4.528–547

Cyrene interprets Proteus’s words for Aristaeus, and explains how to perform the bugonia. 

Proteus immediately dives into the water, and Cyrene interprets the tale for her fearful son. She explains that the nymphs who were Eurydice’s companions have sent death to his bees. If he approaches them as a suppliant, seeks peace, and worships them, they will forgive him. He must select four bulls and four heifers, then set up four altars to the goddesses. After he sacrifices them, he should set them in a grove, and after nine days offer poppies and a black sheep to the gods of the Underworld for Orpheus and calf for Eurydice.

528  Haec Prōteus: supply dīxit. It is easy to forget that the tale of Orpheus has been narrated to Aristaeus in Proteus’s cave, in order to explain to him why all his bees have died. 

528  iactū: ablative of means (AG 409).

528  sē…dedit aequor in altum: “he entrusted himself to the deep sea.”

529  quāque = et quā. quā is the relative adverb “where.” 

529  sub vertice: the vertex is probably the specific place where he plunged into the water, which caused a little eddy.

530  ultrō: “spontaneously,” that is, Cyrene speaks before Aristaeus even has a chance to consider what to do. 

530  adfāta timentem = <Cyrene> adfāta <est Aristaeum> timentem.

531  nāte: vocative masculine singular > nātus, nātī (m). 

531  tristēs: accusative plural feminine, modifying curās.

531  animō: “from your mind,” ablative of separation (AG 401).

532  haec omnis morbī causa: supply est. causa is nominative. omnis could modify either morbī or causa, but seems better with causa. 

532–534  hinc miserābile…apibus = hinc Nymphae, quibuscum illa <Eurydicē> agitābat chorōs in altīs lūcīs, mīsēre miserābile exitium apibus. Eurydice’s friends, the nymphs, have destroyed Aristaeus’s hives as punishment, since he indirectly caused her death. 

533  chorōs…agitābat: “used to engage in dances.” 

534  mīsēre: 3rd person plural perfect active indicative of mittō (AG 163a).

535  tende: present active imperative singular. mūnera is the direct object. Cyrene continues to give instructions in the imperative: venerāre (535), dēlige (540), cōnstitue (542), dēmitte (542), and dēsere (543). 

535  facilēs venerāre Napaeās: venerāre is a present imperative singular > veneror, venerārī, venerātus. facilēs is accusative plural, modifying Napaeās. The Napaeae are nymphs of the small, grassy valleys. facilēs often describes nymphs, who are good-natured and compliant, but in agricultural contexts facilis can also indicate abundance and prosperity, which will certainly be the reward of the bugonia (the creation of a hive from a cow’s carcass).

536  dabunt veniam: dāre veniam is an idiom, “to pardon.” 

536  votīs: dative of indirect object, though the real recipient is the giver of the prayers.

537  sed modus…dīcam: quī is an interrogative adjective, modifying modus; quī modus ōrandī sit is an indirect question, and what Cyrene will tell (AG 574). ōrandī is a gerund in the genitive; prius is strictly adverbial. ōrdine emphasizes that these instructions need to be followed to the letter, though the method here diverges significantly from the method prescribed at lines 281-314.

538  quattuor…taurōs: direct object of the imperative dēlige in line 540. 

538  praestantī corpore: ablative of quality with taurōs (AG 415).

539  quī…Lycaeī: relative clause; the antecedent for quī is taurōs. tibi is a dative of reference (AG 376); summa is an accusative plural neuter, direct object of dēpāscunt. Lycaeum is a mountain in Arcadia, sacred to Zeus. Arcadia is one home of Aristaeus, as we learned at line 283.

540  intactā: ablative singular feminine, modifying cervīce; ablative of quality with iuvencās (AG 415). These heifers, unlike their male counterparts, are unbroken, their necks untouched by a yoke.

541  quattuor: modifies ārās. 

541  hīs: dative of indirect object. 

541  deārum: these are the Napaeae.

542  iugulīs: ablative of separation (AG 402). Many have observed that this contradicts the method of the bugonia that Vergil prescribes in lines 281-314.

543  boum: genitive plural of bōs (AG 79).

543  frondosō…lūcō: ablative of place where without the preposition, as is common in poetry (AG 429.4).

544  post: adverb. 

544  Aurōra:the goddess of the dawn, but here the morning itself. nōna modifies her, “the ninth morning,” and the number may have to do with Roman funeral rituals, where sacrifices were made on the ninth day, the Novemdiale.

544  ostenderit: 3rd person singular future perfect indicative. 

544  ortūs: accusative plural, with suōs.

545  īnferiās: “as funeral offerings,” in apposition to papāvera. 

545  Orpheī: a Greek dative (AG 82), here a dative of advantage. The final two vowels scan as a single long syllable by synezesis.

545  Lēthaea papāvera: the poppy, Papaver somniferum. Lethaea refers to the river Lethe, the river of forgetfulness in the Underworld. Opiates are, of course, derived from poppy seed capsules of Papaver somniferum, which was known in antiquity and explains the association here.

545  mittēs: a didactic future, with the force of an imperative. Likewise, mactābis and revīsēs in line 546 and venerābere in line 547.

547  vitulā…caesā: ablative of means; take closely with venerābere (AG 409). The idea appears to be that after revisiting the forest and finding his bees restored, Aristaeus should give a thank offering to Eurydice, now appeased.