[371] Enim may either have its ordinary sense ‘for,’ ‘miratus’ and ‘motus’ being taken as principal verbs, and the clause made parenthetical (comp. 4. 105, “Olli (sensit enim simulata mente locutam) . . . Sic contra est ingressa Venus,” Ov. F. 1. 659, “Cum mihi (sensit enim), Lux haec indicitur, inquit Musa,”) or be understood as a strengthening particle, as in 10. 874, “Aeneas adgnovit enim laetusque precatur.” Perhaps the latter is better; but it is very doubtful. “Mota tumultu” 8. 371.
[319] Quo discrimine: what constitutes the distinction, according to which some are rejected, others admitted.
[320] “‘Hae linquunt:’ repulsae scilicet, non transeuntes,” Serv. ‘Remis verrunt’ 3. 668. Here they are said to do what Charon does for them. ‘Livida’ of turbid water Catull. 17. 11, quoted on v. 296 above. Pal. has ‘vertunt:’ comp. 3. 668., 5. 141 note.
[321] Comp. v. 398. ‘Longaeva:’ the legend was that the Sibyl obtained from Apollo the boon of as many years of life as the grains of sand she happened to be holding in her hand.
[322] Some have supposed a contrast between ‘Anchisa generate’ and ‘deum certissima proles:’ but vv. 125, 126 above are rather against this. ‘Deum certissima proles’ like “cara deum suboles” E. 4. 49, where ‘deum’ appears to be used generally, as we should say ‘offspring of heaven.’ This interpretation has been questioned in both passages by Mr. Munro (Journal of Classical and Sacred Philology, vol. 4, pp. 290 foll.), who prefers explaining the words as equivalent to “divina proles” or “suboles” (as in Lucr. 4.1232, where “virum suboles” must = “virilis”), the genitive indicating the quality of the issue, not its parentage. In the present passage the sense strongly favours, if it does not absolutely require the ordinary interpretation, as the point seems to be that Aeneas is one of the class of “Dis geniti” vv. 131, 394 (comp. v. 123), rather than that his own quality is godlike. Ascanius is called “Dis genite et geniture deos” 9. 642: Aeneas is called “sate gente deum” 8. 36, where “gente deum” apparently must = “dis.” Aeneas was in fact sprung from more gods than one, from Venus, and hence from Jupiter, not to mention Saturn and Caelus. So Soph. Ant. 986 has θεῶν παῖς of Cleopatra the daughter of Boreas. “Genus deorum” 4. 12, “deum gens” 10. 228, both said of Aeneas, are in the same category with the present line, and must be ruled by the interpretation given to it. ‘Certissima,’ because there were pretenders to the honour, as even mythology itself admitted, doubts about parentage forming the staple of some of the mythological stories, such as that of Phaethon. So Aristaeus in the passage referred to above, G. 4. 322, affects to doubt his own descent when in trouble. Thus Hercules 8. 301 is called “vera Iovis proles,” having justified himself by his actions.
[323] ‘This that you see is the pool of Cocytus.’ So 1. 338, “Punica regna vides, Tyrios et Agenoris urbem.” Cocytus and Styx are mentioned almost as if they were the same river: see on v. 296 above. The infernal rivers were supposed to form or flow into lakes or marshes (v. 107, Plato Phaedo, pp. 112, 113); so they are spoken of as if lakes or marshes themselves, being turbid and sluggish. So “Stygios lacus” v. 134 above.
[324] Cuius, of Styx. Καὶ τὸ κατειβόμενον Στυγὸς ὕδωρ, ὅς τε μέγιστος Ὅρκος δεινότατός τε πέλει μακάρεσσι θεοῖσιν Il. 15. 37, Od. 5. 185: comp. Il. 2. 755., 14. 271. So Jupiter swears by the Styx 9. 104., 10. 113. ‘Iurare’ with acc. v. 351 below. ‘Iurare et fallere’ to be taken closely together, i. q. “iuratum numen fallere” or “peierare.” Comp. the wellknown passage of St. Paul, Rom. 6. 17, χάρις δὲ τῷ Θεῷ ὅτι ἦτε δοῦλοι τῆς ἁμαρτίας, ὑπηκούσατε δὲ ἐκ καρδίας εἰς ὃν παρεδόθητε τύπον διδαχῆς.
