Collected Fragments of Ennius

by Quintus Ennius

  8–9

  Varro: Epicharmus says of the human soul —

  This is fire got from the sun

  and the same writer states about the sun —

  and all this consists of soul.

  10–14

  Air:

  Varro: These tame deities, Sky and Earth, are the same as Jupiter and Juno, for, according to the words of Ennius —

  That is this Jupiter of whom I speak, whom the Greeks call Aer; who is wind and clouds, and afterwards moisture; out of wetness he becomes cold, and after that wind, and air once again. That is why Jupiter is the name for all I have spoken of, since he rejuvenates all men and cities and beasts.

  Euhemerus or Sacred History

  It is certain that Ennius translated or put together in a Latin form, probably in several books, the Sacred Chronicle of Euhemerus (a man of uncertain birthplace, but born c. 340 BC), by whom the old myths were given a rational explanation in a philosophic romance; herein the gods were explained as men of old who were heroes and conquerors. The two following quotations give information in addition to that provided by Lactantius in passages given below. Cicero, de Nat. Deor., I, 42, 119: ‘Well, those who teach that brave or famous or powerful men have after death attained the estate of gods; and that these are the very beings whom we are wont to worship and pray to and adore — are they not strangers to all and every religious scruple? The man who went farthest in this line of thought was Euhemerus, of whom our Ennius was, beyond all others, a translator and follower; and in Euhemerus’ scheme even deaths and burials of gods are set forth.’ Lactantius, Div. Inst., I, 11, 33: ‘The ancient author Euhemerus, whose birthplace was the state of Messene, collected the acts of Jupiter and of the rest of those who are thought to be gods, and wove a History out of the contents of the labels and holy inscriptions which were to be found in the most archaic temples and above all in the shrine of the Triphylian Jupiter, where the label on a golden pillar showed that it was put up by Jupiter himself; on the pillar he wrote out an account of all his acts, so that it might be a monument to after-time of his achievements. This History Ennius both translated and followed.’

  H. Krug, ‘Zum Text v. Ennius’ Euhemerus,’ Forschungen und Fortshritte, 24, 1948, 57; E. Laughton, ‘The Prose of Ennius,’ Eranos, xlix, 35 ff.; E. Fraenkel, Eranos, xlix, 50 ff.

  All the fragments of Ennius’ version (with one exception) are given in prose by Lactantius and it is certain that this work of Ennius was known to Lactantius in a prose version only. It has been believed, therefore, that Ennius likewise wrote his version in prose. But it has been pointed out (V., CCXXII ff.) that Lactantius’ quotations contain fragments if not whole lines of septenarian rhythm, while hardly a single phrase occurs which could be part of a hexameter. Thus, although any attempted reconstruction of any of Ennius’ verse-contexts would be an idle task, and although one can trace a good many iambic and trochaic rhythms in any Latin prose just as one can blank verse lines in English prose, still it is worth while giving such remains of rhythms as we can dimly see, without maintaining in any instance that the words stand exactly as Ennius wrote them. I have noted the following, which are numbered according to the lines of the full Latin text (given on p ff.) from which these are quoted:

  1Primus in terris imperium summum Caelus 2 id regnum una cum fratribus suis 12 uti de regno ne concedat fratri 13qui facie deterior esset quam Saturnus 21 Tum Saturno filius qui primus natus est, eum necaverunt 22Deinde posterius nati sunt gemini, Iuppiter... 26dantque eum Vestae educandum, celantes 31 Pluto Latine est Dis pater, alii Orcum vocant 32filiam Glaucam Saturno ostendunt 33filium Plutonem celant atque abscondunt. 34Deinde Glauca parva emoritur. Haec ut scripta sunt Iovis... 39Deinde Titan postquam rescivit Saturno filios 40procreatos (atque) educatos esse clam se 41 ducit secum filios suos 44eosque muro circumegit et custodiam his apponit 51 parentes vinculis exemisse, patri regnum reddidisse

