325. Nec licet. "Respicit Tantali fabulam, qui epulis admotus, cum ibi acta narrasset, poenam sensit." Burmann.
327. Vallibus. Most MSS. read collibus.
329. Brachia nectit, scil. in the dance. Compare Hor. Car. II. 12. 17. In both these places brachia is, I should think, equivalent to manus. They did not waltz in those days.
330. Compare Hor. Car. I. 37, 1, III. 18. iv. 1, 27.
338. See I. 433.
345, 346. Heinsius, and, after him, Krebs, regarded this distich as an interpolation. But, if we take away these two verses, the relative to quem (v. 347,) is ille, (v. 344) which, though Krebs asks, "Asinus an Priapus?" is, beyond question, the latter; unless, with Neapolis, we read illa, and then the antecedent would be the ille of v. 342. I can see no objection to v. 345; there is a difficulty, and, I should suspect, a corruption, in the following verse. It would seem from it that, as Neapolis observes, "hujus (asini) exta quotannis oblata arae Vestali," a practice, of the existence of which we have no other proof, and which would be at variance with the whole of the poet's narrative, the object of which is, to give a reason for Vesta's favour to the ass. "An unquam a Romanis asinus Priapo mactatus sit, dubito; nec umquam Vestae asini exta oblata sunt." Krebs. The whole difficulty might be removed if we were to read jacit, or some such word, governed of Lampsacos, for damus. It is evident that these verses were in the copy of Ovid's Fasti, used by Lactantius, for he manifestly (Inst. I. 21,) takes the story from him. Lampsaceni asellum Priapo quasi in ultionem mactare consueverunt; cum enim hic deus Vestae dormienti vim inferre conaretur, asinus intempestivo clamore eam excitavit. Hinc libido insidiatoris detecta. Apud Romanos eundem asellum Vestalibus sacris in honorem pudicitiae corservatae panibus coronant.
347. Diva memor. See end of preceding note. The zealous Father adds, Quid turpius? quid flagitiosius quam si Vesta beneficio asini virgo est?—De pan. monil. "Quod attinet ad formam panis—in modum coronas fuisse existimo. Hae coronae sunt quae Valentinianus et Valens in Lege De annonis civicis et pane gradili vocant buccellas. Soli Siculi hanc vocem hodie retinent qui materna lingua hujusmodi panes dicunt buccellatos; Castellani vocant rosquillas." Neapolis. I imagine these are nothing more than those cakes or loaves made in the shape of a ring, which are so commonly to be met with even in France. It is probable that a number of these were strung together, and hung about the necks of the mill-asses. Perhaps, as Neapolis observes, this will be illustrated by the following passage in the Plutus of Aristophanes, [Greek: Kago g' anadaesai boulomai Euangelia s' en kribanoton ormatho Toiaut apangeilanta].
349. He makes a digression here, as he is on the subject of bread, to relate the origin of the altar on the Capitol to Jupiter Pistor.—Nom. quam pret. celeb. The altar was small, and of little account. "Jovem Pistorem nemo novit praeter Nostrum et Lactantium Inst. I. 20, qui sua ex Ovidio omnia deprompsit." Krebs.
350. Dicam Pistoris. Some MSS. read Discant, or Dicant Pistores.
351. For the account of the capture of Rome by the Gauls, A.U.C. 364, see Liv. v. 32, et seq. Plutarch, Camillas, and study Niebuhr's masterly examination of the whole story. Hom. Hist. II. 528, et seq.
359. Compare Virg. aen. I. 257.
361. Suburbanos. See on III. 668.
363, 364. So the matter is related by Livy and Florus; according to Plutarch, they were slain in the Forum.—_aerata atria. "In quibus statuae aeneae; dispositae." Gierig. I do not recollect to have read anywhere that the statues of their ancestors in the Atria of the Roman nobles, in the olden time, were of bronze. In our poets' days, there were even golden figures in them, but of a different kind. See Lucret. II. 24. aerata, like aurata, which is the reading of two MSS. may mean simply adorned with brass. Lipsius proposed cerata; Heinsius reserata, which agrees with the patentia atria of Livy, the patentes domos of Florus, and the _apertas januas of Val. Max. III. ll7.—Picta Veste. The triumphal robe of purple and gold.
365. The Eternal Fire, and other sacred things, were conveyed from Rome to Caere.
366. Putant, etc. It is plain they believe the gods to have some power. In the editions, prior to that of Gierig, there was a note of interrogation after deos, which gave a wrong sense.
367. Qua vos, etc. The Capitol. Jupiter, Junoque Regina ac Minerva, ceterique Dii Deaeque qui Capitolium arcemque incolitis. Liv. VI. 16.
375. Lituo. The lituus was the staff with a curved top, used by the augurs, its form has been retained in the bishops' crosier. Compare Virg. aen. vii. 187.
377. Publica cura. It is a public matter, it concerns us all. He transfers to the gods the phraseology of the Roman republic. Liv. II, 41. III. 48.
381. Cereris. Ceres is frequently used for bread. Compare Virg. aen. I. 177.
383. Sat. virgo. Vesta. See on v. 285.
391. Ceres. See on v. 381.
395. The poet was, or feigns he was, once during the Vestalia, coming along the street, named the Via Nova, which led into the Forum, when he saw a lady (matrona) coming down it barefoot. An old woman of the neighbourhood observing his surprise, gave him, as he says, the following explanation. As Vesta had a temple near the Via Nova, (Liv. v. 32.) it was probably thither that the lady was going to worship.
401. Before the Cloacae were constructed, the valleys between the hills of Rome were little better than marshes, in consequence of the frequent inundations of the Tiber. Locus palustris tum fuit Lacus Curtius, in foro, antequam cloacae sunt factae. Varro, L. L. IV.
403. Curtius Lacus. For the supposed origin of this name, see Liv. I. 13. vii. 6. It retained its name, like so many places in London, and other cities, after its nature had been totally changed.—Siccas aras, as the place was now drained. Forum Romanum. Ara Saturni in lacu Curtio. P. Victor, Reg. VIII. Ovid may have meant this altar alone, or it and others which were in that place.
405-408. At qua Velabri regio patet ire solebat Exiguus pulsa per vada linter aqua. Tibull. II. 6, 33. Qua Velabra suo stagnabant flumine, quaque Nauta per urbanas velificabat aquas. Propert. iv. 9, 5. Aventinum montem maxime puto dictum ab advectu; nam olim paludibus mons erat ab reliquis disclusus. Itaque eo ex urbe qui advehebantur ratibus quadrantem solvebant; cujus vestigia, quod ea, qua tum itur, Velabrum, et unde adscendebant ad Rumam, Nova Via: lucus et sacellum Larum. Velabrum dicitur a vehendo; velaturam facere etiam nunc dicuntur, qui id mercede faciunt. Varro, L. L. IV.—Pampas, scil. Circenses.—Cantat, etc. In this place, the present tense must be used for the past, as she is speaking of the state of the Velabrum in former times.
409, 410. The Tuscan street, in which there stood a statue of Vertumnus, was here. In vico Tusco Vortumnus stat deus Etruriae. Varro, L. L. IV. Tuscus ego (Vertumnus) et Tuscis orior.—Romanum satis est posse videre forum. Hac quondam Tiberinus iter faciebat, et aiunt Remorum auditos per vada pulsa sonos. At postquam ille suis tantum concessit alumnis, Vertumnus verso dicor ab amne deus. Propert, iv. 2. For Vertumnus, see Mythology, p. 474.
411. Hic, in this place i. e. the Via Nova.—Lucus, a sacred grove, as the word scarcely ever occurs in any other sense. It may have been undergrown with reeds and rushes.
