ECLOGUE L

THE goatherd Melibœus, who has been driven from his possessions by an insolent soldiery, is wandering sadly along, driving his flock before him, when he perceives Tityrus quietly enjoying himself in the shade, apparently untouched by the misfortunes which have fallen upon all around him. He inquires the cause of this happy exemption from care, and is told that Tityrus, having visited the city of Rome in order to see his master, had obtained from him the gift of freedom, and encouragement to pursue without fear his former course of life. He warmly expresses his grateful feelings towards this generous benefactor. Melibus congratulates him on his good fortune, which is contrasted with his own hard fate. Tityrus commiserates these misfortunes, and invites the unlucky goatherd to pass the night with him, with the assurance of hospitable treatment. It is commonly supposed, that Virgil represents himself under the character of Tityrus, and that the plot of the pastoral was contrived in order to express the poet's gratitude towards the emperor Augustus.

2. Tenui avenâ,' slender oaten straw; here put for the simple pipe, a rude sort of musical instrument, fashioned from such straw. 'Medi

taris,' sing over, practise upon. 'Silvestrem musam,' pastoral songs. 4-5. lentus, lying at ease. Amaryllida,' the name of the supposed

mistress of Tityrus.

7-8. For he will always be a god in my esteem; a young lamb from our folds shall often moisten his altar with blood; that is, as a victim. Augustus actually received divine honors after his death, by the decree of a servile senate, altars being erected and sacrifices of fered to him. Virgil here seems to anticipate the adulation of his countrymen.

9-10. ipsum,' 'me' understood. 'Ludere,' to sing in sport: ' calamo agresti,' rustic reed, another expression for the 'tenui avenâ,' mentioned above.

12-3. Usque adeò,' to such a degree: 'turbatur'; the passive voice used impersonally; all is in confusion, or a general ferment prevails. 'ipse duco'; Gr. § 205. Rem. 1. debilitated myself, I drive forward the young goats; this one, O Tityrus, I even lead with difficulty; duco,' lead, draw with a cord.

14-5. For here, among the thick hazel trees, she has just dropt twins, the hope of the flock, having brought them forth, alas! on the naked rock, that is, having no better couch; connixa,' for ' enixa.'

16-7. læva,' infatuated: De cœlo tactas,' struck with lightning. The effects of lightning were a great source of augury to the Romans. 18-9. sinistra cornix,' ill-boding crow: da,' for dic'; say, tell us. 21-2. Stultus'; Gr. § 205. Rem. 15: huic nostræ,' 'urbi' understood; this city of ours: Pastores,' in apposition with 'nos' understood: depellere,' to drive.

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24. Nôram'; contracted pluperfect, used with the force of the imperfect, from 'nosco.'

25-6. But this one (Rome) raised its head as much among the other cities, as the cypress trees usually do among the pliant shrubs.

27. tibi'; Gr. § 226. And what so important reason had you for visiting Rome?

28. Libertas'; here put for amor libertatis'; the desire of freedom was the reason of my going there: 'inertem,' slothful, or careless about freedom: respexit,' looked upon me favorably, became favorable to me. 29. A roundabout way of saying' after I had grown old': 'tondenti' belongs to mihi' understood.

31-2. His former mistress, Galatea, did not urge him to any effort for obtaining freedom. Amaryllis was a more valuable friend.

34-6. Tityrus sold bullocks to be used as victims in the sacrifices, and manufactured rich cheeses also, which found a market in the neighbouring city; but the money thus obtained did not profit him much, for it was spent as soon as earned.

37. Amarylli'; see Gr. § 81.

38. For whom you suffered the fruit to remain unplucked upon the trees. For the meaning of sua,' see Gr. § 208, (8,) last sentence. 39-40. A poetical compliment to Tityrus; the very trees, fountains, and plantations seemed to laiment his absence.

whom

42-4.præsentes,' propitious, kind: 'quotannis fumant,' for - in whose honor our altars reek with sacrifices for twelve days in each year.

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47. 'ergo manebunt,' you will keep possession of your fields then, that is, you will not be driven from them, as I have been from mine. 48-9. Et junco'; commentators differ about the meaning of this passage. The following appears the most natural translation. And they (the fields) were large enough for your purposes, though naked rock and a marsh with its slimy rushes hem in-surround-all your pastures. The farm is described as rather a small spot, on the declivity of a hill, which could not be increased in size by any exertion of its owner; since on the upper side, it was bounded by the rocky rising ground, and at the lower extremity by an impracticable marsh.

50. tentabunt,' 'morbo' understood; attack with disease: 'graves,' feeble; foetas, having just brought forth young; faint with recent parturition. The two words belong to 'pecudes' understood. Melibaus alludes to the ill condition of his own flock, described above, 12-5.

52. flumina nota.' The Mincius and the Po, two rivers well known to Tityrus, for he had always lived near them.

54-6. Here, the hedge, that separates your farm from the neighbouring cross path, and which is always fed upon, as to the flowers of the willows contained in it, by Hyblæan becs, by its soft murmurings shall often invite you to sleep; limite,' the boundary between two farms, formed by a cross path, or a strip of uncultivated land; florem,' Gr. § 234, II. 60-4. The nature of all things shall be changed, and a general dispersion of nations ensue, sooner than I shall forget my generous benefactors; 'exsul - Tigrim,' the Parthian as an exile shall drink of the Arar, (a river of Gaul,) and the German of the Tigris (a river of Asia ;) 'Antè' is to be construed in connexion with 'quam'; 'Germania' for 'Germanus,' by enallage.

65. Afros,' see Gr. § 237, concluding part of Rem. 5.

68-70. En, unquam,' for 'unquamne;' will it ever be, after a long time, that, seeing again my paternal possessions, the roof of my humble cottage formed of turf, and thus hereafter surveying my former domain, I shall wonder at some few stalks of grain, that will be left; regna,' in apposition with 'fines'; 'Post,' used adverbially; tuguri,' see Gr. § 52; congestum cespite'; a roof not thatched, but covered with grass having earth still adhering to its roots.

73. 'queis' for 'quibus;' Gr. § 136, 2. See, for whom - for whose benefit-we have planted the fields!

76-7. A pleasing picture of a shepherd's happiness. Melibœus exaggerates the pleasures which he has lost, and touchingly images forth his sorrow. "I have seen in Italy," says Spence," and on the Vatican hill near Rome in particular, a little arched cave, made by the shepherds

of evergreens, not high enough to stand in; and where they lie at their ease to observe their flocks browsing. Query, whether it be not such

a cave which is meant here? Viridi' is not a proper epithet for the inside of a natural cave."

81-2. mitia poma,' ripe fruits: 'pressi lactis,' cheese.

This eclogue contains some lively and graphic descriptions, and seems to be written throughout with real feeling. But a tasteful critic objects with reason to the diction of some passages, -verses 60 - 8, for instance,· -as too swollen for the appropriate artlessness of pastoral song, and rather suited to the magnificence of Epic poetry.

ECLOGUE II.

THE shepherd Corydon is in love with the beautiful boy, Alexis, who does not return his affection, but remains attached to lolas, their common master. Corydon is the speaker through most of the poem, and tries, by offering various inducements, to win over Alexis to his love. At last, he reproves his own folly for persevering in such a fruitless endeavour. For the plot and many beautiful passages in this pastoral, Virgil is indebted to Theocritus.

1. ardebat Alexin;' Gr. § 232, (2).

3-5. Tantùm assiduè veniebat,' only he was wont to go often; mind the force of the imperfect tense; Gr. § 145. II. 1: hæc incondita,'' carmina' understood: 'studio inani,' with fruitless zeal.

