Title: Fasti
Author: Ovid
Language: Latin
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PUBLII OVIDII NASONIS FASTORUM

LIBRI VI.


OVID'S FASTI;

NOTES AND AN INTRODUCTION,

BY

THOMAS KEIGHTLEY,

Author of The Mythology of Ancient Greece and Italy, History of Greece,
History of Rome, etc.



Sex ego Fastorum scripsi, totidemque libellos;
Cumque suo finem mense volumen habet.
                            OVID. TRIST. II. 549.



PREFACE


No one, I should think, who has even done nothing more than look into
Ovid's Fasti, will refuse his assent to the following words of Hercules
Ciofanus, one of the earliest editors of this poem: _Ex omnibus_, says
he, _veterum poetarum monumentis nullum hodierno die exstat opus, quod,
aut eruditione aut rebus quae ad Romanam antiquitatem cognoscendam
pertineant, hos Ovidii Fastorum libros antecellat_. In effect we have
here ancient Roman history, religion, mythology, manners and customs, and
moreover much Grecian mythology, and that portion of the ancient
astronomy which regards the rising and setting of the different
constellations. These altogether form a wide field of knowledge; and in
my opinion there is not, in the whole compass of classical literature, a
work better calculated to be put into the hands of students.

Accordingly the Fasti are read at some of our great public schools and at
several of the private ones, and I have lately had the gratification of
seeing this very edition adopted at one of the most eminent of the great
schools. The name of the master of that school, did I feel myself at
liberty to mention it, would be a warrant for the goodness, at least the
relative goodness, of the present edition.

At the same time I will candidly confess that the work falls far short of
my own ideas of perfection in this department of literature. Circumstances,
which it is needless to mention, caused it to be executed in a very hurried
manner and without the necessary apparatus of books. It was in fact
undertaken, written, and printed in little more than two months. This is
mentioned in explanation of, not in excuse for, its defects--for no such
excuse should be admitted.

The text is that of Krebs, the latest German editor; from which however I
have occasionally departed, especially in the punctuation. In the notes
will be found the most important various readings of the fifty-eight MSS.
of this poem which have been collated. I have also adopted the Calendar
of Krebs' edition, as being on the whole the best, and as its copiousness
enables it to supply the place of arguments to the several books.

In the Introduction I have given such matter as the student should be
acquainted with previous to commencing the poem. The study of it will, I
trust, be found to be of advantage. My plan in writing the notes was, to
be as concise as was compatible with a full elucidation of the meaning of
the author. While therefore no difficult passage is left without at least
an attempt at explaining it, I have avoided swelling out my notes with
mythic or historic notices and narrations which may be found in the
Classical Dictionary. I suppose, for example, the student to know, or to
be able easily to discover, who Hercules and Romulus were, and where
Mount Haemus lies. Perhaps it would have been better if the notes on the
first two or three books had been more copious; those on the three last
are, I believe, sufficiently so.

Many references will be found to Niebuhr's History of Rome, and to my own
Mythology of Greece and Italy. For those to the former work I may perhaps
be entitled to thanks, as leading the attention to the noble discoveries
of the Bacon of history, as he is justly styled by Dr. Arnold. This last
eminent scholar is himself engaged on a History of Rome, of which apart
has appeared, and which promises to form a permanent portion of our
historic literature. In my own epitome of the Roman history sufficient
information on the portions of it alluded to will be found by those who
have not access to the work of Niebuhr. For the accuracy and fidelity of
the translation of Niebuhr's history by my friends Hare and Thirlwall, I
can pledge myself without any reservation. It may be useful here to add,
that the dates in the following notes are those of the Varronian
chronology, and not the Catonian as in my History of Rome.

With respect to my Mythology, I may boldly say it is the only work on the
subject in our language. Even the first edition (which is the one
referred to in the notes) received the approbation of the most competent
judges, and the second has been so much enlarged and improved as to form
in reality a new work. At the same time, I do not enjoin the study of it:
the references were merely intended for the use of those who desire
something more than the ordinary superficial acquaintance with mythology.

The _errata_, or typographical errors, are more numerous than they should
have been; but a complete list of them will be found on the page opposite
the commencement of the poem. There are, however, two or three errors of
a graver kind, which I may here rectify.

The reader will observe perhaps with surprise how completely I mistook
the sense of Lib. II. vv. 619, 620; though it is so obvious. The passage
might possibly bear the sense which I have given it; but it surely is not
what the poet meant. I was led into the error by v. 566. My interpretation
certainly gives the more poetical sense, and it is curious enough that I
have since met with the very same idea in one of the plays of our old
dramatist Ford:

"These holy rites perform'd, now take your times To spend the remnant of
the day in feasts. Such fit repasts are pleasing to the saints Who are
your guests, though not with mortal eyes To be beheld."

In the note on Lib. III. v. 845, the remark on _furta_ is trifling; for
that word is equivalent to _fures_, as _servitia_ is to _servi, operae_ to
_operarii_, etc., such being one of the peculiarities of the Latin
language. The time of the death of the Fabii is given incorrectly in the
note on Lib. II. v. 195: it should be "the Quinctilis of the year 277."
There is, I believe, no other error of any importance. Should another
edition be called for at any future time, I shall endeavour to make it
more complete,

T. K.

_Tunbridge Wells_, Aug. 30, 1839.



INTRODUCTION

§ 1. OF THE RISING AND SETTING OF THE STARS--§ 2. OF THE ROMAN YEAR
--§ 3. OF THE ROMAN MONTHS AND DAYS--§ 4. OF THE ROMAN FASTI--§ 5. OF
OVID'S POEM ON THE FASTI--§ 6. OF THE EDITIONS OF THIS POEM.


§ 1.

_Of the Rising and Setting of the Stars_.

The attention of a people who, like the ancient Greeks, dwelt in a region
where, during a great part of the year, the night might be passed in the
open air, and no mists or clouds obscured the heaven, must have been
early drawn to those luminous points which are scattered over it in such
profusion. They must have early learned to distinguish various clusters
of them, and thence to give them appropriate names. Accordingly, in the
most ancient portion of Grecian literature, the Homeric and Hesiodic
poems, we find various groupes of the stars designated by peculiar names.
Such are Orion, the Hyades, the Pleiades, the Bear or Wain, the Dog and
the Ploughman or Bear-ward (Boötes or Arcturus). The case was the same in
the East; we meet in the book of Job (c. ix. 9.) names for the Pleiades,
Hyades and Orion, and (xxvi. 14.) the constellation named the Great
Serpent. The people of ancient Italy appear to have done the same: the
Latin name of the Pleiades was _Vergiliae_, that of the Hyades _Suculae_,
the seven stars, which form the constellation of the Great Bear, were
named by them the _Septem Triones_, or Seven Oxen; for, as they go round
and round the pole without ever setting, the analogy between them and the
oxen, which trod out the corn by going round and round the _area_, or
threshing-floor, was an obvious one. Doubtless, the brilliant constellation
Orion, had a peculiar Latin name, which has not come down to us; of the
others, none but Greek appellations occur.

A very short acquaintance with the face of the stellar heaven sufficed to
shew, that it did not always remain the same. During a part of the year
Orion flamed in full magnificence on the sky, and, to the eye of the
Grecian herdsman and hunter, he and his Dog pursued the Bear, who kept
_watching_ him while the Pleiades (Peleiades, pigeons) were _flying_
before him; at another season the sky was destitute of this brilliant
scene. It was soon observed that the stars made 'their exits and their
entrances' at regular periods, corresponding with the changes which took
place in the course of nature on earth, and these coincidences were
marked and employed for agricultural purposes. A people who have no
regular scientific calendar, always contrives a natural one, taken from
celestial or terrestrial appearances. Thus the North American Aborigines
designate times and seasons by the flowering of certain plants; the
ancient Greeks appear to have done something of the same kind, for one of
Hesiod's designations of a particular season is, _when the thistle is in
blossom_; we ourselves call the first season of the year the Spring, (i.e.
of plants,) and our Transatlantic brethren term the autumn, the Fall
(of the leaves).

The Greeks, however, seem early to have seen the superior accuracy and
determinateness of the celestial phenomena. In the didactic poem of
Hesiod, this mode of marking the times of navigation and of rural labours
is frequently employed, and its use was retained by the countryfolk of
both Greece and Italy far into the time of the Roman empire. Those who
wrote on rural subjects or natural history, employed it; we meet it in
Aristotle, as well as in Pliny and Columella.

When intercourse with Egypt and Phoenicia had called the thoughts of the
Greeks to natural science, the rude astronomy of their rustic forefathers
became the subject of improvement. The name of Thales is, as was to be
expected, to be found at the head of the cultivators of this science. He
is said to have been the first who taught to distinguish between the real
and apparent rising and setting of a constellation; which implies a
knowledge of spheric astronomy. His example was followed and observation
extended by others, and as rain, wind, and other aërial phenomena were
held to be connected with the rising and setting of various signs, the
times of their risings and settings, both apparent and real, were
computed by Meton, Eudoxus, and other ancient astronomers. The tables
thus constructed were cut on brass or marble, and fixed up (whence they
were called [Greek: parapaegmata],) in the several cities of Greece, and
the peasant or sailor had only to look on one of these _parapegmata_, to
know what sign was about to rise or set, and what weather might be
expected. Without considering the difference of latitude and longitude,
the Romans borrowed the _parapegmata_, like every thing else, from the
Greeks. The countrymen, as we learn from Pliny (xviii. 60, 65,), ceased
to mark the stellar heaven, a _Kalendarium rusticum siderale_, (Colum.
ix. 14) taught him when the signs rose and set, and on what days he was
to expect sacrifices and festivals. When Virgil (G. I. 257.) says,

  Nec frustra signorum obitus speculamur et ortus,
    Temporibusque parem diversia quattuor annum.

it is, (as Voss observes,) more probable that it is one of these
calendars, and not the actual heaven that he means.

Before the time of Thales it was, of course only the visible and apparent
risings and settings of the signs that were the subject of observation.
But astronomers now learned to distinguish these phenomena into three
kinds. These they termed the cosmic, acronych, and heliac risings and
settings. The cosmic rising or setting ([Greek: kosmikos epitolae], or
[Greek: dusis],) was the true one in the morning; the acronych ([Greek:
akronychos][1]), _prima nox_, is evening, the beginning (one end) of the
night, the true one in the evening; the heliac, ([Greek: haeliakos]) the
apparent rising in the morning or setting in the evening. A star was said
to rise or set cosmically, when it rose or set at sun-rise; it rose or
set acronychally, when it rose or set at sun-set; it rose heliacally,
when in the morning it just emerged from the solar rays, it set in the
same manner, when in the evening it sank immediately after him. Two
general observations may be made here. 1. In the morning the true rising
precedes the apparent one, perhaps several days. 2. In the evening the
apparent setting precedes the real one. To illustrate this. Let us
suppose it 'spring time when the sun with Taurus rides,' the Hyades which
are in the head of Taurus will rise with the sun, but lost in his
effulgence they will elude our vision; at length when in his progress
through the Tauric portion of the ecliptic, he has left them a sufficient
distance behind him, their rising (as his motion in the ecliptic is
contrary to his apparent diurnal motion,) will precede his by a space of
time which will allow them to be seen. The real evening setting of a
star, is its sinking at the same moment with the sun below the horizon,
its heliac setting, is its becoming visible as he is setting and then
disappearing, that is ceasing to be visible after sun-set, in the western
part of the hemisphere. Thus the sun and the Hyades may actually set
together several days before they become sufficiently elongated from him,
to admit of their being seen before they set.

There are thus three risings, and three settings of a star, namely:--

  The true morning rising,      i. e. the cosmic.
  The apparent morning rising,  i. e. the heliac.
  The true evening rising,      i. e. the acronych.

  The true morning setting,     i. e. the cosmic.
  The true evening setting,     i. e. the acronych.
  The apparent evening setting, i. e. the heliac.

Of these, the one which is most apt to engage the attention, is the
acronych or true evening rising, that is the rising of the star at the
eastern verge of the horizon, at the moment the sun is sinking on the
western side. It is of this I think, that Hesiod always speaks. The
attention of the constructors of parapegmata does not seem to have been
directed to the risings of the stars at different hours of the night.


§ 2.

_Of the Roman Year_.

Nothing is better established by competent authority, than that two kinds
of year were in use among the ancient Romans, the one of ten, the other
of twelve months. In the usual spirit of referring their ancient
institutions to those whom they regarded as their first kings, the
ten-month year was ascribed to Romulus, the improved one of twelve months
to Numa. This was the current opinion, such as we find it in the
following poem; some ancient writers, however, such as Licinius Macer and
Fenestella, to whom we may perhaps add Plutarch, rejected the ten-month
year as a mere fiction. Their opinion has been adopted by the great
Joseph Scaliger, who asserts that the Roman year always consisted of
twelve months. Both opinions may, I think, be maintained, the Romans may,
from the beginning of their state, have had a year of twelve months,
which I would call the Roman year, and yet have used along with it a year
of ten months, which, for reasons which will presently appear, I call the
Etruscan year. I will commence by showing that a year of ten months was
in use even in the time of the republic.

Ten months was the term for mourning; the fortunes of daughters, left by
will, were to be paid in three instalments of ten months each; on the
sale of olives, grapes on the vine, and wine in the vessels, ten month's
credit was given; the most ancient rate of interest also supposes a year
of ten months. It may further be noted, that even Scaliger, who rejected
this year, could not avoid remarking, how singular it was, that the
household festivals of the Saturnalia and the Matronalia should be the
one at the end of December, the other at the beginning of March. He did
not perceive that this would seem to indicate a time when, at the end of
a year of ten months, these two festivals were one, and male and female
slaves together enjoyed the liberty of the season.

These are mere presumptions; a nearer approach can be made to certainty.
There was nothing the ancient inhabitants of Italy more carefully
shunned, than drawing down the vengeance of the gods, by even an
involuntary breach of faith. It was also the custom, especially of the
Etruscans, to make peaces under the form of truces, for a certain number
of years. Now we find that, in the year 280, a peace was made with Veii
for 40 years. In 316 Fidenas revolted and joined Veii, which must then
have been at war with Rome, but 316-280, is only 36, yet the Romans,
though highly indignant, did not accuse the Veientines of breach of
faith. Suppose the truce made for 40 ten-month years, and it had expired
in the year 314. Again, in 329, a truce was made for twenty years, and
Livy says that it was expired in 347, but 347-329 is 18 not 20. Let the
year have been, of ten months, and the truce had ended in the year 346.
These are Etruscan cases, but we find the same mode of proceeding in
transactions with other nations; a truce for 8 years was made with the
Volscians in 323, and in 331 they were at war with Rome, without being
charged with perjury.

This ten-month year was that of the Etruscans who were the most learned
and cultivated people of the peninsula. As the civil years of the Latin
and other peoples were formed on various principles, and differed in
length, the Romans at least, if not the others, deemed it expedient to
use, in matters of importance, a common fixed measure of time. On all
points relating to science and religion they looked up to the Etruscans;
it was, therefore, a matter of course that their year should be the one
adopted.

This Etruscan year consisted of 304 days, divided into 38 weeks of eight
days each. It is not absolutely certain that it was also divided into
months, but all analogy is in favour of such a division. Macrobius and
Solinus say, that it contained six months of 31, and four of 30 days, but
this does not seem to agree with weeks of eight days; perhaps there were
nine months of four weeks and one of two, or more probably eight of four
weeks and two of three.[2] This year, which depended on neither the sun
nor the moon, was a purely scientific one, founded on astronomical
grounds and the accurate measurement of a long portion of time. It served
the Etruscans as a correction of their civil lunar year, the one which
was in common use, and, from the computations which have been made, it
appears that, by means of it, it may be ascertained that the Etruscans
had determined the exact length of the tropical or solar year, with a
greater degree of accuracy than is to be found in the Julian computation.

Like the Etruscans, the Romans employed for civil purposes a lunar year,
which they had probably borrowed also from that people. This year, which,
of course, like every year of the kind, must have consisted of twelve
months, fell short of the solar year by the space of 11 days and 6 hours,
and the mode adopted for bringing them into accordance was to
intercalate, as it was termed, a month in every other year, during
periods of 22 years, these intercalated months consisting alternately of
22 and 23 days. This month was named Mercedonius. In the last biennium of
the period no intercalation took place. As five years made a lustre, so
five of these periods made a secle, which thus consisted of 110 years or
22 lustres, and was the largest measure of time among the Romans.[3]

The care of intercalating lay with the pontiffs, and they lengthened and
shortened the year at their pleasure, in order to serve or injure the
consuls and farmers of the revenue, according as they were hostile or
friendly toward them. In consequence of this, Julius Caesar found the year
67 days in advance of the true time, when he undertook to correct it by
the aid of foreign science. From his time the civil year of the Romans
was a solar, not a lunar one,[4] and the Julian year continued in use
till the Gregorian reformation of the Calendar.

We thus see that the civil year of the Romans always consisted of twelve
months, and that a year of ten months was in use along with it in the
early centuries of the state, which served to correct it, and which was
used in matters of importance.[5]


§ 3.

_Of the Months and Days of the Roman Year_.

When it was believed that the year of 304 days was the original civil
year of the Romans, and evidence remained to prove that the commencement
of the year had, in former times, been regulated by the vernal equinox,
instead of the winter solstice, it seemed to follow, of course, that the
original year of Romulus had consisted of but ten months. The
inconvenience of this mode of dividing time must have been thought to
have appeared very early, since we find the introduction of the lunar
year of twelve months ascribed to Numa, who is said to have added two
months to the Romulian year, which, it would thus appear, was regarded
as having been a year of ten lunar months. This placing of the lunar
twelve-month year in the mythic age of Rome, I may observe, tends to
confirm the opinion of its having been in use from the origin of the
city.

The ancient Israelites had two kinds of year, a religious and a civil
one, which commenced at different seasons. Their months also originally,
we are told, proceeded numerically, but afterwards got proper names. As
the month Abib is mentioned by name in the book of Deuteronomy, I hazard
a conjecture, that the civil and religious years had coexisted from the
time of Moses, and that the months of the former had had proper names,
while those of the latter proceeded numerically. Is there any great
improbability in supposing the same to have been the case at Rome? The
religious year of ten months, as being least used, may have proceeded
with numerical appellations from its first month to December, while the
months of the civil year had each their peculiar appellation derived from
the name of a deity, or of a festival. It is remarkable that the first
six months of the year alone have proper names; but the remaining ones
may have had them also, though, from causes which we are unable to
explain, they have gone out of use, and those of the cyclic year have
been employed in their stead.[6]

The oriental division of time into weeks of seven days, though resulting
so naturally from the phases of the moon, was not known at Rome till the
time of the emperors. The Etruscan year, as we have seen, consisted of
weeks of eight days, and in the Roman custom of holding markets on the
_nundines_, or every ninth day, we see traces of its former use, but a
different mode of dividing the month seems to have early begun to
prevail.

In the Roman month there were three days with peculiar names, from their
places with relation to which the other days were denominated. These were
the Kalends (_Kalendae_ or _Calendae_,) the Nones, (_Nonae_) and the Ides
(_Idus_ or _Eidus_). The Kalends (from _calare_, to proclaim,) were the
first day of the month; the Nones (from _nonus_, ninth) were the ninth
day before the Ides reckoning inclusively; the Ides, (from iduare, to
divide,) fell about, not exactly on, the middle of the months. In March,
May, July and October, the Ides were the 15th, and, consequently, the
Nones the 7th day of the month; in the remaining months the Ides were the
13th, the Nones the 5th. The space, therefore, between the Nones and Ides
was always the same, those between the Kalends and Nones, and the Ides
and Kalends, were subject to variation. Originally, however, it would
appear, the latter space also was fixed, and there were in every month,
except February, 10 days from the Ides to the Kalends, The months,
therefore, consisted of 31 and 29 days, February having 28. In the Julian
Calendar, January, August and December were raised from 29 to 31 days,
while their Nones and Ides remained unchanged. It was only necessary then
to know how many days there were between the Kalends and Nones, as the
remaining portions were constant. Accordingly, on the day of new moon,
the pontiff cried aloud _Calo Jana novella_[7] five times or seven times,
and thus intimated the day of the Nones, which was quite sufficient for
the people.

We thus see that the Roman month was, like the Attic, divided into three
portions, but its division was of a more complex and embarrassing kind;
for while the Attic month consisted of three decades of days, and each
day was called the first, second, third, or so, of the decade, to which
it belonged; the days of the Roman month were counted with reference to
the one of the three great days which was before them. It is an error to
suppose that the Romans counted backwards. Thus, taking the month of
January for an example, the first day was the Kalends, the second was
then viewed with reference to the approaching Nones, and was denominated
the _fourth before the Nones_; the day after the Nones was the _eighth
before the Ides_; the day after the Ides, the _nineteenth before the
Kalends_ of February.

The technical phraseology of the Roman Calendar ran thus. The numeral was
usually put in the ablative case, and as the names of the months were
adjectives, they were made to agree with the Kalends etc. or followed in
the genitive, _mensis_ being understood. Thus, to say that an event
occurred on the Ides of March, the term would be _Idibus Martiis_, or
_Idibus Martii_ (_mensis_). So also of the Kalends and Nones, for any
other day the phrase would be, for example, _tertio Kalendas, i. e.
tertio (die ante) Kalendas_ or _tertio (die) Kalendarum_, The day before
any of the three principal days was _pridie (i. e. priore die) Kalendas_
or _Kalendarum, Nonas_ or _Nonarum, Idus_ or _Iduum_.

Another mode of expression, was to use a preposition, and an accusative
case. Thus, for _tertio Nonas_ they would say _ante diem tertium Nonas_,
which was written _a. d. III. Non_. This form is very much employed by
Livy and Cicero. It was even used objectively, and governed of the
prepositions _in_ and _ex_. We thus meet _in ante tertium Nonas_, and _ex
ante diem Nonas_, in these authors. Another preposition thus employed is
_ad_, we meet _ad pridie Nonas_.

As the Romans reckoned inclusively, we must be careful in assigning any
particular day to its place in the month, according to the modern mode of
reckoning. We must, therefore, always diminish the given number by one,
or we shall be a day behind. Thus, the 5th of June being the Nones, the
3d is III. Non. but if we subduct 3 from 5 we get the 2d instead of the
3d of the month. The rule then is, as we know the days on which the Nones
and Ides fall in each month, to subduct from that day the Roman number
_minus_ 1, and we have the day of the month. For days before the Kalends,
subduct in the same manner from the number of days in the month.

The days of the Roman year were farther divided into _fasti_, _nefasti_
and _endotercisi_,[8] or _intercisi_, which were marked in the Kalends by
the letters F. N. and EN. The _dies fasti_ were those on which courts
sat, and justice was administered; they were so named from _fari_ to
speak, because on them the Praetor gave judgement, that is _spoke_ the
three legal words, Do (_bonorum possessionem_), Dico (_jus_), Addico (_id
de quo quaeritur_); the _dies nefasti_, were festivals, and other days on
which the courts did not sit; the _dies intercisi_ were those days, on
only a part of which justice might be administered. Thus, we are told
that some holidays were _nefasti_, during the time of the killing of the
victim, but _fasti, inter caesa et porrecta (exta)_, again _nefasti_ while
the victim was being consumed on the altar.

Manutius, by merely counting up the number of the _dies fasti_ in the
Julian Calendar, found that they were exactly 38 in number. This strongly
confirms what has been said above, respecting the division of the cyclic
year into 38 weeks, and is one among numerous instances of the pertinacity
with which the Romans retained old forms and names, even when become no
longer applicable; for as 38 days were quite insufficient for the business
of the Forum, a much larger number of other days, under different
appellations, had been added to them long before. The making the market
days _fasti_ was, we are told,[9] the act of the consul Hortensius.


§ 4.

_Of the Roman Fasti_.

The Roman patricians derived from their Tuscan instructors, the practice,
common to sacerdotal castes, of maintaining power by keeping the people
in ignorance of matters which, though simple in themselves, were of
frequent use, and thence of importance. One of the things, which such
bodies are most desirous of enveloping in mystery and confining the
knowledge of to themselves, is the Calendar, by which religious rites and
legal proceedings are regulated. Accordingly, for a long time, the Roman
people had no means of learning with certainty what days were _fasti_ and
what not, but by applying to the pontiff, in whose house the tables of
the _fasti_ were kept, or by the proclamation which he used to make of
the festivals which were shortly to take place. As we have seen above,
the knowledge of the length of the ensuing month could only be obtained
in the same manner. This, and the power of intercalating, gave a highly
injurious degree of power to the pontiffs.

Accordingly, nothing could exceed the indignation of the senate when, in
the year 440, Flavius, the clerk or secretary of App. Claudius, as a most
effectual mode of gaining the popular favour, secretly made tables of the
Calendar and set them up about the Forum.[10] Henceforth the _dies fasti_
and _nefasti_, the _stative_ festivals, the anniversaries of the
dedications of temples, etc. were known to every one. The days of
remarkable actions, such as the successes and reverses of the arms of the
republic, were also noted. Copies for the use of the public and
individuals were multiplied; the _municipia_ and other towns of Italy, as
the fragments which have been discovered shew, followed the example of
Rome, and the colonies, in this as in every thing else, presented the
mother-city in little. The custom was transmitted to modern Europe, and,
in the Calendar part of our own Almanacks, we may see a copy of those
Fasti, which once formed a portion of the mysterious treasures of the
patricians of ancient Rome.

These were the Fasti Sacri or Kalendares, but the word Fasti was applied
to another kind of register, named the Fasti Historici or Consulares,
which contained the names of the magistrates of each year, especially the
consuls, and the chief events of the year were set down in them, so that
they formed a kind of annals of the state. When we read of the name of
any consul, as was the case with L. and M. Antonius, being erased from
the Fasti by a senatusconsult, it is always these Fasti that are meant.


§ 5.

_Of Ovid's Poem on the Fasti_.

Among the choir of poets who shed glory on the reign of Augustus, the
first place for originality may be claimed by P. Ovidius Naso. His Heroic
Epistles had no model in Grecian literature; his Art of Love, the most
perfect of his works, was equally his own, though didactic poetry had
been cultivated in Greece; his Metamorphoses bore perhaps a resemblance
to a lost poem of Nicander or Callimachus; but unless a work of this last
poet, presently to be noticed, was of the same kind with it, Grecian
literature contained nothing resembling his Fasti.

To a poet like Ovid, of various powers and great command of language, few
subjects could have appeared to possess more 'capabilities,' to use a
hackneyed but expressive term. He had here an opportunity of displaying
his power in the light, easy, and graceful style, when narrating the
adventures of the god of Grecian theology; while the real and legendary
history of his country afforded subjects which might have called forth
the highest powers of genius, and have awakened the sympathies of every
Roman reader. Here, however, I think he has failed; Ovid in fact very
much resembled a distinguished poet of our own days, who, like him,
excels in the light and amatory, and sportive style, but whose efforts in
the grave and dignified are not equally successful. In reading the poem,
I have sometimes asked myself if it would not have been better had the
Fasti of Rome been the theme of the Mantuan instead of the Pelignian
bard. Where Ovid fails Virgil would certainly have succeeded, and the
Regifugium and fall of the Fabii would have come down to us in strains
equal to those which celebrate the wars of ancient Italy. Whether the
reverse would have been the case, and that, in those lighter and more
familiar parts, where Ovid succeeds Virgil would have failed, I take not
on me to decide; but I should reckon much on the taste and judgement of
the author of the Georgics. Still, even in the higher parts, we know not
to what disadvantage even Virgil's verses might have competed with the
venerable Annals of Ennius, with whom he rather seemed to shun than to
seek collision. This is a question, however, which can never be decided,
and, much as I delight in the poetry of Virgil, I regard him as inferior
in genius to Ovid. Virgil depends on others, he always imitates; Ovid
borrows rarely, in composition he is always best when most independent.

I do not think that Ovid had any model for his Fasti; the idea might have
been suggested to him, as it is thought, by this verse of Propertius (iv.
1. 69):

  Sacra, diesque canam et cognomina prisca locorum,

with which he concludes a poem, in which he feigns himself to be shewing
to a stranger the principal monuments of Rome. Callimachus, too, had
written a poem which, like all the poetry of the Alexandrian period, was
well known at Rome and was quoted by Varro, Martial, Servius and others.
Its title was [Greek: Aitia], and, from its name and the few fragments
and scanty accounts of it which remain, it appears that it treated of the
_causes_ of matters relating to the gods and ancient heroes of Greece.
From an epigram in the Anthology, we learn that he feigned that he was
transported in a dream to Mt. Helicon, and there received his information
from the Muses. The epigram ends thus:

  [Greek:
  Ai de hoi eiromeno, amph' Ogugion Haeroon
    Aitia kai makaron eiron ameibomenai].

It is uncertain whether the poem was in heroic or elegiac measure. Ovid
appears to have been acquainted with it, for (Trist. v. 5. 33.) when
speaking of the dividing of the flame on the pyre of the Theban brothers
he adds--

  Hoc, memini, quondam fieri non posse loquebar,
    Et me Battiades judice falsus erat.

The difference, however, between this poem and the Fasti, must have been
considerable. A Greek poet, named Butas, according to Plutarch (Rom.
21.), wrote [Greek: aitias muthodeis en elegeiois ton Romaikon], from
which he quotes these two verses relating to the Luperci, and in
explanation of their custom of striking those whom they met--

  [Greek:
  Empodious tuptontas hopos tote phasgan' echontes
    Ex Albaes etheon Romulos aede Remos].

This might appear to have been the model of Ovid's poem, but it is
unknown when Butas lived, and he may as well have written after as before
the Latin poet.

On the whole, I think Ovid's claim to originality in this poem cannot
justly be contested. Even though he may have taken the idea of it from
others his mode of treating the subject is his own.

When Ovid first conceived the idea of writing a poem on the Roman Fasti,
it is not likely that he was very well furnished with the requisite
knowledge. Any one, who is familiar with the internal history of
literature, knows how common it is for a writer, especially a poet, to
select a subject of which he is sufficiently ignorant, and then to go in
search of materials. Such appears to me to have been the case with Ovid,
and the errors into which he falls prove that though a diligent enquirer,
as I think he was, he never arrived at accuracy in history or science;
with Grecian mythology he was intimately acquainted, and here he is
superior to Virgil, whose knowledge of the history and institutions of
ancient Italy much exceeded his.

The Annals of Ennius, the historical works of Fabius Pictor and his
successors down to Livy, contained the history of Rome, and these works,
it is evident, Ovid had studied; for the institutions and their origins
his chief source must have been the writings of L. Cincius Alimentus, the
contemporary of Fabius Pictor, the most judicious investigator of
antiquities that Rome ever produced. The various Fasti, such as those of
his contemporary Verrius Flaccus, of which fragments have been discovered
and published,[11] contributed much information, and various passages of
the poem intimate that personal inquiry and oral communication aided in
augmenting his stores of antiquarian lore. His astronomical knowledge was
probably derived from the ordinary Calendars, and as they were not
strictly correct, and the poet, in all probability, did not apply himself
with much relish to what he must have viewed as a dry and uninviting
study, we are not to look in him for extreme accuracy on this head, and
must not be surprised to meet even gross blunders.

Two points are to be considered respecting this poem, namely, the time
when it was written and published, and whether, when published, it
contained any more than the six books which have come down to us.

The mysterious relegation of Ovid to Tomi, on the coast of the Euxine,
took place A.U.C. 762, in the fifty-second year of the poet's age. In the
long exculpatory epistle to Augustus, which forms the second book of his
Tristia, he mentions the Fasti as a work actually written, and dedicated
to that prince, but interrupted by his exile. The poem itself contains
many passages which were evidently addressed to him. On the other hand,
it is actually dedicated to Germanicus, the adoptive son of Tiberius, and
L. I. v. 285, he mentions the triumph of that prince over the Catti,
Cherusci and Angevarii, which, according to Tacitus (Ann. II. 41.), took
place in the year 770, which was the year of the poet's death. It would,
therefore, seem to follow at once that this is the true date of the
publication of the poem, were it not that Tacitus (II. 26.) tells us that
the triumph had been decreed by the senate in the year 768, so that the
poet's words may be proleptical. The other, however, is by far the most
natural and probable interpretation of his words. It is confirmed by a
passage (L. II. 55. _et seq_.) in which he praises Tiberius as the
builder and restorer of the temples of the gods, and in this very year
770, as we learn from Tacitus, the emperor repaired and dedicated the
temple of Liber, Libera and Ceres, that of Flora and that of Janus. We
may, therefore, venture to assert that the year 770 was that of the
publication of this poem. We are now to enquire whether any more appeared
then than what has come down to us.

In the epistle to Augustus, above alluded to, Ovid says,

  Sex ego Fastorum scripsi totidemque libellos;
    Cumque suo finem mense volumen habet.
  Idque tuo nuper scriptum sub nomine, Caesar,
    Et tibi sacratum sors mea rupit opus.

Hence it has become the prevalent opinion that he wrote twelve books, of
which the half has perished. This appears certainly to follow plainly
enough from the words of the poet, but the silence of the ancients
respecting the last six books is strong on the negative side, for of all
the quotations which we meet of this work, particularly in Lactantius,
there is not a single one that is not to be found in the books which we
possess. I, therefore, agree with Masson, in his life of the poet, that
the meaning of those verses is, that he had collected his materials for
the whole work, and digested them under the different months, and in part
versified them. This is applying no force to the verb _scribo_; we should
recollect that Racine, when he had his materials collected and his plot
arranged, used to say _Voilà ma tragédie faite!_ We cannot say whether
Ovid had versified the last six books, for he may have done so, and they
may have been lost at the time of his death. There is a curious
coincidence between the fate of Ovid's Fasti and Spenser's Faerie Queene;
of each we have but the one half, and it is a matter of controversy
respecting the remaining books of each, whether they were never written,
or, having been written, unhappily chanced to perish.


§ 6.

_Of the Editions of Ovid's Fasti_.

 The earliest edition of this poem with notes was in the works of Ovid,
edited by A. Navagero, a Venetian nobleman, and printed by Aldus, in the
year 1502. An edition appeared at Basle, in 1550, edited by J. Micyllus,
with the commentaries of several men of learning. Hercules Ciofani, a
native of Sulmo, edited in 1578-1580, the works of his compatriote poet.
In the Fasti he used twelve of the best MSS. and he added a body of notes
on the whole of Ovid's works, which were afterwards printed separately,
by Plantin, at Antwerp. The next who devoted his labours to the Fasti was
a young Sicilian nobleman, named Carlo Neapolis, who wrote, at the age of
twenty one, a commentary on this poem, which was published at Antwerp, in
1639, under the title of _Anaptyxis ad Fastos Ovidianos_. The celebrated
N. Heinsius also undertook the task of elucidating this pleasing poet,
whose entire works, castigated by the aid of upwards of sixty MSS. and of
great learning and critical sagacity, he gave to the light, in 1658-1661,
at Amsterdam, in 3 Tom. 12. with brief notes. Finally, appeared at the
same place, in 1727, in 4 vols. 4. the works of Ovid, edited by Peter
Burmann; this editor gave a revision of the text of Heinsius, which he
occasionally altered, and he added, in whole or in part, the notes of the
preceding commentators.

These were the principal editions of this poem previous to the present
century. I should add that G. C. Taubner published an edition of it at
Leipzig, in 1747, with a selection of notes from preceding commentators,
to which he added his own observations; and that C. W. Mitscherlich
published at Göttingen, in 1796-98, in 2 vols. 8vo. the works of Ovid
with an amended text. But in the year 1812, G. E. Gierig, who had already
published an edition of the Metamorphoses with a commentary, gave out the
Fasti in a similar manner. He has revised the text, and his notes are
generally extremely good, though liable to the charge of needless
prolixity in some parts, and too great brevity in others. It is however,
a valuable edition on the whole, and the best for general use. In the
Oxford edition of the works of Ovid, published in the year 1825, the
entire notes of this critic have been given.

J. P. Krebs, who had thirty years before translated this poem into
German, gave an edition of it for the use of schools in 1826. His
attention was chiefly directed to the text, and he has most carefully
given all the various readings, to which he adds parallel and explanatory
passages from other writers, and the dates of the several events which
are mentioned in the poem. Beyond this his notes do not extend. His text
has been adopted for the present edition, but I have noticed only the
various readings of greatest importance.


NOTES:

[1] [Greek: Akronyx, akronychia, to akron taes nuktos].

[2] See the Cambridge Philological Museum, No. V. p, 474.

[3] Certus undenos decies per annos
   Orbis ut cantus referatque ludos.
                      HORACE CAR. SEC. 21.

[4] It is for this reason that in my note on I. 1, I have called the Latin
year a solar one, for such it was when Ovid wrote.

[5] On the subjects treated of in this section, see Niebuhr on the Secular
Cycle, in his History of Rome, and Scaliger de Emendatione Temporum.

[6] That this is by no means improbable is evident from the circumstance,
that the name of the intercalary month, Mercedonius, is to be found in no
Latin writer. It would be unknown to us, if Plutarch had not chanced to
mention it.

[7] _Jana_ was the moon, and from _Dea Jana_ (pronounced _Yana_), was made
Diana.

[8] _Endo_ or _indu_, was an old form for _in_. It may still be seen in
the fragments of Ennius and in Lucretius.

[9] Macrob. Sat. I. 16.

[10] Liv. ix. 46.

[11] At Rome, in 1772, by Fogginius.



FASTI

KALENDARES ROMANI

Ex Ovidio.


JANUARIUS. LIB. I.

1.  A. KAL.        F.  Novi consulatus initia, 75, Jani festum, 89.
                       Aesculapii et Jovis templa in insula Tiberina
                       consecrata, 290.
2.  B. IV.  NON.   F.
3.  C. III. NON.   C.  Cancer occidit, 311.
4.  D. PR.  NON.   C.
5.  E.   NON.      F.  Lyra oritur, 315.
6.  F. VIII.ID.    F.
7.  G. VII. ID.    C.
8.  H. VI.  ID.    C.
9.  A. V.   ID.        Agonalia celebrata, 317. Delphini ortus, 457.
10. B. IV.  ID.    EN. Hiems media, 459.
11. C. III. ID.    NP. Carmentalia, 461. Juturnae sedes in campo Martio
                         ad aquam Virginem dicata, 463.
12. D. PR. ID.     C.
13. E.  ID.        NP. Jovi Statori ovis semimas immolabatur, 587.
                         Populo provinciae redditae. 589. Octaviano
                         Augusti nomen datum, 590.
14. F. XIX.  KAL. FEBR. EN.
15. G. XVIII.KAL       Carmentalia relata, 617. Porrimae et Postvertae
                         festus dies, 631.
16. H. XVII. KAL.  C.  Concordiae templum prope tedem Junonis Monetae
                         dedicatum, 637.
17. A. XVI.  KAL.  C.  Sol Aquarium ingreditur relicto Capricorno, 651.
18. B. XV.   KAL.  C.
19. C. XIV.  KAL.  C.
20. D. XIII. KAL.  C.
21. E. XII.  KAL.  C.
22. F. XI.   KAL.  C.
23. G. X.    KAL.  C.  Lyra occidit, 653.
24. H. IX.   KAL.  C.  Stella in medio Leonis pectore occidit, 655.
                       Sementivae feriae circa hoc tempus indictae,
                       657. Paganalia, 669.
25. A. VIII. KAL.  C.
26. B. VII.  KAL.  C.
27. C. VI.   KAL.  C.  Castori et Polluci templura ad Juturnae stagnum
                         dedicatum, 705.
28. D. V.    KAL.  C.
29. E. IV.   KAL.  F.
30. F. III.  KAL.  NP. Pacis ara dicata, 709.
31. G. PR.   KAL.  C.


FEBRUARIUS. LIB. II.

1.  H. KAL.        N.  Templum Junoni Sospitae positum, 65. Lucus
                         Asyli celebratus, 67. Jovi in Capitolio
                         bidens mactata, 69.
2.  A. IV.  NON.   N.  Lyra occidit, 73. et Leo medius, 77.
3.  B. III. NON.   N.  Delphinus occidit, 79.
4.  C. PR.  NON.   N.
5.  D.   NON.     (N.) Augustus Pater Patriae dictus, 119. Aquarius
                         medius oritur, 145.
6.  E. VIII. ID.   N.
7.  F. VII.  ID.   N.
8.  G. VI.   ID.   N.
9.  H. V.    ID.   N.  Veris initium, 149.
10. A. IV.   ID.   N.
11. B. III.  ID.   N.  Arctophylax oritur, 153.
12. C. PR.   ID.   N.
13. D.    ID.      NP. Fauni sacra, 193. Fabianae cladis memoria, 195.
14. E. XVI. KAL.  MART. N. (C.) Corvus, Anguis, Crater oriuntur, 243.
15. F. XV.  KAL.   NP. Lupercalia Fauno sacra, 267. Ventorum inconstantia
                         per sex dies, 453. Aquario relicto Sol
                         Pisces iugreditur, 457.
16. G. XIV. KAL.   EN.
17. H. XIII.KAL.   NP. Quirini sacra, 475. Stultorum festiis dies, 513.
                         Fornicalia, 527.
18. A. XII. KAL.   C.
19. B. XI.  KAL.   C.  Feralia, i. e. ultimus placandis Manibus dies.
                         567. Deae Mutae sacra facit anus, 571.
20. C. X.   KAL.   C.
21. D. IX.  KAL.   F.
22. E. VIII.KAL.   C.  Charistia, cognatorum sacra, 617.
23. F. VII. KAL.   NP. Terminalia, 639.
24. G. VI.  KAL.   N.  Regifugium, 685. Hirundo advenit, veris
                         praenuntia, 853.
25. H. V.   KAL.   C.
26. A. IV.  KAL.   EN.
27. B. III. KAL.   NP. Equiria, 857.
28. C. PR.  KAL.   C.


MARTIUS. LIB. III.

1.  D. KAL.        NP. In flaminum domibus, regia, curia, Vestae aede
                         novae ponuntur laureae, ignis Vestae
                         reficitur, 137. Matronalia, 170. et
                         Salinorum dies festi, 259.
2.  E. VI.  NON.   F.
3.  F. V.   NON.   C.  Alter c Piscibus occidit, 399.
4.  G. IV.  NON.   C.
5.  H. III. NON.   C.  Arctophylax occidit, 403. Vindemitor nondum
                       occidit, 407.
6.  A. PR.  NON.   NP. Vestae sacrum, Caesar Augustus Pontifex Maximus
                       factus, 415.
7.  B. NON.        F.  Vejovis templum consecratum, 429. Pegasi collum
                       oritur, 449.
8.  C. VIII. ID.   F.  Corona Gnossis oritur, 459.
9.  D. VII.  ID.   C.
10. E. VI.   ID.   C.
11. F. V.    ID.   C.
12. G. IV.   ID.   C.
13. H. III.  ID.   EN.
14. A. PR.   ID.   NP. Equiria altera in campo Martio, 517. vel monte
                         Coelio, 521.
15. B.   ID.       NP. Annae Perennae sacra, 523. Julii Caesaris
                         caedes, 697.
16. C. XVII. KAL. APR. F. Scorpius ex parte occidit, 711. Itum ad
                         Argeos hac et sequenti die, 791.
17. D. XVI.  KAL.  NP. Liberalia, Bacchi sacrum, 713. Toga libera
                         data, 771. Milvi ortus, 793.
18. E. XV.   KAL.  C.
19. F. XIV.  KAL.  N.  Quinquatria Minervae sacra, 809. Minervae
                         natalis, 811. Minerval magistris solutum,
                         829. Delubra Minervae Captae dedicata, 835.
20. G. XIII. KAL.  C.  Alter Quinquatruum dies gladiatoriis
                         certaminibns cum tribus sequentibus
                         celebratus, 818.
21. H. XII.  KAL.  C.
22. A. XI.   KAL.  N.  Sol ingreditur Arictem, 851.
23. B. X.    KAL.  NP. Quintus idemque ultimus Qumquatruum dies, et
                         Tubilustrium Minervae sacrum, 849.
24. C. IX.   KAL.  Q. R. C. F.
25. D. VIII. KAL.  C.
26. E. VII.  KAL.  C.  Aequinoctium vernum, 877.
27. F. VI.   KAL.  NP.
28. G. V.    KAL.  C.
29. H. IV.   KAL.  C.
30. A. III.  KAL.  C.  Jani, Concordiae, Salutis, Pacis estus dies, 879
31. B. PR.   KAL.  C.  Lunae sacra in monte Aventino, 833.


APRILIS. LIB. IV.

1.  C.       KAL.  N.  Veneris sacra, 133. Mulieres lavantur, 139.
                         Fortuna Virilis, 145. et Venus Verticordia
                         placari solitae, 151. Scorpius occidit, 163.
2.  D. IV.   NON.  C.  Pliades occidere incipiunt, 165.
3.  E. III.  NON.  C.
4.  F. PR.   NON.  C.  Festa Idaeae Parentis s. Megalesia Matri Deum,
                         179. (Ludi per plures dies celebrati, 387.)
5.  G.   NON.          Fortuna Publica sacrata in colle Quirini, 373.
6.  H. VIII.  ID.  NP. Juba a Caesare victus, 377. Libra (per totam
                         noctem in coelo) imbres secum fert, 385.
7.  A. VII.   ID.  N.
8.  B. VI.    ID.  N.
9.  C. V.     ID.  N.  Orion occidit, 387.
10. D. IV.    ID.  N.  Ludi in circo, 389.
11. E. III.   ID.  N.
12. F. PR.    ID.  N.  Ludi Cereales, 393.
13. G. ID.         NP. Jovi Victori aedes dicata, 621. Atrium Libertatis
                         instructum, 623.
14. H. XVIII.KAL. MAI. N. Ventus ab occasu cum grandine, 625.
                         Augusti Caesaris victoria Mutinensis, 627.
15. A. XVII. KAL.  NP. Fordicidia Telluri sacra in Capitolio et in
                         curia, 629.
16. B. XVI.  KAL.  N.  Augustus Imperator salutatus, 675. Hyades
                         occidunt, 677.
17. C. XV.   KAL.  N.
18. D. XIV.  KAL.  N.
19. E. XIII. KAL.  N.  Equestria certamina in circo in Cereris honorem,
                         679. Vulpes combustae ultimo Cerealium die,
                         681.
20. F. XII.  KAL.  N.  Sol in Taurum abit, 713.
21. G. XI.   KAL.  NP. Palilia, 721. Romae natalis, 806.
22. H. X.    KAL.  N.
23. A. IX.   KAL.  N.  Vinalia, 863. Veneris sacra, 865. et Jovis, 878.
24. B. VIII. KAL.  C.
25. C. VII.  KAL.  NP. Ver medium, 901. Aries occidit, 903. Canis
                         exoritur, 904. Robigalia, 905.
26. D. VI.   KAL.  F.
27. E. V.    KAL.  C.
28. F. IV.   KAL.  NP. Floralium initium, 943. Vesta in Palatium
                         recepta, 949. dies ex parte Phoebi, 931.
                         et Caesaris, 952.
29. G. III.  KAL.  C.
30. H. PR.   KAL.  C.


MAIUS. LIB. V.

1.  A.       KAL.  N.  Capella oritur, 111. Laribus Praestitibus ara
                         posita, 130. Bonae Deae sacrum, 148.
2.  B. VI.   NON.  F.  Argeste flante, 161, Hyades oriuntur, 163.
3.  C. V.    NON.  C.  Floralium ultimus dies, 183. Chiron (Centaurus)
                         oritur, 379.
4.  D. IV.   NON.  C.
5.  E. III.  NON.  C.  Lyra oritur, 415.
6.  F. PR.   NON.  C.  Scorpius occidit (oritur) medius, 417.
7.  G.   NON.      N.
8.  H. VIII.  ID.  F.
9.  A. VII.   ID.  N.  Lemuria Manibus sacra, 419.
10. B. VI.    ID.  C.
11. C. V.     ID.  N.  Lemuria altera, 419. Orion occidit, 493.
12. D. IV.    ID.  NP. Marti ultori templum sacratum, 545. Ludi Marti
                         in circo, 597.
13. E. III.   ID.  N.  Lemuria ultima, 591. Pliades oriuntur, 599.
                         Aestatis initium, 601.
14. F. PR.    ID.  C.  Taurus oritur, 603. Scirpea simulacra in Tiberim
                         missa, 621.
15. G.        ID.  NP. Mercurio templum positum ejusque festa dies, 663.
16. H. XVII. KAL. JUN. F.
17. A. XVI.  KAL.  C.
18. B. XV.   KAL.  C.
19. C. XIV.  KAL.  C.
20. D. XIII. KAL.  C.  Sol in Geminos transit, 693.
21. E. XII.  KAL.  NP. Agonia altera, 721.
22. F. XI.   KAL.  N.  Canis oritur, 723.
23. G. X.    KAL.  NP. Tubilustria Vulcano sacra, 726.
24. H. IX.   KAL.  Q. R. C. F. 727.
25. A. VIII. KAL.  C.  Templum Fortunae Publicae positum, 729. Aquilae
                         rostrum apparet, 731.
26. B. VII.  KAL.  C.  Bootes occidit, 733.
27. C. VI.   KAL.  C.  Hyas oritur, 734.
28. D. V.    KAL.  C.
29. E. IV.   KAL.  C.
30. F. III.  KAL.  C.
31. G. PR.   KAL.  C.


JUNIUS. LIB. VI.

1   H.       KAL.  N.  Camae deae sacrum, 101. Kalendae fabariae, 180.
                         Junonia Monctae templum sacratum, 180. Martis
                         extra portam Capenam sacra, 191. Tempestatis
                         aedes dedicata, 193. Aquila tota apparet, 196.
2.  A. IV.   NON.  F.  Hyadum ortus et Tauri cornuum, pluit, 197.
3.  B. III.  NON.  C.  Bellonae aedes consecrata, 199.
4.  C. PR.   NON.  C.  Herculi Custodi aedes in circo Flaminio posita, 209.
5.  D. NON.       (N.) Sanco Fidio Semoni Patri aedes posita, 213.
6.  E. VIII.  ID.  N.
7.  F. VII.   ID.  N.  Arctophylax (Lycaon) totus occidit, 235. Ludi
                         Tibridi sacri a piscatoribus celebrati, 237.
8.  O. VI.    ID.  N.  Menti delubra data, 241.
9.  H. V.     ID.  N.  Vestae sacra, 249. Jovis Pistoris ara in Capitolio,
                         349. Brutus Gallaecos vicit, 461. Crassus a
                         Parthis victus et occisus, 465.
10. A. IV.    ID.  N.  Delphinua oritur, 469.
11. B. III.   ID.  N.  Matralia Matri Matutae sacra, 473. Matutae
                         templum a Servio rege positum, 479. Rutilius et
                         Didius occisi, 563. Fortunos templum a Servio
                         rege dedicatum, 569. Concordiae aedes per
                         Liviam consecrata, 637.
12. C. PR.    ID.  N.
13. D.    ID.      N.  Jovi invicto templa data. 650. Quinquatrus minores
                         Minervae sacra, 651. Nubere ante Idus non
                         bonum, 219. nec fas Flaminis Dialis oonjugi
                         crines depectere, 220. nec ungues praesecare,
                         230. nec viro concumbere, 231. exspectanda dies
                         Q. St. D. F. 233.
14. E. XVIII.KAL. JUL. N.
15. F. XVII. KAL.      Q. St. D. F. Thyene, stella in Tauri fronte,
                         oritur, 711. Stercus ex aede Vestae defertur, 713.
16. G. XVI.  KAL.  C.  Zephyro secundo fiante, 715. Orion oritur, 717.
17. H. XV.   KAL.  C.  Delphinus totus apparet, 720. Postumius Tubertus
                         Aequos Volscosque fudit, 721.
18. A. XIV.  KAL.  C.
19. B. XIII. KAL.  C.  Sol e Geminis in Cancrum abit, 725. Pallas in
                         Aventino coli coepta, 728.
20. C. XII.  KAL.  C.  Summani templum positum, 729. Ophiuchus
                         (Aesculapius) oritur, 733.
21. D. XI.   KAL.  C.
22. E. X.    KAL.  C.
23. F. IX.   KAL.  C.  Flaminius ad lacum Trasimenum victus, 766.
24. G. VIII. KAL.  C.  Syphax victus, 769. Hasdrubal occisus, 770.
                         Fortunae Fortis honores, 771.
25. H. VII.  KAL.  C.
26. A. VI.   KAL.  C.  Orionis zona apparet, 785. Solstitium, 789.
27. B. V.    KAL.  C.  Larium delubra posita, 791. et Jovis Statoris
                         aedes, 793.
28. C. IV.   KAL.  C.  Quirino templum positum, 795.
29. D. III.  KAL.  F.
30. E. PR.   KAL.  C.  Musis et Herculi Musagetae aedes consecrata, 797.



P. OVIDII NASONIS FASTORUM

LIBER I.


Tempora cum causis Latium digesta per annum,
  Lapsaque sub terras ortaque signa canam.
Excipe pacato, Caesar Germanice, vultu
  Hoc opus, et timidae dirige navis iter;
Officioque, levem non aversatus honorem,               5
  Huic tibi devoto numine dexter ades.
Sacra recognosces annalibus eruta priscis,
  Et quo sit merito quaeque notata dies.
Invenies illic et festa domestica vobis.
  Saepe tibi pater est, saepe legendus avus;          10
Quaeque ferunt illi pictos signantia fastos,
  Tu quoque cum Druso praemia fratre feres.
Caesaris arma canant alii, nos Caesaris aras,
  Et quoscumque sacris addidit ille dies.
Annue conanti per laudes ire tuorum,                  15
  Deque meo pavidos excute corde metus.
Da mihi te placidum, dederis in carmina vires,
  Ingenium vultu statque caditque tuo.
Pagina judicium docti subitura movetur
  Principis, ut Clario missa legenda deo.             20
Quae sit enim culti facundia sensimus oris,
  Civica pro trepidis quum tulit arma reis.
Scimus et, ad nostras quum se tulit impetus artes,
  Ingenii currant flumina quanta tui.
Si licet et fas est, vates rege vatis habenas,        25
  Auspice te felix totus ut annus eat.

Tempora digereret quum conditor urbis, in anno
  Constituit menses quinque bis esse suo.
Scilicet arma magis, quam sidera, Romule, horas,
  Curaque finitimos vincere major erat.               30
Est tamen et ratio, Caesar, quae moverit illum,
  Erroremque suum quo tueatur habet.
Quod satis est utero matris dum prodeat infans,
  Hoc anno statuit temporis esse satis.
Per totidem menses a funere conjugis uxor             35
  Sustinet in vidua tristia signa domo.
Hoc igitur vidit trabeati cura Quirini,
  Quum rudibus populis annua jura daret.
Martis erat primus mensis, Venerisque secundus,
  Haec generis princeps, ipsius ille pater.           40
Tertius a senibus, juvenum de nomine quartus,
  Quae sequitur numero turba notata fuit.
At Numa nec Janum, nec avitas praeterit umbras,
  Mensibus antiquis apposuitque duos.

Ne tamen ignores variorum jura dierum:                45
  Non habet officii Lucifer omnis idem.
Ille Nefastus erit, per quem tria verba silentur:
  Fastus erit, per quem lege licebit agi;
Neu toto perstare die sua jura putaris:
  Qui jam Fastus erit, mane Nefastus erat.            50
Nam simul exta deo data sunt, licet omnia fari,
  Verbaque honoratus libera prsetor habet.
Est quoque, quo populum jus est includere septis:
  Est quoque, qui nono semper ab orbe redit.
Vindicat Ausonias Junonis cura Kalendas:              55
  Idibus alba Jovi grandior agna cadit:
Nonarum tutela deo caret. Omnibus istis
  --Ne fallare, cave--proximus Ater erit.
Omen ab eventu est, illis nam Roma diebus
  Damna sub adverso tristia Marte tulit.              60
Haec mihi dicta semel, totis haerentia fastis,
  Ne seriem rerum scindere cogar, erunt.

Ecce tibi faustum, Germanice, nuntiat annum,
  Inque meo primus carmine Janus adest.
Jane biceps, anni tacite labentis origo,              65
  Solus de superis qui tua terga vides,
Dexter ades ducibus, quorum secura labore
  Otia terra ferax, otia pontus agit.
Dexter ades patribusque tuis, populoque Quirini,
  Et resera nutu Candida templa tuo.                  70
Prospera lux oritur: linguisque animisque favete!
  Nunc dicenda bono sunt bona verba die.
Lite vacent aures, insanaque protinus absint
  Jurgia; differ opus, livida lingua, tuum.
Cernis, odoratis ut luceat ignibus aether,            75
  Et sonet accensis spica Cilissa focis?
Flamma nitore suo templorum verberat aurum,
  Et tremulum summa spargit in aede jubar.
Vestibus intactis Tarpeias itur in arces,
  Et populus festo concolor ipse suo est.             80
Jamque novi praeeunt fasces, nova purpura fulget,
  Et nova conspicuum pondera sentit ebur.
Colla rudes operum praebent ferienda juvenci,
  Quos aluit campis herba Falisca suis.
Jupiter, arce sua totum quum spectet in orbem,        85
  Nil nisi Romanum, quod tueatur, habet.
Salve, laeta dies, meliorque revertere semper,
  A populo rerum digna potente coli!
Quem tamen esse deum te dicam, Jane biformis?
  Nam tibi par nullum Graecia numen habet.            90
Ede simul causam, cur de coelestibus unus,
  Sitque quod a tergo, sitque quod ante, vides.
Haec ego quum sumptis agitarem mente tabellis,
  Lucidior visa est, quam fuit ante, domus.
Tum sacer ancipiti mirandus imagine Janus             95
  Bina repens oculis obtulit ora meis.
Obstupui, sensique metu riguisse capillos,
  Et gelidum subito frigore pectus erat.
Ille tenens dextra baculum, clavemque sinistra,
  Edidit hos nobis ore priore sonos:                 100
Disce, metu posito, vates operose dierum,
  Quod petis, et voces percipe mente meas.
Me Chaos antiqui--nam res sum prisca--vocabant.
  Adspice, quam longi temporis acta canam.
Lucidus hic aër, et, quae tria corpora restant,      105
  Ignis, aquae, tellus, unus acervus erant.
Ut semel haec rerum secessit lite suarum,
  Inque novas abiit massa soluta domos;
Flamma petit altum, propior locus aëra cepit,
  Sederunt medio terra fretumque solo.               110
Tunc ego, qui fueram globus et sine imagine moles,
  In faciem redii dignaque membra deo.
Nunc quoque, confusae quondam nota parva figurae,
  Ante quod est in me, postque videtur idem.
Accipe, quaesitae? quae causa sit altera formae,     115
  Hanc simul ut noris officiumque meum.
Quidquid ubique vides, coelum, mare, nubila, terras,
  Omnia sunt nostra clausa patentque manu.
Me penes est unum vasti custodia mundi,
  Et jus vertendi cardinis omne meum est.            120
Quum libuit Pacem placidis emittere tectis,
  Libera perpetuas ambulat illa vias.
Sanguine letifero totus miscebitur orbis,
  Ni teneant rigidae condita bella serae.
Praesideo foribus coeli cum mitibus Horis:           125
  It, redit officio Jupiter ipse meo.
Inde vocor Janus. Cui quum Cereale sacerdos
  Imponit libum farraque mixta sale,
Nomina ridebis; modo namque Patulcius idem,
  Et modo sacrifice Clusius ore vocor.               130
Scilicet alterno voluit rudis illa vetustas
  Nomine diversas significare vices.
Vis mea narrata est: causam nunc disce figurae;
  Jam tamen hanc aliqua tu quoque parte vides.
Omnis habet geminas hinc atque hinc janua frontes,   135
  E quibus haec populum spectat, at illa Larem.
Utque sedens vester primi prope limina tecti
  Janitor egressus introitusque videt;
Sic ego prospicio, coelestis janitor aulae,
  Eoas partes Hesperiasque simul.                    140
Ora vides Hecates in tres vergentia partes,
  Servet ut in ternas compita secta vias.
Et mihi, ne flexu cervicis tempora perdam,
  Cernere non moto corpore bina licet.
Dixerat, et vultu, si plura requirere vellem,        145
  Se mihi difficilem non fore, fassus erat:
Sumpsi animum, gratesque deo non territus egi,
  Verbaque sum spectans pauca locutus humum:
Dic, age, frigoribus quare novus incipit annus,
  Qui melius per ver incipiendus erat?               150
Omnia tunc florent, tunc est nova temporis aetas,
  Et nova de gravido palmite gemma tumet,
Et modo formatis operitur frondibus arbos,
  Prodit et in summum seminis herba solum,
Et tepidum volucres concentibus aëra mulcent,        155
  Ludit et in pratis luxuriatque pecus.
Tum blandi soles, ignotaque prodit hirundo,
  Et luteum celsa sub trabe fingit opus.
Tum patitur cultus ager, et renovatur aratro.
  Haec anni novitas jure vocanda fuit.               160
Quaesieram multis: non multis ille moratus,
  Contulit in versus sic sua verba duos:
Bruma novi prima est, veterisque novissima solis:
  Principium capiunt Phoebus et annus idem.
Post ea mirabar, cur non sine litibus esset          165
  Prima dies. Causam percipe, Janus ait.
Tempora commisi nascentia rebus agendis,
  Totus ab auspicio ne foret annus iners.
Quisque suas artes ob idem delibat agendo,
  Nec plus quam solitum testificatur opus.           170
Mox ego: Cur, quamvis aliorum numina placem,
  Jane, tibi primo tura merumque fero?
Ut per me possis aditum, qui limina servo,
  Ad quoscumque voles, inquit, habere deos.
At cur laeta tuis dicuntur verba Kalendis,           175
  Et damus alternas accipimusque preces?
Tum deus incumbens baculo, quem dextra gerebat,
  Omina principiis, inquit, inesse solent.
Ad primam vocem timidas advertitis aures,
  Et primum visam consulit augur avem.               180
Templa patent auresque deûm, nec lingua caducas
  Concipit ulla preces, dictaque pondus habent.
Desierat Janus: nec longa silentia feci,
  Sed tetigi verbis ultima verba meis:
Quid vult palma sibi rugosaque carica, dixi,         185
  Et data sub niveo Candida mella cado?
Omen, ait, causa est, ut res sapor ille sequatur,
  Et peragat coeptum dulcis ut annus iter.
Dulcia cur dentur, video: stipis adjice causam,
  Pars mihi de festo ne labet ulla tuo.              190
Risit, et, O quam te fallunt tua saecula, dixit,
  Qui stipe mel sumpta dulcius esse putes!
Vix ego Saturno quemquam regnante videbam,
  Cujus non animo dulcia lucra forent.
Tempore crevit amor, qui nunc est summus, habendi;   195
  Vix ultra, quo jam progrediatur, habet.
Pluris opes nunc sunt, quam prisci temporis annis,
  Dum populus pauper, dura nova Roma fuit,
Dum casa Martigenam capiebat parva Quirinum,
  Et dabat exiguum fluminis ulva torum.              200
Jupiter angusta vix totus stabat in aede,
  Inque Jovis dextra fictile fulmen erat.
Frondibus ornabant, quae nunc Capitolia gemmis,
  Pascebatque suas ipse senator oves;
Nec pudor in stipula placidam cepisse quietem,       205
  Et fenum capiti supposuisse fuit.
Jura dabat populis posito modo consul aratro,
  Et levis argenti lamina crimen erat.
At postquam Fortuna loci caput extulit hujus,
  Et tetigit summos vertice Roma deos;               210
Creverunt et opes, et opum furiosa cupido,
  Et, quum possideant plurima, plura volunt.
Quaerere, ut absumant, absumpta requirere certant:
  Atque ipsae vitiis sunt alimenta vices.
Sic, quibus intumuit suffusa venter ab unda,         215
  Quo plus sunt potae, plus sitiuntur aquae.
In pretio pretium nunc est; dat census honores,
  Census amicitias; pauper ubique jacet.
Tu tamen, auspicium cur sit stipis utile, quaeris,
  Curque juvent nostras aera vetusta manus.          220
Aera dabant olim; melius nunc omen in auro est,
  Victaque concedit prisca moneta novae.
Nos quoque templa juvant, quamvis antiqua probemus,
  Aurea; majestas convenit ista deo.
Laudamus veteres, sed nostris utimur annis;          225
  Mos tamen est aeque dignus uterque coli.
Finierat monitus; placidis ita rursus, ut ante,
  Clavigerum verbis alloquor ipse deum:
Multa quidem didici: sed cur navalis in aere
 Altera signata est, altera forma biceps?            230
Noscere me duplici posses in imagine, dixit,
  Ni vetus ipsa dies extenuaret opus.
Causa ratis superest: Tuscum rate venit in amnem
  Ante pererrato falcifer orbe deus.
Hac ego Saturnum memini tellure receptum;            235
  Coelitibus regnis ab Jove pulsus erat.
Indediu genti mansit Saturnia nomen:
  Dicta quoque est Latium terra, latente deo.
At bona posteritas puppim servavit in aere,
  Hospitis adventum testificata dei.                 240
Ipse solum colui, cujus placidissima laevum
  Radit arenosi Tibridis unda latus.
Hic, ubi nunc Roma est, incaedua silva virebat,
  Tantaque res paucis pascua bubus erat.
Arx mea collis erat, quem cultrix nomine nostro      245
  Nuncupat haec aetas, Janiculumque vocat.
Tunc ego regnabam, patiens quum terra deorum
  Esset, et humanis numina mixta locis.
Nondum Justitiam facinus mortale fugarat:
  --Ultima de superis illa reliquit humum--          250
Proque metu populum sine vi pudor ipse regebat;
  Nullus erat justis reddere jura labor.
Nil mihi cum bello, pacem postesque tuebar.
  Et clavem ostendens, Haec, ait, arma gero.
Presserat ora deus: tune sic ego nostra resolvo,     255
  Voce mea voces eliciente dei:
Quum tot sint Jani, cur stas sacratus in uno,
  Hic ubi juncta foris templa duobus habes?
Ille manu mulcens propexam ad pectora barbam,
  Protinus Oebalii rettulit arma Tati,               260
Utque levis custos armillis capta Sabinis
  Ad summae Tatium duxerit arcis iter.
Inde, velut nunc est, per quem descenditis, inquit,
  Arduus in valles et fora clivus erat.
Et jam contigerat portam, Saturnia cujus             265
  Dempserat oppositas insidiosa seras.
Cum, tanto veritus committere numine pugnam,
  Ipse meae movi callidus artis opus,
Oraque, qua pollens ope sum, fontana reclusi,
  Sumque repentinas ejaculatus aquas.                270
Ante tamen calidis subjeci sulfura venis,
  Clauderet ut Tatio fervidus humor iter.
Cujus ut utilitas pulsis percepta Sabinis,
  Quaeque fuit, tuto reddita forma loco est;
Ara mihi posita est parvo conjuncta sacello:         275
  Haec adolet flammis cum strue farra suis.
At cur pace lates, motisque recluderis armis?
  Nec mora, quaesiti reddita causa mihi.
Ut populo reditus pateant ad bella profecto,
  Tota patet dempta janua nostra sera.               280
Pace fores obdo, ne qua discedere possit:
  Caesareoque diu nomine clausus ero.
Dixit, et, attollens oculos diversa tuentes,
  Adspexit toto quidquid in orbe fuit.
Pax erat, et vestri, Germanice, causa triumphi       285
  Tradiderat famulas jam tibi Rhenus aquas.
Jane, face aeternos pacem pacisque ministros,
  Neve suum, praesta, deserat auctor opus.

Quod tamen ex ipsis licuit mihi discere fastis:
  Sacravere patres hoc duo templa die.               290
Accepit Phoebo Nymphaque Coronide natum
  Insula, dividua quam premit amnis aqua.
Jupiter in parte est; cepit locus unus utrumque,
  Junctaque sunt magno templa nepotis avo.
Quid vetat et stellas, ut quseque oriturque caditque,295
  Dicere? promissi pars fuit ista mei.
Felices animos, quibus hsec cognoscere primis,
  Inque domos superas scandere cura fuit!
Credibile est illos pariter vitiisque locisque
  Altius humanis exseruisse caput.                   300
Non Venus et vinum sublimia pectora fregit,
  Officiumve fori, militiaeve labor.
Nec levis ambitio, perfusaque gloria fuco,
  Magnarumve fames sollicitavit opum.
Admovere oculis distantia sidera nostris,            305
  Aetheraque ingenio supposuere suo.
Sic petitur coelum, non ut ferat Ossan Olympus,
  Summaque Peliacus sidera tangat apex.
Nos quoque sub ducibus coelum metabimur illis,
  Ponemusque suos ad stata signa dies.               310

Ergo ubi nox aderit venturis tertia Nonis,
  Sparsaque coelesti rore madebit humus;
Octipedis frustra quaeruntur brachia Cancri:
  Praeceps occiduas ille subivit aquas.

Institerint Nonae, missi tibi nubibus atris          315
  Signa dabunt imbres, exoriente Lyra.

Quattuor adde dies ductos ex ordine Nonis,
  Janus _Agonali_ luce piandus erit.
Nominis esse potest succinctus causa minister,
  Hostia coelitibus quo feriente cadit;              320
Qui calido strictos tincturus sanguine cultros,
  Semper, _Agatne_, rogat; nec nisi jussus agit.
Pars, quia non veniant pecudes, sed agantur, ab actu
  Nomen _Agonalem_ credit habere diem.
Pars putat hoc festum priscis _Agnalia_ dictum,      325
  Una sit ut proprio littera dempta loco.
An, quia praevisos in aqua timet hostia cultros,
  A pecoris lux est ista notata metu?
Pars etiam, fieri solitis aetate priorum
  Nomina de ludis Graia tulisse diem.                330
Et pecus antiquus dicebat _Agonia_ sermo:
  Veraque judicio est ultima causa meo.
Utque ea nunc certa est, ita Rex placare Sacrorum
  Numina lanigerae conjuge debet ovis.
_Victima_, quae dextra cecidit victrice, vocatur;    335
  Hostibus amotis _hostia_ nomen habet.
Ante, deos homini quod conciliare valeret,
  Far erat, et puri lucida mica salis.
Nondum pertulerat lacrimatas cortice myrrhas
  Acta per aequoreas hospita navis aquas;            340
Tura nec Euphrates, nec miserat India costum,
  Nec fuerant rubri cognita fila croci.
Ara dabat fumos, herbis contenta Sabinis,
  Et non exiguo laurus adusta sono.
Si quis erat, factis prati de flore coronis          345
  Qui posset violas addere, dives erat.
Hic, qui nunc aperit percussi viscera tauri,
  In sacris nullum culter habebat opus.
Prima Ceres avidae gavisa est sanguine porcae,
  Ulta suas merita caede nocentis opes.              350
Nam sata, vere novo, teneris lactentia succis,
  Eruta setigerae comperit ore suis.
Sus dederat poenas. Exemplo territus hujus
  Palmite debueras abstinuisse, caper.
Quem spectans aliquis dentes in vite prementem,      355
  Talia non tacito dicta dolore dedit:
Rode, caper, vitem: tamen huic, quum stabis ad aram,
  In tua quod spargi cornua possit, erit.
Verba fides sequitur: noxae tibi deditus hostis
  Spargitur affuso cornua, Bacche, mero.             360
Culpa sui nocuit: nocuit quoque culpa capellae.
  Quid bos, quid placidae commeruistis oves?
Flebat Aristaeus, quod apes cum stirpe necatas
  Viderat inceptos destituisse favos.
Caerula quem genitrix aegre solata dolentem,         365
  Addidit haec dictis ultima verba suis:
Siste, puer, lacrimas! Proteus tua damna levabit,
  Quoque modo repares, quae periere, dabit.
Decipiat ne te versis tamen ille figuris,
  Impediant geminas vincula firma manus.             370
Pervenit ad vatem juvenis, resolutaque somno
  Alligat aequorei brachia capta senis.
Ille sua faciem transformis adulterat arte:
  Mox domitus vinclis in sua membra redit,
Oraque caerulea tollens rorantia barba,              375
  Qua, dixit, repares arte, requiris, apes,
Obrue mactati corpus tellure juvenci:
  Quod petis a nobis, obrutus ille dabit.
Jussa facit pastor. Fervent examina putri
  De bove: mille animas una necata dedit.            380
Poscit ovem fatum. Verbenas improba carpsit,
  Quas pia dis ruris ferre solebat anus.
Quid tuti superest, animam quum ponat in aris
  Lanigerumque pecus, ruricolaeque boves?
Placat equo Persis radiis Hyperiona cinctum,         385
  Ne detur celeri victima tarda deo.
Quod semel est triplici pro virgine caesa Dianae,
  Nunc quoque pro nulla virgine cerva datur.
Exta canum vidi Triviae libare Sapaeos,
  Et quicumque tuas accolit, Haeme, nives.           390
Caeditur et rigido custodi ruris asellus.
  Causa pudenda quidem est, huic tamen apta deo.
Festa corymbiferi celebrabat Graecia Bacchi,
  Tertia quae solito tempore bruma refert.
Di quoque cultores gelidi venere Lycaei,             395
  Et quicumque joci non alienus erat:
Panes, et in Venerem Satyrorum prona juventus,
  Quaeque colunt amnes solaque rura deae.
Venerat et senior pando Silenus asello,
  Quique rubro pavidas inguine terret aves.          400
Dulcia qui dignum nemus in convivia nacti
  Gramine vestitis accubuere toris.
Vina dabat Liber: tulerat sibi quisque coronam.
  Miscendas parce rivus agebat aquas.
Naïdes effusis aliae sine pectinis usu,              405
  Pars aderant positis arte manuque comis.
Illa super suras tunicam collecta ministrat,
  Altera dissuto pectus aperta sinu.
Exserit haec humerum, vestem trahit illa per herbas,
  Impediunt teneros vincula nulla pedes.             410
Hinc aliae Satyris incendia mitia praebent:
  Pars tibi, qui pinu tempora nexa geris.
Te quoque, inexstinctae Silene libidinis, urunt.
  Nequitia est, quae te non sinit esse senem.
At ruber hortorum deus et tutela Priapus             415
  Omnibus ex illis Lotide captus erat.
Hanc cupit, hanc optat: sola suspirat in illa:
  Signaque dat nutu, sollicitatque notis.
Fastus inest pulchris, sequiturque superbia formam.
  Irrisum vultu despicit illa suo.                   420
Nox erat, et, vino somnum faciente, jacebant
  Corpora diversis victa sopore locis.
Lotis herbosa sub acernis ultima ramis,
  Sicut erat lusu fessa, quievit humo.
Surgit amans, animamque tenens vestigia furtim       425
  Suspenso digitis fert taciturna gradu.
Ut tetigit niveae secreta cubilia Nymphae,
  Ipsa sui flatus ne sonet aura, cavet.
Et jam finitima corpus librabat in herba:
  Illa tamen multi plena soporis erat.               430
Gaudet, et, a pedibus tracto velamine, vota
  Ad sua felici coeperat ire via.
Ecce rudens rauco Sileni vector asellus
  Intempestivos edidit ore sonos.
Territa consurgit Nymphe, manibusque Priapum         435
  Rejicit, et fugiens concitat omne nemus.
Morte dedit poenas auctor clamoris: et hinc est
  Hellespontiaco victima grata deo.                  440
Intactae fueratis aves, solatia ruris,
  Assuetum silvis innocuumque genus,
Quae facitis nidos, quae plumis ova fovetis,
  Et facili dulces editis ore modos.
Sed nihil ista juvant, quia linguae crimen habetis,  445
  Dique putant mentes vos aperire suas.
Nec tamen id falsum: nam, dis ut proxima quaeque,
  Nunc penna veras, nunc datis ore notas.
Tuta diu volucrum proles tum denique caesa est,
  Juveruntque deos indicis exta sui.                 450
Ergo saepe suo conjux abducta marito
  Uritur in calidis alba columba focis.
Nec defensa juvant Capitolia, quo minus anser
  Det jecur in lances, Inachi lauta, tuas.
Nocte deae Nocti cristatus caeditur ales,            455
  Quod tepidum vigili provocat ore diem.
Interea Delphin clarum super aequora sidus
  Tollitur, et patriis exserit ora vadis.

