Chapter IV: Book THE THIRD: Elegy I (2)

|Beauteous since you are, I do not forbid your being frail; but let it not be a matter of course, that wretched I should know it. Nor does any severity of mine command you to be quite correct; but it only entreats you to try to conceal the truth. She is not culpable, whoever can deny that she has been culpable; and 'tis only the confession of error that makes a woman disgraced. What madness is it to confess in light of day what lies concealed in night? And what you do in secret, to say openly that it is done? The strumpet about to entertain some obscure Roman, first keeps out the public by fastening up the bar. And will you make known your frailties to malicious report? And will you make proof of your own criminality? May your mind be more sound, or, at least, may you imitate the chaste; and although you are not, let me suppose that you are chaste. What you do, still do the same; only deny that you do so; and be not ashamed in public to speak the language of chastity. There is the occasion which demands wantonness; sate it with every delight; far thence be all modesty. Soon as you take your departure thence; away at once with all lasciviousness, and leave your frailties in your chamber=

```Illic nec tunicam tibi sit posuisse rubori,

````Nec femori impositum sustinuisse femur:

```Illic purpureis condatur lingua labellis:

````Inque modos Venerem mille figuret amor;

```Illic nec voces, nec verba juvantia cessent;

````Spondaque lascivâ mobilitate tremat.=

With your garments put on looks that dread accusation; and let modesty disavow improper pursuits. Deceive the public, deceive me, too; in my ignorance, let me be mistaken, and allow me to enjoy my silly credulity.

Why do I so often espy letters sent and received? Why one side and the other [673] tumbled, of your couch? Why do I see your hair disarranged more than happens in sleep, and your neck bearing the marks of teeth? The fading itself alone you do not bring before my eyes; if you hesitate consulting your own reputation, still, spare me. My senses fail me, and I am expiring, oft as you confess your failings; and the drops flow, chilled throughout my limbs. Then do I love you; then, in vain, do I hate what I am forced to love; 673* then I could wish myself to be dead, but together with you.

No enquiries, for my part, will I make, nor will I try to know what you shall attempt to conceal; and to me it shall be the same as a false charge. If, however, you shall be found detected in the midst of your guilt, and if criminality shall be beheld by my eyes; what has been plainly seen, do you deny to have been plainly seen; my own eyes shall give way to your assertions.'Tis an easy conquest for you to vanquish me, who desire to be vanquished. Let your tongue only be mindful to say--"I did not do it!" since it is your lot to conquer with two words; although not by the merit of your cause, still conquer through your judge.

ELEGY X.

_He tells Venus that he now ceases to write Elegies._

|Seek a new Poet, mother of the tender Loves; here the extreme turning-place is grazed [674] by my Elegies, which I, a foster-child of the Pelignian fields, have composed; nor have my sportive lays disgraced me. _Me, I say, who_, if that is aught, am the heir to my rank, [675] even through a long line of ancestors, and not lately made a Knight in the hurly-burly of warfare. Mantua delights in Virgil, Verona in Catullus; I shall be called the glory of the Pelignian race; which its own liberties summon to glorious arms, [676] when trembling Rome dreaded [677] the allied bands. And some stranger will say, as he looks on the walls of the watery Sulmo, which occupy but a few acres of land, "Small as you are, I will call you great, who were able to produce a Poet so great." Beauteous boy, and thou, Amathusian parent [678] of the beauteous boy, raise your golden standard from my fields. The horned [679] Lyæus [680] has struck me with a thyrsus more potent; with mighty steeds must a more extended plain be paced. Unwarlike Elegies, my sportive [681] Muse, farewell; a work destined to survive long after I am dead and gone.----

FOOTNOTES BOOK ONE:

[Footnote 001: Were five books.--Ver. 1. From this it is clear, that the first edition which Ovid gave to the public of his 'Amores' was in five Books; but that on revising his work, he preferred (praetulit) these three books to the former five. It is supposed that he rejected many of those Elegies which were of too free a nature and were likely to embroil him with the authorities, by reason of their licentiousness.]

[Footnote 002: Though it should.--Ver. 3. Burmann has rightly observed, that 'ut jam,' in this line, has exactly the force of 'quamvis,' 'although.']

[Footnote 003: In serious numbers.--Ver. 1. By the 'graves numeri,' he means Heroic or Hexameter verses. It is supposed that he alludes to the battle of the Giants or the Titans, on which subject he had begun to write an heroic poem. In these lines Ovid seems to have had in view the commencement of the first Ode of Anacreon.]

