-=  Facta & Verba  =-

Commentary Cons. Phil. Book 4 Metrum 3

Metrum 3

The story of Odysseus's men turned into wild beasts by Circe illustrates the claims made in the preceding prosa.

Meter: Glyconic.

line 1
Neritii ducis: Odysseus. Neritos is both a mountain on Ithaca (Odysseus' home) and a smaller island nearby.

line 2
pelago: "the sea"; ablative of place where, with uagas.

line 3
appulit: < appello, -ere, "bring to land."

line 4
dea: i.e., Circe, daughter of the sun.

line 5
edita: nominative singular.

line 7
carmine: "by an incantation."

line 8
Quos: sc. hospites (line 6).
ut: " when."
modos: "forms, shapes."

line 9
herbipotens: "skilled with herbs"; apparently a Boethian coinage.

line 10
apri: < aper, "wild boar."

line 11
Marmaricus: "African"; Marmarica was a part of what is now Libya.

line 14
14: Human intent (flere dum parat) produces only a bestial result (ululat).

line 15
Indica: modifies tigris, nominative singular feminine.

line 16
tecta: "house, dwelling."

line 17
uariis malis: ablative with obsitum (< obsideo, "surround, beset"), line 19.

line 18
Arcadis alitis: "of the winged Arcadian," i.e., Hermes/Mercury.

line 19
ducem: with obsitum; object of both miserans and soluerit.

line 20
hospitis: here, "of the host." Hospes refers to both host and guest in Latin, and in this poem (cf. line 6, "guests").

line 21
mala: modifies pocula.
remiges: "oarsmen," i.e., Odysseus's crew.

line 22
traxerant: "had drawn off, drained."

line 23
23: "Already swine, they had exchanged Ceres' foods [products of grain] for the acorn [and similar pig food]."

line 24
24: "Already swine, they had exchanged Ceres' foods [products of grain] for the acorn [and similar pig food]."

line 26
perditis: dative with manet.

line 27
27: The crew know the indignities they suffer.
super: adverb with stabilis, "above."

line 28
28: The crew know the indignities they suffer.
monstra: "portentous, misshapen things."

line 29
manum: manum . . . gramina (< gramen, "herb"): accusatives of exclamation.

line 30
gramina: manum . . . gramina (< gramen, "herb"): accusatives of exclamation.

line 31
quae ualeant: supply uertere from line 32.

line 35
35: Lines 35-39: P. contrasts the poisons that affected the bodies of Odysseus's crew with those (e.g., auaritia, ira: cf. 4P3.17f) that make the inner man bestial.

line 37
dira: modifies uenena.
penitus: "all the way in."

line 39
mentis: scan both syllables long.

-=  Facta & Verba  =-