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Nec lupus insidias pecori, nec retia cervis
Ulla dolum meditantur: amat bonus otia Daphnis.
Ipsi lætitiâ voces ad sidera jactant
Intonsi montes: ipsæ jam carmina rupes;
Ipsa sonant arbusta: Deus, Deus ille, Menalca.
Sis bonus, ô felixque tuis! en quatuor aras :
Ecce duas tibi, Daphni, duoque altaria Phœbo.
Pocula bina novo spumantia lacte quotannis,
Craterasque duos statuam tibi pinguis olivi.
Et multo imprimis hilarans convivia Baccho,
Ante focum, si frigus erit; si messis, in umbrâ,

NOTES.

part. of insuesco, unaccustomed, referring to his being but lately deified. Lymen Olympi: the threshold of heaven. There were several mountains by the name of Olympus. The most distinguished, however, was one in Thessaly, near the confines of Macedonia; the top of which arose above the clouds. Hence the poets feigned it to be heaven, the seat of the gods.

60. Insidias: plots. This word hath no singular. Retia: neu. plu. toils-snares. Meditantur: devise, or prepare.

61. Amal otia, &c. This expression seems to allude to the clemency of Cæsar toward his enemies, for which he is much celebrated by Cicero and others.

62. Jactant: in the sense of emittunt. 63. Intonsi: uncultivated-wild. 64. Deus ille. Divine honors were decreed to Julius Cæsar by the Triumviri, in the year of Rome 712, Lepidus and Plancus being consuls. From this time, Octavius began to be called the son of a god.

65. Aras. Ara was an altar dedicated both to the gods above, and to those below. Allare was a high altar, and dedicated to the gods above exclusively. Felix: propi

tious-kind.

68. Crateras: acc. plu. of crater, a large cup, or bowl. This word is purely Greek. Statuam in the sense of offeram.

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69. Hilarans convivia, &c. Cheering or making merry the feasts with much wine. Bacchus, the god of wine, was the son of Jupiter and Semele. He was educated, according to some, in the island of Narus, one of the Cyclades, under the care of the nymphs Philia, Coronis, and Clyda; and while asleep was carried off by some mariners, all of whom he changed into dolphins, except the pilot, who showed him some tenderness and regard. Bacchus is celebrated as a warrior. He marched into India at the head of a large army composed of men and women, all inspired with a divine fury, and armed with the thyrsus, cymbal, &c. His conquests were easy-the people submitting wherever he came, without resistance. Pentheus, king of Thebes, refused to

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acknowledge his divinity, and forbade his subjects to pay adoration to him; and even ordered Bacchus himself to be seized and cast into prison. But the doors opened of their own accord, as if refusing to contain him a prisoner. Whereupon the king became enraged, and ordered the whole band of Bacchanals to be destroyed. But this was not carried into effect. Pentheus became desirous to see the celebration of the Orgies, or feasts of Bacchus. For this purpose, he concealed himself on mount Citheron, whence he could see all their ceremonies. But being discovered, the Bacchanals fell upon him. His mother was the first who attacked him, and was followed by her two sisters, Ino and Autone, who immediately tore him in pieces. See Ovid. Met. Lib. 3.

Midas, king of Phrygia, had entertained Silenus, the preceptor of Bacchus; who desired him to ask any thing he might please, and it should be granted him.Whereupon he asked that whatever he might touch should be converted into gold. vinced of his imprudent choice; for his food This was granted. But he was soon conthe point of perishing with hunger, when he became gold in his mouth, and he was on besought Bacchus to take back his gift; he readily did so, and directed him to wash in the river Pactolus, whose sands were converted into gold.

The festivals of Bacchus, called Orgia, Bacchanalia, or Dyonisia, were introduced into Greece by Danaus and his daughters, from Egypt. The panther was sacred to him, because in his expedition to India, he was covered with the skin of that animal. The fir-tree, the yew-tree, the fig-tree, the ivy, and the vine, were all sacred to him. Bacchus had several names: Liber, Bromius, Lyœus, Evan, Thryonaus, Iacchus, &c. He is represented as drawn in a chariot by a tiger and a lion, accompanied by Pan, Silenus, and the other satyrs. Bacchus, by meton. is frequently put for wine, as in the present case.

sunt

71. Arvisia vina quæ Vina novum fundam calathis Arvisia nectar. Cantabunt mihi Damætas, et Lyctius Agon: 79. Ut Agricolæ fa- Saltantes Satyros imitabitur Alphesibous. cient vota quotannis Hæc tibi semper erunt; et cùm solennia vota Baccho Cererique, sic Reddemus Nymphis, et cùm lustrabimus agros. facient ea tibi 81. Quæ, quæ dona Dum juga montis aper, fluvios dum piscis amabit, reddam Dumque thymo pascentur apes, dum rore cicadæ, 82. Nam neque sibi- Semper honos, nomenque tuum, laudesque manebunt. lus venientis Austri ju- Ut Baccho Cererique, tibi sic vota quotannis vat me tantùm ; nec litora Agricolæ facient: damnabis tu quoque votis. percussa fluctu tam ju-Mo. Quæ tibi, quæ tali reddam pro carmine dona? decurrunt inter Nam neque me tantùm venientis sibilus Austri, saxosas valles, tam ju- Nec percussa juvant fluctu tam litora, nec quæ Saxosas inter decurrunt flumina valles.

vant me; nec flumina

quæ

vant me.

NOTES.

71. Arvisia vina: Chian wine. Arvisia: an adj. from Arvisus, a promontory of the island Chios, in the Archipelago, famous for its good wine. Novum nectar: nectar was properly any kind of pleasant wine, or other liquor. Hence the poets feigned it to be the drink of the gods. Novum: goodexcellent. The wine here offered was to be as good as nectar-good or excellent nectar. See Ecl. iii. 66.

72. Lyctius: an adj. from Lyctus, a city of Crete.

73. Saltantes Satyros: leaping or wonton satyrs. The Satyri were demi-gods of the country, the origin of whom is not well known. They were of a hideous form, and generally distinguished themselves by their riotous and wanton demeanor in the orgies of Bacchus, which they generally attended. The Romans cailed them indis

criminately Fauni, Panes, and Syivani. Alphesibaus. See Ecl. 8.

75. Lustrabimus. Lustro may here be taken in the sense of circumeo, to go around or encompass; or of purgo, to cleanse or purify by sacrifice; or it may comprehend both.

For it is agreed by all, that the poet hath a reference to what is called the sacrificium ambervale, spoken of Geor. i. 345, which see. Circumimus campos cum hostia, says Ruæus. Reddemus: in the sense of

solvemus.

79. Cereri. Ceres was the goddess of husbandry, the daughter of Saturn and Ops, and mother of Proserpine by Jupiter, whom Pluto carried off while she was gathering flowers in the plains of Enna, in Sicily, The loss was grievous to Ceres, who sought her both day and night; when at length she found her veil near the fountain of Cyane. She could obtain no information of her daughter, till the nymph Arethusa told her that she was carried off by Pluto. Upon this, she immediately ascended to heaven, and demanded of Jupiter the resto

75

80

ration of her darling child. He endeavored to reconcile her to Pluto as a son-in-law; but to no purpose. At length he consented that she should be restored, provided she had eaten nothing in the dominions of the ravisher. Ceres repaired immediately to the infernal regions, and found she had eaten the seeds of a pomegranate, found in the Elysian fields. Her return, therefore, was impossible but Jupiter consented that she might pass six months of the year with her mother on earth, and the remainder with Pluto.

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During all this time, the cultivation of the earth had been neglected. To repair the loss which mankind sustained by her absence, Ceres went to Attica and instructed Triptolemus, the son of Celeus, in all that pertained to agriculture.

Egyptian Isis, and her worship to have been Ceres is supposed to be the same as the brought into Greece by Erechtheus about 1426 years before Christ. She is supposed to be the same as Tellus, Cybele, Berecynthia, &c. The Romans paid her great veneration, and her festivals were generally celebrated for eight days in the month of April. Ceres, by meton. is often put for bread grain, &c.

80. Damnabis tu, &c. Thou shalt also bind them to their vows-thou shalt grant the requests of those, who ask. The propriety of this mode of expression will apwho asked any thing of a God, virtually, pear, when it is considered that the person thing in return; and if his requests were if not directly, promised or vowed somegranted, then he became condemned, and judicially bound to the performance of his promise or vow. And the god, when he granted any petition or request, was said to condemn, or bind the promiser to pay his

Vows.

