71. Arvisia vina quæ Vina novum fundam calathis Arvisia nectar. Cantabunt mihi Damætas, et Lyctius Agon: sunt 79. Ut Agricole fa- Saltantes Satyros imitabitur Alphesibœus. cient vota quotannis Hæc tibi semper erunt; et cùm solennia vota Baccho Cererique, sic Reddemus Nymphis, et cùm lustrabimus agros. facient ea tibi 75 81. Quæ, quæ dona reddam Dum juga montis aper, fluvios dum piscis amabıt, 82. Nam neque sibi- Semper honos, nomenque tuum, laudesque manebunt. lus venientis Austri ju- Ut Baccho Cererique, tibi sic vota quotannis vat me tantùm; neclitora Agricolæ facient: damnabis tu quoque votis. percussa fluctu tam ju- Mo. Quæ tibi, quæ tali reddam pro carmine dona? vant me; nec flumina Nam neque me tantùm venientis sibilus Austri, quæ decurrunt inter saxosas valles, tam ju-Nec percussa juvant fluctu tam litora, nec quæ vant mc. Saxosas inter decurrunt flumina valles. 80 NOTES. 71. Arvisia vina: Chian wine. Arvisia: an adj. from Arvisus, a promontory of the island Chios, in the Archipelago, famous for its good wine. Novum nectar: nectar was properly any kind of pleasant wine, or other liquor. Hence the poets feigned it to be the drink of the gods. Novum: goodexcellent. The wine here offered was to be as good as nectar-good or excellent nectar. See Ecl. iii. 66. 72. Lyctius: an adj. from Lyctus, a city of Crete. 73. Saltantes Satyros: leaping or wonton satyrs. The Satyri were demi-gods of the country, the origin of whom is not well known. They were of a hideous form, and generally distinguished themselves by their riotous and wanton demeanor in the orgies of Bacchus, which they generally attended. The Romans cailed them indis criminately Fauni, Panes, and Szivani. Alphesibœus. See Ecl. 8. 75. Lustrabimus. Lustro may here be taken in the sense of circumeo, to go around or encompass; or of purgo, to cleanse or purify by sacrifice; or it may comprehend hoth. For it is agreed by all, that the poet hath a reference to what is called the sacrificium ambervale, spoken of Geor. i. 345, which sce. Circumimus campos cum hostia, says Ruœus. Reddemus: in the sense of solvemus. 79. Cereri. Ceres was the goddess of husbandry, the daughter of Saturn and Ops, and mother of Proserpine by Jupiter, whom Pluto carried off while she was gathering flowers in the plains of Enna, in Sicily. The loss was grievous to Ceres, who sought her both day and night; when at length she found her veil near the fountain of Cyane. She could obtain no information of her daughter, till the nymph Arethusa told her that she was carried off by Pluto. Upon this, she immediately ascended to heaven, and demanded of Jupiter the resto ration of her darling child. He endeavored to reconcile her to Pluto as a son-in-law; but to no purpose. At length he consented that she should be restored, provided she had eaten nothing in the dominions of the ravisher. Ceres repaired immediately to the infernal regions, and found she had eaten the seeds of a pomegranate, found in the Elysian fields. Her return, therefore, was impossible: but Jupiter consented that she might pass six months of the year with her mother on earth, and the remainder with Pluto. During all this time, the cultivation of the earth had been neglected. To repair the loss which mankind sustained by her absence, Ceres went to Attica and instructed Triptolemus, the son of Celeus, in all that pertained to agriculture. Ceres is supposed to be the same as the Egyptian Isis, and her worship to have been brought into Greece by Erechtheus about 1426 years before Christ. She is supposed to be the same as Tellus, Cybele, Berecynthia, &c. The Romans paid her great veneration, and her festivals were generally celebrated for eight days in the month of April. Ceres, by meton. is often put for bread grain, &c. 80. Damnabis tu, &c. Thou shalt also bind them to their vows thou shalt grant the requests of those, who ask. The pro priety of this mode of expression will apwho asked any thing of a God, virtually, if not directly, promised or vowed something in return; and if his requests were granted, then he became condemned, and judicially judicially bound to the performance of his promise or vow. And the rod. god, when he granted any petition or request, was said to condemn, or bind the promiser to pay his pear, when it is considered that the person vows. 82. Sibilus: the whistling of the rising south wind. 29 85 86. Hæc eadem cicuta docuit nos, ME. Hâc te nos fragili donabimus antè cicutâ. Non tulit Antigenes (et erat tum dignus ameri) NOTES. 85. Nos donabimus: I will present thee with this, &c. Cicuta: properly a pipe nade of the stalk of the hemlock. See Ecl. I. 10. 86. Hæc eadem docuit: this same pipe taught me: formosum Corydon, &c. i. e. with this same pipe I sang the second Eclogue. Hac docuit: this same taught me: Cujum 83. Sume pedum formosum paribus gines non tulit, cùm 90 sæpe rogaret me, et pecus? i. e. with this same pipe I sang the third Eclogue. 88. Sume pedum: take this crook, as a testimony of my regard. 90. Formosum: beautified with equal knobs and brass-with knobs at equal distances: or uniform, in regard to size. ECLOGA SEXTA. SILENUS. THE subject of this fine pastoral is Silenus. He had promised the swains Chromis and Mnasilus a song; but had put it off from time to time. Wearied with the delay, they surprised him asleep in his grotto, just recovering from his intoxication. His garlatas lay at some distance from him with these they bind him fast; and in this condition they demand of him the fulfilment of his promise. At this moment, Agle, one of dis nymphs, joins them. Upon which he begins, and explains to them the origin of the world upon the principles of the Epicurean philosophy; and concludes with several interesting fables by way of episode. It is generally supposed this pastoral was designed as a compliment to Syro the Epicu rean, who taught Virgil the principles of that philosophy. By Silenus we are to understand Syro, and by the swains Chromis and Mnasilus, his two pupils, Virgil and Varus. PRIMA Syracosio dignata est ludere versu 2. Nostra Thalia pri- Nostra, nec erubuit sylvas habitare, Thalia. ma dignata est Cùm canerem reges et prælia, Cynthius aurem 6. Namque, O Vare, Nunc ego (namque super tibi erunt, qui dicere laudes. super erunt tibi alii poetæ Vare, tuas cupiant, et tristia condere bella) qu cupiant Agrestem tenui meditabor arundine Musam. Non injussa cano: si quis tamen hæc quoque, si quis NOTES. 1. Syracosio versu: in pastoral verse. racosio: an adj. from Syracuse, the birth peace of Theocritus, the first pastoral poet of erainence; the chief city of Sicily, and famous for its defence against the Romans under Marcellus. 2. Thatia. One of the Muses. See Ecl. iii. 60. Nec erubuit, &c. Nor did she blush to inhabit the woods. This verb here is both expressive and beautiful; the perf. of erubesco. Thalia was supposed to preside over comedy and pastoral poetry. Virgil was the first pastoral writer among the Romans; which explains the words, nostra Thalia prima: my muse first deigned, &c. 3. Cum canerem, &c. Virgil is said to have begun a work upon the affairs of Alba Longa, but afterwards relinquished it, and commenced the Bucolics. Cynthius: a name of Apollo. See Ecl. iv. 10. Vellit: pinched my ear; a proverbial expression, implying admonition. 5. Deductum: a part. of deduco, humble, or slender. A metaphor taken from wool spun out till it is made fine or slender. 6. Supererunt: in the sense of erunt alii poeta. The parts of the verb are separated by Tmesis. 7. Vare. It is generally thought that ta poet here means Quintilius Varus, whe arose to the highest honors under Augustus. He was consul in the year of Rome 741; after which he was præfect of Syria eight years. Having returned home, he was sent into Germany with three legions, which he lost, being drawn into an ambush. This mortified him so much, that he killed himself. This happened in the year 762. Condere: to write--record. 9. Non injussa cano: I do not sing things forbidden by Apollo. He permits me to sing of pastoral subjects, but not of kings and battles. Si quis tamen, &c. The lamin does not refer to the words, non injussa caro, but to the third and fourth lines, where Apollo forbids him to write in the lofty style of heroic poetry. The meaning seems to be this: though he forbid me to describe your actions in heroic verse, he permits me to do it in the humble style of pastoral. And if any should be taken, captus amore, with the love of this kind of writing, and should read these pastorals, he shall here find them. Hac: these things-these my Bucolics. Quoque: in the sense of etiam. Captus amore leget; te nostræ, Vare, myricæ, NOTES. 10. Nostra myrica: in the sense of nostra Bucolica. The omne nemus in the following line probably means every elevated composition, such as epic or heroic. We are led to this interpretation from the declaration of the poet in the sixth line, that there would be other poets, who would celebrate the praises of Varus in heroic verse, though he himself would prefer to do it in the humbler style of pastoral. 14. Silenum. Silenus was one of the rural deities, the god of mysteries and knowledge, and the foster-father of Bacchus. He is said, by some, to have been the son of Pan; others say, the son of Mercury. Malea, in The island of Lesbos, is the supposed place of his nativity. He is represented as a fat and merry old man, riding on an ass, crowned with flowers, always intoxicated. 15. Inflatum, &c. Swollen as to his veins, with his yesterday's wine. See Ecl. i. 55. Jaccho: a name of Bacchus; here put, by meton. for wine. It is derived from a Greek word signifying a shout or confused noise. It was given to him on account of the riot and vociferation of his inebriated followers. See Ecl. v. 69. 16. Serta: plu. of sertum, a garland, or wreath of flowers. To be crowned with a garland, was an indication of drunkenness. Silenus had all the signs of being in such a state. He was lying down-he was sleeping; but his garlands were not on his head; tuntum delapsa: they had only fallen offthey were neither broken nor bruised. 18. Aggressi, &c. The swains, seizing, put on him cords of these very garlands-they bind him with cords made of them. 20. Ægle. The name of a nymph, derived from a Greek word signifying splendor, or brightness. Naïadum. See Ecl. ii. 46. Videnti: to him just opening his eyes. Timidis: to the trembling swains. 22. Moris. Morus was the fruit of the mulberry-tree. It is here called sanguincus, red, or bloody. It is said to have been originally white; but assumed the red or purple color, in memory of the two lovers, Pyramus and Thisbe, who slew themselves under a mulberry-tree. See Ovid. Met. Lib. 4. 23. Quò: why-for what purpose. 25. Cognoscite: in the sense of audite. 26. Aliud mercedis. The same as alia merces: another reward. 27. Ludere in numerum: to dance, or leap about in regular time, or measure. Their motions exactly corresponded to the notes or measure of the verse. Faunos. The Fauni were demi-gods of the country, to whom the first fruits of all things were generally offered. See Ecl. v. 73. 29. Parnassia rupes. The mountain Par nassus in Phocis; a country in Grecia Propria, much celebrated by the poets, and sacred to the Muses. Here Apollo had a famous temple. 30. Rhodope-Ismarus. Two mountains, or rather ranges of mountains, in Thrace, the country of Orpheus. 31. Namque canebat, &c. Fanizhow the seeds, both of the earth Semina terrarumque, animæque, marisque fuissent, 33. Ut ex his primis Et liquidi simul ignis: ut his exordia primis omnia susceperunt Omnia, et ipse tener mundi concreverit orbis. 35 37. Janique canebat Jamque novum ut terræ stupeant lucescere solem, ut terræ stupeant 38. Utque imbres ca Altiùs utque cadant submotis nubibus imbres : dant è nubibus submo. Incipiant sylvæ cùm primùm surgere, cùmque tis altiùs à terra. Rara per ignotos errent animalia montes. NOTES. and of the sea, &c. Silenus here relates the origin of the world, according to the system of Epicurus, who taught that incorporeal space, and corporeal atoms, were the first principles, or elements, of all things. The former he denomenated Inane, the latter Plenum. The Inane or Vacuum, he considered space, every way indefinitely extended. By the Plenum, he understood the atoms or minute particles of matter moving in every direction through the Inane, which Virgil here calls the semina, because it was thought by their fortuitous concur⚫rence arose what we call the four elements, earth, air, water, and fire. Epicurus held many other erroneous notions, particularly concerning the nature of God. He was an Athenian, and born about 340 years before the Christian era. He had many followers. 32. Anime: in the sense of aëris. Withcut air, there could be no animal existence. 33. Liquidi ignis: of pure fire. His primis: of these first principles or elements (earth, air, water, and fire) all things sprang had a beginning. The Epicureans maintained that, though their atoms and incorporeal space were the first principles or elements of earth, air, water, and fire, yet these last were the principles or elements of all other things, or out of which all other things sprang. Omnia exordia: all things received or took a beginning. The verb susceperunt, or some other of the like import, is plainly understood, and to be supplied. Ut: how. or 35. Nerea: acc. sing of Nereus, a god of the sea, the son of Oceanus and Terra. He married Doris, by whom he had fifty daughters who were called Nereides. He possessed the gift of prophecy, and is said to have informed Paris of the fatal consequences of his carrying off Helen, the wife of Menelaus. It was by the direction and assistance of Nereus, that Hercules obtained the golden apples of the Hesperides. The word Nereus is often put, by meton. for the sea, as in this place. Solum, &c. Then he sang how the land began to grow hard and to separate the waters from itself, and confine them to their 40 38. Utque. Some copies have atque, but utque is the easier. 40. Rara: few in number, or thinly dispersed. 41. Hinc refert lapides, &c. After that he relates the thrown stones of Pyrrha, &c. Pyrrha was the daughter of Epimetheus, and wife of Deucalion, the son of Prome theus, and king of Thessaly. The poets say, that some time during his reign the inhabitants of the earth were destroyed by a universal deluge, except himself and his wife Pyrrha. They were preserved in a small ship, and carried by the waters to mount Parnassus, which was the only place not overwhelmed. Here they consulted the oracle of Themis concerning the restoration of the human race; when they were informed, to cast behind them the bones of their great mother; by which they understood stones. They immediately obeyed the command of the oracle, and those thrown by Deucalion became men, and those by Pyrrha, women. See Ovid. Met. Lib. 1. Saturnia regna: the reign of Saturn, or the Golden age. See Ecl. iv. 6. 42. Furtum Promethei: the theft of Prometheus. The poets say that he stole fire from heaven, with which he animated a man of clay, made by himself. At this, Jupiter was so much enraged, that he ordered Mercury to chain him to a rock on mount Caucasus. He did so, and placed a vulture to prey upon his liver; which, however, grew as fast as it was consumed. Hence Caucaseas volucres: the vultures of Caucasus. This is a very celebrated mountain, or rather range of mountains, lying between the Euxine and Caspian seas. Promethei: the word Prometheus is of Greek origin, and properly signifies foresight, or an anxious care or solicitude. This is a key to the story. It conveys a strong idea of the troubles men create to themselves, by taking too much care and thought for the morrow. |