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This webpage reproduces a Book of the
Cynegetica

by
Oppian

published in the Loeb Classical Library,
1928

The text is in the public domain.

This page has been carefully proofread
and I believe it to be free of errors.
If you find a mistake though,
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Book II

 p3  Oppian, Cynegetica or The Chase

I

[Link to a page in Greek] To thee,​1 blessed one, I sing: thou glorious bulwark of the earth, lovely light of the warlike sons of Aeneas,​2 sweet scion of Ausonian​3 Zeus,​4 Antoninus, whom Domna​5 bare to Severus, mighty mother to mighty sire. Happy the husband whom she wedded and happy the son to whom she gave birth — bride of the best of men and mother of a noble son, Assyrian Cythereia,​6 the uneclipsed Moon; a son no meaner than the breed of Cronian Zeus (with favour of Titan Phaethon​7 be it spoken and of Phoebus Apollo!); to whom thy sire, by the labour of his mighty hands, gave in keeping all the dry land and all the wet sea.​8 Yea, for thee doth earth, giver of all gifts, conceive and blossom; for thee again the sunny sea rears  p5 her splendid broods; for thee flow all the streams from Ocean; for thee with cheerful smile springs up the glorious Dawn.

[Link to a page in Greek] Fain then am I to sing the glorious devices of the chase. So biddeth me Calliope, so Artemis herself. I hearkened, as is meet, I hearkened to the heavenly voice, and I answered the goddess who first to me spake thus.

Artemis. Arise, let us tread a rugged path, which never yet hath any mortal trodden with his song.​9

Oppian. Be gracious, holy Lady, and whatsoever things though thinkest in thy mind, these will we declare with our mortal voice.

Art. I would not now have thee sing Mountain-Bacchus10 of the triennial feast,​11 nor his choir by the deep waters of Aonian Asopus.​12

Opp. We will leave, as thou biddest, the nightly rites of Sabazius;​13 often​14 have I danced around Dionysus, son of Thyone.​15

Art. Tell not of the race of heroes, tell not of the seafaring Argo; sing not the battles of men, sing not to me the Destroyer of Men.​16

Opp. I will not tell of wars, nor of Ares' works most evil; I have remarked the Parthians' woes and Ctesiphon.​17

 p7  Art. Be silent about deadly passion and leave alone the girdles​18 of love: I abhor what men call the toys of the Daughter of the Sea.​19

Opp. We have heard, O blessed Lady, that thou art uninitiate in marriage.​20

Art. Sing the battles of wild beasts and hunting men; sing of the breeds of hounds and the varied tribes of horses; the quick-witted counsels, the deeds of skilful tracking; tell me the hates of wild beasts, sing their friendships and their bridal chambers of tearless love upon the hills, and the births which among wild beasts need no midwifery.

[Link to a page in Greek] Such were the counsels of the daughter of mighty Zeus. I hear, I sing: may my song hit the mark!​21 But do thou, who rulest from the East unto the Ocean,​22 with serene joy on thine immortal brows, vouchsafe thy right hand gracious and prosperous to land and cities and to songs of the happy chase.

[Link to a page in Greek] Triple​23 sorts of hunting hath God bestowed on men — in air and on earth and on the sea delight­ful. But not equal is the venture: for how can these be equal — to draw the writhing fish from the deeps or hale the winged birds from the air and to contend with deadly wild beasts on the hills? Yet not for the fisherman either and truly not​24 for the fowler  p9 is their hunting without toil. But their toil only pleasure attends and no bloodshed: unstained of gore are they. The angler sits on the rocks beside the sea and with curving rods and deadly hooks he catches, at his ease, the fish of varied sheen; and joy is his when he strikes home with barbs of bronze and sweeps through the air the writhing dancer of the sea, leaping high above the deeps. Yea and to the fowler his toil is sweet; for to their hunt the fowlers carry nor sword nor bill nor brazen spear, but the Hawk​25 is their attendant when they travel to the woods, and the long cords​26 and the clammy yellow birdlime​27 and the reeds​28 that tread an airy path. Who would dare to sing of these things as of equal weight? Or who would pit the Eagle against the Lion King?​29 And who would liken the Muraena to the venom of the Pard, or Jackal to Hawk, or Rhinoceros to Sea-urchin, or Gull to Wild Goat, or any  p11 Sea-monster to the Elephant? Hunters kill Wolves, fishermen kill Tunnies; the hunter with his net takes Sheep, the fowler with his reeds takes Doves; the hunter with his hounds takes the Bear, the angler takes the Mormyrus;​30 the mounted hunter takes the Tiger, the fisher with his trident takes the Red Mullet;​31 the tracker takes the Boar, the fowler with his birdlime takes the Nightingale. But thou, Nereus, and ye gods of Amphitrite and the choir of Dryads who love the birds, grant me your grace! For now dear themes of song invite me earnestly; I, turning back,​32 proceed to sing to the gods of the chase.

[Link to a page in Greek] First, give me young men who are not over-stout.​33 For the hunter must mount​34 the noble horse amid the rocks and anon must leap a ditch. And often in the woods must he with light feet and nimble limbs pursue the wild beast. Therefore let them not be stout who come to the warfare of the chase, nor yet over-lean; for at times the keen hunter must contend with warlike wild beasts. So I would have them bear a body tempered thus — both swift to run and strong to fight. And in the right hand let them brandish two​35 long javelins and have a hunting-bill36 at  p13 the midst of their girdle. For you should both array bitter slaughter for wild beasts and also carry defences against evil men. With his left hand the hunter on foot should lead his hounds; with his left the mounted hunter should guide the bridle that steers his horse. Let him wear a tunic well-girt​37 and fastened above the knee and held tight by crossing straps. Again on either side of his neck let his mantle​38 be flung back over his strong shoulders to hang away from the hands, for easy toil. With naked feet should they travel who study dim tracks of wild beasts, lest the noise of their sandals grating under their sleek feet drive sleep from the eyes of the wild beasts. To have no mantle at all were much better; since many a time a cloak stirred by the breath of the noisy wind alarms the wild beasts and they start up to flee. Thus let hunters well array the agile body; for such doth the archer daughter of Leto love.

[Link to a page in Greek] Other times​39 at other hour let them go after the wild beasts — at rising morn and when the day wanes and at mid-day and anon at evening; sometimes again even in the dark they slay wild beasts by the rays of the moon.​40 The whole span of day is favourable and fair to the hunter for all-day coursing in leafy spring​41 and in autumn when the leaves fall.  p15 For excellent well tempered for the running of horses and men and carrion dogs are the seasons in golden spring which puts to rout the chilly clouds; when the sea is navigable for seafaring men, who spread the white rigging of their canvas-winged ships, what time the earth rejoices in them that tend plants; when, too, she looses the bands of bud and flower; or again in late autumn​42 when the year is on the turn, when the house of the rustic vintager flourishes; when the fruit of Athena​43 fills the shining pail​44 and the clusters of the garden vines joyfully straiten​45 the wine-vats; when the lilywhite combs fill the hives of the bees. But in mid-winter let the hunters hunt at mid-day, in the season when in the woods the swain shelters in a cave and gathering dry sticks and piling a swiftly dying flame lies down beside the fire and makes his supper. And in summer the hunter must shun the fiery assault and heat of the sun: at earliest dawn I bid him come to his  p17 task, when in the morning the countrymen with well-fashioned stilt guide the earth-cutting plough behind the steers beneath the pole; or again at evening when the sun slopes​46 his team toward the West; when herdsmen command their herds what time they travel homeward to their folds, heavy of breast and swollen of udder; and, bounding incontinently from the stone-built steading, all leap about their beloved mothers — the bright-eyed calves about the large-eyed cows, the lambs about the bleating horned ewes, the kids about the bleating goats, and about the brood mares their swift foals.

[Link to a page in Greek] And these are the weapons​47 of the glorious chase which the stalwart hunters should carry to hill and wood, these their arms breathing of the blood of beasts: purse-nets​48 and well-twisted withes and long sweep-net​49 and hayes and net-props​50 and grievous fettering nooses, three-pronged spear, broad-headed hunting lance,​51 hare-stick​52 and stakes and swift winged  p19 arrow, swords​53 and axes​54 and hare-slaying trident,​55 bent hooks​56 and land-bound crooks, cord of twisted broom​57 and the well-woven foot-trap,​58 and ropes​59 and net-stays​60 and the many-meshed seine.61

[Link to a page in Greek] As for Horses, let them bring to the hunt proud stallions; not only because mares are inferior in speed for accomplishing a long course in the woods but also because it is needful to avoid the amorous passion of swift-footed horses and to keep mares far away, lest in their amorous desire they neigh and, hearing, the wild beasts incontinently​62 betake them to chilly flight — fawns and swift gazelles​63 and timid hare.64

