Part 11

[Footnote 412: My Divinities.--Ver. 44. See the Second Epistle, 1. 126, and the Note to the passage.]

[Footnote 413: As a table.--Ver. 48. This denotes his impatience to entertain her once again, and to hear the narrative of her adventures.]

[Footnote 414: Though they be fictions.--Ver. 53. He gives a sly hit here at the tales of travellers.]

[Footnote 415: Twice five years.--Ver. 9. Or the 'lustrum' of the Romans, see the Fasti, Book iii. 1. 166, and the Tristia, Book iv. El. 10.]

[Footnote 416: And the cause.--Ver. 17. This passage is evidently misunderstood in Nisard's translation, 'Je ne serai pas non plus la caus d'une nouvelle guerre,' 'I will never more be the cause of a new war.']

[Footnote 417: A female again.--Ver. 22. He alludes to the war in Latium, between Æneas and Turnus, for the hand of Lavinia, the daughter of Latinus and Amata. See the narrative in the Fourteenth book of the Metamorphoses.]

[Footnote 421: 'Twas the females--Ver. 23. The rape of the Sabines, by the contrivance of Romulus, is here alluded to. The narrative will be found in the Third Book of the Fasti, 1. 203, et seq. It has been suggested, but apparently without any good grounds, that Tarpeia is here alluded to.]

[Footnote 422: Thou who dost.--Ver. 7. Io was said to be worshipped under the name of Isis.]

[Footnote 423: Parætonium.--Ver. 7. This city was situate at the Canopic mouth of the Nile, at the Western extremity of Egypt, adjoining to Libya. According to Strabo, its former name was Ammonia. It still preserves its ancient name in a great degree, as it is called al-Baretoun.]

[Footnote 424: Fields of Canopus.--Ver. 7. Canopus was a city at one of the mouths of the Nile, now called Aboukir. The epithet 'genialis,' seems to have been well deserved, as it was famous for its voluptuousness. Strabo tells us that there was a temple there dedicated to Serapis, to which multitudes resorted by the canal from Alexandria. He says that the canal was filled, night and day, with men and women dancing and playing music on board the vessels, with the greatest licentiousness. The place was situate on an island of the Nile, and was about fifteen miles distant from Alexandria. Ovid gives a similar description of Alexandria, in the Tristia, Book i. El. ii. 1. 79. See the Note to the passage.]

[Footnote 425: Memphis.--Ver. 8. Memphis was a city situate on the North of Egypt, on the banks of the Nile. It was said to have been built by Osirit.]

[Footnote 426: Pharos.--Ver. 8. See the Metamorphoses, Book ix. 1. 772, and Book xv. 1. 287, with the Notes to the passages.]

[Footnote 428: By thy sistra. --Ver. 11. For an account of the mystic 'sistra' of Isis, see the Pontic Epistles, Book i. El. i. 1. 38, and the Note.]

[Footnote 429: Anubis. --Ver. 11. For an account of Anuhis, the Deity with the dog's head, see the Metamorphoses, Book ix. 1. 689, and the Note.]

[Footnote 430: Osiris.--Ver. 12. See the Metamorphoses, Book ix. 1. 692, and the Note to the passage.]

[Footnote 431: The sluggish serpent.--Ver. 13. Macrobius tells us, that the Egyptians accompanied the statue of Serapis with that of an animal with three heads, the middle one that of a lion, the one to the right, of a dog, and that to the left, of a ravenous wolf; and that a serpent was represented encircling it in its folds, with its head below the right hand of the statue of the Deity. To this the Poet possibly alludes, or else to the asp, which was common in the North of Egypt, and perhaps, was looked upon as sacred. If so, it is probable that the word 'pigra,' 'sluggish,' refers to the drowsy effect produced by the sting of the asp, which was generally mortal. This, indeed, seems the more likely, from the fact of the asp being clearly referred to, in company with these Deities, in the Ninth Book of the Metamorphoses, 1. 93; which see, with the Note to the passage.]

[Footnote 432: The horned Apis.--Ver. 14. See the Ninth Book of the Metamorphoses, 1. 691, and the Note to the passage.]

[Footnote 433: Thy features.--Ver. 15. Isis is here addressed, as being supposed to be the same Deity as Diana Lucina, who was invoked by pregnant and parturient women. Thus Isis appears to Telethusa, a Cretan woman, in her pregnancy, in the Ninth Book of the Metamorphoses, 1. 665, et seq.]

