or snow, and is at the same time a most vile and noxious weed, rooted out of all gardens, and unfit for garlands, withering and losing its colour as soon as gathered.' vaccinium is often rendered 'bilberry,' but it is beyond doubt a flower, for the bilberry could not be used in a posy or called molle as vaccinium is in line 50; cf. too 10. 38 n., which shows that vaccinium is the yраπтà váкeos of Theocritus, vaccinium being only a corrupted form of váкivos, see Martyn on G. 4. 183. cadunt: 'fall' ungathered and unheeded, 'are left to fall.' For the co-ordination of the contrasted clauses cadunt, leguntur cf. 1. 30 n. 19-27. You despise me, and yet I am well off; I can sing too, and, if I may trust my reflection in the water, am not so very ugly. 19. despectus tibi sum] tibi may be either the Dat. of the Agent, which is very common after the perfect pass., or the Ethic Dat. 'in thy eyes,' cf. line 44 sordent tibi. qui sim, 'who I am,' i.e. possessed of what recommendations, as the next lines show. 20. quam dives pecoris...] Corydon is only a slave, but he speaks as though what belonged to his master belonged to himself. Virgil is closely imitating the words of Theocritus in which Polyphemus refers to his wealth, and seems to lose sight of Corydon's position. pecoris is gen. of abundance after dives, 'rich in flocks': so too lactis abundans. 21. mille meae Siculis...] Theocr. 2. 34 ẞorà xíλia Bbokw. 22. lac...] Theocr. 2. 36 τυρὸς δ ̓ οὐ λείπει μ ̓ οὔτ ̓ ἐν θέρει οὔτ ἐν ὀπώρᾳ. 23. canto...] Songs I sing such as Amphion... was wont to sing when he called the cattle home'; quae solitus is put shortly for quae solitus erat and cantare has to be supplied. canto can describe either singing or playing. 24. Amphion] Amphion was the son of Zeus and Antiope, and was brought up by shepherds whose flocks he tended. He was famed for his skill in playing on the lyre, and is said to have built the walls of Thebes by the power of his music, the stones moving into their places as he played (Hor. Od. 3. 11. 2 movit Amphion lapides canendo); hence he is called Dircaeus, Dirce being a celebrated fountain near Thebes. Aracynthus is a mountain in Aetolia, but Virgil seems to regard it as being on the borders of Boeotia and Attica and therefore calls it 'Actaean,' i.e. 'Attic.' Some conjecture that Virgil is here copying a Greek line which ended év åкTaiw ̓Αρακύνθῳ, in which ἀκταίῳ meant craggy (from ἀκτή which can mean 'crag'), but the conjecture is idle and does no good, for when Virgil put Actaeo for åκтaiw he must have supposed that Aracynthus was an 'Attic' mountain, and his geography therefore still remains faulty, as it doubtless was. Virgil is fond of these lines composed of proper names, and of imitating in them the rhythm of the Greek hexameter: they serve at once to display his learning and to afford a grateful variety of sound. Milton similarly much affects lines made up of strange and stately proper names. For the hiatus Actaeo | Aracyntho cf. 10. 12 Aonië | Aganippe and Hom. Il. 1. 1 Πηληιάδεω ̓Αχιλήος. 26. cum placidum...] 'when the sea lay (Latin says 'stood') becalmed by the winds,' i.e. so that its smooth surface acted as a mirror. ventis is instrumental abl.: the ancients speak of the winds not only as disturbing but also as calming the sea; they are its masters and both stir and still its raging, cf. G. 4. 484 vento constitit; Aen. 5. 673 placidi straverunt aequora venti; Hor. Od. 1. 3. 16 Notus...arbiter Hadriae... tollere seu ponere vult freta; Soph. Aj. 674 deivŵv änμa πveVμάτων ἐκοίμισε | στένοντα πόντον. Daphnim, the ideal shepherd, cf. Ecl. 5. Intr. 27. judice te] These words contain the protasis to non metuam; if you were judge, I should not fear Daphnis,' i.e. to meet him in a contest of beauty. The clause si nunquam fallit imago explains the reason for his confidence, 'he would not fear if (as is the fact) the reflection never deceives': si with the indic. here is almost 'since.' 