Transit, et alifero tollitur axe Ceres. Perque urbes Asiae longum petit Hellespontum, 565 Nam modo thurilegos Arabas, modo despicit Indos, 570 Nunc adit Hesperios, Rhenum Rhodanumque Padumque Teque future parens, Tibri, potentis aquae. Quo feror? immensum est erratas dicere terras: Errat et in coelo, liquidique immunia ponti 575 'Parrhasides stellae: namque omnia nosse potestis, 580 'Crimine nox vacua est: Solem de virgine rapta Consule, qui late facta diurna videt." Sol aditus, quam quaeris,' ait, 'ne vana labores, 585 562. Alifero, because the dragons were winged. Axe, curru.— 563. Sunion expositum, projecting Sunion, a promontory at the south of Attica. Piraeaque, plural, from the singular Piraeum, the Piraeus, the port of Athens. -564. In dextrum latus, the east coast of Attica. 565. Aegaeum, the sea between Greece and Asia Minor, in which are the Cyclades. A part of it is called the Icarian Sea.-566. Ioniumque, the sea between Greece and Magna Graecia. Some have supposed, from its geographical position, that the reference is to the Ionian sea on the coast of Asia Minor, where the Ionians dwelt. But in that case the o would be long ('Iúviov, whereas the other is Ióvlov), and we have already observed that Ovid does not here follow any strict geographical order. Thus he mentions Sunion before Piraeus. 568. Alta, sublimis, in the air.-570. Libys, Africa. Meroë, an island formed by the Nile in Ethiopia. Siccaque terra, Egypt, so called from the want of rain.-573. Erratas terras, pererratas terras, as Fast. iii. 655: erratis in agris.-574. Cereri, a Cerere.-575. Liquidique immunia ponti, the two Bears, which never set. See Metam. ii. 172.-577. Parrhasides stellae, Arcadicae, for Parrhasia was a part of Arcadia. Callisto, the daughter of the Arcadian king Lycaon, was changed into the Great Bear. It is also called Helice, v. 580. Namque gives the reason of what follows, as yàp frequently in Greek.—581. Crimine nox vacua est. We already know this from v. 449, where the horses are unaccustomed to the diurnum lumen. -584. Tertia regna, the infernal world; in allusion to the division of the universe among the three brothers. Compare v. Maximaque in vultu signa dolentis erant: 'Si memor es, de quo mihi sit Proserpina nata, Dimidium curae debet habere tuae. Orbe pererrato sola est injuria facti Cognita. Commissi praemia raptor habet. Hoc quoque tentemus, siquidem jejuna remansit: 590 595 600 Statque semel juncti rumpere vincla tori, Tartara jussus adit sumptis caducifer alis, 605 Non secus indoluit, quam si modo rapta fuisset, 610 Atque ita, Nec nobis coelum est habitabile,' dixit: Et factura fuit, pactus nisi Jupiter esset, Tum demum vultumque Ceres animumque recepit, 615 600.-587. De quo mihi sit Proserpina nata; namely, de Jove ipso. -589. Sola est injuria facti cognita, I have got no further than to find out the author of the deed. -593. Gyges is one of the Centimani. He is here reckoned among the giants who stormed heaven, and endeavoured to gain possession of the universe. 598. Pudendus, as if from a transitive verb governing the accusative. So Fast. iii. 500: Ille pudendus amor.-600. Chaos, the infernal regions. 602. Stat, certum est. Metam. i. 243: Stat sententia.-603. Siquidem, with short i, although the i in si is long.-605. Caducifer, Mercurius. 612. Taenaria valle, the infernal world, so called because there was supposed to be an entrance to it at the promontory of Taenaron. P THE BUILDING OF ROME. JAM luerat poenas frater Numitoris, et omne 810 Res placet. Alter init nemorosi saxa Palati, 815 Sex Remus, hic volucres bis sex videt ordine. Pacto Apta dies legitur, qua moenia signet aratro. 820 Fossa fit ad solidum. Fruges jaciuntur in ima, Fossa repletur humo, plenaeque imponitur ara, Inde premens stivam designat moenia sulco: 825 Vox fuit haec regis: 'Condenti Jupiter urbem Quosque pium est adhibere deos, advertite cuncti : Longa sit huic aetas dominaeque potentia terrae, 830 809. Frater Numitoris, Amulius.-810. Gemino sub duce, Romulo et Remo.