FOOTNOTES BOOK TWO:
Project Gutenberg EPUB3 edition
Ovid and Riley, Henry T. (Henry Thomas)
301 (return) [ The watery Peligni.—Ver. 1. In the Fourth Book of the Fasti, 1. 81, and the Fourth Book of the Tristia, 1. x. El. 3, he mentions Sulmo, a town of the Peligni, as the place of his birth. It was noted for its many streams or rivulets.]
302 (return) [ And Gyges.—Ver. 12. This giant was more generally called Gyas. He and his hundred-handed brothers, Briareus and Cæus, were the sons of Coelus and Terra.]
303 (return) [ Verses bring down.—Ver. 23. He alludes to the power of magic spells, and attributes their efficacy to their being couched in poetic measures; from which circumstance they received the name of 'carmina.']
304 (return) [ And by verses.—Ver. 28. He means to say that in the same manner as magic spells have brought down the moon, arrested the sun, and turned back rivers towards their source, so have his Elegiac strains been as wonderfully successful in softening the obduracy of his mistress.]
305 (return) [ Bagous.—Ver. 1. The name Bagoas, or, as it is here Latinized. Bagous, is said to have signified, in the Persian language, 'an eunuch.' It was probably of Chaldæan origin, having that meaning. As among the Eastern nations of the present day, the more jealous of the Romans confided the care of their wives or mistresses to eunuch slaves, who were purchased at a very large price.]
306 (return) [ Daughters of Danaus.—Ver. 4. The portico under the temple of Apollo, on the Palatine Hill, was adorned with the statues of Danaus, the son of Belus, and his forty-nine guilty daughters. It was built by Augustus, on a spot adjoining to his palace. Ovid mentions these statues in the Third Elegy of the Third Book of the Tristia, 1. 10.]
307 (return) [ Let him go.—Ver. 20. 'Eat' seems here to mean 'let him go away' from the house; but Nisard's translation renders it 'qu'il entre,' 'let him come in.']
308 (return) [ At the sacrifice.—Ver. 23. It is hard to say what 'si faciet tarde' means: it perhaps applies to the rites of Isis, mentioned in the 25th line.]
309 (return) [ Linen-clad Isis.—Ver. 25. Seethe 74th line of the Eighth Elegy of the preceding Book, and the Note to the passage; and the Pontic Epistles, Book i. line 51, and the Note. The temple of Isis, at Rome, was in the Campus Martius, or Field of Mars, near the sheep market. It was noted for the intrigues and assignations of which it was the scene.]
310 (return) [ He turns the house.—Ver. 29. As the Delphin Editor says, 'Il peut renverser la maison,' 'he can turn the house upside down.']
311 (return) [ The masters approve..—Ver. 30. He means to say that the eunuch and his mistress will be able to do just as they please.]
312 (return) [ An executioner.—Ver. 36. To blind the husband, by pretending harshness on the part of Bagous.]
313 (return) [ Of the truth.—Ver. 38 This line is corrupt, and there are about ten various readings. The meaning, however, is clear; he is, by making false charges, to lead the husband away from a suspicion of the truth; and to put him, as we say, in common parlance, on the wrong scent.]
314 (return) [ Your limited savings.—Ver. 39. 'Peculium,' here means the stock of money which a slave, with the consent of his master, laid up for his own, 'his savings.' The slaves of the Romans being not only employed in domestic offices and the labours of the field, but as agents or factors for their masters, in the management of business, and as mechanics and artisans in various trades, great profits were made through them. As they were often entrusted with a large amount of property, and considerable temptations were presented to their honesty, it became the practice to allow the slave to consider a part of his gains, perhaps a per centage, as his own; this was termed his 'peculium.' According to the strict letter of the law, the 'peculium' was the property of the master, but, by usage, it was looked upon as the property of the slave. It was sometimes agreed upon between the master and slave, that the latter should purchase his liberty with his 'peculium,' when it amounted to a certain sum. If the slave was manumitted by the owner in his lifetime, his 'peculium' was considered to be given him, with his liberty, unless it was expressly retained.]
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.]