The Amores; or, Amours

315 (return)

[ Necks of informers.—Ver. 41. He probably alludes to informers who have given false evidence. He warns Bagous of their fate, intending to imply that both his mistress and himself will deny all, if he should attempt to criminate them.]

325 (return)

[ Tongue caused this.—Ver. 44. According to one account, his punishment was inflicted for revealing the secrets of the Gods.]

326 (return)

[ Appointed by Juno.—Ver. 45. This was Argus, whose fate is related at the end of the First Book of the Metamorphoses.]

327 (return)

[ Alas! that.—Ver. 1. He is again addressing Bagous, and begins in a strain of sympathy, since his last letter has proved of no avail with the obdurate eunuch.]

328 (return)

[ Mutilate Joys —Ver. 3. According to most accounts, Semiramis was the first who put in practice this abominable custom.]

329 (return)

[ Standard be borne.—Ver. 10. He means, that he is bound, with his mistress to follow the standard of Cupid, and not of Mars.]

330 (return)

[ Favours to advantage.—Ver. 13. 'Ponere' here means, literally, 'to put out at interest.' He tells the eunuch that he has now the opportunity of conferring obligations, which will bring him in à good interest by way of return.]

332 (return)

[ Sabine dames.—Ver. 15. Juvenal, in his Tenth Satire, 1. 293, mentions the Sabine women as examples of prudence and chastity.]

333 (return)

[ In her stateliness.—Ver. 16. Burmann would have 'ex alto' to mean 'ex alto pectore,' 'from the depths of her breast.' In such case the phrase will correspond with our expression, 'to dissemble deeply,' 'to be a deep dissembler.']

334 (return)

[ Modulates her voice.—Ver. 25. Perhaps 'flectere vocem' means what we technically call, in the musical art, 'to quaver.']

335 (return)

[ Her arms to time.—Ver. 29. Dancing was, in general, discouraged among the Romans. That here referred to was probably the pantomimic dance, in which, while all parts of the body were called into action, the gestures of the arms and hands were especially used, whence the expressions 'manus loquacissimi,' 'digiti clamosi,' 'expressive hands,' or 'fingers.' During the Republic, and the earlier periods of the Empire, women never appeared on the stage, but they frequently acted at the parties of the great. As it was deemed disgraceful for a free man to dance, the practice at Rome was probably confined to slaves, and the lowest class of the citizens. See the Fasti, Book iii. 1. 536, and the Note to the passage.]

336 (return)

[ Hippolytus.—Ver. 32. Hippolytus was an example of chastity, while Priapus was the very ideal of lustfulness.]

337 (return)

[ Heroines of old.—Ver. 33. He supposes the women of the Heroic ages to have been of extremely tall stature. Andromache was remarkable for her height.]

338 (return)

[ The brunette.—Ver. 39. 'Flava,' when coupled with a female name, generally signifies 'having the hair of a flaxen,' or 'golden colour'; here, however, it seems to allude to the complexion, though it would be difficult to say what tint is meant. Perhaps an American would have no difficulty in translating it 'a yellow girl.' In the 43rd line, he makes reference to the hair of a 'flaxen,' or 'golden colour.']

339 (return)

[ Tablets rubbed out.—Ver. 5. If 'deletæ' is the correct reading here, it must mean 'no tablets from which in a hurry you 'have rubbed off the writing.' 'Non interceptæ' has been suggested, and it would certainly better suit the sense. 'No intercepted tablets have, &c.']

342 (return)

[ The wine on table.—Ver. 14. The wine was probably on this occasion placed on the table, after the 'coena,' or dinner. The Poet, his mistress, and his acquaintance, were, probably, reclining on their respective couches; he probably, pretended to fall asleep to watch, their conduct, which may have previously excited his suspicions.]

343 (return)

[ Moving your eyebrows.—Ver. 15. See the Note to the 19th line of the Fourth Elegy of the preceding Book.]

344 (return)

[ Were not silent.—Ver. 17. See the Note to the 20th line of the same Elegy.]

345 (return)

[ Traced over with wine.—Ver. 18. See the 22nd and 26th lines of the same Elegy.]

346 (return)

[ Your discourse.—Ver. 19. He seems to mean that they were pretending to be talking on a different subject from that about which they were really discoursing, but that he understood their hidden meaning. See a similar instance mentioned in the Epistle of Paris to Helen, 1. 241.]

347 (return)

[ Hand of a master.—Ver. 30. He asserts the same right over her favours, that the master (dominus) does over the services of the slave.]

348 (return)

[ New-made husband.—Ter. 36. Perhaps this refers to the moment of taking off the bridal veil, or 'flammeum,' when she has entered her husband's house.]

349 (return)

[ Of her steeds.—Ver. 38. When the moon appeared red, probably through a fog, it was supposed that she was being subjected to the spells of witches and enchanters.]

350 (return)

[ Assyrian ivory.—Ver. 40. As Assyria adjoined India, the word 'Assyrium' is here used by poetical licence, as really meaning 'Indian.']

351 (return)

[ Woman has stained.—Ver. 40. From this we learn that it was the custom of the Lydians to tint ivory of a pink colour, that it might not turn yellow with age.]

352 (return)

[ Of this quality.—Ver. 54. 'Nota,' here mentioned, is literally the mark which was put upon the 'amphorae,' or 'cadi,' the 'casks' of the ancients, to denote the kind, age, or quality of the wine. Hence the word figuratively means, as in the present instance, 'sort,' or 'quality.' Our word 'brand' has a similar meaning. The finer kinds of wine were drawn off from the 'dolia,' or large vessels, in which they were kept into the 'amphoræ,' which were made of earthenware or glass, and the mouth of the vessel was stopped tight by a plug of wood or cork, which was made impervious to the atmosphere by being rubbed over with pitch, clay, or a composition of gypsum. On the outside, the title of the wine was painted, the date of the vintage being denoted by the names of the Consuls then in office: and when the vessels were of glass, small tickets, called 'pittacia,' were suspended from them, stating to a similar effect. For a full account of the ancient wines, see Dr. Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities.]

353 (return)

[ The imitative bird.—Ver. 1. Statius, in his Second Book, calls the parrot 'Humanæ sollers imitator linguæ,' 'the clever imitator of the human voice.']

354 (return)

[ The long trumpet.—Ver. 6. We learn from Aulus Gellius, that the trumpeters at funerals were called 'siticines.' They headed the funeral procession, playing mournful strains on the long trumpet, 'tuba,' here mentioned. These were probably in addition to the 'tibicines,' or 'pipers,' whose number was limited to ten by Appius Claudius, the Censor. See the Sixth Book of the Fasti, 1. 653.]

360 (return)

[ Affectionate turtle-dove.—Ver. 12. This turtle-dove and the parrot had been brought up in the same cage together. He probably refers to these birds in the thirty-eighth line of the Epistle of Sappho to Phaon where he mentions the turtle-dove as being black. This Elegy is remarkable for its simplicity and pathetic beauty, and can hardly fail to remind the reader of Cowper's Elegies, on the death of the bullfinch, and that of his pet hare.]

361 (return)

[ The Phocian youth.—Ver. 15. He alludes to the friendship of Orestes and Pylades the Phocian, the son of Strophius.]

362 (return)

[ So prettily.—Ver. 24. 'Bene' means here, 'prettily,' or 'cleverly,' rather than 'distinctly,' which would be inconsistent with the signification of blæsus.]

363 (return)

[ All their battles —Ver. 27. Aristotle, in the Eighth Chapter of the Ninth Book of his History of Animals, describes quails or ortolans, and partridges, as being of quarrelsome habits, and much at war among themselves.]

364 (return)

[ The foreboder.—Ver. 34. Festus Avienus, in his Prognostics, mentions the jackdaw as foreboding rain by its chattering.]

366 (return)

[ Armed Minerva.—Ver. 35. See the story of the Nymph Coronis, in the Second Book of the Metamorphoses.]

