pursuits and in honor of Augustus, all of which throw light on the character of the writer and the purpose of his composition. It is probable, that Virgil frequently visited Rome after peace was restored, and his great patron Augustus was established as master of the Roman empire. He had now the happiness of seeing the effect of his poetical precepts and exhortations, in the reviving agriculture of the country and the welfare of its inhabitants. The emperor denied him nothing, and the liberality of Mæcenas considerably increased his private fortune. He had the pleasure of introducing Horace to the notice of the minister, and the lyric poet repaid this service by ardent affection and glowing testimonials in verse. It was even affirmed, though on slight grounds, that Augustus consulted Virgil in respect to his resignation of the government, as a sort of umpire between Agrippa and Mæcenas. It is certain, that he stood very high in the esteem of the emperor, and we may even suppose, that personal regard dictated those glowing panegyrics, so frequently introduced in his poems, which must otherwise be considered as specimens of extravagant and unbecoming flattery. According to Donatus, these tributes of praise were not confined to the poet's larger works. On one occasion, he wrote the following distich, though without acknowledging it, and affixed it to the gates of the palace. "Nocte pluit totâ, redeunt spectacula mane; Augustus was pleased with the compliment, and offered a reward to the author, if he would discover himself. But Virgil would not come forward, and Bathyllus, a contemptible poet of the day, actually claimed the verses and received the gratuity. The writer of them exposed the fraud in the following manner. He again wrote the couplet and under it the following line; "Hos ego versiculos feci, tulit alter honores; " and the beginning of another line "Sic vos non vobis four times repeated. Bathyllus was requested to finish the lines; but he was unable, and Virgil then completed the stanza as follows. "Sic vos non vobis nidificatis aves; He thereby proved himself the author of the lines, and exposed the false claimant to merited ridicule. It is not unlikely, that the original distich came from Virgil's pen, for it bears all the marks of his style. But the authenticity of the remaining lines may well be doubted, for they are quite unworthy of him, and the conceit embodied in them betrays the taste of a much later age. The whole story was probably invented by some grammarian. As soon as the Georgics were completed, Virgil devoted himself to the composition of an epic poem, and selected for his subject the settlement of the Trojans in Italy. The theme was equally pleasing to the emperor and the people, for it enabled the poet to flatter the former by tracing his parentage to the gods, and to confirm the popular belief, that the Romans were directly descended from the renowned personages of the heroic age. The hero of the poem is undoubtedly an allegorical portraiture of the emperor, and the virtues ascribed to the Trojan prince, together with the splendid prophecies, that were introduced, intimating a return of the Saturnian age under a wise and equitable ruler, were intended to reconcile the Romans to their new master. Augustus had now passed the crisis of his fortunes, and a continued series of triumphs marked the remainder of his career. In token of the restoration of universal peace, the gates of the temple of Janus were closed, U. C. 725, the year after Virgil commenced his poem; and this event is doubtless alluded to in that splendid passage of the first book, beginning with the line Aspera tum positis mitescent sæcula bellis." The threefold triumph, also, which was celebrated at Rome the same year, in honor of the conquest of the Dalmatians, the naval victory at Actium, and the reduction of Egypt, is particularly described in the eighth book. "At Cæsar, triplici invectus Romana triumpho." Seven years were given to the composition of the first six books, and a rumor of the work, on which the poet was engaged, having gone abroad, the liveliest curiosity and expectation were excited at Rome. It was thought, that a poem was forthcoming, which would eclipse the fame of the Iliad. Augustus himself became desirous of knowing more about it, and frequently importuned the author to grant him a perusal of those portions, which were finished. Macrobius has preserved a part of the poet's answer to one of the emperor's letters. "1 have of late received frequent letters from you. With regard to my Eneas, by Hercules, if it were worth your notice, I would willingly send it. But so vast is the undertaking, that I almost appear to myself to have commenced such a work from some defect in judgment or understanding; especially since, as you know, other and far higher studies are required for such a performance." But soon after the death of the young Marcellus, U. C. 731, Virgil was persuaded to read, in presence of the emperor and his sister Octavia, the sixth book of the poem, in which he had inserted an elegant and affecting tribute to the memory of this lamented youth. The mother fainted when the name of her lost son was mentioned, and on her recovery, ordered 10,000 sesterces to be paid to Virgil for each line of this celebrated passage. It is said also, that, on other occasions, the second and fourth books were recited in presence of Augustus. The account is honorable to the literary taste of the emperor, and shows what intimate relations existed between the poet and the master of the Roman empire. The last six books were written in four years, and the author being now more than fifty years of age, and somewhat weakened by disease, resolved to travel into Greece, both for the benefit of his health, and for the sake of revising and correcting his work at leisure in a country, which abounded with poetical associations. His constitution had always been delicate, and, as he advanced in years, he was frequently afflicted with headache, asthma, and spitting of blood. On his departure, Horace addressed to him the beautiful ode, beginning "Sic te Diva potens Cypri." His complaint was