Chapter V: Book THE THIRD: Elegy I (3)

[Footnote 195: To become bail.--Ver. 19. This passage has given much trouble to the Commentators, but it has been well explained by Burmann, whose ideas on the subject are here adopted. The word 'sponsum' has been generally looked upon here as a noun substantive, whereas it is the active supine of the verb 'spondeo,' 'to become bail' or 'security.' The meaning then is, that some rise early, that they may go and become bail for a friend, and thereby incur risk and inconvenience, through uttering a single word, 'spondeo,' 'I become security,' which was the formula used. The obligation was coutracted orally, and for the purpose of evidencing it, witnesses were necessary; for this reason the undertaking was given, as in the present instance, in the presence of a 'jurisconsultus.']

[Footnote 198: To the pleader.--Ver. 21. 'Causidicus' was the person who pleads the cause of his client in court before the Prætor or other judges.]

[Footnote 199: What if.--Ver. 33. Heinsius and other Commentators think that this line and the next are spurious. The story of Cephalus and Procris is related at the close of the Seventh Book of the Metamorphoses.]

[Footnote 201: The Moon gave.--Ver. 43. Ovid says that Diana sent the sleep upon Endymion, whereas it was Jupiter who did so, as a punishment for his passion for Juno; he alludes to the youthfulness of the favorite of Diana, antithetically to the old age of Tithonus, the husband of Aurora.]

[Footnote 202: Two nights together.--Ver. 46. When he slept with Acmena, under the form of her husband Amphion.]

[Footnote 203: Doctoring your hair.--Ver. 1. Among the ancient Greeks, black hair was the most frequent, but that of a blonde colour was most valued. It was not uncommon with them to dye it when turning grey, so as to make it a black or blonde colour, according to the requirement of the case. Blonde hair was much esteemed by the Romans, and the ladies were in the habit of washing their hair with a composition to make it of this colour. This was called 'spuma caustica,' or, 'caustic soap,' wich was first used by the Gauls and Germans; from its name, it was probably the substance which had been used inthe present instance.]

[Footnote 204: So far as ever.--Ver. 4. By this he means as low as her ancles.]

[Footnote 205: Afraid to dress.--Ver. 5. He means to say, that it was so fine that she did not dare to curl it, for fear of injuring it.]

[Footnote 206: Just like the veils.--Ver. 6. Burmann thinks that 'fila,' 'threads,' is better here than 'vela,' and that it is the correct reading. The swarthy Seres here mentioned, were perhaps the Chinese, who probably began to import their silks into Rome about this period. The mode of producing silk does not seem to have been known to Virgil, who speaks, in the Second Book of the Georgies, of the Seres combing it off the leaves of trees. Pliny also, in his Sixth Book, gives the same account. Ovid, however, seems to refer to silkworms under the name of 'agrestes tineæ,' in the Fifteenth Book of the Metamorphoses, 1. 372.]

[Footnote 208: Neither the bodkin.--Ver. 15. This was the 'discerniculum,' a 'bodkin,' which was used in parting the hair.]

[Footnote 210: Bid the bodkin.--Ver. 18. The 'acus' here mentioned, was probably the 'discemicirium,' and not the 'crinale,' or hair-pin that was worn in the hair; as the latter was worn when the hair was bound up at the back of the head; whereas, judging from the length of the hair of his mistress, she most probably wore it in ringlets. He says that he never saw her snatch up the bodkin and stick it in the arm of the 'ornatrix.']

[Footnote 211: Iron and the fire.--Ver. 25. He alludes to the unnecessary application of the curling-iron to hair which naturally curled so well.]

[Footnote 212: The very locks instruct.--Ver. 30. Because they naturally assume as advantageous an appearance as the bodkin could possibly give them, when arranged with the utmost skill.]

[Footnote 213: Dione is painted.--Ver. 34. Pliny, book xxxv. c. 4, mentions a painting, by Apelles, in which Venus was represented as rising from the sea. It was placed, by Augustus, in the temple of Julius Caesar; and the lower part having become decayed, no one could be found of sufficient ability to repair it.]

[Footnote 214: Lay down the mirror.--Ver. 16. The mirror was usually held by the 'ornatrix,' while her mistress arranged her hair.]

