X. I. 3. THE CYCLOPS. Symaethide, daughter of Symaethus, a river in Sicily, at the foot of Mount Etna. Me. The speaker is Galatea, one of the Nereids. 5. Dubia lanugine, the down upon his face was hardly visible. 7. See II. 16, and note. 8. Praesentior, more prominent. 10. Nempe, in proof of it. Ipsis horrendus silvis, whom the very woods abhor. 12. Join Olympi cum dis, Olympus and its gods. 16. Rastris, falces, aqua, a comb is far too small for such a monster a razor too fine for his beard: no mirror large enough for his face. 19. For the way in which he treated strangers, see HOMER, Odyssey, IX. Join tutae to veniunt abeuntque: we should use an adverb. Telemus was an augur. 20. 22. 27. Litora, he rambles on the shore, on the chance of seeing his love, who is a nymph of the sea. 29. Cuneatus, wedgelike with a long point. 31. Medius, between the two arms of the sea, so as to command 42. Lascivus is used without any bad meaning: sportive, frolicsome. 43. Smoother than shells worn by the recurring tide. 45. sons are all taken from his common life. Forda, a milch-cow. 49. Eadem, at the same time. The compari 51. Lentior, i.e., more hard to break. 57. 69. Order fugacior non tantum cervo, &c. 75. Counting implies a small number: mine are innumerable. 76. No need to take it on trust you may have the evidence of your own eyes. The rennet was steeped in water, and the water put to the milk, 79. Par aetas, i.e., also fetura minor. 81. 84. 91. 98. What does turpe agree with? so as to curdle it for making cheese. Cacumine, tree-top. Imagine, reflection. 99. 104. I12. 113. 114. 118. Velent, general, any one in whom. If he would only be content to please himself, without wanting to please you. Modo copia detur, only let me get a chance! Etna and all its strength. Tanto pro corpore, corresponding to my great bulk. The workshop of Vulcan and all his brother-Cyclopes was under Etna. 131. Vestris, i.e., of the sea. 134. Angulus is, i.e., the pars e monte revulsa. 135. What is the subject to licebat? Per fata, as far as the fates allowed. 139. Join turbati imbre. 144. River gods were represented with horns, and with their heads crowned with sedge and reed. XI. THE WOOING OF DEIANIRA. THIS story forms part of the Hercules legend, which was so widely spread, not only in Greece but in Assyria and Phoenicia and Egypt, as to give the impression of a still earlier origin. Some of his epithets are sufficient to indicate his solar character, though, perhaps, no name has been made the vehicle of so many mythological and historical, physical and moral stories, as that of Herakles.' (MAX MÜLLER, Comparative Mythology.) Achelous was a river in Ætolia, and the district that it watered was very fertile, as is indicated in the story by one of his horns being the horn of plenty. Most of the rivers in a mountainous country like Greece are torrent-like, and at some seasons of the year rush down with great violence, which is typified by the horns with which the river-gods are depicted. In the struggle with Hercules, Achelous' horn is broken, indicating that this violence is restrained, either by embanking, or by diverting its course, whereby the land was made more productive. I. Neptunius heros. Theseus. 2. 3. 7. Calydonius amnis, the Achelous, in Ætolia. See X. 144, and note. There was an especial reason for it here. Tantus victor, the greatness of my conqueror. Cp. VII. 20. 8. Siqua, tandem are both depreciatory, as if the prize after all was of but little worth. 10. 12. Spes invidiosa, the jealous hope. Parthaone nate, Eneus, king of Calydon. 15. Superata, performed, lit., overcome. Novercae, Juno, who had persecuted him all his life. See 16. Mortali. Hercules was the son of a mortal mother, and so mortal: he was not deified till after his death. 17. Regem, as the largest river of the district. 19. Hospes, foreign alliances were looked down upon. See XVI. 21. Poena, the labours of Hercules were inflicted because in a fit of madness caused by Juno, he had slain his own children. 22. 24. 26. 27. 30. 31. 32. Either your boasted parentage is false, or if true your father has Spectat, sc. Hercules. Fortiter, as a brave man should. Viridem, as a water-god. Varas manus, my fists. Pugnae, the dative often expresses the object in view, which as it were receives, or is advantaged by the effect of the action. Cp. XII. 38, 76. 33. Before a wrestling match, the combatants rubbed over their bodies with oil. It was therefore a great thing to cover your adversary as far as possible with dust, so as to get a firmer hold upon him, that he might not slip away from your grip. Micantia, nimble, quickly moving. Cp. III. 87, and GRAY, Progress of Poesy, I. 3. To brisk notes in cadence beating Glance their many-twinkling feet. 38. Moles, a breakwater, whence our 'mole.' 42. Pronus, reaching forward. 47. Regni, the victor would be monarch of the herd. 50. Adducta, drawn close. By a clever thrust Hercules turned him round, and clasped him from behind. Achelous, by inserting his arms between his chest and the arms of Hercules, managed to loosen his grip, but before he could recover breath Hercules was on him again. 