floribus...] 'I have let loose the South wind upon my flowers, the wild boars against my clear fountains,' i.e. I have brought ruin and destruction on myself. The South or Sirocco wind, which blows from Africa, is especially destructive in Italy. 61. Dardaniusque Paris] Quoted as the type of grace and beauty. He was brought up as a shepherd among the forests of Mount Ida. Pallas...nobis: notice the emphatic position of these contrasted words: 'let Pallas inhabit the citadels she herself reared, to me let... .' Pallas was commonly spoken of by such titles as πολιάς and πολιούχος, especially at Athens her favourite city. 63. torva...] Cf. Theocr. 10. 30 ἁ αἓξ τὸν κύτισον, ὁ λύκος τὰν αἶγα διώκει, ὁ γέρανος τἄροτρον· ἐγὼ δ' ἐπὶ τὶν μεμάνημαι. 65. Ŏ Ålexi] For a long vowel thus left unelided and shortened before a following vowel, cf. 8. 109 an quì ămant; 3. 79 văle vălě inquit; 6. 44 Hyla, Hylă omne. In none of these cases is the ictus on the shortened syllable. 66. aratra iugo referunt suspensa] 'draw home by the yoke the hanging ploughs.' It was customary when returning home to turn the plough over (cf. Hor. Epod. 2. 63 videre fessos vomerem inversum boves | collo trahentes languido), so as to prevent the share catching in the ground; the main body of the plough would thus seem to be 'hanging' in the air. Many editors say that iugo referunt is tautological and would therefore join iugo suspensa hanging from the yoke,' but they are obliged to explain this tilted on the yoke' (i.e. the pole is turned from under to over the yoke and the plough thus thrown on its back), which is a very different thing. Ov. Fast. 5. 497 versa iugo referuntur aratra seems to prove that iugo referunt do go together. 68. quis enim...] 'for what limit can there be to love?' 69. a Corydon...] Theocr. 11. 72 â Kúkλwy, Kúkλwy, mâ τὰς φρένας ἐκπεπότασαι; 70. semiputata...frondosa] Both adjectives are emphatic; the vine is only 'half-pruned' and the supporting elm is left with all its leaves on, so that the sun cannot reach the grapes. 71. quin tu...paras?] 'Why do you not rather make ready to plait with osiers and pliant reeds something at any rate of all that daily need requires': quorum=eorum quorum. quin tu...potius...paras: a question introduced by quin potius is really a strong remo E Two unfriendly shephe after indulging in some vig poetic skill and, after de they invite Palaemon, who accepts the office and at li poetry as verses 60-107 was called Amaelc Theocr. 8. 31) from duoßn 'interchange,' and Virgi 'alternate song' (alterna line 59). The rule was that second singer should answer the first in an equal number of verses, on the same or a similar subject, and also if possible show superior force or power of expression, or, as we say, 'cap' what the first had said. The 9th Ode of the Third Book of Horace's Odes is a perfect specimen of this kind of verse. The present Eclogue is largely copied from the 4th and 5th Idylls of Theocritus, but this form of poetry was probably extremely popular in Italy, where improvised songs largely consisting of rude repartees were always a characteristic of village festivities. 1-15. M. Is this the flock of Meliboeus? D. No; Aegon > left it in my charge. M. Unhappy sheep! while the master is away courting, a hireling milks you to death. D. Don't abuse I know something of you. M. I suppose you saw ME hacking Micon's vines. D. At any rate you broke the bow of Daphnis from jealousy. me. 1. Damoeta] Greek voc. cf. Aenea, Aiveíā; 7. 67 Lycida. cuium: a word common in the early comedians but obsolete in Virgil's day in formal Latin. Virgil intends by its use to give a natural and colloquial air to the line, but the word was evidently considered curious at an early period, as in Donatus' life of Virgil the following parody is quoted: pecus anne Latinum? cus] 'Poor sheep, ever an ef. St. John x. 13. is stolen from the flock is used constantly of that ich gives them a healthy nce of which they dry up k is called sucus because the lambs are not weaned ista: such taunts as After line 7 follows a coarse taunt addressed by Damon to Menalcas, to which Menalcas replies, 'O (that happened) then, I suppose, when they saw me hack the trees and young vines of Micon ... .' His words are ironical, and when he says 'me' he means 'you.' arbustum: used in its strict sense of the trees planted to support the vines; cf. 2. 