WR ODE XII. To NEOBULE. RETCHED the Girl, forbid to prove The winged Boy, in wanton Play, NOTES. NOTES. Horace addreffed this Ode to Neobulé, to confirm her against the ill Temper of an Uncle, and at the fame Time to justify the Love the cherished for Hebrus, who was a handsome Youth, well skilled in the Exercises of the Chace, and other manly Sports. 1 Metuentes patruæ verbera linguæ.] Among the Romans, Uncles had very great Authority over their Nephews and Nieces; and, as they were feldom fo indulgent as Parents, their morofe Temper paffed into a Proverb, and the Word Patruus, Uncle, was used to fignify a Cenfor. Thus Horace, in the third Satire of the fecond Book; Ne fis Patruus mihi Do not chide me, as if you were my Uncle. Perhaps, there fore, he has here ufed the Words verbera patruæ linguæ, for all kind of Cenfors. But it feems more probable, that they are to be taken literally, and that Neobulé had an Uncle, whom Horace here mentions. DACIER. 2 Bellerophon, the Son of Glaucus, mounted on the Horfe Pegafus, defeated Chimera, who was a Monster with the Head of a Lion breathing Flames, the Body of a Goat, and the Tail of a Dragon or Serpent. What gave Occafion to this Fiction, it is faid, was this: Bellerophon was a good Sailor, and, in a fwift Ship, called Pegafus, purfued a Pyrate in the Ship Chimera, on whose Head was the Image of a Lion, in the Middle a Goat, and on the Stern a Dragon. Other Accounts are alfo given of the Rife of this Fable. 3 Celer excipere aprum.] The Word excipere is, properly, applied to those who lie in wait for any one; and Horace here ufes it for opprimere, to surprise, or attack unawares. * In the fame Sense Duegna is now used among the Spaniards. 1 ********************** ODE XIII. To the Nymph prefiding over the Blandufian Fountain. N By Mr. J. DUNCOMBE. I. YMPH of the Spring, whofe Waves furpafs 'The Clearness of tranfparent Glafs, And well deferve each Rite divine, I The flowery Garland, and the luscious Wine! II. To-morrow's rising Sun fhall fee I. Not Phoebus with his fultry Beam, When Sirius reigns, can pierce thy Stream: And panting Sheep, to Thee for Shade repair. II. Among II. Among the Springs of nobleft Fame NOTE S. They who will carefully examine the Turn, and ini. mitable Simplicity of the Defcription, which Horace here gives of the Fountain of Blandufia, (which rofe in Sabinia, near Horace's Country Seat,) will find it one of the prettiest Pieces extant in its kind. What renders it ftill more valuable, is, that it furnishes us with a very curious Example of the Ceremonies obferved by the RoDACIER. mans, when they facrificed to Fountains. 1 Dulci digne mero, non fine floribus,] The Ancients, when they made Libations, filled a Cup to the Brim, and covered it with a Chaplet of Flowers. For which Reafon Tibullus fays, Coronatus ftabit et ipfe calix. Thus alfo Virgil: Crateres magnos ftatuunt, et vina coronant. And it is this vinum coronatum, as Statius calls it, which Horace here means by merum, non fine floribus. 2 The Springs of Rivers were facred, and had their Divinities; on which Account, Groves were dedicated to them, Chapels confecrated, and Altars raised. Thus Horace, in the firft Ode of the first Book: Ad aquæ lene caput facræ, For this At the gentle Source of a facred Stream.' Reafon Homer (in the feventeenth Book of the Odyssey), defcribing a Fountain near Ithaca, fays, there was an Altar clofe by it. The Reader will not be displeased to E 6 fee H fee his Description of it, which is not very different from this of Horace. — Κατὰ δέ ψυχρὸν δείν ύδως Υψόθεν ἐκ πέτρης· Where, from the Rock, with liquid Lapse distills Neritus, Ithacus, Poly&tor, there In fculptur'd Stone immortalis'd their Care, POPE. In Ovid's third Book de Faflis, Numa offers a Sacrifice to a Fountain, in all refpects like this, only he gives a Sheep, whereas Horace here promises a Kid: Fonti rex Numa mactat ovem, Plenaque odorati difponit pocula Bacchi. We have here a Victim, Wine, and Crowns; for plena pocula odorati Bacchi, full Cups of fragrant Wine, is the fame thing as pocula floribus coronata, Cups of Wine crown ed with Flowers, or (in Horace's Words) merum cum floribus. This Paffage of Ovid ought, therefore, to be tranflated thus: King Numa facrifices a Sheep to this Fountain, and places on its Banks full Cups of Wine crowned with Flowers.' We are alfo taught here one Particular, which is not expreffed in Horace, namely, that after having offered up a Sheep or a Kid, and poured out a little Wine to make Libations, the Cups, with the Wine in them, were placed on the Margin of the Fountain, to invite the Gods of thofe Streams to come and drink of it. DACIER. The |