testis et Oceani litora Santonici, testis Arar Rhodanusque celer magnusque Garumna, Carnuti et flavi caerula lympha Liger. an te, Cydne, canam, tacitis qui leniter undis caeruleus placidis per vada serpis aquis, quantus et aetherio contingens vertice nubes frigidus intonsos Taurus alat Cilicas? 12. Carnuti o Carnoti 0 Carnutis M. paign. Tarbella Pyrēnē: the Tarbelli were an Aquitanian tribe living close up under the Pyrenees, near the ocean. 10. Santonici : the Santones occupied the territory on the coast just north of the river Garonne. II. Arar: the modern Saône. 12. Carnuti . . . flavi: gen. sing. used in the collective sense: 'of the fair-haired Carnute.' The Carnuti lived between the Seine and the Loire. - et: the trajection of this copula occurs more often in this elegy than in any other of Tibullus; cf. vv. 15, 21, 38, 39, 54. Propertius is equally free in this respect; Ovid, more cautious; no example occurs in Catullus. Cf. Haupt, Opusc. 1, p. 122. caerula lympha in apposition with Liger: the epithet must refer to the bay at the mouth of the river, if it has any meaning. 13. an...canam: the missing first member of this double question might be supplied thus: utrum taceam quod non ipse vidi. Cydne: though not the largest river of Cilicia, the Cydnus was important because Tarsus was situ 13. an w at 0. ated upon it, and interesting because of the peculiarity possibly referred to in these verses and described by Strabo, viz. that before actually reaching the sea it flows into a kind of lake (pîyμa). 14. placidis: "Thy placid stream, thine azure gleam, and thy wavelet's noiseless flow' (Cranstoun). Such tautologies are not uncommon in the poets; cf. aestiva in v. 22 following the same idea in v. 21; Sen. Herc. Fur. 680: placido quieta labitur Lethe vado. vada: course.' 15. quantus. . . contingens .. Taurus alat = quantus sit Taurus qui contingit et alit; cf. qualis abundet (vv. 21-22). The Taurus furnished support to the Cilicians by its cultivated slopes and its grazing grounds. 16. intonsos here a sign of rude barbarity: cf. Liv. 21, 32, 7: homines intonsi et inculti; Ovid, Ex P. 4, 2, 2: intonsis... Getis. But the early Romans had not been so particular; barbers first came to Rome in the year 300 B C.; cf. F. W. Nicolson's discussion of Greek and Roman Barbers in Harvard 20 25 quid referam, ut volitet crebras intacta per urbes prima ratem ventis credere docta Tyros, Stud. in Class. Philology, Vol. 2, pp. 41 sqq.; Varro, R. R. 2, 11, IO. 18. Palaestino : an adjective, used with no well-defined meaning by Tibullus. Palestine was a part of Syria, to be sure; but the fact referred to here was no more characteristic of Palestine than of other parts of the general region. sancta: because the dove was sacred to Astarte, as well as to her Greek counterpart, Aphrodite. Syro: dat. of ref.: 'in the eyes of the Syrian.” 19. turribus: 'lofty palaces'; a vague word; cf. Prop. 3, 21, 15. The modern term is " "skyscraper," at least in American cities. 21. qualis, etc. cf. note on v. 15. Sirius: cf. I, I, 27, n. 22. fertilis: active, 'fertilizing.' abundet: the annual overflow. of the Nile begins about the time of the rising of Sirius. 23. pater: cf. Ennius, Ann. (Vahlen) 1, 54: teque pater Tiberine tuo cum flumine sancto. The epithet is particularly appropriate to the Nile, without which Egypt would not exist except as a part of the desert; it befits a Roman poet well, too, for Egypt was one of the principal granaries of Rome. No doubt Tibullus was well acquainted with the beautiful statue of father Nile, the type of which was imitated in representations of the Tiber; cf. Baum. Denk., p. 1028. causa: the question is answered by Ovid, Met. 2, 254-255: Nilus in extremum fugit perterritus orbem occuluitque caput, quod adhuc latet. 24. occuluisse caput: only in recent times has the source been discovered. The Nile problem was discussed by Herodotus in Bk. 2, by Seneca, Nat. Quaest. 4, I sqq. and elsewhere. 26. pluvio... Iovi: cf. H. & T. $207. 27. Osirim: as the greatest male divinity of the Egyptians, Osiris, the representative of the 330 35 barbara, Memphiten plangere docta bovem. et teneram ferro sollicitavit humum, movit et ad certos nescia membra modos, principle of fructification, was supposed to be responsible for the annual overflow of the Nile, and so his worship is here coupled appropriately with that of father Nile; cf. Fraser, Adonis, Attis, and Osiris. 