Postera lux hiemen medio discrimine signat,
  Aequaque praeteritae, quae superabit, erit.        460

Proxima prospiciet Tithono Aurora relicto
  Arcadiae sacrum pontificale deae.
Te quoque lux eadem, Turni soror, aede recepit,
  Hic ubi Virginea campus obitur aqua.
Unde petam causas horum moremque sacrorum?           465
  Dirigat in medio quis mea vela freto?
Ipsa mone, quae nomen habes a carmine ductum,
  Propositoque fave, ne tuus erret honos.
Orta prior Luna,--de se si creditur ipsi--
  A magno tellus Arcade nomen habet.                 470
Hic fuit Evander, qui, quamquam clarus utroque,
  Nobilior sacra; sanguine matris erat,
Quae, simul aetherios animo conceperat ignes,
  Ore dabat vero carmina plena dei.
Dixerat haec, nato motus instare sibique,            475
  Multaque praeterea, tempore nacta fidem.
Nam juvenis vera nimium cum matre fugatus
  Deserit Arcadiam Parrhasiumque larem.
Cui genitrix flenti, Fortuna viriliter, inquit,
  --Siste, puer, lacrimas!--ista ferenda tibi est.   480
Sic erat in fatis, nec te tua culpa fugavit,
  Sed deus; offenso pulsus es urbe deo.
Non meriti poenam pateris, sed numinis iram,
  Est aliquid magnis crimen abesse malis.
Conscia mens ut cuique sua est, ita concipit intra   485
  Pectora pro facto spemque metumque suo.
Nec tamen ut primus maere mala talia passus;
  Obruit ingentes ista procella viros.
Passus idem, Tyriis qui quondam pulsus ab oris
  Cadmus in Aonia constitit exsul humo.              490
Passus idem Tydeus, et idem Pagasaeus Iason,
  Et quos praeterea longa referre mora est.
Omne solum forti patria est, ut piscibus sequor,
  Ut volucri, vacuo quidquid in orbe patet.
Nec fera tempestas toto tamen horret in anno,        495
  Et tibi--crede mihi--tempora veris erunt.
Vocibus Evander firmata mente parentis
  Nave secat fluctus, Hesperiamque tenet.
Jamque ratem doctae monitu Carmentis in amnem
  Egerat, et Tuscis obvius ibat aquis.               500
Fluminis illa latus, cui sunt vada juncta Terenti,
  Adspicit, et sparsas per loca sola casas.
Utque erat, immissis puppim stetit ante capillis,
  Continuitque manum torva regentis iter;
Et procul in dextram tendens sua brachia ripam,      505
  Pinea non sano ter pede texta ferit;
Neve daret saltum properans insistere terrae,
  Vix est Evandri vixque retenta manu;
Dique petitorum, dixit, salvete locorum,
  Tuque novos coelo terra datura deos,               510
Fluminaque, et Fontes, quibus utitur hospita tellus,
  Et nemorum Nymphae, Naiadumque chori!
Este bonis avibus visi natoque mihique,
  Ripaque felici tacta sit ista pede!
Fallor? an hi fient ingentia moenia colles,          515
  Juraque ab hac terra cetera terra petet?
Montibus his olim totus promittitur orbis.
  Quis tantum fati credat habere locum?
Et jam Dardaniae tangent haec litora pinus.
  Hic quoque causa novi femina Martis erit.          520
Care nepos, Palla, funesta quid induis arma?
  Indue: non humili vindice caesus eris.
Victa tamen vinces, eversaque Troja resurges;
  Obruet hostiles ista ruina domos.
Urite victrices Neptunia Pergama flammae:            525
  Num minus hic toto est altior orbe cinis?
Jam pius Aeneas sacra, et sacra altera patrem,
  Afferet: Iliacos excipe, Vesta, deos.
Tempus erit, quum vos orbemque tuebitur idem,
  Et fient ipso sacra colente deo:                   530
Et penes Augustos patriae tutela manebit.
  Hanc fas imperii frena tenere domum.
Inde nepos natusque dei--licet ipse recuset--
  Pondera coelesti mente paterna feret.
Utque ego perpetuis olim sacrabor in aris,           535
  Sic Augusta novum Julia numen erit.
Talibus ut dictis nostros descendit ad annos,
  Substitit in medios praescia lingua sonos.
Puppibus egressus Latia stetit exsul in herba.
  Felix, exsilium cui locus ille fuit!               540
Nec mora longa fuit; stabant nova tecta, nec alter
  Montibus Ausoniis Arcade major erat.
Ecce boves illuc Erytheïdas applicat heros,
  Emensus longi claviger orbis iter.
Dumque huic hospitium domus est Tegeaea, vagantur    545
  Incustoditae laeta per arva boves.
Mane erat: excussus somno Tirynthius hospes
  De numero tauros sentit abesse duos.
Nulla videt taciti quaerens vestigia furti:
  Traxerat aversos Cacus in antra ferox;             550
Cacus, Aventinae timor atque infamia silvae,
  Non leve finitimis hospitibusque malum.
Dira viro facies, vires pro corpore, corpus
  Grande, pater monstri Mulciber hujus erat;
Proque domo longis spelunca recessibus ingens,       555
  Abdita, vix ipsis invenienda feris.
Ora super postes affixaque brachia pendent,
 Squalidaque humanis ossibus albet humus.
Servata male parte boum Jove natus abibat:
  Mugitum ranco furta dedere sono.                   560
Accipio revocamen, ait, vocemque secutus
  Impia per silvas ultor ad antra venit.
Ille aditum fracti praestruxerat objice montis:
  Vix juga movissent quinque bis illud onus.
Nititur hic humeris,--coelum quoque sederat illis--  565
  Et vastum motu collabefactat onus.
Quod simul evulsum est, fragor aethera terruit ipsum,
  Ictaque subsedit pondere molis humus.
Prima movet Cacus collata proelia dextra,
  Remque ferox saxis stipitibusque gerit.            570
Quis ubi nil agitur, patris malo fortis ad artes
  Confugit, et flammas ore sonante vomit.
Quas quoties proflat, spirare Typhoëa credas,
  Et rapidum aetnaeo fulgur ab igne jaci.
Occupat Alcides, adductaque clava trinodis           575
  Ter quater adversi sedit in ore viri.
Ille cadit, mixtosque vomit cum sanguine fumos,
  Et lato moriens pectore plangit humum.
Immolat ex illis taurum tibi, Jupiter, unum
  Victor, et Evandrum ruricolasque vocat,            580
Constituitque sibi, quae Maxima dicitur, aram,
  Hic ubi pars urbis de bove nomen habet.
Nec tacet Evandri mater, prope tempus adesse,
  Hercule quo tellus sit satis usa suo.
At felix vates, ut dîs gratissima vixit,             585
  Possidet hunc Jani sic dea mense diem.

Idibus in magni castus Jovis aede sacerdos
  Semimaris flammis viscera libat ovis:
Redditaque est omnis populo provincia nostro,
  Et tuus Augusto nomine dictus avus.                590
Perlege dispositas generosa per atria ceras;
  Contigerunt nulli nomina tanta viro.
Africa victorem de se vocat: alter Isauras,
  Aut Cretum domitas testificatur opes;
Hunc Numidae faciunt, illum Messana superbum;        595
  Ille Numantina traxit ab urbe notam.
Et mortem et nomen Druso Germania fecit.
  Me miserum, virtus quam brevis illa fuit!
Si petat a victis, tot sumat nomina Caesar,
  Quot numero gentes maximus orbis habet.            600
Ex uno quidam celebres, aut torquis ademptae,
  Aut corvi titulos auxiliaris habent.
Magne, tuum nomen rerum mensara tuarum est:
  Sed qui te vicit, nomine major erat.
Nec gradus est ultra Fabios cognominis ullus;        605
  Illa domus meritis Maxima dicta suis.
Sed tamen humanis celebrantur honoribus omnes:
 Hic socium summo cum Jove nomen habet.
Sancta vocant _augusta_, patres: _augusta_ vocantur
  Templa sacerdotum rite dicata manu.                610
Hujus et augurium dependet origine verbi,
  Et quodcumque sua Jupiter auget ope.
Augeat imperium nostri ducis, augeat annos:
  Protegat et vestras querna corona fores.
Auspicibusque deis tanti cognominis heres            615
  Omine suscipiat, quo pater, orbis onus.

Respiciet Titan actas ubi tertius Idus,
  Fient Parrhasiae sacra relata deae.
Nam prius Ausonias matres carpenta vehebant:
  --Haec quoque ab Evandri dicta parente reor--      620
Mox honor eripitur, matronaque destinat omnis
  Ingratos nulla prole novare viros;
Neve daret partus, ictu temeraria caeco
  Visceribus crescens excutiebat onus.
Corripuisse patres ausas immitia nuptas,             625
  Jus tamen exemptum restituisse, ferunt.
Binaque nunc pariter Tegeaeae sacra parenti
  Pro pueris fieri virginibusque jubent.
Scortea non illi fas est inferre sacello,
  Ne violent puros exanimata focos.                  630
Si quis amas ritus veteres, assiste precanti:
  Nomina percipies non tibi nota prius,
Porrima placantur Postvertaque, sive sorores,
  Sive fugae comites, Maenali Nympha, tuae.
Altera, quod porro fuerat, cecinisse putatur:        635
  Altera, versurum postmodo quidquid erat.

Candida te niveo posuit lux proxima templo,
  Qua fert sublimes alta Moneta gradus:
Nunc bene prospicies Latiam, Concordia, turbam:
  Nunc te sacratae restituere manus.                 640
Furius antiquum populi superator Etrusci
  Voverat, et voti solverat ante fidem.
Causa, quod a patribus sumptis secesserat armis
  Vulgus, et ipsa suas Roma timebat opes.
Causa recens melior: passos Germania crines          645
  Porrigit auspiciis, dux venerande, tuis.
Inde triumphatae libasti munera gentis,
  Templaque fecisti, quam colis ipse, deae.
Haec tua constituit Genitrix et rebus et ara,
  Sola toro magni digna reperta Jovis.               650
Haec ubi transierint, Capricorne, Phoebe, relicto,
  Per juvenis curres signa gerentis aquam.

Septimus hinc Oriens quum se demiserit undis,
  Fulgebit toto jam Lyra nulla polo.
Sidere ab hoc ignis venienti nocte, Leonis           655
  Qui micat in medio pectore, mersus erit.

Ter quater evolvi signantes tempora fastos,
  Nec Sementiva est ulla reperta dies:
Quum mihi--sensit enim--Lux haec indicitur, inquit
  Musa: quid a fastis non stata sacra petis?         660
Utque dies incerta sacro, sic tempora certa,
  Seminibus jactis est ubi fetus ager.
State coronati plenum ad praesepe juvenci,
  Cum tepido vestrum vere redibit opus.
Rusticus emeritum palo suspendat aratrum:            665
  Omne reformidat frigida vulnus humus.
Villice, da requiem terrae, semente peracta:
  Da requiem, terram qui coluere, viris,
Pagus agat festum; pagum lustrate, coloni,
  Et date paganis annua liba focis.                  670
Placentur matres frugum, Tellusque, Ceresque,
  Farre suo gravidae visceribusque suis.
Officium commune Ceres et Terra tuentur;
  Haec praebet causam frugibus, illa locum.
Consortes operum, per quas correcta vetustas,        675
  Quernaque glans victa est utiliore cibo,
Frugibus immensis avidos satiate colonos,
  Ut capiant cultus praemia digna sui.
Vos date perpetuos teneris sementibus auctus,
  Nec nova per gelidas herba sit usta nives.         680
Quum serimus, coelum ventis aperite serenis;
  Quum latet, aetheria spargite semen aqua;
Neve graves cultis Cerealia dona, cavete,
  Agmine laesuro depopulentur aves.
Vos quoque subjectis, formicae, parcite granis:      685
  Post messem praedae copia major erit.
Interea crescat scabrae robiginis expers,
  Nec vitio coeli palleat aegra seges,
Et neque deficiat macie, neque pinguior sequo
  Divitiis pereat luxuriosa suis;                    690
Et careant loliis oculos vitiantibus agri;
  Nec sterilis culto surgat avena solo.
Triticeos fetus, passuraque farra bis ignem,
  Hordeaque ingenti fenore reddat ager.
Hoc ego pro vobis, hoc vos optate coloni,            695
  Efficiatque ratas utraque diva preces.
Bella diu tenuere viros: erat aptior ensis
  Vomere: cedebat taurus arator equo.
Sarcula cessabant, versique in pila ligones,
  Factaque de rastri pondere cassis erat.            700
Gratia dîs domuique tuae! religata catenis
  Jampridem nostro sub pede bella jacent.
Sub juga bos veniat, sub terras semen aratas.
  Pax Cererem nutrit: pacis alumna Ceres.

At quae venturas praecedet sexta Kalendas,           705
  Hac sunt Ledaeis templa dicata deis.
Fratribus illa deis fratres de gente deorum
  Circa Juturnae composuere lacus.

Ipsum nos carmen deducit Pacis ad aram.
  Haec erit a mensis fine secunda dies.              710
Frondibus Actiacis comptos redimita capillos
  Pax ades, et toto mitis in orbe mane.
Dum desunt hostes, desit quoque causa triumphi.
  Tu ducibus bello gloria major eris.
Sola gerat miles, qnibus arma coërceat, arma,        715
  Canteturque fera, nil nisi pompa, tuba,
Horreat aeneadas et primus et ultimus orbis:
  Si qua parum Romam terra timebit, amet.
Tura, sacerdotes, pacalibus addite flammis,
  Albaque percussa victima fronte cadat:             720
Utque domus, quae praestat eam, cum pace perennet,
  Ad pia propensos vota rogate deos.
Sed jam prima mei pars est exacta laboris,
  Cumque suo finem mense libellus habe.


NOTES: (numbers refer to lines)

1. _Tempora_ in Virgil. (Ecl. iii. 42. Geor. i. 257,) is the seasons,
here it denotes the festivals and other remarkable days of the year.--
_Latium_, adj. Latin, _Latius annus_ is the solar year.

2. _Lapsa ortaque signa_. The subject of the poem is the Roman festivals,
and the rising and setting of the constellations. See Introduction, § 1.

3. _Caesar Germ_, son of Drusus Claudius Nero, and nephew of Tiberius, by
whom he was adopted at the desire of Augustus. See Tacit. Annal II. 73.
Suet. Calig. 1-4.--_Pacato vultu_, etc. as if he were a deity.

5. Heinsius and Burmann, following some of the best MSS. read _officii
 ... In tibi devoto munere_, which gives a good sense. Lenz, Mitscherlich
and Krebs, prefer the present reading.

7, 8. See Introd. § 4.

9. _Vobis_, your family, i.e. the Claudii, or rather the Julii, into
which he had been adopted.

10. _Pater_, Tiberius; _avus_, Augustus, who had adopted Tiberius.

11. Germanicus and his brother, the poet says, will perform actions and
receive honors similar to those of Augustus and Tiberius. Drusus was the
son of Tiberius; and therefore, only the adoptive brother of Germanicus.
--_Pictos_. the Fasti, were like all other books, adorned with various
colours.

13. _Aras_. The altars dedicated by Augustus, perhaps the altars raised
to him, Hor. Ep. II. 1. 15. The following line shows the former sense to
be preferable.

15-20. All the terms _annue_, etc. used here, are such as would be
addressed to a deity.--_Laudes_, praiseworthy deeds.--_Tuorum_, like
_vobis_, v. 9.--_Pagina_ for _liber_.--_Movetur_ scil; with awe. He
personifies the book.--_Clario Deo_. There was a celebrated oracle of the
Clarian Apollo, near Colophon, in Asia Minor, which Germanicus himself
once consulted. Tac. Annal. xii. 22.

21, 22. Germanicus had pleaded causes publicly with success, Suet. Cal.
4. Dion. 56. 26.

23-25. He had written Greek comedies, Suet, _ut sup_. He also made a
version of Aratus which is still extant,

26. _Totus annus_, i. e. the whole poem on the year.

27. _Tempora_, the parts of the year, i. e. months and days.--_Cond.
urb_. Romulus.

28. See Introd. § 2.

33, 34. That is ten lunar months.

35, 35. This is putting the effect for the cause, the mourning was for
ten months, because that was the length of the original year.--_Tristia
signa_, the signs of grief, such as avoiding society, wearing mourning,
&c.

37. _Trabeati_, Romulus wore the trabea. Liv. I. 8.

38. _Populis_, i. e. _civibus.--Annua jura daret_, i.e. regulated the
year, v. 27.

40. _Princeps_ head or origin. Venus was the mother of aeneas, Mars the
father of Romulus.

41. See the beginning of Books III and IV.

42. Quinctilis, Sextilis, September, &c.

43. _Nec avitas_, see below II. 19. _et seq_.

45-62. See Introd. § 3.

50. _Qui jam_, &c. a half holiday, the latter part of the day might be
devoted to business.

52. _Honoratus_, as bearing office. It was applied with peculiar
propriety to the Praetor whose edicts were called the _Jus honorarium_.

53. The _Dies comitiales_ on which _cum populo licebat agi_, i. e. laws
might be proposed, &c.--_Septis_ the wooden palings, within which the
people were assembled in the Campus Martius, to pass laws.

54. The Nundinae. Every ninth day the country people came into Rome to
attend the market. By the Hortensian law, these days were made _fasti_ in
order that their rustic disputes might be settled.

55. On all the Kalends the Pontifex Minor and the Regina Sacrorum
sacrificed to Juno who was by some regarded as the moon. For the name
Juno see my Mythology, p. 461.--_Junonis_, Heinsius would read _Junonia_.

56. A sacrifice of a lamb was offered on the Capitol to Jupiter on the
Ides of each month.

57. The Nones were not under the care of any deity.

57-60. The days following the Kalends, Nones and Ides were termed _Atri_,
black or unlucky, as on these days, the Romans had met with their most
memorable defeats at the Cremera, the Allia, and elsewhere. A public
calamity on any particular day of any one month rendered _ater_, that day
in every other month.

61, 62. I say it once for all.

63. For the mythology of Janus, see Mythology, p. 466, _et seq_.

65. _An. tac lab_. denotes the noiseless pace of time.--_Origo_ as the
year began with January.

66. See his figure. Mythology, Plate xii. 4.

67. _Ducibus_, perhaps Tib. and Germ, after the victory gained by the
latter over the Catti and Cherusci, and other German tribes, A.U.C. 770;
it may, however, include Augustus and other generals.

68. Terra ferax, the [Greek: zeidoros arera] of Homer.

69. _Tuis_, Burmann would read _tui_ as it seems awkward to say the
_Patres Jani_ and the Populus Quirini. Quirinus was a name of Janus
(_Janum Quirinum ter clusit_ Suet. Aug. 22.) and Gierig thinks the true
reading might have been _Quirine_. After all it was perhaps the
constraint of the metre that made the poet express himself thus.

70. _Candida templa_, either as being built of marble, or on account of
those who frequented them on festival days, being clad in white. Gierig
inclines to the latter, I should prefer the former sense.

71. _Lin. anim. fav_. [Greek: euphaemeite] by using no words of ill omen
and by admitting no thoughts but what were good.

75. _Odor. ig_. with the frankincense, cinnamon, saffron, &c. which were
burnt on the altars.

76. _Spica Cilissa_, the saffron from Mount Corycus in Cilicia.--
_Spica_, the chives or filaments of the saffron.--_Sonet_, when the
saffron was good it crackled in the fire.

77. _Aurum_, the gilded roof of the temple.

79, 80. _Vest, intact_. with new or white garments, the Roman _toga_ was
white.--_Concolor_, a festal or happy day was metaphorically termed
white.--_Tarp. Arces_, the Capitol. It was the practice ever since A.U.C.
601 for the consuls elect, followed by the people, to go in procession to
the Capitol and offer a sacrifice to Jupiter.

81, 82. The consuls entered on their office on this day.--_Purpura_, the
_toga praetexta_ or _trabea_, worn by magistrates.--_Ebur_, the curule
chair.

83. _Rudis operum_, that had never been worked.

84. _Herba Fal_. &c., the land of Falerii in Etruria, whence the animals
for sacrifice were chiefly brought, the water of the Clitumnus, in
Umbria, was supposed to make them white, Virg. G. II. 146.

85. _Arce_, either the Capitol, or the dome of Heaven, see Met. I. 163.
Virg aen. I. 223.

88. _Pop. rer. pol_. the _Romanos rerum dominos_ of Virgil.

89. The poet here commences his enquiry into the mythology of Janus.

90. There was no deity worshipped in Greece whose attributes were the
same as those of Janus. A curious similarity has been traced out between
him and the Ganesa of India.

93. _Tabellis_, his writing-tables.

94. A usual sign of the presence of a Deity.

100. _Ore priore_, his front face. See his image.

101. _Vat. oper. dier_. Poet engaged on the days.

103. _First_ opinion, Janus was the World.

105-110. Compare Met. I. _init_.

113, 114. His back and front figure were the same, a memorial of the time
when the world was in a chaotic state of confusion, all its parts being
alike. This is a very silly explanation.

115. _Second_ opinion, see below v. 135-140.

116. His office of door-keeper (_Janitor_) of heaven and earth.

120. The _cardines_ of heaven, if they are meant, are the cardinal
points, where according to the poetic creed of the Augustan age there
were doors for the gods to go in and out of heaven. Stat. Theb. i. 158,
vii. 35. x. 1. See Mythology, p. 39.

121. He represents Peace and War as persons in the custody of Janus.--
_Placidis_ as being the abode of Peace.

122. _Perpetuas_, long.

125. See Hom. II. v. 749, _et seq_. Mythology p. 150.

127. _Janus à janua_.

127, 128. _Cereale libum_, the _Janual_, a kind of cake offered to Janus.
Festus _sub. voc.--Imponit_ on the altar.--_Far mix. sal_. the _Mola
salsa_.

129, 130. _Patulcius (à pateo)_ the Opener, _Clusius (à claudo)_ the
Shutter; sacrifical names of Janus.

133. _Vis_ i.e. _officium_.

134. From what I have said you already in part perceive it.

137. _Primi tecti_, the first part of the house, i.e. the entrance.

141, 142. The three-faced Hecate, (see her figure Mythology, Plate III.
2.) was placed at the _triviae_, or the point where a road branched off
(like the Greek capital Y) so that a face looked down each road.

149, 150. The poet naturally asks why the year began in the middle of
winter and not in the spring. This gives him an opportunity of
introducing the following lovely description with which compare, Virg. G.
II. 324, _et seq_. Lucret I. 5, _et seq_. and below III. 236 _et seq_.
IV. 87 _et seq_.

153. _Oper. frond_. Heinsius, Burmann and Gierig on the authority of nine
MSS. read _amicitur vitibus_; four MSS. have _amicitur frondibus_ which I
should feel disposed to prefer.

154. _Seminis herba_ appears to be the corn which had been sown and was
now coming up; one MS. reads _graminis_.

157. _Ignota_, the stranger, as the swallow returns in spring.

158. _Lut. fing. opus_. her clay-built nest: _Fingere_ is the proper term
when speaking of pottery any work in clay.

163. _Bruma_, the winter solstice after which the days begin to lenghten.

165-170. It was usual with all classes of the people to practice a little
at their respective trades, or occupations on the Kalends of January by
way of omen and not for payment. Thus the shoe-maker or the fuller did
some little job or another, the peasant some rural work, pleaders
skirmished a little in the forum, &c,--_Delibat_, i.e. _leviter
attingit_.

171-174. The reason is here required and given, why the Romans when about
to sacrifice to any other of the gods, first made offerings to Janus. The
old historian, Fabius Pictor, said it was because Janus first taught to
use spelt (_far_) and wine in sacrifice. Macrobius says because he was
the first who erected temples to the gods in Italy. Others give other
reasons equally unsatisfactory.

175-182. In our own custom of wishing each other a happy new year, &c.
may still be witnessed, the practice of which the poet here asks the
reason. The _bona verba_ were used for the sake of omen.--_Ulla lingua_,
any tongue which then utters a prayer.--_Caducas_, unavailing.

186, 187. The _strenae_ (Fr. _étrennes_) or New Year's gift--_Palma_,
dates, the fruit of the palm, (_caryotae_) covered with gold leaf, were a
part of the _strenae_.--_Carica_ the [Greek: ischas] or dried fig.--
_Cado_, some MSS. read _favo_.

189. _Stipis_, pieces of money were then as now, a part of the New-year's
gift. Augustus himself, as inscriptions shew, did not scruple to receive
money as his _strenae_ on the Kalends of January, See Suet. Aug. 91.

191-218. The praises of ancient simplicity, and censure of the vices of
his own times,--a common place with Ovid and the other poets.

191. _Quam te fallunt_, etc. How little you know the character of your
own times.

193, 194. Such was hardly the case even in the golden age.

_Pris. tem. an_. In the years of the olden time.

199. _Martigena_, Mars-begotten, like _terrigena_, etc.

201. _Angusta aede_, either the temple of Jupiter Feretrius, built by
Romulus on the Capitol, and which was not quite fifteen feet long, or
that built by Numa, or rather any temple of those ancient times.--_Vix
totus stabat_ seems to mean that the statue was in a sitting posture, and
the roof of the temple so low, that it would not admit of its being
placed erect in it.

202. _Fictile fulmen_. The images of the gods at Rome, in those times,
were of baked clay, manufactured in Etruria. Even the four-horse chariot
which was placed on the Capitoline temple, when first built, was of baked
clay. Niebuhr, Rom. Hist. I. 491.

208. _Levis lamina_ is employed to express more strongly the simplicity
of those days, as if the possession of even the smallest quantity of the
precious metals was a crime. Fabricius, when censor, A.U.C. 478, put out
of the senate Cornel. Rufinus, who had been twice consul and dictator,
for having ten pounds weight of wrought silver.

210. Rome would appear to be personified in this place.

212, 213. The union of luxury and avarice, Sallust Cat. 5 and 12. They
vie in gaining what they may consume, in regaining, what they have
consumed, and these very alternations (of avarice and luxury) are the
aliment (or support) of (these) vices.

215, 216. The usual comparison of avarice to the dropsy. See Hor. Carm.
II. 2. 13.

217, 218. _In pret. pret_. a play on words.--_Dat census_, etc. Hor.
Epist. I. 6.

219. _cur sit_. Heinsius, Burmann and Gierig, read _si sit_.--_Quaeris_,
means you will probably ask, or you wish to know, for the poet had not
yet asked the question.--_Ausp. utile_, a good omen.

220. _Aera vestua_, the _stips_ or _as_. was a copper coin. In the old
times, the Romans had none but copper money. See Neibuhr, Rom. Hist. I.
449 _et seq_.

223. _Nos_, we, the gods, or I, Janus.

226. The manners of each time are suited to it, and should be followed.

227. _Munitus_, acc. plur. of the substantive. Five MSS. read _manitis_.

229, 230. The old Roman coin bore on one side the figure of a ship; on
the other, a two-headed Janus.

232. The impression on the old coins was, of course, often effaced by
time and use.

234. _Falcifer_ Saturn. See Mythology, p. 465, Virg. aen. viii. 315 _et
seq_.

241. The Janiculum on the left, or Tuscan bank of the Tiber. See vv. 245,
246.

242. _Aren. Tib_. the _flavus Tib_. of Horace, Carm. I. 3.--_Radit_, like
_rodet_ and _mordet_, is very appropriately applied to a stream. See Hor.
Carm. I. 22, 8.

243. Virg. aen. viii. 314. Propert, iv. 1. Tibul. II. 5, 25. This contrast
of the former and the present state of the Seven Hills, was a favorite
theme with poets of the Augustan age.--_Incaedua_ uncut, i.e. ancient,
denoting in general a wood, which was an object of religious awe and
veneration.

245. _Arx_. The dwelling of the princes of the heroic ages was usually on
an eminence, like the castles of the feudal chiefs of the middle ages.

247, 248. In the golden age.

249, 250. See Met. I. 89, _et seq_. 150. Hesiod [Greek: herga] 195.
Mythology, 258-262.

251. Pudor, [Greek: Aidos].

257, 258. The Romans gave the name of _Jani_ to arches, like that of
Templebar, in London, under which people passed from one street into
another. They were always double, people entering by one and going out
the other, every one keeping to the right. Lenz, understands by _Jani_,
in this place, temples of Janus, of which there were three at Rome.--
_Stas_ sacratus_ have a statue. _For. duob_. the fish and the ox-market.
This temple was built by Duilius.

260. _Oebalii_, alluding to the fancied descent of the Sabines, from the
Lacedaemmonians, one of whose ancient kings Oebalus is said to have been.
_Tati_--One MS. reads _Titi_, which Heinsius and Gierig adopted. for this
story, see Met. xiv. 771 _et seq_. and Livy I 11.

261. _Levis custos_ Tarpeia.--_levis_, light-minded.

264. _Arduus clivus_, a steep path.

265. _Portam_, the Palantine gate.--_Saturnia_, Juno.

267. _Tanto numine_ Scil. Juno.

268. _Meae artis_, that is, of openings.

269. He caused streams of hot sulphurous water to gush out of the groung.

274. When after the repulse of the Sabines, the hot waters ceased to
flow, and the place became as it was before.

275, 276. This earliest temple was exceedingly small, containing nothing
but a statue of the god, five feet high. Procopius (de Bell. Goth.)
describes it. _Strue_. The _strues_--was a kind of cake.

277. The well known circumstance of the temple of Janus being open in
time of war, closed in time of peace.

279-281. For what is probably the true reason, see Niebuhr's Roman
History, I. 287, or Mythology, p. 467.

283. _Diversa tuentes_, on account of his two faces.

285, 286. This was A.U.C. 770, when on the vii. Kal. Jun. Germanicus
triumphed over the Catti, the Cherusci, and the Angivarii, Tacit. An. II.
4l.--_Fam. Rhe. aq_. the river, as was usual with the poets, put for the
people who dwelt on its banks, to denote that the Germans now obeyed
Rome.

287. _Face_, fac.--_Ministros pacis_, Tiberius and Germanicus.

288. May not he (Germ. or Tib.) who has procured this peace for the
empire, break it by resuming arms.

289, 290. The poet now ceases to discourse with Janus, and informs the
reader of what he had found in the Fasti, namely, that two temples had
been consecrated, at different times, on the Kalends of January.

291, 292. A.U.C. 462, in consequence of a plague at Rome, by the
direction of the Sybelline books, an embassy was sent to Epidaurus, and
one of the serpents sacred to Aesculapius was brought to Rome; a temple
was built to the god on the island in the Tiber. See Met. xv. 622--744.
_Ph. n_. _Cor. nat_. Aesculapius. See Mythology, p. 384.

293, 294. _In parte est_, is a sharer in the day and place. The temple of
Jupiter in the island was dedicated by C. Servilius Duumvir, some time
after the second Punic war.

295-310. Being now for the first time about to perform the other part of
his promise, namely, to note the risings and settings of the stars, he
prefaces it by the praises of the astronomers. See Introd. § 1.

299, 300. As the study of astronomy elevates the mind above the
terrestrial abode of men, so it raises, or should raise it, above all
mean and groveling pursuits and ideas.

305. They have brought the distant stars to our eyes. Gierig, following
one MS. for _nostris_, reads _terris_, a reading which Burmann approved,
though he did not adopt it.

307, 308. Alluding to the Alodïes, Otus and Ephialtes, Hom. Od. xi.
304-316. Virg. G. I. 280. Hor. Carm. III. 4, 49.

311-314. The cosmic setting of Cancer, on the morning of the 3rd January,
the third before the Nones. See Introd. §. 1.

316. The cosmic rising of Lyra, which was usually attended with rain.

317, 318. On the 9th January was celebrated the festival of Jannus, named
the Agonia or Agonalia, the origin of which name the poet now proceeds to
discuss.

319-322. One etymon was _ago_, to do, as the _popa_ or officiating
minister of the altar cried _Agone_? Shall I act? before he struck the
victim.--_Agatne_. Four of the best MSS. read _Agone_; they are followed
by Heinsius, Burmann and Gierig.

323, 324. A second from _agor_, because the victims were _led_ to the
altar. Both equally silly.

325. a third; _quasi_ Agnalia from _Agna_.

327, 328. A fourth from the Greek [Greek: agonia, agoniazein]--_In aqua_,
the vessels of water by the altar in which the knives were placed.

329, 330. A fifth from the Greek [Greek: agones] _ludi_.

331. A sixth, which the poet approves, from _Agonia_, an old name for
cattle.

333, 334. A ram was the victim offered on this day by the Rex Sacrorum.

335, 336. Two trifling etymoligies. The _victima_, he intimates, was
offered after a victory; the _hostia_, in time of peace, when there was
no enemy, _hostibus amotis_. Krebs reads _a motis_: almost all the MSS.
_a domitis_.

337-456. A long digression on the origin and causes of the various
sacrifices offered to the gods.

338. The _Mola salsa_.--_Pura_ because it purifies or keeps from decay.

340. _Hospita navis_, a foreign ship.

343. _Herbis Sabinis_. The _Savin_, called by the Greeks [Greek: brathu].
_Duorum generum est_, says Pliny, _altera tamaraci similis folio, altera
cupresso_.

344. A loud crackling of the leaves of the bay or laurel in the fire was
a good omen.

347. This was in the golden age, before animals were slain in honor of
the gods.

349. He now proceeds to explain how the altars came to be stained with
the blood of animals. This was caused chiefly by the anger of the gods,
on account of the mischief which they did.

357. [Greek: Kaen me phagaes epi rizan, omos eti karpophoraeoo Osson
epispeisai soi, trage, Ouomeno], Euenus in Anthol. Gr. T. I. p. 165,
_Jacobs_.

363. _Aristaeus_, the son of Apollo, by the nymph Cyrene. See Virg. G.
iv. 281-558. Mythology, p. 294-296. This tale, after all, gives not the
reason why the ox was offered in sacrifice.

381. Some popular legend probably assigned this silly cause.--_Verbena_,
herbs gathered in a sacred place.

385. _Persis_, Persia.--_Hyperiona_, the Persian Mithras, the presiding
deity of the Sun, identified by the Greeks with their god Helius, also
called Hyperion.

387. _Quod_, because; given by Heinsius from the best MSS. others read
_quaae.--_Trip. Dianae_, identifying her with Hecate. See above, v. 41.--
_Virgine_, Iphigenia.

389. _Sapaeos_, a people of Thrace. Herod, vii. 110. Most MSS. have
Sabaeos, or Saphaeos, but incorrectly.--_Vidi_. When Ovid was going into
exile, at Tomi, A.U.C. 763, he passed through Thrace.

391. _Custodi ruris_, Priapus. This god who was chiefly worshiped at
Lampsacus, was said to be the offspring of Bacchus and Venus. See
Mythology, p. 205.

393. _Festa_, etc. the Trieterides, celebrated once in every three
years.--_Corymbiferi_, Bacchus was frequently represented crowned with
bunches of ivy-berries. Some MSS. read _racemiferi_.--_Celebrabat_,
Heinsius, Burmann and Gierig, read _celebrabas_, on the authority of two
MSS.

395. _Di cultores Lycaei_. Scil. the Pans and Satyrs, the gods of Arcadia.
Gierig, on the authority of some of the best MSS. reads _Lyaei_. For Pan,
etc. see Mythology, p. 198-205.

398. The Naïdes and other nymphs.

400. Priapus.

403. _Parce_ is to be joined with _miscendas_.

407. That is, _succincta_.

410. _Vincula nulla_, they were barefoot. It is to be recollected that in
the heroic ages, after which the poets modelled the life of the gods, the
attendants at meals were females.

412. Pan.

414. _Nequitia_, lust.

420. She evinces her haughty contempt of him by her looks.

423. _Ultima_, the most remote.

425. _Animam_, his breath.

426. _Digitis_ scil _pedis_, his toes. A beautiful description of one
stealing on tip-toe.

436. _Omne nemus_, all the gods in the grove.

440. _Hellesp. Deo_. Priapus, the god of Lampsacus, on the Hellespont.

445. _Linguae crimen_. Still ascribing a revengeful character to the
gods, he supposes them to be pleased with the sacrifice of the birds, who
revealed their intentions to mankind.

447. _Dis ut proxima_. Flying high towards heaven. "Ye birds, That
singing up to heaven gate ascend."--Milton.

448. _Penna_, the _Praepetes_; _ore_, the _oscines_, as they were styled
in language of augury.

453. See Liv. v. 47, for this well-known story.

454. _Inachi lauta_. Isis the Egyptian deity, supposed to be the same
with Io, the daughter of the river-god, Inachus. See Met. I. 747, _et
seq_. Mythology, 367.--_Lauta_, dainty, as _lautioribus cibis utens_,
such as the livers of geese. Isis was much worshiped at Rome at this
time.

455. _Deae Nocti_. A cock was sacrificed to Night, as being odious to
her.--_Ales_, like the Greek [Greek: ornis], the _bird_ [Greek: kat
exochaen].

456. _Tepidum diem_, the dawn, warm after the chill of the night.--
_Provocat_, calls forth.

457. The cosmic rising of the Dolphin, on the ninth of January.

459. _Postera lux_, the tenth of January, which, according to the poet,
was the _bruma_, or middle of winter. Columella and Ptolemy place it on
the 4th January, the day before the Nones; Pliny, xviii. 5, makes it the
viii. Kal. Jan. or 25th December.

461. _Aurora_. Heinsius, Burmann and Gierig read _nupta_, on the
authority of seven MSS.

462. The Carmentalia, on the 10th, or III. Id. of January.--_Arcad.
deae_. Carmenta, the mother of Evander; her altar was at the Carmental
gate, at the foot of the Capitol.

463. _Turni soror_, Juturna. See Virg. aen. xii. 134, _et seq_.

464. The temple of Juturna stood in the Campus Martius, by the _Aqua
Virgo_, which Agrippa had brought thither on account of its excellence.

467. _Quae nomen_, etc. Scil. Carmenta.

496, 470. _Orta_, etc. The Arcadians called themselves [Greek:
proselaenous] as having existed before the Moon.--_Tellus_, scil.
_gens_.--_Areade_, Arcas, the son of Jupiter and Callisto. See Met. II.
401, _et seq_. Mythology, p. 387.

471. Evander was the son of Mercury and Carmenta. According to Servius,
on the aeneis, his father was Echemus, and I am inclined to think that
Ovid followed this last genealogy.

473. _aetherios ignes_, the inspiration of the god.

474. _Plena_ may be joined either with _carmina_, or with the nominative
to _dabat_.

475. _Motus_, civil discord.

475. Time verified her predictions.

478. _Parrhasium_, for Arcadian, part for the whole. Evander dwelt at
Pallantium.

490. See Met. III. _init_. Mythology, 291.

491. Iason is always a trisyllable. For Tydeus and Jason, see Mythology
under their names.

493. [Greek: Apas men aaer aieto perasimos, Apasa de chthon andri gennaio
patris]. Eurip. frag. Comp. Hor. Carm. II. 9.

494. _Vacuo_, etc. the air.

495. Hor. Carm. II. 10. 15.

498. _Hesperiam tenet_. He reaches Italy, not, as Gierig understands it,
he held his course for Italy.

500. Sailed up against the stream,--_Tuscis_, as flowing by Etruria.

501. There was a place in the Campus Martius, named Terentum, where was
an altar of Dis and Proserpine, at which secular games were celebrated. I
rather incline to think with Gierig, that the _vada Terenti_ was a part
of the river near the Terentum.

502. The abodes of the Aborigines.

503-508. The _furor divinus_ comes over her; her hair is disheveled; her
countenance becomes stern; by signs she directs the steersman to turn the
ship to the land; she is hardly restrained from jumping out of the
vessel.

510. Romulus and the Caesars--the flattery of the poet.

511. _Hospita_, stranger.

515-518. The future greatness of Rome.

519. The fleet of Aeneas. All the following events occur in the last six
books of the Aeneis.

520. _Femina_, Lavinia.

521. Pallas, the son of Evander, slain by Turnus, and avenged by Aeneas.

523, 524. The future conquest of Greece by the Romans. Virg. aen. I. 283.

525. Troy was walled by Neptune. Eight MSS. read _moenia_ for _Pergama_.

526. _Num_, etc. Are those ashes (of Troy) nevertheless not higher than
the whole world? i.e. Will not Rome spring from them?

527. A tradition, followed by Cato, Strabo, Dio Cassius, and others,
related that Anchises came to Italy. Perhaps Ovid followed the same
tradition.

528. According to Dionysius. (I. 67,) the temple of the Penates, whom
Aeneas brought from Troy, was near that of Vesta. Others (Tacit. An. xv.
41) thought that they were in the temple of that goddess.

529. Julius Caesar who was Pontifex Maximus, and was deified after his
death. Some think it is Augustus who is meant.

531. _Augustos_ seems to be equivalent to _Caesares_.

532. _Hanc domum_, scil: the Caesarian.

533. Tiberius, by adoption the son of Augustus, and grandson of Julius
Caesar, both of whom were deified. His affected reluctance to accept the
imperial dignity is well known. Tac. An. I. _init_.

534. _Pondera_, the weight of empire.

536. _Augusta Julia_. Livia, the wife of Augustus, adopted by his
testament into the Julian family. This prediction of the poet was
accomplished by the emperor Claudius, who placed Livia among the gods.

539. _Exsul_, Evander.

540. The poet had probably his own miserable place of exile in view.

542. _Arcade_, Evander.

543. Hercules, when driving the oxen of Geryon from the isle of Erythea.
See Mythology, p. 320.

545. For this adventure with Cacus, see Virg. aen. viii. 190, _et. _seq_.
Liv. I. 7.--Tegeaea, Arcadian.

553. _Pro corpore_, suited to his body.

559. _Servata male_, having ill kept, i.e. lost.

560. _Furta_, the stolen oxen.

564. _Opus_. The Greeks used their [Greek: ergon] in the same sense.
Homer says that twenty-two waggons (_juga_) would not have moved the rock
with which Polyphemus closed the mouth of his cave.

565. When he supported the heavens for Atlas. See Mythology, p. 324.

575. _Occupat_, attacks him. _Jussit quatuor admoveri, canes, qui
celeriter occupavere feram_. Curtius, ix.--_Clava trinodis_, his knotty
club. It was of the wood of the _oleaster_ ([Greek: kotinos]) or wild
olive.--_Trinodis_, a definite for an indefinite.

581, 582. The Ara Maxima of Hercules was in the Forum Boarium. According
to Virgil, it was built by Evander.

583, 584. The apotheosis of Hercules.

587, 588. The usual sacrifice to Jupiter on the Ides, was a lamb, (see
above, v. 57,) here it is a wether.

589. On the Ides of January, A.U.C. 727, Octavianus, after a speech full
of hypocritical moderation, restored to the Senate and People such of the
provinces as were in a state of tranquillity, retaining those which were
still disturbed.--The Senate, on account of this, decreed him the title
of Augustus.

591. _Generosa atria_, the halls of the different noble families at
Rome.--_Ceras_, the waxen images of their ancestors, under which were
inscribed their titles and actions.

593. _Africa_ etc. P. Cornelius Scipio Africanus.--_Isauruas_. P.
Servilius Isauricus.

594. _Cretum_. Q. Caecilius Metellus Creticus.

595. _Numidae_. another Q. Caecilius Metellus, the predecessor of Marius,
in the war against Jugurtha.--_Messana_. Claudius Caudex was sent to the
aid of the Mamertines in Messana. He relieved the town, but derived no
title from it. His statue and deeds, however, stood in the Atrium of the
Claudii.

596. _Numantina_. Scipio aemilianus.

597. _Druso_. Drusus, the brother of Tiberius, and father of Germanicus,
to whom the poem is dedicated, died in consequence of a broken leg,
caused by his horse falling on him in the summer-camp on the Rhine,
A.U.C. 745. The senate decreed the title of Germanicus to him and his
children.

598. _Quam brevis_. How shortlived! Paterculus speaks in high terms of
the virtues of Drusus. See also Hor. Car. iv. 4.

599. _Caesar_. C. Julius Caesar.

601. T. Manlius Torquatus. Liv. viii. 10.

602. M. Valerius Corvinus. Liv. vii. 26.

603. _Magne_. Cn. Pompeius Magnus.

604. C. Julius Caesar.

605, 606. When Fabius (A.U.C. 449.) divided the lower class of people
into the four tribes named the _Urbanas_ he was given the title of
Maximus, which adhered to his family.--_Nec gradus ullus_, of comparison,
playing on the _magne_ of v. 603.

608. _Hic_. Augustus.

609. The Greeks rendered Augustus by [Greek: sebastus], from [Greek:
sebo], to venerate. This name was considered beyond any human title.

610. _Sacerd. manu_. The Pontifex, when dedicating a temple, held one of
the door-posts.

611. I do not think, with Gierig, that the poet derives _augurium_ from
_augustus_. It appears to me that he deduces them both from _augeo_.
_Loca quoque religiosa et in quibus augurato quid consecratur augusta
dicantur ab auctu vel ab avium gestu gustuve_. Suet. Aug. 7.

614. An oak-leaf garland, the symbol of protection, hung over the door of
the Palatium; a laurel, the emblem of victory, stood on each side.

615. Tiberius, who bore the name of Augustus.

617-636. The Carmentalia were repeated on the 18th Kal. Feb. or the 15th
of the month.

617. _Actas_, scil. _exactas_, past.

619. _Matres_. scil. _Matronae_.--_Carpenta_, the _carpentum_, was a
covered two-wheel carriage. The etymon given by the poet is unworthy of
attention.

629. _Scortea_, things made of skin or leather.

631. _Precanti_, by any one who is praying.

633. Porrima. This goddess is so named only in this place, and by
Servius, on aen. viii. 336. Macrobius (Sat. I. 7.) calls her Antevorta.
Varro, _apud_. A. Gellius (N. A. xvi. 6.) speaking of women who had a
difficult labour, says, _hujus periculi deprecandi causa arae statutae sunt
Romae duabus Carmentibus; quarum altera Postverta nominata est, Prosa
(alii Prorsa) altera; a recti perversique partus et potestate et nomine_.
We have here the true meaning of this feast of the Carmentalia, about
which our poet has been puzzling.

634. _Nympha_, scil. Carmenta. Virg. aen. viii. 336. Thus Homer, (II. in.
130,) calls Helen a _nymph_. See Mythology, p. 206, note. For _nympha_,
in this place, eight MSS. read _diva_.

635. _Porro_, usually denotes the future; in this place, it evidently
denotes the past. Burmann knows no other instance of its occurrence in
this sense.

637. On the following day, the xvii. Kal. Feb. the most ancient of the
five temples of Concord at Rome, had been vowed, A.U.C. 386, by L. Furius
Camillus. It was repaired and dedicated anew by Tiberius, A.U.C. 762. The
temple of Juno Moneta (_Warner_) stood on the site of the house of
Manlius on the Capitol; a flight of 100 steps led from the temple of
Concord up to it.--_Candida lux_, auspicious day, as being that on which
the temple of Concord was dedicated.--_Niveo_, as being built of marble.

639. The temple being on the side of the Capitol over the Forum.

640. _Sacratae manus_ of Tiberius. Every thing belonging to the emperor
was _sacratum_ and _sanctum_.

641. _Antiquum_, scil. templum? Neapolis, I think is wrong, in taking
_antiquum_ to be used adverbially for _olim_, and joining it with _pop.
sup. Etr_. Burmann, as he enclosed it in brackets, also understood it
adverbially. _Antiquum_, which is unquestionably the right reading, is
that of only three MSS. The others read _antiquam_ or _antiquus_, or
_antiqui_ or _antiquo_.--_Populi_, etc. merely a designation of Furius,
and has nothing to do with the occasion of the vow,--_Ante_, olim.

643. On the occasion of the Licinian rogations. Niebuhr, on this subject,
prefers the authority of Ovid to that of Livy, who says, _Prope ad
secessionem.--venit_.

644. _Opes_, the Plebeians.

645. A compliment to Tiberius. The first temple was built in consequence
of civil discord; the second, in consequence of victories gained over the
most formidable foes of Rome.--_Passos_, etc. Germany (i.e. the Germans)
holds forth her dishevelled locks, vanquished by the Roman arms, under
thine auspices. _Jam tibi captivos mittet Germania crines; Culta
triumphatae munere gentis eris_, says our poet (Am. I. 14,) to a lady, as
the false hair used at Rome mostly came from Germany. Nations, when
conquered, were said _porrigere_, to surrender, those things for which
they were distinguished. Thus he says, (Trist. II. 227,) _Nunc porrigit
arcus Parthus eques timida captaque manu_, see below, V. 593. It is
therefore supposed, that a condition of the peace was the delivery of a
large quantity of hair for the use of the Roman wig-makers. There is
nothing very sublime in this.

646. _Dux_, Tiberius.

647. _Libasti_, You have offered.

648. _Quam colis ipse_, by your love of peace.

649. _Haec_. scil. templa. This place is very obscure. Some MSS. read
_hanc.--Rebus_, the commentators say, by the harmony in which she lived
with Augustus.--_Ara_, by an altar, which they suppose she placed in the
temple of Concord.

650. _Magni Jovis_, Augustus, the vicegerent of Jove on earth.

651. The passage of the sun into Aquarius, the xvi. Kal. Feb.--_Haec_.
scil. tempora. The first editions, and two MSS. read _transieris_. Two
other MSS. read _transierit_, which I should incline to prefer, and make
_haec_ refer to _dies_ or to _lux_, v. 637. Heinsius would read _Nox_, or
_Lux ubi transierit_.

653, 654. On the 10th Kal. Feb. Lyra sets heliacally.--_Oriens_, scil.
Sol.

655, 656. The following day (Jan. 24,) Regulus, the bright star in the
breast of the Lion, sets cosmically. The poet is mistaken here; according
to Colunnella, he sets on the 27th of January.

657, 658. The Romans (see Macrob. Sat. I.) had two kinds of festivals,
the _Stativae_ and the _Conceptivaae_. The former were fixed to certain
days, and were marked in the Fasti; such were the Agonalia, Carmentalia,
Lupercalia, etc.: the latter were annually given out, (_indicebantur_)
for certain, or even uncertain days, by the magistrates or priests; such
were the Feriae Latinae, the Paganalia, Sementinae, Compitalia, etc. Seven
MSS. read _Sementinae_; seven read _Sementiva_; twelve _Sementita_.
_Sementinae_ (seu _vae) feriae: dies is appellatus a Sementi, quod Sationis
causa susceptae_. Varro. L. LV.

661. The time was well known, but not the exact day.

669. _Pagus_. Servius Tullius divided the Roman territory into _Pagi_. In
each Pagus was an altar, on which a common sacrifice was offered every
year by the _Pagani_, or people of the Pagus. This festival was called
the Paganalia. The origin of our word Pagan, is curious. As the country
people held out longest against Christianity, Pagan became equivalent to
heathen, and we find it at last applied to Mohammedans!--_Lustrate_, by
leading the victims round it. See Virg. G. I. 339, _et seq_. Ovid here
follows Tibullus, Eleg. II. 1.

670. _Liba_, [Greek: pelanoi], cakes brought by the different families of
the _pagus_.

675. _Consortes operum_, Ceres and Tellus.

693. The ancients parched the _far_ before they ground it. It was
afterwards baked.

701. _Tuae_ scil. Germanici.--_Religata_, etc. Virg. aen. I. 291. _et
seq_.

707. A.U.C. 769. Tiberius built a temple to Castor and Pollux, which he
inscribed with his own name, and that of his brother Drusus.--_Gente
Deorum_, the Caesarian family.

709, 710. The Romans erected no altar to Peace until A.U.C. 741.
Sacrifices were offered on it on the 30th of January and of March.

711. _Actiacis_. Because the battle of Actium gave peace to the world.
There is an allusion to Apollo Actius, and the laurel.

717. _Primus_, the near.

721. _Domus_, the Caesarian family.



LIBER II.


Janus habet finem: cum carmine crescit et annus.
  Alter ut hinc mensis, sic liber alter eat.
Nunc primum velis, elegi, majoribus itis:
  Exiguum, memini, nuper eratis opus.
Ipse ego vos habui faciles in amore ministros,             5
  Quum lusit numeris prima juventa suis.
Idem sacra cano, signataque tempora fastis.
  Ecquis ad haec illuc crederet esse viam?
Haec mea militia est: ferimus, quae possumus, arma,
  Dextraque non omni munere nostra vacat.                 10
Si mihi non valido torquentur pila lacerto,
  Nec bellatoris terga premuntur equi,
Nec galea tegimur, nec acuto cingimur ense:
  --His habilis telis quilibet esse potest--
At tua prosequimur studioso pectore, Caesar,              15
  Nomina, per titulos ingredimurque tuos.
Ergo ades, et placido paulum mea munera vultu
  Respice, pacando si quid ab hoste vacas.
_Februa_ Romani dixere piamina patres:
  Nunc quoque dant verbo plurima signa fidem.             20
Pontifices ab Rege petunt et Flamine lanas,
  Quîs veteri lingua _Februa_ nomen erat;
Quaeque capit lictor domibus purgamina certis,
  Torrida cum mica farra, vocantur idem.
Nomen idem ramo, qui caesus ab arbore pura                25
  Casta sacerdotum tempora fronde tegit.
Ipse ego Flaminicam poscentem februa vidi:
  Februa poscenti pinea virga data est.
Denique quodcumque est, quo pectora nostra pientur,
  Hoc apud intonsos nomen habebat avos.                   30
Mensis ab his dictus, secta quia pelle Luperci
  Omne solum lustrant, idque piamen habent;
Aut quia placatis sunt tempora pura sepulcris,
  Tunc quum ferales praeteriere dies,
Omne nefas omnemque mali purgamina causam                 35
  Credebant nostri tollere posse senes.
Graecia principium moris fuit. Illa nocentes
  Impia lustratos ponere facta putat.
Actoriden Peleus, ipsum quoque Pelea Phoci
  Caede per Haemonias solvit Acastus aquas.               40
Vectam frenatis per inane draconibus aegeus
  Credulus immerita Phasida juvit ope.
Amphiaraïdes Naupactoo Acheloo,
  Solve nefas, dixit. Solvit et ille nefas.
Ah nimium faciles, qui tristia crimina caedis             45
  Fluminea tolli posse putetis aqua!
Sed tamen--antiqui ne nescius ordinis erres--
  Primus, ut est, Jani mensis et ante fuit.
Qui sequitur Janum, veteris fuit ultimus anni;
  Tu quoque sacrorum, Termine, finis eras.                50
Primus enim Jani mensis, quia janua prima est;
  Qui sacer est imis Manibus, imus erat.
Postmodo creduntur spatio distantia longo
  Tempora bis quini continuasse Viri.

Principio mensis Phrygiae contermina Matri                55
  Sospita delubris dicitur aucta novis.
Nunc ubi sint illis, quaeris, sacrata Kalendis
  Templa deae: longo procubuere die.
Cetera ne simili caderent labefacta ruina,
  Cavit sacrati provida cura ducis,                       60
Sub quo delubris sentitur nulla senectus.
  Nec satis est homines, obligat ille deos.
Templorum positor, templorum sancte repostor,
  Sit superis, opto, mutua cura tui.
Dent tibi coelestes, quos tu coelestibus, annos,          65
  Proque tua maneant in statione domo.
Tum quoque vicini lucus celebratur Asyli,
  Qua petit aequoreas advena Tibris aquas.
Ad penetrale Numae, Capitolinumque Tonantem,
  Inque Jovis summa caeditur arce bidens.                 70
Saepe graves pluvias adopertus nubibus Auster
  Concitat, aut posita sub nive terra latet.

Proximus Hesperias Titan abiturus in undas
  Gemmea purpureis quum juga demet equis,
Illa nocte aliquis tollens ad sidera vultum               75
  Dicet: Ubi est hodie, quae Lyra fulsit heri?
Dumque Lyram quaeret, medii quoque terga Leonis
  In liquidas subito mersa notabit aquas.

Quem modo caelatum stellis Delphina videbas,
  Is fugiet visus nocte sequente tuos;                    80
Seu fuit occultis felix in amoribus index,
  Lesbida cum domino seu tulit ille lyram.
Quod mare non novit, quae nescit Ariona tellus?
  Carmine currentes ille tenebat aquas.
Saepe sequens agnam lupus est hac voce retentus:          85
 Saepe avidum fugiens restitit agna lupum:
Saepe canes leporesque umbra cubuere sub una,
  Et stetit in saxo proxima cerva leae;
Et sine lite loquax cum Palladis alite cornix
  Sedit, et accipitri juncta columba fuit.                90
Cynthia saepe tuis fertur, vocalis Arion,
  Tamquam fraternis obstupuisse modis.
Nomen Arionium Siculas impleverat urbes,
  Captaque erat lyricis Ausonis ora sonis.
Inde domum repetens puppim conscendit Arion,              95
  Atque ita quaesitas arte ferebat opes.
Forsitam, infelix, ventos undamque timebas;
  At tibi nave tua tutius aequor erat.
Namque gubernator destricto constitit ense,
  Ceteraque armata conscia turba manu.                   100
Quid tibi cum gladio? dubiam rege, navita, pinum.
  Non sunt haec digitis arma tenenda tuis.
Ille metu pavidus, Mortem non deprecor, inquit:
  Sed liceat sumpta pauca referre lyra.
Dant veniam, ridentque moram. Capit ille coronam,        105
  Quae possit crines, Phoebe, decere tuos.
Induerat Tyrio bis tinctam murice pallam:
  Reddidit icta suos pollice chorda sonos:
Flebilibus veluti numeris canentia dura
  Trajectus penna tempora cantat olor.                   110
Protinus in medias ornatus desilit undas;
  Spargitur impulsa caerula puppis aqua.
Inde--fide majus--tergo delphina recurvo
  Se memorant oneri supposuisse novo.
Ille sedens citharamque tenet, pretiumque vehendi        115
  Cantat, et aequoreas carmine mulcet aquas.
Dî pia facta vident; astris delphina recepit
  Jupiter, et stellas jussit habere novem.

Nunc mihi mille sonos, quoque est memoratus Achilles,
  Vellem, Maeonide, pectus inesse tuum.                  120
Dum canimus sacras alterno carmine Nonas,
  Maximus hinc fastis accumulatur honos.
Deficit ingenium, majoraque viribus urgent.
  Haec mihi praecipuo est ore canenda dies.
Quid volui demens elegis imponere tantum                 125
  Ponderis? heroi res erat ista pedis.
Sancte Pater Patriae, tibi plebs, tibi Curia nomen
  Hoc dedit, hoc dedimus nos tibi nomen Eques.
Res tamen ante dedit; sero quoque vera tulisti
  Nomina; jam pridem tu pater orbis eras.                130
Hoc tu per terras, quod in aethere Jupiter alto,
  Nomen habes; hominum tu pater, ille deum.
Romule, concedas; facit hic tua magna tuendo
  Moenia: tu dederas transilienda Remo.
Te Tatius, parvique Cures, Caeninaque sensit;            135
  Hoc duce Romanum est solis utrumque latus.
Tu breve nescio quid victae telluris habebas:
  Quodcumque est alto sub Jove, Caesar habet.
Tu rapis, hic castas duce se jubet esse maritas.
  Tu recipis luco, submovet ille nefas.                  140
Vis tibi grata fuit, florent sub Caesare leges;
  Tu domini nomen, principis ille tenet.
Te Remus incusat, veniam dedit hostibus ille.
  Coelestem fecit te pater, ille patrem.

Jam puer Idaeus media tenus eminet alvo,                 145
  Et liquidas mixto nectare fundit aquas.
En etiam, si quis Borean horrere solebat,
  Gaudeat: a Zephyris mollior aura venit.

Quintus ab aequoreis nitidum jubar extulit undis
  Lucifer, et primi tempora veris erunt.                 150
Ne fallare tamen, restant tibi frigora, restant,
  Magnaque discedens signa reliquit hiems.

Tertia nox veniat: Custodem protinus Ursae
  Adspicies geminos exseruisse pedes.
Inter Hamadryadas jaculatricemque Dianam                 155
  Callisto sacri pars fuit una chori.
Illa deae tangens arcus, Quos tangimus, arcus,
  Este meae testes virginitatis, ait.
Cynthia laudavit, promissaque foedera serva,
  Et comitum princeps tu mihi, dixit, eris.              160
Foedera servasset, si non formosa fuisset.
  Cavit mortales: ab Jove crimen habet.
Mille feras Phoebe silvis venata redibat,
  Aut plus, aut medium sole tenente diem.
Ut tetigit lucum,--densa niger ilice lucus,              165
  In medio gelidae fons erat altus aquae--
Hac, ait, in silva, virgo Tegeaeae, lavemur.
  Erubuit falso virginis illa sono.
Dixerat et Nymphis: Nymphae velamina ponunt.
  Hanc pudet, et tardae dat mala signa morae.            170
Exuerat tunicas: uteri manifesta tumore
  Proditur indicio ponderis ipsa sui.
Cui Dea, Virgineos, perjura Lycaoni, coetus
  Desere, nec castas pollue, dixit, aquas.
Luna novum decies implerat cornibus orbem:               175
  Quae fuerat virgo credita, mater erat.
Laesa furit Juno, formam mutatque puellae.
  Quid facis? invito pectore passa Jovem est.
Utque ferae vidit turpes in pellice vultus,
  Hujus in amplexus Jupiter, inquit, eat.                180
Ursa per incultos errabat squalida montes,
  Quae fuerat summo nuper amanda Jovi.
Jam tria lustra puer furto conceptus agebat,
  Quum mater nato est obvia facta suo.
Illa quidem, tamquam cognosceret, adstitit amens,        185
  Et gemuit: gemitus verba parentis erant.
Hanc puer ignarus jaculo fixisset acuto,
  Ni foret in superas raptus uterque domus.
Signa propinqua micant. Prior est, quam dicimus _Arcton_;
  _Arctophylax_ formam terga sequentis habet.            190
Saevit adhuc canamque rogat Saturnia Tethyn,
  Maenaliam tactis ne lavet Arcton aquis.

Idibus agrestis fumant altaria _Fauni_,
  Hic ubi discretas insula rumpit aquas.
Haec fuit illa dies, in qua Vejentibus arvis             195
  Ter centum _Fabii_ ter cecidere duo.
Una domus vires et onus susceperat urbis:
  Sumunt gentiles arma professa manus.
Egreditur castris miles generosus ab îsdem,
  E quis dux fieri quilibet aptus erat.                  200
Carmentis portae dextro via proxima Jano est.
  Ire per hanc noli, quisquis es, omen habet.
Ill fama refert Fabios exisse trecentos.
  Porta vacat culpa; sed tamen omen habet.
Ut celeri passu Cremeram tetigere rapacem,               205
  --Turbidus hibernis ille fluebat aquis--
Castra loco ponunt: destrictis ensibus ipsi
  Tyrrhenum valido Marte per agmen eunt:
Non aliter, quam quum Libyca de rupe leones
  Invadunt sparsos lata per arva greges.                 210
Diffugiunt hostes, inhonestaque vulnera tergo
  Accipiunt: Tusco sanguine terra rubet.
Sic iterum, sic saepe cadunt. Ubi vincere aperte
  Non datur, insidias armaque caeca parant.
Campus erat: campi claudebant ultima colles,             215
  Silvaque montanas occulere apta feras.
In medio paucos armentaque rara relinquunt:
  Cetera virgultis abdita turba latet.
Ecce, velut torrens undis pluvialibus auctus
  Aut nive, quae Zephyro victa tepente fluit,            220
Per sata perque vias fertur, nec, ut ante solebat,
  Riparum clausas margine finit aquas:
Sic Fabii latis vallem discursibus implent,
  Quosque vident, spernunt, nec etus alter inest.
Quo ruitis, generosa domus? male creditur hosti.         225
  Simplex nobilitas, perfida tela cave.
Fraude perit virtus. In apertos undique campos
  Prosiliunt hostes, et latus omne tenent.
Quid facient pauci contra tot millia fortes?
  Quidve, quod in misero tempore restet, habent?         230
Sicut aper silvis longe Laurentibus actus
  Fulmineo celeres dissipat ore canes;
Mox tamen ipse perit: sic non moriuntur inulti,
  Vulneraque alterna dantque feruntque manu.
Una dies Fabios ad bellum miserat omnes:                 235
  Ad bellum missos perdidit una dies.
Ut tamen Herculeae superessent semina gentis,
  Credibile est ipsos consuluisse deos.
Nam puer impubes et adhuc non utilis armis
  Unus de Fabia gente relictus erat,                     240
Scilicet, ut posses olim tu, Maxime, nasci,
  Cui res cunctando restituenda foret.

Continuata loco tria sidera, Corvus et Anguis,
  Et medius Crater inter utrumque jacet.
Idibus illa latent: oriuntur nocte sequenti.             245
  Quae sibi cur tria sint consociata, canam.
Forte Jovi festum Phoebus sollemne parabat:
  --Non faciet longas fabula nostra moras--
I mea, dixit, avis, ne quid pia sacra moretur,
  Et tenuem vivis fontibus affer aquam.                  250
Corvus inauratum pedibus cratera recurvis
  Tollit, et aërium pervolat altus iter.
Stabat adhuc duris ficus densissima pomis:
  Tentat eam rostro: non erat apta legi.
Immemor imperii sedisse sub arbore fertur,               255
  Dum fierent tarda dulcia poma mora.
Jamque satur nigris longum rapit unguibus hydrum,
  Ad dominumque redit, fictaque verba refert:
Hic mihi causa morae, vivarum obsessor aquarum:
  Hic tenuit fontes officiumque meum.                    260
Addis, ait, culpae mendacia? Phoebus, et audes
  Fatidicum verbis fallere velle deum?
At tibi, dum lactens haerebit in arbore ficus,
  De nullo gelidae fonte bibantur aquae.
Dixit, et antiqui monumenta perennia facti               265
  Anguis, Avis, Crater, sidera juncta micant.

Tertia post Idus nudos Aurora Lupercos
  Adspicit, et Fauni sacra bicornis erunt.
Dicite, Pierides, sacrorum quae sit origo,
  Attigerint Latias unde petita domos.                   270
Pana deum pecoris veteres coluisse feruntur
  Arcades. Arcadiis plurimus ille jugis.
Testis erit Pholoë, testes Stymphalides undae,
  Quique citis Ladon in mare currit aquis,
Cinctaque pinetis nemoris juga Nonacrini,                275
  Altaque Cyllene, Parrhasiaeque nives.
Pan erat armenti custos, Pan numen equarum:
  Munus ob incolumes ille ferebat oves.
Transtulit Evander silvestria numina secum.
  Hic, ubi nunc urbs est, tum locus urbis erat.          280
Inde deum colimus, devectaque sacra Pelasgis.
  Flamen ad haec prisco more Dialis erat.
Cur igitur currant, et cur--sic currere mos est--
  Nuda ferant posita corpora veste, rogas.
Ipse deus velox discurrere gaudet in altis               285
  Montibus, et subitas concitat ille feras.
Ipse deus nudus nudos jubet ire ministros:
  Nec atis ad cursum commoda vestis erat.
Ante Jovem genitum terras habuisse feruntur
  Arcades, et Luna gens prior illa fuit.                 290
Vita feris similis, nullos agitata per usus:
  Artis adhuc expers et rude vulgus erat.
Pro domibus frondes norant, pro frugibus herbas:
  Nectar erat palmis hausta duabus aqua.
Nullus anhelabat sub adunco vomere taurus:               295
  Nulla sub imperio terra colentis erat:
Nullus adhuc erat usus equi, se quisque ferebat.
  Ibat ovis lana corpus amicta sua.
Sub Jove durabant, et corpora nuda gerebant,
  Docta graves imbres et tolerare Notos.                 300
Nunc quoque detecti referunt monumenta vetusti
  Moris, et antiquas testificantur opes.
Sed, cur praecipue fugiat velamina Faunus,
  Traditur antiqui fabula plena joci.
Forte comes dominae juvenis Tirynthius ibat:             305
  Vidit ab excelso Faunus utrumque jugo.
Vidit, et incaluit, Montanaque numina, dixit,
  Nil mihi vobiscum est; haec meus ardor erit.
Ibat odoratis humeros perfusa capillis
  Maeonis, aurato conspicienda sinu.                     310
Aurea pellebant rapidos umbracula soles,
  Quae tamen Herculeae sustinuere manus.
Jamque nemus Bacchi, Tmoli vineta, tenebat,
  Hesperus et fusco roscidus ibat equo,
Antra subit tophis laqueataque pumice vivo;              315
  Garrulus in primo limine rivus erat.
Dumque parant epulas potandaque vina ministri,
  Cultibus Alciden instruit illa suis.
Dat tenues tunicas Gaetulo murice tinctas:
  Dat teretem zonam, qua modo cincta fuit.               320
Ventre minor zona est: tunicarum vincla relaxat,
  Ut possit vastas exseruisse manus.
Fregerat armillas non illa ad brachia factas.
  Scindebant magni vincula parva pedes.
Ipsa capit clavamque gravem spoliumque leonis,           325
  Conditaque in pharetra tela minora sua.
Sic epulis functi, sic dant sua corpora somno,
  Et positis juxta secubuere toris.
Causa: repertori vitis pia sacra parabant,
  Quae facerent pure, quum foret orta dies.              330
Noctis erat medium: quid non amor improbus audet?
  Roscida per tenebras Faunus ad antra venit,
Utque videt somno comites vinoque solutos,
  Spem capit in dominis esse soporis idem,
Intrat, et huc illuc temerarius errat adulter,           335
  Et praefert cautas subsequiturque manus,
Venerat ad strati captata cubilia lecti,
  Et prima felix sorte futurus erat.
Ut tetigit fulvi setis hirsuta leonis
  Vellera, pertimuit, sustinuitque manum,                340
Attonitusque metu riguit: ut saepe viator
  Turbatum viso rettulit angue pedem.
Inde tori, qui junctus erat, velamina tangit
  Mollia, mendaci decipiturque nota.
Cetera tentantem cubito Tirynthius heros
  Reppulit. E summo decidit ille toro.                   350
Fit sonus: inclamat comites, et lumina poscit
  Maeonis. Illatis ignibus acta patent.
Ille gemit lecto graviter dejectus ab alto,
  Membraque de dura vix sua tollit humo.
Ridet et Alcides, et qui videre jacentem:                355
  Ridet amatorem Lyda puella suum.
Veste deus lusus fallentes lumina vestes
  Non amat, et nudos ad sua sacra vocat.
Adde peregrinis causas, mea Musa, Latinas,
  Inque suo noster pulvere currat equus.                 360
Cornipedi Fauno caesa de more capella,
  Venit ad exiguas turba vocata dapes;
Dumque sacerdotes verubus transsuta salignis
  Exta parant, medias sole tenente vias,
Romulus et frater, pastoralisque juventus,               365
  Solibus et campo corpora nuda dabant,
Caestibus, et jaculis, et missi pondere saxi
  Brachia per lusus experienda dabant.
Pastor ab excelso, Per devia rura juvencos,
  Romule, praedones, eripe, dixit, agunt.                370
Longum erat armari. Diversis exit uterque
  Partibus; accursu praeda recepta Remi.
Ut rediit, verubus stridentia detrahit exta:
  Atque ait, Haec certe non nisi victor edet.
Dicta facit, Fabiique simul. Venit irritus illuc         375
  Romulus, et mensas ossaque nuda videt.
Risit, et indoluit Fabios potuisse Remumque
  Vincere: Quinctilios non potuisse suos.
Fama manet facti. Posito velamine currunt:
  Et memorem famam, quod bene cessit, habet.             380
Forsitan et quaeras, cur sit locus ille _Lupercal_,
  Quaeve diem tali nomine causa notet.
Ilia Vestalis coelestia semina partu
  Ediderat, patruo regna tenente suo.
Is jubet auferri pueros et in amne necari.               385
  Quid facis? ex istis Romulus alter erit.
Jussa recusantes peragunt lacrimosa ministri;
  Flent tamen, et geminos in loca jussa ferunt.
Albula, quem Tibrin mersus Tiberinus in unda
  Reddidit, hibernis forte tumebat aquis.                390
Hic, ubi nunc Fora sunt, lintres errare videres,
  Quaque jacent valles, Maxime Circe, tuae.
Hic ubi venerunt,--neque enim procedere possunt
  Longius--ex illis unus et alter, ait:
At quam sunt similes! at quam formosus uterque!          395
  Plus tamen ex illis iste vigoris habet.
Si genus arguitur vultu, ni fallit imago,
  Nescio quem vobis suspicor esse deum.
At si quis vestrae deus esset originis auctor,
  In tam praecipiti tempore ferret opem.                 400
Ferret opem certe, si non ope mater egeret,
  Quae facta est uno mater et orba die.
Nata simul, moritura simul, simul ite sub undas
  Corpora. Desicrat; deposuitque sinu,
Vagierunt clamore pari: sentire putares.                 405
  Hi redeunt udis in sua tecta genis.
Sustinet impositos summa cavus alveus unda.
  Heu quantum fati parva tabella tulit!
Alveus in limo silvis appulsus opacis,
  Paullatim fluvio deficiente, sedet.                    410
Arbor erat: remanent vestigia, quaeque vocatur
  Rumina nunc ficus, Romula ficus erat.
Venit ad expositos--mirum--lupa feta gemellos.
  Quis credat pueris non nocuisse feram?
Non nocuisse parum est: prodest quoque: quos lupa nutrit,415
  Perdere cognatae sustinuere manus.
Constitit, et cauda teneris blanditur alumnis,
  Et fingit lingua corpora bina sua.
Marte satos scires; timor abfuit: ubera ducunt,
  Nec sibi promissi lactis aluntur ope.                  420
Illa loco nomen fecit; locus ipse Lupercis.
  Magna dati nutrix praemia lactis habet.
Quid vetat Arcadio dictos a monte Lupercos?
  Faunus in Arcadia templa Lycaeus habet.
Nupta, quid exspectas? non tu pollentibus herbis,        425
  Nec prece, nec magico carmine mater eris.
Excipe fecundae patienter verbera dextrae:
  Jam socer optatum nomen habebit avi.
Nam fuit illa dies, dura quum sorte maritae
  Reddebant uteri pignora rara sui.                      430
Quid mihi, clamabat, prodest rapuisse Sabinas,
  Romulus--hoc illo sceptra tenente fuit--
Si mea non vires, sed bellum injuria fecit!
  Utilius fuerat non habuisse nurus.
Monte sub Esquilio, multis incaeduus annis               435
  Junonis magnae nomine lucus erat,
Huc ubi venerunt, pariter nuptaeque virique
  Suppliciter posito procubuere genu.
Quum subito motae tremuere cacumina silvae,
  Et dea per lucos mira locuta suos,                     440
Italidas matres, inquit, sacer hircus inito!
  Obstupuit dubio territa turba sono.
Augur erat: nomen longis intercidit annis:
  Nuper ab Etrusca venerat exsul humo.
Ille caprum mactat. Jussae sua terga puellae             445
  Pellibus exsectis percutienda dabant.
Luna resumebat decimo nova cornua motu,
  Virque pater subito, nuptaque mater erat.
Gratia Lucinae: dedit haec tibi nomina lucus,
Aut quia principium tu, dea, lucis habes.                450
Parce, precor, gravidis, facilis Lucina, puellis,
 Maturumque utero molliter effer onus.

Orta dies fuerit: tu desine credere ventis,
  Perdidit illius temporis aura fidem.
Flamina non constant: et sex reserata diebus             455
  Carceris aeolii janua laxa patet.
Jam levis obliqua subsedit Aquarius urna.
  Proximus aetherios excipe, Piscis, equos.
Te memorant fratremque tuum--nam juncta micatis
  Signa--duos tergo sustinuisse deos.                    460
Terribilem quondam fugiens Typhona Dione,
  Tunc quum pro coelo Jupiter arma tulit,
Venit ad Euphraten comitata Cupidine parvo,
  Inque Palaestinae margine sedit aquae.
Populus et cannae riparum summa tenebant,                465
  Spemque dabant salices, hos quoque posse tegi.
Dum latet, intonuit vento nemus. Illa timore
  Pallet, et hostiles credit adesse manus;
Utque sinu natum tenuit, Succurrite Nymphae,
  Et dîs auxilium ferte duobus, ait.                     470
Nec mora, prosiluit. Pisces subiere gemelli;
  Pro quo nunc dignum sidera munus habent.
Inde nefas ducunt genus hoc imponere mensis,
  Nec violant timidi piscibus ora Syri.

