...

sine. See on v. 163. 718. Permisso; i. e. by Aeneas as a compliment to Acestes.-720. Animo. Gr. 429. A. & S. 250. I.— 725. Exercite. See on III. 182. — 728. Pulcherrima; construe with antecedent clause. -729. Lectos... fortissima; emphatic: he was to take none but picked and brave men. -732. Averna. See on III. 386. Near it was supposed to be the entrance to the lower world.-733. Congressus . meosan interview with me. Namque. See on E. I. 14.-734. Tartara. See on G. I. 36.-735. Elysium; the abode of the blest after death, placed by Virg. in the lower world. Sibylla. See III. 443 foll.—736. Sanguine. Gr. 414. 4. A. & S. 247. 3.739. Saevus; because breaking in on the intercourse between father and son. Oriens. See on G. I. 250.741. Deinde now; conveying a reproach for not remaining longer. Proripis; sc. se. Cf. E. III. 19. -744. Larem; either the tutelary divinity of his family, or (sing. for plu.) the Penates, with which the Lares are often confounded. Canae. See on I. 292. Penetralia Vestae; for Vestam.—745. Farre; same as mola salsa. -750. Transcribunt transfer; i. e. by enrolling their names among the citizens of the new city. Populumque volentem; i. e. the men who desired to remain. — 751. Animos. Gr. 363. A. & S. 204. Laudis. Gr. 409. I. A. & S. 220. 3. — 753. Navigiis. Gr. 384. II. A. & S. 223 and N.-754. Numero. Gr. 429. A. & S. Bello (dat. for ad bellum) vivida = 250. I. ardent for war. - 755. Urbem-aratro; alluding to the custom of marking out the limits of a new city by a furrow. —756. Hoc Ilium, haec-Trojam; i. e. he gives names to different quarters of the city. -758. Indicit — vocatis and institutes a court and gives laws to the assembled fathers; i. e. to the senators. —759. Erycino. Gr. 398. 2. A. & S. 211, R. 4 (a). So Anchiseo, v. 761. See on I. 570. -760. Idaliae. See on I. 681.762. Aris. Gr. 422. I. A. & S. 254, R. 3. -764. Creber et adspirans = blowing fresh and favorable. — 766. Complexi. See on G. I. 206.-769. Fugae. See on III. 160. — 771. Consanguineo their kinsman; as being half Trojan. See v. 38. -773. Caedere...solvi. See on III. 60, 61. Ex ordine; same as ordine in v. 53 and III. 548, the reference here being to the previous sacrifices. —774. Tonsae . . . olivae. See on v. 556.—781. Nec exsaturabile; for et inexsaturabile. The word is found nowhere else. -783. Dies; for tempus.-784. Infracta= checked. -785. Media de gente. Juno is not satisfied with having torn Troy as it were out of the heart of Phrygia. Nefandis. See on G. I. 479. 786. Traxe. Gr. 234. 3. A. & S. 162. 7 (c). — 788. Sciat illa = she may know; I do not. Gr. 485. A. & S. 260. II. —789. Libycis ... in undis; with excierit. —790. Coelo. Gr. 385. 5. A. & S. 223, R. 2. Maria — miscuit is one form of a proverbial expression, the

