Aut asper crabro inparibus se inmiscuit armis, Si vero, quoniam casus apibus quoque nostros Festus and Nonius. Hence Plaut. Trin. 1. 1. 2 has immune' or 'immoene facinus' in the sense of ingratum.' The drones have not performed their munus' of labour, and so, as Hesiod expresses it (W. and D. 304), μελισσάων κάματον τρύχου ow άepyoi "Eolovrεç (comp. id. Theog. 598). The language may be from Od. I. 160, ἀλλότριον βίοτον νήποινον ἔδουσιν (spoken of the suitors), as Germ. remarks. 'Sedens ad pabula,' like 'sedere ad focum,' 'ad gubernacula,' &c. So Eur. Hel. 295, πρὸς πλουσίαν Τράπεζαν ἕζουσ'. 245.] Armis' is not, as seems to be generally thought, the abl., but the dative, as appears from A. 10. 796., 11. 815, where the words 'se inmiscuit armis occur again. 'Inparibus' then refers to the army of the bees, which cannot cope with a hornet. Paribus armis' is used A. 245 250 250.] Fori' probably signifies a row or rows of cells, this being the only place where it has this transferred sense, just as it is used of a row or rows of seats in a theatre. In Col. 10. 92 it seems to mean narrow trench or path in a garden, apparently from the resemblance to the 'fori' of a ship. Floribus,' the pollen: see on v. 38. Texent' perhaps is used to recall the image of weaving actual flowers, though of course the meaning is that they construct their cells with pollen. 251-280.] The symptoms of sickness among bees are change of colour and appearance, lassitude, and a peculiar buzzing. Its remedies are fumigation. with galbanum, honey mixed with pounded galls or dried rose leaves, wine boiled down, raisins, thyme, centaury, and the flower called "amellus" boiled in wine.' 251.] The apodosis would naturally have begun after v. 252, but the clause speaking of the easiness of prognostication leads to an enumeration of the symptoms, which swells into an independent sentence, so that Virgil has to give the real apodosis in a separate form, v. 264. 'Apibus quoque:' there is perhaps a touch of pessimism here, as if diseases might be expected to be peculiar to humanity, 'mortalibus aegris;' perhaps also a compliment to the bees, whose good fortune in other respects might have been supposed to exempt them from casualties. 252.] Vita:' regarded as including men and bees alike. 'Corpora' may be nom. or acc.; but the former is more like Virgil's general usage, e. g. A. 4. 523. 253.] 'Iam' seems to point to the time when the disease has made some progress, and the symptoms are consequently explicit. 254.] Continuo,' as in 1. 356, where it introduces the signs of wind. 'Alius' is explained by what follows. 'Horrida' is illustrated by Varro 3. 16, " minus valentium signa si sunt pilosae et horridae, ut pulverulentae, nisi opifici eas urget tempus; tum luce carentum Deformat macies; tum corpora enim propter laborem asperantur et maces- 255.] The carrying out of the dead can hardly be called a symptom of disease, but it finds its place as a part of the description, and as one of the things which would strike an observer looking at the hive. 'Luce carentum:' from Lucr. 4. 35. So cassum lumine,' A. 2. 85, light being virtually synonymous with life, as in A. 4. 31., 6. 721. 256.] Exporto,' for carrying out to burial, like 'effero,' used also Suet. Dom. 17. So Aristot., speaking of the same thing, uses ἐξάγειν and ἐκκομίζειν. ‘Funus ducere' is a phrase, e. g. Juv. 1. 146, like ' pompam ducere.' 257.] Pedibus connexae pendent' would certainly seem to refer most naturally to bees hanging in a cluster, "pedibus per mutua nexis," A. 7. 66. So it appears to have been understood by Sil. 2. 221, "densoque volatu Raucum connexae glomerant ad limina murmur (of bees returning to the hive). This however is said not to be a symptom of disease in bees, so that Wagn. understands connexae' of the individual insect drawing up its legs in death, while Heyne suggests' connixae.' But the common interpretation is supported by Aristot. H. A. 9. 