23 and following. Compare the account of Apollo in the contest before Midas (Stories from Ovid, XV. 81 and foll.) : 27. 28. Ille caput flavum lauro Parnaside vinctus Order-veluti olor trajectus canentia tempora dura pinna, etc. The wild swan's death hymn took the soul Of that waste place with joy "From great antiquity, and before the melody of the Syrens, the musical note of swans hath been commended, and that they sing most sweetly before their death hath been the affirmation of many Latins, and hath not wanted assertors almost from every nation." Sir Thomas Browne's Popular Delusions, iii. 27. The origin of this fancy is unknown. 33. Pretium, in apposition with an accusative of kindred meaning understood after cantat. IX. JASON AND MEDEA. THIS letter of Medea to Jason is a remonstrance on his marriage with Creusa, or Glauce, daughter of the king of Corinth, and so has much the same standpoint as Euripides' play, save that here the vengeance is only threatened, whilst there it is actually carried out. Ovid's Medea, who pours forth the complaints of an ill-used wife, is somewhat toned down from the bold and cunning_virago of the play, and wins our sympathy the more for the change. The simple unpretending narrative of all the help she has given, and of Jason's obligations to her gives point to her complaint, and to her appeal to him not thus to forget the past. 2. Pelias arbor. Cf. Eur. Med. 3. Mnd' év vámaiσi Пŋλíov ñeσeîv ποτε τμηθεῖσα πεύκη. 3. Magnetida, Thessalian. Magnesia was the south-east district of Thessaly. The Phasis was the great river of Colchis. Why lyked me thy yelow heere to see O baddest thou in thy conquest ded ybe, Ful mykel untrouthe had ther dyed with the.-CHAUCER. Nova. The Argo was the first ship built. Attuleratque. Que here is attached to the word to which it belongs, though it is not the first word in the sentence. 9. IO. 12. = Isset. The same idea is expressed in two different forms: cur perisset. Immemor contains the reason for the wish-Since he is so ungrateful. The crop of giants that sprang from his sowing the dragon's teeth would have destroyed him. The change of tense in caderet seems due to metrical reasons only. 16. It is the only satisfaction left me. 18. 21. Beata, wealthy, as is plain from what follows. Medea thinks that it is the wealth of Creusa which has seduced Jason, and sees in her position a distinct parallel to her own when Jason came to Colchis. It is said that the quest of the golden fleece signifies the search for gold in the countries east of the Euxine. Ephyren, an old name for Corinth : for bimarem, see I. 71, note. Scythia, for Ovid, is on the west of the Euxine, north of the mouth of the Danube, the scene of his later exile. Hence "plaga laeva." 66 24. Corpora. The Latin loves a definite picture; so they refresh themselves with food and sleep," is "corpora cibo somnoque curant. "She had fortified herself by antidotes," is "praesumendo remedia munierat corpus." Tac. Ann. XIV. 3. Possibly here Medea intends to hint that for her none but Jason had any distinct individuality. Cf. turba Graia above, 1. 4. 27. 30. 34. 35. 39. Nec. The negative belongs to notis. Abstulerant, taken captive. Vomere, for the yoke which was attached to the plough. was more to make these terrible. They were made by He- He was to sow some of the teeth of the same dragon that Cadmus had slain at the founding of Thebes; from them, as Cadmus' experience had shown, would spring a crop of men armed to the teeth (secum natis telis). 43. Custodis, the dragon that guarded the golden fleece. The whole story of these labours is very prettily told in Mr. Morris's Life and Death of Jason. 46. Deserit. The guests at a Greek or Roman meal reclined on couches, and the table with the dishes on it was moved up to them at each course, and removed when the course was finished. Hence such words as apponere, πарат:0éval, and the use of mensa for "a course," e.g., mensa secunda," for the fruit course or dessert. So the table leaves the guests, not the guests the table. 66 47. 51. 52. 56. 57. 59. The moment's safety was enough then to occupy your thoughts. Quanta fuit, i.e., the whole night. Soror, Chalciope, wife of Phryxus, and mother of Argus and his brethren, who had taken part in the Argonautic expedition. It was at their prompting that she came to Medea. She had buried her face in her pillow, trying to shut out the picture of Jason's danger. Habebat, i.e., the means of giving help by her magical powers. 64. Aurea stat. So in Greek, χρυσοῦς στάθητι, you shall have a statue in gold. 55. Exciderunt. There are eighteen instances in Ovid of this shortening of the penultima of 3. plur. perfect indicative, all, with one exception, in words of four syllables. 