[843] Ipse alone, now that Juno is gone: comp. E. 9. 37, “Id quidem ago et tacitus, Lycida, mecum ipse voluto:” see also A. 6. 185.
[844] For ‘dimittere’ one of Ribbeck's cursives has ‘demittere:’ Gud. gives as a variant ‘desistere.’ ‘Dimittere ab armis’ is the ordinary phrase for to disband soldiers (see Forc.): ‘fratris ab armis’ is a poetical variation.
[845] In Aeschylus the Eumenides are cut off altogether from access to the gods of heaven: Ζεὺς τόδ᾽ ἀξιόμισον ἔθνος λέσχας ἇς ἀπηξιώσατο, Eum. 366; but here, as in Book 7, the Fury appears, as the minister of the upper deities, at the threshold of their abode. ‘Dirae’ answers to the Greek Ἀραί (Aesch. Eum. 417), whether in the sense of curses (“diras imprecari”) or of personal Furies. It has also the meaning of ‘ill omens,’ as in Cic. Div. 1. 16. 29, “Crasso quid acciderit dirarum obnuntiatione neglecta.” ‘Pestes’ 7. 505.
[846] Tartaream apparently quite general, as in 7. 328: not implying (as Wagn. thinks) that she always stayed behind in Tartarus. ‘Nox:’ comp. “virgo sata Nocte” 7. 331: Ἡμεῖς γάρ ἐσμεν Νυκτὸς αἰανῆς τέκνα, Aesch. Eum. 416. ‘Intempesta’ G. 1. 247 note.
[847] Eodem scanned as a disyllable, as 10. 487, “Una eademque via:” comp. Enn. Ann. 206, “Eorundem libertati me parcere certum est.” For the usage of Lucr. see Munro on 1. 306. ‘Revincire’ as 4. 459. ‘Paribus,’ alike in all.
[848] Serpentem Pal. originally. ‘Ventosas,’ filled with wind as they fly: perhaps from the association of the Erinys with the storm (ἠεροφοῖτις): comp. ἀνεμοέντων (ἀνεμόεντ᾽ ἄν Blomf.) αἰγίδων κότον, Aesch. Choëph. 591, 592. “Then lifted I up mine eyes and looked, and behold, there came out two women, and the wind was in their wings: for they had wings like the wings of a stork” Zechariah 5. 9. “Ventosas addidit alas” Prop. 3. 3. 5 of the painter of Cupid. “Tu (Cupido) levis es, multoque tuis ventosior alis” Ov. Am. 2. 9. 49.
[849] Haec Heyne: apparently an oversight. ‘Saevi’ = ‘cum saevit’ (Serv.). ‘Saevo’ Minoraug. ‘Ad limina’ some inferior copies.
[850] “‘Adparent,’ praesto sunt ad obsequium: unde etiam adparitores constat esse nominatos” Serv. “Quattuor et viginti lictores adparere consulibus” Livy 2. 55 &c. (Forc.) ‘Mortalibus aegris’ G. 1. 237 note.
[851, 852] Virg. may perhaps be thinking of Il. 16. 385, Ὅτε λαβρότατον χέει ὕδωρ Ζεύς, ὅτε δή ῤ̔ ἄνδρεσσι κοτεσσάμενος χαλεπήνῃ, Οἳ βίῃ εἰν ἀγορῇ σκολιὰς κρίνωσι θέμιστας (‘meritas urbes’). For the functions of the Furies in the matter comp. G. 3. 551 (of the plague), “Saevit, et in lucem Stygiis emissa tenebris Pallida Tisiphone morbos agit ante metumque.” The Eumenides (Aesch. Eum. 938 foll.) say that they will avert plague, sword, and famine: implying that they could send them if they would. ‘Molitur,’ hurls, as G. 1. 329, “fulmina molitur.” For ‘aut’ Gud. has ‘ac:’ for ‘urbes,’ ‘orbes’ Pal. originally.
[854] ‘In omen’ like “nocturna in lumina” 7. 13.
[855] Turbine: she is shrounded in a whirlwind like the nymph Opis 11. 595, 596, “At illa levis caeli delapsa per auras Insonuit, nigro circumdata turbine corpus.” Heyne takes the word as simply = ‘motu.’
[856] Per nubem for ‘per auras’ perhaps, to add to the gloom. Ribbeck suggests ‘nimbum.’
[857] “Spicula nec solo spargunt fidentia ferro, Stridula sed multo saturantur tela veneno” of the Parthians, Lucan 8. 302 (Cerda). ‘Felle veneni,’ poisonous gall, like “herba veneni” E. 4. 24, “lacte veneni” A. 4. 514.
[858] There does not seem much point in the repetition of ‘Parthus,’ though it is in Virg.'s manner. The Parthian and Cretan are associated in connexion with archery E. 10. 59 (note), “Libet Partho torquere Cydonia cornu Spicula.”
[859] Celeris: “vix Maro, si carmen emendasset, ter eadem voce usurus fuisset vv. 853, 855, 859” Heyne. There is the same difficulty about ‘celeris umbras’ as about “celeris auras” 4. 226, 270, 357. The meaning perhaps is ‘swift as itself:’ as Homer says that Hermes flew down ἅμα πνοιῇς ἀνέμοιο. ‘Umbrae’ for ‘aurae,’ to carry out the idea of ‘per nubem’ above. Ribbeck conj. ‘en tenebris.’ Serv. mentions a reading ‘aurae’ for ‘umbrae’ here. He thinks that ‘celeris’ is a hypallage, and ‘transilit umbras’ a hyperbole: taking ‘umbrae’ of the shadow of the arrow, in which Gossr. follows him. “Hasta volans noctis diverberat umbras” 9. 411. ‘Incognita,’ the hand that sent it is unknown.
[860] “Virgo sata Nocte” 7. 331.
[862] It is hardly necessary, with Serv., to press the words ‘alitis parvae’ so as to make them mean the ‘noctua’ or small owl rather than the ‘bubo’ or large one. The ‘bubo’ was a very ill-omened bird: see Pliny 10. 16—18, who gives instances of the city having been purified on the sight of it. Comp. also the story in Josephus 19. 8 of the owl that appeared before the death of Herod Agrippa I. “Obscenas aves, Maestique cor bubonis, et raucae strigis Exsecta vivae viscera” Sen. Med. 732. For ‘subitam’ Pal., Gud. originally, and another of Ribbeck's cursives have ‘subito.’ ‘Collecta:’ comp. Prop. 4. 8. 29, “In tenues humilem te colligis umbras” (Cerda). Pal. has ‘coniecto:’ Med. ‘conversa.’
[863, 864] For the sense and rhythm comp. 4. 462, “Solaque culminibus ferali carmine bubo Saepe queri et longas in fletum ducere voces:” G. 1. 402, “Solis et occasum servans de culmine summo Nequiquam seros exercet noctua cantus,” where ‘seros’ explains ‘serum’ here as = late into the evening. ‘Umbram’ for ‘umbras’ Minoraug. and Menag. pr. ‘Inportuna’ G. 1. 470 note.
[865] ‘Versam’ Med. a m. s. “In faciem conversa” v. 623 above. ‘Ob ora’ Rom., with one of Ribbeck's cursives, confirmed by Arusianus, p. 250 L., and Serv. on A. 1. 233: ‘ad ora’ Pal., Gud., and another of Ribbeck's cursives: ‘in ora’ Med. a m. s., ‘inodora’ (a confusion between the two prepositions) a m. p.
[866] Comp. the story of Valerius Corvus and the Gaul in Livy 7. 26. ‘Everberat,’ beats till he is bewildered and overcome: such seems to be the force of this word, of which Forc. gives no instance before Virg. Quintilian, 2. 4. 18, mentions as a good subject for an exercise in criticism “an sit credibile super caput Valerii pugnantis sedisse corvum, qui os oculosque hostis Galli rostro atque alis everberaret.” “Everberatum mare tandem remis pertinacibus” Q. Curt. 4. 3. 18. Ovid, M. 14. 578, imitates Virg.
[867] Olli Ribbeck, perhaps rightly, from Bigot. and one of his own cursives: Gud. has ‘iolli,’ with the o erased. ‘Illi’ Med., Pal., and Rom., and so Heyne and Wagn. ‘Novus’ as in G. 4. 357 (note), and A. 2. 228. V. 868 is repeated from 4. 280.
