Part 13

[Footnote 608: And the Forum. --Ver. 57. The 'Fora' were of two kinds at Rome; some being market-places, where all kinds of goods were exposed for sale, while others were solely courts of justice. Among the latter is the one here mentioned, which was simply called 'Forum,' so long as it was the only one of its kind existing at Rome, and, indeed, after that period, as in the present instance. At a later period of the Republic, and under the Empire, when other 'fora,' for judicial purposes, were erected, this Forum' was distinguished by the epithets 'vetus,' 'old,' or 'magnum, 'great.' It was situate between the Capitoline and Palatine hills, and was originally a swamp or marsh, which was filled up hy Romulus or Tatius. It was chiefly used for judicial proceedings, and is supposed to have been surrounded with the hankers' shops or offices, 'argentaria.' Gladiatorial games were occasionally held there, and sometimes prisoners of war, and faithless legionary soldiers, were there put to death. A second 'Forum,' for judicial purposes, was erected hy Julius Caesar, and was called hy his name. It was adorned with a splendid temple of Venus Genitrix. A third was built hy Augustus, and was called 'Forum Augusts' It was adorned with a temple of Mars, and the statues of the most distinguished men of the republic. Having suffered severely from fire, this Forum was restored by the Emperor Hadrian. It is mentioned in the Fourth Book of the Pontic Epistles, Ep. xv. 1. 16. See the Fasti, Book iii. 1. 704.]

[Footnote 609: With regard to me.--Ver. 63. He says that because he is poor she makes excuses, and pretends that she is afraid of her husband and those whom he has set to watch her.]

[Footnote 610: Of thy own inspiration.--Ver. 5. Burmann remarks, that the word 'opus' is especially applied to the sacred rites of the Gods; literally 'the priest of thy rites.']

[Footnote 611: The erected pile--Ver. 6. Among the Romans the corpse was burnt on a pile of wood, which was called 'pyra,' or 'rogus.' According to Servius, it was called by the former name before, and hy the latter after, it was lighted, but this distinction is not observed by the Latin writers.]

It was in the form of an altar with four equal sides, but it varied in height and the mode of decoration, according to the circumstances of the deceased. On the pile the body was placed with the couch on which it had been carried; and frankincense, ointments, locks of hair, and garlands, were thrown upon it. Even ornaments, clothes, and dishes of food were sometimes used for the same purpose. This was done not only by the family of the deceased, but by such persons as joined the funeral procession.]

[Footnote 612: The cruel boar.--Ver. 16. He alludes to the death of Adonis, by the tusk of a boar, which pierced his thigh. See the Tenth Book of the Metamorphoses, l. 716.]

[Footnote 613: We possess inspiration.--Ver. 17. In the Sixth Book of the Fasti, 1. 6, he says. 'There is a Deity within us (Poets): under his guidance we glow with inspiration; this poetic fervour contains the impregnating. particles of the mind of the Divinity.']

[Footnote 614: She lays her.--Ver. 20. It must be remembered that, whereas we personify Death as of the masculine gender; the Romans represented the grim tyrant as being a female. It is a curious fact that we find Death very rarely represented as a skeleton on the Roman monuments. The skeleton of a child has, in one instance, been found represented on one of the tombs of Pompeii. The head of a horse was one of the most common modes of representing death, as it signified departure.]

[Footnote 615: Ismarian Orpheus.--Ver. 21. Apollo and the Muse Calliope were the parents of Orpheus, who met with a cruel death. See the beginning of the Eleventh Book of the Metamorphoses.]

[Footnote 616: Linus! Alas!--Ver. 23. 'Ælinon' was said to have been the exclamation of Apollo, on the death of his son, the poet Linus. The word is derived from the Greek, 'di Aivôç,' 'Alas! Linus.' A certain poetic measure was called by this name; but we learn from Athenaeus, that it was not always confined to pathetic subjects. There appear to have been two persons of the name of Linus. One was a Theban, the son of Apollo, and the instructor of Orpheus and Hercules, while the other was the son of an Argive princess, by Apollo, who, according to Statius, was torn to pieces in his infancy by dogs.]

[Footnote 617: The son of Mæon. --Ver. 25. See the Note to the ninth line of the Fifteenth Elegy of the First Book of the Amores.]

[Footnote 618: Slow web woven.--Ver. 30. The web of Penelope.]

[Footnote 619: Nemesis, so Delia.--Ver. 31. Nemesis and Delia were the names of damsels whose charms were celebrated by Tibullus.]

[Footnote 620: Sacrifice avail thee.--Ver. 33. He alludes to two lines in the]

First Elegy of Tibullus.]

'Quid tua nunc Isis mihi Delia? quid mihi prosunt]

Ilia tuâ toties sera repuisa manu.']

What have I now to do, Delia, with your Isis? what avail me those sistra so often shaken by your hand?']

[Footnote 621: What lying apart.--Ver. 34. During the festival of Isis, all intercourse with men was forbidden to the female devotees.]

[Footnote 622: The yawning tomb.--Ver. 38. The place where a person was burnt was called 'bustum,' if he was afterwards buried on the same spot, and 'ustrina,' or 'ustrinum,' if he was buried at a different place. See the Notes to the Fasti, B. ii. 1. 531.]

[Footnote 623: The towers of Eryx--Ver. 45. He alludes to Venus, who had a splendid temple on Mount Eryx, in Sicily.]

[Footnote 624: The Phæacian land.--Ver. 47. The Phæacians were the ancient people of Corcyra, now the isle of Corfu. Tibullus had attended Messala thither, and falling ill, was unable to accompany his patron on his return to Rome, on which he addressed to him the First Elegy of his Third Book, in which he expressed a hope that he might not die among the Phæacians. To this Elegy Ovid here refers. Tibullus afterwards recovered, and died at Rome. When he penned this line, Ovid little thought that his own bones would one day rest in a much more ignoble spot than Corcyra, and one much more repulsive to the habits of civilization.]

[Footnote 625: Here.--Ver. 49. 1 Hie'here seems to be the preferable reading; alluding to Rome, in contradistinction to Corcyra.]

[Footnote 626: His tearful eyes.--Ver. 49. He alludes to the custom of the nearest relative closing the eyes of the dying person.]

[Footnote 627: The last gifts.--Ver. 50. The perfumes and other offerings which were thrown on the burning pile, are here alluded to. Tibullus says, in the same Elegy--]

'Non soror Assyrios cineri quæ dedat odores,]

Et Heat effusis ante sepulchra comis']

'No sister have I here to present to my ashes the Assyrian perfumes, and to weep before my tomb with dishevelled locks.' To this passage Ovid makes reference in the next two lines.]

[Footnote 628: Thy first love.--Ver. 53. 'Prior;' his former love was Delia, who was forsaken by him for Nemesis. They are both represented here as attending his obsequies. Tibullus says, in the First Elegy of the First Book, addressing Delia:--]

1 Te spectem, suprema mihi cum venerit hora,]

Te teneam moriens, déficiente manu.]

Flebis et arsuro positum me, Delia, lecto,]

Tristibus et lacrymis oscula mista dabis.']

May I look upon you when my last hour comes, when dying, may I hold you with my failing hand. Delia, you will lament me, too, when placed on my bier, doomed to the pile, and will give me kisses mingled with the tears of grief.' To these lines Ovid evidently here refers. It would appear from the present passage, that it was the custom to give the last kiss when the body was laid on the funeral pile.]

[Footnote 629: With his failing hand.--Ver. 58. Nemesis here alludes to the above line, and tells Delia, that she, herself, alone engaged his affection, as it was she alone who held his hand when he died.]

[Footnote 630: Learned Catullus.--Ver. 62. Catullus was a Roman poet, a native of Verona. Calvus was also a Roman poet of great merit. The poems of Catullus and Calvus were set to music by Hermogenes, Tigellius, and Demetrius, who were famous composers. See the Tristia, Book ii. lines 427 and 431, and the Notes to the passages.]

