Venus is speaking, already safe in harbour; the others are entering ander full sail, looking at their companions now riding at anchor before their view. The next moment ail are in, mutual greetings take place, and cries of joy are heard. 402-405. Dixit et avertens, &c. "She said, and, turning away, dashed on the view with her rosy neck." We have here one of the marks of divinity, accor ling to ancient ideas, namely, a bright-flashng and roseate hue, the "fusus et candore mixtus rubor" of Cicero. (N. D., i., 27.)-Avertens. Supply se.-Ambrosiæque comæ, &c. "And from her head the ambrosial locks breathed a heavenly odour." A second mark of divinity. The term ambrosia is here equivalent to ambrosia illite, "anointed or perfumed with ambrosia," the immor. tal unguent of the gods. Compare, as regards the "divinum odorem," the Jelov odμns пvεvoua in Euripides, by which Hippolytus recognises the divinity of Diana. Venus and Diana are generally represented with their hair dressed in the simple style of the young Greek girls, whose hair was parted in front, and conducted round to the back of the head so as to conceal the upper part of the ears. It was then tied in a plain knot at the nape of the neck, or, at other times, though ess frequently, at the top of the head. Both these fashions are represented in the following cut from a bas-relief at Rome.

Et vera incessu patuit dea. "And in her gait the true goddess was isclosed to the view." Another proof of her divinity appeared in er peculiar gait. The walking of the gods is described by the an eients as a swift, smooth, gliding motion, somewhat like that of a serpent. Heliodorus speaks of the wavy motion of the immortals, not by opening their feet, but with a certain aëria. force.-Dea. Ille. In scanning this line, Dea is not to be pronounced as a monosyllable, an erroneous opinion entertained by some editors; on the contrary, there is an hiatus after it, although the word ends with a short vowel; and the pause at the end of the sentence prevents the operation of the synalopha (Bentley, an Horat., Od., iii., 14, 11.)

406-110. Tali fugientem, &c. "Pursued her as she fled with words such as these." "To pursue with words" is the same as “to call after.”—Quid natum toties, &c. "Why dost thou, cruel also, mock thy son so often with untrue appearances?" Venus had often appeared to him before, and as often suddenly and mysteriously disappeared.-Crudelis quoque. Implying that Juno was not the only deity cruel to him, since his own mother seemed to court this ame charge.-Veras voces. "The language of reality," i. c. words poken in one's proper character, and not under an assumed form. -Incusat. 66 'He reproaches her."'

411-414. Obscuro gradienets, &c. Encompassed them as they noved onward with darkened air," i. e., with a misty cloud, that endered them invisible. This is in accordance with the usage of Homer, whose deities thus conceal their favourites from mortal "iew.Et multo nebula, &c. "And the goddess poured around hem the abundant covering of a mist." Literally, "poured them around with."-Eos. A negligent expression. The poets generally void the oblique cases of the pronoun is, where they are enclitic, or merely signify "him," "them," &c., and employ them chiefly when orthotone and emphatic.-Contingere. "To injure." More

terally, "to lay hands upon them."-Molirive moram. "Or to cause ay delay," i. e., to interpose any obstacle (moles) that might occaion delay.

415-417. Ipsa Paphum sublimis abit. "She herself departs on high or Paphos." Vid. Index of Proper Names.-Sedesque revisit, &c. And with joy revisits her accustomed seats." Lata refers to the lelight which the goddess took in her favourite Paphos; not, as ɔme think, to the joy which she felt on account of the safety of er son. -Templum. Supply est.-Centumque Sabao, &c. "And where) a hundred altars glow with Sabæan incense, and exhale he perfume of freshly-twined garlands." Literally, “breathe with resh garlands." The altar of the Paphian Venus was never stained with the blood of animal sacrifices. The offerings were flowers and frankincense.-Sabao. The Sabæi occupied a region in Arabia Felix, whence the best frankincense was obtained.

418-422. Corripuere viam interea, &c. "Meanwhile they hastened on their way."-Plurimus. "Of lofty height.”—Adversasque aspectat, &c. "And faces from above its confronting towers."— Molem, magalia quondam. "The mass of buildings, formerly (mere portable huts." We have given magalia here the meaning which Gesenius assigns to it, "tuguria Numidarum portalia, quæ plaustris circumferebantur," i e., portable huts that were carried about os

wagons. Servius says that the true forin of the word is magaria, not magalia, because magar signified, in Punic, “a villa " This is also maintained by Isidorus, and in modern times has been advocated by Bochart; but it is justly condemned by Gesenius. (Phan. Mon., p. 392.)-Strepitumque, &c. "And the bustle, and the paved ways." Strata viarum is a Græcism for stratas vias. The following cut gives a view of a portion of the paved street at the entrance of Pompeii. The upper surface consists of large polygonal blocks of the hardest stone, fitted and jointed with the utmost nicety, so as to present a perfectly even surface, as free from gaps or irregularitie as if the whole had been one solid mass.

