Crebra ferit; demissae aures, incertus ibidem Sanguis, et obsessas fauces premit aspera lingua. άπоσтρέpоμaí Tiva. 'Aversari' used transi- avertitur herbas.' 500.] Crebra ferit' like' acerba sonans v. 149. 'Demissae aures:' Col. (6. 30) mentions aures flaccidae' among the symptoms of disease in horses. Incertus' seems to mean irregular,' appearing suddenly in profusion. 'Ibidem' refers to 'aures.' Lucr. (6. 1187) has "sudorisque madens per collum splendidus humos," though the description there is of human sickness. = " 6 500 505 510 meaning which sometimes range under a single construction. 'Gravis aere' (E. 1. 35), gemitu gravis' here, pietate gravis' (A. 1. 151), Marte gravis' (A. 1. 270), and gravis ictu' (A. 5. 274), if analyzed, are all reducible to the same type, heavy in respect of copper,' of groaning,' 'of piety,' of Mars,' of a blow;' but each has its peculiar associations, which lead the writer to choose and the reader to acquiesce in it. The first is the commonest, aere gravis' ='aere gravata.' The second, now before us, seems to mean 'groaningly 501.] Ille,' v. 362 note. The meaning heavy gravis gemibundusque,' 'geapparently is that the sweat continued to mitu' being frequently used as a modal abl. break out in the last hours, when it became (A. 2. 323, 413, &c.), while 'gravis' standcold, morituris' being used because he is ing alone would be a natural epithet for speaking of horses, not of a particular horse. heavy breathing. The third is like the So the plurals in the following lines. Cerda first, only that moral weight is substituted comp. Hippocr. 4. 37, oi vxpoì idpures, for physical. In the fourth we think of ξὺν μὲν ὀξεῖ πυρετῷ γιγνόμενοι, θάνατον ' gravis' as a synonyme of' gravidus,' while onpaivovoi, and Nicand. Ther. 255, v- 'Marte' seems to hover between the father χρότερος νιφετοῖο βολῆς περιχεύεται ἱδρώς. regarded as the agent, and his issue re"Morituris,' as Wagn. remarks, signifies garded as the instrument. In the fifth we rather doomed to death' than 'about to feel that the epithet really belongs to 'ictu' die,' so that the sense here is when death (as in Pers. 1. 13 'pede liber = 'pede was certain.' libero,' 5. 116 'fronte politus' = 'fronte polita '), the traveller being only heavy as having just dealt a heavy blow. 'Ima' and longo' explain each other. Comp. with Cerda ilia ducere' (Hor. 1 Ep. 1. 9), of a broken-winded horse. 6 502.] Again from Lucr. (6. 1194) "frigida pellis Duraque." 'Ad tactum,' as we say to the touch,' like 'ad aspectum,' constructed generally with the words which follow, 'tractanti' being connected with 'resistit,' which 'dura' qualities. 503.] The meaning seems to be 'These are the signs of a deadly attack in its first stages,' so that'sin,' as Keightley remarks, ='but when.' 504.] Crudescere,' as in A. 7. 788., 11. 833, opp. tomitescere,' as Forb. says. 505.] Ardentes oculi,' Lucr. 6. 1146, 1180. Attractus ab alto spiritus,' ib. 1186. Cerda comp. Hor. Epod. 11. 10, "latere petitus imo spiritus." 506.] The use of 'gravis' with an abl. may afford an example of the shades of Mox erat hoc ipsum exitio, furiisque refecti where Hector reminds his horses of the 511.] Here again, as Macrob. (Sat. 6. 2) remarks, he copies Lucr. (6. 1229), "Hoc aliis erat exitio letumque parabat" (speaking of the uncertainty of treatment, that which cured one patient killing another). The meaning apparently is that wine at first gave relief, but afterwards made the animal worse, not that some were cured by it at first, but that afterwards others died of it. 'Furiis refecti' may be a kind of oxymoron, strength returned, but it was the strength of madness,' though it need mean no more than that the fever was increased. 512.] Iam morte sub aegra,' even in the weakness and decay of death. Their remains of strength were exhausted in this suicidal violence. 513.] From Nicand. Ther. 186, xov που τέρα κεῖνα καρήασιν ἐμπελάσεις. The very mention of such horrors calls forth a deprecation, 'ominis caussa,' as in A. 2. 484. The feeling seems to be that as such things are and must be, the gods should avert them from the speaker, who believes himself to be well deserving, and turn them on those whom he hates. The enemies here are probably those of Rome, not the poet's own, though such expressions of personal malignity, in jest or in earnest, are common elsewhere, e. g. Hor. 3 Od. 27. 21. With the first part of the line comp. A. 3. 265. Errorem' of madness, as in E. 8. 41 Though the expression is vague, Virgil is doubtless to be understood as deprecating or imprecating suicidal madness not in the case of men, but in that of horses, which in battle would be the strength alike of Rome and of the enemies of Rome. 514.] Nudis,' from the ulceration of the gums (Martyn), or simply from the opening of the mouth ("Mollia ricta fre 515 munt duros nudantia dentes," Lucr. 5. 1064, quoted by Heyne), so as to give the picture, or because of the looseness of their jaws ("dentes crepuere retecti," Pers. 3. 101), which would agree with morte sub aegra,' as explained above, their feebleness making their madness more deplorable. In any case we may agree with Philarg., “ut foeditatem exprimeret, adjecit nudis.” 515-536.] The oxen fell in the act of ploughing, bloody foam gushing from their mouths, and the ploughman had to separate the dead from the living, and suspend his labour. Past caring for shade, or herbage, or sparkling streams, they sank unnerved, with closed eyes and drooping neck, despite of all their services, and of the natural and healthful simplicity of their life. Oxen could not be got to draw the car to Juno's temple, so they had to take buffaloes, without caring to pair them. The harrow had to be substituted for the plough; nay, men dug with their nails, and drew the wains themselves.' Fu 515.] Imitated by Ov. M. 7. 538, 539. Comp. also Plaut. Trin. 2. 4. 122, cited on G. 2. 403. 'Ecce autem' calls attention to a new object, something like kai μýv in Greek. See A. 2. 318, 526, &c. mans,' 2. 542. He falls in the middle of his exertion. Sub vomere' as he has to pull under the weight of the thing he drags. 516.] A third imitation of Lucr. 3. 489, already glanced at vv. 84, 283. 517.] Ciet gemitus,' like 'ciebat fletus,' A. 3. 344. Non umbrae altorum nemorum, non mollia possunt 520 Quid labor aut benefacta iuvant? quid vomere terras 525 520.] An imitation, as Macrob. Sat. 6. 5 has seen, of Lucr. 2. 361 foll., a passage already glanced at E. 8. 85 foll., "Nec tenerae salices, atque herbae rore vigentes, Fluminaque illa queunt summis labentia ripis Oblectare animum, subitamque avertere curam. Virgil is of course referring to the ox which has just fallen dying. 522.] In deviating from the language of Lucr. 1. c. Virgil has perhaps thought rather of what would charm a spectator than of what would attract cattle; at any rate it may be said that the words 'qui... amnis' show a genuine feeling for the picturesque as distinct from a mere utilitarian appreciation of nature, such as has been supposed, and doubtless with some truth, to characterize the classical writers when compared with the moderns. It is a question whether electrum' here, as in Callim. in Cer. 29, which Virgil seems to have followed, τὸ δ ̓ ὡς ἀλέκτρινον ὕδωρ Εξ ἀμαpar ávélve, is amber or the metal of that name (A. 8. 402, 624). Either comparison would be sufficiently natural and classical. The Homeric use of the word is involved in similar uncertainty: see Lidd. and Scott, v. EKTρO. Ima latera,' apparently like 'ima ilia,' v. 506, the extremity of the long flank, implying that the whole length is relaxed and unnerved. 523.] "Dura quies oculos et ferreus urguet Somnus," A. 10. 745. 524.] 'Fluit' expresses gradual sinking to the ground. "Ad terram non sponte fluens,' A. 11. 828, of Camilla falling from her horse in death. Forcell. quotes Curt. 8. 14, "Rex fluentibus membris, omissisque armis, vix sui compos;" Martial 11. 41. 3, "Cedentis oneri ramos silvamque fluentem Vicit." 525.] Scaliger (Poet. 5. 11) says of this and the five following lines "malim a me excogitata atque confecta quam vel Croesum vel Cyrum ipsum dicto habere audientem." Their spirit is that of a gentle accusation of destiny, not unlike the tone of A. 2. 