δάφναι see on l. 11.
Thestylis. The writer of the Greek argument says that Theocritus τὴν Θεστυλίδα ἀπειροκάλως ἐκ τῶν Σώφρονος μετήνεγκε Μίμων, apparently meaning that while in Sophron there was dialogue between women in Theocritus Thestylis is a mute, and that this is ἀπειρόκαλον (see Jahn. Hermes 2). The literary criticisms of the Scholiasts are not as a rule very acute; this one is no exception. Thestylis is needed to make the opening of the poem more than idle talk; what place there could be for speech on her part let the Scholiast see.[2] τὰν κελέβαν. The cauldron in which the magic brew was made; cf. Macbeth, iv. 1. 11.
φοινικέῳ. Crimson was especially associated with magical rites; cf. Lysias, vi. 52 καὶ ἐπὶ τούτοις ἱέρειαι καὶ ἱερεῖς στάντες κατηράσαντο πρὸς ἑσπέραν καὶ φοινικίδας ἀνέσεισαν κατὰ τὸ νόμιμον τὸ παλαιὸν καὶ ἀρχαῖον. οἰὸς ἀώτῳ fine wool (the original Homeric sense, Iliad xiii. 599; of linen, Iliad ix. 661; contra, Theocr. xiii. 27).[3] τὸν ἐμὸν βαρὺν εὖντα φίλον…ἄνδρα, 'my cruel sweet lover.' The pathos is spoilt by making φίλον predicate; cf. Eurip. Phoeniss. 1446 φἱλος γὰρ ἐχθρὸς ἐγένετ᾽, ἀλλ᾽ ὅμως φίλος: and Catullus' 'Odi et amo.'
ὡς, 'since,' not 'in order that'; cf. l. 9 note. καταθύσομαι cf. ll. 10, 159. There is no variant in the MSS., and on l. 159 Schol. k has καταδήσω φησὶν αὐτὸν τοῖς φαρμάκοις (a clear proof that he did not read καταθήσω). καταθήσομαι is generally read in all three places from a 'restoration' of the Scholiast here by Toup -- falsely. καταδέω is the usual word for 'binding by magic' (cf. κατάδεσμος, κατάδεσις), and would never be changed to the unusual καταθύεσθαι. The word must = ἐκ θυέων καταμαγεύειν, 'charm by fire magic,' and is supported by Aesch. Eumenid. 328: “ ἐπὶ δὲ τῷ τεθυμένῳτόδε μέλος…
ὕμνος ἐξ ᾿Ερινύων
δέσμιος φρενῶν.
”
[4]
δωδεκαταῖος ἀφ᾽ ὧ τάλας. The twelfth day is frequently mentioned as critical; Odyss. ii. 374, iii. 391; Ap. Rhod. i. 1079. Tr., 'Who hath not been near me, for twelve days since'; cf. l. 157. The full construction would be ὅς μοι οὐδέποθ᾽ ἵκει--δωδεκαταῖός （ἐστιν） ἀφ᾽ ὧ ἵκει. In l. 157 νῦν δέ τέ νιν οὐδέποτ᾽ εἶδον--δωδεκαταῖός （ἐστιν） ἀφ᾽ ὧτε εἶδον. For ἀφ᾽ οὗ added to these adjectives in -αῖος, cf. Xen. Hellen. v. 3. 19 “ἑβδομαῖος ἀφ᾽ οὗ ἔκαμεν ἐτελεύτησε”: Lucian, Halcyon 5 τὰ πεμπταῖα ἐκ γενετῆς βρέφη. 'Time since which' is constantly expressed in Greek by a parenthetical πολὺς χρόνος ἐξ οὗ, cf. Isocrates, 91 d οὗτοι γὰρ ἄρχοντες τῶν ῾Ελλήνων οὐ πολὺς χρόνος ἐξ οὗ κατὰ γὴν καὶ κατὰ θάλασσαν: Soph. Ajax 600 (Lobeck, ad loc.). Here that form of expression is personalized; Eurip. I. T. (e conj. Heath):
“
χρόνιοι γὰρ ἥκουσ᾽ οἵδ᾽ ἐπεὶ βωμὸς θεᾶς
῾Ελληνικαῖσιν ἐξεφοινίχθη ῥοαῖς.
”
For ταλα^ς see Ahrens, Dial. ii. 174.
[5]
ζοοί. The plural masculine is used by a woman referring to herself. Eurip. Androm. 357:
“
ἑκόντες οὐκ ἄκοντες, οὐδὲ βώμιοι
πίτνοντες αὐτοὶ τὴν δίκην ὑφέξομεν.
”
[6] θύρας. The -α^ς (Doric acc. plural) is lengthened in arsis cf. viii. 65, vii. 104. The plural would not be used in Classical Greek of a house door; but cf. Lucian, Dial. Mort. ix. 2. (Cobet reads θύραν.）
ἀνάρσιος, emphatic by its position, and almost amounting to a curse. Cf. the Homeric νήπιος…σχέτλιοι:“ εἰ μὴ Θρηικίοιο δύω υἷες Βορέαο
…ἐρητύεσκον ἔπεσσιν
σχέτλιοι: ἦ τέ σφιν στυγερὴ τίσις ἔπλετ᾽ ὀπίσσω.
”
[7] See on iv. 6; cf. xxii. 168 and Demosth. De Fals. Leg. § 21 εἷπε δὲ τοιούτους λόγους ὥσθ᾽ ἅπαντας ὑμᾶς λαβὼν ᾤχετο, 'he carried you away with him.'
[9]
ὥς νιν ἴδω, καὶ μέμψομαι. μέμψομαι is parallel with βασεῦμαι it cannot be taken as dependent on ὡς, 'in order
that I may blame,' since there is no instance of ὡς with the fut. ind. in a purely final--adverbial--sentence. The apparent instances are all to be taken as noun clauses (as ὅπως and fut. indic.) dependent on the main verb. Lucian, Βίων Πρᾶσις 1 κοσμήσας ὡς φανοῦνται: Lysias, xx. 23 παρεσκεύασαν ὡς ἂν εἴημεν: Arist. Frogs 1121:
“
καὶ μὴν ἐπ᾽ αὐτοὺς τοὺς προλόγους σου τρέψομαι
ὅπως…βασανιῶ.
