.... 58. Tua cura: 'your favourites;' tua cura Lycoris. Ecl. x. 22. 62. Antè Tityrus expresses the extent of his obligation, which he never can forget.-Pererratis • finibus: each people, passing their own boundary, shall occupy the other's country. This could only be effected by the previous conquest of the Romans, whose territory intervened. Tityrus, therefore, means to represent the impossibility of this occurrence. 63... 65. Ararim .Tigrim the names of rivers flowing in distant regions could not, as has been observed, be familiar to an Italian peasant possibly, for this reason, his geography has been made purposely incorrect. Parthia proper, bounded N. by the Caspian, E. by Bactriana, S. by the deserts of Caramania, W. by Media, was separated by the latter country, and by part of Syria, from the Tigris. On the other hand, the Arar, now the Saone, is a river of Gaul, and joins the Rhone, near the present city of Lyons. To this it has been replied, that the Parthians might, and did, in fact, make inroads and conquests as far as the Tigris; and the Germans, as far as the Saone: though these rivers were not within their territory, respectively, yet they flowed in countries which each had conquered. 65. Afros: the preposition omitted, according to the Greek idiom. Melibus proceeds to contrast his own and his fellow exiles' fate to that of Tityrus. 66. Creta.... Oaxem: Melibaus speaks of his expelled countrymen as destined to wander in countries at the extremities of the earth. Crete could hardly be reckoned among these: yet in that island, a town named Oaxis is twice mentioned by Herodotus, iv. and from that town, Apollonius Rhodius, and Varro, as cited by Servius, take epithets for the island; no sufficient proof, indeed, appears that any river there ever bore this appellation. Servius thinks the Oxus, a Bactrian river, is meant; and that creta signifies the chalk,' or 'white clay,' by which its stream was discoloured. Ad flumen Oxum perventum est: hic, quia, limum vehit, turbidus semper et insalubris potu. Quint. Curt. vii. 10. Though rapidum crete is an unusual idiom, the interpretation of Servius is adopted by Voss. No passage in the Eclogues has given birth to more debate, and it must remain in considerable doubt. 67. Divisos Britannos: 'quite disjoined from all the world.' A tradition existed that Britain was once joined to the continent. 68. En unquam: for unquamne, and Ecl. viii. 7: in both instances a wish on the part of the speaker is implied. D. En unquam ille dies futurus esset, quo vacuam hostibus Italiam bonâ pace florentem visuri essent? T. Liv. xxx. 21. 69. Tuguri: as peculi, verse 33.-Cespite culmen: the roofs of cottages were called culmina, because they were thatched with straw, culmus; and in some instances the rafters were covered with a thinly pared turf, to which the grassy roots gave adhesion. 70. Post aliquot.... aristas: Cerda, Heyne, Voss, and other commentators, understand pòst, for posthac, adverbially; 'hereafter;' as Geo. iii. 476. videns, pòst, mea regna, mirabor aliquot aristas: 'hereafter looking at my domain, now so flourishing, shall I observe but a few scattered ears?' 71. Novalia: this word is here employed for 'arable land' in general. Geo. i. 71. there found in the fem. See note. 72. Barbarus: Gauls and other foreigners, on whom the Romans bestowed this appellation, then bore arms in their service. 74. Vites this exclamation is made in bitter irony. 79. Cytisum: the medicago arborea; with us, a green-house shrub, bearing a full yellow flower in early spring, and producing leguminous seeds. It is a native of rocky places, and now flourishes in Greece and the Archipelago, as well as in southern Italy. Mem. de la Soc. d'Agric. Paris, 1787. 81. Mitia: ripe fruit ;' que non remordent quum mordentur. Serv. 82. Molles: again Servius understands 'ripe; but as chestnuts ripen, they certainly do not soften. Perhaps the poet means to distinguish them from the castanea hirsute. Ecl. vii. 53; or may mean 'roasted.' -Pressi lactis: 'curd pressed.' 