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The Fasti, Tristia, Pontic Epistles, Ibis, and Halieuticon
The Fasti Tristia Pontic Epistles Ibis and Halieuticon Author:Ovid Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: ' Lupercai,' or what reason marks the day with a similar name. The Vestal Ilia'5 had given birth to her heavenly progeny, while her uncle held the sovereign sway... more ». He orders the children to be .taken away and to be drowned in the river. What art thou doing; ? one or other of these will be Romulus hereafter. His servants with reluctance perform his cruel commands : they weep and bear the twins to the commanded place. Albula,'6 that stream, whose name, Tiberinus drowned in its waters, changed into that of Tiber, by chance was swollen by the floods of winter. Here, where the market-places" now are, you might see boats wandering about; where, too, thy valley now lies, O Circus .Maximus.78 When they had come hither, and could advance no further, first one and then the other of them says, " And see how like they are! and how lovely is each ! yet of the two that one has more life in him. If origin is to be indicated by looks, if the likeness deceives me not, I suspect some God (whom, I know not) to be your father. 75 The vestal Ilia.—Ver. 383. Ilia, or Rhea Silvia, whose story is told more at length in the next book, was the daughter of Numitor, king of Alba Longa. In order that she might not, by becoming a mother, endanger the sovereignty of Amulius, her uncle, who had usurped the throne and banished his brother, he devoted her to the service of Vesta, and, in consequence, to perpetual chastity. Mars having become enamoured of her, she conceived twins by him, whose history is here told, and is repeated in the next book. She was buried alive; the punishment invariably inflicted on Vestal virgins when convicted of a violation of their vow of chastity. 6 Albula.]—Ver. 389. This was anciently the name of the Tiber. Albus' is the Latin for 'white,' and the river was so called from the w...« less