”
In all there is expressed or implied a notion of 'striving' or 'precaution' (see Sonnenschein, Syntax, 369 a, and additional examples in Liddell and Scott, ὅπως, B. 2. b).
[10] ἐκ θυέων, will enchant him by fire magic; Ap. Rhod. iii. 845. ἐκ expresses the source of the spell, and is more graphic than would be the dative (of instrument).
“ οὔκουν ποτ᾽ ἐκ τούτοιν γε μὴ σκήπτροιν ἔτι
ὁδοιπορήσεις.
”
[11] ποταείσομαι ἅσυχα, δαῖμον altered by Kiessling and subsequent editors to ἅσυχε δαῖμον. But the sense is not 'submissa voce tibi, Luna, dolores meos conquerar' (Meineke); but 'I will sing my invocation in a hushed voice of awe.'
Nor has δαῖμον been rightly understood. Simaetha is not addressing the moon as the peaceful goddess of night but the daemon of magic; the counterpart in heaven of Hecatè in hell. Lines 14-16 are this very incantation addressed to the 'diva triformis,' Hecatè. Cf. Lucian, Νεκυομαντ. 465 ῥῆσίν τινα μακρὰν ἐπιλέγων ἣν οὐ σφόδρα κατήκουον: ἐπίτροχον γάρ τι καὶ ἀσαφὲς ἐφθέγγετο πλὴν ἐῴκει γέ τινας ἐπικαλεῖσθαι δαίμονας: ib. 466 τὴν ἐπῳδὴν ἐκείνην ὑποτονθορύσας: cf. ib. 469. In the magic formulae preserved to us we have constant invocations of the νεκυδαίμων, 'demon of the dead' (Brit. Mus. Papyrus XLVI) νεκυδαῖμον ὅστις εἶ, παραδίδωμι σοὶ τὸν δεῖνα ὅπως μὴ ποιήσῃ τὸ δεῖνα πρᾶγμα: Paris Pap. Z. 1496 (see E. Kuhnest, Rhein. Mus. 1894, p. 37) ὁρκίζω σε νεκυδαῖμον κατάδησον τὴν δεῖνα φιλοῦσαν, ἐρῶσαν. Throughout the first part of the poem Theocritus reproduces accurately the rites and symbolisms of the two branches of 'Fire magic' and 'Philtro-Witchcraft' (classed generally in l. 1 under (a) δάφναι, (b) φίλτρα). (1) In 'fire magic' some quickly burning substance (ἄλφιτα, 18; δάφνα, 23; κηρός, 28; πίτυρα, 33) or some relic (κράσπεδον, 53) was taken as a symbol of the object of the charm, and consumed in the fire while a charm or curse was pronounced, that as the symbol consumed so might the person consume (see ll. 21, 26, 31). So the Paris Pap. Z. 1496 foll. gives a form of charm to be used with ζμύρνα--myrrh--and fire. ᾿Αγωγὴ ἐπὶ ζμύρνης ἐπιθυομένης…πέμπω σε πρὸς τὴν δεῖνα τῆς δεῖνα…ἵνα μοι ἄξῃς αὐτὴν…εἰ κοιμᾶται μὴ κοιμάσθω ἀλλ᾽ ἐμὲ μόνον τὸν δεῖνα κατὰ νοῦν ἐχέτω, ἐμοῦ μόνον ἐπιθυμεῖτω, ἐμὲ μόνον στεργέτω (cf. Theocr. ii. 44-46) ἐξορκίζω σε ζμύρνα κατὰ τῶν τριῶν ὀνομάτων ἀνόχω ἀβράσαξ τρω-- ὡς ἐγώ σε κατακάω καὶ δυνατὴ εἶ οὕτω ἧς φιλῶ κατάκωσον τὸν ἐγκέφαλον (ll. 26, 29) ἔκκαυσον καὶ ἔκστρεψον αὐτῆς τὰ σπλάγχνα, ἔκσταξον αὐτῆς τὸ αἷμα ἕως ἂν ἔλθῃ πρὸς ἐμέ. Or an old German charm: 'Schrieb auff ein weyss glas dyse wartt ... und leg das glas zu dem feure, und sprich dise wartt: Als hayss das glas ist als hayss sy der N nach mir' (quoted by Kuhnert loc. cit.). The object burned might be made into a rough image of the person, but there was no need for this. Althaea wrought the doom of Meleager by burning a log of wood identified with him. “ καῖέ τε δαιδαλέαςἐκ λάρνακος ὠκύμορον
φιτρὸν ἀγκλαύσασα: τὸν δὴ
μοῖρ᾽ ἐπέκλωσεν τότε
ζωᾶς ὅρον ἁμετέρας ἔμμεν.--βαξξηψλ. ϝ. 140.
” (2) Charms without fire were (1) potions (l. 58); (2) spells wrought by herbs possessing occult virtues (θρόνα, 59: ἱππομανές, 48), or by representative objects acting by sympathy, Brit. Mus. Papyrus XLVI = Cambr. Antiq. Soc. Publication, ii. § 3 παραδὸς τὸν κλέπτην τὸν κλέψαντά τι: ὅσον κρούω τὸ οὐάτιον (a rough drawing) σφύρῃ ταύτῃ ὁ τοῦ κλέπτου ὀφθαλμὸς καὶ φλεγμαινέσθω ἄχρι οὗ ἂν αὐτὸν μηνύσῃ: cf. the use of the ῥόμβος, Theocr. ii. 30.
[14] Cf. Ap. Rhod. iii. 1210 “Βριμὼ κικλήσκων ῾Εκάτην ἐπαρωγὸν ἀέθλων”: cf. ib. 860.
[15] 'Making these spells as potent as those of Circe'; brachylogical comparison. Herod. ii. 134 πυραμίδα δὲ οὗτος ἀπελίπετο πολλὸν ἐλαττω τοῦ πατρός.
[16]
Perimedè: Propert. ii. 4. 18 (if reading there is sound) 'Perimedeae gramina cocta manus.' Apparently the same as Agamede of Iliad xi. 740:
“
ξανθὴν ᾿Αγαμήδην
ἣ τόσα φάρμακα ᾔδη ὅσα τρέφει εὐρεῖα χθών.
