Death of Lucretia.

Jamque erat orta dies: passis sedet illa capillis;
Ut solet ad nati mater itura rogum.

Grandaevumque patrem fido cum conjuge castris
Evocat; et posita venit uterque mora.

Utque vident habitum,1 "Quae luctus causa ?" requirunt:

5

"Cui paret exsequias, quove sit icta malo?" Illa diu reticet, pudibundaque celat amictu Ora: fluunt lacrimae more perennis aquae. Hinc pater, hinc conjunx lacrimas solantur, et orant Indicet: et caeco flentque paventque metu. Ter conata loqui; ter destitit: ausaque quarto, Non oculos adeo 2 sustulit illa suos.

10

"Hoc quoque Tarquinio debebimus? Eloquar," inquit,

"Eloquar infelix dedecus ipsa meum."

Quaeque potest, narrat; restabant ultima: flevit; 15 Et matronales erubuere genae.

Dant veniam facto genitor conjunxque coacto:

66

"Quam," dixit," veniam vos datis, ipsa nego."

Nec mora: celato figit sua pectora ferro;

20

Et cadit in patrios sanguinolenta pedes. Tunc quoque, jam moriens, ne non procumbat honeste,

Respicit: haec etiam cura cadentis erat.

Ecce super corpus, communia damna gementes,
Obliti decoris, virque paterque jacent.
Brutus adest; tandemque animo sua nomina fallit; 25
Fixaque semianimi corpore tela rapit,
Stillantemque tenens generoso sanguine cultrum,
Edidit impavidos ore minante sonos:

30

"Per tibi ego1 hunc juro fortem 'castumque cruorem,
Perque tuos Manes, qui mihi Numen erunt;
Tarquinium poenas profuga cum stirpe daturum :
Jam satis est virtus 2 dissimulata diu."
Illa jacens, ad verba oculos sine lumine movit,
Visaque concussa dicta probare coma.
Fertur in exsequias animi matrona virilis;
Et secum lacrimas invidiamque 3 trahit.
Vulnus inane patet. Brutus clamore Quirites
Concitat, et regis facta nefanda refert.
Tarquinius cum prole fugit; capit annua Consul
Jura dies regnis illa suprema fuit.

the origin of the name of Brutus, as he was called so by reason of his supposed stupidity or idiocy. He belies his name of idiot by showing great intelligence.

1 Per tibi ego, etc. This peculiar arrangement of words is often found in oaths—a sign perhaps of great mental excitement. Cf. Verg. Aen. iv. 314: "Per ego has lacrimas dextramque tuam te."

2 Virtus. "My real bravery of character has been concealed too long." It was time for Brutus to display his real character. "Dissimulare" is to

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40

conceal what exists; "simulare," to pretend that that exists which does not. Below, "sine lumine" is "although her power of sight was gone."

3 Invidiam. The odium in which the Tarquins were involved; the hatred against them. Below, "vulnus inane" is the "unclosed, gaping wound" where Lucretia stabbed herself.

Regis. The king, Tarquinius Superbus. Brutus enumerates his cruel deeds, and, as we are to infer, added the last act of his son. Below, "regnis" is

Ariadne, deserted by Theseus, is married to Bacchus. Gnossis1 in ignotis amens errabat arenis

Qua brevis aequoreis Dia feritur aquis: Utque erat e somno tunica velata recincta Nuda pedem, croceas irreligata comas: Thesea crudelem surdas clamabat ad undas Indigno teneras imbre rigante genas.

5

10

Clamabat, flebatque simul; sed utrumque 2 decebat,
Nec facta est lacrimis turpior illa suis.
Jamque iterum tundens mollissima pectora palmis
"Perfidus ille abiît; quid mihi fiet?" ait.
"Quid mihi fiet ?" ait: sonuerunt cymbala toto
Litore, et attonita tympana pulsa manu.
Excidit illa metu, rupitque novissima verba:
Nullus in exanimi corpore sanguis erat.
Ecce Mimallonides sparsis in terga capillis:
Ecce leves Satyri, praevia turba dei.
Ebrius ecce senex pando Silenus asello

15

Vix sedet; et pressas continet arte jubas. Dum sequitur Bacchas, Bacchae fugiuntque petunt

que,

Quadrupedem ferula dum malus urget eques; 20 In caput aurito cecidit delapsus asello. Clamârunt Satyri, Surge age, surge, pater.

1 Gnossis. A feminine adjec tive; Ariadne being a Cretan lady, and Gnossus a town of Crete.

2 Utrumque. Both her cries and her tears. Below, "turpior" is "less beautiful." Cf. Hor. Carm. ii. 8: "Dente si nigro fieres vel uno Turpior ungui."

Quid mihi fiet. "What will

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ex

become of me?" Below,
cidit" is "she fainted," and so,
of course, broke off or left un-
finished her last words.
4 Mimallonides. The Baccha-
nals. The word is said to be a
Macedonian one. Silenus skil-
fully (arte) held on by the mane
of the ass, which he grasped
tightly.

25

Jam deus e curru, quem summum texerat uvis,
Tigribus adjunctis aurea lora dabat.
Et color, et Theseus,1 et vox abîere puellae:
Terque fugam petiît; terque retenta metu,
Horruit, ut steriles, agitat quas ventus, aristae;
Ut levis in madida canna palude tremit.
Cui deus," En adsum tibi cura fidelior," inquit:
"Pone metum: Bacchi, Gnossias, uxor eris.
Munus habe caelum: caelo spectabile sidus
Saepe reges dubiam Cressa Corona ratem."
Dixit; et e curru, ne tigres illa timeret,
Desilit; (imposito cessit arena pedi).
Implicitamque sinu (neque enim pugnare valebat) 35
Abstulit: ut facile est omnia posse 2 deo.

30

Pars, Hymenaee, canunt: pars clamant, Evie, evoe! Sic coëunt sacro nupta deusque toro.

Ariadne changed into a goddess.

3

Jam bene perjuro mutârat conjuge Bacchum,
Quae dedit ingrato fila legenda viro.

Sorte tori gaudens, " Quid flebam rustica?" dixit ;
Utiliter nobis perfidus ille fuit.

Interea Liber depexis crinibus 4 Indos
Vincit, et Eoo dives ab orbe redit.

Theseus, i.e., all thought of Theseus. Below, "cura fidelior" is "a more faithful guardian." Cf. Ovid, Heroid. i. 104: "Tertius immundae cura fidelis harae."

5

her false husband," so that the ablative here is one of the instruments really, or price. Ariadne had enabled Theseus to thread the labyrinth by giving him a clue to guide him through its

2 Omnia posse. to do everything." 3 Mutarat. "Had obtained Bacchus in exchange, by giving

"To be able intricacies.

4 Depexos crinibus. "The straight-haired Indians," as distinguished from the woolly

Inter captivas facie praestante puellas,
Grata nimis Baccho, filia Regis erat.
Flebat amans conjunx, spatiataque litore curvo
Edidit incultis talia verba comis:

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"En iterum similes, fluctus, audite querelas!
En iterum lacrimas accipe, arena, meas!
Dicebam, memini, Perjure et perfide Theseu!
Ille abiît; eadem crimina Bacchus habet.
Nunc quoque, Nulla viro, clamabo, femina credat. 15
Nomine mutato causa relata mea est.

O utinam mea sors, qua primum 1 coeperat, îsset!
Jamque ego praesenti tempore nulla forem!
Quid me desertis perituram, Liber, arenis

Servabas? Potui dedoluisse semel.

Bacche levis, leviorque tuis, quae tempora cingunt,
Frondibus; in lacrimas 2 cognite Bacche meas;
Ausus es ante oculos adducta pellice nostros
Tam bene compositum sollicitare torum.

20

Heu! ubi pacta fides? ubi, quae jurare solebas? 25
Me miseram! quoties haec ego verba loquor!
Thesea culpabas, fallacemque ipse vocabas: -
Judicio peccas turpius ipse tuo.

Ne sciat hoc quisquam, tacitisque doloribus urar;
Ne toties falli digna fuisse puter.
Praecipue cupiam celari Thesea; ne te
Consortem culpae gaudeat esse suae.

haired Africans. The daughter
of the Indian king was too
pleasing to Bacchus, displacing
his wife from his affections.
Below, "relata" is "repeated-
all happened over again."

1 Qua primum, etc. "Had gone by the path it had begun to go by." Ariadne wishes she had been left to die when Theseus deserted her. Below,

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30

"potui dedoluisse" is "I might have been rid of my sorrow once for all." " Potui dedolere" would have been the more correct form: but Ovid (Fasti, i. 354) has "debueras abstinuisse, debueras evoluisse" (Heroid. xii. 4).

2 In lacrimas, etc. "Known to my cost."

3 Celari Thesea. That Theseus should be kept in the dark