83. Culmina fumant in bestowing due praise on the circumstances selected by Virgil as descriptive of this evening landscape, Martyn, following Catrou, is guilty of a little anachronism. "The smoking of the cottage chimneys shows that the labourers have left off their work, and are preparing their suppers." Now Virgil speaks only of their roofs: if by "chimneys" is meant funnels elevated above these, for the conveyance of smoke, we have no proof that, in Virgil's days, the houses of the Romans had this useful appendage. Vitruvius must have noticed chimneys, nay, could not have avoided giving rules for their construction, had they been then in use; but he is completely silent on the subject. We learn from Winkelman, that in the ruins of Herculaneum no chimneys had been discovered. The subject is investigated with great industry and ingenuity by Beckman, Hist. of Inv. ii. 65-106. The first notice, which can be relied on, we find of chimneys in the modern sense, is in A. D. 134. Before this time a hole in the roof, with the aid of doors and windows, must have given exit to the smoke. ECLOGUE II. 1. Ardebat: 'ardently loved.' Horace likewise uses this word in an active sense. Carm. iv. 9. 13. 2. Delicias: this word is employed to express the object of strong affection quid amores ac deliciæ tuæ Roscius. Cic. 5. Studio inani: 'with unavailing passion.' 7. Coges: many MSS. have cogis. But in a similar phrase Theocritus uses the future, απάγξασθαι με ποιήσεις. 8. Captant: in warm climates the flocks necessarily seek some shelter during the meridian heat. See Geo. iii. 331. As this is the moment of Corydon's exclamations, he contrasts his own violence with the peace around him. 9. Lacertos: Theocritus, Idyl. vii. 22. also marks by this circumstance the hour of noon. The lizard in question, known only in the warmer parts of Europe, is described as the most elegant of its species. 10. Thestylis: this name, as well as that of Corydon, is borrowed from Theocritus.-Rapido astu: 'intense heat.' This epithet is found applied to the sun, to the sea, flame, &c.; its derivation from rapio, bespeaks violence in general. 11. Serpyllum: "Eonvalor, from on∞, 'to creep;' as is, 'Mother of thyme,' or 'wild thyme.' M. sex. sus; §§, 13. Cicadis: these insects differ essentially from our grasshoppers. As they are not known except in warm climates, they have not, indeed, any English name. Their habit, noticed in the text, of sitting on trees, would alone make a distinction; but they are more round and short than our grasshoppers, and make a much louder noise, which begins when the sun grows hot, and continues till it sets. Their wings have silvery streaks, and are marked with brown; the inner pair of twice the length of the outer, and more variegated. M. 14. Fuit: for fuisset. 17. Colori: 'rely not too much on complexion; for the white privets fall neglected, while the purple hyacinths are gathered.' 18. Ligustra: flos est candidus, sed vilissimus. Serv. The Italian name for privet, guistrico, must induce the belief that the plant in the text was either the same, or allied to it.-Vaccinia: the identity of the vaccinium with the hyacinth of the poets, appears evident. In the Eolic dialect, the vowel u was changed into ov; the diminutive vazívΓιον therefore became οὑακίνθιον, οι ουακίννιον : hence the Latin vaccinium. In the 10th Eclogue, verse 39, et nigræ violæ sunt et vaccinia nigra, is an imitation of Theocr. Idyl. x. 28. nai to lov pékav irti, καὶ ἡ γραπτὰ ὑάκινθος. Virgil himself, therefore, translated ύακινθος, by vaccinium.-Nigra: simply 'dark-coloured: there are not in nature black flowers. 