109-124. She endeavours to make Hippolytus throw off all scruples of respect for his father by counting up the injuries they have both received: (1) he has preferred Pirithous to his wife, (2) he has killed Phaedra's brother the Minotaur, (3) he has deserted her sister Ariadne, (4) he never wedded Hippolytus' mother, and so left him to be a nothus, (5) he afterwards killed her, (6) he then married Phaedra and had sons detrimental to the interests of Hippolytus whom he caused to be reared.

120. tanto pignore 'by having produced so mighty a son as you.' Children are often called pignora or pignora amoris, (see index): here it is especially appropriate when the safety of the mother is in question.

121. taeda accepta iugali: 'taken to his home with the bridal torchlight procession,' cf. 6, 134. 8, 35.

124. tollendi 'which he, not I, caused to be reared.' This refers to a ceremony which originated in the cruel practice of exposing infants to perish, if the parents did not wish to rear them. The ceremony remained after the custom was gone. The midwife laid the new-born infant at the feet of the father who, if he wished it to be reared, lifted it from the ground (tollere avaipeio0a): if he left it lying, it was to be exposed. This is often referred to in Plautus and Terence. See Bekker's Gallus, Excurs. Scene 1, p. 182. Naturally the determination to expose an infant was made by the father, often to the grief of the mother who indeed at times secretly took means to rear the child. See Ter. Hautont. 627-640 where Chremes lectures his wife in quite an exalted tone of morality for the sin of disobedience to him in thus saving her infant, and only excuses it on the ground of misericordia and animus maternus, Accordingly when Phaedra says that her husband and not she wished to rear her infants, she seems to boast of her unnatural hardness to them as a proof of her care for the interests of Hippolytus. See on this subject an interesting passage in Professor Mahaffy's Social Life in Greece, p. 272.

125. nocitura tibi, i.e. by producing children who would take what should be your inheritance.

127. i nunc: see on 3, 26.

meriti: used ironically.

128. Referring to the absence of Theseus, which she pretends to be a quasi-desertion.

132. rustica 'was old-fashioned even in Saturn's reign,' cf.

133-4. quodcumque iuvaret: whatever one happened to

wish.'

omne: cf. 12, 28. fratre marita: lit. 'a wife by means of

her brother.' Loers cps. Hor. Od. 3, 5, 5 Milesne Crassi conjuge barbara turpis maritus vixit.

135. The only close and binding tie is not marriage or legality, but love.

137-8. Another topic. 'I have shown you that our love is not against nature; now as to concealing it if necessary. Ask that as a favour from Venus. Our formal connection will serve as a pretext for intimacy.'

nec labor est 'nor will it give you much trouble.' illa, i. e. Venus, who will favour lovers. cognato nomine 'the pretext of relationship.' Cf. M. 9, 558 dulcia fraterno sub nomine furta tegemus.

[These two lines present great difficulty: which is not much removed even if we adopt Madvig's alteration.]

139. foedera, i.e. of love, cf. foedera lecti, 12, 150.

140. sic: see on 3, 135.

150. iacent 'Alas! where now lie despised all my pride and lofty words?' for jacent cf. inf. 161. 2, 124. For ubi cf. 6, 41. 152. certa fui, 'I was resolved,' cf. 6, 51-2, certa fui pellere.

155. 'I have done with modesty. Modesty is a traitor and has deserted its colours.'

depuduit: the de is intensive, 'I have felt all the shame I can feel.' For different shades of meaning of pudor vid. index. It may be either that which causes, that which feels, or that which is protected by, shame.

157-160. quod 'though.' Although Minos is my father, Jupiter my ancestor, Sol my grandfather, yet pride of birth is conquered by love.

Jupiter is father of Minos by Europa, cf. sup. 55. Another Minos, grandson of the first-named, married Pasiphae the daughter of the Sun, and by her was father of Phaedra, Ariadne, and others. proavum 'great-grandfather,' is apparently used loosely for a more remote ancestor.

qui possidet aequora: who rules the seas, i.e. as king of an island and seafaring people. The Cretans were early noted sailors. Strabo quotes as a proverb of those who pretend not to know what they know well ὁ Κρῆς ἀγνοεῖ τὴν θάλατταν (10, 4, 17.)

159. radiis frontem vallatus acutis, 'his brow adorned by a coronet of pointed rays.' The engraving of Helios on a Rhodian coin given in Dict. of Ant. will explain this line best, cf. ex Pont. 1, 2, 23 tecta rigent fixis veluti vallata sagittis.

161. miserere priorum ancestors.' It seems somewhat ridiculous to beg a lover though he has no pity for his mistress yet to have some for her-grandfather! miserere must be translated respect.'

163. dotalis 'part of my dowry,' cf. 6, 118. 12, 53. Iovis insula: because of Jupiter being nursed in Crete A. 3, 10, 20 Crete nutrito terra superba Jove.

Crete could not be said to form part of Phaedra's dowry in the ordinary sense. She does not mean that she possesses Crete, but that it is her home, a home which will be at the service of Hippolytus. So in 6, 118 Hypsipyle says that she is to be counted by Jason inter dotales, i.e. among the advantages to be acquired by marriage.

165. quae plurima mecum est 'who is very powerful with me.' Ovid was no doubt thinking of Euripides' use of πολλὴ as Palmer points out, Hipp. 444 Κύπρις γὰρ οὐ φορητὸν ἢν πολλὴ ῥυῇ. But this meaning is derived from the notion of frequency, cf. Tr. 4, 10, 128 in toto plurimus orbe legor.