426 foll. Benefacta,' his services to men. 526.] Gravis' expresses the difficulty he has surmounted. He has performed his part in the grand system of labour which the gods have ordained (1. 63 note, 121 foll.), yet he reaps no fruit from it. Massica,' 2. 143. 527.] Reponere' is used in three other places in Virgil (4. 378, A. 7. 134., 8. 175, adduced by Wagn.) in connexion with a banquet; yet though the tenor of the language is the same, the meaning seems to vary. In A. 7. 134 the reference seems to be to the wine that was brought on after the banquet, or at least the first course, was over (II. 1. 470, A. 1. 724), so that 'repono' will point to the drinking that has gone on before. In 4. 378 the description resembles that of the early part of the banquet, A. 1. 701, which would lead us to understand ' plena reponunt pocula' either of setting anew on the table the cups which had been used at their last repast, so that the word would be rhetorically, though not etymologically, equivalent to 'ponere,' or, as 'plena' might suggest, of refilling the cups as they were emptied. At the same time it is possible there from the brevity of the description that the spreading of the table and the setting on of the bowl after the banquet may be expressed in a single line. In A. 8. 175 the meaning evidently is that the feast, which had been interrupted by the arrival of Aeneas, is set on again in his honour. Wagn. also comp. Stat. Theb. 2. 88, "Instaurare diem festasque reponere mensas," where the meaning is to renew the feast after the interlude of a drunken brawl, as "arisque reponimus ignem," A. 3. 231, of the renewal of the banquet and sacrifices which the Harpies had interrupted. seems worth while to consider these passages together, though the result be to show that the same sense cannot be assumed for the same word even where the general context is similar. Here it is evident that the only meanings which will suit the word as an epithet of epulae' are that of placing a second course on the table, and that of serving up a meal where a former one has been served up. The latter might It S. V., Frondibus et victu pascuntur simplicis herbae, stand, whether supposed to indicate simply 66 528.] Simplicis' opposed to the arts of cookery displayed in an elaborate banquet, ' epulae repostae.' 529.] Pocula' refers to the cups at human feasts, with which their draughts are contrasted. See on E. 8. 28. Exercita cursu' (comp. 'exercita motu,' Lucr. 2. 97, and the use of yvμválɛolai, Aesch. Prom. 586, 592) seems merely to mean 'rapid.' It has certainly the appearance of being more than a mere ornamental epithet; yet it is difficult to discover its exact relevancy to the case of the cattle. A contrast may be intended, as Wagn. thinks, between flowing and stagnant water; but that is indicated by the noun as much as by the epithet. 531.] Tempore non alio :' this the first time. 66 Illaque haudque alia... luce," Catull. 62 (64). 16. was 532.] Quaesitas,' sought and not found, like Horace's "Sublatam ex oculis quaeri 530 535 mus invidi" (3 Od. 24. 32). On other occasions they offered themselves without difficulty. Ad sacra Iunonis:' it is not easy to determine whether Virgil has simply transferred to these Alpine regions the Argive procession where the priestess was drawn by white oxen to the temple of Juno, for which Serv. and Philarg. refer to the story of Cleobis and Biton, Hdt. 1. 31, or whether there was any thing analogous to it in those parts. Keightley refers to Strabo 5, p. 215, for the existence of a grove of the Argive Hera in the Venetian territory, and to Tac. Germ. 40 for the custom among the Germans of having the car of their goddess Hertha drawn by cows. Uris,' 2. 374 note. 533.] Inparibus,' aggravates the misfortune: not only were they buffaloes, but they were ill-matched. The word, as Heyne remarks, may include dissimilarity of colour as well as inequality in size. The objection of Ameis, "multo difficilius est uros magnitudine et maxime colore inpares in eadem regione invenire quam eos qui colore pares sunt," seems rather literal, even if his view of the fact is right, while his own interpretation, "qui hinc negotio inpares sunt," would yield a less forcible and natural sense. 