”
[17]
̂̓Ιυγξ the 'wryneck,' which was bound by the sorceress to a wheel, and spun rapidly in one direction (αἱ ταῖς φαρμακίσι γυνσιξὶν προσφιλεῖς ἴυγγες, Dionys. Paraph. de Avibus, i. 23); then used of the wheel itself, A. Pal. v. 204 (Asclepiades?)
“
ἴυγξ ἡ Νικοῦς, ἡ καὶ διαπόντιον ἕλκειν
ἄνδρα, καὶ ἐκ θαλάμων παῖδας ἐπισταμένη,
………
πορφυρέης ἀμνοῦ μαλακῇ τριχὶ μέσσα δεθεῖσα
τῆς Λαρισαίης ξείνια φαρμακίδος.
”
Lastly of any charm, Pind. Ol. iv. 35; Verg. Ecl. viii. 68 rather tamely “'ducite ab urbe domum, mea carmina, ducite Daphnim.'”
[18] ἄλφιτα…τάκεται. Here begins the use of the fire magic. τάκεται is rather strange with ἄλφιτα, but cf. Hesiod, Theog. 867 ὣς ἄρα τήκετο γαῖα σέλᾳ πυρὸς αἰθομένοιο: cf. 861 καίετο γαῖα (κάεται is given as v. l. in Scholiast, but is probably a mere gloss: τύφεται, Meineke, Frit. Hill.).
[19] 'Whither are thy wits flown'; cf. xi. 72; Arist. Eccl. 156 τάλαινα, ποῦ τὸν νοῦν ἔχεις;
[20] ἦ ῥά γέ…τέτυγμαι; a question suits the context better than an (aside) statement; but ἦ ῥά γέ τοι (MS.) is not used in interrogations.
τίν = σοί. ἐπίχαρμα (an object of) scorn; cf. xii. 11, note.[21] πάσσ᾽ ἅμα, not πάσσ᾽, ἅμα καί: cf. A. Pal. vi. 202 ζώνην τοι ὁμοῦ καὶ τόνδε κύπασσιν.
τὰ Δέλφιδος ὀστία. The meal is taken as a symbolical representation of Delphis, as the laurel and wax in 23, 28.
[23]
Verg. Ecl. viii. 83. For the chiasmus cf. v. 145. ἐπὶ Δέλφιδι, 'against Delphis'; cf. xxii. 134, 142; Propert. ii. 28. 35:
“
'Deficiunt magico torti sub carmine rhombi,
Et tacet extincto laurus adusta foco.'
”
[24] λακεῖ μέγα, 'crackles loud.'
καππυρίσασα = καταπυρίσασα: intransitive 'catching fire.'[25] οὐδὲ…εἴδομες. There is no stumbling-block in the use of the aorist here; 'the laurel burnt so quickly that we saw not even the ashes.'
[26] σάρκ᾽ ἀμαθύνοι 'so may Delphis waste his body in the flame (of love).' For the active form of expression cf. xxiv. 124; xv. 85, note.
[28] κηρόν not necessarily an image of Delphis in wax, as Horace, Ep. xvii. 76 'cereas imagines'; Ovid, Heroid. vi. 91 'Devovet absentes simulacraque cerea fingit.'
σὺν δαίμονι, 'with the aid of the daemon'; vid. supra on ll. 11, 14. For σύν cf. vii. 12; Iliad xi. 792 τίς δ᾽ οἶδ᾽ εἴ κέν οἱ σὺν δαίμονι θυμὸν ὀρίναις, 'whether you would with the favour of God.'[30] ῥόμβος ὁ χάλκεος see note on l. 17; Horace, Ep. xvii. 7 'retro solve turbinem'; Ovid, Fasti ii. 575 'tum cantata ligat cum fusco licia rhombo' (Fritzsche).
[30] ἐξ ᾿Αφροδίτας cf. vii. 112; vii. 55 ὀπτεύμενον ἐξ ᾿Αφροδίτας The preposition here expresses the agent, as in l. 7 the means.
[33] πίτυρα, 'bran' is mentioned as used in mystic rights, though differently to this ceremonial, Demosth. De Cor. § 313. θυσῶ, not 'sacrifice' but 'burn'; cf. Excursus on l. 11 (first extract). The sense of the passage is well given by Wuestemann, 'furfures in ignem coniiciam ut ad me revocem illum, te adiuvante, Hecate; tu enim firmissimum quodvis movere possis.'
τὸν ἐν ῞Αιδα κινήσαις ἀδάμαντα: ἐν ῞Αιδα, cf. i. 103. The dative ᾄδᾳ has no good MS. authority. κινήσαις (k), 'thou could'st move.' The bare optative to express possibility in a main clause is common enough in Homer and all but Attic Greek; cf. Odyss. iii. 231 ῥεῖα θεός γ᾽ ἐθέλων καὶ τηλόθεν ἄνδρα σαώσαι: Ap. Rhod. i. 767 “ὃ καὶ δηρὸν ἐπ᾽ ἐλπίδι θηήσαιο”, vid. Index, s. v. Optative. τὸν ἐν ῞Αιδα was altered to ἀναιδῆ by Taylor, whom most of the modern editors follow. MSS., Scholia, and sense are against this. τὸν ἐν ῞Αιδα ἀδάμαντα = the adamant in hell = the gates of hell; cf. Propert. v. 11. 4 'non exorato stant adamante viae'; Verg. Aen. vi. 552; Ovid, Metam. iv. 452 'carceris ante fores clausas adamante'; cf. v. 160. These are appropriately mentioned as yielding to the power of Hecate, queen of hell. Cf. also Lucian, Νεκυομαντ. 6 ἤκουον δὲ αὐτοὺς (the Zoroastrians) ἐπῳδαῖς τε καὶ τελεταῖς τισὶ ἀνοίγειν τοῦ ῞Αιδου τὰς πύλας.[35] 35, 36 A sign that the invocation is answered is given by the barking of the dogs through the town; 'the goddess is at the cross-roads: sound the brass cymbal quickly.'
ἀνὰ πτόλιν, 'up through the town'; one dog starts barking, and the rest take it up in turn. κατὰ πτόλιν would = about the town. ἄχει is not used elsewhere with an accusative of the thing struck (a cognate acc. of the sound made is common enough with all verbs of the kind, e.g. Soph. Trach. 871), but cf. Pind. Ol. x. 93: “ ἀείδετο δὲ πᾶν τέμενος τερπναῖσιθαλίαις.
