609 (return)
[ With regard to me.—Ver.
63. He says that because he is poor she makes excuses, and pretends that
she is afraid of her husband and those whom he has set to watch her.]
610 (return)
[ Of thy own inspiration.—Ver.
5. Burmann remarks, that the word 'opus' is especially applied to the
sacred rites of the Gods; literally 'the priest of thy rites.']
611 (return)
[ The erected pile—Ver.
6. Among the Romans the corpse was burnt on a pile of wood, which was
called 'pyra,' or 'rogus.' According to Servius, it was called by the
former name before, and hy the latter after, it was lighted, but this
distinction is not observed by the Latin writers.]
612 (return)
[ The cruel boar.—Ver.
16. He alludes to the death of Adonis, by the tusk of a boar, which
pierced his thigh. See the Tenth Book of the Metamorphoses, l. 716.]
613 (return)
[ We possess inspiration.—Ver.
17. In the Sixth Book of the Fasti, 1. 6, he says. 'There is a Deity
within us (Poets): under his guidance we glow with inspiration; this
poetic fervour contains the impregnating. particles of the mind of the
Divinity.']
614 (return)
[ She lays her.—Ver.
20. It must be remembered that, whereas we personify Death as of the
masculine gender; the Romans represented the grim tyrant as being a
female. It is a curious fact that we find Death very rarely represented as
a skeleton on the Roman monuments. The skeleton of a child has, in one
instance, been found represented on one of the tombs of Pompeii. The head
of a horse was one of the most common modes of representing death, as it
signified departure.]
615 (return)
[ Ismarian Orpheus.—Ver.
21. Apollo and the Muse Calliope were the parents of Orpheus, who met with
a cruel death. See the beginning of the Eleventh Book of the
Metamorphoses.]
616 (return)
[ Linus! Alas!—Ver.
23. 'Ælinon' was said to have been the exclamation of Apollo, on the death
of his son, the poet Linus. The word is derived from the Greek, 'di
Aivôç,' 'Alas! Linus.' A certain poetic measure was called by this name;
but we learn from Athenaeus, that it was not always confined to pathetic
subjects. There appear to have been two persons of the name of Linus. One
was a Theban, the son of Apollo, and the instructor of Orpheus and
Hercules, while the other was the son of an Argive princess, by Apollo,
who, according to Statius, was torn to pieces in his infancy by dogs.]
617 (return)
[ The son of Mæon.
—Ver. 25. See the Note to the ninth line of the Fifteenth Elegy of
the First Book of the Amores.]
618 (return)
[ Slow web woven.—Ver.
30. The web of Penelope.]
619 (return)
[ Nemesis, so Delia.—Ver.
31. Nemesis and Delia were the names of damsels whose charms were
celebrated by Tibullus.]
620 (return)
[ Sacrifice avail thee.—Ver.
33. He alludes to two lines in the First Elegy of Tibullus.]
621 (return)
[ What lying apart.—Ver.
34. During the festival of Isis, all intercourse with men was forbidden to
the female devotees.]
622 (return)
[ The yawning tomb.—Ver.
38. The place where a person was burnt was called 'bustum,' if he was
afterwards buried on the same spot, and 'ustrina,' or 'ustrinum,' if he
was buried at a different place. See the Notes to the Fasti, B. ii. 1.
531.]
623 (return)
[ The towers of Eryx—Ver.
45. He alludes to Venus, who had a splendid temple on Mount Eryx, in
Sicily.]
624 (return)
[ The Phæacian land.—Ver.
47. The Phæacians were the ancient people of Corcyra, now the isle of
Corfu. Tibullus had attended Messala thither, and falling ill, was unable
to accompany his patron on his return to Rome, on which he addressed to
him the First Elegy of his Third Book, in which he expressed a hope that
he might not die among the Phæacians. To this Elegy Ovid here refers.
