Part 9

[Footnote 114: Penelope used to try.--Ver. 47. Penelope, in order that she might escape the importunity of the suitors, proposed that they should try to bend the bow of Ulysses, promising her hand to him who should prove successful. The hag, however, says that, with all her pretended chastity, Penelope only wanted to find out who was the most stalwart man among her lovers, in order that she might choose him for a husbaud.]

[Footnote 116: Graceful in his mantle.--Ver. 59. The 'palla' was especially worn by musicians. She is supposed to refer to the statue of Apollo, which was erected on the Palatine Hill by Augustus; and her design seems to be, to shew that poetry and riches are not so incompatible as the girl may, from her lover's poverty, be led to imagine.]

[Footnote 117: At a price for his person.--Ver. 63. That is to say, some rich slave who has bought his own liberty. As many of the Roman slaves were skilful at various trades and handicrafts, and were probably allowed the profits of their work after certain hours in the day, it would be no uncommon thing for a slave, with his earnings, to purchase his liberty. Some of the slaves practised as physicians, while others followed the occupation of literary men.]

[Footnote 118: Rubbed with chalk.--Ver. 64. It was the custom to mark with chalk, 'gypsum,' the feet of such slaves as were newly imported for sale.]

[Footnote 119: Busts about the halls.--Ver. 65. Instead of 'quinquatria,' which is evidently a corrupt reading, 'circum atria' has been adopted. She is advising the girl not to be led away by notions of nobility, founded on the number of 'ceræ,' or waxen busts of their ancestors, that adorned the 'atria,' or halls of her admirers. See the Fasti, Book i. line 591, and the Note to the passage; also the Epistle of Laodamia to Protesilaus, line 152.]

[Footnote 120: Nay, more, should.--Ver. 67. 'Quin' seems to be a preferable reading to-'quid?']

[Footnote 121: There will be Isis.--Ver. 74. The Roman women celebrated the festival of Isis for several successive days, and during that period they care-fully abstained from the society of men.]

[Footnote 127: By your censure.--Ver. 80. When she has offended she is to pretend a counter grievance, so as to outweigh her faults.]

[Footnote 128: A deaf hearing.--Ver. 86. Literally, 'deaf Godhead.']

[Footnote 129: A crafty handmaid.--Ver. 87. The comedies of Plautus and Terence show the part which the intriguing slaves and handmaids acted on such occasions.]

[Footnote 130: A little of many.--Ver. 89. 'Multos,' as suggested by Heinsius, is preferable to 'multi,' which does not suit the sense.]

[Footnote 131: Heap from the gleanings--Ver. 90. 'Stipula' here means 'gleanings.' She says, that each of the servants must ask for a little, and those little sums put together will make a decent amount collected from her lovers. No doubt her meaning is, that the mistress should pocket the presents thus made to the slaves.]

[Footnote 132: With a cake.--Ver. 94. The old woman tells how, when she has exhausted all other excuses for getting a present, to have the birth-day cake by her, and to pretend that it is her birth-day; in order that her lover may take the hint, and present her with a gift. The birth-day cake, according to Servius, was made of flour and honey; and being set on tabic before the guests, the person whose birth-day it was, ate the first slice, after which the others partook of it, and wished him happiness and prosperity. Presents, too, were generally made on birth-days.]

[Footnote 133: The Sacred Street."--Ver. 100. The 'via sacra,' or' Sacred Street, from the old Senate house at Rome towards the Amphitheatre, and up the Capitoline hill. For the sale of all kinds of luxuries, it seems to have had the same rank in Rome that Regent Street holds in London. The procuress tells her, that if her admirer makes no presents, she must turn the conversation to the 'Via Sacra;' of course, asking him such questions as, What is to be bought there? What is the price of such and such a thing? And then she is to say, that she is in want of this or that, but unfortunately she has no money, &c.]

[Footnote 134: Conceal your thoughts.--Ver. 103. This expression resembles the famous one attributed to Machiavelli, that 'speech was made for the concealment of the thoughts.']

[Footnote 134: Prove his ruin.--Ver. 103. 'Let your lips utter kind things, but let it be your intention to ruin him outright by your extravagance.']

[Footnote 135: Grant thee both no home--Ver. 113. The 'Lares,' being the household Gods, 'nullos Lares,' implies 'no home.']

[Footnote 136: Everlasting thirst.--Ver. 114. In allusion to her thirsty name; see the Note to the second line.]

[Footnote 138: Atticus.--Ver. 2. It is supposed that this Atticus was the same person to whom Ovid addresses the Fourth and Seventh Pontic Epistle in the Second Book. It certainly was not Pomponius Atticus, the friend of Cicero, who died when the Poet was in his eleventh year.]