” The custom of striking gongs, etc. at eclipses still prevails as in ancient times (Tacitus, Annals i. 28); at Athens this tom-tom music was used in connexion with the rites of Persephone.
[39]
39, 40 Vid. Introd. The lines express beautifully the contrast between the calm of sea and air, and the wild unrest of the girl's heart; cf. Tennyson, In Mem. xi:
“
'Calm and deep peace in this wide air,
These leaves that redden to the fall;
And in my heart, if calm at all,
If any calm, a calm despair.'
”
And in Greek where such contrasts are rare (though there is no lack of deep felt descriptions of nature's moods, Alcman 60, Aesch. Agam. 565) read Simonides' Danae (fr. 37, Bergk); cf. Statius, Silv. v. 4; Verg. Aen. iv. 522.
[43] ἐς…τρίς i. 25, note. A triple call was used in all ritual, Verg. Ecl. viii. 76; Pind. Pyth. iv. 109 ἐς τρὶς αὐδάσαισα. Dia = Naxos. The magic is here exchanged for prayer and curse.
[45] τόσσον ἔχοι λάθας sc. αὐτόν. Greek says: ἔχει με ὕπνος: φλυαρία (Plato, Rep. 336 c), ἔρως (Pind. Isth. viii. 64, etc.); so Latin 'quae te dementia cepit?'
[46] A different form of the legend, Odyss. xi. 321. Catullus (64) agrees with Theocritus. λάθας…λασθῆμεν. Theocritus is fond of expressing his comparisons thus with the same or analogous words in both clauses, i. 23; ii. 28, 108, 114; vii. 97; x. 2; v. 52, etc.
[48] ἱππομανές. It is not clear whether Simaetha here makes any use of this philtre or merely refers to its power. It is rather tempting to transpose the stanza with the next, in order to bring the ἱππομανές into connexion with the θρόνα of l. 59. The change from φιλτροκαταδεσμός here to fire magic again in 53, and again to philtres in 58, is awkward.
[51] μαινομένῳ ἴκελος cf. Ap. Rhod. i. 634 “Θυιάσιν ὠμοβόροις ἴκελαι.”
λιπαρᾶς Ovid, Heroid. xvi. 149 'nitida'; ib. xix. 11 'uncta palaestra' (Renies).[53] Verg. Ecl. viii. 91; Lucian, Dial. Meret. iv. § 5 ταύτας （τὰς κρηπῖδας αὐτοῦ） κρεμάσασα ἐκ παττάλου ὑποθυμιᾷ τῷ θείῳ, πάττουσα καὶ τῶν ἁλῶν ἐπὶ τὸ πῦρ. λέγει δὲ ἀμφοῖν τὰ ὀνόματα καὶ τὸ ἐκείνου καὶ τὸ σόν: εἶτα ἐκ τοῦ κόλπου προκομίσασα ῥόμβον ἐπιστρέφει ἐπῳδήν τινα λέγουσα ἐπιτρόχῳ τῇ γλώσσῃ, βαρβαρικὰ καὶ φρικώδη ὀνόματα, with the result that the possessor of the shoes forthwith appeared.
[58] ποτὸν κακόν, 'a deadly draught.' Simaetha overcome by her grief and pain gives way to despair. If he will not come, to-morrow I will make an end of him and all. Then she rouses herself to one more attempt by the power of magic herbs smeared on the doorway; see Legrand, Étude, p. 117, note.
[59] δέ in clause after vocative; Iliad i. 282 ᾿Ατρείδη, σὺ δὲ παυε τεὸν μένος; Eurip. Hecuba 372. Not in Comedy or Orators (Jelf. p. 134).
θρόνα magic herbs, or a brew prepared therefrom; as ἄνθεα for 'honey' in Pseudo-Phocyl. 174: “ μέλισσαμυριότρητα κατ᾽ ἄνθεα κηροδομοῦσα.
” Cf. Nicander, Alexiph. 153: “ ἦ καὶ σιραίοιο ποσιν διπλήθεα τεύξαις
σὺν δέ τε πηγανόεντας ῾οφ ρυἐ ἐνιθρύψειας ὀράμνους
ὀργάζων ῾κνεαδινγ̓ λίπεϊ ῥοδέῳ θρόνα.
”
[60] καθ᾽ ὑπέρτερον, 'on the upper part of the lintel'; cf. Aratus 497 καθ᾽ ὑπέρτερα γαίης ἇς ἔτι καὶ νύξ. MSS. have καὶ νῦν, and then insert (except k) ἐκ θυμῷ δέδεμαι, ὁ δέ μευ λόγον οὐδένα ποιεῖ. This line is ungrammatical (ποιεῖ should be ποιεῖται), and breaks the regularity of the four line verses; it is also nonsense. καὶ νῦν must therefore be altered to make a finite clause. Buecheler's καὶ νύξ, or Ribbeck's ἇς ἔτι νὺξ ᾗ, or Fritzsche's καιρός, are all possible, and might all be supported by Schol. k ἕως ἔτι ἐνδέχεται καταδεθῆναι αὐτόν. ἀλλ᾽ ἴθι καὶ νῦν, C. Hartung (? ̣̣σσε δὲ καὶ νῦν, ed.) or ἇς ἔτ᾽ ἐγὼ νῦν, the sentence breaking off.
ἇς = ἕως.[61] ἐπιφθύζοισα, 'to avert the evil of the spell from yourself'; cf. vii. 127.
[64]
Thestylis goes away on her errand, and Simaetha tells the story of her love to the still night: how at a sacred procession she had seen Delphis, had loved at once, had won him and lost him. Such monologues are common in the Greek drama; cf. Soph. Trach. 1; Eurip. Androm. 91 sqq.:
“
χώρει νυν: ἡμεῖς δ᾽, οἷσπερ ἐγκείμεσθ᾽ ἔτι
θρήνοισι καὶ γόοισι καὶ δακρύμασι,
πρὸς αίθέρ᾽ ἐκτενοῦμεν.
”
Here Simaetha appropriately takes into her confidence the Moon-goddess who had helped her in the working of her spell.
[66] ἄμμιν, 'to my woe'; but μοι in 65, 'brought on me.'
