"Quò ruit? extremum hoc miserae det munus amanti; 66 VER. 10-21. "Olli caeruleus supra caput astitit imber, Lib. IV. 429. "Noctem hiememque ferens; et inhorruit unda tenebris. "Ipse gubernator puppi Palinurus ab altâ: "Heu! quianam tanti cinxerunt aethera nimbi? Quidve, pater Nuptune, paras? Sic deinde locutus, "Colligere arma jubet, validisque incumbere remis ; "Obliquatque sinus in ventum, ac talia fatur: 66 66 Magnanime Aenea, non, si mihi Jupiter auctor Spondeat, hoc sperem Italiam contingere caelo. "* Mutati transversa fremunt, et vespere ab atro "Consurgunt venti; atque in nubem cogitur aër. "Nec nos obniti contra, nec tendere tantum "Sufficimus." *It might here be objected, that as Aeneas, verse 2, set out from Carthage with a contrary wind, its shifting to the west was rather an advantage to him and ought to have made Palinurus rejoice rather than complain. But to this we may answer; that although the northerly wind is far from being favourable from Carthage to Italy; yet supposing it regular and steady, as it commonly is from that quarter, they might sail out with it and row; whereas upon the wind changing, it immediately threatened a storm: 66 66 Supra caput astitit imber "Noctem hiememque ferens, et inhorruit unda tenebris." 66 Ver. 11. This obliged them to take to their oars; "Colligere arma, validisque incumbere remis;" the storm increasing and blowing a hurricane across them, "transversa fremunt," they could no longer make use of their oars, nec obniti contra nec ten"dere sufficimus." Upon this they are forced, "flectere viam "velis," to hoist their sails; and go directly before the wind, which drove them to the coast of Sicily, as fortune and the Gods directed. VER. 116-122. "Velocem Mnestheus agit acri remige Pristin, "Mox Italus Mnestheus, genus à quo nomine Memmî: Ingentemque Gyas ingenti mole Chimaeram, 66 "Urbis opus; triplici pubes quam Dardana versu * See an account of Sergius, Appian, lib. IV. 989. There is a triumphal arch still remaining at Pola in honour of the family. VER. 129-131. "Hic viridem Aeneas † frondenti ex ilice metam This was in the winter (from IV. 309 anteh.): but the Ilex is an evergreen. They are very frequent in Italy, where they call them İlce: and begin to be not uncommon in England: we call them Evergreen Oaks. Horace speaks of the Quercus and Ilices together, lib. III. Od. 33. 10-Ep. I. xvi. 9.-and Virgil, G. III. 332. The leaf of the Ilex is like that of Holly; only of a darker dirtier green: "Ilice sub nigrâ." Ecl. VÍ. 54.. "Duris ut ilex tonsa bipennibus Nigrae feraci frondis in Algido." Hor. lib. IV. Od. iv. 58. 66 VER. 144-147. "Non tam praecipites bijugo certamine campum "Concussere jugis, pronique in verbera pendent." * See Pope's Odyssey, book XIII. note on verse 98. VER. 235-238. . "Dii, quibus imperium est pelagi, quorum aequora curro; "Vobis laetus ego hoc candentem in litore taurum "Constituam ante aras voti reus, extaque salsos "* Porriciam in fluctus, et vina liquentia fundam.” *Exta Deis cum dabant, Porricere dicebant." Varro De Re Rust. lib. I. c. xxix. VER. 250, 251. "Chlamydem auratam, quam plurima circum Purpura Maeandro duplici Meliboea cucurrit." "Maeandrus genus picturae dictum a similitudine flexûs "amnis qui appellatur Maeandrus." Solevano adornare e "guarnire l'estremità delle veste con certe strisce di porpora "riportate con lavori di questi Maeandri." Buanorroti's Medaglioni, p. 93, where he represents in a plate the figure of some Goddess in a habit hemmed with such Maeanders. VER. 379. "Manibusque inducere caestus." * See Fabretti, Column. Trajan. c. viii. et ver. 403. posthac. VER. 490-493. "Convenere viri, *1 dejectamque aerea sortem 66 *1Ruaeus here, in his interpretation, turns this into the plural: and Dr. Trapp in a note on the place, says, that if any edition favoured his conjecture he should rather think it should be Dejectas Sortes the plural, for a reason too plain to be mentioned.-But they had not observed that Virgil at least never chooses to use this word in the plural, but when he is speaking of oracles or predictions, unless in Book VI. 22. which is likewise on a solemn mournful occasion. 