M. Fortunate senex, ergo tua rura manebunt, sustained. Tityrus goes to Rome with his 47-59.] 'Yes, you are happy; poor as your land may be, you can enjoy it undisturbed and be content. Your flocks will be healthy, and you will live in the shade by the water, lulled by the hum of the bee, the song of the vine-dresser, and the cooing of the dove.' 47.] Tua' is a predicate, like 'magna.' Wagn. refers to the phrase 'meum est,' as in 9. 4. But manebunt' is also a predicate, 'It is yours and yours for ever.' 48.] You (Tityrus or Virgil) are content with your farm, though it is all covered with stones, and full of pools and rushes (so that no soldier need envy you its possession). Palus' is probably the overflowing of the Mincio; comp. 7. 13. 'Omnia' can hardly be taken with 'pascua:' it must mean the whole farm, while the latter part of the description applies only to the pastures by the river. This disparaging clause presents a difficulty, which some have got rid of by supposing the words to refer to the condition not of Tityrus' own property, but of the lands about him, as in v. 12; while others, seeing rightly that this was not the natural meaning of the sentence, have fancied that Meliboeus is made to speak in the character of a half-jealous neighbour, that so the poet may be able politically to depre- ་ 51.] Mala,' 'malignant;'" malum virus," G. 1. 129. So the Homeric кakỳ vóσos: "mala scabies," Hor. A. P. 453, of a contagious disorder. 52.] Flumina nota,' Mincio and the Po, if we are to be precise. 53.] Fontis sacros,' from the pretty superstition which assigned a divinity to every source and spring. So iɛpòv vdwp, Theocr. 7. 136. "Stratus ad aquae lene caput sacrae," Hor. 1 Od. 1. 22. Captabis,' 2. 8. 66 54.] The supposed perplexities attending the construction of this sentence are all removed by Weise's suggestion of making quae semper' an elliptical relative clause in the sense of ut semper' (6. 15), like quae proxima, litora" A. 1. 167 (note). 'Shall lull you to sleep as it has ever done.' 'Quae' then will be used here for the corresponding adverb 'quemadmodum,' like quo' A. 1. 8, for 'quomodo,' 'siquem,' ib. 181, for 'sicubi.' Vicino a limite' is thus seen to be an epexegesis of hinc,' a mode of expression which Wagn. has supported by various passages, e. g. A. 2. 18, "Huc... includunt caeco lateri." Hyblaeis apibus florem depasta salicti, 60 T. Ante leves ergo pascentur in aethere cervi, Et freta destituent nudos in litore pisces, Ante, pererratis amborum finibus, exsul Aut Ararim Parthus bibet, aut Germania Tigrim, 55.] Keightley remarks on Hyblaeis,' that it is a favourite practice of the Latin poets of the Augustan and later periods, to give things the name of the people or place famed for them, e. g. 5. 27, 29., 9. 30., 10. 59. It may be set down as one of the characteristics of an artificial school, the writers of which recognize common places as such, and find the poetry of objects rather in external, especially literary, associations than in anything which they suggest to the mind directly. Salictum,' abbreviated form of salicetum,' used in prose as well as poetry. 'Depasta' might very well be used for depasta est,' but 'depasta est' could not be used for depascitur." solstitium caveto putes, nisi cum incubantem videris palumbum." 6 56.] The 'susurrus' comes partly from the bees, partly from the leaves, the latter as in Theocr. 1. 1, åðú rɩ rò 410úpioμa καὶ ἁ πίτυς, αἰπόλε, τήνα, ̔Α ποτὶ ταῖς παγαῖσι, μελίσδεται. 57.] The frondator' (Catull. 62 (64). 41) dressed the trees by stripping them of their leaves, which were used for the fodder of cattle. Comp. 9. 60, and the whole passage G. 2. 397-419. There is no need to settle whether the leaves here meant are those of the 'arbustum,' as the same person would naturally strip all the trees in a farm like that of Tityrus', though we may still illustrate'alta sub rupe' by comparing G. 2. 522, "Mitis in apricis coquitur vindemia saxis." The words are perhaps from Theocr. 8. 55, ảλλ' vπò тa Terpa τῇδ ̓ ᾄσομαι. 