10 15 praebeat et pleno pinguia musta lacu. nam veneror, seu stipes habet desertus in agris seu vetus in trivio florida serta lapis: et quodcumque mihi pomum novus educat annus, libatum agricolae ponitur ante deo. flava Ceres, tibi sit nostro de rure corona 12. florida O florea w. ple in the Forum Holitorium at Rome; cf. Preller, Vol. 2, p. 253. Cf. also 2, 6, 21. destituat: used absolutely here. - frugum : the product of the grandia poma, as musta is that of the tenerae vites. 10. pinguia: 'rich'; cf. Hor. Sat. 2, 4, 65: pingui mero. lacu: the trough-like wine vat into which the juice of the grape ran when first pressed out. Cf. 2, 5, 86. 11. nam: and I have good reason to hope, for' I am faithful in my worship of all the rustic divinities, even the humblest. For this elliptical use of nam, cf. Ter. Ad. 190. - stipes . . . lapis: old tree trunks, stakes, and stones, either plain, or rudely carved, often represented divinities to the Romans, and were worshiped, whether standing by themselves in the fields, or set up at the crossroads. Boundary stones furnish an excellent illustration; for as representatives of the god Terminus they were honored with garlands hung upon them at certain times. Cf. Ovid, Fast. 2, 641 sqq.: Termine, sive lapis, sive es defossus in agro stipes, ab antiquis tu quoque numen habes. te duo diversa domini de parte coronant binaque serta tibi binaque liba ferunt; Prop. 1, 4, 24; Lucr. 5, 1199, and Munro's note on the passage; Lucian, Alex. 30; Champney, p. 4. — desertus: standing alone,' contrasted with trivio (v. 12). 12. florida: for the more exact florea; cf. 1, 2, 14; on the other hand Vergil, Aen. 1, 430, uses florea for florida. 13. novus... annus: a newly recurring harvest time. 14. libatum: 'as a consecrated offering.'-ante: adverbial.—deo: in the collective sense, including Spes, as well as Vertumnus, Pomona, or Silvanus. Cf. 1, 5, 27. 15. flava: the usual epithet, transferred to the goddess from the ripened grain which she represents. Cf. Servius on Verg. Georg. 1, 96: flava dicitur propter ar tarum colorem in maturitate; Ovid, Fast. 4. 424.- corona spicea: the most appropriate offering; cf. 2, 1, 4; 1, 10, 22; Hor. Car. Saec. 29-30: fertilis frugum pecorisque Tellus spicea donet Cererem corona; Ovid, Am. 3, 10, 3; Baum. Denk. p. 417. 20 25 spicea, quae templi pendeat ante fores, vos quoque, felicis quondam, nunc pauperis agrı tum vitula innumeros lustrabat caesa iuvencos, iam modo iam possim contentus vivere parvo 25. iam modo iam possim M iam modo non possum O quippe ego iam possum P iam modo nunc possum iam modo si possum Lachmann iam modo iners possim Vahlen iam mihi, iam possim Schneidewin dum modo iam possim Baehrens. 16. ante fores: cf. Prop. 4, 3, 17. 17. ruber custos: wooden figures of Priapus were commonly painted with vermilion and placed in gardens, where they served as the prototype of the scarecrow of to-day. Cf. Ovid, Fast. 1, 415: at ruber, hortorum decus et tutela, Priapus; Verg. Georg. 4, 110: et custos furum atque avium cum falce saligna Hellespontiaci servet tutela Priapi; Hor. Sat. 1, 8, 3-8. 18. falce pruninghook,' the gardener's weapon. — Priapus : a god of fruitfulness in both plants and animals; his worship was not indigenous in Italy, but imported from the Asian shores of the Hellespont. Translate in apposition with ruber custos. 19. felicis quondam: cf. v. 2, n.; Verg. Ec. 1, 75: ite meae felix quondam pecus ite capellae. 20. fertis the present of customary action. munera vestra: i.e. those usually offered as most appropriate; cf. Hor. Sat. 2, 5, 12: dulcia poma et quoscumque feret cultus tibi fundus honores, ante larem gustet venerabilior lare dives. lares: here the lares rurales; for their nature see H. and T. § 189. At the festival of Ambarvalia (cf. 2, 1) they were honored with the other rural divinities. 21. tum in the times referred to in felicis quondam (v. 19). — lustrabat: cf. 2, 1, 1; there were several festivals of purification, such as the Ambarvalia (2, 1), the Palilia (2, 5, 85 sqq.), and the Feriae Sementivae (Ovid, Fast. 1, 658); at any of these the customs described in vv. 21-24 might be witnessed annually. 25. iam . . . iam: 'henceforth; the repetition emphasizes the idea of the actual completion of his military experiences and of 30 35 nec semper longae deditus esse viae, at vos exiguo pecori, furesque lupique, parcite de magno est praeda petenda grege. hic ego pastoremque meum lustrare quot annis his having obtained from now on, without interruption, that quiet life which he desires. For the repetition, with inserted word, cf. Verg. Aen. 12, 179. modo dummodo.- possim == mihi liceat. — vivere = vitam degere.—parvo: 'my modest competence.' 26. = nec: without being.'semper implies the rather impatient memory of several expeditions already engaged in. — viae : 'marches.' 