rather increased by the change of climate, and, meeting the emperor at Athens, he determined to return with him to Rome. The disease attacked him with fresh violence on the voyage home, and he landed at Brundusium in a hopeless state. In this city he expired, on the twenty-second day of September, U. C. 735, when he had nearly completed the fifty-second year of his age. A short time before his death, he dictated for himself this modest epitaph: "Mantua me genuit, Calabri rapuêre, tenet nunc It is thus translated by Dryden : "I sung flocks, tillage, heroes; Mantua gave His remains were carried to Naples, and, little more than a mile from the city, just above the entrance to the grotto of Pausilippo, a small quadrangular building is still pointed out to the curious traveller, as the tomb of Virgil. The poet attached so much importance to the final revision and improvement of his works, that on the approach of death, he requested his friends Varius and Plotius Tucca, who were with him, to burn the Eneid as an imperfect poem. But the emperor interfered to save a work, which would have so great influence in extending his own fame to future ages. The poem was intrusted to the two friends with a power to revise and retrench, but with a strict charge that they should make no additions; and, accordingly, they did not venture to complete even the hemistichs, which had been left imperfect. This story should be remembered on making comparisons, in point of finish and elegance, between this work and the author's earlier productions. The poet bequeathed half of his fortune, which was considerable, to a brother; he left a rich legacy to Augustus, and divided the remainder of his wealth between Mecenas, Varius, and Tucca. Virgil was tall and slender in person, of a dark complexion, and a rather awkward address. His tastes were quiet and simple, his habits studious, and his mild and affectionate disposition secured for him numerous and strongly attached friends. His modesty was so great, that he was disconcerted by the public marks of admiration, which were drawn forth by his popularity as a national poet. On one occasion, in the theatre, the whole audience rose to greet him, an honor which was usually paid to the emperor alone. No envious or angry feelings appear to have disturbed his intimacy with his literary contemporaries, among whom were Livy, Tibullus, Horace, Ovid, and many others, forming that galaxy of illustrious names, which adorned the Augustan age. All were ready to do homage to his superior genius, and to admire the virtues and graces, which distinguished his private life. He was fastidious in composition, and by sustained and repeated efforts brought his works to that perfection, which they now exhibit. He was thoroughly acquainted with all the learning of his times, but his erudition was subservient to a correct taste and a sound judgment, and never overlaid or encumbered the flights of his imagination. The moral purity of his writings is remarkable, considering the licentiousness of the age, which is too frequently apparent in its other literary productions. His poems manifest correct sentiments and generous feelings, and the youthful pupil will find, that the careful study of them tends to refine the taste, to heighten the relish for the beautiful and the sublime, and to invigorate the understanding. ON BUCOLIC POETRY. THE invention of this kind of poetry is commonly ascribed to Theocritus, a Greek poet, a native of Sicily. At least, the earliest specimens of it, which are now extant, are of his composition. He was born at Syracuse, B. C. 270, and wrote in the Doric dialect, which was spoken by his countrymen. The nature of this class of poems is indicated by their appellation, which is derived from the Greek Bouxódos signifying a herdsman. The modern designation, pastorals, comes from the Latin, with nearly the same meaning. The name Ecloga,- from the Greek izλlyw, to select, is properly given to a short poem selected from many others. As applied to the idyls of Virgil, it signifies either that the published poem was selected from many others, that the writer had composed, or that certain compositions of Theocritus were selected as the only proper ones for imitation. The district of Arcadia, in the centre of the Peloponnesus, and the interior of Sicily, on account of the rugged and mountainous character of the two regions, were used from the earliest times for the pasturage of flocks. The life of shepherds is simple and retired, and their occupation and the scenes in which it is carried on, afford many pleasing images and pictures for the use of the poet. The business itself, leaving so many idle moments, is calculated to nurse a dreamy and imaginative disposition, and to create a liking for music and song. especially, when those who are employed in it are endowed with the lively fancy and quick perceptions, which seem the natural inheritance of natives of such sunny climes, as Sicily and Greece. It is quite probable, that in the earliest ages, the shepherds of these countries were wont to amuse themselves with rude attempts at poetical composition, which they chanted to the accompaniment of some rough musical instrument. The subjects of their songs would naturally be taken from the loves and quarrels, which formed almost the sole incidents, that diversified the simple tenor of their life. Their frequently solitary employment would induce them to make friends, as it were, of the animals which they tended, and to address their complaints and rejoicings, their hopes and sorrows, to the sheep and goats which were feeding near them. Such, at least, was the theory, on which the inventors of bucolic song proceeded. We are not to suppose, that Theocritus and his imitators drew from the very life, that they had under their own eyes the scenes of rural existence, of which they have presented such charming sketches, or persons of the simple character and occupation which they have described. A tendency has existed in every age, to praise the superior and simpler virtues of by-gone times. Actual experience gives us to know the harsher features of every-day life, the disagreeable circumstances and petty cares, which cloud the pleasures and intercept the dreams of ordinary existence. The lapse of time wipes out the memory of these minor evils, and leaves the picture fair and joyous for future contemplation. Tradition most willingly preserves happy images, and hides the rough passages and thorny cares of the life, which it celebrates. Theocritus and Virgil saw real shepherds, but they painted ideal ones. Their sketches were true to nature, so far as was consistent with the attempt to impart pleasure by the general effect. As the principal charm of pastoral poetry consists in the simplicity and naturalness of the scenes and characters that it portrays, it might be expected, that the most ancient cultivators of it should be the most successful; that Theocritus should excel Virgil, just as the latter is far superior to all his modern imitators. The oldest did not actually see men and things in all the purity and freshness, that he attributed to them; but the realities, which he did see, still preserved some features of the antique type, and direct observation secured in part the truthfulness of the pictures. These features were proportionally more effaced in Virgil's time, but they still preserved some semblance of the original. Poets of modern days, especially in countries where the business of shepherds hardly exists at all, when they attempt this sort of writing, are obliged to draw wholly from the imagination, and their success is such as we might anticipate. English pastorals are the most tasteless and insipid compositions imaginable; but we are not justified in inferring, that the whole scheme of such poetry is an unnatural one, and that even the ancient specimens of it are wholly forced and artificial. On the contrary, they have all the air of fiction built upon a broad basis of fact. The object of the bucolic poet is to represent scenes of pastoral life, which may be done either by narration, or by action and dialogue, in the form of a drama. The plot or incidents are chosen with art, that a pleasant idea may be given of the happiness and simplicity of the shepherd's occupation; and therefore every thing is excluded, which may remind one of what there is sordid, fatiguing, and unpleasant in this life in the fields. The natural scenery, amidst which the events are supposed to take place, may be described, yet only incidentally, and with the easy and natural expressions, in which the emotions of one familiar with such objects would probably be conveyed. The sentiments, allusions, and words must be suited to the pastoral condition; not rude and vulgar, so as to excite disgust, nor so polished and ornate, as to betray the refinement and instruction of a higher social state. If pastorals were always written under these restrictions, a high degree of dramatic talent and versatility would be essential to the poet, and success would be indicative of the highest genius. But the term has a wider signification, or is more loosely applied It is given to poems, in which things, characters, and events of our own age and clime are described, but with images and coloring drawn from the shepherd's employment. Or, a known incident is formed into a fable, in which shepherds are actors, and the scene is carried back to the reputed simplicity and happiness of earlier times. This is a departure from the original idea of pastoral poetry, but the oldest poets often used this license. Virgil was a professed imitator of Theocritus, whom, indeed, he often translates with great fidelity. The question of superiority between the two poets is often agitated, though with little reason, for the points of contrast between them proceed rather from the different times and purposes for which they wrote, than from original inequality of genius. Many of Virgil's eclogues are strictly occasional, being written as an expression of gratitude, or to cover a request, or to describe some incidents in the writer's life. The idyls of Theocritus are of a more general character, being dictated, as it seems, only by love of the art. The language, which the Roman poet used, was more stately, sonorous, and inflexible; the Sicilian had the advantage, not only of the wonderful copiousness and pliancy of the Greek tongue, but of that dialect of it, the Doric, of which the broad intonations and homely strength were so admirably adapted to his subject. Theocritus wrote for a lively and versatile people, who had a hearty relish for humor and faithful sketches of humble life, even though the pleasantry were coarse, the occupations sordid, and the characters vulgar. The Romans of Virgil's time, at least, those classes of them to whom the poet particularly addressed himself, were fastidious in taste, and had carried delicate refinement to the verge of effeminacy. The various characteristics of the two poets may be nearly all deduced from these differences in situation, objects, and materials. The praise of simplicity, truth, and natural grace, must be given to Theocritus; that of dignity, elegance, and richness of imagery belongs to Virgil. But the conversation of his shepherds is too polished and artificial, the subjects of discourse too lofty and magnificent, to be suited to their condition in life. The Sicilian poet errs in the opposite extreme. The language is often gross and the allusions offensive. But the characters in the little drama are admirably discriminated, and often are well supported throughout. The personages of Virgil all resemble each other; Tityrus, Menalcas, Damon, Melibæus, &c., are all different impressions from the same type. The pastoral coloring is often but faintly preserved; the fourth eclogue, for instance, having much of the lyric character, and the sixth has so little to do with shepherds and rural life, that it might with equal propriety be considered as a digression in an epic. In fine, if these youthful compositions be judged only as pastorals, they exhibit numerous and glaring defects; but, if considered as occasional poems of a miscellaneous character, the striking beauties, which they contain, must commend themselves to the taste and judgment of every reader. |