  Post haec deinde Saturno sortem datam ut caveret. 59cum iactatus esset (per) omnes terras persequentibus armatis quos (ad eum) conprehendendum vel necandum Iuppiter miserat 62 vix in Italia locum. 64consedisse illi aquilam in capite 66Deinde Pan eum deducit in montem qui vocatur Caeli Stela 68 ascendit contemplatus est late terras. 74caelo nomen indidit idque Iuppiter quod aether 78 Iuppiter Neptuno imperium dat maris 79quae secundum mare loca essent omnibus 81(ea tempestate Iuppiter) in monte Olympo maximam 83 veniebant si quae res in controversia 89 humanam carnem solitos esitare 91 edicto prohibuisse ne liceret 93Nam cum terras circumiret 94reges principesve ‒ populorum hospitio sibi 111 simile quiddam in Sicilia fecit Aeneas cum conditae urbi Acestae hospitis 114 inposuit ut eam post modum laetus ac libens Acestes 118 exemplum ceteris ad imitandum dedit. 120 omnibusque amicis atque cognatis suis 123 fecit, inmortali gloria memoriaque adfectus sempiterna monumenta 128 curaverunt... decoraveruntque eum 131 eius est inscriptum antiquis litteris Graecis ΖΑΝ ΚΡΟΝΟΥ ‒ – id est Latine Iuppiter Saturni The rule of Caelus or Sky:

  Lactantius: Ennius indeed in Euhemerus states that the first to hold rule was not Saturn but Uranus his father. He says —

  In the beginning Sky held highest authority in the world; he together with his brothers established and formed this kingship for himself.

  The death of Sky:

  In The Holy History... Ennius... relates... to whom therefore can Jupiter have sacrificed if not to Sky his grandfather? —

  who, according to Euhemerus, died in Oceania and was buried in the town Aulacia.

  Birth of Jupiter, Juno, Neptune, and Pluto; vengeance of Titan. Triumph of Jupiter and flight of Saturn to Italy:

  And now since The Holy History disagrees somewhat with what I have related, allow me to disclose the contents of true records, lest in calling to task religious superstitions I seem to follow and approve of the foolish sayings of the poets. Ennius’ words are these —

  After that Saturn took Ops to wife. Titan who was the elder in years asked that he might be king. Thereupon Vesta their mother and Ceres and Ops their sisters advised Saturn not to yield to his brother in the matter of the kingship. Thereupon Titan, because he was less handsome than Saturn and saw that the efforts of his mother and sisters were made in order that Saturn might be king, yielded to him the right to be king. Therefore he made an agreement with Saturn that if any free-born child of the male sex should be born to him, he should not bring it up. This he did in order that the kingship might return to his own sons. Next they slew the first son born to Saturn. And then later on there were born twins, Jupiter and Juno. Then they allowed Saturn to see Juno, but secretly smuggled Jupiter away, and hiding him from Saturn gave him to Vesta to be brought up. Next Ops bore a son to Saturn, Neptune, unknown to him, and smuggled him away secretly. In the same way Ops in a third delivery gave birth to twins, Pluto and Glauca. (The Latin counterpart of Pluto is Dis Pater, though some call him Orcus.) Thereupon they presented the daughter Glauca to Saturn, but hid the son Pluto, and smuggled him away. Then Glauca died while still a little girl. Such according to the records are the stock and kin of Jupiter and his brothers; this is the manner of it as handed down to us out of the holy writings.

  Again, a little farther on the History offers the following —

  And then Titan, after he had learnt that sons had been born to Saturn, and had been brought up without his knowledge, took away with him his own sons who are called Titans, seized his brother Saturn and also Ops, put them behind prison-walls, and kept them under guard.

  ... The thread of what remains in the History on this point is as follows, that —

  When Jupiter was grown up he heard that his father and mother were beset by guards and cast into bonds, and came with a great host of Cretans and defeated Titan and his sons in battle, freed his parents from their bonds, gave back the kingship to his father, and so went back to Crete. And then after this an oracle was given to Saturn, saying that he must beware lest a son of his thrust him out of his kingship; in order to thwart the oracle, and avoid the danger, he ambushed Jupiter to slay him; Jupiter
having found out the ambush, claimed afresh the kingdom for himself, and made Saturn a fugitive. He, driven all over the world by armed pursuers, whom Jupiter had sent to seize or slay him, almost failed to find in Italy a place to hide in.

