How we cite our quotes: (Part.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
I came to stand in relation to her as another admirer, seeking a few words, a kiss, a sign of favor. I vied for her attention only as one man of many. (1.9.6)
Octavian's not talking about some girl he's got a crush on—he's talking about his mother, Cassiopeia. Freud would probably have a field day with Octavian.
Quote #5
But this is the grossest filial ingratitude; there is no object in the world that should inspire greater affection and enchain the heart of man more than that wellspring of all that is sweetest, that dear first progenitor, a mother; and if I speak now in that way that makes her seem the coquette, I do so only because there is no preserving a spirit in lying about them. (1.9.10)
Octavian's a total mama's boy who thinks it's totally appropriate to call Mom his greatest love. But note: he tells us this right before he tells us that he can't front—his mother's a total flirt. It might not be the usual observation a man makes about his mother, but his intention—honoring her memory most fully—is pretty sweet.
Quote #6
She laid her head down upon my lap, burying her face in my chest, and I patted her head; and after a time, lying there as she clutched, I felt that I was become her mother, and she my son. (1.9.14)
Prior to this point, Octavian's been going on about how much he adored his mother like he was one of the scholars who admired her. So when we get to this part of the chapter, it's a bit of a reversal—and not just because he tells us he feels like the mother and she, his son. The sweetness and intimacy with each other is foregrounded. After all, they really had no one else other than each other, so it makes sense that—when vulnerable—his mother turned to him for comfort.