τῶὐβούλοιο = τῶ Εὐβούλοιο, 'the daughter of Eubulus.' κανηφόρος = ἄλσος ἐς ᾿Αρτέμιδος. The occasion was a public festival in honour of Artemis. In the procession to the shrine unmarried girls were chosen as bearers of the sacred baskets (κανᾶ). The passage is made clear by Xenophon, Ephes. ii. 2 ἤγετο δὲ τῆς ᾿Αρτέμιδος ἐπιχώριος ἑορτὴ ἀπὸ τῆς πόλεως ἐπὶ τὸ ἱερὸν…ἔδει δὲ πομπεύειν πάσας τὰς ἐπιχωρίους παρθένους…παρῄεσαν δὲ κατὰ στίχον οἱ πομπεύοντες. πρῶτα μὲν τὰ ἱερὰ καὶ δᾷδες καὶ κανᾶ καὶ θυμιάματα: ἐπὶ τούτοις ἵπποι καὶ κύνες καὶ σκεύη κυνηγετικὰ τὰ μὲν πολεμικὰ τὰ δὲ πλεῖστα πολεμικὰ…ἦρχε δὲ τῆς τῶν παρθένων τάξεως ῎Ανθεια: cf. Ovid, Met. ii. 712.[67] πολλὰ μὲν…ἐν δέ; a variant on the usual expression ἄλλα τε…καί: cf. Cebes Tabula, ad init. πολλὰ μὲν καὶ ἀλλα ἀναθήματα ἐθεωροῦμεν ἀνέκειτο δὲ καὶ πίναξ τις.
τᾷ = ᾿Αρτέμιδι 'in whose honour.'[68] θηρία see the extract from Xenoph. Ephes., supra. Hartung holds the extraordinary opinion that the beasts were represented in painting.
[70] Θευχαρίδα = Θεοχαρίδου.
Θρᾷσσα probably to be taken as proper name; cf. Herondas, i. 1 θρείσσα ἀράσσει τὴν θύρην τις. τροφός not 'my nurse,' but 'Th.'s.' ἁ μακαρῖτις, 'now gone to her rest.' Hiller quotes Aristoph. frag. in Stobaeus, Flor. cxxi. 18: “ διὰ ταῦτα γάρ τοι καὶ καλοῦνται μακάριοιπᾶς γὰρ λέγει τις, ὁ μακαρίτης οἴχεται.
” Cf. Herondas, vi. 55 τούτῳ Πυμαιθὶς ἡ μακαρῖτις ἐχρῆτο. The expression was therefore one in popular use.
[72] ἁ μεγάλοιτος. A person commenting on his or her own action uses the adjective with the article; cf. iii. 24; ii. 138; Soph. Antig. 274; Oed. Tyr. 1379.
[73] 73, 74 'How we remember such trifles in such awful moments! the scrap of the book that we have read in a great grief, the taste of that last dish that we have eaten before a duel, or some such supreme meeting and parting.'--Thackeray, Esmond.
[76] 'And now halfway along the road, at Lycon's gardens, I saw Delphis.'
μέσον clearly means 'midway between home and my destination,' and is further defined by τὰ Λύκωνος: cf. Odyss. vii. 195: “ ὡς…μὴ…τι μεσσηγύς γε κακὸν καὶ πῆμα πάθῃσιπρίν γε τὸν ἧς γαίης ἐπιβήμεναι.
” (= between here and Ithaca). The adverbial use of μέσον is rare, but occurs Eurip. Or. 983. The ellipse of one of the two extremes between which a thing is μέσος is common. Arist. Aves 187 ἐν μέσῳ δήπουθεν ἀήρ ἐστι γῆς: sc. καὶ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ.
[77] 'Love at first sight at a religious procession' is part of the stock-in-trade of the New Comedy and the Romancists; cf. Plautus, Cist. i. 1. 91 (Hiller); Herondas, i. 56 Γρύλλος…ἰδών σε καθόδῳ τῆς Μίσης ἐκύμηνε τὰ σπλάγχν᾽ ἔρωτι καρδίην ἀνοιστρηθείς: Musaeus, Hero and Leander, 42 sqq.: Charito, A. 1 (a passage closely modelled on Theocritus) ᾿Αφροδίτης ἑορτὴ δημοτελής: καὶ σχεδὸν πᾶσαι αἱ γυναῖκες ἀπῆλθον εἰς τὸν νεών: τότε δὲ Χαιρέας ἀπὸ τοῦ γυμνασίου ἐβάδιζεν οἴκαδε στίλβων ὥσπερ ἀστήρ: ἐπήνθει γὰρ τῷ λαμπρῷ τοῦ προσώπου τὸ ἐρύθρημα τῆς παλαίστρης ὥσπερ ἀργύρῳ χρυσός.
[80] ἀπό belongs to λιπόντων (tmesis) not to γυμνασίοιο.
