[801] Comp v. 392. “Vagus Hercules” Hor. 3 Od. 3. 9. Heyne and Schrader remark that Virg. has shown want of judgment in mentioning those only of Hercules' labours which were connected with Arcadia, as of course they could afford no measure of the hero's travels. Wagn. thinks the mention of the brazen-footed stag admissible, as it appears from Pind. Ol. 3. 26 foll. that Hercules' chase after it led him into the Hyperborean country: the remainder he has no doubt Virg. would have corrected if he had lived. The truth seems to be that Virg. conceives of Hercules generally as a hero who put down the various monsters in various parts of the world (comp. Soph. Trach. 1011, πολλὰ μὲν ἐν πόντῳ κατά τε δρία πάντα καθαίρων Ὠλεκόμαν ὁ τάλας), and so compares him to Augustus, who in his progress received the submission of the various barbaric nations, the reference being to that expedition through the provinces, which occupied the emperor during the last four years of Virg.'s life, and from which he was returning when the dying poet met him. Comp. generally the depreciation of Hercules' exploits as contrasted with those of Epicurus, Lucr. 5.22 foll., where one of the points dwelt on is the distance of the monsters destroyed from the abode of civilized man.
[802] The MSS. vary much in these tenses, Rom. having ‘fixerat’ and ‘tremefecerat,’ Rom. and Med. ‘pacaret’ or ‘placaret,’ while Pal., Rom., and the first reading of Med. and Gud. have ‘obibit.’ There is of course no real question about the true readings: but the varieties are worth mentioning as showing how little even first class MS. evidence may be worth in such matters. A similar warning against absolute confidence in the authority, considerable as it is, of the ancient grammarians is afforded by the epithet ‘aeripedem,’ which Serv., Charisius, p. 249 P, Diomedes, p. 437 P, and others all explain as a contracted form of ‘aëripedem,’ ποδήνεμον, an impossibility not only in metre but in language, as “aer” is not the wind. Brazen feet are attributed to horses by Hom., Il. 8. 41, and other poets, the notion being that of strength and endurance, and, as a consequence, swiftness. ‘Fixerit:’ the common story was that Hercules had to bring the Cerynitian stag alive to Eurystheus, so Serv. thinks ‘fixerit’ = “statuerit:” Eur. H. F. 378 however represents him as killing it. “Figere cervos” E. 2. 29. For ‘aut’ Markland wished to read ‘atque,’ or else ‘aut’ for ‘et’ in the next line; but Virg., as elsewhere (see v. 609), prefers variety. The force of ‘aut’ is, ‘whether we think of him when he killed the stag or,’ &c. In ‘Erymanthi’ the reference is to the boar which Hercules slew.
[803] Some MSS. read ‘placarit’ (‘placaret’ Med.) a common confusion. Gossrau comp. Ov. M. 7. 405, “Qui virtute sua bimarem pacaverat Isthmon,” of Theseus slaying the robbers. Not unlike is Hor. 1 Ep. 2. 45, “incultae pacantur vomere silvae,” where the notion is that of wildness disappearing before cultivation. Contrast Lucr. 5.39 foll., “ita ad satiatem terra ferarum Nunc etiam scatit et trepido terrore repleta est Per nemora ac montes magnos silvasque profundas.” ‘Arcu:’ Virg. implies that the Hydra was shot to death, contrary to the common account, which represents the heads as crushed by Hercules' club.
[804] Alluding to Bacchus' famous Indian expedition. Comp. Hor. 3 Od. 3. 13 foll., where Bacchus is mentioned in the next stanza to Hercules. Bacchus was represented as driving a car of tigers or lynxes with reins of vine or ivy branches, “Lyncem Maenas flexura corymbis” Pers. 1. 101. ‘Iuga flectit,’ like “currum,” “equos flectit.”
[805] From Catull. 62 (64). 390, “Saepe vagus Liber Parnassi vertice summo Thyiadas effusis euantis crinibus egit.” Nysa, the legendary mountain on which Bacchus was brought up, was identified with various places in Europe, Asia, and Africa (Dict. M. ‘Dionysus:’ Dict. G. ‘Nysa’).