[Footnote 215: Herbs of a rival.--Ver. 39. No person would be more likely than the 'pellex,' or concubine, to resort to charms and drugs, for the purpose of destroying the good looks of the married woman whose husband she wishes to retain.]

[Footnote 216: All bad omens.--Ver. 41. So superstitious were the Romans, that the very mention of death, or disease, was deemed ominous of ill.]

[Footnote 217: Germany will be sending.--Ver 45. Germany having been lately conquered by the arms of Augustus, he says that she must wear false hair, taken from the German captives. It was the custom to cut short the locks of the captives, and the German women were famed for the beauty of their hair.]

[Footnote 218: Sygambrian girl.--Ver. 49. The Sygambri were a people of Ger many, living on the banks of the rivers Lippe and Weser.]

[Footnote 219: For that spot.--Ver. 53. She carries a lock of the hair, which had fallen off, in her bosom.]

[Footnote 221: My tongue for hire.--Ver. 6. Although the 'patronus pleaded the cause of the 'cliens,' without reward, still, by the use of the word 'pros-tituisse,' Ovid implies that the services of the advocate were often sold at a price. It must be remembered, that Ovid had been educated for the Roman bar, which he had left in disgust.]

[Footnote 222: Mæonian bard.--Ver. 9. Strabo says, that Homer was a native of Smyrna, which was a city of Maeonia, a province of Phrygia. But Plutarch says, that he was called 'Maeonius,' from Maeon, a king of Lydia, who adopted him as his son.]

[Footnote 223: Tenedos and Ida.--Ver. 10. Tenedos, Ida, and Simois, were the scenes of some portions of the Homeric narrative. The first was near Troy, in sight of it, as Virgil says--'est in conspectu Tenedos.']

[Footnote 224: The Ascræan, tool--Ver. 11. Hesiod of Ascræa, in Boeotia, wrote chieflv upon agricultural subjects. See the Pontic Epistles, Book iv. ep. xiv. 1. 38.]

[Footnote 225: With its juices.--Ver. 11. The 'mustum' was the pure jidcc of the grape before it was boiled down and became 'sapa,' or 'defrutum.' See the Fasti, Book iv. 1. 779, and the Note to the passage.]

[Footnote 226: The son of Battus.--Ver. 13. As to the poet Callimachus, the son of Battus, see the Tristia, Book ii. 1. 367, and the Ibis, 1. 55.]

[Footnote 227: To the tragic buskin.--Ver. 15. On the 'cothurnus,' or 'buskin,' see the Tristia, Book ii. 1. 393, and the Note to the passage. Sophocles was one of the most famous of the Athenian Tragedians. He is supposed to have composed more than one hundred and twenty tragedies, of which only seven are remaining.]

[Footnote 228: Aratus.--Ver. 16. Aratus was a Greek poet, a native of Cilicia, in Asia Minor. He wrote some astronomical poems, of which one, called 'Phænomena,' still exists. His style is condemned by Quintilian, although it is here praised by Ovid. His 'Phænomena' was translated into Latin by Cicero, Germanicus Caesar, and Sextus Avienus.]

[Footnote 229: The deceitful slave.--Ver. 17. Although the plays of Menander have perished, we can judge from Terence and Plautus, how well he depicted the craftiness of the slave, the severity of the father, the dishonesty of the procuress, and the wheedling ways of the courtesan. Four of the plays of Terence are translations from Menander. See the Tristia, Book ii. 1. 369, and the Note to the passage.]

[Footnote 230: Ennius.--Ver. 19. Quintus Ennius was a Latin poet, a Calabrian by birth. He flourished about 408 years before Christ. The few fragments of his works that remain, show the ruggedness and uncouth nature of his style. He wrote the Annals of Italy in heroic verse.]

[Footnote 231: Accius.--Ver. 19. See the Second Book of the Tristia, 1. 359, and the Note to the passage.]

[Footnote 232: Of Varro.--Ver. 21. He refers to Publius Terentius Varro Attacinus, who wrote on the Argonautic expedition. See the Tristia, Book ii. 1. 439, and the Pontic Epistles, Book iv. Ep. xvi. 1. 21.]

[Footnote 233: Lucretius.--Ver. 23. Titus Lucretius Carus is referred to, whose noble poem on the Epicurean philosophy is still in existence (translated in Bohn's Classical Library). See the Tristia, Book ii. 1. 261 and 426, and the Notes to those passages.]

[Footnote 234: Tityrus.--Ver. 25. Under this name he alludes to Virgil, who introduces himself under the name of Tityrus, in his first Eclogue, See the Pontic Epistles, *Boek iv. Ep. xvi. 1. 33.]

[Footnote 235: So long as thou, Rome.--Ver. 26. His prophecy has been surpassed by the event. Rome is no longer the 'caput urbis,' but the works of Virgil are still read by all civilized nations.]

[Footnote 236: Polished Tibullus.--Ver. 28. Albius Tibullus was a Roman poet of Equestrian rank, famous for the beauty of his compositions. He was born in the same year as Ovid, but died at an early age. Ovid mentions him in the Tristia, Book ii. 1. 447 and 463, Book iv. Ep. x. 1. 52, and Book v. Ep. i. 1. 18. In the Third Book of the Amores, El. 9, will be found his Lament on the death of Tibullus.]

[Footnote 237: Gallus --Ver. 29. Cornelius Gallus was a Roman poet of considerable merit. See the Tristia, Book ii 1. 445, and the Note to the passage, and the Amores, Book iii. El. 1.]

[Footnote 238: By the East.--Ver. 29. Gallus was the Roman governor of Egypt, which was an Eastern province of Rome.]

[Footnote 239: The golden Tagus.--Ver. 34. Pliny and other authors make mention of the golden sands of the Tagus, which flowed through the province of Lusitania, now Portugal.]

[Footnote 240: The closing fire.--Ver. 41. Pliny says that the ancient Romans buried the dead; but in consequence of the bones being disturbed by continual warfare, they adopted the system of burning them.]

FOOTNOTES BOOK TWO:

[Footnote 301: 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.]

[Footnote 302: 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.]

[Footnote 303: 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.']

[Footnote 304: 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.]

[Footnote 305: 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.]

[Footnote 306: 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.]

[Footnote 307: 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.']

[Footnote 308: 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.]

If she shall be slow in her sacrifice.']

[Footnote 309: 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.]

[Footnote 310: He turns the house.--Ver. 29. As the Delphin Editor says, 'Il peut renverser la maison,' 'he can turn the house upside down.']

[Footnote 311: The masters approve..--Ver. 30. He means to say that the eunuch and his mistress will be able to do just as they please.]

[Footnote 312: An executioner.--Ver. 36. To blind the husband, by pretending harshness on the part of Bagous.]

[Footnote 313: 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.]

[Footnote 314: 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.]

[Footnote 315: 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.]

[Footnote 325: Tongue caused this.--Ver. 44. According to one account, his punishment was inflicted for revealing the secrets of the Gods.]

[Footnote 326: Appointed by Juno.--Ver. 45. This was Argus, whose fate is related at the end of the First Book of the Metamorphoses.]

[Footnote 327: 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.]

[Footnote 328: Mutilate Joys --Ver. 3. According to most accounts, Semiramis was the first who put in practice this abominable custom.]

[Footnote 329: Standard be borne.--Ver. 10. He means, that he is bound, with his mistress to follow the standard of Cupid, and not of Mars.]

[Footnote 330: 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.]

[Footnote 332: Sabine dames.--Ver. 15. Juvenal, in his Tenth Satire, 1. 293, mentions the Sabine women as examples of prudence and chastity.]

[Footnote 333: 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.']

[Footnote 334: Modulates her voice.--Ver. 25. Perhaps 'flectere vocem' means what we technically call, in the musical art, 'to quaver.']

[Footnote 335: 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.]

[Footnote 336: Hippolytus.--Ver. 32. Hippolytus was an example of chastity, while Priapus was the very ideal of lustfulness.]

[Footnote 337: 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.]

[Footnote 338: 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.']

[Footnote 339: 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.']

[Footnote 342: 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.]

[Footnote 343: Moving your eyebrows.--Ver. 15. See the Note to the 19th line of the Fourth Elegy of the preceding Book.]

[Footnote 344: Were not silent.--Ver. 17. See the Note to the 20th line of the same Elegy.]

