27. PAENE ATRIA. Heinsius preferred PENETRALIA, the reading of I and F2 ('sed ne sic quidem locus mihi uidetur plane in integrum restitutus'), apparently objecting to paene. The word seems weak enough, especially in view of Virgil G I 49 'illius immensae ruperunt horrea messes', but Professor R. J. Tarrant points out to me a similarly weak paene at Tr III xi 13-14 'sic ego belligeris a gentibus undique saeptus / terreor, hoste meum paene premente latus'. Burman conjectured LAETA and PLENA; neither seems very convincing.
For atria compare Her XVI 185-86 'occurrent denso tibi Troades agmine matres, / nec capient Phrygias atria nostra nurus'. Penetralia, although poorly attested, is in itself appropriate enough, since the new consul began his magistracy in front of his penates: Festus (Mueller 208; Lindsay 231) defined the penetralia as the 'penatium deorum sacraria'.
28. ET POPVLVM LAEDI DEFICIENTE LOCO. The jostling of a crowd similarly described at Am III ii 21-22 'tu tamen a dextra, quicumque es, parce puellae; / contactu lateris laeditur ista tui'.
29-34. The new consul, accompanied by lictors, left his house and went in solemn procession to the Capitoline, where he took his place on the curule chair, and then sacrificed to Iuppiter Optimus Maximus. A meeting of the Senate followed, held in the temple of Jupiter.
At ix 17-32 Ovid gives a similar description of the consul's entering on his office.
29. TARPEIAE ... SEDIS. Capitolinus is metrically awkward; hence the synecdoche from the Tarpeia rupes, the part of the Capitoline from which criminals were hurled. Similar tropes at viii 42 'uictima Tarpeios inficit icta focos', ix 29 'at cum Tarpeias esses deductus in arces', and commonly in the poets.
30. FACILES IN TVA VOTA. 'Receptive to your prayers'; for this frequent sense of facilis compare Her XII 84 'sed mihi tam faciles unde meosque deos?', Met V 559 'optastis facilesque deos habuistis', Tr IV i 53 'sint precor hae [the Muses] saltem faciles mihi', EP II ii 19-20 'esse ... fateor ... difficilem precibus te quoque iure meis', Her XVI 282 'sic habeas faciles in tua uota deos', and Grattius 426.
31-32. The asyndeton in this distich is odd, given the preceding series of connectives. If the text is unsound, however, alteration of certae to certant (Damsté) or cerno (Owen) is not the cure. By using certae Ovid is indicating that there will be a clean blow with the axe, a good omen for the coming year. For the opposite omen, see Aen II 222-24 (describing Laocoon) 'clamores simul horrendos ad sidera tollit: / qualis mugitus, fugit cum saucius aram / taurus et incertam excussit ceruice securim'.
31-32. BOVES NIVEOS ... QVOS ALVIT CAMPIS HERBA FALISCA SVIS. Compare Am III xiii 13-14 'ducuntur niueae populo plaudente iuuencae, / quas aluit campis herba Falisca suis' and Fast I 83-84 (a description of the sacrifices on January 1st) 'colla rudes operum praebent ferienda iuuenci, / quos aluit campis herba Falisca suis'.
33-34. CVMQVE DEOS OMNES, TVM QVOS IMPENSIVS AEQVOS / ESSE TIBI CVPIAS, CVM IOVE CAESAR ERVNT. Cupias must be supplied with deos omnes—'You will wish the favour of all the gods; those gods whose favour you will particularly wish will be Caesar and Jupiter'. The omission of the verb from the cum-clause seems very strange, however, and Ehwald (KB 63-64) is possibly correct in supposing a distich to have fallen from the text after 32; in this case, cumque deos omnes is probably far removed from its original form.