Proxima lux vacua est: at tertia dicta Quirino.          475
  Qui tenet hoc nomen, Romulus ante fuit;
Sive quod hasta _curis_ priscis est dicta Sabinis:
  --Bellicus a telo venit in astra deus--
Sive suum regi nomen posuere Quirites:
  Seu quia Romanis junxerat ille Cures.                  480
Nam pater armipotens, postquam nova moenia vidit,
  Multaque Romulea bella peracta manu,
Jupiter, inquit, habet Romana potentia vires:
  Sanguinis officio non eget illa mei.
Redde patri natum: quamvis intercidit alter,             485
  Pro se, proque Remo, qui mihi restat, erit.
Unus erit, quem tu tolles in caerula coeli;
  Tu mihi dixisti: sint rata dicta Jovis.
Jupiter annuerat; nutu tremefactus uterque
  Est polus, et coeli pondera sensit Atlas.              490
Est locus: antiqui Capreae dixere paludem.
  Forte tuis illic, Romule, jura dabas.
Sol fugit, et removent subeuntia nubila coelum,
  Et gravis effusus decidit imber aquis,
Hinc tonat, hinc missis abrumpitur ignibus aether.       495
  Fit fuga: rex patris astra petebat equis.
Luctus erat, falsaeque Patres in crimine caedis;
  Haesissetque animis forsitan illa fides:
Sed Proculus Longa veniebat Julius Alba,
  Lunaque fulgebat, nec facis usus erat:                 500
Quum subito motu nubes crepuere sinistrae.
  Rettulit ille gradus, horrueruntque comae.
Pulcher, et humano major, trabeaque decorus
  Romulus in media visus adesse via,
Et dixisse simul, Prohibe lugere Quirites:               505
  Nec violent lacrimis numina nostra suis.
Tura ferant, placentque novum pia turba Quirinum,
  Et patrias artes militiamque colant.
Jussit, et in tenues oculis evanuit auras.
  Convocat hic populos, jussaque verba refert.           510
Templa deo fiunt. Collis quoque dictus ab illo,
  Et referunt certi sacra paterna dies.
Lux quoque cur eadem Stultorum festa vocetur,
  Accipe: parva quidem causa, sed apta subest.
Non habuit tellus doctos antiqua colonos:                515
  Lassabant agiles aspera bella viros.
Plus erat in gladio, quam curvo laudis aratro:
  Neglectus domino pauca ferebat ager.
Farra tamen veteres jaciebant, farra metebant,
  Primitias Cereri farra resecta dabant.                 520
Usibus admoniti flammis torrenda dederunt,
  Multaque peccato damna tulere suo.
Nam modo verrebant nigras pro farre favillas;
  Nunc ipsas ignes corripuere casas.
Facta dea est Fornax: laeti Fornace coloni               525
  Orant, ut fruges temperet illa suas.
Curio legitimis nunc Fornacalia verbis
  Maximus indicit, nec stata sacra facit;
Inque Foro, multa circum pendente tabella,
  Signatur certa Curia quaeque nota;                     530
Stultaque pars populi, quae sit sua Curia, nescit:
  Sed facit extrema sacra relata die.

Est honor et tumulis. Animas placate paternas,
  Parvaque in exstinctas munera ferte pyras,
Parva petunt Manes. Pietas pro divite grata est          535
  Munere. Non avidos Styx habet ima deos.
Tegula porrectis satis est velata coronis,
  Et sparsae fruges, parcaque mica salis,
Inque mero mollita Ceres, violaeque solutae.
  Haec habeat media testa relicta via.                   540
Nec majora veto: sed et his placabilis umbra est.
  Adde preces positis et sua verba focis.
Hunc morem aeneas, pietatis idoneus auctor,
  Attulit in terras, juste Latine, tuas.
Ille patris Genio sollemnia dona ferebat;                545
  Hinc populi ritus edidicere pios.
At quondam, dum longa gerunt pugnacibus armis
  Bella, Parentales deseruere dies.
Non impune fuit. Nam dicitur omine ab isto
  Roma suburbanis incaluisse rogis.                      550
Vix equidem credo: bustis exisse feruntur,
  Et tacitae questi tempore noctis avi;
Perque vias urbis, Latiosque ululasse per agros
  Deformes animas, vulgus inane, ferunt.
Post ea praeteriti tumulis redduntur honores,            555
  Prodigiisque venit funeribusque modus.
Dum tamen haec fiunt, viduae cessate puellae:
  Exspectet puros pinea taeda dies.
Nec tibi, quae cupidae matura videbere matri,
  Comat virgineas hasta recurva comas.                   560
Conde tuas, Hymenaee, faces, et ab ignibus atris
  Aufer. Habent alias maesta sepulcra faces.
Di quoque templorum foribus celentur opertis,
  Ture vacent arae, stentque sine igne foci.
Nunc animae tenues et corpora functa sepulcris           565
  Errant: nunc posito pascitur umbra cibo.
Nec tamen haec ultra, quam, tot de mense supersint
  Luciferi, quot habent carmina nostra pedes.
Hanc, quia justa ferunt, dixere _Feralia_ lucem.
  Ultima placandis Manibus illa dies.                    570
Ecce anus in mediis residens annosa puellis
  Sacra facit Tacitae: vix tamen ipsa tacet;
Et digitis tria tura tribus sub limine ponit,
  Qua brevis occultum mus sibi fecit iter.
Tumn cantata ligat cum fusco licia plumbo;               575
  Et septem nigras versat in ore fabas;
Quodque pice adstrinxit, quod acu trajecit ahena,
  Obsutum maenae torret in igne caput:
Vina quoque instillat. Vini quodcumque relictum est,
  Aut ipsa, aut comites, plus tamen ipsa, bibit.         580
Hostiles linguas inimicaque vinximus ora,
  Dicit discedens, ebriaque exit anus.
Protinus a nobis, quae sit dea Muta, requires.
  Disce, per antiquos quae mihi nota senes.
Jupiter indomito Juturnae captus amore                   585
  Multa tulit, tanto non patienda deo.
Illa modo in silvis inter coryleta jacebat:
  Nunc in cognatas desiliebat aquas.
Convocat hic Nymphas, Latium quaecumque tenebant,
  Et jacit in medio talia verba choro:                   590
Invidet ipsa vitatque, quod expedit illi,
  Vestra soror summo jungere membra deo.
Consulite ambobus: nam quae est mea magna voluptas,
  Utilitas vestra magna sororis erit.
Vos illi in prima fugienti obsistite ripa,               595
  Ne sua fluminea corpora mergat aqua.
Dixerat: annuerunt nymphae Tiberinides omnes,
  Quaeque colunt thalamos, Illa diva, tuos.
Forte fuit Naïs, Lara nomine: prima sed illi
  Dicta bis antiquum syllaba nomen erat,                 600
Ex vitio positum. Saepe illi dixerat Almo,
  Nata, tene linguam: nec tamen illa tenet.
Quae, simul ac tetigit Juturnae stagna sororis,
  Effuge, ait, ripas: dicta refertque Jovis.
Illa etiam Junonem adiit, miserataque nuptam,            605
  Naïda Juturnam vir tuus, inquit, amat.
Jupiter intumuit: quaque est non usa modeste,
  Eripuit linguam, Mercuriumque monet,
Duc hanc ad Manes: locus ille silentibus aptus.
 Nympha, sed infernae Nympha paludis, erit.              610
Jussa Jovis fiunt. Accepit lucus euntes.
  Dicitur illa duci placuisse deo.
Vim parat hic: vultu pro verbis illa precatur,
  Et frustra muto nititur ore loqui.
Fitque gravis, geminosque parit, qui compita servant,    615
  Et vigilant nostra semper in aede, Lares.
Proxima cognati dixere Caristia cari,
  Et venit ad socias turba propinqua dapes.
Scilicet a tumulis, et, qui periere, propinquis
  Protinus ad vivos ora referre juvat,                   620
Postque tot amissos, quidquid de sanguine restat,
  Adspicere, et generis dinumerare gradus.
Innocui veniant: procul hinc, procul impius esto
  Frater, et in partus mater acerba suos;
Cui pater est vivax, qui matris digerit annos,           625
  Quae premit invisam socrus iniqua nurum.
Tantalidae fratres absint, et Iasonis uxor,
  Et quae ruricolis semina tosta dedit:
Et soror, et Progne, Tereusque duabus iniquus,
  Et quicumque suas per scelus auget opes.               630
Dîs generis date tura bonis; Concordia fertur
  Illa praecipue mitis adesse die;
Et libate dapes, ut grati pignus honoris
  Nutriat incinctos missa patella Lares,
Jamque ubi suadebit placidos nox ultima somnos,          635
  Larga precaturi sumite vina manu,
Et, Bene nos, Patriae, bene te, Pater, optime Caesar!
  Dicite suffuso per sacra verba mero.

Nox ubi transierit, solito celebretur honore,
  Separat indicio qui deus arva suo.                     640
Termine, sive lapis, sive es defossus in agro
  Stipes ab antiquis, sic quoque numen habes.
Te duo diversa domini pro parte coronant,
  Binaque serta tibi, binaque liba ferunt.
Ara fit: huc ignem curto fert rustica testu              645
  Sumptum de tepidis ipsa colona focis.
Ligna senex minuit, concisaque construit alte,
  Et solida ramos figere pugnat humo.
Dum sicco primas irritat cortice flammas,
  Stat puer, et manibus lata canistra tenet.             650
Inde, ubi ter fruges medios immisit in ignes,
  Porrigit incisos filia parva favos.
Vina tenent alii: libantur singula flammis.
  Spectant et linguis Candida turba favent.
Spargitur et caeso communis Terminus agno:               655
  Nec queritur, lactens quum sibi porca datur.
Conveniunt celebrantque dapes vicinia supplex,
  Et cantant laudes, Termine sancte, tuas.
Tu populos, urbesque, et regna ingentia finis:
  Omnis erit sine te litigiosus ager.                    660
Nulla tibi ambitio est: nullo corrumperis auro:
  Legitima servas credita rura fide:
Si tu signasses olim Thyreatida terram,
  Corpora non leto missa trecenta forent,
Nec foret Othryades congestis lectus in armis.           665
  O quantum patriae sanguinis ille dedit!
Quid, nova quum fierent Capitolia? nempe deorum
  Cuncta Jovi cessit turba, locumque dedit.
Terminus--ut veteres memorant--inventus in aede
  Restitit, et magno cum Jove templa tenet.              670
Nunc quoque, se supra ne quid nisi sidera cernat,
  Exiguum templi tecta foramen habent.
Termine, post illud levitas tibi libera non est,
  Qua positus fueris in statione, mane.
Nec tu vicino quidquam concede roganti,                  675
  Ne videare hominem praeposuisse Jovi;
Et seu vomeribus, seu tu pulsabere rastris,
  Clamato, Meus est hic ager, ille tuus.
Est via, quae populum Laurentes ducit in agros,
  Quondam Dardanio regna petita duci.                    680
Illac lanigeri pecoris tibi, Termine, fibris
  Sacra videt fieri sextus ab urbe lapis.
Gentibus est aliis tellus data limite certo;
  Romanae spatium est urbis et orbis idem.

Nunc mihi dicenda est Regis fuga. Traxit ab illa         685
  Sextus ab extremo nomina mense dies.
Ultima Tarquinius Romanae gentis habebat
  Regna, vir injustus, fortis ad arma tamen.
Ceperat hic alias, alias everterat urbes,
  Et Gabios turpi fecerat arte suos.                     690
Namque trium minimus, proles manifesta Superbi,
  In medios hostes nocte silente venit.
Nudarant gladios: Occidite, dixit, inermem!
  Hoc cupiant fratres, Tarquiniusque pater,
Qui mea crudeli laceravit verbere terga!                 695
  --Dicere ut hoc posset, verbera passus erat--
Luna fuit. Spectant juvenem, gladiosque recondunt,
  Tergaque, deducta veste, notata vident.
Flent quoque, et, ut secum tueatur bella, precantur.
  Callidus ignaris annuit ille viris.                    700
Jamque potens misso genitorem appellat amico,
  Prodendi Gabios quod sibi monstret iter,
Hortus odoratis suberat cultissimus herbis,
  Sectus humum rivo lene sonantis aquae.
Illic Tarquinius mandata latentia nati                   705
  Accipit, et virga lilia summa metit.
Nuntius ut rediit, decussaque lilia dixit,
  Filius, Agnosco jussa parentis, ait.
Nec mora: principibus caesis ex urbe Gabina,
  Traduntur ducibus moenia nuda suis.                    710
Ecce--nefas visu--mediis altaribus anguis
  Exit, et exstinctis ignibus exta rapit.
Consulitur Phoebus. Sors est ita reddita: Matri
  Qui dederit princeps oscula, victor erit.
Oscula quisque suae matri properata tulerunt,            715
  Non intellecto credula turba deo.
Brutus erat stulti sapiens imitator, ut esset
  Tutus ab insidiis, dire Superbe, tuis.
Ille jacens pronus matri dedit oscula Terrae,
  Creditus offenso procubuisse pede.                     720
Cingitur interea Romanis Ardea signis,
  Et patitur lentas obsidione moras.
Dum vacat, et metuunt hostes committere pugnam,
  Luditur in castris: otia miles agit.
Tarquinius juvenis socios dapibusque meroque             725
  Accipit, atque illis rege creatus ait:
Dum nos difficilis pigro tenet Ardea bello,
  Nec sinit ad patrios arma referre deos;
Ecquid in officio torus est socialis? et ecquid
  Conjugibus nostris mutua cura sumus?                   730
Quisque suam laudant. Studiis certamina crescunt,
  Et fervent multo linguaque corque mero.
Surgit, cui clarum dederat Collatia nomen;
  Non opus est verbis, credite rebus, ait.
Nox superest: tollamur equis, urbemque petamus.          735
  Dicta placent: frenis impediuntur equi.
Pertulerant dominos. Regalia protinus illi
  Tecta petunt: custos in fore nullus erat.
Ecce nurum regis fusis per colla coronis
  Inveniunt posito pervigilare mero.                     740
Inde cito passu petitur Lucretia. Nebat;
  Ante torum calathi lanaque mollis erant.
Lumen ad exiguum famulae data pensa trahebant,
  Inter quas tenui sic ait ipsa sono:
Mittenda est domino--nunc, nunc properate, puellae--     745
  Quamprimum nostra facta lacerna manu.
Quid tamen audistis?--nam plura audire potestis--
  Quantum de bello dicitur esse super?
Postmodo victa cades, melioribus, Ardea, restas,
  Improba, quae nostros cogis abesse viros.              750
Sint tantum reduces. Sed enim temerarius ille
  Est meus, et stricto quolibet ense ruit.
Mens abit, et morior, quoties pugnantis imago.
  Me subit, et gelidum pectora frigus habet.
Desinit in lacrimas, intentaque fila remittit,           755
  In gremio vultum deposuitque suum.
Hoc ipsum decuit: lacrimae decuere pudicam,
  Et facies animo dignaque parque fuit.
Pone metum, venio, conjux ait. Illa revixit,
  Deque viri collo dulce pependit onus.                  760
Interea juvenis furiales regius ignes
  Concipit, et caeco raptus amore furit.
Forma placet, niveusque color, flavique capilli,
  Quique aderat nulla factus ab arte decor.
Verba placent, et vox, et quod corrumpere non est:       765
  Quoque minor spes est, hoc magis ille cupit.
Jam dederat cantum lucis praenuntius ales,
  Quum referunt juvenes in sua castra pedem.
Carpitur attonitos absentis imagine sensus
  Ille: recordanti plura magisque placent.               770
Sic sedit, sic culta fuit, sic stamina nevit,
  Neglectae collo sic jacuere comae,
Hos habuit vultus, haec illi verba fuere,
  Hic decor, haec facies, hic color oris erat.
Ut solet a magno fluctus languescere flatu,              775
  Sed tamen a vento, qui fuit, unda tumet:
Sic, quamvis aberat placitae praesentia formae,
  Quem dederat praesens forma, manebat amor.
Ardet, et injusti stimulis agitatus amoris
  Comparat indigno vimque dolumque toro.                 780
Exitus in dubio est. Audebimus ultima, dixit.
  Viderit, audentes forsne deusne juvet.
Cepimus audendo Gabios quoque. Talia fatus
  Ense latus cinxit, tergaque pressit equi.
Accipit aerata juvenem Collatia porta,                   785
  Condere jam vultus sole parante suos.
Hostis, ut hospes, init penetralia Collatini:
  Comiter excipitur: sanguine junctus erat.
Quantum animis erroris inest! parat inscia rerum
  Infelix epulas hostibus illa suis.                     790
Functus erat dapibus: poscunt sua tempora somni.
  Nox erat, et tota lumina nulla domo.
Surgit, et auratum vagina liberat ensem,
  Et venit in thalamos, nupta pudica, tuos,
Utque torum pressit, Ferrum, Lucretia, mecum est,        795
  Natus, ait, regis, Tarquiniusque loquor.
Illa nihil: neque enim vocem viresque loquendi,
  Aut aliquid toto pectore mentis habet.
Sed tremit, ut quondam stabulis deprensa relictis
  Parva sub infesto quum jacet agna lupo.                800
Quid faciat? pugnet? vincetur femina pugna.
  Clamet? at in dextra, qui necet, ensis adest.
Effugiat? positis urgentur pectora palmis;
  Tune primum externa pectora tacta manu.
Instat amans hostis precibus, pretioque, minisque:       805
  Nec prece, nec pretio, nec movet ille minis.
Nil agis; eripiam, dixit, pro crimine vitam:
  Falsus adulterii testis adulter erit.
Interimam famulum, cum quo deprensa fereris.
  Succubuit famae victa puella metu.                     810
Quid, victor, gaudes? haec te victoria perdet.
  Heu quanto regnis nox stetit una tuis!
Jamque erat orta dies: passis sedet illa capillis,
  Ut solet ad nati mater itura rogum;
Grandaevumque patrem fido cum conjuge castris            815
  Evocat: et posita venit uterque mora.
Utque vident habitum, quae luctus causa, requirunt,
  Cui paret exsequias, quove sit icta malo.
Illa diu reticet, pudibundaque celat amictu
  Ora. Fluunt lacrimae more perennis aquae.              820
Hinc pater, hinc conjux lacrimas solantur, et orant,
  Indicet: et caeco flentque paventque metu.
Ter conata loqui, ter destitit, ausaque quarto.
  Non oculos adeo sustulit illa suos.
Hoc quoque Tarquinio debebimus? eloquar, inquit,         825
  Eloquar infelix dedecus ipsa meum.
Quaeque potest narrat. Restabant ultima; flevit,
  Et matronales erubuere genae.
Dant veniam facto genitor conjuxque coactae.
  Quam, dixit, veniam vos datis, ipsa nego.              830
Nec mora; celato figit sua pectora ferro,
  Et cadit in patrios sanguinolenta pedes.
Tunc quoque jam moriens, ne non procumbat honeste,
  Respicit. Haec etiam cura cadentis erat.
Ecce super corpus communia damna gementes,               835
  Obliti decoris, virque paterque jacent.
Brutus adest, tandemque animo sua nomina fallit,
  Fixaque semanimi corpore tela rapit;
Stillantemqne tenens generoso sanguine cultrum,
  Edidit impavidos ore minante sonos:                    840
Per tibi ego hunc juro fortem castumque cruorem,
  Perque tuos Manes, qui mihi numen erunt,
Tarquinium poenas profuga cum stirpe daturum.
  Jam satis est virtus dissimulata diu.
Illa jacens ad verba oculos sine lumine movit,           845
  Visaque concussa dicta probare coma.
Fertur in exsequias animi matrona virilis,
  Et secum lacrimas invidiamque trahit.
Vulnus inane patet. Brutus clamore Quirites
  Concitat, et regis facta nefanda refert.               850
Tarquinius cum prole fugit. Capit annua Consul
  Jura. Dies regnis illa suprema fuit.

Fallimur? an veris praenuntia venit hirundo,
  Et metuit, ne qua versa recurrat hiems?
Saepe tamen, Progne, nimium properasse quereris,         855
  Virque tuo Tereus frigore laetus erit.

Jamque duae restant noctes de mense secundo,
  Marsque citos junctis curribus urget equos.
Ex vero positum permansit Equiria nomen,
  Quae deus in campo prospicit ipse suo.                 860
Jure venis, Gradive; locum tua tempora poscunt,
  Signatusque tuo nomine mensis adest.
Venimus in portum libro cum mense peracto.
  Naviget hinc alia jam mihi linter aqua.


NOTES:

1. _Crescit_. Some MSS. read _crescat_.

2. _Ut hinc_. Most MSS. read _ut hic;_ three of the best _ut it_. The
present reading is the conjecture of Heinsius.

3, 4. The Elegiac measure which is employed in this poem, was usually
appropriated to subjects which had not much dignity in them. Such had
been his preceding compositions in this species of verse.

5. Alluding to his Amores, Ars Amandi, etc.--_Faciles_, ready, compliant.

6. When my early youth sported in numbers adapted to it.

7, 8. I now sing the festivals, etc. Would any one think that idle
love-verses would have led the way to such a theme?

9, 10. _Militia, dextra, munere_, all words relating to military service.
See Hor. Car. iv. l.--_Ferimus_, most MSS. read _gerimus_.--_Vacat_.
Seven have _caret_.

14. _Habilis_, fit. Any one can be a soldier.

16. _Nomina_, i. e. deeds of name.--Titulos, is employed in the same
manner.

17, 18. He continues the adulatory style in which he at first addressed
him.

19. The poet now begins an inquiry into the origin of the name of the
second month.--_Februum: Sabinis purgamentum et in sacris nostris
verbum_. Varro de L. L. V.--_Piamina_, the [Greek: katharmoi] of the
Greeks, whatever was used in purification, and in removing the [Greek:
agos], or piacular guilt. Five MSS. read _piacula_, which signifies the
same thing.

20. Scil. the word is still frequently used in this sense.

21. _Rege_, the Rex Sacrorum.--_Flamine_, the Flamen Dialis.--_Lanas_. As
Clemens Alexandrinus enumerates the [Greek: eria pyrrha] among the
articles used by the Gentiles in purification Neapolis conjectures that
this wool was _red_.

23. _Lictor_, of the Flamen Dialis.--_Sertis_, one MS. _cernis_, three
_ternis_, one _acernis_. Heinsius proposes _tersis_.--_Domibus_, the
house of the Flamen.

24. The _Mola Salsa_.

25. _Arbore pura_, the pine, as making pure.

27. _Flaminicam_, the wife of the Flamen Dialis. Some MSS. read
_Flaminiam_ or _Flamineam_.

30. _Intonsos_, i.e. _priscos, antiquos_. _Intonsus Numa_, below V. 264.
_Intonsus Cato_. Hor. Car. II. 15. There were no barbers at Rome, till
A.U.C. 454.

31. See below, v. 267. _et seq_.

33. See below, v. 433, _et seq_.--_Tempora pura_, because the guilt and
evil had been removed.

37. In the mode usual in his time, Ovid assigns a Grecian origin to this
opinion. It was however common to Greece, Italy, and the East, and was a
part of the Law of Moses. Homer makes mention of it more than once. Thus
when Ulysses had slain the suitors, he says to Euryclea, [Greek: Oide
theeion graeu kakon akos, oise de moi pur, Ophra theeioso megaron].
According to the legend, (See Mythology, p. 94.) Apollo himself required
purification for having slain the Python.

39. _Actoriden_, Menoetius the father of Patroclus who had slain by
accident Clesonymus or aeanes.--_Pelea_. Telamon and Peleus slew their
brother Phocus. Peleus fled to Thessaly to Actor, or to Eurytion, the son
of Actor, by whom he was purified, and having had the misfortune to kill
his benefactor, he was purified by Acastus. The poet evidently makes a
mistake here. See Mythology, pp. 279 and 414.

41. Aegeus received Medea when she fled after the murder of her children.
--_Credulus_, too easily believing.--_Phasida_, Colchian. See Mythology,
279, 352.

43. _Amphiaraïdes_. Alemaeon, the son of Amphiaraus, put his mother
Eriphyle to death. Mythology, p. 434.--_Naupactoo_ scil. aetolian.
Naupactus is in aetolia, but not near the Achelous.

45. _Faciles_, credulous.

47-54. This passage is hard to understand. If in the year of Numa
Pompilius, which is the one spoken of, January was the first month, how
could February be the last? Perhaps, though this is at variance with v.
48, the poet here, as in I. 43, 44, only means that Numa added two months
to the Romulian year, in which case February would be the last. See
Introd. § 2.--_Tu quoque_, etc. The intercalation was made after the
Terminalia, that is, the 23d of February.--_Postmodo_, etc. this
regulation of the Decemvirs, is spoken of no where else.--_Tempora
continuasse_. "Effecisse ut hi duo menses, nullo interposito, se
exciperent, cum antea _distarent longo spatio_ decem ipsis mensibus
interjectis," Gierig. As the year is a circle, must not the two ends have
joined?

55. The poet here catches at the opportunity of praising Tiberius. The
temple of Juno Sospita, near that of the Mother of the Gods on the
Palatine hill, had been dedicated on the Kalends of February, but was now
fallen.

62. This is going the utmost length of flattery.

66. _Man. in stat_. Keep guard. A military phrase.

67. Romulus opened the Asylum on the Kalends of February, that is, on the
day of his year corresponding thereto.

69. _Penetrale Numae_. The temple of Vesta, in the Atrium of which, called
the Regia, Numa resided.

70. The Capitolium and the Arx were two parts of the same hill. Liv. III.
18, V. 47.

74. _Purpureis_, bright. This is a usual sense of this word.

76. The cosmic setting of Lyra.

77. The acronych setting of Leo.

79. On the third of February, the Dolphin sets heliacally.--Caelatum, set
or embossed.

81. Alluding to the aid which the Dolphin gave Neptune in his courtship
of Amphitrite.

82. This story of Arion is told by Herodotus, I. 23.

84. _Et seq_. comparing him to Orpheus.

91. _Cynthia_. Diana, the moon.

101, 102. An exclamation of the poet.

107. A long trailing robe of the richest purple, the _dibaphe_.

109, 110. This distich was justly suspected by Heinsius. There is a
corruption in it, which it is now, perhaps, impossible to cure. Burmann
understands by _penna_, an arrow; others think it denotes a hard feather
which the swan gets when old.--_Trajectus_. Four MSS. read _Threïcius_.

112. Describing the effect of his plunge into the sea.

115. _Pretium vehendi_, Scil. carmen.

119. See Hom. Il. II. 488. Virg. Geor. II. 42. aen, vi. 625.--_Quo_.
scil. _pectore_.

121. _Alterno carmine_ in hexameters et pentameters; the _versibus
impariter junctis_ of Horace, A. P. 75. The common reading is _pectine.--
Sacras Nonas_, on account of the honours decreed to Augustus.

126. _Heroi pedis_. Hexameters.

127. On the nones of February, A.U.C. 752, Valerius Messala addressed
Augustus in the senate-house in these words, _Senatus te consentiens cum
Pop. Rom. consulutat Patrem Patriae_. Sact. Aug. 58.

128. _Eques_. Ovid was of the equestrian order.

132. The [Greek: pataer andron te theon te] of Homer, the _Divum pater
atque hominum rex_ of Virgil.

134. Comparing the paltry defences erected by the first founder of Rome,
with the strength of the city under its second founder, as Augustus was
styled.

135, 136. See Livy, I. Romulus was only formidable to the little states
around his town; Augustus reduced both the East and the West under the
sway of Rome.

139. The rape of the Sabines is opposed to the laws against adultery,
etc. of Augustus.--_Duce se_, by his own example.

140. The Asylum opposed to the vigorous administration of justice by
Augustus.

142. The favourite title of Augustus and of Tiberius was Princeps. scil.
Senatus; [Greek: deopotaes men ton doulon, autokrator de ton stratioton,
ton de dae loipon prokritus] (Princeps) [Greek: eimi], was a usual saying
of Tiberius.

143. There may be an allusion here to Augustus' forgiveness of Cinna and
others.

144. Mars and Julius Caesar.

145. The cosmic rising of Aquarius.--_Puer. Idaeus_, Ganymedes, son of
Tros, king of Troy, fabled in aftertimes to have been made this
constellation.

146. _Liquidas_, means clear and not liquid.--_Nectare_, as being
cupbearer of the gods.

149. Spring began on the 9th of February, the V. Idus.

153. On the III. Idus Arctophylax, or Bootes, rises acronychally.

155-192. The poet had already told this tale. Met. II, 401-530. See also
Mythology, p. 387.

193. The Faunalia were celebrated on the Ides. The island in the Tiber
contained the temple of Faunus, as well as those of Aesculapius and
Jupiter. It was built by the Aediles with the money arising from fines,
and dedicated A.U.C. 509. There was another Faunalia on the nones of
December. Hor. Car. III. 18. For Faunus, see Mythology, p. 477.

195. See Niebuhr's Roman History, II. 192-195, and 200-203. It is his
opinion that the Fabian Creus, disgusted with the obstinate refusal of
their order to grant the just claims of the Plebeians, retired with their
clients, and a part of the Plebeians, to the number of 4,500, as related
by Dionysius, and founded a colony on the banks of the Cremera, in
Etruria. They left Rome on the Ides of February, A.U.C. 275, and were cut
off by the Tuscans on the 18th of the following Quinctilis, the very day
on which the defeat was sustained at the Allia some years afterwards. The
poet has evidently fallen into a great error here.

196. The number of the Fabii is always given as being 306.

198. _Arma professa_, which they had promised.

199. _Castris_. From the context, this must have been the abodes of the
family at Rome. He may, perhaps, mean their settlement on the Cremera, v.
207.

201. They went out at the Carmental gate. The Roman gates, as has been
already observed, were double. People went out by one, and came in by the
other. Ever after this day, no one went through the gate by which the
Fabii had passed. The way was named _Via Scelerata_ or _Infelix.--Jano_,
that is, probably, simply the gate through which they passed.

203, 204. These lines are wanting in some of the best MSS. Gierig, though
unsatisfied with them, thinks they are necessary to the narration. It
does not seem so to me. We have only to understand the poet thus: they
went out, etc. v. 199, the way _by which they went_ is next etc. v. 201,
to have a very good sense.

206. _Hibernis_, produced by the melting of the snow. It was now the
spring. See note on v. 390.

214. _Parant_, scil. the Tuscans.

225, 226. The poet, as if present, calls out to them.--_Simplex_,
incautious, unsuspicious of guile.

237. _Herculeae gentis_. It was the tradition of the Fabian family that
they derived their origin from Hercules, by a daughter of Evander.

239. Niebuhr _ut supra_, shews that the Fabius who remained at Rome, must
have been then a grown man. He thinks the cause of his staying behind was
his differing in politics from the rest of the family.

241. The celebrated Fabius Maximas Cunctator, the man who shewed how to
vanquish Hannibal.

243. The day after the Ides these three signs, which lie close together,
rise acronychally.

247. The inferior gods offered sacrifices to the superior. See below, iv.
423. aeschyl. Prom. 526, _et seq_.

254. _Eam_, the tree for the fruit.

255. Figs ripen very fast (Pliny, xv. 19,) so that this is not badly
invented.

260. _Tenuit_ is used here in a double sense.

263. _Lactens_, that is, full of juice. It was peculiarly used of the
fig.

264. _De nullo_, etc. It was an opinion of the ancients, that for sixty
days before the figs ripened, the ravens were affected by a looseness of
bowels, which obliged them to abstain from every thing humid. Pliny, X.
12. aelian. V. Il. II. 5.

267. The Lupercalia were celebrated on the 15th February, the xv. Kal.
Mart. The poet here, according to the custom of the Latin poets,
confounds the ancient Italian deity, Faunus, with the Pan of the
Arcadians. On these occasions, a theory or a legend was always devised to
explain the manner in which the worship had been introduced. For Pan, see
Mythology, p. 198.

272. He most haunts the Arcadian mountains, or, he is most worshiped
there.

273. _Pholoë_, the mountain of that name.

274. This is an error, the Ladom falls into the Alpheus.

277. _Equarum_. Several MSS. read _aquarum_, which reading Burmann
defends, as Pan is called [Greek: aktios] by Theocritus. Idyll. V. 14.

278. Instead of _Pan ovium custos_.

280. That is, there was no town there at the time.

281. The Arcadians were always regarded as of the Pelasgian race.

282. The Flamen Dialis always bore a part in the Lupercalia.

285. The _first_ reason; they imitated the god himself.

289. The _second_; they commemorated the ancient mode of life in Arcadia.
It was said that Jupiter was born in this country. Callim. H. I.

290. See above, I. 469.

291. _Feris_. One MS. reads _ferae_; another _fere_; another _et fere.--
Usus_, occupations.

292. _Erat_. One MS. reads _erant_, which is adopted by Heinsius, Burmann
and Gierig.

299. _Sub Jove_, same as _sub dio_, in the open air.

301. _Detecti_, scil. the _naked_ Luperci.

302. _Opes_, that is, the want of wealth.

303. The _third_ reason for the nudity of the Luperci.--_Faunus_, scil.
Pan.

305. _Dominae_, Omphale, queen of Lydia, to whom Hercules was sold by
Mercury.

310. _Aurato sinu_. Her robe had threads of gold woven into it, or was
embroidered.

311. _Umbracula_, the _skiadia_, the modern umbrella--_Rapidos_. This is
the reading of eleven MSS. the rest have _tepidos_, which is very tame.
_Rapidos_ well expresses the consuming power of fire.

313. _Tenebat_, scil. Omphale, thus _subit_, v. 315. Some MSS. read
_tenebant_.

314. Hesperus is beautifully styled _roscidus_, as the dews of evening
accompany his appearance in the summer-season. The poet gives him a
dark-coloured horse, as the sky is then becoming every moment darker;
for the opposite reason, a white horse is given to Lucifer. "Hesperus,
that led The starry host, _rode_ brightest." Milton.

321. _Vincla_, either the wrists or the arm-holes of the tunic, which
would appear to have had running-strings in them.

324. _Scindebant_. Seven MSS. read _stringebant_.

326. _Tela minora_, the arrows opposed to the club.

329. Previous to a sacrifice, _à Venere abstinebant.--Pia sacra_, like
_pia tura, pium far_.

337. _Captata_, felt by groping, One MS. reads _tractata_.

359. A _fourth_ reason for this custom.--_Peregrinis causas Latinas_.
Three MSS. read peregrinae; two read _causam_. Perhaps the best reading
would be _peregrinis causam Latinam_.

360. _Suo pulvere_, in his own common (i.e. Italian) course.

361. Scil. at the Lupercalia.

363. _Transsuta_, Others read _transfixa, transita_, or _trajecta_.

367, 368. These lines are wanting in three MSS. and are probably
spurious.--_Caestibus_. Six MSS. read _vectibus_, which Heinius prefers,
as the caestus was unknown to the old Romans, and pitching bar(_vectis_)
was a common exercise of the Roman soldiery. The poets, however, troubled
themselves little about minutiae of this kind. Some MMS. have _vestibus_.

375-378. Fabius, says the legend, was over the comrades of Remus, and
Quinctilius over those of Romulus; and those under them were named from
them. The truth is, the Fabian family were of the Sabine, the
Quinctilian, of the Roman part of the nation.

380. _Quod bene cessit_. Several of the best MSS. read _gessit_. Some
_qui lene gesset_.

381. He now proceeds to inquire into the origin of the names _Lupercal_
and _Lupercalia_, and takes this occasion of relating the early history
of the founders of Rome.

383. _Ilia_. Most MSS. read _Silvia_.

385. _Pueros_. The reading of most MSS. is _parvos_. Burmann observes,
that the ancients did not use _parvos_ without a substantive for
children.

387. _Recusantes_, unwillingly; refusing as far as they dared. Burmann
proposes _reluctantes_ or _repugnantes_.

389. _Albula_. This was an ancient name of the Tiber. The Romans, aping
the Greeks in this, as in every thing else, deduced the name Tiber, from
that of a fabled king.

390. _Hibernis_. Neapolis would infer from this, that Romulus and Remus
were born in the winter. This is pressing poetic language too close; the
Latin poets used _Hiems_, and its kindred adjectives, as the Greeks did
[Greek: cheimon], and the terms derived from it. The meaning is, the
river was swoln by the rains which had lately fallen. If we wished
regularly to confute Neapolis, we might refer him to v. 413, as the wolf
does not bring forth in winter.

391, 392. The different Fora or markets at Rome, were in the valleys
between the hills. The Circus Maximus was three stadia and a half long,
and one broad. It is probably to express its magnitude that he uses
_valles_ in the plural, as the measure imposed no necessity.

393. According to the account given by Dionysius from Fabius Pictor, they
came down with the babes from the summit of the Palatine hill, and laid
them in the water, which now washed its foot.

394. _Et_. Two MSS. read _an_, which Heinsius adopts and justifies by a
number of examples, and which is certainly the more elegant.

396. _Iste_, scil. Romulus.

398. _Esse_, scil: _patrem_. This ellipsis well expresses the doubt and
hesitation of the speaker.--_Suspicor_. Three MSS. read _suspicer_.

400. _Praecipiti_, critical, dangerous.

401. _Si non etc_. The ancients believed that a god could not, any more
than a man, be in more places than one at the same time. Hence the jest
that Diana could not save her temple at Ephesus from the flames, as she
was aiding the birth of Alexander the Great, in Macedonia.

408. Scil: the fate of Rome.

409. _Appulsus_. Eight MSS. read _impulsus_, which Lenz prefers, as
expressing the force with which the water drove them, but they were not
in the current of a stream, and the motion of the retiring water must
have been very gentle.

412. _Rumina_, from _rumis_ or _ruma_, the same as _mamma_. This must
have been the original name; the derivation from Romulus is futile. In
the time of Varro, as he informs us, (De L. L. iv.) a new _ficus
ruminalis_ was planted in the Comitium, which was standing when the poet
wrote. It withered in the reign of Nero. Pliny, xv. 18.

413. _Feta_, i. e. _enixa_, as the context shews.

416. _Perdere_. Two MSS. read _prodere_._--Cog. manus_. scil: the hands of
Amulius.

417. She shews her affection for the babes by the motion of her tail.

419. They might be known to be the offspring of Mars by the wolf, his
sacred animal, coming to feed them, and by their shewing no signs of
fear.

420. _Promissi_, i. e. destined by nature.

423. Another cause, a Grecian origin, from Mt. Lycaeum, in Arcadia.

424. _Faunus_, scil. Pan,--_Lycaeo_. Pausanius, who mentions [Greek: Zeus
lukaios], does not give this epithet to Pan. He speaks, however, of his
temple on Mt. Lycaeum. In an epigram of Leonidas, we meet [Greek:
lagobola Pani Lukaio].

425. Barren women placed themselves in the way of Luperci, as they ran
about striking people with their goat-skin thongs, as the contact of the
sacred lash was supposed to produce fecundity.--_Herbis_, etc. the usual
modes of obtaining the power of bearing children.

428. _Optatum_. One MS. which is followed by Heinsius and Gierig, has
_optati_.

433. Instead of increasing the number and strength of his people by their
having offspring, he had only brought on himself and them the war with
the Sabines.

435, 436. The grove of Juno Lucina. Varro, L. L. iv.

440. _Mira_, wonderful things.

441. _Italidas_. Several of the best MSS. read _Italias_.--_Sacer hircus_.
Four MSS. read _caper hirtus_, in favour of which, it is urged, that as
the _caper_ was a gelt _hircus_, the wonder was the greater; and v. 445,
a _caper_ is sacrificed. I should feel disposed to adopt this reading,
which is that of Heinsius, Burmann and Gierig.

443. His name has not come down to us.

444. Etruria was renowned for augury.

449, 450. Two derivations of Lucina; one from _lucus_, as if she was so
named from being worshiped in a grove; a second from _lux_, as the light
proceeded from her. This last might identify Juno Lucina with the moon,
and with the Eilcithyia of the Greeks. See Mythology, p. 154.

451. _Facilis_ seems to answer to [Greek: praumaetis], an epithet of
Eilcithyia.

453-458. On the day of the Lupercalia, the sun entered Pisces, and winds
began to blow, which continued for six days.

461. _Dione_, Venus. In Homer, this goddess is the daughter of Dione.
Ovid confounds them, as he does the Hyperion and Helius (_Sol_) of Homer.

462. In the Giant-war. See Mythology, p. 238.

471. Others say, the goddess and her son turned themselves into fishes at
the approach of Typhon.

473, 474. He confounds, in the usual manner, the Aphrodite of the Greeks,
and Venus of the Latins, with the Atergatis or Derceto of the Syrians.--
_Timidi_, scil. _Deorum_, pious.

475. There was no festival, and nothing remarkable on the XIV. Kal. Mart.
The Quirinalia were on the following day. He takes this occasion of
relating the end of Romulus and his apotheosis. See Livy, I. 13. It
occurred on the Nones of Quinctilis.

477-480. Three derivations of the name Quirinus. The first is the true
one. See Mythology, p. 472.

484. _Officio_. The care and labour of Romulus.

487. This is a line of Ennius. It also occurs, Met. xiv. 814.--The poet,
in this account of the Assumption of Romulus, evidently keeps close to
the Annals of the old poet.

491. The _Palus Caprea_, or _Capreae_, was in the Campus Martius.--
_Capreae_. Some MSS. read _Caprae_; one _Capream_, which is adopted by
Heinsius, Burmann and Gierig. The Greeks called it [Greek: aigos hae
zorkos helos].

492. _Jura dabas_. According to most accounts he was reviewing the army.
The poet may, however, have used these words only in a general sense, to
denote any exercise of his authority. The assembly of the Roman people on
the Campus Martius was always regarded as an _exercitus_. See Niebuhr on
the Centuries. Rom. Hist. Vol. I.

493. _Sol. fugit_, in consequence of the darkness. It is not necessary,
with Dionysius and others, to suppose an eclipse.

496. See Hor. Car. III. 3, 15. This circumstance was evidently in the
Annals of Ennius, from which both poets derived it.--_Fit fuga_, hence
this day was also called the _Populifugiun_.

498. _Fides_, belief or opinion.

500. _Luna fulgebat_, consequently there could not have been an eclipse
of the sun. Livy says, that Romulus appeared _prima luce_, at the dawn of
day. Several MSS. read _surgebat_. I prefer the common reading, as the
poet, by saying that Proculus carried no torch, evidently means to
express bright moon-light.

501. _Sinistrae_, the lucky side, according to Etrurian augury.--_Nubes
crepuere_. Several MSS. read _Sepes tremuere_, or _sonuere_.

503. The usual signs of divinity.--_Trabea_. See above, I. 37. Plutarch
says, that Romulus appeared [Greek: huplois lamprois kai phlegousi
kekosmaemenos]. As the poet here uses the word _trabea_, I would take
_jura dabas_ above, v. 492, in its simple sense.

510. _Populos_, the Romans and Sabines, or probably as above, I. 38, for
_cives_. Many MSS. read _patres_.

511. _Collis_, the Quirinal. Festus, with much greater probability,
supposes it to have derived its name from the Sabines from Cures having
settled on it. Niebuhr thinks there was a town on it named Quirium,
whence came the name Quirites, at first peculiar to the Sabine portion of
the Roman people.

512. The Quirinalia were _stativa_. See note on I. 657.

513. Another name for the Quirinalia was the Stultorurn Feriae, because
those who from ignorance, or from having been on a journey, or from want
of time, or any other just cause, had not sacrificed with the rest of the
people on the Fornicalia, which was an indictive festival, (see preceding
note) did so on the Quirinalia. The poet takes this occasion of relating
the supposed origin of the Fornicalia.

519. _Jaciebant_, cast, i. e. sowed.

526. _Temperet_, that is, keep from burning.

527. _Curio_. Romulus, we are told, divided the people into 30 _curiae_,
over each of which was a _curio_. The Curio Maximus presided over the 30
Curiones.--_Leg. verb_. ex gr. _Lavatio Deum Matris est hodie. Jovis
epulum eras est. Aesculapii geritur celebraturque vindemia. Lectisternium
Cereris erit Idibus proximis_. Arnobius, L. vii.

529. _Multa tabella_. On which was inscribed in what Curia each part of
the people was to worship.

533. The Feralia, in honour of the dead, were celebrated on the 19th of
February, as this was formerly the last month of the year. Festus derives
Feralia, _à ferendis epulis vel a feriendis pecudibus_.--Varro, _ab
inferis et ferendo epulas_. The derivation from _inferis_ is nearest the
truth.

537. _Porrectis_. One MS. which is followed by Heinsius, and the other
editors, reads _projectis_.

542. _Sua verba_, suitable words.

545. See Virg aen. v. 94, _et seq_.

548. _Par. dies_, the days on which the Parentalia were celebrated.--
_Deseruere_, neglected.

554. _Deformes_, scil, _simulacra modis pallentia miris_, or, as Lenz
understands it, having no certain form.

557. _Viduae puellae_, either widows, or, if _viduae_ is taken in its
general sense, simply unmarried women. Two MSS. read _avidae_.

558. _Puros dies_, days not devoted to gloomy or melancholy matters, like
the Feralia.

559, 560. _Quae_ etc. opposed, it would appear, to the _viduae_ of v.
557.--_Hasta_. It was the custom to divide the hair of a virgin-bride
with the point of a small spear.

560. Torches were used at funerals and at the _Parentalia_, as well as at
weddings.

563. During this time, the temples of the gods were closed, and no sacred
rites performed.

566. That the souls of the dead loved to partake of food, is an opinion
as old as the time of Homer. See the [Greek: nekuia] in the Odyssey.

567, 568. The Feralia, or last day for appeasing the Manes, was the XII.
Kal. Mart, from which, to the end of the month, there were exactly
eleven; that is, six and five days. Some have thought that the poet meant
six feet only, and that therefore the Feralia were the VI. Kal. Mart,
but this is contradicted by v. 684, and by an ancient calendar which
places them on the XII. Kal. Mart.

569. See note on v. 533.

571. He now relates the rites performed on this day to the goddess Muta
or Tacita, to bind the tongues of detractors. Neapolis thinks that the
reason of uniting them with the Parentalia, may have been to give effect
to the maxim, _de mortuis nil nisi bonum.--Annosa_, Heinsius would read
_vinosa_ or _pannosa_.

574. _Brevis_, i. e. _parvus_.

575. _Plumbo_. Black lead was employed in magic. One or two MSS. read
_rhombo_, which is adopted by Heinsius and Gierig, and which I should
also feel disposed to adopt. The _rhombus_ or spindle, and the black or
party-coloured threads were of great use in magic. See Virg. Ecl. viii.
75.

576. Seven, like three, was a magic number.

578. _Maenae_. The _maena_ was a small fish of little value, which was
salted and eaten by the poorer sort of people. It was used on this
occasion symbolically, and was an appropriate offering to the goddess of
Silence. This, which is the reading of only two MSS. has been adopted by
all the editors: the MSS. in general read _menta_ or _mintha_.

581. _Vinximus_. _Vincire_ was the appropriate word to express the
hindrance of any action by magic art.

583. This legend must have been invented long after the Romans had become
acquainted with Grecian Mythology, as their ancient religion knew nothing
of choirs of nymphs, or of amours of the gods. See Mythology, p. 450.

585. _Indomita_, [Greek: adamasto]. Many MSS. read _immodico_, and
_victus_ for _captus_.

598. The nymphs of the Anien, the god of which, according to our poet
(Am. III. 6, 45,) espoused the mother of Romulus. Horace (Car. I. 2, 17,)
unites her to the god of the Tiber.

600. That is, her name was 615. The Romans had both Lala, from _lalia_.

601. He makes her the daughter of the god of the river Almo.

605. _Nuptam_ scil. Junonem. The common reading of the MSS. is _nuptas_;
some have _nymphae_ or _nympnam. It is evident that the poet wished to
express the busy meddling loquacity of Lara, as it would have sufficed to
set Juturna on her guard.

615. The Romans had both public and private Lares. The word Las is
Etruscan and signified _Lord_. See V. 1238, _et seq_. and Mythology, pp.
481.482.

617--638. On the XI. Kal. Mart. was held the domestic feast, named the
Caristia, from _carus_. "Convivium etiam solemne majores instituerunt,
idque Caristia appellaverunt, cui praeter cognatos et affines nemo
interponebatur; ut si qua inter necessarios querela esset orta, apud
sacra mensae et inter hilaritatem animorum, fautoribus concordiae
adhibitis, tolleretur." Valer. Max. II. 1.

619. He gives the reason why the Caristia followed immediately after the
Feralia, that the dead might visit their friends, and have their share of
the feast. See above note on v. 566.

625. Who thinks his father or mother lives too long.

628. Ino. For all the persons mentioned here, see my Mythology, under
their names.

631. The Genii, and all the domestic gods, were called _Di boni_, [Greek:
agathoi daimones]. The Lares or Penates are meant here.

633. _Libate dapes_. Place a portion of the food (_dapes_) on a _patella_
to be set before the gods, i. e. the _Lares_. _Libare, dapes, patella_
and _honor_, are all the appropriate terms.

634. _Incinctos_, that is, _succinctos_. See V. 2l7. 675. Persius Sat.
V.3l.

635. _Nox ultima_, the latter part of the night towards morning, Most
MSS. read _humida_.

636. _Larga_. One or two MSS. read parca, which Heinsius and Gierig adopt
without hesitation,--_Precaturi manu_. Heinsius conjectures _precaturae
manus_, which reading is adopted by Gierig. In their editions the line
runs thus: _Parca precaturae sumite vina manus_.

637. It was considered highly culpable not to join the name of the prince
in their supplications on occasions like this. Hence we seem to have
derived the custom of drinking the king's health.

639. On the VIII. Kal. Mart. was the festival of the Terminalia,
instituted, as was said, by Numa.

640. The Terminus or boundary, which also represented the god, was either
a stone or a post of wood placed in the ground.

643. He here gives a minute description of the mode of worshiping the god
of boundaries.--_Duo domini_, the owners of the ground on both sides.

644. _Bina_, same as _duo_.

645. _Curto testu_, a small earthen vessel. Heinsius has proved by
abundant examples, that this was a usual sense of _curtus_.

648. _Rami_. These were driven into the ground, or rather into the
sod-built altar, to keep the wood which was piled up from tumbling about.

650. _Canistra_, the basket in which were the corn, &c. to be used.

654. _Candida_, clad in white.

659. This is the hymn of the poet, rather than of the rustics.

663. The well-known story of the combat between three hundred
Lacedaemonians and as many Argives, for the possession of Thyrea. See
Herod. I. 82. Lucian, Charon, Valerius Maximus, &c.

665. _Lectus_, read; for when the three surviving Argives had run home
with the news of their victory, thinking all the enemies dead, he got up,
piled a trophy, and inscribed it with his blood. All the MSS. read
_tectus_; _lectus_ is the conjecture of Barthius, as Statius, Theb. iv.
47, says, _Et Lacedaemonium Thyre lectura cruorem_. It is almost certain
that it is the true reading; the exclamation in the following line
appears to confirm it.

667. See the story in Livy, I. 55.

669. _Inventus_. Five MSS. read _conventus_, which Heinsius and Gierig
have adopted. Gierig interprets it _cum ad eum convenissent augures_. I
must doubt if _conventus_ ever occurs in this passive sense. Burmann
proposes _tunc lentus_.

670. _Unde in Capitolio superna pars tecti patet quae lapidem ipsum
Termini spectat, nam Termino non nisi, sub divo sacrificabatur_. Servius
on aen. ixx. 448.

680. It is well known that aeneas landed in this part of the country. See
Virgil, Livy, &c.

682. The boundary of the Roman dominion was at one time between the fifth
and sixth milestone on the Laurentine way.--How it was enlarged in the
days of the poet! A sacrifice to Terminus was still offered on that spot.

684. A play on words.

685. The _Regifugium_, or banishment of the Tarquins, is placed by the
poet on the 24th February, the VIII. Kal. Mart. One very ancient MS.
reads _quintus_, which reading is adopted by Neapolis and by Petavius,
who accuses Ovid of gross negligence. One MS. reads _Septimus extremo_.

687. See the whole history in Livy, I. Niebuhr (Rom. Hist, I. 486,)
justly gives the palm to the narrative of the historian over that of our
poet. The modern historian's criticism of the whole story is exceedingly
well worthy of perusal.

690. Livy, I. 53. It is the story of Zopyrus, transferred from Herodotus
(III. 154,) to the Roman history.

694. _Hoc Ithacus velit, et magno mercentur Atridae_. Virg.

703. This also is taken from Herodotus, (v. 92) who tells us that
Thrasybulus, the tyrant of Miletus, employed the same mode of giving
counsel to Periander.

704. _Sectus_. Most MSS. read _septus_. The former is much to be
preferred. _Seco_ is frequently used of rivers.

706. In the ordinary narrative they are poppies.

713. The poet in his haste or negligence confounds matters here, for this
response was given to their question, of who should be king of Rome. See
Livy.

716. _Turba_. There were but two sons of Tarquin sent to consult the
oracle.

729. _Torus socialis_, i.e. _uxor_.--_In officio_, faithful. _Fundanos
in officio esse_. Liv. viii. 19.

733. _Cui clarum_, etc. When Tarquin took Collatia from the Sabines, he
made his uncle, Egerius, governor of it, whose son was thence named
Collatinus. A different, and much more probable origin of names of this
kind, is given by Niebuhr. Rom. Hist. I. 293.

739. _Nurum_, the wife of Sextus Tarquinius. Nodell ad Avian, p. 108,
proposes _nurus_. It is _nurus_ in Livy. The poet (v. 725,) has, however,
spoken of but one of the young Tarquinii.--_Coronis_, several MSS. read
_capillis_, but compare v. 772.

744. _Tenui_, a low, soft voice.

746. _Lacerna_, a thick, warm, military cloak.

747. This is said to intimate the retired life which Lucretia led.

749. You will certainly be conquered at last; you hold out against better
(i.e. braver) men. _Dum pugnant Danai dum restat barbarus Hector_,
Propert, III. 7, 31. _Nunc paucis plures vix restatis_. Liv. xxiii. 45.

755. _Intenta_, drawn. Most MSS. read _incepta_.

765. _Et quod_, etc. Her modesty. _Tum forma, tum spectata castitas
incitat_. Livy.

785. _aerata_, covered with brass.

787. _Hostis ut hospes_. This play on words was not disdained even by
Livy, who puts it in the mouth of Lucretia herself.

788. He was second cousin to Collatinus.

807. Compare v. 809. _Pro crimine_, as a means of criminating you.

808. _Adulter_, scil. Sextus himself.

825. _Hoc_, scil. that I am obliged to relate my own disgrace. How
infinitely superior is Livy here. It is probable that he kept much closer
to Ennius than Ovid chose to do.

833. Euripides (Hec. 568,) says of Polyxena [Greek: hae de kai thnaeskous
omos Pollaen pronoian eichen euschaemos pesein].

837. Brutus signifies _stupid, foolish_. Niebuhr shews well the
inconsistencies and contradictions in the whole history of Brutus.

845. _Ad verba_. Eight MSS. read _adversa_.--_Sine lumine_, as being now
sunk in death.

846. _Concussa coma_. Gierig thinks this is an allusion to the Jupiter of
Homer, and condemns it; most justly, no doubt, if it is such, but of that
I am by no means certain.

847. _Fertur_ scil. effertur_.

848. Tears for her own hard fate; hatred (_invidia, odium_) of the
tyrant.

853. Columella, xi. 2, says, that the, swallow is seen on the VII. Kal.
Mart, Pliny, II. 47, says, _Favonium quidam a. d. viii. Kal. Mart.
Chelidoniam vacant ab hirundinis visu.--Veris praenuntia_ [Greek: haeros
angelos imerophonos aaedon]. Sappho.

854. _Qua_ scil. _parte_.

855. For Progne and Tereus, see Met. vi. 425, _et seq_. Mythology, p.
341.

857. The Equiria or horseraces on the Campus Martius, in honour of Mars,
were held on the III. Kal. Mart.

861. Your month (_tua tempora_) demands a place in my poem.

864. _Mihi_. Five MSS. read _mea_.



LIBER III.


Bellice, depositis clypeo paullisper et hasta,
  Mars, ades, et nitidas casside solve comas.
Forsitan ipse roges, quid sit cum Marte poetae.
  A te, qui canitur, nomina mensis habet.
Ipse vides manibus peragi fera bella Minervae;                 5
  Num minus ingenuis artibus illa vacat?
Palladis exemplo ponendae tempora sume
  Cuspidis; invenies et quod inermis agas.
Tum quoque inermis eras, quum te Romana sacerdos
  Cepit, ut huic urbi semina digna dares.                     10
Silvia Vestalis--quid enim vetat inde moveri?--
  Sacra lavaturas mane petebat aquas.
Ventum erat ad molli declivem tramite ripam:
  Ponitur e summa fictilis urna coma.
Fessa resedit humi, ventosque accepit aperto                  15
  Pectore, turbatas restituitque comas.
Dum sedet, umbrosae salices volucresque canorae?
  Fecerunt somnos, et leve murmur aquae.
Blanda quies victis furtim subrepit ocellis,
  Et cadit a mento languida facta manus.                      20
Mars videt hanc, visamque cupit, potiturque cupitam,
  Et sua divina furta fefellit ope.
Somnus abit: jacet illa gravis. Jam scilicet intra
  Viscera, Romanae conditor urbis, eras.
Languida consurgit, nec scit, cur languida surgat,            25
  Et peragit tales arbore nixa sonos:
Utile sit faustumque, precor, quod imagine somni
  Vidimus! An somno clarius illud erat?
Ignibus Iliacis aderam, quum lapsa capillis
  Decidit ante sacros lanea vitta focos.                      30
Inde duae pariter--visu mirabile--palmae
  Surgunt. Ex illis altera major erat,
Et gravibus ramis totum protexerat orbem,
  Contigeratque nova sidera summa coma.
Ecce meus ferrum patruus molitur in illas!                    35
  Terreor admonitu, corque timore micat.
Martia picus avis gemino pro stipite pugnant
  Et lupa. Tuta per hos utraque palma fuit.
Dixerat: et plenam non firmis viribus urnam
  Sustulit.--Implerat, dum sua visa refert.--                 40
Interea crescente Remo, crescente Quirino,
  Coelesti tumidus pondere venter erat.
Quo minus emeritis exiret cursibus annus,
  Restabant nitido jam duo signa deo:
Silvia fit mater. Vestae simulacra feruntur                   45
  Virgineas oculis opposuisse manus.
Ara deae certe tremuit, pariente ministra,
  Et subiit cineres territa flamma suos.
Haec ubi cognovit contemptor Amulius aequi,
  --Nam raptas fratri victor habebat opes--                   50
Amne jubet mergi geminos. Scelus unda refugit:
  In sicca pueri destituuntur humo.
Lacte quis infantes nescit crevisse ferino,
  Et picum expositis saepe tulisse cibos?
Non ego te, tantae nutrix Larentia gentis,                    55
  Nec taceam vestras, Faustule pauper, opes.
Vester honos veniet, quum Larentalia dicam:
  Acceptus Geniis illa December habet.
Martia ter senos proles adoleverat annos,
  Et suberat flavae jam nova barba comae:                     60
Omnibus agricolis armentorumque magistris
  Iliadae fratres jura petita dabant.
Saepe domum veniunt praedonum sanguine laeti,
  Et redigunt actos in sua rura boves.
Ut genus audierunt, animos pater editus auget,                65
  Et pudet in paucis nomen habere casis:
Romuleoque cadit trajectus Amulius ense,
  Regnaque longaevo restituuntur avo.
Moenia conduntur, quae, quamvis parva fuerunt,
  Non tamen expediit transiluisse Remo.                       70
Jam, modo qua fuerant silvae pecorumque recessus,
  Urbs erat, aeternae quum pater urbis ait:
Arbiter armorum, de cujus sanguine natus
  Credor, et ut credar, pignora certa dabo,
A te principium Romano ducimus anno:                          75
  Primus de patrio nomine mensis eat.
Vox rata fit, patrioque vocat de nomine mensem.
  Dicitur haec pietas grata fuisse deo.
Et tamen ante omnes Martem coluere priores;
  Hoc dederat studiis bellica turba suis;                     80
Pallada Cecropidae, Minoia Creta Dianam,
  Vulcanum tellus Hypsipylea colit:
Junonem Sparte Pelopeïadesque Mycenae:
  Pinigerum Fauni Maenalis ora caput.
Mars Latio venerandus erat, quia praesidet armis.             85
  Arma ferae genti remque decusque dabant.
Quod si forte vacas, peregrinos inspice fastos:
  Mensis in his etiam nomine Martis erit.
Tertius Albanis, quintus fuit ille Faliscis:
  Sextus apud populos, Hernica terra, tuos.                   90
Inter Aricinos Albanaque tempora constant
  Factaque Telegoni moenia celsa manu.
Quintum Laurentes, bis quintum Aequicolus asper,
  A tribus hunc primum turba Curensis habet.
Et tibi cum proavis, miles Peligne, Sabinis                   95
  Convenit: hic genti quartus utrique deus.
Romulus, hos omnes ut vinceret ordine saltem,
  Sanguinis auctori tempora prima dedit.
Nec totidem veteres, quot nunc, habuere Kalendas,
  Ille minor geminis mensibus annus erat.                    100
Nondum tradiderat victas victoribus artes
  Graecia, facundum, sed male forte genus.
Qui bene pugnabat, Romanam noverat artem;
  Mittere qui poterat pila, disertus erat.
Quis tunc aut Hyadas, aut Pliadas Atlanteas                  105
  Senserat, aut geminos esse sub axe polos?
Esse duas Arctos, quarum Cynosura petatur
  Sidoniis, Helicen Graja carina notet?
Signaque, quae longo frater percenseat anno,
  Ire per haec uno inense sororis equos?                     110
Libera currebant, et inobservata per annum
 Sidera: constabat sed tamen esse deos.
Non illi coelo labentia signa movebant,
  Sed sua: quae magnum perdere crimen erat.
Illa quidem feno; sed erat reverentia feno,                  115
  Quantam nunc aquilas cernis habere tuas.
Pertica suspensos portabat longa maniplos:
  Unde maniplaris nomina miles habet.
Ergo animi indociles et adhuc ratione carentes
  Mensibus egerunt lustra minora decem.                      120
Annus erat, decimum quum luna repleverat orbem.
  Hic numerus magno tunc in honore fuit;
Seu quia tot digiti, per quos numerare solemus:
  Seu quia bis quino femina mense parit:
Seu quod adusque decem numero crescente venitur;             125
  Principium spatiis sumitur inde novis.
Inde pares centum denos secrevit in orbes
  Romulus, Hastatos instituitque decem;
Et totidem Princeps, totidem Pilanus habebat
  Corpora, legitimo quique merebat equo.                     130
Quin etiam paries totidem Titiensibus idem,
  Quosque vocant Ramnes, Luceribusque dedit.
Assuetos igitur numeros servavit in anno.
  Hoc luget spatio femina maesta virum.
Neu dubites, primae fuerint quin ante Kalendae               135
  Martis, ad haec animum signa referre potes,
Laurea Flaminibus, quae toto perstitit anno,
  Tollitur, et frondes sunt in honore novae.
Janua nunc Regis posita viret arbore Phoebi:
  Ante tuas fit idem, Curia Prisca, fores.                   140
Vesta quoque ut folio niteat velata recenti,
  Cedit ab Iliacis laurea cana focis.
Adde, quod arcana fieri novus ignis in aede
  Dicitur, et vires flamma refecta capit.
Nec mihi parva fides, annos hinc isse priores,               145
  Anna quod hoc coepta est mense Perenna coli.
Hinc etiam veteres initi memorantur honores
  Ad spatium belli, perfide Poene, tui.
Denique quintus ab hoc fuerat Quintilis, et inde
  Incipit, a numero nomina quisquis habet.                   150
Primus oliviferis Romam deductus ab arvis
  Pompilius menses sensit abesse duos:
Sive hoc a Samio doctus, qui posse renasci
  Nos putat, Egeria sive monente sua.
Sed tamen errabant etiam tunc tempora, donec                 155
  Caesaris in multis haec quoque cura fuit.
Non haec ille deus, tantaeque propaginis auctor,
  Credidit officiis esse minora suis,
Promissumque sibi voluit praenoscere coelum,
  Nec deus ignotas hospes inire domos,                       160
Ille moras solis, quibus in sua signa rediret,
  Traditur exactis disposuisse notis.
Is decies senos tercentum et quinque diebus
  Junxit, et e pleno tempora quarta die.
Hic anni modus est. In lustrum accedere debet,               165
  Quae consummatur partibus, una dies.

Si licet occultus monitus audire deorum
  Vatibus, ut certe fama licere putat,
Quum sis officiis, Gradive, virilibus aptus,
  Dic mihi, matronae cur tua festa colant.                   170
Sic ego. Sic posita dixit mihi casside Mavors;
  Sed tamen in dextra missilis hasta fuit:
Nunc primum studiis pacis deus utilis armis
  Advocor, et gressus in nova castra fero.
Nec piget incepti; juvat hac quoque parte morari,            175
  Hoc solam ne se posse Minerva putet.
Disce, Latinorum vates operose dierum,
  Quod petis, et memori pectore dicta nota.
Parva fuit, si prima velis elementa referre,
  Roma: sed in parva spes tamen hujus erat.                  180
Moenia jam stabant, populis angusta futuris,
  Credita sed turbae tunc nimis ampla suae.
Quae fuerit nostri, si quaeris, regia nati,
  Adspice de canna straminibusque domum.
In stipula placidi carpebat munera somni,                    185
  Et tamen ex illo venit in astro toro.
Jamque loco majus nomen Romanus habebat,
  Nec conjux illi, nec socer ullus erat.
Spernebant generos inopes vicinia dives,
  Et male credebar sanguinis auctor ego.                     190
In stabulis habitasse, boves pavisse, nocebat,
  Jugeraque inculti pauca tenere soli.
Cum pare quaeque suo coëunt volucresque feraeque,
  Atque aliquam, de qua procreet, anguis habet.
Extremis dantur connubia gentibus: at, quae                  195
  Romano vellet nubere, nulla fuit.
Indolui, patriamque dedi tibi, Romule, mentem.
  Tolle preces, dixi: quod petis, arma dabunt.
Festa para Conso.--Consus tibi cetera dicet
  Illo facta die, quum sua sacra canes.--                    200
Intumuere Cures, et quos dolor attigit idem,
  Tum primum generis intulit arma socer.
Jamque fere raptae matrum quoque nomen habebant,
  Tractaque erant longa bella propinqua mora,
Conveniunt nuptae dictam Junonis in aedem,                   205
  Quas inter mea sic est nurus orsa loqui:
O pariter raptae,--quoniam hoc commune tenemus--
  Non ultra lente possumus esse piae.
Stant acies: sed utra dî sint pro parte rogandi,
  Eligite; hinc conjux, hinc pater arma tenent,              210
Quaerendum, viduae fieri malimus an orbae.
  Consilium vobis forte piumque dabo.
Consilium dederat: parent, crinemque resolvunt,
  Maestaque funerea corpora veste tegunt.
Jam stabant acies ferro mortique paratae:                    215
  Jam lituus pugnae signa daturus erat:
Quum raptae veniunt inter patresque virosque,
  Inque sinu natos, pignora cara, ferunt.
Ut medium campi passis tetigere capillis,
  In terram posito procubuere genu;                          220
Et, quasi sentirent, blando clamore nepotes
  Tendebant ad avos brachia parva suos.
Qui poterat, clamabat avum tum denique visum,
  Et qui vix poterat, posse coactus erat.
Tela viris animique cadunt, gladiisque remotis               225
  Dant soceri generis accipiuntque manus;
Laudatasque tenent natas, scutoque nepotem
  Fert avus: hic scuti dulcior usus erat.
Inde diem, quae prima, meas celebrare Kalendas
  Oebalides matres non leve munus habent.                    230
An, quia committi strictis mucronibus ausae
  Finierant lacrimis Martia bella suis?
Vel, quod erat de me feliciter Ilia mater,
  Rite colunt matres sacra diemque meum?
Quid? quod hiems adoperta gelu nunc denique cedit,           235
  Et pereunt victae sole tepente nives;
Arboribus redeunt detonsae frigore frondes,
  Vividaque e tenero palmite gemma tumet;
Quaeque diu latuit, nunc, se qua tollat in auras,
  Fertilis occultas invenit herba vias.                      240
Nunc fecundus ager: pecoris nunc hora creandi:
  Nunc avis in ramo tecta laremque parat.
Tempora jure colunt Latiae fecunda parentes,
  Quarum militiam votaque partus habet.
Adde, quod, excubias ubi rex Romanus agebat,                 245
  --Qui nunc Esquilias nomina collis habet--
Illic a nuribus Junoni templa Latinis
  Hac sunt, si memini, publica facta die.
Quid moror, et variis onero tua pectora causis?
  Eminet ante oculos, quod petis, ecce tuos.                 250
Mater amat nuptas: matrum me turba frequentant.
  Haec nos praecipue tam pia causa decet.
Ferte deae flores: gaudet florentibus herbis
  Haec dea: de tenero cingite flore caput.
Dicite, Tu lucem nobis, Lucina, dedisti;                     255
  Dicite, Tu voto parturientis ades.
Si qua tamen gravida est, resoluto crine precetur,
  Ut solvat partus molliter illa suos.

Quis mihi nunc dicet, quare coelestia Martis
  Arma ferant Salii, Mamuriumque canant?                     260
Nympha, mone, nemori stagnoque operata Dianae:
  Nympha, Numae conjux, ad tua facta veni.
Vallis Aricinae silva praecinctus opaca
  Est lacus antiqua religione sacer.
Hic latet Hippolytus furiis distractus equorum:              265
  Unde nemus nullis illud initur equis.
Licia dependent longas velantia sepes,
  Et posita est meritae multa tabella deae.
Saepe potens voti, frontem redimita coronis,
  Femina lucentes portat ab urbe faces.                      270
Regna tenent fortesque manu, pedibusque fugaces;
  Et perit exemplo postmodo quisque suo.
Defluit incerto lapidosus murmure rivus:
  Saepe, sed exiguis haustibus, inde bibi.
Egeria est, quae praebet aquas, dea grata Camenis.           275
  Illa Numae conjux consiliumque fuit.
Principio nimium promptos ad bella Quirites
  Molliri placuit jure deûmque metu.
Inde datae leges, ne firmior omnia posset,
  Coeptaque sunt pure tradita sacra coli.                    280
Exuitur feritas, armisque potentius aequum est,
  Et cum cive pudet conseruisse manus.
Atque aliquis, modo trux, visa jam vertitur ara,
  Vinaque dat tepidis salsaque farra focis.
Ecce deûm genitor rutilas per nubila flammas                 285
  Spargit, et effusis aethera siccat aquis.
Non alias missi cecidere frequentius ignes.
  Rex pavet, et vulgi pectora terror habet.
Cui dea, Ne nimium terrere! piabile fulmen
  Est, ait, et saevi flectitur ira Jovis.                    290
Sed poterunt ritum Picus Faunusque piandi
  Prodere, Romani numen uterque soli.
Nec sine vi tradent; adhibeto vincula captis!
  Atque ita, qua possint, erudit, arte capi.
Lucus Aventino suberat niger ilicis umbra,                   295
  Quo posses viso dicere, numen inest.
In medio gramen, muscoque adoperta virenti
  Manabat saxo vena perennis aquae.
Inde fere soli Faunus Picusque bibebant.
  Huc venit, et Fonti rex Numa mactat ovem,                  300
Plenaque odorati dîs ponit pocula Bacchi,
  Cumque suis antro conditus ipse latet.
Ad solitos veniunt silvestria numina fontes,
  Et relevant multo pectora sicca mero.
Vina quies sequitur: gelido Numa prodit ab antro,            305
  Vinclaque sopitas addit in arcta manus.
Somnus ut abscessit, tentando vincula pugnant
  Rumpere: pugnantes fortius illa tenent.
Tum Numa, Di nemorum, factis ignoscite nostris,
  Si scelus ingenio scitis abesse meo;                       310
Quoque modo possit fulmen, monstrate, piari.
  Sic Numa. Sic quatiens cornua Faunus ait:
Magna petis, nec quae monitu tibi discere nostro
  Fas sit. Habent fines numina nostra suos.
Di sumus agrestes, et qui dominemur in altis                 315
  Montibus. Arbitrium est in sua tela Jovi.
Hunc tu non poteris per te deducere coelo:
  At poteris nostra forsitan usus ope.
Dixerat haec Faunus: par est sententia Pici.
  Deme tamen nobis vincula, Picus ait.                       320
Jupiter huc veniet summa deductus ab arce.
  Nubila promissi Styx mihi testis erit.
Emissi quid agant laqueis, quae carmina dicant,
  Quaque trahant superis sedibus arte Jovem,
Scire nefas homini. Nobis concessa canentur,                 325
  Quaeque pio dici vatis ab ore licet.
Eliciunt caelo te, Jupiter; unde minores
  Nunc quoque te celebrant, Eliciumque vocant.
Constat Aventinae tremuisse cacumina silvae,
  Terraque subsedit pondere pressa Jovis.                    330
Corda micant regis, totoque e pectore sanguis
  Fugit, et hirsutae diriguere comae.
Ut rediit animus, Da certa piamina, dixit,
  Fulminis, altorum rexque paterque deum,
Si tua contigimus manibus donaria puris,                     335
  Hoc quoque, quod petitur, si pia lingua rogat.
Annuit oranti: sed verum ambage remota
  Abdidit, et dubio terruit ore virum.
Caede _caput_, dixit. Cui rex, Parebimus, inquit:
  Caedenda est hortis eruta _cepa_ meis.                     340
Addidit hic, _Hominis. Summos_, ait ille, _capillos_.
  Postulat hic _animam_. Cui Numa, _Piscis_, ait.
Risit, et, His, inquit, facito mea tela procures,
  O vir colloquio non abigende deum!
Sed tibi, protulerit quum totum crastinus orbem              345
  Cynthius, imperii pignora certa dabo.
Dixit, et ingenti tonitru super aethera motum
  Fertur, adorantem destituitque Numam.
Ille redit laetus, memoratque Quiritibus acta.
  Tarda venit dictis difficilisque fides.                    350
At certe credemur, ait, si verba sequatur
  Exitus. En, audi crastina, quisquis ades.
Protulerit terris quum totum Cynthius orbem,
  Jupiter imperii pignora certa dabit.
Discedunt dubii, promissaque tarda videntur,                 355
  Dependetque fides a veniente die.
Mollis erat tellus rorataque mane pruina;
  Ante sui populus limina regis adest.
Prodit et in solio medius consedit acerno.
  Innumeri circa stantque silentque viri.                    360
Ortus erat summo tantummodo margine Phoebus:
  Sollicitae mentes speque metuque pavent.
Constitit, atque caput niveo velatus amictu
  Jam bene dîs notas sustulit ille manus.
Atque ita, Tempus adest promissi muneris, inquit,            365
  Pollicitam dictis, Jupiter, adde fidem.
Dum loquitur, totum jam sol evolverat orbem,
  Et gravis aetherio venit ab axe fragor.
Ter tonuit sine nube deus, tria fulgura misit.
  Credite dicenti; mira, sed acta, loquor.                   370
A media coelum regione dehiscere coepit:
  Submisere oculos cum duce turba suo.
Ecce levi scutum versatum leniter aura
  Decidit. A populo clamor ad astra venit.
Tollit humo munus caesa prius ille juvenca,                  375
  Quae dederat nulli colla premenda jugo;
Idque _ancile_ vocat, quod ab omni parte recisum est,
  Quaque notes oculis angulus omnis abest.
Tum, memor imperii sortem consistere in illo,
  Consilium multae calliditatis init.                        380
Plura jubet fieri simili caelata figura,
  Error ut ante oculos insidiantes eat.
Mamurius, morum fabraene exactior artis,
  Difficile est ulli dicere, clausit opus.
Cui Numa munificus, Facti pete praemia, dixit:               385
  Si mea nota fides, irrita nulla petes.
Jam dederat Saliis--a saltu nomina ducunt--
  Armaque, et ad certos verba canenda modos.
Tum sic Mamurius, Merces mihi gloria detur,
  Nominaque extreme carmine nostra sonent.                   390
Inde sacerdotes operi promissa vetusto
  Praemia persolvunt, Mamuriumque vocant.
Nubere si qua voles, quamvis properabitis ambo,
  Differ: habent parvae commoda magna morae.
Arma movent pugnam, pugna est aliena maritis.                395
  Condita quum fuerint, aptius omen erit.
His etiam conjux apicati cincta Dialis
  Lucibus impexas debet habere comas.