'Canet ad auras,' • fill the air with his song:' comp. A. 6. 561, “qui tantas plangor ad auras?" The description, as Spohn remarks, points to the month of August, from the mention not only of the 'frondatio' (comp. G. 2. 400. Colum. 11. 2), but of the cooing of the woodpigeons during incubation. See note on next verse. 59.] The Romans kept turtle-doves on their farms. Varro, R. R. 3. 8. Colum. 8. 9. Pallad. 1. 25. Ulmo: "Nota quae sedes fuerat columbis," Hor. 1 Od. 2. 10. 60-64.] 'Yes, nature will change her course, and nations their seats, before I forget my benefactor.' 60.] Ergo' is apparently resumptive, as in G. 4. 206 (note), Meliboeus' speech forming as it were a parenthesis. One of the inferior MSS. has in aequore' as a various reading; but this (besides its want of authority) would not agree so well with 'le. ves,' with which Wagn. comp. A. 5. 838., 6. 16. Its origin is obvious. The main idea of this passage is worked up again in a different shape 5. 76, and, in heroic style, Α. 1. 607. Its source, as Keightley remarks, is perhaps Hdt. 5. 92, 'H dij ő Tε οὐρανὸς ἔσται ἔνερθε τῆς γῆς, καὶ ἡ γῆ μετέωρος ὑπὲρ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ, καὶ οἱ ἄνθρωποι νομὸν ἐν θαλάσσῃ ἕξουσι, καὶ οἱ ἰχθύες τὸν πρότερον ἄνθρωποι, ὅτε γε ὑμεῖς κ.τ.λ. The last part of this passage may seem to favour the reading in aequore.' 61.]And fishes shall dwell on the land.' The expression, as Keightley remarks, is not very happy, as there is nothing wonderful in the sea's throwing up the fish on the shore; but Virgil doubtless means to date the new life of the fishes from its commencement. 'Destituent' with 'nudos.' 62.] Pererratis amborum finibus' is an obscure expression; but 'pererratis seems to be i. q. perruptis' or 'superatis,' with a reference to the wandering character of the nations. 'Amborum,' of both nations: A. 7. 470, 'Se satis ambobus Teucrisque venire Latinisque." Exsul' explains 'bibet:' 'he will live habitually as in his own country.' 63.] The Arar (Saone) is a river of Gaul, not of Germany: its source, however, in the high land connected with the Vosges (Vogesus) is not very far from Alsace, which in and before Virgil's time, as now, was in Quam nostro illius labatur pectore voltus. En umquam patrios longo post tempore finis, habited by Germans. It appears, moreover, that the ancients sometimes confounded the Germans and Celts. Dict. Geograph. Arar, Germania, At all events the error, whatever it may amount to, is Virgil's own, and not a dramatic touch of rustic ignorance. Those who make such defences should remember that a poet had better commit a blunder in geography than a platitude. 64.] Before I forget the gracious look he gave me.' The notion seems to be that of a god's benign countenance. 'Cultus is an ingenious, but by no means necessary conjecture. 65-79.] 'We have to make a change like that you speak of, wandering, it may be, to the ends of the earth. Perhaps I may never see my old home again; or, if I do, it will be in the hands of a brutal alien. I have laboured for another, and I must now bid farewell for ever to the joy of a shepherd's life.' ... 65.] The thought of migration, as Keightley remarks, is suggested by the mode of expression just employed by Tityrus. You can talk of the migration of nations as a synonyme for impossibility; we have to experience it as a reality.' 'Alii' answers to 'pars' strictly in sense, though not in form. So " pars. sunt qui," Hor. 1 Ep. 1.77. 66.] Oaxus or Axus, the O representing the digamma, as the ancient coins of the place show, is a town in Crete, still bearing the name of Axos (Dict. Geogr. Axus). It is mentioned by Hdt. 4. 154, where the MSS. vary between the two forms of the name. A river runs by it, which is doubtless what Virgil intends by Oaxes here. Vibius Sequester mentions it, but he need have had no authority beyond the present passage, as he vouches for the existence of a German Ararat satsfy the exigences of v. 63. The eaxis is given to Crete by Apoll. R. 1131, and Varro Atacinus ap. Serranslating from him. 