[325] The belief that only those who had been buried could be received among the shades is as old as Hom., Il. 23. 71 foll.: comp. the story of Elpenor, Od. 11, who however does not appear to have been prevented, like Patroclus, from crossing the river, though he is the first to meet Ulysses. Patroclus is kept off, not by Charon, who, as has been remarked above, was unknown to Hom., but by the other ghosts. Heyne remarks on the humane character of the superstition, which was likely to have its effect on savage tribes. Serv. has a strange notion that ‘inops’ means unburied, “Ops” being taken mythologically for the earth-goddess. “Inhumata infletaque turba” 11. 372.
[327]
Datur, Charonti. A prose
writer would probably have said ‘transportari,’
as the prohibition really touches
the dead rather than Charon. ‘Ripas horrendas
transportare’ seems to mean to
carry from one side of the dreadful river
to another. ‘Transportare’ is used with
two accusatives (see Forc.), and the more
ordinary one of the object is here to be
supplied from the context. With ‘ripas
horrendas’ we may comp. Soph. (Polyx.)
fr. 478:
“ἀκτὰς ἀπαίωνάς τε καὶ μελαμβαθεῖς
λιποῦσα λίμνης ἦλθον, ἄρσενας χοὰς
Ἀχέροντος ὀξυπλῆγας ἠχούσας γόους.
”
[328] Sedibus: see on v. 152 above. Here it must mean the grave.
[329] It is not known whether this specification of 100 years is due to any earlier authority or to Virg.'s invention. ‘Errant:’ ἀλλ᾽ αὔτως ἀλάλημαι Il. 23. 74, of the unburied Patroclus.
[330] Revisunt, because they had been driven away to a distance v. 316. At any rate we may say that having visited the river once with the hope of crossing and been disappointed, they now visit it again with a hope that has become a certainty. ‘Stagna’ v. 323.
[331] “Satus Anchisa” 5. 244, 424. ‘Vestigia pressit’ v. 197.
[332] Multa putans 8. 522. I have restored ‘animi’ for ‘animo,’ though found only in Med. “Animi miserata” is supported by the whole weight of the better MSS. in 10. 686, and the expression is just one of those which are likely to have been repeated by Virg. and altered by transcribers not understanding it, as has been the case in the inferior copies there. ‘Animi’ really = “animo,” the gen. being probably quasi-locative: see on 2. 61.
[333] Mortis honore like “honos tumuli” 10. 493. Comp. the Homeric τὸ γὰρ γέρας ἐστὶ θανόντων Il. 16. 457.
[334] Leucaspis is not mentioned elsewhere in Virg. The name is a Greek one, as are many of those assigned by Virg., and even by Hom., to the inferior Trojans. In Hom. it is an epithet of Deiphobus Il. 22. 294. The death of Orontes and his Lycians has been mentioned 1. 113. ‘Oronten’ Pal., ‘Orontem’ Med., Rom., Gud., &c.: Heyne restored the former, which some copies have in 1. 113: and Wagn. supports it there by the remark that in 1. 220 the best MSS. have ‘Oronti,’ the Latin form of the Greek gen. of proper names in ‘es,’ not ‘Orontis.’ In A. 1 we hear only of one ship: but the words here do not imply that the whole of the Lycian part of the fleet perished with its general.
