7. The poet would appear in this place to confound the springs of Aganippe and Hippocrene, which, though both on Mt. Helicon, were distinct in situation. But he had already (Met. v. 312,) distinguished them, so that we must regard the present as a slip of his memory. Aganippis, like Ausonis, Maenalis, etc. is evidently an adjective.
8. Med. equi, Pegasus. See III. 544.
9. Polyhymnia. The name of this Muse in all the Greek writers, from Hesiod down, is [Greek: Polymnia]; by Ovid and by Horace, (Car. I. 1, 33,) she is called Polyhymnia, a name which could not be written in Greek.
11-54. The first opinion. Maius derived its name from Majestas, the daughter of Honos and Reverentia. Sunt qui hunc mensem ad nostros Fastos transisse commemorant, apud quos nunc quoque vocatur Deus Maius, qui est Jupiter, a magnitudine et majestate dictus. Macrobius, Sat. I. 12.
10. Mente notant, mark in their mind or commit to memory.
11. Compare I. 103. Met I. 1. et seq. xv. 239. In these places he speaks of four elements, here of but three, regarding the air and the aether as one.
12. Omne opus. The whole mass. Some MSS. read onus. See on I. 564.
16. I doubt if it was judicious to personify here.
19. It was in the reign of Saturn that this confusion prevailed, hence no gods are spoken of but Titans, the children of Heaven and Earth; such were Oceanus and Tethys. It would be pressing the poet too closely to ask who the Dei advenae could be in the reign of Saturn.
24. Lenz, who thinks that it is the banquets of the gods of which the poet speaks, in the language of the Roman triclinium, understands by legitimis toris the couches in such being properly arranged, and the guests placed according to their rank. Gierig rightly understands it of the marriage of Honour and Reverence.
25. Quae, etc. Three of the best MSS. read hos est dea censa parentes, which Heinsius and Gierig adopt. Compare Hor. Car. I. 12. 15.
26. Magna fuit, scil. Majestas, like Minerva.
28. Aurea, i. e. adorned with gold.—Sinu, robe; part for the whole. Compare II. 310.
29. Pudor et Metus. The [Greek: Aidos] and [Greek: Nemesis] of Hesiod, ([Greek: Erga] 200).
30. Vultus. One MS. reads cultus; either reading gives a good sense.
31. Suspectus, a regard, respect for.
34. Dum senior. See IV. 197.
35. For the Giant-war, see Met. I. 151. et seq. Virg. G. I. 278. Hor. Car. III. 4. 49. Mythology. p. 238.
52. Illa coronatis, etc. She accompanies the conquering generals in their triumphs, giving dignity to them. I know not where the poet got this beautiful fiction of the birth and power of Majesty. It has, I think, a Roman rather than a Grecian air, "Haud dubie poetae antiquiori debet." Gierig.
54. The poet appears to intimate that each opinion was maintained by three of the Muses. For the names, characters, and attributes of these goddesses, see Mythology, p. 146.
55. The second opinion. Maius and Junius came from Majores and Juniores. Fulvius Nobilior in Fastis, quos in aede Herculis Musarum posuit, Romulum dicit postquam populos in majores minoresque divisit, ut altera pars consilio, altera armis rempublicam tueretur, in honorem utriusque partis hunc Maium sequentum mensem Junium vocasse. Macrobius, I. 12.
57. [Greek: Aideisthai poliokrotaphous, eikein de gerousin Edraes kai geraon panton], Phocyl. 207. Cicero (Sen. 18.) praises the Lacedaemonians highly for their respect for old age, on the advantages of which he makes his Cato dilate, but properly adds non cani, non repente auctoritatem accipere possunt, as this depended on a well-spent life, and, as Menander says, [Greek: Ouch ai triches poiousin ai leukai phronein, All' ho tropos enion esti tae phusei Geron].
59. [Greek: Palaios ainos Erga men neoteron, Boulai d' echousi ton geraiteron kratos]. Eurip. frag. Melan.
60. Same as Pugnabant pro aris et focis.
64. This derivation of Senatus is also given by Cicero (Sen. 6.). Dionysius (II. 12.) doubts whether the corresponding Greek term [Greek: gerousia] came from age or from honour ([Greek: geras]).—Mite a very appropriate term, "Juventus est fervida, senectus mitis." Gierig.
66. In the early times of Rome, the maturity of years was much regarded in the appointments to office. When Corn. Scipio was looking for the aedileship (A.U.C. 539) the tribunes opposed him because he had not attained the lawful age, Liv. xxv. 2. By the Lex Villia Annalis passed A.U.C. 574 the age for the Quaestorship was made 3l, for the aedileship 37, the Praetorship 40, and the Consulship 43 years.
67. Compare Sall. Jug. 11.
68. See Horace Sat. II. 5. 17.
70. Censuram, the right of reprimanding.
71. Patres. See Liv. I. 8. Sall. Cat. 6. Vell. Paterc. I. 8.– Pectora. Several MSS. read corpora.
74. Tangor, I am led to believe.
75. It was probably said that this was done by Romulus at the request of Numitor.
76. Sustinuisse. "Non sustinet alterum qui non potest non satisfacere ejus precibus," Gierig. Compare Met. xiv. 788. Liv. xxxi. 13.
77. 78. June, the poet thinks, being named a juvenum nomine, is no slight proof of the correctness of the foregoing etymology. But the origin of June itself is to be proved.—Praep. hon. Six MSS. proposito honori, some have propositum, five give the present reading, the rest propositi. Heinsius proposes praeposito honori, which Krebs adopts.
79-110. The third opinion. The month derived its name from the Pleias Maia. Cincius mensem nominatum putat a Maia, quam Vulcani dicit uxorem, argumentoque utitur quod flamen Vulcanalis, Kal. Maiis huic deae rem divinam facit. Macrob. Sat. I. 12. Again Contendunt alii Maiam Mercurii Matrem, mensi nomen dedisse.—There is a festival of Mercury in this month which is in favour of the Pleias; but, on the other side, Maia seems to be an old Italian deity, the female, perhaps, of Maius, (see on v. 11,) and is justly regarded as the Earth, (see on v. 148,) who, under the name of Bona Dea, was worshiped on the Kalends. The marriage of Vulcan and Maia accords with Grecian, not with Italian theology. See on III. 512.
79. Hedera, the ornament of learned brows, and therefore suited to the Muse of the Epos.
80. Prima sui chori, Calliope is placed by Hesiod and all succeeding writers at the head of the list of the Muses. Perhaps in this place the chorus may be those of her sisters, who thought as she did on this subject.
81. Oceanus and Tethys were two of the Titans, the children of Heaven and Earth.
82. [Greek: Mnaesomai Okeanoio bathurrhoou en gar ekeino Pasa chthon, ate naesos apeiritos, estephanotai]. Dionys. Perieg. 3. For proof that the ancient poets represented the Ocean as a huge river which flowed round the earth, see Mythology, pp. 35, 228.
89-90. The country, its rivers and mountains put for the people. For the ante-lunar origin of the Arcadians, see I. 469.
91. See I. 499. et seq.
92. Impositos scil. navi suae.
93. Compare I. 5d5, II. 280, III. 71. Virg. aen. viii. 98.
99. Sec II. 267-449.
101. Cinctutis, same as succinctis, which is the reading of several MSS. The Luperci were so called, because they ran, [Greek: en perizomasi], cincti subligaculis.
102. Celebres vias, the crowded streets.—Vellera secta, the goat-skin thongs. Several MSS. read verbera.
103. This is the way in which Evander chiefly testified his veneration for Mercury, by naming a month after the god's mother. As to the fact of his being his son, see above I. 471. According to Macrobius, (ut supra) traders sacrificed in this month to Maia and Mercury.
104. Compare Hor. Car. I. 10, 6. For the mythology of Mercury, see my Mythology, pp. 124 and 460.
105. Pietas, i. e. dutiful regard to his aunts, the Pleiades. The lyre, or phorminx, of which the invention was ascribed to Hermes, had seven strings. [Greek: Hepta de symphonous oion etanusseto chordas]. Homer, H. Merc, 25.
108. See on v. 64.
111-128. On the Kalends of May, the star named Capella ([Greek: aix]) which is in the right shoulder of the Heniochus or Charioteer, a constellation on the north side of the Milky Way—rises heliacally, according to Neapolis; cosmically, according to Taubner. Is it not acronychally, according to Ovid? Pliny (xviii. 26,) makes it take place the VIII. Id Maias.—Ab Jove, etc. [Greek: Ek Dios archometha], Aratus Phaen. 1, Virg. Ec. III. 60.
113, 114. According to Eratosthenes (Catast. 13,) Musaeus said, that when Jupiter was born, Rhea gave him to Themis, by whom he was committed to Amalthea, who had him suckled by her goat. Amalthea, we are told by Theon, (ad Arat. 64,) was the daughter of Olenus. Others say, that Amalthea was the name of the goat, and that she had two kids, which were raised with herself to the skies by her grateful nursling. There is no part of Grecian mythology more obscure than the early history of Jupiter.—Nascitur, i.e. oritur.—Pluviale. Compare Met. III. 594, Virg. aen. ix. 668, on which Servius says, Supra Tauri cornua est signum, cui Auriga nomen est. Retinet autem stellas duas in manu, quae Haedi vocantur et Capram—quorum et ortus et occasus gravissimas tempestates faciunt.
115. Naïs, for Nympha, the species for the genus.
119. Aëriis, lofty, tall, rising into the air.
123. Cinxit. One of the best MSS. which is followed by Heinsius and Gierig, reads cinctum.—Recentibus, the MSS. also read decoribus, decentibus, virentibus.
129-147. The altar of the Guardian (Praestites) Lares was erected on the Kalends of May.
130. Curius. Manius Curius Dentatus, the conqueror of the Sabines and of Pyrrhus. There is an apparent difficulty here, as, according to Varro, T. Tatius, the Sabine king built a temple to the Lares, and Dionysius (iv. 14) tells us, that the Compitalia were instituted in their honour by Servius Tullius. The history of Tatius, however, is so purely mythic, that little stress can be laid on the above circumstance, and the fact of the previous worship of the Lares at Rome, does not militate against that of the erection of an altar to them by Curius. The present reading Vov … … … Cur, was given by Ciofanus, from one MS. of the highest authority; that of the other MSS. and the previous editions, is Ara erat quidem illa Curibus, and it is a matter of great doubt which is the genuine one. One MS. for voverat, reads struxerat.
137. Stabat, scil. at the altar erected by Curius.
140. Grata, agreeable. Compitalia dies attributus. Laribus; ideo ubi viae competunt tum in competis sacrificatur; quotannis is dies concipitur. Varro, L. L. V. There were 265 compita Larium at Rome, Pliny, III. 9.
143, 144. See vv. 129, 130.
145. Mille, a definite for an indefinite number.—Qui. trad. etc. Compitales Lares ornari his anno constituit vernis floribus et aestivis. Suet. Aug. 31.
146. Numina trina, scil. the two Lares, and the Genius of Augustus. Hor. Car. iv. 5, 34. See IV. 954.—Vici, the streets.
148-158. The temple of Bona Dea was dedicated on the Kalends of May. It is disputed who this goddess was. Varro said she was Fatua or Fauna, the daughter of Faunus, who was so chaste that she never let herself even be seen by men. Macrobius (I. 12,) tells us, that Corn. Labeo said she was Maia. v. 79. As she is also said to have been the same with Ops, and a pregnant sow was the victim offered to her, (Festus, s. v. Damium,) which was also the victim to Tellus, (Hor. Ep. II. 1, 143.) I think it extremely probable, that Bona Dea was only one of the names of the goddess of the earth.
149. Moles nativa, a natural rock. It was on the Aventine.
152. Regna. Three of the best MSS. followed by Heinsius and Gierig, give signa.
155, 156. See on IV. 305. It is not certain, however, that it was Claudia Quinta, "Haec Appia illa Claudia probatae pudicitiae femina." Neapolis.
157, 158. Compare I. 649.
159-182. On the second of May, the wind Argestes began to blow, and the Hyades rose.—Hyperionis. Aurora, the daughter of Hyperion.
161. Argestes, called also Caurus or Corus, was the north-west wind, and was considered to be very cold.—Mulcebit. Five MSS. read miscebit, which Burmann approved, and Gierig adopted.
162. A Cal. aq. For vessels sailing from the east coast of Italy to Greece, the north-west wind, also called by the Greeks Iapyx, was eminently favourable. Hor. Car. I. 3, 4. Most MSS. read a capreis, four a campis, three a canis, one qua canis. The reading of the text was given by Neapolis from a MS. of no great authority.
163. The rising of the Hyades acronychally. This, perhaps, is an error, for Pliny (xviii. 66,) says _VI. Non. Maii Caesari Suculae matutino oriuntur.
166. There are three derivations of this name, one which the poet follows from [Greek: huein] to rain; a second from the letter Y, which the constellation was thought to resemble; a third from [Greek: hus sus], which is supported by the Latin name Suculae. I am disposed to prefer this last, (Mythology, p. 418) as also are Göttling and Nitzsch, two distinguished critics of the present day.
171. Atlas was the father of Hyas and the Hyades.
182. Illa scil. pietas.—Nomina, etc. "Sed si nauta Graecus Hyadas ab imbre vocavit, ut vs. 166, recte admonitum est, quid opus erat idem nomen etiam ex mythis repetere. Ita poëtae sententia secum pugnat." Gierig; who had already observed, that grege Hyadum, v. 164, was an allusion to the derivation from [Greek: us].
183-378. The poet now returns to the Floralia, which he had briefly noticed at the end of the preceding book. These games were instituted according to Pliny, (xviii. 29) A.U.C. 516 ex oraculis Sibyllae, ut omnia bene deflorescerent. Velleius (I. 14) gives A.U.C. 513 as the date; which is the true one. The Floralia began on the 28th of April, and ended on the 3d of May.—Mater florum. "Matres earum rerum dicuntur Deae quibus praesunt." Gierig. For the general principle see Mythology, p. 6.
189. Circus, that is, the games of the Floral Circus, which were continued into May. The Circus Florae was in the sixth region of the city. For these games, see vv. 37l, 372.—Theatris, the spectators who testified their approbation by clapping of hands, etc. Tota theatra reclamant, Cicero Orat III. 50.
190. Munere. Munus was properly used only of gladiatorial shews. The poet in employing it here, uses a poet's privilege.
195. Cloris eram, etc. The name Chloris, is akin to [Greek: chloae] grass, and [Greek: chloros] green, flourishing; Flora is related in the same way to Flos. Chloris and Flora are therefore kindred terms, and the latter is not, as the poet says, derived from the former. I am not certain that the older Grecian Mythology acknowledged a goddess of flowers. Lenz infers from the poem of Catullus on Berenice's hair, which is a translation from Callimachus, that the Greeks had an ancient legend about Chloris, the wife of Zephyrus, which the Alexandrian poet transferred to Arsinoe, the wife of Ptolemy Philadelphus, and that Ovid probably derived it from the [Greek: Aitia] of Callimachus. Nonnus, (xi. 363, xxxi. 106. 110,) is the only Greek poet, who, to my knowledge, notices this story of Chloris. From his late age he is of little authority, and the Italian Fauns are actors in his heterogenious poem. According to Varro, (L. L. V.) Flora was an ancient Sabine deity, whose worship was brought to Rome by Tatius, and when we consider the rural character of the ancient Italian religion in general, there can be but little doubt of its having always recognised a patroness of the flowers. The silly, tasteless fiction, transmitted to us by Plutarch, (Q. R. 35,) and the Fathers of the Church, of Flora having been a courtizan, who left her wealth to the Roman people, on condition of their celebrating games in her honour, and of the Senate having, out of shame, feigned that she was the goddess of flowers—is utterly undeserving of notice.
197. Campi felicis. The Campus Felix of Ovid was, I think, the [Greek: aelysion pedion] of Homer, (Od. iv. 564,) rather than the [Greek: makaron naesous] of Hesiod, ([Greek: Erga], 170). See Mythology, pp. 36 and 229. Compare Hor. Epod. xvi. 41. The localisers of the fictions of the poets make the Canary Isles to be this blissful region.
203. For this Athenian legend of Boreas carrying off Orithyia, the daughter of Erechtheus, as she was dancing in a choir of maidens on the banks of the Ilissus, see Met. vi. 677. Herod, vii. 189, Mythology, pp. 227, 346. Orithya, I may observe, signifies mountain-rusher, ([Greek: Orei thyousa]) and was, therefore, a good name for the spouse of the North-wind. Athenian vanity made her a mortal, and daughter of an Attic king.
211. Generoso, of the finest kinds. Pruna generosa, Met. xiii. 818, generosa uva, Rem. Am. 567. generosum pecus. Virg. G. III. 75.
216. Comae, the flowers, IV. 38.
217. The Horae are the goddesses of the Seasons. They were the daughters of Jupiter and Themis. Hesiod. Theog. 900.—Incinctae, i.e. succinctae. See II. 634. Pictis vestibus, [Greek: peplous ennymenai droserous anthon polyterpon], says the Orphic Hymn (xlii. 6,) of them. For vestibus, three MSS. read florihus.
219. The Charites or Graces were also the children of Jupiter; they presided over social enjoyments, and were the bestowers of all grace and elegance. The occupation of the Charites and Horae among the flowers is thus beautifully described by the author of the lost poem, named the Cypria, [Greek: Heimata men chroias tote ai Charites te kai Aurai Poiaesan kai ebapsan en anthesin eiarinoisin, Oia phorous Orai, en te kroko en th' uakintho, En t' io thalethonti, rodon t' eni anthei kalo, Haedei, nektareo, en t' ambrosiais kalukessin Anthesi Narkissou kallichoróou]. For the Horse and Charites, see Mythology, p. 150-153.
221. It is not unlikely that the poet, who does not say where the garden of Flora was, placed it mentally on the western margin of the earth, where so many of the wonders of ancient Grecian fable lay. See vv. 233, 234.
223. Hyacinthus, a Spartan youth, beloved by Apollo, and turned into a flower of his own name. Met. x. 162. Therapnae was a town of Laconia.
225. See Met. III. 407, et seq.
226. Alter et alter, scil. that he and his shadow were not different persons.
227. Crocus, Met. iv. 283. Attis above, IV. 223. In the Met. (x. 103,) Cybele changes him into a pine-tree, but Arnobius (v. p. 181,) says, Fluore de sanguinis viola flos nascitur, et redimitur ex hac arbos (pinus). Adonis, the son of Cinyras, was turned into an anemone. Met. x. 728. See Mythology, pp. 109, 110.
229. In Homer, Hesiod, and Apollodorus, and the Greek poets and mythographers in general, Ares, the god corresponding to the Italian Mars, is the son of Jupiter and Juno. The present legend I regard as the fiction of some Italian, or, perhaps, of a Greek who was desirous of ministering to the vanity of the Romans. I think that many legends were invented in this way. Such, for example, is the tale of Faunus and Hercules (above, II. 305, et seq.) devised to explain a custom of the Roman Luperci. They are wrong who think that the taste and talent for devising mythes ceased, when real history began. The present legend is only to be found in Ovid; but Festus evidently alludes to it, for, treating of the etymon of Gradivus, he says, Vel, ut alii dicunt, quia gramine sit natus.