[Footnote 004: Suited to the measure.--Ver. 2. The subject being of a grave character, and, as such, suited to Heroic measure.]

[Footnote 005: Abstracted one foot.--Ver. 4. He says that every second line (as is the case in Heroic verse) had as many feet as the first, namely, six : but that Cupid stole a foot from the Hexameter, and reduced it to a Pentameter, whereby the Poet was forced to recur to the Elegiac measure.]

[Footnote 008: Diminish my energies.--Ver. 18. See the Note to the fourth line.]

[Footnote 009: His quiver loosened.--Ver. 21. The 'pharetra,' or quiver, filled with arrows, was used by most of the nations that excelled in archery, among whom were the Scythians, Persians, Lycians, Thracians, and Cretans. It was made of leather, and was sometimes adorned with gold or painting. It had a lid, and was suspended by a belt from the right shoulder. Its usual position was on the left hip, and it was thus worn by the Scythians and Egyptians. The Cretans, however, wore it behind the back, and Diana, in her statues, is represented as so doing. This must have been the method in which Cupid is intended in the present instance to wear it, as he has to unloose the quiver before he takes out the arrow. Some Commentators, however, would have 'solutâ' to refer simply to the act of opening the quiver.]

[Footnote 010: In six feet.--Ver. 27. He says that he must henceforth write in Hexameters and Pentameters, or, in other words, in the Elegiac measure.]

[Footnote 011: My Muse.--Ver. 30. The Muse addressed by him would be Erato, under whose protection were those Poets whose theme was Love. He bids her wreathe her hair with myrtle, because it was sacred to Venus; while, on the other hand, laurels would be better adapted to the Heroic Muse. The myrtle is said to love the moisture and coolness of the sea-shore.]

[Footnote 014: Thy step-father.--Ver. 24. He calls Mars the step-father of Cupid, in consequence of his intrigue with Venus.]

[Footnote 015: Birds so yoked.--Ver. 26. These are the doves which were sacred to Venus and Cupid. By yoking them to the chariot of Mars, the Poe* wishes to show the skill and power of Cupid.]

[Footnote 016: Io triumphe.--Ver. 25. 'Clamare triumphum,' means 'to shout Io triumphe,' as the procession moves along. Lactantius speaks of a poem called 'the Triumph of Cupid,' in which Jupiter and the other Gods were represented as following him in the triumphal procession.]

[Footnote 017: Thyself with gold.--Ver. 42. The poet Mosehus represents Cupid as having wings of gold.]

[Footnote 018: The Gangetic land.--Ver. 47. He alludes to the Indian triumphs of Bacchus, which extended to the river Ganges.]

[Footnote 019: Thy kinsman Cæsar--Ver. 51. Because Augustus, as the adopted son of Julius Cæsar, was said to be descended from Venus, through the line of Æneas.]

[Footnote 020: Shield the conquered.--Ver. 52. Although Augustus had many faults, it must be admitted that he was, like Julius, a most merciful conqueror, and was generally averse to bloodshed.]

[Footnote 021: Founder of my family. --Ver. 8. See the Life of Ovid prefixed to the Fasti; and the Second Book of the Tristia.]

[Footnote 022: Each of my parents.--Ver. 10. From this it appears that this Elegy was composed during the life-time of both of his parents, and while, probably, he was still dependent on his father.]

[Footnote 023: No rover in affection.--Ver. 15. 'Desuitor,' literally means 'one who leaps off.' The figure is derived from those equestrians who rode upon several horses, or guided several chariots, passing from the one to the other. This sport was very frequently exhibited in the Roman Circus. Among the Romans, the 'desuitor' generally wore a 'pileus,' or cap of felt. The Numidian, Scythian, and Armenian soldiers, were said to have been skilled in the same art.]

[Footnote 024: Of the bird.--Ver. 22. He alludes to Leda and Europa.]

[Footnote 026: The same banquet.--Ver. 1. He says that they are about to meet at 'coena,' at the house of a common friend.]

[Footnote 027: The last meal.--Ver. 2. The 'coena' of the Romans is usually translated by the word 'supper'; but as being the chief meal of the day, and being in general, (at least during the Augustan age) taken at about three o'clock, it really corresponds to our 'dinner.']

