4 A Poetic Pylades et Orestes: Manilius, Astronomica 2.579-593
We know less about the author of this passage than almost any other significant author whose work survives from antiquity. His name was Manilius (or Manlius… or Mallius) and around the time of Augustus’ death (14 CE) he composed a 5-Book didactic epic on the heavens that covered astronomy, the constellations of the zodiac, the horoscope, the zodiac’s effect on humans, and extra-zodiacal signs. In the lead up to this passage, Manilius notes how disharmony between the signs of the zodiac (signōrum in 579) gives rise to enmity on earth.
| 579 | Per tot signōrum speciēs contrāria surgunt |
| 580 | corpora totque modīs totiēns inimīca creantur. |
| 581 | idcircō nihil ex sēmet nātūra creāvit |
| 582 | foedere amīcitiae māius nec rārius umquam; |
| 589 | perque tot aetātēs hominum, tot tempora et annōs, |
| 590 | tot bella et variōs etiam sub pāce labōrēs, |
| 579 | contrāria: agreeing with corpora in 580, as is inimīca. |
| 580 | corpora: here, with the sense of “beings”, like the English “anybody” or “everybody.” |
| 581 | nihil: remember that nihil is an indeclinable neuter noun.
sēmet = sē -met; 🛑 let’s look at AG (Allen & Greenough’s Latin Grammar) to discover what this suffix means. Open a browser and go to the Index for the DCC’s AG at bit.ly/AGDCC. Find the entry for -met in the Index and follow the link: you’ll find the information you are looking for in 143d, but read the entire entry. |
| 582 | foedere: an ablative of comparison with the neuter comparatives māius nec rārius, which modify nihil in 581. |
| 589 | our editor has rearranged lines which he believes have been transposed by copyists.
aetātēs…tempora et annōs: what is the difference between these three words for units of time? |
Although friendship is precious it is desperately rare. This leads Manilius to recall the glory of Orestes and Pylades.
| 591 | cum Fortūna fidem quaerat, vix invenit usquam. |
| 583 | ūnus erat Pyladēs, ūnus quī māllet Orestēs |
| 584 | ipse morī; līs ūna fuit per saecula mortis, |
| 585 | alter quod raperet fātum, nōn cēderet alter. |
| 592 | at quanta est scelerum mōlēs per saecula cūncta, |
| 593 | quamque onus invidiae nōn excūsābile terrīs! |
| 584 | morī: passive infinitive of the deponent verb, morior. |
| 585 | quod: relative pronoun whose antecedent is ; Manilius’ separation of alter…alter creates an interlaced word order; a more prosaic order of words in the clauses would be: alter nōn cēderet fātum, quod alter raperet;
nōn cēderet: the nōn signals that this is a potential subjunctive; raperet: is subjunctive in a relative clause of characteristic or, more likely, by attraction to cēderet (AG 593). |
| 592 | at: emphatically introduces point in an argument.
mōlēs: a nominative (although it might not look like it, cf. nūbēs) |
| 593 | quamque = quam + que; to rewrite the clause, et quam nōn excūsābile [est, understood from 592; Axioma VII!] onus invidiae terrīs!
terrīs: dative of separation with excūsābile (AG 381). |
Interrogata
- What “advantages” do you think friendship offers you?