[Link to a page in Greek] Various are the tribes of horses, even as the countless races of men, the diverse tribes of mortals that live by bread. Nevertheless I will declare which are best among them all, which are foremost in the companies of horses; to wit, the Tuscan,​65 Sicilian,66  p21 Cretan, Mazician,​67 Achaean, Cappadocian,​68 Moorish,​69 Scythian,​70 Magnesian,​71 Epeian,​72 Ionian, Armenian,​73 Libyan,​74 Thracian,​75 Erembian.​76 As the best horse of all men skilled in horse-racing and overseers of herds have remarked the horse whose body is crowned with these features.​77 He should have a small head​78 rising high above his neck, himself being big​79 and round of limb; the head should be high, the nether jaw curving toward the neck; the brow80  p23 should be broad and bright; from the temples the hair should wave in dense curls about the forehead;​81 the eye​82 should be clear and fiery under beetling brows; the nostrils​83 should be wide, the mouth​84 adequate, the ears​85 small; the neck​86 of the shaggy-maned87 horse should be curved, even as the arched crest of a plumed helmet; the breast​88 should be large, the body long, the back broad, with a double chine​89 running between fat hips;​90 behind should flow  p25 an abundant hairy tail;​91 the thighs​92 should be well compact and muscular; the rounded cannons​93 beneath should be straight​94 and long and very thin,​95 and the limbs​96 should be unfleshy, even as in the horned windswift stag; the pastern​97 should be sloping; the rounded hoof​98 should run high above the ground, close-grained, horny, strong. Such would I have the horse to be who goes to the fierce warfare with wild beasts, a spirited helper, warlike and strong. Such are the Tuscan horses and the Armenian and the Achaean and the famous Cappadocian horses which dwell in front of Taurus.​99 A marvel have I seen among the Cappadocian horses; so long as they have their foal teeth in their mouth and are milk-fed, they are weakling, but as they grow older, they become swifter. Those are the horses which thou shouldst array for manly war and against fierce wild beasts; for they are very brave to face arms and break the serried phalanx and contend against  p27 warlike wild beasts. How​100 in the battle doth the war-horse​101 hearken to the martial note of the long trumpet that the makes the din of conflict! How with unwinking​102 eyes doth he look upon the dense array of armed warriors, the gleaming bronze, the flashing sword! He hath learned also when it behoves him to stand and anon to charge; and he hath learned to hearken to the watchword of mighty captains. Often, too, he calmly brings nigh to the towers the warfare​103 of men with soaring shields, when athwart the heads of men shield presses upon shield, what time they are fain to sack the city of the enemy and fashion aloft a plain with their shields of sevenfold hides, daedal and dense and many-bossed; in front the sunlight glances from the bronze and straightway behind great space of sky lightens with rays refracted. To horses beyond all mortal creatures cunning Nature has given a subtle mind and heart. Always they know their own dear charioteer and they neigh when they see their glorious rider and greatly mourn​104 their comrade when he falls in war. Ere now in battle a horse has burst the bonds of silence and overleapt  p29 the ordinance of nature and taken a human voice​105 and a tongue like that of man. Bucephalas,​106 the horse of the warrior king of Macedon, fought against armed men. A horse there was which ran with light feet over the cornº-ears​107 and brake them not; another ran over the sea and wetted not his coronet.​108 A horse carried above the clouds him that slew the Chimaera;​109 and the neighing​110 of a horse through the craft of his charioteer made one king of the Asian Persians. Above others, again, horses honour nature, and it is utterly unheard of that they should indulge unlawful passion, but they remain unstained of pollution and cherish chaste desire. I have heard​111 how of old a prince of great possessions had in his fields a fair herd of horses. All these a disease of horses utterly destroyed, leaving but two — only a mare and a foal yet at its mother's foot. But when it grew up, the wicked man essayed to mate the foal with its dam. And when he saw a union forsworn of both, immediately he with dreadful design wove a subtle device, hoping to call back his breed of horses. First in his craft he covered both with alien hides, and then he anointed all their bodies with sweet-smelling oil and fragrant; for he hoped to destroy the tell-tale scent.  p31 And, ye blessed gods, without their knowledge he wrought his wickedness and there was fulfilled a union monstrous and abominable and most abhorred of horses, like that dread marriage that was made of old among men, the Cadmean bridal of the wanderer Oedipus.​112 But when they were made naked and knew their sin, and in sorrow and with eyes askance looked one on the other, the unhappy mother on her dishonoured son, and he anon, victim of a terrible and evil union, upon his poor unmothered​113 mother, they leapt on high, snorting terribly, and brake their bonds and went neighing loudly as if they were calling the blessed gods to witness their evil plight and cursing him who contrived their woeful union; and at last, rushing wildly in their grief, they dashed their foreheads against the rocks and brake the bones and took away their light of life, self-slain, leaning their heads on one another. So report proclaims the fame of the horses of former days. Now of all the breeds of horses the infinite earth nourishes most swift are the Sicilian,​114 which dwell in Lilybaeum​115 and where the three-peaked hill that covers Enceladus,​116 as the thunderbolt belches forth in beams reaching to the sky, discharges the eternal fire of Sicilian Aetna. Fleeter than the Sicilian are by the streams of Euphrates the Armenian and Parthian​117 horses of flowing mane. Yet the Parthian horses are greatly excelled by the Iberian,​118 which gallop over the plains with swifter feet. With them might vie only the  p33 eagle​119 speeding over the vales of air, or the hawk hasting with long pinions spread, or the dolphin gliding over the grey waves. So fleet are the Iberian horses of wind-swift feet; but they are small and weak of spirit and unvaliant of heart and in a few furlongs are found wanting​120 in speed; and though clothed in fair form and glorious shape, yet the hoof is lacking in strength, bred to soft ground and broad. The dappled breed of Moorish horses are far the best of all for extended courses and laborious toil. And next to these for accomplishing a long course come the Libyan horses, even those which dwell in many-pebbled Cyrene. Both are of similar type, save only that the strong Libyan horses are larger to look at; but these latter are long of body, having in their sides more space of broad rib than others, and hence are stouter to look at and superior in a charge and good at enduring the fierce force of the sun and the keen assault of noontide thirst. The Tuscan horses and the immense Cretan breeds are both swift in running and long of body. The Sicilian are swifter than the Moorish horses, while the Parthian are swifter than the Sicilian, grey-eyed​121 also and eminently handsome, and they alone abide​122 the loud roar of the lion. For verily against different wild beasts different breeds of horses are fitting in many cases, as the eyes declare. Against the deer of spotted feet thou shouldst array dark-eyed horses; blue- p35 eyed​123 against bears; tawny-eyed against leopards; fiery and flaming against swine; brilliant and grey of eye against the grey-eyed lion. In beauty the most excellent of all horses is the Nesaean,​124 which wealthy kings drive; beautiful to behold, gentle to ride and obedient to the bit, small of head but shaggy-maned, glorying in the yellow locks on either side his neck.

[Link to a page in Greek] Yet another lovely breed thou mayst see, the dappled conspicuous breed which men call the Orynx,​125 either because they flourish on the grassy hills (οὔρεσιν), or because you are very eager to mate (ὀρούειν) with their females. In the case of the Orynxes there are two species of many-patterned beauty. One species are inscribed on neck and broad hairy back with a series of long stripes, even as the swift tigers, the offspring of rapid Zephyrus.​126 The others are adorned all about with densely set round spots, like those of leopards; this species while they are still but baby foals, are tattooed by skilful men, who brand their long hair with the flaming bronze. And ofttimes men have contrived other subtle devices for inscribing​127 the foal while yet  p37 in his mother's womb. O what​128 a heart, what a mind have mortal men! They do as they list; they make horses of varied colours while yet enveloped in the milky mother's loins. What time the mating impulse seizes the mare and she abides the approach of the glorious high-spirited horse, then they cunningly adorn the beautiful sire. All about they inscribe all his body with spots of colour and to his bride they lead him, glorying in his beauty. Even as some youth, arrayed by the bridal women in white robes and purple flowers and breathing of the perfume of Palestine,​129 steps into the bridal chamber singing the marriage song, so while the hasting horse neighs his bridal song, long time in front of his bride they stay her glorious spouse, foaming in his eagerness; and late and at last they let him go to satisfy his desire. And the mare conceives and bears a many-patterned foal, having received in her womb the fertile seed of her spouse, but in her eyes his many-coloured form. Such devices have they also with cunning wits contrived whose business is with reed, even the fowlers, when they variegate the young of doves. For when the swift doves mate and mingle mouths​130 with their deep-noted spouses, then the breeder of tame birds contrives a glorious device. Near the hen-birds he puts many vari-coloured purple cloths; and they, beholding them with eyes askant are gladdened in their hearts and produce sea-purple children. Nay, even so also  p39 the Laconians contrived a subtle device for their dear wives when they are pregnant. Near them they put pictures of beautiful forms, even the youths that aforetime were resplendent among mortal men, Nireus​131 and Narcissus​132 and Hyacinthus​133 of the goodly ashen spear, and Castor​134 with his helmet, and Polydeuces that slew Amycus,​135 and the youthful twain who are admired among the blessed gods, laurel-crowned Phoebus and Dionysus of the ivy wreath. And the women rejoice to behold their lovely form and, fluttered by their beauty, bear beautiful sons.

[Link to a page in Greek] Thus much about horses; but now descend, my soul, to the lay of Dogs.​136 These among dogs are the most excellent and greatly possess the mind of hunters: to wit, Paeonian,​137 Ausonian,​138 Carian,​139 Thracian, Iberian,​140 Arcadian,​141 Argive,​142 Lacedaemonian,​143 Tegean, Sauromatian,​144 Celtic,​145 Cretan,146  p41 Magnesian,​147 Amorgian, and those which on the sandy banks of Egypt​148 watch the herds, and the Locrian​149 and the bright-eyed Molossian.150

[Link to a page in Greek] If thou shouldst desire to mix two breeds, then first of all mate​151 the dogs in the spring;​152 for in spring chiefly the works of love possess the hearts of wild beasts and dogs and deadly snakes and the fowls of the air and the finny creatures of the sea. In spring the serpent, foul with angry venom, comes to the shore to meet his sea bride;​153 in spring all the deep rings with love and the calm sea​154 foams with fishes mating; in spring the male pigeon pursues the female; horses assail the pasturing mares and bulls lust after the cows of the field; in spring the rams mate with the sows, the he-goats the shaggy females; yes, and mortals also in spring are more prone to desire; for in spring the spell of Love is heavy upon all.