20. Pecoris nivei: white sheep were preferred by the Romans. Geo. iii. 386. seqq. 24. Aracyntho: Amphion and his brother Zetus were fostered by shepherds living on the mountain Citharon, which is on the frontier of Attica and Boeotia. Pausan. i. 38. Aracynthus must have been a town in the same neighbourhood, and is indeed noticed by name by Stephanus Byzantinus. The epithet Acteo, Servius says, is received from its vicinity to the shore. He adds that Athens itself was originally named 'Axtis. Amphion is called Dirceus, either from his step-mother Dirce, or from a fountain to which she gave name. Serv. 26. Mare: however tranquil the surface of the sea, Servius denies that it can ever reflect a human image so as that the likeness can be discernible. This passage is again a close imitation of Theocr. Idyl. vi. 34-7. 28. Tibi: libeat tibi habitare mecum sordida rura. 29. Figere cervos: as this term is applied also to forked stakes, fixed for various purposes in the ground, Cæs. B. G. vii. 72., it has been so understood in this passage: but the more direct interpretation is preferable: cervos venari et jaculari. Serv. 30. Viridi hibisco: with a green switch:' this is the most obvious meaning. Sprengel, ii. 3. calls hibiscus the althea officinalis, a species of mallow. The epithet viridis, and the authority of Servius, lead some to suppose this to be a plant on which the kids browsed, though it seems as little fit for this purpose as for that to which it is applied, Ecl. x. 71. The Delphin considers compellere hibisco to mean, ad hibiscum (sc. a lacte depulsos), as, it clamor cælo, Æn. v. 451. Viridique famem solarer hibisco. Calpurn. Ecl. iv. 32. 34. Pæniteat: see Ecl. x. 16.-Trivisse labellum: these pipes, when blowing, were moved on the lips. 36. Cicutis: 'hemlock' seems ill adapted to this purpose; but this term was also applied to the space between two knots in a reed. Serv. The elegance with which this passage is imitated by Pope, II. Pastoral, 89. seqq. is praised by Heyne. 38. Secundum: 'second owner.' 40. Nec tutâ reperti: i. e. et reperti in valle non tutâ. 41. Capreoli: the kids, to secure which had been attended with danger, and which were then suckled by ewes, had apparently been caught wild. Ovid, Met. xiii. 834. seqq. imitates several passages in this Eclogue. The kids he converts into two bear-whelps: Villosa catulos in summis montibus ursæ Inveni. 44. Et faciet and she will obtain them.'-Sordent : 6 are despised.' Cunctane pra campo et Tiberino flumine sordent? Hor. Epist. I. 11. 4. 46. Nymphe: Nymphs presiding over streams were named Naiads, from vas when dwelling in the sea, Nereids, from Nereus, their father in mountains, Oreads, from "Ooos: in woods Dryads, from dous: attached to single trees, Hamadryads, from aua and dous: presiding over groves, Naрææ, from ráлη: over meadows, Limoniades, from as: over lakes, Limniades, from iuvy. D.-Calathis: in baskets' widening from the bottom to the top. Plin. xxi. 5. describes a lily, effigie calathi, resupinis per ambitum lubris. D. 47. Pallentes violas: stock gilly-flowers,' or 'wall-flowers.' Botanists agree that these are what had the name of leucoium, formed from Leuzov ov. Pliny, translating the passage of Theophrastus, in which this flower is described, renders it viola alba. Under the term pallor, the Latins understood a yellow hue. Ovid, Met. IV. repeatedly applies it to box-wood; and even to gold. 48. Anethi: dill.' This plant does not, with us, grow wild: it is an annual plant, sown in gardens, resembling fennel, but of less size, with smaller flowers; and it is not so green. M. Theocritus, Idyl. vii. 63. joins it with wall-flowers and roses, to form a chaplet. 49. Casia: daphne cneorum; a species of mezereon. Sprengel. 50. Pingit vaccinia calthâ: 'sets off the hyacinths with the yellow marigold.' 51. Mala: Servius and later commentators infer, from the circumstance of the down, that these are 'quinces.' In a fragment of Petronius, evidently alluding to this eclogue, he adheres to the same interpretation: Sordent velleribus hirsuta Cydonia canis, Nolo nuces, Amarylli, tuas, nec cerea pruna. 