that 
could  scarcely  be  distinguished  from  prose.  But  in  settling  the 
quantity  of  Latin  words  and  moulding  them  into  forms  suitable  for 
hexameter  verse  he  paved  the  way  for  others,  and  was  deservedly 

reverenced  as  the  pioneer 

'qui  primus  amoeno 
Detulit  ex  Helicone  perenni  fronde  coronam'  (Lucr.  i.  117). 

5.  Lucretius  marks  a  great  advance  upon  Ennius,  though  in 
some  respects  his  rhythm  is  (perhaps  intentionally)  more  archaic 
than  that  of  his  contemporary  Catullus ;  whose  hexameters,  how- 
ever, with  their  monotonous  cadence  ('  prognatae  vertice  pinus, 
Neptuni  nasse  per  undas,  Argivae  robora  pubis'  Ixiv.  I,  2,  4),  are 
far  less  effective.  The  following  points  of  contrast  between  the 
Lucretian  and  Virgilian  hexameter  are  noted  by  Munro  :  (i)  the 
first  two  feet  separated  from  the  rest — '  Religionibus  atque  minis. 
Ergo  vivida  vis,'  etc. ;  such  rhythms  being  rare  in  Virgil  (' Armen-. 
tarius  Afer'  G.  iii.  344,  'Sed  tu  desine  velle'  G.  iv.  448) ;  (2)  in  the 
last  two  feet,  such  endings  as  '  principiorum,'  '  material,'  '  quan- 
doquidem  exstat ; '  (3)  elision  after  the  fourth  foot — '  Perdelirum 
esse  videtur,  nisi  concilio  ante  coacto ; '  (4)  fourth  foot  wholly  con- 
tained in  a  word,  and  ending  with  it — '  quae  terras  frugiferentes,' 
'tibi  suaves  daedala  tellus'  (not  'terras  quae  .  .  .  suaves  tibi'), 
etc.;  (5)  copious  use  of  alliteration  and  assonance,  occasionally 
adopted  by  Virgil  under  Lucretian  influence. 

6.  The  most  common  '  licences '  or  metrical  irregularities  in 
Virgil  are — 

(i.)  Lengthening  of  short  final  syllables.  This  occurs  only 
in  arsi  (i.  e.  in  the  emphatic  syllable  of  a  foot,  upon  which 
the  metrical  ictus  falls),  and  seldom  where  there  is  not  a  pause 
or  slight  break  in  the  sentence :  and  it  is  used  by  him  as  a  purely 
antiquarian  ornament.  With  Ennius,  on  the  contrary,  whom  Virgil 
seems  to  follow  in  this  licence,  the  apparent  violation  of  quantity 
as  fixed  in  Augustan  prosody  is  no  '  licence,'  because  the  syllables 
in  question  were  originally  long,  and  were  subsequently  shortened 
by  a  familiar  tendency  of  the  Latin  language,  due  mainly  to  the  fact 
that  final  syllables  were  never  accented. 

[a)  Nouns,  etc.  in  '-or;'  'Amor  et '  Eel.  x.  69, 'labor:  aeque' 
G.  iii.  118,  'melior  insignis'  G.  iv.  92.  The  corresponding  Greek 
-wp,  and  the  prosody  of  oblique  cases  ('amoris,'  etc.),  point  to  the 


LIFE  AND  POEMS  OF  VIRGIL.  17 

original  length  of  this  syllable,  which  is  always  so  in  Ennius,  even 
in  thesi,  i.  e.  the  uneniphatic  syllable  of  a  foot,  e.  g. 

'Clamor  ad  caelum  volvendus  per  aelhera  vagit '  (Ann.  520). 

The  same  applies  to  'pater'  (naTtjp)  Aen.  v.  521  :  but  '  puer '  (Eel. 
ix.  66),  'super'  (Aen.  vi.  254),  'ebur'  (Aen.  xii.  68),  show  that 
Virgil  uses  the  licence  as  mere  matter  of  form,  with  no  thought 
of  etymology. 

{^)  Verb  terminations  in  '  r : ' '  -or '  of  first  pres.  pass,  is  naturally 
long,  and  is  so  used  by  Ennius  and  Plautus.  Virgil  does  not 
follow  them  in  this;  but  has  in  3  sing,  'ingreditur'  (G.  iii.  76), 
'datur'  (Aen.  v.  284),  and  in  I  plur.  '  obruimur'  (Aen.  ii.  211), 
neither  of  which  has  any  precedent  in  Ennius. 

(t)  Noun  terminations  in  '  -s  ; '  '  sanguis '  always  in  Lucretius, 
once  only  in  Virgil  (Aen.  x.  487) :  '  -Qs  '  from  'o-'  stems  (G.  iii.  189, 
Aen.  V.  337,  etc.)  is  found  also  in  Ennius,  perhaps  from  imitation 
of  Homeric  use  in  e.  g.  Iliad  i.  244  x«oMf»'Of>  oi"'  '"ipio-rov  'Axaiuv 
ovSfV  eVio-a? :  '-bus'  dat.  plur.  (Aen.  i\-,  64)  has  no  example  in 
Ennius  and  few  in  Plautus. 

(d)  Verb  terminations  in  '  -s  : '  only  '  fatigamus '  (Aen.  ix.  610), 
which  finds  no  analogy  in  Ennius  or  in  the  corresponding  Greek 

•fJi€S,    -fliV. 

{e)  Verb-endings  in  '-t'  (3  sing.);  'at'  of  pres.  ind.  ist  conj. 
generally  in  Ennius  and  often  in  Plautus,  never  in  Virgil ;  '  -at ' 
of  imperf.  in  Plautus  and  Ennius  even  in  thesi  ('  Noenum 
rumores  ponebat  ante  salutem'  314);  in  Virgil  only  in  arsi 
(Eel.  i.  39,  Aen.  v.  853,  xii.  722,  etc.)  :  '  -et '  pres.  indie.  Aen.  i. 
308;  imp.  subj.  ib.  651  :  'It'  pres.  indie.  3rd  conj.  Eel.  vii.  23, 
Aen.  X.  433;  'erit'  (fut.)  Eel.  iii.  97,  Aen.  xii.  ZSt,:  '-It'  perf. 
indie,  (as  originally)  G.  ii.  211,  Aen.  viii.  363. 

(/)  Miscellaneous  ;  '  prociil '  Aen.  viii.  98,  '  caput '  x.  394. 

ig)  Vowel-endings:  only  'gravia'  Aen.  iii.  464,  'Geta'  (nom. 
sing.)  ib.  702,  'anima'  (nom.  sing.)  xii.  648;  and  thirteen  in- 
stances of  'que'  (see  on  Aen.  iii.  464),  in  imitation  of  Homeric 
usage  making  re  long  before  double  consonants,  liquids,  and  sibi- 
lants. 

[Full  lists  of  examples,  from  Wagner,  '  Ouaest.  Virg.'  xii,  are 
given  in  Professor  Nettleship's  '  Excursus  '  to  Aen.  xii.  (ed.  Coning- 
lon),  and  Dr.  Kennedy's  Appendix,  C,  11.  (pp.  622-4,  2nd  ed.)] 

7.  (ii.)  Hiatus,  i.e.  non-elision  of  a  vowel  or  diphthong  before 


\'^ 


I  8  LIFE  AND  POEMS  OF  VIRGIL. 

another  vowel  or  aspirate.  This  Hcence  appears  from  a  statement 
of  Cicero  (Orator  45.  152')  to  have  been  common  with  the 
older  Latin  poets,  and  occurs  frequently  in  the  dialogue  of  Plautus 
and  Terence  ^ :  but  it  is  used  sparingly  by  later  poets.  The  most 
common  conditions  for  its  admission  are  (i)  after  long  mono- 
syllables, retaining  their  quantity  in  arsi,  or  shortened  in  thesi, 
(e.  g.  the  interjections  '  heu  ! '  '  o  !  '  '  spe  Tnimica '  Aen.  iv.  235,  *  te 
Corydon  6  Alexi '  Eel.  ii.  85,  'an  qui  amant '  viii.  108,  '  te  amice' 
Aen.  vi.  507) :  (2)  at  the  regular  caesurae ;  (3)  wherever  there  is  a 
distinct  pause  in  the  sense  (e.  g.  in  dialogue,  at  the  change  of 
speaker). 

Of  the  fifty-three  examples  cited  by  Wagner  (O.  V.  xi)  from 
Virgil,  forty  show  the  unelided  syllable  in  arsi,  and  therefore 
metrically  emphatic.  Of  thirteen  examples  in  thesi,  eleven  are 
cases  of  a  long  vowel  shortened  (Eel.  ii.  65,  iii.  79,  vi.  44,  viii.  I08  ; 
G.  i.  281,  332,  437,  iv.  461  ;  Aen.  iii.  211,  v.  261,  vi.  507),  which 
thus  seems  the  necessary  condition  for  hiatus  in  thesi ;  the 
remaining  two  (Eel.  iii.  53,  Aen.  i.  405)  being  justified  by  a  dis- 
tinct pause  in  the  sense.  Of  the  forty  examples  in  arsi,  twenty- 
seven  occur  at  one  or  other  of  the  two  important  caesurae,  the 
penthemimeral  and  hephthemimeral  (see  above,  footnote  to  §  2)  : 
ten  of  the  remainder  being  at  the  ennehemimeral  caesura  (e.  g. 
'Amphion  Dircaeus  in  Actaeo  |  Aracyntho  '  Eel.  ii.  24),  in  obvious 
imitation  of  the  frequent  Homeric  cadence  nf;Xr;iaSea) 'A;^;tX^oy  (II. 
i.  i).  Five  of  these  latter,  unlike  the  bulk  of  Homeric  examples, 
are  spondaic  endings  (Eel.  viii.  53  '  castaneae  hirsutae,'  Aen.  iii. 
74,  vii.  631,  ix.  647,  xi.  31),  due  especially  to  the  less  dactylic  char- 
acter of  the  Latin  language  (see  above,  §  3)  ;  similar  endings  in 
Homer  being  generally  quadrisyllable  words  ('Arpei'Sao,  nijXeiwi/a, 
etc.)  and  never  with  trisyllable  words  embracing  hiatus. 

*  Cicero  is  speaking  of  the  tendency  of  Roman  speech  to  run  together 
vowels,  contrary  to  Greek  practice,  which  allows  hiatus :  '  Sed  Graeci 
viderint;  nobis  ne  si  cupiamus  quidem  distrahere  voces  conceditur.  Indi- 
cant .  . .  omnes  poetae  praeter  eos  qui  ut  versum  facerent  saepe  hiabant,  ut 
Naevius  "  Vos  qui  accolitis  Histrum  flumen,  atque  algidam  .  .  .'"  citing 
also  from  Ennius  and  his  own  poems. 

^  Ritschl  and  others,  who,  by  alteration  of  text,  restoration  of  obsolete 
final  consonants,  etc.  try  to  minimise  hiatus  in  the  comic  writers,  allow  it 
in  about  one  out  of  twenty-two  lines  in  Plautus  and  one  out  of  sixty-six  in 
Terence.     Wagner  (Q.  V.  xi)  cites  fifty-three  examples  from  Virgil. 


LIFE  AND  POEMS  OF  VIRGIL.  19 

8.  (iii.)  Hypermetric  lines— i.  e.  with  an  additional  syllable 
after  the  final  trochee  or  spondee  ;  this  syllable  being  always  one 
that  may  be  elided,  while  the  next  line  must  begin  with  a  vowel 
or  aspirate.  This  licence  (resting  apparently  on  a  false  assump- 
tion that  the  scansion  of  hexameter  verses  is  continuous,  as  in 
Greek  anapaests,  and  that  the  sixth  foot  is  complete,  i.e.  a  real 
spondee)  was  unknown  to  Homer  ;  oIk  oiS'  at  the  close  of  a  line  of 
Callimachus  being  the  only  known  instance  in  Greek  hexameters. 
Lucretius  employs  it  once  (v.  849),  Catullus  rarely,  in  lyric  metre 
—e.g.  Ixi.  147  (Glyconic),  and  perhaps  xi.  19  (Sapphic)— but  there 
'  omnium  '  may  be  dissyllable  by  synizesis,  as  '  precantia '  Aen.  vii. 
237  (cp.  'omnia'  vi.  33).  It  is  found  in  an  iambic  line  of  Pacuvius 
preserved  by  Cicero,  Tusc.  iii.  12.  26  ;  and  occasionally  in  Terence 
—e.g.  Phorm.  ii.  i.  63  ;  Ad.  ii.  2.  9,  iii.  3.  21  (iambic)  ;  And.  iv.  i. 
9  (cretic) ;  Eun.  iv.  i.  11  (trochaic).  Wagner  on  G.  ii.  69  hardly 
proves  its  use  by  Ennius  :  nor  do  Greek  dramatists  use  it,  as  he 
says,  '  infinitis  locis.'  By  whomever  introduced  into  Latin  hexa- 
meters it  is  a  purely  artificial  licence,  and  as  such  is  used  by 
\'irgil.  In  eighteen  out  of  twenty-two  instances  in  his  poems,  the 
hypermetric  syllable  is  '  que ;  '  in  G.  i.  295  he  has  '  decoquit 
umorem,'  and  in  Aen.  vii.  160  '  tecta  Latinojrum.'  In  all  these 
twenty  examples  the  preceding  syllable  is  long,  making  the  last 
foot  a  spondee  :  but  in  G.  ii.  69,  iii.  449,  we  have,  if  MSS.  are  to 
be  trusted,  hypermetric  syllables  preceded  by  trochees  (see  note  to 
G.  ii.  69). 

9.  Like  all  great  masters  of  poetic  rhythm,  Virgil  shows  his 
power  in  the  accommodation  of  sound  to  sense.  Familiar  examples 
of  single  lines  are  Aen.  v.  481  (the  sudden  collapse  of  a  stricken 
ox),  viii.  452  (the  steady  swing  of  the  Cyclops'  hammers),  viii.  596 
(the  sound  of  galloping  horses)  :  but  the  poet's  art  is  also  shown 
in  passages  of  varied  length,  from  the  two  lines  expressive  of  the 
*  moping  owl's'  complaint  (Aen.  iv.  462,  463),  to  the  fine  description 
of  a  storm  in  G.  i.  316-334  (see  especially  328-334).  Among  innu- 
merable examples  the  following  are  noticeable  :  of  single  lines,  G. 
ii.  441  (gusts  of  wind  assaulting  a  tree),  iii.  201  (the  swift  rush  of 
the  wind  as  of  a  horse  let  loose)  ;  of  longer  passages,  G.  i.  loS-llo 
(sudden  irrigation),  Aen.  x.  101-104  (the  hush  of  all  Nature  at 
Jupiter's  word),  ib.  821-824  (the  revulsion  of  feeling  over  a  fallen 
foe),  xii.  951,  952  (the  creeping  chill  of  death  followed  by  the 
quick  flight  to  Hades  of  the  indignant  soul).     Every  reader  who 

15  2 


30  LIFE  AND  POEMS  OF  VIRGIL. 

can  appreciate  poetic  rhythm  will  find  others  for  himself.  The 
greatness  of  Virgil's  rhythm,  its  undefinable  charm  and  pathos,  its 
power  to  touch  the  hidden  chords  of  human  feeling,  are  beyond 
dispute  :  and  though  familiar  association  with  particular  lines  and 
passages  may  invest  them  with  the  expression  of  more  than  the 
poet's  thought,  such  capacity  of  adaptation  to  new  feelings  is  one 
more  testimony  to  their  inherent  poetry.  ,     ~ ,- 


BUCOLICA. 

ECLOGA   I. 

MeLIBOEUS.  TlTYRUS. 

M.  TiTVRE,  tu  patulae  recubans  sub  tegmine  fagi 
silvestrem  tenui  musam  meditaris  avena; 
nos  patriae  fines  et  dulcia  linquimus  arva. 
Nos  patriam  fugimus ;    tu,  Tityre,  lentus  in  umbra 
formosam  resonare  doces*  Amaryllida  silvas.  S 

T.  O  Meliboee,  deus  nobis  haec  otia  fecit. 
Namque  erit  ille  mihi  semper  deus,  illius  aram 
saepe  tener  nostris  ab  ovilibus  imbuet  agnus. 
Ille  meas  errare  boves,  ut  cernis,  et  ipsum 
ludere  quae  vellem  calamo  permisit  agresti.  lo 

M.  Non  equidem  invideo,  miror  magis  :    undique  totis 
usque  adeo  turbatur  agris.     En  ipse  capellas 
protenus  aeger  ago ;    banc  etiam  vix,  Tityre,  duco. 
Hie  inter  densas  corylos  modo  namque  gemellos 
spem  gregis,  ah,  silice  in  nuda  conixa  reliquit.  15 

Saepe  malum  hoc  nobis,  si  mens  non  laeva  fuisset, 
de  caelo  tactas  memini  praedicere  quercus. 
[Saepe  sinistra  cava  praedixit  ab  ilice  cornix.] 
Sed  tamen  iste  deus  qui  sit  da,  Tityre,  nobis. 

T.  Urbem  quam  dicunt  Romam,  Meliboee,  putavi  20 

stultus  ego  huic  nostrae  similem,  quo  saepe  solemus 
pastores  ovium  teneros  depellere  fetus. 
Sic  canibus  catulos  similes,  sic  matribus  haedos 
noram,  sic  parvis  componere  magna  solebam. 
Verum  hacc  tantum  alias  inter  caput  extulit  uibes,  25 


22  BUCOLIC  A. 

quantum  lenta  solent  inter  viburna  cupressi. 

M.  Et  quae  tanta  fuit  Romam  tibi  causa  videndi  ? 

T.  Libertas,  quae  sera  tamen  respexit  inertem, 
candidior  postquam  tondenti  barba  cadebat, 
respexit  tamen  et  longo  post  tempore  venit,  30 

postquam  nos  Amaryllis  habet,  Galatea  reliquit. 
Namque,  fatebor  enim,  dum  me  Galatea  tenebat, 
nee  spes  libertatis  erat  nee  cura  peculi. 
Quamvis  multa  meis  exiret  victima  septis, 
pinguis  et  ingratae  premeretur  caseus  urbi,  35 

non  umquam  gravis  aere  domum  mihi  dextra  redibat. 

M.  Mirabar  quid  maesta  deos,  Amarylli,  vocares ; 
cui  pendere  sua  patereris  in  arbore  poma: 
Tityrus  hinc  aberat.     Ipsae  te,  Tityre,  pinus, 
ipsi  te  fontes,  ipsa  haec  arbusta  vocabant.  40 

T.  Quid  facerem?   neque  servitio  me  exire  licebat 
nee  tam  praesentes  alibi  cognoscere  dives. 
Hie  ilium  vidi  iuvenem,  Meliboee,  quotannis 
bis  senos  cui  nostra  dies  altaria  fumant. 
Hie  mihi  responsum  primus  dedit  ille  petenti :  45 

'  Pascite  ut  ante  boves,  pueri :    summittite  tauros.' 

M.  Fortunate  senex,  ergo  tua  rura  manebunt, 
et  tibi  magna  satis,  quamvis  lapis  omnia  nudus 
limosoque  palus  obducat  pascua  iunco: 

non  insueta  graves  temptabunt  pabula  fetas,  50 

nee  mala  vicini  pecoris  contagia  laedent. 
Fortunate  senex,  hie  inter  flumina  nota 
et  fontes  sacros  frigus  captabis  opacum. 
Hinc  tibi,  quae  semper,  vicino  ab  limite  sepes 
Hyblaeis  apibus  florem  depasta  salicti  55 

saepe  levi  somnum  suadebit  inire  susurro : 
hinc  alta  sub  rupe  canet  frondator  ad  auras; 
nee  tamen  interea  raucae  tua  cura  palumbes 
nee  gemere  aeria  cessabit  turtur  ab  ulmo. 

T.  Ante  leves  ergo  pascentur  in  aethere  cervi,  60 

et  freta  destituent  nudos  in  litore  pisces; 
ante  pererratis  amborum  finibus  exsul 
aut  Ararim  Parthus  bibet  aut  Germania  Tigrim, 
quam  nostro  illius  labatur  pectore  vultus. 


EC  LOG  A  I.  26  —  11.   15.  23 

31.  At  nos  hinc  alii  sitientes  ibimus  Afros,  65 

pars  Scythiam  et  rapidum  Cretae  veniemus  Oaxen 
et  penitus  toto  divisos  orbe  Britannos. 
En  umquam  patrios  longo  post  tempore  fines, 
pauperis  et  tuguri  congestum  caespite  culmen 
post  aliquot  mea  regna  videns  mirabor  aristas?  70 

Impius  haec  tarn  culta  novalia  miles  habebit, 
barbarus  has  segetes  :    en  quo  discordia  cives 
produxit  miseros!   his  nos  consevimus  agrosl 
Insere  nunc,  Meliboee,  pu-os:    pone  ordinc  vites. 
Ite  meae  felix  quondam  pecus  ite  capellae.  75 

Non  ego  vos  posthac  viridi  proiectus  in  antro 
dumosa  pendere  procul  de  rupe  videbo ; 
carmina  nulla  canam ;    non  me  pascente,  capellae, 
florentem  cytisum  et  salices  carpetis  amaras. 

T.  Hie  tamen  banc  mecum  poteras  requiescere  noctem    80 
fronde  super  viridi:    sunt  nobis  mitia  poma, 
castaneae  molles  et  pressi  copia  lactis. 
Et  iam  summa  procul  villarum  culmina  fumant, 
maioresque  cadunt  altis  de  montibus  umbrae. 


ECLOGA    II. 

FoRMOsuM  pastor  Corydon  ardebat  Alexim, 
delicias  domini ;    nee  quid  speraret  habebat. 
Tantum  inter  densas  umbrosa  cacumina  fagos 
assidue  veniebat.     Ibi  haec  incondita  solus 
montibus  et  silvis  studio  iactabat  inani : 

*0  crudelis  Alexi,  nihil  mea  carmina  curas? 
nil  nostri  miserere?     Mori  me  denique  coges. 
Nunc  etiam  pecudes  umbras  et  frigora  captant; 
nunc  virides  etiam  occultant  spineta  lacertos, 
Thestylis  et  rapido  fessis  messoribus  aestu 
alia  serpyllumque  herbas  contundit  olentes. 
At  mecum  raucis,  tua  dum  vestigia  lustro, 
sole  sub  ardenti  resonant  arbusta  cicadis. 
Nonne  fuit  satius,  tristes  Amaryllidis  iras 
atque  superba  pali  fastidia?   nonne  Menalcan,  15 


10 


24  BUCOLIC  A. 

quamvis  ille  niger,  quamvis  tu  candidus  esses? 

O  formose  puer,  nimium  no  crede  colori ; 

alba  ligustra  cadunt,  vaccinia  nigra  legunlur. 

Despectus  libi  sum,  nee  qui  sim  quaeris,  Alexi, 

quam  dives  pecoris,  nivei  quam  lactis  abundans:  20 

mille  meae  Siculis  errant  in  monlibus  agnae ; 

lac  mihi  non  aestate  novum,  non  frigore  defit. 

Canto,,  quae  soliLus,  si  quando  armenta  vocabat, 

Amphion  Dircaeus  in  Actaeo  Aracintho. 

Nee  sum  adeo  informis :    nuper  me  in  litore  vidi,  25 

Cum  placidum  ventis  staret  mare ;    non  ego  Daphnim 

iudice  te  metuam,  si  numquam  fallit  imago. 

O  tantum  libeat  mecum  tibi  sordida  rura 

atque  humiles  habitare  casas,  et  figere  cervos, 

haedorumque  gregem  viridi  compellere  hibisco  I  30 

IMecum  una  in  silvis  imitabere  Pana  canendo. 

Pan  primum  calamos  cera  coniungere  plures 

inslituit,  Pan  curat  oves  oviumque  magistros. 

Nee  te  paeniteat  calanio  trivisse  labellum  : 

haec  eadem  ut  sciret,  quid  non  faciebat  Amyntas?  35 

Est  mihi  disparibus  septeni  compacta  cicutis 

fistula,  Damoetas  dono  mihi  quam  dedit  olim 

et  dixit  moriens  :    "  Te  nunc  habet  ista  secundum  : " 

Dixit  Damoetas,  invidit  stultus  Amyntas. 

Praeterea  duo  nee  tuta  mihi  valle  reperti  40 

capreoli,  sparsis  etiam  nunc  pellibus  albo; 

bina  die  siccant  ovis  ubera :    quos  tibi  servo. 

lam  pridem  a  me  illos  abducere  Thestylis  orat; 

et  faciet,  quoniam  sordent  tibi  munera  nostra. 

Hue  ades,  o  formose  puer :   tibi  lilia  plenis  45 

ecce  ferunt  Nymphae  calathis ;   tibi  Candida  Nais, 

pallentes  violas  et  summa  papavera  carpens, 

narcissum  et  florem  iungit  bene  olentis  anethi; 

turn  casia  atque  aliis  intexens  suavibus  herbis 

mollia  luteola  pingit  vaccinia  calta.  50 

Ipse  ego  cana  legam  tenera  lanugine  mala 

castaneasque  nuces,  mea  quas  Amaryllis  amabat; 

addam  cerea  prui^a :   hones  erit  huic  quoque  porno  ; 

et  vos,  o  lauri,  carpam  et  te,  proxima  myrte, 


ECLOGA    II.   xd  —  III.   14.  25 

sic  posilae  quoniam  suavcs  miscetis  odores.  55 

Rusticus  es,  Corydon :    nee  munera  curat  Alexis, 

nee,  si  muneribus  certes,  concedat  lollas. 

Heu  heu  !     Quid  volui  misero  mihi !     Floribus  austrum 

perditus  et  liquidis  immisi  fontibus  apros. 

Quem  fugis,  ah,  demens?   habitarunt  di  quoque  silvas  60 

Dardaniusque  Paris.     Pallas  quas  condidit  arces 

ipsa  colat :   nobis  placeant  ante  omnia  silvae. 

Torva  leaena  lupum  sequitur,  lupus  ipse  capellam, 

florentem  cytisuni  sequitur  lasciva  capella, 

te  Corydon,  o  Alexi :    trahit  sua  quemque  voluptas.  65 

Aspice,  aratra  iugo  referunt  suspensa  iuvenci, 

et  sol  crescentes  decedens  duplicat  umbras : 

me  tamen  urit  amor:    quis  enim  modus  adsit  amori? 

Ah  Corydon  Corydon,  quae  te  dementia  cepit? 

Semiputata  tibi  frondosa  vitis  in  ulmo  est.  7c 

Quin  tu  aliquid  saltem  potius,  quorum  indiget  usus, 

viminibus  mollique  paras  detexere  iunco? 

invenies  alium,  si  te  hie  fastidit,  Alexim.' 


ECLOGA    III. 

Menalcas.         Damoetas.         Palaejion. 

M.  Die  mihi,  Damoeta,  cuium  pecus?    an  Meliboei? 

D.  Non,  verum  Aegonis;    nuper  mihi  tradidit  Aegon. 

M.  Infelix  o  semper  oves  pecus !    ipse  Neaeram 
dum  fovet  ac  ne  me  sibi  praeferat  ilia  veretur, 
hie  alienus  oves  custos  bis  mulget  in  hora,  5 

et  sueus  pecori  et  lac  subducitur  agnis.  f"-'^'^*'^ 

D.  Pareius  ista  viris  tamen  obiicienda  memento. 
Novimus  et  .qui  te  transversa  tuentibus  hircis,   ■        <■  i-f 
et  quo — sed  faeiles  Nymphae  risere — sacello. 

M.  Tum,  credo,  cum  me  arbustum  videre  Miconis  10 

atque  mala  vites  ineidere  fake  novellas. 

D.  Aut  hie  ad  veteres  fagos  cum  Daphnidis  arcum 
fregisti  ct  calamos :    quae  tu,  perverse  Menalca, 
et  cum  vidisti  puero  donata,  dolebas, 


36  BUCOLICA. 

et  si  noil  aliqua  nocuisses,  morluus  esses..  15 

M.  Quid  domini  faciant,  audent  cum  lalia  fuies? 
Non  ego  te  vidi  Damonis,  pessime,  caprum 
excipere  insidiis,  multum  latrante  Lycisca? 
et  cum  clamarem  '  Quo  nunc  se  proripit  ille  ? 
Tityre,  coge  pecus ! '   tu  post  carecta  latebas.  ao 

D.  An  mihi  cantando  victus  non  redderet  ille 
quern  mea  carminibus  meruisset  fistula  caprum  ? 
Si  nescis,  mens  ille  caper  fuit;    et  mihi  Damon 
ipse  fatebatur;    sed  reddere  posse  negabat. 

M.  Cantando  tu  ilium  ?    aut  umquam  tibi  fistula  cera       25 
iuncta  fuit?   non  tu  in  triviis,  indocte,  solebas 
stiidenti  miserum  stipula  disperdere  carmen? 

D.  Vis  ergo  inter  nos  quid  possit  uterque  vicissim 
y-r  .  experiamur  ?    ego  banc  vitulam  (ne  forte  recuses,   't^t  h  t'l 

bis  venit  ad  mulctram,  binos  alit  ubere  fetus)  30 

depono  :    tu  die,  mecum  quo  pignore  certes. 

Jl/.  De  grege  non  ausim  quicquam  deponere  tecum  : 
est  mihi  namque  domi  pater,  est  iniusta  noverca; 
bisque  die  numerant  ambo  pecus,  alter  et  haedos. 
Verum,  id  quod  multo  tute  ipse  fatebere  maius,  35 

insanire  libet  quoniam  tibi,  pocula  ponam 
fagina,  caelatum  divini  opus  Alcimedontis  :^  « 
lenta  quibus  torno  facili  super  addita  vitis 
diffusos  hedera  vestit  pallente  corymbos. 

In  medio  duo  signa,  Conon  et — quis  fuit  alter,  40 

descripsit  radio  totum  qui  gentibus  orbem, 
tempora  quae  messor,  quae  curvus  arator  haberet? 
necdum  illis  labra  admovi,  sed  condita  servo. 

D.  Et  nobis  idem  Alcimedon  duo  pocula  fecit, 
et  molli  circum  est  ansas  amplexus  acantho,  45 

Orpheaque  in  medio  posuit  silvasque  sequentes; 
necdum  illis  labra  admovi,  sed  condita  servo. 
Si  ad  vitulam  spectas,  nihil  est  quod  pocula  laudes. 

Af.  Numquam  hodie  effugies  ;   veniam  quocumque  vocaris; 
audiat  haec  lantum — vel  qui  venit  ecce  Palaemon.  50 

EfTiciam,  poslhac  ne  quemquam  voce  lacessas. 

Z>.  Quin  age,  si  quid  habes:    in  me  mora  non  erit  ulla, 
nee  quemquam  fugio;   tantum,  vicine  Palaemon, 

I  JO'' 


ECLOGA  III.   15-92.  37 

sensibus  haec  imis,  res  est  non  parva,  reponas. 

P.  Dicite,  quandoquidem  in  molli  consedimus  heiba,        55 
et  nunc  omnis  agar,  nunc  omnis  parturit  arbos, 
nunc  frondent  silvae,  nunc  formosissimus  annus. 
Incipe,  Damoeta;   tu  deinde  sequere,  Menalca. 
Alternis  dicetis;    aniant  alterna  Camenae. 

D.  Ab  love  principium  Musae  :  lovis  omnia  plena ;         60 
ille  colit  terras;    illi  mea  carmina  curae. 

M.  Et  me  Phoebus  amat;    Phoebo  sua  semper  apud  me 
rnunera  sunt,  lauri  et  suave  rubens  hyacinthus. 

D.  Malo  me  Galatea  petit,  lasciva  puella, 
et  fugit  ad  salices,  et  se  cupit  ante  videri.  65 

M.  At  mihi  sese  offert  ultro  meus  ignis  Amyntas, 
notior  ut  iam  sit  canibus  non  Delia  nostris. 

D.  Parta  meae  Veneri  sunt  munera :    namque  notavi 
ipse  locum,  aeriae  quo  congessere  palumbes. 

M.  Quod  potui,  puero  silvestri  ex  arbore  lecta  70 

aurea  mala  decern  misi ;   eras  altera  mittam. 

D.  O  quotiens  et  quae  nobis  Galatea  locuta  est! 
partem  aliquam,  venti,  divum  referatis  ad  aures. 

M.  Quid  prodest  quod  me  ipse  animo  non  spernis.  Amynta, 
si,  dum  tu  sectaris  apros,  ego  retia  servo?  75 

D.  Phyllida  mitte  mihi :   meus  est  natalis,  lolla ; 
cum  faciam  vitula  pro  frugibus,  ipse  venito. 

M.  Phyllida  amo  ante  alias:    nam  me  discedere  flevit, 
et  longum  '  Formose,  v41e  vale,|  inquit,  '  lolla.' 

D.  Triste  lupus  stabulis,  maturis  frugibus  imbres,  80 

arboribus  venti,  nobis  Amaryllidis  irae. 

M.  Dulce  satis  umor,  depulsis  arbutus  haedis,      i.«c-n£. 
lenta  salix  feto  pecori,  mihi  solus  Amyntas. 

D.  Pollio  amat  noslram,  quamvis  est  rustica,  Musam  : 
Pierides,  vitulam  lectori  pascite  vestro.  85 

M.  Pollio  et  ipse  facit  nova  carmina :    pascite  taurum, 
iam  cornu  petat  et  pedibus  qui  spargat  harenam. 

D.  Qui  te,  Pollio,  amat,  veniat  quo  te  quoque  gaudet; 
mella  fluant  illi,  ferat  et  rubus  asper  amomum. 

M.  Qui  Bavium  non  odit,  amet  tua  carmina,  Maevi,        93 
atque  idem  iungat  vulpes  et  mulgeat  hircos. 

D.  Qui  legitis  flores  et  humi  nascentia  fraga. 


28  BUCOLIC  A. 

frigidus,  o  pueii,  fugite  hinc,  latet  anguis  in  herba. 

M.  Parcite,  oves,  nimium  procedeie  :    non  bene  ripae 
creditur ;    ipse  aries  etiani  nunc  vellera  siccat.  95 

D.  Tityre,  pascentes  a  flumine  reice  capellas  : 
ipse,  ubi  tempus  erit,  omnes  in  fonte  lavabo. 

M.  Cogite  oves,  pueri ;    si  lac  praeceperit  aestus, 
ut  nuper,  frustra  pressabimus  ubera  palmis. 

D.  Heu  heu,  quam  pingui  macer  est  mihi  taurus  in  ervo  ! 
Idem  amor  exitium  pecori  pecorisque  magistro.  loi 

M.  His  certe  neque  amor  causa  est :    vix  ossibus  haerent. 
Nescio  quis  teneros  oculus  mihi  fascinat  agnos. 

D.  Die,  quibus  in  terris — et  eris  mihi  magnus  Apollo — 
tres  pateat  caeli  spatium  non  amplius  ulnas.  105 

M.  Die,  quibus  in  terris  inscripti  nomina  regum 
nascantur  flores;    et  Phyllida  solus  habeto. 

P.  Non  nostrum  inter  vos  tantas  componere  lites. 
Et  vitula  tu  dignus  et  hie,  et  quisquis  amores 
aut  metuet  dulces,  aut  experietur  amaros.  no 

Claudite  iam  rivos,  pueri:    sat  prata  biberunt. 


^o  ^.c  ECLOGA   IV. 

SicELiDES  Musae,  paulo  maiora  canamus ! 
Non  omnes  arbusta  iuvant  humilesque  myricae ; 
si  canimus  silvas,  silvae  sint  consule  dignae. 
Ultima  Cymaei  venit  iam  carminis  aetas ; 
magnus  ab  integro  saeclorum  nascitur  ordo.  5 

Iam  redit  et  virgo,  redeunt  Saturnia  regna; 
iam  nova  progenies  caelo  demittitur  alto. 
Tu  modo  nascenti  puero,  quo  ferrea  primum 
desinet  ac  toto  surget  gens  aurea  mundo, 
casta  fave  Lucina:   tuus  iam  regnat  Apollo.  10 

Teque  adeo  decus  hoc  aevi,  te  consule  inibit, 
Pollio,  et  incipient  magni  procedere  menses ; 
te  duce,  si  qua  manent  sceleris  vestigia  nostri, 
irrita  perpetua  solvent  formidine  terras. 

Ille  dcum  vitam  accipiet  divisque  videbit  15 

permixtos  heroas,  et  ipse  videbitur  illis, 


ECLOGA  HI.  93  — /F.  $^,  29 

pacatumque  reget  patriis  virtutibus  orbem,':^' 

At  tibi  prima,  puer,  nullo  munuscula  cultu 

errantes  hederas  passim  cum  baccare  tellus 

mixtaque  ridenti  colocasia  fundet  acantho.  20 

Ipsae  lacte  domum  referent  distenta  capellae 

ubera,  nee  magnos  metuent  armenta  leones. 

Ipsa  tibi  blandos  fundent  cunabula  flores. 

Occidet  et  serpens,  et  fallax  herba  veneni 

occidet ;    Assyrium  vulgo  nascetur  amomum.  25 

At  simul  heroum  laudes  et  facta  parentis 

iam  legere  et  quae  sit  poteris  cognoscere  virtus, 

molli  paulatim  fiavescet  campus  arista, 

incultisque  rubens  pendebit  sentibus  uva, 

et  durae  quercus  sudabunt  roscida  mella.  30 

Pauca  tamen  suberunt  priscae  vestigia  fraudis, 

quae  temptare  Thetim  ratibus,  quae  cingere  muris 

oppida,  quae  iubeant  telluri  infindere  sulcos. 

Alter  erit  turn  Tiphys,  et  altera  quae  vehat  Argo  ,-'««..*■) 

delectos  heroas ;    erunt  etiam  altera  bella,  35 

atque  iterum  ad  Troiam  magnus  mittetur  Achilles, 

Hinc,  ubi  iam  firmata  virum  te  fecerit  aetas, 

cedet  et  ipse  marl  vector,  nee  nautica  pinus 

mutabit  merces :    omnis  feret  omnia  tellus. 

Non  rastros  patietur  humus,  non  vinea  falcem;  40 

robustus  quoque  iam  tauris  iuga  solvet  arator; 

nee  varies  discet  mentiri  lana  colores, 

ipse  sed  in  pratis  aries  iam  suave  rubenti 

murice,  iam  croceo  mutabit  vellera  luto; 

sponte  sua  sandyx  pascentes  vestiet  agnos.  45 

'Talia  saecla'  suis  dixerunt  'currite'  fusis 

Concordes  stabili  fatorum  numine  Parcae. 

Aggredere  o  magnos,  aderit  iam  tempus,  honores, 

cara  deum  suboles,  magnum  lovis  incrementum. 

Aspice  convexo  nutantem  pondere  mundum,  50 

terrasque  tractusque  maris  caelumque  profundum  : 

aspice,  venturo  laetantur  ut  omnia  saeclo. 

O  mihi  tam  longae  maneat  pars  ultima  vitae, 

spiritus  et,  quantum  sat  erit  tua  dicere  facta,  ut  p  -•■ 

non  me  carminibus  vincat  nee  Thracius  Orpheus,  55 


30  BUCOLIC  A. 

nee  Linus,  huic  mater  quamvis  atque  huic  pater  adsit, 

Orphei  Calliopea,  Lino  formosus  Apollo. 

Pan  etiam,  Arcadia  mecum  si  iudice  certet, 

Pan  etiam  Arcadia  dicat  se  iudice  victum. 

Incipe,  parve  puer,  risu  cognoscere  matrem;  60 

matri  longa  decern  tulerunt  fastidia  menses. 

Incipe,  parve  puer :    cui  non  risere  parentes, 

nee  deus  hune  mensa,  dea  nee  dignata  cubili  est. 


ECLOGA  V. 

Menalcas.        INIopsus. 

Me.  Cur  non,  Mopse,  boni  quoniam  eonvenimus  ambo, 
tu  calamos  inflare  leves,  ego  dicere  versus, 
hie  eorylis  mixtas  inter  consedimus  ulmos? 

Mo.  Tu  maior;   tibi  me  est  aequum  parere,  Menalea, 
sive  sub  ineertas  Zephyris  motantibus  umbras,  5 

sive  antro  potius  suceedimus.     Aspice,  ut  antrum 
silvestris  raris  sparsit  labrusca  raeemis. 

Me.  Montibus  in  nostris  solus  tibi  eertat  Amyntas. 

Mo.  Quid,  si  idem  certet  Phoebum  superare  canendo? 

Me.  Incipe,  Mopse,  prior,  si  quos  aut  Phyllidis  ignes       10 
aut  Alconis  babes  laudes  aut  iurgia  Codri. 
Incipe ;   pascentes  servabit  Tityrus  haedos. 

Mo.  Immo  haee,  in  viridi  nuper  quae  eortiee  fagi  b-<^'~i^ 
carmina  deseripsi  et  modulans  alterna  notavi, 
experiar.     Tu  deinde  iubeto  certet  Amyntas.  15 

Me.  Lenta  salix  quantum  pallenti  cedit  olivae, 
puniceis  humilis  quantum  saliunca  rosetis, 
iudieio  nostro  tantum  tibi  cedit  Amyntas. 
Sed  tu  desine  plura,  puer;   sueeessimus  antro. 

Mo.  Extinctum  Nymphae  crudeli  funere  Daphnim  20 

flebant ;    vos  coryli  testes  et  flumina  Nymphis ; 
cum  complexa  sui  corpus  miserabile  nati 
atque  deos  atque  astra  voeat  crudelia  mater. 
Non  ulli  pastos  illis  egere  diebus 
frigida,  Daphni,  boves  ad  flumina;   nulla  neque  amnem       25 


ECLOGA  IV.  56— V.  64.  31 

libavlt  quadrupes,  nee  graminis  attigit  herbam. 

Daphni,  tuum  Poenos  etiam  ingemuisse  leones 

interitum  montesque  feri  silvaeque  loquuntur. 

Daphnis  et  Armenias  curm  subiungere  tigres 

instituit,  Daphnis  thiasos  inducere  Bacchi  3° 

et  foliis  lentas  intexere  moUibus  hastas. 

Vitis  ut  arboribus  decori  est,  ut  vitibus  uvae, 

ut  gregibus  tauri,  segetes  ut  pinguibus  arvis, 

tu  decus  omne  tuis.     Postquam  te  fata  tulerunt, 

ipsa,  Pales  agros  atque  ipse  reliquit  Apollo 


(f^A 


carduus  et  spinis  surgit  paliurus  acutis. 

Spargite  humum  foliis,  inducite  fontibus  umbras,  4° 

pastores,  mandat  fieri  sibi  talia  Daphnis, 

et  tumulum  facite,  et  tumulo  super  addite  carmen  : 

'  Daphnis  ego  in  silvis,  hinc  usque  ad  sidera  notus, 

formosi  pecoris  custos,  formosior  ipse.' 

Me.  Tale  tuum  carmen  nobis,  divine  poeta,  45 

quale  sopor  fessis  in  gramine,  quale  per  aestum 
dulcis  aquae  saliente  sitim  restinguere  rivo. 
Nee  calamis  solum  aequiperas,  sed  voce  magistrum. 
Fortunate  puer,  tu  nunc  eris  alter  ab  illo. 
Nos  tamen  haec  quocumque  modo  tibi  nostra  vicissim         50 
dicemus,  Daphnimque  tuum  tollemus  ad  astra ; 
Daphnin  ad  astra  feremus:    amavit  nos  quoqiie  Daphnis. 

Mo.  An  quicquam  nobis  tali  sit  munere  maius? 
et  puer  ipse  fuit  cantari  dignus,  et  ista 
iam  pridem  Stimichon  laudavit  carmina  nobis.  55 

3fe.  Candidus  insuetum  miratur  limen  Olympi 
sub  pedibusque  videt  nubes  et  sidera  Daphnis. 
Ergo  alacris  silvas  et  cdera  rura  voldptas 
Panaque  pastoresque  tenet  Dryadasque  puellas. 
Nee  lupus  insidias  pecori,  nee  retia  cervis  fio 

uUa  dolum  meditantur;    amat  bonus  otia  Daphnis. 
Ipsi  laetitia  voces  ad  sidera  iactant 
intonsi  monies;   ipsae  iam  carmina  rupes, 
ipsa  sonant  arbusta:    'Deus,  deus  ille,  Menalcal' 


32  BUCOLICA. 

Sis  bonus  o  felixque  tuis !    en  quattuor  aras :  65 

ecce  duas  tibi,  Daphni,  duas  altaria  Phoebo. 

Pocula  bina  novo  spumantia  lacte  quotannis 

craterasque  duo  statuam  tibi  pinguis  olivi; 

et  multo  in  primis  hilarans  convivia  Baccho, 

ante  focum,  si  frigus  erit,  si  messis,  in  umbra  70 

vina  novum  fundam  calathis  Ariusia  nectar. 

Cantabunt  mihi  Damoetas  et  Lyctius  Aegon; 

saltantes  Satyros  imitabitur  Alphesiboeus. 

Haec  tibi  semper  erunt,  et  cum  sollemnia  vota 

reddemus  Nymphis,  et  cum  lustrabimus  agros.  75 

Dum  iuga  montis  aper,  fluvios  dum  piscis  amabit, 

dumque  thymo  pascentur  apes,  dum  rore  cicadae, 

semper  honos  nomenque  tuum  laudesque  manebunt. 

Ut  Baccho  Cererique,  tibi  sic  vota  quotannis 

agricolae  facient ;    damnabis  tu  quoque  votis.  80 

Mo.  Quae  tibi,  quae  tali  reddam  pro  carmine  dona  ? 
Nam  neque  me  tantum  venientis  sibilus  Austri 
nee  percussa  iuvant  fluctu  tarn  litora,  nee  quae 
saxosas  inter  decurrunt  flumina  valles. 

Me.  Hac  te  nos  fragili  donabimus  ante  cicuta.  85 

Ilaec  nos  '  Formosum  Corydon  ardebat  Alexim,' 
haec  eadem  docuit  '  cuium  pecus?   an  Meliboei?' 

Mo.  At  tu  sume  pedum,  quod,  me  cum  saepe  rogaret, 
non  tulit  Antigenes  (et  erat  tunc  dignus  amari), 
formosum  paribus  nodis  atque  aere,  Menalca.  90 


ECLOGA   VI. 

Prima  Syracosio  dignata  est  ludere  versu 

nostra  neque  erubuit  silvas  habitare  Thalia. 

Cum  canerem  reges  et  proelia,  Cynthius  aurem 

vellit  et  admonuit :    '  Pastorem,  Tityre,  pingues 

pascere  oportet  oves,  deductum  dicere  carmen.' 

Nunc  ego  (namque  super  tibi  erunt  qui  dicere  laudes, 

Vare,  tuas  cupiant  et  tristia  condere  bella) 

agrestem  tenui  meditabor  harundine  musam. 

Non  iniussa  cano.     Si  quis  tamen  haec  quoque,  si  quis 


EC  LOG  A    V,  6^  —  Vf.  48.  33 

captus  amore  leget,  te  nostrae,  Vare,  myricae,  10 

te  nemus  omne  canet;   nee  Phoebo  gratior  ulla  est, 
quam  sibi  quae  Vari  praescripsit  pagina  nomen. 

Pergite,  Pierides.     Chromis  et  Mnasyllus  in  antro 
Silenum  pueri  somno  videre  iacentem, 

inflatum  hesterno  venas,  ut  semper,  laccho :  15 

serta  procul  tantum  capiti  delapsa  iacebant, 
et  gravis  attrita  pendebat  cantharus  ansa. 
Aggressi  (nam  saepe  senex  spe  carminis  ambo 
luserat)  iniiciunt^ipsis_ex  vincula  sertis. 

Addit  se  sociam  timidisque  supervenit  Aegle,  20 

Aegle,  Naiadum  pulcherrima,  iamque  videnti 
sanguineis  frontem  moris  et  tempora  pingit. 
Ille  dolum  ridens  '  Quo  vincula  nectitis  ? '  inquit. 
'  Solvite  me,  pueri :    satis  est  potuisse  videri. 
Carmina  quae  vultis  cognoscite ;    carmina  vobis,  25 

huic  aliud  mercedis  erit.'     Simul  incipit  ipse. 
Tum  vero  in  numerum  Faunosque  ferasque  videres 
ludere,  tum  rigidas  motare  cacumina  quercus : 
nee  tantum  Phoebo  gaudet  Parnasia  rupes, 
nee  tantum  Rhodope  miratur  et  Ismarus  Orphea.  30 

Namque  eanebat,  uti  magnum  per  inane  coacta 
semina  terrarumque  animaeque  marisque  fuissent 
et  liquidi  simul  ignis ;    ut  his  exordia  primis 
omnia  et  ipse  tener  mundi  eonereverit  orbis; 
tum  durare  solum  et  discludere  Nerea  ponto  35 

coeperit  et  rerum  paulatim  sumere  formas  ; 
iamque  novum  terrae  stupeant  luceseere  solen^ 
altius,  atque  cadant  summotis  nubibus  imbres; 
ineipiant  silvae  cum  primum  surgere,  cumque 
rara  per  ignaros  errent  animalia  montes.  40 

Hine  lapides  Pyrrhae  iactos,  Saturnia  regna, 
Caueasiasque  refert  volucres  furtumque  Promethei. 
His  adiungit,  Hylan  nautae  quo  fonte  relictum 
clamassent,  ut  litus  '  Hyla  Hyla '  omne  sonaret ; 
et  fortunatam,  si  numquam  armenta  fuissent,  45 

Pasiphaen  nivei  solatur  amore  iuvenci. 
Ah  virgo  infelix,  quae  te  dementia  eepit ! 
Proetides  implerunt  falsis  mugitibus  agros, 

c 


34  BUCOLICA. 

at  non  tarn  turpes  pecudum  tamen  ulla  secuta  est 

concubitus,  quamvis  collo  timuisset  aratium,  50 

et  saepe  in  levi  quaesisset  cornua  fronte. 

Ah  virgo  infelix,  tu  nunc  in  montibus  erras: 

ille  latus  niveum  molli  fultus  hyacintho 

ilice  sub  nigra  pallentes  ruminat  herbas, 

aut  aliquam  in  magno  sequitur  grege.     '  Claudite,  Nymphae,  55 

Dictaeae  Nymphae,  nemorum  iam  claudite  sallus, 

si  qua  forte  ferant  oculis  sese  obvia  nostris 

errabunda  bovis  vestigia ; '  forsitan  ilium 

aut  herba  captum  viridi  aut  armenta  secutum 

perducant  aliquae  stabula  ad  Gortynia  vaccae.'  60 

Tum  canit  Hesperidum  miratam  mala  puellam ; 

turn  Phaethontiadas  musco  circumdat  amarae 

corticis,  atque  solo  proceras  erigit  alnos. 

Tum  canit,  errantem  Permessi  ad  flumvna  Galium 

Aonas  in  monies  ut  duxerit  una  sororum,  65 

utque  viro  Phoebi  chorus  assurrexerit  omnis; 

ut  Linus  haec  illi  divino  carmine  pastor 

floribus  atque  apio  crines  ornatus  amaro 

dixerit :    '  Hos  tibi  dant  calamos,  en  accipe,  Musae, 

Ascraeo  quos  ante  seni,  quibus  ille  solebat  70 

cantando  rigidas  deducere  montibus  ornos. 

His  tibi  Grynei  nemoris  dicatur  origo, 

ne  quis  sit  lucus,  quo  se  plus  iactet  Apollo.' 

Quid  loquar,  aut  Scyllam  Nisi',  quam  fama  secuta  est 

Candida  succinctam  latrantibus  inguina  monstris  75 

Dulichias  vexasse  rates  et  gurgite  in  alto  ' 

ah !   timidos  nautas  canibus  lacerasse  marinis : 

aut  ut  mutatos  Terei  narraverit  artus, 

quas  illi  Philomela  dapes,  quae  dona  pararit, 

quo  cursu  deserta  petiverit,  et  quibus  ante  80 

infelix  sua  tecta  super  volitaverit  alis? 

Omnia,  quae  Phoebo  quondam  meditante  beatus 

audiit  Eurotas  iussitque  ediscere  lauros, 

ille  canit;    pulsae  referunt  ad  sidera  valles; 

cogere  donee  oves  stabulis  numerumque  referre  85 

iussit  et  invito  processit  Vesper  Olynipo. 


EC  LOG  A    VI.  49  —  VII.  34.  "^^^ 


ECLOGA   VII. 

Meliboeus.         Corydon.         Thyrsis. 

M.  Forte  sub  arguta  consederat  ilice  Daphnis, 
compulerantque  greges  Corydon  et  Thyrsis  in  unum, 
Thyrsis  oves,  Corydon  distentas  lacte  capellas, 
ambo  florentes  aetatibus,  Arcades  ambo, 
et  cantare  pares  et  respondere  parati.  5 

Hue  mihi,  dum  teneras  defendo  a  frigore  myrtos, 
vir  gregis  ipse  caper  deerraverat ;    atque  ego  Daphnim 
aspicio.     Ille  ubi  me  contra  videt,  '  Ocius,'  inquit, 
'hue  ades,  o  Meliboee;    caper  tibi  salvus  et  haedi; 
et,  si  quid  cessare  potes,  requiesce  sub  umbra.  10 

Hue  ipsi  potum  venient  per  prata  iuvenci ; 
hie  virides  tenera  praetexit  harundine  ripas 
Mincius,  eque  sacra  resonant  examina  quercu.' 
Quid  facerem?   neque  ego  Alcippen  nee  Phyllida  habebam, 
depulsos  a  lacte  domi  quae  clauderet  agnos,  15 

et  certamen  erat  Corydon  cum  Thyrside  magnum. 
Posthabui  tamen  illorum  mea  seria  ludo. 
Alternis  igitur  contendere  versibus  ambo 
coepere ;    alternos  Musae  meminisse  volebant. 
Hos  Corydon,  illos  referebat  in  ordine  Thyrsis.jj^  20 

C.  Nymphae,  noster  amor,  Libethrides,  aut  mihi  carmen 
quale  meo  Codro  concedite  (proxima  Phoebi 
versibus  ille  facit)  aut,  si  non  possumus  omnes, 
hie  arguta  sacra  pendebit  fistula  pinu. 

T.  Pastores,  hedera  crescentem  ornate  poetam,  25 

Arcades,  invidia  rumpantur  ut  ilia  Codro ; 
aut,  si  ultra  placitum  laudarit,  baccare  frontem 
cingite,  ne  vati  noceat  mala  lingua  futuro. 

C.  Saetosi  caput  hoc  apri  tibi,  Delia,  parvus 
et  ramosa  Micon  vivacis  cornua  cervi.  30 

Si  proprium  hoc  fuerit,  levi  de  marmore  tota 
puniceo  stabis  suras  evincta  cothurno. 

T.  Sinum  lactis  et  haec  te  liba,  Priape,  quolannis 
exspectare  sat  est :    custos  cs  pauperis  horti. 

c  2 


^6  BUCOLIC  A. 

nunc  te  marmoreum  pro  tempore  fecimus;    at  tu  35 

si  fetura  gregem  suppleverit,  aureus  esto. 

C.  Nerine  Galatea,  thymo  mihi  dulcior  Hyblae, 
candidior  cycnis,  hedera  formosior  alba, 
cum  primum  pasti  repetent  praesaepia  tauri, 
si  qua  tui  Corydonis  habet  te  cura,  venito.  40 

T.  Immo  ego  Sardoniis  videar  tibi  amarior  herbis, 
horridior  rusco,  proiecta  vilior  alga, 
si  mihi  non  haec  lux  toto  iam  longior  anno  est. 
Ite  domum  pasti,  si  quis  pudor,  ite  iuvenci. 

C.  Muscosi  fontes  et  somno  mollior  herba,  45 

et  quae  vos  rara  viridis  tegit  arbutus  umbra, 
solstitium  pecori  defendite ;  iam  venit  aestas 
torrida,  iam  lento  turgent  in  palmite  gemmae. 

T.  Hie  focus  et  taedae  pingues,  hie  plurimus  ignis 
semper  et  assidua  postes  fuligine  nigri;  50 

hie  tantum  Boreae  curamus  frigora,  quantum 
aut  numerum  lupus  aut  torrentia  flumina  ripas. 

C.  Stant  et  iuniperi  et  castaneae  hirsutae  ; 
strata  iacent  passim  sua  quaeque  sub  arbore  poma; 
omnia  nunc  rident;    at  si  formosus  Alexis  55 

montibus  his  abeat,  videas  et  flumina  sicca. 

T,  Aret  ager;    vitio  moriens  sitit  aeris  herba; 
Liber  pampineas  invidit  coUibus  umbras  : 
Phyllidis  adventu  nostrae  nemus  omne  virebit, 
luppiter  et  laeto  descendet  plurimus  imbri.  Co 

C.  Populus  Alcidae  gratissima,  vitis  laccho, 
formosae  myrtus  Veneri,  sua  laurea  Phoebo; 
Phyllis  amat  corylos;   illas  dum  Phyllis  amabit, 
nee  myrtus  vincet  corylos  nee  laurea  Phoebi. 

T.  Fraxinus  in  silvis  pulcherrima,  pinus  in  hortis,  65 

populus  in  fluviis,  abies  in  montibus  altis  : 
saepius  at  si  me,  Lycida  formose,  revisas, 
fraxinus  in  silvis  cedat  tibi,  pinus  in  hortis. 

M.  Haec  memini,  et  victum  frustra  contendere  Thyrsim, 
Ex  illo  Corydon  Corydon  est  tempore  nobis.  70 

57? 


ECLOGA    VII,  yo—VIII.  ^^,  3^ 


ECLOGA  VIII. 

Pastorum  musam  Damonis  et  Alphesiboei, 

imniemor  herbarum  quos  est  mirata  iuvenca 

certantes,  quorum  stupefactae  carmine  lynces, 

et  mutata  suos  requierunt  flumina  cursus, 

Damonis  musam  dicemus  et  Alphesiboei.  5 

Tu  mihi   seu  magni  superas  iam  saxa  Timavi, 
sive  Oram  Illyrici  legis  aequoris, — en  erit  umquam 
ille  dies,  mihi  cum  liceat  tua  dicere  facta  ? 
En  erit  ut  liceat  totum  mihi  ferre  per  orbem 
sola  Sophocleo  tua  carmina  digna  cothurno  ?  10 

A  te  principium,  tibi  desinet.     Accipe  iussis 
carmina  coepta  tuis,  atque  banc  sine  tempora  circum 
inter  victrices  hederam  tibi  serpere  laurus. 

Frigida  vix  caelo  noctis  decesserat  umbra, 
cum  ros  in  tenera  pecori  gratissimus  herba :  15 

incumbens  tereti  Damon  sic  coepit  olivae. 

D.  '  Nascere,  praeque  diem  veniens  age,  Lucifer,  almum, 
coniugis  indigno  Nysae  deceptus  amore 
dum  queror,  et  divos,  quamquam  nil  teslibus  illis 
profecl,  extrema  moriens  tamen  adloquor  hora.  20 

Incipe  Maenalios  mecum,  mea  tibia,  versus, 
Maenalus  argutumque  nemus  pinosque  loquentes 
semper  habet ;    semper  pastorum  ille  audit  amores 
Panaque,  qui  primus  calamos  non  passus  inertes. 

Incipe  Maenalios  mecum,  mea  tibia,  versus.  25 

Mopso  Nysa  datur :    quid  non  speremus  amantes  ? 
lungenlur  iam  grypes  equis,  aevoque  sequenti 
cum  canibus  timidi  venient  ad  pocula  dammae. 
Mopse,  novas  incide  faces :    tibi  ducitur  uxor ; 
sparge,  marite,  nuces :   tibi  deserit  Hesperus  Oetam.  30 

Incipe  Maenalios  mecum,  mea  tibia,  versus. 
O  digno  coniuncta  viro,  dum  despicis  omnes, 
dumque  tibi  est  odio  mea  fistula  dumque  capellae 
hirsutumque  supcrcilium  promissaque  barba, 
nee  curare  deum  credis  mortalia  quemquam,  35 


38  BUCOLIC  A. 

Incipe  Maenalios  mecum,  mea  tibia,  versus. 
Saepibus  in  nostris  parvam  te  roscida  mala 
(dux  ego  vester  eram)  vidi  cum  matre  legentem. 
Alter  ab  undecimo  tum  me  iam  acceperat  annus; 
iam  fragiles  poteram  ab  terra  contingere  ramos.  40 

Ut  vidi,  ut  perii,  ut  me  malus  abstulit  error! 

Incipe  Maenalios  mecum,  mea  tibia,  versus. 
Nunc  scio  quid  sit  Amor.     Duris  in  cotibus  ilium 
aut  Tmaros  aut  Rhodope  aut  extremi  Garamantes 
nee  generis  nostri  puerum  nee  sanguinis  edunt.  45 

Incipe  Maenalios  mecum,  mea  tibia,  versus. 
Saevus  Amor  docuit  natorum  sanguine  matrem 
commaculare  manus ;    crudelis  tu  quoque,  mater : 
crudelis  mater  magis,  an  puer  improbus  ille  ? 
improbus  ille  puer;    crudelis  tu  quoque,  mater.^  50 

Incipe  Maenalios  mecum,  mea  tibia,  versus. 
Nunc  et  oves  ultro  fugiat  lupus,  aurea  durae 
mala  ferant  quercus,  narcisso  floreat  alnus, 
pinguia  corticibus  sudent  electra  myricae, 
certent  et  cycnis  ululae,  sit  Tityrus  Orpheus,  55 

Orpheus  in  silvis,  inter  delphinas  Arion. 

Incipe  Maenalios  mecum,  mea  tibia,  versus. 
Omnia  vel  medium  fiat  mare.     Vivite,  silvae : 
praeceps  aerii  specula  de  montis  in  undas 
deferar;    extremum  hoc  munus  morientis  habeto.  60 

Desine  Maenalios,  iam  desine,  tibia,  versus.' 

Haec  Damon :    vos,  quae  respondent  Alphesiboeus, 
dicite,  Pierides;    non  omnia  possumus  omnes. 

A.  'Effer  aquam,  et  molli  cinge  haec  altaria  vitta, 
verbenasque  adole  pingues  et  mascula  tura,  65 

coniugis  ut  magicis  sanos  avertere  sacris 
experiar  sensus;    nihil  hie  nisi  carmina  desunt. 

Ducite  ab  urbe  domum,  mea  carmina,  ducite  Daphnim. 
Carmina  vel  caelo  possunt  deducere  Lunam ; 
carminibus  Circe  socios  mutavit  Ulixi ;  70 

frigidus  in  pratis  cantando  rumpitur  anguis. 

Ducite  ab  urbe  domum,  mea  carmina,  ducite  Daphnim. 
Terna  tibi  haec  primum  triplici  diversa  colore 
licia  circumdo,  terque  haec  altaria  circum 


EC  LOG  A    VI  11.  36-109.  39 

effigiem  duco;   numero  deus  impare  gaudet.  75 

Ducite  ab  urbe  domum,  mea  carmina,  ducite  Daphnim. 
Necte  tribus  nodis  ternos,  Amarylli,  colores; 
necte,  Amarylli,  modo  et  "Veneris"  die  "vincula  necto." 

Ducite  ab  urbe  domum,  mea  carmina,  ducite  Daphnim. 
Limus  ut  hie  durescit,  et  haee  ut  cera  liquescit  80 

uno  eodemque  igni,  sic  nostro  Daphnis  amore. 
Sparge  molam,  et  fragiles  incende  bitumine  laurus. 
Daphnis  me  malus  urit,  ego  banc  in  Daphnide  laurum. 

Ducite  ab  urbe  domum,  mea  carmina,  ducite  Daphnim. 
Talis  amor  Daphnim,  qualis  cum  fessa  iuvencum  85 

per  nemora  atque  altos  quaerendo  bucula  lucos 
propter  aquae  rivum  viridi  procumbit  in  ulva, 
perdita,  nee  serae  meminit  decedere  nocti, 
talis  amor  teneat,  nee  sit  mihi  cura  mederi. 

Ducite  ab  urbe  domum,  mea  carmina,  ducite  Daphnim.  90 
Has  olim  exuvias  mihi  perfidus  ille  reliquit, 
pignora  cara  sui :    quae  nunc  ego  limine  in  ipso, 
terra,  tibi  mando ;    debent  haec  pignora  Daphnim. 

Ducite  ab  urbe  domum,  mea  carmina,  ducite  Daphnim. 
Has  herbas  atque  haee  Ponto  mihi  lecta  venena  95 

ipse  dedit  Moeris ;    nascuntur  plurima  Ponto ; 
his  ego  saepe  lupum  fieri  et  se  condere  silvis 
Moerim,  saepe  animas  imis  excire  sepulcris 
atque  satas  alio  vidi  traducere  messes. 

Ducite  ab  urbe  domum,  mea  carmina,  ducite  Daphnim.  100 
Fer  cineres,  Amarylli,  foras  rivoque  fluenti 
transque  caput  iace,  nee  respexeris.     His  ego  Daphnim 
aggrediar;    nihil  ille  deos,  nil  carmina  curat. 

Ducite  ab  urbe  domum,  mea  carmina,  ducite  Daphnim. 
Aspice:    corripuit  tremulis  altaria  flammis  105 

sponte  sua,  dum  ferre  moror,  cinis  ipse.     Bonum  sit ! 
Nescio  quid  certe  est,  et  Hylax  in  limine  latrat. 
Credimus }    an,  qui  amant,  ipsi  sibi  somnia  fingunt  ? 
Parcite,  ab  urbe  venit,  iam  parcite,  carmina,  Daphnis.' 


40  .    .        BUCOLIC  A. 

E  CLOG  A   IX. 

Lycidas.        Moeris. 

L.  Quo  te,  Moeri,  pedes?   an,  quo  via  ducit,  in  urbem? 

yl/.  O  Lycida,  vivi  pervenimus,  advena  nostri, 
quod  numquam  veriti  sumus,  ut  possessor  agelli 
diceret  '  haec  mea  sunt ;    veteres  migrate  coloni.' 
Nunc  victi  tristes,  quoniam  Fors  omnia  versat,  5 

hos  illi  (quod  nee  vertat  bene)  mittimus  haedos. 

L.  Certe  equidem  audieram,  qua  se  subducere  colles 
incipiunt  moUique  iugum  demittere  clivo, 
usque  ad  aquam  et  veteres  iam  fracta  cacumina  fagos 
omnia  carminibus  vestrum  servasse  Menalcan.  10 

M.  Audieras :    et  fama  fuit ;   sed  carmina  tantum 
nostra  valent,  Lycida,  tela  inter  Martia,  quantum 
Chaonias  dicunt  aquila  veniente  columbas. 
Quod  nisi  me  quacumque  novas  incidere  lites 
ante  sinistra  cava  monuisset  ab  ilice  comix,  15 

nee  tuus  hie  Moeris  nee  viveret  ipse  Menalcas. 

L.  Heu,  cadit  in  quemquam  tantum  scelus  ?  heu,  tua  nobis 
paene  simul  tecum  solatia  rapta,  Menalca? 
Quis  caneret  Nymphas?    Quis  humum  florentibus  herbis 
spargeret,  aut  viridi  fontes  induceret  umbra?  20 

Vel  quae  sublegi  tacitus  tibi  carmina  nuper, 
cum  te  ad  delicias  ferres  Amaryllida  nostras : 
'Tityre,  dum  redeo  (brevis  est  via)  pasce  capellas, 
et  potum  pastas  age,  Tityre,  et  inter  agendum 
occursare  capro,  cornu  ferit  ille,  caveto.'  25 

M.  Immo  haec,  quae  Varo  necdum  perfecta  canebat: 
'Vare,  tuum  nomen,  superet  modo  Mantua  nobis, 
Mantua  vae  miserae  nimium  vicina  Cremonae, 
cantantes  sublime  ferent  ad  sidera  cycni.' 

L.  Sic  tua  Cyrneas  fugiant  examina  taxos,  30 

sic  cytiso  pastae  distendant  ubera  vaccae : 
incipe,  si  quid  habes.     Et  me  fecere  poetam 
Pierides,  sunt  et  mihi  carmina,  me  quoque  dicunt 


ECLOGA  IX.   1-67.  41 

vatem  pastores;   sed  tion  e^  credulus  ilHs. 

Nam  neque  adhuc  Vario  videor  nee  dicere  Cinna  35 

digna,  sed  argutos  inter  strepere  anser  olores. 

M.  Id  quidem  ago  et  tacitus,  Lycida,  mecum  ipse  voluto, 
si  valeam  meminisse;    neque  est  ignobile  carmen. 
'Hue  ades,  o  Galatea;   quis  est  nam  ludus  in  undis? 
Hie  ver  purpureum,  varios  hie  flumina  circum  40 

fundit  humus  flores,  hie  Candida  populus  antro 
imminet,  et  lentae  texunt  umbracula  vites  : 
hue  ades ;   insani  feriant  sine  litora  fluctus.' 

Z.  Quid,  quae  te  pura  solum  sub  nocte  canentem 
audieram?    numeros  memini,  si  verba  tenerem.  45 

'  Daphni,  quid  antiquos  signorum  suspicis  ortus  ? 
Ecce  Dionaei  proeessit  Caesaris  astrum, 
astrum,  quo  segetes  gauderent  frugibus  et  quo 
duceret  apricis  in  collibus  uva  colorem. 
Insere,  Daphni,  piros ;   carpent  tua  poma  nepotes.'  50 

M.  Omnia  fert  aetas,  animum  quoque ;    saepe  ego  longos 
cantando  puerum  memini  me  condere  soles : 
nunc  oblita  mihi  tot  carmina;    vox  quoque  IMoerim 
iam  fugit  ipsa;    lupi  IMoerim  videre  priores. 
Sed  tamen  ista  satis  referet  tibi  saepe  Menalcas.  55 

L.  Causando  nostros  in  longum  ducis  amores. 
Et  nunc  omne  tibi  stratum  silet  aequor,  et  omnes, 
aspice,  ventosi  ceciderunt  murmuris  aurae, 
Hine  adeo  media  est  nobis  via;   namque  sepulcrum 
incipit  apparere  Bianoris :    hie,  ubi  densas  60 

agricolae  stringunt  frondes,  hie,  Moeri,  canamus  : 
hie  haedos  depone,  tamen  veniemus  in  urbem. 
Aut  si,  nox  pluviam  ne  coUigat  ante,  veremur, 
cantantes  licet  usque  (minus  via  laedit)  eamus; 
cantantes  ut  eamus,  ego  hoc  te  fasee  levabo,  65 

M.  Desine  plura,  puer,  et  quod  nunc  instat  agamus: 
carmina  turn  melius,  cum  venerit  ipse,  canemus. 


43  BUCOLICA, 


E  CLOG  A  X. 

Gallus. 

ExTREMUM  hunc,  Arethusa,  mihi  concede  laborum. 

Pauca  meo  Gallo,  sed  quae  legat  ipsa  Lycoris, 

carmina  sunt  dicenda:    neget  quis  carmina  Gallo? 

Sic  tibi,  cum  fluctus  subterlabere  Sicanos, 

Doris  amara  suam  non  intermisceat  undam  :  5 

incipe ;   sollicitos  Galli  dicamus  amores, 

dum  tenera  attondent  simae  virgulta  capellae. 

Non  canimus  surdis;    respondent  omnia  silvae. 

Quae  nemora  aut  qui  vos  saltus  habuere,  puellae 
Naides,  indigno  cum  Gallus  amore  peribat?  10 

Nam  neque  Parnasi  vobis  iuga,  nam  neque  Pindi 
ulla  moram  fecere,  neque  Aonie  Aganippe. 
Ilium  etiam  lauri,  etiam  flevere  myricae, 
pinifer  ilium  etiam  sola  sub  rupe  iacentem 
Maenalus  et  gelidi  fleverunt  saxa  Lycaei.  15 

Stant  et  oves  circum,  nostri  nee  paenitet  illas: 
nee  te  paeniteat  pecoris,  divine  poeta  ; 
et  formosus  oves  ad  flumina  pavit  Adonis. 
Venit  et  upilio,  tardi  venere  subulci, 

uvidus  hiberna  venit  de  glande  Menalcas,  2c 

Omnes  '  unde  amor  iste  '  rogant  'tibi'?    Venit  Apollo: 
'Galle,  quid  insanis?'    inquit,  '  tua  cura  Lycoris 
perque  nives  alium  perque  horrida  castra  secuta  est.' 
Venit  et  agresti  capitis  Silvanus  honore 

florentes  ferulas  et  grandia  lilia  quassans.  25 

Pan  deus  Arcadiae  venit,  quem  vidimus  ipsi 
sanguineis  ebuli  bacis  minioque  rubentem. 
'Ecquis  erit  modus?'    inquit.     'Amor  non  talia  curat: 
nee  lacrimis  crudelis  Amor  nee  gramina  rivis 
nee  cytiso  saturantur  apes  nee  fronde  capellae.'  30 

Tristis  at  ille  '  Tamen  cantabitis,  Arcades,'  inquit, 
'  montibus  haec  vestris,  soli  cantare  periti 


EC  LOG  A  X.   I -7 1.  43 

Arcades.     0  mihi  turn  quam  molliter  ossa  quiescant, 

vestra  meos  olini  si  fistula  dicat  amores  ! 

Atque  utinam  ex  vobis  unus  vestrique  fuissem  35 

aut  custos  gregis  aut  maturae  vinitor  uvae ! 

Certe  sive  mihi  Piiyllis  sive  esset  Amyntas 

seu  quicumque  furor  (quid  turn,  si  fuscus  Amyntas? 

Et  nigrae  violae  sunt  et  vaccinia  nigra), 

mecum  inter  salices  lenta  sub  vite  iaceret :  40 

serta  mihi  Phyllis  legeret,  cantaret  Amyntas. 

Hie  gelidi  fontes,  hie  mollia  prata,  Lycori, 

hie  nemus  :    hie  ipso  tecum  consumerer  aevo. 

Nunc  insanus  amor  duri  me  INIartis  in  armis 

tela  inter  media  atque  adversos  detinet  hostes  :  45 

tu  procul  a  patria  (nee  sit  mihi  credere  tantum) 

Alpinas  ah  dura  nives  et  frigora  Rheni 

me  sine  sola  vides.     Ah  te  ne  frigora  laedant  I 

Ah  tibi  ne  teneras  glacies  secet  aspera  plantas ! 

Ibo  et  Chalcidico  quae  sunt  mihi  condita  versu  50 

carmina  pastoris  Siculi  modulabor  avena. 

Certum  est  in  silvis  inter  spelaea  ferarum 

malle  pati  tenerisque  meos  incidere  amores 

arboribus :    crescent  illae,  crescetis  amores. 

Interea  mixtis  lustrabo  Maenala  Nymphis,  55 

aut  acres  venabor  apros.     Non  me  ulla  vetabunt 

frigora  Parthenios  canibus  circumdare  saltus. 

lam  mihi  per  rupes  videor  lucosque  sonantes 

ire,  libet  Partho  torquere  Cydonia  cornu 

spicula.     Tamquam  haec  sit  nostri  medicina  furoris,  60 

aut  deus  ille  malis  hominum  mitescere  discat ! 

lam  neque  Hamadryades  rursus  neque  carmina  nobis 

ipsa  placent ;    ipsae  rursus  concedite  silvae. 

Non  ilium  nostri  possunt  mutare  labores: 

nee  si  frigoribus  mediis  Hebrumque  bibamus,  65 

Sithoniasque  nives  hiemis  subeamus  aquosae, 

nee  si,  cum  moriens  alta  liber  aret  in  ulmo, 

Aethiopuni  versemus  oves  sub  sidere  Cancri, 

Omnia  vincit  Amor :    et  nos  cedamus  Amori.' 

Haec  sat  erit,  divae,  vestrum  cecinisse  poetam,  70 

dum  sedet  et  gracili  fiscellam  texit  hibisco, 


44  BUCOLIC  A. 

Pierldes :   vos  haec  facietis  maxima  Gallo, 

Gallo,  cuius  amor  tantum  mihi  crescit  in  horas, 

quantum  vere  novo  viridis  se  subiicit  alnus. 

Surgamus :   solet  esse  gravis  cantantibus  umbra,  75 

iuniperi  gravis  umbra,  nocent  et  frugibus  umbrae. 

Ite  domum  saturae,  venit  Hesperus,  ite  capellae. 


G  E  O  R  G  I  C  A. 


LIBER    PRIMUS. 

Quid  faciat  laetas  segetes,  quo  sidere  terram 

vertere,  Maecenas,  ulmisque  adiungere  vites 

conveniat,  quae  cura  bourn,  qui  cultus  habendo 

sit  pecori,  apibus  quanta  experientia  parcis, 

hinc  canere  incipiam.     Vos,  o  clarissima  mundi  5 

lumina,  labentem  caelo  quae  ducitis  annum, 

Liber  et  alma  Ceres,  vestro  si  munere  tellus 

Chaoniam  pingui  glandem  mutavit  arista, 

poculaque  inventis  Acheloia  miscuit  uvis; 

et  vos,  agrestum  praesentia  numina,  Fauni,  10 

ferte  simul  Faunique  pedem  Dryadesque  puellae : 

munera  vestra  cano.     Tuque  o,  cui  prima  frementem 

fudit  equum  magno  tellus  percussa  tridenti, 

Neptune;  *et  cultor  nemorum,  cui  pinguia  Ceae 

ter  centum  nivei  tondent  dumeta  iuvenci;  15 

ipse  nemus  linquens  patrium  saltusque  Lycaei 

Pan,  ovium  custos,  tua  si  tibi  Maenala  curae, 

adsis,  o  Tegeaee,  favens,  oleaeque  .Minerva 

inventrix,  uncique  puer  monstrator  aratri, 

et  teneram  ab  radice  ferens,  Silvane,  cupressum ;  30 

dique  deaeque  omnes,  studium  quibus  arva  tueri, 

quique  novas  alitis  non  ullo  semine  fruges, 

quique  satis  largum  caelo  demittitis  imbrem  ; 

tuque  adeo,  quern  mox  quae  sint  habitura  deorum 

concilia  incertum  est,  urbesne  invisere,  Caesar,  25 

terrarumque  velis  curam,  ct  te  maximus  orbis 

auctorem  frugum  tempestatumque  potentem 

accipiat  cingens  materna  tempora  myrto, 

an  deus  immensi  venias  maris  ac  tua  nautae 


46  GEORGICA. 

numina  sola  colant,  tibi  serviat  ultima  Thule,  30 

teque  sibi  generum  Tethys  emat  omnibus  undis, 

anne  novum  tardis  sidus  te  mensibus  addas, 

qua  locus  Erigonem  inter  Chelasque  sequentes 

panditur;  ipse  tibi  iam  brachia  contrahit  ardens 

Scorpius  et  caeli  iusta  plus  parte  relinquit;  35 

quidquid  eris  (nam  te  nee  sperant  Tartara  regem, 

nee  tibi  regnandi  veniat  tarn  dira  cupidO; 

quamvis  Elysios  miretur  Graecia  campos 

nee  repetita  sequi  curet  Proserpina  matrem}, 

da  facilem  cursum  atque  audacibus  annue  coeptis,  40 

ignarosque  viae  mecum  miseratus  agrestes 

ingredere,  et  votis  iam  nunc  assuesce  vocari. 

Vere  novo  gelidus  canis  cum  montibus  umor 
liquitur  et  Zephyro  putris  se  glaeba  resolvit, 
depresso  incipiat  iam  turn  mihi  taurus   aratro  45 

ingemere,  et  sulco  attritus  splendescere  vomer. 
Ilia  seges  demum  votis  respondet  avari 
agricolae,  bis  quae  solem,  bis  frigora  sensit; 
illius  immensae  ruperunt  horrea  messes. 

At  prius  ignotum  ferro  quam  scindimus  aequor,  50 

ventos  et  varium  caeli  praediscere  morem 
cura  sit  ac  patrios  cultusque  habitusque  locorum, 
et  quid  quaeque  ferat  regio  et  quid  quaeque  recuset. 
Hie  segetes,  illic  veniunt  felicius  uvae, 

arborei  fetus  alibi,  atque  iniussa  virescunt  55 

gramina.     Nonne  vides  croceos  ut  Tmolus  odores, 
India  mittit  ebur,  molles  sua  tura  Sabaei, 
at  Chalybes  nudi  ferrum,  virosaque  Pontus 
castorea,  Eliadum  palmas  Epiros  equarum? 
Continuo  has  leges  aeternaque  foedera  certis  60 

imposuit  natura  locis,  quo  tempore  primum 
Deucalion  vacuum  lapides  iactavit  in  orbem, 
unde  homines  nati,  durum  genus.   /Ergo  age,  terrae 
pingue  solum  primis  extemplo  a  mensibus  anni 
fortes  invertant  tauri,  glaebasque  iacentes  65 

pulverulenta  coquat  maturis  solibus  aestas; 
at  si  non  fuerit  tellus  fecunda,  sub  ipsum 
Arcturum  tenui  sat  crit  suspendere   sulco  : 


LIBER  I.  30-107.  47 

illic,  officiant  laetis  ne  frugibus  herbae, 

hie,  sterilem  exiguus  ne  deserat  umor  harenam.  70 

Alternis  idem  tonsas  cessare  novales, 
et  segnem  patiere  situ  durescere  campum  ; 
•aut  ibi  flava  seres  mutato  sidere  farra, 
unde  prius  laetum  siliqua  quassante  legumen 
aut  tenues  fetus  viciae  tristisque  lupini  75 

sustuleris  fragiles  calamos  silvamque  sonantem. 
Urit  enim  lini  campum  seges,  urit  avenae, 
urunt  Lethaeo  perfusa  papavera  somno : 
sed  tamen  alternis  facilis  labor,  arida  tantum 
ne  saturare  fimo  pingui  pudeat  sola  neve  80 

effetos  cinerem  immundum  iactare  per  agros. 
Sic  quoque  mutatis  requiescunt  fetibus  arva; 
nee  nulla  interea  est  inaratae  gratia  terrae. 
Saepe  etiam  steriles  incendere  profuit  agros,  84 

atque  levem  stipulam  crepitantibus  urere  flammis : 
sive  inde  occultas  vires  et  pabula  terrae 
pinguia  concipiunt,  sive  illis  omne  per  ignem 
excoquitur  vitium  atque  exsudat  inutilis  umor, 
seu  plures  calor  ille  vias  et  caeca  relaxat 
spiramenta,  novas  veniat  qua  sucus  in  herbas;  90 

seu  durat  magis,  et  venas  adstringit  hiantes, 
ne  tenues  pluviae  rapidive  potentia  solis 
acrior  aut  Boreae  penetrabile  frigus  adurat. 
Multum  adeo,  rastris  glaebas  qui  frangit  inertes 
vimineasque  trahit  crates,  iuvat  arva,  neque  ilium  95 

flava  Ceres  alto  nequiquam  spectat  Olympo; 
et  qui,  proscisso  quae  suscitat  aequore  terga, 
rursus  in  obliquum  verso  perrumpit  aratro 
exercetque  frequens  tellurem  atque  imperat  arvis. 

