The works of Horace : with English notes, critical and ... - Cristo Raul

EXPLANATORY NOTRS. BOOK I., ODE XXII. 29'7
the strange acconnts which were circulated respecting this river, its golden
sands, the monsters inhabiting its waters, &c. The Hydaapes, now
the Fylum, is one of the five eastern tributaries of the Indus, which, by
their union, form the Punjimb, while the region which they traverse is denominated
the PunjAb, or country of the five rivers.—9. Namque. Equiv-
alent to the Greek xal yap. Supply the ellipsis as follows : "And this 1
have plainly learned from my own case, /or," dec. Silva in Sabina. He
refers to a wood in the vicinity of his Sabine farm.—10. Ultra terminum.
" Beyond my usual limit."—11. Ctiris expeditis. " With all my cares dis
pelled." Some read curis expeditus, " freed from cares."—12. Inermem
' Though unarmed."
12-17. 12. MilUaris Daunias. " Warlike Daunia." Daunias is here
the Greek form of the nominative. The Daunii were situate along the
northern coast of Apulia. The Apnlians, like the Marsi, were famed for
their valor among the nations of Italy.—14. Juba telhis. " The land of
Juba." Mauritama is meant. The allusidh is to the second or younger
Juba, who had been replaced on his father's throne by Augustus.—17.
Pone me pigriSf &c. " Place me where no tree is refreshed, in torpid
plains," &c., ». e., in the torpid or frozen regions of the north. For the
coimection between this and the previous portion of the ode, consult the
introductory remarks. The poet alludes in this stauza to what is termed
at the present day the frozen zone, and he describes it in accordance with
the general belief of his age. The epithet pigris refers to the plains of
the north, lying sterile and uncultivated by reason of the excessive cold.
Modern observations, however, assign two seasons to this distant quarter
of the globe : a long and rigorous winter, succeeded, often suddenly, by
insupportable heats. The power of the solar beams, though feeble, from
the obliquity of their direction, accumulates during the ilays, which are
extremely long, and produces, effects which might be expected only in the
torrid zone. The days for several -months, though of a monotonous magnificence,
astonishingly accelerate the growth of vegetation. In three
days, or rather three times twenty-four hours, the suow is melted, and
the flowers begin to blow. {Malte-Brun, Geogr., vol. i., p. 418.)
19-22, 19. Quod lotus mundi, &c. "In that quarter of the world,
which clouds and an inclement sky continually oppress." Complete the
sentence as follows : In eo latere mundi, quod latus Ttiundi, &e.—21. Nimium
propinqui, " Too near the earth." Understand ierris.—22. Domibus
negata. "Denied to mortals for an abode." Most of the ancients
conceived that the heat continued to increase from the tropic toward the
equator. Hence they concluded that the middle of the zone was uninhabitable.
It is now, however, ascertained that many circumstances
combine to establish even there a tefuperature that is supportable. The
clouds ; the great rains ; the nights naturally very cool, their duration being
equal to that of the. days j a strong evaporation ; the vast expanse of
the sea ; the proximity of very high mountains, covered with perpetual
snow; the. trade-winds, and the periodical inundations, equally contribute
to diminish the heat. This is the reason why, in the torrid zone, we meet
with all kinds of climates. The plains are burned np by the heat of the
sun. All the eastern coasts of the great continents,' fanned by the tradewinds,
enjoy a mild temperature. The elevated districts are even cold;
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