THE METAMORPHOSES OF PUBLIUS OVIDIUS NASO

II
260 P. OVIDII NASONIS LIBER IV.
Vaticinatus erat. Parent matresque, nurusque ;
Telasque calathosque, infectaque pensa reponunt : 10
Thuraque dant ; Bacchumque vocant, Bromiumque, Lyaeumque,
Ignigenamque, satumque iterum, solumque bimatrem.
Additur his Nyseus, indetonsusque Thyoneus, h-8
Et cum Len&, ark- to Eve, by whose temptation, agriculture,
born.
the rearing of the vine, and human society
13. Nyseus. This surname was in con- were established.
eequence of his residence at Kysa.
16. Plurima nomina. The ancients im-
METAMORPHOSEON.
Nomina, Liber, habes. Tibi enim inconsumpta juventas;
Tu puer a?ternus, tu formosissimus alto
Conspiceris ccelo: tibi, cum sine cornibus adstas,
Virgineum caput est: Oricns tibi victtis, ad usque 20
Decolor extreme qua cingitur, India Gange.
Penthea tu, venerande, bipenniferumrjue Lycurgum
Sacrileges mactas: Tyrrhenaque mittis in sequor
Corpora. Tu bijugum pictis insignia fraenis
Colla premis lyncum : Bacchs, Satyrique sequuntur, 25
NOT^E.
agincd that it wae agreeable to the deities
to invoke them under a multitude of names.
17. Tibi enim. The poet appears to in
troduce here a hymn to Bacchus, in which
he records his exploits.
VI. Inconsumpta juventas : unfading
youth.
18. Tu formoiissimus. Osiris, Bacchus,
and Noah were the same. When in Egypt
the allegorical spirit began to displace his
torical tradition, it is probable that Osiris
was considered as the Sun. Hence, in an
inscription on a pillar erected to him at
Memphis, are the words, "I am related to
the god of day." In Egypt, Osiris was
considered as the Sun, and Isis as the
Moon; and in Greece, the correspondent
deities, Bacchus and Ceres, were also con
sidered as the Sun and Moon. Hence
Virgil:
Vos o clarissima mnndi
Lnmina, labentem cojlo quoe ducitis annum,
Liber et alma Ceres. GEOHGIC i. 5.
19. Cornibus. As horns are weapons
both of offence and defence, they are used
to signify strength, confidence, daring, and
violence. Thus:
But my horn shall thou exalt as thehorn'of fm
unicorn. PSALM xcii. 10.
Horns may be attributed to Bacchus,
then, since wine gives confidence, and be
cause immoderate drinkers are accustomed
to strike whomsoever they meet.
Viresque ; et addls corntia panperi.
HOE. Lib. iii. Od. 21.
Tune pauper corntia sumit. Ovrc. Am. AM.
Plutarch says horns were given to Bac
chus, because he first taught ploughing and
sowing. But properly, Bacchus is repre
sented as wearing horns, because,in Syriac,
KfriN signifies both a bull, and an ark or
flap. And hence Bacchus is alike called
Gvilaiycvfis, born of the Ark, or born at
Thebes, and Bovyivrjs, horn of a bull. He is
therefore described by Orpheus as having
the face of a bull:
EXSi, fdfaf Aidnicf, mifitrxoft, Tavfio^irum.
HYMN ihv.
A bull tliou seem'st to lead us, on thy head
Tliou bearcsl liorns. BACCHJK OF EUBIPIDES.
Some have imagined that horns were as-
eigned to Bacchus because they were an-
261
28. Tn, venrrande,
mactas i'enthea, bi-
penniferumque Ly
curgum sacrilegoft.
savor of slang.
By the words, s ine cornibus, in this
place, we are to understand Bacchus in a
pleasant, mirthful mood, before excited to
madness and fury by wine.
20. Virgineum caput. A head gentle
and virgin-like.
Hue averte favens virginfum captit,
Vultu sidereo discute nubila
Et tristes Erelii minds.
Avidumque fatum. SENEC. fEDrp.
20. Oriens. Bacchus is said first to have
subdued India, and to have erected pillars
in commemoration of the achievement.
Itec et Tliebani Dionysi terra columnas
Monstrat ad Oceunum, atque extremi littora
ponti
Montibus Tndorum. qua vasto gurgite Ganges
In mare se volvit, Nyssseainque impulil undam
DioHisiua.
20. Adusqne. An anastrophe for usque
ad. Supply earn partem.
21. India. India was an extensive and
rich country of Asia, the boundaries of
which differed at different times. It took
its name from Indus, its principal river.
21. Gauge. The Ganges is a large river
of India, the sources of which arfi un
known. It is generally believed to rise in
the mountains of Thibet. After receiving
many tributaries, it forms a delta twice as
large as that of the Nile, and empties into
the Bay of Bengal.
22. Lycurgum. A king of Thrace, and
a violent opposer of Bacchus. He took
an axe, and commenced cutting down the
vineyards, when, inspired by madneBs, he
cut off his own legs.
Teciaque Penthei
Disjecta 11011 leyi rumR,
Thracis et exitium Lycurgi.
HOB. Lib. li. Od. 10.
25. iSofi/ri. Rural deities of a licentious
nature, having the horns, ears, legs, and
feet of goats, and the rest of their body
human. As licentiousness is the effect of
drinking, the Satyrs are suitable compa
nions of Bacchus. See note on page C2
Lucian gives a most ludicrous account ot
the advance of Bacchus and his train, and
of the conquest of India: