=

Gentibus for mankind. 42. Tempora quae (showing) what seasons. Curvus; i. e. bending over the plough. Haberet should observe. -45. Molli flexible. -46. Orphea. Gr. 46. 3. 5). A. & S. 54. 5 and 86. See on Ovid, M. X. Introduction, p. 415. 48. Si-spectas = if thou (once) lookest at the heifer; i. e. compared with the heifer, the cups deserve no praise. Gr. 669. I. A. & S. 305 (4). Nihil... laudes. Gr. 501. I. 1. A. & S. 264. 7 and N. 3.49. Menalcas, in his turn, insinuates that Damoetas wishes to get off. Veniam; i. e. I will come to your terms, whatever they may be.-50. Audeat. Gr. 488. I. A. & S. 260, R. 6. Vel· Palaemon. Vel goes rather with qui venit than Palaemon. Menalcas begins as if he wished for some particular arbiter, but corrects himself, and offers to take the chance of a man just then approaching, whom he identifies at the end of the verse as Palaemon: "The man who is coming up- there! it is Palaemon.". 51. Posthac; with lacessas. Voce lacessas = challenge in singing; i. e. challenge to sing. Gr. 429. A. & S. 250. 1.-52. Quin age = come on then. Si quid habes : if thou hast anything (to sing), if thou canst sing at all. Cf. IX. 32; V. 10. — 53. Nec-fugio =nor do I Some critics make quemquam mean any opponent; these things (i. e. Res-parva

shun any one.

others, any judge. 54. Sensibus haec imis which we are about to sing) in thy deepest thoughts. refers to the importance of the contest rather than to the value of the wager, as some make it. Reponas. Gr. 488. I. A. & S. 260, R. 6.55. Dicite=canite, as often. -56, 57. Et-annus. Cf. G. II. 323, 330. Annus for anni tempus, the season of the year. 58. Deinde. Gr. 669. II. A. & S. 306. I and (1). - 59. Alternis responsively. Gr. 414 and 3. A. & S. 247. 2. Alterna responsive songs. Camenae; Latin deities nearly identical with the Muses of the Greeks. 60. Ab— principium (sc. mei carminis sit) ; i. e. I begin with celebrating the praises of Jupiter. Musae is the vocative. -61. Colit fertilizes. Cf. G. II. 325, 326, and see on Hor. C. I. 1. 25. Illi-curae; i. e. because Jupiter cares for the earth, and renders it fruitful, therefore those who cultivate the earth, and shepherds and their songs, are pleasing to him. Gr. 390. A. & S. 227. -62. Phoebus. Menalcas replies: Apollo, the poet's patron, is my friend: for him I rear bays and hyacinths in my garden. Phoebo. Gr. 387. A. & S. 226. Sua; i. e. which are pleasing to him. Gr. 449. 2. A. & S. 208 (8). — 63. Suave suaviter. Gr. 335. 4. 1). A. & S. 205, R. 10. 64. Malo me petit = throws an apple at me. Apples were sacred to Venus; whence, to throw an apple at one was a mode of flirting. 65. Se cupit videri. Gr. 551. II. I. A. & S. 271, R. 4. Ante before (she hides herself). — 66. Ignis beloved. Cf. the English flame.

=

=

=

-67. Delia is Menalcas's mistress. Damoetas had boasted that he was beloved by Galatea. Menalcas replies that he is beloved by two persons, and that they each come so often to his cottage that they are no longer barked at by his dogs. -68. Veneri-beloved. Notavi I observed. — 69. Ipse denotes that he has observed it himself, so that he will be sure to remember it. Aëriae high in air. Cf. I. 59. Congessere; for nidum congessere, as we say "to build." Palumbes. Wood-pigeons were sacred to Venus. 70. Quod potui=what I could; i. e. since I had to pick them from the lofty branches of the tree. The expression corresponds to aëriae, both denoting difficulty. It is explanatory of the following sentence. Gr. 445. 7. A. & S. 206. 13 (a). Puero; Amyntas. Gr. 384. 2. 1). A. & S. 225. IV. R. 2. Silvestri - lecta=picked from a tree in the wood. 71. Aurea; i. e. ripe. Altera (sc. decem). a second ten. -73. Partem aliquem some small part; since even that would charm the gods themselves. Divum. Gr. 45. 5. 4). A. & S. 53. Referatis. Gr. 488. I. A. & S. 260, R. 6. —74. Quid. Gr. 380. 2. A. & S. 232 (3). Quod-servo. He complains that he is separated from Amyntas, who takes the more attractive and dangerous part of the adventure; and this is opposed to ipse—spernis. “What is your affection to me if you will not give me your company?" Servo = observo; i. e. to watch for game. -76. Phyllida. Gr. 93. 1. A. & S. 80. I. Phyllis seems to be either the female slave or mistress of Iollas, whom we may suppose to be a neighboring farmer who has joined the company since the musical contest began. Natalis. The birthday was a season for merry-making and love; whereas the festival, called Ambarvalia, referred to by quum — frugibus, was a time of abstinence from such pleasures. When this shall arrive, he derisively invites Iollas to come himself. On the occasion of this festival (G. I. 338-350) the victim to be sacrificed was led three times round the cornfields before the sickle was put to the corn. It was accompanied by a crowd of merry-makers, the reapers and farm servants dancing and singing the praises of Ceres, and praying for her favor and presence, while they offered her the libations of milk, honey, and wine. This festival took place towards the end of April, when the harvest in Italy began. — 78. Menalcas retorts in the person of Iollas. Me-flevit. Gr. 551. III. A. & S. 273. 5, N. 7. - 79. Longum in prolonged accents. Longum goes with inquit rather than vale, denoting reluctance to part. Vălē, vălě. Gr. 669. I. 2 and IV. A. & S. 305. I and (2). — 80. Triste. Gr. 438. 4; 441. A. & S. 204, R. 9; 205, R. 7 (2). So dulce, v. 82. Cf. A. IV. 569. Damoetas says, "everything in nature has its bane: mine is the wrath of Amaryllis." Menalcas replies, "everything in nature has its delight: mine is Amyntas." It will be observed that Damoetas continually