  Caesar also in Aratus records that Aglaosthenes says that when Jupiter was setting out from Naxos island against the Titans and was sacrificing on the shore, an eagle flew to him in answer to his bird-watching.... But even before this The Holy History bears witness that — an eagle perched on his head and foretold that he would win the kingship.

  How Saturn came to be called son of Sky:

  Now I will tell you how and when and by whom this was done; for it was not done by Saturn but by Jupiter. In The Holy History Ennius relates as follows —

  Then Pan led him up to a mountain which is called Sky’s Pillar. When he had climbed it he gazed on the world far and wide, and then on that mountain he built an altar to Sky, and on that altar Jupiter was the first to make sacrifice. Standing at that place he looked up at what we now name the sky; and to that which was above the universe, and was called ether, Jupiter gave the name ‘Sky’ after his grandfather’s name; and being the first to appease that which is called ether, he named it the sky; and he burnt whole the victim which he sacrificed there.

  The powers given by Jupiter to Neptune; Jupiter dwells on Olympus:

  Thus to Neptune’s share fell all the things of the sea and the islands in it. How can this be proved? Why, of course the old histories attest it. The ancient author Euhemerus... wove a History.... This History Ennius both translated and followed; his words are these —

  ... where Jupiter gave Neptune authority over the sea so as to be king over all the islands and all places which might be near the sea.

  ... That Jupiter dwelt on Olympus we are taught by that same History, which says —

  In those days Jupiter was spending the greater part of his life on Mount Olympus, and thither to him men used to come to law if there were any matters in dispute. Likewise if anyone had discovered any new thing which might be useful towards the life of mankind, thither men used to come, and show it to Jupiter.

  Jupiter forbids the eating of human flesh:

  And Saturn again, when he had taken for his wife his sister Rhea, whom we call in Latin Ops, is said to have been forbidden by the answer of an oracle to bring up freeborn male children on the ground that it was fated that he would be deposed by a son. In fear of this, it is plain that he did not, as the stories go, eat up sons that were born to him, but slew them; in spite of what is written in The Holy History that —

  Saturn and Ops and all the rest of mankind were wont to’ feed on human flesh. But Jupiter, the first to lay down laws and customs for men, forbade by edict that men should be allowed to eat such food.

  The origin of the, different cults of Jupiter:

  But The Holy History is a witness that Jupiter himself, after he had become supreme, went to such a pitch of haughtiness that he established, himself for himself, temples in many places —

  For when he was making the round of the world, the kings or chiefs of the peoples of every region, wherever he had come, bound themselves in hospitality and friendship with him; and whenever he was departing from any place, he ordered that a shrine should be built in the name of his host, so that the memory as it were of friendship and agreement should be preserved. Thus were established the temples of Jupiter Ataburius, Jupiter Labryandius, for Ataburus and Labryandus were his hosts and his helpers in war; and also to Jupiter Laprius, Jupiter Molio, Jupiter Casius, and all the other temples which are dedicated in the same manner. This was a most cunning idea of his, to get for himself divine honour and for his hosts a name for ever known and connected with religion. Thus they were glad, and willingly obeyed this authority of his and celebrated yearly rites and holidays for their name’s sake. Aeneas achieved something like this in Sicily when he gave to a city at its foundation the name of Acestes his host, so that later on Acestes should cheerfully and willingly cherish increase and honour it. In this way did Jupiter sow the seeds of his own religious worship throughout the world and provide an example for all the rest of the world to imitate.

  The death of Jupiter:

  Wherefore if we grasp the fact that Jupiter, to judge both from his achievements and his character, was a man and a king on earth, there remains for us to inquire into his death also. In The Holy History Ennius, having described all the deeds done by him during his life, says near the end —

  And then Jupiter after he had gone the round of the world five times and had made division of authorities to all his friends and relations, and bequeathed to mortals laws and manners, and furnished corn and provided many other good things, he was honoured with deathless renown and remembrances and bequeathed everlasting monuments to his friends. When he was sunk in the depths of old age, he parted with his life in Crete, and went away to join the gods; and the Curetes his sons tended and decked his corpse. His tomb exists in Crete in the town of Cnossus (a city which Vesta is said to have set up) and on his tomb is written in archaic Greek letters ΖΑΝ ΚΡΟΝΟΥ, that is, in Latin, Jupiter Son of Saturn.