[Footnote 345: Traced over with wine.--Ver. 18. See the 22nd and 26th lines of the same Elegy.]

[Footnote 346: 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.]

[Footnote 347: 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.]

[Footnote 348: 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.]

[Footnote 349: 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.]

[Footnote 350: Assyrian ivory.--Ver. 40. As Assyria adjoined India, the word 'Assyrium' is here used by poetical licence, as really meaning 'Indian.']

[Footnote 351: 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.]

[Footnote 352: 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.]

[Footnote 353: The imitative bird.--Ver. 1. Statius, in his Second Book, calls the parrot 'Humanæ sollers imitator linguæ,' 'the clever imitator of the human voice.']

[Footnote 354: 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.]

[Footnote 360: 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.]

[Footnote 361: The Phocian youth.--Ver. 15. He alludes to the friendship of Orestes and Pylades the Phocian, the son of Strophius.]

[Footnote 362: So prettily.--Ver. 24. 'Bene' means here, 'prettily,' or 'cleverly,' rather than 'distinctly,' which would be inconsistent with the signification of blæsus.]

[Footnote 363: 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.]

[Footnote 364: The foreboder.--Ver. 34. Festus Avienus, in his Prognostics, mentions the jackdaw as foreboding rain by its chattering.]

[Footnote 366: Armed Minerva.--Ver. 35. See the story of the Nymph Coronis, in the Second Book of the Metamorphoses.]

[Footnote 367: After nine ages.--Ver. 36. Pliny makes the life of the crow to last for a period of three hundred years.]

[Footnote 368: Destined numbers.--Ver. 40. 'Numeri' means here, the similar. parts of one whole: 'the allotted portions of human life.']

[Footnote 369: 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.]

[Footnote 370: 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.]

[Footnote 371: The Elysian hill.--Ver. 49. He kindly imagines a place for the souls of the birds that are blessed.]

[Footnote 372: By his words.--Ver. 58. His calling around him, in human accents, the other birds in the Elysian fields, is ingeniously and beautifully imagined.]

[Footnote 377: 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.]

[Footnote 378: Am I then.--Ver. 1. 'Ergo' here is very expressive. 'Am I always then to be made the subject of fresh charges?']

[Footnote 379: 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.]

[Footnote 380: 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.]

[Footnote 387: With the whip.--Ver. 22. From this we see that the whip was applied to the female slaves, as well as the males.]

[Footnote 388: Carpathian ocean..--Ver. 20. See the Metamorphoses, Book xi.]

1. 249, and the Note to this passage.]

[Footnote 389: Swarthy Cypassis.--Ver. 22. From this expression, she was probably a native of Egypt or Syria.]

[Footnote 390: 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.]

[Footnote 391: 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.]

[Footnote 392: 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.]

[Footnote 393: Free from the race.--Ver. 20. Literally, 'the starting place.']

[Footnote 394: 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.]

[Footnote 395: 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.]

[Footnote 396: Without my arms.--Ver. 3. 'Inermis,' may be rendered, 'off my guard.']

[Footnote 397: 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.]

[Footnote 401: That are thin.--Ver 23. The Poet was of slender figure.]

[Footnote 402: Arm his breast --Ver. 31. He alludes to the 'lorica,' or cuirass, which was worn by the soldiers.]

[Footnote 403: 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.]

[Footnote 404: The meeting rocks.--Ver 3. See the 121st line of the Epistle of Medea to Jason, and the Note to the passage.]

[Footnote 405: Tinted pebbles.--Ver. 13. The 'picti lapilli' are probably camelians, which are found on the sea shore, and are of various tints.]

[Footnote 406: The recreation.--Ver. 14. 'Mora,' 'delay,' is put here for that which causes the delay. 'That is a pleasure which belongs to the shore.']

[Footnote 407: 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.]

[Footnote 409: 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.]

[Footnote 410: In the couch.--Ver. 31. 'Torus' most probably means, in this place a sofa, on which the ladies would recline while reading.]

[Footnote 411: 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.]

[Footnote 412: My Divinities.--Ver. 44. See the Second Epistle, 1. 126, and the Note to the passage.]

[Footnote 413: As a table.--Ver. 48. This denotes his impatience to entertain her once again, and to hear the narrative of her adventures.]