[Link to a page in Greek] In mating the tribes of dogs take heed that the breeds are fit and right suitable for one another. Mate Arcadian with Elean, Cretan with Paeonian, Carian with Thracian, Tuscan​155 breed with Laconian; put a Sarmatian sire with an Iberian dam. So shall you mix the breeds aright; but far best of all it  p43 is that the breeds should remain pure, and those all hunters judge best. Those breeds are without number,​156 and the form and type of them should be approximately​157 these. The body​158 should be long and strong and adequate; the head​159 light and with good eyes;​160 the eyes should be dark of sheen; the saw-toothed mouth should be long; the ears​161 that crown the head should be small and furnished with membranes; the neck​162 long and under it the breast​163 strong and broad; the front legs​164 should be shorter than the hinder; the shanks​165 should be straight, thin, and long; the shoulder-blades166 should be broad; the row of ribs​167 sloping obliquely; the haunches​168 well-fleshed but not fat; and behind the far-shadowing tail​169 should be stiff and prominent. Such are the dogs which should be arrayed for the swift chase of gazelle and deer and swift-footed hare.

[Link to a page in Greek] Another species there is, impetuous and of steadfast valor, who attack even bearded bulls and rush upon monstrous boars and destroy them, and tremble not even at their lords the lions; a stalwart breed,  p45 like unto high-crested mountain peaks. Somewhat flat-nosed of face they are, and dread are their bended brows above and fiery their eyes, flashing with grey​170 light; all their hide is shaggy, the body strong, the back broad. They are not swift, but they have abundant spirit and genuine strength unspeakable and dauntless courage. Array then for the hunt such breeds of warlike dogs, which put to flight all manner of beasts. But as to colour,​171 both white and black are bad exceedingly; for they are not readily able to bear the might of the sun nor the rage of the snowy winter season. Among all dogs those are the best whose colour is like that of ravenous wild beasts, sheep-slaying wolves or wind-swift tigers or foxes and swift leopards, or those which have the colour of Demeter's​172 yellow corn; for these are very swift and strong.

[Link to a page in Greek] If now prudent dog-breeding is thy care, never suckle whelps on the fresh breast of goats or sheep nor domestic dogs​173 — for they will be sluggish and feeble and heavy — but on the breast of deer or tame lioness or gazelle or she-wolf that roams by month; for so shalt thou make them strong and swift exceedingly, like unto their milky foster-mothers themselves.

 p47  [Link to a page in Greek] To the young whelps give names that are short​174 and swiftly spoken that they may hear a command swiftly. And from their whelphood let them be acquainted with the mighty horses of the hunt and friendly and familiar with all men and hostile only to wild beasts. Neither let them be prone to bark; for silence is the rule for hunters and above all for trackers.

[Link to a page in Greek] Tracking the dim trail is of two sorts, by men and by dogs. Men, cunning of counsel, divine and mark the trail by the eyes; dogs trace all tracks by the nostrils. Now for men winter​175 is a favourable season and they track the quarry with untroubled eyes, since every mark is written in the snow to see and the likeness of the foot remains imprinted in the mud. For dogs spring​176 is hostile but autumn kindly; for in spring the grassy earth is many-scented and over-full of herbs and flowers, and all around the fair-crowned meadows without tillage are purple, while the tilled fields destroy all the scent which is the ambassadress to the keen-nosed tracking dogs. But in autumn,​177 rich in fruit and sweet with grapes,  p49 grass and herbs and flowers wax old and the scent of the wild beasts remains naked for the hounds.

[Link to a page in Greek] There is one valiant breed of tracking dogs, small indeed but as worthy as large dogs to be the theme of song; bred by the wild tribes of the painted​178 Britons and called by the name of Agasseus.​179 Their size is like that of the weak and greedy domestic table dog;​180 round, very lean, shaggy of hair, dull of eye, it has its feet armed with grievous claws and its mouth sharp with close-set venomous tushes. With its nose especially the Agassian dog is most excellent and in tracking it is best of all; for it is very clever at finding the track of things that walk the earth but skilful too to mark the airy scent.

[Link to a page in Greek] When some hunter desires to make trial of his dogs, he carries in his hands before the high gates a hare, dead or alive, and walks forward on a devious path, now pursuing a straight course, now aslant, left and right twisting his crooked way; but when  p51 he has come very far from the city and the gates, then he digs a trench and buries the hare. Returning back to the city, he straightway brings nigh the path the cunning dog; and immediately it is excited and snorts at the scent of the hare, and seeks the track upon the ground, but for all its eagerness is not able to find it and roams about in great distress. Even as when a girl in the tenth lunar month, smitten by the birth-pangs of her first child, undoes her hair and undoes the drapery of her breasts and, poor girl, without tunic and without snood, roams everywhere about the house, and in her anguish now goes to the hall and anon rushes to her bed, and sometimes throws herself in the dust and mars her rosy cheeks; so the dog, distressed by devouring grief, rushes this way and that and searches every stone in turn and every knoll and every path and trees and garden vines and dykes and threshing-floors. And when at last he hits the airy trail, he gives tongue and whines for joy; even as the little calves leap about the uddered cows, so the dog rejoices exceedingly, and in haste he winds his way over the mazy fields; nor couldst thou lead him astray, even if thou shouldst drive him very far, but he runs straight on, holding steadfastly to the sweet scent, until he reaches the end of his labour and to his goal. But if thou wert to array him against the hare difficult of capture, stealthily he draws nigh, planting step on step, hiding low under vines or stubble, even as the robber thief of kids who, watching near at hand the sleeping shepherd, quietly  p53 steals upon the fold. But when he approaches the covert of the hare, swiftly he springs, like an arrow from the bow or like the hissing snake which some harvester or ploughman has disturbed when lying quietly in front of his venomous lair. So the dog gives tongue and springs; and if he hit his quarry, easily he will overcome him with his sharp claws and take his great load in his mouth and go to meet his master: swiftly he carries his burden but labouring and heavy-laden he draws near. As the wain brings from the cornfield the fruits of harvest and comes to the steading laden with wheat and the rustics when they see it rush forth together to meet it in front of the yard; one presses on the wheels, another on the frame, another on the axle to help the oxen; and when they come into the yard they unstrap the pole and the sweating steers have respite from their toil, and the heart of the swinked teamster rejoices exceedingly; even so the dog comes bringing his burden in his mouth. And the swift hunter meets him joyfully and lifting both high from mother earth he puts in his bosom​181 both the beast and the dog himself that slew the beast.


The Editor's Notes:

1 M. Aurelius Severus Antoninus Augustus (Caracalla), Emperor A.D. 211‑217.

2 Romans. Lucret. I.1; Verg. Aen. VIII.648.

3 Italian.

4Divus, of Roman Emperors; here of L. Septimius Severus Pertinax Augustus, Emperor A.D. 193‑211, in which year (4 Feb.) he died at York.

5 Julia D. of Emesa in Syria, second wife of Severus (Gibbon c. 6); died A.D. 217.

6 The Syrian (Assyrian) Ashtoreth or Astarte, the "moonèd Ashtoroth" of Milton (Nativ. 22), was pictured with horns, representing the crescent moon, and by the Greeks usually identified with Aphrodite, but also with the moon-goddess, Silene: Plut. Mor. 357B; Lucian, De dea Syr. For Assyrian = Syrian see C. I.340 n.

7 The poets often use Phaethon (Verg. Aen. V.105) and Titan (Verg. Aen. IV.119) for the Sun. For this parenthetic apology cf. H. V.339 n.

8 Lycophr. 1229 γῆς καὶ θαλάσσης σκῆπτρα καὶ μοναρχίαν λαβόντες; Luc. I.83 populum terrae pelagique potentem.

9 Lucret. I.926º avia Pieridum peragro loca nullius ante Trita solo; Nemes. C. 8 ducitque per avia qua sola nunquam Trita rotis; Verg. G. III.291; Hor. C. III.1.2; Milton, P. L. I.16.

10 Cf. ὀρίδρομος Nonn. II.230.

Thayer's Note: The reference is wrong (q.v.); but in Nonn. XXVII.298 we find ὀρεσίδρομος.

11 τριετῆ here = τριετηρικόν. Trieterica (Ov. R. A. 593, M. VI.587; Verg. Aen. IV.302; repetita triennia Ov. M. IX.641; τριετηρίς Eur. Bacch. 133; Diod. III.65, etc.) is what we should call a biennial festival, recurring in alternate years, παρ’ ἔτος (Paus. VI.26.2, VIII.23.1, X.4.3). Hence Stat. A. I.595 Alternam renovare piae trieterida matres Consuerant.

12 r. in Boeotia (Aonia).

13 Dionysus (Phrygian): Aristoph. V. 9. θύσθλα, the thyrsi and the like (Hom. Il. VI.134), here perhaps "Bacchic rites."

14 δηθάκις· πλειστάκις Suid.; δηθάκι· πυκνῶς, πολλάκις Hes. Properly "for a long time"; the transition is seen in Hom. Il. XXI.131 ᾧ δὴ δηθὰ πολεῖς ἱερεύετε ταύρους, where Didymus τὸ "δηθά" ὡς οὐχ Ὁμηρικῶς κείμενον αἰτιῶνται, i.e. δηθὰ was taken to be not = ἐπὶ πολὺν χρόνον or ἐκ πολλοῦ χρόνου, as usually in Hom. but = πολλά, συνέχως. Cf. E. M. s.v.

15 i.e. Semele, d. of Cadmus and m. of Dionysus. Cf. Pind. P. III.99.

16 Ares (Hom. Il. V.31).

17 Ctesiphon (Polyb. V.45.4; Strabo 743; Tac. A. VI.42; Plin. N. H. VI.122; Amm. Marc. XXIII.6.23; T. Simoc. IV.3.3) on left bank of Tigris, seat of the Parthian kings in second century, taken by the Emperor Septimius Severus A.D. 198; Herodian III.9.

18 Hom. Il. XIV.214.

19 i.e. Aphrogeneia, Aphrodite: Hes. T. 196.

20 The epithet (applied to Athena, Colluth. 33) is used of Artemis as the huntress maid, ἰσχέαιρα παρθένος Pind. P. II.9.

