[511] E speculis nacta: she was in the woods (v. 505), and on the look out.
[512] De culmine summo, G. 1. 402.
[513] Alluding to a rustic and primitive practice of giving the alarm with a horn in case of sudden danger. Heyne remarks that the Comitia Centuriata were convoked by the sound of a horn. ‘Cornu’ is here i. q. ‘bucina,’ the shape of which, exactly answering to ‘recurvus,’ may be seen in Dict. A. s. v. For the use of the ‘bucina’ by herdsmen comp. Prop. 5. 10. 29, “Nunc intra muros (Veiorum) pastoris bucina lenti Cantat.” ‘Pastoralis’ recurs v. 817 below. ‘Signum canere’ is a phrase (Freund s. v. ‘Cano’), and ‘signum’ is sometimes the subject of ‘canit,’ which is used intransitively: see on 10. 310.
[514] Med. a m. p. and Rom. have ‘incendit,’ which Wagn. is inclined to adopt; comp. 9. 500., 10. 895., 11. 147. ‘Intendere vocem’ is to strain the voice (comp. “contenta voce dicere,” τείνειν φωνήν), and ‘intendere vocem cornu’ to strain the voice with or on the horn.—blows a loud blast of her Tartarean voice on the horn. Heyne remarks that this blast of Allecto may have been suggested by the shout of Eris, Il. 11. 10 foll. (where ἄλληκτον πολεμίζειν occurs). But the passage obviously imitated in what follows is Apoll. R. 4. 127 foll. “῾οφ τηε ηισς οφ τηε δραγον̓, ἀμφὶ δὲ μακραὶ Ἠιόνες ποταμοῖο, καὶ ἄσπετον ἴαχεν ἄλσος. Ἔκλυον οἳ πολλὸν ἑκάς” &c. ‘Protinus’ may be either rendered ‘forthwith’ or ‘onward,’ with reference to the spreading of the sound over the woods (comp. 6. 33, “quin protinus omnia Perlegerent oculis”). The collocation seems rather in favour of the latter way.
[515] Intonuere, the reading of two of Ribbeck's cursives, and others, was read before Wagn. “Silvas profundas” Lucr. 5.41, height and depth being the same thing viewed differently: comp. E. 4. 51, βαθείης τάρφεσιν ὕλης Il. 5. 555. Here ‘profundae’ goes closely with ‘insonuere.’
[516] This is more local than the parallel in Apoll. R., and therefore characteristic of Virgil. ‘Triviae lacus’ is the lake near the grove and temple of Diana at Aricia: comp. v. 761. ‘Audiit et— audiit:’ see on E. 4. 6. Rom. has ‘Audit et Troiae—audit et amnis,’ an aberration which may warn us against over-estimating its authority in such passages as 5. 274.
[517] Sulfurea explains ‘albus.’ Virg. doubtless thought of Enn. A. 7. fr. 19, “Sulfureas posuit spiramina Naris ad undas.” ‘Fontes Velini’ appears to be the “lacus Velinus” in the hills beyond Reate and close to the Nar, at least seventy miles from the Trojan camp. The limit may be merely poetical, or it may designate loosely the Sabine country as the extremity of the confederacy.
[518] Apoll. R. 4. 136 foll., “Δείματι δ᾽ ἐξέγροντο λεχωΐδες, ἀμφὶ δὲ παισὶ Νηπιάχοις, οἵτε σφιν ὑπ᾽ ἀγκαλίδεσσιν ἴαυον, Ῥοίζῳ παλλομένοις, χεῖρας βάλον ἀσχαλόωσαι”.
[519] “Ad sonitum vocis vestigia torsit” 3. 669. ‘Qua’ after ‘vocem.’
[520] Enn. A. 3. fr. 7 has “ansatis concurrunt undique telis.” But there ‘concurrunt’ means ‘engage,’ here ‘collect.’
[521] Indomiti, hardy; much the same as “duros agrestis” v. 504. Comp. ἄτρυτος.
[522] Burm. wished to read ‘campis:’ but ‘castris apertis’ is throwing open the gates of the camp. Contrast “clausa moenia” (of the camp) 10. 22.
[523] Dirigere aciem is a phrase for drawing up an army in battle array, G. 2. 281. The plural seems to show that both sides are here intended. ‘Direxere’ perf. not aorist. ‘Certamine agresti’ seems a general abl. of circumstance, ‘stipitibus’ and ‘sudibus’ instrumental.
[524] Sudibus praeustis i. q. “torre obusto” v. 506, where see parallel passages.
[525] Ferro is the emphatic word of which ‘ancipiti’ is an epithet, probably meaning double-edged (comp. ἀμφιτόμον ξίρος), with a collateral signification of deadly, so as to balance the epithets ‘duris’ and ‘praeustis.’ Wagn. thinks the notion is that of “certamen anceps.” ‘Decernere ferro’ is as old as Enn., A. 2. fr. 11.