Tertia nox emersa suos ubi moverit ignes,
  Conditus e geminis Piscibus alter erit.                    400
Nam duo sunt: Austris hic est, Aquilonibus ille
  Proximus; a vento nomen uterque tenet.

Quum croceis rorare genis Tithonia conjux
  Coeperit, et quintae tempora lucis aget;
Sive est Arctophylax, sive est piger ille Bootes,            405
  Mergetur, visus effugietque tuos.
At non effugiet Vindemitor. Hoc quoque causam
  Unde trahat sidus, parva docere mora est.
Ampelon intonsum Satyris Nymphaque creatum
  Fertur in Ismariis Bacchus amasse jugis.                   410
Tradidit huic vitem pendentem ex frondibus ulmi,
  Quae nunc de pueri nomine nomen habet,
Dum legit in ramo pictas temerarius uvas,
  Decidit: amissum Liber in astra vehit.

Sextus ubi Oceano clivosum scandit Olympian                  415
  Phoebus, et alatis aethera carpit equis;
Quisquis ades, canaeque colis penetralia Vestae,
  Cratera Iliacis turaque pone focis.
Caesaris innumeris, quem maluit ille mereri,
  Accessit titulis Pontificalis honos.                       420
Ignibus aeternis aeterni numina praesunt
  Caesaris. Imperii pignora juncta vides.
De veteris Troiae dignissima praeda favilla,
  Qua gravis aeneas tutus ab hoste fuit;
Ortus ab aenea tangit cognata sacerdos                       425
  Numina; cognatum, Vesta, tuere caput.
Quos sancta fovet ille manu, bene vivitis ignes.
  Vivite inexstincti, flammaque, duxque! precor.
Una nota est Martis Nonis, sacrata quod illis
  Templa putant lucos Vejovis ante duos.                     430
Romulus ut saxo lucum circumdedit alto,
  Quilibet huc, inquit, confuge, tutus eris.
O quam de tenui Romanus origine crevit!
  Turba vetus quam non invidiosa fuit!
Ne tamen ignaro novitas tibi nominis obstet,                 435
  Disce, quis iste deus, curve vocetur ita.
Jupiter est juvenis: juveniles adspice vultus.
  Adspice deinde manum, fulmina nulla tenet.
Fulmina post ausos coelum affectare Gigantas
  Sumpta Jovi: primo tempore inermis erat.                   440
Ignibus Ossa novis, et Pelion altior Ossa
  Arsit, et in solida fixus Olympus humo.
Stat quoque capra simul: Nymphae pavisse feruntur
  Cretides: infanti lac dedit Jovi.
Nunc vocor ad nomen. _Vegrandia_ farra colonae,              445
  Quae male creveruut, _vescaque_ parva vocant.
Vis ea si verbi est, cur non ego _Vejovis_ aedem,
  aedem non magni suspicer esse Jovis?
Jamque, ubi caeruleum variabunt sidera coelum,
  Suspice; Gorgonei colla videbis equi.                      450
Creditur hic caesae gravida cervice Medusae
  Sanguine respersis prosiluisse jubis.
Huic supra nubes et subter sidera lapso
  Coelum pro terra, pro pede penna fuit.
Jamque indignanti nova frena receperat ore,                  455
  Quum levis Aonias ungula fodit aquas.
Nunc fruitur coelo, quod pennis ante petebat,
  Et nitidus stellis quinque decemque micat.

Protinus adspicies venienti nocte Coronam
  Gnosida. Theseo crimine facta dea est.                     460
Jam bene perjuro mutarat conjuge Bacchum,
  Quae dedit ingrato fila legenda viro.
Sorte tori gaudens, Quid flebam rustica? dixit,
  Utiliter nobis perfidus ille fuit.
Interea Liber depexus crinibus Indos                         465
  Vincit, et Eoo dives ab orbe redit.
Inter captivas facie praestante puellas
  Grata nimis Baccho filia regis erat.
Flebat amans conjux, spatiataque litore curvo
  Edidit incultis talia verba comis:                         470
En iterum similes, fluctus, audite querelas!
  En iterum lacrimas accipe, arena, meas!
Dicebam, memini, perjure et perfide Theseu!
  Ille abiit: eadem crimina Bacchus habet.
Nunc quoque, nulla viro, clamabo, femina credat.             475
  Nomine mutato causa relata mea est.
O utinam mea sors, qua primum coeperat, isset!
  Jamque ego praesenti tempore nulla forem!
Quid me desertis perituram, Liber, arenis
  Servabas? potui dedoluisse semel.                          480
Bacche levis, leviorque tuis, quae tempora cingunt,
  Frondibus, in lacrimas cognite Bacche meas,
Ausus es ante oculos adducta pellice nostros
  Tam bene compositum sollicitare torum.
Heu! ubi pacta fides? ubi, quae jurare solebas?              485
  Me miseram! quoties haec ego verba loquor!
Thesea culpabas, fallacemque ipse vocabas:
  Judicio peccas turpius ipse tuo.
Ne sciat hoc quisquam, tacitisque doloribus urar!
  Ne toties falli digna fuisse puter!                        490
Praecipue cupiam celari Thesea, ne te
  Consortem culpae gaudeat esse suae.
At, puto, praeposita est fuscae mihi candida pellex.
  Eveniat nostris hostibus ille color!
Quid tamen hoc refert? vitio tibi gratior ipso est.          495
  Quid facis? amplexus inquinat illa tuos.
Bacche, fidem praesta, nec praefer amoribus ullam
  Conjugis assuetae semper amare virum.
Ceperunt matrem formosi cornua tauri;
  Me tua: me laudant, ille pudendus amor.                    500
Ne noceat quod amo! neque enim tibi, Bacche, nocebat,
  Quod flammas nobis fassus es ipse tuas;
Nec, quod nos uris, mirum facis; ortus in igne
  Diceris, et patria raptus ab igne manu.
Illa ego sum, cui tu solitus promittere coelum.              505
  Hei mihi, pro coelo qualia dona fero!
Dixerat: audibat jamdudum verba querentis
  Liber, ut a tergo forte secutus erat.
Occupat amplexu, lacrimasque per oscula siccat:
  Et, Pariter coeli summa petamus, ait.                      510
Tu mihi juncta toro mihi juncta vocabula sumes;
  Jam tibi mutatae Libera nomen erit;
Sintque tuae tecum faciam monumenta coronae,
  Vulcanus Veneri quam dedit, illa tibi.
Dicta facit, gemmasque novem transformat in ignes.           515
  Aurea per stellas nunc micat illa novem.

Sex ubi sustulerit, totidem demerserit orbes,
  Purpureum rapido qui vehit axe diem;
Altera gramineo spectabis Equiria campo,
  Quem Tiberis curvis in latus urget aquis.                  520
Qui tamen ejecta si forte tenebitur unda,
  Coelius accipiat pulverulentus equos.

Idibus est Annae festum geniale Perennse,
  Haud procul a ripis, advena Tibri, tuis.
Plebs venit, ac virides passim disjecta per herbas           525
  Potat, et accumbit cum pare quisque sua.
Sub Jove pars durat: pauci tentoria ponunt:
  Sunt, quibus e ramis frondea facta casa est:
Pars ibi pro rigidis calamos statuere columnis,
  Desuper extentas imposuere togas.                          530
Sole tamen vinoque calent, annosque precantur,
  Quot sumant cyathos, ad numerumque bibunt.
Invenies illic, qui Nestoris ebibat annos:
  Quae sit per calices facta Sibylla suos.
Illic et cantant, quiquid didicere theatris,                 535
  Et jactant faciles ad sua verba manus:
Et ducunt posito duras cratere choreas,
  Cultaque diffusis saltat amica comis.
Quum redeunt, titubant, et sunt spectacula vulgo,
  Et fortunatos obvia turba vocat.                           540
Occurri nuper. Visa est mihi digna relatu
  Pompa: senem potum pota trahebat anus.
Quae tamen haec Dea sit,--quoniam rumoribus errat--
  Fabula proposito nulla tacenda meo.
Arserat Aeneae Dido miserabilis igne:                        545
  Arserat exstructis in sua fata rogis:
Compositusque cinis, tumulique in marmore carmen
  Hoc breve, quod moriens ipsa reliquit, erat:
Praebuit aeneas et causam mortis et ensem:
  Ipsa sua Dido concidit usa manu.                           550
Protinus invadunt Numidae sine vindice regnum,
  Et potitur capta Maurus Iarba domo;
Seque memor spretum, Thalamis tamen, inquit, Elissae
  En ego, quem toties reppulit illa, fruor!
Diffugiunt Tyrii, quo quemque agit error, ut olim            555
  Amisso dubiae rege vagantur apes.
Tertia nudandas acceperat area messes,
  Inque cavos ierant tertia musta lacus;
Pellitur Anna domo, lacrimansque sororia linquit
  Moenia: germanae justa dat ante suae.                      560
Mixta bibunt molles lacrimis unguenta favillae,
  Vertice libatas accipiuntque comas;
Terque, Vale, dixit: cineres ter ad ora relatos
  Pressit, et est illis visa subesse soror.
Nacta ratem comitemque fugae pede labitur sequo,             565
  Moenia respiciens, dulce sororis opus.
Fertilis est Melite sterili vicina Cosyrae
  Insula, quam Libyci verberat unda freti.
Hanc petit hospitio regis confisa vetusto;
  Hospes opum dives rex ibi Battus erat.                     570
Qui postquam didicit casus utriusque sororis,
  Haec, inquit, tellus quantulacumque tua est.
Et tamen hospitii servasset ad ultima munus,
 Sed timuit magnas Pygmalionis opes.
Signa recensuerat his sol sua: tertius ibat                  575
  Annus, et exsulibus terra petenda nova est.
Frater adest belloque petit, rex arma perosus,
  Nos sumus imbelles, tu fuge sospes, ait.
Jussa fugit, ventoque ratem committit et undis.
  Asperior quovis aequore frater erat.                       580
Est prope piscosos lapidosi Crathidis amnes
  Parvus ager: Cameren incola turba vocat.
Illuc cursus erat; nec longius abfuit inde,
  Quam quantum novies mittere funda potest.
Vela cadunt primo, et dubia librantur ab aura.               585
  Findite remigio, navita dixit, aquas.
Dumque parant torto subducere carbasa lino,
  Percutitur rapido puppis adunca Noto,
Inque patens aequor, frustra pugnante magistro,
  Fertur, et ex oculis visa refugit humus.                   590
Assiliunt fluctus, imoque a gurgite pontus
  Vertitur, et canas alveus haurit aquas.
Vincitur ars vento, nec jam moderator habenis
  Utitur, at votis is quoque poscit opem.
Jactatur tumidas exsul Phoenissa per undas,                  595
 Humidaque opposita lumina veste tegit.
Tum primum Dido felix est dicta sorori,
  Et quaecumque aliquam corpore pressit humum.
Figitur ad Laurens ingenti flamine litus
  Puppis, et expositis omnibus hausta perit.                 600
Jam pius aeneas regno nataque Latini
  Auctus erat, populos miscueratque duos.
Litore dotali solo comitatus Achate
  Secretum nudo dum pede carpit iter,
Adspicit errantem, nec credere sustinet Annam                605
  Esse. Quid in Latios illa veniret agros?
Dum secum aeneas, _Anna_ est! exclamat Achates.
  Ad nomen vultus sustulit illa suos.
Quo fugiat? quid agat? quos terrae quaerat hiatus?
  Ante oculos miserae fata sororis erant.                    610
Sensit et alloquitur trepidam Cythereius heros:
  Flet tamen admonitu mortis, Elissa, tuae.
Anna, per hanc juro, quam quondam audire solebas
  Tellurem fato prosperiore dari;
Perque deos comites, hac nuper sede locatos,                 615
  Saepe meas illos increpuisse moras.
Nec timui de morte tamen: metus abfuit iste.
  Hei mihi! credibili fortior illa fuit.
Ne refer. Adspexi non illo pectore digna
  Vulnera, Tartareas ausus adire domos.                      620
At tu, seu ratio te nostris appulit oris,
  Sive deus, regni commoda carpe mei.
Multa tibi memores, nil non debemus Elissae.
  Nomine grata tuo, grata sororis, eris.
Talia dicenti--neque enim spes altera restat--               625
  Credidit, errores exposuitque suos.
Utque domum intravit Tyrios induta paratus,
  Incipit Aeneas:--cetera turba silet--
Hanc tibi cur tradam, pia causa, Lavinia conjux,
  Est mihi: consumpsi naufragus hujus opes.                  630
Orta Tyro regnum Libyca possedit in ora:
  Quam precor ut carae more sororis ames.
Omnia promittit, falsumque Lavinia vulnus
  Mente premit tacita, dissimulatque fremens;
Donaque quum videat praeter sua lumina ferri                 635
  Multa palam, mitti clam quoque multa putat.
Non tamen exactum, quid agat. Furialiter odit,
  Et parat insidias, et cupit ulta mori.
Nox erat: ante torum visa est adstare sororis
  Squalenti Dido sanguinolenta coma,                         640
Et, Fuge, ne dubita, maestum fuge, dicere, tectum,
  Sub verbum querulas impulit aura fores.
Exsilit, et velox humili super arva fenestra
  Se jacit;--audacem fecerat ipse timor--
Quaque metu rapitur tunica velata recincta,                  645
  Currit, ut auditis territa dama lupis.
Corniger hanc cupidis rapuisse Numicius undis
  Creditur, et stagnis occuluisse suis.
Sidonis interea magno clamore per agros
  Quaeritur. Apparent signa notaeque pedum.                  650
Ventum erat ad ripas: inerant vestigia ripis.
  Sustinuit tacitas conscius amnis aquas.
Ipsa loqui visa est, _Placidi sum Nympha Numici:
  Amne perenne latens Anna Perenna vocor_.
Protinus erratis laeti vescuntur in agris,                   655
  Et celebrant largo seque diemque mero.
Sunt, quibus haec Luna est, quia mensibus impleat annum:
  Pars Themin, Inachiam pars putat esse bovem.
Invenies, qui te Nymphen Atlantida dicant,
  Teque Jovi primes, Anna, dedisse cibos.                    660
Haec quoque, quam referam, nostras pervenit ad aures
  Fama, nec a vera dissidet illa fide.
Plebs vetus, et nullis etiam tune tuta Tribunis,
  Fugit, et in sacri vertice mentis abit.
Jam quoque, quem secum tulerant, defecerat illos             665
  Victus et humanis usibus apta Ceres.
Orta suburbanis quaedam fuit Anna Bovillis
  Pauper, sed multae sedulitatis, anus.
Illa levi mitra canos redimita capillos
  Fingebat tremula rustica liba manu.                        670
Atque ita per populum fumantia mane solebat
  Dividere. Haec populo copia grata fuit.
Pace domi facta signum posuere Perennae,
  Quod sibi defectis illa tulisset opem.
Nunc mihi, cur cantent, superest, obscena puellae,           675
  Dicere: nam coëunt certaque probra canunt.
Nuper erat dea facta; venit Gradivus ad Annam,
  Et cum seducta talia verba facit:
Mense meo coleris: junxi mea tempora tecum:
  Pendet ab officio spes mihi magna tuo.                     680
Armifer armiferae correptus amore Minervae
  Uror, et hoc longo tempore vulnus alo.
Effice, dî studio similes coëamus in unum.
  Conveniunt partes hae tibi, comis anus.
Dixerat: illa deum promisso ludit inani,                     685
  Et stultam dubia spem trahit usque mora.
Saepius instanti, Mandata peregimus, inquit:
  Evicta est precibus: vix dedit illa manus.
Gaudet amans thalamosque parat. Deducitur illuc
  Anna tegens vultus, ut nova nupta, suos.                   690
Oscula sumpturus subito Mars adspicit Annam;
  Nunc pudor elusum, nunc subit ira, deum.
Ridet amatorem carae nova diva Minervae;
  Nec res hac Veneri gratior ulla fuit.
Inde joci veteres obscenaque dicta canuntur,                 695
  Et juvat hanc magno verba dedisse deo.
Praeteriturus eram gladios in principe fixos,
  Quum sic a castis Vesta locuta focis:
Ne dubita meminisse: meus fuit ille sacerdos.
  Sacrilegae telis me petiere manus.                         700
Ipsa virum rapui, simulacraque nuda reliqui;
  Quae cecidit ferro, Caesaris umbra fuit.
Ille quidem coelo positus Jovis atria vidit,
  Et tenet in magno templa dicata foro.
At quicumque nefas ausi, prohibente deorum                   705
  Numine, polluerant Pontificale caput,
Morte jacent merita. Testes estote Philippi,
  Et quorum sparsis ossibus albet humus.
Hoc opus, haec pietas, haec prima elementa fuerunt
  Caesaris, ulcisci justa per arma patrem.                   710

Postera quum teneras Aurora refecerit herbas,
  Scorpios a prima parte videndus erit.

Tertia post Idus lux est celeberrima Baccho.
  Bacche, fave vati, dum tua festa cano.
Nec referam Semelen; ad quam nisi fulmina secum              715
  Jupiter afferret, parvus inermis erat:
Nec, puer ut posses maturo tempore nasci,
  Expletum patrio corpore matris onus.
Sithonas et Scythicos longum est narrare triumphos,
  Et domitas gentes, turifer Inde, tuas.                     720
Tu quoque Thebanae mala praeda tacebere matris,
  Inque tuum furiis acte, Lycurge, genu.
Ecce libet subitos pisces Tyrrhenaque monstra
  Dicere; sed non est carminis hujus opus.
Carminis hujus opus, causas expromere, quare                 725
  Vilis anus populos ad sua liba vocet.
Ante tuos ortus arae sine honore fuerunt,
  Liber, et in gelidis herba reperta focis.
Te memorant, Gange totoque Oriente subacto,
  Primitias magno seposuisse Jovi.                           730
Cinnama tu primus captivaque tura dedisti,
  Deque triumphato viscera tosta bove.
Nomine ab auctoris ducunt Libamina nomen,
  Libaque, quod sacris pars datur inde focis.
Liba deo fiunt, succis quia dulcibus ille                    735
  Gaudet, et a Baccho mella reperta ferunt.
Ibat arenoso Satyris comitatus ab Hebro:
  --Non habet ingratos fabula nostra jocos--
Jamque erat ad Rhodopen Pangaeaque florida ventum:
  aeriferae comitum concrepuere manus.                       740
Ecce novae coëunt volucres tinnitibus actae,
  Quaque movent sonitus aera sequuntur apes.
Colligit errantes, et in arbore claudit inani
  Liber: et inventi praemia mellis habet.
Ut Satyri levisque senex tetigere saporem,                   745
  Quaerebant flavos per nemus omne favos,
Audit in exesa stridorem examinis ulmo,
  Adspicit et ceras dissimulatque senex;
Utque piger pandi tergo residebat aselli,
  Applicat hunc ulmo corticibusque cavis.                    750
Constitit ipse super ramoso stipite nixus,
  Atque avide trunco condita mella petit.
Millia crabronum coëunt, et vertice nudo
  Spicula defigunt, oraque summa notant.
Ille cadit praeceps, et calce feritur aselli,                755
  Inclamatque suos, auxiliumque rogat.
Concurrunt Satyri, turgentiaque ora parentis
  Rident. Percusso claudicat ille genu.
Ridet et ipse deus, limumque inducere monstrat.
  Hic paret monitis et linit ora luto.                       760
Melle pater fruitur, liboque infusa calenti
  Jure repertori candida mella damus.
Femina cur praestet, non est rationis opertae.
  Femineos thyrso concitat ille chores.
Cur anus hoc faciat, quaeris. Vinosior aetas                 765
  Haec est, et gravidae munera vitis amans.
Cur hedera cincta est; Hedera est gratissima Baccho.
  Hoc quoque cur ita sit, dicere nulla mora est.
Nysiades Nymphae, puerum quaerente noverca,
  Hanc frondem cunis opposuere novis.                        770
Restat, ut inveniam, quare toga libera detur
  Lucifero pueris, candide Bacche, tuo;
Sive, quod ipse puer semper juvenisque videris,
  Et media est aetas inter utrumque tibi:
Seu, quia tu pater es, patres sua pignora natos              775
  Commendant curae numinibusque tuis;
Sive, quod es Liber, vestis quoque libera per te
  Sumitur, et vitae liberioris iter;
An quia, quum prisci colerent studiosius agros,
  Et patrio faceret rure senator opus,                       780
Et caperet fasces a curvo consul aratro,
  Nec crimen duras esset habere manus,
Rusticus ad ludos populus veniebat in urbem:
  Sed dîs, non studiis ille dabatur honos.
Luce sua ludos uvae commentor habebat:                       785
  Quos cum taedifera nunc habet ipse dea.
Ergo, ut tironem celebrare frequentia posset,
  Visa dies dandae non aliena togae.
Mite, Pater, caput huc placataque cornua vertas,
  Et des ingenio vela secunda meo!                           790
Itur ad Argeos--qui sint, sua pagina dicet--
  Hac, si commemini, praeteritaque die.
Stella Lycaoniam vergit proclinis ad Arcton
  Miluus. Haec illa nocte videnda venit.
Quid dederit volucri, si vis cognoscere, coelum:             795
  Saturnus regnis ab Jove pulsus erat.
Concitat iratus validos Titanas in arma,
  Quaeque fuit fatis debita, poscit opem.
Matre satus Terra, monstrum mirabile, taurus
  Parte sui serpens posteriore fuit.                         800
Hunc triplici muro lucis incluserat atris
  Parcarum monitu Styx violenta trium.
Viscera qui tauri flammis adolenda dedisset,
  Sors erat, aeternos vincere posse deos.
Immolat hunc Briareus facta ex adamante securi:              805
  Et jam jam flammis exta daturus erat.
Jupiter alitibus rapere imperat. Attulit illi
  Miluus, et meritis venit in astra suis.

Una dies media est, et fiunt sacra Minervae,
  Nomina quae a junctis quinque diebus habent.               810
Sanguine prima vacat, nec fas concurrene ferro.
  Causa, quod est illa nata Minerva die.
Altera tresque super strata celebrantur arena.
  Ensibus exsertis bellica laeta dea est.
Pallada nunc pueri teneraeque ornate puellae.                815
  Qui bene placarit Pallada, doctus erit.
Pallade placata, lanam mollite, puellae:
  Discite jam plenas exonerare colos.
Illa etiam stantes radio percurrere telas
  Erudit, et rarum pectine denset opus.                      820
Hanc cole, qui maculas laesis de vestibus aufers:
  Hanc cole velleribus quisquis ahena paras.
Nec quisquam invita faciet bene vincula plantae
  Pallade, sit Tychio doctior ille licet;
Et licet antiquo manibus collatus Epeo                       825
  Sit prior, irata Pallade mancus erit.
Vos quoque, Phoebea morbos qui pellitis arte,
  Munera de vestris pauca referte deae.
Nec vos, turba fere censu fraudata, magistri
  Spernite; discipulos attrahet illa novos.                  830
Quique moves caelum, tabulamque coloribus uris,
  Quique facis docta mollia saxa manu.
Mille dea est operum: certe dea carminis illa est.
  Si mereor, studiis adsit amica meis.
Coelius ex alto qua mons descendit in aequum,                835
  Hic ubi non plana est, sed prope plana via est:
Parva licet videas Captae delubra Minervae,
  Quae dea natali coepit habere suo.
Nominis in dubio causa est. _Capitale_ vocamus
  Ingenium sollers: ingeniosa dea est.                       840
An, quia de capitis fertur sine matre paterni
  Vertice cum clypeo prosiluisse suo?
An, quia perdomitis ad nos captiva Faliscis
  Venit? et hoc ipsum littera prisca docet.
An, quod habet legem, capitis quae pendere poenas            845
  Ex illo jubeat furta reperta loco?
A quacumque trahis ratione vocabula, Pallas,
  Pro ducibus nostris aegida semper habe.
Summa dies e quinque tubas lustrare canoras
  Admonet, et forti sacrificare deae.                        850
Nunc potes ad solem sublato dicere vultu:
  Hic here Phrixeae vellera pressit ovis.
Seminibus tostis sceleratae fraude novercae
  Sustulerat nullas, ut solet, herba comas.
Mittitur ad tripodas, certa qui sorte reportet,              855
  Quam sterili terrae Delphicus edat opem.
Hic quoque corruptus cum semine nuntiat Helles
  Et juvenis Phrixi funera sorte peti.
Usque recusantem cives, et tempus, et Ino
  Compulerant regem jussa nefanda pati;                      860
Et soror, et Phrixus velati tempora vittis
  Stant simul ante aras junctaque fata gemunt.
Adspicit hos, ut forte pependerat aethere mater,
  Et ferit attonita pectora nuda manu:
Inque draconigenam nimbis comitantibus urbem                 865
  Desilit, et natos eripit inde suos;
Utque fugam capiant, aries nitidissimus auro
  Traditur. Ille vehit per freta longa duos.
Dicitur infirma cornu tenuisse sinistra
  Femina, quum de se nomina fecit aquae.                     870
Paene simul periit, dum vult succurrere lapsae,
  Frater, et extentas porrigit usque manus.
Flebat, ut amissa gemini consorte pericli,
  Caeruleo junctam nescius esse deo.
Litoribus tactis aries fit sidus: at hujus                   875
  Pervenit in Colchas aurea lana domos.

Tres ubi Luciferos veniens praemiserit Eos,
  Tempora nocturnis aequa diurna feres.

Inde quater pastor saturos ubi clauserit hoedos,
  Canuerint herbae rore recente quater;                      880
Janus adorandus, cumque hoc Concordia mitis,
  Et Romana Salus, araque Pacis erit.
Luna regit menses. Hujus quoque tempora mensis
  Finit Aventino Luna colenda jugo.


NOTES:

1. As the first book began with the praises of Janus, so here the poet
invokes Mars; in the next book we shall find him calling upon Venus.--
_Depositis_, etc. as the poet's occupation is a peaceful one.

3, 4. A question and answer.

5-8. As Minerva, who, especially in the Roman theology, was a deity, who
presided over the arts of peace, engaged also in those of war; so Mars
might for a time lay aside his arms, and attend to the song of the poet.
--_Cuspidis_. Several MSS. read _cassidis_. The general sense is the
same.

9. He takes occasion here to sing the most celebrated adventure of the
Roman god, Mars. It comes with peculiar propriety in this place, as the
month had been named after the god by his son, whose birth it relates.
For the difference between the Greek Ares and the Roman Mars, see
Mythology, p. 79 and 459.--_Romana sacerdos_. The affair occurred at
Alba, and Rome did not yet exist. Heinsius would read _Trojana_, another
critic proposes _regina_, as in Virgil, aen. I. 227. There is no need of
any change; poets did not always attend to accuracies of this kind.

11. _Silvia_. One MS. reads _Ilia_, which reading has been adopted by
Heinsius.--_Moveri_ scil, _carmen_, like the _cantuxque movete_ of
Virgil.

12. It was the office of the Vestals to draw water, for the purpose of
washing and sprinkling the temple, and cleansing the sacred vessels.
Servius on aen. vii. 150, says, _Vestae libare non nisi de Numicio flumine
licebat_.

13. _Molli_, etc. beautifully expresses the gentle descent to the river.

14. Then, as now, women carried their earthen pitchers on their heads.
Speaking of Amymone, our poet says, (Am. I. x. 6,) _Cum premeret summi
verticis urna comas_ and Propertius of Tarpeia (iv. 4, 16,) _at illi
Urguebat medium fictilis urna caput_.

16. _Restituit_, settled. Two MSS. which are followed by Heinsius, read
_composuit_; but as Burmann justly observes this supposes leisure, and
the use of a mirror, whereas _restituit_ places before us a girl hastily
settling up her hair, as we express it.

17, 18. Compare Virg. Ec. I. 55, and Hor. Epod. II. 26.

21. The descent of Mars, as Addison, I believe, first observed, is to be
seen represented on ancient Roman coins.--_Cupitam_. This is the reading
of two of the best MSS. and of Diomedes, the grammarian, who quotes this
verse: all the other MSS. read _cupita_. Heinsius, in his note, shews
that _potior_ governed the fourth ease, in the best authors, and Priscian
(xviii. 23,) says, _Omnes auctores, potior illius et illum et illo_.

22. _Fefellit_, concealed.--_Divina ope_, i. e. by his own power.

26. _Sonos_, words. Two MSS. read _preces.

27. _Utile_, etc. The well-known Roman _formula, Quod bonum, felix
faustumque sit_,--_Imagine somni_, in a dream.

28. _An somno_, etc. Was it more than a dream, than a mere [Greek:
enupnion]?

29. _Ig. II_. The perpetual fire of Vesta brought from Troy by aeneas.
Virg. aen. II. 296.

30. This circumstance was ominous, as the sacred fillet was taken by the
Pontifex off the head of a Vestal condemned for breach of vow. Dionysius,
when describing the fate of the Vestal, Oppia, or Opimia, says, [Greek:
autaen men taes koryphaes aphelomenoi ta stemmata, kai pompeuontes di'
agoras, entos teichous zosan katoruxan].

31. Compare the dream of Astyages, portending the birth of Cyrus. Just.
I. 4.--_Palmae_, emblems of victory. It is probably the meaning of the
poet that they sprang from the ground, though _inde_ would appear to
refer rather to the fillet.

35. _Molitur_, i.e. _vibrat_. Virg. G. iv. 331.

36. _Admonitu_, scil. _deorum_, the vision.

37. The woodpecker, as well as the wolf, was sacred to Mars. In the old
legend, (see v. 54,) the woodpecker also contributed to nourish the
exposed babes.

43, 44. A periphrasis for ten months.--_Emeritis. Qui merere desiit_,
having completed his task or service, was called _Emeritus_.

45. The poet himself informs us, (VI. 295,) that there was no statue in
the temple of Vesta. Gierig supposes that he did not know this at the
time he wrote this part of the poem. But it is well known that he kept it
a long time by him, altering and revising it. I again repeat, that we are
not to look for extreme accuracy in the ancient poets. There were statues
of Vesta outside of the temple.

46. See below, VI. 614.

48. The sacred flame drew back as it were, and became nearly extinct.
Nothing more terrified the Romans than the extinction of the Vestal
flame; it was to them a sign, as Dionysius says, [Greek: tou aphanismou
taes poleos].

50. _Opes_, the kingdom. He here gives the reason why Amulius interfered,
not that of his calling him _contemptor aequi_.

51, 52. He had already related this at length, II. 385, _et seq_.

53, 54. It was the common tradition, it was in the poem of Ennius, which
every one knew, and was probably the subject of some of those old ballads
about Romulus, which Dionysius says still existed in his time.

55. _Larentia_, the wife of the shepherd, Faustulus, and nurse of Romulus
and Remus. All the MSS. but two read _Laurentia_.

56. _Vestras_, scil. _tui et Larentiae_,--_Opes_, house, mode of living,
etc.; see II. 413, on the aid rendered to the founders of Rome.

57. 58. The Larentalia were in December. The poet did not live to perform
his promise; he probably could not write the Fasti away from Rome.--
_Acceptus geniis_. On account of the Saturnalia, when _indulgebant
genio_. See Virg. G. I. 300.

61, 62. This reminds one of the early proofs of his being born to rule,
exhibited by Cyrus. It is by no means improbable, that his legend was
transferred to Romulus and Remus. That of Paris (Mythology, p. 438,) is
somewhat similar, as also that of Habis. See Justin, xliv. 4.

64. _Actos_, i. e. _abactos_, by the robbers.

65. _Editus_, told. Five MSS. read _agnitus_.

66. _Nomen habere_, scil. to have their fame confined to a few cottages.
--_Paucis_, most MSS. read _purvis_.

70. A euphemism, sparing the fame of Romulus.

71. _Pecorum_. Three MSS. read _pecudum_, two _nemorum_, which Burmann
prefers.

72. _aeternae urbis_. So the Romans loved to call their city.

75. He thus returns to the subject in hand.

78. As he shewed by removing Romulus to heaven, and by giving victory and
fame in arms to the Romans.

79. The poet now becomes a grammarian, and argues learnedly.--_Priores_,
the Latins.

80. _Hoc_ scil. the worship of Mars. Several MSS. read _haec_.

81. _Minoia_, etc. The Cretans worshiped a goddess named Dictynna, who
was regarded as being the same as the Artemis of the other Greeks, and
the Diana of the Latins. See Mythology, p. 100.

82. _Tellus Hyps_. Lemnos. The slaughter of the men of Lemnos by their
wives, and the saving of Thoas, by his daughter Hypsipyle, is a well
known event. When Valean was flung from Olympus, by Jupiter, he fell in
Lemnos. Hom. Il. I. 93.

83. See VI. 47. Hom. Il. iv. 51.

84. _Maenalis ora_, like _Ausonis ora_, II. 94.

86. _Remque decusque_, wealth and fame.

87. _Peregrinos_, i. e. of other Italian peoples, and you will find that
they also had a month called after Mars.

91, 92. The people of Aricia and of Tusculum follow the same rule as the
Albans, making March the third month. According to Krebs, the
construction is, _Inter Ar. et Alb. et Teleg. manu facta moenia celsa
constant tempora_. It is harsh taken any way.

94. First after three months, that is, the fourth.

95, 96. March was the fourth month also to the Pelignians, and their
Sabine ancestors. For the best account of all these peoples of ancient
Italy, see Niebuhr's Roman History.

97, 98. In reality he only followed the Alban, or rather general Latin
calendar, in which March was the third month.

101, 102. Compare Hor. Epist. II. 1, 156. Virg. aen. vi. 850.--_Male
forte_, same as _non forte_, _imbelle_.

103, 104. War was the science of the Romans.--_Pugnabat_. Three MSS. read
_pugnarat_.

105. The Hyades and Pleiades are always spoken of together by the poets,
as being near each other in position.--_Pliadas Atlanteas_. See IV. 169,
[Greek: Plaeiadon Atlageneon epitellomenaon]. Hesiod. See Mythology, p.
52 and 418.

106. The Arctic and Antarctic poles.

107, 108. Cynosure ([Greek: kynos oura]) was a name of the Lesser Bear:
Helice ([Greek: helikae]) from its revolving round the pole, a name of
the Greater Bear. _Omnes qui Peloponnesum incolunt priore utuntur Arcto;
Phoenices autem, quam a suo inventore_ (Thalete) _acceperunt, observant
Cynosuram; et hanc studiosius perspiciendo diligentius navigare
existimantur_. Hygin. Poët. Astron. II. 2.

111. _Libera_, as being unobserved, left to themselves, as it were;
subjected to no laws.

112. _Constabat_, &c. Burmann and Gierig take the meaning to be: they
believed the stars to be divinities. May it not be: nevertheless, though
ignorant of astronomy, they believed in the gods? A stroke at the learned
infidelity of the poet's own days, like Gray's, "No very great wit, he
believed in a god."

113, 114. A play on words as usual. _Movere signa coelestia_ seems rather
harsh, but it is not without example. _Numeri movent astra_, Lucan, I.
640. _Carmina quîs ignes movimus aërios_, Cinna in Anthol. Lat. T. I. p.
441. _Movebant_ is the reading of seven MSS. six read _notabant_; all the
rest _tenebant_.--_Quae magnum_, etc. See Livy, II. 59. One of the best
MSS. reads _prodere_, which Heinsius and Bentley (on Hor. Ep. I. 67,)
prefer.

115, 116. A bundle of hay tied on a pole, is said to have been the
standard used by the Romans in their early days.--_Tuas_, of Germanicus.

118. _Maniplaris_. The soldiers belonging to one company, that is one
_manipulus_, or standard, were called _manipulares_.

119-122. See Introduction, § 2.

119. _Indociles_, untaught. This passive sense is not unusual.--
_Ratione_, science scil. astronomy.

120. The Lustres or periods of five years, were smaller by ten months,
two for each year, at that time when there were but ten months in the
year. Gierig's note is _"Lustra quinquennalia tum nondum condebantur a
Romanis."_ This looks as if he did not understand the passage, though
Neapolis had briefly, but clearly explained it.

124. See above, I. 33.

126. _Spatiis novis_, the decades.

127. _Pares_. This is the reading of the best MSS. and editions; the
greater number of the MSS. read _patres_. It is difficult to ascertain
the meaning of the poet here. Scaliger, Lipsius and Dan. Heinsius think
he means the members of the senate, who were equals in age or in
property, See Livy I. 8 and 17, and, as Niebuhr has shown, it is highly
probable that the Roman senate originally consisted of one hundred
members divided into ten decuries. On the other hand Neapolis who is
followed by Gierig, understands it of the army, as in each legion the
soldiers equal in age and strength, were divided into ten centuries,
(_centum denos orbes_) of each of the three ranks, viz. Hastati,
Principes and Pilani or Triarii. The passage is exceedingly obscure, and
I cannot satisfy myself respecting it; I however rather incline to the
opinion of the first named critics, and the circumstance of _patres_
being the reading of so many MSS. proves that it has generally been so
understood. In this case we should place a colon after _Romulus_, and a
comma or semicolon after _decem_.

130. There were three hundred Equites in each legion, each mounted on a
horse supported by the state, hence called _legitimus_. They were divided
into ten _turmae_ or troops.

131, 132. The three divisions of the Roman Patricians: the Ramnes were
the original Romans, the Titiensis the Sabines; the origin of the Luceres
is a mere conjecture. See Niebuhr's Rom. Hist. Vol. 291--293.

134. See above, I. 35.

136. _Signa_, proofs or arguments. He goes on with farther proofs of
March having been the first month of the ancient Roman year.

137--142. The laurels were changed in the month of March, at the houses
of the Flamens, and of the Rex Sacrorum, the temple of Vesta, and the
_Curia Prisca_, by which last, Neapolis understands the four ancient
_Curiae_, (See above II. 527,) which still, as Festus tells us, remained
in Rome, the singular being employed for the plural.--_Vesta quoque_,
etc. Does he speak of a statue of Vesta? See above on v. 45. The
following passages are of importance. _Romani initio annum decem mensibus
computabant, a Martio auspicantes; adeo ut ejus die prima de_ (_in?_)
_aris Vestalibus ignem accenderent; mutarent viridibus veteres laureas;
Senatus et populus Comitia agerent; matronae servis suis caenas ponerent,
sicut Saturnalibus domini: illae ut per honores promptius obsequium
provocarent, hi quasi gratiam repensarent perfecti laboris_. Solinus, c.
3. _Eodem quoque ingrediente mense in regia, curiisque atque Flaminum
domibus laureae veteres novis laureis mutabantur_, Macrobius, Sat. I.12.

142. _Il. focis_. See above.

143, 144. _Hujus etiam mensis prima die ignem novum Vestae aris
accendebant ut, incipiente anno, cura denuo servandi novati ignis
inciperet_. Macrob. _ut supra_.--_Arcana_ and _Dicitur_, because none but
the Vestals dare enter the temple.

145, 146. A second proof is, the festival of Anna Perenna being in this
month. See below, v. 523, _et seq_.--_Fides_, proof, ground of belief.

147, 148. A third argument; previous to the second Punic war, the
magistrates, that is, the consuls, as it would appear, used to enter on
their offices in March. The poet is not quite correct in this assertion:
the Regifugium (see above, II. 685,) was at the end of February; hence,
of course, the first consuls entered on their office in March; but A.U.C.
291, the day was the Kal. Sext. A.U.C. 304, the Ides of May, and from
A.U.C. 600, the time of the Hannibalian war, the Kal. Jan. It is probable
that the poet, knowing that this last change was made A.U.C. 600,
inferred from the Regifugium, that previously the consuls had begun to
exercise their magistracy in March. There is no proof that he studied the
Annals with a critical eye.--_Perfide Poene_. Hannibal, with the usual
Roman calumny of the greatest man of antiquity.

149. A fourth and incontrovertible argument.

151. _Oliviferis_. The Sabine land was famous for olives. Columella, v.
8, 5. Mutusca, in that country, is called by Virgil (aen. vii. 711,)
_olivifera_.--_Deductus_, the proper term to denote his being brought
with pomp and ceremony to Rome. One MS. reads _devectus_.

153. _Samio_, Pythagoras, who was erroneously supposed to have been the
instructor of Numa.--_Qui posse_, etc. a periphrasis of the
Metempsychosis, which doctrine he taught. See Met. xv. 157.

154. _Egeria_. See below, v. 261, _et seq_.

155. In consequence of the imperfect nature of the Roman year, and the
arbitrary manner in which the Pontifices, for party and political
purposes, made the intercalations, it had fallen into such sad confusion,
that the festivals fell at the wrong parts of the year. Accordingly,
Julius Caesar, as Pontifex Maximus, with the aid of M. Flavius and of
Sosigenes, made it correspond with the course of the sun, after the
manner of the Egyptian year. For this purpose, he had to add no less than
sixty-seven days to the year 708. These he inserted between November and
December, and, as the intercalary month also fell in this year, it
consisted of fifteen months.

157-160. Caesar was not yet a god, but the poet could not let pass an
occasion of displaying his wit, and flattering the imperial family.

161. _Moras Solis_. The time the son spends in the signs of the Zodiac.

162. _Exactis_, certain.

163-166. The Julian year of 365 days 6 hours; the day, which the hours of
four years made, being added at the end of the lustre.--_Junxit_. Two
MSS. read _auxit_.--_Quarta_. Many MSS. read _quinta_.--_Consummatur_,
to complete, to make up of parts. Some MSS. have _consumatur_, which
Heinsius preferred.

167. The poet now begins to inquire of the god why the Matronalia, a
festival on which the matrons sacrificed to Juno, and sent presents to
each other, and received them from their husbands, should be on the
Kalends of the month sacred to the god of war. The deity assigns five
causes.

168. Witness Homer's invocations to the Muses.

169. "Cum a viris soleas coli," Gierig. When you preside over manly
occupations, is the interpretation of Lenz. May it not be, Since thine
occupations are all of a manly character?

173, 174. I, a god whose chief value is in arms, am now, for the first
time, called to the pursuits of peace. By the poet or by the matrons?
_Gressus_, etc. alluding, perhaps, to his name Gradivus, v. 169.

177. See above, I. 101.

179. First cause, the rape of the Sabines.

180. _Hujus_, scil. _Romae_. Some MSS. read _urbis_.

184. The straw-roofed cottage, said to have been the abode of Romulus,
was still standing on the Palatine, in the time of the poet.

195, 196. They (the neighbouring peoples) have the _connubium_, or
intermarry with nations at ever so great a distance, but their women all
looked down on the Romans.

197. _Patriam_, like thy father's, to take by force what was refused to
entreaty.

198. _Tolle preces_, away with entreaties. Thus, _tolle moras_, Met.
xiii. 556. _Tolle querelas_, Hor. Ep. I. 12. 3.

199. 200. _Consus_, etc. In this parenthesis the god addresses the poet.
The readings of the MSS. differ very much here. Most have _Illo festa die
dum s. s. facis_, making it a part of the advice of the god to his son.
Heinsius followed those which read, _Ipso festa die d. s. s. canes_.
_Illo_ or _illa_--_festa_ or _facta_--_canes_, _canas_, _coles_, _facis_,
are the readings of various MSS. The present reading, with _canet_
instead of _canas_, was proposed by Gronovius, and adopted by Gierig. The
Consualia were on the XV. Kal. Sept. It is a pity that the poem does not
go so far, as Ovid might have given us some additional information
respecting Consus. See Mythology, p. 473.

201. Scil. the Caeninenses, the Crustumini, and the Antemnates. See the
story in Livy, I.

202. It is not at all unlikely that, as Donza supposes, he glances here
at the war between Julius Caesar, and his son-in-law, Pompey.

203. The war lasted to the third year.

205. _Dictam_, appointed.

206. _Nurus_, Hersilia, the wife of Romulus.

219. The construction is, _ut (feminae quae erant) passis capillis
tetigere_, etc.

223. Seen for the first time.

224. Taubner thinks that by pinching the babes, they made them cry _Ah!
vae!_ which sounded like _ave!_ Much as Ovid loved to play on words, I can
hardly suspect him of this.

230. _Oebalides_. See I. 260.

231-234. Second cause. Was this the real cause, or is it because Ilia was
a mother by me, that the matrons hold their feast on the Kalends of my
month?

235-244. Third cause. It was fit that in the season of fecundity the
matrons should pray to Juno for offspring. Compare this description of
the spring with that in I. 151, _et seq_. See also Hor. Car. iv. 7.--
_Hiems. adop. gel_. the _glacialis hiems_ of Virgil.--_Victae_. Several
MSS. read _lapsae_; one _maestae_. Heinsius proposes _ictae_, but as
Burmann justly observes, why alter so excellent a reading as _victae_?--
_Detonsae_, some of the older MSS. read _excussae_.--_Virida_. This is
the reading of the best and oldest MSS. and was adopted by Heinsius.
Burmann and Gierig follow those which read _uvida_; some have _humida_.--
_Tenero_. Some MSS. read _gravido_, which is, perhaps, the true reading.
See above, I. 152. One MS. reads _in tumido_.--_Occultas vias_, the
_caeca spiramenta_ of Virgil, G. I. 89.--_Hora_, season, like the Greek
[Greek: horae].

244. Taubner, who is followed by some translators, explains this line
thus: "quarum proles vel militis officio fungatur, vel sacerdotio s.
_votis_ oportet." Its plain meaning is, as given by Gierig: whose service
and vows is childbirth. _Et rudis ad partus et nova miles eram_, says our
poet (Her. xi. 48,) in the person of Canace. See above, II. 9.

245-248. The fourth cause, because the temple of Juno Lucina, on the
Esquiline hill, was first opened for worship on the Kalends of March.

245. _Ubi rex_, etc. Ten MSS. read _ibi rex R_. two _regi R_. which
reading is adopted by Heinsius, and retained by Gierig. The _excubiae_
were held by Romulus on the Esquiline, at the time that he suspected
Titus Tatius of bad faith.--_Agebat_. Several of the best MSS. have
_habebat_.

246. _Esquilias alii scripserunt ab excubiis regis dictas_. Varro, iv. 8.
Ovid seems to follow the same etymology: the true one is from _esculus_.
--_Qui_. This is the reading of all the MSS. Heinsius, Burmann and
Gierig read _qua_.

251. The fifth cause. Juno, the mother of Mars, loves married women, who,
in return, honor me. The Grecian Hera, by the way, was the mother of
Ares; but the same was not the case with the Italian Juno and Mars. See
Mythology.--_Matrum_. Heinsius adopts _matris_ on conjecture, which
reading is received by Burmann and Gierig. Some MSS. have _matres_.

254. _Cingite caput_, of the statue of the goddess, says Gierig, perhaps
of the worshipper.

259. As the Salii bore the sacred _ancilia_ through the city on the
Kalends of March, the poet now proceeds to enquire into the origin of
this institution. See Livy, I. 20.

261. _Nympha_, scil. Egeria.--_Nemori_, etc. See v. 263--275.--
_Operata_. Seven MSS. read _adoperta_.

262. _Facta_. Some MSS. read _festa_, others _sacra_.

263. Met. xv. 479, _et seq_. Virg. aen. vii. 761, _et seq_. This account
of the grove of Aricia is a complete digression in this place. Aricia,
and its grove, lay at the foot of the Mons Albanus.

265. An _Indiges_, named Virbius, was worshiped here, who was identified
with Hippolytus.

267, 268. This practice may be witnessed at the present day, in every
country where the Roman Catholic religion prevails.--_Longas sepes_. The
wall, says Neapolis, surrounding the sacred grove.

269, 270. It was the custom for women, whose prayers to this goddess had
been heard, to carry lighted torches from the city to the grove of
Aricia. See Propert, II. 23, 39.

271, 272. The priest of Diana, in this grove, called Rex Nemorensis, was
always a runaway slave, who had slain his predecessor in office. He
always went armed, to protect himself from aspirants to his dignity.
Strabo calls this a barbarous and Scythian custom, and it led to the idea
of the Arician Diana, being one with the Tauric Artemis.

273--275. See Juvenal's account of this fountain. Sat. III.

274. _Bibi_. The other editions, following some MSS. read _bibes_.

277-284. See Livy, Dionysius and Plutarch.

283. _Vertitur_, is changed.

285. This legend was related in the same manner by the historian Valerius
Antias, from whom Ovid probably took it. As Livy, I. 20, relates the
matter differently, it probably was not in the Annals of Ennius. It was
evidently founded on the adventure of Menelaus with Proteus. Hom. Od. iv.
See also Virg. G. iv. 387, _et seq_.

291. _Picus Faunusque_. Old Italian deities. See Heyne Excursus, V. to
aen. vii. Mythology, p. 477.

292. _Prodere_. Many MSS. read _edere_, others _tradere_.--_Romani_, etc.
Each a god of Roman ground, i.e. a Roman rural deity.

296. Dark shady groves were, from a very natural feeling, regarded with
awe as the abode of deities. See Seneca. Epist. 41.

300. _Fonti_. To the deity or spirit of the fount.

301. _Dis ponit_. This is the conjecture of Heinsius; the MSS. read
_disponit_.

312. _Quatiens cornua_. To indicate the difficulty of the matter.

313. _Monitu_. This word is used to indicate information divinely given.

314. _Numina_, divine power.

317. _Deducere_, a magic term, the [Greek: katagein] of the Greeks.
_Lunam deducere tentas_ Tibullus, [Greek: Ai pharmakides katagousi taen
selaenaen]. Interp. Apollonii.

321. _Sum. ded. ab arce_. The reading of the best MSS. is _Valida
perductus ab arce_: some of the best have _val. veniet ded. ab arce_ or
_arte_; some _nostra perd. ab arte_.

322. _Nubila_, etc. He mixes, according to custom, the Greek and Italian
mythologies: the oath, by Styx, was peculiar to the former. See Hom. Od.
v. l85--_Nubila_, as the Styx, was supposed to exhale a dense vapour.

323. _Carmina_, magic verses.

325. _Scire nefas homini_. Is not for man to know. _Quid crastina
volveret aetas Scire nefas homini_. Stat. Theb. III. 562. See Hor. Car. I.
11. 1.

327-330. Some modern writers suppose that the ancient Etruscans possessed
the art of conducting the lightning which Franklin discovered, or,
according to them, re-discovered, and that it is exhibited in this poetic
narrative. Their conjecture is, they think, confirmed by the fate of
Tullus Hostilius, which they attribute to his ignorance of the proper
mode of conducting the electric fluid.--_Minores_, posterity.

337. _Ambage remota_. As this seems not by any means to accord with what
follows, Gierig renders _ambage_ circumlocution, as opposed to the
brevity with which the god speaks. One MS. reads _remissa_. The dialogue
of Jupiter and Numa will be easily understood.

342. _Piscis_. According to Plutarch, the _maena_. See above, II. 578,
_note_.

346. _Pignora certa_, the _ancile_. Celestial gifts of this kind, on
which the safety of the state were supposed to depend, were common in
antiquity.

347. _Aethera, motum. Vidisti motu sonitus procurrere caelo_. Profert,
II. 16.

352. _Crastina_, scil. _crastinas res_, what will happen to-morrow.

357. Virg. Ec. viii. l4.--_Rorataque_. Many MSS. read _rorata_.

359. _Acerno_. Five MSS. read _eburno_, but see Met. iv. 486. Virg. aen.
viii. 178.

363. It was the custom of the Romans to cover their heads when praying,
or performing any other religious rite, lest any thing of ill omen should
present itself to their view. See Virg. aen. iii. 405.

367 _Evolverat_. This is the reading of five of the best MSS. two read
_emerserat_, which Heinsius, Burmann and Gierig have received, and which
I should prefer. See v. 517. Most read _emoverat_; one _commoverat_,
another _ostenderat_.

369. _Sine nube_. It was therefore supernatural. Compare Hor. Car. I. 34.
6. Virg. aen. vii. 141.

371. Two of the best MSS. read, _A media subito coelum discedere visum
est_, which Heinsius prefers. Virgil (aen. ix. 20,) has _medium video
discedere coelum_, and if this last be, as I am inclined to think it is,
the true reading, it is not unlikely that Ovid imitated this line of the
aeneis: if it is not, the line is the work of some grammarian, and formed
from the Virgilian verse.

372. _Submisere_. One MS. has _surrexere manus_, which Burmann prefers.
For this sense of _sub_, see Virg. Ec. vi. 38. x. 74, _submittere
cornua_. Petron. 126, 18, 3. _Submissas tendunt alta ad Capitolia
dextras_. Silius, xii. 640.

377. _Ancile. Ancile vocatum quia ex utroque latere erat recisum, ut
summum infimumque latus pateret_, Festus. _Ancilia dicta ab ancisu, quod
ea arma, ab utraque parte, ut peltae Thracum, incisa. Ancisia Saturnio in
carmine_. Varro, L. L. iv. Ovid evidently follows the same etymology.
According to Juba, whom Plutarch copies, it is derived from [Greek:
ankylon] curved, and should be spelt _ancyle_. It is, however, certainly
an old Latin word, and is by all Latin writers properly spelt with an
_i_. It is well known that _y_ is no Latin letter, yet we constantly meet
_Sylla_ for _Sulla_. From Plutarch's description of the _ancile_, we may
collect that it was of an oval form.

381. _Caelata_, i.e. _sculpta_, or simply, made.

383. His morals were as perfect as his skill.

384. _Clausit opus_, simply, completed the work.--_Ulli_, some MSS. read
_illi_; one _illud_, which Heinsius and Gierig have adopted.

387. The Salii, clad in brazen armour, and striking the _ancilia_ with
their daggers as they sang the old verses ascribed to Numa, went through
the city dancing to the sound of pipes.

393. It was not considered lucky to marry on the Kalends of March, as the
ancilia were carried on that day. This day was also considered
inauspicious for commencing a journey. Suet. Otho. 8. Livy, xxxvii. 33.

396. _Condita_, laid up in the temple.

397, 398. The Flamen Dialis wore a peculiar kind of white hat, called
_apex_, without which he never went out; his wife wore a flame-coloured
robe, named _venenatum_, and a peculiar kind of band about her head,
called _rica_. (See Gellius, N. A. x. 15,) hence the poet says, _cincta_.
_Cincta Flaminica veste velata_ Festus. Some MSS. have _sancta_; others
_capitis distincta_, one _apicatis cura_. It was enjoined by law on the
Flaminia, not to cut her nails, comb her hair, etc. on certain days.

399-402. One of the Fishes set acronychally on the 3d March, the V. Non.

403. _Rorare genis_. Five MSS. read _rutilare_; two _comis_.

405. The poet commits an error here. Arctophylax _rises_ acronychally,
instead of setting on the 5th March.

407. _Vindemitor_, [Greek: protrygaetaer], a star in the right shoulder
of the Virgin, which now rises acronychally.

409. The story of Ampelos is told differently by Nonnus, in his
Dionysiacs. See Mythology, p. l74.--_Intonsum_, denotes youth and beauty;
it is therefore an epithet of Apollo, [Greek: akersekomaes].--_Satyris_,
to denote the lewdness of the Nymph, says Burmann. It may, however, mean
merely one of the Satyrs. Some MSS. read _Satyro_.

411, 412. These two lines were suspected by Heinsius. They are certainly
very indifferent, but without them the narrative seems imperfect. Ovid
would hardly have omitted an allusion to the name of Ampelos.

414. _Vehit_. This is the reading of five of the best MSS. all the rest
have _tulit_.

415-428. On the 6th of the month, Prid. Non. A.U.C. 741. Augustus was
made Pontifex Maximus. The P.M. presided over the Vestals.

417. _Quisquis ades_ etc. The Vestals, as it would appear, who alone
could enter the temple.--_Canae_. This is the reading of two of the best
MSS.; the rest have _castae_, one _gratae_. See Virg. aen. ix. 259.

422. _Vides_. All the older MSS. have _videt_ or _vident_; one _Vesta
videt_.--_Pignora juncta_, the pledges of empire, in the temple of Vesta,
were the Eternal Fire, and the Palladium (Livy, v. 52, xxvi. 27,) to
these now was joined.--Augustus. The force of flattery could no farther
go.

423. This is the reading of three of the best MSS. and adopted by
Heinsius, and the succeeding editors: the other MSS. have _Di v. T. d. p.
ferenti_.--_Dignissima praeda_, Vesta.

424. _Gravis_, i. e. _gravatus_, laden. See Virg. aen. II. 296. Three MSS.
read _pius_.

425. The Julian house into which Augustus had been adopted, derived their
lineage from aeneas. I do not, however, see the relationship to Vesta,
unless it be through Kronus, (Saturn) who was her father, and whose
grand-daughter Venus, was the mother of aeneas.

428. _Dux_, Augustus. This was probably written before the poet left
Rome, and he did not alter it.

429-448. An account of Vejovis, whose temple was dedicated by Romulus, on
the Nones of March.

429. The reading of the older MSS. was _Una nota est Marti: Nonis
sacra_.--_Una nota_, the Nones of March were distinguished by one mark in
the Fasti, one event had taken place on them.

430. The space between the Arx and the Capitol, in which the Asylum and
the temple of Vejovis were, was called _Inter duos lucos_. Livy, 1.8,
[Greek: to methorion duoin drumon]. Dionysius, II. 15.

435. He now enquires into the origin of the name of this god.

437. The statue of Vejovis represented a youthful figure, without any
thunderbolts, in his hand. He may, therefore, be Young Jupiter.

443. There was the figure of a she-goat standing beside it; a farther
proof, as Jupiter was suckled by the goat, Amalthea.

445. The country-people, called ill-grown corn _vegrandia_, (_Vegrandes
et imbecillae oves_. Varro, R. II. II.) and _vescus_ with them, was
equivalent to _parvus_. From all this he infers, that Vejovis is Little
Jupiter. This is not convincing. See Mythology, p. 468, where it is shewn
that Vejovis was probably a god of the under-world.--_Colonae_. Many of
the best MSS. read _colono_. Eleven have _colone_ (colonae); one _colonae_,
which Heinsius adopted. Gierig follows the MSS. which read _coloni_, and
he is, perhaps, right in so doing.

449, 450. The heliac rising of Pegasus on the Nones. For Pegasus, see
Hesiod. Th. 280, _et seq_. and 325. Met. iv. 784, v. 256. Mythology, pp.
223, 364.--_Variabunt_. Eight MSS. read _vallabunt_, which Heinsius
adopted.

451. _Gravida cervice_ is rather a curious mode of expression. Medusa was
pregnant by Neptune, and when Perseus cut off her head, Pegasus sprang
forth (_prosiluit_, [Greek: exethore] Hes.) with the blood: hence the
poet says, _gravida crevice_. He was named Pegasus, as being born at the
_springs_ ([Greek: paegas]) of Ocean.

455. See the story of Bellerophon.

456. The Horse-fount ([Greek: hippoukraenae] Hippocrene) in Aonia
(Boeotia), said to have been produced by a stroke of the hoof of Pegasus.
--_Fodit_. Nine of the best MSS. read _fudit. Rutilius (Itin. I. 264,)
says, _Musarum ut latices ungula fodit equi_. Avienus (in Arat. Phaen.
Equo.) _cornuque excita repente Lympha, Camenalem fudit procul
Hippocrenen_, I think _fudit_ the more poetic term.

458. The astronomers of the present day reckon eighty-nine stars in
Pegasus.

459-516. The Crown of Ariadne rises acronychally on the 8th March, the
VIII. Id. For the story of Theseus and Ariadne, see Met. viii. 175--182.
Ars Amandi, I. 531--564, Her. x. Hor. Car. II. 19. Catul. lxiv. 52, _et
seq_. Mythology pp. 411, 412.

460. _Gnosida_ Gnosian, as Minos, the father of Ariadne, reigned at
Gnosus, in Crete.--_Facta dea_, Ariadne, not her crown.

461. "Solent poëtae verbo _mutare_ Accusat rei acceptae et Ablat. relictae
addere." Gierig. Thus Horace, _Velox amoenum saepe Lucretilem mutat
Lycaeo_.--_Faunus_.

465. _Depexus crinibus_, his hair neatly and carefully combed out. See
VI. 229. Bacchus, whom the Greeks named [Greek: eukomaes (eukomos], is a
general epithet of the goddesses) was like Apollo, distinguished for the
beauty of his hair. See Met. III. 421 and 555, iv. 13. The common reading
was, what appears the most obvious, _depexis_. Some of the best MSS. read
_depexos_, agreeing with _Indos_.

466. Some of the best MSS. read _venit_. For the Indian expedition of
Bacchus, see Mythology, P. I. chap. xiv.

476. My case is told or repeated.

480. _Dedoluisse_, have ended my grief; have died.

493. _At puto_, etc. Ironically.

495. See Hor. Sat. I. 3, 38.

499. _Matrem_ Pasiphaë. The story is well known.

500. Bacchus was represented horned, in consequence of the identification
of him with the Phrygian Sabazius. Mythology, p. 168. Hence he was called
[Greek: boukeros, taurokeros].--_Me tua_, etc. The best and most numerous
MSS. read _Me juvat et laedit_: one, _me viat et laedit_; another _me tua
me laedit_ or _laudat_: three of the best have the reading of the text,
the rest _me tua sed laedit_. Heinsius gives from conjecture, _me tua. At
hic laudi est_, which Gierig has received.

503. A play on words as usual.

512. _Libera_. The Italian religion, as I have observed after Niebuhr,
(Mythology, p. 455,) delighted in representing the deities presiding over
any object in pairs of males and females. Hence, with Liber, the god of
wine, was joined a goddess Libera, and when the Greek and Italian
religions came to be mingled, she was identified with Proserpine. Ovid
alone makes her the same with Ariadne. I forgot to notice this under the
head Liber Pater (Mythology, p. 469). I should be inclined to derive
Liber from libo, [Greek: leibo], instead of libero.

514. _Vulcanus Veneri_. One MS. reads _Neptunus Thetidi_. I suppose Homer
was running in the head of whoever he was that made this improvement.--
_Tibi_. One MS. reads mihi, which Burmann has received.

517-522. On the 14th or Prid. Id. was another Equiria.--_Demerserit_.
Several of the good MSS. read _quum deseret or deserit_; others _quot
demserit_; some _quum demserit_; three of the best _dimiserit_; others
_demiserit_; one _totidemque remiserit_; another of the best
_dimerserit_, whence Heinsius formed the present reading.

518. _Purpureum_, bright, see II. 74. Virg. aen. vi. 641, _purpureum
lumen_, scil. Soils.

522. If the Tiber, as was so frequently the case, had overflowed the
Campus Martius, the races were run on the Campus Martialis on the Coelian
hill.

523-696. On the Ides was the festival of Anna Perenna.--_Geniale, i. e.
quo genio indulgetur_. See v. 58.

524. Between the Milvian bridge and the point of confluence with the
Anien.

527. _Sub Jove_. See II. 299.

529. _Ibi_. Several MSS. read _sibi_.

532. _Ad numerum_. They reckon the cups.

536. Suit the action to the word by making gesticulations.

537. _Posito_, scil. in honour of the goddess.--_Duras_, aukward,
inelegant.

541, 542. Heinsius and Burmann think with a great deal of probability,
that a good many verses are lost after this distich, Burmann supposes
that the monks who copied the MSS. left them out, on account of their
indelicacy.

543. He now commences his enquiry into the character and history of
_Anna_.--_Errat_, is uncertain. Six MSS. read _errant_.

544. _Fabula nulla_, no legend or tradition.

545. For the whole story of Dido and Aeneas, see the Aeneis I. and IV.--
_Arserat_, the usual play on words.

551-554. See aen. iv. 36, 198, _et seq_.

556. See Virg. G. iv. 213. 565.

557, 558. Counting the years poetically by the harvests and vintages.

561. Favillae, cineres. Hor. Car. II. 6, 22. They used to pour wine and
precious oils on the ashes of the dead.

562. _Vertice libatas_, cut from the head, and laid as an offering on the
tomb. _Placemus umbras? Capitis exuvias cape, Laceraeque frontis accipe
abcissam comam_. Seneca Hyppol. 1181.

565. _Comitem_ is the reading of six of the best MSS. all the rest have
_comites_.--Pede aequo, the _pedes_ are the ropes called braces, by which
the yards are moved. This shews that the vessel ran before the wind,
_vento secundo_.

567. _Melite_. Malta; _Cosyra_, Gozzo.

570. _Battus_. Silius Italicus (viii. 51,) says of Battus, _Cyrenem molli
tum forte fovebat Imperio_, and he brings Anna thither. Battus was the
founder of the Grecian colony at Cyrene.

581. _Crathidis. The Crathis was a river in Magna Graecia, near Thurii.

582. _Parvus_. Two MSS. read _Purus_, which Heinius and Gierig prefer.
There are abundant instances of the use of _purus_ in the sense of free
from trees.

587. _Subducere_, to draw up, to furl.

594. _Is_. Two MSS. read _hic_,

602. _Populos duos_. The Trojans and Aborigines, under the common name of
Latins. See Livy, I. 2.

613. Italy.

615. _Deos comites_, the Penatestale, which he had brought with him from
Troy, aen. I. 6, xii. 192.--_Increpuisse_, "signis quibusdam datis,"
Gierig. Virgil does not mention this. Ovid was, perhaps, thinking of the
message brought from Jupiter by Mercury, etc.

617. _Morte scil. Didonis_.

618. _Credibile_, than what I believed, or could have believed.

619. _Ne refer_, tell not the tale.

621, 622. _Ratio_, your own choice.--_Deus_, fortune. See Hor. Sat.
I. 1, 2.

623. _Memores, scil. sumus debere_.

627. _Paratus_, dress. Met vi. 451.

633. _Falsum vulnus_, causeless wound of jealousy. Virg. aen. I. 36, iv.
67 and 332. Two MSS. read _tacitum_.

635. _Praeter sua lumina_, before her eyes. Seven MSS. _limina_. Heinsius
puts a colon after _ferri_, and a comma after _mitti_.

637. _Exactum_. She has not yet determined.

642. _Sub verbum_ as she spoke.

647. _Corniger_, a usual epithet of rivers, (Virg. G. IV 371. aen. viii.
77.) on account of their roaring or windings. The Numicius was between
Larentum and Lavinium.

654. "Si Nympha antea _Anna_ dicta, non opus erat ab _amne_ nomen suum
deducere," Gierig. The fact is, the poet here confounds two etymons, an
old one from _amne perenne_, and a later one from Anna the sister of
Dido. Was Anna mentioned in the poem of Naevius? or did Virgil first give
it vogue? It is a Semitic name, and occurs in Scripture.

657. A second opinion, Anna is the Moon.

658. A third, she is Themis; a fouth Io or Isis.

659. 660. A fifth, made her a daughter of Atlas, and one of the Nymphs
who reared Jupiter. These however are said to have been the two daughters
of Melissa, or simply the nymph Amalthea. There is however another
tradition which commits the rearing of the infant deity to the Hyades,
who were the daughters of Atlas.

661. A sixth theory, derived Anua from _anus_, and devised the folloing
legend which the poet thinks is not unlike the truth.

663. The famous secession of the Plebs. A.U.C. 260. to the hill beyound
the Anien, three miles from Rome, afterwards named the Mons Sacer.

667. Bovillae or Bovilla was a Latin town mot far from Rome, on the
Appian Way.--_Suburbanis_ does not mean close to the city, for Horace
(Ep, I, 7, 77.) calls his Sabine country-seat _suburbana rura_.

673. Can any thing be more silly than this account of the origin of an
ancient Italian deity? I have elsewhere (Mythology p. 479) observed, what
little taste and elegance of imagination, and I add sense, the Romans
displayed in the origins which they invented for their gods. The real
etymon of Anna Perenna is, I think, _annus_, as the poet himself would
appear to have seen: see vv. 145, 146. Perhaps, according to the
principle noticed above on, v. 512, she was a female corresponding to a
god Annus. It is curious to observe the resemblance which has been traced
out between her and the Indian Anna Purna in the Asiatic Researches.

675. He now undertakes to explain by a legend, why at the festival of
Anna Perenna indecorous verse were sung by young women. The mystics would
here, of course, talk to us of the symbolic wisdom of ancient priests and
sages, but the more probable reason is to be found in the rude simplicity
of an agricultural race, like the ancient Latins, and other peoples of
Italy, which also gave origin to the Fescinnine verses. On occasions like
this, however, one should always bear in mind these words of Johnson,
"The oringinal of ancient customs is commonly unknown; for the practice
often continues after the cause has ceased; and concerning superstitious
ceremonies it is vain to conjecture, reson cannot explain," Rasselas,
Chap. 48.

696. _Verba dedisse_, to have deceived.

697. Julius Caesar was slain on the Ides of March, A.U.C. 709. The senate
directed, that in future this day should be called _Parricidium_, and
that no senate should ever sit on it. Suet. Caes. 88.

698. _Locuta_, scil. to the poet.

699. _Sacerdos_, as being Pontifex Maximus. [Greek: All' outos ho pataer,
outos ho archiereus, ho asulos, ho aeros, ho theos, tethnaeken], are the
words of Antonius over him in Dion. Cass. xliv. 49.

703. _Vidit_. Two MS. read _servat_. Compare Virg. Ec. v. 56.

704. A temple was raised to Caesar. A.U.C 712. three years after his
death.

707. It was observed by the historians that all the murderers of Caesar
perished within three years after him.

710. _Caesaris_. Augustus.

711, 712. On the XVII. Kal. April is the cosmic rising of the middle of
the Scorpion.

713-790. On the following day were the Liberalia, which the poet now
sings.

716. _Parvus inermis erat_, scil. Jupiter. Most MSS. read _eras_,
applying it to Bacchus. Gierig is not satisfied with either reading, and
he thinks the passage corrupt.

7l8. _Expletum_ completed, brought to maturity.--_Onus_, most MSS.
_opus_.

719. The expedition of Bacchus.

721. Pentheus. See Met. iii. 511. _et seq_.

722. Met. iv. 22.

723. Met. iii. 597, _et seq_.

726. _Vilis anus_, a mean, or common old woman. Seven MSS. three of which
are of the best, read _Vitisator_, but the correctness of the present
text is proved by the following passage of Varro L. L. V. _Liberalia
dicta, quod per totum oppidum eo die sedent sacerdotes Liberi, hedera
coronatae anus, cum libis et foculo pro emptore sacrificantes_.

728. _Gelidis focis_, cold altars, as no fire was kindled on them.

730. _Seposuisse_. The greater number of MSS. have _supposuisse_.

733. "Mira etymologia!" Gierig. See above v. 512. The _libum_ was a kind
of cake, [Greek: plakous ek galaktos, itrion te kai melitos, on Romaioi
libon kalousi]. Athenaeus III. p. 125.

739. _Florida_. Most MSS. read _flumina_: the present, which is far
preferable, is that of three of the best and four other MSS.

741-744. Compare Virgil G. IV. 64, _et seq_. The practice is too well
known among ourselves to require any elucidation.

743. _Levis senex_, Silenus, who was bald. Most MSS. read _lenis_.

748. _Dissimulat_, conceals his discovery.

753 It was therefore a hornet's nest he had got.

763 See v. 726.--_Praestet_, "exhibeat praetereuntibus." Gierig.

769. _Nysiades_. There was a Nysa in Boeotia, in Thrace, in India, in
Arabia. It was probably the Boeotian that the poet meant. See Met. III.
3l3.--_Noverca_, Juno.

771. On the Liberalia, the youths who had attained the age of sixteen
laid aside the _praetexta_, which they had hitherto worn and assumed, the
_toga virilis_, _pura_, _recta_, or _libera_, as it was variously,
called. The poet gives four reasons for its being done on the Liberalia.

773. First reason, Bacchus, like Apollo, was ever young, See Met. iv. 17.

775. Second reason, because he was a father, (_Liber Pater_.) The Romans
however called all their gods _patres_. ex. gr. Jupiter, (Jovis pater
Zeus [Greek: pataer]), Dispiter, Mars-piter, Janus pater, Pater Neptunus,
Pater Silvanus. (Hor. Epod. ii. 21.) etc.

777. Third reason, and perhaps the true one, because his name Liber
coincided with the adjective _liber_.

779. Fourth reason, because as the people used to come from the country
into Rome on the Liberalia to see the plays, it was deemed a good
opportunity for giving a youth the _toga virilis_, when all his friends
and relations were present.

781. Alluding to L. Quinctius Cincinnatus, _ille dictator ab aratro_,
Flor. I. 11.

782. Alluding, perhaps, to the story of Scipio, who, on shaking the hand
of a country voter, as he canvassed him, said, _Prythee, friend, dost
walk on thy hands?_ and thereby lost his election. I, however, rather
think that the poet had only in view the effeminacy of his own days.

784. _Studiis_, scil_. musices et poeseos_, taste.

786. _Taedifera dea_, Ceres.

787. _Tironem_. The youth who took the manly gown was named a _tiro_, and
the day, _dies tirocinii_. He was accompanied from the Capitol to the
Forum, and thence home by a great number of his relatives, friends and
clients.--_Celeb. freq. Frequentia me usque ad Capitolium celebravit_.
Cic. Att. vi. 1.

791, 792. See V. 621, Livy, I. 22. _Reliqua urbis loca olim discreta, ut
Argeorum sacraria in septem et viginti partes urbis sunt disposita.
Argeos dictos putant a principibus, qui cum Hercule Argivo venerunt Romam
et in Saturnia subsederunt_. Varro, L. L. iv. J. B. Fontejus (_De Prisca
Caesiorum Gente_, L. I. c. 7,) supposes that the Argei were the reputed
burial-places of some of these noble Argives.--_Sua Pagina_, its own part
of the Fasti. He means, perhaps, V. 621, _et seq_.

793, 794. On the same day (XVI. Kal. April.) the Kite rises
acronychally.--_Proclinis_ is the reading of two of the best MSS.; five
of the best read _proclivis_, some have _declivis_; the greater number
_declinis_.--_Miluus_, a trisyllable (like _Iason_, _Iulus_, _Iambus_,
_silua_, _Suevos_, etc.) is the reading of the best MSS.: the rest have
_Milvius_. The constellation of the Kite, Krebs says, is not mentioned by
any Greek writer on astronomy, before the time of Ovid. It is quite
uncertain where he got the following legend.

798. That is to slay the monster about to be described.

801. Compare Virg. aen. vi. 549.

803, 804. This reminds one strongly of the sacrifice of the horse of
Hindoo Mythology. See Southey's Curse of Kehama, viii.

805. Briareus. See Hom. Il. I. 402. According to Homer and Hesiod,
Briareus was one of the Hundred-handed, and the ally of Jupiter. Ovid
appears to make him a Titan.--_Adamante_. The _adamas_ of the poets is
iron, or rather steel. _Adamas lapis durissimus, qui nec ferro cedere
dicitur_. Pliny, H. N. xxvii. 4.

809-850. On the XIV. Kal. April, began the festival of Minerva, named the
Quinquatrus, Quinquatres, or Quinquatria.