[806] Comp. G. 2. 433, “Et dubitant homines serere atque inpendere curam?” where Virg. has pointed out what nature offers, and asks whether man will not do his part. So here Anchises, after showing the glorious culmination of the Trojan fortunes in Augustus, asks whether Aeneas hesitates to take his place as a link in that vast chain of destiny. The reading of the concluding words is doubtful. Med. has ‘virtutem extendere factis,’ which is supported by Serv., and is parallel to the expression afterwards used 10. 468, “famam extendere factis,” except that while there the main thought is that of spreading and perpetuating fame by gallant deeds, here it is rather that of putting out inborn valour and making it felt in the world. But Rom., Pal., and two other of Ribbeck's MSS. have “virtute extendere viris,” which is confirmed by Diomedes p. 411, whose MSS. have “virtutem extendere viris,” an ungrammatical reading, found nevertheless in Gud. a m. p. The sense would be nearly the same, to extend our power by our bravery, to commence the career of conquest: but it is not altogether easy to see how the variation can have arisen. If Med. stood alone as the chief authority for ‘factis,’ there would be no difficulty, as elsewhere it repeats words from other passages, as in 5. 843, G. 2. 513 (see also on 1. 364., 4. 564, where the case is not so clear): but Serv. of course has an independent weight. On the whole, however, I have with Ribbeck preferred the reading of Rom. and Pal., as I see no plausible hypothesis on which its introduction can be accounted for, an argument which has similarly determined my judgment in the two passages just referred to.
[807] Consistere terra 1. 541., 10. 75, to be distinguished from “considere,” with which it is sometimes confounded in MSS., the one referring to entrance or invasion, the other to subsequent settlement.
[808-835] ‘The kings of Rome are seen in order, and the worthies of the commonwealth, especially Pompey and Caesar, the heroes of the civil war.’
[808] Ribbeck here inserts vv. 826—835 without authority, and with no sufficient reason. The order has been already disturbed in honour of Augustus, and the mention of Caesar after his successor does not restore it, while the tone in which the civil wars are spoken of is very different from that which celebrates the return of the golden age. With the latter Anchises identifies himself cordially: of the former he speaks with regret, and so naturally mentions it merely as one of the events of Roman history. Wagn. thought the question ‘Quis’ &c. was put by Aeneas, but it is evidently no more than a rhetorical variety in the narrative. Anchises sees Numa in the distance (‘procul’), and begins to recognize him (‘nosco’). Gossrau well remarks that no worse compliment could have been paid to Augustus than to make Aeneas interrupt the praises of his great descendant by a question about a figure in the distance.
[809] Numa, as the great author of the Roman worship, is naturally represented as a sacrificing priest. ‘Incanaque menta’ G. 3. 311. This picture of Numa with hoary hair and beard is seen on late coins. Serv. has a story that Numa's hair was hoary from his youth. Rom. gives ‘noscor.’
[810] Primam is the reading of the great majority of MSS.: ‘primus’ however, though very inferior in authority (it is found in one MS. of the 15th century, and in a quotation by Serv. on 1. 1), took possession of the early editions, and was recalled by Burm. and Heyne. ‘Primam’ is much more in Virg.'s manner: comp. G. 1. 12, “cui prima frementem Fudit equum tellus.” ‘Legibus fundabit’ seems virtually to designate Numa as the second founder of the city, as having been its first great lawgiver. ‘Legibus’ then is emphatic, as showing in what sense the city was founded by Numa. Henry well comp. Justin, 2. 7, “Sed civitati nullae tunc leges erant, quia libido regum pro legibus habebatur. Legitur itaque Solon . . . qui velut novam civitatem legibus conderet.”
[812] “Mitteret in magnum inperium” 11. 47. With ‘Curibus parvis missus’ comp. G. 2. 385, “Troia gens missa.” For ‘cui’ Ribbeck restores ‘quoi,’ the reading according to Pier. of some old copies, supported by ‘qui’ the first reading of Med. and ‘quid’ Rom. (‘d’ from ‘deinde’): Pal. however has ‘cui,’ and the archaism is not one which Virg. can be proved to have affected, though there are a few passages, where, as here, it is found in some MSS.
[813] Otia rumpere like “silentia rumpere,” “somnum rumpere.” ‘Resides’ joined with ‘desueta’ as in 1. 722., 7. 693, where the expression resembles this, “resides populos desuetaque bello Agmina in arma vocat.” We might have expected “vocabit” or “ciebit” here: but the poet seems to have chosen a word which would especially suit ‘resides,’ at the same time that it might remind a reader of the expression “movere bellum,” and so prepare him for “in arma.”
[814] Henry remarks the effective manner in which ‘Tullus’ is brought late into the sentence, immediately before ‘in arma.’ For ‘et iam desueta’ Rom. has ‘magnum deinde,’ a strange aberration, not accounted for by Ribbeck's supposition that the transcriber thought of “magni magnum decus esse triumphi,” Elegy to Messala, v. 3.
[815] The character here given to Ancus does not agree with the accounts of the historians, such as Livy and Dionysius: Pomponius Sabinus however has preserved a notice which says that Ancus valued himself on his birth as Numa's grandson, and courted the favour of the people in the hopes of destroying Tullus.
[816] Nunc quoque, even in this lower world, the ruling passion being strong even before birth. Various attempts have been made to alter this line so as to understand it of Servius Tullius, “the commons' king,” but Pomponius is doubtless right in supposing him to be included in “Tarquinios reges.” One inferior and interpolated MS. gives ‘hunc.’ ‘Popularis aura’ is found in Cic., Livy, and Hor. (see Freund): Cicero also has “ventus popularis” Cluent. 47. The voice of the people is naturally spoken of as breath, as readers of Shakspere's Julius Caesar will remember, and this makes the metaphor of a favouring gale at sea more obvious.
[817] Anchises asks if he shall point out to Aeneas the later kings and Brutus. Virg. has not chosen to call Tarquin ‘superbus,’ but has transferred the epithet to Brutus, the majestic and inflexible founder of Roman liberty, doubtless intentionally, so that there is no ground to suspect the text with Peerlkamp and Ribbeck.
[818] Receptos seems to be used like “recipere ex hoste.” So at the beginning of Livy, Book 2, Brutus is made to say “libertatem recuperatam esse.”
[819] “Saevasque secures” Lucr. 3. 996., 5. 1234.
[820] Nova may either mean sudden and unexpected (comp. 2. 228., 8. 637), or renewed, because the object of the sons of Brutus was to bring back the Tarquins.
[821] At poenam vocabit like “ad supplicium reposcunt” 8. 495.
[822] Macrob. Sat. 4. 6 and Augustine De Civitate Dei 3. 16 connect ‘utcumque’ &c. with ‘infelix,’ the latter paraphrasing the line “quomodo libet ea facta posteri ferant, id est, post ferant et extollant, qui filios occidit infelix est.” Heyne's interpretation however is evidently the right one, “In quamcunque partem hoc factum interpretaturi sint posteri, ipse in sumendo a filiis supplicio sequetur id quod patriae amor et gloriae cupiditas suadebunt.” He remarks that probably Brutus' action was condemned by some in Virg.'s time, a very possible supposition, as the exploit of the younger Brutus would naturally provoke animadversion on the character of his supposed ancestor. For the use of ‘ferre’ where praise is not intended, comp. 7. 78, “Idvero horrendum acvisu mirabile ferri.” ‘Fata’ the reading of some MSS., was the common one before Heins. (see on 4. 596), and ‘nepotes,’ the reading of one MS., is supported by Macrob. Voss, with some ingenuity but little probability, understood ‘minores’ of the younger generation in Brutus' own day.
[823] At first sight there may seem some incongruity between Brutus' indifference to the opinion of posterity and his unmeasured thirst of fame: but the meaning apparently is that he will risk being called cruel by posterity, so long as he forces them to acknowledge that he is great. “Laudumque arrecta cupido” 5. 138.
[824] The Drusi are doubtless introduced out of compliment to Livia, as Heyne remarks, though Livius the conqueror of Hasdrubal was sufficiently remarkable on his own account. ‘Saevum securi’ refers of course to Torquatus beheading his son. Torquatus is doubtless represented with the axe, as Camillus with the recovered standards.
[825] Signa, captured by the Gauls at the battle of the Allia, and recovered by Camillus when he conquered the enemy, according to the Roman account, on their leaving Rome.
[826] “Agmine partito fulgent paribusque magistris” 5. 562. ‘Paribus armis:’ they are represented as armed in the same manner, partly to show their natural concord, as mentioned in the next line, partly to point out that the war which they are hereafter to wage is a civil war (Cerda comp. G. 1. 489, “paribus telis”). There may also be a notion of their equality as great generals. ‘Fulgere,’ the antique third conjugation, found in Lucr. 5.1095 &c. So “effulgere” 8. 677.
