Violentilla is
unknown except for her marriage to Stella. She was a widow who was long pursued
in marriage by Stella. Her name, a diminutive of viola,
-ae f., means “little violet.” In the poems Stella
addressed to his beloved he played on her name by calling her
Ianthis (in Greek, a violet-colored flower) and
Asteris, the genitive form of aster, the
Greek name of a flower (the aster) but more importantly the word for
star, his own name in Latin, Stella.
L. Arruntius Stella held
curule office and was a member of the prestigious College of Fifteen
(Quindecimviri) that had custody of the Sibylline Books and
may also have supervised foreign cults in Rome. Following his marriage, he was
consul suffectus (one who is appointed to fill a vacancy in
the position for the rest of the term) in 101/102 CE. He published several
amatory elegies in honor of the woman he sought as his wife. He was also a
friend and patron of the poet Martial, who mentions Stella in nineteen of his
epigrams.
refero, -ferre, -tuli, -latum
here, answer, reply. The subject is illa,
Venus.
vultus,
-us m.
look; expression; ablative of
description.
aspernor, aspernari,
aspernatus sum
reject, spurn, scorn;
rogari is a complementary infinitive with aspernata
illa .
grande…rarum: predicate adjectives modifying
votum
viris:
dative of reference with
rarum.
probo
(1)
approve, esteem; give approval to. Venus explains that she
rarely grants this prayer to mortals.
Pierius, -a, -um
Pierian; poetic. This is an
oblique reference to Stella’s amatory poetry, as Pierus was the father of
the Muses.
votum, -i n.
prayer; request
hanc:
Violentilla. This pronoun is the direct object
of excepi and fovi (3 lines below) and is
modified by cadentem.
miror (1 deponent)
wonder at, admire; the
subject is Venus; the direct object is egregium decus.
forma, -ae f.
form,
appearance; beauty
egregius, -a, -um
uncommon; excellent,
extraordinary
decus,
-oris n.
honor, glory; grace.
cui:
antecedent is decus.
pater, -tris m.
father;
in pl., ancestors
genus, -eris n.
birth, descent; stock,
family
certo (1)
contend, struggle; vie
honos, -oris m.
honor, distinction
tellus, -uris f.
earth; in poetry, the ablative of location may occur without a
preposition.
cado, -ere,
cecidi, casum
fall, fall down. Roman women used a
birthing chair, so that at birth, the baby
“dropped” from their body.
excipio, -ere, -cepi, -ceptum
receive;
pick up
foveo,
-ere, fovi, fotum
cherish; nurse
sinus, -us m.
a bending, fold; lap,
bosom, heart
collum, -i
n.
neck; poetic plural.
gena, -ae f.
cheek; in plural, face.
como, -ere , compsi, comptum
put together; make tidy; comb, arrange, adorn
pinguis, -e
fat,
thick
crinis, -is m.
hair
deduco,
-ere, -duxi, -ductum
lead or bring down; comb down
amomum, -i n.
an
eastern shrub (which produced balsam, an aromatic, resinous substance used
to make perfume); balsam, perfume.
cesso (1)
give over, leave off; cease
(from doing something)
natus, -i m.
son; here, Cupid.
mihi:
dative of
reference.
dulcis, -is, -e
sweet; pleasant
imago, -inis f.
image; likeness
prosilio, -ire, -ui
leap
up; grow up. This verb is used of flowers and plants and is an
appropriate verb to use in reference to Violentilla, “little violet.”
celsus, -a, -um
high, lofty; tall
procul adv.
far off; yonder
aspicio, -ere, -spexi, -spectum
look at; gaze at or upon
frons, frontis f.
forehead, brow
suggestum, -i n.
elevation,
height; with comae, lofty hairdo (see the image
of the Flavian hairstyle).
Latius, -a, -um
of Latium; of Rome
(as Rome was located in Latium)
metior, metiri, mensus sum
measure;
estimate, judge
quid
ultra:
how far beyond; how much farther
emineo, -ere, -minui
stand out; be conspicuous or remarkable; subjunctive in indirect
question.
mater, -tris f.
mother; in plural, matrons, married women
quantum:
as much as,
correlative with quid ultra.
Latonius, -a, -um
of Latona, Latonian; the
goddess Diana, daughter of Latona.
nympha, -ae f. nymph.
Nymphs were minor goddesses of
great beauty who inhabited woods, mountains, streams, and rivers.
virgo, -inis f.
maiden. The Latonian maiden = the goddess Diana.
premo, -ere, pressi, pressum
usually
press; pursue closely; here, surpass, overcome.
-met emphatic enclitic:
–self
Nereis,
-idis f.
