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Quum Phrygis Assaraci Titania fratre relicto
Sustulit immenso ter jubar orbe suum,
Mille venit variis florum dea nexa coronis: 945
Scena joci morem liberioris habet.
Exit et in Maias sacrum Morale Kalendas.
Tunc repetam: nunc me grandius urget opus.
Aufert Vesta diem: cognati Vesta recepta est
Limine. Sic justi constituere senes. 950
Phoebus habet partem; Vestas pars altera cessit:
Quod superest illis, tertius ipse tenet.
State Palatinae laurus, praetextaque quercu
Stet domus. Aeternos tres habet una deos.

NOTES:

1. The poet, when about to commence the month of April, invokes Venus, to
whom that month was sacred.--_Dlxi_. Four MSS. followed by Heinsius and
Gierig, read _vati_, which is, I think, more Ovidian.--_Gem. Amor_. It is
doubtful who these two Loves were, whether the [Greek: Eros] and [Greek:
Imeros] of Hesiod (Th. 20l.) i.e. the _Cupido_ and _Jocus_ of Horace,
(Car. I. 2. 33.) or the celestial and terrestrial Loves of Plato, or the
Eros and Anteros of Cicero, (N. D. iii. 23.) See Mythology, p. 112.

4. Alluding to his Amores, etc. See II. 5.

5. _Risit_, etc. Compare Virg. aen. I. 225.

7. The poets of the Augustan age were fond of comparing love to military
service, and employed the terms of Roman discipline when speaking of it.

9. Love was suitable and becoming to youth. Compare Hor. Ep. I. 14, 36.

10. See II. 360. _Pulsanda est magnis area major equis_. Amor. III. 15,
18, alluding to the races in the Circus.

11, 12. Repeated from I. 1, 2, 7.

15. The myrtle was the favourite plant of Venus. _Dixit_ (Venus) _et a
myrto_ (_myrto nam cincta capillos Constiterat_) _folium granaque pauca
dedit. Sensimus acceptis numen quoque, purior aether Fulsit, et a toto
pectore cessit onus_. A. A. III. 53. Compare Burns' Vision, last stanza.

18. While I have the inspiration of Venus.

20. _Caesar_, Germanicus.-_Tenearis_. You (i. e. your attention) may be
detained. See Trist. iv. 10, 49. Hor. Ep. I. 1, 81.

21, 22. The waxen figures (_imagines_) of all their ancestors, stood in
the halls of the noble Romans, and they had all a _stemma_, or genealogy
of their family, which _descended_ from the first author of it. Venus, as
mother of aeneas, was at the head of the _stemma_ of the Julii, into which
family Germanicus was entered by adoption, I. 3, 10, _notes_.

23. _Pat. Il_. Romulus, the son of Ilia.--_Scriberet_, i. e.
_describeret_ in menses.

24. _Auct. suos_. Mars and Venus.

27. There were all the Alban kings between aeneas and Romulus.

29, 30. He traced his lineage up to the gods.

31. _Nesciret_, i.e. _Quis nesciret_?

32. _Scilicet_ is usually joined with the preceding line, and a semicolon
placed after it; but see I. 29, II. 241, IV. 627. For this genealogy, see
Hom. II. xx. 215, _et seq_. Virg. G. III. 35. Mythology, p. 435.

37, 38. See I. 527. Virg. aen. III. 148.

39. _Aliquando_, at length.

40. See Livy, I. 3. Virg. aen. I. 268.--_Teucros_. This name of the
Trojans does not occur in Homer and the older Greek poets, and but rarely
in the later. Like Graecus, Graius, it is constantly employed by the Latin
poets.