21 Cf. II.15; Herod. III.35 ἐπίσκοπα τοξεύοντα. For metaphor cf. Pind. O. II.98, XIII.94; N. VI.27, IX.25.

22 i.e. the West.

23 Cf. Walton's Piscator, Venator, Auceps; Greek Anthol. VI.11‑16, 179‑187. More elaborate division, Plato, Soph. 291E. See Introd. p. xxxviii.

24 οὐκ ἐτός normally means "not for nothing," haud frustra e.g., Aristoph. Pl. 404, 1166. But the old Lexica (Hesych., etc.) confuse this ἐτός with ἐτός = genuine and ἐτώσιος = vain (the schol. on our passage has ἐτος· ἔστι μάταιος) and, whatever the punctuation and syntax intended, the sense seems to be as we have given it.

25 κίρκος hawk generically; specifically A. 620 A17 τῶν ἱεράκων κράτιστος μὲν ὁ τριόρχης (Buzzard?), δεύτερος δ’ ὁ αἰσάλων (Merlin?), τρίτος ὁ κίρκος. Cf. Turner on Birds (Evans), pp14 f.; Hawks of English fowlers, Walton, C. A. c. 1.

26 Ps. 140.5 "The proud have hid a snare (בַּח, LXX παγίδα) for me and cords" (חַכָלִים, LXX σχοινία). Cf. A.P. VI.109 γηραλέον νεφέλας τρῦχος τόδε καὶ τριέλικτον ἰχνοπέδαν καὶ τὰς νευροτενεῖς παγίδας κλωβούς τ’ ἀμφίρρωγας ἀνασπαστούς τε δεράγχας; Aristoph. Av. 194 and espec. 565 ff. ὀρνιθευτὴς ἴστησι βρόχους, παγίδας, ῥάβδους, ἔρκη, νεφέλας, δίκτυα, πηκτάς.

27 Made of mistletoe berries: A. P. VI.109 καὶ τὰν εὔκολλον δρυὸς ἰκμάδα τόν τε πετεινῶν ἀγρευτὰν ἰξῷ μυδαλέον δόνακα. Cf. Athen. 451D Ἴων δὲ . . δρυὸς ἱδρῶτα εἴρηκε τὸν ἰξὸν ἐν τούτοις· δρυός μ’ ἱδρῶς | καὶ θαμνομήκης ῥάβδος ἥ τ’ Αἰγυπτία | βόσκει λινουλκὸς χλαῖνα, θήραγρος πέδη. It may have been sometimes made, as now, from holly bark.

28 The limed reeds ("lime-twigs," Milton, Com. 646) of the fowler: ἰξευταῖς καλάμοις A.P. VI.152. As in the case of the fishing-rod (δόνακα τριτάνυστον A.P. VI.192), several reeds might be so joined together as to be capable of extension. Cf. Bion, IV.5 (ἰξευτὰς) τὼς καλάμως ἅμα πάντας ἐπ’ ἀλλάλοισι συνάπτων; A.P. IX.273 δουνακόεντα Κρίτων συνθεὶς δόλον; Mart. XIV.218 Non tantum calamis sed cantu fallitur ales, Callida dum tacita crescit arundo manu; Mart. IX.54; Sil. VII.674; Ov. M. XV.474, and especially Val. Fl. Arg. VI.260 Qualem populeae fidentem nexibus umbrae Siquis avem summi deducit ab aere rami, Ante manu tacita cui plurima crevit harundo; Illa dolis viscoque super correpta tenaci Implorat calamos atque inrita concitat alas.

29 Ael. III.1 λέων . . . ὁ τῶν ζώων βασιλεύς; Phil. 34 θηρῶν βασιλεύς θρασὺς ἄναξ λέων.

30 Cf. H. I.100, III.126. Pagellus mormyrus, one of the sea-breams (Sparidae). M. G. μουρμούρι(ον): known in Rome as mormillo, Venice as mormiro, Genoa as mormo. A. 570 B20; Ov. H. 110 (=  Plin. XXXII.152) pictae mormyres; μύρμης Epicharm.; μορμύλος Dorio ap. Ath. 313EF.

31 We assume that τριγλίςτρίγλη. So, in Arist. fr. 189, Porph. V.45 has τριγλίδος, Diog. L. VIII.19 τρίγλης.

32 Cf. C. II.158; Emped. frag. 35 αὐτὰρ ἐγὼ παλίνορσος ἐλεύσομαι ἐς πόρον ὕμνων; Lucr. I.418.

33 Poll. V.18 εἴη δὲ (ὁ κυνηγέτης) νεός, κοῦφος, ἐλαφρός, δρομικός κτλ.

34 Cf. Eutecn. par. πρός τε τάφρων καὶ σκοπέλων ἅλματα. So of the war-horse Xen. Eq. 3.7 τάφρους διαπηδᾶν, τειχία ὕπερβαίνειν, ἐπ’ ὄχθους ἄνορούειν, ἀπ’ ὄχθων καθάλλεσθαι; Arr. Tact. 44.2 καὶ τάφρον δὲ διαπηδᾶν μελετῶσιν αὐτοῖς οἱ ἵπποι καὶ τειχίον ὑπεράλλεσθαι.

35 ἀμφιδ.· ἀμφοτέρωθεν κόπτων schol., but δύο Eutecn. rightly. Cf. Hom. Il. III.18 δοῦρε δύω: so X.76, XII.298, etc. Verg. Aen. I.313 XII.165 Bina manu lato crispans hastilia ferro; cf. V.557, XII.488; Xen. Cyr. I.2.9 παλτὰ δύο, ὥστε τὸ μὲν ἀφεῖναι, τῷ δέ, ἂν δέῃ, ἐκ χειρὸς χρῆσθαι.

36 Cf. v. 63; Xen. C. 2.9 καὶ τὰ δρέπανα, ἵνα ᾖ τῆς ὕλης τέμνοντα φράττειν τὰ δεόμενα; Gratt. 343 et curvae rumpant non pervia falces; Poll. V.19 δρέπανα δὲ ὅπως εἰ δέοι τῆς ὕλης τι κόψαι εἰς τὴν τῶν ἀρκύων ἀκώλυτον στάσιν ὑπάρχοι τὰ δρέπανα.

37 Poll. V.17 χιτὼν εὐσταλὴς πρὸς τὴν ἰγνύαν καθήκων; Hes. Sc. 287 ἐπιστολάδην δὲ χιτῶνας ἐστάλατο. εὐσταλήςsuccinctus, in ref. to the high-girt tunic of the hunter: Ov. Am. III.2.31 alia pinguntur succinctae crura Dianae Cum sequitur fortes fortior ipsa feras; M. X.536 Fine genus vestem ritu succincta Dianae; Juv. VI.446 Crure tenus medio tunicus succingere debet; Philostr. Im. 28 (of a hunter) συμμετρεῖται δὲ ὁ χιτὼν εἰς ἥμισυ τοῦ μηροῦ; Ov. A. A. III.143; M. III.156, IX.89.

38 Poll. V.18 καὶ χλαμὺς ὁμοία ἣν δεῖ τῇ λαιᾷ χειρὶ περιελίττειν ὅπότε μεταθέοι τὰ θηρία ἢ προσμάχοιτο τούτοις.

39 Poll. V.49 θηρατέον μὲν τοίνυν ἐν παντὶ καιρῷ; Xen. C. 4.11 ἀγέσθωσαν δὲ (αἱ κύνες) θέρους μὲν μέχρι μεσημβρίας, χειμῶνος δὲ δι’ ἡμέρας, μετοπώρου δὲ ἔξω μεσημβρίας, ἐντὸς δ’ ἡμέρας τὸ ἔαρ. Cf. ibid. c. 5.

40 "Many a deer is killed during the bright moonlight nights" (St. John, Wild Sports, p50).

41 See v. 459 n.

42 περὶ φθίνουσαν ὀπώραν Eutecn. τροπαί here, not in its strict sense of the Solstice, but of the Equinox. Cf. Sext. Empir. Adv. M. V.11 ἐν Κριῷ μὲν γὰρ ἐαρινὴ γίνεται τροπή, ἐν Αἰγοκέρῳ δὲ χειμερινή, ἐν Καρκίνῳ δὲ θερινή, καὶ ἐν Ζυγῷ φθινοπωρινή. So in Latin tropicus of the Equin. as well as the Solst. Cf. Auson. Opusc. VII.15.1 Nonaginta dies et quattuor ac medium Sol Conficit, a tropico in tropicum dum permeat astrum; ibid. 15 Scandit Lanigeri (Ram) Tropicum Sol aureus astrum Manil. III.621 Quae tropica appellant, quod in illis quattuor anni Tempora vertuntur signis.

43 The Olive.

44 γαυλίς pail, basin, tub. Cf. κυρτίς Nicand. A. 493 with schol.

45 For θλίβων ἐπιλήνια cf. Mart. IV.44.2 Presserat hic madidos nobilis uva lacus. We assume that ἐπιλήνιον is part of the wine-press, whether the press strictly, cf. Suid. and E. M. s. τριπτήρ . . . πιθάκνη ἐκπέταλος οἷα τὰ ἐπιλήνια, or = ὑπολήνιον, Lat. lacus, a sense which τριπτήρ also has (πολλὰ σημαίνει τοὔνομα E. M.), cf. Poll. X.130 τριπτήρ, ὁ κρατήρ, εἰς ὅν ἀπορρεῖ τοὔλαιον ἀλλὰ καὶ ληνὸς καὶ ὕπολήνιον. Our rendering, reached independently, agrees with the Lat. version of D. Peifer (1555): Cum premit arcta nimis sibi torcularia botrus Gaudens. Schn.'s βότρυν assumes that the subject to χαίρει is γεωργός. If that is right, then the construction of ἐπιλήνια is difficult. Does it go with θλίβων or χαίρει? The schol. taking βότρυς as acc. pl. has ἐπὶ λήνια· ἐπὶ τὰς πίλας (i.e. Lat. pilas, presses). Eutecn. has ἀμπέλων δὲ βότρυς ἁπαλοῖς ποσὶ θλιβόμενος σκιρτᾶν παρασκευάζει τὰ ἐπιλήνια. We hear of songs of the wine-press: Ath. 199A ἐπάτουν δὲ ἑξήκοντα Σάτυροι πρὸς αὐλὸν ᾄδοντες μέλος ἐπιλήνιον; Anacreont. 57.9 (Hiller) ἐπιληνίοισιν ὕμνοις; Poll. IV.55 (cf. ib. 53) ἐπιλήνιον αὔλημα ἐπὶ βοτρύων θλιβομένων; and of a dance, Long. Daph. and Ch. II.36 Δρύας δὲ ἀναστὰς καὶ κελεύσας συρίττειν Διονυσιακὸν μέλος ἐπιλήνιον αὐτοῖς ὄρχησιν ὠρχήσατο. But ἐπιλήνια χαίρειν would be a very bold expression.

