[584] Ἠὼς δ᾽ ἐκ λεχέων παρ᾽ ἀγαυοῦ Τιθωνοῖο Ὤρνυθ᾽, ἵν᾽ ἀθανάτοισι φόως φέροι ἠδὲ βροτοῖσιν, Il. 11. 1. Virg. may also have been thinking of Il. 24. 695, Ἠὼς δὲ κροκόπεπλος ἐκίδνατο πᾶσαν ἐπ᾽ αἶαν, as he certainly was of Lucr. 2.144, “primum Aurora novo cum spargit lumine terras.”
[585] Repeated from G. 1. 447.
[586] ‘E speculis’ = “arce ex summa” above v. 410. Henry comp. 10. 454, “leo, specula cum vidit ab alta.” See Apoll. R. 3. 827. For ‘primum’ Pal. and Gud. a m. pr. and one or two others have ‘primam;’ but ‘ut primum’ is sufficiently common in Virg., who would probably have avoided using ‘primam’ so soon after v. 584.
[587] Aequatis velis, the fleet going immediately before the wind, which fills all the sails equally. Heyne comp. 5. 844, “aequatae spirant aurae:” also ib. 232, “aequatis cepissent praemia rostris.” Thus we do not want C. F. Hermann's ingenious conjecture ‘arquatis,’ which Ladewig adopts.
[588] Vacuos sine remige is of course pleonastic, or, if we please, a sort of confusion of ‘sine remige’ and ‘vacuos remige.’ Wagn. comp. Il. 21. 50, γυμνὸν ἄτερ κόρυθός τε καὶ ἀσπίδος, οὐδ᾽ ἔχεν ἔγχος, Sil. 10. 582, “vacuum sine corpore nomen,” the last doubtless an imitation of Virg.
[589] Comp. 1. 481.
[590] For ‘abscissa’ many MSS. have ‘abscisa;’ but see on G. 2. 23. “Abscindere vestem” of rending the clothes 5. 685. For this use of the past part. with a quasi-present force comp. G. 1. 293 note. Perhaps it is best to say that the past sense is preserved, but that it refers to the time immediately preceding the present, like the Greek aorist in ἔκοψα, ἐπῄνεσα &c. The passive too seems to be used like the Greek middle.
[591] For the force of ‘inluserit’ see on 2. 581. ‘Advena’ applied again to Aeneas, 12. 261, being in fact the unfavourable synonyme of ‘hospes.’
[592] Arma, not naval accoutrements, but arms (see v. 594), as Wund. rightly contends, observing that some are to prepare for fighting while others get the ships ready. For ‘alii’ not preceded by ‘alii’ he comp. Caes. B. G. 1. 8, “Helvetii . . . navibus iunctis ratibusque compluribus factis, alii vadis Rhodani . . . si perrumpere possent, conati.”
[593] ‘Deripient’ is the emendation of Heins. for ‘diripient.’ See on 1. 211., 3. 267, and comp. G. 2. 8. Bentley remarks that the Latin poets generally disliked a full stop at the end of the fifth foot. The present case is an exception which proves the rule, the whole passage being intentionally made more abrupt and broken than usual.
[594] One MS. and some grammarians give ‘date vela,’ which was generally adopted before Wagn. It would naturally strike a copyist as the more familiar expression: he might fancy it more suited to the context: he might be anxious to complete the variation from the paralled line 9. 37, “Ferte citi ferrum, date tela, ascendite muros.” Dido however wants weapons to engage the Trojans as well as fire to burn their ships, nor would she be likely in her haste to speak of both sailing and rowing.
[595] A momentary return to calmness. ‘Mentem’ probably in its ordinary sense, though it might virtually = “sanam mentem” or “sapientiam.”
