[692] Vix ea fatus erat and similar expressions are followed in Virg. by “cum,” by ‘que’ or “et,” as here, and by a clause without any connecting particle. The two latter modes of construction may be regarded as remnants of a less artificial style, a sort of εἰρομένη λέξις, preserved in poetry partly for variety's sake, partly as a relief from the more formal and logical structure of prose.
[693] Thunder on the left was a good omen in Roman augury, as lightning on the right was in Greek. See note on G. 4. 7, and comp. Cic. Div. 2. 39. The same sign occurs again A. 9. 630, with an additional circumstance.
[694] Shooting stars are mentioned 5. 527. In the present passage Virg. may have thought of Apoll. R. 4. 294, where a similar appearance is sent to sanction a journey. Henry extracts from Saunders' News-letter of July 25, 1844, an account of a meteor seen one evening at Constantinople: “An immense meteor, like a gigantic Congreve rocket, darted with a rushing noise from east to west. Its lightning course was marked by a streak of fire; and after a passage of some 40° or 50°, it burst like a bombshell, but without detonation, lighting up the hemisphere with the brilliancy of the noonday sun. On its disappearance, a white vapour remained in its track, and was visible for more than half an hour.” Heyne seems right in connecting ‘multa cum luce’ with ‘facem ducens’ and explaining “habens speciem facis longae.”
[697] It can hardly be doubted that, as Henry expresses it, ‘signantem’ is connected by ‘que,’ not with its unlike ‘claram,’ but with its like ‘labentem,’ though there is some slight awkwardness, scarcely removed by the parallels he cites, in the separation of the two participles. The sense of ‘signantemque vias’ seems to be fixed by the parallel 5. 526, “signavitque viam flammis,” to the imprinting of the meteor's path along the sky, ‘vias’ being for obvious reasons substituted for “viam:” otherwise it might be proposed to understand the words of the meteor symbolizing the path which Aeneas was to take (comp. Claudian De Laud. Stil. 2. 291, “Signat prodigiis casus natura futuros”), an interpretation which would remove a certain appearance of tautology in what follows, and agree well with Apoll. R. 4. 296, “στέλλεσθαι τήνδ᾽ οἶμον: ἐπιπρὸ γὰρ ὁλκὸς ἐτύχθη Οὐρανίης ἀκτῖνος, ὅπη καὶ ἀμεύσιμον ἦε”, ‘signantemque vias’ being in that case virtually equivalent to “et signare vias.” ‘Tum:’ Wagn. remarks that after the disappearance of the meteor any trail that it left would be more perceptible. For ‘limes’ following ‘via’ see on G. 2. 277. The early editions read ‘lumine’ or ‘limine,’ seemingly on very slender authority. Heins. comp. Ov. M. 15. 849, “Flammiferumque trahens spatioso limite crinem Stella micat,” and Burm. Sen. Thy. 698, “E cavo aethere cucurrit limitem sidus trahens.” ‘Sulcus,’ like its cognate, ὁλκός (ἕλκω) in Apoll. R. l. c., as if the trail of the star ploughed up the heaven. The word is similarly used Lucan 5. 562, Val. F. 1. 568.—Serv. applies the different parts of the portent to the destiny of Aeneas, the direction of the meteor showing that the Trojans were to rally at Mount Ida, the light signifying that under Aeneas they would become illustrious, the trail of scattered sparks denoting that some would remain behind, the length of the path prefiguring the length of the journey, the furrow its maritime character, and the smoke either the death of Anchises or the war in Italy.
[699] Hic vero seems = “tum vero.” Comp. 5. 659, where “tum vero” expresses the effect of a portent exactly as here. But it is just conceivable, though scarcely likely, that ‘vero victus’ are to be constructed together, ‘conquered by the truth,’ by the will of heaven thus convincingly manifested. Comp. Hor. 2 S. 3. 305, “liceat concedere veris.” ‘Se tollit ad auras:’ we may presume from v. 644 and the context geuerally that Anchises was stretched on his bed.
[701] Iam, as elsewhere, is ‘already,’ and the repetition strengthens it. We may render ‘No more, no more delay from me.’ ‘Adsum’ is stronger than “ibo.” ‘Lead me by what way you will, I am there already:’ ‘my feet are already in the path by which you are leading me.’
[702] Nepotem, Ascanius, the hope of the family, as he had just been designated by the first prodigy.
[703] Wund. is clearly right in comparing 9. 246, “Di patrii, quorum semper sub numine Troia est,” which shows the sense to be ‘Troy is in your keeping,’ or ‘under your protection,’ Troy standing, as he remarks, for the Trojans, with reference to the new city which it is hoped they may found elsewhere (comp. 3. 86 foll.). Serv.'s two interpretations, ‘wherever your will leads me, there is Troy,’ and ‘thanks to your power, Troy still exists,’ are far less likely, though the former had the good fortune to be approved by Heyne.
[704] “Ne tamen illi Tu comes exterior, si postulet, ire recuses,” Hor. 2 S. 5. 16.
[705-729] ‘As he spoke, the flames spread nearer. I bade him mount my shoulders, Ascanius holding my hand, and my wife following behind. I appointed a temple of Ceres in the suburb as a rendezvous for myself and my servants, and gave the household gods to my father to carry. As we moved along, a strange sense of fear thrilled through me, which I had never felt while I had only myself to think of.’
[706] Incendia nom., ‘aestus’ acc. As Weidner remarks, not only is the fire seen and heard, but the heat is beginning to be felt.
[707] Aeneas' haste is expressed partly by the rapid movement of this and the next line, partly by the omission of any intimation that he has begun to speak. ‘Inponere’ is the imperative passive in a middle sense, like “velare” 3. 405.
[710] It has been supposed from Donatus' note that he read ‘solus Iulus:’ but the variety seems more naturally accounted for as an oversight.
[711] Longe may be intended, as Serv. remarks, to prepare us for Creusa's loss, at the same time that it agrees with the directions to the servants immediately following, Aeneas' object doubtless being to facilitate the escape of the whole party by making the members of it travel separately.
[712] Dicam future indicative. ‘Animis advertite’ a variety for “animos advertite ad ea.”
[713] Egressis dative: see on 1. 102.
[714] Desertae is rightly explained by Wagn. of Ceres' temple standing in an unfrequented spot, which appears to have been the custom at Rome from Vitruvius 1. 7 (cited by Dorville and Henry), “Item Cereri extra urbem loco, quo non semper homines, nisi per sacrificium, necesse habeant adire.” Henry comp. Tac. A. 8. 15. 53, where the temple of Ceres is fixed on as a place for Piso to wait for the successful result of a conspiracy against Nero's life.
[715] Parallel expressions to parts of this line occur 7. 60, 172., 8. 598. ‘Servata religione,’ as we talk of religious observance. The latter half may have been taken as Germ. suggests, from Lucr. 1. 1029, “et multos etiam magnos servata per annos.”
[716] Ex diverso in the sense of ‘from different parts’ occurs Sen. De Brevitate Vitae, c. 8 (quoted by Forc.), “vires ventorum ex diverso furentium.” For ‘hanc’ Heins. wished to read ‘hac:’ we might also conjecture ‘huc,’ of which ‘sedem in unam’ would be epexegetical (see on v. 18, E. 1. 53). But the ordinary text is satisfactory, being, in fact, a sort of compound of the two expressions “hanc in sedem veniemus una,” and “huc sedem veniemus in unam.”
[718] We have seen v. 167 that part of the crime of Diomedes and Ulysses was that they touched the Palladium with their blood-stained hands. Wagn. inclines to read ‘ex tanto’ from some of Pierius' MSS., as Virg. generally uses ‘ex’ when the preposition has to be inserted between a substantive and an adjective.
[719] Attrectare is used of handling sacred things Livy 5. 32. Some copies, both here and there, have ‘attractare,’ for which see on G. 3. 51. ‘Flumine vivo’ because it was an essential part of the purification that it should be made in running water.
[720] Donatus on Ter. Adelph. 1. 2. 47 says that ‘abluero’ is for “abluam,” as “abiero” there for “abibo.” He is so far right that there appears to be no notion of purpose conveyed by this use of the subj., which is really equivalent to what some grammarians suppose it to be, a future perf. indicative. See on G. 4. 282.
[721] Latos humeros, at which some of the old critics appear to have cavilled as a piece of self-praise, is merely the εὐρέας ὤμους of Hom., though Serv. may be right in his last explanation, “sufficientis vecturae.” ‘Subiecta’ is used as if he had already taken his father on his back, the object of his robing himself being that he might do so. Perhaps the use of ‘satis,’ G. 2. 141, is the nearest parallel we have had, though in neither case can it be said that the past part. passive is used in the sense of the gerundive.
[722] Veste fulvique pelle leonis is rightly taken by Wagn. as a hendiadys. Agamemnon accoutres himself similarly Il. 10. 23, the lion's skin being thrown over the χιτών, which Aeneas would of course be wearing already. It matters little whether ‘super’ be taken adverbially or as separated by tmesis from ‘insternor.’
[724] “‘Inplicuit:’ puerilem expressit timorem, ne manu excidat patris.” Serv. ‘Non passibus aequis’ is doubtless rightly understood ‘unable to keep pace with me’ (comp. 6. 263): but it might also be explained of the uneven steps of hurry, ‘steps not equal to each other,’ like Aesch. Theb. 374, σπουδὴ δὲ καὶ τοῦδ᾽ οὐκ ἀπαρτίζει πόδα, if the reading there is certain.
[725] “‘Opaca:’ not dark, but only shady: not so dark but that one could see the way. Comp. Pliny Ep. 7. 21, ‘Cubicula obductis velis opaca, nec tamen obscura, facio.’” Henry. Aeneas of course means to say that he purposely kept out of the light. “Opaca domorum” Lucr. 2.115. See on 1. 422.
[726] It seems too much to say with Wagn. that ‘et’ here introduces something unexpected and surprising. The mention of his walking in the shade is naturally followed by the mention of his alarm. ‘Dudum’ is contrasted with ‘nunc,’ and so has the sense of ‘a short time back,’ as in 5. 650, not, as Gossrau thinks, of ‘long since,’ implying that he had long lost all personal fear of the Greeks, an interpretation which would agree neither with the context nor with the tense of ‘movebant.’
[727] Wund. is right in interpreting ‘adverso glomerati ex agmine’ = “densi stantes in adverso agmine,” and comparing the use of ἐξ in Greek. There is a slight opposition, as Forb. has seen, between darts and hand-to-hand fighting. Comp. note on v. 432.
[728] The commentators compare Apoll. R. 3. 954, “ἦ θαμὰ δὴ στηθέων ἐάγη κέαρ, ὁππότε δοῦπον Ἢ ποδὸς ἢ ἀνέμοιο παραθρέξαντα δοάσσαι”, where however the subject is Medea's expectation of Jason. A better parallel would be Juv. 10. 21, “Et motae ad lunam trepidabis arundinis umbram” (which I see Cerda cites). Forb. also comp. Sil. 6. 58.
[729] Comiti of course is Ascanius, not, as Emm. explains it, Creusa.
[730-751] ‘As we were approaching the gates, we heard a trampling of feet, and my father gave the alarm. About this time it was that my wife, by some fatal accident, was separated from me. I did not discover the loss till we met at our rendezvous; then I was plunged in the wildest grief, and resolved at once to return to the city, and brave every danger over again.’
[731] Markland conj. ‘evasisse vicem,’ which Heyne adopts; but the later editors rightly defend ‘viam.’ Aeneas seemed to himself to have got over the whole of the journey, as having accomplished the most dangerous part of it. Wagn. parallels ‘evasisse viam’ with “invade viam” 6. 260 (see also ib. 425), and comp. for the sense 3. 282, “iuvat evasisse tot urbes Argolicas mediosque fugam tenuisse per hostis.” ‘Ad auris’ with ‘adesse,’ as in 5. 55 &c.
[734] Serv. has a curious note: “Nonnulli quaerunt ex cuius persona ‘cerno’ dictum sit: sed altius intuentes Aeneae dant, ut ipse hunc versum dixisse videatur.”
[735] Male amicum, like “male fida” v. 23.
[736] Confusam eripuit mentem seems, as Heyne observes, to be a mixture of two Homeric expressions, φρένας ἐξελέσθαι and σὺν δὲ νόος χύτο (Il. 6. 234., 24. 358). Still, though the verb and the participle convey different notions, their combination is doubtless to be referred to the class of which we have had specimens 1. 29, 69.
[737] Sequor avia is used like “sequi viam,” “iter,” &c., as Forb. remarks. “Regio viarum” or “viae” is found again 7. 215., 9. 385., 11. 530, and in Lucr. 1.958., 2. 249, the primary sense of “regio” (“regere”) apparently being a line. So Cic. 2 Verr. 5. 68, “Si quis tantulum de recta regione deflexerit.” The word was an augurial one. See Forc.