168-169. sic: see on 140 and 3, 135.

agilis dea: Diana,

171. montanaque numina Panes: the Pans of Roman mythology seem to be a confusion with the Fauni and to stand for all goat-footed country-gods. In earlier mythology there is only one Pan. Virgil classes Fauni and Dryades together (G. 1, 10—11), Horace Nymphs and Fauni (Od. 1, 1, 31). And this very early induced copyists to alter the reading here to Fauni. But Ovid elsewhere speaks of Panes, and always in connection with Satyri; vid. Met. 14, 638. F. 1, 397.

172. adversa cuspide 'by a spear aimed straight and hitting it full in the breast.' Adversus = 'that which is exactly opposite,' and applied to a javelin &c. comes to mean 'aimed straight at': so in M. 12, 312 he speaks of a man falling with an adversum vulnus, which he explains to mean from a spear hitting him between the eyes. See on 6. Cf. A. 2, 10, 31 induat adversis contraria pectora telis Miles.

175-6. 'I add tears also to these words: the prayers you read; the tears you must imagine,' i.e. you cannot see them.

V.

OENONE PARIDI.

PARIS was exposed as an infant on mount Ida, because his mother, when about to bring him forth, dreamed that she had produced a firebrand which fired all Troy. The infant however had been saved by shepherds and brought up as a shepherd lad, and had wedded the river-nymph Oenone. After Paris had been made the judge between the three goddesses he was acknowledged by his father Priam, sailed to Sparta, and brought back Helen.

Oenone thus convinced that she was finally deserted writes this letter, reminding Paris of their old love and warning him that Helen will only bring him trouble and disaster.

[The Story of Oenone is not mentioned in Homer and we are referred to Apollodorus* (the Lemprière of the ancients) for Ovid's materials. The poet however had probably other materials to work upon, just as a story in the 'Palace of Pleasure' is not often enough to account for a Play of Shakespear. This will be apparent from the passage of Apollodorus himself, book 3. 'Alexander wedded Oenone the daughter of 'the river Kebren. She had learnt the art of prophecy from 'Rhea and used to warn Alexander not to sail to fetch Helen. 'Failing to persuade him she told him if he were ever wounded 'to come to her, for she alone could heal him. So he carried off 'Helen from Sparta; and in the siege of Troy he was wounded 'by Philoctetes with the bow and arrows of Hercules. There'upon he went to Oenone on Mt. Ida. She however remembered 'her wrongs and refused to heal him. Then Alexander was carried 'back to Troy and died. But Oenone repented and went after 'him, carrying her healing drugs with her, for she was skilled in 'the arts of healing and song. Finding him dead she hanged 'herself.']

1-2. The abruptness of this opening has been often notice l and admired, and no doubt much of the effect would be destroyed by accepting the introductory couplet found in some copies.

'Will you read my letter, or will your new wife forbid it? You may read it. It is not from the enemy at Mycenae,' i.e. from Agamemnon king of Mycenae, who is preparing the expedition to avenge the carrying off of Helen.

3. Pegasis 'River-nymph' (ny) the feminine of Pegasus, who was so called also from Tŋy.—Madvig however ridicules

* Apollodorus of Athens fl. circ. 140. Only one of his books 'the Library' survives. It is an account of Greek mythology and heroes.

this word, which he says could only be the feminine patronymic from Pegasus. He would therefore restore Pedasis, from Pedasus a town on the river Kebren, whose daughter Oenone was. The assumption in Madvig's note is that of calling Pedasus the oppidum patrium of Oenone. In Homer (Il. 21. 87) Pedasus is said to be on the Satnioeis*.

4. I have been wronged and have somewhat to complain of you, of you my own, 'if you yourself will let it be so.'

si sinis ipse, i.e. not 'if you will let me complain,' but ‘if you will allow yourself to be called mine.'

8. indigno: the masculine used in general statements of this kind, 'to one who deserves it not.' Cf. on 3, 43.

9. tantus'so great a man as you are now,' i. e. acknowledged as son of Priam. See Introd.

10. edita de magno flumine, i.e. the Kebren, vid. Introd. This river was also said to have been the father of Hesperie. M. 11, 769.

11--12. absit reverentia vero 'let no respect for your rank prevent my speaking the plain truth to you.'

tuli: erλnv. 'I condescended.'

17-18. quis, not quae, on the principle laid down on 8.

saltus 'coverts.' M. 5, 578 una fui, nec me studiosius altera saltus Legit.

fera 'wolf.'

19-20. 'Often as your attendant have I stretched out the wide-meshed hunting-nets; often have I taken the swift hounds over the long ridges.'

maculis 'meshes.' That maculae does not mean 'knots,' may be gathered I think from considering the following passage of Pliny 11, 24, 81: he is speaking of a spider spinning, texere a medio incipit circinato orbe subtemina adnectens, maculasque paribus semper intervallis sed subinde crescentibus ex angusto dilatans indissolubili nodo implicat. I think in the two passages, quoted from Varro and Columella by Ramsay, Palmer and others, nets which would keep fowls in and eagles out might still be said to have maculae grandes, whereas the 'knots' would make no manner of difference. The passages are Varro R. R. 3, 11. Colum. R. R. 8, 15.

comes: cf. 4, 103.

* The river Kebren seems only known from Apollodorus 1.c. Strabo mentions the town Kebrene (Κεβρήνη, Κεβρήν) 517, 13 and the district Κεβρηνία 510, 33, but says nothing of a river of that name.