Te quoque magnifica, Concordia, dedicat aedeLivia, quam caro praestitit illa viro.Disce tamen, veniens aetas, ubi Livia nunc estPorticus, immensae tecta fuisse domus. 640Urbis opus domus una fuit: spatimque tenebat,Quo brevius muris oppida multa tenent.Haec aequata solo est, nullo sub crimine regni,Sed quia luxuria visa nocere sua.Sustinuit tantas operum subvertere moles 645
645Totque suas heres perdere Caesar opes.Sic agitur censura, et sic exempla parantur;Quum vindex, alios quod monet, ipse facit.
Nulla nota est veniente die, quam dicere possim.Idibus Invicto sunt data templa Jovi. 650Et jam Quinquatrus jubeor narrare minores.Nunc ades o coeptis, flava Minerva, meis.Cur vagus incedit tota tibicen in urbe?Quid sibi personae, quid stola longa, volant?Sic ego. Sic posita Tritonia cuspide dixit: 655—Possem utinam doctae verba referre deae!—Temporibus veterum tibicinis usus avorumMagnus et in magno semper honore fuit.Cantabat fanis, cantabat tibia ludis:Cantabat maestis tibia funeribus. 660Dulcis erat mercede labor: tempusque secutum,Quod subito Graiae frangeret artis opus.Adde quod aedilis, pompam qui funeris irent,Artifices solos jusserat esse decem.Exilio mutant urbem, Tiburque recedunt: 665—Exilium quodam tempore Tibur erat.—Quaeritur in scena cava tibia, quaeritur aris,Ducit supremos nenia nulla toros.Servierat quidam, quantolibet ordine dignus,Tiburo, sed longo tempore liber erat. 670Rure dapes parat ille suo, turbamque canoramConvocat. Ad festas convenit illa dapes.Nox erat, et vinis oculique animique natabant,Quum praecomposito nuntius ore venit:Atque ita, Quid cessas convivia solvere? dixit: 675Auctor vindictae jam venit, ecce, tuae!Nec mora; convivae valido titubantia vinoMembra movent: dubii stantque labantque pedes.At dominus, Discedite, ait; plaustroque morantesSustulit. In plaustro sirpea lata fuit. 680Alliciunt somnos tempus, motusque, merumque,Potaque se Tibur turba redire putat.Jamque per Esquilias Romanam intraverat urbem;Et mane in medio plaustra fuere foro.Plautius, ut posset specie numeroque Senatum 685Fallere, personis imperat ora tegi.Admiscetque alios, et, ut hunc tibicina coetumAugeat, in longis vestibus ire jubet.Sic reduces bene posse tegi, ne forte notenturContra collegae jussa redisse sui. 690Res placuit: cultuque novo licet Idibus uti,Et canere ad veteres verba jocosa modos.Haec ubi perdocuit, Superest mihi discere, dixi,Cur sit Quinquatrus illa vocata dies.Martius, inquit, agit tali mea nomine festa, 695Estque sub inventis haec quoque turba meis.Prima terebrato per rara foramina buxo,Ut daret, effeci, tibia longa sonos.Vox placuit: liquidis faciem referentibus undisVidi virgineas intumuisse genas. 700Ars mihi non tanti est; valeas, mea tibia! dixi.Excipit abjectam cespite ripa suo.Inventam Satyrus primum miratur, et usumNescit; at inflatam sentit habere sonum;Et modo dimittit digitis, modo concipit auras. 705Jamque inter Nymphas arte superbus erat:Provocat et Phoebum; Phoebo superante pependit:Caesa recesserunt a cute membra sua.Sum tamen inventrix auctorque ego carminis hujus.Hoc est, cur nostros ars colat ista dies. 710Tertia lux veniet, qua tu, Dodoni Thyene,Stabis Agenorei fronte videnda bovis.Haec est illa dies, qua tu purgamina Vestae,Tibri, per Etruscas in mare mittis aquas.
Si qua fides ventis, Zephyro date carbasa, nautae: 715Cras veniet vestris ille secundus aquis.
At pater Heliadum radios ubi tinxerit undis,Et cinget geminos stella serena polos;Tollet humo validos proles Hyriea lacertos.Continua Delphin nocte videndus erit. 720Scilicet hic olim Volscos Aequosque fugatosViderat in campis, Algida terra, tuis.Unde suburban o clarus, Tuberte, triumphoVectus es in niveis, Postume, victor equis.
Jam sex et totidem luces de mense supersunt: 725Huic unum numero tu tamen adde diem;Sol abit e Geminis, et Cancri signa rubescunt:Coepit Aventina Pallas in arce coli.
Jam tua, Laomedon, oritur nurus, ortaque noctemPellit, et e pratis uda pruina fugit; 730Reddita, quisquis is est, Summano templa feruntur,Tum, quum Romanis, Pyrrhe, timendus eras.
Hanc quoque quuin patriis Galatea receperit undis,Plenaque securae terra quietis erit;Surgit humo juvenis, telis afflatus avitis; 735Et gemino nexas porrigit angue manus.Notus amor Phaedrae, nota est injuria Thesei:Devovit natum credulus ille suum.Non impune plus juvenis Troezena petebat:Dividit obstantes pectore taurus aquas. 740Solliciti terrentur equi, frustraque retentiPer scopulos dominum duraque saxa trahunt.Exciderat curru, lorisque morantibus artusHippolytus lacero corpore raptus erat:Reddideratque animam, multum indignante Diana. 745Nulla, Coronides, causa doloris, ait,Namque pio juveni vitam sine vulnere reddam;Et cedent arti tristia fata meae.Gramina continuo loculis depromit eburnis:Profuerant Glauci Manibus illa prius: 750Tunc, quum observatas augur descendit in herbas,Usus et auxilio est anguis ab angue dato.Pectora ter tetigit, ter verba salubria dixit:Depositum terra sustulit ille caput.Lucus eum, nemorisque sui Dictynna recessu 755Celat: Aricino Virbius ille lacu.At Clymenus Clothoque dolent, haec, fila reneri,Hic, fieri regni jura minora sui.Jupiter exemplum veritus direxit in iliumFulmina, qui nimiae moverat artis opem. 760Phoebe, querebaris. Deus est; placare parenti;Propter te, fieri quod vetat, ipse facit.
Non ego te, quamvis properabis vincere Caesar,Si vetet auspicium, signa movere velim.Sint tibi Flaminius Thrasimenaque litora testes, 765Per volucres aequos multa monere deos.Tempora si veteris quaeris temeraria damni,Quartus ab extremo mense bis ille dies.
Postera lux melior. Superat Masinissa Syphacem;Et cecidit telis Hasdrubal ipse suis. 770
Tempora labuntur, tacitisque senescimus annis,Et fugiunt, freno non remorante, dies.Quam cito venerunt Fortunae Fortis honores!Post septem luces Junius actus erit.Ite, deam laeti Fortem celebrate. Quirites: 775In Tiberis ripa munera regis habet.
Pars pede, pars etiam celeri decurrite cymba;Nec pudeat potos inde redire domum.Ferte coronatae juvenum convivia lintres,Multaque per medias vina bibantur aquas. 780Plebs colit hanc, quia, qui posuit, de plebe fuisseFertur, et ex humili sceptra tulisse loco.Convenit et servis, serva quia Tullius ortusConstituit dubiae templa propinqua deae.
Ecce suburbana rediens male sobrius aede 785Ad stellas aliquis talia verba jacit:Zona latet tua nunc, et eras fortasse latebit.Dehinc erit, Orion, adspicienda mihi.At si non esset potus, dixisset eademVenturum tempus solstitiale die. 790Lucifero subeunte Lares delubra tulerunt,Hic, ubi fit docta multa corona manu.Tempus idem Stator aedis habet, quara Romulus olimAnte Palatini condidit ora jugi.
Tot restant de mense dies, quot nomina Parcis, 795Quum data sunt trabeae templa, Quirine, tuae.
Tempus Iuleis cras est natale Kalendis:Pierides, coeptis addite summa meis.Dicite, Pierides, quis vos adjunxerit isti,Cui dedit invitas victa noverca manus. 800Sic ego. Sic Clio, Clari monumenta PhilippiAdspicis, unde trahit Marcia casta genus;Marcia, sacrifico deductum nomen ab Anco,In qua par facies nobilitate sua.Par animo quoque forma suo respondet in illa; 805Et genus, et facies ingeniumque simul.Nec, quod laudamus formam, tam turpe putaris;Laudamus magnas hac quoque parte deas.Nupta fuit quondam matertera Caesaris illi.O decus, o sacra femina digna domo! 810Sic cecinit Clio: doctae assensere sorores.Annuit Alcides, increpuitque lyram.