[Footnote 028: Warm the bosom of another.--Ver. 5. As each guest while reclining on the couch at the entertainment, mostly leaned on his left elbow during the meal, and as two or more persons lay on the same couch, the head of one person reached to the breast of him who lay above him, and the lower person was said to lie on the bosom of the other. Among the Romans, the usual number of persons occupying each couch was three. Sometimes, however, four occupied one couch; while, among the Greeks, only two reclined upon it. In this instance, he describes the lady as occupying the place below her husband, and consequently warming his breast with her head. For a considerable time after the fashion of reclining at meals had been introduced into Rome, the Roman ladies sat at meals while the other sex was recumbent. Indeed, it was generally considered more becoming for females to be seated, especially if it was a party where many persons were present. Juvenal, however, represents a bride as reclining at the marriage supper on the bosom of her husband. On the present occasion, it is not very likely that the ladies were particular about the more rigid rules of etiquette. It must be remembered that before lying down, the shoes or sandals were taken off.]

[Footnote 029: Damsel of Atrax.--Ver. 8. He alludes to the marriage of Hippodamia to Pirithous, and the battle between the Centaurs and the Lapithæ, described in the Twelfth-. Book of the Metamorphoses.]

[Footnote 031: Do come first.--Ver. 14. He hardly knows why he asks her to do so, but still she must come before her husband; perhaps, that he may have the pleasure of gazing upon her without the chance of detection; the more especially as she would not recline till her husband had arrived, and would, till then, probably be seated.]

[Footnote 032: Touch my foot.--Ver. 16. This would show that she had safely received his letter.]

[Footnote 033: My secret signs.--Ver. 18. See the Note in this Volume, to the 90th line of the 17th Epistle.]

[Footnote 034: By my eye-brows.--Ver. 19. See the 82nd line of the 17th Epistle.]

[Footnote 035: Traced in the wine.--Ver. 20. See the 88th line of the 17th Epistle.]

[Footnote 036: Your blooming cheeks.--Ver. 22. Probably by way of check to his want of caution.]

[Footnote 037: Twisted on your fingers.--Ver. 26. The Sabines were the first to introduce the practice of wearing rings among the Romans. The Romans generally wore one ring, at least, and mostly upon the fourth finger of the left hand. Down to the latest period of the Republic, the rings were mostly of iron, and answered the'purpose of a signet. The right of wearing a gold ring remained for several centuries the exclusive privilege of Senators, Magistrates, and Knights. The emperors were not very scrupulous on whom they conferred the privilege of wearing the gold ring, and Severus and Aurelian gave the right to all Roman soldiers. Vain persons who had the privilege, literally covered their fingers with rings, so much so, that Quintilian thinks it necessary to warn the orator not to have them above the middle joint of the fingers. The rings and the gems set in them, were often of extreme beauty and value. From Juvenal and Martial we learn that the coxcombs of the day had rings for both winter and summer wear. They were kept in 'dactyliothecæ,' or ring boxes, where they were ranged in a row.]

[Footnote 038: Who are in prayer.--Ver. 27. It was the custom to hold the altar while the suppliant was praying to the Deities; he here directs her, while she is mentally uttering imprecations against her husband, to fancy that the table is the altar, and to take hold of it accordingly.]

[Footnote 039: If you are discreet.--Ver. 29. Sapias' is put for 'si sapias,' 'if you are discreet,' 'if you would act sensibly.']

[Footnote 041: Ask the servant.--Ver. 30. This would be the slave, whose office it was to mix the wine and water to the taste of the guests. He was called [oivôxooç] by the Greeks, 'pincerna' by the Romans.]

[Footnote 042: Which you have put down.--Ver. 31. That is, which she either puts upon the table, or gives back to the servant, when she has drunk.]

[Footnote 043: Touched by his mouth.--Ver. 34. This would appear to refer to some choice morsel picked out of the husband's plate, which, as a mark of attention, he might present to her.]

[Footnote 044: On his unsightly breast.--Ver. 36. This, from her position, if she reclined below her husband, she would be almost obliged to do.]

[Footnote 045: So close at hand.--Ver. 37. A breach of these injunctions would imply either a very lax state of etiquette at the Reman parties, or, what is more probable, that the present company was not of a very select character.]

[Footnote 048: Beneath the cloth.--Ver. 48. 'Vestis' means a covering, or clothing for anything, as for a couch, or for tapestry. Let us charitably suppose it here to mean the table cloth; as the passage will not admit of further examination, and has of necessity been somewhat modified in the translation.]