46 Cf. Ov. M. XI.257 Pronus erat Titan inclinatoque tenebat Hesperium temone fretum; Hor. C. I.28.21 devexi Orionis.

47 Cf. Poll. V.17 ff.; Xen. C. 2.

48 For hunting-nets in general cf. Xen. C. 2; Arr. C. 1; Gratt. 25 ff.; and espec. Poll. V.4, who says that while all nets may be called δίκτυα, hunting parlance distinguishes (1) δίκτυατὰ ἐν τοῖς ὁμαλοῖς καὶ ἰσοπέδοις ἱστάμενα (i.e. set up on level ground); (2) ἐνόδια τὰ ἐν ταῖς ὁδοῖς (i.e. set up on the "roads" or tracks of wild beasts); (3) αἱ δὲ ἄρκυες τούτων μὲν ἐλάττους εἰσὶ τοῖς μεγέθεσι, κεκρυφάλῳ δὲ ἐοίκασι κατὰ τὸ σχῆμα, εἰς ὀξὺ καταλήγουσαι. Thus δίκτυον = Lat. rete, net in general or specifically a large net or haye; ἐνόδιον = Lat. plaga, a net placed in a known "road" of the game; ἄρκυς = Lat. cassis, a funnel-shaped net, resembling, as Pollux says,º a κεκρύφαλος = Lat. reticulum, which means (1) a net-work cap for the hair (Hom. Il. XXII.469); (2) any bag-shaped reticule or purse (the "women's ridicules" of Noah Claypole, Oliver Twist, c. 42). Cf. Nemes. 299 f. casses venatibus aptos Atque plagas, longoque meanti retia tractu.

49 Cf. Hom. Il. V.487 ἁψῖσι λίνου ἁλόντε πανάγρου; Hesych. πάναγρα, πανάγρια, ἐν οἷς τὰ λεπτὰ θηρεύεται; E. M. ἁψις; Poll. I.97, IX.12, X.132.

50 Forked sticks for supporting nets = Lat. varae, cf. Luc. IV.439 Dum dispositis attollat retia varis; Xen. C. 2.7 ff. (v.l. στάλικες, σταλίδες), VI.7 ff. It is hard to know if σχαλίδες differ from στάλικες (V.157). Poll. V.19 has σταλίδες, σταλιδώματα as well as σχαλίδες, σταλίδες, σχαλιδώματα (cf. ib. 32). Hesych. σχαλίς· τὸ δίκτυον, and σχαλίδες· δι’ ὧν σχάζουσι τὰ δίκτυα ὀρθὰ ἑστῶτα, which suggests that σχαλίδες may = Lat. amites and have been used with the clap-net. Cf. Poll. VII.114 μυάγρας, ὧν τὸ ἱστάμενόν τε καὶ σχαζόμενον παττάλιον.

51 Athen. 201B κυνηγοὶ ἔχοντες σιβύνας ἐπιχρύσους; Verg. Aen. IV.131 lato venabula ferro.

52 Only here; possibly = λαγωβόλον Theoc. IV.49, VII.128.

53 Poll. V.19 mentions ξίφη among the hunter's weapons.

54 Poll. l.c. καὶ ἀξίνας παρασκευαστέον, εἰ καὶ πρέμνα κόψι δέοι.

55 Lat. tridens, fuscina.

56 The sense of ἀγκυλίδες (only here) and κορῶναι is only to be guessed.

57 Stipa tenacissima L. (or allied species), which grows wild in Spain and Africa, still called sparto or esparto. Plin. XIX.26 ff.; Cato 3; Varr. R. R. I.23.6; Colum. XII.52.8; Aul. Gell. XVII.3.4; Xen. C. 9.13; Ael. N. A. XII.43; Blümner, Technologie, I.294.

58 Cf. C. IV.43; A.P. VI.296 ἀστεμφῆ ποδάγρην; Xen. Cyr. I.6.28 ἐλάφους (δολοῦν) ποδάγραις καὶ ἁρπεδόναις. See Xen. C. 9.12 ff. for description of the ποδοστράβη (pedica dentata); Gratt. 92 dentatas iligno robore clausit Venator pedicas.

59 The precise sense of ἅμματα here is uncertain; possibly the same as the ἁρπεδόναι of Xen. Cyr. I.6.28.

60 See n. on v. 150. Cf. A. P. VI.152, VI.187, XII.146; Theocr. Ep. III.2; Tryphiod. 222; Poll. V.19, 3180; X.141; Hesych. s. στάλικας and s. δοκάναι, who has also σταλίδας· τοὺς κάμακας ἢ χάρακας.

61 Lat. sagena, verriculum, a large sweep-net; more usually of the fisherman's drag-net (Opp. H. III.81). Cf. σαγηνεύω (Herod. III.149, VI.31; Plato, Legg. 698D) of "rounding up" the inhabitants of a country (procedure described Herod. VI.31 and Plato l.c.).

62 ἄδην· αὐταρκῶς, δαψιλῶς (schol.); cf. Hesych. ἄδην· ἀθρόως, ἐξαίφνης, δαψιλῶς. ἀλιοντ’ αὐδήν K, Boudreaux, perhaps rightly. Dual for plural is common in late epic.

63 Assuming that δορκαλίς (cf. 441) means the same as δόρκος C. II.12, 315 ff., 405, 428, III.3, IV.439 ff. (cf. πάρδαλις, πάρδος) we may suppose that this is Aristotle's δορκάς (H. A. 499 A9; De part. an. 663 A11, 663 B27), prob. Antilope dorcas, Gazelle.

64 Hor. Epod. II.35 pavidumque leporem.

65 "Down to modern times Tuscany, Ancona, and the region of Bologna have been noted for fine breeds of black horses" (Ridgeway, p314).

66 Gratt. 524 Possent Aetnaeas utinam se ferre per arces, Qui ludus Siculus; Arr. C. 23 Scythian and Illyrian horses are not, to look at, comparable ἵππῳ Θεσσαλικῷ ἢ Σικελῷ.

67 The Mazices (Amm. Marc. XXIX.5.51) or Mazaces (Suet. Ner. 30; Luc. IV.681; Claud. Stil. I.356; Nemes. 261), Μάζυες (Hecat. fr. 304; Steph. Byz. Μάζυες· οἱ Λιβύης νομάδες), Μάξυες (Herod. IV.191 ἀροτῆρες ἤδη Λίβυες καὶ οἰκίας νομίζοντες ἐκτῆσθαι, τοῖσι οὔνομα κέεται M.) were a people of Mauretania famous for horseman­ship. See C. IV.50 n. As Mazaca was an old name for Caesarea in Cappadocia, there is sometimes a doubt as to the reference.

68 Nemes. 241 Cappadocumque notas referat generosa propageo; Mart. X.76 Nec de Cappadocis eques catastis.

69 Nemes. 259 Sit tibi praeterea sonipes Maurusia tellus quem mittit; Strabo 828; Paus. VIII.43.3; Ridg. pp242 and 248.

70 Arr. C. 1.4, 23.2; Strabo 312 ἴδιον δὲ τοῦ Σκυθικοῦ καὶ τοῦ Σαρματικοῦ παντὸς ἔθνους τὸ τοὺς ἵππους ἐκτέμνειν εὐπειθείας χάριν· μικροὶ μὲν γάρ εἰσιν, ὀξεῖς δὲ σφόδρα καὶ δυσπειθεῖς; Ridg. pp125 f.

71 It is not clear whether this refers to the Thessalian Magnesia or the Lydian, near Mt. Sipylus, or that on the Maeander. For the horses of the first cf. Luc. VI.385 Magnetes equis gens cognita; Pind. P. II.45; for Lydian horses, Ridg. pp194 f.

72 i.e. Eleian (Strabo 340; Steph. Byz. s.v.): τοὺς ἐξ Ἤλιδος Eutecn.

73 Strabo 525 ἱππόβοτος δὲ καὶ αὕτη ἐστὶ διαφερόντως καὶ ἡ Ἀρμενία. Cf. Strabo 529 and note on Nesaean v. 312. Togarmah in Ezekiel xxvii.14, "They of the house of Togarmah traded in thy fairs with horsemen (or war-horses?) and mules" is Armenia or neighbouring country (Ridg. p193). Armenian mounted archers, Arr. Tact. 44.1.

74 See C. IV.50 n.; Arr. C. 1.4, 24.1 f.; Ael. N. A. III.2; Ridg. 238 ff., 470 ff. The horses of Cyrene were specially famous, Strabo 837 ἱπποτρόφος ἐστὶν ἀρίστη (sc. Κυρήνη); Pind. P.IV.2 εὐίππου K.; P.IX.4 διωξίππου K.

75 Schol. Theocr. XIV.47 ἵπποι Θρηίκιοι Λακεδαιμόνιαί τε γυναῖκες. Cf. Hom. Il. X.545 ff.; Verg. Aen. V.565 ff.; Ridg. p108.