38-44. If but you consent to share my simple rural life, you shall learn to play all the tunes that Amyntas longed in vain to learn as divinely as Pan himself. You shall have the pipe too which the great Damoetas bequeathed to me when dying, and two pet roes besides, which I am keeping for you, though Thestylis keeps begging me to let her have them—and have them she shall, since you are so proud! The 28. sordida] Opposed to the artificial elegance of town life, which is expressed by nitidus, is the natural and almost slipshod ease of country life, which is expressed by sordidus. epithet is frequently applied to country things by Martial (e.g. 1. 55. 4 sordida otia; 12. 57. 2 Larem villae sordidum) and 'implies no disparagement' (Friedlander, Mart. 1. 49. 27). Kennedy renders 'homely.' For the form of sentence o tantum libeat..., imitabere 'only be willing..., you shall imitate,' see 3. 50 n. 30. viridi compellere hibisco] 'to drive together with a green switch of hibiscum': what the hibiscum was we do not know, but 10. 71 we see that it could be used for making baskets and therefore as a switch. Collecting the straggling goats would be a common occupation. Most editors render 'to drive (in a body) to the green hibiscum.' They compare Hor. Od. 1. 24. 18 quem...nigro compulerit gregi which is absolutely different, as there is surely a difference between driving a sheep to join the flock (nigro compellere gregi) and driving a flock down to the hibiscum (viridi compellere hibisco). Had editors given the quotation from Hor. in full quem VIRGA semel AUREA | nigro compulerit Mercurius gregi they might perhaps have seen that it rather suggested that viridi hibisco was parallel to virga aurea. Virgil frequently uses the dat. of a noun adverbially where in with the acc. would be more usual (see G. 4. 562 n.), but no expression at all parallel to this is quoted. 31. canendo] Here clearly 'playing,' as the context shows. 32. Pan...] Pan was said (cf. 8. 24) to have invented the oupy, fistula, 'Pan-pipe' which is here described: it resembled the instrument not unfrequently used by Punch-and-Judy men, and consisted of a number of reeds of uneven length (cf. 36 disparibus septem cicutis) joined together with wax (cera coniungere), along the top of which the player runs his lips as he plays (cf. Lucr. 4. 588 unco saepe labro calamos percurrit hiantes) and sometimes makes them sore by doing so (cf. 34 calamo trivisse labellum). coniungere, after instituit which is='taught'; the acc. before coniungere is understood, 'taught (men) to join together.' 33. Pan curat...] A prose-writer would say 'Pan taught... for he loves' but poetry simply says 'Pan taught... Pan loves.' The assonance of Pana... Pan ... Pan ... oves ovium deserves notice. 36. cicutis] hemlock stalks,' used instead of reeds (calami). 37. dono dedit] A stately phrase to describe a formal gift. 38. te nunc...] 'it has you now a second master'; the giving of the pipe is a symbolic act indicating that he who receives it is the successor of its former owner, and is on his death to be ranked as the greatest living master, cf. 6. 49. ista, lit. that of yours,' shows that Damoetas has already placed the pipe in Corydon's hands. 39. dixit...] Cf. 1. 30 n. stultus, 'foolish' in deeming himself worthy to succeed Damoetas. 40. nec tuta...] and found by me in no safe valley': he adds this to enhance the value of the gift. 41. sparsis...]_These white spots are said to disappear at six months old. For albo as subst.='with white' see G. 1. 127 n. 42. bina die...] lit. 'twice a day they drain the udder of a sheep.' A ewe was given them as a foster-mother and fed them twice a day. The distributive force of bina is thrown upon die which clearly means 'each day,' 'every day.' The plural ubera is used because Virgil is thinking not of the actual udder but of its contents. 43. iam pridem ... orat] lit. 