I. 'Mæcenas.' C. Cilnius Mæcenas professed to be descended from the Cilnii, who were Lucumos of Etruria. Comp. 111. 29, I. 'Atavus' is literally a great-great-great-grandfather. Comp. also Sat. 1. 6, 1.

40.

2. 'You that are.' Comp. Virgil, Georg. II.

4. 'to gather,' 'collegisse.' It seems best to explain this perf. inf. as being used in an aoristic sense, to express the habit. 'to gather' appears simply to mean 'to raise a cloud of dust.' 'The goal' is the pillar at the end of the double course, which had to be rounded by the racing chariots.

7. 'citizens,' lit. 'Quirites,' the name applied to the Romans in their civil capacity. It is curious that the probable der. 'Quiris,' should mean 'a spearman:' in early times all the citizens served the state as soldiers.

8. 'threefold honours.'. Curule ædile, prætor, consul; this was the regular sequence of the 'curule honours.'

12. 'an Attalus.' The name of several kings of Pergamus, famous for their wealth and patronage of art. Attalus III. bequeathed his possessions to the Roman people. (B.C. 133.)

14. Myrtoan main.' That part of the Egean sea south of Myrtos, an island off the south coast of Euboea. This epithet, as well as that of Cyprian,' seems to be merely ornamental. So too 'Icarian waves,' i. e. the sea between the islands of Samos and Icaria.

15. 'African blasts.' The W. S. W. wind (sirocco). It was thus named, because it blows upon Italy from the coast of Africa. It is still called 'l'Affrico' by the Italians.

19. 'Massic.' This wine was from the slopes of Mons Massicus, between Campania and Latium. It ranked 3rd or 4th among the choicest wines of Italy.

20. 'heart of the day,' lit. 'solid day;' i. e. while the whole or most of it is still to come. Comp. 'integro die,' iv. 38.

25. 'cold sky,' lit. 'Jupiter;' the name of the God of the sky being put, as it often is, for the sky itself. Comp. 'sub divo,' 11. 3, 23.

28. 'Marsian boar,' The country of the Marsi (N. E. of Latium) abounded in thickets and forests.

29. 'ivy-leaf;' sacred to Bacchus the inspirer

of lyric poetry. 'learned brows.' Comp. Spenser, Faerie Queene, Canto 1. Stanza 9; 'poets sage.' So Gr. σopoí. Pind. Ol. i. 15.

33. The Scholiast (on Hesiod's Theogony, 77) says that Euterpe invented the flute. Polyhymnia was said to have invented the lyre.

34. 'Lesbian lyre;' i. e. the lyric poetry of Lesbos, especially that of Alcæus and Sappho.

II.

6. 'Pyrrha.' The daughter of Epimetheus and Pandora, and the wife of Deucalion.

7. 'Proteus.' The Old Man of the sea. Vid. Virg. Georg. IV. 395.

14. "Tuscan shore;' i. e. from the Etruscan or Tyrrhenian sea at the mouth of the Tiber. Orelli says that the Romans still think the floods of the Tiber are caused by the force of the sea driving back the water from the mouth of the river.

15. 'monuments of the king.' The socalled palace of Numa and temple of Vesta at the foot of the Palatine.

17. 'Ilia' (Rea Silvia) was the mother of Romulus. She was said to have been drowned in the Anio, a tributary of the Tiber; so Horace here represents her as the river's wife. Ovid, Amores III. 6, 45) mentions her as the wife of the Anio. Ilia 'complains' of the assassination of Cæsar, and of the civil wars. Jupiter of the Capitol was the guardian god of Rome.

22. 'Parthians,' lit. 'Persians.' They are often called Persians, or Medes, by Horace, as occupying the ancient kingdom of Persia.

32. Diviner,' lit. Augur, i. e. 'Seer.' Comp. German 'auge,' 'eye.'

33. 'Erycina,' Venus, so named from her famous temple on mount Eryx in Sicily.

36. 'our Founder,' Mars. The 'show' in the next line seems to be an allusion to the gladiatorial shows. See 1. 28, 17, 'a show for grisly Mars,'

39. 'Marsian.' All the MSS. have 'Mauri;' but the conjecture is so much better, and the change is so slight, that it has been adopted by most commentators. See II. 20, 18.