40, örav dè kρéμwvтaι ¿ ἀλλήλων ἐν τῷ σμήνει, σημεῖον γίνεται τοῦτο ὅτι ἀπολείψει τὸ σμῆνος. ἀλλὰ KATAQνowσι Tò σμñvos oïvy yλvкei oi μελιττουργοί, ὅταν τοῦτ ̓ αἴσθωνται. 258.] Clausis is merely an ordinary epithet, carrying out the sense of ' intus and opp. to 'ad limina.' 259.] Aristot., quoted by Cerda, says ἄλλο δὲ νόσημα οἷον ἀργία τις γίγνεται τῶν μελιττῶν. Virgil intimates apparently two causes of this lassitude, want of food in winter, and cold. 'Contracto,' congealed applying however also to the effect of the cold on the bees, as if the 255 260 265 reading had been contractae,' so that we may compare with Emm. Phaedr. 4. 23. 19, "Mori contractam tunc te cogunt frigora," speaking of a fly. 260.] Tractim' occurs Lucr. 3. 530 of death creeping gradually through the frame. Here it evidently signifies a prolonged and continuous sound. 261.] These three similes are supposed to be from Il. 14. 394 foll., where the shout of the contending armies is compared to waves breaking on the shore, to fire in a mountain glen, and to wind among the trees, each comparison occupying the same space of two lines. Quondam,' indefinite, ' at some time or other.' It appears to stand in much the same relation to 'quidam' as 'olim' to 'ille.' Comp. our use of 'some time' in the sense of formerly,' of ' day' in a definite or indefinite sense, &c. one 262.] Stridit,' the archaic form, is the reading of Med., 'stridet' of Rom. 'Refluentibus,' retiring after having broken on the coast. 263.] Clausis' accounts for the sound. Rapidus:' see on E. 2. 10. 264.] Hic' of time is frequent in Virgil. Instances are collected by Wagn. in his Quaest. Virg. 23. 2. 6, all of them, with the exception of the present, from the Aeneid. 'Galbaneos odores,' like 'croceos odores, 1. 56. For galbanum see on 3. 415. Suadebo :' the first person, as in 3. 295, 300, the fut. ind. as in 3. 100, 409 foll. 265.] There seems to be an allusion to the troughs from which cattle drank, called 'canales' 3. 330. 'Arundinei canales' then will be reeds used as troughs. It may be a question whether inferre canalibus' means to introduce into troughs,' or 'to convey (to the hives) by troughs,' 'canalibus' being in the one case the dative, in the other the ablative. Here again ultro' has its sense of gratuitously,' or 'going further' (see on v. 204), the bees being not 6 Hortantem et fessas ad pabula nota vocantem. merely allowed to drink, but invited, with- 266.] Fessas' of sickness, as in Hor. Carm. Saec. 63. Forb. comp. the use of 'laboro' (káμvw) and langueo.' 267.] Galls are given as astringents, as bees suffer from looseness in consequence of their diet (Col. 9. 13). ‘Tunsum ' of course properly refers to 'gallae.' 268.] Dried roses, like galls, are mixed with honey: wine not mixed, but given as an alternative, as appears from Col. 1. c. 269] Fordefruta,' see on 1.295: for 'Psithia' on 2. 93. 'Racemos' is probably to be understood of the wine, not of the grapes themselves, as Col. 1. c. prescribes 66 passo et defruto vetere fessas sustinere." 270.] Centaury, so called from its legendary use by Chiron to heal the wound received from Hercules' arrow, is mentioned by Lucr. 4. 125 with the epithet 'tristia,' among the things "quaecunque suo de corpore odorem Exspirant acrem.' 66 270 275 branches, ib. 131 of a plant from its leaves. Voss comp. a similar description of the narcissus, Ov. M. 3. 509, croceum pro corpore florem Inveniunt, foliis medium cingentibus albis.” 275.] Violae sublucet purpura nigrae' seems rightly explained by Forcell. s. v., "apparet nitor purpurae sub nigrore violae.” Germ. comp. similar uses of ὑποπόρφυρος and vπоλаμπýç. 276.] Weichert, with whom Forb. and Keightley agree, brands this line as spurious. The conclusion is a most hazardous one, as all the MSS. contain the verse, and there appears to be no instance in which a line resting on the unvarying testimony of the MSS. of Virgil has been condemned by the consent of the best critics: while, on the other hand, the reasons alleged against its genuineness are precisely such as might appear to other judges evidences of the Virgilian manner. The reference to sacrifices, irrelevant as it may seem, is just one of those artifices by which Virgil is apt to exalt or relieve a trivial subject (comp. e. g. 2. 