[Footnote 631: Prodigal of thy blood.--Ver. 64. He alludes to the fact of Gallus having killed himself, and to his having been suspected of treason against Augustus, from whom he had received many marks of kindness Ovid seems to hint, in the Tristia, Book ii. 1. 446, that the fault of Gallus was his having divulged the secrets of Augustus, when he was in a state o* inebriety. Some writers say, that when Governor of Egypt, he caused his name and exploits to be inscribed on the Pyramids, and that this constituted his crime. Others again, suppose that he was guilty of extortion in Egypt, and that he especially harassed the people of Thebea with his exactions. Some of the Commentators think that under the name 'amicus,' Augustus is not here referred to, inasmuch as it woulc seem to bespeak a familiar acquaintanceship, which is not known to have existed. Scaliger thinks that it must refer to some misunderstanding which had taken place between Gallus and Tibullus, in which the former was accused of having deceived his friend.]

[Footnote 632: The rites of Ceres--Ver. 1. This festival of Ceres occurred on the Fifth of the Ides of April, being the 12th day of that month. See the Fasti, Book iv. 1. 393. White garments, were worn at this festival, and woollen robes of dark colour were prohibited. The worship was conducted solely by females, and all intercourse with men was forbidden, who were not allowed to approach the altars of the Goddess.]

[Footnote 633: The oaks, the early oracles.--Ver. 9. On the oaks, the oracles of Dodona, see the Translation of the Metamorphoses, pages 253 and 467.]

[Footnote 634: Having nurtured Jove.--Ver. 20. See an account of the education of Jupiter, by the Curetes, in Crete, in the Fourth Book of the Fasti, L 499, et seq.]

[Footnote 635: Beheld Jasius.--Ver. 25. Iasius, or Iasion, was, according to most accounts, the son of Jupiter and Electra, and enjoyed the favour of Ceres, by whom he was the father of Plutus. According to the Scholiast on Theocritus, he was the son of Minos, and the Nymph Phronia. According to Apollodorus, he was struck dead by the bolts of Jupiter, for offering violence to Ceres. He was also said by some to be the husband of Cybele. He is supposed to have been a successful husbandman when agriculture was but little known; which circumstance is thought to have given rise to the story of his familiarity with Ceres. Ovid repeats this charge against the chastity of Ceres, in the Tristia, Book ii. 1. 300. See the Note to the passage.]

[Footnote 636: Proportion of their wheat.--Ver. 30. With less corn than had been originally sown.]

[Footnote 637: The law-giving Mims.--Ver. 41. Minos is said to have been the first who gave laws to the Cretans.]

[Footnote 638: Late have the horns.--Ver. 6. This figure is derived from the horns, the weapons of the bull. 'At length I have assumed the weapons of defence.' It is rendered in a singular manner in Nisard's Translation, 'Trop tard, helas 1 J'ai connu l'outrage fait a mon front.' 'Too late, alas! I have known the outrage done to my forehead.'!!!]

[Footnote 639: Have patience and endure.--Ver. 7. He addresses himself, recommending fortitude as his only cure.]

[Footnote 640: The hard ground.--Ver. 10. At the door of his mistress; a practice which seems to have been very prevalent with the Roman lovers.]

[Footnote 641: I was beheld by him.--Ver. 15. As, of courser, his rival would only laugh at him for his folly, and very deservedly.]

[Footnote 642: As you walked.--Ver. 17. By the use of the word 'spatiantis,' he alludes to her walks under the Porticos of Rome, which were much frequented as places for exercise, sheltered from the heat.]

[Footnote 643: The Gods forsworn.--Ver. 22. This forms the subject of the Third Elegy of the present Book.]

[Footnote 644: Young mem at banquets.--Ver. 23. See the Fifth Elegy of the Second Book of the Amores.]

[Footnote 645: She was not ill.--Ver. 26. When he arrived, he found his rival in her company.]

[Footnote 646: I will hate.--Ver. 35. This and the next line are considered by Heinsius and other Commentators to be spurious.]

[Footnote 647: She who but lately.--Ver. 5. Commentators are at a loss to know whether he is here referring to Corinna, or to his other mistress, to whom he alludes in the Tenth Elegy of the Second Book, when he confesses that he is in love with two mistresses. If Corinna was anything more than an ideal personage, it is probable that she is not meant here, as he made it a point not to discover to the world who was meant under that name; whereas, the mistress here mentioned has been recommended to the notice of the Roman youths by his poems.]