27. canis i.e. the dog star, Sirius. The climax of summer heat is usually coincident with the days following the star's appearance in July, and the ancients regarded it as a cause; cf. the modern expression, "dog days"; cf. 1, 4, 6: aestivi tempora sicca canis; 1, 7, 21. ortus plural, referring to the daily rising of the sun (and the heat) during the period after the canis has appeared. Cf. Hor. Car. 4. 15, 15; 1, 17, 17.- sub umbra: cf. Verg. Ec. 1, 1, 1; Hor. Car. 1, 1, 21; Epod. 2, 23; Lucr. 2, 30. 28. ad rivos: cf. Ovid, Rem. Am. 194: ipse potes rivos ducere lenis aquae; Hor. Epod. 2, 25: labuntur altis interim ripis aquae; Lucr. 2, 29-30 prostrati in gramine molli propter aquae rivum sub ramis arboris altae. 29. tenuisse: there is no appreciable difference in meaning between the perfect tense here, and in v. 30, and the present, in referre (v. 32). The perfect forms were sometimes more convenient metrically. Cf. vv. 46 and 74; also 1, 10, 61-63; Prop. I, 1, 15; 17, I. -bidentes: a common garden implement. 31. agnamve sinu: cf. Isaiah, 40, II: "He shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom." 40 45 et placidam soleo spargere lacte Palem. dona nec e puris spernite fictilibus. quos tulit antiquo condita messis avo: si licet et solito membra levare toro. quam iuvat inmites ventos audire cubantem et dominam tenero continuisse sinu 46. continuisse 0 detinuisse Y tum tenuisse Baehrens. 36. placidam: used proleptically. 37. paupere mensa : in contrast to the expensive tables of the rich, a kind of extravagance which was a special fad at Rome; cf. B. G., pp. 294–296. 38. fictilibus: although Tibullus appears to be pleading his poverty as an excuse for using earthenware dishes instead of vessels of silver and gold in sacrificing to the gods, as a matter of fact it was the well-known conservatism always attaching to religious rites which required that the old-fashioned sacrificial vessels of pottery should be retained even long after this time. Cf. Lanciani, Anc. Rome in the Light of Mod. Disc., p. 43; Pliny, N. H. 35, 46: in sacris quidem etiam inter has opes hodie non murrinis crystallinisve, sed fictilibus prolibatur; Juv. 6, 342-345. With the general idea of vv. 38-39 cf. 1, 10, 17-18. 40. facili: in the passive sense, 'plastic. For the position of ego cf. BPW., Vol. 18 (1898), Sp. 213; for -que before a dissyllable ending a pentameter cf. v. 78; Intr. § 28. 42. condita ingathered.' 43. satis est: for similar repetitions, which are quite in the manner of Tibullus, cf. 1, 3, 4-5; 1, 2, 29-30; 1, 5, 61-65; 2, 5, 100; Prop. 2, 13, 25. 44. solito cf. Ovid, Trist. 3, 3, 39.toro: properly the bedding or covering, the part upon which the body lies, as distinguished from lectus as a whole. 45. iuvat with the thought cf. Lucr. 2, 1-2: suave, mari magno turbantibus aequora ventis, e terra magnum alterius spectare laborem.. cubantem: SC. aliquem. 50 55 aut, gelidas hibernus aquas cum fuderit auster, hoc mihi contingat: sit dives iure, furorem ut domus hostiles praeferat exuvias: 47. For the rime cf. Intr. § 42, I (5)(b). 48. imbre iuvante: cf. Hor. Epod. 2, 28. 51. potius belongs to both clauses. On the arrangement of words (synchysis) cf. 1, 3, 56; Hansen, p. 36.-smaragdi: 'gems'; for the collective use cf. Prop. I, 14, 12; Ovid, Am. 3, 13, 25: virginei crines auro gemmaque pre muntur. 52. Cf. Prop. 3, 20, 4: tantine, ut lacrimes, Africa tota fuit? 53. terra marique: cf. 1, 3, 56. Messalla is still away at war. Messalla: Marcus Valerius Messalla Corvinus, b. 64 B.C., d. c. 8 A.D., the patron of Tibullus, distinguished in public life and literary circles at Rome. In the civil wars he was successively allied with the fortunes of Brutus, Antony, and Octavian, and rendered the latter excellent service in the final struggle at Actium for the mastery of the Roman world. After this he was intrusted with several important military commissions by Augustus, among them the Aquitanian expedition, probably in 31 B.C., and the ordering of affairs in various eastern provinces immediately thereafter (see Intr. to 1, 3). He was the first to hold the office of Praefectus Urbi, which he soon resigned as inconsistent with his political opinions. As an orator he achieved much fame and earned the praise of Cicero. He wrote also poetry and historical works. The literary coterie of which he was the center included particularly Tibullus, Lygdamus, Sulpicia, and other minor poets; and he was also the friend of Horace, Asinius Pollio, and Ovid; cf. 1, 3, 1; 5. 31; 7, 7, et passim ; 2, 1, 31-34; 5, 119. 54. praeferat: it was the custom to hang at the entrance of houses and temples the trophies won from vanquished enemies. Cf. Verg. Aen. 7, 183 sqq.: multaque praeterea sacris in postibus arma, captivi pendent currus curvaeque secures et cristae capitum et portarum ingentia claustra speculaque clipeique ereptaque rostra carinis; Prop. 3, 9, 26. |