M. Mīrābar quid maesta deōs, Amarylli, vocārēs,
cui pendēre suā paterēris in arbore pōma;
Tītyrus hinc aberat. ipsae tē, Tītyre, pīnūs,
ipsī tē fontēs, ipsa haec arbusta vocābant.
T. Quid facerem? neque servitiō mē exīre licēbat40
nec tam praesentīs alibī cognōscere dīvōs.
hīc illum vīdī iuvenem, Meliboee, quotannīs
bis sēnōs cui nostra diēs altāria fūmant.
hīc mihi respōnsum prīmus dedit ille petentī:
'pāscite ut ante bovēs, puerī; submittite taurōs.'45
notes
M.: Amaryllis was sad while you were away. T.: Rome was the only place I could obtain my freedom.
36 quid: “why”; introduces an indirect question after mīrābar, “I was wondering.”
36 Amarylli: Greek vocative (AG 81–82).
36 vocārēs: subjunctive in indirect question. Saddened by Tityrus’s absence, Amaryllis calls upon the gods for comfort.
37 cui: “for whom?”; dative of reference with paterēris (AG 376) in another indirect question introduced by mīrābar. Fruit has erotic overtones and serves as love gifts in Theocritus and the other Eclogues.
37 pendere … paterēris … pōma: the p alliteration emphasizes the words’ syntactic connection; the alliteration and rhythm suggest Amaryllis’s melancholy and sluggishness as well as the heaviness of the fruit weighing down the branches.
37 suā … in arbore: the apples’ own tree; they should have been picked already and shared between the lovers.
38–39 ipsae … / ipsī … ipsa: the combination of tricolon, asyndeton, and anaphora heighten the emotion of Meliboeus’s words—the landscape itself cries out for Tityrus.
40 facerem: “what was I to do?”; deliberative subjunctive (AG 444).
40 servitiō:exīre takes the ablative of separation.
40 praesentīs: (accusative) “ready, at hand (to help), effective.”
42 iuvenem: the antecedent for cui in verse 43; Tityrus’s benefactor of verse 6, presumably Octavian, born in 63 BCE. The identity of the iuvenis, perhaps initially unclear when Ecl. 1 was written, is confirmed in Vergil’s second book of poetry, the Georgics, where hunc … iuvenem at Georgics 1.500 explicitly refers to Octavian.
42–43 quotannīs / bis sēnōs … diēs: “twice every year for six days.” The adverb quotannīs modifies the adjectives bis sēnōs, which in turn modify diēs. Accusative of duration of time (AG 423.2).
cui: the relative pronoun is postponed, as often happens in poetry.
45 pāscite ut ante bovēs, puerī: bovēs is the direct object of pāscite; here, ante is an adverb introduced by ut: “as before”; puerī: “enslaved men”; the plural suggests that Tityrus was part of a group of enslaved men who petitioned the youthful ruler to allow them to continue to use their pasture lands.
45 submittite: "bring up, rear, raise." LS summitto I.A.2.
vocabulary
Amaryllis –idis or –idos f.: Amaryllis, female name
pendeō pendēre pependī: to hang, hang down
pōmum –ī n.: fruit
pīnus –ūs: a pine tree
arbustum –ī n.: a grove, thicket
servitium servitī(i) n.: slavery
alibī: elsewhere
iuvenis iuvenis m.: youth
Meliboeus –ī m.: Meliboeus, male name
quotannīs: every year, yearly
bis: twice
sēnī –ae –a: six each
altāria –ium n.: altar
fūmō fūmāre fūmāvī fūmātus: to smoke
pāscō pāscere pāvī pāstum: to nourish, feed
submittō submittere submīsī submissum: to place under (the yoke)
taurus taurī m.: bull