41-56. Ovid has also given the series of Alban kings, in Met. xiv. 609,
_et seq_. but somewhat differently. This list differs from that in Livy
only by omitting aeneas, after Silvius, and by giving Epytos for Atis, and
Calpetus for Capetus. The list in Dionysius differs but little. This
writer adds Silvius to the names of all, after the grandson of aeneas. For
these Alban kings, whose names are, beyond doubt, a fiction of later
times, to fill up the space which the chronology of the Greeks gave
between the fall of Troy and the building of Rome, see Livy, I. 3.
Niebuhr, Rom. Hist. I. 202. Compare the equally veracious poetic
genealogy of the British kings in Spenser's Faerie Queene, B. II. c. x.

46. _Calpete_. The reading of several MSS. is _Capete_, but the metre
requires Calpete, which Neapolis gave from Dionysius and Eusebius.

48. _Tuscae aquae_, of the Albula, II. 389.

61. The ancients gave two etymons of the name April, one Greek, _quasi
Aphrilis_, from, [Greek: Aphroditae], the name of Venus, and its supposed
root, [Greek: aphros]: the other Latin, from _aperio_. Ovid, to gratify
the Julian family, adopts and defends the former, which is by far the
less probable. _Secundus mensis, ut Fulvius Flaccus scribit et Junius
Gracchus, a Venere, quod ea sit [Greek: Aphroditae]. Varro, L. L. V.

63. He tries to obviate the objection, that an ancient Roman name could
not have been derived from the Greek.

64. The south of Italy, as being filled with Grecian colonies, and larger
than Greece Proper, was named Magna Graecia. 65-68. See I. 471, 543, V.
643.

69. _Dux Neritius_. Ulysses, from the hill Neritus, in Ithaca, Hom. Od.
ix. 2l.--_Laestrygones_. Od. x. 120. This tribe of cannibals was placed by
some of the localisers of the Homeric fables at Formiae, in Campania.

70-72. aeaea, the isle of Circe, was supposed to be the promontary,
Circeii.--_Circeii, insula quondam immense mari circumdata, at nunc
planitio_, Pliny, H. N. iii. 5, 9. Tusculum was said to have been founded
by Telegonus, her son by Ulysses. For the Laestrygones and Circe, see
Mythology, pp. 241, 242. Tibur was said to owe its origin to Tiburnus,
Catillus and Coras, three brothers, who led thither a colony from Argos.
Hor. Car. II. 6, 5. Virg. aen. vii. 670.--_Udi_, on account of the Anien,
and the rivulets and springs about it. See Hor. Car. III. 29, 6; also I.
7, 13.

73. _Halesus_. See Amor. III. 13, 31. Virg. aen. vii. 723. Halesus was
said to have been a son or grandson of Atreus, who, on the murder of
Agamemnon, fled to Italy, where he founded Falerii, and introduced the
worship of Juno. The worship of Juno, both in Argos and Falerii, probably
gave occasion to the legend, and the name Halesus was formed from
Falisci. F. and H. are commutable. See on v. 630.

75. See Hom. Il. vii. 348, _et seq_. Hor. Ep. I. 2, 9. The tradition was
that, being allowed to depart from Troy by the Greeks, he came into Italy
at the head of a colony of Paphlagonian Heneti, and founded Patavium, now
_Padua_. See Livy, I. 1. Virg. aen. i. 242.

76. Diomedes, grandson of Oeneus, king of aetolia, came, after his return
from Troy, to Apulia, where Daunus, the king of the country, gave him his
daughter in marriage, and a share of his dominions. Met. xiv. Virg. aen.
xi. 246. There were in Apulia the _Diomedis campi_, and, on the coast,
the _Diomedea insula_.

77. _Serus_. According to Virgil, the wanderings of aeneas lasted seven
years.

79, 80. Why should not the _gelidus Sulmo_ in the Appenines, the chief
town of the Sabellian Pelignians, and the birth-place of our poet have a
foreign origin, as well as Rome and Patavium? The reader needs scarcely
to be told, that accidental similarities of names are the source of all
these tales. The city of Tours in France, I have read, was founded by
Turnus, the rival of aeneas, and his tomb was long to be seen there! See
Selden's notes on Drayton's Poly-Olbion, Song I.