Umida  solstitia  atque  hiemes  orate  serenas,  100 

agricolae :  hiberno  laetissima  pulvere  farra, 
laetus  ager;    nuUo  tantum  se  Mysia  cultu 
iactat  et  ipsa  suas  mirantur  Gargara  messes. 
Quid  dicam,  iacto  qui  semine  comminus  arva 
insequitur,  cumulosque  ruit  male  pinguis  harenae,  105 

deinde  satis  fluvium  inducit  rivosque  sequentes, 
et,  cum  exustus  ager  morienlibus  aestual  herbis, 


48  GEORGICA, 

ecce  supercilio  clivosi  tramitis  undam 

elicit?    Ilia  cadens  raucum  per  levia  murmur 

saxa  ciet,  scatebrisque  arentia  temperat  arva.  no 

Quid  qui,  ne  gravidis  procumbat  culmus  aristis, 

luxuriem  segetum  tenera  depascit  in  herba, 

cum  primum  sulcos  aequant  sata,  quique"'paludis 

coUectum  umorem  bibula  deducit  harena? 

Praeserlim  incertis  si  mensibus  amnis  abundans  115 

exit  et  obducto  late  tenet  omnia  limo, 

unde  cavae  tepido  sudant  umore  lacunae. 

Nee  tamen,  haec  cum  sint  hominumque  boumque  labores 
versando  terram  experti,  nihil  improbus  anser 
Strymoniaeque  grues  et  amaris  intuba  fibris  120 

officiunt  aut  umbra  nocet.     Pater  ipse  colendi 
baud  facilem  esse  viam  voluit,  primusque  per  arteni 
movit  agros  curis  acuens  mortalia  corda, 
nee  torpere  gravi  passus  sua  regna  veterno. 
Ante  lovem  nulli  subigebant  arva  coloni ;  125 

ne  signare  quidem  aut  partiri  limite  campum 
fas  erat :    in  medium  quaerebant,  ipsaque  tellus 
omnia  liberius  nullo  poscente  ferebat. 
Ille  malum  virus  serpentibus  addidit  atris, 
praedarique  lupos  iussit,  pontumque  moveri,  130 

mellaque  decussit  foliis,  ignemque  removit, 
et  passim  rivis  currentia  vina  repressit, 
ut  varias  usus  meditando  extunderet  artes 
paulatim  et  sulcis  frumenti  quaereret  herbam, 
ut  silicis  venis  abstrusum  excuderet  ignem.  135 

Tunc  alnos  primum  fluvii  sensere  cavatas ; 
navita  tum  stellis  numeros  et  nomina  fecit 
Pleiadas,  Hyadas,  claramque  Lycaonis  Arcton; 
tum  laqueis  captare  feras  et  fallere  visco 
inventum  et  magnos  canibus  circumdare  saltus;  140 

atque  alius  latum  funda  iam  verberat  amnem, 
alta  petens,  pelagoque  alius  trahit  umida  lina; 
tum  ferri  rigor  atque  argutae  lamina  serrae 
(nam  primi  cuneis  scindebant  fissile  lignum), 
tum  variae  venere  artes.     Labor  omnia  vicit  145 

improbus  et  duris  urgens  in  rebus  egestas. 


LIBER  I.   108-185.  49 

Prima  Ceres  ferro  mortales  vertere  terrain 

instituit,  cum  iam  glandes  atque  arbuta  sacrae 

deficerent  silvae  et  victum  Dodona  nesfaret. 

]Mox  et  frumentis  labor  additus,  ut  mala  culmos  150 

esset  robigo,  segnisque  horreret  in  arvis 

carduus :    intereunt  segetes,  subit  aspera  silva, 

lappaeque  tribolique,  interque  nitentia  culta 

infelix  lolium  et  steriles  dominantur  avenae. 

Quod  nisi  et  assiduis  herbam  insectabere  rastris,  155 

et  sonitu  terrebis  aves,  et  ruris  opaci 

falce  premes  umbras,  votisque  vocaveris  imbrem, 

heu  magnum  alterius  frustra  spectabis  acervum, 

concussaque  famem  in  silvis  solabere  quercu. 

Dicendum  et,  quae  sint  duris  agrestibus  arma,  160 

quis  sine  nee  potuere  seri  nee  surgere  messes: 
vomis  et  inflexi  primum  grave  robur  aratri, 
tardaque  Eleusinae  matris  volventia  plaustra, 
tribulaque,  traheaeque,  et  iniquo  pondere  rastri ; 
virgea  praeterea  Celei  vilisque  supellex,  165 

arbuteae  crates  et  mystica  vannus  lacchi. 
Omnia  quae  multo  ante  memor  provisa  repones, 
si  te  digna  manet  divini  gloria  ruris. 
Continuo  in  silvis  magna  vi  flexa  domatur 
in  burim  et  curvi  formam  accipit  ulmus  aratri.  170 

Huic  a  stirpe  pedes  temo  protentus  in  octo, 
binae  aures,  duplici  aptantur  dentalia  dorso. 
Caeditur  et  lilia  ante  iugo  levis  altaque  fagus 
stivaque,  quae  currus  a  tergo  torqueat  imos, 
et  suspensa  focis  explorat  robora  fumus.  175 

Possum  multa  tibi  veterum  praecepta  referre, 
ni  refugis  tenuesque  piget  cognoscere  curas. 
Area  cum  primis  ingenti  aequanda  cylindro 
et  vertenda  manu  et  creta  solidanda  tenaci, 
ne  subeant  herbae  neu  pulvere  victa  fatiscat,  180 

tum  variae  illudant  pestes :    saepe  exiguus  mus 
sub  terris  posuitque  domos  atque  horrea  fecit, 
aut  oculis  capti  fodere  cubilia  talpae, 
inventusque  cavis  bufo  et  quae  plurima  terrae 
monstra  ferunt,  populatque  ingentem  farris  acervum  1S5 

D 


50  GEORGICA. 

curculio  atque  inopi  metuens  formica  senectae. 

Contemplator  item,  cum  se  nux  plurima  silvis 

induct  in  florem  et  ramos  curvabit  olentes : 

si  superant  fetus,  pariter  frumenta  sequentur, 

magnaque  cum  magno  veniet  tritura  calore ;  190 

at  si  luxuria  foliorum  exuberat  umbra, 

nequiquam  pingues  palea  teret  area  culmos. 

Semina  vidi  equidem  multos  medicare  serentes, 

et  nitro  prius  et  nigra  perfundere  amurca, 

grandior  ut  fetus  siliquis  fallacibus  esset,  195 

et  quamvis  igni  exiguo  properata  maderent. 

Vidi  lecta  diu  et  multo  spectata  labore 

degenerare  tamen,  ni  vis  humana  quotannis 

maxima  quaeque  manu  legeret.     Sic  omnia  fatis 

in  peius  ruere  ac  retro  sublapsa  referri,  200 

non  aliter  quam  qui  adverso  vix  flumine  lembum 

remigiis  subigit,  si  bracchia  forte  remisit, 

atque  ilium  praeceps  prono  rapit  alveus  amni. 

Praeterea  tam  sunt  Arcturi  sidera  nobis 
Haedorumque  dies  servandi  et  lucidus  Anguis,  205 

quam  quibus  in  patriam  ventosa  per  aequora  vectis 
Pontus  et  ostriferi  fauces  temptantur  Abydi. 
Libra  die  somnique  pares  ubi  fecerit  horas, 
et  medium  luci  atque  umbris  iam  dividit  orbem, 
exercete,  viri,  tauros,  serite  hordea  campis  210 

usque  sub  extremum  brumae  intractabilis  imbrem  ; 
nee  non  et  lini  segetem  et  Cereale  papaver 
tempus  humo  tegere  et  iamdudum  incumbere  aratris, 
dum  sicca  tellure  licet,  dum  nubila  pendent. 
Vere  fabis  satio ;   turn  te  quoque,  medica,  putres  215 

accipiunt  sulci,  et  milio  venit  annua  cura, 
candidus  auratis  aperit  cum  cornibus  annum 
Taurus,  et  adverso  cedens  Canis  occidit  astro. 
At  si  triticeam  in  messem  robustaque  farra 
exercebis  humum,  solisque  instabis  aristis,  220 

ante  tibi  Eoae  Atlantides  abscondantur 
Gnosiaque  ardentis  decedat  Stella  Coronae, 
debita  quam  sulcis  committas  semina  quamque 
invitae  properes  anni  spem  credere  terrae. 


LIBER  I.    186-263.  51 

Multi  ante  occasum  Maiae  coepere ;    sed  illos  225 

exspectata  seges  vanis  elusit  aristis. 

Si  vero  viciamque  seres  vilemque  phaselum, 

nee  Pelusiacae  curam  aspernabere  lentis, 

baud  obscura  cadens  mittet  tibi  signa  Bootes : 

incipe  et  ad  medias  sementem  extende  pruinas.  230 

Idcirco  certis  dimensum  paitibus  orbem 
per  duodena  regit  mundi  sol  aureus  astra. 
Quinque  tenent  caelum  zonae :    quarum  una  cornsco 
semper  sole  rubens  et  torrida  semper  ab  igni ; 
quam  circum  extremae  dextra  laevaque  trahuntur  235 

caeruleae,  glacie  concretae  atque  imbribus  atris; 
has  inter  mediamque  duae  mortalibus  aegris 
munere  concessae  divum,  et  via  secta  per  ambas, 
obliquus  qua  se  signorum  verteret  ordo. 

iNIundus,  ut  ad  Scythiam  Rhipaeasque  arduus  arces  240 

consurgit,  premitur  Libyae  devexus  in  austros. 
Hie  vertex  nobis  semper  sublimis;    at  ilium 
sub  pedibus  Styx  atra  videt  INIanesque  profundi. 
INIaximus  hie  flexu  sinuoso  elabitur  Anguis 
circum  perque  duas  in  morem  fluminis  Arctos,  245 

Arclos  Oceani  metuentes  aequore  tingi. 
Illic,  ut  perhibent,  aut  intempesta  silet  nox 
semper  et  obtenta  densentur  nocte  tenebrae; 
aut  redit  a  nobis  Aurora  diemque  reducit, 
nosque  ubi  primus  equis  Oriens  afflavit  anhelis,  250 

illic  sera  rubens  accendit  lumina  Vesper, 
hinc  tempestates  dubio  praediscere  caelo 
possumus,  hinc  messisque  diem  tempusque  screndi, 
et  quando  infidum  remis  impellere  marmor 
conveniat,  quando  armatas  deducere  classes,  255 

aut  tempestivam  silvis  evertere  pinum. 
Nee  frustra  signorum  obitus  speculamur  et  orlus 
temporibusque  parem  diversis  quattuor  annum. 

Frigidus  agricolam  si  quando  continet  imber, 
multa,  forent  quae  mox  caelo  properanda  sercno,  260 

maturare  datur  :    durum  procudit  arator 
vomeris  obtusi  dentem,  cavat  arbore  lintres, 
aut  pecori  signum  aut  numeros  impressit  acervis. 

D  2 


52  GEORGICA. 

Exacuunt  alii  vallos  furcasque  bicornes, 

atque  Amerina  parant  lentae  retinacula  viti.  265 

Nunc  facilis  rubea  texatur  fiscina  virga, 

nunc  torrete  igni  fiuges,  nunc  frangite  saxo. 

Quippe  etiam  festis  quaedam  exercere  diebus 

fas  et  iura  sinunt :    rivos  deducere  nulla 

religio  vetuit,  segeti  praetendere  saepem,  270 

insidias  avibus  moliri,  incendere  vepres, 

balantumque  gregem  fluvio  mersare  salubri. 

Saepe  oleo  tardi  costas  agitator  aselli 

vilibus  aut  onerat  pomis,  lapidemque  revertens 

incusum  aut  atrae  massam  picis  urbe  reportat.  275 

Ipsa  dies  alios  alio  dedit  ordine  Luna 
felices  operum.     Quintam  fuge  :    pallidus  Orcus 
Eumenidesque  satae ;    turn  partu  Terra  nefando 
Coeumque  lapetumque  creat  saevumque  Typhoea, 
et  coniuratos  caelum  rescindere  fratres.  280 

Ter  sunt  conati  imponere  Pelio  Ossam 
scilicet,  atque  Ossae  frondosum  involvere  Olympum ; 
ter  pater  exstructos  disiecit  fulmine  montes. 
Seplima  post  decimam  felix  et  ponere  vitem 
et  prensos  domitare  boves  et  licia  telae  2S5 

addere.     Nona  fugae  melior,  contraria  furtis. 

Multa  adeo  gelida  melius  se  nocte  dedere, 
aut  cum  sole  novo  terras  irrorat  Eous. 
Nocte  leves  melius  stipulae,  nocte  arida  prata 
londentur,  noctes  lentus  non  deficit  umor.  290 

Et  quidam  seros  hiberni  ad  luminis  ignes 
pervigilat,  ferroque  faces  inspicat  acuto  ; 
interea  longum  cantu  solata  laborem 
arguto  coniunx  percurrit  pectine  telas, 

aut  dulcis  musti  Vulcano  decoquit  umorem,  295 

et  foliis  undam  trepidi  despumat  aheni. 
At  rubicunda  Ceres  medio  succiditur  aestu, 
et  medio  tostas  aeslu  terit  area  fruges. 
Nudus  ara,  sere  nudus ;   hiemps  ignava  colono. 
Frigoribus  parte  agricolae  plerumque  fruuntur,  300 

mutuaque  inter  se  laeti  convivia  curant. 
Invitat  genialis  hiemps  curasque  resolvit, 


LIBER  I.   264-341.  ^'>, 

ceu  pressae  cum  iam  portum  teligere  carinae, 

puppibus  et  laeti  nautae  imposuere  coronas. 

Sed  tamen  et  quernas  glandes  turn  stringere  tempus  305 

et  lauri  bacas  oleamque  cruentaque  myrta, 

turn  gruibus  pedicas  et  retia  ponere  cervis 

auritosque  sequi  lepores,  turn  figere  dammas 

stuppea  torquentem  Balearis  verbera  fundae, 

cum  nix  alta  iacet,  glaciem  cum  flumina  trudunt.  310 

Quid  tempestates  autumni  et  sidera  dicam,      * 
atque,  ubi  iam  breviorque  dies  et  mollior  aestas, 
quae  vigilanda  viris;    vel  cum  ruit  imbriferum  ver, 
spicea  iam  campis  cum  messis  inhorruit  et  cum 
frumenta  in  viridi  stipula  lactentia  turgent?  315 

Saepe  ego,  cum  flavis  messorem  induceret  arvis 
agricola  et  fragili  iam  stringeret  hordea  culmo, 
omnia  ventorum  concurrere  proelia  vidi, 
quae  gravidam  late  segetem  ab  radicibus  imis 
sublimem  expulsam  eruerent,  ita  turbine  nigro  320 

ferret  hiemps  culmumque  levem  stipulasque  volantes. 
Saepe  etiam  immensum  caelo  venit  agmen  aquarum, 
et  foedam  glomerant  tempestatem  imbribus  atris 
collectae  ex  alto  nubes ;   ruit  arduus  aether, 
et  pluvia  ingenti  sata  laeta  boumque  labores  325 

diluit;   implentur  fossae  et  cava  flumina  crescunt 
cum  sonitu  fervetque  fretis  spirantibus  aequor. 
Ipse  Pater  media  nimborum  in  nocte  corusca 
fulmina  molitur  dextra :    quo  maxima  motu 
terra  tremit ;    fugere  ferae  et  mortalia  corda  330 

per  gentes  humilis  stravit  pavor  :    ille  flagranti 
aut  Athon  aut  Rhodopen  aut  alta  Ceraunia  telo 
deiicit;   ingeminant  Austri  et  densissimus  imber : 
nunc  nemora  ingenti  vento,  nunc  litora  plangunt. 
Hoc  metuens  caeli  menses  et  sidera  serva,  335 

frigida  Saturni  sese  quo  stella  receptet ; 
quos  ignis  caelo  Cyllenius  erret  in  orbes. 
In  primis  venerare  deos,  atque  annua  magnae 
sacra  refer  Cereri  laetis  operatus  in  herbis 
extremae  sub  casum  hiemis,  iam  vere  sereno.  340 

Turn  pingues  agni  et  turn  moUissima  vina, 


54  GEORGICA. 

turn  somni  dulces  densaeque  in  montibus  umbrae. 

Cuncta  tibi  Cererem  pubes  agrestis  adoret : 

cui  tu  lacte  favos  et  miti  dilue  Baccho, 

terque  novas  circum  felix  eat  hostia  fruges,  345 

omnis  quam  chorus  et  socii  comitentur  ovantes, 

et  Cererem  clamore  vocent  in  tecta;    neque  ante 

falcem  maturis  quisquam  supponat  aristis, 

quam  Cereri  torta  redimitus  tempora  .quercu 

det  motus  incompositos  et  carmina  dicat.  350 

Atque  haec  ut  certis  possemus  discere  signis, 
aestusque  pluviasque  et  agentes  frigora  ventos, 
ipse  Pater  statuit,  quid  menstrua  luna  moneret, 
quo  signo  caderent  Auslri,  quid  saepe  videntes 
agricolae  propius  stabulis  armenta  tenerent.  355 

Continue  ventis  surgentibus  aut  freta  ponti 
incipiunt  agitata  tumescere  et  aridus  altis 
montibus  audiri  fragor,  aut  resonantia  longe 
litora  misceri  et  nemorum  increbrescere  murmur, 
lam  sibi  tum  curvis  male  temperat  unda  carinis,  360 

cum  medio  celeres  revolant  ex  aequore  mergi 
clamoremque  ferunt  ad  litora,  cumque  marinae 
in  sicco  ludunt  fulicae,  notasque  paludes 
deserit  atque  altam  supra  volat  ardea  nubem. 
Saepe  etiam  Stellas  vento  impendente  videbis  365 

praecipites  caelo  labi,  noctisque  per  umbram 
flammarum  longos  a  tergo  albescere  tractus; 
saepe  levem  paleam  et  frondes  volitare  caducas, 
aut  summa  nantes  in  aqua  coUudere  plumas. 
At  Boreae  de  parte  trucis  cum  fulminat,  et  cum  37c 

Enrique  Zephyrique  tonat  domus,  omnia  plenis 
rura  natant  fossis,  atque  omnis  navita  ponto 
umida  vela  legit.     Numquam  imprudentibus  imber 
obfuit :    aut  ilium  surgentem  vallibus  imis 
aeriae  fugere  grues,  aut  bucula  caelum  375 

suspiciens  patulis  captavit  naribus  auras, 
aut  arguta  lacus  circumvolitavit  hirundo, 
et  veterem  in  limo  ranae  cecinere  querellam. 
Saepius  et  tectis  penetralibus  extulit  ova 
anguslum  formica  terens  iter,  et  bibit  ingens  580 


LIBER  I.  342-419-  00 

arcus,  et  e  pastu  decedens  agmine  magno 
corvorum  increpuit  densis  exercitus  alls. 
lam  variae  pelagi  volucres  et  quae  Asia  circum 
dulcibus  in  stagnis  rimantur  prata  Caystri, 
certatim  largos  umeris  infundere  rores :  385 

nunc  caput  obiectare  fretis,  nunc  currere  in  undas 
et  studio  incassum  videas  gestire  lavandi. 
Turn  cornix  plena  pluviam  vocat  improba  voce 
et  sola  in  sicca  secum  spatiatur  harena. 

Ne  nocturna  quidem  carpentes  pensa  puellae  390 

nescivere  hiemem,  testa  cum  ardente  viderent 
scintillare  oleum  et  putres  concrescere  fungos. 
Nee  minus  ex  imbri  soles  et  aperta  serena 
prospicere  et  certis  poteris  cognoscere  signis : 
nam  neque  tum  stellis  acies  obtusa  videtur,  395 

nee  fiatris  radiis  obnoxia  surgere  Luna, 
tenuia  nee  lanae  per  caelum  vellera  ferri ; 
non  tepidum  ad  solem  pennas  in  litore  pandunt 
dilectae  Thetidi  alcyones,  non  ore  solutos 
immundi  meminere  sues  iactare  maniplos.  400 

At  nebulae  magis  ima  petunt  campoque  recumbunt, 
solis  et  occasum  servans  de  culmine  summo 
nequiquam  seros  exercet  noctua  cantus. 
Apparet  liquido  sublimis  in  aere  Nisus, 

et  pro  purpureo  poenas  dat  Scylla  capillo  :  405 

quacumque  ilia  levem  fugiens  secat  aethera  pennis, 
ccce  inimicus  atrox  magno  stridore  per  auras 
insequitur  Nisus;    qua  se  fert  Nisus  ad  auras, 
ilia  levem  fugiens  raptim  secat  aethera  pennis, 
Tum  liquidas  corvi  presso  ter  gutture  voces  4to 

aut  quater  ingeminant,  et  saepe  cubilibus  altis 
nescio  qua  praeter  solitum  dulcedine  laeti 
inter  se  in  foliis  strepitant ;   iuvat  imbribus  actis 
progeniem  parvam  dulcesque  revisere  nidos : 
baud  equidem  credo,  quia  sit  divinitus  illis  415 

ingenium  aut  rcrum  fato  prudentia  maior; 
verum  ubi  tempestas  et  caeli  mobilis  umor 
mulavere  vias  et  luppiter  uvidus  Austris 
denset  crant  quae  rara  modo,  et  quae  densa  reiaxat. 


S6  GEO  KG  IC A. 

vertuntur  species  animorum,  et  pectora  motus  420 

nunc  alios,  alios  dum  nubila  venlus  agebat, 
concipiunt:   hinc  ille  avium  concentus  in  agiis 
et  laetae  pecudes  et  ovantes  gutture  corvi. 

Si  vero  solem  ad  rapidum  lunasque  sequentes 
ordine  respicies,  numquam  te  crastina  fallet  425 

hora,  neque  insidiis  noclis  capiere  serenae. 
Luna,  revertentes  cum  primum  colligit  ignes, 
si  nigrum  obscuro  comprenderit  aera  cornu, 
maximus  agricolis  pelagoque  parabitur  imber : 
at  si  virgineum  suffuderit  ore  ruborem,  430 

ventus  erit ;   vento  semper  rubet  aurea  Phoebe. 
Sin  ortu  quarto  (namque  is  certissimus  auctor) 
pura  neque  obtusis  per  caelum  cornibus  ibit, 
totus  et  ille  dies  et  qui  nascentur  ab  illo 
exactum  ad  mensem  pluvia  ventisque  carebunt,  435 

votaque  servati  solvent  in  litore  nautae 
Glauco  et  Panopeae  et  Inoo  Melicertae. 
Sol  quoque  et  exoriens  et  cum  se  condet  in  undas 
signa  dabit ;    solem  certissima  signa  sequuntur, 
et  quae  mane  refert  et  quae  surgentibus  astris.  440 

Ille  ubi  nascentem  maculis  variaverit  ortum 
conditus  in  nubem  medioque  refugerit  orbe, 
suspecti  tibi  sint  imbres;    namque  urget  ab  alto 
arboribusque  satisque  Notus  pecorique  sinister. 
Aut  ubi  sub  lucem  densa  inter  nubila  sese  445 

diversi  rumpent  radii,  aut  ubi  pallida  surget 
Tithoni  croceum  linquens  Aurora  cubile, 
heu  male  turn  mites  defendet  pampinus  uvas ; 
tam  multa  in  tectis  crepitans  salit  horrida  grando. 
hoc  etiam,  emenso  cum  iam  decedit  Olympo,  450 

profuerit  meminisse  magis ;    nam  saepe  videmus 
ipsius  in  vultu  varios  errare  colores ; 
caeruleus  pluviam  denuntiat,  igneus  Euros ; 
sin  maculae  incipient  rutilo  immiscerier  igni, 
omnia  tum  pariter  vento  nimbisque  videbis  455 

fervere.     Non  ilia  quisquam  me  nocte  per  altum 
ire  neque  a  terra  moneat  convellere  funem. 
At  si,  cum  referetque  diem  condetque  relatum, 


LIBER  I.  420-497.  57 

lucidus  orbis  erit,  fiustra  terrebere  nimbis, 

et  claro  silvas  cernes  Aquilone  moveri.  460 

Denique  quid  vesper  serus  vehat,  unde  serenas 

ventus  agat  nubes,  quid  cogitet  umidus  Auster, 

sol  tibi  signa  dabit.     Solem  quis  dicere  falsum 

audeat?     Ille  etiam  caecos  instare  tumultus 

saepe  monet  fraudemque  et  operta  tumescere  bella.  465 

Ille  etiam  exstincto  miseratus  Caesare  Romam, 

cum  caput  obscura  nitidum  ferrugine  texit, 

impiaque  aeternam  timuerunt  saecula  noctem. 

Tempore  quamquam  illo  tellus  quoque  et  aequora  ponti 

obscenaeque  canes  importunaeque  volucres  470 

signa  dabant.     Quotiens  Cyclopum  effervere  in  agros 

vidimus  undantem  ruptis  fornacibus  Aetnam, 

flammarumque  globos  liquefactaque  volvere  saxal 

Armorum  sonitum  toto  Germania  caelo 

audiit,  insolitis  tremuerunt  motibus  Alpes.  475 

Vox  quoque  per  lucos  vulgo  exaudita  silentes 

ingens,  et  simulacra  modis  pallentia  miris 

visa  sub  obscurum  noctis,  pecudesque  locutae 

infandum  I    sistunt  amnes  terraeque  dehiscunt, 

et  maestum  illacrimat  templis  ebur  aeraque  sudant.  480 

Proluit  insano  contorquens  vertice  silvas 

fluviorum  rex  Eridanus,  camposque  per  omnes 

cum  stabulis  armenta  tulit.     Nee  tempore  eodem 

tristibus  aut  extis  fibrae  apparere  minaces 

aut  puteis  manare  cruor  cessavit,  et  altae  485 

per  noctem  resonare  lupis  ululantibus  urbes. 

Non  alias  caelo  ceciderunt  plura  sereno 

fulgura,  nee  diri  totiens  arsere  cometae. 

Ergo  inter  sese  paribus  concurrere  telis 

Romanas  acies  iterum  videre  Philippi;  49c 

nee  fuit  indignum  superis,  bis  sanguine  nostro 

Emathiam  et  latos  Haemi  pinguescere  campos. 

Scilicet  et  tempus  veniet,  cum  finibus  illis 

agricola  incurve  terram  molilus  aratro 

exesa  inveniet  scabra  robigine  pila,  495 

aut  gravibus  rastris  galeas  pulsabit  inanes, 

grandiaque  effossis  mirabitur  ossa  sepulcris. 


58  GEORGICA. 

Di  patrii,  Indigetes,  et  Romule  Vestaque  mater, 

quae  Tuscum  Tiberim  et  Romana  Palatia  servas, 

hunc  saltern  everso  iuvenem  succurrere  saeclo  5°° 

ne  prohibete.     Satis  iam  pridem  sanguine  nostro 

Laomedonteae  luimus  periuria  Troiae, 

iam  pridem  nobis  caeli  te  regia,  Caesar, 

invidet,  atque  hominum  queritur  curare  triumphos, 

quippe  ubi  fas  versum  atque  nefas  :   tot  bella  per  orbem,  505 

tarn  multae  scelerum  facies,  non  ullus  aratro 

dignus  honos,  squalent  abductis  arva  colonis, 

et  curvae  rigidum  fakes  conflantur  in  ensem. 

Hinc  movet  Euphrates,  illinc  Germania  bellum; 

vicinae  ruptis  inter  se  legibus  urbes  £10 

arma  ferunt;    saevit  toto  Mars  impius  orbe: 

ut  cum  carceribus  sese  effudere  quadrigae, 

addunt  in  spatia,  et  frustra  retinacula  tendens 

fertur  equis  auriga,  neque  audit  currus  habenas. 


G  E  O  R  G  I  C  A. 


LIBER   SECUNDUS. 

Hactexus  arvorum  culius  et  sidera  caeli; 

nunc  te,  Bacche,  canam,  nee  non  silvestria  tecum 

virgulta  et  prolem  tarde  crescentis  olivae. 

Hue,  pater  o  Lenaee;  tuis  hie  omnia  plena 

muneribus,  tibi  pampineo  gravidus  autumno  5 

floret  ager,  spumat  plenis  vindemia  labris ; 

hue,  pater  o  Lenaee,  veni,  nudataque  musto 

tingue  novo  niecum  dereptis  crura  cothurnis. 

Principio  arboribus  varia  est  natura  creandis. 
Namque  aliae  nullis  hominum  cogentibus  ipsae  10 

sponte  sua  veniunt  camposque  et  flumina  late 
curva  tenent,  ut  molle  siler,  lentaeque  genistae, 
populus  et  glauca  canentia  fronde  salicta; 
pars  autem  posito  surgunt  de  semine,  ut  altae 
castaneae,  nemorumque  lovi  quae  maxima  frondet  15 

aesculus,  atque  habitae  Oralis  oracula  quercus. 
Pullulat  ab  radice  aliis  densissima  silva, 
ut  cerasis  ulraisque  ;    etiam  Parnasia  laurus 
parva  sub  ingenti  matris  se  subiicit  umbra. 
Hos  natura  modos  primum  dedit,  his  genus  onine  20 

silvarum  fruticumque  viret  nemorumque  sacrorum. 

Sunt  alii,   quos  ipse  via  sibi  repperit  usus. 
Hie  plantas  tenero  abscindens  de  corpore  matrum 
deposuit  sulcis;   hie  stirpes  obruit  arvo 

quadrifidasque  sudes  et  acuto  robore  vallos.  25 

Silvarumque  aliae  pressos  propaginis  arcus 
exspectant  et  viva  sua  plantaria  terra ; 
nil  radicis  egent  aliae,  summumque  putator 


6o  CEORGICA. 

baud  dubitat  terrae  referens  mandare  cacumen. 

Quin  et  caudicibus  sectis  (mirabile  dictu)  3° 

truditur  e  sicco  radix  oleagina  ligno. 

Et  saepe  alterius  ramos  impune  videmus 

vertere  in  alterius,  mutatamque  insita  mala 

fene  pirum,  et  prunis  lapidosa  rubescere  corna. 

Quare  agite  o  proprios  generatim  discite  cultus  35 

agricolae,  fructusque  feros  mollite  colendo, 
neu  segnes  iaceant  terrae.     luvat  Ismara  Baccho 
conserere  atque  olea  magnum  vestire  Taburnum. 
Tuque  ades,  inceptumque  una  decurre  laborem, 
o  decus,  o  famae  merito  pars  maxima  nostrae,  4° 

Maecenas,  pelagoque  volans  da  vela  patenti. 
Non  ego  cuncta  meis  amplecti  versibus  opto, 
non,  mihi  si  linguae  centum  sint  oraque  centum, 
ferrea  vox.     Ades  et  primi  lege  litoris  oram ; 
in  manibus  terrae  :    non  hie  te  carmine  ficto  45 

atque  per  ambages  et  longa  exorsa  tenebo. 

Sponte  sua  quae  se  tollunt  in  luminis  oras, 
infecunda  quidem,  sed  laeta  et  fortia  surgunt ; 
quippe  solo  natura  subest.     Tamen  haec  quoque,  si  quis 
inserat  aut  scrobibus  mandet  mutata  subactis,  50 

exuerint  silvestrem  animum,  cuUuque  frequenti 
in  quascumque  voles  artes  baud  tarda  sequentur. 
Nee  non  et  sterilis  quae  stirpibus  exit  ab  imis, 
hoc  faciat,  vacuos  si  sit  digesta  per  agros : 
nunc  altae  frondes  et  rami  matris  opacant  55 

crescentique  adimunt  fetus  uruntque  ferentem. 
lam,  quae  seminibus  iactis  se  sustulit  arbos, 
tarda  venit  seris  factura  nepotibus  umbram, 
pomaque  degenerant  sucos  oblita  priores, 
et  turpes  avibus  praedam  fert  uva  racemos.  Co 

Scilicet  omnibus  est  labor  impendendus,  et  omnes 
cogendae  in  sulcum  ac  multa  mercede  domandae. 
Sed  truncis  oleae  melius,  propagine-vites 
respondent,  solido  Paphiae  de  robore  myrtus; 
plantis  et  durae  coryli  nascuntur,  et  ingens  65 

fraxinus,  Herculeaeque  arbos  umbrosa  coronae, 
Cbaoniique  Patris  glandes ;   etiam  ardua  palma 


LIBER  //.   29-106.  61 

nascitur  et  casus  abies  visura  marinos. 

Inseritur  vero  et  fetu  nucis  arbutus  horrida, 
et  steriles  platani  malos  gessere  valentes;  70 

castaneae  fagus,  ornusque  incanuit  albo 
flora  piri,  glandemque  sues  fregere  sub  ulmis. 
Nee  modus  inserere  atque  oculos  imponere  simplex. 
Nam  qua  se  medio  trudunt  de  cortice  gemmae 
et  tenues  rumpunt  tunicas,  angustus  in  ipso  75 

fit  nodo  sinus:   hue  aliena  ex  arbore  germen 
includunt  udoque  decent  inolescere  libro  : 
aut  rursum  enodes  trunci  resecantur,  et  alte 
finditur  in  solidum  cuneis  via,  deinde  feraces 
plantae  immittuntur  :    nee  longum  tempus,  et  ingens  80 

exiit  ad  caelum  ramis  felicibus  arbos, 
miraturque  novas  frondes  et  non  sua  poma. 

Praeterea  genus  baud  unum  nee  fortibus  ulmis 
nee  salici  lotoque  neque  Idaeis  cyparissis, 
nee  pingues  unam  in  faciem  nascuntur  olivae,  85 

orchades  et  radii  et  amara  pausia  baca, 
pomaque  et  Alcinoi  silvae,  nee  surculus  idem 
Crustumiis  Syriisque  piris  gravibusque  volaemis. 
Non  eadem  arboribus  pendet  vindemia  nostris, 
quam  Methymnaeo  carpit  de  palmite  Lesbos ;  90 

sunt  Thasiae  vites,  sunt  et  Mareotides  albae, 
pinguibus  hae  terris  habiles,  levioribus  illae, 
et  passo  psithia  utilior  tenuisque  lageos 
temptatura  pedes  olim  vincturaque  linguam, 
purpureae  preciaeque,  et  quo  te  carmine  dicam,  95 

Rhaetica?     Nee  cellis  ideo  eontende  Falernis. 
Sunt  et  Amineae  vites,  firmissima  vina, 
Tmolius  assurgit  quibus  et  rex  ipse  Phanaeus; 
Argitisque  minor,  cui  non  certaverit  ulla 
aut  tantum  fluere  aut  totidem  durare  per  annos.  100 

Non  ego  te,  dis  et  mensis  accepta  secundis, 
transierim,  Rhodia,  et  tumidis,  bumaste,  racemis. 
Sed  neque  quam  multae  species,  nee  nomina  quae  sint, 
est  numerus  :   neque  enim  numero  comprendere  refert ; 
quern  qui  scire  velit,  Libyci  velit  aequoris  idem  105 

discere  quam  multae  Zephyro  turbenlur  harenae, 


62  GEORGICA. 

aut  ubi  navigiis  violentior  incidit  Eurus, 
nosse  quot  lonii  veniant  ad  litora  fluclus. 

Nee  veio  terrae  ferre  omnes  omnia  possunt. 
Fluminibus  salices  crassisque  paludibus  alni  no 

nascuntur,  steriles  saxosis  montibus  orni ; 
litora  myrtetis  laetissima ;    denique  apertos 
Bacchus  amat  colles,  Aquilonem  et  frigora  taxi. 
Aspice  et  extremis  domitum  cultoribus  orbem 
Eoasque  domos  Arabum  pictosque  Gelonos;  115 

divisae  arboribus  patriae.     Sola  India  nigrum 
fert  hebenum,  solis  est  turea  virga  Sabaeis. 
Quid  tibi  odorato  referam  sudantia  ligno 
balsamaque  et  bacas  semper  frondentis  acanthi? 
Quid  nemora  Aethiopum  molli  canentia  lana,  120 

velleraque  ut  foliis  depectant  tenuia  Seres ; 
aut  quos  Oceano  propior  gerit  India  lucos, 
extremi  sinus  orbis,  ubi  aera  vincere  summum 
arboris  baud  ullae  iactu  potuere  sagittae  ? 
Et  gens  ilia  quidem  sumptis  non  tarda  pharetris.  125 

Media  fert  tristes  sucos  tardumque  saporem 
felicis  mali,  quo  non  praesentius  ullum, 
pocula  si  quando  saevae  infecere  novercae, 
[miscueruntque  herbas  et  non  innoxia  verba,] 
auxilium  venit  ac  membris  agit  atra  venena.  130 

Ipsa  ingens  arbos  faciemque  simillima  lauro ; 
et,  si  non  alium  late  iactaret  odorem, 
laurus  erat :    folia  baud  ullis  labentia  ventis ; 
flos  ad  prima  tenax ;    animas  et  olentia  Medi 
ora  fovent  illo  et  senibus  medicantur  anhelis.  15c 

Sed  neque  Medorum  silvae,  ditissima  terra, 
nee  puleher  Ganges  atque  auro  turbidus  Hermus 
laudibus  Italiae  eertent,  non  Bactra  neque  Indi 
totaque  turiferis  Panchaia  pinguis  harenis. 
Haec  loea  non  tauri  spirantes  naribus  ignem  140 

invertere  satis  immanis  dentibus  hydri, 
nee  galeis  densisque  virum  seges  horruit  hastis; 
sed  gravidae  fruges  et  Bacchi  Massicus  umor 
implevere;    tenent  oleae  armentaque  laeta. 
Hinc  bellator  equus  campo  sese  arduus  infert;  145 


LIBER  II,    107-184.  d^ 

hinc  albi,  Clitumne,  greges  et  maxima  taurus 

victima,  saepe  tuo  perfusi  flumine  sacro, 

Romanes  ad  templa  deum  duxere  triumphos. 

Hie  ver  assiduum  atque  alienis  mensibus  aestas : 

bis  gravidae  pecudes,  bis  pomis  utilis  arbos.  150 

At  rabidae  tigres  absunt  et  saeva  leonum 

semina,  nee  miseros  fallunt  aconita  legentes, 

nee  rapit  immensos  orbes  per  humum,  neque  tanto 

squameus  in  spiram  tractu  se  coUigit  anguis. 

Adde  tot  egregias  urbes  operumque  laborem,  155 

tot  congesta  manu  praeruptis  oppida  saxis 

fluminaque  antiques  subterlabentia  muros. 

An  mare  quod  supra  memorem,  quodque  alluit  infra? 

Anne  lacus  tantos;    te,  Lari  maxime,  teque, 

fluetibus  et  fremitu  assurgens  Benace  marino?  160 

An  memorem  portus  Luerinoque  addita  claustra 

atque  indignatum  magnis  stridoribus  aequor, 

lulia  qua  ponto  longe  sonat  unda  refuso 

Tyrrhenusque  fretis  immittitur  aestus  Avernis? 

Haee  eadem  argenti  rivos  aerisque  metalla  165 

ostendit  venis  atque  auro  plurima  fluxit. 

Haee  genus  acre  virum  Marsos  pubemque  Sabellam 

assuetumque  malo  Ligurem  Volscosque  verutos 

extulit,  haee  Decios  Marios  magnosque  Camillos, 

Scipiadas  duros  bello  et  te,  maxime  Caesar,  170 

qui  nunc  extremis  Asiae  iam  victor  in  oris 

imbellem  avertis  Romanis  arcibus  Indum. 

Salve,  magna  parens  frugum,  Saturnia  tellus,  * 

magna  virum :   tibi  res  antiquae  laudis  et  artis 

ingredior  sanctos  ausus  recludere  fontes,  175 

Ascraeumque  cano  Romana  per  oppida  carmen. 

Nunc  locus  arvorum  ingeniis,  quae  robora  cuique, 
quis  color,  et  quae  sit  rebus  natura  ferendis. 
Difficiles  primum  terrae  collesque  maligni, 
tenuis  ubi  argilla  et  dumosis  calculus  arvis,  180 

Palladia  gaudent  silva  vivacis  olivae. 
Indieio  est  tractu  surgens  oleaster  eodem 
plurimus  et  strali  bacis  silvestribus  agri. 
At  quae  pinguis  humus  dulcique  uligine  laeta, 


64  GEORGICA. 

quique  frequens  herbis  et  fertilis  ubere  campus  185 

(qualem  saepe  cava  montis  convalle  solemus 

despicere :    hue  summis  liquuntur  rupibus  amnes 

felicemque  trahunt  limum)  quique  editus  Austro 

et  filicem  curvis  invisam  pascit  aratris : 

hie  tibi  praevalidas  olim  multoque  fluentes  190 

sufficiet  Baccho  vites,  hie  fertilis  uvae, 

hie  laticis,  qualem  pateris  libamus  et  auro, 

inflavit  cum  pinguis  ebur  Tyrrhenus  ad  aras, 

lancibus  et  pandis  fumantia  reddimus  exta. 

Sin  armenta  magis  stadium  vitulosque  tueri,  195 

aut  fetus  ovium  aut  urentes  culta  capellas, 

saltus  et  saturi  petito  longinqua  Tarenti, 

et  qualem  infelix  amisit  Mantua  campum 

pascentem  niveos  herboso  flumine  cycnos : 

non  liquidi  gregibus  fontes,  non  gramina  deerunt;  200 

et  quantum  longis  carpent  armenta  diebus, 

exigua  tantum  gelidus  ros  nocte  reponet. 

Nigra  fere  et  presso  pinguis  sub  vomere  terra, 

et  cui  putre  solum  (namque  hoc  imitamur  arando), 

optima  frumentis  :    non  ullo  ex  aequore  cernes  205 

plura  domum  tardis  decedere  plaustra  iuvencis. 

Aut  unde  iratus  silvam  devexit  arator 

et  nemora  evertit  multos  ignava  per  annos, 

anliquasque  domos  avium  cum  stirpibus  imis 

eruit:    illae  altum  nidis  petiere  relictis,  210 

at  rudis  enituit  impulso  vomere  campus. 

Nam  ieiuna  quidem  clivosi  glarea  ruris 

vix  humiles  apibus  casias  roremque  ministrat ; 

et  tofus  scaber  et  nigris  exesa  chelydris 

creta  negant  alios  aeque  serpentibus  agros  215 

dulcem  ferre  cibum  et  curvas  praebere  latebras. 

Quae  tenuem  exhalat  nebulam  fumosque  volucres, 

et  bibit  umorem  et,  cum  vult,  ex  se  ipsa  remittit, 

quaeque  suo  semper  viridi  se  gramine  vestit, 

nee  scabie  et  salsa  laedit  robigine  ferrum,  320 

ilia  tibi  laetis  intexet  vitibus  ulmos, 

ilia  fe'ax  oleo  est,  illam  experiere  eolendo 

et  facilem  pecori  et  patientem  vomeris  unci. 


LIBER  IT.    185-262.  65 

Talem  dives  arat  Capua  et  vicina  Vesevo 

ora  iugo  et  vacuis  Clanius  non  aequus  Acerris.  225 

Nunc  quo  quamque  modo  possis  cognoscere  dicam. 
Rara  sit  an  supra  morem  si  densa  requires, 
altera  frumentis  quoniam  favet,  altera  Baccho, 
densa  magis  Cereri,  rarissima  quaeque  Lyaeo: 
ante  locum  capies  oculis,  alteque  iubebis  230 

in  solido  puteum  demitti,  omnemque  repones 
rursus  humum  et  pedibus  summas  aequabis  harenas. 
Si  deerunt,  rarum  pecorique  et  vitibus  almis 
aptius  uber  erit;   sin  in  sua  posse  negabunt 
ire  loca  et  scrobibus  superabit  terra  repletis,  335 

spissus  ager :    glaebas  cunctantes  crassaque  terga 
exspecta  et  validis  terram  proscinde  iuvencis. 
Salsa  autem  tellus  et  quae  perhibetur  amara 
(frugibus  infelix  ea,  nee  mansuescit  arando, 
nee  Baccho  genus  aut  pomis  sua  nomina  servat),  240 

tale  dabit  specimen :    tu  spisso  vimine  qualos 
colaque  prelorum  fumosis  deripe  tectis; 
hue  ager  ille  malus  dulcesque  a  fontibus  undae 
ad  plenum  calcentur :    aqua  eluctabitur  omnis 
scilicet  et  grandes  ibunt  per  vimina  guttae ;  245 

at  sapor  indicium  faciet  manifestus,  et  ora 
tristia  temptantum  sensu  torquebit  amaro. 
Pinguis  item  quae  sit  tellus,  hoc  denique  pacto 
discimus  :    baud  umquam  manibus  iactata  fatiscit, 
sed  picis  in  morem  ad  digitos  lentescit  habendo,  250 

Umida  maiores  herbas  alit,  ipsaque  iusto 
laetior.     Ah,  nimium  ne  sit  mihi  fertilis  ilia 
neu  se  praevalidam  primis  ostendat  aristis ! 
Quae  gravis  est  ipso  tacitam  se  pondere  prodit, 
quaeque  levis.     Promptum  est  oculis  praediscere  nigram,    255 
et  quis  cui  color.     At  sceleratum  exquirere  frigus 
difficile  est:    piceae  tantum  taxique  nocentes 
interdum  aut  hederae  pandunt  vestigia  nigrae. 

His  animadversis  terram  multo  ante  memento 
excoquere  et  magnos  scrobibus  concidere  monies,  260 

ante  supinatas  Aquiloni  ostendere  glaebas, 
quam  laetum  infodias  vitis  genus.     Optima  putri 

E 


66  GEORGICA. 

arva  solo :    id  venti  curant  gelidaeque  pruinae 

et  labefacta  movens  robustus  iugera  fossor. 

At  si  quos  baud  uUa  viros  vigilantia  fugit,  265 

ante  locum  similem  exquirunt,  ubi  prima  paretur 

arboribus  seges,  et  quo  mox  digesta  feratur, 

mutatam  ignorent  subito  ne  semina  matrem. 

Quin  etiam  caeli  regionem  in  cortice  signant, 

ut  quo  quaeque  mode  steterit,  qua  parte  calores  270 

austrinos  tulerit,  quae  terga  obverterit  axi, 

restituant :    adeo  in  teneris  consuescere  muUum  est. 

CoUibus  an  piano  melius  sit  ponere  vitem, 

quaere  prius.     Si  pinguis  agros  metabere  campi, 

densa  sere:    in  denso  non  segnior  ubere  Bacchus.  275 

Sin  tumulis  acclive  solum  collesque  supinos, 

indulge  ordinibus ;    nee  setius  omnis  in  unguem 

arboribus  positis  secto  via  limite  quadret : 

ut  saepe  ingenti  bello  cum  longa  cohortes 

explicuit  legio,  et  campo  stetit  agmen  aperto,  2S0 

directaeque  acies,  ac  late  fluctuat  omnis 

aere  renidenti  tellus,  necdum  horrida  miscent 

proelia,  sed  dubius  mediis  Mars  errat  in  armis. 

Omnia  sint  paribus  numeris  dimensa  viarum  ; 

non  animum  modo  uti  pascat  prospectus  inanem,  2S5 

sed  quia  non  aliter  vires  dabit  omnibus  aequas 

terra,  neque  in  vacuum  poterunt  se  extendere  rami. 

Forsitan  et  scrobibus  quae  sint  fastigia  quaeras  : 
ausim  vel  tenui  vitem  committere  sulco. 

Altior  ac  penitus  terrae  defigitur  arbos,  290 

aesculus  in  primis,  quae  quantum  vertice  ad  auras  - 

aetherias,  tantum  radice  in  Tartara  tendit. 
Ergo  non  hiemes  illam,  non  flabra  neque  imbres 
convellunt :    immota  manet,  multosque  nepotes, 
multa  virum  volvens  durando  saecula  vincit.  -^  295 

Tum  fortes  late  ramos  et  bracchia  tendens 
hue  illuc  media  ipsa  ingentem  sustinet  umbram. 

Neve  tibi  ad  solem  vergant  vineta  cadentem, 
neve  inter  vites  corylum  sere;    neve  flagella 
summa  pete  aut  summa  defringe  ex  arbore  plantas  300 

(tanlus  amor  terrae)  neu  ferro  laede  retunso 


LIBER  11.   263-340.  67 

semina,  neve  oleae  silvestres  insere  truncos: 

nam  saepe  incautis  pastoribus  excidit  ignis, 

qui  furtim  pingui  primum  sub  cortice  tectus 

robora  comprendit,  frondesque  elapsus  in  altas  305 

ingentem  caelo  sonitum  dedit ;   inde  secutus 

per  ramos  victor  perque  alta  cacumina  regnat, 

et  totum  involvit  flammis  nemus  et  ruit  atram 

ad  caelum  picea  crassus  caligine  nubem, 

praesertim  si  tempestas  a  vertice  silvis  310 

incubuit,  glomeratque  ferens  incendia  ventus. 

Hoc  ubi,  non  a  stirpe  valent  caesaeque  reverti 

possunt  atque  ima  similes  revirescere  terra. 

Infelix  superat  foliis  oleaster  amaris. 

Nee  tibi  tam  prudens  quisquam  persuadeat  auctor  315 

tellurem  Borea  rigidam  spirante  moveri. 
Rura  gelu  tum  claudit  hiemps,  nee  semine  iacto 
concretam  patitur  radicem  affigere  terrae. 
Optima  vinetis  satio,  cum  vere  rubenti 

Candida  venit  avis  longis  invisa  colubris,  320 

prima  vel  autumni  sub  frigora,  cum  rapidus  Sol 
nondum  hiemem  contingit  equis,  iam  praeterit  aestas. 
Ver  adeo  frondi  nemorum,  ver  utile  silvis; 
vere  tument  terrae  et  genitalia  semina  poscunt. 
Tum  pater  omnipotens  fecundis  imbribus  Aether  325 

coniugis  in  gremium  laetae  descendit,  et  omnes 
magnus  alit  magno  commixtus  corpore  fetus. 
Avia  tum  resonant  avibus  virgulta  canoris, 
et  Venerem  certis  repetunt  armenta  diebus; 
parturit  almus  ager,  Zephyrique  tepentibus  auris  330 

laxant  arva  sinus ;    superat  tener  omnibus  umor ; 
inque  novos  soles  audent  se  gramina  tuto 
credere,  nee  metuit  surgentes  pampinus  Austros 
aut  actum  caelo  magnis  Aquilonibus  imbrem, 
sed  trudit  gemmas  et  frondes  explicat  omnes.  335 

Non  alios  prima  crescentis  origine  mundi 
illuxisse  dies  aliumve  habuisse  tenorem 
crediderim :    ver  illud  erat,  ver  magnus  agebat 
orbis,  et  hibernis  parcebant  flatibus  Euri, 
cum  primae  lucem  pccudes  hausere,  virumque  340 

E  2 


68  GEORGICA. 

ferrea  progenies  duris  caput  extulit  arvis, 

immissaeque  ferae  silvis  et  sidera  caelo. 

Nee  res  hunc  tenerae  possent  perferre  laborem, 

si  non  tanta  quies  iret  frigusque  caloremque 

inter,  et  exciperet  caeli  indulgentia  terras,  .^45 

Quod  superest,  quaecumque  premes  virgulta  per  agros, 
sparge  fimo  pingui,  et  multa  memor  occule  terra, 
aut  lapidem  bibulum  aut  squalentes  infode  conchas : 
inter  enim  labentur  aquae,  tenuisque  subibit 
halitus,  atque  aninios  tollent  sata.     lamque  reperli,  350 

qui  saxo  super  atque  ingentis  pondere  testae 
urgerent :   hoc  effusos  munimen  ad  imbres, 
hoc,  ubi  hiulca  siti  findit  Canis  aestifer  arva. 

Seminibus  positis  superest  diducere  terram 
saepius  ad  capita  et  duros  iactare  bidentes,  355 

aut  presso  exercere  solum  sub  vomere  et  ipsa 
flectere  luctantes  inter  vineta  iuvencos ; 
turn  leves  calamos  et  rasae  hastilia  virgae 
fraxineasque  aptare  sudes  furcasque  valentes, 
viribus  eniti  quarum  et  contemnere  ventos  360 

assuescant  summasque  sequi  tabulata  per  ulmos. 

Ac  dum  prima  novis  adolescit  frondibus  aetas, 
parcendum  teneris,  et  dum  se  laetus  ad  auras 
palmes  agit  laxis  per  purum  immissus  habenis, 
ipsa  acie  nondum  falcis  temptanda,  sed  uncis  365 

carpendae  manibus  frondes  interque  legendae. 
Inde  ubi  iam  validis  amplexae  stirpibus  ulmos 
exierint,  turn  stringe  comas,  tum  bracchia  tonde 
(ante  reformidant  ferrum),  tum  denique  dura 
exerce  imperia  et  ramos  compesce  fluentes.  37° 

Texendae  saepes  etiam  et  pecus  omne  tenendum, 
praecipue  dum  frons  tenera  imprudensque  laborum ; 
cui  super  indignas  hiemes  solemque  potentem 
silvestres  uri  assidue  capreaeque  sequaces 
illudunt,  pascuntur  oves  avidaeque   iuvencae.  375 

Frigora  nee  tantum  cana  concreta  pruina 
aut  gravis  incumbens  scopulis  arentibus  acstas, 
quantum  illi  nocuere  greges  durique  venenum 
denlis  et  admorso  signata  in  slirpe  cicatrix. 


LIBER  II.  341-418.  69 

Non  aliam  ob  culpam  Baccho  caper  omnibus  oris  380 

caeditur  et  veteres  ineunt  proscaenia  ludi, 

praemiaque  in  gentes  pagos  et  compita  circum 

Thesidae  posuere,  atque  inter  pocula  laeti 

mollibus  in  pratis  unctos  saluere  per  utres. 

Nee  non  Ausonii  Troia  gens  missa  coloni  3S5 

versibus  incomptis  ludunt  risuque  soluto, 

oraque  corticibus  sumunt  horrenda  cavatis, 

et  te,  Bacche,  vocant  per  carmina  laeta,  tibique 

oscilla  ex  alta  suspendunt  moUia  pinu. 

Hinc  omnis  largo  pubescit  vinea  fetu,  390 

complentur  vallesque  cavae  sallusque  profundi 

et  quocumque  deus  circum  caput  egit  honeslum. 

Ergo  rite  suum  Baccho  dicemus  honorem 

carminibus  patriis,  lancesque  et  liba  feremus, 

et  ductus  cornu  stabit  sacer  hircus  ad  aram,  395 

pinguiaque  in  veribus  torrebimus  exta  colurnis. 

Est  etiani  ille  labor  curandis  vitibus  alter, 
cui  numquam  exhausti  satis  est :    namque  omne  quotannis 
terque  quaterque  solum  scindendum  glaebaque  versis 
aeternum  frangenda  bidentibus,  omne  levandum  400 

fronde  nemus.     Redit  agricolis  labor  actus  in  orbem, 
atque  in  se  sua  per  vestigia  volvitur  annus, 
Ac  iam  olim,  seras  posuit  cum  vinea  frondes 
frigidus  et  silvis  Aquilo  decussit  honorem, 
iam  turn  acer  curas  venientem  extendit  in  annum  405 

rusticus,  et  curvo  Saturni  dente  relictam 
persequilur  vitem  attondens  fingitque  putando. 
Primus  humum  fodito,  primus  devecta  cremato 
sarmenta,  et  vallos  primus  sub  tecta  referto ; 
postremus  metito.     Bis  vitibus  ingruit  umbra,  410 

bis  segetem  densis  obducunt  sentibus  herbae ; 
durus  uterque  labor :   laudato  ingentia  rura, 
exiguum  colito.     Nee  non  etiam  aspera  rusci 
vimina  per  silvam  et  ripis  fiuvialis  harundo 
caeditur,  incultique  exercet  cura  salicti.  415 

Iam  vinctae  vites,  iam  falcem  arbusta  reponunt_, 
iam  canit  eftectos  extremus  vinitor  antes  : 
soUicitanda  tamen  tellus  pulvisquc  movendus, 


70  GEORGICA. 

et  iam  maturis  metuendus  luppiter  uvis. 

Contra  non  ulla  est  oleis  cultura :    neque  illae  420 

procurvam  expectant  falcem  rastrosque  tenaces, 
cum  semel  haeserunt  arvis  aurasque  tulerunt ; 
ipsa  satis  tellus,  cum  dente  recludilur  unco, 
sufficit  umorem  et  gravidas  cum  vomere  frugcs. 
Hoc  pinguem  et  placitam  Paci  nutritur  olivam.  425 

Poma  quoque,  ut  primum  truncos  sensere  valentes 
et  vires  habuere  suas,  ad  sidera  raptim 
vi  propria  nituntur  opisque  hand  indiga  nostrae. 
Nee  minus  interea  fetu  nemus  omne  gravescit, 
sanguineisque  inculta  rubent  aviaria  bacis.  43° 

Tondentur  cytisi,  taedas  silva  alta  ministrat, 
pascunturque  ignes  nocturni  et  lumina  fundunt. 
Et  dubitant  homines  serere  atque  impendere  curam? 
Quid  maiora  sequar?    Salices  humilesque  genistae 
aut  illae  pecori  frondem  aut  pastoribus  umbram  435 

sufficiunt  saepemque  satis  et  pabula  melli. 
Et  iuvat  undantem  buxo  spectare  Cytorum 
Naryciaeque  picis  lucos,  iuvat  arva  videre 
non  rastris,  hominum  non  ulli  obnoxia  curae. 
Ipsae  Caucaseo  steriles  in  vertice  silvae,  ^(O 

quas  animosi  Euri  assidue  franguntque  feruntque, 
dant  alios  aliae  fetus,  dant  utile  lignum 
navigiis  pinos,  domibus  cedrumque  cupressosque. 
Hinc  radios  trivere  rotis,  hinc  tympana  plaustris 
agricolae,  et  pandas  ratibus  posuere  carinas.  445 

Viminibus  salices,  fecundae  frondibus  ulmi, 
at  myrtus  validis  hastilibus  et  bona  bello 
cornus,  Ituraeos  taxi  torquentur  in  arcus. 
Nee  tiliae  leves  aut  torno  rasile  buxum 

non  formam  accipiunt  ferroque  cavantur  acuto.  450 

Nee  non  et  torrentem  undam  levis  innatat  alnus 
missa  Pado;    nee  non  et  apes  examina  condunt 
corticibusque  cavis  vitiosaeque  ilicis  alvo. 
Quid  memorandum  aeque  Baccheia  dona  tulerunt? 
Bacchus  et  ad  culpam  causas  dedit;    ille  furentes  455 

Centauros  Icto  domuit,  Rhoetumque  Pholumque 
et  magno  Hylaeum  Lapithis  cratere  minantem. 


LIBER  II.  419-496.  71 

O  fortunatos  nimium,  sua  si  bona  norint, 
agricolas !    quibus  ipsa  procul  discordibus  armis 
fundit  humo  facilem  victum  iustissima  tellus.  460 

Si  non  ingentem  foribus  domus  alta  snperbis 
mane  salutantum  totis  vomit  aedibus  undam, 
nee  varies  iniiiant  pulchra  testudine  postes, 
illusasque  auro  vestes  Epliyreiaque  aera, 

alba  neque  Assyrio  fucatur  lana  veneno,  465 

nee  casia  liquidi  corrumpitur  usus  olivi; 
at  secura  quies  et  nescia  fallere  vita, 
dives  opum  variarum,  at  latis  otia  fundis, 
speluncae  vivique  lacus,  at  frigida  Tempe 
mugitusque  boum  mollesque  sub  arbore  somni  470 

non  absunt;   illie  saltus  ac  lustra  ferarum, 
et  patiens  operum  exiguoque  assueta  iuventus, 
sacra  deum  sanctique  patres ;    extrema  per  illos 
lustilia  excedens  terris  vestigia  fecit. 

Me  vero  primum  dulces  ante  omnia  Musae,  475 

quarum  sacra  fero  ingenti  percussus  amore, 
accipiant,  caelique  vias  et  sidera  monstrent, 
defectus  solis  varios  lunaeque  labores  ; 
unde  tremor  terris,  qua  vi  maria  alta  tumescant 
obiicibus  ruptis  rursusque  in  se  ipsa  residant,  4S0 

quid  tantum  Oceano  properent  se  tinguere  soles 
hiberni,  vel  quae  tardis  mora  noctibus  obstet. 
Sin  has  ne  possim  naturae  accedere  partes 
frigidus  obstiterit  circum  praecordia  sanguis, 
rura  mihi  et  rigui  placeant  in  vallibus  amnes,  4S5 

flumina  amem  silvasque  inglorius.     O  ubi  campi 
Spercheusque  et  virginibus  bacchata  Lacaenis 
Taygeta,  o  qui  me  gelidis  convallibus  Haemi 
sistat,  et  ingenli  ramorum  protegat  umbra  ? 
Felix,  qui  poiuit  rerum  cognoscere  causas,  490 

atque  metus  omnes  et  inexorabile  fatum 
subiecit  pedibus  strepitumque  Acherontis  avari, 
Fortunatus  et  ille,  deos  qui  novit  agrestes, 
Panaque  Silvanumque  senem  Nymphasque  sorores. 
Ilium  non  populi  fasces,  non  purpura  rcgum  495 

flexit  et  infidos  agilans  discordia  fratres, 


72  GEORGICA. 

aut  coniurato  descendens  Dacus  ab  Histro, 

non  res  Romanae  perituraque  regna :    neque  ille 

aut  doluit  miserans  inopem  aut  invidit  habenti. 

Quos  rami  fructus,  quos  ipsa  volentia  rura  500 

sponte  tulere  sua,  carpsit,  nee  ferrea  iura 

insanumque  forum  aut  populi  tabularia  vidit. 

Sollieitant  alii  remis  freta  caeca,  ruuntque 

in  ferrum,  penetrant  aulas  et  limina  regum; 

hie  petit  excidiis  urbem  miserosque  penates,  505 

ut  gemma  bibat  et  Sarrano  dormiat  ostro  ; 

condit  opes  alius  defossoque  incubat  auro ; 

hie  stupet  attonitus  rostris ;   hunc  plausus  hiantem 

per  cuneos  geminatus  enim  plebisque  patrumque 

corripuit;   gaudent  perfusi  sanguine  fratrum,  510 

exsilioque  domos  et  dulcia  limina  mutant 

atque  alio  patriam  quaerunt  sub  sole  iacentem. 

Agricola  incurvo  terram  dimovit  aratro : 

hinc  anni  labor,  hinc  patriam  parvosque  nepotes 

sustinet,  hinc  armenta  boum  meritosque  iuvencos.  515 

nee  requies,  quin  aut  pomis  exuberet  annus 

aut  fetu  pecorum  aut  Cerealis  mergite  culmi, 

proventuque  oneret  sulcos  atque  horrea  vincat. 

Venit  hiemps :   teritur  Sicyonia  baca  trapelis, 

glande  sues  laeti  redeunt,  dant  arbuta  silvae:  520 

et  varios  ponit  fetus  autumnus,  et  alte 

mitis  in  apricis  coquitur  vindemia  saxis. 

Interea  dulces  pendent  circum  oscula  nati, 

casta  pudicitiam  servat  domus,  ubera  vaccae 

lactea  demittunt,  pinguesque  in  gramine  laeto  525 

inter  se  adversis  luctantur  cornibus  haedi. 

Ipse  dies  agitat  festos  fususque  per  herbam, 

ignis  ubi  in  medio  et  socii  cratera  coronant, 

te  libans,  Lenaee,  vocat,  pecorisque  magistris 

velocis  iaculi  certamina  ponit  in  ulmo,  530 

corporaque  agresti  nudant  praedura  palaestrae. 

Hanc  olim  veteres  vitam  coluere  Sabini, 

banc  Remus  et  frater,  sic  fortis  Etruria  crevit 

scilicet  et  rerum  facta  est  pulcherrima  Roma, 

septemque  una  sibi  muro  circumdedit  arces.  535 


LIBER  11.  497-542.  73 

Ante  etiam  sceptrum  Dlctaei  regis  et  ante 

impia  quam  caesis  gens  est  epulata  iuvencis, 

aureus  banc  vitam  in  terris  Saturnus  agebat  ; 

necdum  etiam  audierant  inflari  classica,  necdum 

impositos  duris  crepitare  incudibus  enses.  C40 

Sed  nos  immensum  spatiis  confecimus  aequor, 
et  iam  tempus  equum  fumantia  solvere  colla. 


'S- 


/l/]/l- 


G  E  O  R  G  I  C  A. 


LIBER   TERTIUS. 

Te  quoque,  magna  Pales,  et  te  memorande  canemus 

Pastor  ab  Amphryso,  vos,  silvae  amnesque  L}'caei. 

Cetera  quae  vacuas  tenuissent  carmine  mentes, 

omnia  iam  vulgala :    quis  aut  Eurysthea  durum 

aut  illaudati  nescit  Busiridis  aras?  S 

Cui  non  dictus  Hylas  puer  et  Latonia  Delos 

Hippodameque  umeroque  Pelops  insignis  eburno, 

acer  equis?     Temptanda  via  est,  qua  me  quoque  possim 

tollere  humo  victorque  virum  volitare  per  ora. 

Primus  ego  in  patriam  mecum,  modo  vita  supersit,  lo 

Aonio  rediens  deducam  vertice  Musas; 

primus  Idumaeas  referam  tibi,  Mantua,  palmas, 

et  viridi  in  campo  templum  de  marmore  ponam 

propter  aquam,  tardis  ingens  ubi  flexibus  errat 

Mincius  et  tenera  praetexit  harundine  ripas.  15 

In  medio  mihi  Caesar  erit  templumque  tenebit : 

illi  victor  ego  et  Tyrio  conspectus  in  ostro 

centum  quadriiugos  agitabo  ad  flumina  currus. 

Cuncta  mihi  Alpheum  linquens  lucosque  Molorchi 

cursibus  et  crudo  decernet  Graecia  caestu.  20 

Ipse  caput  tonsae  foliis  ornatus  olivae 

dona  feram.     Iam  nunc  sollemnes  ducere  pompas 

ad  delubra  iuvat  caesosque  videre  iuvencos, 

vel  scaena  ut  versis  discedat  frontibus  utque 

purpurea  intexti  tollant  aulaea  Britanni.  25. 

In  foribus  pugnam  ex  auro  solidoque  elephanto 

Gangaridum  faciam  victorisque  arma  Quirini, 

atque  hie  undantem  bello  magnumque  fluentem 


LIBER  IIL   1-67.  7 


r 


Nilum  ac  navali  surgentes  aere  columnas. 

Addam  urbes  Asiae  domitas  pulsumque  Niphaten  30 

fidentemque  fuga  Parthum  versisque  sagittis  ; 

et  duo  rapta  manu  diverse  ex  hoste  tropaea 

bisque  tiiumphatas  utroque  ab  litore  gentes. 

Stabunt  et  Parii  lapides,  spirantia  signa, 

Assaraci  proles  demissaeque  ab  love  gentis  35 

nomina  Trosque  parens  et  Troiae  Cynthius  auctor. 

Invidia  infelix  Furias  amnemque  severum 

Cocyti  metuet,  tortosque  Ixionis  angues 

immanemque  rotam  et  non  exsuperabile  saxum. 

Interea  Dryadum  silvas  saltusque  sequamur  40 

intactos,  tua,  Maecenas,  baud  mollia  iussa. 

Te  sine  nil  altum  mens  incohat :    en  age  segnes 

rumpe  moras;   vocat  ingenti  clamore  Cithaeron 

Taygetique  canes  domitrixque  Epidaurus  equorum, 

et  vox  assensu  nemorum  ingeminata  remugit.  45 

]Mox  tamen  ardentes  accingar  dicere  pugnas 

Caesaris  et  nomen  fama  tot  ferre  per  annos, 

Tithoni  prima  quot  abest  ab  origine  Caesar. 

Seu  quis  Olympiacae  miratus  praemia  palmae 
pascit  equos  seu  quis  fortes  ad  aratra  iuvencos,  50 

corpora  praecipue  matrum  legat.     Optima  torvae 
forma  bovis,  cui  turpe  caput,  cui  plurima  cervix, 
et  crurum  tenus  a  mento  palearia  pendent; 
turn  longo  nullus  lateri  modus;    omnia  magna, 
pes  etiam;    et  camuris  hirtae  sub  cornibus  aures.  55 

Nee  mihi  displiceat  maculis  insignis  et  albo, 
aut  iuga  detractans  interdumque  aspera  cornu 
et  faciem  tauro  propior,  quaeque  ardua  tota 
et  gradiens  ima  verrit  vestigia  cauda. 

Aetas  Lucinam  iustosque  pati  hymenaeos  60 

desinit  ante  decern,  post  quattuor  incipit  annos; 
cetera  nee  feturae  habilis  nee  fortis  aratris. 
Interea,  superat  gregibus  dum  laeta  iuventas, 
solve  mares ;    mitte  in  Venerem  pecuaria  primus, 
atque  aliam  ex  alia  generando  suffice  prolem.  65 

Optima  quaeque  dies  miseris  mortalibus  aevi 
prima  fugit :    subcunt  morbi  tristisque  senectus, 


7^  GEORGICA, 

et  labor  et  durae  rapit  inclementia  mortis. 

Semper  erunt,  quarum  mutari  corpora  mails  : 

semper  enim  refice  ac,  ne  post  amissa  requiras,  70 

ante  veni  et  subolem  armento  sortire  quotannis. 

Nee  non  et  pecori  est  idem  delectus  equine. 
Tu  modo,  quos  in  spem  statues  summittere  gentis, 
praeclpuum  lam  inde  a  teneris  impende  laborem. 
Continuo  pecorls  generosi  pullus  in  arvis  75 

altius  ingreditur,  et  mollia  crura  reponit ; 
primus  et  ire  viam  et  fluvlos  temptare  minaces 
audet  et  ignoto  sese  commlttere  ponti, 
nee  vanos  horret  strepitus.     1111  ardua  cervix 
argutumque  caput,  brevis  alvus  obesaque  terga,  80 

luxuriatque  torls  animosum  pectus.     Honesti 
spadlces  glauclque,  color  deterrlmus  albls 
et  gilvo.     Turn,  si  qua  sonum  procul  arma  dedere, 
stare  loco  nescit,  mlcat  aurlbus  et  tremit  artus, 
collectumque  premens  volvit  sub  naribus  igneni.  85 

Densa  iuba,  et  dextro  iactata  recumbit  in  armo; 
at  duplex  agitur  per  lumbos  spina,  cavatque 
tellurem  et  solido  gravlter  sonat  ungula  cornu. 
Talis  Amyclaei  domltus  Pollucls  habenls 
Cyllarus  et,  quorum  Grail  meminere  poetae,  90 

INIartis  equl  bliuges  et  magni  currus  Achilll. 
Talis  et  ipse  iubam  cervice  eftundlt  equina 
coniugis  adventu  pernix  Saturnus,  et  altum 
Pelion  hlnnitu  fugiens  implevit  acuto. 

Huuc  quoque,  ubi  aut  morbo  gravis  aut  iam  segnior  annis 
deficit,  abde  domo,  nee  turpi  ignosce  senectae.  96 

Frigidus  in  Venerem  senior,  frustraque  laborem 
ingratum  trahit,  et  si  quando  ad  proelia  ventum  est, 
ut  quondam  in  stipulis  magnus  sine  viribus  ignis, 
incassum  furit.     Ergo  animos  aevumque  notabis  ico 

praecipue ;    hinc  alias  artes  prolemque  parentum, 
et  quis  cuique  dolor  victo,  quae  gloria  palmae. 
Nonne  vides,  cum  praecipiti  certamine  campum 
corripuere,  ruuntque  effusi  carcere  currus, 
cum  spes  arrectae  iuvenum,  exsultantiaque  haurit  105 

corda  pavor  pulsans?     lUi  instant  verbere  torto 


LIBER  III.  6H-145.  77 

et  proni  dant  lora,  volat  vi  fervidus  axis; 

iamque  humiles,  iamque  elati  sublime  videntur 

aera  per  vacuum  ferri  atque  assurgere  in  auras ; 

nee  mora  nee  requies ;    at  fulvae  nimbus  harenae  no 

tollitur,  umeseunt  spumis  flatuque  sequentum  : 

tantus  amor  laudum,  tantae  est  victoria  curae. 

Primus  Erichthonius  currus  et  quattuor  ausus 

iungere  equos  rapidusque  rotis  insistere  victor. 

Frena  Pelethronii  Lapithae  gyrosque  dedere  iiS 

impositi  dorso,  atque  equitem  docuere  sub  armis 

insultare  solo  et  gressus  glomerare  superbos. 

Aequus  uterque  labor,  aeque  iuvenemque  magistri 

exquirunt  calidumque  animis  et  cursibus  acrem; 

quamvis  saepe  fuga  versos  ille  egerit  hostes,  120 

et  patriam  Epirum  referat  fortesque  Mycenas, 

Neptunique  ipsa  deducat  origine  gentem. 

His  animadversis  instant  sub  tempus,  et  omnes 
impendunt  curas  denso  distendere  pingui 
quem  legere  ducem  et  pecori  dixere  maritum  ;  125 

florentesque  secant  herbas  fluviosque  ministrant 
farraque,  ne  blando  nequeat  superesse  labori 
invalidique  patrum  referant  ieiunia  nati. 
Ipsa  autem  macie  tenuant  armenta  volentes, 
atque  ubi  concubitus  primos  iam  nota  voluptas  130 

soUicitat,  frondesque  negant  et  fontibus  arcent. 
Saepe  etiam  cursu  quatiunt  et  sole  fatigant; 
cum  graviter  tunsis  gemit  area  frugibus,  et  cum 
surgentem  ad  Zephyrum  paleae  iactantur  inanes. 
Hoc  faciunt,  nimio  ne  luxu  obtunsior  usus  135 

sit  genitali  arvo  et  sulcos  oblimet  inertes, 
sed  rapiat  sitiens  Venerem  interiusque  recondat. 

Rursus  cura  patrum  cadere  et  succedere  matrura 
incipit.     Exactis  gravidae  cum  mensibus  errant, 
non  illas  gravibus  quisquam  iuga  ducere  plaustris,  140 

non  saltu  superare  viam  sit  passus  et  acri 
carpere  prata  fuga  fluviosque  innare  rapaces. 
Saltibus  in  vacuis  pascunt  et  plena  secundum 
flumina,  muscus  ubi  et  viridissima  gramine  ripa, 
speluncaeque  tegant  et  saxea  procubct  umbra.  145 


78  GEORGICA. 

Est  lucos  Silari  circa  ilicibusque  virentem 

pluiimus  Alburnum  volitans,  cui  nomen  asilo 

Romanum  est,  oestrum  Graii  vertere  vocantes, 

asper,  acerba  sonans,  quo  tota  exterrita  silvis 

diffugiunt  armenta,  furit  mugitibus  aether  150 

concussus  silvaeque  et  sicci  ripa  Tanagri. 

Hoc  quondam  monstro  horribiles  exercuit  iras 

Inachiae  luno  pestem  meditata  iuvencae. 

Hunc  quoque,  nam  mediis  fervoribus  acrior  instat, 

arcebis  gravido  pecori,  armentaque  pasces  155 

sole  recens  orto  aut  noctem  ducentibus  astris. 

Post  partum  cura  in  vitulos  traducitur  omnis ; 
continuoque  notas  et  nomina  gentis  inurunt, 
et  quos  aut  pecori  malint  summittere  habendo 
aut  aris  servare  sacros  aut  scindere  terram  160 

et  campum  horrentem  fractis  invertere  glaebis. 
Cetera  pascuntur  virides  armenta  per  herbas: 
tu  quos  ad  studium  atque  usum  formabis  agrestem, 
iam  vitulos  hortare  viamque  insiste  domandi, 
dum  faciles  animi  iuvenum,  dum  mobilis  aetas.  165 

Ac  primum  laxos  tenui  de  vimine  circlos 
cervici  subnecte ;    dehinc,  ubi  libera  colla 
servitio  assuerint,  ipsis  e  torquibus  aptos 
iunge  pares,  et  coge  gradum  conferre  iuvencos ; 
atque  illis  iam  saepe  rotae  ducantur  inanes  170 

per  terram,  et  summo  vestigia  pulvere  signent; 
post  valido  nitens  sub  pondere  faginus  axis 
instrepat,  et  iunctos  temo  trahat  aereus  orbes. 
Interea  pubi  indomitae  non  gramina  tantum 
nee  vescas  salicum  frondes  ulvamque  palustrem,  175 

sed  frumenta  manu  carpes  sata;    nee  tibi  fetae 
more  patrum  nivea  implebunt  mulctraria  vaccae, 
sed  tota  in  dulces  consument  ubera  natos. 

Sin  ad  bella  magis  studium  turmasque  feroces, 
aut  Alphea  rotis  praelabi  flumina  Pisae  180 

et  lovis  in  luco  currus  agitare  volantes : 
primus  equi  labor  est,  animos  atque  arma  videre 
bellantum  lituosque  pati  tractuque  gementem 
ferre  rolam  et  stabulo  frenos  audire  sonantesj 


LIBER  III.   146-223.  79 

turn  magis  atque  magis  blandis  gaudere  magistri  185 

laudibus  et  plausae  sonitum  cervicis  amare. 

Atque  haec  iam  primo  depulsus  ab  ubere  matris 

audeat,  inque  vicem  det  mollibus  ora  capistris 

invalidus  etiamque  tremens,  etiam  inscius  aevi. 

At  tribus  exactis  ubi  quarta  accesserit  aestas,  19° 

carpere  mox  gyrum  incipiat  gradibusque  sonare 

compositis,  sinuetque  alterna  volumina  crurum, 

sitque  laboranti  similis ;    turn  cursibus  auras, 

turn  vocet,  ac  per  aperta  volans  ceu  liber  habenis 

aequora  vix  summa  vestigia  ponat  harena ;  195 

qualis  Hyperboreis  Aquilo  cum  densus  ab  oris 

incubuit,  Scythiaeque  hiemes  atque  arida  differt 

nubila :    tum  segetes  altae  campique  natantes 

lenibus  horrescunt  flabris,  summaeque  sonorem 

dant  silvae,  longique  urgent  ad  litora  fluctus ;  200 

ille  volat  simul  arva  fuga  simul  aequora  verrens. 

Hie  vel  ad  Elei  metas  et  maxima  campi 

sudabit  spatia  et  spumas  aget  ore  cruentas, 

Belgica  vel  molli  melius  feret  esseda  collo. 

Tum  demum  crassa  magnum  farragine  corpus  205 

crescere  iam  domitis  sinito:    nainque  ante  domandum 

ingentes  tollent  animos,  prensique  negabunt 

verbera  lenta  pati  et  duris  parere  lupatis. 

Sed  non  ulla  magis  vires  industria  firmat, 
quam  Venerem  et  caeci  stimulos  avertere  amoris,  210 

sive  boum  sive  est  cui  gratior  usus  equorum. 
Atque  ideo  tauros  procul  atque  in  sola  relegant 
pascua  post  montem  oppositum  et  trans  flumlna  lata, 
aut  intus  clausos  satura  ad  praesepia  servant. 
Carpit  enim  vires  paulatim  uritque  videndo  215 

femina,  nee  nemorum  patitur  meminisse  nee  herbae 
dulcibus  ilia  quidem  illecebris,  et  saepe  superbos 
cornibus  inter  se  subigit  decernere  amantes. 
Pascitur  in  magna  Sila  formosa  iuvenca : 
illi  alternantes  multa  vi  proelia  miscent  220 

vulneribus  crebris,  lavit  ater  corpora  sanguis, 
versaque  in  obnixos  urgentur  cornua  vasto 
cum  gemitu,  reboant  silvaeque  et  longus  Olympus. 


8o  GEORGICA. 

Nee  mos  bellantes  una  stabulare,  sed  alter 

victus  abit,  longeque  ignotis  exsulat  oris,  225 

multa  gemens  ignominiam  plagasque  superbi 

victoris,  turn  quos  amisit  inultus  amores, 

et  stabula  aspectans  regnis  excessit  avitis. 

Ergo  omni  cura  vires  exercet,  et  inter 

dura  iacet  pernox  instrato  saxa  cubili  230 

frondibus  hirsutis  et  carice  pastus  acuta, 

et  temptat  sese,  atque  irasci  in  cornua  discit 

arboris  obnixus  trunco,  ventosque  lacessit 

ictibus,  et  sparsa  ad  pugnam  proludit  harena. 

Post  ubi  collectum  robur  viresque  refectae,  235 

signa  movet,  praecepsque  oblitum  fertur  in  hostem: 

fluctus  uti,  medio  coepit  cum  albescere  ponto, 

longius  ex  altoque  sinum  trahit,  utque  volutus 

ad  terras  immane  sonat  per  saxa  neque  ipso 

monte  minor  procumbit,  at  ima  exaestuat  unda  240 

verticibus  nigramque  alte  subiectat  harenam. 

Omne  adeo  genus  in  terris  hominumque  ferarumque, 
et  genus  aequoreum,  pecudes  pictaeque  volucres, 
in  furias  ignemque  ruunt :    Amor  omnibus  idem. 
Tempore  non  alio  catulorum  oblita  leaena  245 

saevior  erravit  campis,  nee  funera  vulgo 
tam  multa  informes  ursi  stragemque  dedere 
per  silvas ;    tum  saevus  aper,  turn  pessima  tigris : 
heu  male  tum  Libyae  solis  erratur  in  agris. 
Nonne  vides,  ut  tota  tremor  pertemptet  equorum  250 

corpora,  si  tantum  notas  odor  attulit  auras? 
Ac  neque  eos  iam  frena  virum  neque  verbera  saeva, 
non  scopuli  rupesque  cavae  atque  obiecta  retardant 
flumina  correptosque  unda  torquentia  montes. 
Ipse  ruit  dentesque  Sabellicus  exacuit  sus,  255 

et  pede  prosubigit  terram,  fricat  arbore  costas, 
atque  hinc  atque  illinc  umeros  ad  vulnera  durat. 
Quid  iuvenis,  magnum  cui  versat  in  ossibus  ignem 
durus  amor?     Nempe  abruptis  turbata  procellis 
nocte  natat  caeca  serus  freta;    quem  super  ingens  260 

porta  tonat  caeli,  et  scopulis  illisa  reclamant 
aequora;    nee  miseri  possunt  revocare  parentes 


LIBER  III.  224-301.  ,Si 

nee  moritura  super  crudeli  funere  virgo. 

Quid  lynces  Bacchi  variae  et  genus  acre  luporum 

atque  canum?     quid  quae  imbelles  dant  proelia  cervi?       265 

Scilicet  ante  omnes  furor  est  insignis  equarum ; 

et  mentem  Venus  ipsa  dedit,  quo  tempore  Glauci 

Potniades  malis  membra  absumpsere  quadrigae. 

Illas  ducit  amor  trans  Gargara  transque  sonantem 

Ascanium;    superant  monies  et  flumina  tranant.  270 

Continuoque  avidis  ubi  subdita  flamma  medullis, 

vere  magis,  quia  vere  calor  redit  ossibus,  illae 

ore  omnes  versae  in  Zephyrum  slant  rupibus  altis 

exceplantque  leves  auras,  et  saepe  sine  ullis 

coniugiis  vento  gravidae,  mirabile  diclu,  275 

saxa  per  et  scopulos  et  depressas  convalles 

diffugiunt,  non,  Eure,  tuos,  neque  Solis  ad  ortus, 

in  Borean  Caurumque,  aut  unde  nigerrimus  Ausler 

nascitur  et  pluvio  conlrislat  frigore  caelum. 

Hie  demum,  hippomanes  vero  quod  nomine  dicunt  280 

pastores,  lentum  destillat  ab  inguine  virus, 

hippomanes,  quod  saepe  malae  legere  novercae 

miscueruntque  herbas  et  non  innoxia  verba. 

Sed  fugit  interea,  fugit  irreparabile  tempus, 
singula  dum  capti  circumvectamur  amore.  2S5 

Hoc  satis  armentis  :    superat  pars  altera  curae, 
lanigeros  agilare  greges  hirlasque  capellas. 
Hie  labor,  hinc  laudem  fortes  sperale  coloni. 
Nee  sum  animi  dubius,  verbis  ea  vincere  magnum 
quam  sit  et  angustis  hune  addere  rebus  honorem;  290 

sed  me  Parnasi  deserla  per  ardua  dulcis 
raptat  amor;    iuvat  ire  iugis,  qua  nulla  priorum 
Castaliam  moUi  devertitur  orbita  clivo. 
Nunc,  veneranda  Pales,  magno  nunc  ore  sonandum. 

Incipiens  stabulis  edico  in  mollibus  herbam  295 

carpere  oves,  dum  mox  frondosa  reducitur  aeslas, 
et  multa  duram  slipula  filicumque  maniplis 
sternere  subler  humum,  glacies  ne  frigida  laedat 
moUe  pecus,  scabiemque  ferat  turpesque  podagras. 
Post  hinc  digressus  iubeo  frondentia  capris  300 

arbuta  sufficere  et  fluvios  praebere  recentes, 


82  GEORGICA. 

et  stabula  a  ventis  hlberno  opponere  soli 
ad  medium  conversa  diem,  cum  frigidus  olim 
iam  cadit  extremoque  irrorat  Aquarius  anno. 
Haec  quoque  non  cura  nobis  leviore  tuendae,  305 

nee  minor  usus  erit,  quamvis  Milesia  magno 
vellera  mutentur  Tyrios  incocta  rubores  : 
densior  hinc  suboles,  hinc  largi  copia  lactis; 
quam  magis  exhausto  spumaverit  ubere  mulctra, 
laeta  magis  pressis  manabunt  flumina  mammis.  310 

Nee  minus  interea  barbas  incanaque  menta 
Cinyphii  tondent  hirci  saetasque  comantes 
usum  in  castrorum  et  miseris  velamina  nautis. 
Pascuntur  vero  silvas  et  summa  Lycaei 
horrentesque  rubos  et  amantes  ardua  dumos ;  315 

atque  ipsae  memores  redeunt  in  tecta,  suosque 
ducunt,  et  gravido  superant  vix  ubere  limen. 
Ergo  omni  studio  glaciem  ventosque  nivales, 
quo  minor  est  illis  curae  mortalis  egestas, 
avertes,  victumque  feres  et  virgea  laetus  320 

pabula,  nee  tola  claudes  faenilia  bruma. 
At  vero  Zephyris  cum  laeta  vocantibus  aestas 
in  saltus  utrumque  gregem  atque  in  pascua  mittet, 
Luciferi  primo  cum  sidere  frigida  rura 

carpamus,  dum  mane  novum,  dum  gramina  canent,  325 

et  ros  in  tenera  pecori  gratissimus  herba. 
Inde  ubi  quarta  sitim  caeli  collegerit  hora 
et  cantu  querulae  rumpent  arbusta  cicadae, 
ad  puteos  aut  alta  greges  ad  stagna  iubebo 
currentem  ilignis  potare  canalibus  undam ;  330 

aestibus  at  mediis  umbrosam  exquirere  vallem, 
sicubi  magna  lovis  antiquo  robore  quercus 
ingentes  tendat  ramos,  aut  sicubi  nigrum 
ilicibus  crebris  sacra  nemus  accubet  umbra ; 
turn  lenues  dare  rursus  aquas,  et  pascere  rursus  335 

solis  ad  occasum,  cum  frigidus  aera  vesper 
temperat,  et  saltus  reficit  iam  roscida  luna, 
litoraque  alcyonem  resonant,  acalanthida  dumi. 
Quid  tibi  pastores  Libyae,  quid  pascua  versa 
prosequar  et  raris  habitata  mapalia  tectis?  340 


LIBER  III.  303-379.  83 

Saepe  diem  noctemque  et  totum  ex  ordine  mensem 

pascitur  itque  pecus  longa  in  deserta  sine  ullis 

hospitiis:   tantum  campi  iacet.     Omnia  secum 

armentarius  Afer  agit,  tectumque  laremque 

armaque  Amyclaeumque  canem  Cressamque  pharetram;     345 

non  secus  ac  patriis  acer  Romanus  in  armis 

iniusto  sub  fasce  viam  cum  carpit,  et  hosti 

ante  exspectatum  positis  stat  in  agmine  castris. 

At  non  qua  Scythiae  gentes  Maeotiaque  unda, 
turbidus  et  torquens  flaventes  Hister  harenas,  350 

quaque  redit  medium  Rhodope  porrecta  sub  axem. 
lUic  clausa  tenent  stabulis  armenta,  neque  ullae 
aut  herbae  campo  apparent  aut  arbore  frondes; 
sed  iacet  aggeribus  niveis  informis  et  alto 
terra  gelu  late,  septemque  assurgit  in  ulnas.  355 

Semper  hiemps,  semper  spirantes  frigora  Cauri. 
Turn  sol  pallentes  baud  umquam  discutit  umbras, 
nee  cum  invectus  equis  altum  petit  aethera,  nee  cum 
praecipitem  Oceani  rubro  lavit  aequore  currum. 
Concrescunt  subitae  currenti  in  flumine  crustae,  360 

undaque  iam  tergo  ferratos  sustinet  orbes, 
puppibus  ilia  prius,  patulis  nunc  hospita  plaustris; 
aeraque  dissiliunt  vulgo,  vestesque  rigescunt 
indutae,  caeduntque  securibus  umida  vina, 
et  totae  solidam  in  glaciem  vertere  lacunae,  365 

stiriaque  impexis  induruit  horrida  barbis. 
Interea  toto  non  setius  aere  ninguit : 
intereunt  pecudes,  stant  circumfusa  pruinis 
corpora  magna  boum,  confertoque  agmine  cervi 
torpent  mole  nova  et  summis  vix  cornibus  exstant.  370 

Hos  non  immissis  canibus,  non  cassibus  ullis 
puniceaeve  agitant  pavidos  formidine  pennae, 
sed  frustra  oppositum  trudentes  pectore  montem 
comminus  obtruncant  ferro,  graviterque  rudentes 
caedunt,  et  magno  laeti  clamore  reportant.  375 

Ipsi  in  defossis  specubus  secura  sub  alta 
otia  agunt  terra,  congestaque  robora  totasque 
advolvere  focis  ulmos  ignique  dedere. 
Hie  noctem  ludo  ducunt,  et  pocula  laeti 

F  2 


84  GEORGICA. 

fermento  atque  acidis  imitantur  vitea  sorbis.  380 

Talis  Hyperboreo  septeni  subiecta  trioni 
gens  efifrena  virum  Rhipaeo  tunditur  Euro, 
et  pecudum  fulvis  velatur  corpora  saetis. 

Si  tibi  lanitium  curae,  primum  aspera  silva 
lappaeque  tribolique  absint ;    fuge  pabula  laeta,  385 

continuoque  greges  villis  lege  mollibus  albos. 
Ilium  autem,  quamvis  aries  sit  candidus  ipse, 
nigra  subest  udo  tantum  cui  lingua  palato, 
reiice,  ne  maculis  infuscet  vellera  pullis 

nascentum,  plenoque  alium  circumspice  campo.  390 

Munere  sic  niveo  lanae,  si  credere  dignum  est, 
Pan  deus  Arcadiae  captam  te,  Luna,  fefellit 
in  nemora  alta  vocans;    nee  tu  aspernata  vocantem. 
At,  cui  lactis  amor,  cytisum  lotosque  frequentes 
ipse  manu  salsasque  ferat  praesepibus  herbas.  395 

Hinc  et  amant  fluvios  raagis,  et  magis  ubera  tendunt, 
et  salis  occultum  referunt  in  lacte  saporem, 
multi  etiam  excretos  prohibent  a  matribus  haedos, 
primaque  ferratis  praefigunt  ora  capistris. 
Quod  surgente  die  mulsere  horisque  diurnis,  400 

nocte  premunt ;  quod  iam  tenebris  et  sole  cadente, 
sub  lucem  exportant  calathis — adit  oppida  pastor — 
aut  parco  sale  contingunt  hiemique  reponunt. 

Nee  tibi  cura  canum  fuerit  postrema,  sed  una 
veloces  Spartae  catulos  acremque  Molossum  405 

pasce  sero  pingui.     Numquam  custodibus  illis 
nocturnum  stabulis  furem  incursusque  luporum 
aut  impacatos  a  tergo  horrebis  Hiberos. 
Saepe  etiam  cursu  timidos  agitabis  onagros, 
et  canibus  leporem,  canibus  venabere  dammas;  410 

saepe  volutabris  pulsos  silvestribus  apros 
latratu  turbabis  agens,  montesque  per  altos 
ingentem  clamore  premes  ad  retia  cervum. 

Disce  et  odoratam  stabulis  accendere  cedrum, 
galbaneoque  agitare  graves  nidore  chelydros.  415 

Saepe  sub  immotis  praesepibus  aut  mala  tactu 
vipera  delituit  caelumque  exterrita  fugit, 
aut  tecto  assuetus  coluber  succedere  et  umbrae. 


LIBER  III.  380-457.  85 

pestis  acerba  bourn,  pecorique  aspergere  virus, 

fovit  humum.     Cape  saxa  manu,  cape  robora,  pastor,         420 

tollentemque  minas  et  sibila  colla  tumentem 

deiice.     lamque  fuga  timidum  caput  abdidit  alte, 

cum  medii  nexus  extremaeque  agmina  caudae 

solvuntur,  tardosque  trahit  sinus  ultimus  orbes. 

Est  etiam  ille  raalus  Calabris  in  saltibus  anguis,  425 

squamea  convolvens  sublato  pectore  terga 

atque  notis  longam  maculosus  grandibus  alvum, 

qui,  dum  amnes  ulli  rumpuntur  fontibus  et  dum 

vere  madent  udo  terrae  ac  pluvialibus  austris, 

stagna  colit,  ripisque  habitans  hie  piscibus  atram  430 

improbus  ingluviem  ranisque  loquacibus  explet ; 

postquam  exusta  palus,  terraeque  ardore  dehiscunt, 

exsilit  in  siccum,  et  flammantia  lumina  torquens 

saevit  agris  asperque  siti  atque  exterritus  aestu. 

Ne  mihi  turn  moUes  sub  divo  carpere  somnos  435 

neu  dorso  nemoris  libeat  iacuisse  per  herbas, 

cum  positis  novus  exuviis  nitidusque  iuventa 

volvitur  aut  catulos  tectis  aut  ova  relinquens 

arduus  ad  solem,  et  linguis  micat  ore  trisulcis. 

Morborum  quoque  te  causas  et  signa  docebo.  440 

Turpis  oves  temptat  scabies,  ubi  frigidus  imber 
altius  ad  vivum  persedit  et  horrida  cano 
bruma  gelu,  vel  cum  tonsis  illotus  adhaesit 
sudor,  et  hirsuti  secuerunt  corpora  vepres. 
Dulcibus  idcirco  fluviis  pecus  omne  magistri  445 

perfundunt,  udisque  aries  in  gurgite  villis 
mersatur,  missusque  secundo  defluit  amni ; 
aut  tonsum  tristi  condngunt  corpus  amurca, 
et  spumas  miscent  argend  vivaque  sulphura 
Idaeasque  pices  et  pingues  unguine  ceras  450 

scillamque  elleborosque  graves  nigrumque  bitumen. 
Non  tamen  ulla  magis  praesens  fortuna  laborum  est, 
quam  si  quis  ferro  potuit  rescindere  summum 
ulceris  os :   alitur  vitium  vivitque  tegendo, 
dum  medicas  adhibere  manus  ad  vulnera  pastor  455 

abnegat,  aut  meliora  deos  sedet  omnia  poscens. 
Quin  etiam,  ima  dolor  balanlum  lapsus  ad  ossa 


86  GEORGICA. 

cum  furit  atque  artus  depascitur  arida  febris, 

profuit  incensos  aestus  avertere  et  inter 

ima  ferire  pedis  salientem  sanguine  venam,  460 

Bisaltae  quo  more  solent  acerque  Gelonus, 

cum  fugit  in  Rhodopen  atque  in  deserta  Getarum, 

et  lac  concretum  cum  sanguine  potat  equino. 

Quam  procul  aut  molli  succedere  saepius  umbrae 

videris  aut  summas  carpentem  ignavius  herbas,  465 

extremamque  sequi  aut  medio  procumbere  campo 

pascentem  et  serae  solam  decedere  nocti, 

continuo  culpam  ferro  compesce  priusquam 

dira  per  incautum  serpant  contagia  vulgus. 

Non  tam  creber  agens  hiemem  ruit  aequore  turbo,  470 

quam  multae  pecudum  pestes.     Nee  singula  morbi 

corpora  corripiunt,  sed  tota  aestiva  repente, 

spemque  gregemque  simul  cunctamque  ab  origine  gentem. 

Turn  sciat,  aerias  Alpes  et  Norica  si  quis 

castella  in  tumulis  et  lapydis  arva  Timavi  475 

nunc  quoque  post  tanto  videat  desertaque  regna 

pastorum  et  longe  saltus  lateque  vacantes. 

Hie  quondam  morbo  caeli  miseranda  coorta  est 

tempestas  totoque  autumni  incanduit  aestu, 

et  genus  omne  neci  pecudum  dedit,  omne  ferarum,  480 

corrupitque  lacus,  infecit  pabula  tabo. 

Nee  via  mortis  erat  simplex,  sed  ubi  ignea  venis 

omnibus  acta  sitis  miseros  adduxerat  artus, 

rursus  abundabat  fluidus  liquor  omniaque  in  se 

ossa  minutatim  morbo  collapsa  trahebat.  485 

Saepe  in  honore  deum  medio  stans  hostia  ad  aram, 

lanea  dum  nivea  circumdatur  infula  vitta, 

inter  cunctantes  cecidit  moribunda  ministros. 

Aut  si  quam  ferro  mactaverat  ante  sacerdos, 

inde  neque  impositis  ardent  altaria  fibris,  490 

nee  responsa  potest  consultus  reddere  vates, 

ac  vix  suppositi  tinguntur  sanguine  cultri 

summaque  ieiuna  sanie  infuscatur  harena. 

Hinc  laelis  vituli  vulgo  moriuntur  in  herbis, 

et  dukes  animas  plena  ad  praesepia  reddunt :  495 

hinc  canibus  blandis  rabies  venit,  et  quatit  aegros 


LIBER  III.  A^^~^:>?,^'  87 

tussis  anhela  sues  ac  faucibus  anglt  obesis. 
Labitur  infelix  studiorum  atque  immemor  herbae    • 
victor  equus  fontesque  avertitur  et  pede  terram 
crebra  ferit;    demissae  aures,  incertus  ibidem  500 

sudor  et  ilie  quidem  morituris  frigidus,  aret 
pellis  et  ad  tactum  tractanti  dura  resistit.  * 

Haec  ante  exitium  primis  dant  signa  diebus; 
sin  in  processu  coepit  crudescere  morbus, 
tum  vero  ardentes  oculi  atque  attractus  ab  alto  505 

spiritus,  interdum  gemitu  gravis,  imaque  longo 
ilia  singultu  tendunt,  it  naribus  ater 
sanguis,  et  obsessas  fauces  premit  aspera  lingua. 
Profuit  inserto  latices  infundere  cornu 

Lenaeos;    ea  visa  salus  morientibus  una;  5'° 

mox  erat  hoc  ipsum  exitio,  furiisque  refecti 
ardebant,  ipsique  suos  iam  morte  sub  aegra 
(di  meliora  piis  erroremque  hostibus  ilium  I) 
discissos  nudis  laniabant  dentibus  artus. 
•  Ecce  autem  duro  fumans  sub  vomere  taurus  •  s^? 

concidit  et  mixtum  spumis  vomit  ore  cruorem 
extremosque  ciet  gemitus.     It  tristis  arator 
maerentem  abiungens  fraterna  morte  iuvencum, 
atque  opere  in  medio  defixa  reliquit  aratra.  » 

Non  umbrae  altorum  nemorum,  non  moUia  possunt  520 

prata  movere  animum,  non  qui  per  saxa  volutus 
purior  electro  campum  petit  amnis ;    at  ima 
solvuntur  latera,  atque  oculos  stupor  urget  inertes, 
ad  terramque  fluit  devexo  pondere  cervix. 
Quid  labor  aut  benefacta  iuvant?     quid  vomere  terras        525 
invertisse  graves?     Atqui  non  Massica  Bacchi 
munera,  non  illis  epulae  nocuere  repostae : 
frondibus  et  victu  pascuntur  simplicis  herbae, 
pocula  sunt  fontes  liquidi  atque  exercita  cursu 
flumina,  nee  somnos  abrumpit  cura  salubres.  53° 

Tempore  non  alio  dicunt  regionibus  illis 
quaesitas  ad  sacra  boves  lunonis  et  uris 
imparibus  ductos  alta  ad  donaria  currus. 
Ergo  aegre  rastris  terram  rimantur,  et  ipsis 
unguibus  infodiunt  fruges,  montesque  per  altos  535 


88  CEORGICA. 

contenta  ceivice  trahunt  stridentia  plaustra. 

Non  lupus  insidias  explorat  ovilia  circum 

nee  gregibus  nocturnus  obambulat :    acrior  ilium 

cura  domat;    timidi  dammae  cervique  fugaces 

nunc  interque  canes  et  circum  tecta  vagantur.  540 

lam  maris  immensi  prolem  et  genus  omne  natantum 

litore  in  extreme  ceu  naufraga  corpora  fluctus 

proluit ;   insolitae  fugiunt  in  flumina  phocae. 

Interit  et  curvis  frustra  defensa  latebris 

vipera  et  attoniti  squamis  astantibus  hydri.  545 

Ipsis  est  aer  avibus  non  aequus,  et  illae 

praecipites  alta  vitam  sub  nube  relinquunt. 

Praeterea  iam  nee  mutari  pabula  refert, 

quaesitaeque  noeent  artes ;    cessere  magistri 

Phillyrides  Chiron  Amythaoniusque  Melampus.  550 

Saevit  et  in  lucem  Stygiis  emissa  tenebris 

pallida  Tisiphone  Morbos  agit  ante  Metumque, 

inque  dies  avidum  surgens  caput  altius  effert. 

Balatu  pecorum  et  crebris  mugitibus  amnes 

arentesque  sonant  ripae  collesque  supini.  555 

lamque  catervalim  dat  stragem  atque  aggerat  ipsis 

in  stabulis  turpi  dilapsa  cadavera  tabo, 

donee  humo  tegere  ac  foveis  abscondere  discunt. 

Nam  neque  erat  eoriis  usus,  nee  viscera  quisquam 

aut  undis  abolere  potest  aut  vincere  flamma ;  560 

Ne  tondere  quidem  morbo  illuvieque  peresa 

vellera  nee  telas  possunt  attingere  putres ; 

verum  etiam  invisos  si  quis  temptaret  amictus, 

ardentes  papulae  atque  immundus  olentia  sudor 

membra  sequebatur,  nee  longo  deinde  moranti  565 

tempore  contactos  artus  sacer  ignis  edebat. 


G  E  O  R  G  I  C  A. 


LIBER  OUARTUS. 

Protenus  aerii  mellis  caelestia  dona 

exsequar:    banc  edam,  Maecenas,  aspice  partem. 

Admiranda  tibi  levium  spectacula  rerum 

magnanimosque  duces  totiusque  ordine  gentis 

mores  et  studia  et  populos  et  proeHa  dicam.  5 

In  tenui  labor;    at  tenuis  non  gloria,  si  quem 

numina  laeva  sinunt  auditque  vocatus  Apollo. 

Principio  sedes  apibus  stalioque  petenda, 
quo  neque  sit  ventis  aditus,   nam  pabula  venli 
ferre  domum  prohibent,   neque  oves  haedique  petulci  10 

floribus  insultent,  aut  errans  bucula  campo 
decutiat  rorem,  et  surgentes  atterat  herbas. 
Absint  et  picti  squalentia  terga  lacerti 
pinguibus  a  stabulis,  meropesque  aliaeque  volucres 
et  manibus  Procne  pectus  signata  cruentis ;  15 

omnia  nam  late  vastant  ipsasque  volantes 
ore  ferunt  dulcem  nidis  immitibus  escam. 
At  liquidi  fontes  et  stagna  virentia  musco 
adsint  et  tenuis  fugiens  per  gramina  rivus, 
palmaque  vestibulum  aut  ingens  oleaster  inumbret,  20 

ut,  cum  prima  novi  ducent  examina  reges 
vere  suo,  ludetque  favis  emissa  iuventus, 
vicina  invitet  decedere  ripa  calori, 
obviaque  hospitiis  teneat  frondentibus  arbos. 
In  medium,  seu  stabit  iners  seu  profluet  umor,  25 

transversas  salices  et  grandia  coniice  saxa, 
pontibus  ut  crebris  possint  consistere  et  alas 
pandere  ad  aestivum  solem,  si  forte  morautes 


90  GEORGICA. 

sparserit  aut  praeceps  Neptuno  immerseiit  Eurus. 

Haec  circum  casiae  virides  et  olentia  late  3° 

serpylla  et  graviter  spirantis  copia  thymbrae 

floreat,  irriguumque  bibant  violaria  fontem. 

Ipsa  autem,  seu  corticibus  tibi  suta  cavatis 

seu  lento  fuerint  alvaria  vimine  texta, 

angustos  habeant  aditus :    nam  frigore  mella  35 

cogit  hiemps,  eademque  calor  liquefacta  remittit. 

Utraque  vis  apibus  pariter  metuenda;   neque  illae 

nequiquam  in  tectis  certatim  tenuia  cera 

spiramenta  linunt,  fucoque  et  floribus  oras 

explent,  collectumque  haec  ipsa  ad  munera  gluten  40 

et  visco  et  Phrygiae  servant  pice  lentius  Idae. 

Saepe  etiam  effossis,  si  vera  est  fama,  latebris 

sub  terra  fovere  larem,  penitusque  repertae 

pumicibusque  cavis  exesaeque  arboris  antro. 

Tu  tamen  et  levi  rimosa  cubilia  limo  45 

ungue  fovens  circum,  et  raras  superiniice  frondes. 

Neu  propius  tectis  taxum  sine,  neve  rubentes 

ure  foco  cancros,  altae  neu  crede  paludi, 

aut  ubi  odor  caeni  gravis  aut  ubi  concava  pulsu 

saxa  sonant  vocisque  offensa  resultat  imago.  50 

Quod  superest,  ubi  pulsam  hiemem  Sol  aureus  egit 
sub  terras  caelumque  aestiva  luce  reclusit, 
illae  continuo  saltus  silvasque  peragrant 
purpureosque  metunt  flores  et  flumina  libant 
summa  leves.     Hinc  nescio  qua  dulcedine  laetae  55 

progeniem  nidosque  fovent,  hinc  arte  recentes 
excudunt  ceras  et  mella  tenacia  fingunt. 
Hinc  ubi  iam  emissum  caveis  ad  sidera  caeli 
nare  per  aestatem  liquidam  suspexeris  agmen 
obscuramque  trahi  vento  mirabere  nubem,  60 

contemplator :    aquas  dulces  et  frondea  semper 
tecta  petunt.     Hue  tu  iussos  asperge  sapores, 
trita  melisphylla  et  cerinthae  ignobile  gramen, 
tinnitusque  cie  et  Matris  quate  cymbala  circum : 
ipsae  consident  medicatis  sedibus,  ipsae  65 

intima  more  suo  sese  in  cunabula  condent. 

Sin  autem  ad  pugnam  exierinl — nam  saepe  duobus 


LIBER  IV.  29-106.  91 

regibus  incessit  magno  discordia  motu : 

continuoque  animos  vulgi  et  trepidantia  bello 

corda  licet  longe  praesciscere :    namque  morantes  70 

Martius  ille  aeris  rauci  canor  increpat,  et  vox 

auditur  fractos  sonitus  imitata  tubarum; 

turn  trepidae  inter  se  coeunt  pennisque  coruscant 

spiculaque  exacuunt  rostris  aptantque  lacertos, 

et  circa  regem  atque  ipsa  ad  praetoria  densae  75 

miscentur  magnisque  vocant  clamoribus  hostem  : 

ergo  ubi  ver  nactae  sudum  camposque  patentes 

erumpunt  portis,  concurriiur,  aethere  in  alto 

fit  sonitus,  magnum  mixtae  glomerantur  in  orbera, 

praecipitesque  cadunt;    non  densior  aere  grando,  80 

nee  de  concussa  tantum  pluit  ilice  glandis : 

ipsi  per  medias  acies  insignibus  alis 

ingentes  animos  angusto  in  pectore  versant, 

usque  adeo  obnixi  non  cedere,  dum  gravis  aut  hos 

aut  hos  versa  fuga  victor  dare  terga  subegit.  85 

Hi  motus  animorum  atque  haec  ceiPt^nlina  tanta 

pulveris  exigui  iactu  compressa  quiescunt. 

Verum  ubi  ductores  acie  revocaveris  ambo, 
deterior  qui  visus,  eum,  ne  prodigus  obsit, 
dede  neci ;   melior  vacua  sine  regnet  in  aula.  90 

Alter  erit  maculis  auro  squalentibus  ardens  : 
nam  duo  sunt  genera  :    hie  melior  insignis  et  ore 
et  rutilis  clarus  squamis ;    ille  horridus  alter 
desidia  latamque  trahens  inglorius  alvum. 
Ut  binae  regum  facies,  ita  corpora  plebis.  95 

Namque  aliae  turpes  horrent,  ceu  pulvere  ab  alto 
cum  venit  et  sicco  terram  spuit  ore  viator 
aridus ;    elucent  aliae  et  fulgore  coruscant 
ardentes  auro  et  paribus  lita  corpora  guttis. 
Haec  potior  suboles,  hinc  caeli  tempore  certo  100 

dulcia  mella  premes,  nee  tantum  dulcia  quantum 
et  liquida  et  durum  Bacchi  domitura  saporem. 

At  cum  incerta  volant  caeloque  examina  ludunt, 
contemnuntque  favos  et  frigida  tecta  relinquunt, 
instabiles  animos  ludo  prohibebis  inani.  105 

Nee  magnus  prohibere  labor :    tu  regibus  alas 


92  GEORGICA. 

eripe ;   non  illis  quisquam  cunctantibus  altum 

ire  iter  aut  castris  audebit  vellere  signa. 

Invitent  croceis  halantes  floribus  horti, 

et  custos  furum  atque  avium  cum  falce  saligna  no 

Hellespontiaci  servet  tutela  Priapi. 

Ipse  thymum  pinosque  ferens  de  montibus  altis 

tecta  serat  late  circum,  cui  talia  curae ; 

ipse  labore  manum  duro  terat,  ipse  feraces 

figat  humo  plantas  et  amicos  irriget  imbres.  115 

Atque  equidem,  extreme  ni  iam  sub  fine  laborum 
vela  traham  et  terris  festinem  advertere  proram, 
forsitan  et,  pingues  hortos  quae  cura  colendi 
ornaret,  canerem,  biferique  rosaria  Paesti, 
quoque  modo  potis  gauderent  intuba  rivis  120 

et  virides  apio  ripae,  tortusque  per  herbam 
cresceret  in  ventrem  cucumis  ;    nee  sera  comantem 
narcissum  aut  flexi  tacuissem  vimen  acanthi 
pallentesque  hederas  et  amantes  litora  myrtos. 
Namque  sub  Oebaliae  memini  me  turribus  arcis,  125 

qua  niger  umectat  flaventia  culta  Galaesus, 
Corycium  vidisse  senem,  cui  pauca  relicti 
iugera  ruris  erant,  nee  fertilis  ilia  iuvencis 
nee  pecori  opportuna  seges  nee  commoda  Baccho. 
Hie  rarum  tamen  in  dumis  olus  albaque  circum  130 

lilia  verbenasque  premens  vescumque  papaver 
regum  aequabat  opes  animis,  seraque  revertens 
nocte  domum  dapibus  mensas  onerabat  inemptis. 
Primus  vere  rosam  atque  autumno  carpere  poma, 
et  cum  tristis  hiemps  etiamnum  frigore  saxa  135 

rumperet  et  glacie  cursus  frenaret  aquarum, 
ille  comam  mollis  iam  tondebat  hyacinthi 
aestatem  increpitans  seram  zephyrosque  morantes. 
Ergo  apibus  fetis  idem  atque  examine  multo 
primus  abundare  et  spumantia  cogere  pressis  140 

mella  favis :    illi  tiliae  atque  uberrima  pinus, 
quotque  in  flore  novo  pomis  se  fertilis  arbos 
induerat,  totidcm  autumno  matura  tenebat. 
Ille  etiam  seras  in  versum  distulit  ulmos 
eduramque  pirum  et  spinos  iam  pruna  ferentes  145 


LIBER  IV.   107-184.  93 

\ 
iamque  ministra!  tern  platanum  potantibus  umbras. 
Verum  haec  ips .  equidem  spatiis  exclusus  iniquis 
praetereo  atque  aliis  post  me  memoranda  relinquo. 

Nunc  age,  naturas  apibus  quas  luppiter  ipse 
addidit,  expediam,  pro  qua  mercede  canoros  150 

Curetum  sonitus  crepitantiaque  aera  secutae 
Dictaeo  caeli  regem  pavere  sub  antro. 
Solae  communes  natos,  consortia  tecta 
urbis  hcrfjent,  magnisque  agitant  sub  legibus  aevum, 
et  patriam  solae  at  certos  novere  penates;  iS5 

venturaeque  hiemis  memores  aestate  laborem 
experiuntur  et  in  medium  quaesita  reponunt. 
Namque  aliae  victu  invigilant  et  foedere  pacto 
exercentur  agris ;    pars  intra  saepta  domorum 
narcissi  lacrimam  et  lentum  de  cortice  gluten  160 

prima  favis  ponunt  fundamina,  deinde  tenaces 
suspendunt  ceras ;    aliae  spem  gentis  adultos 
educunt  fetus ;   aliae  purissima  mella 
stipant  et  liquido  distendunt  nectare  cellas. 
Sunt  quibus  ad  portas  cecidit  custodia  sorti,  165 

inque  vicem  speculantur  aquas  et  nubila  caeli, 
aut  onera  accipiunt  venientum,  aut  agmine  facto 
ignavum  fucos  pecus  a  praesepibus  arcent. 
Fervet  opus,  redolentque  thymo  fragrantia  mella. 
Ac  veluti  lentis  Cyclopes  fulmina  massis  ir° 

cum  properant,  alii  taurinis  foUibus  auras 
accipiunt  redduntque,  alii  stridentia  tingunt 
aera  lacu ;   gemit  impositis  incudibus  Aetna ; 
illi  inter  sese  magna  vi  brachia  toUunt 

in  numerum,  versantque  tenaci  forcipe  ferrum  :  175 

non  aliter,  si  parva  licet  componere  magnis, 
Cecropias  innatus  apes  amor  urget  habendi 
munere  quamque  suo.     Grandaevis  oppida  curae 
et  munire  favos  et  daedala  fingere  tecta. 
At  fessae  multa  referunt  se  nocte  minores,  iSo 

crura  thymo  plenae;    pascuntur  et  arbuta  passim 
et  glaucas  salices  casiamque  crocumque  rubentem 
et  pinguem  tiliani  et  ferrugineos  hyacinthos. 
Omnibus  una  quies  operum,  labor  omnibus  unus : 


94  GEORGICA. 

mane  ruunt  portis;   nusquam  mora;   rursus      sdem  1S5 

vesper  ubi  e  pastu  tandem  decedere  campis 

admonuit,  turn  tecta  petunt,  turn  corpora  curant; 

fit  sonitus  mussantque  eras  et  limina  circum. 

Post  ubi  iam  thalamis  se  composuere,  siletur 

in  noctem,  fessosque  sopor  suus  occupat  artus.  190 

Nee  vero  a  stabulis  pluvia  impendente  recedunt 

longius,  aut  credunt  caelo  adventantibus  Euris; 

sed  circum  tutae  sub  moenibus  urbis  aquantur 

excursusque  breves  temptant,  et  saepe  lapillos, 

ut  cymbae  instabiles  fluctu  iactante  saburram,  195 

tollunt,  his  sese  per  inania  nubila  librant. 

Ilium  adeo  placuisse  apibus  mirabere  morem, 

quod  neque  concubitu  indulgent,  nee  corpora  segnes 

in  Venerem  solvunt  aut  fetus  nixibus  edunt; 

verum  ipsae  e  foliis  natos,  e  suavibus  herbis  200 

ore  legunt,  ipsae  regem  parvosque  Quirites 

sufficiunt,  aulasque  et  cerea  regna  refingunt. 

Saepe  etiam  duris  errando  in  cotibus  alas 

attrivere,  ultroque  animam  sub  fasce  dedere : 

tantus  amor  florum  et  generandi  gloria  mellis.  205 

Ergo  ipsas  quamvis  angusti  terminus  aevi 

excipiat  (neque  enim  plus  septima  ducitur  aestas), 

at  genus  immortale  manet,  multosque  per  annos 

Stat  fortuna  domus,  et  avi  numerantur  avorum. 

Praeterea  regem  non  sic  Aegyptus  et  ingens  210 

Lydia  nee  populi  Parthorum  aut  Medus  Hydaspes 

observant.     Rege  incolumi  mens  omnibus  una  est ; 

amisso  rupere  fidem,  constructaque  mella 

diripuere  ipsae  et  crates  solvere  favorum. 

Ille  operum  custos,  ilium  admirantur  et  omnes  215 

circumstant  fremitu  denso  stipantque  frequentes, 

et  saepe  attollunt  umeris,  et  corpora  bello 

obiectant  pulchramque  petunt  per  vulnera  mortem. 

His  quidam  signis  atque  haec  exempla  secuti 
esse  apibus  partem  divinae  mentis  et  haustus  220 

aetherios  dixere ;   deum  namque  ire  per  omnes 
terrasque  tractusque  maris  caelumque   profundum  ; 
hinc  pecudes  armenta  viros,  genus  omne  ferarum, 


LIBER  IV.    185-262.  95 

quemque  sibi  tenues  nascentem  arcessere  vitas : 

scilicet  hue  reddi  deinde  ac  resoluta  referri  225 

omnia,  nee  morti  esse  locum,  sed  viva  volare 

sideris  in  numerum  atque  alto  succedere  caelo. 

Si  quando  sedem  augustam  servataque  mella 
thesauri  relines,  prius  haustu  sparsus  aquarum 
ora  fove,  fumosque  manu  praetende  sequaces.  230 

Bis  gravidos  cogunt  fetus,  duo  tempora  messis  : 
Taygete  simul  os  terris  ostendit  honestum 
Pleas  et  Oceani  spretos  pede  reppulit  amnes, 
aut  eadem  sidus  fugiens  ubi  Piscis  aquosi 
tristior  hibernas  caelo  descendit  in  undas.  235 

lUis  ira  modum  supra  est,  laesaeque  venenum 
morsibus  inspirant,  et  spicula  caeca  relinquunt 
affixae  venis,  animasque  in  vulnere  ponunt. 
Sin  duram  metues  hiemem  parcesque  futuro 
contusosque  animos  et  res  miserabere  fractas,  240 

at  suffire  thymo  cerasque  recidere  inanes 
quis  dubitet?    Nam  saepe  favos  ignotus  adedit 
stelio  et  lucifugis  congesta  cubilia  blattis 
immunisque  sedens  aliena  ad  pabula  fucus; 
aut  asper  crabro  imparibus  se  immiscuit  armis,  245 

aut  dirum  tiniae  genus,  aut  invisa  Minervae 
laxos  in  foribus  suspendit  aranea  casses. 
Quo  magis  exhaustae  fuerint,  hoc  acrius  omnes 
incumbent  generis  lapsi  sarcire  ruinas, 
complebuntque  foros  et  floribus  horrea  texent.  250 

Si  vero,  quoniam  casus  apibus  quoque  nostros 
vita  tulit,  tristi  languebunt  corpora  morbo — 
quod  iam  non  dubiis  poteris  cognoscere  signis  : 
continuo  est  aegris  alius  color;    horrida  vultum 
deformat  macies ;    turn  corpora  luce  carentum  2f5 

exportant  tectis  et  tristia  funera  ducunt; 
aut  illae  pedibus  conexae  ad  limina  pendent, 
aut  intus  clausis  cunctantur  in  aedibus,  omnes 
ignavaeque  fame  et  contracto  frigore  pigrae  ; 
tum  sonus  auditur  gravior,  tractimque  susurrant,  260 

frigidus  ut  quondam  silvis  immurmurat  Auster, 
ut  mare  sollicitum  stridit  refluentibus  undis, 


96  GEORGICA, 

aestuat  ut  clausis  rapidus  fornacibus  ignis : 

hie  iam  galbaneos  suadebo  incendere  odores 

mellaque  harundineis  inferre  canalibus,  ultro  265 

hortantem  et  fessas  ad  pabula  nota  vocantem. 

Proderit  et  tunsum  gallae  admiscere  saporem 

arentesque  rosas,  aut  igni  pinguia  multo 

defruta,  vel  psithia  passes  de  vite  racemos 

Cecropiumque  thymum  et  grave  olentia  centaurea.  270 

Est  etiam  flos  in  pratis,  cui  nomen  amello 

fecere  agricolae,  facilis  quaerentibus  herba ; 

namque  uno  ingentem  tollit  de  caespite  silvam 

aureus  ipse,  sed  in  foliis,  quae  plurima  circum 

fundunlur,  violae  sublucet  purpura  nigrae ;  275 

saepe  deum  nexis  ornatae  torquibus  arae ; 

asper  in  ore  sapor;    tonsis  in  vallibus  ilium 

pastores  et  curva  legunt  prope  flumina  Mellae. 

Huius  odorato  radices  incoque  Baccho, 

pabulaque  in  foribus  plenis  appone  canistris.  280 

Sed  si  quern  proles  subito  defecerit  omnis, 
nee,  genus  unde  novae  stirpis  revocetur,  habebit, 
tempus  et  Arcadii  memoranda  inventa  magistri 
pandere,  quoque  modo  caesis  iam  saepe  iuvencis 
insincerus  apes  tulerit  cruor.     Altius  omnem  285 

expediam  prima  repetens  ab  origine  famam. 
Nam  qua  Pellaei  gens  fortunata  Canopi 
accolit  effuso  stagnantem  flumine  Nilum 
et  circum  pictis  vehitur  sua  rura  phaselis, 
quaque  pharetratae  vicinia  Persidis  urget,  290 

et  diversa  ruens  septem  discurrit  in  ora 
et  viridem  Aegyptum  nigra  fecundat  harena  1 

usque  coloratis  amnis  devexus  ab  Indis, 
omnis  in  hac  certam  regio  iacit  arte  salutem. 
Exiguus  primum  atque  ipsos  contractus  in  usus  295 

eligitur  locus;    hunc  angustique  imbrice  tecti 
parietibusque  premunt  arlis,  et  quattuor  addunt 
quattuor  a  ventis  obliqua  luce  fenestras. 
Tum  vitulus  bima  curvans  iam  cornua  fronte 
quaeritur;   huic  geminae  nares  et  spiritus  oris  300 

multa  reluctanti  obstruitur,  plagisque  perempto 


LIBER  IV.   263-340.  97 

tunsa  per  integram  solvuntur  viscera  pellem. 

Sic  positum  in  clause  linquunt,  et  ramea  costis 

subiiciunt  fragmenta,  thymum  casiasque  recentes. 

Hoc  geritur  zephyris  primum  impellentibus  undas,  305 

ante  novis  rubeant  quam  prata  coloribus,  ante 

garrula  quam  tignis  niduni  suspendat  hirundo. 

Interea  teneris  tepefactus  in  ossibus  umor 

aestuat,  et  visenda  modis  animalia  miris, 

trunca  pedum  primo,  mox  et  stridentia  pennis,  310 

miscentur,  tenuemque  magis  magis  aera  carpunt, 

donee  ut  aestivis  effusus  nubibus  imber 

erupere  aut  ut  nervo  pulsante  sagittae, 

prima  leves  ineunt  si  quando  proelia  Parthi. 

Quis  deus  hanc,  Musae,  quis  nobis  extudit  artem?  315 

Unde  nova  ingressus  hominum  experientia  cepit? 
Pastor  Aristaeus  fugiens  Peneia  Tempe 
amissis,  ut  fama,  apibus  morboque  fameque 
tristis  ad  extremi  sacrum  caput  astitit  amnis 
multa  querens,  atque  hac  affatus  voce  parentem :  320 

'  Mater,  Cyrene  mater,  quae  gurgitis  huius 
ima  tenes,  quid  me  praeclara  stirpe  deorum, 
(si  modo,  quern  perhibes,  pater  est  Thymbraeus  Apollo) 
invisum  fatis  genuisti?    Aut  quo  tibi  nostri 
pulsus  amor?    Quid  me  caelum  sperare  iubebas?  3^5 

En  etiam  hunc  ipsum  vitae  mortalis  honorem, 
quem  mihi  vix  frugum  et  pecudum  custodia  sollers 
omnia  temptanti  extuderat,  te  matre  relinquo. 
Quin  age  et  ipsa  manu  felices  erue  silvas, 
fer  stabulis  inimicum  ignem  atque  interfice  messes,  330 

ure  sata,  et  duram  in  vites  molire  bipennem, 
tanta  meae  si  te  ceperunt  taedia  laudis.' 
At  mater  sonitum  thalamo  sub  fluminis  alti 
sensit.     Eam  circum  Milesia  vellera  Nymphae 
carpebant  hyali  saturo  fucata  colore,  335 

Drymoque  Xanthoque  Ligeaque  Phyllodoceque, 
caesariem  effusae  nitidam  per  Candida  colla, 
[Nesaee  Spioque  Thaliaque  Cymodoceque] 
Cydippeque  et  flava  Lycorias,  altera  virgo, 
altera  turn  primos  Lucinae  experta  labores  34^ 

G 


98  GEORGICA. 

Clioque  et  Beroe  soror,  Oceanitides  ambae, 

ambae  auro,  pictis  incinctae  pellibus  ambae, 

atque  Ephyre  atque  Opis  et  Asia  Deiopea 

et  tandem  positis  velox  Arethusa  sagittis. 

Inter  quas  curam  Clymene  narrabat  inanem  345 

Vulcani,  Martisque  dolos  et  dulcia  furta, 

aque  Chao  densos  divum  numerabat  amores. 

Carmine  quo  caplae  dum  fusis  mollia  pensa 

devolvunt,  iterum  maternas  impulit  aures 

luctus  Aristaei,  vitreisque  sedilibus  omnes  350 

obstupuere  ;    sed  ante  alias  Arethusa  sorores 

prospiciens  summa  flavum  caput  extulit  unda, 

et  procul :    '  O  gemitu  non  frustra  exterrita  tanto 

Cyrene  soror,  ipse  tibi,  tua  maxima  cura, 

tristis  Aristaeus  Penei  genitoris  ad  undam  355 

Stat  lacrimans,  et  te  crudelem  nomine  dicit.' 

Huic  percussa  nova  mentem  formidine  mater 

'  Due,  age,  due  ad  nos  ;   fas  illi  limina  divum 

tangere '  ait.     Simul  alta  iubet  discedere  late 

flumina,  qua  iuvenis  gressus  inferret.     At  ilium  360 

curvata  in  montis  faciem  circumstetit  unda 

accepitque  sinu  vasto  misitque  sub  amnem. 

lamque  domum  mirans  genetricis  et  umida  regna 

speluncisque  lacus  clausos  lucosque  sonantes 

ibat,  et  ingenti  motu  stupefactus  aquarum  365 

omnia  sub  magna  labentia  flumina  terra 

spectabat  diversa  locis,  Phasimque  Lycumque 

et  caput,  unde  altus  primum  se  erumpit  Enipeus, 

unde  pater  Tiberinus,  et  unde  Aniena  fluenta 
p-  saxosusque  sonans  Hypanis  Mysusque  Caicus,  370 

1    et  gemina  auratus  taurino  cprnua  vultu   -  J^ 

Eridanus,  quo  non  alius  per  pinguia  culta 
L  in  mare  purpureum  violentior  effluit  amnis.  ^n"^!"i^ 

postquam  est  in  thalami  pendentia  pumice  tecta 

perventum'  et  nati  fletus  cognovit  inanes        ■  ,'  sj'S 

Cyrene,  manibus  liquidos  dant  ordme  fontes 

germanae,  tonsisque  ferunt  mantelia  villis;  / 

pars  epulis  onerant  mensas  et  plena  reponunt  "^ " 

pocula ;    Panchaeis  adolescunt  ignibus  arae ; 


LIBER  IV.  341-418.  99 

et  mater  '  Cape  Maeonii  carchesia  Bacchi :  380 

Oceano  libemus'  ait.     Simul  ipsa  precatur         -ir>-^,- 

Oceanumque  patrem  rerum  Nymphasque  sorores, 

centum  quae  silvas,  centum  quae  flumina  servant. 

Ter  liquido  ardentem  perfundit  nectare  Vestam, 

ter  flamma  ad  summum  tecti  subiecta  reluxit.  3^5 

Omine  quo  firmans  animum  sic  incipit  ipsa  :  ^ 

'  Est  in  Carpathio  Neptuni  gurgite  vates 
caeruleus  Proteus,  magnum  qui  piscibus  aequor 
et  iuncto  bipedum  curru  metitur  equorum. 
Hie  nunc  Emathiae  portus  patriamque  revisit  390 

Pallenen;   hunc  et  Nympliae  veneramur  et  ipse 
grandaevus  Nereus :    novit  namque  omnia  vates,  j 
quae  sint,  quae  fuerint,  quae  mox  ventura  tralianlur;   ( 
quippe  ita  Neptuno  visum  est,  immania  cuius 
V-  armenta  et  turpes'  pascit  sub  gurgite  phocas.  395 

Hie  tibi,  nate,  prius  vinclis  capiendus,  ut  omnem 
'^expediat  morbi  causam,  eventusque  seciindet.    • 
Nam  sine  vi  non  ulla  dabit  praecepta,  neque  ilium 
irando  flectesj    vim  duram  et  vincula  capto 
tende ;    doli  ciftum  haec  demum  frangentur  inan^s.  //         400 
Ipsa  ego^e,  medios  cum  sol  accenderit  aestus,'^ 
cum  sitiunt  herbae  et  pecori  iam^  gratior  umbra  est, 
in  secreta  senis  ducam,  quo  f^s^s'usab  undis 
se  recipit,   facile  ut  somno  ag^re(Jiare  iacentem, 
Verum  ubi  correptum  manibus  vinclisque  tenebis,  405 

tum  variae  eludent  species  jitque  ora  ferarum. 
Fiet  enim  subito  su¥  horridus  atraque  tigris 
squarnosusque  draco  et  fulva  cervice  leaena, 
aut  ^c/e'itt  flammae  sonitum  dabit  atque  ita  vinclis 
excidet,  aut  in  aquas  tenues  ,  dilapsus  abibit.  3  4 10 

— i.sed  quanto  ille  magis  formas  se  vertet  in  omnes, 

1 ^anto,  nate,  magis  contende  tenacia  vincla, 

donee  talis  erit  mutato   corpore,  qualem 
videris,  incepto_^tegeret  cum  luSima  somno.' 

Haec  ait  et  liquidum  ambrosiae  defundit  odorem,  415 

^  quo  totum  nati  corpus ^erduxit,;  at  illi 
dulcis  compositis  spiravit  crinibtis  aura, 
atque  habilis  membris  venit  vigor.     Est  specus  ingens 


'^C\i\r-*^ 


lOO  GEORGICA. 

exesi  latere  in  montis,,  quo  plurima  vento        L't.  .v.>^'^ 
cogilur  inque  sinua.  scindit  sese  unda  rgductos,  ^^ '  hiio 

,^deprensis  ohm  statio  tutissTrrraTTautis ;       }r)(\<v^^'^   i 
intus  se  vasti  Proteus  tegit  obiice  saxi. 
Hie  iuvenem  in  latebris  aversum  a  lumine  Nymplia 
(^    collocat,  ipsa  procul  nebulis  obscura  resistit. 

lam  rapidus  torrens  sitientes  Sirius  Indos  425 

^vJ    ardebat  caelo,,  et  medium  sol  igneus  orbem 
j^sjo^^  hauserat ;   arebant  herbae,  et  cava  flumina  siccis 
,s^  faucibus  ad  limum  radii  tepefacta  coqu^bant:      -      K/>^l^^';>^ 
cum  Proteus  consueta  petens  e  fluctibus  antra 
ibat ;   eum  vasti  circum  gens  umida  ponti  >' '-  430 

exsultans  ror^m  late^ispergit  ainarujji^^ 
> — =-'Sternunt  se  somno  diversae  in  litore  phocae ; 
ipse  velut  stabuli  custos  in  montibus  olim, 
vesper  ubi  e  pastu,  vltulos  ad  tecta  reducit, 
auditisque  lupos  acuunt  balatibus  agni,  435 

^considit  scopulo  medius,  numerriimque  recenset. 
Cuius  Aristaeo  quoniam  est  oblata  facultas,  r^/^- 
vix  defessa  seneni  passus  componere  membra 
cum  clamore  ruit  magno,  manicisque  iacentem 
occupat.  /  Ille  suae  contra  non  immemor  artis  440 

omnia  transformat  sese  in  miracula  rerum, 
ignemque  horribilemque  feram  fluviumque  liquentem./ 
Verum  ubi  nulla  fugam  reperit  fallacia,  victus 
in  sese  redit,  atque  hominis  tandem  ore  loculus 
'  Nam  quis  te,  iuvenum  confidentissime,  nostras  445 

iussit  adire  domos?    quidve  hinc  petis?'    inquit.     At  ille 
'  Scis,  Proteu,  scis  ipse  ;    neque  est  te  fallere  quidquam  : 
sed  tu  desine  velle.     Deum  praepepta  secuti 
venimus,  hinc  lassis  quaesituiii  oracula  rebus.' 
Tanlum  effatus.  ,  Ad  haec'vates  vi  denique  multa  .  450 

ardentes  oculos  ihtorsit  lumine  glauco,         ^  \  y^j-y^^    Iv^/v^      ,  ^ 
et  graviter  frendens  sic  fatlis  ora  resolvit :        _    ../-.-s^       "f^r  " 
•  '  Non  te  nuUius  exercent  numinis  irae  ; 
magna  luis  conimissa :    tibi  has  miserabilis  Orpheus 
y  haudquaquam  ob  meritum  poenas,  ni  fata  resistant,  455 

,^       suscitat,  et  rapta  graviter  pro  coniuge  saevit.  -  '^  ^^'  ^         )/\,^ 
^    Ilia  quidem,  dum  te  fugeret  per  flumina  praeceps,       L^^^^^~P^ 


^s'^- 


.vr^.     ^'■" 


JVc^^""      \f^^^^^^  /F.  419  -496. 


lOI 


f     • 


I  immanem  ante  pedes  hydrum  moritura  puella 
s^rvantem  ripas  alta  non  vidit  in  herba. -/ 
At  chorus  aequalis  Dryadum  clamore  supremos  4C0 

implerunt  monies ;    flerunt  Rhodopeiae  arces  ~  r-o,V.  -  - 
altaque  Parigaea  et  Rhesi  Mavortia  tellus 
atque  Getae,  atque  Hebrus  et  Actias  Qriihyia.^* 
^^'Ipse  cava  solans  aegrum  tes^raine  amorem 
te,  dulcis  coniunx,  te  solo  in  litore  secuni, 
te  veniente  die,  te  decedente  canebat.  •        X,^^«-«- 
Taenarias  etiam  fauces,  alta  ostia  Ditis^"^  s^  , 
et  caligantem  nigra  formidine  lucuni     jvt^i--<- 
ingressus,  Alanesque  adiit  regemque  tr^mendum,- 
nesciaque  humanis  precibus  mansuescere  corda.  —  470 

At  cantu  coniniotae  Erebi  de  sedibus  imis 
umbrae  ibaht  tenjies  simulacrague  luce  carentum, 
quam  muTtaTm  foliis  avlmti^se  millia  condunt,— ''^A 

vespeiLubi__auLJiihernus  agit  de  montibus  imber, 

matres  atque  viri  defunctaque  Corpora  vita  r    '  475 

magnanimum  heroum,  pueii  innuptaeque  _pu£lla£, 
impositique  ragi5  iuvenes  ante  ora  parentum ;  — 

^quos  circum  limus  niger  et  deformis  harundo 

I   Cocytj  tafaS'qu^^  palus  inamabilis  unda 

I  alligat,  et  noviens  Styx  interfusa  coercet.  /'.So 

Quin  ipsae  stupuere  domus  atque  intima  Leti^ 
Tartara  caeruleosque  implexae  crinibus  angues^ 
Eumenides,  -Jenuitque/  inhkins  tria  Cerberus  ora, 
atque  Ixionii  vento  rcTfaconstitit  orbis.     \ 

Jiamque  pedem  referens  casus  evaserat  omnes,  485 

redditaque  Eurydice  superas  veniebat  ad  auras 
poiie  sequens  (namque  banc  dederat  Proserpina  legem), 
cum  subita  incautum  dementia  cepit  amantem, 
ignoscenda  quidem,  scirent  si  ignoscere  Manes : 
restitit,  Eurydicenque  suam  iam  luce  sub  ipsa  JT"^  490 

immemor  heu  viclusque  animi  respexit.     Ibi  omnis 
effusus  labor^atque  immitis  rupta  tyranni 
foedera  terque  fragor  stagnis  auditus  Averni. 
Ilia  "  Quis  et  me  "  inquit  "  miseram  et  te  perdidit,  Orpheu, 
quis  tantus  furor  ?    En  iterum  crudelia  retro  495 

fata  vocant,  conditque  natantia  lumina  somnus. 


102  S^^''^  CEORGICA, 

lamque  vale :    feror  indent!  circumdata  nocte 

invaTidasque  tibi  tendens,  heu  non  tua,  palmas — ." 
-Dixit,  et  ex  oculis  subito'  ceu  fumus  in  auras 

commixtus  tenues  fugit  diversa^  neque  ilium  500 

prensantem  nequiquam  umbras  et  multa  volentem 

dicere  praeterea  vidit ;   nee  portitor  Orci 
'  amplius  obiectam  passus  transire  paludem. 
I  Quid  faceret  ?    Quo  se  rapta  bis  coniuge  ferret  ? 
1  Quo  fletu  Manes,  qua  numina  voce  moveret  ?  505 

^,^Mlla  quidem  Stygia  nabat  iam  frigida  cymba./ 

Septem  ilium  totos  perhibent  ex  ordine  menses 

rupe  sub  aeria  deserti  ad  Strymonis  undam 

flevisse,  et  gelidis  haec  evolvisse  sub  antris, 

mulcentem  tigres  et  agentem  carmine  quercus ;  510 

qualis  populea  maerens  philomela  sub  umbra 

amissos  queritur  fetus,  quos  durus  arator 

observans  nido  implumes  detraxit ;    at  ilia 

flet  noctem,  ramoque  sedens  miserabile  carmen 

integrat,  et  maestis  late  loca  questibus  implet.  515 

Nulla  Venus,  non  uUi  animum  flexere  hymenaei. 

Solus  hyperboreas  glacies  Tanaimque  nivalem 

arvaque  Rhipaeis  nunquam  viduata  pruinis 

lustrabat,  raptam  Eurydicen  atque  irrita  Ditis 

dona  querens;    spretae  Ciconum  quo  munere  matres  520 

inter  sacra  deum  nocturnique  orgia  Bacchi 

discerptum  latos  iuvenem  sparsere  per  agros. 

Turn  quoque  marmorea  caput  a  cervice  revulsum 

gurgite  cum  medio  portans  Oeagrius  Hebrus 

volveret,  Eurydicen  vox  ipsa  et  frigida  lingua  525 

"  Ah  !    miseram  Eurydicen  "  anima  fugiente  vocabat, 

Eurydicen  toto  referebant  flumine  ripae.' 

Haec  Proteus,  et  se  iactu  dedit  aequor  in  altum, 

quaque  dedit,  spumantem  undam  sub  vertice  torsit. 

At  non  Cyrene ;    namque  ultro  affata  timentem  :  530 

'  Nate,  licet  tristes  animo  deponere  curas. 

Haec  omnis  morbi  causa,  hinc  miserabile  Nymphae, 

cum  quibus  ilia  choros  lucis  agitabat  in  altis, 

exitium  misere  apibus.     Tu  munera  supplex 

tende  petens  pacem,  et  faciles  venerare  Napaeas;  535 


LIBER  IV.  497-566.  103 

namque  dabunt  veniam  votis,  irasque  remittent. 

Sed  modus  orandi  qui  sit,  prius  ordine  dicam. 

Quattuor  eximios  praestanti  corpore  tauros, 

qui  tibi  nunc  viridis  depascunt  summa  L}xaei, 

delige,  et  intacta  totidem  cervice  iuvencas.  540 

Quattuor  his  aras  alta  ad  delubra  dearum 

constitue,  et  sacrum  iugulis  demitte  cruorem, 

corporaque  ipsa  bourn  frondoso  desere  luco. 

Post  ubi  nona  suos  Aurora  ostenderit  ortus, 

inferias  Orphei  Lethaea  papavera  mittes,  545 

et  nigram  mactabis  ovem,  lucumque  revises  : 

placatam  Eurydicen  vitula  venerabere  caesa.' 

Haud  mora :   continue  matris  praecepta  facessit ; 
ad  delubra  venit,  monstratas  excitat  aras, 
quattuor  eximios  praestanti  corpore  tauros  550 

ducit  et  intacta  totidem  cervice  iuvencas. 
Post  ubi  nona  suos  Aurora  induxerat  ortus, 
inferias  Orphei  mittit,  lucumque  revisit. 
Hie  vero  subitum  ac  dictu  mirabile  monstrum 
aspiciunt,  liquefacta  boum  per  viscera  toto  555 

stridere  apes  utero  et  ruptis  effervere  costis, 
immensasque  trahi  nubes,  iamque  arbore  summa 
confluere  et  lentis  uvam  demittere  ramis. 

Haec  super  arvorum  cultu  pecorumque  canebam  -^ 
et  super  arboribus,  Caesar  dum  magnus  ad  altum        i        560 
fulminat  Euphraten  bello,  victorque  volentes 
per  populos  dat  iura,  viamque  ailectat  Qlympo. 
Illo  Vergilium  me  tempore  dulcis  alebat 
Parthenope  studiis  florentem  ignobilis  oti, 
carmina  qui  lusi  pastorum,  audaxque  iuventa,  \         565 

Tityre,  te  patulae  cecini  sub  tegmine  fagi.  -"^^ 


BUCOLICS. 


NOTES    TO    ECLOGUE   I. 

TITYRUS. 

.MELIBOEUS.  TITYRUS. 

This  Eclogue  fixes  its  own  date,  shortly  after  B.C.  40  (713  A.U.C.),  when, 
by  an  agreement  of  the  Triumvirate,  Octavianus  distributed  the  country 
lands  among  the  veterans,  twenty-eight  legions  of  whom  had  to  be  satisfied. 
The  inhabitants  of  Cremona  suffered  first,  then  those  of  Mantua  {nimiuni 
vicina  Eel.  ix.  28%  and  among  them  Mrgil ;  though,  as  appears  from 
Eel.  ix.  7-10,  he  had  hoped  that  he  might  be  spared.  He  then  went 
to  Rome  and  obtained  from  Octavianus  the  restitution  of  his  property, 
at  the  instance  of  Asinius  PoUio  a  strict  disciplinarian  and  no  friend  to 
military  licence),  Alfenus  Varus,  and  Callus.  This  poem  expresses  his 
gratitude  to  Octavianus. 

Meliboeus,  a  dispossessed  and  exiled  shepherd,  encounters  Tityrus  fortunate 
in  the  undisturbed  possession  of  his  homestead.  Tityrus  is  represented  as  a 
farm-slave  who  has  just  worked  out  his  freedom ;  and  this  symbolises  the 
confirmation  of  Virgil  in  his  property,  the  slave's  master  representing  Oc- 
tavianus, and  the  two  ideas  of  the  slave's  emancipation  and  Virgil's  restora- 
tion being  so  mixed  up  as  to  confuse  the  whole  narrative  ;  which  is  at  one 
time  allegorical,  at  another  historical. 

On  the  relative  date  of  this  and  Eel.  ix  see  Introd.  to  ix,  p.  133. 


Biicolica  ' ISovKoXiKo.)  are  poems  treating  of  pastoral  subjects.  Eclogae 
^KXojai,  selections)  are  short  unconnected  poems.  Statins  (Silv.  iii. 
pref.)  applies  the  title  to  one  of  his  own  poems  ;  Ausonius  (Idyll  11,  pref. ' 
to  an  ode  of  Horace.  Pliny  ■  Epist.  iv.  14,  9)  doubts  whether  to  call  a 
collccuon  of  short  poems  cpigraiiuuata,  idyllia,  eclogae,  qx  foeniaiia. 

2.  silvestrem  miisam,  'a  woodland  strain.'  Cp.  Lucr.  iv.  ^9,C)  Jistula 
silveslrcDi  iie  iCsset  fuiiJerc  Miisaiit.  meditaris,  'compose,'  'practise.' 
tenui,  '  slender.' 


io6  BUCOLICS.     ECL.  L  4-31. 

4.  lentus,  '  lounging,"  '  at  ease' 

5.  formosam  resonare  Amaryllida,  'reecho  the  charms  of  Amaryllis: ' 
cognate  accusative,  like  sal/are  Cyclopa,  sonare  vitiiini,  etc. 

6.  deus.  Virgil  here  strikes  the  first  note  of  that  worship  of  the  Emperor 
which  characterised  the  age  and  its  poetical  expression.  See  Sellar,  Virgil, 
ch.  i.  pp.  14-21. 

9,  10.  errare  boves  perniisit,  poetical  constr.  with  ace.  and  infm.  after 
permitto,  instead  of  the  usual  tit  and  subj.  ludere,  often  used,  in  a  half- 
depreciatory  tone,  of  poetry,  as  of  a  mere  relaxation  ;  '  to  play  as  I  wished 
on  the  rustic  pipe  :'  cp.  G.  iv.  565  carmiua  qui  lusi pastonim. 

12,  13.  turbatur,  impersonal,  '  there  is  tumult,  or  riot.'  proteuus, 
'onward;'  the  original  meaning  in  prose,  almost  superseded  by  the  second- 
ary temporal  sense  of  '  forthwith.'  duco,  one  of  the  she-goats  has  to  be  led 
by  a  cord. 

14, 15.  namque,  unusually  late  in  the  sentence;  cp.  Aen.  v.  733  non  inc 
impia  namqite  Tartaia  hahevt.  Livy  and  later  prose  writers  sometimes 
place  it  second  in  a  clause;  11am  always  comes  first,  couixa,  i.q.  oiixa, 
'having  brought  forth.'  silice  in  nuda,  '  on  the  bare  flint,'  i.e.  on  stony 
soil,  where  they  would  die  all  the  sooner. 

16,  17.  '  Often,  I  mind,  this  mischief  was  foretold  me,  had  I  but  had  sense 
to  see  it,  by  lightning  striking  an  oak.'  si  .  .  .  fuisset  may  be  called  techni- 
cally the  protasis  to  a  suppressed  apodosis  (c/  nunc  infellexissc/n) ;  but 
neither  Latin  nor  English  requires  the  expression  of  this  further  thought. 
laeva,  'stupid,'  (Gk.  auaios) :  cp.  Hor.  A.  P.  301  0  ego  !acviis  =' ioo\  that 
I  am  ! '  memiui  praedicere,  '  remember  that  they  foretold  : '  the  pres. 
infin.  is  the  usual  construction,  when  the  direct  memory  of  an  eye-witness  is 
referred  to. 

18.  This  verse  is  wanting  in  all  but  two  late  MSS.,  and  has  obviously  got 
in  from  Eel.  ix.  15.  Modern  editors  retain  it  only  for  the  sake  of  the 
accepted  numeration. 

19.  iste  deus,  'your  god,'  referring  to  1.  6.  da  =  (/?V;  cp.  Hor.  Sat.  ii. 
%.  f)  da  .  .  .  quae  ventrcm  placave7-it  esca  ;  Ter.  Haut.  prol.  10  qna»i  ob  rem 
has  partes  didicerini,  paucis  daho.  It  was  perhaps  a  colloquial  idiom. 
So  accipe  =  ajidi  Aen.  ii.  65.     Cp.  Jiabere=^'  to  know,'  Eel.  ii.  2. 

21.  huic  nostrae,  i.e.  Mantua,  close  to  which  was  Virgil's  estate. 

22.  depellere,  'drive  in'  (to  the  city),  de  denoting  the  destination,  as 
dedncere  [eoloniani,  consuleiu,  etc.),  dcmittere  'naves  in  portn>}i\. 

25,  26.  extulit,  '  has  raised '  (perf.)  or  '  rears '  (aorist,  cp.  G.  i.  49)  ; 
either  of  which  senses  is  agreeable  to  Latin  idiom,  viburna,  '  shrubs ; ' 
possibly  connected  with  viere,  and  denoting  any  tough  (lenta)  or  pliant 
shrub  used  for  binding  fagots. 

28-31.  Tityrus,  having  saved  enough  (see  below  on  peciili  1.  33),  went 
to  Rome  to  buy  his  freedom  from  his  master.  On  the  symbolism  of  this 
see  introduction  to  this  Eclogue,  sera  tanien,  '  though  late,  has  yet 
regarded  me.'    iuerteni,  '  indolent,'  'unambitious,'  careless  about  procuring 


BUCOLICS.      ECL.  I.  33-46.  107 

his  freedom,  candidior,  'somewhat  grey:'  Tityms  obtains  his  freedom 
late  in  life,  after  he  has  changed  his  partner  Galatea  for  the  more 
thrifty  Amaryllis,  cadebat,  '  began  to  fall.'  habet,  because  Amaryllis 
is  now  his  partner ;  reliqiiit,  because  Galatea  has  ceased  once  for  all  to 
be  so. 

33.  peculi,  here  the  private  property  ^'sa\'ings')  of  slaves:  also  of 
property  in  general,  aerugo  ct  cur  a  pecjili  Hor.  A.  P.  330,  and  in  legal 
terminology  of  the  private  purse  of  a  wife,  a  son,  or  daughter,  etc.:  cp. 
Liv.  ii.  4 1  pcculiuni  filii. 

34.  victima,  a  sheep  for  sacrifice. 

35.  ingratae,  '  thankless,'  because  it  paid  him  less  than  he  expected. 

36.  ^avis  acre,  '  laden  with  money.' 

38.  sua  arbore,  '  their  native  tree.'  Amaryllis,  in  her  sorrow,  left  the 
apples  ungathered. 

39.  aberat.  For  this  lengthening  before  a  vowel  of  -lit  of  3  sing.  impf. 
cp.  G.  iv.  137  io7tdebat  hyacinthi  \  and  for  the  whole  question  of  such 
lengthening  of  short  final  syllables  in  Virgil  see  Prof.  Xettleship's  Excursus 
to  Aen.  xii.  in  Conington's  edition,  showing  (i)  that  Virgil  never  allows 
himself  these  licences  except  in  arsis  (i.e.  in  the  emphatic  syllable  of  a  foot), 
and  but  seldom  where  there  is  not  (as  here)  a  slight  break  in  the  sentence ; 
(2)  that  he  deliberately  introduced  them  as  antiquarian  ornaments.  'J'he 
-at  of  imperfect  was  originally  long,  and  is  so  frequently  in  Plautus  and 
Ennius.     See  Introd.  p.  16. 

40.  arbusta,  '  plantations  '  or  '  vineyards,'  i.e.  places  planted  with  trees 
at  due  intervals  on  whicli  vines  could  be  trained  ;  whence  adjj.  arbustivac 
vites  (Columella),  arlnistus  agcr  Cic.  Rep.  v.  2.  3.  The  meaning  'trees' 
or  '  shrubs '  is  frequent  in  Lucretius  with  nom.  arbusta,  because  arborcs 
cannot  come  into  hexameter  verse  :  but  arborihus  can,  and  so  in  the  only 
example  of  arbtistis  in  Lucr.  (v.  1378)  the  word  has  its  proper  meaning 
(Munro,  vol.  i.  187).  Arbustuin=arbos-tum  (cp.  viigiil-tuiit,  salic-tiiiii), 
and  arbor-c-tum  is  another  form  of  the  same  derivative. 

41-43.  quid  facereni  ?  Deliberative  subj,  '  what  was  I  to  do  ?'  licebat, 
some  such  j^hrase  as  alio  modo  must  be  supplied  from  alibi  in  the  next  line. 
praesentes,  'powerful,'  lit.  'present,'  a  natural  meaning  of  the  term  as 
applied  to  a  heathen  god  :  cp.  G.  i.  10  agrestniii  pracsentia  vumina  Fauiii. 
iuvenem,  i.  e.  Octavianus.  There  is  here  a  hopeless  confusion  between  the 
allegory  {a.  slave  going  to  Rome  to  buy  his  freedom),  and  the  reality  (Virgil 
going  to  beg  restitution  of  his  property  from  Octavianus). 

45,  46.  primus,  in  sense  adverbial  =/m««w.  pueri,  'swains,'  lit. 
'slaves,'  the  Greek  Trah.  summittite,  'rear,'  as  in  G.  iii.  73  quos  in  spetii 
statues  suj/miittcrcgcutis :  cp.  Columella  vii. 3. 1 3 Sidnirbanae  j-cgioiiis opilio^ 
teneros  aguos,  dum  adhuc  hcrbac  sunt  expertes,  lauio  tradit ;  .  .  .  sttmmitti 
tamcn  ctiam  in  vicinia  iirbis  (jiiiiituin  qucniquc  oportcbit.  Servius,  Wagner, 
etc.  explain  it  as  =  '  yoke  '  {summittite  iugd)  ;  but  there  seems  no  mention  of 
agriculture  here.     Forb.  objects  to  the  meaning  'rear/  as  inappropriate  to 


io8  BUCOLICS.     ECL.  I.  47-60. 

full-grown  bulls  {iaiirPj ;  but  it  seems  nalur.1l  enough  to  speak  of  rearing 
a  bull  (from  its  birth  to  maturity). 

47-49.  manebunt,  *  shall  remain  your  own,'  lit.  'shall  be  lasting.'  Con. 
takes  tua  as  predicate,  but  the  rhythm  is  very  much  against  this,  ctuam- 
vis,  etc.,  'Though  all  your  land  is  choked  with  barren  stones  or  covered 
with  marsh  and  sedge.'  With  lapis  some  verbal  notion  must  be  supplied 
from  obdiicat, — an  instance  of  zeugma,  que  is  disjunctive,  cp.  Aen.  vi.  616 
saxnm  ingeiis  vohnini  alii,  radiisqne  rotaruvi  Districti  pendent,  palus 
probably  refers  to  the  overflowing  of  the  Mincio.  limoso  itinco,  rushes 
which  grow  in  mud,  'sedge.'  It  seems  better  to  take  omnia  pascxia  as 
used  loosely  of  the  whole  farm,  than  (with  Con.)  to  separate  the  two  words, 
omnia  =  the  whole  farm,  and  pasctia  =  the  pastures  by  the  river. 

50.  graves  fetas  =  '  the  pregnant  ewes  ;'  the  two  words  conveying  much 
the  same  idea. 

52,  53.  flumina  nota,  '  Mincio  and  Po,  if  we  are  to  be  precise'  (Con.). 
But  need  we  be  precise  ?  The  scenery  of  the  Eclogues  is  too  vague  and  too 
much  mixed  up  with  conventionalities,  fontes  sacros,  a  regular  epithet, 
embodying  the  belief  that  every  fountain  and  stream  had  its  divinity.  So 
Upov  vSojp  Theocr.  vii.  136. 

54-56.  '  On  one  side,  as  hitherto,  the  hedge  upon  your  neighbour's  boun- 
dary, where  bees  of  Hybla  suck  the  willows'  blossoms,  shall  oftentime  woo 
sleep  to  your  eyes  with  its  gentle  murmuring.'  quae  semper,  sc.  siiasit, 
'  as  ever.'  ab  limite,  on  the  boundary,  in  accordance  with  Greek  and 
Latin  idiom,  which  expresses  direction  as  from  a  particular  point,  where 
English  requires  ai  or  towards  :  cp.  a  dexh'a,  a  tcrgo,  If  dptarepds,  etc. 
Hyblaeis,  one  of  the  conventional  epitliets  common  in  Latin  poetry,  a 
tiling  being  called  by  the  people  or  place  most  famous  for  it.  The  bees  of 
Ilybla  in  Sicily  were  celebrated ;  so  all  bees  are  called  '  Hyblaean.'  In  the 
same  way  quivers  are  '  Cretan,'  and  hounds  '  Spartan '  (G.  iii.  345),  lions 
'  Carthaginian,'  and  tigresses  '  Armenian  '  (Eel.  v.  27,  29).  floreni  depasta, 
'  its  blossoms  browsed  ;'  this  construction  is  not  uncommon  in  Latin  poetry, 
tlie  accusative  being  used  after  a  passive  participle  in  imitation  of  the  Greek 
construction  with  passive  or  middle  (e.  g.  kKKeKOixjxivos  rbv  d(f>0a\fx6v,  rrpo- 
0fP\7]fin(vos  TTjU  dairiSa).  Cp.  Eel.  iii.  1 06  inscripti  iioniina  regit m  Flores, 
II or.  Sat.  i.  6.  i\ pKcri  .  .  .  Lacvo  stispcnsi  lociilos  tahiilainqiie  lacerio. 

57.  58.  frondator,  'dresser.'  His  duties,  according  to  Servius,  were 
(i)  to  lop  boughs,  (2'i  to  strip  off  leaves  for  fodder,  (3)  to  clear  away 
vine-leaves  in  order  to  let  the  sun  on  to  the  grapes,  tua  cvira.  =  deliciae 
iiiae,  '  your  delight,'  'your  pets;'  cp.  x.  22. 

60.  leves,  '  on  the  wing.'  ergo  resumes  a  previous  thought — '  Yes, 
sooner  shall  .  .  .  .'  For  the  idea  cp.  Aen.  i.  607-9,  ^'-  7*^ !  ^^'^  ^^^  speech 
of  the  Corinthian  Sosicles  in  Herod,  v.  92 — ^  5^  v  re  ovpavus  tarai  ivep9i 
TTJs  yfji.  ical  Tj  7^  ix(Tici)po<i  vnip  tov  ovpavov,  nai  ol  dvOpanroi  vojxov  iv 
6a\daari  'i^ovai.  Koi  01  i_^W£y  roy  irpuTtpov  dvOpcunoi,  ore  je  vfxeii,  Si  Aane- 
Saiyuocioi  .  .  .  rvpavy'tSas  icardyeiv  TrapaaKevd^eaOe.     This  latter  passage  ///ay 


BUCOLICS.     ECL.  I.  61-']'].  109 

(as  Keiglilley  find  Coniiigton)  have  suggested  Virgil's  language  here  :    but 
such  impassioned  appeals  for  the  reversal  of  nature's  laws,  sooner  than  that 
something  unlikely  or  undesirable  should  happen,  rise  naturally  to  the  lips 
of  any  orator  or  poet.     Thus   in   Sir  Walter   Scott's  '  Lay  of  the   Last 
Minstrel,'  Canto  I,  stanza  xviii,  the  Ladye  of  Branksome 
'  Raised  her  stately  head 
And  her  heart  throbbed  high  with  pride : 
'•  Your  mountains  shall  bend, 
And  your  streams  ascend, 

Ere  Margaret  be  our  foeman's  bride!"' 
62.  pererratis   amborum   finibiis,    'each   wandering  o'er  the    other's 
bounds.'     The  Arar  i^Saone)  is  strictly  speaking   a  river  of  Gaul :    but  it 
rises  in  the  Vosges,  not  far  from  Germany. 

65.  Afros,  poetical  accus.  of  motion  towards :  cp.  Aen.  vi.  696  /lacc  liiiiiiia 
(ciidere  adcgit. 

66.  Oaxen,  apparently  the  river  which  flows  by  Axus  or  Oaxus,  a  town 
in  Crete,  mentioned  by  Herodotus,  iv.  154.  For  Cretae  some  editors  print 
crctae,  explaining  rapiditni  cretae  Oaxen  as  '  the  chalk-rolling  Oaxes,'  i.  e. 
the  Oxus,  or  Jihun,  of  Central  Asia.  They  defend  this  interpretation  on 
the  grounds  (i)  of  want  of  evidence  for  a  Cretan  river  Oaxes,  (2)  the  appro- 
priateness of  the  wilds  of  Asia  to  complete  the  picture  suggested  by  Afros, 
Scytliiain,  and  Britannos,  and  (3 1  that  the  idea  of  '  chalk-rolling '  agrees 
with  epithets  elsewhere  applied  to  the  Oxus.  But  no  change  is  really 
necessary,  and  the  use  of  rapidus  with  a  genitive  =  ra/^x  would  be  an 
unparalleled  construction. 

67.  penitus,  'utterly.'  toto  cTivisos  orbe,  'separated  from  the  whole 
world.' 

68-70.  '  Shall  I  ever,  on  beholding  after  a  long  time  my  native  land,  and 
the  turf-thatched  roof  of  the  humble  cottage,  my  old  domain,  hereafter  see 
with  wonder  a  few  poor  ears  of  corn?'  post  (1.  7°)  is  adverbial,  and  a 
repetition  of  longo  post  tempore  (1.  68).  aliquot  miratoor  aristas  = 
'  shall  I  be  surprised  at  the  scantiness  of  the  harvest  due  to  the  bad  farming 
of  the  soldiers  ? '  Soine  editors  render  post  aliqiiot  aristas,  '  after  a  few 
summers,'  comparing  Claudian,  Quart.  Cons.  Hon.  372  dcciinas  cniensiis 
aristas.  But  post  aliquot  aristas  in  this  sense  would  hardly  harmonise 
with  longo  post  tempore. 

71.  novalia=(ij  fallow-land;  (2;  land  ploughed  for  the  first  time; 
(3)  cultivated  land  in  general,  which  is  the  sense  here. 

72.  toarliarus,  referring  to  the  Gauls,  Germans,  and  other  barbarians 
who  had  been  taken  into  the  Roman  armies. 

73.  his,  '  these  are  they  for  whom,'  etc. 

74.  nunc  with  imperative  in  ironical  sense,  as  often;  cp.  Aen.  vii.  .(25 
i  nunc.     *  Go  on  grafting,'  etc. 

77.  pendere  of  goats  browsing  on  the  cliffs  :  cp.  pcndcnlcs  lupe  capcllas 
Ov.  Font.  i.  8.  51. 


no  BUCOLICS.      ECL.  II.  1-20. 

80.  poteras,  '  you  might  have  stayed,'  as  though  his  departure  were 
linally  settled — a  more  delicate  form  of  expression  than  '  you  can  stay,' 
which  is  what  he  really  means. 

81,  82.  super,  preposition,     itiitia,  '  mellow.'     pressi  lactis,  '  cheese.' 

NOTES    TO   ECLOGUE  11. 

ALEXIS. 

CoRYDON,  a  shepherd,  deplores  the  indifference  of  Alexis,  his  master's 
favourite  slave,  and  his  own  infatuation.  Parts  of  the  Eclogue  are  modelled 
very  closely  from  Theocritus  xi,  where  the  Cyclops  addresses  Galatea :  and 
Corydon  is  a  mixture  of  the  ordinary  Theocritean  shepherd  and  the  Cyclops. 
The  date  of  the  poem  is  uncertain  ;  but  it  was  earlier  than  Eel.  v.  (see  v.  86, 
87),  and  possibly  than  Eel.  iii,  which  is  there  mentioned  after  it. 


I,  2.  ardebat,  'madly  loved;'  cp.  similar  uses  oi  dcpcrco.  nee  .  .  . 
hatoebat,  '  he  knew  not  what  to  hope  for;'  cp.  the  use  of  darc  =  ' io  tell,' 
Eel.  i.  19.  The  sentence  is  an  indirect  interrogative:  ncc  quod  sperarct 
Jiabebat,  '  he  had  nothing  to  hope  for,'  would  be  consecutive. 

3-5.  cacunxina  is  sometimes  taken  as  ace.  of  respect  with  densas, 
but  the  analogy  of  Eel.  ix.  9  favours  the  ordinary  view  that  it  is  in  apposi- 
tion to  fagfos.  incondita,  'artless,'  'unpremeditated.'  Condcre  is  the 
technical  term  for  reguhir  composition,  e.g.  Eel.  vi.  7  tristia  condcre  hclla. 
80  Milton,  Lycidas  11,  '  build  the  lofty  rhyme.'     iactabat,  '  flung  wildly.' 

10.  rapido,  'fierce,'  '  scorching.'  The  word  in  its  original  sense  appears 
to  be  nearly  =  rapax,  denoting  things  which  devour,  scorch,  sweep  awa}',  etc. : 
cp.  G.  i.  91  rapidi  salts. 

II.  alia, 'garlic: '  serpylltim, '  wild-thyme.'  The  dish  she  was  preparing 
was  that  called  inorctiiiii,  a  mixture  of  flour,  cheese,  salt,  oil,  and  various 
herbs  (herbas  olentes). 

12, 13.  The  general  sense  is  that  while  everything  else  is  asleep,  the  cicalas 
and  I  go  on  singing  through  the  heat  of  the  day.  meciim  resonant 
cicadis,  'echo  with  cicalas  and  with  me;'  cp.  G.  i.  41  ignaros  nicciti/i 
miser  at  us  agrcstcs. 

14.  tristes,  'peevish'  or  'sullen  :'  so  tristis  Eriiiys  Aen.  ii.  337  ;  navita 
tristis  (^Charon)  vi.  315. 

16.  '  However  dark  he  was,  however  fair  you  were.' 

18.  ligtistra,  'privet;'  vaccinia,  'bilberry.'  Such  is  the  meaning  of 
the  words  in  Linnreus,  but  they  may  have  had  a  different  meaning  in  ancient 
times.  As  Kenn.  points  out,  the  identification  of  ancient  plants  is  in  many 
cases  a  matter  of  conjecture.  Some  suppose  vaccinia  to  have  been  the 
purple  hyacinth,  and  even  identify  it  \\ith  vauivOus. 

20.  nivei  with  lactis  rather  than  ^villi  pecoris.     iiivcuin  lac  being  like 


BUCOLICS.     ECL.  II.  24-42.  Ill 

Horn.  7aAa  \iVKov.      Genitives  of  abundance  after  siTch  adjectives  as  dives 
and  abundans  are  common  in  Latin  poetrj'. 

24.  Dircaeiis,  i.  e.  Theban  ;  Amphion  being  a  Boeotian  hero,  at  whose 
playing  Thebes  arose  beside  the  spring  of  Dirce.  Actaeo  Aracintho 
seems  a  geographical  solecism ;  Acte  being  an  old  name  of  Attica,  and 
Aracinthus  a  mountain  in  Aetolia.  Dr.  Kennedy  suggests  that  Virgil 
took  the  line  direct  from  some  Alexandrian  poet — 'A/x<^(W  Aip^afos  iv 
aKTaicu  'ApaKw6a>  :  and  that  dicTaios  really  =' craggy,'  from  a  later  use  of 
d/cTTj  by  Alexandrine  poets.  Other  editors  suppose  that  there  was  an 
Aracinthus  (otherwise  unknown)  in  Attica.  For  the  rhythm  of  the  verse 
and  the  hiatus,  which  are  in  imitation  of  the  Greek,  see  Introd.  pp.  14,  18. 

26.  placidum  ventis,  '  unruffled  by  the  winds,'  lit.  '  calm  with  the 
winds,'  i.e.  by  the  dropping  of  the  winds.  Cp.  Aen.  iii.  6c)  /laca/aijuc  vciiti 
Dant  maria,  v.  ^^62,  placidi  stravcriint  acqiiora  vend;  and  Soph.  Ajax,  674 
Ziivuv  5'  aj;/ia  TTvev/xaToJv  iKoifnae  "Srivovra  nvvrov,  where  Prof.  Jebb  points 
out  that  '  in  the  idiom  of  Greek  and  Roman  poetry  physical  causes  are  often 
spoken  of  as  personal  agents  endued  with  will  and  choice, — able  either  to 
produce  or  repress  a  particular  effect.  Thus  the  winds  are  powers  which 
can  trouble  or  can  calm  the  sea.'  Cp.  Hor.  Od.  i.  3.  16  A'oti,  Quo  nan 
arbiter  Hadriac  Jfaior,  tollere  sen  ponerc  vidt  frcta. 

27-  fallit,  there  is  a  v.  1.  fallat :  but  the  indie,  is  best,  for  he  means 
that  there  can  be  no  deception  in  such  a  mirror :  si  then  =  'since,'  'seeing  that.' 

28.  sordida,  '  coarse.' 

30.  viridi  hibisco,  '  to  the  green  hibiscus,'  i.  e.  to  feed ;  an  instance  of 
the  poetical  dative  instead  of  prep,  and  case,  as  in  Hor.  Od.  i.  24.  18  nigra 
compidcrct  Mcrcnrius  gregi,  and  often  in  Virgil.  Others  take  hibisco  as 
abl.,  'with  a  switch  of  green  hibiscus,'  pointing  to  Eel.  x.  71,  where  it  is 
described  as  something  pliant,  used  for  making  baskets.  It  is  uncertain 
what  plant  the  hibiscus  exactly  was,  but  the  first  interpretation  appears  on 
the  whole  the  most  probable. 

34.  '  Nor  would  you  repent  of  having  frayed  your  lip  with  the  reed;'  cp. 
Lucr.  iv.  588  (of  playing  on  the  pan-pipe)  Unco  saepe  labro  calainos  pcrciirrit 
Mantes. 

35.  faciebat,  '  was  ready  to  do.' 

36.  The  instrument  described  is  a  pan-pipe  (fistula)  made  of  seven 
hollow  hemlock  stalks  (cicutae),  of  unequal  length.     See  on  Eel.  iii.  25. 

38.  ista,  because  Damoetas  has  already  given  it  to  Corydon;  "Tis 
yours,  and  finds  in  you  my  worthy  successor '  (secundum).  Cp.  Hor.  Od. 
i.  12.  17  Atr  viget  quidquain  simile  atct  secundui/i. 

40.  neo  tuta  valle  reperti,  '  found  in  a  dangerous  valley  too,'  and 
therefore  a  more  valuable  present. 

41.  etiam  nunc,  showing  them  to  be  under  six  months,  after  which  age 
the  spots  disappear. 

42.  bina,  the  distributive  force  of  the  word  applies  to  die,  '  twice  a  day 
they  suck  ihe  ewe's  milk.' 


113  nuCOLICS.     ECL.  11.  4.^-/1. 

43.  abdiicere,  poetical  construction  of  infin.  after  orat ;  cp.  Aeu.  vi.  313 
oranU's priiiii  transiuitto-c  ciirsuin. 

44.  sordent,  '  are  despised.' 

46.  ITymphae,  Nais.  He  poetically  represents  the  wood  and  water 
nymphs  as  offering  him  the  flowers  which  await  him  in  the  country. 

48-50.  pallentes,  '  yellow  '  violets  ;  cp.  Ov.  Met.  xi.  1 10  saxtiin  quoque 
palhiit  auro.  anethi,  '  dill '  or  '  fennel,'  an  aromatic  plant  with  a  yellow 
flower,  casia,  an  aromatic  shrub  with  leaves  like  the  olive,  niollia, 
'bending'  or  'pliant:'  so  of  corn  Eel.  iv.  28,  horses'  necks  G.  iii.  204, 
waving  hair  Aen.  ii.  683.  pingit,  '  picks  out,'  or  '  sets  off.'  vaccinia, 
'bilberries,'  or  '  hyacinths:'  see  on  1.  18  above,     calta,  'marigold.' 

51.  mala,  i.  e.  those  called  Cydonia  probably  quinces :  cp.  Martial, 
X.  42  Tain  dubia  est  lanugo  tihi,  tain  mollis,  ut  illaiii  Halittis  ct  soles  et 
lev  is  aura  terat :  Celantur  si  in  Hi  vent  lira  Cydonia  lana,  Pollice  virgineo 
quae  spoliata  nitent. 

53.  cerea,  of  waxen  colour,  'yellow,'  this  being  the  most  valuable  kind. 
huic  quoqne,  '  this  fruit  too  (i.  e.  the  plum)  shall  have  due  honour.'  The 
term  pomum  included  various  kinds  of  fruit.  On  the  hiatus //•«««.•  honos, 
see  Introd.  p.  17. 

54.  proxima,  '  neighbour,'  the  laurel  and  myrtle  being  often  associated 
together  both  in  gardens  and  in  bouquets. 

57.  concedat,  lollas,  the  master  of  Alexis,  would  outbid  you. 

58,  59.  floritous,  etc.,  apparently  proverbial  expressions  to  denote  misery 
caused  by  one's  own  folly,  austrum,  the  Sirocco,  a  scorching  wind,  called 
by  Aeschylus  SevSponrjfxojv  ^kaPa  (Eum.  938). 

60.  quein  fugfis,  etc.,  i.  e.  '  why  do  you  despise  me  because  I  live  in  the 
country  ? ' 

61.  arces,  not  cities  in  general,  but  Athens,  which  to  a  Greek  shepherd 
would  be  the  noblest  of  cities. 

65.  6  Alexi,  for  the  quantity  see  Introd.  p.  18. 

66.  iugo,  abl.  instrum.  with  referunt, '  draw  home.'  siispensa,  uplifted, 
so  as  not  to  touch  the  ground — opposed  to  depressa.  Cp.  Hor.  Epod.  ii. 
63  videre  fessos  voiiierein  iiiversuni  boves  Collo  trahentcs  languido. 

70.  An  unpruned  or  half-pnmed  vine  would  be  a  reproach  and  sign  of 
bad  husbandry. 

71.  quin  tu  paras?  is  a  mild  imperative,  'why  don't  you?'  qui n  =  qui 
non,  and  corresjDonds  to  the  Greek  idiom  rt  ovk  with  aorist.  Hence  (by  a 
process  analogous  to  that  which  produces  the  Greek  idiom  olaO'  o  dpdaov) 
quin  is  associated  with  imperative  quin  age  (G.  iv.  329),  and  fmally  becomes 
a  mere  particle  of  transition  =  '  moreover.'  quorum  indiget  usus,  '  which 
daily  need  requires.' 


BUCOLICS.     ECL.  III.  l-2\.  113 

NOTES   TO   ECLOGUE   III. 

PALAEMON. 
MENALCAS.  DAMOETAS.  PALAEMON. 

A  RUSTIC  singing-match,  modelled  on  Theocritus  'esp.  Idyll  v),  between 
two  herdsmen,  Menalcas  and  Damoetas,  with  Palaemon  as  umpire.  They 
sing  alternate  couplets  ('amoebaean'  singing\  and  Palaemon  declares  the 
match  drawn.  The  scenery  is  partly  Sicilian,  but  not  specially  localised. 
The  date  is  uncertain  ;  but  it  was  written  before  Eel.  v  (see  Eel.  v.  87).  It 
speaks  of  PoUio  (11.  84-89)  as  encouraging  Virgil  in  pastoral  poetry,  and 
the  inference  has  been  drawn  that  it  must  have  been  written  not  later  than 
B.C.  43,  the  27th  of  Virgil's  age,  when  Pollio  was  appointed  legatiis  in 
Gallia  Cisalpina  :  but  this  can  hardly  be  taken  as  a  decisive  landmark. 


1.  cuium.  This  adjectival  pronoun  had  become  obsolete  in  Virgil's  time, 
and  his  use  of  it  was  parodied  by  an  unknown  critic  (Ribb.  Prol.  viii.  p.  99', 
Die  inihi,  Damocta,  'ctiiiiin  perns '  annc  La/iiiiim  ?  Non  ;  veruni  Acgonis  ; 
nostri  sic  rurc  loqiiuutuy.  It  is  found  in  Plautus,  e.  g.  Trin.  i.  2.  7  Ciiia 
vox  propc  VIC  sonat?  in  Terence,  e.g.  And.  iv.  4.  24  cuium  pucru/ii ;  and 
once  by  Cicero,  Verr.  ii.  1.  54,  apparently  in  a  legal  io\m.v\a.~cuia  res  sit, 
cuium  pcrictihim. 

3-6.  ipse.  'The  master;'  cp.  Plant.  Cas.  iv.  2.  20  Ego  eo  quo  me  ipsa 
viisit,  Ter.  And.  ii.  2.  23  ipsus  tristis,  and  Juv.  v.  86  ipse  Vciicfrauo  pisccin 
petfundit.  Cp.  the  proverbial  phrase  avros  ((pa,  'the  Master  said' — whence 
our  ipse  dixit.     For  the  hiatus  pecori  it  see  Introd.  pp.  17,  23. 

8.  qui  te,  sc.  corruperit,  or  some  such  taunt,  transversa,  neut.  plur. 
used  adverbially,  *  looking  askance.' 

10,  11.  arbustum, '  plantation '  or  '  vineyard  ; '  see  on  Eel.  i.  40.  mala, 
*  malicious : '  so  in  the  legal  terms  mains  dolus,  malafraus. 

12-14.  The  pvier  is  Daphnis.  Menalcas,  out  of  envy,  had  broken  the 
bow  and  pipe  which  had  been  given  to  the  boy  Daphnis  by  some  other 
shepherd. 

16.  *  What  are  owners  to  do,  when  thieves  are  so  bold  ? '  (as  Damoetas 
in  stealing  Damon's  goat). 

17-19,  excipere  =  '  to  await,'  for  attack  or  defence :  here  excipere 
insidiis  =  Mie  in  ambush  to  catch.'  Iiycisca,  the  name  of  the  dog.  quo 
nunc,  etc.,  '  What  is  yonder  rogue  darting  out  at  now  ? '  Damoetas  was 
just  rushing  out  of  his  ambuscade. 

21.  non  redderet,  delib.  subj.  'was  he  not  to  hand  over?'  i.e.  'should 
he  not  have  handed  over  to  me?'  As  imperf  indie,  stales  a  fact  in  past 
time,  the  imp.  subj.  stales  a  supposition  or  iiossihility  in  past  time;   the 

H 


114  BUCOLICS.     ECL.  III.  25-50. 

English  idiom  for  which  is  pluperfect,  'should  have,'  'could  have,'  etc.,  and 
its  point  of  view  is  the  moment  of  speaking  :  whereas  the  Latin  idiom  goes 
back  as  it  were  to  the  past  and  then  makes  its  supposition.  Cp.  Plaut. 
Tim.  ii.  2.  96  Noii  illi  argentum  reddo-em  ?  Non  rcdderes.  reddere  here, 
as  often,  is  not  to  give  I'ack,  but  to  give  duly  or  properly,  to  the  right 
person :  cp.  reddere  litteras,  of  the  letter-carrier's  delivery ;  7-ationein  reddere 
'  to  render  an  account,'  etc. 

25-27.  tu  ilium,  sc.  vicisti,  from  victtis  above,  fistula,  the  '  Pan-pipe,' 
Gk.  avpiy^,  of  stalks  fastened  with  wax  or  strings.  The  material,  which 
varied,  is  often  put  for  the  instrument  itself — thus  avcjia  (i.  2),  calannts 
(i.  10),  artmdo  (vi.  8),  cictita  (v.  85).  in  triviis,  '  in  the  common  street,' 
and  so  to  vulgar  ears  alone  :  cp.  carmen  triviale  Juv.  vii.  55.  stipula  is 
perhaps  a  single  pipe,  disperdere,  as  we  say,  to  '  murder '  a  song.  Transl. 
'  Were  you  not  often  in  the  streets,  poor  plajer  that  you  are,  murdering 
some  imhappy  strain  on  grating  pipe  of  straw  ?  '  Milton's  imitation  is  well 
known  (Lycidas  123) : 

'And  when  they  list,  their  lean  and  flashy  songs 
Grate  on  their  scrannel  pipes  of  wretched  straw.' 

31.  depouo,  '  stake:'  so  KaraOfivai  deOKov  Theocr.  viii.  11. 

32.  ausim.  This  and/axo  {fac-so)  are  the  only  regular  survivals  after 
Terence  of  a  series  of  future  forms  in  -so,  -si»i,  -sere  (indie,  subj.,  infin.), 
found  in  Plautus,  old  laws,  etc. 

36.  ■pona.ra  =  di-/oiiam,  as  1.  31. 

38,  39.  '  On  which  some  cunning  chisel  has  traced  the  pliant  vine  en- 
twined with  clusters  that  the  pale  ivy  spreads.'  toruo,  abl.  instr.  facili, 
'  easily  moving,'  '  ready.'  hedera  pallente,  abl.  instr.  with  diffuses, 
'  clusters  spread  by  the  pale  ivy,'  a  slightly  artificial  variety  for  the  simple 
diffiisos  hcderae  pallentis  corynnhos. 

40-42.  in  medio,  i.  e.  in  the  spaces  left  by  the  vine  and  the  ivy.  sigpna, 
'figures.'  Conon,  of  Samos,  an  astronomer,  B.C.  260-220.  alter,  probably 
Eudoxus  of  Cnidus,  B.  C.  360,  whose  '  Phaenomena  '  (a  book  on  astronomy) 
was  versified  by  Aratus,  270  B.C.  Such  works  were  used  by  farmers,  as 
almanacs  are  now.  descripsit  radio,  '  traced  with  his  rod ; '  apparently, 
as  in  Aen.  vi.  S50,  a  phrase  for  scientific  delineation  in  general.  Strictly 
speaking,  the  radius  was  the  rod  with  which  geometricians  drew  figures  on 
Wve.  abacus.  orTjem,  i.e.  of  the  whole  heavens,  curvus,  'bending'  (over 
the  plough "i,  aralor,  nisi  ijictirvtis,  praevaricatur  Pliny,  xviii.  19. 

45.  moUi,  'soft'  or  '  pliant,'  renders  the  vypos  aKavOos  of  Theocr.  i.  55. 

48.  '  If  you  look  at  the  heifer,  you  will  find  nothing  to  say  for  the  cups,' 
lit.  '  there  is  no  reason  why  you  should  praise.'  quod,  '  why,'  lit.  '  as  to 
which,'  accus.  of  reference.  Damoetas  mentions  briefly  that  he  has  cups  as 
good  as  those  of  Menalcas,  and  then  adds  that  the  heifer  would  be  a  much 
better  stake. 

49,  50.  numquam  hodie,  a  colloquial  phrase,  found  in  the  comic  poets, 
e.  g.   Plaut.   Asin,   iii.  3,  40    Qtii  hodie   numquam   ad  vespcru»i   vivam. 


BUCOLICS.      ECL.  in.  S2-'j().  1 15 

veniani,  etc.,  '  I  will  come  to  any  terms  you  choose.'  Menalcas  begins  as 
if  he  wished  some  particular  judge ;  but  catching  sight  of  Palaemon,  sub- 
stitutes his  name.     '  Only  let  our  judge  be  ■ well,  the  man  coming  there, 

Palaemon.' 

52.  c|.tiin  age,  '  come  on  then : '  see  note  to  ii.  71.  si  quid  halies,  '  if 
you  are  able.' 

53.  quemquam,  sc.  itidicein,  '  I  am  content  with  any  judge.'  vicine, 
Damoetas  calls  Palaemon  '  neighbour,'  wishing  to  conciliate  him. 

54.  seusibus  iniis  reponas,  '  give  close  attention  to,'  lit.  '  place  in 
your  inmost  feelings.' 

59.  alternis,  'with  alternate  verses,'  St'  afiotfiaicuv  Theocr.  viii.  61.  The 
rule  of  '  amoebaean  '  song  is  that  the  second  competitor  replies  to  the  first 
in  the  same  number  of  verses,  and  with  parallel  subject-matter. 

60,  61.  Musae,  gen.  sing,  'with  Jove  begins  our  song,'  Forb.  and  Con. 
put  a  comma  at  principiitm,  taking  Miisae  as  voc.  plur. :  which  is  also 
possible,  colit,  '  cultivates,'  '  makes  fruitful,'  i.e.  by  sending  the  rain  from 
the  sky. 

62,  63.  sua,  'that  he  loves.'  The  laurel  and  hyacinth  are  always  grow- 
ing in  Menalcas'  garden,     lauri  et,  for  the  hiatus  see  Introd.  pp.  17,  18. 

64.  malo,  apples  were  sacred  to  Venus,  and  were  therefore  especially 
appropriate  in  flirtations. 

66,  67.  ultro,  'unasked.'  The  word  denotes  anything  'beyond'  what 
would  be  expected,  meus  ignis,  'my  flame,'  i.e.  'my  love:'  so  ardor. 
Delia,  a  girl  in  love  with  Menalcas.  Some  explain  it  of  Diana  ^'  she  of 
Delos'),  who  assisted  shepherds  in  hunting,  and  would  be  known  to  their 
dogs.     But  this  explanation  is  far  less  probable. 

68.  meae  Veneri,  '  my  love,'  answering  to  mens  ignis  of  1.  66. 

69.  palumbes,  '  wood  pigeons,'  sacred  to  Venus,  and  favourite  gifts 
between  lovers,     congessere,  '  have  built  their  nest.' 

71.  altera,  sc.  decern  mala,  '  a  second  batch  of  ten.' 

73.  i.e.  in  order  that  the  gods  may  bind  her  to  fulfil  them.  The  other 
explanation,  that  Galatea's  words  are  so  beautiful  as  to  be  fit  for  the  ears 
of  the  gods,  is  not  quite  so  good. 

74.  ipse,  '  in  your  heart,'  as  opposed  to  your  outward  conduct  in  making 
me  stay  and  watch  the  nets  while  you  enjoy  the  chase. 

76.  Phyllis  is  the  mistress  of  lollas;  and  Damoetas,  posing  as  a  success- 
ful rival,  boastfully  asks  him  to  send  her  to  him.  In  the  next  couplet 
Menalcas  replies  in  the  person  of  lollas,  and  declares  that  Phyllis  is 
passionately  fond  of  him.  natalis,  the  birthday  was  a  season  for  merry- 
making. 

77.  cum  faciam  pro  frugibus,  i.e.  at  the  niral  festival  called  the  Am- 
barvalia,  a  season  for  abstinence  from  love,  whence  Damoetas  tells  lollas 
not  to  .send  Phyllis  but  to  come  himself,  facere  (like  Gk.  pf^af,  and 
opcrari')  is  a  common  phrase  for  '  sacrificing.' 

79.   longum,  best  taken  with   inquit,    '  lengthened  out   licr  farewell.' 

II  -2 


]i6  BUCOLICS.     EC L.  TIT.  ?>%-iio. 

Otliers  take  it  with  vale.  '  a  long  farewell'     vale  inquit,  for  the  scansion 
see  Introd.  p.  iS. 

82.  depiilsis,  sc.  a  Iaitt\  '  weaned.' 

84,  85.  C.  Asinius  PoUio,  the  distinguished  poet,  orator,  and  historian. 
He  was  a  patron  of  Virgil,  Horace,  and  other  writers,  and  was  the  first 
person  to  establish  a  public  library  at  Rome.  The  vitula  (as  also  the 
taurus  of  1.  86)  is  intended  as  a  sacrifice  in  honour  of  Pollio. 

86,  87.  nova,  '  new,'  i.  e.  original.  Some  suppose  the  term  to  denote 
tragedies  on  Roman  subjects,  not  copied  from  the  Greek.  Cp.  Eel.  viii.  lo 
where  PoUio's  tragedies  are  praised.  Rut  it  is  unnecessary  to  restrict  nova 
to  this  precise  meaning,     qui  petat,  consecutive  subj.,  '  such  as  butts.' 

88-91.  The  general  sense  is,  '  May  the  admirer  of  PoUio's  genius  reach 
PoUio's  eminence  in  literature  :  may  he,  to  sptak  allegorically,  reach  the 
Arcadian  dream-land  of  poets,  where  every  tree  streams  honey,  and  every 
bush  bears  spice.  But  may  the  admirer  of  liavius  and  ISIaevius  try  in  vain 
for  poetic  fame:  inay  his  labour  be  as  much  thrown  away,  as  ia  yoking 
foxes  to  the  plough  or  milking  he-goats.'  quo  te  quoque  gaudet  {vniissc^, 
'  the  point  which  he  rejoices  that  you  have  reached.'  Eavius,  BCaevius, 
all  that  is  known  about  these  persons  is  that  they  were  inferior  poets,  and 
enemies  of  Virgil  and  Horace.  One  of  Horace's  Epodes  (lo)  is  about 
Maevius,  and  consists  of  a  prayer  that  he  may  be  drowned  in  the  course  of  a 
voyage  he  is  making. 

96.  reics,  here  a  dissyllable.  The  spelling  of  the  best  ages  was  rcicio  or 
rc-ii'cio,  not  reiicio  :  and  so  with  the  other  compounds  of  iaa'o.  See  Munro 
on  Lucret.  i.  34. 

98.  cogite,  i.e.  drive  to  a  shady  place,    praeceperit, '  shall  have  already 

dried  up.' 

102.  neque  appears  to  be  used  as  =  oir5e,  'not  even  :  '  cp.  Cic.  Tusc.  i.  26 
quo  nee  in  deo  quidquam  mains  intelligi potest  (quoted  by  ^^'agner). 

103.  fascinat  (the  Latin  form  of  /8a<T/<ran'tt;)  =--to  'charm'  or  'bewitch,' 
here  by  means  of  the  evil  eye. 

104.  105.  The  answer  to  the  riddle  is  rmknown.  Various  conjectures 
are  recorded,  e.g.  that  Virgil  intended  the  tomb  of  one  Caelius  (by  a  pun  on 
caeli),  who  had  lost  everything  but  land  enough  for  a  grave  ;  that  he  meant 
a  well,  an  oven,  the  shield  of  Achilles,  etc. 

106, 107.  inscripti  nomina,  '  with  the  names  written  on  them,'  accus. 
after  passive  verb  in  imitation  of  the  Greek.  See  note  to  Eel.  i.  55.  The 
flower  referred  to  is  the  hyacinth,  which  was  said  to  be  inscribed  with  At  Al', 
denoting  Ajax,  or  T,  denoting  Hyacinthus,  the  favourite  of  Apollo. 

109,  110.  '  You  deserve  the  prize,  and  so  does  he,  and  so  will  any  one 
who  shall  feel  love  as  you— the  alarms  of  its  enjoyment,  the  bitterness  of 
disappointment.'  This  is  the  general  sense  of  the  MS.  text.  Wagn.,  Forb. 
and  Ribb.  read  in  1.  no  iiaiit  (i.e.  Iniitd)  .  .  .  /laitt,  with  a  fuU  stop  after 
hie  in  109  :  the  words  et  quisquis  .  .  .  amaros  then  = '  he  who  is  not  afraid 
and  backward  in  love  will  not  find  it  bitter.'     ]3iit  no  change  is  necessary. 


BUCOLICS.     ECL.  IV.  I17 

111.  rivos,  artificial  rills,  stopped  with  sluices,  by  means  of  which  the 
supply  of  \\ater  to  the  fields  could  be  regulated. 


NOTES    TO    ECLOGUE   IV. 
POIililO. 

Thk  date  of  this  poem  is  li.  c.  40,  in  which  year  rollio  was  one  of  the 
consuls.  Its  immediate  occasion  was  the  peace  of  Brundisium,  concluded 
between  Octavianus  (Augustus'  and  Antony;  and  the  poet  expresses  the 
general  hopes  of  a  new  era  of  j^eace  and  prosperity  in  language  suggestive 
of  the  return  of  a  bygone  age  of  gold,  connecting  this  age  with  the  biith 
of  a  boy  expected  in  this  year.  Who  was  this  boy  ■  Three  main  views  are 
held:  (i)  that  it  was  the  expected  offspring  of  Octavianus  himself  and 
Scribonia,  whom  he  had  recently  married;  (2)  the  child  of  Antony  and 
Octavia,  by  whose  marriage  the  peace  of  Bnmdisium  was  solemnised  ;  (3)  a 
son  of  PoUio,  born  about  this  time  (Asinius  Gallus).  This  last  interpre- 
tation, resting  on  the  authority  of  Asconius  Pedianus,  is  adopted  by 
Ribbeck  and  Prof.  Sellar;  but  it  is  difficult  to  think  that  Virgil  could,  under 
the  circumstances,  speak  of  the  child  of  any  subordinate  person  as  the  re- 
generator of  the  Roman  world.  Also  such  expressions  as  ille  dcuin  vitain 
accipiet  (1.  i^\  pacat unique  reget  orhem  (1.  17),  cara  deuiit  suhoh's,  niagituiiL 
lovis  increment uin  '1.  49',  would  be  altogether  out  of  place  as  applied  to  a 
son  of  PoUio.  Against  the  second  interpretation  it  may  be  urged  that 
Virgil,  as  an  adherent  of  Augustus,  would  hardly  venture  on  so  special  a 
compliment  to  his  rival  Antony.  Moreover,  Octavia's  child,  born  this  year, 
was  really  the  child  of  Marcellus,  by  whom  Octavia  was  pregnant  when  she 
married  Antony.  On  the  whole  the  most  likely  view  is  that  the  offspring 
of  Octavianus  and  Scribonia  is  intended.  The  main  objection  is  that  it  is 
spoken  of  as  a  boy  {jtasceiiti puero  1.  S,  pa>~ve puer  1.  60),  while  the  child 
of  Octavianus  and  Scribonia  was  a  girl — the  afterwards  notorious  Julia. 
But  the  poem  was  written  before  the  birth  took  place,  as  11.  8  and  60  prove. 
And  although  it  is  strange  that  Virgil  should  have  ventured  to  prophesy  the 
sex  of  the  cliild,  and  should  have  let  the  poem  remain  imaltered  when  his 
j)rophecy  had  been  pro\ed  to  be  erroneous,  still  such  tenns  as  deuin  suholes 
and  magnum  lovis  incrementum  are  only  applicable  to  a  child  of  the  Julian 
gens,  and  are  at  the  same  time  in  harmony  with  the  language  in  which 
^'irgil  elsewhere  speaks  of  the  house  of  Caesar,  e.g.  Aen.  ix.  642  dis  genitc 
ct  geniturc  deos,  Eel.  i.  6  deus  7iol>is  /laee  olia  fecil.  Plappily  the  beauty  of 
^'irgi^s  poetic  anticii^ations—  of  which  all  we  can  say  for  certain  is  that  they 
were  not  fulfilled — is  independent  of  the  solution  of  this  question. 

The  curious  coincidence  of  X'irgil's  language  in  this  Eclogue  with  that  of 
Hebrew  prophecy  ^e. g.  Isaiah  xi),  whicii  has  gained  for  the  poem  the  title 


Il8  BUCOLICS.     ECL.  IV.  ^-20. 

of  '  Messianic,'  and  for  Virgil  the  credit  of  something  like  Christian  inspira- 
tion, has  been  explained  by  supposing  an  acquaintance  on  Virgil's  part  with 
the  later  Sibylline  books  manufactured  at  Alexandria,  and  reflecting  Jewish 
as  well  as  other  Oriental  ideas.  But  we  need  not  go  further  than  to  classical 
sources  for  a  parallel.  The  general  yearning  for  a  return  of  peaca  and 
prosperity  was  enough  to  be  father  to  the  thoughts  here  expressed :  and  the 
poem  vas  Prof.  Sellar  remarks)  has  more  in  common  with  the  myth  in 
Plato's  Politicus  than  with  the  prophecies  of  Isaiah. 


3.  consule,  i.  e.  Pollio  ;  see  Introduction. 

4,  5.  Cyiuaeum  carmen,  the  prophecies  contained  in  the  Sibylline 
books,  and  uttered  by  the  Sibyl  who  lived  near  Cumae  or  Cyme  in  Cam- 
pania. They  seem  to  have  combined  two  traditions,  (i)  that  of  successive 
ages  or  cycles — of  gold,  silver,  bronze,  etc. — the  tenth  and  last  being  that 
of  the  Sun-god  Apollo,  (2)  the  notion  of  an  annus  magnus,  or  Great  Year, 
an  enormous  period  of  time,  at  the  end  of  which  the  heavenly  bodies  were 
again  in  the  same  position  as  at  first.  The  Great  Year  is  regarded  as 
divided  into  the  ten  cycles.  The  tenth  and  last  is  now  reached  \tiiiis  iam 
7-cgnat  Apollo  1.  10).  When  it  is  ended,  the  Great  Year  will  commence 
afresh  with  the  golden  age.  Shelley's  imitation  (in  the  final  chorus  of  his 
Hellas)  is  well  known  : 

'  The  world's  great  age  begins  anew, 
The  golden  years  return.' 
G.  Virgo,  Astraea  or  Justice,  said  to  have  left  the  earth  in  the  iron  age. 
Saturnia  reg'na,  Saturn  was  king  in  Latium  during  the  golden  age.     et  = 
'both,'  the  omission  of  the  second  ct  being  supplied  by  repeating  the  verb; 
cp.  Aen.  vii.  327  odit  ct  ipse  pater  Pliiton,  odcre  sororcs. 

8.  quo,  abl.  of  circumstance,  'with  whom.'  The  child's  birth  is  to  be 
tlie  accompaniment  of  the  golden  age. 

10.  iam  reg°nat  Apollo,  see  note  on  1.  4. 

11.  adeo  here  emphasizes  te,  'it  is  in  thy  consulship.'  It  is  frequently 
used  as  a  particle  of  emphasis  with  pronouns  and  numerals,  e.  g.  G.  i.  24 
tuque  adeo,  Aen.  iii.  203  tres  adeo  incertos  soles,  decus  lioc  aevi,  '  this 
glorious  age;'  decus  being  virtually  an  attribute  of  aevuin:  cp.  ntiracula 
reruin,  arffdvoj/xa  ■nvpyoju,  and  the  like,     inibit,  'shall  commence.' 

12.  magni  m.enses,  the  ages  or  periods  into  which  the  Great  Year 
is  divided. 

13.  sceleris,  i.e.  the  stain  of  the  recent  civil  wars. 

14.  irrita,  '  being  effaced.' 

15.  ille,  Iheptier  of  1.  8.  deum  vitam,  characteristic  of  the  golden  age. 
•  17.  patriis  virtutitous,  the  explanation  of  this  phrase  depends  on  the 
question  of  the  identity  of  the  boy  to  whom  the  Eclogue  refers. 

18-20.  unllo  cultii,  i.  c.  spontaneously,  a  sign  of  the  golden  age. 
baccare,  '  foxglove.'     colocasia, 'Egyptian  bean.' 


BUCOLICS.     £CL.  IV.  21-6^.  119 

21.  ipsac,  '  of  their  own  accord  ;'  so  f/sa  1.  23. 

23.  blandos,  '  smiling.' 

24.  hertoa  veneni,  descriptive  gen.,  'poisonous  herb;'  cp.  Juv.  iii.  4 
gratitm  littits  aiiwcni  Secessus  (cited  by  Con.). 

25.  vulgo,  emphatic,  'by  the  wayside'  (Con.^. 

28-30.  molli,  '  bending,'  or  '  waving.'  roscida,  '  dew-born,'  an  old 
legend  supposing  honey  to  fall  in  the  shape  of  dew:  cp.  G.  iv.  i.  There 
can  hardly  be  a  reference  here,  as  Heyne  and  Con.  think,  to  honey  some- 
times found  in  hollow  trees ;  for  an  extraordinary,  not  an  ordinary  phe- 
nomenon is  implied,     mella,  cognate  accus.  after  sudabunt. 

31.  fraudis,  'guilt'  or  'wrong,'  opposed  to  the  innocence  of  a  state  of 
nature. 

34.   Tiphys  was  the  steersman  of  the  Argo. 

38.  vector,  'passenger,'  here  =  the  merchant  with  his  goods.  For  the 
idea  cp.  Hes.  0pp.  336  ou5'  knX  yrjwv  ViffaovTai,  Kapitijv  5«  </)e/jet  {'tiSai/joy 
apovpa. 

43.  ipse,  unbidden,  '  by  nature's  gift.'  rubenti  murice,  abl.  of  instru- 
ment, '  shall  change  (i.  e.  dye)  his  fleece  with  purple.' 

46,  47.  talia  saecla,  accus.  with  currite,  'run  through  such  ages ;'  cp. 
curn'mus  aequor  Aen.  iii.  191.  Some  take  it  as  voc,  the  Parcae  speaking 
to  their  spindles,  but  addressing  the  ages — surely  an  awkward  confusion : 
and  talis  in  voc.  is  unusual,  numiue,  abl.  of  respect  with  Concordes ; 
'the  Parcae  that  utter  in  concert  the  fixed  will  of  fate.' 

49.  iucrementuiu  here  =  '  progeny.'  Generally  it  is  Used  with  a  gen.  to 
denote  the  embryo  from  which  a  thing^^^gpings,  as  Ov.  M.  iii.  103  vipercos 
denies,  fopuli  iucrcnioitafiittfri.  Hence  some  explain  'germ  of  a  Jove  to 
come,' i.e.  the  chijUA^Ul' B/^fjiti*rti?. reign  as  a  Jove  upon  earth.  But  the 
connexion  with  dem^m^/4^  is  against  this. 

50.  mundum,  |.»e.  the  world,  '  nodding  with  its  massy  dome.'  The 
universe  trembles  with  emotion  at  the  approach  of  the  new  deity. 

51.  terrasque,  for  the  quantity  see  Introd.  p.  17. 

52.  laetantur,  after  aspice,  vide,  die,  qiiaeso,  and  certain  other  similar 
expressions  the  ordinary  construction  in  dependent  interrogations  is  dropped, 
and  the  subordinate  verb  is  regarded  as  a  principal  one,  and  put  in  the 
indicative.     Cp.  Eel.  v.  6  aspice  ut  sparsit,  etc. 

53.  54.  tam  longae  is  virtually  adverbial  = /a///  longuin.  'May  these 
latter  days  of  mine  last  long  enough,  and  breath  be  granted  me  enough 
to  sing  of  thy  deeds.'  dicere  ;  the  regular  Latin  idiom  would  be  ad  diccnda 
or  tit  dicain :  but  poets  use  the  infinitive  more  freely  after  the  analogy  of 
Greek:  cp.  Aen.  i.  527  non  nos  .  .  .  Libycos populare  Penates  Vcnimiis. 

60-63.  risu,  'with  a  smile.'  The  whole  passage  is  a  prayer  for  the 
speedy  appearance  of  the  child  who  is  to  herald  the  golden  age,  and  cannot 
share  its  delights  till  he  has  gladdened  his  parents'  eyes  by  coming  into  the 
world,     tulerunt,  a  quantity  admitted  in  poetry :  so  steterunt,  dederunt. 


J20  BUCOLICS.     ECL.  V.  i-2l. 

NOTES   TO   ECLOGUE  V. 

DAPHNIS. 
MENALCAS.  MOPSUS. 

A  RUSTIC  singing  match,  as  Eel.  iii.  Two  shepherds  meet,  and  agree  to 
sing  on  Daphnis,  the  ideal  shepherd.  Mopsus  begins  with  a  lament, 
11.  20-44:  Menalcas  follows  with  an  apotheosis,  11.  56-80.  The  date  can 
only  be  determined  as  subsequent  to  ii  and  iii,  which  are  alluded  to 
11.  86,  87.  It  has  been  thought  that  there  is  no  object  in  imagining  an 
apotheosis  for  Daphnis,  unless  he  represents  some  other  person ;  and  if  this 
be  so,  the  person  intended  must  be  Julius  Caesar.  But  if  this  was  Virgil's 
meaning,  he  has  so  carefully  veiled  it,  that  there  is  no  internal  evidence  of 
reference  to  Caesar,  except  perhaps  in  1.  66  (see  note  ad  loc).  It  is, 
however,  at  least  probable  that  Virgil,  attached  as  he  was  to  the  cause  of 
Caesar,  should  catch  the  popular  feeling  after  Caesar's  murder,  and  embody 
it  in  an  allegorical  poem. 


1.  boni  inflare,  'good  for  breathing  on.'  This  use  of  the  prolative 
infinitive  with  adjectives  is  imitated  from  Greek,  and  is  common  in  Latin 
poetry,  and  in  post-Augustan  prose  ;  cp.  I'laiiJiis  ditccre  Hor.  Od.  i.  12.  11, 
cantare periti  Eel.  x.  32,  certa  inori  Aen.  iv.  564. 

3.  consedimus,  so  most  MSS.  The  perfect  is  here  used  in  the  same 
idiomatic  way  as  the  Greek  aorist,  'why  did  we  not  sit;'='why  do  we 
not?'  comidimiis,  the  ordinary  tense  in  Latin,  has  little  or  no  authority. 

7.  sparsit,  for  the  indie,  after  aspice  ut  see  on  Eel.  iv.  52.  raris, 
'scattered,'  'straggling.' 

9.  Ironical.     He  might  as  well  try  to  emulate  Phoebus. 

10,  11.  Phyllidis,  as  Alconis,  is  objective  genitive — 'passion  for 
Phyllis.'  Alcon,  some  shepherd.  There  was  a  Spartan  hero  called  Alcon  ; 
also  a  sculptor  (Ov.  M..\iii.  683),  and  an  archer  (Val.  Fl.  i.  399);  but  it  is 
not  probable  that  any  of  these  are  meant.  Codrus,  mentioned  also  Eel.  vii. 
22,  29.  The  scholiasts  say  he  was  a  poet  hostile  to  Virgil ;  but  the  name  is 
probably  fictitious. 

13-15.  immo  =  ixtv  oh', '  nay,  but.'  modulans  alterna  notavi,  •  setting 
them  to  music  I  marked  the  alternations  of  flute  and  voice '  (Con.),  cleinde, 
'then,  if  you  will.'  Mopsus  is  nettled  at  the  mention  of  Amyntas,  and 
Menalcas  reassures  him  1).  16-18. 

16.  The  willow  has  leaves  of  the  same  shape  and  colour  as  the  olive,  but 
is  of  far  less  value;  and  tlie  Celtic  reed  saliunca  smells  like  the  rose,  but 
is  too  brittle  to  be  woven  into  garlands. 

21.  fletoant.     A  spondee  in  the  first  foot  witli  a  pause  after  it  give^  a 


BUCOLICS.     ECL.  V.  23-66.  1 31 

certain  slowness  and  heaviness  to  the  rhythm,  and  is  seldom  used  by  Virgil, 
except  (as  here  and  Aen.  vi.  213)  to  suggest  melancholy. 

23.  atque  .  .  .  atque  is  unusual  for  'both  .  .  .  and;'  Wagner  (followed 
by  Kennedy'  denies  it  to  be  Virgilian,  and  takes  coinplexa  as  a  finite  verb  = 
coiiiplcxa  est.  Each  atqtic  is  then  an  ordinarj-  copula.  But  cp.  Sil.  It.  i.  93 
Ilic  criiie  cffiiso  atqiie  Ennaeac  niimina  divae  Atqnc  Achcronta  vocal  Stygia 
mm  vestc  saccrdos.  vocat  crudelia  mater,  '  calls  out  upon  their  cruelty 
with  a  mothers  cry '  (the  position  of  mater  being  emphatic). 

27.  Poenos,  a  conventional  epithet ;  see  on  Eel.  i.  55. 

28.  loquuntur,  with  ace.  and  infin.,  as  Aen.  i.  731;  an  exceptional 
construction. 

29-31.  Daphnis  had  introduced  the  worship  of  Bacchus,  with  his  car 
drawn  by  tigers,  and  his  troops  of  worshippers  (thiasos),  bearing  the 
thyrsus,  a  pointless  spear  (hastas)  wreathed  with  vine-leaves.  Armenias, 
the  worship  of  Bacchus  being  of  Eastern  origin,  iuducere,  '  introduce.' 
mollibns, '  waving.' 

35.  Pales,  a  purely  Italian  deity,  is  again  associated  with  the  Greek 
Apollo  in  G.  iii.  i.     Virgil  blends  the  two  mythologies  as  he  pleases. 

37.  infelix,  'unfruitful;'  the  original  meaning  oi  felix  being  '  fruitfid ' 
(root  FE,  cp.  (^vo3,  fetus,  feniis,  feciindus,  etc.  . 

38,39.  molli,  here  probably  =  ' tender,'  'soft,'  in  contrast  to  spinis 
acutis,  not  (as  ii.  50,  iv.  28  and  supr.  31;  'waving.'  purpureo  perhaps 
merely  = '  bright,'  of  the  white  narcissus.  But  there  seems  to  have  been 
a  narcissus  with  a  purple  centre,  hence  suave  riihcns  Jiarcissus  Ciris  96. 
paliurus,  a  prickly  shrub  in  South  Italy — '  Christ's  thorn.' 

40.  The  meaning  is,  '  Scatter  leaves  upon  the  ground  where  Daphnis  is 
buried,  and  plant  trees  beside  the  fountains  close  by.' 

42.  carmen,  an  'inscription'  or  'legend,'  so  Aen.  iii.  287. 

48,  49.  aeqiiiperas,  so  Pal. :  this  appears  the  better  orthography. 
mag'istriim,  i.  e.  Daphnis.  alter  alj  illo,  '  second  to  him,'  cp.  hcros  ab 
Achille  sccuiidus  Hor.  Sat.  ii.  3.  193. 

51.  toUemus  ad  astra,  '  sing  of  his  rising  to  heaven.'  The  reference  is 
to  the  '  apotheosis  '  which  is  coming  (11.  56-80" ,  whether  that  apotheosis  be 
of  Daphnis  only,  or  of  Julius  Caesar. 

52.  Daphnin,  the  MSS.  are  in  favour  of  the  Latin  form  Daplinim  in  this 
place :  but  it  is  very  questionable  whether  Virgil  would  have  introduced  -/;// 
unelided. 

54.  ista,  '  your  coming  song.' 

56.  candidus,  'in  glory,'  applied  to  special  or  divine  beauty. 

58.  All  nature  rejoices  at  his  apotheosis,  as  it  had  mourned  his  death 
(24sqq.\ 

63.  intonsi,  'shaggy,'  'unlopped' — even  the  wildest  regions  rejoice. 

G4.  deiis  .  .  .  Menalca  is  what  the  rocks  and  mountains  say. 

06.  altaria,  •  as  high  altars'  for  sacrifice):  Daphnis,  as  a  hero,  lias 
only  the  common  ara  for  unbloody  offerings ;  Apollo,  the  altare  for  victims. 


122  BUCOLICS.     ECL.  V.  67-90. 

On  the  view  that  Daphnis  represents  Caesar,  tlie  allusion  to  Phoebus  refers 
to  the  fact  that  Caesar  was  worshipped  by  decree  of  the  Senate,  on  the  day 
before  the  Ludi  Apolli)iarcs  (iv.  Non.  Iul.\  His  birthday  was  iii.  Non.  lul. ; 
but  the  Sibylline  books  forbad  the  worship  of  any  other  god  on  the  same 
day  with  Apollo. 

67.  Mna,  the  same  as  duo  in  the  next  line,  a  poetical  use  of  a  distribu- 
tive numeral  for  a  cardinal. 

70.  It  seems  difficult  to  trace  in  frigus  and  messis  allusion  to  special 
festivals.  At  whatever  time  of  year  we  worship  Daphnis,  says  Menalcas, 
there  shall  be  plenty  of  wine. 

71.  calathis,  not  '  baskets '  as  ii.  46,  but  '  stoups,'  or  perhaps  flagons 
cased  in  basket-work,  such  as  are  common  to  this  day  in  Italy.  Ariusium 
was  a  sweet  Chian  wine  of  high  repute,     nectar  in  apposition  to  vina. 

72.  lyctius,  from  Lycta,  a  town  in  Crete  = '  Cretan.' 

75.  lustrabimus  ag-ros  (^'  make  our  circuit  of  the  fields ')  seems  to  refer 
to  the  Ambarvalia  or  festival  of  sacrifice  to  Ceres  for  a  good  harvest,  G.  i. 
339.  Lustrarc  =  ambire  {arva),  whence  Ambarvalia.  Festivals  to  the 
nymphs  were  a  Sicilian,  not  Italian,  custom. 

80.  damnabis,  '  shalt  condemn  men  in  (i.  e.  bind  them  to  pay)  their 
vows'  ^votis,  abl.  of  respect);  cp.  voti  reus  Aen.  v.  237. 

86.  The  identification  of  the  poet  with  the  shepherd  (Eel.  x.  Introd.) 
leads  Virgil  here  to  represent  Menalcas  as  author  of  Eel.  ii  and  iii.  If 
Julius  Caesar  has  been  meant  by  Daphnis,  Virgil  would  be  identifying 
himself  with  the  singer  of  the  'apotheosis.' 

90.  paribus  nodis  atque  aere, '  with  regular  knots  and  brass ;'  whether 
acre  denotes  brass  rings  or  a  brass  tip  is  uncertain. 


NOTES   TO  FXLOGUE  VL 

VARUS. 

A  COSMOGONICAL  and  mythological  song  by  Silenus,  extorted  from  him 
by  stratagem  by  two  young  shepherds.  This  Eclogue  is  one  of  the  few 
passages  in  Virgil's  writings  (G.  ii.  475  sqq.,  Aen.  i.  742-746,  vi.  724- 
751  being  the  others)  which  show  the  hold  taken  upon  him  by  his  study  of 
philosophy  (including  the  germs  of  what  we  now  term  physical  science) 
under  the  celebrated  Epicurean  Siro ;  though,  as  is  natural  from  his 
intimate  acquaintance  with  Lucretius,  the  Eclogues  and  Georgics  show 
many  incidental  traces  of  Epicureanism,  and  one  of  his  shorter  poems 
(Catalepton  or  Catalecta),  written  about  53  B.C.,  indicates  a  desire  to  let 
philosophy  inspire  all  his  subsequent  writings.  The  recent  example  of 
Lucretius,  and  the  precedent  of  the  early  poet-philosophers  and  philosopher- 
poets  of  Greece  (Empedocles,  Parmenides,  Xenophanes,  etc.),  would  en- 


BUCOLICS.     ECL.  VI.  1-26.  123 

courage  the  belief  in  philosophy  as  the  true  province  of  poetry.    See  Introd. 

P-  5- 

Alfenus  Varus,  to  whom  the  poem  is  addressed,  had  probably  asked 
Virgil  to  celebrate  his  exploits  in  the  recent  civil  wars  (1.  7),  and  the  poet 
pleads  in  apology  the  command  of  Apollo  to  devote  himself  to  humbler 
subjects  of  pastoral  poetry.  The  confession  in  1.  3  of  a  youthful  ambition 
to  write  epic  poetry  {irges  ct  proelia)  is  perhaps  genuine ;  and  in  treating 
cosmogony  and  mythology  the  poet  indirectly  shows  his  command  over 
epic  verse :  but  for  the  present  his  judgment  probably  told  him  that  the 
subject  of  contemporary  wars  had  better  be  avoided. 


1.  prima, '  at  first,' adverbial.    Syracosio,  Sicilian  i^i.e.  pastoral)  poetry. 

3-5.  aurem  vellit.  This  gesture,  as  symbolical  of  reminding  a  person, 
was  the  regular  mode  of  antestatio  or  summoning  a  witness,  Hor.  Sat. 
i.  9.  77.  deductum,  '  slender,'  *  trivial ;'  lit.  '  thin  spun.'  It  is  in  antithesis 
to  pingues,  and  both  are  predicates :  '  'Tis  a  shepherd's  part  that  the  sheep 
he  feeds  be  fat,  the  songs  he  sings  be  thin.' 

6,  7.  super  tibi  erunt,  'you  will  have  more  than  enough.'  For  the 
tmesis  cp.  Aen.  ii.  567  ianujiic  adeo  super  wins  eram.  tristia,  'grim,'  a 
fi.\ed  epithet  of  wars,  condere,  to  '  celebrate,'  '  sing  of,'  cp.  Ov.  Trist. 
ii.  336  inwiania  Cacsaris  acta  condere. 

9,  10.  non  iniussa,  etc.  '  I  sing  what  I  am  bidden ;  but  if  I  find  readers 
for  my  pastoral  strains  (haec  quociue),  your  renown  shall  be  proclaimed 
all  the  same  (as  if  I  had  acceded  to  your  request).'  Legal,  on  the  evidence 
of  Priscian,  is  preferred  by  some  editors  ;  but  the  future,  implying  confidence 
that  he  will  be  read,  is  more  appropriate.  Varus  will  certainly  be  no  loser. 
myricae,  '  tamarisks.' 

15.  infiatum  venas,  for  the  constr.  see  on  Eel.  i.  55. 

16.  procul  tantuni,  'just  apart,'  a  translation  of  rvrOov  oaaov  dwwOfv 
Theocr.  i.  45.  For  procul  =  ' apart,'  without  the  idea  of  'far,'  cp.  Aen. 
X.  S^6  procul  derea  ramis  Dependet  galea. 

17.  cantharus,  a  drinking  can,  sha]ied  like  a  beetle  ^ mvOapos) .  attrita, 
'well-worn'  by  constant  use.  pendebat,  i.e.  from  his  hand:  he  was  still 
holding  it. 

18,19.  spe  carminis  luserat,  'had  beguiled  with  hopes  of  song;' 
cp.  Aen.  i.  352  z'a/ia  spe  Insit  aiiiantcni.  ipsis,  i.e.  his  own.  For  the 
unusual  position  uf  ex.  Con.  compares  Lucret.  iii.  10  tuis  ex,  inchitc, 
chartis. 

21.  'vi6ienti  =  vigi/anti,  '  when  he  was  now  awake ;'  cp.  Ter.  Eun.  i.  i.  2S 
vivus  vidensque  pereo,  and  Cic.  Sest.  27,  59  (which  shows  it  to  be  a  jiro- 
verbial  expression)  vivns,  ut  aiunt,  est  et  videns. 

24-26.  satis  est,  etc.  'It  is  enough  to  have  shown  your  Y>o\\tr^  =  quod 
potitiss,;  visi  estis.  co^noscite,  'hear;'  cp.  Juv.  iii.  28S  cognosce  proocinia 
ri.xae.     ipse,  '  at  once,'  without  waiting  to  be  pressed. 


124  BUCOLICS.     ECL.  VI.  27-43. 

27.  in  numerum,  '  in  measured  time;'  regular  use  of  in  with  accus.  to 
denote  accompanying  circumstances;  so  se>~vilcm  in  viodiim,  in  orhem, 
in  vie  em,  etc. 

30.  Orphea,  here  a  dissyllable. 

31  sqq.  Virgil  here  expounds  the  Epicurean  doctrine  of  the  formation  of 
the  world,  as  it  is  explained  by  Lucretius  in  the  '  De  Rerum  Natura.'  The 
four  elements  of  earth,  air,  fire,  and  water,  are  first  created  by  the  concourse 
of  '  atoms '  (semina)  in  the  '  mighty  void '  (mag-num  inane).  Out  of  the 
four  elements  grows  the  world.  Then  earth  and  sea  are  separated  ;  the  sun 
is  formed;  the  clouds  arise;  animals  and  vegetables  come  into  being. 
The  phraseology  is  Lucretian  throughout. 

32.  animae,  'air,'  as  in  Lucret.  i.  715. 

33,  34.  Note  that  all  the  verbs  from  concreverit  (1.  34,  to  cadant 
(1.  38)  are  in  the  subj.  of  oblique  interrogation  after  the  ut  of  1.  33.  ipse, 
i.  e.  not  only  the  exordia,  but  the  formed  universe  itself  in  its  early  stages 
(^tener,  of  an  early  formation,  in  contrast  to  durare  1.  35).  exordia, 
'  origin,'  '  beginning,'  '  from  these  elements  all  things  had  a  beginning.' 
mundi  orbis,  'the  whole  round  world,'  in  the  wider  sense  of  earth 
and  heaven, 

35,  36.  'How  the  soil  began  to  harden,  and  shut  off  Nereus  in  the  sea.' 
durare,  here  intransitive,  a  rare  use,  but  in  Virgil's  manner,  discludere, 
etc.,  i.  e.  the  sea  is  separated  from  the  land. 

38.  altius  cadant,  'have  a  longer  fall'  (Con.),  owing  to  the  clouds 
having  been  raised  up  from  the  earth.  The  position  of  atqne,  as  second 
word  in  the  clause,  is  very  unusual ;  hence  Wagner  ,  followed  by  Dr.  K.) 
proposed  to  read  liiccsccrc  solciii  altius,  aiqiic,  etc. :  but  altitts  would  then 
have  little  force.  In  Lucr.  iii.  531  scindi/iir  at  que  aninio  haec  qitoniani 
natura,  Lachm.  reads  ttsciuc  adco,  Munro  itquc  animae;  and  in  two  passages 
cited  in  Horace  .Sat.  i.  4.  107,  Epp.  i.  1.  25)  there  is  a  v.l.  aeque.  It  seems 
best,  however,  to  admit  the  solecism  here. 

39.  incipiant,  conjunctive,  in  subordination  to  the  preceding  oblique 
interrogation. 

40.  ignaros,  act.  =  ' that  as  yet  knew  them  not.'  It  might  be  pass,  'as 
yet  unknown  ;'  cp.  Ov.  Met.  vii.  j^Oi,  proles  ignara  farenti,  Tac.  Ann.  ii.  13 
per  occulta  ct  vigilibus  ignara.  But  the  active  sense  is  perhaps  more 
poetical.     There  is  a  v.  1.  ignotos. 

41-46.  Four  myths  are  introduced— (i'  Deucalion  and  Pyrrha,  2^  Pro- 
metheus, (3)  Hylas,  (4)  Pasiphae— to  represent  the  early  history  of  man 
according  to  legend. 

41.  Saturnia  regna,  not  in  apposition  to  lapides  iactos. 

43.  '  He  also  tells  how  Hylas  was  left  behind  at  the  spring,  and  tlie 
sailors  called  for  him,'  etc.  quo  fonte  relictum,  lit.  '  at  what  fountain  left 
behind,'  but  quo  is  virtually  adverbial,  according  to  a  tendency  in  Latin  to 
throw  an  adverbial  notion  into  adjectival  form.  Cp.  Aen.  i.  iSi  Anthea  si 
qucm  laeiatum  vento  vidcat,  '  see  Anlheus  anywhere.' 


BUCOLICS.     ECL,  VI.  44-77.  125 

44.  Hyla  omne.  For  this  shortening  of  a  long  vowel  in  hiatus  before 
another  vowel  see  Introd.  p.  iS. 

46.  solatur  =  (■«;///'  Pasiphaeii  scsc  solaiitetii,  cp.  circumdat  1.  62. 

47-51.  viTgro,  of  other  than  unmarried  women,  Hor.  Od.  ii.  8.  22  7iuper 
virgiiics  vtiptae.  Proetides,  daughters  of  Proeteus,  king  of  Tiryns,  who 
were  driven  mad  by  Juno,  and  went  about  lowing  like  cows,  falsis, 
'counterfeited.'     collo,  dative,    levi  fronte,  htimana  scilicet  (Servius). 

53,  54.  latus,  for  the  constr.  see  on  Eel.  i.  55.  fultus  hyacintho, 
a  Greek  rhythm :  see  Introd.  p.  xvi.  pallentes,  of  grass,  is  a  mere  trans- 
lation of  x\o}(>os :  but  the  poet  no  doubt  intended  to  point  the  contrast 
between  the  light  green  of  the  grass  and  the  dark  green  of  the  ilex. 

55  seqq.  claudite,  etc.  are  Pasiphae's  words,  the  previous  sentence 
having  expressed  her  thoughts.  She  bids  the  nymphs  guard  the  'forest 
glades'  '^nemorum  saltus\  in  case  they  may  find  the  bull.  Perhaps  also 
he  may  be  enticed  by  cows  to  the  Cretan  stalls  (Gortyna,  a  town  of  Crete). 

61-63.  puellam,  Atalanta,  whom  Hippomenes  defeated  in  a  race  by 
throwing  one  of  the  apples  of  the  Hesperides  before  her.  Phaethontiadas, 
'  sisters  of  Phaethon,'  an  extension  of  the  meaning  of  patronymics,  musco 
amarae  corticis,  '  with  mossy  bark  of  bitter  taste  '  Con.),  circumdat  = 
canit  circumdatas,  cp.  46  above.  The  sisters  of  Phaethon,  weeping  for 
their  brother's  death,  were  turned  into  poplars  according  to  the  ordinary 
version  (cp.  Aen.  x.  190).  Alders  are  appropriate  to  the  supposed  locale 
of  the  transformation,  on  the  banks  of  the  Eridanus. 

64-66.  Galium,  Cornelius  Callus,  a  Roman  equcs,  writer  of  elegies  now 
lost,  and  friend  of  PoUio  and  Virgil.  Augustus  made  him  governor  of 
Egypt,  but  on  a  report  of  some  rash  speeches  he  was  banished,  and 
committed  suicide,  B.  c.  26,  at  the  age  of  40.  See  Eel.  x.  The  intro- 
duction of  his  supposed  interview  with  the  Muses,  as  part  of  Silenus' 
legendary  song,  is  of  course  most  incongruous  ;  but  Virgil  only  thinks  of 
the  compliment  to  his  friend,  viro,  dative,  assurrexerit,  '  rose  up  ia 
honour  of,'  cp.  G.  ii.  98. 

67.  divino  carmine,  descriptive  abl.  with  pastor,  •  the  shepherd  of 
god-like  song.' 

68.  crines  ornatus,  '  his  hair  adorned,'  Greek  constr.  of  accus.  after 
passive  verb,  like  sttcciiiclaiii  inguina  1.  75  below.     See  on  Eel.  i.  55. 

70.  Ascraeo  seni,  i.  e.  Hesiod,  of  Ascra  in  Boeotia.  Virgil  attributes 
to  Ilesiod  the  fabled  power  of  Orpheus    Hor.  Od.  i.  12.  7-12). 

72.  Grynei,  of  Grynium  in  Aeolia,  where  was  a  temple  and  oracle  of 
Apollo.  The  story  of  its  origin  was  told  in  a  poem  by  Euphorion  of  Chalcis, 
whose  works  Callus  translated  or  imitated  (Eel.  x.  50). 

74-77.  Scylla,  the  daughter  of  Nisu.s,  king  of  Megara,  became  enamoured 
of  Minos,  and  betrayed  her  father's  city  to  him.  She  is  here  confused  by 
Virgil  with  Homer's  Scylla,  daughter  of  Phorcys,  who  became  a  sea- 
monster,  girt  with  dogs,  and  killed  many  of  Ulysses'  sailors  as  they  passed 
through  the  straits  of  Messina.     The  same  confusion  is  found  in  Propertius 


126  BUCOLICS.     ECL.  VIL  1-7. 

(v.  4.  39)  and  Ovid  (Fast.  iv.  500).  With  aut  supply  vt  jmrravcrit, 
governing  Scyllani.  Dulichias,  i.e.  of  Ulysses,  Dulichinm  being  an 
island  near  Ithaca. 

80,  81.  '  Of  her  flight  to  the  desert,  and  the  wings  with  which,  before 
departing,  the  unhappy  queen  hovered  over  the  palace.'  quo  cxxrsu,  quibus 
alls,  i.  e.  he  describes  how  she  was  metamorphosed  into  a  bird,  ante,  she 
takes  a  last  farewell  of  the  palace  by  flying  round  it. 

84.  pulsae,  etc.,  'tlie  echoing  valleys  repeat  to  heaven  the  song.' 

85.  uumerum  referre,  '  to  count  them  over.'  7-efen-i  is  preferred  by 
Con.,  as  being  the  harder  reading  :  but  the  MSS.  favour  referre. 

86.  Olympo,  'heaven,'  which  was  itself  unwilling  that  the  close  of  day 
should  put  an  end  to  the  song. 


NOTES   TO  ECLOGUE  VII. 

MELIBOEUS. 

MELIBOEUS.  CORYDON.  THYRSIS. 

A  GOAT-HERD,  Meliboeus,  relates  a  singing-match  between  the  shepherd 
Thyrsis  and  the  goat-herd  Corydon,  with  Daphnis  for  umpire,  which  ends 
in  the  defeat  of  Thyrsis.  It  is  a  purely  imaginary  poem,  modelled  on 
Theocritus  (chiefly  Idylls  vi,  vii):  the  shepherds  are  Arcadian  and  the 
scenery  Sicilian,  with  the  insertion  of  a  few  Italian  details,  e.  g.  the  river 
Mincius.     The  date  is  uncertain. 


1  seqq.  argnita,  'rustling '  or  '  whispering.'  florentes  aetatibus,  'in  the 
Idoom  of  their  (respective)  age.'  Arcades,  and  therefore  skilled  in  song 
(Eel.  X.  32) ;  Arcadia  being  pastoral,  and  Pan  its  patron  the  god  of  rural 
song.  In  ancient  times  Arcadia  seems  to  have  had  a  reputation  for  rustic 
stupidity,  like  Boeotia ;  cp.  Juv.  vii.  160  (jtiod  lacva  paiic  mamillac  Nil 
salit  Arcadico  iuvcni.  It  owes  to  pastoral  poetry,  and  perhaps  mainly  to  Vir- 
gil, its  Renaissance  association  with  an  ideal  golden  age  of  pastoral  felicity. 

5.  'Prepared  to  sing  and  answer  in  a  match'  : pares),  i.  e.  ready  to  take 
either  the  opening  or  second  part  in  an  Amoebaean  contest.  This  seems. 
better  than  to  take  cautare  pares  by  itself,  '  equal  in  singing  and  ready  to 
reply.' 

6.  duiu,  as  usual,  with  a  present  tense,  though  the  reference  is  to  past 
time,     frigore,  '  spring- frosts.' 

7.  atque  here  expresses  the  immediate  sequence  of  one  event  upon 
another,  where  a  temporal  conjunction  {qinoii)  would  be  the  more  strictly 
logical  way  of  expressing  the  relation  between  two  clause.^:,  cp.  Acn.  ii.  692 


BUCOLICS.     ECL,  VII.  11-36.  127 

vix  eafattts  crat  senior,  suhiioqiiefragorc  Intomiit  laevnm.  Like  the  phrases 
magis  atcpic,  etc.,  this  usage  points  to  an  earlier  stage  of  language,  in 
which  comparison  and  relation  were  expressed  by  simple  juxtaposition 
of  sentences,  before  the  development  of  more  elaborate  grammatical 
structure  and  subordination  of  clauses. 

11.  iuvenci,  the  bullocks  of  Meliboeus,  who  will  be  sure  not  to  stray 
from  the  spot. 

13.   sacra,  the  oak  being  sacred  to  Jupiter. 

14-16.  quid  facerem, '  what  was  I  to  do?' — deliberative  siibj. ;  see  on 
Eel.  iii.  21.  Alcippe,  Phyllis,  mates  of  other  shepherds:  Meliboeus  had 
none  of  his  own.  Corydon  cum  Thyrside,  in  apposition  to  certamen. 
*  There  was  a  grand  match,  Corydon  against  Thyrsis.' 

19.  meminisse.  The  Muses'  function,  as  daughters  of  Mnemosyne,  is  to 
remember  and  record  :  '  'twas  alternate  verses  the  Muses  wished  to  recall.' 

21-24.  'Grant  me  to  sing  like  Codrus;  if  not,  I  must  give  up  singing.' 
Libethrus  was  a  fountain  on  Helicon.  Codrus,  see  on  Eel.  v.  11.  faclt : 
aut,  see  Introd.  p.  17.  sacra,  i.e.  to  Pan,  the  inventor  of  the  pipe. 
Disused  implements  were  often  dedicated  to  some  patron  deity  :  thus  a  boy 
coming  of  age  gave  his  htlla  to  the  Lares  (Pers.  v.  38)  ;  a  girl  her  doll  to 
Venus  (ib.  ii.  70}  ;  a  sailor  saved  from  shipwreck  his  clothes  to  Neptune 
(Hor.  Od.  i.  4,  iii.  26.  3\  An  epigram  on  Lais  makes  her  dedicate  her 
mirror  to  Venus — rvt  Hacpir;  to  Karo-nrpov,  kird  toit]  fitv  upaaOai  Ovic  tOiKu, 
o'irj  5'  TjV  irapos  ov  bvvapai. 

25-28.  'Crown  me,  in  spite  of  Codrus'  envy,  and  guard  me  from  his 
evil  tongue.'  Thyrsis  is  represented  as  arrogant  and  jealous,  in  contrast  to 
Corydon's  modesty.  He  affects  to  fear  that  Codrus  may  attempt  to  injure 
him  by  extravagant  praise,  which  would  provoke  the  jealousy  of  the  gods. 
ultra  placitum,  i.e.  dis,  'beyond  what  heaven  approves,'  baccara,  'fo.K- 
glove,'  a  crown  of  which  was  apparently  a  charm  against  over-praise. 

29-32.  '  Micon  offers  to  Diana  a  boar's  head  and  stag's  horns, 
promising  a  marble  statue  if  his  success  in  hunting  lasts.'  These  four 
verses  represent  an  inscription  attached  to  a  votive  offering ;  the  verb  of 
offtJ-ing  is,  as  often  in  inscriptions,  omitted.  Delia,  '  of  Delos,'  i.  e.  Diana, 
parvus,  a  boy.  vivacis,  'long-lived:'  the  longevity  of  the  stag  was  a 
common  belief,  cp.  Juv.  xiv.  251  ccrvina  scnccttis.  hoc,  'this  good  luck  ' 
in  hunting,  proprium,  'lasting,'  'durable'  (lit.  'all  one's  own'),  tota, 
'  in  full  length,'  not  a  mere  bust,  suras  evincta,  for  the  constr.  see  on 
Eel.  i.  55.     cothurno,  a  high  boot,  appropriate  to  the  huntress  Diana. 

33-36.  '  Priapus,  we  offer  you  cakes  and  milk,  being  poor:  but,  if 
the  lambing  turns  out  well,  you  shall  have  a  gold  instead  of  a  marble 
"tatue.'  Obliged  by  the  laws  of  Amoebaean  singing  to  reply  to  Corydon 
wii.'»  a  corresponding  idea,  Thyrsis  here  fails  in  taste  by  his  selection  of 
Priapub  as  compared  with  Diana,  and  by  the  sudden  transition  from  homely 
offering:  .0  the  most  extravagant  promises,  pro  tempore,  '  according  to 
our  means,'  ix  twv  vapuvTwv ;  so  pro  re  Aen.  iv.  337. 


128  DVCOLICS.      ECL.  VH.  37-70. 

37-40.  'Galatea,  fairer  than  all  nature,  come  to  me  at  eventide.' 
Nerine,  'daughter  ofNereus,'  a  Greek  form.  Galatea  appears  in  Theocr. 
vi  and  xi  as  the  love  of  Polyphemus. 

41-44.  'May  I  be  more  hateful  to  you  than  all  nature,  if  I  can  bear 
your  absence  longer.  Go  home,  my  flocks.'  iitinio  :  Thyrsis  thinks  he 
can  improve  upon  Corydon's  mode  of  address.  Sardoniis :  the  '  Sar- 
dinian herb,'  supposed  to  be  a  kind  of  crowsfoot,  was  a  bitter  herb  the  taste 
of  which  would  distort  the  countenance  :  hence  '  Sardonic  smile.' 

45-48.  'My  flocks  shall  have  water,  grass,  and  shade;  summer  is  at 
its  height.'  somno  mollior,  v-nvai  fiaXaKojTtpa  Theocr.  v.  51  (of  fleeces  . 
fiaXaKos  is  a  Homeric  epithet  of  vnvos,  e.  g.  II.  x.  2.  rara,  '  chequered ' 
shade,  solstitium, '  the  summer  heat.'  pecori,  dative  of  remoter  object  after 
verb  of  defending  or  protecting  from. 

49-52.  '  Here  we  are  by  the  fire,  where  we  can  defy  the  cold.'  This 
picture  is  'a  sort  of  Dutch  pendant  to  Corydon's  Claude  Lorraine' 
(Keightley).     numeruni,  '  the  throng  '  of  sheep. 

53-56.  'Now  all  the  fruit  is  luxuriant ;  but  Alexis'  absence  would  spoil  ' 
.all.'  staut,  rather  stronger  and  more  picturesque  than  sunt,  sua  quas- 
flue  poma,  '  its  own  respective  fruit,'  a  rare  but  admissible  Latin  idiom  : 
see  Lach.  and  Munro  on  Lucret.  ii.  372  qtiique  {^qtiocpie)  siio  genere. 
Some  editors  read  quaquc  for  the  MS.  quaeque,  others  make  sua  ablative 
and  monosyllabic  by  synizesis.  But  neither  expedient  is  necessary,  et 
flimiina,  '  even  the  rivers.' 

57-60.  '  Everything  is  parched  up :  but  Phyllis  will  bring  refreshing 
rain.'  vitio,  'disease,'  a  sense  more  common  in  vitiosits,  vitiare.  luppiter, 
a  personification  of  the  sky. 

61-64.  '  Each  god  has  his  favourite  tree :  but  Phyllis  loves  the  hazel, 
and  that  is  best  of  all.' 

65-68.  '  Each  spot  has  its  favourite  tree :  but  Lycidas  will  grace  each 
spot  more.' 

70.  '  Henceforth  it  is  "  Corydon,  Corydon  "  with  us,'  i.  e.  we  talk  of  no 
one  else.  Others,  less  probably,  transl.,  '  from  that  time  Corydon  is  Corydon 
for  us,'  i.e.  the  true  Corydon  or  shepherd  minstrel.  Virgil  imitates  Theocr. 
viii.  92  «-?'//f  TovTOj  Aa(pvLS  rrapa  -rroifiicn  nparos  fjfVTO. 


NOTES   TO    ECLOGUE  VIII. 

PHARMACEUTRIA. 

DAMON.  ALPHESIBOEUS. 

Two  sliephcrds,  Damon  and  Alphesibocus,  sing  of  disappointed  love ; 
Damon  in  the  character  of  a  youth  whose  mistress  Nysa  has  jilted  him  for 
Mopsus  :   Alphesiboeus  in  that  of  a  woman  trying  to  call  back  her  estranged 


BUCOLICS.     ECL.  VIII.  ^-26.  129 

lover  Daphnis  by  magical  arts.  The  latter  song,  borrowed  from  Theocr.  ii., 
gives  its  title  to  the  Eclogue.  Each  song  has  ten  parts  divided  by  a  recur- 
ring burden.  The  dedication  of  the  poem  to  PoUio,  novi^  returning  from  his 
campaign  against  the  Parthini  in  Illyricum,  fixes  its  date  to  39  B.  c.  Whether 
itissis  carmiita  coepta  tuis  1.  11  means  that  Pollio  suggested  the  subjects 
treated  of,  or  merely  asked  for  another  pastoral  poem,  we  cannot  say. 


3.  lynces,  lynxes  were  not  found  either  in  Italy  or  Sicily.  Virgil  is  think- 
ing of  the  effect  of  the  legendary  song  of  Orpheus. 

4.  cursus,  perhaps  best  taken  as  ace.  of  respect  with  nmtata.  Three 
passages  are  cited  for  making  requierunt  transitive — viz.  Ciris  232  rapidos 
etiam  reqtiie7-unt  jluinina  cursiis ;  Calvus,  lo  (cited  by  Servius)  Sol  quoipcc 
pcrpetiios  incminit  Tcqiiiescere  ctirsits;  and  Prop.  iii.  15.  25  luppitcr  AIc- 
ntcnae  gcminas  rcquievcrat  Arctos.  But  the  first  two  of  these  may  be  due 
to  misunderstanding  Virgil  here,  or  may  be  taken  with  cursus  ace.  of  respect; 
and  the  ace.  in  Prop,  might  express  duration. 

6,  7.  til  connected  with  superas  ;  there  is  no  need  to  suppose  an  aposio- 
pesis.  'Whether  you  are  e'en  now  passing  the  rocky  mouth  of  mighty 
Timavus ' — i.  e.  in  coasting  homeward.  luihi,  ethic  dative :  the  force  of  it 
can  hardly  be  given  in  English,  stiperas,  of  ships  passing  a  spot ;  cp. 
Aen.  i.  2^\foiiteiit.  superare  Tiniavi.     legis,  '  coast  along.' 

10.  Sophocleo  cothurno  :  the  high  *  buskin '  was  characteristic  of 
tragedy,  as  the  'sock'  {socciis\  of  comedy.  Hence  Milton  speaks  of 
'  Jonson's  learned  sock'  (' L'AUegro,'  132),  and  'the  buskined  stage'  of 
tragedy  ,'  II  Penseroso,'  102).  PoUio's  tragedies  have  been  alluded  to  iii.  86, 
and  are  more  particularly  mentioned  by  Hor.  Od.  ii.  i.  9,  Sat.  i.  10.  42.  We 
have  no  means  of  judging  how  far  the  high  praise  bestowed  by  two  great 
poets  on  their  friend  and  patron  was  really  deserved. 

11-13.  principiiim,  sc.  musae ;  desinet,  sc.  viusa.  The  thought  is 
so  familiar  that  the  omission  causes  no  obscurity,  tibi,  '  for  you,'  and  so 
'  with '  or  '  in  you  : '  dat.  of  indirect  reference.  Cp.  Horn.  II.  ix.  97  (Nestor 
to  Agamemnon)  iv  col  fitv  Atj^o;,  ct«o  5'  ap^ofiai.  hederam,  as  emblem  of 
jioetic  fame. 

16.  tereti  olivae,  a  smooth  olive  staff;  not  the  tree,  which  is  rough. 

17-19.  prae  belongs  to  veniens  ;  for  the  tmesis  cp.  E.  vi.  6.  coniugis, 
'  mistress '  or  '  lady-love.'  indigno,  '  unworthy '  because  unreturned.  tes- 
titous,  '  from  their  witness  '  (to  her  vows),  abl.  of  circumstance. 

21.  Maenalios,' Arcadian,' and  so '  pastoral,'  from  Maenalus,the  mountain 
of  Arcadia.  The  refrain  is  from  Theocr.  Idyll,  i.  dpxcre  PovkoKikcis,  Movcrai 
tpiKai,  apXiT   cioiSas. 

26.  sperenius,  '  what  may  we  not  expect  in  love?'  spcro,  spts,  some- 
times imply  expectation  or  apprehension  of  something  undesirable,  cp.  Sail. 
Cat.  20.  13  spes  multo  aspcrior,  ib.  Jug.  88  Mctcllus  contra  span  suain 
lactissimis  ainicis  cxcipitur,  Lucan.  v.  455  itaiifragii  spcs  o/nnis  aln(. 

I 


130  BUCOLICS.     ECL.  VIIL  27-49. 

27,  28.  iungentur,  ia  wedlock,  ratlier  than,  as  some  say,  lUKkr  the 
yoke,  grypes,  'griffins,'  fabulous  four-footed  birds  described  by  Herodotus 
iii.  102.  iam  as  distinct  from  aevo  sequenti,  wliich  indicates  a  further 
stage  of  these  monstrous  changes,  ad  pocula— /i?///w.  damniae,  Quin- 
tilian  notices  this  masc.  as  a  specialty  of  Virgil :  Horace  has  it  fern.,  Od. 
ii.  2.  u. 

29,  30.  tibi  ducitur  uxor,  '  your  bride  is  coming  home.'  The  bride 
was  escorted  with  torches  (faces)  to  her  husband's  house,  nuces,  the 
bridegroom  flung  '  nuts '  among  the  torch-bearers,  as  the  bride  approached  ; 
CatuU.  Ixi.  128  iicii  mues  ptieris  negct.  tibi,  ethic  dative,  deserit 
Hesperus  Oetani,  i.  e.  by  rising  over  it.  Virgil  imagines  a  morning  and 
evening  star  at  the  same  time  of  year  (11.  17,  30),  an  error  shared  by 
Catullus  (Ixii.  7),  Horace  (Od.  ii.  9.  10),  and  other  poets. 

32-35.  dig'no,  ironical,  'worthy  of  such  as  you.'  proniissa,  'hanging 
or  falling  down.'  nee  curare,  etc.,  she  had  broken  her  oath,  as  though 
there  was  no  such  thing  as  vengeance  from  heaven. 

37,  38.  saepibus  in  nostris,  '  in  our  enclosure.'  matre,  '  my  motlier,' 
as  appears  from  the  parallel  passage  Thcocr.  xi.  25  i)paa6i]v  fxlv  iyaiya 
Tfovs,  Kopa,  aviKa  nparov  ^KfOts  ifxa  aw  fxarpl  OiXoia'  vaKivOiva  <j>v\\a  .  .  , 
SpixpaaOai.     The  boy  shows  the  way  to  his  mother's  guest. 

39.   alter  ab  undecimo,  the  twelfth,  counting  inclusively. 

41.  vit .  .  .  error, '  how  I  saw  !  how  lost  I  was  !  what  fatal  folly  possessed 
me  ! '  Virgil  imitates  (apparently  misunderstanding  the  difference  between 
ws  and  ws  =  ovTOJs)  Theocr.  ii.  82  x^'^  tSov,  w?  ifxdvTjv,  ws  ficu  irtpl  6v/.ids  laipdrj 
Ati\aias ;  cp.  ib.  iii.  41  d  5'  'AraKavTa  'fis  iSev,  tus  (fiavT),  an  ti'j  0a6vv  aA.ar' 
tpojTa.  Theocritus  seems  to  have  imitated  Horn.  II.  xiv.  294  us  S'  tdev,  ws 
fxiv  (pais  -nvKivas  fptvas  dix(l)eKa\vip(j'.  Some  editors  translate  the  first  ut  as 
'  when,'  the  second  and  third  as  '  how : '  but  more  probably  all  three  are 
used  in  the  same  sense.  For  the  hiatus  perii,  ut  cp.  Rliodope  aiit  1.  44 
below,  and  see  Introd.  p.  18. 