412. Pede velato, with a shod foot—an unusual employment of velo.
415. Causam. "Causam positi calcei censet ex antiqua necessitate in eos annos perdurasse, non ex numinis reverentia: ad quem respexit etiam apud antiquos nudipedis incessus." Neapolis. The rejected cause is however much more likely to be the true one. Etiam in this note contains an allusion to the barefoot processions in Catholic countries.
417. Cetera, etc. All that remains to be told about Vesta, he had heard when a boy, perhaps been taught at school, and he supposes the case may have been the same with others.
419. For this account of the Palladium, see, Apollodorus, III. 12. or Mythology, p. 437.
423. Cura, etc. From Trist. I. 2. 77. and Ep. ex Pont. II. 10. 21. it appears that Ovid had at one time travelled for pleasure and information through Greece, Asia Minor, and Sicily.
427. Aetheriam deam, the [Greek: Diopetes], the heaven-fallen Palladium.
432. See v. 15.
433. Genus Adrasti, Diomedes the son of Tydeus by Deipyle, the daughter of Adrastus, king of Argos.
434. Datur. This is the reading of only one MS. all the rest have ferunt.
436. The reason why the Palladium was kept in the temple of Vesta.
437. This conflagration took place in the time of the second Punic war. L. Caecilius Metellus, a consular, was Pontifex Maximus. See Dion. Hal. II. 66. Liv. Epit. 19. Val. Max. I. 4, Plin. H. N. vii. 43.
454. Metellus lost his eyes in the flames. To compensate him, in some measure, the senate made a decree, allowing him to come to the senate-house in a chariot, an honour never before bestowed on any one.
457-460. See on III. 30.
461. On the day of the Vestalia, A.U.C. 619. D. Junius Brutus acquired the title of Callaïcus, by a victory over the Callaeci or Gallaeci, the people of that part of Spain still called Gallicia.
465. On the same day Crassus was defeated and slain. See V. 580, et seq.
469-472. On the IV. Id. the Dolphin rises in the evening.—Viola, the garlands of flowers, v. 311, with which the mill-asses were decorated.
473-562. On the III. Id, as tradition related, the temple of Mater Matuta was dedicated, and the festival of the Matralia instituted in her honour, by Servius Tullius. For an account of this goddess, see below on v. 550.
474. Equis. This is the reading of sixteen MSS. three of which are of the best quality, all the rest read aquis, which is the reading of Heinsius and Gierig, and which, though less picturesque, is more probably the right one. In favour of equis, may be quoted Met. xv. 189, quumque albo Lucifer exit Clarus equo; for aquis: Qualis ab Eois Lucifer ortus (or exit) aquis. Ep. ex Pont. II. 5, 50.
476. Theb. deae. Mater Matuta was identified with Ino, the daughter of Cadmus, made a goddess under the name of Leucothea. Hom. Od. v. 333.– Liba. See v. 537.
478. Area, etc. The Forum Boarium, in which stood a brazen image of a bull, which had been brought from Greece. Tacit. An. xii. 24. Plin. H. N. xxxiv. 2. Livy also (xxxiii. 27.) mentions the temple of Matuta in this forum.
480. This temple was repaired by Camillus after the capture of Veii, A.U.C. 359. Liv. v. 19, Plut. Camill. 5.
481. See on v. 551.
484. Vatis opus. Two of the best MSS. read navis iter, which Heinsius and Gierig have received; one has vatis iter. Ovid, no doubt, frequently employs this metaphor, (see on IV. 729,) but it does not please me in this place.
485. Sec III. 715, 769. Met. III. 313.
490. See Met. iv. 516.
491. Compare V. 451. Animamgue sepulcro Condimus. Virg. aen. III. 67; on which Servius says, Insepultorum animae vagae sunt; rite reddita legitima sepultura, redit anima ad quietem. See also Hor. Car. I. 28, 23.