76 τοὺς ἐκ τῆς Τρωγλοδύτιδος, Eutecn. Cf. Hom. Od. IV.84 where Schol. and Eustath. say Aristarchus identified them with the Arabians. Strabo 41; Dionys. Per. 180, 963.

77 Cf. in general Xen. Eq. 1; Poll. I.189 f.; Geopon. XVI.1; Verg. G. III.72 ff.; Varro, R. R. II.7; Columell. VI.29; Nemes. 240 ff.; Pallad. IV.13; M. H. Hayes, Points of the Horse (London 1904); Goubaux and Barrier, The Exterior of the Horse (1892).

78 Xen. Eq. 1.8 ἡ δὲ κεφαλὴ ὀστώδης οὖσα μικρὰν σιαγόνα ἔχοι; Poll. I.189 κεφαλὴ ὀστώδης, προτομὴ βραχεῖα (opposed to κεφαλὴν βαρεῖαν σαρκώδη ib. 191); Geop. XVI.1.9 τὴν κεφαλὴν ἔχει μικράν; Verg. G. III.79 Illi ardua cervix argutumque caput; Hor. S. I.2.89 breve quod caput, ardua cervix; Varro, R. R. II.7.5 si caput habet non magnum; Colum. VI.29 Corporis vero forma constabit exiguo capite; Pallad. IV.13 exiguum caput et siccum. Cf. Hayes p193, "When the head is large and 'fleshy' we may assume that the animal is 'soft' and wanting in 'blood.' "

79 Geop. l.c. τῇ περιοχῇ τοῦ σώματος μέγαν, εὐπαγῆ πᾶσι τοῖς μέρεσι.

80 "Good width between the eyes is generally regarded as a sign of intelligence and of a generous disposition" (Hayes, p196).

81 Poll. I.189 προκόμιον (forelock) εὐπρεπές; Xen. Eq. 5.8 δέδοται παρὰ θεῶν καὶ ἀγλαΐας ἕνεκα χαίτη καὶ προκόμιόν τε καὶ οὐρά.

82 "The eye should be clear and free from tears, the pupil black," Hayes p212. Cf. G. and B. p54 among the beauties of the eye is "the clearness and little abundance of the tears"; Xen. Eq. 1.9 τὸ ἐξόφθαλμον εἶναι ἐγρηγορὸς μᾶλλον φαίνεται τοῦ κοιλοφθάλμου; Poll. I.189 ὄμμα προπετὲς ὡς ἐξόφθαλμον εἶναι, ὀφθαλμοὶ πυρώδεις, ὕφαιμον βλέποντες (opp. to κοιλόφθαλμος ib. 191); Geop. l.c. ὄμμα μέλαν; Varr. l.c. oculis nigris; so Colum. l.c.; Pallad. l.c. oculi magni.

83 "The nostrils should be . . . of ample capacity, so as to suggest the possession of large air-passages," Hayes, p214; "The absolute beauty of the nostril resides in its width . . . Small nostrils are an absolute defect and associate themselves with a chest that is narrow," G. and B. p60; Xen. Eq. 1.10 καὶ μυκτῆρές γε οἱ ἀναπεπταμένοι τῶν συμπεπτωκότων εὐπνοώτεροί τε ἅμα εἰσὶ καὶ γοργότερον τὸν ἵπον ἀποδεικνύουσι; Poll. I.190 μυκτῆρες ἀναπεπταμένοι (opp. to μυκτῆρες συμπεπτωκότες ib. 191); Geop. l.c. ῥῖνας μὴ συμπεπτωκυίας; Varr. l.c. naribus non angustis; Colum. l.c. naribus apertis; Pallad. l.c. nares patulae.

84 "The old practical rule of finding whether a horse is wide enough between the jaws is to try if the clenched fist can be placed within the hollow," Hayes, p216.

85 "The ear is beautiful when it is short," G. and B. p43; Xen. Eq. 1.11 ὦτα μικρότερα; Poll. I.190 ὦτα βραχέα (opp. to ὦτα μεγάλα ib. 191); Geop. l.c. ὦτα προσεσταλμένα; Varr. l.c. auribus applicatis; Colum. l.c. brevibus auriculis et arrectis; Pallad. l.c. aures breves et argutae.

86 ardua cervix, Verg. G. III.79; Hor. S. I.2.89; cervice molli lataque nec longa, Colum. l.c.; erecta cervix, Pallad. l.c.

87 Varr. l.c. iuba crebra; Verg. G. III.86 and Colum. l.c. densa iuba; Pallad. l.c. coma densa; Geop. l.c. χαίτην βαθεῖαν; Poll. l.c. χαίτη εὔθριξ.

88 Xen. Eq. 1.7 στέρνα πλατύτερα ὄντα καὶ πρὸς κάλλος καὶ πρὸς ἰσχὺν καὶ πρὸς τὸ μὴ ἐπαλλὰξ ἀλλὰ διὰ πολλοῦ τὰ σκέλη φέρειν εὐφυέστερα; Geop. l.c. στῆθος εὐρὺ μεμυωμένον; Poll. l.c. στέρνα πλατέα; Varr. l.c. pectus latum et plenum; Verg. G. III.81 Luxuriatque toris animosum pectus; Colum. l.c. lato et musculorum toris numeroso pectore; Pallad. l.c. pectus late patens.

89 Xen. Eq. 1.11 ῥάχις ἡ διπλῆ τῆς απλῆς καὶ ἐγκαθῆσθαι μαλακωτέρα καὶ ἰδεῖν ἡδίων; Poll. I.190 ὀσφὺς διπλῆ· τὸ δὲ αὐτὸ καὶ ῥάχις καὶ ἕδρα (ib. 190 the bad horse has ὀσφὺν ὀξεῖαν, cf. Gratt. 526 tenuis dorso curvatur spina); Geop. l.c. ῥάχιν μάλιστα μὲν διπλῆν, εἰ δὲ μή, μή γε κυρτήν; Verg. G. III.87 At duplex agitur per lumbos spina; Varr. l.c. spina maxime duplici, si minus, non extanti; Colum. l.c. spina duplici; Hayes, p250 "In many draught animals the upper muscles of the loins and back stand out as distinct ridges of muscle on each side of the backbone. This beauty in the coarser breeds is not confined to them, but may sometimes be seen in well-bred horses. . . . This 'double-backed' condition [well shown in a photograph of a Boulonnais horse in Hayes, p251] may come on or disappear according to the amount of 'flesh' which the animal carries." Cf. G. and B. p119.

90 Xen. Eq. 1.13 ἰσχία πλατέα . . . καὶ εὔσαρκα. Cf. Poll. l.c.

91 Cf. Xen. Eq. 1.5.7; Poll. l.c. οὐρὰ προμήκης; Geop l.c. οὐρὰν μεγάλην οὐλότριχα; Varr. l.c. cauda ampla subcrispa; Colum. l.c. cauda longa et saetosa; Pallad. l.c. cauda profusior.

92 "The muscles of the thighs will be well developed" (Hayes p311); Geop l.c. μηροὺς μεμυωμένους; Colum. l.c. feminibus torosis et numerosis. Xen. Eq. distinguishes the μηροὶ οἱ ὑπὸ ταῖς ὠμοπλάταις (§ 7), i.e., what are now called the "fore-arms" (extending from elbow to knee), from the μηροὶ οἱ ὑπὸ τῇ οὐρᾷ, i.e. thighs + gaskins (the latter term now being used to denote the hind leg from thigh to hock).

93 i.e. the part of the leg between knee and fetlock: the "shanks" (Cossar Ewart ap. Hayes p16). αὐλοίtibiae.

94 Geop l.c.  σκέλη ὀρθά; Varr. l.c. cruribus rectis; Colum. l.c. altis rectisque cruribus.

95 i.e. not fleshy. Cf. Xen. Eq. 1.5 τῶν κνημῶν τὰ ὀστᾶ παχέα χρὴ εἶναι· . . . οὐ μέντοι φλεψί γε οὐδὲ σαρξὶ παχέα; Poll. l.c. κνῆμαι ἄσαρκοι.

96 It seems on the whole better to take the vague term κῶλα as continuing the description of the leg from knee to fetlock (as in 408) than to refer it to the "gaskins."

97 Xen. Eq. 1.3 δεῖ τὰ ἀνωτέρω μὲν τῶν ὁπλῶν κατωτέρω δὲ τῶν κυνηπόδων (fetlock) ὀστᾶ μήτε ἄγαν ὀρθὰ εἶναι ὥσπερ αἰγός . . . οὐδὲ μὴν ἄγαν ταπεινά.

98 Xen. Eq. 1.3 οὐδὲ τοῦτο δεῖ λανθάνειν, πότερον αἱ ὁπλαί εἰσιν ὑψηλαὶ ἢ ταπειναί . . . αἱ μὲν γὰρ ὑψηλαὶ πόρρω ἀπὸ τοῦ δαπέδου ἔχουσι τὴν χελιδόνα (the "frog") καλουμένην . . . καὶ τῷ ψόφῳ δέ φησι Σίμων δήλους εἶναι τοὺς εὔποδας, καλῶς λέγων· ὥσπερ γὰρ κύμβαλον ψοφεῖ πρὸς τῷ δαπέδῳ ἡ κοίλη ὁπλή. Cf. Poll. l.c.

99 Mountain range in Asia Minor.

100 The distinction between the rhetorical interrog. and the exclamation disappears in late Greek, so that πῶς, πόσοςὡς, ὅσος. Cf. πόσση 330.

