CARMEN XXXVII. AD SODALES. An ode on the occasion of Cleopatra's death, in which the poet calls upon his companions to celebrate the destruction of that ambitious and haughty woman by every species of rejoicing. NUNC est bibendum, nunc pede libero Ornare pulvinar deorum Tempus erat dapibus, sodales. Antehac nefas depromere Caecubum Cellis avitis, dum Capitolio Regina dementes ruinas Funus et imperio parabat Contaminato cum grege turpium Ebria. Sed minuit furorem CARM. 37.-5. deponere, Cod. Bern.-10. opprobriorum, Bentl. conj. Carm. 37.-1. Nunc est bibendum, &c., imitation of the beginning of a song of Alcaeus (on the death of the Lesbian tyrant Myrsilus): Nûv xpǹ μεθύσθην καὶ τινα πρὸς βίαν Πίνην, ἐπειδὴ κάτθανε Μύρσιλος. Nunc = nunc demum, now at length,' in opposition to the foll. antehac-pede libero (= soluto lege), 'with unbound, unfettered foot,' i. e. with unrestricted mirth.' 2. Saliaribus dapibus, with splendid, sumptuous feasts;' Saliarius, metonym. for opiparus, magnificent, splendid,' because splendid banquets were connected with the processions of the Salii, priests of Mars (comp. Cic. Att. 5, 9: Quum epulati essemus Saliarem in modum. 5. antehac, dissyllable, as ant'hac 5 10 depromere Caecubum cellis avitis, see Excurs. to C. 1, 20. 7. regina, i. e. Cleopatra-dementes, poetic. dementer cogitatas (Enallage adjectivi, demens properly belonging to regina; comp. Virg. A. 2, 576: Ulcisci patriam et sceleratas sumere poenas, inst. of a scelerata Helena). 8. funus et, poetic. et funus (as below in verse 26), see note to C. 1, 2, 9. 9. sq. contaminato, &c. construe: cum contaminato grege virorum turpium morbo (morbosorum), contemptuous expression: 'with a contaminated gang of enervated servants.' 10. impotens = audax, poetic. with infin. sperare quidlibet, 'weak enough to hope for anything.' 11. dulci= blanda, seductive.' 15. ad (inst. of in), Bentl. conj.-24. penetravit, Bentl. conj. 13. vix una, &c., referring to the fleet of Antony, which was almost totally destroyed. 14. lymphatam Mareotico (sc. vino), 'frantic, panic-struck by the Mareotic (Egyptian) wine;' see Excurs. to C. 1, 20: lymphatus = νυμφόληπτος. 15. veros, in opposition to the lymphaticus timor. 16. sq. construe: adurgens remis (re- | ginam) volantem ab Italia (on her flight from Actium she intended to make a descent upon Italy). 20. daret catenis, poetic. 'take prisoner.' 21. monstrum; quae, the relative pronoun in the natural (not in the grammatical) gender with reference to Cleopatra. 23. latentes (= ignotas, remotas) oras, 'secret, remote shores.' 24. reparavit, in the sense of alias Privata deduci superbo Non humilis mulier triumpho. CARMEN XXXVIII. AD PUERUM MINISTRUM. The poet, disliking everything expensive and recherché in his entertainments, bids his slave weave for him a festal crown of myrtle, as an ornament well suited to the simplicity of his tastes and character. LIBER SECUNDUS. CARMEN I. AD C. ASINIUM POLLIONEM. The poet, in complimenting C. Asinius Pollio upon his History of the Civil Wars, urges him to prosecute his task, but describes the difficulty and danger of the undertaking, and deplores those unfortunate quarrels of which it professed to give an account. C. Asinius Pollio was born in Rome B. c. 76. He became highly distinguished as an orator, tragic poet, historian, and politician; obtained the consulship along with Cneius Domitius Calvinus under the second Triumvirate, B. C. 40; and died at his Tusculan villa, A. D. 4, in the eightieth year of his age. He was the friend and patron of Virgil and Horace-the former of whom dedicated to him the fourth Eclogue. Pollio's History of the Civil Wars consisted of seventeen books-all of which are now lost; but, from the references to it by Tacitus, Suetonius, and others, it would seem to have been a work of merit and authority. MOTUM ex Metello consule civicum Nondum expiatis uncta cruoribus, VARIOUS READINGS.-CARM. 1.-5. tincta, Bentl. conj. = Lib. II.-Carm. 1.-1. Metello, i. e. Q. Caecilio Metello Celere, L. Afranio consulibus (A.U.C. 694B.C. 60) — civicum, poetic. bellum civile (comp. below C. 3, 24, 26: rabiem tollere civicam), and Ep. 1, 3, 23: civica jura). 3. graves = exitiabiles, 'fatal, de structive.' and Crassus. 5 5. uncta = polluta, polluted.' 6. opus (sc. historiam belli civilis) plenum periculosae aleae, a work full of dangerous enterprize.' 7 and 8. ignes suppositos cineri, a proverbial expression, comp the Greek: ἔστι πῦρ ὑπὸ τῇ σποδιῇ, and: μὴ κινήσῃς 4. principum, i. e. of Caesar, Pompey Tédpn ûρ νпоλаμжÓμеνov. 9 and 10. construe: Musa (tua) severae tragoediae desit paulum (= paulisper) theatris, i. e. cease, for a short time, to write tragedies (in order to compose the history of the civil wars). 11. munus partes, 'task.' 12. Cecropio (= Atheniensi) cothurno (ablat.) with the Cecropian (Athenian, tragic) buskin.' 13. praesidium reis, i. e. advocate of the accused. 14. consulenti, absol. deliberanti, 'to the consulting, deliberating senate (comp. Virg. A. 11, 335: consulite in médium, et rebus succurrite fessis, and Liv. 21, 16: ut trepidarent magis quam consulerent). 16. Dalmatico (in Inscriptions and old Manuscripts, Delmatico) triumpho, i. e. on the first of November in the year 715 A. U. C. (= B. C. 39); for having de 21. audire, i. e. to hear them giving the word of command in the battle. 23. sq. cuncta terrarum, poetic. for cunctas terras, orbem terrarum ;-note the expressive opposition of atrocem animum Catonis, the unconquerable will of Cato Uticensis, to cuncta terrarum; as to Cato, see the Excurs. to C. 1, 12. 25. sq., digression on the evils of civil war-Juno, the patroness of Carthage (comp. Virg. A. 1, 15 sq.) and 26. impotens, unable (to resist the |