[738] Misero seems to refer to Aeneas, as it is commonly taken, not, as Henry thinks, to agree with ‘fato.’ There would be no point in saying that Creusa died a violent death, even if we could conclude that to have been the case, or if it could be established that “miserum fatum” was the regular expression for such an end. Heyne is right in following the obvious order of the words, “ereptane fato mihi misero substitit, erravitne,” &c. ‘Erepta fato’ (which Henry illustrates from Livy 3. 50, “quod ad se attineat, uxorem sibi fato ereptam”) applies really to all three cases, ‘substitit,’ ‘erravit,’ and ‘resedit,’ the meaning being that she was separated finally from Aeneas, whatever was the cause: grammatically it belongs only to ‘substitit.’ Perhaps there may be something rhetorical in the confusion. At any rate Peerlkamp's ‘fato est erepta,’ which Ladewig adopts, would only render the passage more prosaic, and Ribbeck's ‘fato mi’ is sufficiently un-Virgilian. The indicatives are used instead of subjunctives, which we should naturally have expected after ‘incertum,’ on the principle illustrated on E. 4. 52, ‘substitit’ &c. being regarded as the principal verbs in the sentence, and ‘incertum’ merely as a sort of qualifying adverb, so that we need not follow Gossrau in putting a note of interrogation after ‘resedit.’
[739] Seu is used co-ordinately with ‘ne,’ as Tacitus uses “sive” co-ordinately with “an:” see Forc. We have already had “seu—sive” after “dubii” 1. 218. The three cases are put, that she stood still, that she lost her way, that she sat down, just as they may be conceived to have occurred to the mind of Aeneas, though strictly, of course, there is no great difference between the first and the third. For ‘lassa’ Med. and others have ‘lapsa,’ which Burm. injudiciously approves. See on G. 4. 449.
[740] Some MSS. give ‘incertum est,’ as in 8. 352.
[741] Amissam respexi: comp. 9. 387. ‘Animum reflexi’ = “animadverti,” as in our verb ‘to reflect,’ a sense which occurs in one or two other passages, though “reflectere animum” is more commonly used of a change of feeling: see Forc. Heins. restored ‘animumve’ from the majority of MSS. for ‘animumque,’ which is said to have the authority of Med., though Ribbeck's silence makes this more than doubtful.
[742] The temple stood on a ‘tumulus,’ where there were one or more trees, v. 713. ‘Antiquae’ refers rather to the temple than to the goddess.
[744] Fefellit is rightly explained by Wagn. ἔλαθεν οὐ συνεφεπομένη, though he does not mention that the notion which stands for the Greek participle is contained in ‘comites.’ She played them false, or escaped their notice—how?—as her companions. The sense would have been clearer had Virg. written “comes,” but he has chosen to vary the expression by fixing the appellation on the less prominent of the two correlative parties. Comp. v. 99 above (note), where the variety is of an opposite kind. The meaning of course is that she was then first found to have disappeared.
[745] Incusare deos vel homines occurs Tac. H. 2. 47, quoted by Wund., where Otho says that the dying do not indulge in upbraidings of gods or men. Some MSS. give ‘deumque,’ as in 1. 229. Virg., as Serv. suggests, probably wished to avoid the jingle ‘natumque virumque . . . hominumque deumque.’
[746] Serv. remarks “Bene se commendat futurus maritus, qui apud feminam sic ostendit priorem se amasse uxorem.”
[747] Teucrus is used adjectively, as in Catull. 62 (64). 344, Ov. M. 14. 72.
[748] Curvus has the force of “cavus” and something more. So “curvis cavernis” 3. 674. Comp. 11. 522, “Est curvo anfractu valles,” and see on 5. 287.
[749] We do not know where Aeneas left his armour; probably not at home, though it would have been natural that he should do so before starting with his father, as he does not return thither till v. 756, and then seems not to enter. ‘Fulgentibus’ may have some force, as showing that he no longer thought of avoiding danger. Ribbeck, after Peerlkamp, brackets the line.
[750] Stat like ‘sedet,’ with an infintive, of a fixed resolution, 12. 678. For ‘renovare’ a few MSS. have ‘revocare.’ With the line generally comp. 9. 389.
[752-774] ‘I sought her at the gate by which I had left the city: I went to my home, which was occupied by the enemy and in flames: I repaired to the palace, and found Greeks guarding the spoil: in desperation I called out her name through the streets: at last her spectre appeared to me.’
