V. 555-VI. 187.] VIII. Pride and Grief of Niobe. 221

vented by the fears of his mother, taught him the arts of husbandry. Triptolemus was a principal figure in the Eleusinian worship of Demeter, being regarded as the medium through whom agriculture was taught to mankind.

647. post... recultæ

with humo).

=

which had long lain fallow (agreeing

650. subit penates, arrives at the dwelling.

651. qua veniat, indir. question with rogatus; in the same construction with the accusatives nomen and patriam.

661. sacros jugales, the sacred yoke-beasts: i. e. dragons. — Mopsonium: an ancient name of Attica was Mopsonia.

VIII. THE PRIDE AND THE GRIEF OF NIOBE.

VI. 165. turbā, ablative.

168. inmissos, flowing.

170. auditos, i. e. who have been only heard of, not seen. — visis, sc. cælestibus.

172. Tantalus: a king of Phrygia, honored with the society of the gods. He is said to have desired, as a boon from them, that he might be immersed to the lips in sensual delights; and was punished for his crimes by the torment of eternal hunger and thirst, standing in a lake whose waters would never rise above his lips, while branches laden with rich fruit swung back whenever he tried to touch them, a penalty which has made his name immortal in the word tantalize.

174. Pleiadum soror: Dione, mother of Niobe, and daughter of Atlas.

176. Jupiter: father of Tantalus, as well as of Niobe's husband, Amphion.

177. regia Cadmi: i. e. Thebes, over which Amphion ruled. me, ablative, in appos. with domina.

178. fidibus, strings. The huge blocks of stone, of which the walls of Thebes were built, moved of themselves to their place, at the sound of Amphion's lyre.

180. accedit eodem = = add to this.

185. nescio quo, i. e. nobody knows who.

of Caos, father of Latona, and a Titan.

Cœo satam, child

187. negavit: the jealousy of Juno prevented Latona from finding rest upon any spot of earth; but at last she found a refuge

in the island of Delos, where her children, Apollo and Artemis, were born. This island had before floated upon the sea, but was now fixed in its place.

189. miserata (agreeing with Delos), having compassion.

190. hospita, a stranger without a home.

195. possit, § 320. c; G. 313.

196. ut, although.

197. fingite, suppose.

198. huic populo (§ 229; G. 346): her children almost made a nation by themselves.

derisively called a mob, turba.

The children of Latona are

201. sacri, vocative, addressed to her children. Haupt's reading is perhaps better:

Ite sacris, propere ite sacris, laurum, etc.

202. deponunt, i. e. the people lay aside their wreaths in honor of Latona, and worship her only in silence.

204. Cynthi, a mountain of Delos.

206. animosa, proud.

208. cultis, worshipped (agreeing with aris).

210. facto, i. e. the exclusion from the altars. She adds insult to injury.

212. rēcidat: the first syllable is made long by the requirements of metre.

215. pœnæ limits mora; querella: complaining causes too long delay.

=

216. Phœbē― Diana: if it were the vocative of Phabus, the e would be short.

217. Cadmeida = of Thebes.

220. mollierat, beaten into dust.

221. Amphione, § 244. a; G. 395.

222. Tyrio suco, the famous purple dye obtained from a species of shell-fish.

229. in latus, sideways.

230. inane, void.

231. frena dabat, i. e. in order to flee. — imbris, objective genitive with præscius.

233. qua, sc. parte. effluat, escape.

237. admissa, at full speed.

241. nitidæ: because the wrestlers anointed their bodies with oil.

245. incurvata, writhing.

246. suprema, for the last time.

249. allevet, free, untwine.

VI. 189—VII. 3.] IX. The Enchantments of Medea. 223

254. non belongs with simplex. —intonsum: the Grecian boys did not cut their hair until they arrived at manhood.

261. profectura (from proficio), fated to avail.

264. motus, affected. — jam non, no longer.

265. Arcitenens, the archer, Apollo.

269. potuisse, sc. superos hoc (see below) following mirantem. 271. nam: this explains why only Niobe is mentioned.

275. resupina, with head erect, i. e. tossed so far back as almost to have the face turned upwards.

276. invidiosa, an object of envy.

280. pascere, imperative passive in reflexive sense=glut_thy wrath.

283. efferor: the term regularly used for carrying the body forth to burial.

286. contento, tight-strung.

289. toros, biers.

291. imposito, sc. toro (dat.), laid on his bier (or abl. with ore) 293. duplicata est, bent double.

296. trepidare, rush about (to find shelter).

304. color, complexion.