1-100. The poet, as he had done in the preceding months, commences June, by a discussion of its name. The gods, as usual, appear on the scene, and, as there were three etymons of the name of the month, three deities are introduced.
2.Quae placeant, etc. You shall chuse for yourself.
3, 4. Alluding, perhaps, to the Epicurean spirit of the age.
5.Est Deus, etc. He expresses the same sentiment elsewhere. See A. A. III. 549. Pont. Ill, 4, 93. [Greek: Kouphon chraema poiaetaes esti kai ptaenon kai ieron, kai ou proteron oios te poiein prin an entheos te genaetai, kai ekphron kai ho nous maeketi en auto enae]. Plato Ion.Ego non puto poetam grave plenumque carmen sine coelesti aliquo mentis instinctu fundere. Cicero, Tusc. I. 26.Poeta quasi divino quodam spiritu inflatur. Id. Arch. 8.—What is rare is the subject of admiration, and nothing is rarer than poetic genius in a high degree; hence the ancients looked on it as something divine, or, as proceeding from the favour, and even the immediate inspiration of the gods. Nothing is more true thanpoeta nascitur non fit, but it is equally true of other things, the musician and the painter, nay, I might add, the carpenter and the tailor, are born, not made. But of some species, the supply is much larger than of others.
6.Impetus hic, the _furor poeticus 13.Praeceptor arandi. Hesiod, the author of the oldest agricultural poem, his Works and Days. He lived at Ascra, a village of Boeotia, at the foot of Mt. Helicon. In v. 22, of his Theogony, it is said of the Muses, [Greek: ai nu pot' Haesiodon kalaen edidaxan aoidaen Arnas poimainonth' Elikonos upo zatheoio]. See A. A. I. 27. Propert II. 10. 25, 34. 79. Virg. Ec. II. 70. G. II. 176.
15. The well-known fatal Judgment of Paris—_Aquosae, [Greek: polypidax], Homer.
17. See v. 27. Virg. aen. I. 46.
18. See v. 34.
22.Exlg. mod. The pentameter measure. See II. 3, 4.
26.Junius, aut ex parte populi nominatus, aut, ut Cincius arbitratur, quod Junonius apud Latinos olim vocitatus, diuque apud Aricinos, Praenestinosque hoc appellatione in fastos relatus sit; adeo ut, sicut Nisus in commentariis fastorum dicit, apud majores quoque nostros haec appellatio mensis diu manserit, sed post, detritis quibusdam litteris, ex Junonio Junius dictus sit; nam et aedes Junoni Monetae Cal. Jun. dedicata est. Macrob. Sat. I. 12. This leaves, I think, little doubt respecting the true origin of the name.
29. See Hom. II. iv. 59. According to Hesiod, Th. 454, and the Homeridian hymn to Venus, v. 22, Hestia (Vesta) was the first-born of Kronus and Rhea. Ovid evidently followed Homer, without perfectly understanding him.
31.Hunc(Capitolinum)anteamontem Saturnium appellatum prodiderunt, et ab eo late Saturniam terram. Antiquum oppidum in hoc fuisse Saturniam scribitur. Ejus vestigia etiam nunc manent tria; quod Saturni fanum in faucibus: quod Saturnia, porta quam nunc vacant Pandanam: quod post aedem Saturni in aedificiorum legibus parietes postici muri sunt scripti_. Varro, L. L. IV.
32. See I. 233.A Caesare proximus Caesar. Ep. ex Pont. II. 8, 37.Proximus a domina—sedeto, A. A. I. 139.Tu nunc eris alter ab illo. Virg. Ec. v. 49.
34. In the Capitoline temple, Juno and Minerva had chapels on each side of that of Jupiter. The left-hand one was Juno's. The custom of uniting these three deities was derived from the Etruscans. See Mythology, p. 453.
35.Pellex, the Pleias Maia, see V. 85. Compare Virg. aen. i. 39.
37.Regina. The Juno Regina of the Romans, was the Queen Kupra of the Etruscans, whose statue was brought to Rome by Camillus, when Veii was taken A.U.C. 359. Liv. v. 21.
39. For the origin of the name Lucina, see on II. 449. Forfaciant mensem luces, one of the best MSS. readsfaciam pueris lucem, alluding to another cause of the name.
40. This is aukwardly expressed, for she wants to shew that the month was named from her, and not she from the month. Taubner supposes a hypallage. It is possible thatnominamay be used here in the sense offame, renown. See III. 66.
41.Tum me poeniteat, then shall I repent.
42. See IV. 31. Virg. aen i. 26.
43. See Hom. Il. xx. 232.
45. See Virg. aen. i. 15.
47. See Hom. Il. iv. 51.
49. [Greek: En apasais tais kourias Haera trapezas etheto] (Tatius) [Greek: Kouritia legomenae, ai kai eis tode chronou keintai]. Dion. Hal. II. 50.—Junon. Fal. See IV. 73.
55.Centum, numerous,—a definite for an indefinite. Compare Virg. aen. I. 415. iv. 199.
55.Quovis, scil.altero honore.—Honor mensisIV. 85. likehonor coeli, honor templorum.
58.Suburbani. See on III. 688. Places which were not very remote from Rome, were calledsuburban. A triumph over the Volscians is (v. 723) named a suburban triumph. All the following towns were in Latium.
59.Nemoral. Aric. See III. 263. Met. xv. 488. Aricia lay at the foot of the Alban Mount, on the Appian Way, 13 miles from Rome.
60.Pop. Laurens. Laurentum, near the Tiber, between Rome and the sea, was said to have been the residence of king Latinus.—Lanuvium meum. This was another town of the Latins, in which there was a grove and temple of Juno Sospita, common to them and the Romans. Liv. viii. 14. ForLanuvium, most MSS. readLavinium, but this offends the metre.
61.Tibur Argeo positum colono. Hor. Car. II. 6, 5. See on IV. 71. Tibur, nowTivoli, was on the Anien.
62.Praenest. deae, scil.Fortunae. Fortunae apud Praenesten aedem pulcherrimam ferunt fuisse. Schol. Juven. xiv. 90.
65. Hebe, called by the RomansJuventas, advances as the advocate of a second opinion.Fulvius Nobilior in Fastis Romulum dicit, postquam populum in majores minoresque divisit, ut altera armit rempublicam tueretur, in honorem utriusque partis hunc Maium, sequentem Junium vocasse. Macrob. Sat. I. 12. For the marriage of Hebe, the daughter of Jupiter and Juno, with Hercules, see Homer, Od. xi. 604. Hes. Th. 950.
75.Origine mensis. There is the same kind of ambiguity here, and in v. 77, as above, v. 40. It is plainly (see v. 88,) the intention of the poet to shew that the month derived its name from thejuvenes, and not from the goddess Juventas.
77.Titulum, the honour. See IV. 115.
79.Nomine, on account of.
80. See I. 543,et seq.
83.Ab annis, i. e.ab aetate.
90.Dissimulata, concealed, hidden, it would have been no longer visible.
91, 92. Concordia, the advocate of a third opinion, fromjungo, is here introduced in a very timely and appropriate manner. For the reparation of the temple of Concord by Tiberius, see I. 637.—Apol. lauro. See III. 139, The laurel is mentioned on account of the victories of Tiberius.—Placidi, etc. Concordia, he means, was the inspiring deity of the peace-loving prince, and concord was his work.
99.Ite pares. As I give not the preference to any, having the fate of Paris before my eyes.
101-182. On the Kalends of June was the festival of an ancient Roman deity, named by our poet and Macrobius, Carna or Carnea; by Tertullian, Cyprian, and Augustine, Carda or Cardea.Non-nulli putaverunt, Junium mensem a Junio Bruto, qui primus Romae consul factus est, nominatum, quod hoc mense id est Kal. Jun. pulso Tarquinio sacrum Carnae deae in Coelio monte voti reus fecerit. Hanc deam vitalibus humanis praeesse credunt, ab ea denique petitur ut jecinora et corda, quaeque sunt intrinsecus viscera conservet. Et quia, cordis beneficio, cujus dissimulatione Brutus habebatur, idoneus emendationi publici status exstitit, hanc deam, quae vitalibus praeest, templo sacravit. Cui pulte fabacia, et larido sacrificatur, quod his maxime rebus vires corporis roborentur; nam et Calendae Juniae fabariae vulgo vocantur, quod hoc mense adultae fabae divinis rebus adhibentur. Macrob. Sat. I. 12. The name is here evidently deriveda carne. The Fathers of the Church, on the other hand, as they join their Cardea or Carda with deities, named Forculus and Limininus, (fromforesandlimen) deduced her name fromCardo, to which origin Ovid also plainly alludes.
103, 104. This confirms what I have said above on V. 229, respecting the Roman origin, and the late date of several legends. Though the personages in this are Italian, the manners are Grecian.—Vires, her power.
105.Antiques. Three of the best MSS. readantiqui. They are followed by Heinsius and Gierig. I think it the better reading. Compare Hom. II. xi. 166. Virg. aen. xi. 851.—Tiberino. See IV. 291. One MS. readsTiberini, threeTiberinae Hilernae.—Helerni, Hilerni and Hylerni, are various readings. Who or what Helernus was is totally unknown. Heinsius thinks that thelucus Helernimight have been the same with thelucus Asyli, (II. 67,) but this last was on the Capitoline hill, and Ovid evidently assigns some place a little way from Rome as the situation of the former.
106.Sacra ferunt. Both the offerer (Virg. aen. III, 19,) and the priest (Id. G. III, 446,) are saidsacra ferre. Forferunt, one MS. readscanunt.
107.Cranen. Two MSS. readGranen, which has been received into the text by Heinsius and Gierig. Two haveGramen, oneGrangen.—Priores, the ancients. See I. 329, IV. 329.
113.Dixisset. Si. is understood. The copyists stumbled at this ellipse, for four MSS. readHuic si quis, onesi dixit, anotherquum dixit. There are, however, examples of it.Dedisses huic animo par corpus. Plin. Ep. I. 2, 8.Dares hanc vim M. Crasso; in foro, crede mihi, saltaret, Cic. Off. III. 19. Compare Hor. Sat. I. 3, 15.
117.Resistit, stops. II. 86.
126.Occupat amplexu, embraces, seizes in his arms. See on I. 575.De Jano non mihi facile quidquam occurrit, quod ad probrum pertinent; et forte talis fuit ut innocentius vixerit et a facinoribus et flagitiis remotius. Augustinus de Civ. Dei. vii. This tale must have escaped the knowledge or the memory of the zealous Father. But does not what he here says of this ancient Italian deity offer a strong confirmation of what has been already observed respecting the purity of the old Italian religion?
129.Virgam. Heinsius, without having the authority of any MS. readsspinam.
130.Alba, scil.spina. See v. 165. The same power is ascribed to the [Greek: ramnos], which is the same as the Alba Spina (whitethorn), by Dioscorydes, I. 119. [Greek: Legetai de kai klonas autaes thurais prostethentas apokrouein tas ton pharmakon kakourgias]. The same is said of theaquifoliumby Pliny.
131.Quae, etc. the Harpies. See Apoll. Rh. Arg. II. 187. Virg. aen. III. 212. Mythology, pp. 225, 422.
139.Est illis, etc. [Greek: Strix a strizein]stridere, the night-owl,Strix alucoof Linnaeus.Fabulosum arbitror de strigibus, ubera eas infantium labris immulgere. Esse in maledictis jam antiquis strigem convenit; sed quae sit avium constare non arbitror. Plin. H. N. xi. 39, 95. A very different account of this bird is given by Isidore, (Orig. xii. 7.) _Strix nocturna avis, habens nomen de sono vocis; quando enim elumat stridet. Vulgo Amma dicitur ub amando parvulos, unde et lac praebere dicitur nascentibus.
141, 142. Ovid says elsewhere, (Am. I. 8. 13.)Hanc ego nocturnas vivam volitare per umbras Suspicor et pluma corpus anile tegi. And Festus says,Striges maleficis mulieribus nomen inditum est, quas volaticas etiam vacant, alluding to the same opinion. The belief of the power of witches to transform themselves into animals, is not yet totally extinct among the vulgar in our own country. For the power of magic-verses,carmina, see Virg. Ec. viii. 69.—Nenia, i. e.carmen magicum. Hor. Epod. 17, 28. The Marsians were famous for their magic skill. The construction here isNen. Mars. fig. anus.
143.Proca. See IV. 52.
155. We do not read anywhere else of the Arbutus being used for this purpose. Perhaps, it was on account of its being ever green like the laurel. Diogenes Laertius (iv. 7, 10,) tells us, that when Bion was sick, [Greek: grai doken eumaros trachaelon eis epodaen, ramnon te kai kladon daphnaes uper thuraen ethaeken].
167. Garlic was also thought to be efficacious for this purpose; it was also good to fasten to each arm of the child an eye taken out of a live hyaena. Ignorant people always love cruel and barbarous remedies; we have instances enough among ourselves.
169. See above on v. 101.
173. Compare Hor. Epod. 2. 48. Sat. II. 2. 49.
175. Scil, the Attagen.
176. The Crane. See Hom. Il. III. 5.
181Sextis Kalendis, scil.Junii, the sixth month.
183. See I. 638. Liv. vii. 28.
185. See Liv. v. 47.
187-190. Compare Juv. Sat. x. 276,et seq. Read carefully the admirable account of this transaction in Niebuhr's Roman History, II. 602.et seq.
191. See Liv. vii. 23. x. 23.
192.Tectae viae. The commentators confess their inability to explain this. Donatus conjectures, that it may have been arched over, or have had porticos along it. Some MSS. readrectae, onedextrae. The Appian road began at the Capene gate, and it is uncertain, whether this temple of Mars was on it, or had a separate road leading to it.
193. This temple was built A.U.C. 495, by L. Scipio the son of Barbatus, who conquered Corsica. It was outside of the Capene gate, where a stone was dug up, bearing the inscription, which may be seen in Reines. Inscr. vi. 34. p. 410, or in Niebuhr, Rom. Hist. I. 254.
196. Aquila rises in the evening.
197. On the IV. Non. the Hyades rise heliacally, accompanied by rain.
199. The temple of Bellona vowed by Appius Claudius, in the midst of a battle, in the Etruscan war, A.U.C. 458, (Liv. x. 19.) was dedicated on the III. Non. Jun. Pliny, (H. N. xxxv. 2. 3.) says,App. Claudius posuit in Bellonae aede majores suos placuitque in excelso spectari et titulos honorum legi. Just what one might expect from one of the proud Claudii!
201.Duellothe same asbello.Duellumis a word of frequent occurrence in Livy.
203.Pyrrho, etc. This was A.U.C. 474. Val. Max. viii. 12.Ad App. Claudii senectutem accedebat etiam ut caecus esset; tamen is quum sententia senatus inclinaret ad pacem et foedus faciendum cum Pyrrho non dubitavit dicere illa, quae versibus persecutus est Ennius: Quo vobis mentes recte quae stare solebant Antehac, dementes sese flexere viai?
204. "Captusqui uti aliqua re non potest, Liv. ii. 36:omnibus membris captus. xxii. 2:captus oculis, ubi vid. Duker," Gierig. Upwards of Twenty MSS. readcaecus, twocassus, compare Virg. aen. II. 85.
205. Before the temple of Bellona was a smallarea, or open place, which reached to the upper part of the Circus Flaminius. In theareabefore the temple, stood the celebrated pillar. It was in the temple of Bellona that the senate gave audience to such foreign ambassadors as they would not admit into the city, here also they received the generals who were returned from war. See Livy,passim. Bellona dicitur dea bellorum; ante cujus templum erat columella, quae bellica vocabatur, supra quam hastam jaciebant quum bellum indicebatur. Festus.Circus Flaminius.—Aedes Bellonae versus portam Carmentalem. Ante hanc aedem columna index belli inferendi. P. Victor de region, urb. Reg. ix. Livy (I. 32.) describes the ceremony of throwing the spear. Originally, when the Roman territory was small, and the hostile states were close at hand, the Fetial used to cast the spear into the enemy's country; afterwards the practice of merely casting it over the pillar of Bellona was introduced. —Templois the reading of two MSS. of high character, all the rest readtergo.