[752] Aeneas had made his journey through the dark for safety's sake (v. 725): he now mentions the shade as a thing which might have led to the loss of his wife, and which consequently formed a reason for careful search, while it enhanced the difficulty of it.
[753] “Vestigia retro observata legit” 9. 393 (note). The ‘vestigia’ of course are his son, as Serv. says.
[754] The sense of ‘lumine,’ which might else conceivably have been questioned, is fixed by 8. 153, “totum lustrabat lumine corpus.”
[755] Animo is adopted by Ladewig and Ribbeck from some MSS., including Pal. and Med., where however the corruption is easily accounted for by the way in which the words are written, ‘animosimul’ (see on G. 2. 219). We have already had ‘animos’ nearly in the sense of “animum” 1. 722; here it might be possible, if need were, to assume the more ordinary sense of courage or martial spirit. With ‘ipsa silentia terrent’ Cerda and Henry comp. the description of Vitellius Tac. H. 3. 84, “terret solitudo et tacentes loci.”
[756] Si forte, ‘on the chance that:’ comp. v. 136 above, and see on E. 9. 38. Wagn.'s attempt to separate the second ‘si forte,’ as if it = εἰ τύχοι, is unnatural here, however applicable to other passages. Serv. says well “iteratione auxit dubitationem.”
[760] The old reading before Heins. was ‘procedo ad,’ or ‘protinus ad,’ the latter doubtless a recollection of v. 437 above. ‘Procedo et’ is supported, not only by the oldest MSS., “miro consensu,” but by 3. 349.
[761] Et is merely a poetical return to the less artificial way of connecting sentences. See on G. 2. 402. In prose we should probably have had “ibi iam.” Juno, like Pallas, Apollo, Vesta, &c., is supposed to have had a temple in the citadel, and the Greeks would naturally choose the dwelling of their patroness. The word ‘asylum’ may be intended to suggest further, that they placed themselves under a protection which they had not respected in the case of their enemies. The language of vv. 761, 762 favours, if it does not invite, such an interpretation.
[762] Phoenix is associated with Ulysses here, as by Homer in the embassy to Achilles in Il. 9.
[763] Troia gaza 1. 119. The form ‘gazza’ is supported by Med. here and in 5. 40, and is not absolutely condemned by Wagn., who remarks that the name “Mezentius” is written with a double z in the great majority of passages by Med., and twice by Rom.
[764] Mensae deorum may perhaps include tripods, as Cerda and others think. The gods, however, had tables proper in their temples, as Wagn. shows from Pausanias 5. 20, where a table is spoken of in a temple of Hera.
[765] Auro solidi for “ex solido auro.” So “dona auro gravia” 3. 464. ‘Captivus,’ like αἰχμάλωτος, is applied to things as well as to persons in prose as well as in poetry. Comp. 7. 184., 11. 779, and also the use of ‘mortalia’ E. 8. 35. The bowls, if not the vestments, probably come from the temples.
[766]
The captives formed a prominent
feature in the representations, pictorial or
narrative, of the sack of Troy. They
figured in a painting of Polygnotus described
by Pausanias 10. 25, 26, and they
give the name to the Troades of Euripides.
With the scene here portrayed we may
comp. Aesch. Ag. 326 foll.:
“οἱ μὲν γὰρ ἀμφὶ σώμασιν πεπτωκότες
ἀνδρῶν κασιγνήτων τε καὶ φυταλμίων
παῖδες γερόντων οὐκέτ᾽ ἐξ ἐλευθέρου
δέρης ἀποιμώζουσι φιλτάτων μόρον.
”
[767] Some inferior MSS. fill up what Virg. left imperfect with such lines as “et crebris pulsant sua pectora pugnis,” or “et tacitis inplent mugitibus auras.”
[768] Scaliger, Poet. 3. 11, expresses himself thus: “Profecto me horror capit, atque etiam quatit, ubi videre atque audire videor, in nocte, inter hostis, fortem simul atque pium virum etiam clamore carissimam uxorem quaerere.” ‘Voces iactare,’ to call at random, in the vague hope of reaching her ear.
[771] Furere here, as in v. 759, does duty for a verb of motion.
[772] Infelix with reference to Aeneas' feeling, not to Creusa's actual condition. Contrasted with the living form, the apparition was wretched. Virg.'s characteristic love of iteration leads him to employ three words to designate the spectre.
