[102] Virg. continues to imitate Hom. (Od. 5. 313 foll.). ‘Iactare’ expresses the ‘wild and whirling words’ of Shakspeare. See on E. 2. 5. ‘Iactanti’ is a variety of the ethical dative, and may be illustrated by such passages as Livy 1. 8, “Locum qui nunc saeptus descendentibus inter duos lucos est, asylum aperit.” Comp. the Greek idiom βουλομένῳ τινὶ εἶναι. ‘Aquilone,’ “ab Aquilone,” Serv. But it seems better to render ‘stridens Aquilone,’ ‘howling with the north wind.’ Comp. Od. 12. 407 (a passage which Virg. had before him throughout this scene), αἶψα γὰρ ἦλθεν Κεκληγὼς Ζέφυρος μεγάλῃ σὺν λαίλαπι θύων. The north wind, as Seneca remarked (see on v. 85), has not been hitherto mentioned; but it is evident that the variety is in the expression, not in the incident. So in v. 131, Eurus and Zephyrus are obviously meant to include all the winds.
[103] Velum adversa ferit, ‘strikes the sail full in front.’ Gud. and the first reading of Med. have ‘fluctum.’
[104] Franguntur remi: the oars are broken in the portholes by the sudden stroke of the wave, which dashes them out of the hands of the rowers. Val. F., in his imitation (1. 618), has “excussi manibus remi.” Rowing and sailing at the same time is contrary to the Homeric practice, so far as it can be gathered; and in Virg. himself (3. 207) the crew lower the sail first, and then take to the oar. Med., Gud., and some other MSS. (not Rom.), have ‘proram avertit,’ which Jahn adopts. But ‘procella,’ as Wagn. remarked, can hardly be nom. to ‘dat latus,’ though it might be to ‘proram avertit;’ and it would be very harsh to understand ‘navis’ with both. We have “avertens” in an intrans. sense v. 402. Wagn. now says (Lect. Verg.) “proram restituo, sed paene invitus.” Haupt and Ribbeck retain ‘prora.’ The oars being broken, the ship is at the mercy of the waves, which turn her head round. Weidner comp. Val. F. l. c. “conversaque frontem Puppis in obliquum resonos latus accipit ictus.”
[105] Undis dat latus, like “telo dat pectus,” 10. 425. ‘Cumulo’ is an adverbial ablat. So 2. 498, “amnis Fertur in arva furens cumulo,” ‘in a mass.’ ‘Praeruptus aquae mons’ is taken from Apoll. R. 2. 580, “κῦμα—ἀποτμῆγι σκοπιῇ ἴσον”. A huge wave comes down upon the ship.
[106] Hi is seen from what follows (‘Tris Notus,’ &c.) to refer to different ships, not to men in different parts of the same. Here the elevation and depression are described as simultaneous; in 3. 564 foll. they are undergone successively by the whole fleet. ‘Pendent’ as in 10. 303.
[107] Henry rightly understands ‘furit arenis,’ ‘raves with the sand,’ not ‘on the sand;’ comp. “aestu miscentur arenae,” in the parallel passage 3. 557, note. As he remarks, Virg. may be thinking of, if not specially referring to, the Syrtes, which are described by Sall. Jug. 78, “Ubi mare magnum esse et saevire coepit ventis, limum arenamque et saxa ingentia fluctus trahunt . . . Syrtes ab tractu nominatae.” Weidner comp. 7. 530, G. 3. 241. Comp. also Soph. Ant. 590, “κυλίνδει βυσσόθεν κελαινὰν θῖνα καὶ δυσάνεμον”, and Apoll. R. 4. 1265 “῾σπεακινγ οφ τηε σψρτες, ανδ προβαβλψ ιμιτατεδ βψ ϝιργ.᾿ ἤλιθα δ᾽ ὕδωρ Ξαινόμενον πολιῇσιν ἐπιτροχάει ψαμάθοισιν”. ‘Surf and sand are raving together.’
[108] Latentia, i. e. in a storm, for in a calm they are visible, ‘dorsum inmane mari summo.’ Comp. 5. 125. These ‘saxa’ are generally supposed to be the “Aegimori insulae” at the mouth of the bay of Carthage. Pliny 5. 7, “Contra Carthaginis sinum duae Aegimori arae, scopuli verius quam insulae, inter Siciliam maxime et Sardiniam.” Mr. Long, however, identifies the ‘saxa’ with the Skerki Rocks, which are on the Adventure Bank, a shallow plateau between Sicily and Tunis.
