32. Semicaperve deus. Pan or Faunus. Compare Fast. V. 101. Semicaper, coleris cinctutis, Faune, Lupercis, and introduction to Fasti. II. 267, p. 316. 35. Degrandinat. This word occurs in no other passage of any classical writer. Hence a doubt has arisen whether the verb signifies "to hail violently," or "to cease hailing," since, according to analogy, the compound might admit of either signification. Observe, however, that if we adopt the latter, we must read " 'degrandinet.” 36. Some MSS. have fano, which will give a more general meaning than Fauno, which must be understood to denote " a shrine dedicated to Faunus." 37...42. Nothing is more pleasing in ancient mythology than the fanciful doctrine which peopled all earth and sea with multitudes of fair female spirits. Every hill and dale, every grot and crystal spring, every lake and brook and river, every azure plain and coral cave of ocean was animated and hallowed by the presence and protection of the Nymphs. Grouped in bands they braided the flowery garland, or wove the mystic dance, or watched the cradle of infant gods and heroes, or followed in the train of Artemis. Sometimes they shared the love of the Celestials-sometimes they deigned to consort with favoured mortals-sometimes they coquetted with Satyrs and Sileni-but more often alone in maiden purity they would wander through glade or field and repose on sunny bank or in greenwood covert, rejoicing in the beauty and beneficence of Nature. But they loved not their haunts to be disturbed, and if any unwary swain chanced to surprise them as they laved their limbs in the fountain, he was seized with sudden phrenzy.' Being dispersed through all creation, the classes into which they were divided, and the epithets by which they were distinguished, are exceedingly numerous. We hear most frequently of the Naides, the fountain, lake, and river Nymphs; Nereides and Oceanitides, sea and ocean Nymphs; Oreades, mountain Nymphs; Napaa, Dryades, Hamadryades, grove and tree Nymphs. Those last mentioned, the Hamadryades, possess a peculiar interest, because their existence was supposed to depend upon the oak, to which they were attached; they grew, and flourished, and pined, and withered, and died, each with her own tree. 41. (Labra.) 1. Labrum properly signifies a lip. 2. The edge or rim of anything, as, for example, of a vessel. Cato R. R. CVII. "quo labra doliorum circumlinas." 3. A large vessel or vat. Virg. G. II. 6. 1 A person under these circumstances was styled wμçóλntos by the Greeks, lymphatus by the Latins. 66 'Floret ager, plenis spumat vindemia labris." 4. A vessel for bathing in. 5. In the passage before us, a natural bathing place. 42. (Premit arva,) i. e. when stretched on the ground in slumber. 48. (Lavent artus.) Compare Virg. G. I. 272. Balantumque gregem fluvio mersare salubri, and III. 445. Dulcibus idcirco fluviis pecus omne magistri Rarus is properly applied as an epithet to an object composed of a number of parts which are not in close combination with each other, and hence to any fine thin texture, or anything full of holes and pores. Thus to a sieve, a net, or, as here, to a basket into which the curd was put, in order that the whey might be pressed out through the interstices. Compare Ov. Met. XII. 435. Perque cavas nares, oculosque, auresque, cerebrum and Tibull. II. iii. 15. Tunc fiscella levi detexta est vimine iunci, See also the note on this word p. 278. 59. Camella, 66 a wooden bowl." It is a rare word. Aulus Gellius XVI. 7. speaks of it as an obsolete vulgar term, introduced by Laberius in his mimes. It occurs three times in Petronius Arbiter; in one passage with the epithet "lignea." 60. (Sapam.) The unfermented juice of the grape was called mustum. This when boiled until one third had evaporated became carenum;1 when one half had evaporated, it was called defrutum ;2 when two thirds, sapa.3 The name of sapa is still given by the Ita 1 Pallad. in Octobr. tit. XVIII. 2 Plin. H. N. XIV. 9. 3 Plin. et Pallad. ibid. But Varr. ap. Non. c. 17. n. 14, gives the name of sapa to must boiled down one half. Columella XII. 19. seems to include all three under the general name of sapa. lians, and of sabe by the French to similar preparations. See Henderson on Wines, p. 41, 42. The drink formed by mixing sapa with milk, was called Burranica potio, as we learn from Festus, "Burranica potio appellatur lacte commistum sapa, a rufo colore, quem burrum vocant." OVID. FASTI. III. 429. INTRODUCTION. THE Nones of March were marked in the Calendar as the day on which the temple of Veiovis or Vedius was consecrated. It stood in the hollow between the Arx and the Capitolium, Inter duos lucos, as the place was called, the site of the Asylum of Romulus. The nature of this god, and the meaning of his name, were alike matters of controversy in the Augustan age. Ovid observing that the particle ve, in composition with certain words, signifies small, concludes that Veiovis is Young Jove, an opinion supported by the appearance of the statue which he describes. Dionysius of Halicarnassus, (I. 15.) when recounting the establishment of the Asylum, confesses his ignorance on this point. The place between the Capitolium and the Arx, which is now called in the Roman language Inter duos lucos, (μεθόριον δυοῖν δρυμῶν,) (at