43-45.  scio.  This  and  7icsiio  are  the  only  cases  in  which  Virgil  seems 
to  shorten  the  -0  of  i  sing,  pres.,  but  he  may  intend  their  metrical  value 

to  be  scio,  nescio  (by  synizesis":  cp.  Aen.  ix.  296.  edunt,  '  give  him  birtli.' 
Tlie  present,  thus  used  of  a  strictly  past  event,  merely  connects  it  with  the 
subject  without  any  idea  of  time,  c\x  general  Acn.  viii.  841,  ahicat  x.  51 8, 
creat  G.  i.  279.     It  \itxt==parenies  sunt. 

47-50.  '  The  cruelty  of  love  is  an  old  story.  He  made  Medea  kill  her 
children,  but  she  must  have  been  cruel  too.'  The  apparent  irrelevancy  of 
11.  49,  50  has  led  to  a  suggestion  that  they  are  marginal  glosses  (perhaps 
by  two  successive  readers)  which  have  crept  into  the  text.  But  the  con- 
jecture is  needless  :  the  shepherd  blames  Medea,  and  then,  recurring  to  his 
first  complaint  against  love,  tries  to  balance  their  respective  degrees  of 
cruelty  :  mater  being  throughout  Medea. 

49.  i.e.  which  was  greater,  the  cruelty  of  the  mother  or  tlic  malice  of 
the  bo)'  y 


BUCOLICS.     ECL.  VII!.  52-78.  131 

52.  iiltro,  'even,' or  'actually.'  The  word  denotes  anything  'beyond' 
\vhat  would  be  expected. 

54.  sudent  eleotra,  '  sweat  amber,'  cognate  accus.  Amber  was  believed 
by  the  ancients  to  be  distilled  from  alders  or  poplars,  for  which  the  tamarisk 
is  substituted  in  the  supposed  confusion  of  things. 

55.  Tityrus,  i.e.  an  ordinary  shepherd. 

58.  fiat  (so  the  best  MSS.,  not  Jiaiit)  by  attraction  to  the  predicate ;  '  let 
the  whole  earth  become  deep  sea  : '  cp.  Ter.  And.  iii.  3.  38  aiiiantiuni  irac 
anioris  intcgratio  est.  \'irgil  apparently  mistranslates  (cp.  1.  44)  Theocr.  i. 
134  Ttavra  5'  tvaWa  (changed)  -yivoiro,  as  if  the  word  were  ivakia  (in  the  sea). 
medium,  '  mid,'  i.e.  '  deep  '  or  '  open  sea.'     vivite,  '  farewell.' 

60.  hoc  munus  morientis,  'my  last  d}ing  gift,'  i.e.  his  life,  which 
he  sacrifices  for  her ;  cp.  Theocr.  xxiii.  20  buipa  toi  -qvOov  XoiaOia  ravra 
Kptpwv,  rov  efiov  Ppoxov.  Some  editors  understand  munus  to  be  the  song  : 
but  the  passage  in  Theocritus  and  the  run  of  the  lines  are  against  this. 

63.  non  .  .  .  omnes,  '  all  men  cannot  do  all  things.'  Virgil  asks  the 
Muses  to  sing  for  him  the  song  of  Alphesiboeus,  as  if  it  were  beyond 
his  own  powers. 

65.  adole, '  burn.'  The  word  denotes  (i)  to  '  increase,' '  pile  up  '  root  OL, 
cp.  Oi/o/csci'/is];  e.g.  Aen.  vii.  71  castis  adolet  diiin  altar  ia  tacdis,  Lucret. 
iv.  1237  (idokiit  altaria  doiiis.  (2)  to  'offer,'  'sacrifice,'  'burn'  in  a 
sacrificial  sense,  as  here  :  cp.  Aen.  iii.  547  lunoni  iiissos  adolonus  hoiioirs, 
i.  "jo^  Jlaiiimis  adolere  Penates,  'kindle.'  In  Ov.  Met.  i.  492  {utque  levcs 
stipiilac  deiiiptis  adoleniiir  aristis)  it  =  simply  '  to  burn.'  Usually  the  second 
sense  is  derived  from  the  first,  the  idea  of  '  increasing '  being  extended  to 
denote  'honouring'  by  sacrifice,  and  so  '  offering '  and  "  burning.'  But  Prof. 
Nettleship  prefers  to  suppose  two  distinct  roots  for  the  verb,  which  in  its 
second  and  sacrificial  sense  he  connects  v/ith  the  root  AL  seen  in  altarc,  etc. 
mascula,  '  male  '  frankincense,  the  best  kind. 

66,  67.  avertere,  '  distract '  («;  sanitate' .  carmina,  '  charms,"  i.  c. 
magic  song.  Incantations,  oracles,  or  prophecies,  ritual  or  legal  formulae, 
and  inscriptions,  being,  for  the  most  jjart,  in  verse  in  early  times,  were  alike 
called  carmina  :  cp.  Cyinaciiin  carmen  Eel.  iv.  4,  diro  carmine  in  rare 
Liv.  X.  38.  10,  lex  horrendi  carminis  ib.  i.  26.  6.  So  canere  is  used  of 
any  solemn  utterance  by  a  priest  or  seer,  Aen.  ii.  1 24,  etc. ;  and  cantare  of 
enchantments,  infr.  71  ;  cp.  Lucan.  vi.  767  cantata  umbra. 

70.  TTlixi  for  Ulixei,  from  nom.  Ulixeiis  :  so  Achilli  Aen.  i.  30. 

73.  terna,  'three,  the  distributive  numeral  being  used  for  the  cardinal, 
as  often  in  poetry  ;  so  also  iernos  1.  77.  titoi, '  for,'  and  so  '  on  you  ' — i.  c. 
your  image.  It  was  common  in  magic  to  use  the  image  of  the  person  to  be 
affected. 

77.  '  Weave  in  three  knots  three  colours,'  i.e.  make  three  knots,  each  of  a 
different  colour. 

78.  modo,  with  imperative  frequently  in  the  colloquial  language  of 
i'lautus  and  Terence,  e.  g.  i  modo,  lace  modo,  etc.  '  Tie  them,  do.' 

I  i 


132  BUCOLICS.     ECL.  VIII.  80-105. 

80,  81.  ]))'  limus  and  cera  Virgil  may  mean  two  images  of  Daphnis. 
But  in  tlie  parallel  passage  of  Theocr.  (ii.  28  ws  tovtov  -tov  napov  eyuj 
avv  Sai/xovi  roKoS)  a  lump  of  wax  is  thrown  into  the  fire.  Probably  therefore 
in  the  present  place  only  two  lumps,  of  clay  and  of  wax,  are  meant.  The 
assonance  durcscit  liqiicscit  is  agreeable  to  the  jingling  nature  of  charms. 
eodem  is  dissyllable  by  synizesis. 

82,  83.  fragiles,  'crackling,'  cp.  Lucr.  vi.  11 2  fragil is  son  if  us  chartantni; 
a.nAfi-agor,fra(lus,  etc.,  of  sound.  The  crackling  of  bay-leaves  on  the  fire 
was  a  good  omen,  in  Saphnide,  '  in  the  case  of  Daphnis '  {kiri  A(\(pt5i 
Theocr.  ii.  23),  and  so  indirectly  '  against '  him.  So  i)i  lioste  Aen.  ii.  390, 
hoc  faccrc  in  co  lioinine  consiierunt  cuius  orationcm  approbant  Caes.  B.  G. 
vii.  21  :  cp.  the  phrase  ardcrc  in  aliqua,  'to  burn  with  love  "for"  or 
"  towards."  '  In  all  these  examples  the  local  ablat.  with  ///  expresses  the 
object  on  which  or  with  regard  to  which  something  takes  place,  as  if  it  were 
the  circumstance  in  or  under  which.  The  idiom  is  quite  Latin,  and  we 
need  not  suppose  that  Virgil  takes  any  liberty  in  order  to  represent  Im. 
Ae\<pt5i. 

85-90.  Virgil  seems  to  have  in  his  mind  a  well-known  description  in 
Lucretius  (ii.  355-366)  of  a  cow  seeking  her  lost  calf 

88.  This  verse,  according  to  Macrobius  (Sat.  vi.  2',  is  borrowed  entire 
from  Varius,  Y>e  Mente  Caesaris,  N^on  avincs  illain  vicdii,  iion  ardua 
(ardant,  Perdita  ucc  scrae  iiicnii>iit  dcccdcrc  nocti;  and  Kibb.,  Kenn.,  etc. 
would  remove  the  comma  after  perdita,  confining  it  to  the  latter  clause. 
But  Virgil's  poetic  taste  is  seen  in  the  greater  effect  which  he  gives  to  the 
word,  thus  hanging,  as  it  were,  between  two  clauses,  decedere  nocti, 
'  make  way  for  the  night,'  i.e.  retire  at  night-fall.  The  same  phrase  occurs 
G.  iii.  467  :   cp.  also  G.  iv.  23  dcccdcrc  calori,  'avoid  the  heat.' 

91-93.  exuvias,  'relics.'  debent,  'owe  Daphnis  to  me,'  i.e.  bind  him 
to  come  back. 

95,  96.  Ponto  stands  loosely  for  Colchis,  the  country  of  the  enchantress 
Medea:  so  serpens  Ponticus  Juv.  xiv.  114  of  the  guardian  of  the  golden  fleece. 
plurinia  with  nasciintvir  ;  *  they  grow  in  abundance.' 

97-99.  lupum  fieri.  The  superstition  that  some  men  could  become 
wolves  XvKavBpaima,  was  common  down  to  the  Middle  Ages;  cp.  the  story 
of  Lycaon,  Ov.  Met.  i.  209.  alio, '  to  another's  field'  (lit.  in  other  directions). 
The  practice  of  frugcs  excantare  was,  according  to  Pliny  ^xxviii.  2}, 
actually  forbidden  in  the  XII  Tables. 

101.  cineres,  the  object  of  throwing  the  ashes  into  the  stream  is  not 
([uite  clear,  but  it  is  obviously  a  powerful  charm.  The  turning  away  is  to 
avoid  the  sight  of  something  'uncanny;'  c^.acsrpoipoiaiv  ofifiacnv  Aesch.Cho. 
99,  avTus  5'  dvov6cr<l)t  TpantaOai  Horn.  Od.  v.  349.  See  the  description  in 
Ov.  Fast.  V.  435  sqq.  of  an  old  Roman  form  for  '  laying  a  ghost,'  in  which 
the  same  symbolical  actions  occur,  rivo  flnenti,  'into  the  stream.'  poetical 
dat.  of  recipient  for  the  usual  prep,  and  case. 

105,  The  sudden  blaze  was  a  good  omen,  smouldering  was  a  bad  one; 


BUCOLICS.     ECL.  IX.  2-6.  133 

cp.  Soph.  Ant.  roo6    \k  h\  Bvy-armv  "HtjtaicTTos  ovk  (Kafi-nfv,  a\\'  enl  ffnodSi 

107,  108.    Hylax,    ' Clrowler,'   a   dog's  name:    generally  received  cor- 
rection for  MSS.  Hylas.     e[ui  amant,  for  the  hiatus  see  Introd.  p.  18. 


NOTES   TO   ECLOGUE   IX. 

MOERIS. 
LYCIDAS.  MOERIS. 

This  poem  refers  to  the  fortunes  of  Virgil's  farm  and  his  trouble  at  being 
ejected  from  it ;  whereas  Eel.  i,  represents  him  as  restored  to  his  property. 
Assuming  ix.  to  be  written  later  than  i.,  it  has  been  supposed  that  after  the 
journey  to  Rome  and  restitution  to  his  farm  (Eel.  i.  -0-45)  his  re-entry  to 
possession  was  opposed  by  an  intruding  soldier,  and  that  he  had  to  make  a 
second  journey  to  Rome  to  obtain  a  second  grant  of  restitution  ;  this  second 
expulsion  being  that  which  is  referred  to  here.  There  is,  however,  no 
mention  in  Suetonius'  Life  of  Virgil,  or  other  ancient  authorities  prior  to 
Servius,  of  a  double  ejection  :  and  Probus  (whose  account  is  clearer  and 
more  consistent  than  that  of  Servius)  considers  that  Eel.  ix.,  which  is  a 
complaint  of  injury,  should  be  placed  before  Eel.  i.,  which  is  an  expression 
of  gratitude  for  redress  of  the  injury.  If  we  adopt  this  view,  Eel.  i.  refers 
to  the  final  (and  only)  restoration  of  Virgil's  property;  and  the  words  of 
ix.  7-10  imply  that  in  the  first  instance  Virgil  had  hoped  ^perhaps  with 
Pollio's  help;  to  keep  his  fami,  but  was  after  all  ejected.  And  if  the 
ejection  here  spoken  of  was  the  second  within  a  few  months,  why  is  it' 
spoken  of  as  an  unlooked-for  thing  {quod  >iiiiiiqiiani  vcriti  sum  us  1.  3  ? 

Moeris,  a  servant  of  Menalcas,  relates  to  Lycidas  how  his  master  is 
threatened  with  dispossession.  Lycidas  deplores  the  misfortune  of  such  a 
poet,  and  as  they  walk  to  the  city  recites  snatches  of  Menalcas'  poetry, 
Moeris  repeating  other  passages.  The  framework  is  suggested  by  Theocr. 
Idyll  vii.,  in  which  Lycidas  and  Simichidas  (Theocritus)  walk  and  sing 
together.  Its  object  appears  Jl.  26-29)  to  be  to  enlist  the  interest  of 
Alfenus  ^'arus,  whom  Suetonius  expressly  mentions  as  instrumental  (with 
Pollio  and  Gallus)  in  securing  Virgil's  restoration  to  his  property.  .Some 
have  held  that  Eel.  vi.  (q.  v.)  was  the  fulfilment  of  the  promise  in  1.  2". 


2.  vivi  pervenimus  ut,  'we  have  lived  to  hear  what  we  never  feared — a 
stranger  occupant  of  our  farm  saying,  "  It  is  mine  ;  be  off,  you  former 
lioldcrs."  '     The  confused  order  expresses  Moeris'  perturbation. 

0.   iiec  in  certain  formulae  (as  mx  bcuc  vcrtat  here)  seems  to  retain  its 


134  BUCOLICS.     ECL.  IX.  7-34. 

original  force  as  a  simple  negative  {  =  ne  strengthened  by  demonstrative  cc). 
So  nee -Dpi  lilts,  res  ncc  mancipi,  etc.  Cp.  in  tlie  XII  Tables,  cui  suits  heirs 
nee  eseit,  si  adgiiatus  nee  eseit,  etc. ;  Cic.  Leg.  iii.  3.  6  nee  obedienlem  eive-ii 
eoereeto.  mittimus,  Moeris  is  represented  as  carrying  the  kids  to  the 
neighbouring  town  (Mantua),  where  the  usurping  proprietor  resides. 

7-10.  '  I  thought  your  master's  poetry  had  saved  his  property : '  see 
above,  siibducere,  'to  draw  themselves  up  from  the  plain.'  Both  this 
and  iugum  demittere  express  the  slope,  one  regarding  it  from  below,  the 
other  from  above.  Translate  :  '  From  where  the  hills  begin  to  rise  and  let 
down  the  ridge  with  gentle  slope.'     cacumina  in  apposition  to  fagos. 

13.  Chaonias,  i.  e.  of  Dodona  in  Epirus,  the  country  of  the  Chaones  — 
a  conventional  epithet. 

14-16.  incidere,  'cut  short ;'  i.e.  to  yield  to  the  usurping  soldier  before 
lie  lost  his  life,  quacnmqne  {ratione),  'anyhow.'  sinistra,  and  therefore 
credible;  cp.  Cic.  Div.  i.  39.  85  Quid  {JiabeV  augur,  eur  a  dextra  corvtis, 
a  sinistra  eornix  faeiat  raiuiii  >.  hie,  o5e,  the  speaker  himself  So  frequently 
in  the  colloquial  language  of  Plautus  and  Terence  Jiie  /wwo  =  '  myself.' 

17,  18.  cadit  in,  'is  the  lot  or  part  of,'  and  so  '  applies  to,'  •  is  possible 
in  :'  Cic.  Sull.  27  eadit  in  hitne  hoinineiii  ista  suspieio,  Har.  R.  26  in  eitiii 
eadit  hoe  verbuin  ineixiiue.     tua  solatia,  '  the  pleasure  you  give  us.' 

21.  'Or  who  would  sing  the  songs  I  lately  stole  in  secret  from  your  lips?' 
tibi  is  Menalcas,  i.e.  Virgil;  and  11.  23-25  are  a  close  version  of  Theocr. 
iii.  3-5  :  hence  '  Virgil  must  be  understood  as  indirectly  praising  himself  as 
the  Roman  Theocritus  '  (Con.). 

23,  24.  dum  redeo,  '  while  I  am  on  my  way  home  ;'  cp.  Ter.  Ad.  ii.  i.  42 
delibera  hoe  duiii  redeo.  inter  agendum,  iv  tw  iXavvuv,  '  while  driving  them.' 

26.  immo,  '  nay,  listen  to  this.'  necdum,  '  and  that  not  finished'  Gk. 
Koi  ravTa),  showing  the  loss  which  lovers  of  song  would  have  suffered  in  the 

'poet's  death. 

27,  28.  The  lands  of  Cremona  had  first  been  confiscated  for  the  troops, 
and  as  they  proved  insufficient,  a  portion  of  the  Mantuan  territory  was  also 
taken  (nimium  vicina  Cremonae".  Virgil  evidently  hopes  that  througli 
the  aid  of  Varus  the  Mantuan  teriitory  may  be  restored.  superet  = 
super  sit,  as  often. 

30.  sic,  a  common  formula  of  adjuration  =  '  so  may  it  be,  according  as;' 
cp.  the  biblical  phrase  '  So  may  God  do  to  me,  if  ... '  Translate  :  '  If  you 
would  have  your  swarms  avoid  the  yews  of  Corsica.'  Cyrneas  taxes, 
'Corsican  yews,'  Kvpvo^  being  the  Greek  name  for  Corsica.  Corsica  does 
not  seem  to  have  been  famous  for  yews,  but  its  honey  was  notoriously  bad ; 
and  as  yews  were  bad  for  bees,  Virgil,  with  a  poet's  freedom,  ascribes  it  all 
to  yew  trees. 

34.  vatem.  This,  the  oldest  term  for  a  poet,  according  to  Varro  and 
Enn.  Ann.  222,  was  discarded  on  the  introduction  of  Greek  literature  for 
the  Greek  'poeta'  (wou/ttjs',  which  is  applied  to  themselves  by  Ennius, 
Naevius,  and   l'acu\iiis,  and  to  Homer  by  Ennius:    vafes  being  relegated 


BUCOLICS.     ECL.  IX.  35-49.  135 

to  the  signification  of 'soothsayers,'  'oracle-mongers,'  and  the  like,  in  which 
sense  it  is  used  by  Lucr.  i.  109  minis  obsistcrc  vatii/ii,  Ilor.  Epp.  ii.  i.  2C) 
annosa  vohiviina  vahtm,  Cic.  N.  D.  i.  20.  55  /lantspices,  atigures,  harioli, 
vates,  cojtiectorcs.  In  later  times  vatcs  came  to  mean  a  i^roficient  in' any 
art,  legiDii  vatcs,  etc.  Virgil  and  other  writers  brought  it  into  honour  again 
as  the  old  word  for  an  inspired  bard,  something  higher  than  pocta — and 
such  is  its  force  here.  Lycidas  acquiesces  in  the  title  of  poeta  (versifier, 
but  disclaims  that  of  vates  'poet). 

35.  Varius,  a  distinguished  epic  and  tragic  poet,  and  friend  of  Horace 
and  Virgil,  whose  Aeneid  he  edited  along  with  Tucca.  Cinna,  a  poet  and 
friend  of  Catullus,  and  author  of  the  epic  Siiiynia.  He  is  said  by  Plutarch 
to  be  the  Cinna  who  was  killed  through  mistake  by  the  populace  after  the 
assassination  of  Caesar.  If  so,  he  would  be  dead  when  this  Eclogue  was 
written.  But  Plutarch's  statement  is  rather  doubtful.  Anser,  an  indifferent 
poet,  whose  name  is  here  punned  upon  ;  cp.  Cinnaqiie  procacior  Anscr 
Ovid.  Trist.  ii.  435. 

37,  38.  id  ago,  'that  is  what  I  am  about;'  id  agere,  hoc  agcj-c  =  ' to  be 
intent  on;'  cp.  J/oc  age,  a  formula  to  bespeak  silence  at  religious  rites  :  a/ias 
res  agerc,  'to  be  inattentive;'  lioccine  agisl  'do  you  hear  me?'  si  valeani, 
■  in  the  hope  that  I  may  be  able.' 

39.  nam,  frequent  in  interrogations,  expressing  wonder  or  emotion.  In 
this  sense  it  is  joined  to  interrogative  words,  qiiisnaiii,  qiiiaiiani,  nhinaiit, 
etc.;  and  sometimes,  as  here,  separated  from  the  interrogative  word  ;  cp. 
Plant.  Kacch.  v.  i.  28  quid  tibi  ex  filio  na/ii,  obsccro,  aegre  est  I 

40.  purpureuni,  'bright,'  without  reference  to  colour;  cp.  Tib.  iii.  :.  4 
piirpitreo  vere.     Theocritus  has  Xeu/toj/ ea/j  xviii.  27. 

43.  insaiii,  etc.,  'let  the  wild  waves  lash  the  shore,'  in  contrast  to  the 
peace  on  land. 

44,  45.  quid,  quae,  '  what  about  the  verses  whicii  .  .  .  ?'  pura,  •'  serene,' 
'  cloudless.'  numeros  .  .  .  tenereni,  '  I  remember  the  time,  if  I  only  could 
recall  the  words,'  a  common  form  of  expression,  the  proper  apodosis  ''et 
caneretn)  being  omitted.  Cp.  Sail.  Jug.  3 1  nnilta  /lie  deJiortantttr,  ni  stttdium 
rcipublicae  siipcret. 

46.  antiques,  applied  poetically  to  ortus  instead  of  sigfnoruni,  '  the 
risings  of  the  old  constellations.' 

47.  astrum,  the  Iitlii/in  sidits  (Hor.  Od.  i.  12.  47,  a  comet  whicii 
appeared  in  43  n.  c.  at  the  games  given  in  honour  of  Julius  Caesar,  and  was 
hailed  as  a  sign  of  his  apotheosis.  Dionaei,  sprung  from  Dione,  mother  of 
^'cnus;  the  Caesars  claiming  descent  from  lulus,  son  of  Aeneas,  son  of  Venus 
and  Anchises. 

48.  49.  quo,  'through  wiiose  influence,'  instrum.  abl.  grauderent,  the 
subj.  marks  the  result  of  its  appearance — '  a  star  to  make  the  fields  all  glad 
with  corn,  and  the  grape  take  deeper  colour  on  the  sunny  hills.'  duceret, 
cp.  Juv.  ii.  81  uvaqite  coiispccla  livorcni  ducit  ab  uva ;  it  denotes  the 
gradual  drawing  on  of  the  colour. 


13^  BUCOLTCS.     ECL.  TX.  $0-66. 

50.  poma,  '  fruit,'  here  of  pears. 

51.  fert,  'destroys.'  animum,  'memory,'  cp.  the  phrases  ?«  aiiimo  esse, 
ex  ani?no  effliiei-e. 

52.  condere,  '  to  see  (long  days)  to  their  close,'  cp.  Hon  Od.  iv.  5.  29 
Coudit  qiiisqne  diem  collilms  in  suis,  Lucr.  iii.  1090  vivendo  eo7idere  saecla. 

53-55.  oblita,  in  passive  sense.  Many  deponents  have  this  double  use 
of  the  perf.  part.,  e.g.  adcphis,  eonfertits,  expert  us,  meditatus,  opinaiits,  etc. 
lupi,  etc.,  alluding  to  the  superstition  that  a  man  meeting  a  wolf  and  not 
catching  its  eye  first  was  struck  dumb,  which  Pliny  (viii,  34)  speaks  of  as 
Italian :  but  it  is  alluded  to  in  Plato,  Rep.  i.  p,  336. 

55.  satis  with  saepe. 

56.  'By  such  excuses  to  a  distant  time  you  put  my  longings  off '  (Kenn.\ 

57.  aequor,  i.  e.  the  sea,  the  scenery  shifting  about  from  Italy  to  Sicily 
at  the  will  of  the  poet. 

68.  ventosi  murmuris  aurae,  '  the  breath  of  the  murmuring  wind,' 
a  poetical  variety  for  vntrDitirantis  veiifi  aurae. 

59-62.  hinc  adeo,  'just  at  this  point,'  adeo  being  here  a  particle  of 
emphasis.  See  on  Eel.  iv.  11.  Bianoris,  according  to  Servius  the  founder 
of  Mantua,  otherwise  Oenus.  stringunt,  '  strip '  the  leaves,  tamen 
veniemus,  '  all  the  same,'  referring  to  a  suppressed  thought,  quamvis 
caneutes  more??iur. 

64.  usc^ue  with  eamus,  'go  straight  on.' 

65.  fasce,  '  biirden,'  i.  e.  the  basket  in  which  Moeris  is  carrying  his  kids. 
QQ.  puer  et,  for  the  quantity  see  Introd.  p,  16. 


NOTES   TO   ECLOGUE   X. 

GALLTJS. 

This  poem  was  written  by  Virgil  to  condole  with  his  friend  Cornelius 
Gallus  (see  note  to  Eel.  vi.  64)  on  the  faithlessness  of  his  mistress  Lycoris 
or  Cytheris,  to  whom  Gallus  had  addressed  most  of  his  elegies,  as  Pro- 
pertius  to  Cynthia  or  Tibullus  to  Delia.  Gallus  is  represented  as  dying  for 
love,  receiving  visits  of  sympathy  from  rural  deities,  and  singing  his  hope- 
less love-plaint  to  Arcadian  shepherds.  The  poem  is  modelled  on  the 
latter  part  of  Theocritus  i.  As  in  Eclogue  i,  the  identification  of  shepherd 
and  poet  leads  to  some  confusion  of  ideas ;  Gallus  being  represented  as  at 
the  same  time  a  soldier  and  a  shepherd,  in  the  camp  in  Italy  and  under  a 
rock  in  Arcadia.  The  date  of  the  poem  is  about  38  B.C.,  when  Agrippa 
was  leading  an  expedition  into  Gaul  and  across  the  Rhine,  with  which 
Gallus'  rival  is  supposed  to  have  gone  (1.  23). 

1.  Arethvisa,  the  fountain  at  Syracuse,  was  conventionally  the  pastoral 
fountain. 


BUCOLICS.     ECL.  X.  2-34.  137 

2.  sed  quae  legfat, '  but  for  Lycoris  to  read  also,'  and  be  moved  thereby 
to  pity. 

4,  5.  sic,  cp.  Eel.  ix.  30,  note.  Doris  amara,  'the  brackish  Dorian 
stream'  (Shelley,  '  Arethusa'),  i.e.  the  sea  under  which  the  legend  made 
Arethusa  fly  from  the  river  god  Alpheus.  Doris  was  wife  of  Nerens,  and 
is  here  put  for  the  sea  in  general. 

6.  sollicitos,  *  sorely  vexed '  or  '  tried.' 

8.  respondent,  '  echo.' 

9-12.  From  Theocr.  i.  66  sqq.,  where  the  nymphs  are  mentioned  in  con- 
nection with  Daphnis,  married  to  a  Naiad.  Here  they  take  the  part  of  the 
Muses,  and  so  are  connected  with  Parnassus,  etc.  Milton  imitates  this  pas- 
sage in  'Lycidas,'  11.  50-55, '  "Where  were  ye,  nymphs  .  .  .  .'  etc. 

10,  peribat.  So  most  MSS.  The  indie,  is  required  by  the  sense,  which 
is  purely  temporal,  without  any  logical  connection  with  the  principal  clause. 
indigno,  'unworthy,'  because  unrequited,  as  in  Eel.  viii.  iS. 

12.  Aonie,  Greek  form  of  fem.  sing  =  Boeotian,  Aonia  being  a  district  in 
Boeotia.  Aganippe,  a  fountain  on  Mount  Helicon,  sacred  to  the  Muses. 
For  the  Greek  rhythm  see  Introd.  p.  18.  Most  MSS.  and  grammarians 
read  Aoniae  Agaiiippae:  but  the  Greek  forms  might  easily  have  been 
misunderstood  and  altered. 

13.  lauri,  etiam,  for  the  hiatus  see  Introd.  pp.  17,  18. 

16,  17.  nostri,  '  us  shepherds,'  i.  e.  Virgil  himself  and  Gallus,  as  pastoral 
poets.  '  The  sheep  are  content  with  us,  and  even  you  may  be  content  with 
them,'  i.  e.  with  your  association  with  pastoral  poetry. 

19.  upilio  or  opilio,  contracted  from  oi'i-pil-io,  Gk.  oio-ttoX-os  :  cp. 
huhus,  bobus,  subulci, '  swine-herds,'  so  the  MSS.,  Imhitki  being  a  conjec- 
ture of  Renaissance  critics. 

20.  uvidus  hiberna  de  glande,  'dripping  from  the  winter  acorns,'  i.  e. 
from  gathering  or  steeping  them.  Acorns  were  steeped  during  the  winter 
for  fodder,  Cato  54. 

24  seqq.  agresti  honore,  descriptive  abl.,  '  witli  rural  garland  on  his 
head,'  explained  by  1. 25.  quassans,  'nodding, 'because  the  ferulae  and  lilia 
were  so  large  and  long,  cp.  Lucr.  iv.  587  Pinea  scmiferi  capitis  vclamiiia 
qnassaiis. 

27.  ebuli,  'elder;'  minio,  'vermilion,'  a  mineral  dye.  Pliny  says  it 
corresponds  to  the  Greek  /^tAros  {vr^is  fiiKroiraprioi  Hom.  Od.  ix.  125),  and 
was  used  for  painting  statues  of  the  gods  or  the  bodies  of  triumphant 
generals. 

31.  tamen,  '  yet,'  the  suppressed  thought  'though  I  perish '  being  easily 
supplied.  For  a  similar  usage  cp.  Aen.  iv.  329  si  qiiis  niihi  parvulus  aula 
Lttderct  Aeneas,  qui  U  tanicii  ore  referrct. 

34.  olim,  'hereafter,'  '  in  lime  to  come.'  Etymologieally  the  word  is  a 
locative  from  ille  (  =  'at  that  time'),  and  is  sometimes  used,  as  here,  to 
denote  future  time.  C"p.  Aen.  i.  203  forsan  el  haee  olim  meminissc 
itivahit. 


138  BUCOLICS.     ECL.  X.  35-74. 

35.  fuissem,  'had  I  been  >t  first':'  esset  1.  37,  iaceret  1.  40,  etc.  show 
what  might  now  be  going  on. 

38.  furor,  'flame,'  i.  e.  '  love.' 

40.  The  mixture  of  willows  \\ith  vines  is  strange,  imless  we  may  suppose 
that  the  willow  was  sometimes  used  for  training  the  vine  upon.  Some  put 
a  comma  after  salices,  as  if  the  sense  were  '  now  amid  W'illows,  now  be- 
neath the  vine.'  Forb.  suggests  willows  at  the  foot  of  a  slope  on  which 
vines  are  planted,  making  sub=  'lower  down  than,'  'below.' 

43.  cousumerer  continues  the  construction  of  iaceret,  cantaret,  above : 
'  Here  might  we  decay  together  by  mei'e  lapse  of  years.'  aevum  in  Virgil 
=  'time  of  life,'  the  notion  of  old  age  being  determined  by  the  conte.Kt. 

44.  Martis,  gen.  after  amor,  i.  e.  a  rival  passion  which  has  kept  Gallus 
away  from  his  love,  and  led  to  her  deserting  him.  He  was  perhaps  engaged 
in  Italy  under  Octavianus  against  Sex.  Pompeius. 

46,  47.  nee  sit,  a  prayer,  'would  I  might  not  believe  the  tale.'  tantiim, 
i.  e.  laiitam  calamitatetii.  Alpinas  nives.  The  Roman  poets  dwell  on  the 
savage  and  dangerous  aspect  of  mountains,  hardly  ever  on  their  beauty,  cp. 
saevas  Alpes  Juv.  x.  166. 

50,  51.  Chalcidico,  of  Chalcis  in  Euboea,  from  whence  came  Euphorion, 
a  mythological  poet  of  Alexandria,  B.C.  220,  whom  Gallus  imitated  or  trans- 
lated :  Quintil.  X.  1.50  Quid?  Eiiphorio)iciit  transibimiis,  qiiciii  fiisi  pro- 
basset  Virgilius,  idem  mmquani  eerie  eoiiditontni  Chaleidieo  versii  ear- 
miuitm  feeissct  in  Biieolieis  nieiitioitem.  inodulabor,  '  I  will  set  (or 
'attune')  to  the  Sicilian  shepherd's  pipe,'  i.e.  adapt  to  the  pastoral  model 
of  Theocritus. 

53.  pati,  absolutely,  '  to  suffer.' 

54.  The  language  and  rhythm  of  this  line  appear  imitated  from  Lucr. 
i.  253  Arboribus,  ereseitiit  ipsae  feiiiqiie  gravaiitur,  the  sense  being  alto- 
gether different.  Virgil's  mind  seems  to  be,  as  it  were,  so  saturated  with  the 
language  of  Lucretius  that  he  half  unconsciously  reproduces  its  rhythm  and 
very  words,  without  any  connection  of  idea.     See  on  G.  i.  15S. 

57,  59.  Parthenios,  of  Mount  Parthenius  in  Arcadia.  Partho  and 
Cydonia  i^Cretan)  are  artificial  literary  epithets:  see  on  Eel.  i.  55. 

61.   deus  ille,  i.  e.  Amor. 

63.   concedite,  '  away  with  you  ! ' 

65,  66.  Hebrum.  This  was  one  of  the  first  ice-bound  rivers  that  the 
Romans  encountered,  Hebriis  iiivali  eompede  viiietiis  Hor.  Epp.  i.  3.  3. 
Sithonias,  of  Sithona  in  Thrace:  Sithonia  nive  Hor.  Od.  iii.  26.  10. 

69.  Amor:  et,  for  the  scansion  see  Introd.  p.  16. 

70-74.  divae,  see  note  to  11.  9-12.  maxima,  '  of  liighest  worth,' '  mo?t 
precious.'     se  subiicit, '  grows  up.' 


GEORGICS. 


NOTES   TO   BOOK   I. 

The  subject  of  the  first  book  of  the  Georgics  is  agriculture.  After  nn 
invocation  of  the  rural  deities  and  of  Octavianus  Caesar  (1-42'  Virgil 
proceeds  to  describe  the  process  of  sowing  (43-117) ;  shows  how,  since  the 
golden  age,  toil  and  labour  are  the  lot  of  mankind  (11S-159);  gives  an 
account  of  the  plough  and  other  implements,  the  threshing-floor,  and  the 
method  of  choosing  seeds  (160-203) ;  and  enumerates  the  seasons  for  sowing, 
with  a  digression  concerning  the  five  zones  and  the  sun's  passage  through 
the  zodiac  (204-251).  The  various  employments  suitable  for  the  different 
days  and  seasons  are  next  recounted  1^252-310),  and  the  importance  of 
observing  the  weather  insisted  on  (31 1-350) ;  then  follows  a  long  description 
of  the  signs  of  the  weather,  taken  from  the  Diosemeia  of  Aratus  (351-463); 
and  this  leads  to  the  conclusion  of  the  book,  which  consists  of  an  enumera- 
tion of  the  signs  which  portended  the  death  of  Julius  Caesar,  a  lament 
over  the  miserable  state  of  the  Roman  Empire,  and  a  prayer  to  the  gods 
that  Octavianus  Caesar  may  be  spared  to  restore  prosperity. 


1-4.  Dedication  of  the  poem  to  Maecenas,  with  a  rough  enumeration  of 
the  subjects  to  be  treated  of — viz.  agriculture  ^_Book  I),  the  cultivation  of 
vines  ,11),  the  care  of  cattle  (III),  and  of  bees  (IV). 

1,  2.  laetae  segetes,  according  to  Cicero,  was  a  common  expression 
among  the  country  people.  '  What  makes  the  cornfields  smile.'  ulmis  ; 
vines  were  commonly  trained  on  elms. 

3,  4.  qui  cultus, '  what  treatment  for  keeping  cattle;'  Jiabeiidts  must  be 
supplied  with  apibus.     pecori,  apibus,  on  the  hiatus  sec  Introd.  p.  17. 

5.  yxxnc  —  ex  hoc  tempore,  '  now.' 

6.  luniina,  i.  e.  the  sun  and  moon.  Are  they  here  identified  with,  or 
distinguished  from.  Liber  and  Ceres,  1.  7?  In  favour  of  the  identification  is 
the  express  statement  of  Macrobius,  .Sat.  i.  18,  and  the  awkwardness  of  the 
asyndeton  between  11.  6  and  7  :  against  it,  the  uncertainty  whether  as  a  fact 
Bacchus  and  Ceres  were  so  identified  in  tlie  mysteries.  On  the  whole  it 
seems  best  to  separate  Liber  and  Ceres  from  liimina.  and  accept  the  wnnt 
of  a  connecting  particle,  as  after  1.  15. 


I40  GEORGICS  I.     8-35. 

8,  9.  Chaoniam,  a  conventional  epithet,  Chaonia  being  a  district  of 
Epirus,  where  were  the  celebrated  oak  forests  of  Dodona.  pocula,  'draughts.' 
Acheloia :  Achelous,  said  to  be  the  oldest  of  rivers,  represented  water  in 
general :  Eur.  Andr,  167  x«P'  ffnfipovffav  *Ax«Aq5ov  Spocrov. 

10.  praesentia,  '  powerful,'  the  power  of  the  ancient  gods  being  depen- 
dent on  their  actual  presence:  cp.  Aen.  ix.  404  /!/,  dca,  tu pracsens  nostra 
sticcurrc  labori. 

12.  cui,  'for  whom,'  '  at  whose  bidding.'     prima,  adverbial. 

14, 15.  cultor  nemorum,  'dweller  in  the  woodland,'  i.  e.  Aristaeus,  the 
hero-god,  said  to  have  taught  men  bee-craft,  and  worshipped  in  the  island  of 
Ceos  or  Cea  with  the  attributes  of  Zeus  himself,  ter  centum,  for  an 
indefinite  number. 

16.  ipse  emphasises  Pan  as  the  great  rural  god.     '  Thou  too,  great  Pan.' 

19.  puer,  Triptolemus,  said  to  have  learnt  the  art  of  ploughing  from 
Ceres. 

20.  at  radice,  '  torn  from  its  roots.' 

21-23.  tueri  =  a  verbal  subst.  in  nom.  ca.se— quibus  stitdiinii  est  ro  a-^poii^ 
(jwXaaaHV.  non  ullo  semine,  abl.  of  circumstance,  '  where  no  seed  hns 
been  sown.'     satis,  dat.  pi.  oi  sa/a,  '  sown  crops.' 

24.  tuque  adeo,  '  and  thou  above  all.'     See  on  Eel.  iv.  11. 

25.  incertum  est.  Note  the  series  of  oblique  interrogations  depending 
on  this  phrase ;  (i)  quae  sint,  (2)  velisne  .  .  .  accipiat,  (3)  an  venias  .  .  . 
emat,  (4)  anne  .  .  .  addas.  Translate  :  'And  tliou  above  all,  of  whom  we 
know  not  in  what  house  of  gods  thou  art  in  time  to  sit,  whether  it  be  our 
Caesar's  pleasure  to  watch  over  cities  and  take  charge  of  earth,  that  so  the 
whole  mighty  world  may  welcome  thee  as  the  giver  of  its  increase  and  lord 
of  its  changeful  seasons.' 

28.  materna,  i.  e.  of  Venus,  the  ancestress  of  the  Julian  family. 

29.  venias,  here  =  ' become.'  Cp.  Juv,  ii.  83  (quoted  by  Con.)  7!cmo 
repentc  voiit  iiirpissiiims. 

30.  numina,  'divine  power,'  both  in  sing,  and  plur.,  literally  the  nod  by 
which  a  god  declared  his  will.. 

31.  Caesar,  if  a  sea-god,  is  to  marry  one  of  tlie  Oceanides,  and  to  receive 
from  Tethys  as  a  dowry  the  kingdom  of  the  sea. 

32.  tardis,  '  the  slow-moving  months,'  whose  pace  will  be  accelerated 
by  the  new  star  ;  not  specially  of  the  summer  months  with  their  long  days. 
Con.  aptly  quotes  from  Cowley's  '  Davideis:' 

'  The  old  drudging  Sun  from  his  long-beaten  way 
Shall  at  thy  voice  start,  and  misguide  the  day.' 
33-35.  Erig'onen,  the  daughter  of  Icarius,  who  hung  herself  in  grief  for 
her  father's  death,  and  became  the  constellation  Virgo.  The  locus  here 
indicated  is  that  of  the  constellation  Libra,  under  which  Augustus'  birth 
took  place.  In  the  old  calendars  Libra  was  omitted,  and  two  spaces  given 
to  the  Scorpion  with  outstretched  claws  (chelae,  Gk.  X'/^"');  from  which 
the  Balance  was  hung.     Virgil  imagines  the  Scorpion  to  draw  in  his  claws 


GEORGICS  I.     ^6-6^.  141 

and  leave  his  'undue  share  of  heaven'  (caeli  iusta  plus  parte),  thus  making 
room  for  Augustus  as  a  new  sign.  The  Balance  symbolises  justice  :  so  that 
there  is  special  flattery  in  assigning  this  place  to  the  Emperor. 

36,  37.  nam  refers  to  a  suppressed  thought — 'except  in  Hades.'  spcrant 
is  better  and  has  more  authority  than  spercnt.  '  Tartarus  does  not  think  of 
aspiring  to  such  an  lionour ;  and  may  you  never  wish  for  empire  there.' 
veniat,  optative,  dira  cupido,  '  wild  desire '  (the  phrase  recurs  Aen.  vi. 
373)  ix-  185),  i.  e.  so  intense  a  desire  for  empire  on  any  terms  as  to  wish  to 
rule  even  in  Hades. 

41.  juecum  with  miseratus. 

42.  ingredere,  so.  diviiio  mtineri,  '  assume  the  god.' 

43.  canis,  '  still  white  with  snow.' 

44.  'And  the  soil  grows  soft  and  crumbling  beneath  the  west  wind.' 
Sephyro,  abl.  instr.    putris,  proleptic,  expressing  the  result  of  se  resolvit. 

45.  46.  milii,  ethic  dative,  aratro,  dat.  after  ing'eiiiere,  '  Then  would 
I  have  the  bull  begin  to  pant  over  the  deep-driven  plough.'  The  words 
depresso,  attritus,  splendescere,  all  point  to  the  thoroughness  of  the 
ploughing. 

47-49.  seg'es,  here  '  land  '  or  '  field.'  demum  (5^)  is  a  strengthening 
particle,  like  adco  1.  24  :  '  that  land  above  all.'  Its  temporal  meaning 
'at  length'  is  only  in  connection  with  temporal  words,  e.g.  iitinc  dciinini, 
tunc  deinuin,  etc.  In  1)18  .  .  .  sensit  Virgil  appears  to  recommend  four 
ploughings— three  usual,  in  spring,  summer,  and  autumn,  and  one  additional 
for  strong  land,  in  the  previous  autumn,  ruperunt  =  rMw/(?;r  solent,  'have 
frequently  burst.'     It  answers  to  the  Greek  '  frequentative'  aorist. 

51,  52.  morem,  '  temper.'  patrios  cultusque  habitusque  locorunx, 
*  the  traditional  culture  and  aptitude  of  the  localities.' 

54.  seg'etes,  here  '  crops.'  felicius,  '  more  abundantly  :'  see  on  Eel.  v.  37. 

55.  arborei  fetus,  '  forest  growths.' 

56.  Tmolus  is  in  Lydia,  whereas  Cilicia  was  famous  for  saffron  :  but 
Virgil  designates  Western  Asia  loosely  by  the  name  of  a  well-known 
mountain. 

57-59.  mittit.  On  indie,  see  note  on  Eel.  iv.  52.  moUes,  'unwarlike.' 
uudi,  stripped  for  working  in  the  forge.  Eliadum  palmas  equarum, 
'  palms  that  mares  of  Elis  win  ' — i.  e.  'victorious  mares  of  Elis,'  contending 
in  the  Olympian  games. 

60,  61.  continuo,  Gk.  tvBw,  '  from  the  first  and  onward.'  leges,  '  con- 
ditions.' foedera,  '  laws  '  of  nature,  as  Lucr.  i.  -,^6  focdera  naturae,  ii.  254 
fati  foedera.  '  Such  is  the  chain  of  law,  such  the  eternal  covenant  with 
which  Nature  has  bound  certain  climes.' 

63.  durum,  as  being  sprung  from  stones,  ergo,  i.  e.  since  this  is 
Nature's  law.  '  Work,  then,  and  fulfil  your  destiny.'  iacentes,  '  turned 
up  and  exposed.'  pulverulenta,  the  epithet  is  transferred  by  poetic 
licence  from  glaebas  to  aestas.  solitous,  abl.  instr.  '  Let  the  clods  be 
exposed  for  summer  to  bake  them  to  dust  with  the  sun's  full  heat.' 


143  GEORGICS  I.     67-99. 

67-70.  sub, '  just  at  the  actual  rising  of  Arctiirus.'  The  true  rising;  of  Arc- 
turus  was  September  8,  the  apparent  Sept.  21.  suspeudere, '  to  lift  it  with 
a  light  furrow,'  i.  e.  raise  it  lightly  so  as  to  leave  it  hanging,  iliic,  '  in  the 
former  case  '  ,,pinguc  sohiin  1.  64)  ;  hie, '  in  the  latter'  \(eUiis  von  fcctiuda). 

71-76.  '  You  will  likewise  ^idem)  let  your  fields  at  intervals  alternis) 
lie  fallow  after  reaping  tonsas)  and  suffer  the  lazy  soil  to  harden  by 
inaction  (situ  durescere)  ;  or  (if  you  cnnnot  afford  this)  you  will  at 
another  season  sow  yellow  corn  in  the  soil  (itoi^  from  which  you  have 
previously  raised  a  rich  bean-crop  with  its  rattling  pods  .  .  .  etc'  Virgil 
seems  to  recommend  occasional  fallowing  as  a  rule ;  or,  where  this  is  not 
convenient,  a  'leguminous'  crop  of  peas,  beans,  lupins,  or  the  like,  for  a 
spring  crop,  to  be  followed  by  a  sowing  of  corn  in  autumn — the  stalks  of 
such  a  crop  being  ploughed  in  or  burnt  on  the  field  as  manure  for  the  corn 
crop.  Leguminous  crops  are  specified  ;  for  (eniiu  1.  77^  flax,  oat^,  or 
poppies  only  exhaust  the  soil  (umnt),  and  the  land  might  as  well  lie  fallow 
as  have  them,  novales,  lit.  '  fallow-lands,'  here  used  somewhat  artificially, 
as  the  lands  would  not  be  fallow  till  after  they  had  ceased  to  produce  crops. 
situ  \lxom.  siiio,  to  let  alone)  here  denotes  the  '  inaction'  or  'idleness'  of 
fallow  land,  tristis,  '  bitter.'  silvam  sonantem,  '  rustling  thicket,'  a 
phrase  to  denote  the  rich  crop  of  lupin, 

79.  alternis,  '  by  changes  (of  crops)  the  strain  (of  producing  two  crops 
in  succession  without  an  interval  of  fallow)  is  lightened;'  only  you  must 
not  spare  manure. 

80.  pudeat,  '  because  the  work  is  dirty'  (Sidg.). 

82.  sic  quoque.  '  By  this  method  as  well  (as  by  fallowing),  the  soil  gets 
rest  under  the  change  of  crops ;  nor  are  you  meanwhile  without  return  from 
your  land,  because  imploughed  ' — i.  e.  you  get  your  crop  of  vetch,  etc. 

84  sqq.  A  way  of  improving  poor  (steriles)  land  is  to  burn  the  stubble 
upon  it,  the  result  being  advantageous  in  different  ways  to  different  soils. 
Con.  wrongly  takes  steriles  as  — '  reaped,'  '  with  nothing  but  the  stubble 
left  on  it.' 

89-93.  caeca  relaxat  spiramenta,  '  opens  hidden  pores.'  durat,  sc. 
terrain,  venas,  'passages'  or  'channels.'  tenues,  'thin,'  '  fine,' and  so 
'  searching '  rains,  rapidi  solis,  '  the  fierce  burning  sun  : '  see  on  Eel.  ii. 
10.  penetrabile,  in  active  sense  'piercing,'  cp.  Lucr.  i.  494  pcnetrale 
fi-igiis;  and  for  similar  use  of  forms  in  -bilis,  Ilor.  Od.  i.  3.  22  Oceano 
dissociabili,  etc.  adiirat,  by  zeugma  with  pluviae,  -with  which  word  the 
general  notion  of  '  injuring  '  must  be  supplied. 

95,  96.  vimineas  crates,  'osier  hurdles,'  dragged  over  the  ground  after 
the  clods  had  been  broken  with  the  rasirnin  (^a  hoe  or  rake).  The  whole 
process  was  called  occatio.  uequiquam  (not  iicquidquain  or  neqiticqitani) 
is  the  form  in  all  the  best  MSS.  and  editions.  It  is  from  quiqiiaiu  the  old 
abl.,  cp.  ncquaqiiaiii. 

97-99.  The  i:)roce3S  of '' cioss-ploughing'  is  here  distinguished  from  that 
of  harrowing,  as  if  they  were  not  applied  by  the  same  person  or  to  the  same 


GEO  Rules  I.      100-114.  143 

land  :  but  Virgil  does  not  mean  to  do  more  than  distinguish  between  them. 
proscisso,  technical  term  for  the  first  breaking  up  with  the  plough,  tsrga, 
the  '  ridges '  of  clods  thrown  up  by  the  jdough.  in  obliquum  verso 
aratro,  'by  cross-ploughing,'  lit.  'with  plough  turned  at  right  angles  (to 
its  former  course).'  inxperat,  'lords  it  over '  the  fields,  i.  e.  forces  them  to 
own  his  rule.  This  and  other  expressions  [siibigcre,  coinpcsccrc,  excrcerc), 
applied  to  agricultural  operations,  illustrate  the  conception  of  a  constant 
struggle  against  the  reluctant  forces  of  Nature,  which  Virgil  derives  from 
Lucretius.     Cp.  Lucr.  v.  206-212  : 

Quod  supercst  arvi,  taiiieii  id  iiaiitra  sua  vi 
sentilnis  ohducat,  ni  vis  It  u /nana  resist  at 
vitai  causa  valido  consueta  bidcnti 
ingeiuere  et  terrain  pressis  proscindcre  aratris. 
si  non  fecundas  vertentes  voinere  glebas 
tcrraique  solum  suhigcntes  cinius  ad  ortiis, 
spontc  sua  7iequcant  liquidas  cxistcre  in  auras. 

100.  solstitia,  '  summers.'  When  used  by  itself,  without  the  addition 
oi  acstiz'uiii,  Iiibcrnuni,  etc.,  the  word  denotes  the  summer  solstice. 

102.  Mysia,  especially  the  region  about  Gargarus,  was  proverbial  for 
fertility,  nullo  tantum  cultu,  'never  does  Mysia  show  itself  off  so  well,' 
itullo  cultu  being  used  loosely  as  =  '  under  no  circumstances.'  Some  editors 
transl.  'no  cultivation  will  make  Mysia  so  fertile  as  a  dry  winter:'  but  if 
this  is  the  meaning,  it  is  obscurely  expressed. 

104,  105.  comminus,  the  image  is  that  of  the  Roman  soldier  first 
throwing  his  spear  (iacto  semiue;,  and  then  attacking  at  close  quarters. 
ruit,  '  levels,'  '  throws  down,'  as  Aen.  ix.  516  molem  vohnuitque  ruuntque : 
elsewhere  (G.  ii.  308  fuit  atram  Ad  caelum  .  .  .  nubem)  it  = 'throw  up  :' 
so  in  legal  phrase  ruta  caesa  ^mineiah  (things  dug  up  and  timber. 
The  general  idea  is  violent  movement,  the  direclion  of  which  is  determined 
by  the  context,  cumiilos,  i.  e.  the  top  of  the  ridges,  male  ping^iis  =  jton 
pinguis,  '  unfertile,'  cp.  male  /Ida  Aen.  ii.  23,  male  saita  Aen.  iv.  8. 

108.  supercllio  clivosi  tramitis,  '  from  the  brow  of  the  channelled 
slope'  (Con.),  lit.  'sloping  channel,'  a  poetical  variety  of  expression.  The 
picturesque  force  of  ecce  ('  Oil  joy  ! ')  is  well  pointed  out  by  Con. ;  and  the 
melodious  grace  of  11.  108-110  harmonises  with  their  subject. 

Ill,  112.  quid,  sc.  dicam,  as  1.  104.  Excessive  luxuriance  is  to  be  cor- 
rected by  feeding  down  when  the  blade  is  young  and  green  (tenera  in 
herba),  lest  when  come  to  maturity  the  corn  stalks  should  droop  under  the 
weight  of  the  ears. 

113,  114.  cum  primiim,  etc.  defines  tenera  in  herba  more  precisely. 
sulcos  aequaut,  'reach  the  furrows'  top.'  bibula  deducit  harena, 
'  drains  off  by  means  of  soaking  sand  ;'  how,  is  not  clear.  Con.  thinks  the 
drains  were  partly  filled  with  sand  or  gravel ;  Kenn.  that  sand  was  carted  to 
the  places  where  water  had  collected  and  formed  pools  'Jacunac  in  order 
to  soak  up  the  water. 


144  GEORGICS  I.     115-157. 

115.  incertis,  'unsettled,'  i.e.  when  the  weather  is  uncertain. 

119.  improbus,  'tormenting'  (Con.).  K<a  probiis  denotes  moderation, 
improbiis  denotes  excess,  unscrupulousness,  rapacity,  and  the  like.  It  is 
here  used  humourously  of  the  shamelessness  of  the  goose  in  disregarding 
the  farmer's  rights. 

120.  Strynioniae,  'Thracian,'  a  conventional  or  literary  epithet;  see  on 
Eel.  i.  55.     intutoa,  'wild  endive'  or  'chicory.' 

121.  pater,  i.  e.  Jupiter. 

122.  123.  primusque  .  . .  agros,  '  first  worked  the  land  by  human  skill.' 
Cp.  G.  ii.  316  tellurem  inovere  (of  ploughing,  digging,  etc.).  corda,  'wits;' 
cp.  Plaut.  Mil.  Gl.  ii.  3.  65  qitidqiiaui  sapcrc  cordc,  Lucr.  v.  1106  iiigcnio 
qui  pracstabant  ct  cordc  vigcbant,  Cic.  Phil.  iii.  6.  16  stupor  cordis.  In 
Tusc.  i.  9.  18  (quoted  by  Con.)  Cicero  notes  the  use  of  cor  for  the  intellect 
as  something  archaic. 

125.  ante  lovem,  i.  e.  in  the  golden  age  of  '  Saturn's  reign.' 

127.  in  medium  qtiaerebant,  'they  garnered  for  the  common  store,' 
had  all  things  in  common. 

131.  mellaque,  etc., '  stripped  the  leaves  of  honey,'  alluding  to  the  belief 
that  honey  fell  from  heaven  like  dew,  and  was  gathered  from  leaves  by  the 
bees.  In  the  golden  age  it  lay  so  thick  on  the  leaves  that  men  could 
gather  it  direct  from  thence.  See  Eel.  iv.  30.  ig^nem  removit,  'took 
the  fire  away'  and  hid  it  in  flint,  whence  it  was  recovered  by  Prome- 
theus. 

133.  nsvis,  'experience.' 

136.  alnos,  '  alders,'  as  growing  on  river  banks,  would  naturally  be  used 
for  the  primitive  boat. 

137.  numeros  et  nomina  fecit,  '  numbered  and  named  the  stars ; '  a 
case  of  zeugma,  uoiiuiifaccrc  being  an  ordinary  phrase ;  but  with  nuuicros 
some  other  verbal  notion  has  to  be  supplied. 

138.  Pleiadas,  for  the  quantity  see  Introd.  p.  16.  Iiycaonis,  '  Lycaon's 
daughter  Arctos,'  who  was  changed  into  the  constellation  by  Jupiter. 

140.  inventum,  sc.  est :  the  subj.  is  captare  et  fallere. 

141,  142.  fanda,  elsewhere  a  'sling'  {a<pivZ6vrp),  must  in  this  context  = 
'  a  casting-net.'  alta  petens,  best  taken  with  the  previous  line.  The  fislier 
throws  his  casting-net  as  deep  as  he  can.  verberat,  as  we  now  say  that  a 
fly-fisher  'flogs'  the  stream,     lina,  'drag-net.' 

143.  ferri  riffor,  so  Lucr.  i.  492  rigor  auri  solvitur  aestu. 

146.  improbus,  'persistent,'  see  on  1.  119. 

148,  149.  glandes,  etc.  is  subject  of  deficerent  =  ' failed  ;'  silvae,  dat. 
of  indirect  object.  Dodona,  celebrated  for  its  sacred  oaks,  here  stands  for 
oak-groves  in  general,  hence  sacrae  silvae. 

150,  151.  '  Soon  too  the  corn-crops  had  trouble  attached  to  them,  in 
such  sort  that  baleful  mildew  devoured  the  stalks,  etc.     esset  =  tv/trt'/. 

153.  lappaeque  triboliqiie,  see  Introd.  \i.  i^j. 

156,  157.  ruris  .  . .  umbras,  '  prune  the  shade  M'hich  darkens  the  land.' 


GEORGICS  I.      158-175. 


145 


158.  Virgil  adopts  the  language  and  rhythm  of  Lucretius,  ii.  2  e  terra 
magtnim  alterius  spectarc  laborcm,  in  a  different  connection — see  note  to 
Ed.  X.  54. 

160.  arnia,  like  Gk.  oVXa,  'implements,'  cp.  Aen.  i.  177  Cerealiaque 
anna.  But  the  military  sense  is  present  to  Virgil's  mind,  i.  e.  the  arms  witli 
which  the  diiri  agrcstes  must  fight  their  battle  against  the  powers  of 
Nature. 

163.  tarda,  virtually  adverbial,  '  slow  rolling.'  Eleusiuae  matris. 
Ceres  or  Demeter,  the  goddess  of  agriculture,  worshipped  especially  at 
Eleusis.     volventia,  intransitive. 

164.  tribula  ('  threshing-boards  "  and  traheae  ('  drays '  were  the  instru- 
ments for  threshing  com,  and  consisted  of  boards  weighted  and  roughened 
with  nails,  which  were  dragged  over  the  corn  on  the  floor.  Similar  instru- 
ments are  still  used  in  the  East,  and  in  Spain  and  South  Italy. 

165.  166.  Celeus,  father  of  Triptolemus  (above  1.  9),  to  whom  are 
ascribed  all  'cheap  wicker  furniture'  of  antique  use,  including  baskets, 
'hurdles  of  arbutus'  for  harrowing  (see  above  1.  95  ,  and  the  '  winnowing- 
fan'  (called  mystica  laccM;,  as  it  was  carried  in  the  Eleusinian  pro- 
cessions in  honour  of  lacchus,  the  son  of  Demeter. 

168.  'If  the  due  blessing  of  the  divine  country  is  in  store  for  you.' 
divini,  as  being  specially  under  the  care  of  the  gods. 

169-175.  continuo  in  silvis,  '  while  yet  in  the  woods.'  burim, 
'  plough-beain.'  It  was  a  piece  of  strong  wood,  naturally  or  artificially 
citrved,  forming  the  body  of  the  plough  (hence  called  ctirvi).  From  its 
foot  (a  stirpe'  projected  the  pole  ^teino\  to  which  was  attached  the 
'yoke'  (iugum  ,  fitting  on  the  necks  of  the  oxen,  dentalia,  usually  in 
sing,  dentale,  the  '  share-beam,'  a  piece  of  wood  fastened  horizontally  to  the 
lower  part  of  the  buris,  in  order  to  hold  the  'share'  [votiier).  duplici 
dorso,  '  with  double  back  '  probably  refers  simply  to  the  two  edges  of  the 
share-beam,  one  on  each  side  of  the  buris.  binae  anres,  two  '  earth- 
boards,'  one  on  each  side  of  the  deutalc,  to  throw  the  earth  aside  and  widen 
the  furrow,  altaque  fagus  stivaque,  hendiadys,  '  a  tall  beech  for  the 
handle,'  stiva  being  the  handle,  fixed  into  the  burls,  by  which  the  plough- 
man guided  the  plough,  currus  torqtieat  imos,  '  guide  the  chariot  be- 
neath,' a  rather  grandiloquent  expression  for  steering  the  plough  along 
the  ground,  explorat,  '  searches  out,'  '  seasons.'  The  whole  descrip- 
tion of  the  jdough  will  be  made  clearer  l>y  the  following  diagram. 


^ 


1.  buris. 

2.  stiva. 

3.  temo. 

4.  iugum. 

5.  dentalia. 

6.  aures. 

7.  vomer. 


K 


145  GEORGICS  I.     178-20 


/■ 


178.  area,  'the  threshing-floor.'  This  appears  from  Cato  and  Varro  to 
have  been  an  open  elevated  space,  circular  in  form,  and  slightly  sloping 
from  the  centre  to  the  circumference,  and  usually  floored  with  a  compost 
of  which  argilla  or  white  clay  (here  called  creta)  was  a  principal  ingredient. 
cum  primis,  'especially.' 

180.  pulvere,  'drought,'  with  victa.  Some  editors  take  jjulvere  as 
modal  abl.  with  fatiscat,  'break  and  crumble  into  dust:'  but  the  sense 
is  not  then  so  good. 

181.  illudant,  '  play  their  pranks.' 

183.  ocnlis  capti,  'blind,'  lit.  'injured  in  the  eyes.'  Cp.  Liicr.  v.  927 
Nee  facile  ex  aestu  nee  frigore  quod  caperetur,  Liv.  xii.  2  Hannibal  altera 
pculo  capitti)-. 

185.  moustra,  '  strange  creatures,'  without  reference  to  size. 

186.  inopl  metnens  senectae,  '  fearing  for  her  destitute  old  age.' 
187-189.  oontemplator,  a  Lucretian  formula  of  transition  :  '  Mark  too, 

when  many  a  walnut-tree  in  the  woods  shall  burst  into  blossom  and  bend  its 
fragrant  boughs : — if  the  bulk  of  them  turn  to  fruit,  grain  will  follow  in  like " 
proportion,  and  there  will  be  a  great  harvest  and  a  hot  summer ;  but  if 
a  luxuriant  growth  of  leaves  gives  over-abundant  shade,  in  vain  will  your 
threshing-floor  grind  the  stalks  rich  only  in  chaff  (pingues  paleai.'  The 
walnut-tree  is  an  omen  for  the  crops,  iuduet,  lit.  '  put  itself  into  flower,' 
and  so  '  clothe  itself  with.'  Cp.  Aen.  vii.  20  Qnos  .  .  .  Indiierat  Circe  in 
viilttis  ae  terga  feraruiii.  superant,  lit.  'if  the  fruit  exceed,'  i.  e.  if  the 
majority  of  blossoms  '  set '  for  fruit. 

193-196.  semina,  of  leguminous  plants,  as  appears  from  1.  195.  falla- 
cibus,  because  the  pods  are  often  deceptive,  containing  only  small  beans, 
et  qtiamvis,  etc.,  '  and  that  they  might  boil  quickly,  though  with  little 
fire.'  The  steeping  of  the  beans  was  to  make  the  produce  larger,  and  easier 
to  be  cooked. 

198.  vis  humana,  '  the  force  of  man,'  is  from  Lucr.  v.  206,  quoted  on 
1.  99  above,  as  illustrating  Virgil's  conception  of  man's  struggle  against 
Nature. 

200.  Almost  repeated  Aen.  ii.  169.  ruere,  referri,  historic  infinitives. 
For  the  pleonasm  retro  referri  ='  retrograde  '  cp.  Lucr.  i.  785  retro  revert i, 
ii,  283  retro  residit. 

201-203.  *  Just  as  one  who  hardly  drives  his  skiff  up  stream,  if  perchance 
he  slackens  his  stroke,  and  the  current  sweeps  him  headlong  down  the 
rushing  river.'  at^ue  connects  rapit  with  subigit,  there  being  no  apodosis, 
as  is  often  the  case  in  Virgilian  similes  of  this  kind.  Aul.  Gellius,  followed 
by  many  editors,  explained  atqne  as  =  stati;n,  and  as  introducing  the 
apodosis.     But  this  is  most  improbable. 

204-207.  The  husbandman  has  just  as  much  need  to  know  the  stars  as 
the  sailor  has. 

206.  vectis,  '  on  their  way '  {<ptpo/j.(yots).  Latin  having  no  pres.  part, 
middle  or  pass.,  the  past  part,  is  sometimes  used  almost  in  a  pres.  sense :  cp. 


GEORGICS  I.      208-231.  T47 

operatus  G.  i.  ^.''.Q,  iniilnta  G.  iv.  72.  solala  G.  i.  293,  Aen.  v.  70S,  timsac 
Aen.  i.  4S1. 

208.  Ziibra,  the  Sc.iles.  The  sun  enters  this  sign  at  the  autumnal 
equinox,  die,  gen.  sing,  contr.  from  diei:  %o  Jide  Hor.  Od.  iii.  7.  4;  Ov. 
Met.  iii.  341,  etc.:  facie  Plant.  Mil.  Gl.  iv.  4.  36.  Gellius  (ix.  14)  says  that 
Virgil's  own  copy  read  dies,  a  third  form  of  the  genitive,  found  in  Enn.  Ann. 
401  dies  and  Lucr.  iv.  1083  rabies. 

209.  '  And  parts  heaven  in  the  midst  for  light  and  darkness.' 

211.  usque  sub,  etc.,  '  till  the  very  verge  of  unavailing  winter's  rains,' 
i.  e.  till  the  rainy  season  sets  in.  This  is  perhaps  the  best  rendering.  Others 
translate  extremuiu  imbrem,  '  the  rains  that  close  the  year.'  Obviously  it 
cannot  mean  '  the  end  of  the  winter's  rains.'  iutractabilis,  when  no  work 
can  be  done. 

212.  Cereale  papaver.  Ceres  was  said  to  have  consoled  herself  with 
poppy  seeds  when  grieving  for  the  loss  of  Proserpine ;  and  she  was  generally 
represented  with  poppies  in  her  hands. 

213.  214.  iamdudum,  'forthwith;'  cp.  Aen.  ii.  103  iamdudiim  siniiite 
foenas.     pendent,  '  hang  poised  in  air,'  before  they  come  dov.'n. 

215-217.  medlca, 'lucerne,' originally  from  Media,  aperit.  On  April  17 
the  Sun  passes  into  Taurus  and  was  said  aperire  annum  (cp.  Ap[_e']rilis),  as 
the  weather  became  settled  and  fit  for  spring  sowings,  candidus  aiiratis 
cornibus  probably  alludes  to  a  pictorial  representation  of  Taurus,  which 
may  have  been  suggested  by  the  white  bulls  with  gilded  horns  that  appeared 
in  Roman  triumphs.  Cp.  Milton,  '  Par.  Tost.'  '  In  spring-time,  when  the 
sun  willi  Taurus  rides.' 

218.  adverso  astro,  dat., '  in  retreat  before  the  opposite  star,'  i.  e.  before 
the  Bull :  the  Dog-star  being  represented  as  retiring  face  to  face  before  the 
Bull.  Another  reading  (equally  supported)  is  averso  astro,  which  would 
be  abl.,  'with  averted  star.' 

219-222.  triticeani  messeni,  'wheat;'  robusta  farra,  'hardy  spell.' 
Instabis,  etc.,  'make  grain-crops  your  only  object.'  tibi,  dat.  ethicus  ; 
'  first  mark  the  morning  setting  of  the  Pleiads'  (about  Nov.  9).  Soae  =77ora(, 
vtatiitinac.  Gnosia,  of  Gnosus  in  Crete.  It  was  the  constellation  of  the 
Cretan  Ariadne,  now  called  *  Corona  Borealis.'  decedat,  'set.'  It  really 
rose  at  this  time  (Nov.) ;  so  Virgil  is  in  error. 

225,  226.  Maiae,  one  of  the  Pleiads,  as  representing  them  all.  vanis 
aristis,  '  with  empty  ears  ;'  so  most  MSS.  The  old  reading  avenis  alludes 
to  the  belief  that  corn  would  degenerate  into  wild  oats  if  left  too  long  in  the 
ground  :  cp.  Eel.  v.  37. 

229.  Bootes,  the  Bear-keeper,  of  which  Arctunis  (1.  204)  is  the  brightest 
star,  sets  at  the  end  of  October. 

231.  idcirco,  i.e.  to  distinguish  the  seasons:  'for  this  end  the  golden 
Sun  runs  a  course  marked  out  in  different  stages  through  the  heaven's 
twelve  Starr}'  signs.'  ^'irgil  seems  to  represent  the  earth  as  a  plain  in  the 
midst  of  the  siuiindiis  or  great  sphere  of  the  universe;  this  sphere  having  an 

K  2 


148  GEORGICS  I.      232-247. 

axis,  one  pole  of  which  (vertex  1.  242)  is  above  the  terrestrial  horizon,  the 
other  below  it.  The  celestial  '?ones'  correspond  to  tracts  on  the  earth's 
surface,  the  respective  climates  of  which  are  attributed  to  them  11.  233- 
239.  The  description  is  taken  from  Eratosthenes'  'Hermes'  ^quoted  at 
length  by  Con.\ 

232.  duodena  =  ^//(P^tv/w,  the  distributive  numeral  being  not  unfrequently 
used  for  the  cardinal  in  poetry,     regit,  lit.  '  guides  '  his  course. 

234.  ato  igni,  a  translation  of  Ik  nvpos  in  Eratosthenes.  Cp.  Ov.  A.  A. 
i.  763  /li  iaciilo  pisces,  illi  capiuntiir  ah  haniis,  Fast.  ii.  764  nulla  factjts 
ah  arte  decor.  The  usage  of  classical  Latin  restricted  the  abl.  with  a  or 
ah  to  denote  the  relation  of  the  agent,  expressing  the  instrument  by  abl, 
alone  :  but  exceptions  to  both  constructions  are  found  in  poetry. 

235,  236.  'Surrounding  which  at  the  extremities  right  and  left  stretch  two 
(zones).'  trahuntur  gives  the  notion  of  extent  and  corresponds  to  Trfpnrcn- 
T-qvTai  in  Eratosthenes,  caeruleae,  so  the  best  MSS.  :  and  though  caendea 
(Forb.,  Con.,  Kenn.,  and  most  edd.)  gives  slightly  better  sense,  the  difference 
on  this  head  is  not  such  as  to  justify  setting  aside  the  unanimous  testimony' 
of  the  oldest  imcial  MSS.  which  contain  the  passage. 

238,  239.  per  amljas,  '  between  the  two  ;'  not  '  through,'  as  the  Zodiac 
(signoruni  ordo"),  representing  the  Sun's  path,  runs  obliquely  through  tlie 
Torrid  Zone,  only  touching  the  Temperate  Zones  at  each  end,  but  not 
entering  them,  obliquus,  virtually  adverbial :  '  for  the  Zodiac  to  turn  its 
course  across  the  sky.'     verteret,  subj.  denoting  purpose. 

240-243.  mundus  =  the  whole  mundane  sphere  (see  on  1.  231),  for  the 
North  and  South  points  of  which  '  Scythia  '  and  '  Libya  '  are  here  made  to 
stand.  '  High  as  the  world's  sphere  rises  towards  Scythia  and  the  Rhipaean 
liills,  so  deep  is  its  slope  towards  Libya's  southern  clime.'  hie  vertex, 
'  the  one  pole,'  i.  e.  the  Northernmost  pole  or  point  of  the  niuudus.  nobis 
siiblimis,  '  high  above  our  heads.'  at  ilium,  etc.,  '  the  other,  beneath  our 
feet,  is  seen  by  black  Styx  and  the  spectres  of  Hades.'  The  infernal  regions 
were  underneath  the  earth,  and  as  the  Southern  Pole  was  below  the  terres- 
trial horizon,  it  was  supposed  to  be  visible  to  those  regions,  sub  pedibus, 
'  beneath  our  feet,'  corresponding  to  nobis  sublinxis  in  the  previous  line. 
Con.  less  probably  takes  it  as  '  below  their  (the  Manes')  feet.' 

244-246  are  from  Aratus,  Phae^  45,  quoted  by  Con.  Anguis,  '  the 
Snake,'  a  long  constellation,  which  winds  about  between  the  two  Bears. 
Arctos,  Ursa  Maior  and  Minor,  nietuentes  aequore  tingi, '  that  will  not  be 
dipped  in  Ocean's  stream ' — a  rendering  of  Homer's  oh]  6'  afi/xopos  iarl 
XofTpwv  'ClKtavoio  II.  xviii.  489.     The  stars  near  the  Arctic  pole  never  set. 

247.  illic,  in  the  southern  regions  below,  which  (says  Virgil)  are  either 
in  total  darkness,  or  else  have  day  when  we  have  night.  Lucretius  (v.  650 
sqq.)  mentions  both  alternatives,  intenipesta  nox,  '  the  dead  of  night,' 
an  old  phrase  of  frequent  occurrence.  It  is  explained  by  Servius  and 
Macrobius  as  meaning  literally  the  '  unseasonable  '  time,  when  no  work  can 
be  done.     Translate  :  '  There  all  is  wrapped  for  e\er  in  the  dead  silence  of 


GEORGICS  L     250-277.  149 

night,  and  the  gloom  is  deepened  by  its  pall  overspread.'  Cp.  Horn.  Od.  xi. 
ly  dA\'  i-ttX  vii^  ciKui]  rirarai  SetKoiat  Pporoicriv. 

250,  251.  These  lines  were  quoted  with  striking  effect  by  Pitt  at  the 
dose  of  a  great  speech  for  the  abolition  of  slavery,  as  the  morning  sun 
began  to  shine  through  the  windows  of  the  House  of  Commons.  Cp.  Aen. 
'^'-  739-  Vesper  may  mean  either  the  Evening  Star  or  evening  generally. 
The  latter  view  is  perhaps  the  best ;  ''  there  crimson  evening  is  kindling 
her  twilight  glow.' 

252.  hinc,  i.  e.  from  all  this  about  the  Zodiac,  etc.,  11.  231-251. 

255.  arinatas,  '  equipped,'  '  rigged.' 

256.  tempestivam,  adverbial,  witli  evertere :  '  when  its  time  has 
come.' 

258.  '  And  the  year  regulated  by  four  diverse  seasons.' 
261-263.  maturare,  '  to  get  ready  betimes,'  in  contrast  with  pro- 
peranda,  '  to  be  done  in  a  hurry.'  procudit,  '  hammers  out,'  i.  e.  sharpens 
the  blunted  share,  lintres,  '  troughs'  for  holding  grapes,  artoore,  abl.  of 
material,  acervis,  '  sacks  '  of  corn,  on  which  a  number  could  be  stamped. 
If  taken  in  its  ordinary  sense  of '  heaps  '  of  corn,  etc.,  impressit  would  be 
xm  meaning. 

264.  vallos,  'stakes;'  furcas,  'forked  props:'  for  use  in  vine  culture. 

265.  Amerina  retinacula,  bands  for  tying  the  vines,  made  of  willows 
from  Ameria,  a  town  in  Umbria. 

266.  facilis,  'pliant.'     ruTiea,  '  of  brambles.' 

267.  torrete,  com  was  roasted  in  order  to  make  it  easier  to  grind. 

268.  qixippe,  '  why,  even  on  feast  days,'  etc. ;  surely  then  you  may  w  01  k 
on  rainy  days. 

269.  fas  et  mra,  'the  laws  of  God  and  man."  rivos  deducere,  '  i.o 
turn  on  water'  (a  work  of  daily  necessity  in  hot  weather).  Macrobius,  iii.  3, 
supports  the  rendering  '  to  clenr  out  water-courses,'  explaining  deducere  by 
detergere,  and  saying  that  old  watercourses  might  be  cleaned  out  on  holy 
days,  not  new  ones  made.  But  rivos  deducere  need  only  mean  letting 
water  run  down  the  existing  channels  and  troughs,  such  as  are  still  part  of 
llie  arrangement  for  gardens  and  vineyards  in  Italy. 

270.  rsligio,  'ordinance'  or 'scruple,'  i.e.  any  binding  or  restraining 
power  {rcligiDx.  :  cp.  Hor.  .Sat.  i.  y.  71  nulla  //lilii  rtligio  est.  Lucretius 
uses  the  plur.  =  religious  fears  or  scruples — religioiiuni  uodis  cxsok'crc 
i.  932. 

275.  inciisiim,  'indented,'  i.e.  roughened  to  make  it  grind  well. 

276,  277.  alios  alio  ordine  felices,  '  propitious  each  in  different  degree 
to  labour."  operiini,  poetical  gen.  of  respect  or  reference,  common  after 
adjectives,  and  probably  imitated  from  the  Creek :  cp.  integer  vilac,  scri 
sladioruni,  fessL  rcrunt,fcrox  sceleris,  etc.  Orcus,  Virgil  is  here  imitating 
Ilesiod,  who  says  that  "Opicos,  the  god  of  oaths,  was  born  on  the  fifth,  and 
that  the  liumenides  attended  on  his  birth  ^Iles.  Op.  802  vifinTas  5'  i^aXta- 
cQai  liTil  xa^frat  n    /ecu  tdvai,  'Lv  nifinrr)  yap  tpatjiv  'E/iu'vas  aixtpinokivciv 


150  GEORGICS  /.      379-303. 

"OpKov  yeivofxivop  rbv''Epis  reice  irfijx  kniupKots).  Whether  intentionally,  or 
through  error,  Virgil  puts  the  Latin  Orcus,  the  god  of  the  dead,  instead  of 
the  Greek  "OpKos,  and  makes  the  Eumenides  born  along  tvith  him. 

279,  280.  creat,  see  note  to  Eel.  viii.  45.  Typhoea  ;  Tu^iuea,  ace.  of 
Tu^cuevj),  the  last  two  syllables  scanned  as  one  :  cp.  OrpJua,  Eel.  vi.  30. 
resciudere,  'for  tearing  down,'  a  free  use  of  infin.  where  prose  construction 
would  require  ut  rcsciiidant  or  ad  rcscindendiiin.  fratres,  apparently  the 
'  Aloidae '  (Otus  and  Ephialtes),  to  whom  the  deeds  here  mentioned  are 
ascribed  by  Homer  '^Od.  xi.  304  sq.,  cp.  Aen.  vi.  582^) :  "but  they  were  not 
sons  of  Earth.  Con.  suggests  that  Virgil  misunderstood  the  Homeric 
phrase  Tp€(pe  5e  ^(iSwpos  dpovpa. 

281.  For  the  hiatus  after  conati  and  Pelio  see  Introd.  p.  iS. 

285.  licia  telae  addere,  '  fasten  the  leashes  to  the  warp.'  The  /I'ci'a 
were  loops  of  thread  at  the  top  of  the  loom,  to  which  the  separate  threads 
of  the  warp  were  affixed  so  as  to  keep  them  in  position. 

286.  fugae,  the  flight  of  runaway  slaves,  for  which  the  farmer  must  be* 
on  his  guard  on  the  ninth,  while  he  need  not  fear  thieves. 

287.  288.  adeo  with  multa,  'very  many.'  se  dedere,  'submit.'  Ecus, 
'  the  morning  star,'  and  so  '  morning.' 

290.  lentus,  '  soft,'  lit.  '  supple,'  i.  e.  wliich  makes  the  grass  supple. 

291,  292.  qxiidam,  usually  of  a  definite  person,  but  here  =  est  qui,  tis. 
hiberni  ad  luminis  ignes,  '  by  the  fire  of  wintry  light,'  i.  e.  '  the  light 
winter's  fire.'    inspicat, '  splits  '  into  sharp  points  like  an  ear  of  corn  {s/iai'^. 

293,  294.  solata,  past  part,  with  pres.  force  :  see  above  1.  206,  note. 
telas,  '  the  threads  of  the  warp.'     arg-iito  pectine,  '  shrill  shuttle.' 

295.  A  '  hypermetric  '  verse  :  see  Introd.  p.  19. 

296.  trepidi,  '  bubbling.' 

297.  medio  aestu,   'the  mid-day  heat.'     Con.  prefers  to  take  it  as  = 

*  summer,'  because  Theocritus  (x.  5  2  advises  reapers  to  avoid  the  heal  of 
the  middle  of  the  day  {eKivvaat  5e  to  Kavfxa).  But  the  climate  of  Sicily 
and  Egypt,  which  Theocritus  knew,  is  much  hotter  than  that  of  North 
Italy.  Here  it  is  obvious  that  the  contrast  is  between  da^f-time  and 
7iig/U-time. 

299.  uudus,  'lightly  clad,'  i.e.  in  tunic  only  without  the  upper  garment. 
Virgil  follows  Hesiod,  Op.  931  yvpvuv  anupuv  ■yvp.vui'  dt  PoccTtiv.  The 
point  is  that  ploughing  and  sowing  must  be  done  in  the  warm  months  lof 
spring  and  autumn). 

302.  genialis,  'merry,'  i.  e.  connected  with  the  '  Genius,'  the  guardian 
and  impersonation  of  the  individual ;  natalc  tomcs  (jut  tci)tpcj-at  astni/it, 
Naturae  dens  Inn/iaiiac  llor.  Epp.  ii.  2.  1S7  i.  Hence  Giitiii/ii  iinro 
curare  (Od.  iii.  17.  14,  vino  placari  Genius  (A.  P.  209),  Genio  in- 
dulgere,  etc.,  of  personal  enjoyment,  the  Genius  being  the  happier  self 
of  a  man. 

303.  prcssac,  sc.  oncribus,  'laden.'  The  next  line  is  rciieated  Acn. 
iv.  41 S. 


GEORGICS  I.     309-334.  151 

309.  'Whirling  the  bullets  of  the  Balearic  hempen  sling;'  lit.  'the 
hempen  blows.'  stuppea  properly  applies  to  fuudae  :  verbera  is  used 
poetically  for  the  thing  hurled.  The  whole  expression  i.s  highly  artificial. 
Balearis,  conventional  epithet,  the  Balearic  islanders  being  famous  for 
slingers. 