209. At the other end of the Circus Flaminius was the temple of Hercules Custos. Neapolis thinks there were two temples of Hercules in this Circus, one built by order of the Senate in compliance with the directions of the Sibyllian verses; the other erected by Fulvius Nobilior, and repaired by Philippus. See v. 802.—Eub. car. See IV. 257.—Titulos, scil. the inscription.—Probavit. "Censorum proprie est probare_." Heinsius. [Greek: Apothuon de taes ousias apasaes ho Sullas to Haeraklei dekataen]. Plut. Sulla, 35.
213—218. On the Nones was the anniversary of the dedication of the temple of the ancient Sabine deity, named Sancus, Dius (Deus) Fidius and Semo. Of these names, we may observe, that Sancus is also written Sangus and Sanctus, which last is manifestly a corruption; that from the second was formed an ordinary oath of the Romans,Medius fidius, equivalent toMehercle(The Greeks who renderedFidiusby [Greek: pistios], made him the same with Hercules); that Semo, which is, perhaps, a contraction ofSemihomo, is equivalent toIndiges, and, therefore, corresponds pretty exactly with the [Greek: haeros] of the Greeks, in its later sense. (Mythology, p. 273). ForPater Semo, see on III. 775. Most MSS. readSemi-pater, someSemicaper, but inscriptions prove the correctness of the present reading.—Aelius Gallus Dius Fidius dicebat Diovis(Jovis)filius, ut Graeci [Greek: Dioskouron] Castorem, et putabat hunc esse Sanctum ab Sabina lingua, et Herculem ab Graeca. Varro, L. L. IV. Saint Augustine, (De Civ. Dei. xviii.) in accordance with the system which represented the gods of ancient Greece and Italy, as having been nothing but deified mortals, says,Sabini regem suum primum Sancum, seu, ut alii, Sanctum, retulerunt in Deos. Cato, in his Origines, says,Nomen(scil. Sabinorum)esse impositum ex Sabo Divi Sanci Gentilis filio. And Silius Italicus (viii. 422,) says,Ibant et laeti; pars Sanctum voce canebant Auctorem gentis; pars laudes ore ferebant, Sabe, tuas; qui de patrio cognomine primus Dixisti populos magna ditione Sabinos. Thepater Sabinusof Virgil (aen. vii. 178,) would appear to be the same with Sabus. Before I quit this deity, I must notice the curious mistake into which Justin Martyr and Tertullian fell, in consequence of the resemblance betweenSemoniandSimoni. They gravely assert, that, seduced by his magic arts, the Romans erected a statue to Simon Magus, and adored him as a god!
217. I think Ovid intimates very plainly here his belief that the Sabines, when they settled at Rome, raised a temple on the Quirinal to their ancient god, Sancus. History, however, makes no mention of it, and Sancus is not among the deities to whom, according to Varro, L. L. IV. Tatius erected temples. Dionysius, (iv. 58,) speaking of the treaty made by Tarquinius Superbus, with the Gabines, says, [Greek: touton esti ton orkion mnaemeion en Pomae keimenon en hiero Dios Pistiou on Romaioi Sankton kalousin]; which temple, he tells us (ix. 60,) stood on the Quirinal ([Greek: epi tou Henualiou lophou,]) was begun by Tarquinius, and dedicated by the consul, Spurius Postumius, on the Nones of June, A.U.C. 288.
219.Est mihi, etc. Ovid speaks of his daughter also in his Tristia (iv. 10, 75,)Filia me mea bis prima fecunda juventa, Sed non ex uno conjuge fecit avum. Her name is not known, but it would appear that she was married to a senator, for Seneca (de Con. Sap. 17,) says,In senatu flentem vidimus Fidum Cornelium, Nasonis generum.
225.Hujus, scil,mensis. It was not lucky to marry in June before the Ides; all the rest of the month was favourable to matrimony. See II. 557, III. 393.
227.Stercus ex aede Vestae XVII. Kal. Jul. defertur in angiportum medium fere clivi Capitolini, qui locus clauditur porta stercoraria. Tantae sanctitatis majores nostri esse judicaverunt. Festus. _Dies qui vocatur, Quando stercus delatum, fas: ab eo appellatus, quod eo die ex aede Vestae stercus everritur et per Capitolinum clivum in locum defertur certum. Varro L. L. V. Ovid, we may observe differs from these writers. Their testimony is, I think, to be preferred.
228.Flav. aq. Compare Virg, aen. vii. 30. Hor. Car. I. 2. 13.
229—231. See III. 398.—Detonsos. The readings of the MSS. differ greatly, some havedetonso, twodetenso, threedetonsum, onedetonsa, anotherdentoso, two give the present reading.Detonsi crinesdoes not signify hair that is cut close, but what is merely clipt at the ends, which we are to suppose was the case with that of the Flaminia.—Buxo. The Roman combs, like some of our own, were made of box-wood.—Depectere. See III. 465.
232.Matrimonium Flaminis nisi morte dirimi non jus. Gellius, N. A. x. 15.Certe Flaminica non nisi univira est, quae et Flaminis lex est. Tertull. Ex. ad Cast. 13.
234.Ignea Vesta, "templum Vestae in quo ignis alitur perpetuus," Gierig.Veste nitebit humusis the reading of all the MSS. but two, which havehumo. The present reading, of the correctness of which no one can doubt, was formed by Scaliger.
235. On the VII. Id. Arctophylax or Boötes, sets in the morning.—Lycaona, Areas, the grandson of Lycaon, II. 153.et seq. If this is not an oversight of the poet, Lycaon is put for Lycaonides, just as it is supposed, that even Homer uses Hyperion for Hyperionides. See above I. 385. "Ita [Greek: Amphitryon] pro [Greek: Amphitryonidaes], Pindar Nem. IV. 32. ubi vid. Schol. et Olymp. x. 42. [Greek: Moliones] pro [Greek: Molionidai] ubi vid. Schmid." Burmann.—Phoebe. One would rather have expectedPhoebus. He probably meant an allusion to Diana, who had transformed Callisto. Phoebe seems to be put fornight.
237.Gram. Campi. Compare Hor. Car III. 7. 26. iv. 1. 39. A. P. 162.
239.Piscatorii ludi vocantur, qui quotannis mense Junio trans Tiberim fieri solent a Praetore urbano pro piscatoribus Tiberinis: quorum quaestus non in macellum pervenit sed fere in aream Volcani; quod id genus pisciculorwm vivorum datur ei deo pro animis humanis. Festus.
241-248. After the defeat of the Roman army by Hannibal at the Trasimene lake, in which the consul C. Flaminius was slain, A.U.C. 537, the Sibylline books were consulted, according to custom, and by their direction,Ludi magniwere vowed to Jupiter, and temples to Venus Erycina, and to Mars. Liv. xxii. 9. Does not this tend to confirm what I have observed above (see on IV. 874.) respecting the Phoenician origin of Venus Erycina? Every one knows the Roman custom of endeavouring to gain over the deities of their enemies.
247.Adspicit, etc. "Inter illam diem, qua vota soluta sunt, et Idus interjacent sex luces. Falso Neap. putabat Ovidiam hoc disticho, VI. Id. exprimere voluisse." Gierig. I think however Neapolis is right, for the setting of Arctophylax was on the VII. Id. unless we suppose that the temple of Mens was dedicated on that day, and in that case, where was the necessity for vv. 247, 248?
249-460. On the V. Id. were the Vestalia. The poet goes at great length into this subject. See I. 528. III. 417,et seq. 697.et seq. IV. 949.
253.Non vidi. Perhaps he means to intimate, that Vesta as the principle of fire, had no visible anthropomorphic form, like the other deities. Compare v. 298.—Valeant, etc. away with, adieu to. Compare Hor. Ep. II. 1. 80. Ter. Andr. iv. 2. 13. The Greeks used their [Greek: chairo], in the same sense.-Mendacia, fictions. See Hor. A. P. 151.
257.Dena quater, etc. The temple of Vesta was built by Numa, [Greek: Autos protos hieron idrusamenos Romaiois Hestias, kai parthenous apodeixas autae Ouaepolous]. Dionys. II. 65. See also Plut. Num. 9 and 11. Liv. I. 20.—Palilia. See on IV. 721.
258.Flammae custos, scil. Vesta, Vell. Paterc. II. 131. The deities were called the guardians (custodes) of the objects over which they presided. Compare II. 277.