101 Cf. Job xxxix.19 ff.

102 Here and in IV.134 ἀκαρδαμύτοισιν (given by three MSS. in the latter place) seems the safest reading. καρδαμύσσω (for ἀσκαρδ-) is recognized by Hesych. and E. M. s.v. See further III.478 n.º

103 The lect. vulg. δηΐων necessitates (1) the change of ὑπόπτερον to ὑπὸ πτερόν; (2) the assumption that Opp. used the fem. termin. ‑εσσαν with a neuter (for the converse cf. Nicand. T. 129 ψολόεντος ἐχίδνης, Colluth. 83 περόνην θυόεντα); (3) taking πτερόν to be (as in Procop. De aed. II.8) = Lat. pinna but here as denoting not a defensive propugnaculum but the testudo, χελώνη (for which cf. Arr. Tact. 11.4; 36.1 f.). On the other hand δῆριν, which Boudreaux reads (apparently with some MS. authority), makes δ. ἀσπ. ὑπόπτ. a simple metonomyº for the χελώνη. Cf. Luc. III.474 Ut tamen hostiles densa testudine muros Tecta subit virtus armisque innexa priores Arma ferunt galeamque extensus protegit umbo.

104 Cf. Tryph. 14; Verg. Aen. XI.89 Post bellator equus positis insignibus Aethon It lacrimans guttisque humectat grandibus ora; Solin. XLV.13.

105 Hom. Il. XIX.404 Xanthus, the horse of Achilles, prophesies his death.

106 The charger of Alexander the Great: Ael. VI.44; Diod. XVII.76 and 95; Plin. VIII.154; Arr. Anab. V.14.4 and V.19.4.

107 Hom. Il. XX.226 (of the offspring of Boreas and the mares of Erichthonius) αἱ δ’ ὅτε μὲν σκιρτῷεν ἐπὶ ζείδωρον ἄρουραν, ἄκρον ἐπ’ ἀνθερίκων καρπὸν θεόν οὐδὲ κατέκλων· ἀλλ’ ὅτε δὴ σκιρτῷεν ἐπ’ εὐρέα νῶτα θαλάσσης, ἄκρον ὲπὶ ῥηγμῖνος ἁλὸς πολιοῖο θέεσκον.

108 The portion of the pastern immediately above the hoof.

109 A monster (Hom. Il. VI.179; Lucr. V.905) slain by Bellerophon (tetrico domitore Chimaerae, Ov. Tr. II.397) with the aid of his winged horse Pegasus; Pind. O. XIII.84, I. VI.44.

110 Darius, s. of Hystaspes, became king of Persia by the craft of his groom Oebares: Herod. III.84.

111 The story is told A. 631 A1‑7; Ael. IV.7; Antig. 54; Varr. II.7.9; Plin. VIII.156; Hierocl. Hipp. p173.

112 King of Thebes, who unwittingly married his own mother: Soph. O.T.

113 Cf. Soph. El. 1154 μήτηρ ἀμήτωρ.

114 Cic. Verr. II.ii.20.

115 S. W. Sicily.

116 Giant buried under Aetna: Apollod. I.6.2; Callim. fr. 117; Luc. VI.293; Verg. Aen. III.578; Stat. T. III.595; Q. Sm. V.642.º

Thayer's Note: Also Aetna, 71‑73.

117 Cf. 302 and C. IV.112 f; Strab. 525; Gratt. 508; Ridg. pp189 f.

118 Ridg. pp256 f.

119 The eagle (Pind. P. II.50, V.112, N. III.80; Hom. Il. XXI.252); the dolphin (Pind. P. II.51, N. VI.72); the hawk (Hom. Il. XV.237, Od. XIII.86) are types of swiftness.

120 But Nemes. 253 says Spanish horses "valent longos intendere cursus"; Mart. I.49, XIV.199.

121 χαροποί may here mean merely "bright-eyed." For the sense of the word when applied to colour see note on 308.

122 Cf. C. IV.116.

123 γλαυκός and χαροπός are not easy to distinguish. Cf. A. 491 B34 ὀφθαλμοῦ δὲ τὸ μὲν λευκὸν ὅμοιον ὡς ἐπὶ τὸ πολὺ πᾶσιν, τὸ δὲ καλούμενον μέλαν διαφέρει· τοῖς μὲν γάρ ἐστι μέλαν, τοῖς δὲ σφόδρα γλαυκόν, τοῖς δὲ χαροπόν, ἐνίοις δὲ αἰγωπόν; Hom. Od. XI.611 χαροποὶ λέοντες but γλαυκιόων of lion Il. XX.172. Perhaps if we call γλ. "greyish-blue" and χαρ."bluish-grey," we shall be nearly right.

124 Or Nisaean: famous breed of horses from the Nesaean plain in Media: Steph. B. s. Νησαῖον πεδίον, ἀφ’ οὗ παρὰ Μήδοις οἱ Νησαῖοι ἵπποι; Herod. III.106, VII.40; Strab. 525, 530; Athen. 194E; Amm. Marc. XXIII.6.30; Synes. Ep. 40; Arr. Anab. VII.13; A. 632 A30; Lucian, Hist. 39; Ridg. pp190 ff.

125 Oppian seems to denote by this name two species of horses: (1) with neck and back striped like tiger, (2) spotted like leopard. The first he regards as a natural breed, the second as an artificial production. Cf. Eutecn. τοὺς μὲν πρώτους ἡ φύσις οὕτω διεζωγράφησε, τῶν δευτέρων δ’ ἀνδρῶν εὑρήματα τὰ ποικίλματα. The first suggests the zebra.

126 The West Wind (Lat. Favonius) was supposed to have an impregnating influence; Hom. Il. XVI.150; Plin. XVI.93; Lucr. I.11; Verg. G. III.272 ff.; Plin. X.166; Varr. II.1.19; Colum. VI.27; A. 560 A6; G. A. 749 B1. Of other winds: Hom. Il. XX.222; Ael. VII.27; Solin. XLV.18.

127 Cf. O. T. Genesis xxx.37 ff.; Scott, Red Gauntlet, c. xviii.

128 Cf. 206 n.

129 Stat. S. V.1.213 Palaestini simul Hebraeique liquores. It is not to be assumed that the perfume meant is one native to Palestine (which is not rich in aromatic shrubs). The spices and perfumes of the Far East came to Europe by way of Palestine and Syria (Diod. III.41) and are generally called indifferently Syrian (Propert. II.13.14; Tibull. III.4.28, III.6.63; Hor. C. II.7.8; Catull. VI.8) or Assyrian (Hor. C. II.11.16; Catull. LXVIII.143; Verg. E. IV.25; Tibull. I.3.7, III.2.23).

130 A. 560 B26.

131 Next to Achilles the handsomest Greek at Troy: Hom. Il. II.671.

132 A beautiful youth of Thespiae who, for hopeless love of his own reflection, died and was turned into the flower which bears his name: Ov. M. III.341; Paus. IX.31.7.

133 A beautiful Spartan youth, accidentally slain by Apollo from his blood sprang the "hyacinth." See n. on Colluthus 248. Cf. Apollod. III.10.3; Paus. III.1.3, III.19.5; Nicand. T. 902; Ov. M. X.162, XIII.394 ff.

134 Castor and Pollux, the Dioscuri, sons of Zeus (Tyndareus) and Leda: Hom. Il. III.237.

135 King of the Bebryces, slain by Pollux: Apollod. I.9.20; Theocr. XXII.27; Ap. Rh. II.1; Val. Fl. IV.99.

136 Cf. generally Xen. C. 3 ff. Arr. C. 2 ff.; Poll. V.37 ff.; Geop. XIX.1 ff.; A. 574 A16 ff. and passim; Verg. G. III.404 ff.; Varr. II.9; Plin. VIII.142 ff.; Colum. VII.12; Gratt. 150 ff.; Nemes. 103 ff.

137 Poll. V.46 f.

138 i.e. Italian, including the vividus Umber of Verg. Aen. XII.753 (cf. Varr. II.9.6; Gratt. 172 and 194; Senec. Thy. 497; Sid. Ap. VII.191; Sil. III.295); the Sallentine, Varr. II.9.5; the Tuscan, Nemes. 231.

139 Poll. V.37; Arr. C. 3.1 f.; Dio Chr. Or. 15.

140 Poll. l.c.; Nemes. 127. There seems no ground for supposing that the Iberians περὶ τὸν Καύκασον (Strab. 118, 499 f.) are meant.

141 Poll. l.c.; Ov. M. III.210, A. A. I.272 (Maenalius); Gratt. 160 (Lycaones).

142 Poll. l.c. Ἀργολίδες.

143 Poll. l.c. ; Soph. Aj. 8; Xen. C. 3.1; Luc. IV.441; Gratt. 212; Varr. II.9.5; Callim. H. III.94; Ov. M. III.208; Plin. X.177 f.; A. 574 A16 ff.; Shakesp. M. N's D. IV.1.123 "My hounds are bred out of the Spartan kind."

144 The Sauromatae or Sarmatae inhabited S. Russia. Herod. IV.110 ff.; Dion. P. 653.

Thayer's Note: Properly, not "southern Russia" but Ukraine.

145 Poll. l.c.; Arr. C. 1.4, 2.1; Gratt. 156; Plin. VIII.148.

146 Cf. H. IV.273; Poll. l.c.; Xen. C. 10.1; Arr. C. 2‑3; Ael. III.2; Gratt. 212; Ov. M. III.208; Luc. IV.441; Senec. Hipp. 33; Claud. Stil. III.300; Shakesp. M. N's D. IV.1.130.

147 The dogs of the Carian Magnesia are mentioned Poll. V.47; Ael. V. H. XIV.46. Cf. N. A. VII.38.

148 Here prob. = Nile, as in Hom. Od. IV.47 etc. For Egyptian dogs cf. A. 606 A23; Ael. VI.53, VII.19; V. H. I.4; Plin. VIII.148; Solin. XV.12.

149 Xen. C. 10.1; Poll. V.37.

150 Poll. l.c.; Ael. III.2, XI.20; Athen. 201B; Aristoph. T. 416; Lucr. V.1061; Verg. G. III.404; Hor. Epod. VI.5, S. II.6.114; Stat. T. III.203, S. II.6.19, A. I.747; Plaut. Capt. 86; Luc. IV.440; Mart. XII.1; Senec. Hipp. 32; Claud. Stil. II.215, III.293; Gratt. 181 ff.; Nemes. 107; A. 608 A28.