52. Nuces all fruit contained in shells had this appellation; nuces avellana, amygdalæ, juglandes, castaneœ; as all soft fruit had that of poma. Serv. 53. Cerea so named from the resemblance to wax of some species of plums : Prunaque. .... novasque imitantia ceras. Ov. Met. xiii. 818. Honos pomo: honoured by Alexis's acceptance of them: as chestnuts, by the preference given to them by Amaryllis. D. 54. Lauri: the plant to which we give the name of laurel, was not introduced into Europe till within these three centuries. Virgil in this passage, and Æn. vi. 658. speaks of the fragrance of the laurus. Lucretius of its crackling in the fire: Phobi Delphica laurus Terribili sonitu flammâ crepitante crematur. Neither of these circumstances applies to our laurel, termed, by botanists, laurocerasus; but both to the bay; which is also, to this day, frequent in the woods and hedges in Italy. In one instance, at least, Horace makes laurus of the 4th decl. Depone sub lauru med. Carm. ii. 7. 19., but the 2d is usual.-Proxima myrte: of the various myrtles, Ray observed none but the common species, in Italy: it is there the underwood of some forests. The neighbourhood of the sea was often chosen as the site of temples dedicated to Venus: thickets of myrtle are still the common accompaniments of their ruins.-Proxima: either as next in position, or because held 'next in esteem:' probably for the latter reason. 56. Rusticus es: 'you are a clown:' accusing himself of stupidity in offering such gifts. 58. Heu quid volui: by naming Iolas, and making the comparison, he instantly perceives his folly as great as if he had exposed his flowers to a destructive blast of wind, or left his fountains to be troubled by unclean animals. 62. Colat: the Acropolis of Athens is here ascribed to Minerva, as its founder. During a succession of wars, of misery, and of confusion after its erection, the memory of its builders might be lost. Its obvious utility, its excellent contrivance and execution, beyond the arts and means of its posterior and more barbarous possessors, would induce them to attribute it to the goddess of war and wisdom herself. At a period subsequent to the Trojan war, civilization seems to have been long retrograde in Greece. Mitford's Greece, vol. i. .... 66. Aratra suspensa in allusion to the inversion of the share when the plough is drawn homeward: it may then be said to hang on the ox-yoke. Hor. Epod. ii. 63-4. 67. Umbras: when wishing to leave on the mind a melancholy impression, Virgil loves to shroud his landscape in the veil of evening. In the last lines of the 1st, the 6th, and the 10th Eclogues, this may also be observed. Corydon's wailings commence at noon, and continue till the sun's approach to the horizon. 70. Semiputata: not simply unpruned, but begun, and left unfinished. —Frondosa : the shoots of the elms, which support the vine, not being thinned in time, abound with leaves, which overshadow the grapes. Among the laws of Numa, Servius cites as one: Diis, ex imputatâ vite, ne libanto. He informs us also of a superstitious opinion, that he who offered in sacrifice wine made from the fruit of unpruned vines, subjected himself to an attack of insanity. The object in view by this inhibition, and this caution, is obvious. Corydon here may mean to say that he had lost his senses, and expresses it by alluding proverbially to this opinion. Theocr. Idyl. xi. 72. Voss. ECLOGUE III. THIS Eclogue contains a dispute between two shepherds, of that sort which the critics call Amabæan, from auoßaios, mutual or alternate. In this way of writing, persons are represented as speaking alternately; the latter always endeavouring to exceed, or at least equal, what has been said by the former, on the same or a similar subject, in the same measure; in which if he fails, he loses the victory. Here Menalcas and Damætas reproach each other, and then sing for a wager, making Palæmon judge between them. Menalcas begins the dialogue by casting some reflections on his rival Egon, and his servant Damœtas; and at the 60th Verse the contest begins. M. 1. Cujum: this pronoun was anciently declined-us,-a,-um. Virgo |