82. Sibilus: the whistling of the rising south wind.

ME. Hâc te nos fragili donabimus antè cicutâ. Hæc nos, Formosum Corydon ardebat Alexim : Hæc eadem docuit, Cujum pecus? an Melibœi?

85

86. Hæc eadem cicula docuit nos,

83. Sume pedum formosum paribus nodis

Mo. At tu sume pedum, quod, me cùm sæpe rogaret, atque ære, quod AntiNon tulit Antigenes (et erat tum dignus ameri) Formosum paribus nodis atque ære, Menalca.

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gines non tulit, cùm 90 sæpe rogaret me, et

pecus? i. e. with this same pipe I sang the third Eclogue.

88. Sume pedum: take this crook, as a testimony of my regard.

90. Formosum: beautified with equal knobs and brass-with knobs at equal distances: or uniform, in regard to size..

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ECLOGA SEXTA.

SILENUS.

THE subject of this fine pastoral is Silenus. He had promised the swains Chromis and Mnasilus a song; but had put it off from time to time. Wearied with the delay, they surprised him asleep in his grotto, just recovering from his intoxication. His garlands lay at some distance from him: with these they bind him fast; and in this condition they demand of him the fulfilment of his promise. At this moment, Egle, one of the nymphs, joins them. Upon which he begins, and explains to them the origin of the world upon the principles of the Epicurean philosophy; and concludes with several interesting fables by way of episode.

It is generally supposed this pastoral was designed as a compliment to Syro the Epicurean, who taught Virgil the principles of that philosophy. By Silenus we are to understand Syro, and by the swains Chromis and Mnasilus, his two pupils, Virgil and Varus.

PRIMA Syracosio dignata est ludere versu

2. Nostra Thalia pri- Nostra, nec erubuit sylvas habitare, Thalia.

ma dignata est

Cùm canerem reges et prælia, Cynthius aurem Vellit, et admonuit: Pastorem, Tityre, pingues Pascere oportet oves, deductum dicere carmen. 6. Namque, O Vare, Nunc ego (namque super tibi erunt, qui dicere laudes, super erunt tibi alii poeta Vare, tuas cupiant, et tristia condere bella) qui cupiant

Agrestem tenui meditabor arundine Musam.
Non injussa cano: si quis tamen hæc quoque, si quis

NOTES.

1. Syracosio versu: in pastoral verse. racosio: an adj. from Syracusæ, the birth pace of Theocritus, the first pastoral poet of eminence; the chief city of Sicily, and famous for its defence against the Romans under Marcellus.

2. Thalia. One of the Muses. See Ecl. iii. 60. Nec erubuit, &c. Nor did she blush to inhabit the woods. This verb here is both expressive and beautiful; the perf. of erubesco. Thalia was supposed to preside over comedy and pastoral poetry. Virgil was the first pastoral writer among the Romans; which explains the words, nostra Thalia prima: my muse first deigned, &c.

3. Cum canerem, &c. Virgil is said to have begun a work upon the affairs of Alba Longa, but afterwards relinquished it, and commenced the Bucolics. Cynthius: a name of Apollo. See Ecl. iv. 10. Vellit: pinched my ear; a proverbial expression, implying admonition.

5. Deductum: a part. of deduco, humble, or slender. A metaphor taken from wool spun out till it is made fine or slender.

6. Supererunt: in the sense of erunt alii poeta. The parts of the verb are separated by Tmesis.

7. Vare. It is generally thought that the poet here means Quintilius Varus, who arose to the highest honors under Augustus. He was consul in the year of Rome 741; after which he was præfect of Syria eight years. Having returned home, he was sent into Germany with three legions, which he lost, being drawn into an ambush. This mortified him so much, that he killed himself. This happened in the year 762. Condere: to write--record.

9. Non injussa cano: I do not sing things forbidden by Apollo. He permits me to sing of pastoral subjects, but not of kings and battles. Si quis tamen, &c. The tamen does not refer to the words, non injussa cano, but to the third and fourth lines, where Apollo forbids him to write in the lofty style of heroic poetry. The meaning seems to be this: though he forbid me to describe your actions in heroic verse, he permits me to do it in the humble style of pastoral. And if any should be taken, captus amore, with the love of this kind of writing, and should read these pastorals, he shall here find them. Hæc: these things-these my Bucolics. Quoque: in the sense of etiam.