28. Memphiten . . . bovem : the sacred bull, Apis, the incarnation of Osiris, kept at Memphis. plangere the method of mourning, used for the general idea of mourning for one; rare with an object. On the death of Apis the whole people went into mourning until a new bull was found to take his place; cf. Plin. N. H. 8, 46; Cumont, Oriental Relig. in Roman Paganism, pp. 97 sqq. 29. aratra: Osiris, in many respects the counterpart of the Greek Dionysus, was credited also with the invention of the plow, and of the culture of various fruits besides that of the vine. The invention of the plow was usually attributed to Ceres. For another point of view, cf. 1, 10, 45. 30. teneram: by way of contrast to ferro sollicitavit. — sollicitavit: cf. Ovid, Fast. 4, 396: quas tellus nullo sollicitante dabat; Verg. Georg. 2, 418: sollicitanda tamen tellus pulvisque movendus. 32. non notis: i.e. those with the edible qualities of whose fruit men were as yet unacquainted. 33. teneram: cf. I, 1, 7; Cic. Cat. Mai. 15, 52: vitis . nisi fulta est, fertur ad terram. palis adiungere: the so-called alligatio and amputatio referred to in these two verses were the most important arts in connection with viticulture. 35. illi: Osiris. - sapores: cf. 40 45 pectora tristitiae dissoluenda dedit. non tibi sunt tristes curae nec luctus, Osiri, 40. tristitiae: the gen. after the analogy of the Greek, instead of the regular abl. Cf. Hor. Car. 3, 17, 16: cum famulis operum solutis; Plaut. Rud. 247: me omnium iam laborum levas. A regular epithet of Bacchus is Lyaeus (freer' from care). — dissoluenda dedit = fecit ut dissolverentur; cf. also v. 2, n. 42. compede: the idea of a 'chain gang' of workers is not modern; cf. 2, 6, 25–26. 43. sunt: sc. apti; as the adjective is expressed only in v. 44, it agrees with the nearest noun. 45. corymbis: usually, as here, of a cluster of ivy berries, the ivy being especially sacred to Bacchus and to Osiris; cf. Ovid, Fast. 1, 393 festa corymbiferi celebrabas Graecia Bacchi; Fraser, Adonis, Attis, and Osiris, p. 279; Creuzer, Symbolik u. Mythologie, Vol. 4, pp. 10 sqq. 46. sed for the position cf. v. 12, n. — lutea palla: a long ROM. EL. POETS-10 saffron robe was appropriate to Bacchus - the woman's garment being suggestive of his almost feminine beauty, and the color being suitable for festive occasions; cf. Prop. 3, 17, 32: et feries nudos veste fluente pedes; Sen. Oed. 422: lutea vestem retinente zona. The combination of such an effeminate garment with the insignia of Hercules is ridiculed in the Frogs of Aristophanes, v. 46. 47. Tyriae vestes: a cloak of Tyrian purple. 48. cista: the box containing the mystic emblems of the god, which was carried in the processions of the festivals of Bacchus ; cf. Cat. 64, 259: cavis celebrabant orgia cistis. 49. huc ades: with consummate skill the thought has been developed from the Aquitanian triumph to this summons to Osiris to be present on this festal day as the wine god whose worship (in a 145 50 55 concelebra et multo tempora funde mero: et capite et collo mollia serta gerat. at tibi succrescat proles, quae facta parentis 54. liba AV libem G. melle o mella O. feram AV favo G. figurative sense) will necessarily be prominent.-genium: i.e. Messalla's. The Genius was the individual man's tutelary divinity (corresponding to the Juno of each woman; cf. H. & T. § 188), presiding over his life from birth to death (cf. gigno). Each man had his own Genius, who was worshiped, especially on his birthday, with offerings of wine, cakes, perfumes, and garlands; cf. 2, 2, 1, sqq.; B. G., p. 78, n. 15. For the form of the verse cf. 1, 10, 28. 50. Cf. 1, 2, 3: neu quisquam multo percussum tempora Baccho excitet. 51. illius: i.e. Genii. It was appropriate on such occasions to decorate the image of the divinity honored. In this case, however, we must not forget that the Genius is closely identified with the man himself. Evidently the poet is here not thinking of the serpent form of Genius representations. — stillent: cf. 2, 2, 7. i.e. 53. hodierne: sc. deus; the Genius, who was the particular divinity of a birthday, and to whom the next word refers; cf. 2, 2, 5; 5, 5; 4, 5, 9. 54. Mopsopio: honey from Mt. Hymettus. Mopsopus was a mythical king of Attica, in which Hymettus stands. 55. tibi: Messalla; for the sudden change in meaning from the tibi in v. 53 cf. v. 3, n.-proles: Messalla had two sons and a daughter. Cf. 2, 5. 56. augeat: cf. 2, 5, 115-120, and especially v. 119, n.-veneranda: worthy of honor.' senem sc. te. 57. taceat: sc. ille from the following relative clause. monumenta: 'monumental work.'viae: the Via Latina, which Messalla had repaired, paying the expense from the spoils of war according to the command of Augustus. Citizens of Tusculum and Alba would reach Rome by this road. Cf. Burn, RL. and RA., p. 252. |