[Footnote 139: The years which."--Ver. 5. The age for serving in the Roman armies, was from the seventeenth up to the forty-sixth year.]

[Footnote 140: Of his general.--Ver. 8. He alludes to the four night-watches of the Roman army, which succeeded each other every three hours. Each guard, or watch, consisted of four men, of whom one acted as sentry, while the others were in readiness, in case of alarm.]

[Footnote 142: The othert doors.--Ver. 20. From the writings of Terence and Plautus, as well as those of Ovid, we find that the youths of Rome were not very scrupulous about kicking down the door of an obdurate mistress.]

[Footnote 143: Thracian Rhesits.--Ver. 23. See the preceding Epistle of Pénélope to Ulysses, and the speech of Ulysses in the Thirteenth Book of the Metamorphoses.]

[Footnote 144: Cease to love.--Ver. 32. It is hard to say whether the word 'Desinat' means 'Let him leave off saying so,' or 'Let him cease to love': perhaps the latter is the preferable mode of rendering it.]

[Footnote 146: The raving prophetess.--Ver. 38. 'Mænas' literally means 'a raving female,' from the Greek word paivopai, 'to be mad.' He alludes to Cassandra when inspired with the prophetic spirit.]

[Footnote 147: At the forge.--Ver. 39. When he was detected by means of the iron net, as related in the Fourth Book of the Metamorphoses.]

[Footnote 148: A lazy inactivity.--Ver. 41. When persons wished to be at ease in their leisure moments at home, they were in the habit of loosening the girdle which fastened the tunic; from this circumstance, the term 'dis-cinctus' is peculiarly applied to a state of indolence.]

[Footnote 149: Couch and the shade.--Ver. 42. 'Lectus et umbra' means 'lying in bed and reclining in the shade.' The shade of foliage would have peculiar attractions in the cloudless climate of Italy, especially for persons naturally inclined to be idle.]

[Footnote 150: To serve.--Ver. 44. 'Æra merere' has the same meaning as 'stipendum merere,' 'to earn the pay of a soldier,' whence it came to signify 'to sene as a soldier.' The ancient accounts differ materially as to the pay which the Roman soldiers received.]

[Footnote 151: The Eurotas.--Ver. 1. The Eurotas was the river which flowed past the walls of Sparta. He is alluding to Helen.]

[Footnote 152: Amymone.--Ver. 5. She was one of the Danaides, and was carrying water, when she was attacked by a Satyr, and rescued by Neptune. See the Epistle of Hero to Leander, 1. 131, and the Note to the passage.]

[Footnote 153: Fold in his dress.--Ver. 18. The 'sinhs' of the 'toga,' among the men, and of the 'palla,' among the women, which extended in folds across the breast, was used as a pocket, in which they carried money, purses, letters, and other articles. When the party was seated, the 'sinus' would almost correspond in meaning with our word 'lap.']

[Footnote 154: Avaricious procurer.--Ver. 23. 'Leno' was a person who kept a house for the purposes of prostitution, and who generally robbed his victims of the profits of their unfortunate calling. This was called 'lenocinium,' and the trade was not forbidden, though the 'lenones' were considered 'infames,' or 'disgraced,' and thereby lost certain political rights.]

[Footnote 155: By compulsion.--Ver. 24. Being probably the slave of the 'leno,' he would use force to make her comply with his commands.]

[Footnote 156: Hired dishonestly.--Ver. 37. The evidence of witnesses was taken by the Praetor, and was called 'jusjurandum in judicio,' whereas the evidence of parties themselves was termed 'jusjurandum in jure.' It was given on oath by such as the Praetor or other judge chose to call, or as either party might propose for examination.]

[Footnote 157: The chest.--Ver. 38. The 'area' here means the strong box, or chest, in which the Romans were accustomed to place their money; they were generally made of, or bound with, iron or other metal.]

[Footnote 158: Commissioned judge.--Ver. 38. The 'judices selecti' were the 'cen-tumviri,' a body of one hundred and five officers, whose duty it was to assist the Praetor in questions where the right to property was litigated. In the Second Book of the Tristia, 1. 93, we are informed that the Poet himself filled the office of a 'judex selectus.']

[Footnote 159: That is purchased.--Ver. 39. Among the Romans, the 'patroni' defended their 'clientes' gratuitously, and it would have been deemed disgraceful for them to take a fee or present.]

[Footnote 160: He who hires.--Ver. 45. The 'conductor' was properly the person who hired the services, or the property of another, for a fixed price. The word sometimes means 'a contractor,' or the person with whom the bargain by the former party is made. See the public contract mentioned in the Fasti, Book v. 1. 293.]