192 foll.); the structure of the line, unconnected with the context by any relative or other particle, is what we constantly find elsewhere in his descriptions, e. g. A. 1. 12, where the inserted clause actually interrupts a sentence which is resumed immediately afterwards; the omission of the verb substantive is also a common feature in such descriptions, as in the very next line: 'torquis' has already been used with some want of strictness 3. 168, of twisted osiers put round a beast's neck, while here any of a association foreign to the nature of a fillet is at once corrected by 'nexis;' nor can it be fairly urged that the number of the peculiarities itself is sufficient to bring the line into suspicion. 271.] The 'amellus' is generally agreed to be the Attic aster, which is found in the north of Italy, and also in the neighbourhood of Athens (Keightley). It is mentioned as the best specific of all by Col. 1. c., who indeed follows Virgil closely throughout this part of the subject. 272.] Facilis quaerentibus' is the same construction with "facilem pecori" 2. 223, 'compliant to those who seek it,' i. e. easily found. 273.] Uno de caespite' seems rightly taken by Philarg. as a poetical equivalent to' una de radice,' as the stalks of the plant all spring from one root. 'Silvam growth of leaves, 2. 17. For uno' several MSS. and early editions give 'imo,' a constant variation, found e.g. Hor. A. P. 32. 6 274.] 'Ipse,' the centre or disc of the flower as distinguished from its petals, as in 2. 297 of a tree distinguished from its 277.] With the structure of this and the following line comp. 2. 134, 135. Pastores et curva legunt prope flumina Mellae. Sed si quem proles subito defecerit omnis, 278.] Tonsis' is explained by 'pastores.' There seems no need to give with Wagn. a present sense to the past participle, which here seems to have that aoristic sense so common in the perf. indic. as used in the Georgics, which cattle have been known to graze,' or 'are in the habit of grazing.' The 'valles' are doubtless meant to be in the Mantuan region. 278.] The introduction of Mella' is a domestic touch. For 'prope' Rom. has 'per.' 279.] 'Odoratus' merely expresses the scent or bouquet' of generous wine, like olvos dvooopías, which Germ. compares. So vwdns Theocr. 14. 16, referred to by Heyne. Columella's precept is (1. c.), (amelli radix) cum vetere Amineo vino decocta exprimitur, et ita liquatus eius succus datur." 66 ea 281-294.] If the stock of bees should die out altogether, there is a mode of repairing the loss which involves a long story. I will tell it, for the remedy is one in which the eastern nations repose unbounded faith.' 282.] Genus novae stirpis' is apparently pleonastic, as either 'novum genus or nova stirps' might have expressed the meaning with 'revocetur;' comp. A. 1. 235, "revocato a sanguine Teucri." Strictly speaking it is inconsistent with 'novae.' The second stock might be either called new or a restoration of the old; Virgil mixes the two conceptions. 'Habebit:' the fut. ind. is joined with the so-called fut. exactum to indicate a difference in the time of the two actions, as in speaking of present time we might have 'proles eum defecit, nec habet,' &c. Comp. 3. 327, 328. 283.] It seems doubtful whether here means 'both,' referring to 'que' following, or also,' i. e. in addition to the previous precepts and descriptions. Tem. pus pandere:' see on 1. 213. 'Arcadii magistri: Aristaeus (1. 14) is said by Justin (13. 7) to have been king of Arcadia. He is called 'magister' either as a shepherd (E. 2. 33., 3. 101) or bee-keeper, et 280 285 or as a teacher (E. 5. 48, A. 5. 