259.Meluentius, etc. Compare Met. I. 322.
261.Quae nunc, etc. Compare I. 199,et seq. III. 183, A. A. III. 118.
263.Hic locus, etc. [Greek: Edeimato plaesion tou taes Hestias hierou taen kaloumenaen Rhaegian oion te basileion oikaema]. Plut. Num. 14.Habitabat propter aedem Vestae. Solin. 2. As Lipsius justly observed, Ovid confounds theRegiaand theAtrium Vestae. The Vestals dwelt in the Atrium.Virgines quum vi morbi Atrio Vestae coguntur excedere, matronarum curae custodiaeque mandantur. Plin. Ep. vii. 19, 2. Correct by this the note on II. 69.
264.Intonsi. See on II. 30.—Magna, scil, for those times.
265. The temple of Vesta was round, [Greek: hieron enkuklion— apomimoumenos to schaema tou sympantos kosmou] Plut. Num. 14.Rotundam aedem Vestae Numa consecravit, quod eandem esse terram credebat, eamque pilae forma esse, ut sui simili templo dea coleretur. Festus. "Neque Noster sibi constat; namque hic et vs. 460, Vestam facitterram, vs. 291,vivam flammam." Gierig.
267. [Greek: Kai Gaia maeter Hestian de s' oi sophoi Broton kalousin, haemenaen en aitheri]. Eurip. Frag. 178.—Et Terra. Three MSS. readquae Terra.
268.Focus, ignis.
269. 270. Compare Met. I. 12.
271-276. These six verses are wanting in all the MSS. but seven, only one of which is of the first order. In one they come after v. 280. "Videntur mihi spurii esse, namque l. quo referes vs. 273,locata?Ad terram, vs. 269? At alia subjecta interposita sunt,volubilitasetangulus. Non ita negligenter Ovidius scribit. 2. Sententia inest inepta; cum in medio mundo sit, non esset in medio, nisi convexa foret. 3. Eadem sententia sed melius expressa legitur, vs. 279,et seq." Gierig. I think he is right, and that these lines should be rejected.—Ipsa volubilitas, etc. Theorbis rotundusis evidently the world, (mundus) and not the earth.Mundi volubilitas, quae nisi in globosa forma esse non potest. Cic. N. D. II. 19. Yet, from the connexion, it is of the volubility of the earth that the poet speaks, and he would thus appear to inculcate the Pythagorean or Copernican system, which he surely did not hold.—Qui, etc. it (scil. the earth) has no saliant angles to press the matter (partes) external to it, i. e. the air.
277. The celebrated sphere of Archimedes, which represented the motions of the sun, moon, and five planets around the earth. It was enclosed in a glass-case, hence he says,aëre clauso, and it appears from this passage of Ovid, and from Cicero, Rep. I. 14, and Athen. v. 11, that it was preserved at Syracuse in their time. See Cic. Tusc. I. 25, Claudian. Epigr. 68.—Arce, is the reading of three MSS. all the rest havearte.—Syracosio. All the MSS. readSyracusio, which is repugnant to the metre. Heinsius corrected it. The Greeks used [Greek: Syrakosios], as well as [Greek: Syrakousios]. Compare Virg. Ec. vi. 1.
282.Tholus, a dome, round roof. "Tholi forma est [Greek: ouranoeides]." Neapolis.
285. [Greek: Reia—Krono teke phaidima tekna, Istiaen, Daemaetra kai Haeraen chrosopedilon]. Hes. Th. 453. Observe how all the names are changed into Latin ones!
288.Impatiens viri, unmarried. Compare Met. I. 478. See Mythology, p. 72. Ovid assigns two reasons for her having virgin-priestesses. 1. Because she was a virgin herself. 2. Because she was the principle of fire, which produces nothing. Cicero (Leg. II. 12.) gives two more.Vestae colendae virgines praesunt, ut advigiletur facilius ad custodiam ignis, et sentiant mulieres in natura feminarum omnem castitatem pati.
299, 300. Vesta avi stando! Well might Gierig say, "mira est haec etymologia." The Greeks derived [Greek: Hestia] from [Greek: histaemi].Terram nonnulli Vestam esse pronuntiant, quod in mundo stet sola, caeteris ejus partibus mobilitate perpetua constitutis. Arnob. adv. Gen. III. p. 119. [Greek: Menei Hestia en theon oiko monae]. Plat. Phaedrus.
301.Quod fovet. Focus a fovendo id est calefaciendo. Festus—another equally sound piece of etymology!
302.Prim. aed. the porch or entrance of the house.
303.Vestibulum. "De etymo hujus voculae aliud sentit Nonius, aliud Varro, hoc Ovidianum nemo. Servius:Vestibulum ut Varro docet, etymologiae non habet proprietatem, sed fit pro captu ingenii." Neapolis.
304.Affamur, etc. We say O Vesta! who etc.Vestae nomen a Graecis est; ea est enim quae ab illis [Greek: Hestia] dicitur. Vis autem ejus ad aras et focos pertinet. Itaque in ea dea, quae est verum custos intimarum, omnis et praecatio et sacrificatio extrema, est. Cic. N. D. II. 27. [Greek: Tais thusiais oi Hellaenes apo taes protaes te autaes (Hestias) haerchonto kai es eschataen autaen katepauon]. Cornut. N. D. 28. See the Homeridian hymn to Hestia, or Mythology, p. 73. The reading of this line is very different in the MSS. some haveQuae famur Vesta, othersQuae famur vestra est, orQuae f. Vestam; oneQuaeramus Vestam, anotherQuaeramur, anotherDicimus O Vesta, which Ciofanus and Neapolis preferred; the present reading is that of three MSS. and was adopted by Heinsius.
305.Ante focos. before the altars. Compare Virg. aen. vii. 175.
306.Mensae credere, etc. See Hom. Od. vii. 201.
307, 308.Nunc quoque, etc. These verses are parenthetic. He shews, by instancing one case of its use at the present day, the antiquity of the custom of sitting at the sacrifical feast.—Vacunae. See Hor. Ep. I. 10. 49.Vacuna ap. Sabinos plurimum colitur. Quidam Dianam, nonnulli Cererem esse dixerunt, alii Venerem, alii Victoriam, deam vacationis, quod faciat vacare a curis. Sed Varro primo rer. divin. Minervam dicit, quod ea maxime hi gaudent qui sapientiae vacant. Schol. Cruq.in loc.
309.More vetusto, scil, of offering to Vesta at the sacrifices to the other gods. Gierig, I think is wrong, in understanding it of the custom of sitting before the altars.
310.Missos cibos. Some portion of the sacred food was sent on a clean plate to the temple of Vesta. Was it from the sacrifices in general, or only from those to Vacuna?
311.Ecce, etc. It was usual on festivals and holidays, to put garlands on such animals as had a share in them, or were in any way sacred to the deity, in whose honour they were held. See I. 663. V. 52. Tibull II. 1. 8. Wernsdorf. Exc. VII. to Grat. Cyneg. in the Poetae Minores, Tom. I. p. 261. At the Vestalia, the mills stopped working, the mill-stones were wreathed with garlands, and the asses were likewise crowned, and had bread hung about their necks. See on v. 347.Vesta coronatis pauper gaudebat asellis, says Propertius (iv. l. 21.) speaking of ancient times.
313. See II. 525.
315-316.Panem primo cinis calidus et fervens testa percoxit; deinde furni paullatim reperti sunt et alia genera. Seneca Ep. 90.Panem testicium sic facito.—Ubi bene subegeris defingito coquitoque sub testa. Cato R. R. 74.Testuatium, quod in testu caldo coquebatur. Varro L. L. IV. The poet's description agrees rather with that of Seneca, and is nearly the common mode of baking cakes at the present day.
317. This is the true reason, why the millers and bakers kept the Vestalia. There was no reason, but his inability to resist the temptation, for telling the following story.
320. Compare I. 391et seq.
320.Quamvis, etc. "Silenus creditus musca dialium eonviviorum." Neapolis.
325.Nec licet. "Respicit Tantali fabulam, qui epulis admotus, cum ibi acta narrasset, poenam sensit." Burmann.
327.Vallibus. Most MSS. readcollibus.
329.Brachia nectit, scil. in the dance. Compare Hor. Car. II. 12. 17. In both these placesbrachiais, I should think, equivalent to manus. They did not waltz in those days.