810. _Nomina quae_. Several MSS. have _numinaque adjunctis_. _Quinquatrus:
hic dies unus a nominis errore observatur, proinde ut sint quinque dies,
dictus ab Tusculanis; post diem sextum Idus similiter vocatus Sexatrus,
et post diem septimum Septimatrus; sic hic, quod erat post diem quintum
Idus, Quinquatrus_, Varro, L. L. V. Festus gives the same derivation. It
is in favour of Ovid that the festival lasted exactly five days, but this
may have been the effect, and not the cause of the name.

811. The gladiatorial combats with which the festival of Minerva, as the
goddess of war, were celebrated, did not begin till the second day. As
the Minerva of the Romans was certainly no war-goddess, till she was
identified with the Pallas Athena of Greece, I am inclined to think that
the origin of this mode of worshiping her will be found in the account
given by Herodotus, (iv. 180, 189) of the worship of the Lybian goddess,
whom he makes to be the prototype of Pallas Athena. To shew how modes of
worship were transferred; the Athenians had, in the time of the empire,
combats of gladiators in a theatre on their Acropolis, in honour of their
patron-goddess. See Philostratus' Life of Apollonius, L. iv. c. 7. For
Pallas Athena and Minerva, see Mythology, pp. 119 and 462.

812. _Illa nata die_. "Illa die _nata Minerva_, quatenus ei templum in
Aventino dedicatum, quod notat Verrius. Etiam Calend. Vindob. _N.
Minervae_." Gierig.

815. See Juvenal. Sat. x. 118.--_Ornate_, scil. with garlands.

816. _Doctus_, skilful.

817. 818. Spinning.

819, 820. Weaving.--_Stantes telas_, the _stamina_ or warp.

821-826. The fuller, the dyer, the shoemaker and the carpenter. For
Tychius, see Hom. II. vii. 221, for Epeus. Id. Od. viii. 492, Virg. aen.
II. 264.

827, 828. The Physicians. There is an inscription in Gruter _Minervae
Medicae_. The reader needs not to be reminded of the medical character of
Phoebus Apollo.

829. This is a sadly perplexing line. Seven MSS. read _censu fraudante_;
others _sensu fraudante_; four _sensus fraudata_; one of the best _censu
fraudata_; two of the best _sensu fraudare_; one of the best _turba ferae
sensus fraudare_; two _verba feri_; three _deam, censu fraudata_, which
Burmann and Gierig have adopted. The present reading is the common one,
with a slight change of _feri_, which gives no good sense, to _fere_.
Matthiae conjectured, and gave the same reading. I think the poet meant
the bad payment and bad treatment which the school-masters so frequently
met with at Rome.

831, 832. The sculptors, painters and statuaries.--_Tabulam_, etc. The
Encaustae, as they were called, who burned-in wax, spread over the place
to be painted.--_Mollia_, smooth or soft, as it were, to the eye.

835. There was a small temple of Minerva Capta on the rise of the Coelian
hill, of which name the poet now tries, but in vain, to discover the
origin.--_Captae_, Six MSS. _capitae_; others _castae_. This shews the
negligence and temerity of the transcribers.

838. See on v. 812.

843. It was the custom when a town was taken, to bring its gods to the
abode of the conquerors.--Falerii was captured by Camillus, A.U.C. 361.
See Livy, v. 24.

844. _Littera prisca_, the old name of the goddess, or the old books, the
Annals.

845, 846. This passage is difficult. For _ex illo_ most MSS. have
_exilio_; many for _reperta_, read _recepta_. It is the _fures_, and not
the _furta_, which should be punished. _Capitalis lucus, ubi si quid
violatum est, capite violatoris_, (two MSS. _vigilatoris_) _expiatur_.
Festus.

849, 850. On the last day of the Quinquatrus, the Kal. Apr. was the
_Tubilustrum_. According to Varro and Festus, the trumpets were purified
in the Atrium Sutorium. On the X. Kal. Jun. there was a Tubilustrum to
Vulcan. For _deae_ in this place, three of the best MSS. read _deo_, which
Heinsius adopts, and understands it of Mars. Gesenius also prefers this
reading. In Verrius, we find _Feriae Martis_, and Laur. Lydus (de
Mensibus, p. 85,) says, [Greek: tae pro deka kalandon Aprillion katharmos
salpingos kai kinaesis ton oplon, kai timai Areos kai Nerinaes, haen
aexioun einai taen Athaenan nerinae gar (en tae Sabinon glossae) hae
andria esti]. This Nerine-Minerva was probably the _fortis dea_.

851-876. The sun enters the Ram, and the poet takes the occasion of
telling the story of Phrixus and Helle. See Mythology, p. 296.--_Nunc_,
on the last day of the Quinquatrus, as it was the day after the XI. Kal.
Apr. which last was that of the entrance of the sun into the Ram. See the
Kalendarium.

863. _Pependerat_. Their mother was Nephele, cloud. See also v. 805.

865. Thebes was built by the Sparti (_Sown_) who sprang from the
serpent's teeth.

870. The Hellespont, Helle's-sea.

874. _Caeruleo deo_. Neptune.

877. The vernal equinox on the VII. Kal. Apr.--_Eos_, Aurora.

879. Four days after the VII. Kal. Apr. was a festival of Janus, Concord,
Health and Peace. Augustus raised statues to these three last-named
deities.

883, 884. Servius Tullius built a temple to Diana on the Aventine, Livy,
I. 45. Tac. An. xv. 41. Ovid, like the other poets, makes Diana and Luna,
as they really were, identical. See Mythology, p. 463.



LIBER IV.


Alma, fave, dixi, geminorum mater Amorum.
  Ad vatem vultus rettulit illa suos.
Quid tibi, ait, mecum? certe majora canebas.
  Num vetus in molli pectore vulnus habes?
Scis dea, respondi, de vulnere.--Risit, et aether          5
  Protinus ex illa parte serenus erat.--
Saucius, an sanus, numquid tua signa reliqui?
  Tu mihi propositum, tu mihi semper opus.
Quae decuit, primis sine crimine lusimus annis:
  Nunc teritur nostris area major equis.                  10
Tempora cum causis annalibus eruta priscis,
  Lapsaque sub terras ortaque signa cano.
Venimus ad quartum, quo tu celeberrima, mensem;
  Et vatem, et mensem scis, Venus esse tuos.
Mota Cytheriaca leviter mea tempora myrto                 15
  Contigit, et, Coeptum perfice, dixit, opus.
Sensimus, et subito causae patuere dierum.
  Dum licet, et spirant flamina, navis eat.
Si qua tamen pars te de fastis tangere debet,
  Caesar, in Aprili, quo tenearis, habes.                 20
Hic ad te magna descendit imagine mensis,
  Et fit adoptiva nobilitate tuus.
Hoc pater Iliades, quum longum scriberet annum,
  Vidit, et auctores rettulit ipse suos.
Utque fero Marti primam dedit ordine sortem,              25
  Quod sibi nascenti proxima causa fuit;
Sic Venerem gradibus multis in gente repertam
  Alterius voluit mensis habere locum;
Principiumque sui generis revolutaque quaerens
  Saecula, cognatos venit ad usque deos.                  30
Dardanon Electra nesciret Atlantide cretum?
  Scilicet Electran concubuisse Jovi?
Hujus Erichthonius: Tros est generatus ab illo:
  Assaracon creat hic, Assaracusque Capyn.
Proximus Anchisen, cum quo commune parentis               35
  Non dedignata est nomen habere Venus,
Hinc satus aeneas, pietas spectata per ignes,
  Sacra, patremque humeris altera sacra, tulit.
Venimus ad felix aliquando nomen Iuli,
  Unde domus Teucros Julia tangit avos.                   40
Postumus huic, qui, quod silvis fuit ortus in altis,
  Silvius in Latia gente vocatus erat;
Isque, Latine, tibi pater est: subit Alba Latinum:
  Proximus est titulis Epytos, Alba, tuis,
Ille dedit Capyi recidiva vocabula Troiae,                45
  Et tuus est idem, Calpete, factus avus.
Quumque patris regnum post hunc Tiberinus haberet,
  Dicitur in Tuscae gurgite mersus aquae.
Jam tamen Agrippam genitum, Remulumque nepotem
  Viderat; in Remulum fulmina missa ferunt.               50
Venit Aventinus post hos, locus unde vocatus,
  Mons quoque. Post illum tradita Procae.
Quem sequitur diri Numitor germanus Amuli.
  Ilia cum Lauso de Numitore sati.
Ense cadit patrui Lausus: placet Ilia Marti;              55
  Teque parit, gemino juncte Quirine Remo.
Ille suos semper Venerem Martemque parentes
  Dixit, et emeruit vocis habere fidem.
Neve secuturi possent nescire nepotes,
  Tempora dîs generis continuata dedit.                   60
Sed Veneris mensem Graio sermone notatum
  Auguror: a spumis est dea dicta maris.
Nec tibi sit mirum Graio rem nomine dici:
  Itala nam tellus Graecia major erat.
Venerat Evander plena cum classe suorum:                  65
  Venerat Alcides, Graius uterque genus.
Hospes Aventinis armentum pavit in herbis
  Claviger, et tanto est Albula pota deo.
Dux quoque Neritius. Testes Laestrygones exstant:
  Et quod adhuc Circes nomina litus habet.                70
Et jam Telegoni, jam moenia Tiburis udi
  Stabant, Argolicae quod posuere manus.
Venerat Atridae fatis agitatus Halesus,
  A quo se dictam terra Falisca putat.
Adjice Trojanae suasorem Antenora pacis,                  75
  Et generum Oeniden, Appule Daune, tuum.
Serus ab Iliacis, et post Antenora, flammis
  Attulit aeneas in loca nostra deos.
Hujus erat Solymus Phrygia comes unus ab Ida:
  A quo Sulmonis moenia nomen habent,                     80
Sulmonis gelidi, patriae, Germanice, nostrae.
  Me miserum! Scythico quam procul illa solo est!
Ergo ego tam longe?--sed supprime, Musa, querelas;
  Non tibi sunt maesta sacra canenda lyra.
Quo non livor abit? Sunt qui tibi mensis honorem          85
  Eripuisse velint, invideantque, Venus.
Nam, quia ver aperit tunc omnia, densaque cedit
  Frigoris asperitas, fetaque terra patet;
Aprilem memorant ab aperto tempore dictum,
  Quem Venus injecta vindicat alma manu.                  90
Illa quidem totum dignissima temperat orbem:
 Illa tenet nullo regna minora deo:
Juraque dat coelo, terrae, natalibus undis,
  Perque suos initus continet omne genus.
Illa deos omnes--longum est narrare--creavit:             95
  Illa satis causas arboribusque dedit:
Illa rudes animos hominum contraxit in unum,
  Et docuit jungi cum pare quemque sua.
Quid genus omne creat volucrum, nisi blanda voluptas?
  Nec coëunt pecudes, si levis absit amor.               100
Cum mare trux aries cornu decertat: at idem
  Frontem dilectae laedere parcit ovis.
Deposita taurus sequitur feritate juvencam,
  Quem toti saltus, quem nemus omne tremit.
Vis eadem, lato quodcumque sub sequore vivit,            105
  Servat, et innumeris piscibus implet aquas.
Prima feros habitus homini detraxit: ab illa
  Venerunt cultus mundaque cura sui.
Primus amans carmen vigilatum nocte negata
  Dicitur ad clausas concinuisse fores;                  110
Eloquiumque fuit duram exorare puellam:
  Proque sua causa quisque disertus erat.
Mille per hanc artes motae, studioque placendi,
  Quae latuere prius, multa reperta ferunt.
Hanc quisquam titulo mensis spoliare secundi             115
  Audeat? a nobis sit procul iste furor.
Quid? quod ubique potens, templisque frequentibus aucta,
  Urbe tamen nostra jus dea majus habet?
Pro Troja, Romane, tua Venus arma ferebat;
  Quum genuit teneram cuspide laesa manum,               120
Coelestesque duas Trojano judice vicit;
  --Ah! nolim victas hoc meminisse deas!--
Assaracique nurus dicta est, ut scilicet olim
  Magnus Iuleos Caesar haberet avos.
Nec Veneri tempus, quam ver, erat aptius ullum.          125
  Vere nitent terrae: vere remissus ager.
Nunc herbae rupta tellure cacumina tollunt;
  Nunc tumido gemmas cortice palmes agit.
Et formosa Venus formoso tempore digna est,
  Utque solet, Marti continuata suo.                     130
Vere monet curvas materna per aequora puppes
 Ire, nec hibernas jam timuisse minas.
Rite deam Latiae colitis matresque nurusque;
  Et vos, quîs vittae longaque vestis abest.
Aurea marmoreo redimicula solvite collo:                 135
  Demite divitias: tota lavanda dea est.
Aurea siccato redimicula reddite collo:
  Nunc alii flores, nunc nova danda rosa est.
Vos quoque sub viridi myrto jubet illa lavari;
  Causaque, cur jubeat,--discite--certa subest.          140
Litore siccabat rorantes nuda capillos:
  Viderunt Satyri, turba proterva, deam.
Sensit, et opposita texit sua corpora myrto.
  Tuta fuit facto: vosque referre jubet.
Discite nunc, quare Fortunae tura Virili                 145
  Detis eo, calida qui locus humet aqua.
Aspicit ille locus posito velamine cunctas,
  Et vitium nudi corporis omne patet.
Ut tegat hoc, celetque viros, Fortuna Virilis
  Praestat, et hoc parvo ture rogata facit.              150
Nec pigeat niveo tritum cum lacte papaver
  Sumere, et expressis mella liquata favis.
Quum primum cupido Venus est deducta marito,
  Hoc bibit; ex illo tempore nupta fuit.
Supplicibus verbis illam placate: sub illa               155
  Et forma, et mores, et bona fama manet.
Roma pudicitia proavorum tempore lapsa est:
  Cumaeam, veteres, consuluistis anum.
Templa jubet Veneri fieri: quibus ordine factis,
  Inde Venus verso nomina corde tenet.                   160
Semper ad Aeneadas placido, pulcherrima, vultu
  Respice, totque tuas, diva, tuere nurus.
Dum loquor, elatae metuendus acumine caudae
  Scorpios in virides praecipitatur aquas.
Nox ubi transient, coelumque rubescere primo             165
  Coeperit, et tactae rore querentur aves,
Semustamque facem vigilata nocte viator
  Ponet, et ad solitum rusticus ibit opus:
Pliades incipiunt humeros relevare paternos,
  Quae septem dici, sex tamen esse solent;               170
Seu, quod in araplexum sex hinc venere deorum:
  Nam Steropen Marti concubuisse ferunt:
Neptuno Halcyonen, et te, formosa Celaeno:
  Maian, et Electran, Taygetenque Jovi:
Septima mortali Merope tibi, Sisyphe, nupsit:            175
  Poenitet, et facti sola pudore latet;
Sive, quod Electra Trojae; spectare ruinas
  Non tulit, ante oculos opposuitque manum.

Ter sine perpetuo coelum versetur in axe;
  Ter jungat Titan, terque resolvat equos;               180
Protinus inflexo Berecyntia tibia cornu
  Flabit, et Idaeae festa Parentis erunt.
Ibunt semimares et inania tympana tundent,
  Aeraque tinnitus sere repulsa dabunt.
Ipsa sedens molli comitum cervice feretur                185
  Urbis per medias exululata vias.
Scena sonat, ludique vocant. Spectate, Quirites!
  Et fora Marte suo litigiosa vacent.
Quaerere multa libet: sed me sonus aeris acuti
  Terret, et horrendo lotos adunca sono.                 190
Da, dea, quas sciter, doctas, Cybeleïa, neptes.
  Audit, et has curae jussit adesse meae.
Pandite mandati memores, Heliconis alumnae,
  Gaudeat assiduo cur dea Magna sono.
Sic ego. Sic Erato:--mensis Cythereïus illi              195
  Cessit, quod teneri nomen Amoris habet.--
Reddita Saturno sors haec erat: Optime regum.
  A nato sceptris excutiere tuis.
Ille suam metuens, ut quaeque erat edita, prolem
  Devorat, immersam visceribusque tenet.                 200
Saepe Rhea questa est toties fecunda, nec umquam
  Mater, et indoluit fertilitate sua.
Jupiter ortus erat.--Pro magno teste vetustas
  Creditur; acceptam parce movere fidem.--
Veste latens saxum coelesti gutture sedit.               205
  Sic genitor fatis decipiendus erat.
Ardua jam dudum resonat tinnitibus Ide,
  Tutus ut infanti vagiat ore puer.
Pars clypeos rudibus, galeas pars tundit inanes:
  Hoc Curetes habent, hoc Corybantes opus.               210
Res latuit patrem: priscique imitamina facti
  aera deae comites raucaque terga movent.
Cymbala pro galeis, pro scutis tympana pulsant:
  Tibia dat Phrygios, ut dedit ante, modos.
Desierat: coepi: Cur huic genus acre leonum              215
  Praebeat insolitas ad juga curva jubas?
Desieram: coepit: Feritas mollita per illam
  Creditur. Id curru testificata suo est.
At cur turrita caput est ornata corona?
  An primis turres urbibus illa dedit?                   220
Annuit. Unde venit, dixi, sua membra secandi
  Impetus? Ut tacui, Pieris orsa loqui:
Phryx puer in silvis facie spectabilis Attis
  Turrigeram casto vinxit amore deam.
Hunc sibi servari voluit, sua templa tueri:              225
  Et dixit, _Semper fac puer esse velis_.
Ille fidem jussis dedit; et, _Si mentiar_, inquit,
  _Ultima, qua fallam, sit Venus illa mihi_.
Fallit, et in Nympha Sagaritide desinit esse,
  Quod fuit. Hinc poenas exigit ira deae.                230
Naïda vulneribus succidit in arbore factis.
  Illa perit. Fatum Naïdos arbor erat.
Hic furit: et credens thalami procumbere tectum,
  Effugit et cursu Dindyma summa petit.
Et modo, _Tolle faces! Remove_, modo, _verbera!_ clamat. 235
  Saepe Palaestinas jurat adesse deas.
Ille etiam saxo corpus laniavit acuto,
  Longaque in immundo pulvere tracta coma est;
Voxque fuit, Merui: meritas do sanguine poenas:
  Ah pereant partes, quae nocuere mihi!                  240
Ah pereant! dicebat adhuc: onus inguinis aufert;
  Nullaque sunt subito signa relicta viri.
Venit in exemplum furor hic, mollesque ministri
  Caedunt jactatis vilia membra comis.
Talibus Aoniae facunda voce Camenae;                     245
  Reddita quaesiti causa furoris erat.
Hoc quoque, dux operis, moneas, precor, unde petita
  Venerit, an nostra semper in urbe fuit?
Dindymon, et Cybelen, et amoenam fontibus Iden
  Semper, et Iliacas Mater amavit opes.                  250
Quum Trojam. aeneas Italos portaret in agros,
  Est dea sacriferas paene secuta rates.
Sed nondum fatis Latio sua numina posci
  Senserat, assuetis substiteratque locis.
Post, ut Roma potens opibus jam saecula quinque          255
  Vidit, et edomito sustulit orbe caput;
Carminis Euboici fatalia verba sacerdos
  Inspicit. Inspectum tale fuisse ferunt:
_Mater abest; Matrem jubeo, Romane, requiras.
  Quum veniet, casta est accipienda manu_.               260
Obscurae sortis Patres ambagibus errant,
  Quaeve parens absit, quove petenda loco.
Consulitur Paean, _Divûm_ que _arcessite Matrem_,
  Inquit, _et Idaeo est invenienda jugo_.
Mittuntur proceres. Phrygiae tum sceptra tenebat         265
  Attalus: Ausoniis rem negat ille viris.
Mira canam: longo tremuit cum murmure tellus,
  Et sic est adytis diva locuta suis:
_Ipsa peti volui. Ne sit mora: mitte volentem.
  Dignus Roma locus, quo deus omnis eat_.                270
Ille soni terrore pavens, Proficiscere, dixit;
  Nostra eris: in Phrygios Roma refertur avos.
Protinus innumerae caedunt pineta secures
  Illa, quibus fugiens Phryx pius usus erat.
Mille manus coëunt: et picta coloribus ustis             275
  Coelestum Matrem concava puppis habet.
Illa sui per aquas fertur tutissima nati,
  Longaque Phrixeae stagna sororis adit,
Rhoeteumque rapax, Sigeaque litora transit,
  Et Tenedum, et veteres Eëtionis opes.                  280
Cyclades excipiunt, Lesbo post terga relicta,
  Quaque Carysteis frangitur unda vadis.
Transit et Icarium, lapsas ubi perdidit alas
  Icarus, et vastae nomina fecit aquae.
Tum laeva Creten, dextra Pelopeïdas undas                285
  Deserit, et Veneri sacra Cythera petit.
Hinc mare Trinacrium, candens ubi tingere ferrum
  Brontes, et Steropes, Acmonidesque solent:
aequoraque Afra legit, Sardoaque regna sinistris
  Prospicit a remis, Ausoniamque tenet.                  290
Ostia contigerat, qua se Tiberinus in altum
  Dividit, et campo liberiore natat:
Omnis eques, mixtaque gravis cum plebe senatus
  Obvius ad Tusci fluminis ora venit;
Procedunt pariter matres, nataeque, nurusque.            295
  Quaeque colunt sanctos virginitate focos.
Sedula fune viri contento brachia lassant.
  Vix subit adversas hospita navis aquas,
Sicca diu tellus fuerat: sitis usserat herbas:
  Sedit limoso pressa carina vado.                       300
Quisquis adest operi, plus quam pro parte laborat,
  Adjuvat et fortes voce sonante manus.
Illa velut medio stabilis sedet insula ponto.
  Attoniti monstro stantque paventque viri.
Claudia Quinta genus Clauso referebat ab alto:           305
  Nec facies impar nobilitate fuit.
Casta quidem, sed non et credita. Rumor iniquus
  Laeserat, et falsi criminis acta rea est.
Cultus et ornatis varie prodisse capillis
  Obfuit, ad rigidos promptaque lingua senes.            310
Conscia mens recti famae mendacia risit:
  Sed nos in vitium credula turba sumus.
Haec ubi castarum processit ab agmine matrum,
  Et manibus puram fluminis hausit aquam,
Ter caput irrorat, ter tollit in aethera palmas;         315
  --Quicumque adspiciunt, mente carere putant.--
Submissoque genu vultus in imagine divae
  Figit, et hos edit crine jacente sonos:
Supplicis, alma, tuae, genitrix fecunda deorum,
  Accipe sub certa conditione preces.                    320
Casta negor. Si tu damnas, meruisse fatebor;
  Morte luam poenas judice victa dea.
Sed, si crimen abest, tu nostrae pignora vitae
  Re dabis, et castas casta sequere manus.
Dixit, et exiguo funem conamine traxit.                  325
  Mira, sed et scena testificata loquar.
Mota dea est, sequiturque ducem, laudatque sequendo.
  Index laetitiae fertur in astra sonus.
Fluminis ad flexum veniunt: Tiberina priores
  Ostia dixerunt, unde sinister abit.                    330
Nox aderat: querno religant a stipite funem,
  Dantque levi somno corpora functa cibo.
Lux aderat: querno solvunt a stipite funem;
  Ante tamen posito tura dedere foco:
Ante coronatam puppim sine labe juvencam                 335
  Mactarunt operum conjugiique rudem.
Est locus, in Tiberin qua lubricus influit Almo,
  Et nomen magno perdit ab amne minor.
Illic purpurea canus cum veste sacerdos
  Almonis dominam sacraque lavit aquis.                  340
Exululant comites, furiosaque tibia flatur,
  Et feriunt molles taurea terga manus.
Claudia praecedit, laeto celeberrima vultu;
  Credita vix tandem teste pudica dea.
Ipsa sedens plaustro porta est invecta Capena:           345
  Sparguntur junctae flore recente boves.
Nasica accepit. Templi non perstitit auctor;
  Augustus nunc est; ante Metellus erat.
Substitit hic Erato. Mora fit, si cetera quaeram.
   Dic, inquam, parva cur stipe quaerat opes?            350
Contulit aes populus, de quo delubra Metellus
   Fecit, ait; dandae mos stipis inde manet.
Cur vicibus factis ineant convivia, quaero,
   Tum magis, indictas concelebrentque dapes.
Quod bene mutarit sedem Berecyntia, dixit,               355
   Captant mutatis sedibus omen idem.
Institeram, quare primi Megalesia ludi
   Urbe forent nostra, quum dea,--sensit enim--
Illa deos, inquit, peperit. Cessere parenti,
   Principiumque dati Mater honoris habet.               360
Cur igitur Gallos, qui se excidere, vocamus,
   Quum tanto Phrygia Gallica distet humus?
Inter, ait, viridem Cybelen altasque Celaenas,
   Amnis it insana, nomine Gallus, aqua.
Qui bibit inde, furit. Procul hinc discedite, quis est   365
  Cura bonae mentis. Qui bibit inde, furit.
Non pudet herbosum, dixi, posuisse moretum
  In dominae mensis? an sua causa subest?
Lacte mero veteres usi memorantur et herbis,
  Sponte sua si quas terra ferebat, ait.                 370
Candidus elisae miscetur caseus herbae,
  Cognoscat priscos ut dea prisca cibos.

Postera quum coelo motis Pallantias astris
  Fulserit, et niveos Luna levarit equos;
Qui dicet, Quondam sacrata est colle Quirini             375
  Hac Fortuna die Publica, verus erit

Tertia lux--memini--ludis erat. At mihi quidam
Spectanti senior contiguusque loco,
Haec, ait, illa dies, Libycis qua Caesar in oris
  Perfida magnanimi contudit arma Jubae.                 380
Dux mihi Caesar erat, sub quo meruisse Tribunus
  Glorior. Officio praefuit ille meo.
Hanc ego militia sedem, tu pace parasti,
  Inter bis quinos usus honore Viros.
Plura locuturi subito seducimur imbre;                   385
  Pendula coelestes Libra movebat aquas.
Ante tamen, quam summa dies spectacula sistat,
  Ensifer Orion aequore mersus erit.

Proxima victricem quum Romam inspexerit Eos,
  Et dederit Phoebo stella fugata locum;                 390
Circus erit pompa celeber, numeroque deorum:
  Primaque ventosis palma petetur equis.
Hinc Cereris Ludi. Non est opus indice causae;
  Sponte deae munus promeritumque patet.
Messis erant primis virides mortalibus herbae,           395
  Quas tellus nullo sollicitante dabat;
Et modo carpebant vivaci cespite gramen,
  Nunc epulae tenera fronde cacumen erant.
Postmodo glans nata est. Bene erat jam glande reperta,
  Duraque magnificas quercus habebat opes.               400
Prima Ceres homini ad meliora alimenta vocato
  Mutavit glandes utiliore cibo.
Illa jugo tauros collum praebere coëgit;
  Tum primum soles eruta vidit humus.
Aes erat in pretio: chalybeïa massa latebat.             405
  Heu heu perpetuo debuit illa tegi!
Pace Ceres laeta est, et vos optate, coloni,
  Perpetuam pacem, perpetuumque ducem.
Farra deae, micaeque licet salientis honorem
  Detis, et in veteres turea grana focos;                410
Et, si tura aberunt, unctas accendite taedas.
  Parva bonae Cereri, sint modo casta, placent.
A bove succincti cultros removete ministri.
  Bos aret: ignavam sacrificate suem.
Apta jugo cervix non est ferienda securi.                415
  Vivat, et in dura saepe laboret humo!
Exigit ipse locus, raptus ut virginis edam.
  Plura recognosces: pauca docendus eris.
Terra tribus scopulis vastum procurrit in aequor
  Trinacris, a positu nomen adepta loci.                 420
Grata domus Cereri. Multas ibi possidet urbes,
  In quibus est culto fertilis Henna solo.
Frigida coelestum matres Arethusa vocarat.
  Venerat ad sacras et dea flava dapes.
Filia consuetis ut erat comitata puellis,                425
  Errabat nudo per sua prata pede.
Valle sub umbrosa locus est, adspergine multa
  Humidus ex alto desilientis aquae.
Tot fuerant illic, quot habet natura, colores,
  Pictaque dissimili flore nitebat humus.                430
Quam simul adspexit, Comites accedite, dixit,
  Et mecum plenos flore referte sinus.
Praeda puellares animos oblectat inanis,
  Et non sentitur sedulitate labor.
Haec implet lento calathos e vimine textos,              435
  Haec gremium, laxos degravat illa sinus,
Illa legit calthas, huic sunt violaria curae,
  Illa papavereas subsecat ungue comas,
Has, hyacinthe, tenes, illas, amarante, moraris,
  Pars thyma, pars rorem, pars meliloton amant.          440
Plurima lecta rosa est, et sunt sine nomine flores.
  Ipsa crocos tenues, liliaque alba legit.
Carpendi studio paullatim longius itur,
  Et dominam casu nulla secuta comes.
Hanc videt, et visam patruus velociter aufert,           445
  Regnaque caeruleis in sua portat equis.
Illa quidem clamabat, _Io carissima mater,
  Auferor!_ ipsa suos abscideratque sinus.
Panditur interea Diti via; namque diurnum
  Lumen inassueti vix patiuntur equi.                    450
At chorus aequalis, cumulatis flore canistris,
  Persephone, clamant, ad tua dona veni.
Ut clamata silet, monies ululatibus implent,
  Et feriunt maesta pectora nuda manu.
Attonita est plangore Ceres,--modo venerat Hennam--      455
  Nec mora, _Me miseram! filia_, dixit, _ubi es?_
Mentis inops rapitur, quales audire solemus
  Threïcias fusis Maenadas ire comis.
Ut vitulo mugit sua mater ab ubere rapto,
  Et quaerit fetus per nemus omne suos;                  460
Sic dea: nec retinet gemitus, et concita cursu
  Fertur, et e campis incipit, Henna, tuis.
Inde puellaris nacta est vestigia plantae,
  Et pressam noto pondere vidit humum.
Forsitan illa dies erroris summa fuisset,                465
  Si non turbassent signa reperta sues.
Jamque Leontinos Amenanaque flumina cursu
  Praeterit, et ripas, herbifer Aci, tuas:
Praeterit et Cyanen, et fontem lenis Anapi,
  Et te, vorticibus non adeunde Gela.                    470
Liquerat Ortygien, Megareaque, Pantagienque,
  Quaque Symaetheas accipit aequor aquas,
Antraque Cyclopum, positis exusta caminis,
  Quique locus curvae nomina falcis habet:
Himeraque, et Didymen, Acragantaque, Tauromenonque,      475
  Sacrorumque Melan pascua laeta boum.
Hinc Camerinan adit, Thapsonque et Heloria tempe,
  Quaque patet Zephyro semper apertus Eryx.
Jamque Peloriaden, Lilybaeaque, jamque Pachynon
  Lustrarat, terrae cornua prima suae.                   480
Quacumque ingreditur, miseris loca cuncta querelis
  Implet, ut amissum quum gemit ales Ityn;
Perque vices modo, _Persephone_, modo, _Filia_, clamat.
  Clamat, et alternis nomen utrumque ciet.
Sed neque Persephone Cererem, neque filia matrem         485
  Audit, et alternis nomen utrumque perit.
Unaque, pastorem vidisset an arva colentem,
  Vox erat, _Hac gressus si qua puella tulit_?
Jam color unus inest rebus, tenebrisque teguntur
  Omnia; jam vigiles conticuere canes.                   490
Alta jacet vasti super ora Typhoëos aetne,
  Cujus anhelatis ignibus ardet humus.
Illic accendit geminas pro lampade pinus:
  Hinc Cereris sacris nunc quoque taeda datur.
Est specus exesi structura pumicis asper;                495
  Non homini regio, non adeunda ferae.
Quo simul ac venit, frenatos curribus angues
  Jungit, et aequoreas sicca pererrat aquas.
Effugit et Syrtes, et te, Zaneltaea Charybdi,
  Et vos, Nissei naufraga monstra, canes;                500
Hadriacumque patens late, bimaremque Corinthon.
  Sic venit ad portus, Attica terra, tuos.
Hic primum sedit gelido maetissima saxo.
  Illud Cecropidae nunc quoque _triste_ vocant.
Sub Jove duravit multis immota diebus,                   505
  Et lunae patiens, et pluvialis aquae.
Fors sua cuique loco est. Quo nunc Cerealis Eleusin,
  Dicitur hoc Celei rura fuisse senis.
Ille domum glandes excussaque mora rubetis
  Portat, et arsuris arida ligna focis.                  510
Filia parva duas redigebat rupe capellas,
  Et tener in cunis filius aeger erat.
Mater, ait virgo,--mota est dea nomine matris--
  Quid facis in solis incomitata jugis?
Restitit et senior, quamvis onus urget, et orat,         515
  Tecta suae subeat quantulacumque casae.
Ille negat.--Simularat anum, mitraque capillos
  Presserat--Instanti talia dicta refert:
Sospes eas, semperque parens! Mihi filia rapta est.
  Heu! melior quanto sors tua sorte mea!                 520
Dixit, et, ut lacrimae,--neque enim lacrimare deorum est--
  Decidit in tepidos lucida gutta sinus.
Flent pariter molles animis, virgoque senexque.
  E quibus haec justi verba fuere senis:
Sic tibi, quam raptam quereris, sit filia sospes;        525
  Surge, nec exiguae despice tecta casae.
Cui dea, _Duc_, inquit: _scisti, qua cogere posses_;
  Seque levat saxo, subsequiturque senem.
Dux comiti narrat, quam sit sibi filius aeger,
  Nec capiat somnos, invigiletque malis.                 530
Illa soporiferum, parvos initura penates,
  Colligit agresti lene papaver humo.
Dum legit, oblito fertur gustasse palato,
  Longamque imprudens exsoluisse famem.
Quae quia principio posuit jejunia noctis,               535
  Tempus habent Mystae sidera visa cibi.
Limen ut intravit, luctus videt omnia plena.
  Jam spes in puero nulla salutis erat.
Matre salutata,--mater Metanira vocatur--
  Jungere dignata est os puerile suo.                    540
Pallor abit, subitaeque vigent in corpore vires.
  Tantus coelesti venit ab ore vigor!
Tota domus laeta est, hoc est, materque, paterque,
  Nataque: tres illi tota fuere domus.
Mox epulas ponunt, liquefacta coagula lacte,             545
  Pomaque, et in teneris aurea mella favis.
Abstinet alma Ceres, somnique papavera causas
  Dat tibi cum tepido lacte bibenda, puer.
Noctis erat medium, placidique silentia somni;
  Triptolemum gremio sustulit illa suo,                  550
Terque manu permulsit eum: tria carmina dixit,
  Carmina mortali non referenda sono;
Inque foco pueri corpus vivente favilla
  Obruit, humanum purget ut ignis onus.
Excutitur somno stulte pia mater, et amens,              555
  _Quid facis?_ exclamat, membraque ab igne rapit.
Cui Dea, Dum non es, dixit scelerata fuisti:
  Irrita materno sunt mea dono metu.
Iste quidem mortalis erit, sed primus arabit,
  Et seret, et culta praemia tollet humo.                560
Dixit, et egrediens nubem trahit, inque dracones
  Transit, et aligero tollitur axe Ceres.
Sunion expositum, Piraeaque tuta recessu
  Linquit, et in dextrum quae jacet ora latus.
Hinc init aegaeum, quo Cycladas adspicit omnes,          565
  Ioniumque rapax, Icariumque legit;
Perque urbes Asiae longum petit Hellespontum:
  Divereumque locis alta pererrat iter.
Nam modo turilegos Arabas, modo despicit Indos:
  Hinc Libys, hinc Meroë, siccaque terra subest.         570
Nunc adit Hesperios, Rhenum, Rhodanumque, Padumque,
  Teque future parens, Tibri, potentis aquae.
Quo feror? immensum est erratas dicere terras:
  Praeteritus Cereri nullus in orbe locus.
Errat et in coelo, liquidique immunia ponti              575
  Alloquitur gelido proxima signa polo:
Parrhasides stellae,--namque omnia nosse potestis,
  aequoreas numquam quum subeatis aquas--
Persephonen miserae natam monstrate parenti.
  Dixerat: huic Helice talia verba refert:               580
Crimine nox vacua est. Solem de virgine rapta
  Consule, qui late facta diurna videt.
Sol aditus, Quam quaeris, ait, ne vana labores,
  Nupta Jovis fratri tertia regna tenet.
Questa diu secum sic est affata Tonantem:                585
  --Maximaque in vultu signa dolentis erant--
Si memor es, de quo mihi sit Proserpina nata;
  Dimidium curae debet habere tuae.
Orbe pererrato, sola est injuria facti
  Cognita: commissi praemia raptor habet.                590
At neque Persephone digna est praedone marito,
  Nec gener hoc nobis more parandus erat.
Quid gravius victore Gyge captiva tulissem,
  Quam nunc, te coeli sceptra tenente, tuli?
Verum impune ferat: nos haec patiamur inultae.           595
  Reddat, et emendet facta priora novis.
Jupiter hanc lenit, factumque excusat amore,
  Nec gener est nobis ille pudendus, ait.
Non ego nobilior. Posita est mihi regia coelo:
  Possidet alter aquas: alter inane Chaos.               600
Sed si forte tibi non est mutabile pectus,
  Statque semel juncti rumpere vincla tori;
Hoc quoque tentemus, siquidem jejuna remansit:
  Sin minus, inferni conjugis uxor erit.
Tartara jussus adit sumptis Caducifer alis,              605
  Speque redit citius, visaque certa refert.
Rapta tribus, dixit, solvit jejunia granis,
  Punica quae lento cortice poma tegunt.
Haud secus indoluit, quam si modo rapta fuisset,
  Maesta parens, longa vixque refecta mora est.          610
Atque ita, Nec nobis coelum est habitabile, dixit:
  Taenaria recipi me quoque valle jube.
Et factura fuit, pactus nisi Jupiter esset,
  Bis tribus ut coelo mensibus illa foret.
Tum demum vultumque Ceres animumque recepit,             615
  Imposuitque suae spicea serta comae.
Largaque provenit cessatis messis in arvis.
  Et vix congestas area cepit opes.
Alba decent Cererem: vestes Cerealibus albas
  Sumite; nunc pulli velleris usus abest.                620

Occupat Apriles Idus cognomine Victor
  Jupiter: hac illi sunt data templa die.
Hac quoque, ni fallor, populo dignissima nostro
  Atria Libertas coepit habere sua.

Luce secutura tutos pete, navita, portus:                625
  Ventus ab occasu grandine mixtus erit.
Scilicet, ut fuerit, tamen hac Mutinensia Caesar
  Grandine militia contudit arma sua.

Tertia post Veneris quum lux surrexerit Idus,
  Pontifices, forda sacra litate bove.                   630
_Forda_, ferens bos est fecundaque, dicta ferendo:
  Hinc etiam _fetus_ nomen habere putant.
Nunc gravidum pecus est: gravidae nunc semine terrae.
  Telluri plenae victima plena datur.
Pars cadit arce lovis: ter denas Curia vaccas            635
  Accipit, et largo sparsa cruore madet.
Ast ubi visceribus vitulos rapuere ministri,
  Sectaque fumosis exta dedere focis;
Igne cremat vitulos, quae natu maxima Virgo est,
  Luce Palis populos purget ut ille cinis.               640
Rege Numa, fructu non respondente labori,
  Irrita decepti vota colentis erant.
Nam modo siccus erat gelidis Aquilonibus annus,
  Nunc ager assidua luxuriabat aqua;
Saepe Ceres primis dominum fallebat in herbis.           645
  Et levis obsesso stabat avena solo:
Et pecus ante diem partus edebat acerbos,
  Agnaque nascendo saepe necabat ovem.
Silva vetus nullaque diu violata securi
  Stabat, Maenalio sacra relicta deo.                    650
Ille dabat tacitis animo responsa quieto
  Noctibus. Hic geminas rex Numa mactat oves.
Prima cadit Fauno, leni cadit altera Somno.
  Sternitur in duro vellus utrumque solo.
Bis caput intonsum fontana spargitur unda,               655
  Bis sua faginea tempora fronde tegit.
Usus abest Veneris: nec fas animalia mensis
  Ponere, nec digitis annulus ullus inest.
Veste rudi tectus supra nova vellera corpus
  Ponit, adorato per sua verba deo.                      660
Interea placidam redimita papavere frontem
  Nox venit, et secum somnia nigra trahit.
Faunus adest, oviumque premens pede vellera duro,
  Edidit a dextro talia dicta toro:
Morte boum tibi, Rex, Tellus placanda duarum:            665
  Det sacris animas una necata duas.
Excutitur terrore quies; Numa visa revolvit,
  Et secum ambages caecaque jussa refert.
Expedit errantem nemori gratissima conjux,
  Et dixit, _Gravidae posceris exta bovis_.              670
Exta bovis dantur gravidae; felicior annus
  Provenit, et fructum terra pecusque ferunt.
Hanc quondam Cytherea diem properantius ire
  Jussit, et aetherios praecipitavit equos,
Ut titulum imperii quam primum luce sequenti             675
  Augusto juveni prospera bella darent.

Sed jam praeteritas quartus ubi Lucifer Idus
  Respicit, hac Hyades Dorida nocte petunt.
Tertia post Hyadas quum lux erit orta remotas,
  Carcere partitos Circus habebit equos.                 680
Cur igitur missae vinctis ardentia taedis
  Terga ferant vulpes, causa docenda mihi.
Frigida Carseolis, nec olivis apta ferendis
  Terra, sed ad segetes ingeniosus ager.
Hac ego Pelignos, natalia rura, petebam,                 685
  Parva, sed assiduis humida semper aquis,
Hospitis antiqui solitas intravimus aedes:
  Dempserat emeritis jam juga Phoebus equis.
Is mihi multa quidem, sed et haec, narrare solebat,
  Unde meum praesens instrueretur opus:                  690
Hoc, ait, in campo--campumque ostendit--habebat
  Rus breve cum duro parca colona viro.
Ille suam peragebat humum, sive usus aratri,
  Seu curvae falcis, sive bidentis erat.
Haec modo verrebat stantem tibicine villam:              695
  Nunc matris plumis ova fovenda dabat;
Aut virides malvas, aut fungos colligit albos,
  Aut humilem grato calfacit igne focum.
Et tamen assiduis exercet brachia telis,
  Adversusque minas frigoris arma parat.                 700
Filius hujus erat primo lascivus in aevo,
  Addideratque annos ad duo lustra duos.
Is capit extremi vulpem convalle salicti:
  Abstulerat multas illa cohortis aves.
Captivam stipula fenoque involvit, et ignes              705
  Admovet. Urentes effugit illa manus.
Qua fugit, incendit vestitos messibus agros:
  Damnosis vires ignibus aura dabat.
Factum abiit: monumenta manent; nam vivere captam
  Nunc quoque lex vulpem Carseolana vetat.               710
Utque luat poenas gens haec, Cerealibus ardet,
  Quoque modo segetes perdidit, ipsa perit.

Postera quum veniet terras visura patentes
  Memnonis in roseis lutea mater equis;
De duce lanigeri pecoris, qui prodidit Hellen,           715
  Sol abit: egresso victima major adest.
Vacca sit an taurus, non est cognoscere promptum:
  Pars prior apparet: posteriora latent.
Seu tamen est taurus, sive est hoc femina signum,
  Junone invita munus amoris habet.                      720

Nox abiit, oriturque Aurora. Palilia poscor.
  Non poscor frustra, si favet alma Pales.
Alma Pales, faveas pastoria sacra canenti,
  Prosequor officio si tua festa pio.
Certe ego de vitulo cinerem stipulasque fabales,         725
  Saepe tuli plena februa casta manu.
Certe ego transilui positas ter in ordine flammas,
  Udaque roratas laurea misit aquas.
Mota dea est, operique favet. Navalibus exit
  Puppis: habent ventos jam mea vela suos.               730
I, pete virginea, populus, suffimen ab ara:
  Vesta dabit; Vestae munere purus eris.
Sanguis equi suffimen erit, vitulique favilla.
  Tertia res durae culmen inane fabae.
Pastor, oves saturas ad prima crepuscula lustra.         735
  Unda prius spargat, virgaque verrat humum.
Frondibus et fixis decorentur ovilla ramis,
  Et tegat ornatas longa corona fores.
Caerulei fiant vivo de sulfure fumi;
  Tactaque fumanti sulfure balet ovis.                   740
Ure maris rores, taedamque, herbasque Sabinas,
  Et crepet in mediis laurus adusta focis;
Libaque de milio milii fiscella sequatur:
  Rustica praecipue est hoc dea laeta cibo.
Adde dapes mulctramque suas: dapibusque resectis         745
  Silvicolam tepido lacte precare Palen.
Consule, dic, pecori pariter pecorisque magistris:
  Effugiat stabulis noxa repulsa meis.
Sive sacro pavi, sedive sub arbore sacra,
  Pabulaque in bustis inscia carpsit ovis:               750
Seu nemus intravi vetitum, nostrisve fugatae
  Sunt oculis Nymphae, semicaperve deus:
Seu mea falx ramo lucum spoliavit opaco,
  Unde data est aegrae fiscina frondis ovi;
Da veniam culpae: nec, dum degrandinat, obsit            755
  Agresti Fauno supposuisse pecus;
Nec noceat turbasse lacus. Ignoscite, Nymphae,
  Mota quod obscuras ungula fecit aquas.
Tu, dea, pro nobis Fontes fontanaque placa
  Numina; tu sparsos per nemus omne deos.                760
Nec Dryadas, nec nos videamus labra Dianae
  Nec Faunum, medio quum premit arva die.
Pelle procul morbos. Valeant hominesque gregesque;
  Et valeant vigiles, provida turba, canes;
Neve minus multas redigam, quam mane fuerunt,            765
  Neve gemam referens vellera rapta lupo.
Absit iniqua fames. Herb frondesque supersint,
  Quaeque lavent artus, quaeque bibantur, aquae,
Ubera plena premam: referat mihi caseus aera,
  Dentque viam liquido vimina rara sero;                 770
Sitque salax aries, conceptaque semina conjux
  Reddat, et in stabulo multa sit agna meo;
Lanaque proveniat, nullas laesura puellas,
  Mollis, et ad teneras quamlibet apta manus.
Quae precor, eveniant: et nos faciamus ad annum          775
  Pastorum dominae grandia liba Pali.
His dea placanda est: haec tu conversus ad ortus
  Dic ter, et in vivo perlue rore manus.
Tum licet, apposita, veluti cratere, camella,
  Lac niveum potes, purpureamque sapam;                  780
Moxque per ardentes stipulae crepitantis acervos
  Trajicias celeri strenua membra pede.
Expositus mos est. Moris mihi restat origo.
  Turba facit dubium, coeptaque nostra tenet.
Omnia purgat edax ignis, vitiumque metallis              785
  Excoquit; idcirco cum duce purgat oves.
An, quia cunctarum contraria semina rerum
  Sunt duo discordes, ignis et unda, dei;
Junxerunt elementa patres, aptumque putarunt
  Ignibus et sparsa tangere corpus aqua?                 790
An, quod in his vitae causa est; haec perdidit exsul:
  His nova fit conjux: haec duo magna putant?
Vix equidem credo. Sunt qui Phaëthonta referri
  Credant, et nimias Deucalionis aquas.
Pars quoque, quum saxis pastores saxa feribant,          795
  Scintillam subito prosiluisse ferunt.
Prima quidem periit: stipulis excepta secunda est.
  Hoc argumentum flamma Palilis habet.
An magis hunc morem pietas Aeneïa fecit,
  Innocuum victo cui dedit ignis iter?                   800
Hoc tamen est vero propius, quum condita Roma est,
  Transferri jussos in nova tecta Lares,
Mutantesque domum tectis agrestibus ignem
  Et cessaturae supposuisse casae;
Per flammas saluisse pecus, saluisse colonos.            805
  Quod fit natali nunc quoque, Roma, tuo.
Ipse locus causas vati facit. Urbis origo
  Venit. Ades factis, magne Quirine, tuis.
Jam luerat poenas frater Numitoris, et omne
  Pastorum gemino sub duce vulgus erat:                  810
Contrahere agrestes, et moenia ponere utrique
  Convenit. Ambigitur, moenia ponat uter.
Nil opus est, dixit, certamine, Romulus, ullo.
  Magna fides avium est: experiamur aves.
Res placet. Alter init nemorosi saxa Palati:             815
  Alter Aventinum mane cacumen init.
Sex Remus, hic volucres bis sex videt ordine. Pacto
  Statur: et arbitrium Romulus urbis habet.
Apta dies legitur, qua moenia signet aratro.
  Sacra Palis suberant: inde movetur opus.               820
Fossa fit ad solidum: fruges jaciuntur in ima,
  Et de vicino terra petita solo.
Fossa repletur humo, plenaeque imponitur ara,
  Et novus accenso fungitur igne focus.
Inde premens stivam designat moenia sulco;               825
  Alba jugum niveo cum bove vacca tulit.
Vox fuit haec regis: Condenti, Jupiter, urbem,
  Et genitor Mavors, Vestaque mater ades,
Quosque pium est adhibere deos, advertite cuncti:
  Auspicibus vobis hoc mihi surgat opus.                 830
Longa sit huic aetas, dominaeque potentia terrae:
  Sitque sub hac oriens occiduusqne dies.
Ille precabatur: tonitru dedit omina laevo
  Jupiter, et laevo fulmina missa polo.
Augurio laeti jaciunt fundamina cives,                   835
  Et novus exiguo tempore murus erat.
Hoc Celer urget opus, quem Romulus ipse vocarat;
  Sintque, Celer, curae, dixerat, ista tuae,
Neve quis aut muros, aut factam vomere fossam
  Transeat; audentem talia dede neci.                    840
Quod Remus ignorans, humiles contemnere muros
  Coepit, et, _His populus_, dicere, _tutus erit_?
Nec mora, transiluit. Rutro Celer occupat ausum.
  Ille premit duram sanguinolentus humum.
Haec ubi rex didicit, lacrimas introrsus obortas         845
  Devorat, et clausum pectore vulnus habet.
Flere palam non vult, exemplaque fortia servat,
  Sicque meos muros transeat hostis, ait.
Dat tamen exsequias: nec jam suspendere fletum
  Sustinet, et pietas dissimulata patet;                 850
Osculaque applicuit posito suprema feretro,
  Atque ait, _Invito frater adempte, vale_!
Arsurosque artus unxit. Fecere, quod ille,
  Faustulus, et maestas Acca soluta comas.
Tum juvenem nondum facti flevere Quirites;               855
  Ultima plorato subdita flamma rogo est.
Urbs oritur--quis tunc hoc ulli credere posset?--
  Victorem terris impositura pedem.
Cuncta regas, et sis magno sub Caesare semper:
  Saepe etiam plures nominis hujus habe;                 860
Et quoties steteris domito sublimis in orbe,
  Omnia sint humeris inferiora tuis.

Dicta Pales nobis. Idem Vinalia dicam.
  Una tamen media est inter utramque dies.
Numina vulgares Veneris celebrate puellae.               865
  Multa professarum quaestibus apta Venus.
Poscite ture dato formam populique favorem;
  Poscite blanditias, dignaque verba joco:
Cumque sua dominae date grata sisymbria myrto,
  Textaque composita juncea vincla rosa.                 870
Templa frequentari Collinae proxima portae
  Nunc decet: a Siculo nomina colle tenent.
Utque Syracusas Arethusidas abstulit armis
  Claudius, et bello te quoque cepit, Eryx;
Carmine vivacis Venus est translata Sibyllae,            875
  Inque suae stirpis maluit urbe coli.
Cur igitur Veneris festum Vinalia dicant,
  Quaeritis, et quare sit Jovis ista dies.
Turnus an aeneas Latiae gener esset Amatae,
  Bellum erat. Etruscas Turnus adorat opes.              880
Clarus erat sumptisque ferox Mezentius armis,
  Et vel equo magnus, vel pede major erat.
Quem Rutuli Turnusque suis adsciscere tentant
  Partibus. Haec contra dux ita Tuscus ait:
Stat mihi non parvo virtus mea. Vulnera testor,          885
  Armaque, quae sparsi sanguine saepe meo:
Qui petis auxilium, non grandia divide mecum
  Praemia de lacubus proxima musta tuis.
Nulla mora est operae; vestrum dare, vincere nostrum est.
  Quam velit aeneas ista negata mihi!                    890
Annuerant Rutuli: Mezentius induit arma.
  Induit aeneas, alloquiturque Jovem:
Hostica Tyrrheno vota est vindemia regi;
  Jupiter, e Latio palmite musta feres.
Vota valent meliora: cadit Mezentius ingens,             895
  Atque indignanti pectore plangit humum.
Venerat auctummus, calcatis sordidus uvis:
  Redduntur merito debita vina Jovi.
Dicta dies hinc est Vinalia. Jupiter illam
  Vindicat, et festis gaudet inesse suis.                900

Sex ubi, quae restant, luces Aprilis habebit;
  In medio cursu tempora veris erunt;
Et frustra pecudem quaeres Athamantidos Helles:
  Signaque dant imbres: exoriturque Canis.
Hac mihi Nomento Romam quum luce redirem,                905
  Obstitit in media candida pompa via.
Flamen in antiquae lucum Robiginis ibat,
  Exta canis flammis, exta daturas ovis.
Protinus accessi, ritus ne nescius essem.
  Edidit haec Flamen verba, Quirine, tuus:               910
Aspera Robigo, parcas Cerealibus herbis,
  Et tremat in summa leve cacumen humo.
Tu sata sideribus coeli nutrita secundis
  Crescere, dum fiant falcibus apta, sinas.
Vis tua non levis est. Quae tu frumenta notasti,         915
  Maestus in amissis illa colonus habet.
Nec venti tantum Cereri nocuere, nec imbres;
  Nec sic marmoreo pallet adusta gelu;
Quantum, si culmos Titan incalfacit udos.
  Tum locus est irae, diva timenda, tuae.                920
Parce, precor, scabrasque manus a messibus aufer,
  Neve noce cultis: posse nocere sat est;
Neu teneras segetes, sed durum amplectere ferrum,
  Quodque potest alios perdere, perde prior.
Utilius gladios et tela nocentia carpes.                 925
  Nil opus est illis: otia mundus agit.
Sarcula nunc, durusque bidens, et vomer aduncus,
  Ruris opes niteant: inquinet arma situs;
Conatusque aliquis vagina ducere ferrum,
  Adstrictum longa sentiat esse mora.                    930
At tu ne viola Cererem, semperque colonus
  Absenti possit solvere vota tibi.
Dixerat:--a dextra villis mantele solutis,
  Cumque meri patera turis acerra fuit.--
Tura focis vinumque dedit, fibrasque bidentis,           935
  Turpiaque obscenae--vidimus--exta canis.
Tum mihi, Cur detur sacris nova victima, quaeris;
  --Quaesieram--causam percipe, Flamen ait:
Est Canis--Icarium dicunt--quo sidere moto
  Tosta sitit tellus, praecipiturque seges.              940
Pro cane sidereo canis hic imponitur arae,
  Et, quare pereat, nil nisi nomen habet.

Quum Phrygis Assaraci Titania fratre relicto
  Sustulit immenso ter jubar orbe suum,
Mille venit variis florum dea nexa coronis:              945
  Scena joci morem liberioris habet.
Exit et in Maias sacrum Morale Kalendas.
  Tunc repetam: nunc me grandius urget opus.
Aufert Vesta diem: cognati Vesta recepta est
  Limine. Sic justi constituere senes.                   950
Phoebus habet partem; Vestas pars altera cessit:
  Quod superest illis, tertius ipse tenet.
State Palatinae laurus, praetextaque quercu
  Stet domus. Aeternos tres habet una deos.



NOTES:

1. The poet, when about to commence the month of April, invokes Venus, to
whom that month was sacred.--_Dlxi_. Four MSS. followed by Heinsius and
Gierig, read _vati_, which is, I think, more Ovidian.--_Gem. Amor_. It is
doubtful who these two Loves were, whether the [Greek: Eros] and [Greek:
Imeros] of Hesiod (Th. 20l.) i.e. the _Cupido_ and _Jocus_ of Horace,
(Car. I. 2. 33.) or the celestial and terrestrial Loves of Plato, or the
Eros and Anteros of Cicero, (N. D. iii. 23.) See Mythology, p. 112.

4. Alluding to his Amores, etc. See II. 5.

5. _Risit_, etc. Compare Virg. aen. I. 225.

7. The poets of the Augustan age were fond of comparing love to military
service, and employed the terms of Roman discipline when speaking of it.

9. Love was suitable and becoming to youth. Compare Hor. Ep. I. 14, 36.

10. See II. 360. _Pulsanda est magnis area major equis_. Amor. III. 15,
18, alluding to the races in the Circus.

11, 12. Repeated from I. 1, 2, 7.

15. The myrtle was the favourite plant of Venus. _Dixit_ (Venus) _et a
myrto_ (_myrto nam cincta capillos Constiterat_) _folium granaque pauca
dedit. Sensimus acceptis numen quoque, purior aether Fulsit, et a toto
pectore cessit onus_. A. A. III. 53. Compare Burns' Vision, last stanza.

18. While I have the inspiration of Venus.

20. _Caesar_, Germanicus.-_Tenearis_. You (i. e. your attention) may be
detained. See Trist. iv. 10, 49. Hor. Ep. I. 1, 81.

21, 22. The waxen figures (_imagines_) of all their ancestors, stood in
the halls of the noble Romans, and they had all a _stemma_, or genealogy
of their family, which _descended_ from the first author of it. Venus, as
mother of aeneas, was at the head of the _stemma_ of the Julii, into which
family Germanicus was entered by adoption, I. 3, 10, _notes_.

23. _Pat. Il_. Romulus, the son of Ilia.--_Scriberet_, i. e.
_describeret_ in menses.

24. _Auct. suos_. Mars and Venus.

27. There were all the Alban kings between aeneas and Romulus.

29, 30. He traced his lineage up to the gods.

31. _Nesciret_, i.e. _Quis nesciret_?

32. _Scilicet_ is usually joined with the preceding line, and a semicolon
placed after it; but see I. 29, II. 241, IV. 627. For this genealogy, see
Hom. II. xx. 215, _et seq_. Virg. G. III. 35. Mythology, p. 435.

37, 38. See I. 527. Virg. aen. III. 148.

39. _Aliquando_, at length.

40. See Livy, I. 3. Virg. aen. I. 268.--_Teucros_. This name of the
Trojans does not occur in Homer and the older Greek poets, and but rarely
in the later. Like Graecus, Graius, it is constantly employed by the Latin
poets.

41-56. Ovid has also given the series of Alban kings, in Met. xiv. 609,
_et seq_. but somewhat differently. This list differs from that in Livy
only by omitting aeneas, after Silvius, and by giving Epytos for Atis, and
Calpetus for Capetus. The list in Dionysius differs but little. This
writer adds Silvius to the names of all, after the grandson of aeneas. For
these Alban kings, whose names are, beyond doubt, a fiction of later
times, to fill up the space which the chronology of the Greeks gave
between the fall of Troy and the building of Rome, see Livy, I. 3.
Niebuhr, Rom. Hist. I. 202. Compare the equally veracious poetic
genealogy of the British kings in Spenser's Faerie Queene, B. II. c. x.

46. _Calpete_. The reading of several MSS. is _Capete_, but the metre
requires Calpete, which Neapolis gave from Dionysius and Eusebius.

48. _Tuscae aquae_, of the Albula, II. 389.

61. The ancients gave two etymons of the name April, one Greek, _quasi
Aphrilis_, from, [Greek: Aphroditae], the name of Venus, and its supposed
root, [Greek: aphros]: the other Latin, from _aperio_. Ovid, to gratify
the Julian family, adopts and defends the former, which is by far the
less probable. _Secundus mensis, ut Fulvius Flaccus scribit et Junius
Gracchus, a Venere, quod ea sit [Greek: Aphroditae]. Varro, L. L. V.

63. He tries to obviate the objection, that an ancient Roman name could
not have been derived from the Greek.

64. The south of Italy, as being filled with Grecian colonies, and larger
than Greece Proper, was named Magna Graecia. 65-68. See I. 471, 543, V.
643.

69. _Dux Neritius_. Ulysses, from the hill Neritus, in Ithaca, Hom. Od.
ix. 2l.--_Laestrygones_. Od. x. 120. This tribe of cannibals was placed by
some of the localisers of the Homeric fables at Formiae, in Campania.

70-72. aeaea, the isle of Circe, was supposed to be the promontary,
Circeii.--_Circeii, insula quondam immense mari circumdata, at nunc
planitio_, Pliny, H. N. iii. 5, 9. Tusculum was said to have been founded
by Telegonus, her son by Ulysses. For the Laestrygones and Circe, see
Mythology, pp. 241, 242. Tibur was said to owe its origin to Tiburnus,
Catillus and Coras, three brothers, who led thither a colony from Argos.
Hor. Car. II. 6, 5. Virg. aen. vii. 670.--_Udi_, on account of the Anien,
and the rivulets and springs about it. See Hor. Car. III. 29, 6; also I.
7, 13.

73. _Halesus_. See Amor. III. 13, 31. Virg. aen. vii. 723. Halesus was
said to have been a son or grandson of Atreus, who, on the murder of
Agamemnon, fled to Italy, where he founded Falerii, and introduced the
worship of Juno. The worship of Juno, both in Argos and Falerii, probably
gave occasion to the legend, and the name Halesus was formed from
Falisci. F. and H. are commutable. See on v. 630.

75. See Hom. Il. vii. 348, _et seq_. Hor. Ep. I. 2, 9. The tradition was
that, being allowed to depart from Troy by the Greeks, he came into Italy
at the head of a colony of Paphlagonian Heneti, and founded Patavium, now
_Padua_. See Livy, I. 1. Virg. aen. i. 242.

76. Diomedes, grandson of Oeneus, king of aetolia, came, after his return
from Troy, to Apulia, where Daunus, the king of the country, gave him his
daughter in marriage, and a share of his dominions. Met. xiv. Virg. aen.
xi. 246. There were in Apulia the _Diomedis campi_, and, on the coast,
the _Diomedea insula_.

77. _Serus_. According to Virgil, the wanderings of aeneas lasted seven
years.

79, 80. Why should not the _gelidus Sulmo_ in the Appenines, the chief
town of the Sabellian Pelignians, and the birth-place of our poet have a
foreign origin, as well as Rome and Patavium? The reader needs scarcely
to be told, that accidental similarities of names are the source of all
these tales. The city of Tours in France, I have read, was founded by
Turnus, the rival of aeneas, and his tomb was long to be seen there! See
Selden's notes on Drayton's Poly-Olbion, Song I.

82. The natural regret of an exile at the recollection of his country.

85-89. A second and much more likely etymon of April. _Hujus mensis nomen
ego magis puto dictum, quod ver omnia aperit_. Varro, L. L. V. Cincius
also, a name of great authority, was of the same opinion, as we are
informed by Macrobius, Sat. 1. 12. His reasons were: there was no festal
day, and no remarkable sacrifice to Venus appointed by the ancients in
this month, and the name of Venus was not mentioned with those of the
other gods in the Salian hymns. Varro also says, that neither the Latin
nor the Greek name of Venus was known in the time of the kings. For the
difference between Aphrodite and Venus, see Mythology, pp. 105 and 464.

90. _Injecta manu_. _Manus injectio quotiens, nulla judicis auctoritate
expectata, rem nobis debitam vindicamus_. Servius, on aen. x. 419.

91-116. He argues, in defence of Venus, from her dignity and power.
Compare Lucret. I. i, _et seq_.

93. _Natalibus_, from which she herself was born.

95. _Creavit_. All the deities worshiped in Greece, as we may see in the
Theogony of Hesiod, were born like mankind, Venus excepted, and even she
in Homer, has a father and a mother.

103. Compare Virg. G. III. 209, _et seq_. aen. xii. 715. p. 76.

117-124. He now argues from the claims which Venus had on the gratitude
of the Romans.

120. See Hom. II. v. 335 et seq.

121. See Hom. II. xxiv. 27, _et seq_. Virg. aen. I. 27. Mythology, p. 76.

125-132. He argues from the beauty of spring, as being suited to Venus.
Compare III. 235. Virg. Ec. III. 55. G. II. 334, _et seq_.

126. _Nitent_. Some MSS. read _virent_.

131. From the III. Id. Nov. to the VI. Id. Mart. the sea was said to be
closed, and the ships were laid up on shore. In spring they were launched
anew. See Hor. Car. I. 4, 3.

134. _Et vos_, etc. A periphrasis of the _meretrices_, who wore a _toga_
instead of the _stola_ (_longa vestis_) worn by women of character.
_Scripsimus haec illis, quarum nec vitta pudicas Attingit crines, nec
stola longa pedes_. Ep. ex. Pont. III. 3, 54.

135. These washings of the statues of the gods were common among the
Greeks and Romans, There is a hymn of Callimachus on the washing of that
of Pallas. See Spanheim's notes on it.--_Redimicula_, the strings or
ribbons which tied on the cap or bonnet. Virg. aen. ix. 616.

139. _Sub myrto_. That is crowned with myrtle, as is manifest from
Plutarch Numa, 19, and Laur. Lydus de Mens, p. 19.

145. The temple of Fortuna Virilis or Fors Fortuna, was built by Servius
Tullius outside of the city on the banks of the Tiber, Dionys. iv. 27.
Varro L. L. V.

146. See v. l39.--_Calida_. This is the reading of fifteen MSS. the rest
have _gelida_.

151. None of the commentators make any remark on this custom. The poet
accounts for it in the usual way by a legend.

157-160. A.U.C. 639, as a Roman knight named Elvius was returning to
Apulia from the plays at Rome with his daughter Elvia, the maiden who was
on horseback was struck with lightning in such a manner, that her clothes
were thrown up, and her tongue forced out, the trappings of the horse
were also scattered. The Vates being consulted, declared that it
portended infamy to the Vestals and to the knights. Enquiry was made, and
three Vestals, Aemilia, Licinia and Martia, were found to have been
carrying on an illicit intercourse with some of the knights. The
Sibylline books directed that two Greeks and two Gauls should be buried
alive, to appease some strange gods, and a statue raised to Venus
Verticordia, that she might turn the hearts of the women from iniquity.
The statue was dedicated by Sulpicia, the wife of Fulvius Flaccus, as she
bore the highest character for chastity and purity of manners. See
Plutarch Quaest. Rom. Plin. H. N. viii. 35. Val. Max. viii. 15. Jul.
Obsequens, c. 97.

163. The Scorpion set cosmically on the Kalends of April.--_Elatae_, etc.
An accurate description of the Scorpion.

165. The IV. Non. the Pleiades (called by the Romans _Vergiliae_,) set
heliacally according to Neapolis, acronychally according to Taubner, who
maintains that the heliac setting was not till three days afterwards. See
Introd. § 1.

166. _Queruntur_. Queror is used of the song of birds. See Hor. Epod. 2.
20. Lucretius (iv. 588.) and Horace (Car. in. 7. 30.) employ it to
express the soft and sweet tones of the pipe.

167. See II. 500. Met. i. 493.

169. _Pliades_. It is thus spelt here and elsewhere in all the MSS.--
_Humeros_, etc. The Pleiades or seven stars in the back of the Bull, were
said to be the daughters of Atlas who supported the heavens, consequently
when they set, their father's shoulders were eased of a portion of their
burden. When a constellation is added to heaven, the weight is encreased.
Met. ix. 273.

171-179. Reasons why, though the Pleiades were seven, but six could be
seen.

179-372. On the 4th of the month, Prid. Non. began the great festival of
the Megalensia or Megalesia, celebrated in honor of the mother of the
gods, the Phrygian Cybele, whose worship was introduced into Rome, A.U.C.
547. See Livy xxix. 14, (where it is _pridie Idus_) Lucret. ii. 598-623.
Virg. aen. in. 104. vi. 785. x. 252, Mythology, p. 191.

180. _Titan_, the Sun, who is frequently so called by the Latin poets.
See on IV. 919. Ovid also calls the Moon, Titania.

181. _Berecynthia_, i. e. Phrygian, from Mt. Berecynthus.

181. _Idaeae_. Cybele, was so named, from Mt. Ida.

183. _Semimares_. The Galli, or priests of Cybele.--_Tympana_,
tambourins.

184. _Aera_, etc. cymbals.

185. The statue of the goddess was carried through the streets by a
Phrygian man and woman.

187. Stage-plays were always performed at the Megalesia, Livy, _ut
supra_, and xxxvi. 36. See also the inscriptions of Terence's comedies.

188. The days of the Megalesia were Nefasti. See Introd. § 3.

190. _Lotos_. The wood of the Lybian lotos was chiefly employed for the
manufacture of pipes.--Theophr. Hist, plant, iv. 3. Plin. H.N. xiii. 17,
32.

191. _Cyleleïa_. Cybelean, from Mt. Cybele.--_Neptes_, grand-daughters,
the Muses. As the Greeks identified the Phrygian Mother of the Gods, with
their Rhea, the spouse of Kronus, and mother of the Kronides or
Olympians, Cybele, of course, became the grandmother of the Muses. The
Ops of the Italians, with whom the Romans identified her, resembled
Cybele much more nearly than Rhea did, who appears to have been an
allegorical personnage. See Mythology, p. 50.

195. _Erato_. Our poet invokes this muse for the same reason, A. A. II.
16. Apollonius Rhodius calls on Erato, when about to relate the loves of
Jason and Medea, and Virgil (aen. vii. 37,) addresses her when he is going
to tell of the war between Turnus and aeneas, for the sake of Lavinia,
whom the former hero loved.

197. _Reddita_, etc. scil. by Heaven and Earth. The whole story is told
by Hesiod Theog. 464, _et seq_. Mythology, p. 42.

204. _Parce_, forbear.--Fidem, the tradition, as the cause of belief.

205. _Gutture_. One of the best MSS. reads _viscere_, which is followed
by Heinsius and Gierig. Three have _gurgite_.

208. _Ardua Ide_, would seem here to be the Phrygian Ida, but Hesiod, and
the general tradition, made the Cretan Ida to be the scene of the infancy
of the god.--_Jamdudum_, forth with. Virg. aen. II. 103.

209, _Rudibus_. Most MSS. read _manibus_; two of the best _rudibus_, four
of the best _sudibus_, which is also the reading of Lactantius, in his
quotation of this verse. Inst. I. 21. In the Greek narratives, the word
is [Greek: encheiridia, ziphea], and [Greek: dorata], with which the
_rudes_, foils or blunt swords, best agree. Lobeck proposes _tudibus_.

210. The Curetes are those who, in the Cretan legend, danced their
[Greek: pyrrhichaen] or armed dance, about the cradle of Jupiter; the
Corybantes were regarded as the attendants of the Mother of the Gods. The
poet here evidently alludes to the resemblance between their name and
[Greek: korus], a helmet.

215-218. See her figure. Mythology, Plate ix. 1.

219. Compare Virg. aen. vi. 785. Lucret. II. 607.

220. The poet and the muse are not quite right here. Cybele, as the
symbol of the earth, was very naturally crowned with towers. _Quod autem
turritam gestat coronam, ostendit superpositas esse terrae civitates, quas
insignitas turribus constat_. Servius on aen. iii. 113. But the fact is,
Ovid was entangled in the Euhemeric or anthropomorphising system, which
prevailed so much in his time. See Mythology, pp. 19, 20, 442.

221. _Secandi_, scil. by the Galli.

223. For the story of Attis, as told somewhat differently by Diodorus,
see Mythology, p. 192; see also Catullus, LXIII. and the notes of
Doering.

225. _Tueri_, to be the _aedituus_ of her temple.

226. _Puer esse_, to be a virgin, if the term may be used.

231. Ovid frequently uses Naïs as synonymous with Nympha. He is
peculiarly incorrect here, for the nymph in question, as the daughter of
the god of the river Sagaris, must have been a real Naïs, and yet he
makes her a Hamadryad. For the Nymphs, see Mythology, p. 206.

233. _Credens_, etc. His madness thus commenced.

236. _Palaestinas deas_. As the whips and torches are mentioned, there
can be no doubt that these were the Furies, but why they were thus
called, none of the commentators can say. Marsus shews, from an old MS.
of Caesar's Commentaries, that Palaestae was a town of Epirus, in which
country the Furies had a temple. This, though bad, is the only
explanation we have. One MS. reads _Palestrinas_, another _Palatinas_.

247. Now comes the narrative of the introduction of the worship of the
Magna Mater into Rome, A.U.C. 547. See Livy, xxix. 10, 11, l4. xxxvi. 36.
Valer. Max. viii. 15, 3. Silius. Ital. xvii. init. Compare Met. xv.
622-744.

249, 250. _Dindymon_, etc. Mountains of Phrygia.--_Amoen_. font [Greek:
polypidax] Homer,--_H. op_. Troy.

252. _Sacriferas_, as bearing the Penates and the Eternal Fire.--_Paene
secuta_, I think there is an allusion here to the legend in Virg. aen. ix.
120.

257. _Carminis_, etc. The Sibylline books.

265. _Proceres_, scil. Valerius Laevinus, a consular; M. Caecilius
Metellus, a former praetor; Sulpicius Galba, who had been an aedile, and
two who had served the office of quaestor.

266. _Negat_. This was not the case according to Livy.

272. Rome derived her origin from Phrygia.

276. From the following description of it, given by Arnobius, (Adv. Gen.
vii. p. 285,) it is quite evident that this symbol of the Mother of the
Gods was an aërolithe. _Ex Phrygia nihil quidem aliud scribitur missum
rege ab Attalo, nisi lapis quidem non magnus ferri manu hominis sine ulla
impressione qui posset, coloris furvi atque atri, angellis prominentibus
inaequalis_. A more accurate description of the external appearance of an
aërolithe could not easily be given.

277. _Nati_, Neptune. Let the reader trace this voyage on the map.

280. _Vet. Eët. op_. Thebes, near Adramyttium, the residence of Eëtion,
the father of Andromache, See Hom. II. I. 366, vi. 395, xxii. 480.

282. The coast of Euboea.

283, 284. See Met. viii. 195, _et seq_.--_Lapsas_. Most MSS. read
_lassas_.

292. _Dividit_, spreads itself: perhaps simply divides, as the Tiber had
two mouths.

294. _Obvius_, to meet it.

300. The river was shallow in consequence of the drought.

301. _Plus quam pro parte_, beyond his strength.

302. Just as sailors and others do at the present day in all countries.

305. The _Eponymus_, or reputed head of the Claudian family, was a hero
named Clausus. Virg. aen. vii. 706. Attus Clausus was the name of the
Sabine chief, who, with his _gens_ and their clients, came to Rome, where
they were received among the Patricians, and became famous in Roman story
under the name of Claudii. Livy, II. 16. This Claudia Quinta was the
grand-daughter of Appius Claudius Caecus.

308. _Acta rea_, was charged with. A law term.

310. _Ad rigidos_. "Apud severos," Gierig. I think he is wrong, and that
the meaning is, she was too free of her tongue _against_ the old men,
perhaps ridiculing them, and despising their admonitions.--_Senes_.
Several MSS. read _sonos_.

312. As true of the present day as of the time of Ovid.

326. Was there a play acted at the Megalesia, of which this was the
subject?

329, 330. This would appear to indicate the spot where the river divided.
See on v. 292.

335. _Coronatam_. The custom of adorning the poops of vessels with
garlands, must be familiar to every reader of the classics. See Virg. G.
I. 304, aen. iv. 418.

339. _Canus sacerdos_, the Archigallus, or chief priest of Cybele, as
Neapolis thinks.

340. It was the custom to wash the image of the goddess and her chariot
every year in the Almo. _Qui lotam parvo revocant_ (renovant) _Almone
Cybeben_. Lucan. I. 600.

346. _Boves_. The car of Cybele was drawn by heifers.

347. The sacred stone was committed to the care of P. Corn. Scipio
Nasica, the son of Cneius, who had fallen in Spain, as being the most
virtuous man in Rome, It was brought into the temple of Victory, which
was on the Palatium. The temple was not finished until thirteen years
after, and the stage-plays acted on that occasion were, according to
Valerius Antias, the first ever performed at Rome.--_Non perstitit_. This
is the reading of six of the best and of other MSS. and of the old
editions; four of the best, and three others have _tunc extitit_, which
is the reading adopted by Heinsius and Gierig. I think the present
reading gives the more Ovidian sense, scil. the name of the author did
not remain unchanged; it _was_ Metellus, it _is_ Augustus. See v. 351.