'is already for some time begging'; we say 'has been long begging.' orat abducere: the usual construction after oro is the subj.: here an inf. is used after the idea of desire contained in it; cf. A. 6. 313 orantes transmittere cursum. 44. et faciet] lit. 'and she shall do (what she prays to do)': we say 'and she shall do so.' tibi: emphatic, in your eyes,' cf. 19 n. Virgil is copying Theocr. 3. 33 τάν με καὶ ὁ Μέρμνωνος Εριθακὶς ἁ μελανόχρως 46-55. Come! See the Nymphs and Naiads offer you posies of fairest flowers, and I will gather you choicest fruits. 46. Nymphae] The Nymphs and Naiads represent the deities of the country, and are described as tempting Alexis to come among them. 47. pallentes violas] Certainly not 'pale violets,' which would hardly blend with poppies. The flower described is the Greek Neukótov, which is generally rendered 'wall-flower,' and from Hor. Od. 3. 10. 14 tinctus viola pallor amantium it is clear that the hue of the flower is 'sallow' or 'yellowish,' and so 'yellow wall-flowers' may do. The paleness' of an Italian complexion, it should be remembered, is 'yellow' rather than 'white,' hence the colour of gold is described in Latin as 'paleness,' and pallere is used of a yellow rather than a white hue. Cf. G. 1. 446 n.; Hor. Epod. 10. 16 pallor luteus; Ov. Met. 11. 110 saxum quoque palluit auro. 49. tum...] This seems clearly a second bouquet. The first is of two contrasted colours, pale wall-flowers and bright poppies, mixed with some scented plants: the second is described in inverse order as inwoven with scented herbs, and presenting a beautiful contrast of colour with yellow marigolds and the dark hyacinth. For mollia cf. 5. 38, where Wagner explains molli viola as quae coloris teneritate sensum molliter afficit, and so, perhaps, here 'soft,' 'velvety.' mollis is a very vague adjective= 'tender,' 'soft,' 'yielding,' 'pliant,' and is applied to flowers, foliage, shrubs, grass, sleep, wine, poetry, or a horse's legs (G. 3. 76) with such indifference that its exact force when used of an unknown flower must remain uncertain. In 6. 53 molli hyacintho it describes the actual 'softness' of the hyacinth for lying down on. Translate then inweaving them (i.e. the flowers mentioned in the next line) with casia and other herbs she sets off (pingit) the velvety hyacinth with the yellow marigold. 50. For the peculiar balance of the line cf. G. 1. 468 n. 51. cana...mala] i.e. quinces, strictly called mala Cydonia. The word malum, like unλov in Greek, was applied to many similar fruits, e.g. malum Persicum 'the peach,' malum felix 'the citron,' malum praecox 'the apricot.' 53. prūnă; honōs] A short vowel without any accent on it is left unelided only here and A. 1. 405 patuit dea. ille ubi matrem. The pause in both cases makes the difficulty much less, and possibly here h in honos is regarded as semi-consonantal. honos erit...] 'this fruit too shall be honoured,' i.e. by being included among those selected for presentation to you. pomum is used of almost any fruit. 54. lauri] bays,' cf. G. 2. 18 n. proxima: 'neighbouring used proleptically (cf. G. 1. 399 n.) = 'to be their neighbour,' as the next line shows. 55-72. Ah! Corydon, you are foolish to hope to win Alexis from Iollas by gifts. Alas! what trouble I have brought on myself. And yet, Alexis, why shun me? Though Pallas loves towns, yet other deities have lived in the woods. All creatures have something that they long for, and I long for you. See, cool evening comes but my passion burns. O Corydon, what madness it is! Why not set about something useful and forget Alexis? 56. rusticus] 'a clown,' i. e. stupid, in that you indulge such vain hopes. 57. nec...concedat Iollas] 'nor, should you seek to rival him with gifts, would Iollas yield'; i.e. he would outbid you. Iollas is clearly the dominus of line 2. 58. quid volui mihi] 'what have I wished for myself?'; 'what have I brought on myself?' |