[261] “Stans celsa in puppi” 3. 527., 8. 680. Ribbeck stops full at ‘puppi,’ and begins a new clause with ‘clipeum’ &c.: but see on 2. 257, which will further show that ‘cum extulit’ understood as “postquam extulit” would not be Virgilian. ‘Deinde’ toois in favour of the old stopping, being used after ‘cum’ as after ‘tum.’
[262] The ordinary Roman custom was (Mr. Long observes) to use the “vexillumi” as a signal in naval battles: see Hirtius (?) Bell. Alex. 45, and Dion Cassius 51. 21. The Greeks appear to have used a shield, as Aeneas is represented as doing by Virg. See Xenophon's account of the battle of Aegospotami, Hell. 2. 1. 27, and comp. Diodorus 20. 51 (Scheffer de Militia Navali 3. p. 178).
[263, 264] ‘E’ is omitted in Rom. “Histri tela manu iacientes” Eunius A. 438. ‘Qualis’ &c.: the sudden shout and rush of arrows from the wall is compared to the noisy sweep through the air of a flock of cranes flying from the tempest. Virg. is thinking of the beginning of Il. 3, but he has applied the simile in a different way from Hom., and has as usual condensed him greatly. There is also a reminiscence of Lucr. 4.181, “Ille gruum quam Clamor in aetheriis dispersus nubibus austri,” where see Munro. With ‘sub nubibus atris’ comp. Il. 23. 874, ῞γψι δ᾽ ὑπὸ νεφέων εἶδε τρήρωνα πέλειαν, and 2. 516, “praecipites atra ceu tempestate columbae.” Virg. may have intended to translate Hom.'s ἠέριαι, Il. 3. 7, which in G. 1. 375 he renders “aeriae.”
[265] Dant signa, gives sign of their approach, like an advancing army with trumpets and shouting. Virg. does not say, like Hom., that they come to attack the Pygmies: but he purposely uses words which have a military association, having compared them with the Trojan army, when otherwise he would doubtless have said “dant sonitum” as in 11. 458. “Turbida tranat nubila” A. 4. 245: ‘tranant’ here being perhaps suggested by the “tranantibus auras” of Lucr. 4.177.
[266] Il. 3. 4, 5 αἵτ᾽ ἐπεὶ οὖν χειμῶνα φύγον καὶ ἀθέσφατον ὄμβρον, Κλαγγῇ ταίγε πέτονται ἐπ᾽ Ὠκεάνοιο ῥοάων: a passage which seems to show that Virg. is using ‘notos’ here in the general sense of stormy winds, as in 1. 575 &c., not specially of the warm south winds which would tempt the cranes to migrate northwards: though it may be that Statius, who developes this simile Theb. 5. 11 foll., understood Virg. in the latter sense: “Qualia trans Pontum . . . Rauca Paraetonio decedunt agmina Nilo, Cum fera ponit hiemps” &c. “Clamore secundo” 5. 491. “Rumore secundo” 8. 90. Perhaps ‘secundus’ in these passages merely = ‘laetus:’ but the literal sense would (here at least) suit well enough, ‘with clamour in their train:’ comp. 9. 54, “Clamore excipiunt socii fremituque sequuntur Horrisono.”
[269] Classibus abl. The whole sea seems to the Rutulians to be alive with ships and moving upon them. So, more literally, Birnam wood in Shakspeare comes to Dunsinane.
[270] Their terror is heightened by the preternatural blaze from the helmet of Aeneas. Ribbeck suggests, unfortunately enough, that Virg. may have meant to insert vv. 270—275 somewhere after v. 161. ‘Apex,’ properly the tuft on the flamen's cap (2. 683 note), is here used for the top of the helmet in which the crest was inserted: comp. 12. 492, “apicem tamen incita summum Hasta tulit, summasque excussit vertice cristas.” ‘Capitis’ Rom., which Jahn prefers: but ‘capiti’ is the less obvious reading, and quite defensible, whether we explain it with Gossrau as local, with Forb. on the analogy of “decus capite” above v. 135, or, as is perhaps better, as connected with ‘ardet,’ an ordinary dat. of relation, as we have Il. 5. 4. foll., δαῖέ οἱ ἐκ κόρυθός τε καὶ ἀσπίδος ἀκάματον πῦρ . . . τοῖόν οἱ πῦρ δαῖεν ἀπὸ κρατός τε καὶ ὤμων. ‘Ac vertice’ Pal., Rom., Gud., an easier but less poetical reading than ‘a vertice.’ ‘A vertice’ may be a translation of ἀπὸ κρατός: but there is no need to distinguish between the helmet and the head, the words being constantly used for ‘from above.’ ‘Cristis’ probably a local rather than instrumental abl. An ingenious emendation of Faernus, ‘tristis’ for ‘cristis,’ is given by Ursinus: comp. 7. 787. “Terribilem cristis galeam flammasque vomentem” 8. 620.
[271] Aereus Med., supported by some inferior copies. For the confusion see on 5. 198. ‘Umbo’ for the whole shield as v. 884 below.
[272, 273] Serv. has a long note on the different kinds of comets. They were mostly considered ill-omened (comp. G. 1. 488), though a prosperous one appeared at the accession of Augustus. Pliny (2. 22) speaks of comets “horrentes crine sanguineo:” and Serv. mentions a very terrible one called Typhon, once seen in Egypt, “qui non igneo sed sanguineo rubore fuisse narratur . . . hunc Aethiopas et Persas vidisse, et omnium malorum et famis necessitatis pertulisse.” ‘Sirius’ adj.: see note on 4. 552. The expression ‘Sirius ardor’ seems modelled on “flammeus ardor” Lucr. 3.1252 = ‘flamma ardens.’
[274] Ille as 12. 5, of the lion, “Saucius ille gravi venantum volnere pectus.” This use of the pronoun (see notes on 1. 3., 5. 457., 6. 593) is not unlike that of ὅγε in Hom. Il. 2. 664, αἶψα δὲ νῆας ἔπηξε, πολὺν δ᾽ ὅγε λαὸν ἀγείρας &c.; 3. 409, εἰσόκε σ᾽ ἢ ἄλοχον ποιήσεται, ἢ ὅγε δούλην. ‘Mortalibus aegris’ G. 1. 336 note. The old punctuation, making ‘ille—caelum’ a separate clause, is retained by Heyne, and even by Wagn. in his larger edition. Wakef. removed the stop after ‘ardor’ altogether, connecting ‘Sirius ardor ille:’ which might be supported by Apollonius R. 2. 523, “ἱεράτ᾽ εὖ ἔρρεξεν ἐν οὔρεσιν ἀστέρι κείνῳ Σειρίῳ”.
[275]
“Unde nigerrimus Auster Nascitur,
et pluvio contristat frigore caelum”
G. 3. 278, 279. ‘Laevo’ G. 4. 7 note.
In the above lines Virg. has two passages
of Homer before him: Il. 5. 4 foll., and
Il. 22. 25 foll. The first, which has been referred
to above on v. 270, is the description
of the helmet and shield of Diomed. The
second is that of Achilles running over
the plain, and appearing to the eyes of the
aged Priam like the baleful dogstar (κακὸν
δέ τε σῆμα τέτυκται, Καί τε φέρει πολλὸν
πυρετὸν δειλοῖσι βροτοῖσι). Comp. also Il.
19. 375 foll. The description of the comets,
of which Homer knows nothing, would
probably recall to Roman readers the
times of the civil wars, in which the
Romans were twice terrified by the appearance
of a remarkable comet (Pliny 2.
23, comp. G. 1. 488). Milton is more
Virgilian than Homeric in Paradise Lost
2. 708 foll.:—
“Satan stood
Unterrified, and like a comet burn'd,
That fires the length of Ophiuchus huge,
In the arctic sky, and from his horrid
hair
Shakes pestilence and war.
”
[276-286] ‘Turnus, unterrified by the appearance of Aeneas, urges his men to prevent, if possible, the landing of the Trojans.’
[276, 277] Repeated almost verbatim from 9. 126. ‘Praeripere,’ the reading before Heins., is found in none of Ribbeck's MSS. Serv. appears to countenance it, explaining ‘praeripere’ and ‘depellere’ “pro praeripiendi et depellendi,” but he may have written ‘praecipiendi:’ and the note is not found in all MSS. of him. ‘Praecipere’ to seize beforehand: see Forc. For the construction of the inf. see on G. 1. 213.