[827] Premuntur Med., Gud., Pal. a m. s., ‘prementur’ Rom., Pal. a m. p. Either might stand, the sense being virtually the same, as ‘prementur’ would mean ‘so long as they shall remain in darkness,’ ‘during the time that yet remains for them to be in darkness.’ See also on 4. 336. On the whole I have preferred ‘premuntur’ with Wagn. and subsequent editors, as Virg. is likely to have used his tenses so as to bring out the distinction between the present and the immediate future on the one hand, and the ultimate future (‘ciebunt’) on the other. With ‘nocte premuntur’ Gossrau comp. Hor. 1 Od. 4. 16, “Iam te premet nox fabulaeque Manes.” Here ‘premere’ = ‘continere,’ restrain from emerging into the upper world. Serv. refers the words to the time before Caesar and Pompey were famous, reading ‘prementur.’ ‘Nox’ is used loosely, as Wagn. remarks, as we have been told v. 641 that the Elysian fields have a sun of their own.
[828] “Bella cient” 1. 541. ‘Lumina vitae’ 7. 771, and several times in Lucr. Here it is contrasted with ‘nocte.’ Some inferior MSS. give ‘limina,’ which Wakef. adopts.
[830] “‘Aggeribus Alpinis:’ a munimentis Alpium: haec enim Italiae murorum exhibent vicem,” Serv. ‘Socer’ is of course Caesar, whose daughter Julia Pompey married. ‘Monoeci,’ the port of Hercules Monoecus, the modern Monaco, where was a promontory and a temple, whence ‘arx,’ as in 3. 531. There is a difficulty in this specification of the place, as this is not otherwise known to have been the way by which Caesar entered Italy. The most natural supposition seems to be that Virg. wrote as a poet, not as an historian.
[831] ‘Arrayed against him with an Eastern army,’ referring to the composition of Pompey's forces.
[832] Probably from Il. 7. 279, μηκέτι, παῖδε φίλω, πολεμίζετε, μηδὲ μάχεσθον, where Idaeus is addressing Ajax and Hector. ‘Pueri’ with reference to the difference in age between them and Anchises. ‘Animis adsuescite bella,’ a variety for “adsuescite animos bellis” (“bellis assuetus” 9. 201). Perhaps we may say that the inversion calls more attention to the gentleness of their natures as a positive quality from which war is made to recoil: but we must not refine needlessly.
[833] Comp. Lucan 1. 2, “populumque potentem In sua victrici conversum viscera dextra,” an imitation of this passage, Hor. Epod. 16. 2, “Suis et ipsa Roma viribus ruit,” which show that ‘patriae’ goes both with ‘viris’ and with ‘viscera.’ Similarly Livy, Praef. “iam pridem praevalentis populi vires se ipsae conficiunt.” By the position of ‘patriae’ Virg. has avoided the awkwardness of using ‘suas’ or ‘sua.’ For the alliteration see on 2. 494.
[834] The more illustrious can better afford to forgive. “Unde genus ducis” 5. 801.
[835] Caesar, B. C. 3. 98, “Caesar omnes eos . . . in planiciem descendere atque arma proiicere iussit.” ‘Meus’ nom. for voc., which perhaps was thought too familiar and colloquial. It gives a slight difference to the meaning, as Forb. remarks, making the words parallel to ‘genus qui ducis Olympo,’ and assigning a reason for forbearance. Rufinianus 265 R, citing the passage, reads ‘sanguis pius,’ which Heyne rather approves. One MS., the first Hamburg, supplements the line with the words ‘esse memento.’
[836-853] ‘Other republican heroes pass in review. Anchises declares the greatness of Rome to lie not in art or science, but in war and the practice of government.’
[836] The conquerors of Greece are now introduced, that being naturally one of the chief achievements of Rome in the eye of a Trojan. Comp. 1. 283 foll. The victor of Corinth is of course L. Mummius (Dict. Biog.), who had the surname of Achaicus. ‘Triumphata Corintho’ like “triumphatas gentes” G. 3. 33. The use of the past participle is not strictly consistent with the order of time, the expression being in fact a mixture of ‘devicta Corintho aget currum,’ and ‘triumphans de Corintho aget currum.’ The triumph of Mummius was peculiarly famous for the splendour of the booty carried in procession. Horace uses it as a synonym for a stage pageant, 2 Ep. 1. 193, “Captivum portatur ebur, captiva Corinthus.”
[837] With the expression ‘victor aget currum’ comp. G. 3. 17.