310.  trudunt,  'roll  along.' 

312.  moUior  =  'less  oppressive,'  'when  the  summer's  heat  is  less  fierce.' 

313.  vi^anda,  '  need  wakeful  care : '  vigilare  aliquid  is  used  by  the 
poets  to  =  'be  wakeful  over  a  thing,' e.g.  vigilata proelia  Juv.  vii.  27.  ruit, 
see  below  1.  324,  '  when  spring  comes  down  in  showers.' 

314.  inhorruit,  ore  (ppiaaovaiv  dpovpai  Horn.  II.  xxiii.  599 :  *  ^^'hen  the 
fields  have  begun  to  bristle  with  the  harvest  of  grain.' 

316.  arvis,  poetical  dat.  of  recipient  instead  of  the  usual  prep,  and  case, 
like  ti  caelo  clamor,  demittimiis  Oreo,  etc. 

317.  fragili  culmo,  descriptive  abl.  with  hordea. 

320,  321.  sutolimem,  adj.  for  adv.,  '  whirled  on  high.'  The  subj. 
ernereut  expresses  the  result  of  concurrere  proelia;  and  ferret  continues 
the  same  construction,  ita  merely  summing  up  or  resuming  the  previous 
description,  and  hiemps  — '  a  storm.'  Some  take  ita  .  .  .  ferret  as  intro- 
ducing a  comparison  of  a  winter  storm  with  one  in  summer,  and  translate 
'so  would  winter,'  etc. ;  the  idea  being  that  the  summer  storm  carries  off 
the  ripe  corn  as  easily  as  the  winter  one  carries  off  the  stubble.  But  this 
would  be  a  very  tame  comparison,  and  the  other  rendering,  which  makes 
the  whole  passage  a  description  of  one  hurricane,  is  far  more  forcible. 

322-334.  This  description  of  a  storm  is  perhaps  one  of  the  most  highly 
worked  and  carefully  finished  passages  in  Virgil  or  any  other  poet — 
language,  imagery,  and  rhythm  all  combining  to  produce  consummate 
*i:>oetic  effect.  Note  especially  the  force  of  the  pauses  in  11.  324,  326,  329- 
331,  and  333  ;  of  the  perfects  fugere,  stravit  11.  330,  331 ;  of  the  expres- 
sions ruit  1.  324,  spirantitous  1.  327,  corusca  1.  328 ;  of  the  alliterations  in 
11.  329,  330,  and  of  sound  and  rhythm  alike  in  1.  334.  Dr.  Kennedy  says  on 
11.  328-334, '  The  pause  at  dextra  marks  the  calmness  of  conscious  strength; 
at  tremit,  breathless  terror  ;  at  pavor,  prostrate  expectation.  The  follow- 
ing ille,  and  the  thrice  repeated  aut,  express  the  majestic  ease  of  omni- 
potence ;  at  deiicit  fails  the  sudden  crash  of  the  bolt ;  in  the  words  which 
follow  is  heard  the  rushing,  struggling,  moaning  tempest.' 

323,  324.  imbribus  atris,  descriptive  abl.  with  foedam.  ruit,  'down 
crashes  the  firmament  on  higli.'  For  the  idea  of  the  whole  sky  falling  in 
rain  cp.  Aen.  i.  129  caeli  niina,  Lucr.  vi.  221  otnnis  %iti  videatttr  in  inibrcm 
vortier  aether,  Liv.  xl.  58  eaelii/n  in  se  mere  aiebant. 

324.  ex  alto,  'from  above.' 

327.  spirantibiis,  '  panting '  or  '  seething  : '  '  and  the  sea  loams  in  every 
seething  inlet.' 

328-331.  •  The  Sire  himself,  amid  the  darkness  of  the  storm-clouds, 
moves  his  ihundcr-bolt  with  flashing  right  hand;   the  broad  expanse  of 


152  GEORGics  I.    yy:,-^^^. 

earth  shudders  at  the  shock  ;  startled  fly  all  beasts,  and  mortal  hearts 
throughout  the  world  lie  low  in  grovelling  fear.  He  the  while,  on  Athos 
or  on  Rhodope  or  high  Ceraunian  hills,  hurls  down  some  peak  with  the 
bolt ;  louder  and  louder  roar  the  winds  and  thicker  falls  the  rain  :  forest 
and  shore  in  turn  are  moaning  with  the  mighty  blast.'  corusca,  in  contrast 
with  uocte,  expressing  the  sudden  flash  of  lightning  through  the  darkness. 
nxolitur,  the  word  implies  effort,  and  is  used  in  various  applications,  e.  g. 
of  wielding  an  axe  (G.  iv.  331),  of  forcing  a  path  i^Aen.  x.  477),  of  erecting 
walls  (Aen.  iii.  132),  etc.     fugere,  like  Greek  aorist. 

335-337.  caeli  menses  et  sidera,  'the  seasons  and  their  signs  in 
heaven.'  The  reference  is  to  the  supposed  influence  of  the  planets  upon  the 
weather,  according  to  the  constellations  in  which  they  were  seen  from  time 
to  time,  frigida,  because  far  from  the  sun.  Saturn,  the  furthest  planet 
then  known,  and  Mercury  (ignis  Cyllenius),  the  nearest  to  the  sun,  are 
chosen  as  the  two  extremes,  implying  all  others,  caelo,  local  abl.  There 
is  another  reading,  cadi,  which  would  go  with  orbes  = '  paths  in  heaven  : ' 
cp.  Aen.  viii.  97  aetheris  orbes,  Lucr.  v.  648  iacli  vias. 

338,  339.  annua  sacra,  the  festival  of  the  Ambarvalia,  held  in  spring. 
There  were  offerings  to  Ceres,  and  a  victim  was  led  round  the  fields  followed 
by  a  crowd  of  singers  and  dancers.  See  on  Eel.  v.  75.  refer,  '  pay,'  as  a 
due.  operatiis,  '  sacrificing  ;'  for  the  present  force  of  the  past  part,  see  on 
1.  206  above. 

341.  agni  et,  for  the  hiatus  see  Introd.  p.  17.  mollissima,  'mel- 
lowest.' 

344,  345.  favos,  i.  e.  '  honey.'  Milk,  wine,  and  honey  were  part  of  Greek 
offerings  to  the  dead  (Aesch.  Pers.  611  sqq.),  and  Demeter  (Ceres)  was 
connected  with  the  lower  world.  But  the  association  here  is  more  probably 
that  of  rural  produce  with  rural  deities,     felix,  *  auspicious.' 

347.  neque  ante,  etc.,  here  the  reference  is  not  to  the  Ambarvalia  (held 
in  spring,  1.  340),  but  to  another  festival,  just  before  the  harvest. 

349.  redimitus  tempora,  'his  temples  bound,'  see  on  Eel.  i.  55. 

350.  det,  'displays;'  cp.  Liv.  vii.  2  hand  inJecoros  mollis  Ttisco  more 
dahant.     motus  incompositos,  '  untutored  dances.' 

352.  aestusqxie,   for   the    scansion   cp.    1.   371    below,   and  see  Introd. 

p.  17. 

353.  moneret  and  the  following  subjunctives  are  deliberatives :  'what 
warnings  the  moon  was  to  give  us,'  etc. 

354.  quo  signo,  abl.  of  circumstance :  '  what  should  betoken  a  lull  of 
wind.'     quid  saepe  videntes, '  from  what  constant  observation.' 

356-359.  These  prognostics  of  wind  are  copied  from  Aratus,  Dios.  177- 
200.  '  From  the  first,  as  the  wind  gets  up,  the  inlets  of  the  sea  begin 
to  heave  and  swell,  and  a  dry  crackling  sound  is  heard  upon  the  hills, 
or  a  confused  noise  rolls  along  the  shore,  and  the  moaning  of  the  forests 
comes  fast  and  thick.' 

357.  arid\is :  cp.  Lucr.  \i.  ny  aridiis  iindc  aures  tergcl  soinis.     Homer 


GEORGICS  L     359-393-  ^h?> 

uses  aSos  of  the  sound  of  metal  pierced  ;  cp.  Tennyson,  '  Ivlorte  d' Arthur,' 
'  Dry  clashed  his  harness  in  the  icy  caves.'  The  idea  is  that  of  a  sharp, 
abrupt  sound  as  opposed  to  liquid  fluency  or  softness,  denoted  by  Uquidits, 
if  pus,  etc. 

359.  misceri,  of  confused  noise:  cp.  Aen.  i.  124,  where  niisceri  niur- 
mure  is  equivalent  to  resonantia  misceri  here.  That  which  applies  to 
the  sound  is  said  of  the  scene  of  the  sound — sea  or  shore. 

360.  sibi  with  temperat,  'the  sea  scarce  restrains  itself  from  (lit.  'in 
regard  to,' — ablat.  of  respect)  the  curved  ships.'  The  reading  a  cttrvis  is 
easier,  but  not  so  well  supported.  Con.  takes  carinis  as  dat.  after  sibi 
temperat  regarded  as  one  worA—parcit — a  very  harsh  construction. 

361-364.  mergi,  'gulls.'    fulicae,  'shags'  or  'coots.'     ardea,  'heron.' 

365-367.  Shooting  stars  were  supposed  to  be  a  sign  of  wind  :  so  Theocr. 
xiii.  50  wj  0T6  TTvpcrbi  an'  oiipavov  rjpLirev  acr^p  'Adpoos  hv  ttovtoi'  vavrais  Se 
Tis  flnev  kralpois'  KovcpoTfp',  Si  naltts,  wotucrO'  orrXa'  nXevcTTiKus  oiipos.  For 
the  description  cp.  Lucr.  ii.  207  longos Jlaiiuiiaruin  diicere  tractus. 

369.  coUudere,  '  dance,' '  play  together.' 

373,  374.  imprudentibiis,  '  unforewamed.'     obfuit,  'has  injured.' 

375.  aeriae,  '  air-scudding,'  a  translation  of  -qkpiai  -yipavoi  (Hom.  II.  iii. 
7),  which  according  to  Buttmann  =  '  in  the  morning.' 

378.  veterem  querellam,  'their  old,  old  strain;'  qiicri,  qucrella  are 
applied  to  the  note  of  all  animals.  As  cecinere  was  probably  pronounced 
kekinere,  the  word  was  perhaps  chosen  as  onomatopoeic,  like  the  PpeKeKtKe^ 
of  Aristophanes  (Ranae). 

379-382.  terens,  i.  e.  frequently  passing  along—'  along  her  narrow  well- 
worn  path.'  Aristotle  (Hist.  An.  ix.  38}  says  of  ants  dd  fxiav  drpa-nov  irdvTis 
BaU^ovai.  The  ant  really  carries  her  eggs  in,  not  out,  on  the  approach  of 
rain,  bibit ;  the  rainbow  was  supposed  to  draw  moisture  from  the  sea 
or  rivers  at  its  extremity,  and  discharge  it  in  rain.  Plant.  Cure.  i.  2.  41 
ecce  aiitem  bibit  anus;  pliiet,  credo,  hercle  hodie.  corvoriim,  'rooks,'  as 
appears  from  the  context,     iucrepuit,  of  the  clatter  of  wings. 

383.  Asia,  the  name  Asia  originally  denoted  the  marshy  region  along 
the  banks  of  the  Cayster  in  Lydia,  and  was  afterwards  extended  to  Asia 
Minor  and  to  the  whole  continent  of  Asia. 

384.  rimantur, '  search  about,'  'explore  ; '  lit.  'dive  into  chinks'  \riiiiae). 

387.  incassiim,  'aimlessly,'  'without  purpose.' 

388,  389.  improba  with  vocat,  'calls  incessantly  for  rain;'  see  above 
1.  119,  note.  The  alliterations  express  the  monotonous  character  of  the 
raven's  cry  and  of  its  pace  along  the  shore :  '  and  stalks  in  stately  solitude 
along  the  dry  sea  sand.' 

390-392.  The  stress  is  on  nocturna ;  even  indoors  at  night  there  are 
prognostics  of  rain,  testa,  tiie  earthen  lamp,  putres  fuugos, '  crumbling 
snuff.' 

393.  aperta,  'cloudless:'  c\).  1.  217.  Serena  as  subst.  =  ' calms  : '  cp. 
traiiijuitlo  Acn.  v.  127. 


154  GEORGICS  /.      395-421. 

395,  398.  acies,  '  brightness'  or  '  sheen  : '  lit.  'a  keen  edge.'  obnoxia, 
'  beholden  to  her  brother's  rays.'  'The  meaning  seems  to  be  that,  when  the 
weather  is  changing  to  fair,  the  moon  rising  before  sunset  is  brighter  than 
usual,  seeming  as  it  were  to  owe  nothing  to  the  sun's  rays'  (Kenn.). 

397.  tenuia.  In  this  word,  as  \n  genua,  Aen.  v.  432,  u  before  a  vowel 
passes  into  its  consonantal  sound  of  w,  and  the  first  syllable  becomes  long. 
lanae  vellera,  '  fleece  of  wool,'  i.  e.  thin  fleecy  clouds :  cp.  Lucr.  vi.  504 
veluti pcndcntia  vellera  lanae  (of  clouds). 

399.  dilectae  Thetidi,  as  sea-birds  ;  cp.  Theocr.  vii.  59  ' kKKviv^-i^^jKa-u- 
xais  "mrjp-q'tai  rai  re  ixaXiara  'Opv'ixoiv  i<pi\aOiv.  soliitos,  proleptic  =  «' 
solvantur,  '  toss  the  straw-bundles  to  pieces.' 

403.  nequiqviam,  because  she  will  not  bring  foul  weather. 

404-409.  Scylla,  daughter  of  Nisus,  king  of  Megara,  having  fallen  in 
love  with  Minos,  who  was  besieging  Megara,  cut  off  her  father's  purple 
hair,  on  which  the  safety  of  the  city  depended.  She  was  then  changed  into 
a  sea-bird,  called  ciris,  and  pursued  by  her  father,  who  was  changed  into  an 
osprey.  The  story  is  told  in  the  pseudo-Virgilian  '  Ciris,'  the  last  four 
lines  of  which  are  the  same  as  11.  406-409  here. 

410.  liquidas, '  soft  notes '  as  opposed  to  raiicas.  presso,  "  contracted,' 
so  as  to  emit  little  sound,  opposed  to  plena  voce  1.  38S. 

413.  actis,  '  is  over.' 

414.  nidos,  'nestlings;'  so  G.  iv.  17,  Aen.  .\ii.  475. 

415-416.  Virgil  here  rejects  the  Pythagorean  and  Stoic  doctrine  that 
animals,  as  sharers  in  the  i?icns  divina  Aen.  vi.  724  sqq.^,  have  a  faculty  of 
divination  :  but  the  doctrine  is  afterwards  mentioned  without  disai^proval  in 
G.  iv.  219.  Here  their  apparent  powers  of  prognostication  are  ascribed  to 
the  natural  effects  of  the  weather  upon  their  feelings,  divinitus  is  con- 
trasted with  fato,  '  by  heaven  or  by  fate,'  alluding  to  the  views  of  different 
philosophers  concerning  the  government  of  the  universe,  rerum  prxi- 
dentia  go  together:  inaior  =  ' greater  than  ordinary.'  sit,  the  subj.  is 
regularly  used  in  Latin  to  denote  that  the  alleged  reason  is  not  the  real  one. 
'  I  for  one  cannot  believe  that  it  is  because  Heaven  has  given  them  any 
spark  of  wit,  or  fate  a  deeper  insight  into  things  than  ours.  But  when  the 
weather  and  the  changeful  moisture  of  the  sky  has  shifted  its  course,  and 
Jupiter  (i.  e.  the  sky)  moist  with  the  south  winds  condenses  what  but  now 
was  rare,  or  (by  a  change  of  wind)  rarefies  what  now  was  dense,  the  phases 
of  their  souls  are  changed,  and  their  breasts  feel  other  motions  than  those 
they  felt  while  the  wind  was  driving  on  the  clouds.' 

418,  vias=  'courses '  or  '  directions.' 

419.  denset,  from  dcnseo.  Here,  as  elsewhere  in  Virgil,  the  MSS.  vary 
between  the  two  forms  denset  and  densal  (_from  denso). 

421.  alios,  alios,  etc.,  lit.  'feel  some  motions  now,  others  while  the 
Mind,' etc.,  i.  e. 'feel  other  motions  than  those  they  feel  when,' etc.  The 
comparison  is  e.xpressed  not  by  a  subordinate  clause,  according  to  the 
regular  formula,  but  by  simple  ju.xtaposilion  of  the  two  things  compared ; 


GEORGICS  /.     422-45(5,  \$% 

cp.  Plaut.  Trill,  i.  2.  123,  4  ProJi  di  iniinortalcs,  verbis  panels  qtiam  cito 
Alitim  fecisti  mc,  alius  ad  te  vcneraiii. 

422.  hinc,  i.e.  from  the  materialistic  explanation  just  given  in  opposition 
to  that  mentioned  11.  415,  416.  '  Here  is  the  secret  of  the  rural  chorus  of 
birds,  the  joy  of  cattle,  and  the  rooks'  triumphant  note.' 

424-426.  rapidum,  here  probably  in  ordinary  sense,  '  the  swift  revolving 
sun,'  not  as  Eel.  ii.  10.  lunas  seciuentes  ordine  means  the  days  of  the 
month,     capiere,  'betrayed,'  as  Aen.  ii.  196,  etc. 

427-429.  '  As  to  the  moon,  when  first  she  gathers  (or  '  rallies ')  her  return- 
ing fires  (i.e.  the  new  moon);  if  her  horns  be  dim,  and  nought  but  dark 
vapour  seem  enclosed  therein,  heavy  rain  is  in  store  for  landsmen  and  for 
sea.'  If  the  new  moon  is  very  clear,  the  outline  of  the  full  orb  can  be 
dimly  traced,  as  it  were  in  the  grasp  of  the  bright  crescent  which  reflects 
the  sun's  rays  :  cp.  the  ballad  of  Sir  Patrick  Spence  :  '  I  saw  the  new  moon 
late  yestreen  Wi'  the  old  moon  in  her  lap.'  But  if  the  air  be  vaporous,  the 
effect  is  as  described  by  Virgil. 

431,  432.  ore,  '  on,'  and  so  '  over  her  face.'  For  similar  e.xampks  of 
local  abl.,  where  a  dat.  or  accus.  with  prep,  might  have  been  expected,  cp. 
Aen.  ix.  213  niandct  huiiio  sollta,  x.  361  hacrcl  pcdc  pes,  6S1  mucronc 
indiiat.  The  usage  is  peculiarly  Virgilian.  A  red  moon  is  proverbially 
stormy  :  cp.  Shakespeare,  'Venus  and  Adonis,'  453  '  Tike  a  red  moon,  that 
ever  yet  betokened  Wreck  to  the  seaman,  tempest  to  the  field.'  vento,  abl. 
of  circumst.  '  when  there  is  wind  about  ;'  or  simply  '  in  wind.' 

432,433.  certissinius,  'most  trusty.'  pnra,  'clear,'  a  translation  of 
KaOapT]  in  Aratus. 

437-  Glauco.  The  only  instance  in  Virgil  of  a  long  syllable  retaining 
its  quantity  in  hiatus,  when  ///  l/iesi.  This  line  is  copied  from  Parthenius 
a  freedman  who  taught  Virgil  Greek^ ,  TKavKw  kcI  N-qpei  (N?;p^i  Con.)  Kal 
'Ivwcu  M.fXtKtpTrj.     For  Panopeae  see  Introd.  p.  1 8. 

441,  442.  medio  orbe,  local  abl.,  '  shall  have  retired  in  the  centre  of  his 
disk,'  i.  e.  present  a  hollow  or  concave  disc.  Transl.  'When  he  shall  have 
flecked  with  spots  his  rising  dawn,  withdrawing  into  a  cloud,  and  thrown 
back  the  centre  of  his  disc'  In  Aratus  these  are  separate  prognostics ; 
hence  some  would  take  que  disjunctive  =  vc. 

443.  urget,  without  a  case, '  drives  on  : '  so  the  Greek  (Kawoj.  Cp.  Aen.  x. 
433  Pcillas  liistatct  logd.   ab  alto, '  from  the  sea  '  rather  than  '  from  on  high.' 

445.  sese  rumpent  =  o-/^w/<f;;/. 

448.  male,  '  badly '  and  so  '  hardly  : '  from  which  developes  its  purely 
negative  force,  as  in  uiale/tda  Aen.  ii.  23. 

449.  The  sound  of  this  line  imitates  the  rattling  of  hail.  horrida  = 
'sharp,'  i.e.  full  of  points:  cp.  Pind.  P.  iv.  81  (ppiaffovrai  o^ilipovs.  'So 
thickly  dances  on  the  roof  the  sharp  mttling  hail.' 

450.  hoc,  viz.  the  spots  on  the  sun  and  the  scattered  rays. 

456.  fervere,  the  older  form,  non  .  .  .  moneat,  not  as  Fcl.  ix.  6,  an 
archaic  use  of  the  ncgalis c  in  jjnjhibition ;   but  the  ordinary  ncgati\c  \\ ith 


156  GEORGICS  I.     458-487. 

potential  subjunctive — '  no  one  would  advise  me.'  iiioveai  ('  would  induce 
me  ')  is  the  reading  of  Med. ;  but  moneat  is  probably  right,  '  no  one  would 
advise  me '  being  Virgil's  way  of  expressing  '  I  should  refuse  to  do  it.' 

458.  'But  if  when  he  restores  the  day  and  closes  it  again.' 

459.  frustra  terrebere  nimbis,  '  yoi;r  fear  of  storm-clouds  will  be 
vain  ; '  i.e.  there  will  be  none. 

460.  claro,  free  from  clouds. 

461.  Serenas,  proleptic,  '  whence  the  wind  that  drives  away  the  clouds 
and  clears  the  sky.' 

464,  465.  tumultus,  a  technical  word  for  risings  in  Italy  or  Gaul, 
which  were  of  course  especially  dangerous,     fraiideni,  '  treachery.' 

466,  467.  miseratus,  sc.  est.  An  eclipse  of  the  sun  took  place  in  Nov. 
44  B.C.,  the  year  of  Julius  Caesar's  murder.  An  account  of  this  and  other 
portents  is  given  by  Ov.  Met.  xv.  7S9  sqq.;  Luc.  i.  522  sqq.  :  cp.  Shake- 
speare, 'Julius  Caesar,'  Act  ii.  Sc.  2.  ferrugine,  'lurid  hue.'  The  word 
originally  denotes  the  colour  of  iron  rust,  tlien  is  used  of  lurid  or  murky 
colour,  Aen.  vi.  603  (Charon's  boat) :  but  also  of  more  pleasing  objects 
G.  iv.  183  (hyacinths),  Aen.  ix.  582  and  xi.  772  'jjurple  robes\  in  which 
cases  a  dark  blue  colour  is  probably  intended. 

469.  quamquam,  etc.  '  Yet  it  was  not  the  sun  only  that  gave  omens.' 
This  makes  a  transition  to  the  concluding  lines  upon  the  politics  of  Rome. 

470.  obsceuae,  '  ill-omened,'  apparently  the  original  meaning,  but 
whence  derived  is  uncertain,  importiinae,  'unlucky,'  'evil-boding:'  origin- 
ally the  opposite  of  op-portunus,  and  so  '  inconvenient,'  '  unseasonable.' 
Here  it  repeats  the  idea  of  obsceuae. 

471.  dabant,  '  kept  giving.'  The  eclipse  of  Nov.  44  i!.  c.  seems  to  have 
coincided  with  a  period  of  volcanic  disturbance  in  Italy  and  Sicily,  the 
phenomena  of  which  were  connected  in  men's  minds  with  the  disturbances 
of  the  time,  and  particularly  the  death  of  Caesar.  Virgil,  like  Horace 
(Od.  i.  2\  seems  to  treat  them  as  signs  of  retribution  for  the  civil  wars  and 
Caesar's  murder. 

472.  undanteni  refers  to  the  streams  of  lava.  Servius  quotes  from  Livy 
the  statement  of  a  great  eruption  of  Aetna  at  this  time. 

476,  477.  'A  voice  too  was  heard  far  and  wide  througli  the  silent  groves, 
a  mighty  voice.'  The  pause  after  a  spondaic  first  foot  in  1.  477  gives  the 
effect  of  solemnity,    simulacra  niodis  pallentia  niiris  is  from  Lucr.  i.  123. 

480.  ebiir,  '  ivory  statues  ;'  aera,  '  bronze  statues.' 

482.  fluviomm  ;  the  /  has  its  consonantal  sound  of  y,  making  the  word 
a  trisyllable  and  the  first  syllable  long. 

484.  tristibus,  '  gloomy,'  and  so  ill-omened,  librae,  '  fdaments  '  in  the 
entrails,  of  great  importance  in  divination  ;  but  the  particular  qualities  on 
which  the  omens  depended  are  not  known. 

487.  alias,  temporal  adv.,  'at  no  other  time;'  probably  an  accus.  form 
like  foras.  Horace  Od.  i.  34.  5-8  speaks  of  thunder  in  a  clear  sky  as  a 
striking  portent. 


GEORGICS  I.      489-505.  157 

489-492.  ergo,  etc.  Not  only  was  all  nature  moved  at  Caesar's  deatli, 
but  Heaven  exacted  vengeance  in  the  continuance  of  civil  strife  and  foreign 
war,  the  only  hope  for  relief  from  which  is  in  the  young  Caesar  (Octavianus). 
'  And  so  Philippi  saw  Roman  hosts  once  more  with  kindred  arms  meet  in 
battle :  nor  did  Heaven  think  it  shame  that  Roman  blood  should  twice 
fatten  Emathia  and  the  broad  plains  of  Haemus.'  The  two  battles  referred 
to  are  Pharsalia  (b.  c.  48)  in  Thessaly,  when  Caesar  conquered  Pompey, 
and  Philippi  (b.  c.  42)  in  Macedonia,  when  Augustus  and  Antony  defeated 
Brutus  and  Cassius.  iterum  must  go  with  concurrere,  not  with  videre  ; 
otherwise  Virgil  would  make  Philippi  the  scene  of  both  the  battles — an 
error  which  it  is  not  necessary  to  ascribe  to  him.  But  in  1.  492  his 
geography  is  vague  and  inaccurate.  The  scenes  of  the  two  battles  (in 
Thessaly  and  in  the  east  of  Macedonia)  are  loosely  denoted  by  Emathia, 
a  district  in  the  ivcst  of  Macedonia,  and  Haemus,  a  mountain  range  in  the 
north  of  Thrace.  Later  writers  (Lucan.  vii.  854  sqq.,  Ovid,  Met.  xv.  824, 
Juvenal  viii.  242%  perhaps  misled  by  Virgil,  appear  to  represent  Pharsalia 
and  Philippi  as  on  the  same  spot,  paribus,  because  both  Roman ;  op. 
Lucan.  i.  7  pares  aquilas  ct pila  viinantia  pilis.  superis,  dat.  ethicus,  '  in 
the  sight  of  heaven;'  cp.  Lucan,  x.  102  Sat  f nit  iiidignum,  Caesar,  vnindo~ 
que  tihiqiic. 

495-497.  pila,  the  characteristic  Roman  weapon,  grandia,  i.  e.  of  an 
older  time,  referring  to  the  notion  of  continual  degeneration ;  cp.  Lucr.  ii. 
1 1 50  sqq.  iamqiie  adeo  fraeta  est  aetas  effetaqiie  tellus  Vix  anijiialia  parva 
creat  quae  e  unci  a  creavit  Saecla  dedifque  fcrariuii  ingentia  co7pora  partii. 

498-514.  Caesar  i^Octavianus)  is  invoked  as  the  only  hope  of  his  falling 
country.  The  passage  seems  to  refer  to,  and  to  have  been  written  about, 
33-32  B.C.,  the  beginning  of  the  civil  war  which  ended  at  Actium  ;  see 
11.  510,  511.  It  is  full  of  melancholy  forebodings,  like  the  parallel  pas- 
sage in  Horace,  Od.  i.  2,  which  expresses  much  the  same  hopes  and 
fears. 

498.  Indigfetes  indu  +_f'-^;/,  native-born)  are  deified  heroes  of  a  country. 
Vesta  was  one  of  the  di  patrii,  Romulus  one  of  the  Indigetes. 

499.  Palatia.  It  was  on  the  Palatine  hill  that  Romulus  founded  Rome, 
and  it  was  there  that  Augustus  resided.     Hence  its  special  significance. 

500.  iuvenem,  Octavianus  Caesar  (afterwards  Augustus),  now  about 
twenty-eight  years  old. 

501-502.  luimiis,  prcs.  with  iani  prideni,  of  what  has  been  for  some 
time  and  is  still  going  on  ;  cp.  Gk.  -naKai.  periuria,  when  Poseidon  and 
Apollo  built  the  walls  of  Troy,  Laomedon  the  king  defrauded  them  of  the 
stipulated  price.  The  Romans,  as  descendants  of  the  Trojans,  are  repre- 
sented as  still  paying  the  penalty. 

503-505.  The  notion  is  that  the  world  is  too  wicked  for  a  god  to 
inhabit.  The  gods  are  jealous  that  one  of  their  own  number  can  still  care 
for  human  triumphs  and  honours,  qxiippe  explains  the  previous  line, 
'  seeing  that  on  earth  right  and  wrong  are  inverted  (versum).' 


1^8  GEORGICS  I.     506-513. 

506.  aratro,  probably  dative. 

509-5].l.  Euphrates,  perhaps  alluding  to  Phraates,  who  about  32  b.  c, 
on  Antonius  withdrawing  his  forces,  overran  Media  and  Armenia.  The 
allusion  in  Germania  is  uncertain  :  but  it  may  be  to  a  war  of  C.  Carrinas 
against  the  Morini  and  Suevi  (about  31  B.  c),  for  which  he  was  afterwards 
allowed  a  triumph,  vicinae  virbes  must  be  the  neighbour  cities  of  Italy, 
and  Mars  impius  ='  civil  war.'  Dion  (50.  6"),  in  speaking  of  the  events 
of  32  B.C.,  implies  that  there  were  cities  in  Italy  which  favoured  Antonius 
and  gave  Octavianus  some  trouble  to  crush  them. 

513.  addunt  in  spatia,  'throw  themselves  on  to  the  course,'  the  reflexive 
se  being  omitted,  as  often  in  poetry.  Another  rendering  is  '  go  quicker 
every  turn,'  addunt  being  then  an  imitation  of  the  Greek  iinbihoacn,  and  in 
spatia  —  from  spatium  to  spatiuni  (cp.  in  dies,  '  from  day  to  day ').  This  is 
ingenious,  but  the  meaning  given  to  addunt  is  purely  conjectural.  The 
true  reading,  however,  is  uncertain,  the  MSS.  varying  between  addunt 
spatia,  addunt  spatio,  addunt  in  spatia,  addunt  in  spatio,  and  addunt  se  in 
spatio. 


GEORGICS  IL      2-23.  159 


NOTES   TO   BOOK   II. 


The  culture  of  trees  in  general,  and  of  the  vine  in  particular,  Is  the 
subject  of  this  book.  First  there  is  a  statement  of  the  various  ways  of 
propagating  ;i-34)  and  of  training  (35-82)  trees,  then  a  description  pf  the 
various  kinds  of  trees  (S3-135),  followed  by  a  digression  in  praise  of  Italy 
(136-176).  The  qualities  of  the  different  sorts  of  soils  are  next  discussed 
(i  77-258),  the  culture  of  the  vine  is  treated  in  considerable  detail  (259-419^, 
the  management  of  other  trees  and  plants  is  briefly  dismissed  (420-457), 
and  the  book  ends  with  the  celebrated  episode  in  praise  of  country  life. 


— ^3 

2,  3.  silvestria  virgulta,  '  th^^fojgst  undergrowth,'  used  loosely  for 
arhores,  introduced  into  this  book  a^S^orters  ^f  the  vine. 

5.  tibi,  etc.,  '  for  thee  the  land  is  briglif-with  teeming  harvest  of  the  vine.' 
autumno  here  = '  har\-est,'  like  ovdipa  in  Greek.  ^B^-^Jiythm  of  the  line  is 
Clreek  :   for  the  lengthening  of  the  final  svllableJH  gravidus  see  Introd. 

p-  is.  .  ■  ■    C>-  '     V 

9.  '  Various  are  the  modes  of  producing  trees.'  The  metbpdsiiSpecihed 
are  (i)  natural,  divided  into  spontaneous  generation  (10-13),  generation 
by  seed  (14-16),  by  suckers  (17-19);  (2)  artificial,  of  which  there  are 
six  kinds  (20-34^. 

14.  posito,  'dropped,'  not  'sown;'  for  it  is  only  natural  modes  of 
propagation  which  are  here  spoken  of. 

15.  nemorum,  partitive  genitive,  'queen  of  the  forest,'  lit.  'largest  (of 
the  trees)  of  the  forest.'     lovi,  '  for  Jupiter,'  to  whom  oaks  were  sacred. 

16.  aesculus,  a  special  kind  of  oak  with  broad  leaves,  habitao  Graiis 
oracula, '  deemed  oracular  by  the  Greeks;'  an  allusion  to  the  oak-groves  of 
Dodona. 

17-  pullulat,  'sprouts,'  i.e.  hy piilH  or  shoots. 

18.  Parnasia,  '  of  Parnassus,'  i.  e.  sacred  to  Apollo  of  Delphi,  which  was 
near  Mount  Parnassus. 

21.  fruticuni,  'shrubs.' 

22.  via, '  in  its  course:'  not  exactly  'by  method'  ^Con.);  the  idea  being 
that  of  practical  experience  (usus)  gradually  devising  new  processes  as 
it  goes  on.  Such  new  processes  may  have  been  hit  on  by  chance  and  tiof  by 
regular  method. 

23.  Here  follow  six  methods  of  artificially  propagating  trees.  The  first  is 
by  'suckers'  (plantas),  i.e.  shoots  growing  from  the  root,  which  arc  lo-rn 
off  and  planted. 


i6o  GEORGICS  IT.     24-46. 

24,  25.  The  second  method,  by  'sets'  (stirpes),  'shafts'  (sudes),  and 
'  stakes '  (vallos).  Pieces  of  the  tree  were  cut  off,  and  either  '  cleft  in  four ' 
(ciuadrifidas)  at  the  bottom,  to  form  a  root,  or  sharj^ened  to  a  point  acuto 
robore\  and  then  buried  in  the  ground. 

26,  27.  '  Some  trees  await  the  arches  of  the  bent-down  layer,  and  nurseries 
quickset  in  their  native  ground.'  The  third  method,  by  'layers'  (propa- 
ginis).  A  young  bough  was  bent  down  (presses)  till  it  took  root  in  the  earth 
beside  its  parent  tree  (sua  terra),'  without  being  severed  from  it  (viva). 

28,  29.  The  fourth  method,  by  '  cuttings.'  A  shoot  from  the  top  of  the 
tree  (summum  cacumen)  is  simply  cut  off  and  planted,  putator,  the 
'  pruner,'  i.  e.  the  gardener  who  has  taken  the  cutting,  referens,  'restoring' 
to  earth,  from  which  the  tree  originally  rose. 

30,  31.  The  fifth  method.  The  trunk  is  cut  up  (caudicibns  sectis)  and 
buried,  and  a  new  root  springs  from  the  dry  wood,  oleagiua,  the  olive  is 
mentioned  merely  as  one  of  the  several  trees  which  are  propagated  in  this 
way.  The  difference  between  this  and  the  second  method  is  that  here 
the  pieces  of  wood  are  smaller,  and  have  no  root,  or  imitation  of  a 
root. 

32-34.  The  sixth  method,  by  grafting.  '  Often  we  see  the  branches  of 
one  tree  change  (vertere,  intrans.)  without  harm  to  those  of  another ;  the 
pear-tree  is  transformed,  and  bears  engrafted  apples,  and  stony  cornel-trees 
blush  with  plums.'  corna  (cornel  berries)  appears  to  be  here  used  for 
f^r;;(?j- (cornel-trees),  and  the  epithet  lapidosa  is  only  in  strictness  applicable 
to  the  berry.  The  meaning  is  that  plums  are  grafted  on  cornel  stocks. 
Con.  and  others  take  corna  literally,  and  translate,  'and  stoney  cornel 
berries  redden  on  plum-trees ;'  supposing  that  cornels  are  grafted  on  plums. 
But  this  appears  to  be  most  improbable. 

35.  generatim,  '  after  their  kind,'  a  Lucretian  word  (i.  20,  etc.). 

37,  38.  iuvat,  etc.  '  What  joy  to  plant  Ismarus  with  the  vine,  and 
clothe  huge  Taburnus  with  olives  ! '  Virgil  points  to  two  great  tiiumphs  of 
human  industry.   Ismarus  was  famous  for  wine  in  Homer's  day,  Od.  ix.  198. 

39-41.  'Come  thou  too  and  complete  with  me  our  course  begun,'  i.e.  the 
writing  of  the  Georgics,  undertaken  by  request  of  Maecenas,  who  is  ad- 
dressed in  each  boo'K.  laborem,  cogn.  ace.  with  decurre,  lit.  '  to  run  over 
a  course  from  one  end  to  the  other,'  and  so  'perform,'  'complete.'  cp. 
Catull.  Ixiv.  7  Ansi  sunt  vada  salsa  ciia  decurrcre ptippi.  volans,  'at  full 
speed.'     pelago  patenti,  '  over  the  broad  sea,'  local  ablative. 

43.  An  imitation  of  Hom.  11.  ii.  488-490  ttXtjOvv  5'  ovk  av  eyw  ix.v9-qcop.ai 
01)8'  uvoprjvai,  OvS'  d  fioi  5e«a  /xiv  yXwcrcrai,  ScVa  5«  aTojxaT  iliv,  ^oivt)  5' 
clppTjKTos,  xaA/fsoj/  6e'  fioi  rjTop  ivilr].  \Vith  non  supply  optciit  as  apodosls  to 
si  sint. 

44.  prinii  litoris  oram,  '  coast  the  very  edge  of  the  shore,'  a  variety 
for  pri}na>/i  litoris  oram. 

45.  46.  in  manibus  terrae,  '  tlie  land  is  in  our  grasp.'  non  hie,  etc. 
'  I  shall  not  detain  you  here  (hie,  at  this  point),  like  the  epic  poets,  wth 


GEORGIC'S  II.     47-6y.  161 

mythical  strains  (carmine  ftcto"*,  or  digressions  (ambagfes' ,  or  long  preludes 
(exorsa). 

47.  oras  (Med.)  is  better  than  auras,  luiniiiis  orae  being  a  favourite 
expression  of  Ennius  and  Lucretius,  denoting  the  line  or  border  which 
divides  light  from  darkness,  being  from  non-being  ;  cp.  Lucr.  i.  22,  Aen. 
vii.  660.  Con.  quotes  Gray's  expression,  '  the  warm  precincts  of  the  cheer- 
ful day.' 

49,50.  natura,  'productive  power,'  Lucr.  iii.  273.  inserat,  'graft' 
(with  cuttings  from  other  trees),  scrobitous  mandet  miitata  sutoactis, 
*  transplant  them  to  well-dug  trenches  ; '  cp.  Cic.  Sen.  15  terrac grcinio  inol- 
liio  ac  stthacto  semen  exeipit,  and  the  phrases  siibigere  aj~va,  etc. 

51,  52.  artes  =  '  qualities'  or  *  lessons  '  acquired  by  training,  as  opposed 
to  natural  characteristics.  '  By  constant  training  they  soon  will  follow 
whatsoever  line  you  shall  wish.'  voles  is  perhaps  less  forcible  than  voees, 
but  has  better  MS.  authority,  exuerint,  sequentur,  vivid  use  of  fut.  indie, 
in  apodosis,  instead  of  the  normal  subj.  Kenn.  would  retain  voces,  read 
sequantiir  without  MS.  authority,  and  regard  exuerint  as  perf  subj.,  thus 
making  the  sentence  more  grammatically  regular.  But  the  use  of  the  indie, 
in  such  cases  is  not  uncommon  in  poetry. 

53.  stirpitons  ab  imis,  i.e.  by  suckers,  as  explained  1.  17  above. 

54.  hoc  faciat,  'would  do  the  same,'  i.e.  bear  fruit.  Another  reading  is 
faciei,  vacuos,  'open  fields,'  in  contrast  to  the  wood,  where  it  has  no  room 
to  grow,     digesta,  '  planted  out.' 

56.  xiruntque  ferentem,  '  wither  up  its  powers  of  bearing.' 
57-60.  seminibus  iactis,  'dropped,'  \^e.  posit 0  se/nine  1.  14.      He  is 
still  speaking   of  natural   growths,     seris    nepotibiis,    '  descendants  yet 
unborn.'     poma,  '  fruit'  in  general,     avibus  praedani,  i.e.  too  poor  to  be 
worth  picking  by  men. 

62.  cogendae,  '  must  be  drilled  '  into  trenches  (as  soldiers  in  orJinein). 
m\ilta  niercede,  '  at  a  great  cost  of  labour.' 

63,  64.  truncis,  propagine,  iiistrum.  ablat., '  by  the  method  of.'  trun- 
ds, '  stskts,' =  caudicihtis  sectis  \.  30.  propagine  and  robore  refer  to  the 
methods  by  '  layers'  and  '  sets  '  explained  11.  24-26  above,  respondent,  'an- 
swer,' correspond  to  our  hopes  :  cp.  G.  i.  47  voiis  respondet  avari  Agricolae. 

65.  plantis,  '  suckers,'  as  in  1.  1 3. 

66.  coronae,  descriptive  gen.,  'the  shady  tree  that  formed  the  chaplet  of 
Hercules;'  i.e.  the  poplar,  which,  according  to  legend,  Hercules  found 
growing  on  the  banks  of  Acheron,  when  he  brought  Cerberus  from  below, 
and  of  which  he  made  himself  a  crown. 

67.  Cliaonii  Patris  glandes,  '  the  acorns  of  Jove  of  Dodona,'  referring 
to  the  celebrated  oak-groves  and  oracle  of  Jupiter  at  Dodona  in  Chaonia  (,a 
district  of  Epirus). 

69.  An  example  of  a  hypermetric  line,  in  which  the  elided  syllable  is 
preceded  by  a  trochee.  The  only  other  instance  is  in  G.  iii.  449  vivaqua 
stilphura  Idaeasque pices.     Man)'  editors,  in  order  lo  avoid  the  exceptional 

L 


i62  GEORGICS  11.     70-88. 

rhythm,  transpose  the  line  to  iuseritiir  vera  et  nncis  arlnilits  horrida  fctii. 
But  there  seems  to  be  no  good  ground  for  rejecting  the  testimony  of  the 
MSS.,  supported  by  Servius.  Copyists  were  more  inclined  to  remove 
metrical  anomalies  than  to  insert  them  :  and  it  is  most  improbable  that  the 
present  reading  should  have  been  due  to  mistakes  or  alterations  on  their 
part.  On  the  general  subject  of  hypermetric  lines  see  Introd.  p.  19.  hor- 
rida,  '  rough,'  alluding  to  its  bark. 

70.  gessere,  the  perfect  denotes  custom. 

71.  fagus,  nom.  sing. ;  the  -iis  being  lengthened  in  arsi  before  a  vowel. 
See  Introd.  jj.  17.  castaneae,  gen.  sing,  depending  on  flore,  understood 
from  the  next  line.  The  MS.  reading  \ifagos\  castaneae  then  is  nom. 
plur.,  and  the  words  belong  to  the  previous  <:\2Mi&— castaneae  gesserc  fagos. 
But  Virgil  must  mean  that  beeches  bear  chestnuts,  and  not  that  chestnut- 
trees  bear  beech-nuts.  The  difference  between  fagos  and  fagiis  is  a  very 
slight  one  :  and  general  considerations  may  here  be  allowed  to  override  the 
testimony  of  the  MSS. 

73.  '  Nor  is  the  method  of  grafting  and  of  budding  one  and  the  same.' 
simplex  here  =  ' one;'  cp.  Hor.  Od.  iv.  14.  13 ////j-  viic  siinplici,  'more 
than  once.'  modus  inserere  =  w^(//«  inserendi,  the  infin.  being  equivalent 
to  a  case  of  a  verbal  substantive:  cp.  G.  i.  213  iciiipiis  hiiino  tegere, 
Aen.  iii.  670  dcxtra  adfectare  potcstas.  oculos  im.ponere,  '  to  bud,'  Gk. 
ivo<\>Ga\yii.a  [niii . 

Tk-ll.  The  process  of  budding.  '  Where  the  buds  burst  forth  from  the 
middle  of  the  bark,  and  break  the  thin  coating  (tunicas,  i.e.  the  inner 
bark  under  the  cortex\  a  tiny  orifice  is  made  (fit,  i.e.  by  the  knife)  in  the 
knot  itself;  here  they  place  a  bud  from  a  strange  tree,  and  teach  it  to  grow 
into  the  sappy  (udo'  bark.' 

78  sqq.,  the  process  of  grafting,  enodes,  •  smooth.'  resecantur, '  ara 
slit  open '  to  admit  the  wedge. 

80.  et,  'a  remnant  of  primitive  simplicity  of  expression'  (Con.),  i.e.  in 
coordination  rather  than  subordination  of  clauses.     See  on  Eel.  vii.  7. 

81.  exiit,  the  perf.  vividly  expresses  the  instantaneousness  of  tiie 
growth. 

86.  orchades,  olives  of  an  oblong  shape,  hence  the  name,  radii, 
spindle-shaped  olives,  pausia,  a  kind  of  olive  which  had  to  be  gathered 
before  it  was  ripe. 

87.  Alcinoi  silvae,  'the  orchards  of  Alcinous,'  denote  the  same  thing  as 
poma.  The  gardens  of  Alcinous,  king  of  the  Phaeacians,  are  described  in 
Od.  vii.  112  sqq.  There  was  a  proverb,  Alcinoo  dare  poma,  like  our  'carry 
coals  to  Newcastle.' 

88.  Criistumiis,  '  from  Crustumerium,'  a  town  a  few  miles  north  of 
]\ome.  volaemis,  a  large  kind  of  pear,  so  called,  according  to  Scr\ius, 
because  it  fdled  the  vola,  or  hollow  of  the  liand.  Virgil  sa}'S  that  the 
■suckers  are  not  the  same'  in  these  jiears,  merely  meaning  that  the  jjcars 
are  different. 


GEORGICS  II.      89-121.  163 

89.  artooribus,  probably  the  '  trees'  on  which  the  vine  was  supported,  and 
not  the  vines  themselves.  This  is  the  technical  meaning  of  arbor,  as  opposed 
to  vitis,  e.g.  1.  290  below. 

91-95.  Mareotides  albae,  '  the  white  grapes  of  Lake  Mareotis  '  in 
Egypt",  passo,  '  raisin-winc,'  from  passu  uva,  grapes  spread  out  to  dry. 
psithia,  lageos,  Greek  names  of  vines,  of  unknown  origin,  tenuis, 
'  subtle,'  '  penetrating ;'  explained  by  the  next  line.  The  interpretation 
'thin,'  'light,'  is  hardly  consistent  with  the  context,  olim,  'one  day,' 
'hereafter.'  purpureas  and  .preciae  (according  to  Sex\ms=  praccoijiiaf) 
are  specific  names  for  certain  kinds  of  grape  in  Columella. 

96.  Bhaetica,  from  the  district  at  the  foot  of  the  Rhaetian  Alps.  The 
wine  from  the  Falcniiis  ager  in  Campania  was  most  celebrated. 

97.  Amineae,  this  wine  was  grown  in  various  parts  of  Italy.  The  origin 
of  the  name  is  unknown,  though  Aminna  in  Thessaly  has  been  suggested. 
firmissima,  'best  for  keeping.'  Pliny  (xiv.  2)  speaks  of  \\\q  firiiiitas  of 
the  Aminaean  wines,  contra  oinne  sidiis  firmissima. 

98.  Tniolius,  from  Mount  Tmolus  in  Lydia.  assurgit,  '  yields  pre- 
cedence to,'  '  rises  in  respect  for :'  a  quaint  expression  as  applied  to  wines  : 
cp.  Eel.  vi.  66.  rex  ipse  Phanaeus,  '  royal  Phanaeus  himself  {Qow.  ., 
i.  e.  the  wine  from  Phanae,  a  promontory  in  Chios. 

99, 100.  Ar^itis,  from  dp7os,  in  allusion  to  the  colour  of  the  grape  or 
wine.  There  were  an  Argitis  viaior  and  Argitis  /iiiiior.  cui  non,  etc.. 
'  which  none  can  match  for  yielding  so  much,'  etc.  certaverit,  second  fut. 
indie,  fluere,  durare,  a  freer  poetical  use  of  infm.  to  express  result  in 
imitation  of  Greek. 

101.  dis,  etc.  The  best  wines  were  reserved  for  the  dessert  or  niensa 
secunda,  at  which  a  libation  was  first  poured  to  the  gods. 

102.  bumaste  f/SoOs,  ^a(rTos  =  big-breasts},  a  kind  of  vine  with  large 
grapes. 

104.  est  numerus  =  6'j/  mimcraiuii faciillas  (Kenn.).  neque  enim,  etc. 
'nor  indeed  is  it  important  to  count  them  up.' 

108.  lonii  fiuctus,  '  the  waves  of  the  Ionian  sea,'  i.  e.  the  sea  between 
South  Italy  and  Greece.  The  sea-waves  and  desert-sands  are  natural 
examples  of  number  past  counting :  cp.  the  oracle  in  Hdt.  i.  47  olla  t  «7<j 
\p6.yn>.f)\)  t'  apiOfxiv  Koi  fifTpa  OaXauffr]'!. 

109.  Cp.  Lucr.  i.  166  fcrre  omncs  omnia  posscnl.  '  The  expression  is 
probably  almost  proverbial,  like  non  omnia possuiniis  omncs''  (Munro\ 

110.  fluminibus,  '  by  rivers.' 

114.  extremis,  '  remotest,'  is  illustrated  by  the  next  line,  cultoribus, 
dat.  of  agent,  not  uncommon  after  passive  participles. 

116.  divisae  arboribus  patriae,  '  trees  have  their  homes  portioned  out 
to  them.' 

119.  balsaina,  the  balsam-tree  of  Arabia,    acanthi,  the  acacia  of  Egypt. 

120.  lana,  '  cotton,'  called  ^ipl.ov  otto  ^vKox)  by  Herodotus. 

121.  Silk  \\as  supposed  to  be  a  down  scraped  from  the  leaves  of  tree.-, 

I.  2 


164  GEORGICS  IL      122-149. 

until,  in  tlic  reign  of  Justinian  about  530  A.  i'.\  some  Persian  merchants 
brought  sill<\\orms  from  the  East. 

122.  Oceano  propior  India,  apparently  the  ^Malabar  coast,  whose 
jungles,  abounding  in  immense  teak  and  jack  trees,  run  close  to  the  sea. 

123,124.  extremi  sinus  orbis,  'earth's  furthest  nook.'  aera  siim- 
mum,  arboris,  'the  air  above  the  tree.'  vincere,  'win  their  way  through  ;' 
cp.  Thuc.  i.  21  If  fj.v9ujd{s  (Kvei'iKTjKoTa,  '(stories)  which  have  made  their 
way  into  the  region  of  fable;'  also  Aen.  v.  155  /octtm  superare  priorciii. 

126,127.  tristes, 'bitter.'  tardnm  saporem, 'lingering  taste.'  felicis, 
'  blessed '  or  '  propitious '  (as  an  antidote  .  mali,  '  citron.'  praesantius, 
etc.,  'no  more  sovereign  remedy,'  see  Eel.  i.  42,  note. 

129.  Perhaps  interpolated  from  iii.  283.  It  is  commented  on  by  Servius, 
but  in  the  best  MSS.  only  appears  in  the  margin. 

133.  erat,  for  cssct;  that  which  70ould  have  been  is  stated  as  if  it  ivas,  a 
common  device  for  giving  liveliness  to  the  style  :  cp.  Aen.  ii.  55  si  mens  non 
lacva  fnisset .  Iinpiileraf  ferro,  etc. 

134,  135.  ad  prima,  'in  the  highest  degree.'  animas  et  olentia  ora- 
'  their  mouths"  noisome  breath.'     fovent,  lit.  'cherish,'  here  =  ' purify.' 

136-176.  Episode  in  praise  of  Italy.  'In  this  episode,'  says  Mr.  Sellar 
iP-  253),  '  the  sorrow  for  the  past  and  foreboding  for  the  future,  which 
marks  the  close  of  the  first  book  of  the  Georgics,  has  entirely  cleared  away. 
The  feeling  now  expressed  is  one  of  pride  and  exultation  in  Italy  .  .  .  The 
glory  of  Italy  1.  174)  is  declared  to  be  the  motive  for  the  revival  of  this 
ancient  theme.' 

136.  silvae,  gen.  after  cUfissi/na,  'the  Median  land,  with  all  its  wealth  of 
Avood.'     Con.  takes  silvae,  nom.  j)lur.,  and  terra  in  apposition. 

138.  certent,  potential,  'can  vie.' 

140,  141.  tanri,  in  allusion  to  the  Argonautic  legends  of  Colchis. 
Jason  ])loughed  the  land  with  fire-breathing  oxen,  and  sowed  it  with 
a  dragon's  teeth,  from  whence  sjKang  armed  warriois.  satis  dentibus, 
ablat.  absol.,  a  sort  of  vartpov  Ttponpov,  as  the  dragon's  teeth  Avere  sown 
after  the  bulls  had  ploughed  the  land.  Transl.  '  No  fire-breathing  bulls 
have  ploughed,  and  no  dragon's  teeth  have  been  sown.' 

144.  oleae  arnxentaqtie,  for  the  hiatus  see  Introd.  \).  iS. 

145.  hinc,  ex  liae  terra.  '  Hence  comes  the  war-horse  thai  jirances 
o'er  the  plain.'     bellator  eqnus,  as  venator  eaiiis  Aen.  xii.  751,  xi.  6S0. 

146.  147.  The  Umbrian  river  Clitumnus  was  famous  for  a  breed  of  white 
cattle,  their  whiteness  being  ascribed  to  the  qualities  of  the  stream.  ^Vhitc 
bulls  were  required  as  victims  at  triumphs,  sacro.  of  rivers,  springs,  etc  as 
the  abode  of  deities. 

149.  '  Here  is  ever-present  spring,  and  summer  after  summer-time.' 
alienis  mensibns  recalls  Lucr.  i.  182  alienis  part  Una  anni,  but  in  a 
different  connection,  Lucretius  speaking  of  the  derangement  of  nature.  Sec 
note  to  Eel.  x.  54.  ver  and  aestas  must  be  taken  loosely  and  allowance 
made  for  ])otlical  exaggeration  oftiie  climate  of  Italy. 


GEO RG res  n.      1,30-169.  165 

150.  poinis.  dative,  'twice  serviceable  for  fruit,'  i.e.  yielding  twice  in 
the  year.     It  might  also  be  tai<en  as  ablat.,  '  serviceable  with  fruit.' 

152.  semiua,  '  brood,'  an  imitation  from  Lucr.  iii.  741  h-is/c  lco)ium 
ScininiuDt. 

153,  154.  tauto,  i.  e.  as  elsewhere ;  •'  nor  gathers  his  scaly  form  into  a 
coil  with  so  vast  a  sweep.' 

155.  '  Think  too  of  many  a  noble  city,  the  triumph  of  our  toil,  many  a 
town  piled  by  the  hand  of  man  on  beetling  crags,  and  the  streams  that  flow 
beneath  their  ancient  walls.'  operuni  lataorem,  '  laborious  works  :'  the 
phrase  recurs  Aen.  i.  455.  Mr.  Sellar,  speaking  of  this  passage,  says,  '  By 
a  few  powerful  strokes  he  combines  the  characteristic  features  and  the  great 
memories  of  Italian  towns  in  lines  which  recur  to  every  traveller  as  he 
passes  through  Italy  .  .  .  No  expression  of  patriotic  sentiment  in  any 
language  is  more  pure  and  noble  than  this.' 

158.  The  two  seas  are  the  mare  siiperii/ii  or  Adriatic,  and  the  y/iarc 
infertim  or  Tyrrhemiin,  that  between  Italy  and  Sicily. 

159.  Iiarius,  now  Lake  Como. 

160.  assurg'ens,  'heaving  with  the  waves  and  roaring  of  a  sea.'  Mr. 
Sellar  quotes  Goethe's  reminiscence  of  this  line  on  coming  to  the  Lago  di 
Garda  (Benacus^ — '  This  is  the  first  Latin  verse,  the  subject  of  which  ever 
stood  visibly  before  me ;  and  now  in  the  present  moment,  when  the  wind  is 
blowing  stronger  and  stronger,  and  the  lake  casts  loftier  billows  against  the 
little  harbour,  it  is  just  as  true  as  it  was  hundreds  of  years  ago.  Much, 
indeed,  has  changed,  but  the  wind  still  roars  about  the  lake,  the  aspect  of 
wliich  gains  even  greater  glory  from  a  line  of  Virgil.' 

161.  portus.  Lakes  Avernus  and  Lucrinus  were  two  land-locked  pools 
on  the  coast  near  Baiae.  Agrippa  cut  a  channel  between  them,  strengthened 
the  bank  between  Lucrinus  and  the  sea  with  masonry  laucriuo  addita 
claustra',  and  made  an  entrance  in  it  for  ships.  The  double  haven  was 
tiicn  called  Tortus  lulius  in  honour  of  the  lulia  gens,  and  of  Octavianus  ns 
its  representative. 

163, 164.  '  Where  the  Julian  waters  (i.e.  the  harbour)  echo  afar  with  the 
recoil  of  the  sea  beaten  back  by  the  claustra  of  the  outer  lake},  and  the 
Tyrrhenian  tide  see  on  1.  158  above^  comes  in  to  the  channels  of  Avernus' 
(the  inner  lake\  Virgil  describes  two  distinct  features,  (i)  the  exclusion  of 
the  sea  by  a  breakwater,  (21  its  admission  by  the  entrance  channel  to  the 
inner  harbour.  The  Lucrine  lake  was  nearly  filieil  up  by  an  earthquake  in 
1538,  and  Avernus  is  again  shut  off  from  the  sen. 

165,166.  haec  eadem,  'she  too'  ;Italy\  argenti  rivos,  'veins  of 
silver,'  a  plirase  from  Lucretius  (v.  i  266%  by  whom  however  it  is  applied  to 
streams  oi  inoflen  metal,  auro  pUirima  fiiixit,  '  llowcd  in  rich  streams  of 
gold.'  The  reference  is  probably  to  veins  of  metal  in  the  mines;  thougli 
Virgil  might  be  thinking  of  river-;  liringing  (lown  gold,  as  llu-  I'o  was 
supposed  ti)  do. 

167-160.  viruni  is  rnqilialic  ;    lie  goes  uii  to  cclebrale  the  men  \\h(jni 


1 66  GEORGICS  11.      1 70-1.96. 

Italy  produces,  gfenus  acre  virvim  referring  to  all  that  follows  ;  '  a  gallant 
race  of  men,  too,  has  she  borne — Marsi  and  Sabine  chivalry,  Ligurians 
trained  to  hardship  and  Volscian  pikemen,  Decii,  Marii,  great  Camilli,'  etc. 
pubes,  like  izivaies  (Aen.  ii.  348\  'has  the  general  sense  of  '  warriors.' 
assuetum  malo,  i.  e.  as  mountaineers,  verutos,  armed  with  the  vcni 
Sabdhim  (Aen.  vii.  665).  Marios,  Camillos,  there  was  only  one  cele- 
brated Marius,  and  one  celebrated  Camillus  :  but  the  plurals  are  used 
to  denote  a  type. 

170.  Scipiadas  (cp.  Aen.  vi.  842),  a  hybrid  word  employed  for  metrical 
reasons  by  Virgil  and  Lucretius,  and  perhaps  by  Ennius  before  them; 
Scipioncs  being  unmanageable  in  heroic  verse. 

171,  172.  These  lines  refer  to  the  settlement  of  the  East  by  Octavianus 
after  his  victory  (iam  victor)  at  Actium  B.  c.  31.  imbellem,  an  expression 
of  national  contempt  for  the  conquered.  Romanis  arcibus,  i.  e.  the  seven 
hills,  as  in  1.  535. 

173-176.  '  Hail,  land  of  Saturn,  mighty  mother  of  noble  liuits  and  noble ' 
heroes  !  For  thee  I  essay  my  theme,  the  glory  and  the  skill  ofold  ;  for  thee 
am  1  bold  to  unseal  the  hallowed  springs,  and  sing  the  song  of  Ascra 
through  the  towns  of  Rome.'  Saturnia,  for  Saturn  was  king  in  Latium 
during  the  golden  age.  Ascraeum,  Ascra  in  Boeotia  was  the  birth-place  of 
Ilesiod,  whose  ]Vorks  and  Days  is  largely  imitated  by  Virgil  in  the  Georgics. 

177.  ingeniis,  'temper,'  cp.  habitus  loconim  G.  i.  52.  quae  robora, 
etc.,  '  their  relative  strength  and  colour  and  productive  power.' 

179.  difficiles,  '  unyielding,'  opposed  to  facilis  1.  223.  maligiii  = 
'  stingy,'  'niggardly,'  and  so  '  barren  ' — the  opposite  to  hcuigniis. 

181.  Palladia,  the  olive  being  sacred  lo  Pallas,  vivacis,  olives,  accord- 
ing to  the  elder  Pliny,  lived  for  200  years. 

182.  iudicio  est,  'is  a  sign,'  predicative  dative. 

184, 185.  uligine,  the  natural  moisture  of  the  earth,  Gk.  k/^aj.  quique 
freqiiens,  '  a  plain  with  abundant  herbage  and  a  teeming  bosom. 

188.  editus  Austro,  '  rising  to  the  South;'  Austro  being  poetical  dative 
of  the  recipient,  instead  of  the  usual  ad  Aiistni//!:  cp.  Aen.  ii.  186  cado 
cdticerc. 

190-192.  hie,  i.e.  the  soil  whose  various  jiroperties  have  been  described 
in  II.  184-189.  olim,  'in  time  to  come.'  iivae,  gen.  after  fertilis  ;  so 
with  dives,  fclix.fcrax,  and  other  adjectives,  qualem,  etc.,  the  Ijest  wines 
were  used  for  libations,  cp.  1.  loi  above,    pateris  et  auro,  'golden  bowls.' 

193,  194.  ebur,  the  '  ivory '  fiute.  Tyrrhenus,  probably  a  customary 
epithet  of  flute-players,  as  having  been,  like  actors  Liv.  vii.  2;,  originally 
imported  from  Etruria,  the  source  of  all  the  arts  at  Rome.  The  life  of 
a  flute- player  attached  to  some  temple  would  make  him  pingviis,  'sleek' 
and  'fat:'  cp.  the  language  of  old  English  ballads  about  monks  and  friars. 
reddimus,  'render,'  i.e.  as  a  gift  due  to  the  gods. 

190.  I'.rentes,  the  bite  of  goals  was  thought  poisonous,  especially  to 
olivc-tr&es. 


GEORGICS  IT.      197-242.  167 

197.  '  Cjo  to  the  glades  and  distant  fields  of  fertile  Tarentnm.' 

198.  amisit  Mantua,  referring  to  the  distribution  of  Mantuan  territory 
by  the  triumvirs  among  their  veteran  troops.     See  Eel.  i  and  ix. 

200.  deerunt,  dissyllable  by  synizesis. 

203,  204.  nigra,  '  this  is  the  colour  of  the  land  in  Campania,  and  indi- 
cates the  presence  of  decayed  animal  and  vegetable  matter'  (Keightley). 
fere,  '  for  the  most  part.'  pinguis,  etc.,  '  a  soil  that  shows  rich  when  the 
ploughshare  is  driven  in.'     putre,  'crumbling.' 

205.  iuvencis,  abl.  of  circumstance. 

207.  The  antecedent  to  unde  must  be  supplied.  '  Or  again  (that  soil  is 
best  for  com";  from  whence,'  etc. ;  i.  e.  a  lately  cleared  soil  is  also  good  for 
corn,     iratns,  at  the  unproductive  wood. 

211.  riidis,  'untried;'  so  mare  rude  Catull.  Ixiv.  11.  enituit,  ex- 
plained by  some  of  the  shining  look  of  the  earth  after  ploughing,  is  better 
taken  generally  of  the  brightness  of  cultivated  fields.  '  The  virgin  plain 
soon  smiles,  when  once  it  has  felt  the  plough.'  enituit,  for  the  lengthening 
of  the  final  syllable  see  Introd.  p.  17. 

212.  nam,  etc.  (he  recommends  strong  or  newly  cleared  soils  , '  for  as  for 
the  gravel  of  a  down  country  it  hardly  grows  cassia-shrubs  and  rosemary 
for  bees  ' — much  less  corn  for  men.     rorem,  sc.  inarinttiii. 

214,  215.  tofus,  '  tufa,'  a  porous  volcanic  stone  common  in  Italy. 
negant,  etc.,  'say  that  no  other  lands,'  etc.,  i.e.  the  presence  of  tufa  and 
marl  is  a  sigir  that  snakes  haunt  the  place. 

219.  viridi  has  the  best  MS.  authority  :  viridis,  the  other  reading, 
would  go  closely  with  vestit,  '  clothes  itself  in  green.* 

220.  scatoie  et  salsa  robi^ne,  hendiadys  :  'with  a  scurf  of  briny 
rust.' 

222,  223.  oleo,  '  for  oil,'  a  poetical  use  of  the  dative  :  oleae,  the  other 
reading,  has  less  MS.  support,  facilem,  '  kindly, '  opposed  to  difficilis 
1.  179. 

225.  vacuis,  'desolate,'  i.e.  'thinly  peopled,'  cp.  vaaiis  Ci/»n's  Jiw.  iii.  2. 
The  river  Clanius  in  Campania  overflowed  '^non  aequus)  Acerrae. 

227.  utrtini  must  be  supplied  with  rara  sit :    si  belongs  to  reciuires. 

231.  in  solido,  '  where  the  ground  is  firm.'     puteum,  '  a  pit.' 

233.  si  deerunt  (above  I.  200),  '  if  there  is  not  enough  '  (to  fill  up 
the  hole'. 

235-237.  scrobibus,  plur.  for  sing.,  used  loosely  as  --=  pulco.  superabit 
gives  the  opposite  idea  to  deerunt.  '  If  there  be  earth  left  over,  when  the 
trench  is  filled  up,  'tis  a  close  soil  ;  look  for  resistance  in  the  clods,  and 
stiffness  in  the  ridges,  and  employ  stout  oxen  for  ploughing  up  the  ground.' 
The  epithets  cunctantes,  crassa,  validis  are  emphatic. 

238.  perhibetur,  '  what  is  commonly  called  "  bitter."  ' 

239.  arando,  '  with  ploughing,'  the  gerund  being  equivalent  to  an 
abstract  verbal  substantive.     So  habendo,  '  with  holding,'  1.  250  below. 

241,  242.  specimen,  '  token  '     qualos,  '  baskets,'  and  cola,  '  strainers,' 


1 68  GEORGICS  II.      243-267, 

denote  the  same  thing,  i.e.  baskets  of  close-plaited  osier,  used  as  strainers 
in  the  wine-press. 

243,  244.  hue,  i.  e.  into  the  strainers,  ad  plenum,  '  till  the  strainers 
are  full." 

246,  247.  '  BiTt  the  flavour  will  clearly  betray  it,  and  with  bitter  disrelisli 
will  warp  into  a  frown  the  faces  of  those  who  taste.'  nxanifestus,  in 
sense  adverbial,  tristia,  proleptic.  torquebit,  cp.  Lucr.  ii.  400  At  contra 
teti'a  absintlii  nattira  fcriipie  Ccntaiiri  foedo  pertorqiient  era  sapore,  where 
Munro  cites  Milton,  '  Par.  Lost,'  x.  599  '  With  hatefullest  disrelish  writhed 
their  jaws.'  aniaro,  some  MSS.  give  amaror — a  substantive  only  occurring 
Lucr.  iv.  22^.  Gellius  (i.  21)  says  that  aniaro-  was  generally  read  in  his 
time,  but  that  Hyginus,  an  old  commentator,  professed  to  have  discovered 
in  a  MS.  belonging  to  Virgil's  family  the  v.  1.  amaror.  aniaro,  however,  is 
clearly  the  best,  as  sensu  is  improved  by  an  epithet,  and  the  addition  of 
another  nominative  similar  to  sapor  is  unnecessary  (Con.). 

248.  pingruis,  here  of  a  stiff  clay  soil  that  will  not  crumble,  denique, 
'in  brief.' 

249,  250.  '  It  never  breaks  up  when  tossed  in  the  hand,  but  like  pitch 
yields  clammily  to  the  fingers   as   you  hold  it.'    habendo,  see   note    to 

251.  ipsa,  '  in  itself  (independently  of  cultivation)  productive  beyond 
measure.'     The  soil  is  too  luxuriant  and  its  products  too  rank. 

253.  primis  aristis,  '  the  young  ears ; '  over-luxuriance,  when  the  ears 
are  first  appearing,  being  a  bad  sign. 

254,  255.  tacitam,  in  sense  adverbial,  '  betrays  itself  by  its  own  weight 
without  further  sign.'     promptum,  '  easy.'     oculis,  ablative. 

256.  quis  cui,  a  dou]:)le  question,  'which  earth  has  which  colour.' 
sceleratum  frigus, '  that  vile  cold '  (Con.) — the  strength  of  the  expression 
is  half  playful. 

260,  261.  excoquere,  'to  dry  in  the  sun.'  et  .  .  .  moutes,  'and  to 
cleave  with  trenches  the  large  hill-sides.'  Virgil  inculcates  a  lesson  of  hard 
and  thorough  work,  ante  repeats  nnilto  ante  1.  259.  supinatas,  'up- 
turned.' 

263,  264.  id  curant,  'that  '^i.e.  a  crumbling  soil)  is  the  work  of.' 
labefacta  movens,  '  loosening  and  upturning.' 

26*5.  baud  uUa  vigilantia  fugit,  'no  watchfulness  escapes,'  i.e.  'whose 
watchfulness  nothing  escapes.'     fu^t,  perf.  denoting  custom. 

266,  267.  '  They  first  look  out  a  place  where  the  young  vine  crop  may 
be  got  ready  for  its  supporters,  just  like  the  spot  to  which  it  is  soon  to 
be  removed  and  planted  out ' — i.e.  they  choose  two  similar  spots,  one  for  a 
se/ninariiim  or  nursery,  the  other  for  an  arbiisttim  or  regular  vineyard. 
similent  .  .  .  et,  'like  to  that,'  etc.  the  ordinary  Latin  construction,  ar- 
boribus,  i.e.  for  the  trees  on  which  the  vine  will  be  trained  in  tlie  regular 
vineyard,  digesta  feratur,  a  poetical  variety  for  fcratiir  et  digeratiir, 
'  niav  l)e  taken  and  nhinted  out.' 


GEORGICS  IL      ^68-289.  i6y 

268.  '  Lest  the  young  plants  take  unkindly  to  their  mother  soil  it" 
suddenly  changed.'  senxina,  here  the  young  vines.  The  word  is  often 
applied  to  young  trees  by  the  agricultural  writers. 

271.  quae  .  .  .  axi,  '  which  side  (i.  e.  back)  it  turned  to  the  nortli 
pole.' 

272.  restituant,  '  may  reproduce  '  the  original  position,  adeo,  etc  ,  '  so 
important  is  habit  in  the  young ; '  in  teneris  =  ?V;  tencris  7-ebus, '  in  the  case 
of  young  things.'     Quintilian  (i.  3^  read  a  tciieris,  '  from  infancy.' 

274.  canipi  is  the  emphatic  word,  being  equivalent  to  piano  :  if  it  is  the 
fields  of  a  rich  plaint  you  are  measuring  out.' 

275.  densa,  sc.  semiiia.  in  denso,  '  in  closely-planted  soil.'  non 
seg'nior  ubere,  '  not  less  prolific,'  lit,  '  not  slower  in  fertility  : '  c^.fcrtih's 
nbere  1.  185.  Some  take  in  denso  iibere  together,  '  in  close-planted  soil: ' 
but,  as  Con.  points  out,  the  words  could  hardly  mean  anything  but  close  or 
stiff  soil. 

276-278.  '  But  if  you  mark  out  a  soil  of  waving  slopes  and  upland  downs, 
give  your  rows  free  space  ;  and  all  the  same  (as  in  close  planting^,  when 
your  trees  are  planted,  let  every  path  in  the  line  it  cuts  square  exactly  with 
the  others.'  The  arrangement  is  to  be  as  symmetrical  in  open  planting  as  in 
close,  in  unguem,  '  exactly,'  lit.  '  to  a  nail,'  a  metaphor  from  sculpture, 
where  the  smoothness  of  the  marble  was  tested  by  passing  the  nail  over  it. 
Cp.  Hor.  Sat.  i.  5.  32  ad  iingiiein  factus  homo,  secto  linxite,  '  in  respect  of 
the  line  cut '  by  each  via,  or  avenue. 

279-283.  '  As  often  in  some  mighty  war  when  a  legion  has  deployed  its 
cohorts  in  long  array  .longa  with  explictiit) ;  the  column  has  halted  on 
an  open  plain  and  the  lines  are  dressed,  and  far  and  wide  the  ground  is  all 
a  sea  of  gleaming  brass,  before  they  join  their  dread  encounter,  while  Mars 
yet  hovers  in  suspense  between  the  hosts."  aere  renidenti  is  suggested  by 
Lucr.  ii.  325  totaqiic  circiim  Aerc  rcnidescit  tcllits.  \'ineyards  were  ordi- 
narily arranged  (Plin.  xvii.  11.  15)  in  the  form  of  a  quincunx — e.g. 


And  as  in  the  old  republican  armies  the  three  lines  of  Ilastati,  Principes, 
and  Triarii  were  drawn  up  in  a  similar  manner,  the  comparison  is  especially 
appropriate. 

284.  '  Let  all  be  measured  out  with  roads  in  even  line.'  paribus 
numeris  viarum,  a  rather  loose  expression,  =  '  even  arrangement  of  roads.' 
Other  renderings  are  (i)  to  take  viarum  with  omnia,  but  the  position  of 
the  words  is  against  this ;  2)  to  join  dimensa  viarum,  '  let  all  the 
measured  avenues  be  even ; '  which  may  possibly  be  right.  Cp.  strata 
viartifH  Aen.  i.  422. 

288.  fastigia,  '  deptli,'  properly  '  height.' 

289.  ausim,  '  I  should  venture,'  sul)junct.  of  modified  statement.  Thi-; 
andyi/.v/w    facsiin)  are  the  only  regular  survivals  in  classical  Latin  of  a 


lyo  GEORGICS  II.      z^c-o^\.(^. 

series  of  future  forms  in  -so,  -sini,  -st-rc  (iiicl.,  subj.,  infin.\  common  in 
the  older  dialect  of  Plautus,  old  laws  and  formularies,  etc. 

290.  '  The  tree  is  planted  deeper  and  far  into  the  ground.'  terrae, 
poetical  dative  of  recipient  instead  of  prep,  and  case  :  cp.  Aen.  xi.  205  tcrrac 
iiifodhint.  Some  explain  tciTac  in  these  places  as  a  survival  of  the  old 
locative :  but  the  poetical  use  of  the  dative  in  a  local  sense  is  common  in 
poetry,  arbos,  here  the  tree  which  serves  as  a  support,  as  opposed  to  the 
vitis  or  vine. 

295.  volvens, '  rolling,'  and  so  passing  through  ;  cp.  Aen.  i.  9  tot  vohere 
casus,  durando  vincit,  'conquers  by  lasting,'  i.e.  'outlasts.'  virum 
saecula,  'generations  of  men.'  Cp.  Lucr.  i.  102  Multaque  vivetido  vitalia 
vinccrc  saccla. 

299.  coryltim,  the  hazel  is  not  to  be  planted  as  a  supporter,  flagella, 
the  topmost  shoots  of  the  vine,  which  are  not  to  be  used  as  cuttings. 

300.  arbore,  the  tree  which  supports  the  vine,  plantas,  cuttings  or 
shoots. 

301.  tantus  amor  terrae.  So  great  is  their  love  for  the  earth,  that 
shoots  taken  from  a  part  of  the  tree  far  removed  from  it  are  less  vigorous  and 
serviceable. 

302.  semina,  the  'young  plants,'  as  in  1.  268  above,  neve  oleae  .  .  . 
truncos,  '  nor  plant  wild  olive  trunks  in  the  vineyard,'  i.  e.  do  not  use  the 
wild  olive  as  a  supporter,  inseve  =  nitt'rsere;  11.  312,  313  refer  to  the 
vines,  which  are  destroyed  if  the  wild  olives  catch  fire.  Some  editors  read 
oh-a  (a  conjecture  from  o/t:as,  found  in  one  MS.),  and  translate  '  do  not  graft 
wild  stocks  {oi  oleaster)  with  tlie  olive.'  The  passage  down  to  1.  314  would 
then  refer  to  olives.  But  this  sudden  digression  about  olives  in  the  midst  of 
precepts  about  vines  would  be  altogether  inexplicable,  and  the  MS.  support 
for  the  reading  olea  is  extremely  weak. 

303.  excidit,  a  spark  is  '  dropped '  by  careless  husbandmen. 
308.  ruit,  'throws  up,'  see  G.  i.  105,  note. 

310.  a  vertice,  '  from  above.' 

312.  hoc  ubi,  sc.  accidit,  a  very  unusual  ellipse,  non  a  stirpe  valent, 
the  vines  '  have  no  power  left  in  their  roots.'  caesaectvie, '  nor  when  cut '  to 
make  them  grow  again  :  que  is  disjunctive. 

314.  superat,  '  alone  remains.' 

315.  '  Nor  let  any  one  have  such  credit  for  foresight  as  to  persuade  you ;' 
a  condensed  expression  for  tarn  prnde)is  hahcatur  iit  persuadeat. 

316.  moveri,  '  persuade  you  that  it  should  be  upturned.'  The  MSS. 
vary  between  moveri  and  iiiovere  :  but  the  former,  though  harder,  is  more 
pleasing  in  sound  after  spirante,  and  should  therefore  probably  be  preferred. 

317.  semine  iacto,  '  when  the  young  plant  is  set :'  cp.  11.  26S,  302. 

318.  '  Does  it  suffer  it  (the  young  plant)  to  attach  its  frozen  root  to  tlie 
soil.'  This  is  better  than  to  lake  concretam  as  proleptic  =  ?Vrt  lit  con- 
crescat. 

310.  riibenti,  with  flowers. 


GEORGICS  II.     320-350.  171 

320.  avis,  i.  e.  the  stork  ;  cp.  Juv.  .\iv   74  scrpcntc  cicoiiia  pitllos  Niifrit. 

322.  hiemeiu  contingit,  '  reaches  the  winter.'  The  picture  is  of  the 
horses  of  the  sun  racing  along  the  path  of  the  zodiac. 

323.  adeo  lays  stress  on  ver  :   '  'tis  even  spring  that  -  .  .' 

326.  laetae,  'fruitful.'  The  fertilising  effect  of  rain  descending  on  the 
'  lap  of  earth'  is  described  in  a  metaphor  from  physical  generation,  the  sky 
being  wedded  to  his  bride  the  Earth.  Cp.  Lucr.  i.  250  pereunt  imhres  ubi 
cos  pater  aether  In  gremitnn  mat  r  is  terrai  praccifitavit ;  and  Eur.  fr.  inc. 
890  epa  5'  (5  a(nvo<s  ovpavus  irXrjpovfxfvos  "Ofi^pov  Treadv  Ij  "yaiav. 

331.  laxant  sinus,  'unseal  their  wombs'  (Con.),  a  continuation  of  the 
metaphor  of  1.  325.  superat,  etc.,  'soft  moisture  everywhere  (oximitous, 
sc.  arvis)  abounds.' 

333.  credere  with  in  novos  soles  is  a  condensed  expression  for  ■  trust 
themselves  to  come  forth  towards  i.e.  'to  meet')  the  suns  of  each  succeed- 
ing day.'  novos,  because  they  are  introducing  the  warm  season.  g°raniina, 
so  the  MSS.  Germina  is  read  by  some  editors  on  the  authority  of 
Celsus. 

336-342.  Virgil  apparently  means  that  the  world  must  have  been  born 
in  spring,  as  the  season  most  favourable  to  young  products  of  all  kinds. 

338.  crediderim,  subj.  of  modified  statement,  as  traiisieriin  1.  102.  ver 
illud  erat,  '  'twas  spring-time  then.' 

341.  ferrea,  the  epithet  is  in  keeping  with  Virgil's  conception  of  man  as 
born  to  toil  and  suffering  :  cp.  G.  i.  63  iinde  homines  nati,  dtiriiin  genus, 
tcrrca  /ound  as  a  correction  in  one  of  the  good  M.SS.  is  adopted  by  most 
editors,  as  being  more  suitable  to  the  passage.  But  it  is  less  forcible  than 
ferrea,  and  tautological  with  arvis.  On  the  whole  there  seems  to  be  no 
reason  for  departing  from  MS.  authority. 

342.  sidera,  the  stars  are  poetically  regarded  as  living  inhabitants  of 
the  sky. 

343.  res  tenerae,  'young  plants:'  the  phrase  is  from  Lucretius  i.  79. 
possent,  '  could  bear,'  the  reference  being  to  spring  generally,  and  not 
to  the  time  of  creation,  hunc  latoorem,  the  frosts,  etc.  to  which  plants 
are  exposed. 

344.  A  hypermetric  verse;  see  Introd.  p.  19. 

345.  exciperet,  'greet,'  i.e.  after  the  winter.  The  general  idea  is  that 
of  receiving  from  some  other  person  or  condition  ;  so  cxccpit  hospitio  (from 
a  journey)  Hor.  .Sat.  i.  5.  1,  cxcipiaut  infantcm  from  the  mother)  Juv.  vii. 
195,  excipiat  tironcni  porta  (from  a  campaign^  ib.  xvi.  3. 

