Eclogue 1

1-10. Two herdsmen, Tityrus and Meliboeus, meet on the road. Because of the land confiscations, Meliboeus has been driven into exile with his suffering flock and addresses Tityrus, who has his land and a healthy flock. Tityrus explains in response to Meliboeus' opening remarks that a "god," referring to the young Octavian, has made his ease possible and he will forever make sacrifices in his honor.

the same five elements in each correlative clause

1-5: In these opening verses, spoken by Meliboeus, important programmatic elements signal Vergil’s connection to his Hellenistic predecessors, especially the poets Theocritus and Callimachus.[link to essay] These elements are the name Tityrus and its alliteration within the opening line, the natural setting, Tityrus playing music on a reed pipe, and the song’s topic of love (these elements will be discussed individually below as they occur; see also [introductory essay-link]. The other significant programmatic element at verses 3-4, the presence of contemporary historical and political events, marks a radical departure on Vergil’s part from traditional pastoral poetry.

1-2: Tītyre: the name connects Vergil’s Eclogues to the poetry of the Greek poet Theocritus, who lived in Sicily during the 3rd century BCE. Theocritus wrote poems in a genre of poetry called pastoral or bucolic that recounted the lives and songs of herdsmen as they enjoyed the rustic countryside [link to essay on Theocritus and pastoral]; in Theocritus Idyll 3, a nameless goatherd charges Tityrus with watching his goats while the goatherd serenades his lover Amaryllis; in Idyll 7, Tityrus sings of the lovesick Daphnis (Daphnis' death will be the subject of Mopsus' song in Ecl. 5). A variety of original meanings for tītyrus have been put forth: “reed” or “pipe,” “satyr,” “he-goat,” among others. The clause ends with avēna, “reed pipe,” possibly playing on tītyrus as a synonym. The repeated "t" sounds in tū patulae recubāns sub tegmine connect the “t” sound in the name Tityrus to the “t” sounds in the line describing him reclining in the shade. The alliteration connecting the shade to Tityrus links him to the shade (patulae…sub tegmine), an important feature of the pastoral landscape [link to locus amoenus essay]

Patulae...fāgī: a second declension feminine, often the case with trees (AG §32). Ancient Roman grammarian Priscian explained that Latin word arbor (“tree”) is masculine in form but feminine in gender because trees produce their own offspring (Priscian Inst. IIII 19) and thus can be understood as biologically female like uxor (“wife”) and soror (“sister”). For more on grammatical gender and social constructions of gender in ancient Rome, see Anthony Corbeill. 2015. Sexing the World: Grammatical Gender and Biological Sex in Ancient Rome. Princeton. Shady trees are often places for reflection and poetic composition in the classical tradition. Vergil playfully innovates by using a beech tree, which does not appear in the earlier poetic tradition but recalls the shady phāgos (“oak”) at Theocritus Idyll 12.8 [Include  relevant Theocritean texts? (view letter-box pop-up?)]. Hyperbaton <tool-tip pop-up> with nouns and their modifiers occurs regularly in Latin poetry. Often with one word at the mid-verse caesura <link to def?>, the other at verse-end (cf. verse 2, tenuī...avēnā).” 

silvestram...Mūsam: “woodsy song,” direct object of meditāris, "practice, rehearse"; thus far, the poem has indicated its genre through allusions to literary predecessors, models, and landscape; here, Meliboeus’ description of Tityrus’ song as silvestram reveals the interdependent relationship between setting and song. 

tenuī...avēnā: “on a delicate reed pipe”; ablative of means with meditāris (AG §409). Avēna is literally an “oat-straw” and like calamus and harūndō (both mean “reed, cane”) is used for the shepherd’s reed pipe or pan-pipe. The placement of tenuī between silvestram...Mūsam intimately connects the “woodsy song” to the “delicate reed pipe” on which it is composed. ((**comment on tenuis as suggestive of Callimachean-style poetry?;  Clausen (1994) 175 on Ecl. 6.8 tenui…harundine who links it with Greek leptos, which some young readers may have heard about reading Catullus 1.1 lepidus.)

