Commentary Cons. Phil. Book 4 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.