[Footnote 161: The Sabine bracelets.--Ver. 49. He alludes to the fate of the Vestal virgin Tarpeia. See the Fasti, Book i. 1. 261, and Note; also the Translation of the Metamorphoses, p. 516.]

[Footnote 163: The son pierced.--Ver. 52. Alcmæon killed his mother Eriphyle, for having betrayed his father Amphiaraus. See the Second Book of the Fasti, 1. 43, and the Third Book of the Pontic Epistles, Ep. i. 1. 52, and the Notes to the passages.]

[Footnote 164: A simple necklace.--Ver. 52. See the Epistle of Deianira to Hercules, and the Tenth Book of the Metamorphoses 1. 113, with the Note to the passage.]

[Footnote 165: Soil of Alcinoiis.--Ver. 56. The fertile gardens of Alcinoiis, king of the Phæacians, are celebrated by Homer in the Odyssey.]

[Footnote 166: The straggling locks.--Ver. 1. The duty of dressing the hair of the Roman ladies was divided among several slaves, who were called by the general terms of 'cosmetæ,' and 'omatrices.' It was the province of one to curl the hair with a hot iron, called 'calamistrum,' which was hollow, and was heated in wood ashes by a slave who, from 'cinis,' 'ashes,' was called 'ciniflo.' The duty of the 'psecas' came next, whose place it was to anoint the hair. Then came that of the 'ornatrix,' who parted the curls with a comb or bodkin; this seems to have been the province of Napè.]

[Footnote 167: To be reckoned.--Ver. 2. The Nymphs of the groves were called [Footnote vanâtai ]; and perhaps from them Nape received her name, as it is evidently of Greek origin. One of the dogs of Actæon is called by the same name, in the Metamorphoses, Book iii. 1. 214.]

[Footnote 168: Giving the signale.--Ver. 4. 'Notis' may mean here, either 'hints,]

'signs,' 'signals.' or 'letters.' In Nizard's French translation it is rendered 'missives.']

[Footnote 169: Carry these tablets.--Ver. 7. On the wax tablets, see the Note to the Pontic Epistles, Book ii. El. 9.1. 69, and the Metamorphoses, Book ix. 1. 521, with the Note.]

[Footnote 170: So well filled.--Ver. 7. 'Peraratas' literally means 'ploughed over'; which term is properly applied to the action of the 'stylus,' in ploughing through the wax upon the tablets. Suetonius relates that Julius Caesar, when he was murdered in the Senate House, pierced the arm af the assassin Cassius with his 'stylus.']

[Footnote 172: A long answer.--Ver. 19. She is to write at once, on having read his letter through. This she could do the more readily, as she could use the same tablets, smoothing the wax with the broad end of the 'graphium,' or 'stylus.']

[Footnote 175: Holding the pen.--Ver. 23. 'Graphium' was the Greek name for the 'stylus,' or pen used for writing on the wax tablets. It was generally of iron or copper, but sometimes of gold. The case in which it was kept was called 'graphiarium,' or 'graphiaria theca.']

[Footnote 176: Of worthless maple.--Ver. 28. He calls the wood of the tablets 'vile,' in comparison with their great services to him: for, according to Pliny, Book xvi. c. 15, maple was the most valued wood for tablets, next to 'citrus,' cedar, or citron wood. It was also more useful than citron, because it could be cut into leaves, or laminae, of a larger size than citron would admit of.]

[Footnote 178: Struck her foot.--Ver. 4. This is mentioned as a bad omen by Laodamia, in her Epistle to Protesilaüs, 1. 88. So in the Tenth Book of the Metamorphoses, in the shocking story of Cinyras and Myrrha; Three times was she recalled by the presage of her foot stumbling.']

[Footnote 180: The Corsican lee.--Ver. 10. From Pliny, Book xvi., we learn that the honey of Corsica was of a bitter taste, in consequence of the box-trees and yews, with which the isle abounded, and which latter, according to him, were poisonous. From Diodorus Siculus we learn that there were many turpentine trees on the island; this would not tend to improve the flavour of the honey.]

[Footnote 181: Dyed in vermilion.--Ver. 11. 'Minium,' 'red lead,' or 'vermilion,' was discovered by Callias, an Athenian, according to Theophrastus. It was sometimes mixed with the wax used for tablets: probably not the best, but that which was naturally of a bad colour. This censure of the tablets is a good illustration of the grapes being sour. In the last Elegy, before he has received his repulse, he declares the wax to be 'splen-dida,' 'of brilliaut whiteness through bleaching;' now, on the other hand, he finds, most ominously, that it is as red as blood.]