that time it received its name from the existing state of things, for it was shadowed over by a thick wood on both sides, where it touched the eminences,) Romulus set apart as a sacred place of refuge for suppliants, and built a temple upon the spot, but to what god or genius it was dedicated, I cannot positively say." There is, moreover, a chapter in Aulus Gellius, (V. 12.) which will serve as a commentary upon this extract, although he maintains that Veiovis means The Destroyer. Cum Iovem Est ædes Veiovis Romæ inter Arcem et Capitolium. a iuvando nominassent, eum quoque contra deum, qui non iuvandi potestatem sed vim nocendi haberet, (nam deos quosdam, ut prodessent, celebrabant, quosdam ut ne obessent, placabant) Veiovem appellaverunt, demta atque detracta iuvandi facultate. Ve enim particula, quæ in aliis atque aliis vocabulis variatim, duplicem significatum eun demque inter sese diversum capit. Nam et augendæ rei et minuendæ valet, sicut aliæ particulæ plurimæ, propter quod accidit, ut quædam vocabula, quibus particula ista præponitur ambigua sint, et utroque versum dicantur, veluti vescum, vehemens, et vegrande, de quibus alio in loco, uberiore tractatu facto, admonuimus: vesani autem et vecordes ex una tantum parte dicti, quæ privativa est. Simulacrum igitur dei Veiovis, quod est in æde, de qua supra dixi, sagittas tenet, quæ sunt videlicet paratæ ad nocendum. Quapropter eum deum plerique Apollinem esse dixerunt immolaturque ritu [humano] capra: eiusque animalis figmentum iuxta simulacrum stat. Others following out the idea that Veiovis was the Destroyer, believed him to be the same with Pluto, thus Martianus Capella II. 9. "Vedius, id est, Pluton, quem etiam Ditem Veiovemque dixere,” which is strongly corroborated by the Carmen Devotionis, preserved by Macrobius S. III. 9. in which the infernal gods are invoked. "Dis Pater, Veiovis, Manes, sive vos quo alio nomine fas est nominare," &c. 1. (Una nota,) i. e. the Nones of March are distinguished by one event. The poet had mentioned, immediately before, the Sixth of March, which was remarkable for two reasons; it was sacred to Vesta, and also the day on which Augustus entered upon the office of Pontifex Maximus. 3...4. In addition to the passages given in the introduction, we may quote Liv. I. 8. " Deinde ne vana urbis magnitudo esset, alliciendæ multitudinis causa...... locum qui nunc septus descendentibus inter duos lucos est, asylum aperit ;" and Vitruvius IV. 1. "uti est Castoris (sc. templum) in Circo Flaminio et inter duos lucos Veiovis." 4. (Invidiosa,) i. e. how little was the Roman people at that time an object of envy. Invidiosus signifies-1. Full of envy. 2. An object of envy. 3. An object of hatred. 1. Tempus edax rerum tuque invidiosa vetustas. Ov. Met. XV. 234. 2. Antea, quum erat a tribuno plebis mentio legis agrariæ facta, continuo qui agros publicos, aut qui possessiones invidiosas tenebant, pertimescebant. Cic. Leg. Agrar. II. 26. 3. Non enim debeo dubitare, iudices, quin...... etiam si is invidiosus, aut multis offensus videatur...... tamen absolvatis. Cluent. LVII. Cic. pro 11. (Gigantas.) See the note on Tibull. II. v. 9. p. 193. 13...14. Here and in the Gigantomachia Met. I. 152. et seqq. Ovid confounds the giants with Otus and Ephialtes, the twin sons of Aloeus. See note referred to above p. 198. 15. (Capra.) The image of a goat stood beside the statue of Veiovis. Ovid supposes that this represented the goat Amalthea, which, according to the authors of the Epic Cycle, suckled Jupiter when he was hid in the Cretan cave. See page 194. 15...16. (Nympha... Cretides.) Adrasteia and Ide, daughters of Melisseus. See p. 194. 17. 18. Vegrandia...vesca.) These illustrations have not been happily selected. There can be no doubt that ve does possess the force of a negative in certain words, such as vecors and vesanus; the former signifying of no intellect, or of little intellect, and hence foolish ; the latter not sound, or little sound, and hence mad; but vegrandis and vescus have been quoted by the old grammarians as examples of words to which the particle in question communicates a double meaning; the former being either not large, or very large; the latter either little eating, small, weak, delicate, or much eating. It may be difficult to produce any unexceptionable passage in which vegrandis must be translated large; but in the following lines from Lucretius, vescus must surely be rendered much eating, i. e. corroding. Nec mare quæ impendent vesco sale saxa peresa. I. 327. the word is found twice in Virgil, in G. III. 175. Interea pubi indomitæ non gramina tantum and G. IV. 131. Lilia, verbenasque premens vescumque papaver. In both passages it is usually interpreted edible, but tender, delicate, will suit the first, and small, tiny, the second. In Plin. H. N. VII. 20. it undoubtedly means small. "Vesco corpore sed eximiis viribus Tritannum gladiatoris ludo." After all it is by no means clear that vescus is a compound of ve and esca, which is commonly taken for granted. Bentley has a dissertation on the subjeet we have been discussing, in his note to Hor. S. I. ii. 129. 17. (Coloni.) We find in Varro an example of vegrandis in this sense; we are told that lambs, under certain circumstances, "fiunt vegrandes atque imbecillæ." R. R. II. ii. 13. |