Tibullus afterwards recovered, and died at Rome. When he penned this line,
Ovid little thought that his own bones would one day rest in a much more
ignoble spot than Corcyra, and one much more repulsive to the habits of
civilization.]
625 (return)
[ Here.—Ver. 49. 1
Hie'here seems to be the preferable reading; alluding to Rome, in
contradistinction to Corcyra.]
626 (return)
[ His tearful eyes.—Ver.
49. He alludes to the custom of the nearest relative closing the eyes of
the dying person.]
627 (return)
[ The last gifts.—Ver.
50. The perfumes and other offerings which were thrown on the burning
pile, are here alluded to. Tibullus says, in the same Elegy—]
'Non soror Assyrios cineri quæ dedat odores,]
Et Heat effusis ante sepulchra comis']
'No sister have I here to present to my ashes the Assyrian perfumes, and to weep before my tomb with dishevelled locks.' To this passage Ovid makes reference in the next two lines.]
628 (return)
[ Thy first love.—Ver.
53. 'Prior;' his former love was Delia, who was forsaken by him for
Nemesis. They are both represented here as attending his obsequies.
Tibullus says, in the First Elegy of the First Book, addressing Delia:—]
Te spectem, suprema mihi cum venerit hora,]
Te teneam moriens, déficiente manu.]
Flebis et arsuro positum me, Delia, lecto,]
Tristibus et lacrymis oscula mista dabis.']
May I look upon you when my last hour comes, when dying, may I hold you with my failing hand. Delia, you will lament me, too, when placed on my bier, doomed to the pile, and will give me kisses mingled with the tears of grief.' To these lines Ovid evidently here refers. It would appear from the present passage, that it was the custom to give the last kiss when the body was laid on the funeral pile.]
629 (return)
[ With his failing hand.—Ver.
58. Nemesis here alludes to the above line, and tells Delia, that she,
herself, alone engaged his affection, as it was she alone who held his
hand when he died.]
630 (return)
[ Learned Catullus.—Ver.
62. Catullus was a Roman poet, a native of Verona. Calvus was also a Roman
poet of great merit. The poems of Catullus and Calvus were set to music by
Hermogenes, Tigellius, and Demetrius, who were famous composers. See the
Tristia, Book ii. lines 427 and 431, and the Notes to the passages.]
631 (return)
[ Prodigal of thy blood.—Ver.
64. He alludes to the fact of Gallus having killed himself, and to his
having been suspected of treason against Augustus, from whom he had
received many marks of kindness Ovid seems to hint, in the Tristia, Book
ii. 1. 446, that the fault of Gallus was his having divulged the secrets
of Augustus, when he was in a state o* inebriety. Some writers say, that
when Governor of Egypt, he caused his name and exploits to be inscribed on
the Pyramids, and that this constituted his crime. Others again, suppose
that he was guilty of extortion in Egypt, and that he especially harassed
the people of Thebea with his exactions. Some of the Commentators think
that under the name 'amicus,' Augustus is not here referred to, inasmuch
as it woulc seem to bespeak a familiar acquaintanceship, which is not
known to have existed. Scaliger thinks that it must refer to some
misunderstanding which had taken place between Gallus and Tibullus, in
which the former was accused of having deceived his friend.]
632 (return)
[ The rites of Ceres—Ver.
1. This festival of Ceres occurred on the Fifth of the Ides of April,
being the 12th day of that month. See the Fasti, Book iv. 1. 393. White
garments, were worn at this festival, and woollen robes of dark colour
were prohibited. The worship was conducted solely by females, and all
intercourse with men was forbidden, who were not allowed to approach the
altars of the Goddess.]
633 (return)
[ The oaks, the early
oracles.—Ver. 9. On the oaks, the oracles of Dodona, see the
Translation of the Metamorphoses, pages 253 and 467.]
634 (return)
[ Having nurtured Jove.—Ver.
20. See an account of the education of Jupiter, by the Curetes, in Crete,
in the Fourth Book of the Fasti, L 499, et seq.]