423-425. Instant.

66

Ply the work." Supply oper. More he ally, "press on."-Pars ducere muros. "Some are extending the walls." We have followed the punctuation of Wagner, who places a colon after Tyrii. This will convert ducere, moliri, &c., into his torical infinitives, with the meaning of the indicative present.-Subvolvere. "Are rolling up," i. c., to the heights where the citadel is to stand. Literally, "are rolling from beneath, or under."-Pars oplare locum, &c. "Some are selecting a spot for a dwelling, and enclosing it with a furrow." The furrow is the space dug all round to receive the foundation-stones, and serves, at the same time, to mark out the limits of the new dwelling.

426-429. Jura magistratusque, &c. "They are appointing modes of judicial procedure, and magistrates, and a revered senate' This

line comes in very awkwardly between the preceding and subse quent ones, in both of which mention is made of building, &c. T: bviate this difficulty, some translate the present verse as follows "They are choosing places for courts of justice, and for magistrates and the revered senate Such a translation, however, can neve be fairly obtained from the words in question, and it is therefore best to regard the line as a spurious one, an opinion in which most Coinmentators agree.

Alta theatri fundamenta, &c. "Others are laying the deep foundations of a theatre." Mention of a theatre at Carthage has given rise to objections on the part of some critics. The poet, however, is perfectly excusable. In endeavouring to depict the greatness and splendour of Carthage, he calls in to his aid certain features which belonged more properly to imperial Rome-Scenis decora alta futuris. "The lofty decorations for future scenes." The following cut will give some idea of the ground plan of an ancient theatre. The semicircular sweep contains the rows of seats. These rows are marked a, and are divided into compartments by one or more broad passages, marked b, running between them, and parallel to the bench. Above the highest row of benches rises a covered portico.

AS

marked c. In the centre of the orchestra stands the altar of Bac chus, around which the chorus dance. The chorus enter by means of two broad passages, marked e. The stage is marked by the letter f. The scena, or back wall, has three entrances (m, i, m), the cenval one for royal personages. The ancient theatres had no roofs. 430-436. Qualis apes, &c. "Such toil is theirs, as employs the Bees, beneath the rays of the sun, throughout the flowery fie.ds, in the beginning of summer, when they lead forth the grown-up offspring of their race." The grammatical construction is, talis labor est illis qualis labor exercet apes, &c.-Stipant. They press close," i. e. stow closely away, or compress into a narrow compass.-Fucos. "The drones." These are the male bees, which, after subserving the purposes of fecundation, are driven out by the working-bees.-A prasepibus. "From the hives."—Redolentque thymo, &c. the fragrant and abundant honey is redolent of thyme." Observe che employment of the plural number in mella to denote great abun..

dance.

66

"And

437-438. O fortunati, &c. Æneas envies them their good fortune in being already occupied with that which he had so long ardently desired in his own case, namely, the building of their city.—Et fastigia suspicit urbis. "And he looks up to the city's topmost towers." A fine touch of nature. He thinks with a sigh of the difference between his present condition and that of the Tyrian colonists and, while he is thus employed, his eye involuntarily rests on their proud structures already soaring into the sky.-Fastigia. More literally, "the summits." The term properly means the high, elevated, gable end of a building; the peak of the roof.

439-445. Infert se. "He moves onward."-Ulli.

A Græcism, for ab ullo.-Lætissimus umbra. 66 Most luxuriant of shade." Latissimus is here equivalent to uberrimus. The common text has umbrả, but the genitive is preferable, as denoting more of fulness and abundance. Quo primum jactati, &c. "In which very spot the Carthaginians, after having been tossed to and fro by the waves and the tempest, first dug up an onen, which royal Juno had pointed out, the head of a spirited steed." With quo construe loco, and connect primum with effodere.-Monstrârat. By an oracle, or some other in dication. Caput acris equi. The Carthaginian coins had the head of a horse impressed on one side, in allusion, as is said, to this early tradition. According to one account, Juno ordered Dido, by an ora ele, to settle in that place where she should find a horse's head. Sic nam fore, &c. For thus did she indicate that the nation should be illustrious in war, and easy to be supported for ages'