330. Compare Hor. Car. I. 37, 1, III. 18. iv. 1, 27.
338. See I. 433.
345, 346. Heinsius, and, after him, Krebs, regarded this distich as an interpolation. But, if we take away these two verses, the relative toquem(v. 347,) isille, (v. 344) which, though Krebs asks, "Asinus an Priapus?" is, beyond question, the latter; unless, with Neapolis, we readilla, and then the antecedent would be theilleof v. 342. I can see no objection to v. 345; there is a difficulty, and, I should suspect, a corruption, in the following verse. It would seem from it that, as Neapolis observes, "hujus (asini) exta quotannis oblata arae Vestali," a practice, of the existence of which we have no other proof, and which would be at variance with the whole of the poet's narrative, the object of which is, to give a reason for Vesta's favour to the ass. "An unquam a Romanis asinus Priapo mactatus sit, dubito; nec umquam Vestae asini exta oblata sunt." Krebs. The whole difficulty might be removed if we were to readjacit, or some such word, governed of Lampsacos, fordamus. It is evident that these verses were in the copy of Ovid's Fasti, used by Lactantius, for he manifestly (Inst. I. 21,) takes the story from him.Lampsaceni asellum Priapo quasi in ultionem mactare consueverunt; cum enim hic deus Vestae dormienti vim inferre conaretur, asinus intempestivo clamore eam excitavit. Hinc libido insidiatoris detecta. Apud Romanos eundem asellum Vestalibus sacris in honorem pudicitiae corservatae panibus coronant.
347.Diva memor. See end of preceding note. The zealous Father adds,Quid turpius? quid flagitiosius quam si Vesta beneficio asini virgo est?—De pan. monil. "Quod attinet ad formam panis—in modum coronas fuisse existimo. Hae coronae sunt quae Valentinianus et Valens in Lege De annonis civicis et pane gradili vocantbuccellas. Soli Siculi hanc vocem hodie retinent qui materna lingua hujusmodi panes dicuntbuccellatos; Castellani vocantrosquillas." Neapolis. I imagine these are nothing more than those cakes or loaves made in the shape of a ring, which are so commonly to be met with even in France. It is probable that a number of these were strung together, and hung about the necks of the mill-asses. Perhaps, as Neapolis observes, this will be illustrated by the following passage in the Plutus of Aristophanes, [Greek: Kago g' anadaesai boulomai Euangelia s' en kribanoton ormatho Toiaut apangeilanta].
349. He makes a digression here, as he is on the subject of bread, to relate the origin of the altar on the Capitol to Jupiter Pistor.—Nom. quam pret. celeb. The altar was small, and of little account. "Jovem Pistorem nemo novit praeter Nostrum et Lactantium Inst. I. 20, qui sua ex Ovidio omnia deprompsit." Krebs.
350.Dicam Pistoris. Some MSS. readDiscant, orDicant Pistores.
351. For the account of the capture of Rome by the Gauls, A.U.C. 364, see Liv. v. 32,et seq. Plutarch, Camillas, and study Niebuhr's masterly examination of the whole story. Hom. Hist. II. 528,et seq.
359. Compare Virg. aen. I. 257.
361.Suburbanos. See on III. 668.
363, 364. So the matter is related by Livy and Florus; according to Plutarch, they were slain in the Forum.—_aerata atria. "In quibus statuae aeneae; dispositae." Gierig. I do not recollect to have read anywhere that the statues of their ancestors in the Atria of the Roman nobles, in the olden time, were of bronze. In our poets' days, there were even golden figures in them, but of a different kind. See Lucret. II. 24.aerata, likeaurata, which is the reading of two MSS. may mean simply adorned with brass. Lipsius proposedcerata; Heinsiusreserata, which agrees with thepatentia atriaof Livy, thepatentes domosof Florus, and the _apertas januas of Val. Max. III. ll7.—Picta Veste. The triumphal robe of purple and gold.
365. The Eternal Fire, and other sacred things, were conveyed from Rome to Caere.
366.Putant, etc. It is plain they believe the gods to have some power. In the editions, prior to that of Gierig, there was a note of interrogation afterdeos, which gave a wrong sense.
367.Qua vos, etc. The Capitol.Jupiter, Junoque Regina ac Minerva, ceterique Dii Deaeque qui Capitolium arcemque incolitis. Liv. VI. 16.
375.Lituo. Thelituuswas the staff with a curved top, used by the augurs, its form has been retained in the bishops' crosier. Compare Virg. aen. vii. 187.
377.Publica cura. It is a public matter, it concerns us all. He transfers to the gods the phraseology of the Roman republic. Liv. II, 41. III. 48.
381.Cereris. Ceres is frequently used for bread. Compare Virg. aen. I. 177.
383.Sat. virgo. Vesta. See on v. 285.
391.Ceres. See on v. 381.
395. The poet was, or feigns he was, once during the Vestalia, coming along the street, named the Via Nova, which led into the Forum, when he saw a lady (matrona) coming down it barefoot. An old woman of the neighbourhood observing his surprise, gave him, as he says, the following explanation. As Vesta had a temple near the Via Nova, (Liv. v. 32.) it was probably thither that the lady was going to worship.
401. Before the Cloacae were constructed, the valleys between the hills of Rome were little better than marshes, in consequence of the frequent inundations of the Tiber.Locus palustris tum fuitLacus Curtius,in foro, antequam cloacae sunt factae. Varro, L. L. IV.
403.Curtius Lacus. For the supposed origin of this name, see Liv. I. 13. vii. 6. It retained its name, like so many places in London, and other cities, after its nature had been totally changed.—Siccas aras, as the place was now drained.Forum Romanum. Ara Saturni in lacu Curtio. P. Victor, Reg. VIII. Ovid may have meant this altar alone, or it and others which were in that place.
405-408.At qua Velabri regio patet ire solebat Exiguus pulsa per vada linter aqua. Tibull. II. 6, 33.Qua Velabra suo stagnabant flumine, quaque Nauta per urbanas velificabat aquas. Propert. iv. 9, 5.Aventinum montem maxime puto dictum ab advectu; nam olim paludibus mons erat ab reliquis disclusus. Itaque eo ex urbe qui advehebantur ratibus quadrantem solvebant; cujus vestigia, quod ea, qua tum itur, Velabrum, et unde adscendebant ad Rumam, Nova Via: lucus et sacellum Larum. Velabrum dicitur a vehendo; velaturam facere etiam nunc dicuntur, qui id mercede faciunt. Varro, L. L. IV.—Pampas, scil.Circenses.—Cantat, etc. In this place, the present tense must be used for the past, as she is speaking of the state of the Velabrum in former times.
409, 410. The Tuscan street, in which there stood a statue of Vertumnus, was here.In vico Tusco Vortumnus stat deus Etruriae. Varro, L. L. IV.Tuscus ego(Vertumnus)et Tuscis orior.—Romanum satis est posse videre forum. Hac quondam Tiberinus iter faciebat, et aiunt Remorum auditos per vada pulsa sonos. At postquam ille suis tantum concessit alumnis, Vertumnus verso dicor ab amne deus. Propert, iv. 2. For Vertumnus, see Mythology, p. 474.
411.Hic, in this place i. e. the Via Nova.—Lucus, a sacred grove, as the word scarcely ever occurs in any other sense. It may have been undergrown with reeds and rushes.
412.Pede velato, with a shod foot—an unusual employment ofvelo.
415.Causam. "Causam positi calcei censet ex antiqua necessitate in eos annos perdurasse, non ex numinis reverentia: ad quem respexit etiam apud antiquos nudipedis incessus." Neapolis. The rejected cause is however much more likely to be the true one.Etiamin this note contains an allusion to the barefoot processions in Catholic countries.
417.Cetera, etc. All that remains to be told about Vesta, he had heard when a boy, perhaps been taught at school, and he supposes the case may have been the same with others.
419. For this account of the Palladium, see, Apollodorus, III. 12. or Mythology, p. 437.
423.Cura, etc. From Trist. I. 2. 77. and Ep. ex Pont. II. 10. 21. it appears that Ovid had at one time travelled for pleasure and information through Greece, Asia Minor, and Sicily.
427.Aetheriam deam, the [Greek: Diopetes], the heaven-fallen Palladium.