495. The Isthmus of Corinth.
498. In alta, scil. maria.
499. Panope, etc. the Nereïdes.
501. Nond, Leuc. etc. See v. 545.
502. The Nereïdes conveyed them to the mouth of the Tiber.
503. Semelae Stimulae. The latter, or something like it, was, I have no doubt, the original name, and its resemblance to Semele, gave occasion to the change. Saera Bacchanalia condemnata sunt, quum probatum esset Senatui, honestissimas feminas ad Stimulae lucum faede adulterari. Schol. Juven. II. 3. Augustine also mentions a goddess, Stimula. In Liv. xxxix. 12, it is lucus Similae. Neapolis and Heinsius think that it is the grove of Fauna Fatua, or the Bona Dea, which Ovid means, as Macrobius (I. 12,) when speaking of Maia, or the Bona Dea, says, _Boeoti Semelam credunt, nec non eandem Fauni filiam dicunt.
507. Dissim. deam, by assuming the form of some particular woman.– Saturnia, Juno.
508. Instimulat, alluding, perhaps, to the Stimula of v. 503.
509. Captae. See on v. 204.
511. The ancients were very solicitous to keep the knowledge of their sacred rites from strangers, fearing that their gods might be induced to withdraw their protection from them. See Mythology, p. 142.
512. Pignus, scil. her child.
518. Oetaeus, proleptically. Hercules burned himself on Mt. Oeta.
524. Numen. Juno.
526. Continet, restrains, prevents her from telling.—In scelus, by attempting to destroy herself and her child. See v. 497.
528. Compare Virg. aen. iv. 174.
532-534. The cause of cakes being offered at the Matralia. Libum, quod libaretur, ut erat, priusquam esset coctum. Testuatium quod in testu caldo coquelatur, ut etiam nunc Matralibus id faciunt matronae. Varro, L. L. IV.
537-540. Compare Virg. aen. vi. 47.
547. Ut Portunus a portu, sic Neptunus a nando, Cic. N. D. II. 26.
549. Annuerant. They granted her request.—Promissa, i. e. promissa est.—Fides, Faithful performance.
550. _Hic deus, etc. We may now enquire who Mater Matuta and Portunus were, and how they came to be identified with the Leucothea and Palaemon of the Greeks. Mater Matuta was worshiped, as we see, at Rome by the matrons: she was also adored at Satricum, a town of the Volscians (Liv. vi. 33. vii. 27. xxviii. 2.) perhaps the goddess, whose rich temple near Caere was, according to Diodorus (xv. 14.), plundered by Dionysius of Syracuse, was Mater Matuta. From all that we can learn of her, there appears no reason whatever for regarding her as a marine deity. On the other hand, Lucretius, (v. 655.) says, Tempore item certo roseam Matuta per oras Aetheris Auroram defert et lumina pandit; and I think those critics are right who take Aurora in this place, like aura, Virg. aen. vi. 204, for a common substantive, the dawning light, and Matuta for the goddess who brings it forth, and spreads it over heaven. Matuta would then exactly correspond with the [Greek: Haeos] of the Greeks. Her name, also, leads to this conclusion. Manum dixere clarum, unde etiam mane post tenebras diei prima pars; inde Matuta quae Graecis Leucothea. Nonius. Matuta significat Auroram. Matutinum tempus inde dici vix monendum est. Priscian, II. p. 591. IF Matuta is thus the Clara Dea, how easy was the identification of her with the Leucothea (White Goddess) of the Greeks, at a time when the Romans had lost the true sense of their ancient religion, and wished to derive all their manners and institutions from Greece! The worship by the Roman matrons of Mater Matuta, the dispenser of light, was as natural as that of Juno Lucina; and it is probable, (see on v. 559,) that originally they prayed to her for the preservation of their children. A slight resemblance of name, and a similarity of office, may also have produced the identification of Palaemon and Portunus or Portumnus. I need hardly repeat that the old Italian religion did not recognise the marriages and births of deities, or the deification of mortals. Before I quit this subject, I will attempt to elucidate a passage of Milton's Paradise Lost. In B. xi. v. 133, we read, "Meanwhile, To resalute the world with sacred light Leucothea wakes." As Eos is never called by this name, I was long of opinion that this was a slip of the poet's memory; but I now think that he may have derived it from the passage of Nonius quoted above, or have deduced it from those verses of Lucretius.
551. He here gives a trifling explanation of the custom of not admitting female slaves into the temple of Matuta. Plutarch however tells us, (Q. R. 16.) that one was always brought in and well cuffed by the matrons. As according to the same writer, the same kind of exclusion was practised at the temple of Leucothea in Chaeronea, the custom may have come from Greece to Rome.
559. Plutarch (Q. R. 17.) asks [Greek: Dia ti pura tae theo tautae tois men idiois teknois houk euchontai t' agatha, tois de ton adelphon]; He gives the same reason with Ovid. I rather think they did originally pray for their own children, but a change was made when Matuta became Leucothea.
563. On the day of the Matralia, A.U.C. 664, in the Marsian or Social war, the consul P. Rutilius Lupus fell in battle. Tradition, it would seem, related that the voice of the goddess Matuta had predicted to him his fate.
565. Flumen Toleni, like amnis Eridani, amnis Cocyti. The Tolenus, now the Turano, flows from the Marsian into the Sabine country, and enters the Velinus near Reate.
566. Purpureum. This is the reading of all the MSS. but one, which has purpureo, the reading of all the editions since that of Heinsius, who introduced it into the text. Krebs, has, I think, shewn his taste, by bringing back purpureum, and joining it with the verb, and not with flumen. The verse thus strikingly reminds one of these lines of Milton: "While smooth Adonis from his native rock Ran purple to the sea, supposed with blood Of Thammuz yearly wounded."
567. According to Appian, T. Didius was one of the Praetors in the Marsian war, but we have no account of his death. We learn from the epitome of Livy 75, and from Velleius, that Porcius was slain the following year, and the Fasti inform us, that he was consul for that year. Burmann would therefore read Porcius, but there is no necessity for a change. Ovid had access to authorities which are lost to us, and none that we have contradict him.—Pallantide. Pallantis, like Pallantias is a name of Aurora, See IV. 373.
569-636. On the same day with the temple of Mater Matuta; by the same person (Servius Tullius); in the same place (the Forum Boarium) the temple of Fortune was dedicated. Servius raised two temples to this goddess, viz. that of which Ovid now speaks, and another on the banks of the Tiber. The former, as it would appear to Bona or Virgo Fortuna, the latter to Fors Fortuna, or Fortuna Virilis. Dionys. IV. 27. See below on v, 776.
570. Auctor est M. Varro factam a Tanaquile togam regiam undulatam in aede Fortunae, qua, Servius Tullius fuerat usus.—Servii praetextae, quibus signum Fortunae ab eo dicatae coopertum erat, duravere ad Sejani exitum. Plin. H. N. viii. 48. 74. Varro himself, (de Vit. Pop. Rom. apud Nonium) says, evidently speaking of this statue, Et a quibusdam dicitur esse Virginis Fortunae, ab eo quod duabus undulatis togis est opertum, proinde ut tum reges nostri undulatas et praetextatas togas soliti sunt habere. Varro, therefore, regarded the covered statue as that of the goddess. Ovid asserts that it was Servius. This statue was of gilt wood.
575. This amour of Fortuna with Servius Tullius, is also noticed by Plutarch de Fort. Rom. 10. Qu. Rom. 26. It is one of the many adaptations of Grecian ideas to Roman story.
577, 578. Plutarch (de Fort. Rom. 10) says, [Greek: oste kai suneinai dokein auto taen Tychaen dia tinos thuridos katabainousa eis to domation, ho nun phenestellan pulaen kalousi]. I have not met with any thing more respecting the Porta Fenestellae. Onuph. Panvinius (De Rep. Rom. p. 60.) thinks it was a gate of the Palatium not of the city. Some MSS. read Fenestratae, others Fenestrile, Fenestrale, Fenestralis, etc.