82. The natural regret of an exile at the recollection of his country.

85-89. A second and much more likely etymon of April. _Hujus mensis nomen
ego magis puto dictum, quod ver omnia aperit_. Varro, L. L. V. Cincius
also, a name of great authority, was of the same opinion, as we are
informed by Macrobius, Sat. 1. 12. His reasons were: there was no festal
day, and no remarkable sacrifice to Venus appointed by the ancients in
this month, and the name of Venus was not mentioned with those of the
other gods in the Salian hymns. Varro also says, that neither the Latin
nor the Greek name of Venus was known in the time of the kings. For the
difference between Aphrodite and Venus, see Mythology, pp. 105 and 464.

90. _Injecta manu_. _Manus injectio quotiens, nulla judicis auctoritate
expectata, rem nobis debitam vindicamus_. Servius, on aen. x. 419.

91-116. He argues, in defence of Venus, from her dignity and power.
Compare Lucret. I. i, _et seq_.

93. _Natalibus_, from which she herself was born.

95. _Creavit_. All the deities worshiped in Greece, as we may see in the
Theogony of Hesiod, were born like mankind, Venus excepted, and even she
in Homer, has a father and a mother.

103. Compare Virg. G. III. 209, _et seq_. aen. xii. 715. p. 76.

117-124. He now argues from the claims which Venus had on the gratitude
of the Romans.

120. See Hom. II. v. 335 et seq.

121. See Hom. II. xxiv. 27, _et seq_. Virg. aen. I. 27. Mythology, p. 76.

125-132. He argues from the beauty of spring, as being suited to Venus.
Compare III. 235. Virg. Ec. III. 55. G. II. 334, _et seq_.

126. _Nitent_. Some MSS. read _virent_.

131. From the III. Id. Nov. to the VI. Id. Mart. the sea was said to be
closed, and the ships were laid up on shore. In spring they were launched
anew. See Hor. Car. I. 4, 3.

134. _Et vos_, etc. A periphrasis of the _meretrices_, who wore a _toga_
instead of the _stola_ (_longa vestis_) worn by women of character.
_Scripsimus haec illis, quarum nec vitta pudicas Attingit crines, nec
stola longa pedes_. Ep. ex. Pont. III. 3, 54.

135. These washings of the statues of the gods were common among the
Greeks and Romans, There is a hymn of Callimachus on the washing of that
of Pallas. See Spanheim's notes on it.--_Redimicula_, the strings or
ribbons which tied on the cap or bonnet. Virg. aen. ix. 616.

139. _Sub myrto_. That is crowned with myrtle, as is manifest from
Plutarch Numa, 19, and Laur. Lydus de Mens, p. 19.

145. The temple of Fortuna Virilis or Fors Fortuna, was built by Servius
Tullius outside of the city on the banks of the Tiber, Dionys. iv. 27.
Varro L. L. V.

146. See v. l39.--_Calida_. This is the reading of fifteen MSS. the rest
have _gelida_.

151. None of the commentators make any remark on this custom. The poet
accounts for it in the usual way by a legend.

157-160. A.U.C. 639, as a Roman knight named Elvius was returning to
Apulia from the plays at Rome with his daughter Elvia, the maiden who was
on horseback was struck with lightning in such a manner, that her clothes
were thrown up, and her tongue forced out, the trappings of the horse
were also scattered. The Vates being consulted, declared that it
portended infamy to the Vestals and to the knights. Enquiry was made, and
three Vestals, Aemilia, Licinia and Martia, were found to have been
carrying on an illicit intercourse with some of the knights. The
Sibylline books directed that two Greeks and two Gauls should be buried
alive, to appease some strange gods, and a statue raised to Venus
Verticordia, that she might turn the hearts of the women from iniquity.
The statue was dedicated by Sulpicia, the wife of Fulvius Flaccus, as she
bore the highest character for chastity and purity of manners. See
Plutarch Quaest. Rom. Plin. H. N. viii. 35. Val. Max. viii. 15. Jul.
Obsequens, c. 97.

163. The Scorpion set cosmically on the Kalends of April.--_Elatae_, etc.
An accurate description of the Scorpion.

165. The IV. Non. the Pleiades (called by the Romans _Vergiliae_,) set
heliacally according to Neapolis, acronychally according to Taubner, who
maintains that the heliac setting was not till three days afterwards. See
Introd. § 1.

166. _Queruntur_. Queror is used of the song of birds. See Hor. Epod. 2.
20. Lucretius (iv. 588.) and Horace (Car. in. 7. 30.) employ it to
express the soft and sweet tones of the pipe.

167. See II. 500. Met. i. 493.

169. _Pliades_. It is thus spelt here and elsewhere in all the MSS.--
_Humeros_, etc. The Pleiades or seven stars in the back of the Bull, were
said to be the daughters of Atlas who supported the heavens, consequently
when they set, their father's shoulders were eased of a portion of their
burden. When a constellation is added to heaven, the weight is encreased.
Met. ix. 273.

171-179. Reasons why, though the Pleiades were seven, but six could be
seen.

179-372. On the 4th of the month, Prid. Non. began the great festival of
the Megalensia or Megalesia, celebrated in honor of the mother of the
gods, the Phrygian Cybele, whose worship was introduced into Rome, A.U.C.
547. See Livy xxix. 14, (where it is _pridie Idus_) Lucret. ii. 598-623.
Virg. aen. in. 104. vi. 785. x. 252, Mythology, p. 191.

180. _Titan_, the Sun, who is frequently so called by the Latin poets.
See on IV. 919. Ovid also calls the Moon, Titania.

181. _Berecynthia_, i. e. Phrygian, from Mt. Berecynthus.

181. _Idaeae_. Cybele, was so named, from Mt. Ida.

183. _Semimares_. The Galli, or priests of Cybele.--_Tympana_,
tambourins.

184. _Aera_, etc. cymbals.

185. The statue of the goddess was carried through the streets by a
Phrygian man and woman.

187. Stage-plays were always performed at the Megalesia, Livy, _ut
supra_, and xxxvi. 36. See also the inscriptions of Terence's comedies.

188. The days of the Megalesia were Nefasti. See Introd. § 3.

190. _Lotos_. The wood of the Lybian lotos was chiefly employed for the
manufacture of pipes.--Theophr. Hist, plant, iv. 3. Plin. H.N. xiii. 17,
32.

191. _Cyleleïa_. Cybelean, from Mt. Cybele.--_Neptes_, grand-daughters,
the Muses. As the Greeks identified the Phrygian Mother of the Gods, with
their Rhea, the spouse of Kronus, and mother of the Kronides or
Olympians, Cybele, of course, became the grandmother of the Muses. The
Ops of the Italians, with whom the Romans identified her, resembled
Cybele much more nearly than Rhea did, who appears to have been an
allegorical personnage. See Mythology, p. 50.

195. _Erato_. Our poet invokes this muse for the same reason, A. A. II.
16. Apollonius Rhodius calls on Erato, when about to relate the loves of
Jason and Medea, and Virgil (aen. vii. 37,) addresses her when he is going
to tell of the war between Turnus and aeneas, for the sake of Lavinia,
whom the former hero loved.

197. _Reddita_, etc. scil. by Heaven and Earth. The whole story is told
by Hesiod Theog. 464, _et seq_. Mythology, p. 42.

204. _Parce_, forbear.--Fidem, the tradition, as the cause of belief.

205. _Gutture_. One of the best MSS. reads _viscere_, which is followed
by Heinsius and Gierig. Three have _gurgite_.

208. _Ardua Ide_, would seem here to be the Phrygian Ida, but Hesiod, and
the general tradition, made the Cretan Ida to be the scene of the infancy
of the god.--_Jamdudum_, forth with. Virg. aen. II. 103.

209, _Rudibus_. Most MSS. read _manibus_; two of the best _rudibus_, four
of the best _sudibus_, which is also the reading of Lactantius, in his
quotation of this verse. Inst. I. 21. In the Greek narratives, the word
is [Greek: encheiridia, ziphea], and [Greek: dorata], with which the
_rudes_, foils or blunt swords, best agree. Lobeck proposes _tudibus_.

210. The Curetes are those who, in the Cretan legend, danced their
[Greek: pyrrhichaen] or armed dance, about the cradle of Jupiter; the
Corybantes were regarded as the attendants of the Mother of the Gods. The
poet here evidently alludes to the resemblance between their name and
[Greek: korus], a helmet.

215-218. See her figure. Mythology, Plate ix. 1.

219. Compare Virg. aen. vi. 785. Lucret. II. 607.

220. The poet and the muse are not quite right here. Cybele, as the
symbol of the earth, was very naturally crowned with towers. _Quod autem
turritam gestat coronam, ostendit superpositas esse terrae civitates, quas
insignitas turribus constat_. Servius on aen. iii. 113. But the fact is,
Ovid was entangled in the Euhemeric or anthropomorphising system, which
prevailed so much in his time. See Mythology, pp. 19, 20, 442.

221. _Secandi_, scil. by the Galli.

223. For the story of Attis, as told somewhat differently by Diodorus,
see Mythology, p. 192; see also Catullus, LXIII. and the notes of
Doering.

225. _Tueri_, to be the _aedituus_ of her temple.

226. _Puer esse_, to be a virgin, if the term may be used.

231. Ovid frequently uses Naïs as synonymous with Nympha. He is
peculiarly incorrect here, for the nymph in question, as the daughter of
the god of the river Sagaris, must have been a real Naïs, and yet he
makes her a Hamadryad. For the Nymphs, see Mythology, p. 206.

233. _Credens_, etc. His madness thus commenced.

236. _Palaestinas deas_. As the whips and torches are mentioned, there
can be no doubt that these were the Furies, but why they were thus
called, none of the commentators can say. Marsus shews, from an old MS.
of Caesar's Commentaries, that Palaestae was a town of Epirus, in which
country the Furies had a temple. This, though bad, is the only
explanation we have. One MS. reads _Palestrinas_, another _Palatinas_.

247. Now comes the narrative of the introduction of the worship of the
Magna Mater into Rome, A.U.C. 547. See Livy, xxix. 10, 11, l4. xxxvi. 36.
Valer. Max. viii. 15, 3. Silius. Ital. xvii. init. Compare Met. xv.
622-744.

249, 250. _Dindymon_, etc. Mountains of Phrygia.--_Amoen_. font [Greek:
polypidax] Homer,--_H. op_. Troy.

252. _Sacriferas_, as bearing the Penates and the Eternal Fire.--_Paene
secuta_, I think there is an allusion here to the legend in Virg. aen. ix.
120.

257. _Carminis_, etc. The Sibylline books.

265. _Proceres_, scil. Valerius Laevinus, a consular; M. Caecilius
Metellus, a former praetor; Sulpicius Galba, who had been an aedile, and
two who had served the office of quaestor.

266. _Negat_. This was not the case according to Livy.

272. Rome derived her origin from Phrygia.

276. From the following description of it, given by Arnobius, (Adv. Gen.
vii. p. 285,) it is quite evident that this symbol of the Mother of the
Gods was an aërolithe. _Ex Phrygia nihil quidem aliud scribitur missum
rege ab Attalo, nisi lapis quidem non magnus ferri manu hominis sine ulla
impressione qui posset, coloris furvi atque atri, angellis prominentibus
inaequalis_. A more accurate description of the external appearance of an
aërolithe could not easily be given.

