[345] Clausus of Cures 7. 707. ‘Laurus’ Med. a m. p. ‘Lausus’ Pal., Rom., Gud., and so the earliest editions. ‘Clausus’ Med. a m. s. ‘Curibus’ with ‘Clausus:’ see Madv. § 275 obs. 3. ‘Fido’ with abl. G. 3. 31, A. 5. 397.
[346, 347] Perhaps from Il. 17. 47 (Cerda), Ἂψ δ᾽ ἀναχαζομένοιο κατὰ στομάχοιο θέμεθλα Νύξ᾽, ἐπὶ δ᾽ αὺτὸς ἔρεισε, βαρείῃ χειρὶ πιθήσας. Virg. however can only mean that the spear is thrown at Dryops and forces itself violently through his throat. It is not impossible, too, that the introduction of the contending winds in v. 356 was suggested by the sentence τὸ δέ τε πνοιαὶ δονέουσι ΙΙαντοίων ἀνέμων of Hom.'s context (Il. 17. 55, comp. ib. 57). ‘Rigida hasta’ like “rigido ense” 12. 304: perhaps a translation of ἔγχος στιβαρόν (Il. 5. 746).
[348, 349] Il. 10. 457 (Cerda) φθεγγομένου δ᾽ α^ρα τοῦγε κάρη κονίῃσιν ἐυίχθη: comp. also the death of Almo 7. 533 foll. ‘Ferit’ Med., Rom., supported by Gud. corrected. ‘Premit’ Pal. and originally Gud. Ὁ δὲ χθόνα τύπτε μετώπῳ Od. 22. 86. “Crassum cruorem ore eiectantem” 5. 469.
[350] Gell. 13. 21 has a story that in Virg.'s own (?) copy ‘tres’ was written in this line, ‘tris’ in the next: the difference of position making the distinction, which he thinks a very delicate one. ‘De gente suprema’ 7. 220 note. The Thracians are allies of Troy in Homer. Virg. doubtless means literally that these warriors are descendants of Boreas.
[351] Ismara here fem. sing. from “Ismarns,” which Virg. has made into an adjective; see on 1. 686., 4. 552. In G. 2. 37 ‘Ismara’ is neut. pl., and therefore Heins. and Heyne would have preferred ‘mittunt’ here. ‘Mittit’ to war, 7. 715, 744.
[352, 353] Per varios casus in a different sense 1. 204. Here it apparently = by different ways of death, τύχας. Halaesus and the Aurunci 7. 723 foll. ‘Occurrit,’ the reading before Heins., is found in one or two of Ribbeck's cursives. “Messapus equum domitor, Neptunia proles” 7. 691 foll.
[354] The object of ‘expellere’ to be supplied from ‘hi’ and ‘illi:’ ‘hi (illos) illi (hos).’
[356] Ausonio Med. and Gud. for ‘Ausoniae.’ ‘Limine’ poetically for ‘margine.’ Burmann conj. ‘aequore’ for ‘aethere.’ Virg. has a simile of the same kind as this, but more condensed, in 2. 416: see also G. 1. 418 note.
[357] Tollunt like “excitant:” comp. the Greek πόλεμον αἴρεσθαι (Aesch. Supp. 341, &c.).
[358] ‘Ceduint’ Med. originally (whence Heins. read ‘cedunt’), altered into ‘cedit.’ ‘Non nubila’ &c. the clouds do not yield to the clouds nor the waves to the waves.
[359] Obnixa is mentioned as a various reading by Serv., and was adopted by Heins., who thought ‘obnixi omnia’ could stand for “obnixi κατὰ omnia,” and Heyne, who punctuated ‘stant obnixi: omnia contra.’ The meaning seems to be ‘everything is pushing against everything.’ “Obniti contra” 5. 21.
[361] Pede, one of those subtler instances of the local abl. in which Virg. sometimes indulges: comp. perhaps “suffuderit ore” G. 1. 430: “mucrone induat” v. 681 below, “corpore inhaeret” v. 845 below, “adnixa columna” 12. 92. Ovid uses “adhaereo” and “haereo” with abl. (probably in imitation of Virg.) M. 5. 38., 12. 95. Virg. may have used the abl. from a reminiscence of Ennius (Ann. v. 559), “premitur pede pes atque armis arma teruntur:” a similar line of Furius Antias (Ann. 4) is preserved by Macrob., 6. 3. 5, “pressatur pede pes, mucro mucrone, viro vir” (Taubm.). ‘Haeret’ is also somewhat helped by the addition of ‘densus,’ which may give ‘pede’ and ‘viro’ something of an instrumental force. The simile of the contending winds is modelled upon Il. 16. 765 foll., where the fight about the body of Kebriones is compared to Eurus and Notus striving in a forest. Virg. has magnified this into a general contention of the elements: and has not (like Homer) dwelt on the boisterous motion of the struggle, but on the fixed, stubborn resistance of each part of the contending universe (‘stant obnixa omnia contra’). To bring this out further he adapts another passage of Hom. (Il. 16. 211 foll.), where the wellmarshalled ranks of the Myrmidons are compared to a wall fitted tightly together: ἀσπὶς ἄρ᾽ ἀσπίδ᾽ ἔρειδε, κόρυς κόρυν, ἀνέρα δ᾽ ἀνήρ (comp. 13. 130 φράξαντες δόρυ δουρί, σάκος σάκεϊ προθελύμνῳ), and applies it, not to the close ranks of one army, but to the obstinate mass of both when met in the close of battle. The passage of Homer last quoted is imitated by Tyrtaeus Fr. 11. 31 foll. (Bergk).
[362-438] ‘In another part of the field the Arcadian horsemen, who are fighting in the bed of a mountain stream and compelled by the roughness of the ground to disount from their horses, are yielding to the Latins. They are rallied by Pallas, who after killing Lagus, Anchemolus, Rhoeteus, and others, at length slays Halaesus, who had himself dealt some destruction among the Trojans. Lausus rallies the Rutulians and makes much havoc among the army of Aeneas.’ As the commentators observe on v. 380, Virg. has not told us how Pallas, who was with Aeneas during his nightly voyage, joins the Arcadians.