41. 'a youth. Augustus was forty at this time; but 'juvenis' is applicable to any man in the vigour of life; and the emperor seems to have liked the name, which suited him better in the earlier days of his power. He is twice called 'juvenis' by Virgil: Ecl. 1. 42, Georg. 1. 'kind Maia's winged child.' Mercury.

500.

III.

I. 'So. The usual sequence would be 'ut reddas,' 'on this condition, that you restore,' &c. But by a poetical variation Horace substitutes the pres. subj. alone.

'the goddess,' Venus, who is invoked as a Power of the sea. With 'potens Cypri,' comp. Naiadum potens,' III. 25, 14.

2.

'Helen's brethren,' Castor and Pollux. The phosphorescent light seen on the mast after a storm was supposed to denote their

propitious presence. See I. 12, 27. The Ita

lians, by a curious corruption of the name of Helen, have formed the expression 'St. Elmo's fire.'

3. 'the father of the winds,' Eolus.

4. 'Iapyx.' This was a name of the West wind, blowing from Italy towards Greece. 'Japygia' is one of the names of Apulia, which lies on the eastern coast of Italy.

14. Hyades,vades,' the rainy stars. Virg. En. 111. 576. Notus, the South wind.

20.

'Acroceraunia,' 'the peak of the thunderbolt;' a headland of Epirus, now 'il monte della Chimera.' Virg. Georg. I. 332.

27.

child of Iapetus,' Prometheus. 'the toiling Hercules:' when he brought up Cerberus from Hades.

36.

IV.

8. 'fiery Vulcan.' The Scholiast says that this is an allusion to the thunderbolts forged by the Cyclops for Jove: for thunderstorms return with the warm weather. The idea is that all things renew their vigour with the coming of spring.

II. Faunus. The 13th (Ides) of February was sacred to Faunus. Ovid, Fast. 11. 193.

'with impartial foot.' This phrase expresses the rudeness and violence of Death's approach. Plautus, Most. II. 2, 23.

14. 'Sestius.' L. Sestius was consul together with Augustus, 23 B.C. 'blest,' 'beate.' This word, as it often does, combines the notions of wealth and happiness.

16. 'fantastic Shades.' lit. 'the Shades that are fables;' i. e. ghostly and unsubstantial.

18. by the dice's cast.' It was usual to elect by lot one of the company to act as ruler of the feast. II. 7, 25. St John 11. 8.

Lydia, and Homer was born at Smyrna in that kingdom, according to one tradition. 'bird,' 'alite,' abl. Perhaps abl. abs. As an abl. of the agent is contrary to usage, some call this an abl. of the instrument; but 'Vario' must be in apposition with 'alite,' and he certainly must be regarded as a personal agent. If Horace did not (as it has of course been conjectured that he did) write ‘aliti,' he must have taken this grammatical license to avoid the jingle of the last syllables of 'Mæonii,' 'aliti.' 5. 'Agrippa.' M. Vipsanius Agrippa was the ablest general of Augustus, and married his only child Julia.

8. Pelops' murderous house; the subject of many of the Greek tragedies, the Agamemnon, Eumenides, Electra, &c.

16. 'a match for the gods.' 'Saíuovi loos,' Iliad, v. 884.

18.

'with close-pared nails;' so that the combat is only playful. Bentley's conj. 'strictis,' 'drawn,' (like swords,) seems to convey too strongly the idea of ferocity.

I.

VII.

'Let others praise,' lit. 'Others will ,' i. e. 'will, if they please.'

praise,'

2.

with its double sea;' 'bimaris,' Gr. Cáλaoσos; as Corinth lies on the isthmus. 'Thebes made glorious by Bacchus,' as being the son of Semele. 1. 19, 2.

4. Tempe;' the famous valley of the river Peneus, between Olympus and Ossa.

5. 'the city of virgin Pallas,' (Athene,) Athens.

9. 'Argos meet for steeds; inπóßorov. Pindar calls Argos "Ηρας δώμα θεοπρεπές, Nem. IX. 3. rich Mycenæ; πολύχρυσοι.

10. 'enduring Lacedæmon;' the virtue always especially ascribed to the Spartans.

II.

fruitful Larissa: ‘Λαρίσσαν ἐριβώλακα,

Il. 11. 841.

12.

'home of Albunea,' 'the sacred cave of the Nymph.' Now called 'Solfatara.' It is described in Virg. Æn. vii. 82. 13. Anio,' now 'Teverone.' the 'torrent' refers to the cascades of Tivoli. (Tibur.) Plancus.' L. Munatius Plancus constantly changed from one party to another during the civil wars. He was once consul, and received from Augustus the offices of censor and prefect of the City in 22. B.C.