[Footnote 434: Thy appointed days.--Ver. 17. Votaries who were worshipping in the temples of the Deities sat there for a considerable time, especially when they attended for the purpose of sacrifice. In the First Book of the Pontic Epistles, Ep. i. 1. 50, Ovid says, 'I have beheld one who confessed that he had offended the Divinity of Isis, clothed in linen, sitting before he altars of Isis.']

[Footnote 435: On which.--Ver. 18. 'Queis' seems a preferable reading to 'qua.']

[Footnote 436: The Galli.--Ver. 18. Some suppose that Isis and Cybele were the same Divinity, and that the Galli, or priests of Cybele, attended the rites of their Goddess under the name of Isis. It seems clear, from the present passage, that the priests of Cybele, who were called Galli, did perform the rites of Isis, but there is abundant proof that these were considered as distinct Deities. In imitation of the Corybantes, the original priests of Cybele, they performed her rites to the sound of pipes and tambourines, and ran to and fro in a frenzied manner.]

[Footnote 437: With thy laurels.--Ver. 18. See the Note to the 692nd line of the Ninth Book of the Metamorphoses. While celebrating the search for the limbs of Osiris, the priests uttered lamentations, accompanied with the sound of the 'sistra'; but when they had found the body, they wore wreaths of laurel, and uttered cries, signifying their joy.]

[Footnote 438: Ilithyia.--Ver. 21. As to the Goddess Ilithyia, see the Ninth Book of the Metamorphoses, 1. 283, and the Note to the passage.]

[Footnote 439: With their bucklers.--Ver. 2. Armed with 'peltæ,' or bucklers, like the Amazons.]

[Footnote 440: The sand must.--Ver. 8. This figure is derived from the gladiatorial fights of the amphitheatre, where the spot on which they fought was strewed with sand, both for the purpose of giving a firm footing to the gladiators, and of soaking up the blood that was shed.]

[Footnote 441: Again throw stones.--Ver. 12. He alludes to Deucalion and Pyr-rha. See the First Book of the Metamorphoses.]

[Footnote 442: Ilia had destroyed.--Ver. 16. Romulus was her son. See her story, related at the beginning of the Third Book of the Fasti.]

[Footnote 443: Why pierce.--Ver. 27. He alludes to the sharp instruments which she had used for the purpose of procuring abortion: a practice which Canace tells Macareus that her nurse had resorted to. Epistle xi. 1. 40--43.]

[Footnote 444: Armenian dens.--Ver. 35. See the Metamorphoses, Book viii. 1. 126, and the Note to the passage.]

[Footnote 445: Many a time.--Ver. 38. He seems here to speak of this practice as being frequently resorted to.]

[Footnote 446: She deserved it.--Ver. 40. From this, it would seem that the practice was considered censurable; but, perhaps it was one of those cases whose heinousness is never fully discovered till it has brought about its own punishment.]

[Footnote 447: O ring.--Ver. 1. On the rings in use among the ancients, see the note to the First Book of the Aruores, El. iv., 1. 26. See also the subject of the seventh Elegy of the First Book of the Tristia.]

[Footnote 448: Carpathian old man.--Ver. 10. For some account of Proteus, who is here referred to, see the First Book of the Fasti, 1. 363, and the Note.]

[Footnote 449: Be able to seal--Ver. 15. From this, it appears to have been a signet ring.]

[Footnote 450: Touch the lips.--Ver. 17. See the Tristia, Book v., El. iv. 1 5, and the Note to the passage.]

[Footnote 459: In her desk.--Ver. 19. 'Loculi' used in the plural, as in the present instance, signified a receptacle with compartments, similar, perhaps, to our writing desks; a small box, coffer, casket, or cabinet of wood or ivory, for keeping money or jewels.]

[Footnote 460: Sulmo.--Ver. 1. See the Note to the first line of the First Elegy of this Book.]

[Footnote 461: Pelignian land.--Ver. 1. From Pliny the Elder, we learn that the Peligni were divided into three tribes, the Corfinienses, the Superequani, and the Sulmonenses.]

[Footnote 462: Constellation.--Ver. 4. He alludes to the heat attending the Dog star, see the Fasti, Book iv., 1. 939, and the Note to the passage.]

[Footnote 463: The thin soil.--Ver. 8. 'Rarus ager' means, a 'thin' or 'loose' soil, which was well suited for the cultivation of the grape.]

[Footnote 464: That bears its berries.--Ver. 8. In Nisard's translation, the words 'bacciferam Pallada,' which mean the olive, are rendered 'L'amande Caere Pallas,' 'the almond dear to Pallas.']

[Footnote 465: Lengthened tracks.--Ver. 16. To the Delphin Editor this seems a silly expression.]