3-5: fīnīs: third declension accusative plural -īs in place of -ēs (AG §65-67), common in Vergil. Meliboeus’s opening words employ stark contrast in tone and imagery: he describes Tityrus as residing fully in the pastoral world, composing songs at leisure in the shade, while he, Meliboeus, resides firmly in the contemporary political landscape of forced exile, land confiscations, and the resettlement of veterans. These boundaries between the pastoral and political blur over the course of the poem. 

lentus: “relaxed, at ease,” used for things neither purely solid nor liquid, thus, “pliant, flexible.” 

formōsam...Amaryllida: -ida accusative ending borrowed from Greek (AG §81-82); direct object of resonāre, "to echo [with the phrase] beautiful Amaryllis." The woods repeatedly echo back Tityrus’ song. Clausen remarks, “the rhythm of the line (weak caesura in the third foot, strong in the fourth) sets off these two words with their echo-effect: ‘AmarYLida sILvas’.” Like Tityrus, Amaryllis is from Theocritus Idyll 3, where she is being serenaded by the goatherd whose flock Tityrus is minding.

docēs: governs two accusatives: the person receiving instruction and the thing taught (AG §396). Tityrus teaches the personified woods (silvās) the infinitive phrase formōsam resonāre...Amaryllida (see previous note for discussion).

6-8: Meliboee: Meliboeus (“cow-tender”), a Greek name like Tityrus and Amaryllis, but not attested in pastoral before Vergil.
 need to say that it’s vocative?

deus: Tityrus honors his benefactor, the young triumvir Octavian [hyperlink with brief bio?], with a sacrifice (āram/...imbuet agnus) as if he were a god because he has protected Tityrus’ property; see introductory essay <link>. fact-check: Though formal Emperor worship/cults were not established until ??[this is complicated – worshipped in the east from early on, but not worshipped as divus in Rome until after his death in 14 CE], At Caesar’s Victory games sponsored by Octavian in late July 44 BCE, a comet (sīdus Iūlium) appeared, which was heralded as Caesar’s ascent to heaven, making him divine (dīvus). In 42 BCE, Octavian introduced the deified Julius Caesar into the state cult and in 40 BCE added dīvī fīlius (“son of the divine (Julius)”) to his own name. <link to coin with Caesar's comet, Caesar divi filius legend>,
<link to RG where Octavian describes comet?>  ((**Pandey, TAPA 2013 discusses the comet and will also do so in a book (requested ILL 6/26/17); on divinization maybe see the book reviewed at http://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2014/2014-08-51.html (he mostly skips literature) and also the book by Cole on Cicero mentioned in a BMCR footnote))

((**fun fact: deus nobis haec otia fecit is the motto of my hometown, Milton MA; it’s on all the firetrucks))

ille: refers to Octavian. His prominence in Tityrus’ world is marked by the emphatic repetition ille...illius/.../ille. The repetition evokes ritual speech (Clausen).

mihī: dative of reference (AG §378); second syllable scans long, archaic form of mĭhĭ.(((***some recent religion scholars talk about “relational” divinity, like mihi deus here and in Catullus 51 ille mi par esse deo, as opposed to existential “real” divinity)) 

illĭus: Refers to his godlike patron, Octavian. The second syllable (-li) scans short instead of the traditional illīus by correption. <link to definition of correption or section on meter>  

illius āram/saepe tener nostrīs ab ovīlibus imbuet agnus: Meliboeus will sacrifice a young lamb from his flock at an altar in honor of his patron, whom he worships as if a god. 

āram/...tener...imbuet agnus: the lamb will moisten the altar with its blood as part of the sacrifice.

9-11: ille meās errāre bovēs.../...permīsit et ipsum/lūdere: a verb of permitting with the infinitive (AG §563c); meās...bovēs is the accusative subject of errāre; ipsum [mē] is the accusative subject of lūdere: “That man allowed my cattle to roam, as you see, and me myself to play the things that I wanted on my rustic reed pipe.” Tityrus connects Octavian's power in Rome, and thus politics, with the fundamental pastoral activities of herding and singing. Rome’s political situation has hindered pastoral activity for Meliboeus but facilitated this activity for Tityrus.

lūdere [ea] quae vellem: “to play the types of things I wished”; the neuter plural relative pronoun quae refers to an implied “things”; this missing antecedent together with the imperfect subjunctive vellem (from volō) tells us that the relative clause is describing a general type or group (AG §535).

11-25. Meliboeus marvels at Tityrus' leisure in these troubled times. Not only has he lost his land, but also his flock is sick and he should have heeded the bad omen he saw. Instead of answering Meliboeus' query about the god’s identity, Tityrus explains that Rome is like nothing he had ever seen before. 

11-12: undique tōtīs/...agrīs: “everywhere in all fields”; ablative of place where (AG §426); poets often omit the preposition in. Language itself is running amok: the pleonasm undique tōtīs <definition>, enjambment <definition> and hyperbaton tōtīs/...agrīs <definition> emphasize that the entire countryside is in upheaval from the land confiscations; Many have lost their land and livelihood, which Meliboeus hinted at by repeating the plural "nōs" in verses 2-3.

usque adeō: “to such an extent”; usque strengthens adeō.

turbātur: “there is confusion/a disturbance”; the third person singular passive form of a verb can be used as an impersonal passive (AG §208d).

13: hanc [capellam]: Meliboeus gestures to a specific she-goat in the herd (capellās in verse 12). 

14-15: Meliboeus’ hardship contrasts starkly with Tityrus’ prosperity: Tityrus is well off enough to sacrifice a lamb in honor of his patron and good fortune while Meliboeus must leave behind lambs abandoned by their mother (common among domestic sheep) that as shepherd, he would normally shoulder and rear. 

spem gregis: in apposition to gemellōs (AG §282). [say more here, cf. Page]
(((**I like how Petrini, M. (1997) The Child and the Hero: Coming of Age in Catullus and Vergil. Ann Arbor. p. 10 connects the loss of the lambs, the spes gregis, with the deaths of pueri who represent hope in the Aeneid.  I also like his reading of Eclogue 4, which has not convinced everyone.  I’d be happy to give you pdfs; Mark is a physician now and I’m in charge of reminding people to read him))

cōnīxa [capella]: refers to hanc in the previous verse. Cōnīxa indicates a more difficult birth than the standard ēnīxa.

16-17: nōbīs: dative of the indirect object (AG §362) with praedīcere in the next verse. 

sī mēns nōn laeva fuisset: sī...nōn in place of nisi emphasizes laeva; fuisset is pluperfect subjunctive in a past wish incapable of fulfillment (AG §441); the conclusion of this thought (e.g.,“I would have listened up”) is suppressed.
 

dē caelō tāctās...quercūs: accusative subject of praedīcere in indirect statement introduced by meminī (AG §§579-581); hoc malum in verse 16 is the object of praedīcere. Oak trees struck by lightning are a bad omen. Jupiter striking his own sacred tree, the quercus, with lightning is ominous indeed; the multiple spondees of these lines enhance the foreboding. 

18: iste deus: the predicate of quī sit (AG §283); Tītyrus’ benefactor, Octavian.


quī sit: indirect question introduced by dā (AG §586). 

dā: colloquial for dīc.


19-21: quam: direct object of dīcunt, here meaning “to call, name” rather than “to speak, say”; Rōmam is the predicate accusative (AG §393) and explains what the quam is called. 

urbem...similem [esse]: accusative infinitive construction in indirect statement introduced by putāvī (AG §§579-581). Esse can be supplied because Latin frequently omits forms of sum (AG 319b).

huic nostrae: Tityrus’ town; dative with similem (AG §384).
 

quō: “where.” Tityrus’ town is where shepherds sell their lambs. 

pāstōrēs: nominative in apposition to the implied subject of solēmus (AG §282): “we, shepherds.” 

dēpellere: meaning "to drive" the goats down to the market.

22-23: cānibus catulōs similīs [esse]: nōram in the next verse introduces this indirect statement. Placing the main verb in the following verse is a good example of enjambment <def>.
 Supply esse (AG 319b).

haedōs [similīs esse]: another indirect statement with nōram. The repetition of sic and accompanying syntax (accusative and dative nouns) suggest a parallel structure to the first sic clause catulōs similīs [esse], so we supply the missing words similīs [esse] in this clause. As is often the case, one can and should supply missing words from the parallel clause. Does this note make sense? – maybe a table to illustrate?

sīc

canibus

catulōs

similīs

[esse]

adverb

dative

accusative noun

accusative adjective

supplied verb

sīc

mātribus

haedōs

[similīs]