[Footnote 182: Dreadful crosses.--Ver. 18. See the First Book of the Pontic Epistlea, Ep. vi. 1. 38, and the Note to the passage.]

[Footnote 183: The screech-owl.--Ver. 20. 'Strix' here means a screech-owl; and not the fabulous bird referred to under that name, in the Sixth Book of the Fasti, and the thirteenth line of the Eighth Elegy of this Book.]

[Footnote 184: The prosy summons.--Ver. 23. 'Vadimonium legere' probably means, 'to call a man on his bail' or 'recognizances.' When the Praetor had granted an action, the plaintiff required the defendant to give security for his appearance on the day named. The defendant, on finding a surety, was said 'vades dare,' or 'vadimonium facere': and the 'vas,' or surety, was said 'spondere.' The plaintiff, if satisfied with the surety, was said 'vadari reum,' 'to let the defendant go on his sureties.']

[Footnote 185: Some judge.--Ver. 24. Some Commentators think that the word 'cognitor' here means, the attorney, or procurator of the plaintiff, who might, in his absence, carry on the cause for him. In that case they would translate 'duro,' 'shameless,' or 'impudent.' But another meaning of the word 'cognitor' is 'a judge,' or 'commissioner,' and such seems to be the meaning here, in which case 'duras' will mean 'severe,' or 'sour;' 'as,' according to one Commentator, 'judges are wont to be.' Much better would they lie amid diaries and day-books, [186] over which the avaricious huncks might lament his squandered substance. And have I then in reality as well as in name found you full of duplicity? [187] The very number _of you_ was not one of good omen. What, in my anger, ought I to pray, but that an old age of rottenness may consume you, and that your wax may be white with nasty mould?]

[Footnote 186: And day-books.--Ver. 25. Seneca, at the end of his 19th Epistle, calls a Calendar by the name of 'Ephemeris,' while a day-book is meant by the term as used by Ausonius. The word here seems to mean a 'diary;' while 'tabula' is perhaps a 'day-book,' in which current expenses are set down, and over which the miser weeps, as the record of past extravagance.]

[Footnote 187: Full of duplicity.--Ver. 27. The word 'duplex' means either 'double,' or 'deceitful,' according to the context. He plays on this twofold meaning, and says that double though they might be, still truly deceitful they were; and that the two leaves of the tablets were of no good omen to him. Two-leaved tablets were technically called 'diptycha.']

[Footnote 189: Honour the shades.--Ver. 4. 'Parento' means 'to celebrate the funeral obsequies of one's parents.' Both the Romans and the Greeks were accustomed to visit the tombs of their relatives at certain times, and to offer sacrifices, called 'inferiæ,' or 'parentalia.' The souls of the departed were regarded by the Romans as Gods, and the oblations to them consisted of milk, wine, victims, or wreaths of flowers. The Poet here refers to the birds which arose from the funeral pile of Memnon, and wera said to revisit it annually. See the Thirteenth Book of the Metamorphoses.]

[Footnote 190: Moisture is cooling.--Ver. 7. 'Humor' seems to mean the dew, or the dampness of the night, which would tend, in a hot climate, to modify the sultriness of the atmosphere. One Commentator thinks that the word means the humours of the brain.]

[Footnote 192: To their masters.--Ver. 17. The schools at Rome were mostly kept by manumitted slaves; and we learn from the Fasti, Book iii. 1. 829, that people were not very particular about paying them.]

[Footnote 193: The cruel stripes.--Ver. 18. The punishment here mentioned was generally inflicted on the hands of the Roman school-boys, with a 'ferula,' or stalk of giant-fennel, as we learn from Juvenal, Satire 1.]

[Footnote 194: The attorney.--Ver. 19. The business of the 'jurisconsultus' was to expound and give opinions on the law, much like the chamber counsel of the present day. They were also known by the name of 'juris periti,' or 'consulti' only. Cicero gives this definition of the duty of a 'consultus.']

'He is à person who has such a knowledge of the laws and customs which prevail in a state, as to be able to advise, and secure a person in his dealings. They advised their clients gratuitously, either in public places, or at their own houses. They also drew up wills and contracts, as in the present instance.]

[Footnote 195: To become bail.--Ver. 19. This passage has given much trouble to the Commentators, but it has been well explained by Burmann, whose ideas on the subject are here adopted. The word 'sponsum' has been generally looked upon here as a noun substantive, whereas it is the active supine of the verb 'spondeo,' 'to become bail' or 'security.' The meaning then is, that some rise early, that they may go and become bail for a friend, and thereby incur risk and inconvenience, through uttering a single word, 'spondeo,' 'I become security,' which was the formula used. The obligation was coutracted orally, and for the purpose of evidencing it, witnesses were necessary; for this reason the undertaking was given, as in the present instance, in the presence of a 'jurisconsultus.']

