HINC SEPTEM DOMINOS VIDERE MONTESWhich I translate,
ET TOTAM LICET AESTIMARE ROMAM
ALBANOSQVE QVOQVE TVSCVULOSQVE COLLES
ET QVODCVMQVE IACET SVB VRBE FRIGOS
FIDENAS VETERES BREVESQVE RVBRAS
From here, on the one side, you can see the seven imperious hills and take in all of Rome -- the Alban hills too, and the Tusculans, and every cool spot in the city's orbit; and ancient Fidenae, and little Rubrae,...There is no "on the one side" in the Latin, just a "From here", a Hinc (line 11). But what the excerption of these five lines conceals, is a matching Illinc, "From there", seven lines later (line 18), right after the sexy-gory Anna Perenna bit that the inscribers must have felt was a bit too much for Sunday-morning strollers.
The construction is carefully balanced: each word -- hinc, illinc -- cues up a seven-line description of what the visitor can see that way.
From a commanding ridgeline, I think the easiest way to take hinc and illinc is as verbal gestures: Martial's text is spreading its arms and inviting us to take in both sides of a vista, left and right. I'd absolutely be open to other readings -- if you have a different point of view, please let me know -- but if I'm right, the Monte Mario snippet is only telling us half of Julius's view. What's the side it's leaving out?
No comments:
Post a Comment