No More Learning

This is not the proper
translation, of the passage; but the real meaning cannot be presented
with a due regard to decorum. ]

[Footnote 1018: I begin with dress. --Ver. 101. He plays upon the
different meanings of the word 'cultus'; which means either 'dress,' or
'cultivation,' according as it is applied, to persons or land. ]

[Footnote 1019: A great part. --Ver. 104. This is a more ungallant remark
than we should have expected Ovid to make. ]

[Footnote 1020: Of Phoebus. --Ver. 119. He alludes to the temple of
Apollo, on the Palatine Hill, where Augustus and Tiberius resided. ]

[Footnote 1021: And choice shells. --Ver. 124. He alludes to pearls which
grow in the shell of the pearl oyster, and are found in the Persian Gulf
and the Indian Ocean. ]

[Footnote 1022: By the moles. --Ver. 126. He alludes to the stupendous
moles which the Romans fabricated, as breakwaters, at their various
bathing-places on the coast of Italy. See the Odes of Horace, Book iii.
ode 1. ]

[Footnote 1023: Round features. --Ver. 139. See the Pontic Epistles, Book
iii Ep. iii. 1. 15, and the Note. ]

[Footnote 1024: Figure of the tortoise. --Ver. 147. Salmasius thinks that
the 'galerus,' or 'wig of false hair,' is alluded to in this passage.
Others think that a coif or fillet of net-work is alluded to. He
probably means a mode of dressing the hair in the shape of a lyre, with
horns on each side projecting outwards. Mercury, the inventor of the
lyre, was born on Mount Cyllene, in Arcadia. ]

[Footnote 1025: The waves. --Ver. 148. Juvenal mentions a mode of
dressing the hair to a great height by rows of false curls. ]

[Footnote 1026: The herbs from Germany. --Ver. 163. He alludes, probably,
to herbs brought from Germany, which were burnt for the purpose of
making a soap used in turning the hair of a blonde colour. See the
Amores, Book i. El. xiv. 1. 1, and the Note. ]

[Footnote 1027: For money--Ver. 166. See 1. 45 of the above Elegy. ]

[Footnote 1028: The eyes of Hercules. --Ver. 168. He means that the
wig-makers']

shops were in the neighbourhood of the Temple of Hercules Musagetes, in
the Flaminian Circus. See the Sixth Book of the Fasti, 1. 801. ]

[Footnote 1029: Gold flounces. --Ver. 169. 'Segmenta' are probably broad
flounces to the dresses inlaid with plates of gold, or gold threads
embroidered on them. ]

[Footnote 1030: On one's person. --Ver. 127. Like our expression, 'To
carry a fortune on one's back. ']

[Footnote 1031: That art said. --Ver. 175. He refers to the colour of
the Ram with the Golden Fleece, that bore Helle and Phryxus over the
Hellespont. ]

[Footnote 1032: Resembles the waves. --Ver. 177. He evidently alluded
to dresses which resemble the surface of the waves, and which we term
'watered'; and which the Romans called 'undulatae,' from 'unda,' a
'wave. ' Varro makes mention of 'undulatae togae. ' Some Commentators,
however, fancy that he alludes here to colour, meaning 'glaucus,' or
'sea-green,' which Lucretius also calls ' thalassinus. ']

[Footnote 1033: Amaryllis. --Ver. 183. See the last Book, 1. 267, and the
Note. ]

[Footnote 1034: And wax. --Ver. 184. Plautus mentions the 'Carinarii,'
who dyed garments of a waxen, or yellow colour]

[Footnote 1035: Seriphos. --Ver. 192. See the Metamorphoses, Book v. 1.
242, and the Note. ]

[Footnote 1036: Shocking goat. --Ver. 193. See the Note to 1. 522: of
the First Book. ]

[Footnote 1037: Application of wax. --Ver. 199. Wax is certainly used as
a cosmetic, but 'creta' seems to be a preferable reading, as chalk in
a powdered state was much used for adding to the fairness of the
complexion. Ovid would hardly recommend a cosmetic of so highly
injurious a tendency as melted wax. ]

[Footnote 1038: The eye-brows. --Ver. 201. We learn from Juvenal, that
the colour of them was heightened by punctures with a needle being
filled with soot. ]

[Footnote 1039: And the little patch. --Ver. 202. 'Aluta' means 'skin
made soft by means of alum. ' It is difficult to discover what it means
here, whether 'a patch' made of a substance like gold-beater's skin,
somewhat similar to those used in the days of the Spectator; or a
liquid cosmetic, such as Pliny calls 'calliblepharum,' 'an aid to the
eye-brows. ' He seems to use the word 'sinceras' in its primitive sense,
'without wax'; which recommendation certainly would contradict the
common reading, 'cera,' in the 199th line. ]

[Footnote 1040: To mark the eyes. --Ver. 203. To heighten the colour
of the eyelashes, ashes (and probably charcoal) were u>>ed by the
Roman women. Saffron also was used. A black paint, made of pulverized
antimony, is used by the women in the East, at the present day, to paint
their eyebrows black. It is called 'surme,' and was also used at ancient
Rome. Cydnus was a river of Cilicia. ]

[Footnote 1041: A little treatise. --Ver. 205. He alludes to his book,
'On the care of the Complexion,' of which a fragment remains. ]

[Footnote 1042: Of the cesypum. --Ver. 213. The filthy cosmetic called
'cesypum,']

was prepared from the wool of those parts of the body where the sheep
perspired most; it was much used for embellishing the complexion. Pliny
mentions the sheep of Athens as producing the best. It had a strong rank
smell. The red colour, which was used by the Roman ladies for giving a
bloom to the skin, was prepared from a moss called 'fucus'; from which,
in time, all kinds of paint received the name of 'fucus. ']

[Footnote 1043: Of the deer. --Ver. 215. Pliny speaks highly of the
virtues of stag's marrow. It probably occupied much the same position in
estimation, that bear's grease does at the present day. ]

[Footnote 1044: Myron. --Ver. 219. There were two sculptors of this name:
one a native of Lycia, the other of Eleuthera. ]

[Footnote 1045: Beautiful statue. --Ver. 223. He alludes to that of Venus
Anadyomene, or rising from the sea, which was made by Praxiteles, and
was often copied by the sculptors of Greece and Rome. ]


[Footnote 1046: Pierces her arms. --Ver. 240. See a similar passage in
the Amores. Book i. El. xiv. 1. 16. ]

[Footnote 1047: Toilet in the temple. --Ver. 244. He tells those who have
not fine heads of hair, to be as careful in admitting any men to see
their toilet, as the devotees of Bona Dea were to keep away all males
from her solemnities. ]

[Footnote 1048: Sidonian fair. --Ver. 252. Europa was a Phoenician by
birth. ]

[Footnote 1049: With the clothes. --Ver. 226. See the Amores, Book i. El.
iv. 1. 48, and the Note. ]

[Footnote 1050: With purple stripes. '--Ver. 269. Commentators are at
a loss to know what 'tingere virgis' means; some suggest, 'to wear
garments with red 'virgae,' or 'stripes,'while others think that it means
'to tint the skin with fine lines of a purple colour. ' It is thought by
some that vermilion is here alluded to, while others suppose that the
juice of the red flowers, or berries of the 'vaccinium,' is meant. ]

[Footnote 1051: The Pharian fish. --Ver. 270. The intestines and dung of
the crocodile, 'the Pharian' or 'Egyptian fish,' are here referred to.
We learn from Pliny that these substances were used by the females at
Rome as a cosmetic, to add to the fairness of the complexion, and to
take away freckles from the skin. ]

[Footnote 1052: Small pads are suitable. --Ver. 273 'Analectides,'
or 'Analectrides,' (the correct reading is doubtful) were pads, or
stuffings, of flock, used in cases of high shoulders or prominent
shoulder-blades. ]

[Footnote 1053: And let the girth. --Ver. 274. He alludes to the
'strophium,' which distantly resembled the stays of the present day,
and was a girdle, or belt, worn by women round the breast and over the
interior tunic or chemise. From an Epigram of Martial, it seems to have
been usually made of leather. Becker thinks that there was a difference
between the 'fascia' and the 'strophium. ']

[Footnote 1054: At a distance. --Ver. 278. One of the very wisest of his
suggestions. ]

[Footnote 1055: Umbrian. --Ver. 303. The Umbrians were a people of the
Marsi, in the north of Italy. They were noted for their courage, and the
rusticity of their manners. ]

[Footnote 1056: The son of Sisyphus. --Ver. 313.
He here alludes to
a scandalous story among the ancients, that Ulysses was the son of
Anticlea, by Sisyphus the robber, who had carried her off, and not by
Laertes, her husband. ]

[Footnote 1057: The wax. --Ver. 314. By the advice of Circe, Ulysses
filled the ears of his companions with melted wax, that they might not
hear the songs of the Sirens. ]

[Footnote 1058: The measures of the Nile. --Ver. 318. These airs were
sung by Egyptian girls, with voluptuous attitudes, and were much
esteemed by the dissolute Romans. These Egyptian singers were, no doubt,
the forerunners of the 'Alme' of Egypt at the present day. The Nautch
girls and Bayaderes of the East Indies are a kindred race. ]

[Footnote 1059: Plectrum. --Ver. 319. See the Metamorphoses, Book ii. 1.
601, and the Note; also the Epistle of Briseis, 1. 118, and the Note. ]

[Footnote 1060: Thy mother. --Ver. 323. Amphion and Zethuswere the sons
of Jupiter and Antiope. Being carried off by her uncle Lycus, Antiope
was entrusted to his wife Dirce. When her sons grew up, they fastened
Dirce to wild oxen, by which she was tom to pieces. Amphion was said to
have built the walls of Thebes by the sound of his lyre. ]

[Footnote 1061: Arion. --Ver. 326. See the Fasti, Book ii. 1. 79. ]

[Footnote 1062: The festive psaltery. --Ver. 327. Suidas tells us that
'naulium,' or 'nablium,' was a name of the psaltery. Josephus says
that it had twelve strings. Strabo remarks that the name was of foreign
origin. ]

[Footnote 1063: Callimachus. --Ver. 329. See the Amores, Book ii. El. iv.
1. 19: and the Pontic Epistles, Book iv. Ep. xvi. 1. 32, and the Notes
of the passages. ]

[Footnote 1064: Poet of Cos. --Ver. 330. The poet Philetas. He flourished
in the time of Philip and Alexander the Great. Anacreon was a lyric poet
of Teios, and a great admirer of the juice of the grape. ]

[Footnote 1065: Or him, through whom. --Ver. 332. Some think that he
means Menander, from whom Terence borrowed many of his scenes; he
probably alludes to the Phormio of Terence, where the old men, Chremes
and Demipho, are deceived by Geta, the cunning slave. See the Tristia,
Book ii. 1. 359: and 69. ]

[Footnote 1066: Propertius. '--Ver. 333. See the Tristia, Book ii. 1.
465, and the Note. ]

[Footnote 1067: Tibullus. --Ver. 334. See the Amores, Book iii. EL ix. ]

[Footnote 1068: Varro. --Ver. 335. See the Pontic Epistles, Book iv. Ep.
xvi. 1. 21; and the Amores, Book i. El. xv. 1. 21, and the Notes to the
passages. ]

[Footnote 1069: Lofty Rome. --Ver. 338. He refers here to the AEneid of
Virgil. ]

[Footnote 1070: Two sides. --Ver. 342. Both the males and the females. ]

[Footnote 1071: Composition. --Ver. 346. He takes to himself the credit
of being the inventor of Epistolary composition. ]

[Footnote 1072: Masters of posture. --Ver. 351. These persons, who were
also called 'ludii,' or 'histrlones,' required great suppleness of the
sides, for the purpose of aptly assuming expressive attitudes; for which
reason he calls them 'artifices lateris. ' See the First Book, 1. 112;
and the Tristia, Book ii, 1. 497, and the Note. ]

[Footnote 1073: Which she must call for. --Ver. 356. Probably at the game
of 'duodecim seripta,' or 'twelve points,' like our backgammon; sets of
three 'tesserae,' or dice, were used for throwing; he recommends her to
learn the game, and to know on what points to enter when taken up, and
what throws to call for. See the last Book, 1. 203; and the Tristia,
Book ii. 1. 473, and the Note. ]

[Footnote 1074: The pieces. --Ver. 357. See the Note to 1. 207, in the
last Book. ]

[Footnote 1075: The warrior, too. --Ver. 359. He alludes to one of the
principal pieces, whose fate depends upon another. ]

[Footnote 1076: Let the smooth balls. --Ver. 361. He seems to allude here
to a game played by putting marbles (which seems to be the meaning of
'pilae leves,' 'smooth balls,') into a net with the month open, and then
taking them out one by one without moving any of the others. ]

[Footnote 1077: Kind of game. --Ver. 363. These two lines do not seem to
be connected with the game mentioned in 1. 365, but rather to refer to
that mentioned in 1. 355. ]

[Footnote 1078: A little table receives. }--Ver. 365. This game is
mentioned in the Tristia, Book ii. 1. 481. It seems to resemble the
simple game played by schoolboys on the slate, and known among them as
tit-tat-to. ]

[Footnote 1079: No trusting. --Ver. 377. On account of the continued run
of bad luck. ]

[Footnote 1080: Flying ball. '--Ver. 380. See the Tristia, Book ii. 1.
485-6, and the Note. ]

[Footnote 1081: The Virgin. --Ver. 385. This was near the Campus Martius.
See the Fasti, Book i. 1. 464; and the Pontic Epistles, Book i. Ep.
viii. 1. 38, and the Note. ]

[Footnote 1082: Etrurian. --Ver. 386. The Tiber flowed through ancient
Etruria. ]

[Footnote 1083: The Virgin. --Ver. 388. He alludes to the heat while the
sun is passing through the Constellation Virgo. ]

[Footnote 1084: Paraetonium. --Ver. 390. See the Amores, Book ii. El.
xiii. 1. 7, and the Note. He alludes to the victory of Augustus over
Antony and Cleopatra, at Actium; on which the conqueror built the temple
of Apollo on the Palatine hill. ]

[Footnote 1085: The suter and the wife. --Ver. 391. Livia, the wife, and
Octavia, the sister of Augustus, are referred to. ]

[Footnote 1086: His son-in-law. --Ver. 392. The allusion is to M.
Agrippa, the husband of Julia, the daughter of Augustus; after the
defeat of the younger Pompey, Augustus presented him with a naval crown.
A Portico built by Augustus was called by his name. ]

[Footnote 1087: Memphian heifer. --Ver. 393. See the Amores, Book i. El.
viii. 1. 74. ]

[Footnote 1088: Frequent the three Theatres. --Ver. 394. He probably
alludes to the theatres of Pompey, Balbus, and Marcellus, as they are
mentioned by Suetonius as the 'trina theatra. ']

[Footnote 1089: Glowing wheels. --Ver. 396.