19.

21. 'Teucer.' He was said to have been banished by his father Telamon, because he did not avenge the wrong done to his brother Ajax.

27. 'conductor,''auspex.' A consul in command of an army had the right of taking the auspices: hence the word 'auspicia' came to mean leadership,' and 'auspex' 'leader.' Comp. Virg. Æn. VI. 781.

28. 'Apollo.' The prophecy is more fully given in Eurip. Helena 146.

29. 'Salamis.' The new Salamis was in Cyprus.

30. 'ye who oft.' See Virg. Æn. 1. 198, imitating Odyss. XII. 208.

VIII.

3. 'Plain.' The Campus Martius.

6. 'sharp-toothed bits,' &c. lit. 'bits set with wolves' teeth;' from their likeness in shape. Gaul was famous for horses, and at one time supplied the Roman armies. Tacitus, Ann. 11. 5.

13. 'The son of Ocean Thetis;' Achilles, disguised as a girl, at the court of Lycomedes, king of the island of Scyros.

16. 'the slaughter,' &c. This meaning seems the most appropriate to the might of Achilles. lit. 'forth into slaughter and the Lycian,' &c. The meaning may be 'forth into the slaughter which the Lycian battalions will effect.'

'she of the beautiful voice,' the first of the nine Muses.

II.

'strong in the power,' &c. lit. 'persuasive (blandum), so as to lead.' The constr. is like the Gr. wore with inf.

15. 'the firmament;'mundus;' lit.=KÓσμos, the order of things. Here it is all the visible part of the universe, except the earth and sea.

22. 'Liber,' lit. 'the free god.' He is named as a warrior god on account of his expedition to India and his valour in the war of the giants. (II. 19, 17, &c.) 'Maid,' 'Diana.' 25. 'boys of Leda,' Castor and Pollux. (1. 3, 2, note.)

35. 'Cato's glorious death.' Comp. 11. 24. Virg. Æn. vIII.

37. 'Paullus.'

The consul L. Emilius Paullus, at the battle of Cannæ.

40. 'Curius.' M. Curius Dentatus.

46. Marcellus.' It seems most natural to refer this passage solely to the son of Octavia, the sister of Augustus, who died when about 18. The previous line is in favour of this explanation. Comp. Virg. Æn. vi. 861, &c.

47. 'the Julian star.' The use of the adjective makes it probable that the 'star signifies the glory of all the Julian gens; and not of Julius Cæsar or Augustus only.

54. in proper triumph;' 'justo triumpho,' i. e. complete, well-deserved. The word is formal and technical.

56. 'Seres.' They have been generally considered to be the Chinese. Pliny says they excelled in making silk. Nat. Hist. vi. 20.

59. 'sacrilegious groves,' i. e. those profaned by crime. The single mention of 'ille,' (he, Cæsar,) in the previous stanza, seems meant to be contrasted with the triple thee, thou, thou,' in this, so as to express the deeper homage due to Jove.

2.

XIII.

'waxen arms;' i. e. rounded, and, perhaps, white.

3. 'labouring bile.' It was an established notion that the liver was the seat of passion, whether jealousy, anger, or love. Sat. 1. 9, 66. Od. IV. I, 12.

11. 'brawls,' &c. Comp. I. 17, 25: Tibullus 1. 6, 14.

16. 'the quintessence.' According to the Pythagoreans, the fifth and purest of the elements was ether: whence the modern word quintessence.' So the fifth part is here put for the finest part.

5.

'Nereus;' 'the god of the flowing water.' He is spoken of as a true prophet in Hesiod, Theog 333.

'with an evil omen.' Lit. 'bird;' as omens were taken both from the notes and the flight of birds. Comp. 111. 3, 61; Epod. 10, 1.

7. 'to destroy,' In the Latin, there is a sort of 'zeugma,' as the sense of 'rumpere' properly agrees only with 'nuptias.'

II.

'gis.' The der. is prob. aïoow, to flash: others connect the word with ais, a goat so meaning literally the goat-skin lining or pendant of the shield. In Hom. the ægis is the shield of Zeus; afterwards it signified the corslet of Pallas, as in Eurip. Ion, 996, Ov. Met. vi. 78, and in this passage.

13. "Venus; the champion of Paris, who had awarded to her the prize of beauty.

