[670] The story was that Catillus, son of Amphiaraus, settled in Italy, and that his three sons, Tiburtus, Catillus the younger, and Coras, founded Tibur. See Heyne, Excurs. 8 to this Book.
[671] Med., Pal. corrected, and Gud. originally have ‘fratres,’ which would be a weak repetition. Rom. was said to read ‘Tiburni’ (comp. Hor. 1 Od. 7. 13), but Ribbeck gives its reading as ‘Tiburthi.’ Pal. has ‘de nomine’ as in 1. 533 &c. “Cognomine dicunt” 1. 530 &c. ‘Gentem:’ in founding a city they had founded a nation: comp. 1. 248.
[672] Catillus is the same as the Catilus of Hor. 1 Od. 18. 2. Stat. Silv. 1. 3. 100 (comp. by Forb.) has a further variety, Catillus with the first vowel short. ‘Iuventus’ is used somewhat boldly of two persons (in Aesch. Ag. 109 the MSS. have Ἑλλάδος ἥβαν of the two Atridae, though the editors are doubtless right in reading ἥβας from Aristoph.), unless we suppose Virg. to include the followers of the two brothers, who are not otherwise mentioned. Argos was the city of Amphiaraus.
[673] Primam ante aciem above v. 531 &c. ‘Densa inter tela’ refers to the shower of darts (comp. 12. 408), not to ranks bristling with spears.
[674] The comParison seems to be Virg.'s own. Serv. rightly infers from it that the two brothers are horsemen, comp. 11. 465. ‘Nubigenae’ is used by other poets of the Centaurs: see Forc. Heyne rationalizes the epithet by supposing that it was originally applied to the Centaurs as dwelling in cloudy mountains, whence the legend of Ixion and the cloud. Such a notion may not impossibly have occurred to Virg. in the present connexion. Φηρσὶν ὀρεσκῴοισι Il. 1. 268 of the Centaurs.
[675] Homole (in Thessaly) is mentioned by Eur. Herc. F. 371 in connexion with the Centaurs. Othrys (also in Thessaly） was the head-quarters of the Titans in their struggle with the gods, Hes. Theog. 632. Pliny 4. 8 (quoted by Cerda) speaks of “Pindus et Othrys, Lapitharum sedes.”
[677] Silva and ‘virgulta’ are coupled again 12. 522. They express the same thing, the one collectively, the other distributively. In ‘magno—fragore’ Virg. may have thought of Il. 13. 140, Ὕψι δ᾽ ἀναθρώσκων πέτεται, κτυπέει δέ θ᾽ ὑπ᾽ αὐτοῦ Ὕλη.
[678-690] ‘Caeculus, son of Vulcan, leads troops from Praeneste and other places.’
