[126] “Dictisque ita fatur amicis” 2. 147.
[127] ‘Optume Graiugenum.’ Serv. has a curious note: “Quantum ad Aenean pertinet, Graeci neque boni neque meliores sunt. Ergo ‘optume Graiugenum’ superlativus est pro positivo: nam optumus malorum non possumus dicere: superlativus enim suo tantum iungitur generi. Sic ergo dixit ut Homerus (Il. 11. 832) δικαιότατος κενταύρων pro δίκαιος.” ‘Precari’ with dat., like “supplicare,” in the sense of becoming a suppliant to a person. Elsewhere the dat. is used of the person for whom good or bad is imprecated.
[128] Comptos, in the sense of “comatos,” for “coronatos:” comp. 7. 751, “Fronde super galeam et felici comptus oliva,” Culex 217, “Tisiphone serpentibus undique compta.” For the thing see on 7. 154.
[129] Extimui is constructed with ‘quod—Atridis’ as its object clause.
[130] ‘A stirpe’ Pal., Rom., Gud., ‘ab stirpe’ Med. It seems simply a question of external authority, so I have followed Ribbeck in reading ‘a.’ ‘Fores’ seems to be used on the analogy of those cases where ‘quod’ with the subj. gives a reason which the speaker denies to be the true one (Madv. § 357 b), though what is denied here is not the reason but the fact which the reason might have justified. ‘Geminis Atridis’ 2. 500.
[131] This self-praise is quite consonant to the heroic age, Il. 4. 505, Od. 9. 19. Comp. also 1. 378, 9. ‘Oracula,’ given by the Tiber, and by the Sibyl 6. 96. ‘Sed’ is put as though “Atridis quidem coniunctus es” or something similar had preceded. Virg. was thinking of Lucr. 1. 140, “Sed tua me virtus tamen et sperata voluptas” &c.
[132] The asyndeton in ‘tua terris didita fama’ is rather harsh, so that we need not wonder that it should have been proposed to transpose the latter halves of this and the preceding line, “Sed mea me virtus, tua terris didita fama, Cognatique patres et sancta oracula divom,” though the change could not be allowed in a text so well supported as Virg.'s. ‘Didita’ 7. 144.
[133] The Homeric ἑκὼν ἀέκοντί γε θυμῷ is compared by Heyne: but there is probably no such contrast between consent and reluctance here. ‘Volentem’ is the emphatic word, and the sense is, ‘and I have willingly obeyed the call of fate.’ The expression however is somewhat perplexed, inasmuch as ‘sancta oracula divom’ alone accords with ‘fatis egere,’ while the rest gives the reason of ‘volentem.’ ‘Coniunxere’ is doubtless used to suggest the notion of rival claims to those expressed by ‘coniunctus’ v. 130. The fates are here made the instruments, as in 7. 239 the agents, agreeably to Virg.'s habit of treating them sometimes as persons, sometimes as things.
[134] Pater urbis: Gossrau comp. Cic. de Div. 1. 2, “huius urbis parens Romulus,” Forb. Ov. M. 15. 862, “genitorque Quirine Urbis.”
[135] “Ut perhibent” 4. 179. The appeal to Grecian legend comes in strangely, as Wagn. remarks. It may be meant as an argumentum ad hominem to Evander, but it looks rather as if Virg. were speaking in his own person.
[136] Advehitur Teucros, like “urbem adferimur” 7. 217. The mention of Atlas after ‘Atlantide’ is accounted for by Aeneas' natural wish to be explicit on a point which is the turning-point of his genealogical statement: but we may still wonder why Virg. should not have chosen some other epithet in v. 135. “Maxumus Atlas” 1. 741.
[137] Aetherios orbis of the heavenly bodies, like “astris aetheriis” 5. 514 &c.
[138] Candida, fair, as in 5. 571 of Dido, not, as Serv. thinks, of Maia's brightness as a star.
[139] Conceptum fudit seems i. q. “concepit et fudit,” both conception and birth being supposed to have taken place on Mount Cyllene. It is not clear why Virg. has added ‘gelido,’ which to modern notions seems incongruous. ‘Fudit’ of production G. 1. 13. Whether it was commonly used of human births does not appear. In Cic. Pis. ad init., “Quae te beluam ex utero non hominem fudit,” it has something of contempt, as is remarked by Serv., who thinks the word is chosen here to express easy parturition. Pal. originally had ‘fundit,’ which would agree with ‘generat.’
[140] Rom. has ‘cuiquam:’ see on G. 4. 447. Pal. and the first reading of Gud. have ‘creditis,’ which may either be an accommodation to ‘vobis,’ or a mere error arising from ‘auditis.’
[141] Of the two presents ‘generat’ is to be explained as a peculiar usage of words connected with birth (see on E. 8. 45), like the Greek τίκτει in such passages as Eur. Bacchae 2, ‘tollit’ as virtually i. q. “sublata gerit,” which is nearly its force in 2. 635, “quem tollere in altos Optabam montis.”
[142] The emphatic words are ‘sanguine ab uno.’ The two lines part, flowing from one fountain-head. ‘Scindi’ is used of rivers, Ov. M. 15. 739, “Scinditur in geminas partis circumfluus amnis.”
[143] It is better to take ‘legatos— temptamenta—pepigi’ with Gossrau as a zeugma, than to adopt the harsh expedient of taking ‘per’ both with ‘legatos’ and ‘artem.’ “Foedus,” “pacem pangere” is a common phrase; and so ‘pangere’ is applied to the approaches or overtures (‘temptamenta’) which were to lead to a treaty; so that ‘pepigi’ is not simply put for “feci,” but implies more formality. “Per artem” adverbial G. 1. 122. With the general sense comp. Cic. Ph. 6. 1, “quantum senatus auctoritas vesterque consensus apud Antonium valiturus esset per legatos experiremur.”
[144] Me ipse obieci, i. q. “ego me ipsum obieci:” Cic. Ep. ad Fam. 4. 8, “Non ita abundo ingenio, ut te consoler, cum ipse me non possim,” the regular Latin usage, as Hoffinann, referred to by Wagn., has explained. For this pleonasm “me meumque caput” comp. Soph. O. C. 750, “ἀεί σε κηδεύουσα καὶ τὸ σὸν κάρα”.
[145] Σφὰς γὰρ παρθέμενοι κεφαλάς Od. 2. 237. “Caput obiectare periclis” 2. 751.
[146] This line is in favour of the supposition that in v. 55 ‘Latina’ is used loosely for Rutulian. Probably we are meant throughout more or less to identify the two nations. ‘Crudeli bello’ 11. 535.
[147] Afore: see on 7. 498. The MSS. here present great variety, ‘afore’ being found in no uncial but Pal., and there corrected into ‘adfore,’ while Med. has ‘atfore’ or ‘adfore,’ Rom. ‘fore.’ This may perhaps warn us against trusting even the best MSS. implicitly in matters of orthography. Serv. seems to have read ‘obfore.’ Like his opponents (vv. 13, 17), Aeneas seems to think it part of diplomatic policy to exaggerate facts and attribute motives.
[148] “Sub leges mitteret orbem” 4. 231.
[149] G. 2. 158.
[150] From Enn. A. 1. fr. 30, quoted by Macrob. Sat. 6. 1, “Accipe daque fidem, foedusque feri bene firmum.” “Fortissima pectora” 2. 348, “fortissime bello” 10. 185, where as here ‘bello’ seems to be abl., in war.
[151] It is perhaps most in accordance with the usage of Virg. to take ‘rebus’ generally, i. q. “fortuna,” so as to include all the experience which the Trojans had undergone, as a school of both active and passive virtue. Comp. 1. 178, “fessi rerum.” But Serv. and the commentators generally may be right in supposing the antithesis to be between words and deeds. Forb. comp. Ov. M. 14. 385, “Laesaque quid faciat, quid amans, quid femina, disces Rebus, ait.”
[152-174] ‘Evander accepts the alliance joyfully, remembers an early friendship with Anchises, and bids Aeneas and the Trojans take part in the sacrifice.’