581. A second reason for the statue being covered.
585. A third cause. See Liv. I. 46, 47. For the history of Servius Tullius, and a critical examination of it, see Niebuhr, Rom. Hist. 358— 365, 373—377.
590. Pia vita, scil. erga Servium.
593. Caput, scil, parentis. How much superior here, as in the Regifugium, is the historian to the poet!
609. Sceleratus. [Greek: Ootos o stenopos, Olbios kaloumenos proteron, ex ekeinou tou deinou kai musarou pathous Asebaes hypo Romaion kaleitai]. Dionys. iv. 39. In Livy, it is called the Virbius Clivus; by Solinus, the Clivus Olbius; and Festus mentions the Vicus Orbius. Were it not for these Latin testimonies, one might almost suspect that Dionysius meant to intimate that it was at first called the Vicus Felix.
612. Sub. imag. Tul. which represented Tullius.
619. Ore, etc. "Pudor intel, quo tenebantur Romani propter Servium impie et nefarie interfectum, qui retinebat eos, ne os ejus revelarent. Si revelassent, patuisset pudorem illum ab iis esse positum." Gierig. The address to the matronae, in the following line, would lead me rather to think that the meaning is: Female modesty (with an allusion to Tullia,) will begin to be departed from at Rome, the day that the face of Tullius is uncovered.
624. Rex septimus. That is reckoning Titus Tatius. Several MSS. read sextus in.
625. This is also related by Dionysius, (iv. 40,) and by Valerius Maximus (I. 8. 11).
627. Dionysius (iv. 2.) relates this legend also, and says, that he had found it in several of the Roman histories. See Liv. I. 39.
629. Peractis. Two MSS. of the first order read paratis, which Heinsius and Gierig have received, Of the common reading, Heinsius says, "Quomodo peracta sacra si vinum foco post affunderetur?" and Gierig, "Vulgo peractis quod ferri non potest." In its defence, Krebs says, "Hostia mactata in epulis sacris iterum libabatur."
630. Ornatum focum. The sacred hearth or altar was adorned and dressed, preparatory to a sacrifice.
633. Loco fovet. The old reading was foco sedet. Burmann gave the present one from six MSS. "Locus pars illa dici solet, quae feminae sexum indicat." Gierig.
636. Contigit, he (Vulcan) touched. See Liv. I, 39, Compare Virg. aen. II. 682.
637. See I. 639.—Dedicat. "Dedicantur non modo templa, sed Dii quoque, qui inter deos recipiuntur, positis in eorum honore templis, aut, quibus jam receptis nova tantum appellatione nova aedes instituitur. V. Mitscherl ad Hor. I. Od. 31. I." Gierig.
640. Vedius Pollio, a man of great luxury, left, by will, to Augustus, his house, which covered a great extent of ground. Augustus, under pretext of its being too large, threw it down, and built the Porticus Liviae on its site.
641, Compare Sall. Cat. I2.
643. Sub crim. reg. Alluding perhaps to the case of Valerius Poplicola, (Liv. II. 7.) or of Sp. Cassius, or M. Manlius.
650. On the Ides of June a temple had been dedicated to Jupiter, and the Lesser Quinquatrus were celebrated.—Invicto. As no temple of Jupiter Invictus is spoken of by any ancient writer, Neapolis properly considered invicto here to be an epithet, and not a cognomen. He therefore, following an ancient MS. printed it as a common adjective. Heinsius and Burmann did the same. Gierig and Krebs print it as an epithet.
651. For the Quinquatrus Majores see III. 809. Of these Varro, L. L. V. says, Quinquatrus minusculae dictae Juniae Eidus ab similititdine majorum, quod tibicines tum feriati per urbem vagantur et conveniunt ad aedem Minervae. The notice in Festus is to the same effect. See also below on v. 657.
653-692. This story is told also in the same way by Plutarch, Quaest. Rom. 55. and somewhat differently by Livy ix. 30. and by Valer. Max. II. 5.
654. Stola, This is the reading of six MSS. all the rest have toga, but it is manifest from Plutarch, that the present is the right reading, for he says of the musicians, [Greek: en esthaesin anthinais kai gynaikeiais ontes].
656. Possem utinam. One MS. reads pace velim, which is the reading given by Heinsius and Gierig.
657. Musica nisi grata esset diis, profecto ludi scenici placandor. deor. causa instituti non essent, nec tibicen omnibus supplicationibus in sacris aedibus adhiberetur, nec cum tibicine triumphus ageretur; non Apolline cithara, non Musis tibiae ceteraque id genus essent attributa; non tibicinibus, per quos numina placantur esset permissum aut ludos publice facere, aut vesci in Capitolio, aut Quinquat. minusc. id est Eidibus Juniis urbem vestitu, quo velint, personatis temulentisque pervagari. Censorinus de Die Natali, 12.
661, 662. The labour was sweetened by the reward, i.e. the honour of eating in the temple of Jupiter, but (so que must be understood,) a time came which broke the work of Grecian art, i. e. pipe-music, as the invention of the pipe was ascribed (see v. 697) to the Grecian goddess Pallas Athena.—Graiae. This is the reading of four of the best MSS. and of some others. The rest have gratae, which I should prefer, if I were sure that Ovid knew that the cithara was the ancient and national instrument of Greece, in opposition to the tibia of Asia and Italy. The time of which the poet speaks here, was according to Livy, A.U.C. 442, when they were prohibited by the censors Ap. Claudius and C. Plautius, from eating in the Capitoline temple.
663. aedilis. It is uncertain who this aedile was. Pighius conjectures Ap. Claudius who he says was Curule aedile, A.U.C. 440. In the xii. Tables (A.U.C. 305.) was the following law respecting funerals, Tria si volet ricinia et vincula purpurae at decem tibicines adhibito. Hoc plus ne facito. It would appear that this law which had fallen into neglect, was put in force by the aedile, of whom the poet speaks.
665. Exilium was not banishment; it was, to use the words of Niebuhr, "nothing but the act, whereby a man renounced the freedom of his own city, by taking up his municipal franchise—in a city which had a sworn treaty of isopolity with Rome." See on IV. 791. I am not however sure that Ovid uses it here in its proper sense. See on v. 685.
666. Compare Ep. ex Pont. I. 3. 81.
669. Servierat, He was a freedman. According to Livy it was the government of Tibur who had recourse to the following stratagem, when envoys had been sent to them from Rome.
671. Dapes, probably a sacrifice. See on IV. 745.
671. Auctor vindictae, your patron or former master. The vindicta used here for liberty, was the rod which the lictor laid on the head of the slave who was about to be manumitted.
680. Sirpea lata. Several MSS. read scirpea "Lego sirpea lata fuit. Sirpare veteribus pro colligare, Graecis [Greek: plekein]. Ergo sirpea, colligatum, [Greek: to plegma]. Tegiticula igitur quaedam e vimine contexta circa plaustrum erat, sudibus munita ut expanderetur ne aliquid decideret." Neapolis. Quae jumenta ducunt sirpea (Al. scirpea), quae virgis sirpatur_ (scirpatur), id est colligando implicatur, in qua stercus aliudve quid evehitur. Varro, L. L. IV. The same writer makes the difference between a plaustrum and a scirpea, tragula, vehiculum or arcerra, as it was variously called, to consist in this, that the former was open, the latter closed. Plutarch, on this occasion, calls them [Greek: amaxas derrhesi kuklo perikaluptomenas]. The simple meaning is, they were sent in covered carts to Rome.
