[792] This line has been generally misunderstood, from a notion that ‘vetustas’ could mean posterity. No instance, however, has been adduced where it bears this sense: in Cic. Mil. 35, “de me, inquit, nulla umquam obmutescet vetustas,” the meaning is that distance of time shall never cause Milo not to be spoken of: antiquity shall never make him obsolete: in Prop. 4. 1. 23, “omnia post obitum fingit maiora vetustas,” the meaning is that the antiquity of a thing makes it appear greater. Similarly ‘fidem latura’ has been understood as i. q. “fidem habitura,” when it should rather = “fidem allatura,” or “factura.” The words can only signify ‘if any degree of antiquity shall be able to impart credibility to so great a deed:’ i. e. if a deed, which if reported of modern times would be justly disbelieved, should be thought credible because it is sufficiently ancient. Virg. means to say that the deed was only possible in antiquity, and could not have been performed in modern times. This need not be a mere sentimental enthusiasm for the past, as the poet may naturally have thought of what he had himself lived through in the days of the second Triumvirate. Thus we need not discuss the admissibility of taking ‘tanto operi’ of Virg.'s own work, which cannot be reconciled with the rest of the line as properly understood. Serv.'s note seems to show that some doubt about the sense of the words was entertained in his time: but his words are not clear.
This text is part of:
John Conington. P. Vergili Maronis opera. P. Vergili Maronis Opera. The works of. Virgil. , with a Commentary by John Conington, M.A. and Henry Nettleship, M.A. London. Whittaker and Co., Ave Maria Lane;. George Bell and Sons, York Street, Covent Garden. 1876.
The National Endowment for the Humanities provided support for entering this text.
This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.
An XML version of this text is available for download, with the additional restriction that you offer Perseus any modifications you make. Perseus provides credit for all accepted changes, storing new additions in a versioning system.