[25] The poet of course purposely times the voyage of Aeneas so as to bring him to the promised land at dawn and amidst the pomp of sunrise.
[26] Lutea, κροκόπεπλος Il. 8. 1. “Roseis quadrigis” 6. 535. There is of course no difficulty in the juxtaposition of the two colours: Ribbeck however reads ‘variis’ from ‘vaseis,’ the first reading of one of his cursives, and Schrader and Bentley wished to read ‘croceis’ from Ausonius' Periocha of Il. 8, where this line is repeated. But comp. Ov. F. 4. 714, “Memnonis in roseis lutea mater equis.” Serv. says “Multi iungunt ‘inroseis,’ i. e. non rubicundis.”
[27] Posuere, sc. “se,” ‘fell.’ Comp. 10. 103, “tum Zephyri posuere.” “Jam venti ponent” Ov. Her. 7. 49. It is possible that the expression may be nautical. Lucan 3. 523 has “posito Borea.”
[28] Lento, sluggish. Pliny 36. 26 (65), “lentus amnis.” The water, being quiet, seems to oppose a greater resistance, though in 8. 89 the thought is just the contrary. ‘Luctantur tonsae.’ It is of course implied that the sails had been struck. ‘Tonsa’ for an oar is as old as Ennius, in three of whose fragments it occurs, A. 7. frr. 6, 7, 8.
[29] “Atque hic Aeneas” 6. 680. For ‘atque’ comp. 6. 162., 10. 219, for ‘hic’ 1. 728. “Prospiceres arce ex summa” 4. 410. ‘Lucum:’ there is still a wood in the Isola Sacra, and a great forest, Selva di Ostia, extends south along the coast from the Stagno di Ostia.
[30] Tiberinus of the Tiber 6. 873, after Enn. A. 1. fr. 55, “Teque, pater Tiberine, tuo cum flumine sancto.” Here and in 8. 31, where the words recur, ‘fluvio amoeno’ seems to be abl. of circumstance, or, which is the same thing, a descriptive abl.
[31] Multa flavus arena is a specific description of the Tiber, which is constantly called ‘flavus,’ Hor. 1 Od. 2. 13., 8. 8., 2. 3. 18. Comp. 9. 816. Gossrau remarks that Ov. F. 6. 502 mentions the ‘vertices’ at the mouth of the Tiber. ‘Verticibus rapidis’ may be either modal abl. or constructed with ‘flavus.’ In any case the line seems to qualify ‘prorumpit.’
[32] Ov. M. 14. 447, in his brief narrative of Aeneas' landing, nearly repeats Virg., “lucosque petunt ubi nubilus umbra In mare cum flava prorumpit Thybris arena.” Lucr. 6.436 has “prorumpitur in mare” of the wind. ‘Variae volucres’ G. 1. 383. Comp. Lucr. 2.344 foll., Id. 1. 589 and Munro's note. ‘Supra’ is long elsewhere in Virg. Stat. Theb. 9. 114 ends a line similarly, “circumque supraque,” though he also elsewhere, as Markland observes, makes the first syll. long. Ribbeck fancies the original reading may have been “circum superaque” in both passages, an opinion in which few writers of hexameters will agree with him.
[34] “Aera mulcentes motu” Lucr. 4. 136 (138). Wakef. would read ‘aera’ here; and so Ov. F. 1. 155, “et tepidum volucres concentibus aera mulcent.” But in Virg. winged creatures fly in the aether, and the aether is said to be filled with sound, vv. 65, 395 below. ‘Luco,’ about the grove.
[35] Aeneas had been warned by Creusa (2. 781) that his destination was Italy, “ubi Lydius arva Inter opima virum leni fluit agmine Thybris:” and he says himself 3. 500, “Si quando Thybrim vicinaque Thybridos arva Intrarim gentique meae data moenia cernam;” 5. 83, “Ausonium quicunque est, quaerere Thybrim.” “Flecte viam” 5. 28, said by Aeneas to the pilot. “Terris advertere proram” G. 4. 117.
[37-45] ‘A new part of my subject commences, the war in Latium and its antecedent circumstances.’