=

=

=

=

= to

other form of which is given in I. 133. —793. Per scelus : crime; with actis; per suggesting the various steps from the inception to the execution of a criminal act. - 794. Classe... amissa; an exaggeration, though the words are qualified in v. 796. Subegit; sc. Aeneam. Terrae. Gr. 424. 3. 2). A. & S. 221, R. 3 (4). — 796. Quod superest = as to that which remains; i. e. of the ships and their crews. Of various interpretations this on the whole best suits the context, and is most consistent with v. 691. Dare tuta...vela tibi to intrust their sails safely to you. —797. Laurentem. The Tiber was so called from Laurentum, the capital of Latium. — 798. Ea moenia, as no city has been mentioned, takes for granted the previous knowledge of Neptune. -800. Cytherea. See on I. 257. 801. Merui; sc. fideres. - 803. Xanthum testor is explained by what follows. — 809. Dis...viribus. Gr. 431. A. & S. 257, R. 7 (a). Aequis; i. e. to those of his opponent. — 810. Quum = although. Structa — Trojae. See on Hor. C. III. 3. 22. -812. Portus... Averni is the harbor of Cumae. See on III. 441, 442. -814. Unus; Palinurus. —816. Laeta; proleptic. — 817. Auro by means of the golden yoke. 818. Manibus from his hands. 821. Aquis = in respect to its waters. 822. Cete. Gr. 95. I. A. & S. 94.823. Glauco. See on G. I. 437. So Palaemon and Panopea. — 824. Tritones. See on Ov. M. 1. 333. Phorci. See on v. 240. — 825. Laeva; neut. plu. Thetis. See on E. IV. 32. Melite; one of the Nereids. So all mentioned in the next line. 829. Intendi velis the sail-yards to be stretched; meaning that sails are stretched on the yards. Gr. 429. A. & S. 250. I. –830. Una — pedem = they all tacked together. Pedes were ropes attached to the two lower corners of a square sail. These were fastened to the sides of the vessel towards the stern, an operation briefly expressed by fecere. Pariterque — sinus = = and at the same time let out now the left-hand sheets and now the right. is done to catch the wind as it shifts.—832. Cornua : ties of the sail-yards. These are turned this way and that as the sail is shifted. Sua favorable. = after, according to. — 835. Mediam... metam; i. e. the zenith. — 839. Dimovit... dispulit; i. e. simply by flying through them.—840. Somnia; for 841. Insonti; because he did not yield to sleep voluntarily. 842. Phorbanti; a name borrowed for one of Palinurus's comrades. -844. Aequatae... aurae. See on IV. 587.-845. Labori. Gr. 385. 4. A. & S. 224, R. 2. A rare construction. — 847. Attollens... lumina; i. e. to look at the pretended Phorbas. 849. Ignorare; i. e. to act as if I The sea is so called because of its treacherous and dangerous character. - 850. Credam; sc. ei

somnos.

--

848. Salis. See on I. 35.

did not know it. Monstro.

834. Ad

=

This

= the extremi

=

posed to the unremitting tension that Palinurus had kept up. — 857. Vix... et. See on II. 172. Primos; for primum. We should say, scarcely had sleep begun to relax his limbs. -861. Ipse ... ales; i. e. Somnus. 863. Promissis in accordance with the promise. 864. Jamque adeo. See on II. 567. Sirenum. See on Hor. E. I. 2. 23.- -866. Rauca; with sonabant. — 870, 871. These lines are the words of Aeneas, as we learn from the beginning of the next book. 871. The loss of burial was a great misfortune, but to lie unburied on a foreign shore was sorrow upon sorrow.

-

THE AENEID. Book VI.

THE celebrity of the Sixth Book of the Aeneid is one of those broad and acknowledged facts before which minute criticism is almost powerless. There is indeed no part of the work which more completely exemplifies the characteristics of Virgil as a poetical artist. He appears not only to reproduce Homer, but to absorb him. Aeneas sces all, or nearly all, that Ulysses sees, - his parent, his friends, his enemies, and the heroes and heroines of previous legend: but he sees much more besides. Instead of a place of simply ghostly existence, where suffering and doing seem to be the exceptions, and dreary, objectless being the rule, we have a territory mapped out and sharply divided, a neutral region for those who are unfortunate rather than blameworthy, a barred and bolted prison-house of torture for the bad, a heroic Valhalla for prowess, genius, and worth. All that later Greek religion and philosophy taught by legend, allegory, and symbol, is pressed into the service of poetry, and made to contribute to the production of a grand and impressive picture. As a climax to the whole, the Pythagorean doctrine of transmigration is invoked for the purpose of showing Aeneas the vision of the future, as he has already seen the vision of the past. He beholds the spirits that are to appear as actors in the great drama of Roman history, each even now wearing his historical form; and the line of worthies ends with the young hope of the nation, whose untimely death was still fresh in the memory of his countrymen when the poet wrote.

ARGUMENT.

AENEAS having landed at Cumae, immediately seeks the cave of the Sibyl, and consults the oracle: from it he learns some particulars of his dangers and further labors (1-155). He performs funeral rites to the body of Misenus; and while engaged in the preparations for this ceremony, discovers the golden bough, which, as a gift to Proserpina, would gain for him permission to pass to the Elysian shades, to meet and converse with his father Anchises. Provided with it and accompanied by the Sibyl, he reaches the entrance to the infernal regions (156-336). On the hither side of the Styx he meets with the shade of his quondam pilot Palinurus, and after receiving from him a detailed account of the circumstances attending his death, he promises to perform to him the due obsequies on his return to earth, and to erect a cenotaph (337-383). Crossing the Styx, he traverses the district occupied by the spirits of infants, and of those who had been unjustly put to death, and enters that where wander in solitude illrequited lovers, their own murderers. In this latter place he falls in with Dido, who, however, indignantly declines a conversation (384476). In the region of slain warriors, Deiphobus, among others, presents himself, all mangled as he was (477-534). He passes Tartarus on the right, and is instructed by the Sibyl in all the varieties of punishment, which were inflicted on the grossly wicked in the abode set apart for them (535-627). He next reaches the palace of Dis, and, having fixed the golden bough on the entrance, directs his course to the habitations of the blessed, and, under the guidance of Musaeus, at length finds Anchises (628-678). Having fully discoursed on the nature of the soul, its purification, and the processes necessary to bring about final perfection, Anchises lays briefly before Aeneas the history of the Roman empire, which his posterity are to found (679– 888). On the conclusion of the interview our hero and his guide ascend to earth again through the ivory gate, the Sibyl departing to her cave, and Aeneas to his fleet, which he moors at Caieta.