[Footnote 049: The conscious covering.--Ver. 50. The 'pallia,' here mentioned, are clearly the coverlets of the couch which he has before mentioned in the 41st line; and from this it is evident, that during the repast the guests were covered with them.]

[Footnote 050: Add wine by stealth.--Ver. 52. To make him fall asleep the sooner]

[Footnote 051: 'Twas summer time.--Ver. 1. In all hot climates it is the custom to repose in the middle of the day. This the Spaniards call the 'siesta.']

[Footnote 053: A part of the window.--Ver. 3. On the 'fenestræ,' or windows of the ancients, see the Notes to the Pontic Epistles, Book iii. Ep. iii. 1. 5, and to the Metamorphoses, Book xiv. 1. 752. He means that one leaf of the window was open, and one shut.]

[Footnote 054: Corinna.--Ver. 9. In the Fourth Book of the Tristia, Elegy x. 1. GO, he says, 'Corinna, (so called by a fictitious name) the subject of song through the whole city, had imparted a stimulus to my geuius.' It has been supposed by some Commentators, that under this name he meant Julia, either the daughter or the grand-daughter of the emperor Augustus, but there seems really to be no ground for such a belief; indeed, the daughter of Augustus had passed middle age, when Ovid was still in boyhood. It is most probable that Corinna was ouly an ideal personage, existing in the imagination of the Poet; and that he intended the name to apply to his favourite mistress for the time being, as, though he occasionally denies it, still, at other times, he admits that his passion was of the roving kind. There are two females mentioned in history of the name of Coriuna. One was a Theban poetess, who excelled in Lyric composition, and was said to have vanquished Pindar himself in a Lyric contest; while the other was a native of Thespiæ, in Bceotia. 'The former, who was famous for both her personal charms and her mental endowments, is supposed to have suggested the use of the name to Ovid.]

[Footnote 055: Clothed in a tunic.--Ver. 9. 'Tunica' was the name of the under-garment with both sexes among the Romans. When the wearer was out of doors, or away from home, it was fastened round the waist with a belt or girdle, but when at home and wishing to be entirely at ease, it was, as in the present instance, loose or ungirded. Both sexes usually wore two tunics. In female dress, Varro seems to call the outer tunic 'subucula,' and the 'interior tunica' by the name also of 'indusium.' The outer tunic was also called 'stola,' and, with the 'palla' completed the female dress. The 'tunica interior,' or what is here called tunica,' was a simple shift, and in early times had no sleeves. According to Nonius, it fitted loosely on the body, and was not girded when the 'stola' or outer tunic was put on. Poor people, who could not afford to purchase a 'toga,' wore the tunic alone; whence we find the lower classes called by the name of 'tunicati.']

[Footnote 056: Her flowing hair.--Ver. 10. 'Dividuis,' here means, that her hair was scattered, flowing over her shoulders and not arranged on the head in a knot.]

[Footnote 057: Semiramis.--Ver. 11. Semiramis was the wife of Ninus, king of Babylon, and was famous for her extreme beauty, and the talent which she displayed as a ruler. She was also as unscrupulous in her morals as the fair one whom the Poet is now describing.]

[Footnote 058: And Lais.--Ver. 12. There are generally supposed to have beén two famous courtesans of the name of Lais. The first was carried captive, when a child, from Sicily, in the second year of the 91st Olympiad, and being taken to Corinth, became famous throughout Greece for her extreme beauty, and the high price she put upon her favours. Many of the richest and most learned men resorted to her, and became smitten by her charms. The second Lais was the daughter of Alcibiades, by his mistress, Timandra. When Demosthenes applied for a share of her favours, she made the extravagant demand of ten thousand drachmae, upon which, regaining his wisdom (which had certainly forsaken him for a time) he said that he would not purchase repentance at so high a price.]

[Footnote 059: In its thinness.--Ver. 13. Possibly it was made of Coan cloth, if Corinna was as extravagant as she was vicious.]

[Footnote 060: The cruel fetter--Ver. 1. Among the Romans, the porter was frequently bound by a chain to his post, that he might not forsake it.]

[Footnote 062: Watches of the keepers.--Ver. 7. Properly, the 'excubiæ' were the military watches that were kept on guard, either by night or day, while the term 'vigiliæ,' was only applied to the watch by night. He here alludes to the watch kept by jealous men over their wives.]

