lands, spoken of in the first Eclogue, then from the auarrels between Antony and Octavianus, and the war which ensued, B. C. 41; and finally, from a most severe famine, the result of the blockade formed by the fleets of Antony and Sex. Pompeius. So much the greater was the joy occasioned by the treaty of Brundusium made in the autumn of B. c. 40, by which harmony was restored between the two contending chiefs. Antony's agent in arranging the peace was Virgil's patron, Asinius Pollio. A little afterwards, on his return to Rome, Pollio entered on the consulship, and about the same time had a son born to him. There was a common belief at the time that a new age was dawning on the world; and as Italy seemed to have escaped from its miseries chiefly through the means of Pollio, Virgil, in this Eclogue, congratulates him on his consulship, and does it in such a way, as at once to extol him as the harbinger of a new era of happiness, and at the same time to augur this, from the birth of his son, as an omen of future peace and prosperity. This Eclogue was written in the autumn of B. c. 40. POLLIO. SICELIDES Musae, paulo majora canamus! 1 10 15 1. Sicelides. Theocritus, whom Virgil principally imitated, was a Sicilian.-4. For the Cumaean Sibyl, see Aen. vi. 10. The age was the tenth in her books, or Golden Age. 6. Virgo. Astraea; that is, Justice. Ovid. Met. i. 149; Georg. ii. 473. Saturnia. See Georg. ii. 538.-10. Lucina. This name (from lux; that is, the light-bringer) is applied to the goddess who presided over childbirth ; sometimes Juno, sometimes, as here, Diana, whom the Romans identified with the Greek Artemis, the sister of Apollo; hence tuus Apollo. At tibi prima, puer, nullo munuscula cultu Jam legere, et quae sit poteris cognoscere virtus: Aggredere o magnos—aderit jam tempus-honores, 18, &c. Virgil traces the progress of the world: 1. in the boynood, verses 18-25; 2. in the youth, 26-36; 3. in the manhood, 37-45; of Pollio's son.-25. Assyrium. This name is often employed by the poets to indicate eastern countries in general. - 26. Simul; that is, simul ac.- -30. See Georg. i. 131; Ovid, Met. i. 112.. 32. Thetis. A sea goddess. To tempt her, is to tempt the sea.-34. Tiphys. The pilot of the ship Argo, which sailed in the celebrated quest for the golden fleece, with Hercules, Jason, and others delectos heroas. -39. There will be no need of navigation, for every land will produce everything of itself.. .43. Suave. Ecl. iii. 8, 63.-47. Parcae. The Fates; from parco, to propitiate them, and induce them to spare. Ages are here said to be spur from their spindles.-49. Jovis; the subjective genitive, Jupiter causing the growing honours of the boy; or objective, the boy being regarded as one more added to Jupiter's race. Incrementum. For See Aspice convexo nutantem pondere mundum, Pan etiam, Arcadia mecum si judice certet, the force added to a verse by the spondaic quadrasyllable, see Georg. i. 221; Aen. ii. 68, viii. 167.-51. Tractusque. The last syllable long from the arsis. 52. Laetantur. The indicative shows the poet's firm conviction of the truth of his statements. It is not See how all nature rejoices,' but, See! How does all nature rejoice!' -55. It is not unusual for a negative proposition to be laid down generally, and then particulars to be stated, still with particles of negation. Here the general proposition is, 'There shall not_ (non) any conquer me;' the particular instances are Orpheus and Linus, both ushered in with nec, nec. In strong negations, in English, we have something similar; and here we may say, No one shall surpass me in song; no, not Orpheus,' &c.-60. Risu cognoscere ;_to show thy mother by thy laugh that thou recognisest her. -61. Tulerunt. For the quantity see Georg. ii. 129, iii. 283, iv. 393; Aen. ii. 774, iii. 48, 681, x. 334.