=

-

changes the subject. 82. Depulsis (sc. a lacte): = weaned. Cf. VII. 15.83. Salix. Cf. I. 79.—84. Pollio (C. Asinius), a distinguished orator, poet, and historian. He was the friend and patron of Virgil and Horace and other great writers, and was the first to found a public library at Rome. He also had great reputation as a critic. Pollio," says Damoetas, "is my patron, and the prince of critics." "Pollio is more," replies Menalcas, striving to outdo his rival," he is the prince of poets." Musam song, poetry. Cf. I. 2. 85, Pierides Muses. See on Ov. M. V. Introduction, p. 403. Vitulam... taurum. These may be the prizes of different kinds of poetry, the value of the prize rising with the rise from critic and patron to poet. Some, however, regard them as sacrifices for Pollio's welfare. Lectori; Pollio. Vestro; because you (the Muses) inspire the verses which he reads. Nova carmina. Some understand these words to refer to tragedies of a new kind; i. e. whose subjects were not borrowed from the Greek, but taken from Roman story. Nova may, however, mean original; or it may merely carry out the notion of ipse; he makes verses himself, is a poet as well as a critic. Others, with Heyne, make nova = unrivalled, matchless. -87. Qui... petat...spargat. Gr. 501. I. A. & S. 264. 1 (6). The relative clauses denote the age of the bull. -88. Veniat — gaudet=may he attain to (the same happy lot) which he rejoices that thou also (hast reached). Te; sc. pervenisse. Some critics understand the happiness to be that of political preferment, others of poetic renown; but it would seem from v. 89 that the allusion is to the golden age (cf. IV. 25-30; G. I. 131; Ov. M. I. 89 foll.); and that the wish is that Pollio's admirers may enjoy with him the same dreamy felicity of the golden age that he enjoys. — 89. Amomum; a fragrant oriental shrub; also the balsam made from it. Here it is the latter; in IV. 25, the former.-90. Bavium; i. e. his poems. Bavius and Maevius were envious poetasters who attacked Virgil and Horace. Amet. Gr. 367. 2. A. & S. 209, R. 2, N. 3. TuaMaevi. It is intimated that Maevius is a worse poet even than Bavius. Gr. 45. 5. 2). A. & S. 52. · 91. Jungat; i. e. for ploughing. Jungere vulpes and mulgere hircos appears to be a sort of comic purgatory opposed to the paradise of v. 89. —93. Frigidus — herba.

Gr. 672. 2. A. & S. 310. 2. 94. Parcite = nolite. Non bene

creditur = it is not safe to trust.-95. Ipse; i. e. though the most wary of the flock. — 96. Tityre. See on v. 20. Pascentes; i. e.

qua pascuntur. Reice; poetical for rejice. Gr. 669. II. A. & S. 283. IV. N. 1; 306. I.-98. Cogite oves= drive the sheep (into the shade); to shelter them from the midday heat. Praeceperit shall have dried up; i. e. before the time of milking. 100. Quam with macer. Pingui= making fat, nutritious. Ervo;