350. The Phrygian man and woman who carried the goddess about, collected
small pieces of money. This, by the Greeks, was called [Greek:
maetragyrtein]. The poet gives a cause, and a wrong one for it.

353. It was the custom for the principal persons at Rome to give _mutual_
entertainments, at the time of the Megalesia. This was called _mutitare_.
_Quam ob causam Patricii Megalensibus mutitare soliti sint, Plebs
Cerealibus?_ Gellius, xviii. 2.

354. _Indictas_. "Proprie de non vocatis, sed qui sponte veniunt ad
epulas. Suet. Ner. 27. Vitell. 13. Male interpretes a sacerdotibus
indictas capiunt." Burmann.

355. _Bene mutarit_. Having exchanged her obscure Phrygian abode for the
capital of the world. This reason is too trifling to be noticed.

357. _Institeram_. "Institueram, quaerere volebam," Gierig.--_Primi_. See
on v. 347, or is it first in point of dignity, or first in order in the
year?

359. See Virg. aen. vi. 787.

361. _Qui se_, etc. The Galli or priests of Cybele were voluntary
eunuchs.

363. _Vir. Cyb_. Cybele was a mountain of Phrygia.--_Alt. Cel_. Celaenae,
a mountain and town, at one time the chief place in Phrygia; the river
Maeander rose on its summit, and the Marsyas not far from it.

364. _Am. nom. Gal. Gallus in Phrygia, unde qui bibit insanit more
fanatico_, Vibius Sequester de Flumin. Pliny, (H. N. xxxi. 2. 5,)
following Callimachus, enumerates the Gallus among those whose waters
were good for persons afflicted with the stone, and adds, _Sed ibi in
potando necessarius modus, ne lymphatos agat_. As, however, no river ever
had this quality, we may be allowed to doubt the correctness of this
etymology.

367. _Herbosum moretum_. The _moretum_ called by the Greeks [Greek:
muttonton] or [Greek: trimma] was a mess composed of garlic, parsley,
rue, coriander, onions, cheese, oil and vinegar pounded up together. See
the description of the mode of making it in the poem called Moretum,
ascribed to Virgil.--_Herbosum_, an account of the parsley, etc.

371. _Elisae_, bruised or pounded, the part, of _elido_; most MSS. read
_elixae_.

373-376. The temple of Fortuna Publica on the Quirinal hill, was
dedicated on the Nones of April--_Motis_ scil. _amotis_.--_Pallantias_,
Aurora, as being daughter to the Titan Pallas. This genealogy, as far as
my knowledge extends, is peculiar to the Latin poets. In Hesiod, Eos or
Aurora is the daughter of the Titan Hyperion and niece to Pallas--
_Levarit_. "Jugo solverit," Gierig.--_Niv. eq_. Such were suited to the
_candida Luna_. In an epigram ascribed to Ovid, her car is drawn _niveis
juvencis_. The fiction was caused by the _horned_ moon. Nonnus and
Claudian gives her the same.--_Fort. Pub_. This temple was vowed, A.U.C.
549, by the consul Sempronius on the eve of a battle with Hannibal. It
was dedicated ten years afterwards by Q. Martius, Ralla created Decemvir
for the purpose.

377. _Tertia lux_, scil. _Megalesium_, the day after the Nones.--_Ludis_.
The plays were acted on this day.

380. _Perfida_. After the usual fashion of the Romans, to call rebels and
traitors all who opposed them, or the victorious party among them. It was
thus that Napoleon used to style the Spaniards rebels and insurgents. I
need hardly observe that Juba king of Mauritania was most faithful to the
cause of Pompey and the republic. He and Scipio put an end to their lives
after their defeat by Caesar, hence the poet applies to him the term
_magnanimus_, which denotes courage, as the Romans greatly approved of
those who escaped from disgrace and insult by voluntary death. Compare
Hor. Car. I. 37. 21. The victory was gained, A.U.C. 708. See Hirtius
Bell. Afric. 94. Florus iv. 2. 69.--_Contudit_. Virg. aen. I. 264.

381. _Meruisse_, to have served.

383, 384. _Sedem_, scil. in the orchestra, where Ovid sat, as having been
a Decemvir; not the fourteen rows where he might have sat of right, as
belonging to the equestrian order, but to a seat on which the tribune
could have no claim. The Vigintiviratus was an office, through which men
rose to the senate. Of the Vigintiviri, three had charge of the execution
of capital punishments, three of the mint, four of the roads, ten (the
Decemvirs) of assembling the Centumvirs, and presiding when they sat for
the trial of causes.

385. _Imbre_. The Roman theatres were not roofed. There was usually an
awning drawn across to keep off the sun. See Lucret. IV. 73.

386. _Pendula Libra_. On the day after the Nones, the VIII. Id. Libra was
in the sky all through the night, and was usually attended by rain.
_Pendula_ is a very appropriate term for Libra.

388. _Ensifer_. The better MSS. read _ensiger_.

389. The following day (IV. Idus.) began the Ludi Circenses or Cereales,
in honour of Ceres. Tac. An. xv. 53, 74.--_Inspexerit_, looked down on.

391. On the first day of the festival, a _pomp_ or procession, led by the
principal men of the state, moved from the Capitol through the Forum to
the Circus. The procession vas closed by the images of several gods
carried on men's shoulders. This pomp is described by our poet. Am. III.
2. 43, and by Dionysius, vii. 72. Some critics maintain that the Cereales
were but a part of the Ludi Circenses, which last were a festival of all
the gods. See Suet. Jul. 76. Tacitus certainly, in the passage first
referred to above, says, _Circensium ludorum die, qui Cereri celebratur_,
but Ovid seems to make no distinction.

392. _Ventosis_, swift as the wind, [Greek: theiein anemoisin homoioi],
Hom. II. x. 437, of the horses of Rhesus, [Greek: podaenemos], is an
epithet of Iris.

395. According to the Epicurean system of philosophy, in vogue in his
days, the poet regards the original condition of man, as similar to that
of the beasts that graze.

398. _Ten. fron. cac_. "Tenerae frondes arborum," Gierig. The shoot or
tender bough, with its fresh juicy leaves.--_Erant_. Most MSS. _erat_.

401. Compare Amor. III. 10. Met. v. 342. Virg. G. I. 147. Lucret. v. 937.

405. [Greek: Chalko d' ergazonto melas d' ouk eske sidaeros]. Hesiod.
[Greek: Erga], l50.--_Chalybeïa massa_, iron, from the Chalybes who
manufactured it.

406-408. This longing for the continuance of peace, and aversion to war,
is to be found in all the poets of the Augustan age. It may have been
partly flattery to Augustus, but I rather think it arose from the
previous state of war which had lasted so long, and caused so much ruin
and misery. Something of the same kind may be observed in Europe at the
present moment.

412. _Casta_, pure, offered with a pure mind.

414. See I. 349.

417. He had already related this tale at considerable length, Met. V.
Compare Claudian de Rap. Pros, and the Homeridian hymn to Demeter. See
Mythology, p. 133.

422. Henna or Enna, was an elevated valley-plain, nearly in the centre of
Sicily. Cicero, Verr. iv. 48.

423. Arethusa, the nymph of the fount in the island at Syracuse.

436. "_Gremium_ et _sinus_, ut Grammatici docent, ita differunt ut
_sinus_ sit inter pectoris et brachorium, gremium inter femorum
complexum." Gierig.

439. _Amarante_. Two of the best MSS. read _Narcisse_.

440. _Rorem, scil. _marinum, rosemary_, Virg. Ec. II. 49, G. II. 213. Two
of the best MMS. read _casiam_, which Heinsius and Gierig have received;
one _violas_, three _rosas_, several _rores_ most _rorem_.--_Meliloton_,
also called _Sertula Campana_, grows abundantly in Campania. It resembles
the _saffron_ in colour and in smell.

445. _Patruus_. Pluto, the brother of Jupiter and Ceres.

466. _Sues_. "Melius poëta omississet in hac narratione," Gierig. It is
probable that this was a reason given for swine being offered to Ceres.
See v. 414.

467-480. See all these places on the map, and compare Virg. aen. iii. 687,
_et seq_. The poet, we may observe, follows no regular topographical
order in enumerating them.

470. The Gelas, at whose mouth Gela was built, was a very rapid eddying
stream.

470. Megara or Megaris, formerly called Hybla, was near Syracuse. Pangie
or Pantagiae, was a small stream near Leontini.

473. Compare Virg. aen. viii. 418.

474. Messana, was anciently called Zancle, which, in the Sicilian
language, signified a sickle, which the place resembled in form. Thuc.
vi. 4.

477. _Heloria tempe_. The Helorus entered the sea near Pachynus. The
Greeks called all those long narrow wooded glens, through which a river
ran, [Greek: tempea] or [Greek: tempae].

482. See the story of Progne and Tereus. Met. vi. 620. _et seq_.
Mythology, p. 341.

491. See Mythology, p. 239.

495. "_Pumex_, omnis lapis aut rupes excavata," Gierig.

497. Ceres, therefore, kept her 'dragon yoke' in this cavern.

499, 500. Ovid, in this place, agrees with Virgil and Apollonius Rhodius,
in placing Scylla on the Italian, Charybdis on the Sicilian side of the
strait. In the Metamorphoses, xiv. he reverses the positions. Here too,
like Virgil, Ec. vi. 74, he confounds this Scylla with the daughter of
Nisus.

504. _Triste_, [Greek: agelastos petra], was the Greek name.

507. _Eleusin_. This is the reading of the best MSS.

521. _Neq. lac. deor. est_. [Greek: Horo kat osson d' ou themis balein
dakru], says Diana, Eurip. Hip. 1396; for Apollo see Met. II. 621.

527. _Qua cogere posses_, scil. by mentioning her daughter, v. 525.

535, 536. This circumstance of the legend was invented to account for the
_mystae_, or persons just initiated, not taking food till the evening.
[Greek: Oi ta mystaeria paralambanontes legontai en archae men mustai met
eniauton de epoptai kai ephoroi]. Suidas.

550. _Triptolemum_. He is called Demophoon in the Homeridian hymn. I
would recommend the reader to compare that hymn, or the analysis of it in
my Mythology, with this narrative of Ovid.

563. The poet here sets out on another excursion with the goddess, in
which he is as negligent of order as ever. For example, coming from
Eleusis, she must have passed the Piraeus, on her way to Sunion.

567. _Ionium rapax_. The Ionian sea was to the west of Greece. As I
cannot suspect the poet of making such wilful confusion, I assent to
those who suppose he meant by it the sea on the coast of Ionia in Asia.

569. _Turilegos Arabas. Tura praeter Arabiam nullis ac ne Arabiae quidem
universae; pagus Sabaeorum regio turifera_. Pliny, H. N. xii. 14.

571. _Hesperios_, scil_.fluvios_. The Nile was in the poet's mind.

580. _Helice_. See on III. 108.

593. _Victore Gyge_, scil. in the Giant-war. Gyges was one of the
Hundred-handed, the allies of Jupiter in the Titan-war. Hes. Th. 149.

600. _Inane Chaos_. Chaos, with the usual confusion of the later poets,
is here put for Erebus, the proper name for Pluto's realm.

620. On this account, in seasons of public mourning, the Cerealia were
not celebrated, as the mourning matrons could not appear at them.

620-624. A.U.C. 457. Q. Fabius Maximus, when advancing against the camp
of the Samnites, Liv. x. 29. The temple of Liberty was dedicated on Mt.
Aventine, vowed a temple to Jupiter Victor, in the time of the second
Punic war, by the father of Tiberius Gracchus. Liv. xxiv. 16. The Atrium
Libertatis was repaired A.U.C. 559, by the censors Paetus and Cornelius
Cethegus.

625. _Luce secutura_. The XVIII. Kal. Maii. There was frequently hail and
rain at this time. Columella, xi. 2.

627. _Scilicet, ut fuerit_, be this as it may. This reading was formed by
Heinsius. Eight MSS. read _scilicet et fuerit_, eleven _sit licet ut
fuerit_, the remainder have _sit licet et fuerit_, which Gierig prefers,
and explains thus: "Sit ita, ut eo die interdum grando cadat, _et fuerit_
ita et olim."--_Mutinensia arma_. The battle of Mutina was fought A.U.C.
710, against Antony, by the consuls Hirtius and Pansa, and the propraetor,
Octavianus Caesar. One of the consuls was severely wounded, and the other
slain in the action; and as Octavianus either would not, or knew not how
to use the victory, Antony escaped to Liguria. The flattery of the poet,
therefore, goes a little too far.

629. _Veneris_, scil. _mensis Veneris_.

630. The Fordicidia were on the 15th April. _Fordicidia a fordis bubus.
Bos forda quae fert in ventre; quod eo die publice immolantur boves
praegnantes in curiis complures. A fordis caedendis Fordicidia dicta_,
Varro, L. L. V. He also (R. R. II. 5, 6,) names the festival _Hordicidia_
and _Hordicalia_, and the adjective _Hordus_, which was the Sabine word.

635. _Curia_. The singular for the plural. See last note and II. 527.

637. _Ministri_, the _popae_, or _Victimarii_.

639. _Virgo_. The eldest of the Vestals. The ashes were reserved to
purify the people on the Palilia at the end of the month.

641. Now comes a legend as usual, to explain the origin of this practice.

649. Compare Virg. aen. vii. 81, _et seq_. Faunus is, as before,
confounded with Pan.

651. This divining sleep was called by the Latins, _incubatio;_ by the
Greeks, [Greek: enkoimaesis]. _Incubare dicuntur proprie hi, qui dormiunt
ad accipienda responsa_, Servius on Virg. 1. c.

655. _Intonsum_, II. 30. All the following practices were usual, on
occasions of consulting the gods in this way. The reason of them is
apparent.

662. _Somnia nigra_. Compare V. 547. Tibull. II. 1, 89, [Greek:
Melanopterygon mater Honeiron], Eurip. Hec. 71.

669. _Errantem_, IV. 261. I should here, on account of _nemori_, be
inclined to take this word in its primitive sense.--_Conjux_, Egeria.

673-676. On the 15th April, A.U.C. 724, Augustus was saluted
_Imperator.--Cyth. diem. prop. ire_. He appears here to have had Homer in
view, who gives this power to Juno, [Greek: Helion d' akamanta boopis
potnia Hrae Hempsen ep Okeanoio roas haekonta neesthai]. II. xviii. 239.

677, 678. The XV. Kal. Maias, the Hyades, called by the Latins,
_Suculae_, a cluster of stars in the head of the Bull set acronychally.
See below, V. 163, _et seq--Ubi_.. Some MSS. read _tibi.--Dorida_. Doris,
the daughter of Oceanus, wife of Nercus, and mother of the Nereïdes, is
like her daughter Amphitrite, frequently put for the sea.

679, 680. The Cerealia still continued. On the XIII. Kal. Maias, there
were horse-races in the Circus.--_Carcere_. The _carceres_ were the place
in which the horses stood, with a cord stretched before them, on the
dropping of which they started; the starting-place.--_Partitos_,
started.

681, 682. "Addebatur his ludis, hoc eodem die combustio vulpium ob vetus
damnum," Neapolis. "Die. 19, Apr. vulpes in Circensibus comburuntur."
Gierig; from which I think we are to infer that these critics, and those
who transcribe them, consider the burning of the foxes to have formed a
part of the celebration of the Cerealia in the Circus at Rome. I do not
find in any of the old Calendars that such was the case, and the
narrative of the poet would, as appears to me, restrict this practice to
the district of Carseoli. See particularly vv. 709, 7l0.--_Missae_, scil.
at Carseoli?--_Vinctis_. This is the reading of one MS. only, but that
one of the best; it has been received by Heinsius and Gierig; almost all
the rest have _junctis_; three _cinctis_; one _victis_. Five give the
line thus: _Cur. ig. taedis unctis ardentia missae_.

683. _Carseolis_, at Carseoli. One of the best MSS. reads _pars coli_,
from which Heinsius made, and received into the text, _Carseoli_. This
town was on the Valerian road, leading from Rome to the country of the
Pelignians.

684. _Ingeniosus_. _Ingenium_ is used speaking of soil and plants. _Nunc
locus arvorum ingeniis_, Virg. G. II. 177. _Arbores silvestres sui
cujusque ingenii poma gerunt_, Columella, R. R. III. 1.

685. 686. Ovid (v. 81,) was a native of Sulmo, the chief place of this
country. Compare Amorr. II. 16, I,--_Humida_. One MS. gives as a
different reading _uvida_; several have _obvia_.

687. _Solitas_. Twelve MSS. read _fidas_.

689, 690. It appears from this and other passages that Ovid, besides
consulting the Fasti and other books, was diligent in the collection of
such oral traditions, as might aid him in explaining old customs and
religious rites.

692. _Duro_, hardy, like _duri messores, juvenci, humeri_, etc. The
following is a very pleasing description of an industrious peasant and
his wife of ancient times. It would apply, without any alteration, to
many a rustic couple in modern Italy.

693. _Peragebat humum_. "Mi hi non satis placet; Codd tamen nihil
varietatis suppeditant." Gierig.

694. _Curves falcis_. "Falcis usus erat etiam ad premendas umbras ruris
opaci. Virg. G. I. 155, _et seq_. Unde apparet describi hic
diligentissimum colonum,"--Gierig. As the poet is speaking of a small
farm in a plain, I would here restrict the meaning of _falcis_, which is
placed immediately after the plough, to sickle. For _curvae_, eleven MSS.
followed by Heinsius and Gierig, read _cavae_. One of the best has _sive
citruae_.

695. _Tibicine_. The _tibicen_ was a prop set against the wall of a
house, to keep it from falling out.

703. _Extrem. conval. Sal_. In the end of a valley planted with sallows,
that is, among the sallows which grew at the end of the valley. Two of
the best MSS. read _sub valle_, which is the reading given by Heinsius
and Gierig.

704. _Cohortis. Duo erant oviaria sive cohortes; una in plano, in qua
pascebantur gallinae; altera sublimis, in qua erant columbae in turribus
aut summa villa_. Varro, R. R. III. 3, 6. The cohort was the Greek
[Greek: chortos]. It was round, as the following passage of Cato (Orig.
iv.) shews, _Mapalia vocantur ubi habitant; ea quasi cohortes rotunda
sunt.--Aves_, like the Greek [Greek: ornithes]. See on I. 455.

709-712. These lines, I think, prove the custom to have been peculiar to
Carseoli. Compare the account given in the book of Judges of Sampson
making use of foxes to set fire to the corn of the Philistines.

713. On the 20th April, the Sun enters Taurus.

714. A periphrasis of Aurora. Compare Met. xiii. 579. See Virg. aen. vii.
25. Homer calls Eos [Greek: krokopeplos], to which the _lutea_ of the
Latin poets corresponds. The _lutum_ was a plant, whose juice dyed
yellow. The Greek poet also styles this goddess [Greek: rododaktylos] and
[Greek: rodopaechus], but as far as I know, no Greek poet gives her
rose-hued horses or chariot.

715. _Duce_, etc. the Ram.

716. _Victima major_, scil, the Bull--a bad periphrasis!

717-720. In the ancient, as in the modern representations of the stellar
heaven, only the forepart of Taurus was drawn. Hence, it could not be
said whether it was a bull or a cow. Some, therefore, said, that it was
the heifer into which Io had been changed; others, the bull which had
carried Europa. In either case, it was an object of aversion to Juno.

721. On the XI. Kal. Maias, was the festival of Pales, the goddess of
shepherds, named the Palilia, and celebrated by the Romans as the
birthday of Rome, ([Greek: genethlian taes patridos]), the day of the
foundation of the city. The poet, therefore, dwells on this important day
at considerable length.--_Abiit_. The last syllable is long, on account
of the following pause. Two MSS. give _obit, exoriturque.--Palilia_.
Some MSS. read _Parilias. Palilia dicta a Pale, quod feriae ei deae fiunt_,
Varro, L. L. V. _Pales dea pastoralis est, cujus dies festus Palilia
dicuntur, nisi quod quidam a partu Iliae Parilia dicere maluerunt_,
Carisius Inst. Gram. I. p. 55. Solinus, c. 1, and the Scholiast on
Persius, Sat. I. also mention this derivation. This last quotes from
Cicero's Philippics the following passage, which is not now to be found
in them: _Palilia, quae nunc Parilia mutatis literis dicimus_. Parilia is
also the term used by all the Greek writers, except Plutarch. There is
certainly, no doubt, but that both Palilia and Parilia were in use in the
time of Ovid, and that, perhaps, many regarded the latter, which would
appear to come so naturally from _pario_, to be the true name of a
festival of spring, when every herb and tree brings forth, and beast and
bird produce their young. But still, as the name of the goddess was
always Pales, we may be quite sure that Palilia was the original name of
the festival.--_Poscor_, scil. _ad Palilia. Poscimur Aonides_. Met. v.
333. _Poscimur_. Hor. Car. I. 32. 1, to his lyre.

722. _Pales. Pales dea est pabuli, quam alii Vestam, alii Matrem Deûm
volunt. Hanc Virgilius genere feminino_ (Magna Pales) _appellat, alii,
inter quos Varro, masculino genere_. Servius on Virg. G. III. 1. This
male deity was viewed as the servant and bailiff, as it were, of Jupiter.
Serv. on Ec. v. 35. Arnobius adv. Gentes, III. p. 123. Perhaps, according
to the principle stated above, on III. 512, there was, after the usual
manner, a deity of each sex united in office.

725. _De vitulo cinerem_. See v. 637, _et seq_.

726. _Februa_. See II. 19.

727. _Palilia tam publica quam privata sunt. Et est genus hilaritatis et
lusus apud rusticos, ut congestis cum foeno stipulis ignem magnum
transiliant his Palilibus, se expiari credentes_, Varro. See also Tibull.
II. 5. Propert. iv. 1. The simple origin of this ceremony lay in the
belief of the purifying nature of fire, (see v. 785) and something
similar was practised by the people of the North of Europe in their
heathen state; as also nearly down to the present day among the Celtic
population of Ireland and Scotland. But the Romans must assign a
historical cause for this, as for all their other customs; so we are told
by Dionysius, that when Romulus was building the city, he had fires
kindled before all the tents, and made the people jump through the flames
to expiate themselves.

729. _Navalibus_. The usual comparison of a poem to a ship, and the
progress of composing it to a voyage, II. 863. Modern poetry will also
furnish instances. See, for example, Spenser's Faerie Queene, B. II. c.
xii. st. 42. "Now strike your sailes yee iolly mariners, For we be come
unto a quiet rode," etc.

731. See v. 639.

733. _Sanguis equii_, etc. This would seem to contradict the following
assertion of Solinus. _Et observatum deinceps, ne qua hostia Parilibus
caederetur, ut dies iste a sanguine purus esset_. Plutarch also says,
[Greek: En archae d' os phasin, ouden empsuchon ethyon]. But, like the
calf, whose ashes were used, this horse was not sacrificed on the
Palilia. _October equus appellabatur, qui in Campo Martio mense Octobri
Marti immolabatur, cujus cauda, ut ex ea sanguis in forum distillaret,
magna celeritate perferebatur in regiam_, Festus. The Regia here spoken
of, must have been the Atrium Vestae, see on II. 69. The blood of the
horse's tail was preserved here, along with the ashes of the calf, (v.
639,) to be used on the Palilia.

734. _Culmen_ is here the same as _culmo.--Inane_, as the beans had been
taken out.

735. _Ad. prim. crep_. [Greek: Y po nukta]. This was always done in the
evening.--_Lustra_. Several good MSS. read _lustrat_, others _lustret_.

736. The ground on these occasions was swept clean and sprinkled with
water.

739. _Caerulei fumi_. This is to be understood of the bluish smoke-like
vapour which rises from sulphur when burning.--_Viv. sulf. Vivum, quod
Graeci apyron vocant, nascitur solidum, hoc est gleba, Pliny, H. N. xxxv.
15, 50. Sulphur was of great use in purification, see above, on II. 37.
_Ipseque ter circulus travi sulfure puro_. Tibull. I. 5, 11.

741. _Maris rores, [Greek: libanotis], rosemary. This is the reading of
two of the best and ten other MSS.; some have _maris rorem_, the rest
give _mares oleas_, which Heinsius and Gierig prefer. "Lectio doctior
(says the latter,) quam ut a librario proficisci potuerit." Olives were
used in purification, Virg. aen. vi. 230, and the trees were divided into
male and female. Plin. H. N. xvi. 19. On the other hand, the _ros
marinus_, and the _herba Sabina_, are mentioned together in Virg. Culex.
402.--_Taedam, Sextum genus_ (pinus) _est taeda proprie dicta,
abundantior succo quam reliqua, liquidior quam picea, flammis et lumini
sacrorum etiam grata_. Plin. H. N. xvi. 10. See Virg. aen. vii. 71, and
above, II. 25.--_Herb. Sab_. Sec I. 343.

743. _Lib. de mil_. The people of Italy made a sweet kind of bread and
cakes of millet. Plin. H. N. xviii. 10.--_Fiscella_, or _fiscina_, a
basket made of rushes or willow twigs, Virg. G. I. 266. A basket of
millet was part of the offerings on the Palilia.

745. _Daps apud antiquos dicebatur res divina, quae fiebat aut hiberna
semente aut verna_, Festus. Hence, Heinsius would read _dapi_. Gierig
thinks the _dapes_ was the feast of the rustics themselves, of which a
pail of milk formed a part, see v. 780. Compare II. 657, and Tibull. II.
5, 99.--_Resectis_. The MSS. differ greatly, giving _relictis, paratis,
remotis, refectis_.

749. Here follows a catalogue of the transgressions, by which the
superstition of antiquity thought that the anger of the rural gods might
be provoked.--_Sacro_, scil, _in loco_. Many MSS. read _sacra_, scil.
_loca_.

755. _Degrandinat_, says Gierig, may be for the simple _grandinat_, like
_depluere_ for _pluere_. The word occurs scarcely anywhere else. Burmann
would read _dum degrandinet_, till the hail is over--a reading which I
would willingly adopt.

759. _Fontana_. One MS. reads _montana_.

761. _Labra Dianae, the _lavacra_ or bathing places of Diana and her
nymphs, alluding to the fate of Actaeon. See Met. III. 161, _et seq_.

762. [Greek: Ou themis, ho poiman to mesambrinon, ou themis ammin
Syrisden ton Pana dedoikames hae gar ap' agras Tanika kekmakus amptanetai
enti ge pikros]. Theoc. Idyll. I. 15.

769. _Referat_, etc. Compare Virg. Ec. I. 35.

770. When making cheese. Compare Tibull. II. 3. 15.

778. _Rore. Bos_, like the Greek [Greek: drosos], was used for the simple
_aqua_. See Met. III. 164, and Valken on Eur. Hipp. 121. Lenz renders _in
vivo rore_ in this place, by, _In the fresh dew of evening_! A proof of
the liability of translators and commentators to mistake the meaning of
even plain passages.

779. _Camella_. This was a kind of wooden vessel used by country-people.

780. _Sapa. Sapam appellabant, quod de musto ad medium partem
decoxerant_, Varro de vita pop. Rom. p. 240. _Sapa fit musto usque ad
tertiam partem mensurae decocto_. Plin. H. N. xiv. 9.

781, 782. See on v. 727.

783. _Turba_, scil. _causarum_.

785. _Vitium_, etc. Compare Virg. G. I. 89. _Omne per ignem excoquitur
vitium_.

786. _Duce_. The _dux ovium_ in this place is evidently the shepherd,
who, as we have seen, used to leap through the straw-fires. In the South
of Europe, the shepherds generally walk at the head of their sheep.

787-790. [Greek: To pur kathairei, to udor agnizei]. Plutarch, Q. R. 1.

791. _Aqua et igni interdici solet damnatis, quam accipiunt nuptae;
videlicet quia haec duae res humanam vitam maxime continent_, Festus. _Ad
facienda foedera aqua et ignis adhibentur; unde contra quos arcere
volumus e nostro consortio ei aqua et igni interdicimus, id est rebus
quibus consortio copulamur_, Servius on aen. vii. Banishment, we may
observe, was unknown to the Roman law; the _Interdictio aqua et igni_,
which had the effect of obliging a man to quit his country, was all that
was pronounced against him. See Niebuhr's Roman History, II. 62-64.

792. _Nova conjux_. The bride and bridegroom used to touch fire and
water.

793. _Referri_, to be represented, called to mind.

800. _Innocuum_, safe; when he was escaping from the flames of Troy.
Virg. aen. II. 632.

801. _Hoc_. Several MSS. read _nunc_ from which Heinsius made _num_. The
reading of the text, besides resting on the authority of the greater
number of MSS. is much to be preferred.

807. _Ipse locus_, etc. This very part of the poem, this very mention of
the birth-day of Rome, gives me the occasion, calls on me to relate the
origin of the city.

Gierig refers _causas_ to the enquiry which the poet had been on, and
understands it thus: "Quid ego altius causas illius ritus acccsso, cum
ipse locus, quem incolimus, aut, si ita mavis, in quo tractando jam
versor, eas mihi suppeditat?" The reading of most MSS. is _ipse locum
casus vati_ which Marsus interprets: By chance as it were, we are come to
this place, where we must treat of the origin of the city.

808. _Factis_. This is the reading of all the MSS. Heinsius conjectured
_festis_, which be introduced, most unwarrantably, into the text.

809. See III. 67.

812. _Ambigitur_, etc. See Liv. I.6, 7. _Certabant urbem Romam Remoranme
vocarent_, Ennius.

817. _Volucres_. They were vultures, to which, as they injure neither
cattle nor corn, the Romans gave great authority in augury.

821. All that follows was done in accordance with the ritual-books of the
Etruscans. A deep (_ad solidum_) round pit was dug in the future
Comitium. This pit was called _Mundus_. Into it was thrown a portion of
all necessary natural productions, and each person cast into it a little
of the earth of his native country. From this as a centre, the circuit of
the city was described, Plutarch Rom. 11.

824. _Fungitur_. Most of the old MSS. read _finditur_, which Gierig has
received. The meaning would be, the altar was cleft with the heat of the
fire, like ground with that of the sun.

825. When the _mundus_ had been made, the founder yoked a bull and a cow
to a plough which had a brazen share, and made a deep furrow, to mark the
line of the walls, those who followed him taking care to turn all the
clods inwards; when he came to the place where a gate (_porta_) was to
be, he lifted the plough and passed over it, (_portavit_).

830. _Vobis_. Twelve MSS. read _bonis_.

831. _Dominae_, "_Domina_, quae habet imperium in omnes. V. vs. 859."
Gierig. Surely it was Rome, not the earth that was to be the mistress.
Two of the best MSS. read _domitae_, which I think gives a better sense.
See v. 861.

833. _Tonitru laevo. Laeva fulmina prospera existimantur, quoniam laeva
parte mundi ortus est_, Plin. H. N. ii. 53.55. Elsewhere he says,
_Fulmina laeva prospera, quia sacrificantis vel precantis latus laewum
dextrum est ejus qui postulata largitur_.

837. _Celer_. According to Dionysius and Plutarch, Celer was one of the
companions of Romulus, and overseer of the building of the walls. In
reality he was only a personification of the Equites, who were called
Celeres. See Niebuhr, Roman History, Vol. i. 325.

843. _Rutro_. The _rutrum_ was a kind of spade, _rutrum, ut ruitrum, a
ruendo_, Varro, L. L. iv. _Rutro_, in the text, is the conjecture of
Heinsius; the greater part of the MSS. read _retro_; some _rastro_, six
_ultro_, one _ristro_. There can be little doubt of _rutro_ being the
true reading, as it is the term used by other writers.--_Occupat_. See I.
575, and Met. xii. 343.

853. Compare Hom. II. xxiv. 582, and Virg. aen. xi. 219.

855. The Romans were not called Quirites till after their union with the
Sabines. Compare Virg. aen. vi. 776.

856. Remus, a tradition said, was buried on the Remaran hill, a little
way from Rome.

860. _Nominis hujus_, i. e. _Caesaris_.

863-900. On the IX. Kal. Maias, was celebrated the festival, named
Vinalia, in honour of Jupiter, or, as some said, of Venus. Masurius
_apud_ Macrob. (Sat. I. 4,) says, _Vinaliorum dies Jovi sacer est, non,
ut quidam putant, Veneri_. And Varro (L. L. V.) _Vinalia dicta a vino.
Hic dies Jovis non Veneris. Hujus rei cura, non levis in Latio; nam
aliquot locis vindemiae primum a sacerdotibus publica fiebant, ut Romae
etiam nunc; nam Flamen Dialis auspicatur vindemiam, et, ut jussit vinum
legere, agna Jovi facit, inter cujus exta caesa et porrecta flamen
prorsus vinum legit_. According to Festus and an old Kalendar, there was
another Vinalia, called _rustica_, on the 19th August, and it is
evidently of this last that Varro speaks. Ovid seems to have confounded
the two, which Pliny (H. N. xviii. 29,) accurately distinguishes.
Perhaps, both were sacred to Jupiter, and the circumstance of a festival
of Venus falling on the vernal Vinalia, may have led to the supposition
of its being sacred to her. Plutarch (Q. R. 45,) calls it Veneralia.

866. Multa agrees with _apta_, and is equivalent to _valde_. Some MSS.
read _culta_, which Heinsius prefers.--_Professarum_. When a woman at
Rome wished to become a _meretrix_, she went before the aediles and
_professed_, that is, informed them of her intention. She was then
entered among the _togatae_, (v. 134) See Suet. Tib. 35. Tac. Ann. II.
85. The same _mutatis nominibus_ is the case at the present day at Rome,
Paris, and other cities on the continent.--_Quaestibus_. Alexis, in his
comedy, called [Greek: Isostasios], says of them, [Greek: Proton men gar
es to kerdos kai to sulan tous pelas, talla autais parerga ginetai].

869. _Sisymbria_. The _sisymbrium_, also called _thymbraeum_, was an
odoriferous plant growing in dry places.

870. The garlands of roses were bound with rushes.

871. A temple was dedicated to Venus Erycina at the Colline gate, A.U.C.
571, Liv. xl. 34. There was another temple of this goddess on the
Capitoline hill, built by the direction of the Sibylline books, and
dedicated A.U.C. 537. Syracuse was taken A.U.C. 540. Ovid, as Neapolis
observed, appears to have committed two errors here; one, in confounding
the two temples of Venus Erycina at Rome; the other, in making the
building of a temple depend on an event which did not happen till after
it had been built. Gierig defends him in the former case by saying, that
v. 873-875, are merely a passing notice of the second temple: in the
latter, his defence is, "Fortasse tamen Noster, more poëtarum, a parte
bellum Punicum secundum indicare voluit." Greater poets, however, than
Ovid, have fallen into as great errors.

874. _Eryx_. This mountain was near Drepanum, on the west side of Sicily.
There was on it a magnificent temple of Venus, the erection of which was
ascribed to aeneas and the Trojans. Virg. aen. v. 759. It is, I apprehend,
far more probable, that the Venus Erycina was the Astarte or Moon-goddess
of the Phoenicians, who was identified with Aphrodite and Venus, and that
the founders of the temple were the Carthaginians.

877, 878. The poet would here seem to intimate, that though the festival
of Venus and the Vinalia fell on the same day, they were different. See
v. 899.--_Quaeritis_. See on V. I.

879. See the last six books of the aeneis.

880. _Adorat_. One MS. has _adoptat_, which Heinsius and Gierig follow.

882. _Equo vel pede_. In horse and foot.

887. _Cato in primo libro Originum ait, Mezentium Rutulis imperasse, ut
sibi offerrent quas diis primitias offerebant, et Latinos omnes similis
imperii metu ita vocasse: Jupiter, si tibi magis cordi est nos ea tibi
dare potius quam Mezentio, uti nos victores facias_, Macrob. Sat. III. 5.

888. _Lacubus_. The _lacus_ or vat, was the vessel placed under the
wine-press, to receive the liquor that ran out.

894. _Feres_. One of the best MS. reads _feras_, which Heinsius and
Gierig receive, as it is a vow. The meaning is, that as the Rutulians had
vowed or promised the produce of the following vintage to Mezentius,
aeneas promises it, in case of victory, to Jupiter.

897. _Venerat_, etc. On account of the custom of treading out the grapes.
Met. II. 21, Virg. G. II. 8. I doubt if it was good taste to personify
Autumn in this place. _Quum satur Auctumnus quassans sua tempora ponmis,
Sordidus et musto spumantes exprimit uvas_, Columella, R. R. x. 43.--
_Sordidus_. Five MSS. read _horridus_.

898. _Vina_. Five MSS. read _vota_.

901-904. On the VII. Kal. Maias, six days from the end of the month, was
the middle of spring; the _acronych_ setting of the Ram, rain, and the
rising of the Dog, also fell on this day.

904. _Signa dant imbres_. The rains shew themselves. _Signa dare_ is the
Greek [Greek: episaemainein]. Were it not that the meaning of this
expression is so incontrovertibly shewn by I. 315, 316, one might be
disposed to understand it with Taubner, of the constellations portending
rain.--_Exoriturque Canis_. Here is a tremendous error of our poet, for,
according to Columella, Pliny, Ptolemy, and to the actual fact, the Dog
sets instead of rising at this time. Thus also, Virgil, (G. I. 217,)
_Candidus auratis aperit cum cornibus annum Taurus, et averso cedens
Canis occidit astro_. One of the best MSS. reads _occidit atque Canis_,
but I fear this is only the emendation of some one who saw the error into
which the poet had fallen.

904. _Nomento_. Nomentum was a town of the Sabine country; a road named
the Via Nomentana led to it from the Viminal gate at Rome. On the
following narrative, Gierig observes, "Similia figmenta, vv. 685 et III.
541." I do not see the necessity of supposing these to be fictions. What
was more natural than for the poet, when about to write a poem on the
Fasti, to direct his attention to things which he had not hitherto
heeded, and to inquire into the meaning of what appeared to him deserving
of notice.

906. _Candida pompa_. The persons who formed this _pomp_ or procession
were clad in white, that is, their togae were either new, or had been
scoured for the occasion. _Pompa_ is the reading of ten MSS. all the rest
have _turba_.

907. _Flamen_, scil. _Quirinalis_, v. 910.--Antiquae _Robiginis_. The
festival of this goddess was called the Robigalia, and was said to have
been instituted by Numa, (Plin. xviii. 69, 3,) hence the poet says,
_antiquae. Robigalia dicta ab Robigo. Secundum segetes huic deo
sacrificatur, ne rubigo occupet segetes_, Varro, L. L. V. _Robigalia dies
festus VII. Kal. Maias, quo Robigo deo suo, quem putabant rubiginem
avertere, sacrificabant_, Festus. _Feriae Robigo via Claudia ad
milliarium quintum, ne robigo frumentis noceat; sacrificiun et ludi
cursoribus majoribus et minoribus fiunt_, Verrius Flaccus in Fastis.
_Inde et Robigus deus et sacra ejus VII. Kal. Maias Robigalia
appellantur_, Servius on Geor. I. 151. In all these places, we may see,
as also in Gellius, (v. 12,) it is a god Robigus that is spoken of; on
the other hand, in this place, of Ovid and in Lactantius, (De Fal. Rel.
I.) and Columella, it is a goddess Robigo. May we not thence infer, that
as in so many other cases (see above on III. 512. IV. 722,) so in this
the dualistic principle of Roman theology may be discovered? Finally, the
names _Robigo, Robigus, Robigalia_, were frequently written _Rubigo_,
etc.

908. _Catularia porta Romae dicta est, quia non longe ab ea ad placandum
Caniculae sidus frugibus inimicum rufae canes immolabantur, ut fruges
flavescentes ad maturitatem perducerentur_, Festus. It would appear as if
there was some slight mistake here, as it was, as Festus himself tells
us, (see preceding note) the god Robigus, and not the Canicula, to whom
the sacrifice was made. This is also proved by the word _rufae_, for
_robus_, a word of the same origin was equivalent to [Greek: xanthos],
whence (Fest. s. v.) the peasants said _robos boves_. The Canicula
however was the cause of the dog being sacrificed. Columella (R. II. x.
342). also notices this rite. _Hinc mala, Rubigo virides ne torreat
herbas Sanguine lactentis catuli placatur et extis_. Ovid alone mentions
the sheep.

910. _Edidit_, etc. that is prayed to this effect.

911. _Aspera_. The Robigo, [Greek: erusibae, miltos], or _mildew_, i. e.
_meal-dew_, (It is _mehlthau_ in German,) is a red glutinous powder,
which ate into or consumed the stalks of the growing corn, and made them
_asperi, scabri_.

913. _Secundis_, several MSS. read _secundi_.

919. _Titan_. So the Latin poets named the Sun, either as being the same
with Hyperion the Titan or his son, Hes. Th. Mildew was thought to be
produced by the rays of the sun acting on the moisture left on the stalks
by dew or fog. Plin. xviii. 28.

923. _Robigo_ signifies _rust_ as well as _mildew_.

933. At the right hand of the Flamen was a woolen towel, (_mantele_) with
the fringes, or rather nap on it, (_villis solutis_) for him to wipe his
hands with. The finer kind of towels were without this appendage. _Tonsis
mantilla villis_. Virg. G. III. 377.

936. _Obscenae_, of ill omen on account of the howling.

939. The Canicula was said to be Maera, the dog of Erigone the daughter
of Icarus an Athenian, to whom Bacchus gave wine, which he shared with
his workmen, who thinking he had poisoned them, put him to death.
Erigone, by means of the dog discovered his body, and Bacchus touched by
her grief, raised them all three to the skies, making Icarus Bootes,
Erigone the Virgin, and Maera the Canicula or Procyon.

940. _Praecipitur_, scil. _aestu_, is burnt up.

941. _Pro_, instead of.

942. The true cause of many superstitious practices, in which the mystics
find such deep meaning.

943. _Phr. Ass. fratre_ a periphrasis of Tithonus, Ovid appears to make a
mistake here and to confound Tithonus with Ganymedes, as according to
most writers, Tithonus was the son of Laomedon, the son of Ilus the
brother of Assaracus, whose grand-nephew therefore Tithonus was.--
_Titania_. This is the reading of only two MSS. and was first admitted
into the text by Burmann. Heinsius however had approved of it. All the
rest give _Tithonia_, which Heinsius shews to have been frequently
employed by Statius and by Valerius Flaccus but thinks that in all these
places it should be changed into Titania. Aurora is called Titania, for
the same reason as Diana (Luna) is called so, (Met. III. 173,) and their
brother, Sol Titan; see on v. 919.

945. The Floralia began on the IV. Kal. Maias.

946. See V. 183, _et seq_.

949. As it was requisite that the Pontifex Maximus should reside in a
public building, near the temple of Vesta, Augustus, when raised to this
dignity, assigned a part of his Palatium to the public service, and
removed thither the sacred fire of Vesta--_Aufert_, claims.--_Cognati_.
See III. 425. Some MSS. read _cognato_.

950. _Justi senes_. Some editions read _jussi_, instead of _justi_. I
know not on what authority. _Patres_ for _senes_, is the reading of
several MSS.

951. The temple of the Palatine Apollo formed another part of the
Palatium. Suet. Aug. 29. Propert. II. 23.

952. _Ipse_, Augustus.

953. See I. 614.



LIBER V.


Quaeritis, unde putem Maio data nomina mensi.
  Non satis est liquido cognita causa mihi.
Ut stat, et incertus qua sit sibi nescit cundum,
  Quum videt ex omni parte viator iter:
Sic, quia posse datur diversas reddere causas,               5
  Qua ferar, ignoro, copiaque ipsa nocet.
Dicite, quae fontes Aganippidos Hippocrenes
  Grata Medussei signa tenetis equi.
Dissensere deae. Quarum Polyhymnia coepit
  Prima--Silent aliae, dictaque mente notant.--             10
Post chaos, ut primum data sunt tria corpora mundo,
  Inque novas species omne recessit opus;
Pondere terra suo subsedit, et sequora traxit:
  At coelum levitas in loca summa tulit.
Sol quoque cum stellis nulla gravitate retentus,            15
  Et vos Lunares exsiluistis equi.
Sed neque Terra diu Coelo, nec cetera Phoebo
  Sidera cedebant: par erat omnis honos.
Saepe aliquis solio quod tu, Saturne, tenebas,
  Ausus de media plebe sedere deus;                         20
Et latus Oceano quisquam deus advena junxit,
  Tethys et extremo saepe recepta loco est;
Donec Honos, placidoque decens Reverentia vultu
  Corpora legitimis imposuere toris.
Hinc sata Majestas, quae mundum temperat omnem,             25
  Quaque die partu est edita, magna fuit.
Nec mora: consedit medio sublimis Olympo,
  Aurea, purpureo conspicienda sinu.
Consedere simul Pudor et Metus. Omne videres
  Numen ad hanc vultus composuisse suos.                    30
Protinus intravit mentes suspectus honorum.
  Fit pretium dignis, nec sibi quisque placet.
Hic status in coelo multos permansit in annos:
  Dum senior fatis excidit arce deus.
Terra feros partus, immania monstra, Gigantas               35
  Edidit, ausuros in Jovis ire domum.
Mille manus illis dedit, et pro cruribus angues:
  Atque ait, In magnos arma movete deos.
Exstruere hi montes ad sidera summa parabant,
  Et magnum bello sollicitare Jovem.                        40
Fulmina de coeli jaculatus Jupiter arce
  Vertit in auctores pondera vasta suos.
His bene Majestas armis defensa deorum
  Restat: et ex illo tempore firma manet.
Assidet illa Jovi: Jovis est fidissima custos,              45
  Et praestat sine vi sceptra tenenda Jovi.
Venit et in terras: coluerunt Romulus illam,
  Et Numa: mox alii, tempore quisque suo.
Illa patres in honore pio matresque tuetur:
  Illa comes pueris virginibusque venit.                    50
Ilia datos fasces commendat, eburque curule:
  Illa coronatis alta triumphat equis.
Finierat voces Polyhymnia: dicta probarunt
  Clioque, et curvae scita Thalia lyrae.
Excipit Uranie: fecere silentia cunctae,                    55
  Et vox audiri nulla, nisi illa, potest,
Magna fuit quondam capitis reverentia cani,
  Inque suo pretio ruga senilis erat.
Martis opus juvenes animosaque bella gerebant,
  Et pro dîs aderant in statione suis.                      60
Viribus illa minor, nec habendis utilis armis,
  Consilio patriae saepe ferebat opem.
Nec nisi post annos patuit tunc Curia seros,
  Nomen et aetatis mite Senatus erat.
Jura dabat populo senior: finitaque certis                  65
  Legibus est aetas, unde petatur honos.
Et medius juvenum, non indignantibus ipsis,
  Ibat, et interior, si comes unus erat.
Verba quis auderet coram sene digna rubore
  Dicere; censuram longa senecta dabat.                     70
Romulus hoc vidit, selectaque pectora Patres
  Dixit. Ad hos urbis summa relata novae.
Hinc sua majores posuisse vocabula Maio
  Tangor, et aetati consuluisse suae.
Et Numitor dixisse potest, Da, Romule, mensem               75
  Hunc senibus! nec avum sustinuisse nepos.
Nec leve praepositi pignus successor honoris
  Junius, a juvenum nomine dictus, adest.
Tum sic, neglectos hedera redimita capillos,
  Prima sui coepit Calliopea chori:                         80
Duxerat Oceanus quondam Titanida Tethyn,
  Qui terram liquidis, qua patet, ambit aquis.
Hinc sata Pleïone cum coelifero Atlante
  Jungitur, ut fama est, Pleïadasque parit.
Quarum Maia suas forma superasse sorores                    85
  Traditur, et summo concubuisse Jovi.
Haec enixa jugo cupressiferae Cyllenes,
  Aetherium volucri qui pede carpit iter.
Arcades hunc, Ladonque rapax, et Maenalon ingens
  Rite colunt, Luna credita terra prior.                    90
Exsul ab Arcadia Latios Evander in agros
  Venerat, impositos attuleratque deos.
Hic, ubi nunc Roma est orbis caput, arbor et herbae,
  Et paucae pecudes, et casa rara fuit.
Quo postquam ventum, Consistite! praescia mater,            95
  Nam locus imperii rus erit istud, ait.
Et matri et vati paret Nonacrius heros,
  Inque peregrina constitit hospes humo.
Sacraque multa quidem, sed Fauni prima bicornis
  Has docuit gentes, alipedisque dei.                      100
Semicaper, coleris cinctutis, Faune, Lupercis,
  Quum lustrant celebres vellera secta vias.
At tu materno donasti nomine mensem,
  Inventor curvae, furibus apte, fidis.
Nec pietas haec prima tua est: septena putaris,            105
  Pleïadum numerum, fila dedisse lyrae.
Haec quoque desierat; laudata est voce sororum,
  Quid faciam? turbae pars habet omnis idem.
Gratia Pieridum nobis aequaliter adsit,
  Nullaque laudetur plusve minusve mihi.                   110

Ab Jove surgat opus, Prima mihi nocte videnda
  Stella est in cunas officiosa Jovis.
Nascitur Oleniae signum pluviale Capellae:
  Illa dati coelum praemia lactis habet.
Naïs Amalthea, Cretaea nobilis Ida,                        115
  Dicitur in silvis occuluisse Jovem.
Huic fuit haedorum mater formosa duorum,
  Inter Dictaeos conspicienda greges,
Cornibus aëriis atque in sua terga recurvis,
  Ubere, quod nutrix posset habere Jovis.                  120
Lac dabat illa deo. Sed fregit in arbore cornu:
  Truncaque dimidia parte decor is erat.
Sustulit hoc Nymphe, cinxitque recentibus herbis,
  Et plenum pomis ad Jovis ora tulit.
Ille, ubi res coeli tenuit, solioque paterno               125
  Sedit, et invicto nil Jove majus erat,
Sidera nutricem, nutricis fertile cornu
  Fecit; quod dominae nunc quoque nomen habet.

Praestitibus Maiae Laribus videre Kalendae
  Aram constitui, signaque parva deûm.                     130
Voverat illa quidem Curius: sed multa vetustas
  Destruit, et saxo longa senecta nocet.
Causa tamen positi fuerat cognominis illis,
  Quod praestant oculis omnia tuta suis.
Stant quoque pro nobis, et praesunt moenibus urbis,        135
  Et sunt praesentes, auxiliumque ferunt.
At canis ante pedes, saxo fabricatus eodem,
  Stabat. Quae standi cum Lare causa fuit?
Servat uterque domum, domino quoque fidus uterque.
  Compita grata deo: compita grata cani.                   140
Exagitant et Lar, et turba Diania, fures:
  Pervigilantque Lares, pervigilantque canes.
Bina gemellorum quaerebam signa deorum,
  Viribus annosse facta caduca morae:
Mille Lares, Geniumque ducis, qui tradidit illos,          145
  Urbs habet: et vici numina trina colunt.
Quo feror? Augustus mensis mihi carminis hujus
  Jus dabit. Interea Diva canenda Bona est.
Est moles nativa: loco res nomina fecit.
  Appellant saxum: pars bona mentis ea est.                150
Huic Remus institerat frustra, quo tempore fratri
  Prima Palatinae regna dedistis aves.
Templa Patres illic, oculos exosa viriles,
  Leniter acclivi constituere jugo.
Dedicat haec veteris Clausorum nominis heres,              155
  Virgineo nullum corpore passa virum.
Livia restituit, ne non imitata maritum
  Esset, et ex omni parte secuta virum.

Postera quum roseam pulsis Hyperionis astris
  In matutinis lampada tollit equis,                       160
Frigidus Argestes summas mulcebit aristas,
  Candidaque a Calabris vela dabuntur aquis.
At simul inducunt obscura crepuscula noctem,
  Pars Hyadum toto de grege nulla latet.

Ora micant Tauri septem radiantia flammis,                 165
  Navita quas Hyadas Graius ab imbre vocat.
Pars Bacchum nutrisse putat: pars credidit esse
  Tethyos has neptes, Oceanique senis.
Nondum stabat Atlas humeros oneratus Olympo,
  Quum satus est forma conspiciendus Hyas.                 170
Hunc stirps Oceani maturis nisibus aethra
  Edidit, et Nymphas: sed prior ortus Hyas.
Dum nova lanugo, pavidos formidine cervos
  Terret: et est illi praeda benigna lepus.
At postquam virtus annis adolevit, in apros                175
  Audet et hirsutas cominus ire feras.
Dumque petit latebras fetae catulosque leaenae,
  Ipse fuit Libycae praeda cruenta ferae.
Mater Hyan, et Hyan moestae flevere sorores,
  Cervicemque polo suppositurus Atlas.                     180
Victus uterque parens tamen est pietate sororum.
  Illa dedit coelum: nomina fecit Hyas.

Mater, ades, florum, ludis celebranda jocosis:
  Distuleram partes mense priore tuas.
Incipis Aprili: transis in tempora Maii.                   185
  Alter te fugiens, quum venit alter, habet.
Quum tua sint cedantque tibi confinia mensum,
  Convenit in laudes ille vel iste tuas.
Circus in hunc exit, clamataque palma theatris:
  Hoc quoque cum Circi munere carmen eat.                  190
Ipsa doce, quae sis. Hominum sententia fallax,
  Optima tu proprii nominis auctor eris.
Sic ego. Sic nostris respondit diva rogatis:
  --Dum loquitur, vernas efflat ab ore rosas--
Chloris eram, quae Flora vocor. Corrupta Latino            195
  Nominis est nostri littera Graeca sono.
Chloris eram Nymphe campi felicis, ubi audis
  Rem fortunatis ante fuisse viris.
Quae fuerit mihi forma, grave est narrare modestae:
  Sed generum matri repperit illa deum.                    200
Ver erat: errabam: Zephyrus conspexit. Abibam:
  Insequitur; fugio. Fortior ille fuit.
Et dederat fratri Boreas jus omne rapinae,
  Ausus Erechthea praemia ferre domo.
Vim tamen emendat dando mihi nomina nuptae:                205
  Inque meo non est ulla querela toro.
Vere fruor semper: semper nitidissimus annus.
  Arbor habet frondes, pabula semper humus.
Est mihi fecundus dotalibus hortus in agris.
  Aura fovet; liquidae fonte rigatur aquae.                210
Hunc meus implevit generoso flore maritus:
  Atque ait, Arbitrium tu, dea, floris habe.
Saepe ego digestos volui numerare colores;
  Nec potui; numero copia major erat.
Roscida quum primum foliis excussa pruina est,             215
  Et variae radiis intepuere comae;
Conveniunt pictis incinctae vestibus Horae,
  Inque leves calathos munera nostra legunt.
Protinus accedunt Charites, nectuntque coronas,
  Sertaque coelestes implicitura comas.                    220
Prima per immensas sparsi nova semina gentes.
  Unius tellus ante coloris erat.
Prima Therapnaeo feci de sanguine florem:
  Et manet in folio scripta querela suo.
Tu quoque nomen habes cultos, Narcisse, per hortos:        225
  Infelix, quod non alter et alter eras!
Quid Crocon, aut Attin referam, Cinyraque creatum,
  De quorum per me vulnere surgit honor?
Mars quoque, si nescis, per nostras editus artes.
  Jupiter hoc ut adhuc nesciat, usque precor.              230
Sancta Jovem Juno, nata sine matre Minerva,
  Officio doluit non eguisse suo.
Ibat, ut Oceano quereretur facta mariti:
  Restitit ad nostras fessa labore fores.
Quam simul adspexi, Quid te, Saturnia, dixi,               235
  Attulit? Exponit, quem petat illa locum.
Addidit et causam. Verbis solabar amicis.
  Non, inquit, verbis cura levanda mea est.
Si pater est factus neglecto conjugis usu
  Jupiter, et solus nomen utrumque tenet;                  240
Cur ego desperem fieri sine conjuge mater,
  Et parere intacto, dummodo casta, viro?
Omnia tentabo latis medicamina terris,
  Et freta Tartareos excutiamque sinus.
Vox erat in cursu: vultum dubitantis haebebam.             245
  Nescio quid, Nymphe, posse videris, ait.
Ter volui promittere opem, ter lingua retenta est:
  Ira Jovis magni causa timoris erat.
Fer, precor, auxilium, dixit; celabitur auctor:
  Et Stygiae numen testificatur aquae.                     250
Quod petis, Oleniis, inquam, mihi missus ab arvis
  Flos dabit. Est hortis unicus ille meis.
Qui dabat, Hoc, dixit, sterilem quoque tange juvencam;
  Mater erit. Tetigi; nec mora, mater erat.
Protinus haerentem decerpsi pollice florem.                255
  Tangitur; et tacto concipit illa sinu.
Jamque gravis Thracen et laeva Propontidos intrat,
  Fitque potens voti; Marsque creatus erat;
Qui memor accepti per me natalis, Habeto
  Tu quoque Romulea, dixit, in urbe locum.                 260
Forsitan in teneris tantum mea regna coronis
  Esse putes; tangit numen et arva meum.
Si bene floruerint segetes, erit area dives:
  Si bene floruerit vinea, Bacchus erit.
Si bene floruerint oleae, nitidissimus annus,              265
  Pomaque proventum temporis hujus habent.
Flore semel laeso pereunt viciaeque fabaeque,
  Et pereunt lentes, advena Nile, tuae.
Vina quoque in magnis operose condita cellis
  Florent, et nebulae dolia summa tegunt.                  270
Mella meum munus. Volucres ego mella daturas
  Ad violam, et cytisos, et thyma cana voco.
Nos quoque idem facimus tunc, quum juvenilibus annis
  Luxuriant animi, corporaque ipsa vigent.
Talia dicentem tacitus mirabar. At illa,                   275
  Jus tibi discendi, si qua requiris, ait.
Dic, dea, ludorum, respondi, quae sit origo.
  Vix bene desieram; rettulit illa mihi.
Cetera luxurise nondum instrumenta vigebant:
  Aut pecus, aut latam dives habebat humum.                280
Hinc etiam _locuples_, hinc ipsa _pecunia_ dicta est.
  Sed jam de vetito quisque parabat opes.
Venerat in morem populi depascere saltus:
  Idque diu licuit, poenaque nulla fuit.
Vindice servabat nullo sua publica vulgus:                 285
  Jamque in privato pascere inertis erat.
Plebis ad aediles perducta licentia talis
  Publicios; animus defuit ante viris.
Rem populus recipit: mulctam subiere nocentes.
  Vindicibus laudi publica cura fuit.                      290
Mulcta data est ex parte mihi: magnoque favore
  Victores ludos instituere novos.
Parte locant clivum, qui tune erat ardua rupes.
  Utile nunc iter est, Publiciumque vocant.
Annua credideram spectacula facta; negavit:                295
  Addidit et dictis altera verba suis.
Nos quoque tangit honos, festis gaudemus et aris:
  Turbaque coelestes ambitiosa sumus.
Saepe deos aliquis peccando fecit iniquos:
  Et pro delictis hostia blanda fuit.                      300
Saepe Jovem vidi, quum jam sua mittere vellet
  Fulmina, ture dato sustinuisse manum.
At si negligimur, magnis injuria poenis
  Solvitur, et justum praeterit ira modum.
Respice Thestiaden; flammis absentibus arsit.              305
  Causa est, quod Phoebes ara sine igne fuit.
Respice Tantaliden: eadem dea vela tenebat.
  Virgo est, et spretos his tamen ulta focos.
Hippolyte infelix, velles coluisse Dionen,
  Quum consternatis deripereris equis.                     310
Longa referre mora est correcta oblivia damnis.
  Me quoque Romani praeteriere Patres.
Quid facerem? per quod fierem manifesta doloris?
  Exigerem nostrae qualia damna notae?
Excidit officium tristi mihi. Nulla tuebar                 315
  Rura, nec in pretio fertilis hortus erat.
Lilia deciderant: violas arere videres,
  Filaque punicei languida facta croci.
Saepe mihi Zephyrus, Dotes corrumpere noli
  Ipsa tuas, dixit. Dos mihi vilis erat.                   320
Florebant oleae; venti nocuere protervi.
  Florebant segetes; grandine laesa Ceres.
In spe vitis erat: coelum nigrescit ab Austris,
  Et subita frondes decutiuntur aqua.
Nec volui fieri, nec sum crudelis in ira:                  325
  Cura repellendi sed mihi nulla fuit.
Convenere Patres, et, si bene floreat annus,
  Numinibus nostris annua festa vovent.
Annuimus voto. Consul cum Consule ludos
  Postumio Laenas persoluere mihi.                         330
Quaerere conabar, quare lascivia major
  His foret in ludis, liberiorque jocus:
Sed mihi succurrit, numen non esse severum,
  Aptaque deliciis munera ferre deam.
Tempora sutilibus cinguntur tota coronis,                  335
  Et latet injecta splendida mensa rosa.
Ebrius incinctis philyra conviva capillis
  Saltat, et imprudens vertitur arte meri.
Ebrius ad durum formosse limen amicae
  Cantat. Habent unctae mollia serta comae.                340
Nulla coronata peraguntur seria fronte;
  Nec liquidae vinctis flore bibuntur aquae.
Donec eras mixtus nullis, Acheloë, racemis,
  Gratia sumendae non erat ulla rosae.
Bacchus amat flores: Baccho placuisse coronam,             345
  Ex Ariadnaeo sidere nosse potes.
Scena levis decet hanc: non est, mihi credite, non est
  Illa cothurnatas inter habenda deas.
Turba quidem cur hos celebret meretricia ludos,
  Non ex difficili causa petita subest.                    350
Non est de tetricis, nori est de magna professis:
  Vult sua plebeio sacra patere choro:
Et monet setatis specie, dum floreat, uti:
  Contemni spinam, quum cecidere rosae.
Cur tamen, ut dantur vestes Cerealibus albae,              355
  Sic est haec cultu versicolore decens?
An quia maturis albescit messis aristis,
  Et color et species floribus omnis inest?
Annuit; et motis flores cecidere capillis,
  Accidere in mensas ut rosa missa solet.                  360
Lumina restabant; quorum me causa latebat,
  Quum sic errores abstulit illa meos:
Vel quia purpureis collucent floribus agri;
  Lumina sunt nostros visa decere dies:
Vel quia nec flos est hebeti, nec flamma, colore;          365
  Atque oculos in se splendor uterque trahit;
Vel quia deliciis nocturna licentia nostris
  Convenit. A vero tertia causa venit.
Est breve praeterea, de quo mihi quaerere restat,
  Si liceat, dixi. Dixit et illa, Licet.                   370
Cur tibi pro Libycis clauduntur rete leaenis
  Imbelles capreae, sollicitusque lepus?
Non sibi, respondit, silvas cessisse, sed hortos,
  Arvaque pugnaci non adeunda ferae.
Omnia finierat: tenues secessit in auras.                  375
  Mansit odor: posses scire fuisse deam.
Floreat ut toto carmen Nasonis in aevo,
  Sparge, precor, donis pectora nostra tuis.
Nocte minus quarta promet sua sidera Chiron
  Semivir, et flavi corpore mixtus equi.                   380
Pelion Haemoniae mons est obversus in Austros:
  Summa virent pinu: cetera quercus habet.
Phillyrides tenuit. Saxo stant antra vetusto,
  Quae justum memorant incoluisse senem.
Ille manus, olim missuras Hectora leto,                    385
  Creditur in lyricis detinuisse modis.
Venerat Alcides exhausta parta laborum,
  Jussaque restabant ultima paene viro.
Stare simul casu Trojae duo fata videres:
  Hinc puer aeacides, hinc Jove natus erat.                390
Excipit hospitio juvenem Philyreïus heros:
  Et causam adventus hic rogat: ille docet.
Perspicit interea clavam spoliumque leonis,
  Virque, ait, his armis, armaque digna viro!
Nec se, quin horrens auderent tangere setis                395
  Vellus, Achilleae continuere manus.
Dumque senex tractat squalentia tela venenis,
  Excidit, et laevo fixa sagitta pede est.
Ingemuit Chiron, traxitque e vulnere ferrum:
  Et gemit Alcides, Haemoniusque puer.                     400
Ipse tamen lectas Pagasaeis collibus herbas
  Temperat, et varia vulnera mulcet ope.
Virus edax superabat opem, penitusque recepta
  Ossibus et toto corpore pestis erat.
Sanguine Centauri Lernaeae sanguis Echidnae                405
  Mixtus ad auxilium tempora nulla dabat.
Stabat, ut ante patrem, lacrimis perfusus Achilles:
  Sic flendus Peleus, si moreretur, erat.
Saepe manus aegras manibus fingebat amicis:
  Morum, quos fecit, praemia doctor habet.                410
Oscula saepe dedit; dixit quoque saepe jacenti:
  Vive, precor; nec me care relinque pater!
Nona dies aderat, quum tu, justissime Chiron,
  Bis septem stellis corpora cinctus eras.

Hunc Lyra curva sequi cuperet; sed idonea nondum           415
  Est via. Nox aptum tertia tempus erit.

Scorpios in coelo, quum eras lucescere Nonas
  Dicimus, a media parte notandus erit.

Hinc ubi protulerit Formosa ter Hesperus ora,
  Ter dederint Phoebo sidera victa locum;                  420
Ritus erit veteris, nocturna Lemuria, sacri:
  Inferias tacitis Manibus illa dabunt.
Annus erat brevior, nec adhuc pia Februa norant,
  Nec tu dux mensum, Jane biformis, eras.
Jam tamen extincto cineri sua dona ferebant,               425
  Compositique nepos busta piabat avi.
Mensis erat Maius, majorum nomine dictus,
  Qui partem prisci nunc quoque moris habet.
Nox ubi jam media est, somnoque silentia praebet,
  Et canis et varies conticuistis aves;                    430
Ille memor veteris ritus timidusque deorum
  Surgit:--habent gemini vincula nulla pedes--
Signaque dat digitis medio cum pollice junctis,
  Occurrat tacito ne levis umbra sibi;
Quumque manus puras fontana perluit unda,                  435
  Vertitur, et nigras accipit ante fabas;
Aversusque jacit; sed dum jacit, Haec ego mitto;
  His, inquit, redimo meque meosque fabis.
Hoc novies dicit, nec respicit. Umbra putatur
  Colligere, et nullo terga vidente sequi.                 440
Rursus aquam tangit, Temesaeaque concrepat aera,
  Et rogat, ut tectis exeat umbra suis.
Quum dixit novies, Manes exite paterni!
  Respicit, et pure sacra peracta putat.
Dicta sit unde dies, quae nominis exstet origo,            445
  Me fugit. Ex aliquo est invenienda deo.
Pliade nate, mone, virga venerande potenti:
  Saepe tibi Stygii regia visa Jovis.
Venit adoratus Caducifer. Accipe causam
  Nominis. Ex ipso cognita causa deo est.                  450
Romulus ut tumulo fraternas condidit umbras,
  Et male veloci justa soluta Remo;
Faustulus infelix, et passis Acca capillis
  Spargebant lacrimis ossa perusta suis.
Inde domum redeunt sub prima crepuscula moesti,            455
  Utque erat, in duro procubuere toro.
Umbra cruenta Remi visa est assistere lecto,
  Atque haec exiguo murmure verba loqui:
En ego dimidium vestri parsque altera voti
  Cernite sim qualis! qui modo qualis eram!                460
Qui modo, si volucres habuissem regna jubentes,
  In populo potui maximus esse meo.
Nunc sum elapsa rogi flammis et inanis imago.
  Haec est ex illo forma relicta Remo.
Heu! ubi Mars pater est! si vos modo vera locuti,          465
  Uberaque expositis ille ferina dedit.
Quem lupa servavit, manus hunc temeraria civis
  Perdidit. O quanto mitior illa fuit!
Saeve Celer, crudelem animam per vulnera reddas,
  Utque ego, sub terras sanguinolentus eas!                470
Noluit hoc frater. Pietas sequalis in illo est.
  Quod potuit, lacrimas in mea fata dedit.
Hunc vos per lacrimas, per vestra alimenta rogate,
  Ut celebrem nostro signet honore diem.
Mandantem amplecti cupiunt, et brachia tendunt:            475
  Lubrica prensantes effugit umbra manus.
Ut secum fugiens somnos abduxit imago,
  Ad regem voces fratris uterque ferunt.
Romulus obsequitur, lucemque Remuria dixit
  Illam, qua positis justa feruntur avis.                  480
Aspera mutata est in lenem tempore longo
  Littera, quae toto nomine prima fuit.
Mox etiam Lemures animas dixere silentum;
  Hic verbi sensus, vis ea vocis erat.
Fana tamen veteres illis clausere diebus,                  485
  Ut nunc ferali tempore operta vides.
Nec viduae taedis eadem, nec virginis apta
  Tempora. Quae nupsit, non diuturna fuit.
Hac quoque de causa, si te proverbia tangunt,
  Mense malas Maio nubere vulgus ait.                      490
Sed tamen haec tria sunt sub eodem tempore festa
  Inter se nullo continuata die.
Quorum si mediis Boeotum Oriona quaeres;
  Falsus eris. Signi causa canenda mihi.
Jupiter, et, lato qui regnat in aequore, frater            495
  Carpebant socias, Mercuriusque, vias.
Tempus erat, quo versa jugo referuntur aratra.
  Et pronum saturae lac bibit agnus ovis.
Forte senex Hyrieus, angusti cultor agelli,
  Hos videt, exiguam stabat ut ante casam.                 500
Atque ita, Longa via est nec tempora longa supersunt,
  Dixit, et hospitibus janua nostra patet.
Addidit et vultum verbis, iterumque rogavit.
  Parent promissis, dissimulantque deos.
Tecta senis subeunt, nigro deformia fumo.                  505
  Ignis in hesterno stipite parvus erat;
Ipse genu nixus flammas exsuscitat aura,
  Et promit quassas comminuitque faces.
Stant calices. Minor inde fabas, olus alter habebat,
  Et fumant testu pressus uterque suo.                     510
Dumque mora est, tremula dat vina rubentia dextra.
  Accipit aequoreus pocula prima deus.
Quae simul exhausit, Da, nunc bibat ordine, dixit,
  Jupitur. Audito palluit ille Jove.
Ut rediit animus, cultorem pauperis agri                   515
  Immolat, et magno torret in igne bovem;
Quaeque puer quondam primis diffuderat annis,
  Promit fumoso condita vina cado.
Nec mora: flumineam lino celantibus ulvam,
  Sic quoque non altis, incubuere toris.                   520
Nunc dape, nunc posito mensae nituere Lyaeo.
  Terra rubens crater, pocula fagus erant.
Verba fuere Jovis: Si quid fert impetus, opta:
  Omne feres. Placidi verba fuere senis:
Cara fuit conjux, prima mihi cara juventa                  525
  Cognita. Nunc ubi sit, quaeritis: urna tegit.
Huic ego juratus, vobis in verba vocatis,
  Conjugio dixi sola fruere meo.
Et dixi, et servo, sed enim diversa voluntas
  Est mihi: nec conjux, sed pater esse volo.               530
Annuerant omnes: omnes ad terga juvenci
  Constiterant. Pudor est ulteriora loqui.
Tum superinjecta texere madentia terra.
  Jamque decem menses, et puer ortus erat.
Hunc Hyrieus, quia sic genitus, vocat Uriona.              535
  Perdidit antiquum littera prima sonum.
Creverat immensum: comitem sibi Delia sumpsit.
  Ille deae custos, ille satelles erat.
Verba movent iras non circumspecta deorum.
  Quam nequeam, dixit, vincere, nulla fera est.            540
Scorpion immisit Tellus. Fuit impetus illi
  Curva gemelliparae spicula ferre deae.
Obstitit Orion. Latona nitentibus astris
  Addidit, et, Meriti praemia, dixit, habe.

Sed quid et Orion, et cetera sidera mundo                  545
  Cedere festinant, noxque coarctat iter?
Quid solito citius liquido jubar aequore tollit
  Candida, Lucifero praeveniente, dies?
Fallor? an arma sonant? Non fallimur: arma sonabant;
  Mars venit, et veniens bellica signa dedit.              550
Ultor ad ipse suos coelo descendit honores,
  Templaque in Augusto conspicienda Foro.
Et deus est ingens, et opus. Debebat in urbe
  Non aliter nati Mars habitare sui.
Digna Giganteis haec sunt delubra tropaeis:                555
  Hinc fera Gradivum bella movere decet:
Sen quis ab Eoo nos impius orbe lacesset;
  Seu quis ab occiduo sole domandus erit.
Prospicit armipotens operis fastigia summi,
  Et probat invictos summa tenere deos.                    560
Prospicit in foribus diversae tela figurae,
  Armaque terrarum milite victa suo.
Hinc videt aenean oneratum pondere caro,
  Et tot Iuleae nobilitatis avos.
Hinc videt Iliaden humeris ducis arma ferentem,            565
  Claraque dispositis acta subesse viris.
Spectat et Augusto praetextum nomine templum;
  Et visum, lecto Caesare, majus opus.
Voverat hoc juvenis tunc, quum pia sustulit arma,
  A tantis Princeps incipiendus erat.                      570
Ille manus tendens, hinc stanti milite justo,
  Hinc conjuratis, talia dicta dedit;
Si mihi bellandi pater est, Vestaeque sacerdos
  Auctor, et ulcisci numen utrumque paro:
Mars, ades, et satia scelerato sanguine ferrum:            575
  Stetque favor causa pro meliore tuus.
Templa feres, et me victore vocaberis Ultor.
  Voverat; et fuso laetus ab hoste redit.
Nec satis est meruisse semel cognomina Marti:
  Persequitur Parthi signa retenta manu.                   580
Gens fuit et campis, et equis, et tuta sagittis,
  Et circumfusis invia fluminibus.
Addiderant animos Crassorum funera genti,
  Quum periit miles, signaque, duxque simul.
Signa, decus belli, Parthus Romana tenebat,                585
  Romanaeque aquilae signifer hostis erat.
Isque pudor mansisset adhuc, nisi fortibus armis
  Caesaris Ausoniae protegerentur opes.
Ille notas veteres, et longi dedecus aevi
  Sustulit. Agnorunt signa recepta suos.                   590
Quid tibi nunc solitas mitti post terga sagittae,
  Quid loca, quid rapidi profuit usus equi?
Parthe, refers aquilas: victos quoque porrigis arcus.
  Pignora jam nostri nulla pudoris habes.
Rite deo templumque datum nomenque bis ulto,               595
  Et meritus votis debita solvit honos.
Sollemnes ludos Circo celebrate, Quirites:
  Non visa est fortem scena decere deum.
Pliadas adspicies omnes, totumque sororum
  Agmen, ubi ante Idus nox erit una super                  600
Tum mihi non dubiis auctoribus incipit aestas,
  Et tepidi finem tempora veris habent.