[Footnote 414: Though they be fictions.--Ver. 53. He gives a sly hit here at the tales of travellers.]

[Footnote 415: 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.]

[Footnote 416: 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.']

[Footnote 417: 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.]

[Footnote 421: '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.]

[Footnote 422: Thou who dost.--Ver. 7. Io was said to be worshipped under the name of Isis.]

[Footnote 423: 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.]

[Footnote 424: 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.]

[Footnote 425: 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.]

[Footnote 426: Pharos.--Ver. 8. See the Metamorphoses, Book ix. 1. 772, and Book xv. 1. 287, with the Notes to the passages.]

[Footnote 428: 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.]

[Footnote 429: 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.]

[Footnote 430: Osiris.--Ver. 12. See the Metamorphoses, Book ix. 1. 692, and the Note to the passage.]

[Footnote 431: 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.]

[Footnote 432: The horned Apis.--Ver. 14. See the Ninth Book of the Metamorphoses, 1. 691, and the Note to the passage.]

[Footnote 433: 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.]

[Footnote 434: 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.']

[Footnote 435: On which.--Ver. 18. 'Queis' seems a preferable reading to 'qua.']

[Footnote 436: 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.]

[Footnote 437: 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.]

[Footnote 438: Ilithyia.--Ver. 21. As to the Goddess Ilithyia, see the Ninth Book of the Metamorphoses, 1. 283, and the Note to the passage.]

[Footnote 439: With their bucklers.--Ver. 2. Armed with 'peltæ,' or bucklers, like the Amazons.]

[Footnote 440: 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.]

[Footnote 441: Again throw stones.--Ver. 12. He alludes to Deucalion and Pyr-rha. See the First Book of the Metamorphoses.]

[Footnote 442: Ilia had destroyed.--Ver. 16. Romulus was her son. See her story, related at the beginning of the Third Book of the Fasti.]

[Footnote 443: 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.]

[Footnote 444: Armenian dens.--Ver. 35. See the Metamorphoses, Book viii. 1. 126, and the Note to the passage.]

[Footnote 445: Many a time.--Ver. 38. He seems here to speak of this practice as being frequently resorted to.]

[Footnote 446: 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.]

[Footnote 447: 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.]

[Footnote 448: 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.]

[Footnote 449: Be able to seal--Ver. 15. From this, it appears to have been a signet ring.]

[Footnote 450: Touch the lips.--Ver. 17. See the Tristia, Book v., El. iv. 1 5, and the Note to the passage.]

[Footnote 459: 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.]

[Footnote 460: Sulmo.--Ver. 1. See the Note to the first line of the First Elegy of this Book.]

[Footnote 461: 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.]

[Footnote 462: 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.]

[Footnote 463: The thin soil.--Ver. 8. 'Rarus ager' means, a 'thin' or 'loose' soil, which was well suited for the cultivation of the grape.]

[Footnote 464: 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.']

[Footnote 465: Lengthened tracks.--Ver. 16. To the Delphin Editor this seems a silly expression.]

[Footnote 466: The stormy Alps.--Ver. 19. See the Metamorphoses, Book ii. 1. 226, and the Note to the passage.]

[Footnote 467: The obedient stream.--Ver. 35. This was a method of irrigation in agriculture, much resorted to by the ancients.]

[Footnote 468: Fierce Cilicians --Ver. 39. The people of the interior of Cilicia, in Asia Minor, were of rude and savage manners while those on the coast had been engaged in piracy, until it had been effectually suppressed by Pompey.]

[Footnote 469: Britons painted green.--Ver. 39. The Britons may be called 'virides,' from their island being surrounded by the sea; or, more probably, from the colour with which they were in the habit of staining their bodies. Cæsar says, in the Fifth Book of the Gallic war, 'The Britons stain themselves with woad, 'vitrum,' or 'glastum,' which produces a blue colour: and thus they become of a more dreadful appearance in battle.' The conquest of Britain, by Cæsar, is alluded to in the Fifteenth Book of the Metamorphoses, 1. 752.]

[Footnote 471: Loves the vine.--Ver. 41. The custom of training vines by the side of the elm, has been alluded to in a previous Note. See also the Metamorphoses, Book xiv. 1. 663, and the Note to the passage.]