[Footnote 063: Spectres that flit by night.--Ver. 13. The dread of the ghosts of the departed entered largely among the Roman superstitions. See an account of the Ceremony, in the Fifth Book of the Fasti, 1. 422, et seq., for driving the ghosts, or Lemures, from the house.]

[Footnote 064: Ready for the whip--Ver. 19. See the Note to the 81st line of the Epistle of De'ianira to Hercules. Ovid says, that he has often pleaded for him to his mistress; indeed, the Roman ladies often showed more cruelty to the slaves, both male and female, than the men did to the male slaves.]

[Footnote 065: As you wish.--Ver. 28. Of course it would be the porter's wish that the night should pass quickly on, as he would be relieved in the morning, and was probably forbidden to sleep during the night.]

[Footnote 066: Hours of the night pass on.--Ver. 24. This is an intercalary line, being repeated after each seventh one.]

[Footnote 067: From the door-post.--Ver. 24. The fastenings of the Roman doors consisted of a bolt placed at the bottom of eacn 'foris,' or wing of the door, which fell into a socket made in the sill. By way of additional precaution, at night, the front door was secured by a bar of wood or iron, here called 'sera,' which ran across, and was inserted in sockets on each side of the doorway. Hence it was necessary to remove or strike away the bar, 'excutere seram,' before the door could be opened.]

[Footnote 068: Water of the slave.--Ver. 26. Water was the principal beverage of the Roman slaves, but they were allowed a small quantity of wiue, which was increased on the Saturnalia. 'Far,' or 'spelt,' formed their general sustenance, of which they received one 'libra' daily. Salt and oil were also allowed them, and sometimes fruit, but seldom vegetables. Flesh meat seems not to have been given to them.]

[Footnote 069: About my temples.--Ver. 37. 'Circa mea tempora,' literally, 'around my temples' This-expression is used, because it was supposed that the vapours of excessive wine affect the brain. He says that he has only taken a moderate quantity of wine, although the chaplet falling from off his hair would seem to bespeak the contrary.]

[Footnote 073: Otherwise I myself!--Ver. 57. Heinsius thinks that this and the following line are spurious.]

[Footnote 074: Holding in my torch--Ver. 58. Torches were usually carried by the Romans, for their guidance after sunset, and were generally made of wooden staves or twigs, bound by a rope around them, in a spiral form, or else by circular bands at equal distances. The inside of the torch was filled with flax, tow, or dead vegetable matter, impregnated with pitch, wax, rosin, oil, or other inflammable substances.]

[Footnote 075: Love and wine.--Ver. 59. He seems, by this, to admit that he has taken more than a moderate quantity of wine, 'modicum vinum,' as he says above.]

[Footnote 076: Anxieties of the prison.--Ver. 64. He alludes to the 'ergastulum,' or prison for slaves, that was attached to most of the Roman farms, whither the refractory slaves were sent from the City to work in chains. It was mostly under ground, and, was lighted with narrow windows, too high from the ground to be touched with the hand. Slaves who had displeased their masters were usually sent there for a punishment, and those of uncouth habits were kept there. Plutarch says that they were established, on the conquest of Italy, in consequence of the number of foreign slaves imported for the cultivation of the conquered territory. They were finally abolished by the Emperor Hadrian.]

[Footnote 077: Bird is arousing.--Ver. 66. The cock, whom the poets universally consider as 'the harbinger of morn.']

[Footnote 078: Equally slaves.--Ver. 74. He called the doors, which were bivalve or folding-doors, his 'conservæ,' or 'fellow' slaves,' from the fact of their being obedient to the will of a slave. Plautuâ, in the Asinaria, act. ii sc. 3, has a similar expression:--'Nolo ego fores, conservas meas a te verberarier.' 'I won't have my door, my fellow-slave, thumped by you.']

[Footnote 080: Did not Ajax too.--Ver. 7. Ajax Telamon, on being refused the arms of Achilles, became mad, and slaughtered a flock of sheep, fancying that they were the sons of Atreus, and his enemy Ulysses. His shield, formed of seven ox hides, is celebrated by Homer.]

[Footnote 081: Mystic Goddesses.--Ver. 10. Orestes avenged the death of his father, Agamemnon, by slaying his own mother, Clytemnestra, together with her paramour, Ægistheus. He also attempted to attack the Furies, when they haunted him for the murder of his mother.]

