Varro: In making this sort of ‘temple’ we see that trees are established as the boundaries, and that within them are set the regions where the eyes are to look forth, that is where we ‘tueamur,’ from which were derived ‘temple’ and ‘contemplate,’ as we read in Ennius in Medea— ‘contemplate’... —
and towards the left, Look upon Ceres’ temple.
Melanippa
Of the two plays of Euripides on the tale of Melanippe Ennius took as his model Μελανίππη ἡ σοφή. Melanippe, in the absence of her father King Aeolus, bore twin sons by Poseidon; she exposed them; but they were reared by wild kine. When her father returned, some cowherds took the children for a monstrous brood of one of the cows, and brought them as such to the king. The children were doomed to be burnt. Melanippe, who was given the duty of preparing them for the pyre, tried to prove, by Anaxagorean metaphysics, that the babes might be the natural offspring of the cattle. When Aeolus learnt the truth, he imprisoned Melanippe in a dungeon and had the babes thrown to the mercy of wild beasts.
296–7
Hellen (father of Aeolus) or a herdsman-messenger?:
Nonius: ‘Auguro’... Ennius in Melanippe —
Here can there be no dispute that it is a monstrous brood. This I say unto you and foretell it as from a sign.
298
Hellen advises Aeolus that the babes be burnt with brushwood:
Nonius: ‘Auscultare’ means to obey... —
Hellen?
Listen to me, my son; enjoin you that the boys be burned.
299–300
Hellen (?) prays for the fortunes of the kingdom:
Nonius: ‘Sospitent,’ they may save... —
Hellen?
and that they may save and keep alive our realm.
301
Possibly Melanippe speaks the following words in her effort to prove that the babes are the cattle’s natural offspring:
Macrobius, on ‘The sea shines bright under the flickering light’ in Virgil: ‘Flickering light’ is an expression drawn from a picture of the thing itself. But Ennius used it first in Melanippe —
Melanippe? Thus with flickering light Do earth and heaven’s blue hollows brightly glare. 302
Melanippe’s moderate beauty:
Gellius: There is a kind of middling looks... I mean the sort to which the term —
well balanced looks is applied in a most elegant choice of a word by Quintus Ennius in Melanippe; looks which are destined neither for ‘common gain’ nor ‘private pain.’
303
Aeolus shuts Melanippe up in a dungeon:
Priscianus: ‘Scindo scidi.’ Nevertheless the oldest writers used to say ‘scicidi’... —
Aeolus?
when she has riven the rock,
Nemea
According to the original story, Adrastus founded the Nemean games in honour of Opheltes (son of King Lycurgus of Nemea); who, left unguarded by Hypsipyle while she guided the ‘Seven against Thebes’ to a spring, was killed by a snake; to this other details were added later. We know nothing of Ennius’ play, except that its title suggests that the model was Aeschylus (R., 159 ff.). 304
Priscianue: ‘Pecus,’ all genders. Ennius in Nemea —
To give her alive to a bull as her mate.
305
Nonius: ‘Venor,’ I am surrounded. Ennius in Nemea —
I am held hedged in, on all sides am I hunted.
Phoenix
The material for plays about Phoenix was found in the Iliad, IX, 447 ff., from which we can get glimpses of the plot of Ennius’ play. Comparison of lines 312–13 with what we know of Euripides’ Φοῖνιξ (who made his hero innocent and blinded by his father) suggests that Euripides was the model. But if I have interpreted line 318 rightly, Euripides cannot have been the pattern throughout.
306
A myntor’s wife persuaded her son Phoenix to become the lover of her husband’s mistress. This enraged Amyntor. Either he or Phoenix speaks the following:
Nonius: ‘Cupienter,’ with much cupidity.... Ennius in Phoenix —
Phoenix? Amyntor? A fool is he who lusts with lustful mind, Lusting lustingly. 307
Amyntor curses Phoenix:
Cicero: And so the same poet, who had somewhat unusually contracted words,... does not say ‘liberum’... but as your purists would like it ‘liberorum’ —
Amyntor
And may you never lift up to my bosom any offspring of children gotten of you.
308–11
Phoenix makes a stand against Amyntor:
Gellius (on the word ‘obnoxius’): Well now, tell me, in what way can your argument be squared with what no less a person than Quintus Ennius writes in Phoenix, in the following lines? —
Phoenix But it behoves a man to live a life Inspired with virtue true, to stand steadfast With guiltless bravery in the face of foes. The man who bears himself both pure and staunch — That is true liberty. All conduct else Lies lurking in dim darkness, fraught with guilt. 312–13
Amyntor jeers at the ready speech of Phoenix?:
Nonius: ‘Argutari’ is an expression used in the sense of to declaim very glibly... —
Amyntor
Then trust yourself to yonder fellow, and give your tongue training, that you may be able to trick by your prating.
314
Phoenix was tempted to kill his father, but some god held him back lest he should be called a parricide by the Achaeans:
Nonius: ‘Faxim,’ the same as ‘fecerim’... —
Phoenix More wretched would I be should I perform What I would come to call a villainy. 315
Nonius: ‘Saeviter’ for ‘saeve’... —
It is the part of shallow-wits to bear A false mistrust with passion.
316
Phoenix desired to leave his father’s house but was kept back forcibly by his friends and kinsmen; a friend speaks?:
Nonius: ‘Duriter’ for ‘dure’... —
How hard were the words of his mouth which he mouthed unto you!
317
Nonius: ‘Futtile,’ the same as ‘futtiliter’... —
So that, my friends, you may now bravely bear What has been vainly done.
318
Phoenix escaped and fled to Peleus in Phthia:
Nonius: ‘Derepente’... —
Messenger?
Then and there he suddenly looked down from a height onto the high sea.
Telamon
The original of this play is unknown; nor has any probable theory been put forward (R., 133 ff.; V., CCIX; Hermann, Οpuse, VII, 378 ff.).
319–22
Telamon in Salamis bears bravely the loss of Ajax:
Cicero: All disasters which are sudden seem to come the heavier. Hence it is that the following lines are rightly praised —
Telamon When children I begat, I knew that they Must die, and for that end I took them up; Moreover, when I sent them out to Troy That they might Greece defend, I did but know That I was sending them not to a banquet But to death-dealing war. 323
Grief of Eriboea for her son Ajax:
Nonius: ‘Squalam’ is used by Ennius in Telamon for ‘squalidam’ —
Telamon? Stretched on the ground She bathed with tears her dingy dress of mourning. 324
Telamon to his bastard son Teucer (by Hesione):
Npnius: ‘Audibo’ for ‘audiam.’... —
Telamon By age-long custom will I hear in turn, Lending to you my ears to use. 325–6
Teucer having told his story protests his innocence in the matter of Ajax’s death:
Nonius: ‘Claret,’ ’is clear’... —
Teucer As this bright light Shines on me, as stands sure regard for me In Telamon my father, in Aeacus, In Jupiter my great-grandfather, 327
Telamon accuses Teucer:
Festus: ‘Obsidio’ should be used rather than ‘obsidium’... —
Telamon You knew that Ajax, of whom you, yes you, The assailant stand, was in true we
dlock born. 328–9
Teucer seems to have told how the seer Calchas represented Ajax’s death as divine justice. Telamon in reply:
Cicero: If there are gods, then they are kindly towards mortal men. Who will grant you this?... Can our Ennius do it? But he, with great applause from the crowd who thinks alike with him, speaks thus —
Telamon For my part I have always said, will say, There is a race of gods in heaven; and yet They take no thought, it seems, how fares mankind;
And indeed he goes on to give the reason why he thinks so.
330
Cicero: Telamo sums up in one line the whole topic why the gods trouble not about mankind —
for if they did care, it would go well with well-doers, and ill with ill-doers; but this, as things are, is not to be seen.
331
Cicero: And even before these Amphiaraus and Tiresias, men not lowly or obscure or like those, we find in a passage of Ennius —
Who for the sake of their own gain call up Thoughts that are false,
but illustrious and outstanding.
332–6
Cicero: I care not a fig for your Marsian diviner, nor your village-trotting gut-gazers, nor your star-readers from the circus, nor your guessers of Isis, nor your interpreters of dreams. For it is not by knowledge or skill that they are prophetic, but they are —
soothsaying prophets, shameless gut-gazers, clumsy or crazy, or obedient to the behests of want; men who know not their own path yet point the way for another, and seek a shilling from the very persons to whom they promise riches. From these riches let them take out a shilling for themselves, and hand over the rest.
All these are words, if you please, of Ennius, who a few lines before believes that there are gods, but thinks that they take no thought how fares mankind.
337
Teucer is troubled about his father’s suspicions:
Nonius: ‘Partiret’ for ‘partiretur’... —
Teucer My father in that very same misgiving Has made me share — that I’m a miscreant. 338
Teucer, banished, will not retaliate:
Nonius: ‘Porcet’ means prevents... —
Teucer
My loyalty towards the gods ordains that I do this, respect for my townsmen hinders me from it.
Telephus
From Euripides’ Τήλεφος. Reconstruction must be largely guesswork. Telephus, heir of Teuthras’ realm in Mysia, wounded in battle by Achilles, was told by Apollo that only the thing which had wounded him could cure him. Hearing that Achilles was in Argos, where Agamemnon held sway, Telephus went thither.
339
Telephus in Argos tells why he has left his native land:
Nonius: ‘Stola’ is a term used by the old writers not only for a respectable garment but also any garment which covers the body. Ennius in Telephus —
Telephus Slaughter avoid I by this garb, wrapped up In a mean shabby coat. 340
Telephus addresses the Greek leaders at Argos, keeping up his part of a low-born fugitive:
Festus: ‘Muttire,’ to speak... —
Telephus It is a sin for commoner to mutter A word in open gathering. 341
Telephus reveals himself to Clytaemnestra?:
Nonius: ‘Stola’... the same poet in the same play —
Telephus
Wrapped up in beggar’s coat I left my kingdom.
342
Agamemnon to Telephus as he seizes the babe Orestes?:
Nonius: ‘Mactare’ means to afflict with evil... —
Agamemnon Well, may the gods and goddesses doom him To dire damnation! 343
Dissension caused by Telephus’ boldness?:
Nonius: A ‘town’ consists of buildings, a ‘state’ consists of inhabitants... —
And I see he sets the Argives’ town ablaze.
344
Agamemnon (?) tells Telephus that he understands that T. had come by divine will to be a guide against Troy:
Nonius: ‘Itiner’ for iter... —
I think too,’twas by counsel of the gods That you did lately venture on this journey.
345–6
Telephus demands that Agamemnon shall assure him safety; Clytaemnestra must hear his assurance:
Nonius: ‘Advorsum’ also means ‘in the presence of’... —
Yourself must in her presence thus avow, I pray you, and affirm this.
347–8
Chorus in a commentary on the course of events?:
Nonius: ‘Enoda’ means explain... —
But those whose children have been given up to death do not willingly hear such riddles unknotted.
Thyestes
What models Ennius used for his Thyestes (his last play — Cic., Brut., 20, 78) we do not know; and the stories about Thyestes were various. There are traces of a Euripidean origin. My reconstruction is based on the belief that the play had two scenes — one at the court of Atreus, the other at the court of Thesprotus; it appears that Ennius made a greater impression with the second part of his play. Hyginus, Fab., 88, provides us with a sketch of the action.
Atreus, King of Mycenae, wishing to take vengeance on his brother Thyestes, pretended to be reconciled to him and welcomed him at his court.
349
Prologue Ρ Evil plans of Atreus:
Nonius: ‘Putare,’ to debate in the mind.... Ennius in Thyestes —
Thereon he muses, ponders, and considers In his own mind what he should do.
350
Atreus forms his plan?:
Nonius: ‘Cernere,’ to judge... —
May I with ease cause him to adjudge the vital prize to my liking.
351
When Atreus served Thyestes his own sons at a feast, the very sun turned aside his chariot:
Probus, on the four elements: Their chief expounder was Empedocles of Acragas, who writes about them thus: ‘Firstly, four roots there are of all things; White Zeus, etc’ So we may take ‘White Zeus’ as fire which is ζέων and glowing white, a peculiar property of fire, of which Euripides says: See you this ether on high, boundless, embracing earth in pliant arms? This you shall believe is Zeus: this shall you think is a god.’ And Ennius —
Look you on this that glows white aloft: all men call on it as ‘Iupiter.’
352
Thyestes bewails his fate:
Nonius: ‘Contingere,’ to turn out... —
Thyestes How utterly has ruin befallen me Here on this day. 353
and plans to consult Apollo about vengeance on Atreus:
Nonius: ‘Delectare,’ to entice, attract... —
and Apollo himself of Delphi charms and draws me on.
354
Thyestes fled to Thesprotus King of Epirus. One of the Epirotes (chorus-leader?) hears the approach of Thyestes?:
Nonius: ‘Crepare,’ to beat... —
But beats upon my ears a patter of footsteps.
355
He addresses Thyestes:
Cicero: There are some examples like this even in works of our own poets; take the speaker in Thyestes —
Chorus And who pray shall I say you are, who thus With aged lagging steps...
and the words which follow. Except where a flute-player accompanies them, they are much like prose.
356–60
Thyestes tells who he is; he warns them not to touch him:
Cicero: Well now, let us thrust distress away if we can... for it is a loathsome, wretched thing...to be avoided. What think you of the well-known hero? —
Thyestes I, sprung from Tantalus, begotten of Pelops, Who having once gained Hippodamea, A ravished wife from King Oenomaus, The father of my bride,
Well, he was a great-grandson of Jupiter! And then was he so downcast, so broken? Says he —
Strangers, draw you not near to me! Back there, back! Lest a tainted touch from me, lest my very shadow harm you that are sound. Oh, such a deadly violence of sin clings to my body!
What, will you, Thyestes, utter your own doom,
and rob yourself of the light of day, because of the ‘violence’ of another’s sin?
361
Cicero: I do not want a word which is figurative to have a narrower meaning than the literal and proper word would have had —
Chorus
Why then is it, I pray you, that you nod men back from approaching you?
‘Do you forbid’ or ‘debar’ or ‘scare away’ would be better, since the other speaker had said just before: ‘Back there....’ (line 358)
362
Thyestes goes on to tell of his misfortunes:
Nonius: ‘Conglomerare,’ to roll upon, to add over and above... —
Thyestes Alas, my fortune, how dost thou roll all And every ill upon me! 363–5
Cicero: We must inquire, therefore, in what way we are to free from distress him who thus speaks —
And now i’ faith my fortune more than birth Fails me; that you may know from what great pride Of place, what wealth, what worldly goods my fortune Has slipped and fallen — I once did have a kingdom.
Well? Must we tip him a cup of mead to make him stop wailing, or something of that kind?
366–70
Thyestes curses Atreus:
Cicero: In a play of Ennius Thyestes utters curses in lines admittedly magnificent; first comes —
May Atreus perish by shipwreck!
Collected Fragments of Ennius Page 12