[Footnote 466: The stormy Alps.--Ver. 19. See the Metamorphoses, Book ii. 1. 226, and the Note to the passage.]

[Footnote 467: The obedient stream.--Ver. 35. This was a method of irrigation in agriculture, much resorted to by the ancients.]

[Footnote 468: Fierce Cilicians --Ver. 39. The people of the interior of Cilicia, in Asia Minor, were of rude and savage manners while those on the coast had been engaged in piracy, until it had been effectually suppressed by Pompey.]

[Footnote 469: Britons painted green.--Ver. 39. The Britons may be called 'virides,' from their island being surrounded by the sea; or, more probably, from the colour with which they were in the habit of staining their bodies. Cæsar says, in the Fifth Book of the Gallic war, 'The Britons stain themselves with woad, 'vitrum,' or 'glastum,' which produces a blue colour: and thus they become of a more dreadful appearance in battle.' The conquest of Britain, by Cæsar, is alluded to in the Fifteenth Book of the Metamorphoses, 1. 752.]

[Footnote 471: Loves the vine.--Ver. 41. The custom of training vines by the side of the elm, has been alluded to in a previous Note. See also the Metamorphoses, Book xiv. 1. 663, and the Note to the passage.]

[Footnote 472: As the nags.--Ver. 49. The 'manni' were used by the Romans for much the same purpose as our coach-horses; and were probably more noted for their fleetness than their strength; They were a small breed, originally imported from Gaul, and the possession of them was supposed to indicate the possession of considerable wealth. As the 'esseda' was a small vehicle, and probably of light structure, we must not be surprised at Corinna being in the habit of driving for herself. The distance from Rome to Sulmo was about ninety miles: and the journey, from his expressions in the fifty-first and fifty-second lines, must have been over hill and dale.]

[Footnote 473: Your little chaise.--Ver. 49. For an account of the 'essedum,' or 'esseda,' see the Pontic Epistles, Book ii. Ep. 10, 1. 34, and the Note to the passage.]

[Footnote 474: King of Pkthia.--Ver. 17.] He alludes to the marriage of Thetis, the sea Goddess, to Peleus, the king of Phthia, in Thessaly.]

[Footnote 475: His anvil.--Ver. 19. It is a somewhat curious fact, that the anvils of the ancients exactly resembled in form and every particular those used at the present day.]

[Footnote 476: Becomingly united.--Ver. 22. He says, that in the Elegiac measure the Pentameter, or line of five feet, is not unhappily matched with the Hexameter, or heroic line of six feet.]

[Footnote 477: Disavowed by you.--Ver. 26. 'Voids' seems more agreable to the sense of the passage, than 'nobis.' 'to be denied by us;' as, from the context, there was no fear of his declining her affection.]

[Footnote 478: That she is Corinna.--Ver. 29. This clearly proves that Corinna was not a real name; it probably was not given by the Poet to any one of his female acquaintances in particular.]

[Footnote 479: Thy poem onwards.--Ver. 1. Macer translated the Iliad of Homer into Latin verse, and composed an additional poem, commencing at the beginning of the Trojan war, and coming down to the wrath of Achilles, with which Homer begins.]

[Footnote 480: I, Macer.--Ver. 3. Æmilius Macer is often mentioned by Ovid in his works. In the Tristia, Book iv. Ep. 10,1.41, he says, 'Macer, when stricken in years, many a time repeated to me his poem on birds, and each serpent that is deadly, each herb that is curative.' The Tenth Epistle of the Second Book of Pontic Epistles is also addressed to him, in which Ovid alludes to his work on the Trojan war, and the time when they visited Asia Minor and Sicily together. He speaks of him in the Sixteenth Epistle of the Fourth Book, as being then dead. Macer was a native of Verona, and was the intimate friend of Virgil, Ovid, and Tibullus. Some suppose that the poet who wrote on natural history, was not the same with him who wrote on the Trojan war; and, indeed, it does not seem likely, that he who was an old man in the youth of Ovid, should be the same person to whom he writes from Pontus, when about fifty-six years of age. The bard of Ilium died in Asia.]

[Footnote 481: Tragedy grew apace.--Ver. 13. He alludes to his tragedy of Medea, which no longer exists. Quintilian thus speaks of it: 'The Medea of Ovid seems to me to prove how much he was capable of, if he had only preferred to curb his genius, rather than indulge it.']