635 (return)
[ Beheld Jasius.—Ver.
25. Iasius, or Iasion, was, according to most accounts, the son of Jupiter
and Electra, and enjoyed the favour of Ceres, by whom he was the father of
Plutus. According to the Scholiast on Theocritus, he was the son of Minos,
and the Nymph Phronia. According to Apollodorus, he was struck dead by the
bolts of Jupiter, for offering violence to Ceres. He was also said by some
to be the husband of Cybele. He is supposed to have been a successful
husbandman when agriculture was but little known; which circumstance is
thought to have given rise to the story of his familiarity with Ceres.
Ovid repeats this charge against the chastity of Ceres, in the Tristia,
Book ii. 1. 300. See the Note to the passage.]
636 (return)
[ Proportion of their
wheat.—Ver. 30. With less corn than had been originally sown.]
637 (return)
[ The law-giving Mims.—Ver.
41. Minos is said to have been the first who gave laws to the Cretans.]
638 (return)
[ Late have the horns.—Ver.
6. This figure is derived from the horns, the weapons of the bull. 'At
length I have assumed the weapons of defence.' It is rendered in a
singular manner in Nisard's Translation, 'Trop tard, helas 1 J'ai connu
l'outrage fait a mon front.' 'Too late, alas! I have known the outrage
done to my forehead.'!!!]
639 (return)
[ Have patience and
endure.—Ver. 7. He addresses himself, recommending fortitude as his
only cure.]
640 (return)
[ The hard ground.—Ver.
10. At the door of his mistress; a practice which seems to have been very
prevalent with the Roman lovers.]
641 (return)
[ I was beheld by him.—Ver.
15. As, of courser, his rival would only laugh at him for his folly, and
very deservedly.]
642 (return)
[ As you walked.—Ver.
17. By the use of the word 'spatiantis,' he alludes to her walks under the
Porticos of Rome, which were much frequented as places for exercise,
sheltered from the heat.]
643 (return)
[ The Gods forsworn.—Ver.
22. This forms the subject of the Third Elegy of the present Book.]
644 (return)
[ Young mem at banquets.—Ver.
23. See the Fifth Elegy of the Second Book of the Amores.]
645 (return)
[ She was not ill.—Ver.
26. When he arrived, he found his rival in her company.]
646 (return)
[ I will hate.—Ver.
35. This and the next line are considered by Heinsius and other
Commentators to be spurious.]
647 (return)
[ She who but lately.—Ver.
5. Commentators are at a loss to know whether he is here referring to
Corinna, or to his other mistress, to whom he alludes in the Tenth Elegy
of the Second Book, when he confesses that he is in love with two
mistresses. If Corinna was anything more than an ideal personage, it is
probable that she is not meant here, as he made it a point not to discover
to the world who was meant under that name; whereas, the mistress here
mentioned has been recommended to the notice of the Roman youths by his
poems.]
648 (return)
[ Made proclamation.—Ver.
9. He says that, unconsciously, he has been doing the duties of the
'præco' or 'crier,' in recommending his mistress to the public. The
'præco,' among the Romans, was employed in sales by auction, to advertise
the time, place, and conditions of sale, and very probably to recommend
and praise the property offered for sale. These officers also did the duty
of the auctioneer, so far as calling out the biddings, but the property
was knocked down by the 'magister auctionum.' The 'præcones' were also
employed to keep silence in the public assemblies, to pronounce the votes
of the centuries, to summon the plaintiff and defendant upon trials, to
proclaim the victors in the public games, to invite the people to attend
public funerals, to recite the laws that were enacted, and, when goods
were lost, to cry them and search for them. The office of a 'præco' was,
in the time of Cicero, looked upon as rather disreputable.]
649 (return)
[ Thebes.—Ver. 15.
He speaks of the Theban war, the Trojan war, and the exploits of Caesar,
as being good subjects for Epic poetry; but he says that he had neglected
them, and had wasted his time in singing in praise of Corinna. This,
however, may be said in reproof of his general habits of indolence, and
not as necessarily implying that Corinna is the cause of his present
complaint. The Roman poet Statius afterwards chose the Theban war as his
subject.]