685. Plaudits. This is the conjecture of Pighius; almost all the MSS. read Callidus, two of the best give Claudius, as a various reading, some have cautius. There must be a proper name, and, if we are to follow Livy, it can be no other than Plautius. This is confirmed by a medal of the Plautian family (Eckhel, Vol. v.) bearing on one side a female mask, with the inscription L. Plautius: on the other, a winged Aurora driving four horses, with Plancus inscribed. This medal evidently commemorates the act and the time of day. Ovid, perhaps, followed a peculiar version of the story, and it would not in the least surprise me, if in it the musicians had been ordered by the senate to quit Rome, and go to Tibur, for, if this trick had been played by the desire of the senate, why seek thus to deceive them? If the musicians had not been ordered to leave Rome, what is the meaning of vv. 689, 690? In this case, Ovid will have used exilium, v. 665, in its later sense of banishment to a certain place, He was himself relegated to Tomi, and, in his Tristia, he frequently calls himself an exul.
687. Tibicina, a sing. for a plural.
696. Haec turba, the tibicines. For the following story of Marsyas, see Met. vi. 383. Mythology, pp. 95, 123.
711. On the XVII. Kal. Jul. the Hyades rise acronychally.—Dodoni Thyene. Some MSS. read Dodoni Dione, and Dione was worshiped at Dodona (Mythology, p. 105.); but Pherecydes says that the seven Hyades who nursed Bacchus, were also called Dodonides, and Thyene is, in him, one of them. See Hygin. Astr. Il. 21.
712. Agen. bov. See on III. 658. IV. 717.
713. Purg. Vestae. Sec v. 227.
715. On the XVI. Kal. Favonius begins to blow.
717. On the same day (XVI. Kal.) the upper part of Orion rises acronychally. How Neapolis blunders here! "Eadem luce cum Sole Orion simul emergit; nec est cur ambigas an agat de ortu cosmico."
718. None of the commentators makes any remark on this line, which is not devoid of difficulty. Is stella serena the sun, which, when in the horizon, is on the verge of the two hemispheres? Is it Orion, of which Hyginus (Astr. III. 33.) says, Orionem a zona et reliquo corpore aequinoctialis circulus dividit? Or, finally, is stella for stellae, as IV. 390? But what then is meant by geminos polos? After this line most MSS. insert III. vv. 401, 402.
719. Prol. Hyr. See V. 493, et seq.
720. The following night (XV. Kal.) the Dolphin rises.—Continua. See V. 734.
721. A.U.C. 323, the dictator, A. Postumius Tubertus, triumphed after his defeat of the Volscians and Aequians, on the Algidus. For the importance of this victory, see Niebuhr, (II. 449—452.) who, referring to this place of Ovid, says, that it was gained A. D. XIII. Kal. Quinctil. or 18th June, the day of Collin and Waterloo.
723. Suburb. triump. As the Algidus was between Tusculum and the Alban Mount. See on III. 667.
725. On the XIII. Kal. Jul. the sun enters Cancer. Columella (R. R. xi. 2.49.) gives the same day. A temple was dedicated on this day to Minerva on the Aventine.
729. On the XII. Kal. Jul. in the time of Pyrrhus, a temple was dedicated to a god named Summanus. Pyrrhus entered Italy A.U.C. 473.—Nurus. Aurora, who was married to his son, Tithonus.
731. Summano. The poet, we may observe, is not certain who this god is. The following passages may help to remove the doubt: Pluto qui etiam Summanus dicitur, quasi Summus Manium. Mart. Capella, II. p. 40. Pluto Summanus, appears in Inscriptions. Romani fulmina diurna attribuunt Jovi, nocturna Summano. Plin. H. N. II. 52. Quum Summanus in fastigio Jovis Opt. Max.—e coelo ictus esset. Cic. Div. I. 10. P. Victor (Reg. XI.) places in the Circus Maximus the Aedes Ditis patris, and a fragment of an old Calendar has on this day Summan. ad. Circ. Max. Varro, (L. L. IV.) joins Summanus with Vulcan, and says, that Tatius built a temple to him. It is thus, I think, tolerably certain, that this god was the same with Dis and Orcus, and with the Hades or Pluto of the Greeks. See Mythology, p. 468.