'Dum tibi Cadmeae dicuntur, Pontice, Thebae, Atque (ita sim felix) primo contendis Homero, See also Prop. 1. 9.* Bassus. Of this poet we know nothing, and even the name is uncertain, since the MSS. have Bacchus, Battus, or Batus. At all events, he must not be confounded with Salleius Bassus, nor with Caesius Bassus 2, both of whom were distinguished bards in the reign of Vespasian. 50. The emphasis is upon Ausonia. It must be remembered that Horace claimed the honour of having first adapted the Lyric strains of Greece to Latin measures. 'Ne forte credas interitura, quae Verba loquor socianda chordis.' 53. Galle. See note on 5. 64, p. 139. Propertius was born in Umbria, on the confines of Etruria. The precise year of his birth is not known, but since it appears from this passage that he was older than Ovid, and younger than Tibullus, and since the latter, as we have already shown, must have been born about 59 B.C., and the former in 43 B.C., we cannot be far wrong if we fix upon 53 B.C., the year in which Crassus and his legions were destroyed by the Parthians, as the approximate date. The time of his death is absolutely unknown 3. The works of Propertius which have descended to modern times consist of a series of compositions in elegiac verse, divided into four books. It may be remarked that the poems in the fourth book differ considerably in character from the rest, being chiefly of an historical and antiquarian character; and many suppose that some of these first suggested to Ovid the idea of his Fasti, while the greater number of the pieces which constitute the three first books are of an amatory 1 See Quinctil. I. O. 10. 1, § 90, Dial. de caus. corrupt. eloq. 5 and 9. 2 See Quinctil. I. O. 10. 1, § 96, Schol. ad Pers. S. 6. 1. 3 The few particulars which can be ascertained with regard to Propertius are to be gathered from his own works. The chief passages are I. 22, I; 4. I, 61, 121; 2. 24, 35; 2. 34, 55; I. 6, 25; 2. 20, 15; 3. 23, 23. description, being for the most part addressed to Cynthia, the mistress of the bard. 57. Legi. Before printing was invented, the only way in which a poet could make his works generally known was by reading them to audiences collected for this purpose. 68. Fabula nulla, &c. No tale was attached to my name -no reports were ever spread injurious to my character. In other words, I enjoyed an unblemished reputation. 78. Lustris. The 'lustrum' (from 'luo') was, properly speaking, the purificatory sacrifice offered up for the whole body of the Roman citizens at the end of every five years, when the census was taken. Hence 'lustrum' is very frequently used to denote a period of five years. The meaning of this line manifestly is, that the father of Ovid had completed twice nine lustra, or ninety years, at the period of his death. 80. Iusta. See note, p. 218. 90. Errorem, &c. See Life of Ovid. 95. Pisaea oliva. A wreath of Oleaster or wild Olive (KOTIVOS) was the prize bestowed on the victors in the Olympian games celebrated at Olympia in Elis, on the river Alpheus, in the immediate vicinity of Pisa. Compare Virg. G. 3. 179 'Sin ad bella magis studium turmasque feroces, Aut Alphea rotis praelabi flumina Pisae, Et Iovis in luco currus agitare volantes.' 96. Abstulerat decies, &c. It appears from this passage and from Ep. ex P. 4. 6, 5, written soon after the death of Augustus, 'In_Scythia nobis quinquennis Olympias acta est, Iam tempus lustri transit in alterius,' that Ovid confounded the Olympiad of four years with the Roman 'lustrum' of five. See Appendix on Calendar. Victor Equus. All the MSS. have 'eques.' Bentley and Burmann agree in adopting the emendation 'equus,' for it seems to be certain that in the Olympic contest the horses and not the riders or drivers were crowned. So Hor. Od. 4. 2, 17 'Sive, quos Elea domum reducit Palma caelestes, pugilemve equumve, Dicit, et centum potiore signis Munere donat.' and A. P. 84 'Musa dedit fidibus Divos puerosque Deorum, Et pugilem victorem, et equum certamine primum, Hence Theocritus (Eidyll. 16. 47) calls the conquering steeds σTepavηþópoι, and Plutarch (Sympos. 2. 4) says that they alone of all animals shared the rewards of victory. Bentley supposes the error to have arisen from the false reading 'abstuleram,' found in almost all the MSS., which makes the introduction of 'eques' necessary. 