650 (return)
[ Poets as witnesses.—Ver.
19. That is, 'to rely implicitly on the testimony of poets.' The word
'poetas' requires a semicolon after it, and not a comma.]
651 (return)
[ The raging dogs.—Ver.
21. He here falls into his usual mistake of confounding Scylla, the
daughter of Nisus, with Scylla, the Nymph, the rival of Circe, in the
affections of Glaucus. See the Note to 1. 33 of the First Epistle of
Sabinus, and the Eighth and Fourteenth Books of the Metamorphoses.]
652 (return)
[ Descendant of Abas.—Ver.
24. In the Fourth Book of the Metamorphoses he relates the rescue of
Andromeda from the sea monster, by Perseus, the descendant of Abas, and
clearly implies that he used the services of the winged horse Pegasus on
that occasion. It has been suggested by some Commentators, that he here
refers to Bellerophon; but that hero was not a descendant of Abas, and,
singularly enough, he is not on any occasion mentioned or referred to by
Ovid.]
653 (return)
[ Extended Tityus.—Ver.
25. Tityus was a giant, the son of Jupiter and Elara. Offering violence to
Latona, he was pierced by the darts of Apollo and hurled to the Infernal
Regions, where his liver was doomed to feed a vulture, without being
consumed.]
654 (return)
[ Enceladus.—Ver.
27. He was the son of Titan and Terra, and joining in the war against the
Gods, he was struck by lightning, and thrown beneath Mount Ætna. See the
Pontic Epistles, Book ii. Ep.ii. 1.11.]
655 (return)
[ The-two-shaped damsels.—Ver.
28. He evidently alludes to the Sirens, with their two shapes, and not to
Circe, as some have imagined.]
656 (return)
[ The Ithacan bags.—Ver.
29. Æolus gave Ulysses favourable wind* sewn up in a leather bag, to aid
him in his return to Ithaca. See tha Metamorphoses, Book xiv. 1. 223]
657 (return)
[ The Cecropian bird.—Ver.
32. He calls Philomela the daughter of Pandion, king of Athens, 'Cecropis
ales Cc crops having been the first king of Athens. Her story is told in
the Sixth Book of the Metamorphoses.]
658 (return)
[ A bird, or into gold.—Ver.
33. He alludes to the transformation of Jupiter into a swan, a shower of
gold, and a bull; in the cases of Leda, Danaë, and Europa.]
659 (return)
[ The Theban seed.—Ver.
35. He alludes to the dragon's teeth sown by Cadmus. See the Third Book of
the Metamorphoses.]
660 (return)
[ Distil amber tears.—Ver.
37. Reference is made to the transformation of the sisters of Phaeton into
poplars that distilled amber. See the Second Book of the Metamorphoses, 1.
364.]
661 (return)
[ Who once were ships.—Ver.
38. He alludes to the ships of Æneas, which, when set on fire by Turnus,
were changed into sea Nymphs.]
662 (return)
[ The hellish banquet.—Ver.
39. Reference is made to the revenge of Atreus, who killed the children of
Thyestes, and set them on table before their father, on which occasion the
Sun is said to have hidden his face.]
663 (return)
[ Stonesfollowed the
lyre.—Ver. 40. Amphion is said to have raised the walls of Thebes by
the sound of his lyre.]
664 (return)
[ Camillus, by thee.—Ver.
2. Marcus Furius Camillus, the Roman general, took the city of Falisci.]
665 (return)
[ The covered paths.—Ver.
12. The pipers, or flute players, led the procession, while the ground was
covered with carpets or tapestry.]
666 (return)
[ Snow-white heifers.—Ver.
14. Pliny the Elder, in his Second Book, says, 'The river Clitumnus, in
the state of Falisci, makes those cattle white that drink of its waters.']