[esse]

nōram: “I knew”; contracted form of nōveram (AG §181a); the perfect stem of nōscō means “to know,” so the pluperfect is “knew.” Note the enjambment <tool tip pop-up>; by holding off the main verb until the next verse, Tityrus emphasizes nōram and that in the past he knew these things, but no longer knows them. Tityrus had naively thought that Rome was just a bigger version of his own town (huic nostrae), like an adult animal compared to a baby animal. Instead, Rome is not only bigger but also a completely different species, like a lofty cypress compared to lowly shrubs. The quaint images help characterize Tityrus as a rustic shepherd.

24-25: vērum: “but in truth”; more emphatic than sed (AG 324d); suggests just how naive Tityrus had been and how awestruck he was by the sight of Rome.

haec [urbs]: Rome.


tantum: correlates with quantum, “to such a degree...as…” (AG §152), comparing Rome among other cities to a lofty cypress among shrubs; the Italian cypress can reach 150 ft. <picture>

inter: used with aliās...urbēs. <link to table here?>

caput: object of extulit. The placement of caput reinforces the meaning: Rome’s head is literally among other cities.


solent...cupressi [capita extulisse]: 

The verb solent anticipates an infinitive (“they are accustomed” to do what?), so we supply the verb from the preceding clause; as is often the case, one can and should supply missing words from the parallel clause. Rome raises her head above other cities just as cypress trees are accustomed to raise their heads above shrubs. Does this note make sense? – maybe a table to illustrate?

haec

tantum

aliās inter...

caput

extulit

urbēs

subject

correlating

adverb

prepositional phrase

accusative direct object

verb

rest of prepositional phrase

subject

quantum

lenta...

[capita]

solent [efferre]

inter vīburna

cupressī

26-35. Meliboeus wants to know why Tityrus went to Rome. Tityrus replies that he went to purchase his freedom, which he could not afford before because his former lover Galatea never let him save enough. Now that he is with Amaryllis, he has been able to save money.

26: Rōmam...videndī: “of seeing Rome”; Rōmam is the direct object of the gerund videndī (AG 159, 504a). 

tibi: dative of reference (AG 378).

27-30: Lībertās [fuit causa]: need fuit causa? need to explain why I supplied it? The word’s initial position in the verse signals its importance. At the discretion of their owners, slaves could earn and keep money (peculium, verse 32), which then they could use to purchase their freedom. Not only does lībertās refer to Tityrus’ goal in travelling to Rome—to gain his freedom from slavery—it is a word loaded with contemporary political significance for Vergil’s readers. Lībertās connoted both freedom to act as one wished and freedom from oppression, in particular, arbitrary autocratic rule. The phrase vindex libertatis was used on coins by the tyrannicides to commemorate Brutus’ role in Caesar’s assassination <image of coin> and by Octavian to fashion himself as the restorer of the republic and avenger of Caesar <image of a coin with libertas>, <text box with Res Gestae opening where Augustus says rem publicam a dominatione factionis oppressam in libertatem vindicavi (RG 1.1).>  

quae sēra tamen respexit inertem [mē]: “which although late, nevertheless looked favorably upon wretched me.”
pick up here with note about tamen and where the ‘although’ comes from.

inertem [mē]: Tityrus considers himself undeserving.


candidior: modifies barba, part of the temporal clause introduced by postquam. Tityrus’ whitening beard indicates his age. The comparative suggests his beard is already too white (AG §291a), since until recently he was kept in slavery longer than he hoped because of his relationship with Galatea. 

tondentī: the present active participle is substantive here: “to someone who trims,” i.e., a barber. Dative of indirect object with *** (AG §366); “after my beard fell whiter to the barber’s trim” (trans. Lee). 

respexit tamen: still in the relative clause introduced by quae in verse 27; repeats tamen respexit of verse 27 in inverse order, reflecting Tityrus’ astonishment that he is finally free. 

longō...tempore: ablative of degree of difference after the temporal adverb post, “afterward by a long time” (AG §414). 

Amaryllis habet, Galatea reliquit: the asyndeton <tool tip popup> sharply contrasts his relationship with his current and former lover: Amaryllis now holds sway and Galatea has left him. 

