MOUSEION - Memorial University of Newfoundland

SENECA. TRAGEDIES. VOLS. I and II 173
light. inflames the wool of the palla (d. 726 palla). Gronovius had in mind precisely
something like this when (in a note forgotten by modern editors) he proposed
to read ut PllOebi glomos / tepefecit ardor and commented" Huius lanae
mentio [Sc. in S. Tr. 675ff.] hic desideratur."
746 The text given by E. regna triumphi templa Iunonis pete. is untenable (A
omits the line). Lipsius emended to regna. triumpha, templa etc. Other conjectures
have been tried. Zwierlein reads plenae triumphi templa etc.. but the image of
Juno "full of triumphs" is grotesque. Now Fitch prints spolium triumphi templa
etc. (translating "As Juno's spoil of triumph," etc.). We must notice that Hyllus at
747 adds haec tibi patent, delubra praec1usa oITmia. So how could he speak of any
temples in the preceding line? Fitch translates line 747 as "all other shrines are
barred," but in the Latin text there is no word like cetera, alia, etc. My solution of
this puzzle is either magno triumpho sacra (etc.) or magnae triumphans sacra
(etc.). The latter may be better Latin, but magno triumpho could be supported by
HoI'. Carm. 1.2-49 hiemagnos potius triwnphos.
761 hunc ecce luctu [E: eiulati PT: eiulatu CS] quem gemis cuncti gemunt. Apart
from the ridiculous interpolation of the A MSS, we have a text that can be made
good with some minor adjustment. Richter. followed by Zwierlein, Chaumartin,
and Fitch, emended luctu to luctum (Fitch translates the phrase as "This very
grief which you mourn"). The combination luctum gemere, however, is unparalleled.
1 think that E's ecce luctu hides the name of Hercules plus the pronoun
"you," and so I read hunc Herculem tu quem gemis (etc.), or (better) llUnc Hercu1em
quem tu gemis (etc.).
821-22 truncus in pontum cadit, / in saxa uersus [E: ceruix CS, a reading
adopted by Zwierlein, Chaumartin and Fitch]: funus ambobus iacet. Gronovius,
followed by many editors. read uertex. understanding it as synonymous with
caput. As for fun us, Grotius (followed by Zwierlein. Chaumartin and Fitch) corrected
it with unus. The resulting sentence makes for very cryptic Latin; Fitch
translates, "one death in two elements." The episode of Lichas' murder at the
hands of Hercules is also narrated by Ovid (Met. 9.211-229), from whom I quote:
A1cides et terque quaterque rotatwn / mittit in Euboicas tormento fortius undas.
/ iIle per aerias pendens induruit auras, / ... sic ilIum ualidis iactum per inane
lacertis / exsanguemque metu nec quicquam umoris habentem / in rigidos uersus
silkes prior edidit aetas. Thus Ovid tells the story of the metamorphosis of
Lichas into stones (siJices Ovid. saxa the poet of Her. 0.). Ovid's uersus is a
strong confirmation of E's reading uersus in Her. 0. 822. So the restored text of
821 -822a can be trwlCUS in pontum cadit. / in saxa uersus etc. I find the correction
of fWlUS to unus unwarranted. since the idea of Lichas' body being divided into
two pieces is no longer present in our restored text. I envisage two parallel solutions.
either to read funus absumptum iacet or truncus absumptus iacet.
854-55 perdidi sola Herculem [E: erepto Hercule A. which is now printed by
Fitch] / et ipsa populos. (Zwierlein adopts Heinsius' emendation in solo He.rcule.)
No-one has noticed that Deianira has just mentioned Phaethon as one who,
like herself. led the victims of his incompetence to disaster. and so I suggest reading
perdidi nempe [or namquel Herculem / ut ille [Sc. Phaethon] populos.
1078 The MSS have nec pomis adhibet manus. the subject being Tantalus. of
whom the preceding line says excussit rabidam sitim. In fact. an adynaton is
described here. i.e., that Tantalus' supplicium is suspended under the spell of Orpheus'
lyre. So we must also write ac pomis etc.. emending the nonsensical nec of
the paradosis.