[450] Rutuli seems to be used convertibly with “Latini,” much as Virg. makes the name of any one of the Greek races stand for the whole army at Troy. The expression here, ‘Victores praeda spoliisque potiti’ is doubtless meant to be halfironical, as Trapp remarks.
[451] Pal., Rom., Gud., and another of Ribbeck's cursives have ‘exanimem.’ See on v. 444.
[453] Primis i.q. “primoribus,” as in 4. 133 &c., where however a gen. follows. ‘Peremptis’ is doubtless co-ordinate with ‘exsangui,’ not with ‘reperto.’ Comp. Aesch. Ag. 1451, δαμέντος φύλακος εὐμενεστάτου καὶ πολλὰ τλάντος γυναικὸς διαι..
[454] Serrano v. 335. ‘Numa’ has not been mentioned before, so that Schrader conj. ‘Lamo’ from v. 334, Heyne ‘Remo’ from v. 330, while Ribbeck thinks that Virg. would certainly have altered the name had he lived to revise his work. But the poet's love of variety leads him elsewhere to introduce people by name who have not been particularized when they have previously appeared on the stage (comp. 6. 334, “Leucaspim,” who is not specified in the description of the storm in A. 1); and it is at least as likely that the introduction of Numa here is from design as from carelessness. “Concursus ad amnem” 6. 318. ‘Ipsa corpora’ seems to be distinguished from the report of the death, as we should say, to recognize the bodies.
[455] ‘Seminecis viros’ distinguished from ‘corpora.’ Serv. mentions another reading, ‘tepidumque recenti,’ which has a certain amount of MS. support, ‘tepidumque’ being found in Rom., Pal., Med. corrected, and Gud. originally, ‘recenti’ in Pal. and Gud. originally. Med. originally had ‘tepidamque recentem.’ The reading in the text really, according to Virg.'s habit, implies the other, while it is peculiarly likely to have been altered, especially by any one who remembered 8. 195, “recenti caede tepebat humus.” Macrob. Sat. 6. 6 quotes a remark by Serv. on the expression “recens caede.”
[456] The MSS. again present a confusion of cases, Med. and Pal. corrected having ‘pleno spumantis sanguine rivos,’ while ‘spumantis’ is also found in Rom., and seems to have been read by Serv. ‘Plenos spumanti’ is found expressly in Gud. alone of the better MSS., though in another of Ribbeck's cursives it appears from a correction. But the point is precisely one on which MS. authority is valueless, as the initial letter of ‘spumanti’ and ‘sanguine’ will account for either reading (see on G. 2. 219 &c.); and if we look to internal considerations, though “spumantem sanguine” is found 6. 87, ‘pleno’ would be a strange epithet of ‘sanguine’ even in a connexion like this. For the image generally comp. v. 333.
[457] They show the spoils to each other and so identify them. ‘Nitentem’ reminds us of that quality in the helmet which made it fatal to Euryalus, v. 373.
[458] Phaleras: see on v. 359. ‘Multo sudore receptas’ may be a reminiscence of Enn. fr. inc. trag. 11 (Ribbeck), “Salmacida spolia sine sudore et sanguine.”
[459-502] ‘At daybreak the Latins set up the heads of Nisus and Euryalus on spears opposite the Trojan camp. Euryalus' mother hears and rushes to the spot, bewailing his fate and praying for death. Her friends remove her.’
[459, 460] Repeated from 4. 584, 585 (note).