Captus amore leget; te nostræ, Vare, myricæ,
Te nemus omne canet: nec Phœbo gratior ulla est,
Quàm sibi quæ Vari præscripsit pagina nomen.
Pergite, Pierides. Chromis et Mnasilus in antro
Silenum pueri somno vidêre jacentem,
Inflatum hesterno venas, ut semper, Iaccho.
Serta procul tantùm capiti delapsa jacebant:
Et gravis attritâ pendebat cantharus ansâ.
Aggressi (nam sæpe senex spe carminis ambo
Luserat) injiciunt ipsis ex vincula sertis.
Addit se sociam, timidisque supervenit Ægle:
Egle Naïadum pulcherrima : jamque videnti
Sanguineis frontem moris et tempora pingit.
Ille dolum ridens: Quò vincula nectitis? inquit.
Solvite me, pueri : satìs est potuisse videri.
Carmina, quæ vultis, cognoscite: carmina vobis ;
Huic aliud mercedis erit: simul incipit ipse.
Tum verò in numerum Faunosque ferasque videres
Ludere, tum rigidas motare cacumina quercus.
Nec tantùm Phobo gaudet Parnassia rupes,
Nec tantùm Rhodope mirantur et Ismarus Orphea.
Namque canebat utì magnum per inane coacta

NOTES.

10. Nostræ myricæ : in the sense of nostra Bucolica. The omne nemus in the following line probably means every elevated composition, such as epic or heroic. We are led to this interpretation from the declaration of the poet in the sixth line, that there would be other poets, who would celebrate the praises of Varus in heroic verse, though he himself would prefer to do it in the humbler style of pastoral.

14. Silenum. Silenus was one of the rural deities, the god of mysteries and knowledge, and the foster-father of Bacchus. He is said, by some, to have been the son of Pan; others say, the son of Mercury. Malea, in the island of Lesbos, is the supposed place of his nativity. He is represented as a fat and merry old man, riding on an ass, crowned with flowers, always intoxicated.

15. Inflatum, &c. Swollen as to his veins, with his yesterday's wine. See Ecl. i. 55. Iaccho: a name of Bacchus; here put, by meton. for wine. It is derived from a Greek word signifying a shout or confused noise. It was given to him on account of the riot and vociferation of his inebriated followers. See Ecl. v. 69.

16. Serta: plu. of sertum, a garland, or wreath of flowers. To be crowned with a garland, was an indication of drunkenness. Silenus had all the signs of being in such a state. He was lying down-he was sleeping; but his garlands were not on his head; lantum delapsa: they had only fallen off they were neither broken nor bruised.

18. Aggressi, &c. The swains, seizing, put

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on him cords of these very garlands-they bind him with cords made of them.

20. Egle. The name of a nymph, derived from a Greek word signifying splendor, or brightness. Naïadum. See Ecl. ii. 46. Videnti: to him just opening his eyes. Timidis: to the trembling swains.

22. Moris. Morus was the fruit of the

mulberry-tree. It is here called sanguineus, red, or bloody. It is said to have been originally white; but assumed the red or purple color, in memory of the two lovers, Pyramus and Thisbe, who slew themselves under a mulberry-tree. See Ovid. Met. Lib. 4.

23. Quò: why-for what purpose. 25. Cognoscite: in the sense of audite. 26. Aliud mercedis. The same as alia merces: another reward.

measure.

27. Ludere in numerum: to dance, or leap about in regular time, or Their motions exactly corresponded to the notes or measure of the verse. Faunos. The Fauni were demi-gods of the country, to whom the first fruits of all things were generally offered. See Ecl. v. 73.

29. Parnassia rupes. The mountain Parnassus in Phocis; a country in Grecia Propria, much celebrated by the poets, and sacred to the Muses. Here Apollo had a famous temple.

30. Rhodope-Ismarus. Two mountains, or rather ranges of mountains, in Thrace, the country of Orpheus.

31. Namque canebat, &c. For he sung how the seeds, both of the earth, and of the air,

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