Membra levant baculis, tardique senilibus annis 695 Nituntur longo vestigia ponere clivo. Tantum aberant summo, quantum semel ire sagitta 700 705 Poscimus; et quoniam concordes egimus annos, 710 Busta meae videam, neu sim tumulandus ab illa.' Vota fides sequitur: templi tutela fuere, Donec vita data est. Annis aevoque soluti 715 shortened as vocalis ante vocalem. So Metam. vii. 131: praĕacutae cuspidis hastas.-697. Quantum semel ire sagitta Missa potest. So above, iv. 709: Tantum aberat scopulis quantum Balearica torto Funda potest plumbo médii transmittere coeli.-698. Flexere et prospiciunt. A change of tense such as we have already repeatedly observed. Metam. xiii. 940: Obstupui dubitoque diu; xiv. 460: Postquam mandata peregit Auxiliumque petit, vires Aetolius heros Excusat; xv. 649: multi renuere suamque Non omittere opem, nec numina tradere suadent. Another change of construction is to be noticed in the use of prospiciunt with the participle mersa, and the infinitive manere. 702. Furcae, props in the shape of a fork (of a V), to support the gable. They were also called tibicines. Fast. iv. 695: Haec modo verrebat stantem tibicine villam. Furcas subiere columnae. Subire with the accusative, to take the place of anything, in locum alicujus succedere. Fast. iv. 43: Subit Alba Latinum.-704. Adopertaque marmore tellus. Tellus for solum. As the temples of the ancients had frequently colonnades instead of the outer walls, it is easy to suppose that the floor might be visible from the height where they stood.-708. Judicium commune, sententiam communem. Judicium is more formal: the result of their consultation.-710. Poscimus here expresses nothing more than an urgent request.-711. Duos, ambo, for duo is usually said of two among a number.-712. Busta, funus; tumulandus, sepeliendus; both poetic.-713. Fides, the fulfilment; because in it lies faithfulness to the given promise. Metam. iii. 527: Baucida conspexit senior frondere Philemon : 720 Haec mihi non vani-neque erat cur fallere vellent- 725 Serta super ramos, ponensque recentia dixi : Dicta fides sequitur.-717. Consperit, vidit.-719. Valeque; see ii. 33.721. Tyaneius, of Tyana in Cappadocia.-724. Pendentia vidi Serta super ramos. Garlands were hung up on trees along with a tablet containing a representation of the god, and a statement of the reason why he was thus honoured. METAMORPH. LIB. IX. HERCULIS MORS. THE Centaur Nessus, who was slain by Hercules, had, shortly before his death, given Deianira a garment infected with his poisoned blood, telling her that it would revive the love of Hercules towards her if it should grow cold (irritamen amoris, v. 133). LONGA fuit medii mora temporis, actaque magni 135 Vota Jovi, cum Fama loquax praecessit ad aures, Gaudet et e minima sua per mendacia crescit, 140 Credit amans, venerisque novae perterrita fama Indulsit primo lacrimis flendoque dolorem Diffudit miseranda suum, mox deinde 'Quid autem Ab 135. Odiumque novercue is here the nominative; acta Herculis et odium novercae implerant terras. The hatred of Juno, his stepmother, as the occasion of all his labours, is as celebrated as the labours themselves. -136. Oechalia. The ancients differ as to the situation of this mythical city destroyed by Hercules; according to Ovid it is in Euboea. Oechalia, on his way from Oechalia. Cenaeo Jovi. Jupiter was so called from the promontory of Cenaeum on the north coast of Euboea.-139. E minima, sc. Fama.-140. Ioles. Iole was the daughter of Eurytus, king of Oechalia. Eurytus promised his daughter in marriage to any one who should conquer his sons in archery, but refused to perform his promise when Hercules fulfilled the condition. On this Hercules slew Eurytus, destroyed his city, and led away Iole as a captive. This was the contents of the epic poem Οἰχαλίας ἅλωσις, as the author of which the ancients mention Creophilus, a contemporary of Homer.142. Flendoque dolorem Diffudit, she calmed her sorrow with tears. Diffundere, to pour out; of a fluid which is spread over a large surface, Quae quoniam adveniet, properandum aliquidque no- Dum licet et nondum thalamos tenet altera nostros! 