53. Siqua fides, it looks like exaggeration but it is not. 54. Imposito, &c. I seemed to be crushed by a mountain's weight. 58. Potitur, gets hold of. 62. 65. 67. 72. Postquam generally takes the perfect indicative, where we should use the pluperfect. Hercules' first feat was to strangle two serpents in his cradle. Emphasis on unus. The Hydra had one hundred heads, and no sooner was one cut off than two others grew up in its place. Hercules took a red-hot iron and seared the wound immediately so as to stop the new growth, and so in the end overcame the monster. Crescentum malo, because the loss of one head involved the growth of two in its place. 74. Arma aliena, he was not used to them. 77. Pollicibus, he was obliged to resume the human form. 80. Toris, the dewlap, which Hercules wrapped round his arms, and by tugging at it as Achelous rushed forward, pulled down his head, so as to bury his horns in the ground. 87. Succincta, the tunic was very long and had to be girt up for any active exercise. Diana as a huntress is always represented with tunic girt up as high as the knee. 89. 90. 92. Cp. MILTON, Paradise Regained, Bk. II. 356: Nymphs of Diana's train and Naiades, With fruits and flowers from Amalthea's horn. Cornu, not that of Achelous, but equally the symbol of plenty. Iuvenes. Theseus, Lelex, Pirithous. 95. Cornu, ablative. XII. THE DEATH OF HERCULES. From I CANNOT do better than again to quote Mr. MAX MÜLLER, Comparative Mythology, in Chips from a German Workshop, II. 89. 'Now, in his last journey, Herakles also proceeds from East to West. He is performing his sacrifice to Zeus, on the Kenaeon promontory of Eubaea, when Deianeira sends him the fatal garment. He then throws Lichas into the sea, who is transformed into the Lichadian islands. thence Herakles crosses over to Trachis, and then to Mount Eta, where his pile is raised, and the hero is burnt, rising through the clouds to the seat of the immortal gods-himself henceforth immortal, and wedded to Hebe, the goddess of youth. The coat which Deianeira sends to the solar hero is an expression frequently used in other mythologies; it is the coat which in the Veda, "the mothers weave for their bright son"-the clouds which rise from the waters and surround the sun like a dark raiment. Herakles tries to tear it off; his fierce splendour breaks through the thickening gloom, but fiery mists embrace him, and are mingled with the parting rays of the sun, and the dying hero is seen through the scattered clouds of the sky, tearing his own body to pieces, till at last his bright form is consumed in a general conflagration, his last beloved being Iole- perhaps the violet-coloured evening clouds-a word which, as it reminds us also of iós, poison (though the is long), may perhaps have originated the myth of the poisoned garment.' I. 2. Decoris, sc. his horn. This story is the direct sequel to the last. 4. Cp. IV. 37, and note. Virginis. The word virgo is very rarely applied to married women. It was as a maiden that Achelous had fallen in love with her. 6. Patrios. Tiryns in Argolis, so Tirynthius, XI. 64. He was born at Thebes in Boeotia. 7. Eueni, a river in Ætolia, near Calydon. IO. 13. 14. 16. 20. 23. Intrepidum. He, Hercules, needed no help and had no fear. Ipsum, i.e., Nessus. Ut erat, just as he was, thus burdened. Spolio leonis, the skin of the Nemean lion, which Hercules always wore. He scorns to let himself be carried down by yielding to the current. Fallere depositum, to be untrue to his trust. 31. Lernaei, thus Hercules himself poisoned the robe which caused his death. 32. Hunc, sc. sanguinem. 34. Velut irritamen amoris. As a love charm. 35. Medii, intervening. 37. Join Victor ab Oechalia, returning victorious from Echalia. Cenaeo Iovi. His temple was on Cenaeum (now Kanaia), the N.W. promontory of Euboea, opposite Thermopylae. 41. Amphitryoniaden. Amphitryon was the husband of Alcmena, and the reputed father of Hercules. 48. 49. 52. 53. Iole was daughter to Eurytus, the king of Echalia. There are several towns of this name. This was probably the one in Thessaly, in the district of Trachis. Calydona, her old home in Ætolia. Shall I oppose her admission, if I do nothing else?-a hint at the possibility of putting her rival out of the way. Reddat, out of sequence to render the purpose present in her mind more vivid. Luctus suos, what was to bring mourning to herself. 59. Incaluit, the warmth of the body brought it out. 63. Oeta is in Trachis, the temple of Cenaean Jove (37) is in Euboea. According to the common legend, Hercules in his agony hurries across from Euboea to Trachis, where his wife was, and then is burnt on Mount Eta. Ovid, however, has omitted this to suit the form of his story. 76. See XI. 32, note. 78. Ergo. Was it really I who...? When I consider the present disgrace, it seems after all incredible. The conquests of Busiris and Antæus do not belong to the famous twelve labours. 79. Busiris was a king of Egypt who used to sacrifice all strangers. Hercules was bound by him for sacrifice, but burst his bonds, and slew the king. Alimenta. MILTON, Paradise Regained, IV. 563-568: |