8. umbras et frigora,' shady spots and cool places, or 'coolness of the shade': 'captant,' betake themselves to.

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10-1. Thestylis,' the female attendant of the reapers: 'rapido æstu,' with the fervent heat: Allia serpyllumque,' garlic and wild thyme. 12-3.At- cicadis.' Other creatures have sought silence and repose in the shade; while, under the burning sun, I follow your footsteps, the thickets are vocal with the noisy cicada, uniting in song with me; 'cicada'; not our grasshopper, but an insect peculiar to certain climes, that sits on branches of trees and shrubs during the hot weather, making a shrill noise with its wings.

14-5. satius,' comparative of 'satis'; better, preferable: can,' for Menalcæ fastidia.'

16. Although he was dark, and thou art fair.

17-8. nimiùm

Menal

- leguntur,' trust not too much to complexion; the white privets decay unsought, while the dark hyacinths are eagerly gathered. "

20-1. pecoris,' 'lactis'; see Gr. § 213. Rem. I. (3.): 'Siculis'; the example of Theocritus had made Sicily the appropriate ground for pastoral song.

23-4. I sing the songs that the Theban Amphion was wont to chant, whenever he called the herds together, on the Attic Aracynthus. Amphion was the son of Jupiter and Antiope; in revenge for some cruelties practised on his mother, he tied Dirce to the horns of a wild bull, who dragged her about, till the gods changed her into a fountain in Boeotia, afterwards called by her name. Hence, Dircæus' became a general epithet to signify Theban, or Baotian. He was such a master of music, that he was said to have built the walls of Thebes, calling the stones together by the magic of his lyre. Aracyntho'; a mountain on the borders of Boeotia and Attica, and therefore called the Attic Aracynthus.

25-6. A pleasing image of a shepherd using the tranquil surface of the water as a mirror.

27. si imago '; the refracting power of the water hardly allows its surface to give back a faithful representation.

28-9.0 cervos,' O, that you would only be pleased to inhabit with me a lowly farm and a humble cot, and to pierce the stags.

30. viridi hibisco,' with a green rod of marsh mallow.

31. Pan was the god of shepherds and cattle, and, according to the fable, was the inventor of rustic instruments of music. He had the head and body of a man, the horns and legs of a goat.

35. quid

Amyntas, what efforts did not Amyntas make. 36-7. Est - Fistula,' I have a shepherd's pipe, formed of seven hemlock stalks of unequal length firmly joined together: 'dono mihi,' see Gr. § 227.

38. 'te secundum,' you now possess it, as its second owner. The value of the article was enhanced, as it was a legacy from a friend. 40. nec for non'; found by me in a dangerous valley.

42. Bina-ubera,' each day they drain the two dugs of a sheep. 43-4. Thestylis already begs that she may take them from me; and she shall, since my gifts are despised by thee.

46-50. tibi calthâ,' for thee a fair water-nymph, gathering the yellow wall-flowers and the tops of poppies, adds to them the daffodil and the flower of the sweet-smelling dill; then, interweaving these with thy melaea and other pleasant herbs, she sets off the soft hyacinths with the yellow marygold; an elaborate description of a tempting nosegay, with which Corydon strives to entice his beloved. He goes on to offer other presents, that tempt the palate as well as the sense of smell.

51.cana tenera lanugine mala,' hoary apples with their soft down. It is doubtful what species of fruit is here meant, as no apples have a downy skin. Martyro suggests, that they were apricots.

53.honos

pomo,' the honor shall belong to this fruit also; that is, the waxen plums, just mentioned, shall be honored by your acceptance

of them.

57. If you contend by offering presents, Iolas is your superior; being more wealthy, he can offer more. Corydon's agitation and rapid changes of feeling are finely described in the following lines. He cries out against his own folly in having just mentioned folas, and thereby reminded Alexis of one, who has higher claims to love than himself. 58-9.floribus apros,' like a madman, I have exposed my flowers to a gust of south wind, and let in the wild boars to pollute my pure springs.