367 (return)

[ After nine ages.—Ver. 36. Pliny makes the life of the crow to last for a period of three hundred years.]

368 (return)

[ Destined numbers.—Ver. 40. 'Numeri' means here, the similar. parts of one whole: 'the allotted portions of human life.']

369 (return)

[ Seventh day was come.—Ver. 45. Hippocrates, in his Aphorisms, mentions the seventh, fourteenth, and twentieth, as the critical days in a malady. Ovid may here possibly allude to the seventh day of fasting, which was supposed to terminate the existence of the person so doing.]

370 (return)

[ Corinna, farewell.—Ver. 48. It may have said 'Corinna;' but Ovid must excuse us if we decline to believe that it said 'vale,' 'farewell,' also; unless, indeed, it had been in the habit of saying so before; this, perhaps, may have been the case, as it had probably often heard the Poet say 'vale' to his mistress.]

371 (return)

[ The Elysian hill.—Ver. 49. He kindly imagines a place for the souls of the birds that are blessed.]

372 (return)

[ By his words.—Ver. 58. His calling around him, in human accents, the other birds in the Elysian fields, is ingeniously and beautifully imagined.]

377 (return)

[ This very tomb.—Ver. 61. This and the following line are considered by Heinsius to be spurious, and, indeed, the next line hardly looks like the composition of Ovid.]

378 (return)

[ Am I then.—Ver. 1. 'Ergo' here is very expressive. 'Am I always then to be made the subject of fresh charges?']

379 (return)

[ Long-eared ass.—Ver. 15. Perhaps the only holiday that the patient ass got throughout the year, was in the month of June, when the festival of Vesta was celebrated, and to which Goddess he had rendered an important service. See the Sixth Book of the Fasti, 1. 311, et seq.]

380 (return)

[ Skilled at tiring.—Ver. 17. She was the 'ornatrix,' or 'tiring woman' of Corinna. As slaves very often received their names from articles of dress, Cypassis was probably so called from the garment called 'cypassis,' which was worn by women and men of effeminate character, and extended downwards to the ancles.]

387 (return)

[ With the whip.—Ver. 22. From this we see that the whip was applied to the female slaves, as well as the males.]

388 (return)

[ Carpathian ocean..—Ver. 20. See the Metamorphoses, Book xi.1. 249, and the Note to this passage.]

389 (return)

[ Swarthy Cypassis.—Ver. 22. From this expression, she was probably a native of Egypt or Syria.]

390 (return)

[ With his spear.—Ver. 7. He alludes to the cure of Telephus by the aid of the spear of Achilles, which had previously wounded him.]

391 (return)

[ Cottages of thatch.—Ver. 18. In the First Book of the Fasti, 1.199, he speaks of the time when 'a little cottage received Quiriuus, the begotten of Mars, and the sedge of the stream afforded him a scanty couch.' The straw-thatched cottage of Romulus was preserved at Rome for many centuries. See the Fasti, Book iii. 1. 184, and the Note to the passage.]

392 (return)

[ Off to the fields.—Ver. 19. The 'emeriti,' or veterans of the Roman legions, who had served their full time, received a regular discharge, which was called 'missio,' together with a bounty, either in money, or an allotment of land. Virgil was deprived of his property near Mantua, by the officers of Augustus; and in his first Eclogue, under the name of Tityrus, he relates how he obtained restitution of it on applying to the Emperor.]

393 (return)

[ Free from the race.—Ver. 20. Literally, 'the starting place.']

394 (return)

[ Wand of repose—Ver. 22. For an account of the 'rudis,' and the privilege it conferred, see the Tristia, Book, iv, El. 8. 1. 24.]

395 (return)

[ Græcinus.—Ver. 1. He addresses three of his Pontic Epistles, namely, the Sixth of the First Book, the Sixth of the Second Book, and the Ninth of the Fourth Book, to his friend Græcinus. In the latter Epistle, he congratulates him upon his being Consul elect.]

396 (return)

[ Without my arms.—Ver. 3. 'Inermis,' may be rendered, 'off my guard.']