310. circumdata, wrapped.

311. in patriam, i.e. Phrygia; these events had taken place in Thebes. There was in ancient times a colossal statue of a weeping woman on Mt. Sipylus, in Lydia (originally a part of Phrygia): this was identified with Niobe, and was probably a freak of nature with some touches of the human hand. Some modern explorers have thought that they have discovered this.

IX. THE ENCHANTMENTS OF MEDEA.

VII. 1. Minyæ: a mythical race of Greece with whom the Argonauts appear to have been connected, and whose name they often bear. Pagasæa: the ship Argo, in which Jason and his companions sailed, was built in Pagasæ, a city of Thessaly.

3. Phineus, a blind king of Thrace; he had been tormented by the harpies, filthy birds with faces of maidens, - but was freed from them by Zethus and Calaïs (two of the Argonauts), sons of Boreas (Aquilo), who drove them away and pursued them through the air as far as the islands of the Strophades, where they were afterwards found by Æneas.

7. regem: Æetes, king of Colchis, in whose possession was found the golden fleece. This had been carried by Phryxos to Colchis, and there offered to Zeus (Jupiter), and placed in his temple.

=

8. vox, answer; numeris is abl. of cause with horrenda dreadful on account of the number of toils imposed. In reality there were but three of these, to plough with the fire-breathing oxen; to sow the dragon's teeth, and fight with the armed men who sprang from the soil; after which he was to get the fleece, guarded by a sleepless dragon.

9. Eetiǎs, a feminine patronymic: the daughter of Æetes was the famous enchantress Medea.

13. quod relates to hoc and huic.

14. jussa, i. e. the tasks imposed upon Jason.

15. modo denique, only just now.

20. mens, reason.

22. alieni orbis (poss. gen.), in another world.

23. quod ames (§ 317; G. 544), something to love. — vivat ille, whether he live, &c.

24. in dis est, depends upon the gods.

26. tangat, § 268; G. 258.

28. ore, beauty of countenance.

30. suæ segetis, of his own planting, limiting hostibus (dat.). 31. præda, predicate.

37. precanda, facienda, emphatic.

38. prodam it had been foretold that the power of Eetes should last as long as he kept the golden fleece in his possession. 39. nescio quis advena: Jason might be a mere worthless adventurer. ope nostra, by my aid.

40. per me, construed with sospes.

43. non in sense qualifies timeam : such are his features, &c., that I have no cause to fear.

46. ante, beforehand.

47. quin, why not? she is deriding her own fears.

49. Pelasgas, Grecian.

50. servatrix, i. e. of Jason. — matrum, i. e. of the Argonauts :

it limits turbā.

56. magna, explained by the following words. of having saved the youth.

58. cultus: Colchis appears then, as now, to have been an uncivilized region.

60. soniden, Jason, son of Eson: this is in sense the ante

VII. 7-116.] IX. The Enchantments of Medea.

225

Observe the

cedent of quem, attracted into the relative clause. different idiom of English. we should say "for whom I would exchange," &c.

62. nescio qui montes, the Symplegades, the cliffs between which vessels must pass, but which closed upon and crushed them. The Argo, by watching its opportunity, had passed through with only the loss of its rudder, after which the rocks had become immovable. — incurrere, run against the voyager.

63. Charybdis, Scylla: these were placed between Sicily and Italy. There is even now a cliff (Scylla) on the Italian side, and a succession of eddies within the opposite point, which may have been more formidable in ancient times. Jason passed between

them on his long and circuitous homeward voyage.

72. pietas, filial love.

73. dabat, was on the point of turning.

74. Hecates: Hecate, daughter of Perse, was the goddess of magic, and was identified with Artemis as goddess of the under world.

76. fortis, i. e. against her passion.

79. solet agrees with scintilla; -que connects assumere and crescere: the quantity of the final a in parvă and inductā shows their agreement.

83. specie, beauty.

84. solito follows formosior.

86. tum denique, not until then.

91 torum, marriage.

94. promissa dato= keep your promises.

- triformis: Hecate

was represented as composed of three bodies, standing back to back.

95. quod, whatever.

96. patrem soceri: the father of Eetes was Helios, the sun-god.

97. eventus, fate.

98. cantatas, enchanted (having been the subject of magic incantations).

99. tesca, waste places.

IOI. Mavortis, Mavors, an ancient form of Mars.

102. jugis, on the lines of hills.

104. adamanteis, unsubdued.

107. silices, limestone. — soluti, crumbled.

III. vertere, perfect.

116. medicamina, the herbs given him by Medea.

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