391), the word in the latter sense being explained by 'inventa.' This plan is called his inventum' apparently because he was the first who made it known to the world, though it was communicated to him by Proteus, as we shall see in the sequel. His honours as an inventor are greatly increased by other writers (e. g. Apoll. Rhod., and a scholiast on the Argonautics referred to by Cerda), who make him the first that got honey from bees, caused milk to curdle, produced oil from the olive, bred cattle, and hunted with dogs, the introducer in short of most of the arts commemorated in these last two books of the Georgics. 284.] Pandere,' as Forb. reminds us, is a favourite word with Lucr., e. g. 1. 55. Iam saepe' with 'tulerit.' 'Caesis' is said generally, the particular mode of slaughter being explained below, v. 301. 285.] Insincerus' is a rare word, the only two instances given by Forcell. being from late writers, Gellius and Prudentius. 'Sincerus' is used of things in a normal or healthy state, as in Ov. M. 1. 190, "immedicabile volnus Ense recidendum, ne pars sincera trahatur." This notion of the generation of bees from putrid oxen was common among the ancients, having doubtless arisen, as Heyne remarks, from bees having chosen the hollow of the body (as in other cases the hollow trunks of trees, 2. 453) as a convenient place for hiying. Varro (2. 5) mentions it among the glories of oxen, " denique ex hoc putrefacto nasci dulcissimas apes, mellis matres, ex quo illas Graeci Bovyóvas (Bovyεveç, Scaliger) appellant,' chapter on bees (3. 16) cites a line from Archelaus calling them Bodens πεποτημένα τέκνα, and another, which in a slightly different form really belongs to Nicander (Ther. 741), iππшv μèv opñкes γενεά, μόσχων δὲ μέλισσαι. With'altius' Forb. comp. Cic. Legg. 1. 6, "Alte et a capite repetere," where alte' is explained by a capite,' as 'altius' here by prima repetens ab origine.' and in his ܂ 286.] Prima repetens ab origine' re Nam qua Pellaei gens fortunata Canopi peated A. 1. 372. Fama' here="fa- 287.] This and the five following lines are a periphrasis for Egypt. Pellaeus' is an epithet given to Canopus in consequence of the conquest of Egypt by Alexander and the foundation of a Macedonian dynasty. Lucan is rather fond of the epithet, apply ing it to Ptolemy and his family, to the crown of Egypt, and to Alexandria (5. 60., 8. 475, 607., 10. 511, referred to by Forb.). 'Fortunata,' blest in the fertility of their country, and perhaps in the consequent diminution of labour; by no means a commonplace epithet as coming from the poet of the Georgics. 288.] Stagnantem,' covering the land like a lake or pool, the consequence of its overflow. Heyne comp. Lucan 2. 417, "Si non per plana iacentes Aegypti Libycas Nilus stagnaret arenas." Forb. refers to Lucan 4. 134, "Sic Venetus stagnante Pado, fusoque Britannus Navigat Oceano." 289.] These boats, according to Lucan 4. 136, were of papyrus; according to Juv. 15. 127 of earthenware. The words of the latter, "Parvula fictilibus solitum dare vela phaselis, Et brevibus pictae remis incumbere testae," are evidently founded on Virgil, and will illustrate pictis.' 'Phaselis' is the spelling of Med. here as in 1. 227. There is force in 'sua,' which calls attention to the singularity of the circum stance. ... 290.] The difficulty of this and the three following lines is well-known. The great majority of MSS. (including Pal.) give vv. 291-293 in the following order, Et viridem'. . . Et diversa... Usque:' Rom. and one other read Et diversa... Usque Et viridem: Med. and four others, one of them an important copy known as the Gudian, 'Et diversa Et viridem ... Usque.' This variation would seem to have arisen from the omission of one or other of these lines and its insertion in the margin, from which subsequent copyists introduced it again into the text, each following his own notion of the place which it ought to occupy. Which of the three it was 290 that experienced this fortune external con- to pharetratae Persidis' comp. Hor. 2 Od. 16. 6, "Medi pharetra decori;" with 'vicinia urguet,' where the absence of an object is to be noted, Aesch. Ag. 1004, yeiτων ὁμότοιχος ἐρείδει, and perhaps Hor. 2 S. 2. 64, "hac urguet lupus, hac canis, aiunt." |