60. Resuming the former topic, Corydon goes on to enumerate the various inducements to a life in the country; habitârunt — silvas,' even the gods have dwelt in the woods.

61. Paris, the son of Priam king of Troy, was employed as a shepherd on Mount Ida, when the three goddesses, Juno, Venus, and Minerva, referring to him a dispute about their respective charms, he adjudged the palm of beauty to Venus. arces'; the Acropolis of Athens, where, according to the fable, the city was founded by Minerva.

66.aratra

juvenci,' the bullocks are carrying home the ploughs hung to the yoke; that is, inverted, so that, the share not entering the ground, they could be easily dragged along.

70. Your half pruned vine hangs on the leafy elm. It was necessary to prune the vine, that the strength of the plant might be husbanded for the fruit, and not lost in supporting useless twigs; also, to trim the elm of leaves and young shoots, that the grapes might not be shaded from the genial warmth of the sun. Both these duties had been neglected by Corydon.

71-2. Why do you not rather make ready, at least, to plait with osiers and pliant rushes some of those things, which are needed for your domestic life; such as baskets, traps, and crates.

There are some beauties in this little poem, and the verse is polished with great care. But the subject is one which we cannot relish, and the images of rustic life seem to be laboriously and artificially heaped together.

ECLOGUE III.

Two shepherds, Menalcas and the hireling Damotas, who is guarding the sheep of Egon, meet in dispute and cast reproaches at each other, which are rather more lively than decent. Their respective abilities in song coming in question, they agree to sing together for a wager, and their neighbour Palamon is appointed judge in the musical contest. This sort of musical dialogue is called Amæbean, from the Greek 'Auoßaios, signifying mutual or alternate. Each strives to surpass the other by coining a distich of the same measure and length, as the one just uttered by his antagonist, but of equal or superior merit, which, if he fails to do, he loses the prize. The issue of the present contest is, that Palemon praises the musical talent of both, but refuses to award the superiority to either of them.

1-3. Tell me, Damatas, whose flock is this? Is it that of Melibaus? 'Damota,' vocative of a Greek noun; see Gr. § 44: cujum'; Gr. § 137, 5: ipse,' Ægon.

5. This mercenary keeper milks his sheep twice every hour.

7-8. objicienda; Gr. § 274. Rem. 8. The meaning is, that one, who is only half a man himself, ought to be cautious how he reproaches others: Novimus,' Gr. § 183, 3. Note: qui te,' corruperit,' or some such verb, understood: transversa hircis,' the goats looking on askant, or leering at you.

9. sed risere, but the good-natured Nymphs laughed, instead of taking vengeance for the profanation of their abode.

10-1. They laughed then, I suppose, when they saw me cutting the trees and the young vines of Mycon with a rusty pruning-knife. The speech is ironical, Menalcas intending to charge, not himself, but his opponent, with an act of wanton malice in injuring his neighbour's plantations.

12. Neither disputant as yet attempts to defend himself, but goes on to twit his opponent with various acts of meanness. The pitiful envy, which Menalcas had shown on a former occasion, is the subject of the present charge.

15. And you would have died of spite, if you could not have injured him in some way.

16. What may not the masters do, when their thievish servants show such audacity?

18. Lyciscâ'; a fierce brute, half wolf, that was used as a watch. dog.

19-20. And while I was crying out, "Where does he now hide himself? Get the flock together, Tityrus! you lay concealed behind the sedges.

21-4. Damotas makes a poor defence against this direct charge of stealing, by saying, that the goat he had seized justly belonged to him, having been fairly won in a singing match, wherein he was victorious. 25.illum,' vicisti' understood.

26-7 non — carmen,' were you not accustomed, ignorant fellow, in the public street, to murder a sorry tune on a squeaking straw? 'triviis. place where three roads meet, afterwards used to denote any place of common resort.