[596] Fata was the old reading before Heins., ‘fata impia’ being supposed to mean ‘cruel fate,’ which it could scarcely do. It is still a question whether ‘facta impia’ is said by Dido of herself or of Aeneas. The latter is supported by Dido's language v. 496 above, and by Tibull. 3. 6. 42, quoted by Wagn., “ingrati referens impia facta viri,” of Theseus' desertion of Ariadne. But in this case it is difficult to explain the next line, the full construction of which must be ‘Tum decuit (facta impia tangere te) cum sceptra dabas.’ Dido had no reason to think Aeneas treacherous when she offered him a share in the crown: he had treated no one else with the same perfidy. Wagn. attempts to get over this by understanding ‘tum decuit’ “you should have suspected him then;” but the question recurs, had be given ground for suspicion? The very next words seem to say that all his previous actions had been in his favour, and that his present faithlessness makes her disbelieve that they ever took place. Her regret for not having slain him, vv. 600 foll., refers not to the time of her welcoming him, but to that of her becoming first aware of his treachery, as ‘moritura’ v. 604 shows. It seems better then to understand ‘facta impia’ of Dido's own faithlessness to the memory of Sychaeus, with Henry, who comp. Medea's self-reproach, Apoll. R. 4. 412, “ἐπεὶ τὸ πρῶτον ἀάσθην Ἀμπλακίῃ, θεοθὲν δὲ κακὰς ἤνυσσα μενοινάς”, and Deianira's “Impia quid dubitas Deianira mori?” Ov. Her. 9. 146. It may seem indeed that Ovid himself sanctions this interpretation, as his preceding line is “Hei mihi! quid feci? quo me furor egit amantem?” which may be an imitation of v. 595. Heyne, who also refers ‘facta impia’ to Dido, thinks she is struck with horror at her wish to avenge herself on her lover, and then wishes that her moral sense had been as keen earlier: but this is far less likely, and scarcely consistent with the access of fury v. 600, or indeed with the tone of the whole speech, which, tempestuous as it is, gives no sign of relenting towards Aeneas. For ‘nunc’ Probus and Cledonius quote the passage with ‘num.’ Some of the editors have put a period after ‘tangunt,’ but the interrogation is better.
[597] Tum Med., ‘tunc’ Pal., Gud. See on v. 408. “Tum decuit metuisse tuis” 10. 94. ‘En dextra fidesque:’ comp. v. 314 above.
[598] We may either supply ‘eius’ before ‘quem,’ or say that ‘dextra fidesque’ is virtually equivalent to ‘vir fidelis.’ Aeneas describes himself similarly 1. 378, where ‘fama super aethera notus’ may be called the grandiloquent equivalent to the sarcastic ‘aiunt’ here. ‘Portasse’ is the reading of Med. and another MS., but it is apparently an alteration by some one who did not appreciate the sarcasm of the present—‘who is said always to carry about with him’—or remember Aeneas' words just referred to.
[599] Subiisse humeris 2. 708. ‘Humero’ is the first reading of Pal. The accusative is similarly used after ‘subire’ 12. 899. “Confecto aetate parenti” Catull. 66 (68). 118.
[600] Dido asks whether she had not the power, inquiring by implication why she did not use it. She says she might have acted like Agave, or like Procne (v. 602). But ‘non potui’ may be taken like “non licuit” v. 550. 5. 82, not as a question but as an ejaculation, ‘that I should not have had the heart,’ = ‘why had I not the heart?’ ‘potui’ being understood as in 7. 309 &c. ‘Undis spargere:’ comp. 3. 605.
[603] Fuerat in the place of “fuisset:” see on G. 2. 133. So ‘quem metui’ seems to stand for “quem metuissem,” as Gossrau thinks, though in that case we should have expected “metueram.” Perhaps we may say that Dido identifies herself as she is now with what she would have been in the case supposed, being in either case ‘moritura:’ so that she asks ‘whom have I feared?’ as a more direct way of putting the question ‘whom should I have feared?’ In v. 19 we have “potui” when we might have expected “potuissem.” ‘Castra:’ the military term is transferred to naval matters, as in 3. 519.
[605] Possibly the contracted forms ‘inplessem,’ ‘extinxem,’ are meant to be in keeping with Dido's excitement.
[606] Cum genere, with the whole race of Trojans. ‘Memet dedissem:’ comp. 2. 566, “corpora . . . ignibus aegra dedere.” Dido would have flung herself on the funeral pile, like Eriphyle. Virg. was thinking of Apoll. R. 4. 391, “ἵετο δ᾽ ἥγε Νῆα καταφλέξαι, διά τ᾽ ἔμπεδα πάντα κεάσσαι, Ἐν δὲ πεσεῖν αὐτὴ μαλερῷ πυρί”.