[82] ὡς ἴδον, ὡς ἐμάνην, ὥς μευ, 'I saw, was fascinated, my heart was fired'; the three actions followed one on the other immediately. Note that the second ὡς is not accented, and we are not to translate, 'as I saw so I was fascinated.' The explanation of the construction is doubtful. Similar passages are found--
(1) With ὡς: Theocr. iii. 42; Iliad xix. 16 ὡς εἶδ᾽ ὥς μιν μᾶλλον ἔδυ χόλος: Ib. xx. 424 ὡς εἶδ᾽ ὣς ἀνέπαλτο (alii ὥς): Ib. xiv. 294: Mosch. i. 74: Coluth. 251 ὡς ἴδεν ὡς ἐνόησε. Possibly Odyss. xvii. 218; Oppian, Hal. iv. 97. (2) ὅσσον: Theocr. iv. 39 ὅσον αἶγες ἐμὶν φίλαι, ὅσσον ἀπέσβης, 'dear are my goats, dear thou in death.' (3) ὅς: Theocr. xv. 25 ὧν ἴδες, ὧν εἶπες ('si sic legendum'): Theognis 169 ὃν δὲ θεοὶ τιμῶσ᾽ ὃν καὶ μωμεύνενος αἰνεῖ (? Ib. 800 ἀλλ᾽ ὃς λώιος ὃς μὴ πλεόνεσσι μέλοι: Ap. Rhod. iv. 1051 ὅντινα γουνάζοιτο ὅς μιν θαρσύνεσκε). (4) Latin: ut, Verg. Ecl. viii. 41 “'ut vidi, ut perii, ut me malus abstulit error!'” (5) dum: Catullus, lxii. 45 'dum ... dum' is usually taken to be 'while,' 'so long,' but wholly unnecessarily. The verb to 'sic virgo' is understood from above, and each 'dum' = while. The reading is conjectural in Anon. ap. Hesych. ᾖ μὲν κλέος ᾖ δὲ καὶ ἦσθα. The passages are so curiously alike that a single explanation of them all seeems to be required. M. Haupt (Opusc. ii. 467) took ὅσον…ὅσσον in Theocr. iv. 39 as both demonstrative, but used by false analogy. This will hardly do for the ὡς examples; certainly not for Vergil's 'ut vidi,' and hardly for the ὅς cases, since the demonstrative use of ὅς is limited to its employment in the nominative + μέν or δέ, or preceded by καί or οὐδέ, Monro, Hom. Gram. 265. The Theognis example (169) will not be explained. （b) To take all as direct exclamations is impossible in view of the fact that ὅς is not so used, and in view of the sense required. （c) It remains then to recognize all as relatives. Now ὡς ἴδον = when I saw (or as I saw)-the time of seeing (or the manner of seeing). So ὡς ἐμάνην, 'my fascination.' ὅσον αἶγες ἐμὶν φίλαι = how dear my goats are = the dearness of my goats. So ὅσσον ἀπέσβης, 'the dearness of thee.' ὃν θεοὶ τιμῶσ᾽, 'the man loved of heaven.' ut vidi = 'my seeing,' etc. Put these noun equivalents in simple juxtaposition, and we get: (1) Seeing, madness, fire of love. (2) The dearness of my goats, the dearness of thee. (3) The man loved of heaven, the man praised of others. I.e. the things identified are put alongside of one another abruptly where logically we might have had τὸ ὡς ἴδον ἴσον ἐδύνατο τῷ ὡς ἐμάνη.[83] τὸ…κάλλος, 'my colour paled from me.' Not as Seyffert would have it, 'the beauty of the scene swam before my eyes.'
[84] ὡς, 'how,' for ὅπως, 'as often,' Isocr. 74 e οὐκ ἄδηλον ὡς ἂν διατεθεῖεν.
[88] ὁμοῖος…θάψῳ cf. Sappho, ii. 14 χλωροτέρα δὲ ποίας ἔμμι, τεθνάκην δ᾽ ὀλίγῳ ᾿πιδεύης φαίνομαι: Catullus, lxiv. 100 θάψος: Arist. Wasps 1413 γυναῖκι κλητεύειν ἔοικας θαψίνῃ, where the Scholiast quoting Theocritus says ὠχρὸς γὰρ ὁ Χαιρεφῶν καὶ ἡ θάψος τοιαύτη. πολλάκι seems here to lose its temporal meaning; cf. vi. 31; xxvii. 41; Meineke, ad loc.
[89] ἔρρευν = ἔρρεον: cf. Odyss. x. 393 τῶν ἐκ μὲν μελέων τρίχες ἔρρεον: Eurip. Medea 1201.
αὐτά only bones and skin. For the expression cf. Callim. Ep. 30 ὀστέα σοι καὶ μοῦνον ἔτι τρίχες: Ib. vi. 93: “ ἐτάκετο μέσφ᾽ ἐπὶ νευράς:δειλαίῳ ἶνές τε καὶ ὀστέα μῶνον ἔλειφθεν.
”
[90] ἐς τίνος sc. δόμον, cf. xv. 22.
[91] ἅτις ἐπᾷδεν, 'who knew the use of spells.'
[92]
ἀλλ᾽ ἦς οὐδὲν ἐλαφρόν, 'sensu transitivo: id quod levat.' Wuestemann: compare Bacchyl. fr. 20:
“
τί γὰρ ἐλαφρὸν ἔτ᾽ ἔστ᾽ ἄπραχθ᾽
ὧδ᾽ ὀδυρόμενον δονεῖν
καρδίαν.
”
But there the sense must rather be 'what gladness is there' (cf. the use of ἐλαφρός = 'gay spirited,' l. 124). So here, 'there was no gladness found'; and the adjective is no more transitive than κοῦφον in xi. 3.
[96] πᾶσαν, 'wholly'; cf. ii. 40, iii. 33.
ὁ Μύνδιος, vid. preface to this idyll.[101] κεἴφ᾽ ὅτι. This use of ὅτι, followed by direct quotation, is an Atticism; cf. Plato, Protag. 356 a εἰ γάρ τις λέγοι ὅτι ᾿Αλλὰ πόλυ διαφέρει ὦ Σώκρατες.
ὑφαγέο = ὑφηγέεο: so εὐκλέα, κράτεσκς, Pindar; τέλεσκον, Callim.; ἥγεο, A. Pal. ix. 403; σιτέσκοντο, Odyss. xxiv. 209, cf. infra, l. 107.[103] 103, 104 The rhythm of the lines is to be noted: the quick dactylic lines here--the sense interrupted by the refrain--then the heavier cadence of the neat stanza.
[106]
The lines recall Sappho, fr. 2:
“
ὡς γὰρ εὔιδον βροχεώς σε, φώνας
οὐδὲν ἔτ᾽ εἴκει:
ἀλλὰ καμ μὲν γλῶσσα ἔαγε λέπτον δ᾽
αὐτίκα χρῷ πῦρ ὐπαδεδρόμακεν,
ὀππάτεσσι δ᾽ οὐδὲν ὄρημ᾽, ἐπιρρόμ-
βεισι δ᾽ ἄκουαι:
ἀ δέ μ᾽ ἵδρως κακχέεται τρόμος δὲ
πᾶσαν ἄγρει.
”
Cf. Theognis, 1017:
“
αὐτίκα: μοι κατὰ μὲν χροιὴν ῥέει ἄσπετος ἱδρὼς
πτοιῶμαι δ᾽ ἐσορῶν ἄνθος ὁμηλικίης.
”
Persius, Sat. ii. 53:
“
'Si dona feram sudes et pectore laevo
Excutiat guttas laetari praetrepidum cor.'