[838] This second ‘ille’ has been variously identified. Hyginus, quoted by Gell. 10. 16, assumed that Mummius was still intended, and accused Virg. of confounding two distinct events, Mummius' campaign and the war with Pyrrhus, whom he supposes to be intended by ‘Aeaciden,’ his conclusion being that Virg. would doubtless have altered the passage had he lived, and that if v. 839 were excluded, all would be right. Gossrau still pleads for Mummius, contending with considerable ingenuity that Anchises in the preceding couplet has expressed himself in Roman imagery, and now repeats his meaning in words more intelligible to Aeneas, who knew nothing of Corinth or the Capitol, and would only conceive of the conquest of Greece as a victory over the descendants of Achilles or the destruction of the empire of Agamemnon. But Anchises is not elsewhere so considerate to his son's ignorance, referring as he does throughout to Roman exploits in Roman language: nor is it credible that ‘ipsum Aeaciden’ should have been used not for an individual but for the descendants of Achilles generally. The argument that if ‘ultus’ &c. v. 840 be referred to any one but Mummius, Virg. virtually denies that Mummius did execute this revenge, needs no refutation. So far as the language is concerned, it would certainly seem that the second ‘ille’ denotes a different person from the first. The most probable candidate for this honour appears to be L. Aemilius Paullus, the conqueror of Macedon, v. 839 being understood of his victory over Perseus, who is said by Prop. 5. 11. 39, Sil. 15. 291 (speaking of his father Philip) to have been a descendant of Achilles; though there still remains a difficulty, as Paullus was not the destroyer of Argos and Mycenae. We must suppose then that Virg. has written loosely, perhaps conceiving that the indefinite ‘ille—ille’ exempted him from the need of strict accuracy. Heyne suggests that ‘ipsum Aeaciden’ may refer to Paullus' cruel destruction of the Epirots, supposed to be represented by their ancestor Pyrrhus (agreeably to the well-known line of Ennius, “Aio te, Aeacida, Romanos vincere posse,” Ann. 6. fr. 7): but this is far less likely. Others have suggested that the person meant by ‘ille’ may be Q. Caecilius Metellus, surnamed Macedonicus, who conquered the pseudo-Philip, and began the war with the Achaeans which Mummius finished.
[839] Eruet is transferred in a modified sense to ‘Aeaciden.’
[840] Templa et temerata Minervae refers to the sacrilege of Ajax (1. 41. &c.), and probably to the seizure of the Palladium also. Comp. Eur. Tro. 69, 85, οὐκ οἶσθ᾽ ὑβρισθεῖσάν με καὶ ναοὺς ἐμούς . . . . Ὡς ἂν τὸ λοιπὸν τἄμ᾽ ἀνάκτορ᾽ εὐσεβεῖν Εἰσῶσ᾽ Ἀχαιοί.
[841] Cato, the censor. ‘Cosse,’ A. Cornelius Cossus, the winner of the ‘spolia opima.’ ‘Tacitum’ is used in its strict participial sense, ‘qui tacetur.’ So Cic. Ep. 3. 8, “Prima duo capita epistolae tuae tacita mihi quodammodo relinquenda sunt.”
[842] Gracchi genus probably refers not only to the two brothers, but to their ancestor who distinguished himself in the second Punic war. ‘Geminos Scipiadas’ is explained by Serv. of the two Scipios who fell in Spain, an interpretation supported, as Cerda remarks, by Cic. pro Balbo 15, “Cum duo fulmina nostri inperii subito in Hispania, Cn. et P. Scipiones, exstincti occidissent,” though there ‘lumina’ would seem a more probable reading (comp. 11. 349, “Lumina tot cecidisse ducum”). Cerda himself however and the later commentators have rightly seen that the reference must be to the elder and younger Africanus, who alone could be called ‘cladem Libyae.’ The elder Africanus is evidently referred to by Lucr. 3.1034, whom Virg. imitated,— “Scipiades, belli fulmen, Carthaginis horror, Ossa dedit terrae, proinde ac famul infimus esset.”