-62. Cuinon, &c. Him to whose laugh no parents have joyously replied. This Eclogue is expressly imitated in Pope's Messiah, a Sacred Eclogue. ECLOGA V. THE original Daphnis was a Sicilian hero, and his name occurs frequently in the ancient Pastorals. It is supposed that this Eclogue was written B. c. 42, in which year public rejoicings throughout Italy were ordered to celebrate the deification of Julius Caesar, the month of July being also named after him. According to this conjecture, which is not improbable, Virgil celebrates Caesar under the name of Daphnis, though not carrying the resemblance through all its features. The poem has been extensively imitated, and has furnished materials for many elegiac Eclogues. The first fifty-two lines consist chiefly of lamentation; the remaining verses celebrate the deification of Daphnis. DAPHNIS. MENALCAS-MOPSUs. Men. CUR non, Mopse, boni quoniam convenimus ambo, Mop. Tu major; tibi me est aequum parere, Menalca, Men. Montibus in nostris solus tibi certat Amyntas. Mop. Immo haec, in viridi nuper quae cortice fagi Mop. Sed tu desine plura, puer; successimus antro. Exstinctum Nymphae crudeli funere Daphnim 15 20 Frigida, Daphni, boves ad flumina; nulla nec amnem 25 30 1. Boni; that is, periti. It is followed by the infinitive inflare, which is a poetical usage. See Ecl. vii. 5-x. 32; Georg. i. 280, 284; Aen. ix. 772; and Zumpt, § 598.-7. Sparsit. See Ecl. iv. 52.-8. Tibi certat. So Certent et cycnis ululae. Ecl. viii. 55.9. Mopsus seems to sneer at Amyntas, as daring to contend not with him only, but with Apollo.-14. Alterna. Mopsus inscribed his verses, and then set them to music, which, too, he inscribed. See Ecl. iii. 8.-23. Atque-atque; that is, et-et. Astra. She upbraids with cruelty the stars, as influencing her son's fate. Mater. Venus, the alleged foundress of the Julian race. See Ecl. ix. 47.-25. Nulla nec. See Ecl. iv. 55.-29. Curru for currui; a form usually adopted by Caesar, and not uncommon in Virgil. See Georg. iv. 158; Aen. i. 257, iii. 541. Et foliis lentas intexere mollibus hastas. 35 Spargite humum foliis, inducite fontibus umbras, 40 Et tumulum facite, et tumulo superaddite carmen: 6 Daphnis ego in silvis, hinc usque ad sidera notus, Men. Tale tuum carmen nobis, divine poëta, 45 Nos tamen haec, quocumque modo, tibi nostra vicissim 50 Et puer ipse fuit cantari dignus, et ista Jam pridem Stimicon laudavit carmina nobis. Men. Candidus insuetum miratur limen Olympi, 55 35. Pales. An Italian deity who presided over shepherds. Apollo. One of the offices of the Greek Apollo, especially dwelt on in later times, and here recognised by Virgil, was that of protecting the flocks and cattle. -36. In iis sulcis is necessary to complete the sense. -37. Infelix, not fitted to sustain life. Aen. iii. 649. Steriles avenae. Wild oats, called by Linnaeus avena fatua. -40. He calls upon the shepherds to perform the wonted honours to the tomb of Daphnis, sprinkling leaves, and enveloping in thick shades (umbras, plur.) of numerous branches the running waters near which his tomb was placed. 46. Quale. See Ecl. iii. 80. 47. Restinguere. As the infinitive is a verbal substantive (See Zumpt, 597, &c.), it corresponds with other substantives, as here with sopor. See Georg. i. 25, iii. 181; Aen. x. 759.49. Alter has the force, as often, of secundus. Ab; the order of immediate succession is expressed by this preposition with the force of post. 54. Cantari dignus. The infinitive with the force of the ablative is rare in prose, but not uncommon in verse. See a similar construction, ver. 89.-56-80. We have now the deification of Daphnis, in which the poet ascribes to him all the attributes, and claims for him all the honours, of a rural deity. Candidus. Either serenely majestic, or glowing with heavenly splendour. Olympi. It is well |