[Footnote 482: Sabinus return.--Ver. 27. He represents his friend, Sabinus, here in the character of a 'tabellarius,' or 'letter carrier,' going with extreme speed (celer) to the various parts of the earth, and bringing back the answers of Ulysses to Penelope, Hippolytus to Phaedra, Æneas to Dido, Demophoôn to Phyllis, Jason to Hypsipyle, and Phaon to Sappho. All these works of Sabinus have perished, except the Epistle of Ulysses to Penelope, and Demophoôn to Phyllis. His Epistle from Paris to Oenonc, is not here mentioned. See the Pontic Epistles, Book iv. Ep. xvi. 1. 13, and the Note to the passage.]

[Footnote 483: Bring back letters.--Ver. 28. As the ancients had no establishment corresponding to our posts, they employed special messengers called 'tabellarii,' for the conveyance of their letters.]

[Footnote 484: Vowed to Phobus.--Ver. 34. Sappho says in her Epistle, that if Phaon should refuse to return, she will dedicate her lyre to Phobus, and throw herself from the Leucadian rock. This, he tells her, she may now-do, as by his answer Phaon declines to return.]

[Footnote 485: Pain in her head.--Ver. 11. She pretended a head-ache, when nothing wras the matter with her; in order that too much familiarity, in the end, might not breed contempt.]

[Footnote 486: A surfeit of love.--Ver. 25. 'l'inguis amor' seems here to mear a satisfied 'ora 'pampered passion;' one that meets with no repulse.]

[Footnote 487: Enclosed Danaë.--Ver. 27. See the Metamorphoses, Book iv., 1.]

[Footnote 488: The dogs bark.--Ver. 40. The women of loose character, among the Romans, were much in the habit of keeping dogs, for the protection of their houses.]

FOOTNOTES BOOK THREE:

[Footnote 501: Than the other.--Ver. 8. 'He alludes to the unequal lines of the Elegiac measure, which consists of Hexameters and Pentameters. In personifying Elegy, he might have omitted this remark, as it does not add to the attractions of a lady, to have one foot longer than the other; he says, however, that it added to her gracefulness.]

[Footnote 502: The Lydian buskin.--Ver. 14. As Lydia was said to have sent colonists to Etruria, some Commentators think that the word 'Lydius' here means 'Etrurian and that the first actors at Rome were Etrurians. But, as the Romans derived their notions of tragedy from the Greeks, we may conclude that Lydia in Asia Minor is here referred to; for we learn from Herodotus and other historians, that the Greeks borrowed largely from the Lydians.]

[Footnote 503: Drunken revels.--Ver. 17. He probably alludes to the Fourth Elegy of the First, and the Fifth Elegy of the Second Book of the 'Amores.']

[Footnote 505: Mighty inspiration.--Ver. 23. The 'thyrsus' was said to have been first used by the troops of Bacchus, in his Indian expedition, when, to deceive the Indians, they concealed the points of their spears amid leaves of the vine and ivy. Similar weapons were used by his devotees when worshipping him, which they brandished to and fro. To be touched with the thyrsus of Bacchus, meant 'to be inspired with poetic frenzy.' See the Notes to the Metamorphoses, Book iii. 1. 542.]

[Footnote 506: In unequal numbers.--Ver. 37. Some have supposed, that allusion is made to the Tragedy of Medea, which Ovid had composed, and that it had been written in Elegiac measure. This, however, does not seem to be the meaning of the passage. Elegy justly asks Tragedy, why, if she has such a dislike to Elegiac verses, she has been talking in them? which she has done, from the 15th line to the 30th.]

[Footnote 507: Myself the patroness.--Ver. 44. She certainly does not give herself a very high character in giving herself the title of 'lena.']

[Footnote 508: The fastened door.--Ver. 50. He alludes, probably, to one of the Elegies which he rejected, when he cut down the five books to three.]

[Footnote 509: In a hose tunic.--Ver. 51. He may possibly allude to the Fifth Elegy of the First Book, as the words 'tunicâ velata recinctâ,' as applied to Corinna, are there found. But there he mentions midday as the time when Corinna came to him, whereas he seems here to allude to the middle of the night.]

[Footnote 510: Cut in the wood.--Ver. 53. He alludes to the custom of lovers carving inscriptions on the doors of their obdurate mistresses: this we learn from Plautus to have been done in Elegiac strains, and sometimes with charcoal. 'Implentur meæ fores clegiarum carbonibus.' 'My doors are filled with the coal-black marks of elegies.']

[Footnote 511: On her birthday.--Ver. 57. She is telling Ovid what she has put up with for his sake; and she reminds him how, when he sent to his mistress some complimentary lines on her birthday, she tore them up and threw them in the water. Horace mentions 'the flames, or the Adriatic sea,' as the end of verses that displeased. Athenseus, Book xiii. c. 5, relates a somewhat similai story. Diphilus the poet was in the habit of sending his verses to his mistress Gnathæna. One day she was mixing him a cup of wine and snow-water, on which he observed, how cold her well must be; to which she answered, yes, for it was there that she used to throw his compositions.]