Galatea: Tityrus’ former lover; like Amaryllis, her name appears in Theocritus, referring to a Nereid inhabiting Sicily who was wooed by the Cyclops Polyphemus in Theocritus’ Idyll 11. ((**mention that Idyll 11 will be the main model for Ecl 2, and that Galatea is mentioned in Ecl 3 and 7 and 9)?)

32: pecūlī: contracted genitive singular for pecūliī (AG §49). Slaves and others under patria potestas lacked the right to own property, but they could have pecūlium, property for personal use and management that was often the means by which slaves purchased their freedom. 

33-35: quamvis...exiret...premetur: quamvis takes the subjunctive: explain more – quamvis introduces an “although” clause with a subjunctive verb (AG §527a). When Galatea held his affections, he spent all his profits. 

pinguis...caseus: fresh cheese for market <picture>.


ingrātae...urbī: dative of reference (AG §376); although he brought his best products to market, he never made enough money, spending it all on Galatea. He blames the town for not appreciating his wares by either not buying or paying more.  

gravis aere...mihi dextra: “my right hand, heavy with coin”; aere is ablative of specification (AG §418), explaining gravis...dextra. The dative mihi shows a greater interest of the person concerned than the genitive or possessive adjective (AG §377). 

domum: accusative of place to which (AG §427).


36-45. Meliboeus had wondered why Amaryllis was so downcast; it was because of Tityrus’ absence. Tityrus replied that he had no choice: Rome was the only place he could gain his freedom. There he met the youth who gave him freedom ((***are we sure of this?  seems unclear to me; pascite ut ante boues, pueri does not seem like a manumission but permission to keep using the land))) and whom Tityrus honors regularly with sacrificial offerings.

36-37: quid: “why”; introduces an indirect question after mīrābar.


Amarylli: Greek vocative (AG §81-82).


vocārēs: subjunctive in indirect question (AG §586). Amaryllis, saddened by Tityrus’ absence, calls upon the gods for comfort.

cui: dative of reference (AG §376) in another indirect question introduced by mīrābar (AG §586). Meliboeus had wondered why Amaryllis was waiting to harvest the apples and now realizes it was because of Tityrus’ absence. (((**apples as love gifts in Theoc and other Eclogues?)

pendere...paterēris...pōma: the ‘p’ alliteration <definition> emphasizes the words’ syntactic connection; the alliteration and rhythm suggest Amaryllis’ melancholy and sluggishness as well as the heaviness of the fruit in the tree pulling down the branches.

suā in arbore: the apples’ own tree; they should have been picked already and not still attached to their branches.

---------- * need to do macrons starting here  * ------------

38-39: aberāt: short final syllable lengthened before the caesura; the final syllable was long by nature in archaic Latin.


ipsae.../ipsī...ipsa: The combination of tricolon, asyndeton, and anaphora <defs.> emphasize the landscape's connection to Tityrus. Or, Meliboeus is explaining how to Amaryllis the landscape itself was calling out for Tityrus, suggesting she should wait for him to return before harvesting. 

40-41: facerem: deliberative subjunctive (AG §444).


servitiō: ablative of separation with exīre (AG §402).


alibī: “elsewhere”; explains why Tityrus had to go to Rome: he couldn’t receive freedom or the help of the gods anywhere else.


tam praesentīs...dīvōs: “gods very present for help.”
(((**maybe not “very” but “so” or “so very…”))

cognōscere [mē]: mē is the implied accusative subject. – how does this sound?

42-43: iuvenem: the antecedent for cui in verse 43; Tityrus' benefactor of verse 6, Octavian, born in 63 BCE;  say something about Antony's remarks on Octavian's youth? ((**I think it’s possible that the reference of iuvenem was unclear when the poem was first written, but more clear when the book of Eclogues was published, and then confirmed when Vergil says hunc … iuvenem at Geo 1.500))

quotannīs/bis sēnōs...diēs: "every year twice six days," belongs inside the relative clause beginning with cui in verse 43; accusative shows time how long (AG §423.2); the young benefactor’s birthday will be celebrated with a cult fit for a deity for twelve days every year, or perhaps monthly. [note here about lares or hellenistic king worship where birthday is celebrated monthly] 

mihi...petentī: dative of indirect object with respōnsum dedit (AG §361).

pāscite ut ante bovēs, puerī: bovēs is the direct object of pāscite; here, ante is an adverb introduced by ut: “as before.”  ((***does pueri mean slave?  is gray-haired Tityrus a puer?))

submittite taurōs: ‘submit the oxen to the yoke.’ 

