39. 41. 44. 49. Obscura, as we speak of 'dark sayings.' Pestis, a fox, to which at last the people gave up one child a Rete was the large net, plaga the single toil or snare. 50. Collo, it strains them with its neck as they impede it. 52. 54. Glandes, the leaden bullets used with the sling, cp. VI. 48; verber is the leathern thong of the sling. 55. Gortyn is a town in Crete. The Cretan archers were famous. 56. Collis apex medii, the top of an intervening hill. 60. In spatium, into the open. 61. The constant doubling makes it impossible for the hound to keep up his speed. 62. 63. 65. Cp. IV. 8i. Vanos exercet morsus, spends its fruitless bites. Amentis, the thongs by which the javelin was held. 84. Lina, nets. 91. Every word here might be applied to a woman named Aura. Hence vocibus ambiguis, 1. 98. A similar mistake is beautifully worked out in Mr. TENNYSON'S Enid. 97. Captatur, is eagerly caught, inhaled. 100. 102. 104. 109. III. 123. 130. 133. Mihi amari, was the object of my love. Susurra, whispering, tattling, agrees with lingua. Sperat falli. Why is not the verb in the future? This heightens the tragedy, but is inconsistent with what has Meos, sc. inferos, to whom she, now all but dead, belongs. Innubere, to marry into a family Here to succeed as a bride to my marriage chamber. XVIII. THE TUSCAN MARINERS. 3. Arva, &c. The three sources of wealth among the ancients. 5. Lino, net. 6. 7. II. 12. Calamo, rod. So Metamm., VIII. 217, tremula dum captat arundine pisces. His trade was his fortune. Traderet combines the idea of handing on by teaching with that of bequeathing as an inheritance. The mere fisherman is tied to one place. The simple navigation of the ancients depended entirely on the signs of the sky. Regimen, the helm, or the steering. 13. Oleniae, of Olenus, a town of Achaia, where the goat Amalthea, according to the legend, nurtured the child Jupiter. 14. Taygeten, one of the Pleiades, or Seven Sisters, a group in Taurus, of which the Hyades (the rainy stars) form another group. Arcton, the bear, and so the pole star which is in the Lesser Bear. 15. Ventorum domos, the homes of the winds, and so the quarters from which they blow. 17. Dextris, so passing under the island. Greek mariners preferred to keep in shore, and so from Maeonia to Delos would leave Chios on the right. 20. 21. This appears to be the only instance of the simple accusative (littora) after adduco. Inferre, the poets often use the infinitive in oblique petition. 25. Utque putat, and having got as he thought. This sort of kidnapping was not thought dishonourable. 28. The three things which most betray breeding—dress, physiognomy, and gait. 35. 38. 41. Prensoque rudente relabi, and to slide down by the ropes. Epopeus was the boatswain (Gk. Keλevσrns), who by voice or flute gave the time to the rowers. The vessel was his, so that he had the right to decide what should come on board. Pinum, the timber for the ship, by the figure called metonymy (or transfer of names): so we use 'steel' for 'sword,' 'mahogany' for 'table,' 'copper' for 'caldron.' 43. Pulsus, &c., by banishment from some city of Etruria was paying the penalty of a cruel murder. This seems to have given rise to the name 'Tuscan mariners.' 47. He was stunned, but caught in the cordage, and so was saved from falling overboard. 48. Impia, disloyal. 59. Naxos lies about S.S. W. of Chios, and would lie to the left of their course for Delos, so that the geography must not be too closely pressed. The sailors may have wished to return home with their captive. 63. Greek ships had two rudders, see Acts XXVII. 40. 66. Scilicet, ironical. Do not think you are the only one that can steer. 68. Diversa, in its original sense, the opposite direction. 71. 74. Cf. IV. 81. The advantage of strength and numbers is on your side. 77. Ipsum, Bacchus. Both in Latin and Greek it is common in adjurations to put the personal pronoun between the preposition (per or pòs) and its case. 79. Veri majora fide, too great to be accepted as true. 82. Deducunt. Cp. VIII. 83. Gemina ope, sail and oar. 83. Ivy was especially associated with the worship of Bacchus. 86. It served as a thyrsus. 87. These animals are probably connected with the legendary conquest of India by Bacchus. He was generally represented (as in Titian's famous picture of Bacchus and Ariadne in our National Gallery) in a chariot drawn by lynxes or panthers. 91. They were turned into dolphins, which (Met., II. 265) are called curvi delphines. 92. Before he could finish he was transformed. 