277. _Nati_, Neptune. Let the reader trace this voyage on the map.

280. _Vet. Eët. op_. Thebes, near Adramyttium, the residence of Eëtion,
the father of Andromache, See Hom. II. I. 366, vi. 395, xxii. 480.

282. The coast of Euboea.

283, 284. See Met. viii. 195, _et seq_.--_Lapsas_. Most MSS. read
_lassas_.

292. _Dividit_, spreads itself: perhaps simply divides, as the Tiber had
two mouths.

294. _Obvius_, to meet it.

300. The river was shallow in consequence of the drought.

301. _Plus quam pro parte_, beyond his strength.

302. Just as sailors and others do at the present day in all countries.

305. The _Eponymus_, or reputed head of the Claudian family, was a hero
named Clausus. Virg. aen. vii. 706. Attus Clausus was the name of the
Sabine chief, who, with his _gens_ and their clients, came to Rome, where
they were received among the Patricians, and became famous in Roman story
under the name of Claudii. Livy, II. 16. This Claudia Quinta was the
grand-daughter of Appius Claudius Caecus.

308. _Acta rea_, was charged with. A law term.

310. _Ad rigidos_. "Apud severos," Gierig. I think he is wrong, and that
the meaning is, she was too free of her tongue _against_ the old men,
perhaps ridiculing them, and despising their admonitions.--_Senes_.
Several MSS. read _sonos_.

312. As true of the present day as of the time of Ovid.

326. Was there a play acted at the Megalesia, of which this was the
subject?

329, 330. This would appear to indicate the spot where the river divided.
See on v. 292.

335. _Coronatam_. The custom of adorning the poops of vessels with
garlands, must be familiar to every reader of the classics. See Virg. G.
I. 304, aen. iv. 418.

339. _Canus sacerdos_, the Archigallus, or chief priest of Cybele, as
Neapolis thinks.

340. It was the custom to wash the image of the goddess and her chariot
every year in the Almo. _Qui lotam parvo revocant_ (renovant) _Almone
Cybeben_. Lucan. I. 600.

346. _Boves_. The car of Cybele was drawn by heifers.

347. The sacred stone was committed to the care of P. Corn. Scipio
Nasica, the son of Cneius, who had fallen in Spain, as being the most
virtuous man in Rome, It was brought into the temple of Victory, which
was on the Palatium. The temple was not finished until thirteen years
after, and the stage-plays acted on that occasion were, according to
Valerius Antias, the first ever performed at Rome.--_Non perstitit_. This
is the reading of six of the best and of other MSS. and of the old
editions; four of the best, and three others have _tunc extitit_, which
is the reading adopted by Heinsius and Gierig. I think the present
reading gives the more Ovidian sense, scil. the name of the author did
not remain unchanged; it _was_ Metellus, it _is_ Augustus. See v. 351.

350. The Phrygian man and woman who carried the goddess about, collected
small pieces of money. This, by the Greeks, was called [Greek:
maetragyrtein]. The poet gives a cause, and a wrong one for it.

353. It was the custom for the principal persons at Rome to give _mutual_
entertainments, at the time of the Megalesia. This was called _mutitare_.
_Quam ob causam Patricii Megalensibus mutitare soliti sint, Plebs
Cerealibus?_ Gellius, xviii. 2.

354. _Indictas_. "Proprie de non vocatis, sed qui sponte veniunt ad
epulas. Suet. Ner. 27. Vitell. 13. Male interpretes a sacerdotibus
indictas capiunt." Burmann.

355. _Bene mutarit_. Having exchanged her obscure Phrygian abode for the
capital of the world. This reason is too trifling to be noticed.

357. _Institeram_. "Institueram, quaerere volebam," Gierig.--_Primi_. See
on v. 347, or is it first in point of dignity, or first in order in the
year?

