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In tranflating this paffage, Mr. Dryden hath made Sabinus lean his head upon his pruning hook, which as it would appear abfurd in a statue or picture, cannot be proper in a poetical descrip

tion.

There ftood Sabinus, planter of the vines,
On a fhort pruning hook his head reclines,
And studiously furveys his generous wines.

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Dryden, 249.

Sabinus there who preft the foaming wine,
Extends the hook that prun'd the generous vine.
Pitt, 221.

7. One great occafion of faults in Mr. Dryden in relation to the imaginary beings of the ancients, is owing to his not being fufficiently acquainted with (or not recollecting) their particular qualities, rank and dignity; and this makes him fometimes vary from his original.

Ecce furens animis aderat Tirynthius, omnemque
Acceffum luftrans, huc ora ferebat et illuc,
Dentibus infrendens. Ter totum fervidus irâ
Luftrat Aventini montem; ter faxea tentat
Limina nequicquam; ter fessus valle resedit.

Æn. 8. 228.

The wretch had hardly made his dungeon fast,
The fierce avenger came with bounding haste;
Survey'd the mouth of the forbidden hold,
And here and there his raging eyes he roll'd;
He gnash'd his teeth, and thrice he compast round
With winged speed the circuit of the ground.

Thrice

Thrice at the cavern's mouth he pull'd in vain,
And panting thrice defifted from his pain.

Dryden, 304.

Scarce had the fiend let down th' enormous weight,
. When fierce the god came thund'ring to the gate;
He gnafh'd his teeth with rage, the paffes try'd,
And roll'd his eager eyes on ev'ry fide;
Now here, now there, a fiery glance he threw,
And thrice impetuous round the mountain flew ;
Thrice ftrove to ftorm the maffy gates in vain,
And thrice, o'er-fpent, fate panting on the plain.

Pitt, 300.

8. Non tulit Alcides animis: feque ipfe per ignem Praecipiti jecit faltu : qua plurimus undam Fumus agit, nebulâque ingens fpecus aeftuat atrâ.

Æn. 8. 258.

The wrathful god then plunges from above,
And where in thickest waves the sparkles drove,

There lights; and wades thro' fumes, and gropes his

way,

Half fing'd, half ftifled till he grasps his prey.

Dryden, 344.

This laft particular is great in Virgil, and little in Dryden; and fitter for the herdfman hero (as he calls him in the beginning of the story, 279) than the chief of all the heroes who were deified for having acted in this world for the good of mankind. Let us fee Mr. Pitt's translation.

With that the vengeful god in fury grew,
And headlong thro' the burning tempeft flew;
Fierce on the fiend, thro' ftifling fumes he came,
Thro' ftreams of smoke and deluges of flame.

ver. 331.

In fine, if my partiality to Mr. Pitt does not mislead me, I fhould think he has executed his work with great fpirit, that he has a fine flow of harmonious verfification, and has rendered his author's fense with faithfulness and perfpicuity; but my teftimony can be of little confequence in this cafe; and there is no reafon to doubt but he will ftand by his own intrinfic merit; which the public hath already fufficiently approved.

I thought it proper to premife thefe few reflections, on Virgil, on Mr. Pitt, and myself, before I ventured to give the following translation into your hands; I dared not say,

-in Metî defcendat judicis aures,

till I had endeavoured to point out the peculiar difficulties attending this performance, and had obviated any charge of envy, or even of emulation, in attempting it after Mr. Dryden. I have only to add, that among other reasons why I could wish this work may reach pofterity, one of the greatest is, that it may be known, I enjoyed the favour and friendship of Sir GEORGE LYTTELTON.

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ADVERTISEMENT.

1753.

THE defign of the following volumes is to give a poetical tranflation, and a correct edition of Virgil's works, illuftrated with explications of the difficult, and obfervations on the beautiful paffages. For which purpose, bis beft critics and commentators have been confulted and made ufe of, but never quoted without acknowledgment. Befides thefe affistances, I must inform the reader, that Mr. Spence hath promoted this undertaking with that warmth and readiness with which he always ferves his friends, by communicating to me a great number of manuscript notes of the late Mr. Holdsworth, author of Mufcipula, &e: who by refiding many years in Italy, and by making Virgil his conftant companion in his travels, had an opportunity of being very exact in his obfervations on his favourite author. Many of them, that are local, and relate to the foil, the climate and customs of Italy, will I believę be found extremely curious and useful. Mr. Spence likewife obliged me with feveral excellent remarks of his own, made when he was abroad, that were never yet published, and with fome few of Mr. Pope's. His Polymetis alfo bath greatly enriched the following col

lection,

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lection. I must not neglect to return my thanks to Mr. Warburton, for giving leave that his most learned and ingenious differtation on the fixth book of the Eneid might be here inferted; which the reader will find much altered and enlarged with several valuable additions. Mr. William Whitehead bath contributed to the usefulness and beauty of this work by giving it what Virgil has long wanted, a defign for the field of Eneas. He bath added a differtation on this fubject, wherein are fome curious remarks on the Roman hiftory, which it is not strange that he should understand, who has made one of its greatest heroes appear fo nobly on our * stage. To my learned and ingenious friend Mr." Samuel Johnson I am very much obliged; not only for bis elegant effay on Paftoral Poetry, but for feveral moft judicious remarks and obfervations fcattered thro the whole. It was thought proper not to omit in this edition, Bishop Atterbury's celebrated conjecture, concerning lapis, in the twelfth book of the Æneid. It may be neceffary likewife to take notice here that Mr. Pitt bas borrowed about fixty lines from Mr. Dryden, and I myself about a dozen, and a remark or two in the life of Virgil. I am indebted alfo to Mr. Benfon for fome obfervations, and for fix lines of his tranflation of the two first Georgics. For the rest I am anfwerable; and I hope those readers that are able to judge, who are likewife ever moft inclined to pardon, will excufe the smaller faults and inadvertencies that will neceffarily happen in the course of fo long a work.

In his tragedy called the Roman Father.

I begin

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