Plebs colit hanc, quia, qui posuit, de plebe fuisse Fertur, et ex humili sceptra tulisse loco. Convenit et servis, serva quia Tullius ortus Constituit dubiae templa propinqua deae. 26 June. Rising of belt of Orion: and the solstice. Ecce suburbana rediens male sobrius aede Ad stellas aliquis talia verba iacit: 'Zona latet tua nunc, et cras fortasse latebit : 'Dehinc erit, Orion, aspicienda mihi.' At si non esset potus, dixisset eadem Venturum tempus solstitiale die. 785 790 27 June. Festival of the Larum Sacellum, and Temple of Iuppiter Stator. Lucifero subeunte Lares delubra tulerunt Hic, ubi fit docta multa corona manu. Tempus idem Stator aedis habet, quam Romulus olim 29. Festival of the Temple of Quirinus. Tot restant de mense dies, quot nomina Parcis, 795 30 June. Festival of the Temple of Hercules and the Muses. Clio appears and gives the poet an account of it. Tempus Iuleis cras est natale Kalendis : 800 Marcia, sacrifico deductum nomen ab Anco, 'In qua par facies nobilitate sua, 'Par animo quoque forma suo respondet. in illa 805 810 NOTES. Page 19. [1-100. (Explanations of the name Junius for the month.) Poets are inspired (5-8): in a thick wood Iuno appeared to me (9-20): she says: 'June is called after me, and I am worthy the honour; else I should repent the favour shewn to the Romans' (21-64). Hebe replied: 'I plead for my sole honour; the month is called after iuvenes. Romulus divided the people into elders, and younger men' (65-88). Then appeared Concord, and proclaimed that June was derived from 'iunctus' in memory of the union of Sabines and Romans. I do not decide between goddesses (89-100).] I. in nomine, in the matter of its name' lit. ; i. e. diverse sources for its name'. 2. placeant, indirect quest. See Scheme of Moods. leges, 'choose'. 3. erunt qui loquantur, 'there will be those who say'. In this kind of phrase the subord. verb is always subjunctive, because the meaning is consecutive; 'there will be people such as to say', 'people of the kind to say'. See Scheme. 5. The divine inspiration or 'stirring' (impetus) of the poet (as Ovid gives it) has lost all illusion: it is become a mere conventional artifice of poetry. 6. 'has the seeds of the inspired mind'; i.e. this possession by the god brings the divine power of the poet. IO. si non obstreperetur aquis, 'were it not that the waters plash'. When the imperfect is used in conditionals, it is always of a supposition excluded by the fact; so here: the waters do plash. 12. in cura eram, 'was wrapped in thought'. 13. Hesiod, born at Ascra in Boeotia (N. Greece), from being a shepherd (oves) became the first great poet of agriculture: his poem O. F. Works and Days is still extant. He falls somewhere in the 8th century B. C. 15-16. contulit, 'compared'. The reference is to the famous judgment of Paris. He was son of Priam, king of Troy: and when at a banquet of the gods an apple inscribed to the fairest' had been thrown in by Eris (strife), and the three goddesses Here, Athena, and Aphrodite (see list of gods) could not agree which was to have it: they referred the decision to Paris, who decided for Aphrodite. Hence came the troubles of the Trojan war, ending in the sack of Troy, 100. The whole story is told by Tennyson in Oenone. Ida is the mountain in the Troad (N. W. Asia Minor) at the foot of which Troy lay. una fuit, Iuno (Here): she was the sister and wife of Iuppiter, and queen of gods. Cf. 'divom incedo regina Iovisque et soror et coniunx.' Verg. Ae. I. 46. 18. arce lovis. The Capitol at Rome has two summits, and when both are mentioned they are regularly called Arx Capitoliumque, the former (prob.) lying N.E., and the latter W. But often, as here, either name is used for both summits. In this temple of Iuppiter, which was on the Capitol proper, there were three chapels or cells, one for Iuppiter in the centre, and Minerva and Iuno on the right and left. The old and famous temple had been burnt 82 B. C., but restored magnificently by Sulla and (on Sulla's death) Lutatius Catulus: the later building was apparently gilt, prob. in the roof, 73. 19. animum, 'feeling', i. e. 'fear". Page 20. 21. conditor, 'poet': condere prop. 'to put together', regularly used of writing verses, and then even w. acc. to sing of' as v. 24. 25. traharis, 'be led astray', as Ovid had been; for I. 41 he says: 'iuvenum de nomine quartus'; 'the fourth month (June, by old reckoning) is called from the name of iuvenes': so below 65 sqq. 28. dubito glorier, 'I doubt whether to be more proud' (indirect deliberative, see Scheme). With the full construction it would be num glorier, but num is easily and often omitted. 30. sors, i. e. ' offspring'. To call a child a sors 'gift of fate', 'lot' is not unnatural in the case of men, but rather fanciful as applied to gods. |