70. Servatus, i.e., my preservation. The Romans prefer giving a concrete shape to what we express by abstract words, so "post occisum Caesarem," "after the murder of Caesar." 72. 73. 74. 78. Avi. Eetes was the son of Sol. Triplices. The grove is spoken of elsewhere as a grove of Hecate, Aliquos. It probably has some gods, if not the same as ours. 81. Iuno, as Lucina. 87. 91. 95. 97. 99. 100. IOI. 104. See Shakspeare's Tempest, iv. I, 106: Honour, riches, marriage-blessing, Long continuance, and increasing From fear, lest my charms should be too weak for so great a danger. The third danger-the wakeful guardian of the treasure. Dotis opes, the wealthy dowry, which now has such attractions for you. Nunc denique, only now you did not find it out before. Nocens. The charge of witchcraft was brought against her to excuse Jason's abandonment. 66 I filched away his eyes by a charmed (or drugged) sleep. 107. Germane, Absyrtus. See the following extract. IIO. I wish I had been torn in pieces in the same way, for I deserved it. 112. Pelago. For an illustration of the feeling of the ancients about the sea, compare Horace, Odes, I. 3. They seem to have had an idea that divine vengeance was nearer by sea than on land. 115. If ever a spondee is allowed in the fifth foot of a hexameter, the fourth foot must be a dactyl. 118. The Argonauts are supposed to have been driven out to sea westward. According to other accounts they went across land, and returned to Greece from the West. See I. 89, note. Nisus. 119. Sc. Charybdis. 123. 127. The Scylla of the short line is the daughter of Medea persuaded the daughters of Pelias that she could restore Sua verba, the words that befit it. What follows happened at 128. Cede domo. One of the Roman formulæ of divorce. 133. 134. 137. 141. The tibia was the instrument of rejoicing, the tuba of mourning. Cf. Propert., II. vii. 12: Tibia funesta tristior illa tuba. Tuba = quam quæ fundit tuba. Quidquid erat, I had a presentiment that it was evil, and so better not known. 143. Lusus studioque videndi; lusus is Merkel's emendation for jussus; trans., "in his eagerness to see the fun" (lit., for the fun and for seeing). 146. 149. 150. 154. 156. 158. Aureus, in gold-embroidered attire. Ire. The infinitive after words implying advice or command is not uncommon in poetry. Demere rapta = rapere et demere. The body of Absyrtus, scattered about, had not had due burial, and so his Manes could not have peace; but this suffering of his guilty sister might well serve as an appeasing sacrifice. Coniuge, without preposition, because deseror is equivalent to a verb of depriving; as we say, "abandoned of my spouse." The perfect denotes completeness: I could not thoroughly subdue. 163. Cf. I. 139. 164. If this reading stands habet habitat, dwells. proposes : = Et tener a misero pectore somnus abit. Mr. Palmer 170. Iniustis; she will naturally welcome anything, however untrue, which is to my prejudice. 172. Vitiis, applied equally to personal and moral defects, to faciem and mores. 174. 178. Adusta, a hint at the poisoned robe which, like that of Hercules, shall burn her skin. Animis, words more humble than befits my proper spirit: ταπεινότερα ἢ κατὰ τὸν ἐμὸν θυμόν. (Palmer.) 180. Moror, shrink from. 183. Imagine, i.e., their likeness to you. 188. 193. Refer. Repay to me the help which I gave you, though it is not against such deadly foes as those against whom you asked my help. Numeravimus, paid down. cash," counted out. Numerata pecunia, is "hard 194. Laturo, conditional, "if you were to carry off." 197. Tu sospes, your safety. 198. Sisyphias. Sisyphus was the legendary founder of Corinth. All the wealth of Corinth, all the dowry you receive with your new bride, is no match for the dowry which I brought you. 205. Matt. xxvii. 4. What is that to us? See thou to that. X. ABSYRTUS. MEDEA could not, such were the pangs of an evil conscience, tell this story, which is a proper pendant to the one which precedes. Ovid tells it to account for the name Tomi, or Tomis, of the place of his exile. 3. Miletus was the city from which more especially the Greek colonies on the Euxine were sent out. 5. 7. Posita, i.e., the place was called Tomis before it was colonized by the Milesians. Rate, the Argo, built under Pallas' direction. 9. Impia, for thwarting her father's designs. II. 12. 15. 21. 27. Quem, i.e., parentem. They had feared pursuit, and had there- Colchis. Fem. sing. adjective, = Medea. Quid agat, what to do: the subjunctive (deliberative) would stand in the direct-quid agam? Per agros; another version represents them as scattered over the water in their flight. |