[Footnote 082: Daughter of Schceneus.--Ver. 13. Atalanta, the Arcadian, or Mae-nalian, was the daughter of Iasius, and was famous for her skill in the chase. Atalanta, the Boeotian, was the daughter of Schceneus, and was renowned for her swiftness, and for the race in which she was outstripped by Hippomenes. The Poet has here mistaken the one for the other, calling the Arcadian one the daughter of Schoeneus. The story of the Arcadian Atalanta is told in the Eighth Book of the Metamorphoses, and that of the daughter of Schceneus, at the end of the Tenth Book of the same work.]

[Footnote 083: The Cretan damsel.--Ver. 16. Ariadne, the daughter of Minos, when deserted on the island of Naxos or Cea.]

[Footnote 084: Cassandra.--Ver. 17. Cassandra being a priestess, would wear the sacred fillets, 'vittse.' She was ravished by Ajax Oileus, in the temple of Minerva.]

[Footnote 085: The humblest Roman.--Ver. 29. It was not lawful to strike a freeborn human citizen. See Acts, c. xxii. v. 25. 'And as they hound him with thongs, Paul said unto the Centurion that stood by, Is it lawful for you to scourge a man that is a Roman, and uncondemncd?' This privilege does not seem to have extended to Roman women of free birth.]

[Footnote 086: Strike a Goddess.--Ver. 32. He alludes to the wound inflicted by Diomedes upon Venus, while protecting her son Æneas.]

[Footnote 087: Her hurt cheeks--Ver. 40. He implies by this, to his disgrace which has made her cheeks black and blue by his violence.]

[Footnote 089: At the middle.--Ver. 48. He says that he ought to have been satisfied with tearing her tunic down to the waist, where the girdle should have stopped short the rent; whereas, in all probability, he had torn it from the top to the bottom.]

[Footnote 090: Her free-born cheeks.--Ver. 50. It was a common practice with many of the Romans, to tear and scratch their Slaves on the least provocation.]

[Footnote 091: The Parian mountains.--Ver. 52. The marble of Paros was greatly esteemed for its extreme whiteness. Paros was one of the Cyclades, situate about eighteen miles from the island of Delos.]

[Footnote 092: Their proper order. --Ver 68. 'In statione,' was originally a military phrase, signifying 'on guard'; from which It came to be applied to any thing in its place or in proper order.]

[Footnote 094: Does she derive.--Ver. 3. He says that her name, 'Dipsas,' is derived from reality, meaning thereby that she is so called from the Greek verb [êtxpâui], 'to thirst'; because she was always thirsty, and never rose sober in the morning.]

[Footnote 095: The charms of Ææa.--Ver. 5. He alludes to the charms of Circe and Medea. According to Eustathius, Ææa was a city of Colchis.]

[Footnote 096: Turns back to its source.--Ver. 6. This the magicians of ancient times generally professed to do.]

[Footnote 097: Spinning wheel.--Ver. 8. 'Rhombus,' means a parallelogram with equal sides, but not having right angles, and hence, from the resemblance, a spinning wheel, or winder. The 'licia' were the cords or thrums of the old warp, or the threads of the old web to which the threads of the new warp were joined. Here, however, the word seems to mean the threads alone. The spinning-wheel was much used in magical incantations, not only among the Romans, but among the people of Northern and Western Europe. It is not improbable that the practice was founded on the so-called threads of destiny, and it was the province of the wizard, or sorceress, by his or her charms, to lengthen or shorten those threads, according as their customers might desire. Indeed, in some parts of Europe, at the present day, charms, in the shape of forms of words, are said to exist, which have power over the human life at any distance from the spot where they are uttered; a kind of superstition which dispenses with the more cumbrous paraphernalia of the spinning-wheel. Some Commentators think that the use of the 'licia' implied that the minds of individuals were to be influenced at the will of the enchanter, in the same way as the old thrums of the warp are caught up and held fast by the new threads; this view, however, seems to dispense with the province of the wheel in the incantation. See the Second Book of the Fasti, 1. 572. The old woman there mentioned as performing the rites of the Goddess, Tacita, among her other proceedings, 'binds the enchantea threads on the dark-coloured spinning-wheel.']

[Footnote 098: Venomous exudation.--Ver. 8. This was the substance called 'hippomanes,' which was said to flow from mares when in a prurient state. Hesiod says, that 'hippomanes' was a herb which produced madness in the horses that ate of it. Pliny, in his Eighth Book, says that it is a poisonous excrescence of the size of a fig, and of a black colour, which grows on the head of the mare, and which the foal at its birth is in the habit of biting off, which, if it neglects to do, it is not allowed by its mother to suck. This fictitious substance was said to be especially used in philtres.]