[Footnote 514: From behind.--Ver. 70. It is not known, for certain, to what he refers in this line. Some think that he refers to the succeeding Elegies in this Book, which are, in general, longer than the former ones, while others suppose that he refers to his Metamorphoses, which he then contemplated writing. Burmann, however, is not satisfied with this explanation, and thinks that, in his more mature years, he contemplated the composition of Tragedy, after having devoted his youth to lighter snbjects; and that he did not compose, or even contemplate the composition of his Metamorphoses, until many years afterwards.]

[Footnote 515: I am not sitting here.--Ver. 1. He is here alluding to the Circen-sian games, which were celebrating in the Circus Maximus, or greatest Circus, at Rome, at different times in the year. Some account is given of the Circus Maximus in the Note to 1. 392. of the Second Book of the Fasti. The 'Magni,' or Great Circensian games, took place on the Fourth of the Ides of April. The buildings of the Circus were burnt in the conflagration of Rome, in Nero's reign; and it was not restored till the days of Trajan, who rebuilt it with more than its former magnificence, and made it capable, according to some authors, of accommodating 385,000 persons. The Poet says, that he takes no particular interest himself in the race, but hopes that the horse may win which is her favourite.]

[Footnote 516: The spirited steeds.--Ver. 2. The usual number of chariots in each race was four. The charioteers were divided into four companies, or 'fac-tiones,' each distinguished by a colour, representing the season of the year. These colours were green for the spring, red for the summer, azure for the autumn, and white for the winter. Originally, but two chariots started in each race; but Domitian increased the number to six, appointing two new companies of charioteers, the golden and the purple; however the number was still, more usually, restricted to four. The greatest interest was shewn by all classes, and by both sexes, in the race. Lists of the horses were circulated, with their names and colours; the names also of the charioteers were given, and bets were extensively made, (see the Art of Love, Book i. 1. 167, 168,) and sometimes disputes and violent contests arose.]

[Footnote 517: To be seated by you.--Ver. 3. The men and women sat together when viewing the contests of the Circus, and not in separate parts of the building, as at the theatres.]

[Footnote 518: Happy the driver.--Ver. 7. He addresses the charioteer.]

[Footnote 519: The sacred barrier.--Ver. 9. For an account of the 'career,' or 'starting-place,' see the Notes to the Tristia, Book v. El. ix. 1. 29. It is called 'sacer,' because the whole of the Circus Maximus was sacred to Consus, who is supposed by some to have been the same Deity as Neptune. The games commenced with sacrifices to the Deities.]

[Footnote 520: I would give rein.--Ver. 11. The charioteer was wont to stand within the reins, having them thrown round his back. Leaning backwards, he thereby threw his full weight against the horses, when he wished to check them at full speed. This practice, however, was dangerous, and by it the death of Hippolytus was caused. In the Fifteenth Book of the Metamorphoses,1. 524, he says, 'I struggled, with unavailing hand, to guide the bridle covered with white foam, and throwing myself "backwards, I pulled back the loosened reins.' To avoid the danger of this practice, the charioteer carried a hooked knife at his waist, for the purpose of cutting the reins on an emergency.]

[Footnote 521: The turning-place.--Ver. 12. For an account of the 'meta.'see the Tristia, Book iv. El. viii.l. 35. Of course, thpse who kept as close to the 'meta' as possible, would lose the least distance in turning round it.]

[Footnote 522: How nearly was Pelops.--Ver. 15. In his race with Onomaüs, king of Pisa, in Arcadia, for the hand of his daughter, Hippodamia, when Pelops conquered his adversary by bribing his charioteer, Myrtilus.]

[Footnote 523: Of his mistress.--Ver. 17. He here seems to imply that it was Hippodamia who bribed Myrtilus.]

[Footnote 524: Shrink away in vain.--Ver. 19. She shrinks from him, and seems to think that he is sitting too close, but he tells her that the 'linea' forces them to squeeze. This 'linea' is supposed to have been either cord, or a groove, drawn across the seats at regular intervals, so as to mark out room for a certain number of spectators between each two 'lineæ.']

[Footnote 525: Has this advantage.--Ver. 20. He congratulates himsdf on the construction of the place, so aptly giving him an excuse for sitting close to his mistress.]

[Footnote 526: But do you --Ver. 21. He is pretending to be very anxious for her comfort, and is begging the person on the other side not to squeeze so close against his mistress.]