432. See v. 15.
433.Genus Adrasti, Diomedes the son of Tydeus by Deipyle, the daughter of Adrastus, king of Argos.
434.Datur. This is the reading of only one MS. all the rest haveferunt.
436. The reason why the Palladium was kept in the temple of Vesta.
437. This conflagration took place in the time of the second Punic war. L. Caecilius Metellus, a consular, was Pontifex Maximus. See Dion. Hal. II. 66. Liv. Epit. 19. Val. Max. I. 4, Plin. H. N. vii. 43.
454. Metellus lost his eyes in the flames. To compensate him, in some measure, the senate made a decree, allowing him to come to the senate-house in a chariot, an honour never before bestowed on any one.
457-460. See on III. 30.
461. On the day of the Vestalia, A.U.C. 619. D. Junius Brutus acquired the title of Callaïcus, by a victory over the Callaeci or Gallaeci, the people of that part of Spain still called Gallicia.
465. On the same day Crassus was defeated and slain. See V. 580,et seq.
469-472. On the IV. Id. the Dolphin rises in the evening.—Viola, the garlands of flowers, v. 311, with which the mill-asses were decorated.
473-562. On the III. Id, as tradition related, the temple of Mater Matuta was dedicated, and the festival of the Matralia instituted in her honour, by Servius Tullius. For an account of this goddess, see below on v. 550.
474.Equis. This is the reading of sixteen MSS. three of which are of the best quality, all the rest readaquis, which is the reading of Heinsius and Gierig, and which, though less picturesque, is more probably the right one. In favour ofequis, may be quoted Met. xv. 189,quumque albo Lucifer exit Clarus equo; foraquis:Qualis ab Eois Lucifer ortus(orexit) aquis. Ep. ex Pont. II. 5, 50.
476.Theb. deae. Mater Matuta was identified with Ino, the daughter of Cadmus, made a goddess under the name of Leucothea. Hom. Od. v. 333.—Liba. See v. 537.
478.Area, etc. The Forum Boarium, in which stood a brazen image of a bull, which had been brought from Greece. Tacit. An. xii. 24. Plin. H. N. xxxiv. 2. Livy also (xxxiii. 27.) mentions the temple of Matuta in this forum.
480. This temple was repaired by Camillus after the capture of Veii, A.U.C. 359. Liv. v. 19, Plut. Camill. 5.
481. See on v. 551.
484.Vatis opus. Two of the best MSS. readnavis iter, which Heinsius and Gierig have received; one hasvatis iter. Ovid, no doubt, frequently employs this metaphor, (see on IV. 729,) but it does not please me in this place.
485. Sec III. 715, 769. Met. III. 313.
490. See Met. iv. 516.
491. Compare V. 451.Animamgue sepulcro Condimus. Virg. aen. III. 67; on which Servius says,Insepultorum animae vagae sunt; rite reddita legitima sepultura, redit anima ad quietem. See also Hor. Car. I. 28, 23.
495. The Isthmus of Corinth.
498.In alta, scil.maria.
499.Panope, etc. the Nereïdes.
501.Nond, Leuc. etc. See v. 545.
502. The Nereïdes conveyed them to the mouth of the Tiber.
503.Semelae Stimulae. The latter, or something like it, was, I have no doubt, the original name, and its resemblance to Semele, gave occasion to the change.Saera Bacchanalia condemnata sunt, quum probatum esset Senatui, honestissimas feminas ad Stimulae lucum faede adulterari. Schol. Juven. II. 3. Augustine also mentions a goddess, Stimula. In Liv. xxxix. 12, it islucus Similae. Neapolis and Heinsius think that it is the grove of Fauna Fatua, or the Bona Dea, which Ovid means, as Macrobius (I. 12,) when speaking of Maia, or the Bona Dea, says, _Boeoti Semelam credunt, nec non eandem Fauni filiam dicunt.
507.Dissim. deam, by assuming the form of some particular woman.—Saturnia, Juno.
508.Instimulat, alluding, perhaps, to theStimulaof v. 503.
509.Captae. See on v. 204.
511. The ancients were very solicitous to keep the knowledge of their sacred rites from strangers, fearing that their gods might be induced to withdraw their protection from them. See Mythology, p. 142.
512.Pignus, scil. her child.
518.Oetaeus, proleptically. Hercules burned himself on Mt. Oeta.
524.Numen. Juno.
526.Continet, restrains, prevents her from telling.—In scelus, by attempting to destroy herself and her child. See v. 497.
528. Compare Virg. aen. iv. 174.
532-534. The cause of cakes being offered at the Matralia.Libum, quod libaretur, ut erat, priusquam esset coctum. Testuatium quod in testu caldo coquelatur, ut etiam nunc Matralibus id faciunt matronae. Varro, L. L. IV.
537-540. Compare Virg. aen. vi. 47.
547.Ut Portunus a portu, sic Neptunus a nando, Cic. N. D. II. 26.
549.Annuerant. They granted her request.—Promissa, i. e.promissa est.—Fides, Faithful performance.
550. _Hic deus, etc. We may now enquire who Mater Matuta and Portunus were, and how they came to be identified with the Leucothea and Palaemon of the Greeks. Mater Matuta was worshiped, as we see, at Rome by the matrons: she was also adored at Satricum, a town of the Volscians (Liv. vi. 33. vii. 27. xxviii. 2.) perhaps the goddess, whose rich temple near Caere was, according to Diodorus (xv. 14.), plundered by Dionysius of Syracuse, was Mater Matuta. From all that we can learn of her, there appears no reason whatever for regarding her as a marine deity. On the other hand, Lucretius, (v. 655.) says,Tempore item certo roseam Matuta per oras Aetheris Auroram defert et lumina pandit; and I think those critics are right who takeAurorain this place, likeaura, Virg. aen. vi. 204, for a common substantive, the dawning light, and Matuta for the goddess who brings it forth, and spreads it over heaven. Matuta would then exactly correspond with the [Greek: Haeos] of the Greeks. Her name, also, leads to this conclusion.Manum dixere clarum, unde etiam mane post tenebras diei prima pars; inde Matuta quae Graecis Leucothea. Nonius.Matuta significat Auroram. Matutinum tempus inde dici vix monendum est. Priscian, II. p. 591. IF Matuta is thus theClara Dea, how easy was the identification of her with the Leucothea (White Goddess) of the Greeks, at a time when the Romans had lost the true sense of their ancient religion, and wished to derive all their manners and institutions from Greece! The worship by the Roman matrons of Mater Matuta, the dispenser of light, was as natural as that of Juno Lucina; and it is probable, (see on v. 559,) that originally they prayed to her for the preservation of their children. A slight resemblance of name, and a similarity of office, may also have produced the identification of Palaemon and Portunus or Portumnus. I need hardly repeat that the old Italian religion did not recognise the marriages and births of deities, or the deification of mortals. Before I quit this subject, I will attempt to elucidate a passage of Milton's Paradise Lost. In B. xi. v. 133, we read, "Meanwhile, To resalute the world with sacred light Leucothea wakes." As Eos is never called by this name, I was long of opinion that this was a slip of the poet's memory; but I now think that he may have derived it from the passage of Nonius quoted above, or have deduced it from those verses of Lucretius.
551. He here gives a trifling explanation of the custom of not admitting female slaves into the temple of Matuta. Plutarch however tells us, (Q. R. 16.) that one was always brought in and well cuffed by the matrons. As according to the same writer, the same kind of exclusion was practised at the temple of Leucothea in Chaeronea, the custom may have come from Greece to Rome.
559. Plutarch (Q. R. 17.) asks [Greek: Dia ti pura tae theo tautae tois men idiois teknois houk euchontai t' agatha, tois de ton adelphon]; He gives the same reason with Ovid. I rather think theydidoriginally pray for their own children, but a change was made when Matuta became Leucothea.
563. On the day of the Matralia, A.U.C. 664, in the Marsian or Social war, the consul P. Rutilius Lupus fell in battle. Tradition, it would seem, related that the voice of the goddess Matuta had predicted to him his fate.
565.Flumen Toleni, likeamnis Eridani, amnis Cocyti. The Tolenus, now theTurano, flows from the Marsian into the Sabine country, and enters the Velinus near Reate.