[Footnote 472: As the nags.--Ver. 49. The 'manni' were used by the Romans for much the same purpose as our coach-horses; and were probably more noted for their fleetness than their strength; They were a small breed, originally imported from Gaul, and the possession of them was supposed to indicate the possession of considerable wealth. As the 'esseda' was a small vehicle, and probably of light structure, we must not be surprised at Corinna being in the habit of driving for herself. The distance from Rome to Sulmo was about ninety miles: and the journey, from his expressions in the fifty-first and fifty-second lines, must have been over hill and dale.]

[Footnote 473: Your little chaise.--Ver. 49. For an account of the 'essedum,' or 'esseda,' see the Pontic Epistles, Book ii. Ep. 10, 1. 34, and the Note to the passage.]

[Footnote 474: King of Pkthia.--Ver. 17.] He alludes to the marriage of Thetis, the sea Goddess, to Peleus, the king of Phthia, in Thessaly.]

[Footnote 475: His anvil.--Ver. 19. It is a somewhat curious fact, that the anvils of the ancients exactly resembled in form and every particular those used at the present day.]

[Footnote 476: Becomingly united.--Ver. 22. He says, that in the Elegiac measure the Pentameter, or line of five feet, is not unhappily matched with the Hexameter, or heroic line of six feet.]

[Footnote 477: Disavowed by you.--Ver. 26. 'Voids' seems more agreable to the sense of the passage, than 'nobis.' 'to be denied by us;' as, from the context, there was no fear of his declining her affection.]

[Footnote 478: That she is Corinna.--Ver. 29. This clearly proves that Corinna was not a real name; it probably was not given by the Poet to any one of his female acquaintances in particular.]

[Footnote 479: Thy poem onwards.--Ver. 1. Macer translated the Iliad of Homer into Latin verse, and composed an additional poem, commencing at the beginning of the Trojan war, and coming down to the wrath of Achilles, with which Homer begins.]

[Footnote 480: I, Macer.--Ver. 3. Æmilius Macer is often mentioned by Ovid in his works. In the Tristia, Book iv. Ep. 10,1.41, he says, 'Macer, when stricken in years, many a time repeated to me his poem on birds, and each serpent that is deadly, each herb that is curative.' The Tenth Epistle of the Second Book of Pontic Epistles is also addressed to him, in which Ovid alludes to his work on the Trojan war, and the time when they visited Asia Minor and Sicily together. He speaks of him in the Sixteenth Epistle of the Fourth Book, as being then dead. Macer was a native of Verona, and was the intimate friend of Virgil, Ovid, and Tibullus. Some suppose that the poet who wrote on natural history, was not the same with him who wrote on the Trojan war; and, indeed, it does not seem likely, that he who was an old man in the youth of Ovid, should be the same person to whom he writes from Pontus, when about fifty-six years of age. The bard of Ilium died in Asia.]

[Footnote 481: Tragedy grew apace.--Ver. 13. He alludes to his tragedy of Medea, which no longer exists. Quintilian thus speaks of it: 'The Medea of Ovid seems to me to prove how much he was capable of, if he had only preferred to curb his genius, rather than indulge it.']

[Footnote 482: Sabinus return.--Ver. 27. He represents his friend, Sabinus, here in the character of a 'tabellarius,' or 'letter carrier,' going with extreme speed (celer) to the various parts of the earth, and bringing back the answers of Ulysses to Penelope, Hippolytus to Phaedra, Æneas to Dido, Demophoôn to Phyllis, Jason to Hypsipyle, and Phaon to Sappho. All these works of Sabinus have perished, except the Epistle of Ulysses to Penelope, and Demophoôn to Phyllis. His Epistle from Paris to Oenonc, is not here mentioned. See the Pontic Epistles, Book iv. Ep. xvi. 1. 13, and the Note to the passage.]

[Footnote 483: Bring back letters.--Ver. 28. As the ancients had no establishment corresponding to our posts, they employed special messengers called 'tabellarii,' for the conveyance of their letters.]

[Footnote 484: Vowed to Phobus.--Ver. 34. Sappho says in her Epistle, that if Phaon should refuse to return, she will dedicate her lyre to Phobus, and throw herself from the Leucadian rock. This, he tells her, she may now-do, as by his answer Phaon declines to return.]