[526] It is doubtful whether ‘strictis ensibus’ goes with ‘seges’ or with ‘horrescit.’ The ordinary meaning of ‘seges’ would rather suggest the former, the ordinary usage of construction the latter. Virg. may very well have intended both, at the same time that he thought of the other meaning of ‘seges,’ the land, not the crop, which would make this passage parallel to 11. 601, “late ferreus hastis Horret ager.” There is the same question about 12. 663, “strictisque seges mucronibus horret Ferrea.” In G. 2. 142 the warriors seem to be called a ‘seges’ independently of their spears, though we must not sharply distinguish the two notions. ‘Horrescit,’ as compared with ‘horret’ seems to imply motion: comp. G. 3. 198, “segetes altae campique natantes Lenibus horrescunt flabris.” Heyne comp. Apoll. R. 3. 1355, “φρίξεν δὲ πέρι στιβαροῖς σακέεσσι—Ἄρηος τέμενος”. ‘Atra,’ dense and so dark, comp. v. 466. There may also be a reference to the colour of the iron: comp. passages cited from Books 11 and 12, and Il. 4. 281, Δήϊον ἐς πόλεμον πυκιναὶ κίνυντο φάλαγγες, Κυάνεαι, σάκεσί τε καὶ ἔγχεσι πεφρικυῖαι. But the outline of the image, as Cerda remarks, is from Il. 13. 339, ἔφριξεν δὲ μάχη φθισίμβροτος ἐγχείῃσιν
[527] With ‘sole lacessita’ Germ. comp. Lucr. 4.217, “Corpora quae feriant oculos visumque lacessant.” “Iactat lucem” Lucr. 5.576.
[528] The swelling of the quarrel from a rustic brawl to a pitched battle is compared to the gradual rising of the waves in a gale at sea. Med. and Rom. (whose conjunction, Wagn. remarks, is strong authority) have ‘ponto,’ adopted by Heins., who took the words ‘primo ponto’ to mean on the edge of the sea, as “prima terra” 1. 541 means the edge of the land, and so to answer to ἐν αἰγιαλῷ in the parallel passage from Hom. referred to below; while Jahn, also reading ‘ponto,’ takes ‘primo’ as an adverb and opposed to ‘inde.’ Heyne and Wagn. (followed by Ribbeck) read ‘vento’ from Gud., which has ‘ponto’ as a variant, and apparently Ribbeck's other cursives, considering it clear that ‘ponto’ arose from a recollection of G. 3. 237, “Fluctus uti medio coepit cum albescere ponto,” a constant source of error. On the whole the balance of considerations seems to be in favour of ‘vento,’ in spite of its having no uncial authority. Pal., we must remember, is wanting, as well as the fragmentary MSS. For the whole passage comp. Il. 4. 422, which relates distinctly to the breakers on a shore.
[530] “Fluctus erigit” 3. 423. “Imo fundo” 2. 419.
[531] “Primam ante aciem” below v. 673., 9. 595, apparently meaning no more than in the first rank of combatants. “Stridens sagitta” 9. 632.
[532] Some inferior MSS. have ‘Almon.’ Heins. restored ‘Almo.’ Gossrau remarks that Virg. gives several of his characters the names of rivers, as here ‘Almo,’ v. 535 “Galaesus,” v. 745 “Ufens,” v. 752 “Umbro,” 11. 670 “Liris.” ‘Fuerat’ may be simply i. q. “erat” (Madv. § 338 obs. 6): but there is more force and pathos in Forb.'s explanation, that he ceased to be the eldest at his death. Comp. 12. 519.
[533] Haesit volnus, a sort of confusion between the arrow and the wound. ‘Enim’ is an imitation of Hom., e. g. Il. 5. 40. ‘Udae’ belongs more properly to ‘iter,’ though perhaps it includes the sense of flexible: comp. ἱγρὸν ἀείδειν.
[534] Tenuem vitam: comp. G. 4. 224. “Intercludere” is more common in the sense of cutting off than ‘includere’ but several instances of the latter are given in Forc. These particular descriptions of wounds are, of course, in imitation of Hom., though it is a mitigated imitation.
[535] Corpora sc. “sternuntur,” supplied from v. 533.
[536] Dum paci medium se offert describes both the action and purpose of Galaesus throwing himself between the combatants to mediate. ‘Offert’ as well as ‘medium’ will suit both meanings: comp. 6. 291, “strictamque aciem venientibus offert.” The dat. ‘paci’ is i. q. “ad pacem,” or “ad pacem faciendam:” but the construction is probably helped by the analogy of such phrases as “morti se offerre,” &c.
[537] Comp. 2. 426, “Rhipeus, iustissimus unus Qui fuit in Teucris et servantissimus aequi.” The justice and wealth of Galaesus both render him a natural mediator, and increase the pity and indignation (v. 571) at his fall. Heyne remarks that it is Homeric to interest us by descriptive touches in the individual combatants: comp. e. g. Il. 5. 152 foll., 612 foll. Perhaps the poet was thinking here of Axylus, Il. 6. 12 foll. Comp. also Il. 13. 664., 17. 576. It may be remarked that the river Galaesus runs through a country very rich both in corn and pastures, and especially famous for its sheep: comp. Hor. 2 Od. 6. 10 and the commentators thereon. ‘Ditissimus arvis:’ “Dives agris, dives positis in foenore nummis” Hor. A. P. 421. Elsewhere Virg. has the construction with the gen., e. g. 10. 563, “ditissimus agri Qui fuit Ausonidum.” Some MSS. here have ‘agris,’ which is found as a variant in Gud. ‘Olim,’ like ‘fuerat,’ is pathetic: before that moment he was the wealthiest man.
[538] Greges—‘armenta’ as in Pliny Ep. 2. 17. 3, “Multi greges ovium, multa ibi equorum boum armenta” (Forc.). ‘Quina’ apparently = “quinque:” see on 10. 207. ‘Redibant,’ i. e. from pasture; and perhaps from their summer pasture on the hills, comp. Hor. Epod. 1. 27.
[539] On this and the previous line Serv. remarks “Duo dixit a Catone memorata, qui interrogatus qui esset paterfamilias, respondit, eum qui bene pascit et bene arat.”
[540-571] ‘Allecto reports her success to Juno, who tells her she has done enough and must return below. She vanishes in a sulphurous pool.’