12 n. 11. mala] 'malignant,' 'malicious'; as in the well-known legal phrase dolus malus 'malice prepense'; the adjective implies deliberate evil intention. 12. hic ad veteres fagos] 'here beside the ancient beeches'; the words ad veteres fagos define and make clear the meaning of hic; cf. 1. 53. 13. quae tu...] 'which you...both grieved to see (lit. when you saw) given to the boy (i.e. Daphnis) and would have died (i.e. of ungratified spite) if....' 16-27. M. What is to be done when thieves are so bold? I saw you try to snare Damon's goat and, when I gave the alarm, hide behind the sedge. D. The goat was mine; Damon had lost it to me, for I had beaten him in a singing-match. M. You beat Damon in singing! You never had a real pipe, but used to make discord on a squeaking straw. 16. quid...] 'What can owners do' says Menalcas 'when thieves are so daring?' This reflection rises to his lips as he contemplates Damoetas, who, as he goes on to say, when last he saw him, was engaged in stealing Damon's goat. dominus is one who has dominium ownership'; the dominus of a slave is his 'master,' of a goat its 'owner.' Many editors, mistaking the sense of domini and not seeing that Menalcas is referring to what is going to be said and not to what has been said, take this wrongly: thus Conington says that fures is comic for servi and renders 'what will the master do if the man talks at this rate?' i.e. what language will Aegon use if Damoetas is so impudent. This however gives a forced sense to fures and would certainly require facient, which has much less authority than faciant. 18. excipere insidiis] 'lie in wait to catch,' lit. 'try to catch with lying in wait.' excipere is a technical word for hunters who wait to catch game as it is driven out of cover, cf. Hor. Od. 3. 12. 11 alto latitantem | fruticeto excipere aprum. multum latrante: 'barking much' or 'vigorously,' cf. line 63 n. 19. ille] Deictic, pointing to the thief who was just going to seize the goat. 21. an mihi... ] 'What? was he not when beaten in playing to hand over the goat, although my pipe had earned it...?' an is often used to introduce a question in argument, and implies a suppressed thought, e.g. here I was not stealing, only taking my own,' or 'will you argue that he was not to hand over...?' redderet: as very frequently is not 'give back' but 'give what is due,' duly give,' re often having this force in composition; cf. line 73 referatis duly carry'; G. 1. 339 refer 'duly bring'; 2. 194. 22. quem... meruisset] The subj. seems due to quem being=quamvis eum. 23. si nescis] colloquial='Allow me to inform you.' 24. reddere posse negabat] = se reddere posse negabat. The personal pronoun is not unfrequently thus omitted when there can be no ambiguity, cf. Aen. 3. 201 negat discernere... Palinurus, Livy 23. 63 id nescire Mago dixit. 25. cantando tu illum ?] 'You - him. in playing!' Menalcas scornfully passes over all the rest of the explanation, and answers Damoetas' assertion that he had beaten Damon in playing by simply repeating it interrogatively. Of course after pecus anne Latinum? ef. St. John x. 13. is stolen from the flock is used constantly of that ich gives them a healthy nce of which they dry up k is called sucus because the lambs are not weaned ista: 'such taunts as After line 7 follows a coarse taunt addressed by Damon to Menalcas, to which Menalcas replies, 'O (that happened) then, I suppose, when they saw me hack the trees and young vines of Micon His words are ironical, and when he says 'me' he means 'you.' : arbustum used in its strict sense of the trees planted to support the vines; cf. 2. 12 n. 11. mala] 'malignant,' 'malicious'; as in the well-known legal phrase dolus malus 'malice prepense'; the adjective implies deliberate evil intention. 12. hic ad veteres fagos] 'here beside the ancient beeches'; the words ad veteres fagos define and make clear the meaning of hic; cf. 1. 53. 13. quae tu...] 'which you...both grieved to see (lit. when you saw) given to the boy (i.e. Daphnis) and would have died (i.e. of ungratified spite) if... .' 16-27. M. What is to be done when thieves are so bold? 1 saw you try to snare Damon's goat and, when I gave the alarm, hide behind the sedge. D. The goat was mine; Damon had lost it to me, for I had beaten him in a singing-match. M. You beat Damon in singing! You never had a real pipe, but used to make discord on a squeaking straw. |