hello chaps, having trouble with a few lines:
3.354/355: aulai medio libabant pocula Bacchi
impositis auro dapibus, paterasque tenebant.
here’s what I’ve got: “they were pouring out cups of wine in libation in the middle of the courtyard…” then i get confused.
“after the feasts had been laid in gold, and they were holding their dishes”??
3.363: et cuncti suaserunt numine divi Italiam petere…
“and all the gods urged me (in their divinity??) to seek Italy…”
I’d say “impositis auro dapibus” is just descriptive of the feasts.
Numen primarily means will or divine will.
Pharr suggests that “impositis… dapibus” is an abl. abs. with “auro” used for “gold plates.” Sounds good to me.
On impositis dapibus I agree (if I may presume to do so) with Pharr. I think the lines are puzzling because it’s hard to see the connections between what is said. I’d say that was because they’re not there: V. picks up individual details to suggest an overall scene of activity: “In the middle of the courtyard they kept pouring libations to Bacchus, with the feast set out on golden plates, all holding their cups”.
On numine Servius’s commentary (according to Perseus) suggests it means, in this case oracles. That makes sense to me if one construes numine as something like “with supernatural power” for “manifestations of supernatural power”. So something like: “and all the Gods were pressing me, by displays of supernatural power, to make for Italy”.
ok i’ve got it now. i had got it into my brain that auro was an adj for some reason.
thanks guys.