XXIII. LE SATYRE ET LA FLÛTE.

L. 1. Toi, de Mopsus ami! Ironical. 'That thou never wast!' This beginning shows that these lines were meant as part of an eclogue: the subject to be two shepherds disputing the prize of singing. Mopsus is an excellent singer and poet mentioned in Virgil, Ecl. v. Berecynthus is a mountain in Phrygia on which the mysteries of Cybele were celebrated.

L. 3. Hyagnis. According to Apuleius, Flor. iii, Hyagnis was the father and teacher of Marsyas, the flute-player.

L. 4. énervé, emasculate. 'Semiviro Cybeles cum grege iunxit iter,' Martial, iii. 91.

L. 7. dans ce bui. Bui is spelt thus in order to rhyme for the eye with lui. 'Buis' for 'flute'; a metonymy.

L. 15. des chiens même. In poetry the adjective même often remains uninflected. 'Les immortels eux-même en sont persécutés,' Malherbe, i. 279, 26, Éd. des Grands Écrivains. 'Un éclat qui le rend respectable aux dieux même,' Racine, Esther, II. vii. 678, same edition. Haase, § 53, C.