667 (return)
[ In the lofty woods.—Ver.
20. It is not known to what occasion this refers. Juno is stated to have
concealed herself on two occasions; once before her marriage, when she
fled from the pursuit of Jupiter, who assumed the form of a cuckoo, that
he might deceive her; and again, when, through fear of the giants, the
Gods took refuge in Egypt and Libya. Perhaps the former occasion is here
referred to.]
668 (return)
[ As a mark.—Ver.
21. This is similar to the alleged origin of the custom of throwing sticks
at cocks on Shrove Tuesday. The Saxons being about to rise in rebellion
against their Norman oppressors, the conspiracy is said to have been
discovered through the inopportune crowing of a cock, in revenge for which
the whole race of chanticleers were for centuries submitted to this cruel
punishment.]
669 (return)
[ With garments.—Ver.
24. As 'vestis' was a general name for a covering of any kind, it may
refer to the carpets which appear to be mentioned in the twelfth line, or
it may mean, that the youths and damsels threw their own garments in the
path of the procession.]
670 (return)
[ After the Grecian
manner.—Ver. 27. Falisci was said to have been a Grecian colony.]
671 (return)
[ Hold religious silence.—Ver.
29. 'Favere linguis' seems here to mean, 'to keep religious silence as to
the general meaning of the term, see the Fasti, Book i. 1. 71.]
672 (return)
[ Halesus.—Ver. 33.
Halesus is said to have been the son of Agamemnon, by a concubine. Alarmed
at the tragic death of his father, and of the murderers, Ægisthus and
Clytemnestra, he fled to Italy, where he founded the city of Phalesus,
which title, with the addition of one letter, was given to it after his
name. Phalesus afterwards became corrupted, to 'Faliscus,' or 'Falisci.']
673 (return)
[ One side and the other.—Ver.
32. For the 'torus exterior' and 'interior,' and the construction of the
beds of the ancients, see the Note to the Eighth Book of the
Metamorphoses, 1. 659. * Forced to love.—Ver. 39. This passage seems
to be hopelessly corrupt.]
674 (return)
[ Turning-place is
grazed.—Ver. 2. On rounding the 'meta' in the chariot race, from
which the present figure is derived, see the Note to the 69th line of the
Second Elegy of this Book.]
675 (return)
[ Heir to my rank.—Ver.
5. See the Tristia, Book ii. 1. 112, where he enlarges upon the rank and
circumstances of his family.]
676 (return)
[ To glorious arms.—Ver.
9. He alludes to the Social war which was commenced in the year of the
City 659, by the Marsi, the Peligni, and the Picentes, for the purpose of
obtaining equal rights and privileges with the Roman citizens. He calls
them 'arma honesta,' because wielded in defence of their liberties.]
677 (return)
[ Rome dreaded.—Ver.
10. The Romans were so alarmed, that they vowed to celebrate games in
honour of Jupiter, if their arms should prove successful.]
678 (return)
[ Amathusian parent.—Ver.
15. Venus was worshipped especially at Amathus, a city of Cyprus; it is
mentioned by Ovid as abounding in metals. See the Metamorphoses, Book x.
1. 220 and 531, B. III.]
679 (return)
[ The homed.—Ver.
17. In addition to the reasons already mentioned for Bacchus being
represented as horned, it is said, by some, that it arose from the fact,
of wine being drunk from horns in the early ages. It has been suggested,
that it had a figurative meaning, and implied the violence of those who
are overtaken with wine.]
680 (return)
[ Lyæus.—Ver. 17.
For the meaning of the word Lyæus, see the Metamorphoses, Book iv. 1. 11,
and the Note to the passage.]
681 (return)
[ My sportive.—Ver.
19. Genialis; the Genii were the Deities of pure, unadorned nature. See
the Fasti, Book iii. 1. 58, and the Note to the passage. 'Genialis,'
consequently, 'voluptuous,' or 'pleasing to the impulses of nature.']