[Footnote 198: To the pleader.--Ver. 21. 'Causidicus' was the person who pleads the cause of his client in court before the Prætor or other judges.]

[Footnote 199: What if.--Ver. 33. Heinsius and other Commentators think that this line and the next are spurious. The story of Cephalus and Procris is related at the close of the Seventh Book of the Metamorphoses.]

[Footnote 201: The Moon gave.--Ver. 43. Ovid says that Diana sent the sleep upon Endymion, whereas it was Jupiter who did so, as a punishment for his passion for Juno; he alludes to the youthfulness of the favorite of Diana, antithetically to the old age of Tithonus, the husband of Aurora.]

[Footnote 202: Two nights together.--Ver. 46. When he slept with Acmena, under the form of her husband Amphion.]

[Footnote 203: Doctoring your hair.--Ver. 1. Among the ancient Greeks, black hair was the most frequent, but that of a blonde colour was most valued. It was not uncommon with them to dye it when turning grey, so as to make it a black or blonde colour, according to the requirement of the case. Blonde hair was much esteemed by the Romans, and the ladies were in the habit of washing their hair with a composition to make it of this colour. This was called 'spuma caustica,' or, 'caustic soap,' wich was first used by the Gauls and Germans; from its name, it was probably the substance which had been used inthe present instance.]

[Footnote 204: So far as ever.--Ver. 4. By this he means as low as her ancles.]

[Footnote 205: Afraid to dress.--Ver. 5. He means to say, that it was so fine that she did not dare to curl it, for fear of injuring it.]

[Footnote 206: Just like the veils.--Ver. 6. Burmann thinks that 'fila,' 'threads,' is better here than 'vela,' and that it is the correct reading. The swarthy Seres here mentioned, were perhaps the Chinese, who probably began to import their silks into Rome about this period. The mode of producing silk does not seem to have been known to Virgil, who speaks, in the Second Book of the Georgies, of the Seres combing it off the leaves of trees. Pliny also, in his Sixth Book, gives the same account. Ovid, however, seems to refer to silkworms under the name of 'agrestes tineæ,' in the Fifteenth Book of the Metamorphoses, 1. 372.]

[Footnote 208: Neither the bodkin.--Ver. 15. This was the 'discerniculum,' a 'bodkin,' which was used in parting the hair.]

[Footnote 210: Bid the bodkin.--Ver. 18. The 'acus' here mentioned, was probably the 'discemicirium,' and not the 'crinale,' or hair-pin that was worn in the hair; as the latter was worn when the hair was bound up at the back of the head; whereas, judging from the length of the hair of his mistress, she most probably wore it in ringlets. He says that he never saw her snatch up the bodkin and stick it in the arm of the 'ornatrix.']

[Footnote 211: Iron and the fire.--Ver. 25. He alludes to the unnecessary application of the curling-iron to hair which naturally curled so well.]

[Footnote 212: The very locks instruct.--Ver. 30. Because they naturally assume as advantageous an appearance as the bodkin could possibly give them, when arranged with the utmost skill.]

[Footnote 213: Dione is painted.--Ver. 34. Pliny, book xxxv. c. 4, mentions a painting, by Apelles, in which Venus was represented as rising from the sea. It was placed, by Augustus, in the temple of Julius Caesar; and the lower part having become decayed, no one could be found of sufficient ability to repair it.]

[Footnote 214: Lay down the mirror.--Ver. 16. The mirror was usually held by the 'ornatrix,' while her mistress arranged her hair.]

[Footnote 215: Herbs of a rival.--Ver. 39. No person would be more likely than the 'pellex,' or concubine, to resort to charms and drugs, for the purpose of destroying the good looks of the married woman whose husband she wishes to retain.]

[Footnote 216: All bad omens.--Ver. 41. So superstitious were the Romans, that the very mention of death, or disease, was deemed ominous of ill.]

[Footnote 217: Germany will be sending.--Ver 45. Germany having been lately conquered by the arms of Augustus, he says that she must wear false hair, taken from the German captives. It was the custom to cut short the locks of the captives, and the German women were famed for the beauty of their hair.]

[Footnote 218: Sygambrian girl.--Ver. 49. The Sygambri were a people of Ger many, living on the banks of the rivers Lippe and Weser.]

[Footnote 219: For that spot.--Ver. 53. She carries a lock of the hair, which had fallen off, in her bosom.]