”
[110] ἐπάγην, 'torpui'; δαγύς, 'a doll.'
[112] ὥστοργος （ὁ ἄστοργος）, 'he who loved me not.' Simaetha applies the term to Delphis, not because he has now deserted her, but because he can never have cared for her
ἐπὶ χθονὸς…πήξας not coordinate with ἐσιδών. 'Seeing me, he dropped his gaze upon the ground and sate him down.' The words expressed assumed bashfulness on D.'s part, preparatory to his confession. So Musaeus, 160: “ παρθενικὴ δ᾽ ἄφθογγος ἐπὶ χθόνα πῆξεν ὀπωπὴναἰδοῖ ἐρυθριόωσαν ὑποκλέπτουσα παρειήν.
” But of pondering thought, Iliad iii. 217: of fear, Ap. Rhod. ii. 683 στὰν δὲ κάτω ϝεύσαντες ἐπὶ χθονός: of grief, Eurip. Iph. Aul. 1123; h. hymn Demet. 194.
[115] Philinus: see prefatory note. ἔφθασσα ἤ με παρῆμεν. For the const. cf. Herod. vi. 108 φθαίητε ἂν ἐξανδραποδισθέντες ἤ τινα πυθέσθαι ἡμέων. The comparative sense of the word is seen also in ἔφθης πεζὸς ἐὼν ἢ ἐγὼ σὺν νηῒ μελαίνῃ, Odyss. xi. 58.
[118] ἦνθον…ἦνθον vid. Introd. p. 41.
κἠγώ (= καὶ ἐγώ) MSS., but the ἄν or κεν could not be omitted where there is no if-clause expressed; contra, v. 126.[119] ἢ τρίτος ἠὲ τέταρτος for the omission of the usual αὐτός Hiller compares Plutarch, Pelop. 13 εἰς οἰκίαν δωδέκατος ἀπελθών.
αὐτίκα νυκτός, 'at the first hour of night.' The genitive depends on αὐτίκα, as xi. 40, and such expressions as ποῦ γῆς, ὀψὲ τῆς ἡμέρας: cf. xxv. 18.[120] μᾶλα. The usual presents of lovers, cf. iii. 10 ff.
Διωνύσοιο. Dionysus 'invented' the apple and all fruit, as well as the vine. Athenaeus, iii. 23 (quoting this passage): Νεοπτόλεμος δ᾽ ὁ Παριανὸς ἐν τῇ Διονυσιάδι καὶ αὐτὸς ἱστορεῖ ὡς ὑπὸ Διονύσου εὑρεθέντων τῶν μήλων καθάπερ καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἀκροδρύων. The Scholiast quotes Philetas: “ τά οἱ ποτὲ Κύπρις ἑλοῖσαμῆλα Διωνύσου δῶκεν ἀπὸ κροτάφων.
”
[121] κρατί locative, 'on my brows.'
[124] 'And had ye received me, this had been dear to both--; for gay am I called and fair.
τάδε = 'your receiving me.' The plural is used as in Iliad xiv. 98: “ ὄφρ᾽ ἔτι μᾶλλονΤρωσὶ μὲν εὐκτὰ γένηται, ετξ.
” [τὰ δ᾽ ἦς φίλα, Ahrens, which Fritzsche translates sodales mei amicos se praestitissent; even if τὰ δ᾽ could refer to the sodales implied in 119 τρίτος, the sense would be absurd.] The syntax is strange but by no means without parallel as Hartung thinks. For εἴ κε with indic. cf. Ap. Rhod. i. 197 εἴ κ᾽ ἔτι μοῦνον…μετετράφη Αἰτωλοῖσι: Iliad xxiii. 526: Ap. Rhod. iii. 377 “εἰ δέ κε μὴ προπάροιθεν ἐμῆς ἥψασθε τραπέζης.”
[126]
εὖδόν τ᾽ εἴ κε. For εὗδον without κε cf. inter alia, Eurip. Hecuba 1111:
“
εἰ δὲ μὴ Φρυγῶν
πύργους πεσόντας ᾖσμεν ῾Ελλήνων δορί,
φόβον παρέσχεν οὐ μέσως ὅδε κτύπος.
”
The action is represented for the moment as actually happening: then this impression is corrected by the if-clause; cf. Theocr. xvi. 43.
σύμβολον…εἶχον.
”
[128]
'Axes and torches had been brought against ye.' The entrance would have been forced by these Mohocks. Cf. Horace, Odes iii. 26. 7; Arist. Eccles. 977:
“
Γ. καὶ τὴν θύραν γ᾽ ἤραττες. Ν. ἀποθάνοιμ᾽ ἄρα.
Γ. τοῦ δαὶ δεόμενος δᾷδ᾽ ἔχων ἐλήλυθας;
”
[130] νῦν δέ, 'but now, as it is.'
ἔφαν （ἔφην） : cf. v. 120 ἢ οὐχὶ παρῄσθευ. The aorist is used 'referring to the moment just past where English uses the present' (Sonnenschein, Syntax, 485); especially in referring to a judgement of one's own or another's. Iliad xvii. 173 νῦν δέ σευ ὠνοσάμην πάγχυ φρένας οἷον ἔειπες: Arist. Peace 520 ἀπέπτυσ᾽ ἐχθροῦ φωτὸς ἔχθιστον πλέκος. Elsewhere ἔφην or ἐφάμην is used = 'I used to say--contrary to what has turned out'; Iliad xvii. 171; Odyss. xi. 430. The connexion forbids us to take it so here. The form of expression is frequent, cf. Demosth. De Cor. 153, and a passage curiously like this in Julian Apost. καὶ πολλὴν ὁμολογήσας χάριν τοῖς οὐρανίοις θεοῖς ἐν δευτέρῳ τῇ σῇ μεγαλοψυχίᾳ χάριν ἔσχον.[133] αὔτως, 'just'; cf. v. 40.
[134]
σέλας φλογερώτερον cognate accusative, 'burns with a fiercer flame.' A. Pal. xii. 93:
“
τοῖον σέλας ὄμμασιν αἴθει
κοῦρος.
”
Of the rhetorical expression here, M. Legrand says well: 'Ce n'est pas, je pense, fortuitement que ces fleurs de rhétorique galante sont réservées à l'homme sans amour (ἄστοργος): en les lui attribuant, Théocrite entendait démontrer par contraste combien le jargon sentimental diffère du langage de la passion vraie.'