93. Lati rictus, gaping jaw. 95. He tries to turn the oars in the other direction in hope of escaping them. 96. In spatium, &c., shrink back to shortened size. 99. 102. Repandus, curved. A vigorous description of dolphins at play. 105. Draw in the sea water, and blow it out from their nostrils. 107. Vix meum, hardly under my own control (so frightened was he). 109. Diam, another name for Naxos. 2. 3. 6. XIX. JUNO'S REVENGE. Matertera. Ino was the sister of Semele, and took Bacchus under her care when his mother had perished. Tot sororibus, Semele, destroyed by Jove's thunder; Autonoë, mother of Actaeon, who was torn in pieces by his own hounds; Agave, who had slain her own son, Pentheus. Alumno numine, divine fosterling. 8. Nautas, see the preceding tale. 9. Matri, Agave; nati, Pentheus. 10. Minyeidas, Leucippe, Arsippe, Alcithoë, daughters of Minyas, king of Orchomenus. They were said to have been changed into bats for their contempt of Bacchus, and his worship. II. Nil, acc. after poterit, in appos. with flere. 13. Ipse, Bacchus; agam, deliberative subjunctive, unchanged in the oblique after a primary tense. 19. It is a trackless dismal waste, and waiting souls idly wander, seeking their way in vain. 24. Pressum, under the weight. 26. Simul, as being three-mouthed. 29. Nocte genitas, i.e., the three Furies, Alecto, Tisiphone, and Sedes scelerata, the abode of crime. 30. Cp. XIII. 41, following, and notes. Petis, when it has rolled back again. 38. Vidit. Cp. XII. 62. Rursus ab, turning away from him. 39. Hic...Athamanta = ὅδε μὲν... Αθάμαντα δὲ, why is he...whilst Athamas. 43. Vellet, virtually oblique. Ne, the negative belongs to the first clause only. 51. Lustravit. Juno had incurred the pollution of those who 53. mingle with the dead. Importuna, bringing misery: cp. infelix, 1. 61. 58. Athamas was the son of Æolus. 62. Vipereis nodis, knotted snakes. 67. 68. Graves animas, deadly breath. Mens est, it is the mind, not the body, that is to feel their baleful blows. 71. Caecae, darkened. 74. Versata, stirred. 'Root of the hemlock digg'd i' the dark' is one of the ingredients of Hecate's cauldron in Macbeth. Act IV. Sc. I. 78. Consequitur, follows it up, so as to make it appear a continuous circle of flame. Taken probably from witch scenes on the stage. 84. 88. 90. Ut ferae, as if it were some wild beast. Discutit, smashes. Denique. Hitherto she had stood dumbfounded. Male sana, in poetry for insana. 99. Recanduit, grew white with foam. 100. Neptis. Her mother, Harmonia, was the daughter of Mars and Venus. 104. 105. Note again the hiatus and the spondee in the fifth place. Gratia ponto. She was called in the Greek 'Appodíтn, and 'Appoyéveia, the foam born, as having sprung from the foam of the sea. 109. Deum, refers to both; her a goddess, and him a god. 2. 4. XX. THE CALYDONIAN HUNT. Achaia, put for 'Greece' generally, as its name, when it became a Roman province. Quamvis Meleagron haberet, and so a powerful defender. 9. Latices, used of any fluid, and so of olive oil. The olive is sacred to Pallas. 10. Agricolis, sc. dis. Ceres, Bacchus, Minerva. II. Ambitiosus (active), exciting ambition: so invidiosa, XI. 10. 12. Cessasse, from want of offerings. 15. Ultorem, used as an adjective; the Latin is fond of these concrete forms. 16. Sicula. The Sicilian cattle, which are famous, are smaller; the Epirote are not larger. 22. Gravidi, &c., budding shoots, with their long branches or stems. 29. Tegeaea, Atalanta, from Tegea, a town in Arcadia. Lycaei, a mountain, also in Arcadia. 34. You would call it a girlish face in a boy, a boyish face in a girl. 37. 45. 50. Renuente deo, for he was already married. Metamm., VIII. Pressa signa pedum, the impressions of his feet, his footprints. 51. Ut...ignes, like the lightnings discharged by clashing clouds. 61. 65. 68. It for ivit, iit, perfect. Vulnus implies that the skin is pierced. 69. The picture is taken from a catapult or ballista. 73. Cornua, wings as in battle array. 74. Pylius. Nestor, king of Pylus, in Messenia. Citra, before. 75. Getting a start from his spear set in the ground, i.e., using it as a leaping-pole to give him a higher spring. 78. Tritis, and so sharpened, and fresh (recentibus armis). 81. Gemini fratres, Castor and Pollux, the Great Twin-brethren of Macaulay's Lay, The Battle of the Lake Regillus (St. 32) : He was aware of a princely pair White as snow their armour was; Their steeds were white as snow. 86. Order, isset inter opacas silvas, loca nec iaculis nec equo pervia. 97. Viri, emphatic: at being beaten by a woman. 100. Variat, i.e., changes the luck. 103. Novo, from this second wound. |