15. accompany.' Lit. 'divide your songs with the harp;' i. e. partly play and partly sing them.

17. 'Cretan wand.' The Cretan archery was famous. Virg. Ecl. x. 56.

19. Ajax.' Iliad 11. 527; 'Oïños Taxus

Δίας.

24. Skilful in the fight.' I. v. 549, páxs εὖ εἰδότε.

38. Tydides,' &c. See Il. IV. 405, μeis τοι πατέρων μέγ' αμείνονες εὐχόμεθ ̓ εἶναι.

34. 'Achilles' angry fleet. Poetically, for the anger of Achilles himself.

XVI.

3. iambics,' i. e. satirical poetry; Horace says that Archilochus adopted the iambic as the proper metre of satire. Art. Poet. 79.

4.

'Adrian sea.' See I. 1, 15, note. Comp. 1. 9. 5. Dindymenè. A name of Cybele, from mount Dindymus in Phrygia, sacred to the goddess.

8. bele.

'Corybantes,' the frantic priests of Cy

13. Prometheus.' The legend was, that Prometheus and his brother exhausted all the elements of creation on the other animals, and so were obliged to make up the character of man of qualities borrowed from various creatures. This account of the making of man by Prometheus from mud and water is later than Homer and Hesiod.

14. 'was constrained,' literally, 'is said to have been constrained,' 'coactus' 'coactus esse.' Comp. Martial 'affatus dicitur undas,' and Juvenal, Sat. 10, 'dicitur olim velificatus

Athos.' Though the construction is also frequently found in Livy, Prof. Kennedy was the first who pointed out its use in this passage. Formerly, coactus' was taken as a participle, and the following 'et' as 'etiam."

21.

17. 'Thyestes.' The quarrel between Thyestes and his brother Atreus is referred to. 'the hostile plough.' A usual and very ancient mode of expressing the utter overthrow of a city. Comp. Jeremiah xxxvI. 8. XVII.

1. 'Lucretilis,' the hill at the foot of which lay Horace's farm. It is now called 'Monte Gennaro.'

2. 'Lycæus,' a mountain of Arcadia, sacred to Pan, with whom Faunus seems here to be identified. Virg. Georg. 1, 16.

9. 'the wolves of Mars.' The ferocity of wolves caused them to be regarded as sacred to Mars, Virg. Æn. ix. 566.

14. are dear,' lit. are to my heart.' The idiom is frequent in Latin. So in Hebr. Is. XL. 2. 18. 'Teian.' Teus in Ionia was the city of Anacreon.

20. 'Circe crystal-fair.' This translation of 'vitrea' seems more suited to the passage than to explain the word as denoting the colour of the sea; though it is true that epithets of the latter class are applied to Gods of the sea. See III. 28, 10, note.

21. 'harmless Lesbian wine;' i.e. light and soft, and pleasant to drink in the hot weather.

23. 'Thyoneus,' from Thyone, the mother of the so-called 'fourth' Bacchus. Cic Nat. Deor. III. 23, 58. With poetical liberty, the god is described by titles derived from two of his reputed mothers. The meaning of the passage of course is that there will be no quarrel, such as might be caused by strong and heady wine.

XVIII.

I. 'Varus.' Probably Quintilius Varus of Cremona, to whom Virgil dedicates his 6th Eclogue, and whose death is lamented in the 24th Ode of this Book. He is mentioned in Art. Poet. 438 as a judicious and skilful critic.

'plant;' severis. It seems better to explain this word, as the fut. perf. ind. expressing, like the simple fut., a gentle imperative, than as the perf. sub., which, however, regularly follows 'ne' in prohibitive sentences; e.g. 'do not say it,' 'ne dixeris,' not 'ne dicas;' 'ne dic' is poetical.

2. 'Catilus' walls.' Tibur was said to have been founded by Catillus, the son of Amphi

araus.

8. 'the Lapitha.' The reference is to the quarrel at the marriage of Pirithous and Hippodamia. Ov. Met. XII. 224.

9. 'Thracians,' lit. 'Sithonians,' a Thracian tribe. See I. 27, I.

'Evius,' a name of Bacchus, derived from the cry of the Bacchanals, εὐιῖ, εὐάν.

II. 'Bassareus.' This title of Bacchus is derived from Baoσapis, a fox-skin, such as the Bacchanals wore, Baoσápa being a Thracian word for a fox.