46-58. Meliboeus replies that Tityrus is a lucky man because his lands remain his. Though they are modest, they keep his flock nourished and safe. They also provide the relaxing sounds of nature: the humming of bees and cooing of doves.

46-48: Fortūnāte senex: each repetition, here and at verse 51, announces a new theme: (1) Tityrus’ land will support his livelihood, his flock; (2) it will provide the locus amoenus, the natural setting for leisure. 

ergō: “an exclamation of wonder tinged with melancholy,” remarks Page. 

tua: predicative, “the lands will remain yours.”


tibi māgna satis [erunt]: [so here I’ve changed sc. erunt to the bracket format – do I say anything in the note itself?] 

quamvis lapis omnia nudus/limosoque palus obducat pascua iuncō: lapis...nudus and palus are the subjects of obducat, omnia.../...pascua the direct object, and limoso...iunco ablative of means. Although rocky and swampy, these lands are more than Meliboeus can ever hope for and they will certainly do for Tityrus. (((**I find interesting the idea of Christine Perkell, “On Eclogue 1.79-83”TAPA 120 (1990), pp. 171-181 (reprinted in Oxford readings in Eclogues) that M’s description of these poor lands transforms them into something attractive))

49-50: gravīs...fētās: gravīs indicates current pregnancy, fētus the capability to give birth, “breeding ewes” (Lee). 

51-58: Meliboeus describes in detail the locus amoenus, the ideal pastoral landscape. See introduction <link>.
 

51-52: The alliteration of the f sound (fortūnāte...flūmina...fontīs...frīgus) and the slow lilting rhythm help create this idea of the locus amoenus. need more discussion here? in the following notes do I need to say more about the specific elements and their connection to the locus amoenus?

53-55: hinc tibi, quae semper, vīcīnō ab līmite saepēs/Hyblaeīs apibus flōrem dēpāsta salictī/saepe levī somnum suādēbit inīre susurrō: The word order and hyperbaton <def> make this sentence challenging: “at the neighbor’s boundary wall on this side, the hedge, its willow flowers fed on as always by Hyblaean bees, often will persuade you to enter sleep with soft murmuring.”

Location

Subject of the verb

Participial phrase modifying subject

Object of the verb

action

hinc...vīcīnō ab līmite

saepēs

Hyblaeīs apibus flōrem dēpāsta salictī

tibi.../.../... levī somnum… inīre susurrō

saepe... suādēbit

hinc: “on this side” corresponds to hinc in verse 56, “on that side”; both refer to vīcīnō ab līmite, “at the neighbor’s boundary wall”; ab can indicate position where (AG §429.4b). 

tibi: suādēbit in verse 55 takes this dative as its object (AG §367). 

quae semper: saepēs is the antecedent; supply suādēbit, or suāsit from suādēbit, in verse 55. (((**comment on why or for what effect it precedes its antecedent??))

tibi...saepēs/.../saepe levī somnum suādēbit inīre susurrō: saepēs is the subject of suādēbit; and inīre follows with somnum as its direct object (AG §370b), “the hedge often will persuade you to enter sleep with soft murmuring.” ((***also comment on persuade + infinitive?))

levī...susurrō: ablative of means with suādēbit,.

Hyblaeīs apibus flōrem dēpāsta salictī: a participial phrase introduced by the perfect passive participle dēpāsta, modifying saepēs in verse 53; flōrem is an accusative of respect modified by salictī, “the hedge having been fed on by Hyblaean bees with respect to the willows’ flower.”
Hyblaeīs apibus is ablative of means with dēpāsta. The onomatopoeia <tool-tip pop-up> produced by the alliteration <tool-tip pop- up> of s sounds starting with salictī and in the following line evokes the buzzing of bees. Honey from Hybla in Sicily was renowned in Virgil’s time. Virgil invents this epithet, which through the geographical reference brings to mind his Sicilian literary predecessor, Theocritus. ] 

IAN: Maybe before the new sentence a note on tua cura could be good, since cura can be object of desire or a concern, and for Meliboeus he has nothing but concern, and he is referring to Tityrus' lack thereof?

59-64. Tityrus says that deer would graze in the sky, fish live on land, and East meet West before he ever forgets the face of his youthful benefactor.

59-63: ante.../.../ante.../.../quam: “sooner...sooner...than…”; the two ante clauses will happen before verse 63 happens. Each ante clause has two parts to it; in the first one (verses 59-60) deer will graze in the sky and fish will live on land, and in the second one (verses 61-62) the eastern Parthian will be in the west and the western German will be in the east. These reversals of natural laws or impossibilities are called adynata (adynaton in the singular); Tityrus uses adynata here to assert the impossibility of verse 63, that he would ever forget the face of his benefactor.


adverb

Ablative absolute

Subject of the verb

verb

Prepositional phrase

Direct object

ante

levēs… cervī

pāscentur

in aethere

freta

dēstituent

in lītore

nūdōs…piscīs

ante

pererrātīs ambōrum fīnibus

exsul…Parthus

bibet

Ararim

[exsul] Germānia

[bibet]

Tigrim

quam

illīus…vultus

labātur

Not sure where to put nostrō…pectore

Struggling to come up with a helpful schematic for this one:

Ante levēs ergō pāscentur in aethere cervī

et freta dēstituent nūdōs in lītore piscīs,

ante pererrātīs ambōrum fīnibus exsul

aut Ararim Parthus bibet aut Germānia Tigrim,

quam nostrō illīus labātur pectore vultus.

pererrātīs ambōrum fīnibus: “the borders of both having been wandered over,” referring to the borders of Parthia and Germany; an ablative absolute (AG §419). What is the force of this ablative absolute? Causal? Temporal? “After the borders of both lands have been traveled…”

exsul: occurs only here in the Eclogues; Tityrus thoughtlessly uses ‘exile’ to describe a nomadic Parthian or German, reminding Meliboeus of his own exile. 

Ararim...Tigrim: accusatives (AG §75a.1); this adynaton’s impossibility comes from the mixing of geography: the eastern Parthian is drinking from the western Arar river (the modern Saône in eastern France), and the western German is drinking from the eastern Tigris river in Mesopotamia <map>. Note how the chiasmus <tool-tip pop-up> of object-subject-subject-object locates the two rivers at each end of the verse, highlighting the geographic distance between them.

Germania: “Germany” in place of “the German.” 

labātur: the subjunctive indicates a hypothetical situation (AG §551c). 

nostrō...pectore: ablative of separation or place from which (AG §§401, 428g).

illīus: refers to Octavian and is a genitive of possession with vultus.

64-83. With great pathos, Meliboeus laments his and his fellow farmers’ forced exile and how if they ever did return, they would find soldiers tending their lands. No more will Meliboeus graft fruit trees, pasture his goats on his land or compose music in leisure. The only comfort Tityrus can offer Meliboeus is food, shelter, and companionship for the night as shadows begin to fall across the countryside.

64-66: nōs...aliī...ībimus.../ pars...veniēmus: “some of us, we will go...others of us, we will come”; aliī and pars are apposite to nōs. Vergil uses aliī...pars instead of the usual aliī...aliī to contrast two parts of a group.

Afrōs/...Sythiam...Oaxen/...Britannōs: Tityrus’ geographic impossibilities remind Meliboeus of an exile’s harsh reality. Like Parthia and Germania, these places are at or beyond the limits of the Roman empire. <map>
 

sitientīs...Afrōs: “to the thirsty Africans,” accusative of place to which; poetry often leaves out without the preposition ad (AG §428g), as with Scythiam, Oaxen, Britannōs in the following verses. 