346.  347.  prenies,  '  plant.'  virgnilta,  probably  trees  in  general,  and 
not  vines  specially,  since  Theophrastus,  from  whom  the  following  precepts 
are  taken,  applies  them  to  all  kinds  of  trees,  meiuor  occule  —  nicnicnto 
occnlcrc. 

348.   scxualentes,  'rough.' 

350.  halitus,  jjrobably  '  air,'  not  '  vapour.'  The  earth  being  kept  open, 
air  will  be  lietter  able  to  get  to   the  roots,     aninios  toUent,  '  will  take 


173  GEORGICS  IT.     352-381. 

heart :'  the  phrase  is  used  in  Aen.  ix.  127  of  raisinj,'  another's  spirit!?,  iani- 
que  =  Tjtri,  '  before  now.' 

352.  urgerent,  'overhang  them  :'  it  cannot  be  meant  that  the  plants  are 
to  be  pressed  down  and  crushed. 

354,355.  seminibus,  'young  vines.'  diducere,  'to  loosen  the  earth 
about  their  shoots,'  i.  e.  when  just  making  their  way  above  ground,  capita, 
here  apparently,  as  often  in  Cato,  the  '  roots  '  of  the  vine,  iactare, '  swing,' 
the  bidens  being  a  two-pronged  hoe  of  great  weight,  used  somewhat  like  a 
pickaxe. 

358,  359.  Reeds  (calami)  and  wands  of  peeled  rods  (rasae  hastilia 
virgrae)  were  used  as  cross-pieces,  and  placed  horizontally  on  stakes  v'sudes) 
and  forks  (furcas),  to  assist  the  vines  in  climbing,  till  they  reached  the 
boughs  of  the  elms  themselves. 

361.  tabulata,  'stories'  or  'floors:'  here  of  the  successive  branches  of 
the  elm  on  which  the  vine  was  trained.  '  And  run  from  story  to  story  along 
the  elms  above.* 

362  sqq.  Munro  on  Lucr.  iii.  451  shows  exhaustively  how  in  all  this 
part  of  the  Georgics  Virgil's  mind  appears  '  saturated  with  the  verses  of 
Lucretius.' 

364.  laxis,  etc.,  '  launched  into  the  open  sky  in  full  career.'  per 
purum,  like  aera  per  vaciiu/ii  G.  iii.  109.  The  line  is  suggested  by  Lucret. 
v.  7S6,  787  arboribitsqtic  datumst  variis  exindc  per  auras  Crcsccitdi  mag- 
num i»imissis  ceriameii  haheiiis. 

365.  ipsa,  sc.  vitis,  as  distinguished  from  the  leaves  (frondes\ 

366.  inter  legfeudae,  'picked  out.'  The  tmesis  with  que  is  common  in 
Lucretius. 

368.  comas,  a  natural  metaphor  for  the  foliage  of  trees.  Kenn.  cites 
Spenser,  'Faerie  Queene,'  ii.  11.  19  'When  the  wroth  western  wind  doth 
reave  their  locks;'  and  Milton,  'Par.  Lost,'  x.  1066  'while  the  winds  Blow 
moist  and  keen,  shattering  the  graceful  locks  Of  these  fair- spreading  trees.' 

371,  372.  tenendum,  'kept  off.'  imprudens  laborum, '  and  knows  as 
yet  no  trials.' 

373.  super, '  besides.'  indig-nas,  '  harsh,'  '  cruel  ; '  the  winter  is  regarded 
as  a  living  being,  whose  conduct  is  unworthy. 

374.  uri,  'buffaloes;'  strictly  speaking  those  of  Germany  (whence  the 
name  'Ur-ochs,'  'Auerochs,'  i.e.  wild  ox),  capreae,  'roes.'  sequaoes, 
'persecuting'  or  'troublesome.' 

376-379.  'No  cold  that  hoar-frost  ever  congealed,  no  summer  that  ever 
smote  heavily  on  the  parching  rocks,  has  been  so  fatal  to  it  (illi,  dat.)  as  the 
herds,  with  the  venom  of  their  sharp  tooth,  and  wounds  impressed  upon  the 
stem  that  they  have  gnawed'  (Con.),  frigfora  concreta  pruina,  an  arti- 
ficial Virgilian  variation  for  the  Lucretian  nix  acri  concreta pniina  iii.  20. 
admorso,  the  vv.  11.  ad  vtorstim,  a  morsn,  etc.,  probably  arose  from 
ignijrance  of  the  fact  that  slirps  is  sometimes  masculine  in  Virgil. 

380,  381.  The  reference  is  to  the  Dionvsiac  festivals  at  Athens,  at  which 


GEORGICS  II.     382-403.  173 

tragedies  and  comedies  veteres  Itidi,  'old  plays '^1  were  produced,  et 
virtually  =  (/«//w;  see  on  Eel.  vii.  7.  proscaenia.  'the  stage,'  the  erection 
in  front  of  the  scacita  or  back-scene. 

382,  383.  '  And  the  sons  of  Theseus  ^1.  e.  the  Athenians)  offer  prizes  for 
the  people  at  their  \illage  and  cross-road  gatherings.'  in  g'entes,  so  Ribb. 
for  ingetihs,  the  reading  of  almost  all  the  MSS.  13ut  ingciitcs,  whether 
taken  with  pagos  or  Theseidae,  would  have  no  point.  The  ordinary  read- 
ing iiigcniis  ('  for  wit'  or  'for  men  of  wit"  rests  on  the  authority  of  only 
one  MS.,  and  is  more  likely  to  have  been  a  correction  for  ingeutis,  than  vice 
versa,  pagos  et  compita,  ^'irgil  is  thinking  of  the  Rural  Dionysia  held  in 
the  Attic  denies,  but  uses  language  more  appropriate  to  the  Roman  rural 
festivals,  the  Paganalia  and  Compitalia,  held  in  the  villages  and  cross-roads. 

384.  '  Dance  on  greased  bags  of  goat-skin  in  the  velvet  meads.'  This 
dance  upon  a  goat-skin  6.oKai\iarmos)  was  an  amusement  at  the  Anthesteria, 
and  other  festivals  of  Dionysus. 

385,  386.  This  refers  to  the  Fcsceimiiia  caniiiiia,  rude  satiric  dialogues 
in  extempore  verse,  carried  on  by  the  Italians  at  their  rustic  festivals.  Cp.  Hor. 
Epp.  ii.  I.  145-148  FesceiDiiiia  per  liiinc  inventa  liccntia  morein  Veisibzis 
altcrnis  cpprobria  nistica  fiidit,  Lihertasqttc  rccurrentes  accept  a  per  annos 
Lusit  amabiliter.  versibiis  incomptis,  probably  the  rough  Saturnian  verse, 
the  indigenous  metre  of  Italy. 

387.  corticibiis  cavatis,  ablat.  of  material,  '  masks  of  hollowed  bark.' 
389.  oscilla  (dim.  of  osctiliiiii,  from  os),  faces  of  Bacchus  hung  on  trees 
so  as  to  turn  every  way  with  the  wind,  and  spread  fertility,  whence  oscillare, 
'to   swing.'     mollia,    'waving.'     Con.,    however,   explain   it   as  =' mild,' 
•  tender,'  of  the  god's  features. 

392.  honestum,  '  comely.' 

393.  houorem,  any  form  of  celebration;  here  of  a  'hymn,'  in  Aen.  i.  53 
of  a  •  sacrifice.' 

394.  lances,  'dishes'  of  all  fruits  in  season;  hence  called  saturae, 
whence  saiitra,  originally  a  hodge-podge  or  medley,  like  our  '  miscellanies.' 

395.  sacer,  '  devoted.' 

397.  curandis,  'dressing'  the  vines,  refers  to  the  various  operations 
subsequent  to  the  planting. 

398.  eTihuMsXii  —  c.rhaHst  ioiiis ;  'which  has  never  exhaustion  enough,'  i.e. 
is  never  at  an  end.  For  pass.  part.  neut.  thus  used  as  subst.  (mainly  poetical  , 
cp.  G.  iii.  34S  cxspectatttin,  Aen.  v.  6  iiotii/ii,  Li  v.  i.  53  ni  degeiiera/ta/t  in 
aliis  huic  qiicque  dccori  offecissei. 

399.  versis,  i.e.  with  the  back  of  the  hoe. 

401.  nemus,  the  '  grove  '  (i.  e.  both  the  vines,  and  the  trees  which 
support  them;  must  be  thinned  of  their  leaves,  in  order  to  l;t  the  sun 
reach  the  clusters. 

403.  iam  olim,  'even  then;'  the  original  sense  of  olim  locative  from 
clle  =  iUc  is  'r\t  that  lime;' and  the  indefmite  sense 'at  sometime,'  'formerly,' 
comes  later. 


174  GEORGICS  11.     406-427. 

406,  407.  Saturni  dente,  i.e.  the  pruning  knife,  with  which  Saturn  was 
regularly  represented  ;  Ovid  (^Ibis  214)  calls  \iw\\faliifcr  scnex.  relictam, 
'which  he  has  left,'  i.e.  he  comes  back  to  the  vine,  fin^it,  'moulds'  or '  shapes.' 

408  sqq.  'Virgil  here  imitates  the  short  sententious  maxims  of  Hesiod, 
and  the  imperative  forms  in  -to  of  the  old  Roman  laws  '  (Kenn.).  primus, 
etc.  are  emphatic  :  '  Be  the  first  to  .  .  .' 

409.  sarmenta,  '  prunings,'  from  sarpo,  an  old  agricultural  term  whose 
root  is  identical  with  apira^tii.     vallos,  '  vine  poles.' 

410.  metito,  lit.  '  mow,'  here  used  of  gathering  the  grapes,  bis  .  .  . 
umbra,  'twice  the  vines  are  overshadowed  with  leaves;'  i.e.  the  leaves 
have  to  be  thinned  twice  in  the  year. 

411.  '  Twice  (in  the  year)  do  weeds  choke  your  crop  of  vines  with  thick 
noxious  growth.'     sentibus,  '  briars,'  here  of  any  noxious  weed. 

412.  uterque  labor,  i.e.  the  thinning  of  the  leaves  {painpinatid),  and 
the  rooting  out  of  weeds  {rnncatio).  laudato,  etc.,  'praise  a  large  estate, 
farm  a  small  one : '  an  epigrammatic  expression  borrowed  from  Hesiod, 
Jl'orks  641  vrf  vKiyrjv  alvetv  /xcydKr]  5'  evi  <popTia  Oeadai.  The  meaning 
implied  in  laudato,  as  in  aivtiv  and  iiraivuv  in  Greek,  is  '  praise  but  don't 
make  use  of,'  i.  e.  '  decline.' 

413-415.  Broom  (ruscus),  reeds  and  osiers  (harundo,  salicti)  were 
used  to  bind  the  vines  to  the  elms  or  other  supports. 

416.  reponunt,  i.  e. '  no  longer  demand.' 

417.  'Now  the  last  vine-dresser  is  singing  over  the  completion  of  his 
rows.'    effectos,  sc.  essf.    antes,  a  rare  word,  used  also  of  ranks  of  soldiers. 

419.  uvis,  dat.  of  indirect  reference,  'for  the  grapes.'  It  might  be  taken, 
but  less  probably,  as  dat.  of  the  agent,  '  by  the  grapes.' 

421.  tenaces,  'tearing'  the  ground  (Con.\ 

422.  '  When  once  they  have  taken  root  in  the  soil  or  weathered  the  breezes.' 

423.  satis,  from  jata,  '  the  olives.' 

424.  cum  vomer e,  '  with  the  aid  of  the  plough-share,'  a  repetition  of 
the  idea  already  expressed  in  cum  dente  recluditur  unco.  Some  under- 
stand dente  unco  of  the  hoe,  and  supply  recluditur  with  the  second  cum, 
which  they  take  as  a  conjunction.  But  to  say  that  the  earth  supplies  mois- 
ture, when  upturned  by  the  hoe,  and  teeming  crops,  when  upturned  by  the 
ploughshare,  seems  absurd. 

425.  hoc,  etc.  '  This  (i.  e.  ploughing)  it  is  which  nurtures  the  rich  olive 
so  dear  to  Peace.'  nutritur  has  the  best  MS.  authority.  The  v.  1.  mctritor 
('  with  this  rear  the  olive,'  etc.^  is  generally  adopted  by  the  editors.  But 
nutritur,  besides  being  better  supported,  is  superior  in  sense,  as  the  im- 
perative would  be  rather  out  of  place  here,  placitam,  '  pleasing,'  an  example 
of  the  past  part,  of  an  intrans.  verb  used  actively  :  not  uncommon  in  poetry 
and  old  Latin.  Faci,  the  olive  being  the  universal  token  of  peace  or  suppli- 
cation. 

426.  427.  poma —' fruit-trees.'  Tlie  metaphor  is  that  of  a  man  feeling 
his  limbs  strung  under  liim.     vires  suas.  '  their  jiropcr  or  full  strength.' 


GEORGICS  11.     430-448.  175 

430.'  aviaria,  'haunts  of  birds,'  i.e.  woods;  cp.  Lucr.  i.  \%  frondifcrasqtic 
domos  avium. 

431.  toudentur  cytisi,  '  lucerne  serves  for  fodder.' 

432.  ig-nes,  '  fires  '  rather  than  '  torch-lights.' 

433.  et  expresses  surprise  or  indignation,  as  often :  cp.  Aen.  \\.  S06  (•;' 
diibitamtis  adhuc  virttite  extendere  vires,  Cic.  Phil.  i.  8  ;■/  vos  acta  Caesan's 
dcfciiditis,  qui  leges  cvertitis  ? 

434.  435.  maiora,  such  as  are  mentioned  in  11.  437  sqq. ;  minora  being 
willows,  broom,  etc.  sequar,  'speak  of.'  illae,  pleonastic,  giving  addi- 
tional emphasis :  cp.  Aen.  i.  3  niultum  ille  et  terns  iactatus  et  alto,  v.  456 
nunc  dextra  ingeminans  ictus,  nutic  ille  sinistra. 

437.  Virgil  continues  the  subject  of  forest-trees  (maiora).  Cytorus,  a 
mountain  of  Paphlagonia  covered  with  box-trees.  The  box-tree  grows 
indigenous  in  a  few  spots  in  England — e.g.  on  the  Chiltern  Hills  in 
Buckinghamshire. 

438.  Naryciae,  '  Bruttian,'  Naryx  in  Opuntian  Locris  being  the  mother 
country  of  the  Bruttian  Locri.     Bruttian  pitch  was  celebrated. 

439.  obnozia,  *  indebted.' 

441.  '  For  ever  rent  and  wrecked  by  stormy  blasts.'  The  rhythm  is 
expressive  of  the  fitful  gusts  of  wind,  animosi  ;a«ma)  =  ' windy,'  'stormy;' 
Ov.  Am.  i.  6.  51  impulsa  et  animoso  ianiia  ven to,  Stat.  Theb.  ix.  459  animosa- 
que  surgit  Tempestas ;  so  of  pictures,  i.  e.  '  full  of  life,'  Prop.  iv.  8.  9  Gloria 
Lysippost  animosa  cffingere  signa.  This  last  example  especially  points  to 
a  distinction  between  this  and  aniinosus  =  ' cowragtow?,'  (animus);  or  at  any 
rate  to  two  quite  distinct  uses  of  the  same  word,  the  one  associated  with 
the  idea  of  anima,  the  other  with  that  oi  animus.  frangTintctue  feruntque, 
like  agere  et  ferre ;  the  double  expression  enhancing  the  notion  of  violence 
as  in  '  harry  and  carry.' 

442.  fetus,  '  products ' — not  '  fruits,'  for  they  are  stcrilcs. 

443.  A  hypermetric  line,  see  Introd.  p.  19. 

444.  hiuc,  ex  Iiis  silvis.  trivere,  '  they  shape.'  The  perfect  denotes 
custom,  tympana,  '  drum-wheels  '  of  solid  wood,  without  spokes  (like 
those  now  in  use  on  railways). 

445.  pandas  carinas,  'curved  /mils,'  not  keels,  which  would  be  straight. 
The  v/ord  carina,  as  Prof.  Nettleship  shows  ( '  Contributions  to  Latin  Lexico- 
graphy' ,  denotes  properly  the  lower  part  or  bottom  of  a  ship,  not  merely  the 
keel,  though  it  is  sometimes  used  in  this  latter  sense.  He  quotes,  among 
other  passages,  Enn.  A.  ^Go pandani  ductura  carina>n,  Cat.  64.  10  pinea  con- 
iungens  injlexae  texta  carinae,  Caes.  B.  G.  carinae planiores  quam  nostrarum 
navinin,  quo  facilius  vada  cxcipere  possent.  Cp.  also  .Sail.  Jug.  1 8.  S  aedijicia 
Numidarum oblonga,  incurvis  lateribus  texta,  quasi  naviuin  carinae. 

446.  viminibns,  frondibus,  ablatives.  The  leaves  of  the  elm,  in  times 
of  scarcity,  were  used  for  fodder. 

447.  448.  hastilibiis,  '  lance-like  '  shoots,  as  Aen.  iii.  23.  bona  boUo, 
c])ithet  of  cornels  :   ihc  construction  is  myrlus  ct  comas  fccundae  validis 


176  GEORGICS  II,     449-475. 

liastilibiis.     Ituraeos,  a  literary  epithet,  the  Ituraei  being  a  tribe  of  Arab 
archers  in  Palestine. 

449.  nee  .  .  .  non.  '  moreover.'  leves  and  torno  rasile  are  semi-pro- 
leptic  (or  rather,  participial)  in  construction — the  linden  if  smoothedj  and 
the  box  if  planed  by  the  chisel. 

452.  niissa,  '  sped  down  the  To  ;'  Pado,  local  ablative. 

453.  alvo,  the  'entrails'  of  a  diseased  ilex  :  so  all  the  MSS.  except  one, 
which  gives  alveo.  [Cp.  Shakespeare,  '  Tempest,'  i.  2.  293  '  I  will  rend  an 
oak,  And  peg  thee  in  his  knotty  entrails.']  alvtis  is  regularly  used  by  agri- 
cultural writers  of  a  bee-hive. 

454.  memorandum,  '  note-worthy.'     Baccheia,  '&aKyi]ia. 

456.  Centatiros,  referring  to  the  drunken  contest  between  the  Centaurs 
and  Lapithae  at  the  marriage  feast  of  Pirithous,  king  of  the  Lapithae.  leto, 
instrumental  abl. 

458-540.  In  this  episode  '  the  charm  of  peaceful  contemplation,  of 
Nature  in  her  serenest  aspect  and  harmony  with  the  human  soul,  of  an 
ethical  ideal  based  on  religious  belief  and  national  traditions,  of  a  life  of 
pure  and  tranquil  happiness,  remote  from  the  clash  of  arms  and  the  pride 
and  passions  of  the  world,  is  made  present  to  us  in  a  strain  of  continuous 
and  modulated  music,  which  neither  Virgil  himself  nor  any  other  poet  has 
surpassed'  .Sellar,  'Virgil,'  ch.  vi.  pp.  256,  257). 

458.  'How  blest  beyond  measure, could  they  but  know  their  own  happiness, 
arc  the  country  folk  ! '  fortunatos,  accus.  of  exclamation  like  me  miseruin  I 
etc.     norint,  perf.  subj.  with  pres.  meaning  :  the  apodosis  would  be  sint. 

460.  hiimo,  *  from  the  ground.'  facilem,  '  plenteous.'  iustissima, 
<  most  righteous,'  because  she  gives  without  stint  to  all  alike. 

461,  462.  forilbus  superbis,  descriptive  abl.  with  domns  alta.  mane 
salutantnm,  i.e.  clients  and  others  j^aying  their  respects.  Such  levees  were 
held  early,  from  6  to  8  A.M.;  cp.  Mart.  iv.  8.  i  prima  saliitaiites  atqtie 
altera  coittiiict  hora.     totis  aedibus,  '  from  the  whole  palace.' 

463,  464.  '  Nor  gaze  on  doors  inlaid  (varios)  with  lovely  tortoise-shell, 
and  gold-embroidered  coverlets  and  bronzes  of  Ephyra.'  illusas,  '  fanci- 
fully wrought:'  ludcre,  Itisiis,  etc.,  are  used  of  art  imitating  nature,  and 
applied  to  works  of  art  and  music.  Ephyreia,  '  Corinthian,'  Ephyra  being 
the  old  name  for  Corinth.     Corinth  was  celebrated  for  its  works  of  art. 

465,  466.  Assyrio,  loosely  used  for  '  Tyrian.'  veneno,  '  drug,'  here 
with  a  touch  of  contempt,  casia,  an  Eastern  aromatic  tree,  iTsed  for  scent- 
ing oil.     liquid!  usiis  olivi,  '  the  service  of  the  clear  olive  oil.' 

467-471.  '  Yet  have  they  careless  ease  and  a  life  that  knows  no  guile, 
rich  in  varied  wealth— the  liberty  of  broad  domains,  with  grots  and  fresh 
lakes ;  cool  valleys  too,  and  lowing  kine,  and  slumber  soft  beneath  the 
shade  are  there.'  Tempe,  for  any  beautiful  valley  :  properly  the  a  alley  of 
the  Pcneus  in  Thessaly. 

473.  '  There  is  religion  and  reverence  for  age.' 

475.  ante  omnia  M'ith  primum.     '  Tirst  and  before  all,'  says  Virgii, 


GEORGICS  11.     476-499.  177 

'I  would  be  the  poet  of  philosophy.'  Virgil  is  here  thinking  not  only  of 
Lucretius,  but  of  the  Greek  philosopher  poets,  such  as  Empedocles,  Xeno- 
phanes,  and  Aratus,  and  also  of  mythical  bards  like  Orpheus  and  Musaeus, 
who  revealed  various  mysteries  in  verse. 

476.  quarum  sacra  fero,  'whose  priest  I  am:'  cp.  Hor.  Od.  iii.  i.  3 
musarwn  saccrdos. 

478.  labores,  'toils'  (i.e.  eclipses),  a  poetical  variety  for  defectiis. 
The  line  is  from  Lucret.  v.  751  solis  item  qtioquc  dcfcdtis  hinacque  latebras. 

479,  480.  tumescant,  residant  apparently  refer,  not  to  the  tides,  but 
to  violent  upheavals  of  the  sea  caused  by  earthquakes,  such  as  Thucydides 
describes  (iii.  89). 

482.  tardis,  '  lingering,'  i.  e.  the  winter  nights. 

484.  The  reference  is  probably  to  Empedocles*  theory  that  the  blood 
about  the  heart  {a^y^a  vtpiKapSiov)  was  the  seat  of  the  intellect.  Hence 
coldness  of  blood  there  would  denote  slowness  of  intellect.  Among  the 
Romans  generally  the  heart  was  associated  with  the  intelligence;  hence 
excors,  '  foolish,'  etc. 

486-488.  o  ubi,  etc.,  '  O  where  is  Spercheus  with  its  plains  and  Tay- 
getus  haunted  by  Bacchanal  maidens  of  Laconia?'  i.e.  'would  that  I  were 
there.'  'bacchata,  deponent  verb  in  passive  sense,  as  bacchatani  Naxuiii 
Aen.  iii.  125. 

490-492.  Evidently  in  reminiscence  of  passages  in  Lucretius,  e.  g.  i.  79 
Quare  religio pedibiis  subicda  vicisstin  Optcritiir,  iii.  37  Et  metus  ille  foms 
praeceps  Achcntntis  agendus,  1072  naturae  primnnt  stitdeat  cogiiosccre 
ca2isas.  qui  potnit  obviously  refers  mainly  to  Lucretius  himself,  though 
the  tone  of  the  passage  is  genei'al,^  and  might  apply  to  any  Epicurean 
philosopher.  ^>_,    .  i^'^  ^yf         ^ 

495.  fasces,  the  rods  with  a.xes  carriecl  l5«or<;^;^maij,jmagistrates. 
populi,  gen.  subj.,  '  the  honours  which  the  people  give.'         ^-^  '•'■■'''/-'_. 

496.  'And  feuds  that  rouse  faithless  brethren  to  strife.'  fratres  might 
perhaps  allude  to  the  rivalry  of  Phraates  and  Tiridates  for  the  throne  of 
Parthia ;  but  more  probably  refers  to  the  break  up  of  families  in  civil  war ; 
cp.  Lucr.  iii.  72,  73  Crudeles  gaudeitt  in  tristi  ftincre  fratris  Et  co?tsangni- 
neum  mensas  odere  titneutque;  and  1.  510  below. 

497.  '  And  Dacians  swooping  down  from  Hister,  their  ally.'  The 
Dacians  used  to  cross  the  frozen  Danube  into  the  Roman  territory :  hence 
the  river  is  picturesquely  said  to  be  in  league  with  them.  They  were  at  war 
with  Rome  B,  c.  30. 

498.  499.  '  Not  Rome  herself  and  kingdoms  tottering  to  their  fall ; '  i.  e. 
not  the  highest  interests  and  most  startling  vicissitudes  of  politics  can  shake 
the  serenity  of  rural  life — a  serenity  to  which  the  distinctions  of  poverty 
and  wealth,  and  the  emotions  they  cause,  are  unknown.  In  neque  doluit . .  . 
inopem  Virgil  attributes  to  his  ideal  countryman,  not  a  selfish  indifference, 
but  the  absence  of  any  conditions  to  call  out  pity  for  others — all  being 
so  happy. 


178  GEORGICS  II.     500-529. 

500-502.  ipsa,  '  of  themselves.'  volentia  .and  sponte  sua  repeat  and 
emphasise  the  notion  of  spontaneity — 'imasked,  of  their  own  free  will.' 
tabularia, '  records '  or  '  archives.'  Some  trace  a  special  allusion  to  freedom 
from  taxation,  or  from  public  contracts  :  but  iura  . . .  forum  . . .  tabularia 
merely  indicate  city  life  in  general. 

503-512.  Various  means,  motives  and  consequences  of  greed  and 
ambition  incident  to  city  life ;  of  which  Virgil's  own  time  supplied 
abundant  illustrations,  which  his  readers  could  apply  as  they  chose. 
'Some  ply  their  oars  in  unknown  seas,  rush  eagerly  to  arms,  and  make  their 
way  into  kings'  courts.  One  plots  ruin  for  a  city  and  its  hapless  homes, 
that  he  may  drink  from  jewelled  cups  and  rest  on  Tyrian  purple :  another 
hoards  his  wealth,  and  broods  over  buried  treasure.  One  listens  at  the 
Rostra  in  rapt  amaze ;  another,  open-mouthed,  is  carried  away  by  the  cheers 
of  high  and  low  that  ring,  aye  again  and  again,  along  the  benches.  'Tis 
joy  to  have  dipped  their  hands  in  a  brother's  blood :  they  pass  into 
exile  from  home  and  its  delights,  and  seek  another  country  beneath 
another  sun.' 

504.  return  is  by  some  restricted  to  its  use  in  Hor.  Epp.  i.  7,  37,  etc.  = 

'  the  great.'  But  in  connection  with  the  preceding  words  the  favour  of 
foreign  kings,  rather  than  of  Roman  nobles,  seems  implied.  Virgil  points 
to  adventurers  who  sought  their  fortunes  in  other  lands. 

505.  excidiis,  ablative. 

508.  hie,  the  aspirant  to  eloquence,  hunc,  the  aspirant  to  political 
eminence. 

509.  cuneos,  the  blocks  of  seats  in  the  auditorium  of  a  theatre,  so  called 
from  their  wedge-like  shape.  The  people  sat  in  these,  the  senators  (patres) 
in  the  orchestra :  but  cunei  is  here  used  of  the  whole  theatre.  Popular 
statesmen,  etc.  were  cheered  on  entering,  enim  here,  as  in  Aen.  viii.  84 
tibi  enim,  tibi,  viaxifiia  luno  Madat,  is  merely  an  affirmative  particle, 
which  use  is  prior  to  its  ordinary  causal  meaning.  Cp.  also  Plaut.  Trin. 
V.  2.  10  Enim  me  nomiJtat,  Liv.  xxiii.  45  enim  iam  nunc  tnitior  est  res. 

.  514.  hiuc  anni  labor,  '  hence  the  year's  employment.'  parvoscLue 
nepotes,  'his  little  grandsons.'  One  MS.  gives  peuates,  'his  humble 
home,'  which  some  prefer.  But  though  there  is  no  special  reason  why 
Virgil  should  speak  of  grandsons  rather  than  sons,  the  expression  is  not 
inappropriate,  and  it  is  safer  to  keep  to  the  MSS. 

515.  meritos,  'that  have  served  him  well.' 

516.  requies,  i.e.  anno.  'Nor  is  there  any  stint  to  the  year's  o'erflow- 
ing  either  with  fruits,  or  the  offspring  of  flocks,  or  sheaves  of  corn.' 

519-522.  baca,  'the  olive,'  for  which  Sicyon  was  famous,  ponit,  'is 
dropping.'     coquitur,  '  ripens.' 

523.  pendent,  etc.,  'hang  about  his  lips  (for  kisses).'  oscula,  here  in 
its  original  sense  as  a  diminiative  of  os.  Cp.  Gray's  Elegy,  '  And  climb  his 
knees  the  envied  kiss  to  share.' 

527-520.  agitat  =  fl'^7V.     '  Himself  keeps  holy  day;  and  stretched  upon 


GEORGICS  11.     530-542.  179 

the  grass,  while  comrades  wreathe  the  bowl  around  their  altar  fire,  he  pours 
a  libation  and  calls  on  Bacchus.'  ignis,  a  turf-built  altar,  cratera  coro- 
nant,  apparently  suggested  by  Homer's  KpijTrjpas  iireaTtipavTo  ttotoio, 
though  the  meaning  there  is  '  fill  the  bowls  high  with  wine,'  while  Virgil 
means  '  wreathe  with  flowers.'  Cp.  Aen.  iii.  525  magnum  cratera  corona 
Induit. 

530.  iaculi  ...  in  ulmo,  '  appoints  contests  of  shooting  (at  a  mark)  in 
an  elm ' — a  condensed  expression,  certamen  ponere,  like  the  Greek 
a-^wva  TiOivat. 

534.  scilicet  gives  rhetorical  emphasis  to  the  words  connected  with  it — 
'  Thus,  surely,  brave  Etruria  grew,  thus  Rome  became  the  fairest  thing  on 
earth,  and  girt  her  seven  hills  with  a  single  city's  wall.' 

536-538.  Dictaei,  '  of  Mount  Dicte '  in  Crete,  i.  e.  Jupiter,  who  was 
said  to  have  been  bom  there,  and  who  succeeded  to  Saturn  in  empire. 
iuvencis,  abl.  with  epulata.  For  the  supposed  impiety  of  slaying  the  ox, 
the  fellow-labourer  of  man,  cp.  Cic.  N.  D.  ii.  63  tanfa  putabatur  tttilitas 
percipi  ex  bulms,  ttt  eorniii  visccrihiis  vesci  scclits  liabcrctur.  aureus,  as 
ruler  of  the  golden  age. 

541.  spatiis  (the  circuits  of  a  race-course)  goes  with  immensum, 
'boundless  in  its  circuits.'  The  metaphor  is  from  a  chariot-race.  '  But  now 
I  have  finished  my  course  over  the  boundless  plain.' 

542.  MSS.  vary  between  fumantia  and  spit  man  tia  ;  the  former  seems 
more  appropriate. 


M  2 


i8o  GEORGTCS  11  L      i,  2. 


NOTES   TO   BOOK  III. 

The  subject  of  this  book  is  the  care  of  the  different  animals  which  are 
required  by  the  farmer.  After  a  lengthy  introduction  (1-48),  in  which 
Virgil  promises  at  some  future  time  to  write  an  epic  poem  in  honour  of 
Augustus,  he  proceeds  to  treat  first  of  horses  and  cattle.  The  choice  of 
cows  and  stallions  for  breeding  purposes  is  discussed  (49-122);  directions 
are  given  for  the  treatment  of  sire  and  dam  before  breeding,  and  of  the 
mothers  when  with  young  (123-156);  the  rearing  of  calves  and  foals  is 
described  (157-208);  and  an  account  of  the  effect  of  the  sexual  passion 
upon  bulls  and  horses  (209-241)  leads  the  way  to  a  long  digression  upon 
love  (242-285),  which  concludes  this  portion  of  the  poem. 

Sheep  and  goats  (in  Latin  fccitdcs  as  opposed  to  anncnta,  or  horses  and 
cattle)  are  next  treated  of.  The  mode  of  tending  them  in  winter  and  in 
summer  respectively  (286-338)  suggests  another  digression,  in  which  an 
African  shepherd's  summer  and  a  Scythian  shepherd's  winter  are  described 
(339-383).  Then  follow  directions  about  rearing  flocks  for  wool  or  milk 
(3S4-403);  a  few  remarks  about  dogs  (404-413),  and  the  necessity  of 
killing  serpents  (414-439);  a  description  of  the  diseases  of  sheep  (440- 
473) ;  and  finally  a  long  account  of  a  murrain  among  animals  in  Noricum 
(474  to  end\  which  is  appended  in  imitation  of  Lucretius'  celebrated 
description  of  the  Athenian  plague  in  the  sixth  book  of  the  '  De  Rerum 
Nalura.' 

1-48.  This  introduction  seems  to  have  been  written  in  the  year  29  B.C., 
a  year  of  general  holiday  and  public  honour  to  Augustus.  Its  tone  of 
unmixed  exultation  corresponds  to  that  of  the  introduction  to  G.  i,  and  to 
llor.  Od.  ii.  9,  which  is  thus  a  companion  passage.  Professor  Nettleship 
('Ancient  Lives  of  Vergil,'  p.  59)  suggests  (from  11.  10,  11)  that  it  may 
have  been  written  in  Greece,  and  if  so,  that  it  may  have  been  written  on  the 
journey  referred  to  by  Horace  in  Od.  i.  3,  which  cannot  be  harmonised 
chronologically  with  the  only  recorded  visit  of  Virgil  to  Greece  in  19  B.C. 
But  on  the  other  hand  the  allusion  to  Greece  in  11.  10,  1 1  may  be  merely 
allegorical.     See  Introd.  p.  7. 

1,  2.  Pales,  a  rustic  Italian  deity ;  see  on  Eel.  v.  35.  pastor  ab 
Aiuphryso,  '  shepherd  from  Amphrysus,'  i.  e.  Apollo,  who,  when  banished 
from  heaven,  was  said  to  have  fed  the  flocks  of  Admetus,  king  of  Thessaly, 


GEORGICS  III.     3-20.  181 

on  the  banks  of  the  Amphrysus.    Iiycaei, '  Arcadian,'  from  Mount  Lycaeus 
in  Arcadia,  the  abode  of  the  rustic  god  Pan. 

3,  4.  '  All  other  themes  that  might  have  charmed  our  leisure  thoughts 
with  their  spell  are  hackneyed  now.'  carmine,  the  MSS.  vary  between  this 
and  canni/ia :  the  ablative  is  perhaps  preferable. 

5.  illaudati,  '  infamous,'  by  litotes,  as  illactabilis  Aen.  iii.  707,  iiiaina- 
hilis  vi.  428.     Busiris  was  a  king  of  Egypt  who  sacrificed  strangers. 

6.  cui,  dative  of  agent  with  passive  participle — a  poetical  usage. 
Latonia,  because  Latona  there  gave  birth  to  Apollo  and  Artemis. 

7.  iimero  eburno,  the  ivory  shoulder  substituted  for  that  eaten  by  the 
gods,  when  Pelops  was  served  up  by  his  father  at  a  banquet. 

8.  acer  equis  (abl.  of  respect),  'a  driver  keen.'  Pelops  was  said  to  have 
won  his  bride  Hippodame  in  a  chariot  race  at  Olympia  with  her  father 
Oenomaus. 

9.  virum.  volitare  per  ora,  'float  on  the  lips  of  men,'  a  phrase  ex- 
pressive of  undying  fame,  taken  from  Ennius'  epitaph  on  himself.  Nemo 
me  lacrimis  decoret,  7tec  ftine7-a  Ji'etu  Faxit.  Cur'  volito  vivus  per  ord 
virum.  It  is  repeated  Aen.  xii.  235  vivusque  per  ora  fcretur.  Some 
translate  '  before  the  faces  of  men : '  but  Virgil  probably  intended  the 
words  to  have  the  same  meaning  as  in  Ennius. 

10  sqq.  In  this  allegory  Virgil  seems  to  promise  an  heroic  poem  imder 
the  image  of  a  temple  to  the  glory  of  Rome  and  of  Augustus ;  representing 
himself  as  an  intellectual  victor  returning  in  triumph  from  a  campaign  in 
Greece  with  the  captive  Muses.  In  the  plain  of  Mantua,  beside  his  native 
Mincius,  he  will  build  his  temple  of  song,  and  celebrate  it  with  games  and 
shows  that  will  rival  those  of  Greece.  The  deity  enshrined  within  will  be 
Augustus ;  the  subjects  of  its  decoration  his  recent  triumphs,  and  the  mythic 
ancestry  of  the  Julian  line.  When  Virgil's  fame  as  a  rural  poet  has  been 
established  (11.  40-45)  he  will  then  be  able  to  pass  to  Caesar's  triumphs. 

10.  11.  primus,  Virgil  will  be  the  first  to  do  for  his  country  what  the 
Greek  poets  did  for  Greece,  deducam.,  'bring  home  in  triumph.'  Aonio 
vertice,  i.e.  from  Helicon,  the  abode  of  the  Muses,  in  Aonia,  a  part  of 
Boeotia. 

12.  Idumaeas,  a  literary  epithet,  Idumaea  being  famous  for  its  palm- 
trees,  palmas,  a  palm-branch  was  carried  by  the  victorious  general  at  his 
triumph. 

13.  templum,  it  was  of  course  a  common  practice  to  dedicate  temples 
after  a  victur\-. 

14.  propter  aqiiam,  like  the  temple  of  Zeus  by  the  Alpheus,  at  Olympia. 
ingens,  '  wide  ; '  the  Mincio  spreads  into  a  lake  near  Mantua. 

16.  in  medio,  i.e.  in  tjie  central  shrine;  see  above  on  1.  10. 

17.  At  these  imaginary  games  the  poet  with  his  purple  robes  is  the 
presiding  officer,  corresponding  to  the  praetor  with  his  striped  toga. 

18.  agitalio,  will  cause  to  be  driven,  by  iiislituting  the  games. 

19.  20.  mihi,  'at  my  bidding,'  ethic  dative.     Alpheum,  the  river  in 


1 82  GEORGICS  III.      21-36. 

Elis,  near  which  the  Olympian  games  were  held,  lucos,  i.e.  the  Nemean 
forest,  where  the  shepherd  Molorchus  entertained  Hercules.  These  games 
are  to  be  an  improvement  even  on  those  of  Olympia  and  Nemea.  In  other 
words,  Virgil's  heroic  poem  will  surpass  the  highest  achievements  of  the 
Greeks,     crudo,  '  of  raw  hide.' 

21.  caput  ornatxis,  for  the  constr.  see  on  Eel.  i.  55.  tonsae,  '  trim,'  as 
Aen.  V.  556,  774,  apparently  a  regular  epithet  for  an  olive  garland.  Priests 
and  conquerors  wore  such :  and  Virgil  here  presents  himself  in  both  capacities. 

24,  25.  '  Or  how  the  scene  shifts  with  change  of  front,  and  how  the 
embroidered  Britons  lift  up  the  purjile  curtain.'  Dramatic  exhibitions  form 
part  of  the  show,  versis  frontibus,  one  way  of  changing  the  scene  in 
Greek  and  Roman  theatres  was  by  means  of  triangular  prisms  (TrtpiaKroi) 
at  each  end  of  the  stage,  which  revolved  upon  a  pivot,  and  so  presented 
a  different  surface  to  the  spectators.  In  this  way  the  scene  at  each  end 
of  the  stage  miglit  be  altered.  The  contrivance  was  called  scae/ia  vcrsilis 
in  Latin.  toUant  aulaea,  the  curtain  or  drop-scene  in  the  ancient  theatres 
was  raised  tip  from  the  stage,  and  not  lowered,  as  with  us.  Here  the  figures 
embroidered  on  the  curtain  are  fancifully  said  to  lift  it  up. 

27.  Gangariduni,  Indians  near  the  Ganges;  referring  to  the  defeat  of 
Antony's  Eastern  allies.     Quirini,  Komulus  as  representing  Rome. 

28,  29.  undautem,  etc.  'surging  with  war  and  rolling  in  full  tide.' 
magnum,  masculine,  adj.  used  abverbially,  like  saxosiis  sonans  G.  iv. 
370.  ITilum,  tlie  reference  is  of  course  to  the  war  with  Antony  and  Cleo- 
patra, navali  .  .  .  columuas,  'columns  built  high  with  the  bronze  of 
ships,'  i.e.  coltimnac  rostratac,  or  columns  erected  in  honour  of  naval  vic- 
tories, which  were  adorned,  according  to  Roman  custom,  with  the  prows  of 
captured  ships. 

30,  31.  Kiphaten,  a  mountain  of  Armenia.  Later  Roman  poets  (e.  g. 
Lucan,  iii.  245)  took  it  for  a  river :  but  there  is  no  need  to  suppose  that 
Virgil  made  the  same  mistake,  as  pulstim  ('routed')  might  be  applied  to  a 
mountain  as  well  as  a  river,  versis,  '  shot  backwards,'  according  to  the 
Parthian  mode  of  warfare.  Augustus  received  the  submission  of  the  Ar- 
menians, and  recovered  the  standards  from  the  Parthians,  in  B.  C.  20.  We 
must  therefore  suppose  either  that  these  lines  were  added  after  the  com- 
pletion of  the  poem,  or  that  they  were  general  and  prophetic  in  their 
character. 

32,  33.  These  lines  perhaps  refer  to  the  Morini  (a  tribe  of  Belgic  Gaul, 
twice  conquered,  by  Julius  Caesar  and  again  by  C.  Carrinas)  and  the 
Dalmatians  (subdued  hj  Vatinius  45  B.C.  and  by  Octavianus  34  B.C.).  Both 
appeared  in  the  triumph  of  B.C.  29.  Cp.  Propertius,  iv.  8.  53  Proseqiiar  et 
ciirnis  iilroqiic  ah  litorc  ova)ilcs.  Some  consider  the  ^^'estern  \ictory  re- 
ferred to  as  that  over  the  Canlabri,  B.C.  24,  supposing  the  passage  to  have 
received  later  touches. 

34-36.  There  shall  be  statues  of  the  Trojan  ancestors  of  the  Julian 
family,  Tros  son  of  Jupiter,  Assaracus  son  of  Tros,  and  others;  and  also  of 


GEORGICS  III.     37-71.  183 

Apollo  (Cynthius,  from  Cynthus  a  mountain  of  Delos),  who  with  Neptune 
built  Troy.  Parii  lapides,  statues  of  Parian  marble,  spirautia,  '  breath- 
ing,' '  life-like.'     nomina,  '  the  mighty  names.' 

37.  invidia,  i.e.  the  enemies  of  Augustus. 

38.  metuet,  shall  be  represented  '  as  fearing.'  angues,  the  notion  of 
Ixion  bound  with  snakes  to  his  wheel  is  peculiar  to  Virgil. 

39.  saxum,  the  \a.a^  avaih-q^  (Od.  xi.  598)  of  Sisyphus. 

41.  intactos, '  virgin  '  glades,  i.e.  a  subject  yet  untried,  iussa,  accusative 
in  apposition  to  the  whole  clause.  Maecenas  had  urged  Virgil  to  write  the 
Georgics. 

43,  44.  He  is  about  to  treat  of  cattle,  horses,  etc.,  and  he  expresses  this 
poetically  by  saying  that  he  is  called  by  Cithaeron  (mountain  in  Boeotia, 
abounding  in  beasts),  by  the  hounds  of  Taygetus  (mountain  in  Spaita, 
whose  dogs  were  famous),  and  by  Epidaurns  (noted  for  horses). 

45.  '  And  the  shout  rings  back  redoubled  by  the  echoing  woods.' 

46.  dicere,  infin.  of  purpose,  a  poetical  usage;  op.  Aen.  i.  527  Libycos 
populare  Penates  venit)ius,  Hor.  Od.  i.  2.  S  pecits  egit  altos  visere  niontcs. 
accing'ar,  middle,  '  I  will  gird  myself.' 

48.  '  As  many  as  those  which  separate  Caesar  from  the  birth  of  Tithonus.' 
Tithonus,  a  Trojan  prince,  brother  of  Priam ;  not  a  direct  ancestor  of  the 
Julian  family. 

50.  fortes  ad  aratra,  '  strong  to  plough.' 

51,  52.  corpora,  not  periphrastic,  as  1.  69  ;  '  the  mother's  shape  must  be 
his  special  care.'  torvae,  '  grim-looking.'  turpe,  '  ugly.'  plnrima, 
'  burly '  (Sidg.\ 

56,  57.  '  Nor  should  I  object  were  she  marked  with  white  spots  (maculis 
et  albo,  hendiadys),  or  shy  of  the  yoke  and  sometimes  mischievous  with 
her  horns.' 

58.  ardua  tota,  '  her  whole  body  tall.' 

60.  iustos,  '  regular ; '  cp.  instits  exereitiis.  aetas  pati,  '  age  for  en- 
during,' like  tcnipus  tegcre  G.  i.  213.  The  construction,  which  is  common 
in  Greek  but  rare  in  Latin,  is  a  natural  one,  the  infinitive  having  been 
originally  the  dative  of  a  verbal  substantive.  For  the  hiatus  and  Greek 
rhythm  see  Introd.  p.  18. 

63.  siiperat  =  .wc/tVY^/.     laeta  iuventas,  '  lusty  youth,' 

64.  mitte  primus,  '  be  the  first  to  send.' 

66-68.  '  Poor  mortals  that  we  are,  our  brighter  days  of  life  are  ever  first 
to  fly  ;  on  creeps  disease  and  the  gloom  of  old  age  ;  suffering  sweeps  us  off, 
and  the  ruthless  cruelty  of  death.'  On  the  pessimism  of  Virgil's  tone  here 
see  i.  99. 

69-71.  '  Constantly  there  will  be  those  whom  you  would  gladly  exchange : 
constantly,  then,  renew  them  ;  and  lest  you  should  lament  your  losses  when 
too  late,  forestall  them,  and  choose  out  a  supply  of  young  ones  for  your  herd 
every  year.'  ciuarum  corpora,  periphrastic  for  tjitas.  enim,  here  merely 
a  particle  of  emphasis  ;  see  on  ii.  509. 


I  §4  GEORGICS  III.      73-]  o 


/' 


73,74.  summittere,  'rear,'  fee  on  Eel.  i.  46.  in  si-)em  gentis,  'for 
breeding.'     a  teneris,  '  from  foals,'  like  a  pucris,  etc. 

75,  76.  '  From  the  first  a  colt  of  high-mettled  stock  steps  high  in  the 
pasture  and  brings  his  feet  down  daintily'  (mollia,  predicate'.  Ennius, 
Ann.  545,  has  iiwllia  crura  rcponiiiit  of  the  high  springy  action  of  cranes 
M'alking  :  cp.  Xen.  de  Re  Eq.  x.  4  ra  OKkXri  lypa  fxeTeupi^ei.  ingreditTir, 
for  the  lengthening  of  the  final  syllable  see  Introd.  p.  16. 

80.  argutum,  'neat,'  'clean  cut.'  The  word  properly  =  ' clear '  (from 
root  ARG,  'bright'),  and  is  used  in  very  various  senses,  such  as  'quick,' 
'  lively,'  '  shrill,'  etc.  brevis  alvus,  etc.  'his  barrel  short,  his  back  well- 
fleshed.' 

81-83.  honesti,  etc.  'The  best  are  bay  and  grey;  white  and  dun  are 
the  worst.'  spadices,  from  anaSis,  the  Doric  for  a  palm-branch,  gilvo, 
the  word  is  the  same  as  the  Germ.  '  gelb,'  and  Engl.  '  yellow.' 

84.  micat  .  .  .  artus,  '  he  pricks  his  ears,  and  his  limbs  quiver.'  auri- 
bus,  abl.  of  instrument ;  artus,  accusative  of  the  part,  micare,  of  quick 
movement :  cp.  viiccirc  digitis,  of  the  sudden  movement  of  the  hands  in  the 
game  mora. 

85.  premens,  '  compressing  the  gathered  fire : '  so  most  MSS.  The 
word  suggests  that  the  fiery  breath  is  like  the  suppressed  forces  of  a  volcano. 
The  other  reading  isfrenicus,  '  snorting.' 

87.  duplex,  'hollow,'  i.e.  sunken  between  a  double  ridge  of  flesh; 
opposed  to  exstans. 

89.  Amyclaei,  of  Amyclae,  in  Laconia,  where  Castor  and  Pollux  were 
born. 

91.  Martis  equi,  Horn.  11.  xv.  119;  curriis  Achilli  (i.e.  his  team, 
Xanthus  and  Balius"),  xvi.  148.  Achilli,  contracted  from  Achilici,  gen.  of 
Achilleus  ('Axi^Xfvs),  declined  as  a  Latin  substantive  in  -us.  So  Ulixi 
(Eel.  viii.  70)  from  Ulixctis. 

92-94.  effnndit,  so  the  best  MSS.;  cffitdit  most  editions,  to  agree  with 
iinplevit :  but  there  is  no  need  for  the  change,  coniugfis,  Rhea,  to  hide 
from  whom  his  amour  with  Philyra,  Saturn  changed  himself  and  Philyra 
into  horses. 

95.  hunc  qiiociue,  'even  such  a  horse  as  this.' 

96.  abde  domo,  '  shut  him  up  at  home.'  nee  turpi,  etc.  '  favour  not 
his  dishonourable  age,'  i.e.  suffer  him  not  to  breed  when  he  is  too  old. 

98.  ad  proelia,  sc.  Veneris. 

99.  quondam,  'at  times,'  a  frequent  use. 

101.  hinc,  'next,'  i.e.  after  looking  to  their  age.  artes,  'qualities.' 
prolem  parentum,  '  the  breed  of  their  parents.' 

104.  corripuere,  '  swallow  up  the  ground,'  an  expressive  phrase  to 
denote  great  speed.  So  corripere  viain  Aen.  i.  41S,  viain  vorare  CatuU. 
XXXV.  7,  'i"d  Shakespeare's  'devour  the  way.' 

105-107.  '  N\  hen  tlie  drivers'  hopes  are  raised  high,  and  eager  throbbing 
drains  their  bounding  hearts  :   furiously  they  ply  the  whirling  lash,  bending 


GEORGICS  in.      111-148.  185 

forward  to  slack  the  reins  :  on  spins  (volat  vi)  the  glowing  axle'  haurit, 
the  violent  excitement  '  exhausts  '  their  heart.  '<rer\iere=JIagt'!/o,  abstract 
for  concrete,  torto,  not  'twisted,'  but  'whirled  about.'  dant  lora,  ihe  reins 
being  passed  round  the  driver's  body,  he  would  lean  for^vard  to  slacken 
them. 

111.  umescunt,  cp.  II.  xxiii.  3S0  Uvoiri  5'  Evfxrikoio  /xerdippevov  ilpU  t 
w^ct)  QfppLfT,  Soph.  El.  718  'Op-ov  yap  d/Mpl  vwra  koX  rpoxuji'  fidaeis  ''H<ppt^oi', 
ilffi^aWov  imriKal  irvoai. 

113,  114.  Urichthonius,  an  Athenian  king,  rapidusque,  etc.  '  and 
stand  above  the  wheels  as  he  rushed  to  victory'  (Kenn.). 

115-117.  Pelethronii,  so  called  from  a  glade  on  Mount  Pelion.  gyros, 
the  '  ring '  for  breaking  horses  in  (Gk.  kvkXos).  atque  equitem,  etc.  '  and 
taught  the  armed  horseman  to  prance  upon  the  soil  and  gather  up  his  proud 
paces'  (i.e.  a  prancing  action).  The  ridei  is  said,  rather  artificially,  to 
do  what  the  horse  docs. 

118,  119.  uterque  labor,  the  task  of  training  chariot  horses  (11.  1 13-1 14) 
or  chargers  (11.  11 5-1 18).  exquirunt,  i.  e.  for  breeding  purposes.  "Whether 
you  wish  to  breed  horses  for  riding  or  driving,  the  sire  must  be  young  and 
spirited. 

120-122.  ille,  '  the  veteran,'  i.e.  the  old  horse,  once  victorious,  but  now 
too  old  for  breeding.  Epirum,  noted  for  its  horses ;  so  G.  i.  59  {^inittit , 
p"lmas  Epiros  cquaniiu.  HSycenas,  the  capital  of  ''Apyos  IttttoPotov  as 
Homer  calls  it.  Neptunique,  etc.  '  and  traces  his  descent  from  Neptune 
himself.'  Neptune  was  said  to  have  produced  the  first  horse,  by  striking 
the  earth  with  his  trident. 

123,  124.  sub  tempus,  '  as  the  time  draws  on.'  deuso  pingxii,  '  firm 
plumpness.' 

126.  florentes,  '  flowery,'  i.e.  clover,  etc. 

127,  128.  stiperesse,  'be  equal  to,'  lit.  'be  above.'     ieiunia,  ' leanness. ' 
129.  armenta,  i.e.  'the  mares,'  with  whom  a  different  treatment  is  to  be 

pursued. 

133,  134.  i.e.  in  summer,  during  the  threshing  time. 

138.  cadere,  '  cease.' 

140-142.  plaustris,  probably  dative  of  indirect  reference,  non  sit 
passus,  'no  one  would  permit'  (potential  subj.).  carpere,  'scour  the 
plain.'     superare,  '  clear'  the  road  at  a  bound. 

143-145.  pascunt,  '  men  pasture  them.'  teg'ant,  procubet,  final  subjs. 
after  ubi.  saxea  umbra,  cp.  Isaiah  xxxii.  2  '  the  shadow  of  a  great  rock  in 
a  weary  land.' 

146-148.  Silarus,  a  river  between  Lucania  and  Campania,  north  of  the 
mountain  Alburnus.  volitans,  '  insect,'  pres.  part,  used  as  substantive, 
rare  except  with  a  few  words  such  as  amaiis,  adolcscens,  etc.  vertere 
vocantes,  '  have  called  it  in  their  tongue.'  verto,  strictly  of  translation 
from  one  language  to  another,  as  I'laut.  Trin.  [uol.  19  Philcino  scripsil, 
Flaitltis  vortit  barbarc. 


i86  GEORGICS  III.      149-181. 

149-151.  asper,  acerba  sonans,  'fierce,  harshly  buzzing;'  Virgil 
imitates  Lucr.  v.  33  asper  acerba  tiuns  (of  the  dragon  of  the  Hesperides\ 
acerba,  adverbial  ace,  as  crebra  1.  500.  furit,  etc.  '  the  air  is  stunned  and 
maddened  with  their  bellowings;'  cp.  Aesch.  Sept.  155  lopn'ivaKJos  aWrip 
imiiaiviTai.  sicci  heightens  the  picture  of  the  cattle's  sufferings  ;  the 
stream  to  which  they  run  is  dried  up  by  heat.  The  Tanager  was  a 
tributary  of  the  Silarus  (1.  146). 

152.  exerctiit,  '  gave  play  to.' 

153.  Inachiae  iuvencae,  '  the  heifer  of  Inachus,'  i.  e.  lo,  daughter  of 
Inachus,  beloved  by  Jupiter,  and  changed  into  a  heifer.  She  was  pursued 
by  a  gad-fly  sent  by  Juno. 

155.  pecori  armeutaqtue,  for  the  hiatus,  see  Introd.  p.  18. 

158.  'Forthwith  they  brand  on  them  marks  to  denote  the  stock;'  hen- 
diadys,  like  maailis  insignis  ct  alho  1.  56  above. 

159-161.  quos  malint,  '  to  mark  those  they  wish,'  etc.  indirect  in- 
terrogative depending  on  the  idea  of  '  distinguishing '  which  is  implied  in 
the  previous  line,  summittere,  'rear,'  as  1.  73  above,  pecori  habendo, 
'  for  breeding  stock.'  quos  is  object  of  servare,  subject  of  scindere.  hor- 
xentem,  of  the  '  rough  appearance'  of  a  ploughed  field. 

162.  cetera,  the  cattle  intended  for  breeding  or  killing  will  be  left  to 
graze  :  those  intended  for  work  on  the  fann  must  be  trained  at  once. 

164,  165.  viamque,  etc.  '  set  out  on  the  path  of  discipline,  while  their 
spirits  are  yet  pliant  and  their  youth  may  be  led.' 

166.  circles,  'collars,'  for  circidos,  only  found  in  this  place. 

168,  169.  ipsis  .  .  .  pares,  '  yoke  them  together  in  pairs,  and  fasten 
them  by  the  collars  themselves.'  torquibus,  the  same  as  the  circll  jubt 
mentioned.  These  light  make-believe  collars  are  to  be  still  used,  instead 
of  the  real  yoke.  a.sXos  =  aptaios,  as  Aen.  iv.  482  uxe/n  .  .  .  stcllis  cirden- 
iibus  aptutn. 

170.  illis,  dat.  of  agent  after  passive  verb — a  poetical  construction. 
rotae  inanes,  '  empty  carts '  or  perhaps  merely  wheels  without  a  body. 

171.  vestigria,  the  tracks  of  the  wheels;  sig-nent,  sc.  ro/ac.  'Just 
marking  the  wheel-track  on  the  surface  of  the  dust.'  The  carts  or  wheels 
are  so  light  as  to  leave  little  trace  behind. 

173.  iunctos,  joined  to  the  pole. 

175.  vescas,  'thin,'  'poor;'  cp.  iv.  141  vesaiin  piipavcr,  Lucr.  i.  326 
vesco  sale  saxa  pci-csa  ('the  small  fine  spray,'  see  Munro,  ad  loc),  Ovid, 
Fast,  iii.446  vcscaquc parva  vocani,  Plin.  N.  H.  vii.  81  coipore  vesco,  exii/iiis 
viribus  ;  the  two  latter  passages  being  decisive.  Gellius,  deriving  from  ve, 
csca,  makes  it  = '  voracious  '  in  Lucretius  and  '  edible '  in  Virgil :  but  the 
etymology  of  the  word  is  uncertain. 

176.  frumenta  sata,  'standing  corn  '  (Con.). 

180,  181.  The  scenery  of  the  Olympic  games  was  near  the  river  Alpheus 
in  Elis,  not  far  from  the  city  Pisa.  Close  by  was  a  grove  of  Jupiter, 
called  Altis. 


GEORGICS  III.      182-217.  187 

182.  '  The  horse's  first  task  is  to  endure  the  sight  of  warlike  rage  and 
martial  weapons,'  etc. 

187-189.  'And  these  trials  let  him  endure  (audeat,  so  Gk.  rXijuai)  when 
first  banished  from  his  mother's  teat,  and  after  them  yield  his  mouth  to  an 
easy  halter  (of  osier,  so  mollibus,  'pliant'),  ere  his  full  strength  comes, 
whilst  he  is  still  fearful,  still  ignorant  of  life.'  invalidus,  for  the  quantity 
see  Introd.  p.  1 7.  etiam  here  retains  its  etymological  sense  '  even  now,' 
'  yet,'  as  Aen.  vi.  485  etiam  ctirjtis  etiam  ariiia^  tenenteni.  inscms  aevi, 
'ignorant  of  life,'  'inexperienced.'  This  is  perhaps  the  simplest  way  of 
taking  the  phrase.  Other  explanations  are  (i)  'ignorant  of  his  powers;' 
(2)  '  in  unconscious  youth,'  '  ignorant  in  respect  of  his  youth,'  aevi  being 
then  geii.  of  reference,  like  aevi  niatiinis  Aen.  v.  73. 

190.  '  But  when  three  summers  have  passed  and  the  fourth  has  come,' 
i.  e.  at  the  end  of  three  years  when  the  fourth  is  beginning,  which  agrees 
with  Varro  and  Columella. 

191,  192.  '  Let  him  begin  to  pace  the  ring,  his  steps  resounding  in 
regular  time,  and  bend  his  pliant  limbs  in  succession  and  show  himself 
under  restraint.'  gyrum,  see  on  1.  115  above,  laboranti,  of  forced  or 
artificial  effort. 

194.  vocet,  '  challenge.' 

196.  densus,  '  strong,'  '  with  concentrated  force,'  or  perhaps  '  thick ' 
with  clouds. 

197.  difFert,  '  spreads  abroad  '  Scythian  tempests  and  rainless  '^arida 
clouds,  the  north  wind  being  a  dry  one. 

198.  campi  natantes,  'liquid  plains,'  i.e.  the  sea,  as  Lucr.  vi.  1142  ; 
cp.  Aen.  vi.  724  cainpos  liquentes. 

201.  ille,  Aquilo  himself,  i.  e.  the  real  storm.  We  have  first  the  clouds 
overspreading  the  sky,  then  gentle  rustlings  on  land  and  sea,  then  long 
breakers,  and  finally  the  fury  of  the  blast. 

202-204.  hie,  'a  horse  like  this,'  seems  more  forcible  than  the  v.  1.  liiitc. 
Elei  campi,  i.  e.  at  the  Olympian  games  in  Elis.  molli,  '  gentle,'  '  docile.' 
esseda,  British  '  war-chariots '  (Caes.  B.  G.  iv.  33,  etc.),  ascribed  by  Virgil 
to  the  Belgae  as  by  Persius  to  the  Germans  (vi.  47).  They  were  adopted 
by  wealthy  Romans  (Prop.  ii.  i .  76  esseda  caelatis  siste  Brit  anna  iugis)  \ 
and  Virgil  probably  here  refers  to  high-bred  carriage  horses. 

205.  crassa  farragfine,  '  thick  mash,'  a  mixture  of  spelt,  barley, 
vetches,  and  pulse. 

206.  ante  domandiim,  '  before  taming  them,'  the  gerund  being  equiva- 
lent to  a  verbal  substantive;  so  Eel.  ix.  24  inter  agendum. 

208.  verbera  lenta,  'the  pliant  lash.'  lupatis  {sz.frenis),  a  bit  with 
iron  projections  like  a  wolf's  teeth. 

213.  The  intervening  hill  excludes  the  view ;  the  breadth  of  the  stream 
prevents  crossing  (Con.). 

214.  satura,  '  well-stored.' 

215.  urit,  'consumes.'     vidcndo,  '  by  the  sight ;'  see  on  1.  206  above. 


1 88  GEORGICS  III.     217-264. 

217.  ilia,  use  of  the  pronoun  to  repeat  and  emphasize  the  subject,  common 
in  Virgil :  see  on  G.  ii.  4.^5.  Some  editors,  less  probably,  place  a  full  stop 
at  herbae,  and  connect  ilia  ciuidem  with  subigit,  et  then  being  =  '  even.' 
219.  Sila,  a  wooded  range  in  South  ItalJ^  The  MSS.  mostly  read  silva  : 
but  the  V.  1.  Sila  is  mentioned  by  Servius  ;  and  the  fight  between  bulls  in 
Aen.  xii.  715-722,  which  is  modelled  on  the  present  passage,  takes  place 
ingenti  Sila  summove  Taburno. 

223.  long'us  Olympus,  '  the  wide  heavens,'  a  phrase  suggested  by 
Homer's  fxaKpos  "OKv/xttos,  which  however  means  '  the  high  mountain 
Olympus.' 

226,  227.  'Bewailing  sore  his  shame,  the  haughty  victor's  blows,  and 
his  lost  love  unavenged.'  victoris,  subjective  gen.  amores,  of  the 
beloved  object,  as  Catull.  xlv.  i  Aanen  Septimius,  suos  amores,  Tenens. 

230.  'AH  night  long  he  rests  on  unstrewn  couch  among  the  hard  rocks.' 
pernox,  this  reading  is  attested  by  two  ancient  commentators,  but  the  MSS. 
give  pernix.  Some  editors  retain  pernix,  rendering  it  'stubborn,'  'perse- 
vering' iper-Jiifor).  'Qui  pernix  regidarly  means  'swift:'  and  pernox  is 
so  much  more  appropriate  than  even  the  suggested  sense  oi  pernix,  that  it 
seems  better  to  adopt  it.  instrato,  '  unstrewn,'  the  only  example  of  this 
meaning  :  but  the  ordinary  signification  '  spread '  is  impossible  here. 

232.  irasci  in  cornua,  '  throw  his  wrath  into  his  horns,'  a  powerful 
phrase,  imitated  from  Eur.  Bacch.  742  tls  icipas  9vii.ovfi.tvoi,  and  repeated 
Aen.  xii.  104. 

234.  '  Scatters  the  sand  in  prelude  to  the  fight.' 

236.  sigfna  movet,  '  marches  out,'  a  military  term. 

237-239.  'As  a  wave,  when  it  begins  to  whiten  out  at  sea  medio 
ponto),  draws  on  from  the  further  deep  its  curving  swell ;  and  as,  when  it 
has  rolled  to  shore,  it  thunders  over  the  rocks.'  longiiis  ex  altoque, 
'  from  afar  and  from  the  deep,'  go  together.  It  is  clearly  wrong  (with 
some  editors)  to  place  the  comma  after  longius. 

242.  A  hypermetric  line  :  see  Introd.  p.  19. 

246.  viilgo,  '  far  and  wide.' 

249.  erratur,  impers.  "tis  ill  wandering.' 

251.  notas  odor  attulit  auras,  a  characteristic  Virgilian  inversion  for 
the  natural  iiotiim  odorcm  attulcrtint  aiirae. 

256,  257.  prosubigit,  'roots  up  before  him;'  p7-o  denotes  forward 
action,  as  in  proculco.     The  first  atque  couples  fricat  and  durat. 

258  foil.  The  allusion  is  to  the  story  of  Leander,  who  was  drowned  in 
swimming  across  the  Hellespont  to  visit  the  maiden  Hero. 

259.  abruptis,  '  broken  forth  :'  so  rupto  tw-binc  Aen.  ii.  416. 

261.  porta  caeli,  a  Homeric  image  (cp.  II.  v.  749  T^'^\ai  jxvkov  ovftavov"  •, 
the  sky  being  the  palace  of  heaven,  whose  gates  open  to  discharge  the  thunder. 

263.  super,  '  on  his  corpse,'  rather  than  = /;/j«/^;-. 

264.  lynces,  they  drew  the  car  of  Bacchus,  along  with  tigers,  variae, 
'  spotted.' 


GEORGICS  III.      26^-2,0"].  189 

267.  Glaucus,  son  of  Sisyphus,  kept  mares  at  Potniae  in  Boeotia,  and 
would  not  allow  them  to  breed.  Venus  therefore,  to  punish  him,  drove 
them  mad,  and  they  devoured  him. 

269,  270.  Gargara,  a  part  of  Mount  Ida  in  the  Troas.  Ascanius, 
a  lake  and  river  in  Bithynia. 

275.  The  theory  of  the  impregnation  of  mares  by  the  wind  was  commonly 
believed  among  the  ancients,  and  is  mentioned  by  Aristotle,  H.  A.  vi.  19. 

277,  278.  '  The  mares  fly  not  to  the  East,  (but)  to  the  North  or  South.' 
Aristotle  says,  Oiovai  5«  ovre  tt^os  'iw,  ovre  npbs  Svcr^ay,  dWa  vpos''ApKTOv  ^ 
NoTor.  Virgil  omits  the  West :  perhaps  he  was  following  a  different 
authority. 

280.  vero  nomine,  probably  Virgil  merely  means  that  hippomanes 
(horse-madness)  is  rightly  so  called,  though  some  suppose  that  he  intends 
to  imply  that  this  is  the  r^^/ hippomanes,  as  opposed  to  the  tubercle  on  the 
foal's  forehead  (mentioned  Aen.  iv.  515),  which  was  also  called  hippo- 
manes. 

286-288.  armentis  includes  horses  and  oxen,  agitare,  '  treat '  or 
'sing  of;'  cp.  Juv.  i.  52  /lacc  ego  non  agitem?  ('handle  these  themes'). 
hie  labor,  '  this  is  now  my  task.' 

289.  This  and  the  ne.xt  four  lines  are  partly  imitated  from  Lucret.  i.  136 
foil.,  922  foil,  animi  dubius,  'doubtful  in  mind:'  animi  in  this  sense 
occurs  very  frequently,  not  only  after  adjectives,  but  also  with  verbs,  such 
as  excruciare,  fallere,  etc.  It  should  probably  therefore  be  regarded,  not 
as  a  gen.  of  reference,  biit  as  a  survival  of  an  old  locative  case,  vincera, 
•treat  successfully,'  'overcome  the  difficulties  of  the  subject. 

293.  devertitur,  as  Con.  observes,  suggests  the  idea  of  a  bye-path 
of  the  poet's  own  making. 

296.  dum  reducitur,  '  till  it  returns  ; '  dwn  with  the  present  in  this 
sense  is  rare  ;  cp.  Ter.  Haut.  iv.  7.  5  Tu  hie  110s,  dtim  exiinus,  opperibcre. 

299.  turpes  podagras, '  noisome  foot-rot ; '  the  plural  perhaps  denoting 
two  kinds  of  diseases  in  the  feet,  called  by  Columella  clavi. 

300.  Mnc  digrressus,  'leaving  the  subject'  (of  sheep). 

303.  olim,  'at  times,'  as  Aen.  v.  125  iunditw  olim  Fluetihis.  cum 
dim  could  hardly,  as  Con.  suggests,  stand  for  olim  eum,  '  at  that  time  when.' 

304.  Aquarius,  'the  Water-bearer,'  one  of  the  constellations  of  the 
zodiac.  It  set  in  Februarj- — the  rainy  season,  and  the  end  of  the  old 
Roman  year. 

305.  baec  (i.  e.  eaprae)  is  the  older  form  of  nom.  fem.  pi.  found  in  best 
MSS.  of  Cic.  Tnsc.  and  Ue  Off.,  as  well  as  in  Plautus,  Terence,  and 
Lucretius  ;  in  whose  time  (says  Munro  on  vi.  456)  it  must  have  been 
the  usual  form.  The  vv.  11.  haee  .  .  .  Uie7iJa  and  ]iae  tuemiae  were  due  to 
ignorance  on  the  part  of  the  copyists. 

306.  307.  The  fleeces  of  Miletus  and  the  dyes  of  Tyre  were  especially 
famous.  Tyrios  incocta  rubores,  '  dyed  \\  ith  Tyrian  scarlet :  '  for  the 
constr.  see  on  Eel.  i.  55. 


190  GEORGICS  III.     308-340. 

308.  hinc,  from  goats. 

309.  quam  mag-is,  an  old  idiom  found  frequently  in  Plautus,  e.  g,  Trin. 
iv.  2.  19  quam  viagis  .  .  .  minus,  Men.  i.  I.  19  quam  magis  .  .  .  tanto 
a7-tms.  Quam  with  comparative  gave  way  to  quo  in  classical  Latin ;  but 
qttafn  with  superlative  survived. 

312.  Cinyphii,  the  river  Cinyps  in  Libya  was  noted  for  a  breed  of  long- 
haired goats,     tondent,  '  men  shear,'  the  subject  being  easily  supplied. 

313.  The  reference  is  to  certain  coarse  hair-cloths  called  cilicia  (made 
specially  from  the  hair  of  Cilician  goats,  hence  the  name\  which  were  used 
for  fishermen's  garments,  soldiers'  tents,  etc. 

314.  pascuntur,  having  the  sense  of  a  transitive  verb,  takes  an  accusa- 
tive.    Iiycaei,  the  mountain  in  Arcadia. 

316.  ipsae,  'of their  own  accord.' 

317.  The  spondaic  first  foot,  followed  by  a  pause,  expresses  the  slow 
approach  of  the  heavily-laden  goats. 

319.  curae  mortalis,  '  man's  care.' 

320.  virg'ea,  '  of  twigs,'  i.  e.  the  arbutus  mentioned  1.  301  above. 

323.  utrumque  greg'em,  sheep  and  goats,  mittet  is  found  in  only  one 
of  the  best  MSS.,  the  rest  having  mittes.  But  the  run  of  the  sentences 
is  so  much  superior  with  mittet,  that  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  it  is 
the  correct  reading. 

325.  carpamus,  '  let  us  traverse.' 

327,  328.  '  But  when  the  fourth  hour  of  the  day  shall  have  brought  on 
thirst  and  the  cicalas'  plaintive  note  thrills  every  thicket  through.'  quarta 
hora,  i.  e.  about  ten  o'clock,  sitim  colleg'erit,  lit.  '  gathered  thirst  : '  so 
frigus  colligere,  'catch  cold.'  collegerit,  rumpent,  because  thirst  will 
have  been  already  contracted  by  the  fourth  hour,  but  the  cicalas  will  go  on 
chirping. 

332.  sicubi,  'wheresoever,'  lit.  'if  anywhere;'  ctihi  {quo-hi)  being  the 
old  form  of  ubi  and  locative  of  quis,  cp.  alicubi.  tendat,  accubet  are 
subj.  in  oblique  interrogations  implied  after  exquirere,  '  to  find  out  where.' 
lovis  antique,  for  the  lengthening  of  the  short  syllable  see  Introd. 
pp.  16,  17. 

335.  tenues,  a  '  thin '  or  '  shallow  '  stream  of  water,  such  as  would  run 
in  the  wooden  troughs  (1.  330).  Others  explain  it  as  a  perpetual  epithet  of 
water,  owing  to  its  '  penetrating '  powers. 

337.  iam  roscida,  'now  dewy,'  dew  being  supposed  to  come  from  the 
moon. 

338.  alcyonem,  acalanthida,  cognate  accusatives,  like  rcsonare  Atnaryl- 
lida  Eel,  i.  5  :  '  echo  with  the  halcyon's  song.' 

340.  raris  .  .  .  tectis,  '  the  huts  in  which  they  live  in  scattered  dwell- 
ings,' an  artificial  Virgilian  expression  for  'their  scattered  hut  dwellings.' 
For  a  description  of  these  huts  see  Sail.  Jug.  18.  8  aedifuia  Numidarum 
agrestium,  quae  inapalia  illi  vocanl,  oblouga,  incitrvis  hiteribns  tccta,  quasi 
navitim  carinae. 


GEORGICS  III.     343-380.  19 1 

343,  hospltiis,  '  place  of  shelter/  i.  e.  no  regular  shelter,  as  opposed  to 
movable  tents,  tantum  campi  iacet,  'so  vast  the  expanse  of  plain/ 
accounts  for  the  absence  of  hospitia. 

345.  The  '  Spartan  '  hound  and  '  Cretan '  quiver  are  conventional  literary 
epithets,  here  rather  inappropriate. 

346-348.  '  So  the  stout  Roman,  armed  in  native  fashion,  makes  his  march 
beneath  a  crushing  load,  and,  ere  he  is  looked  for,  has  pitched  his  camp  and 
stands  in  column  before  the  foe.'  iniusto,  '  excessive.'  The  Roman 
legionary,  besides  his  armour,  carried  a  supply  of  food,  a  valliini,  and 
entrenching  tools,  hosti,  ethic  dative,  denoting  the  person  affected,  ex- 
pectatiuu,  neut.  pass,  participle  used  as  substantive  :  see  on  G.  ii.  398. 

349.  at  non,  'but  not  (in  this  way  do  they  act)  where,'  etc. 

350.  turbidus  with  torciuens,  'rolling  turbidly  :'  see  on  1.  28  above. 

351.  'And  where  Rhodope  turns  round  and  stretches  towards  the  very 
north ; '  i.  e.  the  range  of  Rhodope  first  runs  eastwards,  then  bends  round 
towards  the  north,  medium  =  z/^j?/;;/,  the  centre  of  a  thing  being  the  very 
thing  itself:  so  j/iediimi  mare  Eel.  viii.  58,  mediae  Mycenae  Aen.  vii.  372. 

354.  informis,  '  shapeless,'  all  outlines  being  hidden  by  deep  snow. 

355.  septeni  .  .  .  ulnas,  '  rises  seven  ells  high.'  The  earth  is  poetically 
said  to  rise,  when  its  height  is  increased  by  the  snow. 

357-359.  Imitated  from  Hom.  Od.  xi.  15  foil.  ovU  nor'  avrovs  'HiXios 
<paeOwv  KarabipKirai  aKTivtaaiv,  Ovd'  ottot'  av  aTiix'']<Ti  rrpos  oxipavov  aarc- 
pofvra,  Ov6'  or   av  aip  tirt  yatav  an'  ovpavuOiv  irpoTpaTrrjTat. 

360.  subitae  crustae, '  a  sudden  film.' 

362.  '  That  once  welcomed  ships,  now  welcomes  broad  wains.'  For  the 
pleonastic  use  of  ilia  see  1.  217  above,  and  see  on  G.  ii.  435. 

363.  aera,  '  bronze  vessels.'     vulgfo,  '  commonly,' '  often.' 

364.  indutae,  '  on  the  back.'  umida  vina,  '  the  liquid  wine,'  i.  e.  the 
wine  which  is  usually  liquid. 

365.  lacunae,  '  pools.' 

367.  '  Meanwhile  it  snows  as  hard  (as  it  freezes,  non  setius)  the  whole 
air  through.' 

368-370.  '  The  herds  perish,  huge-limbed  oxen  stand  buried  in  snow, 
the  deer  are  huddled  together,  all  numbed  with  the  unwonted  mass  (of 
snow),  and  their  horns  scarce  projecting.' 

372.  '  The  scare  of  scarlet  feathers,'  i.  e.  scarlet  feathers  fastened  to  a 
rope,  and  suspended  at  the  outlets  of  a  wood  so  as  to  drive  the  game  back. 
The  technical  name  for  the  contrivance  was  formido,  '  a  scare.' 

373.  montem,  the  mass  of  snow. 

376.  Cp.  Aesch.  Prom.  V.  452  Karoipux*^  ^'  tvaiov,  war  dijavpoi  Mvp- 
firjKts,  avTpojv  kv  /ti^xoiJ  dvrjXiots  (of  the  barbarism  from  which  Prometheus 
raised  men). 

377.  A  hypermetric  verse  ;  see  Introd.  p.  19. 

380.  '  And  imitate  draughts  of  wine  with  yeast  (i.  e.  with  beer)  and  acid 
service-berries  (i.  c.  a  kind  of  cider).'    fermento  plainly  refers  to  beer  ;  ])ut 


192  GEORGICS  III.      381-412. 

whether  Virgil  supposes  yeast  to  have  been  used,  or  cm^Aoy?,  fcrjiiottiin!  as 
=  '  fermented  grains,'  is  not  clear. 

381.  septem  .  . .  trioni  (by  tmesis  for  septemtrioui),  '  the  North.'  The 
name  septcmtriones  (i.  e.  the  seven  ploughing  oxen)  was  first  given  to  the 
Great  Bear,  becaiTse  the  seven  bright  stars  of  which  it  is  composed  were 
supposed  to  resemble  seven  oxen.  Then  a  new  word  scptcmtrio  was  formed, 
meaning  either  '  the  Great  Bear '  or  '  the  North.' 

382.  The  INIontes  Kbipaei  were  part  of  the  Ural  range,  in  South  Russia. 

383.  velatur  corpora,  middle  use  of  the  passive  verb  ;  see  on  Eel.  i.  55. 
384,385.  silva,  'growth.'      lappaeque,   for  the    scansion    see  Introd. 

p.  17.  laeta,  'luxuriant.'  Briars  would  tear  the  wool,  rich  fodder  would 
make  it  coarse. 

386.  continue,  '  at  once.' 

388.  tantuni,  '  only  so  much  as.' 

391.  According  to  one  legend  Pan  induced  the  Moon  to  follow  him 
by  changing  himself  into  a  ram  with  a  splendid  white  fleece.  According  to 
Virgil's  version  the  inducement  seems  to  have  been  a  present  of  a  fleece. 

395.  ipse  manu,  'with  his  own  hand,'  as  being  an  important  thing 
to  see  to. 

397.  et  sails,  etc.  '  and  reproduce  a  subtle  flavour  of  salt  in  their  milk.' 

398,399.  etiani  excretes  =  ' even  as  soon  as  born'  {excrdos  a  viatre 
from  excerno).  etiani  is  much  better  for  rhythm  than  the  other  reading 
iatn,  and  is  found  in  one  of  the  best  MSS.  prima,  adverbial,  '  from  the 
first.'  capistris,  '  muzzles,'  with  iron  points,  to  prick  the  mother  and 
make  her  drive  the  kid  awaj'. 

400-403.  'The  morning's  milk  is  made  into  cheese  (premunt)  at  night; 
the  evening's  milk  is  sent  off  to  the  town  next  morning '  (probably  in  the 
form  of  cheese  or  curds,  though  Virgil  does  not  tell  us  this) ;  '  or  else  salted 
and  stored  up  for  future  use '  (this,  though  only  stated  of  cheese  made  from 
the  evening's  milking,  really  applies  to  both),  adit  oppida  pastor  is 
thrown  in  parenthetically  to  explain  exportant  calatMs — a  cumbrous 
interpolation,  to  avoid  which  Scaliger  suggested,  and  Wagner  and  Ribbeck 
have  adopted,  exportans.  But  if  exportans  be  read,  the  balance  of  the 
clauses  seems  to  require  a  colon  at  lucem  (supplying  premunt') ;  and  then 
exportans  calathis  adit  oppida  pastor  makes  an  almost  equally  abrupt 
parenthesis. 

405.  Molossum,  a  breed  of  large  dogs  from  Epirus,  the  Molossi  being  a 
tribe  in  Epirus.  Hor.  Epod.  vi.  5  aut  Molossiis  ant  fulvtis  Lacon,  Arnica 
vis pasforibus  ('the  shepherds'  sturdy  friend  '). 

406.  sero  pingui,  '  fattening  whey.'  custodibus  illis,  abl.  of  cir- 
cumstance, '  with  these  to  guard  you.' 

408,  409.  The  mention  of  Spanish  brigands  iHitoeros")  and  of  wild 
asses  ''onagros),  which  were  never  known  in  Italy,  instances  the  vague 
localisation  of  Mrgil's  precepts. 

412.  ag-ens,  '  in  the  chase.' 


GEORGICS  III.     415-449.  193 

415.  galbanum,  '  gum '  from  a  Syrian  plant,  the  smell  of  which  was 
disliked  by  serpents,    graves,  '  dangerous.' 

416.  imiuotis,  '  if  undisturbed.'  mala  tactu,  'bad  in  the  touching' 
(Greek  d'an-Toj)  i.  e.  '  that  none  may  touch.'  The  words  and  rhythm  reflect 
Lucr.  ii.  408  Omnia  postreino  bona  sensibus  et  mala  tactu  ;  where,  however, 
it  = '  unpleasant  to  the  touch  : '  see  note  to  Eel.  x.  54. 

420.  fovit  humum,  '  has  nestled  on  the  ground.' 

421.  colla,  ace.  of  the  part. 

422-424.  '  Now  deep  in  flight  he  has  hidden  his  craven  head,  slackening 
the  while  his  central  coils  and  the  writhing  extremity  of  his  tail,  and  his 
last  fold  drags  its  slow  coil  along.'  The  snake  on  being  struck  down 
wriggles  into  a  hole,  the  folds  of  its  body  gradually  uncoiling  as  it  eaters. 
agmina,  of  a  moving  line  ;  so  Aen.  ii.  212,  v.  90  (of  a  serpent's  motion), 
V.  211  (of  the  sweep  of  oars),  ii.  782  (of  a  river's  flow),  and  the  ordinary 
use  for  an  army  on  the  march. 

425.  ille  (as  Aen.  x.  707,  xi.  809^  'the  snake  we  wot  of,'  i.e.  the  chcrsy- 
drus,  a  large  water-snake  common  in  Calabria. 

430.  hie,  i.  e.  by  the  banks  of  the  stream. 

431.  improbus  here  denotes  excess,  see  on  G.  i.  119:  'satiates  the 
glutton  craving  of  his  black  maw.'  ingluviem,  properly  the  crop  of  a 
bird. 

434.  asperque,  etc.  'savage  with  drought  and  maddened  by  the 
heat.' 

435.  ne  is  preferable  to  the  v.  1.  nee  on  account  of  ncu  which  follows, 
the  use  of  ncc  in  prohibitions  being  questionable,  except  in  archaic 
formulae. 

436.  dorso  nemoxis,  'a  wooded  ridge,'  cp.  Hor.  Sat.  ii.  6.  91  pracnipti 
nemoris  dorso. 

437-439.  Two  of  these  lines  are  repeated  Aen.  ii.  473-475.  exuviis, 
*  the  cast-off  skin '  or  '  slough.'  catulos  aut  ova  is  either  a  vague  expres- 
sion for  the  serpent's  young  (or  brood),  or  a  recognition  of  the  fact  that 
snakes  are  viviparous  as  well  as  oviparous,  though  the  chersydrus  belongs 
to  the  latter  class.  The  notion  of  the  snake  bringing  up  its  young  is 
imaginary.  Unguis,  instrum.  abl.  ore,  local  abl.  trisnlcis,  the  serpent's 
tongue  is  really  two-forked. 

441-443.  iibi,  etc.  '  when  chilling  rains  or  winter's  crisp  hoar  frost  have 
pierced  them  to  the  quick.' 

448.  tristi  amurca,  '  sour  oil-lees.' 

449.  spumas  argenti,  'scum  of  silver,'  i.e.  a  scum  which  forms  on  the 
surface  of  silver,  or  lead  and  silver,  when  melted,  vivaque  sulphura, 
a  strong  example  of  an  hypermeter,  cp.  G.  ii.  69  arbutus  Jiorrida,  and  see 
Introd.  p.  19.  The  M8S.  mostly  give  et  sulphura  viva:  but  vivaque 
sulphura  is  attested  by  Servius  and  other  ancient  grammarians,  and  is 
doubtless  the  right  reading,  the  other  having  been  introduced  to  remove  the 
anomalous  metre. 

N 


194  GEORGICS  III.     450-476. 

450.  Idaeas  pices,  '  pitch  from  Ida.'  Mount  Ida  was  celebrated  for  its 
pines,    pingfues  imgtiine, '  greased  with  oil '  (so  as  to  be  soft  and  yielding). 

451.  graves,  'noxious.' 

452-454.  '  Yet  there  is  no  more  sovereign  remedy  for  the  disease  than 
when  one  has  managed  to  cut  open  the  head  of  the  sore :  concealment  feeds 
the  taint  and  makes  it  live.'  praesens,  'efficacious,'  'helpful,'  usually  in 
this  sense  of  the  gods,  whose  presence  was  necessary  if  they  were  to  give 
aid.  fortuna,  a  '  successful  chance '  of  dealing  with  the  disease  (Gk. 
Kaipos) — rather  an  artificial  use  of  the  word.  Some  editors  translate 
'  their  toils  have  no  more  prompt  success,'  latoorum  then  denoting  the  efforts 
of  the  shepherds,     teg'endo,  lit.  '  by  covering;'  see  on  G.  ii.  239. 

458.  omnia  (so  most  MSS.  and  Servius)  is  quite  intelligible  on  the  analogy 
of  such  phrases  as  onmia  fausta  prccari  (cp.  Hor.  Od.  i.  18.  3  siccis  omnia 
iiavi  dura  dcus  proposuit) ;  though  omina,  the  reading  of  most  editions, 
would  perhaps  be  '  less  colloquial  and  more  poetical '  (^Con.\  For  the 
idea  of  sedet  .  .  .  posceus  cp.  the  fable  of  Hercules  and  the  waggoner, 
and  the  French  proverb,  Aidc-toi,  et  Ic  del  faida'a. 

459.  inter  ima  pedis,  '  between  the  hoofs.' 

461,  462.  Bisaltae,  a  Thracian  tribe  near  the  Strymon  ;  Geloni,  a  Scy- 
thian tribe  ;  Rhodope,  a  mountain  in  the  south-west  of  Thrace  ;  Getae,  a 
tribe  in  the  north-east  of  Thrace,  bordering  on  Scythia.  The  Thracian  flies 
to  Bhodope,  the  Scythian  to  the  deserta  Getanim ;  tliough  the  expres- 
sion is  such  that  1.  462  appears  to  apply  to  Gclomis  alone. 

463.  The  practice  of  drinking  '  milk  curdled  with  mare's  blood '  is 
ascribed  to  the  Spaniards  by  Horace  (Od.  iii.  4.  34',  and  to  the  Massagetae 
by  Statins  (Achill.  i.  307). 

464-467.  '  If  you  notice  a  sheep  withdrawing  too  often  to  the  luxury  of 
shade,  too  idly  nibbling  at  the  topmost  grass,  coming  home  the  last,  or 
tumbling  down  while  grazing  in  the  field,  and  retiring  all  alone  before  the 
late  approach  of  night  .  .  .'     procul,  'apart  from  the  others.' 

468.  culpani  .  .  .  compesce,  '  check  the  mischief  with  the  knife,' 
i.  e.  kill  the  sheep,  cnlpam,  etc.  is  introduced  instead  of  the  proper 
antecedent  to  quani  (1.  464). 

470,  471.  '  Not  so  swiftly  over  the  main  sweeps  the  storm-laden  squall, 
not  so  swiftly  as  the  thousand  plagues  of  cattle.'  The  comparison  is 
mainly  (as  Con.  suggests)  between  the  rush  of  a  storm-wind  and  the  quick 
speed  of  disease ;  but  tarn  creber  .  .  .  qiiam  multae  also  introduces  the 
idea  of  frequency. 

472.  aestiva  (properly  a  military  term),  'summer  quarters,'  i.e.  the 
stock  in  them. 

473.  spernqtie  gregfemqiie,  i.  e.  agnos  cum  matrihus  (Serv.). 
474-476.   sciat,  sc.  tola  aestiva  correpla,  etc.     ITorica,  Noricum  was 

the  country  between  the  Danube  and  the  Alps,  the  modern  Carinthia, 
Slyria,  etc.  castella  in  tnnmlis,  '  hill-forts,'  i.  e.  the  fortified  villages  of 
Alpine  tribes.     lapydis,  '  Illyrian,'  from  the  lapydes,  a  tribe  of  111}  ricum, 


GEORGICS  III.     478-514.  195 

through  which  Timavns  flowed  into  the  Adriatic,  post  t'xn.to  =  taii/o  post, 
'  so  long  afterwards.' 

478,  479.  '  Here  once  from  tainted  skies  arose  a  season  of  sad  ruin, 
blazing  with  the  full  force  of  the  autumn's  heat.' 

482-485.  'Nor  was  there  a  uniform  road  to  death  ;  but  when  fiery  thirst, 
coursing  through  every  vein,  had  drawn  their  wretched  limbs  together,  there 
was  a  fresh  overflow  of  fluid  moisture  absorbing  piecemeal  into  itself  the 
whole  frame  dissolved  by  pestilence.'  nee  simplex,  the  meaning  is,  not 
that  there  were  more  ways  than  one,  but  that  the  disease  passed  througli 
two  contrary  stages,  fever  and  liquefaction,     sitis,  poetical  for  '  fever.' 

486,  487.  honore,  '  sacrifice,'  as  often  in  Virgil,  infula,  '  a  fillet '  or 
'  flock  of  wool,'  knotted  at  intervals  along  '  a  riband '  ^^vitta)  and  bound 
round  the  head  of  priests  and  victims.  Here  nivea  vitta  is  descriptive 
abl.  with  infula ;  '  while  the  woollen  fillet  with  its  snowy  band  is  being 
fastened  on.' 

490.  inde,  'from  that  animal.'  fibris,  certain  'filaments 'in  the  liver, 
important  in  divination  :  here  for  the  '  entrails  '  in  general.  The  refusal  of 
the  flame  to  kindle  was  a  bad  omen. 

492.  suppositi,  because  the  knife  was  applied  from  below  to  the 
victim's  throat. 

493.  'A  few  drops  of  blood  just  stain  the  surface  of  the  sand.' 

494.  495.  laetis  ('  luxuriant ')  and  plena  praesepia  heighten  the  pic- 
ture ;  the  animals  die  in  the  midst  of  plenty,     vulgo,  'everywhere.' 

496,  497.  blandis,  '  fawning;'  catuloruiiL  hlanda propago  Lucr.  iv.  99S. 
faucitous  an^t  obesis,  'stops  the  breath  in  their  swollen  throats'  (Con.). 

498.  infelix  studiorum,  '  hapless  in  the  end  of  his  pursuits,'  lit.  '  in 
respect  of  his  pursuits,'  i.  e.  his  races  and  victories  are  cut  short  by  death. 
Gen.  of  reference,  like  integer  vitae,  seri  studiorum,  etc.  It  seems  more 
natural  to  take  the  words  together  than,  with  some  editors,  to  join  studi- 
orum with  immemor,  '  forgetful  of  the  race.' 

499.  avertitur,  'shuns;'  constructed  with  accus.  Kara  avvtaiv,  like 
Greek  dtroaTptfeaOai,  cp.  vi/n  exit  Aen.  v.  438,  and  similar  constructions 
w  ith  evade  re,  egredi,  entinpere,  etc. 

500-502.  ibidem,  \.&.  auribus;  'a  fitful  sweat  breaks  out  thereon — a 
sweat  (ille  quidem)  all  chill  as  death  draws  nigh  ;  the  skin  is  dry,  and 
hard,  and  unyielding  to  the  touch.' 

504.  crudescere,  'increases  in  virulence;'  so  of  a  battle  growing  hotter, 
Aen.  vii.  788,  xi.  833. 

506,  507.  g"enxitu,  modal  abl.  with  gravis ;  '  tlie  breath  deep-drawn, 
sometimes  with  a  heavy  groan  ;  and  they  strain  their  inmost  vitals  with  a 
long-drawn  sob.' 

508.  obsessas,  '  choked.' 

509.  inserto,  in  their  mouth. 

511-514.  '  Soon  even  this  (the  remedy  of  wine)  brought  destnxction ; 
tiiey  were  fired  with  new  strengtli  of  madness,  and  even  in  the  weakness  of 

N  3 


196  GEORGICS  III.     515-557. 

death  (Heaven  send  the  good  a  better  fate,  and  like  madness  to  our  foes  !) 
they  tore  and  rent  their  own  flesh  with  bare  teeth.'  nudis  adds  to  the 
vividness  of  the  picture  :  the  horse  bares  its  teeth  to  devour  its  own  flesh. 

515.  duro  fiimans  sub  vomere,  '  smoking  under  the  weight  of  the 
toilsome  plough-share.' 

518.  fraterna  morte,  with  niaerenteni,  '  sorrowing  for  his  comrade's 
death.'  This  seems  better  than  to  take  it  witli  abiungens  as=/}v?//r 
viortiio. 

522.  electro,  'amber.'  In  Aeii.  viii.  402  it  is  a  metal,  explained  by 
Pliny,  H.  N.  xxxiii.  4.  23,  as  a  natural  mixture  of  one  part  silver  to  four 
parts  gold  ;  its  name  being  due  to  its  resemblance  to  the  pale  brightness  of 
amber. 

522-524.  at  ima,  etc.  '  But  his  flanks  below  are  slackened,  dullness 
weighs  down  his  heavy  eyes,  and  earthward  bends  his  neck  with  drooping 
weight.' 

527.  epulae  repostae,  i.  e.  banquets  constantly  replenished,  banquets  of 
many  courses,  '  sumptuous.' 

529.  exercita  ciirsu,  '  rapid-rolling.' 

531.  tempore  non  alio,  '  never  before.' 

532,  533.  ciuaesitas,  '  sought  in  vain,'  cp.  Hor.  Od.  iii.  24.  32  Stibla/a/n 
ex  oculis  quaerimus  hividi.  Iiinonis,  we  know  from  Ildt.  i.  31  that  at 
Argos  the  car  of  the  priestess  of  Juno  was  drawn  on  solemn  days  by  white 
kine  :  and  Virgil,  viore  stio,  transfers  this  practice  to  another  scene,  uris, 
'  buffaloes.'  imparibus,  even  the  buffaloes  were  ill-matched,  donaria, 
'shrines;'  strictly,  temple  treasure-chambers  where  offerings  were  kept,  as 
Lucan.  ix.  516  Noii  illic  Lihycac  posua-tint  ditia  gcntcs  Templa,  iiec  Eois 
splendent  donaria  gemmis. 

534.  rimantur,  '  scratch.' 

536.  contenta,  '  straining,'  a  Lucretian  use  of  the  word. 

537.  insidias  explorat,  '  prowls  in  ambush,'  lit.  '  sjjies  out  an  ambush,' 
a  subtle  Virgilian  phrase,  for  the  ordinary  explorat  locum  insidiaruin. 

543.  proluit,  '  washes  in  front  of  it,'  i.  e.  '  washes  up.'  insolitae,  the 
epithet,  which  would  be  more  natural  with  fliimina,  is  transferred  to  the 
seals,  in  Virgil's  manner. 

545.   astantibns,  'upstanding,'  i.e.  raised  in  terror. 

548-550.  nee  .  .  .  que,  '  not  only  not .  .  .  but ;'  so  ovn  ...  re.  mutari 
pabula,  i.  e.  a  change  of  food,  quaesitae,  '  when  applied  to.'  artes, 
'  the  physician's  skill.'  ma^istri,  sc.  art  is  mcdendi.  Chiron,  son  of  Philyra 
and  Saturn,  and  Melampus,  son  of  Amythaon,  arc  mylliic  representatives 
of  the  healing  art,  which  Lucretius,  in  his  description  of  the  plague  of  Athens, 
represents  as  itself  baffled- — nmssabat  tacito  JMcdicina  tiniorc  (vi.  1 1 79). 

552.  Tisiphone,  one  of  the  Furies,  personifies  divine  vengeance  inflicting 
disease  and  death  in  penalty  for  sin. 

556,  557.  Cp.  Lucr.  vi.  1144  Indc  catervatiin  inorbo  mortiqiie  dabantiir. 
dat,  sc.  Tisiphone.     clilapca,  'dissolving,'  cp.  11.  4S4,  485  above. 


GEORGICS  III.      559-566,  197 

559,  560.  'For  the  flesh,  none  could  cleanse  it  with  water,  or  master  it 
with  flame,'  i.  e.  it  was  impossible  to  cleanse  or  cook  it  for  man's  use. 
viscera  abolere,  properly,  'to  destroy  the  flesh,'  appears  to  mean  '  destroy 
the  taint  in  the  flesh,'  and  so  '  cleanse.'  Some  editors  take  the  meaning  to 
be  that  the  carcases  were  too  numerous  to  be  destroyed  with  fire  or  water. 
This  would  give  a  more  natural  meaning  to  abolere  :  but  the  context 
plainly  shows  that  Virgil  is  speaking  of  the  impossibility  of  using  the 
carcases. 

561  foil.  The  wool  can  neither  be  shorn  ; tondere',  nor  woven  (telas 
atting-ere^,  nor  worn  (amictus). 

565,  566.  sequebatur,  'coursed'  or  'trickled  over.'  sacer  ignis,  the 
Latin  name  for  an  eruptive  disease  somewhat  like  erysipelas. 


198  GEORGICS  IV.      1-15. 


NOTES   TO   BOOK   IV. 


The  siibject  of  the  fourth  book  is  the  management  of  bees.  The  proper 
position  of  the  hive  is  first  described  (1-50),  then  the  manner  of  swarming 
(51-66),  followed  by  directions  as  to  how  to  deal  with  swarms  (67-14S). 
Then  comes  an  account  of  the  character  and  habits  of  bees  (149-227), 
of  the  mode  of  collecting  the  honey  (228-250),  and  of  the  diseases  to  which 
bees  are  liable  (251-2S0).  The  artificial  generation  of  bees  is  next  explained 
(281-314);  and  the  book  concludes  with  a  long  episode,  in  the  epic  style, 
recoimting  how  this  method  was  revealed  to  Aristaeus. 

According  to  the  Pseudo-Donatus  the  book  originally  concluded  with  an 
encomium  on  Cornelius  Gallus  (the  Gallus  of  the  tenth  eclogue),  and  the 
story  of  Aristaeus  was  afterwards  substituted  at  the  request  of  Augustus. 
Gallus  was  for  four  years  prefect  of  Egypt,  but  incurred  the  displeasure  of 
Augustus,  was  exiled,  and  committed  suicide.  It  has  been  suggested  that 
the  mention  of  Egypt  as  the  place  where  the  artificial  generation  of  bees 
was  practised  (287  foil.)  may  have  led  the  way  to  the  praises  of  Gallus; 
and  the  suggestion  derives  some  confirmation  from  the  redundant  description 
of  the  Delta  in  11.  2S7-293,  where  see  note. 


1-7.  Invocation  to  Maecenas.  '  Next  will  I  set  forth  the  gift  divine  of 
heaven-sent  honey :  on  this  too,  Maecenas,  cast  an  eye.  In  your  ears  will 
I  sing  of  a  wondrous  drama  on  a  petty  stage,  of  chiefs  of  pride,  and  all  a 
nation's  character,  its  tastes,  its  peoples,  and  its  wars.  Slight  is  the  theme ; 
not  slight  the  poet's  fame  whom  unpropitious  powers  spare,  while  Phoebus 
hears  his  call.'  aerii,  referring  to  the  ancient  notion  that  honey  fell  down 
from  heaven  on  to  the  leaves,  and  was  thence  gathered  by  the  bees  :  see 
Eel.  iv.  30.  in  tenui,  i.e.  in  Icvibits  rclms.  laeva,  'unfavourable,'  as  Eel. 
i.  16,  Aen.  ii.  •;4,  x.  275.  Servius  and  some  editors  render  'favourable.' 
It  is  true  that  in  reference  to  augury  laevus  meant  '  favourable,'  omens  on 
the  left  hand  being  the  lucky  ones.  So  thunder  on  the  left  is  a  favourable 
sign  in  Aen.  ii.  693,  ix.  631.  But  the  general  sense  of  the  word  was  always 
'  unjiropitious.' 

9.  sit,  subj.  of  purpose. 

11.  insultent,  'trample  on.' 

13-15.  picti  terga,  for  the  construction  see  on  Eel.  i.  55.  squalentia 
here  s^cms,  =  stjttafiiosa,  'the  speckled  lizard  with  his  scaly  back.'  stabiilis, 
'their  liomes.'     lueropes,   '  Ijee-eaters '  (^I\Ti-ropc  apiaslcA.     Procne,  'the 


GEORGICS  IV.      17-50.  199 

swallow ; '  the  red  spots  on  whose  breast  were  fabled  to  be  blood-stains 
from  the  murdered  Itys,  Here,  as  in  1.  511  below,  Virgil  follows  the 
Roman  version  of  the  story  of  Tereus,  which  makes  Procne  the  swallow  and 
Philomela  the  nightingale.  The  Greeks  made  Procne,  Tereus'  wife,  the 
nightingale,  and  Philomela,  her  sister,  the  swallow.  x 

17-  nidis,  'nestlings,'  as  G.  i.  414. 

19.  tenuis,  '  shallow.' 

22,  23.  vere  suo,  'in  the  spring  they  love,'  cp.  Eel.  vii.  62  sua  laiirca 
rhocbo;  and  (ironically)  Cic.  Mil.  33.  89  Milone  occiso  Clodius  habtnsset 
siios  coiistiles  ('after  his  own  heart'),  Pis.  12.  27  sini?>!  Clodhim,  'his  dear 
Clodius.'  decedere,  '  to  retire  from  (lit.  before)  the  heat,'  cp.  G.  iii.  467 
serae  solam  decedere  nocti. 

25.  '  Towards  the  middle  of  the  stagnant  pool  or  flowing  stream,'  i.  e. 
the  stagna  or  rivKS  of  II.  iS,  19. 

29.  Neptuno, '  plunged  in  Neptune's  flood.'  Here,  as  elsewhere  through- 
out this  book,  there  is  an  amusing  irony  in  the  majestic  language  which 
Virgil  uses  in  describing  the  doings  of  bees. 

30,  31.  casiae,  '  casia,'  an  aromatic  shrub,  serpylla,  thymbrae, 
'savory,'  'thyme.'     graviter  spirantis,  'strong-scented.' 

32.  irrig-uum,  active,  '  watering.' 

34.  alvaria  (so  most  MSS.)  is  probably  correct ;  alviis,  not  alveiis,  being 
the  term  for  a  bee-hive,  and  alvarc  properly  '  a  place  for  bee-hives,'  then  a 
'  hive.'     Most  editors,  except  Ribbeck,  read  alvearia. 

36.  cogit,  '  congeals.'     liquefacta  remittit,  '  melts  and  thaws.' 

37-41.  neqtue  illae,  etc.,  '  nor  idly  do  they  vie  to  smear  with  wax  each 
slender  cranny  in  their  home  and  seal  the  doorway's  edge  with  pollen- 
bloom  of  flowers ;  storing  for  that  same  use  the  glue  they  gather,  stickier 
than  bird-lime  or  pitch  from  Phrygian  Ida.'  fuco  =  (i)  a  'sea-weed'  from 
which  a  dye  was  extracted;  (2)  'dye'  or  'colour,'  as  Hor.  Od.  iii.  5.  27 
ncqiic  aiiiissos  colorcs  Lana  7-efcrt  mcdicata  fiico  ;  (3)  '  disguise  '  or  '  pre- 
tence,' sine  fiuo  c't  fallaciis  Cic.  Att.  i.  i.  Virgil  here  seems  to  mean  the 
pollen,  or  coloured  dust  in  the  stamens  of  flowers  :  but  the  word  occurs 
nowhere  else  in  this  or  a  similar  sense,  fuco  et  floribus  by  hendiadys 
iox/iico  Jhnii/i.  gluten  apparently  denotes  Xhc  propolis,  a  reddish-brown 
glutinous  rosin,  gathered  by  bees  from  the  buds  of  wild  poplar  trees,  etc. 
and  employed  to  line  the  inside  of  the  hive  and  all  projecting  parts.  It 
clings  so  strongly  to  the  legs  of  those  who  gather  it,  that  others  have 
to  help  in  detaching  it ;  so  that  visco  lentius,  etc.  is  true. 

42-44.  effossis,  by  the  bees  themselves,  e.  g.  by  '  humble-bees.'  fovere 
lareni,  '  make  a  snug  home.' 

45,  46.  tamen,  i.  e.  though  the  bees  have  done  it  already ;  ct,  in  addiliou 
to  th(j  pro/o/is.     fovens,  '  making  it  warm.' 

47-50.  There  should  be  no  yew-trees  in  the  ncighbourliood  of  a  hive; 
crabs  should  not  be  burnt  near  it :  it  sliould  not  be  jdaced  in  a  marsliy 
i-pot,  or  ulicrc  there  is  au  echo. 


200  GEoncics  ir.    48-85. 

48.  cancros,  the  ashes  of  burnt  crabs  were  used  as  a  cure  for  certain 
diseases,  neu  crede,  'do  not  triist  the  marsh,'  i.e.  do  not  put  the  hive 
near  it. 

49,  50.  ubi  coucava,  etc.,  'where  the  hollow  rocks  ring  to  the  sound  as 
it  strikes  them,  and  the  echo  of  the  voice  leaps  back  from  the  shock.' 
ofieusa  imagro  is  not  strictly  accurate,  as  it  is  the  voice,  and  not  the  echo, 
which  strikes  against  the  rock. 

51,  52.  quod  superest,  '  moreover ; '  a  Lucretian  formula  of  transition. 

53-57.  '  They  wander  on  and  on  through  glade  and  woodland,  gathering 
the  harvest  of  all  bright  flowers,  and  sipping  the  water's  surface  upon  airy 
wing  (leves).  Hence  'tis  that  with  some  mysterious  joy  they  cherish  their 
young  at  home  (progreniem  nidosque,  hendiadys) ;  hence  deftly  forge  their 
wax  anew,  and  mould  their  clinging  honey.* 

58.  hiuc,  'hereupon.' 

59,  60.  The  '  host '  (ag-men)  and  the  '  dark  cloud  '  (obscuram  nubem) 
are  the  cluster  of  bees  when  swarming. 

62.  hue,  i.e.  on  the  tree  which  they  are  making  for.  iussos,  'which  I 
bid  you.' 

63.  melisphyUa,  '  balm.'     ceriuthae,  perhaps  a  kind  of '  savory.' 

64.  Matris,  Cybele,  whose  worship  was  accompanied  with  the  clash  of 
cymbals.     The  language  here  again  is  most  grandiloquent. 

65.  ipsae,  '  unbidden,'  '  of  themselves.' 

67.  ad  pugnam  is  emphatic,  '  but  if  it  be  for  battle  they  have  left  the 
hive.'  Some  make  the  apodosis  begin  at  1.  69  (but  que  is  against  this^- ; 
others  at  1.  77 ;  others  at  1.  86 :  but  it  seems  more  likely  that  Virgil  goes  off 
into  a  parenthesis  (nam  saepe,  etc.),  which  swells  into  a  descriptive  para- 
graph ;  and  the  sentence  remains  an  anacoluthon,  II.  86  sqq.  indicating 
what  the  apodosis  might  have  been. 

68.  regibus  with  iucessit,  'often  when  there  are  two  kings,  strife 
breaks  out  between  them.'  It  should  properly  be  queens ;  but  the  ancients 
mistakenly  supposed  the  queen-bee  to  be  a  king. 

69.  bello,  probably  abl.,  'with  war,'  rather  than  dat.,  'for  war.' 
70-72.  '  For  laggards  are  roused  by  a  martial  note  as  of  some  braying 

horn,  and  sounds  are  heard  that  imitate  the  trumpet's  fitful  blast,  fractos 
expresses  the  short,  irregular  blasts  of  the  trumpet,  as  opposed  to  a  con- 
tinuous sound. 

74.  '  They  sharpen  their  stings  with  their  beaks,  and  get  ready  their 
arms.'  Bees  do  not  sharpen  their  stings  with  their  proboscis,  but  the  notion 
may  have  arisen  (as  Sidg.  suggests)  from  their  habit  of  rubbing  their  bodies 
with  their  legs.  Others,  less  probably,  take  rostris  as  dat.  ('sharpen 
stings  for  beaks'),  or  as  =  7w/;wv//«  ('out  of  their  beaks  'V 

75.  praetoria,  the  Roman  general's  tent,  here  'tlie  royal  cell.' 
82.  ipsi,  the  two  kings. 

84,  85.  usque  adeo,  'right  up  to'  the  moment  of  defeat.  'Resolute  to 
flincli  not  to  the  Last,  till  a  crushing  victory  has  driven  one  side  or  other  to 


GEORGICS  IV.      86-123.  201 

turn  to  flight.'  For  obnixi  = '  firm  '  cp.  Aen.  iv.  332  obnixtts  ciirafn  sub 
corde  pre7)icbat ;  for  the  poetical  use  of  the  prolative  infinitive  cp.  Eel.  v.  i. 
duiu  subegit,  the  subjunctive  would  be  the  natural  constmction,  implying 
the  purpose  of  the  bees ;  but  the  result  is  here  regarded  as  an  accomplished 
fact :  cp.  Cic.  Verr.  i.  6  niansit  iisqtic  ad  ciun  finciii  diiiii  indices  reiecti  sunt. 

86,  87.  '  These  outbursts  of  the  soul,  this  awful  riot — 

Toss  up  a  pinch  of  dust,  and  all  is  quiet!'     (Blackmore). 

89.  prodigfus,  i.e.  consuming  food  without  return — 'lest  he  be  a  waste- 
ful encumbrance.' 

91-94.  '  The  one  will  flash  with  spots  rough  with  gold — for  there  are 
two  kinds,  the  choicer,  distinguished  in  look  and  bright  with  ruddy  scales ; 
the  other  squalid  from  sloth  drags  his  wide  paunch  ingloriously  along. 
melior,  for  the  quantity  see  Introd.  p.  1 7. 

96-98.  '  The  others  are  foul  and  ugly,  like  the  parched  traveller  when  he 
comes  from  the  dusty  road,  and  spits  the  earth  from  his  dry  throat.'  alto, 
'  lying  deep.'  The  appearance  of  the  inferior  bees  is  compared  to  that  of  a 
traveller  in  hot  dusty  weather;  not  to  his  spittle  (as  Con.  suggests).  The 
latter  detail  is  merely  added  to  heighten  the  picture  of  the  traveller  half 
choked  with  dust. 

99.  'Their  bodies  evenly  marked  with  glittering  drops  of  gold,'  lit. 
'  flashing  as  to  their  bodies  dyed  with  gold  and  symmetrical  drops.'  auro 
et  guttis,  hendiadys. 

100-102.  h.inc  =  ex  his  apibtis.  premes, '  strain '  (through  wickerwork, 
before  putting  into  jars'.  Bacchi  domitura  saporem,  referring  to  the 
Roman  drink  called  mtilsHiii,  a  kind  of  mead,  consisting  of  a  mixture  of 
wine  and  honey. 

103.  incerta,  'aimlessly.' 

104.  frigfida,  proleptic,  '  leave  their  hives  cold.' 

110,  111.  furum,  objective  gen.,  '  protector  against  thieves  and  birds,' 
Hellespontiaci,  because  worshipped  at  Lampsacus  on  the  Hellespont, 
Catull.  xviii.  The  bees  are  to  be  invited  into  gardens,  and  therefore  under 
the  protection  of  Priapus,  the  god  of  fertility,  whose  figure,  armed  with 
a  falx  saligna,  was  part  of  the  regular  furniture  of  a  garden, 

115.  plantas,  'shoots,'  or  'suckers:'  see  G.  ii.  23. 

116-119.  ni  iam  .  .  .  traham  .  .  .  canerem,  an  irregular  conditional 
sentence.  The  proper  tense  in  both  protasis  and  apodosis  would  be  the 
imperfect  subjunctive,  to  denote  a  present  condition  which  is  no  longer 
possible  ('  were  I  not  furling  ...  I  should  be  singing ').  For  the  sake  of 
vividness  and  variety  the  present  tense  is  substituted  in  the  protasis  ('  should 
I  not  furl '),  as  though  the  alternative  were  still  possible.  .So  Tibull.  i. 
S.  22  (quoted  by  Forb.)  ct  facerct  si  non  aera  rcpnlsa  soiieut.  Paestum,  in 
Lucania,  famous  for  roses. 

120-123.  intuba, '  endive,'  a  garden  plant,  not  the  wild  endive  or  succorv 
of  i.  r20.  The  cuciiniis  here  described  answers  to  the  cocoi/iero  serpentina, 
longer  than  the  common  cucumber,  with  a  crooked  neck  and  swollen  belly. 


202  GEORGICS  TV.      125-154. 

sera  comantem,  'late  flowering,'  adverbi.1l  use  of  ace.  of  neut.  adj.,  like 
accrba  sonaus  G.  iii.  149,  arbra  peril  500. 

125.  Oebaliae  arcis,  i.e.  Tarentum,  founded  by  a  Laconian  colony, 
Oebalus  being  a  mythical  king  of  Sparta:  so  Oebalii p-atrcs  (Castor  and 
Pollux)  Stat.  Silv.  iii.  2.  9,  Oebalii  amores  (of  Helen)  ib.  ii.  6.  27.  arcis, 
the  V.  1.  altis  is  read  by  most  editors — in  which  case  Oebaliae  is  a  name 
of  Tarentum,  not  elsewhere  found. 

127.  Corycium,  of  Corycus  in  Cilicia,  famous  for  gardens.  Pompey 
transported  some  of  the  Cilician  pirates  into  Calabria,  relicti  rtiris, 
'  waste  land.' 

128,  129.  ilia  with  segfes.  fertilis  iuvencis,  'fruitful  for  steers,'  i.e. 
'  fruitful  for  ploughing.'  Others  take  iuvencis  abl.  ('  fertile  with  the  toil  of 
oxen ') :  but  Virgil  seems  to  be  speaking  rather  of  what  the  land  might  be, 
than  what  it  luas.  seg-es,  '  land.'  It  was  suitable  neither  for  ploughing 
(iuvencis),  nor  for  pasture  (pecori),  nor  for  vineyards  (Baccho). 

130-133.  'Yet  here,  amid  the  brushwood,  he  planted  garden-stuff  at 
intervals  with  white  lilies  round  it  (circunil,  and  vervain,  and  fine  poppy 
seed,  matching  in  his  pride  the  wealth  of  kings;  and  home  returning 
late  at  night  loaded  his  table  with  a  feast  unbought.'  hie,  better  as  adverb 
than  pronoun,  premens,  as  in  G.  ii.  346.  vescuni,  'small,'  'fine,'  re- 
ferring to  the  size  of  the  poppy's  seeds.     See  011  G.  iii.  175. 

134.  carpere,  perhaps  better  taken  '^with  abiindare  1.  140)  as  historic 
infinitive,  than  as  depending  on  primus. 

135.  etiamnum  (a  variety  of  etiani  nunc :  cp.  l///u  and  liific),  '  was 
still  splitting,'  i.e.  before  the  spring  had  begun. 

137.  tondebat,  for  the  quantity  see  Introd.  p.  17. 

139.  apibus  fetis,  '  parent-bees.' 

140.  spumantia,  etc.  '  strain  the  foaming  honey  from  the  squeezed 
comb.'     Cp.  1.  loi  above. 

142,  143.  in  flore  novo,  'at  its  early  bloom,'  denoting  the  time,  ma- 
tiira,  sc.  po)na. 

144,  145.  ''Twas  he  too  planted  out  in  rows  elms  of  many  years,  the 
pear-tree  already  hardened,  and  sloes  with  fruit  upon  them,'  etc. — i.e.  he 
was  such  a  skilful  gardener  that  he  could  transplant  trees  much  later  than 
other  people,     versum,  cp.  Aen.  v.  119  (of  a  '  row  '  or  '  bank  '  of  oars'. 

147.  iuicLuis,  not  of  the  right  measure;  here  =  '  too  small,'  as  elsewhere 
(i.  64,  etc.)  too  large — ■'  barred  by  scanty  space  : '  cp.  Juv.  xiv.  1 26  servoniin 
ventres  modio  castigat  iniqiio. 

150.  addidit,  '  has  given  ; '  cp.  i.  129,  150,  513.  pro  qua  mercede,  '  to 
gain  which  recompense.'  The  story  was  that  as  Saturn  devoured  hi-; 
children,  Jupiter  was  hidden  by  his  mother  in  a  cave  in  Mount  Dicte  in 
Crete,  and  that  the  Curetes,  or  priests  of  Cybcle,  drowned  his  cries  with 
their  cymbals,  while  the  bees  fed  him  with  honey. 

153,  154.  '  They  only  have  community  of  offspring,  with  a  common  city 
for  their  linnie,  and  live  beneath  tlic  maje^t}-  of  law.'      colae,  ^  irpil  forgets 


GEORGICS  IV.     157-200.  203 

or  ignores  ants,  wasps,  etc.    consortia,  liere  '  shared  in  common,'  properly 
'  a  partner.' 

157,  158.  in  medium,  with  reponunt ;  '  store  up  their  gains  for 
common  use.'  victu,  dative  after  invigilaut,  '  watch  over  the  supply 
of  food.' 

159.  saepta  domorum,  'the  walls  of  their  A-wtWmg?,'  =  sat-ptas  donios. 
In  these  constructions  the  partitive  notion  often  disappears,  and  the  neut. 
adj.  merely  expresses  a  quality,  e.g.  strata  viarmn  Aen.  i.  422,  cxstnicta 
rogortim  Lucret.  vi.  1283. 

160.  lacrimam,  here  of  the  gum  which  exudes  from  plants  :  so  Aristot. 
H.  A.  ix.  40  (pfpovaai  tSjv  re  dXKaiv  avOeaiv  Koi  a-nb  rihv  bivtpaiv  ret  daKpva. 

162.  suspendunt ;  bees  begin  working  from  the  top  of  the  hive. 

165.  sorti,  probably  predicative  dative,  '  as  their  lot,'  like  curae  in  i.  178 
below.  Some  take  it  as  an  archaic  ablative,  '  by  lot,'  as  in  Liv.  xxix.  20 
sortz  evciiisset,  etc. 

169.  fervet  opus,  •  hot  glows  the  work  : '  cp.  Aen.  i.  436,  where  the 
present  passage  is  partly  repeated. 

170-175.  lentis,  '  pliant '  or  '  ductile.'  properant,  '  are  busy  forging  ; ' 
so  with  accus.  Aen.  ix.  401  properet  per  viilncra  vwrtcni.  lacu,  'a  tank.' 
in  numerum,  'in  measured  time.'  For  the  whole  description  cp.  Aen. 
viii.  449  sqq. 

176-178.  '  E'en  so,  if  small  we  may  compare  with  great,  Cecropian  bees 
are  spurred  by  inborn  love  of  gain,  each  in  its  office.'  Cecropias, 
'  Athenian,'  from  Cecrops,  the  legendary  founder  of  Athens.  The  epithet  is 
a  literary  one,  Attic  honey  being  famous. 

180.  multa  nocte,  '  late  at  night,'  when  night  is  far  advanced. 

183.  The  tilia  is  called  piugiiis  from  the  gluten  on  its  leaves;  the 
hyacinths  ferrugfinei  from  their  dark  blue  colour;    see  on  G.  i.  467. 

184.  quies  operum,  'rest  from  labour.' 

188.  mussant,  'hum.'     oras,  of  the  'entrances*  to  the  hive,  as  above, 

1.  39- 

190.  in  noctem,  '  far  into  the  night : '  cp.  Aen.  vii.  8  aspirmit  aiirac  in 
nocton.  suus,  'kindly'  sleep;  i.e.  the  sleep  they  love,  their  own;  cp. 
verc  suo\.  22. 

193.  aqiiantur,  '  fetch  water,'  a  military  term  in  Caesar,  Sallust,  etc. 

196.  tollunt,  the  isolated  spondee  at  the  beginning  of  the  line  well  ex- 
presses the  effort  of  the  bee  in  rising  with  the  ballast,    inania,  '  light,'  '  airy.' 

197-200.  adeo  emphasizes  ilium ;  see  on  Eel.  iv.  1 1.  concubitu,  dative, 
as  victu  1.  158.  ipsae,  i.e.  without  the  male.  There  are  in  each  hive  male 
bees,  or  '  drones,'  whose  only  function  is  to  propagate  the  species ;  one 
female  or  'queen'  bee,  laying  in  a  year  from  30,000  to  40,000  eggs;  and 
'worker'  bees,  of  neither  sex,  who  make  the  honey  and  do  all  the  work 
of  the  hive.  The  queen  bee  meets  the  males  in  the  air,  and  not  in  the  hive; 
hence  the  fancy  expressed  in  1.  lyS,  held  also  by  Aristotle  (Hist.  An.  v.  21) 
and  Pliny  ;N.  II.  xi.  16). 


304  GEORGICS  IV.     201-229. 

201.  Quirites,  the  distinctive  title  of  Roman  citizens. 

202.  refing-unt  =  ' remake,'  is  not  found  elsewhere,  but  is  intrinsically 
probable.  The  v.  1.  rejigunt,  though  used  by  Virgil  (Aen.  v.  360,  527), 
Horace  (Od.  i.  28.  11,  Epp.  i.  18.  56),  and  Cicero,  always  has  the  sense  of 
*  unfasten.' 

204.  ultro,  '  readily  ; '  used  of  anything  beyond  what  would  be  expected, 
here  of  the  unselfish  devotion  of  the  bees. 

206-209.  '  Hence,  though  each  bee  is  born  to  a  narrow  span  of  life— for 
a  seventh  summer  is  their  last— the  race  abides  and  never  dies ;  from  age  to 
age  stands  fast  the  fortune  of  their  line,  and  grandsires'  grandsires  swell  the 
roll.'  ipsas,  the  individuals,  as  opposed  to  genus,  excipiat,  'awaits,' 
receives  from  life,  neque  plus  septima,  '  not  more  ihan  a  seventh,'  a 
common  Latin  idiom  with  plus,  amplius,  etc.,  e.  g.  Aen.  i.  683  noctcm  non 
atJtplius  iiiiam. 

210.  '  The  older  Romans,  like  the  Greeks  (e.  g.  Aeschylus),  draw  their" 
notions  of  absolute  monarchy  from  the  Eastern  nations'  (Con.).  The 
Roman  Empire  has  come  and  gone,  and  despotism  in  the  West  is  already 
an  anachronism:  but  the  'changeless'  East  still  supplies  us,  as  it  did 
Virgil,  with  types  of  absolute  power. 

211.  The  epithet  Medus  (suggesting  Persian  monarchy)  applied  to  the 
river  Hydaspes  (Djelun,  a  tributary  of  the  Indus)  shows  vague  conceptions 
of  Eastern  geography. 

213,  214.  rupere,  perfect  of  custom  or  habit,  crates  favoruni, '  wicker- 
like cells.'  The  regular  holes  of  the  combs  suggested  a  wattled  hurdle ; 
cp.  Pindar's  /xeXiaawy  TprjTus  ttoj'os  (Pyth.  vi.  54). 

218.  obiectant,  i.  e.  in  defence  of  the  queen,     per,  '  in  the  midst  of.' 

219-224.  Virgil  here  mentions,  without  approval  or  disapproval,  the 
doctrine  which  he  has  rejected  in  G.  i.  415— viz.  that  bees,  like  all  creation, 
are  sharers  in  and  inspired  by  the  world-spirit  'mens  divina),  as  afterwards 
expounded  Aen,  vi.  724  sqq.  haustus  aetherios,  '  draughts  of  ether,'  the 
world-spirit  being  supposed  to  consist  of  a  fiery  ether. 

222.  terrasque,  see  Introd.  p.  17. 

224.  teuiies  vitas,  '  the  subtle  flame  of  life : '  souls  were  supposed  to  be 
particles  of  the  ethereal  world-spirit,  hence  tcmics. 

225.  hue,  i.e.  aJ deum. 

227.  sideris  in  numerum,  'to  the  position  or  dignity  of  a  star;'  cp. 
Cic.  Phil.  iii.  6  Jioiiio  nulla  numcro  ('  of  no  account '),  Div.  in  Verr.  19  ai?n 
is  tibi parentis  numcro  fitisset  {  =  loco  parentis).  Other  renderings  are  (i) 
'like  a  star'  {in  nitmerwn  =  in  vtodtim,  according  to  Philargyrius,  an  early 
commentator),  but  this  is  unsupported  by  usage:  (2)  'among  the  stars,' 
regarding  sideris  as  a  noun  of  multitude— also  unexampled. 

228.  aug'ustam,  '  their  royal  home  '—a  piece  of  ironical  exaggeration. 
So  most  MS.S.  angustam,  found  in  some  MSS.,  would  perhaps  be  more 
appropriate  here. 

229.  relines,  '  unseal,'  especially  of  opening  wine-casks  by  tjiking  off 


GEORGICS  IV.      230-255.  205 

the  pitch  that  fastened  them,  sparsus,  middle,  '  sprinkle  and  rinse  your 
mouth  with  a  draiight  of  water.' 

230.  fove,  of  washing,  Aen.  xii.  ^20  fovit  ea  vulmis  lympJia.  seqtiaces, 
'  penetrating '  smoke,  i.e.  that  follows  and  works  its  way  over  the  hive.  So 
uri  scqitaccs  ('persecuting')  G.  ii.  374,  ciirae  scqiiaces  ('dogging'  care) 
Lucr.  ii.  47. 

231.  '  Twice  do  men  gather  the  teeming  produce' — i.e.  honey. 
232-235.   Tayg-ete,  one  of  the  Pleiads,  put  for  the  rest.     The  honey  is 

gathered  at  the  rising  and  setting  of  the  Pleiads.  The  Pleiads  rose  about 
May  28,  and  set  about  Xov.  9.  sidus  Piscis  aquosi,  '  the  watery  Fish,' 
i.e.  the  sign  of  the  zodiac  called  by  that  name.  As  a  matter  of  fact  the  sun 
did  not  enter  the  sign  of  the  Fish  till  Febmary,  so  that  it  is  not  strictly 
accurate  to  say  that  the  Pleiads  (whicli  set  in  November"  '  fled  before  the 
Fish.'  But  sidus  Fiscis  is  here  used  generally  for  'winter.'  honestuxu, 
'  comely.'  Oceani  amnes,  Homer's  'n/feayofo  poa[.  tristior,  the  Pleiad 
sinks  sadly,  as  loth  to  go. 

237-  morsibns,  improperly  for  the  stings :  but  Virgil  is  vague  as  to  the 
bees'  offensive  weapon,  cp.  1.  74  above,     caeca,  '  unseen.' 

238.  in  vnlnere,  local,  '  in  the  wound,'  rather  than  '  as  they  deal  the 
wound.' 

239  foil.  If  you  are  so  considerate  as  not  to  lake  the  honey,  you  need  not 
hesitate  to  cut  away  the  empty  combs,  and  clean  out  the  hive,  which  is 
liable  to  be  infested  with  all  sorts  of  insects,  parces  fut\tro,  '  deal  gently 
with  their  future '  (Con.). 

241.  snffire,  '  fumigate.' 

242-244.  '  For  often  the  comb  has  been  gnawed  unknown  by  newts, 
and  crowded  beds  of  light-shunning  beetles,  and  drones  that  sit  idly  at 
another's  board.'  The  elaborate  phrase  Incifugis  congesta  cubilia 
blattis  is  substituted  for  the  simple  blattac.  immunis,  properly  of  a 
citizen  who  does  not  take  his  due  share  in  the  biirdens  of  the  state. 

245.  '  Fierce  hornets  meet  in  tight  their  unequal  foe.'  ariuis,  dative,  as 
is  shown  by  Aen.  x.  796,  xi.  815,  where  the  phrase  se  imniiscuit  arinis 
recurs.  Others  make  it  abl.  '  with  stronger  force  : '  but  impar  suggests 
weakness  or  inferiority. 

246.  invisa  Minervae,  referring  to  the  legend  of  Arachne,  who 
challenged  Minerva  to  a  contest  in  weaving,  and  was  changed  into  a 
spider. 

248,  249.  sarcire,  inf.  of  purpose,  as  G.  iii.  46,  where  see  note. 

250.  foros,  '  cells  ;'  properly  the  '  gangways  '  of  a  ship,  then  of  the  rows 
of  seats  in  a  theatre.  The  bees'  cells  are  perhaps  here  called  fori  because 
of  some  fancied  resemblance  between  '  rows  '  of  seats  in  a  theatre  and  the 
'  rows '  of  cells  in  a  hive,  floribus  horrea  texent,  '  Meave  their  granaries 
with  flowers,'  i.  e.  fill  up  the  crevices  with  pollen  of  flowers,  as  described 
1.  39  above. 

255.  luce  carentum,  '  bereft  of  light,'  i.  e.  of  life,  a  Lucretian  phrase. 


2o6  GEORGICS  IV.     257-293. 

257.  peditoxis  conexae,  'with  feet  linked  together:'  cp.  pedibus  per 
viiiiua  7icxis  Aen.  vii.  66  i  of  a  swaim  of  bees\ 

259.  contracto  frig-ore,  'with  cramp  and  cold:'  lit.  cramped  or 
pinched-up  cold— the  appearance  or  affection  being  transferred  to  that 
which  causes  it. 

260.  'Then  deeper  hums  are  heard,  and  long-drawn  buzzing.' 

261.  quondam,  '  at  times.' 

262.  sollicitum,  '  restless.'     stridit,  the  older  form  of  the  verb. 

263.  rapidus,  'scorching,'  '  violent ;'  see  on  Eel.  ii.  10. 

265.  ultro,  not  only  giving  them  honey,  but  '  even '  exhorting  them  to 
eat  it :  see  on  1.  204  above. 

267.  tunsum,  a  poetical  artificiality  for  fiiiisae.  gallae,  'gall-nut,'  an 
excrescence  on  flowers. 

268,  269.  defruta,  'must'  boiled  down  to  make  it  stronger,  hence 
said  to  be  '  thickened  (pinguia)  with  hot  fire.'  psithia  .  .  .  racemos," 
'raisin  clusters  from  the  psithian  vine,'  i.  e.  raisin-wine  of  the  psithian  kind. 
psithia,  an  unknown  sort  of  vine,  mentioned  also  G.  ii.  93. 

270.  Cecropinm,  'Athenian'  (see  on  1.  177),  a  literary  epithet,  cen- 
taurea,  '  centaury,'  a  bitter  herb. 

271.  amello,  the  '  aster.' 

273.  caespite,  here  apparently  in  the  rare  sense  of  '  a  root.' 

274,  275.  ipse,  the  centre  of  the  flower,  as  opposed  to  the  petals 
(, folia),    violae,  etc.  '  there  is  a  purple  tinge  beneath  deep  violet  hue.' 

276.  torqiiibus,  'with  festoons  twined  from  it'  (the  aster). 

277,  278.  tonsis,  'grazed.'  Mella,  a  river  not  far  from  Mantua,  that 
falls  into  the  Po. 

281,  282.  defecerit  of  a  completed,  hahebit  of  a  continuing,  state. 

283.  Arcadii  mag-istri,  '  the  Arcadian  sage,'  i.  e.  Aristaeus,  son  of 
Apollo  and  the  nymph  Cyrene,  a  celebrated  shepherd  and  inventor  of 
agricultural  arts,  hence  called  magister  (teacher).  He  was  \vorshipped  in 
Arcadia,  and  in  other  parts  of  Greece,  as  a  divinity.     Cp.  1.  317  below. 

285.  insincerus,  '  corrupted.'  Sinccrus  of  what  is  '  sound,'  'healthy,' 
or  'clean,'  Ov.  Met.  i.  190  iuuncdicahile  vitlims  Ensc  reddendum  ne  pars 
simcra  irahatur;  Hor.  Sat.  i.  3.  56  Sinceriim  cupimus  vas  iiienistarc. 
This  strange  notion  of  generating  bees  probably  arose  froni  their  having 
chosen  the  dry  skeleton  of  some  beast  (as  hollow  trees,  G.  ii.  453)  for 
hiving.  Cp.  Samson's  riddle  about  the  swarm  of  bees  in  the  lion's  carcase 
(Judges  xiv.  12-18)  ;  and  the  story  related  by  Herodotus  ^v.  114)  about  the 
head  of  Onesilus,  in  which  a  swarm  of  bees  settled  and  made  honey,  altius, 
'  far  back,' '  from  the  first.' 

287-293.  There  is  manifest  redundancy  in  this  description  of  the  Delta 
of  the  Nile ;  yet  all  MSS.  have  all  the  lines,  though  with  considerable 
variety  of  order.  Possibly  some  of  them  were  alternate  lines,  not  all  in- 
tended to  stand  in  one  text.  Or  some  may  have  been  retained  from  a 
longer  passage  about  Egypt  and  Cornelius  Gallus— who  is  said  by  Servius 


GEORGICS  IV.      287-333.  207 

and  the  pseudo-Donatus  to  have  been  the  hero  of  the  second  half  of  this 
book  as  originally  written.     See  Introd.  to  this  book. 

287.  Pellaei,  because  conquered  by  Alexander  of  Macedon  (of  which 
Pella  was  the  capital}. 

290.  Fersidis,  used  vaguely  for  the  countries  east  of  Egj-pt ;  cp.  Mcdus 
HydaspesX.  212.     urget,  'presses,' '  confines.' 

291-293.  amnis  is  subject  of  discurrit  and  fecundat.  coloratis  Indis, 
must  =  the  Ethiopians — a  loose  use  of  the  term. 

294.  iacit,  '  places'  its  hopes. 

295,  296.  ipsos  in  usiis,  *  for  this  very  purpose.'  imbricc,  'tiling:' 
properly  a  semicylindrical  gutter  tile  {iinber),  used  to  cover  the  lateral  junc- 
tions of  the  flat  tiles  {tcgtilae). 

297,  298.  '  Add  four  windows,  with  slanting  light,  facing  the  four  winds 
of  heaven.'  a  ventis,  '  on  the  side  of,'  like  a  tergo,  etc.  obliqua  luce,  so 
as  not  to  admit  too  much  light ;  but  how  this  is  done  is  not  explained. 

302.  '  His  battered  flesh  is  mashed  through  the  unbroken  hide.'  No 
blood  was  to  be  drawn  ;  but  Virgil  forgets  this  below,  1.  542. 

306.  rubeaut,  subjunctive,  as  usual,  after  autequam,  whexQ  fo>rf hotighi 
is  implied:  cp.  Cic.  de  Or.  i.  57  tragoedi  cotidie,  atttcqtiani  pronttntii.-uf, 
vocein  ctibantes  sensim  excitant. 

309-311.  '  And  creatures  marvellous  to  behold,  first  without  feet,  soon 
gifted  also  with  whistling  wings,  crowd  together,  and  assay  more  and  more 
boldly  the  unsubstantial  air.'  modis  miris  qualifies  visenda, '  noteworthy 
(lit.  to  be  marked^  in  strange  fashion.'  pedum,  gen.  of  want,  extended  in 
jioetr}'  to  many  adjectives,  e.  g.  pauper,  vacuus,  solutus,  etc. 

313.   ernpere,  perfect  denoting  custom,     pulsante,  '  propelling.' 

315.  extudit,  '  worked  out.' 

316.  '  ^Vhence  did  this  new  experience  among  mankind  take  its  rise  ? ' 
317  foil.  The  source  of  this  story  is  unknown ;  but  probably  ^'irgil  fol- 
lowed some  Alexandrian  writer.    For  Aristaeus  see  on  1.  283.     His  mother, 
the  nymph  Cyrene,  was  daughter  of  the  river-god  Peneus.     The  Peneus 
flows  through  the  \ale  of  Tcmpe  in  'I'hessaly. 

319.  eztremi  caput  amnis,  '  the  source  whence  the  river  takes  its  rise,' 
i.  e.  the  river  Peneus. 

323.  Thymbraeus,  from  Thymbra  in  the  Troad,  where  there  was  a 
celebrated  temple  of  Apollo. 

325.  caelum  sperare,  '  liope  for  heaven,'  i.e.  for  deification. 

326.  linnc  .  .  .  honorem,  '  this  crowning  glory  of  mine  earthly  life,'  i.  e. 
his  success  in  agriculture. 

328.  te  matre, '  for  all  that  I  am  thy  son,'  i.  e.  his  mother's  divine  power 
has  not  assisted  him. 

329.  felices,  'fruitful,'  see  on  Eel.  v.  37. 
331.  molire,  '  wield,'  see  on  G.  i.  329. 

333.  thalamo  sub,  ^within  the  chamber  of  the  deep  river;'  sub,  under 
the  roof. 


2o8  GEORGICS  IV.     334-378. 

334,  335.  Milesia,  see  on  G.  iii.  306.    saturo,  a  '  rich '  or '  deep '  colour. 

336.  Drymoque,  see  Introd.  p.  17. 

337.  '  With  bright  locks  streaming  o'er  their  fair  \vhitc  necks.'  For  the 
construction  see  on  Eel.  i.  55. 

338.  Probably  a  copyist's  insertion  from  Aen.  v.  S26  :  omitted  by  the 
best  MSS. 

343.  Ephyre  atque,  for  the  hiatus  see  Introd.  p.  18. 

344.  tandem  positis  sagrittis,  '  her  arrows  at  length  laid  by,'  i.  e. 
Arethusa,  who  was  a  huntress,  had  returned  from  the  chase,  and  joined  her 
fellow-nymphs  beneath  the  river. 

345.  curam,  not  Vulcan's  stratagem  to  catch  his  unfaithful  wife  (Hom. 
Od.  viii.  266  sqq.),  which  was  successful ;  but  his  previous  anxiety,  which 
was  fruitless. 

347.  a  Chao,  from  the  time  of  chaos. 

348.  fusis,  ablat.  of  instr.,  '  carrying  down  with  the  spindle. 
353.  non  frustra,  'not  without  reason.' 

354-356.  '  See !  Aristaeus'  self,  thy  chiefest  care,  stands  sadly  weeping  by 
thy  father  Peneus'  stream,  crying  out  on  thee  by  name  for  thy  cruelty.'  tibi, 
dat.  ethicus.    Penei,  dissyllable  by  synizesis.   genitoris,  see  on  1.  31 7  above. 

357.  nova,  '  strange.'  percussa  mentem,  like  auratus  cornua  1.  371, 
are  examples  of  the  accusative  after  passive  participles  in  imitation  of  the 
Greek.     See  on  Eel.  i.  55. 

361.  'AH  round  him,  arched  into  mountain  shape,  stood  the  wave.' 
Virgil  translates  Hom.  Od.  xi.  243,  4  Xlop<pvpiov  5'  apa  Kv/ia  Trfpiarddrj  ovpt'i 
Tffov  KvpTojOir. 

366.  What  he  sees  is  the  sources  of  the  various  rivers. 

367.  diversa  locis,  '  each  in  his  own  place ;'  lit.  '  separate  in  respect  of 
their  places.' 

370.  saxosus  sonans,  '  with  its  rocky  roar,'  adverbial  use  of  adj.,  like 
tarda  volvcntia  G.  i,  16^,  gravis  inciiiuheiis  ii.  377,  magnus  Jlucns  iii.  28. 

371.  '  With  two  gilded  horns  on  his  bull's  brow.'  River-gods  were 
always  represented  with  the  head  of  a  bull,  either  as  a  sign  of  strength, 
or  to  denote  their  bifurcating  streams.  The  idea  of  the  '  gilded  horns '  was 
no  doubt  suggested  by  the  custom  of  gilding  the  horns  of  oxen  for  sacrifice : 
but  there  may  be  a  further  reference  to  the  particles  of  gold  supposed  to  be 
found  in  the  river  Po. 

373.  pnrpureum,  the  '  dark-blue '  sea.  Homer's  aka  ■noptpvpUcaav  or 
Trop(pvpeT]y.  violentior,  the  Po  is  now  a  less  rapid  stream,  perhaps  on 
account  of  the  elevation  of  its  bed. 

374-377.  pendentia  pumice  tecta, '  a  hanging  roof  of  stone ' — hanging 
in  respect  of  the  stone  which  composes  it :  cp.  Aen.  iii.  442  Averna  sonantia 
silvis.  fletus  inanes, '  idle  tears,'  a  sort  of  conventional  epithet,  mauibus, 
'for  the  hands.'    tonsis  mantelia  villis,  'napkins  of  shaven  wool.' 

378.  repontint, '  keep  placing'  (_over.and  over  as  they  were  emptied),  see 
on  G.  iii.  527, 


GEORGICS  IV.      379-438.  209 

379.  Panchaeis,  '  Arabian,'  from  Panchaea,  a  fabulous  island  near 
Arabia,  adolescunt,  '  blaze '  (in  this  sense  oma^  ^«70-  Virgil  seems  to  use 
it  &'s,  =  adolentiir,  'are  kindled,'  for  which  sense  cp.  Aen.  i.  'jo^  Jlatiitnis 
adolere  Penates. 

380.  Slaeonii,  *  Lydian,'  Maeonia  being  the  old  name  of  Lydia. 

385.  'Thrice  leaped  the  flame  to  roof-tree  and  shone  back'  (Blackmore). 
subiecta,  i.  e.  from  below.  Wine  was  poured  on  the  altar  at  the  close  of  a 
sacrifice,  partly  to  quench  the  flame,  partly  to  create  a  sudden  blaze, 
which  was  auspicious  (Eel.  viii.  106). 

387.  Carpathio,  the  '  Carpathian  '  sea,  i.  e.  the  sea  between  Rhodes  and 
Crete,  from  Carpathus,  an  island  there. 

388,  389.  caeruleus, 'sea-coloured :'  the  gods  of  the  sea  were  repre- 
sented as  of  a  bluish-green  colour.  So  mater  caerula  (of  Thetis)  Hor.  Epod. 
13.  16.  The  piscibus  are  the  same  as  the  bipedum  equoruni,  i.  e.  mythic 
sea-horses,  whose  hind  quarters  merged  into  a  fish's  tail,  metitur,  'tra- 
verses,' lit.  '  measures,'  Homer's  aXa  fKTprjaavTfs.  '  Courses  over  the  mighty 
deep  with  his  fishes,  even  with  his  yoked  chariot  of  two-footed  steeds.' 

390,  391.  Emathia,  i.  e.  Macedonia,  of  which  it  is  a  part.  Pallene,  one 
of  the  peninsulas  of  Chalcidice  in  Macedonia.  Proteus  in  Homer  inhabits 
the  island  of  Pharos  close  to  Egypt :  his  connection  with  Macedonia  is  a 
later  legend. 

393.  sint,  etc.,  the  subjunctives  denote  a  class,  'everything  that  is.' 
mox  with  Ventura,     trahantur,  '  are  drawing  nigh.' 

395.  turpes,  '  unsightly.' 

397.  eventus  secundet,  '  prosper  the  issue.' 

400.  circum  haec, '  against  these  barriers  his  craft  will  at  last  break  and 
come  to  nought.'     inanes,  proleptic  with  frangeutur. 

403.  secreta,  'the  old  man's  retreat.' 

407.  horridxis,  'bristling.'     atra,  'deadly.' 

410.  teniies,  'fleeting:'  a  fixed  epithet,  like  Homer's  lypov. 

418.  habilis,  '  supple.' 

420.  Repeated  Aen.  i.  161.     sinus  reductos,  'secluded  inlets.' 

421.  deprensis,  '  storm-caught.'  olim, '  at  times ; '  cp.  Hor.  Sat.  i.  i.  25 
/it  pucris  olim  dant  crust tila  blandi  Doctorcs  and  the  use  of  quo)idam  Aen. 
ii.  367. 

424.  nebulis  obscura,  '  hidden  in  a  mist.'  resistit,  '  stands  waiting.' 
Con.  suggests  that  the  word  may  here  have  the  special  meaning  '  stands  olT,' 
'retires.' 

425.  rapidus,  'violent,'  'scorching:'  see  on  Eel.  ii.  10.  Sirius,  it  is 
the  season  of  the  dog-star,  when  the  sun  is  hottest. 

427,  428.  hauserat,  'had  consumed,'  i.e.  completed  half  his  course  in 
heaven.  The  idea  is  that  of  swift  motion  seizing  upon  and  absorbing  space : 
cp.  carpcrc  iter,  campum  corripere,  etc.  ad  limxxm  with  tepefacta  coque- 
bant,  '  the  rays  had  warmed  and  were  baking  to  the  very  mud  tlie  hollow 
streams  with  their  parched  channels.' 

O 


2IO  GEORGICS  IV.     431-463. 

431.  rorein  amarum,  'salt  spray,'  lit.  'dew.' 

432.  somno,  prob.  dative,  'for  sleep.'     diversae,  'here  and  there.' 

433.  olini,  'at  times,'  see  above  1.  421. 

437.  cuius,  i.  e.  Proteus ;  '  as  soon  as  Aristaeus  found  a  chance  of 
(touching)  him.'  quoniani  {quinn-iain),  here  in  its  older  and  temporal  sense, 
as  frequently  in  Plautus,  e.g.  Trin.  i.  2.  75,  112:  cp.  the  double  use  of 
quum. 

441.  miracula  rerum,  '  all  strange  shapes  on  earth.' 

445.  nam,  like  70^  '^e.  g.  II.  i.  1 23  'ATptiSrj  .  .  .  trus  yap  roi  Saxrovai  ytpas 
fieydOvjxoi  'Axatot;^,  introduces  a  question.  In  classical  Latin  it  is  generally 
subjoined  to  the  interrogative,  qnisnam,  quidnain,  etc. 

447.  neqiie  .  .  .  quidquani,  '  nor  can  you  deceive  me  in  aught.'  Other 
renderings  are  ^i~  'nor  can  aught  escape  you,'  which  is  tempting:  but  the 
harshness  of  having  to  supply  fallere  with  a  different  subject  after  velle 
would  be  extremely  great;  i2,  'nor  can  one  deceive  you  in  anything.' 
This  is  open  to  the  same  objection  as  (i),  and  is  a  less  natural  rendering. 

449.  lassis,  'my  weary  state;'  c^.fcssis  rchtis  Aen.  iii.  145.  The  v.  1. 
lapis  has  much  less  MS.  authority,     qiiaesitum,  supine. 

450,  451.  vi  mtilta  can  hardly  refer  to  the  external  compulsion,  but 
must  denote  the  vehemence  of  Proteus'  look.  '  The  seer  in  answer  vehe- 
ment at  length  Rolled  on  him  eyeballs  glaring  with  grey  light'  (Kenn.), 
glauco,  '  bluish-grey,'  because  Proteus  was  a  sea-god  :  see  on  1.  388  above. 

452.  fatis,  wrobably  dative,  'to  reveal  the  fates,'  rather  than  modal 
ablative. 

453.  nuUius,  for  the  quantity  see  Introd.  pp.  16,  i;. 

454-456.  '  Great  is  the  crime  for  which  you  are  atoning;  'tis  Orpheus, 
wretched  for  no  fault  of  his  own,  that  is  calling  forth,  should  fate  permit, 
this  punishment  of  yours,  and  raging  grievously  for  his  ravished  bride.' 
liaiidqiiaquani  ob  meritunx,  best  taken  with  miserabilis.  Other  render- 
ings are  (i)  to  refer  the  words  to  Aristaeus,  'penalties  undeserved  by  thee.' 
But  it  seems  impossible  to  reconcile  this  with  niag°na  luis  conmiissa 
in  the  preceding  line ;  (2)  to  translate  (with  Serv.\  '  penalties  less  than  you 
deserve,'  'in  nowise  for  your  deserts.'  This  makes  good  sense,  but  the 
expression  would  then  be  strained  and  ambiguous  in  the  last  degree,  ni 
fata  resistant  implies  a  suppressed  apodosis,  c.  g.  ratas  fitturas. 

457-459.  diim  fugeret,  '  while  striving  to  flee ; '  the  subj.  is  due  to  the 
purpose  implied  :  cp.  Aen.  i.  5  nnilta  .  .  .  hello  passus,  duiit  condcrct  itrhcin. 
per,  '  along '  the  stream,  moritura,  '  doomed '  ^^to  die),  servantem 
implies  the  idea  of  keeping  close  to,  '  haunting.' 

460.  aequalis,  '  of  her  mates.' 

461-463.  For  the  hiatus  after  Khodopeiae  and  Getae  see  Introd.  pp.  17, 
18.  Pangaeus,  moiuitain  in  Macedonia.  Rhesi  telUis,  i.e.  Thrace. 
Getae,  tribe  in  the  north-east  of  Thrace;  Actias  Orithyia,  '  Attic  Orithyia,' 
daughter  of  Erechtheus,  king  of  Athens,  who  was  carried  off  to  Thrace  by  the 
North  \Vind.     Acte  ('coast')  was  an  old  name  for  Attica. 


GEORGICS  IV.     472-547.  311 

472.  simulacra  luce  carentum,  from  Lucr.  iv.  35. 
475-477.  P'rom  Od.  xi.  38  sqq. ;  repeated  Aen.  vi.  306-308: 
'There  lords  and  dames  advanced  in  solemn  train, 
And  stately  heroes  quit  of  life's  campaign, 
With  lads  and  girls  to  loss  of  wedlock  doomed, 
And  youths  before  their  parents'  eyes  entombed'  (Blackmore). 
magfuanimum,  old  form  of  the  gen.  in  -tim,  superseded  by  the  later  form 
in   -rum.     It  is  not  uncommon  in  Virgil  with  substantives,  c.  g.  dettm, 
virum,  divoin,  etc. ;  but  very  rare  with  adjectives. 

480.  interfiisa,  '  streaming  between ' — i.  e.  among  them  as  it  wound 
round  and  round. 

481,  482.  Leti  with  domus  as  well  as  Tartara,  'the  very  home  and 
central  deeps  of  Death.'  caeruleos  .  .  .  angrues,  'their  hair  entwined  with 
livid  snakes  :'  for  the  constr.  see  on  Eel.  i.  55. 

484.  rota  orbis,  '  circle  of  the  wheel.'  Both  words  mean  '  wheel '  or 
'  circle : '  and  the  expression  is  an  intelligible  variety  from  the  more  usual 
orbis  rotae.  vento,  instr.  abl.  The  wind  falls  charmed  by  the  song,  and 
ceases  to  drive  on  the  wheel.  Cp.  Eel.  ii.  26  citiii  flacidttiii  veittis  staret 
mare  (where  see  note). 

491.  aninii,  '  in  heart ; '  see  on  G.  iii.  2S9. 

496.  natantia,  'swimming,'  here  applied  to  the  dim,  failing  sight  of 
a  dying  person. 

500-502.  fugit  diversa,  '  fled  away.'  umbras,  not  Eur}-dice's  shade 
(as  Aen.  iv.  571;,  but  the  'darkness,'  at  which  Orpheus  vainly  clutches. 
praeterea,  'hereafter.'     portitor,  Charon. 

504.  faceret,  past  deliberative,  '  what  was  he  to  do?' 

509.  haec  evolvisse,  'unfolded  this  tale.' 

517,  518.  Tanais,  the  Don,  a  river  of  Russia.  Bhipais,  see  on  G.  iii. 
3S2. 

520.  Cicones,  a  Thracian  tribe,  quo  munere,  'by  this  service  of  his,' 
i.  e.  his  constancy  to  the  memory  of  Eurydice. 

524.  Oeagrius,  Oeager  was  king  of  Thrace  and  father  of  Orpheus, 
whence  the  epithet  is  specially  appropriate. 

527.  toto  flumine,  local  abl.  '  all  along  the  stream.' 

529.  spumantem,  etc.,  '  wreathed  the  foaming  wave  beneath  the  eddy,' 
i.  e.  the  eddy  made  by  his  leap  into  the  water.  The  '  foaming  wave '  denotes 
llie  water  disturbed  by  the  body  shooting  along  underneath. 

530.  at  non,  Cyrene  did  not  leave  liim  so  hurriedly,  ultro,  without 
waiting  to  be  appealed  to,  '  straightway : '  see  on  1.  204  above. 

535.  pacem,  '  pardon.'     faciles,  '  gracious.' 

540.  iiitacta,  that  has  never  felt  the  yoke. 

543.  ipsa,  as  opposed  to  the  blood. 

547.  The  meaning  appears  to  be  that  after  revisiting  the  grove,  and 
finding  the  bees,  he  will  know  that  Eurydice  is  appeased,  and  will  then 
sacrifice  a  calf  to  her  as  a  thank-offering. 

0  2 


212  GEORGICS  IV.      549-566. 

549.  excitat,  'builds.' 

556.  stridere,  the  older  form  of  the  verb:  cp.  1.  262  above. 

558.  uvam  demittere,  '  lower  their  cluster,'  of  the  swarm  of  bees ; 
a  metaphor  suggested  by  Horn.  II.  ii.  89  PorpvSov  de  TtiJovTai. 

560.  dum  fulminat,  etc.,  this  refers  to  Augustus'  triumphant  progress 
through  the  East  in  31  B.C.  after  the  battle  of  Actium. 

562.  viamque,  etc.,  '  pursues  the  path  to  heaven,'  i.  e.  to  immortality. 
Olympo,  poetical  use  of  dative  instead  of  prep,  and  case,  like  it  caelo 
clamor,  etc. 

564.  Parthenope,  Naples,  so  called  from  one  of  the  Sirens,  who  was 
said  to  have  been  buried  there. 

565,  566.  These  two  lines  refer  to  the  Eclogues,  the  last  being  almost  a 
repetition  of  Eel.  i.  i.  carmina  .  .  .  pastorum,  'sported  with  the  shep- 
herd's muse.' 


INDEX   TO   ECLOGUES   AND   GEORGICS. 


A. 

ab  (of  direction),  E.  i._54  ;  with  in- 
stramental  abl.,  G.  i.  234. 

ablative,  local  use  of,  G.  i.  431. 

accusative,  cognate,  E.  i.  5  ;  after 
passive  participle,  E.  i.  54 ;  of 
motion  to,  E.  i.  65  ;  of  respect,  E. 
viii.  4. 

Acheloius,  G.  i.  S. 

Actaeus,  E.  ii.  24. 

addere  in  spatia,  G.  i.  513. 

adeo,  E.  iv.  11. 

adjective,  as  adverb,  G.  iv.  370. 

adoko,  E.  viii.  65. 

adolescere,  G.  iv.  379. 

agiiien,  G.  iii.  422. 

Alcon,  E.  V.  10. 

altare,  E.  v.  66,  vi.  38. 

alvaria,  G.  iv.  34. 

Ambai-valia,  G.  i.  33S. 

amber,  E.  viii.  54. 

animi,  G.  iii.  289. 

auiiiiosiis,  G.  ii.  441. 

anieqiiain,  with  subj.,  G.  iv.  306. 

ants,  G.  i.  379. 

apodosis,  suppression  of,  E.  ix.  44. 

Optus,  G.  iii.  168. 

Aracynthus,  E.  ii.  24. 

arbtisia,  E.  i.  40. 

Arcadia,  E.  vii.  i. 

area,  G.  i.  178. 

arguUis,  G.  iii.  80. 

aridus,  G.  i.  358. 

arma,  G.  i.  160. 

Ascraciis,  G.  ii.  173. 

Asia,  (i.  i. 

at  que,  E.  V.  23. 

attraction,  E.  viii.  58. 

ausim,  E.  iii.  32,  G.  ii.  289. 

autuiinius,  G,  ii.  5. 


B. 

Bavius,  E.  iii.  88. 
bur  is,  G.  i.  169. 


caerulcus,  G.  iv.  388. 

carmiua,  E.  viii.  66. 

Celeus,  G.  i.  165. 

Ceres,  G.  i.  6. 

Cinna,  E.  ix.  35. 

Codrus,  E.  v.  10. 

conditional  sentences,  pres.  for  im- 

perf.,  G.  iv.  116. 
cor,  G.  i.  122. 
coma,  G.  ii.  32. 
corripere  viam,  G.  iii.  104. 
cothurnus,  E.  viii.  10. 
cross-ploughing,  G.  i.  97. 
cuitts,  E.  iii.  i. 
ciinei,  G.  ii.  509. 
Cymaemn  caniien,  E.  iv.  4. 

D. 

damma,  E.  viii.  27. 

dare,  E.  i.  19. 

dative,  poetical  use  of,  G.  ii.  188, 

290. 
decedere,  G.  iv.  22. 
deducere  vivos,  G.  i.  269. 
demiim,  G.  i.  47. 
dent  ale,  G.  i.  169. 

deponents,  passive  use  of,  G.  ii.  486. 
die,  G.  i.  208. 
donaria,  G.  iii.  532. 
Doris,  E.  X.  4. 

E. 
earth,  the,  Virgil's  conception  of,  G. 
i.  231- 


214 


INDEX, 


enim,  G.  ii.  509. 

EnniiTS,  imitation  of,  G.  iii.  9. 

Epicurean  doctrine  of  the  elements, 

E.  vi.  31. 
Erigone,  G.  i.  33. 
esseda,  G.  iii.  202. 
Euphorion,  E.  x.  50. 
excipere,  G.  ii.  345. 

F. 

facej-e  (sacrifice),  E.  iii.  77. 
fernientiiiii,  G.  iii.  380. 
ferriigo,  G.  i.  466. 
Fescennine  verses,  G.  ii.  3S5. 
fori,  G.  iv.  250. 
fortnido,  G.  iii.  372. 
fo7-tnna,  G.  iii.  452. 
frondator,  E.  i.  57. 
fucits,  G.  iv.  37. 

G. 

Gallus,  E.  vi.  64. 

genialis,  G.  i.  302. 

genitive,  after  neuter  adj.,  G.  iv.  159; 

in  nm,  G.  iv.  475. 
gluten,  G.  iv.  37. 

H. 

haec  (fem.  plur.),  G.  iii.  305. 

hendiadys,  G.  ii.  220. 

Hesiod,  imitation  of,  G.  i.  276. 

Hesperus,  E.  viii.  29. 

hibiscus,  E.  ii.  30. 

hippomanes,  G.  iii.  280. 

hypermetric  lines,  G.  ii.  69,  iii.  449. 

I. 

ignarus,  E.  vi.  40. 

illaudaius,  G.  ii.  5. 

iniprobus,  G.  i.  119. 

in  (in  the  case  of),  E.  viii.  82. 

in  nnguejii,  G.  ii.  276. 

increinentum,  E.  iv.  49. 

indicative,  for  subj.  in  apodosis,  G. 

ii.  51. 
Indigeies,  G.  i.  498. 
infinitive,  with  adj.,  E.  v.  i ;   with 

substantive,  G.  iii.  60;  of  purpose, 

G.  iii.  46  ;    as  verb-tl  substantive, 

G.  ii.  73. 
ifiiquus,  G.  iv.  147. 


insincerus,  G.  iv.  285. 
infetupestus,  G.  i.  247. 
ipse,  E.  iii.  3. 

L. 

labores,  G.  ii.  478. 

laevus,  G.  iv.  i . 

lengthening  of  final  syllables,  E.  i. 

39. 
Libra,  G.  i.  33. 
Liber,  G.  i.  6. 
LucretiiTS,  his  influence  on  Virgil,  G. 

i.  97,  \<^,  ii.  490,  iii.  416. 
hidere,  E.  i.  9. 
lustrare,  E.  v.  75. 

M. 

mahwi,  E.  ii.  51. 
Mantua,  E.  ix.  27. 
micare,  G.  iii.  84. 
mollis,  E.  V.  38,  G.  iii.  75. 
mundus,  G.  i.  231,  240. 

N. 

7iai)>,  G.  iv.  445. 
naiiique,  E.  i.  14. 
novates,  G.  i.  71. 
nudns,  G.  i.  299. 
mtmcrus,  G.  iv.  227. 

O. 

Oaxes,  E.  i.  66. 

oblitus,  E.  ix.  53. 

ohscenus,  G.  i.  470. 

oliiii,  E.  X.  34,  G.  ii.  403,  iv.  421. 

orae  lu minis,  G.  ii.  47. 

Orcus,  G.  i.  276. 

P. 

Pan-pipe,  E.  iii.  25. 

passive  part,  as  subst.,  G.  ii.  398. 

past  part,  in  pres.  signification,  G.i. 

206. 
peculiufn,  E.  i.  33. 
penetrabilis,  G.  i.  89. 
Phaethontiades,  E.  vi.  61. 
Pharsalia,  battle  of,  G.  i.  489. 
Philippi,  battle  of,  G.  i.  489. 
plantae,  G.  ii.  23. 
partus  Iitlius,  G.  ii.  161. 
praesens,  E.  i.  43. 


INDEX. 


315 


present,  idiomatic  use  of,  E.  viii.  43. 
Procne,  G.  iv.  1 3. 
procul,  E.  vi.  16. 
propago,  G.  ii.  26. 
proscaenia,  G.  ii.  380. 

Q- 

quain  iiiagis,  G.  iii.  309. 
(jtdn,  E.  ii.  71. 
quinciuix,  the,  G.  ii.  279. 

R. 

rad/us,  E.  iii.  40. 
rainbows,  G.  i.  379. 
rapidus,  E.  ii.  10,  G.  iv.  425. 
refingo,  G.  iv.  202. 
religio,  G.  i.  270. 
relhto,  G.  iv.  229. 
river-gods,  G.  iv.  371. 
roslnitae  coluinnae,  G.  iii.  28, 
mere,  G.  i.  104. 

S. 

Hardonins,  E.  vii.  41. 
scaena  vcrsilis,  G.  iii.  24. 
Scipiades,  G.  ii.  170. 
Scylla,  E.  vii.  74,  G.  i.  404. 
septeinlrio,  G.  iii.  381. 
scqtiax,  G.  i^.  230. 
sicubi,  G.  iii.  332. 
Sila,  G.  iii.  219. 
silus,  G.  i.  71. 


sorti,  G.  iv.  165. 
spero,  E.  viii.  26. 
j/eVa,  G.  i.  169. 
Slides,  G.  ii.  24. 
suus,  G.  iv.  22. 

T. 

Taurus,  G.  i.  215. 
teino,  G.  i.  169. 
tmesis,  E.  vi.  6. 
torquere,  G.  ii.  246. 
trahere,  G.  i.  164. 
tribula,  G.  i.  164. 


U. 


upilio,  E.  X.  19. 
?</,  E.  viii.  41. 


vaccinia,  E.  ii.  iS. 
Varius,  E.  viii.  88,  ix.  n. 
vates,  E.  ix.  34. 
vertere,  G.  iii.  146. 
vescus,  G.  iii.  175. 
vigilare,  G.  i.  313. 
viticere,  G.  ii.  123. 
vomer,  G.  i.  169. 

W. 

world-spirit,  the,  doctrine  of,  G.  i. 
415,  iv.  219. 


THE    END. 


556021 


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