[335] Simul may either be taken with ‘obruit,’ meaning that Leucaspis and Orontes died together, or with ‘vectos,’ meaning that they were fellow-voyagers of Aeneas. Wagn. thinks the latter sense weak; but surely it has peculiar force, showing what passed through Aeneas' mind and drew his tears, the thought that these men had been with him throughout his seven years' wanderings. With the other sense it would be possible to take ‘vectos’ as = “navigantis,” as Wagn. wishes (see on G. 1. 206, where “ventosa per aequora vectis” has occurred already), so as to refer the words to the circumstances of the storm in which they met their death: but in that case we should rather have had ‘a Sicilia’ than ‘a Troia.’ I think then it is best to understand ‘ventosa per aequora vectos’ of all the sufferings during the seven years' voyage (comp. 1. 524, “ventis maria omnia vecti”), referring ‘simul’ to Aeneas, and I have removed the commas accordingly. Pal. a m. p. has ‘ab Troia,’ which Ribbeck adopts.
[336] Obruit Auster: comp. Hor. 1 Od. 28. 21, “Me quoque devexi rapidus comes Orionis Illyricis Notus obruit undis.” “Silvas armenta virosque Involvens secum” 12. 689.
[337-383] ‘He next sees Palinurus, and inquires how he came to be lost at sea, contrary to Apollo's prediction. Palinurus acquits Apollo, says that he fell overboard by accident, and swam to shore, when he was killed by the natives, and begs that he may either be buried or taken with Aeneas across the Styx. The Sibyl rebukes him, but tells him that he shall have funeral solemnities, and that the spot where he was murdered shall bear his name.’
[337] The line may remind us of 5. 833, “Princeps ante omnis densum Palinurus agebat Agmen,” and Taubm. remarks, “Qui vita navis, mortuus seipsum agebat.” Virg. cannot have intended this, but he is perhaps to blame for not having excluded the possibility of the supposition. ‘Sese agebat’ is explained by Serv. “sine negotio incedere,” by Manutius and some of the earlier commentators, of slow and melancholy motion; but it would seem from the use of the words 8. 465., 9. 696, quoted by Forb., that it is simply a poetical equivalent for ‘ibat.’ Comp. G. 2. 364.
[338] ‘Libyco cusu:’ see Introduction to Book 5. They had halted at Sicily, so that the voyage was not really more from Libya to Italy than from any other place where they had stopped since sailing from Troy. Serv. remarks, “Bene ‘Libyco:’ navigatio enim non a diverticulo, sed ab intentione accipit nomen.” ‘Sidera servat’ 5. 25. ‘Dum servat—exciderat:’ see on v. 171 above, and the notes there referred to. Here again there is a rhetorical propriety in representing Palinurus' watching of the stars as still going on: comp. 5. 852, 853.
339. We might have expected “medias effusus in undas:” but Virg. probably wished to combine the notion of the acc. with that of the abl., “effusus in undas in medio cursu.” Arusianus Messius, p. 140 Lindemann, says “Diligentiores quidam grammatici hoc ita dividi volunt: ‘Cum in mediis undis esset, puppi effusus exciderat:’” but this I think would be ‘nimia diligentia.’ Forb. comp. 10. 838, “fusus propexam in pectore barbam.”[340] The darkness rendered the recognition difficult (comp. v. 452), and perhaps increased the melancholy of Palinurus' appearance.
[342] Medio like ‘mediis in undis.’ Ulysses addresses Elpenor more briefly, Od. 11. 57, 58.
[343] Apparently from Aesch. Choeph. 559, ἄναξ Ἀπόλλων, μάντις ἀψευδὴς τὸ πρίν.
[344] Hoc uno responso: see Introduction to Book 5. The only prediction bearing on the subject is made not to Aeneas but by Neptune to Venus, and expressly mentions the loss of one of the crew, 5. 812 foll.
[345] There seems no authority for constructing ‘ponto incolumem,’ ‘unharmed by the sea,’ as we might be not sorry to do; so that ‘ponto’ must be understood ‘in your course through the sea,’ a sort of abl. of circumstance.
[346] It may be questioned whether the interrogation usually placed after ‘fides est’ should not be changed into an exclamation, as the force of the words is substantially equivalent to “en dextra fidesque” 4. 597. But we have had ‘en’ with interrogatives 4. 534, E. 1. 68, and the interrogation is perhaps the more natural form into which to throw a sentence like this. “Fides promissa” has occurred already 4. 552. Some MSS. mentioned by Pier. have “fidesque,” evidently from a recollection of 4. 597.