566.Purpureum. This is the reading of all the MSS. but one, which haspurpureo, the reading of all the editions since that of Heinsius, who introduced it into the text. Krebs, has, I think, shewn his taste, by bringing backpurpureum, and joining it with the verb, and not withflumen. The verse thus strikingly reminds one of these lines of Milton: "While smooth Adonis from his native rockRan purpleto the sea, supposed with blood Of Thammuz yearly wounded."
567. According to Appian, T. Didius was one of the Praetors in the Marsian war, but we have no account of his death. We learn from the epitome of Livy 75, and from Velleius, that Porcius was slain the following year, and the Fasti inform us, that he was consul for that year. Burmann would therefore readPorcius, but there is no necessity for a change. Ovid had access to authorities which are lost to us, and none that we have contradict him.—Pallantide. Pallantis, like Pallantias is a name of Aurora, See IV. 373.
569-636. On the same day with the temple of Mater Matuta; by the same person (Servius Tullius); in the same place (the Forum Boarium) the temple of Fortune was dedicated. Servius raised two temples to this goddess, viz. that of which Ovid now speaks, and another on the banks of the Tiber. The former, as it would appear to Bona or Virgo Fortuna, the latter to Fors Fortuna, or Fortuna Virilis. Dionys. IV. 27. See below on v, 776.
570.Auctor est M. Varro factam a Tanaquile togam regiam undulatam in aede Fortunae, qua, Servius Tullius fuerat usus.—Servii praetextae, quibus signum Fortunae ab eo dicatae coopertum erat, duravere ad Sejani exitum. Plin. H. N. viii. 48. 74. Varro himself, (de Vit. Pop. Rom.apudNonium) says, evidently speaking of this statue,Et a quibusdam dicitur esse Virginis Fortunae, ab eo quod duabus undulatis togis est opertum, proinde ut tum reges nostri undulatas et praetextatas togas soliti sunt habere. Varro, therefore, regarded the covered statue as that of the goddess. Ovid asserts that it was Servius. This statue was of gilt wood.
575. This amour of Fortuna with Servius Tullius, is also noticed by Plutarch de Fort. Rom. 10. Qu. Rom. 26. It is one of the many adaptations of Grecian ideas to Roman story.
577, 578. Plutarch (de Fort. Rom. 10) says, [Greek: oste kai suneinai dokein auto taen Tychaen dia tinos thuridos katabainousa eis to domation, ho nun phenestellan pulaen kalousi]. I have not met with any thing more respecting the Porta Fenestellae. Onuph. Panvinius (De Rep. Rom. p. 60.) thinks it was a gate of the Palatium not of the city. Some MSS. readFenestratae, othersFenestrile,Fenestrale,Fenestralis, etc.
581. A second reason for the statue being covered.
585. A third cause. See Liv. I. 46, 47. For the history of Servius Tullius, and a critical examination of it, see Niebuhr, Rom. Hist. 358— 365, 373—377.
590.Pia vita, scil.erga Servium.
593.Caput, scil,parentis. How much superior here, as in the Regifugium, is the historian to the poet!
609.Sceleratus. [Greek: Ootos o stenopos, Olbios kaloumenos proteron, ex ekeinou tou deinou kai musarou pathous Asebaes hypo Romaion kaleitai]. Dionys. iv. 39. In Livy, it is called theVirbius Clivus; by Solinus, theClivus Olbius; and Festus mentions theVicus Orbius. Were it not for these Latin testimonies, one might almost suspect that Dionysius meant to intimate that it was at first called theVicus Felix.
612.Sub. imag. Tul. which represented Tullius.
619.Ore, etc. "Pudorintel, quo tenebantur Romani propter Servium impie et nefarie interfectum, qui retinebat eos, ne os ejus revelarent. Si revelassent, patuisset pudorem illum ab iis esse positum." Gierig. The address to thematronae, in the following line, would lead me rather to think that the meaning is: Female modesty (with an allusion to Tullia,) will begin to be departed from at Rome, the day that the face of Tullius is uncovered.
624.Rex septimus. That is reckoning Titus Tatius. Several MSS. readsextus in.
625. This is also related by Dionysius, (iv. 40,) and by Valerius Maximus (I. 8. 11).
627. Dionysius (iv. 2.) relates this legend also, and says, that he had found it in several of the Roman histories. See Liv. I. 39.
629.Peractis. Two MSS. of the first order readparatis, whichHeinsius and Gierig have received, Of the common reading, Heinsius says,"Quomodo peracta sacra si vinum foco post affunderetur?" and Gierig,"Vulgoperactisquod ferri non potest." In its defence, Krebs says,"Hostia mactata in epulis sacris iterum libabatur."
630.Ornatum focum. The sacred hearth or altar was adorned and dressed, preparatory to a sacrifice.
633.Loco fovet. The old reading wasfoco sedet. Burmann gave the present one from six MSS. "Locus pars illa dici solet, quae feminae sexum indicat." Gierig.
636.Contigit, he (Vulcan) touched. See Liv. I, 39, Compare Virg. aen. II. 682.
637. See I. 639.—Dedicat. "Dedicanturnon modo templa, sed Dii quoque, qui inter deos recipiuntur, positis in eorum honore templis, aut, quibus jam receptis nova tantum appellatione nova aedes instituitur. V. Mitscherl ad Hor. I. Od. 31. I." Gierig.
640. Vedius Pollio, a man of great luxury, left, by will, to Augustus, his house, which covered a great extent of ground. Augustus, under pretext of its being too large, threw it down, and built the Porticus Liviae on its site.
641, Compare Sall. Cat. I2.
643.Sub crim. reg. Alluding perhaps to the case of Valerius Poplicola, (Liv. II. 7.) or of Sp. Cassius, or M. Manlius.
650. On the Ides of June a temple had been dedicated to Jupiter, and the Lesser Quinquatrus were celebrated.—Invicto. As no temple of Jupiter Invictus is spoken of by any ancient writer, Neapolis properly consideredinvictohere to be anepithet, and not acognomen. He therefore, following an ancient MS. printed it as a common adjective. Heinsius and Burmann did the same. Gierig and Krebs print it as an epithet.
651. For the Quinquatrus Majores see III. 809. Of these Varro, L. L. V. says,Quinquatrus minusculae dictae Juniae Eidus ab similititdine majorum, quod tibicines tum feriati per urbem vagantur et conveniunt ad aedem Minervae. The notice in Festus is to the same effect. See also below on v. 657.
653-692. This story is told also in the same way by Plutarch, Quaest. Rom. 55. and somewhat differently by Livy ix. 30. and by Valer. Max. II. 5.
654.Stola, This is the reading of six MSS. all the rest havetoga, but it is manifest from Plutarch, that the present is the right reading, for he says of the musicians, [Greek: en esthaesin anthinais kai gynaikeiais ontes].
656.Possem utinam. One MS. readspace velim, which is the reading given by Heinsius and Gierig.
657.Musica nisi grata esset diis, profecto ludi scenici placandor. deor. causa instituti non essent, nec tibicen omnibus supplicationibus in sacris aedibus adhiberetur, nec cum tibicine triumphus ageretur; non Apolline cithara, non Musis tibiae ceteraque id genus essent attributa; non tibicinibus, per quos numina placantur esset permissum aut ludos publice facere, aut vesci in Capitolio, aut Quinquat. minusc. id est Eidibus Juniis urbem vestitu, quo velint, personatis temulentisque pervagari. Censorinus de Die Natali, 12.
661, 662. The labour was sweetened by the reward, i.e. the honour of eating in the temple of Jupiter, but (soquemust be understood,) a time came which broke the work of Grecian art, i. e. pipe-music, as the invention of the pipe was ascribed (see v. 697) to the Grecian goddess Pallas Athena.—Graiae. This is the reading of four of the best MSS. and of some others. The rest havegratae, which I should prefer, if I were sure that Ovid knew that thecitharawas the ancient and national instrument of Greece, in opposition to thetibiaof Asia and Italy. Thetimeof which the poet speaks here, was according to Livy, A.U.C. 442, when they were prohibited by the censors Ap. Claudius and C. Plautius, from eating in the Capitoline temple.
663.aedilis. It is uncertain who this aedile was. Pighius conjectures Ap. Claudius who he says was Curule aedile, A.U.C. 440. In the xii. Tables (A.U.C. 305.) was the following law respecting funerals,Tria si volet ricinia et vincula purpurae at decem tibicines adhibito. Hoc plus ne facito. It would appear that this law which had fallen into neglect, was put in force by the aedile, of whom the poet speaks.