233. Compare Hom. II. xiv. 301. Met. II. 509.—Facta. Heinsius, on the authority of one MS. reads furta.
243, 244. Somewhat like her declaration in Virgil, Flectere si nequeo Superos Acherunta movebo, which may have been in Ovid's mind.
245. Vox erat in cursu. This may refer either to Juno or to Flora; but it is evident that the poet is speaking of Juno, and means that as she proceeded in her complaint, she marked the change in the countenance of her auditress. Taubner's interpretation is curious; he supposes the meaning to be: Juno spoke as she ran! Compare VI. 362, and Met xiii. 508.
251. Oleniis. Olenus was a town of Achaea. There was another of this name in Boeotia.
253. Qui dabat. Probably Zephyrus.
257. Thrace, on the left of the Propontis, was regarded as the birth-place and favourite abode of Mars, on account of the martial character of the people.
259. This strengthens what I said above respecting the late age of the fiction.
261. Coronis. He calls the flowers crowns or garlands, not as being the crown of the plant, for that is true of all that follow, but as being used for making them. He goes on to say that Flora presided over blossoms, as well as flowers.
265, 266. This is said no where else of the olive. Of the almond, we read, [Greek: Ora taen amygdalaen to karpo brithomenaen toigaroun euetaerias tekmaerion megiston]. Theophil. Probl. nat. 17. See also Virg. G. I. 187.
267. Compare Virgil, G. I. 228.
268. See II. 68.
269. The poet could not abstain from taking advantage of a figurative employment of the word flos, and, ascribing to Flora, what did not belong to her. "Quae de vino sequuntur, ea melius abessent." Gierig. The flos and nebula of vine, are the light scum which comes upon its surface when new. Si vinum florere incipiet, saepius curare oportebit, ne flos ejus pessun eat et saporem vitiet. Columella, R. R. xii. 30. Flos vini candidus probatur; rubens triste signum est, si non is vini color sit—Quod celeriter florere caeperit, odoremque trahere, non exit diutinum. Plin. H. N. xiv, 21.
273, 274. The flower of youth—another figurative employment of the word.
277. He now proceeds to relate the historic origin of the Floral games.
279. Compare Sallust, Cat. 25, Docta psallere, saltare et multa alia, quae instrumenta luxuriae sunt.
281. Hinc et locupletes dicebant loci, hoc est agri, plenos. Pecunia ipsa a pecore appellabatur. Plin. xviii. 3.
283. The subject of the Roman public land, and the Agrarian law, has been treated and explained in a most masterly manner by the illustrious Niebuhr, but it would be impossible to do justice to his views in the compass of a note. I must, therefore, refer the reader to his Roman History, Vol. II. p. 129, et seq. (Hare and Thirlwall's translation,) or Vol. II. p. 353, et seq. (Walter's translation). A sufficiently full account of these matters will be found in Nos. xv. and xxii. of the Foreign Quarterly Review. In my Outlines of History, (p. 72,) I have given a brief account of them_.-Populi saltus. These were the pascua, the public pastures, for the liberty of grazing which a rent was to be paid to the state, but of which the payment was frequently eluded by favour or power. Etiam nunc in tabulis Censoriis pascua dicuntur omnia, ex quibus populus reditus habet, quia diu hoc solum vectigal fuerat. Pliny, ut supra.