-811. Utrique convenit, for the usual prose construction inter utrumque convenit. - 814. Magna fides avium est, magna est auctoritas auguriorum. -815. Saxa Palati, montem Palatinum. 817. Pacto statur, they stand by the agreement. -818. Arbitrium, potestatem.-819. Moenia signet aratro. The ground where the walls of a new city were to be built was first ploughed with a white ox and a white cow yoked together (826), then the first fruits of the year and earth from the different cities or countries from which the settlers came (821) were thrown into the furrow. - 820. Palis. Pales was a divinity that presided over flocks and herds: her festival was on the 21st April, the day on which the city was founded (810) by the shepherds.821. Ad solidum, so far as the earth afforded firm ground, in opposition to marshes and water. 824. Fungitur, used absolutely, 'performs its duty.' 825. Stivam, the handle of the plough. The ploughshares of the ancients did not of themselves cut the furrows in the earth, but required to be pressed violently into it; hence premens stivam.-828. Vestaque mater. She is called mother, not on account of any particular relation in which she stood to Romulus, but as all the gods are called father and mother by men.-829. Advertite, sc. animos vestros, numina vestra. Sitque sub hac oriens occiduusque dies!' Ille precabatur. Tonitru dedit omina laevo Jupiter, et laevo fulmina missa polo. Augurio laeti jaciunt fundamina cives, 835 Et novus exiguo tempore murus erat. Hoc Celer urget opus, quem Romulus ipse vocarat, 'Sintque, Celer, curae,' dixerat, 'ista tuae: Neve quis aut muros aut factam vomere fossam 840 Quod Remus ignorans humiles contemnere muros 845 Flere palam non vult, exemplaque fortia servat, 'Sicque meos muros transeat hostis,' ait. Dat tamen exsequias. Nec jam suspendere fletum 850 Osculaque applicuit posito suprema feretro, Cuncta regas et sis magno sub Caesare semper, 855 860 832. Oriens occiduusque dies, the rising and setting day; that is, the place where the sun rises and sets, the east and west. So Fast. ii. 136: Hoc (Cesare) duce Romanum est solis utrumque latus; i. 85 Jupiter arce sua totum cum spectet in orbem Nil nisi Romanum quod tueatur habet. - 837. Celer, one of the companions of Romulus. -843. Rutro, telo quodam rustico. -845. Lacrimas devorat, he suppresses his grief, flere palam non vult (847).-852. Invito, sc. mihi. 853. Arsurosque artus unxit. The anointing of dead bodies before burning is a very ancient custom; we find it even in Homer. No doubt the reason of it was to remove any disagreeable impression which the corpse might make on those present. -854. Faustulus et Acca (Laurentia), by whom Romulus and Remus had been brought up.- -855. Nondum facti Quirites. The name Quirites was not given to the Romans till their union with the Sabines. See above, Fast. ii. 475.-856. Ultima, not the last flame, but: at last. FASTORUM LIB. V. THE DEATH OF CHIRON. PELION Haemoniae mons est obversus in Austros, Et causam adventus hic rogat, ille docet. Virque,' ait, 'his armis armaque digna viro.' 385 390 395 400 Her 381. Haemoniae, Thessaliae. -383. Phillyrides, the Centaur Chiron, son of Philyra. The 7 is here doubled for the sake of the verse, as the first syllable is otherwise short. Compare v. 391: Philyreïus heros. -384. Justum senem. Chiron is always praised for his justice.-385. Manus -leto, Achillem. -387. Alcides. cules, so called from his grandfather Alcaeus, the father of Amphitryon.-389. Trojae duo fata, duo viros Trojae fatales; namely, Hercules, who destroyed Troy, to punish the faithlessness of Laomedon, and Achilles (puer Aeacides, the grandson of Aeacus, father of Peleus).—394. Virque, ait, his armis, sc. dignus. —397. Squalentia tela veneno. The arrows of Hercules were dipped in the poisoned blood of the hydra of Lake Lerna.-401. Pagasaeis collibus. Pagasae is a town of Thessaly, in the harbour of which the Argo was built. Here, however, Pagasaeus is put generally for Thessalus, for Thessaly abounded in medicinal herbs. Ipse tamen. |