[607] Ἠέλιός θ᾽, ὃς πάντ᾽ ἐφορᾶς καὶ πάντ᾽ ἐπακούεις, Il. 3. 277. Virg. does not say as much as Homer, but he implies no less. The sun is invoked as throwing his light on every thing, and consequently as knowing all that is done. ‘Opera omnia terrarum,’ all that is done on earth, not, as Heyne appears to think, of the cultivated parts of the earth (his note is “‘terrarum opera’ ut ἔργα, proprie de cultis locis”). With this half-local use of ‘terrarum’ comp. Aesch. Ag. 1579, θεοὺς ἄνωθεν γῆς ἐποπτεύειν ἄχη.
[608] Interpres seems here to signify a medium, as in Plaut. Miles 4. 1. 3 &c. Juno had presided over the union of hearts, and so could do justice to the feelings of each, and in fact judge between them. ‘Conscia’ nearly as in v. 167 above.
[609] Ululata, celebrated with the ὀλολυγμός. The word is similarly used by Stat. Theb. 3. 158. Hecate was called Trivia as being invoked in the crossways. The word however may have reference to the howling of Hecate's dogs: see on 6. 257.
[610] Dirae ultrices 4. 473 above. ‘Di morientis Elissae’ seems to refer to the Roman notion that each person had a presiding deity, who was called Genius in the case of a man, Juno in that of a woman. One belief seems to have been that this deity was twofold, which would account for ‘Di,’ and for the habitual use of ‘Manes’ for the spirit of a single person. The custom of erecting two altars to a dead person (3. 63 note) points the same way. What precise notion of twofold personality may have been at the bottom of this seems hard to say: but we may compare the Etruscan conception of the gods as both male and female, or as existing in pairs.
[611] “Accipite haec animis laetasque advertite mentis” 5. 305, so that ‘accipite haec’ here virtually = ‘nostras audite preces.’ ‘Meritum’ seems to be passive, ‘numen’ containing implicitly the notion of wrathful regard, for which we are prepared also by the position of ‘meritum’ before ‘malis.’ ‘Malis,’ evil things (Wagn.), not evil persons (Heyne). ‘Let your power stoop to the hills that call it down.’
[612] Tangere portus G. 1. 303. The wish is modelled on Polyphemus' prayer Od. 9. 532 foll.
[613] The circumlocution ‘caput’ may be used because the head was the object commonly devoted in an imprecation, which is what Dido is virtually uttering. ‘Terris adnare’ seems to imply difficulty of landing: comp. 1. 538., 6. 358.
[614] Fata Iovis: see on 3. 251, 376, and comp. “fata deum” 2. 54. It is the Homeric Διὸς αἶσα, Il. 17. 321. ‘Hic’ is emphatic, οὕτως ὥρισται. Comp. 3. 376, “is vertitur ordo.” ‘Terminus haeret’ is from Lucr. 1.77, ‘terminus’ having here its sense extended like that of ὅρος, so as to mean a decree. Attius talked of “fatorum terminus,” and Hor. Carm. Saec. 26 uses “stabilis rerum terminus” in connexion with the fates. For ‘sic’ some have ‘si,’ which is obviously inferior.
[615] Virg. has doubtless framed Dido's imprecations so that, while intended by her to be all that is dreadful, they should be susceptible of a much more endurable fulfilment. The imprecation of Polyphemus in Homer is something of the same kind: there however the relief is found in the fact that the curse only extends to Ulysses' arrival at home, and so is not incompatible with his subsequent triumph over his enemies. Dido is more unrelenting: she prays that he may have to fight, to leave his settlement and his son, implore foreign aid, submit to a disgraceful peace, die prematurely, and be deprived of burial. Aeneas does meet with opposition (Book 7): he has to leave Ascanius in the camp and entreat aid from Evander (Books 8 and 9): the final peace involves concessions to the Latins and the extinction of the Trojan name (Book 12): while his death, according to one legend, which Virg. probably followed (see 1. 265), happened when he had reigned only three years, and his body, if not left ‘media arena,’ did not meet with burial, being swallowed up in the Numicius, or, according to another account, not being found after a battle. Yet Aeneas' career after reaching Italy would have been felt to be a prosperous one, just as the Romans of Virg.'s day would feel that the eternal feud between Troy and Carthage, and the actual appearance of the threatened avenger, were not painful but glorious recollections. The Sibyl, however (6. 83 foll.), takes a similar, though less gloomy view of Aeneas' future in Italy. These lines, as is well known, had a more terrible fulfilment in our own history in the case of Charles the First, who opened upon them when he consulted the Sortes Vergilianae in the Bodleian Library at Oxford. ‘At’ after ‘si,’ G. 4. 241. The epithet ‘audax’ is given four times to Turnus in the later books (7. 409., 9. 3, 126., 10. 276), once to the Rutulians generally (9. 519). ‘Bello et armis’ 1. 545.