[Footnote 485: Pain in her head.--Ver. 11. She pretended a head-ache, when nothing wras the matter with her; in order that too much familiarity, in the end, might not breed contempt.]

[Footnote 486: A surfeit of love.--Ver. 25. 'l'inguis amor' seems here to mear a satisfied 'ora 'pampered passion;' one that meets with no repulse.]

[Footnote 487: Enclosed Danaë.--Ver. 27. See the Metamorphoses, Book iv., 1.]

[Footnote 488: The dogs bark.--Ver. 40. The women of loose character, among the Romans, were much in the habit of keeping dogs, for the protection of their houses.]

FOOTNOTES BOOK THREE:

[Footnote 501: Than the other.--Ver. 8. 'He alludes to the unequal lines of the Elegiac measure, which consists of Hexameters and Pentameters. In personifying Elegy, he might have omitted this remark, as it does not add to the attractions of a lady, to have one foot longer than the other; he says, however, that it added to her gracefulness.]

[Footnote 502: The Lydian buskin.--Ver. 14. As Lydia was said to have sent colonists to Etruria, some Commentators think that the word 'Lydius' here means 'Etrurian and that the first actors at Rome were Etrurians. But, as the Romans derived their notions of tragedy from the Greeks, we may conclude that Lydia in Asia Minor is here referred to; for we learn from Herodotus and other historians, that the Greeks borrowed largely from the Lydians.]

[Footnote 503: Drunken revels.--Ver. 17. He probably alludes to the Fourth Elegy of the First, and the Fifth Elegy of the Second Book of the 'Amores.']

[Footnote 505: Mighty inspiration.--Ver. 23. The 'thyrsus' was said to have been first used by the troops of Bacchus, in his Indian expedition, when, to deceive the Indians, they concealed the points of their spears amid leaves of the vine and ivy. Similar weapons were used by his devotees when worshipping him, which they brandished to and fro. To be touched with the thyrsus of Bacchus, meant 'to be inspired with poetic frenzy.' See the Notes to the Metamorphoses, Book iii. 1. 542.]

[Footnote 506: In unequal numbers.--Ver. 37. Some have supposed, that allusion is made to the Tragedy of Medea, which Ovid had composed, and that it had been written in Elegiac measure. This, however, does not seem to be the meaning of the passage. Elegy justly asks Tragedy, why, if she has such a dislike to Elegiac verses, she has been talking in them? which she has done, from the 15th line to the 30th.]

[Footnote 507: Myself the patroness.--Ver. 44. She certainly does not give herself a very high character in giving herself the title of 'lena.']

[Footnote 508: The fastened door.--Ver. 50. He alludes, probably, to one of the Elegies which he rejected, when he cut down the five books to three.]

[Footnote 509: In a hose tunic.--Ver. 51. He may possibly allude to the Fifth Elegy of the First Book, as the words 'tunicâ velata recinctâ,' as applied to Corinna, are there found. But there he mentions midday as the time when Corinna came to him, whereas he seems here to allude to the middle of the night.]

[Footnote 510: Cut in the wood.--Ver. 53. He alludes to the custom of lovers carving inscriptions on the doors of their obdurate mistresses: this we learn from Plautus to have been done in Elegiac strains, and sometimes with charcoal. 'Implentur meæ fores clegiarum carbonibus.' 'My doors are filled with the coal-black marks of elegies.']

[Footnote 511: On her birthday.--Ver. 57. She is telling Ovid what she has put up with for his sake; and she reminds him how, when he sent to his mistress some complimentary lines on her birthday, she tore them up and threw them in the water. Horace mentions 'the flames, or the Adriatic sea,' as the end of verses that displeased. Athenseus, Book xiii. c. 5, relates a somewhat similai story. Diphilus the poet was in the habit of sending his verses to his mistress Gnathæna. One day she was mixing him a cup of wine and snow-water, on which he observed, how cold her well must be; to which she answered, yes, for it was there that she used to throw his compositions.]