145 150 155 160 and thereby diminished.-145. Novandum est, aliquid novi et hactenus 'nauditi moliendum est.-146. Altera, an expression of bitterness. So Juno says, Metam. ii. 513: pro me tenet altera coelum.-147. Calydon, a city in Aetolia where Deianira was born. She was daughter of Oeneus and Althaea, and sister of Meleager.-148. Si nihil amplius, sc. faciam; which, however, in this and similar phrases, is usually omitted.-149. Meleagre for Meleager, Greek form from the nominative Meλéaygos.-150. Injuria, injuriae acceptae recordatio.-152. Incursus -varios, her mind makes various onsets; that is, meditates various projects.-154. Defecto-amori. Defectus is here intransitive, qui defecit, as if it came from a deponent. Above, iv. 782, repercussus in the same way. There is a considerable number of such participles in Latin: adultus, concretus, consuetus, &c.-155. Lichas, the servant of Hercules and Deianira. Luctus suos tradit, she delivers to him that which was to prove a cause of grief to her.-158. Induiturque humeris virus. The reflective nature of the verb indui is here to be observed: that with which he clothes himself stands in the accusative, as indui vestem, tunicam, and the like; the part of the body on which he puts it, in the ablative, as it were an ablativus loci. (See Gram. § 259.) Virus obviously for the poisoned garment. Lernaeae Echidnae. Nessus was shot with the arrows which had been dipped in the blood of the Lernaean serpent; hence his blood also was poisoned, and exercised the same effect as that of the serpent.-159. Primis flummis, for initio sacrificii. In Ovid, and contemporaneous poets, the sacrifices usually commence with incense and prayer. Compare above, vi. 164. -161. Vis illa mali, validum illud venenum. Now when it grew warm, the poison began to take effect. Flammis, here of course only for calore corporis.-162. Per artus, connect with diffusae. Abiit, a more graphic Dum potuit, solita gemitum virtute repressit; 165 Qua trahitur, trahit illa cutem,-foedumque relatu, Aut haeret membris frustra tentata revelli, Ipse cruor, gelido ceu quondam lamina candens Ambustique sonant nervi; caecaque medullis 'Cladibus,' exclamat 'Saturnia, pascere nostris ! 170 175 180 Mors mihi munus erit: decet haec dare dona novercam ! expression for est.-164. Malis, dolore. Victa malis postquam patientia, with est omitted, seems to belong to the poetic dialect in the time of the emperors.-165. Nemorosam Õeten. Oete is here feminine according to the termination; but names of mountains with a feminine termination are frequently masculine, owing to the general notion of mons which they contain.-168. Tentata revelli. A poetic use of the double passive; for tentata belongs in strictness not to vestis, but to the tearing off (revellere).-170. Quondam, nonnunquam, frequent in comparisons, like olim.-171. Lacu, aqua. So Metam. xii. 276: Ut dare ferrum Igne rubens plerumque solet, quod forcipe curva Cum faber eduxit, lacubus demittit. Stridit. Stridere is, with the poets, of the third as well as of the second conjugation.-173. Caeruleus sudor, the dark sweat of death.-174. Nervi, the sinews. Caecaque Tabe, obscura, non visa tabe. Metam. vi. 293: vulnere caeco.-176. Saturnia, Juno, the daughter of Saturn, who was considered as the cause of all the sufferings of Hercules, because she sought to take vengeance on him for the amour of Jupiter with Alcmena, of which Hercules was the offspring.-182. Ergo, &c. In the feeling of the injustice of his sufferings, Hercules recounts the most important of his deeds, and thereby shows how unmerited was his fate.-183. Busiris, king of Egypt, son of Poseidon and Lysianassa, who, in obedience to an oracle, sacrificed foreigners to Jupiter. For this purpose he seized on Hercules, when he came to Egypt on his way from Libya, but was himself slain by him, along with his son and herald.—184. Antaeus, son of Terra, a giant |