[Footnote 648: Made proclamation.--Ver. 9. He says that, unconsciously, he has been doing the duties of the 'præco' or 'crier,' in recommending his mistress to the public. The 'præco,' among the Romans, was employed in sales by auction, to advertise the time, place, and conditions of sale, and very probably to recommend and praise the property offered for sale. These officers also did the duty of the auctioneer, so far as calling out the biddings, but the property was knocked down by the 'magister auctionum.' The 'præcones' were also employed to keep silence in the public assemblies, to pronounce the votes of the centuries, to summon the plaintiff and defendant upon trials, to proclaim the victors in the public games, to invite the people to attend public funerals, to recite the laws that were enacted, and, when goods were lost, to cry them and search for them. The office of a 'præco' was, in the time of Cicero, looked upon as rather disreputable.]

[Footnote 649: Thebes.--Ver. 15. He speaks of the Theban war, the Trojan war, and the exploits of Caesar, as being good subjects for Epic poetry; but he says that he had neglected them, and had wasted his time in singing in praise of Corinna. This, however, may be said in reproof of his general habits of indolence, and not as necessarily implying that Corinna is the cause of his present complaint. The Roman poet Statius afterwards chose the Theban war as his subject.]

[Footnote 650: Poets as witnesses.--Ver. 19. That is, 'to rely implicitly on the testimony of poets.' The word 'poetas' requires a semicolon after it, and not a comma.]

[Footnote 651: The raging dogs.--Ver. 21. He here falls into his usual mistake of confounding Scylla, the daughter of Nisus, with Scylla, the Nymph, the rival of Circe, in the affections of Glaucus. See the Note to 1. 33 of the First Epistle of Sabinus, and the Eighth and Fourteenth Books of the Metamorphoses.]

[Footnote 652: Descendant of Abas.--Ver. 24. In the Fourth Book of the Metamorphoses he relates the rescue of Andromeda from the sea monster, by Perseus, the descendant of Abas, and clearly implies that he used the services of the winged horse Pegasus on that occasion. It has been suggested by some Commentators, that he here refers to Bellerophon; but that hero was not a descendant of Abas, and, singularly enough, he is not on any occasion mentioned or referred to by Ovid.]

[Footnote 653: Extended Tityus.--Ver. 25. Tityus was a giant, the son of Jupiter and Elara. Offering violence to Latona, he was pierced by the darts of Apollo and hurled to the Infernal Regions, where his liver was doomed to feed a vulture, without being consumed.]

[Footnote 654: Enceladus.--Ver. 27. He was the son of Titan and Terra, and joining in the war against the Gods, he was struck by lightning, and thrown beneath Mount Ætna. See the Pontic Epistles, Book ii. Ep.ii. 1.11.]

[Footnote 655: The-two-shaped damsels.--Ver. 28. He evidently alludes to the Sirens, with their two shapes, and not to Circe, as some have imagined.]

[Footnote 656: The Ithacan bags.--Ver. 29. Æolus gave Ulysses favourable wind* sewn up in a leather bag, to aid him in his return to Ithaca. See tha Metamorphoses, Book xiv. 1. 223]

[Footnote 657: The Cecropian bird.--Ver. 32. He calls Philomela the daughter of Pandion, king of Athens, 'Cecropis ales Cc crops having been the first king of Athens. Her story is told in the Sixth Book of the Metamorphoses.]

[Footnote 658: A bird, or into gold.--Ver. 33. He alludes to the transformation of Jupiter into a swan, a shower of gold, and a bull; in the cases of Leda, Danaë, and Europa.]

[Footnote 659: The Theban seed.--Ver. 35. He alludes to the dragon's teeth sown by Cadmus. See the Third Book of the Metamorphoses.]

[Footnote 660: Distil amber tears.--Ver. 37. Reference is made to the transformation of the sisters of Phaeton into poplars that distilled amber. See the Second Book of the Metamorphoses, 1. 364.]

[Footnote 661: Who once were ships.--Ver. 38. He alludes to the ships of Æneas, which, when set on fire by Turnus, were changed into sea Nymphs.]

[Footnote 662: The hellish banquet.--Ver. 39. Reference is made to the revenge of Atreus, who killed the children of Thyestes, and set them on table before their father, on which occasion the Sun is said to have hidden his face.]

[Footnote 663: Stonesfollowed the lyre.--Ver. 40. Amphion is said to have raised the walls of Thebes by the sound of his lyre.]