[136] σύν. The madness is regarded not as the means but as the accompaniment; cf. xxv. 251 note.
[137]
ἐφόβησε gnomic, 'drives headlong.' This reading is justified against the emendation ἐσόβησε by Bacchyl. xi. 43:
“
τὰς ἐξ ἐρατῶν ἐφόβησε
παγκρατὴς ῞Ηρα μελάθρων
Προίτου, παραπλῆγι φρένας
καρτερᾷ ζεύξασ᾽ ἀνάγκᾳ.
”
[138] οἱ. The dative is odd with ἔκλινα following, and is hardly paralleled by vii. 25 (? ἐγὼ δέ τοι).
[142] χὥς κά…μὴ θρυλέοιμι, 'and not to tell all at length'; scilicet, 'I say only this.' For ὥς κεν + opt. in primary sequence, cf. Odyss. ii. 52; xxiii. 134. μακρὰ λέγειν, usually to speak aloud; here, to speak at length: Callim. Ep. xi. 1 οὐ μακρὰ λέξω (Soph. Antig. 446 σὺ δ᾽ εἰπέ μοι μὴ μῆκος ἀλλὰ σύντομα).
[145] ἅ τε Φιλίστας μάτηρ…ἅ τε Μελιξοῦς, 'the mother of Philista and Melixus.' One person is meant not two. The repetition of the article in this way with conjunction is classical but very rare. Xenoph. Anab. iii. 1. 17 “τοῦ ὁμομητρίου καὶ τοῦ ὁμοπατρίου ἀδελφοῦ”: Plato, Rep. 334 e τὸν δοκοῦντά τε, ἦ δ᾽ ὅς, καὶ τὸν ὄντα χρηστὸν φίλον: Antiphon, i. 21 τῷ τεθνεῶτι καὶ τῷ ἠδικημένῳ: Demosth. De Cor. 205 τὸν τῆς εἱμαρμένης καὶ τὸν αὐτόματον θάνατον.
[146] The MSS. have τᾶς ἐμᾶς αὐλητρίδος, k, p; τᾶς ἀμᾶς, s. Ameis keeps the latter = 'quae nobiscum in eodem loco habitat'; but this is hardly possible, and certainly not defended by xi. 4. Lobeck conjectured Σαμίας. What I have ventured on (ἀλαᾶς) is nearer to the MSS.
[149] ὡς ἄρα, 'that surely'; Plato, Soph. 230 d λεκτέον ὡς ἄρα μέγιστη καὶ κυριωτάτη τῶν καθάρσεών ἐστι, and constantly in quoting; often with ironical force, 'that as they said ...'
ἐρᾶται cf. i. 78.[151] ῎Ερωτος ἀκράτω ἐπεχεὶτο. ἀκράτω is partitive genitive, 'poured unmixed wine.' οἴνω is always omitted in this phrase; cf. Arist. Acharn. 1229 ἄκρατον ἐγχέας.
῎Ερωτος, as οἱ (l. 153) shows, must = 'his love' (amores), not 'love' (amor). The genitive is used to express the object of a 'toast,' cf. xiv. 19: A. Pal. v. 109 ἔγχει Λυσιδίκης κυάθους δέκα: ib. v. 135 (Meleager) ἔγχει καὶ πάλιν εἰπὲ πάλιν πάλιν ῾Ηλιοδώρας: Horace, Odes iii. 19. 9 'da lunae propere novae.' The genitive depends on the noun expressed or suppressed which forms the object of the verb.
[153]
πυκάσδειν. And he (Delphis) declared he would wreath the loved one's (οἱ) doors with wreaths. πυκάσδειν (present) instead of πυκασσεῖν (future, which Paley reads) is most unusual after a verb like φηυί. But we find the aorist and present (rarely) after verbs of promising and hoping: ἐλπίζει δυνατὸς εἶναι, Plato, Rep. 573 c. As Euripides (Alcest. 372) has λέγοντος μὴ (not οὐ) γαμεῖν ἄλλην, as if λέγω = ὄμνυμι, we may be justified in keeping πυκάσδειν as if φάτο = ὤμοσε or ὑπέσχετο. For the custom here alluded to, see Lucretius, iv. 1171:
“
'Lacrimans exclusus amator limina saepe
Floribus et sertis operit.'
”
A. Pal. v. 280:
“
φιλακρήτους μετὰ κώμους
στέμμασιν αὐλείας ἀμφιπλέκοντι θύρας.
”
[157] sqq. Cf. line 4. Simaetha comes back wearily to the thoughts wherewith she began. and her last utterances echo the first; cf. 158-71. Her plaint really ends with the sad heavy cadence of ἁμῶν δὲ λέλασται. Then a long pause; at last she rouses herself fiercely once more to thoughts of magic, and revenge by magic, echoing grimly in the words τὰν ᾿Αίδαο πύλαν ἀραξεῖ her former words (l. 6) οὐδὲ θύρας ἄραξεν ἀνάρσιος. Yet this is only for a moment. She has lost her faith in all means of help, and stands face to face again with the reality of her loneliness. 'And I must bear my load as I have borne it now'; οἰσῶ τὸν ἐμὸν πόνον ὥσπερ ὑπέσταν. She ends not in wild words of revenge nor in rest, but in a calm despair, heightened by the pitiless calm of nature, the 'bright-faced Moon and stars that follow on the silent wheels of Night'; εὐκήλοιο κατ᾽ ἄντυγα Νυκτὸς ὀπαδοί.
[159] καταθύσομαι not with reference to the intention expressed in 58. Still less is κατέθυσά νιν (Meineke) to be read. The past spells are not thought of now, only a new effort of revenge.
[160] ϝαὶ Μοίρας a well chosen expression in this passage. Herondas vulgarizes it, iv. 30 πρὸς Μοιρέων.
[166]
κατ᾽ ἄντυγα secundum. Following after the chariot as in κατ᾽ ἴχνος. The stars are the escort of Night. Wuestemann quotes well Tibullus, ii. 1. 87:
“
'Iam Nox iungit equos currumque sequuntur
Matris lascivo sidera fulva choro.'
”
But the lascivo there is in quite a different spirit to the sad calm of these lines.