[843] Scipiadas G. 2. 170 note. ‘Parvo potentem’ is rightly taken by Forb. as virtually = “parvo opulentum,” —a sense of ‘potens’ for which he refers to Hor. 2 Od. 18. 12 “nec potentem amicum Largiora flagito,” Phaed. 1. 24. 1 “Inops potentem dum vult imitari, perit.” Comp. 12. 519. Cerda well refers to the language of Valerius Maximus 4. 3. about Fabricius, “Continentiae suae beneficio sine pecunia praedives, sine usu familiae abunde comitatus; quia locupletem illum faciebat non multa possidere sed modica desiderare.” For the construction comp. 7. 56, “Turnus avis atavisque potens.”
[844] “Serranus was originally an agnomen of C. Atilius Regulus, consul B. C. 257, but afterwards became the name of a distinct family of the Atilia gens. The origin of the name is uncertain. Most of the ancient writers derive it from ‘serere,’ and relate that Regulus received the surname of Serranus because he was engaged in sowing when the news was brought him of his elevation to the consulship (“serentem invenerunt dati honores Serranum, unde cognomen,” Pliny 18. 3, Cic. pro Sext. Rosc. 18, Val. Max. 4. 4, § 5). It appears however from coins that Saranus is the proper form of the name, and Perizonius (Animadv. Hist. c. 1) thinks that it is derived from Saranum, a town of Umbria.” Dict. Biog. Serranus. We may wonder that Virg. did not rather think of Cincinnatus, who seems to have been the more famous of these heroes of the plough. ‘Sulco serentem’ like “conducta tellure serebat” 12. 520,—words immediately following the use of ‘potens’ cited in the last note, and noticeable as showing how Virg. in reproducing himself or others is apt to take words from the same context, even when they have no special connexion. See on 1. 375, &c. For the rhyme comp. 4. 189, 190, 256, 257.
[845] Alluding to the numbers and exploits of the Fabii (Dict. B. ‘Vibulanus’), which tire the narrator who tries to count them. Comp. Johnson's celebrated line, “And panting Time toiled after him in vain.” Rom. has “gressum rapitis,” which, as Pierius remarked, might be understood as an address to the Fabii, supposed to be seen by Anchises in the act of undertaking their ill-omened expedition to the Cremera. ‘Maxumus:’ Virg. follows the story which made Q. Fabius surnamed Cunctator, the dictator in the second Punic war, the first to bear the name Maxumus. Others said that it was originally given to his great-grandfather, the general in the Samnite war. See Dict. B. ‘Maximus.’ ‘You are the true Maxumus, greatest of your race.’
[846]
Taken almost verbally from the
well-known lines of Ennius A. 9. fr. 8,
preserved by Cic. Off. 1. 24, and others:
“Unus homo nobis cunctando restituit
rem:
Noenum rumores ponebat ante salutem:
Ergo postque magisque viri nunc gloria
claret.
”
[847] “Est rhetoricus locus,” remarks Serv. of this celebrated passage. The concessive fut., as Forb. calls it, is used elsewhere, as in Hor. 1 Od. 7. 1, 3 Od. 23. 13, instead of the more usual subj. Here it is more appropriate, as being the language of prophecy. ‘Aera’ of bronze statues Hor. 2 Ep. 1. 240. “Spirantia signa” G. 3. 34. The reference throughout is to the Greeks, the natural rivals of Rome. ‘Mollius’ expresses grace and delicacy, with some reference perhaps, as Forb. thinks, to giving the soft appearance of flesh.
[848] Credo equidem 4. 12. Here it has almost the force of ‘cedo,’ which was conjectured by Markland, and is the first reading of Pal. ‘Cedo equidem’ occurs 2. 704., 12. 818, but not quite in this sense. ‘Credo equidem’ is not ironical, as Burm. thinks, but means ‘I can well believe it,’ i. e., I am quite ready to admit it. So Hor. 2 Ep. 1. 66 foll., “Si quaedam nimis antique, si pleraque dure Dicere credit eos, ignave multa fatetur,” unless there we are to read ‘cedit’ with Bentley from the Queen's Coll. MS. ‘Ducere’ is properly used of producing forms by extension, as in metal (7. 634), wax (Pers. 5. 40., Juv. 7. 237), or clay (“ducere lateres de terra” Vitruv. 2. 3). Hence it is transferred to marble, probably with the accessory notion of the form growing and spreading over the material under the sculptor's hand. ‘De marmore’ is a material abl., as in 4. 457, G. 3. 13, but it also stands in connexion with ‘ducere,’ like “lento argento” in 7. 634 just cited.