151 Xen. C. 7.1 ff.; Arr. C. 27 ff.; Varr. II.9.11; Gratt. 263 ff.; Nemes. 103 ff.

152 Cf. Lucr. I.1 ff.; Verg. G. II.323 ff.

153 The Muraena. Cf. H. I.559.

154 This sense of γαλήνη occurs Hom. Od. VII.319. Cf. Callim. E. VI.5.

155 Nemes. 231 ff.

156 Gratt. 154 mille canum patriae.

157 τῶν ἁμόθεν is taken from Hom. Od. I.10, and the meaning seems to be either that the "points of the dog" here enumerated are not an exhaustive description of any breed or that they do not apply to all breeds. Eutecn. ἀμωσγέπως. Cf. Suid. s. ἀμηγέπη.

158 Arr. C. 4.2 f. πρῶτα μὲν δὴ μακραὶ ἔστων ἀπὸ κεφαλῆς ἐπ’ οὐράν.

159 Xen. C. 4.1 κεφαλὰς ἐλαφράς. Cf. Arr. C. 4.4; Poll. V.57.

160 Xen. l.c. ὄμματα μετέωρα [sint celsi vultus, Nemes. 269] μέλανα λαμπρά. Cf. Arr. 4.5; Poll. l.c. Geop. XIX.2; Varr. II.9.3 oculis nigrantibus aut ravis; Colum. VII.12 nigris vel glaucis oculis acri lumine radiantibus.

161 Xen. l.c. ὦτα λεπτὰ καὶ ψιλὰ ὄπισθεν. Cf. Poll. l.c. On the contrary Arr. C. 5.7 ὦτα μεγάλα ἔστω καὶ μαλθακά; Varr. II.9.4 auriculis magnis ac flaccis.

162 Xen. l.c. τραχήλους μακρούς. Cf. Poll. l.c.; Arr. l.c.

163 Xen. l.c. στήθη πλατέα μὴ ἄσαρκα. Cf. Poll. l.c.; Arr. C. 5.9; Colum. l.c. amplo vilosoque pectore.

164 Xen. l.c. σκέλη τὰ πρόσθε μακρά, ὀρθά, στρογγύλα, στιφρά; Poll. V.58 σκέλη ἑκάτερα μὲν ὑψηλὰ μείζω δὲ τὰ ἐξόπισθεν.

165 ἰστοίαὐλοί (189) = tibiae.

166 Xen. l.c.; Poll. l.c.; Arr. l.c.; Colum. l.c. latis armis; Nemes. 274 validis tum surgat pectus ab armis.

167 Xen. l.c. πλευρὰς μὴ ἐπὶ γῆν βαθείας ἀλλ’ εἰς τὸ πλάγιον παρηκούσας.

168 Xen. l.c. ὀσφῦς σαρκώδεις. Cf. Poll. l.c.; Arr. l.c. ὀσφὺν πλατεῖαν ἰσχυράν.

169 Xen. l.c. οὐρὰς μακράς, ὀρθάς, λιγυράς; Poll. V.59; Arr l.c.

170 See 308 n.

171 Xen. C. 4.7 τὰ δὲ χρώματα οὐ χρὴ εἶναι τῶν κυνῶν οὔτε πυρρὰ οὔτε μέλανα οὔτε λευκὰ παντελῶς· ἔστι γὰρ οὐ γενναῖον τοῦτο ἀλλ’ ἁπλοῦν καὶ θηριῶδες. So Poll. V.65. But Arr. C. 6 τὰ δὲ χρώματα οὐδὲν διοίσει ὁποῖα ἂν ἔχωσιν, οὐδ’ εἰ παντελῶς εἶεν μέλαιναι ἢ πυρραὶ ἢ λευκαί· οὐδὲ τὸ ἁπλοῦν χρὴ ὑποπτεύειν τῆς χρόας ὡς θηριῶδες.

172 ξανθὴ Δημήτηρ (Hom. Il. V.500) = flava Ceres (Verg. G. I.96). The name of the goddess is a common metonomyº for corn: Verg. G. I.297 At rubicunda Ceres medio succiditur aestu; Mart. III.5.6 Hic farta premitur angulo Ceres omni; Gratt. 398 Blanditur mensis Cereremque efflagibat ore; Nemes. 161 Interdumque cibo Cererem cum lacte ministra. Cf. H. III.463, 484.

173 Xen. C. 7.3 advises that puppies should be suckled by their own mothers. Cf. Arr. C. 30.1 f. For domestic dogs cf. 473 n.

174 Xen. C. 7.5 τὰ ὄνόματα αὐταῖς τίθεσθαι βραχέα ἵνα εὐανάκλητα εἴη (where he gives forty-seven dog names, all dissyllabic). Colum. VII.12 Nominibus non longissimis appellandi sunt, quo celerius quisque vocatus exaudiat: nec tamen brevioribus quam quae duabus syllabis enuntientur, sicut Graecum est σκύλαξ (ὕλαξ? Verg. E. VIII.107), Latinum ferox, Graecum λάκων, Latinum celer: vel femina, ut sunt Graeca σπουδή, ἀλκή, ῥώμη (these three from Xen.), Latina lupa (cf. Lycisca: Verg. E. III.18)º, cerva, tigris.

175 Xenophon, C. 8, gives instructions for hunting hares in winter (cf. Bik. p14 On en fait la chasse presque toute l'année, mais surtout en hiver): κύνας μὲν οὖν οὐδὲν δεῖ ἔχοντα ἐξιέναι ἐπὶ τὴν θήραν ταύτην· ἡ γὰρ χιὼν καίει τῶν κυνῶν τὰς ῥῖνας, τοὺς πόδας, τὴν ὀσμὴν τοῦ λαγῶ ἀφανίζει διὰ τὸ ὑπέρπαγες· λαβόντα δὲ τὰ δίκτυα μετ’ ἄλλου ἐλθόντα πρὸς τὰ ὄρη παριέναι ἀπὸ τῶν ἔργων, καὶ ἐπειδὰν λάβῃ τὰ ἴχνη, πορεύεσθαι κατὰ ταῦτα. Cf. ib. 5.1 ff.

176 Xen. C. 5.5 τὸ δὲ ἔαρ κεκραμένον τῇ ὥρᾳ καλῶς παρέχει τὰ ἴχνη, λαμπρά, πλὴν εἴ τι ἡ γῆ ἐξανθοῦσα βλάπτει τὰς κύνας εἰς τὸ αὐτὸ συμμιγνύουσα τῶν ἀνθῶν τὰς ὀσμάς. Cf. Poll. V.49.

177 Xen. C. 5.5 τοῦ δὲ μετοπώρου καθαρά (sc. τὰ ἴχνη) ὄσα γὰρ ἡ γῆ φέρει, τὰ μὲν ἥμερα συγκεκόμισται, τὰ δὲ ἄγρια γήρᾳ διαλέλυται· ὥστε οὐ παραλποῦσι τῶν καρπῶν αἱ ὀσμαὶ εἰς ταὐτὰ φερόμεναι. Cf. Poll. V.49.

178 This epithet (lit. "of particoloured backs") we take to refer to the practice of staining or tattooing. Caes. B. G. V.14 Omnes se Britanni vitro inficiunt. So of Scythians, Verg. G. II.115 pictos Gelonos; A. IV.146 picti Agathyrsi; Amm. Marc. XXXI.2.14; Herod. V.6 τὸ μὲν ἐστίχθαι εὐγενὲς κέκριται (among Thracians) τὸ δὲ ἄστικτον ἀγεννές; Herodian III.14 τὰ σώματα στίζονται (οἱ Βρεταννοί) γραφαῖς ποικίλων ζῴων εἰκόσιν, ὅθεν οὐδὲ ἀμφιέννυνται, ἵνα μὴ σκέπωσι τοῦ σώματος τὰς γραφάς.

179 The chief ancient references to British dogs are Strab. 199 among exports from Britain are κύνες εὐφυεῖς πρὸς τὰς κυνηγεσίας· Κελτοὶ δὲ καὶ πρὸς τοὺς πολέμους χρῶνται καὶ τούτοις καὶ τοῖς ἐπιχωρίοις; Gratt. 174 ff. Quid freta si Morinum dubio refluentia ponto Veneris atque ipsos libeat penetrare Britannos? O quanta est merces et quantum impendia supra, Si non ad speciem mentiturosque decores Protinus — haec una est catulis iactura Britannis — At magnum cum venit opus promendaque virtus, Et vocat extremo praeceps discrimine Mavors, Non tunc egregios tantum admirere Molossos. Comparet his versuta suas Athamania fraudes Azorusque Pheraeque et clandestinus Acarnan: Sicut Acarnanes subierunt proelia furto, Sic canis illa suos taciturna supervenit hostes; Nemes. 124 f. divisa Britannia mittis Veloces nostrique orbis venatibus aptos; Claud. Stil. III.301 magnaque taurorum fracturae colla Britannae.

180 Cf. 438; Hom. Od. XVII.309 where the disguised Odysseus on seeing his old dog Argus remarks: καλὸς μὲν δέμας ἐστίν, ἀτὰρ τόδε γ’ οὐ σάφα οἶδα, εἰ δὴ καὶ ταχὺς ἔσκε θέειν ἐπὶ εἴδεϊ τῷδε, ἢ αὔτως οἶοί τε τραπεζῆες κύνες ἀνδρῶν γίγνοντ’· ἀγλαΐης δ’ ἕνεκεν κομέουσιν ἄνακτες; Il. XXII.69; XXIII.173.

181 Plin. VIII.147 (canes) senecta fessos caecosque ac debiles sinu ferunt.


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