[773] The forms of the shades, like those of the gods, were supposed to be larger than human, apparently as being no longer ‘cribbed, cabined, and confined’ by the body. Contrast Il. 23. 66, where it is expressly said that the shade of Patroclus was πάντ᾽ αὐτῷ, μέγεθός τε καὶ ὄμματα κάλ᾽, εἰκυῖα. Emm. comp. Juv. 13. 221, “tua sacra et maior imago Humana,” where the apparition is of a living person in a dream. ‘Notus,’ i. q. “solitus,” as in 1. 684., 6. 689.
[774] ‘Stetĕrunt,’ like “tulĕrunt” E. 4. 61.
[775-794] ‘She addressed me, and told me that our separation was Heaven's will; that I had long wanderings before me, which would end in an Italian kingdom and a second marriage; that she had become one of the train of Cybele: and she ended by commending Ascanius to my care. Then she vanished, while I sought in vain to embrace her.’
[775] Adfari and ‘demere’ are historical infinitives, not, as Wund. thinks, dependent on ‘visa’ v. 773. The line, which occurs again 3. 153, is said by Serv. to have been omitted in many copies: it appears however to be found in all now extant. Ribbeck relegates it to the margin.
[776] Two of Ribbeck's cursives and several quotations in other parts of Serv. give ‘labori’ for ‘dolori,’—a recollection apparently of 6. 135. Creusa would then be denouncing Aeneas' search for her, not his grief.
[777] Sine numine divom 5. 56. It is the Homeric οὐκ ἄνευθε or ἀέκητι θεῶν. See on 1. 133, “meo sine numine.”
[778] The reading of the latter part of this line is extremely doubtful. Serv. says that as it stands it cannot be scanned, but that it may be set right by changing the order of the words, ‘nec te hinc comitem asportare Creusam,’ though others prefer to read ‘portare.’ From this it seems that the authentic text in his time was supposed to be ‘nec te comitem hinc asportare,’ which is still found in Pal. and some other copies. The existing MSS. vary much: two of Ribbeck's cursives follow Serv.'s regulated text: Med. gives ‘nec te comitem hinc portare,’ while others have ‘nec te comitem asportare,’ ‘nec te hinc comitem portare,’ ‘nec te comitem portare.’ The last of these varieties is preferred by Wagn., Forb., and Gossrau, as probably representing the parent text from which the others were corrupted. But it may be doubted whether the fact that ‘hinc’ is found in different places in the different copies proves that it originally had no place at all, and doubted too whether the less common ‘asportare’ is likely to have been substituted by transcribers for the more common ‘portare.’ ‘Asportare’ is used by Cicero, Nepos, Plautus, and Terence (see Forc.); and though it may not be found elsewhere in poetry, it is a peculiarly appropriate word. Comp. Ter. Phorm. 3. 3. 18, “Quoquo hinc asportabitur terrarum, certumst persequi.” On the whole, then, while admitting the difficulty of the question, I have restored, as Ribbeck has done, the reformed Servian text, which Heyne and most of his predecessors adopted.
[779] Fas probably goes with ‘sinit,’ as Heins. remarks. Comp. G. 1. 269, “Fas et iura sinunt.” ‘Superi regnator Olympi’ 7. 558. ‘Ille’ is peculiarly used of Jupiter, as a title of reverence: comp. 7. 110. 558., 10. 875, &c. Before Heins. the reading was ‘haud ille,’ which is found in Gud. corrected, Canon. corrected &c., and apparently supported by Ausonius, Mosell. 80, though there ‘aut’ would suit the sentence rather better, as ‘neque’ precedes. But in such matters MS. testimony is of no value.
[780] Exsilia in the plural has some rhetorical force here, as multiplying the troubles of Aeneas. In 3. 4 it is used distributively. ‘Arandum’ is used strictly with ‘aequor,’ loosely with ‘exsilia.’ Virg. seems as if he might have imitated Aesch. Supp. 1006, πρὸς ταῦτα μὴ πάθωμεν ὧν πολὺς πόνος Πολὺς δὲ πόντος οὕνεκ᾽ ἠρόθη δορί. The resemblance would be still closer if we might follow the margin of Gud. in substituting ‘longum’ for ‘vastum.’
[781] Some inferior MSS. have ‘ad terram,’ which is supported by Serv. on 3. 5: see on v. 139 above. ‘Et’ seems to have the force of ‘tum’ (see on v. 761) —‘you have a long voyage before you, and then you will come’ &c.; so that it seems better to change the period usually placed after ‘arandum’ into a comma or semicolon. This definite prophecy of a home in Italy is inconsistent, as the editors remark, with what follows in the next book, where the Trojans first hear that they have to seek out their mother country, and only after a mistaken settlement in Crete, learn that Italy is to be their destination. See Introduction to Book 3. ‘Lydius’ refers to the traditional origin of the Etruscans from Lydia, alluded to again 8. 479.
[782] Virum goes not with ‘opima,’ as Burm. and Forc. think, but with ‘arva,’ which has its strict sense of tilled land. It is a sort of unconscious reminiscence of the enthusiasm for labour, which, as we saw, animated the Georgies, the expression itself being perhaps modelled, as the commentators suggest, on ἔργα ἀνδρῶν. Comp. 1. 532, “Oenotri coluere viri.” ‘Opima,’ as Henry remarks, denotes prime condition rather than fruitfulness. ‘Leni agmine’ is from Enn. A. 177, “Quod per amoenam urbem leni fluit agmine flumen,” quoted by Macrob. Sat. 6. 4. We have already had “agmen aquarum” G. 1. 322.
[783] For ‘res laetae,’ which occurs Ov. Trist. 5. 14. 32, Pont. 4. 4. 15, Lucan 1. 81, Sil. 11. 23, Med. has a curious reading ‘res Italae,’ supported by a correction in Pal, which Wagn. attributes to a recollection of 8. 626.
[784] Partus is peculiarly used of things that are virtually, though not actually realized: comp. 3. 495., 6. 89., 7. 598, E. 3. 68. Henry seems to go too far when he comments on ‘dilectae:’ “not merely loved, but loved by choice or preference. An exact knowledge of the meaning of this word enables us to observe the consolation which Creusa ministers to herself in the delicate opposition of ‘dilectae Creusae’ to ‘regia coniunx parta.’” The clause seems to refer rather to what follows than to what precedes. Aeneas is bidden to dry his tears, not because another marriage awaits him, but because the lost wife of his heart is destined not to degrading servitude, but to a noble ministry.
[785] Myrmidonum Dolopumve v. 7. The fate which Creusa disclaims for herself is the same which Hector dreads for Andromache Il. 6. 454 foll.
[787] Serv. says that some one filled up the remainder of the verse with the words ‘et tua coniunx.’ The supplement is more happy than most of those which have been invented by transcribers or critics, and may naturally enough be supposed to have occurred to Virg. himself, though without quite satisfying him.
[788] Cybele was one of the patronesses of Troy, being a Phrygian goddess, and worshipped on Ida. Comp. 3. 111., 9. 618., 10. 252. Virg. means evidently that Creusa is to become one of her attendants, passing from ordinary humanity into a half-deified state, which agrees with v. 773. Pausanias 10. 26 says that one legend represented her as rescued from captivity by Cybele and Venus, though in the painting of Polygnotus she appeared among the prisoners. Another story made Aeneas carry his wife (called by some Eurydice) with him into exile.
[789] Serva amorem, as we should say, continue to love. “Servare amores” occurs in a different sense 4. 29.
[790, 791] Partially repeated from G. 4. 499 foll. ‘Haec ubi dicta dedit’ 6. 628., 7. 323 (note), 471., 10. 633., 12. 81, 441. Weidner remarks that the formula is found in Lucil. ap. Non. p. 158, Livy 22. 50.
[792] This and the following lines occur again 6. 700 foll. They are translated from Od. 11. 204 foll., where Ulysses grasps at the shade of his mother.
[793] For ‘conprensa’ some MSS. give ‘conpressa,’ which would be less appropriate.
[794] Hom.'s words are σκιῆ εἴκελον ἢ καὶ ὀνείρῳ. Virg., in talking of sleep, probably has a dream in his mind. In any case there is no probability in Macrobius' (Sat. 5. 5) misquotation ‘fumo,’ which Wakef. adopts. The Medicean of Pierius has a curious variety, “Par levibus pennis volucrique simillima vento.”
[795-804] ‘Returning to the rendezvous, I find a great multitude of fugitives ready to emigrate under my leadership. Nothing more was to be done in the city, so I removed my father to Ida.’