Nereid, a daughter of the sea-god, Nereus; sea nymph
exsto (1), -stiti
stand out; surpass
haec:
Violentilla
caeruleus, -a, -um
deep blue
consurgo, -ere, -surrexi, -surrectum
rise up together
consido, -ere, -sedi, -sessum
sit
together
concha, -ae f.
sea-shell; concha is an ablative of location
(poetic omission of the preposition). Venus is often depicted on a sea-shell, a
reference to her birth from the sea-foam.
si…licuisset…erraretis:
a contrary to fact
condition: the pluperfect subjunctive refers to past time, the imperfect
subjunctive to present time.
flammiger, -gera, gerum
flame-bearing, flaming,
aflame
scando, -ere,
scani, scansum
ascend, climb
sedis, -is f.
seat; dwelling. The stars
were the flaming abode of the gods.
erro (1)
wander, wander astray; make a
mistake
Amores, -um
m.pl.
the Loves, little winged boys that are represented as
accompanying Venus. Note the person of the verb: Venus here directly addresses
the Amores.
huic:
Violentilla
quamvis
conjunction although; introduces a concessive subjunctive.
census, -us m.
assessment
of property; property, wealth
largior, largiri
give abundantly, lavish
upon
beatus, -a, -um
blessed, happy; prosperous, wealthy;
abundant
vincit:
the subject is Violentilla.
opes, -um f. pl.
resources, means;
wealth
animus, -i
m.
mind, thought; spirit; heart. Venus ends
her praise of Violentilla by saying that the outer loveliness with which she
gifted the woman is surpassed by her inner beauty.
dabitur:
the
subject is Violentilla, Stella’s votum.
cupio, -ere, -ivi, -itum + dative
(cui) = wish well; note the play on Cupid’s
name.
potestas:
Venus
so addresses him because it is the power of his aim and weapons that causes
mortals and humans to fall in love.
thalamus, -i m.
wedding chamber,
chamber holding the wedding bed; marriage
quamvis conj.
although; introduces
a concessive subjunctive.
iugum, -in.
bond; yoke;
joining (the root of the word for marriage:
con-iug-ium)
secundus, -a, -um
second
maereo, -ere,
grieve,
sorrow (perhaps over the death of her former husband).
sentio, -ire, sensi, sensum
perceive,
sense; see
cedo, -ere, cessi, cessum
yield, give way to
in vicem:
in
turn
tepeo, -ere
be in love; be warm.
heia: interjection
expressing several emotions such as surprise, urgency (as here), or concession.
heia age to it! to work!, come on!
praeclarus, -a, -um
famous; distinguished; splendid; glorious.
Latio:
dative of possession
or reference
propero (1)
hasten, hurry along; note the plural imperative, addressed to
the bride and groom.
nepos,
nepotis m
grandson, descendent.
castra, -orum n. pl.
army camp;
hence, army; understand et between
leges and castra.
rego, -ere, rexi, rectum
guide,
direct; govern, administer; regant and ludant are
subjunctives in a relative clause of purpose.
carmen, -inis n.
song; poetry. Statius
anticipates that the couple’s sons will engage in political, military and
literary pursuits, like their father. There is no evidence that the couple had
children.
accelero (1)
hasten; subjunctive following precor, with Cynthia as the
subject.
partus, -us m.
childbirth, birth; ablative of means.
decimum:
The Romans calculated pregnancy as lasting
ten months (see “Midwives and Maternity”).
Cynthia, -ae f.
another name for the
goddess Diana, derived from her birthplace on Mount Cynthos on the island of
Delos. The virgin goddess of the hunt kept maternal attributes of the ancient
Mother Goddess involving the production and protection of the young, animal and
human.
parco, -ere,
peperci, parsum + dative
spare; refrain from;
parcat is subjunctive after precor.
Lucina, -ae f.
Lucina, the
goddess of childbirth, Roman counterpart to the Greek goddess Eileithyia.
Literally she was the goddess of light (lux) and her name is
often found as an epithet for Juno and Diana.
precor, precari, precatus sum
beg,
pray
tu ipse puer:
the baby boy. Note the prayer that Violentilla bear sons.
ne introduces a negative jussive
subjunctive (laedas)
mollis, -e
tender, soft
uterus, -i m.
uterus,
womb
stantia with
pectora (neuter pl. breasts): standing out
(swollen with milk), a reference to suckling.
laedo, -ere, laesi, laesum
harm, hurt
cum conjunction
while;
introduces a circumstantial clause in the subjunctive.
formarit =
formaverit
recessus, -us m.
recess, here, the
womb
formo, (1)
mold, shape
vultus, -us m.
face; pl.
features
multum
neuter singular used as a substantive, much, partitive genitive
with decoris.
plus:
neuter singular used as a substantive,
more, partitive genitive (understand decoris).
feras:
jussive
subjunctive; the subject remains tu puer.
tu:
Violentilla
Italis, -idis f.
woman of
Italy
tandem
adverb finally, at last
meritus, -a, -um
deserving, worthy
maritus, -i m.
husband; marito is the ablative of agent (the preposition
may be omitted in poetry); notice the wordplay in which two similar-sounding
references to the groom enclose possessa, the bride.
possideo, -ere, -sedi, -sessum
have, possess
vinclum, -i n.
bond
quaero, -ere, quaesivi, quaesitum
seek for, look for; modifies vincla.
foveo, -ere, fovi, fotum
cherish; nurse
damnum, -i n.
harm, injury. Understand
sint (optative subjunctive)
viridis, -e
green; fresh;
verdant; modifies iuventae.
flos, floris m.
flower,
blossom; ablative of description.
iuventa, -ae f.
youth, period of youth;
modified by viridis.
perduro (1)
last, last long, endure;
optative subjunctive.
tarde adverb
slowly; it balances
longe in the line above.
senesco, -ere, senui
grow old; optative
subjunctive
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