[Footnote 664: Camillus, by thee.--Ver. 2. Marcus Furius Camillus, the Roman general, took the city of Falisci.]

[Footnote 665: The covered paths.--Ver. 12. The pipers, or flute players, led the procession, while the ground was covered with carpets or tapestry.]

[Footnote 666: Snow-white heifers.--Ver. 14. Pliny the Elder, in his Second Book, says, 'The river Clitumnus, in the state of Falisci, makes those cattle white that drink of its waters.']

[Footnote 667: In the lofty woods.--Ver. 20. It is not known to what occasion this refers. Juno is stated to have concealed herself on two occasions; once before her marriage, when she fled from the pursuit of Jupiter, who assumed the form of a cuckoo, that he might deceive her; and again, when, through fear of the giants, the Gods took refuge in Egypt and Libya. Perhaps the former occasion is here referred to.]

[Footnote 668: As a mark.--Ver. 21. This is similar to the alleged origin of the custom of throwing sticks at cocks on Shrove Tuesday. The Saxons being about to rise in rebellion against their Norman oppressors, the conspiracy is said to have been discovered through the inopportune crowing of a cock, in revenge for which the whole race of chanticleers were for centuries submitted to this cruel punishment.]

[Footnote 669: With garments.--Ver. 24. As 'vestis' was a general name for a covering of any kind, it may refer to the carpets which appear to be mentioned in the twelfth line, or it may mean, that the youths and damsels threw their own garments in the path of the procession.]

[Footnote 670: After the Grecian manner.--Ver. 27. Falisci was said to have been a Grecian colony.]

[Footnote 671: Hold religious silence.--Ver. 29. 'Favere linguis' seems here to mean, 'to keep religious silence as to the general meaning of the term, see the Fasti, Book i. 1. 71.]

[Footnote 672: Halesus.--Ver. 33. Halesus is said to have been the son of Agamemnon, by a concubine. Alarmed at the tragic death of his father, and of the murderers, Ægisthus and Clytemnestra, he fled to Italy, where he founded the city of Phalesus, which title, with the addition of one letter, was given to it after his name. Phalesus afterwards became corrupted, to 'Faliscus,' or 'Falisci.']

[Footnote 673: One side and the other.--Ver. 32. For the 'torus exterior' and 'interior,' and the construction of the beds of the ancients, see the Note to the Eighth Book of the Metamorphoses, 1. 659. * Forced to love.--Ver. 39. This passage seems to be hopelessly corrupt.]

[Footnote 674: Turning-place is grazed.--Ver. 2. On rounding the 'meta' in the chariot race, from which the present figure is derived, see the Note to the 69th line of the Second Elegy of this Book.]

[Footnote 675: Heir to my rank.--Ver. 5. See the Tristia, Book ii. 1. 112, where he enlarges upon the rank and circumstances of his family.]

[Footnote 676: To glorious arms.--Ver. 9. He alludes to the Social war which was commenced in the year of the City 659, by the Marsi, the Peligni, and the Picentes, for the purpose of obtaining equal rights and privileges with the Roman citizens. He calls them 'arma honesta,' because wielded in defence of their liberties.]

[Footnote 677: Rome dreaded.--Ver. 10. The Romans were so alarmed, that they vowed to celebrate games in honour of Jupiter, if their arms should prove successful.]

[Footnote 678: Amathusian parent.--Ver. 15. Venus was worshipped especially at Amathus, a city of Cyprus; it is mentioned by Ovid as abounding in metals. See the Metamorphoses, Book x. 1. 220 and 531, B. III.]

[Footnote 679: The homed.--Ver. 17. In addition to the reasons already mentioned for Bacchus being represented as horned, it is said, by some, that it arose from the fact, of wine being drunk from horns in the early ages. It has been suggested, that it had a figurative meaning, and implied the violence of those who are overtaken with wine.]

[Footnote 680: Lyæus.--Ver. 17. For the meaning of the word Lyæus, see the Metamorphoses, Book iv. 1. 11, and the Note to the passage.]

[Footnote 681: My sportive.--Ver. 19. Genialis; the Genii were the Deities of pure, unadorned nature. See the Fasti, Book iii. 1. 58, and the Note to the passage. 'Genialis,' consequently, 'voluptuous,' or 'pleasing to the impulses of nature.']