The easy solution, or interpretation, of G. 1,388 would be to read _crow's s's_--and C's and H--as the sound of _sand_, harena:
et Sola in SiCCa SeCum Spatiatur Harena There probably are strong reasons to resolutely reject the very existence of any _Tonmalerei_ in all poetry. On the other hand, many readers enjoy the sound of what they read (including cultures where the poems were written for _performance_, etc). Should we be so severe to deny them this modest pleasure? On reading Ladewig-Schaper commentary ad loc. another _strong misreading_ in favor of alliteration comes to my mind. The crow (say L-S) is _improba_ because it is a witch, it _causes_ the rain by calling for it. In magical spells the alliteration plays an important role. Perhaps Virgil achieved _more_ than just the picture of a black crow hopping around in dry white sand... Neven Zagreb, Croatia ----------------------------------------------------------------------- To leave the Mantovano mailing list at any time, do NOT hit reply. Instead, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the message "unsubscribe mantovano" in the body (omitting the quotation marks). You can also unsubscribe at http://virgil.org/mantovano/mantovano.htm#unsub