A. & S.

· qui-104

a species of tare. -101. Exitium pecori. Gr. 390. 2. 227, R. 4.—102. His; sc. agnis. Neque = etiam non, ne.... dem.-103. Nescio quis... oculus some (evil) eye. 107. D. "Guess my riddle, and you shall be my Apollo." M. "Guess mine, and you shall have Phyllis to yourself.”—104. Apollo was the god of divination. Mihi. Gr. 390. 2. A. & S. 227, R. 4. 105. Tres-ulnas. According to Servius, Asconius Pedianus heard Virgil say that he had intended in this passage to set a trap for the critics; and that the real answer was the tomb of Coelius, a Mantuan who had squandered his estate, and left himself only land enough for a tomb. This traditional solution is now generally followed, though various others have been proposed; such as a well, an oven, the shield of Achilles, the pit called mundus in the Comitium, which was opened but three days each year. Coeli, the poetical form of the genitive of Coelius, is the same as the genitive of coelum, heaven; but in the absence of certain knowledge on the subject, we cannot do better than translate it as the latter. Amplius ulnas. Gr. 417. 3; 378. A. & S. 256, R. 6 (a) and (b); 236. —106. Inscripti nomina regum = having the names of princes inscribed upon them; lit. inscribed as to the names of princes. Gr. 380 and 1. A. & S. 234. II. The flower meant is the hyacinth, which was inscribed with Aï, Aï (alas! alas!) to express the grief of Apollo at the death of Hyacinthus, whom he accidentally killed with a quoit, or, as others say, to express the name of Ajax (Aïas), of which they are the first two letters; or according to others, with the letter Y for 'Yάkivos (Hyacinthus). 108. Non nostrum (sc. est) = it is not in my power. Gr. 404. I. A. & S. 211, R. 8 (3) (a). Componere to decide. 109. Vitula. Gr. 419. IV. A. & S. 244. Both ultimately wagered a heifer. See v. 49. Quisquis―amaros. This is obscure, but the general sense no doubt is, as Serv. says, et tu et hic digni estis vitula et quicumque similis vestri est; i. e. any one who can feel love as you have shown you can, the alarm which attends its enjoyment, and the pangs of disappointment.—111. Rivos = the sluices. This verse admits of either a literal or a metaphorical interpretation. According to the former, Palaemon had gone into the fields in order to direct his slaves to open the sluices for irrigating his grounds, when he was called upon by the two shepherds to act as umpire in their singing match; and now that the contest has ended, he turns his attention to the slaves and tells them to close the sluices. According to the latter, the allusion is to the stream of bucolic verse. The two interpretations may be combined, and the passage may be understood in both

senses.

ECLOGUE IV. - POLLIO.

In the multitude of conjectures regarding the subject of this Eclogue, Wagner's views seem preferable. All Italy had been exposed to dreadful calamities; first, from the division of the lands, spoken of in the first Eclogue; then, from the quarrels between Antony and Octavianus, and the war which ensued, B. C. 41; and finally, from a most severe famine, the result of the blockade formed by the fleets of Antony and Sex. Pompeius. So much the greater was the joy occasioned by the treaty of Brundisium, made in the autumn of B. C. 40, by which harmony was restored between the two contending chiefs. Antony's agent in arranging the peace was Virgil's patron, Asinius Pollio. A little afterwards, on his return to Rome, Pollio entered on the consulship, and about the same time had a son born to him. There was a common belief at the time that a new age was dawning on the world; and as Italy seemed to have escaped from its miseries chiefly through the means of Pollio, Virgil, in this Eclogue, congratulates him on his consulship, and does it in such a way, as at once to extol him as the harbinger of a new era of happiness, and at the same time to augur this, from the birth of his son, as an omen of future peace and prosperity. The coincidence between Virgil's language and that of the Old Testament prophets in relation to the coming of the Messiah is sufficiently striking; but it may be doubted whether Virgil uses any image to which a classical parallel cannot be found. This Eclogue was written in the autumn of B. C. 40.

1. Sicelides Sicilian; i. e. of Theocritus, pastoral. Theocritus (see Introduction to Bucolics) was a Sicilian. Majora = loftier themes; i. e. than the usual subjects of pastoral song. A. & S. 256, R. 9 (a). —2. Arbusta ... myricae; emblems of the lower strain of rural poetry. 3. Silvae is used for pastoral poetry, and symbolizes the genus of which myricae is the species. If my theme is still to be pastoral, let it rise to the dignity of which a consul need not be ashamed. —4, 5. Ultima― Ordo. The reference is to the Platonic year, a vast period of time, variously estimated by the ancients, but now calculated to require about 26,000 years for its completion, when all the heavenly bodies occupy the same places which they did at the beginning of the world. In each of these periods it was supposed that the cycle of mundane and human history repeated itself. It was divided into four eras, or ages, styled the golden, the silver, the brazen, and the iron age: the first being the purest and happiest, and the last the most degenerate and corrupt. (See Ov.