Idibus ora prior stellantia tollere Taurum
  Indicat: huic signo fabula nota subest.
Praebuit, ut taurus, Tyriae sua terga puellae              605
  Jupiter, et falsa cornua fronte tulit;
Illa jubam dextra, laeva retinebat amictus;
  Et timor ipse novi causa decoris erat.
Aura sinus implet: flavos movet aura capillos.
  Sidoni, sic fueras aspicienda Jovi                       610
Saepe puellares subduxit ab aequore plantas,
  Et metuit tactus assilientis aquae:
Saepe deus prudens tergum demittit in undas,
  Haereat ut collo fortius illa suo.
Litoribus tactis stabat sine cornibus ullis                615
  Jupiter, inque deum de bove versus erat.
Taurus init coelum: te, Sidoni, Jupiter implet,
  Parsque tuum terras tertia nomen habet.
Hoc alii signum Phariam dixere juvencam,
  Quae bos ex homine est, ex bove facta dea.               620

Tum quoque priscorum virgo simulacra virorum
  Mittere roboreo scirpea ponte solet.
Corpora post decies senos qui credidit annos
  Missa neci, sceleris crimine damnat avos.
Fama vetus: tum quum Saturnia terra vocata est,            625
  Talia fatidici dicta fuere dei:
Falcifero libata seni duo corpora, gentes,
  Mittite, quae Tuscis excipiantur aquis.
Donec in haec venit Tirynthius arva, quotannis
  Tristia Leucadio sacra peracta modo;                     630
Illum stramineos in aquam misisse Quirites.
  Herculis exemplo corpora falsa jaci.
Pars putat, ut ferrent juvenes suffragia soli,
  Pontibus infirmos praecipitasse senes.
Tibri, doce verum: tua ripa vetustior urbe.                635
  Principium ritus tu bene nosse potes.
Tibris arundiferum medio caput extulit alveo,
  Raucaque dimovit talibus ora sonis:
Haec loca desertas vidi sine moenibus herbas:
  Pascebat sparsos utraque ripa boves.                     640
Et quem nunc gentes Tiberin noruntque timentque,
  Tunc etiam pecori despiciendus eram.
Arcadis Evandri nomen tibi saepe refertur:
  Ille meas remis advena torsit aquas.
Venit et Alcides, turba comitatus Achiva.                  645
  Albula, si memini, tunc mihi nomen erat.
Excipit hospitio juvenem Pallantius heros:
  Et tandem Caco debita poena venit.
Victor abit, secumque boves, Erytheïda praedam,
  Abstrahit. At comites longius ire negant:                650
Magnaque pars horum desertis venerat Argis.
  Montibus his ponunt spemque Laremque suum.
Saepe tamen patriae dulci tanguntur amore;
  Atque aliquis moriens hoc breve mandat opus:
Mittite me in Tiberin, Tiberinis vectus ut undis           655
  Litus ad Inachium pulvis inanis eam.
Displicet heredi mandati cura sepulcri:
  Mortuus Ausonia conditur hospes humo.
Scirpea pro domino in Tiberin jactatur imago,
  Ut repetat Graias per freta longa domos.                 660
Hactenus. Ut vivo subiit rorantia saxo
  Antra, leves cursum sustinuistis aquae.
Clare nepos Atlantis, ades! quem montibus olim
  Edidit Arcadiis Pleïas una Jovi.
Pacis et armorum superis imisque deorum                    665
  Arbiter, alato qui pede carpis iter:
Laete lyrae pulsu, nitida quoque laete palaestra,
  Quo didicit culte lingua favente loqui.
Templa tibi posuere Patres spectantia Circum
  Idibus. Ex illo est haec tibi festa dies.                670
Te, quicumque suas profitentur vendere merces,
  Ture dato, tribuas ut sibi lucra, rogant.
Est aqua Mercurii portae vicina Capenae:
  Si juvat expertis credere, numen habet.
Huc venit incinctus tunicas mercator, et urna              675
  Purus suffita, quam ferat, haurit aquam.
Uda fit hinc laurus: lauro sparguntur ab uda
  Omnia, quae dominos sunt habitura novos.
Spargit et ipse suos lauro rorante capillos,
  Et peragit solita fallere voce preces.                   680
Ablue praeteriti perjuria temporis, inquit,
  Ablue praeterita perfida verba die.
Sive ego te feci testem, falsove citavi
  Non audituri numina magna Jovis;
Sive deum prudens alium divamve fefelli,                   685
  Abstulerint celeres improba dicta Noti.
Et pereant veniente die perjuria nobis,
  Nec curent superi, si qua locutus ero.
Da modo lucra mihi, da facto gaudia lucro,
  Et face, ut emptori verba dedisse juvet.                 690
Talia Mercurius poscentem ridet ab alto,
  Se memor Ortygias surripuisse boves.

At mihi pande, precor, tanto meliora petenti,
  In Geminos ex quo tempore Phoebus eat.
Quum totidem de mense dies superesse videbis:              695
  Quot sunt Herculei facta laboris, ait.
Die, ego respondi, causam mihi sideris hujus.
  Causam facundo reddidit ore deus.
Abstulerant raptas Phoeben Phoebesque sororem
  Tyndaridae fratres, hic eques, ille pugil.               700
Bella parant, repetuntque suas et frater et Idas,
  Leucippo fieri pactus uterque gener.
His amor, ut repetant, illis, ut reddere nolint,
  Suadet, et ex causa pugnat uterque pari.
Effugere Oebalidae cursu potuere sequentes:                705
  Sed visum celeri vincere turpe fuga.
Liber ab arboribus locus est, apta area pugnae.
  Constiterant illic: nomen Aphidna loco.
Pectora trajectus Lynceo Castor ab ense
  Non exspectato vulnere pressit humum.                    710
Ultor adest Pollux, et Lyncea perforat hasta,
  Qua cervix humeros continuata premit.
Ibat in hunc Idas, vixque est Jovis igne repulsus:
  Tela tamen dextrae fulmine rapta negant.
Jamque tibi coelum, Pollux, sublime patebat,               715
  Quum, Mea, dixisti, percipe verba, Pater.
Quod mihi das uni coelum, partire duobus:
  Dimidium toto munere majus erit.
Dixit, et alterna fratrem statione redemit:
  Utile sollicitae sidus uterque rati.                     720

Ad Janum redeat, qui quaerit, Agonia quid sint:
  Quae tamen in fastis hoc quoque tempus habent.

Nocte sequente diem canis Erigoneïus exit;
  Est alio signi reddita causa loco.

Proxima Vulcani lux est, Tubilustria dicunt.               725
  Lustrantur purae, quas facit ille, tubae.

Quattuor inde notis locus est; quibus ordine lectis
  Vel mos sacrorum, vel Fuga Regis inest.

Nec te praetereo, populi Fortuna potentis
  Publica, cui templum luce sequente datum.                730
Hanc ubi dives aquis acceperit Amphitrite,
  Grata Jovi fulvae rostra videbis avis.

Auferet ex oculis veniens Aurora Booten,
  Continuaque die sidus Hyantis erit.


NOTES:

1-110. The poet here enters into a long inquiry on the subject of the
origin of the name of May. To free the discussion from dryness, and to
give it a dramatic air, he introduces the Muses disputing on this
subject.--_Quaeritis_. See iv. 878. He addresses his readers in general,
and not Germanicus alone, as elsewhere.

7. The poet would appear in this place to confound the springs of
Aganippe and Hippocrene, which, though both on Mt. Helicon, were distinct
in situation. But he had already (Met. v. 312,) distinguished them, so
that we must regard the present as a slip of his memory. _Aganippis_,
like _Ausonis, Maenalis_, etc. is evidently an adjective.

8. _Med. equi_, Pegasus. See III. 544.

9. _Polyhymnia_. The name of this Muse in all the Greek writers, from
Hesiod down, is [Greek: Polymnia]; by Ovid and by Horace, (Car. I. 1,
33,) she is called Polyhymnia, a name which could not be written in
Greek.

11-54. The _first_ opinion. Maius derived its name from Majestas, the
daughter of Honos and Reverentia. _Sunt qui hunc mensem ad nostros Fastos
transisse commemorant, apud quos nunc quoque vocatur Deus Maius, qui est
Jupiter, a magnitudine et majestate dictus_. Macrobius, Sat. I. 12.

10. _Mente notant_, mark in their mind or commit to memory.

11. Compare I. 103. Met I. 1. _et seq_. xv. 239. In these places he
speaks of four elements, here of but three, regarding the air and the
aether as one.

12. _Omne opus_. The whole mass. Some MSS. read _onus_. See on I. 564.

16. I doubt if it was judicious to personify here.

19. It was in the reign of Saturn that this confusion prevailed, hence no
gods are spoken of but Titans, the children of Heaven and Earth; such
were Oceanus and Tethys. It would be pressing the poet too closely to ask
who the _Dei advenae_ could be in the reign of Saturn.

24. Lenz, who thinks that it is the banquets of the gods of which the
poet speaks, in the language of the Roman _triclinium_, understands by
_legitimis toris_ the couches in such being properly arranged, and the
guests placed according to their rank. Gierig rightly understands it of
the marriage of Honour and Reverence.

25. _Quae_, etc. Three of the best MSS. read _hos est dea censa parentes_,
which Heinsius and Gierig adopt. Compare Hor. Car. I. 12. 15.

26. _Magna fuit_, scil. Majestas, like Minerva.

28. _Aurea_, i. e. adorned with gold.--_Sinu_, robe; part for the whole.
Compare II. 310.

29. _Pudor et Metus_. The [Greek: Aidos] and [Greek: Nemesis] of Hesiod,
([Greek: Erga] 200).

30. _Vultus_. One MS. reads _cultus_; either reading gives a good sense.

31. _Suspectus_, a regard, respect for.

34. _Dum senior_. See IV. 197.

35. For the Giant-war, see Met. I. 151. _et seq_. Virg. G. I. 278. Hor.
Car. III. 4. 49. Mythology. p. 238.

52. _Illa coronatis_, etc. She accompanies the conquering generals in
their triumphs, giving dignity to them. I know not where the poet got
this beautiful fiction of the birth and power of Majesty. It has, I
think, a Roman rather than a Grecian air, "Haud dubie poetae antiquiori
debet." Gierig.

54. The poet appears to intimate that each opinion was maintained by
three of the Muses. For the names, characters, and attributes of these
goddesses, see Mythology, p. 146.

55. The second opinion. Maius and Junius came from _Majores_ and
_Juniores. Fulvius Nobilior in Fastis, quos in aede Herculis Musarum
posuit, Romulum dicit postquam populos in majores minoresque divisit, ut
altera pars consilio, altera armis rempublicam tueretur, in honorem
utriusque partis hunc Maium sequentum mensem Junium vocasse_. Macrobius,
I. 12.

57. [Greek: Aideisthai poliokrotaphous, eikein de gerousin Edraes kai
geraon panton], Phocyl. 207. Cicero (Sen. 18.) praises the Lacedaemonians
highly for their respect for old age, on the advantages of which he makes
his Cato dilate, but properly adds _non cani, non repente auctoritatem
accipere possunt_, as this depended on a well-spent life, and, as
Menander says, [Greek: Ouch ai triches poiousin ai leukai phronein, All'
ho tropos enion esti tae phusei Geron].

59. [Greek: Palaios ainos Erga men neoteron, Boulai d' echousi ton
geraiteron kratos]. Eurip. frag. Melan.

60. Same as _Pugnabant pro aris et focis_.

64. This derivation of Senatus is also given by Cicero (Sen. 6.).
Dionysius (II. 12.) doubts whether the corresponding Greek term [Greek:
gerousia] came from age or from honour ([Greek: geras]).--_Mite_ a very
appropriate term, "Juventus est _fervida_, senectus _mitis_." Gierig.

66. In the early times of Rome, the maturity of years was much regarded
in the appointments to office. When Corn. Scipio was looking for the
aedileship (A.U.C. 539) the tribunes opposed him because he had not
attained the lawful age, Liv. xxv. 2. By the Lex Villia Annalis passed
A.U.C. 574 the age for the Quaestorship was made 3l, for the aedileship
37, the Praetorship 40, and the Consulship 43 years.

67. Compare Sall. Jug. 11.

68. See Horace Sat. II. 5. 17.

70. _Censuram_, the right of reprimanding.

71. _Patres_. See Liv. I. 8. Sall. Cat. 6. Vell. Paterc. I. 8.--
_Pectora_. Several MSS. read _corpora_.

74. _Tangor_, I am led to believe.

75. It was probably said that this was done by Romulus at the request of
Numitor.

76. _Sustinuisse. "Non sustinet alterum qui non potest non satisfacere
ejus precibus_," Gierig. Compare Met. xiv. 788. Liv. xxxi. 13.

77. 78. June, the poet thinks, being named a _juvenum nomine_, is no
slight proof of the correctness of the foregoing etymology. But the
origin of June itself is to be proved.--_Praep. hon_. Six MSS. _proposito
honori_, some have _propositum_, five give the present reading, the rest
_propositi_. Heinsius proposes _praeposito honori_, which Krebs adopts.

79-110. The third opinion. The month derived its name from the Pleias
Maia. _Cincius mensem nominatum putat a Maia, quam Vulcani dicit uxorem,
argumentoque utitur quod flamen Vulcanalis, Kal. Maiis huic deae rem
divinam facit_. Macrob. Sat. I. 12. Again _Contendunt alii Maiam Mercurii
Matrem, mensi nomen dedisse_.--There is a festival of Mercury in this
month which is in favour of the Pleias; but, on the other side, Maia
seems to be an old Italian deity, the female, perhaps, of Maius, (see on
v. 11,) and is justly regarded as the Earth, (see on v. 148,) who, under
the name of Bona Dea, was worshiped on the Kalends. The marriage of
Vulcan and Maia accords with Grecian, not with Italian theology. See on
III. 512.

79. _Hedera_, the ornament of learned brows, and therefore suited to the
Muse of the Epos.

80. _Prima sui chori_, Calliope is placed by Hesiod and all succeeding
writers at the head of the list of the Muses. Perhaps in this place the
chorus may be those of her sisters, who thought as she did on this
subject.

81. Oceanus and Tethys were two of the Titans, the children of Heaven and
Earth.

82. [Greek: Mnaesomai Okeanoio bathurrhoou en gar ekeino Pasa chthon, ate
naesos apeiritos, estephanotai]. Dionys. Perieg. 3. For proof that the
ancient poets represented the Ocean as a huge river which flowed round
the earth, see Mythology, pp. 35, 228.

89-90. The country, its rivers and mountains put for the people. For the
ante-lunar origin of the Arcadians, see I. 469.

91. See I. 499. _et seq_.

92. _Impositos_ scil. _navi suae_.

93. Compare I. 5d5, II. 280, III. 71. Virg. aen. viii. 98.

99. Sec II. 267-449.

101. _Cinctutis_, same as _succinctis_, which is the reading of several
MSS. The Luperci were so called, because they ran, [Greek: en
perizomasi], _cincti subligaculis_.

102. _Celebres vias_, the crowded streets.--_Vellera secta_, the
goat-skin thongs. Several MSS. read _verbera_.

103. This is the way in which Evander chiefly testified his veneration
for Mercury, by naming a month after the god's mother. As to the fact of
his being his son, see above I. 471. According to Macrobius, (_ut supra_)
traders sacrificed in this month to Maia and Mercury.

104. Compare Hor. Car. I. 10, 6. For the mythology of Mercury, see my
Mythology, pp. 124 and 460.

105. _Pietas_, i. e. dutiful regard to his aunts, the Pleiades. The lyre,
or _phorminx_, of which the invention was ascribed to Hermes, had seven
strings. [Greek: Hepta de symphonous oion etanusseto chordas]. Homer, H.
Merc, 25.

108. See on v. 64.

111-128. On the Kalends of May, the star named Capella ([Greek: aix])
which is in the right shoulder of the Heniochus or Charioteer, a
constellation on the north side of the Milky Way--rises heliacally,
according to Neapolis; cosmically, according to Taubner. Is it not
acronychally, according to Ovid? Pliny (xviii. 26,) makes it take place
the VIII. Id Maias.--_Ab Jove_, etc. [Greek: Ek Dios archometha], Aratus
Phaen. 1, Virg. Ec. III. 60.

113, 114. According to Eratosthenes (Catast. 13,) Musaeus said, that when
Jupiter was born, Rhea gave him to Themis, by whom he was committed to
Amalthea, who had him suckled by her goat. Amalthea, we are told by
Theon, (ad Arat. 64,) was the daughter of Olenus. Others say, that
Amalthea was the name of the goat, and that she had two kids, which were
raised with herself to the skies by her grateful nursling. There is no
part of Grecian mythology more obscure than the early history of
Jupiter.--_Nascitur_, i.e. _oritur_.--_Pluviale_. Compare Met. III. 594,
Virg. aen. ix. 668, on which Servius says, _Supra Tauri cornua est signum,
cui Auriga nomen est. Retinet autem stellas duas in manu, quae Haedi
vocantur et Capram--quorum et ortus et occasus gravissimas tempestates
faciunt_.

115. _Naïs_, for _Nympha_, the species for the genus.

119. _Aëriis_, lofty, tall, rising into the air.

123. _Cinxit_. One of the best MSS. which is followed by Heinsius and
Gierig, reads _cinctum_.--_Recentibus_, the MSS. also read _decoribus_,
_decentibus_, _virentibus_.

129-147. The altar of the Guardian (Praestites) Lares was erected on the
Kalends of May.

130. _Curius_. Manius Curius Dentatus, the conqueror of the Sabines and
of Pyrrhus. There is an apparent difficulty here, as, according to Varro,
T. Tatius, the Sabine king built a temple to the Lares, and Dionysius
(iv. 14) tells us, that the Compitalia were instituted in their honour by
Servius Tullius. The history of Tatius, however, is so purely mythic,
that little stress can be laid on the above circumstance, and the fact of
the previous worship of the Lares at Rome, does not militate against that
of the erection of an altar to them by Curius. The present reading _Vov
 ... ... ... Cur_, was given by Ciofanus, from one MS. of the highest
authority; that of the other MSS. and the previous editions, is _Ara erat
quidem illa Curibus_, and it is a matter of great doubt which is the
genuine one. One MS. for _voverat_, reads _struxerat_.

137. _Stabat_, scil. at the altar erected by Curius.

140. _Grata_, agreeable. _Compitalia dies attributus. Laribus; ideo ubi
viae competunt tum in competis sacrificatur; quotannis is dies
concipitur_. Varro, L. L. V. There were 265 _compita Larium_ at Rome,
Pliny, III. 9.

143, 144. See vv. 129, 130.

145. _Mille_, a definite for an indefinite number.--_Qui. trad_. etc.
_Compitales Lares ornari his anno constituit vernis floribus et aestivis_.
Suet. Aug. 31.

146. _Numina trina_, scil. the two Lares, and the Genius of Augustus.
Hor. Car. iv. 5, 34. See IV. 954.--_Vici_, the streets.

148-158. The temple of Bona Dea was dedicated on the Kalends of May. It
is disputed who this goddess was. Varro said she was Fatua or Fauna, the
daughter of Faunus, who was so chaste that she never let herself even be
seen by men. Macrobius (I. 12,) tells us, that Corn. Labeo said she was
Maia. v. 79. As she is also said to have been the same with Ops, and a
pregnant sow was the victim offered to her, (Festus, s. v. Damium,) which
was also the victim to Tellus, (Hor. Ep. II. 1, 143.) I think it
extremely probable, that Bona Dea was only one of the names of the
goddess of the earth.

149. _Moles nativa_, a natural rock. It was on the Aventine.

152. Regna. Three of the best MSS. followed by Heinsius and Gierig, give
_signa_.

155, 156. See on IV. 305. It is not certain, however, that it was Claudia
Quinta, "Haec Appia illa Claudia probatae pudicitiae femina." Neapolis.

157, 158. Compare I. 649.

159-182. On the second of May, the wind Argestes began to blow, and the
Hyades rose.--_Hyperionis_. Aurora, the daughter of Hyperion.

161. Argestes, called also Caurus or Corus, was the north-west wind, and
was considered to be very cold.--_Mulcebit_. Five MSS. read _miscebit_,
which Burmann approved, and Gierig adopted.

162. A _Cal. aq_. For vessels sailing from the east coast of Italy to
Greece, the north-west wind, also called by the Greeks Iapyx, was
eminently favourable. Hor. Car. I. 3, 4. Most MSS. read _a capreis_, four
_a campis_, three _a canis_, one _qua canis_. The reading of the text was
given by Neapolis from a MS. of no great authority.

163. The rising of the Hyades acronychally. This, perhaps, is an error,
for Pliny (xviii. 66,) says _VI. Non. Maii Caesari Suculae matutino
oriuntur.

166. There are three derivations of this name, one which the poet follows
from [Greek: huein] to rain; a second from the letter Y, which the
constellation was thought to resemble; a third from [Greek: hus sus],
which is supported by the Latin name _Suculae_. I am disposed to prefer
this last, (Mythology, p. 418) as also are Göttling and Nitzsch, two
distinguished critics of the present day.

171. Atlas was the father of Hyas and the Hyades.

182. _Illa_ scil. _pietas.--Nomina_, etc. "Sed si nauta Graecus Hyadas ab
imbre vocavit, ut vs. 166, recte admonitum est, quid opus erat idem nomen
etiam ex mythis repetere. Ita poëtae sententia secum pugnat." Gierig; who
had already observed, that _grege Hyadum_, v. 164, was an allusion to the
derivation from [Greek: us].

183-378. The poet now returns to the Floralia, which he had briefly
noticed at the end of the preceding book. These games were instituted
according to Pliny, (xviii. 29) A.U.C. 516 _ex oraculis Sibyllae, ut omnia
bene deflorescerent_. Velleius (I. 14) gives A.U.C. 513 as the date;
which is the true one. The Floralia began on the 28th of April, and ended
on the 3d of May.--_Mater florum_. "Matres earum rerum dicuntur Deae
quibus praesunt." Gierig. For the general principle see Mythology, p. 6.

189. _Circus_, that is, the games of the Floral Circus, which were
continued into May. The Circus Florae was in the sixth region of the city.
For these games, see vv. 37l, 372.--_Theatris_, the spectators who
testified their approbation by clapping of hands, etc. _Tota theatra
reclamant_, Cicero Orat III. 50.

190. _Munere. Munus_ was properly used only of gladiatorial shews. The
poet in employing it here, uses a poet's privilege.

195. _Cloris eram_, etc. The name Chloris, is akin to [Greek: chloae]
grass, and [Greek: chloros] green, flourishing; Flora is related in the
same way to Flos. Chloris and Flora are therefore kindred terms, and the
latter is not, as the poet says, derived from the former. I am not
certain that the older Grecian Mythology acknowledged a goddess of
flowers. Lenz infers from the poem of Catullus on Berenice's hair, which
is a translation from Callimachus, that the Greeks had an ancient legend
about Chloris, the wife of Zephyrus, which the Alexandrian poet
transferred to Arsinoe, the wife of Ptolemy Philadelphus, and that Ovid
probably derived it from the [Greek: Aitia] of Callimachus. Nonnus, (xi.
363, xxxi. 106. 110,) is the only Greek poet, who, to my knowledge,
notices this story of Chloris. From his late age he is of little
authority, and the Italian Fauns are actors in his heterogenious poem.
According to Varro, (L. L. V.) Flora was an ancient Sabine deity, whose
worship was brought to Rome by Tatius, and when we consider the rural
character of the ancient Italian religion in general, there can be but
little doubt of its having always recognised a patroness of the flowers.
The silly, tasteless fiction, transmitted to us by Plutarch, (Q. R. 35,)
and the Fathers of the Church, of Flora having been a courtizan, who left
her wealth to the Roman people, on condition of their celebrating games
in her honour, and of the Senate having, out of shame, feigned that she
was the goddess of flowers--is utterly undeserving of notice.

197. _Campi felicis_. The _Campus Felix_ of Ovid was, I think, the
[Greek: aelysion pedion] of Homer, (Od. iv. 564,) rather than the [Greek:
makaron naesous] of Hesiod, ([Greek: Erga], 170). See Mythology, pp. 36
and 229. Compare Hor. Epod. xvi. 41. The localisers of the fictions of
the poets make the Canary Isles to be this blissful region.

203. For this Athenian legend of Boreas carrying off Orithyia, the
daughter of Erechtheus, as she was dancing in a choir of maidens on the
banks of the Ilissus, see Met. vi. 677. Herod, vii. 189, Mythology, pp.
227, 346. Orithya, I may observe, signifies _mountain-rusher_, ([Greek:
Orei thyousa]) and was, therefore, a good name for the spouse of the
North-wind. Athenian vanity made her a mortal, and daughter of an Attic
king.

211. _Generoso_, of the finest kinds. _Pruna generosa_, Met. xiii. 818,
_generosa uva_, Rem. Am. 567. _generosum pecus_. Virg. G. III. 75.

216. _Comae_, the flowers, IV. 38.

217. The Horae are the goddesses of the Seasons. They were the daughters
of Jupiter and Themis. Hesiod. Theog. 900.--_Incinctae_, i.e. _succinctae_.
See II. 634. _Pictis vestibus_, [Greek: peplous ennymenai droserous
anthon polyterpon], says the Orphic Hymn (xlii. 6,) of them. For
_vestibus_, three MSS. read _florihus_.

219. The Charites or Graces were also the children of Jupiter; they
presided over social enjoyments, and were the bestowers of all grace and
elegance. The occupation of the Charites and Horae among the flowers is
thus beautifully described by the author of the lost poem, named the
Cypria, [Greek: Heimata men chroias tote ai Charites te kai Aurai
Poiaesan kai ebapsan en anthesin eiarinoisin, Oia phorous Orai, en te
kroko en th' uakintho, En t' io thalethonti, rodon t' eni anthei kalo,
Haedei, nektareo, en t' ambrosiais kalukessin Anthesi Narkissou
kallichoróou]. For the Horse and Charites, see Mythology, p. 150-153.

221. It is not unlikely that the poet, who does not say where the garden
of Flora was, placed it mentally on the western margin of the earth,
where so many of the wonders of ancient Grecian fable lay. See vv. 233,
234.

223. Hyacinthus, a Spartan youth, beloved by Apollo, and turned into a
flower of his own name. Met. x. 162. Therapnae was a town of Laconia.

225. See Met. III. 407, _et seq_.

226. _Alter et alter_, scil. that he and his shadow were not different
persons.

227. Crocus, Met. iv. 283. Attis above, IV. 223. In the Met. (x. 103,)
Cybele changes him into a pine-tree, but Arnobius (v. p. 181,) says,
_Fluore de sanguinis viola flos nascitur, et redimitur ex hac arbos_
(pinus). Adonis, the son of Cinyras, was turned into an anemone. Met. x.
728. See Mythology, pp. 109, 110.

229. In Homer, Hesiod, and Apollodorus, and the Greek poets and
mythographers in general, Ares, the god corresponding to the Italian
Mars, is the son of Jupiter and Juno. The present legend I regard as the
fiction of some Italian, or, perhaps, of a Greek who was desirous of
ministering to the vanity of the Romans. I think that many legends were
invented in this way. Such, for example, is the tale of Faunus and
Hercules (above, II. 305, _et seq_.) devised to explain a custom of the
Roman Luperci. They are wrong who think that the taste and talent for
devising mythes ceased, when real history began. The present legend is
only to be found in Ovid; but Festus evidently alludes to it, for,
treating of the etymon of Gradivus, he says, _Vel, ut alii dicunt, quia_
gramine _sit natus_.

233. Compare Hom. II. xiv. 301. Met. II. 509.--_Facta_. Heinsius, on the
authority of one MS. reads _furta_.

243, 244. Somewhat like her declaration in Virgil, _Flectere si nequeo
Superos Acherunta movebo_, which may have been in Ovid's mind.

245. _Vox erat in cursu_. This may refer either to Juno or to Flora; but
it is evident that the poet is speaking of Juno, and means that as she
proceeded in her complaint, she marked the change in the countenance of
her auditress. Taubner's interpretation is curious; he supposes the
meaning to be: Juno spoke as she ran! Compare VI. 362, and Met xiii. 508.

251. _Oleniis_. Olenus was a town of Achaea. There was another of this
name in Boeotia.

253. _Qui dabat_. Probably Zephyrus.

257. Thrace, on the left of the Propontis, was regarded as the
birth-place and favourite abode of Mars, on account of the martial
character of the people.

259. This strengthens what I said above respecting the late age of the
fiction.

261. _Coronis_. He calls the flowers crowns or garlands, not as being the
crown of the plant, for that is true of all that follow, but as being
used for making them. He goes on to say that Flora presided over
_blossoms_, as well as flowers.

265, 266. This is said no where else of the olive. Of the almond, we
read, [Greek: Ora taen amygdalaen to karpo brithomenaen toigaroun
euetaerias tekmaerion megiston]. Theophil. Probl. nat. 17. See also Virg.
G. I. 187.

267. Compare Virgil, G. I. 228.

268. See II. 68.

269. The poet could not abstain from taking advantage of a figurative
employment of the word _flos_, and, ascribing to Flora, what did not
belong to her. "Quae de _vino_ sequuntur, ea melius abessent." Gierig. The
_flos_ and _nebula_ of vine, are the light scum which comes upon its
surface when new. _Si vinum florere incipiet, saepius curare oportebit, ne
flos ejus pessun eat et saporem vitiet_. Columella, R. R. xii. 30. _Flos
vini candidus probatur; rubens triste signum est, si non is vini color
sit--Quod celeriter florere caeperit, odoremque trahere, non exit
diutinum_. Plin. H. N. xiv, 21.

273, 274. The flower of youth--another figurative employment of the
word.

277. He now proceeds to relate the historic origin of the Floral games.

279. Compare Sallust, Cat. 25, _Docta psallere, saltare et multa alia,
quae instrumenta luxuriae sunt_.

281. _Hinc et locupletes dicebant loci, hoc est agri, plenos. Pecunia
ipsa a pecore appellabatur_. Plin. xviii. 3.

283. The subject of the Roman public land, and the Agrarian law, has been
treated and explained in a most masterly manner by the illustrious
Niebuhr, but it would be impossible to do justice to his views in the
compass of a note. I must, therefore, refer the reader to his Roman
History, Vol. II. p. 129, _et seq_. (Hare and Thirlwall's translation,)
or Vol. II. p. 353, et seq. (Walter's translation). A sufficiently full
account of these matters will be found in Nos. xv. and xxii. of the
Foreign Quarterly Review. In my Outlines of History, (p. 72,) I have
given a brief account of them_.-_Populi saltus_. These were the _pascua_,
the public pastures, for the liberty of grazing which a rent was to be
paid to the state, but of which the payment was frequently eluded by
favour or power. _Etiam nunc in tabulis Censoriis pascua dicuntur omnia,
ex quibus populus reditus habet, quia diu hoc solum vectigal fuerat_.
Pliny, _ut supra_.

287, 288. L. and M. Publicii Malleoli, were aediles Plebis, A.U.C. 513.
The poet here, as elsewhere, shews his superficial knowledge of the
history of his country, for A.U.C. 457, _ab aedilibus Pl. L. aelio. Poeta,
et C. Fulvio Curvo ex mullaticia pecunia, quam exegerunt pecuariis
damnatis, ludi facti, pateraeque aureae ad Cereris positae. Liv. x. 23, and
a road was made A.U.C. 462, by the Curule aediles, out of similar fines.
Liv. x. 47. As by the Licinian law, no one was allowed to put more than
100 head of black, or 500 head of small cattle on the public pastures,
these fines were probably imposed on those who had exceeded that number.

291. Besides the institution of the Floral games, a temple, of which the
poet does not speak, was built to Flora out of that money, which was
repaired by Tiberius, A.U.C. 773. Tacit. An. II. 49.

292. _Victores_, scil. the aediles.

293. _Clivus Publicius ab aedilibus plebei Publiciis, qui eum publice
aedificarunt_. Varro, L. L. iv. Festus, who gives a similar account, adds,
_munierunt, ut in Aventinum vehicula Velia venire possent_. A _clivus_,
was a carriageway up a hill.

298. _Turba_, etc. This low idea of their gods, was one of the greatest
blemishes of the theology of the Greeks and Romans. It pervades all their
mythology. See above, on I. 445. Hom. II. ix. 497. Similar notions still
prevail in modern Italy, and in many other countries.

299. _Iniquos_, that is, incensed or unfavourable, the contrary of aequos.

305. _Thestiaden_, Meleager. See Met. 270, _et seq_. Hom. II. ix. 527, et
seq. Mythology, p. 287.

307. _Tantaliden_. Agamemnon, descended from Pelops, the son of Tantalus.
The Grecian fleet, as is well-known, was detained at Aulis by the anger
of Diana.--_Vela_, Neapolis read _tela_, and thought of Niobe.

308. _Virgo est_, from whom, therefore, more mildness was to be expected.

309. See above, III. 265--_Dionen_. Venus. See II. 461.

311. _Oblivia_, forgetfulness; or rather neglect.

312. _Praeteriere_, i. e. neglected to celebrate the Floral games.

329. In the consulate of L. Postumius Albinus, and M. Popilius Laenas,
A.U.C. 581, it was directed that the Floral games should be celebrated
every year.

331. The Floralia were of an exceedingly lascivious character. The utmost
license of language prevailed, and, at the sound of trumpets, lewd women
came forth and ran and danced naked before the spectators. The Fathers of
the Church, Arnobius and Lactantius, are unsparing in their censure of
them. When Cato once appeared at them, the people were so awed at his
presence, that they would not call on the women to strip. Val. Max. II.
10. This practice probably gave occasion to the legend already noticed,
see on v. 195, of Flora having been herself a _meretrix_. Ovid views
matters here with a more lenient eye.

335. _Tempora_, etc. He is not now narrating what took place at the
Floralia, but showing how the gifts of Flora ministered to joy and
pleasure.--_Sut. cor_. crowns made of rose-petals sewed together. There
were also _pactiles coronae_, or crowns made of various flowers, _Jam
tunc corona deorum honos erant, et Larium publicorum privatorumque, ac
sepulchrorum et Manium, summaque auctoritas pactili coronae. Sutiles
Saliorum sacris invenimus et sollemnes coenis. Transiere deinde ad
rosaria, eoque luxuria processit, ut non esset gratia nisi mero folio_.
Plin. H. N. xxi. 3, 8.

336. It was the custom at banquets to shower down roses on the guests and
the tables. See. v. 369.

337. Dancing was looked upon by the Romans as highly indecorous and
unbecoming in a respectable person. See Corn. Nep. Epam. I. Corte on
Sall. Cat. 25. 2. None danced but those who were drunk.--_Philyra_, the
interior bark of the linden or lime-tree. It was much used for making
these festive crowns. Plin. H. N. xvi. 14. xxi. 3. Hor. Car. I. 38. 2.--
_Incinct. capil. Incinctus_ seems here to be used for the simple
_cinctus_; elsewhere (II. 635, V. 217. 675,) it is equivalent to
_succinctus_.

338. _Imprudens_, etc. Scarcely knowing what he is doing, he is whirled
about by the art taught by wine, i. e. he dances. _Ille liquor docuit
voces inflectere cantu, Movit et ad certos nescia membra modos_, Tibull.
I. 2. 37. For _vertitur_ some MSS. read _utitur_, which is perhaps the
better reading.

339, 340. This custom of lovers among the ancients is well known. See.
IV. 110. _At lacrumans exclusus amator limina saepe, Floribus et sertis
operit, postesque superbus Unguit amaricino_, Lucret. iv. 171. Hence
Heinsius would read _serta fores_, than which emendation Gierig thinks
nothing can be more certain.

343. _Acheloë_. The name of this river is here as in Virgil (G. I. 9,)
used for water in general.

343. See III. 513.

347. _Scena levis_, etc. the light, the comic, the farcical opposed to
the grave, tragic scene.--_Cothurn. deas_, is either the grave, stately
goddesses, or, what is nearly the same thing, those who used to be
introduced on the cothurned, or tragic stage, such as Diana and Minerva.

351. Here Flora is again opposed to the serious, respectable goddesses.--
_Tetricis_, grave, severe. _Tetrica et tristis Sabinorum disciplina_,
Liv. l. l8.--_De magna_. Ten MSS. read _dea magna_.

352. _Plebeio choro_, scil. the _Meretrices_, who were of course of low
birth.

353. _Specie_, the beauty of youth.

355. See IV. 619. The poet's reasons are good.

361. _Lumina_, the torches which were used at the Floralia.

362. _Errores_. See IV. 669. VI. 255.

363. _Pur. flor. Purpureus_ is used of any bright splendid colour.

371. These animals were hunted in the Circus Florae, at the time of the
Floralia. _Floralicias lasset arena feras_. Martial, viii. 66. 4.

375. _Tenues_, etc. Compare Virg. aen. ii. 791. ix. 657.

376. Compare Virg. aen. I. 403.

379-414. On the V. Non, the third day of the month, (_nocte minus quarta)
the Centaur rises, Chiron was the offspring of the Oceanide Phillyra,
by Saturn, who had taken the form of a horse, and he was half-man
half-horse. Virg. G. III. 92. Mythology, pp. 49, 283.

381. _Haemonia_ was a name of Thessaly.

384. _Justum senem_. Chiron is called by Homer, (II. xi. 832,) [Greek:
dikaiotatos].

385. Achilles was committed to the care of Chiron.--_Miss. leto_. Compare
Hom. II. I. 3.

388. According to Apollodorus, it was when Hercules was on his fourth
task, that the following accident happened to Chiron. See Mythology, p.
316.

389. _Duo fata_. Because Troy suffered from both, being taken by one, and
reduced to extremity by the other.

403. According to Pliny, (H. N. xxv. 6,) he recovered. _Centaurio curatus
dicitur Chiron, quum Herculis excepti hospitio pertractanti arma sagitta
cecidisset in pedem_.

410. Heinsius regarded this line as spurious, and, as the work of some
grammarian or pedagogue, and even as semi-barbarous Latin. It has been
defended by Heinz and Krebs. In Euripides, (Iph. Aul. 926,) Achilles says
of himself. [Greek: Ego d' en andros eusebestatou trapheis Cheironos
emathon tous tropous haplous echein].

415, 416. Lyra rises acronychally the III. Non.

417, 418. One part of the Scorpion sets cosmically the day before the
Nones. _Pridie Nonas Maias Nepa medius occidet_. Columella, R. R. xi. 2.
_Nepa_ is used for _Scorpio_, by Manilius and others, as well as
Columella.

419-492. The Lemuria began on the VII. Id. and lasted for three days, but
not continuously, as appears from v. 491, and an ancient Calendar. The
_Mundus_ (See on IV. 821,) was regarded as the door of the under world,
and was believed to be open three days in the year for the spirits of the
departed to revisit the earth. Festus v. Mundus. There may be some
relation between these three days and those of the Lemuria.--
_Protulerit_. See III. 345. Trist. III. 10, 9. Hor. Sat. I. 8, 21.
Fourteen MSS. read _sustulerit_, one _praetulerit_, others _pertulerit_ or
_propulevit.--Formosa ova_. Compare Virg. aen. viii. 589, _et seq_.

422. _Tacitis Manibus_, i. e. the Lemures, whom (v. 481,) he calls
_animas Silentum_. According to Ovid's account, the Lemures were, what we
term, disturbed spirits. Nonius says, they were _larvae nocturnae et
terrificationes imaginum et bestiarum_.

423. See I. 27.

427, 428. It would appear from this, that it was thought that in the time
of Romulus, the Feralia, (II. 533,) and the Lemuria, were one, and were
celebrated in the third month, which was named _a majoribus_.

429, 430. Compare IV. 490. Virg. aen. iv. 522, viii. 26. If there is any
imitation, I would say that it was Apollonius Rhodius, whom Ovid had in
view.--_Praebet, scil. _nox_. Some MSS. read _somnos_, or _somnum silentia
praebent_.

431. _Ille_. He who is, that person who is.

432. _Vincula_, scil. _pedum_, calcea, I. 410. It was the custom to bare
the feet when going about any magic operation. See Met. vii. 182. Virg.
aen. iv. 518. Hor. Sat. I. 8, 23.

433. _Signa_, etc. Neapolis says, "Est crepitus ille, qui fit nostro aevo
in quavis saltatione, sive comica, sive rustica, digito scilicet medio
adeo presse juncto cum pollice, ut lapsus in palmam strepitum edat." This
explanation is adopted by Gierig, but as he observes from Met. ix. 299,
that "digitis pertinatim inter se junctis impediebant aliquid," and the
poet here says _digitis_ (not _digito_) _junctis_, I think the mode may
have been to lock the fingers in one another, by which means the thumbs
were joined in the middle, and then to make a noise by bringing the hands
smartly together.

436. _Nigras_, etc. Compare II. 576. For _ante_, several MSS. read _ore_,
which Heinsius preferred.

437. _Aversus jacit_, throws them behind him. Compare Virg. Ec. viii.
101.

438. _Redimo_, etc. That you may no longer haunt my house. _Quibus
temporibus in sacris fabam jactant noctu ac dicunt se Lemures extra
januam ejicere_. Varro de Vita Pop. Rom. _apud_ Nonium. _Faba Lemuralibus
jacitur Larvis, et Parentalibus adhibetur sacrificiis, et in flore ejus
luctus litterae apparere videntur_. Festus.

439. _Novies_, like _ter_, (v. 435,) for _numero deus impure gaudet_,
(Virg. Ec. viii. 75,) was probably of magic efficacy. Compare Met. xiii.
951.

440. This superstition reminds one of that of sowing the hempseed on
All-Hallows' Eve. See Burns' Halloween, st. xvi.-xx.

441. _Temesaea aera_, simply copper. Temesa, called by the Latins Tempsa,
was a town in Bruttium. It is supposed to be the Temesa of the Homeric
ages, to which (Od. I. 184,) the Greeks resorted to barter iron for
copper. See Mythology, p. 232. For the abundance of copper in ancient
Italy, see Niebuhr, Rom. Hist. I.

450-452. Of its use on the present occasion, we may observe, that Sophron
in one of his Mimes, said, [Greek: Kuon bauxas luei ta phasmata, os kai
chalkos krotaetheis]. The Scholiast on Theocritus, tells us, that [Greek:
O tou chalkou haechos oikeios tois katoichomenois], on which Neapolis
says, "Observa illa et respice ad hodiernum modum." He was a Sicilian.

447. _Pliade nate_, Mercury. All the editions read _Pleiade_. But see
note on IV. 169.--_Virga_, the well known _gestamen_ of [Greek: Hermaes
chrysorrhatis]. Compare Hom. II. xxiv. 43. Od. v. 47. Virg. aen. 242. Hor.
Car. I. 10, 17, 24, 15.

448. His office of [Greek: psychopompos] is well-known. He was,
therefore, the god who was most likely to be able to tell the origin of
the name Lemuria.

450. He does not, as usual, introduce the god himself speaking, but
informs the reader of what he had learned from him.

451. _Tumulo condidit_. Com pare Virg. aen. III. 67.

452. See IV. 841, _et seq--Male veloci_. Like _servata male_, I. 559.

456. _Utque erat_. As they (each of them) were. Two of the best MSS. read
_sicut erant_, but the metre is against this reading.

457. Compare Virg. aen. II. 270.

471. _Pietas_, etc. His brotherly love is equal to mine.

476. Compare Hom. II. xxiii. 99. Virg. aen. II. 792.

479-484. _Lemures dictos esse putant quasi Remures a Remo, cujus occisi
umbram frater Romulus quum placare vellet Lemuria instituit_. Porphyrio
on Hor. Ep. II. 2, 209.

483. Lemures, [Greek: nukterinoi daimones]. _Glossae_.

486. See II. 557.

487. Plutarch (Q. R. 86,) gives, among other reasons, why the Romans did
not marry in May, [Greek: oti polloi Latinon en to maeni touto tois
katoichomenois enagizousi]. He elsewhere informs us, that it was only
widows who married on holidays.

490. The celebrated Alessandro Tassoni, as Burmann observes, treats
largely in his Pensieri Diversi, L. viii c. 2. of this superstition,
which still existed in his time at Ferrara.

492. "Nam hi sex continuis diebus. Primus, tertius, quintus sacri sunt
Lemuralibus. Hinc capies vetus Kalendarium in quo sic illa notantur:
  A. LEM. N.
  BC.
  C. LEM. N.
  D. NP. LVD. MART. IV. CIRC.
  E. LEM. N."
Neapolis.

493-544. The second day of the Lemuria fell on the V. Id. on which day
therefore Orion set.--_Boeotum_. Orion was born in Boeotia, according to
most writers. Pindar makes Chios his birth-place. The following narrative
occurs in several writers besides Ovid. See Mythology, p. 415-419.

494. _Falsus eris_, you will be mistaken.

495. _Frater_. Tzetzes on Lyc. Cass. 328, says it was Apollo. As
according to Hesiod, Neptune was the father of Orion, our poet is, I
think, the more orthodox.

497. Compare Virg. Ec. II. 66. Hor. Epod. II. 61. Compare also the whole
narrative with the delightful story of Philemon and Baucis, in the
Metamorphoses, viii. 626. _et seq_.

504. _Parent promissis_, is equivalent to: They accept his invitation.

506. _Ignis_, etc. The same is said of Philemon and Baucis; they had
therefore but the one hot meal a day. This way of keeping in, and blowing
up a fire, is familiar to any one who has been in a country where wood or
peat is the fuel.

509. _Calices_, earthen pots or pipkins to go on the fire. This is rather
an unusual sense of the word.--_Inde_, of them. Compare IV. 171. Virg. G.
III. 308, 490.

510. _Testu suo_, by its lid, I should suppose.--_Fumant_. Several MSS.
read _spumant_ or _spumat_, some have _fumat_, whence Heinsius formed the
present reading.

517. _Puer_, when a young man.--_Diffuderat_, racked off. See Hor. Ep.
I. 5. 4.

518. _Condo_ and _promo_ are appropriate terms, Hor. Car. I. 9. 7. Epod.
2. 47. It was the custom to set the wine jars in a place where the smoke
could have access to them. _Apothecae recte superponentur his locis, unde
pierumque fumus exoritur, quoniam vina celerius vetustescunt, quae fumi
quodam tenore praecocem maturitatem trahunt; propter quod et aliud
tabulatum esss debebit, qua amoveantur, ne rursus nimia suffitione
medicata sint_, Columella, II. R. I. 6.

519. _Lino_, a linen covering.

525. _Prima_, etc. Heinsius, who is followed by the other editors, reads
_primae mihi cura, juventae_, which is the reading of three of the best,
and five other MSS. Two of the best read _prima mihi cura juventa_;
others _cara mihi prima juventa_; one _prima mihi grata juventa_. I
think, with Krebs, that there is force in the repetition of _cara_.
Burmann proposes _flore juventae_.

526. _Cognita_. Seven MSS. have _condita_.

542. _Curva spicula_, its claws.--_Gemelliparae_, an epithet of Latona,
peculiar to our poet.

545-598. On the IV. Id. there were Circensian games in honor of Mars
Ultor. Augustus built (A.U.C. 725,) in his own Forum a temple to this
god, which he had vowed at the time of the battle of Philippi. Suet. Aug.
29.--_Mundo_, the sky. It is often used in this sense by Manilius. Four
MSS. read _caelo_.

546. _Coarctat_, contracts, shortens.

549. _Bellica signa_, i. e. the clash of arms.

555, 556. _Sanxit ut de bellis, triumphisque hic_ (in templo Martis)
_consuleretur senatus, quique victores redissent, huc insignia
triumphorum inferrent_. Suet. Aug. 29.--_Tropaeis_. Some MSS. read
_triumphis_.

557. _Impius_. Rome was under the protection of the gods; Augustus was a
god himself. It was, therefore, impiety to take arms against them.

560. _Ornant signis fictilibus aut aereis inauratis aedium fastigia.
Vitruv. Archit. III. 2. We know not of what gods the statues were on this
temple of Mars.

561. _Diversae figurae_, differing in form from those used by the Romans.
These, and the _arma_ of the next line, were probably carved on the
doors, or piled or suspended at them.

563. _Proximum a diis immortalibus honorem memoriae ducum praestitit.
Itaque et opera cujusque, manentibus titulis, restituit, et statuas
omnium triumphali effigie in utraque Fori sui porticu dedicavit_. Suet.
Aug. 3l.--_Hinc_, then, or from the temple.--_Caro_. Heinsius and Gierig
read after two of the best MSS. _sacro_.

565. Romulus, the son of Ilia, bearing the _spolia opima_ of Acron. Liv.
1. 10.

566. The titles and deeds of the great men were inscribed on the bases of
their statues.

567. The name of Augustus was, according to custom, inscribed on the
temple.

573. See III. 699.

575. The [Greek: aimati asai Araea talaurinon polemistaen] of Homer, was,
perhaps, in Ovid's mind.

580. To whom is unknown the fate of Crassus, and the recovery of the
captured ensigns of Rome by Augustus, the theme of every Augustan poet's
praise? Krebs.

595. _Bis ulto_. Some MSS. read _ultum_. The greater number Bisultor,
"Nomen _Bisultoris_ ejus que templum in Capitolio lepidum est commentum
librariorum et archaeologorum aliquot, quod neque scriptori scujusquam nec
nummorum auctoritate confirmatur." Krebs.

598. Compare v. 347.

599. The following day, the third and last of the Lemuria, the Pleiades
rise heliacally, and summer begins. _VI. Idus Maias Vergiliae totae
apparent; pridie aestatis initium_. Columella, R. R. xi. 2.

603-620. On the 14th May, Prid. Id. the head of the Bull rises
cosmically. The poet now inquires into its origin. See IV. 7l7-720,--
_Prior_, scil. _dies. Idibus_ is a dative.

605. For the story of Europa, see Met. II. 833, _et seq_. Hor. Car. III.
27. Mythology p. 408. It is also most beautifully told by the Greek poet
Moschus, in his second Idyll.

607. _Jubam_. It is rather unusual to speak of the _juba_, (mane) of a
bull. Ovid however does so elsewhere. Am. III. 5. 24. This description
was, perhaps as Gierig observes, taken from some painting, but that in
Moschus (v. 122) is similar, [Greek: Tae men echen tauron dolichon keras,
en cheri d' allae Eirue porphyreas kolpou ptychas ... ... ... Kolpothae
d' omoisi peplos bathys Europeiaes, Istion oia te naeos, elaphrizeske de
kouraen]. And in Lucian's Dialogue of Zephyrus and Notes, it is said,
[Greek: hae de tae laie men eicheto tou keratos, os mae apolisthanoi, tae
hetera de haemeno menon ton peplon xyneiche]. Compare III. 869.

613, 614. How truly Ovidian this is!--_Prudens_, on purpose, This word is
a contraction of _providens_.

619. _Phariam juvencam_. Io or Isis. II. 454. Met. I. 583, _et seq_.

621-662. On the Ides of May, after having performed the sacrifices
appointed by the law, the Pontifices, the Vestal Virgins, the Praetors,
and such other of the citizens as were legally qualified, proceeded to
the Sublician or ancient wooden bridge, and threw from it into the Tiber
thirty images of men formed of bullrushes. These figures were called
_Argei_. See Dionysius I. 19 and 38. _Argei fiunt e scirpeis virgultis:
simulacra sunt hominum triginta_ (in the old MSS. xxiv.): _et quotannis a
ponte Sublicio a sacerdotibus publice jaci solent in Tiberim_. Varro, L.
L. VI. _Argeos vocabant scirpeas effigies, quae per virgines Vestales
minis singulis jaciebantur in Tiberim_. Festus. I have departed from the
usual division in this place, and made a separate section of 621-662, as
the Argei were thrown on the Ides, and Taurus rose Prid. Idus.--_Virgo_,
scil. _Vestalis_, one, as is so frequently the case, put for the whole.
See preceding part of this note.--_Pris. vir_. This is explained by what
follows.

622. _Roboreo_, i. e. _Sublicio_ so called _a sublicis_, the piles on
which it was built, hence Plutarch calls it [Greek: xylinaen gephuran].
Dionysius III. says of it [Greek: haen achri ton pyrontos
diaphylattousin, hieran einai nomizontes ei de ti ponaeseien autaes
meros, oi hierophantai (Pontifices) therapeuousi, thusias tinas
epitelountes ama tae kataskeuae patrious]. The Sublician was the ancient
original bridge of Rome, and a superstitious reverence frequently
attaches to things of this nature. I need scarcely observe, that we have
here the origin of the word _Pontifex_.

623. The first opinion respecting the origin of this custom: the ancient
Romans used to throw their old men, when they were arrived at the age of
sixty, into the Tiber, and drown them. This the poet very properly seems
disposed to reject, and whatever may have been the case with a tribe of
the ancient Indians, (see Herod. III. 38,) or with the Battas of modern
times, there is no ground for suspecting the people of ancient Latium of
such barbarity.

625. A second opinion: it commemorated the time when human sacrifices
were offered at Home. I have, in various parts of my Mythology, hinted my
opinion, that human sacrifices were totally unknown in the heroic ages of
Greece, and that all legends relating to such are comparatively late
fictions. I now extend this theory to Italy, and assert that there are no
testimonies, on which we can rely, of such a practice having prevailed in
it in those times, when the poet says it was called _Saturnia terra_. The
opinion, of which the poet now speaks, evidently arose from the
confounding of Saturnus, the Italian god of husbandry, with 'Moloch,
horrid king, besmeared with blood Of human sacrifice, and parents'
tears,' the 'grim idol' of the Phoenicians and Carthaginians.

626. According to Dionysius, the oracle given by the god at Dodona to the
Pelasgians was as follows; [Greek: Steichete maiomenoi Sikelon Satournian
aian Haed' Aborigeneon Kotulaen, ou nasos ocheitai. Ois anamichthentes
dekataen ekpempsate Phoibo kai kephalas Adae, kai to patri pempate
phota]. Arnobibus (adv. G. II. p. 91,) says, _Cum ex_ Apollinis _monitit
patri Diti ac Saturno humanis capitibus supplicaretur_. I need hardly
observe, that the aforesaid oracle cannot be older than the Alexandrian
period of Grecian literature.

630. _Leucadio_. Leucas, now _Santa Maura_, on the coast of
Acarnania, was originally a peninsula. It has long been an island. The
celebrated Lover's Leap was there. Strabo (x. 2.) says, [Greek: Haen de
kai patrion tois Laukadiois kat' eniauton en tae thysia tou Apollonos apo
tes skopaes], (the Lover's Leap,) [Greek: ripteistha tina ton en aitiois
outon apotrhopes charin]. He adds, that birds, and a kind of wings, were
attached to these criminals to break the fall, and that there was a
number of persons below in small boats to save them, and to put them
beyond the bounds of the country.

631. Macrobius (Sat. I. 7,) says, that he persuaded the people _ut
faustis sacrificiis infausta mutarent, inferences Diti, non hominum
capita, sed oscilla ad humanam effigiem arte simulata, et aras Saturnias,
non mactando viros, sed accensis luminibus excolentes, quia non solum
virum sed et lumina [Greek: phota] (see the oracle,) _significant_. The
following note of Burmann's is too curious to be omitted, "Similem fere
ritum Lipsiae a meretricibus celebratum scribit Pfeiffer Rerum
Lipsiensium, L. III. § 18, illas scilicet solitas olim primis jejunii
quadragenarii (_Lent_) diebus imaginem stramineam deformis viri, longa
pertica suffixam, sequente omni meretricum agmine, tulisse ad Pardam
flumen, ibique, cum carminibus in pallidam mortem, praecipitasse;
dicentes se lustrare urbem, ut sequenti anno a pestilentia esset
immunis."--_Ilium. Fama vetus_, (v. 625,) is understood.--_Quirites_,
proleptically, as there were no Quirites as yet.

633. A third opinion: which appears to have arisen from the
misunderstanding of a proverb, _Cum in quintum gradum pervenerant, atque
habebant sexaginta annos, tum denique erant a publicis negotiis liberi
atque expediti et otiosi: ideo in proverbium quidam putant venisse,
sexagenarios de ponte dejici oportere, id est quod suffragium non ferant,
quod per pontem ferebant_. Nonius. _Exploratissimum illud causae est quo
tempore primum per pontem coeperunt comitiis suffragia ferre, juniores
conclamavere, ut de ponte dejicerentur sexagenarii: quia nullo pidilico
munere fungerentur; ut ipsi potius sibi quam illis deligerent imperium_,
Festus.

635. _Tibri_, etc. The reader will call to mind Gray's "Say father
Thames," etc. in his Ode on the Distant Prospect of Eton College, and I
hope, at the same time, recollect with contempt the tasteless criticism
of Johnson, who, curious enough, had put an exactly similar apostrophe to
the Nile into the mouth of the princess Nekayah, in his own Rasselas. Was
this passage of Ovid in the mind of that maker of beautiful poetic
mosaics?

637. _Aurundiferum_. The rivergods were usually represented crowned with
reeds. Met. ix. 3. Virg. aen. viii. 34.

638. _Rauca ora_. As he uses the verb _dimovet, ora_, in this place, must
signify _lips_, and _hoarse lips_ is rather a hardy expression. Heinsius
proposed _glauca_. A hoarse voice is very naturally ascribed to a
river-god. Compare Virg. aen. ix. 124.

639. Compare Virg. aen. viii. 360.

643. See I. 471, IV. 65.

646. See II. 389, IV. 48. Liv. I. 3.

647. _Pallantius_, from his native town Pallantium, in Arcadia. He calls
him _Nonacrius heros_, v. 97.

660. The only foundation of this legend is the accidental resemblance
between _Argei_ and [Greek: _Argeioi_]. Of the origin of the word
_Argei_, I can offer no conjecture; the ceremony seems to me to have been
symbolical. Perhaps, like the Leucadian rite, (see on v. 630) it had some
analogy with that of letting go the Scape-goat under the Mosaic law. In
the number of the images (thirty) I discern a relation to the thirty
curies into which the original Romans were divided: or, perhaps, a more
general one, to the political number of Latium. See Niebuhr, Rom. Hist.
II. 18, _et seq_.

661. _Hactenus_, scil. _locutus est Tiberis_.

663-692. A temple was dedicated to Mercury on the Ides of May, A.U.C.
258. Liv. II. 21, 27.--_Clare_, etc. Compare Hor. Car. I. 10. which ode
Ovid, very possibly had before him.

665. _Pacis_, etc. "Mercurius pacis et armorum arbiter propter
eloquentiam et prudentiam qua excellit." Gierig. I rather think it was as
being _Caducifer_, the herald of the gods.

671. _Te_. etc. The name of the Roman Mercurius comes evidently from
_Merx_, and there can be little doubt of his having been originally
merely the god presiding over commerce. When he was identified with the
Greek Hermes, he acquired the offices above mentioned. For Hermes, see
Mythology, p. 124.

673. _Est aqua_, etc. "Hoc solum testimonio probant viri docti extra
portam Capenam, via Appia, aquam fuisse ita nuncupatam; qua populus, qui
negotio et quaestui operam dabat, his Idibus lustrari solitus." Neapolis.

674. _Numen habet_, it has a divine efficacy.

675. _Incinctus tunicas_. "Cingulo; e quo marsupium auri monetalis
propendebat. Hic vetus mercatorum habitus." Neapolis. The MSS. in general
read _tunica_.

676. _Purus_, scil. _ipse.--Suffita_ scil. _sulfure_. Most MSS. read
_suffusa_.

678. _Omnia_, etc. his goods, all the things that he had to sell. He, of
course, as v. 676 shews, had brought the holy water home for this pious
use.

680. _Solita fallere_. The characier of the trader was in bad odour in
ancient Rome for honesty; for trade was considered an illiberal
employment, and no man of respectability engaged in it.

684. _Non andituri_, who should not hear, whom I did not wish to hear.

692. _Ortygias boves_, the oxen of Apollo. For the story, see Met. II.
685, _et seq_. the Homeridian hymn to Hermes, or my analysis of it.
(Mythology, p. 126-128.) See also Hor. Car. I. 10. 9. Ortygian, is used
by the poet as equivalent to Delian, as Ortygia was one of the names
given to Delos. For the true situation of Ortygia, and the way in which
it was confounded with Delos, see Mythology, pp. 99 and 254.

693-720. On the XIII. Kal. Jun. the sun enters the Twins. Columella, who
is followed by Neapolis, has XV. Kal. Jun.--_Precor_ scil. te Mercuri!--
Mel. pet_. scil. than the merchant.

697. _Quot sunt_. etc. i. e. twelve.

699. Phoebe and her sister Elaïra, Ilaïra or Hilaïra, as it is variously
written, the two daughters of Leucippus were promised in marriage to
their two cousins Idas and Lynceus, the sons of Aphareus. The Tyndaridae,
Castor and Pollux, who were also cousins, carried off the maidens by
force, and matters proceeded as is related in the text. See Theoc. Idyll,
xxii. Pindar. Nem. x. Mythology, p. 391.

705. _Oebalides_, either as being the grandsons of Oebalus, Pans. III. 1,
or because they were Laconians. See on I. 260.

708. _Aphidna_. The best known Aphidna is the Attic deme of that name.
According to Steph. Byz, (_sub. voc_.) there was an Aphidna in Laconia.

719. See Hom. Od. xi. 301. Virg. aen. vi. 121.

720. _Utile_, etc. They were [Greek: arogonautai daimones]. See Hor. Car.
II. 3, and 12, 27.

721. _Ad Janum_, etc. "XII. Kal. Jun. Agonalia Urbs interabat. Hoc die
notantur haec festa in veteri Kalendario; nam illud _hoc quoque tempus
habet_, quod induxit interpretes ut dicerent XIV. Kal. intelligendum quod
etiam mense Maio denuo fiant." Neapolis. The poet refers those anxious
for information to the first book. See I. 317, _et seq_.

723. _Canicula_ rises (it should be _sets_, Plin. xviii. 27,) on the XI
Kal. Jun. See on IV. 936.

725. The Tubilustria were on the X. Kal. _Tubilustrium appellatur, quod
eo die in atrio sutorio sacrorum tubae lustrantur_. Varro, L. L. V. See
III. 849.

726. _Purae_, as being sacred, or as being now cleaned or purified.

727. _Inde_, then, in the place of the next day, IX. Kal. in the
Calendar. "In Calendario antiquo legebantur notae hae Q. R. C. F. quae
dupliciter legi poterant, vel: quando rex comitiavit fas, vel: quando rex
comitio fugit," Gierig. The king is, of course, the Rex Sacrorum. _Dies,
qui vocatur sic, Quando rex comitiavit fas, dictus ab eo, quod eo die rex
sacrificulus dicat ad comitium, ad quod tempus est nefas, ab eo fas.
Varro L. L. V. [Greek: Esti goun tis en agora thusia pros to legomeno
Komaetio patrios, haen thusas ho basileus kata tachos apeisi pheugon ex
agoras]. Plutarch, Q. R. 63.

730. On the VIII. Kal. Jun. the temple of Fortuna Publica had been
dedicated. This is probably the temple of Fortuna Primigenia, of which
Plutarch speaks, de For. Rom. 10. [Greek: Serbios Tullios idrusato
Tychaes ieron Kapitolio to taes Primigeneias legomenaes]. See IV. 375. It
is not unlikely that, as Gesenius conjectures, Ovid read the PR. in his
Calendar _pop. Rom_. i. e. _pop. pot_. of the text, instead of
_Primigenia_. On the same day Aquila rises in the evening.

733. The following day VII. Kal. Bootes sets heliacally, and on the VI.
Kal. the Hyades rise in the same manner.



LIBER VI.


Hic mensis habet dubias in nomine causas:
  Quae placeant, positis omnibus, ipse leges.
Facta canam; sed erunt, qui me finxisse loquantur:
  Nullaque mortali numina visa putent.
Est Deus in nobis: agitante calescimus illo.                  5
  Impetus hic sacrae semina mentis habet.
Fas mihi praecipue vultus vidisse Deorum:
  Vel quia sum vates; vel quia sacra cano.
Est nemus arboribus densum, secretus ab omni
  Voce locus, si non obstreperetur aquis.                    10
Hic ego quaerebam, coepti quae mensis origo
  Esset, et in cura nominis hujus eram.
Ecce deas vidi: non quas praeceptor arandi
  Viderat, Ascraeas quum sequeretur oves;
Nec quas Priamides in aquosae vallibus Idae                  15
  Contulit; ex illis sed tamen una fuit.
Ex illis fuit una, sui germana mariti.
  Haec erat,--agnovi,--quae stat in arce Jovis.
Horrueram tacitoque animum pallore fatebar;
  Quum dea, quos fecit, sustulit ipsa metus:                 20
Namque, ait, O vates, Romani conditor anni,
  Ause per exiguos magna referre modos,
Jus tibi fecisti numen coeleste videndi,
  Quum placuit numeris condere festa tuis.
Ne tamen ignores, vulgique errore traharis,                  25
  Junius a nostro nomine nomen habet.
Est aliquid nupsisse Jovi, Jovis esse sororem.
  Fratre magis, dubito, glorier, anne viro.
Si genus adspicitur, Saturnum prima parentem
  Feci; Saturni sors ego prima fui.                          30
A patre dicta meo quondam Saturnia Roma est:
  Haec illi a coelo proxima terra fuit.
Si torus in pretio est, dicor matrona Tonantis,
  Junctaque Tarpeio sunt mea templa Jovi.
An potuit Maio pellex dare nomina mensi,                     35
  Hic honor in nobis invidiosus erit?
Cur igitur regina vocor, princepsque dearum?
  Aurea cur dextrae sceptra dedere meae?
An faciant mensem luces, Lucinaque ab illis
  Dicar, et a nullo nomina mense traham?                     40
Tum me poeniteat posuisse fideliter iras
  In genus Electrae Dardaniamque domum.
Causa duplex irae. Rapto Ganymede dolebam:
  Forma quoque Idaeo judice victa mea est.
Poeniteat, quod non foveo Carthaginis arces,                 45
  Quum mea sint illo currus et arma loco.
Poeniteat Sparten, Argosque, measque Mycenas,
  Et veterem Latio supposuisse Samon.
Adde senem Tatium, Junonicolasque Faliscos,
  Quos ego Romanis succubuisse tuli.                         50
Sed neque poeniteat, nec gens mihi carior ulla est.
  Hic colar, hic teneam cum Jove templa meo.
Ipse mihi Mavors, Commendo maenia, dixit,
  Haec tibi: tu pollens urbe nepotis eris.
Dicta fides sequitur. Centum celebramur in aris:             55
  Nec levior quovis est mihi mensis honor.
Nec tamen hunc nobis tantummodo praestat honorem
  Roma: suburbani dant mihi munus idem.
Inspice, quos habeat nemoralis Aricia fastos,
  Et populus Laurens, Lanuviumque meum:                      60
Est illic mensis Junonius. Inspice Tibur,
  Et Praenestinae moenia sacra deae;
Junonale leges tempus. Nec Romulus illas
  Condidit: at nostri Roma nepotis erat.
Finierat Juno. Respeximus. Herculis uxor                     65
  Stabat, et in vultu signa dolentis erant.
Non ego, si toto mater me cedere coelo
  Jusserit, invita matre morabor, ait.
Nunc quoque non luctor de nomine temporis hujus:
  Blandior, et partes paene rogantis ago;                    70
Remque mei juris malim tenuisse precando;
  Et faveas causae forsitan ipse meae.
Aurea possedit posito Capitolia templo
  Mater, et ut debet, cum Jove summa tenet.
At decus omne mihi contingit origine mensis.                 75
  Unicus est, de quo sollicitamur, honor.
Quid grave, si titulum mensis, Romane dedisti,
  Herculis uxori, posteritasque memor?
Haec quoque terra aliquid debet mihi nomine magni
  Conjugis. Huc captas appulit ille boves,                   80
Hic male defensus flammis et dote paterna
  Cacus Aventinam sanguine tinxit humum.
Ad propiora vocor. Populum digessit ab annis
  Romulus, in partes distribuitque duas.
Haec dare consilium, pugnare paratior illa est:              85
  Haec aetas bellum suadet, at illa gerit.
Sic statuit, mensesque nota secrevit eadem.
  Junius est juvenum; qui fuit ante, senum.
Dixit: et in litem studio certaminis issent,
  Atque ira pietas dissimulata foret;                        90
Venit Apollinea longas Concordia lauro
  Nexa comas, placidi numen opusque ducis.
Haec ubi narravit Tatium, fortemque Quirinum,
  Binaque cum populis regna coisse suis,
Et Lare communi soceros generosque receptos;                 95
  His nomen junctis Junius, inquit, habet.
Dicta triplex causa est. At vos ignoscite, divae:
  Res est arbitrio non dirimenda meo.
Ite pares a me. Perierunt judice formae
  Pergama: plus laedunt, quam juvet una, duae.              100

Prima dies tibi, Carna, datur. Dea cardinis haec est;
  Numine clausa aperit, claudit aperta suo.
Unde datas habeat vires, obscurior aevo
  Fama; sed e nostro carmine certus eris.
Adjacet antiquus Tiberino lucus Helerni:                    105
  Pontifices illuc nunc quoque sacra ferunt.
Inde sata est Nymphe,--Cranen dixere priores,--
  Nequidquam multis saepe petita procis.
Rura sequi jaculisque feras agitare solebat,
  Nodosasque cava tendere valle plagas.                     110
Non habuit pharetram: Phoebi tamen esse sororem
  Credebant; nec erat, Phoebe, pudenda tibi.
Huic aliquis juvenum dixisset amantia verba,
  Reddebat tales protinus illa sonos:
Haec loca lucis habent nimis, et cum luce pudoris.          115
  Si secreta magis ducis in antra, sequor.
Credulus ante subit. Frutices haec nacta resistit,
  Et latet, et nullo est invenienda loco.
Viderat hanc Janus, visseque cupidine captus
  Ad duram verbis mollibus usus erat:                       120
Nympha jubet quaeri de more remotius antrum:
  Utque comes sequitur, destituitque ducem.
Stulta! videt Janus, quae post sua terga gerantur;
  Nil agis, en! latebras respicit ille tuas.
Nil agis, en! dixi. Nam te sub rupe latentem                125
  Occupat amplexu; speque potitus ait:
Jus pro concubitu nostro tibi cardinis esto;
  Hoc pretium positae virginitatis habe.
Sic fatus, virgam, qua tristes pellere posset
  A foribus noxas,--haec erat alba--dedit.                  130
Sunt avidae volucres; non quae Phineïa mensis
  Guttura fraudabant: sed genus inde trahunt.
Grande caput: stantes oculi: rostra apta rapinae;
  Canities pennis, unguibus hamus inest.
Nocte volant, puerosque petunt nutricis egentes,            135
  Et vitiant cunis corpora rapta suis.
Carpere dicuntur lactentia viscera rostris;
  Et plenum poto sanguine guttur habent.
Est illis strigibus nomen: sed nominis hujus
  Causa, quod horrenda stridere nocte solent.               140
Sive igitur nascuntur aves, seu carmine fiunt,
  Neniaque in volucres Marsa figurat anus;
In thalamos venere Procae. Proca natus in illis
  Praeda recens avium quinque diebus erat;
Pectoraque exsorbent avidis infantia linguis.               145
  At puer infelix vagit opemque petit.
Territa voce sui nutrix accurrit alumni,
  Et rigido sectas invenit ungue genas.
Quid faceret? color oris erat, qui frondibus olim
  Esse solet seris, quas nova laesit hiems.                 150
Pervenit ad Cranen, et rem docet. Illa, Timorem
  Pone! tuus sospes, dixit, alumnus erit.
Venerat ad cunas: flebant materque paterque:
  Sistite vos lacrimas! ipsa medebor, ait.
Protinus arbutea postes ter in ordine tangit                155
  Fronde: ter arbutea limina fronde notat.
Spargit aquis aditus, et quae medicamen habebant:
  Extaque de porca cruda bimestre tenet.
Atque ita, Noctis aves, extis puerilibus, inquit,
  Parcite! pro parvo victima parva cadit.                   160
Cor pro corde, precor, pro fibris sumite fibras.
  Hanc animam vobis pro meliore damus.
Sic ubi libavit, prosecta sub aethere ponit:
  Quique sacris adsunt, respicere illa vetat.
Virgaque Janalis de spina ponitur alba,                     165
  Qua lumen thalamis parva fenestra dabat.
Post illud nec aves cunas violasse feruntur,
  Et rediit puero, qui fuit ante, color.
Pinguia cur illis gustentur larda Kalendis,
  Mixtaque cum calido sit faba farre, rogas.                170
Prisca dea est, aliturque cibis, quibus ante solebat,
  Nec petit adscitas luxuriosa dapes.
Piscis adhuc illi populo sine fraude natabat;
  Ostreaque in conchis tuta fuere suis:
Nec Latium norat, quam praebet Ionia dives,                 175
  Nec, quae Pygmaeo sanguine gaudet, avem;
Et praeter pennas nihil in pavone placebat:
  Nec tellus captas miserat ante feras.
Sus erat in pretio: caesa sue festa colebant.
  Terra fabas tantum duraque farra dabat.                   180
Quae duo mixta simul sextis quicumque Kalendis
  Ederit, huic laedi viscera posse negant.
Arce quoque in summa Junoni templa Monetae
  Ex voto memorant facta, Camille, tuo.
Ante domus Manli fuerant, qui Gallica quondam               185
  A Capitolino reppulit arma Jove.
Quam bene--Di magni!--pugna cecidisset in illa
  Defensor solii, Jupiter alte, tui!
Vixit, ut occideret damnatus crimine regni.
  Hunc illi titulum longa senecta dabat.                    190
Lux eadem Marti festa est; quem prospicit extra
  Appositum Tectae porta Capena viae.
Te quoque, Tempestas, meritam delubra fatemur;
  Quum paene est Corsis obruta classis aquis.
Haec hominum monumenta patent. Si quaeritis astra,          195
  Tunc oritur magni praepes adunca Jovis.

Postera lux Hyades, Taurinae cornua frontis,
  Evocat: et multa terra madescit aqua.

Mane ubi bis fuerit, Phoebusque iteraverit ortus,
  Factaque erit posito rore bis uda seges;                  200
Hac sacrata die Tusco Bellona duello
  Dicitur: et Latio prospera semper adest.
Appius est auctor: Pyrrho qui pace negata
  Multum animo vidit; lumine captus erat.
Prospicit a templo summum brevis area Circum.               205
  Est ibi non parvae parva columna notae.
Hinc solet hasta manu, belli praenuntia, mitti,
  In regem et gentes quum placet arma capi.

Altera pars Circi custode sub Hercule tuta est:
  Quod deus Euboico carmine munus habet.                    210
Muneris est tempus, qui Nonas Lucifer ante est.
  Si titulos quaeris, Sulla probavit opus.

Quaerebam, Nonas Sanco Fidione referrem,
  An tibi, Semo pater: quum mihi Sancus ait:
Cuicumque ex illis dederis, ego munus habebo.               215
  Nomina trina fero: sic voluere Cures.
Hunc igitur veteres donarunt aede Sabini:
  Inque Quirinali constituere jugo.

Est mihi, sitque, precor, nostris diuturnior annis,
  Filia, qua felix sospite semper ero.                      220
Hanc ego quum vellem genero dare, tempora taedis
  Apta requirebam, quaeque cavenda forent.
Tum mihi post sacras monstratur Junius Idus
  Utilis et nuptis, utilis esse viris;
Primaque pars hujus thalamis aliena reperta est,            225
  Nam mihi, sic conjux sancta Dialis ait:
Donec ab Iliaca placidus purgamina Vesta
  Detulerit flavis in mare Tibris aquis,
Non mihi detonsos crines depectere buxo,
  Non ungues ferro subsecuisse licet:                       230
Non tetigisse virum; quamvis Jovis ille sacerdos,
  Quamvis perpetua sit mihi lege datus.
Tu quoque ne propera: melius tua filia nubet,
  Ignea quum pura Vesta nitebit humo.

Tertia post Nonas removere Lycaona Phoebe                   235
  Fertur: et a tergo non habet Ursa metum.
Tunc ego me memini Ludos in gramine Campi
  Adspicere, et didici, lubrice Tibri, tuos.
Festa dies illis, qui lina madentia ducunt,
  Quique tegunt parvis aera recurva cibis.                  240

Mens quoque numen habet. Menti delubra videmus
  Vota metu belli, perfide Poene, tui.
Poene, rebellaras: et leto Consulis omnes
  Attoniti Mauras pertimuere manus.
Spem metus expulerat, quum Menti vota Senatus               245
  Suscipit; et melior protinus illa venit.
Adspicit instantes mediis sex lucibus Idus
  Illa dies, qua sunt vota soluta deae.