'Cretae Oaxen' may be supported by the analogy of the Greek gen. of locality, rns Kohrns tic 'Oážnv. Some critics, thinking the context points to a northern river, which might be coupled with Scythia and Britain, and 65 70 opposed to 'Afri,' have taken Oaxes to be a corruption of Oxus, or read 'Araxen,' the latter hypothesis being favoured by a passage in Claudian, B. Gild. 31, where the MSS. fluctuate between 'Oaxem' and 'Araxem,' while, on the suggestion of Servius, they read rapidum cretae' (not 'Cretae'), i. q. 'rapacem cretae,' 'laden with marl,' an use of rapidus' with the gen. which has yet to be supported by examples. As in the case of Africa and Britain, Virgil appears to be thinking of a Roman province to which settlers might conceivably be sent. Lands in Crete were given by Augustus to the ejected colonists of Capua. 68.] For 'en' in interrogations where it adds earnestness and emphasis, by invoking attention, see Hand's Tursellinus, ii. 368. The phrase 'en umquam' recurs 8.7, "En quid ago?" A. 4. 534. So ἢν is used before questions in Greek. 69.] Tugurium' (supposed to be connectwith tego,' as the form tegurium' appears in inscriptions) is defined by Festus and Pomponius (Dig. 50. 16. 180) to be a rustic, as distinguished from a town, dwelling. 70.] Claudian, iv. Cons. Honor. 372, apparently takes aristas' as i. q. messes 'annos,'' decimas emensas aristas.' This is harsh and apparently unparalleled. It also involves a very awkward repetition, if it is not rather a contradiction of ideas :-'longo post tempore-post aliquot aristas.' There is the objection, too, that aliquot' would naturally distribute aristas,' whereas the equivalent to ' messis' is the plural 'aristae,' not the singular arista.' The other alternative is to take 'post' for 'posthac,' which is very awkward after 'longo post tempore,' and construe 'aliquot mirabor aristas,' shall I see with wonder a few ears of corn'-the soldiers being supposed to be bad farmers, as in fact they were, and therefore always ready for new civil wars. This would greatly complicate the line, aliquot aristas' being in apposition to 'patrios finis,' and 'tuguri culmen,' 'mea regna,' to 'aliquot aristas.' It is, however, the explanation preferred by the modern editors. In that case we must Impius haec tam culta novalia miles habebit? 75 T. Hic tamen hanc mecum poteras requiescere noctem 80 suppose that two feelings are mingled in Meliboeus' question, a longing to return to his home, and a reflection that should he ever do so, he will probably find it impoverished. Mr. Campbell's notion, propounded in his Specimens of the English poets, that Meliboeus is speaking of his cottage 'standing behind' a few ears of corn, i. e. with a few ears growing before it, would hardly call for mention if criticism were not reduced to a choice of evils. 71.] Impius,' rather generally 'wicked' than stained with civil war. The opposition, as the next lines show, is between the soldiers and the citizens, as if the former were an alien body. The adjective 'novalis' is used substantively both in the feminine and in the neuter. See G. 1. 71. It varies, too, in sense, being sometimes applied to fallow land, which is Varro's definition of it (L. L. 5. 4, § 39), sometimes to ground unbroken or ploughed for the first time. The latter seems to be its force here, so that there is a rhetorical contrast with 'tam culta'-'the ground which I have broken up for the first time and brought into such excellent cultivation.' 72.] Barbarus,' alluding to the Gauls and other barbarians who were now incorporated in the Roman armies. Julius Caesar had taken Gauls, Germans, and Spaniards into for the ordinary operations of husbandry. Both processes are described in G. 2. “Insere, Daphni piros," 9. 50, is said seriously. 75.] Ite capellae,' 10. 77. Meliboeus is going. 76.] The farewell here resembles generally, though not verbally, that of Daphnis in Theocr. 1. 115 foll. For goats browsing in the thickets on the rocks, see G. 3. 315. "Pendentis rupe capellas," Ov.de Ponto, 1.9. 