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Chapter 19
The Duke of Omnium

Gatherum Castle 
Gatherum is the home of the Duke of Omnium, and in naming the duke's castle this way, Trollope is playing with the phrase "omnium gatherum," meaning as assemblage of different kinds of people or things.  Omnium is Latin for "of all," but gatherum is not actually a Latin word but is instead an English word with a Latin sounding ending.  [TH & RR]

Ionic columns
To increase the grandeur of Gatherum Castle the Duke of Omnium added a portico of Ionic columns to the front of his home.  Ionic columns were one type of ancient Greek column, especially identifiable by a fluted shaft and the volutes decorating the top of the column.  The use of Greek architectural motifs is not unexpected in Victorian architecture, but their presence does indicate that the Duke of Omnium is possessed of great wealth and status.  The more ornate style of the Ionic order also provides contrast to the simpler Doric columns of the Greshambury estate.
See commentary on Doctor Thorne Chapter 1.
Encarta Electronic Encyclopedia 2006  [TH]

Melted ambrosia
Ambrosia is the food of the gods in Greek mythology.  When Mr. Apjohn, a guest at the Duke of Omnium's dinner, asks a server for more sauce, the server fails to respond.  As the servant passes him, Mr. Apjohn tries to grab him by the coat tails, but instead falls backward himself.  Finally Mr. Fothergill asks him if there is anything he can get for Mr. Apjohn and arranges for the sauce to be brought to him, which Trollope refers to as "melted ambrosia."  By calling the sauce ambrosia Trollope exaggerates its qualities much as Mr. Apjohn behavior seems to demonstrate the inordinate importance he places on it.  Mr. Apjohn makes a spectacle of himself in pursuit of the sauce and he treats it as though it were divine sustenance.
Cassell's Dictionary of Classical Mythology  [TH]

Chapter 20
The Proposal

One who had already fought his battles, and fought them not without glory
This seems to be an allusion to one of Horace's poems, specifically Ode 3.26, lines 1-2. In Latin they read: "Vixi puellis nuper idoneus et militaui non sine gloria" and can be translated into English as "I have lived recently suitable for girls, and fought not without glory."  In the context of Doctor Thorne, we can see that Frank Gresham believes that he has already courted Miss Dunstable in a noble fashion and done an honorable job of it.  Therefore he is confused and caught off-guard when she tells him openly that she likes him; women were not usually quite as direct as that, especially when a man had yet to formally propose. Thus, he is not quite sure how to proceed and fails to recognize Miss Dunstable's hints to him to stop his offer before he embarrasses himself.  [MD]

Chapter 21
Mr. Moffat Falls Into Trouble

Hymeneal joys
From Latin hymenaeus, "belonging to wedlock, marriage".  Hymen was a Greek god who presided over weddings.
OED
The Meridian Handbook of Classical Mythology  [JM]

The help of a goddess
As Frank prepares to attack Mr. Moffat, Trollope exclaims, "Oh Mr. Moffat! Mr. Moffat! If there be any goddess to interfere in thy favor, let her come forward now without delay; let her now bear thee off on a cloud if there be one to whom thou art sufficiently dear!"  The image of a goddess bearing a mortal away on a cloud recalls a scene in Book 3 of Homer's Iliad (Book 3.439-441) where Aphrodite carries Paris from the battlefield on a cloud just before Menelaus kills him.  [JC]

Syncope
After being attacked by Frank Gresham, Mr. Moffat is said to be "sitting in a state of syncope."  This word ultimately comes from Greek, although it went through Latin before being adopted into English.  Here it refers to a state of unconsciousness.  The Greek verb sunkoptein means "to cut short" and is a combination of the prefix syn- (meaning "with") and the verb koptein (meaning "to strike").  It is interesting that Trollope uses this word as Mr. Moffat has found himself in this state because he has been struck (repeatedly) by Frank.  [JC]

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