287, 288. L. and M. Publicii Malleoli, were aediles Plebis, A.U.C. 513. The poet here, as elsewhere, shews his superficial knowledge of the history of his country, for A.U.C. 457, _ab aedilibus Pl. L. aelio. Poeta, et C. Fulvio Curvo ex mullaticia pecunia, quam exegerunt pecuariis damnatis, ludi facti, pateraeque aureae ad Cereris positae. Liv. x. 23, and a road was made A.U.C. 462, by the Curule aediles, out of similar fines. Liv. x. 47. As by the Licinian law, no one was allowed to put more than 100 head of black, or 500 head of small cattle on the public pastures, these fines were probably imposed on those who had exceeded that number.
291. Besides the institution of the Floral games, a temple, of which the poet does not speak, was built to Flora out of that money, which was repaired by Tiberius, A.U.C. 773. Tacit. An. II. 49.
292. Victores, scil. the aediles.
293. Clivus Publicius ab aedilibus plebei Publiciis, qui eum publice aedificarunt. Varro, L. L. iv. Festus, who gives a similar account, adds, munierunt, ut in Aventinum vehicula Velia venire possent. A clivus, was a carriageway up a hill.
298. Turba, etc. This low idea of their gods, was one of the greatest blemishes of the theology of the Greeks and Romans. It pervades all their mythology. See above, on I. 445. Hom. II. ix. 497. Similar notions still prevail in modern Italy, and in many other countries.
299. Iniquos, that is, incensed or unfavourable, the contrary of aequos.
305. Thestiaden, Meleager. See Met. 270, et seq. Hom. II. ix. 527, et seq. Mythology, p. 287.
307. Tantaliden. Agamemnon, descended from Pelops, the son of Tantalus. The Grecian fleet, as is well-known, was detained at Aulis by the anger of Diana.—Vela, Neapolis read tela, and thought of Niobe.
308. Virgo est, from whom, therefore, more mildness was to be expected.
309. See above, III. 265—Dionen. Venus. See II. 461.
311. Oblivia, forgetfulness; or rather neglect.
312. Praeteriere, i. e. neglected to celebrate the Floral games.
329. In the consulate of L. Postumius Albinus, and M. Popilius Laenas, A.U.C. 581, it was directed that the Floral games should be celebrated every year.
331. The Floralia were of an exceedingly lascivious character. The utmost license of language prevailed, and, at the sound of trumpets, lewd women came forth and ran and danced naked before the spectators. The Fathers of the Church, Arnobius and Lactantius, are unsparing in their censure of them. When Cato once appeared at them, the people were so awed at his presence, that they would not call on the women to strip. Val. Max. II. 10. This practice probably gave occasion to the legend already noticed, see on v. 195, of Flora having been herself a meretrix. Ovid views matters here with a more lenient eye.
335. Tempora, etc. He is not now narrating what took place at the Floralia, but showing how the gifts of Flora ministered to joy and pleasure.—Sut. cor. crowns made of rose-petals sewed together. There were also pactiles coronae, or crowns made of various flowers, Jam tunc corona deorum honos erant, et Larium publicorum privatorumque, ac sepulchrorum et Manium, summaque auctoritas pactili coronae. Sutiles Saliorum sacris invenimus et sollemnes coenis. Transiere deinde ad rosaria, eoque luxuria processit, ut non esset gratia nisi mero folio. Plin. H. N. xxi. 3, 8.
336. It was the custom at banquets to shower down roses on the guests and the tables. See. v. 369.
337. Dancing was looked upon by the Romans as highly indecorous and unbecoming in a respectable person. See Corn. Nep. Epam. I. Corte on Sall. Cat. 25. 2. None danced but those who were drunk.—Philyra, the interior bark of the linden or lime-tree. It was much used for making these festive crowns. Plin. H. N. xvi. 14. xxi. 3. Hor. Car. I. 38. 2.– Incinct. capil. Incinctus seems here to be used for the simple cinctus; elsewhere (II. 635, V. 217. 675,) it is equivalent to succinctus.