397 (return)

[ Like the skiff.—Ver. 10. 'Pliaselos' is perhaps here used as a general name for a boat or skiff; but the vessel which was particularly so called, was long and narrow, and probably received its name from its resemblance to a kidney-bean, which was called 'ptaselus.' The 'phaseli' were chiefly used by the Egyptians, and were of various sizes, from that of a mere boat to a vessel suited for a long voyage. Appian mentions them as being a medium between ships of war and merchant vessels. Being built for speed, they were more noted for their swiftness than for their strength. Juvenal, Sat. xv, 1. 127, speaks of them as being made of clay; but, of course, that can only refer to 'pha-seli' of the smallest kind.]

401 (return)

[ That are thin.—Ver 23. The Poet was of slender figure.]

402 (return)

[ Arm his breast —Ver. 31. He alludes to the 'lorica,' or cuirass, which was worn by the soldiers.]

403 (return)

[ Of his battles.—Ver. 36. He probably was thinking at this moment of the deaths of Cornelius Gallus, and T. Haterius, of the Equcstriai order, whose singular end is mentioned by Valerius Maximus, 11. ix c. 12, s. 8, and by Pliny the Elder, B. vii., c. 53.]

404 (return)

[ The meeting rocks.—Ver 3. See the 121st line of the Epistle of Medea to Jason, and the Note to the passage.]

405 (return)

[ Tinted pebbles.—Ver. 13. The 'picti lapilli' are probably camelians, which are found on the sea shore, and are of various tints.]

406 (return)

[ The recreation.—Ver. 14. 'Mora,' 'delay,' is put here for that which causes the delay. 'That is a pleasure which belongs to the shore.']

407 (return)

[ In what Malea.—Ver. 20. Propertius and Virgil also couple Malea, the dangerous promontory on the South of Laconia, with the Syrtes or quicksands of the Libyan coast.]

409 (return)

[ Stars of the fruitful Leda.—Ver. 29. Commentators are divided upon the exact meaning of this line. Some think that it refers to the Constellations of Castor and Pollux, which were considered to be favourable to mariners; and which Horace mentions in the first line of his Third Ode, B. i., 'Sic fratres Helenae, lucida sidera,' 'The brothers of Helen, those brilliant stars.' Others think that it refers to the luminous appearances which were seen to settle on the masts of ships, and were called by the name of Castor and Pollux; they were thought to be of good omen when both appeared, but unlucky when seen singly.]

410 (return)

[ In the couch.—Ver. 31. 'Torus' most probably means, in this place a sofa, on which the ladies would recline while reading.]

411 (return)

[ Amusing books.—Ver. 31. By using the diminutive 'libellus' here, he probably means some light work, such as a bit of court scandal, of a love poem.]

412 (return)

[ My Divinities.—Ver. 44. See the Second Epistle, 1. 126, and the Note to the passage.]

413 (return)

[ As a table.—Ver. 48. This denotes his impatience to entertain her once again, and to hear the narrative of her adventures.]

414 (return)

[ Though they be fictions.—Ver. 53. He gives a sly hit here at the tales of travellers.]

415 (return)

[ Twice five years.—Ver. 9. Or the 'lustrum' of the Romans, see the Fasti, Book iii. 1. 166, and the Tristia, Book iv. El. 10.]

416 (return)

[ And the cause.—Ver. 17. This passage is evidently misunderstood in Nisard's translation, 'Je ne serai pas non plus la caus d'une nouvelle guerre,' 'I will never more be the cause of a new war.']

417 (return)

[ A female again.—Ver. 22. He alludes to the war in Latium, between Æneas and Turnus, for the hand of Lavinia, the daughter of Latinus and Amata. See the narrative in the Fourteenth book of the Metamorphoses.]

421 (return)

[ 'Twas the females—Ver. 23. The rape of the Sabines, by the contrivance of Romulus, is here alluded to. The narrative will be found in the Third Book of the Fasti, 1. 203, et seq. It has been suggested, but apparently without any good grounds, that Tarpeia is here alluded to.]

422 (return)

[ Thou who dost.—Ver. 7. Io was said to be worshipped under the name of Isis.]

423 (return)

[ Parætonium.—Ver. 7. This city was situate at the Canopic mouth of the Nile, at the Western extremity of Egypt, adjoining to Libya. According to Strabo, its former name was Ammonia. It still preserves its ancient name in a great degree, as it is called al-Baretoun.]

424 (return)

[ Fields of Canopus.—Ver. 7. Canopus was a city at one of the mouths of the Nile, now called Aboukir. The epithet 'genialis,' seems to have been well deserved, as it was famous for its voluptuousness. Strabo tells us that there was a temple there dedicated to Serapis, to which multitudes resorted by the canal from Alexandria. He says that the canal was filled, night and day, with men and women dancing and playing music on board the vessels, with the greatest licentiousness. The place was situate on an island of the Nile, and was about fifteen miles distant from Alexandria. Ovid gives a similar description of Alexandria, in the Tristia, Book i. El. ii. 1. 79. See the Note to the passage.]

425 (return)

[ Memphis.—Ver. 8. Memphis was a city situate on the North of Egypt, on the banks of the Nile. It was said to have been built by Osirit.]

426 (return)

[ Pharos.—Ver. 8. See the Metamorphoses, Book ix. 1. 772, and Book xv. 1. 287, with the Notes to the passages.]

428 (return)

[ By thy sistra. —Ver. 11. For an account of the mystic 'sistra' of Isis, see the Pontic Epistles, Book i. El. i. 1. 38, and the Note.]

429 (return)

[ Anubis. —Ver. 11. For an account of Anuhis, the Deity with the dog's head, see the Metamorphoses, Book ix. 1. 689, and the Note.]

430 (return)

[ Osiris.—Ver. 12. See the Metamorphoses, Book ix. 1. 692, and the Note to the passage.]

431 (return)

[ The sluggish serpent.—Ver. 13. Macrobius tells us, that the Egyptians accompanied the statue of Serapis with that of an animal with three heads, the middle one that of a lion, the one to the right, of a dog, and that to the left, of a ravenous wolf; and that a serpent was represented encircling it in its folds, with its head below the right hand of the statue of the Deity. To this the Poet possibly alludes, or else to the asp, which was common in the North of Egypt, and perhaps, was looked upon as sacred. If so, it is probable that the word 'pigra,' 'sluggish,' refers to the drowsy effect produced by the sting of the asp, which was generally mortal. This, indeed, seems the more likely, from the fact of the asp being clearly referred to, in company with these Deities, in the Ninth Book of the Metamorphoses, 1. 93; which see, with the Note to the passage.]

432 (return)

[ The horned Apis.—Ver. 14. See the Ninth Book of the Metamorphoses, 1. 691, and the Note to the passage.]

433 (return)

[ Thy features.—Ver. 15. Isis is here addressed, as being supposed to be the same Deity as Diana Lucina, who was invoked by pregnant and parturient women. Thus Isis appears to Telethusa, a Cretan woman, in her pregnancy, in the Ninth Book of the Metamorphoses, 1. 665, et seq.]

434 (return)

[ Thy appointed days.—Ver. 17. Votaries who were worshipping in the temples of the Deities sat there for a considerable time, especially when they attended for the purpose of sacrifice. In the First Book of the Pontic Epistles, Ep. i. 1. 50, Ovid says, 'I have beheld one who confessed that he had offended the Divinity of Isis, clothed in linen, sitting before he altars of Isis.']

435 (return)

[ On which.—Ver. 18. 'Queis' seems a preferable reading to 'qua.']

436 (return)

[ The Galli.—Ver. 18. Some suppose that Isis and Cybele were the same Divinity, and that the Galli, or priests of Cybele, attended the rites of their Goddess under the name of Isis. It seems clear, from the present passage, that the priests of Cybele, who were called Galli, did perform the rites of Isis, but there is abundant proof that these were considered as distinct Deities. In imitation of the Corybantes, the original priests of Cybele, they performed her rites to the sound of pipes and tambourines, and ran to and fro in a frenzied manner.]