'Donaria,' properly gifts, is used occasionally, especially in poetry (Ov. F. 3. 335, Lucan 9. 515), for places where gifts are offered, temples (as here), shrines, altars, &c. 535.] Infodiunt,' 2. 348: here of burying seed in the ground. 537-547.] Man has no longer to fear beast, nor beast man, in the presence of a greater terror: the sea throws up its fish; serpents die on land and in the water, and birds in the air.' 537.] The spectacle of a state of nature, from which the terror felt by beast for beast or man is removed, has been already presented to us by Virgil in two different lights; in E. 5. 60, as part of a restored Nec gregibus nocturnus obambulat; acrior illum golden age, in E. 8. 28, 52, as resulting from a monstrous reversal of the order of the world, such as is conceived by a heartbroken lover. We see it now in a third aspect, as the actual consequence of a leveling pestilence. 'Insidias explorat' seems to be a mixture of two expressions, such as 'insidias struit' and 'loca explorat,' though it might also mean 'tries his stratagems,' 'exploro' having the sense of 'experior' in several passages quoted by Forcell., e. g. Lucan 2. 603, "Taurus in adversis explorat cornua truncis;" Sil. 11. 358, "Hoc iugulo dextram explora." 'Insidians,' the reading of Rom. and another MS., would remove all difficulty, but it does not look so Virgilian. With the picture of the wolf comp. the simile A. 9. 59 foll. The general sense of the passage is poorly imitated by Ov. M. 7. 545, 546. Lucr. 6. 1219, after saying that the beasts and birds did not touch the bodies of those who died by the plague, or if they did, were poisoned, goes on "Nec tamen omnino temere illis solibus ulla Comparebat avis, nec tristia saecla ferarum Exibant silvis: languebant pleraque morbo Et moriebantur." 538.] "Nec vespertinus circumgemit ursus ovile," Hor. Epod. 16. 51. Obambulare muris' occurs Livy 36. 34. 'Acrior cura :' disease is stronger than hunger or thirst of blood. 539.] Timidi dammae,' E. 8. 28 note. 541. Iam' serves for a transition as in 2. 57, though here it may have a more distinctly temporal force, signifying that the event has begun before that previously mentioned is ended. 'Maris inmensi,' 1. 29. 'Natantum' like 'volantes,' 'balantes,' &c. Comp. Soph. fr. 856 (Nauck), ix@vwv πλωτῷ γένει. 542.] Comp. E. 1. 60, where the thing here mentioned is used to symbolize an impossibility. Here however the fish are 540 545 dead or dying before they are thrown upon the shore. Aristot. (H. A. 8. 19) denies that fish suffer from epidemics, but later naturalists do not agree with him. 543.] Wagn. demurs to proluit,' but it has the same sense as in 1. 481,' washes before it.' Insolitae' would be a more natural epithet of 'flumina,' but the river may be called unaccustomed to the seal, as well as the seal to the river, and Virgil prefers the former mode of expression, both for novelty's sake, and as giving the river a quasi-personality. See E. 6. 40. The seals are cast on shore, not being able in their sickness to contend with the waves, but they take to the rivers as the nearest approach to their natural home. Comp. Horace's well-known picture 1 Od. 2. 7. 8. 544.] Curvis latebris,' 2. 216. The epithet is significant, as the shape of their lurking place would prevent most animals from following them. 545.] Attoniti,' as the serpent v. 434 is 'exterritus.' 'Adstantibus:' the force of the compound may perhaps be given here by our 'standing up.' Comp. 'assurgo.' Forcell. cites Pliny 34. 8, " Phidias ... fecit... Minervam Athenis, quae est in Parthenone adstans." They erect their scales in terror or in fruitless self-defence. 546.] Ipsis,' which habitually live in it. 'Non aequus,' 2. 225. 547.] Comp. A. 5. 516, 517. 548-566.] Remedies are in vain : horror and disease reign every where: the bleatings and lowings of dying cattle are heard all about; the stalls are heaped with dead, which have to be buried, as their flesh cannot be roasted or boiled, nor their hides or wool used for clothing under penalty of contagion.' |