338. Imprudens, etc. Scarcely knowing what he is doing, he is whirled about by the art taught by wine, i. e. he dances. Ille liquor docuit voces inflectere cantu, Movit et ad certos nescia membra modos, Tibull. I. 2. 37. For vertitur some MSS. read utitur, which is perhaps the better reading.
339, 340. This custom of lovers among the ancients is well known. See. IV. 110. At lacrumans exclusus amator limina saepe, Floribus et sertis operit, postesque superbus Unguit amaricino, Lucret. iv. 171. Hence Heinsius would read serta fores, than which emendation Gierig thinks nothing can be more certain.
343. Acheloë. The name of this river is here as in Virgil (G. I. 9,) used for water in general.
343. See III. 513.
347. Scena levis, etc. the light, the comic, the farcical opposed to the grave, tragic scene.—Cothurn. deas, is either the grave, stately goddesses, or, what is nearly the same thing, those who used to be introduced on the cothurned, or tragic stage, such as Diana and Minerva.
351. Here Flora is again opposed to the serious, respectable goddesses.– Tetricis, grave, severe. Tetrica et tristis Sabinorum disciplina, Liv. l. l8.—De magna. Ten MSS. read dea magna.
352. Plebeio choro, scil. the Meretrices, who were of course of low birth.
353. Specie, the beauty of youth.
355. See IV. 619. The poet's reasons are good.
361. Lumina, the torches which were used at the Floralia.
362. Errores. See IV. 669. VI. 255.
363. Pur. flor. Purpureus is used of any bright splendid colour.
371. These animals were hunted in the Circus Florae, at the time of the Floralia. Floralicias lasset arena feras. Martial, viii. 66. 4.
375. Tenues, etc. Compare Virg. aen. ii. 791. ix. 657.
376. Compare Virg. aen. I. 403.
379-414. On the V. Non, the third day of the month, (_nocte minus quarta) the Centaur rises, Chiron was the offspring of the Oceanide Phillyra, by Saturn, who had taken the form of a horse, and he was half-man half-horse. Virg. G. III. 92. Mythology, pp. 49, 283.
381. Haemonia was a name of Thessaly.
384. Justum senem. Chiron is called by Homer, (II. xi. 832,) [Greek: dikaiotatos].
385. Achilles was committed to the care of Chiron.—Miss. leto. Compare Hom. II. I. 3.
388. According to Apollodorus, it was when Hercules was on his fourth task, that the following accident happened to Chiron. See Mythology, p. 316.
389. Duo fata. Because Troy suffered from both, being taken by one, and reduced to extremity by the other.
403. According to Pliny, (H. N. xxv. 6,) he recovered. Centaurio curatus dicitur Chiron, quum Herculis excepti hospitio pertractanti arma sagitta cecidisset in pedem.
410. Heinsius regarded this line as spurious, and, as the work of some grammarian or pedagogue, and even as semi-barbarous Latin. It has been defended by Heinz and Krebs. In Euripides, (Iph. Aul. 926,) Achilles says of himself. [Greek: Ego d' en andros eusebestatou trapheis Cheironos emathon tous tropous haplous echein].
415, 416. Lyra rises acronychally the III. Non.
417, 418. One part of the Scorpion sets cosmically the day before the Nones. Pridie Nonas Maias Nepa medius occidet. Columella, R. R. xi. 2. Nepa is used for Scorpio, by Manilius and others, as well as Columella.
419-492. The Lemuria began on the VII. Id. and lasted for three days, but not continuously, as appears from v. 491, and an ancient Calendar. The Mundus (See on IV. 821,) was regarded as the door of the under world, and was believed to be open three days in the year for the spirits of the departed to revisit the earth. Festus v. Mundus. There may be some relation between these three days and those of the Lemuria.– Protulerit. See III. 345. Trist. III. 10, 9. Hor. Sat. I. 8, 21. Fourteen MSS. read sustulerit, one praetulerit, others pertulerit or propulevit.—Formosa ova. Compare Virg. aen. viii. 589, et seq.