1. Classique-habenas; i. e. he spreads his sails to the wind. Cf. V. 662 and Ov. M. I. 280. — 2. Cumae. See on III. 441. - 3. In heroic times, ships were brought to land stern foremost, for convenience in putting to sea again.-4. Fundabat; i. e. fundo alligatas tenebat. —7, 8. Venis. Cf. G. I. 135. On the whole passage cf. A. I. 174 foll. Pars-silvas probably refers to scouring the woods for game, water, etc. Cf. I. 184 foll. Some understand it of getting fuel. Tecta; appositive of silvas.-9-13. The Sibyl's cave is the adytum of the temple of Apollo, which seems to have been on the slope of a hill (hence arces), with the sacred grove (Triviae lucos)

on both sides and in front. On Trivia

=

Hecate, cf. IV. 609.

Al

tus = majestic; or it may refer either to arces, or to the size of the statue, which Serv. says was fifteen feet high. Horrendae ; i. e. when inspired by the god. Cf. 47 foll., 77 foll. Procul; at some distance from the landing. Cui= into whom ; with inspirat. Some make it = whose. Cf. I. 304. Mentem; prophetic insight. Animum; energy of expression. Delius. See on III. 162. —14-17. For the story of Daedalus, see Ov. M. VIII. Introd. Pennis; instrumental abl. Coelo; dat. with credere. Enavit. Cf. IV. 245. Arctos. See on Ov. M. I. 132, 171. Chalcidica. See on v. 2. 19. Cf. I. 534. Templa; also a votive offering. — 20-22. Letum; sc. erat. Androgeo. Gr. 46. 3. 1). A. & S. 54. I. He was the son of Minos, and (according to one of several legends) was killed by rivals who envied his success in the Panathenaic games. It was because of his death that Minos exacted of the Athenians (Cecropidae, from Cecrops, the founder of Athens) the tribute (poenas) here mentioned. Tum indicates the transition to a second sculpture. Corpora. Cf. II. 18. Stat-urna=stat urna, et sortes inde ducuntur. -23. Contra and respondet imply that the Cretan sculptures were a pendant to the Athenian. Gnosia. See on G. I. 222. elata mari cf. alta, V. 588. — 24–26. Crudelis; since the passion for the beautiful bull was a punishment from Venus, whom she had offended. Supposta Furto = furtim. Mixtum genus is explained by proles biformis. Veneris amoris. Monumenta; plu. for sing. referring only to the Minotaur. - 27-31. Domus; gen. with labor. Some make it an appositive of labor. Cf. description of the Labyrinth, V. 588 foll. phaë, but her daughter Ariadne. Cf. I. 273. I. 19. Amorem; i. e. for Theseus, to whom tigia refers. Ipse; even he, the framer of the maze. Icare. See on Ov. M. VIII. Introd. Sineret; sc. si. Gr. 510; 503. I; 504. 2. A. & S. 261, R. 1 and R. 5. — 32, 33. Conatus erat; sc. Daedalus, implied in patriae: the father's, as in I. 643. Protinus: =successively. Omnia; a dissyllable. See on tenuia, G. I. 397. — 3436. Perlegerent. . . afforent. For the tense see on sineret, v.

=

=

substituted.

=

On

Reginae; not PasiSed enim. See on (not to reginae) ves

-37-39.

31. Deiphobe; one of several names given to the Cumaean Sibyl. Glauci = (the daughter) of Glaucus, perhaps the prophetic sea-god. Gr. 397. I (1). A. & S. 211, R. 7 (1). Regi; Aeneas. Ista these that you are gazing at. Intacto; that have never been yoked. Praestiterit. Gr. 485. A. &. S. 260, R. 4. Bidentes. See on IV. 57.-41. They had been standing before the gate, and now are summoned within. -42-44. A description of the adytum, which, as at Delphi, was a cavern in the rock. Euboicae rupis; the hill of Cumae. Ingens; with latus. Aditus... ostia; a sort