66 2 **" Who was victorious, a conqueror, one of the conquerors, who got one of the prizes:" Either of these expressions answer Virgil's meaning; and therefore I am very. much surprised that Dr. Trapp should except against the word, and not think it good sense. See his note on the place. The first part of this remark in answer to La Cerda is right; but I wish he had stopped there, without giving us the latter part. VER. 568, 569. "Alter Atys, genus unde * Atti duxere Latini : "Parvus Atys, pueroque puer dilectus Iülo." *This is a compliment to Augustus, who, by his mother's side, was descended from the Atii; for Augustus's mother, Atia, was daughter to M. Atius Balbus by Julia, Julius Caesar's sister. As Julius Caesar is represented under the character of Ascanius, the alliance between Caesar's family and the Atian is prettily foretold and represented as in embryo in this verse; "Parvus Atys, pueroque puer dilectus Iülo." The family of Atius was of Aricia. See Suetonius in Octav. et Vulpii Latium Vetus, tom. IV. p. 91. VER. 731-735. "Ditis tamen ante "Infernas accede domos; et Averna per altą "Congressus pete, nate, meos. Non me impia namque +Tartara habent, t.tristesque umbrae; sed amoena piorum "Consilia, Elysiumque colo." + Are not these the three divisions of Hades, that are described so much more distinctly in the next book? If so, the reading should be "Tristesve umbrae;" not "Tristesque umbrae," as in the Delphin edition; and much less not "Tartara habent, tristes umbrae;" as in Mattaire's. VER. 738, 739. "Torquet +medios nox humida cursus, "Et me saevus equis Oriens afflavit anhelis." There was a distinction that prevailed very early among the Romans, of the civil and the natural day. The natural day was most commonly reckoned from sunrise to sunset; the civil day, from midnight to midnight again. Virgil, in speaking personally of the latter, calls it Oriens: a name that was not much used in his time; but which he (as a professed lover of antiquity and of their antient words) chose to use, where it was more proper than Sol (or even Dies) would have been. Macrobius, in speaking of this passage, says; Virgilius "id ipsum ostendit, ut hominem decuit poëticas res agentem, "reconditâ atque opertâ veteris ritûs significatione:—his ❝enim verbis diem, quem Romani civilem appellavere, à sextâ "noctis horâ oriri admonet." Saturn. lib. I. c. iii. VER. 743-745. "Haec memorans, cinerem, et sopitos suscitat ignes: *Acerra and Lanx were both used for the Thura, etc. in sacrifices; the former signifying a small dish or plate, the latter a large one, as is expressly said by Ovid: 66 Nec, quae de parvâ Dîs pauper libat acerrâ "Thura minus, grandi quam data lance, valent." De Ponto, lib. IV. Ep. viii VER. 813, 814. "Tutus quos optas portus † accedet Averni: +Venus desires Neptune to grant Aeneas a safe voyage from Sicily to Latium (ver. 796-798.); and Neptune answers, that he shall come safe to the coast of Cumae: "Tutus quos optas portus accedet Averni." Is that a satisfactory answer to her request? The Florentine manuscript reads it ACCEDIT. Will not that set it right? As if he had said; "He is going on to the port of "Avernus, as safely as you could wish: (and he shall go on as safely the rest of his voyage)." -Nothing is more common in Virgil than this way of not mentioning expressly what may be easily inferred: it is one of the distinguishing differences between his and Homer's manner of writing. *Mr. Spence informs me, that a very good Florentine manuscript has Accedit: and observes that, when Venus requests of Neptune for Aeneas, "Liceat Laurentem attingere Tybrim," it is very odd that Neptune should promise only to bring him safe half way," Tutus portus accedet Averni:" and therefore imagines it should be Accedit.-By which Neptune assures her that her request is so far granted, that Aeneas is already entering into the port of Cumae: or rather that she might be assured he was as safe as if he was already arrived there; for it is plain by what follows that he was not yet arrived.-But, after all, I would rather, choose to put the stop after Accedet, and construe Averni with Gurgite. 66 66 VER. 854-860. "Ecce Deus ramum Lethaeo rore madentem, 66 66 + Virgil's account of Palinurus's death is in the strong oriental taste.In this place it is said; "That a God took away all "his vigilance, tore off the rudder he should have guided, and flung him overboard with it into the sea:" in another (VI.351.) "That the God had nothing to do in it; but that it was wholly owing to himself." There are frequent instances of the very same orientalism in Homer, and in the sacred writings. 66 66 *It is not improbable, that Virgil may here allude to an accident which happened to Augustus: "Aliâ tempestate in trajectu bis conflictatus, primo inter Promontoria Peloponnesi "atque Aetoliae, rursus circa montes Ceraunios, utrobique "parte Liburnicarum demersâ, simulque ejus in quâ vehebatur "fusis armamentis, et gubernaculo diffracto." Sueton. in Aug. |