[Footnote 514: From behind.--Ver. 70. It is not known, for certain, to what he refers in this line. Some think that he refers to the succeeding Elegies in this Book, which are, in general, longer than the former ones, while others suppose that he refers to his Metamorphoses, which he then contemplated writing. Burmann, however, is not satisfied with this explanation, and thinks that, in his more mature years, he contemplated the composition of Tragedy, after having devoted his youth to lighter snbjects; and that he did not compose, or even contemplate the composition of his Metamorphoses, until many years afterwards.]

[Footnote 515: I am not sitting here.--Ver. 1. He is here alluding to the Circen-sian games, which were celebrating in the Circus Maximus, or greatest Circus, at Rome, at different times in the year. Some account is given of the Circus Maximus in the Note to 1. 392. of the Second Book of the Fasti. The 'Magni,' or Great Circensian games, took place on the Fourth of the Ides of April. The buildings of the Circus were burnt in the conflagration of Rome, in Nero's reign; and it was not restored till the days of Trajan, who rebuilt it with more than its former magnificence, and made it capable, according to some authors, of accommodating 385,000 persons. The Poet says, that he takes no particular interest himself in the race, but hopes that the horse may win which is her favourite.]

[Footnote 516: The spirited steeds.--Ver. 2. The usual number of chariots in each race was four. The charioteers were divided into four companies, or 'fac-tiones,' each distinguished by a colour, representing the season of the year. These colours were green for the spring, red for the summer, azure for the autumn, and white for the winter. Originally, but two chariots started in each race; but Domitian increased the number to six, appointing two new companies of charioteers, the golden and the purple; however the number was still, more usually, restricted to four. The greatest interest was shewn by all classes, and by both sexes, in the race. Lists of the horses were circulated, with their names and colours; the names also of the charioteers were given, and bets were extensively made, (see the Art of Love, Book i. 1. 167, 168,) and sometimes disputes and violent contests arose.]

[Footnote 517: To be seated by you.--Ver. 3. The men and women sat together when viewing the contests of the Circus, and not in separate parts of the building, as at the theatres.]

[Footnote 518: Happy the driver.--Ver. 7. He addresses the charioteer.]

[Footnote 519: The sacred barrier.--Ver. 9. For an account of the 'career,' or 'starting-place,' see the Notes to the Tristia, Book v. El. ix. 1. 29. It is called 'sacer,' because the whole of the Circus Maximus was sacred to Consus, who is supposed by some to have been the same Deity as Neptune. The games commenced with sacrifices to the Deities.]

[Footnote 520: I would give rein.--Ver. 11. The charioteer was wont to stand within the reins, having them thrown round his back. Leaning backwards, he thereby threw his full weight against the horses, when he wished to check them at full speed. This practice, however, was dangerous, and by it the death of Hippolytus was caused. In the Fifteenth Book of the Metamorphoses,1. 524, he says, 'I struggled, with unavailing hand, to guide the bridle covered with white foam, and throwing myself "backwards, I pulled back the loosened reins.' To avoid the danger of this practice, the charioteer carried a hooked knife at his waist, for the purpose of cutting the reins on an emergency.]

[Footnote 521: The turning-place.--Ver. 12. For an account of the 'meta.'see the Tristia, Book iv. El. viii.l. 35. Of course, thpse who kept as close to the 'meta' as possible, would lose the least distance in turning round it.]

[Footnote 522: How nearly was Pelops.--Ver. 15. In his race with Onomaüs, king of Pisa, in Arcadia, for the hand of his daughter, Hippodamia, when Pelops conquered his adversary by bribing his charioteer, Myrtilus.]

[Footnote 523: Of his mistress.--Ver. 17. He here seems to imply that it was Hippodamia who bribed Myrtilus.]

[Footnote 524: Shrink away in vain.--Ver. 19. She shrinks from him, and seems to think that he is sitting too close, but he tells her that the 'linea' forces them to squeeze. This 'linea' is supposed to have been either cord, or a groove, drawn across the seats at regular intervals, so as to mark out room for a certain number of spectators between each two 'lineæ.']

[Footnote 525: Has this advantage.--Ver. 20. He congratulates himsdf on the construction of the place, so aptly giving him an excuse for sitting close to his mistress.]

[Footnote 526: But do you --Ver. 21. He is pretending to be very anxious for her comfort, and is begging the person on the other side not to squeeze so close against his mistress.]