Scythiam: lands in the northeast, considered by classical writers a frozen wilderness inhabited by uncivilized nomads. The opposite extreme of the African desert both in direction and climate.
<map>

rapidum crētae Oaxen: “the Oaxes river churning with clay”; Oaxen is the Greek form of the accusative of Oaxes; crētae is a genitive specifying what the river churns up in its violent onrush (AG 349d); the Oaxes river’s location is unknown but presumably in the East.
 check on this explanation of crētae in Italian commentary

penitus tōtō dīvīsōs orbe: “deeply separated from the entire world”; ablative of separation with dīvīsōs (AG §401). Like the Scythians, the Britons were considered are barbarians at the ends of the world. <map>

67-69: ēn umquam: introduces an emotional rhetorical question, reinforced by the disjointed word order that follows. Meliboeus imagines he would marvel at the poor state of his lands if he ever returned since the soldier, disloyal and uncouth, would not make a good farmer.(((**I don’t see these lines as saying he would be amazed at how badly they would be farmed –but I could be wrong!))


patriōs...fīnīs/...et...congestum...culmen: direct objects of videns in verse 69. 

pauperis...tugurī: genitive of possession with culmen. 

caespite: ablative of material with congestum...culmen (AG 403b).


post: adverb echoing longō post tempore of verse 67.


mea regna: apposite to aliquot...aristās, the direct object of mīrābor, heavily ironic in tone. His fields, his kingdom, have been reduced to a few wheat stalks in the hands of the soldier.

70-72: impius...mīles habēbit: a veteran has been given Meliboeus’ land; the coincidence of ictus and natural accent along with the alliteration of the s in this line reflect his strong emotions. The soldier is impius because he fought against other Romans in the civil war. See introductory essay <link>. 

barbarus: the soldier is uncivilized compared to the civilian farmer. ((***or is he an actual foreign mercenary?  I don’t know))

quō: an exclamatory interrogative adverb, “in what a state!”

discordia: civil war, emphasized by cīvīs, is the cause of all this upheaval. [should I say something here about concordia and discordia as political terms at this time? – Ian says yes]

nunc: along with the imperatives īnsere and pōne bitterly sarcastic. (((*maybe explain the sarcasm?  that he is talking about doing something that has only long-term benefit, but he’ll be gone.))

73-74: īnsere ... pirōs: pear trees are grafted by inserting a cutting from a donor tree under the bark of a sapling, and the new tree grows using the young roots but produces the same quality and type of fruit from the donor tree.
((** maybe note the recurrence of this idea in 9.50, in a verse that was optimistic when first composed in the past, but less so when quoted now after more people have lost their lands??))

meae...capellae: the hyperbaton <tool-tip popup> combined with the interrupting apposite felix quondam pecus conveys strong emotions. 

75-78: vōs: accusative subject of pendēre in verse 76 in indirect statement introduced by vidēbō (AG §§579-581, 580d). Since Meliboeus cannot keep his flock, he won’t be able to watch them frolic on the rocks or pasture them. 

viridī prōiectus in antrō: participial phrase modifying ego; With antrum Vergil adopts a Greek word (antron), signaling Theocritus’ influence since the cave is part of the locus amoenus. See introductory essay. 

carmina nūlla canam; nōn mē pāscente, capellae: in his final lines of the poem, Meliboeus declares that he will sing no more nor will he tend his flock. This line neatly sums up a main theme of Meliboeus’ sections of the dialogue: without his land and livelihood, he cannot participate in pastoral song culture. 

nōn mē pāscente: ablative absolute (AG §419).

capellae: vocative with carpētis in verse 78. 

79-80: hanc ... noctem: accusative of time during which (AG §423).


poterās: “you could”; the tense indicates unreal action in present time, similar to the imperfect subjunctive in a conditional; a polite invitation. Maybe add an AG reference? Gilder 254.1 also has something about the imperfect being used as a Tense of Disappointment, so is there a sense that Tityrus does not think Mel will take him up on the offer?

(((** I find it hard to decide how to read poteras—polite? contrary to fact—you could have??

What Is Pastoral? By Paul Alpers p. 173 (on google books!)

William Batstone "On How Virgil's Pastoral Makes a Difference," Arethusa 23 (1990): 11-12

Perkell cited above))

80-83: fronde super viridī: on a bed of leaves.

nōbīs: dative of possession (AG §373).


mītia pōma,/castaneae mollēs et pressī cōpia lactis: the ascending tricolon <tool-tip popup> makes a simple meal of apples, roasted chestnuts and cheese (pressī lactis) elegant. 

māiōrēsque...umbrae: the shadows of the opening lines that facilitate Tityrus’ song become shadows of closure that end the song, whereby Virgil introduces the motif of shadows as liminal spaces of beginnings and endings.