[347] “Ille autem” v. 695 below. ‘Cortina’ 3. 92, the seat of the priestess delivering the oracle. Comp. Aesch. Eum. 616, οὐπώποτ᾽ εἶπον μαντικοῖσιν ἐν θρόνοις Ὃ μὴ κελεύσαι Ζεὺς Ὀλυμπίων πατήρ.
[348] As in v. 126, there is a question between ‘Anchisiade’ and ‘Anchisiada.’ See on 3. 475. ‘Deus’ generally, any god, an answer to Aeneas' question v. 341. Palinurus did not know the agency of the god of sleep in throwing him overboard, as Ilioneus did not know the agency of Aeolus in producing the storm 1. 535. Palinurus denies two things, that a god had any thing to do with throwing him into the sea, and that he was drowned at all, Aeneas' question having assumed both. Elpenor says the contrary, Od. 11. 61, ἆσέ με δαίμονος αἶσα κακή.
[349] He accounts for it as an accident —he slipped, and the rudder which he held gave way with the shock, ‘forte,’ the violence applied being fortuitous. Comp. the description 5. 858 foll.
[350] It matters little whether ‘cui’ goes with ‘datus’ or with ‘haerebam.’ ‘Datus custos’ like “comes datus” 11. 33. Palinurus says that the post was assigned to him, and that he adhered to it faithfully. Something must be borrowed from ‘cui’ for ‘cursus regebam,’ if we connect ‘cui’ with ‘haerebam.’ See on G. 2. 208. ‘Regebam’ 5. 868.
[351] Praecipitans, intrans. 2. 9, ‘in my fall.’ Palinurus swears by the seas, or calls the seas to witness, as Antigone, Eur. Phoen. 1677, calls her sword to witness, ἴστω σίδηρος ὅρκιόν τέ μοι ξίφος.
[352] The commentators seem to have assumed that ‘timorem’ is the object of ‘cepisse:’ but it might with equal propriety be regarded as the subject. Virg. has no expression elsewhere like “capio timorem,” while “dementia cepit” 5. 465, “formidine captos” 2. 384, “si te ceperunt taedia laudis” G. 4. 332, might be quoted for “timor capit.” On the other hand ‘cepisse’ may idiomatically have the sense of ‘concepisse,’ and “capere metum” occurs Livy 33. 27, “accipere metum” Ter. Heaut. 2. 3. 96. With ‘pro me’ Wagn. comp. 12. 48, “Quam pro me curam geris, hanc precor, optume, pro me Deponas.” ‘Tantum—quam:’ comp. Cic. Mil. 22, “Id quidem non tanti est quam quod non inimici mentem satiavit.”
[353] Ribbeck reads ‘ni’ from a quotation in Rufinianus. ‘Armis,’ a general expression for the rudder. “Spoliata magistro” 5. 224. ‘Excussa magistro,’ a variety for ‘excusso magistro’ (“excutitur magister” 1. 115), the shock being regarded as having separated the ship from the pilot rather than vice versa.
[354] Tantis surgentibus undis is doubtless the abl.: it might however be the dat., as in v. 196, as a person or thing may be said to fail the antagonist he opposes unsuccessfully as well as the friend he does not help, just as “sufficit umbo ictibus” 9. 810 is said of the shield resisting the blows. We hear nothing of a storm in the narrative at the end of Book 5: see Introduction to that Book. Those who would defend Virg. from the charge of inconsistency say that Palinurus would naturally overrate the danger arising from his loss, and point out that 5. 866 gives some colour to what he says.
[355] Peerlkamp observes with reason that we should hardly have gathered from the narrative that so long a time had elapsed between the loss of Palinurus and Aeneas' visit to the shades. See Introduction to Book 5. Ulysses floats for two days, Od. 5. 388 foll., and sees land on the third. Palinurus is doubtless meant to float on the spars which he dragged down with him. ‘Hibernas:’ winter nights, and consequently long.
[356] Vexit aqua like “pelagoque vehatur” 10. 165, “fertur aqua” 8. 549. ‘Lumen’ for a day is as old as Enn. (Med. fr. 8), “Si te secundo lumine hic offendero, Moriere.” So ‘lux’ 3. 117, &c. Comp. Lucr. 6.1197, “Octavoque fere candenti lumine solis Aut etiam nona reddebant lampade vitam.”
[357] ὁ δ᾽ ἄρα σχεδὸν εἴσιδε γαῖαν, Ὀξὺ μάλα προϊδών, μεγάλου ὑπὸ κύματος ἀρθείς, Od. 5. 392. ‘Ab unda’ however is evidently to be connected with ‘prospexit’ (comp. v. 385), not with ‘sublimis.’
[358] Serv. mentions another possible punctuation, “Paullatim adnabam: terrae iam tuta tenebam,” and Ladewig and Haupt have adopted it. Either would stand; but the ordinary punctuation seems slightly preferable, ‘tuta’ being used similarly 9. 366 “tuta capessunt,” 11. 871 “tuta petunt.” “Terrae tuta” might however be supported by 11. 882 “tuta domorum,” and 3. 387 “tuta urbem conponere terra.” With ‘adnabam’ comp. 1. 538 “huc pauci vestris adnavimus oris,” 4. 613 “terris adnare.” ‘Tenebam ni invasisset,’ a rhetorical expression which is perhaps best explained as a condensed formula: ‘I was just in safety and should have continued unless’ &c. So 8. 522, ‘They were musing sadly, and would have mused longer, but.’ As in passages like G. 2. 132, 133, the juxtaposition of incongruous words is meant to show the critical nature of the impediment, preventing a thing which was just taking place.
[359] We should have expected ‘cum’ to be omitted: but Virg. has combined two expressions, ‘madida cum veste’ and ‘madida veste gravatum.’ Wagn. cites a similar expression in Greek, οἱ δὲ σὺν γήρᾳ βαρεῖς Ἱερῆς Soph. O. R. 17. “Madidaque fluens in veste” 5. 179.
[360] This line partly gives the picture, partly, like the preceding clause, supplies a reason why he was easily killed: his movements were impeded by his wet clothes, and his hands were clinging to the cliff. “Uncis manibus” G. 2. 365. Ulysses' attempts to hold on by the rocks are described more at length Od. 5. 428 foll. ‘Capita:’ he had crawled up the cliff and was clinging to the top. Donatus has a curious explanation, “Aspera saxorum, quae ex montis radicibus, veluti capita, in mari exstant.”
[361] The barbarians thought Palinurus a shipwrecked man, who would probably have some of his property about him. So Wagn. rightly. Wakef., combining the readings of two MSS., read “ignava petisset,” a plausible but unnecessary change
[362] Perhaps imitated from Eur. Hec 28, quoted by Heyne, κεῖμαι δ᾽ ἐπ᾽ ἀκταῖς, ἄλλοτ᾽ ἐν πόντου σάλῳ. The sense at any rate is the same: “my body is sometimes tossed by the waves, sometimes thrown on the shore.” Palinurus identifies himself with his body, naturally enough. Serv. comp. Il. 1. 4, αὐτοὺς δὲ ἑλώρια τεῦχε κύνεσσι. ‘Fluctus habet’ like “pontus habet Libyae” 1. 556. The reality corresponds to Aeneas' prediction 5. 871.
[363] So Elpenor adjures Ulysses to bury him, Od. 11. 66 foll. ‘Quod’ in adjurations 2. 141 note. For the adjuration by the light of day comp. 3. 600. Palinurus adjures Aeneas by the things that the latter holds most dear, as is evident from the next line and from the parallel in Od. 11. Wagn. rightly joins ‘auras’ as well as ‘lumen’ to ‘caeli,’ ‘caeli auras’ occurring 7. 543, 766.
[364] 10. 524. “Ascanium surgentem et spes heredis Iuli” 4. 274 note. Heins. restored ‘spes’ for ‘spem’ from the best MSS. and Macrob. Sat. 5. 7.