[616] Finibus extorris may be compared with such expressions as ἄλυπος ἄτης in Greek poetry: but we have “extorris agro,” “patria” &c., in prose.
[617] Indigna funera like “indigna morte” 6. 163.
[618] “Pacis dicere leges” 12. 112.
[619] Optata seems to be a general epithet, like “caeli iucundum lumen” 6. 363. On the apparent contradiction in 6. 764 to the fulfilment of this part of the prayer see note there.
[620] Ante diem below v. 697. It is coupled with ‘inhumatus,’ both expressing the circumstances attending death, though of course ‘inhumatus,’ if pressed, would involve a ὕστερον πρότερον.
[622] Tum, in the next place.
[623] Heyne is doubtless right in suspecting that in using the expression ‘exercete odiis’ Virg. was thinking of the more common phrase “exercere odia in aliquem,” at the same time that he meant the words to bear their natural meaning. Wund. comp. G. 4. 453, “Non te nullius exercent numinis irae.”
[624] ‘Be such the funeral offerings you send down to my dust below.’ See on G. 4. 520. ‘Mittite’ 6. 380, G. 4. 545. Dido means that she hopes the news will reach her in her grave, as Forb. explains it. Comp. v. 387 above.
[625] Forb. remarks that ‘exoriare aliquis’ is more vivid and forcible than ‘exoriatur aliquis’ would have been. Huschke on Tibull. 1. 6. 39 comp. passages from the comedians where an imperative plural is followed by “aliquis,” as Ter. Adelph. 4. 4. 25, “aperite aliquis actutum ostium.”— The reference to Hannibal need hardly be pointed out. ‘Nostris ex ossibus’ merely means that her death is to produce an avenger, as it has been said that Marius sprung from the blood of the Gracchi.
[626] Face ferroque is a variety for “ferro atque igni.”
[627] Nunc, olim is similarly used by Lucan 9. 603, ‘Now or hereafter, I care not when.’ ‘Dabunt se’ means apparently little more than ‘dabuntur.’ Virg. is thinking, as Serv. remarks, of the three Punic wars, as if Carthage broke out into war as often as it had gained strength.
[628] Dido concludes her imprecation by praying that the enmity of the two countries may be as thorough as it is lasting. Perhaps we may say that she expresses herself as if she wished their opposition in situation (1. 13.) to symbolize their inward hostility. To suppose with Serv. that there is a reference to the terms of treaty between the two nations, forbidding them to approach each other's coasts, &c., would only weaken the force of a grand peroration.
[629] Nepotesque Med., ‘nepotes’ Gud. In Pal. ‘que’ is nearly erased. The change was evidently made to avoid the hypermeter. ‘Ipsique nepotesque’— the present generation of Tyrians and Trojans and all that follow them. The prayer is that hostility may begin at once and never cease; another way of putting ‘stirpem et genus omne futurum Exercete odiis.’ Wagn., Forb., and Gossrau refer the words exclusively to the Trojans and their Roman descendants, supposing Dido to wish that the nation may be cursed with perpetual war. But a thought so weighty would not have been included in a single hemistich, nor can ‘pugnent’ well stand, apart from the context, for “bello aeterno exerceantur:” while Gossrau's attempt to give the sense to the previous sentence, which he would commence with v. 627—‘Whenever the Romans shall gain strength, let them find themselves with the whole world in arms against them’— though ingenious, is by no means natural.
[630-641] ‘Wishing to put an end to life at once, she sends away Sychaeus' nurse, who was with her, telling her to fetch her sister, who is to bring with her all that remains for the completion of the magic ceremony.’