  This at any rate is a tradition not of the poets but of writers on antiquities.

  Venus:

  Why should I speak of the lewdness of Venus prostituted to the lusts of all?... who, according to what we find contained in The Holy History, first — established the art of the courtesan and in Cyprus founded for women the custom of getting profit out of their bodies by making them public; this she ordained so that she should not be the only one among women to appear a hussy and a gaper after men.

  Fragments Not Assigned to Any Work

  From the Annals?

  1

  Cicero: ‘That same plain holds,’ says Ennius(see ), and also —

  in those same temples

  Servius, on Virgil’s ‘Ah me! In what guise he was — how changed from that Hector...!’: ‘Ah me.’ A line of Ennius.

  2

  Servius(supplemented), on ‘versat’ in Virgil: ‘Versat,’ he poises, brandishes; it is further an Ennian term —

  Passes made he with his sword’s point.

  3–4

  Donatus, on a passage in Terence: ‘Sum’ for ‘eum’; thus frequently the old writers. Ennius —

  All men should love their father with all their hearts, and hold kind thoughts towards him.

  5

  Paulus: ‘Ob’... for ‘ad’; for example, Ennius ‘Against Rome, etc.’(fr. 288). Festus has... —

  Against Troy he led an army

  6

  Varro: In a passage of Ennius —

  Which the hollow caldron holds within its embodiment of heaven’s blue

  The term ‘cava cortina’ is used because it is the space between ‘terra’ and ‘caelum,’ and this space is like Apollo’s tripod-caldron.

  7

  Varro: It is a matter of doubt... whether the original term for ‘cards ‘in the feminine was ‘canis’ or ‘canes.’... Ennius ... —

  meaning no more than the barking of a toothless bitch in pup.

  Servius: Ennius and Lucretius(‘flame-flowering lights of two lamps’) used the term ‘to flower ‘of everything that is bright.

  Servius, on ‘Lavinia her yellow hair’ in Virgil: An old reading had ‘flowery,’ that is flower-like, beautiful; it is further a term taken from Ennius.

  8–9

  Cicero: Closely allied to this are the following... when we wish several to be understood by one —

  But the man of Rome, though success has blest his trials, is fearful in his heart

  Servius, on Messapus in Virgil: From him Ennius says he draws his descent.

  Gellius: Quintus Ennius used to say that he had three brains on the ground that he knew how to speak in Greek, Oscan and Latin.

  10

  Cicero: Of course you see all this kind of thing... when one is understood by several —

  We who once were Rudians are now Romans

&nbs
p; From the Satires?

  11

  Cicero: And that the famous song of the Sibyl is not a product of raving is quite evident partly from the poem itself (for it is a work of art and care rather than excitement and emotion) and partly because it is written in what is called an ‘acrostic,’ where the first letter of each line, the lines being taken one after the other and joined in order, makes some sort of sense; for example, in some poems of Ennius —

  Q. Ennius his work

  Nonius: ‘To hew out’ is a verb used properly of joiners when they plane down the roughness of their material.... Varro in Bimarcus: While Boy Quintus Clodius has made so many comedies without taste, may I not, as Ennius has it, ‘write rough-hewn one little book’?

  Cicero: So soon as... (Iphig., fr. 237–8) gave up what I had begun, I put aside what I had in hand, and I wrote rough-hewn what you had asked for.

  12–13

  Servius augmented, on ‘carinae’ in Virgil: ‘Carinare’ means to revile. Ennius —

  against the foul-mouthed uttering words no less unclean.

  Elsewhere —

  nor does it befit me to publish this on foul-mouthed pages.

  14

  Varro: Many animal sounds are used figuratively of human beings... there is Ennius’ usage drawn from the calf —

  the flute-girl moos with a very great to-do.

  15

  Festus: ‘Moene,’ a singular form, was used by Ennius —

  In a market on the plain before the enemy’s wall,

  16

  Donatus, on ‘mutire’ in Terence: