Aeneid VIII 684 scansion

 

cinefactus

Censor

  • Censor

  • Patronus

Location:
litore aureo
Here is another one which has me stuck
tempora | nāvā| lī ‖ ful|gent rōs|trātā cor|ōnā.

Has rostrata been put into acc pl to go with tempora? The crib I have marks it as ablative, but it wouldn't fit the metre.
 
B

Bitmap

Guest

As a side-note: metre aside, it would also not be common for good poetry to have a sentence like this with 2 nouns and 2 adjectives and to have the two adjectives refer to only one noun while the other one gets nothing. Instead, poets usually go for a deferred epithet, as is the case here.
 
 

cinefactus

Censor

  • Censor

  • Patronus

Location:
litore aureo
As a side-note: metre aside, it would also not be common for good poetry to have a sentence like this with 2 nouns and 2 adjectives and to have the two adjectives refer to only one noun while the other one gets nothing. Instead, poets usually go for a deferred epithet, as is the case here.
Here is one which has me wondering:
IX 585:
pinguis ubi et plācābilis āra Palīcī:

Both of the cribs I have say, "and where the rich and peaceful altar of Palicus is"
but I thought it more likely to be, "where also is the rich altar of appeasable Palicus"

What do you think? plācābilis seems a strange epithet for an altar to me.
 
B

Bitmap

Guest

but I thought it more likely to be, "where also is the rich altar of appeasable Palicus"

I would have taken it that way, too, and I think that's essentially what is meant here.

I think you would come to the same interpretation if you called the altar 'appeasable' and then simply transfer the epithet to the deity (although you could argue that that's more convoluted).

I think 'peaceful' is not a good translation, though. The myth seems to have to do with appeasement.

It's not super-clear to me how the whole thing is to be taken. As I said, I would agree with you here, but I couldn't blame anyone who offers a different reading.
 
Top