In Georgics IV, 478/9, Virgil writes "deformis harundo/Cocyti". This has been translated "unsightly reeds of Cocytus".
I wonder if it would be possible to interpret this as "deformed reeds of Cocytus". Why I ask is that there are insects, flies of the genus 'Lipara', which make large, cigar-shaped galls in the stems of reeds (Phragmites) thereby deforming them. Virgil, with his understanding of the countryside would, I am sure, have been aware of these galls and, I suppose, they might have been ill-regarded in the sense that they tended to spoil the reeds for other purposes such as thatching. If 'deformis' can only mean 'unsightly' or similar,I wonder why Virgil should consider reeds 'unsightly'. Most people seem to think they are attractive plants and they are of some benefit to people in stabilising marshes and so forth. I should be interested in subscribers' views on this. Patrick Roper ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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
