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Taking down the volume, he opened it at the beginning of the first book, and began reading aloud, dividing the lines into feet: "Arma virumque cano, Trojae qui primus ab oris Italiam, fato profugus, Laviniaque venit. "Wouldn't want to say how long it's been since I last set eyes on that.
But that he could not alter those decrees the king of gods himself confesses in the book above cited, when he comforts Hercules for the death of Pallas, who had invoked his aid before he threw his lance at Turnus: "Trojae sub maenibus altis Tot nati cecidere deum; quin occidit una Sarpedon, mea progenies; etiam sua Turnum Fata vocant, metasque dati pervenit ad aevi."
Here, among the numerous writings of the Fathers, are Tully and Seneca, Averroes and Avicenna, Bellum Trojae cum secretis secretorum, Apuleius, Aulus Gellius, Livy, Boccaccio, Petrarch. Here, with Ovid's verses, is the Commentary on Dante, and his Divine Comedy. Here, rarest of all, is a Greek Dictionary, the silent father of Liddel's and Scott's to be.
Professor Singer instances the case of Dares in the De exidio Trojae, and Bishop Pilgrim of Passau in the lost Nibelungias of his secretary Konrad, as illustrations of the theory.
This is evidently of Roman descent, and cannot fail of bringing to our recollection the "Ludus Trojae," which is supposed to be the invention, as it was the exercise, of Ascanius. The common people in that age of masculine manners made every kind of amusement, where strength was exerted, the subject of instruction and improvement.
Horrentia Martis arma is worse than any of the rest. Horrentia is such a flat epithet as Tully would have given us in his verses. It is a mere filler to stop a vacancy in the hexameter, and connect the preface to the work of Virgil. Our author seems to sound a charge, and begins like the clangour of a trumpet: "Arma, virumque cano, Trojae qui primus ab oris,"
A wild scramble was heard in Jack's room, and a steady tramp in the other as Frank worked away at the stiff collar and the unaccommodating button till every finger ached. A clashing of boots followed, while Jack whistled "Polly Hopkins," and Frank declaimed in his deepest voice, "Arma virumque cano, Trojae qui primus ab oris Italiam, fato profugus, Laviniaque venit litora."
I'm but a rough sort of fellow, but Frank shall take his place as a gentleman. Aha, Miss Maggie! and where's my gingerbread? There you go, creeping up to Mrs. Buxton on a Wednesday, and have never taught Cook how to make gingerbread yet. Well, Ned! and how are the classics going on? Fine fellow, that Virgil! Let me see, how does it begin? 'Arma, virumque cano, Trojae qui primus ab oris.
I insist upon this point because it often happens among the Latins that an aspirate changes the significance of a word; thus hora means a division of the day, ora which is the plural of os, the mouth, and ora meaning region, as in the phrase Trojae qui primus ab oris. It is consequently necessary to heed the accents and not neglect the aspirate in speaking the language of these simple people.
A thorough knowledge of the fact that it is very injurious to eat when there is bodily or mental discomfort is worth ten thousand times as much to a child as the ability to extract cube root or glibly recite, "Arma virumque cano Trojae," etc.
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