Noctes Atticae

A defence of some lines of Virgil, in which the grammarian Julius Hyginus alleged that there was a mistake; and also the meaning of lituus; and on the etymology of that word.

1. HERE, wielding his Quirinal augur-staff,
2. Girt with scant shift and bearing on his left
3. The sacred shield, Picus appeared enthroned.

In these verses [*](Aen. vii. 187.) Hyginus wrote [*](Frag. 5, Fun.) that Virgil was in error, alleging that he did not notice that the words ipse Quirinali lituo lacked something.

For,

said he,

if we have not observed that something is lacking, the sentence seems to read ' girt with staff and scant shift,' which,

says he,

is utterly absurd; for since the lituus is a short wand, curved at its thicker end, such as the augurs use, how on earth can one be looked upon as ' girt with a lituus? '

As a matter of fact, it was Hyginus himself who failed to notice that this expression, like very many others, contains an ellipsis. For example, when we say

Marcus Cicero, a man of great eloquence

and

Quintus Roscius, an actor of consummate grace,

neither of these phrases is full and complete, but to the hearer they seem full and complete. As Vergil wrote in another place: [*](Aen. v. 372.)

1. Victorious Butes of huge bulk,

that is, having huge bulk, and also in another passage: [*](Aen. v. 401.) Into the ring he hurled gauntlets of giant weight, and similarly: [*](Aen. iii. 618.)

1. A house of gore and cruel feasts, dark, huge within,

so then it would seem that the phrase in question ought to be interpreted as

Picus was with the Quirinal staff,

just as we say

the statue was with a large head,

and in fact est, erat and fuit are often omitted, with elegant effect and without any loss of meaning. [*](This explanation of Quirinali lituo as an ablative of quality is of course wrong; we simply have zeugma in subcinctus, equipped with and girt with.)

And since mention has been made of the lituus, I must not pass over a question which obviously may be asked, whether the augurs' lituus is called after the trumpet of the same name, or whether the

trumpet derived its name lituus from the augurs' staff; for both have the same form and both alike are curved. [*](The trumpet called lituits was slightly curved at the end, differing from the tuba, which was straight, and the spiral cornn. The augur's staff was like a crook with a short handle.) But if, as some think, the trumpet was called lituus from its sound, because of the Homeric expression li/gce bio/s, [*](Iliad iv. 125.)

1. The bow twanged,

it must be concluded that the augural staff was called litmus from its resemblance to the trumpet. And Virgil uses that word also as synonymous with tuba: [*](Aen. vi. 167.)

1. He even faced the fray
2. Conspicuous both with clarion (lituo) and with spear.