[849] Orabunt caussas melius has perplexed commentators and critics, from Cerda to De Quincey (Works, vol. 14, p. 67, first Eng. ed.), who cannot understand why Virg. should have conceded to Greece superiority in oratory, and in some cases even insinuate that he must have been jealous of the fame of Cicero. But Virg.'s concession is made in a liberal and magnificent spirit, in order that the real fame of his countrymen as warriors and statesmen may appear greater: and it is not likely that he thought of the number of individual reputations that the position thus assumed compelled him to sacrifice. In the general proposition, that the real greatness of Rome lay in acts of war and policy, all moderns will agree with him: and whether he has specified oratory among the pursuits in which other nations are allowed to excel or has left it to be inferred is a matter of little consequence. He would doubtless have specified poetry with equal or greater readiness, if he had not felt that the very mention of it would have implied a latent egotism. ‘Caeli meatus’ like “caeli vias” G. 2. 477, though there the addition of “et sidera” softens the expression. Henry understands the words specifically of the heavenly circles.
[850] “Descripsit radio totum qui gentibus orbem” E. 3. 41. ‘Surgentia sidera dicent’ seems to mean, will fix, or predict, the risings of the stars.
[851] ‘Regere inperio’ is a Lucretian expression, as Forb. remarks. “Regere inperio res velle, et regna tenere,” Lucr. 5.1128. We have had “regis inperiis” above, 1. 230. ‘Romane,’ an address to the nation, as in Hor. 3 Od. 6. 2. ‘Memento’ is a mode of conveying an injunction of which Horace is fond, 2 Od. 3. 1, 3 Od. 29. 32, Epod. 10. 4, 1 Ep. 8. 16. ‘Populos,’ subject nations. Comp. generally 1. 263, “populosque ferocis Contundet, moresque viris et moenia ponet.”
[852] Ars or ‘artes’ is a common expression for pursuits or appliances of any kind: here however there is probably a reference to its stricter sense. ‘These shall be your arts’—these shall stand to you in the place of sculpture, eloquence, and astronomy. Pal. a m. pr. and three inferior MSS. have ‘haec,’ and so Ribbeck: but though it is not unlikely that copyists should have been puzzled by the older form of the nom. fem. plural, as they doubtless were in G. 3. 305, where I would now read “Haec—tuendae,” the external authority for the change is hardly sufficient. ‘Inponere’ &c. are in apposition with ‘artes,’ not, as some have taken them, dependent on ‘memento,’ ‘hae—artes’ being regarded as parenthetical. For ‘pacis’ all the best MSS. (Pal. and Gud. as well as Med. and Rom., if Ribbeck's silence is to be trusted) appear to give ‘paci,’ which Ribbeck adopts. Admitting the difficulty of the question, I have on the whole preferred to abide by the more usual reading, which is found in Serv., “leges pacis,” and supported by Livy 9. 14, “gentem quae suarum inpotens rerum prae domesticis seditionibus discordiisque aliis modum pacis ac belli facere aequum censeret,” quoted by Wagn. ‘Morem pacis inponere’ however means more than “modum pacis facere,” being equivalent, as Wagn. interprets it, to “victos adsuefacere vitae pacatae,” “compel them to cultivate the arts of peace.” Henry. Comp. 8. 316, “Quis neque mos neque cultus erat,” and see on 1. 264, G. 4. 5. This might be the sense with ‘paci,’ though I am not sure that it would be Virgilian to understand ‘paci’ as i. q. “pacatis gentibus.” Perhaps we might say that peace is curbed by institutions which prevent it from degenerating into luxury and licence, or that it is restrained by being made lasting. No parallel however occurs to me in Virg. or any other author, which would clear up the expression. ‘Pacis’ on the other hand is further confirmed by “pacis dicere leges” 12. 112, which is parallel in expression (‘mos’ and ‘lex’ being similar) rather than in sense.
[853] Of this sentiment Cerda remarks “Deficiet me tempus memorantem testes huius praeconii, te legentem.” The most apposite instances he gives are Livy 30. 42, where the Carthaginian ambassadors say of the Romans “plus pene parcendo victis quam vincendo inperium auxisse,” and Hor. Carm. Saec. 51 (of Augustus), “Inperet bellante prior, iacentem Lenis in hostem,” though there ‘inpetret’ is the more probable reading.
[854-886] ‘Lastly, Anchises points out the elder Marcellus, who is attended by a younger spirit. Aeneas inquires who the youth is, and learns that he is destined to die young, amid the general grief of the Roman people.’