106. The construction is somewhat harsh. 'Cepi arma manu insolitâ temporis.' The meaning is clearly, 'I grasped arms unsuited to my time of life.' 110. Sarmatis ora...Getis. See note, p. 325. 122. Ab exsequiis, i. e. ' after death.' 123. Livor. See note on 3. 1, p. 118. APPENDIX. ON THE ROMAN CALENDAR. IN giving an account of the Roman Calendar, it will be convenient first to explain that portion of the subject concerning which our information is full and complete; and then to pass on to the consideration of those points which are comparatively doubtful and obscure. According to this plan, we shall commence at once with an account of the constitution of the Julian Year1. 1. At the time when Julius Caesar attained to supreme power the Calendar had, from causes which will be afterwards explained, fallen into great confusion. The dictator therefore resolved to reform the whole system, and being himself versed in astronomy 2, with the aid of Sosigenes, a peripatetic philosopher of Alexandria, and Flavius, a Roman scribe, introduced, 45 B.C., that division of time which, with a few modifications, is still employed by all Christian nations, and received from its author the name of the Julian Year. The solar year, or the period between two vernal equinoxes, was supposed to contain 365 days; but, to prevent the inconvenience which would have arisen from the use of fractional parts, three years out of four were regarded as consisting of 365 days, while every fourth year had 366. 2. The Roman year had from a very early period been divided into twelve months. This number and the ancient names were retained, but the distribution of the days was 1 The principal authorities are Plutarch, Vit. Caes. 59, Dion Cassius 43. 26, Appian. B. C. 11, Ov. Fast. 3. 155, Sueton. Jul. 40, Plin. H.N. 18. 25, Censorinus 20, Macrob. S. 1. 14, Ammian. Marcell. 26. 1. 2 See Macrob. S. 1. 16. changed. By the new arrangemant, 'Ianuarius,' the first month, had 31 days; 'Februarius,' 28 in ordinary years, and every fourth year 29; 'Martius,' 31; 'Aprilis,' 30; 'Maius,' 31; Iunius,' 30; 'Quintilis,' 31; 'Sextilis,' 31; 'September,' 30; October,' 31; 'November,' 30; 'December,' 31. In the year 44 B.C., Marcus Antonius, at that time Consul, proposed and carried a law by which the name of 'Quintilis was changed to 'Iulius,' in honour of Julius Caesar, whose birthday was on the twelfth of that month1; and at a subsequent period, 8 B.C., by a similar piece of flattery, the name 'Sextilis' was changed to 'Augustus,' because the emperor had in that month entered upon his first consulship, and achieved some remarkable victories, and celebrated three triumphs 2. Other princes rejected or courted like distinctions. September' was for a while known as 'Germanicus 4,' and 'October' as 'Domitianus 5; but while the names of 'July' and 'August' still endure, the others soon reverted to their primitive designations. 3. Julius Caesar retained also the ancient divisions of the month into 'Kalendae,' 'Nonae,' and 'Idus.' The 'Kalendae' fell uniformly on the first day of each month; the 'Idus' on the thirteenth, except in March, May, July, and October, when they fell on the fifteenth; the 'Nonae' were always eight (according to the Roman computation nine) days before the Idus,' and therefore on the fifth of ordinary months, and on the seventh in March, May, July, and October. 4. The Roman method of dating exhibits several peculiarities. In the first place, when an event did not happen exactly on the Calends, Nones, or Ides of any month, they calculated the day by reckoning backwards from the next following division of the month. Thus, if it happened between the Calends and the Nones, it was said to take place so many days before the Nones; if it happened between the Nones and Ides, it was said to take place so many days before the Ides; if it happened after the Ides, it was said to take place so many days before the Calends of the ensuing month. In the second place, in making these computations, the day from which they reckoned was always included, as well as the 1 Macrob. S. 1. 12, Dion. 44. 5, Appian. B. C. 11. 2 Sueton. Octav. 31, Dion. 55. 6. Macrobius has preserved the decree of the senate, the date is given by Censorinus 22. 3 Sueton. Tib. 26. 4 Sueton. Caius 15. 5 Sueton. Dom. 13, Macrob. S. 1, 12. |