[365] An odd literary blunder is connected with this line. Tetricus, the rival of Aurelian, sent to his conqueror the words “Eripe me his, invicte, malis,” and Trebellius Pollio in his life of Tetricus (Trig. Tyr. 23) supposes it to be his own. ‘Tu’ as in G. 4. 106 note gives force and in this case urgency to the request.
[366] ‘Terram iniice:’ Palinurus puts his request in the easiest form, like the mariner in Hor. 1 Od. 28. 35, “Quamquam festinas, non est mora longa, licebit Iniecto ter pulvere curras.” ‘Namque potes,’ δύνασαι γάρ. The meaning is that Aeneas would find the body without difficulty, and would not have to retrace his steps far by repairing again (‘require’) to Velia. So Elpenor, Od. l. c. οἶδα γάρ, ὡς ἐνθένδε κιὼν δόμου ἐξ Ἀΐδαο Νῆσον ἐς Αἰαίην σχήσεις εὐεργέα νῆα,—words which in sense answer to this passage, though in language they more resemble vv. 368 foll.
[367] “Si qua via est” v. 194 above. ‘Via’ metaphorical, as in v. 96, &c. So Serv. “si est ulla ratio.” But it may be the way over the water, as Forb. thinks, “Diva creatrix” 8. 534.
[368] “Sine numine divom” 2. 777., 5. 56.
[369] “Stygios innare lacus” v. 134 above.
[370] From Il. 23. 75, καί μοι δὸς τὴν χεῖρ᾽, ὀλοφύρομαι. ‘Tollere’ of taking on board 3. 601. ‘Dextra’ seems to be the hand of promise, as in 3. 610., 7. 366, not the hand of help. ‘Me tolle per undas,’ apparently a condensed expression for “tolle et vehe per undas.”
[371] Saltem is explained by Serv. “quia nautae semper vagantur:” by Wagn. “quod unum est mortuo solatium.” It seems possible to combine both views: Palinurus would seek for rest as a consolation for his untimely end, and rest in the grave after his wanderings, as he could not have the rest which is the great theme of the Aeneid, rest in a Trojan settlement. This latter view will not oblige us to connect ‘saltem’ with ‘in morte,’ which the order of the words and the general requirements of the line are against. ‘Sedibus quiescam’ v. 328, where however the sense is different. We may comp. also Virg.'s language about Antenor, 1. 247 foll. “sedesque locavit . . . . . nunc placida conpostus pace quiescit,” though the rest there is not that of death, but that of settled abode.
[372] Priscian, p. 1186, quotes this line, “Vix ea fatus erat, coepit cum talia virgo.” The earlier part of his reading, if it had any authority, would perhaps be preferable to that in the text, as the repetition of ‘talia’ seems awkward.
[373] “Tam dira cupido” v. 721 above, G. 1. 37 note. The notion in each case is that the intensity of the longing blinds the wisher to a sense of its unreasonableness or impropriety.
[374] “Amnemque severum Cocyti,” G. 3. 37 note, when the Furies have been mentioned immediately before. The Eumenides here probably stand merely for the infernal gods, as Heyne thinks, without having any special relation to the river. But for the parallel in G. 3, and the mention of the river before and after, we might be tempted to read ‘agmen.’ Cerda however refers to Stat. Theb. 1. 89, where Tisiphone is sitting by Cocytus, and to Claud. Ruf. 1. 119 foll., where Megaera dips a torch in Phlegethon. Plato, Phaedo, p. 114, speaks of criminals as thrown into one or other of the infernal rivers: and Virg. may have some such meaning in his mind, though this is not the use to which the rivers are put in his story.
[375] Adibis was restored by Brunck and Heyne from Rom. and Med. for ‘abibis,’ the old reading, retained even by Heins. Serv. mentions both. It would be difficult to see the propriety of ‘abibis,’ as there is no question of going from any place to the bank. ‘Adire’ on the other hand is correlative to “accipere,” v. 315. ‘Iniussus,’ by the gods or by Charon, and so virtually in this context = “inhumatus.”