77.] With viridi proiectus in antro' comp. above, vv. 1, 4. 78.] Me pascente' is merely 'me pastore,' not, as Martyn thinks, that the goats feed from his hand. 79.] Cytisus' is the arborescent lucerne, which is common in Greece and Italy, and a favourite food of cattle and bees. Comp. 2. 64, 10. 30, &c. Keightley remarks that as the cytisus and sallows are plants of the plain, we may suppose that a different rural scene from the former is intended. Where, however, we see Greek and Italian scenery mixed, we may be prepared for confusion and indistinctness in details. 80-84.] You had best stay the night with me. Sleep on leaves and sup on apples, chestnuts, and cheese. The smoke announces supper, and the evening is setting in.' 80.] Poteras' (similarly used in Hor, 2 S. 1. 16. Ov. Met. 1. 679) is explained as though Meliboeus were moving off (comp. v. 75); but it is rather to be compared with 'tempus erat' (" nunc Saliaribus Ornare pulvinar Deorum Tempus erat dapibus, sodales," Hor. 1 Od. 37. 2), and expñv for xpn. It seems more pressing than the present-' You might as well stay.' Perhaps the account of the idiom is that it treats the time for action as almost gone by, the wrong determination as almost formed, and so implies urgency to change the one and overtake the other. Tibull. 3. 6. 53 has "longas tecum requiescere noctes." The old reading was 'poteris' and 'hac nocte,' but the present text has been generally re Fronde super viridi: sunt nobis mitia poma, ceived since Heinsius, on external and internal 6 82.] Molles,''mealy,' i. e. when they are roasted. 83.] The smoking roofs of the farmhouses announce supper-time. 84.] Comp. 2. 67. ECLOGA II. A SHEPHERD gives utterance to his love for a beautiful youth, complaining of his indifference, urging him to come and live with him in the country, and finally upbraiding himself for his infatuation. Parts of this Eclogue are closely modelled after the eleventh Idyl of Theocritus, where the Cyclops addresses Galatea in a similar manner. We should be glad to believe it to be purely imaginary, though even then it is sufficiently degrading to Virgil. Servius, however, and the pseudo-Donatus have a story also referred to by Martial (8. 56, &c.) and Apuleius (Apol. p. 279, ed. Elmenhorst), that Alexis is intended for Alexander, a youth belonging to Pollio (Martial says Maecenas, who can hardly have been then acquainted with the poet), and given by him to Virgil, who is supposed by Spohn to have written the Eclogue as a mark of gratitude to his patron. Corydon and Alexis are probably fellow-slaves, though it is not easy to reconcile the various passages which seem to refer to Corydon's condition (vv. 2. 20—22. 57), and it is possible that Virgil may not have settled the point in his own mind, Corydon being in fact a mixture of the ordinary Theocritean shepherd and the Cyclops. The beeches (v. 3) and mountains (v. 5) again point to Sicily, not to Mantua, and Sicily is expressly mentioned in v. 21. This Eclogue is generally supposed to have been the first written; but, as Keightley remarks, all that can be asserted is, that it was earlier than the fifth, and perhaps than the third (see Ecl. 5. 86, 87). FORMOSUM pastor Corydon ardebat Alexim, 1-5.] 'Corydon had a hopeless passion for Alexis. Here is one of his solitary love plaints.' 1.] The 'pastor,' as Keightley remarks, was one of the farm-slaves. Domini' then, v. 2, will be the common master of Corydon and Alexis. Corydon' is a shepherd in Theocr. Idyl. 4. Heyne has Alexin,' Wagn. 'Alexim.' Among other instances of 'ardere' for perdite amare,' with an accusative, see Hor. 4 Od. 9. 13, "Non sola comptos arsit adulteri Crines." There is a similar use of 'pereo' and 'depereo.' 2.] An instance of rivalry between a slave and his master is mentioned Tac. Ann. 14. 42. Brunck read 'nec quod,' without authority. Non habeo quid spe rem 6 differs from non habeo quod sperem,' as Madvig remarks (§ 363, obs. 2), 'non habeo' in the former case having the force of I do not know.' |