437 (return)

[ With thy laurels.—Ver. 18. See the Note to the 692nd line of the Ninth Book of the Metamorphoses. While celebrating the search for the limbs of Osiris, the priests uttered lamentations, accompanied with the sound of the 'sistra'; but when they had found the body, they wore wreaths of laurel, and uttered cries, signifying their joy.]

438 (return)

[ Ilithyia.—Ver. 21. As to the Goddess Ilithyia, see the Ninth Book of the Metamorphoses, 1. 283, and the Note to the passage.]

439 (return)

[ With their bucklers.—Ver. 2. Armed with 'peltæ,' or bucklers, like the Amazons.]

440 (return)

[ The sand must.—Ver. 8. This figure is derived from the gladiatorial fights of the amphitheatre, where the spot on which they fought was strewed with sand, both for the purpose of giving a firm footing to the gladiators, and of soaking up the blood that was shed.]

441 (return)

[ Again throw stones.—Ver. 12. He alludes to Deucalion and Pyr-rha. See the First Book of the Metamorphoses.]

442 (return)

[ Ilia had destroyed.—Ver. 16. Romulus was her son. See her story, related at the beginning of the Third Book of the Fasti.]

443 (return)

[ Why pierce.—Ver. 27. He alludes to the sharp instruments which she had used for the purpose of procuring abortion: a practice which Canace tells Macareus that her nurse had resorted to. Epistle xi. 1. 40—43.]

444 (return)

[ Armenian dens.—Ver. 35. See the Metamorphoses, Book viii. 1. 126, and the Note to the passage.]

445 (return)

[ Many a time.—Ver. 38. He seems here to speak of this practice as being frequently resorted to.]

446 (return)

[ She deserved it.—Ver. 40. From this, it would seem that the practice was considered censurable; but, perhaps it was one of those cases whose heinousness is never fully discovered till it has brought about its own punishment.]

447 (return)

[ O ring.—Ver. 1. On the rings in use among the ancients, see the note to the First Book of the Aruores, El. iv., 1. 26. See also the subject of the seventh Elegy of the First Book of the Tristia.]

448 (return)

[ Carpathian old man.—Ver. 10. For some account of Proteus, who is here referred to, see the First Book of the Fasti, 1. 363, and the Note.]

449 (return)

[ Be able to seal—Ver. 15. From this, it appears to have been a signet ring.]

450 (return)

[ Touch the lips.—Ver. 17. See the Tristia, Book v., El. iv. 1 5, and the Note to the passage.]

459 (return)

[ In her desk.—Ver. 19. 'Loculi' used in the plural, as in the present instance, signified a receptacle with compartments, similar, perhaps, to our writing desks; a small box, coffer, casket, or cabinet of wood or ivory, for keeping money or jewels.]

460 (return)

[ Sulmo.—Ver. 1. See the Note to the first line of the First Elegy of this Book.]

461 (return)

[ Pelignian land.—Ver. 1. From Pliny the Elder, we learn that the Peligni were divided into three tribes, the Corfinienses, the Superequani, and the Sulmonenses.]

462 (return)

[ Constellation.—Ver. 4. He alludes to the heat attending the Dog star, see the Fasti, Book iv., 1. 939, and the Note to the passage.]

463 (return)

[ The thin soil.—Ver. 8. 'Rarus ager' means, a 'thin' or 'loose' soil, which was well suited for the cultivation of the grape.]

464 (return)

[ That bears its berries.—Ver. 8. In Nisard's translation, the words 'bacciferam Pallada,' which mean the olive, are rendered 'L'amande Caere Pallas,' 'the almond dear to Pallas.']

465 (return)

[ Lengthened tracks.—Ver. 16. To the Delphin Editor this seems a silly expression.]

466 (return)

[ The stormy Alps.—Ver. 19. See the Metamorphoses, Book ii. 1. 226, and the Note to the passage.]

467 (return)