[376] Flecti precibus 2. 689. ‘Spero’ with inf. pass. 4. 292. “Fata deum” 7. 239.
[377] Cape = “accipe.” Forb. comp. Hor. A. P. 367, “hoc tibi dictum Tolle memor.” ‘Receive and retain.’
[378] Difficulties have been raised about ‘longe lateque per urbes’ in connexion with ‘finitimi,’ but Virg.'s meaning evidently is that the whole neighbourhood round for a great distance shall be plagued for the crime of the wretches who killed Palinurus. ‘Longe lateque per urbes’ is to be connected with ‘acti,’ the meaning being, as Wagn. observes, that the plague shall be general, not that expiation shall be made in various places.
[379] Acti, as we should say, goaded, as in 5. 659. Serv. says, “De historia hoc traxit. Lucanis enim pestilentia laborantibus respondit oraculum Manis Palinuri esse placandos. Ob quam rem non longe a Velia et lucum et tumulum cenotaphion ei dederunt.” ‘Piare’ is used of appeasing the gods, as in Hor. 2 Ep. 1. 143, “Tellurem porco, Silvanum lacte piabant,” the meaning apparently being to render ‘pius,’ which was applied to the gods as well as to men (2. 536., 4. 382), so that it nearly = ‘placare.’ Here ‘ossa’ = “Manes.”
[380] “Tumulo referunt sollemnia” 5. 605 (comp. 3. 301). ‘Mittere’ of funeral offerings, 4. 624, G. 4. 545.
[381] Comp. v. 235, which seems to show that ‘aeternum’ agrees with ‘nomen.’ Here again the name has survived even to our own day, the place, a promontory, being called ‘Punta di Palinuro.’ Serv. remarks not badly, “‘Palinuri:’ plus est quam si ‘tuum’ diceret.”
[382] For ‘emotae’ we might have expected ‘amotae,’ which is more common, and is here read by some MSS.; but Forb. quotes Hor. 4 Od. 15. 11, “emovitque culpas.” It seems to be generally constructed with a substantive of the place from which a thing has been removed (see Forc.), so that here it might be proposed to take ‘corde’ with it. ‘Parumper’ is explained by Serv. ‘paulatim,’ by Non. p. 378, ‘cito et velociter,’ referring to this passage: but in the passages from Enn. which Non. adduces it naturally bears the sense which it appears to have elsewhere (see Forc.), ‘for a while:’ and such is doubtless its meaning here. Palinurus would naturally think again of his hard case, but the prospect cheered him awhile.
[383] All Ribbeck's MSS. read ‘terrae,’ and he adopts it. Serv. however evidently read ‘terra,’ as he explains ‘cognomine’ as an adj., “facit autem hic et haec cognominis.” His first gloss “nominis sui similitudine,” points to a misunderstanding of ‘terra’ as if it were nom. ‘Cognominis’ is found in Plaut. and in later prose writers: see Forc. Serv. adds, “quod autem communi genere in ‘e’ misit ablativum metri necessitas fecit.” Ovid, doubtless from a similar necessity, uses “caeleste” and “perenne” as ablatives, M. 1. 743, F. 3. 654. A copyist with a superficial knowledge of Latin would naturally suppose ‘cognomine’ to be a substantive here; and how little copyists can be trusted as interpreters may be seen from the punctuation of Med. in this very line, ‘Corde dolor, tristi gaudet cognomine terrae.’ Heins. sums up the authorities for ‘terra,’ “Soli Rottendorphius secundus, Moretani primus et quartus a manu prima hic sapiebant, et pro diversa lectione alter Hamburgicus.”
[384-416] ‘ As Aeneas and the Sibyl approach the river they are stopped by Charon, who says that living persons may not pass the Styx, and that the breach of the rule has done harm heretofore. The Sibyl pleads Aeneas' good intentions, and produces the bough. Charon is mollified, and transports them to the other side.’