[Footnote 099: Moon was empurpled.--Ver. 12. If such a thing as a fog ever exists in Italy, he may very possibly have seen the moon of a deep red colour.]

[Footnote 101: That she, transformed.--Ver. 13. 'Versam,' 'transformed,' seems here to be a preferable reading to 'vivam,' 'alive.' Burmann, however, thinks that the 'striges' were the ghosts of dead sorcerers and wizards, and that the Poet means here, that Dipsas had the power of transforming herself into a 'strix' even while living, and that consequently 'vivam' is the proper reading. The 'strix' was a fabulous bird of the owl kind, which was said to suck the blood of children in the cradle. Seethe Sixth Book of the Fasti, 1. 141, and the Note to the passage.]

[Footnote 102: A double pupil, too.--Ver. 15. The pupil, or apple of the eye, is that part through which light is conveyed to the optic nerve. Some persons, especially females, were said by the ancients to have a double pupil, which constituted what was called 'the evil eye.' Pliny the Elder says, in his Seventh Book, that 'all women injure by their glances, who have a double pupil.' The grammarian, Haephestion, tells us, in his Fifth Book, that the wife of Candaulcs, king of Lydia, had a double pupil. Heinsius suggests, that this was possibly the case with the Ialysian Telchines, mentioned in the Seventh Book of the Metamorphoses, 1. 365, 'whose eyes corrupting all things by the very looking upon them, Jupiter, utterly hating, thrust them beneath the waves of his brother.']

[Footnote 103: And their grandsires.--Ver. 17. One hypercritical Commentator here makes this remark: 'As though it were any more difficult to summon forth from the tomb those who have long been dead, than those who are iust deceased.' He forgot that Ovid had to make up his line, and that 'antiquis proavos atavosque' made three good feet, and two-thirds of another.]

[Footnote 105: The twofold doors.--Ver. 20. The doors used by the ancients were mostly bivalve, or folding doors.]

[Footnote 106: Mars in opposition.--Ver. 29. She is dabbling here in astrology, and the adverse and favourable aspects of the stars. We are to suppose that she is the agent of the young man who has seen the damsel, and she is telling her that the rising star of Venus is about to bring her good luck.]

[Footnote 107: Makes it his care.--Ver. 32. Burmann thinks that this line, as it stands at present, is not pure Latin; and, indeed, 'curæ habet,' 'makes it his care,' seems a very unusual mode of expression. He suggests another reading--'et, cultæ quod tibi défit, habet,' 'and he possesses that which is wanting for your being well-dressed,' namely, money.]

[Footnote 108: The damsel blushed.--Ver. 35. He says that his mistress blusned at the remark of the old hag, that the young man was worthy to be purchased by her, if he had not been the first to make an offer. We must suppose that here the Poet peeped through a chink of the door, as he was on the other side, listening to the discourse; or he may have reasonably guessed that she did so, from the remark made in the same line by the old woman.]

[Footnote 109: Your eyes cast down.--Ver. 37. The old woman seems to be advising her to pretend modesty, by looking down on her lap, so as not to give away even a look, until she has seen what is deposited there, and then only to give gracious glances in proportion to her present. It was the custom for the young simpletons who lavished their money on the Roman courtesans, to place their presents in the lap or bosom.]

[Footnote 111: Sabine females.--Ver. 39. The Sabines were noted for their domestic virtues. The hag hints, that the chastity of the Sabine women was only the result of their want of good breeding. 'Tatio régnante' seems to point to the good old times, in the same way as our old songsters have it, 'When good king Arthur reigned.' Tatius reigned jointly at Rome with Romulus. See the Fourteenth Book of the Metamorphoses, 1. 804.]

[Footnote 112: In foreign warfare.--Ver. 41. She says, that they are now in a more civilized state, than when they were fighting just without the walls of Rome; now they are solely engaged in foreign conquests, and Venus reigns in the city of the descendants of her son, Æneas.]

[Footnote 113: Dispel these frowns.--Ver. 45. The damsel has, probably, frowned here at her last remark, on which she tells her she must learn to dispense with these frowns, and that when she dispels them, 'excutit,' so many faults which might otherwise prove to her disadvantage, will be well got rid of.]

[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.]