[109] Suspicion has been cast by Heyne on this verse as a prosaic interpolation, but it is acknowledged by Quinct. Inst. 8. 2; and without it, as Wagn. remarks, ‘dorsum inmane mari summo’ would contradict ‘latentia.’ The order is ‘saxa quae mediis in fluctibus (exstantia) Itali vocant aras.’ Med. and Gud. ‘mediisque,’ an obvious error.
[110] Dorsum, 10. 303. ‘Ab alto,’ from the deep sea, contrasted with ‘brevia.’
[111] In brevia et Syrtis, i. e. “in brevia Syrtium.” We have “brevibus vadis,” 5. 220. So Tac. A. 1. 70, “Neque discerni poterant incerta ab solidis, brevia a profundis.” Serv. compares τὰ βραχέα.
[113] ‘Oronten:’ Med. and Gud. here, and in 6. 334 (in the latter passage Rom. also), have ‘Orontem.’ But the analogy of other words of the sort formed from the Greek, as written in the best MSS. of Virg., is in favour of ‘Oronten;’ which is supported too by Charisius (see on v. 220), and defended by Wagn. (Q. V. 3); who however does not appear altogether consistent in adopting ‘im’ as the accus. of names in ‘is,’ though the best MSS. support him. ‘Fidus’ is a natural epithet of an ally who had followed the fortunes of Troy, not only during the siege, but in exile.
[114] Ipsius, Aeneas. ‘Ingens pontus,’ ‘a vast mass of sea,’ as we speak of ‘shipping a heavy sea.’ No authority is quoted for this use of ‘pontus;’ and from the imitation by Val. F. (4. 666), “magno puppim procul aequore vestit,” it would appear to be a phrase invented by Virg. himself. Od. 5. 313, ἔλασεν μέγα κῦμα κατ᾽ ἄκρης Δεινὸν ἐπεσσύμενον. ‘A vertice’ is a translation of κατ᾽ ἄκρης.
[115] Ferit (navim) in puppim, like “montem inpulit in latus,” v. 81. ‘Magister,’ properly the pilot, who is here the same as the steersman, “gubernator.” Both names are given to Palinurus, 6. 337, 353 (where “excussa magistro” is parallel to ‘excutitur’). Comp. Od. 12. 413. Serv. says some in his time read ‘pronum.’
[116] Ibidem, on the spot. ἡ δ᾽ ἐλελίχθη πᾶσα, Od. 12. 416.
[117] Vertex, not ‘vortex,’ is the constant orthography of Med. Rom. and Gud. here have ‘vortex.’ ‘Vorat aequore,’ ‘engulfs.’ So “vorago.”
[118] Rari nantes, with reference to ‘vasto.’ Comp. Od. 12. 418, where the drowning crew are compared to sea-birds.
[119] Some difficulty has been raised about ‘arma’ floating, which is justified by a passage in Livy, 1. 37, “fluitantia arma ad urbem cognita in Tiberi.” But the picture here is momentary, and flashes before the eyes of Aeneas. ‘Tabulae,’ planks. Comp. πίνακάς τε νεῶν καὶ σώματα φωτῶν Κύμαθ᾽ ἁλὸς φορέουσι, Od. 12. 67. ‘Troia:’ this is the orthography of the best MSS. in Virg., though ‘Troicus’ is found in other authors. ‘Troia gaza,’ 2. 763. For ‘gaza’ see on 5. 40, where, as in 2. 763, Med. has the spelling ‘gazza.’
[120] The names of Ilioneus and Abas are from Hom. (Il. 14. 489., 5. 148), but the persons are different, both being killed in Hom. Ribbeck reads ‘Achati’ from a passage in Charisius 107 P, where Pliny is cited as instancing ‘fortis Achati,’ “acris Oronti” to exemplify the usage which obtained before his time with respect to Latin equivalents of the Greek genitive in -ου from proper names in -ης. But Pliny may have quoted from memory, confusing ‘Achati’ with “Achilli:” and it is perhaps a little hazardous to desert all the MSS. Heins., who illustrates this form of the gen. largely, says that in 5. 301 an ancient MS. gives ‘Achati’ for “Acestae.” This may show that the transcriber remembered having seen ‘Achati’ somewhere: but it may also remind us that Virg. made “Acestae” the gen. of “Acestes.” “Acesti” however is read by one MS. in the passage from Book 5.
[121] Grandaevus is said not to be found in any author earlier than Virg.; “grandaevitas” however is quoted from Pacuvius, Hermi. fr. 1, and Attius, Alcum. fr. 6, Bacch. fr. 7.
[123] Imbrem: Serv. quotes Ennius (Ann. 490), “ratibusque fremebat Imber Neptuni.” Lucr. uses “imber” for the element of water, e. g. 1. 715. Med. originally and Gud. ‘remis.’
[124-141] ‘Neptune rises from the deep, and dismisses the winds with threats.’