359. See Virg. aen. vi. 787.

361. _Qui se_, etc. The Galli or priests of Cybele were voluntary
eunuchs.

363. _Vir. Cyb_. Cybele was a mountain of Phrygia.--_Alt. Cel_. Celaenae,
a mountain and town, at one time the chief place in Phrygia; the river
Maeander rose on its summit, and the Marsyas not far from it.

364. _Am. nom. Gal. Gallus in Phrygia, unde qui bibit insanit more
fanatico_, Vibius Sequester de Flumin. Pliny, (H. N. xxxi. 2. 5,)
following Callimachus, enumerates the Gallus among those whose waters
were good for persons afflicted with the stone, and adds, _Sed ibi in
potando necessarius modus, ne lymphatos agat_. As, however, no river ever
had this quality, we may be allowed to doubt the correctness of this
etymology.

367. _Herbosum moretum_. The _moretum_ called by the Greeks [Greek:
muttonton] or [Greek: trimma] was a mess composed of garlic, parsley,
rue, coriander, onions, cheese, oil and vinegar pounded up together. See
the description of the mode of making it in the poem called Moretum,
ascribed to Virgil.--_Herbosum_, an account of the parsley, etc.

371. _Elisae_, bruised or pounded, the part, of _elido_; most MSS. read
_elixae_.

373-376. The temple of Fortuna Publica on the Quirinal hill, was
dedicated on the Nones of April--_Motis_ scil. _amotis_.--_Pallantias_,
Aurora, as being daughter to the Titan Pallas. This genealogy, as far as
my knowledge extends, is peculiar to the Latin poets. In Hesiod, Eos or
Aurora is the daughter of the Titan Hyperion and niece to Pallas--
_Levarit_. "Jugo solverit," Gierig.--_Niv. eq_. Such were suited to the
_candida Luna_. In an epigram ascribed to Ovid, her car is drawn _niveis
juvencis_. The fiction was caused by the _horned_ moon. Nonnus and
Claudian gives her the same.--_Fort. Pub_. This temple was vowed, A.U.C.
549, by the consul Sempronius on the eve of a battle with Hannibal. It
was dedicated ten years afterwards by Q. Martius, Ralla created Decemvir
for the purpose.

377. _Tertia lux_, scil. _Megalesium_, the day after the Nones.--_Ludis_.
The plays were acted on this day.

380. _Perfida_. After the usual fashion of the Romans, to call rebels and
traitors all who opposed them, or the victorious party among them. It was
thus that Napoleon used to style the Spaniards rebels and insurgents. I
need hardly observe that Juba king of Mauritania was most faithful to the
cause of Pompey and the republic. He and Scipio put an end to their lives
after their defeat by Caesar, hence the poet applies to him the term
_magnanimus_, which denotes courage, as the Romans greatly approved of
those who escaped from disgrace and insult by voluntary death. Compare
Hor. Car. I. 37. 21. The victory was gained, A.U.C. 708. See Hirtius
Bell. Afric. 94. Florus iv. 2. 69.--_Contudit_. Virg. aen. I. 264.

381. _Meruisse_, to have served.

383, 384. _Sedem_, scil. in the orchestra, where Ovid sat, as having been
a Decemvir; not the fourteen rows where he might have sat of right, as
belonging to the equestrian order, but to a seat on which the tribune
could have no claim. The Vigintiviratus was an office, through which men
rose to the senate. Of the Vigintiviri, three had charge of the execution
of capital punishments, three of the mint, four of the roads, ten (the
Decemvirs) of assembling the Centumvirs, and presiding when they sat for
the trial of causes.

385. _Imbre_. The Roman theatres were not roofed. There was usually an
awning drawn across to keep off the sun. See Lucret. IV. 73.

386. _Pendula Libra_. On the day after the Nones, the VIII. Id. Libra was
in the sky all through the night, and was usually attended by rain.
_Pendula_ is a very appropriate term for Libra.

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