Vesta, fave! tibi nunc operata resolvimus ora,
  Ad tua si nobis sacra venire licet.                       250
In prece totus eram; coelestia numina sensi,
  Laetaque purpurea luce refulsit humus.
Non equidem vidi--valeant mendacia vatum--
  Te, dea; nec fueras adspicienda viro.
Sed quae nescieram, quorumque errore tenebar,               255
  Cognita sunt nullo praecipiente mihi.
Dena quater memorant habuisse Palilia Romam,
  Quum flammae custos aede recepta sua est.
Regis opus placidi, quo non metuentius ullum
  Numinis ingenium terra Sabina tulit.                      260
Quae nunc aere vides, stipula tunc tecta videres,
  Et paries lento vimine textus erat.
Hic locus exiguus, qui sustinet atria Vestae,
  Tunc erat intonsi regia magna Numae.
Forma tamen templi, quae nunc manet, ante fuisse            265
  Dicitur: et formae causa probanda subest.
Vesta eadem est, et Terra: subest vigil ignis utrique,
  Significant sedem terra focusque suam.
Terra pilae similis, nullo fulcimine nixa,
  Aëre subjecto tam grave pendet onus.                      270
[Ipsa volubilitas libratum sustinet orbem:
  Quique premat partes, angulus omnis abest.
Quumque sit in media rerum regione locata,
  Et tangat nullum plusve minusve latus;
Ni convexa foret, parti vicinior esset,                     275
  Nec medium terram mundus haberet onus.]
Arce Syracosia suspensus in aëre clauso
  Stat globus, immensi parva figura poli;
Et quantum a summis, tantum secessit ab imis
  Terra. Quod ut fiat, forma rotunda facit.                 280
Par facies templi: nullus procurrit in illo
  Angulus. A pluvio vindicat imbre tholus.
Cur sit virgineis, quaeris, dea culta ministris.
  Inveniam causas hac quoque parte suas.
Ex Ope Junonem memorant Cereremque creatas                  285
  Semine Saturni: tertia Vesta fuit.
Utraqe nupserunt: ambae peperisse feruntur:
  De tribus impatiens restitit una viri.
Quid mirum, virgo si virgine laeta ministra
  Admittet castas in sua sacra manus?                       290
Nec tu aliud Vestam, quam vivam intellige flammam;
  Nataque de flamma corpora nulla vides.
Jure igitur virgo est, quae semina nulla remittit,
  Nec capit: et comites virginitatis habet.
Esse diu stultus Vestae simulacra putavi:                   295
  Mox didici curvo nulla subesse tholo.
Ignis inexstinctus templo celatur in illo;
  Effigiem nullam Vesta, nec ignis, habent.
Stat vi terra sua: vi stando Vesta vocatur;
  Causaque par Graii nominis esse potest.                   300
At focus a flammis, et quod fovet omnia, dictus:
  Qui tamen in primis aedibus ante fuit.
Hinc quoque vestibulum dici reor: inde precando
  Affamur Vestam, Quae loca prima tenes.
Ante focos olim longis considere scamnis                    305
  Mos erat, et mensae credere adesse deos.
Nunc quoque, quum fiunt antiquae sacra Vacunae,
  Ante Vacunales stantque sedentque focos.
Venit in hos annos aliquid de more vetusto:
  Fert missos Vestae pura patella cibos.                    310
Ecce, coronatis panis dependet asellis,
  Et velant scabras florea serta molas.
Sola prius furnis torrebant farra coloni;
  Et Fornacali sunt sua sacra deae.
Suppositum cineri panem focus ipse parabat,                 315
  Strataque erat tepido tegula quassa solo.
Inde focum servat pistor, dominamque focorum,
  Et quea pumiceas versat asella molas.
Praeteream, referamne tuum, rubicunde Priape,
  Dedecus? est multi fabula parva joci.                     320
Turrigera frontem Cybele redimita corona
  Convocat aeternos ad sua festa deos.
Convocat et Satyros, et, rustica numina, Nymphas.
  Silenus, quamvis nemo vocarat, adest.
Nec licet, et longum est epulas narrare deorum:             325
  In multo nox est pervigilata mero.
Hi temere errabant in opacae vallibus Idae:
  Pars jacet, et molli gramine membra levat.
Hi ludunt, hos somnus habet; pars brachia nectit,
  Et viridem celeri ter pede pulsat humum.                  330
Vesta jacet, placidamque capit secura quietem,
  Sicut erat positum cespite fulta caput.
At ruber hortorum custos Nymphasque deasque
  Captat, et errantes fertque refertque pedes.
Adspicit et Vestam; dubium, Nymphamne putarit,              335
  An scierit Vestam: scisse sed ipse negat.
Spem capit obscenam, furtimque accedere tentat,
  Et fert suspensos, corde micante, gradus.
Forte senex, quo vectus erat, Silenus asellum
  Liquerat ad ripas lene sonantis aquae.                    340
Ibat, ut inciperet, longi deus Hellesponti,
  Intempestivo quum rudit ille sono.
Territa voce gravi surgit dea. Convolat omnis
  Turba; per infestas effugit ille manus.
[Lampsacos hoc animal solita est mactare Priapo:            345
  Apta asini flammis indicis exta damus.]
Quem tu, diva memor, de pane monilibus ornas.
  Cessat opus: vacuae conticuere molae.
Nomine, quam pretio celebratior, arce Tonantis,
  Dicam, Pistoris quid velit ara Jovis.                     350
Cincta premebantur trucibus Capitolia Gallis:
  Fecerat obsidio jam diuturna famem.
Jupiter, ad solium Superis regale vocatis,
  Incipe, ait Marti. Protinus ille refert:
Scilicet, ignotum est, quae sit fortuna meorum;             355
  Et dolor hic animi voce querentis eget?
Si tamen, ut referam breviter mala juncta pudori,
  Exigis: Alpino Roma sub hoste jacet.
Haec est, cui fuerat promissa potentia rerum,
  Jupiter? hanc terris impositurus eras?                    360
Jamque suburbanos Etruscaque contudit arma.
  Spes erat in cursu; nunc Lare pulsa suo est.
Vidimus ornatos serata per atria picta
  Veste triumphales occubuisse senes;
Vidimus Iliacae transferri pignora Vestae                   365
  Sede. Putant aliquos scilicet esse deos.
At si respicerent, qua vos habitatis in arce,
  Totque domos vestras obsidione premi:
Nil opis in cura scirent superesse deorum,
  Et data sollicita tura perire manu.                       370
Atque utinam pugnae pateat locus! arma capessant;
  Et, si non poterunt exsuperare, cadant.
Nunc inopes victus, ignavaque fata timentes,
  Monte suo clauses barbara turba premit.
Tum Venus, et lituo pulcher trabeaque Quirinus,             375
  Vestaque pro Latio multa locuta suo.
Publica, respondit, cura est pro moenibus istis,
  Jupiter, et poenas Gallia victa dabit.
Tu modo, quae desunt fruges, superesse putentur,
  Effice, nec sedes desere Vesta, tuas.                     380
Quodcumque est Cereris solidae cava machina frangat,
  Mollitamque manu duret in igne focus.
Jusserat: et fratris virgo Saturnia jussis
  Annuit: et mediae tempora noctis erant.
Jam ducibus somnum dederat labor. Increpat illos            385
  Jupiter, et sacro, quid velit, ore docet:
Surgite, et in medios de summis arcibus hostes
  Mittite, quam minime tradere vultis, opem.
Somnus abit, quaeruntque novis ambagibus acti,
  Tradere quam nolint et jubeantur, opem.                   390
Ecce, Ceres visa est. Jaciunt Cerealia dona.
  Jacta super galeas scutaque longa sonant.
Posse fame vinci spes excidit. Hoste repulso
  Candida Pistori ponitur ara Jovi.--
Forte revertebar festis Vestalibus illac,                   395
  Qua Nova Romano nunc via juncta Foro est.
Huc pede matronam vidi descendere nudo:
  Obstupui, tacitus sustinuique gradum.
Sensit anus vicina loci, jussumque sedere
  Alloquitur, quatiens voce tremente caput.                 400
Hoc, ubi nunc fora sunt, udae tenuere paludes:
  Amno redundatis fossa madebat aquis.
Curtius ille lacus, siccas qui sustinet aras,
  Nunc solida est tellus, sed lacus ante fuit.
Qua Velabra solent in Circum ducere pompas,                 405
  Nil praeter salices crassaque canna fuit.
Saepe suburbanas rediens conviva per undas
  Cantat, et ad nautas ebria verba jacit.
Nondum conveniens diversis iste figuris
  Nomen ab averso ceperat amne deus.                        410
Hic quoque lucus erat juncis et arundine densus,
  Et pede velato non adeunda palus.
Stagna recesserunt, et aquas sua ripa coërcet:
  Siccaque nunc tellus. Mos tamen ille manet.
Reddiderat causam; Valeas, anus optima! dixi:               415
  Quod superest aevi, molle sit omne, tui!
Cetera jam pridem didici puerilibus annis;
  Non tamen idcirco praetereunda mihi.
Moenia Dardanides nuper nova fecerat Ilus:
  Ilus adhuc Asiae dives habebat opes.                      420
Creditur armiferae signum coeleste Minervae
  Urbis in Iliacae desiluisse juga.
Cura videre fuit: vidi templumque locumque.
  Hoc superest illi: Pallada Roma tenet.
Consulitur Smintheus: lucoque obscurus opaco                425
  Hos non mentito reddidit ore sonos:
Aetheriam servate deam: servabitis urbem:
  Imperium secum transferet illa loci.
Servat et inclusam summa tenet Ilus in arce:
  Curaque ad heredem Laomedonta venit.                      430
Sub Priamo servata parum. Sic ipsa volebat,
  Ex quo judicio forma revicta sua est.
Seu genus Adrasti, seu furtis aptus Ulixes,
  Seu pius aeneas eripuisse datur;
Auctor in incerto. Res est Romana: tuetur                   435
  Vesta, quod assiduo lumine cuncta videt.
Heu quantum timuere Patres, quo tempore Vesta
  Arsit, et est tectis obruta paene suis!
Flagrabant sancti sceleratis ignibus ignes,
  Mixtaque erat flamniae flammae profana piae.              440
Attonitae flebant, demisso crine, ministra:
  Abstulerat vires corporis ipse timor.
Provolat in medium, et magna, Succurrite! voce,
  Non est auxilium flere, Metellus ait.
Pignora virgineis fatalia tollite palmis!                   445
  Non ea sunt voto, sed rapienda manu.
Me miserum! dubitatis? ait--Dubitare videbat,
  Et pavidas posito procubuisse genu.--
Haurit aquas, tollensque manus, Ignoscite, dixit,
  Sacra! vir intrabo non adeunda viro.                      450
Si scelus est, in me commissi poena redundet;
  Sit capitis damno Roma soluta mei.
Dixit et irrupit. Factum dea rapta probavit,
  Pontificisque sui munere tuta fuit.
Nunc bene lucetis sacrae sub Caesare flammae:               455
  Ignis in Iliacis nunc erit, estque, focis;
Nullaque dicetur vittas temerasse sacerdos
  Hoc duce, nec viva defodietur humo.
Sic incesta perit: quia, quam violavit, in illam
  Conditur: et Tellus Vestaque numen idem est.              460
Tum sibi Callaïco Brutus cognomen ab hoste
  Fecit, et Hispanam sanguine tinxit humum.
Scilicit, interdum miscentur tristia laetis,
  Ne populum toto pectore festa juvent.
Crassus ad Euphraten aquilas, natumque, suosque             465
  Perdidit, et leto est ultimus ipse datus.
Parthe, quid exsultas? dixit dea. Signa remittes:
  Quique necem Crassi vindicet, ultor erit.
At simul auritis violae demuntur asellis,
  Et Cereris fruges aspera saxa terunt;                     470
Navita puppe sedens, Delphina videbimus, inquit,
  Humida quum pulso nox erit orta die.

Jam, Phryx, a nupta quereris, Tithone, relinqui,
  Et vigil Eois Lucifer exit aquis.
Ite, bonae matres,--vestrum Matralia festum--               475
  Flavaque Thebanae reddite liba deae.
Pontibus et magno juncta est celeberrima Circo
  Area, quae posito de bove nomen habet.
Hac ibi luce ferunt Matutae sacra parenti
  Sceptriferas Servi templa dedisse manus.                  480
Quae dea sit: quare famulas a limine templi
  Arceat,--arcet enim--libaque tosta petat;
Bacche, racemiferos hedera redimite capillos,
  Si domus illa tua est, dirige vatis opus.
Arserat obsequio Semele Jovis: accipit Ino                  485
  Te, puer, et summa sedula nutrit ope.
Intumuit Juno, raptum quod pellice natum
  Educet. At sanguis ille sororis erat.
Hinc agitur furiis Athamas, et imagine falsa:
  Tuque cadis patria, parve Learche, manu.                  490
Maesta Learcheas mater tumulaverat umbras,
  Et dederat miseris omnia justa rogis:
Haec quoque, funestos ut erat laniata capillos,
  Prosilit, et cunis te, Melicerta, rapit.
Est spatio contracta brevi, freta bina repellit,            495
  Unaque pulsatur terra duabus aquis.
Huc venit insanis natum complexa lacertis,
  Et secum e celso mittit in alta jugo.
Excipit illaesos Panope centumque sorores,
  Et placido lapsu per sua regna ferunt.                    500
Nondum Lencotheë, nondum puer ille Palaemon
  Vorticibus densis Tibridis ora tenent.
Lucus erat: dubium Semelae Stimulaene vocetur;
  Maenadas Ausonias incoluisse ferunt.
Quaerit ab his Ino, quae gens foret. Arcadas esse           505
  Audit, et Evandrum sceptra tenere loci.
Dissimulata deam Latias Saturnia Bacchas
  Instimulat fictis insidiosa sonis:
O nimium faciles! O toto pectore captae!
  Non venit haec nostris hospes amica choris.               510
Fraude petit, sacrique parat cognoscere ritum;
  Quo possit poenas pendere, pignus habet.
Vix bene desierat; complent ululatibus auras
  Thyades effusis per sua colla comis:
Iniiciuntque manus, puerumque revellere pugnant.            515
  Quos ignorat adhuc, invocat illa deos:
Dique, virique loci, miserae succurrite matri.
  Clamor Aventini saxa propinqua ferit.
Appulerat ripae vaccas Oetaeus Iberas:
  Audit, et ad vocem concitus urget iter.                   520
Herculis adventu, quae vim modo ferre parabant,
  Turpia femineae terga dedere fugae.
Quid petis hinc,--cognorat enim--matertera Bacchi?
  An numen, quod me, te quoque vexat, ait?
Illa docet partim, partim praesentia nati                   525
  Continet, et Furiis in scelus isse pudet.
Rumor--ut est velox--agitatis pervolat alis:
  Estque frequens, Ino, nomen in ore tuum.
Hospita Carmentis fidos intrasse penates
  Diceris, et longam deposuisse famem.                      530
Liba sua properata manu Tegeaea sacerdos
  Traditur in subito cocta dedisse foco.
Nunc quoque liba juvant festis Matralibus illam;
  Rustica sedulitas gratior arte fuit.
Nunc, ait, O vates, venientia fata resigna,                 535
  Qua licet: hospitiis hoc, precor, adde meis.
Parva mora est: coelum vates ac numina sumit,
  Fitque sui toto pectore plena dei.
Vix illam subito posses cognoscere; tanto
  Sanctior, et tanto, quam modo, major erat.                540
Laeta canam; gaude, defuncta laboribus, Ino!
  Dixit, et huic populo prospera semper ades!
Numen eris pelagi: natum quoque pontus habebit.
  In nostris aliud sumite nomen aquis.
Leucotheë Graiis, Matuta vocabere nostris;                  545
  In portus nato jus erit omne tuo.
Quem nos Portunum, sua lingua Palaemona dicet.
  Ite, precor, nostris aequus uterque locis!
Annuerant: promissa fides: posuere labores;
  Nomina mutarunt: hic deus, illa dea est.                  550
Cur vetet ancillas accedere, quaeritis. Odit,
  Principiumque odii, si sinat ipsa, canam.
Una ministrarum solita est, Cadmeï, tuarum
  Saepe sub amplexus coujugis ire tui.
Improbus hanc Athamas furtim dilexit: ab illa               555
  Comperit agricolis semina tosta dari.
Ipsa quidem fecisse negat, sed fama recepit.
  Hoc est, cur odio sit tibi serva manus.
Non tamen hanc pro stirpe sua pia mater adoret:
  Ipsa parum felix visa fuisse parens.                      560
Alterius prolem melius mandabitis illi;
  Utilior Baccho quam fuit ipsa suis.
Hanc tibi, Quo properas, memorant dixisso, Rutili?
  Luce mea Marso Consul ab hoste cades.
Exitus accessit verbis: flumenque Toleni                    565
  Purpureum mixtis sanguine fluxit aquis.
Proximus annus erat: Pallantide caesus eadem
  Didius hostiles ingeminavit opes.
Lux eadem, Fortuna, tua est, auctorque, locusque.
  Sed superinjectis quis latet aede togis?                  570
Servius est: hoc constat enim. Sed causa latendi
  Discrepat, et dubium me quoque mentis habet.
Dum dea furtivos timide profitetur amores,
  Coelestemque homini concubuisse pudet;
--Arsit enim magna correpta cupidine regis,                 575
  Caecaque in hoc uno non fuit illa viro--
Nocte domum parva solita est intrare fenestra:
  Unde Fenestellae nomina porta tenet.
Nunc pudet, et vultus velamine celat amatos,
  Oraque sunt multa regia tecta toga.                       580
An magis est verum, post Tulli funera plebem
  Confusam placidi morte fuisse ducis?
Nec modus ullus erat: crescebat imagine luctus,
  Donec eam positis occuluere togis.
Tertia causa mihi spatio majore canenda est:                585
  Nos tamen adductos intus agemus equos.
Tullia, conjugio sceleris mercede peracto,
  His solita est dictis exstimulare virum:
Quid juvat esse pares, te nostrae caede sororis,
  Meque tui fratris, si pia vita placet?                    590
Vivere debuerant et vir meus, et tua conjux,
  Si nullum ausuri majus eramus opus.
Et caput et regnum facio dotale parentis.
  Si vir es, i, dictas exige dotis opes!
Regia res scelus est. Socero cape regna necato,             595
  Et nostras patrio sanguine tinge manus.
Talibus instinctus solio privatus in alto
  Sederat: attonitum vulgus ad arma ruit.
Hinc cruor, hinc caedes: infirmaque vincitur aetas.
  Sceptra gener socero rapta Superbus habet.                600
Ipse sub Esquiliis, ubi erat sua regia, caesus
  Concidit in dura sanguinolentus humo.
Filia carpento patrios initura Penates
  Ibat per medias alta feroxque vias.
Corpus ut adspexit, lacrimis auriga profusis                605
  Restitit. Hunc tali corripit illa sono:
Vadis? an exspectas pretium pietatis amarum?
  Duc, inquam, invitas ipsa per ora rotas!
Certa fides facti, dictus Sceleratus ab illa
  Vicus, et aeterna res ea pressa nota.                     610
Post tamen hoc ausa est templum, monumenta parentis,
  Tangere: mira quidem, sed tamen acta loquar.
Signum erat in solio residens sub imagine Tulli:
  Dicitur hoc oculis opposuisse manum.
Et vox audita est, Vultus abscondite nostros,               615
  Ne natae videant ora nefanda meae.
Veste data tegitur: vetat hanc Fortuna moveri:
  Et sic e templo est ipsa locuta suo:
Ore revelato qua primum luce patebit
  Servius haec positi prima pudoris erit.                   620
Parcite, matronae, vetitas attingere vestes:
  Sollemni satis est voce movere preces:
Sitque caput semper Romano tectus amictu,
  Qui rex in nostra septimus urbe fuit.
Arserat hoc templum: signo tamen ille pepercit              625
  Ignis: opem nato Mulciber ipse tulit.
Namque pater Tulli Vulcanus, Ocresia mater,
  Praesignis facie, Corniculana fuit.
Hanc secum Tanaquil, sacris de more peractis,
  Jussit in ornatum fundere vina focum.                     630
Hic inter cineres obsceni forma virilis
  Aut fuit, aut visa est: sed fuit illa magis.
Jussa loco captiva fovet, Conceptus ab illa
  Servius a coelo semina gentis habet.
Signa dedit genitor, tum quum caput igne corusco            635
  Contigit, inque coma flammeus arsit apex.

Te quoque magnifica, Concordia, dedicat aede
  Livia, quam caro praestitit illa viro.
Disce tamen, veniens aetas, ubi Livia nunc est
  Porticus, immensae tecta fuisse domus.                    640
Urbis 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

                                                                                                                            645
  Totque 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.                     650
Et 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 avorum
  Magnus et in magno semper honore fuit.
Cantabat fanis, cantabat tibia ludis:
  Cantabat maestis tibia funeribus.                         660
Dulcis 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.                     670
Rure dapes parat ille suo, turbamque canoram
  Convocat. Ad festas convenit illa dapes.
Nox erat, et vinis oculique animique natabant,
  Quum praecomposito nuntius ore venit:
Atque ita, Quid cessas convivia solvere? dixit:             675
  Auctor vindictae jam venit, ecce, tuae!
Nec mora; convivae valido titubantia vino
  Membra movent: dubii stantque labantque pedes.
At dominus, Discedite, ait; plaustroque morantes
  Sustulit. In plaustro sirpea lata fuit.                   680
Alliciunt 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                685
  Fallere, personis imperat ora tegi.
Admiscetque alios, et, ut hunc tibicina coetum
  Augeat, in longis vestibus ire jubet.
Sic reduces bene posse tegi, ne forte notentur
  Contra collegae jussa redisse sui.                        690
Res 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,                695
  Estque sub inventis haec quoque turba meis.
Prima terebrato per rara foramina buxo,
  Ut daret, effeci, tibia longa sonos.
Vox placuit: liquidis faciem referentibus undis
  Vidi virgineas intumuisse genas.                          700
Ars mihi non tanti est; valeas, mea tibia! dixi.
  Excipit abjectam cespite ripa suo.
Inventam Satyrus primum miratur, et usum
  Nescit; at inflatam sentit habere sonum;
Et modo dimittit digitis, modo concipit auras.              705
  Jamque 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.                 710
Tertia 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:          715
  Cras 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.                     720
Scilicet hic olim Volscos Aequosque fugatos
  Viderat in campis, Algida terra, tuis.
Unde suburban o clarus, Tuberte, triumpho
  Vectus es in niveis, Postume, victor equis.

Jam sex et totidem luces de mense supersunt:                725
  Huic 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 noctem
  Pellit, et e pratis uda pruina fugit;                     730
Reddita, 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;                 735
  Et 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.                   740
Solliciti terrentur equi, frustraque retenti
  Per scopulos dominum duraque saxa trahunt.
Exciderat curru, lorisque morantibus artus
  Hippolytus lacero corpore raptus erat:
Reddideratque animam, multum indignante Diana.              745
  Nulla, 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:                     750
Tunc, 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                  755
  Celat: Aricino Virbius ille lacu.
At Clymenus Clothoque dolent, haec, fila reneri,
  Hic, fieri regni jura minora sui.
Jupiter exemplum veritus direxit in ilium
  Fulmina, qui nimiae moverat artis opem.                   760
Phoebe, 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,            765
  Per 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:                 775
  In 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.                  780
Plebs colit hanc, quia, qui posuit, de plebe fuisse
  Fertur, et ex humili sceptra tulisse loco.
Convenit et servis, serva quia Tullius ortus
  Constituit dubiae templa propinqua deae.

Ecce suburbana rediens male sobrius aede                    785
  Ad stellas aliquis talia verba jacit:
Zona latet tua nunc, et eras fortasse latebit.
  Dehinc erit, Orion, adspicienda mihi.
At si non esset potus, dixisset eadem
  Venturum tempus solstitiale die.                          790
Lucifero subeunte Lares delubra tulerunt,
  Hic, ubi fit docta multa corona manu.
Tempus idem Stator aedis habet, quara Romulus olim
  Ante Palatini condidit ora jugi.

Tot restant de mense dies, quot nomina Parcis,              795
  Quum 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.                    800
Sic ego. Sic Clio, Clari monumenta Philippi
  Adspicis, 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;               805
  Et 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!                       810
Sic cecinit Clio: doctae assensere sorores.
  Annuit Alcides, increpuitque lyram.


NOTES:

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 than _poeta 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) _antea_ montem 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. For _faciant
mensem luces_, one of the best MSS. reads _faciam 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 that _nomina_ may be used here in the sense of _fame,
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 mensis_ IV. 85. like _honor
coeli, honor templorum_.

58. _Suburbani_. See on III. 688. Places which were not very remote from
Rome, were called _suburban_. 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. For
_Lanuvium_, most MSS. read _Lavinium_, but this offends the metre.

61. _Tibur Argeo positum colono_. Hor. Car. II. 6, 5. See on IV. 71.
Tibur, now _Tivoli_, 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 Romans _Juventas_, 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 the _juvenes_, 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, from _jungo_, 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
derived _a carne_. The Fathers of the Church, on the other hand, as they
join their Cardea or Carda with deities, named Forculus and Limininus,
(from _fores_ and _limen_) deduced her name from _Cardo_, 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. read _antiqui_. 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. reads
_Tiberini_, three _Tiberinae Hilernae.--Helerni, Hilerni and Hylerni_,
are various readings. Who or what Helernus was is totally unknown.
Heinsius thinks that the _lucus Helerni_ might have been the same with
the _lucus 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 said _sacra ferre_. For _ferunt_, one MS. reads
_canunt_.

107. _Cranen_. Two MSS. read _Granen_, which has been received into the
text by Heinsius and Gierig. Two have _Gramen_, one _Grangen_.--
_Priores_, the ancients. See I. 329, IV. 329.

113. _Dixisset. Si_. is understood. The copyists stumbled at this
ellipse, for four MSS. read _Huic si quis_, one _si dixit_, another _quum
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. reads
_spinam_.

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 the _aquifolium_ by 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 aluco_ of 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 is _Nen. 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.

181 _Sextis 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. read _rectae_, one _dextrae_. 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. _Duello_ the same as _bello_. _Duellum_ is 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. "_Captus_ qui uti aliqua re non potest, Liv. ii. 36: _omnibus
membris captus_. xxii. 2: _captus oculis_, ubi vid. Duker," Gierig.
Upwards of Twenty MSS. read _caecus_, two _cassus_, compare Virg. aen. II.
85.

205. Before the temple of Bellona was a small _area_, or open place,
which reached to the upper part of the Circus Flaminius. In the _area_
before 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.
--_Templo_ is the reading of two MSS. of high character, all the rest
read _tergo_.

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 to _Mehercle_ (The Greeks who rendered _Fidius_ by [Greek:
pistios], made him the same with Hercules); that Semo, which is, perhaps,
a contraction of _Semihomo_, is equivalent to _Indiges_, and, therefore,
corresponds pretty exactly with the [Greek: haeros] of the Greeks, in its
later sense. (Mythology, p. 273). For _Pater Semo_, see on III. 775. Most
MSS. read _Semi_-_pater_, some _Semicaper_, 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_. The _pater Sabinus_ of 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 between _Semoni_ and _Simoni_. 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 have _detonso_, two _detenso_, three _detonsum_, one
_detonsa_, another _dentoso_, two give the present reading. _Detonsi
crines_ does 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 humus_ is the reading of all the MSS. but two,
which have _humo_. 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
expected _Phoebus_. He probably meant an allusion to Diana, who had
transformed Callisto. Phoebe seems to be put for _night_.

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 magni_ were 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 the _Regia_ and the _Atrium 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 facit _terram_, 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. read
_quae 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, _volubilitas_ et _angulus_. 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. The
_orbis rotundus_ is 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 have
_arte.--Syracosio_. All the MSS. read _Syracusio_, 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 a _vi 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 have _Quae famur Vesta_,
others _Quae famur vestra est_, or _Quae f. Vestam_; one _Quaeramus
Vestam_, another _Quaeramur_, another _Dicimus 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. 391 _et 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. read _collibus_.

329. _Brachia nectit_, scil. in the dance. Compare Hor. Car. II. 12. 17.
In both these places _brachia_ is, 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 to
_quem_ (v. 347,) is _ille_, (v. 344) which, though Krebs asks, "Asinus an
Priapus?" is, beyond question, the latter; unless, with Neapolis, we read
_illa_, and then the antecedent would be the _ille_ of 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
read _jacit_, or some such word, governed of Lampsacos, for _damus_. 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 vocant _buccellas_. Soli Siculi hanc
vocem hodie retinent qui materna lingua hujusmodi panes dicunt
_buccellatos_; Castellani vocant _rosquillas_." 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. read _Discant_, or _Dicant 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_,
like _aurata_, which is the reading of two MSS. may mean simply adorned
with brass. Lipsius proposed _cerata_; Heinsius _reserata_, which agrees
with the _patentia atria_ of Livy, the _patentes domos_ of 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 after _deos_, 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_. The _lituus_ was 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 fuit_ Lacus 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 of _velo_.

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. _Etiam_ in 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 have
_ferunt_.

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 read _aquis_, which is the reading of
Heinsius and Gierig, and which, though less picturesque, is more probably
the right one. In favour of _equis_, may be quoted Met. xv. 189, _quumque
albo Lucifer exit Clarus equo_; for _aquis_: _Qualis ab Eois Lucifer
ortus_ (or _exit) 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. read _navis iter_, which Heinsius
and Gierig have received; one has _vatis 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 is _lucus 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 the _Stimula_ of 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 take _Aurora_ in this place, like _aura_, 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 the _Clara 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 they _did_ originally
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_, like _amnis Eridani, amnis Cocyti_. The Tolenus,
now the _Turano_, 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 has
_purpureo_, 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 back _purpureum_, and joining it with the verb, and not with
_flumen_. The verse thus strikingly reminds one of these lines of Milton:
"While smooth Adonis from his native rock _Ran purple_ to 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 read _Porcius_, 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.
_apud_ Nonium) 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. read
_Fenestratae_, others _Fenestrile_, _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 the _Virbius Clivus_; by Solinus,
the _Clivus Olbius_; and Festus mentions the _Vicus Orbius_. Were it not
for these Latin testimonies, one might almost suspect that Dionysius
meant to intimate that it was at first called the _Vicus Felix_.

612. _Sub. imag. Tul_. which represented Tullius.

619. _Ore_, etc. "_Pudor_ intel, 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 the _matronae_, 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. read
_sextus 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 read _paratis_, which
Heinsius and Gierig have received, Of the common reading, Heinsius says,
"Quomodo peracta sacra si vinum foco post affunderetur?" and Gierig,
"Vulgo _peractis_ quod 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 was _foco 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_. "_Dedicantur_ non 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 considered
_invicto_ here to be an _epithet_, and not a _cognomen_. 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 have _toga_,
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. reads _pace 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 (so _que_ must 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 have _gratae_, which I should prefer, if I
were sure that Ovid knew that the _cithara_ was the ancient and national
instrument of Greece, in opposition to the _tibia_ of Asia and Italy. The
_time_ of 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.

665. _Exilium_ was not _banishment_; it was, to use the words of Niebuhr,
"nothing but the act, whereby a man renounced the freedom of his own
city, by taking up his municipal franchise--in a city which had a sworn
treaty of isopolity with Rome." See on IV. 791. I am not however sure
that Ovid uses it here in its proper sense. See on v. 685.

666. Compare Ep. ex Pont. I. 3. 81.

669. _Servierat_, He was a freedman. According to Livy it was the
government of Tibur who had recourse to the following stratagem, when
envoys had been sent to them from Rome.

671. _Dapes_, probably a sacrifice. See on IV. 745.

671. _Auctor vindictae_, your patron or former master. The _vindicta_
used here for _liberty_, was the rod which the lictor laid on the head of
the slave who was about to be manumitted.

680. _Sirpea lata_. Several MSS. read _scirpea_ "Lego _sirpea lata fuit.
Sirpare_ veteribus pro colligare, Graecis [Greek: plekein]. Ergo
_sirpea_, colligatum, [Greek: to plegma]. Tegiticula igitur quaedam e
vimine contexta circa plaustrum erat, sudibus munita ut expanderetur ne
aliquid decideret." Neapolis. _Quae jumenta ducunt sirpea_ (Al.
_scirpea_), quae virgis sirpatur_ (scirpatur), _id est colligando
implicatur, in qua stercus aliudve quid evehitur_. Varro, L. L. IV. The
same writer makes the difference between a _plaustrum_ and a _scirpea,
tragula, vehiculum_ or _arcerra_, as it was variously called, to consist
in this, that the former was open, the latter closed. Plutarch, on this
occasion, calls them [Greek: amaxas derrhesi kuklo perikaluptomenas]. The
simple meaning is, they were sent in covered carts to Rome.

685. _Plaudits_. This is the conjecture of Pighius; almost all the MSS.
read _Callidus_, two of the best give _Claudius_, as a various reading,
some have _cautius_. There must be a proper name, and, if we are to
follow Livy, it can be no other than Plautius. This is confirmed by a
medal of the Plautian family (Eckhel, Vol. v.) bearing on one side a
female mask, with the inscription _L. Plautius_: on the other, a winged
Aurora driving four horses, with _Plancus_ inscribed. This medal
evidently commemorates the act and the time of day. Ovid, perhaps,
followed a peculiar version of the story, and it would not in the least
surprise me, if in it the musicians had been ordered by the senate to
quit Rome, and go to Tibur, for, if this trick had been played by the
desire of the senate, why seek thus to deceive them? If the musicians had
not been ordered to leave Rome, what is the meaning of vv. 689, 690? In
this case, Ovid will have used _exilium_, v. 665, in its later sense of
banishment to a certain place, He was himself _relegated_ to Tomi, and,
in his Tristia, he frequently calls himself an _exul_.

687. _Tibicina_, a sing. for a plural.

696. _Haec turba_, the _tibicines_. For the following story of Marsyas,
see Met. vi. 383. Mythology, pp. 95, 123.

711. On the XVII. Kal. Jul. the Hyades rise acronychally.--_Dodoni
Thyene_. Some MSS. read _Dodoni Dione_, and Dione was worshiped at Dodona
(Mythology, p. 105.); but Pherecydes says that the seven Hyades who
nursed Bacchus, were also called Dodonides, and Thyene is, in him, one of
them. See Hygin. Astr. Il. 21.

712. _Agen. bov_. See on III. 658. IV. 717.

713. _Purg. Vestae_. Sec v. 227.

715. On the XVI. Kal. Favonius begins to blow.

717. On the same day (XVI. Kal.) the upper part of Orion rises
acronychally. How Neapolis blunders here! "Eadem luce cum Sole Orion
simul emergit; nec est cur ambigas an agat de ortu cosmico."

718. None of the commentators makes any remark on this line, which is not
devoid of difficulty. Is _stella serena_ the sun, which, when in the
horizon, is on the verge of the two hemispheres? Is it Orion, of which
Hyginus (Astr. III. 33.) says, _Orionem a zona et reliquo corpore
aequinoctialis circulus dividit_? Or, finally, is _stella_ for _stellae_,
as IV. 390? But what then is meant by _geminos polos_? After this line
most MSS. insert III. vv. 401, 402.

719. _Prol. Hyr_. See V. 493, _et seq_.

720. The following night (XV. Kal.) the Dolphin rises.--_Continua_. See
V. 734.

721. A.U.C. 323, the dictator, A. Postumius Tubertus, triumphed after his
defeat of the Volscians and Aequians, on the Algidus. For the importance
of this victory, see Niebuhr, (II. 449--452.) who, referring to this
place of Ovid, says, that it was gained A. D. XIII. Kal. Quinctil. or
18th June, the day of Collin and Waterloo.

723. _Suburb. triump_. As the Algidus was between Tusculum and the Alban
Mount. See on III. 667.

725. On the XIII. Kal. Jul. the sun enters Cancer. Columella (R. R. xi.
2.49.) gives the same day. A temple was dedicated on this day to Minerva
on the Aventine.

729. On the XII. Kal. Jul. in the time of Pyrrhus, a temple was dedicated
to a god named Summanus. Pyrrhus entered Italy A.U.C. 473.--_Nurus_.
Aurora, who was married to his son, Tithonus.

731. _Summano_. The poet, we may observe, is not certain who this god is.
The following passages may help to remove the doubt: _Pluto qui etiam
Summanus dicitur, quasi Summus Manium_. Mart. Capella, II. p. 40. _Pluto
Summanus_, appears in Inscriptions. _Romani fulmina diurna attribuunt
Jovi, nocturna Summano_. Plin. H. N. II. 52. _Quum Summanus in fastigio
Jovis Opt. Max.--e coelo ictus esset_. Cic. Div. I. 10. P. Victor (Reg.
XI.) places in the Circus Maximus the _Aedes Ditis patris_, and a
fragment of an old Calendar has on this day _Summan. ad. Circ. Max_.
Varro, (L. L. IV.) joins Summanus with Vulcan, and says, that Tatius
built a temple to him. It is thus, I think, tolerably certain, that this
god was the same with Dis and Orcus, and with the Hades or Pluto of the
Greeks. See Mythology, p. 468.

733-762. On the evening of the same day, Ophiuchus rises.--_Patriis_,
Galatea was one of the Nereïdes.

733. _Juvenis_, Aesculapius.--_Avitis_, of his grandfather Jupiter.

736. As being Ophiuchus, i.e. the Serpent-holder.

737. See the Hippolytus of Euripides. Mythology, p. 356.

746. _Coronides_. Aesculapius, the son of Coronis.

750. See Hygin. Ast. II. 14. Mythology, pp. 385, 411.

751, 752. Heinsius, I think justly, suspected these lines.

755. Sec III. 203. Virg. aen. vii. 774.

757. _Clymenus_, Pluto. Thus Lasus (_ap_. Athen. x.) [Greek Daemaetra
melpo, Korante Klumenoio alochon].

762. _Quod vetat_, seil, to raise the dead.

763-768. On the IX. Kal. Jul. A.U.C. 537, the consul, C. Flaminius, in
opposition to the auspices, gave battle to Hannibal at the Trasimene
lake.--_Vincere_. To fight and to conquer were with Germanicus the same,
according to the poet.

769. On the VIII. Kal. Jul. A.U.C. 551, Syphax was overcome by the Roman
and Masinissa. Liv. xxx. 3-13.

770. _Hasdrubal_. It is uncertain what Hasdrubal is meant. Perhaps he
who was overcome and slain at the Metaurus, A.U.C. 547. Liv. xxvii. 49.

771. _Tacitis annis_. Compare I. 65.

773. _Honores_, the festival.

776-784. The same day was the anniversary of the dedication of the temple
of Fors Fortuna. _Dies Fortis Fortunae appellatus ab Servio Tullio rege,
quod is fanum Fortis Fortunae secundum Tiberim extra urbem Romam
dedicavit Junio mense_. Varro, L. L. V. There was another temple of this
goddess in the same place, built A.U.C. 459. _Carvilius consul de reliquo
aere aedem Fortis Fortunae de manubiis faciendam locavit prope aedem ejus
dece ab rege Serv. Tullio dedicatam_. Liv. x. 46 Fors Fortuna is
evidently the same with the Fortuna Virilis of IV. 145, and this last
name appears to have originated in a mistake, for the true name of the
goddess is Fors, not Fortis, Fortuna. _Fors Fortuna, in quo incerti casus
significantur magis_. Cic. Leg. II. 11. 28. _Aliud Fortuna est, aliud
Fors Fortuna; nam Fors Fortuna est cujus diem festum colunt qui sine arte
aliqua vivunt: hujus aedes trans Tiberim est_. Donat. Ter. Phorm. v. 6.
1. Dionysius (iv. 27.) and Plutarch (De Fort. Rom.) render it in Greek,
[Greek: Tuchae andreia], or [Greek: ischura] or [Greek: aristeutikae].
Ovid in this place agrees with them, but Cicero could hardly, I think,
have made a mistake.

776. _In Tib. rip_. It is disputed on which side of the river the temple
was. Donatus (see preceding note,) places it on the further side.
"Templum sitiun in Transtiberina regione vel ex eo patet quod Naso
subdit, vel ponte vel navicula illud adeundum." Neapolis. But, with this
critic's leave, Ovid says no such thing, he merely says that they might
go by land or by water, and, if the temple was the other side of the
river, "transmisissent flumen non _decurrissent_," as Gierig justly
observes.

781. Compare on v. 627.

784. _Templa propinqua_. Did Ovid ascribe the foundation of the two
adjoining temples to Servius?

785. _Suburb. aede_, i. e. of Fors Fortuna.

787. As this was the VIII. Kal. the belt of Orion rose heliacally on the
VI. Kal. [Greek: Maeni to auto ke] (xxv.) [Greek: Orion eoos archetai
anatellein eisi de tropai therinai]. Aëtius.

790. _Eadem die_, i. e. the VI. Kal. Pliny (xviii. 28.) says on the VIII.
Kal. Columella (R. R. xi. 2.) _VIII. et VII. et VI. Kal. Jul. Solstitium,
Favonius et calor_. Perhaps, as Neapolis says, he was here only giving
the various statements of the _Parapegmata_.

791. On the V. Kal. the temple of the Lares in the Forum, (P. Victor,
Reg. VIII.) and that of Jupiter Stator, vowed by Romulus, (Liv. I. 12.)
were dedicated.

792. _Hic_, etc. "In ejus vicinia taberna coronariae cujusdam doctae
fuisse videtur." Krebs.

795. IV. Kal. Jul. was the dedication of the temple built to Romulus,
under the name of Quirinus, on the Quirinal hill. See II. 511. It was
repaired and dedicated anew by Augustus.

796. _Trabeae_. Compare I. 37, II. 503. _Trab. Quir. tuae_. is equivalent
to _tibi trabeate Quirine_! It is a harsh mode of expression.

797. _Tempus_, etc. is equivalent to: This is the last day of June.

799. A.U.C. 575, M. Fulvius Nobilior built a temple to Hercules in the
Flaminian Circus, in which he placed the statues of the Muses which he
had brought from Ambracia. Plin. xxxv. 30. Eumenius, in Or. pro rest.
Sch. c. 7, says, that Fulvius had learned in Greece that Hercules was
Musagetes, or leader of the Muses. Heyne (Opusc. Acad. II. p. 305.)
doubts greatly of this, and I have met with nothing to confirm it. This
temple was repaired A.U.C. 767, by Marcius Philippus, the uncle by
marriage (v. 809.) of Augustus. Suet. Aug. 29.

802. _Marcia casta_. She was married to Fabius Maximus, with whose family
Ovid (Ep. ex Pont. III. l. 75.) appears to have been connected by
marriage.

803. _Sacrifico_. Ancus Marcius, _qui longe antiquissimum ratus sacra
publica, ut ab Numa instituta erant, facere_. Liv. 1. 32.

808. _Laudamus_, etc. Witness the following epithets of their goddesses,
used by the Greek poets, [Greek: eukomos, leukolenos, kallisthuros,
kalae].

812. _Lyram_. This is the reading of five MSS. the rest have _lyra.
Increp. lyr_. is simply, struck the lyre. _Threïciam digitis increpuisse
lyram_. Her. III. 3. 18. See Hor. Car. iv. 15. 1, for the meaning of the
other form.

 ... In five of the best MSS. of this poem, the following four verses
are found. They look like the commencement of a seventh book. See
Introduction, §. 5.

  _Si novus a Jani sacris numerabitur annus,
    Quintilis falso nomine dictus erit.
  Si facis, ut fuerant, primus a Marte Kalendas,
    Tempora constabunt ordine ducta suo_.



INDEX RERUM ET VERBORUM NOTATU DIGNIORUM.


Acastus ii, 40.
Acca iv, 854.
Achates iii, 603.
Achelous ii, 43. v, 343.
Achilles v, 407.
Acis iv, 468.
Acragas iv, 475.
Actiacae frondes i, 711.
Actorides ii, 39.
addere manus in vincula iii, 306.
Adrastus vi, 433.
advena, Nilus v, 268. Tibris ii, 68.
adulterare faciem i, 373.
Aeacides v, 390.
Aediles Plebis v, 287.
Aegaeum iv. 565.
Aegeus ii, 41.
Aemoniae aquae ii, 40. puer v, 400.
Aeneadae i, 717.
Aeneas i, 527. ii, 543. iii, 545, 601. iv, 37, 879.
Aeolius career ii, 456.
Aequi vi, 721.
Aequicoli iii, 93.
aequinoctium in, 878.
Aethra v, 171.
Aetna iv, 491.
Africanus, i, 593.
Aganippe v, 7.
agatne i, 322.
Agenorius bos vi, 712.
Agnalia i, 325.
agonia i, 331.
Agrippa iv, 49.
Alba iv, 43.
Alba Longa ii, 499.
Albani iii, 89.
Albula ii, 389.
Alcides i, 575.
ales, cristatus i, 455. lucis praenuntius ii, 767. Palladis ii, 89.
Algida terra vi, 722.
Almo ii, 601. iv, 337.
Alpinus hostis vi, 358.
Amalthea v, 115.
Amata iv, 879.
Amenanus iv, 467.
Amores gemini iv, 1.
Ampelos iii, 409.
Amphiaraïdes ii, 43.
Amphitrite v, 731.
Amulius iii, 49, 67. iv, 53.
Anapus iv, 469.
Anchises iv, 35.
Ancile iii, 377.
Ancus vi, 803.
Anguis ii, 243.
Anna Perenna iii, 146, 523, 654.
annales i, 7.
annua jura i, 38. ii, 851.
anser i, 454.
Antenor iv, 75.
Aoniae, aquae iii, 456. humus i, 490.
Aphidna v, 708.
apicatus iii, 397.
Appius Caecus vi, 203.
Aprilis iv, 89.
aqua, calida i, 270. Mercurii v, 673. Palaestina ii, 464.
  Virginea i, 464. Aemoniae ii, 40. Aoniae iii, 456.
  Calabra v, 162. Corsae vi, 194. Deucalionis iv, 794.
  Eoae vi. 474. Tuscae i, 500. Aquarius ii, 457.
Aquila v. 732. Romana v, 586.
ara, Jovis Pistoris vi, 350. Maxima i, 581. Pacis i, 709.
  virginea iv, 731.
Arabes iv, 569.
arbiter, armorum iii. 73. pacis et armorum v, 665.
arbutca frons vi, 155.
Arcadia i, 469.
arcana aedes iii, 143.
Arctophylax ii, 190.
Arctos ii, 189, duae iii. 107.
Ardea ii. 721.
Arethusa iv, 423.
Argei iii, 791.
Argestes v, 161.
Argos v, 651. vi, 47.
Ariadnes corona iii, 459.
Aricina vallis iii, 263.
Aricini iii, 91.
Aries iii, 867.
Arion ii, 83.
Aristaeus i, 363.
arma, civica i, 22, coelestia iii, 259. professa ii, 198.
ars, Graia vi, 662. Jani i, 268. meri v, 338. Phoebea iii, 827.
  Romana iii, 103. Syracosia vi. 277.
Ascraeae oves vi, 14.
asinus, coronatus vi, 311. Priapo mactatus i, 391.
Assaracus iv, 34, 943.
Asylum ii, 67.
Athamas vi, 489, 555.
Atlas ii, 490. v, 83.
Attalus iv, 266.
Attica iv, 502.
Attis iv, 223. v, 227.
Aventinus iv, 51.
aves iv, 814. mactatae i, 449. Palatinae v, 152.
avis fulva v, 732. Ionica vi, 175. Pygmaeo sanguine gaudens vi, 176.
augurium i, 180, 611.
Augusta i, 536.
augusta, quae sancta i, 609.
Augusti i, 531.
Aurora i, 461.
Ausonia iv, 290.
Ausonii iv, 266.
auspicium i, 168.
axis iii, 106. aligeriv,562

Bacchae Latiae vi, 507.
Bacchus i, 393. iii, 461, 481, 713, 736, 767. v, 345.
Battus iii, 570.
Bellona vi, 201.
benigna praeda, v, 174.
Berecynthia iv, 355. tibia iv, 181.
bonae aves i, 513. Dea v, 148 fama iv, 156. verba i, 72.
Bootes iii, 405.
Boreas v, 203.
boves, Erytheïdes i, 543. Iberae vi, 519. Ortygiae v, 692.
Bovillae iii, 667.
Briareus iii, 805.
Brutus ii, 717. vi, 461.

Cacus i, 550.
Cadmeïs vi, 553.
Cadmus i, 490.
caducae preces i, 182.
Caducifer iv, 605.
Caenina ii, 135.
caerula caeli ii, 487.
Caesar, Augustus i, 590. iv, 670. Germanicus i, 3, 285,
  Julius iii, 156, 702. iv, 379.
Calabrae aquae v, 162.
Callaïcus vi, 461.
Calliopea v, 80.
Callisto ii, 156.
Calpetus iv, 46.
Camere in, 582.
Camerina iv, 477.
Camillus vi, 184.
Camoena iv, 245.
Cancer i, 313.
canis, Erigoneïus v, 723. Icarius iv, 939. Niseï iv, 500.
  Rubigini mactatus iv, 936. Triviae i, 389.
Capella Olenia v, 113.
capitale ingenium iii, 839.
Capitolium i, 453. ii, 667. vi, 73.
Caprea palus ii, 491.
Capta Minerva iii, 837.
Capys iv, 34, 45.
Carmenta i, 467.
Carna vi, 101.
carpenta i, 619.
Carseoli iv, 683.
Carthago vi, 45.
Carystus iv, 282.
Castor v, 709.
Cecropidae iii, 81.
Celaenae iv, 363.
Celaeno iv, 173.
Celer iv, 837.
Celeus iv, 508.
censura v, 70, vi, 647.
Centaurus v, 405.
cerae i, 591.
Cercalia iv, 619. dona i, 683, herbae iv, 911.
Ceres i, 704. iii, 666. iv, 401, 494, 619, 645. solida vi, 381.
cerva Dianae mactata i, 387.
cessata arva iv, 617.
Chalybeïa niassa iv, 405.
Chaos i, 103.
Charistia ii, 617.
Charites v, 219.
Charybdis iv, 499.
Chiron v, 379, 413.
Chloris v, 195.
Cinyras v, 277.
Circe iv, 70.
Circus Maximus ii, 392.
claudere iii, 384.
Claudia iv. 305.
Claudius iv, 874.
Claviger, Deus i, 228. Heros i, 544.
Clausus iv, 305,
Clio v, 54.
Clotho vi, 757.
Clusius i, 130.
Clymenus vi. 757.
coelum iii, 831.
coelum et numina sumere vi. 537.
Colchos iii, 870.
Collatinus ii, 733.
colics septem i, 515.
Concordia i, 639. ii, 631. iii, 881. vi, 91.
consilium iii, 276.
Consul ii, 853.
Census iii, 199.
conventus ii, 669.
Corinthns iv, 501.
Corona Gnossis iii, 459. querna i, 614.
Coronides vi, 746.
Coronis i, 291.
Corvinus i, 602.
Corvus ii, 243.
Corybantes iv, 210.
Cosyra iii, 567.
Crassi v, 583.
Crassus vi, 465.
Crater ii, 244.
Crathis iii, 581.
Cremera ii, 205.
Creta iii, 81.
Creticus i, 594.
Crocos v, 227.
Cumaea anus iv, 158.
cunctando Res restituta ii, 242.
Cures ii, 135. iii, 94, 201.
Curetes iv, 210.
curia ii, 530. iii, 140. iv, 635. v, 63.
Curio ii, 527.
Curius v, 131.
custos, armenti ii, 277. flammae vi, 258, hortorum i, 415.
  ruris i, 391. Ursae ii, 153.
Cyane iv, 469.
Cybele iv, 191, 249.
Cyclades iv, 281.
Cyclopes iv, 288, 473.
Cyllene ii, 276, v, 87.
Cynosura iii, 107.
Cynthia ii, 91, 159.
Cynthius iii, 346.
Cythera iv, 286.
Cythereïus mensis iv. 195.
Cytheriaca myrtus iv, 15.

Dardania, domus, vi, 42. dux ii, 680. pimis i, 519.
Dardanus iv, 31.
Daunus iv, 76.
Dea, aetheria vi, 427. Arcadia i, 462. bellica iii, 814.
  Bona v, 148. docta vi, 656. dubia vi, 784. flava iv, 424.
  florum iv, 945. fornacalis vi, 314. gemellipara, v, 542.
  Maenalis i, 634. Magna iv, 194. muta ii, 583. Parrhasia i, 618.
  Praenestina vi, 62. rustica iv, 744. taedifera iii, 786.
  Thebana vi. 476. turrigera iv. 224.
Deae, cothurnatae v, 348. Palaestinae iv, 236.
December iii, 58.
Decemviri ii, 54, iv, 384.
Dei, cultores Lycaei i, 395. generis ii, 631. Iliaci i, 528.
  Ledaei i, 706. ruris i, 382. Delia v, 537.
delibare artes i, 169.
Dolphin ii, 79.
Deorum Mater iv. 263.
detecti ii, 301.
detonsae frondes iii. 237.
Deus, aequoreus v, 512. bellicus ii, 478. caeruleus iii. 874.
  celer i, 386. Clarius i, 20. claviger i, 228. Delphicus iii, 856.
  falcifer i, 234. fatidicus ii, 262. fortis iii, 850.
  Hellespontiacus i, 440. Maenalius iv, 650. nitidus iii, 44.
  pecoris ii, 271. semicaper iv, 752.
Diana i, 387. ii. 155. iii, 81. vi, 745.
Diania turba v, 141.
Dictaei greges v, 118.
Dictynna vi, 755.
Didius vi, 568.
Dido iii, 545.
Didyme iv, 475.
dies ater i, 58. comitialis i, 53. fastus i, 48.
  ferales ii, 34. intercisus i, 50. nefastus i, 47.
  nundinalis i, 54. parentales ii, 548. sementiva i, 658.
Dindymus iv, 234.
Dione ii, 461. v, 309.
Dis iv, 449.
Dodonis vi, 711.
dominus ii, 142.
donaria iii, 335.
Doris iv, 678.
draconigena urbs, iii. 865.
Drusus i, 12, 597.
duo semina rerum iv, 788.
Dux, Neritius iv, 69. perpetuus iv, 408. sacratus ii, 60.
  Tuscus iv. 884.

ebur i, 882.
Eetion iv, 280.
Egeria iii, 154, 275.
Electra iv, 31. vi, 42.
elegi ii, 3, 125.
Eleusin iv, 507.
Elissa iii, 553.
emeriti cursus iii. 43. equi iv, 68.
Eos iii, 887.
Epeüs iii, 825.
equi, aetherei iv, 674. alati iii, 416. Aricino nemore ablegati
  iii, 266. caerulei iv. 446. lunares v, 16. matutini v, 160.
  nivei iv, 374. purpurei ii, 74. rosei iv, 714. ventosi iv, 392.
Equiria ii, 859. iii, 519.
equus, flavus v, 380. fuscus ii, 314. Gorgoneus iii, 450.
  legitimus iii, 130. Medusaeus v, 8, Soli mactatus i, 385.
Erato iv, 195.
Erechthea domus v, 204.
Erichthonius iv, 33.
Eryx iv, 478, 874.
Esquiliae iii, 246. vi, 601.
Evander i, 471.
Euboicum carmen iv, 257.
expositus iii, 54, 600. iv, 563, 783.

Fabii ii, 196, 375.
Falisci i, 84. iii, 89, 843. iv, 74. vi, 49.
fallere, furta iii, 22. nomen ii, 837.
falsus, adulter ii, 808. caedes ii, 497.
famen, deponere vi, 530. exsolvere iv, 534.
Fasces i, 81.
Fasti i, 11.
Faunus iii, 291. agrestis ii, 193. bicornis ii, 268. cornipes
  ii, 361. Lycaeus ii, 424. piniger in, 84. semicaper v, 101.
Faustulus iii, 56. iv, 854.
februa ii, 19. iv, 726.
fecunda dextra, ii, 427.
fenum iii, 115.
felix campus v, 197.
Fenestella vi, 578.
Feralia ii, 569.
feriae, indictivae i, 659. stativae i, 660.
fibrae ii, 681. vi, 161.
fictile fulmen i, 202.
fila iii, 462. vi, 757. croc ii, 342.
Flamen ii, 21. Dialis ii, 282. Quirinalis iv, 910.
Flaminica ii, 27. vi, 226.
Flaminius vi, 765.
Flora v, 195.
flos vini v, 270.
focus vi, 301.
fora i, 264. iv, 188, duo i, 258.
forda bos iv. 630.
Fornax ii, 525.
Fortuna vi, 569. Fors vi, 773. publica iv, 376. virilis iv. 145.
fortunati iii, 540. v, 198.
forum i, 302. Augustum v. 552. Boarium i, 582. magnum iii. 704.
fulmineum os ii, 232.
Furius i, 641.

Gabii ii, 690.
Galatea vi, 733.
Galli iv, 361. vi, 351.
Gallus iv, 364.
Ganges iii, 729.
Ganymedes vi, 43.
Gelas iv, 470.
Gemini v, 694.
Genii iii, 58.
Genius ii, 545. v, 145.
gens, Fabia ii, 240. Herculea ii, 237.
gentiles ii, 198.
Gigantes iii, 439. v, 35.
Glaucus vi, 750.
gloriafuco perfusa i, 303.
Gradivus ii, 861. iii, 169, 677.
Graecia Major iv, 64.
Grane vi, 107.
gravis iii, 23.
Gyges iv, 593.

Hadriacum iv, 501.
Haemus i, 390.
Halcyone iv, 173,
Halesus iv, 73.
Hamadryades ii, 155.
Hasdrubal vi, 770.
hasta, belli praenuntia vi, 207, recurva ii, 560.
Hastati iii, 128.
Hebe vi, 65.
Hebrus iii, 737.
Hecate i, 141.
Hector v, 385.
Helernus vi, 105.
Heliades vi, 717.
Helice iii, 108.
Helicon iv, 193.
Helle iii, 857.
Hellespontus iv, 567.
Helorus iv, 477.
Henna iv, 422.
Hercules i, 543. Custos vi, 209.
Hernici iii, 90.
Heros, claviger i, 544. Cythereïus iii, 611. Nonacrius v, 97.
  Pallantius v, 647. Tirynthius ii, 349.
herous pes ii, 126.
Hesperia i, 498.
Hetrusci i, 641.
Himera iv, 475.
Hippocrene v, 7.
Hippolytus iii, 265. v, 309.
hirundo, ignota i, 157. veris praenuntia ii, 853,
honeste procumbere ii, 833.
honoratus i, 52.
Honos v, 23, 66.
Horae v, 217.
hostia i, 336.
Hyades v, 164.
Hyas v, 170.
Hymenaeus ii, 561.
Hyperion i, 385.
Hyperionis v, 159.
Hypsipylaea tellus iii, 82
Hyrieus v, 499.

Janalis virga vi, 165.
Jani i, 257.
Janiculum i, 246.
Janus i, 64. 127. iii, 881. vi, 119.
Iarba iii, 552.
Iason i, 491.
Icarium iv, 283.
Icarus iv, 284.
Ida Cretaea v, 115. Phrygia iv, 79, 249.
Idaeus, judex vi, 44. Parens iv, 182. puer ii, 145.
Idas v, 701.
Idus i, 56.
jejunia ponere iv, 535. solvere iv, 607.
Ilia ii, 383. iii. 11. iv, 54.
Iliaci, foci iii, 142. ignes iii, 29. opes iv, 250. Vesta vi, 227.
  urbs vi, 422.
Iliadae fratres iii, 62.
Iliades iv, 23. v. 565.
Inachia, bos iii, 658. littus v, 656.
Inachis i, 454.
inane ii, 41. vulgus 554.
Indi depoxi iii, 465.
indictae dapes iv, 354.
Indus iii, 720.
inermis iii, 716.
ingeniosus ager iv, 604.
inhonesta vulnera ii, 211.
Ino ii; 628. iii, 859. vi, 485.
intonsi avi ii, 30.
Ionium iv, 566.
Isauricus i, 593.
Ismarus iii, 410.
Itys iv, 482.
judex Trojanus iv, 121.
Iuleï, avi iv, 124. nobilitas v. 564.
Julia i, 536.
Julia domus iv, 40.
Iulus iv, 39.
Junius v, 78. vi, 26. 96.
Juno v, 231. Lucina iii, 255. Moneta vi, 183. Sospita ii, 56.
Junonale tempus vi, 63.
Junonius mensis, vi. 61.
Jupiter v, 231. Capitolinus vi, 186. Elicius iii, 328.
  Pistor vi, 350. Stator vi, 793. Stygius v, 448. Tarpcius vi, 34.
  Tonans ii, 69. Victor iv, 621.
Justitia i, 249.
Juturna ii, 585.
Juturnae lacus i, 708. ii. 603.

Kalendae i, 55.

lacrymatae cortice myrrhae i, 339.
lactens, ficus ii, 263. porca ii, 656. sata i, 351. viscera vi, 137.
lacus, Aricinus vi, 756. Curtius vi, 403. Juturnae i, 708.
  Trasimenus vi, 765.
Ladon ii, 274.
Laenas v, 330.
Laestrygoues iv, 69.
Lampsacos vi, 345.
Lanuvium vi, 60.
Laomedon vi, 430.
Lara ii, 599.
Larda vi, 169.
Larentalia iii, 57.
Larentia iii, 55.
Lares ii, 616. incincti ii, 634. Praestites v, 129.
Latinus ii, 544. iv. 43.
Latium i, 238. iii, 85.
Latoria v, 543.
Lavinia iii, 629.
Lausus iv, 54.
Learchas vi, 490.
Lemures v, 483.
Lemuria v, 421.
Leo i, 655.
Leontini iv, 467.
Lernae Echidna v, 405.
Lesbos iv, 281.
Leucadius modus v. 630.
Leucippus v, 702.
Leucothee vi, 501.
liba iii, 734.
libamina iii, 733.
Liber iii, 465, 777.
Libera iii, 512.
libera toga iii, 771.
Libertas iv, 624.
Libra iv, 386.
Libyca fera v, 178. fretum iii, 568.
Libys iv, 570.
licia iii, 267. cantata ii, 575.
Lilybaeum iv, 479.
limus iii, 759.
litigiosus ii, 660.
Livia i, 649.
Livia porticus vi, 639.
locuples v, 281.
lolium i, 691.
Lotis i, 416.
lotos iv, 190.
Luceres iii, 132.
Lucina ii, 449. iii, 255. vi, 39.
Lucretia ii, 741.
lucus Asyli ii, 67. Helerni vi, 105.
Luna iii, 883.
Lupercal ii, 381.
Luperci ii, 31, 267. cinctuti v, 101.
lustrati ii, 38.
lustrum ii, 183. iii, 120, 165.
Lycaonis ii, 173.
Lycaeum i, 395.
Lycurgus iii, 722.
Lynceus v, 711.
Lyra i, 316. Lesbis ii, 82.

Maena ii, 578.
Maenades, Threïciae iv, 458. Ausoniae vi, 504.
Maenalis, Diva i, 634. ora iii, 84.
Maeenalos v, 89.
Maeonides ii, 120.
Maeonis ii, 310.
Magnus Pompeius i, 603.
Maia iv, 174.
Majestas v, 25.
Mains v, 73.
Mamurius in, 383.
Manes ii, 535. 842.
maniplaris in, 118.
manipli in, 117.
Manlius vi, 185.
Marcia vi, 802.
mares oleae iv, 741.
Mars iii, 2, 171. v, 229. Ultor v, 577. bis ultus v, 595.
Marsa nenia vi, 142.
Martia, avis iii, 37. campus ii, 860. proles in, 59.
Masinissa vi, 769.
Mater Phrygia ii, 55.
Matralia vi, 475.
Matuta vi, 479.
Mauri vi, 244.
Maximus Fabius i, 606. ii, 241.
Medusa iii, 451.
Megalesia iv, 357.
Megarea iv, 741.
mel inventum iii, 744.
Melas iv, 476.
Melicerta vi, 494.
Melite iii, 567.
Memnonis iv, 714.
Mens vi, 241.
Mercurius v, 663.
Meroe iv, 570.
Merope iv, 175.
Metanira iv, 539.
Metellus iv, 348. vi, 444.
Motus v, 29.
Mezentius iv, 881.
militia ii, 9. iii, 244.
Miluus iii, 794.
Minerva iii, 5, 176, 681, 809. v, 231. vi, 652. Capta iii, 837.
  invita iii, 823.
monstra Tyrrhena iii, 723.
mos sacrorum v, 728.
movere i, 19, 268. iii, 11, 113. iv, 212, 373, 386, 820, 939.
Mulciber i, 554. vi, 626.
murex, Gaetulus ii, 319. Tyrius ii, 107.
Mutinensia arma iv, 627.
Mycenae iii, 83.
Mystae iv, 536.

Narcissus v, 225.
nascentia temporal, 167.
Nasica iv, 347.
Neritius dux iv, 69.
Nestor iii, 533.
Nilus v, 268.
Nisaeï canes iv, 500.
nobilitas, adoptiva iv, 22. Iulea v, 564.
nomen loco majus iii, 187.
Nomentum iv, 905.
Nonacris ii, 275.
Nonae i, 57.
Nox i, 455.
noxae deditus i, 359.
Numa Pompilius i, 43. 3. 152.
Numantinus i, 596.
numerus crescens iii, 125.
Numicius in, 647.
Numidicus i, 595.
Numitor iv, 53.
Nymphae, Cretides iii, 444. Nysiades iii, 769. Sagaritis iv,
  229. Tiberinides ii, 597.

obsessum solum iv, 646.
Oceanus v, 21. 81.
Ocresia vi, 627.
Oebalidae v, 705.
Oebalides matres iii, 230.
Oebalius Tatius i, 260.
Oenides iv, 76.
Oetaeus vi, 519.
Olenia arva v. 251. Capella v, 113.
olivifera arva iii, 151.
olor ii, 110.
Olympus i, 307.
onus, dulce ii, 760. humanum iv, 554. novum ii, 114. Urbis
  ii, 197. uteri ii, 452.
opes iii, 56. aritiquae ii, 302. ruris iv, 928.
Ophiuchus vi, 735.
Ops vi, 285.
opus i, 564. luteum i, 158. urbis vi, 641.
orbes iii, 127.
Orion iv, 388. v, 493.
Orionis Zona vi, 787.
Ortygiae boves v, 692.
Ortygie iv, 471.
Ossa i, 307.
Othryades ii, 665.

pacales flammae i, 719.
Pachyrios iv, 479.
Padus iv, 571.
Paean iv, 263.
Pagasaei, colles v, 401. Iason i, 491.
Palaemon vi, 501.
Pales iv, 640, 776.
Palilia iv, 721.
Palilis flamma iv, 798.
Palladium vi, 421.
Pallantias iv, 373.
Pallantis vi, 567.
Pallas i, 521.
Pallas: _vide_ Minerva.
Pan ii, 271.
Panes i, 397.
Pangaea iii, 739.
Panope vi, 499,
Pantagie iv, 471.
Parcae iii, 802.
pares centum iii, 127.
Parrhasia i, 478.
Parrhasides stellae iv, 577.
Parthi v, 580.
partiti carcere equi iv, 680.
pastoralis juventus ii, 365,
pastoria sacra iv, 723.
pater, hominum ii, 132. orbis ii, 130. patriae ii, 127.
Patres v, 71.
Patulcius i, 129.
Paxi, 704, 712.
pecunia v, 281.
Pegasus iii, 450.
Pelasgi ii, 281.
Peleus ii, 39. v, 408.
Peligni iii, 95, 685.
Pelion v, 311.
Pelorus iv, 479.
Pentheus iii, 721.
peragere, humum iv, 693. preces v, 680. sonos iii, 26.
Pergama i, 525. vi, 100.
Persephone iv, 452.
Persis i, 385.
Phaedra vi, 737.
Pharia juvenca, v, 619.
Phasis li, 42.
Philippi iii, 707.
Philippus vi, 801.
Phillyrides v, 383.
Phineus vi, 131.
Phocus ii, 39.
Phoebe ii, 163.
Phoebe et soror v, 699.
Phoebus vi, 707.
Pholoe ii, 273.
Phrygia iv, 265.
Phryxea, ovis iii, 852. soror iv. 278.
Phryxus iii, 858.
piamina ii, 19.
Picus iii, 291.
Pierides vi, 798.
Pilani iii, 129.
pinea, taeda ii, 558. texta i, 506.
Piraeus iv, 563.
Pisces ii, 458.
pius, lente iii, 208. stulte iv, 555.
Plautius vi, 685.
Pleiades iv, 169. v, 84.
Pleïone v. 83.
Poenus iii, 148.
poll iii, 106.
Pollux v, 710.
Polyhymnia v, 9.
pontes vi, 477.
Pontificale caput iii, 706. honos iii, 420. sacrum i, 462.
porrigere i, 646.
Porrima i, 633.
porta, Capena iv, 345. Carmentis ii, 201. Collina iv, 871.
Portunus vi, 547.
Posthumius v, 330.
Posthumus iv, 41, Tubertus vi, 724.
Postverta i, 633.
praeceps tempus ii, 400.
praeceptor arandi vi, 13.
Praenestina Dea vi, 62.
pretium i, 217.
Priamides vi, 15.
Priamus vi, 431.
Priapus i, 415.
Principes iii, 129.
principia, i, 178.
probare vi, 212,
Proca iv., 52. vi, 143.
Proculus Julius ii, 499.
procurare iii, 343,
Progne et soror ii, 629. 855.
Propontis v, 257.
prosecta vi, 163.
Proteus i, 367.
publica facta iii. 248.
Publicii v, 288.
Publicium iter v, 294.
Pudor v, 29.
Punica poma iv. 608.
purus, ager iii, 582. arbor ii, 25. dies ii, 558.
purgamina ii, 35.
purpura i, 81.
Pygmalion iii, 574.
Pyrrhus vi, 203, 732.
Pythagoras Samius iii 353.

quatuor notae v, 727.
Quinctilii ii, 378.
Quinquatria iii, 810 miriora vi, 651.
Quintilis iii, 149.
Quirinus ii, 475, iv, 46 Martigena i, 199 trabeatus i, 37.
Quirites ii, 479. iii 277. iv. 855. stra minei v, 631.

Ramnes iii, 132.
Regis fuga ii, 685. v. 728.
Remulus iv, 49.
Remuria v, 479.
Remus ii, 372. iii, 70. iv. 56, 817, 841. v, 457.
repostor templorum ii 63.
Reverentia v, 23.
Rex, nemorensis iii, 271. sacrificulus i, 333.
Rhea iv, 201.
Rhenus i, 286,
Rhodanus iv, 571,
Rhodope iii, 739.
Rhoeteum iv, 279.
rhombus ii, 575.
rogi suburbani ii, 550.
Romulus i, 29. iii, 97, vi, 84.
Rubigo iv, 907.
Rumina ficus ii, 412.
Rutilius vi, 563.
Rutuli iv. 883.

Sabini i, 273. vi, 213.
Sacer mons iv, 664.
Sagaritis iv, 229.
Salii iii, 387.
Salus Romana iii, 882.
Samos vi, 48.
Sancus Fidius Semo vi, 213.
Sapaei i, 389.
Sardona regna iv, 289.
Saturnia i, 237.
Saturnus i, 233. iv, 197.
Satyri i, 397.
scamna vi, 305.
Sceleratus vicus vi, 609.
scena testificata iv, 326.
scirpea simulacra v, 622.
Scorpios iii, 712. v, 541.
scortea i, 629.
Scythae iii, 719. iv, 82.
secessio, elementorum i, 107. plebis i, 643. iii, 664.
Semele iii, 715. vi, 503.
Senatus v, 64.
senex aequoreus i, 372.
septa i, 53.
Servius Tullius vi, 480, 571, 581, 620, 783.
Sibylla iii, 534. iv, 875.
sicca terra iv, 570.
Sidonii iii, 108.
Sidonis iii, 649. v, 610.
Sigeum iv, 279.
signa i, 2. iii, 44, 109. 650. iv, 7. v, 8, 130.
signum Minervae vi, 421.
Silenus i, 399.
Sisyphus iv, 175.
Sithones iii, 719.
Smintheus vi, 425.
Solymus iv, 79.
Somnus iv, 653.
Sparte iii, 83.
spatia iii, 126.
spica Cilissa i, 76.
spina alba vi, 129, 165.
Sterope iv, 172.
Stimula vi, 503.
stips i, 189.
strix vi, 139.
Stultorum festa ii, 513.
Stymphalus ii, 273.
Styx ii, 536. iii, 322, 802.
subitae ferae ii, 286.
suffragia ferre v, 633.
Sulla vi, 212.
Sulmo iv, 80.
Summanus vi, 731.
Sunion iv, 563.
Sylvia iii, 45.
Sylvius iv, 42.
Symaethus iv, 472.
Syphax vi, 769.
Syracuse iv, 873.
Syri ii, 474.
Syrtes iv, 499.

Tacita ii, 572.
Taenaria vallis iv, 612.
Tanaquil vi, 629.
tangere v, 74.
Tantalidae fratres ii, 627.
Tantalides v, 307.
Tarpeia i, 261.
Tarpeiae arces i, 79.
Tarquinius, Sextus ii, 691. Superbus ii, 687. vi, 600.
Tartara iii, 620. iv, 605.
Tatius i, 262.
Tauromenos iv, 475.
Taurus v, 603.
Taygete iv, 174.
Tegeaea, domus i, 545. parens i, 627. sacerdos vi, 531.
Telegonus iii, 92. iv, 71.
Temesaea aera, v, 441.
Tempestas vi, l93.
Tenedos iv, 280.
Terenti vada i, 501.
Tereus ii, 296, 856.
Terminus ii, 50, 641.
Tethys ii, 191. v, 22, 81.
Thalia v, 54.
Thapsos iv, 477.
Themis iii, 658.
Therapnaeus sanguis v, 223.
Theseus iii, 473. vi, 737.
Thestiades v, 305.
Thrace v, 257.
thura i, 341.
Thyades vi, 514.
Thyene vi, 711.
Thyreatis terra ii, 663.
Thyrsus iii, 764.
Tiberini, ludi vi, 237. ostia iv, 329.
Tiberinus ii, 389. iv, 47, 291.
tibia vi, 659.
tibicen vi, 653.
Tibrisi, 242.
Tibur iv, 71. vi, 666.
tiro iii, 787.
Titan 5, 617.
Titanes iii, 797.
Titania iv, 943.
Tithonus i, 461.
Titienses iii, 131.
Titus i, 260.
Tmolus ii, 313.
Tolenum vi, 565.
Tonans ii, 69.
Torquatus i, 601.
trabea ii, 503. vi, 796.
Trasimena littora vi, 765.
tria, corpora i, 105. verba i, 47.
tribuni iii, 663.
Trieterica i, 394.
Trinacris iv, 420.
Triptolemus iv, 550.
triste saxum iv, 504.
Tritonia vi, 655.
Trivia i, 141, 389.
triumphalis vi, 364.
Troezen vi, 739.
Troja i, 523. iv, 251. v, 389.
Tros iv, 33.
Tubilustria v, 725.
Tullia vi, 587.
Turnus iv, 879.
Tuscus, amnis i, 233. duellum vi, 201.
Tychius iii, 824.
Tydeus i, 491.
Tyndaridae fratres v, 700.
Typhoeus i, 573. iv, 491.
Typhon ii, 461.
Tyrii iii, 555.
Tyrius, murex ii, 107. paratus iii, 627. puella v, 605.
Tyros iii, 631.

Vacuna vi, 307.
Vacunales foci vi, 308.
vegrandia farra iii, 445.
Veientia arva ii, 195.
Vejovis templum iii, 430.
Velabra vi, 405.
Venus iv, 27, 36. 119, 875.
vesca iii, 446.
Vesta iii, 417, 426, 698, vi, 249, 267, 291, 299, 436.
Vestalis iii, Il. humo defossa vi, 458.
vestes intactae i, 79.
vestibulum vi, 304.
vetustas correcta i, 675.
via, Nova vi, 396. Tecta vi, 192.
victae artes iii, 101. nix ii, 220.
victima i, 335.
Vinalia iv, 863.
Vindemitor iii, 407.
vindicta vi, 676.
Virbius vi, 756.
vitta iii, 30, iv, 134.
vivax, cespes iv, 397, pater ii, 625.
vivus pumex ii, 315.
Ulixes vi, 433.
Volsci vi, 721.
volucres mellificae v, 271.
Uranie v, 55.
urbs draconigena iii, 865.
urere i, 689. iii, 503, 831.
Urion v, 535.
Vulcanus v, 725. vi, 627.
vulpes combustae iv, 681.

Zancle iv, 499.
Zephyrus v, 201.



FINIS.





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